Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Body Switch ❯ The truth ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer: I´m tired of writing that down, so just look on the the first chapter. Ok. Rico and Modo are mine. (sort of mine)

Author´s note: Ok. The Question of all questions. What´s with the title??? Well if you didn´t notice. Zell isn´t in his own body!!! He is taller, dark-haired, has pale skin and NO tattoo. If he had atleast the tattoo, every idiot had noticed him. So that´s the answer of that question. ^_^ But what´s with the eyes??? They´re the same. If you pay attention on the story, you´ll find out. In this chapter, I´ll try to explain what happened. Ok?

Warning: Yaoi. Seifer and ........ (Ok, ok I lied. It is Zell) ^^

Chapter 3

By Little Leila

Seifer stared at the little brunette, his mouth slightly open.

~Did she just say ......Zell??? I think, I heard her wrong.~

Selphie lowered her hands slowly. And tried to speak, but couldn´t get a word out and find a way, to fix the disaster she caused. Seifer wasn´t suppose to hear the truth. Squall explained the *why* to her clearly and now she was so careless.

*Zell* aproached them in a normal pace.

"Hey, Sephie. What´s the matter? You look so pale. Are you ok?"

"Y.....Yes . I .... I´m fine. I think."

"You came back yesterday, right? You should rest some more."

Seifer was furious by now. How could that happen? Was that all a joke? But Selphie wasn´t the person, who would make fun of somebody´s misery. This so-called *Zell* turned his gaze to Seifer now.

"I´m sorry, that I ran of the last time. I even didn´t get your name."

This had to be a really cruel joke, if it was one. Seifer´s emerald eyes widened at the comment. For a few seconds he just stood there and frowned at *Zell* in confusion. Then he glared at Selphie, all of sudden he spun around and walked straight to the elevator. Leaving a speechless *Zell* and a frightened Selphie behind. Only one person could give him the answers to all of his questions. The dear Headmaster: Squall Leonhardt. He had to answer him. He will take Squall to task about this weird situation. Now everything made sense, Squall´s behaviour, Quistis´seclusion and Zell´s disappearing. But why didn´t Zell recognize him.

He waited suprisingly patient for the elevator. When he heard the soft sound of the bell, somebody shouted to him.

"SEIFER, NOOOO! IF YOU SAY ANYTHING, I´M IN BIIIIIIIIIIG TROUBLE."

