Disclaimer: Squaresoft has owned Final Fantasy for almost as long as I've been born. I'm almost sure of that. . . I've owned my characters and other stuff ever since they were created . . . about a year ago. *_*
Started: July 18, 2000 (Okay, so I took a day off, all right?)
Finished: August 4, 2000 (Another late-night finishing . . . and it took so long!)
Chapter 16:
Corruption
Algus Sadalfas shuddered and sat down next to his older companion, frowning down at his hands once he was seated. "So you thought Raijin was dead?" he questioned, brushing at his black jeans.
Seifer Almasy wryly half-smiled, nodding in confirmation. "Fujin and I saw him fall off the bridge. . . 'Guess that damn oaf couldn't die unless I killed him myself." When he noticed Algus' wide-eyed expression, he shook his head. ". . . Not like I'd ever do that. C'mon, give me some credit, Al."
The sixteen-year old sighed. ". . . . What happened to Rufus?"
The abrupt change in subject silenced Seifer for a few seconds. He lowered his head and shut his eyes, remembering the third member of their . . . cursed trio. "The Immortals got him. And I think he was tortured. But . . . the Immortal that was torturing him is dead now."
"Can we save him? Is there any way at all?"
"If I knew, I'd tell you." Seifer opened his bright blue eyes, shifting his gaze as he noticed Fujin and Raijin approaching. Trading his morbid look for a lighter one, he said, "Hmph. Where were you two? I still want an explanation about what happened on the bridge, Rai! You scared the living shit outta us!"
"Sorry 'bout that, ya know?" Raijin smiled sheepishly and scratched his head, sitting on a chair next to the two blondes. "I didn't mean to worry you guys, Seifer."
"SELF-SACRIFICING. STILL IDIOT." Fujin aimed a mildly angry stare at the big teenager.
"Aww. . . I missed ya too, Fuj!" Grinning, Raijin hugged the albino. It was a miracle he didn't receive a kick to the shin.
"C'mon, dammit, I'm still waiting here!" Seifer interrupted, although he was quite amused by the scene. "Out with it, Raijin. I wanna know how you survived. And don't tell me you were saved by a sugar plum fairy or something."
"Okay." Raijin nodded and let go of Fujin, scuffing the ground with his foot for a second. "Well, I fell off the bridge and fell, ya know? I thought I was a goner. . . But I decided to try a Float, ya know?" He grinned. "I saw it on a Mr. Magician show before, ya know? Then I cast Protect like . . . um, three times. And the fall wasn't that bad anymore!"
Seifer and Fujin stared at him. "IMPOSSIBLE!" gasped the girl. "HARD WATER!"
"I didn't land in the water, ya know?" Raijin was thoroughly enjoying the attention and shocked expressions from his friends. "I landed on a boat!"
". . . What the hell? What was a boat doing down there?" Seifer looked skeptical.
Raijin laughed. "You'd never guess who's boat it was! It was Irvine's, ya know?!"
"The cowboy?!" Seifer couldn't help but laugh. "That's rich, Raijin! You've gotta be kidding us!"
"Nope! Irvine was fishing, ya know? Ya should've seen the look on his face when I showed up, ya know!?"
The ex-Knight shook his head. "You should've been named after the God of Luck, Rai, not of Thunder. Damn, no one would've survived that. . ."
"NOT 'NO ONE,'" replied Fujin. "RAIJIN."
* * * * *
Squall frowned as he sat surrounded by his friends, the victim of his frown and matching glare leaning against the far wall. "You're a menace," Squall seethed, his arms crossed as he spoke. "If you're not locked up, you'll just run off and get some other place destroyed."
"AVERT BLAME!"
"It's not Seifer's fault, ya know? The Immortals keep on coming!"
The young Garden Commander aimed his gaze to the big teenager. "Even if he's not the one doing the damage, he's the one that the Immortals are coming for!"
"What's locking us up going to do?" demanded Algus, his strength having returned and his easily-agitated attitude as well. "The Immortals will still be coming for us!"
Seifer, who had remained quiet as his friends hammered against his rival, straightened and stood at his full height. He looked down at the younger teenager, his blue eyes glowing with the strange power that he had been cursed with. "I know what's your problem, Leonhart," he stated, his voice low and calm. "I know why you're acting like a stupid shit." His voice was suddenly venomous. "You're lettin' your hate for me get involved. And that, Mr.-No-Emotions, is what's been talking."
