A/N: Weather's starting to become sunnier… Exams approaching in about a month… Crap.
How are you doing? ^_^
One small note about this chapter. There's some misunderstanding over what happened to NORG after he was defeated in Garden. I've been told he went into hibernation in order to 'evolve'. True, I support that as well, but I believe he was kicked out of Garden as well… Meh, to each his own I suppose. Just keep in mind that this is the scenario I'm going with in this story.
Credit for 'The Black Cat' excerpt goes to the late, amazing Edgar Allan Poe, a true master of his kind.
Last chapter summary: After spending some time in the hospitable environment of a woman in Timber, Seifer and Quistis are heading back to Garden.
~*A second chance*~
By: Sickness in Salvation
Chapter 19: Going back home
Quistis was looking out of the window by her seat in the airborne SeeD craft. She sighed and covered herself up with Seifer's coat, which he'd insisted on offering her once she'd commented on how it felt a bit cold inside the aircraft. She smiled. After that long ordeal, they were going to see their friends again… alive. She couldn't believe that she had actually gotten out of Galbadia Garden in one piece. And with such an impressive escape… She chuckled as she remembered the looks on the Galbadians' faces when the bike she was on, set the road on fire and sped off the distance, leaving them all dumbfounded. And she owed it all to Seifer…
She turned around to look at him, sitting next to her and found him sleeping. He had his arms folded in front of his chest and seemed to be a bit shivering. The small navy blue blanket he'd been offered by the two pilots was hardly covering him. Felling she'd monopolized the warmth of the coat long enough, Quistis gently removed the blanket off him and covered him with his coat. She wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and looked at him once more. She chuckled. He was obviously in very deep sleep and he was snoring the slightest bit. Hyne knew he needed it; he'd hardly gotten any sleep the previous night. And all because of her... She sighed again. What games was he playing with her? Why did he rush out on his own to save her, now having to face Cid's wrath and most importantly, risking his own life? Damn he was confusing her... Damn him...
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Seifer was lying on the bed of his dorm room in Garden, dressed in a pair of black sweatpants. He was looking up at the ceiling, taking long drags from his cigarette, blowing the smoke into circlets in the air. His leisure time was interrupted by a knock on his door. Puzzled, he looked at his bed-side clock. It read 1:32 a.m. Who could it be at that hour? He was certainly not expecting anyone…
He got up and approached the door, opening it. He was more than surprised to find Quistis outside, wearing his long trench coat.
- "Been looking for that…" said Seifer, looking at her.
- "I thought so…" said Quistis, gently pushing him aside, making her way inside the room "I came to return it to you…" she said smiling at him.
- "At this hour?" he asked puzzled.
- "Did I interrupt anything? Do you want me to leave?" she asked, although she already knew the answer.
- "No, no, it's OK…" said Seifer.
- "Good," said Quistis, grinning mischievously "Because I also wanted to thank you…" she added, pulling the hair clip off her hair, letting it fall loose into a glorious waterfall of gold.
- "Thank me?" Seifer asked "For what?"
- "For saving me…" she said seductively, approaching him, resting her palms on his shoulders.
- "Oh… Uhh… Well…" stuttered Seifer "You're welcome…"
- "I haven't thanked you yet…" said Quistis, looking at him, biting her bottom lip.
Seifer looked at her puzzled, then utterly surprised when she flung off the trench coat, revealing her, naked underneath it, body. She pulled him roughly from the shirt and gave him a fierce kiss.
- "Take me, Seifer…" she said huskily.
Seifer found himself thrown onto his bed, Quistis lying on top of him, starting to undo his pants…
******
- "Gaaahh!" Seifer choked, jolting up from his seat.
He looked around him and saw he was still on the SeeD aircraft, heading back to Balamb. He pulled up the coat which had almost slipped off him and turned to his side. He saw Quistis sitting right next to him, wrapped up in the blanket he should be covered with, looking at him worriedly.
- "Seifer, are you alright?" she asked, touching his shoulder.
- "Huh?!" he said, jumping up at her touch "I'm fine, fine…" he said, pulling away.
- "Bad dream?" she asked.
- "You don't know half of it…" he mumbled under his breath.
'Dammit! Fuck, fuck, FUCK! The only thing I needed to make it all worse, is dreaming about her like that!' he thought. He sighed and glanced over by the window next to Quistis. He turned his head back and slouched into his seat, slightly trembling.
- "Dammit…We're still not on the fucking ground?" he said through clenched teeth, gripping the sides of his seat roughly..
- "No, but we're almost there…" replied Quistis "Why, what's wrong?"
- "Nothing…" he grunted.
- "Something…" she insisted.
- "*Pause* If I tell you," he said hesitantly "You promise you won't laugh?"
- "I promise." said Quistis, raising an eyebrow, intrigued about what she was going to hear.
- "*Pause* I… I'm afraid of flying…" he said.
- "What?" asked Quistis, grinning.
