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 Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2007 8:53 am
"Don't ever scare us like that again...."
"I'll try not to....." As much as he would like to continue talking with his girlfriend, something was seriously bugging him. Just a moment ago, Ultimecia's voice had left his mind. He would have liked to got up and cheered for the fact he was finally free of the sorceress, except for two things. First, he really couldn't stand that well, let alone cheer. Second, he had a feeling in the pit of his stomach that something wasn't right.
His feeling was further strengthened by the sounding of alarms. During his student years at Balamb, Seifer had masterminded some nice pranks involving the alarm system in Garden. These alarms, he knew, were the emergency ones. The only way things could get worse would be if Headmaster Kramer himself got on the intercom and ordered an evacuation. DAMMIT!! Could things get any worse?
His face paling at the mere thought that Kairi could get hurt in this, he squeezed her hand and looked at her with a very grave expression. "Kairi, if there really is an emergency, not just some prank, I want you to get out of here. Don't worry about me.....the others need you. And the last thing I ever want to see is you getting hurt."
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Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2007 5:38 pm
Balamb Garden; Outside Infirmary - Training Center
If Leon could have anything in the worlds it would be some well-earned peace and quiet. No evil sorceresses. No Heartless. Just the quiet of Balamb. The students continued life as the did even before Ultimecia had began leaving traces in their time. But those days were long gone and naught but a memory... a figment of the past. Since then... the war... life had changed so much, especially for Leon. But of course some things never changed.
The SeeD was too wrapped up in his thoughts to notice the presence of another until he physically collided into them.
"Oh, hi Leon!! Look, I'm all grown up now!! How's Rinoa doing?"
"Selphie?" Selphie was here? The last time he had seen the girl was in Neverland but... she was a little girl then. She became an adult again? Just like Seifer? Leon had yet to really find out what led this all to happen other than the after effects of Ultimecia.
Rinoa, thankfully, joined the pair and picked up the conversation with the regrown Selphie, allowing Leon to simply listen. But conversations with Selphie did not exactly develop like that.
"Wait... you found Irvine?" Leon asked, brow furrowing. Irvine was around too... He had heard from Quistis but if that was so, where was Zell? He was the last of their group. Sure, Leon had met a certain reborn-Nobody that reminded him of the high-spirited fighter.
But it was mid-thought that Leon's attention was brought back to the world, or more specifically, the Garden. The emergency alarms sounded throughout the whole building. Startled, Leon looked to the ceiling. These were only the fire alarms but this... it couldn't be a drill. Why didn't the sprinklers activate? It wasn't until later that the students' voices could be heard.
"Fire! There's a fire in the Training Center!"
Haphazardly, the students divided themselves and ran in two directions: the exit or the Training Center itself. No! If there was a fire, the students had to leave! Leon's mind buzzed. What was he going to do? What was he going to do? He had to save everyone but he had to save the Garden too... and Seifer!
"Selphie!" The SeeD commander turned to the brunette. "In the Infirmary is Seifer and a girl named Kairi. Help Kairi carry Seifer out of the Garden and by no means let them follow us! They have to go outside!"
With that said, Leon motioned for Rinoa before he took off, weaving through the panicked students. There were sure to be some fire extinguishers there or something of the like. Leon had hoped that a stock point may have even lie along the way, especially with Water, but he had no such luck. With trained speed and agility, the SeeD dashed into the Training Center.
Everything was alight. The air was thick and choking as smoke filled the room and hung low to the ground, finding no more room to rise. The fire lapped furiously through the burning foliage.
"Get out! Get out!" Leon ushered as many students as he could out of the the Center, though all but a few would listen. Frustrated and desperate, the commander ran a hand through his hair. How was he going to put this all out?
Then, amidst the flames was the silhouette of a person. Someone was further in the Training Center?! "Hey! You need to get out of here! The fire will--"
Then it triggered. This silhouette... He recognized it. It was a figure that would be forever etched in his mind. Horns... A womanly figure... Long hair... The sorceress... Ultimecia...
"No..."
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Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2007 6:22 pm
Balamb Garden, Training Center
"No..."