"Seifer, no!" Rinoa Heartilly shook her head in immediate denial.
Squall, however, wasn't denying one word. He, instead, stood up and frowned up at the blonde. "Can you blame me?" he snapped back. "After all you've done -- after Ultimecia and the Garden. . . Can you really blame me, bastard?"
". . . I thought as much." Giving one last glare to the brown-haired SeeD, Seifer turned for the exit. "C'mon, guys. There's no use talking to Garden. We're on our own."
Fujin and Raijin followed obediently, not once glancing back. Algus hesitated, his eyes locking onto Zell Dincht's. The frustration was easily seen on the SeeD's face, but words didn't come. Sighing, Algus hurried after the former Disciplinary Committee.
"Seifer!"
The said young man stopped, turning to face the speaker. "What now, Instructor?" he queried, frowning at the blonde SeeD. "'Gonna arrest us?"
Quistis Trepe couldn't keep the distress from her face. "Let us help you, Seifer. You'll be killed out there."
Seifer sneered, crossing his arms haughtily in response. "'Thought that's what you'd want; I've gotta be the most-hated person in the world." He shrugged. "Besides, we've managed before; we won't get killed."
"Stop being a jerk and just accept, Almasy!" Zell glared angrily at the older teenager, resisting the urge to punch the ground.
"It's not my call, chicken-wuss." Seifer looked at his three companions. "My posse decides."
"Hey, that'd be great, ya know? We need all the help we can get, ya know?" Raijin, of course, was the first to respond.
Fujin couldn't help but frown, her eye scanning the faces of the six Garden students that they had fought as enemies not too long ago. ". . . AGREED."
"No."
Eyes averted to youngest of the group, who shook his head slowly. "Algus?" Zell's query kept Seifer from voicing his own question for the other blonde.
"The Immortals want to kill Seifer and me because we're different -- because we're Insane." The former squire of Limberry made his words deliberately slow, as if revealing new information. "You've already seen what they can make Seifer do. If you get involved, you may be killed."
Irvine Kinneas smiled grimly at Algus' words. "Well, that sounds familiar, doesn't it?" He looked at his friends and chuckled. "Every single contract drawn by Garden has something like that, right?"
"That's right," confirmed Selphie Tilmitt, bobbing her head up and down. She grinned at Algus. "We've heard it all before, Algus! You don't have to worry about it!"
"Is it settled then?" Quistis queried.
Seifer snorted, striding up to the slightly-older teenager. He offered her an intense smirk. "You know, Instructor, you'd do a better leadership job than puberty boy."
A handshake between the two was all it took to end the subject.
* * * * *
". . . Share your thoughts with us. I hate to be left in the dark."
The third Master glanced at his colleagues, smiling thinly. "What is there to say? A new Talisman sits at the head of the Immortal Council, the Immortals' faith in us is stronger than ever, and I hold the leash of a lion in my hand. Nothing could go wrong."
Green eyes flickered in the darkness. "Your confidence never ceases to surprise me," the second murmured.
"Mmm. . . It never ceases to worry me." The first, always the cynic, couldn't keep the frown and glower from his features.
"Almasy and Sadalfas know nothing. It was careless to allow Keion to explain to Shinra, but Shinra is no longer a problem."
The second chuckled darkly. "Your chosen works for us now."
". . . Yes. And Almasy's rival shall provide us some . . . entertainment."
* * * * *
"We appreciate the help, Laguna."
Laguna laughed and shook Seifer's hand, smiling brightly. "Hey, no sweat! It's great that there's no hard feelings between you and the Garden now."
The blonde smirked and ran a hand through his hair, shifting his gaze to the huge Ragnarok. "Yeah, but there's Leonhart to think about."
"Squall's strange," Laguna said with a shrug. "He's really stubborn. 'Must've gotten it from me." Nodding slowly, the former Balamb student turned to leave. Laguna, however, wasn't finished. "Hey, Seifer!"
Seifer turned back, raising an eyebrow.
