Warnings: Don't get attached to characters in this chapter.

Seifer: I had better not die again.

Delta: ummmm…backs away slowly… I guess we'll have to see.

Mini-plots revealed! Squall and Rinoa sappiness. Now I make them look like human beings!... or as close as Rinoa can get to being human, I guess…

Disclaimer: I own…the little ones. Mine, and if their parents want them they had better join my army, too. Square owns Seifer and Zell, and Odine, and Adel, and Squall, and Rinoa, and Angelo, and… you get the picture.

Sexy knight is mine!

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Chapter 10

There was nothing said on the car ride as soon as Zell woke up, though there were things to be said. Zell had woken up, groggy in the back of the van to find his hands were tied and feet as well. Adel hadn't noticed, driving like a maniac. They were almost out of Esthar, and Adel was mumbling something quietly.

Zell winced as the ropes didn't allow him to shift in the back of the van. The bottle around Adel's neck radiated with sympathy. Adel's eyes looked at him and Adel gave a sneer, but no words. Zell's power was weak and wanted to rest more than what Zell was allowing it to do. The van lurched off the exit and headed for the Sorceress Memorial.

"Seifer… would you… protect me?" Zell felt tears as he thought about his knight, Seifer had been alive and now Zell really had no idea. He didn't think it was possible to try and bring Seifer back to life again. Adel growled as his power lashed at Zell.

"They shall not have us," Adel told him. "They want to kill us, they've always wanted to kill us, and so I shall take us away, far away." Adel's power suddenly engulfed the van as they fled to the memorial.

"He looked like me," Zell said softly, almost accusingly.

Adel grasped the necklace and said nothing about it. Desert passed them by and Zell silently called out to Seifer. No one was responding, no one was awake. Zell let the tears stroke his face gently as he wished for Seifer's necklace. Zell didn't know where they were going, but Adel was driving like a madman. The desert looked a lot like the sea, now that he thought about it. Endless waves of dust surrounded them and Zell wanted to look back, but he couldn't move.

A few tense minutes passed as Adel stopped fueling the car with his power. "Knights are worthless," Adel told him, grasping the vial tightly. "Worthless."

"Seifer's not worthless!" Zell shouted, defending the absent blonde. "Seifer was trying to protect me, he gave his life for me!"

Adel chuckled, as if struggling with something in his mind. "You think he did, but he wasn't. It was his pride, Zell, and I saved you from it."

Zell's temper flared but it didn't even phase Adel. Perhaps the fire-haired man was too hurt already, his hand not leaving the vial. Perhaps Zell was really powerless. It didn't matter as Adel slammed on the brakes and Zell flew forward, his head bleeding. "You raped him!" Zell hissed angrily and Adel turned, power flaring at the boy.

"You have no idea!" Adel yelled at him. "You don't know what he was like! He-" Adel stopped, realizing he'd have to save his power for the upcoming event. Adel got out of the car, slamming the door and tearing the back door of the van open. Roughly he threw Zell over his shoulder and the younger sorceress squirmed in order to make things harder for him.

It was then Zell saw their destination, and it brought back memories. "This…Adel, this is the Sorceress Memorial." Adel said nothing as they continued walking, and Zell's squirming efforts were redoubled as he knew what Adel was planning. "I don't wanna be sealed forever!" Zell screamed, and Adel said nothing, entering the place and throwing Zell into a chair.

The staff members were all frozen and Adel gave a wicked grin as his power wiped all but one out. Zell recognized him; it was Odine's assistant, the one who was never with Adel in the first place. The assistant swallowed and leaned back against the console. He was trembling, and Zell wrestled with his ropes.

"I want us to be sealed, understand?" Adel said curtly. "All three of us."

The man blinked in confusion, and Zell's eyes shut. Hyne, he's thinkin' about his knight… There was a smack and the man fell onto the floor. "Y-yes, Adel, I will provide it," he stated, and got up, working at one. "You must stand on the pedestal inside the chamber, but it will take almost a half-hour to complete."

Adel nodded and cast a reflect on the door so the man couldn't leave. "We will be in there." He picked up Zell and walked inside, placing Zell on the floor gently. Zell scooted away from him, completely afraid with his power this weak.

The door hissed shut, sealing the two in. Zell swallowed; this is what happened to Rinoa. But Seifer couldn't come here this fast, he had no idea where to find him. Seifer might be dead. Zell sniffled, he couldn't help it.

