The General Difference

Summary: After gaining strength in the abyss that time compression has been labeled to be after thousands of time loops, Ultimicia could finally change things. A new timeline, a new story, a new chance at success. This is an Alternate Universe, one bent in Ultimicia's favor... but what she never understood was that even the creator of time, Hyne herself, did not understand her own creation. Time was both a creation and byproduct of Humanity... Time itself is alive, wrapping itself to the decisions made by all entities and the effects upon others each decision has. Ultimicia wore time thin, making it weaker and weaker with every passing loop. She made her decision within time... within that living entity... within that which changes with every decision. And so Squall, Rinoa, and the rest of the gang must overcome not just Ultimicia, but time as well. With Time itself against them... can they still succeed?

AN: To be honest this story has no future set in stone. It's going to be here for me to work on when I get writers block for my other two projects, one is up, one is not. So far, having a few difficulties of getting from point A to point B. So I have no idea when I will work on this and when I won't, it's just something fun for me… any reviews will be welcomed even though this is probably a way over done sorta thingamadoodle… ah that is… storyline idea.

Disclaimer: I no own ff8, just this little AU idea.

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~ Timeline's Crossings ~

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Ultimicia flew through time, as she lived her last moments as time itself. She was dying and she lost control, her rage insurmountable. She hated them, she wanted to make their lives miserable. Perhaps not the universe they would go back to, but she would make a new one while she could. One filled with suffering, one filled with pain. One that would tear these six SeeD's to pieces before they reached the age that they could destroy her. They would pay for their alternate persona's sins. They defied her power. She held more power than Hyne herself. This loop of events had gone on for far too long. She was tired, she wanted it to end. She wanted everything to end. She would make a new universe, she would be it's god, she would die, that universe would be in chaos. They would pay.

"Now!" The tractor beam turned on but Adel, still stood where Laguna had shoved her. She swiped her hand at him flinging him off into a corner, and left him for dead.

Jerry was your average guy. He was driving, like he did everyday, listening to the radio, whistling to the tune. He drove a military truck. He was going to be sent to the Winhill front soon. He didn't want to leave his precious Katie, nor his little squirt Selphie. He thought of Katie, she was sick, he really didn't want to leave her like that, he hated this stupid draft. But to serve one's country, to protect one's family against the evil that was Adel… he couldn't disagree with having the draft.

A ravishing woman with what looked like grey Viking horns on her head, appeared out of nowhere. He slammed on the breaks and swerved to the next lane going the same direction. He didn't check his mirrors, he didn't have time. He slammed another car off the road into the opposite lane.

Two crashes.

His world was enveloped in flame.

A little girl of the age of three was sitting in a wheelchair with a cast on her leg. She looked at her mothers grave, freshly dug. Just staring at it.

"Mommy I don't want to go." The little girl pouted in the backseat as her mother gazed at her through the rearview mirror.

"Rinoa, you'll be great. I know you will, your teacher said that you're the best three year old ballerina they have." The little girl continued to pout. They were in the left lane and were beginning to pass a military truck to their right.

"Your father would be proud of y…." The car jerked left as the truck slammed into them, thrusting them into the other side of the road. Julia knew that there was nothing to be done. As the car slid into the other lane the driver side was hit by an oncoming car. The hood crunched, forcing the steering wheel into Julia's chest breaking a few ribs, puncturing her lungs and the dash coming with it, glass flying everywhere.

Rinoa was on the passenger side in the back of their white car. Within direct eye sight of her mother if need be. She watched in a dazed horror as glass cut her mother, as it cut herself, her seatbelt locked. The drivers air bag expanded crushing the mother of that little girl even further back into the seat, her head being shoved to look to the passenger side of the car at an odd angle.

A bright light enveloped Julia as she smiled lightly for her daughter who was near tears, who had several scratches on her face, her hair was hanging towards the ceiling. The car had rolled over, they were upside down.

"Momma?"

"I love you sweetheart, I will forever be watching over you." She said it calmly. Rinoa was sobbing, her tears falling on her eyelashes, eyebrows, forehead, her hair. Her mother's eyes, her warm chocolate loving eyes that always held comfort for Rinoa, they were fading. Everything was fading.

"I Klaim your soul for eternity, time will not wait for you. I will not wait for time."

Everything was white. Everything was black. Everything was grey, tinted by crimson blood..

