King's Heart (part 8 of 31)

ARGH: Another Reality Goes Haywire

            Quistis and Xu lay side by side on the bed, their head pressed together Quistis sucked on a lollypop that one of the Trepies had given her. In all truth, the Trepies hadn’t given her anything…inappropriate. The worst thing she received from them was a pair of kitty panties. Of course the gift giver was Ty Camfod, a Trepe to the truest. He stalked her on a constant basis and had to be threatened with expulsion before he stopped. And he snuck his present in with a card that said, “You can wear this to class whenever you like.” The other gifts consisted of a lollypop and a cute moogle hat, more cards for the “Card King” and what she found most touching, a shirt with her picture on it and all the Trepies signatures, wishing her a happy birthday. Cid and Edea got her flowers and a necklace that Quistis found far too expensive to even consider. She made a mental note to thank them and to repay them somehow.

            “Good birthday?” Xu murmured, almost asleep. Quistis nodded. She was wide awake with all the recent events. “I love you.”

            “Don’t say that.” She replied.

            “Why?”

            “Because what if I don’t really love you in return?” Quistis asked. The last thing she wanted to do was to lie to her best friend. Xu shrugged feebly.

            “I don’t care.” She fell asleep right after. Quistis pressed her forehead against Xu. She closed her eyes and thought. I’m not strong enough to protect you, she thought before she too slipped into sleep.

            Quistis knew she was running but from what? She tried to stop and get a better look but her feet would not obey her mind. She could not stop running.

            “Where are you going?” A voice asked. She craned her head to look. The shadow of Ultimecia crept up on her.

            “Ultimecia!” She pulled out her whip but it was covered in blood. She dropped it immediately. Ultimecia walked through the mist, carrying Xu’s dead body in her arms.

            “Why run, my child? After all, it was you who killed her. You’ll do nothing but hurt people if you continue to live. Let me end it all.” Xu’s body began disappearing.

            “NO!” Quistis screamed, running towards her. Ultimecia smiled but it was her smile that frightened Quistis the most. It wasn’t filled with malice or evil or even hatred. It was a calm, reassuring smile that Quistis found all too relaxing.

            “Surely…child…you must know. Come, come to me, my child.” Quistis fell to her knees, her heart felt like it was being torn to bits and pieces then set on fire. Ultimecia rested a hand on Quistis’s head, a gesture of…love? She looked up again and stared into blue eyes. But Ultimecia didn’t have blue eyes. Suddenly, a man appeared beside her.

            “Die, Quistis.” He hissed. He wore a white robe with gold lining around the collar and cuffs. He had dark brown hair and eyes that held something holy within them.

            “Hyne…” Quistis whispered.

            “This is your future.” He whispered, gesturing to the still disappearing body of Xu. “Everyone you love will die if you don’t. You will aid Ultimecia into her rise and I, Hyne cannot allow that.”

            “I…I will aid Ultimecia?” She said in disbelief, her eyes tearing yet again, blurring the image of Hyne.

            “Yes.”

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            Quistis woke up. She sat up and gazed down at the still sleeping figure of Xu. She covered her face with her hands. It was just a dream. But that dream explained who the voice in her head was. Maybe she really was going to help Ultimecia rise again. If that was the case, then Hyne was right, she had to die before anything happened. She loved Xu dearly and she needed to protect her. The only way she could think of protecting her was doing exactly as the voice said…

            Xu stirred, awakened by the sudden movement of Quistis getting off the bed. She opened her eyes and saw her standing on the balcony overlooking the cliffs and sea. Xu sat up and observed. Quistis wasn’t herself. She could tell that she was sad about something. She stood up and went over to give her a much needed hug.

            “Whatcha thinking about?” Xu asked. Quistis didn’t reply nor did she show any signs of affection back. “Quistis?”

            “It’s nothing. Go back to sleep.”

            “What did we say about keeping things inside?” Xu said, placing her chin on Quistis’s shoulders. “If we’re going to get anywhere in this relationship…”

            “Xu…don’t say that…don’t say that we’re in a relationship when I’m not sure of anything.” Xu cringed at her tone of voice and removed her arms.

            “Quistis…” Feeling alone and unwanted, Xu curled up on the bed and drifted, hoping that the morning would bring something other than hurt. Quistis heaved a sigh slumped to her knees, wondering if she could ever truly be happy.

            Kill yourself now. While she’s asleep and can’t stop you.

            “I can’t…” She whispered. “Xu…”

            You will only cause more pain.

“No…”

            “Don’t even think about it!” Xu snapped. Quistis’s head slowly turned around as she regarded her with sad eyes. “I know what you’re thinking. Don’t you dare even think that way.” Quistis couldn’t help herself any longer. Even though she knew that the slightest contact would only serve to make Xu love her even more, she gracefully strode over and embraced her like it was their last time.

            “I’ll never let you go.” Xu murmured in her ear. Quistis felt tear pricking the ends of her eyes.

            “Don’t…say that…”

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            Squall was in the middle of dozing when he heard a knock on the door. He groaned and rolled over. The knock became more insistent and Rinoa woke up.

            “Squall…get that would you?” She muttered. Squall cursed and sat up. He stumbled over to the door and opened it. The blinding hallway light froze him in his tracks before he heard Zell.

            “Sorry to wake you, boss-man. We’ve got a problem though.” He said, jumping side to side. Squall sighed and closed his eyes.

            “What is it?” He asked.

            “Um…I don’t know how to explain this…you gotta see for yourself. There’s someone here claiming that she’s…Adel.”

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            The doorbell to Xu’s house rang several times before either of them noticed it. Both stood up, disoriented, and opened the door.

