A Second Chance Chapter 34: Goodbyes and promises, a final fantasy viii fanfic

A/N: Decided to quit smoking… Three days without so much of a drag and counting…

Don't even ask how my mental state stands so far…

Withdrawal fucking sucks…

NOTE: Some of you had a few comments on the Propagators that have to be beaten before entering the cockpit of Ragnarok. There are two reasons for leaving them out: 1) The chapter was already too long and eight fight scenes would just make it damned humongous. Besides, wouldn't they all be pretty much the same and get boring after a while? And I couldn't just describe one fight then say "And after beating the rest of them, they walked over to the lift blah, blah, blah…" 2) I wanted to change the whole Ragnarok scene a bit, and part of those changes was this one as well.

See if you can spot two movie cameos. First one to tell me gets the next chapter e-mailed to them before it gets posted up To help you out, the first one comes from a very recent, CG movie. I'm practically giving that one out :-p The second one, is a much older movie, the third part of a trilogy that will have a fourth part added to it in a couple of years… A cameo from the first movie of the trilogy has been inserted in a past chapter.

Last chapter summary: Being awakened once again, Rinoa breaks Sorceress Adel's seal out in space. Meanwhile, Seifer converses with the President of Esthar, finding out even more than he bargained for…

A second chance

By: Sickness in Salvation

Chapter 34: Goodbyes and promises

Seifer looked at the President of Esthar bewildered. If it was humanly possible, his jaw would have just hit the floor with a deafening thud. Had Laguna just said…? No, no way… He must've heard wrong or misunderstood something. Sitting right across Seifer, Laguna Loire never broke eye contact with the blond SeeD. His warm green eyes met with the fiery jade ones before him, without losing their cool. However, they betrayed a secret hidden deep inside, begging to become revealed.

Seifer shifted uneasily and rested the framed picture back in place with trembling hands. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. It was only when Laguna turned his gaze away that he found his voice returning to him.

- "Could I, uhh…" he began, running a hand through his hair "Could I have a smoke?"

- "Go ahead." Laguna replied, shrugging "There should be an ashtray on the desk."

The tall blond had never felt he wanted a cigarette more in his entire life. Digging his hand into his coat pocket, he retrieved the slightly wrinkled Marlboro pack. He slid one cigarette out along with his black lighter and lit it. The first inhale of smoke brought his mind to some sort of ease… This was too much information for one to take… 'Loire is Squall's DAD?! Holy fucking Hyne… And he doesn't know a thing… Oh, it will not get pretty when, if he finds out…'

Seifer's curiosity for more information was beginning to eat him up inside. After the initial shock, his interest in this bit of info had struck red and he wanted to know how, when, where, had this all happened… He was about to start firing away a flurry of questions,but was interrupted by the ringing sound of the phone, piercing the awkward silence that lingered in the air. Laguna jolted up from his seat startled and ran a hand through his long brown locks of hair.

- "Excuse me for a second, Seifer…" he said and got up to answer the persistently ringing telephone.

Seifer nodded at him in approval and kept taking in long drags of smoke while waiting. Laguna approached his desk and picked up the receiver.

- "Laguna Loire speaking." said the President, bringing the blue phone receiver next to his ear "What?!" he bellowed anxiously, making Seifer quickly turn his attention to him "WHEN?!" he asked, grasping the edge of his desk with one hand. Seifer had now stepped closer to him "Well, where are they?! Are they safe?!" asked Laguna again. Next to him, Seifer looked at him intently, trying to hear what the voice on the other end of the line was saying "Oh Hyne… So they're OK? Good… What about the ones in the escape pod? WHAT?! Gimme the co-ordinates, quick!" he said, scrambling around his desk for some pen and paper.

Seifer beat him to it, grabbing a pencil and ripping a page from the small calendar on Laguna's desk.

- "Tell me." he said, taking out the pen's cap.

- "24 East," said Laguna, as Seifer hastily scribbled on the piece of paper "And 31 South."

- "Done." said Seifer, resting the pen on the desk.

- "Get me two fully armed troops outside the Palace and have the aircrafts ready, got it? Good." said Laguna, hanging up.

As Seifer watched Laguna give out orders, he finally realized why he'd been made the President in the first place. Despite the careless and somewhat, well… 'goofy' impression one would get about Laguna upon first meeting him, he could easily prove that, in a moment of emergency, he became dead serious and responsible

- "Who was it? What happened?!" asked Seifer immediately.

- "They were from the Lunar Gate Control Tower." replied Laguna "The Lunar Base is destroyed."

- "What?! How did that happen?" asked Seifer.

- "Apparently Rinoa unlocked Adel's seal under Ultimecia's command." replied Laguna.

- "Aw, SHIT!" cursed Seifer.

- "There's more… What our scientists have feared most has happened. The Lunar Cry has occurred and has 'swallowed' Adel's Tomb within it. The Lunar Base got drawn by it as well and got destroyed."

- "What about everyone up there? Quistis, Ellone, Rinoa, Squall?!" asked Seifer frantically.

- "Rinoa got thrown into space after unlocking Adel's tomb. No-one was able to stop her. The rest got into an escape pod to get them safely to Esth-"

- "Rinoa's DEAD?!" said Seifer, clutching his chest with one palm.

- "No, no, she's fine. Squall left the escape pod in an attempt to save her." replied Laguna, a tiny smile appearing on his handsome features.

- "You've gotta be shitting me…" said Seifer, looking at Laguna dumbfounded.

- "I most certainly am not… They were sure to be dead, but they came across the Ragnarok and are being safely brought back here as we speak." the President replied.

- "Ragnarok?" asked Seifer raising an eyebrow.

- "A legendary spaceship belonging to the Estharian army seventeen years ago. We thought we'd lost it forever…"

- "OK, so we're going to pick them up now?" asked Seifer, feeling relieved.

- "We're not going to look for them." said Laguna, his expression changing to serious again.

- "To whom did the co-ordinates refer to then?" asked Seifer.

- "Ellone, Quistis and Dr. Piet of the Lunar Base were the rest on the escape pod. Unfortunately… it… crashed somewh-" began Laguna.

Seifer's cigarette fell from his lips and onto the floor. Inside him, his heart stopped beating and sank down to his stomach.

- "WHAT?!" he bellowed eventually, feeling as if he was going to faint 'This can't be happening…' he thought.

- "They're all safe. No-one's hurt, but we have to reach them quick. Apparently, the Galbadian army has been informed of this and they're on their way to capture Ellone and maybe even Instructor Trepe…" replied Laguna.

- "AND WE'RE STILL STANDING HERE?! LET'S GET THE FUCK OUTTA THIS PLACE AND GO GET THEM!" shouted the blond on the top of his lungs, grabbing Laguna from the shirt.

- "Easy there, son…" said Laguna calmly "We need to wait for the troops I asked for to get ready."

- "Wait? WAIT?! There's no time!" roared Seifer, throwing his hands up in exasperation.

- "They'll be ready in less than ten minutes. Our aircrafts are the fastest out there. We'll make it in time…" Laguna reassured him, although a hint of disbelief and agony could be discerned in his eyes…

- "Next, I'm sure you're OK, but there's something I need you to do. Turn off the gravity generator. This should save some fuel, just in case. Use the same touch panel to turn it off."

- "Alright." Squall said, looking around the panel. He spotted a button 'This must be it' he thought, pressing it "Done."

- "Congratulations. You're home free, Ragnarok. And… There's one more thing we need to tell you. From all of us at Ground Control, we wish you Godspeed."

- "Thanks." Squall replied, now genuinely smiling.

He turned and looked at Rinoa, pointing at the opposite seat. But the moment Rinoa took the first step forward, she lost her footing and made a flip into the air.

