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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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Thirty-Two - Seifer POV

We arrived at Esthar in record time, since Selphie was gunning the engines and driving the Ragnarok to its fullest potential. We landed at the city’s helipad, then headed down into the building and down to the streets. The elevators still weren’t working, thanks to Lunatic Pandora, so we were forced to walk to the Presidential Palace. Anyone out on the streets gave us a wide berth and stared at us as we passed, their eyes filled with fear and maybe hope. I couldn’t be sure. I was sure, however, that many people were staring at Rinoa, unsure what to make of her walking openly and freely. Squall and I walked on either side of her, Lion Heart and Hyperion unsheathed and ready for action. Rinoa didn’t seem to notice, which was a small miracle.
No one barred our way into the Palace, though the soldiers that were there gripped their weapons tightly. Squall just kept his eyes forward and walked with purpose, forcing the rest of us to do the same. We were to be professionals right now, not gaping children. Or, in my case, a bully. Remembering Squall’s quiet lecture before we left the safety of the Ragnarok brought a smirk to my face, which made at least one of the soldiers nervous enough to flinch.
Then we arrived in the President’s personal chambers.
There was a tall broad-shouldered man with a scar across his face standing beside a smaller, thinner, darker skinned man. And in the corner, pointedly not paying attention to us, was a man with long hair that spilled down to the small of his back, where it was gathered into a bunny-tail. It looked incredibly ridiculous. I leaned toward Squall. “Who are they?” I whispered as quietly as I could.
Squall nodded toward the big man, “Ward.” the dark-skinned man, “Kiros,” and then he looked toward the third man and stayed silent.
I got it immediately. That third man became the focus of all my interest. And if I didn’t like him, probably the focus of my fist.
Ward at last headed over to the third man and nudged him with a hand that was bigger than my head. Then he jerked his chin in our direction.
“Oh, sure.” said the third man, a grin clearly evident in his voice. “Hey there!”
He turned around then and I felt my eyes go wide. Standing before me was an older version of Squall. A little rougher around the edges, a little more masculine, but definitely Squall. The long chocolate hair was a shade darker than Squall’s, but his eyes were the same blue-grey. I could see the faint beauty both father and son shared, though Squall had a bit more of his mother in him. Laguna was slightly more muscular compared to Squall’s slimness, but judging from the way he moved, they shared that same feline-esque grace that told me this old man could switch from blundering fool to focused killer in a heartbeat. Not that I’d ever call Squall a blundering idiot to his face. I didn’t have a death wish. Beside me, Squall tensed and not in a good way. He’d gone into this meeting Before not knowing shit, but now he knew exactly who this man was. And he wasn’t sure how to react to him, other than the professional SeeD Commander that he was.
Laguna rushed over to us, still grinning from ear to ear. “Been wanting to meet you guys! You guys are the ones who were inside my head, right? Ellone told me.” His eyes flickered to Squall, and for a moment, the grin faltered. Something passed through those blue-grey eyes that was there and gone so fast that I wasn’t sure I could read into the emotion behind it. But I saw Squall give the barest of nods. Then Laguna’s grin returned in full force. “So I’m Laguna, President Laguna Loire of Esthar. Pleased to meet ya. If we weren’t in a state of emergency, I’d talk to you some more, but... Well, whatever. Let’s talk. What do you want to know?”
The dark-skinned man, Kiros, blew out a sigh. “You’ll never get going if President Laguna keeps talking. So why don’t you guys throw out some questions, and he’ll try to answer them.”
Squall stepped forward, drawing Laguna’s attention to him. There again was that tight expression, and I recognized the emotion now. Guilt. Squall ignored it and said, “Just explain to us the mission to defeat Ultimecia.”
Laguna’s easy smile returned. “Ah, straight to the heart of the matter. Just like a workaholic SeeD.”
I saw Squall’s eyes narrow slightly, but anything might have said was interrupted by the arrival of Odine. The scientist strode through the room like he owned it, and a sour expression appeared on Laguna’s face. The same expression appeared on Squall’s. Neither of them liked Odine, but Squall was the only one who’d likely act on his intention and punt the bastard from here to Centra.
