Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 8, SquareEnix does.
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Ultimecia was mad, no; Squall had to be honest. She was pissed. He had never felt rage like this before and it was almost worse than the pain, almost. She never really physically touched him, he knew she really couldn't. She didn't even really exist in this world, but her power and her consciousness did, and she was powerful enough to hurt him with just that.
He knew why he was being punished and that knowledge only troubled him further. Why did she hate the raven haired girl so much? Why wasn't he even allowed to communicate with her?
Ultimecia's hand descended to rest lightly on the side of his face, her long nails five pin-points of cool against the fiery agony that assaulted him. The taint's tendrils loosened around his chest and he could breathe again and he gasped, gulping down the air in ragged uneven breaths. His eyes rose reluctantly to meet her horribly cruel gaze, but what scared him more was the emotion that lingered beneath all that cruelty, that emotion he longed for.
Her smile was cold and knowing, her voice carried that ice, and it made him flinch when she spoke. "Only me." She said, and that light soothing touch tightened into a controlling, malicious hold on his throat, just tight enough to be painful. "I wanted you to forget her so it would be only me but you didn't."
The betrayal in her voice was damning and he plummeted into guilt. How could he do this to his sorceress? Why would he ever betray her like this?
"I'm sorry." He croaked, two words he wasn't sure had ever left his mouth before, and the grip on his throat loosened. "I'm so sorry."
Her smile faded but approval lingered in its place, and her claw like hand again rested soothingly on his face. Even the taint's hold on his chest had nearly dissipated completely.
"Good." She said so quietly Squall wasn't really sure he had heard the words. "I can't expect you to forget her as Squall."
He blinked in confusion at that. "But how can I be anyone other than who I am?"
She smiled again, a smile deeper than the darkness that surrounded them; a smile so terrifying that Squall fell silent, his argument dying on his lips. She lowered herself down to him, her silver hair falling across his face as she whispered in his ear.
"You'll be whoever I want you to be. You're mine now." The tendrils around his chest suddenly tightened again, and he choked.
--
When he awoke again he felt new and whole, refreshed really. He still retained the knowledge that at one time he had been someone else, with different memories and a different life, but it didn't bother him. If anything it gave his newly appointed identity all that much more meaning.
Griever. The new name was harsh and dark, meaningful only because she had bestowed it upon him, along with a few other gifts. He no longer wore the clothing or the symbols that had been the namesake of his old identity, instead he wore a buttoned up black trench coat, one that carried the distinct military authority that he was fond of. He still wore black pants, tucked into black boots, and his black gunblade was sheathed proudly at his side.
The smirk of satisfaction on Ultimecia's face was almost terrifying as he knelt before her throne.
"How shall I serve you sorceress?" The words carried a strange after taste, something he had never said before; but this was not the past now. His amber eyes rose to meet hers', another mark of his newly appointed identity; however, they weren't her eyes, but rather, a mutation of his own. Swirling around that black pupil was a brilliant splash of crimson, a difference he relished in.
She didn't move from her throne, he almost expected this from her, to really not acknowledge him past what was necessary. She stayed true to her role as she expected him to, now that she had changed him, molded him into what she wanted, he was a servant and she the master. He felt a slight tinge of disappointment but kept the emotion from his face, he had to honor his role.
"There is a man in the Lunatic Pandora who has failed me three times. I only tolerated his existence and his failures because you were not yet complete. Now that you are I expect you to punish his failures for me." Her voice was damning, the mercilessness of it made Griever shiver, but he felt no pity for the failure.
"He fails now for the third time, the details are irrelevant, and so are the others with him. Kill him and return before Time Compression commences." As the hazy image of a scorned looking blonde man entered his mind, Griever understood his mission but little else. He didn't question how she knew these things before they ever occurred, nor did he question the vague concept of Time Compression, but merely nodded and stood.
Something shifted behind him, and he knew without really knowing that as he turned he would pass through the wall as if his body had no substance, and it would take him to the failure.
--
Griever was able to assess the scene before him before any of those present even noticed him. A raven haired girl was knelt on the floor shivering as if she had just overcome some terrifying obstacle, and two other women knelt beside her. Two men stood a short distance back, one wearing a stupid cowboy hat that made Griever flinch inwardly. To side, away from the others, knelt the failure, his head held in his hands in some act of mental breakdown Griever thought in disdain.
In two quick strides Griever had unsheathed his gunblade, and it was only after the man looked up in surprise and a quick flick of his wrist beheaded him, did any of the others take notice.
There was a scream from one of the women, something he found horribly annoying, and a loud curse from one of the men.
He shouldn't have even looked, he should have just gone back through the wall when he felt it shift, but he didn't, he fucking didn't.
His amber gaze swept over to them and was immediately caught by the sharp brown gaze of the raven haired girl. He didn't have to look at the others to know that horror and fear were etched malignantly deep into their features, but she held only remorse and pity, and….forgiveness?
Something stirred in him, something long boarded up in his mind that threatened to come loose and his hands shook with the fear that encroached after it.
Then the raven haired girl stood and started towards him and terror washed over him. No! She couldn't touch him! Something horrible would happen, something irreversible. His gunblade rose, a soothing shield of metal between them that calmed him.
The girl paused, but the understanding remained, and so did that damning forgiveness. That fucked up forgiveness. How could she forgive him? Could she still after everything? Did she really-?
Those boards in his mind were coming loose, the nails hammered in with madness falling and he felt a sudden desperation, but it was not his own.
Come back! It hissed. Before Time Compression starts!
The physical substance of the room seemed to shift oddly and he turned, freeing himself from the raven haired girl's gaze, and he entered the portal hurriedly. He had tasted what lingered inside of his mind and it terrified him.
When he returned, Ultimecia was more than happy to hammer back those nails, and he no longer felt confusion, instead, it was relief.
--
(( Yes, late, I know. I said Wednesday and it's now what, like 12 days since I promised this? I'm sorry. No excuse this time, life is life and unfortunately it comes first. As always read and review! Also a little side note, only two chapters left! Yep we're almost to the end! Want to guess what happens? Go ahead and post a review with your opinion!
Reviewers:
Phalanxx: Thank you, and don't worry, I expect to finish this by early October at the latest.
Fenris Blackwell: lol! Wow, nice randomness. This one gave me a good laugh.
LaLaLa: You're right, I wasn't really clear with that. Ultimecia's ultimate goal was to make Squall forget Rinoa because she is the biggest threat to what Ultimecia has planned. Squall remembers more when he sees Rinoa and Ultimecia doesn't want him to remember, she wants him to forget so she can build him into what she wants. I made him remember certain people and events while he forgot others as part of a representation of the dislocation of his madness. I'm glad you caught that! And thanks for reviewing Knight's Redemption!
Renegade Seraph: I'm glad it was creepy lol. I thought the death of the guard was a bit morbid but I enjoyed writing it!
Quick Edit: If anyone was wondering why I disabled anon. reviews for a short period of time it was because I was pissed. I don't take childish flames lightly, if you're going to tell me my story sucks do it with a decent arguement not y0uz fic shtiz lolz. That's just fucking stupid and announces your stupidity to the world. So to the asshole who keeps spamming my stories, your mother is too and fuck you. :) ))