Chapter 22: Assertion
The room swam into view, starting off as a watery haze that formed from the darkness and gradually becoming more and more focused as the seconds passed. At first all she saw was white light, but that rapidly began to distinguish itself into shapes surrounding her, human figures that she immediately began to recognize.
"Hey, she's awake!" came Zell's voice, and Quistis started to sit up, feeling a wave of revitalizing energy shooting through her, though the sensation was chased by an equally powerful blanket of exhaustion. She looked around the room, immediately registering it as a hospital facility, and saw the faces of the people sitting or standing around her. She looked at each of her friends, equally joyous that they were present, but also shocked at the state they were in.
Zell looked battered, but his grin was undeniable as he stood beside her bed, clearly happy she was alive. She remembered hearing his shout as she had been struck by the blast from those distant walkers, and understood his exultation at how she had survived.
Selphie and Irvine were sitting in a chair, the smaller SeeD in Irvine's lap. Both seemed bruised and looked like they had been through hell, but even more surprising was the intimate way Irvine had his arms draped over Selphie's shoulders. Just a couple of days ago they hadn't been that close, but now, the image of the pair seemed inseparable.
Rinoa stood beside her bed as well, and though she seemed battered as everyone else, she radiated an aura of power greater than she had the last time Quistis had seen her. The young Sorceress seemed stronger and even more certain of herself.
Quistis' eyes fell upon a man standing at the back of the group, deliberately keeping his distance from the others, and it took a few moments for her to recognize him. Seifer's hair had grown out, a scraggly beard cut across his face, and his clothes, or what clothes he was wearing, were tattered and dirty, stained and bloody. He seemed stronger as well, no longer the cocksure, arrogant, pride-filled fool he was before, but something farmore.
But the most shocking moment came when Quistis saw Squall. While he seemed the least wounded or battered of the group at first glance, Quistis then looked at his face, where his bright, confident and determined blue eyes should have been, and saw white bandages wrapped around his forehead and eyes. She stared at him for a moment, horrified by the wounds, yet surprised to see him keeping his head turned toward her face, as if he could see her perfectly.
"What happened?" she asked quietly, and everyone glanced around the room at one another.
"Long story," Irvine, Rinoa, and Zell said at the same time.
"To put it simply," Seifer added from the back. "Trabia's safe, but we've got Esthar bearing down on Dollet with an army of supercharged assholes who are as tough as SeeD and twice as mean."
"That," Squall added, "and Alucard filled us in on the situation regarding Hyne."
"And from what he's explained," Rinoa began, but was cut off by Zell.
"We're pretty much boned," the brawler finished.
"Why do I get the feeling I was better off unconscious?" Quistis asked, and a light ripple of laughter cut across the room.
"You had best rest," cut in another voice from the doorway, and Quistis looked in that direction, to see the familiar figure of the Guardian of Existence standing there, calmly puffing on his pipe, clearly a violation of dozens of regulations regarding smoking inan infirmary. Alucard smiled, and nodded to Quistis.
"I certainly hope you feel better," he continued. "It took a lot of effort to restore your wounded body."
"I do, thank you," Quistis replied. "I owe my life to you. Without you, Hyne . . . ."
"It was nothing," Alucard answered with a raised hand. "I did what I had to do. But now, there are somewhat more pressing matters at hand. I must bid you all a brief farewell; I have business to take care of." Quistis opened her mouth to protest, but the Guardian simply turned and walked away, moving down the hallway and out of sight.
"Not so fast," she heard Squall mutter under his breath, and the SeeD Commander rose to his feet and moved outside the room with agility and sureness that not only denied he was blind, but demonstrated incredible perception of his surroundings.
"Psh, not letting you have all the fun talking with Old Stiffy," Seifer snarled, and was a half-step behind Squall, both men leaving the room in a hurry. Their rapid departure left the medical room more open and less cluttered.
"Well, I suppose I'm the odd woman out," Quistis said with a light chuckle. "You guys mind catching me up on everything that happened? I'm guessing that there's a lot to tell."
"You have no idea," Rinoa, Irvine, and Zell said again, simultaneously.
"Hold on," Squall said as he jogged after Alucard.
"Yeah, we're not finished chatting with you," Seifer added. Alucard stopped in mid-stride and turned around, smiling as always.
"Indeed, I suspected you wanted a talk," the Guardian replied with a nod and puff of harmless smoke. "Otherwise I would have simply departed." Squall nodded, well aware of Alucard's annoying penchant for appearing and disappearing instantly whenever he wanted to.
"Very well then," the Guardian continued. "What is it you wish to speak of?"
"What did you do to Quistis?" Seifer snapped, and Alucard raised an eyebrow. He glanced to Squall, who nodded.
"It doesn't take a scanning spell to tell you did something to her," the SeeD Commander stated calmly. "Not to mention I can tell what happened as well."
"Of course," Alucard replied, chuckling. "Zanshin. You and Griever are one now, and without your eyes, you can see more clearly than anyone. So, tell me, Elemental-" Squall bristled at the word "-what did Griever let you see in your friend?"
"There was a pulse of life energy within her that shouldn't be there," Squall stated. "I could see it, coursing through her body. Powerful magic, just like yours. What did you do to her?"
"I reconstructed her anatomy using waves of living energy, the same energy that you yourself use when healing your comrades," Alucard answered. "I had to infuse the energy itself within her in order to combat Hyne's own negative energy which was eating away at her body like a ravenous virus. Once that energy was destroyed, however, the power I poured into Quistis' body lingered."
