Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 8, SquareEnix does.
Inhumane
Squall was in Deling city, and gods did he hate that place. His footsteps echoed hollowly as he walked down the empty street, void of any life save for the occasional Galbadia solider who often stood boredly at intersections at the side of the road.
He wasn't sure why she had sent him here, he didn't think there had really been a purpose other then he needed to stay somewhere where she could keep track of him.
"I'll take you back with me soon." She had promised, in that cold, calculating voice that both terrified and thrilled him.
Squall wished he had just gone with her then, instead of coming back to this place. A place that only reminded him of those he had betrayed. Perhaps that was why she sent him here, to make him taste the depths of his betrayal.
He paused at the memorial arch, stopping to lean back against the gate by a nearby park bench. He recalled the failed assassination attempt, Irvine's failure to shoot the sorceress in time and how easily she had thwarted the bullet when it finally did come. He chuckled at that, at how easy it had seemed; when in fact she was so much stronger. So much more fearsome and powerful.
A sharp acrid smell interrupted his thoughts, and Squall shot an irritated glare at the man who had leaned back against the gate, just close enough to be rude as he lit up a cigarette.
"Hey." The Galbadia solider said, dropping his helmet on the floor at his feet. "You don't mind if I smoke do you?" The edge in his voice said that he didn't care, and the smirk that just barely touched the edges of his mouth said it was intentional.
Squall's anger rose at that, but it wasn't the sharp poorly controlled vice he had often been used to succumbing too, but rather a darker, more infinitely dangerous one.
"You are aware, aren't you, that smoking is bad for your health?" He asked, something flaring into his eyes, something vaguely predatory.
The man laughed. "Sure." He frowned at the smoldering cigarette, and puffed on it until the end flared back to life. "What about it?" He sneered.
"I just wondered. Now certain companies have tried filters to reduce the chemicals that their consumers inhale." Squall said, indicating the cigarette. "I wonder if I might have one of yours if it is one of those filtered brands."
Again the solider laughed. "Never met a man who was picky about what type of cigarettes he smoked. I always thought that was a chick thing." He chuckled once more and shook his head. "But what the hell. I don't even what brand they are." He admitted, fishing the pack from his pocket.
"Have at 'em." He said, tossing the pack over to Squall.
Squall turned the pack over in his gloved hands, studying it. Then he again fixed his gaze on the man, as something entered his mind, something that might have horrified him five days ago.
The predatory gleam in his eyes grew brighter now. He extracted a single cigarette from the pack and approached the man, who, thinking he wanted a light, extended a silver lighter. Squall swatted the lighter away with a flick of his wrist, and it clattered solemnly on the pavement.
Fear washed over the man's features, and he groped at his side for his gun. "What the fuck are you-"But Squall seized him around the throat and forced him down to the pavement. The man wheezed, and struggled desperately for air.
Squall showed him the package of cigarettes, the crinkled cellophane wrapping reflected Squall's insidious smile.
"These things will be the death of you." Squall sneered, in a voice he only vaguely recognized; one that dripped with malice and cruel humor. "Don't you know that?"
Squall forced the man's mouth open, and fed him the cigarette he'd removed from the package. Then the rest of them, one after another, until he choked on them.
Laughter swirled in his head as he felt the taint return, and he stood, holding the now empty cigarette package.
"Those eyes look lovely on you Squall." The taint said its touch whispering across his face as the shadows lengthened.
He didn't know what she meant until he glanced down at the package in his hand, and saw amber eyes reflected in the cellophane.
--
Squall thought it was one of those dreams again, one of those strange alternate plains of consciousness that he had become so prone to entering. But this one was different. He didn't feel observed, didn't feel that darkness that lingered at the edge of his vision, that predetermined feeling in his movements and thoughts.
There was blackness, not the malignant kind, but darkness; and stars. It was disorientating when he glanced down and saw nothing but still felt the solidity beneath him, a surface he stood on but couldn't see.
He glanced up at the sky above him again when he trusted, with the instant trust of dreams, the surface beneath him not to suddenly dissipate. It was then he noticed one of the white stars had grown dramatically larger and was currently slowly drifting in his direction. He stared up at the strange spinning figure as it became larger and larger until his mind finally clicked.
It was a human in a space suit.
He caught sight of the figure's face as it completed another slow dizzying spin and his breath caught in his throat.
It was the raven haired girl, whose name always seemed hauntingly important. He stood awestruck for a moment as she came close enough to touch and before she drifted away he found himself holding her steady.
He stared at her through the faceplate glass that was fogged slightly with her dwindling breath. Her almond eyes were narrow slits, those pretty dark brown iris' glassy and barely conscious. Squall felt a sudden insurmountable pity for the girl.
She doesn't deserve to die out here…
It was the first humane thought he'd had in a long time, and his hand rose to rest on the faceplate. A dark image entered his mind, and he saw the glass shattering, the blackness of space rushing in to suffocate her; her face turning blue. Those brown eyes dilating.
It was with a grand irony that it cracked when he quickly removed his hand from its surface, and the girl's eyes widened suddenly, the dimness fading, leaving behind only full consciousness and terror.
His gloved hand locked over the crack in desperation.
No Dammit!!
Vaguely, he realized that they were descending, toward some gaping red and black maw. Then, she was slipping from his grip, floating downwards as solidity met his feet again. He released her when he caught sight of what was beneath them. A massive ship in the shape of a dragon loomed beneath them, the back hatch hung open almost mockingly seductive.
Squall knew without really knowing that she would be safe there, and glanced down as she weakly tried to find a hold on his arm as she descended. He was struck with how shocked and desperate she looked, he didn't miss the terror there, nor the amber eyes that he mistakenly thought were a reflection of his own.
He felt the taint stir behind him, felt its anger and malice before he even turned; and when he did it consumed him, and the insurmountable agony returned.
--
((OMG!! I am so sorry everyone! I usually update almost everyday but I'm in college and one of my instructors suddenly changed their mind on the due date of our research papers. I swear, writing 14 pages about some topic I couldn't give a rat's ass about was harder to BS then I thought…." Anyway, a decently long chapter I suppose, I very much enjoyed writing this one and I plan on starting on chapter 6 right away so expect that no later than Wednesday!
Also I got my first hate mail the other day lol! Someone emailed me telling me I murdered Squall's character! "He would never do such a thing! Even if he is withdrawn he's heroic!" There's the gist of it minus the typos lol!
But seriously now how can you be so blind? Everyone is in some way prone to some form of decadence, no one is completely pure and untouchable to taint. I am merely exploring that concept. I don't expect everyone to agree with me on where I take this story, but that's what makes it my story. So I really don't mind if you e-mail me your criticism on this subject, just please present a decent argument other than SquareEnix has spoken it must be!! Or without typos, the latter would be wonderful.
Ack! I forgot about the Propigators! Eh, oh well. We'll say for the sake of this story they have ceased to exist. "
Reviewers:
LaLaLa – Thank you! I certainly try to keep up a dark theme throughout the story. Did you notice that too? Sometimes they're AU but I don't think I've read one that continues the story in a different way.
Pink Moogle – I'm glad my story was enjoyable then!
Renegade Seraph – I agree, this happens all the time in real life however I rarely see it explored in a fictional setting, even if it happens to be very militaristic like FF8.
I'm very grateful for the reviews but I would like to hear what everyone else thinks! I have over 500 hits and only 12 reviews? / Come one guys I'm just asking for feedback! Even if it's negative! ))