The Second War

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VIII does not belong to me. Thank you, have a nice day!

A/N: Well, as you may have noticed, this is a further edited version of The Second War. It's kind of just been sitting around, stewing, so I figured I'd (finally) decided to fix it up and continue it. The first four chapters had previously been posted, these are the fixed up versions.

Chapter 1: In which there is a recurring dream….

> > >

"Zell! Zell! Where's Squall?"

Selphie was running down the corridor of Balamb garden, past the parking lot, trying desperately to get to the front hall. Rinoa's scream was urgent, and though Selphie chose not to believe it, angry and hateful.

"Zell…! Tell me where the hell Squall is. TELL ME!"

"I don't know…I haven't seen him since lunch time, I – "

She was finding it difficult to breathe. Selphie had to get there, and she had to be there quickly. She didn't know why, she just felt…

Then came a dark flash. Selphie's vision went black, and she was blind for an instant. Selphie was stopped running for a moment, panting, trying to orient herself. And there it was, she heard it, the sickening thump of flesh she heard almost every night.

She turned around the corner and saw Rinoa standing there, her chest heaving, her eyes a glassy blank. Her pale hands were crackling with the same darkness that took over the corridor moments ago, and at her feet lay Zell and a pool of his blood. There was a look of sick triumph in her face.

Every night, Selphie did the same thing. Her heart was thudding painfully, she wanted to sob, to scream, to hate Rinoa. She ran to Zell and checked for his pulse. And every night, it didn't change. She clutched desperately at him, lost in misery and guilt.

Shakily, she stood up and looked into Rinoa's face. "I don't know why you did this. I don't want to know why you did this. I don't give half a fuck. But I swear, Rinoa, friend or not, I will have revenge."

Rinoa looked back a Selphie, strangely. She simply stared with those opaque black eyes, a strange dancing on her red lips.

And Selphie was afraid.

> > >

In bed, Selphie's eyes snapped open, and she found herself twisted in all her sheets. She checked the time, and finding that it was almost eight, she untangled herself and got dressed. She ignored the various picture frames she still kept, displaying photos of her SeeD inauguration party, the festival, different fun times she had in the old days. One frame displayed herself and Rinoa, arms thrown over each other, grinning happily. Angrily, she slammed that one down.

There was a council meeting today, she told herself with vicious satisfaction while she brushed her teeth. The witch will get what's coming to her.

As she walked down the same hallway in her nightmare to the elevators, Selphie tripped on a stray shoelace and fell over. For a moment, she just stared at the marble floor before shaking her head and crouching to re-tie her shoelace. She looked up and stared and the fish fountainhead, somewhat puzzled. She shrugged and continued.

Selphie made her way to her old classroom on the second floor corridor which had been turned into the war room. The rows of desks had been replaced with an enormous rectangular oak table. Ellone, sitting at the head of the table, was waiting somewhat impatiently. An older man sat to her right, murmuring something quietly to her. Squall sat completely still to her left, his face expressionless.

"Good morning!" Selphie called out, mustering a smile.

"You're late." Ellone snapped, causing the older man to wince.

"Now, Ellone, don't be rude." Laguna said sternly.

Selphie rolled her eyes with her back turned to Ellone as she sat down. Ever since the second sorceress war started, Ellone had turned into a certifiable bitch, and even Laguna had trouble hiding his annoyance. The only problem was, Ellone was the only person strong enough to go head to head with the sorceress, so she had to be put up with by everyone. By everyone, except for Squall. Selphie didn't have time to ponder this again because Ellone began speaking and the tone of her voice made Selphie jump in her seat.

"Where are Kiros and Ward?" she demanded, drumming her fingers on the table in a harsh rhythm.

"You sent them to review the troops at seven this morning." Laguna said flatly. "And you told them to do a good job or you'd dock their salaries. Really, Ellone, you should be more reasonable. It takes more than hour to make sure the soldiers are up to speed."

"Fine." Ellone said, shooting Laguna a glare. "FINE. Someone better inform them of the plans later. Xu, will you please get started?"

Xu, who was standing by the foot of the table, pulled down a projection screen. She flicked off the lights and began speaking, pointing to a map of Deling. "As you all know, the sorceress is being funded by her father, General Caraway, and who both currently resides in the un-ruined portion Deling. The area around his mansion is heavily guarded all the time. However, sources have informed me that there will be a major guard change this Saturday."

The red dots on the screen that represented the guards began shifting.

"At exactly 2 pm, there will be a brief ten minute interval when Caraway's mansion will be guarded by only ten men. This will be our opportunity to act, as Ellone wishes."

Squall spoke for the first time Selphie entered the room, strikingly enough. He barely spoke these days. "And what is our objective?"

"We all know that if the sorceress doesn't have adequate funds, she can no longer pay for the Galbadian army. Only her most loyal troops will stick by her once she can no longer pay the salaries, but her forces will be severely weakened. And that is when we strike." Xu replied. "That, of course, will require some time."

Squall raised his eyebrows. "Are we forgetting Rinoa will probably inherit everything from Caraway anyway? Which would mean she would have total control over the money?"

Selphie gave Squall a faint smile. For one thing, Ellone looked positively furious because Squall actually named the sorceress, for another, he was poking holes in her plan.

"We all know there's no lost love between Caraway and his damned daughter." Ellone said. "So we may as well take he chance. We have nothing to lose. At the very least, the sorceress's camp will have less morale."

"Not to mention a loss of lives on our part." A SeeD further down the table muttered.

