Chapter 3: Rising Tides

At length, they made it to Galbadia Garden, late of course, but Squall was satisfied that nobody at least had followed them.

Walking Rinoa to the main gate, Squall told her, "I'm going to call Galbadia Garden's headmaster as soon as I get to my office and let him know what's going on. If you see Irvine, let him know I'll be calling him too." Rinoa nodded, face pale.

Pausing, Squall pulled her into his arms, holding her tight, partly to comfort her, and partly for his own reassurance.

"I promise you, I'll do everything in my power to keep you and the babies safe." Squall sent.

"Then keep yourself safe as well. We can't survive without you." Rinoa replied.

Gazing down at her, Squall caressed her cheek, then leaned forward and kissed her.

"I love you." He whispered, adding mentally, "I will."

"I love you too Squall." Rinoa sent, reluctantly parting from him and walking through the gate. Squall watched her leave, then turned and walked toward the Ragnarok, heart heavy.

Boarding the airship, he prepared it for flight, noticing the blinking message light and immediately keying the comm. to hear it. It was Nida, wondering what had delayed his arrival. A second message, from Quistis, asked the same question. The third however, froze his guts to ice.

"Commander Leonhart, this is the international weather service in Esthar. We are calling to inform you that the hurricane that we have been tracking off the coast of Centra has moved northward and is gaining strength along the way. If it continues on its current course, it will strike Fisherman's Horizon first, then Balamb right after. Central pressure and estimated wind speed of the hurricane put it at approximately a category three. Estimated landfall in Balamb is forty-eight to seventy-two hours. Disaster protocols should be enacted immediately."

As Squall took off, he called into Balamb, "Ragnarok to Balamb. Nida, this is Squall. Listen, I need you to relay a message to Cid. Tell him that I just got a call from the international weather service. That hurricane they've been tracking has been upgraded to a category three, and it's heading straight for Balamb."

"Copy that Squall. You want me to put the SeeDs on alert?" Nida asked.

"Yes. Estimated landfall is forty-eight to seventy-two hours. That doesn't give us much time to prepare for it. We'll have a briefing as soon as I get there." Squall said, cutting the connection with Nida and calling the international weather service for an update, requesting the information be faxed directly to his office.

Upon landing the Ragnarok, Squall hurried into Balamb Garden, taking the lift to his office.

Upon exiting, he was met by Cid, who asked, "The hurricane's changed direction?"

Squall nodded, confirming, "Yes. I've requested an update from the weather service. It should be on my office fax right now." Unlocking his office, Squall went directly to the fax machine and took the papers that sat in the receiving tray, scanning them silently.

Cid waited until Squall looked up, expression grim, and said, "according to the weather service, we have a bit more time than originally thought before the hurricane hits us, but not much more. And it will hit us."

"How long?" Cid asked.

"They estimate landfall at four to five days." Squall said.

"Slow moving storm." Cid commented.

Squall nodded, saying, "That's not a good thing. That means it has more time to gather strength as it crosses the equator. It may lose some of that energy if it hits FH, but if it bypasses it and stays out to sea long enough, we could have a real monster storm on our hands."

Cid nodded, then said, "Balamb's only just started implementing your disaster plan Squall. They're not ready for this. Not completely."

"They'll have to get ready, and fast. Call the mayor Cid. Do whatever it takes to get them moving on getting their buildings boarded and people ready to evacuate." Squall said, not realizing that he was essentially ordering his boss to make phone call. In emergency situations however, Squall was in command, and even Cid had to follow his orders.

"All right." Cid said, then asked, "Why were you so late this morning, Squall? That isn't like you."

Squall frowned, "I'll explain later. I need to call a briefing and start getting the SeeDs deployed."

"I'll leave you to it then." Cid said, leaving for his office. Squall, sheaf of faxed papers in his hand, boarded the lift again, taking it up to the top where Nida manned the controls and the PA system.

Stepping off the lift, he nodded to acknowledge Nida's greeting and said, "I need to make an announcement." Nida silently stepped aside to grant him access.

Turning on the mike, Squall said, "This is Squall. I need to see the following SeeDs in my office immediately: Quistis Trepe, Seifer Almasy, Raijin and Fujin, Zell Dincht, Nida, and Xu. Thank you."

