Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Uprising: The Beast Wars ❯ Strange brew ( Chapter 7 )

"What's that sound?" Duncan asks when an unfamiliar sound catches his ear.

Its actually a familiar sound, but its a sound that has no place inside of a building. Its like boiling water on a larger scale.

"Shit." Augusto spat when he jumped down into the Weapons Hold, and found himself knee deep in water. "Why is there water down here?" He asks himself.

"I don't know." Shaking his head, Duncan looks about the area somewhat submerged in water. "Sounds like the other guys are gathering." He looks up as though he can see the clattering cadets through the ceiling.

This area of the Garden is usually submerged beneath water, or sailing over land in airspace. Only difference is that the water then is outside of the vessel, helping the school navigate through the swim. So why is there water inside?

Noticing his breathing has become labored; Augusto continues to waddle his way through the water and over to the holds. They have to get the weapons to the students. Who knows what may be going on upstairs with the other desert survivors, they could be swarming the second floor like bees in a hive, waiting to strike at the slightest stir of human activity. Not to mention Glacial Penny, who is probably not looking at the lockdown as some sort of resting period.

"Do you notice how cold it is?" Ausguto comments off-handed. "We're still South, we haven't planned on moving North with the passangers. So why is it cold?"

Duncan shrugged and shook his head.

The two are standing before a wall thats built up of individual cubicals that are housing the Garden's weapons assortment. They may have turned into a medical school, but they're all still fighting Mercinaries underneath. Just as the usual Mercinaries have medical knowledge to help heal the wounded on the battle field. All the weapons are locked away behind a sliding glass door so they don't fall and rattle about too much while the school is moving. Its standard storage for all the Gardens; unless the student keeps their offenses with them.

"Its because of Penny." Pressing the lock release on the cubical, he reaches inside for a duffle of sheathed daggers. "She must be freezing the school, its why there's water down here. We must be sinking."

"But how's the water getting in?" The confused Duncan takes out a few of the whips and spiked chains.

"Dunno, but I'm betting it must take a lot of ice to break a school that's inhabited by freezing weather all the time." Shouldering the bag, he hopes this will be enough.

He can't get the guns out, because Penny is quick, and firing at her will do more harm than good since the fire will be hitting the Garden, and possibly other cadets. Plus, whatever is wrong with her, its better to injure and sedate Penny than to kill her, especially when there may be a cure to get the girl back to who she was.

A loud bang shook the bouyant structure. The two swayed and nearly fell over into the steadily rising water as they made for the ladder to get back to the upper level of the building.

Murmurs from other cadets filled their ears as they reached the main floor.

"What's goin' on?" A girl; once native to Centra, asks when seeing the two enter through the stairwell doors.

She's the one who received the orders to lockdown the second floor. And she has yet to understand why. Weren't the passangers there? Don't they still need help? All the students had accumulated from the third and first floor rooms into the main part of the building; when a lockdown was issued, and they had to take the stairwell when finding out that the elevators don't work.

Trabia Garden was going to care for the desert survivors, then drop them off in Timber and Dollet. They'd have an easier time in a simple place like Winhill, but the prices are high to support the town. Its sad that they have to take up new lives, but they'll manage. Desert people have always been seen as strong willed, determined individuals; so united, even in a large changes, they'll thrive.

So what on Earth is going on on the second floor involving the passangers?

"Here," Augusto hands her the duffle of daggers. "Everybody take something, even if you're not skilled with it!" He instructs the idled cadets. Turning his attention back to the girl, he replies. "The toxins in the air have caused some sort of mutation and..."

The student body quieted in almost unison at the sound of a loud groan from overhead.

"Its effected the desert passangers and they turned into monsters." Augusto explained while waving the students over. "And for some reason Penny changed too."

"We have to stop her without harming her too much; she's beginning to sink the school."

Confused at the flurry of words, the girl bends over to grab out a chain whip. "So, you're saying Penny, and all the passangers are monsters?"

"And she's freezing the school," Augusto nods. "We don't know what's become of the other passangers, but one of the changlings went after the sleeping passangers... They may all be dead now."

Trembling with nervous fear, a Timber boy points his finger forward at a cloud of mist that's coating the room from the cealed elevator shaft. "G-gguys." Clutching a dagger to his chest, he tries composing himself as the mist billows about his ankles. "I think Penny might b..."

His words cease as his body freezes over in a subzero ice. He's not crystalized, but frozen! Blue skin, iced over eyes, frozen. Everyone watched in stunned horror. Was it possible? But when one of the younger girls screamed at the freezing mist inching it way up her booted foot, panic erupted from the student body.

While some students screamed and ran for cover of the smoke, others charged forward with weapons blazing, and fire attacks on their lips.

"I've got Adella!" One girl shouted over the roar of heat and hiss from the melting of the ice, and the clearing of the mist into evaporated nothing.

Holding, the frozen foot, Adella, bridal-style to carry her away; another two students get a hold of the Timber boy. The frozen metal in the room groaned in agitation of the hot cold assault, but the students kept up the attack against the smoke.

Water dropped from the ceiling like rain fall, but the rain didn't last long as Glacial Penny turned each drop into shards of ice that stabbed down over the students below like a rain of needles. Flaming whips flailed through the air overhead of the non-magic users, and the blazing heat off the weapons snapped the ice shards into glittering dust with just a flicker. Not all shards could be accounted for, and the points found their way into parts of the students.

"Where is she?!" Screamed a student in the chaos. If they could stop Penny, they can stop the madness.

The school dipped left, hard enough the slide the cadets into the nearest anything: wall, railing, the pit between the walkways where the trees have grown; they are dead now, from the tundra of cooled metal freezing the native Bika soil so that the icy chill touched them to the roots. The lower level rooms sound like a hurricane is blowing through them in the near distances, the dorms, the cafeteria, the library... all flung into dissaray. When the leaning bulb finally straightens, there isn't much fight left in the thrown bodies.

