Disclaimer: Square owns them.
Had fun at Squall and Rinoa's expense this chapter. My apologies to them. I needed something that wasn't so somber. Really, who wants to cry their eyes out when they know it will be a happy ending?
Put your arm down.
11.
Squall sighed as he looked at the two very capable SeeDs, Xu and Nida, who had not done something that seemed capable, and was listening to their excuse of why the capable and suddenly turned incapable. "You couldn't find it?" he asked, sadly. Zell was in his room and had been crying since he entered Garden, and while he figured Zell would just take the body and cry over it some more, it was still fair to bring the body. Now there was no body, and Squall didn't feel like explaining that, not like Squall really felt anything anyway.
Xu shook her head. "I'm sorry, Squall," she stated, and she did genuinely mean it. "There was lots of blood in the kitchenette, but there was a huge fire that an ice spell couldn't put out."
"We backed out for our own safety," Nida stated. "You told us not to compromise that."
Squall nodded, sighing and sat down in his chair. "Did you see J-ran anywhere?"
Xu shook her head. "He always escapes. He's always trying to bring Ultimacia back, but he knows our movements like we do. It's unnerving." Squall agreed, trying to show emotion, but it was hard after years of trying not to. The two SeeDs saluted and then exited the room.
Squall sighed and rubbed his eyes. This was starting to get uglier and uglier.
There came a gentle knock on the door, and Squall made a grunt. The door opened and Cid entered in, the red fuzzy vest replaced by a new blue one. "Zell's in his room still," he told Squall. "Not even Edea can coax him out." Cid sighed. "I didn't think he'd ever feel this strongly for Seifer."
"It doesn't strike me as odd," Squall responded, failing to note that seldom things did due to his incapacity to feel. "He's always had strong feelings, and towards Seifer especially. I wonder if their fighting was nothing more than elementary school attraction."
Cid nodded, wiping his glasses on a tissue he carried in his pocket. "It was a good strike against this faction, Squall. You did it for the best of everyone. Don't regret it."
"I don't," Squall stated harshly.
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(one day, Delta will figure this out. Until that day, she will be stuck frustrated.)
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Zell didn't feel like moving, or eating, or crying. Seifer's coat covered his body as he lay on his bed, head poked out of the collar. He faced the door, so he could yell at whoever interrupted his silence to leave.
He smiled at his thoughts. He was still wishing Seifer was here, wishing this was Seifer instead of his coat. How sad he must have looked, he thought, waiting for a dead man to come in and find him with red, puffy eyes and a tired posture.
Sleep wouldn't find him and take his pain away; it hadn't for hours. Zell kept wondering if his hands were still bloody, but he didn't check. He hadn't even replaced his shirt. Eerily the wish came back to him, the one he had made at the Ritual.
/I wish to love you freely…/
I didn't mean this! Zell cried out in his thoughts, though his tears were long exhausted of their supply. I didn't want you to die!
There was a sudden fire on his chest. Hyne be damned, it felt like brimstone had been sewn into it. Zell writhed, spasaming at random angles with random limbs. It was pain, blinding pain and Zell could barely breathe. Zell was forced up and fell back, his body deciding the best way to deal with the pain was to pass out.
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Someone was kissing him. Zell relished in the kisses before he allowed his eyes to flutter open. There was a scar, he noted, between two eyes. His face broke into a grin.
"Hey, Seifer," he whispered, not wanting to shatter the moment. Wrapping his arms around the older blonde, he continued whispering. "I had a horrible dream."
"Did you?" Seifer asked him, tracing his tattoo with hurt eyes. Zell looked into his eyes and refused to see the hurt, the pain. He didn't want to focus on that. He pulled Seifer's face closer to his, kissing it gently.
Seifer responded, almost kissing him needily. Seifer pulled back and Zell continued. "I dreamed you were dead. You killed yourself and I watched you die."
Seifer nuzzled his neck. "What an odd dream," he agreed. Zell sighed. This was perfect- Seifer was alive, Seifer was in his arms, and they were together in a place far away from everyone.
Speaking of which…
The scenery held a grassy hill, and trees. There was also a river and clear sky, but the river was fuzzy and Zell couldn't make out the color of the sky.
"Where are we?" he asked.
Seifer shrugged and kissing him hesitatively. Zell gave a giggle and Seifer continued, kissing on Zell's ear, which was something new. It was too ticklish, and Zell didn't feel much like playing. Tugging on Seifer's jacket, he managed to get the scarred blonde's attention and murmured his request. "Seifer…I want you." The words were heated, but still soft, just like the colors in the background. The ex-knight's breath inhaled shakily and Zell unzipped Seifer's shirt for him. "I want you inside me," he clarified.
