Disclaimer: The storyline of The Insane belongs to me -- the Immortals and Masters and their magic belong to me, too. The characters of Final Fantasy are the property of Squaresoft and shouldn't be used in any illegal ways."Dammit, Algus, shut up! You're giving me a headache!" ". . . Seifer!? You can hear me?!" "Hey, Seifer. . . Don't flip out on us again, all right?" That was Zone. "Shut up," was all he could manage in response. Raijin glanced at the leader of the Timber Owls. "Well, at least he's speaking, ya know?" he said with a shrug. "I can hear you loud and clear, Algus. That's the most screwed up thing, too." "I thought you were dead for sure. . . I mean, that explosion looked like it tore you to pieces. . ." "My real body's been destroyed, Algus. I've only got one now." Seifer could feel the young blonde's shock. "I . . . don't know what to say, Seifer. I . . . I really don't." Screams pierced through Seifer's thoughts, forcing him out of the strange telepathic conversation and back into reality. People were fleeing from the street, screaming as ice rained from the skies and down upon them. Forcing himself up to his feet, Seifer shouted out, "Immortals again?!" "We have a score to settle, Almasy!" came a familiar voice. "Prepare yourself!" Even as those words reached Seifer's ears, a sphere of lightning energy appeared out of nowhere and smashed into his chest. He flew backwards, crashing into the pavement painfully. "You all right, Seifer?!" came Raijin's anxious voice. "That was freaky, ya know??" "AFFIRMATIVE!" Fujin agreed, her blue and silver shuriken out and held ready for battle. "ZONE! WATTS! RUN!" The two young men glanced at each other, then did as instructed. "This isn't your concern, mortals!" It was the same voice. "This is between me and the Insane!" Before their eyes appeared a man with hair that resembled a blue explosion, spikes in all directions. He grasped a staff in one hand, the other burning with green magic. "Heh. . ." Seifer stood straight, brandishing Hyperion for all to see. His posse had remembered to bring the blade with them when they went out to search for him. "Faril, right? With so many Immortal attacks, it's hard to keep names straight." "I remember you all too clearly," Faril Rillian hissed, green eyes blazing with the same intensity as the magic in his left hand. "No one strikes me from behind and gets away with it." The cockiness of the past showed in Seifer's sudden smirk, his left hand rising to smoothen his blond hair. "Yeah, yeah," he chuckled. "Stop blowin' your hot air this way; I'm already too hot to handle as it is." For a moment, a smile creased Fujin's face. For a moment, everything was all right in the world. For a moment, she believed she had her Seifer back. And then the battle came together. "Lightningcrusher!!" "Scatter!!" Seifer's order rang through the air and the three rushed in different directions, barely avoiding the lightning that crashed down on them. A huge crater was left where the magic had struck. "ZAN!" Fujin's arm came up as her shuriken skimmed across the ground, coming up to strike Faril before flying back to her hand. Faril cursed, turning to face the albino. "Shell!" "Icecracker!" A reddish aura engulfed Fujin only a second before the icy magic reached it, causing the ball of ice to repel off and dissolve into nothingness. Raijin grinned at Fujin's surprised glance, then returned his attention to the enemy. The teenager in white rushed his opponent, slicing his gunblade upward. He met resistance in Faril's staff, which held extremely well for such a weapon. Faril sneered ruthlessly at the Insane. "You'll be joining Shinra soon enough," he murmured. "Icetouch!" His left hand shot out and grabbed at Seifer. Seifer withdrew immediately, shouting out when his wrist was frozen stiff. "Damn you. . .," he hissed. "What did you do to him!?" "The High Talisman is dealing with him." Faril laughed darkly. "He's allowing me to take care of you." Lowering his frozen right arm, Seifer hissed, "I'll take care of you." A violent red aura surrounded him as a word burst from his lips. "Firebrand!" Like Amberyl before, Seifer's word triggered a stream of fire that whirled around him like a tornado. With a thought, it shrank and swirled around his wrist, effectively melting the magical ice. Then, slitting his eyes, Seifer willed the fiery wave to attack Faril. Right before it smashed into the tall Immortal, it was dispersed by an aqua shield around him. "Ha!" crowed Faril, green eyes bright with superiority and pride. "I figured you would have the Art of Korimyr; the other Insane already have claimed the other arts." "Good for you," Seifer replied flatly. He jammed his left hand into his trenchcoat pocket, grasping the ball found