Icicle Knight, Fiery SeeD
Chapter 3
//\\
As soon as they had all left D-District Prison behind, Seifer tried to give into the exhaustion that plagued him. After the ordeal of torture, the utter shock of Leonhart's bombshell, and the energy needed to escape a maximum security prison even with Irvine's assistance (Rinoa had apparently found the Cowboy after the parade and hired him to get the rest of them out of Galbadia's famed prison), had almost been more than he could spare. Thankfully, or unthankfully he couldn't decide which, he didn't have to drive, Fujin had one of the army-issue ATV's they had commandeered, Tilmitt had the other one, so that was one less thing he had to distract him. No matter how he tried to cudgel his mind into thinking of other matters, he couldn't help but ponder what his rival had told him. Almost morbidly, he found himself calculating just how long Trabia and Balamb Gardens had left, before the expected missiles hit. Estimating the distances between the Gardens and Galbadia's missile storage base, and the time it would take long range missiles to cover those distances, adding that to the time that had already elapsed on his miraculously unconfiscated watch told him that Trabia was due to be destroyed in less than 8 hours. There was no way to stop the launch, they had miles to go before they could get to the base at their present speed, and the launch was due to happen in a mere half hour. Balamb had more time, with nearly 25 hours before total destruction, due to both its later launch time and farther distance from Galbadia.
He hadn't told his traveling companions about what Squall had revealed to him, Chicken-wuss and Tilmitt would no doubt get all heroic when there was nothing to be done. Add that to what Trepe would say…burr. It didn't merit thinking about. He knew he couldn't hide it forever, everyone in the cars had been through SeeD training, and could ID various weapons systems in their sleep.
There, right on cue. The unmistakeable trail of a full flight of long range missiles arched up in the sky toward Trabia. In the front of their small convoy, Tilmitt jammed on the breaks in alarm, halting their progress. Everyone plied out of the vehicles, all eyes tracking the trails. Tilmitt was the one that voiced what they were all thinking in an unprofessionally panicked voice. "It's heading to Trabia!!! Seifer, do something!!!"
"I'm flattered that you're putting so much trust in my abilities," Seifer said dryly, "but even Hyne Himself couldn't stop those missiles from reaching their target now. Just like we won't be able to stop those missiles aimed at Balamb Garden." Too late to prevent the words from exiting his mouth, he cringed, expecting a shower of scorn for not revealing his information sooner.
"Seifer," Trepe said slowly, "Are you saying that you knew that this would happen? And that there will be another attack on Balamb Garden?"
Seifer's instincts screamed that the best defense was offence. All the same, there were just some things that you simply couldn't be flippant about. "Yeah, I knew." he said softly. " Leonhart was kind enough to tell me that Sorceress fucking Edea wants to eliminate SeeD completely." He looked Kinneas dead in the eye. "He said that Galbadia Garden had already been fucking cleansed, as if it had been infested or some other such shit." The sharpshooter closed his eyes as if in pain. Tilmitt was nearly starting to hyperventilate, hands near her mouth as if she were about to cry. "He also told me that first Trabia, then Balamb Gardens would be destroyed by missiles. Trabia should be completely gone in about 7 hours. Balamb has just over 24 more hours to live."
Tilmitt let out a small sob, prompting Trepe to put a comforting arm around the smaller girl. Chicken-wuss looked scared, but defiant. "We've got to stop them!"
"Didn't you just hear me, idiot, that there's nothing we can do for Trabia now?" Seifer considered it part of his duty to shoot down stupid noble ideas before they did any damage.
"No, I got that, but we can still stop the launch aimed for Balamb! Seifer, did Squall share when the next launch will be?"At Seifer's slow nod, the tattooed blond punched the air in victory. "Well, when will it be?"
"6 hours. But may I remind you that with these pieces of crap," here he kicked the undercarriage of one of the ATV's to indicate what he was talking about, "it will take at almost that just to get there, even going top speed. We can't spare the time if we want to get to Garden and start the evacuation. "
"I'll take a party to the base and try and stop the launch from there, while the rest head to Garden," Tilmitt volunteered, nearly vibrating with the urge to do something to save her new home, even though there was nothing she could do to save her old one. Seifer thought it over. It actually made sense. Now, who to send….