"Took you long enough, SeeD." With a wave of her hand, a blue prisim surrounded the young man, blocking him off from the rest of the students. Her reasons for such were soon realized: with another wave, bolts of lightening crackled through the Training Center, killing everyone else in the large room. For one second, the dying screams of many filled the air, then all was silent, with the exception of the crackling fire.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't have you die easily, now could I?" The prisim dissapated, seemingly leaving the SeeD free for a moment. "Now...to finish some things...." Without much of a warning, she flung the SeeD across the Training Center, sending him flying straight into a wall. With another wave of her hand, she sent him flying the other direction, right into the firery pilar.
Or, it would have been, if she hadn't extinguised all the fires just seconds before Leon would have met a scorching end. Keeping him pressed into the ashes with her powers, she walked over and grinned deviously.
"The tables have turned, haven't they SeeD? Now, here's what I want you to do: Get Rinoa, my knight, that girl who's with him, and anyone here that fought me two years ago. And don't even try running or fighting me.....if you do, it would be the end of all their lives."
With a cold laugh, she released him.
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Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2007 7:12 pm
Balamb Garden; Training Center
He should have known. He was smarter than that! He failed again!
Before Leon could realize what was happening, the blue prism surrounded him. Panicked, he pushed with both hands against the prism to no avail. Not only was it solid but an unknown force seemed to repel him. For a second and third time, the SeeD banged upon his cage. No... No!
Angrily, the man looked up at the Sorceress to see her wave a hand, sending a wave of lighting through the room. The screams... each and everyone pierced not only Leon's mind but his heart. Did he lead them to this? He told them to leave! She killed them for nothing! And... protected him...? But why?
"I'm sorry, I couldn't have you die easily, now could I?"
The prism around Leon faded until it ceased to exist. The SeeD landed heavily on the ground, shaken by the deaths of all the students. He had no time to recover from the shoc, though. A powerful force sent Leon flying into the nearest wall. A wave of pain spiked through his torso and head. A warm feeling spread through the back of his skull before once again he was sent flying, though this time to a billowing pillar of fire, or what once was one.
Upon impact, Leon broke the burned layers of what was once a tree, finding himself covered in a thin layer of ashes. Despite feeling lightheaded, he attempted to sit up but found the same force pushing him further and harder, implanting him into the tree.
"The tables have turned, haven't they SeeD? Now, here's what I want you to do: Get Rinoa, my knight, that girl who's with him, and anyone here that fought me two years ago. And don't even try running or fighting me... if you do, it would be the end of all their lives."
Once the Sorceress finished speaking, she released him allowing her lifeless laugh to sound through the room. Rinoa... Leon hoped more than anything that she had not entered the room when Ultimecia released her attack. Wait no... she couldn't have, not if she was still looking for her...
"Ultimecia..." Leon mumbled, weakly pushing himself to his feet and looking up at the woman with eyes filled with pure hatred and wrath. "... What do you want here...?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007 3:24 pm
Balamb Garden, Training Center
"Ultimecia...What do you want here...?"
"There are so many things I want, my dear SeeD. Though, as far as you are concerned, I simply want vengeance. Vengeance for my dreams being shattered as they were. Vengeance for the hell that I went though growing up...hell that SeeD and all other anti-sorceress groups brought on me. If you were all so worried that an evil sorceress would spring up and kill everyone, maybe you shouldn't have planted the seed of hatred in the first place."
Eyes glinting with malice, she sent two spells Leon's way. The first simulated a sharp kick to the solar plexus, sending him back onto the earth. The second created chains that wrapped around his arms and tethered him to her. "Now, my pet...why don't you bring me to your friends? I'm not a patient woman you know...and I'm sure you don't want to spend tomorrow digging graves, now do you?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007 3:37 pm
Balamb Garden, Main Hall and Infirmary
"Selphie! In the Infirmary is Seifer and a girl named Kairi. Help Kairi carry Seifer out of the Garden and by no means let them follow us! They have to go outside!"
"You got it, Leon!!" Happy to be out of the chaos, Selphie made a mad dash down the hall to the room marked as "Infirmary." Although her main reason for the hurry was to get what she figured was injuried people out of danger, there was a more personal reason to her haste. Geez, last time I remember seeing Seifer, he was like six or something. I wonder how much he's grown. Hopefully not too much....it would be hard to get him out otherwise...
