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********************** FINAL FANTASY VIII - PLOT ANALYSIS *********************
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                       PlayStation RPG 1999 UK (PAL)

                  PLOT ANALYSIS (version 1.0) 27/02/2004

Author - falsehead (Sophie Cheshire). Contact me at [email protected]
Copyright stuff; this is (c) Sophie Cheshire. If you wish to use this FAQ on
your website, feel free to do so under the following conditions. a) You email
me first and let me know where it will be appearing and b) you do not alter the
content in anyway (if you need to change the formatting slightly for display
purposes that's OK).

This guide may NOT be used as part of a restricted Pay-to-Enter website or in
print unless you are prepared to pay me for its inclusion.

If I find out that any part of this FAQ has been lifted and used without credit
to me, especially if you use it to earn money, then I will be annoyed. I didn't
type all this up for the good of my health you know.

WARNING: CONTAINS ENTIRE PLOT OF FINAL FANTASY VIII.  THIS IS ONE BIG SPOILER
SO DON'T READ IT UNTIL YOU HAVE FINISHED THE GAME, UNLESS YOU DON'T MIND
KNOWING WHAT HAPPENS.

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*********************************** CONTENTS **********************************
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1) INTRODUCTION/REVISION HISTORY

2) EVENTS PRIOR TO THE GAME - TIMELINE

3) THE STORY OF THE GAME

4) FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
a) Ellone's life
b) How did Laguna become President?
c) Why does Ultimecia want to Compress Time?
d) Is Laguna really Squalls father?

5) WHO IS ULTIMECIA? (and other whacky theories!)
a) Time Loops and the Predestination Paradox
b) So WHO is Ultimecia?

6) WHATS IN A NAME?
a) Characters
b) Guardian Forces
c) Monsters, Weapons etc

7) ENCYCLOPEDIA

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****************************** 1) INTRODUCTION ********************************
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INTRODUCTION - Well I couldn't resist it.  After the umpteenth email asking me
to do this, I have bowed to the wishes of the public and created this Final
Fantasy VIII plot FAQ.  Although I personally did not find the plot in this
game quite as confusing as the one in FFVII, it still took me a couple of play-
throughs to really nail what was going on.  Not that I mind, this is actually
my favourite Final Fantasy game of the entire series. I can't play it enough!

I have laid it out in a similar fashion to the Final Fantasy VII plot FAQ that
has proved so popular.  A few clarifications first though.

The timeline of "events prior to the game" obviously includes all the Laguna
flashbacks.  I am using the moment Squall wakes up after the opening battle as
the beginning of the game itself for "the story of the game", just so as that's
clear.

Unlike FFVII, this game does not have such extensive backstories for most of
the characters.  Only Squall, Rinoa and Laguna are filled out in any depth,
therefore the FAQ section where I explain how I came to various decisions
regarding the timeline etc is not sub-sectioned by character, and is fairly
straight-forward.

The "Who is Ultimecia" section is where I throw the game and what I have
concluded in this FAQ open for debate, starting with my ideas about Who
Ultimecia and Griever actually are.  Submissions on any aspect of the game
always welcome as long as they are backed up and persuasively argued!

What's in a Name picks up a popular section in the FFVII FAQ where as far as
possible I try and find the origins of various creatures and characters names.
Again submissions to this section are always welcome and credited fully.

Finally, the Encyclopaedia is just the in-game information that you gather
during the game that can be found via the menu screens.  Many people actually
miss this information, so I have represented it here unchanged, as it
shows how I justified various things in the pre-game timeline and my
explanations of various aspects of the plot.

So it's finally here, and before I begin, a big thank you to all the hundreds
of people who responded so positively to my FFVII FAQ.  I hope you enjoy this
one as much!

***********************************************************************

REVISIONS - (27/02/2004).

This is the first version.  Timeline, and game story fully done.  Looking
forward to submissions for the FAQ, new names origins and theories about the
plot for the next update!

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****************** 2) EVENTS PRIOR TO THE GAME - TIMELINE *********************
===============================================================================

- Prehistory

Legend has it that a being called the "Great Hyne" creates the World and
Mankind. Sorceress powers are said to derive from fragments of the Great Hyne,
passed down from generation to generation.

- Approx 4000 years ago

Civilisation flourishes first in Centra.  As time goes on, mobile shelters
leave Centra and end up in Trabia, Galbaldia and Balamb.  Monsters fall from
the Moon every few hundred years in an event known as the "Lunar Cry".  A
mysterious
Crystal Pillar is discovered and is believed to originate from the Moon and to
have some link with the frequency and focal points of the Lunar Cry's.

- 150+ Years Ago

Both Dollet and Esthar also have flourishing Empires at this point in time. For
reasons unknown, Centra scientists begin experimenting with the power of the
Crystal Pillar, bringing it to the main Centra continent.

- Approx 100 Years ago

A devastating Lunar Cry hits, with Centra as the focal point.  It destroys more
or less all traces of the civilisation there.  A huge crater is left behind in
which the Crystal Pillar sinks.

The Dollet Empire gradually collapses, eclipsed by the rapidly growing
Galbaldian Empire centred around Deling City.

- Approx 47 years ago.

Laguna Loire born

In Esthar, a monster researcher known as Doctor Odine is looking into the
phenomenon of the Lunar Cry and the whereabouts of the Crystal Pillar. Tears
Point is constructed as a possible way of controlling or preventing future
Lunar Cry's when combined with the Crystal Pillar.

- Approx 20-25 years ago

Esthar has fallen under the rule of a malevolent power hungry sorceress called
Adel who is being manipulated by the future Sorceress Ultimecia.  The Sorceress
War begins as the now powerful Galbadian Empire clash with Esthar forces.  At
some point Laguna joins the Galbadian Army and teams up with Kiros and Ward.
Doctor Odine, fearful of Adel's power begins to secretly research ways of
binding and containing Sorceress power.

- 20 years ago

Laguna, Kiros and Ward after fighting (or fleeing!) Esthar soldiers near Deling
go for some R & R. Laguna is besotted with a singer at the Galbadia Hotel
called Julia. He finally plucks up courage to talk to her and in her room he
makes a promise to return to her after finding out she has feelings for him
also.

Around this time, Esthar soldiers looking for the next Sorceress to rule Esthar
attempt to snatch the young Ellone in Winhill.  They fail but kill both her
parents.  So she is adopted by Raine, the landlady of Winhill's pub.

- 19 years ago

At some point Laguna, Kiros and Ward end up in the Centra Crater, investigating
an excavation being undertaken by Esthar forces.  Esthar have discovered the
Crystal Pillar and are attempting to dig it up and move it by creating a "Box"
around it.  After being chased around the inside of the structure, Laguna and
Co. are trapped on the edge of a cliff.  Badly wounded by Elite Esthar fighters
they have no choice but to jump for it.  Somehow Laguna washes up at the quiet
town of Winhill, very badly injured, where the kindly Pub owner Raine takes
care of him.

Back in Deling City a saddened Julia releases a song entitled "Eyes on Me"
about Laguna and believing him dead or lost, marries a Galbaldian General
called Carraway.

The boxed Crystal Pillar, now called the "Lunatic Pandora" is taken to Esthar
where Doctor Odine begins studying the crystal pillars relationship to the
Tears Point and the Lunar Cry.  It's potential as a source of power and as a
weapon is not lost on Adel/Ultimecia.

- 18 Years ago

After 6 months of convalescence Laguna is recovered and settled at Winhill. He
is deeply fond of both Raine and her adopted daughter Ellone. They in turn love
him very much.  With the rest of the townsmen off fighting the ongoing
Sorceress war, Laguna stays as the town's protector.  One day Kiros shows up
also recovered from their near-death escapade and tells him Ward also survived
and now works at Galbaldia's D-District Prison.

Kiros suggests to Laguna that he might want to travel again and write for the
magazine "Timber Maniacs".  For now though Laguna is happy with Raine and
Ellone and Kiros leaves.  Later on that year Laguna and Raine's relationship
becomes intimate and Raine falls pregnant (though neither may have been aware
of this when Laguna leaves to look for Ellone).  However their idyll is
disrupted when Esthar soldiers kidnap Ellone.  Laguna swears to look for her
and bring her home and leaves Winhill.

Unbeknownst to either Laguna or Raine, Ellone possesses great powers, possibly
greater than any Sorceress, even though she is not herself a Sorceress.  These
powers involve the manipulation of Time itself and for this the little girl is
marked as a target for Ultimecia who is trying to reach her via whichever
Sorceress she can possess.

Most likely using the Sorceress War as an excuse, Galbadia invades Timber and
occupies it.

Rinoa is born to Julia Heartilly and General Carraway.

- 17 Years Ago

An eventful year for Laguna begins.  He begins to search for Ellone, visiting
such places as Balamb and Dollet.  At one point early on he arrives at an
orphanage run by Edea, but she cannot help him.  While travelling around Trabia
he has an accident and winds up at Shumi Village for a few months where he
befriends a Moomba and inspires the Shumi Tribe with his happy-go-lucky charms.

After leaving he decides to hook up with Kiros and Ward and they narrow their
search to trying to find a way into Esthar, although they have to take time out
to raise some more Gil, by filming a tacky movie in Trabia Canyon. At some
point during Laguna's travels, Raine gives birth to their son, Squall.

At some point Laguna, Kiros and Ward make it into Esthar (possibly captured)
where they are put to work in the Lunatic Pandora Research Labs.  Ellone is
being studied by Doc Odine who begins to design a machine based on Ellones
brain patterns.  (Although primitive now, it is this machine, that far in the
future will give Ultimecia the ability to reach back through time).

There has been a resistance movement to Adel gaining momentum and Laguna is
seen as the perfect man to lead the final coup against her.  The resistance
help rescue Ellone in return for his help in defeating Adel. Utilising Doctor
Odines research the resistance find a way to bind Adel's powers, seal her up in
suspended animation and shoot her into space using the Ragnarok spaceship.  The
power needed to keep her under control disrupts all radio transmissions on the
surface of the planet.

Laguna stays on as President of Esthar and sends Ellone back to Winhill.  The
borders of the continent are sealed and Esthar is hidden away behind a huge
forcefield.

- 16 - 14 years ago

At some point fairly soon after Squalls birth, Raine dies and Squall and Ellone
are sent to Edea's orphanage.  Zell, Quistis, Irvine, Selphie and Seifer also
end up there.  Zell is adopted at some point in the next few years as are all
the others bar, Seifer and Squall.

- 13 Years Ago

Ultimecia and the grown-up Squall arrive back in the past after Time has
uncompressed.  They both appear at Matron Edea's orphanage and a dying
Ultimecia gives her powers to matron Edea who does not wish one of the children
to acquire them.  After explaining about SeeD and Garden to Matron Edea, Squall
then departs back into a strange timeless limbo

Realising she does not have long before she is overtaken by the evil side of
Ultimecia, Edea and her husband Cid begin to plan ahead.  Cid tours around and
manages to get money and support from the likes of Shumi tribesman NORG to set
up three military academies based in the old Centra shelters.  Construction
begins and within a year they are ready.

While the Gardens are being established for the normal SeeDs, Doctor Odine
comes sniffing around looking for Ellone.  Edea and Cid realise the orphanage
is no longer a safe place for her and the Elite White SeeDs are created.  The
older orphans leave to travel to world on a boat and protect Ellone.  Ellone's
departure is not explained to Squall, who remains traumatised by the loss of
his "sis".

Rinoa's mother Julia dies in a car crash, afterwards Rinoa has a fairly poor
relationship with her father, even taking her mothers surname instead of his as
she gets older.

- 12 Years Ago

The three Military Gardens open.  Here young people can train to be SeeDs and
orphans like Squall and Seifer are raised there.  Cid controls Balamb Garden
directly.

