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Revenant	By : RaceUlfson Category: Final Fantasy VIII > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1744 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VIII, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Not mine, no money.

rev�e�nant (rv-nnt) n.
1) One that returns after a lengthy absence. 2) One who returns after death.

Chapter 2

{Squall}

In exactly 29 minutes I had stowed a few necessities in a
leather postal-style carryall and was at the Dorm entrance. Irvine was already
in position, his working hat and Exeter managing to keep him from appearing
feminine while carrying purse with tassels and fringe on it. I could guess what
was in the bag: medikit, potions, and the occasional incredibly useful item
only Irvine would think to bring. I also knew what he�d tell us was in the bag
if we asked: �The barest necessities: ammo, lube, and a blowdryer.�

Seifer joined us seconds later.
His hands were empty but he was wearing his tattered Blood Cross trenchcoat for
luck. That spoke volumes about how nervous he was.

Just as I was about to breach the
seal on the doors, Zell bounded up like his tail was ablaze, dragging a lumpy
duffle. �Whoo! Ma called from Balamb; I thought I wasn�t gunna make it on
time!�

�She okay?� Irvine asked, sounding
genuinely concerned. Zell is the only one with parents, the over aged child I
was saddled with notwithstanding, and we all take an interest in them.

�Yeah,� Zell shifted his bag to
the opposite shoulder and fluffed his spiky cowlick, shuffling his sneakers. �I
had to explain why I wasn�t coming for dinner.�

�Mission is only one word.� I pointed
out, faintly bemused.

�The pot roast was already in the
oven, Baby.� Zell punched me lightly on the upper arm. �Next time, you can tell her.�

I rolled my eyes and passed
through the blast doors, which had blockaded the area for as far back as my memory
reached. The stairwell leading to the lower dorms was newly renovated; I could
smell the chemical tang of fresh paint. Behind me, Irvine asked if we�d be
staying the night.

�Xu is convinced the local time is
a factor, so I�d like to stay until after midnight.� Pointing out how surreal
our shadows looked lurching down the treads with us would not help Seifer�s
tension, so I kept that observation to myself.

Irvine sighed miserably. �I was so
hoping we weren�t. There goes my date. Hope one of you is planning to pick up
the slack.�

I made no promises but Zell did a
little shimmy for him, shaking his ass suggestively. Not that you could see
much through the baggy t-boarder pants.

Seifer forced himself to speak,
talking like it pained him. �Status on the kid?�

�No change.� I shook my head, our descent down the stairs
continuing, the shadows congealing oddly in corners. �His parents will arrive
in 2 days. I�d like to have concrete information by then.�

Irvine scoffed, �Any explanation has to be better than Xu�s
�Tales from the Crypt�.�

It was weird down below. It looked
new and unused but smelled old and musty. I gestured to the left. �The stairway
down to Level 3 is there.�

Irvine paused melodramatically,
one hand to his heart, the other to his forehead. �Whatever happens, promise you won�t bury me in Galbadia.�

�Not until you�re dead, at least,�
I agreed, earning a snort of amusement from Seifer.

�Thanks,� Irvine grinned, �I like
the beaches here.�

�You�d haunt the women�s locker
room anyway, Irv,� Zell said. �Kinda like you do now.� He easily dodged
the friendly cuff.

�Ew,� Seifer said, �For eternity?�

�What do I care,�
Irvine shrugged, �I�m dead, right?�

�Go with the secret smoochie spot
in the Training Center,� Seifer advised, as if haunting the school was an
option and location a vital consideration. �Caught two of the girls going at it
hammer and tongs the other day.�

I paused at the heavy doors and
keyed open a switch pad. It swung open reluctantly, with a puff of dust. I
entered the password and lights flickered around the door�s edges. Slowly, with
a grinding and scraping noise, the heavy metal doors parted, only to freeze in
their tracks.

Zell, who had been pointing out
the horrors of an eternity of watching and not getting to participate, let his
voice trail off when the noise started. He managed a huff when the doors
seized, leaving a narrow gap Seifer could not possibly fit through.

