I know this isn't Lily's Secret or Across the Universe. But I really wanted to be able to say i finished a story for once. I got started on this story and I knew I couldn't stop. If you haven't played Final Fantasy VIII I 100% recommend it. It is one of the best games in the series (even though there are a bunch of plot twists that I could talk endlessly about. Also, there aren't nearly enough Squall as a Sorcerer stories.
When she fell, she didn't scream like Squall expected her too. She fell silently and with a smile, and looking back now, was completely understandable. Her wings disappeared as her magic faltered and vanished. All was still for a small moment although it seemed to feel like a lifetime. Quistis, Zell, Selphie… everyone stood by his side. Everyone from the orphanage was there. He could almost count Seifer if he pretended hard enough. But he was lying unconscious on the stone floor.
How had everything gone to hell so fast? They should have all stayed together and remembered each other. But now, their matron was a murderous sorcerous and one of their "Orphanage gang" as Selphie liked to call them was probably going to be sentenced to death if he didn't die within the next hour anyway. Maybe, if they never Junctioned the GF's, then none of this would have happened. They would have remembered each other and the little family that they made together and everything would have been alright. Instead, they all left. One by one they all got adopted and left him behind. Only to be sent off to Garden when he got old enough.
When this was all over, would everything go back to the way it was before? Would they all go their separate ways as they slowly forgot about one another again? Squall didn't know if he could take that again. He tried to hide it, but he was secretly happy that he had something resembling a family again after so long. His long silences followed by an emotionless "whatever" had been his only defense against the highly possible reality that they would all leave him again.
Time seemed to catch back up to him the moment Edea hit the floor. A blinding white light filled the room and he felt as if someone was crushing his skull. Something was forcing its way into his head, and he was sure he would be screaming if he could. The pain didn't stop but he did open his eyes and found that everyone else had been blinded by the light. They however, didn't seem to be in any pain.
"This is unexpected," A cold and feminine voice sounded in his head. The voice didn't answer, and without his permission, his body moved on its own towards the still body of Seifer. He was forced down to his knees next to his body and cradled Seifer's head in his hands. The blonde's eyes opened slowly and looked at him in surprise.
"It seems you may get what you wanted after all my knight," he was forced to say. Seifer's look of confusion quickly turned into horror as he processed what Squall said.
"What's going on?" Squall thought desperately. "Who are you? Get out of my head!" Cold laugher was his only answer.
He felt his lips give a cruel smirk at Seifer and say "Your sorceress lives Seifer, find the Lunatic Pandora and begin the Lunar Cry." Squall watched Seifer's face closely. Was that anger he was seeing or was it fear?
"Yes, my Sorceress," Seifer answered. Slowly, he stood up out of Squalls grasp and walked out of the room. As soon as he left, the light faded and the pain in Squall's head increased until he fell to the floor unconscious.
He dreamed of the past. They were all together minus Rinoa of course. Little Selphie was playing princess with an all too willing Irvine, Seifer played keep away with Zell's favorite stuffed Chocobo, and Squall was listening intently to a story that Sis was telling. They were all so innocent and happy. Everything was as it should be, his whole family was together.
Then one by one, they all ended up leaving him. First it was Sis, he woke up one morning and she was just gone. Matron nor Uncle Cid would give him any real answers. He spent days looking for her even going as far as the forest but Matron put a stop to that quickly. So he had to stand at the entrance and wait for her there no matter what time of day or weather.
Next it was Quistis. She went to a well off family looking for a bright young child to carry on their legacy and Quistis was perfect for them. He saw that her eyes were so bright and hopeful for her new family. He never found out why she left them to come to Garden.
Selphie left not two days later. Her bright and cheery attitude was bound to attract attention at some point. She was full of teary smiles for each of her foster siblings, and promises to write to each of them once she learned how.
Irvine was picked by a man high up in the government. Irvine was scared of his new parents, but not enough to say no to them. He left the orphanage looking over his shoulder, unsure if what was happening was a good thing or not.
Zell was all too happy to leave with his new mom. He couldn't wait to get away from Seifer's constant bullying. She gushed over him from the second she laid eyes on him and they were inseparable ever since. It was almost like his birth mother had returned for him after so many years.
Squall felt his chest tighten as he watched them leave his younger self. By then, he had sworn off any type of future relationship in his life. He didn't want love or friendship in his life. Look where that got him? If he didn't have any friends, then when people left, he wouldn't have to feel this way ever again.
But he wasn't truly alone. Seifer was still there, he was the only one besides him who never got adopted. Once he realized that Squall wasn't interested in playing anymore, he antagonized him until he got a response. Whether that ended up in fighting or a dare. They even left for Garden at the same time.
Even as they lost their memories to the GF's, Seifer still did not leave him. Always standing by his side or training with him. It seemed it was impossible for him to truly be alone, even if he felt that he was.
The next time he awoke, he still did not have control over his body. He was resting in a glass room that looked out to the stars. At first, he had been shocked at the sight. It was one of the most breath taking views he had ever seen. Next, he noticed he still did not have control over his body as once again it moved without his permission.
He raised out of the bed and out the door that opened on its own. His head was still ringing, and it felt like it would split in two at any moment. As he walked he could see people trying to stop him, but the second they came in contact with him, they were thrown away. Selphie came running up too him, even after she saw the others thrown away from him. As if it wouldn't affect her like the rest of them, she tried to stop him too. Her body was like a doll as it was thrown against the wall.
He walked ever so slowly into a large control room. Irvine was there, as well as Ellone. They both looked at him horrified. Trying to speak was useless. Calling out for help was pointless. They couldn't stop him and he couldn't have asked anyway.
"Someone stop him!" a voice shouted. Selphie answered the call and tried, once again, to lay her hands on him but was thrown back against the controls for her efforts.
They could only stare as he walked out of the room. No one followed him, there was something more interesting happening that they were shouting about. "What could possibly be more important right now?" he thought furiously. "I can't move. I don't even know what I'm doing."
It wasn't until he was in a spacesuit and floating in front of the Sorceress Adel that he understood what was happening. "Stop me, kill me, don't let her out." He begged. The only person that answered him was a cold laughter in his head.
