Hi!!! It's Emily again with the fourth and final part of my story!!! Thanks 
for your time!!!                                       



                                    The Legend of Matlocken-
                                                    Epilogue

  "So that's what happened, huh?" Seifer said. He and Squall were inside the 
Cafeteria, and Squall had just finished explaining to Seifer about their 
journey to Matlocken.
  It had only been a month since Seifer came back to Balamb Garden and called 
Truce with Squall. 
  Squall was spending less time with Rinoa now, to catch up with Seifer, but 
Rinoa didn't seem to mind; she found it great that the two were finally 
getting along. 
  Seifer was taking time off from his 'posse' (Raijin and Fujin) to try to 
catch up on all the years they had spent bickering. 
  "Squall, come up to the Bridge, please." Cid called over the intercom. 
  What now?
  "Sorry, Seifer. Gotta go." 
  "Can't I come?"
  "I…Well-I suppose so." 
  Squall was careful to look both ways for oncoming blurs of Selphie before 
stepping into the elevator, but thankfully, none appeared.
  They were both silent, until they reached the Bridge. 
  "Hello, Squall." Cid said. "Oh, hello, Seifer."
  "You wanted to see me?" Squall said to Cid.
  "Yes, I have somebody wishing to speak with you Squall." Cid pressed the 
yellow button on the receiver, and a brown haired boy of fourteen appeared on 
screen. 
  "I shall leave you with Squall and Seifer." Cid left the Bridge.
  "Hi, Squall, Seifer." Ascodra nodded to each in turn. 
  "You wanted to speak to me?" Squall said.
  "Yeah! I noticed that last time we met, we didn't have a chat, so me, 
Shenti-Ann, Anzon and Kyria would like it very much if you, Selphie, Quistis, 
Zell, Rinoa and Irvine-and Seifer, if he wants-come to Matlocken Garden for a 
good old natter. What do you say Squall?"
  Squall glanced uneasily at Seifer. "Erm…Seifer?"
  "Cool with me."
  "Okay, I'll ask the others. We'll be round sometime this afternoon."
  "Okay, Squall! We look forward to seeing you!"
  "C'mon, Seifer. Let's go get the others."
  They found Selphie and Irvine in the Quad, talking. 
  Zell, of course, was in the Training Centre. 
  In the Infirmary, they found Quistis and Rinoa, talking to Dr Kadowaki. 
  They were all happy to go to Matlocken, with the exception of Zell.
  "Is he coming?" He said to Squall, when they were on their own, jabbing his 
finger violently towards Seifer.
  Squall nodded. "C'mon, Zell. We settled our differences, so maybe you could 
try it too."
  Zell groaned and ran after the others, who were now gathering inside the 
Ragnarok. 

 
   They soon landed at the all too familiar Matlocken Airstation.
   Seifer didn't look surprised at the sight of Matlocken.
  "Been here before, Seifer?" Zell said. 
  Seifer muttered, "Yeah, I have."
  Leave it there, Zell, he doesn't want to talk about it, Squall thought to 
himself. But it seemed that Zell was doing his best to get along with Seifer, 
and didn't pursue the subject. 
  

  They arrived at Matlocken Garden shortly after, after learning the way to 
it on their previous visit.
  Shenti-Ann, Anzon, Ascodra and Kyria stood in the hallway, waiting to greet 
them. They bowed in unison to Squall and the others as they approached.
  "This way." Shenti-Ann gestured with her hand and they all followed her to 
what must have been the Reception Room. 
  Everyone sat down. All was quiet, until Selphie broke the silence. "It sure 
has been a long time since we saved you from that Sorceress experimentation, 
huh?" 
  "It sure has." Anzon replied.
  "Yeah, I remember. You four have changed a lot since then." Irvine said.
  Shenti-Ann nodded. 
  Rinoa giggled. "I remember you, Ascodra, when you were nine. You had your 
hair sticking up everywhere! You were really short and stubby back then, with 
rosy cheeks all the time!"
  "And you, Kyria." Quistis said. "You used to be really shy when you were 
fourteen! But your lovely long hair and blue eyes haven't changed though."
  "You haven't changed much, Anzon." Rinoa said. "Or you, Shenti-Ann."
  "Speaking of changes, has Balamb changed?" Anzon asked.
  "Nah, still its old self." Zell said. 
