A/N: Hey everyone…
Sorry for the delay on this chapter, but I've started to revise for my upcoming exams (in less than two weeks time) so my writing hours have been severely limited.
On a happier note, I fucked my foot up royally…
Word of advice kids: Do NOT agree to ride on someone's bike unless you're absolutely sure of their driving skills. Even if that someone is a friend…
This chapter is dedicated to PRODIGIOUS TECHIE, my most recent reviewer, who actually sat and reviewed for each and every chapter from the very beginning until he/she caught up (btw, check out my journal, URL to which can be found in my profile, cause I have a small section dedicated to you in my entry, explaining a few things ). Really tripped me out… xx And of course, shout-outs to ALL of you who have been so kind as to support this fic so far! Crystal loves ya all!!!
Oh and a small request to the reviewer who happens to come from my country (Krystallo): check out my LJ (live journal). The URL's in the profile. I have a few words to say to ya
Enjoy!
Last chapter summary: After dealing with Adel, our heroes come face to face with an even worse enemy: the tides of time, compressing into past, present and future into one.
A second chance
By: Sickness in Salvation
Chapter 39: Time Compression
Quistis looked at the sight from behind, smiling, breathing heavily. She'd made it; she'd given Rinoa enough strength to make it through this… But her own was abandoning her… She had transferred it all to her spell… She needed some rest right now… Yes… Rest… She would love to rest right now…
The young Instructor's eyes shut and she fell onto the floor in exhaustion.
Seifer jumped up to his feet, startled.
- "Quistis!" he cried, making a run for her.
Too late…
Time Compression had just initiated…
The room began to liquefy around them, slowly melt away, as time, past, present and future became one. And they were all slipping away, plunging to the bottom of the steadily disintegrating floor…
Seifer's eyes widened.
Quistis wouldn't make it within Time Compression unconscious… She needed her mind to be clear and think of the place she wanted to be, of the people she wanted to be with, otherwise, she'd be lost in the tides of time forever…
Seifer dove onto the floor and extended one arm to catch her.
Quistis's limp body was magically sponged into the molten floor, as was his.
He made one ultimate attempt, his palm closing around her wrist.
Her hand slipped away…
- "Quistis, NOOOO!"
His scream was muffled when his mouth got filled with water. They were floating inside an ocean with no visible end or beginning, as if it always existed there, but had only now appeared.
He saw her, many feet below him, sinking into the dark waters below, slowly getting frailer and frailer, as if dissolving into nothing. He opened his mouth to call her, but almost no sound came out. He watched as the bubbles that held his voice captive descended up and soon disappeared.
'There's a surface above…'
Determinedly, he dove down and struggled to swim to her with all the strength he could muster. She had stopped moving and was now lying to the bottom of the sea, pale, motionless. Clenching his teeth, he swam harder. He was almost out of breath; he could sense his mind becoming number with each passing second, but he'd die before he gave up on her. He managed to reach the bottom of the sea and swiftly, slid his right hand underneath her right armpit and grabbed her shoulder with his palm, securing it against her chest. He stomped his foot hard on the sand below, giving him boost to go up quicker. He moved his legs frantically and did what he could to aid with his free hand. There was no light above them, but he had to keep trying.
There had to be a surface up there… There just had to…
He was in dire need of oxygen; he could feel it in his every cell that was slowly, but steadily shutting down, refusing to work with him. His head spun like crazy and the weight of Quistis and his wet clothes was beginning to become a real burden. But then, the darkness began to get thinner above him. A tiny flicker of light was visible for a few seconds, but disappeared again, just as suddenly as it had appeared. Water was flooding into his lungs like a waterfall, but he couldn't stop now. He wouldn't. His brain felt waterlogged, his muscles almost refused to help him…
And then his head tore through the surface.
With a loud gasp, he struggled for air. Wonderful, clear air that was whipping hard against his cold face, making it sting, but he swallowed it down with greed, within chokes and coughs from the gallons of salty water that had entered his system. Panting, he made sure Quistis's head stayed above the water.
Rain was falling hard on them; there was a storm outside. Sinister, ominous clouds filled the sky, making it so dark as if light had never existed before. Thunders were roaring above them; the flicker of light he'd seen before. Tall waves were sweeping the surface mercilessly, crushing against the rocky shell of the mountain slopes before them. Squinting, Seifer made out a dim light in the horizon. It got stronger and stronger, as if approaching them, only seconds before becoming thinner again…
He began to swim towards it, holding Quistis with one arm. The light got closer again and then moved away from them once more. Struggling to swim properly, among waves of freezing water that threatened to tear them apart, he made out the outline of a white structure.
