By: Southwest Eggroll
Chapter Eight: Mission Sucks, Too
I am the man of constant sorrow,
I've seen trouble all my days.
SEIFER HAD BEEN A SEED for less than a week when he got called down to the office during the middle of a class. He hoped he had a mission. An interesting one. Because nothing of any interest had gone on since he became part of SeeD. SeeDs were not required to take classes- they could live as bums at Garden so long as they completed their missions- but they could if they wanted to. Seifer had opted not to take classes at all, but within the first two days, the boredom got to him, and he found himself sneaking into Quistis's classes.
And Selphie had been avoiding him. He'd seen so little of her over the week it offended him. He thought maybe the kiss had gone too far- but he knew she enjoyed it. Heck, she started the thing. Seifer's hands clenched involuntarily into fists. The few times he had seen her, she'd been with him. Plane Guy.
Maybe it was just the fact that Pilot had tried to kill Seifer, but Seifer absolutely detested Pilot. Seeing him with Selphie was infuriating. And she laughed- oh, she laughed, like if she didn't laugh, she'd suffocate or something. Watching her giggle and blush and smile at Pilot like she was five made Seifer so mad, he felt like he would blow up any minute...And Pilot couldn't be that funny, could he?
He stepped into the elevator, turned and caught his reflection in the steel doors. He looked mad. Seifer was mad. Because Pilot and Selphie weren't right. As Seifer thought about it, he and Selphie weren't quite right for each other either, but still. Pilot and Selphie did not go, did not compute in his head. Seifer closed his eyes and made himself calm down. Besides, Selphie was just another woman.
Just another woman.
Just another woman.
Just another woman.
He was only trying to get into her pants, and he was getting darn close.
If it weren't for Pilot I'd've done it by now...he thought bitterly. Seifer stepped out of the elevator. Cid, Selphie and Pilot were waiting just outside the Headmaster's office, presumably for him. Pilot looked perturbed, Selphie was seeping excitement, and Cid looked...like he always did.
"Ahh! Mr. Almasy," Cid said, in a business-like tone, "we've been waiting for you! It's about your first mission! An hour or so ago, I got a call from Mayor Dobe, of Fisherman's Horizon. It seems that there's a small rebel uprising taking place just west of the city. Small group, but they're starting fights with the local kids. Mayor Dobe's peace talks just...aren't working, and he's gotten desperate. He's called on us as a last resort. But they're short on cash. You three are in charge of the Garden Festival, correct? Well- I cut a deal with them. You three take care of the rebels, and bring back a half-dozen mechanics to work on your stage. They'll rework the lights, build the stage- you know. Sound good?"
No wonder why Selphie looks like she's going to bust. "Yes, sir. When do we depart?" he asked.
"You'll leave as soon as Mr. Dincht gets the Ragnarok ready," he said. "I'm appointing Selphie squad leader, as she is senior to the both of you. Pilot, Seifer- your job is to support Selphie to your fullest and follow any orders she gives you. Got it?"
Selphie, Pilot and Seifer gave Cid the SeeD salute, just as Zell entered, looking pumped.
"The Ragnarok is ready, uh, sir," Zell said.
Zell hopped into the pilot's seat and bounced in it a few times. He put his hands around the wheel and clicked the button that turned on the intercom.
"This is Captain Zell Dincht speaking, and thank you for choosing Dincht airlines."
"Chickenwuss, we're in the same room-"
"So sit tight while I rev this baby up!"
"-you don't need to use the intercom," Seifer pointed out.
"Oh...uh. Right," Zell said. He clicked the button again, and said in a loud voice, "So one o' you guys can sit here with me, and whoever's left can just sit in the passenger room, alright?"
Pilot, Selphie and Seifer blinked at each other. Pilot smirked.
"Selphie, walk you down to the passenger room?" he asked. Pilot offered her his arm.
She smiled at him. "You're such a gentleman. Of course. C'ya, you guys!"
Arm in arm, Selphie and Pilot took the elevator down. Seifer turned, got into his seat and strapped himself in. Zell turned on the intercom, looking like a kid as he did so.
"You guys tied down yet?"
"Yep!" came the cheery reply. "Hey, no tickling, buddy-" Selphie erupted into a fit of giggles, no doubt caused by Pilot. Seifer gripped the armrests. Just the thought of Pilot touching Selphie made him sick. Angry. Murderous, maybe. Seifer allowed a smirk to grace his feature.
"Man, I can't wait to fly this thing," Zell said excitedly. He put his seat belt on a flipped a few switches. The Ragnarok gave a roar as the engines fired up.
"That's wonderful, Chickenwuss," Seifer said lamely.
"Hey man, what's your problem, huh?"
"None of your business," he bit back.
"Tch, whatever...you're just like Squall."
"Squall, huh? How is the Great and Divine Commander these days?" Seifer quizzed.
