Final Fantasy VIII 1. Phone Call

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Got that NOTHING.   
This is a VERY AU fic, don't like it don't read it got that.   
And I'm VERY aware that this is a rip off of a ton of ideas, you don't have to tell me that. Just read it, It's going to be crazy...   
  


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**¨¨°º©o.,** Chapter 1: Phone Call ** ,.o©º°¨¨**   
  
  


  
The city was dark, like any other city these days. Dark filled with pestilence and greed. Bums and gang members plagued the street forcing everyone to carry a gun for their own protection. Not to mention the corporate men and the SeeD patrols. SeeD was the only type of law enforcement we had any more. And most of them were dirty, very dirty.   
  
Most common citizens had taken the law into their own hands. It was strange walking across the street to see an old lady with an AK-47 in her hands, defending herself from street thugs. Chivalry was a thing of the past; some chicks I knew in my hometown could kick my ass.   
  
Cybered up and weaponed out. Practically no one was cyber free anymore. You name it; they had an implant for it. Cybernetic eyes, Faster reflexes, power upgrade. Hell, I even knew one guy that lost his leg. Two days later they had grown him a new one. Bioware and Cyberware, if you had the goods you ruled the world. Any form of government had been crushed by the up-rise of the Corporations many years ago. The big corps ruled everything now in their huge moving buildings. Galbadia, Balamb, hell even Trabia had put itself on the map. And they ruled the SeeDs, there by ruling the common people. It was a simple chain of command. One the corporations weren't going to let go of easily.   
  
Things were crazy when the Galbadian Corporation had taken over my old town. Apparently our mayor didn't agree with the SeeD occupation in the town. Just one day their huge floating building appeared over us, and started to grease people down with their lasers. Luckily I had been fast enough to get out of there before the entire place was left in ruin. If you didn't like the way they ran things, well they took care of you quick.   
  
Me? I'm Seifer Almasy. That's about all I remember about myself. I think I used to be a corporate man. I probably worked for Balamb, or some shit like that. Why can't I remember? Well that's easy to answer; I'm a Mnemonic Carrier. Yeah I carry data in my head. Sounds crazy eh? Actually it's a great way to make money. They dump a chunk of your memory and replace it with a piece of plastic cyberware. Usually called a GF.   
  
My most recent upgrade I forked out a ton of Gil. The GF Bahamut 2001, was more then worth it. My memory capacity doubled. To make room for the upgrade I had to drop almost all my memories. I think there must have been some things I wanted to forget.   
  
So after I left my small hometown I came here, to Dollet. Little shit hole located on the nuclear coast. Been here about a week. And trust me I've all ready hit a load of trouble.   
  
I wandered the streets looking for work. I got a few small gigs, making a name for myself. It wasn't easy in that town. There are so many underhanded dirty corporate men wandering around. Gotta watch your back. Or perhaps they should watch theirs.   
  
So one day there I was wondering down the ancient cobble stone road trying to shake the sense of familiarity that this place gave me. My cell phone started ringing, and I ripped it from my pocket. Jacking it open, I brought it to my ear in one quick movement.   
  
"Almasy" I said into the phone. Hesitation, I could hear someone breathing on the other end.   
  
"I need help, rumor is your one of the best guys on the street" A female voice. I raised one blond eyebrow, a smirk instantly coming to my face.   
  
"That's what they say" I drawled into the phone.   
  
"Meet me at the Onyx Rose, midnight" she said into the phone.   
  
"All right" I said waiting for further instructions.   
  
"My codename is Dorothy, yours will be scarecrow" her voice flew from the phone just as she hung up. Never give the SeeD's enough time to track a call for a job. It was usual protocol; sometimes you had three or four phone calls till it was all done. Trust me you didn't want those SeeD's putting their nose in their business.   
  
I flipped the phone shut before putting it back into my pocket. I happened to know the Onyx Rose was a dirty nightclub located on the far side of ton. I would say that it was in the slums, but hell almost the whole place was slums.   
  
Scarecrow, I kinda liked that. So my plastic-filled head and me set out for across town, going to meet a Dorothy.   
  
Good thing, I got that job cause I was getting short on Gil.   
  
  
  
  
  


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Short I know, longer chapter next time. I am a little doubtful about this.   
It is the first time I've written in First person, and also my frist AU.   
So I'm very scared that it sucks.   
  
So since I love you all so much, review and let me know if this made ANY sense to you! 


	2. Dorothy

  
  


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**¨¨°º©o.,** Chapter 1: Dorothy ** ,.o©º°¨¨**   
  
  


  
The blaring music from the nightclub could be heard from miles away. It's pumping beat calling to everyone that heard it from the dirty streets. Pounding off the dirty walls, its electric beat was almost tangible. It rang like a heart beat in my ears.   
  
  
There was a huge line gathered outside people dressed in leather, skin showing in the dim glow of the yellow streetlights overhead. The sidewalk was covered in dirty water the dripped from the ceiling over head, creating a dent in the line to avoid it. Prostitutes roamed the line selling the body to the highest bidder. Curls of cigarette smoke whirled up into the night air.   
  
  
The line was slow moving, bodies shifting against each other in the hot night air. I shrugged deciding to skip and head straight for the door. Hopefully this Dorothy would have me a quick way in.   
  
  
The two bouncers sized my up right away. Taking quick notice of the gunblade at my side. They were on guard right away folding their huge muscular arms across their chests.   
  
"Can we help you" one of the huge men asked in his deep voice.   
  
"Yeah I'm supposed to meet a Dorothy here tonight, My name's Scarecrow" I said to them flicking the butt of my cigarette into a near by gutter.   
  
"Ah your supposed to the The 10 tonight?" The man said a grin spreading across his square chinned face.   
  
"What?" I asked not understanding the reference.   
  
"You'll see. Head on in Scarecrow" the bouncer said moving to the side to allow me access to the two metal doors leading into the club.   
  
  
The smell of the smoke machine hit me right away, spraying it rolling fog across the lowered dance floor. The black wooden floor was covered in bodies all moving in time with the music. The swish of leather moving across body parts. Skin pressed against skin. Different colored lights flashed over the crowed from the ceiling painting their bodies in all shades.   
  
  
I sauntered over to the bar leaning against it with ease. The bar tender was a curvy woman in a skirt so short her ass was hanging out the bottom.   
  
"What can I get for ya, sugar" she asked winking at him before snapping her gum.   
  
"I'm lookin' for a girl named Dorothy" he asked.   
  
"Oh! She's up in her booth" the bartender said pointing to a large enclosed booth in the upper left corner of the club. I smirked at her before heading over to the glass enclosed structure. Even the stairs leading up to it was made of class.   
  
  
A huge clouded glass door stood before me. I reached out and grabbed the handle tentatively. I fully expected it to have some trap to lop my arm off. It opened easily allowing me into to the dim let room. Everything was draped in red, even the lights were red. A long glass table stretched out in front of me, blood red chairs flanking each side.   
  
  
A woman sat at the head an expectant look on her face. A face carved from beauty, elegance and grace. High cheekbones, full pouty red lips, and shimmering cerulean eyes. She flashed me her white teeth as she stood up. She wore a pair of black leather pants with a tight red tube top. Her breasts spilled over the top of the tube top in an appetizing expanse of cleavage.   
  
  
"Dorothy" I said simply walking along the side of the table. She nodded a bit and thrust her hand out to shake. I took her hand shaking for a moment puzzled by her familiarity to me.   
  
