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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
- 4
- 5
- 6
Five - Squall POV

He was early.
That meant he must’ve rushed through introducing Rinoa to Cid. I’d avoided going to the dance on purpose. I felt a little bad about not being there for Selphie when she came around asking for volunteers for her festival committee, but I hadn’t wanted to see Rinoa. I knew why she was here. I knew that, tomorrow, I’d be on my way to Timber to help her try and assassinate the president of Galbadia. Cid was only trying to save Edea, and he was trying to protect us from learning the truth too soon. We’d end up learning it anyway, along with the fact that the GF’s stole memories to make room for themselves in our minds, and that’s why we forgot our childhood. Why I forgot Ellone... and other things.
...I’d wanted a little bit of time to figure out how to deal with her, knowing what I did about her future. Could I stop her from becoming a sorceress? Could I protect her from what we’d end up facing? I didn’t know... and I still couldn’t figure anything out.
Since I’d avoided going to the dance, I’d also avoided interacting with Quistis. I knew she’d be looking for me, wanting to spend a little time with me before she told me that she was no longer an instructor. The Garden staff had told her she’d failed in her job, that she lacked leadership qualities. They weren’t wrong - Quistis did better when she was told what to do and then left to her own devices to accomplish it. I knew that first hand. So as soon as I’d left the Headmaster’s office, after Seifer’s applause, I’d returned to my room and changed clothes, then came here to the training center.
I had time to kill while waiting for Seifer. I’d wandered around, but the monsters avoided me. They could smell the predator in me, and knew I was much stronger than I looked. I’d even taken the time to talk to Shiva, Bahamut, and the other Guardian Forces; they’d agreed to stay un-junctioned to me for the time being, but they would answer my call if I needed them. I could feel their ghostly presences just at the edge of my consciousness, ready and waiting, but not attached to me. That was, at least, one thing I could say was going right for me so far.
After I’d finished wandering about - I’d already decided I was going to make sure I met Ellone this time, and I was going to say a few things to her and the White SeeD protecting her - I'd returned to the hall leading into the training center to wait for Seifer.
“They missed you at the festivities.” Seifer said as he approached me.
I shrugged. “I don’t like to dance.”
“Not formal ones, anyway, but you’ve never said no to me.”
“That’s different.”
Seifer smirked, but the expression was gone in the next heartbeat. “Cid told me you tried to get me promoted.”
I sighed softly. I should’ve figured Cid wouldn’t haven’t kept his mouth shut. He’d seemed ecstatic that Seifer and I were “getting along so well”, as he put it, when I’d spoken to him about possibly taking another look at Seifer’s conduct during the SeeD exam. I guess Seifer just wasn’t meant to be a SeeD. Didn’t mean he had to be a sorceress’ knight, though.
“You know you risked your promotion by doing that.” Seifer continued, moving closer to me. “Do I seem like a weak person who needs protection and coddling, Leonhart?”
“Follow me.” I didn’t want to answer his question. It reminded me too much of what he had become, of what he had been right before Lion Heart had... I forced the thought away. It had taken too much time to convince myself this was the right thing to do, even though I was certain he was going to die laughing. He hesitated, then started after me with heavy, deliberate steps. I had his attention, and it wasn’t likely I wasn’t going to lose it any time soon.
We entered the training center’s foyer and I led the way into the center proper. I didn’t look back at him, even when I heard him grumbling about being led by the hand like a child. Despite myself, my lips twitched into a small smirk. Seifer seemed to have an issue with being treated like a little kid; maybe that issue was what had allowed Edea to turn him. I pushed the thought aside. Now wasn’t the time to think about what had been. I was going to tell him in order to change what would be.
“Hyne, not even one damn monster.” Seifer said loudly. I felt the wind from Hyperion as he swung the gunblade in his agitation, but I didn’t turn around. “What’d you do, Leonhart? Scare all of them off?”
“...Maybe.”
His footsteps stopped suddenly. I paused and twisted slightly to look back at him. He was watching me with an unreadable gaze, his emerald eyes focused on my face. “Shit, you’re not lying, are you?”
“When have I ever lied to you?”
Seifer tilted his head slightly, as if conceding the point. I watched him for a moment longer, then inclined my head and started once again for the secret area. After a slight hesitation, he followed me again. He said nothing, but I could tell he was bursting with questions. If I didn’t appease him soon, I was sure he would find his own answers, and I wasn’t entirely sure what I’d do then. I felt Shiva at the edge of my consciousness, felt her say, If he chooses to bring harm to you, then we shall react accordingly, as we’ve always done. I subtlety shook my head to try and deter her, but the GFs knew what I did: that Seifer had become the sorceress’ knight and had killed hundreds of people, people that had utilized the GFs just like I had. People the GFs had come to care for.
