I don't own Square-Enix, and I never will. (sigh)
Chapter Eight: Tomb of the Unknown King
Seifer and Quistis treked through the grassy plains surrounding Deling City. It was almost noon, and the harsh sun shone overhead. Monster after monster tried to take them down, but as they progressed they started to get a little smarter, as though a warning had been spread through some information system. At each encounter Quistis lectured Seifer on what to do, and what not to do. He suffered through it, knowing that by day's end he wouldn't have to listen to another lecture, read another book, or otherwise waste his perfectly good free time. As they started to get further and further away from Deling he began to wonder exactly what was going on. As far as he knew there was nothing out this way.
"Are we almost there?"
"No," Quistis said. He was thankful that she'd at least given him a guardian, Ifrit specifically. Now he had some real magic power to back up his strength. As they walked along Seifer saw a structure looming in the distance, surrounded by trees at the end of the pennisula. As they neared the place the monster battles thinned, as though even the monsters feared and respected the area. Seifer thought this was a rather ominous sign, but didn't comment on it. Finally they were at the trees, and Quistis stopped in a stone courtyard, overgrown with vegetation and covered in a green slime. Behind her was a shadow filled threshhold, out of which emitted a low growl. Seifer spun his gunblade lazily, and grinned his cocky, trademark smirk.
"So, what's in there?"
"A test of your skills, both strength and wits. To be a SeeD, you must have both. Many puzzles will be placed before you, many twisted webs of information. You must unravel these to discover the truth and complete your mission. This place, this Tomb of the Unknown King, is the home of the Guardian Brothers, Sacred and Minotaur. Somewhere within these walls the Guardian rests. It will be your skills, both mental and physical, which determines if the guardian will be disturbed today, and if the guardian will become your summon." She smiled, a decidedly unpleasent smile. Seifer's eyes narrowed. That was an odd speech. I wonder what she means by it...? "Are you ready, Mr. Almasy?" Seifer's smirk grew broader, and grasped his gunblade firmly.
"I was born ready."
"Good. You will proceed at the front, as a leader. I am here merely as backup. I won't interfere unless it's necessary. If I have to interfere, it means you fail my test. Do I make myself clear?"
"Perfectly, Instructor. But you might as well wait out here."
"I have to go in. I have to make sure you don't cheat or something." She gestured toward the door. "The rest is up to you." Seifer smiled. All right, let's do the mental checklist... Curative spells, destructive spells, items, gunblade, perfect health. I think I'm good to go.
He started off into the darkness, his steel-tipped boots clicking against the flagstones of the entrance. To the left and right water ran, and there was a slight light coming in through the roof. He passed a skeleton, and was immediately faced with a choice. Hmm, which way should I go...? he wondered, looking down each passage way. They seemed to be the same, but were they? Okay, eeny, meeny, miny, moe! he though, picking the straight passage. He started down it, and was greeted by a similar choice. He went with the straight passage again, and was rewarded by a wide expanse of water. He could see a bridge on the far side, as well as a small building. He inspected the water closely, wondering if he could swim in it. He wasn't so sure he wanted to, though. It was an unusual green color, and the walls on the otherside didn't look easy to climb. He turned around, and realised the passages looked the same as when he'd come from the other direction.
"What's going on?" he demanded, annoyed.
"I said this was a test, Seifer."
"Yeah, but I though it would be fighting, not riddles!" Seifer snapped, glaring at her. It's her fault. She was tricking me, better than I've ever managed to trick a person. Damn she's good.
"Didn't you hear me? Being a SeeD isn't always about policing others, something you never understood, which is why you failed. In your mind SeeDs fought the bad guys and won, no matter what. What you failed to see was the preparation, the work, the subtle maneuvering and the finesse involved. For each hour you speant in battle another fifteen went into making sure you got that far. We are not a police force, Seifer, and we're more than mercenaries. We're spies, we're ambassadors, we're politicians, we're manipulators and we're mediators." Quistis took a breath, looking him straight in the eyes. Seifer felt a little unnerved by this, but he looked right back, holding her gaze without any outward sign of unease.
"Do you understand yet? Our political work determines the outcome of the battles we face. If we're guarding someone, then out ability to conceal them depends on our mental skills. If we're here, trying to discover who raided Dollet, our mental skills will aid us in getting close to the subjects and subtly interrogating them, without them ever knowing. If you want to become a SeeD then you need to understand this, and be able to do it. Why did you fail your last test? Because you didn't understand that we have to use the subtle, political movements before we do so. You went straight into attack, without pondering why Dollet wasn't following them. You had orders, and you didn't obey them. And they, the client, had their reasons for not following. If they don't want it, we don't do it. That is why you failed, because you can't get that into your thick skull."