He didn´t react to Selphie´s pleading. Seifer was too mad, to be considerate towards Selphie. He stepped inside the elevator and almost punched the button to the third floor.

~~~

Squall sat in his office working on the reports of the last week. He looked up, when he heard the muffled voice of his secretary.

"....... Wait .......Sir .....you can´t......."

Too late. The door swung open and a really mad, Seifer Almasy came into his office. Yes Squall could tell when Seifer was mad. His body language was too obvious. His shoulders were tensed, he clenched his hands to fists and he had his famous *deathglare* on his face. Seifer hammered on the table with his right fist and growled at Squall.

"Ok, Leonhardt. What´s this all about? You´re going to tell me the truth and don´t say: *Whatever*!"

"I don´t know what you´re talking about."

"Zell. Confess! Now!"

"From where do you know it?"

Seifer smirked.

"Let´s say, a canary told me."

Squall sighed in defeat. Someday, he had to tell him the truth anyway. Now was as good as any other moment. He didn´t want, that Seifer finds out the truth this way. It would have been better to wait, til the whole thing was over, but now? Could he just answer his question? The truth about Zell´s body switch?

Suddenly, there was sad voice from the entrance of the office.

"Tell him! He has the right to know it. Perhaps, I stay like this forever."

Zell leaned against the doorframe, his eyes where full of sorrow and regret. He walked to them, with his gaze fixed on the floor.

Soon, he stood besides Seifer and looked deep in his eyes. Seifer couldn´t bear it to see these beautiful, ocean-blue orbs in pain. Zell´s eyes showed regret, but for what? Zell answered to his unspoken question like he could read his mind.

"I´m sorry, if I forgot you, but my mind is incomplete. I´m really sorry."

Squall looked at Seifer and noticed the hint of emotions in his eyes. Normally he wouldn´t notice anything with his indifferent attitude. But Seifer letting his guard down and showing emotions, too? That would draw anybody´s attention. Zell was right, even if that means, to let Seifer suffer more than it was necessary. He deserved it.

"Ok Zell, as you wish. Would you please leave the office? I need to talk to Seifer in private."

"Sure, Squall. Any News from the doc?"

Seifer´s confusion was now written on his face. The situation got weirder with any minute that passed.

"No, not yet."

Zell sighed and went out of the office. After the door had closed, Squall gesticulated for Seifer to take a seat. It means that Squall´s explanation will take more then three minutes and he´ll say more than in one month. Seifer made himself comfortable in the chair, which was standing in front of the desk. Squall folded his gloved hands and looked sad and serious at the same time.

~It has to be really worse, if Squall change his expression.~

Seifer wasn´t in the mood to make fun of him, but he simply couldn´t resist. Minutes went by and Squall had unconsciously narrowed his eyes. He didn´t know how to start the conversation. How should he tell him the truth, without reminding him of the time as the Sorceress-Knight? For Seifer personally, Squall needed to much time, but he admitted that he wasn´t exactly the best example for patience.

"Spit it out, Leonhardt! I want to know what happened to Zell! And I want to know it, before this day is done!" He hissed.

Slightly annoyed by his impatience, he tried to explain it. But he noticed that it wasn´t so easy. Suddenly he had an idea.

"Ok Seifer. But first I have to know: What do you remember from the Sorceress war?"

Seifer groaned at the question. The people always wanted to know one thing. Why? Why he had done it or why he didn´t done anything to prevent it. There were many: *why´s*. The problem was, Seifer couldn´t answer them truthfully. Hell, he didn´t know what he had done or not done, he barely remember it.

"Not much. Why? Is this so important?"

Squall frowned. Then it would be harder him, to believe his words. If Seifer had just remembered the last battle, against Squall, Zell and Rinoa, then maybe he would have figured it out on his own. Perhaps, it would have spared him the pain.

"No, not really." He lied.

"Are you going to tell me, or do I have to force you?"

Squall didn´t like the threat in this sentence, but he knew, Seifer was so dare, to make it come true.

"Seifer, do you remember the last battle, we had in the lunatic pandora?"

"I don´t remember much, sorry. It´s all blurry in my mind."

Seifer hung his head. In his mind, the whole war was like that. Everything was blurry and looked more like a dream. Or better to say, a never ending nightmare?

"Well, the reason for Zell´s body switch was, that................he was dying."

The words hung heavy in the air. Seifer´s eyes were wide in horror. He couldn´t move, not to mention talk. An icy feeling spread out in his pit.

~Zell?....... my Zell was dying?~

He clenched his fist, sudden rage flowed through his veins.

"How?........How did it happen? Who did it?" He growled, almost shouted the words.

Squall stayed calm. He eyed Seifer cautiously. If he was serious or just a good actor. When he saw that his burst out of emotions were real, he answered him.

"........You!"

Seifer was taken aback. He himself? He didn´t remember it. Desperatly he searched in his mind, but he didn´t find a memory about it. What had he done?

For the first time in his life, Seifer was really shocked.Not even the realization, that he was possessed was so worse. Seifer was almost afraid to ask, but he needed to know. His voice reduced to a whisper.

"How?"

"I know it wasn´t your fault, you were possessed. However, you managed to destroy the mighty GF Odin, we saw it, with our own eyes. Then you attacked us and your first opponent was Zell. It could have been anyone. We were too careless and you got the first hit. ................ You .......skewered Zell with your Gunblade, .......that´s what happened. We had to finish the fight quickly, none of us, neither Rinoa nor I had a phoenix down or life spells left. Luckily for us, Gilgamesh appeared in the right moment and finished the battle for us. Laguna was there, too. He brought Zell to Doctor Odine. Later, when we got back to look for Zell, we found him in this new form."

Seifer was stunned. He heard a lot about Esthar and their scientific progress. They were years ahead of every science he knew. Yet, he was suprised that they were capable of such things.

A realization hit him. It was his nightmare! Where he stabbed Zell and where he slowly bleed to death. It wasn´t a dream, it was a memory! He pushed the thought back in his mind, because there were still a few questions left. What Dr. Odine had exactly to do with the whole thing, for example. Squall took his silence as a sign to continue.