I slipped inside as soon as there
was room, Irvine on my heels. He looked around and wrinkled his nose at the
sweetish dead mouse in the walls scent permeating the area. �Well, damn, all my
happy horny thoughts just faded away.�

Behind us, Zell was checking the
doors to see what impeded them. I heard the �bookabooka� of graphite
being applied, and then he and Seifer forced the doors to their fully open
stand by position.

I coughed, the stale air was heavy
in my lungs; I didn�t like it.

Seifer took a ragged breath and sneezed. �Boy howdy, we�re gunna
have a pajama party, kids.�

�All the Ocean Breeze air
freshener in the Balamb Stop�n�Shop is not going to help this.� Zell gagged,
his tone strained from trying not to breathe through his nose.

Grateful for the distraction,
Irvine said, �You think those people ever smelled an ocean? I could just quit cleaning
my aquarium if I liked that aroma.�

I flexed my hands and was reassured by the creak and
resistance of my leather gloves. Summoning command where I felt none, I said,
�Secure the area. Get the lights on. Let�s see what we have here.�

Zell dropped his overstuffed bag
at the door and took point. I partnered Irvine, letting Seifer hang back closer
to the doors, covering the rear. Locating the light switches wasn�t an issue:
all the Gardens are standardized. The lights struggled on, buzzing faintly, gradually
filling the area with a sickly greenish yellow light; typical of aging
fluorescents.

�Ah, that lovely corpselight,
gotta love it,� Seifer said.

�I brought candles,� Irvine
offered. �Just in case.�

�Just in case you are gripped with
an uncontrollable urge to have a formal dinner party?� Zell snickered.

I led them to the room in
question, at the end of the first hall. It was perceptibly colder there; our
breaths made frosty puffs in the stagnant chill. Instinctively, we pulled
close, into a tighter formation. I looked around the room, measuring it against
the features of my own. �No windows, were they blocked out?�

�Don�t know that they ever had
them,� Seifer said. �This used to be below ground level.�

I drew Lionheart and nodded to
Zell, who was hovering near the door to the bathroom, his usual bounce stifled
to an insistent jitter. He set his chin and reached for the lights. I told
myself he was the logical one to do it, no weapon to hold, but when Seifer
reached out, a glowing swirl of a spell forming in his hand, it was more
comforting than I care to admit.

The lights did not work.

Irvine shifted and gumbled, �I
have a really bad feeling about this��

�Musta burnt out,� Zell�s shrug
was hopeful, a whistle in the darkness.

Seifer�s palm burst into flames as
the spell coalesced and he stepped in behind Zell. �Outta the way, Chickie.�

�I always knew you were a flamer,�
Zell snapped. Nothing gets under his skin faster than that nickname.

�Not when I�m holding back a Fira,
Chicken.� Seifer growled gently and raised his arm to spread the light.

�Zell, cover him. Irvine, cast
Scan.� Gunblade in hand, I had their backs in the doorway.

�I�m half afraid to look,� Irvine
said, but he readied the spell.

Zell pulled up Thundaga, making a
fist and glaring defiantly at Seifer even as he covered him. �I am not
chicken!�

�You�re sure as fuck not beef,� Seifer countered reasonably.
�When you come up past my nipples, we�ll talk. And tall hair doesn�t count.� In
the flickering red light of Seifer�s spell, we all saw�

�a very clean empty bathroom with two extremely dead hanging
plants frizzled in the corner.

�Scan what?� Irvine laughed with
relief. �I can tell you right now that Dollet Fern is history.�

Zell changed the subject abruptly.
�Was it this cold before?�

�I don�t think so.� Irvine tugged
his coat tighter around himself. �My nipples are getting hard, and not in that
happy, life-affirming way.�

My breath was frosting in the fur
trim of my collar. �Don�t look at me, I was ready to Draw.�

Seifer said indulgently, �Only
Squall meets every unknown monster with Draw.�

�Hey! The water in the toilet is
skimming with ice,� Zell said wonderingly.

