Chapter 2 : What Happens In The Party -Part 1
Title: Final Fantasy 8: Cruel Intentions
Rating: No sexual scenes in this chapter, just a small bit of romance, and a bit of comedy.
Pairing: Seifer x Selphie
Characters: Seifer, Selphie, Zell, Quistis, Headmaster Cid, Squall and Cloud Strife
Disclaimer: The characters, items, places, etc. of Final Fantasy VIII are property of Squaresoft, Inc. No infringement is intended. Rating - PG13 (Language, Violence)
Summary: A swordsman from the past pays a visit to Balamb, searching for Squall and Seifer. Meanwhile, Seifer and Selphie arrive at the SeeD party. Everything is going well until Zell steps into the scene.
Author's Notes: I know I said that Chapter 1 is the largest chapter, but apparently this one is. It was so big to post in one entry, so I had to do two separate posts to actually get it up, lol. I know it sounds like allot, but don’t let it scare you. It’s really worth the read, and I would appreciate the comments. Cloud Strife is a part of my FF8 story, I know it sounds odd. His greatest enemy, you know who, has escaped into Squall’s time (the future) and Cloud followed him here. There will be a chapter all about that. As for future chapters, I will do my very best to make them a whole lot smaller, promise. There is a fight scene in this chapter, by the way Thanks, and enjoy. J
At the end of your comment(s), can you please copy and paste a certain amount of "★" at the end of your comment(s). Basically the amount of stars will indicate your personal rating for this chapter. The ratings are below. Thank you so much, and enjoy. :D
★= This was horrible, excuse me while I throw up.
★★= Not bad, but it kind of put me to sleep. Needs a little more work. Sorry.
★★★= This was pretty good, I look forward to the next chapter.
★★★★= This was a awesome chapter, simply awesome. This is what I call a "good" story.
Seifer remained somewhat distraught as he walked through the hall which leads to the training centre. The conversation the former knight and Selphie just had really had him thinking; there was a truth in her words that he didn’t like. Trust is what SeeD is all about, but Seifer felt as though he would never regain anybody’s trust, not after what happened during the Sorceress’s War. The very thought of him teaming up with his former enemies caused his stomach to churn. Will they ever trust me again? If they don’t…who can blame them?
There was never a day that went by where Seifer would never question his presence here.
Ever time he walked through the halls; he would imagine the fear of his fellow school mates screaming as the Galbadian troops invaded their home. What makes matters was that he was the one who sent them. Never would he have imagined that the war between him and his rival Squall would further lead to actual Gardens doing battle.
How can these people be so forgiving? I tired to destroy the very organization that I once worked so hard to join. Was it because I failed countless times, and didn’t want anybody else to succeed in where I could not? Though others have forgiven him, or seemingly did, deep down Seifer knew that the stigma of betrayal will haunt him for the rest of his life.
In fact, this party he was going to meant nothing to him. He didn’t give a damn about it. All he wanted was to become a SeeD and repay his debt immediately, at all cost. Now that he is a SeeD, he doesn’t even know what that really means. It’s just some title given to him, and he had yet to feel the pleasure of actually being one. For a long time, Seifer was aware of the kinds of missions he wanted to do, anything to remove the guilt.
Now, the only thing left to do was get Cid’s “okay.”
* * * * *
“So…this is Balamb,” said Cloud Strife, as he removed the goggles from his eyes, allowing them to scan the grand landscape before him, taking in the plains, and waters that surrounded the land. Such beauty, such tranquility, he wished he could remain here. After all, this land was paradise compared to his home town.
Cloud parked his motorcycle just outside Balamb forest, and calmly got off. His feet slowly sank in the soft dirt with every step he took. The cool night breeze rapidly slapped him in the face, causing the loner’s hair to dance vigorously, each draft getting stronger and stronger as he got closer to the shoreline. Taking in a lungful of air, the tired warrior continued to allow his surroundings to amaze him. He hated being in Midgar because it was so polluted; in a way, Cloud envied the citizens of this town. Paradise was right on their doorstep, everywhere he looked, something beautiful would catch his attention.
The profound sea stretched in every direction, and as he gazed to his left, Cloud could make out a beautiful yet strange building that sat peacefully in the ocean, not to far from land. Its radiant lights lit up the ocean like a star that had lost its rightful place in the sky. “I would have never guessed a building such as this could be built,” then again it was the future.
He continued to stare at the Garden with great fascination, curious of the warriors the school had within. After letting lose a small smile, his gaze focused heavenward, staring at the full moon. Its radiant light practically welcomed him. Momentarily, the Garden once again became the main sight.
Cloud took a few small steps, “I wonder how strong the two warriors I’ve heard about really are,” he figured they had to pretty strong, judging from all the rumors his ears caught.
