Longing for your smile

Chapter Two

By Forbidden Angelus

It was raining. Hard.

Squall and the others were on the ship that was going to the Island Closest to Hell.

"Then…" Squall began "We will approach on the Island and we'll split up in four groups, a SeeD and two students. Me, Kenneth and Shelly will be A Squad; Quistis, Bryan and Kelly will be the B Squad; Selphie, Evan and Mik will be the C Squad; Zell, Seifer and Crys will be the D Squad; got it?"

They all nodded. Squall switch the computer screen. It was showing the Island Closest to Hell

"As you can see the Island is divided in four areas: A, B, C and D. Each squad will search for the missing crew in the area with its name. We have three hours to find the ten missing people. When a Squad will find the people the Squad leader will have to call the ship and go back. Even if the missing people aren't in your area you must act properly and follow your Squad leader's instructions. Any questions?"

a girl with flaming red hair raised her hand "Yes Crys?"

"How can we locate the missing crew with this weather?"

"Well, you have a Human-Tracer that will allow you to spot other people in the area of 100 meters."

"So that's the use of this shit!!" Crys exclaimed, looking at the Human-Tracer on her wrist "Cool!!"

"Anyway… Any other question?" Squall asked. Everyone stayed silent.

"Good, then…" Squall opened the hatch of the ship and he and the others stepped out. They were dressed with waterproof clothes, but they were instantly wet and cold

"It's raining cats and dogs!!" Crys exclaimed, squeezing her eyes and trying to see something over the driving rain. Her attempts failed.

"It won't be an easy thing." Zell muttered

"Ready?? Let's go, then!!" All the Squads went in their own directions.

"Welcome to the Hell." Seifer said, before following Zell and Crys.

"I can't see a damn thing!!" Crys exclaimed "Squad leader!! Can you see anything??"

"What??" Zell asked. His hair was all wet and down on his forehead

"Can you see anything, Chicken wuss??!!" Seifer yelled over the rain

"NO!! And I'm not a chicken."

"The Chicken said that he can't see a damn thing!!" Seifer yelled to Crys

"I'm NOT a chicken!!!" Zell yelled.

Seifer was about to reply when his Human-Tracer began to beep "What??!"

"There're four men ahead of us. They're at thirty meters!!" Crys said

"Let's go!!" Zell exclaimed, putting his hair away from his eyes.

Even if he and Crys were wearing heavy clothes they were completely soaked, but Seifer's coat kept him dry (at least the part of his body that it was covering).

"I have a bad felling, Chicken wuss…" Seifer muttered "…Have you noticed that none of the monsters has attacked us, yet?"

"It's raining hard, Almasy!!" Crys said

"Right!! We're easy preys, now… We can't see or hear a damn thing unless it's only a few meters in front of us!! Then why aren't they attacking us??!"

"Seifer's right, as much as I hate to admit." Zell said

"'cause I like fightin' that doesn't mean I'm stupid!!" Seifer yelled to be heard.

"Hey!!!" the scarred blonde exclaimed, suddenly

"What happened??!"

"The damn thing must be broken, Chicken wuss!!"

Zell ignored the nickname and take a look at the Human-Tracer "I don't see anything…" he said

"That's right! A moment ago four men were ahead of us, and then they were disappeared!!" Seifer exclaimed "The damn thing must be broken!!"

"But Squall said that it's water-proof!!" Zell replied

"What do we do now, Chicken Wuss?"

"First of all don't call me Chicken Wuss, second of all--"

"SHIITT!!"

"What the he--??!!"

"Crys!!"

"Shit!! Let's move on!!" the red-haired girl yelled

"What happened??!!"

"Three Red Dragons!!" Crys shouted

"Three??! Together??!! They never move in a pack!!" Zell exclaimed.

He shut up, however, when three Red Dragons came in sight "Shit!!" Zell exclaimed "Run!!"

They ran.

Crys was the first, then came Zell and Seifer. The older boy was running like hell when he saw something

"Zell!!" he screamed "Watch out!!"

Zell turned around just in time to see another Red Dragon hitting him in the side.

Zell crashed on the ground hard. He was still and kept his eyes closed, afraid of they could have seen. He waited for the dragon to tear him apart, to dig his long teeth in his flesh, to…

"Zell, are you okay??" Seifer yelled at him. The SeeD barely heard him

He called me Zell two times… he thought, standing up

"Get your ass in gear, Chicken Wuss!!" Seifer exclaimed "I need magic back-up!!"

"What?? You want to fight four Red Dragons??!!"

"We don't have many choices, besides we can't go back without saving those missing people, first!!"

"I agree with Almasy, Squad leader!!" Crys said, drawing her sword

"Hey!! That sword is pretty huge, red-tip!!" Seifer exclaimed "Are you sure you can use it??"

"Look and smile, Almasy!!" She said, launching herself toward one of the Dragons.