"You come visit once this whole Immortal business blows over, 'kay? I wanna hear all about it later!"
Blinking in surprise at that President's words, Seifer could only nod once before hurrying to the spaceship. Irvine stood at the entrance, staring at the older teenager as he entered and shut the hatch. "Something wrong?" the sharpshooter queried.
". . . Nah. Not really," replied Seifer, trying to get use to the fact that he would be cooperating with Squall's companions. Just the fact that Laguna's too carefree for his own good. . .
"Well, let's get to the bridge then." Irvine pointed down the long corridor. "You're the last one aboard. We're heading back to Balamb Garden."
The two headed down the hallway, Seifer averting his eyes from the path ahead to the cowboy-attired Garden student. "Why back there?" His memory may have been damaged by his GF usage, but Fujin's explanation of his insanity in the Garden would not leave him alone.
"We need to clear this all with Headmaster Cid," explained Irvine. ". . . Besides, maybe Matron knows something about these 'Immortals.'"
Seifer frowned Somehow, I doubt it.
Shaking the thought from his mind, Seifer walked alongside Irvine, boarding the elevator and entering the cockpit of the Ragnarok. Everyone else stood in the cockpit, Selphie sitting at the controls and Zell standing directly behind her. Fujin and Raijin hung out near the elevator, watching as the two exited the elevator. Rinoa, Quistis, and Algus turned from their conversation to greet the two.
"Let's get going," the student from Galbadia Garden said. "Sefie, let's take off!"
"Oh, yeah!" Selphie grinned and flicked a few switches, turning dials and knobs as well. "Booyaka, here we go!!"
The spaceship trembled slightly as it took off, Selphie manning the controls and setting the course in for Balamb Garden. Seifer strode over to his posse, resisting the urge to draw his gunblade simply to tap it on his shoulder. "Where's puberty boy?" he queried, glancing at the SeeDs in the cockpit.
Raijin shook his head and shrugged helplessly. "'Haven't seen him, ya know?"
"WANDERING?" guessed Fujin.
"Staying away from me is more like it," Seifer grumbled, blue eyes slitting gloomily. Squall's strange behavior, although he hadn't showed it, had greatly unnerved Seifer. The younger man had never shown his emotions so violently; the sudden change in personality had been enough to faze him. . . . 'Wonder if anyone else is worried?
Fujin took a step after Seifer when she realized her leader was striding for the elevator. "GOING WHERE?"
". . . I'll look for Leonhart," Seifer replied, averting his gaze when he realized Zell and Quistis had their eyes on him. Frowning at their stares, Seifer left the bridge.
* * * * *
Seifer found his rival in a storage room of the spacecraft, gunblade drawn and arcing up and down in different exercises. Unseen from his position on the railing above room, Seifer watched the black-clad boy slash at imaginary foes, flipping and feinting as if in a desperate frenzy.
I never knew he could get this angry. . .
Stepping from his cover, Seifer walked to the flight of stairs that led down into the lower level of the room. Squall stopped, scrutinizing the blonde with untrusting hazel eyes. Lowering Lionheart, the Garden Commander hissed, "What do you want?"
"I want to know what's your problem." Seifer didn't have to think before he spoke. "I haven't heard you so goddamn emotional . . . ever!"
". . . Maybe because I've finally got something to focus my emotions on." Squall sneered terribly -- something Seifer never thought he would witness. The blonde took a step back, staring. ". . . You know what, Almasy? . . . You should die agonizingly slow for everything you've done." To Seifer's horror, the brunette's eyes suddenly flickered a bright yellow.
". . . They've got you." Seifer's eyes widened in realization. "Those damn Immortals got you -- just like Fujin!"
Squall smiled sinisterly, stepping back and putting space between him and the white-coated teenager. "My hatred will be the end of you, Sorceress' lapdog. . ."
Again Squall's eyes flared, this time resulting in a tremor running through Seifer. Staggering, the taller of the two rasped, "What the hell're you doing. . .?"
". . . Waking the sleeping devil. . ."
Oh, shit.
The possessed Squall laughed bitterly as he made his rival writhe, his laughing growing more sadistic as Seifer's eyes shifted from blue to red. Clutching his head, Seifer tried to resist the sudden urge to rush the black-clad boy and throttle the life out of him, instead falling to a screaming fit. Amidst his screams, he managed a desperate mental cry.