"Scarecrow" She said the words tumbling from her ruby lips. She sat, and I sat at the chair to her left. My eyes never left her, one could never be too cautious.   
  
"What's the job?" I asked wanting to get right to the point. She smiled shaking her blond head before reaching around behind her. When she turned around she held a very advanced piece of cyberware in her hands.   
  
  
The most puzzling thing was that it wasn't whole.   
  
  
Wires and cords erupted from the bottom of it clanking on the glass table. It was a five-facetted cylindrical shape, the top coming to a point. The surface was sparkling emerald green.   
  
  
"This is a Data Transfer Device. It carries information from point A to point B" she explained setting it on the table in front of me.   
  
"Like me, a carrier" I said pinking up the glittering object. She nodded taking a deep breath.   
  
"Only this is not complete. There are four other pieces, and no I don't have the other four" she explained.   
  
"Who does?" I asked.   
  
"A few of my friends. I want you to help me gather the pieces and get us to where we need to go" she said.   
  
"How much?" I asked.   
  
"100 million Gil" she said quickly tossing a bag onto the table. I eyed it for a moment, before reaching out to touch it.   
  
"And another 100 million at the end of the job" I said.   
  
"Agreed. Let's go" she said turning to grab a black coil from the small table behind her. He head shot up suddenly as the music in the club below us stopped. There was gunfire and shouting. She rushed to the door stepping out onto the small precipice that was there. I stepped out behind her looking down at the once full dance floor.   
  
  
A woman flanked by two men stood there. The woman struck me with a sense of nostalgia. She was wearing a blue duster over a tight black leather outfit. A huge cyber weapon was strapped to her arm. Her face framed by black-brown hair he eyes very seriously.   
  
  
"Whose that?" I muttered under my breath.   
  
"That is Rinoa Heartilly, Leader of the street gang the Forest Owls" Dorothy muttered back to me her voice quivering a bit.   
  
"Sorry red, your plans are done for" the woman standing on the dance floor said as she raised her weapon. Gunfire rang out through the club.   
  
"Run" Dorothy said pushing me back into the glass room. Bullets whizzed past us as we ran, glass splintering around us. Dorothy reached the end of the room throwing open a small shaft with a rung ladder leading up.   
  
"You first" I said to he. I helped her into the shaft, pain lancing across my chest as a bullet skimmed my arm. Just as the glass shattered from beneath my feet I leapt into the shaft. I climbed up after her, not even taking the time to enjoy the nice view of up her skirt as we moved.   
  
  
The upper hatch opened into the night air. The roof of the building was open to the whole city, scaffolding of a once expansion project never finished loomed over us.   
  
"Come on we'll lay a board over to the next roof" she said rushing to the side of the building looking frantically for something to lie across. I looked up spotting a coil of rope. I sighed racing over to it, movements as quick as I could make them.   
  
"Here" I shouted tying it to a metal crossbeam in the scaffolding. She looked at me with wide eyes as she rushed over. She tucked the shining Cyber Emerald into my pocket before throwing her arms around me.   
  
  
I wrapped one arm around her and pushed off the building heading for another roof. I only hoped we would make it that far.   
  
  
A/N: Hope this was actiony enough for you. Thanks everyone for reading and reviewing! I love you all so much! 


	3. Toto

  
  


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**¨¨°º©o.,** Chapter 3: Toto ** ,.o©º°¨¨**   
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
The rope was breaking I could hear it snapping above us. My heart was racing so fast as I looked around trying to figure out what to do. Her head was buried into to my chest afraid to look down, or up for that matter. So at last when the rope snapped we fell. The air was rushing around us, windows filled with light streaming by.   
  
  
  
Suddenly I reached out with my wounded arms and grabbed one of the metal bars of the fire escape. I grit my teeth as it jarred my arm the fall suddenly stopping. She slid from my arms, the inertia keeping her moving. She screamed reaching for me and I grabbed her wrist suddenly. We hung there panting, as I pulled her up.   
  
"Grab the fire escape" I growled. She did as she was told and pulled herself up onto the fire escape. The metal clanked rickety, and attached precociously to the wall. She reached out to me and helped as I pulled myself over the metal guardrail onto the semi-solid perch.   
  
"Thank you" she wheezed leaning against my arm.   
  
"For what?" I asked.   
  
"Saving my life" she whispered sitting up again. I smirked at her and shrugged out of my trench coat. I looked at my wounded arm, prodding the gash the bullet had left.   
  
"Luckily it only grazed you" she said reaching into on of the pockets of her leather pants. She pulled out a small recognizable vial.   
  
"Potion" I said nodding as she handed it to me. I gulped it down, allowing the warmth of the healing drug flow through me.   
  
"Better?" she asked with a small smile.   
  
"Yeah" I said climbing up to my feet now.   
  
"Where to next, Dorothy?" I asked starting to climb down the stairs of the fire escape.   
  
"We gotta meet up with my friend Toto. He's got one of the pieces of the Emerald" she said quietly from behind me.   
  
  
  
I followed her always to Toto's flat which was across town in the My Final Heaven apartment building. The place was huge, and loomed over most of the other buildings in the city. Too bad the apartments weren't better quality.   
  
  
  
The elevator ride up to the twentieth floor was an adventure all it's own. A wonder that it didn't crash, bringing the entire building down with it. Dorothy didn't seem to mind. The route a familiar one to her. The elevator dropped them in a dingy hallway, with a large window that was open at the end. Newspapers strewn about the wall wafted lazily around in the wind. Dorothy led the way to a door with the gold number 145 tacked onto it. She knocked hesitantly glancing at me before she did.   
  
  
  
There was no answer, and eventually she just tried to let herself in. She shook the locked gold doorknob cursing out loud.   
  
"Watch out" I told her as I backed up a bit from the door. I slammed into the door tumbling into the dark apartment.   
  
"Toto?" Dorothy called following me, hesitating to flick the light on. The apartment was thread bare the only furniture a lawn chair and a beat up TV with an ancient video game system set up to it.   
  
A yelping brought my attention to the far corner of the room. Dorothy rushed over to the man crouched next to him. He was wearing torn up cloths, and dirt was smeared across a prominent tattoo on his face. His blond hair was caked with dirt and stuck down onto his head. She backed up a bit when the dirty man yelped and snarled at her. He moved away from her on all fours, his movements incredibly dog like.   
  
  
  
"Toto?" she whispered reaching out to her. He bit at her growling.   
  
"Something is seriously wrong with him" I said striding across the room. She looked up at me as I grabbed his head firmly in both hands. I tipped it back moving the hair aside to reveal two punctual in the back of his neck. A microchip was imbedded beneath it the skin fused around it.   
  
"What is it" she asked as I firmly held his head in my gloved hands.   
  
"His brain has been hacked" I replied stonily. Brain hackers were the worst of the cyber lot. Working for pennies to screw up anyone's life the corporations wanted dead.   
  
"What are we going to do?" Dorothy asked moaning into her hands.   
  
"I'll hack it back" I said planting my lips in a firm line.   
  
"You'd do that for me?" She asked looking up at him with wonderment in her eyes.   
  
"Hell, your paying me" I said smirking at her a bit as Toto continued to bite at me.   
  
"Of course" she said looking a bit disappointed. She stood up and hugged herself and took a step back.   
  
"We'll need to restrain him. And a bed or something to tie him down to" I said looking around. She moved into the kitchen and I heard cupboards banging.   
  
"Duct tape" she said tossing it into the room. It landed at my feet bumping against my boots.   
  
