Adult-FanFiction.org : Final Fantasy

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
- 26
- 27
- 28
Twenty-Seven - Squall POV

I knew the feeling before it had even fully formed. Ellone was drawing me into the dream world. I wasn’t sure if she knew I was here in Esthar, or if she was being forced to use her powers on me, or if she was simply trying to contact me. She hadn’t reached out to me for a while, hadn’t made me relive my father’s past, nor had spoken with me through the link we had until now. It was enough to make me worry. I saw Seifer reaching toward me as I went down, but that was all I remembered before the darkness took me.
Sis?
She sensed my fear. Her voice echoed through my mind, apologetic. I’m sorry, Squall. This is the only way I can reach you right now. I wanted to talk to you.
You couldn’t wait until we saw each other face to face?
You’re in Esthar?
I told you I’d come for you.
Her apologetic tone changed to nervous. That’s what I told him. Uncle Laguna didn’t believe me. He didn’t believe me, either, when I said you were the one who told me to do it.
I wasn’t surprised. You’re on Lunar Base, aren’t you?
H-how did you know? Squall? Squall, what’s going on? I’ve done what you asked, but now I want some answers. I was too scared before, but now I want to know. How did you recognize me in the infirmary? It’s been years since we’ve seen each other! How did you know Uncle Laguna is your father? You’ve never met him. How do you know about Lunar Base?
I was silent for a long time. I had only told Seifer about all of this. Well. Most of it, anyway. I had wanted to keep it all to myself, because I wanted to ensure the timeline stayed relatively the same. I didn’t want to drag anyone else into this with me, especially Ellone. I needed her. If she refused to fulfill her role, then I would lose Rinoa. I would lose Seifer. I would lose everyone I cared about. I would lose my world, this new world that I had fought so hard for. I would be more than likely killed, Ultimecia would win, and everything would be for nothing.
But if I didn’t tell her, Ellone was likely to refuse on principle until I did tell her, and then I would have to tell everyone, since we would all be together. I didn’t know which was worse.
Squall?
Ellone, if you were given a second chance to save someone you loved, would you do it?
What do you mean?
Exactly what I said. If you had been given the chance to go back and save your parents or my mother or make sure that you were never captured in the first place, would you do it?
Now she was silent. That’s not possible, Squall. The past can’t be changed. I learned that when I sent you into the past to try and stop Uncle Laguna from leaving Aunt Raine alone.
It is possible. Time Compression makes all of that possible.
Time Compression?
I took a deep breath, more to steady myself than to prepare for a long-winded explanation. But I told her. I told her everything. Unlike with Seifer, I didn’t leave out a single detail this time. I wasn’t sure what she was thinking as I spoke, but I didn’t feel her retreat and she didn’t interrupt me. When I finished, we shared the silence of the darkness, and I was terrified that she would return to me and tell me I was insane, that I was making it all up, that no, she wasn’t going to help me.
Instead she said, Squall... I’m so, so sorry. If I had known!
I wasn’t sure if I wanted to feel relieved or even more terrified. It’s not your fault. I was caught up in time and sent back to the start for a reason. Now I have to protect that reason. I also need to make sure that the timeline stays the same now. Which is why I need your help.
Oh, Squall...
I said nothing else. It was up to her now. She had to be thinking, because she was silent as well. Finally, she said, I’ll help you, Squall. But on one condition.
...And what’s that?
You have to come back to me this time. You have to come back to me and Rinoa and the others. Especially Seifer. I won’t forgive you if you make him go through what Aunt Raine had to go through.
...You mean getting him pregnant and leaving him by himself to chase after a little girl?
Jerk. But Ellone laughed, even though there were tears evident in her voice. You know what I mean. I have to go now. I’ll see you soon.
Sis, be careful. I mean it.
The darkness began to recede then, leaving me coming back to the real world. I was still being cradled by Seifer, though everyone else was watching the tunnel nervously. Irvine noticed that I was awake and gave me a nervous smirk. “Back from your adventure, Squall?”
Edea shushed him. “There’s something coming.”
I got to my feet, silently assuring Seifer that I was fine. I would have to tell him what happened, because I would need him later. Right now, though, I steadied myself to face the car that was pulling up to us and the man getting out of it.
He seemed shocked to see Edea. “Sorceress Edea?”
She nodded. “Yes. We came to see Dr. Odine.”
He regarded all of us nervously. “...Please explain what this is regarding.”
“Yes, of course.” Edea responded.
