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One (Last) Chance	By : RotSeele Category: Final Fantasy VIII > Yaoi - Male/Male > Seifer/Squall Views: 3721 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 8. I do not make any money from this story.

Chapter List
- 12
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- 14
Thirteen - Squall POV

We met back up with Caraway in his study and entered into our pre-mission briefing. Caraway looked at Rinoa with a pleading expression on his face, but she ignored him. I briefly entertained the idea of chucking both of them out into the hall so they could fix whatever was going on between them, but that would only serve to antagonize the situation more. Rinoa was a very stubborn girl; until she was ready to talk, she wasn’t going to forgive her father for whatever she perceived he’d done wrong, and she wasn’t going to make the first move. Caraway seemed equally stubborn, but he swallowed the words he really wanted to say and instead focused on us.
“It’s time to form the teams.” he said. “The sniper and the leader of this operation will form the sniper team. The leader’s role is vital.”
Of course it is, Bahamut growled from deep in my mind, because if anything goes wrong, the leader is supposed to fix it at the risk of his own life.
Welcome to being a SeeD. I replied, earning another snarl from the king of dragons. At least this time around I have a trump card.
What’s that?
You.
That seemed to both mollify and please Bahamut, so the dragon was content to curl up in his spot and observe the rest of the proceedings.
Caraway continued, “If the plan fails for some reason... or should the sniper miss... the leader must carry out a direct assault against the sorceress. The plan was devised carefully, because we intend this to be a covert operation. But our ultimate goal is to eliminate the sorceress, and we must achieve this at all cost. Even if they uncover our identities. So, who’s going to lead the operation?”
“I am.” I said, my voice firm. I already knew what was going to happen, and I pretty much intended it to go exactly as it had Before, with a few minute differences. I wanted it to go the way it had gone Before, so that I could confront Seifer before anyone else arrived to “help”. I already knew what would happen after that, and even though I really wasn’t looking forward to going to the D-District Prison, I was determined to make sure I wasn’t going to go with an icicle in the shoulder this time.
“Fine.” Caraway said, his voice a little hard. “I’ll leave the rest up to you.”
I met his gaze levelly, making sure I kept my expression blank. “Irvine, myself, and Rinoa will make up the sniper team. The gateway team will be Selphie, Quistis, and Zell.”
“Whoo-hoo!” said Selphie, grinning.
“Roger.” Quistis smiled and nodded.
Zell grinned widely. “Let’s DO IT!”
“Sooo,” Selphie began, her smile faltering a little, “who’s gonna be the leader of the gateway team?”
Last time, I had chosen Quistis to lead the team, and she had ended up abandoning the post to go apologize to Rinoa. In the end, it hadn’t really affected the outcome, but since Rinoa was going to be with me and Irvine this time, there really wasn’t any need for her to be the gateway team’s leader. Zell, on the other hand, was acting a little overzealous again, punching the air like he expected me to name him the leader.
I looked at Selphie. “Do you think you can handle the position of team leader, Selphie?”
Her eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open slightly. Even Zell and Quistis looked shocked. Then Selphie smiled and assumed an “I’m ready!” stance. “I can do it.” she replied, grinning brightly. “I won’t let you down, Squall!”
Caraway seemed anxious about Rinoa being with me and Irvine, but there was a distinct lack of tension to his body. He seemed to accept that I was placing Rinoa with me on the team that would be playing ‘least in sight’, at least until the inevitable happened and I went to face Seifer and Edea/Ultimecia head on. I knew they would hurry to back me up, but I intended to have Seifer on my side before they got there, limiting the need for one of them to fight. If all went as I hoped it would, Irvine and Rinoa wouldn’t have to get involved at all, since Seifer and I would be able to handle whatever Edea could throw at us on our own.
I looked at Irvine and Rinoa, focusing mostly on the former. “I’ll make the first charge when we make the full-on attack. I’ll try to buy some time.”
Irvine smirked, but I could see the glimmer of nerves already in his eyes. “That won’t be necessary... I’ll get the job done.”