'Could it be…? The lighthouse?!'
Just as the light of hope ignited within him, it became extinguished again, when he barely had time to see that gigantic wave that covered them both.
Instinctively, he wrapped his arm tight around Quistis, as air was swept away from him again and he found himself shoved into the seabed once more. The wave carried them along its trail and all Seifer could do was wait, before he could regain control of his body again.
His side made contact with something soft, and he was slightly plunged within it, right before the water withdrew and he was allowed to breathe again. Opening his eyes with difficulty, among the rivulets of seawater and heavy raindrops that trickled down his face, he realized they'd been stranded to a beach by the course of the wave.
But he knew that beach all too well…
They had reached the orphanage. There was still hope for them…
But they were alone, and Quistis was still not moving… or breathing…
Seifer pulled her out of the water and onto the wet sand, frantically searching within the depths of his mind for a way to bring her back to life. Quickly, he unzipped her vest, removing it. He wrapped it into a small pillow and put it right beneath her neck, making her throat arch up 'OK, OK… First aid class…' Seifer thought, clenching his fists and shutting his eyes 'Concentrate… You can do this… You MUST do this…'
He grabbed her wrist and pressed his index and middle fingers where the vein was. Panting, he waited eagerly for any sign of a pulse. Panic overtook him as he felt nothing.
Leaning down, he closed her nostrils with two fingers, pulling her chin down with his other hand and pressed his lips around hers. He breathed in twice, then quickly sprang up and traced her diaphragm under her front chest bone. Hee pressed hard and rhythmically five times, then stopped; Quistis didn't stir.
- "Come on, Quistis!" he said desperately, leaning down again.
He repeated the procedure. Again nothing. Clenching his teeth, he took in sharp breaths and tried again.
Two breaths, five pumps. Still unconscious.
- "You will not die on me, Quistis Trepe!" he shouted, tears welling up in his eyes.
He went through the procedure again, pumping harder on her chest. Still not a single breath.
- "Quistis no! Don't give up!" he yelled, voice slightly wavering.
He wiped his eyes with the cold, wet sleeve of his coat and for the fifth time, tried to make Quistis breathe again.
To no avail.
Thick rivulets of tears ran down his face and his loud sobs drowned within the deafening roars of the thunders above. The scene may as well have been taken out by one of his worst nightmares, or a sleazy b-movie in which the thunders above were meant to symbolize the wrath hidden underneath his grief. But, no, this was very much real. Funny, and disturbing, how a moment he'd ridicule with ease in said type of movies now barged within his life, tearing him apart.
He presumed it was just another golden opportunity for Hyne to show off his abhorrent sense of 'humor'.
Seifer looked down upon Quistis's beautiful, but rigid and lifeless face. She didn't even seem to be at peace; not even now. She just wouldn't accept the way fate had turned the tables for her and she lay before him, morbid, rigid. But then again, neither would he… He fell down on her chest and cried like he never had before in his life.
'Emotion is for the weak' he always used to repeat to himself, which was one of the very few links he shared with his –albeit peer- ultimate rival. Neither ever allowed their feelings to conquer them and chose a different façade to present to the world each. He had, erroneously, chosen one where he drowned his own sorrow by lashing out on others. Only once, had he allowed himself to break down in front of another, but it had been a moment shared only between them and would always be kept as such.
And now, as destiny would have it, another such moment had presented itself in front of him…
He would never see her blue eyes sparkle again, he'd never hear her laugh, he'd never hold her close to him at nights…
- "Quistis…" he whimpered "No… I… I… I l-l-l…" A sob choked his voice into incoherence.
His heart ached as if being stabbed by a thousand knives, his chest felt hollow, his mind was blank… This just couldn't be happening. They had come too far together to part like this, so abruptly. There was still so much he wanted to share, talk to her about. Even with the ever-present dangers their lifestyle and occupation came with, he had always been certain they had all the time in the world ahead of them. But it was too late now… She was gone and he hadn't even said goodbye…
All he could do, was rest upon her, body quivering from stifled wails.
- "No." he said suddenly, pushing himself up from her chest. Tears were still streaming down his eyes, but his sobs had subsidized "NO." he said louder. He placed his arms right upon her diaphragm, beginning to pump harder as he screamed I. WON'T. LET. YOU. GO!!!
He leaned down again and breathed into her mouth fiercely.
His eyes snapped open; his mouth got filled with water.
He pulled up abruptly, watching Quistis choke. He held her head up, as she coughed up salty water, a wide smile appearing on his face. He had done it; she was there, she was alive again, she was breathing. Gasping and wheezing, Quistis glanced at him through half open eyes.