Seifer frowed, digesting this. When she said it, it made him realize that maybe he was missing something. Just maybe. But it's true when I think about it. Garden has had people silenced merely because they might discover something that embarrasses them. They aren't letting me back out of compassion, they think I'm a bomb about to explode. They're just keeping me close, so that if I do explode they can control me. They are politicians, despite what they say. Why are they willing to retesting Quistis? Because she's a fuckin' hero and they don't want her complaining about them, they need to use that Instructor image for their own gain. We're just pawns to them, to be controlled completely and totally. That's why they demand perfect obedience, that's why they wanted orphans. They need this from me. From all of us. Me, Quistis, even Squall and Rinoa are pawns. How many other players do they have we aren't aware of? He wanted to do nothing more than sit down and digest this information, but he couldn't stop now. If he let her interfere he would lose the bet. Even if he'd just discovered Garden's worse secret he couldn't stop now. His pride would not allow it. So he took a deep breath, and chose a passage.
Quistis knew they were lost. Even through Seifer didn't want to admit it, they were lost. She knew they had to be. She and the others hadn't spent nearly this much time in the tomb without running into something. But Seifer continued on ahead, pretending to be cool and confident, chosing passages at random. And they continued to get deeper and deeper into the tomb, fighting annoying Blobras that had secret weaknesses. And they were running out of scan spells. Finally, the passage they were in began to change. The could hear running water. Seifer perked up at the noise, and walked briskly ahead. They were in an area with a switch and a wide expanse of water visible at the end of the tunnel. Seifer walked over to the switch.
"Floodgate," he read. "Hm, a floodgate leading water to...?" He looked around a bit, then grinned. "Might as well." He reached out, and pulled the switch down. There was a gush of water, and it started to flood down a path and out of sight. Seifer looked at it as it rushed away, then shrugged.
"That was dangerous, you know," Quistis remarked. "That might have hit us, instead of going into that channel."
"Yeah, well, what's the point of an adventure without risk?"
"You're taking this test a little too lightly, Seifer." She was about to talk again when Seifer held up his hand to forestall her, and she stopped at the serious look on his face.
"Before you start, I know." He raised his voice a bit in an imitation of her. "You're not being responsible enough, and you're daring to have some fun, so you're a failure."
"I never said that," Quistis defended, trying very hard not to lose her 'Instructor cool'. Seifer really knew how to get under people's skins. In the last two hours she had gained a whole new level of sympathy for Zell.
"Maybe not those words exactly." He cut off her next words again. "Look, I am too taking this seriously. I just don't want to walk around as though someone's just died, ya know?" He smirked at bit at that last part, as though remembering Fujin and Raijin. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't seen them since Lunatic Pandora. For a brief moment she wondered where they were. "I just like to pretend it's not as serious as it is. I'm enjoying life better this way. But I'm really treating this like a real test, a really serious situation. Really." He gave her his best innocent look. Quistis just shook her head.
"I guess there are some things that never change, no matter how many years have gone by."
"That's what makes me so wonderful," Seifer said. "Now let's get going. I want to get out of here in time to eat dinner."
In the next hour they managed to find yet another switch, which Seifer had flipped as quickly as he had the last. Quistis didn't say anything this time, merely watched, trying to remain just like a true observer. Now they were walking down yet a third shadowy passage. Seifer was looking tired, but he remained as sure as ever. They entered a room with a stone shape at the edge of it.
"What's that?" Seifer wondered, walking forward to inspect it. Quistis noted with a tinge of pride he'd listened to one of her lessons, and was holding his gunblade at the ready. Maybe he can learn. Seifer drew slowly closer, and leaned down to look at it. Suddenly, a shape jumped out at him. Seifer recoiled in shock for a quick second, then brought his gunblade up in a denfensive guard. The creature growled at him.
"WHO DARES TO DISTURB ME AGAIN?" he demanded, pumping his fists energetically in the air. Seifer's mouth twitched into a grin.
"I do, that's who. Now step aside, or taste the steel kiss of my gunblade." He raised it into strike position. The guardian laughed.
"DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?"
