IX.
Bartz once complained to Squall that Zidane was just too fast. (And it just wasn't fair and he saw that treasure first so it should be his, you agree, right Squall?) Squall didn't really pay much attention to that statement at first, but now he knew the truth: Bartz was not exaggerating in any way. When it came to agility and mobility, the thief was the absolute king. Zidane raced across fields, climbed up trees almost as quickly as he leapt from them, and practically bounded up small cliffs.
It was taking everything Squall had just to keep up with him. He hauled himself up over the edge of a cliff to find Zidane trying to catch his breath and looking ready to fall over at any second. After what seemed like an eternity, Zidane's legs gave, and he fell to his knees. Squall looked back the way they came. Had they really traveled that far?
"Let's stop here for tonight," he suggested.
"No, I..." Zidane pushed himself off the ground, getting back on his feet. "I can keep going." No sooner than he said that, he felt a tug as Squall grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled on it. Hard.
"No, you can't." While he admired his resolve, Squall was not about to have Zidane drop dead of exhaustion on him. That, and he didn't think he could go on any more himself. "We're staying here tonight." The authority in his voice and the look he gave Zidane clearly said that the subject was not up for discussion. Defeated, Zidane let his gaze fall to the ground and relented. "Now, can you walk, or do I have to carry you?"
Zidane perked right up and insisted that he was perfectly capable of walking by himself.
Camp was made in a small cave in the side of a mountain a short distance away from the cliff. Squall sat at the mouth of the cave while Zidane was asleep by a small fire, his tail curled around himself miserably.
He must still be beating himself up about Bartz, he thought. Zidane's tail, Squall noticed, always betrayed the thief's true feelings.
Tired as he was, Squall turned his attention to the outside, and stayed up until dawn watching for danger.
V.
First it was Zidane, now it was Bartz. The two of them, Squall figured, must be pretty close to worry about each other so much. And idly, he had to wonder, would they do the same for him? However, there wasn't much time to think, as Squall raised his gunblade to block a strike from another gunblade identical to his own.
With a rush of strength, Squall managed to shove Bartz away. Bartz let out a surprised grunt as he hit the ground, the gunblade he was holding disappearing in a flash of light. Once the world stopped spinning, the first thing Bartz saw was Squall's boots.
"Again," Squall ordered. "You said you wanted to get stronger, didn't you?" Spurred on by his words, Bartz was up in no time and launching another attack, this time with the Holy spell he had learned from Terra. At such close range, it was impossible for Squall to dodge it and he let out a grunt as the magic collided into him.
"Ha! I did it!" Bartz crowed. It was the first hit he had landed on Squall ever since they started training. Trying to land a hit on someone who's focused on being on the defensive was much harder than he thought. However, his celebrations were cut short when a flurry of fire, ice, and thunder magic caught him off guard. "Hey, no fair!"
"There's no 'fair' in battle," Squall snorted. "You caught me off guard, but you can't rely on your enemy making mistakes. And you can't celebrate until you're sure you've won. Hitting me once isn't nearly enough."
Bartz immediately felt humbled. Squall was right, of course. And he had to take this training seriously. It was because he didn't take things seriously enough that Zidane was now in the hands of the enemy. He thought he'd have to beg Squall to help him get stronger, but much to his surprise, Squall agreed right away. He wasn't going to waste Squall's kindness by goofing off.
"Okay. Okay. You're right." Bartz summoned another weapon into his hand: Cloud's Buster Sword. Good lord, that thing was heavy. If it weren't for his mimic skills, Bartz would never hope to even lift it. "Here I come!"
Squall barely had time to move as the Buster Sword came crashing down onto the ground. Hopping backward, he managed to catch a glimpse of Bartz's face.
He had never seen him so fierce before. Forget training, it looked like they were going to fight for real.
III.
The Onion Knight was fascinated by Squall, even if he didn't admit it. His clothes, his weapon, well, everything about Squall screamed "different." Naturally, this piqued his curiousity and Onion Knight just wanted to know everything about Squall. But without anyone noticing. Because that would be embarrassing.
So Onion Knight would try to observe Squall whenever he could as inconspiculously as possible. Sometimes this would pose a dilemma to him when he grappled with whether he wanted to indulge in his curiosity or stay by Terra's side. After everything that happened, he was hesitant to leave her alone for even a small amount of time.
An ideal opportunity presented itself when Terra decided to have a chat with Cecil. Onion Knight knew that he could trust Cecil, who was practically the living embodiment of an ideal knight, to keep her safe. So once the conversation got underway, Onion Knight slipped away without either of them noticing he was gone.
"I'm sure I saw him go this way..." he muttered to himself. Did Squall really like to distance himself from the group that much? What an unsociable guy! But Zidane and Bartz often swore up and down that, no, Squall was really a pretty nice person. Onion Knight had a little bit of difficulty in believing that.
