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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.

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Thirty-Five - Squall POV

We arrived on the castle steps, staring up at the abode of our enemy. It was as impressive and as terrifying as I remembered it being. The gargoyles seemed just as fierce as they had Before. The turrets and buttresses still seemed huge and foreboding as they had Before. I looked at the front door, knowing what lay on the other side. I had forgotten about it. How Ultimecia had stolen our abilities and had sealed them. The only way we had gotten them back was to defeat the monsters she had guarding those abilities. When we stepped foot in that castle, her powers would affect us, steal our abilities.
Make Seifer vulnerable.
I hated myself for forgetting that part.
Before, I had been so focused on getting the job done that I had just blown through the enemies that had sealed our abilities, getting them all back as we moved through the castle toward our ultimate goal. I remembered that defeating the monsters would allow us to pick one ability to unlock, and if we wanted them all, we would have to kill all the beasts. I had picked them in the order of necessity Before. I had chosen command ability, resurrection, limit break, item, magic, and Guardian Forces in that order, before we had gone on to kill Ultimecia. This time, to protect Seifer, I would have to pick the Guardian Forces over everything else, and that choice could very well get us all killed.
Seifer had told me that Rinoa could control him, using the sorceress-knight bond. I wasn’t even sure that would work. Sure, she was a sorceress who had two knights, but that sort of thing had never been done before. A sorceress only ever had just one knight. I couldn’t even be sure that Rinoa would be able to control Seifer if Ultimecia started to get into his mind. Of course, I had also force-junctioned Carbuncle into Seifer’s mind, so I couldn’t even be sure that the lock on the GF ability would affect him. Force-junctioning was something that had never been done before, either.
“...Whoa...!” Zell said, breaking my reverie. “So this is her castle?”
“Finally,” Selphie breathed.
Irvine whistled lowly. “I’ve never seen anything so creepy. You think what’s-her-face really lives here?”
Rinoa clenched her fists. “We’ve come this far. She’s gotta be here.”
“So this is the future... This is where Ultimecia reigns...” Quistis was staring up at the castle, a look of trepidation on her face.
“Well, we’re still here.” Seifer said, his hands on his hips and a cocky grin on his face. “I think we still have some time to dick around before we have to go finish our job.”
“Seifer, we’re on a mission!” Quistis looked scandalized that Seifer would say such a thing. I knew why he did; his humor caused smiles to bloom on the faces of Zell, Irvine, Selphie, and Rinoa, and did far more to relax them and give them confidence than he probably intended. Seeing that Seifer was unrepentant, Quistis looked toward me, as if expecting me to do something about him. When I didn’t, she huffed and asked, “What are we going to do, Squall?”
We’re going to kill a sorceress and hope we don’t die in the process this time around. We’re going to hope that I don’t end up going back to the beginning of all this again, or disappear forever, or end up dead myself after all is said and done. Knowing Seifer could read all of this on my face, and how he could read my expressions I didn’t know, I buried those thoughts deep enough in my mind before I turned around to face her. “We’re going to divide into two parties. Then we’re going inside, and we’re going to make Ultimecia wish she had never tried this in the first place.”
I put Seifer and Rinoa with me, just in case something bad did happen so only Rinoa and I had to deal with it, and I put the other four in another party with Zell as the leader. Then we headed inside.
Seifer, Rinoa, and I started moving second, letting the others take the first path. As soon as we were away from the others and heading down a hallway, I stopped to look at Seifer. He raised a hand to his head, his eyes going slightly unfocused. Then he shook his head.
“I don’t hear him.” he said.
“Who?” Rinoa asked.
“Carbuncle.” Seifer tapped the side of his head. “Squall force-junctioned a Guardian Force to me, to protect my thoughts and mind from the influence of Ultimecia. When we walked in here, all of our abilities, including the GF’s, were sealed away.”
Rinoa’s eyes went wide. “Oh, Seifer, are you okay?”
I looked at Seifer, searching his face for some indication that he was in pain or that something had shifted in his demeanor. He only smiled in that cocky way of his but met my eyes with a stern emerald gaze.