- "Seifff…" she mumbled, before falling unconscious again.
Seifer wrapped his arms tightly around her, as he laughed. And wept. And thanked Hyne inwardly. And kissed her cold, damp forehead.
'We'll make it, Quistis… I won't lose you again… We'll be OK…'
The thunders kept crackling louder in the sky above them. Seifer looked up, rain still pouring upon them and he closed his eyes for a second. When he re-opened them, his hazy glance fell upon a dark, gigantic structure that stood afar. He wiped the beads of water away from his forehead and eyelashes, as he tried to make it out.
'A… castle?'
Thunderbolts hit its surface, lighting it up for mere seconds, before it plunged within the darkness again.
Seifer tried to get up, only to realize that his feet were slowly being swallowed by the sand below them and the scenery was beginning to dissolve again.
'Time Compression…'
He held Quistis tightly against his chest and closed his eyes, remembering Laguna's words.
Imagine being in that place with all your friends…
Once time compression begins, think of that place and try to get there…
That place will welcome you. You'll be able to get there no matter what period you're in…
'But…' Seifer thought 'This is where I want to be… But no-one's here… Where is everyone? Did they… move ahead? …Without us…?'
Time became unsteady once again and Seifer closed his eyes, allowing it to swallow them once more.
He could feel they were spinning around aimlessly, slipping more and more away and into……….. oblivion?
He could feel his body growing heavy, the darkness consuming them, the pressure within his head getting stronger, a myriad of scattered sounds filling his ears-
Silence.
And then, the sound of wind. And the warmth of the ground underneath him.
He slid his eyes open. He rolled off his back, still holding on to Quistis, as rogue sand particles were coming on to them from every direction.
He sheltered his eyes with one palm, squinting.
Innumerable dunes stood tall around them.
Sand… Just an endless, vast area of nothing but sand… As far as the eye could reach…
A desert is said to be one of the most cruel, vicious types of environment to inhabit. During the day, scorching sun can burn your every cell to the core, the heat radiating from the sand can make your feet feel as if on fire, the sweat that runs wild in steaming rivulets drains your body from its last hints of juices and the random sandstorms can blow you away and bury you under a dune with ease. But during the night, the temperature drops dramatically to degrees below zero and if the sandstorms dwell, it would take a great deal of navigational skills not to get lost.
Seifer Almasy always knew this kind of trivia as mere facts. Never, not even in his wildest dreams, had he imagined he'd be brought to face such a situation.
Until now.
He wasn't aware of how much time had passed since he'd first begun walking. Could have been seconds, minutes, hours, days… All he knew was that he felt he'd stretched himself beyond his limits. His skin was dangerously red and glistening with sweat, his lips were dry, the sand was whipping against his bare arms, his vision was growing hazy and he sensed he was about to collapse under the weight of Quistis, who was secured from the storm under his trench coat, lying numb onto his arms.
The last hint of orientation skill drowned within the vastness of the desert and the chaos of the sandstorm and he was left all alone, wandering aimlessly. His face was blank, expressionless and his moves mechanical. He couldn't cry, he couldn't scream over the possible loss of Quistis and the final ounce of hope that he'd bring them both over to safety had vanished. All he could do, was keep walking.
Until he wouldn't be able to walk anymore…
'Quistis… I'm sorry… I couldn't find everyone… We won't see them again… We're… alone…'
Eventually succumbing into the vertigo brought by the merciless sun and dehydration, he fell to his knees. He wobbled unsteadily in position for a few seconds. He barely heard the faint cries from afar and saw three blurs of yellow, blue and brown. He squinted, just as the storm began to settle down and he made out the dark shadow of a space ship behind the blurs.
- "…Ragnarok…?" he whispered, as if not believing their sheer luck.
The cries were getting louder now. He could almost recognize to whom the voices belonged.
'Aha…We're saved…' he thought, before passing out cold, arms still wrapped around the girl protectively…
'Head… spinning…'
'Fuckin' cold…'
'Lips… dry…'
'Eyelids… burning…'
'Water… Oh Hyne, yes… Some water… I'd fuckin' KILL for a sip of water…'
'Quistis… Where the hell is Quistis?!'
'She's not… She's not……………gone?'
'No… dammit… no…'
'She… She… can't… not now…not…'
- "…Qui…stis……The… The storm…Don't go… We're g… g-gonna get there…I promise…I'll…I'll…"
He slid his eyes open. He couldn't see well… He could see nothing but a blur above him…
A black blur… And a sky blue one… And another, a deep blue one…
- "He's hallucinating."
