Revolver And Friend: The Time Is Now
In the dorm section of the Garden, Squall sat cross-legged in his bed reading a book on Guardian Forces and summoning. The book really wasn't that interesting to him, but it was required reading because a book report had to be turned in about GFs. He could pick any one he wanted, and he chose the easiest one to write about, simply because he didn't really want the hassle of doing the project. As he read...
"Carbuncle," he said aloud as he read. "Silent, magical creature of the forest. This GF has a mysterious protective power that enables reflection of magics back to the caster." Squall put the book down, rubbed his eyes and looked at the rays of sunlight pouring through the thin green curtains.
"It's so nice outside. Why am I even cooped up in here reading this crap in the first place?"
Squall sighed, picked up the book and began to read again. As he was about to, however, his alarm clock went off. He jumped, having been adjusted to the quiet and tranquility of his room. He walked over to his desk and flipped the tiny switch in the back of the clock.
"God," he said, looking down at the floor. "I guess this is it. The time is now, as the optimists say." The young man begrudgingly took his black jacket off the back of his work desk chair, put it on, took his chipped Revolver out of its confines and left the room to go fight Seifer.
~~~~~~~~~~
Squall had just exited his room when two excited girls whirled past him. They almost collided with him and knocked him down onto the ground, but he maintained his balance.
"Hey," he yelled at them. "What was that?"
The girls turned around, standing side by side, obviously not concerned with him whatsoever. The girl on the left was short, had a brown ponytail and wore thick-lens glasses. It only accentuated her freckles and her braces, which combined made her look like the brainy, geek-type student. The other girl however was blinding with her completely yellow clothing. She wore tight, yellow shorts and an equally tight sleeveless yellow shirt that showed off her built physical form. Her light-brown hair was arched down and curled up on both sides of her head, making it look like she was wearing a wig. Her smile was wide as she stood there with her counterpart, looking in a rush to get out of there. Squall immediately noticed that this girl was different- -that she was some sort of a fighter or something. But when she opened her mouth to speak, he began to think his judgments about her were a little...premature.
"Heeeeey," said the girl on the right to her friend. "We're gonna miss it! You know, that thing!" She started to hop up and down repeatedly, like she was a rabbit. "Come on, Marie! Let's gooo!"
The girl named Marie turned to her friend and replied. "Wait a minute, Selphie! Don't you know who this is?"
"No," the girl said, scratching the back of her head. "Is he someone really, really important and stuff?"
"Uh...Selphie. This is the guy that's going to fight Seifer. It's Squall Leonhart," she said calmly.
Selphie looked at Squall, then turned her head to Marie. Then back to Squall, then Marie, then back to Squall when she put it together. "Oh! So this the guy you think is 'sexy'?"
Marie had a look of shock on her face, and Squall hung his head in frustration to the floor.
"Goodness, this girl doesn't have all her gears in check," the young man thought about saying aloud, but didn't. He looked up and walked right past the two girls, but not before Selphie stopped him from leaving.
"Hey, Mr. Squall," she yelled really loud, even though he was practically four feet from her. Squall covered his ears in pain and turned around.
"What? What do you want from me," he yelled, apparently frustrated.
Selphie stood there quietly and blinked. "...You made me forget! I'll never forgive you!"
Marie and Squall simultaneously slapped their foreheads in frustration. Finally, Marie jump-started the dialogue again.
"Squall, it's gotten really busy in the Quad! We were just headed there, right after we received word that someone was horribly assaulted there!"
Squall's attention was caught now. "Who was it," he asked curiously.
Marie replied, a look of sadness in her eyes. "...Zell. Zell Dincht was beaten badly in the Quad."
Squall gasped aloud in horror- -the man he loved was horribly battered by an unknown assailant. Narrowing his eyes, he paid the girls no heed after that and ran off to the Quad to check on Zell's status. The girls looked at each other, then ran after the worried swordsman.
"Wa-------it," Selphie yelled as both she and Marie made haste after him.
~~~~~~~~~~
As the wielder of the Revolver quickly noticed as he neared the back of the Quad, the stage had been taken down. It had been replaced by a large group of Garden students looking forward to the fight between both Squall and Seifer. The place was abuzz with voices and shouting, and the anticipation for the upcoming battle filled the air heavily. As Squall entered, a large cheer erupted from the anticipating and impatient crowd of spectators.
"Hey," a voice came from somewhere in the audience. "It's Squall! Squall's here!"
