Chapter 9: KILL SQUALL LEONHART

(A/n: I hope y'all enjoy reading this story as much as I do writing it! Once again, thank you for being so patient in waiting for updates on this story. I'm trying to make it up to you by posting the last four chapters all at once! Am I forgiven?

The purple blast had struck Seifer painfully in the chest for the second time and he and Neero were back in the flower field of Gaia. Neero's arms were once again crossed over his chest, but the smugness was gone and deadly determination shone in his eyes. Seifer stood behind him, just as lifeless and dull as a porcelain doll, just as Rinoa had. Squall stepped forward.

"Seifer…?" He said softly, testing him.

Seifer lifted his eyes, filled with the same blankness that had Rinoa's. But death, destruction and despair also filled the green of his eyes. Neero handed Hyperion to Seifer, who lifted it and stared at it like it was foreign to him. He tested the weight of the blade but then just let it fall to his side limply.

Kill Squall Leonhart, Seifer.

Seifer stepped towards Squall, who stepped back, stumbling over a rock. He tried to catch himself but he hit the ground hard. He stared up at Seifer, in disbelief. "Seifer, what's the matter? What did he do to you?" He asked his former rival. Would his former rival become the new enemy? Squall glanced in Quistis's direction before diverting his attention to Seifer, eyeing him, watching for any sign of attack.

"It's all your fault…" Seifer whispered. "I could never be better than you. You grew up… But I'm still a little boy…" He lifted the weapon to his side, his eyes tracing over the steely blade.

Squall shook his head. "You proved to everyone that you are capable, Seifer. You were able to gain the trust and friendship of a sorceress. How were you to know that her intentions were evil? You've shown to people that you are not a little boy anymore." He glanced at Neero, who had not moved, but was watching the scene intently. "Prove to them once again, by being the one to kill Neero. Neero is the threat right now…"

The blonde man shook his head. "You are the threat, Squall. Because you killed Rinoa, we are here today. Because you killed her, thousands of people are dead. You are the little boy, Squall. You were playing with things that you shouldn't and look what you caused." Seifer lifted the blade and brought it down. Squall blocked it with his own gunblade and struggled to keep the tip of the Hyperion from stabbing him through his throat. Squall reached out to kick Seifer's feet and knock him off balance but Seifer was faster.

Seifer grabbed his foot and twisted it. Squall rolled with the twist so that his ankle would snap into a million pieces. The blonde man tried to stab him in the back with his gunblade but Squall somersaulted backwards and jumped back to his feet. What was wrong with Quistis? Why wasn't she doing anything? But he had to clear his mind when Seifer began to swing and slash at him.

xxx

"What happened?" She asked, keeping her eyes on the sun setting over the ocean, and away from his torn and bloodied face. Although the cuts were small and not mortal, she couldn't bear to look at him covered in blood. Especially Squall's blood…

Seifer climbed to his feet from their seat on the wall outside the orphanage and flung the bloody blade into the sea. He watched with cold eyes as it drifted under the water. Hopefully that would be the last time he ever saw that awful weapon… It had caused so much pain to so many people…

"I didn't mean to."

Quistis shook her head and jumped down from the wall, her bare feet thudding softly against the sand. "How do you not mean to, Seifer! How do you not mean to kill Squall! He was the only one who could save all of us and you murdered him!" She screamed at him. He jumped down beside her and reached out to her. She jerked away from his touch. "Don't touch me!" She spat at him. Just when she had thought he had begun to change… She should have known that Seifer would use her to kill Squall. She should have known it. That was the real reason that he came back to Garden. To get revenge.

He reached out again and this time he grabbed her and pulled her close. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, holding her while she screamed and writhed, demanding to be let free. "No, Quistis… It's not what you think…" He murmured. When she continued to scream, he shoved her into the water. She coughed and sputtered, struggling to climb to her feet while the waves crashed against battle worn body. Seifer watched as she swallowed more and more water.

She finally managed to crawl to the dry part of the shore where she coughed and sputtered. Seifer fell to his knees beside her. "I'm sorry, Quistis. I killed Squall because I had to prove myself to you. I had to show you that he wasn't worth ten years of devotion from you." She stared at him. He narrowed his eyes when he saw the fear in her crystal blue eyes. He climbed to his feet and waded into the water. She watched him, her hand at her throat as she coughed some more.

He turned and looked back at her, his eyes filled with tears.

Xxx

Seifer slashed downwards and cut the blade cleanly through Squall's calf. Squall groaned and stumbled, pressing his hands against the gash. The rival slashed the blade again and cut down Squall's other calf. When Squall fell back to the ground, unable to stand anymore, Seifer tossed the blades aside and fell to Squall, bringing his fist to Squall's jaw. He coughed and spit out blood. He tried to fight Seifer off but soon he found his left wrist and right arm broken. He was defenseless.

"Why… Why are… Why are you doing this, Seifer?" Squall choked, as Seifer wreaked havoc on his shattered body. He no longer felt the pain anymore as Seifer dropped hit after hit. Seifer ignored him at first. "What about Quistis?" Lionheart whispered, closing his eyes against the nearing death.

