Chapter 45

Shattered Truth

-x-x-x-

-x-x-x-

Selphie strolled into the Ragnarok cockpit. From his comfy red seat, the pilot turned his head to nod at her.

"You two having fun?" Nida said, as a way of greeting.

"Good morning. You picked us up a day too early," said Selphie. She sat on the empty copilot seat next to him. "Quistis gave us two days."

"Squall told me to pick you up, I picked you up," answered the pilot. He pressed the button, closing the entrance hatch. "You're here so I assume Seifer's inside already. Here we go."

"Why did Squall want us to go back a day earlier?" said Selphie. She heard the cockpit door opened and looked to the back. Seifer ambled in.

"Private pickup service," Seifer said. "How nice."

"Chain of command told me I gotta pick you two up," said Nida. "His exact words are, 'Don't let them together too long just the two of them. I don't care what happened, but they should be chaperoned."

Selphie frowned. "Weird."

"Ah. 'His' exact words." Seifer folded his arms. "Who else is in here?"

"Irvine and Fujin. I picked Zell up from his mother and dropped him at FH few hours ago before coming here for you. They're in the passenger room." Nida pressed another button and lowered the steering. Ragnarok slowly left the ground.

"What did Quistis say?" said Selphie.

"I... assume Quistis has no idea about this nor will she care," Nida replied.

"Great," said Seifer. "So if we come back now we'll take our day off voluntarily, just because the jealous one said so."

"Who's jealous?" said Selphie. "Squall?"

Nida shrugged. "Sorry. Can't do much. Am just a pilot."

"You're instructed to bring us back?" said Seifer.

"Not exactly. You two just have to be chaperoned. I am going to bring us back to Fisherman's Horizon unless you have another place you want to go."

The room was silent. Seifer looked far away in thought. Selphie started fidgeting. Nida focused on keeping the ship steady between the clouds.

"Can you drop me near the Tomb of the Unknown King?" said Seifer.

Nida's head turned in shock. "Galbadia? Deling City? Are you insane?"

"Not DC per se. No. Just the tomb. Can you drop just me near there?"

Selphie looked at Seifer with raised brows. "You want to go to the tomb again?"

"There's something I want to check."

"Okay," said Selphie. "Then let's go."

"No. I... I have to go alone." Seifer said. "I can think better when I'm alone. No offense."

Selphie bit the bottom of her lips. "Okay."

"So one goes to commit suicide in enemy area," declared Nida, pressing the button next to the GPS. "Any place you want to go, Selph?"

Selphie looked at the cloudy landscape in front of them. "Maybe the orphanage."

Nida pressed the intercom button and announced: "Hey, sniper and creepy girl in the passenger room. If any of you want to drop somewhere closer because we're near Centra now, better run to the cockpit and declare your destination now. Otherwise, we're going to drop by the orphanage in ten minutes, and continue two hour flight to Galbadia Island: The Enemy Killzone. Thank you for your attention. Captain Nida out."

-x-x-x-x-x-

"What are you all doing here?" Edea said, as a way of greeting, the moment she opened her door. "Not that I'm not pleased, but... Fujin. Hi." She opened her arms and hugged the quiet white haired woman who tagged along with Selphie and Irvine. "I didn't see you in the Garden the last time. How are you, my dear?"

"FINE," shouted Fujin. Edea grimaced a little.

"I forgot about your voice," she said. "Well, come in, everyone. Where are the rest?" she stepped aside, letting the three entered the Orphanage.

"Is there any food? I'm starving," declared Irvine, walking to the back of the house. Fujin made herself comfortable on the sofa and started turning on the television.

"Matron," Selphie said, tugging the end of the woman's long sleeve. "I need to talk."

Edea closed the door and followed Selphie to the front yard. "Yes?"

Selphie looked around the front yard and pointed to the broken pillars and half-unhinged door. "Someone needs to fix those."

"I'm still cleaning the inner rooms. It's a good thing I have three helpers today," said Edea, smiling. "What is it, my child?"

"Yesterday we—as in Seifer and me—went to the Centra Ruins."

Edea's smile faded.

Selphie studied the three broken tall pillars on the left side. "The statue isn't about the King and you."

"They-" Edea stared at the unhinged door. "The Brothers, they finished the statue. Nobody is supposed to remember the King. So they put Stephan as the face of the man in the statue."

"But he was there, waiting." Selphie turned to Edea. "He sat on the throne."

Edea's eyes widened. "Who?"

"You know who."

Matron froze. "He's there?" she croaked. "All this time?"

Selphie shrugged. "Not anymore," she whispered. "Things happened, and he disappeared."

"What... what do you mean he disappeared?" Edea bent lower and whispered, "He cannot die anymore. Did Seifer take him?"

"I'm not sure," Selphie replied. "Seifer didn't use any Dynamo Stone to take him, he's just... poof. A few minutes later we were fighting a massive GF, he's there and he sliced the mute GF to two. Then he went poof again. Neither of us summoned him or kept him around."

Edea studied the crooked stone tiles on the ground and frowned.

"Can you come with us?" said Selphie. "To Lunatic Pandora? Just in case... I die after they kill Adel, and nobody knows how to handle me as GF. You can take me for a while."

Edea closed her eyes. "I... can't. The moment I entered Lunatic Pandora, Adel will know another sorceress entered her zone. We always know who has magic in their blood, and..." Edea sighed. "I wish I can. But if I force my way into Lunatic Pandora, she will go berserk. I'm afraid the end result is horrifying for SeeDs."

Selphie tilted her head. "But Rinoa and Seifer are also sorcess—es?"

"They're young and magically not powerful enough to compete against Adel," explained Edea. "I don't feel threatened with young dormant magically talented SeeDs in Garden."

"There are dormant sorceresses in Garden?"

Edea gave a hint of smile. "There are dormant magically talented people everywhere. Sorcery only happens when they are aware of their own talent and give the magic a chance to bloom inside themselves."

"Or in Rinoa's case, forced to."

Edea's lips tightened. "Yes."

"What will happen to me as a GF once I die? Can anyone take me into their mind straight away?"

"I'm afraid I don't know." Edea looked helpless. "I might be the only one who knows about the GF creation who is still alive, but even I have no idea."

"The Brothers... what happened to them? Why were they back in the Tomb? How did they die—again?"

Edea took a deep breath. "Stupid call for adventure slash revenge. They got bored raising kids and guarding a lonely orphanage in the middle of nowhere when nothing happens day by day. One day when we were preparing to build the Garden, they told us they want to come back to Galbadia. I didn't know why, but we can guess."

"And?"

"That's it," said Edea. "No more news or anything from them after they left. One day I felt their souls leaving. That's it."

"You felt? That means you know when your perfect host die?"

"Yes." Edea clasped her hands. "The same way I felt when he died. It wasn't painful, but... I knew."

Selphie looked up. "So what should I do now?"

"I wish I can suggest something other than... stop them from killing Adel," Edea said. "But can I ask you something?"

"Mm?"

"Can you tell me about him? How did he look? I thought he ended up being a GF in Deling City, but..." Edea put her clasped hands in front of her lips, deep in thought. "Hmm. Even if a perfect host died in one place, it doesn't mean they spawned as GF in the same place?"

"That's why I asked," Selphie admitted. "Do you have something to eat? I'll tell you about him... as a GF. Irvine and Fujin won't mind us talking about a random GF I met in the ruins."

-x-x-x-x-x-

For once, the Brothers were quiet. They didn't make any weird comments or fight in his head. Seifer could even consider them... solemn. They said nothing as he scaled his way back into the inner chamber of the Tomb of the Unknown King.

He knew it was a bit ridiculous, but he wanted to have a little something from the Tomb, even if it's not the patch of grey cloak that he had carried around for close to a year in his coat pocket. He didn't know what he wanted to use the tomb 'souvenirs' for, but he felt something akin to a loss when the patch of cloak disintegrated in that weird massive GF guy's hand.

He could probably rip what was left of the curtains on the side of the chamber walls, but something told Seifer, it would never be the same as his red-cross patch of a cloak.

The first thing he realized when he stepped into the chamber, was that it was well lit. Two lanterns were placed on the side of the chambers, brightening the previously dim and dreary room. Second, there was a woman sitting inside the stone coffin in the middle of the chamber. Third, the woman looked comfortable, as if the coffin was where she ought to be.

Well, his life had always been weird.

The woman lifted her head, elfish face framed by shoulder-length blonde hair turned towards him. She studied him with a pair of familiar blue eyes.

Recognition filled Seifer's mind. The Brothers stirred awake.

"What are you doing here?" she asked first. She still sat comfortably inside the stone coffin, as if his arrival didn't bother her one bit. Perhaps it didn't. Her face was the face of a person who had seen too much, did too much. Small wrinkles on the side of her mouth and eyes told Seifer she wasn't as young as she was in his dream. Not anymore.

Then she stared at him. She pursed her lips, and looked confused.

"I was here months ago," Seifer made himself explain. "I need to get something."

