Drastic Decisions The girl’s head fell to the floor without a sound and the body tottered slightly then fell backwards. Quistis didn’t ask, trusting Fujin’s judgment. Bringing her whip into play she cracked it once then let fly at second girl before she rise from her chair. The serrated whip slashed across the startled girl’s throat, causing her to drop to the floor gurgling. Quistis winced, beginning to doubt herself and looked to Fujin worriedly. "QUISTIS." Fujin shouted, gesturing madly for her to turn back around. "Damn!" Quistis blurted, turning around. In the brief second that her attention was turned, the third girl had sprouted sickly wings and leaped through the air, gruesome talons erupting from her fingertips. In the short span of time she had to react, Quistis dived out of the way. A clumsy and undignified effort born of desperation. The creature’s talons raked her back as it darted overhead. It began to circle around and Fujin rushed forward and grabbed it by the ankles. Sputtering and snarling, the creature struggled to stay aloft but Fujin held it on firmly. With a snarl she yanked downward sending the former bridge-hand face first into a bank of computers with a sickening crunch. Fujin was on it before it could regain its senses and snapped its neck, quieting it once and for all. Quistis sat up and frowned. "What tipped you off?" Fujin walked over to the body of the girl that had first approached them. It looked normal enough from the front so Fujin rolled it over with her foot. The girl’s back was melted looking, unformed, parts of the spine and underlying tissues were clearly visible along with what appeared to be wires and tiny electronics. Fujin pointed to the computer terminal the girl had been sitting at. "REFLECTION IN MONITOR." She explained. Quistis could have gagged from the smell and she leaned to examine the body, keeping in mind to stay out of arms reach. "Shape-shifter?" "UNKNOWN." "This could be bad... if they can take our forms..." Quistis mumbled then gasped in shock. "WHAT?" Fujin frowned, moving to her side. "Those two students... the ones that stank." Fujin nodded, understanding. "I’m certain they were like these three." Quistis scowled angrily. "I should’ve done something..." "DID NOT KNOW." Fujin reassured her. The corpses of the former bridge crew twitched. Fujin and Quistis moved away quickly and prepared to resume the conflict. The bodies melted into a brackish, foul-smelling sludge then slithered together like a tower of worms. "TROUBLE." Fujin blurted, scooping up her chakram as the gelatinous mass quivered before them. Another gust of wind howled through the broken glass and the thing recoiled as it’s skin turned ashy gray and stiffened slightly. Quistis knew of the creatures’ dislike of cold but she rejoiced at just how vulnerable it appeared to be. "Take out the windows!" She yelled to Fujin who immediately began channeling a spell. The roiling mix of gore still held features belonging to the three women it had mimicked and the faces howled in fury as a pinpoint of light formed at the center of the bridge. A high pitched screech sounded as Fujin’s spell went off. The air exploded with a dull roar, shattering all the glass on the bridge. "DOWN!" Fujin shouted as chill wind whipped about in a frenzied torrent, sending shards of glass flying about. The mass gurgled and turned gray; slowing considerably as it turned itself inside out trying to keep warm. Deciding to flee, the thing split into dozens of snake like tendrils, each of which quickly slithered down the nearest air vent. The wind howled loudly in their ears as the two women stood and brushing themselves off. "That was too easy." Quistis mumbled curiously. Fujin nodded quietly. The air, while cold, wasn’t particularly life threatening. Quistis looked out of the window, they were far beyond Trabia and heading across a large expanse of ocean at a moderate speed. Looking at the battered but still operational terminals she frowned. "WHERE HEADING?" Fujin asked. "Still moving towards Esthar." "WHY?" "Good question, why would it keep power to the bridge?" "DESTROY?" Fujin asked. "Not this time, we’d crash into the ocean and all things considered, I doubt we’re seaworthy at the moment. "CAN LAND?" Quistis tried the controls but to no avail, something was interfering. "No luck, everything reads normal but we’re stuck on this heading." "WHAT DO?" "We need to find what is causing all this and get rid of