The monster saw her and moved its claw toward her at incredible speed, but the girl had expected its attack and she jumped high in air

"YAAHHII!!" She cried, bringing her sword over her head and then hitting the Dragon with it.

Zell was about to congratulate her, when she saw the other Dragons coming closer

"They're arriving!!" he exclaimed "Keep ready!!"

They took their fighting stances: Seifer with his gunblade in front of him, Zell with his guard up and Crys with her long, two-handed sword in a pose that resembled Squall's.

"It's raining, they won't use their fire attacks!!" Zell said

"Yes, but they have still their strength and their speed… plus we can't see a damn thing with this fucking rain, and we're slower and heavier!!" Seifer replied

"Try and be more optimist, would you?" Crys asked him

"I'm neither optimist, nor pessimist… just pragmatic." the taller man replied, attacking the nearest Dragon.

He barely sliced his skin but the monster counter him with a powerful blow that sent him flying past Zell and Crys

"We need GFs!!!" Zell exclaimed "I have Shiva!!" Crys informed them

"But I need someone for back-up!!"

"I'll do it!!" Zell offered "Seifer, keep them occupied!!"

"Me?"

"You wanted to fight, didn't you?? Then fight!!" Zell yelled

"No need for begs, Chicken!!" he answered, running toward the Dragons

"I'm not a chicken!!" Zell replied, casting Protect on Crys, while she was summoning the GF

"Get the hell away from there!!" Crys yelled at Seifer.

The taller boy got out of the way and Crys summoned Shiva that froze the three Red Dragons.

"Huff!!" Zell panted "Good job, Crys!!"

"Thanks, Squad leader!!"

"How old are you?" Seifer asked

"16, Almasy… Why?"

"You're too good with your weapon and magic, almost like me and the Chicken… You didn't piss in your pants when those bastards attacked us, either… any other SeeD recruits would have done so… What kind of training did you do?"

"Normal training." she replied, quickly.

Seifer could not see her very well, due the rain, but he could tell that she was lying.

"Hey!! Earth to Seifer and Crys!!" Zell yelled

"What??!"

"We have to find those people!!" Zell exclaimed "The last track was toward North." Seifer said

"Good, let's go!!" Zell exclaimed, starting to walk.

None of them saw that the Red Dragon that Crys had hit wasn't dead, but was regaining consciousness, until it launched itself toward Zell

"Chicken Wuss!! Watch out!!"

"Squad leader!!" Zell turned around and the Dragon sank his claws in his chest

"Ultima!!" Seifer cast the spell on the Dragon that fell to the ground.

"How are ya, Chicken?" Seifer hurried at his side, followed closely by Crys.

The cuts were deep and he was loosing a great amount of blood. Seifer took off Zell's jacket and used it as bandage

"Hey, he'll catch a cold!!" Crys exclaimed, Seifer didn't answer and took off his coat, too. He covered Zell with it

"We must bring him where I can take a look at his wounds." "There's a cavern near her." Crys said, pointing in the dark

"How do you know?"

"I know. Come with me."

Seifer took Zell and followed the blood-haired girl. Actually there was a cavern and Seifer laid Zell on the ground

"Damn, I haven't any elixir!!" he exclaimed

"I've some cure spells, but they aren't very powerful." Crys said "Use them." "

Hey, you're shaking…" Crys observed

"I'm just a little cold." he replied "Go on."

Without his coat he wore only a sleeveless, blue shirt and he was all wet, now. Crys cast the spells but they didn't do much.

"Uh… Shit…" Zell muttered

"What do we do now, Squad leader?" Crys asked him

"What? Oh, yeah…" Zell tried to sit up, but he gave up when burning pain shot in his chest

"What's the situation?"

"Three Dragons frozen, one dead, you're wounded, the Human-Tracer doesn't signal a fucking shit…"

"And Almasy wants to catch a pneumonia."

"What?!"

Only then Zell realized that Seifer's coat was wrapped tightly around him; he was about to protest when the Red Dragon that Seifer had hit with his Ultima spell started to enter the cavern "Shit!!" Seifer cursed.

Fortunately the huge monster remained stuck. The Dragon began to shook and stones and debris began to fall from the ceiling "Let's get out of here!!" Seifer yelled

"But the entrance is blocked!!" Zell exclaimed

"There's another exit at the end of this tunnel!!" Crys said.

The tattooed-boy nodded and stood up, supported by Crys. Seifer began to wonder how she could know all those things about the Island Closest to the Hell but he chose to keep his mouth shut. After a moment they were again in the rain and Seifer shivered due the cold

"Now what?" Crys asked to no one in particular.

"CHICKEN WUSS!!" Seifer yelled

"Ah! What is it?!"

"It's the fourth time I call you!!"