"It is," a girl somewhere said. "Squall! Kick Seifer's ass for what he did to Zell!"
Squall's eyes widened, then narrowed in anger and frustration. Had Seifer really committed his heinous act against his object of desire? Was that callous brute of a man named Seifer Almasy the one responsible for the pain the martial-arts fighter was forced to endure? His answer came with the voice of someone he recognized. A plump woman in a long white coat kneeled over a crumpled form on the other side of the room.
"Squall! You're here," Dr. Kadowaki yelled at him. "Come over here...this is horrible!"
Squall, without hesitation, obeyed her commands and ran over to see the results of Seifer's actions. On the ground, a beaten, bruised and blue Zell lie crumpled on the floor. Dried-up blood stuck to his upper lip, his eyes were black and swollen shut, and fresh blood was dripping out of his mouth. But was most noticeable was the large gash on the top of his head- -the large, gaping gash that could've only been caused by blunt trauma of a specific weapon. And almost immediately, Squall knew what that weapon was.
"...That...that lowlife scum," he said, a tinge of rage and pain in his voice. "How could he have done this? He's a monster."
"I know, Squall...I know," was all the concerned doctor could say to comfort him.
"Will he be okay, Doctor," he tentatively asked her. Then he put his hands on her shoulders and shook her, repeating the question louder. "Will he be okay?!"
Dr. Kadowaki shoved his arms off of her and replied. "I don't know, Squall! I...I don't know. He's shifting in and out of consciousness right now. I've even gone so far as to use Curaga magic on him, but it's not effective."
"So," Squall countered loudly, almost screaming. "Can't you do anything for him? Is this it?"
Dr. Kadowaki filled him in on Zell's injuries- -most importantly the one on the top of his head. "That blunt force could've killed him if Seifer hit any harder. I don't know whether if..."
Squall noticed that she trailed off. "..If? If what? What's 'if'?"
The doctor couldn't look the young man in the eye as she gave her own personal prognosis based on what she had seen so far. She said it almost inaudibly. "Squall...Zell could...he could die."
Squall blew up now. "WHAT," he yelled. His voice got the entire attention of the crowd waiting for the fight. They all stared at him as he let all of his emotions go and throw a yelling fit. Dr. Kadowaki, the people of the audience...none of them had ever seen Squall Leonhart so enraged in their lives.
"Motherfucker! That piece-of-shit, son-of-a-bitch, no-good motherfucker! God, I HATE him! Good God! I'm gonna kill him!," he screamed, lowering himself to the floor in pain. After the voices in the crowd died down, and Squall's coursing tapered off, the only sounds in the Quad were the ones of the black-clad fighter weeping. Weeping because his the only person he ever loved was on the verge of death. Suddenly, the sound of clapping could be heard coming from someone. As Squall looked up, tears streaming down his face and his gunblade still in hand, he saw a tall figure coming down the steps. The man grinning widely and looking as menacing as usual, he clapped as he approached the wide open space where everyone was at.
"Great! Fantastic! What a grand performance," Seifer Almasy said, callously laughing and clapping. "Squall, you should've been a drama major, my dear friend! You've got the acting talent of ten men! Heh-heh-heh..."
Squall could only grind his teeth and glare at him, his mind ridden with evil thoughts. The evil thoughts of what he might do if he ever got a hold of his arch-nemesis. Seifer stopped in his tracks about six feet away from him. With gunblade tapping on his left shoulder, he launched into one of his scathing diatribes he was well-known for.
"My dear Squall....my dear, queer, homosexual Squall," he blatantly announced. The crowd reacted with surprise, and everyone began to talk amongst themselves about this new revelation. Squall had just been outed by his soulless, uncaring foe. But the tirade didn't end there.
"Yes, that's right people. Squall is nothing more than a mere pirate! But he's not the kind that's interested in the worthwhile 'booty', if you know what I mean..."
"Shut up, " Squall said, just loud enough for Seifer to hear it.
"Oh, what," the tall blonde asked him. "Why? You're not ashamed of who you are, right? What' s all this crap about gay pride, huh Squall?"
"Shut up, Seifer," Squall calmly said, his emotions in check for the moment.
Seifer knew he hit a sensitive nerve. He continued on with a smile, determined to mentally destroy his enemy. "Come now, Squall! Don't you want everyone to know about just who the 'real you' is? I'm sorry it had to come to this, what with me beating the living shit out of your 'friend' and all. But if it's any consolation, at least you don't have to shoulder the pain of coming out yourself! I did it for you!"
