Chapter Twenty-Three: Final Boss?

"Thanks," Squall said in a voice still-husky from grief as he accepted the proffered glass. "Sorry to make you do this."

"You didn't make me do anything," Selphie giggled, though her mirth was laced with heaviness as she moved to sit next to him on the sofa. "Hey…are you okay?"

Squall took a sip of the water, partly for the hydration and partly to give himself time to think about his reply. "I guess I'm fine…all things considered."

"What happened?"

He briefly glanced up at her before resettling his gaze on the clear liquid as it rippled in the transparent container within the circle of his hands. "Ellone…sent me back to my own birth." At her gasp he nodded with a slight smile. "Yeah; I got to see Mom from inside as well as out."

"Is Raine really your mom, then?" Selphie asked, leaning forward with curiosity sparkling in her large, emerald eyes.

Another nod. "She died shortly after giving birth to me." He took a deep breath and pursed his lips as he tried to keep the tears from flowing again at the very recent memory. "She was able to nurse me once, but…" He clenched his teeth and looked away from his friend. "Dammit…"

"It's okay, Squall," she said, cautiously reaching out to touch his hand, and was surprised when he let her take it. "Y-You don't need to be ashamed; it's just you and me."

He leaned forward to put the glass on a coaster on the table before flopping back on the sofa, his free arm moving to cover his eyes. "I know," he sighed as he gave her hand a squeeze. "It's just a lot to take in right now."

"I'll bet."

A chirp from the door control panel told them that he had a visitor, and Squall sighed again. "I really don't need this right now…" he grumbled as he started to get up.

"I'll answer it; it's probably Ellone," Selphie said as she gently but insistently pushed him back onto the sofa and got up herself. He opened his mouth to protest, but instead gave a grateful nod as he relaxed back into the cushions. She smiled fondly down at his slouched form before heading to the door to press the comm button. "Hi-ya! Who's there, please?"

No answer.

She repeated her request twice more before cautiously pressing the button to open the door; neither she nor Squall had their weapons on them and weren't proficient at unarmed combat, so the lack of response made her a little uneasy.

"'Bout time you opened the door, Tilmitt," Seifer greeted from the other side.

"Seifer?!" she bristled. "What do you want? And why didn't you answer?"

The tall blonde ignored the questions, looking past her to his goal. "It's time, Squall."

"Hey, Squall's been through a lot today!" Selphie protested, putting herself between Seifer and his quarry. "Come back tomorrow or something!"

"I won't be here tomorrow!" Seifer snapped. "I'm supposed to catch the last flight back to Balamb, which is in about forty-five minutes."

"Well, too bad for you," she growled. "Squall's still-"

"Let me get my weapon and I'll meet you by the main entrance in three," Squall interrupted, stepping up behind a wide-eyed Selphie. "Will that work?"

Seifer smirked at the pair on the other side of the door. "Yeah. Yeah, that'll work; three from when I leave." He spun on his heel and headed away, giving a lazy wave over his shoulder as he departed. "Tilmitt, you can come too if you want; just make sure to bring your weapon."

Selphie glared at his retreating form until it rounded a corner before turning worried eyes on her friend. "Are you sure about this, Squall?"

He quirked his mouth to the side as he looked to where his old rival had disappeared. "Go get your weapon and be back in one; we'll talk on the way."

She blinked up at him in surprise; his statement hadn't quite been an order, but it sounded like he wouldn't have listened to any arguments, either. "O-Okay," she replied, and hurried out the door.

Squall sighed as he watched her go, then slapped the button to close the door before heading to the bedroom to gather the Lionheart.


"Nice of you to show up," Seifer said, wearing his trademark gray coat along with a smirk as he leaned against the doorway to the auto-doors leading outside; the gray case that held his gunblade leaned against the wall next to him. "I knew you wouldn't let me down, Squall."

"What's this all about, anyway?" Selphie demanded. "And where are Fujin and Raijin?"

"Jeez Tilmitt, lighten up!" the blonde man laughed as he pushed himself from the wall. "You're starting to sound like your boyfriend!"

"Enough," Squall intoned, stepping between the verbal combatants. "I'm here; let's get this over with."