Seifer scowled and looked around.
�It wasn�t this bad before, what the fuck changed?�

�Before what?� Irvine sounded
confused. �We�re here, can that be it?�

�Before,� Seifer clarified, �When
I was a kid.�

I rested my hand against the solid
assurance of Lionheart�s hilt. �I�m seeing nothing but malfunctioning climate
control,� I told them. �Zell, you and Irvine go check the breakers. Seifer,
let�s check the bedroom again.�

�You�re just trying to get me in
the sack, aren�t you?�

I rolled my eyes at his leer and
let Seifer follow me into the bedroom.
.
.
.
.
.
{Zell}

Irvine stepped back and let me go
ahead. I�m never sure if it�s in deference to my rank � G-Garden is a lot more
traditional military than Balamb � or if it�s so he can check out my butt. I
guess it could just be a habit due to the fact that Irv�s weapon uses distant
attacks, but I admit I like the checking out theory best. I put some extra
bounce and wiggle in my walk, just for him.

So I was a mite conflicted when he
said out of the blue, �It�s a sad state of affairs when I�d rather be working
with you than hanging out in a bedroom with Squall.� Irvine chuckled. Then he
reconsidered how that sounded, I guess, because he blushed. �Ah�No offense intended.�

I laughed and shrugged. �Warmer
out here, anyway.� We walked to the mechanical alcove and the breaker box. If
we were a little closer together than strictly necessary, well, no Seifer was
around to make wise assed comments.

�I figure, when a guy is looking
at circuit breakers, he�s just guessing, anyway.� Irvine huddled into his coat.
�Same with peering under a car hood.�

�You mean you never did the Knight
in Shiny Armor car rescue bit? You know, the Damsel in Distress stands by the
road looking helpless while smoke or some other fluid roils out, and you amble
up and casually offer to take a peek under the hood?� I shook my head. �Then the
grateful gal buys you dinner and there you are!�

Irvine tipped his head, thinking.
Some of his hair fell in his eyes and he peeked at me around it. �Isn�t that
how we ended up in bed together the first time?�

I grinned at him. �You said you
were too broke to buy me dinner.�

Irvine leaned against the wall, not quite managing his
usual laid-back poise. �Damn rental cars cost a fortune. Are you sure you
aren�t going to get electrocuted there?�

�Hey, I know what I�m
doing. Not my fault you flirted your way through the mechanical classes.� I
reached to unlock the popup access ring on the cover�

� and the lights went out in the
halls.

�Dincht!� Seifer roared from the
Haunted Bedroom.

�It wasn�t me!� I yelled back. Why
is it Seifer always thinks everything is my fault?

�You hit the wrong switch?� Irvine
put in.

�No,� I growled. �I haven�t
touched jack shit yet.�

�Then what-� he yelped as the
doors we came through shut with barely a whoosh, cutting off the light seeping
down from the upper levels. �Okay, fine! That�s a hint, you know. We�ve
just officially worn out our welcome. Next comes the crazy guy in the weird
mask,� Irvine continued darkly, �and you know he always takes the slut out
first.�

�Like the jocks fare any better?�
I pulled a mini-torch from my pocket and examined the breaker box, shaking my
head. �Looks like nothing has been touched in ten years.� Methodically, I went
through the breakers sequence, flipping each one off and after counting 30
seconds, back on. �Fucknoodle.�

Irvine watched, huddled close to
my body heat and I think the light. �It�s not working, is it?�

I shook my head. �I wonder if it�s
so cold because the power is messed up, or if the power is messed up because
it�s so cold.�

�Dunno, but Shiva�s ass sounds
pretty warm and inviting compared to this place right now.� Suddenly, Irvine
found a happy thought. � You know,� he drawled slyly. �if it stays cold like
this� we�re gunna need to get some real
body heat going.�

I grinned at him. �I thought all
your happy hentai thoughts had faded away?�

�They came back,� Irvine said
smugly. �Must have been the bad lighting that ran them off.�
.
.
.
.
.
{Squall}

�Dincht!� Seifer roared.