- "Dammit Trepe, you promised!" he said angrily.
- "I wasn't making fun of you!" she protested, trying not to laugh "I was just surprised! The almighty Almasy, afraid of flying…"
- "It's not fucking funny…" he said, crossing his arms.
- "OK, OK…" said Quistis grinning "I promise I won't tell anyone. Your secret's safe with me…" she said, smiling warmly at him.
Seifer turned and looked at her, raising an eyebrow. He scoffed, then grinned. Soon they both burst out laughing and went on doing so for the few remaining minutes of the flight...
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I wonder what his dream was about…
You can always ask…
Don't you think it would be odd if I just walked up to him and asked him what was it he
saw in his dream years ago?
A bit, yes…
Oh well… Maybe I'll find out later on… Keep going.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Cid, Squall, Zell and Rinoa were standing on the aircraft landing site on the top floor of Balamb Garden, patiently waiting for the SeeD aircraft to arrive.
- "Here they come!" Rinoa squealed in delight upon seeing the aircraft in the horizon.
The airborne craft approached the vicinity of Garden, the engines humming loudly. The quartet stepped back as it began descending, holding onto their clothes, because of the fierce wind the helixes caused. The aircraft landed within two minutes, engines shutting off. The doors slid open and Seifer stepped out first, his long trench coat being blown dramatically by the wind. He extended his arm inside, pulling out Quistis who began muttering something in indignation.
- "Instructor Trepe! Seifer!" shouted Rinoa and ran towards them.
She rushed over to Quistis hugging her so tightly, as if wanting to suffocate her.
- "Rinoa… Ungh…" said Quistis hoarsely "…Air…"
- "Oh, I'm so glad you came back safe, miss Trepe!" Rinoa said pulling away, smiling at her
- "Please… Just call me Quistis…" Quistis said, smiling at the girl.
- "Alright… Quistis." Rinoa replied "Seifer…" she said.
- "Rinoa…" he replied, nodding at her.
- "Ah, come here!" she said, hugging him tightly, too.
Seifer flinched a bit to her touch, but wrapped his arms around her as well. A few feet away, he noticed Squall frowning slightly. But then again, so did Quistis... He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that...
- "How are you feeling?" Rinoa asked Quistis.
- "Much better. I still have a bit of trouble walking though." replied the blonde.
- "Come on, let's go… We have a LOT to tell you guys…" said Rinoa, passing Quistis' arm around her shoulder.
The three walked over to the others. Cid smiled warmly at Quistis, but his expression changed when he looked at Seifer.
- "Quistis," he said, holding her hands "Welcome back."
- "Thank you, sir." said Quistis beaming "It's good to be back."
- "Seifer…" said Cid, turning over to him.
- "Headmaster, sir…" said Seifer, standing up straight.
- "Although I was somewhat… angry, over the phone… welcome back, too." he said, smiling at him as well.
- "Uhh… Thank you, sir." replied Seifer, a bit surprised. He looked over at Squall and Zell "Leonhart…Ch-err, Dincht…" he said, nodding at them.
- "Almasy…" they said in unison, nodding back.
- "So what's the deal with FH?" asked Seifer "How on earth did you get Garden here?!"
- "When we returned to warn everyone about the missiles, we tampered a bit with the mechanisms down at the substation and made Garden mobile!" exclaimed Zell.
- "What?" asked Seifer and Quistis in unison.
- "Garden used to be a war shelter." spoke Squall quietly "There was a special mechanism that turned it mobile and cast a shield upon it. We found it." he added.
- "What about the others?" asked Quistis "Selphie and Irv…something…"
- "Irvine." said Rinoa, getting gloomy "We don't know what happened to them. I suppose they didn't stop the missiles, since they attacked us but got knocked off the shield…"
- "Haven't they contacted you?" asked Seifer.
- "No…" replied Zell, frowning.
- "Do you think the Galbadians got them?" asked Quistis worriedly.
- "We don't know… But they probably would have threatened us if they had them…" replied Squall.
- "So…why FH?" asked Seifer again.
- "We're still kinda trying to figure out how to fly Garden…" replied Zell, grinning.
- "And we sort of… crashed here…" added Rinoa.
- "We were going to go talk to the townspeople, to the mayor basically, and apologize." said Zell.
- "You two can go get some rest. Squall, Rinoa and Zell can go." said Cid.
- "Alright…" said Seifer, grabbing Quistis from the arm "Come on, let's go."
- "Not again…" sighed Quistis "I TOLD you, I can-"
- "Put a cork in it, Instructor…" Seifer said wearily, dragging her over to the entrance to the Garden building.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
- "Seifer, I'm not DYING! I just need some rest!" Quistis protested, as Seifer adjusted the pillows behind her back and covered her up with a blanket.
- "Sheesh, talk about ungratefulness!" Seifer said exasperated, moving away from Quistis's bed.
- "Thank you, but I don't need a nurse. I'm fine." she said, crossing her arms.
