Chapter XXX

Crossroads

Monday, May 29th, 4268/Southern Galbadian Badlands

2047 hrs

Quistis took in several shallow breaths as she stepped out of the passenger cabin of the still unidentified aircraft and into the chill night air, carrying scissors, thread and a handful of bloody gauze and cotton balls. Since their dramatic rescue about six hours earlier, they had been tending to their injuries; mostly Squall's. The blonde SeeD felt nauseous while tending to her former pupil, dry heaving every time she came across another unfamiliar scar, burn or inch of tortured flesh upon his body. How he was still alive was beyond comprehension. Squall looked only moderately better than the average corpse you'd find at the scene of a car crash where the victim was ejected from the vehicle.

Only difference was Squall's injuries were slowly and deliberately inflicted over the course of days.

Car crash fatalities were far more humane.

She walked over to a wobbly, four-legged metal table that had been set up outside the ship while they did their treatments, holding various supplies that were on hand to help in the efforts, including needles, sewing thread, lighters, magnifying glass and several jugs of water. There was also about four bottles of the strongest liquor Darby had on hand, serving as impromptu antiseptic and numbing agent in replacement of actual medical supplies.

As she placed the scissors and used gauze on the table and began rubbing her temples, Irvine walked over, peeking inside the aircraft before making his way to Quistis.

"How's he holdin' up?" Irvine inquired, somewhat quietly.

"He'll live, but he needs REAL medical attention. I only have basic medical skills, and there is only so much I can do," Qustis worriedly stressed.

"Has he said anything?"

"Not a word. But it's Squall, so that's not exactly abnormal," Quistis shrugged with a feign grin, trying to lighten the gravity of the situation, if only for a moment, "For now, he just needs rest."

"Well, least he's alive," Irvine supposed, "Any idea who these chaps are? SeeD?" he inquired, but Quistis dismissed it promptly.

"No…definitely not SeeD," she stated with certainty, looking back at the transport and the peculiar looking sleeker craft, which seemed to be piloted from some remote location, "But they went out of their way to help us escape, so maybe an ally of Balamb Garden? Your guess is as good as mine."

On top of everything else, there was also that question looming overhead. After several hours they still didn't have any more answers. Only one transport vessel and one defender aircraft remained, along with the hulky, former D-District corrections officer who supposedly orchestrated their escape. However, he was completely quiet about who he was and who the ships belonged to. Not that he really had a choice since he was reliant on a device to help him talk, which was now destroyed.

Still, they had no answers, and even if they were friendlies, it was unsettling not knowing who they were dealing with.

After a short, albeit awkward silence, Quistis looked over to the campfire they set up, seeing a familiar raven haired young woman, sitting alone, staring endlessly into the nights sky.

"How's Rinoa?" Qustis questioned, and Irvine turned to look at her as well.

"Hard ta' say. She spent the last two weeks blamin' herself for what happened, but she hasn't moved'a inch or said a dang thing in hours. She's just been sittin'ere…starin'" he noted her dormancy, and Quistis related to the feeling of finding out Squall had returned from the dead.

"I reacted the same way," she breathed out, shaking her head. She was happy he was alright, but it still seemed a bit surreal. Apparently, Irvine felt the same way.

"How…I mean…" he began to question, not even sure what direction to take the question from there. Fortunately, Quistis knew what he wanted to know.

"I don't know, Irvine. Even he doesn't know," she tried to make sense of it, but there was no point, "There will be time for questions later. I think the best thing right now is for all of us to get some rest," she informed Irvine, who merely nodded in understanding.

"This is far from over…"

Monday, May 29th, 4268/Balamb Garden – Basement Level

2119 hrs

Commander Brak was not fond of being summoned down to the lower levels of Balamb Garden.

He was even less fond of the way the Garden Faculty had been clinging to him like leeches since the Headmaster was out of commission and he was put in charge of Garden's day to day operations until he recovered…or died, which was the outcome the faculty was hoping for.

Brak took long military-like strides as he weaved his way through the dark area where Master NORG was located, tucked away into a cold, unfriendly underground alcove, completely segregated from not just the rest of Garden, but the rest of the world.

Upon reaching the vast open area, which was still only lit with low-shining ceiling lights, Brak stood in the center, with a wave of anger washing over his face after realizing NORG wasn't even ready for his presence, which NORG himself requested.

"I came all the way down here, Ramm! Don't think for a fucking second you are going to treat me like some second-rate guest!" he shouted, his intense words echoing throughout the expanse. The Garden Faculty member, as usual, addressed the contemptuousness directed at their Master.

"You do not speak to Master NORG with such derision, Commander. Understood!?" the faculty member unwisely tried to chastise the Commander of SeeD. Brak never liked the Garden Faculty, or even NORG for that matter, but dealt with it since his influence within Garden was so much greater than it would be without NORG. However, while he did have to put up with his boss' antics, he refused to do the same with his lackeys.

In response, Brak cast his arm out towards the faculty member, and a powerful gust of wind picked up NORG's derisive employee and slammed him hard against the steel wall, a good fifteen yards away. The other Garden Faculty member, a bit shocked, stepped towards Brak, who immediately redirected his attention.

"Don't think I won't," Brak threatened.

"How dare you!?" the faculty member chastised him with a hint of uneasiness in his breath. Just as Brak's hand began to glint with sparks of white energy, a grumble shook through the air.

"BISHU BAH!" the roar of NORG sounded off, and the area illuminated as the wall on the front end opened and NORG's hyperbaric chamber retracted outward, until he was front in center, high in the air above everyone else, where he felt most comfortable, looking down at all who entered his abode.

"Keep your pets on a leash," Brak lowered his gleaming hand and let the magical energy dissipate. For several moments, Brak just leered up at the Shumi. NORG's entire body was not visible within his mechanized chamber, just his massive, rounded shoulders and chest, droopy, bulbous chin that hung down several inches, and black eyes, devoid of any notable humanizing qualities.

"IGMO SAMBA GRUUMA GRUUMA, TAU TOU LYAA…" NORG began to speak loudly, his voice cracking out of the loudspeakers. Before he could even finish half of his thought, Brak turned and began to walk away, "RUUMU WAB?"

Brak stopped in his tracks, but didn't turn as he responded, "Don't speak to me in that rotten, Shumi tongue. If you want to talk to me, you speak MY language!" he insisted with extreme audacity. Most didn't speak to the infamous Garden Master so freely and discourteously, but Brak did it on the regular…mainly because Brak knew NORG needed him.