- "Hey?!" she exclaimed.

She began floating around in weightlessness, smiling broadly. Squall abandoned his seat and jumped up to catch her, but she moved out of the way. Squall sighed.

- "Stop fooling around. We have to get to our seats." Squall told her.

- "Don't be such a killjoy!" Rinoa said "This is fun!"

- "It won't be, when Ragnarok starts descending to Gaia and we'll be floating around like idiots. We could get hurt." Squall said seriously.

- "Bet you can't catch me." Rinoa said in a daring manner.

- "Rinoa," Squall said, sighing "This isn't the time to be-"

- "Whatsamatter?" Rinoa insisted, arching an eyebrow "You chicken?"

Squall narrowed his eyes at her. He was beginning to feel annoyed, but at the same time… challenged.

- "Rinoa-" he began

- "Ooh!" Rinoa cut him off "The Commander of BalambGarden is a chicken! Who would have known?" she teased.

'That's it.' Squall thought. Kicking hard on the wall behind him, he sped towards Rinoa. The girl giggled angelically and moved out of the way just in time, as Squall dove for her. She hovered back in mid-air and stuck her tongue out at him. Watching her with his eyes like a predator after its prey, Squall waited for the right moment and kicked down to the floor, springing upwards. Rinoa dove down to the floor, but wasn't fast enough. Squall caught her boot while she was in mid-movement, causing her to jerk back upwards.

Squall began pulling her towards him from the leg, but she reached up and untied her shoelace. Squall cursed and made a grab for her, but her foot had already slipped out of the boot and she was free once again. Floating down to the floor, she turned and looked at him, mischief spread all over her face.

- "Good move," she said condescendingly "But not good enough."

She sprang back up in mid-air and crossed her arms, waiting for his next move. The gears within Squall's mind did a frantic spin. He inwardly smirked.

- "Let me try again, then." he said "Catch."

He threw her boot back at her with might. Naturally, the lack of proper gravity slowed it down a fair amount. However, when Rinoa caught it, the kinetic energy of the object transferred to her, pushing her back as well. Realization on Squall's plan dawned on her, but it was already too late; the moment Squall had thrown her the boot, he'd already kicked hard on the wall behind him and was now inches away from her. He wrapped his arms around her, securing her. Rinoa groaned.

- "Damn…" she said "Well played, though…" she admitted.

- "Now can we get to our seats?" he asked, or rather stated.

- "OK, fine…" Rinoa said half-heartedly, accepting defeat "Just wait a sec till I get my shoe back on…" she mumbled.

Leaning against Squall, she slipped her boot back on and tied the shoelace. When she was done, she wrapped her arms around Squall's neck and threw her legs up, making them rest upon Squall's arm.

- "OK, ready to go now." she said, smiling.

'Why must she torture me like that?!'Squall thought to himself. Looking away, he floated down towards the pilot seat. He sat down upon it, Rinoa still on his lap.

- "Go sit over there." he said, pointing at the seat next to him with his head "Put your seatbelt on."

- "Just a little longer." Rinoa said, scooting closer to him.

- "Why are you holding on to me like this?" he asked, his face bearing an almost tormented expression.

- "You don't like this, Squall?" Rinoa asked.

- "Just… not used to it." he said, shrugging.

- "How about when you were little?" Rinoa asked "Didn't you feel safe and secure being held by your parents?"

- "I can't remember anything about my parents…" Squall replied "But… Ellone was there for me. Ellone was there to hold my hand."

- "Made you feel safe and secure?" she asked, running a crooked finger down his cheek.

- "Yeah…" Squall said, now looking glum "But she left. Just disappeared. I'm afraid…" he admitted "Afraid of having that feeling of comfort taken away."

- "You were afraid of losing us?" she asked, only now realizing fully his past behavior "Is that why you kept your distance?"

- "I was always alone…" Squall replied, trying to show it was no big deal to him.

- "Squall…" Rinoa whispered, cupping his face with one palm "You missed out on all the good things in life. You've missed out on so much."

Squall unlocked his gaze with hers, tenderly touching the palm that was resting on his face.

- "…Maybe." he replied. Rinoa placed a finger under his chin, causing him to look up at her.

- "Definitely." she corrected him.

She sighed, resting her head in the crook of his neck, now snaking her arms around his waist. Squall found her hair sprawled in front on his face. He closed his eyes, taking in their scent.

- "I like it like this." Rinoa said softly "I liked having my mom hold me. May dad, too, back when we got along."

- "I'm not your mom." Squall said, looking down to her.

- "No, of course not." she replied, smiling "But right now… Squall…" she said, her palm touching his cheek once again "You're the one who gives me the most comfort. Comfort and happiness… And annoyance and disappointment, too!" she added, grinning.

- "Whatever…" Squall said, rolling his eyes.

- "We're gonna make it home, right?" Rinoa asked softly.

- "We can only hope." Squall replied, trying to sound encouraging.

- "When we get back…We won't be able to stay together, huh?" she asked, frowning. Squall sighed.

- "…Maybe." he replied "No one can predict the future, there are no guarantees. Those were your words… Rinoa."

He touched her palm again with his gloved one.

- "That's… That's not what I meant." she whispered.

- "We'll figure out what to do once we get back." he replied.

Rinoa nodded and looked deeper into his eyes. Their embrace had been getting tighter and more intimate with each passing second. And Squall could feel it in his every cell. She was right in his arms, breaths sent right to his neck, looking at him. And he was holding her hand and his face was so close to hers. And they were both moving closer, their eyes half-closed and their lips…

This is Airstation. Ragnarok, please respond.

Squall inched back abruptly. Rinoa looked away and got off his lap, sitting on the seat next to him.

- "This is the Ragnarok." Squall replied.

- "We have some questions for you." said the same man who had talked to them before, voice coming out through panel "We're collecting escape pods. We have a good idea of what happened. I hear no one from Lunar Base is on the Ragnarok. How many of you are there?"

- "Just two." replied Squall "Oh and…" Squall added, his mind trailing off to the monsters down below "We have managed to confine ourselves in the cockpit, but there are monsters inside the spaceship."

- "How many?"

- "I don't know." said Squall "We only encountered two, but I get the feeling there might be more."

- "So at least two monsters alive?"

- "One alive, one slain. Both about ten feet tall." Squall informed the man.

- "Alright… We'll take care of it. So there are two of you. Your names?"

- "Squall. I'm a SeeD from Balamb Garden." said Squall.

- "And the other?"

- "Rinoa."

- "Rinoa?!" gasped the man "The sorceress?! She's on the ship?!"

Squall turned and looked at Rinoa, frowning. His facial expression was that of utmost bewilderment. 'So… It's true? Rinoa is a sorceress?' he thought. Rinoa looked up at him, looking downcast beyond belief.

- "I've…become a sorceress." Rinoa uttered "I can't stay with you anymore, Squall."

Respond, Ragnarok!

- "Maybe it's for the best…" Rinoa went on. Both she and Squall were ignoring the voice from the panel "Besides…They'll all be angry at me." she said, eyes watering up.

- "Angry?" Squall asked.

- "I don't want the future." Rinoa said, shaking her head, while tear ran down her cheek "I want the present to stand still. I just want to stay here… with you…"

'Rinoa…' Squall thought. He swallowed with difficulty. So this was where their paths split… 'Good one, Hyne…' he spoke to himself 'Truly good one… You bring a person who gives me nothing but joy in my life, only to take her away… Just when we both need each other the most…'

Respond, Ragnarok!

- "Nobody would want to be around me anymore…" Rinoa choked out, tears now streaming down her eyes.

The sorceress will be seized upon arrival. Be sure to follow the crew's instructions.

- "I'm…scared." she whispered.