"I can't," Seifer responded weakly, suddenly pulling off Zell. "I'll hurt you."
"You 'can't'?" Zell almost yelled in surprise. "I'm your lovely, and you can't because you'll hurt me?" Seifer's eyes were confused and afraid, an excuse trying to find its way past his lips. "Tell me my name," Zell asked, quieter.
Seifer looked hopeless. "I…I don't know," he admitted.
Zell felt heartbroken and gathered himself in a ball. "Oh," he stated simply, and the river and sky melted and swirled together as he woke up with a start.
Griever was staring at him, more man than lion at the moment. Zell gave a gasp and Griever smiled, shaking his head. "No harm comes to my Uncles," he stated simply.
"Uncle?" Zell asked, the voice familiar. "Wait…you were inside my head?"
"And you can summon me," Griever stated. "Though I would ask you from doing so. I come to you for a request."
Zell nodded, still not sure if this was real or not. "Why now? Don't you exist beyond time and space?"
Griever looked forlorn for a second, then chuckled, patting Zell's head. "Silly Uncle," he said in an almost child-like manner. Zell blinked stupidly. "I can be summoned by you now, though I am not in your head. I wish…you would not summon me, not unless your life is in danger."
Zell shook his head. "I…I don't think I would. You blessed…us."
Griever's head cocked like a cat's, and then nodded. "That's right. You and Seifer." Zell cringed and Griever's eyes widened. "Oh. He's not here, is he?"
Zell shook his head, clutching the coat. Griever sat next to him, somehow calming the blonde. "What did he tell you?"
"Someone had to be Ultimacia," Zell stated. "And she was really something. He just…just got to really…before he-" Zell broke off into sobs, and Griever held the blonde, though it was more distant than when Seifer had held him.
"Ah. And…have you felt a pain, Zell? A hideous pain that blinds you?" Zell nodded and his eyes grew wide.
"He's alive!" Zell shouted, hugging Griever with more force than when he had ever hit or kicked the GF. Griever attempted to get air, and when that failed, hissed weakly.
"Yes. That's a trick the spell has. If he cheats, it not only hurts him and whomever he's cheating with, it hurts you- physically." Griever pushed Zell onto the bed. "But he is not cheating, Uncle, I promise. Things are not as they seem."
Zell was rocking back and forth with happiness, and Griever sighed. Uncles. "Zell. No summoning me."
Zell nodded, happily singing a song about meadows and flowers and kisses and Seifers. Griever washed his paw, knowing exactly what would occur to Zell and when.
"Wait. Uncle?" Zell asked. "Are we…related?" His eyes were big and blue and huge, and Griever gave a wicked grin.
"Not by blood," he stated, turning into smoke. "But we become close." With that, he disappeared around Zell.
Zell kissed the coat.
Seifer was alive, and damnit, that was all that mattered.
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After his incident with Griever, Zell had clambered into the library (much to the library girl's personal delight). He tried looking up all sorts of things about GFs, or Ultimacia, but it was limited to magazine articles or legends, nothing that helped him.
He rubbed his eyes, looking at the clock. Sighing, he realized the library closed two hours ago. He got up and there was a squeak as the library girl realized she'd been drooling.
"Hey," he stated. "um…" he rubbed the back of his head. "Thanks for lettin' me stay and all." He offered a smile, partly in embarrassment, and she simply nodded and watched him go.
He exited the room, standing in the main lobby and stared at the dolphins. Dolphins, just like his kick. Zell looked at them in almost awe.
"It is good to see you are up, ya know?" came a voice, and Zell turned to see Raijin and Fujin. "You looked so down."
"AGREED," Fujin stated, kicking the staff-fighter for no real reason other than he was there and he was to be kicked.
Zell shrugged. "I…I was told good news," he admitted. "But…I can't prove it yet."
Fujin glared at Raijin, who shrugged. "You win, ya know? Fujin said," Raijin explained, "That Seifer wasn't dead yet, because he's too stubborn to die, ya know?"
Zell nodded, though his heart still ached at the sight of Seifer wounded by his own hands.
"Squall!" A voice screeched, high and frilly. The commander hit the elevator button immediately. Rinoa glared and waves of power forced the doors open and Squall out.
"I say gossip," Fujin whispered to the two, and she and Raijin sneaked behind a potted plant, Raijin the biggest fern and Fujin up in a tree. That explained why all the juicy gossip seemed to have no source, Zell decided, sneaking into the fountain and jumping onto the dolphin fountain.