"Fujin, take Chicken-wuss and go with Tilmitt. You're all short-range fighters, you should be able to sneak around and still fight effectively inside the missile base, well, provided that the Chicken keeps his mouth shut. Do what you can to prevent the launch, then make your way back to Garden the best you can. The rest of us will head straight back to Garden, and evacuate just in case you're unsuccessful. Now scram!"
//\\
It was with complete disbelief that Quistis Trepe took in her first view of her home when she returned. Cadets were running everywhere, fully armed and ready for battle. Not only that, but all the internal defenses were raised and ready, up to and including barricades on important areas, gathering and hoarding supplies, and other actions reminiscent of a siege. The incoming missile threat was definitely not what had spurred Garden to this level of activity, given that the only applicable protocol in that situation was evacuation. This, this was something else, something they didn't have time to concentrate on. Quistis didn't need to see Seifer's face to know that his glare, already burning, had reached incendiary levels.
On one level, Quistis would have sympathized with the blond gunblader, if she didn't already know that Seifer responded to sympathy with scorn. Nothing seemed to be going right for her old student. Failing the exam, going to Timber to help out the team assigned there, only to watch helplessly as Squall was reportedly taken over by the Sorceress. Next, the disaster of the parade mission, followed by what must have been agonizing torture that had forced the proud blond to actually scream so loudly that it had been clearly audible through several floors, coupled with the guilt from not being able to save Galbadia and Trabia Gardens, that had been thoughtlessly dumped on the failed SeeD's shoulders. Not to mention, having to leave a member of his posse behind to hopefully disrupt the launch aimed at Balamb. After all that, Quistis was almost surprised that Seifer wasn't using Hyperion to carve up anything that moved.
Still glaring, Seifer rapped out orders. "Ok, we're going to split up. Raijin, go round up whoever you can find and start the evacuation. Check all the trouble spots, the places kiddies like to hole up, and the dorms. Roust them out of their beds if you have to, and find out what the fuck's going on in the place while you're at it. Trepe, take Kinneas and do the same with the classrooms and faculty offices. He won't know his way around here unless he's actually been here before, which I doubt, so he'll need a guide, and his pea-shooter should help in 'encouraging' folks to cease and desist."
Raijin was in motion as soon as Seifer finished speaking. Quistis felt the urge to do the same, but forced herself to stop and ask a question. "And what will you be doing?" Hyne, why was it suddenly so hard to question Seifer, she hadn't had a problem doing so only a week ago!
Seifer's smirk was full of sharp teeth. "I, Trepe," he purred, "will find the Old Fart, give the report, and 'respectfully' ask him to order an official evacuation. Is that too hard to understand?"
She felt herself flushing a dull red. It was the obvious course of action, and one she should have thought up herself. To avoid answering, she hurried into the Lobby, Irvine at her heels. Before she could take ten steps into the massive interior, she was stopped by a red and white clad faculty member, who asked bluntly, "Are you for Garden master NORG, or Headmaster Cid?"
She stared blankly at the faceless mask, wondering what on earth he/she meant. The Garden master handled Garden's long term financial work, while the Headmaster held day-to-day operations, including SeeD assignments. There was no reason why loyalty to one could not also mean loyalty to the other as the two were supposed to work in concert. Unless….
She took too long to answer. With a shrill cry, "They are Cid's followers!" the faculty member summoned a couple of cadets before running off, the cadets attacking the two SeeDs without hesitation. Quistis managed to hit one with a Sleep spell; another was given a love tap from the stock of Irvine's shotgun, while the third was knocked out with the blunt edge of Hyperion. Looking up into Seifer's infuriated face; Quistis couldn't help cowering a bit in the presence of such obvious fury, before the blond angrily bit off, "Just our luck to walk right into a fucking coup. Trepe, I changed my mind: you're coming with me. I don't trust myself to keep from killing these kids with how pissed off I am." He nudged an unconscious form with his boot.
Watching the other blond storm away, Quistis was struck by the fact that she, Irvine, and Seifer were not that much older, age wise, then the cadets they had just put down. It was a funny thought, thinking that at one time it could have been her easily put down for attacking an upper classman or SeeD. It was even weirder thinking that about Seifer. He had been sparring with Squall for so long and with such skill, that it was hard to remember a time when he hadn't been one of the absolute best. Seifer still held the record for shortest time in a weapons class; he'd outstripped the level of his Instructor within two years of picking up his first gunblade. The only other cadet in the history of Garden to come close to that record; Squall.