- 11 Years to 1 Year Ago

Zell, Quistis, Seifer and Squall all train as SeeDs at Balamb Garden.  Using
GF's however makes them forget their shared past.  Selphie and Irvine end up at
Trabia and Galbaldia respectively.

At some point Ultimecia takes full control of Edea and she disappears only to
resurface in Galbaldia where she starts manipulating the President into further
aggressive behaviour.

- 1 Year Ago to Now

Rinoa, seeking a way to hurt her Galbadian General father joins a resistance
movement based in Timber fighting against the Galbadian army.  That summer she
spends time with Seifer, who is full of passion about fighting for a cause and
staying loyal to a friend.

With Galbadian aggression increasing and Edea clearly behind it, Ellone
realises she is in danger once again and returns to Balamb Garden for
sanctuary...

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*************************** 3) THE STORY OF THE GAME **************************
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Seifer and Squall are duelling with their gunblades and both manage to scar
each others faces in the process.  Squall is knocked out and comes to in the
infirmary.  Still groggy he sees Ellone through the window, although he does
not recall who she is.  After a mild scolding from Dr. Kadowski, Instructor
Quistis Trepe comes to collect him and take him to the classroom.  After a
short lecture, she informs Squall she will accompany him on his SeeD field exam
which he missed due to his injury.  Squall collects his two new GFs, Quezecotl
and Shiva then leaves.  On the way he bumps into Selphie who is there on an
exchange from Trabia Garden.  Neither remember each other.  After taking her on
a tour and exchanging some words with Seifer, Rajin and Fujin, Squall meets
Quistis at the front gate of Balamb Garden.  After making their way to the Fire
Cavern and battling the GF Ifrit, who joins them. They return to Garden  and
are then given a new mission by Headmaster Cid.

Squall, along with Seifer and Zell are to go along with other students to the
town of Dollet.  There they are to fight the forces of Galbadia who have
occupied the town. After travelling to Balamb town they all board a ship and
cross the ocean to Dollet. After battling some Galbadian forces, Squall, Seifer
and Zell are told to wait at the Town Square.  Seifer gets bored and runs off
up to the communications tower.  At the top, Squall and Zell meet Selphie again
and she introduces herself properly.  The three then head up to the top of the
tower where two bumbling Galbadian Soldiers (Wedge and Biggs) are trying to get
the communications equipment working  After battling them for a short time,
they are swept away and replaced by the monstrous Elvoret.  After gaining a new
GF (Siren) from it, the three defeat it and Seifer reappears.  They leave, but
after they are gone, Wedge and Biggs send a huge mechanical spider after them.

Squall, Selphie and Zell flee back to the boat battling X-ATM092 as they go.
Although it can self-repair they manage to disable it and reach the boat within
the time limit. They arrive back at Balamb only to find that Seifer has taken
the car back ahead of them.  They have to walk back to Garden where Cid
welcomes them back. After Cid has chewed Seifer out for his behaviour, they
assemble upstairs to hear the exam results.  Squall, Zell, Selphie and another
student called Nida have all passed and are now SeeDs.  Seifer failed, but
applauds them anyway.  Squall returns to his dorm room and changes for the
graduation ball.

Squall is not enjoying himself at the ball, until the beautiful Rinoa
approaches him for a dance.  She whirls him across the floor and soon his
clumsy movements are as graceful as hers.  She then disappears back into the
crowd, but before Squall can go after her, Quistis asks him to meet her in the
Training Centre.  After changing, Squall goes and meets her at the back of the
Centre.  Quistis trys to explain how she fears she will be sacked over her not
keeping control over Seifer.  Squall's mind is on other things.  As they leave
they see Ellone being menaced by some monsters.  After fighting them off, two
White SeeDs take her away.  Squall finds her familiar, but still cannot recall
who she is.

The next morning, Cid gives Squall, Zell and Selphie a new mission.  They are
to go to Timber and help an underground resistance movement called the Forest
Owls kidnap the President of Galbadia. They leave for Balamb, fighting and
gaining the new GF Diablos on the way.  Once at Balamb they catch the train to
Timber. The journey begins uneventfully, then suddenly all three of them become
dizzy, then pass out...

.. some twenty years in the past, they experiences a scene from the life of
Laguna, Kiros and Ward, three Galbadian soldiers.  They join them while they
are retreating from a battle.  The three of them escape to Deling City where
they go to Laguna's favourite bar, to watch his favourite singer - Julia.
After his feeble attempts to approach her fail, Julia takes the initiative and
Laguna goes to her room.  They talk about their dreams for the future and then
the dream fades...

.. Squall, Selphie and Zell awaken aboard the train to Timber all baffled that
they have experienced the same dream. They then arrive at Timber where they
make contact with the Forest Owls. They board another train, which turns out to
be the Owls HQ.  There they are introduced to Zone, Watts and Rinoa Heartilly
who is the leader of the Owls. After a briefing they set about capturing the
train compartment that will be carrying the President.  This is done by running
their train alongside the Presidents train and uncoupling the carriages, then
coupling them to the Forest Owls train.  After this rather complex manoeuvre
has been carried out, Rinoa goes into the Presidents carriage to confront him.
Unfortunately he is a double, and after battle commences, he morphs into a
mutant zombie.  After killing it, they all return to the Owls HQ, there Rinoa
shows Squall their contract from Cid.  The SeeDs are to stay with the Forest
Owls until Timber is free of Galbadian occupation. They see President Deling
making a speech at the Timber TV station and Rinoa decides to kidnap him from
there.

Once back in Timber they make for the TV station. Once up there, they are
amazed to see Seifer rush on screen and grab the President, with Quistis also
present.  They rush in and in the confusion Zell lets slip they all belong to
Balamb Garden.  President Deling shouts that revenge will be exacted upon
Balamb Garden if he is harmed. Squall is also surprised to see that Seifer and
Rinoa are acquainted. Suddenly, Sorceress Edea appears.  She brings events to a
halt and takes Seifer away with her.  They rest of them leave the building to
find the Owls train has been destroyed and that the resistance is not welcome.
Rinoa asks Squall to take her to a safe place, so they hide out in the local
pub with a sympathetic landlady. Watts and Zone are still lurking about in
Timber and arrange tickets to get Squall and co out of Timber and over to
Galbadia garden. They take the train as far as they can then get out and walk.
While going through a mountain pass, Squall, Zell and Quistis feel dizzy and
pass out into another dream...

..They are back inside Laguna, Kiros and Ward.  This time the intrepid
threesome have been sent to explore an excavation at Centra. It appears that
this is the point in time that Esthar had discovered the Crystal Pillar and
were constructing the box around it to create the Lunatic Pandora.  Laguna,
Kiros and Ward find themselves lost inside it, and have to battle their way
through a maze of tunnels and stairways, while being attacked constantly by
Esthar Soldiers.  They finally make it out, but have no where else to run when
they come out at the top of a huge cliff.  Badly wounded by the soldiers, they
have no choice but to jump.  The dream fades...

..Squall and his friends wake up.  Still bewildered, they make their way out
of the forest and over to Galbadia Garden. After arriving there, Quistis goes
on ahead.  The rest of them are soon summoned for a conference.  Quistis has
discovered that Seifer will take the sole blame for the debacle at Timber,
Balamb Garden will be safe from reprisal.  But Seifer will be executed for his
actions. After this sombre news, they meet Rajin and Fujin.  They bring new
orders from Cid, which they have given to the Head of Galbadia Garden to pass
on to them.  When they hear about Seifer they vow to go and save him and leave
to track him down. At the entrance to the Garden, the Headmaster Martine
introduces a new member of the team, a handsome young sharp-shooter called
Irvine Kinneas.  He has joined because the next mission is to assassinate the
Sorceress! You then all board a train to Deling City, where Irvine explains the
pressures of being a sharpshooter, while throwing out a few passes as the
ladies on the team.

Once in Deling City, they catch a Bus to Caraways Mansion, but are blocked from
going in.  Much to Squalls annoyance, they must prove their worthiness by going
to the nearby Tomb of the Unknown King and finding evidence of a missing
student.  So off they go.  They find the students ID number fairly quickly, be
decide to explore the maze of passages further.  This soon brings them into
conflict with the Brothers, who they defeat and gain as valuable GF allies.
They then leave and return to Deling City where they are now granted entrance
to see General Caraway.

Inside the Mansion, Squall talks to Rinoa and discovers that Caraway is Rinoa's
father.  She is not overjoyed to be there. Caraway then appears and tells them
Edea has been behind the aggressive behaviour of President Deling and Galbadia.
Caraway is unhappy about this and has hired the SeeDs to assassinate her.  Edea
will be having a parade through Deling City later that night.  They are to
split into teams, one to trap Edea at the Gateway, the other to fire the
killing shot. Squall and Irvine leave to take up their position.  After they
leave, Rinoa returns with an Odine Bangle she thinks she can use to bind Edea's
power. Quistis however laughs it off (maybe some jealousy over Squall here) and
her, Zell and Selphie leave for the gateway.  Rinoa slumps down miserably
alone.

After the Gateway team take up their post, Caraway shows Squall and Irvine
where to wait then returns to the mansion.  Meanwhile Quistis regrets her mean
words to Rinoa and returns to the mansion.  However Rinoa has left and Quistis,
Zell and Selphie get locked inside by Caraway who thought Rinoa was in there.
Luckily they find a secret passage out and make their way through the maze of
sewers as the parade kicks off above.  Luckily they make it back to the Gateway
in time.

As they are racing about in the sewers, more drama is unfolding above them.
Rinoa climbs up to where Edea is.  Edea fixes the bangle on Rinoa which makes
her subdued.  Then Edea rants for a bit about how stupid the revellers at the
parade are and kills President Deling, declaring herself ruler of Galbadia. She
then sets two Iguion creatures on Rinoa.  Irvine and Squall decide to go and
help her.  They arrive up there in time to kill the creatures, gain a new GF
(Carbuncle) from them and save a very grateful Rinoa. Edea has gone to join the
parade, so Squall, Rinoa and Irvine hunker down in the clocktower ready to
complete the mission.

Quistis team now back in place, they work the mechanism of the gateway to trap
Edea's vehicle.  Seifer is there as well, right by Edea's side, much to the
surprise of Squall and Rinoa. With Edea trapped, and after a moment of doubt,
Irvine fires the perfect shot.  But Edea repels the shot with magic.  So Squall
leaps down and drives over to confront them himself.  First he alone takes on
Seifer and strikes him down easily.   Then his friends catch up and join Squall
for a battle against Edea. Although her power is strong, she seems to bo
holding something back and they hack away with out seeming to harm her much.
After a while she lets fly with a bolt of ice that pierces Squall through the
chest.  As he fall backwards, everything goes black...

.. back with Laguna, and now it is the point in his life that he was acting as
the protector of Winhill. He plays with Ellone who is about three or four at
this point in time and goes to talk with Raine, who he is obviously fond of and
who is fond of him. Then Kiros appears and they both catch up with what has
happened since they escaped Centra over six or so months ago.  Ward also
escaped with his life, but lost his voice.  He works at the D-District prison
in Galbadia. Laguna is discovers that Julia released her song, but got married
to someone else. While they walk around Winhill, Kiros and Laguna fight
monsters and discuss the future.  Kiros suggests Laguna might like to write for
Timber Maniacs, but Laguna is intent on staying with Raine and Ellone.  His
devotion seems to be reciprocated when he and Kiros overhear Ellone and Raine
discussing how much they care about Laguna.  After giving his report on the
days monster hunt, Laguna goes for a rest...