"COMMANNDER," NORG gnarled out Brak's title in a more familiar parlance, and Brak turned back and walked towards him again, "FAIR, IT IS, TO SAY, YOU ARE NOT IN THE HIGHEST OF SPIRITS?"

"Why would I be? I've been working around the clock trying to clean up YOUR mess," Brak spat.

"FINGER POINTS GETS NOWHERE," NORG attempted to calm his enraged, self-appointed SeeD Commander.

"Especially when the finger is pointed at YOU."

"HOSTILITY…THERE IS NO NEED, COMMANDER," NORG spoke, although his misuse of the language showed his fluency was limited, "RESPONSIBILITY, NORG SHALL TAKE, BUT WORK IS STILL TO BE DONE. NORG WILL DO WHAT NORG SHOULD HAVE DONE IN FIRST PLACE. NORG GRANTS FULL CONTROL UNTO COMMANDER BRAK. AGREEABLE, IT IS?"

The Garden Master anointed him with the authority to commandeer the direction of the mission, but Brak was already angered that it hadn't been done sooner. NORG constantly wanted some semblance of control over everything that took place in Garden, even when it wasn't in the best interest of Garden, or even his own selfish motives, although he was too cavalier to ever admit fault.

"Since both Edea and Cid Kramer are still alive and well, aspects of Operation Daybreak need to be…altered," Brak informed NORG in a forthright manner.

"SOMETHING IN MIND?"

"Like I said, I'm still working it out. Your worthless lackeys failed to do their job, so our options have drastically decreased."

"SHALL WE AGAIN, TRY?" NORG question, and Brak shot him a look of irascible confusion.

"What? Killing him?" Brak laughed faintly at NORG's ignorance, "That ship has sailed. Captain Riann is already suspicious and trying to convince the SeeD Board to conduct a full internal investigation," the SeeD Commander noted, sounding more irritated than worried.

"CHANCE?" NORG asked, alluding to the likeliness of it actually happening.

"Most of the SeeD board is convinced it was a clear-cut suicide attempt, and they won't allocate resources for a full investigation unless new evidence to the contrary comes to light. The headmaster hasn't said anything yet regarding what he recalls from that night, and you better hope to Hyne it stays that way," he elaborated, with his ire mounting with each spoken word.

"AND WHAT OF THE SORCERESS?"

"What about her? She is alive. Did you really expect a bunch of kids to take out that fucking witch?"

"WITH GALBADIA MILITARY HELP? INDEED…" NORG confirmed. After all, it was his decision to use the young SeeD's for the Timber mission. That way, if something were to happen, such as what DID happen, there would be some plausible deniability from his standpoint, and he could just put all the blame on the Headmaster for approving a mission under false pretenses.

Still, Brak was getting fed up with NORG's lack of foresight.

"You see, Ramm…this is why you shouldn't be making these types of decisions. Next time you want to flex your muscle, do it on a smaller scale! If you would've listened to me, Daybreak would already be underway!" Brak became vociferous and moderately hostile as he castigated the Garden Master's decisions.

"BWARARRHRARRHARHAR!" the loud speaker boomed with NORG's anger, not reacting kindly to Brak's contempt. However, as usual, Brak did not back down, and after nearly a minute of not a single word or mumble, NORG spoke again, calmly.

"FINE. WHAT YOU WILL HAVE US DO?"

"Just stay the hell out of my way!" he ordered, clear and concise, and immediately turned away, "We're done here," he spoke as he walked off, not even waiting for permission to leave.

Tuesday, May 30th, 4268/Middle of Nowhere, Galbadia

0204 hrs

Rinoa tossed again, trying to get comfortable on the leaned back leather seat of the SUV. Even after several weeks of limited sleep, it was hard for her to get any real rest. However, there were other reasons for her restiveness outside of just her physical comfort, especially tonight. For weeks, she dreamed about him, seeing him again, and imagining what she would say to him if she ever got that chance. Now that the once seemingly unrealistic delusion was a possibility, she could barely bring herself to mutter his name.

Of course, he was in no condition to really talk, and spent most of the evening getting impromptu medical attention and resting. The mere thought of his broken form and of what he must've went through only fueled her current insomnia. After nearly thirty minutes of attempting to contort her mind and body into a state where she could drift off, she conceded defeat. Looking over at Irvine, she could only smirk as she looked at him, sleeping heavily with his face twisted into an amusing visage, with an open mouth and squinched nose.

She decided there was no point in just lying there, so she exited the vehicle, closing the door lightly so she didn't wake Irvine. Stretching her limbs and joints, she looked up at the clear nights sky and the endless scattered diamonds above. If there was one thing pleasant about that particular area, it was how peaceful it was; something that was hard to come by these days. Back at the estate, she used to use her telescope to admire the stars, and all the mysteries that the universe withheld. Of course, the galaxy expanded far beyond the scope of what she could see, but astronomy always fascinated her. She figured, if she ever went to college and decided to live a normal life, that's what she would major in.

However, she chose a different path. A path far more complicated and dangerous than her other overprivileged friends...ones she never quite fit in with or felt comfortable around. Rinoa had the outward appearance of those rich daddy's girls, but she was far more than that. The problem was, those conflicting sides of her often made her out of place wherever she went. Didn't mesh well with those stuck up snobs her dad forced her to socialize with and wasn't taken seriously by most faction members outside of the Forest Owls. Even SeeD and her own father didn't take her seriously.

It was gut-wrenching, feeling like she didn't belong anywhere, but she persevered, just like her parents always taught her to do.

In the midst of her thoughts, Rinoa heard a crackling and could see a fire had been lit back behind Darby's aircraft. She crept behind it, not wanting to wake anyone who may be sleeping there, but as she peeked out from behind it, she saw a solitary young man sitting by the fire, and gasped. He was the last person she expected to be awake after everything he went through. Still, there he was, sitting motionless and staring blankly into the small fire pit, the shadows on his face dancing as the flames waved in the breeze.

Rinoa walked out slowly, unsure of what to do or say. She just stood there quietly for almost three minutes, looking at him with tears forming in her eyes. To her dismay, he didn't acknowledge her, even a little. For all she knew, he was still spaced out from the limited medications and alcohol they had given him as they repaired him to the best of their inexperienced abilities. His entire torso was smarting with a varied assortment of different sized cuts and grazes, with stitches and bandages patching up various other injuries he had sustained.

"Something on your mind?" the question came out of nowhere, spoken by a weakened voice she thought she would never hear again.