The swordsman’s eyes quickly changed to the rustling tresses in the forest. He slowly reached for the handle of his sword that was attached to his armored covered back, at the same time slowly making his way to the rustling trees.
“Who’s in there?” he demanded. The rustling grew louder, causing the man’s expression to deepen with fury, but that fury changed to confusion when the monster that was causing the disturbance revealed it’s self. It looked like a weird caterpillar that walked on its back. It had the most creepy, yet evil smile on its face.
Lowering his hand from his sword, Cloud began studying the monster’s movements. The creature continued to just sit there, swaying side to side while its tubby arms wiggled around. Before Cloud could label the monster as “harmless,” it began flaunting it’s razor sharp teeth.
Something was telling the skilled swordsman that the creature was about to make a move. Instead of ignoring this self warning, he slightly adjusted his feet, without provoking the beast, in a way that would give him an advantaged counterattack. After satisfying his battle requirements, Cloud put on his trademark battle smile, which screamed “bring it on!”
Seconds later, Cloud’s attacker made a move, just as he predicted. A thin, yet fast stream of silk approached him. Curious of the strength the monsters in this time had, the warrior didn’t attempt to dodge; instead he just stood there, not moving a muscle. The silk wrapped his arms, and crutch area, the more Cloud struggled, the tighter the silk got. His facial expressions changed from calm, to completely annoyed to extreme discomfort as the silk reached a new peak of tight. Before the thought of regret reached him, he decided that “play time is over.”
Veins began to appear on his arms, and one on the top let part of his head. Gritting his teeth in fury, along with struggle…a loud snap was finally made, the silk broke into pieces. To emphasize his freedom, and stretch his muscles, Cloud placed his right hand on his left shoulder, and moved his left arm in a windmill rotation, and then he did the same thing to his other arm. Before the freed warrior could continue, the caterpillar creature lunged at him with his tail, at impressive speed. His eyes widened in puzzlement, and with his own speed, Cloud dived to his left, evading the attack. “Err,” his landing was not as soft as he had hoped, but he still had more then enough will to continue the battle.
Sadly for the creature, it had yet to regain some strength for another assault.
Cloud quickly unsheathed his buster sword, “You just made my day,” a red aura exploded from his feet. “Braver,” he hissed. With great speed, he ran towards his doomed foe, jumped high in the air, eventually coming crashing down, driving the sword through the monster, and thus splitting him in two! Green slime splattered from the dead creature, smacking him in the face but the warrior didn’t care, the victory made up for it.
Momentarily, his face twisted in disgust as some of the creature’s blood found its way into his mouth. Lucky for Cloud he was all alone, because he would have hated to speak to anybody with such a fowl sent in his mouth. After taking a few steps, the victorious hero kneeled down, to exam his now dead opponent, “what a waste of time.” When the sight of the creature’s carcass was getting to his stomach, the Jenova powered solider stood up, then swung his buster through the air, with great force, thus removing the gunk from his the large weapon.
He then spun his sword around a few times, and sheathed it in victory. “…I hope the two warriors I seek are far stronger then that creature. For if they are not, this planet will not stand a chance against the great threat.” With that said, the outsider slowly turned around, and progressed towards the bike. His motorbike roared as he warmed it up, Cloud took one last look at the Garden, and began riding towards Balamb Town
* * * * *
“It’s dark in here,” exclaimed Seifer as he entered the secret area. He briefly waited for an explanation from Selphie, but he received utter silence as a reply. Since his sight was rendered useless, he moved his arms slowly, hoping he would touch something.
“I thought you said that a party was supposed to be going down, but nobody is here. Is this your idea of a sick joke?”
As each second passed, the room seemed to grow even more silent, a little bit too silent. Seifer’s heartbeat began to increase as the moment intensified. A swift shiver ran down his spine, and began attacking his legs.
“I don’t have time for this nonsense,” he muttered under his breath.
The moment the SeeD made his way to the exit, the doors slammed behind him with an echoing thud. The darkness fully engulfed the shocked Seifer, as it once did long ago.
After pulling out the hyperion gunblade, Seifer viciously began slashing the air in panic. The sound of the slashing made him feel safer when it finally reached his ears.
“WHAT IN THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE,” Seifer screamed, “I don’t know who put you up to this Selphie, but this isn’t funny. Come out now…before I REALLY get pissed off!”
Despite the young man’s warning, the situation didn’t change one bit. When he became tired of swinging his weapon, the shiver that claimed his spine took full control over his legs, causing Seifer to fall to his knees, using his gunblade as support. Not being able to see anything was really getting to him. With great rage, he clenched his fist and gave the cold tiled floor a hard pound.
“Why would she do this to me,” Seifer thought “could this be some sort of SeeD test? That’s it…isn’t it?”
