King's Heart (part 4 of 31)

Explain? Explanation?

            Seifer shivered while sipping some hot tea. He was completely naked except for his boxers and he sat in an equally cold holding cell. If he didn't catch a cold, he didn't think he'd ever catch another cold again.

            Outside, everyone was sitting down, shocked by the news that Quistis had brought them. Squall had his arms folded and his eyes closed, trying to come up with the best way to temper the situation.

            "Squall-man…" Zell whispered.

            "If what Seifer says is true, then we've got to find Ultimecia and dispose of her before she finds him." He replied.

            "There are a lot of people to sift through." Irvine said. "I'm not sure we'll find her even if we take the rest of our lives. Trust me, let her come to us. I mean, how hard can it be. She's powerless without Seifer and all we have to do is guard him."

            "Irvine, she's not powerless. Seifer's guarding the bulk of her power and memories but she's got some powers. Besides, we don't even know who she is. Any ordinary looking person could just touch Seifer and turn out to be Ultimecia." Squall sighed.

            "How is she going to find him?" Zell demanded.

            "According to Seifer, she'll eventually meet up with him whether by accident or by sensing him." Quistis explained. "Either way, she's destined to run into him."

            "I say just lock him up." Selphie snapped. "He's a good for nothing bastard that killed my friends and spoiled Quistis's date." Everyone glared at her. "What? It's true. Now Quistis is going to live out her days alone." Quistis sighed and rubbed her temples. The last thing she needed was a reminder of how cold and alone the nights were.

            "This is not the time, Selphie…" she sighed.

            "I say we blow his brains out." Squall said bluntly. With a movement so quick that no one registered it in time, he strode across the room, snatched Irvine's gun and opened the cell door.

            "Hey there Pube…" Seifer was cut short as a shot ran out in the night. Rinoa screamed and covered her face. A moment passed before a weak response came from inside the cell. "What the heck was that for?"

            "He's still alive." Squall reported, returning the gun to Irvine. "I think we can believe what he says."

            "I told you I couldn't die!" Seifer snapped, getting up. "I just regenerate! Damn it why can't you believe me for once?!"

            "It's not worth it." he hissed and closed the door in Seifer's face.

            "Squall!" Rinoa gasped, ashamed at how her boyfriend was acting. "I can't believe how rude you're acting. Seifer willingly came back, knowing that he would be sacrificing his freedom to bring us all safety." Quistis leaned back against the chair, listening to the five of them argue away.

            "BE QUIET EVERYONE!" She yelled once she lost her temper. Everyone backed down, feeling like children being scolded.

            "What's all the commotion?" Edea and Cid walked in. "We heard about Seifer and we came right away."

            "We're glad you're here, Matron. Maybe you can help us decide what to do." Quistis replied, getting up and bowing politely. Everyone followed her example.

            "What are you planning to do?" She asked.

            "Since killing Seifer's out of the question," Squall replied, "We think that locking him away is the best choice. He'll be shut out from the rest of the world completely. Since we know that Ultimecia will be looking for him, she's sure to attempt to enter the cell. We'll have SeeDs guarding the place 24/7 so…"

            "And tell me boy, do you have no regard as to what he's doing for all of you? Don't you think about him?" Edea said darkly. Rinoa was tempted to flash Squall an "I told you" look but refrained due to the seriousness of the matter. Squall was left speechless. He tried to convince her.

            "Matron, we can't have him running around free when we know that Ultimecia looks like a normal human, behaves like a normal human and the slightest contact with Seifer will awaken memories and powers. Having him free is putting the world at danger." He replied.

            "If you pardon my bluntness," Edea snapped. "Ultimecia is going to find Seifer whether or not you lock him away. That's exactly how fate goes. There's no preventing it but you can do something to lessen the danger. Instead of focusing all your attention on guarding him when Ultimecia is going to reach him anyway, focus your attention on being ready when the time comes."

            "Hey, since I'm the object of affection here, can I say something?" Seifer yelled from inside the cell. Squall walked over to the door and opened it again. Everyone's eyes were treated to the sight of Seifer in nothing but his boxers. "Beautiful, aren't I?" He flexed his muscles, winking at the girls.