Seifer gave his old rival a wink before leaning down to retrieve his gunblade case. Without a word, he turned and headed out the auto-doors into the clear, cold night. Squall shivered briefly at the abrupt change in temperature, though Selphie seemed unfazed by it; hardly surprising, considering she'd spent the bulk of her schooling at Trabia Garden.

They followed the gray-coated youth as he walked up to the main gate and glared at it. A few seconds later it opened, allowing them access to the wilderness beyond.

Selphie furrowed her delicate brow at the sight; normally, Headmaster Winn or another high-ranking faculty member would have to key in a code to open the huge wall-like gate. "H-How did you do that?"

Seifer glanced over his shoulder with his usual smirk. "Maaaagic," he replied with a wiggle of his fingers.

She looked to her friend for some kind of explanation, but all he did was shrug with a shake of his head as though to say Don't worry about it.

They eventually found themselves near a small forest not too far from Trabia Garden's main gate. "Well…" Seifer said as he set his gunblade case down on a nearby stone, "…let's get started, shall we?"

The two men collected their weapons and took up positions opposite each other, and Selphie looked between them worriedly. "Squall, are you sure you want to do this? You've been through a lot today."

"I'm fine," he replied evenly. "Like I said earlier; I kinda need this to help sort out my thoughts."

"See, Tilmitt?" Seifer taunted. "Puberty boy's all grown up now; he doesn't need you 'mom'ing him anymore."

"Leave her alone, Seifer," Squall told him, his voice still even. "She came because you asked so nicely, but that doesn't mean I'm going to put up with you mistreating her."

Seifer studied his opponent, sneer firmly in place. "Fair enough," he conceded. "But only because you asked so nicely." His expression then grew serious as he raised his weapon, holding it vertically in front of his face before lowering it to a ready position, pointed directly at Squall. "You ready?"

Squall blinked as he recognized his opponent's stance. "Hey…that's…" He glanced over at Selphie, who had apparently noticed the same thing, as she was staring wide-eyed at Seifer. "You saw that dream, didn't you?"

"Yeah…" she breathed, her eyes still locked on the familiar fighting stance. "That's just like Sir Laguna's stance from when he made that movie."

"Ah, you know about that, huh?" Seifer said proudly. "Yeah, I saw that movie and liked the stance so much that I copied it. I'll never forget the name 'Laguna Loire' as long as I live. He was my inspiration to take up the gunblade, you know."

"I didn't know that," Squall admitted as he exchanged a glance with Selphie, trying to tell her with his eyes to not bring up his relationship to Seifer's hero. Apparently she understood, because she gave him a slight smile along with a nod.

A slight shift in stance was all the warning Squall was given as Seifer suddenly charged at him, drawing his gunblade back for a slash targeted at Squall's abdomen. However, the weakness of Seifer's combat stance was a tendency to telegraph his intent, and Squall was able to easily parry the strike, sending the taller man stumbling several steps.

Fortunately, Seifer was easily able to regain his balance, and he took several strutting steps as though to say That didn't bother me. "Not bad, Squall; guess all that time killing my sorceress paid off."

Squall rolled his eyes at the lame attempt at a taunt. "You should've picked a better sorceress as a partner."

Seifer stopped mid-step and looked over at his sparring partner with an amused grin. "So you can give as good as you get now, huh? Nice." He took up his fighting stance again. "The last time we sparred, you were so quiet it was almost creepy."

Squall lowered his gunblade just enough to send Seifer a silent smile, causing the other man to laugh before attacking again.

On the sidelines, Selphie gnawed on her lip as she watched, worried about her friend. As she continued to watch, though, she realized that… "They're more the same than they are different, aren't they?"

It was true. Even though the two men had butted heads on more than one occasion, they had one major trait in common; they were both driven. Even though they had different desires and dreams, each of them had what it took to go far in life. Even though Seifer used his for self-gain rather than for the good of others, he still felt strongly about his dreams.

"And Seifer feels and Seifer loves so he's alive, ya know?"

The memory of Raijin's words came back to her as she watched the unofficial match, and she started to see their old nemesis in a different light. He's not a bad person; just…misguided.

"Come on; stop holding back!" Seifer suddenly shouted, snapping Selphie out of her reverie. "I know you're stronger than that! I'm feeling insulted, here!"

