Wouldn't you know it, but I'm still alive! Between being away for the holidays and the work waiting for me when I got back, I didn't get much of a chance to update. Besides, this chapter was crime to write. I went through some eight different versions before coming up with something that was worth posting. On the bright side, though, this chapter istwice as long as the previous ones.

Don't forget to let me know what you think. Enjoy!

Part 16 – Time's tempest

First there was only a sensation of weightlessness. All he could see around him was darkness and there was no sound whatsoever, except for the dull throbbing of his heartbeat resonating in his ears. He couldn't tell if he was floating or falling, or just lying still. The air was so oppressive it hampered his breathing.

So this was Time Compression…

For a long moment nothing happened before he felt his body and mind stretch beyond the conceivable limits as time and space distorted around him. Like someone was trying to draw him through the eye of a needle. It was painful without truly hurting him. Then, without prior warning, gravity set in and he fell.

The next thing he knew, he was flat on his back and gasping for air. The sudden attempt to breathe was immediately punished by hacking coughs as his body reminded him not to move too much. He pressed his back to the surface he was laying on, willing the pain and his ragged breathing to subside.

His head stopped swimming after a few slow, shallow breaths. As everything began to feel relatively normal again, he focussed his attention outwards again. Through his closed eye lids, he could tell that wherever he was, there was plenty of light. And he wasn't dead either, as his aching chest and side continuously pointed out. Carefully, he tried to open his eyes and observe his surroundings. Maybe it would give him an idea of where he was.

When his eyes got used to the blearing light, Seifer saw he was lying on the floor of what could easily have been a ball room. It was lit by chandeliers with candles that were far too bright to be the ordinary household type, and had marble pillars that rose along the walls. Right over his head was a huge stained glass dome that was decorated with eight brilliant crystal balls which orbited the inside of the dome. In all, the room looked like the castle from a fairytale.

"Get up," a cold female voice suddenly cut through the magic of the moment.

Recognising the accent instantly, Seifer snarled. Of course, what was a fairytale castle without the token evil witch?

His sarcasm was jump-started by the unexpected hostile situation he had landed in. His instinct wanted to reply with one of this trademark comments, but then he noticed that for once he was actually alone in his own mind. Her command had been a vocal one, and that meant she had to be very near.

Slowly he turned his head to look for his former mistress. He found her sitting on a throne, a few feet to his left. She stared at him, waiting for him to move. But he didn't. He only stared back.

"I said, get up," she finally repeated, sharper this time.

Seifer didn't respond immediately, but then, still moving slowly, he hoisted himself to a sitting position. He wanted to get to his feet, but the effort would most likely knock him out. So he settled for glaring at the Sorceress in stead.

Seeing her ex-Knight wasn't able to do much of anything, let alone obey her commands, Sorceress Ultimecia rose from her throne and crossed the distance between them in silence.

Despite himself, Seifer marvelled at the sight of her. She had inserted an image of herself in his mind before, but to see her for real was something different. Her long hair was silver, not blond, like he had always thought. Still, she was young, younger than he had expected. And smaller, too, to the point of seeming fragile. She would have looked cute if not for the stern look on her face. In the revealing red dress she wore, one could easily mistake her for a posh call-girl. But there was a cruel edge to her beauty, and her golden eyes betrayed who and what she really was. It was just that which made her without a doubt the most beautiful and the most dangerous woman he had ever seen.

She smiled at him, a warm smile that looked very out of place on her lips. "Poor boy," she sighed in mock-compassion as she lowered herself to one knee before him. "So hurt, so lonely. And to know that this is only the beginning…"

"You can't threaten me," he replied with as much pride as he'd let himself. "I've come to expect nothing from you but death."

She continued to smile, but it was a cold smile now. "Then I taught you well despite your obstinacy. And you are right. It is not a matter of whether I will kill you. You know I will. But not now. Not yet." She gently placed her hand on the gash in his side and whispered a spell. The familiar glow of a curative spell enveloped the wound and closed it.

"What the…?"

"Oh don't look so surprised," the Sorceress said as she rose again. "You won't last very long if you are half-dead already. Where would be the fun in that? Now…" All human emotions drained from her face as she pointed a long finger at him. "Get up!"

Seifer was still recovering from his initial surprise when an invisible hand grabbed him and yanked him to his feet.

"Better," Ultimecia cooed as she resumed her throne. "Now at least we can talk. You and I have much to…diskuss."

"No doubt," he hissed with the usual sarcasm. Instinctively, he had run a quick damage assessment, but the outcome wasn't favourable. While her spell had healed his side and perhaps some of his cracked ribs as a fringe benefit, she hadn't done much more than giving him the strength to stand up. He couldn't hope to fight her even if he wanted to.

The Sorceress smirked cruelly. "Do not think you kan get out of our little konversation, boy. It is too long overdue."

Already annoyed, Seifer now felt the snare of his temper snap. There was only so much he'd take from this bitch. Anger rose in his chest and with it his magic. "I told you before, woman," he warned. "I am NOT A BOY!" He willed a wall of flames to rise up around her, but nothing happened. He tried again. Again without success. The fire was there, but it wouldn't come out. He stared from his hands to his intended target in bewilderment.