Zell shrugged. "Busy, you know how it goes. He deals with a lot of paperwork, and I don't think he likes it all that much. Tch, I wouldn't want to be commander..."
"That's because you're a-"
"Don't. Say it," Zell hissed. He crossed his arms and sat back. The Ragnarok lifted into the air slowly, then accelerated forward.
Seifer smirked. "This is what you call flying? Wuss..."
"Look, you and I are stuck together for the next hour. Can you at least try to be cool?"
Shrugging his shoulders, Seifer replied, "If you say so, Chickenwuss."
"STOP CALLING ME THAT!" Zell shouted, leaning out of his chair. "Gee wiz, man, don't take it out on my just because Selphie and Pilot are together."
"What? What the fuck are you talking about?" Seifer asked.
Suddenly, Zell smiled sheepishly. "Nothin', man. So, do you like Ruby Dragon? I kind of like their music. Gotta punk rock vibe to it-"
"I won't ask again, chicken, what the heck are you talking about?" He gave Zell a look that would've killed him if it were possible.
"N-nothing, I didn't say nothing."
"Chicken..."
"Man...If I tell ya, you promise you want say jack to Quisty?"
"No."
"But-"
"If you don't, I'll slice you in two. And you know I'm completely capable of what I say I'll do."
Zell adjusted his collar. "Well...um...she mentioned that you, uh, might have a 'thing' for, uh, Selphie, and since..."
Seifer chuckled. He leaned back in his chair.
"So it's true?!" Zell asked.
The blonde man smirked and looked at Zell. "A 'thing', huh? I guess you could call it that."
"MAN! I knew you were spending way too much time on the Garden Festival. Tch, should've known..."
"Look, Chickenwuss, you breathe a word of this to Selphie, I'm going to run Hyperion through your stomach. Got it?"
"Whatever. But now I've got something to say to you."
"Oh really? What's that, Zell?"
Zell tilted his chin up and fixed Seifer with an intense look. "You hurt her, I hurt you. I don't care what the fuck you think you're gonna do to me with Hyperion." His lips fell into a not-nice smile. "Got it?"
Seifer was slightly unnerved by the edgy iciness in Zell's tone. He nodded, and then he turned his body forward. Zell flipped a few switches and a punk rock song began playing loudly around him. And he was banging imaginary drumsticks on the control panel. Seifer couldn't believe how quickly that transformation had taken place. One minute, Zell was a Chickenwuss, the next minute, a force to be reckoned with, and now, he looked like a 13 year old kid. Seifer shook his head and looked out the window of the cockpit. It was going to be a long ride, and an even longer mission.
THEY ARRIVED IN FISHERMAN'S HORIZON not much longer than an hour later. Selphie was in the passenger room, with Pilot. It had gotten a little stuffy during the ride, and they were both sitting in their seats next to each other. When the Ragnarok landed, it gave a little jolt. Zell's voice came over the intercom. "We're in Fisherman's Horizon, folks!"
Selphie stood up and stretched her arms and legs. As she did, a small squeal escaped her lips, and Pilot laughed.
"You're so cute," he commented quietly.
"Tee-hee, thanks! Let's get goin', shall we?" she replied.
Pilot shrugged. "They'll come down and get us."
"I understand. I'm so glamorously gorgeous and insanely funny that you want to have me all to yourself, right?" Selphie teased. She was completely kidding.
"Well, yes," came the reply.
Selphie's eyes went big, and her face was overcome with heat. "Oh...I was...I was kidding but, er....thanks."
She sat back down in the chair beside him, feeling unbelievably uncomfortable. The room around them fell silent. Pilot gave a quiet chuckle, and he put his hand over Selphie's.
"When I told you that, I meant it...but I didn't want for you to be uncomfortable around me. It's just that I think you're the most wonderful person I've ever met, and I just might be falling in love with you."
Uh...oh... "Pilot, I-"
"It's okay...I know what you're gonna say. But I'll wait," he said, just as he placed a small kiss on her cheek. Selphie smiled at him.
If a guy sweeter than Pilot exists, I think I'll eat my nunchaku. Selphie sighed and replied, "Thank you."
"Hey, lovebirds," said a deep voice. Selphie turned around. Seifer was leaning on the inside of the door, wearing a smirk on his face. "As much as I'd hate to interrupt your romantic moment, we've got a mission."
Selphie scowled at Seifer. "Jerk..."
Pilot stood up and nodded at Seifer. "Then what're you waiting for?"
FISHERMAN'S HORIZON WAS FOGGY AND cold then, and Selphie felt the air bite at her the minute she stepped off the Ragnarok.