Rinoa saw flowers, she saw Red roses. That was the only color she saw now, Red. Doctors said that the light from the flames must have burned her retina. So now, Everything was White, Grey, Black, and Red. The kids at the orphanage she had been sent to had laughed at this, saying all she could see was the news papers. Her mother had always complained about the newspapers, all gloom and doom. Adel still reigned free. The war had taken her father away. She didn't know where to, all she knew was she wanted him back, needed him to come back. But the rest of Galbadia needed him too. All of her other family members close, and not where either in the war or had too much going on to add a kid to their responsibilities. Thus she was in an orphanage, a colorless ruthless orphanage. A man walked up to her.

"Your mother was a good woman, kindhearted, beautiful singer… You look a lot like her." She looked up to the man. She was shocked, he was in full color, though his cloths were still grey. He kneeled down by her.

"My name is Cid, I help take care of an orphanage away from here. I was told that you and another girl and boy are having difficulty here."

A woman came to pick her up from the hospital. She already had another girl with her. She held the same look that Rinoa saw on her face in the mirror, though for some reason, she could see the color of this girls eye's. As they drove back, both set down their wish to be alone so that they could find peace in the company of one who looked in much the same situation.

"Hi. My name's Selphie."

"I'm Rinoa… What happened?" Why did this other girl have this same look.

"My dad was driving a truck, he crashed another car into the other side of the road, his truck blew up. My mom died from cancer the night after he left." Rinoa could feel the sweltering rage in her veins, how she wanted to place the blame on this girl, but she knew that's not where it belonged.

"I was in the other car, my mom died. My dad is missing." Selphie looked shocked, then saddened.

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault."

They had arrived at the overcrowded orphanage. They were let loose into a wild atmosphere. A little boy was being picked on… another who's eyes held color for Rinoa. The injustice hit both girls. They ran to stand up for this boy they didn't know who sat in a corner wearing rags for clothing . That had set them up for the same fate.

Rinoa still did not talk. Still in shock at seeing a full range of colors.

"I'm here to take you three and two others someplace else, it's out of the way, but it's nice. Small, but not overcrowded. Think you'd like that?" Finally she looked at the man again, finally seeing two others waiting in the distance… a dark boy and a light haired girl with a darkly shaded eye patch, both had color eye's like her two other friends.

"Selphie and Irvine will come right?" The man smiled.

"Yes."

"Ok."

He heard El call his name and went running.

"Coming!" He ran to the other side of the orphanage were he and his sister hung out a lot. It was by a small field of wildflowers he and Ellone had helped plant shortly after they were brought here… ok, so maybe not so much him, as Ellone, as he was still a baby at the time. He ran up to his sister and saw three new kids. And everyone else was there as well, even uncle Cid.

"Hi!" He said trying to be a little upbeat, there faces were sad, like what Sis's face looked like sometimes when she thought she was alone. All three of them and his sister looked at him. He felt suddenly very small underneath their numb stare, but El made it not so bad as she pulled him into her embrace standing behind him.

"Fujin, Rajin, Rinoa, Selphie, Irvine… this is Squall, Ellone, Seifer, Quistis, and Zell." Matron pointed to each as their name was said. "This is a smaller place than you are probably used to, but it is also less crowded. I hope you can enjoy it here." All three had their eyes on the ground, slowly becoming more comfortable with their new situation. Rinoa kept sneaking looks at the boy… Squall, he seemed so happy. How could anyone be so happy when they were alone?

"Come, it's dinner time. Hotdogs and a campfire." Cid informed them.

"YES!" Zell yelled.

"Do you know what goes into those things?" Quistis shouted at the jumping child. Ellone let go of Squall as she attempted to get Zell to Settle down.

"Chicken…" Seifer lowered his voice conspiratorially, "…butts." Quistis burst out laughing. The five new kids, giggled lightly. They all looked at each other with interest, the girl… Rinoa seemed to be looking his way a bit much. As children they locked eye's, green and brown, brown and blue, then blue eyes met green.

"What's up, Squally gonna cry cause sissy left him?"

"Seifer!" Matron yelled, but it was too late. Squall wasn't even close to tears, he was too busy thinking about the new girl with black hair… she was pretty. But Seifer's remark left him empty… an empty quickly filling with rage as it always was with Seifer and him. Squall yelled as he pounced on Seifer not giving him a chance to turn away… he would pay for that remark.

Punches and thrashes were traded as Cid and Matron pulled the two apart. Dirty and bloody the two were sent to wash up and go to bed with no dinner. It didn't matter to them, Sis always snuck them both plates when they got into fights like this. What neither they or Cid knew was that Edea made them and gave them to Ellone to deliver. It was as it always was with one exception. His dreams were no longer filled with just the faces and voices of his mother and sister, that new girl was there too, only there was no voice to match, only a giggle… a giggle that sounded like it belonged to an angel in one of Matron's stories. Tomorrow, he resolved, he would hear her voice in his dreams too.