Turning the mike off, Squall jerked his head for Nida to follow him. Nida raised his eyebrows curiously and complied.

"What's the plan Squall?" he asked as they boarded the lift together.

"Wait until the others get here." Squall said as they exited the lift and headed to his office.

They didn't have long to wait. Xu and Quistis appeared almost immediately, followed soon after by Zell. Seifer and his posse arrived just ahead of Cid.

Addressing Cid, Squall asked him, "Is the mayor alerting the emergency crews?"

Cid nodded, "Some of the citizens have already seen it on the news and started boarding up their homes and businesses. The mayor tells me that they need a lot of help with sandbags though."

"We'll have to suspend classes and get some of the senior cadets to help with filling sandbags and boarding up windows." Cid nodded and Squall turned to address the rest of the SeeDs assembled.

"The hurricane off Centra's coast has changed direction and is heading straight toward Balamb. Latest reports put it at a category four. That could change for the worst as it's a slow moving storm and it'll have plenty of time to build up strength when it crosses the equator. We have about four days to get ready for it and to try and convince the population of Balamb to evacuate." Squall said.

Turning to Quistis, he said, "Quistis, I want you, Xu and Nida to work on getting the Garden prepared to take on evacuees. Get the junior classmen involved. Set up cots in the gym, the ballroom, and the larger classrooms. We'll take in as many people as we can." They all nodded.

Turning to Zell, Squall ordered, "Zell, you're going to be in charge of the senior cadets and SeeD volunteers to help with sandbags and boarding up buildings in Balamb. I want you to be certain while you're doing that to make sure everyone knows that this is NOT an ordinary storm and that they should evacuate. Soon. Let them know that if they can't get out any other way they can come here."

"You got it man." Zell confirmed.

Directing his attention to Seifer and his posse, Squall asked, "You still have that houseboat, right Seifer?"

Seifer nodded, his mind following Squall's train of thought and immediately leaping to the correct conclusion.

"You want me in charge of the harbor." He stated. Squall nodded.

"You know the harbormaster and the fishermen, they know you. They'll trust you. Get them to move their boats to the north side of the island. The Guarg Mountains will block the worst of the storm, so they should be safe there. Mobilize the ferries as well, get them to transport out as many people as possible to Dollet." Squall said.

Nobody had to ask about utilizing the trains. Once the storm surge hit, the risk of the underwater tunnel flooding was too great. The trains would be shut down as soon as the hurricane made landfall. Once that happened, the only means of escape would either be by boat or in Balamb Garden itself, which would be moved to southern Trabia. Zell would fly the Ragnarok there when he was done with his work in Balamb while Squall would stay on Garden and coordinate the SeeDs and in general keep everything together.

Just like he had when they'd battled Galbadia Garden. Only this time, it wasn't a sentient enemy, but a mindless monster that there was no defense against. Their only option for survival was to get out of its way.

Leaning back against his desk, Squall put the papers down and folded his arms, asking, "Anyone have any questions?"

"Why Dollet?" Seifer asked.

"It's the closest port. Ferries run back and forth daily. Not as often as they did before the underwater train tunnel was built, but they still do run. Evacuees should be able to catch a train from there to Deling City if they need to. Plus, if the hurricane follows its current course, Dollet won't be affected. At most, it'll get a good, soaking rainstorm. Balamb will bear the brunt of the storm." Squall explained.

Looking at everyone in turn, he asked again, "any other questions?"

Seeing that everyone so far was satisfied with his orders, he dismissed them, saying, "Okay, we've got a lot of work to do. I'm going to go make the announcement now. Dismissed."

Squall quickly went up to the bridge and made the announcement, suspending classes for the duration of the emergency and notifying everyone what their duties would be. Then he went back down to his office and started making phone calls. Starting with the headmaster at Galbadia Garden.

He'd just hung up the phone and was getting ready to call Irvine when Cid came in and asked, "Are you going to explain why you were late this morning?" Squall sighed in irritation.