Squall blinked at his opponent's words, his gunblade lowering slightly, and it occurred to him that Seifer just wanted him to do his best, and that any perceived animosity was from Squall's own imagination. "If I beat him, I can see Ellone again…" He sighed as he raised his weapon again. "Fine…" He muttered, then charged…

…only for his steps to falter, distracted by the sight of Raijin and Fujin charging from the thick woods nearby, heading right toward the combatants.

"Hey!" Selphie protested. "I thought it was just supposed to be you and Squall!"

"Calm down Tilmitt," Seifer replied as he relaxed his stance, holding up a hand; Squall half-expected to see fire forming in his opponent's hand, but slowed to a stop when he saw an empty palm. "They're bringing the real reason for this whole thing."

"What do you mean?" Squall asked.

As though on cue, a roar reverberated through the night air, and everyone could feel the sound vibrating their skin and causing their hair to stand on end.

"What is that?" Selphie gasped as a huge, four-legged beast charged out of the woods, knocking down trees as though they were branches. It was easily the size of a house, with legs thicker than tree-trunks and a neck so thick that it appeared as though the beast's head attached directly to its massive shoulders. Its leathery skin must have been coated with sweat, because it fairly glowed under the moonlight. It was hauntingly beautiful.

"Good job, you two!" Seifer called, giving his underlings a thumbs-up as they gasped past him, running toward the Garden. "We'll take it from here!"

The fleeing pair might have answered, but their lungs could only hold so much air.

Seifer watched them disappear through the gate to Trabia Garden before turning to his rival. "Well? Want to give me a hand?"

"Wait…" Selphie said as the beast stomped its way up to them. "…is this why you called Squall out?"

In spite of the danger nearby, Seifer tucked his gunblade under his arm to slow-clap. "Brilliant deduction, Chief of Intelligence Tilmitt!" Taking his gunblade back in hand he added, "Would the two of you care to join me in taking down this thing?"

Squall and Selphie exchanged a glance, their expressions resolving into smiles as they readied their weapons and took up positions on either side of Seifer. "Selphie, let's make sure that he gets the bonus experience, okay?"

Seifer's face was a mask of confusion as he looked over his shoulder at his old rival, then smiled as he realized what the other man was likely referring to. "Trying to make up for the Anaconduar, are you?"

"You could say that," Squall replied, his own expression one of concentration as he studied the beast. "And in case it needs to be said; you're in charge…commander."

"Of course I am!" Seifer laughed before pointing the Hyperion at his new target. "Let's take this thing down!"

With Squall's and Selphie's help, the battle was terribly one-sided, and the beast collapsed to the ground before dissolving into the familiar purple mist.

"And that, ladies and gentlemen, is that!" Seifer announced, turning to his teammates; in the distance, Raijin and Fujin could be seen exiting the Garden again. "And you were true to your word, Squall."

"I try," Squall replied dryly.

"What word?" Selphie asked. "The one about the experience?"

"I miscalculated a blow back in Dollet," Squall explained. "I meant to leave the thing with a few HP but put a little too much force into my swing."

"I'd forgotten all about it until you brought it up," Seifer chuckled. "But I guess you're a good little Garden soldier, with integrity and…" he trailed off, his trademark smirk fading with his words. He quickly recovered, however, and started back toward the main gate. "I admire a man who is true to his word." He chuckled again. "Damn, Squall; I should've warmed up on the enemy before crossing 'blades with you; I won't be challenging you ever again!"

"Y-You won't?" Selphie said, surprised at the revelation.

Seifer stopped to throw his head back to laugh heartily. "Hey, I've seen the power your boyfriend has! Felt it, too! I figure I'm lucky to still be alive after all this! 'Scuse me; I've got a plane to catch." With that, he waved over his shoulder as he joined his underlings at the main gate, leaving the pair to blink stupidly after him.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Selphie asked worriedly. "He seemed kinda…sad?"

"He'll be fine," Squall replied, smiling at the sight of his now-former rival, passing through the gate with his underlings…friends really, and he felt an odd sense of loss at the change in their relationship. "Yeah…I think he'll be much better, now."