Seifer's fist connected with his jaw again. "Quistis is dead."

"She's… not… dead…"

"SEIFER!"

xxx

"Seifer, what are you doing?" She asked, climbing to her feet. He was slowly walking through the tide water and she could hear every gasp of pain when the seawater splashed against his raw wounds. She followed after him. When she rested a hand on his shoulder, he spun on her. He leaned down to her, and kissed her once, before falling back into the water. She could only watch as he sunk beneath the depths of the dark water. She looked up, only to realize the sun had set. Then she heard him scream her name.

"QUISTIS!"

xxx

The tears welled up in his eyes and he climbed to his feet, staggering. There she lay, nearly hidden from view by the thousands of pink flowers that surround her body. She slowly sat upright, rubbing her eyes. She yawned softly before turning to look in the direction of the voice that had screamed her voice. She saw Seifer standing, bloodied, in front of Squall, who was barely breathing and she scrambled to her feet.

"Seifer, what's going on? Is he… Dead?" Seifer shook his head slowly and she watched as the tears slipped from his eyes and traced through the blood on his cheeks. She watched as he lifted his hands in front of him, which were stained red with blood. He staggered backwards from the nearly dead Squall, shaking his head.

"Seifer, what are you doing?" She asked, in déjà vu. He continued to step away from her. She tried to reach out to him but he turned away from her and grabbed the two gunblades that lay on the ground. He turned his gaze to Neero, who was smiling.

"Great job, Seifer. But guess what I forgot to tell you." He grinned. "She isn't dead. You just killed Squall for nothing, you pathetik little boy!" His head tilted upwards to the raining sky and he roared, drowning out the sounds of the thunder and rain. Seifer walked towards him, staggering and stumbling, but still carrying both gunblades in his hands. Quistis ran to Squall's side.

Neero was still roaring when Seifer plunged both blades into his middle, finally ending this disaster. Finally proving to everyone that he had grown up. He was no longer the little boy everyone thought he was…

xxx

Rinoa looked around. Beside her stood Ellone and Edea. They all cast off their chains and gave each other comforting smiles. They didn't know what all had happened but they knew that it was finally over. For now, anyway. Rinoa saw Quistis bent by a body and she knew it was Squall.

"Help me." Rinoa mumbled. Both Elle and Matron nodded and together they ran to Squall's side, working together to heal him. As the three strongest sorceresses in history, it wasn't long before Squall was blinking up at the four women gathered around him. He smiled and nodded at the three other women before looking at Rinoa.

"Rin… I'm so sorry… I wish I had known…" He closed his eyes but opened them again when he found her back in his arms. He smiled and laughed, yelling, "I love you, Rinoa!" at the top of his lungs. He looked into her eyes, happy to finally see her eyes staring back at him, and not through the glass of a picture frame. "I'm never gonna let you go again…" He whispered, before pulling her in for a kiss.

Edea and Ellone climbed to their feet to attend to Irvine, Zell, and Selphie, who had been unconscious since Seifer had been hit by Neero's magick and transported to the dimension between the worlds of the summoner and the summoned. Finally, Quistis realized what she was missing. She climbed to her feet, turning her eyes to where Neero had stood. The humanoid guardian was gone, and Seifer stood where he had been, his back to her. The two gunblades were at his sides as he stared out over the distance.

She came to his side but he barely even glanced at as he turned and walked over to where Rinoa and Squall were wrapped in each other's embrace. Seifer held a hand out to Rinoa and helped both her and Squall to their feet. "Rinoa…" He mumbled.

She nodded. "Yes, Seifer?"

He grabbed the ring around her neck, looking at his reflection in the uncut metal. "Neero is Bahamut. You have to get rid of the guardian or you risk him taking control of you again." His eyes met hers. Quistis watched him intently, her heart silently breaking. Why had he just walked past her? Squall and Rinoa had their joyous reunion. Where was hers and Seifer's?

Rinoa nodded. "I know… I wish I had known before…I could have stopped this from happening… I've hurt everyone… I'm sorry…" She bowed her head but Seifer tipped her chin up, dropping the ring. It hung from the silver chain around her neck and her hand reached up to curl around it.

"No, don't be. This was all fated to happen. It's not your fault. Not any of it." He reassured her. "But you need to get rid of Bahamut. You need to. No one must ever come in contact with the guardian ever again. Summon him into the ring and toss it into the sea." She nodded and they watched as Bahamut appeared above her, roaring in rage. But he faded to an outline on her ring. Squall helped her remove the chain from her neck and he was the one to fling the ring, containing Neero, into the sea.

When he put the necklace back on her neck, she felt cold metal against her skin. When she looked down, Squall's ring hung in the place of her own. She smiled and fell back into his arms. Quistis turned away and stared out over where Squall had thrown the ring into the ocean. She watched the waves beating the shore and she closed her eyes, feeling like her heart was the shore. And she was suffering…

When she turned back around, Seifer was gone.

(A/n: Thank you for reading! Don't forget to review!)