"I don´t know how they made it, but I guess that is too high to understand for everyone, even for me."

Seifer still didn´t move. He didn´t even noticed that, Mr. Iceberg-Squall Leonhardt, had made a joke. Instead he stared at him, waiting more. Squall glanced at Seifer. He could read his expression and it says, that his pathetic attempt, to make a joke, didn´t work at all. He wondered, why Seifer, of all people, cared so much for Zell. Wasn´t he the big mean bully and Zell the poor victim? Did the war really change him? Or did he hide his feelings? Only pretending that he was a mean bastard?

Squall didn´t know, how close he was to the truth.

"Anyways, Dr. Odine told us what he had done. He transfered Zell´s soul into this form. An empty, soulless body. I think, you can ask Zell for further explanation"

Suddenly a thought hit Seifer. A body without a soul couldn´t be revived. Even the strongest life spell was useless, if the soul left the body already. Then again, nothing was impossible for the scientists in Esthar.

"Why didn´t he notice me?"

"Odine said, they had complications with the transfer. They transfered his soul..... and his mind. But they had to hurry, his own body was already in a critical stage. Only ninety percent were done, when they had to stop it. If I´m not mistaken he hardly noticed Selphie and he doesn´t remember the whole Sorceress War. Then as far as I remember it, Dr. Odine ordered, to heal his wound and to put his body in a ........ *meditank*."

"*Meditank.* What´s a *meditank*?"

"Something like a cryogenic capsule. With that, they keep his body in a kind of hibernation. The heartbeat is low, but steady and the body should heal slowly. But Dr. Odine thinks, it´s to be feared that his body could still die. Then he will stay in this form. Doctor Odine will inform us, if his condition changes."

Squall brushed his hair back and looked at Seifer. He seemed to be deep in his thought´s. He gave Seifer a break to consider the words.

Seifer himself felt really depressed. If it hadn´t been for him, Zell would be still in his own body, not fearing to live the rest of his life in this form. It was his fault, it looked like everything was his fault. The Sorceress War, The Time-Compression, Zell´s body switch. Wouldn´t it have been better, for the world, if he were never born? Could he just leave the world behind now?

No!

He had to pay for his sins. To suffer until Hyne would call him. To live the worsest kind of life. A life, without love. Nobody in their right mind would love him. He was the Sorceress Knight and a tiny part of him still is and ever will be. He wanted only Zell. But if Zell would return into his own body and if he remembered what happened, he would despise Seifer more than ever. Squall almost startled him, when he spoke again.

"I not sure but, ....... I think the doc plays with marked cards."

"What do you mean, Squall?"

"Despite the fact that he rescued Zell´s soul, I assume he conceals informations."

"Why should he?"

"I don´t know, but I don´t trust him! I asked myself, why Zell starts to remember things out of the war. Once, he talked about the Galbadien Missile Base. If he really lost ten percent of his memory, than why did he remember it?"

"I think, you´re seeing things. But in one point, I have to agree with you, if he remembers, then he sure as hell haven´t lost anything. I guess it´s just buried .......deep in his mind."

"You could be right. On the other hand,..... from where he got the body? Since I know you very well, I know also that you are very observant to your surroundings. I´m sure you noticed that this body has the same eyes like Zell and I don´t think it´s a coincidence."

Seifer narrowed his eyes. Squall saw it! That means he isn´t a love-struck idiot, who saw Zell in anybody, who was lucky enough, to have the same or nearly the same eyes. He was glad that somebody saw it at all, but he didn´t show it. Seifer wasn´t that much of a love-struck idiot to admitt his feelings for Zell in front of his former rival. Instead he made of cool. In his opinion he suffered enough for one day.

"Now that you mention it. I saw it, but I didn´t thought about it."

That was biggest lie, Seifer had ever told. This eyes were hypnotizing him. He didn´t thought of anything else. They haunted him in class *and* in his sleep. Nevertheless, Squall believed his words.

"But all we can do is waiting, or........I´m going to ask the doc on my personal way. Or I could ask my father to do it."

Seifer blinked at that comment. Then he reminded himself that he heard from Ultimecia, how Laguna defeated the great Sorceress Adel. And that Squall, as his son, could defeat her, too.

"Do that, it sounds like the doc needed it."

"There is one more thing that makes me suspicious. The body is half cybernetic. A cyborg."

"What???"

He couldn´t believe his ears anymore. First the Body switch and now this? Zell? A Cyborg? A creature, half normal and half machine? That would at least, explain the incident with the T-Rexaur.

"You heard me. It sounds highly imaginative, but it´s true, too. Dr. Odine told me and we saw it on the X-ray that Doctor Kadowaki made."

Seifer became silent again. He didn´t notice anything odd about it. The body was moving and acting as normal as a human body could. Esthar was really far ahead of them. Squall looked on his watch realising it gotten late. He stood up from his chair and walked to his window, like Cid did it so often.

"Do you have any other questions?"

"........No."

"Then if you like, you can go. That was all."

Seifer stood up and walked to the door, when he heard Squall´s voice one more time.

"Seifer. Wait! Please don´t tell anyone about this. Only a few know about the new Zell. He is here under a wrong name and only we -the orphanage gang, Nida, Dr. Kadowaki, Rico and Modo know, how Zell looks like now. If you are in public, then call him: Shane. Ok?"

"Whom should I tell it?" He replied in a depressed voice.

Squall was indifferent most of the time, but even he had heard that sad tone in his words.

"Don´t make yourself down. I´m sure Zell will be ok. If not....well, then Dr. Odine have to do a lot of explanations."

Seifer turned around to leave. Inaudible for Squall, he murmured.

"I hope so."

~~~

Hui. That was a long chapter. ^^ I really eat too much sugar. My doc already told me, that I have to stop it. But then, I couldn´t write the fanfic. Guess I´m addicted now to the sugar.

Don´t worry I don´t post only one chapter I´m atleast, posting two. ^_^