.. Zell awakens in a cell along with Rinoa, Selphie and Quistis. He was inside
Wards head in the dream and recognises this as D-District prison.  Meanwhile
Squall awakens in a moving cell which is being taken to the top of the prison.
Seifer arrives and taunts him, before getting two Moomba to take him to a
torture chamber. Back with Zell and the others, they are visited by Guards who
beat up Zell and then take Rinoa away. Back in the torture chamber, Seifer has
had Squall hung up and zapped with energy to make him talk about the true
meaning of SeeD, ranting and raving about fulfilling his dream of becoming a
Sorceress Knight.  Back in the cell Selphie find an anti-magic field prevents
her healing Zell.  Then when a Moomba shows up and is kicked by a guard, they
all stand up to the guard and he backs off.

Seifer is still trying to get the secret meaning of SeeD out of Squall, who is
genuinely baffled.  he then informs Squall that Edea has ordered a missile
attack on Balamb and Trabia Gardens and that all SeeDs be hunted down by him.
He leaves Squall to be interrogated by others.  After Squall talks a load of
rubbish to his questioner he is left alone, with just one guard posted.
Meanwhile, back in the cell, Quistis and Selphie fake sickness and they
overwhelm the Guard who comes in.  Now Zell, followed by the Moomba, uses his
knowledge of the Prison layout to find the person holding the others weapons.
He returns and hands them over o Quistis and Selphie.  Wedge and Biggs then
appear, rather reluctant to fight.  They get beaten up and Zell and the others
make their way out. Wedge and Biggs though injured, manage to set of the alarm.
Monsters are set free, but the anti-magic barrier is lifted.

At the top, they find Squall and let him free.  The Moomba seems to recognise
Squall and squeaks "La..gu..na!" when he sees him.  They then make their way
back down.  After fiddling about with the movable cell, they try and escape
through the bottom, only to find that the bottom of the prison has been
submerged since Ward worked there.  So they head back up, only to be pinned
down by gunfire. Zell is rescued from death by Squall, but they still seem
trapped.  The Rinoa reappears with a reluctant Irvine.  Prior to this, she had
been released and Irvine was taking her back to Deling City, however she
"persuaded" to return and help rescue the others.  Irvine's gun skills help the
others get out from the barrage of bullets and they all run up to the top of
the prison.  After some confusion, the prison begins to bore into the ground.
When it's all over everyone meets up in the carpark.  They commandeer some
vehicles and drive off.

Once they are safely in the desert, they all get out and discuss the next move.
Missiles are spotted streaking across the sky, and Irvine admits that he heard
Trabia garden would be the first target. An angry Selphie volunteers to stop
any more missiles being launched and Zell and Quistis decide to go with her.
Squall decides to take Rinoa and Irvine back to Balamb Garden to warn them of
the impending attack.  Selphies team leave by car to the Missile Base, Squalls
team hijack a train back to Balamb.

Selphie and her team arrive at the Missile base and disguise themselves as
Galbaldian soldiers.  They manage to infiltrate the base and after helping
shift the missiles they are given access to the missile launch codes.  Selphie
cannot stop the missiles launching, but is able to set them to go way off
course. After being discovered they reveal their true identities and fight off
the soldiers in the control room.  They then set the base to self destruct.
But before they can escape through the front gate they are ambushed by a huge
armoured fighting machine.  By the time they have disabled it, the gates have
locked and they are trapped inside.  Unable to escape it seems their fate is to
die when the base explodes, but at the last second they manage to get inside
the armoured machine and it keeps them safe as the base explodes into an
inferno around them.  They then try and move the machine, but it cannot be
controlled and starts following an eccentric path across the country with the
three of them trapped inside.

Meanwhile, Squall, Irvine and Rinoa arrive back at Balamb with the warning that
the place is to targeted. However the place is in disarray.  The garden master
has staged a revolt against headmaster Cid.  The faculty are now openly against
Cid and the students are split between those siding with Cid and those with the
faculty.  Squall and his team search around each area of the Garden looking for
Cid, as they go, they defeat the faculty and give control back piece by piece
to those loyal to Cid.  Finally they discover he has been hiding in his office.
They tell him about the imminent attack, but Cid seems very depressed and worn
down.  He mentions though that the Garden was constructed on a mobile shelter
and hands over a key to the MD level. Xu goes to organise a possible
evacuation, and the others go down in the lift.  After opening a door in the
lift base, they find themselves in an underground level of oil and pipe work.
After battling some pustulant oil creatures and searching around they find some
rusty of machinery, with a bit of a heave they get the machinery working and
the Garden rips itself out of the ground and takes off.  As it does so the
missiles speed towards the garden, then sheer off in all directions at the last
moment, exploding harmlessly in the air.

After watching the gardens flight from the observation deck, Xu rushes to tell
you the Garden can't actually be steered.  Luckily it misses Balamb town and
lands in the sea where it carries on floating.  Unable to think of anything
right now, they all decide to rest.  Squall is awakened by Rinoa who asks for a
tour of Garden.  As Squall shows her about, it's clear that the crisis has
calmed and the students and faculty are working as normal.  Once of the faculty
accosts Squall and takes him to see the Garden master who resides in the
basement.  Down there Irvine joins them and they witness the Master arguing
with Cid.  The faculty treat Cid roughly and he staggers off to his office.
The Masters turns out to be a strange yellow long-fingered thing called NORG
sat in a pod.  He rants at the three of them and says they must be sacrificed
to Edea to appease her he also makes the shocking claim that Edea is Cids wife.
He leaves Squall no option but to fight him.  Once NORG has been defeated, he
cocoons himself.  Unsure of what to make of this Squall and his gang find Cid
in the infirmary.

In the infirmary Cid tells them about his relationship with Edea, the
establishment of SeeD and garden and that Ellone is in Garden right now.  She
is not safe anymore and he sends Squall to find her.  When he does, she is in
the library, and Squall discovers that this young woman is the same Ellone he
saw in his dreams of Laguna's life.  She admits she has been sending him and
his companions into the past to try and change events, as she leaves to meet
the White SeeDs who have come to collect her she whispers to Squall that he's
her "only hope."  After she leaves, Squall resumes the tour around the Garden.
Then the Garden half docks, half crashes at a sleepy port town called
Fisherman's Horizon.  Cid tells Squall to take Quistis and Rinoa and go and
apologise to the mayor while they figure out what to do next.

Fisherman's Horizon is an interesting place, set in the middle of the large
overseas railway that use to join Esthar to Galbadia its full of pacifists who
have left other places to live out a quiet existence.  They find Mayor Dobe and
his wife Flo and introduce themselves.  The mayor says they will be helped in
rebuilding Garden and getting it mobile, but violence will not be tolerated. As
they leave though there is a ruckus in the town centre, Galbadian soldiers have
arrived and are kicking up trouble.  Mayor Dobe tries to reason with them, but
they beat him up.  Squall and team jump to his rescue and beat the soldiers.
Then a large armoured vehicle appears, it attacks them, but doesn't seem to be
under any kind of control.  Squall and team knock it out and into the water and
out climb, Selphie, Zell and Quistis (it appears the vehicles erratic journey
took them over the sea to FH). Pleased to be united, they return to the base.

Back at the Garden, Irvine decides to put on a bit of a concert.  This will
help cheer up Selphie who is down after the attack on Trabia and also as a way
to get Squall and Rinoa closer.  After rehearsing a tune, Rinoa meets Squall
that evening and takes him to the FH Sun Panel where the gang play a romantic
tune for them.  Squall is already a bit overwhelmed after Cid tells him he is
in overall command of the battle with Edea yet to come.  Rinoa tells him to be
more open with them, that they are his friends and trust him, so he should
trust them to.  Squall finds this all a bit to hard to take in as he still
hurts from his abandonment as a child.  After a relaxing time, the evening
comes to an end.

The next day Xu summons Squall to the control deck.  The steering has been
fixed and now Squall can command Nida to drive the Garden about.  So they leave
Fisherman's Horizon.  After a trip to some ruins on the Centra continent, where
GF's Odin and Tonberry are recruited, they decide to head around back to Balamb
to see whats Galbadia are up to.  There they are shocked to find Balamb under
Galbadian occupation. Zell manages to talk them into the town and after a
council of war in his mum's house they do some detective work and find none
other than Rajin and Fujin are in command of this force.  After a heated battle
against them and the acquisition of GF Pandemona from Fujin they demand to know
why they have betrayed Garden.  Fujin and Rajin claim they don't care about
polticis they only follow Seifer, who is carrying out the orders of the
Sorceress.  Squall understands their loyalty to a friend and lets them leave.

With Balamb town liberated, they return to the bridge of the Garden.  Selphie
appears and says she would like to visit Trabia.  So the Garden is steered up
into the snowy north.  There they find Trabia garden in ruins and many, many
dead.  Selphie rushes about finding any friends still alive and visits the dead
ones in the graveyard.  Some time later they all meet in the basketball court
and decide Edea must be stopped.  It is then Irvine drops some bombshells.
They all begin to recollect that they shared a childhood at an orphanage
(except for Rinoa), only Irvine recalls this clearly, and explains about how
they were all there together, even Seifer.  He then prods them into recalling
that Ellone was there to as their older "sis" and biggest shock of all, the
kindly matron who cared for them was none other than Edea!

Irvine explains that as Galbadia Garden did not use GF power, he did not forget
their shared past.  When he met them again recently, he was so bummed they
didn't seem to recall each other he said nothing, until he needed to make clear
that by killing Edea, they would be killing their old matron.  Subdued by this
they decided to visit the location of the Orphanage which they remember being
on a Cape with a lighthouse. As they leave, Rinoa confesses that she feels left
out sometimes, that they are so focused and intense she doesn't know how to
keep up.  Squall mumbles so not very helpful words of reassurance and then they
leave.

As they fly to the Orphanage they see the ominous shape of Galbadia Garden
hovering nearby.  A battle is now inevitable and Squall takes command.
Motorcycle troopers from Galbadia smash their way in and battle takes place in
the corridors.   While hell breaks loose, Rinoa requests Squalls ring and Zells
borrows it for her.  As he hands it over there is a tremor as the Gardens
collide.  Rinoa is knocked over the edge of the deck and left hanging on.
Squall tells Zell to deal with it as he has to go and protect the children up
in the classrooms.  After securing them he gets cornered by a Galbadian
paratrooper on a flying frame.  They both get knocked out of the Garden fire
exit and fight in the air.  After knocking the trooper off, Squall manages to
steer the frame to where Rinoa is and you both climb down to safety.

With both Gardens resting on the ground and battle still raging around them,
Squall and the others infiltrate the bottom of Galbadia garden.  Its a
dangerous places as the monsters from the training ground have been released.
Fujin and rajin are also there, but fed up with all the fighting and wanting
the old Seifer back. After working their way through various hallways and
locked doors, they acquire keys from sympathetic students and find themselves
in the main Hall.  After battling GF Cerberus and gaining him as an ally, they
head upstairs and met up with Seifer.  Looking rather frazzled he declares the
SeeDs monsters and attacks them.  After he is beaten, Edea steps in again and
battle commences.

She fights more viciously this time, but cannot prevent her GF Alexander being
taken from her.  When the final blow is struck, suddenly everything seems to
freeze.  Unable to move or speak Squall watches in horror as Rinoa staggers
trancelike towards Seifer.  She bends down and whispers something to him and he
gets up and escapes. Rinoa then collapses and Edea who was slumped over a
podium is surrounded by exploding lights.  Then the strange freezing field
fades and Edea looks up almost confused and sees those in front of her.  With
joy she greets them all by name and with genuine warmth, as if they were her
children.  Completely baffled by this, Squall can only thing of one thing..
Rinoa, cold and unconscious.  They return to Balamb Garden with Edea and
Rinoa's comatose body.