"..."
"We're friends...right Squall," Seifer asked with a wicked grin.
"Shut up, shut up, shut up," Squall yelled, throwing down his gunblade and lunging at Seifer.
Seifer hadn't seen this bit of action coming. Squall Leonhart landed a hard fist to the taller man's chin, knocking him off balance. The crowd burst out in exhilaration and yells as the fist fight, of all things, got underway. Squall hit Seifer again in the jaw, knocking the man to his knees. The Revolver's wielder had pure adrenaline and hatred flowing through his veins, the likes of which had never been seen on him- -and Seifer knew this. Squall gave the taller man a devastating kick to the abdomen, making him cry out in pain. He then followed that up with a tackle, pinning Seifer to the ground underneath him. The crowd was energized, everyone yelling for either one or the other warriors to beat the other senseless. The scene had deteriorated into a coliseum-type scenario, with the bloodthirsty fans wanting more and more violence and blood. Squall wailed away on the prone Seifer as he demanded that he apologize for what he did to Zell.
"Bastard," Squall yelled. "I hate you! Apologize, now!"
Another blow struck the pinned man's face, but there was no apology coming. "Ha-ha-ha...me, apologize? You're even more dumber than I thought," he countered, surprisingly calm and collected.
Squall hit him hard again, this time busting open his lip. Seifer finally got free of the pin by giving his opponent a hard knee to the abdomen. Squall winced in pain and fell back, allowing him to stand and attack. Seifer Almasy struck a blow by hitting him directly in the eye with his fist. Squall was knocked back a few feet on his back, and he saw his nemesis approaching. Squall tried to roll out of the way, but Seifer saw it coming and stepped right on his ankle before he could move away. Squall let out a sickening yell as his foe increased the pressure.
"Aa...aaAAHHHH," he yelled. Seifer stood over him, laughing and mocking him as he cried out.
"What's wrong, Squally-boy," he inquired with no remorse, his hands on his hips. "What's the matter, eh? No pain, no gain...as they say." Seifer applied even more pressure and made him cry out further. "Come on now, Squall," the cruel man said. "That can't hurt as much as it seems! Here, let me take~~"
Squall interrupted by using his other foot to kick the leg of his opponent that held him down. With three well-placed kicks, the man came stumbling down onto him, freeing the brown-haired youth from the pain. Squall wriggled out from under Seifer, stood up and repeatedly stomped his chest before he could get up off the floor. With every stomp of his foot crashing down onto Seifer's exposed sternum, his convictions became that much more clear. Squall wanted to kill him. The crowd was now deafening as they saw the smaller, weaker man take control of the situation again.
"Kick his ass, Squall," a female's voice came from the back of the crowd. "I'm with you!"
"Yeah, yeah," another voice said. "Beat him down! You can do it!"
"Go Squall," a familiar voice came from the front of the crowd. It was Marie, along with Selphie. "I'm with you, Squall! Don't let that scum hurt anyone else!" Selphie provided support by hopping up and down enthusiastically, not saying anything and smiling.
"Yeah, I'll do worse than that," Squall fleetingly thought in the back of his mind. But her paid the crowd no mind as continued to stomp away at Seifer. Squall gave him a few more foots to the chest, then quickly backed away to pick up his discarded Revolver from off the floor. Seifer was clutching his chest in pain as Squall charged at his laid-out body with the sword.
"Die, die, die," Squall yelled at him. "I hate you! Die!"
Seifer saw his opponent coming at him, widened his eyes and rolled away before the sharp, serrated tip of the Revolver came crashing down to the stone floor with force. Small chunks of rock flew into the air, indicating that there an ungodly amount of strength behind that swing. The crowd simultaneously gasped in shock as Squall picked up his blade off the ground and charged at him again. Seifer caught onto his little tactic and whipped out Hyperion, his gunblade. He deflected the sword swing and countered with a few quick jabs to the midsection, which Squall narrowly avoided. The crowd was exhilarated and yelling again, but neither of the two combatants seemed to notice or care.
"So," Seifer said cockily. "Squall's got a brass pair after all!"
"Shut up and fight," was his only counter.
Seifer backed up, giving him room between himself and Squall. He put his left hand behind his back and held his sword out in front of him, keeping the conversation going as he prepared for a special attack.
"Whatever will you do, Squall," Seifer said to him, desperation in his voice. "You know you're gonna lose! You got a few good kicks in though. Why not just throw in the towel and concede that I am the better swordsman, eh?"
