Author's Notes (New): Starting this edit long before the posting as I have that paper to write, but there is no coffee, and lots of noise downstairs. When I have coffee and it is quieter I have to switch over to my paper. I cannot help but wonder just how far I'll be able to get on this. And just to you know, you REALLY need to go back and read the revised versions of previous chapters as they make things here change, which make stuff after this change which... Yeah, you get the point.
Author's Notes (Old): Sadly I didn't get quite to where I wanted to with the last chapter. While I started towards it and enjoyed the associated cliffhanger, the real fun part to write is the first scene of this chapter, which I have been looking forward to. Hopefully I do the visuals in my own mind justice. And, with this, I think I'm going to take a break for a week or two. I've gone through a full page of my notes with the last three chapters. Of course, those were the most detailed notes for the whole of the story, but I feel like I've done enough to last everyone for a few weeks.
Hyne's War: Chapter 6
Alarms screamed, lights flashed, and Nida stumbled as he followed the tugging on his arm in a daze. Nothing around him felt, or even looked, real. It felt like his ears were filled with cotton, yet he could still hear the voices shouting whenever someone caught sight of Elijah as if the speakers were at his side. His tongue heavy like lead, even though he wanted desperately to shout. The whole of his head seemed to pound from the overwhelming scent of blood that hung in the air, the scent stronger around Elijah and his red blade. Every stumbling step grew worse as Nida's body shook more and more, his legs, arms, eyes all unresponsive to his will. Worst of all was his eyes, though.
His eyes almost felt as if they should have been clouded with too much smoke, but Nida could see everything clearly. Each scene was its own unique horror, something out of a movie, a bad hallucination, or just a nightmare. No matter how Nida willed it, though, there was no smoke or fog obscuring the edges of his vision, or the faces of the few cadets that Elijah had cut down with no mercy, or even the SeeDs who looked upon Nida with betrayal in their eyes as Elijah cut them down with his blood colored and stained sword. Their eyes lingered in his mind, accusing him, begging to know why he hadn't stopped Elijah, why they had to be hurt, had to die. Wasn't he a senior level SeeD? Didn't he have a responsibility to protect them when they could not protect themselves? Somehow the accusation in those eyes was always clear, always certain, even when Nida's world took on the watery quality that the world did when tears stung at eyes.
It has to be a dream, Nida told himself as Elijah pulled him down a back hall, ducking into a small alcove to hide as another string of low level SeeDs ran past, one whispering into a comm to whoever was directing the search.
If it wasn't a dream, how could Nida face the accusations in the eyes that plagued his mind. How else could he explain the fact that he was letting Elijah drag him around Balamb, or that he hadn't tried to stop Elijah from attacking anyone? What but a dream could explain his dead tongue, the horrible visions, the lack of action? Anything else was too horrible to consider. If it wasn't a dream, after all, then Nida would have to explain to himself just why he hadn't even struggled when Elijah pulled Nida from his room in the middle of the night, blood on the blade of Rupio.
Nida'd had the chance to stop Elijah, more than one, since they had left Nida's room. What would it have taken to step between Elijah and one of his victims, grab his sword arm to stop a blow, take an attack himself to protect someone? Nothing, less than nothing, and still Nida stood there, stupid. Instead Nida didn't even pull away from the too tight grip that Elijah had on his hand, and followed Elijah as if he were a lost puppy. Follow and watch, only watch, as Elijah's sword flashed out, pierced flesh, removed hands, cut across the backs of young SeeDs who had only just passed their exams and looked to Nida, pleading for help.
Then again, maybe it would have been arrogant for Nida to assume he could stop Elijah, because every movement the red-haired man made implied a level of skill that Elijah had never shown before. Even after sparring against Elijah for the last five or six years, Nida was shocked by what he saw. Their recent sparring session had not even prepared Nida for how Elijah fought now, one handed and as if there was no effort at all in killing for him. Every action was smooth, quick, almost like a master painter moving his brush, though the paint itself was blood. Something told Nida that even if he had his best weapon, even were he utterly calm of mind and hell bent upon killing Elijah, he would not have had a chance against the other SeeD. Nida had never been a true match for Elijah's speed in the first place, and Elijah was aiming now for one stroke kills rather than the debilitating blows Nida was used to from him.
So Nida stood there, as Elijah held him close to a wall, waiting for the young SeeDs to pass fully out of sight. Once they were Elijah pulled Nida back into the wall, placed a kiss on Nida's cheek and then continued to lead Nida through the narrow back hallways towards the entrance to the main hall. Towards the Zebalgans. Towards Boyce Megill.
At last Elijah pulled Nida into the main hall of the Garden, and the tugging on Nida's arm became more urgent, forcing him to either run or have his shoulder jerked out of it's socket. Quickly Nida could tell that his original suspicion that they were bound for the main entrance was wrong, and that Elijah was bound instead for the quad. It was an understandable choice, one Nida would have made in Elijah's place. If you wanted out of Garden quickly, despite followers, the quad was the best bet, compared to the main entrance which bottle necked in many places. When you considered that it was also halfway between the dorms and the main doors, it meant that you didn't have to run as far, and that you'd avoid the other two exits that would be covered, the main entrance and the garage.