- "Fine, I'm going then." he replied, brooding, heading towards the door.
- "You do that."
Seifer was only inches away from the door, when he heard knocking. Puzzled, he turned around and looked at Quistis, who simply shrugged. Seifer opened the door, only to find Headmaster Cid standing outside. Seifer arched both eyebrows.
- "Oh good." said Cid "I was hoping I'd find you both. I…" he hesitated "I needed to talk to you."
- "Come in, Headmaster." Quistis spoke from inside the room.
Seifer grabbed the only chair inside Quistis's room and placed it next to the bed, offering Cid a seat. He walked over to Quistis's bed and sat down on the bottom end.
- "Is there something wrong?" asked Quistis.
- "Not… Not really… It's just something the others have already been informed upon and you should be aware of it, too." Cid replied.
- "Go on." Seifer said, creasing his forehead.
- "First of all, are you both familiar with Garden's master?" asked Cid.
- "Erm… No." replied Seifer, shaking his head.
- "Master NORG?" asked Quistis. Cid nodded.
- "Who's he?" Seifer asked, glancing from Quistis to Cid.
- "He's… the financial 'force' behind Garden." replied Cid "He basically owns Garden… or I should say… owned."
- "Owned?" said Quistis.
- "Yes. You see, lately, we haven't been on very good terms with each other…" said Cid "After the news on the attack to Sorceress Edea – Quistis, are you aware of what happened then?"
- "Yes, sir. Seifer informed me." Quistis replied.
- "Good, good." continued Cid "After the news on the attack, chaos reigned within Garden. The students split up into two sides. One, supported me, and the other supported Master NORG. The faculty members where on that side as well."
- "What kind of a name is 'NORG' anyway?" asked Seifer.
- "NORG is not… human." replied Cid. Both blondes arched an eyebrow.
- "That I did not know." Quistis said.
- "It's not very common knowledge." said Cid "He's part of the Shumi tribe. Kind of the 'black sheep' of the race. He was only interested in financial gain, much unlike the rest of the Shumis. That's why he invested on Garden in the first place. Trusting him was one of the biggest mistakes of my life…" Cid said, shaking his head in disbelief.
- "But why did the Garden split up after the attack?" Quistis asked.
- "You were fooled." said Cid, looking at Seifer "The order to take out the Sorceress didn't come from both Gardens. It was only G-Garden's idea. When you arrived for help in G-Garden, they were ready to carry out the mission. The timing was perfect. Not wanting to lose any of the soldiers or put the blame on themselves, they used you."
- "Holy shit…" Seifer mumbled, earning a mild glare from Cid "But how does the NORG guy fit into all this?"
- "After the attack, all the blame was placed on NORG, since he practically owned Garden. In order to appease the Sorceress's wrath, he offered her my head along with the rest of you." Cid replied "He ordered the students to find me and hand me to him. However, many of them sided with me. When Squall, Rinoa and Zell arrived, they were caught in the middle of the whole mess. Once the managed to find me-" Cid spoke.
- "Find you? Why? Where were you?" asked Seifer.
- "Heh…" grinned Cid "Deep down, I'm just a big coward. I always run from situations like that…" he admitted "Anyway… Once the found me, they informed me about the missiles. You already know how we got through that, right?"
- "Yes, you explained it once we landed here." Quistis replied.
- "Alright… After the missile attack failed, things got a bit calmer. But my argument with NORG was not. He ordered Squall and his team to report to him about the mission in Deling City. Things got out of hand, and they ended up into a battle. NORG was beaten and forced to leave Garden for good. Him and all the Faculty members." Cid narrated.
- "No wonder I didn't see any of them around…" Seifer noted.
- "Exactly… They're all gone." said Cid.
- "But what about Garden's financial state now?" asked Quistis, worried.
- "We'll manage… Don't worry. We get a lot of mission daily and we'll pick up soon." Cid reassured her "And there's one more issue. Do you both know Ellone?"
- "Yes." replied Quistis.
- "No." said Seifer, shaking his head.
- "I'll explain later…" Quistis told him "What about her?" she asked Cid.
- "Well, apparently the Galbadians are looking for her, for some reason. She was hiding here for a while, but the white SeeDs came and picked her up in their ship. She'll be safe with them." replied the headmaster.
- "The white SeeDs?" asked Seifer, puzzled.
- "Edea's SeeDs." replied Cid.
There was an awkward silence that lasted a good two minutes.
- "What?" Seifer spoke, eventually.
- "Edea wasn't always a malevolent Sorceress." said Cid, his voice full of melancholy "There were times…" he said, getting up "There were times when she was a really great woman."
Cid walked towards the door. Seifer got up as well, to close the door behind him.
- "There were times when I still could recognize the woman I loved and married." Cid said bitterly, giving them the saddest smile they'd ever laid eyes upon, opening the door and exiting Quistis's dorm.
