Sorry for the long delay but hey school and life have sucked. But now that school's out for the summer I'll be able to update much more frequently. I hope. The fact that I read and edited this chapter a lot more then the last is also a factor.
Anyway thanks to all my reviewers.
Angel Reid: Thanks and I absolutely love your HP fanfic This is Life.
Nom de plum: Wish I coulda gotten this out earlier for ya but here it is. And thanks.
Renn: Stop you're making me blush. I love your HP fanfic too but it went on hiatus :(. (I really like HP can you tell?)
R: Thanks for the compliment. And I'm even more perverted irl then I'll ever be in this story… maybe. (shifty eyes)
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy and unfortunately I never will.
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Chapter Two: Troubled Minds
Zell blinked and shook his head, making sure that he was really seeing the multitudes of people standing in front of his house. Zell knew that Seifer was hated by many but he didn't know that this many people in Balamb felt so strongly.
An elderly man with a crooked nose stepped forward and adjusted his tweed jacket. Pushing his glasses further up his nose he looked Zell in the eye for a moment before presenting him with a folded piece of paper.
"This is the signature of all the people in Balamb who wish to get rid of the Sorceress Knight. If you do not comply and allow us to remove the offender then we will forced to take action and remove him by any means possible. Anyone aiding in the protection of the offender will also be taken into custody. Do you comply to our demands?"
Zell blinked a few times taking this all in and then let loose a growl. Pulling back his fist he let if fly and felt satisfied as he heard the man's glasses breaking. "Fuck you." With that he flung the door shut and turned to face the rest of them.
"So what are we going to do?" Selphie hopped nervously from one foot to another while glancing at the door.
"I'm going to go out there and turn myself in." Seifer moved to go past Zell and was blocked by Zell's arm.
"I don't think so. Turn the fuck around and walk." Zell glared up at the other blond.
"I'm going out that door whether you want me to or not Chicken."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah."
"I don't thank so." Suddenly Zell's hand flew from the wall and struck Seifer in the neck and the tall blond fell to the floor unconscious. "You guys ready to get out of hear?"
"How they're all out there and there is no way we'll be able to get through them." Selphie was still bouncing around, a combination of anticipation and nervousness in her voice.
"Do you really think we don't have an emergency exit here. Follow me." Zell hoisted the unconscious Siefer into his arms and navigated his way to the back of the house where his mother was waiting with the floor hatch already open.
"When you get to the end just remember it's in the forest and you'll need to run to the Garden. I'll take care of things here." Hugging her son she ushered the other two into the hole. "Now you come back safe when things have died down and tell me how things are going got it."
Zell nodded as he lowered Siefer into the tunnel and then smiled up at his mom. "You know me. I'm a trouble maker. I'll be back and I'll bring you something for all the trouble." He then slipped into the tunnel himself and his mother closed the hatch putting them in darkness.
Hitching Siefer a bit higher in his arms Zell sighed, "Well lets get a move on. We've got a bit of a roundabout trek to the Garden." Zell led the way down the passage silently praying his mother was alright.
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Irvine pushed aside the wooden hatch that was the exit and nearly shouted for joy when the sunlight hit him. Being inside a dark winding cave for what he could only guess to be hours was not something he wished to repeat.
They climbed from the hole and Zell put Seifer on the ground to give his weary arms a rest. That was a mistake as seconds later he was on the ground, the taller blond's hand around his neck.
With a low snarl Seifer bent down to his ear level and whispered. "If you ever do that again I'll fucking…"
"You'll fucking what? Kill me. I don't think so Seifer. You're constantly on the run and if you kill me the entire Balamb Garden will be after you and you can't afford it. Now get off." With that the small blond pushed his attacker off of him hopped to his feet.
"Are you two finished? Cus if you are we've got to get to Garden, preferably before sunset." Irvine was in a hurry. For all they knew there was a huge mob on there tails and they were busy fighting.
"Let's go." Seifer spun around and began storming towards the large Garden not too far away, the others following.
They were nearing the end of the forest when it started. A low humming noise assaulted Seifer's ears and slowly grew with intensity. It wasn't until he could make out a few words that he knew the voices had returned. He needed an emotion, happiness or anger or anything to fight the growing numbness inside.
"DAmn y…" A flash of a dying man's face and name.
"DIE!" Followed by a flash of three people's dead bodies and each of their names. The images continued, Seifer barely able to continue walking. And then the worst voice with the worst images came.
"Turn it all the way up." A flash of the Sorceress as she instructed him to torture people. Her voice and face pervaded their way into his mind making the real world indistinguishable from the world of his warped mind.