This time, I believed him. Since our little altercation in the train, Irvine had been slightly less cocky than before while we went through the motions of this mission. If he listened to me, he wouldn’t choke at the last second and force me into becoming his therapist of all of two minutes. He would take the shot. He would still fail to kill Edea, but at least I would begin moving sooner rather than later.
He stepped closer to me, his head tilted toward mine in a way that indicated he wanted to have a private conversation. I knew what was coming, but decided to humor him. It was the least I could do, after throwing him an unexpected curveball and then berating him for not being able to catch it. “So like... is it true that SeeDs aren’t supposed to question their mission?”
“Aren’t supposed to, no.” That was a notion that had changed very quickly when I found my expected life suddenly spiraling into the unknown at a breakneck pace. “Should we?” I shrugged. “I believe you should try to fulfill the mission as best you can, but if you have to choose between the mission and the lives of your team, choose your team.”
He blinked, completely having not expected my answer. But it was the truth. It was a truth and an answer that I had come up with over time, after experiencing everything I had, risking my life for not just Rinoa, but Edea, Cid, and everyone else, too. After a moment of contemplative silence, Irvine asked, “So... what if you knew your enemies were pure evil? Would you get more fired up to fight them?”
I shrugged again. “I doubt anyone is pure evil. Just a product of their environment.” Even Ultimecia, I had to concede. There were too many what if’s to answer in that particular case, but I was also fairly certain that, even if Ultimecia had been shown some semblance of kindness in her life, she still would’ve ended up attempting the Time Compression in order to escape her fate. I continued, “Right and wrong aren’t what separate us and our enemies. It’s different standpoints. Our perspectives separate us. Both sides blame one another. There’s no good or bad side, just two sides holding different views.”
Yet, we aren’t really sure what Ultimecia’s true motive was, Diablos pointed out. Was it simply to escape her fate, or was it for another reason entirely?
Well, when we see her this time around, why don’t I ask her? I asked tartly. Diablos growled at me, but let the subject drop. No matter what, if she used Time Compression again, she was undoubtably going to kill everyone, and that was something I couldn’t allow to happen Before and I couldn’t allow to happen now.
We reached the archway and Caraway moved to unlock the door for the gateway team. “The gateway team will wait inside the gate until 20:00.” he explained, stepping back. “You can enter through this door. The sorceress will pass through the gateway at exactly 20:00. In that instant, lower the gates using the control console located on the top floor and trap her inside the gateway.”
“Gotcha.” Selphie said with a smile. She, Zell, and Quistis entered the archway without even a glance back to me. That was a good sign, if I ever saw one. My team followed Caraway back toward the entrance of the Presidential Residence and slipped into the crowd. I caught Caraway giving Rinoa a strange look, but she once more pointedly ignored him. I wondered if my father had ever been so stubborn when it had come to my well-being. By the time we actually met, I was old enough to be taking care of myself. Besides that, I didn’t know how to be a son and I was sure as hell he didn’t know how to be a father. But before either of us had had a chance to find out, I had gotten lost in the Time Compression and thrust back to the beginning.
Well.
There’s another thing I could change, isn’t there?
At last Rinoa looked at her father. “Why has the sorceress decided to have such an extravagant parade?”
“She wants to establish her place in Galbadia Garden, since she has chosen it to serve as her base.” Caraway answered gruffly. He looked at Rinoa, reaching out to grasp her shoulder. He did nothing more than give her shoulder a squeeze, then looked at me. “It’s starting. I’m returning to my residence. Good luck.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rinoa turn to watch her father’s back, and expression of sadness on her face. “It’s not too late,” I whispered, knowing she would hear me.
She shook her head. “When all this is over... when it’s all over, I’ll talk with him. I promise.”
I said nothing, instead turning my attention to the clock above the Presidential Residence, waiting for the countdown to end and the gates to open. We didn’t have to wait long.
“Here she comes.” said Irvine.
