samaqi: This ending happens when Acma and Raddie's relationship did not work out throughout their journey.
0800
"Bruno, I'm certain this will work. I want to inject it into myself right now, unless you have any objections," Acma stated firmly.
"Acma, there's no way I would ever let you do that," Bruno replied, his tone filled with concern. "Stick to procedures, please. Why are you so impatient?"
"Acma! Quistis just delivered!" Raddie suddenly burst into the Esthar research lab, catching Acma and Bruno in the midst of their work.
Acma's heart raced as she turned to Raddie. "Oh Hyne, is everything alright?" Her voice trembled with concern.
"Yeah... everyone is safe and sound," Raddie replied, trying to reassure her.
Acma's mind filled with worry. "Has he..."
"No, unfortunately," Raddie's expression grew somber.
"What's the baby's name?"
Raddie replied and the answers hit Acma like a thunderbolt, leaving her momentarily stunned.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing… Good… good news."
"I need to go and inform Ellone. I'll catch up with you later!" Raddie's hurried departure left Acma deep in contemplation.
"Who would have known, huh?" Bruno sighed, his disappointment evident.
Acma was still processing Raddie's news, not fully paying attention to Bruno. "Know what?"
"That kid... who would have thought he would end up with Ellone. What's their age difference? Ten years? I can't believe Ellone chose him over all her other options," Bruno blurted out, seemingly discontented as he had been the one who assisted Ellone in her research and magical training journeys.
"What?"
"You don't know?"
"…"
"That kid wasn't lying when he said he had a thing for older women."
"No… he's certainly not…" Acma said, her voice heavy with disbelief.
Acma excused herself from Bruno and walked slowly back to her room, trying to make sense of everything.
It doesn't add up.
She opened her drawers, finding her notes piled up. Most of them had been torn down, leaving only a few remaining. The most recent note was dated two weeks ago.
'Bioacoustic lure'. What does it mean?
She took out a blank note and began to write the date.
Quistis and Seifer. Time travelers. Ellone?
She tapped her pen repeatedly on her head.
Ellone.
Acma knocked.
"Who's there?"
"It's me, Acma. I baked some cakes. May I come in?"
"Come in, Acma."
Acma entered the room and looked at the woman before her, whose once black hair had turned grey—a trademark of psychomagic and time manipulation.
"Bruno told me you like this flavor..." Acma said, holding out the cakes.
"Thank you. That's very nice of you."
"You're welcome. Well…"
"Is that all, Acma?"
"Uhm…"
"Again, Acma?" the woman asked, smiling as she stepped closer.
Instinctively, Acma took a step back, her vision darkening shortly afterward.
0600
The next day, Acma woke up on her bed, startled by a phone call.
"Trepie #23?"
"Hey, girl. I'm just calling to check on you. Raddie told me you passed out again," Trepie #23 said.
"I'm okay," Acma reassured her, memories flooding back as she reached for her pocket.
"Great, don't work too hard. I know you're up to something with time travel, heavy stuff. I wish I could help you by just winning cards like in the good old days..."
"Aw... how sweet of you, Trepie #23. I'm okay. How's everything going in the Garden, Madam Chief of Operations?"
"It's crazy... I miss the days of just babysitting kids. I mean, babysitting dozens of kids was already hard, but all this paperwork..."
"Trepie #23, you're a supermom, if you could raise that many kids, I'm sure you can do paperwork."
"Haha… Hey, Acma... Actually, I call because… I couldn't find info about Zyma's last mission. He hasn't been back for over two years now. I'm worried. Have you heard from him?"
Z… I'm sorry Trepie #23. Acma's heart sank. Aczyma had disappeared after Acma's time travel into the future.
"Yes, he did send me something, not using his name, though. You know his type of missions... But he's alright. Don't worry!"
"Great! Phew... I thought... But it's good to hear, Acma. Someone sent me some Zelbagade tea leaves and I thought of him, that's why… On a darker note, I lost all his GF cards, haha. I'm not sure when, I swear I used some of them just last month. Our new janitor seems suspicious. Those cards are worth a fortune, all high-level magics."
"Fortunately, our world doesn't rely on high-level magic anymore, Trepie #23. I don't think he'd be mad at you."
"Right, thanks to you, the Hyne's messenger. Alright, I was feeling uneasy, so I called you early. But it's good to hear that all is well. I'll be here waiting for you whenever you want to go home."
"I'll visit you soon. Love you, Trepie #23!"
"Take care, Acma!"
Acma turned on the bioacoustic lure retrieved from her pocket and retrieved her notes from the drawer, her mind filled with thoughts and uncertainties.
Z… what would you do? I'm so lost.
Knock on the door.
"Raddie?"
"Are you okay? You passed out in Ellone's room, and I had to carry you here again. It's been happening quite a lot recently. Are you sure you haven't missed any check-ups?" Raddie asked, concerned.
"No. I'm fine. I'll take a day off today, don't worry".
"Okay... well, I just wanted to check on you again... if you need anything..."
"Thanks, Raddie. Well... have a great day!"
"Okay. You too."
"Raddie…"
"Yes?"
"Tell Ellone... thank her for me."
"... Sure thing. I'll tell her," Raddie replied and left.
Acma replayed the bioacoustic lure over and over again, lost in thought staring at her notes.
"Sleep, until I summon you again, my little Pawn."
You took away my Knight…
2200
A knock on the door, disturbing Acma's sleep.
"Who's there?" she asked, feeling a sense of unease due to the numerous visitors and phone calls she had received throughout the day.
There was no reply.
She looked through the peephole and, seeing no one in the hallway, opened the door cautiously. As she stepped forward, her foot hit something on the ground.