            “Zell?!” Quistis exclaimed, thoroughly surprised.

            “Sorry to barge into this wonderful vacation and all but Squall wants you back this instant. We’ve got a situation on our hands.” He explained meekly. Xu looked at the clock. It read 5:00 AM.

            “Zell, can’t it wait?” She sighed. Quistis however was concerned.

            “Give us five minutes to get ready.” She closed the door. Xu stared at her in horror.

            “Quistis, it’s only been what, three days? We can’t leave now!”

            “Squall wants us back, right? It’s an emergency. Squall wouldn’t call us back unless it was.” She said nonchalantly.

            “But it’s your birthday present.” Xu protested.

            “It doesn’t matter, I had a great time while we were here.” But she didn’t look up or give any signs that she was truly happy. Instead, she looked down the entire time she got dressed.

            Zell paced back and forth a good number of times before the door opened and a fully dressed Quistis and Xu emerged. Xu locked the door and the three went to the Ragnarok.

            “We forgot to call someone about the car.” Xu noted.

            “We can do that later.” Quistis replied. They sat downstairs while Zell flew, each wondering what to say to the other. Finally, Quistis broke the silence.

            “Xu, I…”

            You’ll only hurt her. Hyne’s voice echoed her darkest fears. She mustered up all the courage that she possessed.

            “I want to break our relationship.” It came out no more than a pained whisper. Xu hung her head silently. She knew it was eventual. With everything going the way it was, Quistis obviously had no time nor heart for her. She couldn’t force a smile.

            “Ok.” She replied weakly. She hurt inside.

            That’s it. It won’t hurt anyone as much when you die. Just push them away.

            Shut up, she thought. Just shut up.

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            Squall couldn’t stop checking his watch. They were all gathered around the office with the person claiming to be Adel. Irvine tapped his foot impatiently, causing Squall to become irritated. The others kept a close eye on “Adel,” their weapons drawn and prepared to battle. Adel sat quietly. Suddenly, the door opened and Zell, Quistis and Xu ran in, almost out of breath.

            “We’re…here.” Xu panted. She looked around and her eyes landed on Adel. “Who’s that?”

            “It’s hard to explain…” Rinoa began.

            “She claims she’s Adel.” Squall cut in. Quistis stared. Perched on top of a wooden chair was a little girl with frightening eyes and black hair. She looked at each of them intently and when her eyes landed on Quistis, she laughed.

            “I get it now!” she giggled. The others frowned. “Now I see.”

            “I don’t care if it’s hard to explain. I want to know what in Hyne’s name is going on!” Quistis demanded.

            “It’s like this…” Irvine said. “She appeared at the gates of Balamb Garden just yesterday. She looked all battered and we took her in. She told us she was Adel. At first we didn’t believe her and then she started reciting all of the events that occurred when we defeated Ultimecia.”

            “I’m Adel, only in a different form. And don’t worry, I can’t use most of my powers anyway, I’m too small. When I grow up…it’ll be a different story.” She replied. “But for the time being, I’m just as harmless as any other kid. Maybe a little creepier but not so much as when you fought me.”

            “Have you decided on what you’re going to do?” Quistis asked. Everyone shook their heads.

            “We’ve got enough to worry about right now.” Squall sighed. “In my opinion, I think we should just…”

            “Lock them both up?” Quistis snapped. “Is that your ingenious plan?” Squall turned his head. “I know we’ve got a lot to think about, Seifer, Ultimecia and now Adel, but we can’t solve the problem by putting them away.”

            “That’s what Laguna did.” Selphie pointed out.

            “That’s not the point!” Quistis looked to Xu for backup but she had her head cast down with different thoughts running through her head.

            “Balamb Garden should not be turned into a dangerous place.” Squall hissed dangerously. He crossed his arms. This is too much. We can’t let these two run free, and in the same spot. It’s like we’re gathering them up just to hand them to Ultimecia. Our best bet is to send both of them into space. If we manage to do that then…

            “Squall.” Cid spoke up. “If it’s too much trouble to keep her here, then we can look after her at the orphanage. She doesn’t seem to pose too much threat. I’m sure we can keep her under control there.”

            “I’d like that.” Adel replied, looking to Squall for confirmation.

            “Do what you want, I don’t care.” He sighed. He was fed up with arguing. If Cid wanted to get himself into danger…

            “Are you sure?” Irvine asked. “I’ve got to protest.”

            “I’m quite sure.” Cid said with confidence. “Besides, we still have a few days to think about it before we leave. Edea and I have been through worse. We can surely handle it.” He gave them all a sweet smile. “Onto business. I just received a phone call from Dollet. Apparently, some suspicious characters have been causing innumerable amounts of damage nearby and they want to hire SeeD to investigate.”

            “We’ll go.” Selphie’s hand shot up. “I’ve been so bored around here!” Quistis glanced at Xu again. Everyone nodded.

            “Good, then I’ll call up the mayor and tell them that you’re on your way.” Squall covered his face with his forehead. It was just too much. He needed to kill a couple of monsters to relieve his anger.

            “What a surprise…to think…” Adel walked up to Quistis and studied her. “You of all people.”

            “W-What are you talking about?” She demanded.

            “Surely you know.” She smiled in a way that made Quistis feel even uneasier.

            “For the time being, Quistis, I leave it in your hands to have the most elite SeeD watch over her. Give her a room but keep it monitored at all times.” Squall ordered. Her head shot up and she nodded. Mean while, Xu had not heard a word anyone had said. Her entire existence could’ve been meaningless. She no longer cared for anything. I will always love you. She thought. Even if you don’t love me.