"I'll take him into the bed room" I said pulling the man to his feet. He continued to bank and bite at me as I manhandled him into the bedroom. She followed me after picking the duct tape up tape from the floor.   
  
"Let's do this" I said slamming him down on the bed. Dorothy winced a bit and brought the duct tape over. I took it from her and drew it out of the roll with my teeth. I secured him down quickly and took a step back.   
  
"I'm going to need you to stay calm," I said. She nodded slightly fear coming to her eyes.   
  
"Okay, what do you have to do?" she asked.   
  
"Thinks are going to get a bit bloody" I answered yanking my gloves off one at a time.   
  
"I can handle it" she said her blue eyes never leaving mine.   
  
"Good. Let's begin" I said.   
  
  
  



	4. Removal

A/N: I changed the end of chapter 3, so you might want to go back and look at that.   


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**¨¨°º©o.,** Chapter 4: Removal ** ,.o©º°¨¨**   
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
I bent over and looked at the chip embedded in the back of his skull. It was sunk deep in, tiny metallic talons digging into the skin.   
  
She was breathing softly behind me, her soft body so close. It was almost a distraction as I reached into my pocket and pulled out the slim butterfly knife I always carried with me. The silver blade gleamed in the light pouring in from the half dirty window.   
  
Toto was still barking struggling against the gray duct tape holding him onto the bed. He squirmed hard, and I shoved his head into the bed bringing the knife to the chip.   
  
I took a deep breath before I slid it into the skin. He yelped his voice muffled by the dingy mattress. Her breath hitched and I could feel her turning away. Blood trickled down his neck as I sliced around the skin. Then with a quick movement I turned the blade sliding it under the chip. With a grunt I pulled it up, dislodging the metal from his neck.   
  
A square of blood began to stream from his neck, his voice cracking into a scream. She rushed over sliding off her over coat to press it against the wound. I held my hand on top of hers as she used her other hand to uncork a bottle of potion. The smell of potent magic filled the room as she poured it into his mouth. He gurgled a bit before swallowing the soothing liquid.   
  
I dropped the chip onto the nightstand, flipping my butterfly knife closed. I slid it back into his pocket and looked at her meeting her blue gaze.   
  
"He should be all right," I said with a shrug of one shoulder. She only nodded trying to blink away the tears in her eyes.   
  
"Toto?" she said softly leaning over to look at his face. He was breathing shallowly his eyes a misted over azure. He looked up at her shuddering a bit.   
  
"It's me Dorothy" she whispered. Her words sparked recognition in his eyes.   
  
"What's goin' on?" Toto asked looking over at the duct tape holding him down. She rushed over and started to loosen it to allow him up.   
  
"Your brain was hacked, Scarecrow removed the chip" She said looking over at me. Toto looked over at me, his eyes still strange. I felt as if I knew him from somewhere, they two of them. I shook my head to clear my thoughts.   
  
"Thanks" Toto said with a curt nod.   
  
"No problem" I said anxious to get out of the tiny, dirty apartment. The smell was really starting to get n my nerves.   
  
"Toto, we are going to put the emerald back together, it's time" she said to him helping him get to his fists. He rubbed his wrist for a moment before looking over at me.   
  
"What's he doing here?" Toto asked softly.   
  
"I hired him. We need his help" she responded coolly. One thing I love is being in a room when people are talking about you like you aren't there. I rolled my eyes and huffed loudly as I crossed my arms.   
  
"Can we get a move on? I don't want who ever hacked his brain to come back" I said my voice showing a tinge of exasperation. Dorothy nodded and walked out of the room to get her purse from the living room.   
  
Toto turned and looked at me, we shared a long look with each other. My green eyes bored into his, it was almost like he wanted to say something. To his better judgement he just turned and walked out of the room leaving me alone.   
  
I reached over and picked up the chip from the tiny nightstand turning it over and over in my fingers. The metal prongs were mostly broken and it was covered in blood. I leaned over the bed and whipped it off on Dorothy's abandoned red jacked.   
  
Black words screamed at me from the back of the chip. GGarden.   
  
I slid it into my pocket, glancing out the window. So it was none other then Galbadia Garden that had hacked dog boys mind. These kids were playing with the bug guns. I sighed and shrugged, as long as they paid me I didn't care.   
  
I strode into the living room; they were both standing by the door waiting for me.   
  
"Where to now?" I asked looking to Dorothy for my answer. Much to my surprise it was dog boy who spoke up.   
  
"Balamb. We'll meet up with Tin Man and get his piece of the emerald" he said. It was then that I noticed he was holding another piece of the five faceted piece of computer machinery. It was open on both ends, with wires bursting from both sides.   
  
"Who's gonna put that piece of hardware together" I asked following them out into the hallway.   
  
"Our friend the Wizard will be taking care of it for us" He answered jabbing the button on the elevator.   
  
Suddenly something struck me as wrong, and the world seemed to move in slow motion. The elevator pinged and the door opened slowly revealing the chick from the club earlier, weapon gleaming strapped on her arm.   
  
"Get down" I shouted grabbing Dorothy and hitting the deck.   
  
"You are not getting away this time, Dorothy" Rinoa Heartily said as she sprayed over our head with her weapon. Toto fell to the ground blood erupting from his chest. It splattered across the wooden walls. His piece of the cyber emerald clattered to the ground turning end over end.   
  
Dorothy screamed rocketing to her feet. Her fist connected loudly with the side of Rinoa's head, send the petite girl sprawling.   
  
"Time to go" I said scooping up the emerald, and grabbing her wrist. We started to sprint down the hallway. Rinoa's two lackeys moved into action. One bent down to make sure she was ok, the other stepped into the hallway opening his trench coat wide to pull out his gleaming machine gun.   
  
We ran into Toto's apartment, frantically searching for someway out. I heard a tinking in the hallway and a rolling sound. I looked at her meeting her panicked eyes.   
  
"Grenade" she said her voice hysterical. I glanced at the window and then on a whim ran at it. She screamed as we fell through the dirty glass.   
  
Air rushed around us, the apartment building looming above us. Toto's other windows suddenly burst outward, glass showering us and the street below. She was screaming, as we fell, shaking her head wildly.   
  
I yanked her towards me, wrapping my arms tightly around her.   
  
"Float" I shouted suddenly. The air stopped speeding around us, our bodies suddenly as light as air. Stopped scream as she watched her feet land softly on the sidewalk. She blinked and then looked up at me with a grin. Then in a rush of emotion she pressed her lips hard to mine.   
  
Maybe it was the situation, or the adrenaline rush, or her hot body. I didn't know what it was but I found myself kissing her back, hard and passionate. Her fingers were curled in my hair, her taste invading me fully. It was all like a dream.   
  
"I'll get you Dorothy!" Our kiss was interrupted by the scream of Rinoa who was hanging half out one of the windows. I was ready, prepared to dodge more bullets when a car came to a screeching halt next to us.   
  
It was a pink convertible with an attractive middle aged woman in it.   
  
"Dorothy, you look like you need a ride," the woman said. Without a spoken response Dorothy pulled me into the pink car and we were speeding away from the My Final Heaven apartment building.   
  
It struck me funny that it really would be Toto's final heaven, and resting-place.   
  
  
  
  
  


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Omg. Yes an update! I've deicded to continue this at the convincing of my dear friend Jacks! 


	5. Azure Plague

  


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This chapter and this entire fic is for Jacks.   
She is one of the best friends I've ever had.   
Thank you for standing beside me through it all.   


