Author's note: I do not own Final Fantasy VIII or its characters. This is AU.

Final Stand

Seifer swore. This was not good. The ranch's defenders were in trouble now. Adel's gang had them out number at least two to one, and the only reason it wasn't more was because the defenders had managed to deal with the first wave of Adel's men. It had been looking like almost a fair fight until Adel brought the second group in. And Seifer was worried. The other side had more people than they did. Quistis' crew couldn't afford to have anyone else get injured on their side, and the longer this fight dragged on, the more likely there was to be an injury.

He was worried for other reasons as well. Seifer knew how Adel operated all to well. If they lost this fight, the men would be lucky if they ended up dead. Any of the men who lived would most likely be framed for the death and destruction that happened here. If they were lucky, they'd be able to get away from the law, but they would be outlaws the rest of their life. The women wouldn't be so lucky. That was if they survived the fight, though Seifer would bet that Adel had given orders for at least Quistis to be captured alive.

And he knew what Adel would have done to her wouldn't be pretty. Quistis would already be broken, especially if she was the only one to survive this. Seifer knew that. She cared so deeply for her people, and she felt responsible for them. Their deaths would eat at her. And then Adel would probably turn her over to Martine. Seifer would rather see Quistis dead. Martine's treatment of women was not something he would wish on anyone, but having someone he cared about faced with it was unbearable. He'd kill Quistis himself if it came to that. She deserved far better than the excuse of a life Martine's victims tended to life. If they survived him that was.

But they weren't defeated yet, and Seifer still had some faint hope that Rinoa would come through for them. If they had reinforcements, they could still win this. Hell, they could even probably keep this fight at a stalemate right now. But the real question would be how long they could keep things stalemated. If they lost someone to an injury or death, they would be in trouble. And they still didn't know if Adel had more reinforcements than those she had already shown them.

His gun ran out of ammo. Seifer swore again, but within moments he had a fully loaded rifle in his hands, and Quistis was reloading his old one. It had gotten to be a familiar pattern. Quistis had deft hands and speed when it came to reloading weapons, and it saved them time in the firefight. She was crouched in the shadows of their cover, a pile of ammo beside her as well as several weapons. Quistis was armed herself, but Seifer knew that her talents lay with the revolver she carried, and that really wasn't a long range weapon. She did all right with a rifle, but at the moment all right wouldn't cut it. Every shot needed to count. The Selphie was doing much the same thing for Irvine.

Seifer ducked as a bullet went whizzing by his head. He fired off a shot in return, hitting the man who had shot at him. One more down, but the odds wouldn't be evening up anytime soon. They were certainly in trouble, and Seifer didn't know how to get them out of it. If he thought Quistis would even consider it, he would have told her to take Selphie and as many of the others who would go and get out of here. However, he was well aware that there was next to nothing that would make Quistis give up the fight for her home.

The firefight continued, and Seifer knew that his energy was flagging. It wasn't like they could call a ceasefire and have lunch. Thankfully, while Adel had more men than they did, her people weren't always the smartest fish in the barrel. They continued to fall, but it almost didn't seem to matter. It didn't seem like the defenders were making much of a dent in Adel's gang, and Seifer was beginning to be concerned about running out of ammo. It hadn't happened yet, but it would eventually. Then they would really be screwed.

Quistis held a canteen out to him, and Seifer took a quick sip of water. He met her eyes, and he knew that she knew just how bad things were. There was a yelp of pain, breaking the moment. It had come from their side. Seifer quickly scanned the area, trying to make out who had been injured. It looked like it had been Irvine. That was bad. He was one of the best shots they had. Loosing him from the fight would make the end of this all come all the much faster.

Both Seifer and Quistis hunkered down behind their cover as a fresh barrage of bullets came their direction. It was clear that Adel had decided to get down to business instead of just playing with them. Seifer grit his teeth. They might not last that much longer, but at least they were going to go down fighting. He shared a look with Quistis. She nodded briefly before they both popped up and fired off a round of shots. Two more of Adel's goons went down. But even that little bit of progress did nothing to lighten Seifer's mood. They couldn't pick off her men fast enough, and it this rate, the battle was going to be over sooner rather than later.

There was a loud explosion that left Seifer's ears ringing. Quistis' eyes were wide as she looked at him.

"I guess Irvine saved some of the dynamite." At his look, she shrugged slightly. "He always had a flair with explosives. The few times we've needed them to do something here, he was always the one to handle them."

Seifer smiled grimly. He didn't know if the man was dead or not, but that explosion had to have taken out quite a few people. Everyone was fighting to keep them alive. He couldn't give up now. Even if he wasn't sure they could win this one. He was always one for long shots anyway.

Moments later an almost eerie silence filled the air. The other side had stopped firing. Seifer tensed and peered around his cover. What the hell was going on now? Why had Adel order her people to stop? A sinking sensation filled his stomach. Then Adel's voice rang out.

"I will give you one last chance to surrender. Anyone who chooses to step forward now will be spared."

Seifer rather doubted that. Anyone who stepped forward now would probably be gunned down. Still, it did provide him with an opportunity. He could see Adel standing out in the open. If he went out there now, he would probably have enough time to get one shot off before they killed him. And he could make that shot count. If they cut the head off the snake, the rest might fall into chaos. Seifer didn't think that Martine could control all of the thugs without Adel. Even if not all of them left the fight, some of them would. And it would through them off quite a bit. He took a deep breath, turning to Quistis.

Leaning in close, he pressed his lips to hers briefly. "Trust me. Please."

Then Seifer stood up, setting down his rifle and resting his hand by the revolver at his waist. He probably wasn't going to survive this, but then neither would Adel. He would make sure of that. He glanced at Quistis. He had to for her sake. If he could give Quistis a fighting chance to get out of this alive, he had to do it. He loved her too much not to.