Icicle knight, fiery SeeD

Chapter 9

//\\

When he came to, Seifer felt reality fracture; saw the world shiver, then shatter as Time Compressed with astonishing rapidity. He was climbing, and he was falling, all at the same time, feeling the cool, thin air on his face from atop a mountain peak, while his shoes squelched in the serf along a beach. The world was collapsing, falling in on itself until nothing was left but Her.

His innate stubbornness forced him to disregard the changes, forced him to start and keep moving, no matter what dichotomy his mind forced upon him. One thought ruled his mind: stop Ultimecia. Stop the Bitch who wanted to Compress Time for a lark, or a joke or some other incomprehensible shit, and used Leonhart as no a way to acquire what was needed, thoughtlessly discarding his rival when She had what She wanted. He didn't question how he'd known that Leonhart had been abandoned; the look in his rival's eyes during their last fight had nearly shouted the knowledge to the four winds. She had also been the ultimate reason that Fujin had nearly been frozen like the Adel had been, and for his rival, for his posse, he would make Her pay!

He didn't have to look back to know if he was being followed. Fujin and Raijin were covering his back , just like they always did, followed by the stubborn brightness that was Tilmitt, who was only just ahead of Kinneas's lazy presence, while Trepe and Chicken-wuss brought up the rear. Everyone fit into their comfortable places, so aware of each other by that point that everyone instinctively knew exactly how each of the others would move at any given circumstance. It was not blind obedience, (which Seifer privately held to be worthless) but it was trust that went down to the bone, despite all the endless teasing and sarcastic commentary.

For example, Chicken-wuss might not trust Seifer with his self-esteem, but he did know that he gunblader would find a way to get them all through the coming battle safely, or die trying; and thus trusted the taller blond with his life. Trepe's last objections to Seifer's leadership had been silenced long ago in Garden, when the stubborn blond had enlisted her help to save Garden students from his own temper. Tilmitt apparently had been shamed by Fujin's belief in Seifer during the destruction of the missile base, and now forced all of her considerable energy into not letting him down again, while Kinneas's loyalty had been sealed in a solitary clock tower, when Seifer had stabilized the gunman's shaky nerves enough for him to do his job. For Fujin and Raijin, their loyalty had been sealed from the very first moment they had met Seifer. Fujin had been with him from when he had stood up to several upperclassmen that had been teasing her about everything from her way of speaking to her eye and hair color, Raijin since Seifer had helped him to defeat a high-level monster in the Training Center that he'd run into, one that an absent-minded Instructor had programmed and forgotten to personally destroy.

Nothing mattered in the face of that loyalty and trust, not the gravity fluctuations, not the flashing colors that made up what Seifer assumed to be the skies, not even the fallen SeeDs that periodically appeared, than became graves that were increasingly aged, until every last trace of them was gone. He knew what those graves meant, that those were remains of SeeDs, following in the footsteps of those from his era, who had fallen fighting the Sorceresses, or the Sorceress as it might be. Who knew how long Sorceresses lived? Matron seemed scarcely to have aged since Seifer's admittedly dim memories of the orphanage. And who knew just how long Adel's reign had lasted? Information from Esthar was still at a premium, given that the country still hadn't officially opened its boarders yet. Though that might change soon, given the devastation that had lashed Estharian territory from the Lunar Cry. The country just might open up in order to accept what international aid was available, though there might not be that much to spare, given the sorry mess that Ultimecia had left everything in. Just one more reason to take Her out.

One thing that he deliberately did not think about was Leonhart. Leonhart; who had been screaming, actually screaming at the loss of Shiva when Time Compression had hit. He couldn't think about what that meant, not now. He had to concentrate on finding Ultimecia, and taking Her head as a trophy to hang in his office. He liked that thought, now that the idea occurred to him. He could make it a tradition, the severed heads of slain sorceresses lining the Commander's office, would certainly give the clients a shock as they came in to negotiate contracts. His grin turned feral at the thought. Then it died, as the realization came that if he did actually go through with the planned decoration scheme, he would have to add Fujin's head to the wall as well, and he would put his own up there before he did that to one of his posse.