He fell to his knees and suddenly Zell's face popped into his mind. It was a picture he'd been shown every night in torture, a picture the Sorceress badly wanted to make reality. He stood there blood covering half his face offering Seifer the Hyperion as if inviting death. "His beauty would complete all our hard work. It is our masterpiece you must finish it."
The words looped in his head and then the dream Zell gave his line, "Why?" And the world faded back to reality.
"Seifer are you okay? Seifer!" Selphie and Zell where kneeling in front of him and shouting his name trying to bring him back from where he'd gone.
Seifer's head snapped up and he pushed them away. Stumbling he ran blindly through the trees needing to gather his strength now that he'd shown them weakness. Being weak got you killed and he needed to live just a little bit longer. He refused to end up in hell with that woman so his repentance needed to be completed.
He saw the break in the trees and ran for it hoping to make it out in the open. Just as he thought he'd made it a body threw itself into him and he crashed to the ground. Wrestling blindly with his attacker Seifer spun them around pinning the other's arm to the ground. Suddenly he was flipped over on his back and Zell, his attacker, straddled his hips and pinned his arms above his head.
"What's wrong with you Seifer?" Zell looked down at the man below him but his gaze wasn't returned. The taller blond was staring through him, eyes unfocused and mouth in a thin line. "I can't help you if you won't tell me what the problem is."
That's when Seifer's eyes met his and Zell was unable to tell what was in them. "I don't want your help."
Those words stung both of them in different ways. Zell didn't understand the feelings that were running through him because of this new vulnerable Seifer. Feelings of compassion and caring were things he reserved for people he knew well and yet Seifer had always been able to extract some sort of emotion from him.
"Fine then. At least come with us to Garden and see the rest of the old gang."
"Why?" Seifer really had no intention of going to Garden if he could help it. He'd caused a lot of hell and would probably get an even worse reception then the people of Balmb had wished to give him.
"Because it'll help Selphie a lot with her problems." And as if that were the only explanation needed Zell stood up and began walking back towards the Garden.
Seifer looked at freedom but a few feet away and then at the retreating back of the lithe blond. Climbing to his feet he followed, praying that he was making the right decision.
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True silence is almost impossible to achieve but when it is achieved it is possibly the worst experience anyone can ever have. It weighs down on everyone in the room and seems to penetrate your skin and run through your veins. But that was what had happened as soon as Seifer had walked into the conference room in order to surprise Squall, Quistis, and Rinoa.
They were sure as hell surprised.
And it was still silent. How long could a room really stay completely silent, they should have been yelling or something by now.
Rinoa suddenly stood from her seat and walked across the room. "You're alive?" Seifer nodded unsure what to say and she threw her arms around him. Another warm reception, he really wasn't prepared for all this acceptance.
Quistis maintained her stunned silence and finally someone gave him a greeting he was expecting. Squall still remained silent but the look Squall was giving him told Seifer he was clearly not welcome.
"We'd all assumed you were dead and gave up on finding you. Where have you been all this time?" Rinoa was crying because she was so happy to see him.
"I've been traveling that's all." He wrapped a comforting arm around her and allowed a small smile for reassurance.
Quistis walked over, grabbed Rinoa and Zell and disappeared out the door. Stopping outside she took a moment to compose herself before turning on Zell her authoritarian personality in overdrive. "Why is he here and where did you find him?"
Zell was pissed. Sure seeing Seifer was unexpected but even he was nicer then they were being. When the tall blond was awake at least. "We were chased out of Balamb because my mother was taking care of him. She found him in the streets unconscious and the hospital refused to help him."
"I wouldn't either." The blonde woman replied with a look of approval for the hospital staff.
Zell looked at her with disdain, "And you wonder why Squall favors Rinoa over you. She's not a heartless bitch." Zell turned around and walked back into the room leaving Rinoa and Quistis to absorb his words.
"I'm still not going to shift people around just so he can stay here and hide." Squall had broken his silence but his glare was still directed at Seifer. Obviously they had told him and were trying to get Seifer a room.
"But he…" Selphie wanted to plead her case but she was interrupted yet again by Squall.
"I said no and that's final."
"It's okay Selphie. I'm not wanted here and I can just keep traveling." Seifer wanted to get out of there before it got heated.
Zell glanced at Seifer and remembered the scars running all over his body. If all this "traveling" resulted in that then Zell wasn't letting him leave. "He'll stay with me."
Squall gave him a confused look, "What do you mean he'll stay with you."
"I mean I have a fold out couch in my room so he can stay with me."
"I can't allow him in Garden on the basis that he could cause trouble or be working with someone in order to harm the people residing here."