She turned her head slowly to study her surroundings. The room was still as empty and in ruins as the SeeDs had left it months ago.

"Well," she said, lifting her right hand from inside the coffin and made a circle motion towards the empty chamber sans ripped curtains and two lanterns, "Take whatever you need."

Seifer looked around. "This is kinda stupid, but I have to ask. Do you live here?"

The woman raised one of her brows. "Did you see any hint that I live here?"

"Then what are you doing here?"

"Sitting," she said without a hint of irony. "I don't see any point of explaining myself to a tomb raider."

"Tomb what?" Seifer shook his head. "Why would I raid a place that already has nothing?"

"You tell me." The woman was back to studying his face. "How old are you?"

"Why do I have to tell you? Who are you and how old are you yourself?" Seifer said.

"How rude, asking a lady her age," replied the woman. Seifer rolled his eyes. "I am Regina Rochester."

"Wait... Rochester as in..." Seifer made a motion to the direction of the Deling City, wherever that was from the chamber. "You're the mother of Max Rochester?"

"Max?" Regina stood up. "How old do you think I am?"

Seifer looked at the woman from the head to the toe. "Old enough."

"He is my little brother!" said Regina. She fumed when Seifer looked skeptical. "Now that I tell you my name, tell me who you are and what you are doing in my tomb."

"Your tomb?" Seifer said.

"This tomb is in my land, so yes, this is my tomb. Answer my question."

"Whatever," said Seifer. "Enjoy your sitting. Nice to meet you, Rochester."

"Wait," Regina called when he turned away. "What are you actually here for?"

Seifer opened his mouth, and closed it in confusion. "I don't know."

"I think I do," she said. "That red cross in your coat. I've seen it before."

-x-x-x-x-x-

When the last of his adrenaline rushed out of him, Squall landed onto the ground from the back of the T-Rex with a graceful roll. He swung the gunblade to his back, breathing heavy from his third set of Renzokuken. He turned his head to the side. The T-Rex groaned and dropped to the ground with a harsh tremor.

Squall took a deep breath and turned to face the T-Rex. He froze when he saw her standing on the railing behind the T-Rex. Her arms folded and she leaned on the railing on her back, tresses of blonde hair untied, fall to her shoulders framing her high cheekbones and a high nose.

"You made the Garden ran out of of T-Rex once," Quistis said with a low tone. "It's not cheap nor are the T-rexes recyclable. If you need to kill monsters, please do it outside."

Squall shrugged. "Whatever."

"I know we're parked in FH now, but it doesn't mean there won't be any boat that is going to be willing to take you to Centra or any other islands for training."

"We're going to kill one of the two sorceresses still alive in this world tomorrow. I will assume you need at least one of your lieutenant to be the best shape possible while the other one is playing around."

"Yes. Which is why I sent Seifer to train in Centra."

Squall snorted.

The commander looked down, not moving until Squall arrived in front of her. "Let's assume we kill Adel."

"We will," said Squall. He took his place next to her. He sheathed his gunblade and leaned on the railing, putting his weight to one foot.

"Then Ellone will send us to the future. After killing Adel, someone else takes Adel's power. We assume that person will be Rinoa."

Squall didn't reply.

"But if Seifer is Adel's son, isn't it possible that he will be the one accepting her power?" Quistis massaged her closed eyelids with her thumb and index finger, sighing. "If Seifer ended up getting berserk like Rinoa, I wonder if going into the future is even possible with two SeeDs down."

"In the past, how did Matron receive Ultimecia's power?" asked Squall. "Did she go berserk?"

"I don't know," admitted Quistis. "She probably did? That's why Cid wanted to build Garden?"

"What do you mean two SeeDs down?" said Squall. "Only Almasy will go insane."

"Selphie..." Quistis put her right fist in front of her lips and mumbled, "don't tell anyone about this, okay?"

He shrugged and transferred his weight to another foot.

"Someone cursed Selphie when she was little. If Adel dies, she will too."

Squall faced Quistis with raised brows.

"They said it to me. I don't think either Seifer or Selphie is going to lie about this kind of thing."

"Who did it? How did they know?"

"I don't know. They don't know either."

He opened his mouth, disbelieving sigh out of parted lips. "And you believed it. How naive."

Quistis closed her mouth, grinding her teeth together.

"What if she doesn't die after we kill Adel? You let your fiance sleep with someone who is crazy about him, just because she will die soon?" Squall frowned. "That's... nice."

She took a deep breath and moved away from the railing. "Yes. I'm always nice, aren't I? After all, I'm still trying to try to converse with someone who is only going to question all that I do." She walked away, avoiding Squall's arm that reached for her. "We'll have a big fight tomorrow. Try not to waste magic and your GF's stamina."

"Wait, Quistis," Squall called. The commander walked around the fallen T-rex and left his sight. The lieutenant shook his head and reached towards his gunblade. In one smooth motion he unsheathed his gunblade, and whirled to another direction. Deeper into the training centre, where he could clear out the rest of the T-rexes, where he could train as much as he could without leaving the commander alone in the Garden.

He wouldn't leave her unassisted ever again.

-x-x-x-x-x-

"There was once this big island. This island had a ruler. The ruler had two children, his wife died a long time ago. Both had blonde hair, the eldest son had green eyes, the youngest daughter had blue eyes."

"This won't take long, I presume," Seifer said.

Regina rolled her eyes. "I'm on it. Do you want to hear more or?"

He raised his brow. "So… blue eyes?"

"The ruler got killed in battle, so the sixteen year old son became the next ruler. His sister was only five. To keep her safe, he put her in the care of his friend. She was his weak link, and also his reason to survive. He became a ruler, who was more interested in battle than to really rule, because his father died before teaching him anything about politics. His sister was raised in a military family, and when she was old enough, he hired her to become his fixer. She was his…" she frowned, searching for the words.

"Hitman?" Seifer offered. "Hit girl?"

She pointed at him to show that he was right. "So, they often met, but never in the capacity of siblings, because they couldn't. She had to be his last key, in case his rule was overthrown. She was his shadow. She did his dirty work for him."

"Such a good brother," Seifer said with a scoff.

"There were only the two of them left, it's the best way to ensure their line can keep the throne. But… one day the girl fell in love, and when the brother called, she didn't answer. She was too busy playing house." The woman scrunched her eyes. "She was too busy being a lover, and he got killed. If she only returned when he called…"

"Did she kill him?"

"What? No. But…"

"Then why did she blame herself? It's not like she's his slave. She has her own life to worry about. Stupid ruler got himself killed anyway, it didn't matter if the hit girl was there or not. Did the stupid sister think she can change anything by being there when the idiot ruler got killed?"

She looked up to the ceiling in exasperation.

"Is there any point in this tale?" Seifer said.

"The sister knew that if the brother died, she's next. It soon became clear that she had to leave her lover to save herself. And one day… one day she'll take the throne back. She'll get what's owed to her, to her family…" she bit her lips and mumbled, "to her baby."

Seifer stood. "I have a cousin?"

"What?"

"Who's the cousin? Do I know my cousin?"

The woman took a step back. "It's a tale. It has nothing to do with you."

Now it was his turn to gave her an exasperated stare. "Fine," Seifer gritted out. "What happened to the hit girl?"

She gave her what looked like a mix between angry and pouty face. Seifer saw the expression a lot… but…?

"There was something lost in the tale," she said. "Something doesn't fit in the puzzle. He got lost in history, all of a sudden. I don't understand why nobody even bothered to remember him. Like he never existed. So I'm here to try and figure out why. Then you showed up."

Oh, he didn't like where this was going. "Well, good for you. Me, I'm kinda busy myself, so…"

"Stop," she said when he turned and tried to leave. "Who are you, really?"

He frowned and looked at her. "Does it matter? You just said the tale has nothing to do with me."

She sighed and stared at him. "Seriously?"

Nothing's easy in this world. If I have to work that hard to get it back, then maybe it's never mine to start with. Like hell I'm starting a fight I'm gonna lose.

Seifer shrugged. "We don't exactly know each other."

"It's a boy!" Regina shouted before Seifer left the chamber. "My baby is a boy. Blonde, blue eyes. Just like me. Tell me you at least have met him."

Blonde son with blue eyes, like her? He would've remembered someone who look a little like himself, only more exasperating.

"I don't see what's the point in digging your own grave in order to get on top of that horse. Once you get the horse, feel free to call me. I'm sure as hell willing to go at it."

"It's just a tale," Regina said.

Seifer waved a halfhearted goodbye as he made his way out. "Fine, then."

-x-x-x-x-x-

"Is everyone here?" said Quistis. She stood in the middle of the Ragnarok's passenger room, eyes studying the faces of all SeeDs who had been working with her up to this point.

Squall only gave her a slight glance before he turned his face slightly to stare at the wall. She was used to his indifferent attitude and expressionless face by now.