“Ok Selphie…I see where this is going,” he slowly rose to his feet. “You’re just trying to make me lose my cool under a tough situation. A SeeD must see through deception, despite how uncomfortable their surroundings may be. Normally I would have kicked the damn door open by now, after I was finished destroying this entire room, but that’s no way for a SeeD to behave. I no longer fear the darkness.”
To backup his words, Seifer cocked his gunblade.
“All my life I allowed it to control my actions, but those days are over! So I returned here to become a SeeD, but more importantly, to show EVERYBODY that I have finally seen the light, and that I am in control of my own destiny.”
Seifer opened his mouth to continue, but the light flicked on.
“SURPRISE,” screamed everybody in the room in unison, causing Seifer to spin around at incredible speed. His face expressed confusion, combined with a tad bit of fear, and great relief. Call the expression what you like, one thing was for sure, it was priceless.
The room was then owned by loud applause. Normally Seifer would have loved the attention, but the surprise they gave him put his ego on standby. He still had his gunblade in his hand the whole time, but didn’t care.
The former knight hated surprises, epically at parties. He found them to be a tad bit childish. Were SeeD, he thought, not children. Seifer felt his grip on his gunblade tightening; he figured that it would be best to calm down. Making the party a disaster would darken people’s moods, not to mention his first day as a SeeD. So, he tested his plan, pretend as though he was shocked, and have a good time.
The young SeeD was not sure where to stroll off to; he was completely surrounded by clapping students. In fact, they seemed to be SeeD’s as well, since they were all in dressed in a graduation uniform. Seconds later, the clapping ceased, and they all began socializing with one another.
Selphie’s sunflower yellow dress caught the corner of Seifer’s eyes as she walked towards him, along with Headmaster Cid. The smile on her face screamed “we got you good!”
With time running out, Seifer tried his best to retain his composure, by straightening his trench coat with his available hand, and quickly wiping the sweat that was trickling down his cheek. When he noticed his weapon was still visible, he quickly tucked it away as if it was never out. The evidence of his panic was partially no more, but he knew the utter shock in his eyes would remain for a few more hours.
“Is that how you speak to your friends, I’d hate to see how you address you enemies,” said Cid. “When the lights first went out, you sounded quite annoyed with Selphie. Did we finally throw you off guard, Seifer?” Seifer straightened up his posture, and gave a salute in respect before responding.
“I knew this was a surprise the whole time. You should know me, I fear nothing. It was a nice try though, I’ll give you that.”
“Ooh what ever Seifer,” Selphie exclaimed “you were so in shock, if only the lights weren’t out, we could have seen it! I’m sure the sight of everybody being here would have still gotten the job done.”
The fact that Selphie thought the ordeal was funny really irked Seifer.
“So why did you have the lights out for so long?” Seifer queried, swiping his arm through the air.
“Well,” Selphie started, “it was an accident, complement of Zell! He was responsible for the lighting of the party after all.”
Seifer’s eyes widened. “It was Zell…” he said softly under his breath, slightly lowering his head. Hearing that name still got under his skin. At that moment, the warrior buried his face hand in his gloved hand, shaking it softly.
“Are you feeling sickish Seifer?” asked Cid.
“No,” he sighed. His face was slightly red when he brought his hand away. “I’m sure it was an honest mistake,” Seifer stated. “Just like making Zell a SeeD…” he thought to himself.
“Now then,” Cid began, “allow me to be the first to welcome you to SeeD.”
Seifer was well aware of how long Cid can talk, so he quickly got into his “act like I care” stance and braced himself for the conversation that would feel like a lifetime.
“Actually Headmaster, you can save your complements till testimonial time at the dinner table,” replied Selphie.
“Testimonial time,” Seifer repeated bluntly.
Selphie softly shook her head in reply. “We felt it was the right thing to do. It’s an offer to reveal exactly how we feel!” she exclaimed, throwing a fist in the air.
Cid adjusted his glasses, before speaking. “Very well Selphie, this testimonial idea sounds splendid. Now if you will excuse me, I’ll be making my way to the table now. See you then, Seifer.”
Seifer nodded farewell, and watched as Cid took his leave, then refocused on Selphie.
“That was a nice speech you made while the lights were out, it really moved me,” stated Selphie.
Her comment threw Seifer off guard.
“You mean you actually heard me? But you were on the other side of the room when the lights came back on. But that would mean…” the tough blonde couldn’t even finish his sentence, so Selphie did it for him.
“That’s right; everybody in the entire room heard what you had to say.”
Without warning, Seifer’s legs threatened to give way, as he trembled at the thought of everybody knowing how he really felt. It was something he was not ready to admit yet, at least not like this. It was some what embarrassing.
His shoulders then shagged. “Oh well, what’s done is done,” he sighed. “Now about this testimonial thing…is it all that necessary?”
* * * * *