"So now she's got all this holy living power pumped into her," Seifer concluded. "What does that mean for her?"
"You'll see," Alucard replied with a smile. "Suffice it to say, she's been . . . Gifted, in a way."
"So far, all the 'gifts' my friends and I have gotten aren't all that wonderful," Squall snarled, gesturing pointedly to his eyes.
"This going to come back and bite us in the ass?" Seifer aksed,a nd Alucard shook his head.
"What I've given to Quistis is not harmful, as far as I know," Alucard replied. "And I should know it very well. I certainly hope that my energies will not come back to 'bite me in the ass' so to speak."
"For your sake, I hope it doesn't," Seifer growled. Alucard chuckled, and then nodded once again to the pair.
"If that is all . . . ?"
"Yeah, for now," Seifer muttered.
"Hopefully you'll be back in time for us to plan our strategy against Esthar," Squall added. "We could use all the help we can get."
"I might," the Guardian replied evenly. "It depends on the nature of this business I need to handle. Until then . . . Farewell."
A few moments later, Alucard exited the infirmary, calmly puffing his pipe, with no further questions or demands from either Squall or Seifer. Without either of the young men pressing him, the Guardian could get about his business; Ramuh would have poked around while he had been helping Garden, and Alucard was certain he had some interesting news to relate.
A hand slapped on the Guardian's shoulder, and he sighed, stopping in place. Alucard glanced to his right, where the arm had come from, and saw the stern, grim and taciturn expression that Squall Leonhart would have worn, had he still possessed eyes and not bandages around his face.
"Ah," Alucard said, smiling slightly as he recognized the man. "Doctor Nash." Alucard had almost spoke his actual name, but then had stopped, remembering. Such things didn't need to be spoken, especially in the heart of Balamb Garden itself. It would cause . . . complications.
"Existence," the scientist said quietly. "Its been a while." Nash was no longer clad in the tattered white coat of a doctor, but instead was wearing a loose black vest over his black shirt and brown trousers. Fresh fingerless gloves now wrapped around his hands.
"Indeed," Alucard replied. "A great deal of time has transpired, wouldn't you say?"
"Exactly," Nash responded.
"So, why is it that you're here, hm?" the Guardian inquired, and Nash snorted.
"You know why I'm around," he replied. "Not just to help them in that hospital. I've got my own reasons for being here."
Alucard stared into the scientist's blue eyes for several moments, evaluating his intent and emotions, and then nodded silently.
"You're still after her."
"Crell's little science project was just a stepping stone," Nash replied. "The only reason I even helped those bastards was so I could get my shot at Hyne. Crell was the only one with connections to her."
"Is that why you'll help them with their war?" Alucard asked, and Nash nodded. The Guardian chuckled, shaking his head. "Hm. You're just lying to yourself, you know that. You do feel camaraderie for those people in there."
"I'll admit, they are so much like my old friends before the war, but . . . ." Nash closed his eyes and shook his head. "All I care about is getting my revenge. They'll fight Crell. Hyne backs Crell. Fight Crell, I get my shot at Hyne. Its that simple."
"Is that why you saved the girl? Selphie, and Irvine, and even the child?"
Nash's response was stony silence and an expression that betrayed as much as a statue's would speak.
"You say revenge is everything that matters to you, but you know that is a lie," Alucard continued. "You want to kill Hyne, but do you honestly think that's even possible for one such as yourself? Even for an Elemental, even for you, tackling Hyne is an impossible feat."
"Impossible," Nash snorted, chuckling darkly. He shook his head.
"Impossible is what a SeeD does best."
After Alucard had left, Seifer and Squall were left alone in the hallway. The two old rivals glanced at one another, not precisely sure what to do or say. They hadn't seen each other in a while, and after three years, both men seemed dramatically different. Squall was battered and scarred, yet exuded an undeniable sense of strength within his very form, while Seifer seemed more collected and less naïve and idealistic. Compared with thetaciturn youth and romantic lunatic they had last known each other as, the men standing in the hallway were almost completely new entities.
"So." Seifer said.
"Yeah," Squall replied.
Seifer glanced around, and gestured out with his hands, shaking his head and sighing.
"I go to prison for a few months, and when I get out, there's a world war going on, Esthar's ruled by a lunatic bent on bringing back Adel's rule, and you lost your damn eyes."
"More or less," Squall answered with a slight chuckle.
"Ah, well," Seifer replied, shrugging. "I'd ask how you're doing, but seeing all that's going on, I already know the answer is 'shitty'. So, I just have to ask: What's next?"
"Come on," Squall said, gesturing over his shoulder as he moved down the hallway.
"So, what?" Seifer asked as he followed. "What are you guys planning? How are you going to take down Esthar?"
"Why do you want to know?" Squall asked, and Seifer laughed, as if the answer was obvious.
"Come on, Squall, you know me," he replied. "I'm not going to miss out on a good war. This is a thousand times bigger than Ultimecia's little squirrel hunt, that's for sure. I want in on it. Though, I understand if you don't, seeing how you still don't trust me and all. Hell, I wouldn't trust myself, knowing my track record."
"You saved Selphie and Irvine," Squall replied evenly. "That and . . . I can tell I can trust you now. Plus, you're an enemy of our enemy. That technically qualifies you as my ally. And while I'd pick a hundred others to fight alongside before you, Seifer, I will say that there's a few billion I'd rather have as my enemy than you."
"I suppose that's a compliment," Seifer answered with a grin. They continued down the hall, toward one of the medical rooms, and stopped outside Kadowaki's office. To heir surprise, the Doctor wasn't inside, but instead, seated behind her desk, was General Randolph, apparently looking at some medical files. He glanced up as the pair entered.