Back in Balamb Gaden, a worried Squall lies on his bed running over the events.
Quistis suggests they visit Edea's house where she and Cid now are.  Squall
firsts stops off to see Rinoa and is saddened by her state.  he then goes to
Edea's house, which was also their old orphanage, accompanied by Quistis, Zell,
Selphie and Irvine.  There Cid apologizes for his indecisiveness, explaining
how torn he was between destroying Sorceress Edea, but losing his wife for
ever, or keeping Sorceress Edea alive in the hope Edea Kramer could be saved
but at the risk of the rest of the world being endangered by the Sorceress.
Edea explains how she was under the control of Ultemecia all this time and how
Ultimecia now intends to resurrect Adel, a former Sorceress who once ruled
Esthar.  With Edea unsure of why Rinoa is in a coma, it is decided Ellone must
be found to help them.

back in Garden, Squall announces that Edea is not the enemy anymore and should
be left alone, Cid will also be staying with her. They all then decide to
search for the White SeeD ship.  Squall then goes back to see Rinoa and becomes
a bit overwhelmed with the strength of his feelings for her.  He slumps forward
and into another dream...

.. Laguna has joined up with Kiros and the mute Ward.  To earn some cash to
fund the search for Ellone, they are shooting a tacky movie in Trabia Canyon.
Unfortunately, a real Ruby Dragon shows up. After a short battle, Laguna and
the boys are victorious.  The scene fades, but Squall does not regain
consciousness right away.  He talks mind to mind with Ellone and sees Laguna
talking to Edea about Ellone...

. Then Squall does wake up, and has the idea that Ellone can use her power to
take time back to find out what happened to Rinoa after the battle.  So he goes
to ask Edea at her house and she tells him the ship will most likely be
somewhere in a cove around Centra.  She hands over a letter that will prove
that Squall is trustworthy.  Then they head back to Garden and search around
Centra until they find the ship.  On board they find the two Forest Owls, Zone
and Watts aboard, they are very worried to hear about Rinoa. After presenting
the letter to the leader of the White SeeDs he explains that Ellone left the
ship with some people from Esthar.  So that leaves no option but to try and get
into Esthar.

Squall is very withdrawn and pretty much only caring about Rinoa by now.  As
the Garden docks at Fishermans Horizon, he picks up Rinoa and carries her out
of Garden on his back.  He then begins to trudge the long and lonely railway by
himself.  As he does so he can only think of how much the short time being with
Rinoa has changed him and how much he misses her now he can't hear her speak or
laugh. He admits to her that he used a spiky exterior to hide the fact he cares
a lot about what people think of him and he is insecure about how he is
perceived.

When he arrives at the other end of the railway at the desolate Esthar railway
station, he is surprised to find all the others waiting for him.  They say of
course they would come along to help Rinoa and find Ellone and they are also
going to protect Edea, who has also come along to speak to Doctor Odine the
expert on Sorceress power.  With Edea's powerful magic the make short work of
the undead Abadon at the entrance to the Great Salt Lake.  After some searching
they uncover a panel seeming suspended in the air.  After crawling through,
they find a tunnel and a computer terminal which tells them that there is a
camouflage system surrounding all of Esthar City. The group carry on until they
reach an elevator, with no other chocie they board it and start travelling.
They then board another outside and the huge and awesome expanase of Esthar
City opens up in front of them.  The platofrm docks, but as it does so, Squall
feels dizzy and collapses along with two others...

..Laguna is now a prisoner working in the Lunatic Pandora laboratory. After
saving an oppressed Moomba, Laguna is approached by a member of the Adel
Resistance to be the leader.  Laguna then battles a guard while the resistance
guy and moomba escape.  Then Kiros and Ward show up. They make their way to
Odines lab.  he is so busy talking he doesn't notice them and the threesome
sneak past. Oustide an assistant to Odine talks to Laguna telling him that
Odine is holding Ellone inside.  So Laguan returns and threatens Odine until he
tells him where Ellone is. She is in his lab in Esthar City, so they travel
there and Laguna is reunited with the young Ellone who is overjoyed to see him.
As Laguna holds her the dream fades...

.. Squall wakes up just as a car arrives to collect them. The Presidential
Assistant doesn't seem surprised to see them and takes them to the Presidential
Palace.  Edea tells them she wishes to be rid of the threat of possession by
Ultimecia for ever. Odine claims this will be easy.  An impatient Squall
demands to see Ellone, Odine spikily says he will arrange it, but he must be
allowed to observe Rinoa first (hah!). Squall reluctantly agrees. They are free
to explore the City and when ready should go to the Lunar Gate to the east of
the City. After looking around the incredible futuristic city, they hire a car
and leave the main city area.  After stopping off to check out the mysterious
Tears Point structure and collecting the Solomons Ring for summoning GF
Doomtrain, they drive to the Lunar Gate.

At the Lunar Gate, Squall is told Rinoa needs to be taken up to the Lunar base
for further study.  Zell wishes to remain as Edea's guard, so Squall choose to
take Selphie with him.  Squall, Selphie and the unconscious Rinoa are then
launched in a pod out into space to the Lunar Base. After they are gone, Angelo
seems to be going crazy.  They follow her outside and see a huge structure come
hovering over.  They all rush back to Esther City.  In Odines lab they discuss
the fact the Galbadians have salvaged the Pandora and are controlling it.  Zell
and his team go to investigate and manage to board the Pandora as it passes by
a walkway.  Exploring inside the crystal interior they don't get very far
before being violently expelled out of the top and back into Esthar City. They
can only watch as the Pandora heads for Tears Point and Edea mutters something
about the Lunar Cry.

Meanwhile Squall, Selphie and Rinoa have arrived at the Lunar Base.  After
leaving Rinoa in the medical lab, Squall goes to look around.  They are shown
Adels tomb floating in space with Esthars President himself out there checking
the seal on it.  In the control room they are shown the monsters that live on
the lunar surface. Squall then goes to visit Ellone who is also here. After
some warm words, Ellone explains that she can't change the past and save Rinoa,
because she doesn't know her.  Squall pleads with her to at least try.  Before
they can leave, the alarms sound.

Rinoa is staggering down the corridor, a strange "phasing" effect surrounds
her, she looks like she is existing at several points in time at once.  She is
unresponsive and when Squall tries to touch her he is firmly repelled.  he can
only follow her as she goes into the control room and disconnects the first
layer of seals on Adels Tomb and disables the station.  She then goes to the
locker room and puts on a space suit, leaving through the airlock.  Squall
follows but cannot reach her before the base doors shut.  Frustrated her
returns, to find Esthar's President evacuating the base.  Squall watches in
horror as Rinoa floats up to the tomb and begins breaking the last seals.  As
he makes for an escape pod with Selphie and Ellone a huge wave of monsters
fountains up from the surface of the moon and funnels down towards the planet
surface, the Lunar Cry has begun. Rinoa is blasted away from the tomb and is
returned to her normal self.

Aboard the pod, Squall and Ellone work together to figure out what happened to
Rinoa.  Squall sees several instances of Rinoa via the others experiences with
her.  He sees Rinoa persuading Irvine to return to the Desert Prison to rescue
them.  He sees Zell and Rinoa talking about Zell making a copy of Squalls
Griever ring for her to wear. Then finally Ellone finds the moment they
defeated Edea.  The truth is revealed, Ultimecia jumped from Edea to Ultimecia
at the moment of Edea's defeat.  Rinoa was a latent Sorceress all the time. And
with Adel free, Ultimecia has a new body and Rinoa is floating alone and scared
in space.  As Squall desperately tries to communicate with her via Ellone,
Rinoa is getting colder and her oxygen is going fast.  As her last drop is used
up, she gasps and closes her eyes.  At the brink of death the two rings she is
wearing on a chain around her neck float up and Squalls voice seems to reach
her.  She remembers she has an emergency air supply and fills her suit with
oxygen.

Relieved Squall decides to be with her even if it means they die together.  He
leaves the Pod and leaps out into space.  Rinoa tumbles towards him and soon
they are holding each other.  It seems that this is it for them, but then a
miracle happens.  One of the abandoned Ragnarok spaceships comes into view.
After entering it via an airlock, they determine its safe and they shed their
spacesuits. They then discover the ship is being stalked by strange aliens
called Progators.  After figuring out they need to be killed in matching pairs
and with Rinoa's new Sorceress powers proving very useful they clear out the
ship and reach the control room.  There they set course for Esthar Airstation.

With nothing else to do they sit back and talk.  Squall even after all he has</pre><pre id="faqspan-2">
been through has a hard time expressing his love for Rinoa, as she hugs and
holds him.  He talks about having not known his parents and being and orphan
and how Ellone made him feel less alone at the Orphanage. How her disappearance
made him feel so insecure and why he kept himself so distant, that he was
afraid of getting close only to be hurt again. Rinoa confesses how secure and
loved being held by Squall makes her feel even though he can also drive her
crazy!  As they near Esthar they are hailed by the Airstation, the romantic
mood is shattered when they Esthar people seem fearful that Rinoa is on board.

Rinoa withdraws and admits sadly that she is a Sorceress and people will fear
her now. She is frightened about what will happen and just wants this moment
with Squall to carry on forever and not have to face the future. As the
Ragnarok lands Squall finally admits he has fallen for Rinoa in a big way and
this has left him feeling for the first time unsure of what to do. he can't let
her go can he. Full of turmoil he watches Rinoa being led away, she is to be
sealed like Adel was, her power is too great and she is too much of a threat.
Rinoa goes to hand back Squalls ring, he rather lamely says she can keep it and
they say their goodbyes. He returns to the Ragnarok in a total mess.

Then the others come aboard, Selphie having survived the pods landing. Selphie
is pleased to see him alive then demands to know where Rinoa is.  Before he can
answer the other board and talk excitedly about how Edea gave her power away
(to Rinoa it seems) and about the Lunatic Pandora. Squall isn't interested. He
then tells them that Rinoa is going to be sealed.  The others are shocked and
verbally kick his ass for allowing it. Quistis especially yells at him for
being a fool. This brings everything into focus, and Squall realises he has
been a fool and declares he will rescue her. As he does so the Ragnarok lurches
and they take off.  An excited Selphie is at the controls and Squall orders her
to take them to the Sorceress memorial.

At the memorial, Squall punches his way in with help from the others.  The
sealing facility is deactivated and Rinoa falls into his arms.  As they make
their escape, Esthar guards block the way, then a familiar figure appears and
allows them to leave. After thanking them all Rinoa asks if they can go to the
place where they all grew up at the Orphanage, she wants to be away from people
right now.  After taking an excursion to Cactuar Island and the mysterious Deep
Sea Deposit to add Cactuar, Bahamut and Eden to their allies. They travel back
to Edea's house. There Squall and Rinoa talk in a beautiful field of flowers.
There Rinoa confesses her fears about being taken over again or becoming evil.
Squall says to her that it won't happen, in his mind he decides that even if
that did happen, he would stand by her and be her knight, even if she became
the whole worlds enemy.  They make a promise, that if Squall is ever lost, she
can find him here in the field of flowers.

Then they are interrupted when the others come to say there has been a radio
message from Esthar.  Kiros has called them and needs them to return.  It's an
emergency. As they return Edea reappears and tells them about how she inherited
her powers 13 years ago from a Sorceress on the brink of death.  To prevent the
Sorceress passing them onto any other child.  She says this was the start of a
painful time, but that Squall must fight to then end even though it may bring
tragedy to others.  With these rather puzzling words ringing in his ears,
Squall and the others depart for Esthar. On arrival they are greeted by Ward.

Finally they meet President Laguna face-to-face.  Squall is a bit incredulous,
but also keen to hear what is going on.  It appears Adel is in the Lunatic
Pandora and Ultimecia has possession of her, but Adel is still not fully
revived.  Ultimecias goal is something called Time Compression.  She has been
seeking Ellone as a means to go into the past, from whence she can beginning
compressing time from past, present and future so all times exist at once in
one unending present.  She plans to do this from the future using a machine
based on Ellone's brain patterns, but she needs the present day Ellone to
stretch it all the way back as far as she needs to.  No one knows why she
wishes to do this Time Compression. She has been using the Junction Machine
Ellone to travel back and possess other Sorceresses, first Edea, then Rinoa,
now Adel.  But there is a possibility that Adel might gain control in this time
and she would be even worse to deal with than Ultimecia, certainly when she
revives fully she will want to take revenge on Odine and Laguna for sealing her
up 17 years ago.