“I’m fine. I don’t hear anything but my own thoughts.”
“Maybe she doesn’t realize we’re here yet.” Rinoa said, lifting her voice slightly at the end to make the statement sound like a question.
“Oh, she knows we’re here.” Seifer said. “I don’t think she cares. She’s gotten what she’s wanted. We’re the only ones left standing in her way. She gets rid of us, and voila, she wins.”
“...She could use you to kill us.” I pointed out.
Seifer’s eyes narrowed dangerously as he focused on me. “I won’t let that happen. Look, Squall, you’ve done what you could to protect me this far, but this is one fight I might have to deal with on my own. Maybe with Rinoa acting as backup. You can’t help me anymore.”
I hated that the words hurt. I looked away from him. He was right, of course. Until we killed the first monster, we couldn’t use the GFs, and Seifer would be vulnerable. On the other hand, I had force-junctioned Carbuncle onto him, so there was always that chance that Carbuncle wouldn’t be able to junction with Seifer this time without Seifer’s permission.
“I won’t put myself at risk on purpose, Squall. But we don’t have the time to waste on what ifs, you know?”
“...”
Seifer sighed. Ignoring the presence of Rinoa, he reached out and hooked his arm around my shoulders to pull me close to him. Then he kissed me, sealing his mouth over mine. I wanted to push him away, but instead I pushed closer, deepening the kiss and letting him know in the only way I could how I felt. When we parted, Seifer rested his forehead against mine, staring into my eyes.
Rinoa politely turned her back and started studying something on the floor that was suddenly very interesting.
Seifer kissed me again, softer this time. When he pulled back, he said, “I made you a promise, remember?”
I nodded. I looked away from him, hating myself for feeling so indecisive now about continuing forward. It had to be done, and I had to do it. I had never hesitated Before, so why was I hesitating now? Because I didn’t want to disappear, which was a very real possibility. Because I didn’t want to lose Seifer. Because I didn’t want to lose Rinoa or any of my other friends. Because I liked my life as it was now. I didn’t want to lose any of it. Going forward wasn’t only putting my friends at risk, but myself as well. As I’d told Seifer before, I didn’t belong to this timeline either. The body might be mine, but not the memories.
I didn’t belong here, just like Ultimecia didn’t belong here. The only difference was that she didn’t know anything more than one fact: that a SeeD was destined to kill her. And that SeeD was me.
I knew Seifer was watching me, studying me with that deep green gaze of his, reading my thoughts from my face and body as easily as if I had spoken them aloud. I looked up at him. “Sorry.” I said at last.
He smiled. “Hyne, Squall, I’d be having second-thoughts too, if I were in your shoes. It’s only human.”
I nodded. “But we’re this far. Might as well go all the way.”
“Might as well, right?”
There was laughter in his voice, which annoyed me a little because it made me smile a little bit as well. I didn’t want to smile right now, not when everything was riding on what we had to do once we made it through the maze of Ultimecia’s castle. I looked at him, then Rinoa, and tilted my head. They fell into step beside me and we headed through the castle, heading toward where the first monster in Ultimecia’s employ, Sphinxara, rested. Before we took any steps further into the room, though, I made sure Seifer and Rinoa had junctioned enough magic to themselves to be able to nullify or absorb most of, if not all of, the attacks from the monsters we might face. Since we didn’t have any of our abilities currently, the fights we would face could very well mean the death of us. I knew I would survive anything any monster threw at me; I wasn’t sure Seifer and Rinoa would fare all that well, considering we didn’t have anything that could be used to defend ourselves. I wouldn’t know what abilities the others chose to unlock until they defeated Sphinxara and Tri-Point.
I hoped they would unlock the GFs, and put my mind at ease. Unfortunately, they chose to unlock our resurrection ability first and the magic ability second. I suppose from a logical viewpoint (which Quistis was no doubt responsible for) having the ability to bring someone back from the dead and then heal them was far more beneficial than having the Guardian Forces readily available. When I felt those two abilities return to me, I knew it was almost our turn. I led my team back to the main room and prepared myself to cross the light fixture, hoping to Hyne it wouldn’t fall when I stepped on it.
