"Dammit Irvine! Don't heal me!" he yelled out angrily.

"What the hell does he think he's doing?" asked Zell. It was insane. Seifer had ordered them to stay in the back row while he had equipped his cover ability. It was hard to watch the trouncing. No one should have to face a GF alone, but it seemed that that was what Seifer had in mind. Zell was no good in the back row, he needed to be close to Ramuh to do any damage to him. "Ramuh's going to kill him!"

Irvine shrugged, keeping his outward appearance unconcerned. Inside though his thoughts were as chaotic as Zell's. It was as if the two of them were just there for the show. Seifer wasn't letting them help him. It took a lot to make Irvine mad but this was really starting to get to him. Seifer was just so damned egotistical. Only he would think of battling a GF by himself.

'Just a little bit more' thought Seifer. His body felt weakened by the magical attacks. He could feel his limit about to break. The pains in his stomach and head nauseated him. It would be worth it once he broke Ramuh. Luckily Irvine had cast a low level healing spell that hadn't recovered much of his health.

His gunblade felt heavy in his arm, as he slid to Ramuh's right side. His shoulders were low and he kept his eyes focused on Ramuh's staff-equipped arm. His left side was more alert than the side with his weapon. It was instinctively prepared to defend. Unfortunately, as his brain registered seconds too late, his arm was no shield to an electrical shock. As his weapon stabbed out at it's goal, his left hand was meeting the pure force of lightning.

Zell and Irvine were momentarily blinded by the flash in front of them. Then, a figure dropped down from the light. It had been a foolish move for Seifer to have been doing, but they hadn't realized it could be a fatal one. Irvine was the first one to reach Seifer's scarred body. He dropped to his knees and hooked his arms up to the elbows with Seifer's. As quickly as he could, he dragged the six foot tall body away from Ramuh. Zell jumped in to where Seifer had stood and summoned a GF of his own.

In the back row, Irvine leaned over Seifer's motionless body. He rested his head on Seifer's chest, his hat crumpling between his ear and his goal. Irvine angrily tossed his damned hat off. Why did he wear it in battles anyway? His hands tore open Seifer's vest, revealing another layer of clothes. Was Seifer that insecure?

Once Seifer's undershirt was lifted above his heart, Irvine pressed his ear against the bare muscular chest. His hand rested on Seifer's stomach as he cast a scan while listening for a heartbeat. Both were discouraging. He didn't hear or feel anything in Seifer's chest. The scan proclaimed him dead...

Shit. "ZELL! He's..." He couldn't bring himself to say it. Or think it. He just needed to calm down and think. When he looked up at Zell, Irvine saw a bright light as Ramuh was defeated by a final blow from Shiva. In seconds, Zell appeared instead of the shapely GF.

"You have beaten me. I will join you," a loud voice boomed from the flickering image of Ramuh. Zell felt a surge of power invade his body. It was the last time that Ramuh would feel like a stranger to him. It was always a thrill to gain a new GF, but his concern for Seifer remained on top of his emotions. He heard Irvine's voice calling to him. He focused on the world again.

Zell skid to his knees in front of Seifer. His shirt had been pulled above his chest and stomach, though they were covered by Irvine's large hands. It would have looked suspicious if Seifer didn't look like death. His body covered in tiny discolorations and burn marks. Irvine's eyes were large and afraid. He wasn't good under pressure.

"Stand back," commanded Zell. As soon as Irvine lifted his hands from the body, Zell took hold of a phoenix down. He had never had to use one. He hoped it was the last time. "Okay Seifer, come back to us, you jerk."

Tiny sparkles flew in the air as Zell released them from the bottle. They swarmed around Seifer's ruined body, over his sharply angled eyebrows and across his forehead scar. By the time it reached his chest, there was a definite movement to it. Seifer was breathing again. Zell and Irvine could have cried with relief.

"Dammit!" sighed Zell, letting himself drain the tension. That had been close. The sparkles were fading now. Seifer still hadn't woken up. Maybe it would take some time. "Maybe we should get him into the car..."

Irvine stared down at poor Seifer. He wasn't sure how long phoenix downs took. But, the thought of carrying Seifer even between the two of them seemed like an unpleasant task. He looked up at Zell to see how he was feeling. The short blonde was rubbing behind his neck. Irvine had almost forgotten that Zell had had to fight Ramuh as well. He stuck out his hand towards Zell and cast a cura on him. Even as the air was still aswirl, he also cast cura upon Seifer. After all, he hadn't moved yet.

Zell's blue eyes looked gratefully at him. "Thanks."

Irvine shrugged, taking another look at Seifer. "He has GOT to be heavy." Seifer was built incredibly manly. He was over six feet tall with broad shoulders and combat trained muscles. Not exactly light luggage. If Zell, who was a good foot shorter than Seifer, was willing to try, Irvine would.

Seifer was heavy as it turned out. The rental car seemed a lot further away than it had when they had parked it. The real struggle was getting him into the car without tossing him in like a sack of potatoes. A 200 pound sack of potatoes. Irvine seemed relatively calm until he began to drive. He drove as fast as the car could go without exploding all the way back to the garden. Luckily, Balamb wasn't that far.

Zell called ahead, so when Irvine drove in to the Balamb Garden Garage, there was already a team of nurses ready to haul Seifer off. Zell slammed the car door behind him, bouncing around to stay in the center of the action. Wherever they took Seifer, he felt responsible to follow. A nurse warned him to stay back as they loaded the unconscious man onto a stretcher. Zell felt ready to burst with worry.

Irvine wasn't making a spectacle of himself. But his heart hurt thinking of what could happen to Seifer. He hadn't moved since the phoenix down. Was it possible that he could die anyway? It would be all his fault for letting Seifer be a pompous ass. Irvine was smarter than to have let him just take on Ramuh unaided. He should have said something, shown a spine.

With heavy hearts, Zell and Irvine followed the medical procession.