"General?" Squall asked, and Randolph nodded, the blonde Dollet General standing up.
"Ah, Commander," he said with a smile. "Good to see you again, though I wish you had gotten through your end of the war a little better off." He paused as he saw Seifer. "You are . . . Seifer Almasy?" Seifer nodded.
"Yeah, that's me," he replied.
"General Randolph, Dollet 125th," replied the Dollet officer, extending his hand to Seifer, who shook it. "You were commanding the Galbadians in the battle against Balamb Garden three years ago?"
"Hate to say it, but yeah," Seifer replied. "You were in charge of the Dollet forces in that war, too, I take it?"
"Obviously," Randolph answered. "Ironic. A man from Dollet leading Galbadian forces against a Dollet army."
"Dollet?" Squall asked, glancing at Seifer. The ex-cadet snorted.
"Half-Dollet, half-Timber," he replied sarcastically. "Mother was a teenage prostitute from Timber, and my dead-beat father was a Dollet soldier who got killed in the war with Esthar. Wonderful lineage, huh?"
"I've known worse men with better backgrounds," Randolph responded quietly. "Anyway, Commander, I was just in here accessing some of my men's medical files from when they were treated here after the war. That's all I needed to see. A pleasure seeing you again." Randolph gave both men a curt nod and walked past them, out into the hallway.
"Seems like a nice guy," Seifer muttered. "Blunt as hell, though."
"He tends to be that way," Squall replied.
"Ah, Squall, I'm sorry!" came a voice behind Squall, and the SeeD Commander turned to see Doctor Kadowaki walking up the hallway toward him. "Starting those tests took some time, but she's ready for observation. I have a room set up for her right now."
"Who?" Seifer asked. "Serra?"
"Yeah," Squall answered, and Kadowaki led them down the hall. "I had them put her in the infirmary after we brought her back."
"She's still exhausted, and fell back to sleep right away after we brought her in," Kadowaki added. "She's right over here." The group stopped outside another medical room, where Serra lay wrapped beneath a blanket, sound asleep, inky-black hair pooling around her face in the pillows. A nurse was checking several wireless sensors set up in the room.
"Did you start the tests?" Squall asked, and Kadowaki nodded.
"We're already analyzing the energies within her with these new sensors, and I've had my assistants draw a couple tubes of blood for analysis as well. The physical examination is finished, I just need to go over the data. But from what I can tell, she's in perfect health, just exhausted and weak after her ordeals."
Squall nodded as the doctor spoke, and Seifer remained completely silent, simply watching the sleeping girl. After a moment, the ex-cadet spoke up.
"If you need someone to keep an eye on her, I'll do it," Seifer volunteered, surprising both Squall and Kadowaki.
"You sure?" Squall asked, and he nodded.
"Of course I'm sure," he replied, and Squall shrugged, turning back to Kadowaki.
"Doctor, let me know when the tests are finished," he said, and she nodded. With that, and one final glance at the mysterious girl laying the bed, Squall moved up the hallway, back to where Quistis was talking with their comrades.
Seifer, meanwhile, walked into the medical room, pulled up a chair, and sat down, providing a silent vigil that told anyone who saw the ex-cadet that something was indeed dramatically different about him.
It was a few hours later, little enough time for the participants in the harrowing events that had happened the previous day to manage to get a little rest, when Squall had called an emergency briefing in Balamb Garden's headquarters chamber. Everyone had quickly enough answered the call, and the meeting room in the Garden command center was packed with the principal players in their ongoing drama.
Squall stood at the head of the briefing table, looking out over his comrades and allies. Seated to his left were his comrades; Quistis, Zell, Irvine, Selphie, and Rinoa, as well as a half-dozen SeeD officers and high-level commanders, among them Xu. To his right were positioned Laguna Loire, Headmaster Cid, General Randolph, and a number of Galbadian and Dollet officers. Standing off to the side, not actively engaged in the briefing but still present, where the distant and silent specters of Seifer and the scientist Nash. Several television screens showed feeds from President Caraway's office, and the offices of Headmaster Gerrard of Trabia Garden and Acting-Headmaster Kisk of Galbadia Garden. Seated at he far end of the table was Alucard, the Guardian having returned from his mysterious "business" he had alluded to.
Now that all the important players had been brought to the table, Squall began the briefing.
"Okay, the situation is such," Squall stated, turning and walking toward the screen set up on the wall behind him. He tapped it, and it changed from solid blue to a map highlighting Balamb Island. Squall tapped the island itself, and several key locations were highlighted.
"Recent intelligence that SeeD Zell Dincht was able to uncover during the Battle of Trabia Garden gave us credible evidence that the Estharian forces were using the assault on Trabia Garden as a lure to draw out our forces while massing for a real attack against Dollet. Further evidence he has given us shows that Balamb Island will be the staging ground for this Estharian assault, which include a massive force, including elite Estharian combat units and a battalion of enhanced Elemental infantry."
"How reliable is this intelligence?" Laguna asked.
"Very reliable," Zell replied. "Generally speaking, when the bad guy is about to kill you, what he says is usually the truth."
"Gotta love villainous exposition," quipped Seifer from the back.
"With assistance by the intelligence forces from Galbadia, specifically long-range spy planes and spy drones, we've confirmed that there is a massive Estharian force massing at Balamb Island," Squall continued. "This force includes a full Estharian battle fleet of well over two hundred warships, along with six Estharian Flying Fortresses. Estimated strength of the infantry and ground forces these craft can carry runs at over a hundred and fifty thousand men. This massive attack force will be assaulting Dollet sometime in the very near future."
