Behind The Mastermind

by Demovere Xeno

Okaaaaaaaay - by now, I’m sure all of you (if not, majority of you) have played - and finished - Final Fantasy 8. Yeah, the graphics were great, and although the gameplay was questionable, it was effective, and moderately challenging. But I’m not here to talk about the aesthetics of the game… I’m here to talk about a certain portion of the game’s plot that has many (or maybe a few) gamers baffled: Ultimecia.

Yes, Ultimecia. To us, she is the supposed ‘main antagonist’ of the entire game, whose existence is revealed to Squall and his party a mere hour or so from the start of the third disc. To a majority of gamers out there (in my opinion), this merits Ultimecia the ‘Antagonist-Who-Appears-Out-Of-Nowhere-With-No-Particular-Motive’ RPG Villain award. Her origins are unknown. Her reasons for causing anarchy within Squall’s timeline, as well as her true motives for compressing time are barely explained - heck, they aren’t explained at all, except for that ‘you will be my slaves for eternity’ she was babbling about before the deciding battle. What exactly was her goal? World domination? No way, since time compression encompasses all of existence. Destruction? She’d be thinking of ways to tear time apart, not compress it. However, after much thought into the matter (three years, two friends, several get-togethers, and a whole lot of pizza, to be exact), my friends and I have come up with two theories on Ultimecia’s reasons for acting, and who she really is. Have I gotten your attention yet?

If you’re still reading, then that would be peachy.

All right - let’s start off with the less dramatic theory of the two…

   A) The Eternal Existence Theory.

Let’s get all the facts straight first: we all know that during the final in-game cutscene, it appears to us that Squall is sent back to a certain portion of his past - specifically, the time when he decided to run off into the wilderness beyond the orphanage to search vainly for Ellone. Unfortunately, it seems that Ultimecia was thrust into that timeline as well. Still, she’s been severely weakened by the previous battle, and she hopelessly limps towards Squall and an unusually calm Edea. After Edea explains briefly about taking Ultimecia’s powers in order to prevent any of the orphans in her care from becoming one, she proceeds to the process of ‘succeeding’ Ultimecia. Hence, Ultimecia fades to nothingness. That’s the end of Ultimecia, right?

In my opinion, that isn’t so.

Several years later, Ultimecia possesses Edea - easily, if I may add, since Edea now possesses Ultimecia’s powers as well. Now although we never see this happen in the game itself, we can obviously assume that happened shortly after Edea succeeds Ultimecia, since Edea/Ultimecia would then need time to gain influence within Galbadia. Several more years after that, Squall and his comrades rise into combat against Edea. They release her from mind control, discover Ultimecia’s existence from her, and with the help of Dr. Odine, devise a plan to reach her timeline in the far future and battle her - a plan that involves allowing her to compress time. The plan is successful, and the team of six eventually defeats her. Things don’t go that smoothly returning home, though, as Squall is separated from his comrades - and most especially - Rinoa. Instead, he ends up in a certain portion of his past - specifically, the time when he decided to run off into the wilderness beyond the orphanage to search vainly for Ellone.

See a pattern forming?

Beginning from the point when Squall appears at Edea’s doorstep, Ultimecia has been there. Even after she ‘dies’, she suddenly appears once again and intervenes in their lives by taking control of Edea. Then, even though Ultimecia loses control over Edea, she finds two more host bodies in Squall’s time, ready for the taking - Rinoa and Adel. And after that, time compression occurs. But let’s not forget - in normal time (the length of time between Squall’s timeline and Ultimecia’s), Ultimecia is born, and rises to power. Then Squall and party defeat her, and the cycle goes on…

To make all that yammering above short: Ultimecia’s goal is to live forever.

Well, not exactly ‘live’ forever; more like ‘exist’ forever. You see, in all those instances, Ultimecia is there - alive, and ready to cause trouble. Because the events that lead from her birth to her death have been placed in a loop in time, she will continue to exist throughout that time period - and throughout time, for that matter. There is one flaw in this plan, however: no matter how many times the same events occur, they cannot be changed. Ultimecia WILL be born; Ultimecia WILL rise to power; Ultimecia WILL possess Edea, Rinoa, and Adel in Squall’s time; time compression WILL occur; Squall WILL defeat Ultimecia; Edea WILL receive Ultimecia’s powers. Although Ultimecia will ‘exist’ forever, she is doomed to repeat her rise and fall at the hands of Squall every time.

One more thing… Remember disc two, when Cid appoints Squall as Commander of Balamb Garden, and explains that it’s his destiny? Squall retaliates by saying, “Don’t talk about it like it was decided since my birth,” or something like that?