- "He'll be fine. He just needs to sleep it over."
Voices. All familiar ones. But he couldn't make them out… He was too tired to think…
- "…Quisss…tis…" Seifer croaked out again.
- "Shh…" A hand on his forehead, stroking his hair "She's fine." A gentle voice. A woman "You just sleep now, OK?" He coughed faintly.
- "…Need…water…" he said faintly.
- "Give him this, too."
He felt a soft palm slide underneath his nape, aiding his head up. His lips parted and something was forced inside his mouth. Felt like a pill… Then his parched lips made contact with a plastic surface. It made them ache. The refreshing sense of water reached his tongue. He'd never before appreciated its remarkable taste… But that fucking pill was bitter like hell… Trickles of moist dribbled from the corners of his lips down his neck and to his chest. He coughed up and the water was taken away. He was helped to lie back down and he closed his eyes, as a piece of cloth wiped his mouth.
- "What was in that black thing?"
- "My grandpa's old remedy. He used to be a ninja. Contains parts of a lizard, worm and… salamander, I think."
- "........................You're kidding…right?"
- "Nope."
- ".........You're not just taking this opportunity to poison him, are you?"
- "Don't be ridiculous. I gave it to Quistis earlier as well… It'll help them regain their strength fast, guaranteed."
'Lizard. And worm. And salamander………… Fuck, now I'm hearing things, too…' Seifer thought.
He pulled the covers up, shivering.
- "……C-c-cold…" he muttered.
The covers reached up to his chin. His eyes, even when closed, stung terribly. A damp towel was pressed against his forehead.
- "Get some sleep, SeiferOK? Everything will be alright…" That soft voice again.
- "OK…" he mumbled.
He swallowed with difficulty and gathered the fabric of the covers within his balled fists. He exhaled audibly and tried to relax…
'Everything will be alright… Yeah, it will…'
'Sleep… Yes, sleep…'
And so he did.
Little Quisty was sitting in the middle of an empty room, hugging her knees, crying.
"I wanna go hoooome…" she whimpered.
"Aw, come on… Don't cry… You can play with me, you'll feel better."
Quisty looked up and saw a giant lizard standing above her, grinning at her goofily. The blonde girl shrieked and crawled away from it. She almost slipped trying to get up on her feet, then ran towards the opposite direction. She cast one last glance at the giant lizard and turned around her, when…
"You don't wanna play with us?"
"YIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" Quisty shrieked again.
She wheeled around and began running away from the giant worm, which wore a black bow tie and a tall black hat, eyes snapped wide and terrified.
After a while, she stopped, palms on her knees, gasping for breath. She looked around her for any sign of the blown-up lizard and worm, until a finger tapped on her shoulder, making her jump up startled.
"Hey, it's OK. It's me."
She turned around, only to come face to face with little Seifer, smiling at her. He offered her his tiny palm, which she took, a wave of relief overtaking her.
"I know those guys." Seifer said "They're my friends. Wanna go play with them?"
"No… They're scary…" Quisty complained.
"Nah… They're OK if you get to know them… Come on." Seifer said, and pulled her back.
"Mr. Lizard!" called Seifer "I'm bringing my friend Quisty over!"
"Whoo-hoo!" exclaimed Mr. Salamander "Now we can all play together! Do the chocobo dance!"
"Yeah! Do-the-chocobo! Do-the-chocobo!" cheered Mr. Worm, waving his hat around.
And they all joined hands and began doing the chocobo dance merrily…
…………
Seifer's eyes snapped open.
He rested his weight on his elbows, eyes rolling around the room in bewilderment. He shook his head in disbelief 'Second sign that I need to fucking stop smoking Ghysahl Greens…'
He rubbed his sore forehead, grunting. His eyes stung a bit. He re-opened them, looking around him lazily.
'What the…? Where the hell am I?'
This room looked hauntingly familiar. Not a Garden room; this one was metal on the inside and aside from the door, only had one cot inside and a small metal cabinet.
'………Ragnarok…? But……but how?'
Still rubbing his forehead, his gaze fell upon the side of the cot not occupied by him. He found Quistis, hugging her pillow, curled into a fetal position, sleeping peacefully. After the initial shock of waking up next to her, a smile crept upon his lips, wide and warm. He sank back down and under the covers, wrapping his arms around her waist. He sensed her relaxing under his embrace and, slowly, her body 'unfolded' and rested calm within his arms. Even her breathing seemed to become smoother.
