The Insane -- The Dreamer

Disclaimer: Read the prologue's disclaimer. I'm tired and all I want to do is write the main story.
Started: February 2, 2000
Finished: February 13, 2000
Chapter 1:
The Dreamer
Why, in Hyne's name, did his head hurt? It felt as if he had crash-landed on his head, after plowing through slabs of hardened concrete. He was supposed to be asleep, damn it! All he wanted was to sleep. . . But the pain in his skull kept him from lulling back into a fitful slumber, and he was forced to hear the voices beyond the darkness.
"He's waking up?" The voice came from a man -- a young man, but one older than him. It wasn't Raijin, definitely, and Fujin was incapable of impersonating a man's voice. At least, to his knowledge.
"His eyes are twitching." A younger voice now -- again male. "That's a better sign than him just laying there."
There was a snort from the other person. "I bet he's awake. He's just laying there like an idiot would." The sound of a person shifting positions could be heard, and then, "Hey! Are you awake in there?" The words were being shouted right into his ear.
He opened his eyes and shot straight into a sitting position, having been laying on his back. He didn't allow his gaze to remain on any one thing, taking in the scenery, lighting, and other things of interest. Then, he spoke -- demanded, actually. "Where the hell am I?"
The person in his immediate line of vision, a blond-haired boy wearing red leather armor, blinked his blue eyes in surprise. Apparently, he hadn't been expecting such an immediate response to his partner's actions. His mouth opened, but no words came out.
It was the second person that spoke, sitting up and snorting once again. He was garbed in a suit and trenchcoat that were white in color, along with a black turtleneck. "Quick questioner, aren't you?" he said, studying him intently with blue eyes that shimmered far more than the younger boy's.
Seifer Almasy frowned dangerously, narrowing his own blue eyes on the older man. The man looked a lot like him, despite his wanting to deny it. "Who the hell are you?" he demanded angrily, starting to get to his feet. Where were Raijin and Fujin?! What had happened? Why wasn't he in the hotel?
The man gave him a matching frown, grabbing hold of his arm and dragging him back down. "Stop with the attitude," he ordered, "or you'll never get answers." Grinding his teeth together, the ex-Sorceress' Knight sat down again between the two other blondes. The older blonde flicked a few strands of hair from his line of vision and let out a small sigh. "In reply to your second question, I'm Rufus Shinra." He pointed at the younger boy. "He's Algus Sadalfas. Who are you?"
Seifer was silent for a long moment before he finally spoke. "Seifer," he began. "Seifer Almasy."
Rufus nodded slowly, allowing the name to settle before speaking. "Well, Seifer, regarding your first question, we don't know where we are." He gestured to their surroundings, which consisted of a long corridor lined with lit torches that flickered blue. The tiled floor and walls of the hallway were black in color and made of marble.
Algus, clearly nervous, wrung his hands and bobbed his head in agreement. "Rufus found me down that way less than an hour ago." He pointed down the hallway, which seemed to stretch forever in only two directions. "We found you just recently."
"What kind of dream is this?" Seifer growled, seething. He jumped to his feet and glared down at the two. "Is this some sort of side effect from Ultimecia's influence!?"
Rufus and Algus glanced at each other in confusion. "Ultimecia?" repeated Rufus, getting to his feet as well. He stood only an inch shorter than Seifer. "I can assure you that this is no dream. But . . . who, or what, is Ultimecia?"
"A sorceress," came his answer. "A being that can use magic without a GF."
"GF?"
"Guardian Force. A Guardian Force." Where did these two come from? Everyone, Garden and non-Garden citizens alike, knew about GFs.
The newly-awakened boy was clearly irritated, so Rufus decided not to question what a Guardian Force was. He had a sneaking suspicion, however, that it was similar to his materia in the sense that it was magical. . . A being that could use magic without some sort of magical device? Impossible! ". . . Well, don't think you're hallucinating," he said, gesturing Algus to stand up as well. "We shouldn't stay in here very long. This hallway is probably a lot longer than I'm guessing." He began to walk down the hall, Algus following quietly.
