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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
- 8
- 9
- 10
Nine - Squall POV

We both turned at sudden, startled cries from inside the room, both of us holding our weapons at the ready in the event there was danger we needed to deal with. There wasn’t any, at least not the kind of danger we were used to dealing with. Zell looked sheepishly at the two of us, then looked back at the wreckage that was once the camera and the broadcasting cables. Rinoa looked ready to claw his eyes out, and Selphie was doing her best to try and help Zone and Watts salvage anything that could be of any use. Squall and I hurried over to them.
“What the fuck happened?” Seifer snapped. I studied the mess on the floor. The equipment was beyond salvageable. There was nothing left to use. The whole plan was now shot to shit, and luck wasn’t with us, because about five seconds later, we could hear the distant shouting of alarm.
“I... I didn’t mean to!” Zell burst out. “I thought it’d be cool to try and get into contact with Garden first, you know to make a report, but it wasn’t set up right or something! I’m sorry!”
“Zell!” I snapped, anger and fear blazing through me with a familiar bite. I didn’t know if anyone was listening outside the door; if there was, it was too late for me to stop Galbadia from figuring out who sent us. If there wasn’t... I needed to prevent another mishap like this. I knew it really wouldn’t matter in the end, but Zell needed to know how much trouble his mouth could get us into. “Shut up! If anyone heard you say that, everyone back home will be in danger! Do you want Galbadia to drop in on our doorstep?!”
I knew I had startled everyone. They’d never heard me so angry before. Letting my emotions get the better of me was something that happened easily now. Maybe it was for the best. Zell’s eyes were wide and his face had gone two shades too pale. Even Selphie, who never seemed to stop moving, had frozen, the expression on her face clearly saying she didn’t want my wrath directed toward her. I turned to look at Rinoa, fighting to keep my anger toward Zell in check and keep my head clear. Judging by her face, she knew my anger wasn’t directed toward her. She regarded me with that careful expression, prepared to do whatever she needed to do. I guess Seifer really had beat some sense into her.
“Rinoa, we have no choice at this point to abandon the mission.” I growled, my voice low with hints of my anger. “We need to get out now, before the guards arrive.”
“All right,” Rinoa said slowly. She looked disappointed, but considering the conversation we’d head earlier, she didn’t seem to want to argue. “We’ll retreat for now. We’ve at least interrupted Deling’s broadcast, considering the alarm. We’ll regroup outside the t.v. station and figure out our course from there.”
I nodded, agreeing with her assessment. If we got out of here before anyone figured out where we were, then we could still move about relatively freely. Before, only Deling knew where we came from and what we looked like. We still had the advantage of anonymity. I looked toward Seifer. “Get them out.”
“What are you going to do?” he asked, his green eyes narrowing at me.
“I’m going to make no one is around to follow us.” I was already moving, Lion Heart in hand as I stopped in the threshold of the door. “Don’t stop. Don’t look back. Just go.”
Maybe I was hoping too much that Seifer would listen to me. Maybe I was trying to believe that he would actually do as I ordered him to do. I was halfway down the hallway when I heard him coming after me. I couldn’t do much more than give him a glare, to which he responded with a broad smirk. Behind him, I saw the retreating forms of the others, led by Zell, heading back the way my team had originally entered. I raised my brow, silently asking him what was going on, and why he was disobeying me.
Seifer shrugged, brandishing Hyperion. “He wanted a chance to make up for pissing you off.”
“I told you to-“
“Yeah, I know.” he grinned wider. “But I’m not going to listen to you this time. You’re pissed off, which means you might take more risks than you ought to. You’re not junctioned; your GF’s won’t be able to manifest themselves fast enough to back you up. Besides, you wouldn’t want such a blatant display of power here. So here I am. I’m the only one who can keep up with you, match you stride for stride, hit for hit. And I know if I’m here, you’re going to do whatever it takes to keep me safe. Besides, I know why you’re heading this way. If you think the sorceress is going to show up here like she did, you’re going to try and confront her.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. I hated that he read me so easily. I hated that he was right; I did intend to confront Edea on my own, hoping that I could do something before Rinoa became a player in the sorceress game. It was a foolish hope, but I had to try. “I can do this myself.”