The mighty sorceress looked down, and his face held something Zell hadn't seen before, but he scooted away as far as he could. Adel chuckled softly and undid the restraints on Zell's feet, throwing the rope away. The hand stayed too long on his leg and Zell struggled suddenly, his feet kicking wildly.

"No, Adel, I don't want this!"

The legendary sorceress froze, pulling away. Something was wrong, Zell noted. Something was horribly wrong and Zell didn't know what it was. Adel's power was only radiating sadness, a deep depression that Zell couldn't match.

However, Zell didn't care as he attempted to jump the platform. Adel caught him by his dress, pulling Zell down. Zell hissed and struggled, but Adel's grip was like a statue.

"They want to kill the sorceresses, Zell," Adel said quietly. "In all the years I've been away, they still want to kill sorceresses."

"You didn't help their opinions," Zell responded, and Adel gave a humorless laugh.

"They held those opinions long before I got there," the taller man stated sadly. "They never changed. Not even Laguna changed that; do you know what Odine was doing before I got there?"

Zell shook his head and Adel touched his face gingerly. "I can save you from them. They're monsters, boy. They're monsters."

"You're a monster," Zell whimpered, struggling in his dress.

"There's nowhere to go. If you aren't here, the gases may kill you, and then you'll have no chance of surviving." Adel let go of Zell who huddled into a ball. Adel stroked the vial tenderly.

Zell said nothing, simply watching as the man behind the control panel pushed buttons. He would probably kill them anyway, Zell decided. He wasn't going to see Seifer or Rinoa or Selphie or Squall or Irvine or Quistis or Matron or Cid again. He wasn't going to be able to enjoy his life anymore.

Minutes passed before Adel spoke again. "You do remind me of him. But you aren't the same." Adel started chuckling again and Zell wished that he could bring Adel's knight back to kill him. If Adel died, he could leave and he could see Seifer again and-

His power responded, flowing out of him and into the vial. The liquefied ashes sprung out and took a human-like shape, and Adel watched transfixed as the man emerged, blonde hair and blonde eyes emerging. The power returned to Zell as the man fell to the ground, not used to breathing.

Zell was about to say something when a glimmer caught his eye. His face turned and the most surprising realities crashed down on him.

Adel was crying, hair falling into his face, his tiara broken. The knight stood unashamedly naked of Adel, and the sorceress flew back. "Don't touch me!" Adel cried out, placing his hands in front of him. Zell grinned. Serves the bastard right, he thought, working with his hands to free himself.

The knight turned to Zell. "Why did you bring me back?" he asked softly, and Zell felt confused.

"You…he…he raped you! Don't you want revenge?" Zell asked, completely confused. Adel was terrified, that was good, but the knight wasn't angry, that was bad. Zell watched in shock as the knight gave a smile and shook his head.

"I think the revenge was all his," the knight said sadly, moving in front of the purple-tinted man. "We were a pair, he and I. I did love him, Zell, but I was weak." Adel's eyes closed in fear. "We entered Esthar together, but the crowd jumped him as they realized what he was, and I didn't even try to stop it." The knight's voice took on a sight choking sound. "I just watched as he was beaten, just watched as he approached death and I didn't stop it."

Zell fell silent. This seemed believable, this seemed sincere. Adel's power was afraid of the man, not wanting to be close to him and yet loving the knight all the same. Shame washed through Zell; he could see now where Adel's deep hatred came from, and it was an ugly moment in the man's life.

The knight continued, placing a hand on Adel's face, crying with him. "And I don't think we both thought of it as rape. I'd told him often that I loved him and yet I couldn't bring myself to comfort him, protect him when he needed it the most. So Adel tried to comfort himself with me- and I was too weak to even hold him anymore. It was a drastic overboard when he came, just crying and pulled out, ashamed of himself. It killed me, Zell, to stare into those eyes that used to be full of life and watch as I was responsible for the deadness in them. I was eaten by guilt and I took the easiest way out in front of him."

Zell wanted to cry, too, by this time. The lights were flickering overhead and the knight sat in front of Adel, showing no anger. "Oh, Adel," he whispered. "What have you done to yourself?"

Adel pulled away, looking at some interesting tube in the corner. "I hurt all over," he stated raggedly. "I just wanted you to come back, and when I found him… I thought he was you for a moment."

So getting the power had been based on appearance. Zell had never seen Adel this weak before, never this afraid. Adel continued. "And they still hate me. They still hate me and I kept thinking you were in the crowd, and that you hated me, too."