"I…" she began, but was caught off guard. She had half hoped that the words would just magically flow out, but they simply weren't there, at least not at the moment. So, instead of trying to force some convoluted rhetoric, she just shrugged and gave the most honest answer she could.

"I wouldn't know where to begin," she resignedly stated as she sat down across from him, not even looking up at him, knowing he wouldn't do the same himself. After a few long moments passed, he finally replied.

"Neither would I…" he eased out in an airy breath, indicating there were things on his mind he couldn't properly verbalize.

"Why?" she asked with no follow up, hoping Squall would understand her question with no elucidation.

"Why what?" he questioned quietly and monotonally, as expected.

"Why did you…do what you did? You know…the night of the parade?" she leaned in closer, as her voice grew more impassioned as she spoke, "Why would you risk your life…for me? I mean…"

"I…" Squall began to speak, cutting her off unexpectedly. He closed his eyes, almost as if a filter had kicked in and prevented him from saying what he truly wanted to say, "WE are still under contract with you. Remember…until Timber's independence? Until that is attained or Garden terminates the contract, you are still our client, and your safety is a crucial part of completing that mission," he stated in recited fashion, as if he were some mindless robot.

"And…is that the REAL reason? Because I'm the 'client'?" she pleaded for an honest answer. Squall closed his eyes, and Rinoa regrouped, not wanting to put any undue stress on Squall. Still, there was a question she had been dying to ask…

"You said something to me…do you remember? The LAST thing you said to me at the palace that night…"

"I was kind of out of it…" Squall reminded her. She smirked, paused, and then continued.

"You said…" she hesitated again in anxiousness, but only briefly, "…you said you wished things could have been different. And I heard the sincerity…the care in your voice…" she softly informed him, trying to get him to open up, like she had tried before. His body language conveyed a sense of uneasiness, as if it touched a nerve or sparked a memory, but he shook it off quickly.

"I don't really remember," he dryly answered, even though she didn't believe him. She bowed her head, feeling as if she had just experienced another failure. She understood why he was responding the way he did, but after everything that had happened, she was hoping for a little ray of sunshine, but all she got were the typical clouds. Rinoa nodded and stood, trying to seem more okay with his response than she actually was.

"Yeah…that's what I thought," she forced out in an optimistic tone, "I'll leave you alone…" she finished and began to walk off, slowly. Squall tilted his head ever so slightly to watch her walk away. He really didn't remember exactly what he said that night, but if he really did say "I wish things could have been different", then he knew exactly what he meant by that.

Still, it wasn't the right time or place to even think about his personal feelings for the clientele. There were more complicated matters to deal with.

Or perhaps, less complicated.

Tuesday, May 30th, 4268/Balamb Garden Infirmary – Intensive Care Ward

0843 hrs

Cid sat upright on his bed, finally regaining of strength to do common tasks on his own, but he was still fairly weak from the medications they were still pumping into him. Still, he was expected to make a full recovery, even though he half hoped that wasn't the case. He didn't remember much from the night of his supposed incident, but aside from cutting his wrists, his blood-alcohol level was dangerously high and nearly resulted in death itself. So it wasn't shocking that his memory of that evening was nothing more than blurred, scattered fragments.

All he wanted at that point was to get back to work. Hyne knew what NORG was doing in his absence, aside from keeping tabs on him with a Garden Faculty outside his room day and night, according to Xu and Dr. Kadowaki. He was quite sure that Satius would like nothing more than to see Cid out of the picture, and probably figure this entire ordeal would push Cid over the edge. Even though his wife was now ruling Galbadia and had her sights set on the world, he knew work had to be done. He knew that if anyone could stop her, it was himself and his SeeD's.

After all…that's the main reason SeeD existed.

"Good morning, Headmaster," the familiar Estharian accent greeted him. He forced a smile onto his face and looked over towards the door as two veteran SeeD's entered.

"Xu, Vince…how are you?" he jovially asked, trying to sound as upbeat as possible. He really didn't want company at the moment, but he assumed that since Xu was with the SeeD in charge of security and internal investigations, that this was more than just one of Xu's random checkups.

"You are looking much better, sir," she happily noted, seeing that he was getting color back in his skin and looked more energized. Cid nodded, but wasn't really interested in small talk at the moment.

"I assume there is a reason Sergeant Valentine is with you," he cut to the chase, and looked over at the dark haired SeeD who had just been promoted to lead investigator a month earlier, who gave a friendly grin in return.

"Sir, I know you are still weak, but…" Xu, being her usual courteous self, began, but Cid cut her short.

"I'm fine, Xu. On with it…" he insisted, putting off Xu a bit, although she understood his reaction.

"What exactly do you remember from the night you…" Sergeant Valentine was uncertain how to phrase the incident, but fortunately, Cid didn't make him do so.

"Before or after I blacked out from the alcohol?" Cid quipped, making an ill placed joke that only drew uncomfortable grins, "I remember watching the parade. Then…after…what happened…?" Cid shook his head as he attempted to recall everything he could, but it was all an alcohol-soaked haze.

"…I turned off the TV, and then kept drinking. After that…I really don't know…" Cid's voice faded as he looked down to his wrists, and became angry with himself. He recalled how he felt after watching his beloved wife completely disappear within the monster Vinzer Deling had created. He felt like he lost her forever…and lost himself in the process. So, Cid knew he was in the suicidal mindset, and cussed himself for being so weak.

"Do you remember…doing, it?" Valentine questioned, but Cid, angry with the fact that he couldn't recall anything specific let out a small outburst.

"I TOLD YOU, I DON'T REMEMBER!" he exclaimed loudly, as other patients and doctors outside peaked it. Xu raised her hand to the medic on call, letting her know everything was fine. Cid took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to regain his composure.

"I'm…sorry. I just…"

"It's okay sir. We can finish this another time," Xu ended their meeting abruptly, not wanting to excite him much as he recovered. While Cid wanted to help, he knew he had nothing left to tell them about that night, so he just nodded in agreement, and both Xu and Vincent left the room. As she eased his door shut, Sergeant Valentine spoke.

"Captain Riann, I know you two are close, but we need to push him! We can't proceed with a further investigation without his testimony about what happened that evening."

"Testimony?" she asked and began walked towards the exit with Valentine matching pace just behind her, "What more do you want? The man thought he lost his wife and was black out drunk. You're not going to get much more from him."

"We need to make sure, though. We can not leave any stone unturned," he told her as the automated doors slid open and they walked to the outer corridors.

