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One (Last) Chance	By : RotSeele Category: Final Fantasy VIII > Yaoi - Male/Male > Seifer/Squall Views: 3719 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 8. I do not make any money from this story.

Chapter List
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- 13
Twelve - Squall POV

I made sure Zell and Rinoa stayed with me, allowing Selphie and Quistis to go with Irvine. I knew Quistis would keep Irvine from misbehaving and acting inappropriately with Selphie. The reason I kept Rinoa with me this time (originally I had sent her with Irvine and Quistis just to keep her away from me) was to ensure I could coach her on what I would need from her in the coming days. She listened intently, surprising me by asking me a few questions here and there about the role I wanted her to have. Hers was to be a supporting role to the rest of us, a back-up fighter and healer. She appreciated that I wasn’t putting her on the front lines of battle, considering she wasn’t used to battle like we were.
When we got on the train, I immediately opened the door for Selphie. She grinned at me, then headed through the door. Irvine was quick to follow her through, and I knew what he was going to attempt to do. When he emerged and headed over to Rinoa, I lashed out and grabbed him by his coat, slamming him up against the train’s wall.
“You’re playing a major role in this mission.” I snapped. His eyes went wide in surprise. Good. I wasn’t the Squall he remembered, and I wasn’t going to entertain his silly notions this time around. “I expect you to behave yourself. I expect you to do your job.”
He gripped my wrists, glaring at me. “No one understands me... Sharpshooters are-“
I cut him off, growling, “Loners by nature. I know. I get it. You hone your instincts, pour your whole being into a single bullet. Ask me if I really give a damn. You only need to focus on shooting. Your single act is going to be a signal to the rest of us. If you don’t believe you can do that, tell me now.”
“S-Squall,” Quistis started, reaching toward me.
Irvine threw back his head and laughed. It sounded incredibly relieved. He released my wrists and held up his hands in surrender. “You got it, boss man. I can be your signal, no problem.”
I nodded and released him, then stepped back from him. Irvine gave me a long stare before he moved to stand against the wall, folding his arms over his chest. Quistis and Zell gave me searching looks, but I ignored them. The rest of the train ride was relatively peaceful after that.
When we arrived at Deling City and headed up to the streets, Rinoa stretched her arms above her head and blew out a long sigh. “We’re going to Caraway’s Mansion, right? Just take bus eight.”
Zell looked at her, surprised. “Sounds like you know this place pretty well.”
She should, I thought, because the mansion’s her house. Caraway’s her father. I couldn’t help but think of the irony of the situation now that I knew all about it. How close had Rinoa and I come to being half-siblings? My father and her mother had danced around the possibility of being more than just friends; certainly they had been in love with each other, or at least thought they had been. In the end, though, things had turned out far different than either had probably expected.
Things were turning out completely as I had expected they would, though. When we reached the mansion, we were told we had to go to the Tomb of the Unknown King and retrieve the ID number of the missing student from Galbadia Garden. It was a simple side trip I could care less about, and I couldn’t help but agree with Zell’s assessment this time around, but I took my team out there anyway because I knew the guard wasn’t going to let us through otherwise. It didn’t take us long to complete the task, especially because there was no need to go deeper into the Tomb. The Brothers were hovering at the edge of my consciousness with the other GFs, after all.
When we returned, we were let into the mansion by the guard. Rinoa grabbed my hand suddenly and stopped me from following everyone else inside. I looked at her, my head tilted to the side.
She refused to meet my eyes. “Um... what you said before... about you needing me? About me being an honorary SeeD? You meant that, right?”
“Of course I did.” I replied quietly. “I won’t leave you in this house.”
She looked up at me, grinning uncertainly. “Want me to explain why?”
“Because Caraway’s your father.”
She blinked rapidly, her mouth hanging slightly open. “How’d you figure that out?”
I shrugged. “You started acting strangely when we entered the city. You knew which bus to take. The guard at the gate recognized you even though he didn’t say anything. And now this. It wasn’t hard to figure it out.” Never mind the fact I already knew. “I don’t care what’s going on between you and him, but don’t let it interfere with the mission.”
“I promise it won’t.” Rinoa looked fairly relieved. “Thanks, Squall.”
I nodded. We entered the mansion and headed to Caraway’s office. This time, Rinoa surprised me by taking a seat on the couch in the office and folding her hands demurely in her lap. The minutes ticked by, slowly turning into hours. I settled against the desk, my arms folded across my chest as I watched the door through my bangs. I realized what was going on; it was a pissing contest between father and daughter. In the Before, Rinoa had rushed out to complain to her father about making us wait. Caraway had been waiting for her to do just that, entering just after she had left to give us our orders. Now, though, she was acting just like a SeeD, waiting for her contract to arrive.
In the end, Rinoa’s will proved stronger than her father’s, and General Caraway entered the study, a grim expression on his face. He glanced at his daughter, who gave him an icy glower. I saw him turn slightly toward her, his fingers curling into fists before he put his arms behind his back and clasped them. “Rinoa.”