Sitting near the entrance, Selphie nodded at her, face bright and happy. She had heard that Squall told Nida to pick both Selphie and Seifer up from their Centra trip yesterday instead of this morning. But as long as it was enough for Selphie, there was nothing Quistis would say to the stoic yet annoying lieutenant. Seifer stood next to Selphie. His face was solemn. There was no teasing that she had expected coming out of his mouth so far. It was still morning, though. There was plenty of time for the tall lieutenant to prove his insulting ways today. She could only hope he stopped it short of causing further rift between himself and Squall. Even though right now it looked like there was something bothering Seifer, to the point that he preferred to stay quiet.

Zell was sitting in another seat across from the couple. He looked tired; he clutched a small game console on his left hand. Quistis wouldn't be surprised if he played the Pocket Station the whole night, again. Fuu and Raijin were standing near Zell. Both didn't give any reaction toward Quistis's greeting. They were busy whispering to each other. Quistis was surprised that they even volunteered to come with the SeeDs, and she was even more shocked to realize that Fuu had another mode to converse other than loud yell.

Leaning on the other side, the self-declared lonely sniper Irvine. He just yawned and folded his arms over his chest. He had bothered Quistis the whole week, asking her for money and Cards to upgrade his rifle. Now his newly upgraded rifle rested next to his left foot.

Rinoa sat the furthest from the entrance. She waved towards Quistis. She didn't look happy, nor sad. There was an aura of resignation on her face. Considering it was highly possible that she would go berserk and lose control of her body again once Adel's power entered her, Quistis could only smile thinly at her. It was a little cruel to keep her around as a human form of magic storage box. Yet she couldn't think of anyone else who could accept the sorceress powers as easily as Rinoa. When the war is over, she would let Seifer explain to Rinoa, how her father was safe and sound all this time. She didn't envy the job.

"We're all ready!" said Laguna from her left. He had been waiting along with the SeeDs, patiently replying to Selphie's excited questions about the first Sorceress War. Kiros and Ward waited in the cockpit where Quistis had been earlier. They were commenting about how Ragnarok didn't seem all that different from what it was 17 years ago.

"So, I guess we all know what we should do," Quistis began as she stand in the middle of the room. "Before Adel fully regenerate all her power, we have to catch her by any means. If Adel manages to wake up, Ultimecia will possess her in order to compress time. If Adel wins over her, she will destroy this era. If Ultimecia manages to possess her, she can compress time by targeting Ellone next. So we have to banish Adel's magic by having another sorceress absorbs her power."

"If not, just kill her," piped Selphie. Quistis give her a short glance.

"Right," the commander agreed. "Then after Rinoa absorbed her magic, Ellone would bring us to the future."

"If that can even be done," said Irvine. "Who's to say she could do it? With all of us?"

"She had successfully brought all of your consciousness to visit the past as dreams," said Laguna. "If there's anyone who can transfer you to the future when the magic is the weakest, as in when we defeat Adel and absorb her power, Ellone is our best chance."

"Bringing our mind to the past and bringing our bodies to the future is very different," said Seifer. "How can Ellone teleport people in the Lunatic Pandora to the future when she's inside the palace in Esthar?"

"She's not," Laguna informed. "She's here."

"She's-" said Seifer.

"What?" said Squall.

"She's in the cockpit," said Quistis. "She just arrived an hour ago-" Squall went past her, pushing her body to the side as he ran out.

"Sissy boy to the rescue," said Seifer.

Quistis sighed. "So after we all arrive in the future, hopefully all of our parts, we'll regroup and discuss our next move on how to defeat Ultimecia with the fastest and safest method for all of us."

"No plan from there?" said Zell. "What if one of us didn't make it to the future?"

"On that, I guess you have to ask Ellone, because she's the one with the power-" Quistis was pushed aside once more as Zell ran out of the room. "Anyone else feels like running to Sis before I continue?"

Selphie raised her hand. "Anyone," she declared, "If you cannot defeat Adel by trapping her and making Rinoa absorb her power, just kill the sorceress. Please."

"Thanks for that, ya know," Raijin said. "Because we all can kill her just like that, ya know."

Fuu shrugged. "OBVIOUS."

Selphie grinned. "Just saying."

"Our first plan is to trap and secure," said Quistis, glaring at Selphie. "Killing her only when necessary."

"So do you have any actual plan when we enter Lunatic Pandora?" said Irvine.

Quistis motioned to Laguna, who stepped forward.

"I brought several Odine bangles," said the President. "If we want the best thing to happen, as in defeating her without killing her, even though I don't understand why," Laguna mumbled, glancing at Quistis with questions in his eyes, "We have to get close enough to her physically, and then trap her limbs, all of them, inside the Odine Bangles. They've all been modified for her size, so Adel cannot escape from them."

"Get close to Adel?" said Seifer. "You don't say?"

Rinoa groaned and covered her eyes.

"That's why I need all of your cooperation," said Quistis when Irvine started laughing. Selphie bowed her head low. "We will divide ourselves into two units and started combing the place."

"I better go see Ellone," Rinoa said, walking out of the room, thankfully not ramming Quistis into the side unlike the rest of the ungrateful.

"Operation: kill thyself," murmured the sniper. "Well, there are worse ways to die."

"We don't have to do that," said Laguna. "We can just kill Adel."

"We will capture Adel," said Seifer. His eyes never left Selphie's bowed head. "I'll do them myself if you cowards cannot deal with it."

"Please do," said Irvine with a wave of his hand. "I ain't gonna stop ya."

"We all will," said Quistis, glaring at her blood brother. "We all will."

"Commander," called the President when everyone headed to the cockpit. "A word?"

Quistis waited until Raijin left, and turned towards Laguna. The President held a card in front of his chest, grin in face.

"I would like to ask you to somehow give this to Squall," he said. Quistis took the Card and saw Squall Leonhart's close-up face in the drawing. She looked up to Laguna in amazement.

"Where did you get this?" she said. "Squall... so you knew him before?"

"Sort of." Laguna walked past her, leaving the commander to stare at the lieutenant's Card.

-x-x-x-x-x-

"Here we go!" shouted Nida as Ragnarok flew towards the massive Lunatic Pandora.

"Let's bust in there!" said Zell, bracing for the impact. The SeeDs sat in the cockpit, with Zell, Irvine and Squall standing holding the back of the pilot seats.

"I wonder if we can get through," said Rinoa.

"Aah, don't worry about it," Irvine said.

"Are the machine guns and main cannon ready?" asked Quistis.

"Rrready!" answered Selphie from the copilot seat next to Nida. "Let's just fire like crazy and make a big hole. BOOM!"

Ragnarok shoot its machine gun, while keeping a steady pace towards the seemingly unbreakable block. A few inches before they hit the outer wall, the airship bounced backward from a magical wall.

"Shields!" called Irvine.

"WHOO—HOOO!" Selphie kept her hands steady in control. The ship started to pierce through the magical wall, all while sending bullets onto the now unshielded Lunatic Pandora. The wall exploded in impacts. Quistis looked to her left, where Ragnarok's left claw raised and break into the hole. Slowly, the giant airship used its pair of claws to crawl inside. It anchored itself onto the floor, along with the right claw, keeping the ship steady inside the massive damaged hole.

"We have claws?" said Seifer.

"Ready to go off?" said Selphie, bright grin on her face.

"First unit," Quistis announced as she headed towards the elevator, "Ready?"

Squall, Rinoa, Irvine and Zell ran towards her. She pressed the elevator button and the five went down.

"Second unit," Seifer said when the elevator went back up empty. Fuu, Raijin, and Selphie followed. "All GF and equipment ready? Let's begin."

-x-x-x-x-x-

"This place is massive," Quistis noted as they made their way across the big hall where Ragnarok clawed in. "You've been here, Zell, you take command."

"Okay, wa-" Zell stopped, his mouth open. "Really? REALLY?"

The commander waved to the front. "You know the place better than us."

"I do!" said Zell in excitement. "You won't regret it!"

"She's just telling you to show the way," Squall said. Zell raised his chin and grinned.

"Hurry up," mumbled Quistis.

"Yes! Of course!" Zell ran to the front of the group. Irvine tsked as the martial arts walked briskly, head raised and posture pretentious.

It didn't take long for them to meet a lone Galbadian soldier who was facing the wall. He looked familiar, with massive shoulder plates and red uniform that now had become rusty and unkempt.

He was kneeling on the floor, muttering to himself. "Why the heck do I have to take orders from him? Just because he is now my superior... I chose the wrong career. Kept getting demoted and now ordered around by my junior..."

"That's funny," Zell piped from behind the soldier. Biggs screamed in surprise and whirled around, finding the five staring at him. "Why don't you quit and find another career?"

"You! You... you..." Biggs pointed at Zell and the team. "You're right! You're absolutely right! I quit!"

"Uhhh..." said Irvine.

"I'll go home and have a drink," Biggs continued. "If only Wedge didn't become my superior I'd have him quit too. But oh well."

"Wait," Quistis said. "Wedge is your superior now?"

"He's here?" Rinoa said.

"Of course," Biggs replied. He stood and walked away from the team, headed to another room on top of the stairs. "Why didn't I think of this sooner?"