He was forced to press a few buttons, and the pressure of Adel's Tomb was released. It wasn't even a minute later that he saw her open her blood red eyes and stare at him with a maniacal grin. It sent a chill down his spine that made him want to run away back to the orphanage and hide under his bed. This was the woman who caused the first Sorceress War? He could see why people were so scared of her.
Monsters and blood flowed from the moon. It engulfed Adel's Tomb and sent him flying into nothingness. He was spinning out of control with no hope of rescue. His heart started beating faster and faster. The space station exploded but not before he saw a few escape pods leaving the destruction behind them. His eyes closed then. He was too far away for them to rescue him, and he knew it. Exhaustion took over him and the ringing in his head seemed to disappear.
As he floated farther and farther away, the fear stared taking over. "I am going to die out here," he thought sadly. "I wanted to be alone for so long… and now I got it. I am more alone now that anyone one on that planet will probably be in their entire lives." He observed the stars twinkling around him. "Still… this isn't so bad. At least I have a nice view." Squall closed his eyes.
Oxygen at twenty percent
"Maybe if I sleep, it won't be so bad," he was so tired anyway. There was no point in fighting…
Oxygen at ten percent
Would anyone miss him? Probably not. He didn't want to end up as just a memory but it seems like after everything he had done, after shutting everyone out for so long, he wouldn't even get that.
Oxygen at five percent
He was so tired…
Oxygen at zero percent
Goodbye…
"SQUALL!" A familiar voice screamed in his head. "SQUALL, DON'T GIVE UP!"
His eyes opened slowly. He could see the whole world from where he was floating in space. All the chaos, all the misery…
"Don't think like that! Come on you have to keep fighting!" the voice said a little softer.
"I don't want to keep fighting." He argued. "I just want to sleep."
"NO! KEEP FIGHTING! I'M ALMOST THERE!"
Squall was curious and looked around too spot anyone near him. "I can't see you. Where are you?"
"I'm coming to find you. You won't have to be alone, I promise. I'll take you back home." It said desperately. "But, please you have to stay awake!"
Squall pressed a button on his suit, and was able to take a deep breath. As oxygen filled his starving lungs again, some energy returned to him. "I can move," he noticed.
The voice didn't respond. He was alone again and everything was silent except the sound of his breathing.
One minute until oxygen depletion
He waited and floated. He wanted to give up and rest. But the voice in his head said that it was coming to find him. Maybe it was a hallucination?
Arms wrapped around him and he stopped spinning. He tried to turn around to see just who it was who was trying to rescue him, but he was stopped. The stranger moved him around and he was able to see what looked like a large red dragon off in the distance. One of the hands that was holding him pointed to it as if to say "Let's go there." With no other options the two maneuvered their way to the ship and with a little trial and error, they both found their way inside.
The door closed above them and they both tried to make their way down to the floor. It was difficult, seeing as there was no gravity to hold them down. The Stranger looked over a console by the door, and pushed a few buttons. A few seconds later, Squall could feel gravity returning and his weight fall to the floor.
"You look pathetic," The stranger commented through his head set, the static making his voice unrecognizable.
"Yeah, well you get blasted off into space and see how you feel afterwards." Squall bit back.
The stranger laughed. "Well at least you are back to normal now."
Squall took off his helmet and set it on the floor next to him.
"Well…" he rubbed his neck. "for the most part anyway."
Squall started getting out of his spacesuit but stopped when he noticed the stranger wasn't doing the same. "What's wrong," he asked.
The stranger sighed and reached up to take off his helmet. "Okay…just… don't freak out just yet. I'll explain." The helmet hissed when it released its attachment to the suit. Seifer looked as though he went through the same hell that Squall did, maybe even worse. He was displaying a proud black eye, and looked as though he hadn't slept in weeks.
"YOU!" Squall yelled and stood up and made to hit him. "What the hell?!" Even if he remembered him as a child, this was still the man who tortured him and attacked his home.
Seifer raised his hands in defense. "I told you I would explain! At least let me talk before you hit me! Quistis didn't even give me a chance!"
"Then you better talk fast," Squall threatened.
Seifer nodded and began taking off his spacesuit as though Squall didn't just threaten to kill him. "Can we wait until we are out of danger first? I mean I can tell you now but it is a rather long story. I don't want to run out of whatever little oxygen this place has just yet."
Weighing his options, Squall nodded in agreement. Better to get out of immediate danger first than hear whatever story Seifer came up with. "Fine," Squall reluctantly agreed silently planning on keeping his guard up around him. "But as soon as we get out of here…"
"Yeah, yeah." Seifer retorted.
The two boys were soon dressed in their regular clothes. Squall warily kept an eye on his rival as they made their way into a large room. A loud growling noise altered both of them to the large creature on the floor below.
"What the hell is that?!" Seifer whispered to Squall.
"I don't know. I've never seen anything like that before." Squall replied calmly. "It's probably hostile, but we need to get around it to find a way to the main control room."
"Leave it to me," Seifer offered. "I'll get us out of here in no time."
"You? What are you going to do?" Squall scoffed.
"Hey, I may not be The Commander of the Garden, but I am still capable of handling unknown situations." Seifer stated proudly.
"Uh huh," Squall rolled his eyes.
They made their way across the hall and through a large set of doors. Standing right in front of them, was a large green monster. As soon as it spotted them, it charged in for an attack. By the time Squall instinctually reached for his sword and realized it wasn't with him, Seifer had already taken down the large creature.
"See. Easy." Seifer smiled at him. "Don't worry princess, I'll take care of you."
"You'll take care of me?" Squall said deadpanned. "You? I think I'll be fine thanks. I still have para-magic, and I'm pretty sure that my magic is stronger than yours."
Seifer face turned pale. "No, don't worry about it. Your still exhausted, and these things aren't difficult anyway."
Squall turned to him. "This isn't some training exercise. You can have help out here."
Seifer's back turned to him and he said firmly. "I can handle it."
Not feeling up to arguing at the current moment, Squall mumbled a quiet "whatever" and followed Seifer up to a platform. As soon as they stood on it, a bodiless voice announced "Warning. Monsters roaming the ship. Lift to the cockpit is disabled until all dangers have been eliminated."
"Well that is unfortunate. I guess that means that I can just keep playing hero then huh?" Seifer smirked.