"It doesn't matter. You're in my way. Now tell me, where is the guardian of this Tomb?" Seifer said. The Guardian laughed at him again, a rumbling laugh that probably could cause earthquakes. Then again, Quistis admitted silently, that probably isn't far from the truth, when you take into consideration which Guardian this is.
"I AM PART OF THE BROTEHRS GUARDIAN FORCE, SACRED." Even faced with this startling piece of information Seifer never lost his stride. He just smirked right back at Sacred and leaned casually on his gunblade, as though they were having a polite talk.
"I'm sacred? Huh, never knew that," Seifer said in amusement, taunting the guardian. Quistis didn't think that was such a wonderful idea, but she couldn't interfere. She was having too much fun watching Sacred's face turn several shades of scarlet. Deep, deep scarlet. Sacred roared again.
"NOOO! MY NAME IS SACRED, ONE OF THE BROTHERS, IMBECILE! WE ARE MORE POWERFUL THAN YOU!" Seifer's smirk grew broader from the taunt. He leaned back off his gunblade, then raised it to point right at Sacred.
"Then invite your brother in here and I'll fight both of you."
"I'M NOT GOING TO DISTURB MY BRO. WE'LL SETTLE THIS HERE, NOW." Without warning Sacred swung his mace at Seifer, who quickly twisted out of the way and struck at the exposed left side. Sacred danced away, leaving him with a mere flesh wound, and struck again. The blow caught Seifer in the ribs, causing a sickening crack. Quistis found herself crossing her fingers, wishing him luck. He cast Cure, then cast Protect upon himself. Sacred struck the wounded side, but the damage was reduced by the Protect spell. Seifer faked to the right, then struck Sacred's wounded left side. Sacred roared in pain, then countered with an Quake.
Seifer stumbled back to his feet, and cast Cure. Sacred struck again, knocking Seifer flat on his rear once again. Seifer closed his eyes, and stayed in that position for a moment, summoning Ifrit.
"Quistis, question," he hissed as he put all his will into summoning Ifrit.
"Shoot," she said casually.
"Is my objective to defeat him or both of them?"
"Both of them."
"I was afraid you'd say that. Oh well, I can take them." A light surrounded him, signaling the end of the summoning. He disappeared, momentarily displaced in whatever realm it was that belonged to the Guardians as Ifrit appeared to answer his summon. Sacred seemed to be weakened, but the power of the earth allowed him to regain a small portion of his health.
"SHIT!" Seifer cursed. "He has a Regen spell!" He put his hand up toward the creature. "Dispel!" Sacred just grinned ferally as the spell missed him. Quistis shook her head. No, no, he's earth-based. Don't you remember anything from this afternoon...?
"Oh shit," Seifer hissed again. "Where is the spell coming from! Fire Cross!" he added, noticing he was low on health. He cast a Firaga spell at Sacred, then raced in for a rough gunblade slash. Sacred recoiled in pain. Sacred beat the earth with his mace, causing Seifer to be unbalanced. He hit the floor hard, then stumbled to his feet.
"Curaga," he hissed, and the warm, healing light engulf him. When it died away he raised his gunblade with his newly regained strength. "Tornado!" he shouted, raising his hand at the guardian. The powerful winds whirled around Sacred, lifting him up and dropping him again. The guardian shook itself, then jumped up, screeching at the top of his lungs, which was very loud indeed.
"OW! OKAY, YOU'RE GONNA GET IT! MY BIG BRO'S GONNA HEAR ABOUT THIS!" he screamed, racing away at lightning speed. Seifer cast Cura, the sat down on the abandoned pedestal. Quistis sat down next to him as he caught his breath.
"Not bad," she admitted. Seifer just looked at her wearily.
"What do you mean, not bad? I spent most of that battle sitting on my ass!"
"Well, aside from that." Quistis was starting to enjoy this. Seifer didn't need to know that when they'd come through here three of them had fought, not just Squall. But she was enjoying her teasing a little too much. Maybe that's why they think I'm not a good instructor. Or maybe Seifer and I are better friends than student and instructor. Just like at the orphanage.
"Are you ready to move on yet?"
"Yeah, I'm good." He pushed himself up, and shouldered his gunblade. "Wait a minute. I need to have a plan." He looked into space thoughtfully. He seemed to be really thinking. He paced back a forth for a few minutes, swinging his gunblade up and down on his shoulder. Finally, he stopped.