Enough of this rambling. He pushed through, never hesitating, never blinking even when monsters of the various eras attacked them, not even when they had been forced to do battle with not one, not two, but three sorceresses, all from different time periods. Thankfully, Fujin had been with them to catch the powers of the fallen. There had been no need to worry about those powers finding a new host, one that could possibly make things difficult for them on the return trip. That is, if they were returning.

Seifer abruptly shook his head, dislodging the stupid speculation. If they died, then they died. He couldn't afford to be anymore sentimental about the coming battle than that. If he started worrying now; than that would affect his focus, possibly enough to make his fears a self-fulfilling prophesy. They were all SeeDs, at the top of their craft. They could take care of themselves. But even if they couldn't, even if they all died in the attempt, if they managed to take Ultimecia down with them, Seifer would still believe that they had succeeded.

Enough. He forged ahead, stopping only when the chaos of Time Compression abruptly stopped, leaving them in the only remaining stable time period, Ultimecia's.

//\\

"So, tell me again what can't we use anymore." Seifer's voice was flat, but resigned. Fujin thought that he was probably kicking himself for not having realized the extent of the traps Ultimecia had laid for Her surprise guests. Their initial repulse from Ultimecia's castle no doubt had to be hard on Seifer's pride, but it had been the right decision to retreat and plan a better course of action than stumbling around and getting killed, given that the majority of their skills were largely useless inside the castle, and those that were left, were insufficient to defeat what lay inside. She was doing some kicking of herself as well. Leviathan's Scales, she had hosted the future Sorceress inside her own body, surely she ought to have known something of Her plans, if only due to sheer proximity? But now wasn't the time to think about that. Seifer had asked for a report, and she meant to give him one.

"LIMITS. ITEMS. GFs. MAGIC. DRAW."

"Right." Seifer sighed. Fujin could see that he was trying to think up a way to get them out of this fix in a way that didn't involve giving up and surrendering. She knew as well as he did that since they'd come this far already, then they might as well see this through to the end. But no matter how hard he thought, he couldn't come up with an answer. "Ok, anyone have any bright ideas on how to beat GFs without any of those things? Because I was under the impression that to do so was suicide." A beat of silence. "Come on, people, I'm ready and willing to entertain any suggestions, doesn't matter how stupid or insane they are: I need options."

After a brief moment of silence while everyone thought, Selphie spoke up. "Well… " and her voice was timid, as if she was sure that her suggestion wasn't going to work. "Our weapons still work, don't they? Why don't we try and just cut one of them to pieces?"

Fujin shot her a Look. As much as she respected the Trabian SeeD's skill with spells, there were times when she found dealing with the hyperactive girl trying, like now. Going up against a GF with nothing but physical weapons? Well, they were still receiving the Junction benefits from their multiple GFs even if they were currently unable to Summon, but still, that was suicide. None of their items or spells would be able to help them when the going got tough. And even if they managed to beat one of them, suppose they unsealed the wrong ability first? Phoenix Downs and Life spells were useless after a certain time period. And no matter how powerful the cure spell used, if it wasn't used within the hour of receiving the injury, then permanent damage could set in.

But, Seifer wasn't rejecting the suggestion. She knew that he had a habit (perhaps a bad one) of accepting and completing impossible tasks, just look at the way he made SeeD, but this was a bit much. She knew that this was insane, he knew that just as well as she did, but he was still going for it?

Apparently he was. She listened in slight shock as Seifer laid out the battle plan. "Unless anyone has a better idea, we'll go with Tilmitt's suggestion." He ignored everyone's look of complete shock with the ease that came from a lifetime of bullying cadets and Instructors alike, and pulling off the impossible whenever the opportunity offered. He thought for a moment. Then he looked up at him with a daring gleam in his eye, and Fujin found herself wanting to take a step backward to get out of the range of whatever rampant insanity Seifer had planned. She didn't, of course. She trusted Seifer, not to mention she had a reputation for impassiveness to maintain. That didn't prevent her from being nervous regarding whatever madness Seifer had planned this time.

She was right to be worried. "If we're going to do this, we'll have to split up." He paused a moment to take in the level of incredulity of his audience, grinned winningly, and continued on. "Do our radios still work?" he asked the Chicken, who worryingly enough was the tech expert of the group.

