Author's note ~ Thanks to Ash for the Seifer idea, I hadn't even noticed I hadn't included him until it was pointed out (Sorry Seifer fans) I've been struggling with what to write for a few days and that suggestion gave me the kick I needed, cheers hun. So the story is all mapped out to the end now, all I have to do is find the time and energy to write it, hope you lot are still enjoying it. Just so you know, I'll start posting the chapters to this story on the FF8 section from now on, so if you can't find them, you'll know where they are, alternatively just click on my name, the chapters are all there, jeez I can't believe there are fourteen already, I'd only intended to do about five. Just shows how some things get out of hand.
*
Seifer strode along the grey corridors of Galbadia Garden, it was his home now. After the Ultimecia incident he and Squall had reached a mutual understanding, if Seifer disappeared Squall wouldn't kill him. Seifer was under no illusions that he could now, Squall had far outstripped his ablities in a short sapce of time. So Seifer had gone away. It was two years before Squall had eventually tracked him down to a small hamlet called Follifoot where he had taking to whiling away his days drinking. Seifer had never quite figured out if it was Squall's idea or if Rinoa had forced him into it, but he had offered to make him a SeeD if he came back and took up a teaching position at Galbadia. He had changed in those two years, his dreams had changed. He had never pretended that he was a well adjusted man, or even a particularly nice one, but he had searched himself and realised just how deep those characteristics went. The shock of realising how low he had come had pushed him into changing. His arrogence had lessened, as had his general truculance.
He'd looked at Squall with new eyes, a man that was able to forgive an enemy as bad as the one Seifer had been was rare. The sudden blossoming of respect had caught him off guard but to him it was an indicator of how much he had changed, in the past he would have told Squall to stuff his pity, but he looked at the man and considered how much this proposal had cost him. He had nodded, they would always be rivals, they would never get on, they would always argue, but maybe respecting each other was enough to let the hostility rest at important times. So Seifer had come to Galbadia, it was Squall's one concession, he would not be allowed to teach at Balamb, he wasn't welcome at what had become Squall's home and over time Seifer had seen that for the smart move it was. The less they fought the better all round.
It had been a real shock when he had recognised Quistis down the corridor. He hadn't been told that she and Irvine were coming here on a mission. They had never really been his friends but they were part of the closest thing he had to a past and they acknowledged that mutual bond. Quistis with quiet companionship and Irvine with a laid back attitude. He remembered less about the orpahnage than they did, but he remembered Edea and Ellone. It was enough that they remembered for him. He had heard all about Irvine's trouble with Selphie, at great length, from Quistis, whose anger had taken nearly a week to cool. He couldn't blame the girl for finishing things with him, he had behaved like an idiot, but he really wished that she would at least forgive him, she hadn't called since they had arrived and Irvine's mood was still deteriorating everyday. By comparison Seifer was starting to think of himself as cheerful.
His position at Galbadia had increased as the years had gone by, from a simple teacher to his current status, which was similar to the rank Xu held at Balamb. Many people at the garden had recognised him when he first began and it had taken nearly three years for people to begin to trust him, except for his students, they had been his from the start. He took pride in being a good teacher. The tannoy system sung out and he heard the headmasters voice call for him to go up to his office. He shrugged and turned to the lifts.
He looked around once he entered the headmasters office and frowned at the scene. Irvine was leant forward in his chair and Quistis was leaning across the desk over-shadowing the headmaster. Her face was angry, her delicate eyebrows pulled low and her posture was threatening in her SeeD uniform. 'Is there a problem?' He asked with a tilt to his head and smirk on his face. Quistis turned to him and opened her mouth angrily, but headmaster Dameri got in first.
'Things are fine Seifer... although Balamb has given us a rather strange order.' He said leaning back in his chair, Dameri had been appointed headmaster a year ago and was still learning the ropes, he had used Seifer's guidance wisely and now trusted him implicitly. Quistis handed him a piece of paper, he looked down at it. Quistis. Trabia has gone to war because of a very powerful person, I'll explain later. Get Seifer to uproot your Garden and meet Balamb at 21-34-76, 75-26-98 in an hour. Squall. Seifer frowned at the co-ordinates and nodded.
'Sorry Dameri, I don't see the problem.' He told him. 'Squall has given you a specific order.' Dameri looked at him, slightly taken aback.
'I see, but it came from these two.' Seifer looked at them, Irvine watched him with half lidded eyes and Quistis had her temper up very obviously, they were both waiting for him to call them liers.
'Okay... I see your point, but even if you don't agree with them on what should be done, and I can't see you disobeying a direct order, they outrank you, they're considered heros by all the people at this Garden. If they wish they could take Galbadia garden from your hands and push you down to SeeD instead of headmaster, only a small amount of people would gain say that right.' He crossed his arms and turned to Quistis. 'You want me to go?' He asked him and she nodded mutely, almost unable to believe that he was supporting them. 'Okay, getting this place going should only take twenty minutes.' He began to move out of the door.