“Probably. But like I said, you don’t want a blatant display of your power here, especially when you’re just supposed to be junctioned only with two or three GF’s.” He smirked in that irritating way of his. “If I’m with you, you won’t do anything reckless.”
I hated that he was putting himself in danger on purpose to make sure I didn’t do anything stupid. He knew what he had to do to make sure I was safe, as well. I continued to glare at him.
Seifer reached out to grasp the back of my neck, pressing his forehead against mine. “Don’t look at me like that. I know why you’re doing this. You’re trying everything you can to prevent the future you know from happening. You’ve trusted me this far. Let’s keep going forward.”
I sighed and pushed him back from me. “Fine. Let’s go. But you do as I say. When I say it.”
“As always, Ice Prince.” Grinning with his victory, Seifer moved to take the lead.
We managed to avoid the Galbadian soldiers that were running crazily back and forth trying to find the technical disturbance. Namely, us. We made it to the main broadcast room and found it empty, save for the podium and the camera equipment. My assumption that the G-Army would get Deling out when the broadcast suddenly stopped seemed to prove itself. Just to be safe, I directed Seifer to stay silent and speak only with hand signals, to which he nodded. Together, Seifer and I moved through the room, keeping our steps slow and even, and keeping out of sight of the camera. We didn’t know if that was still working, or if the broadcast had managed to fix itself after our unintentional sabotage. I didn’t want anyone inadvertently seeing us. I grew tenser the closer we got to the other side of the room, because I knew as soon as we crossed into the next room, there was the all too real possibility of Edea/Ultimecia coming for her knight. I was creating that self-fulfilling prophecy by continuing to move forward.
We were just about to cross the threshold between the broadcast room and the room in the back when a shiver went down my spine. Lion Heart came up, quivering in my grip. Seifer looked at me oddly, but he moved to guard my back, Hyperion held ready. I knew immediately that he didn’t feel it, that he didn’t feel her presence. Maybe it was because I was already a knight that I could recognize the feel of a sorceress.
“Squall?” Seifer questioned as quietly as he could.
I didn’t have a chance to tell him to run. I couldn’t move even if I wanted to. I felt him stiffen against me as he finally recognized the danger. Or maybe it was because he could see her, like I did, gliding into view. Black dress, plunging neckline, sheer cape, headdress... she was everything I remembered.
“...Poor, poor boys...”
Her voice was Matron’s. It was soft and soothing and it echoed in my head with thrums of power. It made me want to sheathe Lion Heart and kneel before her. But the way she carried herself was purely Ultimecia. Those gold eyes were narrowed with cruelty and hate, and her lips were curled sensuously into a derisive smirk.
“Stay away from us!”
The panic in Seifer’s voice was almost palpable. Was this how he sounded the first time? When she first appeared to him and took him away, were these the words she said to him? I couldn’t move to look at him, to warn him not to give in to whatever spell she was trying to cast upon us. I could see him out of the corner of my eye though, how tense he was, how wide his green eyes were. He finally sensed what she was; now he understood all the warnings I had given him.
Edea/Ultimecia’s eyes slid to Seifer. Her eyes brightened a bit as she sized him up, looking him from head to toe. “Such a confused little boy. Are you going to step forward? Retreat? You have to decide.”
“Stay back.” Seifer growled, his foot sliding forward in preparation to attack.
She seemed stunned that Seifer was able to move despite the spell holding us in place. I shifted as well, but it was a minute movement compared to Seifer’s. Edea/Ultimecia completely ignored me, favoring Seifer still with her gaze.
What should we do, Squall? Carbuncle asked me. The small GF was quivering just outside my consciousness, watching the exchange with everyone else. I knew that all I had to do was ask, and all of them would come to my aid. Should we stop her?
No. I made the decision to let Seifer do this on his own. If he’s strong enough to resist her spell, then he’s strong enough to resist her entirely.
The Guardian Forces seemed to accept this, but I knew they hadn’t stopped watching. I raised Lion Heart - and suddenly found myself being flung backward, all the breath punched out of me. I hit the wall and collapsed to the ground, losing my grip on my gunblade. I looked up, gasping, and saw that Edea’s hand was raised toward me, her eyes narrowed and her lips drawn into a vicious smirk.
Seifer was beside me instantly, grasping my shoulder even as he glared at the sorceress. Hyperion was raised in clear threat, and, once he assured himself I was uninjured, he stood in front of me to defend me while I recovered.