They recover at a pace, though, but not fast enough to avoid the mad-dash of the alternated girl, who's swiping and slashing her way through the crowd with her frozen whip-like arms straightened at a sickle looking like wings out at her sides.

Tigger deflected the monster's attack by using his dagger as a shield during her passing. Extending his leg out, he trips her causing the mutated fellow Trabian to skitter and stumbler over onto the floor; her slippery tentacels with the sharp sickle-like edges look like a tangle of eels in her roll.

On her belly, Penny turns her head to eye the culprit; there was enough stiffness in that turn to have you believe it were a solid block of ice itself. The student almost withered in the venom of that gaze; but he readjusts his stance, ready for combat.

Tigger swung and slashed at every hit that came his way: left, right, left, right! with his armed right hand. With his left, also armed with a dagger, he goes in for a body blow; aiming the sharp out-turned blade at the girl's gut. Glacial Penny's body moved like liquid out of harms way, but caught a knick from the dagger when the hold switched and he brought the blade backward and into her returned posture.

She hollared in pain, but froze the open wound over with a crust of ice. Using her tail, she takes a few quick stabs with it at her opponent; when that failed to penatrate the dodging male, her eyes glowed a bright red and a blast shot out at the male nailing him in the face.

"Aaaahh!"

Stumbling backward, he can feel Cura making its way up his body, and is able to see the recooperative anomaly's blue rings spreading over him as the spell takes effect. He doesn't have time to seek out the helpful cadet in thanks, because his body suddenly takes flight into a nearby wall where he lands with an audible thud.

"Come on, you wanna fuck with someone? Do it with me!" Called a fiery brunet in the corner.

But Penny took flight, and hid away.

Everyone in the hall left capable to fight, are poised and ready to strike.

"Over there!" A brown eyed girl points up at a hole in the ceiling.

Two red eyes peered down at them from the encloaking darkness, and just as soon as she was seen she fired a beam down at them. The strip burned through the slide of ice she left in her wake down below, but she only managed to catch one cadet on the lower back.

Much to the new breeds surprise, the fallen student's back was had by another cadet, and a couple of impact bombs found their way into the hole. The explosion was compact in size but powerful in force, and it blew Penny from her hiding hole down onto the floor with the students.

"Take aim!" Shouts the commander, who just found his way into the room after going through the second floor to access the damage. He'd just gotten through searching room one, when he heard the students cries. "Fire!"

A spray of Fira spells were cast, blasting the girl into a fit of screams! She spun and twisted, writhing in pain until she wilted in fainted submission.

"Let's detain her, quickly." The Commander ordered. "And I want C block to melt that fire up on the second level, watch out for any monsters."

"Yes, Sir!" Called all active members.

"The rest of you, head to the infirmary for your injuries!"

They nod in affirmation of order received, then help gather each other to the student's medical room.

"And someone get those lights back on."

"Yes, Sir!" A young woman hurries away to the breaker room.

Augusto and Duncan could not appear more relieved. Until remembering.

"Commander Tuccio... Alice..." Augusto lowers his gaze to the floor, too overcome to continue speaking.

Duncan piped up in his place. "She couldn't get off the elevator before Penny cut the cord. I'm afraid she's dead."

The large black man closed his eyes, nodding that he understood. "I'll retrieve her body, and alert her family. In the meantime, you two seem to know the most, since you called for a lockdown. Come to the office and tell me what's been going on."

"Yes, Sir." The two say in unison before following the man's order and heading for the office; while he exited for the elevator shaft to retrieve the deceased Alice's body.

Hopefully things will become somewhat normal once all this gets fixed. Selphie and Rinoa were at the toxic site. They could only help their friend and fellow Trabian soldier were all right.

The Island Closest to Hell became a fullscale battlefield for these cadets. Power of man and power of fallen beast blended well in the onslaught to test the cadets. It almost seemed cruel. But for every death had, there was another monster taking its place. It was like a game of revival tag. Oh, a Malboro was slain? Go get 'em Grendel.

The cadets, it seems, have even experienced some knock outs, having to be revived with Life magic. Their hunger to return to battle was a bit too great though, and some of the revived cadets just got knocked out cold again because no one cured them before they could regain their senses to do it themselves. Sadly, that was a mark down and a serious battle behavior "No-no".

Selphie was beside herself with wanting to cheer her cadets on, and keeping down a very threatening cough. It would seem that she's catching one of those summer colds. It could happen. It often happens to people who are more used to the cold weather. True, she hasn't lived in the Trabian area for quite some time, but she's still a Trabian at heart and soul.

'Aaw, to Hell with it.' She cried to herself; leaning one hand on a tree for support, she lets her coughing fit fly.

Hunched over with a fist to her mouth, she coughs and coughs into the somewhat barrier of anti-germ spreader. Ceasing her discomfort for a moment, she then picked it right back up again and this seemed a bit more severe. It caused the tiny 5'4" frame to stoop down on her weakened legs, and just let go to the exhaustion of her illness.

She groaned miserably, then spit out a thick clot of blood. "Ugh." She looks down at the noticable mess with distaste. Straightening up, she looks around to ensure no one's seen her, and she quickly grinds the discharge into the Earth.

'I wonder how long this test has left?' Checking her watch of straps holding together a time-piece, she groans in defeat.

Still a half hour to go before exams end and they head back in for dinner and a little more testing. This one will be on terrains. Savage monster battles are a must, then cadets don't have to sweat the small stuff, or the larger stuff if it ever came around. Hopefully not. With no Sorceresses around minus their Matron, Headmistress Edea Kramer, there's been no real drastic monster mutations and no real serious troubles going on in the world for a while. Moderate peace, its a wonderful thing.