"Never." Squall yelled back, holding his sword in front of him with both hands. "You'll never be better than I am!"
"Is that so? Well, let's see about that!"
Unbeknownst to Squall, Seifer hand gathered a fire spell in his hands and was preparing to hurtle the flame at him. Suddenly, Marie yelled out from the audience that she saw it coming.
"Squall, Squall," she yelled. "It's a fire spell! Look out~~"
"Too late," Seifer interrupted.
He threw a special flame directly into Squall's face, temporarily blinding the lad with intense heat. He dropped his sword and rubbed his eyes to ease the pain, but the tall, intense warrior wasn't done yet. Charging up his gunblade, Seifer prepared to strike the final blow to his stunned opponent while he still could. Hyperion shook violently behind him as it glowed a bright green color, signaling that it was fully charged up.
"This is it, Squall! This is the final farewell," Seifer shouted out. "Prepare yourself for the great beyond!"
"No," Marie yelled. "No, no no! Squall, look out! Please!"
"Take this, my unwitting foe," Seifer said in a low voice.
He swung the Hyperion, releasing a large green energy disk that seemed to target the blinded Squall. The flying serrated disk flew in the air, screeching along toward its victim. Squall couldn't see or move- -he was about to be Seifer's next victim...
"No, it can't be," Marie said. "No! Not like this!"
"Oh my God," Dr. Kadowaki said, tending to Zell and watching the fight. "Zell, this is..."
Miraculously, Squall dived out of the way. The disk went screeching past him and outside into the open skies. Squall, kneeling on the ground in front of an exhausted Seifer, stood up silently, held his gunblade up in front of his face and opened his eyes. The Revolver shook violently as he prepared a counter to Seifer's special attack. Seifer Almasy couldn't believe he had missed. With widened eyes, gaping mouth, and a sweaty brow, he could only stand there tired and worn out as it all came to an end.
"N-no...it can't...be this way," Seifer said, breathing heavily in anticipation of his defeat.
"Now it ends," was all Squall said.
With Revolver emitting beams of white light, Squall rushed up to Seifer at inhuman speeds and began striking him with the dull end of his gunblade repeatedly. Seifer tried to counter, but was too tired. Seifer couldn't even pinpoint where his enemy was, because he kept on moving around at speeds that he couldn't detect. After the eighth blow, Squall appeared in front of a busted and bruised Seifer.
"Pay the price," was all he said.
Charging at him once again, Squall dragged his gunblade across the rock floor. Making an upward cut, he jumped high into the air, bombarding Seifer with pure energy. Squall landed gently on his knee from a back-flip in midair, and watched his enemy fall to the ground. He had successfully knocked out Seifer Almasy.
The crowd burst out in screams of joy and laughter as they surrounded the prevailing warrior and congratulated him on his victory. The few who wanted Seifer to win lagged behind in the corners, watching Fujin and Raijin secretly carry the beaten fighter out of the Quad. But no one cared about them. All that was important now was that Squall Leonhart won and got his revenge.
"You won, you won," Marie joyfully said, looking up at a glazed-over and wobbly Squall. "You're amazing! I've never seen you fight like that! Great!"
"Yeah," added a bouncy Selphie. "That was SO cool and stuff! Hee-hee!"
Squall just stood there, not saying anything as he ignored them. His attention wasn't on them or the crowd. All of the voices seemed to drown out as his eyes and thoughts focused on one sole figure standing outside of the mob. A beaten and bruised martial-artist was on his feet, standing and waving ecstatically. The Curaga spells had finally taken some effect on Zell Dincht, the victim of a horrible gay-bashing.
"S-Squall...you...did it," Zell managed to say, holding his ribs. "I'm...proud of you."
Squall said nothing as he pushed his way out through the crowd. All noise was drowned out as both of them locked eyes onto each other. To them, they were the only ones who existed- -the only ones in the entire world. Nobody else mattered. They finally realized that the other one loved him from the bottom of his heart. Squall stood directly in front of the shorter, stronger fighter- -their eyes locked onto each other as silence enveloped them.
"Squall...I~~"
"Shh," Squall said as he held his finger to his lips.
The young blonde could do nothing but gaze into the mans eyes that he loved so much. Without hesitation, Squall closed in, pressing his lips to Zell's as the sound flooded back in. The crowd was joyous as the two stood there, lips locked onto each other. This truly was a celebration to remember- -the declaration of love between Squall Leonhart and Zell Dincht.