It took forever to find the Headmaster, Seifer grumbling all the while under his breath that they were running out of time. By the time they had found him, there was only an hour and a half left before the missiles were scheduled to arrive. If they failed to come, that would mean Selphie, Fujin and Zell had succeeded and everything would be fine. But if they did, that was several hundred people to get out in an orderly fashion in a short amount of time.
There was no time to give the report. Instead, Headmaster assigned Seifer, herself, and Irvine to investigate Garden's lower levels apparently in search of a fabled ability built into every Garden that was currently dormant: the ability to fly. Seifer was loud in his skepticism, but the Headmaster was adamant. Seifer was only pacified when given an access card that gave access to the lower levels, someplace he had always wanted to go, but had remained off limits, even with his Disciplinary Committee clearance.
As soon as the three of them disembarked from the elevator, they were surrounded by several of the Garden master's agents in all of their red and white masked glory. Quistis tightened her hand on Save-the-Queen, ready to fight. So far, the garden faculty hadn't attacked them directly, but they had directly induced at least 20 cadets to attack them, and from the white-knuckled grips on both Hyperion and the shotgun the Galbadian called Exeter, the boys felt the same as she did. A few quick hand-signals told the boys to let her try and talk their way out of this mess; they didn't have time for a fight. They agreed, but before she could open her mouth, their captors beat her to it.
"The Garden master awaits your report…"
//\\
"….and that is the situation we left in Galbadia." Bored out of his skull, Seifer listened to Trepe wrap up the report of the disaster they had left behind in Galbadia to the gelatinous mass of flesh that had turned out to be Balamb Garden's financial broker, and Garden master NORG. It just figured, Seifer thought with heavy irony, that the guy who essentially owned 1/3 of the world's most elite fighting force, the fittest people on the planet, was so out of shape that he couldn't move from his spot, and lived in a machine shell that served as home, office, and protection all in one, and relied on strangely-dressed flunkies to enforce it's rule. It's rule, because if NORG was human, than Hyperion was a club.
"…must throw ourselves upon Her mercy…"What. The. Holy. Fuck? Mentally, Seifer mentally rewound the exchange since Trepe finished the report. Apparently, NORG had begun a rant to the point that he had not authorized the mission against the Sorceress, that it was all the Headmaster's fault in the first place that the Sorceress wanted revenge, and in hopes of derailing Her wrath and saving Garden, the lives of those who participated in the mission would be sacrificed in to the Bloodthirsty Bitch Herself. Fat fucking chance Seifer would allow that to happen.
"With all due respect, Garden master," Seifer broke in, "but that's plain fucking stupid. First of all," and he allowed himself to glare at the thing that controlled Garden, "She's already massacred the populations of two Gardens, including Trabia Garden, who had no involvement with the mission whatsoever. Secondly, it's too fucking late to hand over our heads in hopes of none-existent mercy. Missiles from Galbadia are already on their way. Thirdly, She has some plan that She needs SeeD out of the way for, and whatever it is, is so big that She needs someone of Leonhart's skill to help Her accomplish it, that's been obvious since Timber!"
There was a beat of complete silence, during which Trepe glared daggers at Seifer for his blatant disrespect for what was essentially the highest power in Garden. Even Kinneas was looking at the blond gunblader strangely. Seifer didn't give a shit as to what they thought of his attitude. His attention was elsewhere, on the tell-tale quivering of rage clearly visible on NORG's swollen body. Abruptly, the lid of the machine the Garden master lived in slammed shut, bringing obvious weapons systems on line. Seifer heard the cocking of Exeter at exactly the same instant Hyperion was in his hand, followed an instant later by the sound of Trepe unfurling her whip. It was time to dance.
For a moment, Seifer forgot it all: forgot the immediate danger to Garden, forgot that Fujin was somewhere in Galbadia or dead, forgot that Leonhart was still under the Sorceress's thumb, he forgot it all to focus on the battle at hand. This looked to be his first decent fight since facing Leonhart at the parade and he meant to enjoy it.
He danced around Kinneas's shots and Trepe's whip, weaving a deadly pattern of magic and the perfection of Hyperion's edge. Nothing could stand such a deadly assault, certainly not robotic shells clearly designed first for comfort, not for combat.