But he was just interested in learning about Squall, not being friends with him, and Onion Knight finally spotted him sitting on the ground and cleaning his gunblade with a rag. Perfect. Onion Knight hid himself behind a tree and watched intently.
No, this wouldn't do. It was too far away to really see anything. Maybe if he got a little closer, he could get a clear view of the gunblade. He had always wanted to see it up close. Well, Squall seemed to have his attention completely focused on cleaning, so maybe he could-
"Come out."
Onion Knight let out an undignified squeak and fell backwards flat on his bottom in surprise.
"You're not very good at hiding."
Caught, Onion Knight stepped out from his hiding place. How...how did Squall know he was there?
"You're noisy," Squall said, as if reading his mind. Looking up from the gunblade he continued, "You look like you want to say something. What is it?"
Onion Knight hesitated at first. Would Squall get mad at him? Well, he got this far, so there was no harm in asking, right? Anyone Bartz and Zidane liked couldn't be that bad.
"So, uh...about the...gunblade. Can I see it?"
Squall gave him a look. "Is that all? You've been spying on me for days and that's it?"
"N-no," Onion Knight stuttered, completely floored that Squall knew he was watching all those other times as well. "I uh...also want to learn about some things. Like, where you come from and what it's like in your world. I mean, if you remember anything."
Squall handed the Revolver to him, and Onion Knight marveled at it. It was...pretty cool even if it looked completely foreign to him. He examined the barrel and ran his fingers over the engraving on it, careful to avoid that razor sharp edge.
"Don't break it."
"O-of course not!"
X.
"So, it's a gun and a sword, right?"
Undeterred by the lack of response, Tidus got right in Squall's path and walked backwards with both arms behind his head. Even though Squall was clearly trying to pretend that he wasn't there, he kept talking.
"I mean, I don't know all that much about guns. We don't have many of them where I come from. Forbidden by religion and all that. Some people refused to even look at them, much less own them. But I don't think anyone ever came up with the idea of combining a gun and a sword. It sounds kind of strange and cool at the same time. So, how do you shoot it? Do you aim with the blade of the sword?"
Squall's patience was quickly wearing thin. Firion and Cecil had warned him beforehand that Tidus was nosy, but he never imagined that it was to this extent. After a certain point, Squall wondered whether Tidus actually wanted to know about the gunblade or if he just wanted to hear himself talk. Or perhaps he was just trying to goad Squall into talking. It wouldn't be the first time that people would try to pester him into conversation.
"How far can it shoot? Can you, say, hit that rock over there?"
Finally, Squall had enough. "It doesn't work like that," he growled. "And I don't feel like explaining it."
Tidus stopped for a second, pondering what Squall just said. "So...you're not going to tell me?"
It looked like nothing but a direct approach was going to work. "Go away, Tidus."
A few hours later, Tidus lost all interest in interrogating Squall about the gunblade and was bouncing a Blitzball around all by himself. Bartz talking about learning how to play had reminded him that he needed to keep his skills sharp. After all, right after they kicked the stuffing about of Chaos, he was going home. He was an Ace, after all.
First bouncing the ball off his foot, then his knee, then his head, Tidus complained to no one in particular that there just weren't any good bodies of water around for him to practice in, so out of water practice would have to do. He cursed himself for not thinking of it earlier. They passed a really nice looking lake a while ago.
His thoughts filled with nothing but blitzballs, he didn't notice the manikins slowly creeping up behind him, eyes flashing upon recognizing prey. One of them broke from the group, quietly approaching and ready to strike Tidus' unguarded back.
Tidus bounced the ball up high, preparing to shoot for an imaginary goal. However, just as he leapt up and twisted his body to give the falling ball a kick, he heard a piercing scream behind him. Concentration broken, Tidus fell ungracefully to the ground, the blitzball landing square on his stomach and knocking the wind out of him.
Opening his eyes, he was greeted by the sight of one Squall Leonhart with a manikin impaled on the gunblade. With a grunt, he pulled the weapon's trigger and the shot's explosion knocked the unforunate manikin clean off the blade.
Squall turned and snarled at the remaining manikins, "Want to be next?" Apparently understanding what he was saying, they all retreated quickly.
Still on the ground, Tidus lifted a hand, index finger pointing upward, and was about to say something when Squall interrupted.
"That's how it works." And Squall turned around and walked away.
Tidus stared at Squall's back for a few moments, mind still processing what just happened. Once it finished, he blinked.
"Ohhhhhh..."
II.
Firion regarded the gunblade carefully. While it was something he had never seen before, it didn't mean he couldn't try to figure it out. As someone who specialized in the mastery of many weapons, he naturally wanted to know all about it.
"First the kid, now you?" Squall sighed, but he gave up the Revolver without any resistance. It seemed like everyone wanted to get their hands on it.
