Final Fantasy VIII: Fated Circle

[Rogue 4]

Fated Circle

A Final Fantasy VIII Fic!

Everyone else is posting random stuff...so sue me

Author's notes: Some notes:

Rating: T

Pairing/Characters: Keeping all the cannon ones, so: Squall/Rinoa (with some Seifer longing. Towards Rinoa you sickos.) Irvine/Selphie, Zell/Girl with the Pigtail (now named Melinda for my purposes.) Quistis/Imginary friend...j/k. Quists Trepe means "she who is forgotten" so she will just have to deal with her fanboys. (Yes, I think I just coined the word fanboys. You never heard it before, have you? ) Unless I decide to pair her with Seifer...we'll see.

Warnings: Adult language; possible sexual situations in later chapters as well as possible descriptive violence.

Spoilers: Takes place in a post FF VIII world, and as such the entire game will be spoiled. Be forewarned.

Summary:

Ultimecia is a descendant of a sorceress of our time. Born generations in the future, she lashed out with her power, using the Ellone Machine to take her to the past, in order to create time compression. This machine however, could not take her back far enough to achieve her goals. She had to possess a sorceress of our time--first Edea, then Rinoa, then Adel---then have the actual Ellone take her farther into the past. Squall, Rinoa, and the rest of the orphanage gang succeeded in defeating her in the future...but is she really gone for good? Can she ever, truly be stopped...?

Seifer Almasy is still alive, and at another crossroads in his life. Ultimecia's time has not yet come to pass, and the future is always in motion. These are the musings of a confused boy, who's gathering power to himself to do what he needs to do...whether it's for good or ill he has yet to decide, but the future may very well lie in his unknowing hands.

Another group is growing from the ashes of the war, one which would do almost anything to prevent Ultimecia from ever being born, let alone get a second chance. This world of fear and hatred towards Sorceresses is unfortunatly the one that Rinoa must find her place in. But there are things about her fate that even she does not know...and all too many people understand that she is the cornerstone in the building of the future. Will Squall stay by her side in this time of need, or when all hell breaks loose will he resign himself to being alone?

Disclaimer: All things FFVIII belong to SquareEnix. I owned them for about ten seconds, then lost them in a bad game of Sabaac. What?! Don't believe me?! Seriously, what's his face who made FF is a big Star Wars Fan.

Prologue

?I?m so excited!? The eager brunette exclaimed as she jumped happily into the air, emerald eyes glittering like the dew that still clung to the green grass. The dress she wore was sleeveless, ended about mid-thigh, and was the yellow color of the daffodils that lined the edge of the Quad where they had all gathered at her request. ?This is going to be so much fun!?

Besides Selphie, four others had arrived so far. The tallest of the group, Irvine Kinneas put both hands in the pockets of his long jacket as he leaned back against the tree and took a good look at his companions. Standing nearby, blue-eyed Quistis was watching Selphie intently, giving her all the attention she probably wished she?d gotten during her time as an instructor. Raven haired Rinoa was sitting on a concrete bench to Irvine?s left, legs extended straight out in front of her. Her warm brown eyes were looking down at her booted feet, which were moving earnestly back and forth. Sitting cross-legged beside her was Zell, notorious for his martial arts skills and outspoken nature. He had a tattoo running down the left side of his face who?s story Irvine had yet to learn, but had decided was very cool all the same.

?Let me get this straight,? Zell said, in a pure display of his outspoken nature. ?Headmaster Cid wants us to throw ourselves a party for our victory over Ultimecia??

Quistis cocked her head to the side, evaluating. ?That?s mostly coincidental really. Selphie?s the head of the Garden Festival Committee, and we?ve all assisted the committee in the past.?

?Hey! Being on the Garden Festival Committee is fun!? Selphie scolded them, threatening them all with her fists.

?They didn?t mean it like that, Selphie.? Rinoa assured with a wry smile.

Zell scratched his head. ?What we meant was that we should be the guests of honor, not the hosts.?

