Loss Although she was wonderfully adept at dealing with stressfully situations of a non-personal matter, Quistis was beginning to crumble under the weight of loosing Fujin. The mission objectives had not changed and the majority of the recruits had already resumed their goal of securing the compound. Only a handful remained with her to carefully dig through the rubble in hopes of finding survivors. Celest touched her shoulder gently. "Miss Trepe?" She asked worriedly. Quistis looked up somewhat startled, her hearing had slowly started to return but everything was still somewhat muted. "What is it Celest?" She sighed as she tossed aside a fair sized chunk of rock. "We've encountered a few more pockets of resistance, we've taken care of them with little problem. You must have taken out the majority of them. We um, still haven't found any survivors." Celest reported, having to shout somewhat. "Good work, any word from Squall?" "Xu says they found Griever and are chasing him. Problem is, he's apparently able to become incorporeal so they're having a bit of trouble catching him." Celest explained apologetically. "They'll get him." Quistis assured her. "Yeah I know." Celest nodded, watching her struggling with a shattered metal girder. With a sigh she slung her rifle over her shoulder and moved to help. "You okay hon?" She asked. "Address me properly when in the field." Quistis said gruffly as they moved the girder aside. "Pardon me for breaking protocol." Celest mumbled sourly. "I'm just worried about you. I know Fujin was a friend of yours." "Stop it." Quistis said quietly. "I can't think about that now, all we can do is recover their...." She paused unable to say it and nearly collapsed into tears. Bending down she wrapped her slender and bleeding hands around another jagged piece of debris. Without realizing it she started to tremble and she had to take a deep breath just to continue. "We, have to find them." She finally finished, her voice taking choked, but curiously impersonal tone. "Okay." Celest nodded gravely. "I'm heading back out, I'll report back if anything changes." Quistis didn't look up nor answer, all she could do was focus on the torturous task at hand. ************************* "Where the hell did he go?" Zell shouted angrily as he, Squall and Irvine stormed into the basement of the Czar estate. Squall scanned the shadows desperately, hoping for some sign of Griever. "Damn it!" He grumbled for a moment then abruptly got a look of excitement on his face. "Wait!" He blurted. "What?" Irvine asked, somewhat unnerved by the sudden change of mood. "Underground, there is supposedly a underground facility around here somewhere! Spread out, look for a door, a hatch, anything!" Squall waved at them in earnest. Within moments the entire area was torn apart. After a few minutes they realized their search was futile. "Son of a.." Zell growled. "Xu!" Squall called into his headset. "Yeah?" Xu answered. "How's our connections with everyone else?" "Should be operational, I've reconnected everyone, we're back in business." "How's Quistis handling everything?" He asked. "She's a trooper, she has the recruits securing the area as ordered, keeping a handful to help recover Royce's team." Xu paused, unsure of how to properly handle this. "But I think there may be a problem." She finally said, in a worried whisper. "There's something you should know. Quistis...." Squall turned away from Zell and Irvine and took a few steps. "I know." He said solemnly, interrupting her. "You do?" Xu said stunned. "Yes." He replied without any hint of emotion. "Then you know, she may not be able to continue the mission. What if she..." Xu sighed. She was worried Quistis would have a breakdown, she hated to think it, but it was an honest concern. "She'll be okay." Squall said firmly. "I don't want to hear anymore about this, you got it? Now then, We're about to head up to join you guys; I need you to have everyone look for entrances to the underground sections of the compound. "Yes sir." Xu mumbled in shock, she would spend the next few hours wondering exactly what Squall did and didn't know. ************ Aeka was hopelessly lost; she'd been wandering dark and musty halls for over an hour with no way out, every exit or stairwell she'd seen had been sealed up with steel and concrete. The whole thing was ominous to be certain, but oddly enough she was surprised to find that she wasn't as frightened as she used to be. "Quistis!" A voice blared in her ear startling her. Fumbling madly at her head a moment, she stopped upon realizing it was her headset. "Hello!" She shouted into the tiny microphone. Static and an occasional garbled word answered her briefly then went silent. "Oh pooh!" She sighed stamping her foot. "Okay, think Aeka where would you be if you were a exit?" She mumbled to herself. Sure, she felt silly, but she didn't care, it wasn't like anyone could hear her. Besides it kept her from worrying about the fate of her friends. Standing at a four-way intersection she put her hands on small hips and frowned. "Enny, minny, oh the heck with it." She sighed, throwing her hands up in the air before striding up the left-hand passage. The emergency lighting, though eerie, comforted her slightly, it was better than darkness. ****************** Xu was standing