When we reached the secret area, the couples that were there quickly left at the sight of Seifer. Apparently, the Disciplinary Committee was holding up and enforcing the curfew rules. Huh. Who knew?
I reached the ledge and leaned against it, studying the glowing Garden ahead of us. Seifer stood still behind me for a minute, then joined me at the wall. Alone like this, I became increasingly aware of him - of his height, his heat, his strength, his presence - and I became even more sure of my decision.
“All right, Squall,” Seifer said, after a handful of minutes had passed in silence. “What was it you wanted me here for?”
I turned to face him. Seifer’s green eyes were still serious, and his face was completely devoid of expression. I wasn’t sure what he thought I was going to tell him, but it sure as hell wasn’t what he expected. So I started with, “Tomorrow, I’m going to get my first SeeD mission. I’ll be going to Timber to help Rinoa-“
“You know Rinoa?”
I ignored the shock in his voice (and maybe there was the sound of jealousy too) and continued. “To help Rinoa kill the Galbadian President. Except we’ll fail. We’ll fail, and when we try to reach the television station, you’ll try and kill the president, only to be taken by the sorceress whom the president is relinquishing all control to.” I continued talking. I told him everything, how Galbadia Garden used us to try and kill Edea, how Seifer had chosen to become her knight and how we fought, how the entire story played out. I didn’t leave out a single detail, and even I heard my voice choke when I started to describe how I’d killed him in the end. What I didn’t tell him was that Edea was actually our Matron, the woman who’d cared for us during our early, and forgotten, childhood. I couldn’t bring myself to reveal that detail at this moment. I didn’t think it would help my cause, anyway.
When I finished, I waited for his reaction.
It was about what I expected. Seifer burst out laughing, clutching to the railing to keep himself upright. “I guess I rattled that head of yours harder than I thought! The hell is all this bullshit? I bet you heard Rinoa’s name through Fujin or Raijin, right?” He burst out laughing again.
“...” I sighed. I lashed out faster than he could react and grabbed him by his collar. I spun us to slam his back against the wall. He grunted and reached up to grab my hands, presumably to pull me off him, but then he froze. I knew why. Bahamut had materialized behind me, his great wings spread to cover us in darkness. His maw opened to reveal sharp teeth and I felt the breeze of his hiss across my back. I released Seifer with one hand so I could hold it up to stave off the dragon’s wrath. “Use scan if you don’t believe me.” I said quietly. “Or I could let him eat you. Which would you believe more?”
“Wh-what the hell kind of GF is that?!” Seifer hissed, his eyes wide as he stared at Bahamut. “H-how the hell can you control it?!”
I released Seifer then and stepped back. Bahamut closed his wings and lowered his head to my hand, nuzzling my palm like he was a lap dog. My eyes never left Seifer’s. “His name is Bahamut. We have an understanding.”
More or less, Bahamut chuckled, his tail flicking from side to side.
“If I do cast scan on you,” Seifer started warily, “he’s not going to, you know...”
“Eat you?”
“Yeah.”
Bahamut. I said gently. The great dragon made a low rumbling sound before vanishing from sight. I knew he hadn’t gone far - I could feel him once more at the edge of my consciousness - but at least he would now have to answer my call if he wanted to come onto this plane.
As soon as he was gone, I felt the familiar tingle of scan magic. I kept my eyes on Seifer as he got his readings back. His eyes nearly popped out of his head and his mouth dropped open in shock. He pointed at me, but he was unable to form any words.
So I asked, “When have I ever lied to you?”
His mouth closed. His eyes still held shock but they weren’t wide open anymore. He approached me quickly, but I held my ground. His fingers brushed my neck, then hooked in the collar of my shirt and pulled it down to reveal my right shoulder. The scar from the icicle was still there, no longer red and raw, but still fresh. “Holy shit.” Seifer breathed. “What the fuck...”
I shrugged away from his touch and pulled my shirt back into place. I didn’t know what to do now. It was all in Seifer’s hands.
Seifer cursed again, then brushed past me and left the secret place.
I sighed. I supposed as far as reactions went, this one was neither good nor bad. I followed him, keeping a few steps behind so he couldn’t take a swing at me but allow him to know I was still there. Recognizing the tenseness in his body, I put more and more distance between us until the monsters got over their fear of me and began to attack him. I didn’t help him in his battles; he wouldn’t have appreciated it and it might’ve made my current standing with him even worse. At least he seemed to tire himself out, and he collapsed on a fallen log, staring at Hyperion. I slowly approached him, keeping out of striking range when I finally stopped moving. He glanced up, recognized the distance, then surprisingly, grimaced.
“So all of what you said, that beauty of a gunblade of yours, how you seemed to know what was going to happen in Dollet...” Seifer rubbed his face with his hands. “It’s all true? And you lived it already?”
I nodded.
