Disclaimer: I do not own FF8
This is my first fan-fiction, I apologize in advance...
Part I
Quistis jumped by the sharp ringing in the office. The red phone. The emergency phone. She met eyes with Squall at his desk and he nodded to her indicating for her to answer. Bracing herself she lifted the phone to her ear.
"ID 24601 reporting in. Do you copy?" The voice on the other line said.
Qustis' eyes widened. Mia? "24601... is it really you?"
"Queen?"
"Affirmative. Dragon... I..." Quistis snapped herself back into protocol, "state your location." On hearing the code name, Squall narrowed his eyes a bit. He knew the SeeD on the other line, did missions with her as a cadet and had seen first hand how deadly and cunning she was. If she was having to resort to the emergency line, it was not going to be good.
"I need to plant."Code. She needed to get to Garden.
Qustis glanced at her computer screen to verify the Garden's location, "Rendezvous 57 at 2300."
"57 at 2300. Copy that," the voice paused, "If I'm not there, I imagine you'll find me in Deling." Translation: If she didn't make it, it meant she was dead, and her murderer was in Deling.
"I understand," Qustis answered softly adding, "Godspeed."
"Wait. Queen."
"This line isn't secure, Dragon."
"I'm aware, but in case I miss the train... it's about your cargo. It's in danger."
The line clicked and Qustis put the receiver down. Taking a deep breath, she looked over at Squall, "Mia is meeting us tonight. She's been compromised. With Trabia Garden destroyed I guess we become her home base."
Squall frowned, "Are you sure that's a good idea?" The last time he had seen the girl she had seemed, well, less than stable. All SeeD were at risk for snapping, you can only see blood for so long before it gets to you. Mia's words from a mission long ago echoed in his brain. Words she spoke calmly after he had just watched her kill 3 people. Squall. This is why SeeD uses GF, don't you see? You can't live with yourself if you always remember this... even if your body manages to live past 25, your mind never will.Ironic words coming from a SeeD who made a point of NOT junctioning, "I guess we have no choice. What did she say?"
"Squall, I'm not sure how to say this but..." Quistis bit her lip, "She said Rinoa was in danger."
Squall jumped up from his chair, "What? How? What did she say?!"
"She only said the cargo was in danger and someone is after her in Deling."
Squall groaned, "Shit." He clicked on the intercom on his desk, "Nida, steer us to Rendezvous 57"
Mia Vendenberg was coming back to Garden.
She was waiting for him... again. Things had changed in the last 6 months, they really had, he had slowly opened up to her. Truth be told he had opened up to all of their friends and there was no doubt in her mind of the deep bond between them strengthening each day. At the celebration after Time Compression he had kissed her again on the balcony; their second kiss. The first a stolen one the night before the battle.
...Time compression was disorienting, days and nights indistinguishable. The group had decided to rest before the battle, even though none of them were tired but they weren't particularly wide awake either. Unable to sleep, she and Squall had sat on a tattered balcony of the castle, staring at the vast nothingness. She felt herself choking up, the burning behind her eyes, unsure of what she was trying to grieve. She inhaled sharply,
"Squall, what if..."
He never let her finish, squeezing her hand firmly, "it won't." He leaned over and pecked her quickly, chastely on the lips, "I promise."
Calmness rushed over her, "In case, I want you to know that I lo-" They were cut off as the rest of their companions startled them out of their moment, plopping down next to them, all of them too restless to sleep.
The six had sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity and yet seconds at the same time, just staring. By the end of the reverie they realized that at some point they had all clasped onto each others hands... the unspoken mantra, 'just in case.' Just in case it is the last time, the last chance, the last seconds of their short lives. Ultimecia...
She shuddered outwardly, the name still causing a tingle to crawl up her spine and she couldn't help but feel like she was being watched.
