LEGACY
Chapter One
Peacful Days
The artificial lights gleamed off the perfectly honed edge of the Lionheart as it swept through the air, smashing with deadly accuracy into the skull of a monstrous T-Rexaur. Several more lightning fast blows followed the first, and the stricken monster roared in agony as it crashed to the training center floor, making the ground rumble with it's passing.
Squall Leonhart sheathed his weapon and raked a gloved hand through his wet bangs, pushing them out of his eyes. "That was way too easy," he muttered, watching another T-Rexaur peer at him warily from behind a clump of trees, wisely disdaining to come closer. Not even the fearsome T- Rexaurs gave him much of a challange anymore, and Squall was frankly bored to death. What he wouldn't give to borrow the Ragnorock for a day or two and fly out to the Island closest to Hell, all by himself. Cid wouldn't hear of it, of course. 'Now, Squall, I can't be risking the best commander Balamb Garden has ever seen. What would Edea say? What would the world say?'
Squall sighed. In the month after Ultimacia's demise, he and his friends had become national celebraties. They had been hounded, idolized, worshiped, scorned, envied, criticized, and gossiped about constantly. The others had borne it well, much better than him, he would have to admit-- with Irvine eating it up like candy and Quistis with her patient teacher smile firmly in place--but the stress was beginning to wear them out, too.
As for himself, he had never gotten the hang of this hero business. After taking the job as full-time Garden commander ( very reluctantly, one might add ), his life had become even more stressed. With virtually no missions to take his mind off the pressures his role demanded of him, he was reduced to fighting T-Rexaurs in an artificial training simulation, to relieve some of his pent up energy. He wasn't cut out for this; he was a warrior, for Hyne's sake, a trained mercenary! He wasn't meant to live his life behind a desk, or in endless meetings and peace talks. He needed something to do, and soon, or he would go crazy.
Now, a trio of Grats approached him, waving their tentical-like arms menecingly over their heads. Squall looked at them with contempt. They weren't even worth going after. He considered wiping them out with a well placed Ultima spell, but that was a hideous waste of magic, and he needed to leave at least a few monsters for the younger students. Turning on his heel, he left the training grounds, wondering what Cid would say if he suggested that they put in a few Tonberrys, or maybe a Chimera. The poor man would probably have a heart attack.
"SQUALL!"
"Oof! Selphie," he grunted, staggering back as the petite girl flung herself into him, hugging him tightly around the waist. Wincing, he pried his hyper teammate off his bruised ribs, drawing in a much needed breath. "I didn't expect you back from Trabia so soon. Is Irving here, too?"
"He's up giving our progress report to the Headmaster," Selphie replied, her green eyes dancing as she watched him. "It's so good to see you again, Squall!" she exclaimed, and he took a step back for fear of another hug. "I missed everybody so much!"
"You've only been gone a couple of weeks."
"But, still--" Selphie didn't finish her thought, spotting another unfortuanate victim to bestow her affections on. "ZELL!"
Watching Selphie chase a terrified Zell towards the cafeteria, Squall sighed, feeling that strange tugging sensation at the corner of his lips. Shaking his head, he started off for the Headmaster's office. If Irvine was up there giving his report on the rebuilding of Trabia Garden, Cid would probably want him to hear it, too.
* * *
"So, basically, everything is running ahead of schedual, sir." Irvine's deep, drawling voice could be heard as Squall stepped out of the elevator. Not surprisingly, Quistis was here too, on top of all the latest developments as usual. Rarely did something happen in Garden without the much revered instructor Trepe knowing about it. Squall would have thought her a nosy busybody, if he didn't rely on her to keep track of all his important meetings, interviews, and appointments day after day. She was so much better at that kind of thing than he was.
"Excellent." Cid was beaming. "I knew I sent the right people to get the job done. Oh, Squall, you're here," he said, catching sight of Squall in the doorway. "Good, good. I have something to discuss with you and the rest of your team. Would you mind paging everyone up here? Rinoa too. I need to get some papers from my desk, and I forgot where I put them...." He wandered off, scratching his head, and Squall frowned.