"Find some other stones to turn, then. When he is given a clean bill of health, we can try again. Until then, Cid Kramer is off limits!" Xu insisted and quickened her pace. Valentine stopped in his tracks and called out her rank.

"Captain?" he raised his voice and she stopped and turned, expecting more incessant rationalizations for questioning him now, but was surprised when he walked towards her with a more solemn demeanor.

"Don't you think we should at least tell him his wife is still…alive?" Sergeant Valentine asked. They were still under the assumption that Cid saw his wife get gunned down at the parade, and had not yet been informed it was not actually her. Still, while Xu knew it might put Cid's mind at ease, she thought it best to wait at least a few more days for one main reason…

"The 'sorceress' is alive, Sergeant," she clarified and took a deep breath before finishing, "I'm not so sure about 'Mrs'. Edea Kramer."

Tuesday, May 30th, 4268/Galbadia Garden – Upper Levels

0911 hrs

The man walked slowly, knees so weak they nearly buckled multiple times en route to his destination, which for all he knew may have been his final one. As a sixteen-year veteran of the Galbadian Army, he had completed multiple tours in some of the most hostile and dangerous conditions on the planet, but he couldn't recall being more scared than he was at that very moment. All he had to do was deliver a message. However, this was no ordinary message and no ordinary recipient…

This was a message of bad news.

A message of bad news being delivered to the sorceress…a task that should've entitled him to hazardous duty pay, given that the sorceress didn't shy away from 'shooting the messenger'.

As he reached the door to the chambers that once belonged to Galbadia Garden Headmaster Edwin Martine, now occupied by the new leader of Galbadia, he stopped and closed his eyes. He had a family…a wife, two kids and parents who depended on him, and he was worried he may never see them again. In normal situations, they could've just sent some low-ranking newbie in to give her the troubling news, but the sorceress made it clear she didn't want to deal with any 'children'. So, the responsibility fell on him, especially since he was on site at D-District when the 'incident' took place.

The worst part was, he wasn't sure how to act, and the conflicting advice he had received didn't help. A few fellow soldiers told him to act tough and don't let her know he's scared, while a few others told him that if he didn't show his fear, she'd make him show it. Of course, he would have no issue showing his fear in his case, if that is truly what she wanted to see.

However, he really didn't have time to work on a strategy. So, he hastily blessed himself, took a few heavy breaths, and slowly turned the handle to the door.

As it crept open, he could see there was very little light in the room, despite the midday desert sun blazing outside. The Headmaster's chambers had been completely 'redecorated', with all of Martine's furniture, personal affects and decorations now replaced with nothing more than dim lighting, weird curtains, dark carpeting, and most notably, a gold throne festooned with rare jewels and plush red upholstery of the highest quality. It seemed a little narcissistic to have a throne, but the soldier wasn't about to give the sorceress his opinion of her interior design decisions.

After scanning the room with his eyes and not seeing her, he tapped lightly on the side panel, "Your excellency?" he humbly beckoned. Still, there was no reply and no sorceress in sight. He figured she wasn't there, and that did not upset him at all, since he was due to be leaving for Klandara soon and wouldn't likely be around the next time they attempted to reach her. The soldier sighed with a small smile and closed the door softly.

As he turned though, the fear that momentarily subsided returned in full force as he was greeted by the sorceress, who was standing right behind him, staring at him with icy eyes. He jumped a bit and made a small yelping noise, able to choke back the petrified shriek that tried to escape him. Her golden irises and fierce glare froze him in place initially; paralyzing fear gripping every muscle and sense he had to move them. The sorceress tilted her head slightly with the smallest of smirks, seemingly amused by his current state.

The man, after five long seconds that felt like five hours, was able to compose himself and break free of the vice grip the sorceress seemingly had on his pshche.

"Oh..umm, y-your g-g-greatness," he bowed his head, "I apo-l-logize. You s-tar-tled me," he fearfully stuttered out with a faint laugh that he immediately regretted. She continued to stare at him, almost like an angry predator giving its prey a look to let them know it was going to attack. Unsure of what to do next, he moved quickly towards the door to the office and opened it for her, bowing his head as he did so, hoping it would show his reverence for her, however forced it may have been.

To his relief, the sorceress walked inside slowly, still staring at him as she passed. He kept his head down, afraid to once again look into her eyes. Fortunately, she continued on past him, and then finally spoke.

"State your business…" she ordered with a spiteful tone in her lowered voice, and he walked up behind her.

"My sincerest apologies, my queen, but I'm afraid I have some…upsetting, news," he swallowed hard as he spoke those words. "I'm afraid that the SeeD from Balamb Garden…umm…Leonhart…" he continued, but as the sorceress came to a stop in the middle of the darkened room, he too came to a halt, both his feet and his mouth.

"What of him?" she simply asked, the tone in her voice foreshadowing her impending fury if she wasn't pleased with the response that followed. He wanted nothing more than to sprint out of the room and never look back, but knew he'd be dust by the time he reached the doorway. So, he instead took short-successive breaths out of fear, and answered.

"There was an…invasion, or something…and…" he spoke in evident panic, and Edea's immediate reaction did not help.

"Spare me the trivial minutiae! What of Leonhart?" she demanded as she turned, growing impatient with the obvious reluctance he had about telling her.

"There was an escape attempt….and he…" the dread was almost too much for him as his entire body shivered and his voice trembled, "H-he's gone, your excellency…"

The sorceresses' chin tilted upward slightly, but her face remained unchanged. She simply stood there with an eyebrow raised and began nodding. Her reaction was both composed and extremely unsettling at the same time, almost like the calm before a storm. She began her typical elegant and ladylike strut in his direction, and he backed away from her, matching her steps in retreat.

"Wuh-what w-ill y-you have m-me do-do my qu-queen?" he again struggled force out any words, and to his dismay, she had no answer, but instead kept walking in his direction. As he neared the exit, the wooden door to the office slammed shut, and it almost felt as if the room was shaking. Her eyes began glowing brighter, and he could feel as if his time on that planet was about to come to an end. The only thing he could think of was to beg for her mercy.

"Please…NO!" he cried out and fell to his knees, "PL-PLEASE! I HAVE A F-FAMILY!" he informed her, trying to appeal to what little humanity she MIGHT have had. His family meant nothing to her, but the life of the worm before her seemed so insignificant and trivial, she really saw no reason to take it.

"Pitiful little man," she spat in disgust as she looked down upon the cowering soldier, "Where is General Almasy?"