At the celebration ball they had kissed again, on the balcony and stolen away that night to his room, kissing, exploring, eventually falling asleep in each others arms. They woke up the next morning, still in their clothing, sleepy eyes and something unspoken was promised once again. Knight... forever, but on top of that, a promise of love. It had taken him 3 more months to finally admit it to her, in the training center of all places. Oh that is CLASSIC him she mused, recalling that day.
...She had been practicing, Squall had felt it important for her to get better control of her abilities, to try to prevent the trance-like Angelwing from occurring too often... while she was powerful in those times, there was something unnerving about her not controlling her magic. She had just single handed downed a T-Rexaur, though the force of her last spell had landed her unceremoniously in the small stream.
She pulled herself up and was trying to brush the mud and leaves off of her clothing and cursing Squall's name under her breath when she felt arms wrap around her, his breath in her ear and a simple "I love you," nothing more, nothing less. She didn't respond, startled he had been watching her, just kissed him for all she was worth, and it continued until a group of training cadets stumbled upon them and they pulled apart, blushing furiously...
They had yet to take the final step in a relationship, Rinoa was never sure if it was her or him, but she figured it would happen when they were both ready. It scared her a bit. She was aware of his devotion, heard bits and pieces of it in his mind. She knew he desired her, almost craved her, some of the flickers she felt from him were both scary and enticing at the same time. She also knew that when they took that step, something would be sealed that there was no turning back from... she loved Squall, she wanted nothing else in the world as much as she wanted him, but part of her feared that; after all, she grew up in a home with parents who didn't have love.
She was also aware of what that love drove another Sorceress and Knight couple to; correction, MANY a sorceress/knight duo in history. That was another fun side-effect of being a sorceress: on top of constantly hearing fragmented thoughts and feeling emotions dripping off people, she dreamed constantly of sorceress and knight, blood, love, pain, war, hope and was never sure if her vivid visions were watching the past duos, or possible variations of her own future. She shivered again and looked back at her book, temporarily absorbed until the familiar smell of cigarettes wafted in her direction and she found herself intrigued by the source.
Rinoa couldn't help but continue to peek glances at the girl sitting near her. She thought she knew every SeeD in the Garden, or at least had seen them in the hallway. At the very least, she would have remembered this one.
It was sunny but the Quad was relatively quiet considering the time of day. She had been vacillating between being engrossed in her novel and reminiscing for about an hour when she finally realized the girl was about 10 feet to her right. She had no idea how long she had been there or when she got there. The ability to sneak around meant she had to be SeeD, no one else could escape notice so easily... I mean, she was a SORCERESS, while she may have not been as observant as Squall, she still fancied herself as pretty aware.
She couldn't place the girls age. Probably in her 20's, Rinoa guessed. She was smoking a cigarette, which was the reason Rinoa finally glanced over, the horrible smell of tobacco. Stale. Harsh. It reminded her of her Dad. It was unfortunately a habit Squall also had acquired in his adolescence though he did at least try to not do it around her. She noticed he seemed to smoke more recently, seemingly brought out by frustration. She glanced over and saw a figure sitting on the ground, wearing a black leather jacket, at first she figured it was Squall and was about to yell at him for smoking near her, but Squall did not have long black hair and he didn't wear mini skirts.
In certain ways her face looked a bit like Rinoa's except for the green eyes, green eyes that looked... off, something was abnormal that Rinoa couldn't put her finger on. Her hair was jet black, like Rinoa's, but instead of the unfortunate caramel streaks Rinoa had FINALLY grown out, she had streaks of dark ox-blood red. Her hair fell across her as long as to her waist, near her gun, Rinoa noted and it looked like she never bothered to brush it.
Rinoa giggled a bit to herself, "bed-head" Squall would call it, he would seem to complain but he always stared at her with bedroom eyes when she looked like that. Maybe it reminded him of the moments that had led to her hair becoming messy and the fact that they both wanted to - she thought - but were too scared - or so she told herself - to finish. Well, Squall definitely wanted it, a lot, another piece of information she had inadvertently caught from his mind.