"Whatever. Just don't get yourself killed." Squall shook his head.
They made their way into the next room where again, a large yellow creature came and attacked them. Just like before, Seifer was quick on his feet and sliced through it before it could land a hit on either one of them.
"What room is this?" Squall thought.
Seifer went over to a computer and instantly started pressing buttons. Squall was almost certain that he didn't know what he was doing until another bodiless voice spoke. This time it explained what the creatures on the ship were and how to defeat them.
"That's not so bad," Seifer commented. "At least we know now. I could have been fighting them forever and we would have ended up nowhere."
"Should we split up? We could defeat them faster that way." Squall offered.
"NO!" Seifer said a little too quickly. "No that's too dangerous. We need to stick together."
"I don't know if you've noticed but I have fought creatures twice this size and ten times as strong." Squall said annoyed and started walking out the door.
"Well then I guess I'll just have to follow you." Seifer declared and true to his word, followed behind Squall out the door.
"Seifer I don't think-" The green creature that had originally attacked them, had already revived and was headed straight for Squall. In return, Squall raised his hand and was about to cast a spell, but Seifer had already beaten him to hit. The creature burst into flames and was sliced in half in seconds.
"You're going to wear yourself out before you kill all of them." Squall sighed at Seifer's antics.
"I'll take that as a challenge." Seifer grinned.
Squall sighed knowing he was fighting a losing battle, and reluctantly let Seifer lead the way to their next monstrous victim. Even during school, once Seifer made up his mind on something, there was no standing in his way until he got what he wanted.
True to his word, Seifer fought every creature on his own. When he finally broke a sweat or staggered in a step, Squall kept his mouth shut, knowing that it would lead to another useless argument. He knew that Seifer was far more tired than he let on. After all, chasing him into space, and fighting off monsters wasn't exactly a walk in the park.
It wasn't until he was fighting the second to last creature that Squall became worried. The yellow beast had thrown him across the room and into the wall before he could doge the attack. Quickly, Squall cast a demi at the monster and was horrified with what he saw. It was far more powerful that any he had ever cast before. The spell ripped into the creature and killing it instantly.
He could also feel something inside of him. He wouldn't call it alive, but it seemed to almost be purring. It was very pleased that he had cast a spell and was eager for him to do it again. He turned to Seifer who was kneeling on the floor in pain and cast a Curaga at him. The feeling increased and he smiled. He wanted to do it again, and again, and again…
"Snap out of it!" Seifer snapped.
"What?" Squall came out of his daze and found Seifer standing in front of him looking irritated.
"I thought I told you I would handle it." He growled at him.
"You're right, I'm sorry Seifer. Next time, I will let the next monster eat you and not bother saving your ass." Squall argued back at him.
"Good," Seifer huffed, and stormed off to head towards the last monster on the ship.
Thanks to Squalls healing, Seifer was once again easily able to destroy the creature. They made their way to the cockpit and Seifer looked around for a clue as to how to drive the ship. Squall however, was having a problem. He could still feel his fingers tingling from the last spell he used. The magic inside him seemed to be whispering to him, more, more, cast more.
As if under a spell himself, the tips of his fingers grew cold. Snowflakes appeared above his hand and slowly fell down to touch his leather glove. The intoxicating feeling returned and it wasn't enough. He needed to cast more magic. The entire room started getting colder and colder until a strong force slammed into him and pinned him to the ground.
"Are you crazy!? You are going to get us killed!" Seifer screamed at him.
"Wha…" Squall still felt the magic roll through him in waves. It was intoxicating. "I… I wasn't…"
"Look at what you did!" Seifer moved a little so Squall could see the room. A small layer of snow covered everything. He could see their breaths mixing in front of him. "I tried to talk you out of it but you didn't even hear me!" Seifer looked at him with a mixture of anger and fear.
"How… How did I do that?" Squall wondered. "I don't know any para-magic like that."
Seifer looked at him like he had grown a second head. "How thick are you?" At Squalls glare, he asked "You… you really don't know?"
"Know what? Get off of me!" Squall demanded.
"Squall what do you remember?" Seifer asked him suddenly calm. "Before you fell asleep what do you remember?"
"I…" Squall had to think for a moment. It all seemed to blur together in his head. "We were fighting Edea. She fell and then... There was another woman there who didn't look human. I don't remember where she came from. Then I was talking to you and… I woke up on the station."
"Anything else? Do you remember being on the station?" Seifer asked him.
Squall didn't want to remember being on the station. "I couldn't move. I couldn't do anything. It was like someone was moving my body for me. People tried to stop me. Rinoa she… kept trying, and was thrown away from me. Everyone was. Then… I released Adel I…" Squall didn't want to continue. The very memory of her was too horrible.
"That wasn't you." Seifer said plainly. "It wasn't your fault."
"Then whose fault was it? I don't remember seeing anyone else out there with me," Squall snapped.
"That woman, in Galbadia Garden, after you defeated matron, remember? Do you know who that was?" Seifer asked him, still staying calm even though Squall was getting more and more frustrated by the second.
"No, I've never seen her before." Squall answered.
Seifer nodded and got off of Squall to sit back against the wall behind him. "That… was Ultimecia. She is a Sorceress from the future. She had been possessing matron for a while now, but after you all defeated her, she jumped to you."
"Me? Why would she possess me?" Squall sat up next to Seifer.
"Well… because of that," Seifer gestured to the snow in the room. "There is no para magic like that Squall. That's Sorceress magic or… Sorcerer magic I guess."
Squall shook his head in denial. "I'm not a Sorcerer, I can't be. It's not possible."
"Matron was already examined by Dr. Odine. He is the leading researcher on sorceress magic. Her powers are completely gone Squall." Seifer tried to explain.
"But I'm not a woman! I can't receive a sorceress' powers!" Squall tried to argue. "No man in history have received- "
"Hey, just because it isn't recorded, doesn't mean that it didn't happen. I mean, Sorceresses in history aren't actually looked upon with much good light. I wouldn't blame the guy who wanted to keep it a secret. Or maybe they can't control it as well as a woman can, who knows." Seifer brushed off some of the snow that had fallen on his shoulders.
"But I…" Squall was at a loss for words.
