Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Resurrection - Rebirth of a Foe ❯ Putting a Spell on You ( Chapter 18 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Chapter Eighteen - Putting a Spell on You
Luck was seriously on their side. Selphie relied on luck as much as anybody, perhaps even more since her The End attack came randomly and the chances of her being able to use the attack boosted through junctioning magic to Luck. Her voice echoed in the room, and even when she had finished selecting the attack she wanted to the use, the scenery began to shift in real-time action. The dark, dank, oppressive atmosphere of Lunatic Pandora, almost as if someone was changing the background in a theatre production. The change in surroundings was more surreal than a change of scenes in a theatre. In Squall's line of sight, the very walls appeared to be blurring, smudging at the edges. And then the six of them were not in Odine's laboratory any more. They were in an open field, surrounded by miles upon miles of vast green fields containing pink and white flowers.
A gentle breeze stirred the quiet bliss they had entered, making the flowers dance and releasing pink and white petals into the air, falling back down to the grass like dancing, swirling confetti. Squall caught a white petal in mid-swirl and clutched it in a black-gloved hand before another wave of gentle breeze swept it away again. Rinoa... Clenching his jaw was the only thing that was keeping him from breaking down. Squall could not rid himself of the guilt that somehow he was to blame for letting Rinoa fall into the wrong hands so easily. After a year without Rinoa - then finally seeing her once again... it was damn frustrating! And it hurt.
Concentrating on the battle, Squall looked up to see Omega Weapon and its hulking weight and size in the field that represented the nicer things in life. Its presence there was like a bad colour scheme, the ink blotch in a neatly written letter. It needed sorting out - it had to be removed. Sure Squall's Renzokuken/Lion Heart attack caused a devastating effect, and sure Quistis' Blue Magic/Degenerator was unwelcome news for your regular Island nearest to Heaven/Hell monsters etc etc. But when it came to the mother of monsters, the one on the very top of the monster pyramid sittin' on the throne and wearing the crown? Well, only thing to do was bring in the 'big guns'. And not the sort Irvine handled either.
Nah. If you had something big and mean to deal with, you parry and counter every attack and then finish off with something equably as a strong and powerful. For mega butt-ugly monsters like Omega Weapon the best attack was always saved for last.
Mouth hanging, eyes staring aghast, Odine couldn't believe what he was seeing! Omega Weapon, the most powerful beast known was being removed from battle by some small girl, a SeeD!! After a year of thorough research and gathering the necessaries to complete his genetic replication of one of the finest Weapons, his year's work was dissolving before his very eyes. He wanted to scream, wanted to hurl, stamp his feet angrily and throw a tantrum like a spoilt brat. Anything to get rid of the building rage, the building pressure inside of him. Odine kicked at the table he had hid beneath, yowling like a dog when his foot connected to the leg.
Experience points all round and AP for the GF's. Everyone was happy. That was except of course, a certain flustered, cursing, pissed off doctor who remained thrashing wildly about him even when the scenery faded and changed back to the familiar surroundings of the laboratory. The six young fighters looked at each other amused. Their victory poses after winning the battle - or rather Selphie, who had delivered the killing blow - was something they all agreed, was satisfying to do. Selphie and Zell, the more enthusiastic members of the group abandoned their regular poses and went with what they felt was more of an 'appropriate' battle pose - a fully-charged, electrifying high-five slap of hands, not forgetting the very immature hoots and yells of winning a victorious battle. It was immature, so what? They had just won one of the most difficult battles against one of the hardest monsters to defeat.
The doctor was definitely happy not - in fact, was that a headache he felt coming on? Upon their approach he glowered at them, avoiding contact and constantly scowling at the floor.
"C'mon Odine, it's over. Your plans and Ultimecia, it's finished. Why don't you quit now while you're still ahead of yourself-" Squall said to the little man.
"You don't understand!!" Odine snarled ferociously at him. "She wouldn't be happy. She will not be satisfied until I have carried out her bidding, her plans for the future."
So, Odine had taken over Seifer's job as Ultimecia's lapdog.
Zell rudely grunted and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Awe, come off it man! What future? A future made o' clouds? We already trashed your monsters, annihilated Mr. Butt Ugly. It's over. Face it."
"She persists,"
"Persists my ass!" Zell said, knocking down Odine's pitiful excuses with a flick. From previous experience, Squall knew Zell was straining over the limit barrier. Something nasty was going to happen. "Who persists? Ultimecia? Where is she? I don't see her anywhere. Her over there?" he said, pointing to the glass casement that held the body of the powerful sorceress. "Her?"
"Zell," Squall warned in a low voice.
"She don't even blink her damn eyes!" Zell continued.
"Shut-up, Dincht!" Seifer ordered. Like a puppy, Zell obeyed. He knew he went overboard - stopping was the problem.