But with weather being the disastrous being it is, and humanity being the same, there will always be a need for a Mercinaries in the world. So there will always be Gardens, cadets, and SeeDs.

Sighing, she thinks. 'Sure would be nice to go in early.'

Back against the tree she once used as support; Selphie jumps in start when a hand lands on her shoulder. Weapon poised to strike down the monster behind her, she lowers her mace at the very human "Whoa!" that came along with her threat.

Withdrawn for a second, Zell kneels down again to sit beside the girl. "Its just me, okay? I saw you stooping over, you look like crap. Are you all right, Sel'?" He moves around her blurred view. "Selphie? ... You want me to watch your team while you rest?"

"Uh-hu..." It was a simple expression to use, but for some reason it brought her into a ragged fit of huffing and puffing as she tried to catch her breath.

"Oh shit, you're not kiddin'." Lifting the girl into his arms bridal-style, he makes a mad-dash from the forest to the field. "Have you got a good hold around me?" He asks his friend before letting go of his hold around her back, in order to press the communications button in his ear. "I need a medic, we're in sector eighteen-fourteen. Hyne," The panicked martial artist mutters to himself as he readjusts his hold around her, then to the medics team he says. "She's burning up, like really friggin' hot."

When they break from the forest thick, Zell sets her burning body down on the dry grass; he doesn't want his body heat adding to her's and making it worse. Wiping the back of his hand across his forehead, he figured it might have been cooler beneath the trees.

"...Man, what to do?" Zell looks at the unconscious girl. Leaning over, he blows on her face. "Is this helping?" He asks the unmoving. Cocking his head, he gives her a second look. "Are you dead?" Lowering himself, he presses his ear to her chest. "Steady heart beat."

Selphie's body bounced up and down as a fit of coughs ring from her constricting throat.

Grimacing, he mentally prepares himself before grabbing for the zipper on her shirt. Checking to see what the cadets are up to, via intercom, he's pleased to hear that none have noticed yet. And his cadets were already told to keep going, when he noticed that Selphie looked a little fatigued; the video cameras will monitor them while he's away.

Pulling down the zipper on her ribbed, sleeveless, yellow vest shirt to let some air in and some heat out, he leaves the two snap buttons on the semi-muffler turtleneck done together to allow her some sort of privacy, then he fans the exposed flesh with his hands.

A loud buzzing sound cuts through the sounds of battle behind him, and a large white and red rimmed Med-Van arrives on the scene. Four men who look like fresh herbs wrapped in a napkin hop out, and stride in a controlled hurry over to the pair.

"I'm not sure if its heatstroke, or..." He stands up to give them room, watching their busy, efficiant movements. "She was against a tree coughing, when I saw her slump over."

The medics team was very officiant, they laid cooling strips on a few of the girl's pulse points: throat, wrists, and breast plate- Zell averted his eyes when her bra was popped open for that part. He may be gay, but he has to respect his friends privacy as a guy friend.

"Is she gonna be ok?" He asks before a groan escaped Selphie's mouth. His face literally exploded elation, and he knelt down beside her on the stretcher. "The medics team is here. You can go rest." His fingers brush through her bangs.

Her big greens could only blink groggily in Zell's direction; but he could tell that she was trying to smile that she was feeling better. The medics promptly placed her in the large van, to take back to Garden.

Looking at the ground, he scoops up her nunchuckle and sets it to rest around his neck by the chain so its dangling loosely about his front and sides. Hurrying back through the forest, he finds his teams and relays the news to them about Selphie, because he intends to proctor her cadets for her until a replacement instructor arrives.

Seifer listened to his lover over the communicator reporting Selphie's condition; he'd already sent a cadet to the infirmary for deep cuts, but he hadn't expected one of theirs would go down- especially Selphie. The Princess, maybe, but not the explosives loving firecracker of a girl. He'd like to call it a day too, to be honest, because this heat is getting ridiculous; he's already out of his coat and shirt, what more can he do, besides public exposure, to beat the heat?

It did though serve in giving him a smile, when he saw Dincht and his cadets go through and he spied his lover's hair all matted down about his head. He always loved that look, but fantasizing about running his hands through it wasn't even possible in these conditions. Getting his head out of the clouds and back onto the battlie field, he wound up seeing sky again as he rolled them. One of the many Bahamuts just returned to the Summons' world.

Seifer pressed 2 to alert his cadet. "I'm all for bonding with your G.F but that's the third time Keilee, how 'bout you show some battle tactic."

Shaking his head, he looks off to his left where a Blue Dragon felt the need to land after its very brief flight; its sort of like watching a big fat roach with wings, it can get up there but once its in the air its got about 15 seconds to get a distance away before it comes crashing foolishly to the ground. It took one look at the ex-knight then lowered its huge snout letting out a glutteral roar! Hot breath and saliva found its way into the air, and Seifer's face. On top of that, its tail was kicking up an awful dust cloud!

Giving his gunblade a whirl within his grasp, Seifer prepared to show the thing no mercy; but then quickly decides to go about it in a more tactful way than ending its life in one swing of his blade. And holding out his left hand, he unleases Firaga at the large blue beast. It wasn't normal. Seifer felt it, even before he saw it because the skin on his arm crawled, and the massive heat building made even him wanna dive for cover; as he's often seen his cadets and dear friends do.

The blast was like an explosion from his hand; instead of erupting from the monster like a visible combustion, it came from his hand instead! The fire looked like beams of light from the sun- granted the sun were the ex-knight's hand. And once the fire finished expanding from his extended arm, the radious inwhich it exploded into an orb far surpassed the normal size of the magic attack.

