Well, it's been a while. This is just something that popped into my head the other day. I was discussing Seifer's fate after the game with someone, and this is one possible scenario we came up with. Enjoy.
And of course, I don't own the characters or world. Square-Enix does.
Killer of Killers
Seifer held a pair of binoculars to his eyes, looking for the movement he had seen a moment ago. He zoomed in on the crest of a small hill, a clear spot of grass between two patches of woods.
He saw figures moving casually, unworried, walking in two parallel lines. He counted six people in dark uniforms, carrying an exotic array of weapons. His eyes rested on the point man, a wiry young girl carrying a spear. She was the only one of the two squads who looked nervous.
So young, he thought. She must've just passed her SeeD exam.
He swung the binoculars to the rear of the group, focusing on the last of the SeeD's. The one closest to him carried a rifle, the only one in the group with a firearm. At this range, he posed the most immediate threat.
Seifer smiled wickedly and lowered his binoculars, putting them on the dirt next to him. He grabbed his own rifle, a large and bulky Galbadian model. He had never liked guns; to him, they were a coward's weapon. Unfortunately, he had found that they were necessary to even the odds. Despite this, he liked the way this rifle felt in his hands, solid and menacing.
He slid two metal braces out from the side of the barrel, forming a bipod on the end of the gun with the sharp crack of a latch falling into place. He laid down in the dirt, resting the bipod on the front of the ledge he was hiding on.
The scope on the rifle was not as sharp as the binoculars. It took him a few seconds to find the group of SeeD's again.
He centered the crosshairs on the SeeD with the rifle. This SeeD was an average looking brunette man. He looked not unlike Irvine. Seifer couldn't figure out if this was disturbing or strangely appropriate.
A small green number displayed on the scope's lens, reporting the approximate distance to the target. A green circle appeared a few inches to the right of the man's head. The rifle had calculated where Seifer should lead his shot.
Idiot-proof, he thought. Guns are for soldiers. A warrior like himself should face his enemy head-on, in a fair fight.
He had tried that, he thought. And he had almost died. There was a time and a place for everything.
Seifer sucked in his breath and held it, bracing the rifle against his shoulder.
---
The leader of the two SeeD squads walked casually, scanning his surroundings. The six SeeD's moved in a rectangle, three on each side. He was the left middle.
Somehow the rebels had scraped together enough money to hire two SeeD squads. He had wondered about this, but made no complaints. Being the senior of the two leaders, he was now in charge of a double squad. Not a bad thing to have on one's record, especially considering the amazing performance they had given here. Another week or two of operations and this district would be free for a long time.
Not that any of this mattered to him. It was just another mission. For all he knew, he might be working to suppress this rebellion a month from now.
At that moment, he heard a low zing. One of his men, a younger fellow named Sinclair, fell over as if he had been mown over by a car, his head a gory mess. An instant later, they heard the report of the rifle. The two squads instinctively crouched and readied their weapons.
The dead SeeD had fallen to the left, knocked over by the impact of the bullet.
"Contact right!" the leader yelled, preparing a spell. "Guards up! Eyeball the shooter!"
---
Seifer saw them spring into combat mode, like a school of fish, all acting independently and yet taking the same action, simultaneously. Before he could center another target, he saw the glow of magic. The two SeeD's in the middle of the formation were casting, protecting who was left with shield spells.
Sniping was no longer an option. But now he knew which of them were junctioned.
He had to act quickly. It would only take them a few seconds to spot him, and there would be a magical storm of destruction heading his way as soon as they did.
He sprang up, slinging the rifle over his shoulder. He pulled a piton gun from its holster on his boot. Before he had even sighted them he had a rock in mind for this purpose, a solid tower that jutted out from the cliffs and mountains around them, and he aimed the pistol at it now.
The gun jumped in his hand, making a report much quieter than the rifle. A metal cross shot out, trailing a thin steel cord. The reel under the barrel whirred as the line went out. The hook hit the rock and bit in, the cross becoming a claw as the ends dug into the rock wall.
He glanced down at the SeeD's, tiny figures at this distance. They were still in the open. So confident, he thought.
He tugged twice on the line, ensuring it was secure, and then jumped off the ledge. His stomach fluttered as he swung over a canyon of sharp rocks. As he swung, he saw the magic attacks, a cloud of fire and a hazy cloud of frost, flying towards where he had been.