Maybe it was that, luck, or just Elijah's planning that got them all but to the doors out to the quad without incident, but that string of luck failed once they were only a few yards from the door to the quad. Standing before them in the path was a mid-level SeeD, a girl that Nida had known only a few years less than Elijah, who he'd had countless classes with, and who had gained her SeeD status the year before Nida. Her name was Alana, and she was known to be the second best fighter in Garden when it came to pure blade work, surpassed only by Elijah, and Garden gossip suggested that she was probably better than Elijah when it came right down to it.
There was a look in her eyes, dark and murderous, that made Nida shudder to think that she had every intention of proving the rumors true tonight. It was hardly a good look for those eyes, normally so warm and brown, if a little too serious. Alana had always been nice to him, explaining perhaps the crush he'd had on her when he'd first come to Garden, though he had never had the guts to really talk to her. Yet there was nothing like mercy in her eyes tonight, no kindness. Not for Elijah, and not for Nida, who she looked up and down and then ignored, refusing to meet his eyes. Nida could hardly blame her. Right now, were he in front of his own reflection, Nida doubted he would want to see what it showed.
"I would have guessed it would come to this some day," Alana said as she drew the plain, though obviously well tended, long sword at her side.
"I should have guessed you'd be out for my blood," Elijah responded, his voice amused even as he shifted the grip on his sword the littlest bit. It was something Nida was used to seeing, if Alana wasn't, and it could only mean one thing: Elijah was looking forward to this.
"Someone needs to take it from you. When I heard you were under surveillance I decided to wait the night here. I always figured you'd slip up someday, Zale. I, for one, never fell for the whole lazy bastard routine. You've always been up to something, haven't you? You're one of these 'Zebalgans' who thinks they can just do whatever they want to, take over the world in the name of god."
"Hardly in the name of god," Elijah said, dropping Nida's hand so he could wag a finger at Alana. "Hyne proved himself unworthy of any homage. We would never do anything in his name."
"Then you will die in it," Alana said.
"I doubt it. Let's face it, Alana, you're only here because you could never stand how much better than you I was."
"You were never better. I've seen you fight countless times. To be honest, it's amazing you managed to earn the rank you did," the black-haired woman said, slipping into an attack stance. "I intend to prove to our instructors how foolish they were."
"You've never really seen me fight. No one here had. But don't worry, I'll be sure to give you a brief glimpse before you die, Alana."
"Don't fight him, Alana," Nida croaked out, the leaden weight of his tongue suddenly gone, much to his surprise. "Please, he'll kill you."
"Shut up, traitor," Alana hissed, her voice cold enough to do Squall himself justice.
Nida took a step back, unable to meet the look of disgust and accusation in eyes normally so warm as hers. But she was right, wasn't she? What, after all, could it be called for him to follow so meekly, to let Elijah kill without so much as speaking. Then again, Nida couldn't be sure that it would be anything but silly to try to stop him. If Elijah really thought that he was this 'heir,' then Elijah would be sure to take Nida from Garden, whether Nida was conscious or not, injured or whole. In the end it could be better for Nida to try and learn what he could before trying to get away, right? Or was that just him trying to justify his lack of action?
"He's right, you know," Elijah said, taking another step forward. "You're going to die here. But know this, it will not be because you are in my way, or at least it will not be that alone. Instead, know that you will die for insulting the heir. Stupid woman. You can't even understand that it is you and those like you who are the traitors. Traitors to the ancient power and rule of the Zebalgans, traitors who put that cruel, bloodthirsty god before you own kind, even when he slaughtered your people. Sadly, you will not get the chance to repent, and for that I am sorry."
And then, without another word, Elijah was upon her, a red blur that sometimes glinted with the flash of steel. Nida could do little more than turn his gaze away, unable to watch for the outcome that he knew at this point would come. That didn't stop him from hearing the grunts of pain from Alana, or the sound of steel on steel. As if to punish his cowardice, Nida's mind seemed quite happy to provide it's own thoughts on what the fight would look like, blow by blow, moment by agonizing moment. The fear, though, was something that was easiest to imagine. Unlike Alana, Nida had been on the receiving end of Elijah's true speed once, the speed Elijah had immediately thrown himself into. Alana, like Nida, had sparred with Elijah enough over the years to think she knew just how strong, just how fast, just how skilled he was. Finding out with each blow that you were wrong about such things, trying desperately despite the fact that every blow pushed you further and further back, drained your energy more and more, it was a terrible feeling that Nida had faced only once before, during the war. Had it not been for Xu, one of the students who supported Norg would happily have run Nida through, and as it was Nida had a scar from the encounter, and a healthy respect for the fear that such situations created.