". . . Why should I follow you?" Seifer demanded, distrust still lingering in his eyes. He stood his ground and frowned after them.
Rufus stopped and turned his head back to him, leveling his gaze with Seifer's. "Do you really have choice, Mr. Almasy?" he queried, his voice having adopted a cold tone. "There's nothing in the other direction except for a dead end, where I woke up at. You either come with us or stay here alone. It's your choice; I can't make you do anything." His face remained peculiarly flat as he finished his speech, at which he turned and began walking again.
Seifer allowed his left hand to curl into a fist as he started after the two.
* * * * *
". . . I'm not sure why I was brought here, and I have no idea why you two are here either," Rufus said, breaking the tense silence as they walked. "All I know is that we're stuck together, and there's probably a reason for it."
"You seem to think very clearly for someone who's never been in this position before," Seifer declared sullenly.
Rufus didn't seemed fazed by his words. "Being the President of a multi-million gil company required clear thinking."
"President?" echoed the two teenagers. Apparently, Seifer thought, Algus hadn't been aware of this piece of information either.
"Before waking up here, I was the President of Shinra Incorporated," Rufus murmured, his voice losing a noticeable trait to it. Pride. "An evil company. I was the President of an evil company . . . one that killed hundreds." He cleared his throat and shook his head as he walked. "Why I just blurted that out to you two, I don't know."
Algus softly sighed and dragged one gloved hand over the wall's black surface. "Sir Almasy--"
"Seifer. My name's Seifer. Don't call me 'Sir Almasy.' It's annoying me." Besides, it reminded him too much of his former "occupation" as a manipulated knight.
The younger boy grimaced, then nodded slightly. "Seifer," he repeated. ". . . You seem to very suspicious about both of us, especially Rufus." He turned his head towards the wall as he continued on. "Being as young as I am, it would be easier to believe I'm not worth another's suspicion. But, as I told Rufus before we found you, I am a murderer. I have killed people without questioning my actions. If anything, I deserve more suspicion than Rufus."
For some reason, Seifer couldn't quite picture the boy killing. He, unlike himself, seemed . . . innocent, to a degree. But, he reasoned, there was a lot more than what the naked eye could see alone. Sorceresses were living proof. "It appears we all have sins in common," he muttered. "We've all been part of killing in one act or another."
Neither Rufus or Algus looked surprised to hear that he had killed before, and Seifer couldn't blame them; he practically reeked with blood. "Maybe that's why we're here?" questioned Rufus.
"I doubt it," Algus said, averting his eyes back. "Where I come from, there are many more people that would deserve their own places in Hell over me. There has to be another reason . . . something more practical."
Seifer laughed scornfully and crossed his arms. "Practical? Why would you need to be practical when everything around you is going crazy? This is insane!" He wished for his gunblade, so that he could lash out at something with it. "I should be sleeping, not wandering halls with two people from different worlds!"
". . . Sleeping?" Rufus suddenly looked disturbed.
"Sleeping?" echoed Algus, snapping his gaze onto Seifer.
Their reactions confused the eighteen-year old. "What? What's wrong with sleeping?"
Rufus shook his head, slowly going pale. His hands clenched into fists and he stopped walking. The two other blondes stopped with him. "I remember dying."
". . . So do I," Algus whispered, putting his hand against the wall to steady himself. "I was killed in combat against . . . against good people." Why had he just referred to Ramza Beoulve and Delita Hyral as good people. . .? He remembered calling them traitors and animals because they stood up against the aristocrats. His head hurt, and he found himself leaning his head against the wall.
"Dying? Killed?" Seifer stared at the two, perplexed. "That's impossible! You're both real; you're not ghosts or anything."
"But. . ." Rufus looked back at the taller blond.
"Don't think about it and keep walking," Seifer stated firmly. "I don't know, or care, what you went through to get yourselves killed, but I want to get out of here. Now."