"Yes." Then he hesitated, wondering if he should tell Cid of his concerns or brush it off as a personal matter. Then he realized, whatever affected him personally affected the SeeDs as a whole, since he was their commander. Besides that, this really wasn't something that he should even attempt to handle on his own. He just wasn't sure how much involvement Garden would or should have in this situation, not with a pending disaster looming over them all.

"Rinoa and I are being watched. One of our contacts in FH provided some information that leads me to believe that someone is preparing to move against us." Squall said grimly.

"Do you have any evidence of this?" Cid asked.

"The only evidence I have right now is the fact that money has changed hands in FH, certain people were hired. Plus, someone was waiting for me on the road I usually run on this morning. They didn't see me in the fog, but I'm pretty sure it was me they were waiting for. No one else takes that particular route at that hour." Squall explained.

"So you were late because…" Cid began, and Squall interjected, "I was late because I needed to vary our routine, leave at a different time than we normally do. Take a different route. If they're trying to set up an ambush, I don't intend to make it easy for them."

Cid nodded, "if there's anything you need…"

"I know." Squall said. He had more than enough on his plate right at the moment. They all did. But Squall was torn. He had all the SeeDs in Balamb Garden at his disposal, as well as its resources. But he had a disaster to prepare an entire city and all of it citizens for. His main focus had to be on that, and not the personal concern of one commander and his pregnant wife.

Quite simply, he couldn't divert Garden's resources and personnel for his own personal issue, not on the scale that he would need in order to resolve the situation, and not with the hurricane bearing down upon them all like a runaway freight train.

He'd have to continue as he was, with his close friends backing him up and with his outside contacts giving him information. He was currently operating outside of Garden's official channels, and he had to keep it that way, for the moment at least. Unless it affected Garden directly, he couldn't do otherwise.

If asked however, there wasn't a SeeD anywhere that wouldn't willingly put his or her life on the line for their commander. All he had to do was ask them...


After Squall left, Rinoa turned away from the window of the infirmary, trying not to transmit her worry to him. She felt his shield come up however and sighed. He always did that when he went to work, not wanting her to worry over what he was doing, or feed any of his stress to her. Other reasons too, which Squall had explained to her, having to do with security levels and so on. It was dangerous, this link they had, Rinoa realized. Squall was very careful not to let classified information leak into their daily lives, but it scared Rinoa sometimes that she might learn something that she shouldn't.

Not on her behalf, but on Squall's. None of the SeeDs knew of their mental link. Not even Squall's closest friends. Laguna knew, but so far, he was the only person besides them who was privy to it. If the SeeDs knew that their commander was married to a sorceress who had a direct link to his mind…

As much as they admired Squall, Rinoa didn't think they'd appreciate that fact, or trust that he was being as careful about sensitive information as he actually was being. Even Rinoa was surprised at how disciplined his mind could be, and didn't know how he could compartmentalize things like that so that she couldn't see it, but he managed.

And that was just one worry she had. Squall had given her another one to add to it, though Rinoa was sure that was not his intent. She was sure he'd told her about the danger facing them so as to warn her, make her aware of her surroundings, not to frighten her unnecessarily. Squall knew that Rinoa would prefer to know what she was facing rather than exist in blissful ignorance while he did his best to protect her. That had never been her way, and Squall admired her for it.

"Ms. Leonhart? Are you okay? You look worried." The doctor asked.

Shaking away her distraction, Rinoa said, "Yes, I'm fine doctor. Sorry I was late this morning."

"Everything okay with you and your husband?" The doctor asked her.

Rinoa nodded, unable to hide a small smile as she recalled the more pleasant part of why they were both late that day.

"Yes. We're fine." She answered.

The doctor grinned broadly, "I thought so. About time, too."

Rinoa frowned, "What do you mean?"

The doctor shrugged, "well, you seemed a little tense lately, and a little sad. I thought it might have been because you and your husband may have… fallen out of synch, so to speak."

"I was that obvious?" Rinoa asked, biting her lip.

The doctor laughed softly, "Unfortunately, yes. It happens. Obviously, he finished that big project he was working on, right?"