Squall, do you copy? Is the sorceress listening, too?

- "I'm scared, Squall." Rinoa spoke between sobs, turning to look at him "I don't wanna go back."

Her eyes were bloodshot, her cheeks wet from tears that burned her like acid. She could barely breathe… Squall sighed and got up from his seat, wrapping his arms around her.

Respond, Ragnarok!

Rinoa hooked her arms upon Squall's shoulder blades, gripping the leather fabric of his jacket tightly. She had buried her face within his chest, wailing. Squall's hands were holding her close to him, one of them buried into her hair.

Squall, do you copy?

This wasn't fair… He'd just found her, he'd just realize what she meant to him and now he had to give her up?

'Rinoa… You bring color into my world of grays. You bring smile upon my lips… How could I ever let you go?'

He kissed the top of her head.

Respond, Ragnarok!

Quistis slowly opened her eyes, feeling something damp touching her forehead gently.

- "I think she's coming around…" she heard a familiar female voice say.

Her eyelids fluttered open and the bright light stroke her vulnerable eyes, making them sting. She squinted, the blurry image in front of her beginning to take shape. Her vision gradually focused and she made out the silhouettes of Ellone and that man from the Lunar Base, Dr. Piet, kneeling on both her sides. Ellone was pressing a damp piece of cloth on her forehead, cleaning up a small cut Quistis got from the crash.

- "Quisty? Quisty, are you alright honey?" Ellone asked.

- "I'm OK…" mumbled Quistis, slowly sitting up. Her head was still spinning a respectable amount "What… What happened?"

- "The pod crashed." replied Piet "We landed here. I was the first one to recover, so I contacted the Lunar Gate Control Tower to locate our co-ordinates and ask them to send someone to pick us up."

- "Good thinking…" said Quistis, rubbing her sore forehead "What did they say at the Control Tower?"

- "They said they'd call Uncle Laguna immediately. They contacted us back and said that he's on his way here right now." replied Ellone.

- "Great," said Quistis nodding "But what happened to Squall and Rinoa?" she asked worriedly.

- "They're safe." replied Ellone smiling "They found the Ragnarok and landed safely back on Gaia."

- "The Ragnarok? Why does this sound familiar…?" asked Quistis, digging deep into her mind.

- "Seventeen years ago, it was part of the Estharian army." said Piet "A spaceship. It got lost in space during the Sorceress Wars with Adel."

- "Ah, yes! I remember reading it in a History book in the Library." said Quistis "So they're OK?" she asked eagerly.

- "Yes." nodded Ellone, still smiling.

- "Thank Hyne," said Quistis, sighing in relief "I thought they'd both be lost forever in space…"

Just then, the sound of motor vehicles approaching sounded. Ellone jumped up in delight.

- "Uncle Laguna is here!" she squealed in joy "Come on Quisty, Dr. Piet…" she said, pulling Quistis up.

The two girls carefully made their way outside the ruined escape pod, closely followed by Piet. Quistis opened the hatch excitedly, but was greeted with a nasty surprise; the vehicles approaching weren't Estharian 'Galbadia beat them to it…' Quistis thought.

- "Ellone, stay back." commanded Quistis in a cold, stern voice, motioning to her big sister not to emerge.

- "What? Quistis, why-"began Ellone.

- "It's not Laguna." said Quistis firmly, her hand slipping to her Save the Queen "Galbadians are here…"

Ellone gasped and descended back to the floor. Behind her, so did Piet. Quistis thought of going back as well for a moment, but she soon brushed that thought away. It was useless anyway; the Galbadians had probably already seen her and even if they hadn't, they'd barge inside the pod to look for Ellone. She climbed up the hatch and made her way down to the ground, uncoiling her whip from its place next to her hip.

'I don't know what to do…'

'This is just another crossroad in my life. But, for the first time, I don't know which way to go.'

'I've come this far because I've… fallen for you.'

'… … Rinoa…'

'Now… am I just supposed to let you go…?'

Sighing, Squall brushed his thoughts away and concentrated on reality, on what was happening right now before his very eyes. He was standing at the open hangar of Ragnarok, now safely having landed upon Estharian grounds. Rinoa had stepped forward, approaching a few guards from Esthar who had come to seize her.

- "Sorceress Rinoa." spoke one of them, addressing the young girl "Hyne's descendant."

'Hyne's descendant…' thought Squall 'It makes her sound so… different… To me, she still looks like… Rinoa. Just Rinoa…'

- "Come with us. We must seal your power for the sake of the world." spoke the same man.

- "…All right." Rinoa agreed, lowering her head to the ground.

- "Thank you for understanding." said the man "Tell us when you're ready."

Rinoa nodded and walked back to Squall again.

- "…I should tell you this before I go." she spoke "I was possessed out in space. There was a sorceress inside me. Ultimecia, a sorceress from the future. She's trying to achieve time compression. She's the only one who would be able to exist in such a world. She, and no other. As long as I'm free, she'll continue to use me to accomplish her goal. I…We can't let that happen, right…? …I should go now." She walked away.

Squall had said nothing. He had just stood there, painfully listening to her, hearing her making the most responsible and critical decision of her life. She was going to sacrifice the rest of her so far young life for the protection of the world. So brave… So depressing…

- "I'm ready." she told the guard awaiting her.

- "All right." said the man who'd spoken before "We'll be heading to the Sorceress Memorial."

Rinoa began following them, turning around to look back at Squall for one last time as they left. Something ignited within him then.

- "Rinoa!" he called, sprinting down towards her "Don't go!" he almost pleaded.

Rinoa turned around slowly, her eyes full of grief. She held his gloved hands, rubbing the leather fabric with her fingers.

- "Please… Don't make this harder than it already is…" she whispered "You know how much I want to stay, but I can't. I have to go."

She made a move to leave, only to turn around again. She reached up for the chain around her neck and opened it, taking out a silver ring, with a lion's head carving upon it.

- "I still have your ring." she said, grinning awkwardly, and handed it to him.

Squall took her palm in his hand, and placed Griever inside it. He closed it shut and engulfed it into his own palms.

- "You keep it." he old her.

- "Are you sure?" Rinoa asked, obviously very moved by his gesture.

- "Yeah." Squall replied firmly.

Rinoa smiled at him broadly. A smile like none he'd given him in the past. Usually, hers were full of vivacity, energy. But right now, it was full of poignancy and sorrow.

She held the ring tightly in her palm for a few seconds, before reaching for her chain again. She placed it back onto the chain, securing it. She slipped the golden chain down her cleavage and moved it to her right, resting her palm upon it. Right above her heart.

- "Thank you, Squall…" she said, visibly touched "This will always be a reminder of the few moments we spent together. They meant so much to me… Give everyone my love."

She leaned forward and placed her palms onto his shoulders.

- "Even if time freezes still for me for the rest of my life, I'll never forget you, Squall." she whispered, voice trembling.

She reached up and placed the softest, most tender kiss on the corner of his lips. She pulled away and he saw a tear rolling down her cheek.

- "Never." she said and finally turned away.

Squall, who had so far not moved a single inch, still felt frozen in place. He couldn't phrase a single word, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't blink.

'Game over, Squall…' he thought grimly '…This is what Rinoa decided. There's nothing you can do about it. Nothing… … Right…?'

Rinoa never looked back.

A Galbadian truck stopped a few feet before Quistis, a couple more following suit. She stood up determinedly, one hand encasing the handle of her Save the Queen, the other resting against her hip, curled up in a fist. Out of the first truck, a few Galbadians began to emerge. Three of them, made their way towards Quistis, all wielding their swords. They came to a halt in front of her, the middle one taking another step forward.

- "We've come-" he began.

