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Entry tags:
FFVIII: Thin Red Line (3)
Fandom: Final Fantasy VIII
Main characters: Quistis, Selphie, Seifer, Zell, Squall
Referenced characters: Irvine
Pairings: None
Contains: Deathfic
Rating: PG
Summary: The war isn't over until everyone has stopped fighting.
She sits there like a hound on a leash. Pretty and sleek and empty all on her own, no purpose without Garden, without the race and tussle. Beautiful. Alert. But not alert enough, not scared enough, and soon she'll die. And the girl beside her, all life and sunshine, unsuspecting and never fearing. Almost a pity, but of course, it's not, and not a waste, because they saw what they shouldn't see.
Squall will be scared, soon. That's the thought he lives and breathes, Squall will be scared soon, and vengeance will be his.
Soon.
----
"This bit of the countryside is really pretty."
Quistis turns her head slightly to look out of the window, leaning forward a little and noting that Selphie is smiling but not smiling, not quite putting her heart into it. Quistis just smiles, too, and nods, leaning back again and trying to relax. It's hard to relax, though, considering everything that's happened, what should happen next.
"I'm a little scared," Selphie says, after a moment, still kneeling on the seat and staring outside at the scenery. Quistis starts to reach up and then thinks better of it, watching Selphie be like glass and afraid to touch her in that vulnerable moment, in case --
"Yeah," she says, softly, because the moment demands at least that.
"I mean. Everything that's happening. Everything that's happened. Irvine... and Zell, of course. It's all a little..."
"Overwhelming?"
Selphie turns and settles into her seat with a little shiver running through her, evident in the tiny shudder of her skinny shoulders. "Yeah. Overwhelming. And scary. And I'm thinking 'what if' all the time, and -- "
Quistis takes her hand this time and squeezes, smiling just a little. "We'll be fine. You know we will."
"Yeah, of course." Selphie moves a little closer, and then rests her head against Quistis' shoulder, closing her eyes. Quistis is just closing her eyes when it happens, just prepared to relax a little, and...
The train stops with a jerk.
"Tsk, tsk, Trepe, sleeping on the job?"
She knows the voice. She knows it and doesn't know it, recognises it as a parody of what she once knew. She doesn't raise her head, but her hand tightens on Selphie's, making sure she's awake, starting to reach...
"Nuh-uh, Trepe, Tilmitt. Leave your weapons. I don't have any qualms about chopping your hands off."
Quistis looks up to see him there, his eyes glinting a little, and shudders slightly at the look on his face. Selphie moves beside her, the shiver of anticipation running through her again. She doesn't say anything.
"Come outside, ladies," Seifer says, with a nasty grin, "I'd hate to get blood on the upholstery."
"You control this train?"
"For now I do, yes. Move it, Trepe. I haven't got infinite patience and my friends can pay for something as stupid as a little blood on the train. It'd probably not be the first time it happened anyway."
Quistis and Selphie exchange a look and move, not even trying to reach their weapons laid out on the seats where they were sitting. Quistis helps Selphie out of the train and onto the small platform, balancing her carefully and moving back and away from the door as Seifer jumps out, Hyperion glinting in the sunshine as he swings it up to put the tip of the blade under Quistis' chin.
"You know, it's kind of a pity..."
"Yeah," Zell says with a little click of a gun, leaning over a little on the roof of the train so that Seifer sees him and offering him a tiny grin, "a damned pity you killed our sniper. I'm not good with a gun, so I can't promise it'll be painless... but you'll die in the end, right?"
"Dincht?!"
"Thanks, Zell," Quistis says, softly, stepping away from Seifer's gunblade and carefully relieving him of it.
"You're..."
Squall's voice is quiet as he steps from another of the train carriages into theirs, his eyes narrowed and intense."Alive? Yes, he is. Something I found in a book about sorceresses explained all of this to me. With Ultimecia's death, you were torn. The boy you'd been, once, and the broken man she'd made you. You couldn't revert but you couldn't carry on as you were. So you were both."