The line carried him into the thick underbrush of the forest on the other side of the canyon. The ledge he had been on exploded just as he landed. He stumbled on impact, tripping and rolling into some bushes, the rifle digging into his back.
He recovered, pulling himself up to his feet using the line. With one push of a button the hook was detached and reeling in.
He breathed deep, clearing his mind. This was the hard part.
---
The squad leader saw the explosion as their two spells hit home, frying and freezing the sniper's perch.
"Did we get him?" the nervous girl with the spear asked.
"No…he jumped down." The younger squad leader, a dark-haired woman, answered.
"Sinclair's dead" the other rear guard said, looking at the body from a few feet away.
"Everyone keep it together." The squad leader ordered. "He made it down to these woods in front of us. We hold position and let him come to us. Let me know if your shell spell runs out."
"How do you know he'll come to us?" the other leader asked.
"He will." The senior leader said. If he is who I think he is, he thought, he will.
---
Seifer moved quickly, crouched low, making his way directly towards the clearing. As he ran, he pulled a canister gun from where it was tucked at the small of his back. He had stolen this little beauty, with a crate of its precious ammo, from a lab in G Garden back when he was the sorceress's knight. A leader of men.
My romantic dream.
He banished memories from his head, remaining focused. The gun broke open at the breech, like a shotgun. It had been almost as large when he found it, but he had cut it down, slicing most of the barrel and the butt off with a hacksaw. Now it was no bigger than a pistol.
He pulled a thick bullet from his vest, a glass cylinder that shined white. He slid it into the barrel and snapped the gun back together. They called it an arc caster round, he remembered. Edea had suggested that he take them, then destroy the records of their existence. He had even personally disposed of the minds who invented them.
His chest burned and his face stung from running through bushes. He sprinted on.
---
"So…what are we gonna do?" the girl with the spear asked, beads of cold sweat standing out on her forehead.
"You ok?" the other pointman asked her, a young man with spiky black hair. "You look too scared. I heard you passed your exam with an A."
"I did." The girl answered, her voice wavering slightly. "It's just…I thought I saw…" she trailed off and turned to the squad leader. "It's him, isn't it?"
The other squad members heard this. All eyes turned to the leader.
"It'll be fine." He waved them off. "You new bloods keep back. Yelena and I are junctioned. As soon as he enters this clearing, he's done."
---
The clearing was up ahead. Seifer held the small gun up in front of his face, breathing heavily. He slowed down, trying to recover his breath a little so his aim would be steady.
He heard voices, and the sun was suddenly brighter as he neared the tree line. He jumped over one last bush and landed just past the edge of the trees. Five SeeD's snapped their eyes to him, and the two in the middle drew their hands up to throw his death at him.
The woman was closest to him. He leveled the canister gun and fired.
The round hit the magical barrier around her and cracked to pieces, releasing a cloud of what looked like bright white tendrils of electricity. They wrapped around her and she screamed, suddenly tense. The light arced over to the man behind her, an older man who was probably the leader, and he grunted as they jolted into his body, crackling. Everyone else shielded their eyes.
Seifer heard the crackling dissipate and lowered his hand from his eyes just in time to see two faded shapes drifting up from the two formerly junctioned SeeD's. One was a demon that looked like a frog, looking surprised as it faded away into thin air. The other was a woman with pointed ears, who looked mournful as she also drifted up and faded out of sight. The SeeD woman fell to her knees, gasping. The squad leader staggered, holding his head, looking like he was in severe pain. Seifer's skin tingled; the air felt alive with electricity, and with a low crackling the shells around the SeeD's faded out.
In that moment, they went from being five invincible warriors to five easy targets.
Seifer dropped the canister gun and unslung the rifle, bringing it up to his shoulder in one smooth motion. The scope adjusted itself, zooming out to give him a perfect view of the woman SeeD down the barrel.
There were two sharp cracks! He shot her in the chest just as she was staggering to her feet, her body flying into the dirt. He turned slightly and fired two more shots, sending the squad leader spinning into the ground before he had recovered from the arc cast.
The younger SeeD to his left ran for Sinclair's body. Seifer knew he was going for the dead SeeD's gun and dropped to one knee, letting his own rifle calculate the lead for him. Two more shots in quick succession sent the fourth SeeD to his death a foot away from the first to die.