He smirked. “Back to the silent treatment already?”
I glowered at him.
“Easy, Ice Princess, I’m just...” he blew out a sigh and rose. “If I didn’t know you better, I’d say all of this was bullshit, but there’s too much evidence to the contrary. Lion Heart, your scars, your knowledge... who else knows?”
“Besides me? Just you, now.” I replied quietly.
Seifer nodded. “So you came back to save me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
I blinked, startled. I hadn’t considered ‘why’. I just knew it was something I had to do. I didn’t want Seifer to end up like he did. I didn’t want to kill him again. As I studied his face, I knew that all of these reasons, all of these excuses, would just put distance between us again. Seifer didn’t want to be coddled, treated as weak. He wanted to be treated as an equal. He also wouldn’t accept my selfish reason. I couldn’t force him, that much I realized. I had to get him to follow me on his own, to realize on his own that this was the best path.
I also realized then that I didn’t have a satisfactory answer that would get us what we both wanted.
You know the answer, Siren whispered to me. Look inside yourself, and say it.
I looked at my feet, closed my eyes tight, and clenched my fists. “Because,” I started, hating the way my own voice sounded thick, like I was about to cry, “because I don’t want to lose you.”
I felt his presence and knew immediately that I was in his shadow. I opened my eyes and raised my head, meeting his gaze evenly. Seifer was watching me back, his emerald eyes seeming somehow darker. He didn’t touch me and I didn’t touch him. We just stared at each other. I don’t know what he saw in my eyes, or on my face, but eventually he stepped back and hefted Hyperion onto his shoulder.
“Fine,” he said, smirking. “We’ll do this your way. I’m guessing you’re going to get permission for a non-SeeD to join you?”
For a second, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Despite myself, I felt my lips twitch into a small smile. I nodded slowly. “Or, you know, you could just show up.” I said quietly, knowing that he’d somehow have to escape being corralled into confinement.
“Yeah, I could do that, too.” He swung Hyperion off his shoulder and pointed toward the training center’s exit. “Let’s get out of here, then. I don’t want any more surprises. I’m already reeling because of this. Holy Hyne, Squall, you sure you’re doing the right thing, changing events like this?”
Since he walked away before I could answer, I assumed he didn’t want one. But he had voiced the one thing I’d been asking myself since waking up in the past. I knew I’d already changed one event by convincing Seifer I wasn’t crazy and convincing him to follow my lead. Now I had to see it through to the end.
We were almost back when I heard a woman’s scream. I recognized it immediately and without thought rushed forward. Seifer was right behind me, catching up to me as soon as I reached Ellone.
“Shit, Squall, we’re going to have to have a talk about you doing-“ Seifer cut himself off as the Granaldo enemy swooped down on us. His lips split into a big grin and he hefted Hyperion into stance. I glanced at him, then drew Lion Heart and fell into stance as well.
“Squall! Squall!” Ellone cried. “Seifer?”
I couldn’t help my own smirk at the surprise in her voice. Seifer and I had never really gotten along in the orphanage, and we rarely did now, but we had never been fully enemies. Neither had we really been friends. We respected each other. Between the two of us, the bug and its friends didn’t last long. I knew I didn’t have much time between the monsters’ defeat and the appearance of the White SeeDs, so I quickly crossed to Ellone and grabbed her hand.
“Sis,” I said, seeing her eyes widen in shock, “Sis, listen to me. I can’t explain everything right now, but I need you to do me a favor. You need to stay safe, okay? I need you to go to Esthar right now and you need to stay there until I come get you. Understand?”
“S-Squall, what are you talking about?” Ellone’s voice was small, almost panicked. She didn’t understand; I didn’t have the time to explain it to her.
I squeezed her hand tighter. “Sis, please. Just this once, do as I ask. And... and when you see Laguna... when you see Dad...” I saw the shadows of the White SeeD now. Not enough time. “Tell Dad I love him, all right?”
Ellone’s eyes were still wide but she gave the barest of nods. Just as the White SeeD jumped down to her rescue, she clutched my hand. “I’ll tell him. I promise.”
I nodded and released her. The White SeeD quickly took Ellone under their care and led her from the training center. When they were gone, Seifer finally approached me and asked, “She the one who sends people into the past?”
I kept my face carefully neutral. I’d left out all the details about us knowing each other in our forgotten childhood and I’d left out that Ellone had been like a big sister to us all... especially to me, since I’d been born with her right there. “Yeah,” I said at last. “She’s the one.”
“I don’t know how you do it, Squall.” Seifer said, leaving his meaning ambiguous as he walked out of the training center. After a minute, I followed him.
I headed to the dorms, avoiding Zell since I knew he would be waiting in the hall to inform me we now had our own private rooms. When I reached my room, I made sure to lock the door behind me before I collapsed onto my bed.
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One (Last) Chance