He ran a hand through her loose hair and kissed her forehead softly. His hands caressed her… bare? back… He frowned 'Bare?' Lifting up the covers a bit, he realized she wore no clothes underneath, but then again, so did he. He sat up on the cot again. None of this made sense… First, he was hearing voices in his sleep, then Mr. Lizard, Mr. Salamander and Mr. Worm visit him in a wacky dream, and then he wakes up next to Quistis, both nude, inside one of Ragnarok's rooms. He rubbed the back of his hair 'What the hell…?'
He looked around the room for any sign of clothing, quite glad and relieved to find his own hanging from a pair of small hooks next to the sliding door. Quistis's were there as well. Slowly getting up from the cot, so as not to wake her up, he approached the door. With every second step he felt his head spinning the slightest bit, making him trip. Shaking his head, he grabbed his clothes and robed himself, right before exiting the room, grabbing his boots on his way out.
Seifer leaned against the door and slipped his shoes on, seeing various people, clad in SeeD uniforms wandering about.
A pair of girls which he vaguely recognized stopped before him and saluted him.
- "Good morning Commander Almasy, sir!" they said in unison.
- "Morning…" mumbled Seifer.
- "Glad to see you up and about, sir!" said one of them, smiling "Have a nice day!"
Seifer watched the two girls walk down the corridor and soon disappear from sight. Arching an eyebrow in question, he began to make his way towards the cockpit. He could sense they were flying; his stomach had alerted him so the moment he'd gotten up from bed. Taking each step in failed attempts to conceal his apprehension, he suddenly wondered if it was being piloted by a certain hyper peer of his…
He reached the small lift leading up to the cockpit and pressed the button for the shaft to lower down.
- "Almasy."
Seifer creased both brows 'Xu…?' He turned around.
- "Long time no see… Commander." said Xu, clad in her deep blue uniform, a seemingly forced smile plastered upon her face.
- "Xu…" Seifer said, doing nothing to conceal dislike and slight surprise from his voice "Not exactly the person I wanted to talk to, but at least you'll explain to me what the fuck's going on around here… Who the hell are all those SeeDs roaming around here? And why are we in the frickin' Ragnarok?"
- "Nice to see you, too…" Xu sneered, crossing her arms "How's Quistis?"
- "She's sleeping." Seifer replied "And I believe I asked you a question?"
- "Two." replied Xu "Answers to both of which are slightly long stories…"
- "That's OK," Seifer said, leaning against the wall behind him "I've got loads of free time." Xu sighed.
- "After Time Compression commenced, many of us were suddenly brought here." she began narrating "Not much time passed before Squall and the others found us. He explained to me what the deal was with Sorceress Ultimecia, and that she plans to fully compress time shortly. We've been searching for her castle through the Ragnarok ever since."
- "And how did you find…" Seifer hesitated "Us?"
- "Ah, yes…" said Xu, obviously not at all pleased that this issue had come up "Well you see, after my short conversation with Squall and everyone else, I came to realize that two people were missing… Well…Actually, I realized one person was missing, only to be informed that she and you come as a 'package' as of lately."
Seifer couldn't help but let out a wide smirk at Xu's expression of great displease.
- "Indeed…" he said.
- "Anyway…" Xu went on, letting out a sigh "It wasn't long before you magically appeared out of the blue, carrying her and collapsed right before Rinoa, Selphie and Irvine reached you."
- "Magically?" Seifer said, cocking an eyebrow.
- "Yes. Selphie had been on the cockpit with Rinoa and Irvine and suddenly saw you two from afar." replied Xu "Just like that. Rinoa believes that the only way you could have found us, is if you had been thinking about us."
Seifer frowned, falling in deep through for a few seconds, right as the lift behind him got called and a crate came down.
'Quistis… I'm sorry… I couldn't find everyone… We won't see them again… We're… alone…'
He looked back up at Xu, while a SeeD walked behind him and picked up the crate.
- "Maybe…" he said "So… That's all?"
- "Pretty much." replied Xu "After we picked you up, we took off in search of Ultimecia's whereabouts. And we took care of you. Quistis was simply exhausted a tremendous lot, but she'll be fine soon. And you suffered from a slight case of sunstroke."
- "Right…" Seifer said, nodding "Where's everyone?"
- "Rinoa, Irvine and Squall are in the deck below with me, checking our supplies." Xu replied "Zell is doing something else in the cockpit above, and Selphie is guiding some SeeDs how to pilot."
Seifer's stomach did a noteworthy lurch right then.
- "…Right…" he mumbled.
- "Anyway, I'll be off now… Commander." Xu said, turning her heel, heading towards the lower deck.
Seifer made a move to step upon the lift, when he turned around again.