'I hate the intercom.' Hopefully, he looked to Quistis. But, the blond haired instructor simply gave him her stern teacher look and shook her head.
"Forget it, "Commander," she said, knowing how that word would irritate him. "I'm not calling anybody up here. That is your job now, so you might as well get it over with."
Squall sighed and placed a hand to his forehead.
* * *
"Attention, Balamb Garden. Would Selphie Tilmitt, Zell Dintch, and Rinoa Heartilly please report to the Headmaster's office? Selphie Tilmitt, Zell Dintch and Rinoa Heartilly to the Headmaster's office immedietely. Thank you."
In the library, Rinoa Heartilly, also known to the world as Sorceress Rinoa, glanced up from the physics book she was reading and giggled helplessly.
'He always hated broadcasting his voice over the intercom,' she mused, placing the book back on the shelf and heading out the door. 'Hyne, he sounds so serious. No wonder the students are terrified of him.' She met Selphie and Zell on the elevator, and was treated to a crushing Selphie/bear hug that made her ribs creak.
"So, any idea what the Headmaster wants?" Rinoa asked casually as the elevator dinged to a stop.
"Man, I hope its a mission of some sort," Zell added, his blue eyes feverishly bright with hope and excitement. "I'm going nuts, sitting around here all day, with nothing to fight but Grats and T-Rexaurs. And Squall's got most of 'em scared to death! You need to have a talk with that boyfriend of yours, Rinny. Either that, or we need to convince the Headmaster to let us bring in stronger monsters. Like...I don't know. Behemeths or something."
"I'm sure the students would love that, Zell," Rinoa smiled as the trio made their way into the office. "The only ones who would dare venture into the training center would be you and Squall."
"Hey, it would keep them out of the secret area after curfew, right? That's a plus."
They were laughing as they made their way into the office, and the other three SeeD members glanced at them expectantly. Selphie bounded over to Irvine, who wrapped a possessive arm around her, Zell hovered next to Quistis, and Rinoa crossed the room to be with Squall. The commander of Garden was leaning against the wall, alone in a corner as usual, but he looked up and gave Rinoa a faint smile as she approached.
"What's going on?" she asked, imitating his pose and leaning against the wall herself, as close to him as was comfortable in such a formal setting. "Another mission?"
"Dunno yet," Squall muttered, reaching down to lace her fingers with his own. A sudden warmth rushed through Rinoa's entire body, and she bit back an idiotic grin. Squall glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes and squeezed her hand.
Cid came back then, shuffling into the room with his wife, Edea, close behind him. The gentle Matron of the orphanage gave each of her children a serene smile, her face radiating peace as she went to sit in a corner chair. Rinoa sighed and pressed closer to Squall, leaning against his strong shoulders. Matron seemed truly happy now; it was hard to believe that this was the same woman they had fought as Sorceress Edea, so long ago. A lifetime ago.
Then, Cid cleared his throat, glancing at each of them to make sure they were listening. They were; Zell was listening so intently it looked like his veins would pop out of his head. Placing his hands behind his back, Cid smiled at all of them.
"First of all, to put your hearts at ease, this is not a mission run."
There was a collective sigh of relief from everyone but Zell and Squall; the latter taking the news without expression, and the former collapsing in a chair with the loudest groan Rinoa ever heard.
Cid continued: "Irvine has just informed me that the rebuilding of Trabia Garden is way ahead of schedual. And, since all of you have been working so hard to get both Gardens up and running again, I think a vacation is in order. You've all certainly earned it. So, as of tomorrow, you all are on leave for two weeks. You may use that time to do whatever you wish. My only request is that you remember that you are all senior SeeD members, with the exception of miss Heartilly, and that you set the example for our younger students. Other than that, you're free to go."
"Whoo hoo!" Selphie cheered, leaping about a foot in the air. "Balamb beach, here I come!" She cheered again and raced out of the room in a blur of bright yellow. The others followed at a saner pace.
"Vacation, huh?" Squall mused as he and Rinoa left the office hand in hand. "I don't think I've had one of those before."