"Yes, he did." Rinoa answered, smiling proudly. She couldn't help but be impressed with the disaster plan he'd worked up. Squall had told her about it, surprised that she was interested, but happy to run it past her. When she'd added her perspective and made some observations that hadn't occurred to him, he'd looked thoughtful, then smiled and kissed her, turning back to his work. Later on, he'd thanked her and showed her where he'd modified the plans based on her input.

That had warmed her, that she'd been able to assist him in some small way. Maybe she wasn't a warrior, but then, maybe Squall didn't need a warrior wife. There were other ways that she could help him.

Just then, one of the doctor's assistants, Keri, came in, catching the tail end of their conversation.

"Commander Leonhart finally finished his project? Great!" Smiling at Rinoa, the girl added, "and it looks like your husband finally took care of business too! Although, married to such a hottie, I don't see how you can keep your hands off of him!"

Rinoa blushed deeply, admitting, "it's pretty difficult sometimes. Especially with my hormones going completely out of control like they're doing now."

"You are getting plenty of rest, correct Ms. Leonhart?" The doctor asked her.

Rinoa nodded, assuring her, "yes, I am."

"Good. Let's get to work. If you need to put your feet up for a bit Rinoa, let me know." The doctor said, urging both Rinoa and the other assistant, Keri, into the reception area of the infirmary.


Squall hung up the phone from yet another phone call, and rubbed at his temples, trying to ease the tension there. The local lumberyard had quickly run out of the inch-thick sheets of plywood needed to board up the homes and businesses in town, and Squall had started making calls in an attempt to track down another supply that would arrive before the hurricane.

Timber was the best bet, but it would take two days for a new supply to arrive by train, due to the rail schedules. Much too close a time frame. The Ragnarok was the obvious answer, and Squall was on the verge of calling Zell and assigning him and his team of cadets to fly it to Timber and Winhill to purchase as much plywood as they could get their hands on.

But the damned phone wouldn't stop ringing.

Immediately on the heels of his announcement, Balamb Garden was thrown into a flurry of activity. Zell had taken off immediately in a Garden car with a dozen or so senior level cadets, shovels and stacks of bags to the beach to help fill and deploy sandbags. Quistis and Xu had started breaking out all of the camp cots they had in storage, as well as all of the blankets they could find, and together with the younger cadets, set them up in the ballroom and gym.

Nida meanwhile, was preparing the Garden itself, making sure of everything top to bottom, including the supplies of food and water. Depending upon how badly damaged Balamb ended up being, and how long it took before it would be habitable again, Balamb Garden could be playing host to evacuees for some time to come.

Seifer, with Fujin and Raijin, had accompanied Zell in the Garden car to Balamb and headed straight for the harbormaster's office upon arrival there.

The residents of Balamb, seeing the cadets and SeeDs deployed in full force to assist, appeared appreciative of the extra hands but there were some inevitable snags. The lack of lumber being the most pressing one.

Finally finding a spare moment, Squall dialed Zell's cell phone, and quickly brought him up to date on the current situation with the plywood. The entire morning, he and his cadets had been filling sandbags, delivering an impressive number of them to Balamb. It wasn't quite enough, they still needed more, but Squall countermanded that for the moment and directed Zell instead to bring his team back to Garden and fly the Ragnarok out to Timber for the plywood.

Among the many sources of frustration for Squall was the mayor of Balamb's stubbornness over purchasing the materials, fussing about the expense and the city budget and so on. Cid wasn't much help, not wanting to commit too much of Garden's own financial resources to the effort either. While Squall understood both positions, with his sentiments falling firmly on Garden's side in the matter, he felt both men were being unnecessarily obstinate.

With Garden being set up to be used as a shelter for the bulk of Balamb's citizens, not to mention the manpower it was providing, both Squall and Cid felt that the expenses should be shared by the city. But Squall also didn't want monetary concerns to get in the way of their preparation efforts, either.

When they ran out of plywood at the local lumberyard and the mayor had balked at the expense of buying more from Timber and having it shipped in, Squall had finally snapped that he'd buy the damned wood himself and take it out of the mayor's hide if he didn't shut the hell up.

The mayor had finally compromised and would purchase the materials; with Squall getting it transported to Balamb in the Ragnarok.

After disconnecting from Zell, Squall quickly dialed Irvine's number while he had the chance.

