Enumasam

Chapter 38: Thoughts

She lay still, Squall's Sorceress, Rinoa in her flowery queen sized bed. Sephiroth had carried her there with the assistance of Yuffie, her cohort Selphie had stayed behind to help Kadowaki help to clean up the disaster known as Seifer.

'Curious.' He thought as he passed the cell-like room that had held the disgruntled, and now perhaps insane cowboy, known as Irvine. The cell door had been destroyed and a large smear of blood adorned the wall Fujin had earlier held him against, but there was no body to be found. The door seemed to have been torn by some enormous amount of strength, which once again Sephiroth took blame for 'the clone' he pondered. 'Why does this machine do such humanistic things?' he wondered as he paced in his and his girl's room.

'The rage towards Seifer…Rinoa did say there were past relations between her and Seifer, maybe the clone also has the memories of Squall and act upon them instead of being more…forgiving.' The thought struck Sephiroth and he laughed out loud as he shook his head.

"This is too much, a machine with emotions about the past of the person they copied." He couldn't help it but smirked at his own perception. 'Irvine, what would the actual Squall want with a half-sane gun totting fool?'

Suddenly his mind went off track to the small knock at his door. "Hey Sephy it's me and Selphie. What the heck are you doing in there?" Yuffie wondered through the steel door, to which the Silver Haired Savior opened.

"Pondering the depths of my own mind, what about you two?" He responded now face to face with the two girls.

"Woah that's deep. Uhh we were curious as to what the HELL we should be doing?" Yuffie blurted out as Selphie nodded.

"Well we're supposed to be protecting this Garden from intruders, and so far we have FAILED miserably, where is Xu and Quistis?" Sephiroth inquired.

"I thiiink Quistis is up there with Edea, while Xu is by herself at the front gate," Selphie informed the ex-general. He slithered past the two and walked to the elevator before entering it.

"Heey heey wait up!" Yuffie rushed into the elevator with her girl quickly in tow. The two breathed heavily as the door to the machine closed with a ding.

"It's not like it's their fault I mean gawd Sephiroth don't be too harsh on Quistis I'm sure Edea hasn't even heard the news about Seifer and when she does, boy oh boy will they get it," Yuffie drawled on to her partner and Sephiroth as the elevator dinged at the top floor.

The two girls decided to go with Sephiroth onto the platform to the top where Edea seemed to be, once they were there the three walked off the steel plate towards Edea, Quistis, and Nida.

"What has happened?" Edea asked Sephiroth in mid sentence with Quistis.

"One of your gunbladist have passed, Seifer, while he was comatose was killed by the clone of Squall." He said quietly.

"I told you to not let ANYONE past you at the entrance Quistis, what the HELL happened?" Edea was pissed, and sad at the same time when she turned back to the bright pink vest-wearing gal.

"I…I don't know mistress. Apparently the Squall clone made it through me and Xu. How do you expect us to defend against an enemy that looks, talks, and acts just like one of our best?" Quistis tried to reason to which Edea placed her finger under her own chin.

"I'm not too sure I…" Edea tried to argue.

"I know, a simple blood test. When you see Squall take a blood sample. If he bleeds it's the real one if not prepare for a fight." Sephiroth stated.

"Great now we're prodding people?" Edea interjected.

"It'd be worth it to keep out that GODFORSAKEN creature." Edea said clearly dismayed. Quistis nodded to Matron.

"It had also come to my attention the cowboy is gone as well, there were traces of blood, the door had been removed by force, and there was no body." The ex-general told the two.

"Oh dear bahamut. Squall leaves us to take care of this place, we lost a gunbladist and a prisoner. Well it's official we need to lock down…" Edea almost stormed off to her chambers.

"I think the worst is over Edea, Quistis did not know and neither did Xu that the clone would show here but now we have a way to determine one from the other. Quistis and Xu are doing their best as far as I can see even now one of them is at the gates while the other is reporting in. I don't mean you shouldn't be mad but it's more my fault then theirs…" Sephiroth explained to the group.

"Don't you think I realize that? You knew that damned clone was still alive and you didn't inform anyone until it was too late or possibly too late…yes too late, for Seifer. I felt one of my closest pass but didn't realize it was him, it hurt directly in my heart, a sharp painful stabbing. I should have known leaving him unguarded…" she tried to continue but fell to her knees in tears. Quistis quickly knelt beside her and wrapped her arms around her pressing her head into her shoulder as small tears rolled down her cheeks from seeing one of her girls in so much pain.

"Eh. Damn I don't know what to do…" Yuffie turned to face Selphie who went over to her Matron and kneeled on the opposite side of her where she ran her hands over her head piece down her back where she rubbed circles and whispered quietly into her ear.

'Odd. Usually it's Edea doing to coddling…" Sephiroth crossed his arms and stood beside Yuffie as they let the three try to come to terms with reality. Edea was a mess, her dark eye shadow smeared and her pale skin even seeming whiter under the bright sunlit sky. Time seemed to stop for Edea as her friends tried to soothe her hurt.

"A picture…" Yuffie quietly said to Sephiroth, who took a moment to understand.

"Yes, Yuffie, this would be a powerful picture of mourning." Sephiroth stated silently.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

''Thinking

""Talking

I didn't know what else to do but once Edea found out things were getting out of hand and couldn't handle it anymore I figured it would make a strong image.

Signed,

Vicious Cerberus