Seifer's jaw firms and he clenches his fist, only just realising that Quistis has taken Hyperion from him. "Shut up, Leonhart. I don't need a gunblade to kill you."
"You didn't manage to kill Zell, so I don't hold much faith in your ability."
"How did...?"
Quistis carefully moves behind Squall, putting Hyperion down on the floor, out of hope of Seifer reaching it. Selphie goes into the train and brings out their weapons, flinging Quistis' whip over to her so she can guard the gunblade properly. Squall watches them and nods to Quistis when she's done, letting her speak. "When we got the note on Irvine's body, we immediately sent a SeeD to warn Zell. The message about Zell's death came back before that messenger, but when the messenger returned, we found that Zell wasn't dead."
"When you say someone's dead, you gotta make sure they are, y'know? The contract was from someone who would just kill me during my 'mission'. Unfortunately, thanks to the warning, they couldn't find me, and sent a premature note, sure they could find me in time and make it true. I got the warning and headed right back to Garden."
There's a moment of silence after that, and then Seifer draws himself up straight and runs a hand through his blond hair. "Right. But how did you know it was me?"
Zell's grin is a little sinister. "Turns out some of your friends aren't so friendly after being threatened with broken bones."
Squall rolls his eyes and makes a sign to Zell to come down from the roof. "Seifer?"
"What?"
"We're going to help you, you know. You'll have to serve time for killing Irvine," and the note of emotion is almost subdued in his voice, almost, "but we'll make sure your... condition is taken into account."
For a moment, Quistis thinks Seifer's going to hit Squall, and then his shoulders sag and he doesn't say anything. Squall turns to them, giving orders, congratulating quietly and generally filling the role of commander better than anyone ever thought he would.
"I'm sorry," Seifer says, and Squall looks up, startled, and sees the transformation from a younger, vulnerable Seifer to a half-crazed knight without a sorceress, "sorry I didn't kill you first."
Main characters: Quistis, Selphie, Seifer, Zell, Squall
Referenced characters: Irvine
Pairings: None
Contains: Deathfic
Rating: PG
Summary: The war isn't over until everyone has stopped fighting.
She sits there like a hound on a leash. Pretty and sleek and empty all on her own, no purpose without Garden, without the race and tussle. Beautiful. Alert. But not alert enough, not scared enough, and soon she'll die. And the girl beside her, all life and sunshine, unsuspecting and never fearing. Almost a pity, but of course, it's not, and not a waste, because they saw what they shouldn't see.
Squall will be scared, soon. That's the thought he lives and breathes, Squall will be scared soon, and vengeance will be his.
Soon.
"This bit of the countryside is really pretty."
Quistis turns her head slightly to look out of the window, leaning forward a little and noting that Selphie is smiling but not smiling, not quite putting her heart into it. Quistis just smiles, too, and nods, leaning back again and trying to relax. It's hard to relax, though, considering everything that's happened, what should happen next.
"I'm a little scared," Selphie says, after a moment, still kneeling on the seat and staring outside at the scenery. Quistis starts to reach up and then thinks better of it, watching Selphie be like glass and afraid to touch her in that vulnerable moment, in case --
"Yeah," she says, softly, because the moment demands at least that.
"I mean. Everything that's happening. Everything that's happened. Irvine... and Zell, of course. It's all a little..."
"Overwhelming?"
Selphie turns and settles into her seat with a little shiver running through her, evident in the tiny shudder of her skinny shoulders. "Yeah. Overwhelming. And scary. And I'm thinking 'what if' all the time, and -- "
Quistis takes her hand this time and squeezes, smiling just a little. "We'll be fine. You know we will."
"Yeah, of course." Selphie moves a little closer, and then rests her head against Quistis' shoulder, closing her eyes. Quistis is just closing her eyes when it happens, just prepared to relax a little, and...
