Disclaimer: Blah, blah. . . Square owns Final Fantasy. I own the original characters and spells. "We know already!" On with the story!!
Started: March 26, 2000
Finished: March 29, 2000 (HOLY $#!^ !!!!)
Chapter 4:
Implements of War
Dark dreams of painful realization.
Nightmares of piercing screams. Forgotten memories.
Tears. His own. Tears.
Why am I crying. . .?
Why. . .? What happened. . .?
The answer struck him hard and fast, like running into a brick wall.
I died. I was killed by . . . by. . .
By what? What had killed him? Why couldn't he remember the face of his killer?!
. . . . Because the face was my own.
* * * * *
"NOOOO!!"
She rocketed from the window, practically breaking down the door into the adjoining room. Her feet carried her far into the room as two medics tried to bar her way. Fujin landed a foot on one's shin and shoved the other over, trying desperately to make her way to Seifer's side. She was barely aware of Dr. Kadowaki screaming over the clamor she was making and the constant noise that reminded them of Seifer's unbeating heart.
"Fujin-- Fujin, stop it!" she vainly ordered, still bustling over Seifer's prone form. "Raijin, restrain her! I'm having enough trouble here as it is!"
The next thing Fujin knew, she was being grabbed from the back and dragged away, kicking and spitting the whole way. "Fuj, I'm sorry, ya know?" whimpered Raijin as he pulled the smaller teenager from the room. "I don't wanna do this, but you're making things difficult, ya know?"
"RAGE!!!"
And, to the amazement of the medics, the doctor, and Raijin, Fujin jumped into a backflip-like maneuver, flipping completely over Raijin and kicking him in the back of the leg.
"Owwww. . .!! That hurt, ya know!?"
* * * * *
Something erupted from the darkness of his mind, snapping him from his reverie. He focused on that something, allowing it gather together to form understandable sentences. Or, at least, partially-understandable sentences.
"NOOOO!!" . . . .
"Raijin, restrain her!" . . . .
"Fuj, I'm sorry, ya know?" . . . .
"RAGE!!!" . . . .
. . . Raijin? . . . Fujin?
What? What's happened? What's happening to me?
. . . . . . I have to go back.
And with those thoughts, he was propelled into the other world.
* * * * *
Eeeeeeeeeee. . . . Beep . . . . . . beep . . . . beep. . .
Heads snapped up in disbelief, eyes searching for some sort of answer to the sound. "I-- I don't believe it," whispered Dr. Kadowaki. "His . . . heart's beating again."
". . . . . Where am I?"
As fast as the heads had gone up, they came down again, coming to face the young man that had been dead just a few moments ago. He was slowly pushing himself into a sitting position, medical tubes falling away as he did so. Fujin, thanks to Raijin's preoccupation with his smarting leg, broke free and ran forward, throwing her arms around the half-naked teenager.
Seifer almost fell flat on his back because of Fujin's forceful hug. He allowed her to hold him for a moment, still looking around in utter confusion. This whole two-worlds predicament of his was getting ridiculous. . . "Fujin?" he murmured, looking at the girl carefully. Despite his weakness, he managed to seize her shoulders and push her to look him in the eye.
Tears . . . tears . . . were spilling from Fujin's eye, down her cheek and dripping from her chin. "THOUGHT, DEAD," she whispered, bowing her head as if she were shamed for even thinking such a thought. "SEIFER. . ."
Raijin was the next to come up, clearly shaken by what had just happened. "Man, we just witnessed a miracle, ya know?" he gasped. "Seifer, it's you, right?"
"Who else would it be?" He couldn't keep the slight tinge of annoyance out of his voice.
The other young man smiled weakly and scratched the back of his head. "Well, there's all those poltergeist-possession things, ya know?"
"IDIOT!" Fujin had wiped the tears away and glared fiercely at her friend.
Raijin held his palms up in defense and backed away ever-so-slowly. "Whoa, whoa! Sorry, sorry. . ."