"It'll be fun, Squall," Rinoa encouraged, smiling at the slightly worried look on the commander's face. Trust Squall to turn a vacation into something to brood over. "We can finally have some time alone; just the two of us."
"I'd go anywhere with you, Rinny" he said, so quietly that Rinoa barely caught it. Her heart skipped a beat. As the elevator door closed safetly behind them, Squall drew her close for a quick but heated kiss, and Rinoa melted into his arms.
"How about Winhill?" Rinoa asked when her breath returned. "Its quiet, remote, fairly hidden from the rest of the world. And I would love to see the place where Ellone grew up." She bit her lip at the sudden pain in Squall's eyes. "Oh, sorry," she whispered, realizing. "I didn't want to cause you bad memories."
"No, its all right," Squall reassured her as the elevator came to a halt. "I've...been meaning to see it myself, someday. I need to visit my mom; say my goodbyes..."
Now Rinoa felt throughly wretched. "I'm really, really sorry, Squall. We can go somewhere else. I want you to enjoy this vacation."
Squall touched her cheek, silencing any more protests she might have. "I will," he said softly, "as long as I'm with you."
The elevater doors opened with a hiss. Squall and Rinoa were about to say their goodbyes--both of them had work that needed to be done before their vacation--when they noticed the boy standing in the middle of the hall, watching them.
In itself, this was nothing unusual. Both Garden Commander and Sorceress were used to being stared at by the younger students. They were part of the reason Garden attendance was so high these days. However, even with the large numbers of students and trainees, Rinoa could usually remember a face, even if she didn't know the person's name.
But, this boy, who looked to be around fourteen or fifteen, meaning he had been in Garden for awhile now, was a complete stranger to her. Lean and wiry, with tousled black hair and steel blue eyes, he stared at the couple in open astonishment, surprize mirrored on his young face. His clothes were ragged; filthy, but strapped to his waist was a familiar looking steel blade.
"Squall!" Rinoa gasped, as the handle of the weapon glinted under the bright flourecent lights. "He's got a gunblade!"
************ Well, that was chapter one. Hope it was interesting enough. Anyway, don't forget to review. I live for those things. ^_^
SilverKitsune
Peacful Days
The artificial lights gleamed off the perfectly honed edge of the Lionheart as it swept through the air, smashing with deadly accuracy into the skull of a monstrous T-Rexaur. Several more lightning fast blows followed the first, and the stricken monster roared in agony as it crashed to the training center floor, making the ground rumble with it's passing.
Squall Leonhart sheathed his weapon and raked a gloved hand through his wet bangs, pushing them out of his eyes. "That was way too easy," he muttered, watching another T-Rexaur peer at him warily from behind a clump of trees, wisely disdaining to come closer. Not even the fearsome T- Rexaurs gave him much of a challange anymore, and Squall was frankly bored to death. What he wouldn't give to borrow the Ragnorock for a day or two and fly out to the Island closest to Hell, all by himself. Cid wouldn't hear of it, of course. 'Now, Squall, I can't be risking the best commander Balamb Garden has ever seen. What would Edea say? What would the world say?'
Squall sighed. In the month after Ultimacia's demise, he and his friends had become national celebraties. They had been hounded, idolized, worshiped, scorned, envied, criticized, and gossiped about constantly. The others had borne it well, much better than him, he would have to admit-- with Irvine eating it up like candy and Quistis with her patient teacher smile firmly in place--but the stress was beginning to wear them out, too.
As for himself, he had never gotten the hang of this hero business. After taking the job as full-time Garden commander ( very reluctantly, one might add ), his life had become even more stressed. With virtually no missions to take his mind off the pressures his role demanded of him, he was reduced to fighting T-Rexaurs in an artificial training simulation, to relieve some of his pent up energy. He wasn't cut out for this; he was a warrior, for Hyne's sake, a trained mercenary! He wasn't meant to live his life behind a desk, or in endless meetings and peace talks. He needed something to do, and soon, or he would go crazy.
Now, a trio of Grats approached him, waving their tentical-like arms menecingly over their heads. Squall looked at them with contempt. They weren't even worth going after. He considered wiping them out with a well placed Ultima spell, but that was a hideous waste of magic, and he needed to leave at least a few monsters for the younger students. Turning on his heel, he left the training grounds, wondering what Cid would say if he suggested that they put in a few Tonberrys, or maybe a Chimera. The poor man would probably have a heart attack.