Startled from an empty search of a
faintly dusty dresser, I blinked when the dimness flattened to near pitch
black. �Wrong switch?� I guessed.

�Hold me,� Seifer said. I�m not sure he was kidding.

�I didn�t do it!� Zell shouted
from the corridor.

I could still see; Seifer was
still holding the Fira spell. He grinned at me and whispered conspiratorially,
�I knew that was gunna happen.�.

I looked around the room. Other
than rimes of ice, I couldn�t find anything out of the ordinary. �All I see are
simple malfunctions.�

�Try taking your hand off your
gunblade, then.� Seifer said. �There�s nothing in here for us to kill but each
other� and it wants that.�

�Is that why you didn�t drop the
spell? You thought I�d attack you?� I slid Lionhart back into the junction
sheath and looked up at Seifer.

He pulled a face. �No, Dipshit,
I�m cold and the lights were out.�

Any comment I could have made to
that was interrupted when Zell shrieked from the hall.

I charged out the door, yelling,
�Status!�

�They�re heeerrrrrreeeee,� Seifer
said cheerfully. Asshole.

�It wasn�t me!� Irvine called
back.

Zell was leaning against the wall,
trying to get his breathing and heart rate back under control. He had dropped
his light and it was rolling along the floor, casting freaky shadows along the
walls.

�What are we screaming about?�
Irvine whispered frantically. �Should I scream, too?�

�Hope someone has a credit card
and spare pair of shorts for the Chicken,� Seifer remarked breezily, ambling
along behind me.

�Seifer, quick fucking around and
bring the Hynebedamned light.� I joined them and said, �Zell, Irvine! Status?�

��sorry, Baby.� Zell�s expression
of embarrassment was one of the most reassuring things I�d seen all night.

Irvine turned Zell into the red
light of Seifer�s spell and tried to check him over. �Let�s make sure you
haven�t joined the ranks of the Undead, Darlin�.�

Zell was still spooked and jumpy.
�I cast a �Scan� on the breaker box for giggles. I got� I saw�� His voiced
peaked and cracked sharply upwards in sheer terror, �It was a bloody screaming
face. It lunged at me!�

�Are you hurt?� I asked, concerned.
Seifer�s �chicken� is based on Zell�s hair, not his bravery, after all. What
could have upset him so badly? �Irvine, did you see it, too? Did you get a
reading on it?�

�He looks ok,� Irvine said, and
stretched to retrieve the light, clicking it off automatically before handing
it back to Zell. We were left in the flickering red aura of Seifer�s Fira. �I
looked away for just a sec, then saw Zell tryin to climb the wall. That�s about
it.�

�Welcome to the Twilight Zone,
Chickenwuss,� Seifer said grimly. Zell was still so rattled he didn�t even
react to the nickname.

I reconnoitered, then pointed back
to the stairwell. "Seifer, shine your light that way." The spell
affect radius expanded, and Seifer turned slightly, angling his palm in the
direction I indicated. �Did you trip the breaker for the blast doors? The
stairway is closed off again.�

�That happened before we got to the box,� Irvine said. �Just after the lights
went out.�

�Even so�,� Zell mused. �The
power-cycle should have reactivated them.� He held up his flashlight,
absently checking to see if it still worked although we�d all seen
Irvine just switch it off. Zell shook the minitorch, then clicked it on, the
beam unintentionally under his chin: the Lighting of Extreme Evil. I flinched
slightly. I can never tell Zell how much like Adel he looked.

�Well, that was sharp as an altar
candle, Chickie,� Seifer frowned

I elbowed Seifer. �Can you get the
power back up?�

Zell cast the beam in a more
sensible direction and shook his head slowly, puzzled. �Whatever the problem
is, it's either not...electrical, or not here.� He hesitated, chewing
his lip, before asking, �What was up with that freaky face?�

Irvine shrugged. �I�m just glad I
went pee before I left my room.�

�I don't know, Zell, you are the
only one who saw it.� That didn�t sound as consoling as I�d hoped.