“Aren’t you a loyal boy? Keeping careful guard over your companion, making sure he’s safe. Such a good boy...” Edea/Ultimecia held up her hand toward Seifer, palm up, offering. She’s testing him. She’s testing him, to see if he’s worthy of being her knight. I realized she had already dismissed me as her choice by attacking me. She wanted Seifer. I saw Seifer waver, Hyperion lowering a fraction. No. Edea/Ultimecia smiled. “The boy in you is telling you to come, to take my hand. The adult in you is telling you to back off, protect your friend. You can’t make up your mind: help him or fight me? You don’t know the right answer. You want help... don’t you? You want to be saved from this predicament.”
Seifer growled again. “Shut up. You have no idea what I know, or what I can do.”
“Don’t be ashamed to ask for help in protecting your friend. Besides, you’re only a little boy.”
“Stop calling me a boy.” Seifer snarled. I struggled to my feet, grasping for Lion Heart. Seifer didn’t shift, didn’t move, even as I managed to gain my balance and stand beside him.
Edea was focused on Seifer so intently her eyes seemed to glow. “You don’t want to be a boy anymore?”
“Seifer.” I whispered.
“I got this, don’t worry.” He replied. “Lady, I don’t know what you want, but whatever game you’re playing, you’re not going to win.”
I saw the moment Seifer’s words became a direct challenge to Ultimecia. Those gold eyes narrowed to slits before they became sufficiently wide and sad, almost disappointed. Then her lips began to move. Her voice was plaintive and sad. “What I want? What game I’m playing? All I want to do is help you, boy. I want to help you protect your friend. Look at him. One simple attack and he’s laid low. You don’t want him to get hurt, do you? I can help you protect him, boy. I can help you.”
Hyperion wavered. Lowered. I looked at Seifer, unsure of what my expression was. Shock, I was certain. Seifer’s eyes were focused on Edea/Ultimecia, the emerald color almost dull. She was winning him over. I reached to grip Seifer’s arm, trying to silently remind him of what he promised me. He shook me off and started forward.
“Seifer-“
“Silence.” Edea’s voice was like a thunder-crack. “The boy has made his choice. Come with me to a place of no return. Bid farewell to your childhood.”
Seifer, standing between us, half-turned to look at me. His hand lifted in a wave, his expression blank. He was looking right through me, as if he couldn’t really see me. I took a step forward, or at least tried to. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t speak. I railed against the power that held me fast, frantically trying to reach Seifer. I called to the Guardian Forces, but as Seifer had pointed out, I wasn’t junctioned to them. Even as Diablos started to manifest himself, it was a fraction too slow. Edea/Ultimecia gave me a look of complete and utter victorious satisfaction, then took Seifer’s arm.
They simply vanished.
The power holding me disappeared and I took two steps forward before I collapsed to my hands and knees. Diablos appeared in the room, looking down at me almost sympathetically.
A self-fulfilling prophecy, he said, quoting Seifer. What will you do now, Squall?
I closed my eyes tight and half curled up on myself. Questions swirled in my mind: Why had she come? Had she been tipped off somehow? Or had she been here all along, waiting? Had she been watching us? Why hadn’t I just left with the others? Why had I allowed Seifer to come with me? A thousand others spun around in a destructive gale, and not one was I able to answer.
Squall?
Squall?
Commander.
I snapped my head up and stared at Eden. The serene Guardian Force floated at the edge of my consciousness, surrounded by the others as they deferred to her. Her calm washed over me, chasing away the whirlwind of questions. All is not lost, Eden continued. We can still save him. Changing fate is not an easy feat to accomplish. Always it will try to correct itself. Work with it instead of against it.
I felt all the GF’s fade from the forefront of my consciousness then, though their presence remained in the far reaches. I slowly got to my feet and retrieved Lion Heart from where it had fallen when I’d gone to my knees.
If I understood Eden right, then all I had been doing was rushing headlong into the events I had strived to stop. Which meant everything was going to happen exactly as I remembered it, and I would be powerless to stop it. I had to let everything play out as it was going to, but change the little things that I could. I couldn’t change the big events, the life-changing events. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t figure out a way to get Seifer back before we once again went down the path where I had to fight him to the death.
- 8
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- 10
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One (Last) Chance