Rufus closed his eyes, flicked the hair from his eyes, and nodded. Then he turned and continued on, leading Seifer and Algus onward.
* * * * *
"How are the three doing?"
"Fine. They're still walking."
"Good. I'll take care of Almasy right now."
The second speaker arched a brow. "Really? You're going to kill him as he sleeps?"
Laughter. Cold, mirthless laughter. "Of course not. Where's the fun in that?"
". . . . Hmph. You have a strange definition for fun as it is." A hand moved up to flick hair from his line of vision.
"I know I do."
* * * * *
"I'm getting tired."
Rufus looked back at the youngest member of their trio, then at Seifer, who favored trailing behind them slightly. "Do you mind if we stop and rest?" he questioned. "Algus and I have been walking far longer than you, so. . ."
Seifer shook his head to stop the older man. "I'm tired myself," he admitted.
The three stopped in the middle of the narrow black hallway, Algus and Seifer both sinking to the ground and sitting with their backs against the wall. Rufus remained standing in some silent act of playing guard duty, although he looked tired as well. Algus had curled his legs up to his chest and was resting his head on his knees, eyes shut to the world around him.
Seifer was tempted to follow Algus' example, but kept his legs stretched in front of him. His mind wandered along with his eyes, which searched the dark corridor for some sort of change to the monotony. Finding nothing to focus his attention on, Seifer shut his own eyes and allowed himself to think about what he had left behind. The only thing he truly regretted was leaving his posse, Fujin and Raijin. They would be so confused as to what had happened to him. . .
With that last thought in mind, Seifer Almasy found himself drifting into sleep.
* * * * *
He awoke with a start, shooting straight up in bed. His eyes moved wildly, taking in all of his surroundings. Moonlight spilled in from a sliding door that led to a balcony, allowing him to identify a table, chairs, and a dresser. To his right, he found a nightstand holding a clock on it. It read 2:17 A.M. Snapping his head to his left, he could see two other beds, both occupied by sleepers that hadn't been disturbed by his abrupt awakening. Fujin and Raijin.
". . . The hell. . .?" Seifer murmured, running his hands down his face. What had happened? One moment, he was falling asleep in the hallway with Rufus and Algus, and the next. . . "What's going on?"
"Heh. . ."
". . . Huh?" The young man could have sworn he had heard a voice.
"If only you knew."
Seifer's green-gray eyes found the outline of a person standing at the room's entrance, shrouded in darkness. He slowly rose out of bed, glaring at the form. "Who're you?" he hissed, barely noting he was only clad in his black pants. His vest and trenchcoat, along with his gloves, shoes, and gunblade, were on the table.
He could almost see the smirk on the person's face. "You'll find out soon enough. I'll be waiting outside, Almasy." With that, the figure chuckled darkly and fled.
"Damn. . ." He thought of chasing after the mysterious intruder right then, but thought better of it; he doubted the person would leave after stating they would wait. Quickly dressing and sheathing Hyperion, he took off into the darkness . . . not once thinking of his posse, still asleep in the hotel room.
* * * * *
Raijin rubbed his eyes and sat up in bed, looking around the hotel room sleepily. It wasn't uncommon for him to wake up in the middle of the night, as he was always dreaming funny dreams that always ended abruptly. He turned towards the only clock in the room, leaning over and squinting to see the red numbers from his bed. 3:22. Yawning, the tall, dark-skinned young man laid down to go back to sleep.
Only to jerk out of bed again, dark eyes wide with horror.
His eyes wandered over to the empty bed to his right. "Uh-oh. . ." Seifer was gone. He looked to the table where the other man had strewn his belongings, discovering that nothing was left. Jumping up out bed, Raijin went over to the bed that housed his other companion. He knelt there for a long moment, having reached a point of indecision. If he woke her up, he would get kicked. If he didn't wake her up, he would get kicked later. Deciding that the former choice wouldn't stress him out a lot in comparison with the latter, he said, "Fujin! Fujin, wake up!"