"SQUALL!"
"Oof! Selphie," he grunted, staggering back as the petite girl flung herself into him, hugging him tightly around the waist. Wincing, he pried his hyper teammate off his bruised ribs, drawing in a much needed breath. "I didn't expect you back from Trabia so soon. Is Irving here, too?"
"He's up giving our progress report to the Headmaster," Selphie replied, her green eyes dancing as she watched him. "It's so good to see you again, Squall!" she exclaimed, and he took a step back for fear of another hug. "I missed everybody so much!"
"You've only been gone a couple of weeks."
"But, still--" Selphie didn't finish her thought, spotting another unfortuanate victim to bestow her affections on. "ZELL!"
Watching Selphie chase a terrified Zell towards the cafeteria, Squall sighed, feeling that strange tugging sensation at the corner of his lips. Shaking his head, he started off for the Headmaster's office. If Irvine was up there giving his report on the rebuilding of Trabia Garden, Cid would probably want him to hear it, too.
* * *
"So, basically, everything is running ahead of schedual, sir." Irvine's deep, drawling voice could be heard as Squall stepped out of the elevator. Not surprisingly, Quistis was here too, on top of all the latest developments as usual. Rarely did something happen in Garden without the much revered instructor Trepe knowing about it. Squall would have thought her a nosy busybody, if he didn't rely on her to keep track of all his important meetings, interviews, and appointments day after day. She was so much better at that kind of thing than he was.
"Excellent." Cid was beaming. "I knew I sent the right people to get the job done. Oh, Squall, you're here," he said, catching sight of Squall in the doorway. "Good, good. I have something to discuss with you and the rest of your team. Would you mind paging everyone up here? Rinoa too. I need to get some papers from my desk, and I forgot where I put them...." He wandered off, scratching his head, and Squall frowned.
'I hate the intercom.' Hopefully, he looked to Quistis. But, the blond haired instructor simply gave him her stern teacher look and shook her head.
"Forget it, "Commander," she said, knowing how that word would irritate him. "I'm not calling anybody up here. That is your job now, so you might as well get it over with."
Squall sighed and placed a hand to his forehead.
* * *
"Attention, Balamb Garden. Would Selphie Tilmitt, Zell Dintch, and Rinoa Heartilly please report to the Headmaster's office? Selphie Tilmitt, Zell Dintch and Rinoa Heartilly to the Headmaster's office immedietely. Thank you."
In the library, Rinoa Heartilly, also known to the world as Sorceress Rinoa, glanced up from the physics book she was reading and giggled helplessly.
'He always hated broadcasting his voice over the intercom,' she mused, placing the book back on the shelf and heading out the door. 'Hyne, he sounds so serious. No wonder the students are terrified of him.' She met Selphie and Zell on the elevator, and was treated to a crushing Selphie/bear hug that made her ribs creak.
"So, any idea what the Headmaster wants?" Rinoa asked casually as the elevator dinged to a stop.
"Man, I hope its a mission of some sort," Zell added, his blue eyes feverishly bright with hope and excitement. "I'm going nuts, sitting around here all day, with nothing to fight but Grats and T-Rexaurs. And Squall's got most of 'em scared to death! You need to have a talk with that boyfriend of yours, Rinny. Either that, or we need to convince the Headmaster to let us bring in stronger monsters. Like...I don't know. Behemeths or something."
"I'm sure the students would love that, Zell," Rinoa smiled as the trio made their way into the office. "The only ones who would dare venture into the training center would be you and Squall."
"Hey, it would keep them out of the secret area after curfew, right? That's a plus."
They were laughing as they made their way into the office, and the other three SeeD members glanced at them expectantly. Selphie bounded over to Irvine, who wrapped a possessive arm around her, Zell hovered next to Quistis, and Rinoa crossed the room to be with Squall. The commander of Garden was leaning against the wall, alone in a corner as usual, but he looked up and gave Rinoa a faint smile as she approached.