Ultimecia sat unperturbed on her throne, chuckling softly. "I was hoping you would try something like that," she commented with obvious amusement. Then she pointed overhead, at the glass dome. "Do you see those krystal orbs? They belong with my Guardian Forces. They block all magik inside the walls of my kastle, except my own." A smug grin appeared on her face when she saw the look on his face. "I see you understand the implikations, yes?"

That he did. The implications for himself, but also for the SeeD who would try to reach her. No matter how well-trained they were, Squall and his friends were no match for her if they couldn't access their spells or summon their Guardian Forces. All of a sudden, their victory wasn't as clear cut as he had always believed it was.

"Now you know your place, it is time I had my way with you."

Her arms swept up in series of grand gestures. Seifer felt the invisible force take hold of him again, but this time it pushed him backwards instead of lifting him. He came to a standstill when his back and head pressed roughly against something that felt like a pole rising from the floor. He wanted to turn and see, but the invisible force wouldn't let him.

The Sorceress flicked her wrist, and Seifer felt his hands moving. He tried to resist it, but in vain. He could only watch as the palm of his left hand pressed firmly against the back of his right. Then his arms began moving upwards, positioning his hands over his head, pressing against the pole which apparently rose well over his head. Involuntarily he recalled the ancient woodcuts in the history books at Garden, portraying alleged Sorceresses sentenced to burn to death at the stakes. They were shown tied to a pole much in the same fashion he was now. Somehow he doubted the similarity was a coincidence.

From her throne, Ultimecia admired the scene she had created. "I am so going to enjoy this," she said with a nod of approval while making another gesture with her hand.

To his horror, Seifer saw a large icicle materialise in the air. Although nowhere near as wide as the one that had run Squall through during the parade in Deling City, it was still sizeable enough to be frightening. Eyes widening in anticipation, he gazed at the Sorceress. Her expression was one of cruel amusement, and confirmed his suspicions of what would happen next.

It went so fast he couldn't prepare. Still he tried to stifle his cry as the icicle bored through his palms, effectively nailing his hands to the pole. For a moment, his vision went red. His instinct was to pull his hands to his chest, but the attempted movement only sent another shot of pain through his arms. Jaw working but otherwise keeping as still as possible, he tried to blink away the tears that came to his eyes. He stared up the ceiling as he recomposed himself.

Then he noticed something odd. The crystals were still circling on the inside of the dome, but there was a gap. He counted them several times, if only to take his mind off the pain. Seven orbs. Hadn't there been eight before? Yes, eight crystals, eight GF's, eight magic seals. But there were only seven left now…

"Still determined not to break when your body and your mind are already in shreds?" Ultimecia's sharp voice reclaimed his attention. "Kommendable. Stupid, but kommendable. It makes punishing you so much more interesting."

Seifer shot her a venomous look. "Go to hell."

"After you."

At a wave of her hand, three new icicles formed in mid-air. They were smaller than the one that punctured his hands, but that was hardly a comforting fact. She let them float around for a while, moving them up and down as she decided where to hit him. For what seemed minutes on end, the icy spikes hovered just inches in front of his face.

He blinked, and the icicles were gone. Two seconds later, he felt a sharp pain spread from this left thigh. He couldn't move his head too much without tearing at his hands, but in his peripheral sight, he could just make out three glistening spikes protruding from his left leg. He would have cried out if it hadn't made him so very angry.

Still on her throne, Ultimecia observed her former Knight, waiting for him to come undone.

"Well?" she inquired, both intrigued and annoyed when he wouldn't budge.

Seifer glared at her, tilting his head back in defiance. "I won't fall apart for your entertainment," he hissed through clenched teeth.

"Such bravery. Why kouldn't you show such determination when I asked it of you?"

Although he had his answer ready as she spoke, he hesitated, sparing a glance at the ceiling. He didn't have time to count them, but there were again crystals missing from the set orbiting the dome. If his guess was correct and the orbs were indeed connected to the Guardian Forces sealing the use of magic, then disappearing orbs could only meant that someone or something was killing Ultimecia's Guardian Forces. No GF's, no seals. And no seals meant free use of magic…

Seifer gritted his teeth. He had promised himself to let go of everything in every way. He had promised himself the peace of death. But after everything he had done to help Squall meet his destiny, could he really just stand back now and not do anything while Ultimecia threatened to turn the tables in her favour at the last moment?

"A man can't give what he has already dedicated to someone else. My loyalties were set long ago." he said out loud, voicing both his answer to her and his own thoughts.

"You speak of your dream…" She snorted, apparently oblivious of his interest in her crystals. "I'm sure your precious Squall doesn't kount your loyalty among his assets. After all, you rejekted both him and your Garden very eksplicitly on several okkasions."

Seifer tried to ignore the cold that settled in his chest at hearing the truth in her words. It numbed him, but glancing up a the orbs once more, he saw a way of redeeming himself, at least in his own eyes. After all…

"….regardless of what I did or didn't do, I never was and never will be your Knight, Ultimecia."