Rinoa lay in her new bed several nights later, thinking over her peculiar situation. No one here was fully grey to her… other than herself that was. No matter if she ever wore red, she was always grey… until she looked into a mirror, then she saw all her color. The mirror did much the same for Matron and Ellone, though she could see their eye color without the mirror. Come to think of it, if she could see herself without a mirror, she might be able to see her eye color too. But just the same, she could see red on them, but not on herself. She could see everyone's eyes here. She could see Cid's and Seifer's skin as in color well. And the most odd of anyone there was Squall. No matter what he wore, he was always in full color. Blue shirts, yellow shirts, red shirts and anywhere in between. He was always in full color… the mirror did not change that.

Everyone here had a particular dynamic, they fit together like one of her fathers favorite puzzles. She was happy here… so where Selphie and Irvine. Zell was a great friend and loads of fun. Fujin and Rajin, the ones Cid had picked up from Trabia seemed to have latched onto Seifer, he seemed perfectly fine with it. Seifer was nice, but he… he had issues, then again, who there didn't.

But Squall… the boy who's smile could light up the world. He really only smiled at his sister, but he was always very curious. He had asked all the new arrivals questions their first full day there, the day after their arrival. He was so sweet. And her only source of full color… of what it used to be like before…she stopped that train of thought before it could start and just settled with… what it was like before.

She decided that one day…maybe not soon, but someday… Squall wouldn't just smile at her, he'd smile for her.

He was sitting out in the flower field again. He loved it here. Sis was out watching after everyone else playing Light Tag. His ankle felt better after Ellone and Matron had taken care of it, but it still hurt. He heard some rustling behind him. There was only one person that would give up Light Tag to come check on him… well ok if he included Sis, then there would be two… but she was watching everyone else, and he was supposed to be in bed.

"Squall?" Yup… he grinned. He playfully ignored her call. Then he got mauled. She was careful not to hurt his ankle, but she was roughing around just the same. Both were giggling. She ungracefully landed on top of him when they were both worn out. He wrapped his arms around his best friend as she rested her head on his chest, still both carefully insuring his ankle wasn't hurt.

"How's your ankle?" She asked.

"It's better." He closed his eye's and smiled as her hair tickled his nose. It was silent for a while. She made a movement to get up and he let go. She rolled of so that she too could lay looking up at the night sky.

Squall climbed up a tall hill of rubble and dirt, leftovers from the construction of the orphanage. Matron and Cid assumed it was far enough away from the actual orphanage for anyone to find it. As with all little children curiosity was more than willing to kill the cat. Seifer and Irvine had found it and both had dared everyone else to go to the top, claiming that they already had. It wasn't that high, and it looked fun so why not.

"Squall you shouldn't do that!" Rinoa yelled at him, she had already threatened to find Sis, or Matron, Cid wasn't here again so he wasn't an option. He hadn't paid any attention. He was almost to the top and Seifer and Irvine were eating his dust. He would get to the top first, what neither he nor Irvine knew was that Seifer was laughing on the ground with Fujin and Rajin loyally at his side, watching the two race to the top as Rinoa and Selphie freaked out. Quistis and Zell had decided to stay and keep Sis company so she wouldn't suspect something.

But Zell being Zell couldn't keep his mouth shut. Ellone was rushing as quickly after Zell and Quistis as she could. Then she saw her precious little brother standing on the top of a rather large pile of debris and Irvine not far below him.

"Squall!" Ellone yelled. Both Irvine and Squall where startled. Matron caught Irvine before he fell, but Squall tumbled over backwards.

"Squall!" Rinoa shrieked as Everyone else other than Seifer cried out for his safety. He had landed on his knees with his left ankle at an odd angle. Matron carried him back as he tried to hide his tears of pain. Rinoa hadn't talked to him since that morning.

"When you fell… I was scared." Squall moved his eyes from the sky to Rinoa.

"Of what?"

"That you would go away. like my mommy did." She was afraid I was going to die?

"Just… be careful. Ok?" She wouldn't meet his stare. Her eye's were glassy reflecting the starlight. A few tears escaped out the side's of her eyes. He moved to his side and wiped the tears with his thumb.

"Ok… I'll be here… I won't go away…" A smile lit her face as she finally looked at him, her back still flat on the ground. She looked back to the sky as he continued to look at her. He saw a flash of light in the sky reflect of her eyes. He could see her thinking of the wish she wanted to make. He wished for one thing… I wish that we will always be with each other! She looked at him again still smiling.

"Promise you won't go away?" He smiled back at her.

"I promise!"