- "Xu?" he called.
- "Yes?" said the girl, turning around.
- "Ummm…" Seifer began, rubbing the back of his hair "This might just be me talking crazy, but… While I was out… There wasn't anyone talking about… salamanders… above me, was there?" he asked.
Xu didn't reply, merely grinned, a grin very close to one of Seifer's right after he'd managed to piss yet another person.
Seifer's eyes glistened dangerously. He clenched his teeth.
- "You didn't…" Seifer growled at her.
- "Didn't I?" Xu quipped at him.
She wheeled around again and disappeared behind the doors.
- "FUCKING CRAZY BITCH!" he yelled at the doors, punching the wall behind him, before stepping upon the small lift.
He rubbed his stomach uneasily, sticking his tongue out in disgust.
The small lift reached the top deck and Seifer pushed the double doors before him.
Immediately, many heads turned towards his direction, including those of Zell and Selphie.
- "Heeeeey!" Selphie squealed, springing up from the seat she'd been slouched upon "You're up!"
Zell, who was walking across the room moving some crates along with other SeeDs, grinned the slightest bit and nodded at him.
- "Hey man…" he said, and continued with his work.
- "Hi…" Seifer mumbled, waling towards Selphie "I just woke up and came up to find you guys."
- "How's Quisty?" Selphie asked.
- "She's fine. Sleeping." Seifer replied, slipping his hands into his pockets "What are you all doing here?"
- "Zell over there is helping some people move the crates down to the deck below," Selphie explained "And I'm teaching those kids over there how to pilot the Ragny."
Ignoring Selphie's tendency to give practically every living or not thing a 'cute' nickname, Seifer turned towards the direction she'd pointed, where a couple of SeeDs where sitting behind the controls, steering the airship. And quite skillfully, Seifer noticed. But then again, Selphie was sitting a few feet away from them, completely engrossed in a book. Which would explain their quite good piloting skills…
- "What are you reading?" Seifer asked Selphie.
Selphie put a hand up to silence him, ignored him for a few seconds, then looked up at him.
- "Yeah, what?" she asked.
- "What's that you're reading?" Seifer repeated, leaning down just a bit, trying to make out the title of the book.
- "Harlequin…" Zell mumbled, as he passed by them, carrying around a crate.
- "It's soooo not a harlequin!" Selphie protested "It's called: 'The Mansion of Lust' and-"
- "The Mansion of LustSeifer snorted, bursting out laughing "That practically screams harlequin from miles away! Hell no… It screams porno from miles away!!"
- "Say what you will, but I'll have you know," Selphie began, matter-of-factly "That this book narrates the tales of a politician, Secretary of Internal Affairs, called Luke Walton."
- "It is, after all, a known fact that the lives of politicians are extremely interesting…" Zell commented, passing by again to grab another crate.
- "It's an interesting book!" Selphie protested.
- "Cause there's porn in it…" Seifer said, grinning broadly.
- "It's not porn!" Selphie insisted "The love scenes are actually very tastefully written!"
- "So…" said Seifer, crossing his arms, apparently terribly amused by the situation "Who's Mr. Walton's love interest in that particular chapter?"
- "Oooh, here he meets this mysterious woman, Cassie Petra, who's a bodyguard and is his 'date' for the night, to protect him because Luke senses there's a conspiracy held behind his back! It all happens in this charity ball he organizes in his Mansion!" Selphie explained, voice full of excitement.
- "Ahh… Hence, 'The Mansion of LustSeifer said, in a mock-mystified voice.
- "I've got a feeling he's falling in love with her, though." Selphie said, giggling.
- "Who the hell writes this crap anyway?" Seifer asked.
- "Probably a woman…" Zell commented yet again, as he passed by. Seifer nodded.
- "It's a man!" Selphie protested.
- "Correction: A flamboyantly gay man." said Seifer, tilting the book up by pushing it up with a finger "Lucius J. Wallace…" he read the name on the top of the cover.
The cover of the book, illustrated a man dressed in a tuxedo, with short gray hair, and a blonde woman in a red dress, dancing, sharing a look full of what seemed like longing.
- "Lucius J. Wallace…" Seifer repeated "Where have I heard this name before?"
- "Early retired Secretary of Defense of Galbadia." Selphie informed him "Says so in the bio in the back. Along with other published works."
- "So Mr. Wallace has written a vast variety of high-quality novels?" Seifer quipped at her.
- "Don't mock him!" Selphie snapped "Luke Walton is one of the most well-developed characters ever to appear in a novel! He's even gotten a 'cameo' in a movie!"