Hesitatingly, the moron nodded. "Yeah. No damage or jamming to speak of….oh hell no! No way, no how are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting!"

Seifer only grinned lazily in response. "What's the matter, Chicken-wuss? Scared? Pissed your stupid shorts lately? Is that it?"

"I told you to stop calling me that!!" the Chicken roared, getting in Seifer's face with his fists ready. His target didn't flinch, being more than used to that behavior. She didn't move either. Zell Dincht knew very well that if he actually struck Seifer in earnest, than what had happened to him in D-District prison would look like small change, and with no last minute reprieve either. Not to mention that Seifer could more than handle himself in a fight against the Chicken.

True to form, Seifer merely smirked and leaned back just enough to be just out of immediate punching range. "Settle down, Chicken-wuss. Get your girly panties out of a wad. I'm not sending you out to kill a GF solo, or something equally suicidal. It'll work, trust me." And just like that, Fujin was swept up in Seifer's magnetic confidence. If Seifer said that his plan could work, then it would, even if she had to move heaven and earth to make it happen the way he wanted it to. Failure was not an option.

"PLAN?"

"There are five GFs, right? And five abilities sealed away? If we all work together to beat one, then we split up into two groups to take care of the remaining GFs. Hopefully, each GF is responsible for one seal, that means that for each one we beat, we unlock another ability. We use the radios to coordinate our progress. And…" Seifer trailed off speculatively, turning slightly to give Fujin a speaking glance.

"Well, what is it?" Selphie said, bouncing on her heels with the eagerness to get going. Seifer gave her a quieting glare, at which she pouted a bit, but obediently subsided.

"The Bitch," and Fujin here recognized Seifer's preferred word to refer to Sorceress Ultimeica, " put up wards against our magic, but the magic of Sorceresses is different from the variety that we use." Seifer explained. "She's not likely to have put up a general anti-magic seal that negates any and all casting, not when she can put up a kind that can block us from using magic yet still allows Her free reign…."

This time Fujin understood where he was going. Even if the others couldn't cast at the moment, she might still be able to. On the heels of that revelation, she tried casting Cura on Seifer, who looked as if he needed the boost. He'd fought both Adel and Leonhart back to back, with hardly any time to rest or drink some potions in between to restore his health. Not to mention here, when they'd finally had some breathing space as they recovered from their experiences in Time Compression, drinking a potion had all the benefits of drinking a glass of water, refreshing certainly, but doing nothing else they were designed for. And that wasn't even counting the damage he'd taken when they'd blundered into Ultimecia's GFs and discovering just how Ultimecia designed Her security. It worked, and amazingly didn't even deplete her stocks of stored spells in the slightest. Another perk of sorcery, she wondered? Then she shook her head, dismissing that thought. She didn't know, didn't really care at the moment either, for that matter.

Seifer grinned in triumph. "Thanks, Fuu. That proves my point. Knew the Bitch isn't the type to put up security that hampers Her own defense." He turned slightly, looking everyone present in the eye. "Ok people, let's show the Bitch what we're made of!"

The Chicken and Selphie let out a cheer at Seifer's words, prompting Instructor Trepe, Kinneas and herself to share wry looks, as if to say, 'we're counting on them?' Raijin simply shrugged. Seifer's face was set in a bloodthirsty grin, one that Fujin knew meant that he was ready, eager and anticipating the proposed carnage ahead. She shook her head again. Sometimes Seifer could be just too much.

Despite Seifer's cocky words earlier, the first GF was truly a bitch to fight. Cut off from half the standard SeeD arsenal, they almost didn't make it, even with her casting healing spells to keep them going. Luckily, that GF guarded the seal restricting the use of items, and the entire group spent several minutes after it fell guzzling much needed High Potions, Elixirs, and Ethers.

After they were all refreshed, Seifer split them up, against a storm of protests. Fujin wanted to protest as well, they had barely made it past that one GF alive, how were they supposed to do so with only half their force? But she didn't speak up, knowing that a) Seifer was counting on her to support him, and b) that he wouldn't do so unless he had a plan to make up the deficit. She just had to trust him.