Quistis and Seifer were left staring at the ajar door, jaws dropped. Seifer slowly turned and looked at Quistis.
- "Did he just say…?" he asked, in a voice barely louder than a whisper.
- "C-close the door…" Quistis said, holding her forehead with one palm.
Seifer did as he was told and walked over to Quistis's side, sitting on the chair.
- "Did… Did you know anything about this?" Quistis asked Seifer.
- "Do I look like I did?!" Seifer replied, exasperated "Damn… Sorceress Edea… and Cid…"
- "Married…" Quistis completed Seifer's sentence "Do you think they still are?"
- "I don't know… Maybe…" replied Seifer "Shit…"
- "But… SeeDs are supposed to fight against the Sorceress!" Quistis said "How could he possibly give out an order like this?!"
- "I know… He either protects the world… or the woman he loves…" Seifer said, falling deep in thought.
- "How could a person make a decision like that?" Quistis whispered, looking down.
- "Hey… who's Ellone?" Seifer asked, after a long pause.
- "How can you even ask about this now?!" Quistis said, exasperated.
- "I don't know! I can't figure out the whole Sorceress-Cid thing! So there's no point in giving it any more thought!" Seifer snapped.
- "I suppose you're right…"
- "I always am…" Seifer said, looking at Quistis.
- "Drop your ego down a good portion if you want to hear about Ellone…" Quistis said, crossing her arms.
- "Fine. I take it back… Tell me about that chick now?" Seifer said wearily.
- "She's a person from the 'Dream World'." Quistis replied "That's why I didn't want to speak in front of Cid. She knows Laguna and the others."
- "I see… And she was here?!" Seifer asked incredulously.
- "I suppose so… We need to talk to the others and see if they know more…" Quistis said.
- "Just ask 'Puberty-Boy'… He'll know. Can't let the Garden's hero live in oblivion, can we?" Seifer said sarcastically, getting up from the chair.
- "Do I sense some bitterness there?" Quistis asked, raising an eyebrow.
Seifer was already at the door. Not turning around, he spoke.
- "It's only typical, you know… Fuck it… Forget I said anything…" he said, closing the door behind him.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
- "Man, that geezer pissed me off!" Zell groaned, walking down the stairs of Mayor Dobe's, FH's mayor, house "Squall, why didn't you tell him off?!"
- "Forget it. You can't expect everyone to welcome us." Squall said.
The two of them, accompanied by Rinoa, walked down the small Square in from of the mayor's house, heading back to Garden.
- "Galbadian soldiers!!!"
All three turned around abruptly, facing the man who had just come running. Mayor Dobe and his wife, Flo, soon came out of their house, looking distraught.
- "Mayor, we have a big problem! The Galbadians are coming!" the man spoke worriedly, addressing Dobe.
- "Galbadians? Are they armed?" asked the mayor.
- "It must be some kind of mistake." Flo said.
- "They arrived at the station. They were armed, big-time." the man replied.
- "Let's not panic." said Dobe firmly "President Deling and I are acquaintances. I'll go talk to them and work things out."
- "President Deling is dead. Galbadia is now ruled by the Sorceress." Squall piped in.
- "A Sorceress is still a person. I'm sure we can reach an understanding. Right?" Flo said, her eyes hoping for a positive answer 'How the hell should I know?' Squall thought, beginning to walk away.
His comrades followed him, as he walked up the long stairway, leading back to town. They had just reached the top of the stairway, when Flo caught up with them.
- "Wait! The Galbadians are here because of you, right? They're after you." she said 'Maybe.' Squall thought "You'd better take full responsibility! It's your fault!"
Squall sighed and turned around 'Fine, we'll take care of them. I don't like the sound of her tone though.' he thought. Right on cue, mayor Dobe came walking up the stairs.
- "We mustn't rely on them. They won't be able to do anything without fighting." he said 'Don't tell me he's going to try to reason with them.' thought Squall. Next to him, Zell shook with rage, and Rinoa frowned "I'll go talk to them." mayor Dobe said 'He's dead.' thought Squall.
Mayor Dobe began walking away, towards the station, they eyes of everyone locked upon him. Squall turned and looked at Rinoa, who pleaded him visibly to go after the mayor. Glancing over at Zell, he saw the blond give him a plain shrug. Squall sighed.
- "Come on." he said, beckoning the two to follow him.
Striding down the streets of FH, Squall stopped a red-haired girl that came across them.
- "Excuse me, where is the station?" he asked.
- "Just keep going straight," said the girl, pointing at the street behind her "And you'll run into it."
- "Thanks." said Zell, grinning at the girl.
Rinoa rolled her eyes and walked forward, down the street the girl had shown them. Upon reaching a turn, the three teenagers ducked out of sight, spotting the mayor conversing with a Galbadian soldier 'There he is.' thought Squall.
- "It kills me to help that old fart…" Zell growled.