"Hello, you've got Irvine." Irvine answered the phone in his trademark drawl, more pronounced now that he had returned to Galbadia, albeit temporarily.

"Irvine, this is Squall."

"Hey buddy, how's it goin'?"

Squall grimaced. He never knew how to answer that offhand question. Answer honestly, and it would invite questions, deflect it with a generic "fine" and he'd sound evasive.

Finally Squall answered, "Busy. Listen, I need you to work with Rinoa on her shooting skills. Marksmanship especially."

"Shooting skills? Why?" Irvine asked sounding puzzled.

Squall lowered his voice; "Someone was waiting for me this morning, on the beach road where I usually run. They didn't see me; the fog was pretty thick this morning. But some other information I got from our contacts in FH lead me to believe that whoever it is, they're planning to make a move on Rinoa and I."

"Odine?" Irvine asked.

"Maybe. We can't confirm it though." Squall answered.

"Well, don't worry about Rinoa man. Selphie and I, we'll keep an eye out for trouble here." Irvine assured him.

"Thanks. I appreciate that." Squall said.

"You know, it could simply be one of those stalkerazzi guys, you know, staking out your jogging route just for pics of your studly self." Irvine observed, tongue firmly in cheek.

"In fog? Before sunrise? If whoever it was wanted pictures they'd need a pretty powerful flash to get anything worth using. I'm not a photographer but even I know its tough to get a good, useable shot in those conditions." Squall reasoned.

"True. You might want to check with one of your media contacts to rule it out though, just to be safe." Irvine suggested.

Squall nodded in agreement, "That's not a bad idea. I'll give one of them a call."

"So what else is going on? I heard that the hurricane changed course." Irvine asked him.

"Yes it did. They're estimating landfall in about four or five days." Squall answered.

"So I'm guessing you're pretty busy getting ready for that, right?" Irvine asked.

Squall sighed, "That's an understatement."

"Well, don't worry, we'll keep an eye on things here." Irvine said.

"Thanks. I'll talk to you guys later. I've gotta go." Squall said, preparing to disconnect.

"All right. Take it easy." Irvine said.

Hanging up the phone, Squall stared at it pensively for a moment, considering the next phone call he needed to make. Before he could, the phone rang once again. Squall sighed quietly, glancing at his watch. Unsurprisingly, he'd missed lunch.

Resolving to remedy that immediately after the call was concluded, Squall answered the phone, "Leonhart."


The last light of evening was painting the sky vermilion and indigo as Squall finally landed the Ragnarok outside of Galbadia Garden. He never did manage to eat lunch, and only just managed to get out of there before it got too late. As it was, he was an hour past the time he normally picked up Rinoa, but he'd already let her know that he was running late.

She was waiting for him at Irvine and Selphie's place. She could have simply gone home and Squall could have caught up with her there. They had done just that in the past. But that was before this threat against them surfaced. Now, Squall absolutely did not want Rinoa alone. At all.

Squall tiredly shut down the Ragnarok's engines and got up from the pilot's seat, stretching and rotating his neck, trying to loosen the tension that seemed to live there now. Heading toward the door, he palmed it shut, the ramp delaying its retraction until the pressure sensors under the rubber mat covering it no longer felt Squall's weight.

As soon as he stepped onto the ground, the ramp retracted with a hiss.

"I'm back Rin, sorry I'm late." He sent as he walked through Galbadia Garden's main gate. He knew, vaguely, where Selphie and Irvine's rooms were, and he walked through the still unfamiliar garden, following Rinoa's mental trace to help lead him unerringly to her.

"You sound tired. Busy day?" She sent.

"Very. I'll tell you about it when I get there. Right now, I'm so tired I can barely form a coherent thought." Squall responded.

"You haven't eaten, have you?" Rinoa asked, sensing his hunger.

"No." He sent.

"Well, Selphie and Irvine are just about getting ready to eat. They've already invited us." Rinoa told him. Squall sent his relief and gratitude.

He knocked on the door to Irvine's rooms shortly afterward.

Irvine opened the door and greeted Squall, saying, "about damn time you showed up. We were worried one of us would have to go and get you. You hungry? We were just fixin' to sit down to dinner."