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**¨¨°º©o.,** Chapter 5: Azure Plague ** ,.o©º°¨¨**   
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"Who the hell are you?" I asked the nice looking woman driving the car. She sighed softly and glanced over her shoulder at me. Her hair was blowing in the wind as we sped through the streets of the city.   
  
"You can call me a good witch" she said with a grin.   
  
"A sorceress?" I spat my lip curling up in disgust. I forked a hand through my blond hair and shook my head.   
  
"You can say that I am the good witch, where as Rinoa is the bad" the woman said softly glancing at Dorothy.   
  
"Two sorceress? Damn, I'm glad that I am getting paid so well" I said with another shake of my head. Dorothy shook her head fiercely her blond hair whipping across her face.   
  
"It's all about the money to you, isn't it?" she asked looking over and me. I just shrugged softly inside my grey trench coat and nodded thinking of our kiss back on the sidewalk. I could still taste her lingering on my lips, and all I knew was that I wanted more.   
  
She sighed exasperatedly and rolled her eyes, a tear dripping down her cheek. The dirty buildings of Dollet whizzed passed as she mourned. Tear after tear rolling down her pale face. I hated the urge to comfort her, and I hated myself even more for not leaning over and taking her in my arms.   
  
"Hon, where do you want me to drop you off at?" the woman in the drivers seat spoke up softly. Dorothy looked up and rubbed a back of her hand across her eyes.   
  
"Yellow Road, we need to take it to see the Wizard. We'll stop along the way to pick up Tin Man and Lion" she said softly.   
  
"No problem" the lady responded making a sharp left turn. I leaned over suddenly and touched Dorothy's arm softly. Her head snapped around to look at me. The wind was blowing her blond hair across her face. Silence said a thousand words between us. It was all I could bring myself to say. I couldn't get anymore attached to this woman.   
  
"Why does Rinoa Heartily want you, red?" I asked with a half smirk trying to lighten up the situation.   
  
"She is working for Galbadia Garden. They have her programmed against me and all my friends" Dorothy replied looking down at her hands in her lap.   
  
"The chip in Toto's head was from Galbadia Garden" I said pulling the tiny piece of cyberware out of my pocket. I dropped it into her hand. She ran a fingernail over the words on the back with a sigh.   
  
"Hopefully they didn't get to anyone else, yet" she whispered as the car pulled to a screeching halt in front of a big train station.   
  
"Thanks Matron" Dorothy said to the woman in the front seat before hopping out. I nodded and followed her out onto the sidewalk. The woman winked at us both and sped away, leaving a nice tire track on the pavement when she pealed out.   
  
"How do you know her?" I asked as we headed into the train station.   
  
"She took care of me when I was growing up" Dorothy explained purchasing two tickets from the guy at the booth. We stepped on the platform and waited. I looked out the windows of the train station at the great yellow tube spanning off in the horizon. It was a massive structure reaching around the world. The last running train, affectionately called the Yellow Road.   
  
The silver train rolled into the station, glistening in the sun streaming through the glass. People emerged off the train carrying suitcases and bags. Happy families with children, businessmen, and lovers. It was your perfect town like scene. Until one of the ladies fell over in a crowd of people, hacking. She began to throw up Blue liquid her body erupting in spasms.   
  
"She's got the Azure Plague, get away from her!" Someone shouted. The crowd parted as SeeD's rushed in to carry the woman away. Tears stained her young son's eyes as he ran after his hand out stretched.   
  
"Just get on the train" I said to Dorothy taking the tickets from her hand. I led her onto the train giving our tickets to the conductor. Pulling her into our private car I sat her down in one of the bench seats.   
  
She was breathing heavily and fast her, eyes glossed over. She rocked back and forth not even seeing me there, her mind somewhere else.   
  
"Dorothy!" I said loudly taking her by the shoulders. I shook her slightly, trying to break her from the daze. I was confused, it was a normal thing to see an outbreak of Azure Plague on the street. It was a common thing, tons of people had it everywhere. There was no cure for it, so once you had it you were stuck with it for life.   
  
"Hey, snap out of it" I said tapping her cheek slightly. She stopped suddenly and snapped out of it her eyes clearing.   
  
"Seifer" she whispered looking deep into my green eyes. I took a step back, my body going rigid.   
  
"Don't call me that" I said stonily. I always reacted this way when a client used my real name. That was what code names were for, so that in case SeeD was listening they would never know who was really involved.   
  
"Sorry" she muttered lying down on the bench. I walked over and sat across from her tipping my head back to stare at the ceiling. I couldn't shake the familiarity of her. It was eating away at me on the inside.   
  
I closed my eyes finally allowing myself to get some rest as the rocking of the train lulled me to sleep.   
  


  
  
  
**¨¨°º©o.,',.o©º°¨¨**   
  
  


  
  
"Next stop, Balamb" the conductors voice woke me from my sleep. I was dreaming, but I could remember what about. My past maybe, my parents. I used to wonder a lot about them, but now I was used to the enmity that followed me. No one knew who I was, since I hardly knew myself.   
  
"Let's go" Dorothy said leading the way off the train. She had taken a shower in the train bathroom, and her hair was slightly damp, hanging over her blood-splattered clothing. We were quiet a pair, I had blood on my jacket from the bullet wound in the arm the other night.   
  
"Lead the way" I said to her as she looked up at me. Dorothy nodded and left the train station stepping into the salty sea air of Balamb. It was one of the few places where the ocean wasn't polluted. It was the home of the hardass Balamb SeeDs, supposedly the best there was. The city had grown over the past few years, but still managed to keep its rustic feel.   
  
"We gotta rent a car, he doesn't live in town" she said. The cobblestone was loose under our feet as we walked to the car rental place. The town was so quiet, different from the streets of Dollet and its nuclear sea.   
  
Renting the car didn't take long, and soon we were on the road heading away from the shore.   
  
She stopped the car at the edge of a huge meadow full of bright orange poppies. Beyond the field was a huge white greenhouse. Its roof glistened, contrasting with the flowers.   
  
"So why do you call him Tin Man?" I asked as we started across the field of flowers heading for the white building.   
  
"He was injured, took a bullet to the heart. His heart was replaced with a prototype cyber heart. As was most of his body replaced with metal parts and cyberware" she responded staring at the ground trying to keep her footing. I only nodded squinting against the sun.   
  
The door to the building was thick glass obviously bullet proof. The rest of the greenhouse was bullet proof as well. She stepped inside and the smell of plants and freshness washed over me. Never had I been in one building that held so much life.   
  
Thick greenery grew along the ground, up the walls. Plants and flowers were places with a careful hand, the scene a perfect garden. A man lounged in the grass, his tan duster spread on the ground around him. He raised one gloved finger and smiled softly as a delicate yellow butterfly landed on it.   
  
He stood up, his long brown hair trailing down his back. He turned to looked at us and I couldn't help but noticed the rifle in his hand.   
  
"Dorothy" he said with a smile. I looked him over as she went to hug him. I could easily spot the cyberware body parts he had, their stiffens mocking his movements.   
  
"Scarecrow, Glad you could bring Dorothy here to us" he said looking over at me.   
  
"Us?" Dorothy asked looking up at the tall man.   
  
"Lion is here, he had another outbreak" Tin Man answered. Dorothy gasped rushing past him towards a door into a building inside the huge green house. She pushed her way in and sobbed loud enough for me to hear.   
  
"What the hell is going on?" I asked striding past Tin Man into the room. It was a medical room, with a white bed in the center. A naked man lay there, his eyes closed in sleep.   
  