There as a long period of silence as those assembled processed the information that Squall had just given them.
"Well, we're not taking that sitting down," Randolph muttered. "What else do we know about the enemy?"
"I believe our other expert can explain the exact nature of the enemy we're fighting," Squall replied. "After all, Esthar is simply a proxy for something far greater. Alucard?"
"The Commander is correct," Alucard stated, standing up at his end of the briefing table. "The enemy we are facing consists of the human and mechanized forces of Esthar, but these soldiers and machines are but the front-line warriors of a force more malevolent than one can imagine. You see, these Estharian forces are backed by an entity wanting nothing short of the absolute annihilation of everything."
"Wait, what are you saying?" asked Headmaster Gerrard over his live feed. "What are we going up against here?"
"The Guardian of the End," Alucard explained. "The embodiment of destruction and entropy, a being devoted entirely to the annihilation of existence itself. The being often credited with the creation of humanity, whom you call Hyne."
Where stony silence had been before, there was now a ruch of exclamations and frenzied whispers from those who had been unaware of the full story regarding the causes of the war. Alucard and Squall watched the shock passing through the SeeDs and officers present, before the SeeD commander raised his hands, calling for silence. Alucard cleared his throat, and sat back down.
"So, now I suppose it is time I tell you a story."
Alucard leaned forward, peering across the table at all those gathered before him. He took a quiet inhalation of air, and spoke.
"In the beginning, before humans existed, there were only Guardians. Just as you know them. Ramuh, Ifrit, Cerberus, Bahamut, Odin, myself . . . And Hyne and Hades. They existed in relative balance, being powerful forces that could bring their wills to exist on whatever worlds they chose to, against whatever they chose to.
"In the beginning, there was a city. Carpasia, it was called, the City of Dreams. A secret city, a safe city, where Guardians once walked but then left it to the care of its protector, the Guardian of Existence."
"You," Quistis stated, and Alucard nodded.
"Within this city was a most wondrous device: a pool, buried within the chapels and structures and at the heart of the metropolis. This pool was called Zurvan, and it contained the very essence of wishes and reality. It was from here that all dreams spring and all return to. Any who bathed in this pool's waters would have their wishes done across reality, instantly.
"Naturally, this pool was sought after, and the Guardians each wanted it. This resulted in rivalries, for each Guardian's view of how existence should become was different from the next's. War began to be waged between them, but as this war and destruction raged between immortal forces, two beings rose into great power: the guardians of Death and Ending. Hades and Hyne.
"Together, they strove against the gates of the city, and I fought them. The pair was powerful, an equal match for me, and I could not fend them off forever. Finally, deciding that enough was enough, I removed the whole cause behind the chaos by sealing the gates and locking Carpasia away beyond time and space, where no Guardian could get at it. It may only be reached now through a mortal's dreams, which not even a Guardian can intrude upon.
"But Hyne would not be stopped by something so minor as her goalbeing locked away across time and space. She sought to tear down that barrier, but the only way to reach across time and space was to compress it. Unfortunately, the process would compress time unto her, making it virtually impossible for Hyne to go beyond the barrier and enter the city. Ironic, really; the only thing allowing access to the city in fact permanently denies it to the one who uses it.
"So, Hyne required a creature that could utilize her powers to initiate temporal compression. A remote controlled being, so to speak; that would absorb time and allow Hyne to access the city unfettered."
"Thus she created humans." Squall's statement was not a question, and Alucard nodded at his aptness.
"Humans, she judged, were fit to utilize her strength, so after provoking a war to test their willingness to destroy and utilize magic, she gave them a portion of her purely destructive power. Thus were Sorceresses born.
"Eons passed and humans grew stronger, more powerful, and more innovative. With each passing generation the strength of the Sorceress grew stronger, for humans fueled the power of Hyne unknowingly with their never-ending wars and violence. Every bit of death and destruction made Hyne stronger. Finally, Hyne judged that it was time, and she manipulated events so that one Sorceress gained all the power that had been accumulated.
"That Sorceress was Ultimecia, and Hyne fed her the knowledge of how to utilize Time Compression. Ultimecia engaged Time Compression, and Hyne prepared to enter Carpasia at the moment time was destroyed at her own monster's hands. But something happened that she never expected."
Alucard looked around the table, at Squall, Rinoa, Irvine, Selphie, Zell, and Quistis.
"You six."
"No surprise there," Zell commented, and Alucard nodded.
"You killed Ultimecia. Naturally, this ruined Hyne's plans as time restored itself. However, interesting things happened. You see, when Ultimecia reached back across time, it caused minute changes to the timeline of your world, rippling effects that grew larger and larger. This culminated with the discovery of Ultimecia, and therefore an awareness that she could indeed exist. I'm not entirely certain, but that she did what she did may in fact have assured that Ultimecia herself will never exist in this new timeline.
"However, when time rewrote itself, certain other effects happened. The only one who seemed to have survived the final battle was you, Squall; yet the memories and experiences of the Guardians from Ultimecia's time were transferred to the new timeline as time rewrote itself. That included Hyne, and thus the Hyne that exists now knows that attempting Temporal Compression is inevitably doomed to failure."
"So, what does that mean for us?" Selphie asked, and Alucard shrugged.
"Whatever her purpose is, she is supporting this war against Garden, Dollet, and Galbadia. That means that this war has to play into her hands, and not merely to increase her strength. There's more to this war, I know it, but the nature of the pieces of this puzzle elude me."