The young man with spiky hair dove for the edge of the clearing, while the girl raised her spear to throw it, letting out an anguished battle cry that was a mixture of anger and terror. Seifer dove and rolled over one shoulder as the spear went sailing through where he had been. He came back to his feet with his rifle pointed right at the girl's chest.
Crackcrack!
She flew backwards, dead before she hit the ground, her face streaked with tears.
The last SeeD had disappeared into the trees. Seifer stood tense and still for a moment, recovering his breath. He quickly counted over in his head and realized he had one shot left. He considered the risk in reloading with one target still left alive.
Had he run? Was he looping around to catch Seifer on the flank?
Seifer stood up and moved back, out of the clearing, concealing himself just beyond the treeline. He planned to loop right and catch up to the survivor. He couldn't let someone escape after seeing the ace up his sleeve.
The bushes on the opposite edge of the clearing rustled, and he froze.
---
The young SeeD swallowed hard and steadied his breath. He had been told in the past that he was brave, to a fault; he had been told that he was a bit of a brash fool.
He stepped into the clearing, drawing his swords. He carried a katana and a shorter version of the same, two companion weapons made for each other.
He knew the man who single-handedly slaughtered his squad was still there. He had heard stories, also, and read official reports warning the new SeeD's what to do if they were to discover this man.
At this moment, he was failing to listen to these warnings.
He took a few steps into the clearing.
"Coward." He said loudly.
---
Seifer heard this and was startled. He had been just about to blow the man's head off with his last bullet. In fact, he had been chuckling at the courage of this fool.
The word struck him somehow. He winced as the young man continued.
"I call you coward." The SeeD yelled. "I understand not being able to stand against a junctioned warrior. But you shot down others who had no magic. You are nothing."
Seifer dropped the rifle to the ground. He realized that this was dumb. He realized that the person he was now should just shoot this ingrate and go home to a healthy reward.
And yet…
He would later realize that he was worried the kid was right. Part of him did think his methods were cowardly. Most of him realized that this type of cowardice meant survival. He still chafed under it, relishing the thrill of the duel.
He slowly walked into the clearing, drawing his blade.
---
To the SeeD's great surprise, Seifer walked out into the clearing.
Seifer wore short black combat boots and brown pants, with large pockets on the legs. His vest was also black, and thick, made of layers of synthetic armor, with grenades, knives, and various other objects clipped to it. He wore a grey shirt under his vest, rolled up past the elbows, and black leather gloves. His gunblade hung low on his belt. A large scrap of white cloth hung down his back from one shoulder, a fraying fire cross still emblazoned on it, all that remained of his infamous coat.
The fallen knight glared at the SeeD, green eyes burning past the scar that crossed between them. He approached to within ten feet of the SeeD, and struck a combat stance, the blade straight in line towards the young SeeD's face.
"Come." Seifer growled, grinning savagely.
---
The young man yelled and charged, two blades flashing in front of him. Seifer sidestepped and swept a blow across his blades, clearing them to the side. He swung his blade around to hit but the young man ducked and parried his gunblade out, throwing him momentarily off balance.
Damn… Seifer thought, I'm rusty…
He recovered quickly, blocking the SeeD's counterattacks. The younger man attacked frantically, screaming, his face twisted in rage. Seifer retreated, parrying each attack purposefully, letting the SeeD run his fury dry.
A young swordsman has speed and strength, but an experienced fighter knows exactly what a young swordsman will do, when he will do it, and how to counter it. Seifer played defensive, knowing the SeeD would overextend. Against two fast blades, it was his best tactic.
And it worked. The SeeD pressed one attack too hard, frustrated at being parried over and over. Seifer beat the blade out and made a pass by the SeeD, bringing his blade through the man's thigh. Seifer chuckled and turned as the SeeD staggered, limping now, a deep slash in his leg gushing blood.
The SeeD looked like he was in pain but determined, gritting his teeth and struggling to hold his stance.
Seifer grinned again and advanced. He faked high and the SeeD took the bait, throwing both swords up in a high block. Seifer turned his wrist and swung low, striking another hit a few inches above the first one. The SeeD howled in pain and dropped to the ground, dropping the shorter sword, gasping for air.