Do…ou…py….ragna….are you….can yoy re…
The noise was coming from one of the consoles. Seifer stood up to deal with it while Squall was still lost in his thoughts. How could he control these powers? They had already left him wanting more. It was so easy to get lost in them. He could see why so many Sorceresses had lost their way. It was so tempting, even now to cast another spell.
He didn't want to go back. He might end up hurting someone if he did. Sure, he defeated one monster and healed Seifer but what next? He didn't even notice the snow in the room until Seifer pointed it out to him. They would have to lock him away like they did Adel. There wasn't another choice. He would go mad just like the rest of them.
While he was deep in thought, Squall began lifting off of the ground, the gravity having disappeared. "Wha…?" Squall tried to gain his balance but there was nothing to hold on to and he ended up floating up in the air with his legs kicking wildly. "Hey what the hell?" he complained.
He heard laughter coming from below him. "Hold on, I'll get you." Seifer kicked off the ground and soared up to meet Squall in the air. "Here," He grabbed a protesting Squall from behind and with the momentum he still had, was able to kick off the wall behind them and bring them both over to the pilot chairs. "See, not so bad right?"
"Whatever," Squall grumbled from his seat.
There was an awkward pause, where neither one of them said anything. Squall put his seat belt on so he would not float away again. Seifer seemed to not mind lifting off of his chair every few seconds and pulling himself back down.
"I didn't know what she was going to do…" Seifer mumbled.
"Huh?" Squall looked up at him. "You say something?"
"I…didn't know what she was going to do." Seifer said loud enough for Squall to hear him. "At first, she promised me safety. I had just threatened the president's life after all. But then… she brought my memories back, and I couldn't just leave her."
"So you attack the garden? Your home?" Squall challenged.
"No!... Yes… It's complicated." Seifer sighed.
"Well uncomplicated it." Squall said simply. "Because when we get back they aren't going to want to put you on trial."
Seifer looked out to the stars in front of them, they were slowly turning and soon, their world would be in full view. "When I got my memories back, I was so happy to have found matron again. I wondered where she went, and why she had to send us away. For a while, she seemed like her old self, at least I think she did. But…then she got word that you had been ordered to attack her." Seifer had to pull himself back down to the chair, still refusing to put on his seatbelt. "I got so mad. I kept thinking 'how could they do that? This is Matron, they will kill her!'"
"And then," Seifer continued. "She killed the president. Suddenly it was like she was a completely other person. I didn't understand what or why she was doing it but I couldn't just stand by and watch her get hurt. So, when Irvine's attack ultimately failed and you all came to kill her in person, I couldn't let you. I was her knight after all," Seifer let out a humorless laugh.
"Why didn't you say anything?" Squall questioned.
"Oh yeah. Hey guys remember when we used to play tag together at the orphanage that you don't remember? That would have gone over well. Besides, I didn't think Matron would hesitate to attack you once you arrived either." Seifer looked at him. "Would you have believed me?"
Squall thought about it. Would he have listened to him? "No probably not. I might have thought you were crazy."
Seifer smiled sadly. "See?"
"Okay, then after that. Attacking the garden, trying to blow them up, D-district?" Squall didn't want to bring up the torture. That was far too painful of a topic and memory.
"After that... She wasn't Matron anymore." Seifer didn't look at him. He didn't want to look at anything. "That…woman… tortured me. I couldn't protect her during the parade and she wasn't too happy about it. I thought you were dead when she hit you with her ice too. Her last punishment for that failure was for me to torture you."
Squall looked at him shocked.
"She said that if I didn't do it then she would." Seifer let out a dry laugh. "It was like a walk in the park what I did to you compared to what she did to me. I didn't want too. It was the last thing I wanted to do was to hurt any of you especially after I found out you were alive I… I didn't want to lose you again."
"And then… you escaped, destroyed the military base, saved Balamb…" Seifer was holding onto the seat as though it was the only thing keeping him alive. "She was more than furious. I… I couldn't say no to her after what she did to me. Not after that. I had to attack Balamb I was hoping that you would be prepared, that you would win but I could stop myself I was too afraid. But you did win in the end." Seifer gave him a small smile. "You ran up to us like the shining hero I've always wanted to be and you fought with everything you had. Until…"
"Until I received Edea's powers and became a Sorcerer." Squall finished for him.
Seifer nodded. "I thought I knew fear but when I heard Ultimecia speak through you I was… well I kept thinking that if anyone could stop her it would be you, and then you passed out…"
Squall looked at Seifer as though he were an entirely new person. He couldn't remember a time when Seifer acted like this. Anyone spilling their heart out like this would usually make Squall roll his eyes and tune them out but this was Seifer. His rival in everything. The one person who could ever get a rise out of him and who would never let him see as weak.
"I ran out of there as fast as I could. I think she knew that I wouldn't do ask she asked or at least I think she prepared for it, because when I finally got the balls to return to Garden someone had already taken my place." Seifer continued.
"Why would you return to Garden? You would have been killed on sight." Squall questioned.
"I had to warn them about you." Seifer explained. "I was able to sneak in easily enough, but before I was able to get to anyone important I overheard that you were in a coma. How would they believe that you were a sorcerer if you weren't awake? So…I turned myself in."
"You what?" Squall said surprised.
"It was the only way to get their attention and to get them to believe me. I told them the same story that I'm telling you. I just hoped that that bitch couldn't see what I was doing or I'd really be in trouble. Although she probably already knows now." Seifer sighed in defeat.
"Okay but… why am I in space?" Squall wondered.
"Oh, that? We took you to Dr. Odine to see why you weren't waking up, but he couldn't find anything wrong with you. So, Quistis suggested that we take you to Ellone so she could send us into your past and maybe we would get more answers. The only problem was that she was way up on the space station that was in charge of sealing Sorceress Adel." Seifer scratched the back of his neck. "As soon as we got a chance to talk to her, the alarm sounded that you were awake and attacking the passengers."
Squall looked away from Seifer and out the front of the ship. The view was beautiful. The earth looked bright and the stars surrounded it, twinkling in the black space around it.
Rangnarock come in. This is Esthar air station do you read me?
"Yes, I read you." Seifer answered.
We need to know how many passengers there are on board the ship.
"There is just two of us." Seifer replied.