However the only way to kill Ultimecia will be by allowing Time Compression to
take place.  As her body lies in the future, the only way Squall and his team
can reach her is if Time is Compressed.  So the plan is to kill Adel before she
awakens inside the Pandora.  Then allow Ultimecia to possess Rinoa.  Ellone
then sends Rinoa/Ultimecia back to the past inside another Sorceress, possibly
Adel or Edea so Ultimecia can start the Time Compression.  Then Ellone brings
them back, Rinoa returns to the present and Ultimecia to the future and all
times will begin to crush down into one. Squall and his team will start to move
through the time compressed world until they reach Ultimecia, where they must
kill her.  To survive in that world, they need to think about a place they all
can believe in, a place of love and friendship,  they should all arrive in that
place together.

They then board the Ragnarok and fly into the Lunatic Pandora.  They first
encounter Bigs and Wedge, who stage a mini-mutiny and decide to abandon their
duties.  They then face Fujin and Rajin and battle them.  After that they
battle the Mobile Type 8 robot and defeat that too, making their way slowly to
the centre of the structure. Finally they confront Seifer and Fujin and Rajin
who have hold of Ellone.  Then suddenly Fuijn and Rajin let her go.  Fujin then
explains to a shocked Seifer that this is not what they wanted, that Seifer has
been manipulated and what he is doing is plain wrong and they see Squall as the
only way to save them and Seifer himself now.  They then leave.  Seifer is more
manic than ever and rants on about being a revolutionary, someone who needs to
do a big thing.  With no option, Squall and the others go into battle with him.

Suddenly the GF Odin appears and attacks Seifer with Zantusuken, to the horror
of everyone watching, Seifer reverses his attack and Odin is split into.
Squall and the others must carry on the fight.  Then as they wear Seifer down,
a strange red robed figure with four swords appears. Gilgamesh strikes down
Seifer himself and then leaves through a dimensional rip.  After this dramatic
turn of events has played out, Seifer makes a last desperate grab for Rinoa and
thrusts her towards Adel.

Squall and the others find themselves going into battle with Adel who has Rinoa
attached to her and is draining the life out for her.  Carefully they manage to
kill Adel without harming Rinoa and Rinoa is freed.  Ellone and Laguna arrive
and the plan is put into action.  As soon as Rinoa is returned to the present,
Ellone and Laguna leave, with Laguna reminding them to hold onto to their
feelings of love and friendship.

Suddenly they are falling through the air, images of the recent past are
reflected on distorted bubbles round them and a discordant version of the
ballroom music from the graduation ball echoes around them.  As they fall
through water, Rinoa worries she will not exist, but Squall reassures her he
will be thinking hard about her. Then Squall and the others find themselves in
a room bathed in a strange white light.  It is the room Edea had at the
Presidential Palace at Deling City. As they walk forwards, Edea rises and
spins, splitting into multiple images. She then turns into an odd red robed
Sorceress.  Squall and the others are thrown into a series of battles against
these beings.  They are weak and after a few hits spin around laughing
manically and disappear only to be replaced by another.

Most disturbingly they fight in familiar locations; Winhill, Balamb Garden,
Trabia Snowfields, but the landscapes are melting and distorting before their
eyes.  Walls puddle into floors, buildings twist and run into each other, the
sky and the ground begin to merge.  At the end of this horrific experience they
face the final Sorceress, a dreadful wormlike dragon.  After defeating that one
they finally come to rest in a more stable place. The place they all felt most
love and friendship, the Orphanage.  As the walk to the beach, the oddly
twisted bodies of future SeeDs like dead on the ground.  Suddenly the beach
changes before their eyes and a huge castle rise up.  A large chain joins the
beach to the main Castle.  It is their that Ultimecia reigns and there that she
must be defeated.

On the way up the chain, three mysterious gates appear.  Squall decides to
investigate and discovers they can travel to locations across the planet.  It
seems that the monsters have survived in Time Compressed world and also the
Chocobo's.  However all the cities and towns and surrounded by a strange white
miasma and cannot be entered.  Squall and the others are delighted to find that
the Ragnarok and those aboard from Balamb Garden have also made in unscathed.
After seeing the destruction wrought on the world they return via another gate
to the huge chain and continue up the chain and into the forbidding lair of
Ultimecia.

Inside they are dismayed to find that the power of the place has sealed all
their battle powers.  The only way they can unlock their abilities is to find
all the monsters who are preventing them from using everything at their
disposal.  As they explore the huge gothic castle they gradually recover all
their fighting and support abilities, while taking on beasts such as the
corrupted GF Tiamat, the robotic Trauma and the repulsive Gargantua.  After
some long hard fights they work their way up to the top of the castle and to
the finally confrontation.

Ultimecia is not happy to see them.  She rains down curses and threats upon
them, saying that she will send them to another dimension and make them her
slaves forever.  She then picks three of them to battle her and they are
launched into the first fight.  In her first form Ultimecia looks pretty
normal, after they hurt her enough she summons her powerful GF, Griever.  The
huge winged lionlike beast attacks viciously, but is not powerful enough to
defeat Squall and his companions.  Ultimecia then merges with Griever to form a
monstrous hybrid. When this tactic fails and Griever lies dead, Ultimecia
transforms for a final time into a huge many armed, winged demon.  She rants at
them as she throws her most powerful magics at them but this still not enough
and finally the killing blow is struck.

As she disappears in an explosion of light, Squall and his companions find
themselves in a white void. They all begin to concentrate on the time and place
they want to return to. As they begin to fade, Squall finds himself alone in a
black void. Confused Squall then sees himself as a young boy, then matron Edea
appears and he is back at the Orphanage, but at the wrong point in time.  This
is thirteen years ago.  Edea addresses him, then a dying Ultimecia appears.
Squall goes to strike her down, but Edea stops him.  Ultimecia wails that she
cannot disappear now.  Edea takes Ultimecia's powers and Ultimecia finally
fades away.  Edea explains that she had to do it, to prevent Ultimecia giving
the powers to one of the children and to allow her to die in peace.  Edea then
questions Squall about who he is.  Squall admits he is the young boy, only from
the future.  Edea then tells him he does not belong in this time and must go.

The Orphanage, Edea and young Squall all fade away and Squall is back in the
void. He calls out to his friends and to Rinoa to help him find his way.  He
finds himself trudging across a cracked drought ridden mud desert.  Tired he
finally collapses only to find himself staring over the edge into space, then
he realises he is now on a small island of dry mud, floating in space.  As he
despairs, images of the past rush around him. Then Rinoa is running, the sky is
thunderous and dark, she calls out almost in tears.  Squall is on the verge of
giving up, as he goes to collapse, a white feather falls, he catches it.  The
dark sky clears and Rinoa is in the field of flowers, so is Squall but is he
still alive...

.. of course he is.  As Balamb Garden takes flight once again, it passes over
Balamb Town.  Rajin and Fujin watch Seifer trying to catch a fish.  As The
Garden passes overhead, Seifer looks up and smiles, finally at peace with
himself. Then the Garden heads past Winhill.  There Laguna is standing at
Raines grave remembering when he and Raine were together and he gave her a
ring. As he comes back to the present, he sees Kiros and Ward on the hilltop
and Ellone rushes down to embrace him.  They both look up as the Garden flies
overhead and smile.  On board, Selphie is filming the party going on to
celebrate the victory.  We see that Irvine, Zell and Quistis also got back
safely.  Out on the balcony, Rinoa and Squall are standing together.  Rinoa
points up at a shooting star and Squall looks as well, then they embrace and
kiss long and passionately as Balamb Garden travels into the sunset.

                                THE END

===============================================================================
************************* 4) FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ***********************
===============================================================================

I've dealt in depth with the two question I had about Ultimecia's identity and
how the Time Loop the game revolves around gets started in depth in the next
section.  This section contains a few frequently asked questions that I could
think of, I am sure it will expand with contributions from readers in future
updates.

Q: Who is Ellone and what happened to her in the game?

A: Ellone is never really satisfactorily explained in the game.  She has
tremendous power, but is NOT a sorceress, which is why Ultimecia doesn't seem
to be able to possess her. Her parentage is unknown, she as raised by Raine as
an orphan. Ellone's full history is recounted by Laguna when you get to
question him on various subjects in Esthar:

-------------
Laguna: When Ellone was about two there was a massive hunt for girls in Esthar.
Esthar soldiers came to Winhill and Elle's parents resisted.  They were killed
on the spot. The massive hunt was to find the successor for Esthar's ruler,
Sorceress Adel. Ellone was raised by Raine who lived next door and I came to
know her.  Then there was another massive hunt for a successor in Esthar again,
Elle was taken away even though I was there.  It's the most painful episode of
my life.  So I rescued her [from Esthar] and sent her back to Winhill.  Shortly
after that, Raine died and Ellone was sent straight to an orphanage.

Squall: Why didn't you go back to Winhill with her?

Laguna: I wanted to! But I had my reasons.  I found out about this afterwards,
but.. the reason why Ellone had to leave the orphanage was because of her
special power. Doc Odine wanted to do research on Ellone's special power.  he
looked for her everywhere.  The owners of the orphanage were Edea and Cid
Kramer.  You know them better than I do.  The Kramers took Elle out of the
orphanage to protect her.  They prepared a big ship to accommodate her...After
a while the ship turned into another orphanage and Elle looked after all the
kids...She was on that ship for ten years."
-----------

The explanation for Ellone's ability to take people back through time is never
forthcoming and her parents are never mentioned apart from Laguna's comment
that they were killed.  It's seems that she remains a pawn in the politics of
this planet, condemned by her power to forever be on the run and in hiding.
Sad really.

*******************************************************************************

Q: How does Laguna end up Esthar's President?

A: This can be missed it you don't spend some time talking to Laguna once you
meet him in Esthar.  But he gives a full account and a flashback of how the
feat of sealing Adel was achieved.

-------------
Squall: What I don't understand is.. Why are you the President?

Laguna: I only set out to rescue Ellone, but of course that wasn't the end of
the story.  It's a country ruled by Adel with the ingenious but inhumane Odine.
Both of them were interested in Ellone.  We couldn't just pack up an leave..

FLASHBACK - Sealing Facility

Odine: Adel vill be angry.  My research vill be kaput!

Laguna: Odine only thought about his research.  But while researching under
Adel's orders he was still making many inventions.. A device to seal magic.
Maybe Adel can be defeated. I owed a big favour to the Adel resistance who
helped me rescue Ellone. I spoke with my comrades.  Two issues came up.  First
stopping the crystal pillar from calling the monsters from the moon and
destroying everything like what happened in Centra.  Second, freeing Esthar
from Adel's hands.  We planned and planned. based on my brilliant ideas of
course.  Back in the Lunatic Pandora Research Facility there is only one goal.
Following Odines instructions we operated the Crystal Pillar.  We set course
and stop point in the ocean... That was easy, but we were found out. So we
gathered for a final battle to lure Adel. Adel appeared as expected [at the
sealing facility].

Adel: What is going on?

Laguna (disguised): We hunted down the culprit who moved the Crystal Pillar.

Adel: Where?

Laguna: Inside there. Ellone's been taken hostage. (I knew she would go in
right away if I mentioned Ellone)

Adel: You thought I would fall for that trick?

Laguna: (Adel realised Ellone was a hologram, but it was too late.) Yeah.. Of
course... My plans.. are always.. perfect [Knocks Adel down]. Kiros! Ward!
Now!! [Adel is trapped and sealed] Haha! Piece of cake.