The largest planet should be envious of the size, as an actual orb of fire shaped itself outward from Seifer's hand; and when the ball broke it was like a canon had blasted off. It grabbed at the beast, and seered into its cold scale covered body. It twisted and spun its body into a knot while trying to remove the flames engulfing it. Its leathery wings have expanded and snapped apart, leaving nothing but the thin cartilage that holds them together; the flames were so awesome that even the scales, that are hard enough to make a weapon near-invincible, began to crack under the heat.

Seifer's widened gaze began to blur. The heat vapors are so strong its actually burning his eyeballs and skin. 'Rrr..' He bared his teeth. Dropping his melting Hyperion to the ground, he grabs his wrist with his freed hand. 'Stop, dammit!'

It was momentarily hesitated over, but he could see the agony on his Instructor's face. And team commander Guile quickly cast Silence on the endangered man. It worked like a charm, the white beam of fire just snuffed out; he hoped Seifer was all right anyway, never mind the fire. Seifer fell to the grass on bended knee; his breathing is ragged and hard. The dragon was a complete wreckage of charred scale, skin, and bone; the fire burned slow and deep, to a degree that IT looked just as black as its handywork.

Rushing over, commander Guile grabs a hold of Seifer's shoulder to comfort him, and he nearly retracted it due to the heat radiating off of the man. But, sucking it up, he managed to take the sting in favor of helping the man out with a level three Cure spell.

"You all right, Instructor Almasy?" He asks with curious gray eyes blinking. "What was that? A new Limit Break' you've been working on?"

Blinking his vision back to its normal degree, he shakes his head; coughing a bit before he replies, Seifer straightens up. "Naah, more like it worked on itself." He looks at the burning mess of a monster. Looking about at his cadets, he rolls his eyes. "The test isn't over yet, quit staring and find something to fight!"

"Yes sir!" They salute before hurrying away.

Brushing dirt from his knee and hands, he looks to where the team are heading off to. "And Furlong?"

Pausing his sprint, he looks over his shoulder then turns to face the man. "Sir?"

Running a hand through his elongated hair, he says very casually. "...Thank you."

Scratching a hand through his ink black hair, he tisks in response. Its was nothing, and he was glad to do it. Hurrying to catch up with the team he commands, Guile could hear Seifer a few steps behind him.

'What the Hell was that?'

He looks at his hand, then at the burning monster; he grimaced when a Finch puttered onto the ground for a bobbing bug that bounced innocently through the grass and wound up being grabbed by the waving flames right along with the dead, and it burned to death in the roast.

'Holy fuck...'

Deciding to ignore it, he returns his gunblade into his hand, frowning at the mess made of his beloved weapon. Shaking it off, he then grabs his shirt and coat to follow after his students. What a fucked up, long afternoon.

The flames didn't die out until they burned a brilliant white as they had when the fire first came about, then they vanished into a cloud of smoke.

...

Since the ending of chapter 16 of her book, Quistis has been preparing for the party that's happening later in the week, once all the scores have been gone over and the Certificates of Recognition are ready to be shelled out. Exams are actually kind of nice, because it gives her a break from work. Minus the kids, who's tests and assignments are little more than something to file away. The kids are preparing for the future but aren't actually participating beyond knowledge, and hands on medical work.

Though a lot of them are sent to the infirmary quite often when its time for them to learn how to draw and cast magic, they remain eager for the training to do it. It can be one of the most painful things you've ever experienced, due to your body rejecting the osmosis of a foreign cell, or it can be as easy as breathing. Some people are just built differently.

Planning a party isn't so hard... She doesn't know why Selphie can't find people to join the Quads' committee. I guess the planning isn't really the problem, a few pizzas, and dips, sodas, and potato chips and you've got yourself a meal. Not to mention you can ask around for what type of music to play from the loud speakers. But go get someone to hang a streamer, banner, or blow up some balloons, or help with confetti canons and look at them take-off. You could use that request to start a race. "Would you like to help decorate the Quad for a party?" A clap of dust is left in the depature.

"That reminds me, I'll have to call the supermarket to reserve the portions." She says to herself. Grabbing the phone from the receiver, she can hear someone on the other end. "Hello?"

"Is this Balamb Garden?" A male voice comes over the receiver.

He's got a very strong tone, but seems to have a sort of lisp in his words. It reminds Quistis of one of the older boys whose been having trouble with junctioning. He speaks with a lisp. He's a nice boy, but always seems to be picking his nose; and for his age, he's a womanizer.

"Yes it is, who may I ask is calling?" Though she knows by the I.D that its someone from Trabia Garden. They must be ready to leave a report about the progress with the desert survivors.

"This is Dr Greg Maylord, Headmaster of Trabia Garden, we've been meaning to call with reports of what's happened at the desert site, but there was a sort of incident."

"What kind of an incident?" She asks. Taking her glasses case out from the drawer in the desk, she slips them on and fires up the desk computer to type out the report once the screen came up. "Were there more casualties?"

"Sadly quite a few... even some of our own. A lot of us have been injured as well... We're still recovering." His voice saddens. "Its all there in a fax we're going to send once the machine unthaws."

"Hyne... what's happened?" Tapping the speaker, she then rests her hands over the keyboard typing what the man intels.

"It would seem that the desert sand has been infected with poison, but its only toxic when it gets into the air. Many have been infected with it, falling ill to fever, coughing, and soon combustion of a sort of odd mutation."

"Mutation?" Quistis's wriggling fingers slow to a pause.

"We've found that everyone infected has mutated into a monster."

"What?"

"They're highly dangerous, and seem to have a bloodlust that surpasses the beasts' normal behavior."

Quistis had some idea of what that could be like. Some monsters are rampagers, others berserkers, but most of the time they don't really want anything to do with you unless you startle them or they haven't eaten in a while.