"What's going on?" she asked, imitating his pose and leaning against the wall herself, as close to him as was comfortable in such a formal setting. "Another mission?"
"Dunno yet," Squall muttered, reaching down to lace her fingers with his own. A sudden warmth rushed through Rinoa's entire body, and she bit back an idiotic grin. Squall glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes and squeezed her hand.
Cid came back then, shuffling into the room with his wife, Edea, close behind him. The gentle Matron of the orphanage gave each of her children a serene smile, her face radiating peace as she went to sit in a corner chair. Rinoa sighed and pressed closer to Squall, leaning against his strong shoulders. Matron seemed truly happy now; it was hard to believe that this was the same woman they had fought as Sorceress Edea, so long ago. A lifetime ago.
Then, Cid cleared his throat, glancing at each of them to make sure they were listening. They were; Zell was listening so intently it looked like his veins would pop out of his head. Placing his hands behind his back, Cid smiled at all of them.
"First of all, to put your hearts at ease, this is not a mission run."
There was a collective sigh of relief from everyone but Zell and Squall; the latter taking the news without expression, and the former collapsing in a chair with the loudest groan Rinoa ever heard.
Cid continued: "Irvine has just informed me that the rebuilding of Trabia Garden is way ahead of schedual. And, since all of you have been working so hard to get both Gardens up and running again, I think a vacation is in order. You've all certainly earned it. So, as of tomorrow, you all are on leave for two weeks. You may use that time to do whatever you wish. My only request is that you remember that you are all senior SeeD members, with the exception of miss Heartilly, and that you set the example for our younger students. Other than that, you're free to go."
"Whoo hoo!" Selphie cheered, leaping about a foot in the air. "Balamb beach, here I come!" She cheered again and raced out of the room in a blur of bright yellow. The others followed at a saner pace.
"Vacation, huh?" Squall mused as he and Rinoa left the office hand in hand. "I don't think I've had one of those before."
"It'll be fun, Squall," Rinoa encouraged, smiling at the slightly worried look on the commander's face. Trust Squall to turn a vacation into something to brood over. "We can finally have some time alone; just the two of us."
"I'd go anywhere with you, Rinny" he said, so quietly that Rinoa barely caught it. Her heart skipped a beat. As the elevator door closed safetly behind them, Squall drew her close for a quick but heated kiss, and Rinoa melted into his arms.
"How about Winhill?" Rinoa asked when her breath returned. "Its quiet, remote, fairly hidden from the rest of the world. And I would love to see the place where Ellone grew up." She bit her lip at the sudden pain in Squall's eyes. "Oh, sorry," she whispered, realizing. "I didn't want to cause you bad memories."
"No, its all right," Squall reassured her as the elevator came to a halt. "I've...been meaning to see it myself, someday. I need to visit my mom; say my goodbyes..."
Now Rinoa felt throughly wretched. "I'm really, really sorry, Squall. We can go somewhere else. I want you to enjoy this vacation."
Squall touched her cheek, silencing any more protests she might have. "I will," he said softly, "as long as I'm with you."
The elevater doors opened with a hiss. Squall and Rinoa were about to say their goodbyes--both of them had work that needed to be done before their vacation--when they noticed the boy standing in the middle of the hall, watching them.
In itself, this was nothing unusual. Both Garden Commander and Sorceress were used to being stared at by the younger students. They were part of the reason Garden attendance was so high these days. However, even with the large numbers of students and trainees, Rinoa could usually remember a face, even if she didn't know the person's name.
But, this boy, who looked to be around fourteen or fifteen, meaning he had been in Garden for awhile now, was a complete stranger to her. Lean and wiry, with tousled black hair and steel blue eyes, he stared at the couple in open astonishment, surprize mirrored on his young face. His clothes were ragged; filthy, but strapped to his waist was a familiar looking steel blade.
"Squall!" Rinoa gasped, as the handle of the weapon glinted under the bright flourecent lights. "He's got a gunblade!"
************ Well, that was chapter one. Hope it was interesting enough. Anyway, don't forget to review. I live for those things. ^_^
SilverKitsune