Laguna: Adel was careless.  She may be a sorceress but after all, she was
human.  We succeeded but couldn't keep such a dangerous Sorceress around as a
trophy.  We had to do something. So we decided to send her far, far away.  Some
place very far.. Into outer space. [Three Ragnarok ships tow her into space]...
A fierce debate ensued about who should govern the country after Adel was gone.
I wasn't paying attention while they made me up to be this hero of the
revolution and I ended up being President.  Odine made a lot of noise about
wanting to do research on Ellone.  It was a mistake to send Ellone alone back
to Raine.  If only I had gone to Winhill with Elle.  I would have been able to
see Raine one last time.  Raine was dead. Ellone was missing. My job kept me
busy.  I was left thinking about this and that and before I knew it, all this
time had passed."
-------------

So Laguna was pushed into the Presidency after defeating Adel.  I can't help
but feel if he had REALLY wanted to leave and go back to Winhill he would have.
Did he know Raine was pregnant?  Was he scared of commitment?  First Julia,
then Raine suffer from him bolting when things look like getting serious (and
in the company of men only as well).  I personally think Laguna is gay, which
explains a lot about his character and behaviour, but I shall leave that for
another time...

*******************************************************************************
Q: Why does Ultimecia want to compress time?

A: Goodness knows! Doc Odine mentions it when he talks about defeating her and
merely dismisses it!

----------
Odine: There is only one way to defeat Ultimecia. You must kill her in ze
future. There iz nothing we can do unless we go to ze future. There is no way
to jump to ze future under normal circumstances. But there iz still a way! It
iz because Sorceress Ultimecia plans to compress time. Compressing time with
magic... Vat good will it do for ze sorceress to compress time? There may be
many reasons, but it doesn't matter. Let's just figure out vat Ultimecia iz
up to. In order for Ultimecia to exist in this time, she must take over ze body
of a sorceress from ze present. But ze machine must have a limit. Ultimecia
probably needs to go back further in time to achieve time compression. Only
Ellone can take her back further into ze past. Zat iz why she iz desperately
seeking her.
-----------

So it's the most important thing in the game (bar the love story) and that's
the only reason we get: "Vat good will it do for ze sorceress to compress time?
There may be many reasons, but it doesn't matter."

Well gee thanks Square.  Even when you take on Ultimecia at the end she doesn't
really make a lot of sense.  This is what set me thinking about her identity
and I have covered that in the "Theories" section of the FAQ.

*******************************************************************************

Q: Is Laguna really Squalls father?

A: Although it's never stated explicitly, plenty of clues are given to Squall's
parentage.  We know Raine has a child soon after Laguna left as Ellone tells us
as much.

---------
Ellone: When I was kidnapped, Uncle Laguna went on a journey to find me... But
because he did, Uncle Laguna wasn't able to be by Raine's side when she died.
Raine wanted to show Laguna her new born baby... Raine kept calling out for
Laguna. So no matter what, I wanted Laguna to stay in the village...But it
didn't work.
----------

Then when you pilot the Ragnarok to the Lunatic Pandora before fighting Adel,
you can talk to Laguna, Kiros and Ward on-board.

---------
Laguna: Let's talk when it's all done.  I have a lot to tell you.  Well if you
don't want to hear it, I'll understand.

Kiros: You look very much like your mother.

Ward: "........."

Kiros: Ward says "Good job you don't look like your father".
---------

Finally when the Moomba who accompanies Zell around D-District Prison sees
Squall, he jumps up and down, pointing and saying "La..gu..na!" excitedly.

That seems pretty conclusive to me!

More questions answered when I get sent them, so get writing!

===============================================================================
*************** 5) WHO IS ULTIMECIA? (And Other Whacky Theories! **************
===============================================================================

This is my forum for trying to tease out some of the deeper concepts thrown up
by Final Fantasy VIII's reliance on time travel and destiny to move the story a
long.  Frankly some of you may find all this talk of temporal physics and
quantum realties a turn off, but in my own little way I am trying to work my
way through some aspects that have puzzled me and also to posit my outrageous
theory of who Ultimecia might be.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
a) TIME LOOPS and the PREDESTINATION PARADOX
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Before I tackle the issue of Ultimecia's identity, its time to examine the
theoretical basis of the plot. Perhaps the most mind-bending fact about Final
Fantasy VIII, is that the plot revolves around a time loop.  That is the end of
the events, set the beginning of the events in motion, to cause the end event
that will start the whole thing off etc.

The main problem with Time loops is how do they get started?  It's the old,
"what came first, the chicken or the egg?  Ultimecia sets the events in motion
that will allow her to manoeuvre events in her past (i.e., using Edea, then
Rinoa when Edea is freed) she inevitably sets her in motion the events that
bring about her downfall, as only through her downfall can see she begin the
process.

The same paradox results in our heroes never being able to truly prevent
Ultimecia from coming into being.  The "happy ending" implies Ultimecia's
threat is now over, but in fact it can never be over for them.  Ultimecia's
reign is only at an end in the future, for Squall and the others; her coming to
be is inevitable.  For only by allowing Ultimecia compress time can they throw
her back into the past and cause the establishment of SeeD and Garden.

This is why Ellone and Laguna allow Ultimecia to achieve Time Compression, only
by doing so can they bring SeeD and Garden into being.  Some people have openly
questioned why the risk of allowing Time Compression was done, well if our
heroes had found a way to stop Ultimecia without Time Compressing, then SeeD
and Garden don't exist anymore!  And if they didn't exist, then they couldn't
have brought about the events that prevented them coming into existence, so
they must still exist!

Basically it's the old, if you travel back in time and kill your grandfather,
you would cease to exits in the future, so would be unable to travel back in
time and kill your grandfather!

So we're are back to the first question, how the hell does all this get
started?

When you start dealing with concepts such as time travel, you're teetering on
the edge of some very complex concepts.  For example, current Quantum Theory
posits that its IS in fact possible to go back in time and kill your own
grandfather and still exist to do so.  The key to this is parallel universes.
The idea being that our homicidal time traveller starts off in Universe 1, he
travels back into time and kills his poor grandfather.  This creates Universe 2
which runs parallel to Universe 1.  When our time traveller returns to his time
in his time machine he returns to Universe 2, here his grandfather is dead and
he has no descendents, our murderer is a man out of time now. In Universe 1,
the grandfather still lives to eventually have the murderous grandson be born
and come after him.

So this probably implies at least two parallel universes in Final Fantasy VIII.
One in which perhaps quite a different sequence of events unfolds, which allow
Ultimecia to compress time.  At the end of which some catastrophe throws
Ultimecia back in time and in her attempts to bring about Time Compression
again starts a new time loop in a new universe.  So she still exists in her
first universe/timeline to kick off events, but is then trapped in the second
universe/timeline always sowing the "SeeDs" of her own future destruction in
the past! When we play the game, we could be viewing the first time the loop
runs it course or the millionth!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
b) SO WHO IS ULTIMECIA?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My theory is that Ultimecia is actually.. Rinoa!

Now before you all start throwing things, there is no concrete proof of this,
it's pure speculation on my part.  Part of the problem with Ultimecia is she is
such a nebulous threat, and no real clues are given to her identity.  There is
an argument that she may not even be one single Sorceress but herself and
amalgam of Sorceress past.  When she is trying to take over Adel, Odine worries
that Adel might actually become the driving personality and the implication is
that Ultimecia in the body of a powerful Sorceress might retain the personality
of that Sorceress (unlike when she took over Edea, who was subsumed).

There are many odd aspects to Rinoa.  We are told Sorceresses get their
potential powers at age five (then it seems they have to inherit full powers
from a dying Sorceress).  Julia, her mother dies in a car crash when Rinoa is
five.  In the time-loop universe, this is also the year that Ultimecia arrives
back in the past.  Rinoa speaks openly of passing her powers on and what will
happen.  Perhaps in our first universe, a place where Rinoa never met Squall as
SeeD did not exist, Rinoa is much more embittered by the loss of her mother and
poor relationship with her father. (She may even have lost both parents in this
Universe and ended up at the Orphanage, explaining why Ultimecia appears there
in the past as when travelling through time, all are told to concentrate on one
places, a special place.  Also though remember Rinoa and Squall make the
Orphanage the place they will meet each other if they ever get lost, so she
could have that attachment to the place as well).

Perhaps she came to the attention of the Esthar Soldiers searching for an heir
for Adel to pass her powers onto, with Ellone left to be experimented on for
her time control powers that Doc Odine is interested in.  In this universe,
events may unfold so that Rinoa ends up inheriting powers from Adel and
possibly becomes a nasty piece of work.  Possibly then the resistance to Adel
manages to carry over and capture and seal Rinoa instead.

After many, many years. Possibly thousands, something happens to release Rinoa,
who is probably by now, pretty narked off and possibly insane.  She calls
herself Ultimecia and in a spectacular act of revenge she decides to wipeout
all living things that ever existed.  Using the now perfected "Junction Machine
Ellone" she reaches back into the past and uses the young Ellone to allow her
to compress time.  Now the universe splits.  In universe 1, Time Compression is
achieved, but something goes wrong and Time Decompresses violently and possibly
remembering her mother, remerges back in the past at an Orphanage IN UNIVERSE
2. a new Universe in which the events of Universe 1 haven't taken place yet.
There the Sorceress in potentia (Edea), receives her powers and Rinoa/Ultimecia
is gone. She can't go back in time in Universe 1 as this would negate the
events that brought her there!

Now Ultimecia doesn't exist yet in this Universe, she only exists as a
potential future.  This flux of time is what allows people to know of her as a
Sorceress from the past.  Note how NO ONE in the game can actually explain HOW
they know Ultimecia is from the future or indeed why the hell she wants to
Compress Time.

Edea, probably privy now to some of Ultimecia's plans to bring herself back
into being sets up SeeD with her husband as normal. The plot unfolds as the
game, except when it comes the battle in the Lunatic Pandora.  Time Compression
does not take place as Ultimecia does not exist in the future to bring it
about.  Adel is killed and Rinoa and Squall live happily ever after.

Except they don't, Rinoa becomes corrupted by the powers she inherited from
Ultimecia/herself.  Squall devoted to her, becomes her Sorceress Knight.  Rinoa
begins to use her power and the advanced science of Esthar to change the world
and the people in it.  Eventually using "Junction machine Ellone" to reach back
into her past and use herself to Compress time.  Imagine her surprise when in
her Castle, Squall, and herself arrive to destroy her!

The reason being is that in Universe 2, events are now changed as
Ultimecia/Rinoa now DOES exist in the future.  With Ultimecia defeated, both
her and Squall travel back in time and into the past of Universe 2.  Here once
again Edea inherits Ultimecia's powers. However in Universe 2, Squall never
escapes the limbo he finds himself trapped in. An embittered Rinoa, with her
Ultimecia inherited powers decides far in the future to once again, Compress
Time in an effort to bring him back and perhaps she does bring him back
although in keeping with the changes wrought on her by all the temporal
shenanigans, Squall returns to her in a much altered form...

Then once again Squall and her younger self arrive from the past and defeat
her, sending her back into the past to initiate the events using her future
self that now exists.

The third universe is the one "we" the viewer experience when Squall arrives
back safely from the limbo.  And he and Rinoa live happily ever after. Except
they don't, Rinoa becomes corrupted by the powers she inherited from
Ultimecia/herself.  Squall devoted to her, becomes her Sorceress Knight.  Rinoa
begins to use her power and the advanced science of Esthar to change the world
and the people in it.  Eventually using "Junction machine Ellone" to reach back
into her past and use herself to Compress time so she can enjoy an eternal
"present" with Squall.