ready as the Ragnarok came in for a landing, to her surprise Seifer was the first one to exit the craft. "What are you doing here?" Xu shouted over the roar of the engines. Seifer moved past her to gaze through the fence surrounding the compound. "Have you found her?" He asked, his tone drawn and tight. "No." Xu answered regretfully. "Where is Edea?" "I am here child." Edea answered as she and Rinoa made their way down the ramp. "Matron, what's going on? Why did you want us to come get you?" "I sensed Griever had unleashed a great and terrible evil. It has enslaved the spirits of the dead." Edea said looking up to the heavens. "I know, we've encountered several high powered undead. But Quistis took care of most of them, and the recruits are handling the rest." "She only disrupted them, I can feel their energies reforming. Like Griever they feed on emotions, fear, anger, pain. I'm here to put them to rest." "Matron I'm sure we can handle this, you don't have to trouble yourself." Xu assured her. Edea held up a hand to silence her. "This is a task beyond any of your capabilities. I shall handle the restless one's, it is better for you to deal with Griever." Xu frowned but kept silent. "Where is Griever?" Seifer asked. "Really, have the boys caught that bastard yet?" Selphie added as she joined them. "You're here too?" Xu sighed in annoyance. It was in her very nature to be well organized. She was the type of person who made a plan with the intention of sticking to it. Now, however everyone seemed to be doing their damnedest to throw wrench into the works. "Yup, Rinoa didn't want to fly the Ragnarok again so I volunteered." Selphie winked. "I bet you did. Stay put, I don't want you leaving this area." Xu snapped. "Of course." Selphie nodded, sitting down. Xu looked to Seifer and scowled. "To answer your question, Squall's team is still tracking it down. They believe it fled into the underground facilities. "I'm going." Seifer said simply before rushing off into the darkness. "Seifer wait up!" Rinoa called, chasing after him. "Hey!" Xu shouted jumping up to go after them. To late to stop them she turned to face Edea angrily. "Why did you bring him and where are the Guards I posted to him?!" She shouted. "Seifer has inner demons he must confront." Edea said cryptically before making her towards the compound. "Inner demons?" Xu mumbled a moment then shouted after her. "What the hell does that mean? This isn't the time for self-discovery! Where the hell is everyone going?" She was so upset she could've tore her hair out. "Selphie, do you...?" She sighed, looking to impish girl only to find that she too had sneaked away. Clenching her fists angrily she burst into a torrent of incompressible gibberish. **************** Squall, Irvine and Zell picked there way through the field of rubble, where Quistis toiled. Celest greeted them then pulled Irvine aside to talk. Zell and Squall moved on to talk to Quistis. She noticed their approach and looked up gravely. "You'll need to shout." She said simply before resuming her work. Squall and Zell exchanged glances a moment before Squall walked over to her. "Any luck?" He asked guardedly, unable to think of anything more to say. "No." Quistis frowned, not even looking at him. Zell was beyond words, sniffing lightly he grimly realized all he could do was help dig. "Squall!" Seifer shouted. Everyone but Quistis looked up in surprise. "What are you doing here? I thought I gave orders that." Squall said angrily but Seifer cut him off. "I going after Griever." Seifer snapped. "This isn't the time Seifer, just go back to the Ragnarok. We don't even know where Griever is yet." "Then I'll help look." "Seifer, damn it." "I'm staying." "Who let you come here anyway, was it Nida?" "It was Edea's doing." Rinoa answered, walking quietly out of the darkness. "Rinoa?" Squall said with relief, thankful that she was unharmed. Rinoa nearly knocked him over as she threw her arms around him and kissing him firmly on the lips. "If you're not going to help please get out of the way." Quistis said hollowly, holding an armful of rubble. "Hyne." Squall winced, he could see her starting to crumble, and could not help but be moved by what she must be feeling. He quickly pulled everyone back before facing Seifer angrily. "Fine Seifer whatever, if Edea let you run about then it's on her. I'm tired of worrying about you." Seifer smiled slightly, he was thankful Squall wasn't being difficult. "Irvine, Zell! Come on let's look for a way underground." Squall shouted, calling the duo to him. Irvine hugged Celest warmly before jogging over to where Squall was. Zell looked up and shook his head. "I'd like to stay here." Zell said quietly. Squall was about to protest then looked to Quistis who was oblivious. "Alright, do what you can." He nodded then turned back to Seifer. "You want to help, fine, you're with Irvine and me." "Fair enough, do I get something to defend myself or do I just go at this guy with tooth and nails." Seifer snorted dryly. "Zell." Squall called. Zell nodded in understanding and walked over to Seifer. Slapping both hands on Seifer's shoulder the two men locked eyes a moment. A white aura shimmered around Zell. A moment latter the light pulsed and slowly enveloped Seifer also. Finally the aura faded and Zell