'Seifer...' Quistis called out to him and he turned to look at her questioningly. 'Need a hand?' She asked and he felt himself grin, unusual for him. He nodded.
'If you're offering.' He said and turned to Irvine. 'When I get this place moving you'll need to get it going in a hurry if we are to make that rendevous with Balamb. Dameri, you get the kids under 12 out of the building, you got that, if this is war we shouldn't take them.' Seifer turned on his heal and stalked out. He knew where he was going, it had been him that got Galdbadia moving in the first place. The lower decks of the ungainly airship had been made more accessible over the years in case this happened again, he heard Dameri's voice call out over the tannoy to get the kids off the ship. As he and Quistis descended down into the bowels of the ship he heard her cough.
'Thank you Seifer.' He turned to her with a frown.
'What exactly for? I did my job.' He said and she bit her lip in amusement. 'What's funny?'
'Nothing, you won't appreiciate it, you sounded a little like Squall then that's all.' Seifer rolled his eyes and shrugged.
'You were right, that's all, I occasionally do the right thing you know. I'm not a teenager anymore.' She raised her eyebrows. 'Okay I know that's not an excuse for what happened, but I've spent the past seven odd years here trying to make up for it.' He shook his head. 'Why am I telling you this, it's not as if you actually give a damn anyway.' He snapped and the lift stopped, he switched on the lights and turned to her. She was staring at him with either pity or compassion.
'You know I was one of the more vocal people that called for your public lynching, it turned out that me, Selphie and Rinoa are far more bloodthirsty than the lads. Squall and Zell told us to leave you alone.' He snorted in disbelief. 'It's the truth.'
'Oh great just what I need for my reputation, I have Zell sticking up for me, thanks I'd rather be alone.' He moved away from her with quick strides she had to hurry to keep up with him.
'You know you don't always have to be the bastard you like people to think you are.' He stopped and turned on her.
'No, I do always have to, what other choice do I have, all I have here is respect, I'm a good teacher but no matter what I'll always be that person who stood against Squall and his posse. Have you read about me in the history books? No matter what I cannot redeem what I did and I am trying. Everyday, I give my best to this Garden, pass a little piece of me on to every student that I can. You know, they have me teaching history next term, for you it's easy... blah blah, I saved the world, I have to recount that episode to them with them knowing who I am. I'm trying to deal with it...' He suddenly realised he was shouting. 'I'm sorry.' He said quietly and turned away from her, red burning his ears.
'No, I'm sorry.'
'What for, you were only trying to help.' He shook his head and frowned. 'I think.'
'When you disappeared I hoped that, where ever you were, that you were in a lot of pain... Now I can see that you were and I'm sorry.' He looked at her downcast eyes and burst into laughter. Her offended face came up and she stared at him with incredulous eyes, she shook herself and went past him with her boot heals clicking against the concrete angrily. He reached out and grabbed her hand, but when she turned to him, her face made him go into peals of laughter again, but he held onto her as he got himself under control.
'Sorry... I'm sorry.' He said trying to get his breath back. 'I appreciate it, I really do. But you know, when I wasn't around you lot or fighting with you, I never gave much thought to you at all. My hell was of my own making, I just find it funny that someone can hate me so much these days to be bothered enough to wish that on me, I'm not used to it anymore. I didn't mean to offend you... But I guess that's one of the things I've always been able to do.' She was staring at him open mouthed which made his mouth tick in amusement. 'Bit of a shock huh?' He asked and she nodded slightly. He indicated that they should hurry.
'Can I ask you an honest question?' She asked as they reached the engine room.
'If you like, don't expect an honest answer... or any answer if I don't want to give it.' And he felt her nod rather than saw it.
'Why did you do it?' He frowned and turned his head to her as he opened the door and switched on the light.
'You know, nobody has ever asked me that before.' He shrugged as he began flipping switches. 'If I say it was something to do, you'll hit me won't you...? I wanted to feel right in my own skin, I never had that... even Squall had that. He knew himself the way I didn't. My walls were even higher than his. I'd searched for that peace of mind for years before Ultimecia came for me. I thought that, that was it. If I served her then she could make me who I was meant to be.' He stopped for a moment and closed his eyes. He swept his hand through his hair. 'I saw everyone watching Squall when we came to Balamb, he was the one meant for great things not me, I thought if I was important or special the way he was then maybe I'd be who I was meant to be.' He looked at her with a small smile and then began going through the final launch procedure.
'You know it feels good to finally forgive you.' She smiled as he slowed down his actions to a stop.
'Woah, I never thought anyone would ever say those words.' She heard him swallow. 'Thank you.' He looked at the screen above him as it flickered to life. 'Here goes nothing, so off to Trabia then.' He hit the switch that would kick off everything.'