The lid to the pathetic container popped open with a squeal of tortured hydraulics as the Garden master's mobile platform ceased to function. The deposed hardly had time to whine, something about "…this is MY Garden…" before Hyperion's edge cut the fat throat.
The three of them simply stood there a minute, catching their breath, and coming to terms with the end of an era. Headmaster Cid Kramer might have developed the concept of SeeD, but it was only due to Garden master NORG that the idea had become reality.
Second wind caught; the three of them raced off.
//\\
Selphie breathed a sigh of relief that they were allowed entrance to the missile base after only a token glance at stolen uniforms. "Who has the time until launch?" she asked, inwardly making a face the gross uniform that was at least a full size too big. It really sucked to be so short. Well, at least her companions weren't that much taller, though Fujin had by some miracle procured a uniform in her exact size. Some people had all the luck.
"I do, 45 minutes to go. Man, Seifer nailed the travel time exactly." Zell informed her.
"SURPRISED?" was the third member of their party's contribution.
Zell jumped at Fujin's proximity. Selphie guessed that the blond hadn't got over the strangling attempt in prison, despite the long ride trapped in the same vehicle as each other. Not that Zell hadn't deserved it; Selphie didn't know Fujin that well, she hadn't been at Balamb long enough to pick the one-eyed girl out of a crowd, despite the distinctive appearance. Still, she seemed utterly loyal to Seifer, jerk that he was. Thankfully they were spared a repeat performance, as Zell decided that holding his tongue might be the better part of valor.
Putting the drama between her new friends aside, Selphie concentrated on the task at hand. Leading the way, she cast her mind back to her ballistics classes at Trabia (oh Hyne, Trabia), trying to recall as much as she could about long range missiles, how they launched and functioned. If she recalled correctly…
She was pulled out of her thoughts by a door, requesting the use of an ID card to verify access. She panicked, they didn't have a card, they wouldn't be able to stop the missiles, they would get caught and put back in prison, and then Zell would insult Seifer again, and Fujin would really kill him this time, and-and-
"Selphie! Breathe. Chill out girl." Selphie was pulled out of her doom scenarios by Zell's comforting hand on her shoulder. "We've got a card. Fujin found one in the car. Look, it works." True enough, the card reader flashed green: access granted. At the card reader, Fujin gave her a Look for panicking so badly, one that put new steel into Selphie's spine. They would do this.
As they navigated the twisty corridors and catwalks of the base, they heard the 30-minute launch warning, and had to fight to keep themselves from quickening their steps beyond the jog-trot used by the other base personnel as they went about their duties. All of them did as much damage as they could get away with without compromising their presence. But it wasn't enough, all the critical systems were under too heavy guard, they'd never get even close enough to do anything significant.
A lucky break came when Selphie was ordered to do a maintenance check on the central circuits. Unsure how to work any of the systems in the control room she was escorted to, she trashed as many of the controls as she could, hoping one of them would be tied to something critical enough to stop the launch. It wasn't. In desperation, running out of time before she was discovered, she happened upon the self-destruct system, one of the few that had escaped her earlier tampering. Hurriedly she set it, setting the time as close as she dared. Finding Fujin and Zell nearly, easily holding off a group of soldiers who had discovered them, she dragged them away, telling them as they ran for the exit what she had done.
It was almost Launch time, and there were only 3 minutes left to the timer Selphie had set when they reached the parking lot, only to discover that the gates were sealed for launch, and guard robots were waiting for them. Defeating them didn't take much of an effort, but it did eat up time. By the time the last robot lay twitching in its death throes; Selphie discovered that her estimate of the Launch time had been slightly off. The missiles fired, arching into the sky on the long trip to Balamb Garden.
Defeated, Selphie didn't register the beginning of the self- destruct sequence, only a minute after Launch. She didn't notice Fujin dragging both her and Zell into shelter from the flying debris behind their vehicle. She'd failed; this was the second task she'd failed as a SeeD, third if she counted what had happened in Timber. Both Trabia and Balamb Gardens would be destroyed, and there was nothing she could do about it. Why had they passed her? And why oh why had she been so impatient to take the exam that she'd put in for the transfer to Balamb, rather than waiting for Trabia's next SeeD exam? At least then she could have died with all her friends….
A hard slap hit her face, bringing her out of the trance she had entered at the sight of the missiles heading toward her new home, leaving her blinking up at Fujin's furious red eye. "NOT DEAD. GET OUT. RETURN."