Studying the weapon carefully, Firion realized that it was something that had to be difficult to use. One had to be able to use both the blade and the explosive rounds effectively. Otherwise, it was an inferior sword or inferior firearm. (Not that Firion knew that much about firearms, but for some reason, he seemed to know a bit about them. Maybe he met someone that used them once? In a previous cycle, perhaps?) He had seen Squall use it before, and the young man wielded it effortlessly and to amazing effect. How many years were put into learning how to use it?
"It's an interesting weapon," he said, giving it back. "But it looks difficult to use. Is it common where you come from?"
"No," Squall answered. "Hardly anyone uses it." People preferred other weapons such as whips, nunchaku, or even becoming pure pugilists.
"So, why do you use it?"
Squall couldn't remember why he chose it. That part of his memory had yet to come back to him. But there was a part of him that made him suspect that he really didn't have a reason. Not a good one, at any rate.
"Because I wanted to," he answered. It was the kind of stubborn answer a child would give, and he was certain that Firion would laugh at him for it.
Firion did laugh, but it was a friendly laugh, not a mocking one.
"That's good," he said. "You should be able to do something if you want to. Freedom is a wonderful thing to have."
Maybe Squall was just imagining things, but did Firion sound a little wistful at that?
IV.
To be honest, Cecil expected Squall to be the last person to suggest taking the time to talk before they had to part ways. And actually, it sounded like a good idea. He promised himself to speak with each of the Cosmos warriors before the end of the battle. He would start with Squall himself, but...what could he possibly talk to Squall about?
"Squall, may I ask you a question?"
Squall shrugged. "Sure."
"Do...do you have knights where you come from? That is, if you remember."
There was a long pause before Squall answered, and Cecil figured that he must be trying to remember. He didn't know how much of Squall's memories had returned to him - Cecil's own memory was still hazy. But he did want to hear some things about Squall's world. It must be a very different place from his own homeworld!
At last, Squall spoke. "Knight...that's a very loaded word where I come from." He droned on, staring off into the distance. "The very concept of a knight is outdated. And yet...at the same time, it's extremely romaticized."
Cecil found that very interesting. Knights were outdated? He couldn't imagine a world without knights. However, he did have to wonder about the second part of what Squall said, and he waited quietly hoping that Squall would continue. He didn't say anything in fear of scaring Squall off from talking anymore. It was so rare to hear the sullen warrior speak of himself.
"Where I come from, people think about knights a little differently. When you say 'knight,' they imagine a gallant hero, that much is the same, but one that fights to protect his lady."
Squall turned his attention back to Cecil. "It's stupid," he said, and started to walk off, having answered the question.
Cecil was lost in thought for a moment. Something about the way Squall spoke struck him as strange. And then it came to him.
"Is that what you really think, Squall?" he asked Squall's retreating form.
Squall paused for a few seconds, but did not turn around or answer.
I.
"Squall. May I ask for your opinion?"
Joining the Warrior of Light on top of a tall hill, Squall Leonhart surveyed the landscape. There were two clear paths the band of traveling warriors could take: one, a steep path that went down a gorge, the other a path that cut through a forest. The party seemed to be evenly divided on which to take. But ultimately, the decision was up to the Warrior of Light to decide which way to go. However, this didn't mean he didn't seek the advice of others, and Squall was the one he trusted most on matters like these. The young warrior was experienced in these things, and only recently did Squall remember that all that knowledge came from years of rigorous mercenary training.
Squall shifted his attention from the two paths to the floating island in the distance. That was their destination. They still had quite a ways to go, and not much time to do it.
After a moment's deliberation, Squall replied, "The forest would probably be safer. It would be difficult for enemies to sneak up on us, and it has more shelter. The gorge is wide open, making us more vulnerable."
The Warrior of Light started to say something, but Squall cut him off. "But, the forest wraps around, and would probably add a lot of extra time to our journey. Time we don't have. The gorge is a more direct route, and we should take that one. If I were you, when we set up camp, I'd organize a watch with at least two people on lookout duty at all times. Just because we haven't seen any manikins around, it doesn't mean they're not there."
Deliberating what he was told, the Warrior of Light nodded. It was sound advice. He had been leaning towards the gorge because it seemed like a shorter route to him, but he hadn't realized the advantages of the other paths. Were it not for the situation they were in, he would have changed his mind after listening to what Squall had to say and taken the forest instead.
"Thank you, Squall," he said. "Then we will take the gorge path. Time is of the essence. I appreciate your help." And to think, not too long ago, he had thought Squall to be disagreeable, and possibly a traitor. Thinking back on it, he was glad that Squall had defeated him that time. It was so strange that one so young had things to teach him. Strange, but not at all unwelcome.
All of his allies had things to teach him.
VII.