A quiet thud reached Nida through his best attempts to block it out, and Nida could not help the urge to look back, to see Alana there, on her knees before Elijah, bleeding from a dozen different places. For a moment she still clutched her sword, but her strength failed her even as Nida watched, and the blade clattered uselessly to the floor. The image burned itself into Nida's mind, and slowly, so slowly, the rest of her slumped limply to the floor. Elijah stood there, and Nida could just barely make out an amused smirk on the red-haired man's lips as he raised his sword before thrusting it down into Alana's spine. The very sight, so needless and cruel, almost made Nida sick.
"Come on," Elijah said, turning to Nida and holding out a hand that was sprinkled with blood, Alana's. "It's time to move on. There should be a flier waiting for us."
Nida looked up and watched as Elijah sighed and knelt to clean first his hand, and then his blade on one of the few places left on Alana's shirt. Despite the shaking in his legs, Nida rose to his feet, and stumbled towards Elijah, though he ignored it when Elijah held his hand out once more. Instead he fell to his knees beside Alana, staring down at the horrible wound on her back.
"Why?"
"She was in the way."
"She didn't deserve this," Nida snapped, looking up at Elijah. "None of them have deserved what you have done to them. Why are you doing this?"
"Better that they fall now than fall later, when the war comes."
War. The very word all but took the fire out of Nida. Did Elijah not remember the prices they had all paid in the Sorceress Wars? They had taken away Nida's family when he was just a child, and he didn't even know their names now. They had taken away Daphne's husband. They had taken away countless friends and comrades. And here was Elijah, acting as if he wanted it all to happen again. The destruction, death, and chaos that broke people, that was what war was.
No, Nida thought, he couldn't allow that. Quickly he reached out, wrapping his hand around the hilt of Alana's sword. There was not a spot of blood on it, Nida noted with sorrow, she had not landed a single blow on Elijah. How then was Nida, who Elijah had trained but who had never won a single sword fight, to win now?
Nida shook his head, shook the thoughts, the feeling away from himself. This was no time to think, as Elijah would often tell him. Just live, react with the sword, and let it be part of you. Let go of anger for it made you strong but unguided. All of Elijah's lessons rushed back as Nida stood, raising Alana's sword, taking a moment to find the balance, and turning to face Elijah. As he finally faced the red-haired man, Nida raised the sword into a defensive stance.
"I'm not going anywhere with you."
Elijah blinked, once, twice, a look of utter bewilderment on his face. In fact, Elijah didn't even take his own stance, as if he didn't feel Nida was a threat, just a confused child that needed talking to.
"What are you talking about? We're almost out of here."
"I'm not going anywhere, and neither are you. We're staying here until the senior SeeDs get here. You're under arrest."
"Don't be silly," Elijah said, moving towards Nida.
Not a second later, Elijah was jumping back a step, avoiding the edge of the long sword Nida had swung at his arm. For a moment Elijah stood there, frowning, before raising his own sword.
"Fine. I see. You wish to test me. Then we shall do this your way."
Nida didn't even get a chance to blink before Elijah was before him, well within Nida's guard, his Rupio knocking away the sword Nida had taken up with ease. There was barely enough time for Nida to react, dodging back a few inches, before Elijah's free hand came up to tangle in the uniform Nida still wore. When Elijah made to jerk Nida forward by the fabric, Nida raised his sword once more, something Elijah noticed quickly enough so that he could push Nida away before cutting himself on the blade Nida stumbled back another step, backing towards the central core of the Garden, twisting his body as he moved so that he could put his guard back up when he regained his balance. All Nida could do for a moment was glare at the man he had respected, trusted, shared his bed with, and tighten his grip on the sword. After a moment and a breath, Nida lunged forward, sword lashing out, only to find the flat of Elijah's Rupio. Elijah smiled, sweetly, lovingly, and with a simple twist-flick of his wrist, Elijah knocked the sword from Nida's hand, his motion continuing so that he could whip the blade across Nida's right bicep.
For a moment Nida forgot himself, the cut doing exactly what Elijah had likely wanted it to do. The pain was sudden, unexpected considering the situation, and the feeling of warmth rolling down his arm was all that Nida could focus upon. Without thinking Nida pressed his left hand against the shallow, stinging, arm numbing cut, but the blood made it hard for him to keep his hand in place, uniform to absorb some of it or not. A look of concern flashed through Elijah's eyes as Nida watched, yet the red-haired man's motion towards Nida made Nida stagger back a step, his hand clutching all the harder at the cut. A little voice echoed in Nida's head then, one filled with disgust and shame. Was Nida really going to let so minor of an injury stop him, the voice asked. Was he really so craven?
No, but that didn't mean he was going to pick up the sword. Common sense said that Nida, who had never been very good with the weapon, would hardly be a match for Elijah with the distracting pain of the cut. How, then, could he expect to hold his own against a master swordsman? If he had a pole of some sort, or even tambos, it would have been different. Nida could then throw himself into the fight, have some hope of not only protecting himself and others, but of taking Elijah down.
"Are you satisfied? Please, stop fighting me, Great One. Don't you understand? We've been waiting centuries for you. How can you deny us now that we have found you?"
