Disclaimer: Joss, WB, UPN, M.E, and various other corporations own Buffy. They can keep 'em, too. Final Fantasy is owned by Square and their subsidiaries. Although I wish I owned the rights to those games, it's never gonna happen…

Title: Vampire's Final Fantasy

Author: Paradigm Shifter

Rating: R. What, you expect me to write something that isn't?

Feedback: Much appreciated, and craved.

Crossover: Final Fantasy/Buffy the Vampire Layer

Continuity: Buffy: Seasons 1 & 2, up to the end of Becoming. Final Fantasy: VIII, but the game hasn't been truly started yet. Set in the universe, but the time has not yet arrived… (It starts when Squall and the others are around 8 years old.)

Notes: I'm going slowly insane… my writing time goes down, so what do I do? I start a new fic. Jeez.

QUESTION TO READERS: How do you feel about a Xander/Xu pairing later? I like her, even though she never played a large role. If you're interested in Xu as a character, read 'Sowing the SeeDs' by Greenbeans on ff.net.

*

Griever looked around the ethereal world of the Guardian Forces. The real world was displaced from this one, but still near. Griever could feel the souls of the two young men in the room, his Master, Squall as unconscious as the unknown from the fields.

[I cannot take long… or the other will become bonded too]

Griever allowed himself to enter the unconscious form, and began the process of waking him up. Junctioning could take placed once he was out of the comatose state he currently inhabited.

The body jerked as the Lion kick-started his brains higher functioning.

Griever grinned in a feral fashion as the body moved for a second time.

[Wake up]

The body jerked again.

[Wake up]

The body groaned, and rolled slightly, meeting resistance from the completely unconscious form of the Guardian Force's young master, Squall.

[Wake up]

The body rolled the other way, and lacking obstruction, rolled right off the bed, hitting the floor with a thud.

[WAKE UP]

The young man jerked upright, his arms upraised, as if to ward off a blow. Two words burst from his lips:

"…ME WRONG!"

Griever, it's work done, retreated. The 'matron' as Squall's young mind thought of her, would not appreciate the knowledge that a GF as old as himself had junctioned to a child as young as Squall. Most considered Junctioning to be an abomination at the best of times, when a knowledgeable adult was involved. If it was found that Squall had entered into the pact without understanding what it was he was doing, the Sorceress would likely not be pleased…

Griever entered Squall once more, and woke him slumbering form up, before fading back into the recesses of his mind…

*

Edea was playing with the children outside when she felt a strange presence in her mind. Looking up, her eyes tracked to the orphanage building, before her feet began to take her there as fast as they could.

She called back to the children who watched her leave, "Don't worry, and keep playing!"

Selphie frowned at the sudden exit, but perked up when the ball came to her. "Hey, Irvy! Watch!" she dribbled the ball down the beach and laughed out loud as she neatly bypassed both Zell and Quistis.

Selphie paused, and looked up to aim better at the goal, before being roughly shoved aside by Seifer. "Thanks, titch, but let the big boys take the shots!"

Selphie overbalanced in the sand and fell over, sending up a large spray of pale yellow sand as she did so.

Seifer pulled back to take the shot he had stolen from the younger girl, and was bowled off his feet as Irvine cannoned into him. "That wasn't fair, Seifer!" Irvine shouted as he wrestled the older boy down.

Seconds later, the two were rolling around the sand, punching, kicking, biting and, in Seifer's case, pulling Irvine's ponytail.

Irvine cried out in pain as his hair was pulled, and despite the pain twisted in Seifer's grip to land an elbow in the boy's ribs. Seifer staggered back, winded, before growling at the Cowboy wannabe. "You're gonna pay for that, girlyboy."

Irvine stood his ground, but threw a quick glance at Selphie to see if she was alright. "That may be true…" he drawled in a fake cowboy accent, "but you gotta ask yourself two questions: one, is it worth Matron getting' angry, and two…" he paused, for effect. He always wanted to use this line. "Do you feel lucky?" he mock snarled, "well? Do ya? Punk?"

"Stop this immediately!" Quistis exclaimed. "What do the two of you think you're doing?!"

Irvine turned to the blonde girl. Seifer shot daggers at her for interrupting his fight. "Don't be so bossy, Quisty." Seifer spat. "Bossy Quisty! Bossy Quisty!"

None of the other children took up the chant, and Seifer trailed off. "Fine! But when I get my dream, you'll all be sorry you sided against me!"

He stalked off down the beach, toward the lighthouse.

Irvine strolled over to where Selphie was still laying in the sand, watching the whole furore. "Ya'll OK, ma'am?" he drawled.

Selphie giggled. "Yes, Irvy, thank you. I'm fine now." She hopped to her feet, and giggled again before planting a kiss on Irvine's cheek and running away playfully.

Irvine simply stood there, holding his cheek stupidly.

Quistis frowned, and looked along the beach to where Seifer had disappeared. "Shouldn't we go after him? Or tell matron where he's gone? We aren't allowed near the lighthouse…"

Zell shook his head. "Nah…" he said slowly, "he gets what he deserves, but he doesn't deserve to get Matron angry at him… no blood, no report, right Irvine?"

"Huh? Wha?" Irvine asked, hearing his name.

Zell rolled his eyes. "I said, 'no blood, no report', right?"

Irvine nodded dumbly. "Oh… yeah, right…"

Zell laughed, and began to punch the air in his favourite shadowboxing routine. He grinned as he chanted, "Irvine's in lo-ove, Irvine's in lo-ove…"

"Shut up!" snapped Irvine, who managed to pull his cowboy hat down before his blushed too much.