"There's nothing we can do!" Zell burst out, rubbing his impressive new shiner gingerly. Apparently Fujin had decided to wake him in a considerably less gentle manner than she had Selphie. "Seifer sent us here to die, Garden's gone and we're trapped!"
Fujin gave him another black eye to match the one he had already. "NOT DEAD YET. SEIFER, TRUST. FIND GARDEN, SURVIVORS. GO!"
As Fujin pushed and bullied the two of them towards some semblance of an exit, Selphie was forced to re-evaluate Fujin's utter devotion to Seifer. In the prison, the one-eyed girl had proved that she was willing to kill for him, now Selphie was forced to see that killing for Seifer was small change. Fujin was willing to not only die for the blond, but to live for him, even when all seemed lost. That made Selphie feel just a tiny bit ashamed, ashamed that she had given up so quickly, ashamed that she had lost hope when Fujin stayed strong. She was supposed to be the happy one, the one that cheered people up. And then all thought was lost as the missile base exploded in a sea of fire.
//\\
After nearly an hour of finding their way through the confusing maze of catwalks and corridors that made up Garden's underbelly, the three of them came to what had to be what the Old Fart had been referring to when he'd sent them on this mad quest. It was a console, covered in dust from Hyne knows how many years, along with at least that many cobwebs. Using the hem of his coat, Seifer wiped away the worst of the grime, enough that he felt like he could touch the thing without hurling the remains of the pathetic food he'd bought on the train they'd hijacked several hours ago. And froze. He didn't know how to work the dammed thing.
"Do either of you two have the slightest idea of how this thing works? Because I'm open to suggestions'." He didn't get a reply. Figures. Frustrated, he banged several buttons randomly, not expecting any results. Hyne's balls; who knew if the fly function still was working after being left alone for forever. That's why it completely surprised him when the whole platform they were standing on shuddered abruptly. Glancing up, he could see that the weird column in the center of the large room was sparking suddenly, and moving as if it were a mound of gears instead of a structural support. After a few more testing shakes, the panels glowed to life with green energy, and the platform moved upward, picking up speed as it went.
When the platform finally slowed and stopped Seifer was astonished to find that they were in the Headmaster's office, near the top of the sunroom windows. It had taken seemingly forever to get from there to Garden's underbelly, now the trip only took a few minutes. There was no time to appreciate the view given that Garden wasn't finished unveiling its surprises yet. As Seifer watched, the clocklike ring that had a counterpart above every Garden, abruptly began spinning, and began to drop over the structure like a child's hoop around a pole.
Despite the distracting sight and accompanying light show, Seifer paid instant attention to Kinneas's warning that the missiles were on final approach. Turning his head to where the sniper was looking, Seifer blessed Kinneas's training that allowed him to pick out the several deceptively small objects that were moving toward Garden at high speed, despite the sudden cloud of dust taller than Garden caused by the ring settling into place below the facility. Heart stuck in his throat, Seifer watched as the missiles angled in to strike, just as Garden began to move. Seifer instinctively ducked as missiles streamed out the window, just a hair too slow to hit Garden. They struck the abused earth, sending up yet another massive cloud of dust that Garden sailed out of, completely unscathed.
Seifer sagged briefly, glad that Garden was safe. He felt drained again, as if he were a puppet that had cut its strings. He deliberately ignored the way Trepe leaned on a window, or Kinneas had sunk to his knees, and knew that they were doing the same for him. They all straightened up when an unnoticed section of the floor dropped away, and then rose again with the Old Man, well; this was his office they were in. He looked just as exhausted as the SeeDs, drained by the adrenaline rush of just escaped destruction. "Good work, everyone. I'm glad you found it."
"You were doubting us, Old Man?" if Seifer's smirk had lost just a hair of its usual bite, Cid let it pass.
"If I was, you would have proved me wrong. Take a break. Get some rest. Goodness knows, you look like you need it."
Seifer wasn't prepared to argue that. Tossing off a lazy salute, he led Trepe and Kinneas down the lift, unsurprised that it ended in the Headmaster's office. They had barely reached the Lobby though, when Xu came running after them. "the Headmaster wants you back on the Bridge at the double."