The girl took another drag of her cigarette and leaned back, her jacket falling open. The shirt- if you could call it that - barely covered what Rinoa believed to be, a perfect human specimen, if it wasn't for the hints of a tattoo wrapping from around her back and across her shoulder and a few scars on her body: the unmistakable branding of a mercenary. Zell would have liked that. He had dated the library girl for a while, but Rinoa always pictured him with someone a bit more edgy. Or at the very least that liked hot dogs.
The girl pulled up her knee to retie her boot and Rinoa caught site of a knife taped to her outer thigh under her skirt. Definitely SeeD, two weapons and she's not even on a mission. Or was she? Rinoa suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of paranoia. Maybe SeeD had started to watch her, despite Squall's protests that she was safe. She didn't recognize the girl, was it possible they were sending SeeDs from the White Ship to follow her? Stop it, Rinoa. Just breath!She pursed her lips and tried to push her nerves from her head and looked at the girl again.
"It's not nice to be stared at," the voice broke all thought, "you of all people should know."
Rinoa looked back at her book quickly, blushing, trying to pretend she hadn't been caught. I mean, the girl never even looked at her! "Oh, um... I'm sorry, I just..."
She laughed, her laugh was appealing, "I'm used to it, at least you're just curious and not sizing me up." She stood up and offered her hand to Rinoa after stomping out her cigarette, "Sorry about the smoke, I figured it didn't bother you because of Squall."
"You know Squall...?" Of course she does, she's SeeD, idiot! Rinoa hated seeming naive in front of SeeDs. In general they made her fairly insecure, and having a SeeD that looked like a super model towering over didn't help. Something in the girl's demeanor wasn't threatening, however, despite the loaded gun on her hip. Rinoa looked at her hand and noticed a familiar tattoo of an owl on it, "You're from Timber... who are you?"
She smiled a bit at Rinoa, "observant woman. Do you want to know what they call me or what my name is?"
Rinoa looked at her slightly confused.
"I know YOUR name is Rinoa, but everyone CALLS you Sorceress, maybe just not to your face."
Rinoa narrowed her eyes a bit, was this girl baiting her? Was her first instinct correct? Was she a White SeeD here to watch her, or was she one of the SeeDs she occasionally ran into who still thought she should be locked up in a prison in Esthar?
"I would have the guts to call you Sorceress to your face, but I would rather just call you Rinoa," the beautiful SeeD added, "My name is Mia."
"Mia?" Rinoa, didn't mean to, she honestly didn't, but sometimes small fragments of thoughts would just flash across her mind. She knew she could actively read minds if she tried hard to, but without even trying sometimes, images and thoughts that were not her own would sneak into her brain. She knew the girl was lying, so Rinoa looked at her incredulously, "That is not your real name."
Mia laughed again, sounding much younger than the ages her face betrayed, "So what they say is true." Rinoa had a curious look, but Mia either didn't notice, or didn't address it, Rinoa guessed it was the latter. Maybe the mind-reading ability of sorceress was something all SeeD knew about, and not just her friends.
Mia didn't seem put off by the accusation, instead was looking at her curiously, and Rinoa wondered if she hadn't let the lie go on purpose, to test her theory on Rinoa's abilities. She spoke again, "My birth name is Penny; Penelope, but no one has called me that since my mom, and it's a stupid name anyway... I'll take Mia over the other ones in my file." Mia stepped away from Rinoa to light another cigarette
Rinoa smiled at the girl, relaxing, whoever Mia was, she was not a threat, "Oh, well, I'd rather call you by your real name, cause I know how it is to be called by the name in their file..." she sympathized. Many people would call her 'Sorceress Rinoa' or even worse, just 'Sorceress' or just 'The Commander's distraction/problem/enemy/harlot' that one was from those who in the same sentence would mention how the Lunar Cry was technically her fault. Rinoa laughed nervously, "what else do they call you?" the question slipped out before she realized how rude it was.