Dr. Kadowaki stepped forward, looking Seifer over with an expert eye. "Well, Mr. Almasy," she began, "you sure gave everyone here a real scare."
Seifer finally took notice of the other people in the room, blinking green-gray eyes at the doctor. "Dr. Kadowaki?" he managed, shocked to see her. "What--"
"How do you feel, Seifer?" the doctor questioned.
"Fine . . . I think." He looked down at his body, noting the heavy amounts of cloth soaked with blood wrapped around his arms and chest. "Uh . . . what happened?"
Dr. Kadowaki threw him a look of bewilderment. "We were hoping you could tell us that."
He remained silent for a long moment, trying to think about what he should say. If I told the truth, they'd put me in an asylum for sure. . . "I heard weird noises outside the hotel and went to look. . . There was someone out there, and I chased him into the forests. He attacked me out there, and I . . . blacked out." At least now I know I didn't die. That'll be something to tell Algus and Rufus later. . .
"AWAKEN, NOT?" queried Fujin.
"I . . . didn't think about you two at all when it happened," Seifer admitted, looking guiltily at his posse. He struggled to move from where he sat.
The doctor pushed him back down, shaking her head in disapproval. "Don't strain yourself," she stated firmly. "You've suffered several severe lacerations and burns. . . What happened? Did your attacker have a heated knife or something?"
* * * * *
He awoke with a start, hearing the all-too familiar sound of a gun going off. Rufus Shinra sank closer to the ground, looking around quickly. Algus Sadalfas was already awake, on his stomach and covering his ears. "What is that sound?" the former Limberry squire demanded. "It sounds like thunder to my ears!"
"A gun," muttered Rufus, which confused Algus further. The eldest of the three glanced over at the last member of their trio, noticing with annoyance that Seifer was still asleep. "Dammit, how can he sleep through something like this?!"
With that said, Rufus kicked the teenager in the shoulder from his position, sending the young man sprawling to his side.
* * * * *
"A heated knife. . .?" Seifer blinked at the assumption, remembering the spell his look-alike had cast. An ice-related spell, but the ice had burned at his skin. "Actually--"
The next thing he knew, Seifer was falling backwards, his head impacting with the operating table underneath him loudly. Gasps rang out and Fujin ran forward, shouting out his name. But his vision was blurring quickly, and he quickly realized that he must be waking up in the other world.
He managed a slight smile for his second-in-command, trying to comfort her and get the horrified look off her face. "I'm fine. . .," he whispered.
And then he was gone again.
* * * * *
"Dammit, Rufus, what was that for!?"
Seifer was seething as the pain in his left shoulder settled in, his right hand coming up automatically to rub it. His blue eyes burned into Rufus', but the older man wasn't fazed. "Unless you haven't noticed, Seifer," Rufus began heatedly, "we're in the line of someone's gunfire." He pointed at the nicks in the walls, then pulled a shell from one indentation. ". . . A shotgun shell. All right, this isn't good."
"You do know that this means we're sitting ducks, right?" Seifer hissed, getting on the ground like the other two blondes.
"Not really," Algus piped up. "I have a Protect spell. It stops flying projectiles."
"If your Protect spell is anything like my Barrier spell, then that just might work," Rufus said. "How about you, Seifer? I don't have any Barrier Materia, so. . ."
Seifer rolled his eyes. "Even if I had a Protect spell stocked, I'd have to cast Triple or cast the spell three times to cover all of us."
Rufus and Algus stared at him for a second, letting that information settle in their heads. Then the ex-President of Shinra said, "You'll have to explain your magic system to us later on, Seifer." He turned his attention to the youngest member of their group. "Algus, cast that Protect spell."
"Precious light, be our armor to protect us! Protect!"
Transparent green diamonds encircled each of them, then shattered, glowing dust falling all around them. "Well, that was . . . different," muttered Seifer. "So, we just walk down the hallway now?"