"Our cadets have been disposing of the Creep monsters that our passangers have either become or have fallen victim to. Its been a long afternoon... As well as the desert town turning, one of our cadets has fallen victim as well... She mutated into a sort of demi-human. Part beast and part human."

"Hyne..." The word barely came out.

"We've got her detained downstairs in the hold... we're hoping to find a cure, but at the moment we're still researching."

Returning to her typing, she asks. "Are there symptoms? Ways to tell if you've been infected?"

"One is an extreme discomfort, and complaining of being overheated. The other is coughing like you've got a cold, or broncitis.. If there's anything more, we're currently unaware of it."

Quistis suddenly remembered Rinoa and Selphie's behavior. And they were at the desert site. Could they be infected? "Do you know if it can be spread? If someone might be infected, should they be quarentined?"

"I'm not entirely sure... we've been around Penny doing test for a cure, and so far nothing has happened. But, she was with one student and a few others checking up on the passangers, and they seem to be perfectly fine. Though, that's being said about the untested. Even if I do know of the symptoms, I wouldn't know what to check for as far signs of infection. We'll get back to you as soon as we have anything; for now we're going to call Galbadia, and the White SeeDs to alert them of anyone who's been at the site. Thank you for your time."

"Yes, of course. And be careful."

"Thank you." He replied. "And we'll send that fax as soon as we can."

"Yes. Thank you."

The call is ended.

Quistis sat still a moment, unsure of what to do first. Get a hold of Selphie and Rinoa, or discreetly get a hold of anyone they've been around- ha, that would be nearly half of Garden; either way there are going to be a lot of hurt feelings by the end of the day.

Pressing the intercom button on the box with a speaker sitting on the corner of the desk next to the telephone, Quistis gives her announcement.

Listening to the message, Dr Kadowaki looks to her assistant then says. "Celia get on the Com. and tell Quistis we have Miss Tilmitt with us, but Rinoa is still out doing field exams." To herself she wonders while returning to checking the sleeping girl's temperature. "What could this fuss be about now?"

Celia removed her gaze from the sedated girl, to cross the room to press the green button on the Intercom box, that patches her into the third floor. "Miss Trepe, this is the infirmary. We have Instructor Tilmitt with us right now, but she's sedated for rest. Is there anything you'd like us to ask her when she wakes up?"

"Selphie's there?" Quistis replies from her end. "Is she all right?"

"A little heatstroke, but for the most part, she's all right."

"Keep her there, I'll be right down. I have to ask her something very important."

"Yes, ma'am. Infirmary out." Returning to the girl's bedside, the nursing assistant relayed the news. "Doctor, the secretary says she'll be down shortly to speak with Instructor Tilmitt. I just hope she's awake for it." She says when looking at the I.V bag filled with sedative going into the girl's veins.

Giving a small tisk at the situation, she replied. "I couldn't help it, she was going to hurt herself if she didn't stop shaking."

The sliding door thwacked open in the main room of the infirmary, allowing the Garden's secretary admittance. Quistis looked from left to right, then walked through the open door across the room. She hadn't expected to see Selphie laying there on a patient-bed, less than alert for questioning. She looks drugged; her face is clammy, and her eyelids are puffy and red.

"Dr Kado', is she going to be all right?" Quistis touches her friend's shoulder. Through the thin paper blue polka-dotted hospital gown, she can feel the heat coming off of her friend.

"She needs to rest, but for the most part..." She gave a small smile for the end of her comment. "Zell called her in, but the medical team brought her. Rinoa is still outside with the others; what's going on that's so urgent?"

"Trabia just called, there's an infection going around... it sort of changes you, and infects anyone around you. ...It is hot out today." She folds her arms beneath her breast, in a thoughtful sort of stance. "But what was that second thing? Has she been coughing? Do you know?"

"A little, the medics said it had some discharges of blood."

"Its that bad?" Quistis looks at her friend with sorrow in her eyes, and a tightning of her lips.

"We're not entirely sure until the test results are in; look at this," She shows Quistis the monitor that's taking Selphie's internal stats. "Her temperature is perfectly normal, but if you touch her skin, you'd believe she has a fever- a nasty one at that."

'She's must be infected then...' Is the secretary's train of thought. "Dr Kadowaki, I'm not sure how quickly the infection spreads... but will you please quarentine Selphie behind one of the enclosed beds? Just until we're sure she's ok, or that there's a cure."

"Of course. Nurse Andrews, please help me move her."

After hearing that the girl is infected, the strapping young man wasn't sure he wanted anything to do with the slumbering patient. He wanted to get the Hell out and scrub himself to be honest.

"Andrews."

It wasn't so much the volume that was spoken with, it was normal pitch actually, but the way the doctor used it. A single name. And he knew she meant business. He's getting paid to assist her, and the added wages really helps him afford his place in Balamb Town. With a resigned nod, he grabs Selphie into his arms; brows raise when feeling the heat on her skin, and he moves her swiftly into the next room a bit farther back in the infirmary.

"I'll keep you posted." Says Quistis, watching as her friend is carted off like she's a rancid sack of meat to be isolated without any knowledge of why.

"Likewise." Kadowaki informed.

"I have to find Rinoa, the field exams should be coming to an end now." She checks her watch. "I'm going to call Galbadia, the headmaster may have already been informed but he might know if one of his students had been out that way."

At Galbadia Garden, Headmaster Taurus listens to Dr. Maylord's information on what's happened in the desert. Frankly he knew nothing about it, not any of it! But he knows one thing, he has a student who will be directly effected by this news. And he dreads having to tell the girl of the trouble.

"Thank you for calling, and do send the report. The information will be useful. I'll e-mail it to all the students." Nodding, though the man over the phone can't see the response to his words of "being safe", he says his goodbyes then hung up.