"Any more surprises for us, Odine?" Quistis inquired coolly.
"Surprises? With what he sprung on us? The bomb back then? the monsters and Omega? Whoo! Surprises are not my friend!" Irvine stated.
"Perhaps a few..." the doctor said, strangely smiling at Seifer in particular.
Seifer didn't like that... weird smiles from wackos like Odine always meant something bad. He'd wipe that smile off with the blade of his weapon... The opportunity never came, a funny sensation, something cold and dense was pressing against his head. Seifer shook it from side to side to get rid of it, but it still persisted despite his efforts to clear it. The blond boy frowned - his brows bunched together in an intense way. He lifted a gloved hand and pressed it against his forehead. He grunted and let his gunblade fall to the floor with a clatter. The pressure was beginning to hurt...
"Seifer... what's wrong?" Quistis asked, bending down beside him to read his expression.
"Argh! It's, it's..." his voice trailed and fell to the floor on both knees.
"What did you do, you schizo?!" Zell demanded.
"Nothing he did not do unto himself," Odine replied.
"Yeah, and that's what, translated into English?" said Zell without missing a beat.
"You're saying it's his own fault for being here?" Irvine interpreted a frown on his own appearing on his forehead.
"That is precisely what I'm saying,"
"What do you mean?" Selphie asked perplexed. "Seifer didn't do anything wrong... did he?"
"Nothing wrong," Odine agreed. "Ask him how he's feeling. He knows what iz happening to him."
"Seifer?" Selphie asked tentatively.
"No..." Seifer mumbled, holding his head with two hands. "Not... again..."
"Stop it!" Squall ordered, knocking the doctor to the ground in the hope that whatever was tormenting Seifer, would stop.
"Go away..."
Seifer, my knight... why do you resist me?
"I think he's lost it," Irvine said worriedly.
Oh, my loyal knight, Seifer. The sorceress is alive... The sorceress demands.
"Leave me alone you witch!" he shouted his arms flying blindly around him, fighting an invisible force. "Get outta my mind... I'm not going to listen to you... I won't let you deceive me... ever... again."
"It's her!" Squall realised, grabbing Odine by his unusual ruff and raising him from the ground. "Ultimecia's trying to reach out to him. Trying to control him. Isn't she? Isn't she?" Squall repeated when the scientist refused to respond.
"Yes!"
"Fight her, Seifer," Quistis urged him as he continued to shout to the person invading his thoughts, his mind.
"Instructor Trepe, better restrain him to be on the safe side. We know what he can do." Squall advised. Still holding Odine.
The strawberry blond headed girl nodded, undid the clasp that held her Save the Queen whip and tied Seifer's hands behind him.
"We'll sort this out permanently!" Zell said, striding over to the glass casement that housed the body of Ultimecia. "All we gotta do is destroy her; then she can't reach out to anybody anymore."
"Zell, wait!" Squall called. He turned to Odine, pupils dilated. "You've set up some trap, haven't you?"
"Trap? No trap," Odine replied innocently.
"We've killed all the monsters you've thrown at us, and toasted Omega Weapon. Something's up. We're spoiling your plans and you don't look too concerned about it."
The doctor shrugged his shoulders and adjusted the ruff on his neck. The breaking of glass caught all of their attention; gazes were redirected to where Zell stood pummelling the glass casement containing the sorceress.
"The problems started 'cos o' you," the boy said sending another punch at the glass, increasing the length of the crack that had formed. "Y'know, if you were bored, you could always throw a sorceress' party - uh, maybe not," the thought of sorceresses from different eras coming to boogie on down with Ultimecia was too freaky to imagine. A horde of sorceresses uniting to seek vengeance certain SeeDs from the present, was something Zell did not want to happen. "Or, or you could take up cooking..." she'd probably poison everyone, or even greater, herself! "Or, you could play with your monsters. Y'know, enemy death-match sorta thing. Whoever's still alive at the end of the match, is the winner!" Zell's long-winded talk on handling personal boredom did not end there. Pausing for a breath and another chance to punch at the glass, Zell continued on a graver note. "It's not our fault you're all alone in the future, in your oppressive dinky fortress with nothing to rule over. You wanna spread some havoc? You wanna play Ms-control-freak? Then do it in your own world! Don't come trashing other people's lives and homes just 'cos you wanna. Certain people like us aren't gonna let ya!"
"Uh, Zell? You done with your lecture?" Squall inquired when the martial arts expert had ended his little tirade, and the sound of glass cracking stopped.
Zell turned looking sheepish. He went and scratched the back of his head with a hand, a self-conscious grin on his face. "Yeah, sure, Squall. Sorry, got carried away."
Selphie raised a hand to smother the smile and the laugh that threatened to expose her very unserious attitude to the situation. Still, a kind of amused smile was tugging at the corner of Squall's lips. The ghost of a smile faded - the attention was now focused on Odine who had attempted to escape unnoticed.
