IT'S ALIIIIIIIIVE! ...ahem... I mean, I'm still alive and so is this story. It's just that a recent promotion at work (yay!) has kept me from updating as soon as I'd like (bweee!). But then again, my prefered updating frequency is every other day, which is not very feasible at any rate...

Thanks for reviewing, people! Let's continue and see what happens to poor,demotivated Seifer.

Enjoy!

Part 14 – Sigh for tomorrownever comes

Waiting… It's never easy, unless you are waiting for the inevitable. So all he had done the last two weeks was waiting, waiting for all the pieces in the game to move into position. And now, as he was staring at what the Pandora's security cameras showed him, he knew that everything was all but ready for what he hoped would be the final act of this war.

There was Adel, who was stored safely on the next floor, ready to be released. Then there were the SeeD, bringing the newly initiated Sorceress Rinoa with them. And Fuujin and Raijin had brought Ellone to him just a few hours ago.

Having seen the illustrious girl now, he had the idea he should know her, although he couldn't remember what from. It didn't matter, either. The important thing was that now Ultimecia had everything she needed to accomplish her precious Time Compression, although it was completely beyond him how Ellone fit into that picture. It was just as obscure as why the bitch had suddenly decided she needed Rinoa in her temporal equation as well…

'Nor do you need to know,' came Ultimecia's sharp voice, resonating clearly in his head after days of silence.

Seifer eyes flared up momentarily as he used his magic to keep her from hurting him when she pressured him again. "I was almost beginning to miss your stings," he commented sarcastically.

She laughed. 'Why should I hang around to torture you, when you are doing such a good job of that yourself?'

Seifer had to admit she was right there. He was tired, in spirit more than in body. Lately, he'd been picking random fights with the monsters roaming the Pandora's hallways, all the while unsuccessfully convincing himself it was only time that he was trying to kill. His coat was bloody and in tatters, an effective reflection of how he felt.

Leaning on the bridge's console, in an attempt to ignore the sorceress' presence, he continued to stare at the monitors that fed him images of what was going on elsewhere in Lunatic Pandora. Currently, the screens were showing on huge red dragon-shaped ship lodged in a hole in the Pandora's side and a handful of SeeD beating his loyal posse into submission.

He wasn't afraid for his friends. The fight they put up for his sake was just that: only for his sake. They knew perfectly well they wouldn't win. It made him smile regardless. And as he had expected, they yielded to Squall and his comrades before long and gave the SeeD free way.

Mentally, Seifer prepared himself. He knew what these people wanted: his head on a stake, next to Ultimecia's. He considered surrendering, but what good would that do him? Trail and execution by some judge in a suit and a wig wasn't what he had in mind for his death, nor did he intent to let himself succumb to Ultimecia's torturous outtakes. He had lost everything, but not his pride. There were better ways to go for a warrior like himself. More noble ways.

All things considered, there was only one person who had the right to slay Seifer Almasy, only one who he would let himself fall to…

He lips twisted into a sarcastic smirk as the door opened, admitting Fuujin and Raijin to the bridge with Ellone in tow. The dark haired woman looked up at him, fear evident in her eyes. Once again, a spark of recognition lit up in the back of his mind, but it died before he could make head or tail of it.

'How kan you not remember someone so…essential in your motivations?'

He sneered, both at the young woman held by his posse and at the one in his head. 'Don't you mean, essential to you?'

Ultimecia chuckled unpleasantly. 'You truly are klueless…'

"Where's Sis? I want Sis!" The small, sobbing boy looked up through the long chocolate-coloured bangs that hung in his face.

"Sis's gone," five-year-old Seifer answered angrily. "Now stop cryin'!"

"I want Sis!"

"Stop cryin'!"

The outburst only made the younger boy bawl louder. With fresh tears running down his face, he crawled into a nearest corner and hugged his legs. "I want Elle…" he whispered between sobs..

Seifer blinked a few times, focussing once again on the present. He tried to pry Ultimecia's consciousness away from his own, but it was a half-hearted attempt. Still, her meddling had made him remember who the girl in front of him was: Elle. Ellone. Sis. The one who had reduced his little brother to a pathetic whimpering fool when he was supposed to become a valiant warrior.

The sneer on his lips became a snarl.

At that moment, the door of the bridge burst open for the second time. A very pissed off Squall came in, followed by Rinoa and Zell. They looked slightly flustered from having to fight their way up through monsters and security droids, but to Seifer's surprise and disappointment, none of them had their weapons at the ready. Did they really think he'd go down without a fight?

"We've come to take Ellone back," Squall demanded, cold and to-the-point as ever.

Seifer put on his mask of sarcasm and only smirked in reply. "Looks like we got company," he said to his posse. "Show 'em your hospitality."

The SeeD immediately drew their weapons and assumed battle positions. Raijin did the same, but Fuujin refused.

"RAIJIN, STOP!" she yelled. Her companion immediately complied.

Seifer frowned. He'd seen this coming. "What's up?" he inquired despite the fact he already knew the answer.

At hearing the question, Raijin glanced up, looking almost embarrassed. "We've had enough, y'know…" the big man said carefully.

Without waiting for the reaction of her friend and commander, Fuujin pushed Ellone towards the SeeD, barking a short order: "GO!"

In his head, Seifer fought off Ultimecia as she tried to take over his vocal control. 'No! Don't let her get away!' the sorceress cried as Squall whispered to the girl before sending her out of the room.

"Heyhey… Come on people," Seifer said lightly, as much to Ultimecia as to his friends. He had to win time to control himself before Ultimecia made him say something he'd regret.

It was Raijin who retorted first. "Seifer, we're quittin', y'know? Don't know what's right anymore y'know."

Seifer nodded. "Exactly my thoughts." It was only logical they wanted to get out. Things were too messed up at any rate. But that didn't mean it didn't sting. "…I thought we were a posse."

Fuujin turned to face him head on. "POSSE…" she stated fiercely. But then her face mellowed. "We are. We always will be," she said, her voice so much softer than usual. "Because we're a posse, we want to help you. Whatever it takes to fulfil your dream, we're willing to do." It was strange to hear her speak normally in the presence of anyone but himself. She was sincere. Very much so. Even if he had been deaf, he could tell her feeling word by word from her single eye, which was fixed on him.

"But… you're being manipulated, Seifer," the silver-haired girl continued. "You've lost yourself and your dream. You're just eating out of someone's hand. We want the old you back! Since we can't get through to you, all we have to rely on is Squall." She paused, looking at her feet. "It's sad… Sad that we only have Squall to rely on…"

The silence that fell was heavy. Even the SeeD were surprised, although he couldn't tell if that was because of what she had said, or because she'd spoken in full sentences. But before anyone else could react, she lifted her head and looked him sharply in the eye.

"Seifer! Are you still gonna keep going?"

He didn't reply. They both knew what the answer was, and he could tell his friend did her best not to show how much it hurt her. There really was nothing left to say, so instead, he brought Hyperion up to his face in salute. "Raijin, Fuujin! It's been fun!"

His friends returned the gesture with a solemn bow. They would respect his decision, even if they didn't agree and didn't understand. Then, without looking back, they ran out.

Seifer took a short moment to let the departure of his posse sink in. The loyalty Fuujin and Raijin had shown to him, long after he had expected them to cut and run from the sinking ship that was his life, meant incredibly much to him.

But they were right to leave while they still could. He didn't want them to follow where he was going anyway.

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