'Why are they wasting their time with the old man if they're after us and our Garden?' thought the brown-haired SeeD 'I wonder what they're talking about…'
- "I already told you." mayor Dobe spoke "I've never heard of this girl Ellone. There is nobody here by that name."
- "Ellone?" Rinoa whispered, voicing Squall's thoughts.
- "Fine. We'll just have to torch this city." the Galbadian told Dobe.
- "Wait a minute! I'm telling the truth! I've never seen this girl!" Dobe exclaimed.
- "It doesn't matter, old man. We're gonna burn down this place anyway; Edea's orders." the Galbadian said, smirking.
- "No, please!" Dobe pleaded "I beg of you! Don't!"
- "I'll start with you." the Galbadian said, picking Dobe up from the front of his shirt.
'*Sigh* Maybe we'd better go now.' Squall thought, resentfully. Making a sharp move with his head, he pointed down at the city square.
- "Alright, let's get it on!" Zell said excitedly, springing up, running down to the square.
Squall and Rinoa followed suit right behind him. The Galbadian had raised his sword and was about to finish off Dobe, when he noticed them approaching.
- "Who the hell are you?" he asked sarcastically.
- "We're SeeDs." Squall replied, crossing his arms.
- "SeeDs!" the soldier exclaimed, throwing Dobe to the side "Get the Iron Clad over here!" he yelled to the bridge behind him.
- "I'm sorry, but we have no choice." Squall addressed Dobe.
He drew out his gunblade, preparing for battle, as two more soldiers joined the one before them. Rinoa and Zell stood in battle positions, determined to support Squall to the fullest.
- "You take the other two. I'll take care of the middle one…" Squall muttered to his peers.
- "Leave it to us." said Zell, smirking widely, while Rinoa gave a firm nod.
The young girl was the first to lunge forward to her opponent, pulling the trigger of her Rising Sun. The detachable part flew right out of the crossbow-like weapon, hitting the Galbadia soldier right on the forehead. The man staggered a bit as Rinoa raised her equipped arm up in the air, recapturing the small disk that had just soared across the air.
Meanwhile, Zell's opponent rushed right to him, swinging his sword threateningly. The blond remained in his position, as calm as a Shumi Master. The soldier took a deadly blow with his weapon at Zell. The martial artist ducked in time and jumped up in the air, swinging his body and kicking the man's sword off his hands with incredible ease. Not losing time, grinning at the man's utterly bemused expression, he locked the latter's head into a tight grip and began punching him mercilessly on the face.
A pair of swords clattered in mid-air, as Squall and the official engaged into their own conflict. The young SeeD gripped his Flame Saber with both hands tightly, in front of his face as the Galbadian lowered his sword down at him. Sparks flew and both men seemed anything but eager to let go. Grunting, Squall chose the trickier approach, laying a hard kick on the man's stomach, pushing him a good four feet backwards. The soldier advanced on him again immediately, swinging his weapon in the air once more. Squall took a step to the right and met his opponent's sword with his own, bringing them both down to touch the concrete ground.
Rinoa was keeping her own rival at bay with a quite effective Thunder spell, while Zell's foe was seconds from passing out, when a loud rumbling sound was heard. Rinoa and Squall's enemies immediately seized the chance and fled with a sprint. Puzzled, Zell unconsciously let the man under his grip escape. The third followed the other two, back towards the bridge, where the three teenagers where now looking towards.
- "Something's coming…" Rinoa mumbled.
From the bridge ahead of them, a gargantuan piece of heavy machinery could be seen approaching. The blue tank-like vehicle, seemed somewhat tattered and disheveled, but Squall was ready to bet on anything that it could still perform its job perfectly.
- "We got a big one in our hands!" Zell exclaimed, as the machine landed in front of them, causing a minor earthquake to the vicinity.
'An Iron Clad… Galbadia's latest weapon.' Squall thought 'Well… Better get through with this quickly…'
The machine hummed and screeched with its mechanical 'voice'. All three mercenaries held their breaths as the four engines on the top of the machine smoked and rumbled loudly. Squall noticed that there seemed to be two of them missing. As he'd detected moments ago, the contraption seemed fairly damaged from prior battles.
- "Machines are weak against Thunder!" Squall informed both his opponents, readying his gunblade "And try out Earth spells as well, they weaken their stability!"
Immediately, Rinoa prepared a spell. It was not what Squall had expected though. She extended her palm and called out:
- "Triple!"
A bluish aura enveloped the young girl enhancing her abilities, so that she could use three spells at once instead of just one, without running the danger of any exhaustion from too much casting. Squall shot her a side-ways glance 'Where the hell did she get Triples?' Squall thought.
Meanwhile, the machine seemed ready to start attacking. Zell stalled it a bit with a Thundara spell, which seemed to distort it a bit. Beginning to feel quite nervous, Squall yelled.
- "Cast Triple on all of us!" he said.
- "Not yet…" Rinoa spoke, a sinister smile spreading on her lips.