When Seifer returned to the bridge or whatever it was called, the Headmaster was panicking, even though it had only been a few minutes since Seifer had left. "the controls aren't responding! If we stay on our present course, we'll crash into the town of Balamb! Seifer, you managed to start this thing, do you know what to do?"
"How should I know, it's not as if this thing came with an instruction manual!"
"Whatever you do," Trepe interrupted, do it quick. Balamb's just ahead."
"Shit." Seifer swore. In a fit of irritation he banged the panel, hitting several buttons at once. Hey, randomly hitting buttons had worked the last time he'd had to use the thing. He did it a few more times, more out of temper than design. Amazingly, it worked, turning Garden just enough that it moved just to the left of Balamb, close enough to send strong winds over the small town, but not to close which would result in damaged buildings, heavy injuries, and perhaps some fatalities. Of Chicken-wuss was still alive, he'd never forgive Seifer if his precious mother was hurt because of Garden. Of course, because Hyne had a fabulous sense of humor, that turn resulted in Garden landing in the straight, and proving that not only could the facility fly, but it could float as well.
This time, when they were dismissed, Garden was truly safe from any emergencies, so no summons disrupted Seifer as he found his dorm. The room next door was empty, given that Leonhart had been moved to new quarters when he passed. Setting Hyperion in its case, tugging off his boots and dropping his coat on the floor, Seifer collapsed on his bed. Hyne's balls, he was tired. And he had curfew patrol later as well, wouldn't do for all the little kiddies to believe that all the excitement around Garden meant that they could stay up past lights out. He just needed a little nap. Just a second to..rest…his ….eyes……..
//\\
It was late, well after his usual curfew patrols, when Seifer found his way onto the new Bridge again. He wasn't there for any real reason; just that it seemed to be the best spot to brood in peace after the excitement of the day. And yes, he was brooding, even though brooding was more Leonhart's territory then his own.
He let his eyes unfocus as he stared out over the water. Garden was drifting: no one knew where they would end up, or how long it would take to get there. There wasn't much more that anyone could do, given that no one knew how to control the facility. Somehow, Seifer had managed to make it do what he wanted to, but that had been by luck, not design. He never liked to trust in luck. Trusting in luck was a guaranteed setup for failure, because if you relied on something as unpredictable as luck, then it was only a matter of time before that luck ran out.
His eyes found the horizon again, attracted by a faint sheen of silver from the nearly full moon on the waves. Fujin. Once Seifer had come down from the adrenaline high from the missile threat and near miss, his thoughts had immediately turned to the worst regarding his missing silver haired lieutenant. Fujin would have done anything to accomplish her mission if he was the one that set her to it. Because the missiles had arrived, exactly when he'd predicted their arrival, meant that something had happened to the team he'd sent to the missile base. Should he have sent a different grouping? He hadn't been up to date on Tilmitt's stats, given that she'd transferred to Balamb the day of the exam, and between him being in his own brig for his conduct during the exam and her own early deployment, he hadn't had any time to become familiar with it. It wasn't as if he had the time to pull personnel files while escaping.
Besides, Tilmitt had volunteered to do it, and given that she'd been about to cry not 5 minutes before hand, he'd thought it would be for the best if she got her way, at least for now. He hated to see a woman cry, his stupid chivalrous nature that made things so much more difficult for him. He'd partly picked the team due to ability in close-quarter fighting, not to mention that they all were slender and flexible to get in and out of tight places with more ease than taller people. He forced a rueful chuckle, thinking that Fujin would give him one of those lethal kicks to the shin if he told her that.
Shit, he nearly felt naked without Fujin at his back. Not that he harbored any romantic feelings for her, Hyne's balls, what a nightmare to even contemplate. If anyone carried a torch for her, it was the other member of his posse. Raijin, who volunteered to take Fujin's usual rounds tonight in addition to his own, was the one who harbored wet dreams of his silver-haired spitfire. Not that Seifer would be divulging that information anytime soon. Both of his posse would kill him, and that would leave Raijin alone to the un-tender mercies of the object of his affections. And then Fujin would go on a rampage, killing everyone in Garden who knew. Blood was so hard to clean up. He should know, he'd lost count of the number of trench coats he'd lost to bloodstains from all the times he and Leonhart had bled on each other. A finger absently touched his new scar, smiling slightly. No, this hadn't come from the only time he and Leonhart had cut each other up, but it was the first time they had left scars that other people could see. He had a host of scars from his rival that were neatly hidden under his clothes.
