Lila shook her head disdainfully as she lowered herself to the ground and walked-no, glided-over to Quistis' unconscious form.  The petite sorceress leaned over and smiled cruelly.  "It's really too bad I have to do this to you, Quistis," she said thoughtfully.  "You were always so nice to me, trying to make me come out of my shell.  Well now I have," Lila laughed.  "What do you think?  I suppose I really should thank Rinoa for teaching me how to use my powers, the instruction came in handy."  The girl thought a moment.  "I suppose you want a reason...I'd give you once, but it seems you're unconscious, so it doesn't matter."  Lila positioned her hand over Quistis' heart, then snarled,"And unconscious you will STAY this time!"  Closing her eyes, she began to chant.  Her eyes flew open, hard yellow, as she yelled out the final word.

     Just before the ice spear shot out of her hand, something flew at her, knocking her to the side.  The crystal went wide, embedding itself in the brick wall of a building across the street, before crumbling to the ground.  Lila growled, low in her throat and jerked her head toward the projectile that delayed her victory.  She appeared much the wildcat, dark hair falling over tiger eyes, intent on a kill.  Those wild eyes met gray.

     "Ari," she hissed, rising to her feet with the grace of the predator her eyes so resembled.  

     "It was you," the pink-haired girl accused.  "Everything was you."  Lila's eyes narrowed and she started purposefully towards the girl.  "You took control of me, you made me do all your dirty work," Ari continued, gray eyes glittering.  "Like when everyone thought Zell attempted suicide, you gave me this superhuman strength, and invisibility.  And when I stabbed you and Zell!  Only that time you made sure I was caught.  You were controlling me.  I took the fall for you!"

     "Shut up, bitch," Lila ordered, voice deep and cold.

     Ari ignored her, circling away from the approaching sorceress.  "You knew I recognized who you were the minute you entered the infirmary that day.  And you messed with my mind so I couldn't remember anything that might incriminate poor, defenseless Lila," Ari sneered.  "Only the images you fed me.  The green eyes, everything, was what you fed me.  Just be glad that when I was stabbing you, I didn't know what I was doing.  Cause if I had, I wouldn't have missed your heart."  At Lila's somewhat taken aback gaze, Ari raised an eyebrow and said in a mocking voice,"What?  Surprised that I remember so much, Lila?  Maybe you aren't as powerful as you thought."

     "I doubt that.  Modern drugs can override a weak spell.  Since I only twisted your mind once, the drugs probably straightened it out."  Lila shrugged and pointed at Ari.  "But I have no more use for you."  An aura tickled the back of her mind and suddenly Lila pointed at herself, murmured something and then she was flying through the air, landing in a heap some ten feet from Quistis' still unconscious form, just as Seifer ran into the area.  His green gaze flicked from Ari, who he saw first, to the two girls on the ground.  Quickly he went to Quistis and felt for a pulse.  His eyebrows furrowed and he breathed a sigh of relief, before checking on Lila.  Then he faced the crouched Ari, who stared at Lila with murder in her eyes.  Her gray eyes shifted to Seifer and fear filled the space where hate had been.  She held a hand out to stop him and pleaded,

     "Seifer, no!  It's not what it looks like!  Lila is-"

     Lila tugged at the edge of Seifer's trenchcoat, hazel eyes weak, and interrupted with,"Be careful, Seifer.  She's out of control.  She created that," pointed to the giant snake," and she confessed to trying to kill Zell..."

     "Don't worry, Lila.  The others will be here soon to take care of you.  In the meantime," Seifer's eyes didn't move from Ari.  Slowly he drew Hyperion and advanced towards the girl, gray trenchcoat swinging behind him in the wind.  "I knew it was you from the start.  Do you have any idea how many you've hurt?!"  Ari backed up, shaking her head in disbelief, eyes begging him to believe her.  "I'm going to make you wish you'd never been born.  And after that, I'm going to grant that wish by sending you to hell."

     "Seifer, listen!  It's not true!  Why would I kill Lex or Zell or...ANYONE?!" Ari asked urgently.  She stared at him, hopelessly.

     "Sadism?!  Insanity?!  A lover of the late Martin Rueday out for revenge?!  How the hell should I know?!"  Seifer took an offensive position.  "I don't care about your reasons, bitch.  But I'm going to make sure you don't kill again."

     Frightened, Ari's eyes moved from Seifer to Lila, the impossibility of the situation bringing her to her knees.  Softly, she whispered,"As you will, Seifer."  Then she lifted her head and stared him in defiance.  "Go ahead.  Death will be better than this miserable existence any day."

     Seifer frowned at her, but shook his head.  "The martyr act won't work, Ari.  You're going to regret what you've done."  He placed the edge of Hyperion against her neck, felt her body still.

     "I already do," she whispered, gaze fixed on the space between his arm and his body.  She watched Lila rise and said nothing.  Watched Lila chant and said nothing.

     Raising Hyperion, Seifer stared at her, hate in his eyes, and brought the gunblade down.

     "SEIFER!  NO!"  Quistis' voice.

     Seifer spun around to see Quistis raise a hand to stop him, blue eyes wide.  To see Lila standing, eyes yellow and glowing.  To see an ice spear, aimed at his heart, shoot out of her hand.  And then he fell, face up on the ground, legs taken out from underneath him. 

     The silence was horrible.

     Seifer rolled to his feet and backed up, his jade eyes astonished, disbelieving.  Quistis brought her fist down on the pavement and tears rolled down her pale cheeks, her mouth forming the word "no" but no sound came out.

     Ari stood there, gray eyes fixed on Lila.  Tears fell from her eyes and blood fell from one side of her mouth in a slow trickle, then a large stream.  The girl gagged and more blood fell to surround her.  She staggered, and fell to her knees, the large ice spear protruding from both sides of her thin body.  Blood oozed from around the crystal and more blood emptied itself from her open mouth.  The intelligence faded from her eyes slowly as they moved to Seifer.  She managed a small, sad, and bloody smile, before the intelligence faded completely and she fell to the side in a lifeless heap.

     Complete silence.

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