- "I know what you're here for." Quistis interrupted him firmly.

- "Hmmm…" said the soldier, rubbing his chin "Spunky little thing, aren't ya?"

Behind him, the other two sniggered and exchanged a meaningful look. Quistis narrowed her eyes at the Galbadian in the middle.

- "Look puppet, there are dozens of us here, and we know you're the only one." he said grinning mockingly "So why don't you just step aside and let us do what we came here for?"

- "Care to make me?" replied Quistis in a daring manner. The man sighed.

- "You're only going to get hurt this way… SeeD or no SeeD, you're no match for so many fully-armed men." he said.

Quistis knew he was right of course; she could easily take on those three, but when all of them came out she wouldn't stand the slightest chance of coming out of this alive. However, she wasn't going to just let them get Ellone. Maybe she could gain them some time until the Estharian forces –hopefully- arrived. And by Hyne, she wasn't going to go down easily…

- "Maybe so," Quistis said "But I'm not just going to walk out. You'll have to go over my dead body." The Galbadian let out a bark-like laugh.

- "That will probably be the most charming corpse I'll have to go over…" said the Galbadian, making his two companions snigger again. He sighed "Your choice… Don't say I didn't warn you. Men…"

All three of them advanced on Quistis, seizing her with their blades menacingly. Quistis arched an eyebrow and smirked 'Hyne, I'm acting like him now…' she thought, her mind trailing off to Seifer. Would she ever see him again after today? If he'd gone into space instead of her like he'd offered, it would be him in her place now… 'Better me than him…' she thought, and took a deep breath.

With one skillful move, she cracked her whip in the air, swinging it towards the rightmost soldier's sword. The flexible tentacle of Save the Queen coiled around it, then dragged the gunblade towards the left, to which direction Quistis was moving it. The three gunblades clattered together. One skillful swing and the whip coiled around all of them, the pointy barbs on its tip securing them into place. Without further ado, Quistis fiercely pulled her whip backwards, thus disarming all three men, throwing their weapons a few feet behind her. The Galbadians all stared at Quistis in awe, as the blonde Instructor cracked her whip in the air once more and folded her arms in front of her chest.

- "You were saying?" said Quistis smugly.

- "You asked for it, bitch!" said the soldier in the middle "Attack!" he yelled, turning his head towards the trucks behind him.

Immediately, more soldiers started to come out of the other two trucks. Quistis pursed her lips and prepared herself for the worst 'This is it…' she thought. All soldiers pointed their weapons at her, the sound of dozens of gun cocks clicking, piercing the air. Just then, the distant hum of aircrafts approaching was heard. Everyone looked up in the sky, seeing three Estharian airships in the horizon. A broad smile illuminated Quistis' face. The supersonic aircrafts ripped through the air within seconds, quickly descending to the ground.

A few minutes earlier…

Seifer appeared into the hangar, clad in an all-black uniform, the official one of the Estharian Air Forces. He was wearing a pair of military pants, tucked inside his boots, a woolen turtleneck and a bullet-proof vest on top, with a silver 'E' monogram knitted on the left side of the chest and the emblem of the country of Esthar in the back. He had his Hyperion suspended from his belt and was holding a black helmet in his hand. Inside the hangar, Laguna, Kiros and Ward, whom Seifer recognized from the 'Dream World', along with a dozen more similarly dressed men were waiting.

- "Who's he?" asked one of the soldiers.

- "Commander Almasy, of the BalambGarden SeeDs to you." Seifer said arrogantly.

- "Sir, he's not trained for this. If he really must join us for this battle, shouldn't he at least be with the army in the trucks?" said the same soldier to Laguna.

- "And wear one of those gay, flashy uniforms?! Not in your life jack-ass…" said Seifer, putting on his helmet, earning a glare from the aforementioned soldier.

- "I never really liked those myself," said Laguna grinning "Maybe I should change them…" he added, rubbing his chin. Ward grunted and made an exasperated gesture with his arms.

- "Ward just said: To the point, Laguna…" Kiros mumbled.

- "Right, right…" said Laguna, snapping out of it "Seifer, can you handle a machine gun?"

- "Yeah, sure." said Seifer shrugging, tying the leash under his helmet to secure it in place "But I've got my gunblade, so I won't need it."

- "We'll need to be covered while descending, so you'll need to use a gun. At least until you're on ground. When you're there, just hand it to Laguna and use your own weapon." said Kiros.

- "Fair enough." said the blond.

- "Mathews, get him an M3." Laguna ordered the soldier who had spoken before.

- "Yes sir." mumbled the man, running to the closet behind to retrieve the requested weapon.

He came back immediately, holding a massive black gun, carefully handing it to Seifer. The blond Commander held it up, aiming around to test it. He smirked and held it back down.

- "I like it…" he said "Irvine's gonna get a kick out of this… Have you contacted them?" he asked Laguna.

- "Yes. They're on the ground team and will join us as soon as they get there." the President replied.

- "I'll give them a call to get their status." said Seifer, resting the tip of the gun to the metal floor.

He dug into his pocket and retrieved his cell-phone, dialing a number, while undoing the leash of his helmet. He pulled it up to his forehead and brought the small phone to his ear. It rang about three times before someone answered.

- "Hey Seify!" said a chirpy, enthusiastic voice on the other end of the line. Seifer rolled his eyes.

- "Selphie," he said "We're airborne and about to reach destination. Where are you?"

- "We're on our way as well. We should be there about ten or fifteen minutes after you arrive." replied the auburn-haired girl.

- "Are Squall and Rinoa with you?" he asked.

- "No, they've only just landed from what I've heard." said Selphie "It's just me, Irvy and Zelly."

- "OK. I'll see you down there." said Seifer.

- "Bye!"

The tall blond terminated the call and put his cell-phone back in his pocket.

- "We've reached them." said a soldier, coming from the cockpit "There's about thirty of them down there."

- "Alright, blast the bastards with the machine guns to clear the way!" ordered Laguna.

- "And you'd better not hurt Quistis!" threatened Seifer, pointing his index finger at him "Or anyone else." he added.

The soldier nodded and made his way back to the cockpit. Seifer put his helmet back on and secured it. He grabbed his M3 and walked towards the hatch of the hangar, where everyone was now gathered. He followed everyone's example in reaching for a steel wire to lower him down. He slid the hoops up to his crotch and secured the wire, now tied around his waist and groin. He grabbed the end of the wire and placed the hook on the line above the hatch, locking it. He looked outside the window and prepared himself mentally for what was about to come.

'I'm coming, Quistis…'

Quistis looked up at the sky and smiled; they were saved.

The first Estharian aircraft did a diversion maneuver to avoid the first bullets thrown by the Galbadians. The ship made a full three-sixty turn and then began descending, while the machine guns got set up. Quistis got the point immediately and made a run for it towards the pod for safety. The aircraft made a wild dive and shot a first round of bullets down to the trucks, blowing one of them up. All the soldiers ran for cover, but six of them never made it. The aircraft ascended back up in the air, while the second one came down this time, for another round. Meanwhile, on the first aircraft, the Air Force soldiers, along with Seifer, Laguna, Kiros and Ward got prepared to land.

Quistis fought her way to the pod, staying in the entrance, to prevent anyone from approaching it. She looked back up at the sky and saw the hatch of the first aircraft opening. Within seconds, a soldier clad in all-black began to descend, securely tied on a strong wire. He was soon followed by many others, who held one hand tightly on the wire, while shooting rounds with their massive black M3s. She winced as she witnessed on of them get shot and hang lifeless in mid-air. The rest of them soon reached the ground and proceeded in untying themselves.