"I can't hate you, Adel," the knight whispered and Adel flinched at his touch.

"You went away. I just wanted to see you at night, I wanted nothing more than to listen to you breathe, but you went away and I couldn't fix you. I could do anything, I could make hair turn fire-red or my skin change color or my eyes turn to that shape of a monsters, but I couldn't fix you. And I hated them!" The shout rang out but only Zell winced. "I hated them for making you leave!"

The knight managed to pull Adel to him, and Adel didn't fight it. "I'm here, Adel. I'm here right now and you don't have to hate anymore."

Adel went into full-fledged sobs at that. It was so painful, here was his boy watching as the people who beat him early on came back to finish the job and now his knight was here. He was here, and Adel touched his arm, afraid he'd vanish. He hadn't thought of this boy brining life to the dead, he'd only thought of the boy as someone who looked similar and might be fun to toy with someday.

"I'm tired of existing," Adel confessed to his knight, looking up. Zell watched as his eyes slowly changed back into human ones. "I'm tired of existing where all I do is hurt. I thought I could fix these people, I could teach them what they've done wrong, but they just come back stronger."

"I know," the knight stated. "I know, Adel."

Adel gave a smile as the knight held him gently, coaxing all the hatred out of him. Zell shivered sadly. His own knight flickered in his mind. Adel stood, pulling his knight up with him. "I want to go to that place you've been," Adel told him. "It's all I've been thinking about recently." The knight started to speak and the legendary sorceress cut him off. "I want to go with you."

For once, the two looked somewhat happy. The knight shook his head. "Adel, you can't. It's not like I know where we're going; I've stayed here with you."

Adel started crying again, and this time his size diminished into something a slightly bit taller than Zell. The knight was the tallest of the three now. "I never hated you, Damien," the red-haired sorceress whispered, and this time the knight was crying, too. Just upset.

This was pretty emotional, Zell thought, but he supposed twenty-some years could do that to people. He wasn't sure whose fault this was, the knight claimed fault and Adel was claiming fault and Zell wondered if he should just blame this all on Odine and make it better in his head.

Suddenly the chamber lit up with the lights and Adel looked at the man.

The knight whispered something to Adel, who nodded his agreement. With that, Adel summoned up his power and caused it to crash back down on the two, the bodies crumpling into dust. The power swirled around the pedestal, looking for its owner. When it realized Adel was gone it gave a small cry and plummeted into Zell, much more complete than it had been before. Zell's wrists were freed as he tensed, letting the power flow into him, along with Adel's last words.

I hope it's as wonderful a gift as the chance you've given me.

Zell scratched the back of his head, unsure of if he should hate Adel or pity him. The knight was also an unsure. Zell shrugged and used his power to sense if Adel was still around.

The only thing Zell could pick up was a sheer and utter happiness. That, and a hissing sound. Zell spun to see the man in the window glaring at him, and Zell shook his head furiously.

The man nodded to show his difference of opinion.

"Damnnit!" Zell yelled, trying to unleash any fury of power he could muster, but it was a weak trickle. Bringing someone back to life had exhausted him, being in a sorceress fight had exhausted him, absorbing a power had exhausted him. The gases were slowly being absorbed by the rings around him and Zell glanced around worriedly. He could try the door-

Metal shackles appeared from the floor as the man spoke in a microphone. "No running, you sorceress bitch. This is for my daughter and my wife."

"I didn't kill them!" Zell yelled back, casting a protect on himself. There was sealant already at the edges. Vainly Zell struggled. The man chuckled and suddenly an explosion rocked the door. Zell watched as several SeeDs poured in; he waved in an attempt for help. The SeeDs didn't see him, however, the man was explaining something to them and they backed away. "No," Zell remarked, trying to slide his feet out of the restraints. He had one before the assistant picked up on it and trapped the other foot. Angrily Zell shouted at him and flipped him off, the SeeDs noticing.

The sealant was reaching the lower half of the pedestal. It was getting cold, Zell realized, wondering what his life would be like in space. Would there be a base to hold him, or would he drift into the moon, where the monsters would devour him? Zell suddenly felt like crying, but he wouldn't. He wasn't going to die if there was a chance to live.

Zell looked at the door, trying to beg the SeeDs but the assistant wasn't letting anyone through. A familiar trench coat caught his eye.

Seifer.

