Rating: R
Disclaimer: Bah, why would I want any of this? Seifer's a jerk, Squall has no personality to begin with and Rinoa's just irritating…but they are interesting characters, along with Quistis, and Selphie, and Zell, and Irvine. Oh darn it. I do want to own Final Fantasy 8, I really do! But (un)fortunately they belong to Squaresoft. Argh…it's a love/hate relationship.
Author's Rant: School life's been going down the drain, oh wait, I think I can hear it make those gurgling noises. I hate 4-unit maths assessments…they're detrimental to your mental health and emotional state. At least the World Cup has finally kicked off! Haha…and it's all broadcasted live…but I can't watch it because of school. *sob* Life is so cruel.
A/N: Decided to make things easier on the reader by separating the rants from the actual important stuff. To all you wonderful wonderful people who reviewed…thank you. Your feedback truly means a lot to me. I'm trying to update this fic at least once every two weeks. So far so good. The perspective has changed in this chapter for a couple of reasons, most of which you'll find out later in the story (I haven't written the rest yet…just have a vague idea in my mind), thus it was annoyingly hard to write. Still don't know whether I should be happy with it or not, but here we go.
Lest We Forget
Chapter 5: Survival
"All there is to life is survival."
Swirls of colour, light's shimmering rainbow dance, an explosion of activity, a plethora of sounds - the window framed a painting of life, a snapshot of reality captured in a glance. Cid stared out the window, gazing at Balamb Garden in its entirety. With its soaring pillars and elegant architecture, the overall effect was a bedazzling array of sparkling lights and artistic shadows. It was the reason why he woke up every morning, why he continued to fight. Here was the corporeal image of his dreams, a testament to his life's work. He had built this up from the ground, transformed a vague concept in his mind into a respected fighting force. Balamb Garden - home and so much more. SeeDs were professional soldiers, but to him, friends and family. He would do anything to protect and save them.
Xu cleared her throat self-consciously, resisting the urge to place the report on the headmaster's desk and leave him to his thoughts, but orders were orders. She snapped off a quick salute when he finally turned away from the view.
"Intel reports are in, sir. Quistis Trepe and Seifer Almasy have been sighted in Galbadia."
Cid was silent, thinking. "Very good. Revoke the demotion orders for those scouts who lost them at Timber. We can't afford to decrease morale anymore."
Xu gave a curt nod. "Yes sir." She spun neatly on her heel, heading towards the door.
"Oh, and Xu…could you please call Squall, Zell, Rinoa, Irvine and Selphie to my office now?" Politeness underscored his authority.
She acknowledged the order, allowing the door to swing noiselessly shut behind her.
Cid sank into a chair, tugging on the collar of his white shirt and sighing as he shuffled through the mountains of paperwork on his desk. If only someone would cast firaga at the lot and engulf them in flames. Finally, he resolved that staring at the piles would be absolutely futile – Hyne, they seemed to grow larger. Sandwiched between unsigned contracts and SeeD applications, the non-descript intelligence report was barely noticeable. Pulling it out upset the nearby stacks, and Cid grimaced as the dark brown wooden surface of his desk rapidly disappeared under a white avalanche. Relaxing back into the chair, he skimmed through the report, thoughtfully fingering the stubble that shadowed his jaw.
Xu entered the room quietly. "Squall and the others are here to see you."
"Thank you Xu. You can send them in." Cid hoped that the mess on his desk would at the very least be mistaken for organised chaos.
Xu patiently held open one of the doors. In stepped the team that had conquered Ultimecia. Heroes, heroines, knight and sorceress – but in this instant, merely soldiers reporting to a superior officer. All wore blank looks, emotionless masks forced into place, betraying nothing. They respectfully lined up and saluted. Cid quickly got down to business.
"At ease. Scouts have reported seeing Quistis and Seifer in Galbadia. They appear at instant, to be heading towards Deling City and should arrive there within a day or two." His eyes swept along the silent line, calmly observing their reactions. A vein throbbed in Zell's forehead and Selphie's mouth twitched, but everyone else remained relatively impassive.
Cid began to pace back and forth in front of them. "Your mission is to infiltrate Galbadia in pursuit of the fugitives and capture them alive, so they can be properly tried in a military court. How you choose to achieve this is entirely up to your discretion. Stay true to the main objective. Commander Leonhart will be squad leader. Squall…you have permission to use any available resources and personnel already in Galbadia. Although we are doing our best to cover up the crime, it will soon be leaked out, so this has to be handled delicately. SeeD are not murderers, only individuals are."
Silence reigned until Squall stepped forward. He didn't need to check what the others thought about the situation. He knew he could speak for all of them. "We accept the mission. You can count on us, sir."
Zell looked as if to interrupt, but he hurriedly closed his mouth and stared at the floor, continually clenching and unclenching his hands.