it." "EASIER SAID THAN DONE." Fujin responded sourly. "We’ll think of something... Lets go." Quistis growled, heading towards the hatch they’d used to enter. As they reached the lower floor near Cid’s office the walls sprouted a sea of screaming faces that howled in rage at them. Startled and caught off guard Fujin staggered back into Quistis who steadied her. The two quickly raised their hands and fired off a series of freezing spells. ********************** "I wonder if we’re getting carried away." Selphie mumbled as she sat on bridge of the Ragnarok checking various sensors. "You don’t think Quistis is freaking out about this do you?" "No." Irvine said firmly as he kept a wary eye out for trouble. "Are you going to tell me what happened to your hair?" She asked, glancing at him. Irvine rubbed his head self-consciously, but kept quiet. "Will it grow back?" She wondered curiously, his eyebrows and lashes were gone. "Should." He mumbled, still staring out over the hanger, waiting for any sign of Quistis. He didn’t want to admit it but something about what they were dealing with frightened him. He forced himself not to think about, chalking his worried up to the fact that he was nearly killed. "Bah." He cursed under his breath. Selphie heard his exclamation and looked back at him curiously. "Are you okay?" She frowned again. "Yes..." "You’re scaring me." "I’m sorry." "It’s okay, I just wish you’d tell me what happened." "A close call, lets just leave it at that." "Kay..." Selphie murmured, not wanting to push him. "Mr Kinnes!" A couple of junior SEED’s shouted as they entered the hanger, helping along a torn and tattered Nida. "Oh Hyne... Nida!" Selphie blurted, seeing them from the cockpit. "I’ll get him!" Irvine shouted, hurrying out the side hatch to intercept the trio. "Hey Irvine, what’s up." Nida coughed. "What the hell happened, and why haven’t you all evacuated?" Irvine asked sternly. "The walls sir!" One of the youths sputtered. "They’ve come to life!?" "That’s why you were ordered to vacate!" "It’s not their fault, I told them to take me to you." Nida explained. "Fine you’re here." Irvine said gruffly then turned to the two guards. "You guys have a way out of here?" "Yes sir, the last escape craft if waiting just up the hall." One of the young men answered. "Get on it and go, we’ll take Nida with us." Irvine ordered, helping Nida stand. "Yes sir!" The two saluted then hurried away. "The bridge crew...their dead..." Nida choked as Irvine helped him to the waiting Ragnarok. "What!?" "Something got in them, it was horrible and there was this thing..." "I know." Irvine mumbled, I’ve seen one too." "Where’s Quistis?" "She went looking for you..." "Oh, no! You gotta stop her!" "I’m on it. Quistis!" Irvine yelled into his headset. "Go ahead, Quistis answered through a hail of static. "We found Nida, he’s hurt but alive." "Thank goodness. We just left the bridge, The crew is dead and whatever was controlling the corridors in the core has spread." "Yeah, I heard. What’s your situation?" "Fujin and I are okay but Balamb is locked into its course to Eshtar." "Well that’s good, we can get help when we arrive." Irvine mused. "Somehow I don’t think so." "What...?" "We need to get control, I’ve an idea. Let me talk to Nida." "Huh...alright." Irvine mumbled curiously and handed his headset to Nida. Selphie barreled out of hatch and rushed towards them. "What’s going on?" She asked hurriedly. "Hold on." Irvine whispered. "Nida here." The young pilot coughed into the headset. "How are you holding up?" Quistis asked. "Battered, but okay." "Good, get healed up, I need you to do some work." "Okay, what’s the plan." "We’re on our way to get you. We need to figure out a way to get control, at least long enough to make a course change." "Course change?" "I’ll explain when we get there, I don’t want to risk the intruder intercepting our transmissions." "Any idea what it is yet?" "None...but it can merge with organic and inorganic materials at will..." "I noticed...." Nida grumbled. "We’re in route, be ready." "Will do." Nida nodded, signing off. He handed the headset back to Irvine then blinked. "What did she say?" Irvine asked. "What the hell happened to you’re hair!?" Nida blurted. "Forget about that..." Irvine growled. "Whatever. She said she’s on her way and that we’re making a course change." "Course change?" Selphie said, looking confused. "She said she’d explain once she got here. Either of you have a