"Geez, it's freezing superly..." she commented. It wasn't five seconds later that Pilot was taking off his jacket and throwing it around Selphie. She pulled the jacket tighter around her, breathing in Pilot's...um...well, it was an extremely clean jacket, and it really just smelled like laundry detergent. She was kind of disappointed. In every romance novel she'd ever read, the hero threw his jacket over the heroine, and the heroine snuggled into it and breathed in the hero's unique scent. She shrugged and said, "Thanks, Pilot."
"So where to, captain?" Seifer said, giving Selphie a very pointed look.
"West of the city! That's where the little uprising is taking place!" she said, pointing 'onward'.
"Shouldn't we let Mayor Dobe know we're here?" Pilot asked.
Selphie shrugged. "Naah...I'm ready to kick some rebel bum! Let's go!"
SEIFER WAS CROUCHED UNCOMFORTABLY IN a few bushes. Selphie and Pilot were next to him, looking through the thicket. From their viewpoint, they could see that a band of about six or seven brigands were crowded around the remains of a campfire. They weren't armed at all- Selphie suspected they were loaded with GFs. Pilot was scratching his ankle. He lost his balance and fell over. Seifer snorted, and Selphie elbowed him.
"So what do you think?" Pilot whispered, once he'd gotten back into his crouching position.
"What kind of a question is that?" Seifer asked.
"What do you mean what kind of a question is that?" Pilot hissed back, quick fury underlining his words.
"I mean-"
"Shut up, both of you!" Selphie whispered loudly as she could. She gave a pointed look to Seifer before continuing. "I think...we'll be able to take them. By the looks of it, none of them are very strong. I could probably take two on my own. We've got the element of surprise on our side, so we can cast Silence on them before they realize anything's wrong. Hmm...This place is flooded with monsters. Even the occasional Malboro, so they might have Silence junctioned to their Status-Defense...but we'll have to take that chance. Ready, guys?"
Seifer blinked at Selphie. That was an incredibly uncharacteristic monologue. She didn't even look like the normal Selphie anymore. She look alert, incredibly professional and calm. Seifer shrugged and nodded, while Pilot said, "Okay".
"On three then..."
"Three!" Seifer shouted, lunging out of his hiding position, already shouting, "Silence!"
"Seifer!" Selphie cried, getting up. Pilot followed, mumbling something about disobedience. Selphie watched as Seifer quickly did away with one of the brigands. He was incredibly quick. As much as she wished she could watch, Selphie tore her eyes away from Seifer so she could cast Cerberus on the three. Pilot was engaged in a rather slow moving fight with another guy- he seemed almost lazy. Like Zell, Pilot fought with his fists. Selphie thought that was odd, since he didn't seem to have the build of a martial artist. With Cerberus cast, Selphie launched into battle.
To her left, two of the rebels were pouncing on Seifer. He was doing a fantastic job of handling them, but Selphie swung her nunchaku and got one on the head. He gave a little noise before falling to the ground. Short one man, the other rebel panicked, and that gave Seifer the opportunity to thwack him with the flat side of Hyperion. His head jerked to the side and he fell to the ground beside his partner.
"Nice work," Selphie cheered, she cast a Curaga on herself and Seifer. As she did, Seifer held up Hyperion, aimed at her and fired.
Selphie gasped and doubled back, panic racing through her veins. /He can't/Why/Does he hate me/Why is that painful/I don't want this/I never got to see Garden Festival/Seifer really isn't like this/I know it/What happened/He was being so perfect/And even now he's still smirking/ Her mind was flooded with a dozen questions that seemed to step on each other. A fraction of a second later, she heard a grunt behind her, and suddenly she was aware of a small blade against her neck, held from behind her.
Someone behind Selphie fell, and the blade slid against the side of her neck. She turned around slowly, her knees shaking. One of the rebels was lying behind, his arms sprawled out. In his hand was a small blade, and there was bullet in his forehead. Selphie took a deep breath, then her hands flew involuntarily to her neck. When he fell, the rebel's knife slid against her neck and made a small gash. Selphie looked down at her blood covered hands. She felt very weak...and then she was on her knees. The world around her was becoming blurry, and her mind was dissolving into clouds.
Seifer was running to her, but he got stopped by another rebel. Selphie smiled at the scene- Seifer was a joy to watch when he was in battle. So completely focused and in his game. She looked around. Pilot was leaning over a body. Selphie wondered why he would do that, but she didn't question it. Instead, she passed out.
SEIFER SAW SELPHIE GO DOWN and fury was pumping through his veins. One of the brigands had stopped him off on his way over, and he was making a somewhat formidable opponent. Seifer dived at him, slashing upwards and firing the gun at the same time. The rebel grunted but dodged the bullet the would've killed him. His heavy armor was now ragged, with cuts everywhere. Seifer took a half of a second to look for Pilot. He was exchanging lazy blows with a rebel. If he would stop fucking around, he could be helping Selphie...