Pressing a blue button on the intercom box, he asks for his secretary to call the student to his office and instantly felt it was the wrong decision. He doesn't know the names of the dead. Maybe her family survived. Its possible. They said not all the desert survivors were on the second floor rooms being treated for things.

When a knock came on his door, and the young lady allowed herself in, he felt his stomach sink.

"You wanted to see me Headmaster Taurus?"

Cocking his head so the dangling earring he's wearing tilts along with it, he replies. "Did I?"

"Umm, I heard my name over the PA?" She steps farther inside the room.

He tried to keep a stern face, his black brows furrowed in the scrutany of the girl's hazel gaze. "Leonora, there's been an incident in the desert region."

Slowly she nods to egg him on. What does she care, there are lots of deserts out there, just because she's a desert native doesn't mean she's waving envirnmental flags to save... what, the sand? A cactus? A couple little wandering lizards, because frankly they kind of gross her out.

"It was in your hometown, Viyanagara... a sort of storm hit it."

"Sand storms are common," Though her expression is beginning to boarder on concern. "Is my family ok?"

"...Trabia Garden is uncertain."

"Trabia Ga... what do they have to do with it?" She pulls out her phone.

"Leonora, please... They've got it under control. Right now there's no word of who survived or not." Wow! He's really bad at breaking bad news to people. He should work on that.

"Ssshh! I wanna check for myself..." Leo was silent while waiting for the call to get through. When the line opened, she expelled a breath and spoke. "This is Leo Evervine, I need to know about some patients that are there, same lastname as mine. Are all the patients identified?"

"Yes, of course. What was your lastname again?" Trabia's secretary asks.

"Evervine. My Mother's name is Cahaya, and my Father is Azar.. are they there?" Her free hand is rubbing tentively at the side of her wrist that's holding the phone. She wished it were her parents' hands in her grasp instead of this darn phone. "This is a really long wait, are they all right or aren't they?"

The school swayed heavily as it docked up against the Island Closest to Heaven. Time for field exams to begin.

"I'm sorry, but that information is inconclusive for Azar... but Cahaya is in the first floor dormatory. Would you like me to-...?"

"Yes get her!" She cuts the woman off.

Headmaster Taurus watched with a heavy heart as the girl waits for her parent's voice to come on the line.

"Mommy!"

The brightness in the girl's tone made the eavesdropping Headmaster's stomach lurch forward. It won't end well, likely.

"Are you ok? Is Dad ok?" She listens to her mother speaking; and tears began to run down her cheeks. "Okay... okay... please stay safe. I don't know what's going on either," She looks at the Headmaster, who shakes his head. "Don't cry, Mommy, it'll be ok." Listening to her mother, she swallows then nods. "I will. Bye." Hanging up, she looks at the man again. "Do you know what's going on?"

Knowing she has to know anyway, since he planned to e-mail the information to the school, he tells the girl what he knows.

"...So, there's a chance my Mother could die as well?"

"Not entirely... if the White SeeDs were effective in their treatments before Trabia Garden showed up, they could have bought them some time or even saved them all together. They have to remain quarintined in Trabia for the time being, at least until they can find a cure or see that they're not infected."

She supposed that was true. Her Father was killed by a monster, her Mother said. She was resting soundly in a bedroom on the first floor when it happened. The woman is a wreck, resigned by a stillness in her voice, but her daughter can tell she's hurting. Leo's pretty hurt herself; her father was always such a cheerful man, never once had a bad day that he showed to anyone- even when his family went dirt poor. How could he be dead? And her Mother is all alone... but at least she's got the remaining villagers with her.

"If you'd like, you can sit out from exams..."

"No. I'll go... it'll be good to let off some steam." Stuffing her phone back into the pocket of her cadet uniform's skirt, she heads for the door but paused. "Headmaster... you said it was an airborn toxin?"

"That's right."

"In the desert?"

"Yes."

"Does that mean it could come here?"

"I don't know." He replies. "We'll have to wait and see the full report when Trabia Garden sends it."

Nodding, she exits the room.

"Dear Hyne, I'm glad none of ours was out that way." He said without knowing that one of theirs was already infected.

8 8 8

"Open rules is so plain, how 'bout wall rules?" Irvine options to his lover.

They're playing a mental Triple Triad while being slowly walked home by their black Chocobos.

"I'm too tired to think right now, let's just play with simple rules. I'm having a hard enough time remembering the cards you gave me."

Chuckling, Irvine takes a bite from his crab dip topped salad; they didn't eat lunch yet, so as well as playing cards in their head, they're eating lunch on the slow ride home. Good thing it was such a simple little meal because it'd be a mess otherwise. "Looks like I'm in the running for the win then. You can go first."

Scoffing, he chews his cracker thoroughly while shaking his head. "You go first."

"Alrighty... I play Ifrit in the bottom right."

"Tch. Amateur move... are you sure you wanna play with the Different trade in play? You'll only have to lose one card with the simple rules."

"Just pick it... I've got confidence in my skills."

Shrugging, he recalls the cards Irvine picked for him then says. "Elnoyle top left corner."

"Hmmm..." Deciding to eat while he thinks it over, he makes a face at his sniggering lover.

"Scared yet? You're taking an awfully long time to choose."

"No. I'll win... I'm just taking a meal break. Okay," Finishing his bite, he says. "Fastitocalon bottom left corner." Watching the house as they pass by, he moves off topic. "Think Ellone's home? We should ask her over for dinner."

Nodding, he then chooses his card. "Malboro inbetween the left cards."

Irvine laughed outloud at that move. "And you call me a novice... Snow Lion inbetween the bottom 2 cards."

"Tri-Face top center."

"Death Claw beside that."

Squall thought over his own cards, then Irvine's. 'Shit.' He rolls his eyes to the sky. "Abyss Worm in center of the board."

Preening, Irvine doesn't wait to lower the boom, he just goes in for the kill. "And Bomb beside that, for the win."