Cloud and Squall hardly interacted, and as such, merely had neutral opinions of each other. Each regarded the other as a curiosity. Someone they wouldn't mindtalking to, but neither wanted to initiate a conversation of any kind.
In an empty world, there was little to do for entertainment among the Cosmos warriors other than talk and gossip about each other.
"You know," Tidus said, one hand under his chin, "I think they wantto be friends, but they don't know how."
"Squall's not good at making friends," Zidane nodded. "You kind of have to make him your friend first. But it's worth it if you ask me. He looks grumpy, but he's a big softy on the inside."
"Cloud is pretty withdrawn himself," Cecil added. "I think it would do both of them good if they could have a conversation together."
"But neither are really the type to do that," Onion Knight interjected.
"Oh well," Tidus shrugged. "Guess it's not to be."
The Warrior of Light, who had been listening in on the conversation, wordlessly stepped into the middle of the warriors' camp. "Cloud. Squall. Will you come here for a moment?"
All attention was focused directly on the Warrior of Light as the two of them got up to hear what he wanted.
"I want the two of you to have a duel."
Everyone was completely surprised by such a request.
"It is said that two people can learn and understand much about each other when they face off in battle," the Warrior continued. "In these trying times, our group needs solidarity, and I believe the two of you could learn much from each other if you were to fight." Turning to Squall, he added, "Indeed, I learned much about you just from clashing with you once."
A moment of silence passed.
"...sounds good," Squall said.
"I'm for it," Cloud nodded.
The warriors all gathered in a group, eager to watch the match. Tidus and Bartz started a bet over the winner and Firion was particularly interested, having fought Cloud once before and curious to see how Squall would fare. The two combatants were given plenty of open space to fight.
"Are you ready?" Squall asked.
"Let's mosey," Cloud replied.
At Cecil's signal, the warriors lunged at each other, Squall making a sharp turn to the side to avoid being crushed by Cloud's attack. Anticipating a counterattack, Cloud deftly blocked a slice from Squall's Revolver. They stared each other down for what felt like forever before Squall retreated, not willing to face the Buster Sword in a pure strength contest.
"I wouldn't want to be in the middle of that," Firion commented as fire and ice spells collided. Everyone nodded in agreement.
Few words were exchanged between them that battle, but Cloud and Squall understood each other perfectly.
VI.
Squall turned away from the circle of warriors gathered around the fire. He was on the first watch of the night, along with Cloud. The two of them were watching opposite sides, and things were thankfully quiet. He almost wished that they would be attacked, because it would prove that there was something and that the land wasn't as empty and desolate as it was. But only almost.
Laughter from the campfire drew his attention again and in the corner of his eye, he noticed Zidane flicking his tail in his direction. Were they talking about him? Squall was curious to know what they were saying, but he knew he couldn't abandon his post.
...that, and he'd feel extremely stupid going over there.
So, determinedly, pointedly, he ignored everything going on by the fire and kept up his vigilant watch down his end of the gorge. All was quiet, except for the sounds of the Cosmos warriors talking amongst themselves. Things grew quieter still, as one by one, the warriors turned in for the night. With nobody to tend to it, the fire died out and only the moon and stars provided light. Squall's shift ended once the moon reached the highest point in the sky, and he could wake Cecil so they could trade places. When he checked its position, he noticed he only had around an hour left to go.
A glance over in Cloud's direction showed the other sentry seated on a rock, slumped over the Buster Sword. Had Cloud fallen asleep? Squall checked his end of the gorge one more time before walking across the camp, careful to avoid waking any slumbering warriors, towards Cloud and gently nudged him awake. The soldier thanked him with a grunt and Squall made his way back to his own spot. However, he stopped when he noticed Terra shivering in her sleep. Without the fire's warmth, things had gotten colder. Squall hesitated slightly and checked his surroundings. Cloud was facing the other way, and everyone else was fast asleep. Satisfied that no one was watching, he removed his jacket and laid it on Terra like a blanket. He resolved to wake up in the early morning and reclaim it before anyone noticed.
No sooner had he gotten back to his spot did he hear a faint, "Squall?" His body froze up as Terra took a seat beside him. She was wearing his jacket, which was clearly too big for her.
"Squall?" she repeated. "Thank you. For this." Squall didn't respond. Smiling, she continued, "We were talking about you earlier. Everyone told stories about you and how much they like you." While he still didn't say anything, Squall looked at her with surprise. Everyone thought that? Terra took Squall's silence as permission to continue. "You know, you're kind of like a mother to us."
That broke Squall's quiet streak. "...'mother!?'"
"It sounds silly, doesn't it?" Terra chuckled. "There's really something motherly about you. But I guess it would be silly to call you a mother, wouldn't it? Either way, I think you'd make a great father someday."
For some reason, the word "father" sent chills down Squall's spine and turned his blood cold.
"...mother is fine," he finally managed to say.