“Iz it my turn?” the scientist asked, chest puffing out.
Laguna frowned. “Yeah. Make it short and easy to understand.”
“I will talk however I vant!” snapped Odine. He glowered at Laguna, then focused on us. “Egh, Sorceress Edea told me everything. Sorceress Ultimecia comes from ze future to possess ze sorceress of present day. Meaning she leaves her body in ze future and sends only her consciousness here. Does zat sound familiar to you?”
“It’s exactly what Ellone does with her power.” Squall said. I don’t know how he managed to sound completely calm and still put that much malevolence in his voice. It made Odine quail a little, which made me smirk, but the scientist quickly got his back up.
“You’re a smart one!” he said, in the most sarcastic way possible. It didn’t matter. Squall one; Odine zip. “My first guess was zat someone in ze future with an ability like Ellone was sending ze sorceress back here to our time. But no! Zat is not ze answer. So how does ze sorceress come back to this time...? You vant to hear how?”
“Not really,” Squall responded, still bland. “I couldn’t care less how she does it, since explaining will only serve to stroke your ego. The point is she can, and she needs to be stopped. Now do you have a plan for that?”
There was a snicker from somewhere behind us. I was pretty sure it was Zell. I was grinning myself. Leave it to Squall to hamstring someone with only words. Odine glared at Squall, as if looks could kill. Squall won in that department though, his eyes growing darker the longer he stared at Odine, bringing out that feral quality in him.
“How dare you-“ Odine started.
Squall moved.
He moved faster than I’d ever seen him move, startling everyone in the room. I caught Rinoa’s shoulder to keep her from getting in Squall’s way, holding tight to her. She gave me a worried expression but I just shook my head.
Lion Heart now pressed against Odine’s throat, close to slicing skin. Squall’s eyes were focused on Odine’s face, but I knew he had every other sense focused on the other bodies in the room with him, especially Laguna, Kiros, and Ward. He didn’t doubt for a minute that we would stand still and let him do his thing, but he wasn’t sure that his father wouldn’t try to stop him. Though if Laguna moved, so would I.
“I don’t have time for your games.” Squall said, his voice a tight whisper and full of violence. “I don’t need you to explain what I’ve already figured out. You being the stupid, prideful asshole you are probably did something and created a machine that mimicked Sis’ powers. Ultimecia likely got a hold of it, did some research, and found out about Sis. So she started all of this, in order to create a world where only she exists. She needs Ellone to accomplish her goal because a machine is just a machine. It has no power except for what its creator gives it.” Lion Heart bit harder into Odine’s flesh.
“Squall,” Laguna started. Son glanced up at father, and I saw Laguna retreat from whatever was in Squall’s eyes.
So I stepped up, drawing Hyperion and setting its edge against Odine’s throat as well. “Now,” I started, “I’m not as nice as this guy over here.” I tipped my head toward Squall. “I’d sooner slit your throat and be done with you after all the shit I’ve heard about you. I figure the world would be better with one less asshole in it.” I saw Odine’s eyes bug out of his head, so I just smiled. “If you’re as smart as you are, then you’d see the wisdom of skipping over the self-importance and just giving him what he wants. Life’s easier that way.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a there-and-gone appreciative smile flash across Squall’s lips. Sure, leave it to me to say what you’re thinking, Squall. I shrugged, which made Hyperion twitch and the smell of blood filled the air. Odine whimpered. “Oops,” I said, not that I felt very sorry about it.
Odine’s eyes rolled back, as if he could ask for help from Laguna without actually asking for it. Squall’s gaze was still focused on his dad, leaving me to deal with the scientist under our blades. Odine sniffled and gave what I figured was a very condensed version of the plan he’d come up with. Basically, we were to go into Lunatic Pandora, rescue Ellone, kill Adel, let Rinoa get possessed by Ultimecia, have Ellone send Rinoa and Ultimecia into the past, cut them off, and voila, Time Compression. Squall was the first to disengage, slowly removing Lion Heart from Odine’s throat. I was quicker and far less gentle, making the bastard squeal as Hyperion’s edge sliced through fragile skin again. This time Squall looked at me with a raised brow, and I only shrugged.