As always, that faith was justified when, just under an hour later, her group encountered another of Ultimeica's GF's and managed to beat it into the ground after a hard fight. Thankfully it had been a relatively weak one, as well as guarding the seal that prevented the rest of them from using magic. That meant that the burden of being the sole SeeD capable of using magic was gone from her, not that she had been resentful of that duty, but she did prefer to use Circular Current, her chakram, than spells in a fight.

Seifer's group took down the next GF half an hour later, breaking the seal on Limit Breaks. They took down yet another one not 20 minutes after that, this one dissolving the seal on Summoning. Only one GF remained, then, all their abilities restored, they would be free to face Ultimecia. And destroy Her. That was Seifer's plan, so she could not permit anything less. Failure was not an option.

//\\

At last they'd come, those foolish, foolish SeeDs, no doubt puffed up with pride after managing to breach Her defenses enough so that they were nearly able to face Her mighty self. They should be proud. Before She had eliminated the SeeD organization as a whole along with all other life in this time period, She had withstood scores of attempts by SeeDs who had tried and failed to make it past Her pets. She smiled at the pleasant memory of their despair as they realized that She had won, that they wouldn't make it close enough to Her to even gaze upon Her perfect form. Take away their ability to use magic, to summon GF's of their own, and otherwise neutralize the other countless other little tricks that SeeDs regularly employed; and they died just like any average pathetic fighter, despite their vaunted elite status. The sweet memories never failed to brighten Her mood whenever She thought of it.

The smile abruptly turned to a frown. No matter how many SeeDs Her pets had killed in the past, these had made it through the gauntlet of GF's, killing Her pets and shattering the seals they had guarded with their lives. Perhaps it was to be expected, these were the SeeDs that had caused Her the greatest headache in their own time period. Time and again they had spoiled Her plans, from the time when they had interrupted Her parade, forcing Her out of not one, but two hosts before She had been ready to leave, and tempting Her Lion away from his rightful place; which was in the dirt at Her feet like the rest of the trash.

Just because She had graciously allowed Squall Leonhart to use some of Her power on occasion, and had used him to contain Her consciousness when She had been between hosts, did not excuse him from the punishments due him thanks to his gross incompetence at the simple tasks She gave him. She had told him to eliminate SeeD, but Balamb Garden had escaped his planned destruction, rising again and again to challenge Her. She had told him to get information, and he'd returned to Her without a scrap of knowledge that She didn't already know. She had told him to capture Ellone for Her, and time and time again the girl had slipped past his spies. Whatever grace he might have believed that he had earned as Her knight, his incompetence had forfeited. Clearly, despite his protests to the contrary, his former comrades retained his loyalty, loyalty that had been Hers by right.

And who was it, that had foiled Her perfect plans, and had stolen the loyalty of Her knight from Her, right out from under Her nose? This ragtag group of SeeDs! She looked them over as they assembled outside Her door, checking their equipment and stocks of spells. She knew them all, from the memories of Her hosts and Her disloyal knight.

Sneeringly, She named them off, one by one, in Her head. Zell Dincht, the loudmouthed brawler with sub-average intelligence. While he was quick on his feet, his dim wits prevented him from being of too great a threat. Irvine Kinneas, the smooth-talking sharpshooter who had once been part of Galbadia Garden, where She had once maintained Her Headquarters. While his shooting abilities were no doubt top-notch, he was pitifully scared of Junctioning a GF, and that alone lowered his worth in Her eyes. Selphie Tilmitt, hyperactive magic-user who might have been extremely skilled in the magical arts, but who also suffered from focus issues. Quistis Trepe, the disgraced SeeD Instructor, who was skilled indeed with her whip, but those skills masked an exploitable low self-esteem. Perhaps She might take the girl for Her new knight when this was over. There was Fujin Nakoria, one of Her former hosts. She hadn't stayed in Fujin's body long, the girl was far too obedient to ever make a proper Sorceress, she had no ambition for herself at all, and thus was worth less than trash alive. The girl's only marginal worth was as a corpse in Her eyes. The others She might spare, if they surrendered and if She were feeling merciful, both options which She rather doubted as they were SeeDs and thus were lamentable stubborn to throw away their lives in an attempt to take Her own. But Fujin would die, if only to take her powers for Her own. Raijin Tendramond, there was another one who would die no matter what happened, the muscle-bound idiot. Didn't he see that by foolishly panting after a Sorceress that he was condemning himself to worse than death by daring to touch something so far above him that it was death to try? Apparently not. The insolent would receive their just reward. And finally, last but certainly not least; Seifer Almasy.