"He is visiting the missile bases," the soldier responded, still noticeably in fear of her reprisal, "They are trying to determine which facility to launch from…against Balamb Garden," he informed her of Seifer's location, keeping his head down as he did, praying to Hyne she would show mercy. After a minute of groveling and preparing for her ruthless reaction, he slowly raised he head from his kneeling position, noticing she was no longer standing above him, but walking back towards her throne. As she reached the seat, she turned, and stared straight ahead, with the same demented look she always had. Still, the soldier was unsure of what to do.

"Your excellency…" he faintly began in a panting whisper, just before the doors to office opened once again, and the sunlight from the hall poured into the room.

"Go…before I change my mind," she surprisingly permitted him to freely walk out, and do it quickly. He promptly rose to his feet and bowed in gratitude of her clemency.

"Of course! Thank you, your greatness," he excitedly agreed as he quickly backpedaled, bowing his head the entire way, and then sprinted down the corridor like he was shot out of a cannon.

Alone in her quarters, she gently sat down in her throne. Again, with a simple thought, the doors to the office slammed shut, blocking out the annoying rays of the sun. She crossed her legs in the sleek black dress and nestled her slender arms in the armrest and continued leering ahead. Even with all of her power, she was unable to control the one man she needed to control. His mind and spirit were stronger than anything she could imagine, and not even her almighty power, granted by Hyne himself could break him. She knew the danger he posed to her ultimate plan, and if he refused to join her, he would have to be eliminated.

However, now, even that was in jeopardy. As angry as she was, she cussed herself for not finishing off the young man when she had the chance. Part of the reason was because she foolishly believed that physical torture could get it out of him, and while she could've made him suffer more than any mere mortal possibly could, she simply couldn't do it. Seeing him pain made her feel sick, and she knew exactly why. Even though Edea Kramer's body was now merely a vessel for something far greater, the fact remained that Edea Kramer was still in there, and as such, could make the sorceress experience powerful emotions that were not her own. The pure and beautiful essence Edea Kramer was slowly losing the battle and would be forever lost, and when that happened, the sorceress possessing her would be in complete control, and there would be no mercy for anyone.

First thing was first, through. She had to deal with the failure that now put her entire plan in jeopardy, and her first order of business would be to deal with the one person who she trusted not to fail her.

Tuesday, May 30th, 4268/Galbadian Wastelands

1007 hrs

Consciousness slowly but grudgingly returned to Squall. That entire evening, he floated in the half-world between wakefulness and sleep, until physical sensations began to intrude on the drug and alcohol induced blackness. Despite being free from the tortures Seifer had inflicted upon him, he could still vividly recall how each torment felt, and the after affects certainly weren't going to allow him to forget anytime soon.

He was still weak, and while both Quistis and Kojax did what they could, he was malnourished, dehydrated and his body was still likely in shock due to what it had been put through. He needed medical care that was not available to him there, but for the moment, he would have to make due with what little was provided to him.

Squall sat up, pushing up the rest of his weakened body from its laying position underneath the shading of the parched blue tarp just next to Darby's trailer. His eyes fluttered open, then snapped shut as the searing light burnt his retinas. Eventually, he was able to open them fully, and looking around through blurred eyes, he didn't see anything outside of rusty lawn chairs and a sea of empty beer cans and cigarette butts littering the ground around him. He tried to stand but quickly realized just how weak he still was when he immediately fell back down. His mouth was completely dry and he tried to swallow, resulting in a painful, hacking cough as his parched throat nearly choked on his bloated tongue.

Shaking his head, annoyed by how helpless he felt, he managed to get to his feet, struggling to maintain his balance as he took steps forward. On top of just the weakness, he had a hangover from the amount of whiskey and vodka he downed while his more severe wounds were tended to. He never had more than a few sips of alcohol in his entire life up to that point, so his tolerance to it was low as it was.

He stumbled forward and he past into the unshaded area, nearly passing out as the light and heat made it even harder to deal with his other ailments. Out of sheer anger, Squall grit his teeth and pushed forward, determined not to let his current afflictions get the better of him.

In the distance, along a smooth trail and the closest thing that could be considered a road in that area, Squall could see several people standing around, talking text to a huge boulder. As he continued forward, he could make out that it was his party, with Zell and Selphie nudging each other atop the boulder, Irvine leaning against it comfortably, Rinoa sitting on another small rock and staring off into the distance and Quistis, Kojax and the massive D-District guard speaking to each other.

As he neared the group, they all took notice and focused their attention in his direction. He absolutely hated it, but was too weak at that point to even give them one of his signature scowls to divert their attention. Instead, he just continued limping forward until he got within speaking distance. Irvine had a huge grin on his face as he raised the brim of his hat and walked up to Squall.

"Squall, buddy…how are ya?" Irvine patted him on the back fairly hard, sending waves of pain through the battered SeeD, who closed his eyes in restrained anguish. Quistis shot Irvine a disillusioned look which caused the cowboy to back off without a word. As the stinging in his torso faded, Squall took a deep breath and walked up to Quistis, as Zell and Selphie jumped down off the rock.

"Whats going on?" Squall asked, seeing Rinoa stand and give him a small smile he didn't return. Just then, Quistis answered his question.

"We are trying to figure out where to go from here. We still haven't been able to establish contact with Garden. Given that our contract with Rinoa is still active, we need confirmation that we can return to Garden, despite the objective still being incomplete," she informed him, and Squall shrugged.

"Isn't there something in the Garden handbook that covers this kind of situation?"

"Not specifically…but these aren't exactly normal circumstances," Quistis answered, sounding as if she was frustrated with Garden's regulations, which often were quite frankly, dumb. "Garden Code 43 states the SeeD's cannot return to Garden until either the contract is fulfilled or we are authorized to return. Neither of those conditions have been met," she finished.

"We already know this," Squall snapped back in an annoyed fashion. Quistis seemed a bit agitated by his shortness with her, but his agitation had more to do with the actual rule than her saying it.

Rinoa, barely understanding the jargon being used, thought she could weigh in and help, "What if I release you guys from the contract? I am the one who submitted it. Can't I terminate it?"

"No. Garden would still need to confirm that to be the case," Quistis informed her, much to her disappointment. After nearly a minute of silence, Selphie weighed in.

"What about Garden Code 17:4?" she chimed with a squint. Both Squall and Quistis searched their memories for the details of the code. Squall could barely stand straight at the moment, much less recall intricate details of one of the many Garden codes. Fortunately, Quistis knew every Garden code verbatim, and was able to jog his lagging memory.