"I'm not whatever it is you've gotten into your mind that I am. I'm just a SeeD, Elijah, and you've killed my companion tonight. I'm just Nida, and you've killed a friend of mine, students of mine. And for what? Some ancient prophecy! Some damn fool's idea of a prank! I'm not going with you, Elijah. Never."
Elijah was silent for a while, his expression sad, almost pitying. "I'm sorry, Nida. I can't leave you behind. That isn't how this works."
"Tell me, then, how does this work?"
Nida couldn't help the way his head snapped towards the sound of Seifer's voice, though he could easily see out of the corner of his eye that Elijah was whirling to face their new arrival as well. New arrivals really, for now Elijah was slipping into a true defensive stance, something that was understandable considering that the best that Garden had to offer had finally arrived. Squall stood there, gunblade in one hand, fist on his hip, and giving Seifer a dirty look. Seifer, never one to care for Squall's opinion, merely shrugged the glare off as he walked forward, each step bringing him and Hyperion closer to Elijah. With a sigh Squall started forward too, his legs bathed in the pale blue glow of the Lionheart, apparently not about to let the blond gunblader get too far ahead.
Seifer, ever the embodiment of nonchalance, tapped the hit of Hyperion against his hip as he came to a rest just out of Elijah's range. His voice, though, was as patronizing as ever.
"Because, if you ask me, saying 'no' does tend to be how it works. Don't you remember that lecture? The one where the Instructors all but beat the idea that 'no means no' into our heads and all that shit? Geez, Zale, don't tell me you've already forgot something as simple as that. Hyne, it's amazing you even passed the exam when you so obviously can't remember simple rules. How could you ever remember something as complex as orders?"
"I just figured out what you would do in a situation, and then do the opposite. That tended to the what the orders were anyway," Elijah retorted.
His voice was amazingly calm, but Nida could tell that Elijah was anything but that. Even now, when he was no longer sure just who Elijah was, he could still read some of Elijah well. There was a tightness in his stance, one that was not normally present, and a precise edge in his words that was not normally there, a precision to his words that Nida only noticed when Elijah was upset in some way. Most of all, Nida could not help but note, Elijah's grip on the hilt of Rupio was constantly shifting, as if Elijah longed to attack, to bury his blade in Seifer's stomach.
"Very funny. Remind me to laugh next time," Seifer said, all emotion gone from his voice. He too looked ready to fight.
"We don't have time for this," Squall said, at last coming to stand with Seifer, only five feet from Elijah.
"I know," Seifer agreed, raising Hyperion before him in that loose, one-handed grip that he used.
"And I have even less," Elijah growled under his breath, something Nida was sure that only he had heard, before throwing himself at the pair of gunbladers.
Then, everything was like a dream, one he had known before. It was all right, the ache of pain in his arm, the attempt to staunch the flow of blood, and even the urge to take up the sword at his side as he watched the battle that was joined before him. The red of Rupio, black of Hyperion, and the pale blue of Lionheart danced between the three men, flashing and turning the light this way and that, meeting with sparks, narrowly missing cloth and flesh. It was all a dance, a deadly one, that Nida had seen before in his smoke dreams, all the same save for the urge to help Squall and Seifer, not Elijah. Yet even if he could take up the blade, what could Nida do in this level of battle? Even though they were all roughly of an age with Nida, the three seemed to move in a way that Nida could not describe, where every near miss and narrow block felt like a death blow in Nida's heart. Any second could result in one of those misses being a hit, one of those blocks failing to stop a stab, or even Squall or Seifer pulling a trigger, firing on the red-haired man.
The truly amazing thing, though, was that Elijah was somehow holding the two gunbladers off. Nida would have credited it to the fact that Squall and Seifer had never fought together before, yet the pair moved in almost perfect unity despite that. And still, Elijah held them off. In the same motion he would turn away a blow from Lionheart and meet Hyperion in a flash of sparks. Both Seifer and Squall pulled back a half step before swinging in again, both aiming for Elijah's stomach, but each attack coming from a different side. Still Elijah managed to dance out of the way, and even block a quick blow from Hyperion meant for his head. Squall took the momentum from the swing to twist and bring the blade up higher, ultimately aiming to strike at Elijah's head, though the blow only glanced off of the red sword and Elijah ducked easily out of the way. No matter the attack, though, Elijah kept himself between the duo and Nida, and never gave the pair a single step for more than a few seconds.
What stuck out most, though, was when a blow from Seifer was easily parried, and Elijah twisted his sword around to cut at the eyes of the blond. Seifer danced back a step, only to have Squall fill the space Seifer left, attacking once, twice, three times.
It wasn't like a dream, it was the dream Nida had dreamt just before Elijah's departure to Trabia. A dream of smoke and fog, much like this, just a few days ago. A dream where Elijah fought shadowy foes, with Nida watching on and longing to protect him. Except all Nida wanted to do was take up Alana's sword and drive it through Elijah's chest.
Then Elijah's sword was cutting across Seifer's left arm, and in the wake of the blade was a red gash that made the look on Seifer's face all the more determined as he lunged forward once more. Still, that didn't change the fact that Elijah had drawn first blood, and against the former golden boy of Garden.