Ellone pretended not to hear it. "I want Selphie and Laguna in charge of this mission. Take Squads B and C with you. You have five days to prepare for this mission. I will have the Ragnarok refueled for you in that time, Selphie."

"The Ragnarok?" Selphie repeated disbelievingly. "Ellone, people can see that thing miles away, and I'm sure the sorceress would be able to recognize it if even if she were half blind."

"It's the most efficient way for you to get there." Ellone said indifferently. She handed a file of commands to Selphie and Laguna. "Your details are in there."

Selphie stared at the brown folder angrily. Sheer stupidity is going to get me killed.

> > >

Every morning was the same for the sorceress. She would be dreaming of her former lover, the man who swore to be her knight, when she would be jolted from sleep. She would then leave her bed and sit in front of her dresser.

As she stared into the mirror, she fought a conflicting battle within herself. Hunched over the dresser in pain, she would stifle the urge to destroy and kill everything in sight. Eventually but painfully, she would win.

When her breathing calmed from the choked moans, the sorceress would sit up and look once more into the window. There she would smooth her brow and smile tentatively at herself. On bad mornings, she would seize up and begin fighting herself again.

This morning, however, was better than most. When she was sure everything was fine, she would pick up a gilded hair brush and run it through her long, dark hair. Then she would go to the bathroom, return, and get dressed.

Today she selected a swirling gown of purplish gray. Her throat constricted when she saw her old costume of black and sky blue, and slammed her wardrobe shut before unwanted memories overpowered her.

When she was finished, she returned to her dresser and sat down. At half-past eight, there was a soft knock on her door.

"Come in." Rinoa said, wondering who it would be this morning.

A tall man in an outlandish cowboy hat entered, holding a heavy mug and grinning.

As usual, Rinoa was soothed by his presence. Anyone she knew from before the war had that effect on her. "Good morning, Irvine." She said, smiling at him.

"You okay?" He asked, handing her the cup of tea. He always asked that the mornings he came by. Rinoa did not mind, because he was just showing concern, unlike other traitorous bastards who would not hesitate to use her weakened state against her.

"Yes, I'm good." She said, blowing the steam away. "Are we doing anything this morning?"

"There's just some stuff for you to look over in the board room. Just some reports by field commanders, nothing too heavy."

Rinoa drank some of her tea and left it on her dresser. "Let's go, then." She said as she stood up. Irvine held the door open for her. He shivered slightly as her bare arm brushed him as she passed.

Rinoa turned back to look at Irvine. She wondered if he flinched out of fear at touching her. Suddenly, she felt let down by him. Betrayed, even. He had always been unflinching, never afraid, and had given her unfailing support and companionship. Irvine, at least, was supposed believed her.

She swallowed the bitter taste in her mouth. "Irvine, I can make it to the meeting room on my own. Do you think you could get Zone and Watts to visit Caraway to see when the next check with come through?"

Irvine looked startled, then a little hurt by her suggestion. Nevertheless, he nodded and left her alone in the hallway. For a moment, Rinoa watched his retreating back, her head pounding. She leaned against the wall and shut her eyes tightly.

In her mind, a black mist swirled, threatening to take over. Suddenly she wanted to vomit.

"Hey. Rinoa!" A strong grip took hold of her elbow. It was Irvine again. "Rinoa, where is Zone and Watts? They're normally all over the place."

Oh Hyne. Not now. Please, not now. Where is Squall?

Rinoa began clenching her fists in pain, throwing her full weight on Irvine, who taken by surprise, staggered into the wall. She was trembling violently, her eyes squeezed shut, and her fists were so tight that her nails left red marks on her palms.

Irvine grabbed Rinoa and held her tightly by the shoulders. He had worked out for himself what was happening. Her head lolled forward as if she lost control of her body. "Rinoa, don't let it take over. Listen to me. Listen to my voice." Irvine was shaken. He had seen Rinoa only lose control once, before the split had occurred, and Squall quickly brought Rinoa back. It was effortless for him.

But, Irvine reasoned as he kept talking to Rinoa, Squall was her knight. And they were so close, so in love, that I wondered what it'd be like to have that bond. What if Squall knew Rinoa's condition right now?

"Squall is a fucking bastard." Rinoa's hand came up over Irvine's and brushed him off easily.

Irvine took an involuntary step backwards. Rinoa's chocolate eyes had turned the deepest of blacks, holding an unholy light that he was afraid of. "Rinoa?" he ventured cautiously. "You don't want to stay like this. You don't need the power, you told me you didn't want the power."

"He left me." Rinoa said coldly, taking a step to Irvine and grabbing his shoulders in the same way he held her moments before. He couldn't meet her eyes. "He didn't believe me." With her unnatural strength, Rinoa slammed Irvine against the opposite wall. A thin trail of blood escaped the side of his head. "Fucking knight indeed. I'll kill everyone who's betrayed me."

Irvine was perilously close to losing consciousness. Once he did, there was nothing stopping Rinoa from doing whatever the sorceress in her wanted to do. Blow up Squall, blow up the world…he was mortally afraid of what Rinoa could do.

His wavering mind snapped back to alert when he saw tears trail down Rinoa's cheek. "He didn't believe me, but he swore." She swiped angrily at the tears. Her voice rose dangerously. "He swore to me, that night on the balcony! He's left me no choice, I have to kill him."

Rinoa was pinning Irvine to the wall with one hand. With her right hand, she began using magic. A black ball of energy formed and crackled, and the sheer power of it made Irvine retch.

Suddenly, a hand darted forward and caught Rinoa's right hand as Irvine slipped into darkness.

> > >

To be continued…