"Of course…in extreme situations, the squad leader under contract can overrule the terms of the contract with justifiable reasoning," she recited the details, and it was clearly Quistis was curious as to if this applied.

"I'd say its pretty justifiable in this case," Selphie again added her thoughts, and was exactly right.

Just then, Zell stepped forth, "Well, the squad leader, is Squall…" he pointed at the damaged young man, who was blinking repeatedly and clearly struggling to even stay conscious at the moment.

"Squall has been through a lot. I don't think he is in condition to be making such decisions…" Quistis reminded everyone. Usually, Squall would've been upset by Quistis predisposition to answer questions for him, but in this case, she was right. Still, Squall didn't see anything too complicated about the decision.

"What is there to decide, Quistis? Seems pretty cut and dry to me," Squall stepped forward and weakly added his thoughts. However, in a matter of moments, it seemed like the demeanor of everyone got much more grim, as if there was something he wasn't aware of.

"What?" he picked up on the trepidation, looking around the group and seeing the concern on their faces, particularly Quistis, Zell and Selphie.

"There is something else, Squall," Quistis began in a depressing tone, "We have reason to believe the sorceress will be launching a long range missile strike against Balamb Garden," she sighed a heavy breath as she finished, as if the mere thought of the occurrence was too much to even think about. Squall lowered his head and stared at the ground as foggy recollections came back to him. He swore he remembered hearing it mentioned by Seifer and others in his time at D-District, but had a hard time separating his pain-filled delusions from reality while there.

However, it still seemed like a simple decision, and Squall shook his head, not understanding how that would influence their decision oppositely.

"Then that's all the more reason to get back to Garden as soon as possible. We need to warn them," he insisted, but was immediately countered by Kojax.

"And what then? Even if you warn Balamb Garden, you can't really stop the G-Army from launching. Garden would likely still be destroyed…" he grimly stated the reality of the situation.

"Do you have a better plan?" Quistis retorted with agitation and anxiety in her voice.

Kojax shrugged, "I might," he momentarily paused, then calmly answered, "A few days ago, I heard a couple of the CO's at DDP saying that they just started performing simulated launches from both Grayskull and Cobra. Even if the order to strike Balamb were expedited, it would take about a week to get everything prepared for a long range strike, especially since Balamb is over eight thousand miles away from both bases."

"What does that have to do with anything!? They can still hit us from that distance!" Zell insisted, having an unusually keen knowledge of ballistic system capabilities.

"Yeah…but anything outside of the five thousand miles and the error ratio is higher," Kojax enlightened the young SeeD.

"You mean they could miss?" Quistis followed up.

"No…" Kojax immediately stated, but then paused briefly to elaborate, "I mean, its possible, but given that Balamb Garden is a pretty big and immobile target, its very unlikely."

Selphie stepped forward, "I'm sorry…but I thought you said you had a plan…"

"There may be a way to stop the strike altogether. I don't want to get your hopes up, because the chances are slim, but…it's possible…" Kojax iterated the moderately unrealistic chances of stopping it, but it was better than nothing.

Selphie shrugged, "How? Sneak onto the base and mess with the missiles?"

"Only an idiot would try to sneak onto a Galbadian military silo when they are preparing for a high priority launch," Kojax dismissed her guess, even though she was half joking.

Zell snapped back, "Okay hotshot! Then what?"

"I was part of a top secret spec-ops group designed to protect Galbadian national interests at all costs…even when it meant acting against our very own military and government. We were known as…" Kojax explained his role, which sounded very recognizable to the SeeD's present.

"…Foxhound?" Quistis ventured her educated guess, and the SeeD's surprisingly looked to Kojax for affirmation.

"How did you know that?" he inquired, almost demandingly.

"Who do you think hired us to take down the sorceress?" Selphie followed up. Kojax gave her a squinty look, and then took a few moments to contemplate what he had just heard. He was thrown into D-District before everything with the sorceress went down, but one thing he did know was that most G-Army soldiers, especially higher ranking, had very little love for Balamb Garden's elite mercenary unit.

"Wow…they must've been really desperate to hire SeeD," he shook his head, finding it hard to believe, "Then I suppose you already know of the underground base?"

"Before it was destroyed…yeah," Zell nodded, adding another piece of bad news.

"Destroyed?" Kojax questioned with a raised eyebrow, to which Quistis affirmed.

"The G-Army raided the base. Killed a lot of your fellow Foxhound members, and hauled Selphie, Zell and I to D-District," Quistis elaborated, and Kojax closed his eyes, took a few steps backwards, running his hands over his shaven head, seemingly disheartened by the news he just received.

"So there goes that idea…" Zell disappointingly stated, kicking the dirt beneath his feet. For a moment, they all believed that idea to be dismissed, but Kojax jumped back into the conversation.

"Not necessarily," he noted, and everyone looked back to him, "That underground base has a lot of little secrets. One is a special control room, highly safeguarded, about two hundred feet beneath one of the holding cells. It can access all Galbadian military computer systems…even the Ballistic Missile System. If we can get there, there is a chance we could stop the strike altogether," he informed them, boosting sprits marginally.

"We have to try! We can't just let them destroy Garden!" Zell exclaimed in support of the idea, but Kojax again brought up another disadvantage they had to deal with.

"Problem is…if the G-Army infiltrated the base, it might be swarming with men, and the exits will all likely be sealed off," Kojax finished, but Irvine almost immediately countered.

"Maybe not ALL of them," the cowboy, who had been quiet for the most part, finally chimed in, "Rinoa and I escaped through General Caraway's private quarters, and the instructions he left us stated no one else knew about it," he informed the group. Kojax thought about it for a few moments, then shrugged.

"Hmm, its possible. I didn't know anything about it, but that doesn't mean no one else did," Kojax noted.

"We have to at least try! Right?" Selphie burst out, knowing there weren't many options outside of that. The group looked around at each other with questioning eyes, but it was clear everyone had their doubts. Quistis knew first and foremost that the top priority was to evacuate Garden, but even if they got everyone safely out, they would have no way of stopping the sorceress or Galbadia with Balamb Garden in a pile of ashes.

"Squall?" Selphie asked amidst the silence. Even though he was in no real condition to be put in such a position, it seemed as if most of the eyes of the group turned to him. Still, Squall didn't hesitate as it, once again, seemed like a pretty cut and dry decision.