“Father.” She replied, her voice cold.
“I would have you stay out of this operation. You haven’t received the training these SeeDs have, and you may become a burden.”
I saw the anger spark in her eyes and I knew a retort was coming. I pushed away from the desk, effectively interrupting her and making Caraway focus on me. I kept my voice even as I explained, “Despite the direct order from both Galbadia and Balamb Garden, we are technically working for Rinoa. As such, I’ve decided that it’s best for all parties if she remains with us. I will personally take responsibility for her. Therefore, General Caraway, please focus on the mission at hand rather than any family squabbles.”
While everyone else stared at me like I had grown a second head, Rinoa was fighting to keep her face still. Still her lips twitched at the edges, showing that she wanted to grin widely.
Caraway’s eyes narrowed at me. “And if I choose to interfere?”
“I’ll act accordingly.” I didn’t bother to hide the threat in my voice. I kept a steady, icy glare pointed in his direction. Caraway paled slightly.
“Hey, hey, hey, fellas...” Irvine started, his voice breaking through and allowing us both to back down graciously, “we’re here to knock off the sorceress, right? So let’s get down to business. One more person isn’t going to make much of a difference in the plan, right?”
Caraway glanced at Irvine, then at Rinoa, and finally refocused on me. “...Let me explain the plan.”
We followed Caraway outside the mansion and listened to him talk about the Galbadian government’s agreement with Edea and the ceremony to commemorate the event. I barely paid attention to him, following him mechanically as he explained his idea. I was too busy sorting through my Guardian Forces, junctioning Bahamut, Shiva, Eden, Cerberus, and Eden to myself. I already knew who I wanted on the gateway team and on the sniper team, and it was mostly to ensure that the people who would try to stop me from saving Seifer were as far away as possible. I turned inward and focused on Carbuncle, who was the central part to my plan to get Seifer away from Ultimecia. I had never really junctioned others without their - or the GF’s - consent, but now I was going to try something that no one in history had ever really done before.
I was going to force-junction a Guardian Force onto Seifer.
Do you think you can do it? I asked Carbuncle. The GF’s ability was to cast reflect upon the party when summoned. My theory was that he would be able to use his ability to reflect Ultimecia’s influence back upon her, thus freeing Seifer from her control. The only drawback I could see was that Seifer would have to stay junctioned to Carbuncle for the effect to remain in place.
I... I think so. I’ve never done that kind of thing before. The tiny GF stood on his back legs and pawed at the air, turning his right paw over left and right, almost like a hand. If it doesn’t work...
If it doesn’t work, I’ll draw you back.
Okay. I can give it a shot. My best shot. he added, giving me a furry little smile.
Despite knowing he couldn’t really see it, and everyone else who saw me do it would think I was crazy (if they didn’t already), I smiled. Thank you.
By the time I was finished hashing things out with my own GFs and ensuring that those who wouldn’t be part of my junctioning would stay out of the fight unless things really took a turn for the worse, Caraway was finished explaining the plan and was instructing us that all we had left to do now was to wait for the proper time. He warned us to stay out of trouble, as if that was difficult for us, then looked at Rinoa. Her head came up slightly and her expression dared him to say something to her. In the end, the general quietly excused himself from our group, telling me, “Report to my residence when you’re ready. We’ll hold a final meeting then. After that, we’ll proceed with the operation.”
I nodded. Then I looked at Rinoa and canted my head to the side. Immediately, she moved to stand beside me, smiling up at me. “Don’t worry,” she said, “whatever’s between me and him, I won’t let it affect the mission.”
“That’s good to know. But don’t antagonize him unreasonably. I wouldn’t put it past him to try and lock you in.”
She waved her hand in dismissal. “Of course, but I know the secret passages of the house. Besides, what’s going on between me and my father...” Rinoa trailed off, looking away and actually looking upset about it. She blew out a sigh. “I’m his only daughter, right? And ever since Mom died, he’s become super over-protective. I had to sneak out just to make it to Timber and since then, I’ve been trying to make him proud of me, even though I’m basically working against him, you know?”
I smiled. “I’m sure he’s proud of you, Rinoa. But he is your father, and we’re about to go do something that could get you killed. He’s just worried about you.”
“Yeah, and he doesn’t know you, Squall. You won’t let anything happen to me, least of all let me get killed. I trust you.” She patted her chest, right above her heart. “And I believe in you.”
Well, that made at least one of us. I looked away from her to the rest of my party, saying, “You can go explore the city if you want, but be back at the mansion in at least two hours. The sooner we get in position, the better.”
Zell and Selphie exchanged glances, then looked toward Quistis and Irvine. All four then looked toward me with grim, determined expressions, and I knew they weren’t about to go off on their own. They, too, wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. I acknowledged their determination with a tilt of my head, then started toward Caraway’s mansion. They all fell into step beside me, and oddly enough, once more I felt like Commander Squall Leonhart, the Lion of Balamb, leading my pride into battle.
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- 13
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One (Last) Chance