Sorry, Squall, but you ARE destined to fight…

   B) The Dark Angel Theory

Now when this theory came together in my head, it freaked me out. Big time.

I didn’t realize it on my own, though; I needed a little more information. Many thumbs up to Ms. Anne Haringsma for her very insightful piece (check out the Fan Fiction Archives), as well as Peter William’s short but sweet editorial (I believe it’s in the April - June 2000 section of the Editorial Archives). Great reads, indeed. I suggest reading those two pieces - see if you can piece the puzzle together. But for the benefit of those who are a bit lazy to dig their way through the RPGamer’s Archives, read on.

Let’s start with Griever. Look at the name carefully - take away the ‘r’ at the end of the word, and you wind up with ‘grieve’ - commonly associated with uneasiness, mourning, fear (try typing it down on your word processor and using the thesaurus, that should help). Got it? Now take the root of that word, and you get grief.

Squall’s grief. The grief he held when Esthar kidnapped his half-sister, Ellone.

Now let’s take a look at Edea’s succession of Ultimecia’s powers. When GFs run out of HP, they don’t die - they just go into ‘slumber’, right? What if when Squall and party defeated Ultimecia/Griever, Griever merely fell into that slumber? What if during the succession, Edea absorbed not only Ultimecia’s powers, but Griever as well?

Back to Squall. Squall had a pendant and a RING. When Zell asked Squall if he could borrow the Griever, Squall gave it to him; he quickly handed it back to Squall, though. This proves that NO COPIES of the ring were ever made; even though Zell promised Rinoa he’d make her a copy (as proved by the cutscene/s in the escape pod when Ellone attempts to send Squall into Rinoa’s consciousness). Zell didn’t need to make any, though; Squall gave the ring to Rinoa anyway before entering the deserted Galbadia Garden near the end of disc two. After that, there’s no mention of Rinoa returning the ring. We even see it float by on her necklace in the third disc FMV of Rinoa in outer space - and although we don’t see it, we can assume that’s what is on the necklace Rinoa grasps in the ending FMV.

Remember Doomtrain? Wasn’t he summoned from the Solomon’s RING? What if Squall’s ring actually held a Guardian Force within its silver surface? And what if Edea GAVE that GF to Squall? After all, Squall somewhat knew that Griever existed. To prove that theory, try to remember the description that appears whenever (or if ever) you used Scan on Griever in the second battle. It refers to Griever being ‘the strongest GF’ in Squall’s mind.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Why in heaven’s name would Edea give Squall such a powerful GF? Anne provides a suitable explanation to that theory. And I quote:

“Matron received, no, took the Sorceress’ powers. That’s when she got the Griever. Apparently, the Sorceress was still junctioned to it. It was a normal power transfer, like we do so often, and the GF was transferred with it. And when I came to Garden, she gave it to me. Because, she said, I was her Lion, son of the Lioness, and the Lion should be mine. She used every bit of her powers to create a Summoner’s Ring…”

That’s not all. And I quote:

“So, the Griever was hers?” He nods. “But it’s not its real name. I don’t know what it’s reall called. It… merely became a symbol of my grief, hence its name. Matron used to talk about the ‘Bright Lion’, but all I could see was darkness, and I held onto it. The necklace, the gunblade… it’s all grief.”

The Griever was a symbol of Squall’s grief - no matter what he said about it being a ‘symbol of pride’; it still acted as a manifestation of his depressions, his loneliness, and his fears. Yes, he has fears - remember the one-sided conversation he had with an unconscious Rinoa on the railroad bridge to the Great Salt Lake?

Edea knew, more than anyone else, what Squall was going through. During his childhood days, he would distance himself from the others and go somewhere within the orphanage, thinking about his big Sis, Ellone. He would be murmuring to himself, “Sis… I’m all alone… but I’m doing my best…” to keep his spirits up, but to no avail. Naturally, as the Matron, Edea would take it upon herself to aid the children whenever she can. And what better way to encourage the distraught, young Squall than to give him something that symbolized courage and pride?

Now that we’ve established a rough history for Griever, let’s move on to Ultimecia herself. I’ve been wondering… if she hates SeeD so much (as she VERY CLEARLY states before the first battle), why did she build her castle right beside the very place where SeeD was first conceptualized (the orphanage)? I mean, come on - of all the strategically sound places where she could place her flying gothic abode, she HAD to put it there. That mystery had me bugged for several weeks.