This box…
Something about it felt familiar.
Muffins?
Suddenly, someone seizing her wrist from behind and applying a twist. Acma instinctively dropped to a seated position.
"You remember," a voice said. "Sloppy though. You're taller, no need to sit down to dodge."
Acma's heart dropped at the sight of her assailant.
"Rough day? Hyne, look at you. I need more time to get used to your new body. Machivie, they call it? And what's with the white hair, master?" the person taunted.
Acma could think of many retorts. I guess I'm no longer 12.
Acma was a smart girl. Lucky you, scoring your girlfriend twice.
But she didn't need to show off. I told you I'd be your girlfriend in another universe…
And she didn't want to wait.
She jumped onto the tall figure with dark hair and unleashed her love.
"Cigarettes?"
"You've kept these all these years?" Zyma was surprised to see the cherry-scented cigarettes he had secretly put in her drawers back in Balamb Garden before the magic puppet invasion.
"Uh-huh. Who else would I share them with?"
"I actually wasn't sure if you were alone in this room tonight. I was prepared for the worst."
"I guess people aren't fond of Machivies yet."
"They're missing out..." Zyma smiled and gave her another kiss. "But do you feel good though?"
"A little bit... My internal organs are grown from Elutia's cells mixed with bio-mechanic cells. The outer skin can be stripped off anytime, which is convenient for battles. However, the sensation is significantly reduced. As long as you don't mind. Well, like I said before, feel free to have fun somewhere else, Z..."
"Liar... A, it's fate that brought us back. I don't want anything else but to be with you," he squeezed her arms more tightly.
"How did you come back, though?"
"It's a long story... I was stuck in Aczyma's form for a while and slowly changed back to human form. I've seen other GFs go through the same phase."
"You mean... they still exist? Can we find them?"
"Yes, but what for?"
"You won't believe what I just discovered... or rather, rediscovered..."
Acma brought out her bioacoustic lure.
"I've been wondering why I wrote 'bioacoustic lure' on my note. It seemed like such a random device. Do you know what it is? I used it to capture Mesmerize when I was busted out in the middle of Trabia."
"It emits a frequency to hunt monsters?"
"Correct. But besides emitting sound, it can also record sound. I think my former self used this cryptic way to tell me today to use it. I'm constantly being watched here, and my memory has been erased more than once."
"What did you find?"
"A new challenge... a new goal... one where we could be the last ones standing. And tell me, Z, if you want to take it. I know you do. We've been through life and death, you became a GF, and I even talked to Hyne. Now I'm locked in this eternal body which I can program myself to go through time travel. I have to take advantage of it. I don't want to be anyone's puppet. If there's only one puppet master, it has to be me. Ultimecia is not a specific sorceress; it's a role. Anyone with enough power and enough GFs could become one and manipulate time and space."
"Say no more, A," Zyma took out his pile of GF cards. "I'll be your Knight. I know where to find GFs. Find your Quetzacolt to get magics first, and we'll go from there."
Replay from bioacoustic lure, yesterday 1400.
"Quistis just gave birth, and I was wondering if you already knew about it. I wanted to share this great news with you," Acma said.
Ellone smirked. "Is that all?" she asked.
Acma paused, sensing something familiar in Ellone's expression.
"I know that look from you. You've come to me time and time again. I suppose this time I'll have to erase your memory even more."
"You..." Acma took a step back. "What happened at the time portal? Where is Shrewdya? What have you done to her?"
"She's alive and kicking asses being a sorceress in the future with your silver-haired friend. But of course, that will come to an end soon. Don't look at me as if I've done something terrible to your old friend. She's not the little girl in the pink hoodie from Balamb anymore. I've witnessed her grow up. It's her destiny, just like all of you have a part to play in this time-space adventure," Ellone explained.
"Then who are you? The puppet master, manipulating time and space? You never told us anything, and you could erase us at any time as you pleased. What is your motive?" Acma demanded, frustration and uncertainty evident in her voice.
"Hahahaha..." Ellone burst into laughter. "Dear survivor of Hyne, do you think it's easy being in my position? There are so many timelines to keep track of. One misstep and everything could shatter. Just sitting here and thinking ages me. But I love it. You all believe Hyne is the most powerful with its magic, but no, it has no interest in moving you mortals across time. That's where I come in. I'm the one in control here—sorceresses, knights, GFs, SeeDs, monsters... No one is strong enough to escape the path I've designed for them. I am your Goddess," Ellone declared proudly.
"So you're just toying with us for your own amusement? What are the consequences of your actions? People may die, families may be torn apart, all because they're following your twisted game," Acma confronted her, her voice filled with a mix of anger and concern.
"Isn't it fun, though? The game itself," Ellone replied with a wicked smile. "Without me, there's no way a low-life test tube like you, now Machivie, would make history, Acma Mirin."
Acma tightened her fist. "Are we nothing more than toys to you? Our lives have meaning..."
"And mine, indeed, is this game," Ellone responded coldly, taking a step closer. "Now... sleep, until I summon you again, my little Pawn."
You took away one of my Knights… Now see how this Pawn becomes a Queen with the other…
And that marks the end of this fan fiction.
I didn't plan for Zyma to come back, but I wrote this chapter right after Chapter 9 - From Z to A, and fell in love with this couple myself. Plus, I tried really hard but couldn't find much chemistry between Raddie and Acma, so I'm happy with this Alternative ending II being the default ending.
I hope you enjoy this second-generation fan fiction for Final Fantasy VIII as much as I have enjoyed writing it.
Please leave reviews, and suggest more ideas, game references that I can add. I'm very open to make this fan fiction an open-source work where everyone of us can contribute with love for this awesome game.
I love you,
samaqi