"So, we're back to square one," Randolph muttered, shaking his head. "What do we do?"
"The enemy is going to hit Dollet hard," Cid replied. "We have to stop them."
"Agreed, and I've already got as many divisions as I can muster en route to Dollet now," Caraway replied. He paused, thinking for a moment. "I can get at least seventy thousand to Dollet by the end of the week."
"By that time Crell's armies may have already landed," Randolph replied. "Our armies are strong, but they won't be enough to stop a force of that size, especially if they have SeeD-level Elementals. Not to mention Esthar's navy outnumbers Dollet's ten to one, easily."
"Even with the Galbadian navy assisting yours, we will be hard-pressed to fend off a naval assault," Squall added. "Their ground forces substantially outnumber what we have. Even with SeeD backing up the Dollet military, we won't be able to hold the city against a force of that size."
"What options do we have, then?" Cid asked. "We can't let the Estharians get a foothold. They've already taken Balamb Island; if they capture Dollet they'll have a port where they can land their armies and push deeper inland. If they take Dollet they can overwhelm us with sheer numbers and firepower."
"Wait, wait, wait," Zell said, suddenly standing up. "Squall, you remember the battle with Galbadia Garden?"
"Yes," Squall replied, nodding.
"We're in the same situation," Zell responded, holding his hands out wide. "Except it's a lot bigger!"
"What do you mean?" Squall asked, and then he nodded, suddenly understanding. "Of course . . . ."
"What?" Randolph asked.
"We're thinking about this the wrong way," Squall replied. He had to stop thinking tactically, and think strategically. "We can't defend the city; we don't have the manpower to get a large enough force to drive off the Estharian assault. Even if we do, the Estharians will continue to attack and eventually overwhelm us with sheer numbers."
Squall stood up and walked toward the map, tapping Balamb Island. He traced a line from the map screen between Dollet and the island, and turned back to his comrades.
"SeeD doesn't work on defense," Squall explained. "Well, not perfectly. We're an offensive force; we take the fight to the enemy." He jabbed his finger at Balamb Island.
"We're going to hit them first before they can hit us. Hammer their weakest spot with everything we've got."
"A first strike," Randolph said, nodding. "Yes. That can work!"
"We've got work to do, people," Squall finished. "Let's see what we can hammer out, and then rip it apart and weld it back into something that won't blow up in our faces. This plan has got to work."
"Booya!" Zell shouted, pumping his fists. "Let's kick some ass!"
"A division." Crell sat behind his desk, the scenic view of Estharian-conquered Balamb Island panning out beyond in his wide window within Flying Fortress Alpha. The command Fortress, where the new Estharian dictator was heading up the planned assault on Dollet, was moored outside the small town of Balamb, with five other massive Fortresses surrounding it. The town beyond was packed with uniformed Estharian soldiers, and the island beyond that was rapidly becoming a massive staging ground for the Estharian invasion forces. However, none of this occupied the attention of Crell Varines as he stared at the pair standing in front of his desk, face turning red with anger.
"You lost and entire Estharian division against a paltry force of ill-equipped westerners and SeeDs?" he snarled, standing up, eyes blazing with fury. He reached own, hand grabbing one of the data disks on his desk and his arm pumped forward, hurling it.
Major Eric Malachi stood impassively as the glowing data disc deflected off his forehead, not showing any emotion as his commander exploded in fury.
"Sir, there were . . . Unexpected complications that arose."
"Yes, I expected complications," Crell replied immediately. His hand swooped down, knocking over a stack of discs and holograms on his desk. "But you said you could handle complications! You assured me that your Elemental company would wipe out the SeeDs and destroy whatever pitiful force that the Galbadian and Dollet militaries could dispatch! So, tell me, how the hell did ten thousand fully equipped Estharian soldiers fail to break a hastily assembled force less than a third their strength? How?"
"It's not my fault, sir, that Veronica Anderson wrongfully assumed she could defeat Rinoa Heartilly on the field of battle," Malachi explained. "If you review the data from that battle, you'll see that it was Rinoa who annihilated three of our Overlords, ensuring my forces could not break through the Galbadian, Dollet, and SeeD defenses. She was also the one responsible for the annihilation of the two Fortresses immediately afterward."
Crell stared at Malachi for a long moment, before sighing explosive and sitting back down, unable to justify his rage at the commander of the assault. He turned his eyes to the holographic data display hovering over his desk, and silently reviewed the data.
"Iceblood is a disaster," he whispered. "The entire prisoner populace escaped, all personnel save for Odine himself wiped out, and the complete loss of the prototype . . . ." Crell shook his head. "At least the data archives are intact and Odine is still alive. The Requiem armor is also intact. But with Almasy loose and Nash having betrayed us . . . ." Crell shook his head, and looked at the other person standing across from his desk, narrowing his eyes. "And you, Illarra . . . You may have fucked everything up for us!"
Crell's daughter, the bruises and cuts on her body almost fully healed, stood by impassively as well, her eyes not even focusing on Crell as he spoke.
"You gave Leonhart Griever!" Crell snapped. "The most powerful Guardian Force in our arsenal of Pure Elementals! And if this "Zanshin" he now possesses is what you report it as, you may have just handed the enemy their ultimate weapon, gift-wrapped and on a silver platter!"
Illarra did not immediately reply, and Crell sighed again.
"And even after you tore out his damned eyes, you still failed to finish the fool off because of your blind enmity and hatred!"