"Asshole."

"Hey, you picked my cards. I'll take your Elnoyle, Tri-Face, and Ruby Dragon- when we get home, of course."

"I don't think you're allowed that many when you play with 'Different' stakes." Squall repremands through wonder. Steering Renzo closer to Ammo, Squall taps Irvine on the arm with the back of his fingers, then points to the little market up ahead.

The couple move off in that direction. They have to buy some things for dinner.

Its nice passing the flower field, you can always see wild families of Chocobo just hanging out, being very comfortable and casual with each other. And other animals doing the same. Its just a good thing that no one ever really drives in this village or they'd run a serious risk of turning them all into road kill with as much as they dark across the dirt road.

"We should make a chicken g-..."

His words are cut short when Ammo began to dance around, hopping from foot to foot, like its stepping on hot coals. Alarmed by the behavior rather than the movements, the sharpshooter began to sooth the bird with sounds its been trained to be calmed by. But Ammo kept bouncing around.

Squall watched with a raised brow in wonder of what could be wrong with the bird; looking down, he spots a patch of freshly moved soil. Before he could say anything, Renzo began mimicking Ammo's behavior.

"Its a Lefty, you see it!?" Irvine reports with alarm.

Irvine's hand reached for the gun at his hip, but it grabbed nothing but air. He forgot that he's unarmed. Hopping down from his panicked roadrunner, he grabs the salad fork then stabs at the Lefty hand like its a game of whack-a-mole.

"Watch out!" Squall instructs from a short distance.

He ran over to the wooden fence, that's separating the road from the flowery field, to grab a board to use as a weapon. His foot smashed into the end of the plank that he isn't holding on to to break it free.

Irvine yelped, rolling out of the way when Squall brought the broken fence rung up then stabbed it down into the monsterous left hand. He brings it up then stabs it down, over and over until their opponent wriggles in convulsion of pain and stops moving.

"What the Hell was that about?" Irvine gapes.

"Dunno..." He looks at the dissolving creature. "Its common for Caterpillars, and Bite Bugs to slip in and out, even Funguar... but Vysage?" Stubbing out the rest under his twisting sneaker, Squall holds out his hand to help Irvine up.

Looking at the makeshift weapon, Irvine chuckled; brushing off his rear-end. "Shoot. I need to learn to think on my feet. When I didn't find my gun, I was stumped for a minute."

"I could tell." Lifting the plastic litter from the ground, he tucks it into his pocket. A soft laugh came before. "Who did you think you'd hurt with a plastic fork?"

"Maybe I could have stuck it under that mummy hand's fingernail." Grabbing Ammo by the bit, he assists himself back up in the saddle. "You ever get a splinter up there? Stings for weeks."

Re-mounting Renzo, Squall releases a sigh through his nose. The monster still has him perplexed. They're common outside on the field, but the town usually stays monster free. So what's changed? Why come into the village?

"We better get home anyway, its getting daylight-dark and that's never a good sign."

'Right.' Nods the gunblade specialist.

In their passing through, another upturn of soil crumbled and rolled away from itself and a single finger poked up into the air.

...

Moving away from the window, Irvine looks at his lounging husband on the couch and smiles. "I love it when a storm makes the morning dark- true, its the afternoon.." Walking over to the couch, he taps Squall on the socked foot. "Gonna make some room on that couch?"

"The floor is good this time of year." He holds out his hand, in offer to help Irvine lower himself there.

Snickering he swats the hand away, then takes a seat on the floor, resting his long legs up on the coffee table. "Wanna play cards again?"

"Mhm."

Rolling to lay on his side instead of his back, he reaches for the box handed to him, when Irvine retrieved their deck boxes from the drawer under the coffee table. Rifling through his deck, he hands Irvine the winnings from earlier.

Irvine removes the gameboard that's placed beneath the card boxes, when the items are not in use, setting it down on the table top. The board's technology is pretty standard; it lights up in the color of the player, shining beneath the clear background of the newly made monster and people cards. This type of board came around when the game began to get popular amongst the towns and Gardens, so Esthar decided to cash in on its advancements.

"Sudden death." Squall informs. "Random, same, plus, and wall."

Programming the board to accommodate the rules, he scoffs. "Planning on taking me to the cleaners?"

"Yeah." After handing Irvine back the cards he's chosen for him, he takes his own. "Wanna go first?"

"Don't mind if I do, sir... I choose.." He scutinized his cards with a cocked brow. "After my Ifrit, eh. Well I'll play... Sphinxara in bottom right corner." He places it down onto the board, and the card shone a blue light in the background.

Squall hands his card to Irvine to place down, since he can't reach the table from the couch. "Dead center."

"Amateur move. I can beat a Kyrsta." Using his Biggs and Wedge card, he doesn't have to sweat the glowing lightning bolt dropping his numbers by one, since the card can still beat Squall's on the right side- even on the left side, really. He's making this too easy!

"Upper right." He hands Irvine a Giant Chocobo card.

"I'm taking this when I win."

"We'll see."

Irvine looks over his cards, then frowns. Casting a look over his shoulder, he shakes a balled up hand at him.

"What's the matter, Kinneas? Do you need a minute?"

"Nnno." He turned his nose up.

Using his Iron Giant, he places it beside Squall's Chocobo on its left. Without batting a lash, Squall points to the bottom right corner for his Hexadragon to be placed. Irvine slapped his Ifrit in the center bottom of the board, flipping Squall's over easily.

"Sweatin' yet?"

"Maybe." His love said very nonchalantly.

Having his Phoenix card placed down over his own dragon, Squall winked at his lover who looked at him fit-to-mock-kill. The combo flipped every card on the board but the Shinxara, leaving Irvine to miserably shove his Thrusteavis card in the only remaining place on the board. He lost.