  "Oh, well, even if it hasn't changed, it's still a lot like Matlocken 
Garden, don't you think?"  Anzon said.
  "Yeah, I s'pose so." Zell shrugged. 
  "Hey, what happened to you guys after you came back here anyway?" Selphie 
said. "After the first time we met you?"
  "A lot happened once we came back." Kyria said. "A lot of bad things and a 
lot of good things too. Something dreadful happened to me…"
  "Go on." Irvine was enthralled already. 
  "Well, I came to take my SeeD exam when I was seventeen, but I still lived 
with my mother then. She told me not to worry about her and go for it. I 
don't know if I made the right decision to go. 
  "I went to Trabia on my SeeD exam. But a couple of hours later, I received 
a message that told me I had permission to withdraw and to come back to 
Matlocken immediately. So, naturally, I came back. On my way, all kinds of 
crazy things shot through my head as I tried to think why I was being called 
back.
  "I spoke to Headmistress Yoriota and she told me that my mother had been 
killed. They didn't know how, they didn't know when. All they suspected was 
that it was someone trying to get my pendant, trying to bring Lycilia back. 
So in going for my exam, I saved my own life, but sacrificed my mother's."
  There was a long pause. Suddenly, Seifer started making odd noises, like a 
cross between a laugh and a cry.
  A nasty thought crossed Squall's mind, what if it was Seifer who killed 
Kyria's mother? No, mustn't jump to conclusions. 
  Selphie threw a black look at Seifer and turned to Kyria. "I'm sorry, 
Kyria."
  "Something good and something bad happened to me." Shenti-Ann said, "When I 
came back here, a couple of months later, my mother passed away. My father 
was very old. One day, he caught pneumonia from a trip to Trabia in 
mid-winter. It was so bad; they couldn't get rid of it. They tried 
everything, medicine, and tablets, even magic too. But nothing worked. The 
doctor gave him three days to live.
  "On my father's last day, he told the people of Matlocken he had found a 
successor. I didn't have any idea about this, 'til he told me that I was 
President of Matlocken. I was given this title, and, a couple of hours later, 
my father died."
  "Erm…Shenti-Ann? What was your father's name?" Irvine said cautiously.
  "Torantai Krizer." 
  "Well, is that him there?" Irvine pointed to a marble statue of a man 
wearing long robes; a tiny pair of spectacles sat on the end of his nose.
  There was a plaque engraved into the bottom of the statue:

                                    Torantai Krizer
                          Lifelong President of Matlocken
                                Father of Shenti-Ann Krizer
                                Husband of Natinor Krizer
                            Guardian of Anzon Toreacour
                                    In loving memory

  "Why is your name there, Anzon?" Selphie said.
  "Torantai was my guardian. My mother was killed in the first Matlocken war 
and my father left Matlocken, and left me with President Krizer."
   "Why did he go?" Zell said.
  "He missed my mother, he was so full of grief he felt he couldn't go on 
anymore."
  "He didn't…kill himself did he?" Quistis gasped.
  "No, I met him when I came back from Balamb."
  "Really?" Irvine said, "Tell us."
  "I went on my SeeD exam about a year after I met you. I thought it went 
well. On my way back, instead of opting for a ride home like the others, I 
went on the train. I love trains."
  "So do I!" said Selphie.
  "I was just boarding the train, when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned 
and saw it was the man operating the barrier. I was worried. I thought I was 
in trouble. He pulled me away from the train and I noticed his green eyes, 
like mine, and his black hair, also like mine. I looked into those familiar 
green eyes as he spoke to me. He said 'Anzon Toreacour?'.
  "I was really scared then, I thought I was in big trouble. But there was 
something about his eyes…
  "He smiled at me and said, 'I am Kishtoro Toreacour.' 
  "I gasped, he was my father!
  "We went back to Matlocken together and he spoke to Yoriota, the 
Headmistress. She recognised him instantly, she had known him since Matlocken 
began. She nearly dropped her teacup in surprise when she saw him!
  "My father said to Yoriota, out of the blue, that I maybe suitable for 
position as Headmaster. After all, time was getting on a bit for poor old 
Yoriota. She refused, she loved her job.
  "My father stayed in Matlocken for a couple of days, while Yoriota went to 
Galbadia with some SeeD candidates, to lead an exam.
  "When the candidates returned, there was no Yoriota. She had just 
disappeared, in the middle of a battlefield.