Guardian? I need some healing here." "Oh damn, sorry!" Irvine stammered and hurried to offer aid. After a moment Nida was more or less back to normal, albeit a bit sore. ****************** "COURSE CHANGE?" Fujin asked as they ran along the darkened halls. The effects of the creature or creatures infesting Balamb had spread, all around them the walls squirmed and groaned with a unnatural life of their own. "Yes." Quistis answered with a grave look, pausing long enough to fire a spell at a supporting strut that moved to intercept her. "We can’t let these things spread." She said, leaping over the smoldering remains. "EXPLAIN?" Fujin grunted, ducking a swarm of tendrils that burst out of a overhead duct. "If they get ever got to Esthar. If it somehow got control of the technology there..." Quistis explained fearfully. "UNSTOPPABLE." "Yeah..." Quistis nodded as they neared the hanger. A cool breeze billowed past them, the hanger door was opened, meaning the others were ready to leave. Thankfully the cool air kept the encroaching madness at bay and they made their way to the Ragnarok without further harassment. Nida, Irvine and Selphie were waiting and moved to greet them. "Glad to see you’re alive." Quistis smiled at Nida, giving him a hug. "Can’t keep a guy like me down." Nida grinned. "What’s the plan?" "I need you to find a way to alter our course north." "I’ve been thinking about it, I may be able to do it for a short time, but if this thing has as much control as we think, it’ll only be for a short time." "Just make the course change, steer us north to the icecap." "The icecap?" Selphie blurted. "Why up there?" Irvine frowned. "It hates the cold, even the slightest chill hurts it. Once we get there we kill the power and ditch Balamb into the ice." "WHAT!?" Nida shouted in shock. "MADNESS!?" Fujin agreed, stunned by the suggestion. "Quistiy?" Selphie frowned. "Don’t argue, I’ve made up my mind. I have a feeling about this thing." "I won’t do it." Nida scowled. "You need to understand...If this spreads to Esthar.... Innocent civilians could be killed." Quistis sighed. "She’s right." Irvine said quietly. "Why don’t we just find the source and kill it!?" Selphie suggested. "We’ll try, but if we’re unable I want a backup plan." "How do you even know it wants to go to Esthar?" Nida asked skeptically. "You were on the bridge Nida, what did you see." Quistis asked, eyeing him suspiciously. "Hey, now, don’t look at me like that, I’m just worried is all. Look, I went to the bridge and the crew had been, altered and there was this, thing, huge, nasty. It was hooked up to all the computers." "Just like in Cid’s office." Quistis said, looking at Fuji before turning her attention back to Nida. "It’s downloading information, it’s intelligent." "Fine, you’re right, it’s doing something..." Nida mumbled. "I’m sorry Nida, all of you, but if we can’t stop this thing here and now, we will have no choice." Quistis said sympathetically. "What’s to keep it from altering the course once we make the change?" Nida asked, still not sure of the plan. "DESTROY BRIDGE." Fujin suggested. "That’ll keep us on course alright but it could just as easily cause us to crash!" Nida blurted. "This plan sounds half-baked." Selphie mumbled rubbing her temples. "I’m willing to listen to suggestions but we don’t have a lot of time. It’s spreading fast." An uncomfortable silence issued and Quistis nodded grimly. "Okay then lets get moving, Nida, Fujin, you’re with me, Irvine, Selphie, keep the engines running." "I should be going with you." Irvine frowned. "What, and leave your wife alone?" Quistis said quietly, looking down at Selphie. "Hey! I can take care of myself thank you very much." Selphie blurted indignantly. Irvine shuffled awkwardly. "IS OKAY." Fujin winked, clapping him on the shoulder. "You two be careful..." Irvine sighed. "You too." Quistis smiled then motioned for Fujin and Nida to follow. ************************** "Odd." Cid mumbled, staring worried at the communicator atop Laguna’s desk. Laguna, who was peering in awe at a snow-globe Ellone had given him, looked up absently. "What?" "I can’t get through to Balamb." "They’re probably behind the mountains." Kiros noted from nearby. "I was wanting to ask Quistis how Selphie and the guests are doing." "They’re fine." Laguna grinned, setting down the snow-globe. "You’re right, I’m just paranoid." "Not surprising considering all that’s happened. It’s been a trying time for you