Helpfully, Seifer said, �Probably
one of the dead guys trapped in the fucking walls.�

I gave him a look possibly as cold as the ice bound toilet. "They couldn't
leave a whole body in the walls, it's unsanitary."

Irvine chuckled at that. �I'm sure they got that memo.�

�Then what's that fucking smell,
Puberty Boy?� If he wasn�t holding that Fira, I know Seifer would have smugly
folded his arms across his chest.

�Your upper lip?� Zell said, but
quietly.

�Maybe, it�s like� a memory?�
Irvine guessed.

I shrugged, irritated by the whole
scenario and its pretensions of supernatural menace. �Mouse. Malfunction. Old
socks."

�Is that one of those groovy
beatnik poems?� Irvine looked around, watching the slow arc of Zell�s powerful
little flashlight beam as it searched along the planes and gaps of the corridor
walls.

�There�s nothing in that room.� I
collected myself, reasserting command of the situation. �Let�s search the
others. Start here and work our way back to the stairs. Seifer, you and Irvine
go left, Zell and I will take the rooms on the- �

Irvine gasped suddenly, grabbing
Zell�s arm. �Shine your light back over there!� Zell obeyed, sweeping the beam
in slow retreat, but there was only the wall, like every other in Garden, but
looking strangely pristine, lacking the normal scuffs and scratches from the
student population.

�What was it?� Zell asked.

Irvine shook his head. �Nothing.�
He edged closer to Seifer.
.
.
.
.
.

{Seifer}

Squall caught my eye and I shut my
mouth on the smart remark that was forming. That cost me some, but I�d get even
later. Instead, I put my arm around
Irvine, guiding him toward a dorm entrance. The Fira in my hand cast a rosy
glow, making it seem almost cozy. I asked, �See something, Cowboy?�

�Some blood� scratches� bloody
handprints and I think a face print. My imagination working over time.� Irvine
tightened his hold on my sleeve and closes his eyes like he could erase the
memory. I let him cuddle, not like I�d complain about that, even on a
good day, which this was turning out not to be fast.

I surveyed the room; to my
knowledge it had never been used. I knew we were wasting time searching and I
knew Squall knew it, too. On the other hand, Our Fearless Leader wanted to hang
around until the witching hour, and there wasn�t a lot to do in the dark in a
barren dorm room.

Okay, I was with Irvine, and there
was a hellova lot we could be doing. But it would be tricky holding the Fira.

Since I had the light, Irvine
�searched� by poking about in a 3-foot radius of me. He quit as soon as he
realized I wasn�t going to get in his shit over not checking in each drawer and
shower stall.

�I� guess the death of the SeeD�s
made quite an impression?� Irvine asked, too casually.

I snorted. �I was 10 years old. I
got assigned to help wash the walls.�

Irvine stared at me, his pansy
colored eyes wide with shock. �You cleaned�� his gaze cut past me, out into the
hall where he�d seen the blood I remembered so well.

�Shit, you think they had the
upperclassmen do it? And they sure as fuck didn�t want off base help in here.�
I tried not to think about Cid�s nervous smile, assuring me that Matron needed
her Knight�s assistance on this, that it had to be Our Little Secret. �Big
scandal like that would have ruined the Garden.� I shrugged, much as I had
then. Dead is dead, blood is blood and pocket change is a very good thing to
have plenty of. I wasn�t Cid�s Knight. It was a job, and it wasn�t too
bad until� �When I saw the bodies,� I felt the quaver start and forced my voice
to stay calm and unaffected, �One of
them looked up and grinned at me and said 'you'll be with us'.�

�Fuck,� Irvine breathed, and for
once it wasn�t a request.

�So, I�m a tad hateful about this
whole scene.�

�How can you be so calm about it,
if you were here?� Irvine snuggled to me, offering the comfort of his presence.
And getting closer to the light.

I debated telling him the truth,
that I wasn�t handling it too well, and the incessant whispers of it mocking me
and coaxing me to feed it the blood it craved were starting to carve big chunks
out of my will. I shrugged. �I shit before I came, so I wouldn�t brown trou.�
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Revenant