The girl shifted in the bed, and Raijin tensed. When a minute passed and nothing happened, Raijin relaxed and let out a sigh of relief. Then, a bright red eye appeared from the dark, and an all-too familiar voice cut through the silence. "RAGE!" The familiar pain went through his leg, and Raijin jerked away, hopping up and down madly.
"What was that, ya know?!" he exclaimed, eyes wide with shock. "You wear boots to sleep, Fujin? That hurt, ya know!?"
Fujin glared at the young man and sat up in bed, frowning dangerously. "TOO EARLY," she hissed, clearly furious. "DEATH WISH?"
Raijin shook his head and managed to stop hopping around. "No, no!" he said. "It's Seifer, ya know? He's gone!"
"SEIFER, GONE?" Fujin looked over at the third bed, which was indeed empty. "WHERE!?"
"I dunno, ya know?" Raijin sighed. "I just woke up and he was gone! We've gotta find him, ya know?"
Fujin climbed out of bed, revealing that she had indeed been wearing her boots to sleep. She reached under the bed and pulled out her shuriken. "SORCERESS?" she queried.
"I hope not, ya know?" Raijin murmured sadly, pulling his vest on and grabbing his staff from its place in the corner of the room. "We've been through it before and. . ." He trailed off, shaking his head to clear the bad memories.
". . . . . ." Fujin closed her eye for a moment. "GO, NOW."
The two left the hotel room and disappeared from Balamb, swallowed by the night.
* * * * *
"Where'd you go?!"
The shadowed figure had fled from the city, and Seifer had been unable to do anything but follow. He had walked through the plains, the mysterious person's form always in sight but out of reach. It was far too early to think of help from the sunlight, so Seifer was forced to rely on his eyesight, limited in the dark.
But now he had reached the forests, which wasn't good. Even worse, he had lost sight of the figure.
An inhuman shriek sounded from Seifer's right, and he turned in time to dodge a charging Caterchipillar. The giant insect screeched and tried to strike him with its thorny body, but he retaliated with a strike of his gunblade, pulling the trigger for extra damage. It backed off for a split-second and then charged again, catching Seifer with thorns in its front. Gritting his teeth, the blonde tore away painfully and pulled the barbs out of his forearms. Hopefully there wouldn't be any poison effects; he hadn't brought any antidotes, or items for that matter, with him.
"Things couldn't get any worse. . .," he groaned, running at the creature and slashing at it with Hyperion. The monsters around Balamb were stronger than he remembered them to be. Then again, the last time he'd been around Balamb was when he was under Ultimecia's influence.
Three Bite Bugs flew into view, their wings glistening in the moonlight.
"Me and my damn mouth." Shaking his head, Seifer leapt back, his left hand burning with red energy. He thrust his palm forward, fire bursting forth from nowhere and engulfing all four enemies. "No Mercy. . ." Seifer began spinning his gunblade, green shadows of energy a visible sign of his use of Chi. Blue and yellow joined the green as he brought his blade back, a mass of indescribable power gathering at the tip. Swinging Hyperion upward, the ex-Knight released the Chi in a disc that multiplied to attack all four creatures. They shuddered and fell to the ground, dead, simultaneously.
"Hmm. . . How interesting. You can call upon the strangest inner powers without the need of a Guardian Force. Maybe there's hope for you yet, Almasy."
The young man tensed at the familiar voice, spinning to face the direction it was coming from. "Who are you?" he demanded.
"Patience, Ultimecia's puppet."
"What?!"
A brief chuckle. "You are a very interesting one. Much more interesting than the last. I will enjoy killing you."
A dark frown. "That's where you're wrong. . . There's no one that can kill me."
"Oh. . .?" Seifer could hear the laughter again. "Really, now? How about this?"
And, under the moonlight, Seifer Almasy came face to face with the worst foe he had ever faced in his lifetime.
Himself.
Heh, heh. Shocked? Curious? Ready to tear out your hair? I'm so happy with this chapter. ^_^ Now, onto the next. . .!
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