Cid glanced at him sympathetically and placed a weathered hand on his shoulder, but his reply was directed at everyone. "I know this mission will be difficult, perhaps even harder than facing Ultimecia. Quistis and Seifer have both watched your back at least once in the past. They were your comrades-in-arms, fellow SeeDs, and friends, and now you have to hunt them down like common criminals. Just remember that they betrayed you, that they betrayed all of us."
Zell took a deep breath and blew the air out slowly in frustration. Why don't the others seem to care as much? His initial boiling anger had gradually evaporated, replaced by a deep sense of hurt and confusion. Why? Quisty would never betray us. He became conscious of Cid once again speaking to the group.
"This mission is to be conducted with a minimal amount of bloodshed. Garden does not want to provoke Galbadia to war. The mere presence of active SeeDs in their territory would cause enough diplomatic tension as it is. If anything goes wrong, withdraw immediately or Garden will be compromised. In the event that someone is left behind, Garden will disavow any knowledge or responsibility for the mission, labelling it as an independent action by autonomous individuals in SeeD. Clear?"
"Yes sir!" They replied in clipped military tones. No one ever considered actually leaving someone behind.
"But what if Quistis and Seifer are not retrieved by then? We can't just leave them in Galbadia." Irvine unconsciously ran a hand down the barrel of the rifle he always carried around.
Selphie shot him an alarmed glance. No amount of innocence or optimism could shield her from what his unintentional gesture implied. She had not become a SeeD to do this, to kill friends. She had joined to protect them.
"I think you already know what to do." Shockwaves rippled out in the wake of this dropped bombshell. The cold statement left behind an uncomfortable silence. No one wanted to think about what Cid meant.
Squall leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, striking a familiar pose. His faith in others had been shattered. Once again, he was the loner - aloof and distant. He had opened up to Rinoa, assuming that nothing else would ever hurt him again. He was wrong. Cold grey eyes scanned the room, watching the others.
Rinoa had stepped towards the window, arms wrapped tightly around herself, unknowingly occupying the spot Cid had earlier. Images of Seifer holding Hyperion to Squall's neck flashed through her mind. She'd seen the fear in Quistis' eyes when they were in her room. And now Squall was retreating back into himself again. Love was supposed to survive everything. Friendship…the six of them…were meant to be invincible. Fate was cruel. Even greater suffering and loss had succeeded their victory over Ultimecia. What was the point when it all came to nothing?
Everyone was no longer confident. When forced to confront the obvious situation, nothing was left but doubts and regrets.
Coward. Traitor. Backstabber.
Cid straightened, anxious to break the gloomy atmosphere before they reneged on the mission. "I know it sounds harsh, but we're in a very precarious situation where we can't afford anything else going wrong." His tone was apologetic.
No one replied.
"Galbadia is rebuilding its army. They are going from strength to strength, and although Garden is strong, most of our SeeDs are engaged on missions around the world. There would not be sufficient time to recall them if Galbadia attacked unexpectedly. If they declared war, we might simply not have the resources to oppose them for long. All they need is a reason, and we're sure as hell not going to provide them with one. War is inevitable, but we want it on our terms."
They were dire circumstances indeed. Zell paled, his black tattoo contrasting sharply with his pasty white face. Rinoa refused to turn away from the window. Irvine adjusted his hat with one hand and cradled his rifle. Selphie traced the floor pattern with her eyes. Squall merely continued to stare straight ahead.
"Traitors are an immediate threat to Garden's security. Quistis knows a lot. Galbadia will no doubt approach her. I need not remind you that there is no alternative course of action. This has to be done. Stay true to the main objective. For what it's worth…good luck." Cid saluted them.
Squall pushed himself off the wall, straightening to attention, and returned the salute. Slowly, everyone else followed, SeeD training overcoming any personal objections. "Thank you, sir."
A ghost of a smile, bittersweet with remembrance appeared on Selphie's face. "For old times' sake…booyaka." She unenthusiastically punched the empty air above her. It was the closest she had come to her old self in a while, but again it was only a shallow imitation of the past.
They trooped out of the room, but Squall turned around to face Cid at the door. His eyes were thin slivers of grey ice. "I just hope you know what you're doing."
"All that needs to be done." The even reply didn't seem to satisfy Squall, and his steely gaze remained fixed on the headmaster, coldly evaluating. Cid didn't flinch and soon Squall turned away, disappearing through the door. It swung shut behind him.
Cid collapsed onto his chair, removing his glasses with one hand and wearily massaging the bridge of his nose with the other. The meeting had gone about as well as he had expected. He was getting way too old for this.
Survival. That was the point of all this. Simple survival. Not power. Not ambition. Not greed. Nature demands the survival of the fittest. Man merely follows that long established pattern.
Quickly reaching for a plain piece of paper, he scrawled a message and left to pass it to Xu.
Strategy, thought and foresight…all you need to win a war.
A/N: I massacred their personalities…ahhh!! Remember the author's note in Chapter 1. No, seriously, it was intentional, but I hope that the characters were still recognisable. Realistically, people change because of things that happen to and around them. I'm just praying that I haven't changed them too much. Don't worry, the next chapter will probably be back to Quistis and Seifer.