"I'm pregnant," Rinoa stated a little softer. Squall stood emotionless, not due to practice, but due to a lack of knowledge at which emotion to choose from. She growled. "Say something."
"Are you sure it's me?" Squall asked suddenly, angry. "You sleep with lots of things!"
"What?" She yelled. "Look here, just because you pull out doesn't mean it's a failsafe!"
"At least I don't ask a dog to finish the job!" Squall shot back.
Rinoa fired a thundaga at him. "Well, he's satisfying!" she retorted. Zell restrained the urge to throw up. Gossip or too much information?
Squall coughed blood and sparks for a full minute, and Fujin and Raijin wisely used the time to escape. Zell, however, was stuck in the pool Squall was upchucking the sparks into, so he stayed and waved goodbye. Raijin started to call out goodbye, but Fujin kicked him again.
"How do you know it's mine then?" the commander asked.
"Because I've never gotten pregnant with Angelo! Not once!" Ewww. Sick, Zell decided, picturing Seifer naked in his head rather than listen to the pictures Rinoa was handing him.
"Keep it quiet," Squall told her, and Rinoa slapped him.
"Squall, my power is going to go haywire soon! People will know, and we can't abort it!"
Squall shrugged and walked off, and Rinoa screeched behind him. Zell continued with the naked pictures until the sparks died down, and jumped off. Stretching, he decided it was time for bed- maybe those naked pictures would come in handy. Besides, it was really the next day, and that meant almost nobody was up. He took a step.
Hands shot out from the darkness, trying to place something on his mouth. Zell struggled as a cloth covered it, and a voice came from behind him. "J-ran will be pleased," the man behind him said. Zell pretended to go limp, deciding not to tell the man that he could breathe through his nose and his grip was incredibly weak. The man chuckled as Zell fell into his arms, placing the bottle down. He picked Zell up with both hands-
And Zell flipped him over, getting a good look at his attacker. "Nida?" Zell shouted. (1) The shout sent several SeeD running to his position, one being Squall.
"I wondered who the leak was," Squall stated grimly, and the guards pulled Nida to his feet.
Zell leaned back. Bedtime.
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Zell stared at the pilot as Nida withheld his information from J-ran. Squall rubbed his nose and looked at Zell. "You up for this?"
"I'd rather not interrogate him," Zell responded, and Squall sighed.
"We'll give you an hour," Squall told him, and there was a sudden burst from the dorms. "What now?" Squall demanded, and Xu rushed up to the office.
"Sir, it's Rinoa. She's suddenly started spewing waters and frogs." Squall pounded his head on the desk and Zell felt a cold chuckle from Griever. "Sorceresses," Squall muttered.
Nida gave an evil grin as Squall walked away. Though Nida was still in cuffs, Zell suddenly found the situation to be frightening. "I'm supposed to give you to J-ran at four," he stated, almost cooing. Zell shook his head.
"Nida, I'm not going back."
"We need you," Nida stated, grinning. "When the knight's gone his lovely will do, right?" Zell didn't bother correcting Nida on the subject. "We just need Griever."
Zell sat down, staring at him. Nida captured his eyes, and Zell couldn't find it in himself to look away. "Griever holds the key to our Mistress," Nida sated smoothly, and Zell felt his will starting to waver.
"So?"
"Wouldn't you like to see Seifer again? She can do that for you," Nida told him, the same whispering tone of voice that seemed to be familiar. /forget me./ Zell blinked, coherent thought coming and going. That explains why we forgot this creepy guy…
"I can see Seifer?" Zell realized, and he jumped out of his chair. Nida chuckled and Zell realized how stupid he'd been.
"Do you want to know where?" Nida cooed, and Zell nodded. "Why, at the car shop in the capital. Tell him I sent you."
Zell shot out the door and into Irvine. The two toppled over into a very awkward position, Zell almost in Irvine's crotch, and Selphie squealed far too high-pitched in delight. "See! I told you he'd be himself in a day!"
The two got up a little shaken, and Zell remembered where he was going. "Gotta go, Selphie," he stated, and Irvine held him by the jacket.
"Hold on there, partner," Irvine stated lazily. "What are you in a hurry for?" Selphie jumped up and down as Zell explained just about everything.
"So I've gotta meet J-ran at four," he stated, and Selphie clapped her hands together.
"I know! Let's bomb the place!"
Zell gave an eyebrow and Irvine gave a grin. "That's a great idea, Sephy!" he remarked.