In the dorm section of the Garden, Squall sat cross-legged in his bed reading a book on Guardian Forces and summoning. The book really wasn't that interesting to him, but it was required reading because a book report had to be turned in about GFs. He could pick any one he wanted, and he chose the easiest one to write about, simply because he didn't really want the hassle of doing the project. As he read...
"Carbuncle," he said aloud as he read. "Silent, magical creature of the forest. This GF has a mysterious protective power that enables reflection of magics back to the caster." Squall put the book down, rubbed his eyes and looked at the rays of sunlight pouring through the thin green curtains.
"It's so nice outside. Why am I even cooped up in here reading this crap in the first place?"
Squall sighed, picked up the book and began to read again. As he was about to, however, his alarm clock went off. He jumped, having been adjusted to the quiet and tranquility of his room. He walked over to his desk and flipped the tiny switch in the back of the clock.
"God," he said, looking down at the floor. "I guess this is it. The time is now, as the optimists say." The young man begrudgingly took his black jacket off the back of his work desk chair, put it on, took his chipped Revolver out of its confines and left the room to go fight Seifer.
~~~~~~~~~~
Squall had just exited his room when two excited girls whirled past him. They almost collided with him and knocked him down onto the ground, but he maintained his balance.
"Hey," he yelled at them. "What was that?"
The girls turned around, standing side by side, obviously not concerned with him whatsoever. The girl on the left was short, had a brown ponytail and wore thick-lens glasses. It only accentuated her freckles and her braces, which combined made her look like the brainy, geek-type student. The other girl however was blinding with her completely yellow clothing. She wore tight, yellow shorts and an equally tight sleeveless yellow shirt that showed off her built physical form. Her light-brown hair was arched down and curled up on both sides of her head, making it look like she was wearing a wig. Her smile was wide as she stood there with her counterpart, looking in a rush to get out of there. Squall immediately noticed that this girl was different- -that she was some sort of a fighter or something. But when she opened her mouth to speak, he began to think his judgments about her were a little...premature.
"Heeeeey," said the girl on the right to her friend. "We're gonna miss it! You know, that thing!" She started to hop up and down repeatedly, like she was a rabbit. "Come on, Marie! Let's gooo!"
The girl named Marie turned to her friend and replied. "Wait a minute, Selphie! Don't you know who this is?"
"No," the girl said, scratching the back of her head. "Is he someone really, really important and stuff?"
"Uh...Selphie. This is the guy that's going to fight Seifer. It's Squall Leonhart," she said calmly.
Selphie looked at Squall, then turned her head to Marie. Then back to Squall, then Marie, then back to Squall when she put it together. "Oh! So this the guy you think is 'sexy'?"
Marie had a look of shock on her face, and Squall hung his head in frustration to the floor.
"Goodness, this girl doesn't have all her gears in check," the young man thought about saying aloud, but didn't. He looked up and walked right past the two girls, but not before Selphie stopped him from leaving.
"Hey, Mr. Squall," she yelled really loud, even though he was practically four feet from her. Squall covered his ears in pain and turned around.
"What? What do you want from me," he yelled, apparently frustrated.
Selphie stood there quietly and blinked. "...You made me forget! I'll never forgive you!"
Marie and Squall simultaneously slapped their foreheads in frustration. Finally, Marie jump-started the dialogue again.
"Squall, it's gotten really busy in the Quad! We were just headed there, right after we received word that someone was horribly assaulted there!"
Squall's attention was caught now. "Who was it," he asked curiously.
Marie replied, a look of sadness in her eyes. "...Zell. Zell Dincht was beaten badly in the Quad."
Squall gasped aloud in horror- -the man he loved was horribly battered by an unknown assailant. Narrowing his eyes, he paid the girls no heed after that and ran off to the Quad to check on Zell's status. The girls looked at each other, then ran after the worried swordsman.
"Wa-------it," Selphie yelled as both she and Marie made haste after him.
~~~~~~~~~~
As the wielder of the Revolver quickly noticed as he neared the back of the Quad, the stage had been taken down. It had been replaced by a large group of Garden students looking forward to the fight between both Squall and Seifer. The place was abuzz with voices and shouting, and the anticipation for the upcoming battle filled the air heavily. As Squall entered, a large cheer erupted from the anticipating and impatient crowd of spectators.
"Hey," a voice came from somewhere in the audience. "It's Squall! Squall's here!"