Before she could begin to explain our situation, I stepped away from Seifer, allowing the man to see me. A flash of recognition followed by swift confusion passed over his face. I hadn’t noticed it Before. He saw my father in me, but he couldn’t figure out why he could see my father’s features in my face, and that bothered him. I kept my voice steady and low, even though I really did want to scream. “I want to see Ellone. Where is she?”
Now the man looked visibly startled. “...Ellone?”
Edea reached to touch my shoulder. “Squall, calm down. Trust me. Let me handle this.”
I just looked at Edea for a long time, then nodded and stepped back. The man regarded all of us with a confused and worried expression, then gestured to the car. “Please come with us.”
I ignored the small talk as we drove through the city toward the Presidential Palace. I was growing even more nervous. It was silly that I would. If Ellone was on Lunar Base, then so would Laguna be. I wouldn’t have to worry about running into my father inadvertently. I smirked at Irvine’s comment of the President being a real big shot, and I felt Seifer squeeze my hand. I squeezed it back.
We arrived at the palace and were escorted within to the receiving room that I remembered. I looked toward the couch and watched Seifer place Rinoa there. He stood guard then by her legs, arms crossed over his chest, observing everything. When I heard Odine’s voice, I turned to look at the imp of a man, narrowing my eyes at him. He didn’t seem to notice. He hadn’t noticed Before, either. Odine was too busy with Edea to notice anyone else, at least until the aide spoke to me.
I nodded in response to the aide’s question. “I have to bring Rinoa to her. We need to see Ellone.”
Odine tensed. “So, you will take Odine hostage!? You are a fool.”
I rolled my eyes, earning a snort from Seifer. “No, I’m not taking you hostage. There’s no point in it. You can either give me permission to go see her, or I’ll make enough noise to draw the attention of people you don’t want the attention of. And then you can explain to them why you’re denying me such a simple request.”
Seifer was openly grinning now, but everyone else was staring at me like I had grown a second head. Odine stared at me suspiciously. Then he turned to the aide. “Do as he says. I give ze permission.”
The aide regarded both of us nervously. “...Very well.”
Odine wandered toward the couch and Rinoa then, completely ignoring Seifer. His hands hovered over Rinoa’s face, not quite touching, but threatening to. “But under one condition. You must let me observe this girl.”
The aide looked at me. “...Well? We would need time to prepare before we take you to Ellone. So, you will leave the girl with us until then?”
I nodded.
Seifer moved fast, grabbing Odine’s wrist in a grip that obviously hurt. “You better not do anything to Rinoa.” he growled. “Or you’ll answer to me.”
“Seifer.” I said quietly.
He glanced at me, then released Odine from his grip with obscene gentleness. Odine stared up at Seifer fearfully, rubbing his wrist. He came to my side and waited for me to start moving before he followed.
The aide followed us out. “We’ll take the girl there. There’s nothing to worry about. Just head to Lunar Gate.”
I nodded again, reaching to grasp Seifer’s arm to keep him from doing anything to the aide. There wasn’t anything we could do right now anyway, not without causing more problems. I knew Odine wouldn’t do anything to Rinoa. He was a creep, but he wasn’t capable of doing anything untoward to anyone. He was a scientist, not a pervert. Seifer was cursing under his breath the entire time as we left the palace and then the city, heading toward the Lunar Gate.
The massive structure was just as I remembered. My nerves returned, but I was able to keep them steady this time. We all entered, and after dealing with Angelo, we followed the woman who had greeted us into another room, where we met with the first of the Lunar Gate staff.
“Distance-wise,” he said, “it’s pretty far, but you’ll be there in no time. You’ll be there by the time you wake up.”
“Wake up?” Seifer questioned. “What do you mean?”
“Let me give you a quick explanation of the whole process.” The staff member continued to speak, but I ignored him. I had heard the speech Before, so I knew what to expect. I had survived Before, and I knew I would survive this time around. I focused instead on Edea, noting how nervous she looked. I already knew I was going to be bringing Seifer with me, which meant I needed to give the rest a job to do.
Thankfully, it was easy.
I gave Zell the title of leader in Edea’s guard detail, and told the others to back Zell up however they could. Their priority was to protect Edea, but I knew that wasn’t going to be the only thing they were going to do. Lunatic Pandora was going to be moving over the city, and while Zell wouldn’t be able to do more than get tossed out on his ass, I knew it would keep him occupied until it reached Tears’ Point. In the meantime, Seifer and I would be working to ensure Adel woke up, to save Rinoa’s life, and move forward toward Time Compression.