The victory for Elijah didn't last very long, for what Elijah had not noticed in that second, Nida did. While the red-head was pulling back his arm, preparing to deliver a similar blow to Squall, the end of Quistis's whip wrapped around his sword arm. The blonde woman, newly arrived to the battle, tugged on the whip as Elijah noticed it, pulling the man away from the gunblader duo and backing into a clearer part of the hall. The reason for that retreat was obvious seconds later, as a slight whistle in the air, coming from the direction of the raised area of the elevator, signaled yet another arrival. Elijah had already seen what was coming, though, and jumped back another step, even as a crossbow bolt bounced off of the stone floor. There was just enough of a curse to be heard for Nida's eyes to be drawn to the place where Xu was peeking out over the banister of the elevator area, setting another bolt to her crossbow.
"There is nothing you can do, Elijah. Surrender."
"Not the kind of offer I'm allowed to take, Squall," the red-haired SeeD responded, backing further and further away from the gunbladers, and closer to Nida. The path wasn't a straight one, though, with the way that Elijah had to jump out of the way of another crossbow bolt.
"How do you think you're going to escape from this?" Seifer asked, moving close in on Elijah once more, Squall and Quistis not far behind, but all mindful of keeping a shot open for Xu.
Soon Elijah was at Nida's side, and Nida could see a slight smile reach Elijah's lips at Seifer's words. For a second there was a far away look in Elijah's eyes, something that was oddly familiar, and then the smile grew into a smirk.
"Like this."
Too late Nida recognized the signs all over Elijah, written in the speed he had shown, in his ability to dodge Xu's bolts, obvious in the blue eyes, the slightest movements of his lips, and the hand gesture. All of it shouted 'summoning.' Nida would have shouted, warned everyone, but by the time Nida realized it, having thought the whole time that Eliah couldn't have been left junctioned, it was already too late to stop the Guardian Force from manifesting.
A bouquet of flames leapt into existence in front of where Elijah had been standing, the fires dancing higher with each moment until they burst apart, revealing a red, burning lizard roughly the size of a man. The creature looked around itself slowly, before the fires around it swelled once more. At last the creature seemed to inhale the flames before breathing them out all around the area. Nida, just behind the edge of the attack, still had to cover his face due to the heat of the flames.
By the time the fires had died down and Nida felt safe enough to peek out from behind his arm, there was no sign of Elijah anywhere. Nida slowly rose and stumbled over to where Squall and Seifer lay, their clothes and hair slightly singed, apparently protected in time by some spell. As quickly as Nida could, he stumbled forward and knelt by Squall, his mind focusing as best he could to reach for one of the fixed spells in his mind. Soon enough Nida was struggling to focus the fixed cure spell to work on curing the worst of the burned skin back to its untouched state. Nida's own wounds could wait, after all.
"What was that?" Quistis said as he moved to kneel by Seifer. From Nida's quick glance he could see that she was far less injured than the gunbladers, probably because she had been further away. Quickly she sent a powerful end cure spell into Seifer. "I haven't seen a GF like that before."
Before Nida could respond, Xu was leaning across from him and raising her own hands above Squall to focus her magic. "Uncatalogued?" she asked.
"Fuck, bastard is getting away, and all you guys are sitting here talking?" Seifer growled, already regaining some of his vigor, and raising to sit up with Quistis's help.
"Don't worry," Squall said as he sat up as well, "Irvine headed for the Quad as soon as he heard about Elijah's escape."
"How lucky that he was there," Nida couldn't help but say, pulling back from Squall so Xu could deal with him, and focusing his magic on his own wound.
Xu looked about to speak, but Quistis put a hand on her arm, shaking her head. Neither Squall nor Seifer offered any information either. It took a second, but Nida figured out why no one would say explain. Elijah had broken out of wherever he had been held and his first action had been to go for Nida, likely taking out anyone between there and Nida's room that dared get in his way. And Nida, he had done nothing to stop Elijah once he had been led away from his room by the red-head, had done nothing in the room either. Not once had he fought back, struggled or acted in any way against Elijah until the very end. Which meant that no one was sure of what role Nida played in this, other than the fact that whoever the Zebalgans were, they wanted Nida with them. Wanted him enough to have someone drag him out, willing or not, someone willing to slaughter to get Nida.
"Bad news," Irvine's voice came from behind Nida, and Nida could not help but whirl to face him. The auburn haired gunner had tilted his hat down to hide his eyes, and his hands were gripping his rifle so tightly that his knuckles were white. "There was an unmarked flier waiting for him. I didn't see the pilot. Only managed to wing him. But... I think I know who he was running to."
"Who?" Squall demanded, standing.
"Boyce Megill," Nida cut in, shaking his head. "He said he was going to take me to Boyce."
"Why would he want to take you to a retired weapons master?" Xu asked.
"Don't be dense," Seifer snapped even as Irvine responded with "Isn't it obvious?" Seifer glared at the gunner for a moment, but made a small gesture and Irvine continued.