The whole time, I kept watching Seifer’s face, looking for a sign that he was starting to falter under Ultimecia’s influence. But Seifer remained as cocky as ever. Either Ultimecia wasn’t seeking a way into Seifer’s mind, or he was somehow keeping her at bay with, or without, Rinoa’s help. I knew he wouldn’t say a word to me about it, even if he was under attack, and he knew I was watching him. I looked away from him at one point, hating that I was so worried about him. Seifer was strong; I needed to trust him. I couldn’t babysit him all the time through this place. If I fought distracted, there was a good chance I’d get us all killed.
We continued through the castle, taking out the third monster, Krysta, and this time unlocked our limit break ability. I knew Seifer was delaying the activation of the Guardian Forces just to get under my skin, knowing full well I was getting annoyed with him. He just kept giving me cocky grins, and I ignored him in turn. If he wanted to tempt fate, I decided I would let him. He could be a big idiot for all I cared now. I just didn’t want him putting myself or Rinoa at risk if he faltered.
Of course, he could be right. Ultimecia had gotten what she wanted. All she was waiting for was for us to reach her so she could kill us. I let out a silent sigh and rubbed at the bridge of my nose, feeling the pucker of my scar even under my gloves. Calm down. Just calm down. You’re focusing your nervousness on something inconsequential, something that you’ll be able to change, given that we kill all the monsters in here. What you’re actually worried about is what’s going to happen when you reach Ultimecia and what happens when you kill her. If you kill her. I closed my eyes tight for a brief moment.
Then we entered the painting room.
I remembered this room all too clearly. I knew there were twelve paintings, each with an image and a corresponding name. Only three of the paintings would have the correct names that would make up the password. The idea was to choose three of the words and input them in a much larger painting on the second floor, which would trigger a battle and unlock another of our abilities.
Seifer let out a low whistle. “Someone’s been busy. Who do you think painted all these?”
“Ultimecia?” Rinoa guessed.
“Doubt it. She doesn’t strike me as the creative type.”
“The point is,” I said, “someone took the time to paint all these. They made them for a purpose.”
They both looked at me, somewhat confused and impressed at the same time. “What for?” asked Rinoa.
“Hey, even Leonhart can’t know everything.” Seifer told her, a knowing grin upon his face. I wanted to punch him, because I knew he was making fun of me.
Instead, I shook my head and pushed past them, heading for the first of the paintings on the ground floor. I pointed at the first painting, Ignus, and said, “Each word corresponds to the picture shown. Fire is ignus. There are twelve just like it, depicting different scenes and different words.”
“It’s a puzzle!” Rinoa said suddenly. She grinned at my surprised expression and looked back and forth from Seifer to me. “It’s a word puzzle. We have to figure out the riddle and find the right password to be able to continue.”
I blinked. Rinoa hadn’t been with me Before when I solved this puzzle. I had sent her with Irvine and Quistis, and kept Selphie and Zell with me. Before, those two had puzzled over each painting while I had explored the room, at last finding the only clue that had helped us figure out the three words that were the password.
Seifer laughed. “Sounds easy enough!” He pointed to the second painting, Inandantia. “Let’s try and figure out what the password is.”
He and Rinoa set about exploring the downstairs for more paintings. I took a deep breath and headed up the stairs, running my fingers up the banister as I did. I stopped before the giant painting on the second floor and studied the picture. Was it irony that the password was what it was? Or had someone made this painting, the password, knowing what was to come? ‘In the Garden Sleeps the Messenger’. I was the messenger, raised in Balamb Garden, for the sole purpose of destroying sorceresses like Ultimecia. One could argue I had been raised as a SeeD for the sole purpose of destroying Ultimecia herself, rather than any given sorceress.
“Here you are.”
I half turned to watch Seifer approach. Rinoa was down the other side of the hallway, studying one of the other paintings. There was no smile on Seifer’s face, no cocky quirk of his lips. Even his eyes were like hard chips of emerald. I lifted my shoulder and gave him my back.