"Fuck," Seifer hissed, as he drew back and cast a Firaga on the rebel. As he did so, he faked going left and instead went right, around the confused fighter. Seifer passed him up and ran to Selphie. She was on the floor and looking pale. He kneeled down and patted the side of her face.
"Selphie...Selphie, talk to me. Say something, dammit! Hyne..." In a frenzy, Seifer searched around for Pilot again. He was leaning over a dead body, withdrawing a Pheonix Down. Seifer cursed aloud and cast Curaga on her. She moaned a little, and her eyes fluttered open. Then they closed again. He used another...and this time it had no effect. He tried an Esuna, and still nothing was working for him. He lifted her up into his arms. She was so light, and her skin was icy. Seifer worried that she might be dying. He pushed those thoughts out of his head as he set her down away from the battle. He was leaving a SeeD alone in battle, but he was sure Pilot would manage. And if he didn't...then Seifer would take the blame. But Selphie had to live.
He looked over her, wishing he knew what was wrong. Seifer's mind was completely clouded by worry. He glanced down at himself and saw a large amount of blood on his trench coat. He looked down to Selphie, turned her head and saw a sizable wound in her neck. "Shit..." He pressed his hands over the gash and cast yet another Curaga. The wound began to close slowly, but she had lost so much blood! She looked deadly pale, and Seifer was terrified that he was too late.
Sensing a presence coming up behind him, Seifer spun around, Hyperion extended. Pilot jumped back.
"Hey, watch where you point that thing!" he hissed.
"Watch where you walk, fuckhead," Seifer replied. "What happened to the rebels?"
"They went running. Selphie?"
"She woulda' been fine if you hadn't've been dancing with those damn-"
"Oh, fuck you Seifer. This was all your fuckin' fault-"
"My fault, huh? I guess it'll be my fault too when I rip your damn face off!" Seifer shouted, lunging forward.
Just then, Selphie sat up. She moaned, "Oh...Don't fight..."
In an instant, Seifer was back at her side, completely ignoring Pilot. He kneeled down beside her. She smiled weakly up at him.
"You saved my life," she whispered. "You were so magnificent..." Along with her voice, her consciousness trailed off.
SELPHIE AWOKE IN SMALL ROOM, probably a hotel. There were three beds, only one of which besides hers had been used. For a moment, she wondered exactly where she was. In a great big rush, the memory of the day before came back to her. The rebels...Seifer nearly killing her...Almost dying...Pilot and Seifer fighting...and then, Seifer leaning over her, the softest look she had ever seen in his eyes.
But where are they? I hope they haven't killed each other. I couldn't bare it...gummybears, I'm so sore. She got up and stretched her limbs. Like always, Selphie let out an adorable little squeal. In need of a toothbrush, she went to the bathroom. She immediately knew that Pilot had been there. His hairbrush, toothbrush, toothpaste and floss were all sitting on the vanity, in size order with equal spacing between them. So he's officially obsessive compulsive...Strange... Afraid that she would disrupt everything else, Selphie carefully extracted the toothpaste, squeezed some onto her finger and set the tube back in place.
Someone came into the hotel room. Still a little shaky from yesterday's mission, Selphie turned around quickly and silently. With the bathroom door barely open, she peeked outside. Pilot was looking around the room. Selphie suddenly felt ridiculous with her finger in her mouth. She spit in the sink, rinsed her mouth and finger off, and looked over her appearance. That's about right. I look like a girl who nearly died yesterday.
"Selphie?" came a call from the room.
"In here!" she replied cheerily. She stepped out and waved to Pilot. He smiled at her.
"Are you okay? I...I was worried about you yesterday."
Selphie giggled, "No kidding! Me too...If it wasn't for Seif'..."
Pilot shrugged. "If he hadn't've leapt into battle like a regular hero before he was supposed to, it might not have happened."
"What are you saying, Pilot?" Selphie asked, slightly defensive.
Just then, someone knocked on the door. The knocker seemed mad. Selphie giggled.
"Five Gil says that's Seifer," she said, as she opened the door. Sure enough, Seifer was standing there. He looked Selphie up and down.
"You okay?" he said breathlessly.
"You betcha'," Selphie said. She put her hand over the side of her neck. "A tiny little cut can't take me down!"
"Selphie, it wasn't a-"
"She said she was fine. Have a little more faith, Seifer," Pilot scoffed.
A nasty smile crossed Seifer's face. He nodded at Selphie and disappeared, his trench coat swirling dramatically behind him.
Forgive me if this chapter is a complete let down, flame me if you like! I apologize for the wait, and my utter gratitude goes to all of the readers that have stuck with me! I promise that another gap like this will NEVER happen again. I'm really nervous about this chapter...it's more of a teaser, I guess. I'm glad some of you think Pilot should get his ass kicked....hehe...you guys just sit tight ^_^
Please review. It will mean the world!
Thank you again, Mari, for bringing up that annoying 'allowed' mistake.