I felt Rinoa grip my arm as Edea approached the microphone. Was she already feeling a pull? I had to wonder. Rinoa was destined to inherit the powers of Edea and of Adel, making her an incredibly powerful sorceress. Was there a possibility that she could already feel that subconsciously? Or was I looking too far into an innocent gesture made out of pure nerves and fear? After all, this was the very woman her father seemed to be so scared of. I didn’t have any experience with my father to gauge behavior, but then... well. My father is an idiot.
“...Lowlifes. ...Shameless filthy wretches.” Edea/Ultimecia began, her voice strong and powerful. I winced as the cheers went up, almost deafening. Rinoa and Irvine looked around at the cheering crowd as if they were stupid. Sheep, I thought immediately. They’re all just sheep. They continued to cheer as Edea/Ultimecia spoke, cheered as Edea/Ultimecia killed President Deling in front of them, cheered as she left the podium and a corpse behind her. They continued to cheer, even as the gate slowly began to open.
“Now’s our chance. Come on! What are you waiting for?” Irvine started moving through the crowd. I pushed Rinoa after him, if only so she wouldn’t catch a glimpse of Seifer. I hesitated, though, if only to reassure myself he was still there, still riding on that damned float.
He was.
He didn’t see me. Or, if he did, he didn’t recognize me. I couldn’t think about that now. I moved after Irvine and Rinoa, slipping through the open gate and into the Presidential Residence. When we arrived at the carousel, I picked up the sniper rifle and handed it to Irvine.
“Remember,” I said, “you’re just the signal.”
Irvine cracked a half smile at me. “Right. Just the signal.”
I watched him move to a corner and sit down, his eyes riveted on the floor. Just as well. I knew that even with my advice, he would still have to psyche himself up for the actual attack. At this point in the Before, Irvine was the only one who knew he was going to be shooting Matron, the woman who had taken care of all of us when we were little. Before we were adopted or shipped off to Garden. He was still firing upon Edea, someone he loved. And that wasn’t an easy thing to do.
I looked at Rinoa. She was hugging herself, her eyes on the floor. As if she felt me staring at her, she looked up and met my gaze. A tiny, brave smile flitted across her mouth. “I saw Seifer.”
I nodded. “He’s in the parade with the sorceress.”
“...What does it mean?”
That he’s her knight. That he will lay down his life for her and her ambitions if she demands it of him. I didn’t say that, of course, instead shrugging. “Point is, he’s alive.” I said. “I’m going to get him back.”
“What if he won’t come back? What if you have to kill him?”
My body turned cold so suddenly that I actually shivered. What if I had to kill him? Hadn’t I done that already? I had found him, bloody and broken, while I walked through the void between times. I had found him, destroyed by my own hand. He’d died in my arms, apologizing to me. Apologizing. For something that I had done to him. My eyes stung; I quickly blinked back the tears. “It won’t come to that,” I said hastily, hating the way my voice sounded so thick. I knew she’d heard it, because her gaze became sharper and her eyes roamed my face. “I won’t kill him.”
“But you’re both... prepared, right? That’s the kind of world you live in.” Rinoa said, her face holding a sad expression. I couldn’t tell if she was faking it or if she was being serious. I twitched my shoulders in response. Rinoa looked away. “But if you say so.”
Of course I say so.
Minutes later, the carousel began to move. We rose into the sky, affording us a wonderful view of Deling City, and an unobstructed view of the sorceress’ float trapped within the gateway. I looked at Irvine, wondering again if he was going to choke. But he moved, balancing his rifle with steady hands. I was already moving as he fingered the trigger, and he fired without even batting an eye. I saw Edea fling up her hand and the shimmer of a barrier, just as I expected. I picked up speed and leaped past Irvine even as he turned to apologize to me. I heard his and Rinoa’s stunned cries as I fell at least three stories down to the podium and from there to the car. I faintly heard Rinoa call my name, but it was too late to respond to her. I flung the car into drive and sped through the crowd, narrowly avoiding hitting people, to the trapped float.
It wasn’t much longer after reaching it that I stood before Seifer and Edea. Seifer leered at me from Edea’s side, and I could see the glimmers of Ultimecia in Edea’s expression. I forced my gaze back to Seifer. I couldn’t let Ultimecia know who I was, what I was, trusting that she hadn’t gotten anything out of Seifer before she turned him to her side.