- "And which movie might that be?" Seifer asked, grinning.
- "Only the hit romance film of the decade!" Selphie said, sounding scandalized that Seifer wasn't aware of that piece of trivia "Love conquers all!"
- "Seriously, who comes up with those titles?" Seifer asked Zell, who merely shrugged and carried another crate away "Sounds like something either a middle-aged housewife would think of, or worse…an undereducated teenage girl with serious issues…"
- "I won't even bother to try and make conversation with you anymore!" Selphie snapped at Seifer, and buried her face behind the pages of her book again.
Chuckling, Seifer walked back towards the doors, leading to the elevator.
- "See ya around later…" he called, receiving a grunt from Selphie and quiet 'Bye' from Zell.
Quistis clutched the covers and rolled onto her cot.
Groggily, she rubbed her eyes open, tucking away the strands of hair that had fallen into her face during her sleep.
- "Rise and shine."
She turned her head abruptly towards the source of the voice and found Xu sitting on a chair, right across her bed.
- "Xu!" the blonde exclaimed, at the totally unexpected sight of her old friend.
The brunette stood up, smiling and approached the cot, sitting next to Quistis.
- "How are you feeling?" she asked, running a hand over her forehead.
- "I'm… I'm fine… I guess…" Quistis mumbled, still quite bewildered.
She sat up on the cot, only to realize her state of nudity, and tuck the covers underneath her armpits.
- "Hyne…" she said, touching Xu's hand "I haven't seen you in ages!"
- "I know…" Xu said, smiling at her "Quite a lot has happened…"
- "Hyne, yes…" Quistis said, running a hand through her messy hair "We were on our way to- Wait…" she said, looking around her "Where are we?"
- "Ragnarok." Xu replied laconically.
- "Ragnarok?" Quistis repeated, knitting her brows into a frown "But-"
- "Long story." Xu interrupted her "In a nutshell, after Time compression initiated, me and some other SeeDs found ourselves here. Shortly later, Squall and the others showed up, but you were lost. Then somehow ended up here."
- "Where is here?" Quistis asked.
- "Kashkabald desert." Xu informed her "That's were we were stationed, trying to figure out how to find you."
- "Where's-"
- "He's up." Xu interrupted the blonde again, frowning the slightest bit "He… He was the one who brought you here. As in how he managed to do that… no-one knows. Ask him yourself."
Quistis nodded, still feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the information she'd been bombarded with the last few seconds. It then just hit her that Xu, one of the people she'd come to consider closest to her, knew pretty much nothing about all the recent 'events' that had taken place in her life the past days.
- "Xu…" Quistis began "I think you should-"
- "I already know." Xu said, letting out a long-dragged sigh "It's your decision, your life, so I can't say anything… Just… be careful with him." she said in an almost scolding manner.
Quistis couldn't help but grin at that. She couldn't even begin to explain to Xu how the circumstances had shown her an entirely different 'Seifer', but she knew all to well of their mutual feelings towards each other to try and make amends between them. Not everyone had to agree with her choice, or like him 'Come to think of it…' she thought 'Not that many people do…'
- "BUT…" Xu exclaimed, bringing her out of her trance "If he makes you shed so much of one tear, I'm castrating him!" Quistis laughed out loud at that "Quistis, I'm serious!" Xu insisted "If the slightest mistake on his part falls under my suspicion, he'll be wishing he were never born!"
- "OK, OK…" Quistis said between gales of laughter, putting her palms up, accepting defeat.
- "And here…" said Xu, reaching over to the chair she'd been sitting upon, grabbing a T-shirt "Wear this." she added, handing her the garment.
- "Oh thanks…" said Quistis, as she slipped her arms through the sleeves and pulled her head up from the neckline "Is it yours?"
- "Well, seeing as Time Compression came as a wee bit of a shock, I didn't have time to actually pack…" Xu said, grinning "But we found some soldier gear inside the cabinets in the rooms."
- "Ah, I see…" said Quistis, nodding "I wasn't really cold, but thanks anyway."
- "I just don't want you lying around like that next to him…" Xu said scornfully "I don't want him gettin' ideas…"
Quistis blushed a bit at that last statement, and chose not to go further into explaining to Xu what had come between them. Or else she had a feeling that said castration would take place quite a bit sooner than expected…
The door slid open just then, revealing Seifer with a cigarette between his fingers, who almost choked on his intake of smoke at the sight of Quistis being awake.
- "Quis!" he exclaimed, throwing the cigarette behind the door just as it slid closed.
