Light of hope
--------------
(by Angel Celes)
Time seemed endless.
Zell was sitting on the floor leaning against the hard metal wall, Quistis right next to him. Rinoa had
left some hours ago and had not returned.
Selphie walked across the cell from one wall to another again and again back and forth.
"C'mon, Selphie, get down, you're making me nervous, eh?" Zell looked at the girl in the yellow
dress.
"But we have to get out of here!" Selphie said. "If we stay longer we will be executed!"
"No one ever escaped from here." Quistis sighed. "The D District Prison is the securest prison of the
whole continent."
"But there must be a way to...", Selphie began when suddenly the door opened and two guards
stepped in.
"Who of you guys is Selphie Tilmitt?" one of them wanted to know.
Zell, Selphie and Quistis looked at each other in surprise, then Zell jumped up from the ground. "No,
Selphie will stay right here. You won't harm her!"
"Wanna make trouble again?" The two men stepped towards Zell raising their weapons.
"No wait!!!" Selphie jumped forwards. "I'm Selphie! I'll come with you!!"
"But Selphie..." Zell began.
"No, it's okay" Selphie forced herself to smile. "Perhaps they'll bring me to Rinoa."
She left the cell accompanied by the two guards.
"Where are we going?" Selphie asked. The two men didn't answer.
They walked up several stairs until they reached something that seemed to be the top floor of the
building. They stopped in front of a door.
"Go in there", one of the guards said. "And don't try to escape or you'll pay for it."
Selphie opened the door and walked in. The guards waited outside.
"Where... where am I?"
Selphie looked around. The room was different to the other cells of the prison. It was bigger and full
of strange machineries and...- suddenly she saw Squall.
He was hanging on the wall tied up on his hands and feet not moving anymore. "Squall!!!" Selphie
exclaimed and ran towards him. "Squall!!! What's up with you? Come on!!! We have to get out of
here! Squall! Squall!!!"
"He cannot hear you", came a voice from behind.
Selphie turned around and looked at the young blond man leaning against the wall.
"Seifer..." Selphie got pale. "So it is true. You're still alive."
Seifer laughed. "I feel more alive than ever before."
"What have you done to Squall?", asked Selphie. "Is he... is he...?"
"Dead?" Seifer shook his head. "No. Not yet. He's just unconscious. That's why I made the guards
bring you here. I want to talk to you."
"To me?" Selphie walked backwards. "I don't know anything. And I won't tell you anything."
Seifer laughed again. "Oh, the little messenger girl is playing the great heroine. But that won't help
you. Listen." He walked over to a control panel. "If I pull this lever Squall will be toasted... you
don't want him to die, do you?" He smiled evilly.
"You wouldn't do that!" Selphie shouted.
"Oh, I would", Seifer answered seriously. "But of course you can try it out. And after Squall is totally
burned you'll be the next one hanging up there, my dear. So you wanna cooperate?"
Selphie nodded.
"So come over here", Seifer said. "Let's have a talk."
Unwillingly Selphie stepped closer to him.
"I wanna talk about your great gift", Seifer began.
Selphie looked confused. "What do you mean?"
Seifer smiled. "You know what I mean. I'm talking about your magical abilities. Do you remember
when you, Squall and Zell fought the monster in Dollet? You used a spell that was so strong and so
perfect... I've never seen something like that before."
"The end..." Selphie whispered.
Seifer looked at her. "What?"
"It's called 'The end...'", Selphie replied.
"The end", Seifer repeated. "So tell me more about it. How do you use it? How did you learn it?
Where did you get it from?"
Selphie shook her head. "I... I don't know..."
Seifer frowned. "Come on, Selphie, that's not true!"
"No, I... I... don't know."
"Don't try to fool me!" Seifer got angry. "Selphie, if you don't wanna cooperate with me I'll..."
"I received it from Edea when I was a child", Selphie answered quietly. "She said that I would need
the spell in the future. She said that Squall would need it."
"So you remember the orphanage?" Seifer's eyes widened in surprise.
"Yes, I do." Selphie nodded. "I only used Guardian Forces three times in my life. Once when I was
young, once in Dollet and once on our mission in Deling city. I still remember everything. But when I
realized that the others didn't remember... I... I was afraid they wouldn't believe me. I haven't
found the right moment to tell them about our past. I... I'm going to tell them about it when
everything's over."
Seifer shook his head. "Better tell them today. Because when everything is over you won't have a
chance to."
Selphie looked at him. "What... what do you mean? What is your aim? Seifer... we know each
other a lifetime... you must help us."
"Tell me more about 'the end'", Seifer said.