guys." Kiros said. "Kiros is right, relax, enjoy yourself." Laguna smiled. "Hi guys." Ellone said laughingly with Celest and Nicole under tow. "Ladies." Cid said in greeting. "Well, everything is done." Ellone explained. "Good, good, where is Rinoa?" "Um..." Ellone blushed. "She and Squall are making up." Celest giggled, prompting an elbow from Nicole. "Oh..." Cid blinked, blushing slightly. "To be young again." Kiros laughed. "Who are you fooling, you hound." Laguna said slyly. "Well I guess all we do now is wait..." Cid shrugged. "Now all we have to do is wait for everyone to get back. How much longer are we looking at?" Celest asked. "I don’t know, I haven’t heard from them today." Cid sighed. "Everything okay?" Nicole asked, slightly worried. "Kiros thinks the mountains are giving interference. "Oh." "Ah they’ll be here on time sugar." Celest winked, throwing an arm around her shoulders. "Come on, lets take advantage of the free time and hit the streets, this is a big city and I for one plan to see the sites. Ellone, you care to show us the sites?" "Of course." Ellone beamed brightly. ************************ "Um not to sound like a coward or anything, but this seems kind of foolhardy." Nida whispered as they crept up the pulsing and moaning hallways. "Oh it is...." Quistis said with a faint smirk. "You’re supposed to tell me everything is fine and that you know what you’re doing." Nida frowned. Fujin chuckled quietly to herself and took a swipe at a stair banister that ventured to close. "Sorry Nida, this is new to me too. I’m making this up as I go." Quistis sighed. "How reassuring." "NOT ATTACKING." Fujin pointed out. "I know, don’t jinx it." Quistis murmured. "Maybe it can’t see us." Nida said. "Somehow I doubt that." Quistis frowned, looking at a sea of gruesome eyes peering out of the darkness. "FOLLOWING?" Fujin said cautiously. "Curious I think, they want to know what we’re up to." Quistis reasoned. "Why don’t they just attack us." Nida blurted, getting antsy. "Fujin and I cut a swath through here earlier, they’re probably trying to figure out the best way to stop us." Quistis explained. No sooner than she spoke the floor in front of her melted into a spiraling pit of darkness. "Quistis!" Nida shouted, grabbing her right as she stepped forward. Her momentum nearly took her over the edge and Nida started going with her. Fujin grabbed him by the collar causing him to gag. "HOLD ON." She grunted as she helped pull the two of them away from the edge. "That’s one way to do it." Quistis breathed, looking out over the expanse of darkness. "Quick, before it drops the rest of the floor on us." Quistis ordered as she started to cast a spell. "WHAT?" Fujin blinked as Quistis placed a hand on her and Nida’s shoulder. Within seconds, the three of them rose off the ground a good foot. "Hey good idea." Nida smirked as the floor dropped away from under them. "DOING!?" Fujin blurted, grabbing at Quistis wildly. "Ack lemmi go, what are you doing?" Quistis yelped. Fujin’s flailing sent her upside down and she grabbed Quistis’ arm in a deathlike grip. "Calm down, we’re okay." Nida chuckled. Fujin cut him a look of pure contempt. "Fu, it’s just a levitation spell, quit flailing." Quistis said quietly. Fujin looked up at her and frowned. "Don’t tell me you never used it before." Quistis grinned. "NO REASON TO." Fujin snapped, trying to right herself. Quistis helped turn her upright. "There you go." She smiled, trying not to laugh. Fujin was blushing furiously as she regained her composure. "It’s easy once you get the hang of it." Nida said smugly, flitting about like some story book fairy." "Looks like we missed part of your training..." Quistis winced. Fujin let her go and tried unsuccessfully to do anything but float. "It takes practice." Quistis smiled sympathetically. "Here, take my hand, I’ll lead you along." Nida offered brightly. Fujin smacked it away with a grunt of disgust. The gesture sent her spinning wildly and she was forced to grab Quistis again to stop herself. After a moment she took Quistis’ hand and glared as if daring her to laugh. "LETS GO." She said gruffly. "Okies." Quistis squeaked, smirking at Nida. Floating cautiously, the trio crossed the chasm that had formed in the hallway. Now and again the walls would explode into a nest of clawing, biting tendrils, forcing them to spend precious spells in attempts to keep the writhing mass at bay. After what seemed an eternity of dodging and weaving