He rushed over to the cot, shoving Xu to the side, embracing Quistis tightly. Xu adjusted her uniform and sat up on the cot, glaring at Seifer, who was now in the process of running his fingers through Quistis's hair, smiling at her.
- "Are you OK?" he asked gingerly.
- "I'm fine, no need to worry…" Quistis replied, smiling back.
- "Good, good…" Seifer mumbled, looking at her, completely ignoring Xu's presence in the room.
After a few seconds, he turned towards Xu, arching an eyebrow, and cleared his throat loudly.
- "Ahem, back at you!" Xu snapped "I came to see my friend too, you know!"
- "Sure, whatever. But kindly rid us of your company now…" he quipped at her.
- "Seifer…" Quistis growled at him.
- "What?" he said innocently.
- "Never mind," Xu said, getting up "I have to go back to the lower deck anyway…"
- "I'll come by and see you later." Quistis said.
- "Oh and," Seifer addressed Xu "Tell Squall to come up, won't ya? I want to… discuss something with him."
- "OK, I'll tell him…" Xu said, walking towards the door, exiting the room.
Seifer turned his attention back to Quistis, grinning more broadly than ever. He cupped her face in his palms and gave her a deep peck on the lips.
- "Hyne… I'm so glad you're up…" he said "You had me worried…"
- "Sorry…" Quistis apologized "I didn't mean to cause you trouble. But I was the only one who could help Rinoa at the time…"
- "Yeah, I know…" Seifer said, nodding "I just didn't want to l-"
There was a knock on their door.
- "Be right back…" said Seifer, frowning, as he got up from the cot.
He walked over to the door, puzzled as to who might be 'Rinoa or Selphie probably, checking upon Quistis…'
He was rather surprised to see Squall standing outside, since it had been less than a minute that Xu had left the room.
- "Hey…" Seifer said, arching both eyebrows.
- "I was on my way up and saw Xu." Squall explained, sensing the question before it came up by Seifer's expression "So… You OK?"
- "Yeah, I'm fine. Just felt a bit dizzy before." Seifer said.
- "Hey Squall…" Quistis called from inside the room.
Squall poked his head inside the room and waved at Quistis, smiling the slightest bit.
- "Feeling well?" he asked.
- "Yeah, I'm fine." Quistis replied, smiling back.
- "So…" Squall said as he leaned back in place "What did you want to talk to me about?"
- "Oh…" Seifer said, stepping outside the room "I wanted to ask you what we're planning to do with Ultimecia. I don't suppose you have a lock on her?"
- "No, not yet…" Squall replied, shaking his head in negation "Still searching."
- "You don't think she would own… a castle… do you?" Seifer asked, rubbing his chin.
- "Could be, why?" Squall asked.
- "I'll tell you later…" Seifer said "But I have an idea on where she might be… When Quistis feels better we'll assemble up in the cockpit and talk about it."
- "Does one hour sound good?" Squall asked "We don't actually have much time in our hands…"
- "Yeah, one hour's fine." Seifer said nodding.
- "OK. See you then." Squall said, turning his heel.
Seifer smirked.
- "And… Pubes?"
Squall frowned. That wasn't a good sign… He turned around to see what Seifer wanted, when-
Next thing he knew, he was lying onto the floor, clutching his aching nose, while Seifer stood above him, cracking the knuckles on his clenched fist.
- "I don't think I need to explain myself for this…" Seifer sneered at Squall "See you later." he added, disappearing back through the door.
A/N: OK, OK… I know what you're thinking: "What the hell was she smoking when she wrote that dream scene with the giant lizard, worm and salamander?!!!"
Hee, hee… Actually, this is a cameo scene from the very first anime I ever saw. I don't think any of you will know it; it's called "Kabamaru Iga No: Ninja-Boy" and it narrated the story of a boy (Kabamaru) who was an orphan and raised to become a ninja by his grandfather. When his love interest, Mai, spent an entire night out in a blizzard and was ill, he gave her this black pill that his grandpa had taught him how to make, to help her recover quickly. Later on, when Mai slept, she had the exact dream as described here (without the chocobo reference of course) :-p It's not as funny when narrated, but if you see the scene with the dream… well… it was hilarious!
And finally, I'd just like to say that the next chapter will be a wee bit late again because 1) Got studyin' to do… :bleh: and 2) The next chapter is the beginning of a two-part chapter with the Ulty fight, so you can see that I have a LOT of things to go through: how to describe the castle well, the guardians you have to fight, add a few twists of my own, make it all realistic… It should be up in about a week or so.
Ta!
ON THE NEXT CHAPTER OF 'A SECOND CHANCE':
The ultimate battle begins…