            "What do you want Seifer?" Squall hissed.

            "I've got no problem with you locking me up. No one in the world likes me anyway, 'cept Fujin and Raijin. But I agree with Matron. Ultimecia is going to rise again no matter what you do to keep me away from her. Heck, you can even put me in one of them frozen things like Adel but she'll get me. Maybe she'll even use Rinoa to do it just like before." Everyone visibly cringed when he brought it up. Squall grabbed him by the neck since he wasn't wearing much to grab onto.

            "You point?" He said through clenched teeth.

            "Hey…let go." Squall let go rather roughly. "That's better. Now, as I was saying, we can't stop the entire SeeD program just to protect me. It'll be useless. We need to train not only SeeD but the entire population to get ready for the day."

            "I hate to admit it but Seifer's right." Quistis sighed. "We can't prevent Ultimecia's rising but we can be there when it happens to try and minimize the damage done." Squall raised his hands up in defeat.

            "Fine, let him run loose. I'll inform all of the instructors of the situation and make sure that the training is twice as hard." Squall said.

            "We cannot change our fate but we can temper it." Edea said and it was the final thing spoken before the meeting was over. Everyone hobbled off to bed.

            "Everything's happening way too fast." Zell groaned before he and Ayane entered the elevator.

            "Quisty, are you sure you're ok?" Selphie asked.

            "Sure. Everything's fine." She replied automatically. She and Rinoa cast her worried looks before going downstairs with their sulking other halves. "As for you…" Quistis stood up, walking toward Seifer. "Back to the cell you go. You're still in custody." Seifer pouted.

            "Aww…Quisty…I don't even have clothes…" he whined. She tossed him a blanket and a pillow. He walked dejectedly back into the cell and she closed it. Behind the door she heard a loud sneeze. I'll send up some medicine later, she thought.

            "You've been awfully quiet." She observed. Xu stood up straight. She had been sitting in the corner for the entire time.

            "I've got no part in it. You're the ones who defeated Ultimecia once so you get to decide. I didn't do anything." She replied.

            "You did plenty." Quistis sighed. "I just don't get it. We've defeated Ultimecia once but why can't we do it again? Why does this 'fate' thing make it so that it's a one shot deal. Ultimecia's going to find Seifer, get her memories and powers back and then waltz around killing SeeDs and innocent people for the fun of it while we stand around not able to do anything." She sat down. "It's just not fair. Hyne is such a cruel deity."

            "Maybe we will be able to do something this time. We can save more citizens than before. We can prepare for it." Xu reassured, walking up behind her.

            "Why can't we save them all?" Quistis whispered. Suddenly, two firm hands encircled her shoulders and began kneading them.

            "That's you problem. You're never satisfied with what you do. Death is inevitable, especially with the oncoming problem. But if we can save just one more person that'll make all the difference." She said, leaning down so that her voice tickled Quistis's ear.

            "Maybe you're right. Maybe I'm just trying too hard."

            "That's what makes you Quistis, excellent instructor and object of affection to the Trepies and me just simply Xu." She teased. Quistis smiled faintly while Xu massaged her shoulders. She closed her eyes and rested her cheek against her hand.

            "Do you think we'll make it through? I mean, the two of us." Quistis asked, her voice distant as if she were talking in her sleep. Xu drew back, a little surprise. Then, a smile spread across her face.

            "Of course we will. We always make it through the worst of situations…together." Quistis relaxed and slowly found her way into sleep. She sagged slightly in her sleep and Xu found herself wondering what she was going to do. She couldn't leave Quisty here, it wasn't the best place to sleep. She sighed and gathered up all her energy and strength. She bent down and gathered her up in her arms. Surprisingly, Quisty wasn't all that heavy. She seemed so small and peaceful this time. She remembered the last time she saw her sleep. It was a scared, frightful sleep. She didn't want to remember it so she took solace in the expression on Quistis's face this time and carried her off.