Of all those about to face Her, he was the only one She was unsure of. Her Lion's mind had been full of contradictory information about this particular insect, and Fujin had somehow been able to keep all her memories of the one she claimed as her leader hidden from Her, yet another thing the girl would die for. True, at one time She had thought that he might prove himself worthy to be Her knight, but when She had tried to take his mind, he had resisted Her. He had been able to realize Her intrusion into his mind, and fight back against it, at least as long as it took for Her to realize that if She took his mind by force, he would fight Her to the end, forcing Her to expend unnecessary energy to just to keep him compliant. And low and behold, just when She had come to that conclusion, another had appeared to take his place, one that She had chosen when She had determined that Her first choice would have been unsuitable.

However, perhaps She had been premature in that judgment. Her Lion had credited Almasy with the majority of schemes that had cost Her the most. Almasy had commanded Balamb Garden when Her Lion had failed to take it, and had managed to break out of D-District Prison, and save it from the missile attack that Her knight had ordered, as well. Almasy had fought Her knight to a standstill and had beaten him on at least one occasion. Almasy had killed Adel before it was time, and had foiled Her search parties looking for Ellone. All that, in addition to the vague doubts that had assailed Her Lion that the mere thought of Almasy provoked, so small that even he had been unaware of them. The only reason She had known about them, was because he had hosted Her after Her flight from Edea's body. Most, if not all of those doubts had revolved around Almasy in one way or another.

Now, She questioned Her initial decision to abandon Her attempt for Almasy's mind. If She had pressed, and taken the blond as Hers, then all of that fine strategic mind, that had foiled Her plans time and again, possibly one of the very few who could match Her own mind for strategy, would have been Hers to command. Her Lion had been adequate for Her purposes, yes, and had been able to eventually get the job done, that couldn't be doubted, but he had never been able to anticipate Her plans and requirements the way Almasy might have. Then She dismissed the notion. Her reasons for discarding Almasy then were the same now. Almasy would never have truly submitted to Her, he was much too independent for his own good. He would have altered Her plans, for the simple reason of bolstering his own ego. Her Lion in contrast, had little to no ego to speak of, and submitted to Her will without even a token struggle. With Her Lion, there had been no struggle for control, as there would have been constantly, if She had taken Almasy for Her knight. No, Her eventual choice had been the superior one in the end.

As the doors opened, allowing those cursed SeeDs their first glimpse of Her true form, She smiled in chilly welcome. Let them feast their eyes on that which would destroy them, and, once they were gone, destroy all life for all eternity.

/\

Despite his preparations, Seifer was mentally rocked back on his heels at his first sight of Sorceress Ultimecia. She was tall, with long white hair that She had twisted sections of it up into long horns at the sides of Her head. She was dressed in red, blood red, the thick, dark red of arterial blood, which had stained Hyperion's blade far too often for Seifer to count, accented by a pair of long black wings that draped elegantly over Her shoulders in a truly barbaric look. Purple facial tattoos called attention to cruel golden eyes, which were the only part of Her that was familiar to Seifer. He had seen those eyes before, looking out from Edea's face, at the Parade in Deling City, and watching in predatory amusement as the SeeDs fought Her and Leonhart in Galbadia Garden.

Desperate to maintain the confident levity of the moment before, Seifer looked over his shoulder and asked, in a voice meant to be heard by the Sorceress watching them so intently, "What is it about Sorceresses that completely destroys their sense of fashion? No offence Fuu, but from what I've seen of Edea, Adel, and now this Bitch, I now think that it's part of the price Sorceresses pay for the power."

He didn't have to look to sense the growing rage now emanating from the Sorceress. He could feel it. But what he could also feel, and was reassured by, was the renewed confidence of those with him. No one would admit to being intimidated by Ultimecia's appearance, though they all had been. She was somehow more in person than She had been when they had encountered Her before, though when Seifer thought about it, that made sense. Before, when they had faced Ultimecia, She had been aware and active in the proceedings that was true, but never had they come face to face with Her, because all their dealings with Her had been through the filter of another Sorceress's body.