"Algus! Algus!! Great Hyne, somebody help me!!"
As he began to succumb to the destructive half of himself, Seifer wrenched his hands from his throbbing head and thrust them to the ground. Gloved hands crackling with the dark energy of the Immortals, he growled, "Shadowspark!"
Seifer's screams of pain were echoed by Squall's as the other teenager was struck by tendrils of black electricity that moved through the ground. Squall fell to his knees, gritting his teeth as his eyes pulsed yellow violently. Seifer's agonized yells grew louder, his control slipping away slowly with each yellow pulse. Neither willing to concede defeat to the other, both continued their attacks -- Seifer's attack physical and Squall's mental.
* * * * *
Eyes were on the blonde boy as he grasped the wall, a spasm forcing him to find some outside balance. "ALGUS?" Fujin frowned at the Insane, her expression close to concern for the younger teenager.
"Are you okay, ya know?" Raijin helped the smaller boy, standing him up and holding him firmly by the shoulders.
"S-- Seifer . . . he's . . ." Algus shuddered, blue eyes flying shut for a moment. "He's in . . . so much pain. . ."
"What?" Rinoa gasped. "Oh, no! Squall and Seifer!"
"Damn, we should've kept those two apart!" Irvine was rushing to the elevator, followed by everyone else excluding Selphie. "Sefie, get the ship on auto-pilot and hurry after us."
Selphie nodded sharply. "All righty! Be careful with those two!"
The elevator descended, Zell leaping off the platform before it had completely stopped. He punched the ground angrily and jerked his head in different directions. "Where the hell are they? They could be anywhere!"
Two voices screaming simultaneously in pain was all it took to answer Zell's question. ". . . Just follow the screams of agony," Quistis murmured morbidly.
The group rushed toward the sound, only to stop when the yells abruptly ended. Rinoa immediately thought the worst. "They killed each other!"
"RAGE!" Fujin raised her foot to kick Rinoa, then thought better of it and kicked the wall instead. "NEGATIVE!"
"C'mon, ya know!?" Raijin was racing ahead, looking over his shoulder to call to them. "We've gotta hurry!"
The group of teenagers thundered down the corridors, down hallways that still shook with the echoes of the two young men's cries. They stood together on the upper level of the storage bay, gazing down in horror and shock at the two unmoving forms sprawled down below. Strangling gasps and holding back wails of sadness, the party hurried down the stairs and to the two men that had been rivals for so long. Tendrils of black smoke -- tinged with a strange, yellow glow -- drifted from Squall's unconscious body, his hair and clothes singed. There were no signs of injury of Seifer.
"What in Hyne's name happened to them?" whispered Quistis, kneeling next to the prone body of Squall. Irvine and Zell followed suit. ". . . He's breathing. . ." Rinoa fell next to Squall, drawing his head into her lap and stroking his fair hair.
". . . Seifer isn't."
The heads of all four who had surrounded Squall snapped up, averting to where Algus, Raijin, and Fujin knelt around Seifer. "What!?" It was a shared exclamation.
"JUNCTION GF!" shouted Fujin, her voice shrill and urgent. "PHOENIX DOWNS! ANYTHING!!"
"No. . . No, nothing like that will help him." Algus was breathing hard, his fingers trembling as he pried one of Seifer's eyes open. "His eyes are. . ." The sixteen-year old paused, not knowing what to say.
Rinoa quickly crawled to her ex-boyfriend, swallowing hard. She peered at Seifer's eye, her own blue eyes widening. Irvine frowned, noticing her expression. "What is it, Rinoa?"
She looked gravely at each of her friends, two words passing her lips that they had not worried about since the death of Ultimecia.
". . . Time Compression."
Well? What do you think? There are probably a lot of questions now. . . How can Time Compression still exist? Is Squall trustworthy still? Whatever happened to Rufus? Will Edea be able to help our heroes? What will the High Talisman do? Even more important -- what will the Masters do?
. . . . Um, some of those questions will be answered in the next chapter. I'm not sure if I can address all of them in one chapter. . . *_*
Onto Chapter 17
Back to Chapter 15
Back to The Insane