Mia smirked. Rinoa Heartilly was exactly what she had pictured, spunky, smart, recklessly fearless, in short: her kind of girl. She liked her immediately. With cat eyes she glanced over at Rinoa and took a long drag, blowing smoke rings, her lips curled suggestively around the smoke, "you'd have to see me naked to figure it out." she said flatly.
Rinoa blinkblinked Is she hitting on me?The girl handed her the cigarette and Rinoa took it without thinking, feeling mute as the girl slipped out of her leather jacket and plucked the cigarette back, turning around to show Rinoa her back. From the part that wasn't covered she could see that her entire back was covered in a very detailed tattoo, a picture that looked like a...
"DRAGON WOMAN," A voice squealed, running over to them. Mia was almost knocked over by the force of a Selphie hug. Selphie clung to the girl muttering softly, "I couldn't believe it when Quisty said you were back," she said as she let go and her hug reversed itself onto Rinoa "RINNYYYY!"
"You're back from Dollet!" Rinoa was happy to see her bubbly friend who had been absent from the Garden for over a month on a mission. Her absence was always noticed in Balamb, not only because it was quieter, but there were not random celebrations on an almost weekly basis like "Taco Tuesday" or "The day Zell didn't eat a hotdog". Selphie always seemed to be a force that kept her sane around all of the military types she was surrounded with, the types of people that reminded her way too much of her childhood.
Rinoa had managed to space out briefly and missed most of the animated conversation taking place between the two other women, Mia was shifting and glancing over her shoulder, seemingly anxious,"- anyway Selph, it's really good to see you alive."
What an odd thing to say? Rinoa supposed it must have been a SeeD thing. Glad to see you alive? These people have got to be less morbid... why can't you just be glad. Period.
Selphie jumped up and down, excited, "I still can't believe you're here and" her effervescent demeanor spreading rapidly to her companions, "To see you outside of Trabia and.. I mean" Selphie still had some trouble bringing that subject up, and as a rule of thumb, the group of friends tried to just avoid saying T-Garden. Ever.
Mia glanced away from Selphie, "I know, Selph, I wasn't there for you guys. I wasn't there for the missiles. I fai-"
"You were supposed to report to me," a stern male voice interrupted her thought and startled all three of them. Selphie 'meeped' and clicked her feet together, standing at attention, albeit slightly tongue-in-cheek. Mia flinched but did not assume a military stance though her posture did stiffen. Rinoa... jumped a bit in surprise, but upon hearing the voice, her entire body visibly relaxed.
All three girls looked over to see Squall, in full uniform. Rinoa loved when he was dressed like that and looked over adoringly, she swore that there might have been a small amount of drool on her lip. She was aware of how ridiculous she must look but she couldn't help it. He didn't smile back, but his eyes shined just a little. Rinoa knew by now he was in work-mode. Rinoa assumed he was addressing Selphie, but instead Mia spoke, "Yup, was finishing my cigarette, Squall, and getting acquainted with your lady here."
A glance passed between Selphie and Squall that Rinoa didn't understand. Squall looked... nervous if that was possible. She didn't think she had ever seen him nervous. Not to mention he didn't even seem phased when Mia spoke to him so casually.
Selphie coughed, "See, Mia here was in charge of Trabia Garden but has been on a mission for like ages. Was actually deep undercover during the whole Ultimecia thing and now is finally able to resurface at Garden again."
Rinoa looked rapidly between Selphie to Squall and then finally towards Mia who smiled at her again, "Squall and I still haven't decided who outranks whom, but since I'm on his turf, I'll let him win this time," she tossed her hair over her shoulder, "besides, I don't really care quite as much as his male ego does."
Rinoa almost fell on the ground, she NEVER heard anyone challenge Squall out loud (besides her of course) at least no one had lived to talk about it and this girl wasn't even scared. I mean, Rinoa even got a little nervous when she knew she had crossed the line. She could see the sweat drop forming on Selphie's head and felt one on her own as well.
Squall glared over at the leather-clad woman and muttered, "whatever."