He tensed as someone came up behind him. Shit, he'd thought he'd be alone up here, given that not just anyone had access to either the Headmaster's office, or the Bridge. A subtle glance behind him, told him that his uninvited guest was the one person he couldn't get rid of. Headmaster Cid, the Old Fart himself, had more right to be there than Seifer did. He was formulating possible conversation openers that would hopefully result in being left alone, and where he was, when the older man spoke first. "It's a nice night."
Seifer fought the urge to scoff. "That's such news that you couldn't wait to tell me later? Or wait, you're just attempting to get me to lower my guard with idle chitchat. We both know that won't work."
The Headmaster simply sighed. "It's a shame that you can't be more trusting, Seifer."
"Save it, Old Man. Just spit out what you wanted to say to me."
Cid was silent for such a long moment, that Seifer actually turned to look at him. With the moon outlining his body and shinning into his hair, he looked like an old, old man. He looked far too old to be leading Garden to war. War; that had been declared by a Sorceress with world-domination goals. It wasn't fair, but Seifer well knew that fair had nothing to do with real life.
"Quistis said that you were tortured in Galbadia."
"Yeah, by Puberty-Boy himself. I knew his interrogation scores were high, but knowing the numbers just don't compare to having it practiced on yourself, not by a long shot. And the worst thing was, he only asked me one question, but it was an answer I didn't know. Hyne's balls, he didn't know the answer and he was the one who passed the exam- what?" the Old Fart's sudden, sharp stare was more intimidating than Seifer would admit, after being used to the 'kindly old uncle' persona that the Headmaster preferred to project to the world.
"What was the question?"
"Some stupid shit about the true purpose of SeeD. I'd of thought that you'd have shared it him and the other graduates when they passed, or you did and Sorceress Edea, her Evil Bitchiness simply didn't accept that answer-hey!"
Seifer found himself pressed against a rail, a surprisingly strong hand at his neck in a chokehold. "Don't call her that. You have no idea how she used to be like."
Digging a finger into the correct tendon, Seifer pried the hand off his throat. "I call it like I see it, unless I get other information. How about you tell me the answer to the question I nearly died not knowing, and I'll refrain from calling her that again-"At the hard stare, he amended his words, "ok, I'll refrain from insulting her the best I can, ok?"
A quiet sigh. "Edea Kramer was my wife. She'd been a Sorceress since the age of 5, something that I knew full well when I married her. We used to run an orphanage together on the Centra peninsula." A head shake. "And she should already know the answer to the question, because she's the one who came up with it."
At Seifer's confused look, Cid explained. "I know that I've been given the credit for founding SeeD, but in truth the credit belongs to my wife. Many years ago, she came to me with an idea for founding an elite force to protect the world form Sorceresses who had lost control of their power and tried to take over the world. "
"And you just went trotting off to do what she said like a good little boy? What did she do, withhold sex or something until you agreed?"
Cid blushed. "Something like that. The only problem with that dream, is that a training facility for elite fighters needed money for a place to live and train in, food to eat, and to pay for weapons and other expenses. Money that I didn't have. At first I traveled around, raising funds any way I could, until I encountered NORG. He was interested in the dream, enough that he promised to put up enough capital to get Garden going. However, even NORG couldn't continue to fund Garden indefinitely, so SeeDs began to be used as mercenaries to raise funds. It worked better than any of us could have dreamed, but the more missions SeeDs went on, the farther away from their true purpose they became."
"And why didn't you tell Leonhart any of this? 'cause I just so fascinated."
"The reason that I didn't tell Squall when he graduated, is that over the years NORG had been pushing for total control of Garden, and foolish man that I am, I let it go to the point where his subordinates could interrupt me and take over for me in my own office without fear of the consequences. I meant to tell Squall and the others, but I was beaten to the punch as it were." A firm head shake. "But I'm digressing. There is something else that I wanted to discuss with you."
Seifer stiffened. What did the Old Man want to tell him now? Wait-"Have you heard from Tilmitt, Chicken-wuss and Fujin?"
"Sadly, I haven't, just some unconfirmed reports of the complete destruction of the missile storage and launch facility. But that isn't what I wanted to tell you." A beat of silence. "Based on your performance in the field since Timber; and your actions here at Garden today, I'm overturning your exam results. Welcome to SeeD."