"Cleanly done," said Squall.

Zell turned to the team with a bright grin. "It sure was, wasn't it?"

"So that's where Wedge is all this time," said Rinoa. "He's serving Ultimecia inside Adel."

"Ultimecia collects Knights like action figures," said Irvine. "One beheaded, got another quickly."

"She also nearly did the same to Seifer," said Quistis. "Being a sorceress that's used to different time and space, she probably doesn't have the same attachment to Knights, comparing it to Edea and Cid."

"Even though Cid is a Knight, he is always Edea's Knight, not Ultimecia," said Squall. "That's why he didn't follow her when she went on a rampage in Deling City."

"And I don't have anyone," Rinoa sighed. Irvine nudged Squall, and the latter glared. "I envy them."

"Knight stuff-whateveritis," Zell said. "Just look at Seifer and Selphie. It doesn't seem like it makes any differences even if they are bonded."

"No, it's not," Quistis said, staring at her lieutenant. He was looking at the spaces that Biggs had vacated.

"But it does," Squall mumbled. "The bond changes things."

-x-x-x-x-x-

"Heey," said Selphie when Seifer's team entered the bluish cave after they went through a transparent tunnel. "I know this place! Where Laguna's team defeated Estharian soldiers in our dreams!"

"Looks similar, but not," answered Seifer.

The team entered a red elevator with 03 written on the door. Fujin and Raijin looked at each other when they arrived at a big hall with two more elevators.

"So, we were wondering, ya know," Raijin began. "What will you two be doing after all this, ya know."

"What do you mean?" Seifer led them to the right, passing elevator 02.

"I mean, we heard what's going on, ya know. That you and Selphie were an item. So you two gonna stay in Balamb, ya know?"

"I'm going back to Trabia," said Selphie as the lieutenant draw Curaga magic from the draw point between elevator 02 and 01. "I need to rebuild my Garden."

"You're going with her, Seifer?" said Raijin when Seifer didn't say anything.

"Perhaps," Seifer said, headed to the steps across from elevator 02 and draw Meteor from another draw point. "Anyone need Curaga and Meteor?"

"But aren't you two Sorceress and Knight, ya know?" said Raijin when Seifer shared his newly drawn magic to Fujin. "Aren't you two supposed to be together all the time?" Making a motion of threaded fingers and shook them, he turned to look at Selphie as they made their way into elevator 01.

Selphie glanced at Seifer's back, and glanced back at Raijin with no expression in her face.

As they exited the elevator into another area of the bluish cave, Seifer motioned to the siblings.

"Go on ahead," he said. "I need a word with her."

"Mmm?" Selphie said when the siblings went ahead of them, "Yep?"

"I have several Phoenix Downs," Seifer said and put up a finger when Selphie opened her mouth. "I know it won't work on your case. But it does revive your body under 15 minutes of death. Also, see this?" He showed a bright burning ruby stone in his palm.

"Is that..." Selphie's eyes widened. "The rare Phoenix Pinion? I only ever saw it in books."

"It can keep your heart beating no matter how bad the damage to your body, as long as I apply it before your heart stopped beating. If your heart stopped not too long before the application, it will also revive your heartbeat." Seifer pocketed it into his inside coat pocket.

Selphie looked at Seifer's face. His face was stony. She closed her eyes and sighed. "It's not gonna be me inside my own body after that, isn't it?"

Seifer reached out and gripped a handful of Selphie's hair behind her ear, and with his thumb, soothed the skin behind her ear. "I will have time with this. As long as your body is there, there will be possibilities that I can do to make your soul come back. Esthar still have Odine. I will keep your body until the technology and magic can diffuse together." He bent closer and pressed his lips on top of her head. "And then someone will figure out how to bring your soul back into your body. If Ellone can bring us to the past and future, I don't see how someone else in the future can't bring you back into your own body."

Selphie sneaked her arms into the warmth of Seifer's coat, and hugged him close.

"There will be a way," said Seifer. "The curse is ridiculous. If someone can bind your life with them, there must be a way to unbound it. There will be."

Selphie burrowed deeper against the warmth of his chest.

"Say something."

"I think you know I really like you," she whispered.

"Oh wow. I can't even guess." Seifer locked his hands together on Selphie's back and put his chin on her head. A trying pose, since she was so much smaller.

"If I turn into a monster, I would love for you to keep me in you forever," she said.

Seifer frowned. "Are you into some weird fetishes? I have to tell you now that I'm completely normal. Boring, even. Knight-Princess thing I don't mind, but Creature-Hunter, no."

Selphie giggled. "You should give the 'keep my body alive' thing a time limit. How about five years?"

"So I should give up after that? Technological progress doesn't even change that much after five years. Fifty, probably."

"No," she said, her voice turned shaky. "Not fifty." She looked up into his eyes. "Fifteen. Then after nothing changes, give up. Just walk away."

He turned to stone. "No." He removed his hands from her back. Already she felt the coolness of the air when he stepped back out of her embrace.

Selphie could only stare at the face of a man she probably had loved too hard. How could she explain that no matter what he did after her death, she would be reduced into an eternal slave of magic? A mythical being with no more need nor able to join the mortal world?

The only thing she could hope for was that one day, he would find her as a GF, and she could find a closure by being embraced by the chaotic, yet spartan feeling of his mind.

"Guys, after you done kissing!" Raijin yelled from faraway in the tunnel, "A little help here will be great, ya know!"

Outside of the bluish cave, the transparent tunnel led them back onto metallic wall and hard tiles. In front of the siblings, floated a monster with ball-ish shoulder plates, eel-shaped head for a face and small sticks for arms.

'Mobile Weaponry Attack Mode On,' announced the monster when the couple arrived behind the siblings. 'Support Weaponry Attack Mode Off'.

"Ooookay," said Selphie, taking out her nunchaku. "Galbadian machinery?"

"Coul-" Seifer was cut off when the monster rammed onto him, he swiveled to the side avoiding the hit. "It is." He avoided another ram attack from the monster, and cringed when the monster knocked onto Raijin behind him.

"I'm summoning, ya know?!" shouted Raijin from beneath the monster. "Get it off me, ya know!"

Fujin tried to push the monster away. She cursed when the electricity covering the skin of the monster stung her hands. From above the struggling Raijin, the monster's shoulder plates glowed brightly. Selphie yelped when twin laser shot out from its shoulder plates aiming towards her. She feinted to the right and hit the transparent tunnel wall, but managed to avoid the laser.

"Raijin Special!" yelled Raijin, raising his staff higher than the monster on top of him, and swung it onto its back with way more force than normal. The monster groaned an electrical sound, and moved away from Raijin as the man sat up and continued battering the beast. "Take this! And this! And this! Ya know, this!"

"PANDEMONA!" shouted Fujin from the corner. Seifer turned to the albino as she faded away.

"It's machine, Fuu, it won'-" he couldn't finish his words before Tornado Zone introduced itself onto the whole tunnel. Selphie screamed when the gust of wind picked her up and flung her on a circling wave towards the middle of the tornado. She looked to the side when the monster also floated inside the tornado, raised her boot and kicked the head away when the monster's shoulder plates begin glowing again. Seifer's gunblade came out of nowhere, slicing the monster's floaty tail, drawing liquidy colored oil from the electrical flesh and guttered sound from the beast. Seifer pulled his gunblade and averted in time before the twin laser hit his direction. Raijin's staff flung along with the owner, hitting the monster's head and the guy's brute body rammed onto the beast, knocking it onto the tunnel wall and the ceiling. Selphie's light body twirled and twirled and twirled until she bashed onto the unmoving monster and latch onto its right shoulder plate. She raised her nunchaku, still somehow in her hand, and knocked the monster unconscious again when the eel-shaped head raised in slight awareness. Seifer appeared in the circle of wind, reached onto the left shoulder plate, and gripped the inner part of the plate. With two feet supporting his body against the monster, he ripped apart the shoulder plate. The monster screamed, electrical flash brightened the tunnel as the tornado came into a close. All four fell onto the floor. Selphie looked around in daze.

"What was that?" she whispered, looking at Seifer. He held onto the ripped shoulder plate and glared towards the only person who didn't get into the tornado. She safely hid behind the metallic wall separating the bluish cave and the transparent tunnel.

"That was the sister of an idiot," said Seifer. "Who was obviously an idiot herself."

Fujin shrugged from her hiding wall. "WORKS."

"Raijin Special was awesome, ya know?" said Raijin, grinning at them on his sitting position next to the monster's quiet form. He kicked the monster's head once and nodded. "I never miss with my Raijin Special, ya know!"

"BREAK!" called Fujin. Selphie didn't have time to ask what she meant when she heard the crack. Following her instinct, she ran onto the hard tiles where Fujin stood. Seifer and Raijin sprinted behind her, all left the transparent tunnel just seconds before the transparent floor of the tunnel broke. The monster raised its head and wailed in anguish as it dove involuntarily into the bottom of Lunatic Pandora.