"I don't see any reason why not," replied Rufus, shrugging. He stood up, and the next thing any of the three knew, he was being blown backwards by the sheer force of a shotgun shell penetrating his body.
* * * * *
"SEIFER!!"
She shouted out his name again, trying ardently to get to Seifer's side again. Raijin pulled her backwards, assisted this time by one of the medics. Dr. Kadowaki looked up from the young man to gaze at the struggling silver-haired girl. "He's only asleep, Fujin; stop it," she said, rubbing her temples gently. "He must have collapsed from pushing himself too hard; it has happened before."
It was then that the infirmary's door slid open, and two figures walked into the room. The good doctor left the adjoining emergency room to greet Cid and Edea Kramer. "Headmaster, Mrs. Kramer," she greeted, nodding. "Why have you come here so early?"
"Cid told me that . . . the Disciplinary Committee was back," Edea replied, her long hair cascading downward like a black waterfall. She looked past the doctor and through the window, seeing Fujin once again kicking Raijin and seething quite visibly. "Why are they here, Doctor?"
The other woman watched as her medical students filed out of the room, nodding at them to go back to sleep. She mouthed her thanks silently, then returned her attention back to Edea. "Seifer received numerous deep cuts and burns, but is in no condition to answer our questions right now. I'm afraid that he's the only one that knows what happened back in the forest."
"How about Fujin and Raijin?" queried Cid, putting a hand on his wife's shoulder. She clutched his hand where it rested.
"They don't have any idea of what happened, and I don't believe they're faking," Kadowaki sighed. She rubbed her eyes tiredly. "May I ask what time it is?"
Cid checked his watch. "It's 7:23. . . My, you've been up late, Doctor. You should go get some rest."
But the woman was already shaking her head negatively. "I'm afraid I can't, Cid. I have to be sure Seifer doesn't go into cardiac arrest again."
"Seifer had a heart attack?" gasped Edea, dark eyes widening in shock.
"I can't classify it any other way . . . there were no normal signs before his heart stopped, however -- his pulse didn't quicken or slow at all. . . It just . . . died. And then, just a minute later, his heart started beating again." Dr. Kadowaki shrugged helplessly. "Even with all my years as a doctor, I've never seen anything like it before."
Edea cast a troubled glance at her husband, then turned her attention to the two teenagers that appeared from the emergency room. "Raijin, Fujin. . .," she began, watching them approach, "it's good to see you two again."
"LYING," Fujin mumbled crossly.
"Sorry, ya know?" apologized Raijin, scratching his head in an attempt to ignore the throbbing pain in his shin. "She's just not in a good mood. . . Seifer, ya know?"
Cid nodded knowingly. "You two must be worn out from all that's happened. Why don't you get some sleep?"
"NEGATIVE!"
". . . We just can't, ya know?"
"I'm sure Seifer wouldn't want you suffering anymore on his behalf," Edea said gently, hinting at the events of the past. "Please, you two, get some sleep."
Fujin's face drooped sadly and she glanced back at the emergency room meaningfully. "BUT. . ."
"He'll be fine, Fujin," comforted Dr. Kadowaki. "I won't let anything happen to him. Now, go. . . You two may not have been around Garden for the longest of time, but your dorm rooms are still there. Go to sleep." The three adults pushed the two ex-Disciplinary Committee members out of the Infirmary, Fujin finally relenting and allowing them to do so. Once the door had shut, Dr. Kadowaki turned to face the Kramers. "Those two really care about Seifer."
"Of course," Edea murmured, looking sorrowfully at Seifer in the other room. "If they didn't care, who would? They're the only ones he has -- that he's ever had."
* * * * *
"What the hell--!?" Seifer and Algus quickly made their way to their fallen comrade's side, the elder of the two grabbing Rufus' uninjured shoulder. "Rufus, what--"
Rufus writhed under his arm, his right hand coming up and cover the gaping, bloody hole the shotgun shell had created in his left shoulder. "AGHHHH!" His scream rang through the corridor. "Do something, dammit!!"