Seifer struggled for words. "This had better not be a joke, because I'm not in a laughing mood."
"Just as well I'm not joking then."
"The fuck you aren't." Seifer ran a hand over his short hair, blowing the breath from his cheeks. At last he asked, "Why? Why now? Why not in the exam?"
"Truthfully, I've wanted to pass you since the first time you took the exam." was the reply. "Unfortunately, due to my known soft spot for you, my opinion of your results was downplayed. It didn't help that you consistently took antagonizing your superiors to something of an art form."
"Wasn't my fault they were stupid assholes with their heads so far up their asses that they could see daylight. Besides, my squad always made a difference in the battle, even if everyone was too dense to get why."
"And that is exactly why you are needed in SeeD. Yes, Garden does prize those who can follow orders and work in a group. But we also need leaders, people who can look beyond the orders and do what needs to be done. It does no good for well trained troops to sit all day doing nothing because no one is telling them what to do, when an attack is happening just a little ways away. We need people who can think and plan, to adapt to changing conditions and do what needs to be done, even if they don't have the orders."
"If I'm so Hyne-dammed useful, why didn't you point that out on my first exam results and pass me then?"
"Because no one could tell for certain if your actions were motivated by personal glory or real strategic sense. Not to mention, they feared that you were too-wrapped up in yourself to pay any attention to the well-being of your squad. You've only recently proved that wrong."
What? Some of Seifer's confusion must have shown on his face because Cid elaborated. "I believe that earlier today you were faced by several supporters of NORG in his attempted coup. I heard from no less than Quistis Trepe herself, that when you were faced by those cadets, not only did you not kill them, but you enlisted her help in making sure you did not kill or injure them past them past the point that a Cure or two couldn't fix." The older man smiled. "Quistis may not be an Instructor anymore, but her opinion still respected. I believe that it's because she had the most success in keeping control of the two strongest wills ever to darken Garden's doors."
Unable to process the idea of Trepe actually praising him and going so far as recommending him for SeeD, Seifer borrowed a page from his rival's book and muttered "whatever." Why the fuck was he protesting anyway? He'd made SeeD, showing up all those who'd thought he'd never make it. Why did he feel so hollow?
He didn't notice when Cid made his excuses and left Seifer to his thoughts. Why did the accomplishment of making SeeD make him feel so depressed? He'd wanted to be SeeD from when he first came to Garden. Had worked so hard to accomplish it, had endured failure after failure and hadn't let it touch the dream. So why, finally attaining it, did he feel so empty? Then he realized. He wanted to share the accomplishment with his posse, wanted to hear Raijin's cheering and enduring back-breaking thumps on the back in celebration, wanted to see Fujin's ultra rare, delighted, tiny smile, the one that made her eye sparkle like a ruby. He wanted Leonhart there, so he could rub his accomplishment in his rival's face, to see that rare, faint glimmer of respect in the other boy's stormy eyes. But Raijin was on patrol, Fujin was missing. And Leonhart…., was the enemy.
Owari
Till chapter 4
My fingers have friction burns!! I can't believe that this chapter came out so fast! Selphie's scene came out all in one piece, as did most of Seifer's final scene. Don't go expecting this chapter to set any sort of timetable, because I don't know if I can manage it.
Seifer's missing Leonhart, feels something's missing in his promotion to have his rival not be there. Poor Seifer. :wibbles: no posse, no rival, not even a chicken to torment, what are you going to do? Torment Quistis and Irvine, of course. Does anyone get that I'm building up Irvine as a verbal sparring partner for Seifer. My idea of the other major characters is in order that Seifer will be able to relay on them is : Fujin, Irvine, Raijin, Quistis, Selphie, and Zell. Of course Squall isn't on there, because currently he's playing Boy Toy to an insane Sorceress. :shakes head to drive out mental images:
The reason I'm having Cid promote Seifer? Just think of how many times Squall wastes long moments with Cid waiting for orders, even during critical emergancies. Squall is not a leader by nature. He was thrust into the leadership position by force, not by choice. Seifer on the other hand, is a natural leader, possessing a mind that can do his own assessments of a situation, and go or send people to where he or they are most needed. Hence, his repeated failing of exams, because I think the field exam is as much about following orders as it is about combat skills.
Sorry if I'm rambling, but it's getting late, and I'm giddy that chapter 3 almost wrote itself.
Till the next chapter!!