Your names?
"Seifer Almasy and…Squall Leonheart."
As in the Sorcerer?!
Squall snapped his head to look at the speaker.
…Alright prepare the Sorcerer. He will be apprehended upon his arrival.
"They know?" Squall hissed.
"Well yeah. The news of an actual male Sorcerer travels fast." Seifer explained.
Squall brought his knees up to his chest. "They are going to lock me away like Adel, aren't they?"
Seifer didn't answer him.
"Why wouldn't they, I'm a Sorcerer. I'm dangerous. They won't be able to trust me. I don't trust me." Even now, he wanted to cast more magic and feel the wonderful sensation that went with it. "And if Ultimecia can possess me at any time then it would be safer for everyone if there was one less threat to worry about right?" He would be alone, floating in space for the rest of his existence but everyone would be safer if he wasn't around.
"I…I don't know what to do." Seifer admitted.
Squall could see the tears float away from his face but he wouldn't look at Seifer. He couldn't if he did that would mean that he admitted "I'm afraid." The words fell from his lips before he could stop them but there was no Sorceress from the future to blame this time.
Squall felt a warm hand cover his and didn't bother looking up. Soon, he felt strong arms wrap around him. In any other situation he would shove the offending person off but he didn't feel up to it at the moment. In fact, he felt perfectly safe. The problems of the world felt a little less threatening in that moment, and Squall felt as though he could breathe again.
They eventually landed somewhere near the Centra Ruins and soldiers were waiting for them once they stepped out of the ship.
"Sorcerer Squall?" An official looking man asked them.
"That's me," Squall offered looking braver than he felt.
"You are to come with us, we must seal you as soon as possible." The man told him.
"I understand." Squall replied emotionless.
"Very good. We are glad you understand." The man looked between the two boys. "whenever you are ready." He said and walked away.
Seifer raced and stood directly in front of Squall. "You can't go!" he demanded.
"I have to. So many lives are at stake if I am left walking around." Squall tried to reason.
"But you can stop her! You are the only one strong enough!" Seifer argued.
Squall smiled softly at him, and it nearly took Seifer's breath away. "You will have less of a chance of her hurting you again if I am locked away. You will be fine. The Garden can protect you. Hey, you helped capture a dangerous fugitive right? You warned every one of the danger that I am. I'm sure that they will welcome you back."
Seifer remained silent as soldiers took Squall away from him. He watched them drive away even after the dust had settled. Alone, he walked back onto Ragnarock and waited. He felt hopeless. If Squall didn't fight against Ultimecia, how would they have any hope to survive? There was no hope for them now.
Seifer was taken out of his thoughts when he heard a loud BANG come from the cockpit.
"Shit what now," He muttered to himself.
As the lift reached destination he was almost surprised at what he saw. Almost. Selphie had taken control of the pilot's seat, Irvine was cheering her on, while Rinoa, Zell, and Quistis stood on and looked at the two of them in horror.
"You do know how to fly this right?" Zell asked as he was turning green.
"WOOH HOO!" Selphie cheered as the ship began to take off.
"I knew you could do it!" Irvine encouraged.
"What the hell you guys." Seifer cried. "How did you even get on here!"
Quistis was the one to answer. "Well you looked pretty busy over there so we just snuck past you and commandeered the ship. Simple as that."
"Yeah you always get to serious about things whenever it involves Squall," Zell snickered.
"Knock it off," Rinoa smacked him on the back of the head. "I think its sweet."
"Sweet," Seifer said offended. "I don't do sweet."
"Uh huh, sure you don't. It wasn't us who carried Squall across the dead sea on their backs," Rinoa replied slyly.
"Why you…" Seifer started.
"Alright now you two stop. This isn't the time for that we need to come up with a plan." Quistis scolded.
"Whatever you say instructor," Seifer mocked.
Quistis glared at him and announced, "We need to head back to Esthar and come up with a plan. Adel is already on the Pandora and we need to eliminate her as quickly as possible."
"But there is no stopping her either," Seifer thought to himself. "With both Ultimecia and Adel acting as one, they will be unstoppable."
"Seifer?" Rinoa tugged on his sleeve. When did he become so unobservant? "What are you thinking?"
They all looked at him waiting for him to answer. When did they become so trusting? "Oh that's right," he bitterly thought. "When I warned them about their impending doom and saved their commander from a frozen death."
"I think… we need to get Squall back," Seifer admitted.
"What? Are you sure man?" Zell questioned him.
Seifer shook his head, "No but he is the only one strong enough to take on Ultimecia, and if he loses it when then… that's what knights are for aren't they? They protect their Sorceress from anyone, even themselves, and I don't think that any of you have the balls to kill him."
No one had anything to say to that.
"Didn't think so." Seifer grinned.
"So where too," Selphie asked cheerful as always.
Seifer cocked his gunblade and used it to point onwards. "Esthar Sorceress Memorial!" he announced.
They arrived there in record time. Selphie and Irvine agreed to wait in the ship just in case they needed a quick getaway while Rinoa, Zell, and Quistis followed Seifer to the Memorial. The guards meet them at the door and became a little hostile once the realized that Seifer Almasy was among them.
"I can't let you pass." One of them said threateningly.
"Wait…" another one said while looking at the others. "They are his friends; they probably just want to see him off. You may enter but I don't want to see any trouble."
The group rushed inside and entered a room with a lot of important looking scientists people typing away.
"Hey you can't be here! Who let you in!" One of the scientists cried out drawing the attention of everyone else. Before anyone else could react, Quistis, Rinoa and Zell took a defensive stance and in the Girls case, threatened them with their weapons. Seifer would swear he saw someone piss their pants.
"Go, we will hold them off," Rinoa winked at him.
Without wasting anymore time, Seifer went into the room where they were holding Squall. He looked so lifeless in the chamber. Maybe even more so than when he was in a coma. He pulled out Hyperton and sliced one of the tubes that was connected to Squall's prison.
Squall slowly opened his eyes. What went wrong? He thought that if he ever did wake up, he would be in space again, not in the exact same spot that he fell asleep in. Did he even move? The power that kept him immobile was fading fast and he was slipping. There was steam all around him as he fell, blocking everything else from view except the last person he expected to see. Once again, Seifer was there to save him from his deep space death sentence.