"Boyce Megill is probably behind this whole Zebalgan thing. I'd put my money on him being the man in white. No, the real question has to be why Nida."
Nida didn't have a chance to react to that question, to the answer Elijah had offered, because even as Irvine spoke he trained his gun on Nida. The move would seem almost casual to another person, but Nida knew well that Irvine didn't point a gun at anyone, even if the safety was on. The weapon was a threat, a promise, and focused only on him.
"Quistis," Squall said, his voice as cool and collected as if he hadn't just been badly burnt, as if one of his comrades wasn't pointing a weapon at one of his subordinates, and as if there weren't likely countless numbers of dead and injured in the Garden now. "I want you to get Selphie and Zell and deal with the wounded. I'm authorizing use of junctions for high level cures. Set up triage with Kadowaki."
The blond nodded and quickly ran off, pulling her comm out even as she moved.
"Irvine, Xu," Squall continued, looking at both in turn, "follow me. And bring Nomura."
Nida flinched back at that, less at the fact that Squall was putting him under armed guard, and more because of the icy cold way that the Commander had used his last name. Nida had never heard it from Squall before, the few times he had been in direct conversation with Squall having been on a limited first name basis. It was Squall's concession to a personable environment.
"What about me, Princess?"
For a moment Squall's eyes flashed towards Seifer, and then Nida saw Squall shrug. "You're no longer a member of Garden. As such you are beyond my command. You are free to return to your room whenever you wish."
Seifer nodded, and when Squall turned on his heels to walk away, Seifer fell into step beside him, smirking the whole while. Between the two gunbladers, Irvine and Xu, Nida wasn't quite sure if his escort was going to turn into a relatively friendly debriefing, or a firing squad.
The answer came soon enough, as Squall lead the group down into the briefing room. Nida was directed into seat by Xu, who took up a guard position by the door, just as Irvine had outside of the room. Seifer plopped down into a seat a few places down from where Nida had been directed, and immediately leaned back to put his feet up on the table. Squall remained standing nearer to the door, of course, and he gave Seifer a dirty look, but Seifer made no move to remove his boots from the table.
"I want answers," Squall said, arms crossed over his chest, but Nida noted that his hands still rested close to the hilt of where his gunblade was sheathed.
"I don't know if I have any," Nida admitted.
"Oh, so that is why you ran?" Seifer asked, and Nida couldn't help but flinch back from the words. Even though he'd thought this would come up, the accusation still hurt.
"I... I didn't run."
"Right, right. You had no choice in the matter. Just followed him like a puppy on a leash, right?"
"I don't have to answer to you," Nida snapped. "Why are you even here? You're not a SeeD..."
"Well, when failures like you passed the exam, it's hardly surprising that someone as talented as me would get passed over," Seifer growled back.
"Silence," Squall said, his voice low, dangerous. Nida instantly obliged, turning his attention to Squall rather than Seifer. Surprisingly, Seifer seemed to listen as well. "Seifer is here because I allow it. Now, report. What happened?"
Nida wanted to meet Squall's eyes, wanted to act like this was any other debriefing, and yet when he tried, he couldn't meet the cold, blue-gray eyes of the other SeeD. At last Nida gave up and turned his eyes to his hands. How long ago had it been since Elijah had grabbed his hand and pulled him off into the night? Five minutes? Ten? An hour? Nida couldn't even be sure. It all felt like a dream, a nightmare.
"I had just finished my work with Xu on trying to track the videos. I had been getting late and I could barely stay awake, so Xu offered to take over and sent me to bed. When I got back to my room I just fell into the bed in my uniform, but I couldn't get to sleep. I was there for a while, then I heard the door slide open. I grabbed my knife. Only Irvine, Elijah, and you, Squall, have the code to my room..."
"Why?" Squall cut in, and it was a question Nida hadn't wanted to hear. The fact that anyone other than Squall or Nida had access to Nida's room was not something that really looked good.
"As you are aware, I've been training Irvine with polearms," Nida said, starting with the one that was easier to explain, hoping to buy himself some time to think of an excuse regarding Elijah. "There are times that Irvine desires to practice but I am unavailable due to other duties. As such I thought it fitting that he have access to my room so that he can acquire whatever training gear he might need."
"And Elijah?"
If Squall didn't know yet that Nida was—had been?—in a relationship with Elijah, Nida hardly wanted it to come up now. Sure, a secret would look bad, but would it look as bad as literally sleeping with the enemy? Still, there had to be an answer, so Nida took a deep breath and said the first believable thing that came to mind.
"Relatively the same reason. Elijah has been—was—something of a mentor to me before the war. He helped me learn how to fight well, and even now we still spar. He had been teaching me to use swords, and while for that we practiced with the blunted blades in the training area, when it came to real sparring he used Rupio or one of his practice blades, and I used one of my weapons. The problem was sometimes there wasn't much time in my schedule. Elijah got tired of my refusals based on schedule, and badgered my door code out of me. That way, he said, he could just grab the weapons before coming to see me and save me time. He could even put things away after we were done when I had to run off to other appointments."