  "I couldn't believe my ears when my father told me I was the right person 
for the job. He told me that he couldn't stay in Matlocken any longer. I 
asked him why and he just tapped his nose, waved a hand and went."
  "Why didn't you go after him?" Zell said.
  "I was too dumbstruck after what just happened to even move. I mean, I 
found my father who I haven't seen for eighteen years, my Headmistress goes 
missing and I get appointed Headmaster all in a couple of days time! I'd like 
to see anyone even talk after that!"
  "Weird!" Rinoa said, "How about you, Ascodra? What happened to you?"
  "Well, I found out I was the first ever Sorcerer!
  "I was being teased by the Garden bullies. It wasn't the first time I had 
had trouble with them, and Anzon, Headmaster at that time, told me to stand 
up for myself and give as good as I get!
  "Well, I ignored their name calling for a while, until one day, I really 
lost my temper. They were teasing me about my mother. I said to them, 'Shut 
up or you're dead meat!' I ran my finger across my throat to indicate what I 
just said.
  "The biggest one stood over me and opened his mouth to say something, but 
nothing came out. I saw my chance and ran up here to Anzon. I told him what 
happened and we ran some tests and it proves that I had inherited my mother's 
powers!"
  "Wow!" Irvine said.
  "Anyway, enough about us. I've got a question I've been meaning to ask you 
for a long time, Selphie." Kyria said. "You know when you first met us, why 
did you always nearly start crying when you saw us?"
  Selphie reddened. "Oh, well, you see, when I was younger, Edea, or Matron 
as we used to call her in the orphanage, saved me from Sorceress 
experimentation back in Esthar. It made me sooo mad and really unhappy that 
they were doing it again, targeting innocent children."
  "Oh, Selphie. I'm sorry." Kyria said.
  "It doesn't matter, I'm just glad we managed to protect you!"
  "Is it my turn now?" Zell interrupted. "I'm gonna tell you about my fame 
back in Balamb! See, back home, Zell Dincht is a household name!"
  Squall groaned, here he goes.
  "Once, I held onto a sign for rent a car and did a hundred pull-ups! And, 
man, I felt good afterwards!
  "Another time, I…" 
  He carried on like this for hours. Once Zell starts telling you about his 
stunts in Balamb, there was no stopping him.
  "And that's how I became a SeeD! Now, let's see…oh, yeah! I'll tell you 
about the time we had to stop a big thing called Lunatic Pandora from ruining 
Esthar and-" 
  "Zell! I think we've heard enough now!" Quistis said through gritted teeth.
  Zell said, "Well, go on then, Miss Quistis Stuck-up Trepe, let's hear your 
story. But I bet you never did anything as exciting as climb over the 
rooftops and-"
  "ZELL!" They all shouted.
  "Thank you. My biggest experience was as an instructor. I taught many 
classes, and there were always some students that always stood out." She 
looked meaningfully at Squall and Seifer. "Yes, you two were quite the pair. 
I remember you, always arguing and picking fights with one another. But you 
were both so different…
  "First, you had Squall Leonhart, not open with his feelings, never 
trusting, appeared an unfriendly guy. You never seemed to understand the 
importance of talking with other people.
  "But on the other hand, you had Seifer Almasy, and Seifer, I hate to admit 
this, but you were really troubled. I tried to help you, but you always 
retaliated- and badly.
  "That's why you two always stand out when I remember my teaching time."
  "I would like to be an instructor someday." Kyria said.
  "Believe me, it's harder than it looks!" Quistis said, turning to Rinoa, 
"Rinoa? Do you have a tale to tell us?"
  "Yeah, about my resistance faction, 'The Forest Owls'!
  "We were quite a small faction, not as big as some, but we had big ideas!
  "The resistance consisted of me, Zone, Watts and a few other guys. I met 
Watts while he was in another faction, 'The Field Mice'. He was gathering 
info, something he has great talent for. 'Forest Owls' had been just an 
ambition of mine then, and I asked Watts if he was interested in helping me. 
The 'Field Mice' were a really big faction, but not at all active. 
  "Watts agreed to help, so we got started collecting members. Watts got 
quite a few guys involved, including Zone.
  "I got to know Zone a bit better over the days, and I realized Watts and 
Zone had great ambition and the right potential that we needed to free 
Timber. 
  "Some of the other guys got bored and drifted away, but us three promised 
that we were gonna liberate Timber together.