“What?” I asked. “It’s not like he doesn’t deserve it.”
Odine clapped a hand to his bleeding neck and fled the room. I’m pretty sure he was crying, and I was also pretty sure he’d pissed himself. I blamed Squall for that one.
Laguna regarded the two of us with a wary stare. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of us, or what to make of Squall. At last, though, he said, “Will you do it?”
Squall was silent for a long time, but he dipped his head just once in a nod.
Laguna’s lips split into a wide grin. “Alright! Let’s go! We’ll get aboard Ragnarok! Let’s do the final briefing in there! I always wanted to ride that thing. Plus the name sounds so cool!”
I leaned closer to Squall to whisper in his ear, “Are you sure you’re related to that guy?”
Squall’s lips twitched and he glanced up at me. “I told you I took more after my mother.”
“Shit.”
We followed Laguna and his friends back to the Ragnarok, climbing aboard and heading to the meeting room. Laguna seemed like an energetic kid lost in a candy store, running his hands over the ship with wide, bright eyes. He touched everything. I swear it was criminal the way he caressed the seats in the meeting room. I bet Squall’s mom would’ve been jealous. When we were all gathered, Laguna turned to face us, still grinning.
“Alright! Everyone! From here, we go straight to our final target, Ultimecia! Let’s go over the plan again. First, enter Lunatic Pandora and rescue Ellone! Next, you fight Sorceress Adel! It’ll be a surprise attack. Show no mercy. Now, here comes the tricky part! Adel will need to pass on her powers before being defeated.” Laguna focused on Rinoa. “Rinoa, will you be willing to accept them?”
Rinoa’s fists clenched and she got that stubborn clench to her jaw. “Yes!”
“Good!” said Laguna. “Next, we wait for Sorceress Ultimecia to possess Rinoa! This’ll be hard on you, Rinoa, but will you do it?”
Rinoa glanced from me to Squall, from Squall to me, then back to Laguna. Her jaw still had that stubborn quality, but her body had tensed as taut as a bowstring. I wanted to touch her, to comfort her, but I was sure she’d snap if I did. “...Yes.” she answered.
Laguna grinned widely. “That’s the spirit! Then, Ellone sends Rinoa and Ultimecia to the past! Ellone brings back Rinoa! Then, head to the future through compressed time! Ultimecia lives far in the future where none of us can technically exist. There’s only one way to make yourself exist in a world like that! As friends, don’t forget one another! As friends, believe in one another! Believe in your friends’ existence! And they’ll also believe in yours. To be friends, to like one another, and to love one another... You can’t do these things alone. You need somebody. Right, guys? What place reminds you of your friends? Imagine being in that place with all your friends. Once Time Compression begins, think of that place and try to get there! That’s all! That place will welcome you. You’ll be able to get there no matter what period you’re in! You need love and friendship for this mission! And the courage to believe it. It’s all about love, friendship, and courage! I’m counting on you guys!”
The speech left me a little sick to my stomach, because my brain couldn’t comprehend how this babbling idiot was somehow one half of the genetic mix that made up the brunette beside me. They were as different as night and day, and it was a little bit terrifying. Because, had Squall grown up any other way than he did, he might have been just like his dad. I shuddered. The others began to file out of the room, whispering amongst themselves. I started for the door myself, then froze as I realized Squall wasn’t following me. I turned back to return to him, but I saw his fingers flex. It was a dismissive gesture. He wanted me to go. He wanted to be alone with his father. And damn me to hell if I wasn’t curious about what he was going to say. But I knew eavesdropping on the conversation would be worth my life or my balls, and I valued both. So I cocked my head at Squall, earning a short smile and a nod in return. Only then did I leave, allowing the door to close behind me.
Then I took up a position on the opposite wall, folded my arms over my chest, and waited.
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One (Last) Chance