Selphie closed her eyes sadly. "There's nothing more to say. I received the power from our Matron
and that's all."
"No, that's not all", Seifer said. "It is a sorceress' power that you got, Selphie. The power of
Ultimacia."
"What?" Selphie looked up. "Who's Ultimacia?"
Seifer sighed. "That's not important. You will never know what's going on until it's too late."
(A sorceress. This girl has the power of a sorceress), Seifer thought.
"Oh Seifer...", Selphie said. "Why can't we just be friends?"
"Friends..." Seifer repeated. "No, we cannot be friends. I'm a sorceress knight and you're (a
sorceress) a little messenger girl. And I'm going to (protect) kill you."
Seifer suddenly started to feel strange. Was it really right what he was doing? What about his
romantic dream? Had he ever imagined his romantic dream to be like THIS?
He sighed.
When he looked up he saw Selphie walking over to Squall and trying to free him from the chains
keeping him on the wall.
"What are you doing there?" Seifer asked angrily.
"He's hurt", Selphie replied without stopping. "We cannot let him hang in there. We must find a
doctor who..."
"What are you talking about?!" Seifer grabbed Selphie's arm and pulled her away from Squall. "I'm
going to kill him anyway. And you'll be next, Selphie! You and the teacher and the chicken wuss!"
Selphie stared at him. "So do it."
"What?"
"Kill me", Selphie said slowly. "Come on, Seifer. Do it right away. Take your gunblade and cut my
head off if you dare."
Seifer looked at her in surprise. "You don't mean that."
"Yes, I do." Selphie was serious. "I can't stand this anymore."
"Stand what?"
Selphie sighed. "My friends are suffering. Our world is dying and we can't save it. A friend of mine
turned out to be my greatest enemy."
Seifer frowned. "A friend of yours?"
"Yes, Seifer, we were friends. We all were friends. Quistis, Zell, Irvine, you and me and Squall. And
we still are..."
She couldn't finish her sentence because suddenly Seifer wrapped his arms around her shoulders,
pulled her near... and kissed her.
Selphie tried to push him away but he was too strong. He pressed her back against the hard metal
wall of the cell.
"Just give me this moment, Selphie... one little moment... let's forget who we are for a second..."
"No... wait, Seifer... what are you doing..."
Seifer touched her lips with his fingers. "Shhhh... please, Selphie... I promise, I will never harm you.
You're a light of hope in this dying world. All the violence and hate and cruelty of our world has
never touched you. Your heart is so pure... I've never met someone like you."
She looked into his eyes and realised that he said the truth.
He kissed her once again and this time Selphie didn't fight him.
She leaned back against the wall feeling his lips and the touch of his hands on her body. She had
never felt something like this before. Her mind was a chaos of love and hate, of joy and fear, of hope
and desperation. Although she felt uneasy for the moment she was safe in his arms. For one second
he was her sorceress knight...
- Then suddenly she opened her eyes and saw Squall hanging next to her on the wall. He was still
hurt, his eyes were closed.
She stepped away from Seifer.
"No, I can't", she said. "I can't forget everything."
Seifer looked at Squall, then at her again. She expected him to get angry, but instead he just nodded.
"I'll help you and your friends get out of here. I'll make two inexperienced guards wait in the
corridors with your nunchaku, quistis' whip and squall's gunblade . Send Zell to knock them down.
Come back to this room and take Squall with you. Then get out of here as fast as possible."
Selphie looked surprised. "Why are you helping us, Seifer?"
The blond man smirked. "You're not supposed to die like this. You're supposed to die through my
sword. In a fair battle. Now get out of here. And don't tell anyone what has happened between us,
okay?"
Selphie nodded. "I promise."
She turned around and walked towards the door. "Seifer..." She stopped and looked at him a last
time. "Thank you."
The knight shook his head. "Next time we'll be enemies and we will hate each other. Go now."
Selphie opened the door and walked back into the corridor.
---------------
Some days later they met again in Galbadia Garden.
Selphie expected to see something in his eyes that reminded her of the day when they had met in the
D District Prison, but his eyes were totally empty.
"I'm sorry", he said to her. "That we never really got to know each other."
"Actually you're not my type", Selphie replied. (You could have been the one for me. But we met
too late.)
Squall glanced at her in a way that made her frown. He seemed to know something... but that was
impossible... he had been unconscious... or... hadn't he...?
She looked back at Seifer.
('Why can't we just be friends?')
The knight raised his gunblade.
('Next time we'll be enemies and we will hate each other.')
The Seeds got ready to fight.
"Whatever will happen, Seifer", Selphie thought. "We will survive and we will meet again."
('You're a light of hope in this dying world...')
Then they started to fight.