Then, as I read Anne’s piece, it hit me. Like a ton of bricks. I begin by quoting from Anne:

"She was a sorceress. She had angel wings. She had the Griever. Her castle was built directly next to the orphanage. And you know why, Love? Because you promised her you'd be there. Waiting. She was searching for you, I don't know why, but she was waiting for you. She must've wandered there for ages, with only her ring for company. I guess she junctioned it, and the Griever stole her memories... until she only knew one thing: She had to wait for you, wait for you right there, at the flower field. And SeeD was a threat. Because SeeDs are trained to defeat the sorceress. Now do you see, Love? Do you see? Oh, Love, I don't know what to do... her face, haunting me every moment, her words… oh, Love, even her words!”

Ultimecia was WAITING for someone. That thought probably rang through her head much louder than anything else. She knew that one day, the person she was waiting for would appear in that orphanage - not to take her back, but to kill her. She also knew that SeeD would eventually come to try and stop her before she could meet him - her love - once again. That’s why she hated SeeD with a passion.

Yes, it’s all clear now, is it? Rinoa IS Ultimecia.

Griever would naturally erase some of Rinoa’s memories - it is a symbol of grief, after all. It would absorb those memories that plagued Rinoa with pain and suffering. What memories, you ask? I again quote:

"Do you remember? 'Time... it will not wait... no matter... how hard you hold on... it escapes you...' it escaped her, you escaped her. That's why she needed Ellone! To go back in time! To reach you! Please, Love, try to see it, try to…”

"You're not immortal," storm-eyed Lion says, voice trembling. "I've killed your kind. Your blood is as red as mine. Matron looks young, sure she does. But she was a Sorceress at age five. Does she look five? You're not immortal, Angel. You're not the one from the future. You're merely a young girl, a young Sorceress, who has lived her life in an age of fear. There is no more fear. There is only peace now. Angel... look into my eyes. You are no wicked tyrant from the future. You never were. You never will be. You're my Angel... my girlfriend, my best friend, the possible future mother of my children! That’s how I see you! Angel…”

Unfortunately, Rinoa IS going to live longer. Long enough, in fact, to become Ultimecia. This long lifespan theory can be easily proved: take a look at the 12 sorceresses you battle before entering the time-compressed world. There are three types of sorceresses, most likely pertaining to three sorceresses from different generations. There is six of the first type, and five of the second type - the third (that huge slug-like sorceress), I’m assuming, is the result of merging the sorceresses from the previous generations. Plus, add to that the line that Squall utters when the scenery changes by the beach outside the orphanage: “White SeeDs… we’ve been fighting across generations.”

Generations. In the dictionary, this can mean ‘the time between the birth of one generation to the birth of the next; around 20 to 30 years estimate. You basically fight 11 sorceresses from different generations (the slug sorceress doesn’t count). That’s what - 220 - 330 years?

Add to that the fact that sorceresses differ in the overall power they possess, which can probably alter their lifespan. Adel was quite powerful, and she did live throughout the Sorceress War; Edea was moderately powerful; the three sorceress types you fight during time compression were pathetic; and Ultimecia was overall the most powerful of them. How about Rinoa? Well, although she’s not a SeeD and has had no training in the use of magic prior to the story, she still has enough power to take on Ultimecia. So you could say that she has powers equal to Ultimecia’s - they just haven’t developed yet.

But wait - what about Edea’s age? Edea can probably be considered a ‘young sorceress’ - within the range of 20 - 30 years of age, I’m guessing. Plus, she has Dr. Odine strip her of her powers before they could mature further, so her long lifespan doesn’t take effect.

Back to Rinoa’s painful memories. They didn’t happen during the course of the game - but based on the explanation of a sorceress’ increased longevity above, they will: Rinoa WILL live longer than Squall. She WILL witness him die, one way or the other - be it old age or death in the line of duty - what matters is Squall WILL, sooner or later, die. And Rinoa would live, but would lose the person she cherishes the most. This would be the memory that would eventually drive her to the point of total loneliness. If you can remember what most people say about immortality or increased longevity: “You will continue to live, while you witness your friends, family, all disappear from your life, one by one.”

Immortality or increased longevity isn’t a gift. It’s more of a curse. In the case of Rinoa, it would be a curse that would change her life forever.

But, just like the explanation I set in the Eternal Existence Theory above, no matter how many times these evens occur and re-occur, they cannot be changed. Everything is destined to happen. Rinoa’s change into Ultimecia wasn’t intentional (there’s your answer, Peter). But it is still destined to happen.

And there you have it, folks - two theories on Ultimecia’s reasons for compressing time, and one on her origin. I hope I actually made some sense here…

You can email me at demovere@yahoo.com. Your comments and corrections would be highly appreciated. After all, I’m only human…