Seifer easily caught him with open arms as he fell. They just stood there for a moment holding each other. Squall was shaking, filled with both fear and relief that he wasn't in the prison any longer.
"What are you doing?" Squall asked him quietly. "I'm a threat! I could hurt someone!"
"I don't care." Seifer declared. "We are getting you out of here. Come on."
Squall followed closely behind Seifer as they raced out of the Memorial. Several guards tried to stop them on their way out but to their surprise, they were called back by a large man with kind eyes. Squall could have sworn that he had seen him from somewhere, but was pulled away before he could get a good look.
Safely back on the ship and in the air, the group stood together to plan their next move.
"What were you thinking?" Squall scolded.
"I was thinking that it would really suck to spend the rest of eternity trapped in space where no one could hear you but, I've been wrong before." Seifer rolled his eyes at him.
"Yeah this is after he carried you on his back from FH to the space station." Rinoa giggled.
"You did what?" Squall looked to Seifer.
Seifer glared at Rinoa and she just smiled at him in return.
"Anyway, where should we go? Any populated area isn't safe for the moment considering the fact that we are probably wanted criminals now." Irvine pointed out.
"I know. Let's go to the orphanage," Quistis offered.
"That sounds perfect!" Selphie shouted excitedly. Before anyone could offer any words of protest, she had already maneuvered the ship into position and was going full speed to their destination.
Squall, who had been standing in the corner by himself the whole time, felt himself stiffen as he felt the call of magic inside him. It wanted more already, needing desperately to get out. As if he knew the dilemma going on inside him, Seifer moved to stand next to him. Offering him silent support to with Squall was grateful.
When they arrived, Edea and Cid found them sitting together on the beach. Eager to see them all again, she offered to prepare lunch and ushered them into the building. Everyone except Seifer and Squall followed them inside.
The two remained silent, both were content in just watching the waves move along the sand. Squall had his knees pulled up to his chest while Seifer sat with both his legs sprawled out on the sand.
Finally, Squall asked him "What happens now?"
"I don't really know," Seifer answered honestly.
"What if I can't control my powers?" Squall looked down at his now open hands. "I'm already hated because of what I am. What these powers mean. I'll never be safe anywhere.
"Then I'll protect you." Seifer declared. "It's always been my dream to be a knight. I could do it for real this time."
"You? We kicked your ass remember? Twice." Squall looked at him with a raised brow.
"I was holding back" Seifer stood up irritated. "That doesn't count."
"Sure, it doesn't." Squall rolled his eyes at him.
"I'll prove it. Let me protect you. I think I've been doing an alright job so far." Seifer said seriously.
"When we were still and space, and you wouldn't let me fight…was that you trying to prove yourself." Squall smirked at him.
Seifer turned away from him. "Yes and no. Yes, I was trying to protect you but only from yourself. No one knew then if you knew what had happened. If you started using magic and going crazy, then you would have put both our lives at risk. I tried to break the news to you slowly, but you seemed to take it better than expected."
"Better than expected?" Squall inquired.
"If you didn't like what you heard… well you saw the snow, and that was without you even trying."
"Thanks, this is really making me feel better," Squall replied sarcastically.
"Squall I meant what I said," Seifer kneeled down in front of Squall and placed Hyperton on the ground at his feet. "I will protect you. You won't go insane. I won't let you, understand? Ultimecia didn't choose me as a Knight for kicks. I know more how to be a Knight than I probably should. Romantic dream, remember? She was upset at me for not being as strong as I could be for her but I will be for you."
Squall stared at him, shock clearly visible on his face.
"Will you let me protect you?" Seifer asked, not taking his eyes off of him.
Slowly Squall nodded and grin split on Seifer's face. He looked happier than Squall had seen him in a long time.
Edea called them in for their lunch and soon they were all crowded around the table chatting away as if the world didn't hang on their shoulders. Edea started telling them stories of their past that the GFs had stolen from them. However, they began to fill in the blanks on their own and it became a game of "Hey, I remember that!".
"And those two were inseparable," Cid told the group. Nodding in the direction of Squall and Seifer. "They were either fighting one another or they were hanging onto each other. I can't tell you how many times I got onto them because they didn't want to sleep in their own beds."
"Oh, Hyne that's adorable," Quistis laughed.
"Hey! You two used to wake me up in the middle of the night because you would be too loud when you would sneak off in the middle of the night." Irvine glared good naturedly.
"You two did what now?" Edea gave them a sharp look.
"Hey, that's not as bad as when Irvine found all those magazines in Uncle Cid's cabinet." Seifer tried and successfully deflected their Matron's anger away from them.
The rest laughed as they watched Cid and Irvine get scolded. Even Squall couldn't hold back a smile. After dinner, Selphie went to check on her now precious ship but quickly came back to give them a message.
"It's from Esthar. The president wants to hire SeeD. He said that it was super important."
Rinoa crossed her arms. "I don't like it. It could be a trap."
"I don't know; Sorceress Adel did just fall out of the sky like something from a Horror movie. Maybe they are desperate for help." Zell pointed out.
"That sounds almost intelligent of you Chicken-Wuss," Seifer mocked.
"Knock it off you two. Well Squall what should we do?" Quistis turned to him.
"I think Zell is right. A powerful Sorceress had just returned and that means a lot of people are afraid and willing to do stupid things to make it right. Even if that means hiring another Sorcerer to kill her." Squall decided.
"Well then." Selphie whipped her weapon around excitedly. "Let's get to it then!"
Meeting the president of Esthar was not something he ever expected to do in his life. What surprised him even more was just who the president was.
"You're here! Fantastic! Now we can really begin the planning," Laguna greeted them. "Now, I'm sure you can all guess why you are here."
"To kill the Sorceress," Selphie chirped.
Laguna nodded. "That's right. Now Elle explained to me what she did to you over the past few weeks, so I'm sure you have a lot of questions about me…"
Squall and Seifer stayed quiet while the others asks all the questions that were on their mind. How did you become president? What happened to Raine? Why didn't you come back for Ellone?
