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Started: February 13 (14), 2000
Finished: February 23, 2000
Chapter 2:
Physical and Mental Struggles
The ex-Disciplinary Committee traveled swiftly through the plains, Fujin leading and Raijin following. Raijin was always the follower; Seifer was their leader, and Fujin the second-in-command. The young man wouldn't have it any other way; he loved being the follower. That, and the fact that he wasn't very bright, was why he was always picked on by his friends.
"I'm almost ready to give up, ya know?" he called out to the silver-haired girl. "We can't find him, Fujin! We have to wait for mornin', ya know?"
"NEGATIVE!" Fujin said forcefully, aiming her one eye at the taller teenager.
"Aww, Fujin, you're so stubborn, ya know?" moaned Raijin, clutching the staff in his right hand tightly. "There's no way--" He was cut off by the sounds of battle in the distance. On a still night, the sounds carried on for miles.
"SEIFER!" Before Raijin could stop her, Fujin was running in the direction of the noise.
* * * * *
Seifer Almasy, for once in his life, was left speechless.
It was too eerie to ignore; this person looked exactly like him. The person before him gave him that cocky smirk he was so famous for, his right arm coming up to reveal a blade, which he propped on his shoulder in the exact same way Seifer would. Hell, even the weapon was exactly the same! Seifer looked down at Hyperion in his hand to make sure it hadn't mysteriously vanished to appear in the stranger's hand, gripping the handle as he took in his look-alike's appearance. The clothes, the hair. . . Damn, he could even see the scar on his forehead! It was him!
. . . But then he saw the eyes.
They were green. . . A bright, unholy green. His eyes were green-gray.
"What are you?!" Seifer demanded, relieved that he had found his voice. His features twisted into a mask of anger.
The look-alike's smirk grew. "How predictable," he remarked. His gunblade came down, then up again, in the same pattern of slashes Seifer did on occasion when he was frustrated or ready for battle. "Almasy, you should think before you question. Ah, but I forget. . . Thinking was never one of your strong points."
Face contorted with rage, Seifer dashed at his impersonator, slashing at him with his blade. To his shock, the other Seifer sidestepped and moved out of his way, dodging his attack easily. He prepared his battle stance as his doppelganger ran a hand through his thick blond hair. "Dammit, you clone," the teenager ground out, "what the hell do you want with me??"
"All I want . . . is this body dead." His doppelganger's left hand came up abruptly, and to Seifer's soundless horror, fire burst at his feet and engulfed his standing form. "I hope you do not mind, Almasy. . . No hard feelings, all right?" Smirking, the young man twirled the gunblade in his hand, green energy flowing as Seifer stared in shock.
It . . . can't be. . . His mind was racing. He had never been put in this position before; it just wasn't possible. My Fire Cross. . . He's . . . using. . .
No Mercy.
His look-alike's weapon came back, the blazing ball of Chi gathered at the tip of the blade. A sharp laugh cut through the air as the imposter swung his gunblade up, the familiar ringing sound piercing Seifer's ears as the mass of energy left the weapon. He took the full force of the attack in the chest, which flung him backwards to slam into a tree's side. Hissing, Seifer steadied himself, barely realizing Hyperion had flown from his hands and been embedded in a nearby tree.
"You're . . . not gonna get away with this. . .," he rasped, making himself stand straight again.
"There's no one here to stop me, Almasy." The smirk again. Seifer hated seeing it now, even if it was a mirror of his own. ". . . Sweet dreams, Almasy. You're dead." Sheathing the weapon, the doppelganger raised his hands and moved them in arcane movements. "Icestorm!" Daggers of magical ice appeared around Seifer at the call, swirling and biting into his skin as he muffled a scream of agony. The ice burned, biting into his skin and leaving his body enflamed.
. . . As the effects of the foreign spell died down, Seifer fell backwards, his body covered with cold slashes that seeped with blood. The last thing he saw was his look-alike give him that damnable smirk and walk over. "Ah, I have one more gift for you, Almasy." The replicated gunblade was brandished again. "Take this with you to the next world." He slashed downward, right across his chest.
Seifer was too far gone to realize that the final slash left no blood.
* * * * *
"Seifer!!"
His eyes snapped open, looking for the source of the voice. He found two very familiar figures staring at him, both in utter shock. ". . . Rufus? Algus?" he whispered, unbelieving. Wasn't he supposed to be dead? Through a dazed pair of eyes, he took in his surroundings. He was laying against the wall of the black corridor he had been walking down with the other two.