"It is," a girl somewhere said. "Squall! Kick Seifer's ass for what he did to Zell!"
Squall's eyes widened, then narrowed in anger and frustration. Had Seifer really committed his heinous act against his object of desire? Was that callous brute of a man named Seifer Almasy the one responsible for the pain the martial-arts fighter was forced to endure? His answer came with the voice of someone he recognized. A plump woman in a long white coat kneeled over a crumpled form on the other side of the room.
"Squall! You're here," Dr. Kadowaki yelled at him. "Come over here...this is horrible!"
Squall, without hesitation, obeyed her commands and ran over to see the results of Seifer's actions. On the ground, a beaten, bruised and blue Zell lie crumpled on the floor. Dried-up blood stuck to his upper lip, his eyes were black and swollen shut, and fresh blood was dripping out of his mouth. But was most noticeable was the large gash on the top of his head- -the large, gaping gash that could've only been caused by blunt trauma of a specific weapon. And almost immediately, Squall knew what that weapon was.
"...That...that lowlife scum," he said, a tinge of rage and pain in his voice. "How could he have done this? He's a monster."
"I know, Squall...I know," was all the concerned doctor could say to comfort him.
"Will he be okay, Doctor," he tentatively asked her. Then he put his hands on her shoulders and shook her, repeating the question louder. "Will he be okay?!"
Dr. Kadowaki shoved his arms off of her and replied. "I don't know, Squall! I...I don't know. He's shifting in and out of consciousness right now. I've even gone so far as to use Curaga magic on him, but it's not effective."
"So," Squall countered loudly, almost screaming. "Can't you do anything for him? Is this it?"
Dr. Kadowaki filled him in on Zell's injuries- -most importantly the one on the top of his head. "That blunt force could've killed him if Seifer hit any harder. I don't know whether if..."
Squall noticed that she trailed off. "..If? If what? What's 'if'?"
The doctor couldn't look the young man in the eye as she gave her own personal prognosis based on what she had seen so far. She said it almost inaudibly. "Squall...Zell could...he could die."
Squall blew up now. "WHAT," he yelled. His voice got the entire attention of the crowd waiting for the fight. They all stared at him as he let all of his emotions go and throw a yelling fit. Dr. Kadowaki, the people of the audience...none of them had ever seen Squall Leonhart so enraged in their lives.
"Motherfucker! That piece-of-shit, son-of-a-bitch, no-good motherfucker! God, I HATE him! Good God! I'm gonna kill him!," he screamed, lowering himself to the floor in pain. After the voices in the crowd died down, and Squall's coursing tapered off, the only sounds in the Quad were the ones of the black-clad fighter weeping. Weeping because his the only person he ever loved was on the verge of death. Suddenly, the sound of clapping could be heard coming from someone. As Squall looked up, tears streaming down his face and his gunblade still in hand, he saw a tall figure coming down the steps. The man grinning widely and looking as menacing as usual, he clapped as he approached the wide open space where everyone was at.
"Great! Fantastic! What a grand performance," Seifer Almasy said, callously laughing and clapping. "Squall, you should've been a drama major, my dear friend! You've got the acting talent of ten men! Heh-heh-heh..."
Squall could only grind his teeth and glare at him, his mind ridden with evil thoughts. The evil thoughts of what he might do if he ever got a hold of his arch-nemesis. Seifer stopped in his tracks about six feet away from him. With gunblade tapping on his left shoulder, he launched into one of his scathing diatribes he was well-known for.
"My dear Squall....my dear, queer, homosexual Squall," he blatantly announced. The crowd reacted with surprise, and everyone began to talk amongst themselves about this new revelation. Squall had just been outed by his soulless, uncaring foe. But the tirade didn't end there.
"Yes, that's right people. Squall is nothing more than a mere pirate! But he's not the kind that's interested in the worthwhile 'booty', if you know what I mean..."
"Shut up, " Squall said, just loud enough for Seifer to hear it.
"Oh, what," the tall blonde asked him. "Why? You're not ashamed of who you are, right? What' s all this crap about gay pride, huh Squall?"
"Shut up, Seifer," Squall calmly said, his emotions in check for the moment.
Seifer knew he hit a sensitive nerve. He continued on with a smile, determined to mentally destroy his enemy. "Come now, Squall! Don't you want everyone to know about just who the 'real you' is? I'm sorry it had to come to this, what with me beating the living shit out of your 'friend' and all. But if it's any consolation, at least you don't have to shoulder the pain of coming out yourself! I did it for you!"