With a very smug smile on his face, he lowers his hand to his lap. "Looks like I won." Patting his crotch, he says. "...Ride me, cowboy."

Intrigued, he pretends not to be too excited about the conditions he must uphold to. "Tch... well, if I knew how high the stakes were I would have tried harder." He says with an impish smirk as he lifts himself from the floor, and mounts his open-armed lover to pepper kisses all over his face, neck, and collarbone.

"When did you tell Ellone dinner was?" He asks while kissing his way down Squall's clothed body.

He pushes the t-shirt upward to pool around the before pampered area, to work on the new one. Squall arched into the kisses and brushes of teeth, with pleasure shivering through him. He's glad to feel some sort of warmth, truthfully, he's been feeling kind of nippy again. Like he might be catching hypothermia- in spite of it being summer. But Irvine's warmth and his temperature raising ministrations with his lips are giving cure to that.

"F-four."

His hands find themselves gripping his lover's long hair at the root, massaging his scalp gently around and around to enjoy the breathy pleased sighs they illicitly produce. Knowing its two o'clock now, Irvine lowers lips kisses to his lion's lap to brush his thumb across the fasten, popping it open with skilled ease, while his teeth worked the zipper down.

He breathed heatedly over the wetness that showed against Squall's boxers, but ignored the rising screamer pointing towards his mouth, and instead kissed at his lover's naval. His thumb found its way around the bends and curves beyond the parted clothing, though, along with the rest of his hand that's cupping and pinching and rubbing at anything that it comes across.

Squall's hips come up from the couch long enough for his jeans to be pulled from beneath him then he rests himself back down to enjoy, with rocking and sliding movements, Irvine's palming of his genitals. He grunted when a bud on his chest is taken between teeth, and licked by the very tip of his lover's tongue on the tip of the bud.

It was amazing how he felt more heated, and scandalous about their act when he's being groped and sucked with his clothing on. Maybe it's because it feels like stealing a moment with him when they have to remained dressed but they still wanna fool around. He arched and moaned at the thought of anyone walking in and seeing them now. Completely without cover or care, its their home, why should they hide? And the darkened daylight is adding to the fevered heat in the atmosphere.

It sounded more like a gasp when Irvine suckled the head of his member to remove the bits of release that came from his musings; and he bucked in for more, displeased when the sniper pulled away to re-cover him with his boxers so that he can return to kissing him all over his facial area; the gentle brushes against his lips without making actual kissing contact left Squall breathless and wanton to keep those lips right there. But the palming, that damnably good palming, just drove him mad away from even understanding how to kiss back.

Removing his hand from its playful activity, Irvine pulled his body into a bow, so that he could begin removing his own 'bells and whistles' so they could get down to work. Squall watched him with a thoughtful smile, messing with the man by flicking his finger up and down the loaded gun aiming at him.

Irvine glanced at him with a smile before continuing his undressing.

"Don't take this off." Squall requests while looking at the dangling necklace over him, when Irvine bends over him to better remove his pants.

He's never really looked at the thing, he'd never really cared about the anonymous piece of jewelry. But he likes seeing the odd design of red opals, strung together on a chain that's got a dream catcher on the end, with four metal feathers hanging onto that. He helped with the removal of his own clothing, after Irvine reached for him once he'd gotten completely in the buff.

And after Squall wound up in the same nude state, the gunblader was given that beautiful enclosure of brown sugar colored hair waterfalling down around him, upon Irvine's looming over his body while he gave that first positioned shove in. From there he lay himself on top of him, and kissed him languidly while he slowly moved in and out, getting Squall's body ready for the better version of a "pogo-sticking".

Wrapping his legs tightly around his husband's lowerback, arms around his shoulder, Squall holds on tightly and rocks his covering hips upward to meet the male's thrusts down in. He could only whimper in the bask of dizzying pleasure of Irvine's kneading hands on his buttocks.

Irvine loves to be pressed this closely to Squall, to feel those perfectly muscled abs working against his own. And Squall's inner muscles move beneath his hands when they grip his back, upon his sitting up. Its cruel how good it feels when you're sitting and moving together; Squall's dual colored eyes slit open while he's kissing Irvine's neck, and through the slit he can see a bit out the window.

Momentarily distracted by something that flew by the open window, he rejoins the make-out session with a purr of a smile on his face over the thumb winding into his tailbone area, and it drove him to bob his hips up and down faster.

They whispered incoherent nonsense of intimate words to each other; Squall leans his weight forward to tip Irvine back so he's resting against the arm of the couch, and a bit over. He rode the connection with more force than before in the new angle. Enjoying the effortless pleasure he's receiving, Irvine tips his head back over the chair and falls into the pace with ease.

He wouldn't have looked if it weren't for the sound of the rain beginning, but hearing the hard pitter-patter opened the male's eyes to look out the window. He momentarily slit his eyes as a sizzle of heat washed through him, when Squall's tongue traced a circle around his exposed adam's apple. But upon opening them, he sees someone is standing out there... looking into the window. The weather is giving him a sickly gray appearance. Cocking his head to try to configure the identity of the human or human-shaped thing, he's left with blinking and having it gone.

"Darlin', I think we've got an audience." He whispers into Squall's kiss.

Looking out the window, he shrugs. "Its not like they've got the payper view angle, they can only see our upper half."

"Mmm, snappy. I like it."

And the two remained cozied up in their private movement indoors. But outside is not exactly cozy, and their Peeping Tom has just dropped dead from a nasty bleed from being bitten very severely on the neck.

The hard rain falls heavy to the earth, drowning plant life in its descend, and battering dents into firmer objects like its a shower of hail. One would think inside is the best place to be at a time like this... but the gathered Blood Souls have other ideas, and so do the inhabitants of Winhill.