Disclaimer: I do not own any part of FF8 or any of the FF's for that matter. Yea, yea, keep rubbin' it in my face, why don't ya'?

"Show me what you've got, Leonhart!" I cried in anger. His So-Far-I'm-So-Cool attitude was really getting to me, like it usually did.

Quistis pointed her whip at me while Zell scowled and glared. The woman was now yelling at me. I think she was saying something about my disobedience and how it was so terrible and how now I was going to Hell because of it. Whatever she said, however, was drowned out by Ultimecia talking to me in my head; "Don't throw it all away now boy. Destroy them; kill those disgusting little creatures. Those SeeDs. You are fulfilling your destiny—your dreams. Fight for it. Fight for me…"

The voice faded as Squall began to cast some kind of magic. Wind, no less, which I've learned to easily deflect. Fujin has bees one of my closest friends for these last few years.

I cast Flare, aiming it at the one who started it all. I never liked him anyways, which everyone knows. Then Zell, the annoying little suck-up, summoned Quezacotl which fried my HP a little bit; so did Quistis with her damned ice Spells. They even had the nerve to send Shiva my way!

And so on and so forth for what seemed like hours we battled consistently. Spell after summon after physical attack after items. I was forced, for probably the first time in my life, to develop some sort of a pattern: Fight, heal, spell, spell, heal, fight, spell, heal, summon, fight, heal, heal, fight. Or something like that anyways.

But they kept fighting and attacking, knowing that I was tiring. Killing me with their damned laughter. They were Hyne and I was the humans fighting for strength. Fighting for a cast-off skin. Fighting for nothing.

I stabbed at Zell with my Gunblade but he was quick on his feet and not as worn-out as I, so I missed. Instead his fist connected with my jaw in a swift, hard blow, sending me stumbling backwards.

"Give it up, Almasy! You can't win. You're low on spells, not to mention out-matched." Quistis, with cold determination glinting in her crystal-blue eyes said.

I spat a mouthful of spit and blood at her feet, "Never!" Then Zell attacked me with an earth spell of some kind, taking more damage than I'd expected it to. Squall attacked me, then Quistis, then Zell again. Over and over and over, without any chance to make a move myself; only a few sloppy shield spells and shit.

The icy voice crept back through my mind, "Worthless boy! Fight them! Kill them! Achieve your dream! You are failing me now and that is unacceptable! I WANT THEM DEAD!"

"—EDEN!"

I looked up just in time to see a great wall of red devour me; twisting my insides, boiling my blood, ripping my mind to shreds. Searing Pain!

…Then blackness.

My last moments in that world were of darkness enveloping me, the eerie laughter of Ultimecia ringing out around me and echoing through nothingness.

This world where children grow up not knowing who they are. Where men die fighting for a force that may be more evil than the evil they oppose. Where adolescents discover through death that they were fighting for nothing. Yet they die all the same.

BWAH! There's chapter one for ya'! Hopefully the next chapter will be up soon. It's already written, only it's in a notebook somewhere. () And I hope some people actually review this thing. I might be giving up on some of my other fics anyways.

4 Screws Loose