"It's worth a shot if it can save Garden," he answered, albeit faintly. Still, his support seemed to bring new life to the group, who desperately needed it at the moment.

"Then it's settled," Quistis began, and started surveying her team, "Now, we just have to decide who will report to Garden and who will go with Irvine and Dane to the Foxhound base," she finished just as Dane stepped back in.

"Not trying to be a buzz kill, but getting back into the base isn't going to be easy," he informed them in a somewhat solemn manner, "…in fact there is a pretty good chance those of us going back to Deling City aren't leaving," he finished, bowing his head at the sad fact, quickly quelling any optimism. For nearly a minute, it was completely silent as everyone reflected on what Kojax just said. Irvine stared blankly ahead knowing he had to go, and the rest of the group pondered which of them would have to be part of this makeshift suicide squad.

"I'll go…" a familiar voice volunteered from the silence, and everyone's eyes turned to see Squall limping forward, barely able to move gingerly. While they admired his continued bravery, it was also foolish.

"Like hell you are," Quistis stormed over to him, shutting down that idea quickly, "You need to go back to Garden and get medical attention," she demanded unyieldingly. Squall stared into her eyes for a moment, and then attempted to walk past her.

"I'll be fine," he labored with his breath as he spoke, and Quistis stepped in front of him again, not backing down. Squall didn't have the energy or desire to get into a battle of wills with Quistis again, so he just stared at her with a narrowed brow, trying to get the point across to her that she couldn't really stop him. However, a much needed voice of reason stepped in.

"She's right," Kojax agreed with Quistis and stepped in front of Squall trying to stare some sense into him.

"I said I'm fine," Squall stubbornly insisted, even though it was clear he had trouble even speaking more than a few words at a time. Realizing Squall wasn't going to concede he couldn't do it, Quistis took a step closer and decided to challenge him.

"Would you be willing to bet Dane's and Irvine's lives on that? Or how about the lives of everyone at Balamb Garden?" Quistis inquired, hoping that making him consider how his actions would affect everyone else would jar some common sense loose. Still, it only took a moment before the point visibly hit home for Squall. He took a deep breath, gave Quistis one last glance, and turned.

"Zell…you are going to go with them. You have the most infantry training and can handle yourself without a Guardian Force," Squall ordered, knowing the team's strengths and weaknesses inside out. Everyone quickly looked over to Zell, who was leaning against the boulder but suddenly froze. He glanced around at the other members, who were seemingly waiting for his reaction. Zell, feeling all the eyes on him, nodded in agreement.

"Got it! I'm ready to kick some ass," he pumped his fist, although the shaky apprehension in his voice conveyed the underlying concern. Still, there was no time to really prep him mentally. Squall didn't necessarily enjoy sending someone else into a situation so fraught with potential disaster, but this was his job as leader to make tough decisions.

"Quistis, Selphie and I will go back to Garden to report everything…and find out what the hell is going on," Squall informed the group and then turned to walk way, feeling the need to rest again.

"Umm, Squall," Quistis called out, stopping him in his tracks, "Aren't you forgetting someone?" Squall raised an eyebrow and turned, almost immediately seeing Rinoa as she stepped up next to Quistis with her arms crossed, seemingly a little let down Squall forgot about her. In reality though, Squall hadn't forgotten. He just assumed it was a given she was going back to Garden.

"You're coming with us," he informed her in a weary tone, "We might need your testimony regarding everything that has happened," he finished, and Rinoa was agreeable to the terms.

"Okay…so, when do we leave?" she questioned with a shrug. Squall looked over to Kojax, who in turn looked behind him, where the ship that rescued them the previous evening began to activate. The massive bald man they only knew as "Big Bear" stepped off the airship, and gave Kojax a thumbs-up.

Dane looked back to the group and answered Rinoa's question without hesitation.

"Now."

Tuesday, May 30th, 4268/Galbadia Garden – Upper Levels – Sorceress' Chambers

1849 hrs

Seifer quickened his pace with each step as his boots clomped along the floor of the eerily quiet halls of Galbadia Garden. In his haste to fulfill all of the sorceress' wishes, he left Squall's life in the hands of someone else. He was given explicit orders to finish off the young SeeD, but instead of doing the job himself, he let his bravado get the best of him, and allowed Squall to be slowly tortured to death while Seifer left to ensure the missile strikes would go off without a hitch.

However, as he found out just a few hours earlier, things did not go quite according to plan. Somehow, D-District Prison, one of the most impenetrable facilities in the world, had been compromised, with all of the SeeD prisoners, including Squall, apparently narrowly escaping with their lives.

Despite the current predicament, Seifer felt as if it was only a slight setback. He merely saw it as delaying the inevitable. In his mind, all SeeD's would be wiped off the map in a matter of days, and he and his sorceress would be free to reign as she saw fit. Her new world would be built atop the ashes and charred bones of everyone that stood in her way.

It was only a matter of time.

Finally, Seifer reached the end of the long hallway that led to her corridors. A row of heavily armed G-Army soldiers saluted Seifer as he approached with two more armed soldiers following closely behind him.

"General Almasy," the soldier guarding the door snapped off a quick salute, "The sorceress is expecting you," he finished and immediately opened the door. Seifer paused briefly and took a deep breath, fearing he may have displeased her. He collected himself quickly and made his way in as the soldiers closed the door behind him.

He walked through the softly lit chambers, faintly seeing the sorceress' silhouette standing at the massive window, staring out into the plains as the twilight of the setting sun began to retreat behind the nearby mountain range, with streaks of orange, pink and purple coloring the backdrop. He sauntered up behind her, but she didn't acknowledge him, even though he was well aware she knew of his presence. Out of reverence, he took a knee as he addressed her.

"My Lady," he bowed his head as he spoke, and she only slightly turned her head in response, "I came back as soon as I heard," he informed her and stood. Moments passed and she did not reply, which made Seifer a bit uneasy.

"You seem markedly nonchalant, given the circumstances," she replied with an oddly calm voice, not turning as she spoke to him, and instead kept staring into the darkening skies.

"He is going back to Garden," Seifer assured her, "The missile strikes will wipe it off the map, and he will have nowhere to go. When that happens, I'll find him," he insisted with no trace of doubt in his voice. However, as the sorceress slowly turned to him, she made it clear that she did not share his optimism.

"And you truly believe it will be that easy? You believe that your…error in judgment…was not a costly one?" she questioned, her frighteningly calm demeanor seemingly out of place at the moment. Seifer struggled to find the right words to reply, but she quickly spoke again before he could, "That boy was your responsibility. I told you to dispose of him, and you assured me you had it under control," she reminded him as she walked behind him with a slow pace.

