The Mountains Win Again

A/N: Well, this is the next chapter. Me and my girl are back together again, so now I'm happy! dances around like an idiot Anyway, I'd like to dedicate this entire story to my girlfriend, Jocelyn Mader. Or you may know her better as swordofthejedi. Or you may not know her at all. Either way... Whoa... The floor is like... Moving...

Chapter fourteen

Seifer slowly opened his eyes, shaking the dizziness out of his head. He had no idea exactly how long he had been unconscious. Around him, there was nothing but darkness. The elevator had fallen, that was all he could remember. The small elevator was mangled beyond repair; the once shiny blue metal was twisted and broken.

He blinked his eyes, in an unsuccessful attempt to adjust his vision to the environment. A throbbing pain aggravated his right arm, starting in his elbow, and spreading out to his shoulder. He couldn't feel anything beyond his elbow.

Then it hit him. His arm was gone. He let out a faint fearful gasp, as his left hand crept it's way over to check. All he could feel was jagged metal lodged into his wrist. He felt further toward his elbow, to find his arm had been severed by yet another shard of jagged metal.

Fear overtook his mind. If his arm was gone, then he didn't have much time until he died of blood loss. He was already starting to get dizzy. His consciousness was already beginning to slip away. He slapped himself with his remaining hand, in a desperate attempt to stay awake. If he passed out again, he would be in serious trouble.

From above him, he heard a faint cry, then a yell. "Seifer! Are you down there?" A shrill voice asked. "Can you hear me?"

"Y-yes!" Seifer managed to stammer.

"Good. Listen, it's me, Quistis." She stated. "Listen, try to stay awake!" She yelled down to him, anxiously awaiting the rescue team.

"I… I can't." Seifer said faintly, yet Quistis still somehow heard him.

"Yes you can! The rescue team is on it's way, they're going to get you out of there! I just need you to stay awake."

"I'll… Try." He replied.

She began frantically thinking of a way to keep him awake. She couldn't reach him, so all she could do was talk to him. "Seif, how bad are your injuries?" She asked, making sure to yell loud, so as to help keep him awake.

"My… My arm's gone… And my head's throbbing." He replied painfully.

Quistis mentally cringed when she heard him say that his arm was gone.. She knew enough about anatomy to know that a major artery is located in the arm, and one could die if the arm was severed.

Not knowing what else to say, she said the first thing that came to her mind. "I love you, Seifer! Please, stay awake!" She yelled.

"I love you… Too." He replied, shaking his head and trying to stay awake at least a little longer.


The doctors continued to work on Zell. He was getting worse by the minute. It was hard to believe, but his stomach wasn't the worst of his injuries. The gash in his head was the biggest threat.

"We're losing him!" The lead doctor yelled.

Selphie could hear this entire ordeal going on from down the hall, and rushed in, standing in the doorway. The doctors were too busy with Zell to push her out at the moment. Zell's heartbeat was getting faster and faster with each passing moment, as he slipped more and more into the endless black oblivion of death.

Selphie cried out in despair, stepping back and leaning against the wall, slumping into a sitting position. He was dying. It was over. All hope was lost.

Finally, it happened. He flatlined. The doctors frantically pulled out the shocks, plugging them in and turning on the machine. This was a last ditch effort to save him. If they failed now, he was gone.

The lead doctor rubbed the shocks together, before calling out "Clear!" as he pressed them against Zell's bare chest. Due to the shock, Zell's muscles constricted, causing him to slightly sit up for a moment, before blankly falling back down again. The doctor rubbed the shocks together again, and attempted to revive Zell, to no avail.

He rubbed them together once again, and pressed them against Zell's chest one last time. Zell twitched, but his pupils were fixed. The doctors had failed.

The lead doctor sighed, his eyes showing the sad expression of at least a thousand or more cases just like this one. He set the shocks back down, flipping off the machine, and removing his mask. "Call it. Time of death, 11:00 PM."

"No." Selphie whispered in shock. "NO!" She practically screamed. She couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't see Zell in such a state. She turned and ran out and into the waiting room, sobbing uncontrollably as she went. The doctor followed her, intending to try and provide her with some kind of comfort.


Seifer's eyes slowly slid shut, as he began to drift away. Noticing this because she had a flashlight pointed in his face. Thinking up something quick, she began speaking to him again. "Seifer, if you stay awake, then we can have sex again when you recover!"

Hearing this, Seifer immediately snapped awake, with new determination to stay conscious. Even though the darkness around him sought to swallow him into an infinity of lifelessness, he knew he could get through it.

All he had to do was stay concentrated on Quistis. She was amazing. Looking at her wasn't enough. But staring, and trying desperately not to blink for the fear that you would miss anything was the closest you could ever come. And she had great rack, too.


Selphie sat in the waiting room, sobbing. The doctor followed her in, sitting next to her and hugging her to his chest. "Listen, I don't really know if you believe in God or not, but I've seen enough to say he exists. And I can tell that your friend was a good man. Don't worry, he's in a better place."

Selphie pulled back, and looked at the doctor. She couldn't speak, and only nodded. The doctor placed a hand on her shoulder. "Is there anything you need?"

Selphie thought for a moment. It seemed a bit heartless to worry about her stomach at a time like this, but she was rather hungry. "Do you have any vending machines?"

Before the doctor could speak, one of the nurses busted through the doors, panting. "Doctor… The… Patient… He's alive!"

"What?" The doctor said in surprise, jumping up and following the nurse out the door. Selphie's heart leapt. How could he be alive? She had to see for herself.

She stepped into the hall, making her way for the emergency room, following close behind the doctor and nurse.

"What happened?" The doctor inquired.

"We don't know! We were preparing the body, and cleaning up the mess when suddenly his heart jump started itself." The nurse replied.

"But if he was dead for that long, wouldn't he be brain dead?" The tall doctor asked.

"It's possible, but we have to try." The nurse continued.