Zell struggled harder and Seifer looked at the console, talking to the man. "Seifer!" Zell yelled, and Seifer looked straight at him. Anger flared in his eyes and he punched the assistant as hard as he could, rushing into the door. The sealant was now at Zell's foot. Zell picked up the other one.

"Zell!" Seifer cried out, and Zell reached out to him.

"Seifer, you've got to get it to stop!" Zell shouted at him, the sealed foot suddenly going numb.

"The assistant won't give us the codes!" Seifer told him, rushing up to him. "Zell…"

"Squall broke something last time," Zell told him, the sealant climbing up his hips now. "Seifer…I…I love you, Seifer, please don't…" Seifer was gone, looking for whatever it was Squall broke. Hopefully Zell watched but his stomach was also going numb and he felt tired. Very tired.

He looked at Seifer who was ripping false cables out. The assistant had learned, Zell realized. He'd learned from what Squall had done last time. Seifer looked at one of the man tubes that connected straight to the ring. "I need my gunblade!" Seifer shouted to the blonde. "I need her badly!"

Zell bit his lip as he watched, the sealant taking one arm and Zell's eyes shut. He could almost feel what Adel had when Laguna watched. Was it this deep sadness? Was it thankfulness?

Barking met their ears as Angelo ran into the room, following Seifer. Seifer spun and Angelo deposited the gunblade in front of him, barking happily. Seifer hugged the dog before taking the blade and slashing the pipe as many times as he could, moving to the other side and doing the same thing. Angelo left as she learned the sealant gas hurt her nose. There were better things to sniff, like markers and chocolate.

The sealant gas rose to the ceiling and it faded slightly around Zell. The sorceress opened his eyes to find his knight in front of him, almost to tears.

"No crying," Zell told him. "I've seen enough for today."

Seifer ignored him and held him tightly, tears dropping into soft blonde hair. The knight was trembling as the assistant threw a fit at the commander who had just entered, his own sorceress at his side. Angelo bit the assistant on the arm, finding it a good chew toy.

"I almost lost you," Seifer whispered and Zell smiled, wondering if these powers were so bad. He'd found Seifer, after all, and maybe that was enough. "I don't want to loose you again, my sorceress."

Rinoa sighed and placed her head on Squall's shoulder, her face dreamy as Zell leaned up for a kiss and Seifer complied. "How come you never did that?" she asked and Squall rolled his eyes.

"Let's not get bogged down in why nots, I think I've made up for it." Squall sent the SeeDs on their way as the assistant unlocked the shackles, and Angelo sat happily on the man, her tail beating into his ribs.

"Not in public," Rinoa whined and Squall rubbed his nose.

"Not on a mission, Rinoa," he stated and she pouted.

The two blondes entered and Zell was almost sleeping on Seifer's arm. "We wanna go back," Seifer told him, and Zell shook his head sleepily.

"We need to go visit Odine," Zell responded darkly. "I think he's the source of all our troubles."

Squall nodded as Rinoa called off Angelo and they ran to a SeeD car. "Good to have you back, Zell. Adel's dead, then?"

"Yeah." Zell gave a weak salute as he let Seifer's arm guide him to the back seats. Squall sat up front with Rinoa and Angelo who gave him his kiss in public. "Maybe it's your lip gloss," Rinoa stated, smiling. Squall rolled his eyes yet again, but he smiled and leaned over the seat.

In the back of the van, things were not so steamy. Zell was simply laying down on Seifer's lap, trying to sleep with the blonde running his hands through his hair. It felt really, really nice. He sighed as turned face-up to watch his knight. "I don't hate Adel," Zell responded softly.

This perked Seifer's interest. "Why not?" he asked, simply curious.

"I think…some horrible things happened to him and I don't blame him for doing what he did. I mean, if you blew your face out in front of me, I'd damn well want revenge for whoever made you do that, too."

Seifer shook his head, kissing Zell lightly on the nose. "I wouldn't, Zell. I'm not going to leave your side."

"I know," Zell told him, eyes closing. "I know you wouldn't, 'cause I love you and you love me."

"That's right," Seifer responded as Zell fell asleep.

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The basement had changed. Zell noted there were no longer boxes or equipment, hiding scary things from the world. Instead, there were almost twenty tubes with liquid, and each carried things that looked like exploded flesh. Odine was passed out on the floor; Zell suspected Adel had been down here.

Seifer picked up a book Odine had, reading it. "His clones failed," he stated, "so he worked on DNA. He had three types, yours, Adel's and mine."

"Yours?" Zell asked, spinning around.