"My God, Seifer, you're bleeding!" Rufus Shinra was saying, his blue eyes widening.
Seifer numbly looked down at his chest, seeing blood soaking through his blue vest and splotching the edges of his coat. What. . .? He slipped off a glove and touched the wound, his fingers coming away red. ". . . It wasn't a dream. . .," he murmured. What was happening to him?
"What happened?" demanded the older man. "I turn my back for a second, and the next thing I know, you've got blood all over your chest!"
"I . . . I. . ." Seifer shook his head, trying to sort through his thoughts. The fact that he was losing blood wasn't helping matters any.
It was Algus Sadalfas that interrupted, raising his hands slowly. "Just hold still for a moment," he murmured, then shut his eyes. A soft, green glow encased his hands. "Life's refreshing breeze, blow in energy. Cure." The glow swept over Seifer before he could raise a word of protest, sealing the single sword wound quickly.
The two stared at the boy, blue eyes eerily showing the same shock. "Algus. . .," whispered Rufus, "what was that?"
Algus edged away slowly, hesitating as he saw Seifer's look of astonishment turn into a glare of pure rage. "What are you!?" he demanded, jumping to his feet and standing over the younger teenager. "A sorceress-- sorcerer!?"
"No-- no!" shouted back Algus, terrified by the mere thought of Seifer leaping at him and tearing him to shreds. The older boy looked absolutely ready to do so as he raised his hands quickly. "Where I come from, everyone can cast magic like that! I'm only a beginner!!!"
Seifer managed to stop himself from striking Algus at that, leaning heavily against the wall and sliding downward a little. He forced himself to not sit down again, but instead hung there, his back to the wall. ". . . . A whole world like that. . .?" he whispered, unbelieving.
Rufus was taking deep breaths, his eyes showing just how upset he was about the subject. "Algus . . . you mean . . . everyone is like that where you come from?"
Algus shifted his gaze from the two nervously, a little confused as to why it was so uncommon. Anyone could use magic if they had the desire to. "Anyone, royalty to peasant, can use magic, but some choose not to major in it," he said slowly, eyeing Seifer in particular. The said blond was staring at the ceiling as if it were the embodiment of Ajora. "Others, like the Squires that attain a Samurai class, use magic in their arts."
"Sorcerers."
"Ancients."
The two words were said in unison, and Algus shook his head violently. "No, no," he said, clearly disturbed by the way the two older blondes were responding to his words, "we're normal people! We have poverty and aristocracy and everything any place would have! The strange things . . . the strange things are the ancient temples and materia--"
"Materia?!"
Algus jumped. Seifer fell over.
Rufus was staring with surprised eyes at Algus. ". . . Your world. . .," he went on, calming down considerably, "has materia?" Algus nodded vigorously, still trying to get over the oldest man's outburst. ". . . And yet, you don't use it?" Algus shook his head and Rufus Shinra blinked slowly.
Seifer gave Rufus an annoyed look, irritated that he had to pick himself off the floor. "Is that supposed to mean something?" he asked, his brows knitting together. "So what if your two worlds have materia?" Rufus didn't reply. "You see what I mean?" Seifer again wished for his gunblade; he had nothing to do with his hands. "C'mon. We shouldn't stand around much longer."
Numbly, Algus nodded and got to his feet. Rufus sat there for a moment longer, then was pulled to his feet by an impatient Seifer Almasy and dragged down the hallway.
* * * * *
Seifer, damn you. . ., she thought as she ran through the forest, why do you make us worry all the time? Don't you care about how you're hurting your posse?
"Fujin!!" . . . Apparently, Raijin was able to keep up with her despite her head-start. "Fujin, slow down, ya know? C'mon, be reasonable. . .! I'm tired!"
"TOUGH!" she shouted back, hands in fists as she ran. "SEIFER, TROUBLE!"
Raijin whined. "He's always gettin' in trouble, ya know?"
Fujin frowned and kicked up dirt as she ran, hearing muffled gasps from behind her as the dirt clumps hit Raijin. She picked up her pace a little, ducking under low tree branches and hurdling over fallen logs. The sounds of battle had died down, but she still had a good idea of where the sound had been coming from. She followed that instinct until she entered a clearing.
More than a minute later, Raijin made it to her side. He was about ready to start whining when he took in the scene before him. Then all he could do was stare as well.
There was a smell of death in the air, clearly coming from the rotting carcasses of the Caterchipillar and three Bite Bugs in the clearing. Splotches of blood could be found in the soil, darkening it. The moonlight cast a fearful glow on the area, and Fujin felt a shudder run through her body as she stood there.