- "Wha-?" Squall was about to yell back, when…
- "Protect, Protect, Protect!" Rinoa called, extending her arm once more.
Three blue 'light-disks' began to form in front of the teenagers. Gradually, they spread and spread, becoming thin, almost transparent shields, which would miraculously keep them protected, as the spell's incantation suggested, from a few rounds of physical attacks. Right on cue, the tank raised a mechanical 'arm' and shot a round of bullets to Zell. The blond winced at first, and instinctively brought his arm before his face, but the bullets bounced right of the shield, which's color intensified with every hit. Squall's eyes widened in surprise for Rinoa's insightful idea and turned to her side. He saw her giggling and beaming at him, obviously quite proud of herself. Squall cracked a grin as well and mouth 'Good' at her.
- "Alright, good move! You two keep it occupied while I summon Quetzalcoatl!" Squall called, turning back to his front.
Instantly, he closed his eyes and touched his forehead, falling into deep concentration.
- "Quake!" Zell called, extending his arm towards the machine.
A small barrier formed itself around the three peers at first, translucent and strong, keeping them intact from the effect the spell was about to take. The ground around great the see-through 'bubble' began to shake fiercely. The tremor began to shake the tank, rendering it incompetent to move forward or backward, right before great masses of earth began to protrude and retract viciously, toying the grand machine into earthy 'fingers' as if it were nothing but a feather. The spell soon faded out and settled the contraption back to the disheveled ground, forbidding it to move properly. Right then, one of the four remaining engines on the top of it, blew up, sending mechanical bits and pieces flying all over the place. Retaliating, the apparatus raised one of its other mechanical 'arms' pointing it towards Rinoa. A thick, bright, yellowish beam spewed out of it, heading right for her, but once again got bounced off the strong shield around her. Unfortunately, the protect spell seemed to be visibly wearing off after such a strong attack. It was more than obvious that it would probably not survive another one.
Meanwhile, Squall was still concentrating hard. Summoning a Guardian Force was no easy task and demanded a strong 'attachment' to one's ally, something which Squall and Quetzalcoatl had yet to achieve.
'Quetzalcoatl… I summon you, asking for your help in this dire situation…'
Your wish is my command, master.
Squall's eyes opened up in astonishment, as a tingling sensation ran all over his body; it was the first time his GF had chosen to speak to him. He gasped for breath, as he felt a great surge of energy abandon his body and take form before his very eyes. The great God of Thunder, the Bird of the Thunderstorm began to evolve from the greenish-yellow sphere of electricity in front of him. Quetzalcoatl rose gloriously in mid-air, hovering above the metal-beast. The GF flapped its wings in violent, but somehow fluid motion, as the skies began to get grayer by the moment. Thunders slashed the air and started to concentrate on Quetzalcoatl's beak like water drawn to a sponge. Eventually, the grand bird released the flurry of electrical energy that had gathered within it, striking the tank with incredible might.
The machine shook and sizzled greatly, apparently quite damaged, as Quetzalcoatl retracted back within his master's body. The three teenagers watched another engine blow up impressively. Momentarily, all three thought it was going to blow up as it began convulsing non-stop, but the machine suddenly moved backwards and fell into the ocean behind it with a grand splash. Squall sighed in relief and ran a gloved hand over his sweaty forehead. Zell shouted victoriously and began performing his now infamous 'victory-dance', while Rinoa squealed in delight.
But the sight the three mercenaries came to witness right then, easily exceeded their wildest dreams.
From the pier under which the machine had disappeared, two young people climbed out. One of them, dressed in a tiny yellow dress, and the other, in what was unmistakably the attire of a cowboy.
- "Squall!" Selphie squealed.
The brown-haired SeeD looked in awe, as Selphie and Irvine approached them, safe and sound. He felt a surge of incredible relief and joy to see them both alive; he'd been afraid he'd sentenced them both to death once allowing them to go to the Galbadian Missile base 'Yes! They're alright!'
- "Hey, Selphie. Irvine. It's great to see you guys." he said plainly, once the two approached them.
- "Say, what happened to the Garden?" asked Irvine 'A lot has happened…' Squall thought.
- "The Garden is safe." he replied.
- "Really?!!! Whoo-hoo!!!" Selphie exclaimed, hopping up and down.
- "What happened to you guys?" Squall asked them, crossing his arms.
- "Yo, let's talk about that later." Zell piped in '…I guess.' Squall thought.
- "Zell, Rinoa, why don't you take them back to Garden? I'll see you guys later, after I take a look around." he said.
- "Heyyy! What about Seifer and Instructor Trepe?" Selphie asked worriedly.
- "They're both back and safe. You'll see them back in Garden." Squall replied.
Selphie cheered once more and slipped her hand over Rinoa's shoulder, just like the raven-haired girl did, and began chatting vigorously. Turning around for a second, Rinoa noticed Squall looking around the city square, walking casually back towards the station and back to the main city. She excused herself for a second and sprinted over to him.