Selphie looked down past the tile-less tunnel. She couldn't see anything.

"Poor thing," she said. "So Wind GF isn't a good option to release in a closed tunnel."

Still holding the shoulder plate, Seifer gave Fujin the worse evil side-eye he could muster. The girl looked away and scratched her eye patch. "You think?"

-x-x-x-x-x-

The soldier in blue heavy armor standing on the ramp didn't move when the first unit entered the room. Ten soldiers under the raised ramp, however, quickly raised their guns.

"Looks like we got company," said the blue armored soldier. His head was inside Galbadian blue helmet, but no mistake on who he was. "I assume you bring us Ellone so we don't have to waste our time scouring for her. Thank you for that."

"Wedge!" called Rinoa. "You're a Galbadian! Why are you serving Adel?"

Wedge didn't show any sign that he heard her. He focused on Quistis. "Will you tell me where Ellone is? I don't like wasting both of our time."

"You gotta be kidding me!" Zell shouted. "Why should we tell you where Ellone is?"

"I know she's nearby, it's easy to tell." Wedge still didn't move one bit whereas the soldiers in front of him had the first unit cornered to the door. "But very well if you cannot tell us. Boys, show them your hospitality."

"Guys, this ain't your battle," Irvine said with raised rifle pointing to two soldiers in front of him. "Don't make me do this. No point serving an Estharian sorceress. She's not your ruler. Stop this."

"Mistress Ultimecia is Galbadian," said one soldier.

Rinoa raised her Shooting Star while focusing on the soldier's words. "Um, what?"

"You of all people will understand later, miss Heartily, that Ultimecia is true Galbadian," said Wedge from the ramp.

Rinoa frowned. "What are you talking about? Me? No!" She shouted when one of the soldiers reached forward and grabbed the Shooting Star on her arm. Dragged by two soldiers away from the unit, she screamed when the rest of the soldiers hounded upon the SeeDs. Zell reached towards them, but one of the soldiers knocked him from the side and he rolled on the floor kicking and wrestling with the assailant. Irvine released his bullet into the helmet of one soldier on his left. The soldier on his right shot him with machinegun on his stomach when the soldier's mate's head exploded next to him. Irvine groaned and kicked the soldier with the machinegun away. Quistis used her whip to direct the machinegun held by the soldier in front of her towards the soldier on his left, and held on when the machinegun shot the unexpectant soldier on his fragile side of the stomach. Reaching into his inner pocket, Irvine took small pistol and shot the soldier in the stomach twice. Squall crawled down, yet didn't manage to escape some of the bullets. He used the sharp end of his gunblade and sliced two pair of feet in front of him, pushing with his body forward and not stopping until he knocked two soldiers in front of him rolling over his back as he ran to the front escaping the cornering. The soldier who held the machinegun coiled with whip yelled and rammed his helmet onto Quistis's head. Moving her head backwards in pain, Quistis jerked the soldier's head towards her and squatted down against the door, ramming his helmet onto the door behind her.

Irvine made use of his empty Elixir bottle by knocking them against the soldier who helped another beating Zell on the floor. Zell kicked away the soldier on top of him, no longer moving with all the blood coming out of him, and with one swift upkick, split open the jaw of the unconscious soldier whose head Irvine had hit with the bottle. He whirled around, finding Rinoa and the two soldiers dragging her gone. Along with empty ramp and no Wedge.

"Oh no no nooooooo!" he said. "Why do they really like taking Rinoa away?"

Irvine raised his small gun and shot the two bleeding soldiers Squall had sliced and knocked away on both their heads. He took his rifle and aimed to the soldier next to Quistis who lay helpless against the door and pulled the trigger.

That ended the fight.

"Report," called Quistis when she managed to stand up. She gingerly pressed the bump on her forehead.

"Not dead," said Squall. He let out a curse when he pulled out three bullets from his left shoulder. "I need a dagger if we're going melee like that all the time."

"The soldiers probably have a dagger or two," said Quistis.

"Ran out of stuff," said Irvine. "Have to save up bullets in the rifle."

"Grab one of their machineguns," replied the commander. "And their potions if they have any."

"Rinoa's gone, the wedgie's gone, two soldier's gone," added Zell, holding his right side. "I need Curaga, that shit broke my ribs."

Quistis sighed and massaged her temple. "If they really bother kidnapping her all the time, they won't do anything to her. It's Wedge, not wedgie. Come here, I have Curaga."

"Quisty!"

The commander turned around at the sound of Selphie's voice. The second unit behind the door headed towards them.

"Wow, all of you look like shit," said Seifer.

"Nice to see you are still alive too. Is the way back clean?" she asked her lieutenant, who glanced to his side. He glared at Fujin for some reason.

"We cannot go back to where we came from," he said, and handing her a ball-ish plate. The commander blinked, reflexively accepting the massive metal half-ball on her arms.

"What's this?" she said.

"Shoulder plate from a machinery. It emitted some type of laser. You like collecting monster items."

Quistis studied the inside of the shoulder plate with a frown. "I can learn something from this." Fixated, she stared into the inner part of the ripped shoulder plate.

Squall nudged her when she stood frozen. The commander raised her head and nodded.

"Yes, I think I learned what it can do." Her eyes glowed, similar color to what the monster had emitted. Selphie shrieked and stepped back.

Seifer raised his brows as he handed Quistis a bottle of Hi-Potion. "Nice to know we're not the only freaks around."

"We need to go after wedgie and Rinoa, guys!" said Zell while Fujin applied Curaga on his ribs. "Come on!"

"Time out," said Seifer. "I gotta have a real quick meeting with commander and you," he said to Squall.

Quistis took a deep breath and said to Zell who stare in disbelief, "Two minutes, guys. Rest quickly, heal and we'll find them."

"Are you serious?" Zell said.

"I am serious!" said Irvine picking up one of the machineguns. "Look at this! What is this crap? I refuse to use such bad quality inaccurate gun!"

"They're machineguns, ya know?" said Raijin.

"HOLD," ordered Fujin catching Zell's arm when he was moving towards the trio who headed to the ramp and sat.

"Now you're sitting?" Zell said.

Quistis sshed him with an index finger on her lips, and gave her attention to Seifer. "What now?"

"I'm not going to go into details," whispered Seifer, while peering at Squall who sharpened his new dagger as he sat next to Quistis. "I'm not Adel's son."

Squall rolled his eyes and Quistis looked up to the ceiling. "This again?"

"No," said Seifer. "I believe my aunt is a Galbadian. I met her yesterday."

Squall almost dropped his sharpened dagger. "What?"

"Too long of a story," said Seifer. "You, think again what the dream tell you about Adel's child."

Squall frowned as Quistis said, "He said it already. Blonde clone who looks like her."

"Also older than me, with high nose and tall," added Squall. "Why did Sis bother giving me that dream if it's not you?"

Seifer kept staring at Quistis. The commander's eyes widened and she paled.

"No," she said.

"When you saw this baby," Seifer said to Squall, "How sure were you that it was a boy?"

"Odine said he can change the gender later," said Squall. He stopped in shock.

"So you're talking about a baby girl, that might be replaced if Odine had time to change the gender. How long do you think the cloning process took?" Seifer studied Squall who looked at his dagger blankly. "Laguna could have defeated Adel and Odine would have no time to replace the baby clone at all. You cannot change the baby gender after it's been made. He would have gone with the same baby in your dream."

Quistis gripped a handful of her strands from the side of her face and stared at the color, as if she had never seen it before.

Squall gripped the dagger tightly. "So you're saying your fiancee is the child of the sorceress instead of you, just because you think you've met your aunt?"

"If you believe your dream, why can't I believe what Ellone had sent to me? What makes you think my dream is any different from yours?" Seifer glanced at Quistis. "And fuck it, Quistis. Time to tell angry boy here the truth."

Quistis looked at Seifer with a warning in her eyes.

"Truth about what?" Squall hissed.

"Me and the commander has never been romantically involved, dumbass," Seifer said. Quistis closed her eyes when Squall's slow 'What?' came. "She hates me as much as she hates you," Seifer added with a grin.

Quistis's eyes opened and she glared at Seifer. "What?" she now said.

Seifer grinned as he continued, "Do you really think she cares about you? Naaah, she tries to make you not get that close to her because truth is, she never care for both of us. Me, I quit early. You, well. Poor kitty." With that, he turned around and headed back to Selphie and his posse.

"What are you—it's not-" Quistis stood and looked at Seifer in confusion, turned to Squall who studied her with his poker face, and raised her hand, only to lower it down again helplessly, unsure what to say.

"Whatever," Squall said. He stood from the ramp and without a single glance, walked away from her.

Quistis opened her mouth, noticed the rest of the unit were watching her, and with exasperation looked away.

"Despite whoever actually the real one between both of you," Squall said without preamble to Seifer's back, "We'll move on with the plan. Use you to bait her."

Seifer turned back to Squall. He narrowed his eyes. "And when she realizes I'm not the one?"

