Its been a while since I played the game, so I may have got some of the details wrong, or a lot of them. For these mistakes, I apologise. I do not own FF8 or any themes and characters borrowed from that title, they are the property of Squaresoft.

Prologue: Mental Defragmentation

Squall dropped to his knees, his gaze sweeped over the area round him, there was nothing. The empty blackness of time compression and himself, there was no one else, nothing else. "I'm alone?" he asked dejectedly. A pathetic plea to any who would listen, but in infinite nothingness what was there to reply? Who was there to care? For the first time, Squall was alone, more alone than he had ever been before… his thoughts… he couldn't describe them…

BLINK

Squall glared at Seifer, then running forwards he swung his gunblade towards his adversary. The blond man parried the blow with practiced ease and jumped forwards swinging his own Hyperion blade. Squall of course had anticipated such an action, and their fight continued.

The duel seemed eternal they had fought countless times before, and no doubt would continue to do so, but why? Why did they struggle so hard to counter each other, a human instinct to via for dominance? Or was there simply no other way?

An explosion of fire struck the silent warrior as Seifer drew upon the power of magic, as a stunned Squall slowly got to his feet, a gunblade swung down across his nose, cutting a slash deeply into it, a hot surge of pain, a deep stabbing, something more than simple flesh was marked…

BLINK

Squall ran forwards his gunblade held in both hands swinging across his body and down, the blade sunk deeply into the robot leg of the spider machine that had been following him, it reared up, an electronic scream, and then collapsed downwards. Squall was breathing heavily, his arms ached with a dull pain, but at least they had won… right?

Turning he nodded his head to the shadows, they seemed to respond, Squall felt like he should know them, recognise them for more than that, but he did not. He shrugged a simple enough gesture, sheathed his blade and continued his walk.

He frowned, a sound, heavy machinery, it seemed to be coming closer, he spun around, azure eyes widening, as a split second of thought, allowed him to recognise the spider machine, almost unharmed, it synthesised a challenge and jumped forwards, it was still fighting, it had no end…

BLINK

Squall stepped forwards, his adversary the sorceress Adel, she had to be stopped why? She was leaching the life force from, who? A person, I know it is… the world. He alone could save the world, alone? Running forwards he dodged her vial magic, his gunblade came up, he leapt forwards the point touched her breast, a shadow scream, and then the blade plunged deep into the heart of Sorceress Adel.

"I remember a similar situation with the exact same Sorceress…" that voice… but why didn't he recognise it? He couldn't be conjuring up a voice of his imagining. The scream from Adel wasn't one of death, but anger, she couldn't die, not yet, she was a sorceress after all…

BLINK

Squall had fallen to his knees, possibly, but then without direction, it was hard to tell. He felt like he was kneeling, infinity was able to fool the mind like that, and Squall was now lost in infinity, that didn't really settle well in his mind. He didn't want to think about it. His fingers traced the scar Seifer had given him; the glove came away bearing a crimson stain, his eyes widened in surprise, much as they had as the spider machine had reached him.

"No!" he whispered… or perhaps he only thought the words were audible, possibly the infinite reaches of this blackness had heard them, he shook his head trying to clear it, "No…"

BLINK

Drifting in space, he looked out to the distant stars… why had he left the safety of the Spaceship. For what? The shadows cast by the glistening stars of the universe? But that was illogical… it lead to death, to becoming a memory… Doesn't everything? He floated on, ever further from the space ship… oxygen depleting, until…

BLINK

Squall ran through Ultimacer's castle, alone always alone He looked up to the vast wooden door that stood between him and his quarry he stepped slightly closer, gloved hand going towards the handle, slender fingers wrapping about it. A loud creak as he pulled it ajar and slipped inside…

BLINK

Squall tipped his head up to the sky, or where the sky should have been, and let out a load scream, the emotions this wail conveyed were terror, confusion and loneliness, after the sound died, or his memory of the sound at least, he lowed his head, "no… NO it wasn't like that!" he got his feet, tears of frustration and anger, spilling down his cheeks.

"I wasn't alone!" He shouted to anything that could listen, and then a whispered repetition of self-reassurance, "I wasn't alone!"

BLINK