Naturally, the SeeD was in for a big shock when she actually saw her long lost friend. Hyne, he grew like a weed. Now what am I supposed to do? Looking around the room, she saw a familiar red-headed girl. "KAIRI!! What are you doing here??" Running over, she nearly tacked the princess in a bear hug. "Look, I'm all grown up now!! How have you been?" Before she could go on further, the growing intensity of the alarms made her remember what she was there for.
"Kairi, we're in big trouble. There's a fire somewhere in the building. Leon told me to get you and Seifer out of here, but he's too big to carry or drag out in time...I don't kno--"
Then, something hit her. Wheelchair....there has to be a wheelchair around here. I think... Rushing around the infirmary, she went through every nook and cranny until she found what she was searching for. "Quick, help me get him in this so we can go!!"
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Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 2:59 pm
Balamb Garden; Training Center
No... That couldn't be right. He couldn't have possibly started all of this himself. SeeD was created to help, even if it did have its numerous faults. But SeeD wasn't to blame for Ultimecia's return. It was supposed to be because of the time paradox... It wasn't like that made any sense to begin with. If it never happened, why was Leon sent to Radiant Garden?
"...Vengence?" was all he could utter before he was hit with a torrent of pain, doubling over and sending him to the ground. The dry scratchiness began to sting in the back of his throat as his voice became raspy. The man gasped for breath as the dark sorceress continue to speak.
Suddenly, a weight pulled at is arms. Leon looked up, startled to find that Ultimecia had bound chains to his wrists and held the very ends of those chains. He was forcing him to lead her to the others... but could he?
Before Leon had even left for the Training Center, he ordered Selphie to take Seifer and Kairi out of the Garden. Though Selphie had her 'moments', she could follow orders. They would be out before he could make it to the Infirmary. And Rinoa... oh god he hoped that she hadn't followed him. An inkling of hope began to form. Maybe, just maybe, she turned back to help the others.
That meant the were okay. They were...
"...gone..." Leon struggled to pull his body upright. His limbs weighed him down and the pain had soon become numbing. A surreal sensation had washed over him. "They... aren't in the Garden anymore... They're gone..."
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Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 3:12 pm
Balamb Garden, Training Center
"They... aren't in the Garden anymore... They're gone..."
A malicious smile gracing her lips, the sorceress stepped closer and whispered in the SeeD's ear. "Gone? You honestly think I am bound to the walls of the Garden." As she spoke, ice crystals began to form from her hands, traveling the length of the chains and eventually meeting the exposed skin on his arms. The witch stood there for a moment, relishing the groans of discomfort at the slow freezing her prey was going through.
"Believe it or not my dear SeeD, I know where your friends are. I know that when we were having our little chat earlier, they all left the Garden under your orders. I'm not having you do this as a means of finding them; if I wanted them at this instant, I would conjure them at this instant." She paused, sending another icy burst along the chains, waiting for the sweet sound of pain.
"You see, SeeD, this is a test for you. If you can be a good boy, no injury will come to the girls, and only after you die is when I'll go after my ex-knight. If you find that beyond your capabilities....I'll simply bring them here and torture them to death while you helplessly watch. So.....what do you choose?"
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Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2007 9:02 pm
[Balamb Garden, Training Centre]
Of course, Rinoa didn't have the long legs that Squall had, and stopping along the way to help panicked students move along didn't help matters either. Glad that at least none of them were seriously hurt; aside from a few cuts and bruises, Rinoa was free to worry about the person who was most important to her.
Sprinting into the training center, feeling her heart clench with anxiety, Rinoa was about to call for her boyfriend when the scene before her stopped her cold.
It was a scene right out of her deepest, darkest nightmares. Ultimecia, with her horrid chains, and Squall, who looked almost defeated...
No, no, nonononono.... A cold fist of fear was all that passed for her stomach now, fear and terror for both Squall and the others whom Ultimecia would surely be going after.
Despite herself, despite everything, Rinoa dragged up every last vestige of her courage and moved a little closer, clenching her fists to prevent herself from shaking. She was stronger now; Edea had helped her. She was stronger now!
"Let him go!" A blast of power, and she sent out a spell that hit the chains fully.
