Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Final FantasyVIII Rebirth ❯ Chapter 1

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

By: hugoxx

18 years later

Leon sat at the dinner table across from Seph, Zell and Selphie's daughter, as well as his mother and father, Squall and Rinoa. Leon was chowing down on his dinner like his great grand father Cloud had when he was alive. Seph, Rinoa, and Squall sat there, amazed at his eating capacity. Then Squall chimed up

"Damn boy, you're hungry if I do say so myself, if I weren't rich it'd kill me." Squall starts to chuckle and then a thought flashed threw his head.

Squall sat there for a minute, reminiscing upon the day that his father had given him the gunblade.

"Leon, I have a proposition for you."

A look of curiosity crossed Leons face and he said,” What's that?"

Squall smiled and said, “When you pass your SEED exam, I'm gonna give you my gunblade.”

For the first time since dinner had started, Leon stopped eating. He looked at his father and said, “You're shitting me? If your shitten' me, I swear I'll shove my boot so far up your ass you'll taste rubber for a weak."

Squall smiled and said, “As much as I savor the thought of you trying that, I promise I wouldn't shit you, you're my favorite turd."

Rinoa was sitting in their room, on their bed. As Squall walked in with a smirk on his face, and Rinoa looked up and said. “What's so funny Squall?”

“Aaa……” replied Squall walking to the bed and sat down at the edge.

“Aaa what, you don't smile for nothing, in fact you very rarely smile.” replied Rinoa.

“Well let's just say that I have a feeling that our little shit and Zell's girl are probably going to get together unless Leon finds some way to fuck it up like all the other girls he's dated.” Replied Squall in a sarcastic way.

Rinoa crawled behind Squall and put her hands on his shoulders and began to massage his shoulders.

“So what's your opinion on me giving the Gunblade to Leon?” Squall asked as he turned his head to look at Rinoa

"Well I don't think it's such a good idea to give him the Gunblade since he's never even wielded the damn thing before!” Rinoa replied as Squall sat there with that look of disinterest.

"It's up to Leon." Squall replied shrugging his shoulders.

"But he's still a child." Rinoa protested pushing away from him and crawled back to the head of the bed and laid down.

"He's 18 Rinoa; I got it when I was 13 and it wasn't just by chance like in his case." Squall countered lowering his head into his right hand and propping his elbow on his right thigh trying to keep that memory out of his head.

"So, back then it was different. He'll end up having to kill a lot of people." Replied Rinoa

"If he's going to have to kill a lot of people, how is it any different from when I got it? Besides, if he becomes a SEED he's going to kill people anyway, and you don't seem apposed to that, now do you?" Squall replied smartly.

Rinoa was silent for many minutes after Squall's statement, then she replied, “So be it. It appears that I can't dissuade you.”

After she replied to Squall's comment she rolled over and went to sleep.

Squall sat there for a minute, then thought to himself, you better be grateful Leon, cause' now I'm gonna have to put up with her being pissed for days. Then he crawled up beside Rinoa and went to sleep with his arm around her.

The next morning Leon and Seph were sitting in class listening to the usual speech that comes before the SEED Exam, when their instructor, Xu, said, “Alright ladies and gentlemen, it's time. Get your gear ready and head for the transport vessels at the Balamb docks.”

Leon and Seph made their way to Balamb, and when they got there they heard a loud yell and Seph said, “Hide me it's Grandma!”

Leon burst out laughing and said at the top of his lungs, “She's over hear Miss Dintch!”

The next thing Leon knew, he was sprawled out on the ground with the side of his jaw hurting and Seph standing over him with a look of death on her face.

“Damn it girl, now why did you have to go and do that for.” Leon said helping him self up while holding the side of his face.

The next thing he knew he was being hugged by this old woman and not to mention she was also squeezing his cheeks.

“Aww…. Theirs my favorite youngin.” Said Miss Dintch hugging Leon and looking over to Seph smiling. “Wow you have grown up so big!”

“Aww... Come on Miss. Dintch it's only been a week since you have seen me.” Replied Leon trying to squirm away out of her grasp.

“Now now, don't give me none of that nonsense” replied Miss Dintch trying to bring him to her level. Miss Dintch whispers in Leon ear “Oh and thanks for telling me where she was, I hardly ever get to see her.”

Seph dazed at this by what she had said replies “I thought I was your favorite Grandma!” stomping her foot down and giving Leon the look.