"And that is eksactly why you are here now!"

The fresh set of icicles plunged in his abdomen before they were even fully formed. He couldn't help but scream and he almost doubled over, barely able to stop the movement before the wounds in his hands tore.

The Sorceress let out a satisfied chuckle. She rose to her feet and leisurely strolled towards him.

"I do not take kindly to being double-krossed," she stated as she closed in on him. "Especially not by a mere boy who believes he is invincible bekause of what he saw in a dream."

Swallowing the pain, Seifer found his voice again.

"It was a memory, and you know it. You saw it in my mind. You know how this is going to end!"

A long finger traced his jaw line. "I am not so sure about that," Ultimecia smiled. "Bekause unlike you, I believe the past kan be changed. As the future changes, so does the past. If I win this battle, the past you know will be undone."

Passionate denial can be a strong sedative if you want it to. "Don' be stupid!" Seifer yelled furiously. "Of course the past can't change. It has already happened!" He leaned forward as much as he could. "Feel my powers?" he hissed. "That's no paramagic. That's elemental control!"

Ultimecia pursed her lips. With the tip of her finger, she waddled one of the icicles lodged in his abdomen. He winced and he bit his lip until it bled, but didn't cry out. She nodded in approval, as if his reaction confirmed what she was thinking.

"Your powers were the reason I chose you as my Knight in the first place," she explained. "You are strong. Stronger than the SeeD, if you wish it. You made it very hard for me to influence your mind, whereas even the two sorceresses I possessed hardly fought back. It was… an intriguing eksperience, if very inkonvenient." She smiled and then twisted a spike in his leg. He gazed intently at his face as she studied his reaction. "So much pain, and still no sound. I admit your stamina is enviable. I wonder how much more it takes…"

Seifer pressed his lips together. It would take a lot less than he'd like to break him now. The only good thing about the icicles was that they plugged the wounds that they had made. If she decided to pull them out, he'd bleed to death in a matter of two, maybe three minutes. But then, she was the vengeful type.

He glanced up without moving his head. Through his eyelashes, he could see only two crystals slowly orbiting the dome. He didn't dare try his magic for fear it would alert her, but there was of course the very real chance that the orbs had no significance at all, and that he was holding out for nothing. Then again, he asked himself if he wanted to take that risk. As always the answer was clear.

"Squall will kill you," he coughed. "Because when you die and you have to give away your powers, you'll give them to Edea. All but one. And that one will come to me." He locked his eyes on hers, his face darkening with the hatred he felt for her. "That is how I knew you were coming. That is why you like my powers so much. And that's how I know you will die before your precious Time Compression is complete."

Ultimecia's golden eyes widened in anger. With a flick of her wrist, two more icicles appeared. At her signal one cut into his left shoulder, the other in his right.

"Insolent boy!" she hollowed. "I will not die! Your precious Squall and his SeeD are no match for me, and neither are you. No one is! This world is mine. Mine to rule as I please! And no SeeD will stand in my way!"

Seifer drew a ragged breath. He felt completely exhausted, but strangely enough he drew strength from resisting her. In his despair he had forgotten how good it felt not to give up. To fight back… Fuujin had been wrong. He was a Knight, and like a Knight, he would die protecting the one he loved.

"…are you really convinced you will win?" he asked softly, winning time. "You know what I have seen. Are you willing to bet that what I saw wasn't true?"

"The past kan be changed," she stated.

He would have nodded if it didn't hurt so much. "Very well… Then this is where we find out who's right and who is wrong. If Squall will kill you, or you him." He coughed. The taste of blood spread in his mouth, but he ignored it. Tilting his head up as much as he could, he looked at the dome. "The moment of truth, Ultimecia. See that? There is only one crystal left. My guess is someone's been killing your GF's and breaking your seals..."

She whipped around to see what he was talking about. He could hear her gasp when she saw, too, that her crystals were reduced to one lone orb circling in the air. She then turned back and gazed at him, her face livid. It told him all he needed to know.

"This is not the end!' she shrieked. "I still have my trump card. I will be viktorious!"

But Seifer smiled knowingly. No matter what she said, there was no doubt in his mind now that everything would come full circle. Feeling more satisfied than he had in a long time, he closed his eyes.

In the darkness, it felt like he wasn't captured anymore, but floating, weightless. He gave in to the sensation. On the edge of his consciousness he heard voices. Familiar voices, calling his name. It made no sense, until he recognised one of them. It was Fuujin's voice.

Now he knew for certain he was dreaming. And maybe this time, it would be forever.

I always wondered why Ultimecia didn't just kill the SeeD off at the porch when they wouldn't stand a chance. Why wait for them to gather strength first? Case of bad tactics, if you ask me…

Anyway, this is the final chapter of Fire Storm. I know I promised an epilogue, but I can't stand to see Seifer's devotion to Squall remaining unanswered, so I've set my mind on writing a (M-rated) sequel instead. (I'm still looking for a beta-reader for that story, preferably someone who can give me some tips on writing yaoi, since that'll be a first for me. So if you feel like helping me out, drop me a line.)

Thanks for reading!