"At that point it should be too late," said Squall. He motioned Zell and Irvine to come to the circle. "We all know where Wedge took Rinoa. It only serves our purpose. There should be enough of us to hold him or his soldiers back while you, me and Quistis do a quick work on Adel with our plan."

"What plan is that?" asked Zell. Quistis joined them.

"All of you except us," Squall motioned to Seifer, Quistis and himself, "Get Rinoa back from Wedge no matter what and defeat other enemies. We will try to detain Adel."

"With what?" said Irvine.

"Brains," said Quistis. "Just make sure nobody is going to bother us when we're closing in on Adel."

"This doesn't seem to be a perfect plan," said Zell.

"You got any?" asked Seifer, and smirked when Zell scowled. "So just follow us, chicken-wuss."

"I'm not gonna stop Adel from bashing your brains out, Seifer," said Zell. "Don't worry. Let's go, all. Rinoa's been in wedgie's hands for too long now."

"Why do they really like taking Rinoa, though?" said Selphie in a musing. "Why? What is it about her?"

-x-x-x-x-x-

"Wedge! Stop it!" Rinoa tried to stop him pushing her onto Adel. He didn't reply.

Adel stood encased inside glowing magical capsule. The runic golden capsule had a piece apart from it on the top right side, yet it look strong, menacing, the kind of circle a sorceress used to keep herselves ready for deadly battle.

"Haven't you done enough?" tried Rinoa again. The soldier's response was to push her even closer to the former Estharian sorceress. "This isn't right! You're a Galbadian soldier, not a sorceress's servant!"

"I am doing my job," hissed Wedge. "I understand everything after what she showed me. You will, too, miss Heartily. And then you will understand why this has to happen. Why she has to be with you."

"What? What do you mean?"

"The sorceresses as one! That is Ultimecia's WISH!"

Inhumanely tall, white Adel stood in front of them. Her hair was red and long, braided and fell onto her chest. Her headpiece was black, encasing her chin and cheek, yet showing her angular jaw and masculine shaped face. She wore a black runic body armor fitted tightly onto her,

Rinoa paled, looking at the size of the massive sorceress. Adel was built with muscular arms not covered by her body armor, and with a muscular torso showing up under her armor.

"...Wedge," Rinoa whispered. "If you still have any humanity left... please..."

Wedge kept his attention on the sorceress. He didn't react.

-x-x-x-x-x-

"Anyone know the way to the sorceress's chamber?" asked Irvine when they entered the elevator. Zell looked at Seifer, who glanced back.

"I was with you the first time, chicken-wuss. How would I know?" said the lieutenant.

"I guess being a pompous fuckup doesn't grant you the ability to know everything, eh?"

"If I guess correctly," said Selphie. "On the right of that machine earlier there's a couple of stairs up. If the soldiers and Wedge are waiting here, we probably can find Adel upstairs."

Raijin laughed, Seifer groaned and Fujin, who faced the elevator wall, placed her forehead against it. The rest are looking at them in confusion.

"Something we should know about, Seifer?" said Quistis.

The elevator door opened, and Seifer made a grandiose waving motion towards the hall. Zell was about to walk out, and froze.

"There used to be a floor on that tunnel," he said. "Thick glass floor?"

"A really smart cadet decided to practice her interior decorating skill," said Seifer. "Someone, if you still have space in your brain, mug Pandemona from her."

"Please," added Selphie.

Zell turned to look at Fujin. She was scowling. "Aaaahh, that. Again?"

"What do you mean, again?" said Irvine.

"How do you think we killed NORG?" said Squall.

"Seriously?" said Raijin. "Wow, Fuu! Cool!"

"Selphie, are you sure there are stairs over there?" asked Quistis.

Selphie hopped to the end of the hall, and peeked to the side of the tunnel. "Yep!" she said. "Come on!"

She stepped back three steps, ran to the end of the attached floor and jumped up, missing from view behind the wall.

"Sweet," said Irvine.

"And how can we go back later?" said Zell to the empty air, when everyone else had walked to the spot where Selphie jumped, and one by one following her. "Does anyone even care that we cannot get out of here?"

-x-x-x-x-x-

The chamber and the long tunnel tube that they saw after climbing the stairs looked like the pistil of a white flower. The finely sculptured walls formed layers and layers of beautiful petals rounding the long tube of the pistil-like chamber. As the SeeD entered open door into the ovary chamber in the middle, Selphie noticed Quistis share a look with Seifer and Squall. The latter didn't react, but Seifer nodded in a solid determination.

"I hope we don't die in there, ya know?" Raijin whispered from behind her. Selphie turned a little to meet his eyes and smiled.

"You won't," she said. "All of you are gonna survive this."

Raijin grinned. "Yeah, we are, ya know!"

"No more," they could hear Rinoa's words as they entered. "Wedge. Please?"

Selphie could only see Wedge's back from the position they were, crowding the door. Two soldier who had taken Rinoa turned around and raised their machine guns at the SeeDs. Wedge stood in front of a giant golden capsule. It glowed golden with runic embedded along the lines. Inside the capsule, a tall, lean muscular person faced Wedge.

"It's all for the better," said Wedge. "You'll understand."

"Wedge! No!" shouted Zell. He wanted to run to the pair, but Fujin's hands on his arm stopped him.

"GUNS," Fujin simply stated. Zell noticed the machinegun the couple of soldiers held and growled.

"Rinoa and Adel. The sorceresses as one. Watch closely, SeeDs." Wedge waited until the capsule moved closer. He forced Rinoa to kneel.

Rinoa looked up. The tall, white sorceress inside the capsule moved. The motion of simply opening her arms made the sorceress even more menacing. Rinoa realized Adel had opened her eyes, ruby colored pair of eyes without any eyeball, and the girl froze. The sorceress' headpiece had a monster eye symbol and crown fused together on the forehead. The headpiece formed two layers of shapely formed edge below her eyes, making the inhuman ruby eyes stood out. The sorceress grinned, neatly arranged teeth without any visible canines, and Rinoa stared.

"Rinoa!" Irvine shouted when Wedge stepped back and release his grip on her shoulder. "Run!"

Rinoa kneeled in front of the capsule as if transfixed. The sorceress opened her right hand, black tipped claws, and pushed her way out of the gel-like barrier keeping her inside.

"We gotta do something!" said Zell. "She cannot move! Come on, Squall!"

Squall closed his eyes, put his fist closer to his mouth, murmuring the GF summon.

"There's only three soldiers now, and more of us than earlier!" urged Zell. "What are you guys waiting for?"

Irvine aimed his rifle toward Wedge's head.

Selphie looked at the soldiers, the calculating Quistis, then to the sorceress's claw breaking out of the barrier. Quistis frowned, looking at Rinoa who didn't move from her kneeling position.

"PANDE-" Fujin's summon stopped by Seifer clamping her mouth. The lieutenant kept his hand blocking Fujin's mouth despite the woman glaring at him and slapping his hand away.

"Rinoa!" shouted Seifer, glaring back at Fujin. "Get away!"

"Rinoa!" Raijin yelled with his hands forming a cup in front of his mouth. "Yo!"

"She cannot hear any of us," said Quistis. They all watched the sorceress clawed out of the barrier and lunged towards the girl, who screamed and covered her face.

"But she can move?" said Raijin to no one. "I thought she's possessed? Why won't she move away?"

Squall opened his eyes and shimmered out of existence as his GF materialized.

"Time to go!" shouted Zell. He ran towards the capsule.

Carbuncle casted Reflect before the soldiers bullets hit the martial artist. Zell's right hook landed on the left soldier's helmet, cracking the headpiece to two. His downward hammer kick brought the soldier to the ground. Irvine's bullet pierced the eye of the right soldier and left the soldier's head from the back of the lifeless body. The two-handed gunblade stabbed Zell's kneeling soldier from the side. Squall pulled his gunblade out as Raijin ran to the capsule, his straight staff hit blocked by Wedge's machinegun. The blue soldier flew to the side when Seifer's shoulder rammed him, unable to block the attack with both hands holding machinegun.

"I command thee... Sleep!" Quistis's voice rang clear from the back. A white spell hit Wedge's head, enveloping his helmet. He clawed at his head wildly, trying to remove the powerful blue magic from affecting him. Squall raised his gunblade and thwacked Wedge as hard as possible with the blunt end of his weapon, knocking the soldier.

"Rinoa!" said Selphie. "Seify! Squally! Do something! Ifrit, come out!"

Both gunbladers turned to look at the capsule.

In front of it, Adel stood. Black runic wings outstretched, the tall sorceress's skin now turned grey. Her body muscular, large and inhumane. Rinoa huddled in front of Adel's chest, her arms trapped inside Adel's magical armor. Her bunched legs disappeared under Adel's skirt. She looked pale, and listless. A familiar red monster bringing with him an unfriendly heat stood in front of Selphie. He crossed his arms, watching the display.

This is unusual, Ifrit commented. I am afraid I cannot do anything about this, Little Lady.

"FUSED?" growled Fujin.

"Gotta save Rinoa!" said Zell.