"President," came a voice, and Crell looked up, and immediately relaxed as the diminutive and deceptively innocent form of Hyne strode between the two lieutenants, the deadly and intimidating specter of Hades looming behind her, scythe balanced across his shoulders as if in warning.
"You honestly should relax," Hyne continued, stopping before his desk, a smile cutting across her childish features. "It isn't your daughter's fault that she underestimated the effects of Griever being introduced as an Elemental. However, even with Griever and the Guardian Force sight, he isn't invincible. Your daughter is an Elemental of near-equal power, after all. She can defeat Leonhart. Not to mention that he possesses Griever, who is hardly the most beneficial of Guardians. He may do more harm to the boy than help him."
Crell considered the Guardian of The End's words, and finally pounded a fist into his desk in impotent fury.
"Illarra. Dismissed!" he snarled, and the woman nodded curtly, turning and leaving. Malachi glanced over his shoulder as she left, and then back to his commander. Crell nodded, and Malachi quickly saluted, before following after her.
"The situation is still not good," Crell continued. "While I can absorb the loss of thirty thousand men easily enough, the fact that Rinoa Heartilly now commands such incredible power is extremely troubling. That and the loss of the prototype to Garden, and the release of Almasy, as well as the fact that Garden now has two pure Elementals, plus that traitor Nash making for three . . . ." Crell shook his head, gnashing his teeth. "This is tremendously frustrating!"
"President, you forget that you still have your trump card," Hyne replied, and the President nodded after a second, looking to Hyne. "After all, myself and Hades still stand with you. Your daughter is a pure Elemental and more than a match for any of the enemy save for Squall Leonhart himself. And you have the Elemental battalion as well. Not to mention that the entire military force of Esthar isunder your command. You still have the overwhelming advantage, despite your enemy's recent successes."
"Yes," Crell said after a few seconds, nodding. "This is true."
"And besides," Hades cut in with a smile. "The 'plan' is still in effect, right? I mean, win or lose at Trabia Garden, the real objective was achieved. You said it yourself when we planned this whole shindig, all that mattered was the attack itself, not whether we wiped them out or not. We just expected to win. But in the end, it doesn't even matter whether they have Trabia or not."
"You're right," Crell replied, settling back in his seat. He clenched the armrests, and suddenly smiled. "Of course. The plan will continue regardless of this failure. I will pay back Garden for this insult to Esthar!"
He stood up, the gleam of madness and conquest flashing in his eyes.
"And once we destroy Garden in this battle, nothing will stand in my way!"
"Illarra," Malachi began, following the woman into the hallway outside Crell's office. He paused as he saw the woman, standing quietly in the middle of the corridor, twirling her knife in her left hand absently as she stared down the passage. The soldier stepped around her, and looked into the woman's eyes, seeing the distant expression she wore. After a second, Illarra snapped out of it and glanced up at Malachi.
"Major," she asked quietly. "I just want to know . . . Who is my enemy?"
"Your enemy?" Malachi echoed, and shook his head. "You know as well as I do. Our enemy is whoever stands in the way of the President's, and therefore Adel's, conquest. And your enemy in particular is Leonhart." Illarra, listening to him, managed a tired laugh, and shook her head as well.
"No, that's not how it is," she replied. "When we fought last time, I told him . . . I told him everything. And he told me he pitied me. Pitied. After everything I had put him through, that man simply felt sorry for me and what I had done."
Malachi stared at her as she spoke, and bristled when she continued.
"How can I call someone who can't hate me my enemy? How can I hate a man who would forgive me after everything I had done to him?"
"What are you saying?" Malachi asked. "Are you not going to fight for us anymore? Are you abandoning us?" Illarra laughed.
"Squall said . . . he told me that my enemy was that which makes humans destroy each other. He said I hated that which drove us to kill each other. He told me that I hated that dark side of humanity, as that, more than he, had been what had caused my childhood. So, I have to purify myself. I have to go beyond humanity. I want to see as clearly as he can."
Malachi watched Illarra's face as she spoke, and he saw, clearly, the madness that cut into her gaze as she was speaking, and he knew that she was slipping further and further into insanity. However, even Malachi, aware as he was, did not expect to see her raise her knife, and burst into a wild peal of laughter.
Moments later, the door into Crell's office burst open as he finished his statement that he would triumph, and the Estharian dictator stared in shock as his daughter strode into the room, laughing with manic glee, her knife dripping blood.
"Father, let's hurry up!" she shouted. "I want to see Squall again! I want to fight him again, and this time, I want to end it, once and for all!"
And as she spoke, blood poured down the front of her face, dripping onto the floor, streaming from the eyes she had just gouged out.
"Its not going to work," Squall sighed. He laid back in the bed, leaning his head back from Rinoa's hand, and she sat back as well, crossing her arms. It was dark, nearing midnight, and even with the only light in their bedroom being the moonlight streaming in from outside, she could still see the painful pair of scars cutting across the front of Squall's face, crossing over where his eyes should have been.
"Well, it won't if you don't let me try to heal them," she sighed, and then reached forward, grabbing Squall by the front of his white undershirt and hauling him closer. Her hand surged with glowing white energy, and the SeeD sighed again as she put her hand to his face, letting the healing magic flow into his features. The magic played over Squall's face and head, working its wonders . . . .
And when the light faded, the scars were still there, and his eyes were not.
Rinoa cursed, and Squall raised one of his eyebrows, surprised to hear her speak so candidly.
"Griever's interfering," Squall whispered, shaking his head. "He won't let my eyes be healed. It doesn't matter how powerful the magic you use is, it won't restore my sight if we won't let it happen."