He turned back to Her, just as She stirred and began to speak. "Kurse you…" though the whisper was soft, it was perfectly audible from where he stood, and put, Seifer's imagination of what Shiva's voice sounded like, to shame. "Kurse you. Kurse all SeeDs!"

Seifer stood his ground, though he was well aware that Tilmitt and Trepe were nervously looking at each other behind his back, while Chicken-wuss bounced on his toes to keep himself moving. Even Kinneas had shifted his weight a bit at Her words. The only ones who were unmoving were Seifer and his posse, and their rock-solid stances firmed the resolve of their companions.

Ultimecia wasn't finished speaking. "Insekts! You don't deserve the honor it is to be personally krushed beneath My feet. You disgust me. All SeeDs disgust me. Swarming like, like lokusts across the generations, well, soon that will be ended. All SeeDs will be krushed in the all mighty power of Time Kompression, along with all other life!"

Chicken-wuss couldn't stay quiet. "Well, these 'Insects' as you call us, will stop that from happening!"

Ultimecia only laughed; a long, deep, spine-chilling laugh that went straight to Seifer's spine like Shiva's icy fingers. Dammit, hadn't the Chicken learned anything from what happened the last time he'd opened his mouth without thinking? That particular blunder had gotten them all into this mess in the first place! This was the third time in as many months that Seifer had wanted to kill Dincht, and his reasons for keeping the Idiot alive still remained the same as they had always been. Hyne's balls, couldn't the Chicken do anything right?

Ultimecia eventually stopped laughing. "Insolent fools! You may have done well getting this far, but your vain krusade ends here! I will exterminate you Myself!"

With that She stood abruptly from Her throne, and started casting. Seifer cursed and ran for cover, ending up alongside Kinneas behind a wide ornamental pillar. This was not looking good. Ultimecia was still up on Her raised throne, casting spells from far out of range of the SeeDs weapons. Kinneas could reach Her, and so could Fujin in a pinch, not to mention Tilmitt's spells, but Trepe, Chicken-wuss, Tilmitt , and Raijin had as much chance of reaching Her as they did of breathing underwater, not to mention his own lack of chances of reaching the Bitch with Hyperion. A fact that was amply demonstrated by an overpowered Waterga spell that broke over where Fujin and Tilmitt were crouched, leaving them choking and gasping for air, soaked to the bone. There had to be a way to literally level the playing field…

Then it hit him. "Fujin, Raijin, Trepe, Chicken-wuss, look sharp! Summon and break the damn chair!" he shouted. "Kinneas, Tilmitt, get Her attention off the rest of us!"

No one argued. Kinneas loaded his shotgun with the special ammunition he had spent a small fortune a round for in Esthar, and began shooting, backed up by Tilmitt's spells. While they were keeping Ultimecia's attention on Her defense while She continued to throw overpowered spells around the vast chamber as if they were cheap party favors, Shiva, Alexander, Odin and Doomtrain arrived and began launching attacks on the sturdy pillar supporting the platform upon which rested Ultimecia's throne. He Summoned Ifrit as well and directed him to join the fun, while staying on the move to prevent Ultimecia wising up to his location and taking him out. If She managed to do that, then they were all dead, plain and simple. Seifer had no conceit whatsoever in believing this. He knew that he was the glue holding them together, the one directing all of their individual efforts and working them into a greater whole. He tossed Kinneas a Phoenix Down when Ultimecia landed a lucky shot on the sniper, and cast Cura on him for good measure. Kinneas nodded in thanks, and then again as Seifer tossed him a few potions as well. Then he had to duck and dodge a spell the likes of which he had never seen before as the Bitch tracked him down while he was helping Kinneas.

Abruptly, one task was done and Ultimecia toppled from her crumbling scaffold with a shriek of surprise. A Thundraga spell She had been charging went out of control and fried the GFs, destroying them and leaving their summoners to stumble from the sudden release of magical strain. Everything went silent. No one dared to move, frozen in their final positions, waiting for Her reaction.