I entered the capsule and forced myself to relax. I didn’t feel it when the cold sleep came over me, just like Before. I was unconscious before I could form a single thought. When I woke, we had arrived at the Lunar Base, and Seifer, Rinoa, and I were floating in the zero-g space within the Base. Seifer looked like he was going to freak out, but somehow he swallowed his panic and, when the gravity was turned on, he gathered up Rinoa and followed me to the lab tech that appeared at one door. I recognized Piet immediately. I wordlessly handed him the letter of introduction from Esthar’s ambassador. He read the letter, then looked at Rinoa.
“Wow...” he breathed. “What is she, seventeen, eighteen... Is she dead?”
Seifer growled softly. I held up a hand to stop him from punching the tech in the face. “Don’t touch her.” I said.
Piet nodded. “I understand the situation. Let’s get her to the med lab and we’ll talk there. Please follow me.”
I nodded and moved in front of Seifer, allowing him to follow me and Piet to the lab. When I gestured, Seifer set Rinoa on the table there, and then he looked at us expectantly. Piet nodded. “I’ve talked to my crew.” he said. “Everything will be alright. Come, let’s go to the control room.”
I knew what to expect when we arrived there. Seifer let out a low whistle, though, his eyes wide at the sight of the moon being so close to us. “Holy Hyne,” Seifer breathed, “this is incredible.”
“This is no time to be impressed.” said one of the controllers. “Look at the monitor there.”
I stared at the red glow on the monitor and felt my stomach grow tight. The monsters were gathering, just as they had Before. They were getting ready for the Lunar Cry. I closed my eyes and tried to breathe evenly. I knew what was going on below on Earth. Zell and the others were trying to stop (and failing to do so) the Lunatic Pandora from reaching Tears’ Point. It was a brave, futile effort. I opened my eyes and looked at Seifer. His expression had gone stony as he stared at the monsters. His jaw twitched and he regarded me with a raised eyebrow. I nodded slowly, then canted my head.
“Yeah, sure.”
He followed me out of the control room then, and together we headed up to the second floor. Ellone was waiting for us, hands clasped in her lap, her gaze locked on the view outside her room. She jumped a little when she heard our approach, then looked at Seifer and me with tear-filled eyes. She caught me in a tight hug, pulling me as close to her as possible. She did the same to Seifer, though it was harder for her to pull him down to her. He easily outweighed her, and he had more mass. He awkwardly returned her hug, then stepped back, leaving me in the forefront.
“Squall,” Ellone breathed, wiping her eyes, “I’m so happy to see you again.”
“Me too.”
“I’m so sorry. I got you involved in so many things... so much hardship.”
I shrugged. “It’s done. We both learned what we needed to. Sis, about what we talked of...”
Ellone nodded. “I tried to tell Uncle Laguna, but he blew me off, as usual. Honestly, I don’t know where his confidence comes from. He went out there to check on Adel, just like you said he would. When the moon started glowing like that... it’s really happening, isn’t it?”
I nodded. I suddenly felt Seifer at my back, and I knew he was staring down at me. “You told her?”
I nodded.
“Why did you do that? I thought you didn’t want anyone else to know!”
“Don’t get mad at him!” Ellone snapped, coming to my defense against Seifer. He looked at her and narrowed his eyes. “I made him tell me. Seifer, you know what I do. Squall is an anomaly in this time. He isn’t supposed to exist like he is. No one should know what we do, what he does. Do you know how dangerous that knowledge can be?”
Seifer bared his teeth at her. “If it were anyone but Squall, I’d agree with you. But Squall’s always been the more responsible one out of all of us. He’s always the one who’s doing the right thing, his own wants and needs be damned! I’ve watched him suffer with his knowledge, sacrifice things he knew he could save if he’d just changed one more thing, and know how much people have hated him for making the decisions he has, even though they understand why. I’ve stood by him this far, and I’m not giving up now.”
“I’m not telling you to give up on him!” Ellone shouted, pointing at Seifer’s chest.
I held up my hand to stop their argument. “I told the both of you because you’re the only ones who can understand, and you’re the only ones who won’t try and change my mind. Sis, I promise. I promise that I won’t let that happen.”
Her eyes softened as she tore them away from Seifer and set them on me. She nodded, reaching out to hug me again. I felt her sigh against me. “All right.” she said. “I’ll help. I’ll do this for you. So take me to Rinoa and-“
The alarm blared suddenly and I felt cold rush through my system.
“The hell is that?” Seifer asked, staring around as if he could figure out the reason for the alarm.
I pressed my lips into a thin line. “It’s started.”
- 26
- 27
- 28
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

One (Last) Chance