Algus, alarmed and shaken, tried to recall his Cure spell, but Seifer beat him to it, again junctioning his GF. "Cura!" A blue and green swirl enveloped Rufus, the hole being replaced by flesh. The blood, however, did not disappear, leaving a bright red stain on his jacket that slowly was dying to a brown-red hue.
The young man pushed himself into a sitting position, breathing heavily. "Damn, damn, damn," he cursed, surprising his companions. "That didn't work at all."
"I'm sorry," apologized Algus. "I didn't realize--"
"That's just it -- you didn't realize," interrupted Rufus. "You don't have any experience with dealing with firearms; it's not your fault. . . Any ideas, Seifer?"
A brow shot up. "Why're you asking me?"
Rufus gave him an annoyed look. "Who else am I going to ask?" he queried bitterly. "Should I ask our assailant?"
The sarcasm practically dripped off Shinra's lips and Seifer sighed in exasperation. "For someone that just took a shotgun shell in the shoulder, you've got a lot of strength to act sarcastic," he remarked. A moment passed in silence, then, "We could send magic down that way."
Neither of the other two looked impressed. "Blindly?" mumbled the sixteen-year old. "We'll just be wasting energy. I would like to try something."
Seifer kept close to the floor as he crossed his arms. "Let's just hope it's not another spell," he remarked.
"It's not," assured Algus, crouching into a strange stance. "Earth's anger running through my arms! Earth Slash!"
Before their eyes, the youngest of the three blondes punched thin air, an orange pillar streaking down the corridor at an unbelievable rate. It was only then that the gunshots stopped. Seifer jumped to his feet. "Okay, let's go before our sniper recovers," he said, dashing down the hallway.
"Seifer, wait!" called Rufus. But it was too late; Seifer had already disappeared into the shadows of the corridor.
As the two other blondes started down the hallway, a curse came to their ears. They quickened their pace to find Seifer standing over a shotgun sitting in the center of the hall. "This is so #&%@^* screwed up," he muttered, gesturing to the gun. "We're being shot at, and when we find what was attacking us, there's no one using the weapon."
Rufus grimaced and picked up the weapon, examining it carefully. Double-barreled, sawed-off. . . "I don't believe it," he breathed.
"What?" an irritated Seifer and a curious Algus queried.
"This shotgun . . . is mine." He raised his gaze to the ceiling and blinked bright blue eyes. "Now, that's the oddest thing I've ever seen in my life. . ."
All three concentrated their stares on another weapon, this one a blade embedded in the ceiling. Seifer squinted, reaching up and yanking it down. "Hyperion," he whispered, analyzing the dark-colored blade, ". . . my gunblade. . . How'd I miss this?"
Algus cleared his throat audibly, drawing his comrades' attention. "I don't think you did," he replied, pointing down to the ground. On the floor, where Rufus' shotgun had been a moment ago, now rested a black crossbow and a quiver of bolts. ". . . This is a Night Killer, the last weapon I had in my own world."
Seifer shook his head in disbelief, even as he slid Hyperion into its place at his waist. "Holy shit. What's going on?"
Rufus frowned, sliding his shotgun under his coat. He felt comfortable feeling the cold steel against his leg. "I really don't know, but I think we're going to be doing a lot more fighting than before."
"Great," Algus muttered. "I've gone through my whole life fighting. More of it won't matter."
Sighing and glancing grimly at each other, the three young men continued onward. Their destination? Unknown.
What a sad, sad chapter. Absolutely nothing happened, and I'm not even far into the storyline yet! *_* I think this is a good place to stop writing for a while; I need to gather my thoughts and finish "Rufus and Cloud" or "Merging Journeys."
Onto Chapter 5
Back to Chapter 3
Back to The Insane