backed up slightly dizzy. "Thanks." Seifer smiled, feeling invigorated. Zell looked at Squall questioningly before returning to Quistis's side. "Come on." Seifer called before striding off into the darkness. Squall gaped angrily and looked at Irvine who simply shrugged. "Hyne help us." Squall sighed before following but not before getting a hug from Rinoa before she too left, having to run catch up with Celest and her Squad. Quistis glanced up momentarily to watch them go. "Miss Trepe?" A voice called to her. Quistis looked up to see one of the student squad leaders, Nei, standing by her. "Yes Nei?" "Ma'am, we've found a couple of entrances but they've been sealed up. It looks like it's been done recently, mostly through collapsed hallways and stairs. Do want us to try and clear it or keep looking." "Try and find another way first, I don’t want anyone doing anything risky." Quistis sighed wiping her brow. At least her hearing was returning she noted mildly before slipping her headset back on. "Understood." Nei nodded before returning to her squad. With trembling bleeding hands Quistis resumed her work with determined energy, but she knew it wouldn't last, how could it. Seeing Squall and Rinoa's loving reunion nearly crippled her. It only served to remind her of what she'd lost. Tears welled up in her eyes as she realized she didn't even get to say goodbye, or even see her one last time. "It's all my fault." Quistis mumbled bitterly, trying to blink back her tears. "My fault, I should have fought harder, I should have done something to keep you with me." She gasped slightly and could feel herself sliding farther into despair. "Quisty." Selphie said meekly. Quistis stiffened and fought back her anguish once again. "Selphie." She said hoarsely. "You're supposed to be at the Garden." She was able to finish in a more professional tone. "I know, I'm sorry." Selphie mumbled, looking about sadly. "This is horrible, they were so young, fresh faced and wide eyed. How could this have happened." "Selphie please." Quistis choked. "Oh Hyne Quisty, I'm sorry." Selphie balked and moved to hug her. Quistis raised an arm to fend her off. "I'm okay, just, just go away, or do something, I have to finish this..." Quistis stammered nearly incoherent. Selphie looked hurt but she understood, Zell watched from nearby and motioned her over. "Hey guy." She mumbled quietly, walking over to him. "Hey short stuff. Your not supposed to be playing outside." Zell said trying to lighten their mood. Selphie shrugged slightly and looked about the site with a frown. "Want to talk about it?" She finally asked quietly. Zell wrestled with a broken wooden pallet a moment before answering her. "I already had my fit it that’s what you asking, this whole thing is tearing me up. I mean those kid's were in my class, and Fujin." He smiled sadly. "I think me and her finally started to hit it off, as friends I mean. This sucks, she um." He paused and looked down a moment. "She really turned out to be alright." He said quietly. Selphie rubbed her temples. Fujin wasn't her favorite person to be certain but she never wanted anything like this to happen. Wordlessly she knelt and started sorting through the rubble; unable to let her friends suffer alone. ******************* The first thing Fujin did when she awoke was scream. The pain was maddening and upon checking herself over she found out why. Horrible burns covered her lower legs, leaving them a charred mess. She could move but it was horrifyingly painful to do so. Locking her jaw to keep from crying out she forced herself to sit up. Her lungs burned from smoke inhalation and her left shoulder was dislocated badly causing it to swell and bruise an ugly purple. Then she heard it, sobbing, quiet and frightened. "ROYCE." She croaked, then fell into a fit of coughing that only added to her pain. No reply was forthcoming, and she assumed the worst. First thing she needed to do was try to repair the damage she'd sustained. Primarily, she had to get her arm back in joint, lest it healed incorrectly. Looking around a moment for something useful and settled on a deep crack in the wall she was laying against. With a grimace she wedged her bad arm into it until it was good and stuck at the wrist. Satisfied, she prepared herself. Gritting her teeth she levered her feet against the wall and jerked with all her might. A loud pop and a spasm of pain signified her success and she collapsed, her arm still stuck firmly in the wall. Her lips started to quiver and she feel herself going into shock. Time was of the essence; wiggling her arm free she concentrated on calling forth a host of healing spells. Within a few moments the magic did its work. Aside from her arm being slightly stiff and a tingling pain in her legs she felt pretty good. Looking about, she took in her surroundings. Large piles of rubble lay everywhere, support beams, crates, tables, chairs, and shattered concrete lay in great heaps around her. From the looks of the remains of the room she surmised she was in a cafeteria. Again she heard the sound of sobbing, this time Fujin was certain it was her young team leader. "ROYCE!" She shouted again, and regretted it as a wracking series of coughs staggered her again. Apparently the spells did little to rid her lungs of the large amounts