Seifer was only ten feet above the ground. He carefully lowered himself down, while shooting a round of bullets through his machine gun to remain covered. His booted feet soon made hard contact with the terrain. Next to him, many similar thuds of soldiers reaching soil were heard.

- "Anderson, Syler, Davis, Jacobs, cover us!" Seifer recognized Laguna's voice say.

The four men rushed in front, still bound to their wires and began shooting. Behind them, the rest took the opportunity to unlock their wires. Seifer hastily undid his and ran over to the unarmed Laguna, tossing him his M3.

- "Good job, Seifer." Laguna told him, taking the gun in his hands "Get a few men and go check the pod. Stay there and guard it."

- "Got it." said Seifer, pulling out his Hyperion from his belt.

- "Four of you go with Commander Almasy!" Laguna called to his soldiers "Make sure you keep him secured at all times. Go!"

Immediately, four Estharians walked over to Seifer and followed him down the trail towards the location of the escape pod, camouflaged behind a small forest in the hills right ahead of them. Two of soldiers stayed behind Seifer, while two ran before him, throwing around glances and shooting from time to time to keep him intact.

Quistis ran up to the hatch of the pod and pulled it open. She hastily climbed inside, meeting with a worried Ellone and Piet.

- "Quisty! What's going on out there?!" Ellone asked anxiously.

- "The Galbadians came first, but now we've got back-up from Esthar. A battle has broken out, but we're armed better. Make sure you stay here!" Quistis warned the older girl.

- "Alright. What about you?" asked Ellone.

- "I'm going back up. Dr. Piet, please take care of Ellone and of yourself." Quistis said, running back to the staircase.

She made her way back to the hatch and emerged outside again. She closed the hatch and jumped down to the ground. Right then, she saw five soldiers dressed in black, coming towards her. She recognized them as few of the ones who had come down of the first aircraft just before. Two of them ran in front, one in the middle and two in the back. The man in the middle suddenly passed by the others and ran in front. Quistis noticed that he was the only one not carrying an M3, but a gunblade. An awfully familiar gunblade… The man hastily reached for his helmet and unleashed in from underneath, while going on running. He pulled it up to his forehead and the sight of him made Quistis's face elucidate.

Seifer…

- "Quistis!" yelled Seifer, now less than fifteen feet away from her.

Quistis beamed as he sprinted towards her, halting only inches before her. He looked sweaty and a bit smudged on the face by dust and was panting, but his eyes and lips were smiling broadly. He took a step forward, but bit his lip and pulled back, grinning at Quistis awkwardly. Quistis blushed a bit and chuckled.

- "So… You're safe…" said Seifer, breathing heavily.

- "Yeah… And so is everyone else." replied Quistis "Ellone and Piet have been inside the pod all the time."

- "They're both OK, right?" Seifer asked.

- "Fine, fine…" replied Quistis, looking down at her feet.

- "What happened to your forehead?" Seifer asked, pulling her face up by placing a crooked finger under her chin.

- "Oh that… Just a small scratch… From the crash…" she replied.

- "Nothing to worry about, I hope…?" he asked, grinning.

- "No, no… So, erm… How come you're here?" she asked.

- "I was in Laguna's office when he received the call from the Control Tower, so I tagged along. Selphie, Irvine and Chick- er… Zell are on their way with the ground team as well." replied the tall blond "Laguna ordered me and these men to guard the pod." he added, pointing at the four men behind him. They all nodded at Quistis and she nodded back "Maybe you should go inside the pod now. It's gonna get rough out here…" he said softly.

Quistis expression suddenly changed from mild and smiling to slightly aggravated.

- "In case you've forgotten, I'm a SeeD too, Commander…" she said folding her arms, sarcastically emphasizing the last word.

- "Fine, Instructor, but I was only saying that because you're not as protected as everyone else here." said Seifer, getting a bit annoyed himself now "All of us are wearing bullet-proof jackets and helmets."

- "He's right ma'am, we're all-" began a soldier standing behind Seifer, but a mere icy glare from Quistis made him zip it.

- "Geez, don't get all worked up on the man! He was only trying to help!" protested Seifer, throwing his hands upwards in exasperation.

- "I'll be quite alright, thank you very much, Almasy…" Quistis stubbornly insisted.

- "Fine Trepe, have it your way!" said Seifer "But don't come crawling to me when you're hurt. I'm just gonna say: I told you so!"

- "I won't!" shouted Quistis, narrowing her eyes.

- "Fine!"

- "Fine!"

- "FINE!"

Quistis turned her back at him, while Seifer put his helmet back on, lowering the visor. He walked back to the soldiers and stood there, tapping his foot on the ground impatiently.

- "Having girlfriend issues, Commander?" said Mathews sarcastically.

- "She's my colleague, you moron!" growled Seifer.

- "Suuuure…" said Mathews, shrugging indifferently.

- "Fuck off, Mathews…" mumbled Seifer.

Silence overtook all of them. None of them was speaking and they were all looking around at the battle heating up. However, no Galbadians were approaching the pod. Not even one.

Seifer sighed, crossing his arms, still waiting. And waiting… And waiting… Waiting…

- "What the fuck is this?! Are we just gonna sit here and wait until the others eliminate all the Galbadians?!" he burst out eventually, exasperated.

- "The President ordered us to do so. We must stay here and guard the pod." replied one of the soldiers.

- "Guard it from what?!" Seifer asked sarcastically.

No sooner had he finished his sentence, than a swarm of Galbadians rushed out of the woods, all climbing atop the pod. Seifer immediately turned around and began shooting them off with his gunblade, the four Estharian soldiers following suit. Quistis ducked and crept over to them, then turned around momentarily to the other battlefield and shouted.

- "More of them are coming in trucks!"

- "How many trucks?" Seifer shouted, to be overheard from the gunshot.

- "About ten!" Quistis yelled back horrified.

- "SHIT! They knew we'd come! It's a fucking ambush!" yelled Seifer.

- "Are we there yet?"

- "Not yet."

- "……Are we there yet?"

- "Nope."

- "………Are we there yet?"

- "No…"

- "…………Are we there yeeeet…?"

- "NO."

- "……………………Are. We. There. Yet?"

- "Yes."

- "Really?!"

- "NO!!!!"

- "Well, how much longer till we get there?!" Selphie whined at the driver.

All three of her, Irvine and Zell were now inside one of the four Estharian trucks, heading for the location of the Lunar Base pod. They were all clad in Estharian uniforms, much to Zell and Irvine's dislike, but on the contrary, much to Selphie's delight… The miniscule girl was standing right next to the driver of the truck, while the guys were sitting in the back with the rest of the soldiers in their troop.

- "You asked me two minutes ago!" protested the driver indignantly.

- "Well, it's takin' too frickin' long!" Selphie spat back.

- "HERE!" yelled the driver, pointing at the clearing ahead of them, were lots of raucous came from "We're there already!" he added.

- "Booyaka!" chirped the girl, jumping up and down "I'll go tell the others!" she added, running to the back of the truck.

She struggled her way through many other soldiers –"Scuuuuse me!"- hastily getting to the back. Zell and Irvine were sitting among a dozen or so soldiers.

- "We're there!" she squealed.

- "Finally!" Zell said with a sigh and got up.

Everyone soon followed his example and started to get ready for the upcoming battle. The blond cracked his knuckles and began punching the air vigorously, while Irvine took out his shotgun, loading it.

- "Sir," said an Estharian soldier, approaching Irvine "The President suggested that we offer you one of these." he added, presenting an M3 to Irvine "They're the guns our Air Force Commando unit uses."

Irvine suspended his shotgun back from his belt and took the colossal weapon in his hands, as if he'd just been presented with treasure. He looked at it in awe, running his fingers over its shiny black metal edges. He held it up in both hands and aimed around a bit.