- "Squall!" she called.
The latter turned around, arching an eyebrow as Rinoa approached him.
- "Yes?" he asked.
- "You know, you just surprised me." she said, smiling broadly "You looked and sounded so happy to see them." she added 'Huh?' Squall thought "It was the first time I've seen you so honest. It was… really sweet."
Squall looked away and scratched the ground with the bottom of his boots nervously 'Well… um…'
- "I was happy to see that they were alright." replied Squall, shrugging "What's so surprising about that? Is there something wrong?" he asked, frowning.
- "No! There's nothing wrong!" Rinoa hurried to say "They're your comrades, but moreover, they're your friends." she added '…Friends, huh…?' Squall thought "Hey Squall," Rinoa went on "Would you have been worried about me, too? Y'know, if I were with them instead?"
Squall froze still for a second and moved his gaze away from her once more 'What? Why is she asking me this? I don't know.'
- "I… ahh… I don't know." he stuttered, shrugging feebly "Umm… maybe… I don't know."
- "Oh my gosh!" squealed Rinoa, grinning from ear to ear "You're turning red!"
Squall's head snapped up 'What…? No I'm not.'
- "You're so cute! Taking it seriously!" Rinoa went on, giggling.
'The heck?!' Squall thought, narrowing his eyes 'Why is she toying with me?'
- "Catch you later, Squall!" Rinoa said, winking at him, sprinting away to catch up with the others.
'What the hell's her problem?' Squall thought, kicking a stone with his boot away.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Seifer wiped his damp hair clean with a bathroom towel, while buttoning up his jeans. His usual attire, was now in serious need of a good wash. Last time he'd checked, a small colony of fungi had finally succeeded in making its way onto his favorite coat. A few days on a relentless journey from Timber, to Deling, to prison, to G-Garden, Timber and back to FH could do that to a piece of clothing. And although Iris back from Timber had been kind enough to allow him to take a shower at her house, he desperately felt he needed another one. As he slipped on a plain black T-Shirt, sporting a white smilie in front and the logo 'Have a nice day. Fuck someone.' in the back, he felt his stomach rumble ferociously. Pulling the hem of the T-shirt down, he ran the towel once more through his hair and decided to go grab something to eat. He slid his key-card and wallet into the back pockets of his loose-fitting jeans and was about to exit his room, when a thought crossed his mind. He walked over to his nightstand and picked up the receiver of his phone, dialing a number.
- "Hello?"
- "Hungry, Instructor?" Seifer asked.
- "Seifer?" Quistis asked, somewhat puzzled.
- "Yup." Seifer replied "I was just about to go grab something to eat and thought you might be hungry, too. Want me to bring you anything?" he asked.
- "Oh." Quistis said plainly, clearly taken aback by his gesture "I wouldn't want to put you in all this trouble…"
- "Just name it…" Seifer said, sighing impatiently.
- "Umm… A salad, some bread and a soda would be fine." she replied.
- "OK. I'll be there in a bit."
- "…Thank you." Quistis said, in a genuinely kind tone.
- "Don't flatter yourself. I just can't stand the picture of you limping all the way to the cafeteria. Although I must say, it would be quite the amusing sigh-"
SLAM!
Seifer chuckled and put the receiver back in place. He was tempted to spit a large loogie into her soda for daring to hang up on him…
- "Nah…" he mumbled out loud, the door sliding shut behind him as he left the room.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
- "…So then we go like 'WHOA!' And the missiles are headin' right for us!" Zell narrated to Selphie and Irvine, as they walked back inside Garden "But the place must have some sorta shield cast around it! So the missiles bounce right off!"
- "That must've been scary…" Selphie said, smiling somewhat sadly at Zell; she was still not over the bombing of Trabia.
- "Yeah!" Zell went on "And then-"
- "Hey, isn't that Seifer?" Irvine asked, pointing at a tall figure, exiting the cafeteria.
- "Yup, that's him." Rinoa said "Seifer!" she called.
The blond turned around, trying to see who was calling him. He didn't need to search for long though; Selphie's frantically moving limbs caught his attention in a heartbeat. Grinning mildly, feeling somewhat relieved to see her and the cowboy both safe, he stood still waiting for them to catch up with him. Suddenly, he became very aware of the small plastic bag he was carrying, filled with lunch 'Shit!' he cursed inwardly 'I can't let them know that-'
- "We're back!" Selphie chirped, hopping her way over to Seifer.
- "Welcome back, then." Seifer said, smirking.
- "We heard that you and Quistis Trepe came back safely, too." Irvine said "Everything went OK?"
- "Meh… Piece of cake…" Seifer said smugly, shrugging.
- "Where is she? We wanted to see her!" Selphie asked Seifer.
- "She's at her dorm." Seifer said, hoping they'd prefer to pay her a visit later on.
- "Swell! Can you take us there?" Selphie asked.