"I've got it. I lowered the bridge for that place in the center, didn't I? No, don't answer that, I'm not gonna stop now. All I have to do is cross it, face the guardian, and we'll be able to leave." He started out the passage, Quistis following him.
"Now if only I knew which way to go..." she heard him mutter under his breath.
Seifer had had enough of this stupid tomb. The puzzle was practically impossible, and the Blobras were really starting to get on his nerves. It seemed as though for every one he killed five more popped up. He leaned against a wall for a moment to recover. Quistis stopped beside him, not even breaking a sweat. Oh, you're enjoying this, Quistis, I can tell. He didn't say anything aloud, though. His victory would be enough.
Finally he saw a familiar landmark - the skeleton he'd passed on his way toward the water area. He turned around, and walked straight at the next two intersections, and found himself once again at the water. This time, however, there was a bridge spanning the gap. Seifer strode across the expanse, but paused before the door. He once again went through his mental checklist and, upon finding everything still in order, walked into the room with confidence.
It was dimly lit, with a stone tomb at the far end. Well, that explains the name of this place, Seifer thought. He walked right up to it, then stopped with his gunblade pointed at the tomb.
"Hey, Sacred! C'mon out, will ya? Or are you too scared?" A rumble answered his calling. "Let's go already. Or maybe you're really the wimp they say you are." The rumble grew, and Sacred jumped down from the ceiling. In a fluid movement Seifer stepped back and raised his gunblade into the guard position. Sacred glared at him.
"BRO! HERE'S THE ONE WHO INSULTED ME!"
"he's a mere human, bro," said a voice. A small version of Sacred jumped out, although they were slightly different, other than size of course. So this must be Minotaur. Not exactly threatening, is he?
"That's the older brother you had to come crying to?" Seifer asked, laughing. "Why don't you show me what you've got?" Sacred looked at Minotaur, who looked right back at him. They turned in unison to Seifer, and their faces were mirrors in that instant. They were ready to wreak havoc.
"agreed," Minotaur said. He raised his mace, and charged Seifer, who quickly dodged the blow. However, Minotaur left no change for Seifer to get him with the same trick he had his brother. He jumped away again, faster than anyone Seifer had ever seen. I think I may have miscalculated here... He quickly cast Protect, then Cure. He couldn't afford to lapse too low in health, as that could be deadly during battle. Sacred and Minotaur raised their maces in unison, and sent them crashing to the ground.
"Mad Cow!" they called, and the force knocked him flat, something that had happened entirely too much today. He jumped to his feet, then groaned as their special Regen spells recoverd their health. And I haven't even hit them yet! He ran forward, ducked behind their maces, then slammed them both from beind. They roared in pain and whirled around. Seifer ducked behind the tomb as they swung at his head, and rejuvenated his Protect spell. They jumped on the lid of the tomb, and swung their maces downward. If it weren't for the Protect spell Seifer had no doubt he would be dead. Damn, I'm cornered... Suddenly, an idea came to him. He jumped up.
"Fira!" he shouted. "Fira!" As the flames licked their faces he quickly ran away from the tomb, back out into the open, and swung around to face the enraged brothers as he cast Curaga on himself. They both ran at him, maces raised. All of a sudden Quistis's voice floated through his head from their tutoring this afternoon.
(When battling guardians you have to remember that they are healed from their respective elements, if they have one. For example, when Fire magic hits Ifrit, he's healed. But that doesn't necessarily mean they have to be hit by that spell. If their surroundings are composed of their element, they'll be healed by that. Take an earth-based guardian, for example. They merely have to be on the ground to be cured by the earth.)
They're earth-based! The realizationg slammed into him just as their maces did. He jumped back, and grinned triumphantly. Thank Hyne I have some Float spells... "Float!" he shouted, and felt invisible wings lift him upward. Now let them use their stupid special. "Float! Float!" he said, and both the brothers were lifted in the air. Now we're getting somewhere. And to top things off... He concenrated on the faint buzzing in the back of his brain that was Ifrit, summoning him forth. He could feel their maces hit him, but the guardian absorbed the damage.
"Hell Fire!" he called, before he disappeared. It was always weird to be transported to the realm of the guardians as they took your place on earth. You could sense beings moving about you, but you didn't know quite where they were. It was as though you were the loudest thing there, and were being held aloft for people to look at in amusement as they wandered by, like visiting a zoo. It was decidedly uncomfortable, and Seifer was always glad to leave. He supposed it wasn't too bad for the guardians, but then again they were much more powerful than he was.