“Well,” Seifer said, his voice haughty, “this is how it turned out.”
I said nothing, instead readying Lion Heart. Carbuncle, get ready.
The little GF shifted to the very edges of my consciousness, just at the barest limit of my actual control. He was bunching up, tensing his body, getting ready to make the leap between my consciousness and Seifer’s. I was hoping what I intended to do would work. If it didn’t, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do.
Seifer’s lip curled. “Aren’t going to say anything? Fine then. I doubt there’s anything left for us to say anyway.” He came at me fast.
I let him have the first strike, because he sure as hell wasn’t going to get a second. I ducked under the swing that would’ve taken off my head and when he was wide open, I surged upward and dropped Lion Heart so that I could grab the arm wielding Hyperion. Once I had a firm grip so he couldn’t backswing and hurt me or him, I lashed out with my other hand and grabbed hold of his short blonde hair, yanking his head back to the point his spine threatened to snap. I hooked my leg around one of his and twisted us, effectively tethering him.
Now, Carbuncle, now! I cried.
Using our physical connection, Carbuncle leaped from my mind. I could no longer feel him even at the furthest reaches of my psyche, but I could still sense him. The Guardian Force was forcing his way into Seifer’s mind, through the spell Ultimecia had cast upon him. Seifer struggled against me, cursing and shouting threats, but I held on as tenaciously as I could, refusing to let him go. I was afraid that if I did let go, my force-junctioning of Carbuncle to him would be for nothing, and not only would I lose Seifer, but I would lose Carbuncle as well.
Then, suddenly, I couldn’t sense Carbuncle anymore.
Seifer suddenly sagged in my hold.
Gasping in surprise, I went down hard to avoid dropping Seifer, which I ended up doing anyway. He groaned as he hit the ground, his eyes fluttering this way and that under the lids before they finally opened to stare at me. He seemed confused, both by his position on the ground and mine over him. I watched him look around, saw anger crease his brow when he recognized where he was.
My first thought was, I failed.
Then Seifer said, “Squall, what the fuck did you do to me?”
I laughed, half-hiccuping because of the surge of sheer joy that crashed through me. “Is Carbuncle there? Did it work?”
“Carbuncle...? You mean that kid’s voice I can hear in my head?”
I nodded.
“What did you do to me?” Seifer groaned as I helped him sit up.
I retrieved Lion Heart after we disentangled ourselves from each other. “I’ll explain later.”
Before Seifer could say anything more, Edea/Ultimecia hissed. “...A SeeD. ...Planted in a run-down Garden. Taking my knight from me.”
I gripped Seifer’s wrist to keep him from retorting. Instead, I stepped forward, allowing her to get a good look at me. “He’s not yours. He was never yours.” I lifted Lion Heart and pointed it toward Edea’s chest. “I’m taking back what’s mine.”
Edea’s expression never changed, but I saw the attack coming. Without Carbuncle to reflect the damage of the spell back onto her, I had no choice but to take it to the face. I heard Seifer curse as the magic hit me full on, then another expletive as I remained standing. When I had junctioned myself with the Guardian Forces, I had made sure to make myself immune to whatever Edea was going to dish out. I saw her lips twist into a disgusted scowl as she realized this, but she couldn’t figure out how I could have done such a thing. There was no time to explain, no time to even think, for Edea began attacking me in earnest, all but ignoring Seifer and Rinoa, who had entered the fray.
It was over in a matter of minutes, but I still couldn’t bring myself to deliver the final blow that would kill Edea and force Rinoa to become a sorceress sooner than when fate intended. I saw the icicles forming and knew I needed to move, otherwise I would have an old wound reopened. But I couldn’t make myself move, instead staring at the missile that had given me my first (well, second, but I wasn’t counting the scar across my face) real taste of excruciating pain.
“Squall!” Seifer bellowed, reaching for me.
I felt myself falling backwards, and this time I saw both Rinoa and Seifer’s faces staring down at me.
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One (Last) Chance