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Dark as Rain
By Scutter
scutter1200@hotmail.com
Dedicated to Julie for her awesome fic, 'Star Light'
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 8. Happy Christmas, everybody!
Rated R.
Chapter 52.
POV of Zell.
I'm sitting in my room, cross legged on my bed, staring at the same damn piece of paper I've been holding for over half an hour.
'Application for Transfer to Galbadia Garden'
It's all filled in, signed with my scrawling, messy signature at the bottom, detailing when I'll go, how long it's for, how many classes I'll teach, how much I'll be paid... all printed in that neat, generic font that ignores the fact that this is one of the most life changing decisions I could ever make.
If, that is, I ever get around to making it.
A few hours ago, this was the furthest thing from my mind. I'd told Galbadia Garden I wouldn't give them an answer until the forum was over, and I meant to stick to that plan. I was wrapped up thinking about talking to Squall, and increasing security at the forum, and whether I needed to tell Selphie to keep her mouth shut about finding me in the hall outside Squall's room.
But now, even though the forum is still going, and will be for a few days at least, the world has spun on its axis, life has turned itself upside down, and in a way that I never imagined possible, I'm suddenly free to make this decision.
*
It started mid afternoon. Laguna had finally tracked Odine down, and we were all called to the SeeD lounge for one of our famous meetings... the kind that always seem to end in political, global or personal destruction. Hyne, my head is still spinning just thinking about it.
It was kinda crowded, the entire gang squished up with Rinoa, Cid and Edea, Seifer and Rajin, Laguna, Kiros and Ward, and of course, Odine, waddling about at the front of the room like a demented wind-up toy. He said he had some news about Ultimecia. He didn't put it in so many words, but we all figured he meant he'd worked out when she was coming back, so the tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a carving knife.
"Ve had most exciting rezults!" Odine had all but shouted as he waved at the temporary screen that had been set up, since he declared a pressing need to display 'lotz of diagramz, many picturz for you!' "Ze situation is unspeakably complex. Ve have, zee here, little lines for everybody, travelling back and forth in time. And ve have traced ze lines from ze present here in Garden, back srough time, to Time Compression. And zen ve traced zem back furzer, to before Time Compression." He waved a marker at the screen erratically, and I could just about work out which diagram he was referring to. Though the relevance of it eluded me at the time. "And zen ve traced zem forward again, srough Time Compression, back ze ozzer way, to Garden here now. Now I dizcovered fascinating zingz vhen I found ze Time Compression. Ultimecia's line iz not coming out of Time Compression, zee? Because time is not coming in a straight line. Time occurs in 'clumps.' And ze Time Compression 'clump' vas all around Ultimecia, and it is not zhere any more."
There was silence for a good minute, while we all tried to figure out what the hell he was talking about, and then slowly realised that that was the whole speech... no further explanation was on its way.
"Does anyone have a clue what just happened there?" Irvine finally voiced the opinion everyone was thinking. "Because I know I missed the point of that little explanation."
"Time does not have straight lines!" Odine screeched, waving at the screen. "It iz in clumps! She iz abzorbed into time! She can no longer have been going to have happened!"
I think more than one person would have throttled the little guy at that point, if finding out the answer to whatever he was ranting about hadn't been so important. Finally, Kiros had stood up and volunteered to explain it a bit more simply. He said he'd spent some time looking at the results before coming to Esthar, so he had a grasp on what was going on.
"Time compression didn't drag you into the future where Ultimecia was. It also didn't drag her into the past. It actually dragged all of time together, into one place, into one moment. As for Ultimecia herself, I think this will be the easiest way to explain it..."
After Odine's convoluted explanation, I was expecting something fairly intricate, even coming from someone as level-headed as Kiros, and so the simplicity of his next statement took a moment to register.
"In the moment that you defeated Ultimecia, you didn't just defeat her in our time, or just in the future. You defeated her in every second, every microsecond, every moment across time. And as a result, she has ceased to exist in reality as we know it. She can't rise again in the future. Because when you killed her, the time line continuum that contained her essence ceased to exist."
*
That was it. It was over. The war, Ultimecia, global destruction, Pandora. Seifer's involvement in the forum suddenly seemed like a petty border squabble, rather than negotiations to avert a global war. In the space of a fifteen minute meeting, life as we knew it, our lives, our purpose, our future, had once again been turned on its head. The only thing that actually registered for me after that was Seifer's voice, arrogant and sad, stating softly, "That's what I've been saying for the past three weeks, if anyone cared to listen."
I think Laguna might have made some apology for getting us all wound up about Ultimecia in the first place, though I was a little too shell shocked to pay much attention. The meeting must have split up and somehow I found my way back to my room, because that's where I am now, staring at a piece of paper without seeing it, because there are too many voices clamouring for attention in my head.
I am no longer needed to fight a future war of epic proportions, SeeD won't have to go up against Ultimecia again, we don't need highly elite warriors to save the world. We're back to square one, where war consists of people killing each other with guns and grenades, rather than penultimate magical spells and giant towering battlements of paramagical devastation.
And so, on reflection, with my relationship with Squall still in tatters and a fifty-fifty chance it will never go anywhere from here, I realise with soul-shaking relief... I no longer need to be here.
I look down at the form in my hands again, and I'm startled to see the fresh, clean print being smeared, as my tears wet the page.
*
*
*
Kind of a short chapter, I know. I had serious writers block trying to get through this chapter, but I'm actually very happy with how it turned out. I hope the explanation about Ultimecia made sense. Feel free to ask questions if anyone's confused.
Feedback will be given a Christmas card. Flames will be sent to finish my Christmas shopping.
Can I say something here? Without meaning to offend anyone, could you all stop sending food to the muses? It was cute when two people were doing it. Now it's going overboard. What the muses appreciate most is genuine enjoyment of the fic, so just a heartfelt thanks, a comment like 'I cried when this happened," or 'I laughed my socks off when...' will keep them happy. If you really want to send something to the muses, try something original, like a bassoon, or an origami turtle. Thanks everyone.
faery-of-fiction: Many updates... yeah, that's what too much free time will do. Glad you liked the chapter.
Zierra: I actually had something different planned for the end of the last chapter (i.e. hallway raunchiness between Squall and Seifer) which is why Zell had to make himself scarce... and then Squall got really pissed off at Seifer and wouldn't cooperate so it turned out a little different than I expected. *sigh* That's what happens when fics take on a life of their own.
Angelus Errare: Squall is a complex guy, no doubt about it. 'I'm loving the emotions you've inserted into them.' *snerk* Sorry, I just took that the wrong way... sounded kinda like stuffing a turkey. I know, I'm being ridiculous...
Jenihenpen: Ooh, I just love an evil Seifer! Laguna's musical socks are coming, but I thought I'd have to wait until some of the angst is over to work that in. I have a note stuck to my computer screen and all, so I don't forget!
Thanks to Helen, myeerah, Hopemia, Doobie and Guenhwyvar for their reviews.
Um... Redrum? Zell finally got Squall up against a wall back there... are you still around??