"..."
"We're friends...right Squall," Seifer asked with a wicked grin.
"Shut up, shut up, shut up," Squall yelled, throwing down his gunblade and lunging at Seifer.
Seifer hadn't seen this bit of action coming. Squall Leonhart landed a hard fist to the taller man's chin, knocking him off balance. The crowd burst out in exhilaration and yells as the fist fight, of all things, got underway. Squall hit Seifer again in the jaw, knocking the man to his knees. The Revolver's wielder had pure adrenaline and hatred flowing through his veins, the likes of which had never been seen on him- -and Seifer knew this. Squall gave the taller man a devastating kick to the abdomen, making him cry out in pain. He then followed that up with a tackle, pinning Seifer to the ground underneath him. The crowd was energized, everyone yelling for either one or the other warriors to beat the other senseless. The scene had deteriorated into a coliseum-type scenario, with the bloodthirsty fans wanting more and more violence and blood. Squall wailed away on the prone Seifer as he demanded that he apologize for what he did to Zell.
"Bastard," Squall yelled. "I hate you! Apologize, now!"
Another blow struck the pinned man's face, but there was no apology coming. "Ha-ha-ha...me, apologize? You're even more dumber than I thought," he countered, surprisingly calm and collected.
Squall hit him hard again, this time busting open his lip. Seifer finally got free of the pin by giving his opponent a hard knee to the abdomen. Squall winced in pain and fell back, allowing him to stand and attack. Seifer Almasy struck a blow by hitting him directly in the eye with his fist. Squall was knocked back a few feet on his back, and he saw his nemesis approaching. Squall tried to roll out of the way, but Seifer saw it coming and stepped right on his ankle before he could move away. Squall let out a sickening yell as his foe increased the pressure.
"Aa...aaAAHHHH," he yelled. Seifer stood over him, laughing and mocking him as he cried out.
"What's wrong, Squally-boy," he inquired with no remorse, his hands on his hips. "What's the matter, eh? No pain, no gain...as they say." Seifer applied even more pressure and made him cry out further. "Come on now, Squall," the cruel man said. "That can't hurt as much as it seems! Here, let me take~~"
Squall interrupted by using his other foot to kick the leg of his opponent that held him down. With three well-placed kicks, the man came stumbling down onto him, freeing the brown-haired youth from the pain. Squall wriggled out from under Seifer, stood up and repeatedly stomped his chest before he could get up off the floor. With every stomp of his foot crashing down onto Seifer's exposed sternum, his convictions became that much more clear. Squall wanted to kill him. The crowd was now deafening as they saw the smaller, weaker man take control of the situation again.
"Kick his ass, Squall," a female's voice came from the back of the crowd. "I'm with you!"
"Yeah, yeah," another voice said. "Beat him down! You can do it!"
"Go Squall," a familiar voice came from the front of the crowd. It was Marie, along with Selphie. "I'm with you, Squall! Don't let that scum hurt anyone else!" Selphie provided support by hopping up and down enthusiastically, not saying anything and smiling.
"Yeah, I'll do worse than that," Squall fleetingly thought in the back of his mind. But her paid the crowd no mind as continued to stomp away at Seifer. Squall gave him a few more foots to the chest, then quickly backed away to pick up his discarded Revolver from off the floor. Seifer was clutching his chest in pain as Squall charged at his laid-out body with the sword.
"Die, die, die," Squall yelled at him. "I hate you! Die!"
Seifer saw his opponent coming at him, widened his eyes and rolled away before the sharp, serrated tip of the Revolver came crashing down to the stone floor with force. Small chunks of rock flew into the air, indicating that there an ungodly amount of strength behind that swing. The crowd simultaneously gasped in shock as Squall picked up his blade off the ground and charged at him again. Seifer caught onto his little tactic and whipped out Hyperion, his gunblade. He deflected the sword swing and countered with a few quick jabs to the midsection, which Squall narrowly avoided. The crowd was exhilarated and yelling again, but neither of the two combatants seemed to notice or care.
"So," Seifer said cockily. "Squall's got a brass pair after all!"
"Shut up and fight," was his only counter.
Seifer backed up, giving him room between himself and Squall. He put his left hand behind his back and held his sword out in front of him, keeping the conversation going as he prepared for a special attack.
"Whatever will you do, Squall," Seifer said to him, desperation in his voice. "You know you're gonna lose! You got a few good kicks in though. Why not just throw in the towel and concede that I am the better swordsman, eh?"