And then she saw Seifer.
"GOD," she gasped, running forward to the form twisted on the ground. "SEIFER? SEIFER!!" She knelt next to the body and checked for a pulse, finding a faint one. His breathing was unbelievably shallow.
"Oh, geez. . . He looks real bad, ya know?" Raijin was whispering, crouching on the other side of the blond. "What happened to him?"
"UNKNOWN." She shook her head at the trenchcoat stained red and the multiple slash marks marring his body. What could have possibly done this to her Seifer? "CONDITION, UNSTABLE!"
"Is he dyin'??"
Fujin allowed her one eye to glaze slightly, cradling the unconscious young man's head in her lap. ". . . I . . . I. . ." She swallowed hard. ". . . I think so, Raijin."
* * * * *
"What are the three doing now?"
". . . You didn't miss much while you left. They just stopped and talked, and are now walking again."
"Almasy was being difficult. Can I help it if he was being stubborn?"
"No, I guess not. . . They were accusing Sadalfas not too long ago."
"Yours'. . .? Why? The little brat isn't special."
"Apparently he is. He can use magic without the need of some sort of magical device, unlike Shinra and Almasy."
"Really now? . . . Hmph. Well, it doesn't mean he's as good as Almasy. He has far more ability than I originally thought."
"Heh. . . If both of our chosen were more special than we originally thought, than what could Shinra have in store for us. . .?"
And the two silently pondered.
* * * * *
"What's that up ahead?"
Seifer narrowed his gaze on the objects in front of them, eyes widening as he noticed one of the objects to be familiar. "A Guardian Force!" he gasped, running forward and picking up the small, silver sphere. It glowed with an inner light as he held it. "What's this doing here?"
"I don't know," replied Rufus, picking up a small pouch that had been lying next to the sphere, "but I get the feeling it was left intentionally." He opened the bag up, blinking at the balls of green, red, and yellow glimmering back at him. "Materia. . ."
Algus stared at his two companions. "Those objects let you use magic, correct?" he murmured, standing behind them slightly. ". . . We all can use magic now, then."
Three pairs of blue eyes slit in suspicion, but it was the ex-President of Shinra that voiced their shared thought. "I have a feeling that we were supplied with these for a reason."
"The feeling is mutual," Algus sighed, reaching across his chest to hook his right hand over his left elbow. "I feel like a rat in a maze."
The three, now armed with a weapon against whatever would threaten them, continued forward.
* * * * *
After some prodding (and several swift kicks), Fujin managed to get Raijin to carry Seifer on his back. She had taken the soiled trenchcoat off the injured blond and sliced the garment into strips to secure around the deep cuts lining his body. She wished for those Elixirs Raijin had sold, and then scolded herself for not bringing any type of Potion or Hi-Potion. Pandemona had been drawn from her by Squall Leonhart, so she couldn't go to her GF for help. Raijin's own GF, Zeus, had been KO'ed for a long while now and was of no help in this situation.
She wanted to kick him to Esthar and back.
. . . But that wouldn't help anyone at the moment. Seifer would still be in his dangerous condition, bleeding to death and stuck in unconsciousness. He would be dead before sunrise unless they got him to a hospital.
And at the slow rate they were moving, they would never reach Balamb City in time.
They had just left the cover of the forest when Raijin broke the silence. "Fuj," he began, his voice sorrowful, "I-- I dunno. . . This seems hopeless, ya know? We won't get back to the city in time. . ." He clutched a limp arm of Seifer's and sighed. "He won't make it, ya know?"
". . . . . ." Fujin shut her red eye and allowed her shoulders to sag a little. So Raijin had shared her thoughts as well, the big oaf. She opened her eye again, catching a glimmer in the distance. And then she remembered. "NEGATIVE."
"Wha--?" Raijin blinked his dark eyes at the shorter girl, mouth opening slightly in shock. "Fujin, it's impossible, ya know?? We wouldn't make it even if I ran the whole way!"
"NEGATIVE!" repeated Fujin, more forcefully. She pointed out in the distance at lights that glimmered and were far closer than the city of Balamb. And then she uttered the two words that none of the ex-Disciplinary Committee had spoken over the course of a week.
"GARDEN, BALAMB."
Pretty good chapter, in my opinion. 'Could have been better -- had a few errors and some crappy dialogue -- but was overall quite nice. ^_^ Note to self for next chapter: put some action into it!! *_* I'm usually good with action, which this story seems to be lacking! Argh!
Onto Chapter 3
Back to Chapter 1
Back to The Insane