- "Hell yeah!" he said excitedly "That's what I'm talkin' about!"

Seifer and the four Estharian soldiers were still shooting off as many Galbadians as possible, to prevent them from entering the pod. Seifer had gently pushed Quistis behind him before; although she was a magnificent fighter, her close range weapon was of now use right now. He kept reloading his Hyperion, as it could only shoot a round of six bullets as opposed to the ones the Estharians were wielding. Suddenly he turned back to look at her, while reaching for more bullets in his pants.

- "Go find Laguna and tell him we need reinforcements here." he said "Sooner or later they'll infiltrate the pod and if they threaten us with Ellone's life we won't be able to do a thing."

- "Got it." said Quistis and made a move to leave, but Seifer grabbed her wrist.

Quistis looked at his eyes, through the open visor of his helmet. Seifer's palm moved to her nape, and even through his gloved touch, her skin shivered.

- "Just… Be careful, OK?" he said softly.

- "You too." said Quistis nodding and ran off.

She turned around and took one last look at him, before dashing away to find Laguna.

Selphie swung her nunchaku in the air, across a Galbadian's neck. The chain holding the two nunchaks together coiled around the man's throat and Selphie swiftly grabbed the other nunchak, squeezing the gullet trapped in the way of her weapon. The man gagged and choked, falling down on his knees. Selphie laid a hard hit straight on his face with her knee, knocking him out. She uncoiled her weapon from the Galbadian's neck and did a small triumphant dance. Next to her, Zell had grabbed another one from the shirt and was punching him mercilessly to the point he passed out. In front of them, Irvine was making sure they were covered, by shooting every possible threat away. The young cowboy was thrilled beyond imagination by the slaying machine gun he wielded.

- "I can't believe I've been using a measly shotgun all this time!" he yelled excitedly at some point "These M3s are killeeeeeeeeeer!" he yelled in excitement

- "What I can't believe, is that you're wearing your hat with that ridiculous uniform…" said Zell, shaking his head in disbelief, tossing the unconscious body of a Galbadian to the side.

- "That hat's my lucky charm, my friend…" said Irvine "I don't take a single step without it…"

Irvine reloaded his gun hastily and began shooting more rounds of bullets in ecstasy, while dozens of empty metallic shells clattered on the ground, falling from the machine gun. Selphie cracked her nunchaku in the air, getting prepared for the next enemy, until she saw the stealthily moving figure of a blonde woman clad in a peach gear.

- "QUISTY!" she shouted from afar.

Selphie's cry caught Quistis's attention and the blonde girl turned around for a split second; it was enough.

Zell, who had by now noticed Quistis as well, opened his eyes to full width.

- "QUISTIS, BEHIND YOU!!!" he yelled.

- "QUISTIS, BEHIND YOU!!!" Zell yelled.

The young Instructor turned around just in time, to find a Galbadian soldier lunging down to her from a tree. She dove away from him, avoiding the swipe of his sword for less than an inch. The metal blade cut through the rough terrain and the soldier got up to his feet immediately. Quistis's hand was already wrapped around her whip, ready to teach that man what real pain was all about.

- "Not so fast…" the Galbadian sneered at her, pulling out a small handgun from his belt.

Quistis stopped dead in her tracks.

- "QUISTYYYY!!!" Selphie shrieked in horror.

Irvine, Zell and she had been running towards Quistis the moment they saw the Galbadian dropping down to her, but were already too late.

The man had secured her with a firm grip around the neck, while pushing his handgun against her temple, now dragging her away towards the direction Quistis had come from.

Teeth clenching, Selphie swung around her nunchaku and prepared to dash forward, when a hand grabbed her from the shoulder, keeping her in place.

- "He might kill Quistis if he sees us approaching." Irvine told her, now loosening his grip on her shoulder.

- "But we can't just let him get away with her!" Selphie protested.

- "No, Selphie… Irvine's right." said Zell "We'd better go find the President and gather some forces before we go after her.

- "OK, fine…" Selphie said half-heartedly "But hurry! We might be too late!"

Seifer dug into his pocket, frantically reloading his weapon, while the four Estharian soldiers around him were keeping him covered. He loaded Hyperion and raised it up to his eyes to aim, when one of the men next to him lifted his hand up.

Immediately, all Galbadians stopped shooting.

- "What the…?" Seifer mumbled, looking around him bewildered.

Everyone, Estharians included, had stopped shooting by now. The three other soldiers next to Seifer shared a puzzled look with him as well. The fourth one, raised the visor of his helmet and motioned towards the woods. It was Mathews… And a swarm of fully armed Galbadians had emerged from the woods behind by his mere signal, all pointing their guns at Seifer and the three other soldiers.

- "You fucking traitor!" one of the men Seifer recognized as William Gibson yelled at Mathews "I told the President he shouldn't have trusted you, you weasel!"

- "Zip it, Gibson." Mathews sneered, without even turning to look at him "You five." he ordered five Galbadians still standing upon the pod "Open the hatch."

Narrowing his jade eyes, Seifer slowly placed his fingers around the trigger of Hyperion, hand wrapping around the handle.

- "Sir!" yelled one of the Galbadians, pointing his gun at Seifer.

Mathews wheeled around immediately, just in tine to see Seifer mumbling a furry of curses under his breath. Meanwhile, the Galbadians had already opened the hatch and were preparing to descend inside.

- "Not a wise move… Commander." he said, smirking "And I'd advise you not to try and play hero this time, because we've got you by the balls." Seifer scoffed.

- "Go ahead. Shoot me." he spat at Mathews "Do you think I'm fucking scared? I was raised not to fear death, you cowardly piece of shit."

- "Shoot you?" Mathew said, going into a fit of laughter "Oh noooo, Almasy… You're much too valuable to me for the time being…"

- "What the hell are you on about?" Seifer said, frowning.

- "Hmmm… Let's see… Thomas should be arr- Ahh, there he is…" Mathews said, grinning, looking towards the direction Quistis had run to only a few minutes ago.

Seifer turned around as well, eyes widening at the sight. A Galbadian soldier was approaching, dragging Quistis by a firm grip around the neck, pointing a gun at her head. The man Mathews had called Thomas stopped right before them, pressing his gun tighter against Quistis's temple.

- "Quistis…" Seifer said breathlessly.

Right on cue, the five Galbadians emerged. Two of them had seized Ellone, a third one pointing his gun at her back. Dr. Piet was nowhere to be seen.

- "ELLONE!!!" Quistis shrieked.

Seifer clenched his teeth, breathing heavily.

- "MOTHER:beep:ER! A:beep:S - LI:beep:ING SON – OF – A - B:beep:H!!! C:beep:K - SU:beep:ING PIECE OF SH:beep:T! I'LL F:beep:ING BLOW YOUR A:beep:S TO PIECES!!! JUST WAIT 'TILL I GET MY HANDS ON YOUR F:beep:ING THROAT! YOU'LL REGRET THE F:beep:ING DAY YOUR WH:beep:E OF A MOTHER EVER PUSHED YOU OUTTA HER SL:beep:T-A:beep:S C:beep:T!!!!" he yelled, mad from anger.

Everyone within the vicinity of Seifer's voice raised both eyebrows up at his outburst, Quistis included. Mathews chuckled.

- "Charming…" he sneered "Now…I'm going to show the magnitude of my mercy and make a deal with you, Almasy." Mathews addressed the blond "You keep your people away from us and that little freak, Ellone, and no harm happens to her." he finished, motioning with his head towards Quistis.

- "GO TO HELL!!!" Quistis spat back at him "Seifer, don't listen to him! Don't let them get Ellone!"

Seifer was all of a sudden found torn between duty and emotion. It was either going to be the peace of the world, or his inner world peace…

- "Son-of-a-bitch…" Seifer mumbled, looking down to the ground, frowning.