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Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2007 9:01 pm
Balamb Garden, Training Center
"Let him go!"
A burst of power flew from the young sorceress and hit the witch's chains straight-on, breaking her hold on the SeeD commander. Ultimecia pursed her lips, more agitated with the arrival of Rinoa than losing her control of her enemy. Walking around the fallen SeeD, coming quite close to stepping on him a few times, she stopped in front of the raven-haired woman.
"Congratulations. You just succeeded in making me far angrier than I was when I got here. And if you want to see your lover die, keep it up."
Keeping her eyes trained on the woman, she stepped backwards to her original position, standing right over the commander. "You and I will have ample time for 'discussion' in just a little bit. The SeeD and I are having our own little chat. If you find it beyond your abilities to leave us alone..." Bending down, she extended one slender finger and dragged it across Leon's throat, scratching him with her long nail. "...Well, I hope you have enough intelligence to figure out what would happen."
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Posted: Sun Feb 04, 2007 7:42 pm
"Kairi, if there really is an emergency, not just some prank, I want you to get out of here. Don't worry about me.....the others need you. And the last thing I ever want to see is you getting hurt"
The words barely registered before the word "Fire" rang throughout Kairi's ears. Something bad was happening...Leon had rushed off, and Rinoa sortly after.
What's going on....? was all she kept thinking as her feet seemed to sub-consiously take her down the hall, after Selphie and away from the danger.
"I want you to get out of here..."
She didn't know if Seifer was following after them or Leon. Kairi just hoped...prayed that he wouldn't go after Leon.
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Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2007 8:14 pm
Balamb Garden Infirmary, then Training Center
As soon as the flip-haired girl rushed in, the former knight knew there was trouble. Fire in the Training Center my a**....that places is more fire-retardant than the North Crater.....something must be wrong... With a deep breath, he sat up straight and swung his legs over the side of the bed. To his partial surprise, he wasn't as sore as he was a while ago, meaning he could probably walk.
"Selphie, I don't need that wheelchair. You lead Kairi out of here...I need to do something real quick, and then I'll join you."
Watching his girlfriend run out the door, part of him wanted to stop her for a minute and give her a kiss good-bye....but then she would definetly know something was up, and would probably try to stop him. If what's going on is what I think it is....I might not see you again.....but I can't have her going after you....
After slowly walking around a bit to get his balance back, he walked over to where his gunblade case was stored and pulled out the weapon. Instead of feeling clunky and unfamiliar, as he had feared, it was seemed like no time had passed since its last use. Lacking a belt, as he had apparently been changed into sweats while he was unconcious, he simply dragged the sword behind him.
His memories back and as clear as ever, he remembered the shortcut from the infirmary to the training center, only used when transporting injured students from there. With the alarms, most doors were unlocked, so the passageway was now easy to access. Without a second thought as to what the hell he was doing, he walked right through, still sore due to his lessened condition.
After a few minutes of walking where he could swear he heard his heart beating in his ears, he made it to the back of the Training Center. The air was still tinged with smoke, and a horrible smell pervaded everywhere. Ash from burned plants was scattered everywhere along with a truly disheartening sight: the bodies of several students littered around the area. There were no burns on their bodies, or evidence of fire-related injuries, causing Seifer to wonder what had happened.
Three paces later, he didn't have to wonder. Standing with his back towards him was the witch that had been the bane of his existence ever since she first took over his body: Ultimecia. In front of the sorceress was an injured Leon, and Rinoa, the latter of whom the horned woman was focusing her concentration on. With the younger sorceress around, Seifer could only hope that Ultimecia's powers of observaion was severely diminished. It was then he made his move.
Ignoring the pleas from his broken body, he rushed into a full-out sprint towards the trio, his footsteps quieted by the layers of ash on the ground. Instinct and his desire for vengeance completely took over, as he lifted the gunblade and prepared to strike. Channeling all his energy, he aimed for the woman's torso, praying to Hyne that he would have greater than a zero percent chance of surviving this.
Ultimecia turned, realizing there was someone else in the Training Center, but it was too late. The blade ripped through her abdomen at the exact second the gun function went off, causing immense damage. Still running on adrenaline, Seifer twisted the blade and quickly pulled it out, intensifying the injury. He backed up one step, and that's when his body gave out, falling to the ground in a crumpled heap, his sword landing beside him.
