Fatality IV: Open Wounds

Disclaimer: The characters, terms, and places herein are the property of Square Enix; no copyright infringement is intended and no profit is being made from this work of fanfiction. The lyrics quoted belong to Skillet. Again, no profit is being made.

A/N: I’m starting this with the intention of it being the last part of an arc that I started over a year ago. At first, I wanted it to be one chapter. Then, one story. But months later, I continued because the muses told me to. Now, I hope I can finally put an end to this saga, which has become more about Squall than I ever thought it would be. It’s also the first time an entire story of mine will be based off of one song.

The stories you need to have read beforehand are Teasing, Darkness in the Valley, and Bittersweet Symphony, in that order.

Warning for this chapter – sex between two males that isn’t quite consensual. It’s not quite rape, either, but if it bothers you, turn back now.

Taking all your anger out on me, somebody help
~ Skillet – Open Wounds
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

…His fate always hinged on your choice. He is dead because you chose to be afraid of love when it was offered. Hyne’s words are still echoing in my ears while I force myself to focus on the shape in the distance and not on the one that just faded away. Seifer got away from Fisherman’s Horizon before we were able to get there and take him into custody. Why is he here? He’s smart enough to know he’s wanted

It would be so easy to take care of things myself. One last fight between us to avenge Irvine and clear the air of old grievances. There is someone out there that really needs you to be complete. Find the fallen knight.

But I don’t have to find him; he’s in the direction of the beach. And the only thing Seifer needs to be complete is a gunblade through the chest. That would complete the cycle of our rivalry well enough for me to be happy. He screwed over my entire life by killing Irvine and I wanna screw over what’s left of his by making it as unpleasant as possible.

I run my gloved fingers over the words on Irvine’s headstone one last time, rub away the few tears left on my face, draw Lionheart, and begin walking towards him. It’s easier than I thought it would be to walk away from what I just experienced. Rinoa faced her fear; now it’s time to confront the reason I can’t do the same.

“Aww, looks like you were crying, Squally,” he says with a snicker, Hyperion resting on his shoulder casually. “Did I kill someone special?”

I want nothing more than to slap the smirk off his face and to shut up the mock sympathy and regret in his voice. He used to be merely a rival; now he’s my enemy.

There’s no need to waste my breath with a reply, so I charge at him wordlessly, blood singing in my ears when blade meets blade with a familiar metallic ring. We’re both stronger than before, but it seems that we still match each other skill for skill. I thrust, he parries. He slashes, I block and counter.

Above us, the clouds rumble once more before beginning to pour down their load. The rain would bother anyone else, but I laugh darkly, block Seifer’s next blow effortlessly, shove him backwards, and advance once more.

In the past, such an evenly matched fight might have lead to one of us copping a feel or trying to get the other on his knees in submission for even a moment. That was before Irvine, before Ultimecia, and before SeeD. We’re not the same people that let tension overwhelm us and I have no fantasies about this being arousing in the slightest. It’s about winning, nothing more.

Seifer’s first mistake comes when he stumbles on driftwood and leaves his right arm hanging down for a second too long. I notice the delay, step in quickly, and slice open the muscle of his upper arm. He merely hisses as dark blood freely seeps through his coat and runs down his arm. The smell of blood is faint, but it’s enough to stir up the darkest corners of my mind and spur me on despite the wind and the wet rain and the buzzing in the back of my brain.

Angry hazel eyes meet mine as our weapons clash together loudly. “You won’t get what you want this time, Leonhart. I won’t give you that pleasure,” he growls as he redirects Lionheart and runs Hyperion through the side of my gut.

Pain radiates through my entire left side and I almost drop my weapon, but manage to hold on long enough to take advantage of his second, potentially fatal, error. In his gloating over my injury, he’s turned almost completely around. It takes a split second to analyze the situation, then I spring myself towards him, gunblade point aimed at the top of his spine.

I’m fast, but he somehow manages to be faster. Seifer whips himself around, hacks at my wrist with the dull side of Hyperion, and cackles as Lionheart drops into the sand harmlessly. And before I can grab it back, he sweeps my feet out from beneath me.

He’s on top of me as soon as I hit the ground, thigh painfully in between my legs. “You, me, blood, and sand. Only thing that could make this better would be to hear you scream.” Those words go almost unnoticed because I’m too busy struggling under him. He killed Irvine and could just as easily do the same thing to me if I’m not careful enough. I have to get free.