He reappeard in the tomb just in time to see Sacred run away. Oh yeah, only one more to go. But Minotaur seemed to have gained his departed brother's strength, added it to his own, then multiplied the sum by a hundred. He attacked with speed and ferocity, and it was all Seifer could do to keep himself cured and keep them both off the ground. There was a sickening thud, and he realized dimly that he was on the ground. He could taste metallic blood in his mouth, and he was sure many bones were broken. Minotaur stood over him, mace ready to come crashing down on him.
I never thought it would end this way... Suddenly Minotaur recoiled in shock, then jumped away. Seifer manuvered himself into a sitting position, and saw Quistis battling the fiend. She flicked her whip, jumped away from the mace, and hit him with a Tornado. As he whirled around Seifer jumped to his feet, feeling his limit break at the edge of his conscious. As Minotaur landed Seifer charged, having the element of surprise.
"Fire Cross!" he shouted, and cast a Firaga. Then he whirled his gunblade around, and smacked Minotaur. The guardian groaned, and threw him aside like a sack of potatos.
"Cura," Seifer whispered, and felt the warm light engulf him, seeping into his very being, healing him, although it wasn't completely and totally. He jumped up, hoping to make the best of it, but immediately fell back down as a wave of nasuea slammed into him like a rampaging Ruby Dragon.
He glanced up, and saw Quistis' guardian, Diablo, finish Minotaur with one super powered gravity sphere. Quistis stopped for a moment, breathing in and out. She cast cure, then hurried over to where he lay. She knelt down and looked Seifer straight in the eye.
"Are you all right?" she asked, looking at him in concern. He nodded.
"Yeah, I'll be fine." He looked down at his feet a moment, suddenly feeling very nervous. Well, he'd just have to bite the bullet. He looked back up at her.
"Thanks for your help." She smiled graciously, not making a big deal out of it the way Zell would, yet grateful for the slight sacrifice of a part of the dignity and pride he'd always hidden behind.
"You're welcome." Minotaur and Sacred walked up to them, and Minotaur tossed a green stone at Quistis' feet.
"here's our guardian stone, used to summon us. when you call us we'll answer." They left without a whisper. Seifer, tired of the oppressing heat and stale air that seemed to permeate from the tomb itself, walked back outside, into the courtyard. He sat down beside the water, and took a moment to breath in some fresh air. He looked between the trees, and saw the streaks of light that always accompanied sunset starting to appear on the horizon. Quistis came out a moment later, tossing the green stone up and down in her hand. She stopped in front of him, and looked down. She held out the stone, which sparkled despite the faint light, as though it had a will of it's own.
"Here," she said. Seifer looked at it, stunned.
"But...I failed your test. I shouldn't recieve this." It killed him to be offered a Guardian and refuse it, but he really wanted to earn it. For the first time in a long time he actually wanted to do something right. Hyne, maybe I'm really changing. Quistis smiled at him, as though she could guess his thoughts. And maybe she could. She'd always known was was going on with him.
"Seifer, I set you up with an impossible test to get you to start studying. But the reason I chose this place was because I wanted you to learn my lession about finesse and politics. I think you have, as you've demonstrated here from your figuring out the maze, from the knowledge you remembered about their strengths and weaknesses. In a sense, there were two tests. I think you passed the most important one. I'm offering this to you as your reward." She offered the stone to him again, and this time he accepted it. He reached his mind into the stone, junctioning the Brothers. He smiled as the power filled him, making him stronger.
"Just remember, you still lost the gamble. You have to study, and study hard. Or I'll come after you with Diablo, and he's always really angry at something and looking for someone to vent his anger on," she threatened, shaking her finger at him the way a parent would. He grinned, amused, and nodded. Then jumped up off the ground, sheathed his gunblade, and started out onto the bridge. Then something made him stop.
"Squall had the Brothers, I remember that... I bet he did better than I did, huh?" Quistis smiled at him, but this time it was a smile that was genuinely warm.
"Actually, two of us went with him. Naturally, only two of our group could've taken them, but there was a third for support, to do the mundane stuff like recasting status spells."
"I guess I didn't do too bad after all." Seifer walked out of the shadow dappled courtyard and into the darkening sunset sky toward Deling, feeling much better about the day. He started whistling faintly to himself, something he'd never done before. But then again, he'd never had a reason to before.
In fact, I was pretty damn good.
ShadowMecha: No, it's just a clock...