"Just go for Adel!" Squall dictated. He turned to look at Quistis. "How is this going to work with capturing her?"

Adel laughed. Her voice was throaty and filled with spite. "Capture Me?"

"No GF!" called Quistis. "Take your Ifrit back!"

"Ifrit!" Selphie said. "What can I do?"

Ifrit turned around to look at his summoner. He said nothing as he disappeared.

"Are you guys still sane?" Irvine shouted. "How can you capture that... that thing with Rinoa still on her? Or in her? Or... her?"

"Give me the bangles!" said Seifer as Squall ran to the capsule with gunblade raised in the air. "Quick!"

Quistis threw three massive bangles in the air as the shout, "PANDEMONA!" surprised the SeeDs.

"Nooooooooo!" screamed Seifer and Zell as the SeeDs flew into a circle of tornado.

"Fujin!" screamed Selphie as she flung with a nauseating motion inside the massive gust. "Call your GF back!"

Quistis turned to look at who has been swept inside the tornado. All SeeDs and two cadets flew around the room, hitting the wall and ceiling as their body could not battle the wind. Adel stood in the center of tornado, her tall muscular body steady on the ground. She looked at the gust around her and tilted her head in wonder.

"CANNOT!" shouted Fujin, hitting the ceiling. Zell came out of nowhere and shouted "Sorry!" before punching her head, knocking the cadet out.

"Aaaaaaaa!" Raijin fell from the high height of the ceiling and knocked his head on the ground, laying still. Zell fell from the same height, holding onto Fujin and crashed to the ground together. Four other loud crash sounded around him. He struggled to raise his head up and ignore the exploding pain on his legs. Groans filled the air. He gritted his teeth while checking Fujin's breathing. Once he was assured that she was still alive, Zell whimpered, "Curaga." A gurgled scream nearby made him turn his head. Irvine was dangling from Adel's hand, clawing over her fingers holding his neck. A loud crack from his neck emitted cries from Quistis, whose body was sprawling on the ground glowing from curative magic.

Adel threw Irvine's corpse to the ground. Squall's Renzokuken sliced her flesh, surprising her, giving Quistis time to crawl to the dead sniper. Seifer shouted when Rinoa raised her head and cried, blind blade gored bare skin on her thighs and left arm as well, "No! Squall! You'll kill Rinoa!" Squall halted abruptly, adrenaline high making his move aborted slower. The space in front of him turned dark, and the lieutenant paled when he saw dark sky full of stars. Meteors from the magical sky fell onto them, burning Squall's shoulder and hair as he kneeled covering his head. Selphie's shouting 'Curaga' can be heard from afar. The lights from her hand shined onto the sorceress's chest. Squall was about to stop the girl from healing their enemy when he realized Selphie was curing Rinoa, who was bleeding in front of Adel's chest. He cringed when he tried to catch his breath, hormone still ran in his vein making it hard to think. His hand reached to his shoulders, sweeping away the small fire still latching onto furry lining of his jacket.

"You'll be fine," he heard Quistis whispered. She wasn't even near him, yet he could hear it as clearly as if she was next to him. "You'll be fine." He knew she was whispering to the resuscitated Irvine.

"Just go for Adel," he heard Seifer said quietly. "You said it yourself."

"Wasn't in the right mind," Squall said, watching Adel swatting at Zell, who was hitting her legs and hips, yet failed to do any real damage. As if she was swatting flies. It was adrenaline rush for him, getting sucked into sudden tornado, again, and then seeing Irvine dangling on the sorceress's hand. The sniper's quick death was the last straw. He glanced at Adel's chest, where Rinoa looked pale and weakened. Her bleeding barely stopped. Adel bent low every time Zell hit her, and his punch beat Rinoa more than it did Adel. Zell stepped back and groaned in frustration. Seifer threw massive Curaga ball onto Adel, healing both Rinoa and the sorceress. Unlike Selphie's restorative powers, his managed to make Rinoa's face regain its color. It didn't help their cause that Adel also looked better. Zell rammed the sorceress's feet again, continuing his martial attempt at decreasing Adel's stamina.

Squall peered to his surroundings, noting the damage. Raijin and Fujin were lying on the ground, but they didn't seem dead. For the sake of the team, it was preferable for Fujin to stay down. For the entire time, he hoped. Seifer stood tall, glaring at the sorceress but did nothing. Behind him who acted as a cover, Quistis bent over Irvine, her hand on his chest, pumping Curaga into his vein. Her eyes closed, her mouth muttered encouragement to the sniper, who was still. Selphie stood on the corner, gripping her nunchaku. She looked at her free hand, and at the sorceress's chest where Rinoa was fused together. Her brows furrowed, she mumbled something. Debating with her Gfs again probably. Squall alone kneeled near the sorceress, with Zell baiting Adel to take her attention away from the rest of the team.

"Any ideas?" Squall pushed himself up.

Seifer glanced at him, but saying nothing. They both knew they couldn't do anything at this point, not with Rinoa still latched onto Adel. Zell knew, he was just wasting time so that Irvine would wake up. Their magic would hit Rinoa and Adel. Their melee attack would hit both of them. His bullet would be able to kill just Adel.

The three giant bangles lay on the floor, each of them showed cracks, one had split into two.

Adel threw her head up and laughed. A giant ball of magic materialized from Adel's armor and enveloped Zell, causing him to scream and writhe in pain. Squall ran forward, trying to hit Adel with his gunblade. Adel swivel towards him, and Squall stopped halfway of slicing Rinoa again. Curaga thrown by Seifer bounced to Zell, eliminating the Pain magic ball. Rinoa screamed when spurts of her blood came out from the back of her head and jumped into the sorceress's mouth.

"What?" said Squall.

"She's healing herself with Rinoa's blood!" said Selphie. "That's it! I... I... Diablo!"

"No!" Seifer yelled and turned towards the girl. It was too late, the chamber turned dark and the giant Demi monster rushed forward. Laughing, he batted Seifer and Squall to the side, ignoring their yells and rammed his claws into the sorceress's armor and Rinoa. Adel's guttural pain mixed with Rinoa's halted cry was the answer. Adel's dark claws slashed the GF's face in return. Diablo pulled back his claws, causing blood to spurt out of both the tall sorceress's body and Rinoa. Before Seifer's Curaga ball reached both women, Diablo batted the restorative ball aside, raised his right claw covered with dark fog Demi magic and jammed it into Adel's armor, ignoring Rinoa's scream. Quistis ran to the front, one of the cracked giant bangle in her hand, slipping herself between Diablo and Adel, and tried to lock Adel's arm into the bangle. Adel struggled to get away from Diablo, kicking Quistis and writhed. The bangle flew away, useless. Seifer appeared next to Diablo, ramming giant Firaga ball onto Adel's feet. Rinoa and Adel both cried out from the fire enveloping them. As Diablo disappeared, Zell jumped onto Adel's chest, and with a quick punch, toppled the sorceress to the ground. As the chamber turned into the current dimension, Squall climbed on top of the sorceress, along with Zell. Together they tried to rip Rinoa away from Adel, ignoring the intense burn on their hands. On Adel's knee, Seifer continued to pump Blizzaga and Firaga into the stunned sorceress, slowing her movement. Rinoa cried in intense pain, her head bleeding and the trickle of blood ran into Adel's open mouth. Adel gurgled and laughed in between of the SeeD's struggle to separate her and Rinoa, her teeth sharp and bright red. Quistis joined the bloody separation, trying wildly to pull the extremely weakened Rinoa out of the sorceress's armor. Rinoa had stopped screaming, her eyes blurred unfocused, her mouth opened, her breath shallow, her head drooped.

"Irvine!" Seifer heard Selphie shouting in the background. "Irvy, wake up! We need you!"

"Keep ripping her away!" Quistis shouted, her hand badly burned from the fire on Adel's body, yet she didn't scream or move away from pulling Rinoa from being sipped to death by the sorceress. Zell and Squall gritted their teeth and smashed Adel's armor, trying to get Rinoa out of the armor, but with the weakened Rinoa unmoving and Adel continuing to drink from her, Squall couldn't see the good end for this futility.

"Kill her!" shouted Seifer in between his burning of the sorceress's lying body. "Kill Rinoa!"

"What?!" Zell yelled. "Are you insane? Kill Adel, not Rinoa!"

"Listen to me! Quistis! Kill Rinoa! Now!" Seifer said. Quistis turned to look at Seifer's face. She shook her head and pulled harder against the armor. The blood coming out of the human should never be this much, yet Rinoa's blood has painted Adel's armor and their hands, the girl in blue had closed her eyes and her head lolled against the chest of her trapper. Her skin had turned black from being burned from behind.

"Ifrit!" Squall heard Selphie. He yelled, "No!" just when the fire GF appeared. Taking a quick look at what he got in his hand, the GF ripped the four SeeDs away from the lying sorceress and Rinoa, and threw them far away. He flew up, ignoring Zell's pleas and Quistis's disbelieving cry, and a giant ball of fire smashed onto Adel's burned body. As both the killer GF and the giant ball of fire disappeared, Seifer ran to the front, studying the dead girl on top of the badly wounded sorceress.