Seifer walked in a slow circle around the wounded man, chuckling, tracing the tip of his blade in the dirt. He felt exhilarated, victorious…alive in a way he hadn't in some time. He realized just how long it had been since he had faced someone in personal close-quarters combat, just as he also realized how much he missed it.
He stopped in front of the SeeD, bringing his blade up in front of his face. He saluted the young man.
"You were pretty good. I'll give you that. It's a shame you'll never learn all the lessons I have." Seifer said, preparing himself to murder the wounded man.
---
Yelena tried to breath and couldn't, her mind almost shattering in pain. She tried to move, shakily raising her torso.
She could see Davis, sitting on the ground, bleeding. The one she knew as Almasy was standing in front of Davis with a gunblade, saying something. All Yelena could hear were her own choking, halting attempts to breathe.
She struggled to move her arm, reaching into the jacket of her uniform. She pulled out a small, damp lily pad, a bit of plant life that magically survived in her pocket.
With her last breath, she tossed it to Davis. Her head fell back, her body stiffened, and she died.
---
Seifer was focusing on the man he was about to kill, so it was some surprise to see him catch something. Something thrown to him. By who? he wondered.
There was a slight tingle in the air for a moment, like the field of an electronic appliance. Davis sprang to his feet, surrounded by a soft blue glow as the Guardian Force was junctioned into his consciousness. The hand holding the lily pad glowed green, and the wounds on his leg healed in fast motion, the blood all around him looking slightly comical now that it had no discernible source.
Seifer scowled and rushed forward to stab, his blade held out. There was a blur and then immense pain, and Seifer reeled backwards, feeling his temple throb from some unseen blow.
FUCK he thought, fuck, fuck, fuck, he's junctioned his speed up…
Seifer held his blade up blindly and struggled to open his eyes. When he did, he saw the SeeD, looking much more confident, ready to fight in front of him. Seifer fell into his stance and immediately began retreating as a blur attacked him, metal clanging against his gunblade with dizzying speed.
He was in the middle of a desperate parry when there was suddenly nothing in front of him. He turned left and felt a blade cut into his back, and he cried out in pain. He staggered and stumbled.
It's not too bad, the vest caught most of it.
He turned just in time to see a blur attacking again, feebly throwing up his gunblade in a hopeless defense. The blade was wrenched from his hand and he felt another slice, this time through his left arm. He growled and grit his teeth just in time to see the sole of a boot rush towards his face.
He saw nothing for a moment, but felt his body fly back and down. He opened his eyes and saw white pinpoints of light, blinding at first, diminish to nothing. The SeeD was walking up towards him, normal speed now, holding the katana high in both hands, point down.
The SeeD laughed as he moved closer. Seifer tasted blood, coughed, and felt warm liquid spill out onto his chin. He tried to scramble backwards, his legs like bags of sand.
"I wonder what everyone will say." The SeeD said, "When I report that I have slain the biggest monster of them all."
The SeeD tensed to stab, and Seifer smiled as he remembered something. Seifer's hand shot down to the holster on his ankle. As the sword came down, he raised the piton gun and fired.
The SeeD flew backwards, his face an anguished mess of shock. The katana went flying, and Seifer heard a sickening crunch as the claws of the grappling hook dug into the young man's chest. The body landed a few feet away with a thud, throwing up dust, the steel line dropping limply to the ground like some kind of joke.
There was silence, then, for a few moments. Seifer broke it by chuckling a little, his voice wavering. He slowly got to his feet, cradling his wounded arm.
Six bodies lay around him. He considered taking their Gaurdian Forces; he always thought of it, just as he always immediately decided against it. He knew what they did to a person's mind. It was no surprise to him that Garden had significantly scaled back their use.
Still, he thought, They're just making my job easier.
He wondered if Squall would even think of him when he read the casualty report. He wondered if Quistis had trained any of the SeeD's he had just killed. He wondered if Rinoa knew what he was now, if it entered her thoughts whenever she was reminded of him, as she must be from time to time.
He wondered these things, and looked at the bodies. They might have been his comrades, in another life.
He wondered how he had gotten here, a killer of killers, a professional SeeD hunter.
He yelled, and cursed, and cried a little.
So, yeah…that's it. What happened to Raijin and Fujin? I guess that's the beauty of a one-shot – only having to explain part of a whole story. Leave a review if you have any comments, and thanks for reading.