“Aww come on now girl I was just kidding you are my favorite, now come here and give your Grandma a big hug.” Replies Miss. Dintch holding her arms out waiting for a hug.

Seph walked over to Miss. Dintch and gave her a hug thinking to herself please don't do it, please don't do it.

The next thing Seph knew Miss. Dintch was pinching her cheeks and saying, “So have you two cuties gotten together yet?”

Blushing Seph and Leon yelled “NO!”

“Waite a second how do you get the impression that we like each other anyway Miss. Dintch?” replied Leon after he realized he had said no for no reason.

“Well…..” started Miss. Dintch before she was rudely interrupted by Seph nudging her in the side.

Looking over to Seph Miss. Dintch replies to the hit in the stomach with one of her own, “So he don't have any clue about how you feel eh?” whispers Miss Dintch after the hit to the side made Seph lean over.

“No..No… Grandma he doesn't and he's not very smart about noticing how I feel, either.” Seph replied in a whisper gasping for air after the unexpected hit.

“What are you two whispering about?” Leon asked suspiciously.

Seph went scarlet and said, “Nothing!”

Miss Dintch chuckled and said, “Well, I better not hold you two up, cause' from the look of your attire you're going for your SEED Exam. Drop buy after you finish and have dinner with me.”

Leon and Seph had already started to turn and run toward the docks when she said that, and they both turned around in unison and said, “Ok, bye Miss Dintch!”

Miss Dintch chuckled for a second time and went to her house.

When they got to the docks Xu was standing there tapping her foot in annoyance, and when they halted in front of her, she said, “You're late you two! Were have you been?!”

They both came up short at her unexpected reprimand and seeing that Seph was stunned to the point of silence, Leon said, “We got caught up with some monsters on the road.”

“Never mind, just get on the boat, and be quick about it!” Xu replied.

They both looked at each other, Seph with a look of gratitude in her eyes, Leon with an amused look in his.

When they were on bored and seated, Xu walked up to them and said, “This is John, he'll be the third member of your group.”

Leon and Seph nodded to him, and he nodded back and sat down.

Xu looked at the group and said, “Alright this is the situation, FH has come under attack by Galbadian forces, for what reason is unknown, and we were hired to make safe the city. You are to protect the civilians at all costs, and Leon, don't do anything stupid or irrational, especially considering that your squad leader.”

Leon smiled innocently and said sarcastically, “Instructor, you know me better than that.” As he drew his sword and put the tip of the sword on the deck, and put both hands on the hilt of his sword, smiling.

Leons sword was as wide as he was, and 3\4 as tall, with two holes at the bottom of it just above the finger guard. The blade gleamed in the sunlight showing its polished look.

Seph looked at his sword and said, “How the hell can your skinny ass swing that thing? It's huge!”

Leon smiled and said, “How many times are you going to ask me that? And I'm not skinny, you know that full well from when you had to tend my wound that time in the Fire Cave.”

Seph blushed at the thought of him without his shirt on, and went silent.

Noticing her sudden silence and change in color, Leon looked at her and said, “Did I say something wrong?”

Seph, turning an even deeper shade of red, shook her head and said, “Hardly.”

Leon looked at her in a confused manner, then the ready light lit up on the hatch door and he instantly lost all thoughts of anything besides the objective.

They had about ten seconds before they landed and the hatch doors burst open. Leon, Seph, and John ran out of the boat into utter chaos. There were people on the ground, dead and dieing, and bullets flying past their heads. Leon lead the way to the outer city blocking bullets with his sword, Seph and John behind him. They had managed to take the outer city and had made their way to the inner city with ten people backing them. Though they had been hearing gunshots the whole time, these came from behind them and they were extremely close. Leon wheeled around to see the ten people that had been behind them dead, and John and Seph injured, John with a gunshot wound in his right thigh, Seph in her right shoulder and left thigh. Leon stepped in front of them, sword ready, as the six Galbadians walked towards him.

When they were ten feet away, Leon charged. This was the last thing that the soldiers had expected, and they lost three men before they regained their nerve. As Leon went to swing his sword at the fourth, he heard the hammer of a gun click, and waited for the gun shot and the searing pain to kick in, but all he heard was a scream as Seph's right fist pounded into the man's face.

When only their commander stood, red cloths an even darker shade of red from his blood, he said, “I was ordered not to let anything interrupt the captain and the mayor, now DIE!”