"That's how I gave you my choker," Seifer told him softly and Zell looked away. Before Zell could say anything, Seifer continued. "It says that he spliced their DNA like how a male and female have it, half of the chromosomes and so on."

Zell looked at them. "These were babies?"

Seifer nodded and Zell caught a faint pulse, running up to one in the corner. "This one's alive!" he shouted happily. The baby's eyes opened slightly, then closed again.

"What's the number, Zell?"

"C83-O-9," Zell read, touching the glass. "He's cute."

"He's ours," Seifer breathed. "That's our son." Zell watched as he rushed up to another one, and checked the book. "And this one, she's our daughter."

"So…are there any more?" Zell asked, watching as the baby sucked its thumb. It was cute, and the action brought out strong paternal instincts.

"No," came the reply. "Adel killed all of hiz, zaying they didn't dezerve to live like ziz." Odine rubbed his head. "Zey are my experiementz, and I will do what I want wiz zem."

Zell's eyes flashed and for a moment, all was still. In the next moment Odine lay, dead, and Seifer swore he heard an apocalypse from Zell. Zell swallowed, resting his head on the glass. "How did they age this fast?"

Seifer flipped through pages. "Haste, lots of them." Seifer looked at Zell. "What do you want to do?"

Zell closed his eyes. "This isn't fair," Zell stated. "I didn't ask to be a parent." Upon hearing his knight chuckle, he looked up. "What?"

Seifer stopped, draining out the liquid in the tube slowly. "You just protected them, my sorceress." He lowered the glass, picking up the baby girl while dropping the book and while detaching the cords keeping her on life-support. Rather than cry, she nuzzled into him. Such a sweet child, Seifer decided.

Zell did the same for the boy. "I guess… just there's not a lot of stuff I'll be able to do with you now."

"No wild sex, no drinking, no bondage, no porn, no parties, no missions away together…" Seifer stopped his thoughtful list, looking down at the girl. "No boyfriends," he told her sternly.

Zell picked up the boy and cradled it, though this one started to cry. "Shh," he whispered to it. "Papa's here," he cooed, bouncing the baby lightly. Seifer watched, rocking the girl as he moved over to his sorceress.

Zell handed his knight the boy as he reached down and ripped off a huge portion of his dress. Splitting that in two, he took the boy back and took a piece, wrapping the baby in it. "They must be cold," Seifer told him.

"I think so," Zell stated as Seifer wrapped the girl.

"Zell, they need a dispel or they'll continue aging faster than normal." Seifer watched as the last of Zell's unfatigued power cast the spell, replacing the hastes with protect and shell and wall and reflect. Seifer wasn't sure if the children really needed those, but said nothing as Zell sat wearily on the stair. It wasn't long before Seifer was there next to him, and Zell placed his head on his shoulder.

"You have names?" Seifer asked, and Zell shrugged. Seifer continued. "I think a good last name would be Dincht." Watching Zell's eyes, Seifer kissed him gently before explaining. "See, yours is an actual name from a family. Mine's just something I made up for entering Garden. Squall's the same way."

"Oh." Zell looked at the boy, watching as the boy gave hiccupping noises. "I like Damien for the boy." He kept the baby's head upright, struggling with his own tiredness. Seifer took the baby and held the two twins. "And I think the girl should be Dela."

The symbolism wasn't lost on Seifer as he kissed Zell lightly again. "You're so innocent," Seifer told him sadly. "No matter what happens to you, I think you always manage to forgive and forget."

Zell gave a smile. "I had a dream you said that. There was a wedding, and I was getting married to Adel, but you didn't want that, and so as a knight you took me away."

"No kidding?" Seifer asked, only slightly surprised. "That desperate to see me, Chicken?" Zell lightly hit Seifer's shoulder with his head.

"You're a jerk," Zell told him, drifting off to sleep. "But I love ya anyway."

"Love you, too," Seifer responded, watching as the three Dinchts fell asleep around him.

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End.

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That was the end. I wrote it listening to sad, sad songs. Thanks for staying with it. The original ending had just the knight killing Adel and Seifer and Zell walking off, but I couldn't see that anymore. It was one of those things that changed as I typed it. I wanted more depth to Adel, and I'm afraid I made him look a little wussy. I'm sorry for that.

Seifer and Zell's children weren't in the rough draft, and named Zeifer (m) and Sell (f) in the first draft, but that changed when I made Adel not so scary.

Thank you very much for reading my story!

-Delta