Darkness.
Nothingness.
Void.
Time compression had not left anything at all. Nothing but an infinity of empty space.
"Is this the world I have been fighting for?"
Selphie Tilmitt had always been afraid of being alone. Now realizing that the whole world had died did not only scare her to death, but paralysed her. Unable to even think about her situation she stared at the horizon and the grey, cloudy sky above her.
She was still weakened from the battle against Ultimacia and bleeding from several smaller wounds, but she did not feel the pain.
"Squall…?" she whispered into the darkness.
Silence.
"Irvine? Quistis? Is there anybody?"
She was close to tears of desperation.
No one was left. She was all alone. Could it be that she was the only one who had survived time compression?
Slowly Selphie got onto her feet and turned around.
The desert seemed endless. Wherever she looked there was nothing but grey sand under a grey sky. "No salvation", she whispered to herself.
A dark mist encased her and made her feel like floating.
Perhaps she was already dead.
She closed her eyes.
"I can't stand this."
When she had been a child, she had always had nightmares about being all alone. She was not the kind of person who got along on her own and who could take care of herself. She was weak. She needed people who helped her.
"Please…", she whispered.
When she opened her eyes again, he was standing in front of her.
He seemed exhausted as if he had fought for a very long time. His coat was torn up into pieces and his scar had started bleeding again.
"Seifer…?"
Selphie raised her head and stared at him.
The young man looked at her with an expression of disbelief and mistrust.
"Where are we?"
Selphie turned around and stared at the horizon again. "We are lost. We… are…" Suddenly a tear ran down her cheek and along her throat. She quickly removed it with the back of her hand.
"At least we are still alive", Seifer said slowly.
Selphie turned around. "There is no point of being alive when everyone else you know is dead."
Seifer shrugged. "Perhaps they survived it. Perhaps not. We will find out soon enough."
"Of course you don't care anyway", Selphie told him.
Seifer remained silent and stared at the ground.
"Let's find a way out of this desert", he finally broke the silence again.
Selphie shook her head. "There is no way out of here. The desert is endless."
"That's not true", Seifer disagreed. "I woke up on a shore and started walking until I found you."
"And did you find anything else on your way? Any signs of life?" Selphie wanted to know.
Seifer shook his head. "But we cannot stay here. I will walk on until I find a way out of this wasteland and you can either come with me or stay here."
Selphie nodded and picked up her nunchaku that was lying next to her feet on the sandy ground.
"So what are you waiting for?"
** *** * **** **
Hour after hour passed while Seifer and Selphie walked through the desert towards the empty horizon.
The farther they walked the more they started to realize the futility of their effort and more than one time they had to stop and rest for overcoming fatigue. Yet neither of them wanted to give up searching for life and Seifer nearly started to be surprised by the tenacity the girl next to him was able to bring up.
Finally it was him, who brought his thoughts to the point and said: "This is senseless."
Selphie stopped walking. "What do you mean?"
He did not look at her, but stared at the ground. "You were right. There is no way out of this desert."
Selphie frowned. "But you said you came from an ocean shore. So there must be something else than…"
"That was a lie", Seifer interrupted her. "I woke up in the same desert under the same sky and with nothing but emptiness around me. There is no ocean. No life. And no hope. And that is the reason why we will never get out of here. - I guess I deserve it. The only question that strikes me is: What could you have done to end up here in hell with me?"
Selphie looked at him unable to say anything.
Suddenly her whole energy disappeared from her body and she broke into her knees.
With one fast step Seifer was next to her and caught her fall.
Lying in his arms she could not hold back the tears that were coming and finally started to cry.
Seifer felt uncomfortable, but nevertheless held her tight feeling that she needed someone to comfort her.
He never had expected it to end like this. All he had wanted was to be a sorceress knight, be a hero, protect a woman and fight for her - but now he had ended up in an endless deserted wasteland with no way out and no one left but a girl, that he had tried to kill before, lying in his arms and crying.
He looked up at the sky.
Suddenly he saw something small and white moving through the clouds. He narrowed his eyes and stared at it making its way through the mist as if it was searching for something.
It was feather. A white feather carried by the wind along the sky…
"Selphie", he whispered. "Selphie, look."
The girl in his arms stopped crying and looked up. Seifer pointed at the sky and Selphie raised her head further.
First she could not see anything but grey, dark clouds… but then suddenly she started to smile slightly.
"An angel's feather…", she whispered. "A sign of hope."
Seifer looked down at her.
Without even really noticing what he was doing he raised his hand and softly removed the tears that had run down her cheeks with his fingers.
When their eyes met they looked at each other in a way they had never looked at anyone before.
Slowly Seifer bent down and kissed her.
After a first moment of surprise Selphie could do nothing but kiss him back.
He was the first man she had ever kissed in her whole life, but the touch of his lips on hers made her forget everything.
All the pain, fear and desperation seemed to melt away in pleasure.
And suddenly Seifer realized that he had not failed to become a knight.
All he had ever wanted was here in his arms. The girl he would always be able to protect, the girl who needed him as much as he needed her. The sorceress who had not bewitched him with magic spells but with the look of her eyes.
Even death could not scare him anymore for he had never felt more complete in his whole life.
He had found the one he had waited for.
** *** * *** **
And while they still kissed each other…
in a distance…
miles away from them…
an angel cried for a lion…
and sand turned into flowers.