Mia winked at him and crouched down, pulling out two silver boxes from her bag and after a quick glance at covers, she tossed one back in her bag and opened the second, the cover had something engraved in it, something familiar looking. Cigarettes popped out and she offered one to Squall as if a peace offering. Squall shook his head and looked over at Rinoa.
"I'll be damned," Mia said, laughing, "Squall at the mercy of a woman. I never thought I'd live to see the day," she placed her arm around Rinoa's shoulders and gave a gentle squeeze, "I liked you, now I like you even better, about time someone loosened that kid up."
Squall folded his arms and gave her even more of a death stare than before, especially as Rinoa and Selphie joined in Mia's laughter. "We can chat later, I already gave Qusty the important details, there's not really anything else to discuss," Mia added as she slung her bag and her jacket over her shoulder and stepped away from the group slightly.
Squall rolled his eyes, "you mean besides 5 dead bodies in one night?" Rinoa stopped laughing and looked at Selphie, who didn't seem phased as Squall continued in annoyance, "I don't even want to know how I only JUST found out about this and why Delegate Herzog doesn't seem to care."
Mia looked over at him with the look she had given Rinoa before, her eyes dancing and she looked like a cat ready to pounce, "I know what he likes."
Selphie giggled slightly, "There never has been a SeeD quite as effective as you, Mia."
Squall snorted at that. Mia ignored him, brushing past and grabbed Rinoa's hand, and to Rinoa's surprise kissed it, "Lady Sorceress," she called her, "it was an honor." she began to walk off and then paused, glancing over her shoulder, "and, Commander, my sweet Selphie is right. No matter how hard you try, you can't quite get the job done as effectively due to your one big, or small, have to ask Rinoa on that one, handicap."
Rinoa swore Squall blushed, just a little. He recovered quickly though and turned to Rinoa, "Sorceress?" He was ready to destroy, correction: kill anyone who hurt her, another flicker of emotions and thoughts Rinoa had felt from him before. He was surprised that she took Mia's words so easily, in fact, Rinoa was laughing, "oh, um, inside joke I guess," It was almost like an unspoken nod of respect, "Penny seems nice."
"Who?" Squall looked at her like she was crazy.
"Penny, Mia.. Dragon... whoever that was."
Selphie's eyes got big and she danced around on her feet, "THAT'S her real name? I've been wondering that for 10 years! She's never told ANYONE. How did you find out? Did you read her mind Rinny?"
Squall clicked his tongue and his hand instinctively went to the hilt of his gun blade, "watch the volume, Selphie," he looked at Rinoa's hand that Mia had kissed and she swore he looked almost disgusted. He pulled her to his side and placed a very quick kiss on her cheek when he determined no one was around murmuring, "be careful around her."
Selphie heard the comment and nodded, her voice suddenly becoming serious and un-Selphie like, "They don't call her Dragon for nothing... she was considered the most dangerous SeeD before... well before Squall. They say she killed an entire troop of elite soldiers in a bar with nothing but a sharpened hairpin."
Squall sighed, "With the pin she is putting in her hair as we speak in fact," he nodded his head towards the figure that had paused by the exit from the Quad to put up her hair, "well, that's Mia for you."
"I would hate to be her enemy," Selphie added with a huff, blowing her bangs out of her eyes. Rinoa felt like she was missing a piece of the story, but kept her mouth shut.
Selphie cleared her throat and quickly decided to change the subject, "so, are you excited for fall festival, Rinny?"
It was already fall again, It had been well over a year since she had first come to Garden, to beg Cid for SeeD, 6 months since Time Compression. 3 months since Squall admitted he loved her. She could divide her life into periods of time. It made it all feel somehow... unimportant. Maybe Ultimecia had some decent points in wanting to get rid of time altogether.
"Um... earth to Rinny..."
"Oh!" she pulled herself out of her day dream again. Squall was seriously starting to rub off on her too much, "of COURSE. Any chance I'll get to seduce a dance out of you, Commander?" She winked over at Squall.