"I just . . . ." Rinoa whispered, and then reached forward, brushing her hand across the vivid scars stretching over Squall's face. "Those eyes. I can't see them anymore. When I first saw you, so long ago, the first thing I noticed about you were those eyes." She leaned in closer, hugging him tightly, and he reciprocated, inhaling her scent.
"Those beautiful blue eyes, so confident and intelligent, and yet, a little bit scared." She managed a slight laugh. "I think that was what made me fall in love with you. I saw so much in you through your eyes. I saw your fear, your determination, your anger, the side of you that you kept hidden from me until Fisherman's Horizon. Your eyes . . . . they were what I thought about when I went to rescue you in Time Compression. And now that they're gone . . . you just don't seem like the same."
"Eyes or not, I'm still here," Squall replied into her ear. "And I can still see you. I can see you even more clearly now than I could when I still had them." He pulled back, and looked at her with his scarred vision, turning his head, his expression shifting unconsciously to that of a child looking at something fascinating as he stared at Rinoa's features.
"What do you see?" she asked, curious.
"Everything," he replied quietly. "All the energy in your body, all your spiritual power . . . ." he ran a finger down her face. "I can see the blood, the muscles, your lips, your skin, everything so clearly. Your face, your hair, your eyes . . . I can see it all so perfectly. It's amazing. Like . . . like I can see down to your soul. Incredible."
"I wish I could see you the same way," Rinoa replied, touching Squall's face again. He smiled, putting a hand over her wrist. There was a moment of intimate silence between the pair, and Rinoa started to lower her hand, when Squall found his fingers not releasing her. He blinked, and looked down to her hand, and he found his grip tightening.
Such a delicate wrist. If I give it a twist, what sounds will she make?
Griever!
Indeed. Such a wonderful situation. You two are so perfectly intimate, so close, so perfectly bonded together. I wonder what will occur if something were to . . . happen?
If you do anything to her-
What? What will you do, Squall? Kill me? Laughable. You do understand the danger of this situation, don't you? Imagine the pain, the anguish, the grief you would feel if Rinoa were to suffer at your own hands at my bidding.
No!
I can cause you so much suffering right now. Imagine if I were to drive you to strike her. What would her response be? Would she trust you ever again? Would you even trust yourself around her? What if I took control and made you slaughter her? Bathed you in her blood? I wonder what would happen to you? How would you feel if I did that to the most important person in your life?
You . . . you wouldn't, you bastard.
I would. I can, and I should right now, just to see your anguish and grief. But . . . no. Not yet. Just know that, at any moment, I can do this to you, Squall Leonhart. Know that, and act accordingly.
And just like that, the connection ended, and Squall was left sitting on the bed, staring at Rinoa in horror.
"What happened?" she asked immediately, putting her hands on his shoulders. "I sensed something in you, but I didn't know-
"Griever," Squall answered. "He . . . spoke to me."
"About what?"
Squall said nothing for several moments, and then shook his head.
"It doesn't matter," he replied after a moment. " i just-"
The phone next to their bed rang, surprising both Squall and Rinoa. After a second ring, Rinoa reached across and grabbed it.
"Hello? Yes, Doctor. I . . . wait, you did? Yes? It's finished? Okay, we'll be down there."
"What?" Squall asked as Rinoa lowered the phone.
"Kadowaki," she answered. "She's finished the tests on Serra."
The infirmary was still and quiet at that late hour, when Squall and Rinoa arrived. They stepped into Balamb's medical facility, looking around. The nurse's desk at the entrance was empty, the monitor off, and the only real light beyond the faint glowing lamps in each of the medical rooms was coming from Kadowaki's office.
The pair entered the doctor's office, where the aging, portly woman was sitting behind her desk. She looked up and smiled.
"Good to see both of you," she said, and Rinoa nodded. Kadowaki glanced at Squall's face and winced; the scars were still painful to look at. Rinoa glanced to the side, and saw Seifer sitting in one of the chairs in the Doctor's office. He looked a lot different now that he'd managed to clean up and shave. He almost looked like the old Seifer they had known, just a little more exhausted.
"She's completed the tests," Seifer said quietly, but his voice seemed apprehensive. Both Rinoa and Squall nodded, and sat down. Kadowaki's fingers started tapping on her keyboard.
"As you asked, I went ahead and took the tests on the girl you brought back," the doctor began. "The same tests I gave you, Squall, when I was checking you out. I'm still trying to unravel what exactly has happened to both of your bodies, though your changes are vastly more recent, and therefore, your body is still changing and adapting. Serra, on the other hand, has had this 'Elemental' modification for a long time, at least two or three years, by my estimation."
"That fits what Odine told me and what Nash told Irvine," Squall said, and Kadowaki nodded.
"Preliminary analysis of her body shows that she has the physical body and brain and mental development of a twenty-year-old human female, and analysis of her brain shows she should have a rough intelligence quotient between one-hundred-eighty and two-hundred-fifty, with it likely leaning toward the higher end of that estimate. I won't know until I actually perform an IQ test, but as it stands, she's got a mind that can shatter the best geniuses in the world."
"What about her energies?" Rinoa asked, and Kadowaki tapped a few keys. "Nash told Irvine that Serra had two Guardian Forces implanted in her."
"He's right," Kadowaki answered. "Selphie radiates ice element energies, with a pattern reminiscent of Shiva, and Squall, you radiate energies of a darker sort that I can only guess belong to Griever. Serra radiates multiple energy elements, but the two sources that are the strongest match up with the Garden data on Diablos and Phoenix, beings of shadow magic and fire and holy power, respectively."