His bare arms were covered in track marks, all the obvious signs of a drug user. Concentrated magic sold in syringes, people shot it up to get high. It was the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard of. The man's lips were tinged a deep Azure blue a sure sign that he had the Azure Plague. My eyes trailed up his face.   
  
My eyes stopped at the bridge of his nose, where a scar stretched between his eyes. I reached up to the bridge of my nose and traced my finger along my own scar. Something I had studied in the mirror for days, wondering where I got it.   
  
His scar was the exact opposite of mine, there was no mistaking that they were somehow related. I looked up at Dorothy, and then over at Tin Man who had just walked in.   
  
"Okay, I think it's time you explain some things" I said looking back at Dorothy my voice level.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


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A/N: Thanks for reading this, I got my groove back on this fic. Stay tuned for more, soon! :) 


	6. Hallucinations

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¨¨°º©o., Chapter 6: Hallucinations **,.o©º°¨¨**

Dorothy looked up at me then buried her face in her hands. Her whole body seemed hesitant, she was on edge. Tin Man sighed and left the room, leaving us alone with the passed out Lion. I stared at her never letting up my fiery gaze, I wanted answers.

"We grew up together, all of us orphans. When we grew old enough we were split up and sent to be SeeDs. You, Toto, Lion, and I went to Balamb. I was your teacher" she finally answered my question not looking up at me. 

"I was a Seed?" I asked stonily crossing my arms across my chest. 

"You were, no one knows why you left. Not even you" her answer was muffled as she spoke into her hands. Some of the tension was leaving her body, slumping in the stool. I got the feeling she was lying, there had to be more.

"And what about his scar, and mine for that matter" I shot off another question my voice still cracking like a whip. She finally looked up at me her blue eyes slightly blood shot. 

"You were rivals. In a duel you gave him his, and he returned the favor" she said softly. I nodded curtly looking over at the large duffel bag sitting on the counter in the room. 

"That his?" I asked pointing at it. She nodded watching as I moved across the tiled floor. I unzipped it quickly, and dumped it out on the counter. It's contents spilled onto the Formica, some rolling to the floor. Syringes of ConMag bounced across the tile. Concentrated Magic, the new hype drug.

I looked down at the brightly colored tubes and frowned. I scooped them up from the floor, clutching them in a fist.

"I'm sure that these do wonders for people that have the Azure Plague" I growled shooting the man on the table a dirty look. I was having a hard time comprehending all this new information. Walking over to her, I glared down at her slumping form.

"Is there anything else you need to tell me," I said evenly trying to keep my temper. She stared up into my eyes, as if she was searching for something.

"My name is Quistis," she said softly. The name struck a small chord with me, familiar like the last impression of a sent. 

"It doesn't mean a thing to you, does it?" she asked standing up slowly, here eyes never leaving mine.

"No" I responded stonily. She was the key to my past; I could feel that she would unlock so many doors. I couldn't get any closer to her. All she was to me was a client.

"I'll take care of these," she said taking the syringes out of my hand. She slid passed me and left the room, closing the door behind her. I sat down in her stool, with a sigh. I buried my face in my hands, trying to remember something anything about her.

The door opened again and Tin Man walked in. I nodded at him, as he leaned over the patient.

"He's got the plague pretty bad. It comes and goes with him, like most people. I just got off the wire with the Wizard" Tin man said. I nodded, not really caring. 

"Is that the chick that's going to put all these pieces together?" I asked. 

"Yeah, she does some wonderful things" Tin man responded with a half smile. I quirked an eyebrow and laughed softly.

"You have a thing for her, don't you?" I asked shaking my head.

"Am I that transparent?" he responded shaking his head. Then Lion moaned and stirred, shooting straight up in the bed. Tin Man took a few steps back as the pale sick man shook his head. Lion looked around his stormy eyes landing on me.

"What is he doing here?" Lion asked evenly his voice sounding parched.

"He brought Dorothy" Tin man responded before I could open my mouth. 

"Dorothy made it out of Dollet alive?" He asked looking back over to Tin Man.

"Toto didn't. Rinoa killed him" Tin man answered shortly. 

"Rinoa" Lion said his voice trailing off; he looked down at his hands in his lap. Tin Man placed a hand on his bare shoulder, a touch of friends. I felt like an outsider looking in on their world. They were in a snow globe and I was the one shaking it up. 

"Where is Dorothy?" Lion asked looking over at me. 

"She went to dispose of your ConMag" I growled back eyeing the scar on his face. The anger slid off his face, and his eyes registered shock.

"Why did you let her do that?" Lion asked jumping to his feet.

"You are not going after her to get it back," I said standing up to challenge him. There was no way I was letting him shoot up. 

"How can you be so stupid, don't you know Quistis used to take ConMag?" Lion growled at me the bridge of his nose crinkling up making his scar look even angrier. Guilt washed over me, it seemed like an important detail I should have remembered. I rushed out the door into the greenery of plants and choking vines that covered the glass house. 

I scanned the area, tapping into my cyber enhanced eyes to try and spot her. There across the way I spotted another tiny room tucked in amongst a group of wicked looking weeping willows. I rushed forward my trench coat slapping on my legs as I ran through the bushes. I shoved though the trees, throwing open the door to the room. 

Light spilled into the room in a perfect rectangle my shadow falling down on the floor. She lay there; empty ConMag needles scattered across the floor. Her eyes were wide and glossy staring up at me. A half-used needle hang from her arm, the lightning held inside the syringe crackling. 

"Quistis" I said her real name out loud rushing forward. I fell to my knees beside her and ripped the needle from her arm. The magic exploded from the glass sending numbing lightening pain up my arm. I pulled her to her feet, pulling her out of the cramped tool shed.

"Lions…" she whispered looking around with wide eyes at the weeping willows. Their long branches resembled claws as I tried to drag her through them towards the medical facilities.

"Tigers" she whispered jump backward stumbling into my arms a bit. I rolled my eyes skyward trying to help her get her feet. Of course she would be hallucinating, just my luck.

"Bear!" she screamed stumbling forward her eyes huge and crazy. I caught her again, and pulled her close to me looking down into her eyes.

"Hyne, I hate to do this," I said softly before I brought my palm thundering down on her jaw. She yelped her eyes clearing for a moment.

"Oh my…" she whispered. Then her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she fell forward against me. Her blond hair spilled across my arm as I lifted her up and carried her back to the other structure where the two men waited.

"What did you have to hit her for" Lion growled at me pulling her from my arms. He lay her out on the table, the track marks on his bare arms matching the ones in hers.

"She was hallucinating" I answered curtly. 

"What she ever saw in you, Hyne only knows" Lion growled looking over his shoulder at me. I bristled at the comment right away, my shoulder squaring. How was I supposed to know about her and my past? I had it removed for a reason.

"I am only here because she is paying me" I thought I was beginning to sound like a broken record.

"If you don't care then you can just wait outside," Lion practically shouted at me. I rolled my eyes and walked out the door. I slammed it wall shakingly hard behind me and strode across the greenhouse to sit alone by a tiny pool.

I glared up at the sun through the crystalline windows trying to calm my ever-unpredictable temper. I suddenly realized it wasn't about the Gil anymore. I knew all of these people, somehow. I had wanted to forget them for some reason. Now here I was again with them.

This Cyber Emerald was the key to my past, and perhaps the key to my future.


	7. Explosion

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**¨¨°º©o.,** Chapter 7: Explosion ** ,.o©º°¨¨**   
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
I sat there by that pool for Hyne knows how long. The words that Lion had said to me kept rolling through my head over and over again.   
  