?Well, we?ll just have to be the Guests of Honor, and the hosts!?

?That?s the spirit Sefie.? Irvine tipped his hat at her.

The short girl jumped in excitement. ?C?mon guys, this is going to be a BLAST!?

The other two girls chuckled at the spunky brunette?s usual happy demeanor. Rinoa jumped earnestly to her feet, leaning forward and looking up at Selphie from behind her dark bangs as she spoke. ?So what can we do to help??

~*~*~*~*~

The walls were a cold gray, the kind of color that wears on you out of sheer boredom. It had no vibrancy, or texture, Not even a stain that could keep one?s mind occupied for just a little while. It was clean, he?d give it that. From the steel-reinforced outer walls to the cold blue cement floor. Every single inch of it. Immaculate. The white sheets on his small cot were washed weekly, and even the freaking toilet was clean. It was insulting. Enraged, he let out a yell as he stood, throwing his mattress violently against the wall.

It wasn?t right the way they treated him. If he were holding himself prisoner he would have tortured himself for information several times already. Yet the guards didn?t even so much as bad-mouth him, or show any indication that they so desperately wanted to. (And he knew they did---who wouldn?t?) Then again, by now Esthar already had all the information they needed, didn?t they?

?Damn Estharians!? He said, kicking the mattress with his right foot. ?Damn you Laguna!?

?You have the power to change yourself for the better.? Laguna shook his head at him. ?Right now, your future looks dark, but you can change that, Seifer. Change yourself and maybe you can change your future. Who knows. If there?s a chance you could get yourself out of here someday, wouldn?t it be worth taking??

Seifer froze. (?Change the future.?) Right now he was safe here in his cell, miserable as it was. Fujin had told him in her last letter that nobody was sure what to do with him, that a case like his was unprecedented. A chill ran up his spine. ?Yeah, and go where? To a cell in Balamb, or death row in Galbadia? President Loire, you?re too smart to believe that you?re the one with all the cards here. Balamb might give me a break-- especially if I can get Headmaster Cid on my side--but you and I both know that a trial in Galbadia would certainly mean the death penalty.?

?There?s no question about that.? Laguna?s dark-skinned aide crossed his arms as he responded. ?They?re ready to throw you there without so much as a trial, and I can?t blame them.?

Laguna tucked his hands into his pockets, looking into the cell soberly. ?Everybody deserves a trial.?

Seifer closed his eyes in quiet speculation. ?Galbadia?s winning, aren?t they??

Ward nodded, but it was Kiros who spoke. ?At the moment they have you on charges of treason, and---?

Seifer?s roar and the sound of a mattress hitting metal cut his statement dreadfully short?

~*~*~*~

?What do you think about this one?? Selphie asked, randomly pulling one of the many accumulated sample invitations that had been placed in a small shoebox. She was sitting on her knees in her room in the Garden?s dormitory. Intolerably plain, Selphie had tried to decorate the small bedroom as much as possible during the past few months. A pink and yellow flowered bedspread brightened up the dull white room, and her desk and walls were adorned with photos of her friends from Trabia (with one or two pictures she?d gathered from the FH concert scattered about).

?Too yellow.? Rinoa said as she crouched down opposite her, her light blue duster trailing on the ground behind her. She picked out another invitation, lifting it nonchalantly up for Selphie to see. ?How?s this??

?Too blue!? Selphie replied, causing them both to chuckle.

?Well, we?re never going to get anywhere like this.? Rinoa laughed, and her warm brown eyes glittered. ?Let?s compromise.?

Selphie?s emerald eyes scanned the cards for a moment before she jubilantly discovered an invitation that featured both blue and yellow. ?Here we go!?

?Too informal. We might want to try one with the Balamb Garden Insignia on it.? Quistis commented sadly with a shake of her head as she walked in and closed the door. ?Headmaster Cid?s just raised the bar for us, and invited a bunch of political leaders. It makes sense though considering that there?s a big press conference in Timber scheduled the next day??

Edited August 21, 2007 by Rogue