  "We could have done it too, if I hadn't gone away, we would have done it. I 
know it."
  "You can do anything you set your mind too, Rinoa." Anzon said.
  "If you want something badly enough, you'll get it, eventually." Seifer 
suddenly spoke up. "Yeah, I know that much is true. But sometimes, you may 
think you want something, but when you do get it, you realize it's not all 
what it's cracked up to be."
  "What do you mean?" Shenti-Ann said.
  "Well, I had an experience that went just like that…ever since I was small, 
I would have given anything to be a skilled defender of evil, in other words, 
a Sorceress's Knight. 
  "When I finally given the chance to do so, by Edea, I realized that this 
was not my dream at all." 
  "What made you realize?" Ascodra said.
   "They way my life went as a knight, the things that happened. After a 
while, I realized that all I was doing was Ultimecia's dirty work, eating out 
of her hand. But I thought I couldn't quit this, it was what I had chosen to 
do. But, Squall and the others showed me that all I'd ever wanted was that 
feeling of security, friends I could trust in. That's what I always wanted, 
even at the orphanage, when I was with them. Even then, I never realized that 
all I wanted was for these guys to be my friends."
  Squall blinked, Seifer sure has changed, and he should have told us how he 
felt. I'm glad he sees sense now.
  "You guys were at an orphanage?" Ascodra asked.
  "We thought you knew?" Irvine said.
  "No, you never told us. All of you?"
  "All of us apart from Rinoa." Irvine gestured towards Rinoa. "I believe 
this is where I come in.
  "You see, this orphanage was a small stone house, near a light-house in 
Trabia. Edea Kramer, Cid's wife, ran it. She was taking in kids that had lost 
their parents in the war that was happening then.
  "Me, Selphie, Quistis, Squall, Zell, Seifer and Ellone were all there. 
You've heard of Ellone, right?"
  Shenti-Ann, Anzon, Ascodra and Kyria nodded rapidly.
  "Well, she used to look after all of us, like a big sister. We all used to 
call her 'Sis'. 
  "We all used to be a lot like we are now.
  "Selphie, you used to be really playful and loud, a lot like now, but 
that's one of the best things about you." He winked at her.
   "Zell, a right little tell-tale you used to be! Always arguing with Seifer 
if I remember correctly. Never got along you two. 
  "Quistis, you always tried to be like Sis when she left. But we all just 
used to think of you as bossy. 
  "Seifer, always picking on us all. But, the only thing you and Zell seemed 
to agree on was picking on me.
  "Squall used to act really moody, though I don't think he was. He kept 
hogging Sis for himself, he really loved her."
  Everyone glanced at Squall. His head bent, but he looked back at them all 
when they looked away again. 
  "Yeah, I did," Squall said. "I loved Sis, and when she was taken away from 
us, I felt like I'd never get over it.
  "That's why I was never very open with you guys, or anybody else, for that 
matter. I was just afraid of having that feeling of comfort taking away from 
me again.
  "But when I got to know you all better, you each taught me a different 
lesson.
  "Selphie taught me to just kick back and take life easy.
  "Zell, you taught me to live life to it's fullest.
  "You taught me to liven up a bit, Irvine, take all the chances that are 
given to you.
  "Quistis taught me that there would always be someone caring behind me, 
wherever I go.
  "Seifer, you taught me that friendship clearly is the best weapon.
  "But, Rinoa, you opened up a new part in me. A part of me that even I'd 
never seen before. How open with your feelings you were, that fascinated me. 
Your free-spirited attitude just stunned me.
  "And after a while, I knew that I had found the best set of friends a guy 
could ever wish for, and I look up to all of you, but I always wonder what my 
values are as a friend."
   "Values? You have a lot of values to us!" Selphie said.
   Irvine said, "Yeah, and we look up to you too!"
   Zell nodded, "We're totally in awe of you!"
  Squall looked shocked and confused. "But why?"
  "Your leadership qualities!"
  "Your companionship!"
  "Your attitude!"
  "You understanding!"
  "Your faithfulness!"
  "Your kindness!"
  "Your dedication!"
  "Your determination!"
  "Your skill!"
  "Your competitiveness!"  
  Rinoa stood up, "D'you know what, I think we're the lucky ones to have a 
leader like Squall!" She leant closer and whispered in his ear, "And I must 
be the luckiest girl in the world to have you."