This is my basic theory then, that in the first Universe, Rinoa/Ultimecia in a
completely separate series of events bring about time compression and she is
kicked over into universe 2. This allows SeeD to exist in the first version of
Universe 2, even though at that point, Ultimecia has not compressed time. After
past events are changed several times in this universe by the unfolding future
ones, the final time loop is set up in Universe 2 with Rinoa/Ultimecia
attempting to either bring back the lost Squall or seeking to prolong her
existence with him.  This plays over and over as it must do, created as it is
from actions in the future, brought about by results those actions had on the
past.

Well, after all that you probably think, "WHAT?".  Like I said it's only
speculation, but Ultimecia's reasons are never really explained in the game.
Yet when I replayed the game, one line of Rinoa's really chilled me.

--------
Esthar Airstation: Rinoa? The sorceress!? She's on the ship!?

Squall: (So... It's true? Rinoa is a sorceress?)

Rinoa: I've... become a sorceress. I can't stay with you anymore, Squall.

Esthar Airstation: Respond, Ragnarok!

Rinoa: I don't want the future. I want the present to stand still. I just want
to stay here with you...

Squall: (Rinoa...)

Esthar Airstation: Respond, Ragnarok!

Rinoa: Nobody would want to be around me anymore...

Esthar Airstation: The sorceress will be seized upon arrival. Be sure to follow
the crews instructions.

Rinoa: I'm... scared.

Esthar Airstation: Squall, do you copy? Is the sorceress listening, too?

Squall breaks off contact with the Esthar Airstation.

Rinoa: I'm scared, Squall.

Squall goes to Rinoa.

Rinoa: I don't wanna go back.
--------

Look at that line: "I don't want the future. I want the present to stand
still". If that doesn't sound like a reason for Time Compression I don't know
what does!

Later on Squall vows to be her knight, even if she fears she may turn bad.  He
will not destroy her even if she does, he will stand by her.  So it is easy to
imagine them becoming corrupted in the future.  Her love for him provides
motivation to compress time in both scenarios, either lost in limbo or safely
back.

--------
Rinoa: What'll become of me?

Squall: Don't worry about it. There've been many good sorceress. Edea
was one. You can be like her.

Rinoa: But Edea's still... I can't guarantee anything, either, if Ultimecia
possesses me again... You saw me. She controlled me in outerspace and made me
break Adel's seal. What might happen next time? What will I end up doing? Will
I end up fighting everyone? ...Scary thought, isn't it?

Squall: (Rinoa......) (Even if you end up as the world's enemy.) (I'll...)
(I'll be your knight.)

Rinoa: If I fall under Ultimecia's control again... SeeD will come kill me,
right? And the leader of SeeD is you, Squall... Squall's sword will pierce my
heart...... I guess it's ok if it's you, Squall. Nobody else. Squall, if that
ever happens...

Squall: That's enough! I'll never do anything like that. The sorceress I'm
after is not you, Rinoa. My enemy is the sorceress from the future...
Ultimecia.

Rinoa: Ultimecia lives in the future and possesses me. She uses my body as her
extension in this world. How will you save me?

Squall: I'll come up with something... There's gotta be a way.

Rinoa: ......
--------

Being a Rinoa fan, I don't think she is intrinsically evil.  She is somebody
who due to the enormous stresses and strains caused by time alteration and her
own powers has probably developed into a monstrous being with only a trace of
Rinoas essence left.

For this reason I not only believe Ultimecia to be the future incarnation of
Rinoa, I also believe her GF Griever to be Squall! Is it too much postulate
that as she changes her own appearance in the future so she makes Squall into a
being of greater power, fit for the Ultimate Sorceress?  Or retrieves him from
limbo, the power of her mind calling him forth in that form? The emphasis given
to the Griever ring seems to imply this (in my deranged mind at least!).  We
are never told how GF's come about, but the process in FFX seems to be likely
(both games are notably for giving Summons beasts more personality and
flexibility) where a person becomes an Aeon and can be called upon.  The
merging of Ultimecia and Griever seems very reminiscent of the Sin/Aeon merger
in FFX as well.

If you don't buy the idea that Ultimecia is Rinoa, the two-universe theory
still stands as a valid way of kicking off the whole sequence of events.  With
Ultimecia compressing time for reasons known only to the fevered brains of the
developers.  This simplifies the events a bit (!).

- Ultimecia compresses time in Universe 1 and it goes wrong
- Ultimecia arrives back in Universe 2 and possesses Edea
- Initially Ultimecia does not exist in the future of Universe 2
- She plans to bring herself into being by passing herself from Sorceress to
Sorceress
- Edea is able to see her future plans before being wholly taken over
- SeeD is set up as normal
- With no Ultimecia in this future, no time compression is planned
- Instead Ultimecia subtly passes herself along through the generations with
SeeDs always combating, but never destroying her
- In the far future she finally exists and using Ellone reaches into the past.
This changes some aspects of the past with the plot unfolding as we see it, now
Ultimecia is known of in the future.
- Time Compresses, Squall etc kill her in the future.  She returns to the past
and kickstarts the timeloop. Now she exists both in the past AND future in this
Universe and that's the game we play!

Well, anyway.  That's my explanation of the underlying plot and whom I think
Ultimecia is.  Remember as soon as you throw Time Travel into anything you are
flying off in the realms of the unprovable.  Temporal and Quantum theory
fascinate me and it's probably the reason this game is my favourite and not
only does it have a beautiful love story at its heart, delve deeper and it's
got a great "techno-babble" plot to!

Feel free to agree or disagree.  Any interesting comments on these three
aspects of the game are welcome and further discussions of other perceived grey
areas or plot holes are always something I want to read.

===============================================================================
***************************** 6) WHAT'S IN A NAME? ****************************
===============================================================================

One of the most popular sections of my FFVII guide returns here, all
submissions and additions very welcome and fully credited!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) CHARACTERS
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unlike Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII's characters do not appear to have
names that have symbolic meanings.  About the only character with a
"meaningful" name that I can discern is Squall - meaning a stormy shower, after
his somewhat churned up emotional state.  However, I noticed that some of the
names do seem to be derived from French and Germanic sources, but my
unfamiliarity with those languages meant I couldn't make much headway seeing if
they have other meanings.  So anyone who does know more about this, perhaps you
can confirm if these names means something in other languages or if they are
just plain, ordinary names.

One pair whose name I am convinced means something are FUJIN and RAJIN.  In
fact an episode of Star Trek: Enterprise aired recently with the title RAJIN,
so if anyone can explain these that would be cool!

Cid is latest in a long line of Cids, men who play a pivotal role in Final
Fantasy games since the second outing.

Finally, for now, you can't miss bumbling Biggs and Wedge.  They first appeared
in Final Fantasy VI as the soldiers who get toasted at the start by Tritoch.
Then in FFVII as two members of AVALANCHE.  Here they are two unlucky
Galbadian Soldiers.  Later on they remerge as members of the theatre/thief
company in FFIX and as Blitzball players in FFX.  Most avid Star Wars fans will
know they are named after two X-Wing Pilots in the original Star Wars movie (I
refuse to call it Star Wars IV: A New Hope!).

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2) GUARDIAN FORCES
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luckily for all us spotters of extra-textual references, the Guardian Forces
provide a rich source of mythical plundering.

a) QUEZACOTL - This is based upon the Aztec God of the same name. Quezacotl was
a Thunder God and was said to resemble a flying snake!  So a pretty good
representation.  Interestingly there is a real South American bird called the
quetzal which is a green-gold colour and has very long tail feathers.

b) SHIVA - Hindu God of destruction.  Actually a male.  Shiva as depicted in
the FF series looks more like Kali.  However, there is supposedly a Celtic
female goddess called Shiva, which she may be based on.  In some Final
Fantasy's she has quite a Celtic appearance (chunky jewellery, skimpy clothes)

c) IFRIT - Everyone favourite firey helper (well he's MY fave, I even have a
posable model of him on top of my TV!). An Ifrit is a djinn or fire spirit of
Indian origin.  These are actually depicted as more humanlike than Ifrit is in
FFVIII and onwards, where his doglike qualities become more enhanced.  FFVII's
depiction of Ifrit as basically a horned man is probably the most accurate.

d) SIREN - Hails from Greek Mythology.  The Sirens were beautiful women who
lived on an island and whose beautiful music and singing lured sailors into a
gruesome death.  Cropped up in Jason and the Argonauts, but most famously in
The Odyssey.

e) BROTHERS - Minotaur is another refugee from Greek Myth.  The offspring of a
human woman and a bull sent by a vengeful Poseidon, he lived in a maze where he
ate people sacrificed to him.  Theseus killed him.  Sacred seems a little more
obscure, but possible relates to the idea of cows/bull being held sacred in
some Indian religions (Sacred Cow).

f) DIABLOS - Fairly obviously based on traditional western concepts of Demons.
The name derives from the word Diabolic.

g) CARBUNCLE - A word with several meanings.  The most relevant being that a
Carbuncle is a mythical self-luminous gem and also a real life, fiery red
precious stone. Hence the attack name "Ruby Light".

h) LEVIATHAN - A huge sea dwelling creature of popular mythology, also present
in the Bible. Also Leviathan, actually pronounced "Leevyathan" in Hebrew, is
the Hebrew word for Whale

i) PANDEMONA - Derives from the word "pandemonium", which means a noisy,
tumultuous uproar, which pretty much describes the blasting wind attack!  Also
Pandemonium was the capital of Hell in Milton's book "Paradise Lost", which
could explain Pandemonas weird and freakish appearance.

j) CERBERUS - Another one from Greek myth, Cerberus was the three-headed dog
that guards the gates to Hades, the Underworld.  Encountered by Heracles
(Hercules), who tames him, but returns him to Hades after running out of things
for him to do.

k) ALEXANDER - His armoured appearances is reminiscent of legendary (and real)
hero Alexander the Great.  But his Holy powers probably refer to the Alexander
who was an angel and one of the bravest of the Seraphim. His name literally
means "helper of man."

l) DOOMTRAIN - Not a mythical creature but one of four that appear to have been
drawn from the Final Fantasy series own "myths".  In Final Fantasy VI there is
a sequence set on a train, which is taking people to the afterlife.  When you
battle it, it has a face and uses an attack that causes several status
ailments.  If Doomtrain is not based on this then I shall eat my hat.

m) BAHAMUT - Bahamut is the king of dragons, the mightiest dragon that ever
existed, Bahamut appears in other story's as well, but not as a dragon.
in the occult he is also seen as king of dragons and lord of the earth
as Satan and as one of the adopted children of Lucifer.  In some myths he is
also a big Fish.

o) CACTUAR - Another drawn from the Final Fantasy series, the Cactuars have
been around for a while first as Cactrots in FFVI and then onwards as Cactuars.

p) TONBERRY - The third from the Final Fantasy series, These shuffling foes
first turned up as "Master Pugs" in FFVI, then as Master Tonberry in FFVII.
After that, just plain Tonberry.  Although purplish in colour on their first
two outings, the knife, lamp and Karma/Everyone's Grudge attacks remain
constant.

q) EDEN - An interesting one here and permit me some speculation.  In keeping
with the time travelling elements of the game Eden in my mind is actually a
sort of manifestation of Balamb Garden from the future.  The "Garden" of Eden
is the most familiar usage of the word and I can't believe the connection is
not deliberate!

r) BOKO - A baby Chocobo and also a Final Fantasy character is his own right.
Boko is the name of the main characters Chocobo in Final Fantasy V and also the
hapless star of the "Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon" games.

s) PHOENIX - The Phoenix is in several mythologies.  Egypt where he is a
child/creation of Amon Ra (sun god) Greek mythology where he was the bird of
Prometheus, long before the gods existed, he was alone from the time Prometheus
got captured. In the occult he appears as the guardian of the earth, and lord
of fire. Also as one of the children of Lucifer, but he betrayed him to guard
the earth.  The Phoenix is most famous as a bird, which must die in flames so
it can be reborn from an egg.

t) ODIN - King of the Norse Gods and also the god of war.  His six-legged
(actually eight-legged in the original myth) horse is known as Slepnir.