_What she ever saw in you, Hyne only knows_   
  
Saw in me? Dorothy must have been my lover. It was the only conclusion I could come up with. The familiar sent about her, and her touch like a lost memory. Indeed she was a lost memory to me, it was tearing me apart that I couldn't remember her. At the same time though, I wasn't even sure if I wanted to remember her.   
  
"Scarecrow" her voice shook me from my thoughts. My eyes trailed up the shadow she cast across the ground. Up her lithe form that was wrapped in a heavy blue blanket.   
  
"Dorothy" I said softly immediately looking back down into the glossy reflection of the water.   
  
"Thank you, for pulling me out of the tool shed" she said sitting on a rock near by.   
  
"Why didn't you tell me we were lovers? And where the hell did you get off shooting up that much ConMag?" I asked gruffly. I wanted answers, I was tired of not knowing and tired of half-truths.   
  
"Scarecrow..." she said her voice trailing off. She tipped her fingers into the water tracing tiny patterns cross the surface.   
  
Then the world exploded in gunshots and noise.   
  
Glass came showing down around us as a great ape like creature dropped through the roof of the green house. Its powerful sinuous wings pumped up and down, as it splashed down into the pool of water. I rushed forward hurling Dorothy out of the way. I pulled my gunblade, turning to face the beast.   
  
Its monkey face grinned at me and moved forward with its sweeping talons. I fought it off, slicing into its flesh. Then I heard Dorothy screaming behind me, and I turned to see her being hefted off the ground by none other then Rinoa.   
  
"You wicked bitch, drop her" I growled moving forward ignoring the monkey as it climbed out of the water. Rinoa sneered at me and lowered her gun mounted on her arm to shoot. I moved forward diving under her, slamming hard into her legs. Rinoa went tumbling one way and I shot to my feet.   
  
I grabbed Dorothy by the arm and headed off across the green house. He blanket flew from her arms and as it was falling through the air was riddled with bullets from Rinoa's arm gun.   
  
Dorothy was running beside me, her hand clutching mine. Lion and Tin Man met us in the middle of the greenhouse their weapons at the ready. I looked around and noticed the ape creatures were moving in on us and Rinoa was heading dead for us.   
  
"Protect Dorothy" Lion growled at me the glow of his blue gun blade reflecting on his pale face. I nodded sharing a look with Dorothy. She smiled softly at me and shrugged indicating she had no weapon. I turned and faced Rinoa who was trying to reload her arm canister. I had to get to her before she could get another shot off with that thing.   
  
I dashed forward, ignoring the monkey that was closing in on the left. My gunblade reached out like an extension of my arm and sliced into her arm cannon. She yelped in pain glaring at me with her angry brown eyes. I smirked at her waiting for her next move, when a huge taloned hand suddenly grabbed me. The monkey lifted me off the ground, my Hyperion sliding uselessly to the ground.   
  
"Degenerator!" I heard Dorothy yell as she flung her arms out. Yellow light surround the beast, flashing read and flickering magic. I blinked and was suddenly falling to the ground the creature gone.   
  
"We gotta get outta here!" Tin man shouted pointing at the horde of monkey creatures that were skittering across the roof.   
  
"Let's go" I said to Dorothy grabbing her hand. She nodded at me and glanced at Rinoa as Lion turned to look at the sorceress. I fled the building, the heavy pieces of the Cyber Emerald bumping against my leg tucked safely away inside my coat.   
  
"Come on Lion!!" I heard Tin Man call as we rushed out into the field of poppies. Dorothy kept urging me forward, not to stop to go back for them   
  
I realized why as the glass building behind us suddenly exploded outward in a roll of orange flames. Both of us fell forward into the dew-covered grass. Shard of glass rained down from the sky covering us both. She lay on the ground across from me her lips slightly open as she was panting for breath. Her cheeks were flushed and her hair a disheveled mess. But at that instant she had never looks more beautiful.   
  
I couldn't stop myself but only watch as a passenger as I leaned forward and pressed my lips against hers. Her breath caught in the back of her throat, her surprise evident. Then she delved into my soul as she returned the kiss her hand reaching out to curl around my lapel.   
  
The flames roared into the starry sky behind us, and I couldn't bring myself to care. Her touch, her fire was consuming me as I grabbed her by the waist and pulled her across the grass to me. The glass was biting into my skin, tiny pinpricks of pain melding with the pleasure.   
  
She broke the kiss her wide eyes staring into mine. I couldn't help but stare back into her light blue. Then across her I was appalled when I saw a tiny azure line flit across her iris. I lurched back a moment, shock registering across my face.   
  
"You have the Azure Plague" I whispered my voice cutting through the night. She opened her mouth to speak when I heard footsteps on the grass heading for us. I jumped to my feet, leaving her lying amongst the orange poppies. Tin Man was running towards us, helping a limping Lion along. I couldn't help but notice my black Hyperion in Tin Man's cyber hand.   
  
"You made it out" I said in awe to the two men taking my blade from Tin Man.   
  
"I had the bomb timed just right, I knew when it would go off" Tin man responded with a suave smile. I rolled my eyes and scanned over Lion's wounds. None looked too bad, but I was beginning to think his wounds weren't just physical.   
  
"Have we got all the pieces of the Emerald?" Dorothy asked sitting up from her lying position.   
  
"All of them except the one our Wizard has" Tin Man responded helping her to her feet.   
  
"What is up with that Rinoa chick?" I asked brushing glass shards from my long trench coat.   
  
"She is my wife" Lion said his back straightening. With those words he stalked off into the night. I blinked looking over to Dorothy for an explanation.   
  
"She's been hired by SeeD to take us all out, no matter what the cost" Dorothy responded shaking her head softly. Glass fell like a waterfall from her blond hair.   
  
"We need to get on the Yellow Road and get to the Wizard, as soon as possible" Tin Man said smiling at Dorothy and plucking a poppy that was mashed into her blond. She smiled and nodded, turning to walk after Lion.   
  
"Was she a SeeD too?" I asked walking along side Tin Man inspecting the blade on my Hyperion.   
  
"Rinoa? Nah, but she was Squall's wife when he was Seed. Didn't matter to him that she was a witch he still loved her. When we left SeeD and she didn't was when he started taking ConMag" Tin Man said his voice slightly sad. Suddenly a loud screech was sounded through the night sky. Across the moon flew the shadow of two monkeys, carrying an injured looking woman between then.   
  
"I knew she would get out" Tin Man muttered almost bitterly under his breath.   
  
"Why did you leave SeeD" I asked watching Dorothy walk with Lion, placing a friendly hand on his shoulder. I couldn't squash the feeling of jealousy that was welling in me. Dorothy has said we were rivals, the rivalry must have run very deep.   
  
"You'll find all of that out when we get to the Wizard" Tin Man responded with a cryptic answer. I rolled my eyes and shook my head. I fought the urge to throw my arms up in the air and stop around like a twelve-year-old.   
  
"Figured" I grunted shortly.   
  
"She can give you back your memory, you know" Tin Man said softly. My head whipped around of its own volition as I glared at him.   
  
"Full restoration?" I asked.   
  
"She's the best Cyber doc out there, her healing powers are amazing" Tin man retorted almost like he was bragging. I thought about it for a long moment. My memories, then I could remember.. Quistis. It felt so strange to call her by her real name even in my head. There was too much emotion in this job.   
  
"My when we get all this stuff taken care of, I'll think about it. Right now I just got to protect Dorothy" I said nodding my head firmly.   
  