"Aha!" exclaimed Zell, and using a line from one of the older stories that Matron had started telling them, crowed; "methinks he doth protest too much!"

Irvine blushed redder and stalked off after Selphie.

Zell sidled up to Quistis. "So… Quisty… doing anything later?"

Quistis laughed. Zell's crush on her was so obvious. "I think we're a little young for that, yet Zell…"

"I am not!" Zell shouted, before quieting. "OK, I guess I am…"

Quistis patted him on the shoulder and smiled. "I know you mean well." With that, she walked off too.

Zell sat heavily on the sand, looking out to sea dejectedly. "Huh. Why can't I be like Squall… not caring about anyone other than Sis…" He shook his head. "No… I want to live… not be the hermit, searching for something that will never happen…"

Zell sighed, and picking up a flat stone, threw it half-heartedly at the ocean. It skipped five times, before finally gravity got the better of it and it sank. Zell blinked, and looked at his hand, before looking back out to where the stone had vanished.

He breathed one word to himself. "Wow…"

He did a little dance. "Yeah! I'm the man!"

*

Edea stepped into the room to see two things.

First, the boy that had earlier been unconscious was sitting on the floor with a terrified look on his face, with his hands raised, as if to ward off a blow of some kind.

Secondly, Squall was laying half on, and half off the bed that the visitor had been on, his eyes wide and hurt.

"Squall?" Edea asked, before rushing forward to see if he was alright. As she reached his side, Squall shifted, and his eyes softened. He breathed out, and pushed himself up slowly.

"Oh… remind me to never do that again, Griever…"

"Griever?" Edea said in shock.

Squall turned round, and his face fell, his mouth opening in shock. "Oh… I… I… didn't know you'd come back in, Matron…"

Edea knelt next to the boy, her face now level with his. "I felt something, Squall. So I came in to see what it was. Now I'm glad I did…" she looked over her shoulder, out of the door, "although I have a feeling that Seifer will be doing something they'll all regret, right about now…"

Edea and Squall looked over to the still rocking boy. Edea spoke first. "You know you did a very foolish thing… but I cannot fault your wish to help him."

"He needed help," Squall explained nervously, "and Grie… a friend told me he wouldn't wake up."

Edea caught the slip, but decided, against her better judgement that it was a discussion for another time.

Squall walked over to the still body of the unknown boy, and bent down to look at him. "Are you OK?"

Jerking his head up, the boy looked at him with fear.

Squall froze for a second. He wasn't threatening, was he? "I wont hurt you… I just want to find out if you're alright."

Edea stepped next to Squall. "I am Edea, I own and run this orphanage. This is Squall, one of the children who live here."

The boy swallowed. "Thank you."

Squall frowned. "For what?"

"Saving me…"

Squall smiled, and Edea remembered it as the first time he had smiled since Ellone, his 'sister', in all but blood, had left for her own safety. "It was nothing."

Edea asked gently, "Do you remember your name? Do you know where you are?"

The boy shook his head. "No… I can't… reme…"

"Reme?" Squall asked confused, looking at Edea, "Remedy?"

Edea shook her head. "No. Remember."

"Can you help, Matron? You help us when we're hurt…"

Edea shook her head sadly. "There are no spells that I am willing to use that would have any effect on amnesia."

"But he hasn't got ames… anmesi… amnsea…" Squall struggled over the word, "what you said." He fixed Edea with a look that told of the determination he would have when older. "He just can't remember anything!"

Edea grinned for a second, before becoming serious at Squall's scowl. "Sorry. Amnesia is the technical term for memory loss, Squall." She reached forward with one hand, and tugged the side of his mouth up with a finger. "And don't' be so quick to scowl all the time…" she smiled softly, "didn't anyone ever tell you that if the wind changed, it would stick?"

Squall shook his head in wonder. "No. Really?"

Edea nodded. "Really."

Such are the bricks that the innocence of childhood is made.

Xander, even though he could not remember who he was, felt vaguely guilty at his interruption of their lives, and more than a little wistful that they had that close bond. They acted like mother and son, but looked nothing alike. Some vague hurt deep inside him told his mind that his life had never been like that.

"I'm sorry for interrupting you," Xander said, "I'll be going now."

Edea's eyes widened as she realised he was going to leave. "Oh no you don't!" she exclaimed, "You're staying here! I didn't bring you in, just to have you eaten by the first monster that happened by!"

Squall piped up, "Besides, you don't even have a name! How can you go travelling if you don't have a name?"

The amnesiac Xander smiled at the younger boy goofily. "Y'know, your right! So…" he paused theatrically, "what do I call myself?"

Squall looked shocked for a second that someone was asking his opinion, before looking down and mumbling, "I don't know."

Edea almost jumped as a voice spoke to her in her mind. It was her Guardian Force, the mighty Alexander; defender of those unable to defend themselves.

[Call him after me.] It said.

[Why?] Edea questioned, safe in the knowledge that she would get an answer.

[It… seems right… and proper.]

"How about Alex?" she said out loud.

Xander nodded slowly. "Alex? Alexander? Yes… I like that… it feels… natural. Sort of… right. Proper."

Edea felt the amusement coming from her GF at the boy's statement.

"Very well," she nodded. "Alex, then."

Squall smiled shyly. "Hello, Alex."

"Hello, Squall." Alex smiled back. "Edea. Thank you."

"We will be happy to have you here, until you feel like going somewhere else. Hyne knows I'll be happy to have help…"

Alex nodded.

*