As the last word was spoken, fire erupted from his right hand, pointed at Seph. She had just finished killing the last soldier and had just enough time to turn and see Leon push out of the way and get hit in the left arm.

The commander laughed and pointed his gun at Leon's head, smiled, and a loud bang reverberated through his ears. He realized that he wasn't dead, and opened his eyes, though he couldn't remember shutting them. What he saw confused him greatly. The commander lay dead on the ground instead of him. A misfire? As Leon thought this, he heard a voice from behind him, and turned to see John with a look horror on his face saying, “I killed him…I…I.”

“Seph, get back to the boat. Take John with you. Tell Xu that if I'm not back in twenty minutes to come after me, that I failed to free the mayor.”

“But-.” As Seph tried to protest Leon cut her off saying,

“That's an order. You're injured and so is John, I may be burnt, but it isn't serious. Now go.”

Tears welled up in Seph's eyes and she said, “Be careful.” And turned and ran to John.

Leon turned and headed to the mayors house without looking back, but he could feel Seph's eyes on him. When he was out of eyeshot, he sat down and inspected his throbbing arm. As he looked at it, he knew that it would be all but useless in a fight. Solely to stop the bleeding, he wrapped it in a bandage that he pulled from his pocket, and continued towards the mayor's house.

When he reached the mayor's house, he heard screaming from behind the building. As he snuck around the building, he stopped and listened.

An unfamiliar deep voice reached his ears, saying, “I won't ask again. I know that she came here for refuge.”

“I told you I don't know were she is. She left about a week ago, I swear!” The mayor replied.

Leon looked around the corner just in time to see the man raising what looked like a gunblade over his head to strike the mayor.

Without so much as thinking, off of pure instinct, Leon leapt in front of the mayor and met the otherwise fatal blow with his sword.

The man in front of him let out a snarl and jumped back. As the man readied to attack, Leon turned and said to the mayor, “Go! NOW!”

The mayor replied, “Thank you Leon. Good luck.” And ran.

“Leon? Ah, I see! You're Squalls son! This is indeed destiny don't you think?”

“What the hell are you talking about? I don't even fucking know you!” Leon replied.

“Ah, excuse my lack manners. I'm Sinnew, son of Seifer.” When he said this he smiled and charged.

Leon barely had time to raise his sword one handed to block the blow aimed at his head. Leon countered with his own blow, aimed at Sinnew's side, which was parried away. It went back forth like this for ten minutes. Leon's arm had grown leaden from swinging his sword one handed, and it was a wonder that he could lift his sword at all much less swing it. Leon knew that he couldn't last much longer, so in a last desperate act to save his own life, he raised his sword, with both hands, and let the stab aimed at his left side sink deep until it connected with his ribs, breaking two of them from the force of the blow. As the sword sank into his side, he brought his down. The look of triumph on Sinnew's face turned to shock as the blade connected with his left should, connecting with and breaking his collar bone.

Sinnew grunted and stumbled back, as did Leon, and Sinnew said, “Next time we meet, I'll have what I want from Quistis and your head.”

When he finished speaking he turned and ran. Leon backed up against the wall and slid down it, leaving a blood stain on the wall.

As he sat there he shouted in an ironic tone, “Fuck. Am I to die without telling Seph how I feel about her? Damnit, I can't die here!”

As he finished speaking he rose to his feet, and started to walk along the wall. It took him what felt like an eternity to reach the vessels, but in truth was only ten minutes. When he got there, Seph was walking out of the hatch door with Xu in front of her and the mayor behind them. They all came up short when they saw Leon standing there, slightly slouched.

“Leon, were have you-.” Seph stopped were she stood, looking at his right hand, which was on his left side, and blood flowing through his fingers.

Leon smiled and said, “Getting the shit beat out of me.”

When he finished his sentence, he grunted and fell to his knees. Seph was instantly beside him, pulling his hand away from the wound, Xu right beside her. When Seph saw the wound tears started rolling down her face.

Leon looked at her in surprise, put his left hand on her right check and said, “Hay, don't cry. I'm fine love, I swear.”

Surprise, worry, and happiness all fought for a place on her face when he said this, but before she could reply, Leon fell forward into her arms, his breathing short and labored. Seph put her hand on his forehead and said, “He's burning up! Xu do something, please!”

“Help me get him on the boat. Quickly!” Xu said in a hurried voice.