*
Selphie watched Badier with hard eyes as he wandered around the cave, he had used a number of cure spells on her, keeping her on the brink of death but never actually crossing over. The cure spells had begun to knit her tissues together, the gunblade wound still bled slightly everytime he used the spell but it wasn't exactly getting better. He had just been using it to restore her energy levels not her body. He had posted a guard on her once she had begun to maintain conciousness for more than ten minutes. He had wanted to post another when she had begun to be able to talk and it was then she realised that he was as scared of her as he was of Rinoa.
*Are you surviving?* Bahumut asked her and she could feel the warmth resonating in his voice.
*I'm alive, for how much longer I don't know...* She had acknowledged hours ago that she might not live through this. *Can you do me a favour Bahumut?* She licked her lips nervously and she heard the dragon rumble his assent. *If I don't make it out... could you... could you let Zell know that I really did fall for him... As for Irvine, could you tell him... I don't know, make up something wise and sage and apologetic and tell him I said it* She closed her eyes breifly taking her eyes off Badier for a moment.
*This is not needed child, I said I would protect you.* Bahumut muttered at her darkly.
*Badier has more control over you than even yourself, I can't summon you, he'd just turn you against me. Please, just promise me that you'll tell my friends how much I love them.* Bahumut growled loudly but promised none the less.
*There is another way, I only wish your friends were junctioned so I could get we Guardian Forces to materialise and discuss this situation. The only person junctioned is Zell, Ifrit is not the clamest of the forces, he is still young. Besides Zell is in a more desperate situation than you.* Selphie felt the tears slide down her cheeks, she had known that was the case, known it without admitting it to herself. Zell would have come for her already if he wasn't in trouble, she believed that.
'Selphie, you might want to stop crying, we are just about to put on a live performance.' Badier was angling a video camera towards her.
'Go to hell.' She said to him and then laughed shallowly. 'I forgot, you're... already going there.' He raised his eyebrows at her and laughed, there wasn't any use, she couldn't bait him.
'Smile Selphie, lights, camera, action.' He punched a number into the console.
*
Zell risked a volley of fire and sprinted over to the table that Roo was hiding behind. One SeeD with a machine gun covered his movements. Jill poked her head out after him and he motioned her to get back as an arrow moved past where her head would have been. They had been holding out for forty-five minutes now. Roo was tending to a lad who had caught a bullet in his arm, she looked up at Zell as he skidded to safety behind her table. The barrier wasn't holding out so well, even though they had caught up most of the kitchen equipment into it.
'We're losing this battle Zell.' She said quietly.
'This isn't a battle this is a massacre.' He said sharply. 'A battle I could handle. Here we're cornered.' He looked up over the table. 'We need to get out of here. Anyway we can.' He looked around.
'I'm sorry I don't know of one, the only people who got to know this area well enough to find an escape route were the kitchen staff, or their favourite pupils.' Zell groaned.
'I could almost wish this place was Balamb, I'd know how to get out into the quad.' He looked at the kitchen, at Balamb there had been a hatchway into the stores that had a doorway out into the quad where deliverys were made by truck. He'd come up that way several times in his quest for hotdogs, only to be shooed away by the lunch ladies.
'This place is Balamb.' She said absently tying the pupils wounds. He frowned at her.
'What do you mean?' He asked her and she looked up at him with a shrug.
'Nothing, all I was saying was that this place was built on Balamb's schematics. It's built the exact same way.' It was a few seconds later that she realised what she was saying. 'Hey does that mean...?' He closed his eyes, hope written all over his face.
'Let's keep our fingers crossed that they haven't figured that there might be another way out to this place... They generally don't, most of our kids think that the lunch ladies live there.' He looked across at Jill and gave her the okay sign. 'Cover me.' He whispered and she nodded as she locked an arrow onto her crossbow one handed. She twisted around and poked her head slightly above the table, bringing out her weapon. Zell sprinted for the cafeteria with a yell and he dived over the counter tops. Bullets richocheted off the pans hung up above him and he cowered behind the counter with his hands over his head waiting for the barrage to stop. His heart thundered in his chest as he crawled around into the kitchen. When he was out of sight of the barricade he began searching for the hatchway that had lead to the storeroom. It was hidden under two bags of flour and he grinned when he felt the rings to pull it up under his hands. Now for the other door.
He slid down the hatch, completely ignoring the metal ladder set into the side wall. He looked around at all the food and he could feel himself drooling. He shook himself but couldn't help all the great smells that were wafting to him. He saw the light around the door before he found the door itself. Slowly he crept forwards, making certain not to knock anything over. The door crack was beckoning him, he looked out into the quad. His heart flipped over in relief, it was now a matter of getting the kids down here and meeting up with Delta out there... then finding Selphie, his head reminded him, but he wasn't to be cowed, at least now he had a chance to find her. 'Booya!'