Soon, Dr. Odine walked in and talked them through the plan. They all agreed that it would work although they weren't sure how they would get out of the time compression. On top of that, Squall was nervous about receiving even more Sorceress powers. He didn't want to share his fears in case he created any doubts among his friends. But, Seifer seemed to understand his troubles and offered his silent support and didn't leave his side.
"Here. I want to give you something," Seifer said when he pulled Squall away from the group. "So, you don't have to rely on your powers." It was a gunblade. Except it was the most breath-taking gun blade he had ever seen in his whole life. Its blade was bright blue and it seemed to glow. A pair of wings were etched onto the end to give it more of the otherworldly personality that seemed to radiate from it.
"Thank you," Squall breathed. Because what else could he say?
They fought their way into the Lunatic Pandora with ease. Their shields were no match for Selphie when she had access to the weapons systems. Soldiers and monsters alike fell to their strength and magic. They fought their way until they found a strange man patrolling one of the hallways. He was tall, and looked far stronger than any of them individually. He wore a red coat and held a shotgun in his hand.
"Well look who came crawling back. Ultimecia is very eager to see you, traitor." The man sneered at Seifer.
"Who the hell are you?" Zell snapped at him.
"Why I am the upgraded model. The Sorceresses new Knight." The man gave a bow and smiled at Squall. "She is very eager to see you too Squall."
The battle didn't last long. The man had the ability to summon monsters to aide him, but were no match when the group worked as one. The man himself was powerful, and extremely quick for his size. Selphie and Irvine had to go on healing duty for the amount of damage the group was receiving at once. The battle ended abruptly when, just as they thought they were about to defeat him, he threw a smoke bomb, and temporality blinded everyone. When it vanished, he was gone along with Squall.
"SQUALL!" Seifer shouted desperately. "SQUALL."
"Come on! He would have taken him to Adel, our mission hasn't changed." Quistis reasoned with him.
Seifer began single handedly tearing through every monster they came across without breaking a sweat or looking weary. The others looked at him worriedly, but refused to say anything. They were all desperate to reach Squall in time in case something horrible happened to him. But they were too late.
It was a horrifying sight. He was screaming when they reached him, out of fear or pain none of them knew. Adel stood proudly outside her prison, Squall fused and trapped to her chest. He could only move his head, and shook it back and forth in a feeble attempt to escape. The new Knight laughed by her side and it only took Seifer a second to cut him in half.
"Hold on! I'll get you out!" Seifer promised him.
Adel was a difficult foe. She threw spell after spell at them and just when they thought she was getting weaker she would draw energy from Squall. They were all afraid that if they hurt Adel, they would hurt Squall too. Thankfully that didn't seem to be the case. Selphie healed him as soon as Adel stole his health and energy. Squall was able to send her very weary and grateful looks.
It was Quistis who landed the final blow. As Adel faded away, Squall fell to the ground and landed on his feet, though he had trouble staying upright. Seifer tried to run towards him but was held back by Irvine and Zell once they saw Adel's powers rushing towards Squall.
Squall felt like he was taking in too much air. Her powers raced into him like a vacuum and he couldn't stop it if he tried. Her powers quickly settled inside him fitting like a puzzle piece next to his own. Then the pain in his head returned, and Ultimecia had taken control of him.
"Ellone, hurry!" Selphie shouted.
Squall felt his face split into a maniacal grin and he stared at Seifer. "My precious Knight," he purred as he raised his right hand. A powerful death spell gathered in his hand, and just as he was about to fling it at him, loud ringing in his ears knocked him out.
"Okay Ellone, now just bring Squall back." Laguna instructed her.
"Right," she nodded. Light filled the room and Squall stirred awake. Seifer, had made his way over to him and helped him on his feet.
"Alright everyone this is it! Time compression! Remember to hold on to the people you love!" Laguna shouted behind him as he and Ellone raced out of the room.
The world bended and melted around them. Time was flowing backwards and forwards, and bending out of shape. They could see mountains being formed and fading away all at once. Oceans swallowing up entire continents only to spit them back out again. Sorceresses from past, present, and future attacked them on their journey. Until they finally made it to what they discovered to be the orphanage of the future.
SeeDs lay dead on the beach, spread out as far as their eyes could see. Long, and thick chains anchored Ultimecia's Castle floating in the sky. Their journey to the front gates was uneventful. They ignored the large portals on their way there, not willing to be distracted from their goal.
As soon as they stepped through the front doors, everyone felt the seals take away their magic, Gf's, everything but none more than Squall. He ended up on his knees, gasping for breath as he felt the powerful magic become locked away inside him.
"Don't worry, we will fix it." Irvine encouraged.
"I know just… give me a second." Squall gasped.
Seifer, Rinoa, and Zell waited with Squall while Quistis, Irvine and Selphie scouted on ahead.
"I bet he is annoying the fuck out of those two," Zell commented.
"Oh I don't know; I think Selphie actually likes the attention." Rinoa laughed. "Maybe if he gets his head out of his ass and stops flirting with everything that has tits, she might actually do something about it."
As Zell and Rinoa talked, Seifer checked on Squall.
"I'm fine," Squall said before Seifer could even sit down.
"You shouldn't lie about things like this. Especially to me." Seifer scolded.
"Yeah, how do you know?" Squall raised his head from where it was resting in his hands to look at him.
"Well first of all, I've known you my whole life. Second of all, I'm your Knight. We have a closer connection to one another than regular people." Seifer sat down next to him and took out his gunblade.
Squall made a noise that sounded almost like laughter.
"So how are you feeling. For real this time." Seifer asked him evenly.
"I… It was difficult having one set of powers but now two? I'm not sure I should be walking around after this." Squall sighed. "And then having it all locked away? It feels so wrong. Like expecting to be able to walk but your legs have been cut off. Only a thousand times worse. I don't like not being able to control my powers, but I don't think I like this better. I can't tell which is worse though. I feel useless."
Seifer nodded and stood up. "Well you are still able to wield that gun blade aren't you?"
"Of course," Squall said offended.
"Well then, you can still fight. You're not useless." Seifer smiled. "Come on, they could be back any minute. We will find a way to break these damn seals."
As if fate heard them, Squall felt his magic return to him all at once with a gasp. "What the hell?"
"What?" Seifer asked him worriedly.