--------------
(by Angel Celes)
Time seemed endless.
Zell was sitting on the floor leaning against the hard metal wall, Quistis right next to him. Rinoa had
left some hours ago and had not returned.
Selphie walked across the cell from one wall to another again and again back and forth.
"C'mon, Selphie, get down, you're making me nervous, eh?" Zell looked at the girl in the yellow
dress.
"But we have to get out of here!" Selphie said. "If we stay longer we will be executed!"
"No one ever escaped from here." Quistis sighed. "The D District Prison is the securest prison of the
whole continent."
"But there must be a way to...", Selphie began when suddenly the door opened and two guards
stepped in.
"Who of you guys is Selphie Tilmitt?" one of them wanted to know.
Zell, Selphie and Quistis looked at each other in surprise, then Zell jumped up from the ground. "No,
Selphie will stay right here. You won't harm her!"
"Wanna make trouble again?" The two men stepped towards Zell raising their weapons.
"No wait!!!" Selphie jumped forwards. "I'm Selphie! I'll come with you!!"
"But Selphie..." Zell began.
"No, it's okay" Selphie forced herself to smile. "Perhaps they'll bring me to Rinoa."
She left the cell accompanied by the two guards.
"Where are we going?" Selphie asked. The two men didn't answer.
They walked up several stairs until they reached something that seemed to be the top floor of the
building. They stopped in front of a door.
"Go in there", one of the guards said. "And don't try to escape or you'll pay for it."
Selphie opened the door and walked in. The guards waited outside.
"Where... where am I?"
Selphie looked around. The room was different to the other cells of the prison. It was bigger and full
of strange machineries and...- suddenly she saw Squall.
He was hanging on the wall tied up on his hands and feet not moving anymore. "Squall!!!" Selphie
exclaimed and ran towards him. "Squall!!! What's up with you? Come on!!! We have to get out of
here! Squall! Squall!!!"
"He cannot hear you", came a voice from behind.
Selphie turned around and looked at the young blond man leaning against the wall.
"Seifer..." Selphie got pale. "So it is true. You're still alive."
Seifer laughed. "I feel more alive than ever before."
"What have you done to Squall?", asked Selphie. "Is he... is he...?"
"Dead?" Seifer shook his head. "No. Not yet. He's just unconscious. That's why I made the guards
bring you here. I want to talk to you."
"To me?" Selphie walked backwards. "I don't know anything. And I won't tell you anything."
Seifer laughed again. "Oh, the little messenger girl is playing the great heroine. But that won't help
you. Listen." He walked over to a control panel. "If I pull this lever Squall will be toasted... you
don't want him to die, do you?" He smiled evilly.
"You wouldn't do that!" Selphie shouted.
"Oh, I would", Seifer answered seriously. "But of course you can try it out. And after Squall is totally
burned you'll be the next one hanging up there, my dear. So you wanna cooperate?"
Selphie nodded.
"So come over here", Seifer said. "Let's have a talk."
Unwillingly Selphie stepped closer to him.
"I wanna talk about your great gift", Seifer began.
Selphie looked confused. "What do you mean?"
Seifer smiled. "You know what I mean. I'm talking about your magical abilities. Do you remember
when you, Squall and Zell fought the monster in Dollet? You used a spell that was so strong and so
perfect... I've never seen something like that before."
"The end..." Selphie whispered.
Seifer looked at her. "What?"
"It's called 'The end...'", Selphie replied.
"The end", Seifer repeated. "So tell me more about it. How do you use it? How did you learn it?
Where did you get it from?"
Selphie shook her head. "I... I don't know..."
Seifer frowned. "Come on, Selphie, that's not true!"
"No, I... I... don't know."
"Don't try to fool me!" Seifer got angry. "Selphie, if you don't wanna cooperate with me I'll..."
"I received it from Edea when I was a child", Selphie answered quietly. "She said that I would need
the spell in the future. She said that Squall would need it."
"So you remember the orphanage?" Seifer's eyes widened in surprise.
"Yes, I do." Selphie nodded. "I only used Guardian Forces three times in my life. Once when I was
young, once in Dollet and once on our mission in Deling city. I still remember everything. But when I
realized that the others didn't remember... I... I was afraid they wouldn't believe me. I haven't
found the right moment to tell them about our past. I... I'm going to tell them about it when
everything's over."
Seifer shook his head. "Better tell them today. Because when everything is over you won't have a
chance to."
Selphie looked at him. "What... what do you mean? What is your aim? Seifer... we know each
other a lifetime... you must help us."
"Tell me more about 'the end'", Seifer said.