Squall seemed to nod to himself at that, and Nida resisted not only the sigh of relief over Squall's acceptance of that tidbit of truth, but also the urge to look at Seifer. Who knew how the blond would be reacting to Nida's story, whether he was about to call bullshit or not, or whether there was the self-satisfied smirk that would indicate that he had already told Squall what he knew. That would be the worst, and Nida knew that he'd rather face Squall calling him on lies later than the demoralizing blow such a look from Seifer would be.
"Continue."
"When I asked Elijah why he had come, he said that he'd cleared everything up with you. He had Rupio with him, which I thought was odd, but it was dark, and I was tired. I couldn't see the blood."
"You couldn't smell it?" Seifer said.
Nida sighed and looked away. "If I did, it didn't register. Elijah asked me to leave Garden with him, to steal the Rag and abandon our duties. When I pointed out that I couldn't do that, he told me the story. Or at least, the end of it. Elijah had started telling me the Legend of Vascaroon the other day, and he just went back into it as if no time had passed..."
"What did he say?" Squall said, and Nida frowned at his hands, trying to remember the exact wording.
"That a king asked Vascaroon how to keep peace when people thought he held the power of Hyne for himself alone. Vascaroon said to tell the people that they must look for the power of the god but hold to peace, as only with peace could the magic be used. Vascaroon also said that the Zebalgans could not unlock the magic of the god on their own."
"Thus the heir?"
Nida looked up for just a moment to glare at Seifer, tired of his interruptions, but still he continued. "Elijah said that Vascaroon had dreams that told him the future, and that Vascaroon saw that his heir would come, and would see the future like he did. That heir would be able to use magic like a Sorceress. The heir would come during a time of great conflict, and would guide the Zebalgans. Then Vascaroon left and the Zebalgans have been waiting for the heir ever since, though they have also sought the other half of Hyne. When I asked Elijah if the Zebalgans thought they had found the heir, he said that the time of the heir had finally come. That they had found him."
"Who?" Squall asked, even as Seifer said "Guess that proves he was one of the bastards."
We've found you.
Nida looked up, finally meeting Squall's eyes.
"Who what?"
"Did he say who the heir was?"
We've found you.
"Hyne, you've got to be kidding me..." Seifer said, taking his feet from the table and sitting up straighter. "You? They think you're the heir?"
When Nida nodded, Squall just sighed. Seifer was more vocal though.
"You've got to be kidding me. Why the fuck would they think that? No offense, Nida, but the only thing you're heir to is the title of fuck up."
"That is why he went for you," Squall said, as if Seifer hadn't even spoken. "Not because you're one of the Zebalgans."
"I hadn't heard of them before the video, Squall. Honest. And this heir thing... I have no clue why they would think it was me."
"Well, except for the dream thing it could be pinned on any guy in SeeD," Seifer pointed out.
"What do you mean?" Squall asked, and Nida too could not help but wonder what was meant.
"Well think about it. We've lived during multiple wars, so definitely a 'time of conflict.' On top of that SeeD works with para-magic. Outsiders could easily confuse that with the way that Sorceresses work. Elijah and Megill, though, should have known better. Even the way that SeeDs fix spells is vastly different from how Sorceresses use magic. To be honest, with that sign alone would really make you think they'd pin this on Squall or myself. After all, the best way you can get a guy with magic like a Sorceress is to look to their Knights?"
Nida turned his eyes towards Squall, and watched as the gunblader's expression changed from one of agreement to one of bewilderment as Seifer spoke. While Nida too was confused about the difference between para-magic and that of a Sorceress, he was more confused as to why Seifer would pair Squall with himself under the title of Knight, and what Knights would even have to do with the prophecy.
"Listen," Seifer said, obviously reading something that Nida couldn't see in Squall's expression, "it's like this. As a Sorceress Knight, we not only anchor the power of our mistresses, but we also begin to be a bit like them. The longer you are tied to a Sorceress, and the closer you are, the stronger our magic becomes. Part of it also has to do with how strong the Sorceress is. Spend long enough as a Knight, with a strong enough Mistress, and things like junctioning to improve your physical and magical abilities becomes less and less necessary. On top of that, your magical control, even with para-magic, becomes more subtle, more precise. You would have noticed this yourself if you spent more time with Rinoa to reinforce the ties you have to her as her Knight. Give it a week around her all the time and you'll have no problem pulling off giant icicles like Edea's."
Squall shook his head and returned his attention to Nida, apparently no longer caring for Seifer's take on things. "Why would they think it was you?"
For that, Nida had no answers. All he had was the trembles the idea sent through him, and the fact that Elijah had seemed quite positive about it.
"I don't know. I've never been great with magic, and I can't do anything but a low level cure without a GF."
"And the dreams?"
"Who doesn't have fucked up dreams that gets it right once in a while?" Seifer offered.
Nida couldn't help but think of the dream of fog and smoke where Elijah was fighting. It had been so like the battle between the red-haired SeeD and the two gunbladers before him. Quickly Nida shook the dream from his head. That, though, seemed to be enough of a denial for Squall.
"After he told you the story, what happened?"