u) GILGAMESH - An ancient Mesopotamian king and ruler of the city of Uruk.
Gilgamesh really did exist, although he wasn't generally noted for having five
arms!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3) MONSTERS, WEAPONS etc
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

a) COCKATRICE - Also known as a basilisk. Appears in ancient middle eastern
myths.  It is said that if a snake steals a chickens egg and hatches it, it
will result in this hybrid.  A basilisk could turn people to stone with its
stare, but could be killed by weasels, who were immune.

b) WENDIGO - Wendigo is the Canadian name for a creature that appears in
several countries mythologies.  The wendigo stalks solitary travellers driving
them mad with fear until the victim dies of fright or exhaustion trying to
escape.

c) GRENDEL - Grendel was a monster who lived in a Danish lake. A hero called
Beowulf killed him and also Grendels mum when she turned up seeking revenge.

d) ADAMANTOISE/ADAMANTINE - Adamant was a name ancient peoples gave to hard
unbreakable substances, and also to imaginary rocks with fabulous properties.
The Adamantoise is a Tortoise with an Adamantine shell (and has also appeared
in several other Final Fantasy games).

e) MARLBORO - another regular in latter day Final Fantasy games, this obnoxious
plant can only be named after the brand of cigarettes - Marlboro, as it spews
out the kind of cacky breath only regular smokers haves =P

e) ABADON - Abaddon is mentioned in Milton's "Paradise Lost", refers to Hell.
Derives from Hebrew word "abad" meaning "to be lost"

f) IMP - A little devil or childish spirit. Appears in many mythologies.

g) BEHEMOTH - A large animal mentioned in the bible (Job 40:15).  Not actually
specified what type of animal it is, but has come to refer to anything of an
overlarge nature.

h) CHIMERA - Appeared in Greek myth.  A large creature with a lions head, goat
body and serpents tail.  It was killed by the hero Bellerophon riding the
winded horse Pegasus.

i) SPHINX - Sphinxes (woman's head, lions body) appear in several mythologies.
The most famous one is the one outwitted by Oedipus when he solved her riddle
about the Ages of Man.

j) IRVINES GUNS - Valient, Ulysses, Bismarck and Exeter are all the names of
warships. Also, Quistis's whip "Save The Queen" shows up as a weapon in FF9.
Zells "Ergheiz" gauntlet also recalls the Square/Namco game "Erghiez - God
Bless the Ring".

k) ZELLS LIMIT BREAKS - Zells limit breaks are familiar to fans of Final
Fantasy 7. Meteor Strike, Dolphin Blow and Final Heaven were all attacks
learned by Tifa.  Meteor Barret could also be a tribute to Barret Wallace,
everyone fave Mr.T impersonator.

===============================================================================
****************************** 6) ENCYCLOPEDIA ********************************
===============================================================================

As you progress through the game you collect information that can be viewed in
the Information section of the menu.  This is basically an alphabetical list of
that info, which I have used to help me construct the pre-game timeline and
justify some of my arguments.

ADELS TOMB - A high tech device intended for weakening and confining a
Sorceress' power.  Shot into the moons orbit after going through a special
sealing process.  Used to confine Sorceress Adel.  This is the main cause of
radio interference on the planet.

BALAMB – A country on the worlds smallest continent.  Known for its temperate
climate and warm people.  Balamb Garden adds a school town feel to this
country.

CENTRA CIVILISATION - A civilisation existed in Centra 4000 years ago.  These</pre><pre id="faqspan-3">
Centra people emigrated to other continents and founded the Dollet Empire to
the west and Esthar to the east.  Centra was destroyed 80 years ago by the
Lunar Cry.

CENTRA SHELTER - Ancient Centra people spread around the world after Centra was
destroyed by the Lunar Cry.  people used mobile Centra shelters to move around
the world.  many ruined shelters are found around the world.

CRYSTAL PILLAR - A crystal that causes the Lunar Cry by producing a strong
energy field between the planet and the moon.  It's believed to have originated
in the moon.  The crystal pillar responds to a specific location on the planet
and sends a strong directional signal.  More research is required to analyse
this process in detail.

DEEP SEA DEPOSIT – Marine research islands last excavation site.  Believed to
be an ocean floor ruin.  there is a note saying: 4127 Travel by underwater
tower.

DEEP SEA RESEARCH CENTRE – A manmade mobile island for marine life research.
Disappeared mysteriously after much wandering.  Since facility members are
still alive it is assumed to be concealed intentionally.
3015 Found a strange energy field
4141 Call this place deep sea deposit
4242 Seal off deep sea deposit

DOCTOR ODINE - Started as a monster researcher.  Discovered Guardian Forces
(GF) with the cooperation of a Sorceress became the first Sorceress researcher.
Analysed Sorceress magic and created a method enabling a regular human being to
use para-magic.  Balamb Garden uses the principle of para-magic, combining it
with GF's power

DOLLET – A small country on the eastern coast of Galbadia (formerly Dollet).
Remnants of an ancient empire.

ESTHAR (1) – Founded by people who emigrated to a continent east of Centra
around the same time the Dollet Empire was founded.  The mild climate and
temperament of the people soon gave way to scientific advancement.

ESTHAR (2) – Started the Sorceress War and fought against the world under
Adel's rule. Their Sorceress and scientific powers proved a worldwide threat.
After abruptly declaring an end to the war, Esthar closed its borders and has
kept its silence ever since.

ESTHAR (3) – Governed by President Laguna and his aides.  Due to their concern
over Dr. Odines inventions having a negative effect  on the state of world
security, they closed off their country for 17 years.

EYES ON ME - Julia Heartilly's song.  Julia married the Galbadia General
Carraway after releasing "Eyes On Me". Gave birth to a girl one year later.
Julia died in a car crash at age 28 right before her daughter turned 5.

FISHERMANS HORIZON – A station located in the centre of the Horizon Bridge.
It's now a haven for expatriates who refused to have their skills exploited by
the government.

GALBADIA – Ruled under the military dictatorship of President Vinzer Deling.
This country continues to expand it's territory.  Countless invasions of other
countries are attempted but most are deterred by SeeD.  Deling City is its
capital.

GARDEN - Balamb Garden was founded 12 years ago, followed by Galbadia and
Trabia Gardens.  Each Garden has an administrator called Master and a Head
Master.  Balamb Garden's headmaster Cid was the founder of Garden.

GREAT HYNE – Creator of mankind and believed to be the first Sorceress.
Calling a sorceress the Great Hyne's descendent shows great respect.

HORIZON BRIDGE – A railway that connected the east and west continents.
Completed about the time war broke out, it was only in use a short time.  Since
then it has been derelict.

LUNAR CRY - Refers to monsters falling from the moon. Completely destroyed the
cities of Centra.  Occurs when monsters reach saturation point on the moon.
It's believed that there are forces on the planet that cause this phenomenon.
This phenomenon has occurred many times in history and will reoccur in the
future.

LUNATIC PANDORA - An enclosure for the crystal pillar made by Esthar.  3 miles
tall and 1.5 miles wide, the enormous enclosure boasts a high-tech facility.
It floats by causing a reaction with the crystal pillar and ground energy
field.  A stone from the moon is sealed inside.  It was probably built to cause
the Lunar Cry through artificial means.

MONSTERS - Creatures on the moon.  Monsters fall to earth at regular intervals.
This phenomenon is called the Lunar Cry.  The monsters bred on the planet since
the last Lunar Cry make up those roaming the planet at this time.  the Lunar
Cry phenomena also transformed some animals into monsters.

ODINE ITEMS - A device to restrain sorceress power. Dr. Odine was afraid of
Sorceress Adel's powers and created it.  It looks like beautiful jewellery.

RADIO INTERFERENCE (1) - A phenomenon beginning with Esthar's silence 17 years
ago. Almost all radio communication facilities were shut down because of noise
across all frequencies.  However short transmissions are still possible.
believed to have some relation to the moon, but details are unknown.

RADIO INTERFERENCE (2) - Most countries now communicate through the use of HD
cables running underground. However many of these cables are cut off by
monsters or in battle.  many countries are left without means to communicate
with each other.

SeeD (1) - Balamb Garden's Mercenary Force.  Students of 15 and older can
participate in written and field exams.  They must pass both to become SeeD.
SeeD members are paid by Garden according to their rank.  In the Garden their
status is no different from that of the other students.

SeeD (2) - SeeD conducts missions around the world.  Most missions involve
battle support and undercover work. SeeD is in high demand by groups requiring
a small force of undercover specialists.  Commissions made through such
dispatches are an important part of Balamb Gardens income.

SeeD (3) - SeeD battle operations are noted for their skilful use of paramagic.
Balamb Garden researches the use of GF in conjunction with paramagic.

SORCERESS - The legend goes that the Great Hyne created people.  The
Sorceresses were given a fragment of Hynes own power.  It's hard to determine
how many Sorceresses exist today, for many keep their powers concealed.
However, it is believed that they avoid spreading their power to thin.

SORCERESS POWER AND EMBODIMENT - Sorceress power has been passed throughout
history by the process of embodiment.  Any person who has the capacity to
embody the great sorceress power is a candidate.

SPACESHIP RAGNAROK - Based on an ancient Centra legend of the dragon ship,
Esthar's finest scientific technology was used to build it.  Esthar's flagship
until it was used to send Adels Tomb into space.

TEARS POINT - Lunar Cry's point of origin determined by Esthar scientists.  A
security box restraining the power of the crystal pillar and ground energy
field is set up.  It is sealed to prevent the Crystal Pillar from entering the
area.

TIMBER – A city located south of Dollet in the forest area.  It was an
independent country before neighbouring country invaded 18 years ago.  There
are numerous resistance groups fighting for independence to this day.

TIMBER MANIACS - A magazine representing the people voice.  It was popular
among aspiring young journalists. Shut down after Galbadia deemed the
publication dangerous.

TIME COMPRESSION - A complete mystery.  Various states of present are believed
to become compressed.  Sorceress power from many generations may cross over to
give one sorceress great strength.  No one knows what effect this may have on
regular human beings.

TRABIA – A country on the northern continent.  Due to the harsh climate,
Moombas and the Shumi Tribe are the only occupants. Trabia Garden students and
faculty also reside here.

TRUTH ABOUT GARDEN - A haven for orphans founded by Sorceress Edea and Head
Master Cid.  Named for their wish to raise the seeds of the future in their
garden.

WHITE SeeD – Orphans formerly in the care of Sorceress Edea.  They often travel
on their ship and are veiled in secrecy.

WINHILL – A small town outside of Galbadia.  It is actually a small village.
Sorceress Adel ordered attacks on this village several times.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*******************************************************************************
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Feel free to email me about any aspect of this guide, any contributions you
would like to make will be fully credited if used and are more than welcome.
Please inform me of any errors, typos etc so I can rectify them immediately
My email is [email protected]

(Blatant plug: check out my games website at www.kungfuhamster.cjb.net for
loads of info on Martial Arts, Beat 'em Ups, Kung Fu Movies and Pokemon!)

Please also check out another great site for next generation gaming news and
reviews htpp://www.thunderbolt.be

Big Thanks to CjayC, the cool bloke who runs GameFAQs.  You've given me the
opportunity to reach more people with my stuff than I ever could have alone!

Special thanks go out to: BillyKane, Magus747, Andy787, totalstuff and Pat
Uhler for being such a laugh, and giving me the push to actually start
contributing my own work back in the good old days of the DC board.

Thanks also to my homies in the Review and FAQ boards for continuing support
and being all round awesome dudes (and gals)! asherdeus, bloomer, sashanan,
Andrew Schultz, MaxH, Vegita, Marc Golding, Jesse Eubanks, Adrenaline and
Banandgril Love yah all guys/girls!
===============================================================================
********************************* THE END *************************************
===============================================================================

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