they made their way to the hatch leading up to the bridge. The ladder was gone and the shaft had been clogged with a mass of garbage and organic material. "Oh gross...." Nida winced looking up at the foul smelling blockage. "It doesn’t want us going up there." Quistis smiled and looked to Fujin. Fujin nodded and began to summon Pandemonia. The entity appeared amid howling winds, kicking up a cloud of dust and debris. The guardian was forced to adjust its size in order to fit in the corridor and looked most uncomfortable as it appeared. "CLEAR IT." Fujin said, patting the creature’s shoulder companionably while pointing to the blocked shaft. Looking up, Pandemonia inhaled deeply, taking in far more air than one would think possible. Fujin gestured everyone to back up as the Guardian took a position under the blockage and expelled the compressed air in one sharp, concentrated burst. Debris exploded everywhere as the blast cut through the blockage like a laser, leaving behind a jagged hole straight to the bridge. Quistis moved forward and summoned Shiva. The blue skinned guardian appeared in the hall. She regarded Pandemonia curiously before facing Quistis. "Line the tunnel with ice please." Quistis asked, nodding to the freshly cleared shaft. Shiva nodded quietly and spread her hands. A gust of arctic cold air filled the tunnel as the she carefully did as she was told. Satisfied with her work Quistis thanked the guardian before dismissing her. The three SEED’s quickly began floating up the tunnel, hurried along by a gentle breeze provided by Pandemonia. Once they arrived on the darkened bridge Fujin dismissed her guardian and looked around curiously. "QUIET." She said then stumbled forward as Quistis’ spell finally wore off. "What happened in here?" Nida gawked, looking at the shattered windows and splattered gore. "We chased it off." Quistis explained, moving to the main computer. "Everything is busted, it’s a wonder we haven’t crashed." "STOP COMPLAINING." Fujin grumbled, moving past him. "Okay Nida, get to work, we’ll cover you." "Are you sure you want to do this, I mean what happens if you stop this thing? You’ll still be stuck on this course." He asked, popping the seal to one of the control panels. "We can kill the engines from the core." Quistis responded, looking around cautiously. "DAWN SOON." Fujin sighed, seeing the cresting edges of light on the horizon. "That’s a good thing, we’ll have a little more light to work with." Quistis nodded. "NOT IN CORE." "I’ll take what I can get." "Okay let’s see what we’re dealing with." Nida mumbled absently as he scanned the inner workings of the computer terminal. Shriveled tendrils and foreign bits of electronics dotted the various nodes and computer boards, making the whole affair nearly unrecognizable. "Gah! The whole configuration has changed!?" Nida frowned. "Figured as much, can you do anything with it." Quistis asked sourly. "Dunno yet, I’ll try." Nida sighed, opening his tool kit. "I don’t need to tell you to hurry up." Quistis chided. "I know." Nida mumbled, hooking up a small portable computer. Fujin paced and Quistis watched her nervously as Nida did his work. Long minutes past and Fujin began growing irritable. "DONE?" She frowned. "Almost..." Nida mumbled. "HURRY." "I am, now be quiet!" Nida snapped. "Calm down, the both of you." Quistis ordered. "Sorry." Nida said absently then raised up. "There, we’re set." He smiled and they could feel Balamb begin turning sharply. "How’d it go?" Quistis asked, looking at the blinking lights of the terminal curiously. "It’s done, we’re headed north." He answered, packing up his tool kit. "Good job, stand aside." Quistis said firmly raising her arms to channel a spell that would shatter the control system. "I hope you’re right about this." He frowned. "I have to be." "You know we could crash." "The safety systems should ease the landing, and if not, well we won’t have to worry about it getting to Esthar." Quistis said grimly as lightning crackled along her fingertips. "Fur-ru-ru Mine, leave, flesh, die, leave, die, leave, mine pru-ru!" An inhuman voice screeched through the intercom and echoing throughout the garden. "What the..." Quistis frowned, pausing slightly. "Oh, man." Nida moaned, growing pale. "IMPOSSIBLE." Fujin hissed, spinning about in preparation for an attack." "What, who is it!?" Quistis growled, looking at the two of them curiously. "NORG!" Fujin said quietly. "Pru-ru-ru mine!!!" The