of smoke she inhaled. Sparks and globs of melting metal rained down from various sections of the ruined ceiling. Fujin clearly recalled shoving Aeka down the elevator shaft, and then making an attempt to help Royce, who'd been separated from them. That's when everything turned upside down, another series of small explosions collapsed the floor dropping her and tons of rubble into the room below. Looking up warily she could hear the unsettling groan of the mountain of rubble overhead and knew it wouldn't stay up there much longer. Making her way through the burning debris she tried to zero in on Royce's cries. She found him sitting under a table. Kneeling, she studied him carefully. "ARE YOU INJURED?" She asked, concerned. "We're dead!" He blurted. Fujin sighed, realizing he was in shock. "COME ON." She mumbled reaching for him causing him to shriek hysterically. His reaction was not wholly unexpected considering the circumstances. Fujin could shriek in anger at whole situation herself. "I killed us all it's my fault!" He blurted. "NOT DEAD YET." She growled grabbing him by the arm and yanking him out from under the table. He looked at her with a look that hinted at complete madness. Not really sure how to deal with someone in such a state she did the first thing to come to mind and slapped him stupid. Royce would have fell over from the blow but Fujin still had hold of him. "Damn it, why the hell did you do that?" He shouted rubbing his jaw ruefully. "WORKED?" Fujin said in surprise and grinned. "That hurt!" Royce said, rubbing his jaw as a trickle of blood ran down the corner of his mouth. "BETTER?" "I guess. I'm glad you're alive, I saw you laying there and assumed you were dead." He groaned as they hurried out of the room through two swinging doors. "DID YOU CHECK?" Fujin grumbled. "No." Royce admitted shamefully. "THANKS." Fujin responded sourly. "I never expected anything like this." "NEITHER DID I." Fujin admitted as she looked about. They were in a large kitchen; huge stoves, long preparation tables and row upon row of cabinets dominated the room. "I'm sorry." He sighed. "FOR WHAT?" Fujin asked absently as they searched for an exit. "All of this, I've ruined everything and poor Aeka." He sounded as though he would collapse into tears. "SHE IS SAFE." Fujin assured him, even though she wasn't certain. However she knew the girl could survive the fall as it wasn't too terribly far, and if so then she was very likely to be alive. "Thank Hyne." Royce breathed. "She got clear?" "AFFIRMATIVE." "What about us!? We could die down here!" "TRUE." "You sound like your okay with that." He pointed out warily. "What are you going to do?" "I DON'T KNOW." She replied absently. "We're cut off from the others, and trapped Hyne knows where, with a burning building ready to fall in on us." He blurted. "AFFIRMATIVE." Fujin said in an oddly blasé tone Royce was beginning to find irritating. "I ruined everything, what was Miss Trepe thinking? You should've been Squad leader!" He groaned; sounding more and more frayed. "WHY?" Fujin smirked. She'd already had the experience, there would've been little point putting her in charge. Fujin, like Rinoa was only here because it was required to become a SEED. The purpose of the field exercise was to test new recruits under real life situations. "What do you mean why? You know what you're doing! I've only screwed everything up! You have to do something!" Fujin looked confused a moment then scowled. "YOU'RE LEADER." She pointed out. "I failed, I failed everyone, I give up tell me what to do!?" Royce babbled once more shaking his head in misery. "STRONGER THAN THIS." Fujin grumbled, getting tired of his whining as she poked about for something to eat. "What?" Royce asked, confused. "TOUGHEN UP." She elaborated. "Yeah, right, easy for you to say. You've been through crap like this before." Fujin looked thoughtfully for a moment. Then shook her head. "NEGATIVE." "What?" "FIRST TIME BLOWN UP." She smirked sarcastically. Royce exploded. "What the hell is wrong with you! How can you be so calm, don't you realize we could die down here and you act like this is just some kind of joke! We have to find a way out of here!" Fujin ignored him and grabbed a box of crackers then pointed to door at the back of the kitchen. "EXIT." She noted, before hopping up on a counter and eating a handful of saltines. Bewildered by her lack of concern and angry at their situation he smacked the box out of her hands. "I'm serious! Would you pay attention!" He shouted. Fujin looked slightly peeved and folded her arms. "Don't give me that look. We're in trouble and you want to sit down and eat! I can't believe you!" Fujin would've grinned but she didn't want to antagonize him any further. She was more than satisfied to have gotten his fires burning again. "WELL?" She asked. "Well what!?" He blurted in exasperation. "WHAT NOW?" She asked simply. "We go that way." He stammered and headed towards the exit, still raving about her as he went. Fujin shrugged and followed him but not before retrieving her box of crackers. ******************** Aeka was miserable, it was cold, she was tired and she was hungry. She counted herself lucky though. She'd been lost for some time now and hadn't encountered a single creature undead or otherwise. She walked