Final Fantasy VIII-2: Daughters of Diffusion

Well, it's taken a little time, but I think I'm ready to actually begin some kind of semblance of fan fiction; although, it would seem I've completely missed the whole peer-assessment thing...

Please Note: The following narrative items may contain violence and mature language, so discretion is advised!

Also Note: This story is heavily based on the events of the 1998 PlayStation classic 'Final Fantasy VIII' (8, for those who don't know their Roman numerals), so if you haven't played this game before much of what follows will be lost on you.

The war with the vile sorceress from the future, Ultimecia, is ended due to the concerted efforts of the intrepid adventurers that braved both time and space to destroy the threat that dwelt at the fringes of all conceivable futurity.

Two years of peace have endured since, and the world seems a more content place; world industry, though still primitive after so short a time since Esthar (a technologically advanced city and country to the east) reestablished links with the world beyond their borders, has begun to reform. The crisis caused by the mysterious lunatic event, the Lunar Cry, has abated somewhat; but monsters of all kinds still blight the country, and Esthar's military struggle to maintain order under their ever-increasing threat.

Balamb Garden, now under the administrative might of Headmistress Quistis upon her assuming of Headmaster Cid's former position, have set before them a new task: To aid in the rebuilding of their world, and the further reconnection with the 'Silent Country of Esthar'.

Though new recruits have since flooded the Garden since Ultimecia's defeat, many are disillusioned with Quistis' role as the Garden's latest Headmaster, believing the now AWOL Squall to be better suited to the position. Quistis, having once fought alongside Squall during the fight against Ultimecia, is worried for her former companion; though in truth, she knows what drove him away.

Just one short year after Garden's top 'SeeDs', a Garden's special forces unit, journeyed through time to do battle at the brink of nothingness, Rinoa, who was Squall's one true love, became gravely ill. None knew what enigmatic affliction could have caused the darting crimson lights that now flickered beneath her skin, or the deep coma-like state she had suddenly fallen into; all anyone knew was that Rinoa's life was now in jeopardy.

But it would only be during the few months after Rinoa's infection that any would realise the true danger behind her mysterious illness; top Esthar scientists, personally commissioned by the new President Ellone herself, were the first to suffer from their initial ignorance.

Any female technician who came into contact with Rinoa's slumbering form were infected by the codenamed 'Mutagen 9', who also fell into deep, dreamlike comas similar to that of Rinoa's. Each were characterised by the same, tiny flickering lights that coated Rinoa's skin, like miniature light-bulbs struggling to gain luminescence with each dimming oscillation.

Ms Ellone, herself, came under great scrutiny from her strongest supporters; because she had personally stationed Rinoa at the deep-sea laboratory 'Centre of Calm', they thought she had known of the seriousness of Rinoa's condition. She had not... At least, not completely.

She and the world's network of Gardens had suspected the current epidemic to be the work of the terrorist faction called 'Black Swan', a covert group acting as a force of vengeance on behalf of the defeated sorceress Ultimecia. Both she and Quistis had been working together closely over the past two years, preparing for a secret encounter with the Order of the Black Swan, an all-female faction who act as ecclesiastic leaders to the typical Black Swan grunts; they feared an imminent strike would be inevitable.

Quistis suspects that Black Swan targeted Rinoa specifically to either infect Squall with Mutagen 9 or punish him for his contributions to Ultimecia's destruction by killing the one he loves; Ellone thought oppositely, fearing that Black Swan were planning a more clandestine attack on the world.

In an audience with the beleaguered armed forces fatigued by their constant patrols, Ellone declared that Esthar now faced a new enemy, an enemy that seemed like sorceresses reborn, but were in actuality nothing more than ordinary human-beings.

"Though we know the Sorceress Ultimecia to be dead, her underlings have revealed themselves and now pose a new threat to our world's security," she confidently proclaimed.

"Now, we ask that our allies of Gardens everywhere, and those who swear allegiance only to the nation of Galbadia, join with us to combat the threat we now see before us."

"Rinoa, an ally of Esthar's and a personal friend of mine, has been infected by this enemy and is now a danger to all those who come into contact with her; but do not despair, we of Esthar are strong and capable, bright and able - we will see this challenge through. Rinoa will return to us."

Of course, by now Squall and companions' exploits were recognized world-wide, and each were now legends in their own right; but it was the pairing of Squall and Rinoa, fated lovers and allies against the Sorceress, that most found inspiration with. Rinoa's embodiment at the hands of Ultimecia, and Squall's resolve in sticking by her as she became something wholly new, gave the world hope that descendants of the 'Great Hyne' mightn't threaten the world's stability.