“What the hell?” Those three words out of Seifer’s mouth pretty much summed up the entirety of what everyone else was thinking.
“What was that all about?” Quistis echoed, resting her chin in her hand.
“That was the weirdest thing I’ve seen in a long time,” Zell voiced, so bewildered by what had happened that the fact that they were in the cafeteria seemed to escape him. “And why’d she do that to Lila?”
Squall spoke then, and everyone turned to look at him. “We aren’t going to learn anything until she’s feeling better.” If then. The unspoken words lingered in the air, and Selphie frowned.
“That thing with Lila though…That’s kind of…I don’t know, but it’s not right. And Lila didn’t seem to recognize the girl, so I don’t think they’ve met before. She was just as stunned as we were.” The brunette sighed, leaning her head against Irvine’s shoulder.
“And now that we’re through stating the obvious…” Seifer and Quistis exchanged a meaningful glance. “We need to find out where this girl came from. Cause the only place Lila’s been, besides here, is Timber. Something could be happening there…” Underneath the table, Seifer squeezed Quistis’ hand tightly. “After all, Doctor Kadowaki said that she’d exhausted herself physically, so she could have traveled a ways to get here.”
“And Rinoa said that she was afraid and desperate. But what could she have to be afraid of? And how is Lila tied to that?” Quistis chimed in. She closed her eyes and opened them again. “Is there a way that Rueday could be alive?”
The group grew silent. All of them had seen Seifer cut the man’s head off, but stranger things had happened. And if Lila was a sorceress, who knew what magic her brother had possessed but did not know about?
“It’s possible,” Rinoa said finally. “None of us stayed around to make sure his remains couldn’t be found and if he had untapped magical abilities, someone could tap into them…”
“You all are forgetting one thing,” Seifer interrupted. They all looked at him. He stood and leaned forward, hands pressed on the table. “I killed that bastard. I cut his head off. What disgusting asshole would go and tap into the powers of a CORPSE?” No one spoke and so he continued. “Besides, it’s been nearly a year. His remains would be close to only bone. It’s far more likely that this chick can sense sorceresses and has some phobia about them.”
“She didn’t scream at Rinoa,” Irvine pointed out, from underneath his cowboy hat. “And Rinoa was in there before she woke up?”
“Maybe she’s only sensitive to them when they barge in when she’s half- crazed!” Seifer spat, ignoring Quistis’ hand on his arm.
“Or maybe not!” Irvine shot back.
“Shit, it’s a better idea than what you people have come up with,” Seifer sat back, scowling, and Quistis let her hand drop, a feeling of panic rising in her throat.
“Just because you don’t like the idea doesn’t mean it’s any less likely, Seifer. The man was a slimeball and you killed him, but if you want to be technical, how many times has each of us died in battle? To be brought back to life by a spell or a Phoenix Down? Who’s to say that the same thing didn’t happen to Rueday?” Irvine punched the brim of his hat back so that his indigo eyes were glaring into Seifer’s.
“You can’t bring someone back when they are dead, with a Phoenix Down or a Full-Life. They cease to be, in death,” Selphie recited, brows furrowing. “Phoenix Downs and Full-Lives restore consciousness to the brain in order to get the heart working again, and heal wounds as well. But nothing can bring life from death. Nothing but…”
All pairs of eyes swung to Quistis, who suddenly felt very small beneath their gaze, the panic and fear threatening to boil over.
“Nothing but what we did,” Rinoa whispered in horror. “But it didn’t puncture her heart, it missed. You have to kill the heart for someone to truly die…make it unable to keep working. Oh Hyne…”
“Stop it!” Quistis stood, feeling the threat of tears. “I don’t even want to think about that…that…him being alive! I almost lost everything because of him. We killed him, he’s dead! There’s something else wrong with the girl! There has to be! I can’t…I can’t…NO!” Unwilling to let them see her lose control, she spun and ran.
Seifer shot them all a warning glare. “You will explain to me exactly what you did.” It was no request, and Rinoa nodded, miserably. The blonde male turned and followed Quistis.
“Squall!” Rinoa turned to him pleadingly, eyes begging him to say something and he wiped away a tear on her face.
“Don’t worry. It’s unlikely that Rueday’s back. After all, we’re the ones with the technology, no one else.” Squall smiled down at her, before looking up at the remaining SeeDs. “We aren’t going to learn anything until she’s feeling better,” he repeated. “Until that time, carry on as usual. And say nothing about Rueday to Quistis…It’s still too hard for her.” Unsure of whether or not he stated the obvious or said too much, he dismissed them.
As soon as they’d gone, Rinoa threw her arms around him, shoulders shaking.