"...Go back to hell...you ****..."
((If you don't know what the word in asterisks is, IM or PM me about it. There's a reason why it's censored like that.))
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Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 7:54 am
Balamb Garden Training Center, then who knows?
Ultimecia knew the raven-haired girl was growing angrier by the minute. If it wasn't the look on her face that informed the sorceress, it was the girl's attempts to confuse her mind. Pitiful...the girl thinks she can scare me by making me sense my treacherous knight behind me....she honestly thinks I'm scared of someone who can probably barely walk? With a sarcastic smile, she turned around to show Rinoa she was not above her tricks.
However, a second into turning, Ultimecia was confronted with the unfamiliar feeling of a cold, metal blade ripping through her and a gunshot through the wound. For a moment, she was impaled on the blade, unable to comprehend what had just happened to her. Then, a sickening twist of the sword, and she was free....free to fall to the ground and bleed all over the place.
Her first instinct was to turn right around and hit the man with a death spell....but she knew her wounds needed attending to, as soon as possible. "I'll see you again....SeeD..." she whispered before disappearing in a cloud of purple smoke.
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Posted: Sat Feb 10, 2007 10:39 pm
Balamb Garden; Training Center
It was a horrifying experience to say the least and dragged on, second by second, minute by minute. Leon clenched his jaw as the ice did their dirty work, freezing through the iron chains and working through his skin. He soon found that he was unable to concentrate on any of Ultimecia's words. He was lost. He just had to endure the pain. He wouldn't expose the others.
Then they shattered.
The chains, the ice and pain, broke into thousands of crystalline pieces. Wide-eyed, Leon looked up to find Rinoa standing before Ultimecia, defending him. Try as he might, the SeeD had not the strength to protest. He remained staring in disbelief at the events between the two Sorceresses before him. He still refused to protest as Ultimecia continued to torture him by cutting him across the back of his neck with a single nail. But because of his weakened state, Leon's reactions were slowed. He was not the first to reach Ultimecia.
Seifer, the man who Leon had left in the Infirmary in the care of Kairi and Selphie, thrust the gunblade into the vitals of the evil woman. The smell of gunpowder and burning flesh filled the air as Ultimecia was nearly destroyed. Before Seifer could lay the final blow, the Sorceress disappeared.
But... everyone was safe now. Even though Ultimecia remained undefeated, his companions were safe for the time being. Ultimecia's plan was foiled. Slowly, Leon felt his knees buckle as he fell to the ground.
For now... they had won...
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Posted: Sat Feb 24, 2007 10:17 am
Balamb Garden - Training Center
"GUUUUUUUUYSSSSSS!!!! Why didn't you follow me and Kairi??"
Selphie pouted when she saw her old friends, two of which were lying in the ashes, injured. "The alarms weren't going for very long; ya could have waited outside like good boys but noooooooooo, you had to get yourselves hurt!!" Rummaging through her bag, she pulled out potions she had conviently lifted from the infirmary earlier, and handed them to Leon and Seifer. "You boys better behave, or Kairi and Rinoa might go after guys who don't get beat up every two seconds."
After seeing that the men took the restoratives, she decided to explore this seemingly unfamiliar place....or what was left of it after the fire. Most of the area was covered with layers of ash and soot, turning the normally colorful room dull and dingy. However, just up ahead, she could see some color, so she took off into a run over there.
However, the color she saw was not from the Center's vegetation, but from people. Dead bodies, to be precise. The sight of all those corpses make her stomach turn in a very unsatisfying way. Selphie bent over to vomit...until a realization rang in her mind. Hey....this is a lot like....Trabia?
That was all that was needed for the floodgates to open and her memories to come colliding back. Every instant that she had forgotten due to Ultimecia's curse was rushing past at the speed of light. For a minute, maybe even two or three, she sat on the ground, lost to what was happening around her. And then, it ended. She was back to who she was.
With tears flowing down her cheeks from the recovery of tragic memories and the deaths of her classmates, Selphie trudged back to where everyone else was. Quietly, she walked over to Rinoa and gave her a loose hug.
"Guys....I remember....everything..."
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