"What are the instructions?" Crys asked

"I… I… don't know…" Zell whispered

"What??! I can't hear you!!" Seifer exclaimed

"I don't know!!" the tattooed-boy yelled "Hell!! I don't know what to do!!! This was meant to be a simple exam and now… now…" his voice trailed off. He hid his face in his hands and started to sob. Someone hugged him and stroked his hair

"C'mon… It's okay…" Zell's eyes shot open

"S-Seifer?"

"Come on, Chicken Wuss. I know it's difficult, but you're the squad leader, right?" Zell didn't answer

"Chicken Wuss?? hey, Chicken!!"

"He's unconscious…" Crys said.

Something behind them growled

"Oh no!!" Crys exclaimed "This is getting ridiculous!! That thing doesn't die!!!"

"Take the Chicken back to the ship, I'll try to distract the fucking dragon!!" Seifer yelled, grabbing his gunblade.

The flame-haired girl nodded; she took Zell in her arms and ran away.

"D squad, can you hear me??" Seifer's radio buzzed "Here is Seifer from D squad…" he replied

"D squad you can come back to the ship, all the missing people are found."

"Roger." he turned and started to run.

Crys received the same message and went back to the ship, too.

"How are the missing people?" Squall asked

"They're a little upset, but no one is wounded…"

"What happened?"

"A group of soldier attacked us…" one of them explained "They were wearing strange uniforms…"

"Strange??"

"Yes, like this…" he grabbed a pen and a piece of paper and draw a body with a clinging black uniform

"And they had this device…" he added, drawing an eagle with a rose in its beak.

"Hmmm… Never seen anything like this… And you Quistis??" the blonde SeeD looked at the draw

"No… Be sure to report to headmaster later." she replied

"Hey!! Crys is back!! And she has someone in her arms!!"

"Who?"

"It's a blond boy with a gray coat!!"

"Seifer??" Squall said "Where's Zell then??"

"Please!!" Crys yelled "Someone help me!! The instructor is injured!!"

"Instructor?? You mean Zell!!" Selphie exclaimed

"Yeah." Crys replied, lying the short boy on the ground

"Do you have any cure spells?" She asked

"Yes…" Quistis said, casting a curaga on Zell. His wounds healed totally.

"Where's Seifer??!" Squall asked

"I don't know. Last time I've seen him he was fighting a Red Dragon!!" Crys answered.

They fell silent for a moment then the one who spoke was Squall

"Oh, shit." he said.

Seifer stood up from the pool of mud he had fallen into. He passed an hand over his eyes to clear his vision.

Okay, Almasy… Let's see… You have a Red Dragon that wants to have you for lunch, you don't have the slightest idea wherein the hell you are and you're all muddy… Well, man… You're going to die. He sat in the pool of mud How in the hell am I supposed to go back??

Then an idea stuck him. He turned on the Human-Tracer and started to run as fast as he can. Behind him he could hear the heavy steps of the monster.

Why the damn thing hasn't given up, yet??!! he wondered.

A 'BEEP-BEEP' drew his attention: the Human-Tracer was signaling a group of seventeen persons to his right. He was distant less than twenty meters so he cast a fire spell to cast the attention of whoever was in front of him.

"Hey!!" a girl exclaimed "What was that??!"

"It looked like a fire spell!!" Selphie said

"It's Seifer!!"

Indeed a man appeared from the rain

"Yes!! It's him!!" Selphie cast another fire spell

"Oh, shit." Squall whispered

"What?"

"Behind him."

Zell looked behind the muddy-man and his eyes widened in horror "SEIFER!!!" he yelled "WATCH OUT!! BEHIND YOU!!"

Seifer turned and the dragon charged at him. It all happened fast: the beast hit Seifer squarely in the chest and sent him flying backwards. He crashed on the side of the ship and fell in the mud again. This time he didn't stand up.

"Seifer!!" Squall yelled, reaching him.

The dragon was about to charge again, this time at Squall, but Selphie and Quistis hit it with two Ultima spells, killing it. Squall dragged the unconscious Seifer on the ship and it left the Island Closest to the Hell.

"Seifer, are you okay?" Selphie asked him.

The blond, tall man coughed and spit out a mixture of blood and mud

"Y-Yeah… I'm only a little cold…" he coughed again and Selphie wrapped him in a blanket, Seifer cleaned himself up a bit

"Zell told us the whole story…" Selphie whispered in his ear "I'm proud of you…"

"Good job, Seifer…" Zell added

"Yeah, whatever… Now let me sleep…" he replied, closing his eyes and leaning on the wall.

Comments: I got the inspiration of this chapter from >'The bully and his victim' (you can find it here: http://www.geocities.com/littlemaiko/library/bullyvictim.html)

by Littlemaiko… In that story Seifer tried again the SeeD exam and he and Seifer went to Island Closest to Hell… As you can see this parts are the same, but I promise that from now on the story will be different… very different… Oh, and keep in mind this chapter… it will became very, very important later….

See ya!! Send me your comments at forbidden_angelus @ yahoo.com!!!

Return to Archive | next | previous