"What are you doing?" Zell said in between tears. "Why did you kill her, Selphie?"

Seifer didn't answer. He looked at Selphie and at Adel, who grinned at her from the ground.

"Why don't you come here, Boy?" Adel hissed. "Do come."

"Kill her," said Selphie quietly. "Seify. Kill Adel."

Seifer didn't move. He gripped his Hyperion, looking down at the sorceress. Even lying on the ground in the mixture of her own blood and the blood of her victim, Adel still looked calm. Calculating.

"I want you to know that we can kill you easily," said Seifer.

"Then do it, you dipshit!" yelled Zell. "The fuck are you doing?"

Adel tilted her head. "I assume you have something you want from me. Boy."

"Undo your curse," said Seifer. "At her. Undo it."

The sorceress's laugh was a response. "Your worthless woman was the one killing my tasty meal. Not me."

Seifer frowned. "Undo. Your. Curse."

"Seifer, what are you talking about?" said Squall.

Adel stared back at Seifer, grinning. She said nothing.

"Seify!" Selphie said. "There's no time! Squall! Kill Adel!"

"Time for what?" said Quistis. "What are you talking about, Selphie?"

Selphie groaned. She headed next to Seifer, and then pushed the lieutenant's back harshly. Seifer swayed and looked at her, frowning.

"This isn't going to solve anything," Selphie said. "Hurry."

"No," said Seifer.

"Seify!"

"No."

"What are you two doing?" Zell said. "What drama is this! You don't want to kill Adel after you two cruelly slaughtered Rinoa?"

Adel's grin stayed in place, even after the bullet shot into her head splattered her brain matters painting the wall of the chamber. The SeeDs turned their heads to the source. Between fainted cadets, Irvine supported his upper body by elbows and rifle gripped with one hand, successful finger on the trigger. The sniper still had a look of determination. He put his rifle down next to him with a deep sigh. He plopped his upper body down on the ground again and groaned.

"Sorry am late," he said.

Seifer looked at Selphie. She watched the sorceress's head with mouth agape. Then she turned towards him. Blinking, Selphie turned to look at Adel again, as if she couldn't believe her eyes.

"She's dead?" Selphie said. "But... but... I? Ah!" she shook off her reverie and ran towards the sorceress. She pulled Rinoa out from Adel's armor, a job now easily done. She raised her hand, full life magic on it, and knocked it into Rinoa's still body.

"Help me!" she yelled to Zell, who now fully understood and rushed to help. Seifer stayed in place as both Squall and Zell ran to pump more Full Life, trying to resurrect Rinoa. He heard a bump behind him.

Quistis hugged herself on the floor. Seifer headed towards her, only to be knocked aside by Squall.

"Quistis?" Squall said, collecting Quistis in his arms. "Quistis? What's wrong?"

Shivering, the commander opened her eyes. The white of her eyes had turned onyx. Her mouth trembles, and she whispered, "D-d-d-don't..."

"Fuck." Seifer headed towards them. "Ah, shit."

"Aaagh!" Zell shouted. Seifer turned and saw dark fog crawled up from inside Adel's corpse. It hovered in the air, moving towards them.

"No!" Squall raised his gunblade, waving it towards the dark fog. He scrambled back, holding Quistis in his arm. "No! Get away!"

"S-s-sttop..."

"I will," said Squall. "Don't worry! It won't hurt you!"

"D-d-d..don't..." Quistis's tremor got worse. "It c-c-c-c-chose m-m-me..."

"What?" said Squall. He paled.

"D-d-don't stop... h-h-her..."

"Stop moving back," said Seifer. "The sorceress's magic has to be passed over. It chose Quistis."

Squall glared at Seifer, looking both panicked and lost.

"Rinoa is dead right now," Selphie said, her hands glowing on top of the said woman's body. "Sorceress's magic doesn't stay in her body after her death. It has to be passed over."

"Why her?" Squall demanded. "Why Quistis? Why not you?"

Seifer raised his brow and whispered, "Should I fucking say it out loud? That I am not Adel's next of kin?"

Squall glared. He turned to stone when the dark fog hovered closer. It stopped in front of Quistis, and Squall had to stop himself from pulling his lover away when the dark fog went into her nasal passage, and disappeared into her. Quistis's tremor got worse, and she started moaning. Squall pulled her into his arms, hugging her close.

Seifer turned to Selphie and Zell. Judging from Zell's relieved face, he didn't have to wonder about his decision to kill Rinoa to stop Adel from leeching her blood. Selphie stood and met his gaze. She looked confused, fidgeting in place.

I didn't lie, he heard her whispering in his mind. I really was cursed. But...

I didn't say you lie, he replied.

But you think so.

What, now you read my mind?

You're angry.

That we wasted fucking time and energy trying not to kill a batshit sorceress for nothing?

Seifer looked away when Selphie bowed her head low.

"Guys?" said Irvine. He waved towards the entrance. "The Estharians."

Ellone entered with Laguna, looking confused. At first she headed towards Rinoa. But as she past Quistis and Squall in the middle, her eyes widened and she stopped in her tracks.

"Quisty?" she whispered, staring at shivering commander. "But... why?" She glanced at Squall, asking for an explanation. Squall's return was a poker face betraying nothing.

"How did you get here?' asked Zell. "Isn't the tunnel broken?"

"We got cool tech," replied Laguna.

"People call that ladders," said Ellone with plain tone. "Why is it in Quistis? Squall?"

Squall kept his silence.

"Just do what you come here to do, Sis," said Seifer. "It's too complicated to explain now."

After a slight hesitation, Ellone raised both of her hands and cupped them together in front of her. A blitz of power glowed out from Quistis. Ellone mumbled, "What is this?" just as the same blitz of power glowed again, this time into the commander. Ellone opened her eyes to see everyone staring at her.

"I can see Ultimecia inside Adel," said Ellone. "But there's something else? Quisty... you're a sorceress too?"

"Really?" said Laguna, gazing at Quistis. Squall glared at him.

"What is it to you?" said Squall.

"Hoo, relax." Laguna raised his hand. "Elle, you did it?" he said. With Ellone's nod, he smiled. "This is the showdown, folks! Time compression is about to begin." He nodded at Zell and Selphie. "Love, friendship, and courage! Show them what you got!"

"We got beaten up bodies, half dead people, injuries, burned bodies and massive loss of blood," informed Irvine from his lounging position. "Some ammo boxes and potions would be nice."

"Eehhh..." Laguna pulled Ellone and ran out of the chamber when the runic capsule expanded, and the whole chamber shook. Squall bent his head low, covering Quistis in his embrace. Seifer saw Selphie running to him when the present dimension twisted, wrinkled and pushed him into glutinous substance, and spat him down towards the other time dimension.

-x-x-x-x-x-

He didn't know where Ultimecia would reside, but the village ruins in Centra was not it.

Seifer opened his eyes again, thinking his surroundings would change this time.

Nope, he still sat leaning on the broken mill grinder on the same village. He glared to the left. Then to the right.

Still the same place. He had to say, it was disappointing. He was hoping the sorceress would live somewhere far... grander.

Standing up, he tried to look around with a critical eye. There was probably something in here that the sorceress liked? He couldn't imagine why someone would choose to stay here. He couldn't even see his posse, nor his team, nor Selphie. Not that he cared much about his team. But his posse and Selphie...

The lying girl. He sighed. He couldn't understand why she had to lie. To get his attention? Why did she think she had to do that? They could be killed if they didn't kill Adel first. She didn't need to lie to get his attention. Not that he ever told her, but she was the first thing in his mind simply because it was impossible to get rid of her. Lies were never necessary.

He stopped when he noticed the smell. It was familiar. His head snapped to the strong scent. Horrible smell.

There is no Malboro on Centra.

His feet brought him to the centre of the village, where the strongest of the horrid smell resided. In between the broken tile freshly ruined, the small body lay still.

His heart stopped.

There is no Malboro on Centra.

She was so small. Her head was so tiny, so listless. Her short brown hair covered her face. She lay facing the ground; tiny fragile back with a big wide open hole where her spine and organs were supposed to be. He saw the tile under her, visibly clear from the gaping hole. Her tiny skirt that she liked to wear had torn apart, her little thighs bleeding with branches and rocks still embedded on them. Her legs twisted. Unnatural angle. One of her yellow strappie shoes was missing, her foot bare with patches of blood and dirt. She had run. Ran from the horrible monster. The horrible smell.

But there is no Malboro on Centra.

Yet the horrible smell had found her.

-x-x-x-x-x-

-x-x-x-x-x-

-x-x-x-x-x-

-x-x-x-x-x-

Author's Note:

The chapter was in process so long. I hit a massive writer's block, as in how to write down this chapter, but here it is after so long. For Tesake, your encouragement really helps. I know that I have to write because you want to see the end for this story, so thank you. :)