Zell turned, "Where you going?!" Zell demanded.
"Out of this laboratory, away from you." The doctor replied his chin raised in a defiant gesture.
"Sorry, can't do that," Squall said. "We're keeping you with us."
"It does matter anyhow," Odine said. "My part in all this is almost done.
"And you're gonna get what, huh? Nada, zip," Zell said answering the question for him.
"On the contrary SeeD, I shall be receiving a bountiful reward," Odine corrected. "Though I cannot take all the credit like I should, I am having some help." He lifted a finger and pointed past Squall's shoulder.
Seifer had somehow managed to break free from his tied position on the floor where he had been sitting. He now was striking at the half-finished job Zell had abandoned, with the butt of his gunblade.
Quistis nearly fainted at the sight of her weapon; she bit back a mounting rage and blinked back angry tears. She focused all her anger at the back of her mind, telling herself not to lose control. But it was hard. It wasn't easy. Four sharp spikes, she told herself, four energy crystals and two Malboro tentacles. Collecting those items had not been an easy task - but neither was saving the world. Something deep inside her was waiting to be unleashed, and by the day was through she'd let everybody know no one messed with Quistis Trepe - and no one ever trashed her weapon and discard it like crap. Quistis valued her weapon as much as she was sure Squall valued his gunblade, Selphie, her nanchaku, Irvine and his shotgun, and Zell with his fighting gloves.
Squall, Zell, Irvine and Selphie stood and watched in mute, shocked silence. Watching as Quistis picked up the two pieces of her weapon and stared with disbelief down at them, her eyes blinking rapidly. Zell gulped, he couldn't help but feel Instructor Trepe was going to lose her cool and lash out - well, not literally, she couldn't do that right now - but say something abusive.
She glanced up at her team-mates, they took an involuntary step back at her glare. She glanced back at Seifer who continued to hack effortlessly at the glass.
Zell turned to Odine, "How thick is that thing?"
"It iz what has to be done," Odine replied cryptically.
It iz what has to be done, Zell mimicked scathingly to himself. What language are you speaking in, man? "Heeey, wait a minute!" Zell began, beginning to sound more like Selphie. "When Seifer cracks that open, something bad iz, uh, I mean, is gonna hap-" he was cut off in mid-sentence by the interruption of another voice, who had such venom her words, that an Antidote was sure to do very little to cure the poison.
"You jerk!!" Quistis yelled out Seifer, her body shaking uncontrollably. Every single word targeted at Seifer who had his back to her - still totally engrossed in getting the casement opened. She tightened her hold on the remnants of what was once a Save the Queen, and flung the two pieces - striking Seifer across the back with a whip cracking sound.
Selphie gasped, the boys winced and exchanged uncomfortable expression. They were glad Quistis was not venting all her anger at them. Seifer turned, their eyes meeting. Blue steel clashing with blue steel.
"You, you jerk!" Quistis repeated like a petulant little girl, screaming at the 'naughty' boy who had removed the head from her favourite doll. To Quistis her Save the Queen was her doll. "Look what you've done?!" she pointed savagely at the whip sliced in two. "Two Malboro tentacles, four sharp spikes and four energy crystals."
Squall thought he saw a nerve jump in her jaw - sure that he had seen right because Quistis repeated the items that was needed to upgrade the normal chain whip to the stronger, more powerful Save the Queen, this time her voice was low and sounding extremely deadly. Good thing her weapon was no longer intact because Squall was sure Quistis would use it.
"Do you know how hard it was to get those items? Those energy crystals?"
They could all relate. Their most powerful weapons required some sort of item that was hard to obtain. Boy could Squall relate. One Adamantine from an Adamantine monster to upgrade to a Lion Heart, when all it ever gave him was crappy junk he didn't need. And four dragon fangs from a Blue dragon or a Hexadragon that hardly showed itself when Squall wanted it to appear the most.
Something wavered behind the sapphire of Quistis' eyes that stirred that funny feeling Seifer felt whenever he was with her - he could feel Ultimecia's control slipping away - for a moment he was himself again. "Quistis, I-" he started to say, stopping short when his blue eyes misted over and his true self was thrust to one side to let Ultimecia take control again.
Instructor Trepe must have forgotten it was still Seifer in the flesh, and a sub-conscious form of Ultimecia controlling his mind because a raging fire engulfed her soul, causing her to - with considerable strength - pushing Seifer a good two metres back, his spine connecting with the cracked glass. Her blue eyes widen in shock and astonishment at her violent display; a gloved hand raised to cover her slightly parted mouth. Squall and the others ran to her side, but she ignored them and continued to stare worriedly at the slumped figure, head bent forward.
She raised her eyes to meet Squall's and whispered, "What have I done?"