"I'd be in there," Zell interjected, but Selphie had continued.
"We can wire you to make sure we've got the right place!" Selphie continued, and Zell let himself be led to the explosives room. He was glad for a moment he had such cool friends.
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It was four, but no sign of J-ran. Zell sighed. Perhaps Nida had been wrong. As he'd gone down to the explosives room Squall had yelled at him for letting a prisoner be left unattended. Zell couldn't help it; he'd see Seifer again, and that's what was important.
"Well, well. All by yourself?"
Zell looked up to see J-ran as he slinkily sat next to the Martial Artist. "Hello to you, too," he remarked. J-ran picked up Zell's hands.
"And in your Biker gloves! Oh, little SeeD, you shouldn't have!" J-ran pretended to be exited, and then cast a scan. "Unjunctioned, too? Why, you're just asking to be captured!" J-ran suddenly swung himself over Zell's lap and Zell glared, knowing there was no way J-ran could touch him still.
"Where's Seifer?" Zell demanded. J-ran sighed, as if it were such a frivolous manner.
"Oh, your lover. He's not the same," he stated with a dangerous smirk. "I'd say he's a… completely different person."
Zell threatened to punch him and J-ran chuckled, placing his chin on Zell's shoulder. "You know…I always wanted to have you like this, our positions reversed." He gave another sigh. "But it's too late now, and I suppose it's sleepy time."
Zell growled. J-ran chuckled, running a hand over Zell's chest. Zell winced. This was slightly painful.
"Oh, oopsies," J-ran commented like a school girl. "I forgot." He snapped his fingers and lots of bodyguards emerged, and J-ran's eyes glinted dangerously. "He'll like my catch, don't you think?"
Zell suddenly held J-ran's throat. "I could kill you," he stated angrily, and J-ran laughed again, though the laugh was not strong from the lack of air.
"But…I'm the one you need…to let you see him…" J-ran stated and Zell threw him to the ground.
"No spells," Zell commanded. "Or I'll just ask Nida."
J-ran's face flickered in rage and Zell supposed it was stupid to have said anything about Nida. "Our Nida? Oh, he must have tried to capture you. That probably didn't end up well. He always had his head in the clouds." J-ran took Zell's hand. "Come, Come, then. Into the car we go!" He pulled on Zell's arm, and Zell hoped this was the right move.
"Oh, yes, I'll have you know I'm no longer in charge," J-ran added joyfully. "So don't come to me with more complaints."
But before he could say anything else, sleep was cast on him and he dropped to the ground.
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Zell was aware of his head aching. He was in shakles, he realized, though in the same clothes, and with the wire beating against his chest as he breathed. It was a dark cell, and two men stood guard as several prisoners gave off cries for pity and mercy.
"She does not do mercy," one guard stated. "So this is preparation."
Zell looked around, trying to figure out where he was. He was chained to other people, some men, some women, some animals, some children. The malboro next to him licked his face in approval of his shacklemate and Zell shivered.
"He won't hurt you," a guard said, laughing. "He doesn't have any status effects yet. Too young."
With this information Zell turned to the green thing next to him. "Hey," he stated, and the malboro squealed happily, licking Zell some more.
"Prisoner call," a guard stated, walking into the room. "Zell," he started. Zell blinked.
"Um…that was rather efficient," he remarked as the guards helped him to his feet. He still felt a little weak, but now he just wanted to see Seifer.
"That's how She likes it," the guard stated, dragging Zell into the hall. Zell allowed himself to be lead into a room, with J-ran introducing other prisoners. He clapped his hands as he saw Zell.
"This one I captured for you," J-ran stated to the man next to him.
Zell's heart stopped as he got a good look at the blonde before he was dropped to the ground.
Seifer glared down at him with ice-cold green eyes. His face twisted into a sneer. "So what?" he asked, and Zell's heart shattered.
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Ohoho, I'm mean, leaving you all with that! But, I get reviews, and let's face it people, I like them! I'm not really thrilled with this chapter, but it does what it needs to do and I'm glad for that fact.
Another mean ending. Yay! Oh, wait, boo.
Here's your 1. Remember Nida saying he passed the exam with Squall, Zell and Selphie? Well, the only guy who did that was the creep-o who mumbled over taking over Garden! So I'm always befuddled why he suddenly had a personality change to a pilot. Maybe Nida wasn't that guy at all, maybe he was invisible. But shucks, I was looking forward to seeing Nida conquer garden!
Oh, yes, I really apologize for the Rinoa and Squall bashing. It was completely inappropriate.
But it was fun. XD.