"Never." Squall yelled back, holding his sword in front of him with both hands. "You'll never be better than I am!"
"Is that so? Well, let's see about that!"
Unbeknownst to Squall, Seifer hand gathered a fire spell in his hands and was preparing to hurtle the flame at him. Suddenly, Marie yelled out from the audience that she saw it coming.
"Squall, Squall," she yelled. "It's a fire spell! Look out~~"
"Too late," Seifer interrupted.
He threw a special flame directly into Squall's face, temporarily blinding the lad with intense heat. He dropped his sword and rubbed his eyes to ease the pain, but the tall, intense warrior wasn't done yet. Charging up his gunblade, Seifer prepared to strike the final blow to his stunned opponent while he still could. Hyperion shook violently behind him as it glowed a bright green color, signaling that it was fully charged up.
"This is it, Squall! This is the final farewell," Seifer shouted out. "Prepare yourself for the great beyond!"
"No," Marie yelled. "No, no no! Squall, look out! Please!"
"Take this, my unwitting foe," Seifer said in a low voice.
He swung the Hyperion, releasing a large green energy disk that seemed to target the blinded Squall. The flying serrated disk flew in the air, screeching along toward its victim. Squall couldn't see or move- -he was about to be Seifer's next victim...
"No, it can't be," Marie said. "No! Not like this!"
"Oh my God," Dr. Kadowaki said, tending to Zell and watching the fight. "Zell, this is..."
Miraculously, Squall dived out of the way. The disk went screeching past him and outside into the open skies. Squall, kneeling on the ground in front of an exhausted Seifer, stood up silently, held his gunblade up in front of his face and opened his eyes. The Revolver shook violently as he prepared a counter to Seifer's special attack. Seifer Almasy couldn't believe he had missed. With widened eyes, gaping mouth, and a sweaty brow, he could only stand there tired and worn out as it all came to an end.
"N-no...it can't...be this way," Seifer said, breathing heavily in anticipation of his defeat.
"Now it ends," was all Squall said.
With Revolver emitting beams of white light, Squall rushed up to Seifer at inhuman speeds and began striking him with the dull end of his gunblade repeatedly. Seifer tried to counter, but was too tired. Seifer couldn't even pinpoint where his enemy was, because he kept on moving around at speeds that he couldn't detect. After the eighth blow, Squall appeared in front of a busted and bruised Seifer.
"Pay the price," was all he said.
Charging at him once again, Squall dragged his gunblade across the rock floor. Making an upward cut, he jumped high into the air, bombarding Seifer with pure energy. Squall landed gently on his knee from a back-flip in midair, and watched his enemy fall to the ground. He had successfully knocked out Seifer Almasy.
The crowd burst out in screams of joy and laughter as they surrounded the prevailing warrior and congratulated him on his victory. The few who wanted Seifer to win lagged behind in the corners, watching Fujin and Raijin secretly carry the beaten fighter out of the Quad. But no one cared about them. All that was important now was that Squall Leonhart won and got his revenge.
"You won, you won," Marie joyfully said, looking up at a glazed-over and wobbly Squall. "You're amazing! I've never seen you fight like that! Great!"
"Yeah," added a bouncy Selphie. "That was SO cool and stuff! Hee-hee!"
Squall just stood there, not saying anything as he ignored them. His attention wasn't on them or the crowd. All of the voices seemed to drown out as his eyes and thoughts focused on one sole figure standing outside of the mob. A beaten and bruised martial-artist was on his feet, standing and waving ecstatically. The Curaga spells had finally taken some effect on Zell Dincht, the victim of a horrible gay-bashing.
"S-Squall...you...did it," Zell managed to say, holding his ribs. "I'm...proud of you."
Squall said nothing as he pushed his way out through the crowd. All noise was drowned out as both of them locked eyes onto each other. To them, they were the only ones who existed- -the only ones in the entire world. Nobody else mattered. They finally realized that the other one loved him from the bottom of his heart. Squall stood directly in front of the shorter, stronger fighter- -their eyes locked onto each other as silence enveloped them.
"Squall...I~~"
"Shh," Squall said as he held his finger to his lips.
The young blonde could do nothing but gaze into the mans eyes that he loved so much. Without hesitation, Squall closed in, pressing his lips to Zell's as the sound flooded back in. The crowd was joyous as the two stood there, lips locked onto each other. This truly was a celebration to remember- -the declaration of love between Squall Leonhart and Zell Dincht.