quietly up a stairwell, hoping that this one wasn't sealed off. She was hardly surprised to find that the stairwell was indeed blocked. The rock and steel had been melted into an impenetrable plug trapping her in the echoing depths of cold and darkness. She contemplated trying to blast through with magic but quickly tossed the idea, her magic where nowhere near powerful enough to make a dent in the mess. She made her way back down the stairs in defeat and wandered up yet another hallway. "They'll come get me." She mumbled to herself. "They must know I'm down here." She passed a door leading into a lounge and paused. She looked at it thoughtfully a moment before peeking inside. It was dark inside; the only light to be had came from the emergency lighting the hall, which bathed the room in a dim crimson glow that was altogether unsettling. Cautiously she made her way to a vending machine. She regretted not bringing any change with her, candy bars, snack cakes, and myriad of others sat mockingly behind the glass. "I guess I could break the glass." She reasoned the frowned. " No that'd be stealing." She could almost hear Royce laughing at her silly sensibilities. "Royce." She murmured. She missed him terribly and wished he were with her. Sure he was oblivious, shorted sighted, and ridiculous when it came to understanding women. Still, she'd slowly been working on him and he'd finally started to respond. She'd even gotten him to admit his crush on Quistis would never amount to anything, of course that still didn't stop him from acting like a ninny around her. She'd come to expect that though, and never let it bother her, so long as she felt she had chance with him. The only thing she had to worry about now was waiting to see who made the first move. She certainly liked him and was fairly hopefully he returned the feelings. She wished she could be more like Fujin, bold and brave. Aeka bet she never had problems speaking her feelings and taking what she wanted. With a thoughtful frown she retrieved a metal napkin holder off a near table. Holding her breath fearfully she tossed the holder at the vending machine. The glass exploded loudly, a lot louder than she expected and she looked about worriedly, half expecting police to arrive and arrest her. "Stop being stupid." She scolded herself then picked through the candies for her favorites and stuffed a few in her pockets. Now that she had stocked up she headed back out into the hall to resume her search. After several minutes of walking the hall ended in set of metal doors. She stood in a large open room, with coats and lockers everywhere. A board filled with notes and flyers adorned the walls next to which sat a time clock. An exit sign hung over a door in back of the room with a symbol shaped like a car by it. "Yes!" She shouted eagerly. If that meant there was a parking garage she was as good as home free. She paused as the sound of running water caught her attention. Looking to her left she noticed an open doorway leading into a tiled room. Company showers she reasoned and started to move past until something caught her attention. An arm was lying in the floor just at the edge of the entrance; tentatively she crept about to get a better look. A woman was lying facedown just inside the room, naked and motionless. "Oh no." Aeka mumbled and looked longingly at the exit. "What if she's alive, I can’t leave her." She thought feverishly. Now she was frightened, so close but yet so far. With one last look at the exit she steadied herself and approached the woman. A smell hit her as she drew closer, a musty heady scent similar to how a guy smelled after a workout but slightly different. "Miss." She whispered softly, drawing a knife from her belt. The woman didn't respond. The smell was overpowering now, beyond anything normal she realized and her better sense told her to run as fast as she could. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she made her way into room. A shower was running and the steam from it made it hard to see. Aeka knelt by the woman and looked her over cautiously, the woman's legs were twisted bizarrely at the hips and she was covered in bruises. Aeka then realized the tiles around the woman were dark with watered down blood. She touched the woman's neck gently checking for a pulse but found none. A sense of total panic came over her and she stood nervously, through the red haze of steam she could make out silhouettes lying on the floor. More bodies lay further in the showers, all of them female, all of them naked, each showing signs of being horribly brutalized. Like something straight out of a nightmare the lights dimmed to where she could barely see her hand in front of her face darkness, she yelped instinctively and crouched in fear. Then she heard it, footsteps echoing in the darkness. "Fujin!? Royce!" She called hopefully, though she knew she could never be so lucky. She slipped a handful of her throwing knives from their sheaths. The footsteps stopped and Aeka had to really struggle to remain calm. "Is anyone there?" She called fearfully. "I'm here." A voice answered, it was low, masculine, and dripping with lustful intent. Aeka's eyes widen in terror as Luccian stepped into the dim light before her.
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