- "What will it be, Almasy?" Mathews asked "Your girl… Or the freak of nature?"

- "DON'T CALL ELLONE A FREAK, YOU BASTARD!!!" Quistis yelled in fury. She turned to Seifer again "Seifer, don't worry about me! Save Ellone! I'm not worth it!"

The Galbadian that had seized Quistis, wrapped his arm tighter around her throat and leaned closer to her, pressing his lips next to her ear.

- "You shut up now… Be a good girl and we'll have a great time together…" he hissed huskily into her ear.

Seifer's eyes widened. Mad rage was dancing around in his irises as he saw Quistis's disgusted expression. The seeds of malice that always hid inside Seifer Almasy began to grow in tremendous speed within him. His eyes were the eyes of a dangerous man right now… The eyes of a bloodthirsty murderer eyeing his next victim…

- "If you hurt so much of a single hair from her head," he croaked out, voice ominous "I'll make sure you'll be choking on your own balls…"

Mathew laughed loudly.

- "Aww…" he cooed mockingly "How sweet… Behold the power of love… Heh… I like this guy…" he said between chuckles "But you still haven't given me an answer, Almasy. What's it going to be?" he asked again.

Seifer didn't speak.

- "Seifer, please!" Quistis pleaded "I don't care what happens to me!"

Seifer looked into her bloodshot eyes. She was ready to surrender her own life, so that Ellone and the world with her could be spared. She was begging him with her eyes to back away and let her go. Seifer looked away.

- "You win, Mathews…" he mumbled "Just let her go…"

- "What…?" Quistis said breathlessly.

- "Let her go?" Mathews said, grinning "We're taking her with us to make sure you keep your promise, Almasy… But you've got my promise. She'll be safe…"

- "What?!" Seifer bellowed "You told me it was either her or Ellone, you fuck!"

- "You can't expect me to take your word for it…" Mathews chuckled.

Clenching his fists, Seifer lunged towards Mathews. He didn't get far though; the moment he took the first step, a soldier locked his arms in a tight grip from behind. Another one pointed a gun at his head.

- "Seifer!" Quistis shouted in worry.

- "Well now…" said Mathews "Since we have Commander Almasy's consent, we'll be running along now."

- "NO! QUISTIS!!!" Seifer yelled, as he watched Thomas drag her away.

All of a sudden, out of nowhere, a bullet hissed through the air and pierced its way right through the skull of the man threatening Seifer with a gun. The tall blond turned around abruptly, just in time to catch glimpse of a corpse falling down to the ground in a crumble.

Mathews looked around him bewildered, trying to determine where the rogue bullet had come from.

- "YOU!" he yelled, pointing at a few men "Get the truck and take Ellone away from here!"

- "NO!" shouted Quistis, as the men complied and dragged Ellone back into the woods and towards the truck Mathews had spoken of.

This time, a flurry of bullets flew out of nowhere once again, taking out the few remaining Galbadians lingering around.

Not losing a single second, Seifer landed a hard hit with his head on the man who had seized him. He nudged him backwards and advanced on Mathews, giving him a hard kick on the knee. The loud crack of bones crushing was drowned within Mathew's scream, as he fell to the ground, shrieking in pain.

Seifer drew out Hyperion and pointed it at the fallen man's throat.

- "One wrong move," Seifer said huskily between heavy breaths "And the R.I.P. on your tombstone will translate as Resting In Pieces, motherfucker." He smirked "You." he addressed Thomas who was still holding Quistis in a firm grip "Let her go. Now."

- "You think I care if you kill that idiot?" Thomas sneered "I'll take pleasure in seeing the look on your face as your bitch bleeds to death."

He laid a disgusting kiss on Quistis's cheek and clicked the cock of his handgun. The irises in Seifer's eyes dilated, hiding the jade color almost entirely. He felt his heart stop beating and his breath die upon his lips.

BANG!

Seifer felt as if all life was drained from within him. His eyes never left Quistis's form, but he watched in awe as her body remained standing, while Thomas's fell limp and lifeless on the ground.

Quistis stood frozen in spot, looking at Seifer, a terrified expression still plastered on her face. Seifer slowly took a few trembling steps towards her, not believing what had just happened. Quistis almost collapsed into his arms, hugging him as tightly as she could. Seifer let out a sigh of utmost relief and wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her back in comfort. Quistis was trembling wildly within his embrace.

- "It's over now…" Seifer whispered to her, kissing the top of her head gingerly "All over…"

Quistis gently placed her palms on his chest and pulled back a bit.

- "I can't believe what you did before…" she choked out "You chose me…"

Seifer smiled weakly at her and run a crooked finger down her cheek.

- "I'd never let anyone hurt you." he told her "Never, you hear?"

Quistis's lips trembled, as she slipped her hands up to cup his face.

- "QUISTY!!! SEIFER!!!"

Both blondes turned around abruptly. And the answer to the mystery of the rogue bullets was immediately answered. Selphie, Zell and Irvine were running towards them, Laguna and a few soldiers along with them. A grand sniper riffle was resting upon Irvine's shoulder…

- "Quisty, you're alright!!!" Selphie exclaimed.

She rushed right between the two embracing blondes, wrapping her arms around Quistis's neck tightly. Seifer took a step back, rolling his eyes.

- "Where's Ellone?!!!" Laguna yelled desperately, dashing forward.

No sooner had he finished his sentence, than the distant sound of a truck rumbling was heard. They all watched as the truck sped out from the woods and passed by the in tremendous speed.

- "Ellone's in there!" Quistis yelled, pointing at the truck.

Immediately, two blurs of black brushed by everyone, sprinting towards the truck. One of them was Laguna. The other… Seifer.

The young Commander was running faster than he ever had in his entire life. It was his fault that Ellone had been kidnapped; he had chosen Quistis over her and now it was time to make up for it. He had to rescue Ellone at all cost…

Laguna was running as fast as he could as well, but Seifer's younger years had given him a greater advantage. However, the truck was gaining more and more speed and was inching away from them with each passing second. Laguna took out his machine gun and fired right at the tires. His aim was perfect, but the tires were indestructible; the bullet just bounced away.

Still running, they came across a clearing, where the heated battle had taken place only a few minutes ago. Aside from scattered lifeless bodies all over the vicinity, almost all the Galbadian trucks had fled. Only two of them lingered. One of them held Ellone captive, while the other was just getting ready to leave and follow the one right ahead.

Seifer heard the engine rumbling and dove forward. His gloved palms grabbed hold of the back part of the car just in time, before it sped away. The tall blond winced while the friction between the ground and his booted feet got greater and greater as the truck accelerated.

- "SEIFER, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!!"

A distant shriek. And it belonged to Quistis; Seifer could easily tell that was her voice even from miles away. He smirked. He was never one to hide that he liked 'stealing' everyone's attention in sometimes ostentatious manner… Clenching his teeth, he began climbing to the back of the speeding truck with great effort. The uniform he was wearing was too heavy for the weather, the sun right above them was emitting scorching heat, he was already exhausted, the truck kept wobbling after running over the countless corpses sprawled onto the terrain and the dust that had risen form the truck tires slicing the desert ground wasn't helping him either…

He had just managed to climb atop the back part of the speeding vehicle, when the sunroof slid open and one of the soldiers inside emerged. He held out his handgun and aimed straight at Seifer. However, the truck run right over yet another corpse and the Galbadian lost his balance. The shot missed Seifer for mere inches. The young Commander lost no more time and jumped upon the soldier. He grabbed him by the waist, bringing him rolling on the roof of the truck along with him. He got a firm grip of the Galbadian's armed hand, pointing the handgun away from him.