She stood, dust and rubble leaving stains on Her luxuriant red robe. "I was going to kill you kleanly…" she said in a deadly quiet voice. "… I was going to face you with My magic alone, as that would have been more than enough to end the pathetik existence of worms like you. But now…" and a deadly light reminding Seifer of a Summoning began to surround Her, though the color wasn't one he recognized from any of the GFs he was familiar with. The light that came from Diablos came close, but it wasn't exact. And it had to be exact, if one wanted to identify a GF before it manifested with any hope of accuracy. The light grew, until he had to look away to preserve his sight. Though the explosion of light he heard Ultimecia's voice ring out clearly. "…you will suffer! Kome to me, Griever!"

Griever. Seifer had heard the stories about the legendary GF, it would have been hard for him to have not to, not with Squall's trademark pendant representing it. He'd never see it before though, and had never given it a thought, given that Griever's reclusiveness was as much his trademark as his legendary cruelty and strength. No GF was said to be able to stand against him. If Ultimecia had Griever Junctioned, if She had truly just summoned him, then they were well and truly fucked.

Though, if Seifer remembered the stories of Griever correctly, the GF was said to be one of the pickiest GF's around regarding those it allowed to Junction with it, let alone Summon. Griever was said to only allow those it related to most strongly, that is, those whose personal code of honor resembled it's own the most strongly were allowed the privilege of its assistance. Everyone knew that it was death to try and command Griever if you were unworthy. On the flip side however, if you were worthy, then it was said that Griever would rend Hell itself at your command. Judging by the stories Seifer had heard, he would have thought that Ultimecia wouldn't have passed Griever's tests.

The light faded, and there, before his eyes was the legendary Lion. Ultimecia sat on his back, just as smug as the nasty, spoiled, little bitch whose daddy had just handed over the pony she had just been screaming for. Griever was nor rejecting Ultimecia's presence on his back, and was acting as if the GF was perfectly comfortable with the arrangement. There went the hope that Griever would turn on Ultimecia because he disapproved of the Junction link. Seifer knew that it had only been a foolish hope at best, but that didn't mean that it had never existed.

The struggle against Griever was long and hard. All of them came close to death more than once, Limit Breaks were used like candy and each of them (save Kinneas of course) Summoned multiple GFs. Seifer was panting when the GF finally expired, but they weren't out of the woods yet.

Ultimecia stared at them in naked shock. "How kould you defeat Griever? That is impossible!"

Tired, dirty, sweaty, but still cocky, Seifer only smirked. "I'm Seifer Almasy. I do the impossible on a daily basis, oftentimes more than once a day."

"IDIOT."

"Don't be getting too big a head now Seifer, ya know?" Seifer felt his smirk stretching wider at his posse's words. He didn't relax his guard though, or take his eyes off of Ultimecia for a second. She was still dangerous, that Seifer well knew. They might have defeated Griever, and stunned Her for the moment, but Seifer was still counting Her a threat until Fujin had absorbed Her powers after She had died. Not a second before then would he relax his vigilance.

She simply snarled, and began casting again, although this time there was a slightly panicked feel to the magic being thrown around the massive chamber. Not to mention, this time the SeeDs weapons could actually reach Her, well, if they could close on Her enough to be within striking distance that is.

They went for it, pulling out all the stops, pouring reserves of strength and magic that they hadn't even known they still possessed into the fight. Slowly, but surely they forced Ultimecia onto the defensive, until they were overwhelming Her with their skill, strength, and determination.

But just before Seifer landed the final blow, Time Compression overtook this final time period without the barrier of Ultimecia's will and concentration to keep it back, and they were all tossed back into the chaos again.

//\\

Cliffhanger!!! I am so evil. Just one more chapter to go, while I wrap everything up. Thank you all so much for following my story to this point, just remember to review at the end of it. I only got two reviews last chapter, and while I know that the story is winding down, that doesn't mean that I still feel bad whenever a chapter doesn't get feedback. Please? :puppy eyes:

I didn't do too badly with the battle scene, did I? I know that I managed to keep battles short before, but I wasn't able to get away with it this time. Please review and let me know how I did? Pretty please with Seifer/Squall plushies on top?