He came to stand beside me. “This one’s nice. This the one we have to input the password into?”
I nodded.
“Rinoa will be up in a second. She’s getting the last few words.”
I took a deep breath and said softly, “Vividarium et intervigilium et viator.”
Seifer looked at me, one brow raised. “In English, maybe?”
“In the Garden Sleeps the Messenger. Vividarium et intervigilium et viator.”
He looked at me more fully, studying me for some time, before he turned back to the painting and cursed. “That’s the password, isn’t it?”
I didn’t move, other than to blink.
“What does it mean?”
“Beside the password?”
“Yeah.”
I shrugged. I didn’t want to give voice to the thoughts I’d had before. Even if I did, they wouldn’t do me any good, anyway, other than to stir up things I didn’t need stirred up.
Seifer, however, had gotten too good at reading me. I saw his eyes narrow, but for once, he didn’t push me into answering, nor did he answer for me. Instead, he reached out and input the three words in the correct order. When he finished, there was a noise down below us, and Rinoa let out a little breathy shriek. From her vantage point, she could likely see Trauma. I pushed past Seifer with enough force to let him know I didn’t want to talk to him about whatever I was feeling, unsheathed Lion Heart, gestured sharply to Rinoa, and headed down the stairs. Rinoa quickly caught up to me before Seifer did, though he was right behind us as we hit the landing. I engaged Trauma with everything I had to give, relying on everything the others had unlocked for us to bring it down. Seifer and I ducked in and around each other, our gunblades striking like lightning. Rinoa supported us with healing magic, mending our wounds when we needed them mended.
Trauma fell only minutes later.
Then, without stopping, we headed to the next challenge. I snatched the prison key and initiated the battle against the Red Giant. To make the battle easier, I used the first few minutes of the battle to cast the Meltdown spell, then attacked with Seifer. Since we didn’t have our GFs still - Seifer insisted on unlocking our limit breaks first - I didn’t have Doomtrain to inflict the Darkness status on the Red Giant, so Seifer and I were relying on Rinoa to keep us healed. She did a good job, casting her healing spells only when I or Seifer needed it and attacking otherwise, helping us whittle the monster’s health down until it finally fell over.
When we left the prison and reached the point where we could go no further, I moved toward the glowing platform that would allow me to contact the others and give them the go-ahead. There was nothing left for Rinoa, Seifer, and I to do but wait. The silence we kept felt oppressive. I wanted to move, to pace, but I didn’t dare. Such movement wouldn’t do any good, anyway. The others would get done when they got done.
Seifer leaned against the wall near me with his arms folded over his chest. “Was it this boring?” he asked me.
I saw Rinoa give him a confused look, but when she looked at me, I pointedly ignored her gaze by focusing on the stones at my feet. “It’s the rules of the castle. We can’t do anything until we open the path. This is the only way to do it.”
“It’s boring.”
“That’s your opinion.”
Seifer smirked. Then he looked at Rinoa. “What do you think, princess? Don’t you want to see some action?”
Rinoa narrowed her eyes a little at Seifer. “I like this down time just fine, thank you. You’re being really cavalier, you know. Can’t you see how much Squall is worried about you?”
“I know he’s worried about me.” Seifer said, his voice holding a hint of a growl. “But it doesn’t change anything. Him worrying about me, about what may or may not happen, it doesn’t do anything except make him vulnerable.”
Rinoa scoffed. “Did you just use Squall and vulnerable in the same sentence?”
“I’m human, too, Rinoa.” I said softly. I flicked my gaze toward Seifer. “Anyone can be vulnerable when it comes to something, or someone, they care about.”
Seifer’s cheeks colored slightly. Rinoa didn’t notice. “Squall, don’t say nice things.” she said, waving her hand dismissively. “It’ll go straight to Seifer’s head.”
I smiled slightly, still watching Seifer. He only made a noise in the back of his throat, and crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back against the wall and scowling at the floor.
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One (Last) Chance