Seifer glared up at Rueday, unable to stop him from successfully casting Ultima without Hyperion, not strong enough to deplete a lot of Rueday's life. His eyes spoke of all the hate within him, and he got to his feet, ready to beat Rueday into such a state of unconsciousness that death would be the only thing Rueday desired. He braced himself to lunge. And suddenly became aware of another presence. Not in the room, but in his mind. The back of his mind. An itch, the kind that he had not felt in a long time. With a glance at Squall, able to see the intelligence creeping back into the wintry blue eyes, Seifer nodded. And summoned.
Eden. Oh Hyne, Squall had transferred Eden. Not that he didn't appreciate it, but his compatibility with Eden was extremely low. The charge would take too long, and Seifer was not one for sacrificing GFs for the sake of his own life. Especially GFs not belonging to him. But no! The power rushed through him, up to the surface of his body, and with a triumphant smirk at Rueday, Seifer vanished to the magic plane.
*Kill* Eden asked him, already beginning her calculations.
*No...Leave some for me* Seifer replied, watching her quickly and accurately determine her numbers.
*Affirmative* And Eden launched her Eternal Breath.
Rueday howled in pain as Eden's attack sucked away at his life and the Ultima magic dissipated, his body using the gathered power to stay alive. He sank to the floor, breathing heavily and clutching at his chest.
*Thanks* Seifer smirked.
*Reward* Eden demanded. Seifer grinned and winked at her, before sending a mental image of himself in only leather pants.
*Good enough* he joked.
*Affirmative* And Eden retreated again to the back of his mind, leaving him with the image of Fuujin sticking her tongue out at him in an expression that would never cross her pretty face, but nonetheless, made Seifer feel closer to the smartass GF.
Back in the semidarkness of the infirmary, Seifer sneered at the halfway-standing Rueday. "What's wrong?" he mocked. "Do you hold SeeDs in such low regard?" He shook his head. "You underestimated me. If only I'd been around to give you that advice before." Rueday glared at him.
"You think you've won," he gasped out. "But I'm not done yet."
"Oh I know." Seifer smiled maliciously. "I-"
The door burst open, and Paige and Joe rushed in, both covered with various cuts and bruises, and lots of ash. Paige stopped short and fell to her knees, as she took in the mutilated, gored body of Quistis. "No," she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. "We're too late." Frozen, stiffly, she went to the computer and typed in the command to retract the spikes back into the floor. Swallowing hard, she resumed her place next to the body, and silently laid Save the Queen next to Quistis' body, before burying her face in her arms. Seifer remained unmoved, eyes fixated on Rueday, who seemed to be trying to figure out how the two had escaped and how he would rid himself of them. Joe averted his gaze from the body and met the painful green eyes of Seifer, before traveling to Rueday and narrowing. As if in slow motion, he tossed a large metal object at the blonde male, before crouching down next to Paige.
"Thought you might need this."
Seifer, with a long look at Quistis, leaned down and picked up the metal object, and a dark gleam filled his eyes, the gleam that always came upon him when he was a in a battle he meant to win. A battle that counted. The gleam was in his eyes when he'd given Squall the scar, the gleam when he'd been so sure that defending Matron was the right thing to do...The gleam that hadn't been there when he fought for Adel, for Ultimecia, but was there for the woman he lost. The dark malicious glitter that warned the enemy that there was no turning back. He fit his gloved hand to the familiar handle, the weight reassuring him as he swung Hyperion through the air. Silently, he looked at Rueday, backed up a step, and taunted Rueday in a customary gesture; he leaned back on his right leg and slowly raised his left arm, motioning with his fingers for Rueday to bring it.
On cue, Rueday stood, and out of nowhere, produced a long sword that even Gilgamesh would have been hard-pressed to wield. Seifer's eyes narrowed and a tiny smirk appeared on his lips, as he shrugged out of his trenchcoat and threw it to the side, muscles tense and ready. Then without warning, he leapt forward, Hyperion headed straight for Rueday's throat. Surprised, Rueday moved his sword to block and grimaced at the force of the blow, the bullet narrowly missing his ear, but he recovered quickly and shoved Seifer back. Seifer responded with an crescent moon swing that crossed Rueday's chest, slicing open the fancy white shirt, and Rueday snarled, thrusting forward with the sword and piercing Seifer in the right arm. The injured arm nearly collapsed under the weight of Hyperion, as blood burst forth from the hole. Gritting his teeth, Seifer moved Hyperion to his left arm, and once again attacked. A blocked blow brought the two of their handsome faces close, snarling and glaring over metal edges.
"Get ready to die, Sorceress' Knight," Rueday spat.
"That's Quistis' Knight," Seifer retorted, muscles straining against the long sword below Hyperion, sweat pouring into his eyes, that he shook away. The two separated, circling each other, eyes narrow and scrutinizing, searching out weaknesses in the other. Certain he'd found one, Seifer lunged forward, aiming at Rueday's chest, but found Hyperion knocked out of his hand and himself laying on the ground, the tip of the long sword pressing into his throat.
"It doesn't matter whose knight you are, lapdog," Rueday mocked, eyes alight with the intensity of a madman. "She's dead." Laughing maniacally, he lifted the long sword to deliver the killing blow, but his eyes went wide and his body jerked forward. He turned in disbelief, in slow motion, allowing Seifer to see a knife, a sai, and a spear embedded in his back. Paige, Joe, and Lila stood in a line, glaring at Rueday. As one, they moved forward and removed their weapons from his back with enough force to crush a metal spike into metal ground. Blood gurgled out of Rueday's mouth as he stared at his sister. "Lila..." he murmured, questioningly.
"I hate you," the hazel-eyed sorceress whispered back. She looked up at Seifer. "Finish him."
Slowly, Seifer got to his feet and retrieved Hyperion. Just as slowly, he faced Rueday, placing the edge of Hyperion against the side of his neck. He smirked, hate filling his gaze, and he whispered triumphantly,"You lose." Seifer called upon Fire Cross, and did a forward flip, to rest Hyperion on the back of Rueday's neck. "Fuck you." With that, Seifer drew Hyperion back, almost full circle, and spun around, arcing Hyperion through the air. Blood spurted through the air as Rueday's head rolled to the ground and the body crumpled to the floor. Without a second glance at the body, he strode over to Quistis and lay his trenchcoat over her.
Strawberries, he thought. She smelled like strawberries.
Silently, emotionlessly, Seifer walked out.