"That's bullshit!" Zell slammed a fist into the wall and plaster rained down on them. "Everyone wants him dead, including you."
Everyone went silent now that he'd said what everyone had been thinking.
"And what if I do?"
"Then I'm going to tell you to get the fuck off your high horse and then I'll leave Garden."
"You'll be seen as a traitor and I'll have to send some SeeD's after you." Squall was in a seat of power now and his thoughts were, what he said went.
"Then you'll have to include us in the traitor category." Irvine and Selphie stepped forward to show their support for the blonds.
Being outnumbered was not something Squall was used to. Usually everyone agreed to what he said because he was the leader. He glanced at Seifer, who hadn't offered a word in his defense the entire time, and made up his mind. "Fine he can stay but he's to have an escort at all times and he can't leave the Garden."
Zell was pissed but still nodded. The others filed out in front of him and Quistis and Rinoa came back in. Before Zell let the door shut he smirked at Quistis, "I guess that isn't really the reason he favors her cus he's just as heartless as you." Stepping back the door slid shut and Zell turned to follow the other's to the elevator. Zell was going to keep it up until their attitudes changed, no matter how much it pissed them off.
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"And last but not least, this is the bathroom." Zell concluded his tour of his small apartment like room. Seifer hadn't said more then a few words since they had arrived in Garden and Zell was a little worried. It was like a completely new person had taken Seifer's body and became moody and insecure. The Sorceress had done a number on him.
"So you'll be sleeping in my bed and I'll be using the fold out couch okay?"
"Oh no I couldn't." Seifer was being meek, and kind, and damn near infuriating.
"You'll be using my bed and that's that. I'm going to call my mother and see how things go and if we can't get you some more clothes." With that Zell went and sat on the couch making phone calls.
Seifer made his way into his new bedroom and sat on the bed. Pulling the pen and paper off the side table Seifer wrote down six names. Only six more people and his repentance would be complete. He was really grateful for all the help that Zell had been giving him but he needed to leave and soon. Glancing at the open door Seifer sighed, his life had gone to hell and he had only himself to blame for it. He'd been blinded by the promise of power and he'd fallen just as quickly as he'd rose and now he was a mess. Putting the piece of paper in his pocket he stood. A nice shower is what he needed right now.
Zell hung up the phone and laid his head back against the couch. His mother was alright and she'd be up at the Garden in a couple days. The shower started and Zell glanced at the door, he had a roommate again, something he said he'd never do again after Ralhn had lived there.
Zell picked himself off the couch and wandered over to the small kitchen, a celebratory dinner was in order. Opening the cupboard he found only instant ramen. Oh the life of a lonely bachelor. Pulling out a few packages he put some water on to boil, definitely not a celebratory dinner.
The shower stopped a few minutes later as Zell was cooking the ramen. He'd be sharing his room again and it made him nervous, the last roommate he'd had turned out to be into bondage and had tried to get Zell into it too. The very thought of leather made him shiver in apprehension. From what Zell had seen so far his new roommate seemed to be clinically insane. He really knew how to pick them.
Zell set out the bowls just as Seifer left the bathroom. "To celebrate the reunion of the Orphanage gang I thought we'd have some dinner."
Seifer grunted and looked at their dinner. "Only you, Chicken, would celebrate with ramen." Sitting down he pulled a bowl towards himself.
"Don't call me that!" Zell huffed and sat down grabbing his own bowl. The meal was eaten in a tense silence, both of them unsure what to say.
Seifer finished and looked at the blond a moment. "Who is that guy in the picture in your room?"
Zell glanced up glad he hadn't been eating his ramen. He'd forgotten about that picture and he really didn't want to talk about it, especially with Seifer. "Family friend." Standing he reached to take Seifer's bowl.
Grabbing Zell's hand Seifer stood as well. "I'll take care of these." Zell nodded and handed him both bowls. He had made it through an entire day without incident when in typical Zell fashion he tripped over the chair leg and sent them both to the ground.
Zell blinked at the blond above him and rubbed the side of his leg. "You think you could get off of me?"
Seifer didn't hear him, however, as his thought's were spinning through his head. Before he had a chance to sort them out his body took over and his lips met with Zell's in a bruising kiss.
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Zell has pictures of mysterious people in his room. Zell at odds with some of his closest friends and Seifer kissing him. And the fact that Seifer is kinda crazy. It's interesting. Right?
Next chapter should have Zell and Seifer asking themselves some important questions. The revelation of just who that guy in the picture is… It's not that hard to figure out really. And a first meeting with a really weird OC of mine mentioned above, Ralhn. And he really is odd…
Anyways please review and sorry again for the delay.