within as he junctioned the GF. "You really shouldn't be so proud of yourself right now, Faril." "And why is that?" Seifer smirked again. "You've underestimated your opponents again." Magic exploded and swirled around him as he summoned his Guardian Force. "Tri-Dazer!" The ground quaked and the sky filled with lightning as a bird's screech filled the air. Red and blue stars appeared and disappeared as a huge form faded into view above their heads. The GF Tritoch sent a call into the air, beating its feathered wings and stretching its dragon-scaled talons. Bright blue, green, and red feathers flashed as the bird-dragon craned its head downward, scrutinizing its tiny enemy below. Then, raising wingtips to the skies, Tritoch released a powerful rainbow-colored shock that sizzled, electrified, and froze the air. As the GF disappeared in a dazzle of white light, Seifer stared at the seared spot where Faril had been. There was no doubt in his mind that the Immortal had bailed before the summon could finish and leave him at the mercy of his enemy; the Immortals always ran away after being weakened. Those cowardly bastards. Fujin and Raijin ran to him, very happy with the outcome of the battle. "SEIFER, OKAY?" queried the silver-haired girl. Seifer grinned and nodded, unjunctioning his GF and sheathing Hyperion. "You guys handled that well," he remarked. "'Did a lot better than chicken-wuss and Xu -- that's for sure." He thought back to the battle against the Immortal named Amberyl Farwin, remembering how both Zell Dincht and Xu had been turned into frozen statues upon their arrival. Raijin had a huge smile on his face as he asked excitedly, "Where'd you get that GF, Seifer? I want something like that too, ya know?" Despite the recently-finished battle, Seifer found himself laughing and clapping the big man on the back. ". . . Don't you have Zeus still, Rai? 'Getting tired of just that one. . .?" "Timber? You're absolutely sure?" "Yes, Commander. Lookouts caught sight of heavy magic on the streets -- not all of the magic being our own. It was definitely an Immortal attack." The brown-haired young man frowned. Rinoa's in Timber. . . She would have gotten in contact with me if the Disciplinary Committee showed up there . . . right? "All right. You're dismissed." Squall Leonhart watched the SeeD officer salute and leave the office before turning to face his companions. "It looks like we're going to Timber." It had been a very tense two weeks for the small group. After the tragedy in the Garden that had destroyed the cafeteria and a nearly a third of the dormitory, they had to write out letters to the families of the SeeDs and students killed in the explosions. It hadn't been a happy time for any of them. Then came the interrogation of the only member of the blonde trio that was still with them: Algus Sadalfas. Squall and Quistis had drilled at him for hours at a time for three days, trying to piece together what could have happened. In the end, they were unable to get the teenager to completely cooperate with them. Under different circumstances and during a different time, the Disciplinary Committee would have been the ones to interrogate. . . It all came down to the imprisonment of the boy. In order to keep the Immortals from targeting Algus and destroying cities in the process, they had decided that they would have to trap Algus in the same manner as Sorceress Adel -- with or without his agreement. Surprisingly, they found little resistance over the matter with Algus; he had fallen into a very deep depression at the time and was easily sedated. . . . . . And now, this. ". . . Man, this doesn't feel right," Zell Dincht declared, shifting from one foot to the other as he stood restlessly. "I mean, we're supposed to trust Rinoa! But. . ." Selphie Tilmitt looked a little morose at the news. "I can't believe it, either," she sighed, as restless as Zell. "Are we really gonna do this, Squall? She's, like, your girlfriend, isn't she?" ". . . . . . ." Squall crossed his arms and bowed his head at the question. He wasn't quite sure himself, really. Although it hurt her heart to do it, Quistis Trepe decided to speak up. "We need to find Seifer, everyone. If he and the Disciplinary Committee are in Timber, then all its citizens are in trouble. Rinoa probably doesn't know this -- that could be why she's not turning in Seifer." Squall's eyes twitched at that. . . . Either that or she's decided that she cares about him more than me. Yeesh, what a weird chapter. Is it just me or is this whole story getting as bad as Merging Journeys? . . . Gee, I wonder what's gonna happen next? . . . . . . You know, it's never a good thing when even the writer doesn't know what's happening next in their story. Oh, boy. *_* |