- "Erm… Now?" Seifer asked, grinning awkwardly.
- "Well of course now, dummy!" Selphie giggled 'Son-of-a…' Seifer chewed the interior of his cheek.
- "…OK." he agreed, half-heartedly.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Quistis was lying on her bed, skimming through an old booklet she'd forgotten she even owned. She rubbed her protesting stomach with one palm, thinking that Seifer should be there soon enough, with her lunch. She groaned. Why had she even agreed to this? It was obvious the guy only wanted to get a rise out of her… She checked her watch. He was quite late. At this hour, the cafeteria never had a long line awaiting behind the counters. Maybe he'd just been messing her… Just wanting to tease her and wasn't intending on bringing her lunch over… She scoffed. It wouldn't surprise her…
Back to reading…
With my aversion to this cat, however, its partiality for myself seemed to increase. It followed my footstep with a pertinacity which it would be difficult to make the reader comprehend. Whenever I sat, it would crouch beneath my chair, or spring upon my knees, covering me with its loathsome caresses. If I arose to walk it would get between my feet and thus nearly throw me down, or, fastening its long and sharp claws in my dress, clamber, in this manner, to my breast. At such time, although I longed to destroy it with a blow, I was yet-
*Knock* *Knock*
'About stinking time…' Quistis thought, getting up from bed. Removing her glasses and fastening the belt of her deep blue robe, she slowly walked over to the door.
- "What took you s-?" she began, but was greeted with more company than she'd expected.
- "Surprise!"
- "Oh my Hyne!" Quistis exclaimed, grasping her chest with one palm in disbelief.
In front of her, stood a grinning Zell and Rinoa, a strangely brooding Seifer, an overly excited Selphie and someone she didn't recognize.
- "You're safe! I'm so happy to see you again, Miss Trepe!" Selphie said excitedly.
- "Will everyone stop calling me that?" Quistis said smiling "It's just Quistis. Come on in." she beckoned everyone to enter her room.
Zell, Rinoa and Selphie looked around Quistis's room curiously, while Irvine studied the blonde thoroughly, touching his chin. Seifer arched an eyebrow and walked over to her bed. He dropped the bag onto her bed and grabbed the book that was on it.
- "Early edition of 'The Black Cat'?!" he exclaimed "Where the fuck did you get that?!" he asked her, eyes wide open.
- "Since you asked so nicely, you can borrow it…" Quistis spat at him sarcastically, grabbing the bag he'd abandoned on her bed "Oh, you got me lemonade. That's my favorite, thanks…" she said smiling and set the bag on the table.
Seifer snapped the booklet shut and bit his tongue 'DAMMIT!' He saw Selphie across him arch both eyebrows and grin.
- "Zip it!" Seifer hissed at her ominously.
- "Oh dear, where are my manners?" Quistis said suddenly, turning over to Irvine "You've been here for so long and we haven't been introduced! I'm Quistis Trepe."
She extended her arm for him to shake, smiling politely. To her surprise, the man didn't shake it, but held it reverently with both palms, as if holding the most delicate flower in the world and bowed, bringing his lips near it. He looked at her in the eyes, and spoke.
- "Irvine. Irvine Kinneas." he said in a smooth, deep voice, kissing her hand ever-so-softly "Charmed." Quistis's eyebrows cocked upwards in surprise.
If it was possible, fumes would be coming out of Seifer's ears at this very moment. He was clenching his fists so hard, that his knuckles had turned white and threatened to smash to shards any minute now. Oh the cowboy was soooo dead…Letting out a flurry of curses -which would have even made Larry Flint blush- inwardly, Seifer walked over to the desk where Quistis had rested the bag and took out her lunch.
- "Umm… Anyway…" said Quistis, grinning awkwardly, slipping her hand off Irvine's grasp "Why don't you all have a seat and tell me what happ- Seifer, aren't you staying?" she asked, watching the blond walk over to the door.
- "Nah, I've got plans with Fujin and Raijin. They haven't seen me at all ever since I got back." Seifer said, trying to sound indifferent "I left your lunch over at the table."
- "Uhh, OK. Thank you." Quistis said, sounding somewhat disappointed.
Seifer left the room with a nod to everyone. He walked down the corridor faking nonchalance until he was a safe distance away. Suddenly, he turned to the side and gave a hard kick with the metal clasp of his boot onto the perfectly innocent wall.
- "FUCK!"
A/N: I dunno why, but my fav scene in this chapter was Cid, about to leave Quistis's dorm, telling them about Edea, his wife. I always thought of him as one of the most dramatic characters of the game. And he seems like such a nice, Robin Williams look-alike, kind man…
ON THE NEXT CHAPTER OF 'A SECOND CHANCE':
A surprise two of our male heroes, when they're summoned up to the Headmaster's office…
More of Seifer's 'tormenting' dreams… ^_~
And………
FIRST GUEST STARRING APPEARANCE OF: The Trepies!