The two kept rolling atop the truck in between hard kicks and punches. At some point, a hard punch on the chin made Seifer lose the lead on the fight and found himself lying below the soldier. The Galbadian tried to shoot him once more, but Seifer managed to push his arm away. The bullet pierced the metal surface of the truck and disappeared. The sound of glass being shattered was heard. All of a sudden, the truck made a sharp turn to the left and sped away, following a completely different route from the vehicle ahead, which held Ellone inside.

The Galbadian shot a quick glance down the sunroof and cursed loudly.

It didn't require a tremendous amount of brain cells to deduce that it was the driver who had just been shot.

Seizing the opportunity of his opponent's distracted attention, Seifer gave him a hard kick on the crotch. The soldier doubled up in pain and Seifer managed to punch his gun away. He pushed the man's weight off him and tried to get up on his feet. He had to get off this vehicle; it had already distanced away from the truck ahead a great amount. He heard a distant scream, but couldn't make out the words… He managed to carefully get up and made a run for the back of the truck to jump down, but the Galbadian grabbed hold of his ankle and pulled him down. Seifer hissed and cursed, turning around to give the soldier a piece of his mind, when the sight right behind his made his heart stop…

- "Aw, shit…" he croaked out.

Quistis was sprinting ahead of the small group following her. Zell, Irvine and Selphie were right behind her, all of them running after the truck upon which Seifer had climbed. The moment they'd heard the gunshot and had seen the vehicle change route completely, they'd realized something had just gone very wrong.

The speeding truck was headed right for the deep chasm to their left and didn't seem to be changing route the slightest bit.

- "SEIFER!!! GET OFF THE TRUCK NOW!!!" Quistis screamed.

She kept running ahead like there was no tomorrow. Her strength was fading away ounce by ounce, but she didn't care. She couldn't stop now.

The truck was only a few dozens of feet way from the cliff and Seifer was still on it. It was getting closer… And closer… 'No…'

Her eyes widened and her heart stopped beating in a split second.

The truck had fallen off the cliff.

- "SEIFEEEEEER!!!"

Quistis was kneeling down on the edge of the cliff, staring at the chasm blankly. Silent tears were streaming down her cheeks. Next to her, Selphie was kneeling as well, her palms clamped to her mouth, utterly speechless. Zell and Irvine were standing up, looking down the chasm as well. Irvine had taken his hat off and was holding it against his chest. Zell seemed quite as devastated as all of them as well, even though he'd never really liked Seifer all that much.

All the Estharian trucks were gone now. Only one had stayed behind, to take the four of them, along with Laguna, Kiros and Ward back to Esthar. After getting a hold of himself and making sure Mathews was seized, Laguna was informed about Seifer's accident and was now on his way along with his two companions over to the cliff where the four young SeeDs were standing. Ward and Kiros remained standing next to Irvine and Zell, while Laguna walked over to Quistis and kneeled down next to her. He rested his hand on Quistis' shoulder and sighed, looking down at the burning debris that was once the Galbadian truck.

- "Quistis," he spoke softly "I realize he was really special to you… And I'm sure then can be no consolation whatsoever for what has happened. I-I… I just… wanted to say that… Seifer was a really fine young man and soldier…"

- "He's right." said Zell weakly "Although I never really got along with him, I-I admired him… I suppose he wasn't that bad a guy after all… He just… He just taunted people. In the long run, I… I realize he was probably just joking around…" he trailed off.

Quistis' eyes filled with even more silent tears now. Silence overtook them. Kiros approached Laguna and handed him Hyperion, which they'd found lying on the ground just some feet away from the cliffside. Laguna nodded at him and gently handed it to Quistis. The blonde took it into her arms and held it tightly against her chest, sniffing. Quistis suddenly spoke for the first time after the shriek she had let out while watching Seifer disappear down the cliff.

- "I've lost him…" she said faintly "And I never even… talked to him… about…" She paused "Five minutes would have been enough…"

Selphie bit her lips roughly to suppress a sob. Everyone lowered their heads and remained silent once again.

The stillness of the cliffside was almost eerie. A black bird flew over to the tree next to the edge of the cliff, then flew down and began poking the ground with its beak. All of a sudden, a scratched, dirty palm slapped the surface of the edge of the cliff. The bird flew away immediately, leaving a few raven feathers behind. The palm that had just emerged, searched blindly for the root protruding from the dried up old tree. The tormented fingers engulfed it and grabbed it tightly, aiding another hand to come out, grabbing the same sturdy root. Both hands slowly pulled up a bodyweight, while a groan of exhaustion was let out from the lips of the man who had just surfaced.

He was wearing the all-black Air Force uniform of Esthar, although it was now pretty much torn to pieces. His pale blond hair was dirty with soil and his face, aside from dripping with beads of sweat, bore many bleeding scratches aside from a permanent scar right across his forehead and bridge of the nose. Seifer Almasy pulled himself up with difficulty, resting with his stomach onto the ground. Pushing his palms against the soil, he climbed atop the cliffside, falling down in a crumple on his back. He breathed heavily and ran a hand through his filthy, damp from the sweat hair. He turned his head to his right, where he saw his friends sitting at the edge of the cliff only a few feet away. Laguna and the others were with them and they were all staring down to the chasm.

Seifer aided himself up with difficulty and staggered his way towards them. He walked right behind them and stopped among the ones standing up. He leaned forward to see what everyone was looking at, wobbling unsteadily. He took a deep breath and let out a low whistle at the sight of the demolished Galbadian truck in flames. It was then that everyone noticed him. Zell was the first to turn his head to his left and stare at Seifer, eyes wide open. All of them followed suit, looking at him bewildered. Seifer gave them a puzzled look, as if saying 'What?' Selphie kept gawking from him to the chasm and back, unable to phrase a single word.

Quistis was the last one to turn around. She moved her teary gaze up to him and her eyes shot open. Her lips parted and her heart began beating again. Seifer shot her a questioning look, as she slowly got up to her feet, letting Hyperion slide to the ground. She walked over to him, never breaking eye contact. She stood before him, still, for a few seconds before slipping her palms against his cheeks, cupping them.

- "I thought you were gone…" she choked out.

Seifer grinned weakly and was about to speak, when Quistis pulled his face down to hers and pressed her lips upon his hard. Seifer's eyes shot open and he took in a sharp breath, utterly surprised. Shyly, he wrapped his arms around her, bringing her closer to him. Around them, Selphie had covered her lips with both palms, grinning from ear to ear, while ideas for weddings and baby showers were running through her head. Next to her, Irvine had rested his hand on her shoulder and was smiling broadly as well. Zell shook his head in disbelief and turned away.

Quistis eventually pulled away and, giving a warm smile to Seifer, hugged him tightly, burying her head in his chest.

- "So…" Zell broke the silence "Can we get goin' now? We have to meet Squall and Rinoa at the Ragnarok."

- "Zell is right. You should go ahead and we'll see what we can find out about Ellone's whereabouts." Laguna said.

- "Come on you two…" Selphie said, winking at Seifer and Quistis "Let's go."

The two blondes followed Irvine, Selphie and Zell towards one of the trucks waiting for them to depart. Laguna chuckled heartily and gave Seifer a firm playful slap on the back, making him stagger forward. Seifer rubbed his sore back and tediously followed everyone, holding Quistis around the shoulder. He was just staring around blankly, until his eyes locked upon Zell. He cocked an eyebrow, then grinned.

- "Chicken-wuss, what the fuck are you wearing?!"

A/N: So Seifer and Quis are officially together… Kinda… Just wait till the next chapter

ON THE NEXT CHAPTER OF 'A SECOND CHANCE':

A rescue mission and a night that two people will never forget…