Squall nodded as he followed Irvine into the apartment, saying, "I could eat, yeah. Didn't have time for lunch."

"Well, come and have a seat." Irvine invited as he led Squall to the dining room. Rinoa got up from the table and approached him, giving him a hug. Squall sighed, leaning into her, feeling her love warming him as he held her.

Selphie and Irvine exchanged a smiling glance, as Squall and Rinoa appeared to forget them for a moment, kissing each other deeply before simply leaning into each other. Selphie's heart constricted as she saw Squall's hand move down from Rinoa's back to rest on the side of her stomach, caressing it. Reaching out, Selphie took Irvine's hand and he squeezed it gently before clearing his throat.

Grinning at Squall and Rinoa, he reminded them, "Guys? Dinner?"

Chuckling, Squall sat down, saying, "Sorry." Rinoa returned to her seat next to his.

"You guys are so cute." Selphie smiled, passing a dish over to Squall. Squall shrugged, taking a serving of corn and dishing a portion out to Rinoa as well before handing it back to Selphie.

"Depends on your definition of cute." Squall said, taking a dish passed to him by Rinoa and serving himself a little bit of what appeared to be cooked carrots. A very little bit. He loathed cooked carrots. Irvine snorted at his comment and Rinoa laughed softly.

"Well, that would be you two. Rinoa especially. You just look adorable with your pregnant belly stickin' out…" Selphie grinned at them. Squall rolled his eyes.

Rinoa smiled at him, "You must really be hungry to actually consider eating CARROTS."

"PLEASE don't tell me that Selphie and Irvine have gone vegetarian." Squall silently asked her. So far, all he'd seen were vegetables, a fact that had begun to worry him. Rinoa shook her head, eyes dancing, and passed him a bowl with some fried chicken pieces in it. He happily took a nice plump thigh piece and passed the bowl along.

Biting into it, he rolled his eyes, giving Selphie thumbs up. It was tender, juicy, with a nice crispy crunch on the outside, just what fried chicken was supposed to be.

"This is really good Selphie, did you cook this yourself?" Rinoa asked her.

"Yeah, we decided we wanted to do fried chicken tonight since I hadn't done it for awhile. Not hard to do but it is kind of messy to make." Selphie answered.

"Messy to eat too," Squall observed, reaching for a napkin and wiping grease off his hands and chin.

"Worth it." Irvine said, taking a bite out of his piece. Squall shrugged, agreeing with him privately.

After dinner Rinoa helped Selphie clear up the dishes and put them in the sink for washing, putting the few leftovers into containers and storing them in the refrigerator.

As Selphie started running the water to start the dishes, Irvine asked Squall, "So how are you going to handle things with this hurricane on its way Squall? I mean, once it hits, you're stuck. It may be days before you can come home from Balamb."

"That's why I called you Irvine. If I'm stuck there, I'm going to need someone here to make sure Rinoa's safe." Squall answered.

"Well, we'll be happy to help." Selphie chimed in, giving Rinoa a quick hug before adding; "you can stay here with us if you want to Rin. You won't have to be alone."

"Are you guys sure? I don't want to intrude.." Rinoa said, frowning.

"Nonsense. We insist, don't we Irvy?" Selphie asked him.

Irvine nodded, "Yes, we do. It's a good option, and it won't be an intrusion."

Squall approached Rinoa and took her hands, pulling her into a soft kiss. Pulling back, he stroked her check lightly, gazing into her eyes.

"Would you be okay with this Rin? It IS a good option. You'd be surrounded by SeeDs, and in the company of good friends. I'd feel much better, knowing you're safe." Squall sent. Rinoa sighed, leaning her forehead into his chest. Squall stroked her hair softly as she tightened her arms around him.

Finally she sent, "Okay, it is the best option out of all of them, and I have to admit, I don't want to be alone either. I wish I could go with you to help."

"Me too sweetheart, but if we got trapped up there and God forbid you were injured or went into labor… I just can't take that risk." Squall told her, continuing to stroke her hair.