Finally, after several minutes of pushing and hitting at him, I manage to roll over and pin him against the wet sand with his wrists clenched firmly by my hands.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were planning on taking advantage of me, Squall. But you’re too good for that, aren’t you? You’re so stuck doing and feeling what everyone else tells you to do and feel that you deny your own basic urges. I know you remember how these fights used to play out. I remember them just as well.” His eyes flash angrily before a firm sideways rock of his hips catches me off guard and I fall sideways.

My head connects with the ground hard enough for stars to flash in my field of vision and tears to well up in my eyes. It takes effort not to let myself black out completely as I get dragged across the beach, sand painfully irritating the wound in my side. The rain is going to wash away the blood before anyone even notices I’m missing. By then, I’ll probably end up dead. Hyne, somebody come and help me.

I try kicking at Seifer once he stops moving me, but he steps away and laughs at me even more. “You can’t lie and say you never thought about something like this happening. Losing to your archrival, then being dragged away and molested. Pretending not to enjoy it while every vein in your body is crying out for more. I know you’ve imagined it, Squally. Now tell me I was right.”

He slaps me when I don’t answer right away. I won’t give in to his stupid little mind games. What’s true about the past doesn’t apply to now. A hand grasping my throat follows another slap when my silence continues. “Answer me or I’ll kill you.” I can tell he means it, so I just nod until he pulls his hand away.

“In the past, yes I thought about it. But that all changed when you ran off to be a mindless puppet. And it changed again when you killed the person I fell in love with. The only thing I want to do to you right now is put something sharp through your excuse for a heart.”

If Seifer was angry before, he’s furious now. He punches me in the face several times to make me bloodier and even more dazed than I was before. I can barely focus, but I know I don’t want to end up raped. In a way, it would be worse than being killed because I’d always have to remember that Seifer completely fucked me over twice. Once by killing Irvine and once by violating me. Maybe I should return the favor, give him something to remember for as long as he lives.

The buzzing in my brain seems to be louder than it was earlier and it’s almost as if I’ve suddenly junctioned something, because renewed strength flows through me at the same time as a warm, tingly sensation similar to a healing spell. Not sure what the hell this feeling is coming from, but I won’t complain.

Just as my not-quite-sane rival is about to try and pull my pants down, I glare up at him and again reverse our positions. This time, I also flip him onto his stomach so he can’t fight back as easily.

“You, Seifer, have fucked over the wrong person this time. Irvine would find it quite amusing for me to fuck you over in return. So, I guess that’s what I plan on doing.” It’s like something has taken over my voice and body, making me say what’s been in the back of my mind and do things I wouldn’t normally even consider. Maybe I’ll ask Rinoa about it later.

He tries getting free, but I seem to be stronger than he is at the moment. That’s definitely a first; he’s always been the one with more muscle and strength than me. In a deliberate imitation of what he attempted just moments ago, I tug his pants and boxers down to around his knees, only briefly gazing over his tan lines.

“Fucking bastard. Get the hell off of me or you’ll be regretting it later,” he mutters when I nudge his legs apart. I can still feel my lips and side bleeding, but blood doesn’t matter compared to getting my revenge on the only person I truly hate. And if he thinks that he’s getting a moment’s pity, he’s thinking seriously wrong.

Not even gonna bother stretching his ass out first. I want this to be as mean and unforgettable as it can possibly get. That buzzing has faded from annoying to almost bearable, though still loud, when I take my own pants down, laugh coldly, and force myself into him.

I’d expected him to scream and protest the invasion, but he just grunts before attempting to move his hips a little. Fuck, he’s tight and this feels almost better than Irvine did. But I cared about Irvine and I feel absolutely nothing for Seifer. I just want to make him hurt and I grab the back of his neck roughly as I pound into him.

This would be enjoyable if I didn’t want to kill the blond bastard. He’s moaning for some odd reason, almost like he’s actually enjoying being taken this dry and this rough. The Seifer I knew never liked pain, so that certainly can’t be true.

I’m only barely aroused, a simple physical reaction to being inside someone that is undeniably attractive, most certainly tight, and moving pleasantly beneath me. Not sure how long it lasts, or when the noise in my head fades into a dull roar, but I do notice when Seifer’s body gets tenser than usual and he yelps as loud as is possible with his face sideways against the sand.

Suddenly, the extra strength, feeling of decent health, and mental static all stop. That makes me weak enough to end up being knocked flat on my back, looking up at the face of an irate Seifer. I nearly tremble with fear before someone calls out to us.

“Just stop it. Right now, Seifer and Squall.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: If that’s not enough drama for you all, I don’t know what is. What caused the noise inside Squall’s head, why did Seifer enjoy being practically raped, and who was the voice at the end? Speculation is welcome; answers to most questions will not come until much later.