Selphie closed her eyes sadly. "There's nothing more to say. I received the power from our Matron
and that's all."
"No, that's not all", Seifer said. "It is a sorceress' power that you got, Selphie. The power of
Ultimacia."
"What?" Selphie looked up. "Who's Ultimacia?"
Seifer sighed. "That's not important. You will never know what's going on until it's too late."
(A sorceress. This girl has the power of a sorceress), Seifer thought.
"Oh Seifer...", Selphie said. "Why can't we just be friends?"
"Friends..." Seifer repeated. "No, we cannot be friends. I'm a sorceress knight and you're (a
sorceress) a little messenger girl. And I'm going to (protect) kill you."
Seifer suddenly started to feel strange. Was it really right what he was doing? What about his
romantic dream? Had he ever imagined his romantic dream to be like THIS?
He sighed.
When he looked up he saw Selphie walking over to Squall and trying to free him from the chains
keeping him on the wall.
"What are you doing there?" Seifer asked angrily.
"He's hurt", Selphie replied without stopping. "We cannot let him hang in there. We must find a
doctor who..."
"What are you talking about?!" Seifer grabbed Selphie's arm and pulled her away from Squall. "I'm
going to kill him anyway. And you'll be next, Selphie! You and the teacher and the chicken wuss!"
Selphie stared at him. "So do it."
"What?"
"Kill me", Selphie said slowly. "Come on, Seifer. Do it right away. Take your gunblade and cut my
head off if you dare."
Seifer looked at her in surprise. "You don't mean that."
"Yes, I do." Selphie was serious. "I can't stand this anymore."
"Stand what?"
Selphie sighed. "My friends are suffering. Our world is dying and we can't save it. A friend of mine
turned out to be my greatest enemy."
Seifer frowned. "A friend of yours?"
"Yes, Seifer, we were friends. We all were friends. Quistis, Zell, Irvine, you and me and Squall. And
we still are..."
She couldn't finish her sentence because suddenly Seifer wrapped his arms around her shoulders,
pulled her near... and kissed her.
Selphie tried to push him away but he was too strong. He pressed her back against the hard metal
wall of the cell.
"Just give me this moment, Selphie... one little moment... let's forget who we are for a second..."
"No... wait, Seifer... what are you doing..."
Seifer touched her lips with his fingers. "Shhhh... please, Selphie... I promise, I will never harm you.
You're a light of hope in this dying world. All the violence and hate and cruelty of our world has
never touched you. Your heart is so pure... I've never met someone like you."
She looked into his eyes and realised that he said the truth.
He kissed her once again and this time Selphie didn't fight him.
She leaned back against the wall feeling his lips and the touch of his hands on her body. She had
never felt something like this before. Her mind was a chaos of love and hate, of joy and fear, of hope
and desperation. Although she felt uneasy for the moment she was safe in his arms. For one second
he was her sorceress knight...
- Then suddenly she opened her eyes and saw Squall hanging next to her on the wall. He was still
hurt, his eyes were closed.
She stepped away from Seifer.
"No, I can't", she said. "I can't forget everything."
Seifer looked at Squall, then at her again. She expected him to get angry, but instead he just nodded.
"I'll help you and your friends get out of here. I'll make two inexperienced guards wait in the
corridors with your nunchaku, quistis' whip and squall's gunblade . Send Zell to knock them down.
Come back to this room and take Squall with you. Then get out of here as fast as possible."
Selphie looked surprised. "Why are you helping us, Seifer?"
The blond man smirked. "You're not supposed to die like this. You're supposed to die through my
sword. In a fair battle. Now get out of here. And don't tell anyone what has happened between us,
okay?"
Selphie nodded. "I promise."
She turned around and walked towards the door. "Seifer..." She stopped and looked at him a last
time. "Thank you."
The knight shook his head. "Next time we'll be enemies and we will hate each other. Go now."
Selphie opened the door and walked back into the corridor.
---------------
Some days later they met again in Galbadia Garden.
Selphie expected to see something in his eyes that reminded her of the day when they had met in the
D District Prison, but his eyes were totally empty.
"I'm sorry", he said to her. "That we never really got to know each other."
"Actually you're not my type", Selphie replied. (You could have been the one for me. But we met
too late.)
Squall glanced at her in a way that made her frown. He seemed to know something... but that was
impossible... he had been unconscious... or... hadn't he...?
She looked back at Seifer.
('Why can't we just be friends?')
The knight raised his gunblade.
('Next time we'll be enemies and we will hate each other.')
The Seeds got ready to fight.
"Whatever will happen, Seifer", Selphie thought. "We will survive and we will meet again."
('You're a light of hope in this dying world...')
Then they started to fight.