"He told me they had found me. The way he said it..."
So intense, so certain.
"Squall, we're dealing with fanatics. He believed, believes, I am this heir of theirs. There is no doubt in him, and he blew his cover when he might have been able to keep it just so that he could take me with him."
"I can't help but wonder why he thought you would come so easily. Then again..."
Seifer didn't need to say either of the things he was thinking, Nida could tell them well enough. More than anyone Seifer knew, or thought he knew, why Elijah would believe Nida would come with no fight. And, Seifer refrained from saying, Nida had.
"It was then I noticed the blood. I wanted to hit myself for not noticing it before. He took my hand and pulled me to my feet, and all I could do was stare at the blood on Rupio. I asked him what he had done. He called me, 'my lord,' said Boyce was waiting, and he wouldn't answer my question. And then... I was following him. Blindly, stupidly, I followed him. I didn't know what else to do. I should have fought. I should have tried to stop him..."
"You couldn't have," Seifer said, his voice low, barely noticeable, but Nida heard him anyway.
"When we met Alana, I tried to tell her not to fight. She called me a traitor. I used to have the worst crush on her when I was younger. She disliked me for hanging out with Elijah. They'd always been rivals. I watched as he killed her. Alana didn't have a chance. He was so fast, faster than I'd ever seen him. Elijah, he just seemed to revel in her death. I took up Alana's sword, tried to fight him. He thought it was just some sort of test, and that he proved himself worthy..."
Nida took a deep breath before looking up at Squall once more. "He said it was better that those he had killed died now. Better that they died before the war came."
"Fuck," Squall hissed, turning away from Nida.
"I'm sorry, Squall. I should have done something, anything. I can tell you that even were I this 'heir' I would have no intention of ever working with their kind. I didn't want this, Squall, any of this..."
"And yet you didn't even try to stop him," Seifer said, standing and stretching a bit. "Hyne, I put more on the line than you did in that respect, and I should even be here."
"I know," Nida said, barely able to hear his own voice for how much it pained him to admit it. All of the death, the pain, the loss tonight, that was all on his hands. And something told him that Alana's death would be one that plagued him worst. ""I'm sorry."
There was silence from Squall, who still had his back to Nida, something that was unexpectedly painful. Odd how it felt like just yesterday that Nida had believed he had finally earned recognition in the eyes of the SeeD Commander. Amazing how fast that had blown away.
"Xu," Squall said at last, though he didn't turn to face her or anyone else, "you and Irvine are to escort Nomura to a bare guest room. Nomura, as well as the room, must be checked for weapons or anything he might use as a weapon. One of the ones with the bolted down metal furniture. No wood, no tall lamps, nothing he can make a weapon from. I want mid to high level SeeDs on the door at all times, two preferably, and station them directly opposite the door rather than on either side. Act as if we are securing a level one threat."
Nida flinched at the commands, but he had earned them had he not? It didn't help that he had recently proved his ability to escape from highly trained SeeDs either.
"Seifer..." Squall apparently wasn't finished, but he still seemed to hesitate for a moment over the blond, before shaking his head a bit and continuing on. "I seem to remember you being good at hacking dormitory codes. You are to retrieve a few sets of clothes for Nomura, as well as take two uninjured, low level SeeDs to go around the room. If you find anything of interest, report back to me. Otherwise, I want all of his weapons inventoried and brought to my office. Report back to me when you are done."
For a moment, Nida thought Seifer was going to laugh, and the look on the blond's face was definitely one as confused as the one Squall had managed earlier. In the end, though, Seifer merely shook his head and leaned back against the table. When he spoke, his voice was utterly serious and calm.
"You can't give me orders, remember? I'm not associated with Garden. Just a traveler picked up from Winhill and all of that."
"I could have you arrested for even being present in this room," Squall pointed out, his voice cold. "But that would serve nothing. Instead I'm giving you a field commission."
"No fucking way am I going to be a damn cadet for you, Ice Princess. I'm tired of this place."
Finally Squall turned, though Nida couldn't see his face with the way he was angled towards Seifer. There was something, though, in the way that Seifer looked at Squall, that told Nida he was better off no to have a good angle.
"Who said anything about being a cadet? SeeD, level twenty. And you report directly to me and me alone. I will deal with the details later, but I am not allowing Cid, or anyone else, say no. I'm not having one of the best gunbladers alive fight against me again."
"The best," Seifer corrected, "and what makes you think I'd take you up on your offer?"
Squall turned on his heels and moved towards the door. Something in the air around the gunblader found Xu saluting him as the door opened. That in and of itself was odd, as Squall had spent the first month on the job insisting that no one salute him unless they wanted a one on one sparring match with live blades. When the door opened, Squall turned back for a moment and Nida looked on in shock as Squall shot Seifer a smirk, the very one that was all but a trademark of Seifer.
"Why else would you willingly come back?"
With that, the commander left the room, very shortly followed by Irvine's entrance. The gunner shook his head and shrugged.
"Something tells me I've missed quite the show in here."
"You've no idea," Nida said with a sigh.