The train stops with a jerk.
"Tsk, tsk, Trepe, sleeping on the job?"
She knows the voice. She knows it and doesn't know it, recognises it as a parody of what she once knew. She doesn't raise her head, but her hand tightens on Selphie's, making sure she's awake, starting to reach...
"Nuh-uh, Trepe, Tilmitt. Leave your weapons. I don't have any qualms about chopping your hands off."
Quistis looks up to see him there, his eyes glinting a little, and shudders slightly at the look on his face. Selphie moves beside her, the shiver of anticipation running through her again. She doesn't say anything.
"Come outside, ladies," Seifer says, with a nasty grin, "I'd hate to get blood on the upholstery."
"You control this train?"
"For now I do, yes. Move it, Trepe. I haven't got infinite patience and my friends can pay for something as stupid as a little blood on the train. It'd probably not be the first time it happened anyway."
Quistis and Selphie exchange a look and move, not even trying to reach their weapons laid out on the seats where they were sitting. Quistis helps Selphie out of the train and onto the small platform, balancing her carefully and moving back and away from the door as Seifer jumps out, Hyperion glinting in the sunshine as he swings it up to put the tip of the blade under Quistis' chin.
"You know, it's kind of a pity..."
"Yeah," Zell says with a little click of a gun, leaning over a little on the roof of the train so that Seifer sees him and offering him a tiny grin, "a damned pity you killed our sniper. I'm not good with a gun, so I can't promise it'll be painless... but you'll die in the end, right?"
"Dincht?!"
"Thanks, Zell," Quistis says, softly, stepping away from Seifer's gunblade and carefully relieving him of it.
"You're..."
Squall's voice is quiet as he steps from another of the train carriages into theirs, his eyes narrowed and intense."Alive? Yes, he is. Something I found in a book about sorceresses explained all of this to me. With Ultimecia's death, you were torn. The boy you'd been, once, and the broken man she'd made you. You couldn't revert but you couldn't carry on as you were. So you were both."
Seifer's jaw firms and he clenches his fist, only just realising that Quistis has taken Hyperion from him. "Shut up, Leonhart. I don't need a gunblade to kill you."
"You didn't manage to kill Zell, so I don't hold much faith in your ability."
"How did...?"
Quistis carefully moves behind Squall, putting Hyperion down on the floor, out of hope of Seifer reaching it. Selphie goes into the train and brings out their weapons, flinging Quistis' whip over to her so she can guard the gunblade properly. Squall watches them and nods to Quistis when she's done, letting her speak. "When we got the note on Irvine's body, we immediately sent a SeeD to warn Zell. The message about Zell's death came back before that messenger, but when the messenger returned, we found that Zell wasn't dead."
"When you say someone's dead, you gotta make sure they are, y'know? The contract was from someone who would just kill me during my 'mission'. Unfortunately, thanks to the warning, they couldn't find me, and sent a premature note, sure they could find me in time and make it true. I got the warning and headed right back to Garden."
There's a moment of silence after that, and then Seifer draws himself up straight and runs a hand through his blond hair. "Right. But how did you know it was me?"
Zell's grin is a little sinister. "Turns out some of your friends aren't so friendly after being threatened with broken bones."
Squall rolls his eyes and makes a sign to Zell to come down from the roof. "Seifer?"
"What?"
"We're going to help you, you know. You'll have to serve time for killing Irvine," and the note of emotion is almost subdued in his voice, almost, "but we'll make sure your... condition is taken into account."
For a moment, Quistis thinks Seifer's going to hit Squall, and then his shoulders sag and he doesn't say anything. Squall turns to them, giving orders, congratulating quietly and generally filling the role of commander better than anyone ever thought he would.
"I'm sorry," Seifer says, and Squall looks up, startled, and sees the transformation from a younger, vulnerable Seifer to a half-crazed knight without a sorceress, "sorry I didn't kill you first."