Seifer nodded, trying to hide the fear in his voice as he answered, "Leonhart was nearly dead when I left him. I don't understand how this…."

"That is my point, foolish boy…" she cut him off, "You DON'T understand!" the demonic scorn in her voice piercing through Seifer like hot blades. She slowly walked around the other side of him until she was once again standing in front of him with her back turned. After nearly a minute of complete, rage-filled silence, Seifer took a step forward.

"My queen…I will get him back. Just give me a chance…" he pleaded, not sounding as confident as he did moments earlier. Hearing the fear in his voice, the sorceress felt utterly disgusted with him and spun around without warning.

"I am not in the forgiving mood…" her answer was instantaneous and fierce as she flung her arm towards him.

No warnings, no threats, no second chances…

Just wrath.

Flashing white bolts of energy surged from her hands, pulsating into Seifer and burning his eyes and lungs. For a moment, his vision whited out entirely, then his chest was heaving as he struggled to take in breath, tasting thick blood in his throat as he fell from his kneeling position onto his side, shocked at the suddenness and the violence of the attack, curling up to try to ease his breathing.

Everything was pain; white light which seared his eyes, heat blazing through him so intensely that his muscles cramped and his lungs paralyzed. No time, no awareness; only torment so profound that everything else was scorched away. The only thing his mind could lock onto outside of the pain were the words she spoke.

"Look at you. A pathetic mutt, lying at my feet. I suppose I only have myself to blame, though," she derisively ridiculed him as he writhed in torturous pain, "You are hereby relieved of your knightly duties…and all of the otherworldly pleasures and privileges that title holds," she raised her hand and Seifer was elevated into the air with ease, as multicolored energies began to flow out of his body and towards the sorceress as if she were stealing his soul. And in many ways, she was.

Suddenly, the spectrums of bright energy stopped and Seifer's completely nude and limp body now hung in the air, completely devoid of energy or purpose to go on. She quickly dropped her hand as Seifer fell hard to the cold floor beneath him.

"How does it feel, boy?" She spat with disgust as he wheezed, trying to push himself off the ground, "How does it feel knowing you have nothing left in this world?" As soon as she spoke those cruel, unforgiving words, it was as if all of his physical pain was now replaced with the eternal emptiness that he felt before he met her, except magnified exponentially. He felt as if he was falling down a bottomless pit of despair, as every painful memory and feeling of isolation washed over him and consumed him in a misery no man should have to endure.

"No…please..." Seifer cried as he dragged his naked frame along the floor with frail arms until he reached her feet, "PLEASE…I don't want to feel this way!" Seifer bellowed with excruciating sadness and begged her for respite.

The sorceress merely smirked evilly, realizing him to be nothing better than the common pathetic miscreants his race seemingly mass produced.

"You were never my first choice. HE was, and he has already shown why…twice. He is so much more than you could ever hope to be," she explained with a biting tone, letting him know he was nothing more than a consolation prize, and even though she never directly spoke his name, Seifer knew exactly who 'he' was.

"You? You're the unloved bastard child of a harbor hooker and some random paying customer. A mistake…a grimy smear on the face of existence," the sorceress continued to humiliate and shame her former knight until he was reduced to nothing more than a blubbering puddle of tears lying nude and broken on the floor before her.

"Please…I beg of you…my lady…" he gasped through tears, grasping at her feet and dress as he frantically implored her forgiveness.

"Miserable orphan," she swatted his hand and he lied there, naked and motionless, hoping death was not far off at the moment. "If it is redemption you so desperately seek, you must prove yourself. Prove yourself worthy of my trust. Prove yourself worthy of my love," she informed him, giving him a brief glimmer of hope that he might one day win back his queen.

"H-how?" Seifer forced out through sobs and deep breaths as he was barely able to push himself to his knees.

"That is a question you must answer on your own, boy," she informed with zero sympathy and quickly cast a sleep spell on him. As she turned back to the window, watching as the last traces of sunlight disappeared over the horizon, a few G-Army soldiers walked in behind her as Seifer's body lied motionless on the ground.

"Get him out of my sight," she ordered to the soldiers.

"What would you like us to do with him, your highness?" one of the soldiers inquired, careful not to anger her.

"Toss him back with the rest of the rats in Timber," she ordered the men, who quickly picked Seifer's nude form off the floor and carried him out of her chambers.

As the doors closed, the sorceress walked the length of the long room, with the plush dark red carpeting caressing her feet. Without warning, a wave of alien thoughts screamed through her mind, as if she was having rapid flashbacks of memories that weren't her own. While nothing entirely clear, she would see faces, remember voices and even scents. She suddenly remembered both Squall and Seifer as children, fighting over who won a game of checkers. Just as quickly, that thought turned into one of them fighting in the ballroom at Deling's palace where Squall was impaled with ice from her very hand. And now, she was recalling what happened moments earlier with a seemingly defeated and hopeless Seifer begging her for her love. Love she refused him.

In the midst of her thoughts, she felt something on her cheek. Curious, she reached up and gently brushed it with her gloved hand and looked down, noticing the wetness on her glove. She felt her eyes watering and realized she was crying, and even though she had no real emotions for anything she just recalled, she knew that somewhere deep within this shell of a human was the other soul, who could feel every ounce of pain the sorceress was inflicting on these children.

"Don't worry, Mrs Kramer," she spoke to the true owner of the body, knowing she was listening, "Your spirit will soon die, along with your husband and the rest of your wretched SeeD's at Balamb Garden."

So, yeah….its been a long time. I seriously doubt most of my old readers are even around anymore.

Truth is, I've had this halfway done for about two years, and just decided to finish it. I still get that creative itch, sometimes.

But this may very well be the end of this story. I thought I might finish it out of passion, but to be honest, with the lackluster interest in this (and Final Fantasy 8 in general), its hard to devote serious time to this anymore.

If I could go back to even the mid-2000s, Id definitely give it my all, because I finally found a creative direction I wanted to take my story (as opposed to a direct novelization), but by the time I figured it out, most of the interest had died off.

I wont say this is definitely the end, but at this point, I don't see any way I finish this….even though I have the entire story mapped out already….its the fleshing it out that takes so much time and effort.

So if this is it…thank you to everyone who supported the story over the years.

I may start up another story on here (not Final Fantasy 8), but I wont say anything for sure yet because its very much in the air.

All the best!

Prodigy