"Phoenix?" Seifer echoed. "That matches my dreams I saw of her . . . ."
"I'm not sure what these lesser powers are," Kadowaki continued. "But the elemental properties of the energies match various other elements: ice, earth, water, wind, lightning, and so on. They do not match known Guardian Forces, however, and I suspect that these powers may even be inherent within her body naturally. She seems to have the full magical capability of a true Sorceress, like you, Rinoa, though she obviously isn't a Sorceress herself."
"The Elemental Project existed to create artificial Sorceresses," Squall replied. "So, Serra might be their ultimate achievement, even though she's a prototype . . . ."
"The changes that have occurred to you, Selphie, and Serra have not fundamentally altered your DNA," Kadowaki continued. "Despite the changes in your physical and mental abilities, all of you still remain, for the most part, humans. Therefore I can analyze each of your DNA for similarities." Kadowaki looked up from her monitor, her eyes meeting each of the three sitting across from her.
"Serra's DNA, after analysis and comparison with the samples we have on file, turns up a combination of sequences that have two distinct matches in our database, and more importantly, her DNA profile is actually on record here in Garden's database."
There was a moment of silence in the office as that sank in.
"So its true," Squall whispered. "The two matches are her parents?"
"Yes," Kadowaki replied.
"Who is it?" Rinoa asked.
Kadowaki turned her monitor around on its swivel mount so they could see. Three charts showing base DNA sequences were visible. At the top was a chart labeled "Serra." Below this chart were two additional ones, marked "Parents."
The first one . . . .
Rinoa Heartilly.
And the second one . . . .
Squall Leonhart.
A moment of silence filled the office as the words on the screen sunk into the trio of people sitting across from Kadowaki. The DNA didn't lie . . . But what was being suggested was still impossible.
"Well, hey," Seifer suddenly quipped. "She isn't mine, at least."
-
And the secret is finally (officially) confirmed! (oddly enough, in the intiial draft Seifer was Serra's biological father, but I changed that when I started writing this)
Ayiyiyi. That took too long to write. Still, buncha shockers and plot development and exposition, eh? And soon enough, a major battle will be brewing! Though that may be a chapter or two away; next chapter is heavy on inter-character interaction.
Okay, and now, for the SHOUT-OUTS OF BLAZING!
OniRazz: Seinior Snake haha. I heard him called "Geriatric Snake" by others. But even Senior Snake may have to take a backseat to Squalland Alucard in the upcoming chapters...
Xephon: Wanked out Squall? O.o That's a scary thought.
DBZ Fanfiction Queen: Yeah, Rinoa being powerful may cause her aLOT of problems in the future...
Well, now you know what happened to Illarra. It wouldn't be Illarra without a bit of complete fuckign insanity, huh?
Solid Shark: Indeed. Do not piss off Rinoa. You'll see why soon, even moreso! Andwe might just learn a thing or two about Nash soon...
Chris Ganale: Ha! You caught the Pillar of Autumn reference! And yeah, Rinoa is a step above most other Jedi. Even Revan, Yoda, and Palpatine have to bow down before her :P
And you got the image of the Overlords down right.
Tain Shairi: Oh yes, she did. And she will continue to do so in the future.
Serene Angel Wing: Thank you! I love it when people say i'm as good with my originals as I am with the actual characters from the game!
Kitty Kyinsky: Oh, yes. Advent Children has exactly the awesome battles I'm aiming for here...
Kimahrigirl: Power? You haven't seen anything yet...
Orestes666: A lot still does need to be straightened out between all of our intrepid heroes. There's still a whole lot of story left to unravel, and quite a few secrets yet needing to be unleashed.
Daniel Wesley Rydell: Well,I already had pretty much the exact same idea in my head, and I knew that if Squall got his eyes healed, well, things wouldn't work out the way I had planned. So, I was already ready with the whole Griever going "lol cockblockedheals" a long time ago :P
And also, River > Reavers. River > all.
Platonic1: Ironically, its also something I myself am not a big fan of. I do think Rinoa is (necessarily) overpowered.
JadeAlmasy: You'd better have a newfound respect for her!
E: I don't know whether this review makes me happy or sad. :P
Kaiser: Oh, you betcha.
Angelo? Dammit, I knew I forgot something! Damn dogs!
And I use :P too often. :P
Blue: Ha! Gotcha! Serra IS Squall's daughter!
And no, Squall and Seifer aren't badass enough yet, in my opinion. :P
Doom18769: Oh, it is horribly twisted and evil. Bad shit happens to Squall, I will assure you...
Delathen: I'm well aware that Rinoa is extremely powerful. (though technically all the did was make the one ship's reactor overload and used high-tier geomancy on the other) I know this may present a problem for the future.
Am I going to do anything about it? I'm not saying :P
Though iw ill say,r emember your FFVIII: Sorceresses got part of Hyne's power, but the weaker half. Hyne has the stronger half, which may say a thing or two about what Hyne is capable of.
Icedragon6171: Who said the story was drawing to a close?...Oh, wait, I did. Since when have you guys ever trusted me?
Johnny: Getting doubled over by a shotgun? Its, uhh, fanfic physics. Yeah.:P And as for Rinoa's powers, again, I'm well aware that she's getting very freakishly powerful. I've taken this into account :P
Betweenheavenandhell: I would have used "Yub-Yub, Commander" but there's no Ewoks in FFVIII. :P
That everyone? Spifficlicious.
Until next chapter...