He smiled, just slightly, "I don't know how to dance..." he murmured and then Selphie swore that he might have possibly slightly semi-winked back at her. Or at least that's how she told the story to Irvine hours later.
"Oh YEAH, and Irvy guess what? The head-SeeD of Trabia is here! Mia is back! She looks a little worse for the wear from the last time I saw her, but you'll get to meet her, I told you about her before, you know... uh, Irvy?"
Irvine shifted a bit uncomfortably, sitting up in the bed, and reaching for a cigarette. Talking about that woman, the SeeD Mia was a subject he avoided with Selphie. Especially if she was the same one he knew from his days gallivanting around Galbadia. The same one who he may or may not have had a relationship with before meeting Selphie. The same one he may or may not have lied about knowing when she was first mentioned. Talking about Mia was definitely NOT his idea of pillow talk. He really didn't feel like telling Selphie about the dancer, who he may have been mildly infatuated with only to find out she was a SeeD who had been targeting him the whole time. Shortly after their summer fling, confidential Galbadian information was somehow "leaked" to the Timber Maniacs. Confidential information that he was supposed to be keeping confidential. Thankfully that was well over 3 years ago.
"Come on now, darlin, I wanna hear about your plans for the Fall Festival," he reached his arm around Selphie and guided her head to rest on his chest. The Festival. Good. That would definitely distract her.
Irvine closed his eyes as he listened to her chatter her chirpy voice washing over his soul. While some people may have found Selphie annoying, he certainly didn't. He could listen to her talk for hours, it reminded him that he was alive. It had taken him a while to finally settle down. Old habits die hard after all. While people had labeled Squall as the loner in the group, in reality, it was Irvine. He was a sniper. Selphie was the first person he ever had even entertained the possibility of a real relationship with and eventually he even believed that a team might be better than going at it alone. He used to be at his most calm before taking a shot, in absolute silence except for his deep breaths from his cigarette. Now he couldn't imagine a more calming place than just listening to Selphie. Being alone suddenly wasn't solace anymore. He smirked and squeezed her shoulder a bit, glancing down at her.
"Oh yeah, and I forgot to tell you-" she began, but was interrupted by the sound of her dorm room sliding shut.
"Yo! Sefie, I'm here! Thank you again for letting me room," a female voice called from the living room, and the unmistakable clunk of luggage, weapons and boots dropping to the floor accompanied it, "Hey, what's with this cowboy hat? This is cut-"
Mia's voice stopped as she walked into Selphie's room, Irvine's hat upon her head, "oh." was all she managed to say as she faced the naked couple on the bed awkwardly, thankfully covered by a sheet. She looked at Irvine and he knew, KNEW he was caught.
"IforgottotellyouMiaisstaying withme," Selphie blurted out quickly.
Mia smiled, "Ah.. sorry I'm interrupting the fun. My goodness, little Selphie Tilmitt breaking Garden rules... I taught you well," She took the cowboy hat from her head and tossed it over to Irvine, "You must be Irvine, Selphie told me about you, cover yourself up, hm?"
Irvine narrowed his eyes a bit. Clearly Mia didn't want Selphie knowing about their past either. Not that he minded getting off the hook, but he knew KNEW there was eventually going to be a catch, "Heard 'bout you too, Mia." He nodded at her.
"Good choice, Selph," she said as she turned on her heel and exited the room, calling out, "I'll be in the other room with headphones on, go back to whatever, you crazy kids."
Irvine thunked his head against the back of the bed with a audible groan. Mia's reappearance among the SeeD was going to cause some serious hiccups... and he imagined that the problems he was going to have were just the tip of the iceberg of what ever she was capable of. It was going to be a long year.
This is my first fanfiction. It's going to be an adventure/romance. Canon pairings
R&R but be gentle!
BTW: Mia's character is VERY loosely based upon Irene Adler from Sherlock Holmes.