And he did all he could do. He held her.
* * *
Lila listened with half an ear as Alexya spoke about the book she was reading. Some mystery novel.
That girl…Something about her was incredibly familiar, but she couldn’t place it. It was the eyes…Lila shook her head. You don’t know anyone with gray eyes, except Paige, and they don’t look remotely alike, she told herself, absently placing a book on the shelf. No, not the eyes, she decided. The girl’s aura was so familiar. That was it. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the light purple aura, only visible to her, around Alexya, and Alexya smile, as she continued talking about her novel, unaware that her listener wasn’t really listening. Rinoa had a light blue one, Squall had a darker one, Seifer’s was red, Quistis’ was peach, Selphie’s was yellow, Irvine’s was orange, and Zell’s was green…And this strange girl had a white one.
Odd, Lila thought. The only auras I see are the ones of the people I’ve been around for a long time. That boy, she turned her hazel gaze on a random SeeD cadet in the corner. He doesn’t have one.
“And in the end, the main girl climbs a ladder of cheese to get to the bright pink moon, carrying a pound of sugar.”
Lila turned her head to Alexya, frowning. “What?”
The pigtailed girl smiled, placing her hands on her hips. “You haven’t been listening to a word I’ve said, Lila.” Teasingly, she shook her head. “Now I’m going to have to explain the whole thing to you again.”
Oh please no.
A flicker of green in the back of her mind had her turning to face the doorway, hiding an excited smile, and Alexya poked her head around the slightly taller girl’s shoulder. A pleased grin broke out on her face as she heard the familiar footsteps approach the library. She stepped back behind Lila, hiding, as Zell entered the library much faster than he should have been going.
“Zell Dincht! What have we said about running in the library? Report to the detention center immediately!” Alexya called from behind Lila, deepening her voice.
Startled, Zell looked around before his sky blue eyes focused on Lila. A grin crossed his features, and Lila felt her heart catch as he sauntered toward her, blue eyes sparkling. “Hey Lila…have you seen Lex?”
He winked at her. Playing along, the brunette shook her head. “Well I guess I’ll have to come back later.” Zell whistled as he disappeared around the end of the bookshelf, and Alexya poked her head out from behind Lila.
“He left?!” The librarian sighed. Lila faced her, and Lex leaned forward, clasping her hands. “Did he look disappointed? He said he’d be back later, right? Dammit, I didn’t want him to go…” Lila nodded and made several soothing noised in her throat, forcing herself not to look as the blonde martial artist snuck up on his girlfriend from behind. “I wonder where he went…Do you think I should go look for him?” Lex asked worriedly.
“He’s in the detention center!” Zell shouted, grabbing Lex from behind and swinging her up into his arms. Lila couldn’t help but smile at Lex’s outraged, yet pleased squeal. Several other people turned to glare at them, and Lex quickly hopped out of his arms. In mock anger, she socked him in the shoulder and he rubbed it accordingly.
“I told you not to do that in the library,” she scolded, dark eyes sparkling and Zell held up his hands in self-defense.
“Must’ve forgot.”
“I’m sure,” Lex raised an eyebrow, before throwing her arms around him. “I forgive you this time,” she whispered, and Lila quickly averted her eyes, taking a step back.
“I’m going to…um…I’ll be back later, Alexya, if you still need help…” Lila turned and nearly sprinted out of the library, unsure of whether she’d been heard or not, but unable to watch them any longer. Unknown to her, Zell watched her go, eyes filled with worry.
That girl’s reaction must have rattled her more than she let on, he thought. I should go talk to her.
He looked down at his girlfriend, who was chattering excitedly about the book she was reading, and Zell grinned. Later. He’d go talk to her later.
Talk to who later?
* * *
Lila sat down on one of the benches lining the path toward the quad. She pulled her knees up to her chin and rested her head against them, wrapping her arms around them.
Something was bothering her. Something beyond her crush on Zell, beyond the scare the girl gave her, beyond the nagging feeling that she knew the girl. It was as if she should know something, and it was pulling on the back of her mind only to disappear when she tried to understand what it said.
Sighing, she rose to her feet and started back to the main campus. There was nothing to do. She couldn’t go back to the library and watch Zell and Lex, she couldn’t go to the infirmary in case she upset that girl again. Maybe she should have joined SeeD…What did Rinoa do all day? Lila’s eyes rose to the bridge. While Squall worked, what did Rinoa do? Maybe she needed help…or not. The young sorceress rubbed at the back of her head.
Why won’t this feeling leave me alone, she thought, wrapping her arms around herself at the sudden chill in the air. It was so familiar…Everything was so familiar…What is going on? And why it happening to me?