"Thanks for getting her out of Dollet" He said as we caught up with the other two who were standing beside one of the huge metal poles that held up the Yellow Road. An elevator waited open for us, to lift everyone up to the road to await the next train. I stepped in behind Dorothy, breathing in her wafting sent.   
  
"So are you sure this Wizard can put your Cyber Emerald back together?" I asked the three of them as the elevator started to move up.   
  
"Of course, She was the one who built it" Tin Man answered as the elevator dinged and the metal doors open. The warmth of the Yellow Road platform washed over me as we stepped out onto it. They were no other passengers waiting for the train, so it was just the four of us. We stood in silence listening as the train rolled up, screeching along the rails.   
  
  
  
We boarded claiming a cabin all to ourselves and Dorothy instantly claimed the shower to wash up. I nodded and couldn't help but notice the azure line that once again ran across her irises. I grit my teeth vowing to talk to her more about it the next time I had her alone. I sighed looking out the window of the train at the speeding countryside.   
  
"So I guess we are off to see the Wizard" I whispered.   
  



	8. Secrets of the Emerald City

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**¨¨°º©o.,** Chapter 8: Secrets of the Emerald City ** ,.o©º°¨¨**   
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"Oh hell no" I said as we stepped off the train.   
  
"It's won't be hard to get in, she's expecting us" Dorothy said jabbing the elevator button. I followed her into the tiny metal box the two other men following behind me.   
  
We rode down in silence all the while I was shaking my heed. We stepped off the train and I stopped in the knee-deep grass and looked up and up and up. Looming there before us hovering over the green field was the newly rebuilt green Trabia Garden. It sat before us glittering like some enormous emerald city in the sky.   
  
"That place is going to be crawling with SeeD" I said waving wildly at the huge floating building.   
  
"Yes, and you are being so inconspicuous" Dorothy said with a roll of her eyes. She grinned and then headed for the Garden setting a steady pace through the knee-high grass. I sigh and had no choice but to follow in her math, muttering under my breath.   
  
She led us up the metal staircase right up to the front gate of the Garden. A man sat in a folding chair behind the glass lazily reading a magazine.   
  
"Instructor Trepe, Balamb Garden number 14. Here to see Instructor Tillimit" Quistis barked at the man as he jumped up and saluted her. I blinked my eyes floating over her body and the stance she was standing in. For a moment I had the image of her standing at the front of the classroom looking much the same. I shook my head trying to stay focused as the man started to clack away on the keyboard behind the desk.   
  
"Instructor Tillimit is expecting you, I'll have someone escort you to her laboratory" the SeeD cadet said saluting again.   
  
"There is no need, I know exactly where it is" Quistis said turning abruptly on a heel and striding through the front gates. The others and me had no choice but to follow her through the green halls of Trabia. The blond led us down deeper into the belly of the flying machine before she stopped in front of a huge metal door. With a grunt she pushed it open. It scrapped across the metal floor, revealing a huge laboratory spanning in front of us.   
  
Huge TV monitors spanned across the walls, some static some showing pictures. A hacker's chair complete with headset sat against the far wall. A tool used to download information to GF's much like the GF in my plastic head. Tables were scattered around the room covered in cytberware. Some of it was in pieces other whole and functional.   
  
A woman stood with her back to us, and my eyes traveled up her skinny form. The yellow dress she wore was hideously bright in the white room. She turned and looked at us, her brunette hair bouncing slightly.   
  
"So glad to see you made it" she said rushing forward to hug Quistis. Next thing I knew she was kissing Tin Man, then a moment later she was standing in front of me.   
  
"So you're The Wizard" I said looking down into her green eyes.   
  
"That's what they call me" she smiled at me as she spoke. She reached out and placed her tiny hand on my arm in a touch of friendship. I frowned giving her a strange look before she moved on to hug Lion.   
  
"Let's get down to business" The Wizard said looking around at all of us. I nodded thinking that it was about time. I was ready to construct this Cyber Emerald thing to see what the hell it did. I followed her and the others over to a long table, where the final piece of the Cyber Emerald lay. It was the other capping end matching the one in my pocket that Dorothy had given me only a few days ago. Those few days seemed like a year.   
  
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the end piece and set it on the table, followed by the one Toto had died giving us. I frowned thinking of Rinoa and her ape creatures, and the hurt look on Lion's face. I shook it off, watching as Lion and Tin Man both produced pieces from their pockets.   
  
I watched in silent awe as the Wizard went to work. Her tiny fingers connected wires, twisting and melding melds together. Each piece fit perfectly together, the breaks hardly noticeable once matched up.   
  
Minutes later the entire Cyber Emerald sat on the table in front of all of us. It gleamed in the harsh white light of the laboratory.   
  
"So what's this thing do" I asked braking the silence in the whole room. The Wizard looked over at Dorothy sharing a long glance with her.   
  
"I think you need to show him" The Wizard said placing a protective hand on her work of art, the Cyber Emerald.   
  
"Show me what?" I asked angrily as Dorothy softly led me out of the laboratory by the arm. I looked down at her as we silently walked through the halls. I was dying to know what it was she was going to show me. We went deeper into the Garden, into some kind of warehouse. She opened a door that said employees only in screaming red letters and led me out onto a metal catwalk.   
  
We were looking down on a factory of some kind. Workers toiled over conveyer belts filled with glass syringes. Vats of colorful liquid sat against the far wall great mechanical arms churning the contents. Women stood in front of sparkling founts of pink, their heads thrown back magic coursing along their body.   
  
Suddenly it hit me, the information came crashing down around me. This was were ConMag was made. Seed were drawing magic and compacting it into syringes. Concentrated Magic. Why would SeeD be making such a thing. I looked down at her in confusion. Then she took my hand again and led me down the catwalk in through another door.   
  
Steam washed over us, it stunk like dirty laundry. I stared down into another factory scene, my eyes widening. Bound to the floor was a blue woman, the tendrils of her hair lying limp about her. Shiva a junctionable Guardian Force. Wire and tube sucked blue liquid from her body, into huge colorless tubes. Then into long containers.   
  
"This is where SeeD places the Azure Plague into Con Mag" Dorothy whispered softly. I took a step back in amazement leaning on the rail of the catwalk.   
  
"Azure Plague is spread through ConMag!" I hiss outraged. I wanted to rush down there and free the guardian force this instant. My whole body was screaming too.   
  
"One of the highest symptoms of Azure plague is memory loss. It only make sense they would take it from a GF" she said simply.   
  
"What has the Cyber Emerald got to do with all this" I growled hands tightening.   
  
"It holds the cure for the Azure Plague" she whispered. I stared at her for a moment waiting for her to continue. This was all too much.   
  
"We plan to broadcast it out over the airwaves, so everyone may have it. There is no money in marketing the cure for SeeD. Money is made with drugs. That's why I was in Dollet, to get the broadcast tower ready for our airing" she said her voice going from soft to bitter and back to soft again.   
  
"Is this why I made myself forget?" I said looking down again at the icy eyes of the GF.   
  
"No, not exactly" she said hesitation in her voice.   
  
"What then?" I asked.   
  
"To broadcast the Cure we have to feed it through a GF. You volunteered to have your memory removed before we broke the emerald up and ran from SeeD" she said.   
  
"I volunteered because of you, because you have the plague" I said knowing the moment I said them the words were true. She looked up at me and nodded softly.   
  
"You loved me" she said her voice cracking softly.   
  
"I will have my memories back when this is over, and I will love you again" I said firmly. I glanced back down at the factory floor again. Suddenly I stiffened finding myself looking into familiar brown eyes.   
  