voice gurgled deeply then laughed as everything went dead, the terminals, the emergency lighting, the engines, everything. "Oh no..." Nida whispered seconds before their entire world tilted. "We’re in free fall!" Quistis screamed before she was tossed off her feet and was sent sliding towards the shattered bridge window. "QUISTIS!" Fujin shrieked as she too was flung haphazardly through the air. Nida grabbed the edges of the terminal he was working on and hung on for dear life as the two women flew headlong towards open air. *************** "That sounded familiar." Irvine frowned, hearing the inhuman laughter as he peered out of Ragnarok’s cockpit. "Creepy..." Selphie said quietly, from the pilot seat. "What do you reckon it was." "Sounded like Norg..." Irvine responded hauntingly. "I thought you and Squall killed it?" Selphie said worriedly seconds before everything went crazy. "What the hell!" Irvine shouted as he was thrown face first into the hardened glass of the cockpit. The Ragnarok started sliding sideways; it’s steel talons sparking brightly as they scraped across hanger floor. Selphie screamed in surprise and grabbed the controls. The ships stabilization systems came to life and the craft sank its claws into the hanger wall and floor, stopping their slide abruptly. Selphie was thrown forward in her seat, but was kept at safe by her seatbelt. Irvine wasn’t so lucky and he was bounced about the cockpit like a rag-doll, ending up in an upside down heap under Selphie’s chair. "Irvine!" She screamed, leaning over to check on him. "Damn it!" He bellowed in a mix of pain and anger. The collision alarm sounded and something hit them hard, followed by several smaller jolts. The Ragnarok shared the hanger with several smaller shuttles, all of which were crashing and rebounding off its thick hull. The racket was terrific and the barrage threatened to knock them loose from haphazard perch. "We’re going down!" Selphie whined fretfully. "Get us the hell out of here then!" Irvine growled, still firmly wedged under Selphie’s seat. "Don’t yell at me." Selphie shrieked, grabbing at the controls. "I’m not yelling!" Irvine howled, trying to untangle himself. "Yes you are!" Selphie cried as the Ragnarok turned around to face towards the open hanger door far above them. Firing the engines to keep it from falling backwards the ship clamored madly up the tilted hanger floor like a dog on a slide, it’s talon’s gouging long furrows as it climbed towards freedom. Selphie let out a jubilant cry of success as they neared the exit. The cry was short lived however as the pile of trashed shuttles exploded behind them engulfing the Ragnarok in a tremendous fireball. ****************** Quistis flew out the window into open air; desperately she grabbed the window frame, the broken glass slicing to her palms to the bone. She cried out in pain but maintained her grip. She looked up to see Fujin sliding towards her at a manic pace. The decent was stopped when she unceremoniously slammed into a floor mounted computer terminal. Wild and insane laughter echoed through the halls and an explosion sounded somewhere in the distance. Quistis didn’t want to think about what it could have been as she struggled to pull herself to safety. "HOLD ON!" Fujin called to her, carefully starting the precarious crawl towards her. Reaching the lip of the window seal, she braced herself and leaned forward to grab Quistis. "FUJIN!" Quistis shouted, her eyes wide in horror as the floor exploded behind Fujin. A large vaguely worm like creature tore out of floor, its head was adorned with spines and it’s body was covered in metal plates that were merged with it’s flesh. Exposed to the chill wind, the creature was already turning gray and ashy. Pumping itself up, it flexed and expelled the spikes atop its head in a pulpy explosion before falling over lifeless. The needle like barbs rained out in all directions. Nida who was mostly undercover caught one of the foot long barbs in the thigh where it went clean through. Fujin spun around and threw her arms up to shield her head as a hail of spikes shot towards her. One caught her in the right side of the chest, spinning her around as another, piercing her abdomen. She made a sound of startled surprise then staggered slightly before falling limply out the window. Quistis could only look on in silent horror as the love of her life toppled into oblivion.
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