Squall rocked himself back and forth sitting on the ground on the beach. Light house was lighting the surrounding lightly, but the rain subdued the illumination. The rain mixed with one boys tears. Everyone else was inside with Matron. He knew Cid was probably out getting wet looking for him, but he was just so alone. He knew that everyone else was feeling down too, but none of them were as close to El as he was. His sister, his family was gone. Disappeared after a short goodbye in the middle of the night. He was soaked, he was dirty, he was in agony. So small a child, so young, and yet so…. So very alone.

"Squall there you are, I've looked everywhere for you, we've all been worried." Squall knew his time to himself to wallow in self-pity was up. He walked to Cid, he walked passed him without a word, to the house. He was still soaked, but the air was warm, It wasn't dark, it wasn't night on the inside. All of the faces were downcast at the loss of their older sibling, but none compared to the face they all saw when that little boy walked in. He saw everyone paired up, Selphie crying with Irvine, Zell crying with Quistis, Rinoa crying with Seifer her second favorite… or maybe Seifer was her first pick… Squall was alone. So, very, very alone. He headed towards the boy's room in dejection when she called his name.

"Squall…?" The tearless yet incredibly solemn face that Squall held lifted to see the tear streaked cheeks of the one other girl he truly trusted. She ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him. His face buried in her hair. Matron comforted Seifer in Rinoa's stead. Cid stood close to his wife.

"Rinny…?" Squall finally said as he began to join her in sobbing. Although this moment would fade in their memories, the feeling of being held by the other… the feeling of being comforted by the other… that would never go away.

Who knew how long they stood there crying in each others arms. They didn't. They didn't care. Cid and Matron eventually put everyone to bed, but Rinoa and Squall refused to let go of each other. They clung to each other throughout the night laying on the living room couch covered in a few blankets. As long as they had each other they'd be ok.

Squall was happy for her, she had family that wanted her. But at the same time he couldn't help but hate the man that stood before him. Rinoa was saying her goodbye's as the man waited for his daughter. Then it was his turn at last. They didn't make eye contact. They both knew the end result would be an endless run of tears. No words were exchanged, only a brief embrace between friends… friends who's hearts were being squashed to pieces by this man that was taking her away.

After Ellone had left, they clung to each other as much as they could for nearly a week. Beyond that they both slowly, well to be honest, all of them slowly came out of their own shell. They had clung to each other but had said nothing. Everyone had been in their own pit of despair at Sis's departure. Squall did his best not to box himself up, he still had Rinoa.

Even though he didn't retreat from socializing, the happy boy, the one that always managed to bring a smile to the room or get into fights with Seifer, was no more. Seifer had to provoke him in order to get Squall into a fight. Squall only smiled around Rin for the most part. Selphie and Zell seemed to pick up the slack, Irvine did too. Quistis tried her best to be like Sis, but she just wasn't the same.

But now as Rinoa left the orphanage only two month after Ellone was sent away, three weeks after the end of the war, some guy named Laguna came 'back from the dead' apparently, and was now the savior of the world… whatever. Rinoa was gone, so was any attempt at being in a good mood for everyone else.

As Rinoa walked away, she was happy to see her father, sad to see her friends go. In pain at leaving Squall, her best fiend, she tried to hold a smile… but she was failing. She didn't know it now, but she would come to hate this man. Not just for the way he would treat her, unable to face such a reminder of his wife now passed away, but she would hate him for taking her away from her real family… from her friends. She hoped that one day they would meet again… If only she knew what that wish would entail.

Squall looked up to the sky to see, what he thought he would never forget, what he thought he could never love again… he saw a shooting star…

I promise.

Heh… Right.

Ultimicia had been defeated… again she wallowed in self pity as she threw herself back in time. This time would be different. She saw Edea and her defeater standing in a different time, a different place. It went as always. But she could feel the general difference already. Little Squall was out looking for his disappeared Ellone today… perhaps tomorrow he would look for his other lost friend… whomever that may be. She gave up her powers to Edea as she always had, but not all of them. Afterward she flung herself further back. She saw a young child.

"Adel." The young girl looked to her questioningly.

"Beware when you are taken to see Ellone by the one with long black hair, he will deceive you." Time faded as Ultimicia began to stand flinging her back to were she was supposed to disappear. But she flung herself out of time before it came to pass, she turned around knowing that she was about to change everything. She felt no pain as she was dead, but she passed on her powers to the mother of her defeater. It would soon be passed onto the one who would ruin everything. It was time… she faded into oblivion waiting… watching as time progressed… waiting for her return to power, her return to life, her return forever.

SeeD… they won't win again!