"Rinoa" I uttered and Dorothy's head snapped up. Without a word we both started to run as she started to close in on us. We burst into the next room to meet a wall of apes clamoring to get to us.   
  
"Quake" I said letting loose my last spell on the factory floor. The vats of magic spilled over, charring the room with electricity. We ran stumbling along the metal catwalk, heading for the door.   
  
The run back to the laboratory was short but hectic. Dorothy pushed the door closed behind us as we rushed in.   
  
"Rinoa saw us" Dorothy announced to the others. Then without warning she slumped backward into my arms. Her whole body began to quiver blue liquid flowing out of her lips. Lion helped me lift her onto a table shoving all the contents to the floor.   
  
The Wizard rushed over and looked up at me with worried eyes. I looked over at the hacker's chair all set up and ready to broadcast to the world.   
  
"Hook me up" I said to her without another thought.   
  
  
  
  
  



	9. Home

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**¨¨°º©o.,** Chapter 9: Home ** ,.o©º°¨¨**   
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
I sat down hard in the chair ignoring the metal above me. I reached into my inner pocket and pulled out my kit. Tools of the trade, tools of a pneumonic carrier. I slid in a mouthpiece, handing off the rest of the kit to the Wizard. It was a harsh plastic thing melded to fit my teeth. It was always good to have something to bite down on when that first rush of data hit your head. It was like an exploding hammer cracking across your skull. Harsh but at the same time full of color and light, almost beautiful.   
  
"You watch her, I got the door" Tin Man said to Lion pulling out his long gleaming shotgun.   
  
Tin Man was leaning hard against the door his cyber body far heavier then any others in the room. He was calmly loading shells into his gun, a serene look on his face. Lion was standing beside Dorothy, keeping her breathing passage open as she coughed more blue liquid from her lips. My hand clenched around the arm of my chair, my teeth gritting against the plastic in my mouth.   
  
All of this was for her. Her and the million other peoples that had Azure Plague.   
  
I found myself looking up into the Wizards sparkling eyes as she slid the helmet down over my head. The metal covered my eyes blocking out the image of Dorothy lying on the table. I could hear gunshots, and sparks in the background. The televisions and the broadcasting equipment were starting up. Soon the contents of my brain would be spread over every airwave in the world.   
  
"Rinoa, I love you" I heard Lion call, and the sound of another gunshot. Tin Man cursing, the door scraping against the door.   
  
The Wizard opened the panel on the side of my neck revealing my datajack. It was tiny thing linked directly to the cyberwear in my brain. A hole right through my head, the metal moving slightly as I swallowed hard.   
  
The Cyber Emerald was placed in my hands. The cool metallic surface seems to writhe and move against my skin. I had held it before, but never in its full form. It seemed so alive, so in tune with the knowledge it contained inside. It was almost as if it wanted to give it to us.   
  
"Squall" it was Rinoa's voice. Different changed, hurting in pain. I couldn't see it but I got the feeling she had been shot. I could hear Lion weeping.   
  
The Cyber Emerald was open, the wires being controlled by someone. Most likely the wizard, I could imagine her tiny fingers working over the facets, and the metal connectors. Plugging them into my neck, connecting them to the broadcasting system. My brain was tingling with the sensation of the small pulse running through the Cyber Emerald.   
  
It seemed to whisper to me, wanting me to use the information. Wanting me to save them all.   
  
"Ready?" the Wizard, asked softly. I nodded curtly inside the metal headgear.   
  
The Wizard hit me then, my brain suddenly flashing to life. All I could see was color and light and darkness. All of it surrounding me, eating me alive. I saw DNA strands and coding. I saw chemicals and cure.   
  
It was all there in my head. It was pain, and it was life for so many.   
  
_There was too much information. _   
  
Glittering pinks and blue, strands of color and light stabbing my eyes. Strands of data linking like a glistening spider web. Compiling, forming. The cure. My teeth were digging into the plastic my tongue cleaved hard to the room of my mouth.   
  
_Too much sound._   
  
My hands gripping on the metal chair. The only link to that world. The cold harsh metal digging into my skin. One thing holding me back from Oblivion.   
  
_ Too much noise screaming through my head._   
  
Then in a flash all I know was white. White pure white like an angel's wing. Her wings surrounding me, pulling me away from all the noise and all the light. Carrying me away to a warm place, my mother's arms.   
  
  
  


**¨¨°º©o.,,.o©º°¨¨**

  
  
  
  
_ The cold wet grass on my tiny feet. Running through the meadow. The sky crystal blue matching the sea. Seeing as far as I could across the horizon, the two melting together to make one.   
  
My mother holding me, singing to me softly. Telling me stories at night, keeping the nightmares away.   
  
Mother dying,   
  
Orphanage.   
  
Other children.   
  
A little blond girl.   
  
A beautiful blond woman in my arms. Loving me, needing me.   
  
Dying.   
  
Blue liquid clouding her lung, her eyes. Her life. Our live together. Only one way out. Had to do it for her.   
  
My love.   
  
Quistis. _   
  
A shudder ran deep through my body, starting at the depth of my soul. It made me shake all over, making my teeth clatter. I could hear voices, muffled and just beyond my grasp.   
  
Someone was touching my face, running his or her fingers through my hair. My eyes opened slowly, and I blinked them against the warm white light over my head. It was a hospital light, round and glowing imbedded in the white ceiling overhead.   
  
"He's awake" someone called. Voice, I had a voice. It dawned on me like a stupid realization. One of those things that haunt you till you suddenly wake up and remember it at 3am.   
  
"Quistis" I croaked my voice sore from under use. I blinked my eyes some more trying to clear my cloudy vision. I moved my hand, my fingers twitching slightly. I brought it to my face rubbing against my eyes.   
  
When I opened my eyes she was there again looking down at me. The light behind her head illuminated her blond hair like a halo crowning her head.   
  
_I loved her. _   
  
"Seifer?" she said softly, touching my cheek. I blinked again trying to get grasp of reality. Then it hit me.   
  
I remembered.   
  
It was all there swimming around inside my head. The plastic was gone, the datajack removed from my neck. It was bandaged and still a bit sore. My head was pounding slightly, but I couldn't help but smile at her.   
  
I stared up into her crystal blue eyes. They were no longer clouded by the Azure plague. She was cured, the cure had worked. I had saved millions of lives.   
  
Her eyes entranced me. They reminded me of the ocean in my childhood memories. They reminded me of the first time I looked into them and realized I was in love.   
  
"I love you" I whispered.   
  
"Oh Seifer" she said tears springing in her beautiful blue eyes that I loved so mush. She leaned forward and kissed me, her passion for love and life sweeping me up. I touched her hair and kissed her back, the world seeming to fall in place around me.   
  
This was where I belonged. I remembered her telling me so long ago, that home was where ever we were together. So long ago when we first left SeeD. Now, I was finally at home.   
  
_Here with my love._   
  
I opened my eyes and grinned up at her happily. She was so beautiful looking down at me with those joyful tears rolling down her face. I loved her so much, and I think a part of me knew it all along.   
  
"There's no place like home," I said softly bringing her down to kiss me again.   
  
  
  
  


**¨¨°º©o.,FIN,.o©º°¨¨**

  
  
  
  
  


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I have to thank for this fic being finished it Jacks. She was my insperation for the whole thing.   
  
Much thanks to everyone else who has read this, and kept reading it for all this time.   
This will be the only AU I ever do, so I hope that you all enjoyed it. 


End file.

Final Fantasy VIII, Adventure, Sci-Fi