Nothingness.
Void.
Time compression had not left anything at all. Nothing but an infinity of empty space.
"Is this the world I have been fighting for?"
Selphie Tilmitt had always been afraid of being alone. Now realizing that the whole world had died did not only scare her to death, but paralysed her. Unable to even think about her situation she stared at the horizon and the grey, cloudy sky above her.
She was still weakened from the battle against Ultimacia and bleeding from several smaller wounds, but she did not feel the pain.
"Squall…?" she whispered into the darkness.
Silence.
"Irvine? Quistis? Is there anybody?"
She was close to tears of desperation.
No one was left. She was all alone. Could it be that she was the only one who had survived time compression?
Slowly Selphie got onto her feet and turned around.
The desert seemed endless. Wherever she looked there was nothing but grey sand under a grey sky. "No salvation", she whispered to herself.
A dark mist encased her and made her feel like floating.
Perhaps she was already dead.
She closed her eyes.
"I can't stand this."
When she had been a child, she had always had nightmares about being all alone. She was not the kind of person who got along on her own and who could take care of herself. She was weak. She needed people who helped her.
"Please…", she whispered.
When she opened her eyes again, he was standing in front of her.
He seemed exhausted as if he had fought for a very long time. His coat was torn up into pieces and his scar had started bleeding again.
"Seifer…?"
Selphie raised her head and stared at him.
The young man looked at her with an expression of disbelief and mistrust.
"Where are we?"
Selphie turned around and stared at the horizon again. "We are lost. We… are…" Suddenly a tear ran down her cheek and along her throat. She quickly removed it with the back of her hand.
"At least we are still alive", Seifer said slowly.
Selphie turned around. "There is no point of being alive when everyone else you know is dead."
Seifer shrugged. "Perhaps they survived it. Perhaps not. We will find out soon enough."
"Of course you don't care anyway", Selphie told him.
Seifer remained silent and stared at the ground.
"Let's find a way out of this desert", he finally broke the silence again.
Selphie shook her head. "There is no way out of here. The desert is endless."
"That's not true", Seifer disagreed. "I woke up on a shore and started walking until I found you."
"And did you find anything else on your way? Any signs of life?" Selphie wanted to know.
Seifer shook his head. "But we cannot stay here. I will walk on until I find a way out of this wasteland and you can either come with me or stay here."
Selphie nodded and picked up her nunchaku that was lying next to her feet on the sandy ground.
"So what are you waiting for?"
** *** * **** **
Hour after hour passed while Seifer and Selphie walked through the desert towards the empty horizon.
The farther they walked the more they started to realize the futility of their effort and more than one time they had to stop and rest for overcoming fatigue. Yet neither of them wanted to give up searching for life and Seifer nearly started to be surprised by the tenacity the girl next to him was able to bring up.
Finally it was him, who brought his thoughts to the point and said: "This is senseless."
Selphie stopped walking. "What do you mean?"
He did not look at her, but stared at the ground. "You were right. There is no way out of this desert."
Selphie frowned. "But you said you came from an ocean shore. So there must be something else than…"
"That was a lie", Seifer interrupted her. "I woke up in the same desert under the same sky and with nothing but emptiness around me. There is no ocean. No life. And no hope. And that is the reason why we will never get out of here. - I guess I deserve it. The only question that strikes me is: What could you have done to end up here in hell with me?"
Selphie looked at him unable to say anything.
Suddenly her whole energy disappeared from her body and she broke into her knees.
With one fast step Seifer was next to her and caught her fall.
Lying in his arms she could not hold back the tears that were coming and finally started to cry.
Seifer felt uncomfortable, but nevertheless held her tight feeling that she needed someone to comfort her.
He never had expected it to end like this. All he had wanted was to be a sorceress knight, be a hero, protect a woman and fight for her - but now he had ended up in an endless deserted wasteland with no way out and no one left but a girl, that he had tried to kill before, lying in his arms and crying.
He looked up at the sky.
Suddenly he saw something small and white moving through the clouds. He narrowed his eyes and stared at it making its way through the mist as if it was searching for something.
It was feather. A white feather carried by the wind along the sky…
"Selphie", he whispered. "Selphie, look."
The girl in his arms stopped crying and looked up. Seifer pointed at the sky and Selphie raised her head further.
First she could not see anything but grey, dark clouds… but then suddenly she started to smile slightly.
"An angel's feather…", she whispered. "A sign of hope."
Seifer looked down at her.
Without even really noticing what he was doing he raised his hand and softly removed the tears that had run down her cheeks with his fingers.
When their eyes met they looked at each other in a way they had never looked at anyone before.
Slowly Seifer bent down and kissed her.
After a first moment of surprise Selphie could do nothing but kiss him back.
He was the first man she had ever kissed in her whole life, but the touch of his lips on hers made her forget everything.
All the pain, fear and desperation seemed to melt away in pleasure.
And suddenly Seifer realized that he had not failed to become a knight.
All he had ever wanted was here in his arms. The girl he would always be able to protect, the girl who needed him as much as he needed her. The sorceress who had not bewitched him with magic spells but with the look of her eyes.
Even death could not scare him anymore for he had never felt more complete in his whole life.
He had found the one he had waited for.
** *** * *** **
And while they still kissed each other…
in a distance…
miles away from them…
an angel cried for a lion…
and sand turned into flowers.