As if to answer, Squall held up his hand and gentle snow floated above it just like on the ship. As soon as he felt the addictive feeling of magic creep up on him he stopped, letting the snowflakes melt before they hit the ground.
"Aw. It was so pretty," Rinoa complained.
"Awesome!" Zell cheered as he threw his fists in the air. "Magic is back."
Not too long after, the rest of the group returned with matching grins on their faces. "We figured out how to break the seals!" Selphie cheered. "We just have to fight all the big baddies of this place and we are good to go!"
"That sounds easy enough," Rinoa nodded. "How many are there though?"
"And where are they," Irvine added.
"We will just have to spread out and find them." Quistis directed. "Who goes where?"
Selphie, Seifer and Squall ended up on a team and took the right of the castle, while the rest of the group took the left side. The first room they entered had a broken staircase, a large chandelier and a cellar door in the far corner of the room.
"Well," Selphie grinned. "Anyone thirsty?"
The trio made their way down the cellar and was greeted by a large monster. It wasted no time and attacked them as soon as it sensed them in the room. Selphie and Seifer were able to mix between physical attacks and magic attacks while Squall stuck strictly to physical. Not willing to test how far his resistance could go in the middle of battle.
The monster went down easily between the three of them and they felt another seal around them disappear. "Hey," Selphie said after drinking a potion. "I think these work again."
"Good. We don't want to waste our magic if we don't have too." Seifer grimaced as he wiped off the monster's blood with a nearby cloth he found. "I don't think this is normal. Its stickier than normal."
"I'm sure you can wash your coat when we get back," Squall shook his head.
"Wash my…Oh shit." Seifer groaned as ne noticed the large blood splatter on the trails of his favorite coat. "This may never come out."
Selphie giggled and lead the way out of the cellar. The next monster they came across was in a dungeon. An extremely large Red Giant trapped them in the room with it. He taunted them as their physical and magic attacks did next to nothing to it.
"Squall!" Seifer yelled while trying to land an attack on the Red Giant. "Cast something! Our magic isn't strong enough!"
"No! If I can't control it-" Squall tried to say.
"You can, and you will!" Seifer yelled back.
Shaking, Squall nodded. With the Red Giant distracted by Selphie and Seifer's attacks, Squall was able to build up his power. Silver wings shone from his back like and angel. Light gathered around him, and he unleashed his power at the Red Giant all at once. It screamed as it died. Professing his failure to Ultimecia and begging her for forgiveness.
The monster died, but Squall still could feel the magic flow through him. It wanted more, and more magic. His wings still shone brightly. The temperature in the room started dropping rapidly. He could hear Seifer scream something to Selphie but he didn't care. The magic was calling him and he was unable to resist.
Seifer appeared in front of him and a warm hands held his face. What the hell was he doing? Couldn't he see that he had to do this? The magic felt so good and he didn't want to stop. Suddenly, he felt a pair of lips on his and it was like an anchor dragging him back to reality.
The magic around and inside him settled down and he could think clearly. The first thing he wanted to do was step away from Seifer, but he was holding his head too firmly to be able to move away. When he finally pulled away, Squall opened his eyes when did they ever close and stared the blond man down.
"What was that?" Squall questioned. Because he couldn't be mad, he had just stopped him from potentially killing everyone.
"It worked didn't it," Seifer teased. "You liked it."
"Whatever," Squall rolled his eyes.
"I'll take that as a yes," Seifer smirked.
"Knock, Knock" Selphie appeared at the now unlocked dungeon door. "Is everything okay now?"
"Yeah he's fine," Seifer answered.
"Oh what did you do? He is as red as a ruby dragon." Selphie giggled.
"Let's keep moving," Squall grumbled as he pushed past the still giggling girl.
Defeating the monsters guarding the seals became easier and easier after that. The group made their way to the door way leading to Ultimecia, all holding their breaths with anticipation.
"Are you ready?" Squall asked his friends. "There is no turning back after this."
They all nodded, determined to finish their mission. The door opened with a loud creak as if it had not been opened in centuries. She sat on a tall throne, just waiting for them to arrive as if them destroying her guardians had been nothing more than an inconvenience to her. She glared at them and described how they would all pay for trespassing and how they would spend the rest of their eternity.
The group attacked her as one, none of them giving her a chance to recover. Even as she changed her from and her attacks grew stronger, none of them faltered. The final blow was dealt and she died screaming, and that's when all hell broke loose.
Thrown back into the time compression, Squall lost his way. He could not find anyone or hold onto anything long enough to stay grounded. Time melted and twisted around him and he was alone.
"Seifer! Zell! Selphie! Can anyone hear me?!" He shouted desperately into the void. But no one answered. He saw his first mission as a SeeD flash by him in a second. His dance with Rinoa, became blurry and mute. Quistis gunning down the machine that chased them out of Dollet. Seifer and him playing together at the orphanage, Seifer challenging him to a fight, Seifer permanently scaring his face and gaining one in return, Seifer carrying him on his back to Esthar, Seifer holding him as he felt his possible future crashing down on him, Seifer kissing him back into reality…
"Seifer!" he screamed. "Seifer where are you?" A bright white light appeared around him and his silver wings sprang from his back and just as quickly faded away. Suddenly he was on the beach. The orphanage was in the distance and he could see Seifer unconscious on the ground. The sky held no light, the black clouds blocked any chance of it coming through.
He ran to him and held him in his arms. Shaking him did nothing, Squall wasn't even sure if he was alive. Taking off a glove, he held two fingers up to his neck to check for a pulse. Not feeling anything, Squall lost hope.
"Wake up you stupid bastard!" he cried. "Who is going to protect me? I can't do this on my own! They will lock me up without you." He could feel the tears flowing down his face but didn't stop them. "You…you…don't leave me."
He wrapped Seifer in his arms and rested his head on Seifer's chest. As soon as he did, the sky opened up and the sun shone down on them. It happened so quickly, so unnaturally, that Squall couldn't help but look. The sky looked peaceful now as though the horrors that he just went through were nothing but a passing dream.
Seifer stirred in his arms and slowly opened his eyes. A large grin appeared on Squalls face and he didn't even try to hide it.
"Woah, what happened to you," Seifer teased.
"You did," Squall said before leaning down and pressing their lips together, neither one of them worried about rushing back to their friends.