"Dude. That is so weird…" Irvine said, shaking his head as he watched them. They'd simply stared at each other for a moment before Squall hugged her and started stroking Rinoa's hair. But their whole attitude made it look as though they'd had a complete, if silent, conversation. And really, now that he thought of it, Irvine didn't actually see them talk to each other very much at all. And yet…they obviously communicated. Somehow.

"What's so weird about it Irvine? When you're that close with someone, you know how he or she thinks. You get really good at reading them, their body language, their expressions, stuff like that." Selphie explained, smiling at their two friends.

Okay, that might explain some of it, Irvine allowed, but when they both turned to look at him and Selphie at the exact same time… well, that was just…. Odd. It was almost as if they shared the same brain…. the same mind.

"Should we tell them?" Squall asked Rinoa silently.

"I don't know. It might help for them to know…" Rinoa thought, but Squall sensed her hesitation. She was unsure of how Irvine and Selphie would react to knowing about their mindlink.

"Irvine at least suspects it. He's not stupid." Squall sent.

They were staring at each other again, and Irvine for one was beginning to get a little creeped out by it.

"Okay, guys, this is seriously beginning to get weird. Could you not do that? Please?" Irvine asked, scratching uncomfortably at the back of his neck. He was starting to get a prickly, shivery sensation down his spine and up to the nape of his neck and it was beginning to bother him.

As one, they both turned to Irvine and said in unison. "Sorry."


It took several minutes to get Irvine calmed down enough to listen. Selphie on the other hand, was surprised but not nearly as freaked out as Irvine was. In retrospect, Squall thought that they could have done a better job at letting their friends know of that particular dimension to their relationship.

"Okay, okay." Irvine took a deep breath, hands in his hair, staring at the two of them wide-eyed.

Swallowing, he dropped his hands, and pointed first to Squall, then Rinoa, saying, "So.. So you actually do… share the same mind?"

"No. Not exactly." Squall answered. Rinoa shook her head.

"Okay…. so, what is it, exactly?" Irvine asked. The implication of what they were telling him was frightening. They didn't act any differently than they normally did, other than the fact that they just didn't appear to talk very much. But then, Squall didn't talk much normally anyway. But Irvine kept remembering how Ultimecia, through Edea, had apparently controlled Seifer to get him to do what she wanted.

He didn't want to think of Rinoa doing that to Squall, hadn't even thought of the fact that she was a sorceress for ages. She hadn't done anything to cause him or anyone else to worry. Until now.

"It's part of the bond between sorceress and knight. Cid and Edea have this same bond, though not as strong, apparently, as ours." Rinoa said.

"So, can you read anyone else's mind? Or is it just between you and Squall?" Irvine asked, suddenly worrying about how long Rinoa had had this particular ability and what she may have seen in his mind. He couldn't suppress a shudder.

"It's just between the two of us." Squall answered calmly, then added, "and before you ask, NO, she does not control me, nor I her."

Rinoa couldn't hide a small smile at Irvine's relieved sigh.

"Squall can, if he chooses, shield himself from me, and I can do the same. So while we have the link, we are still ourselves, and we can have our own, private thoughts. And if you're worried about me learning things that I should not, well, Squall shields when he goes to work. Even I don't know how he manages this, but he doesn't let anything of a sensitive nature slip out." Rinoa explained.

Intrigued, Irvine asked, "When did you…learn of it? The bond?"

"I'd known of this…possibility… ever since I became a sorceress. I was afraid to tell Squall that I could hear his thoughts, so I had Edea help me to control my abilities so I wouldn't unless I chose to. Squall learned of it just before we got married." Rinoa answered.

Taking Irvine's hand, Selphie leaned into him and asked softly, "What's it like?"

Surprising them all, Squall answered. Slowly, he reached out and threaded his fingers through Rinoa's.

Gazing into her eyes, he said softly, "We share…. everything, when we're linked. Thoughts, emotions, even physical sensations; I can feel her pain, her pleasure, just as she can feel mine. At its deepest level, we truly are of one mind, one heart. It's at once both terrifying and exhilarating. At first, I was afraid I'd lose myself, be consumed by it. But she taught me how to control it, how to shield, if I needed to. If I needed space to be myself, she gave me the skill to achieve that. And it turns out, both of our minds, our personalities, are of equal strength, neither one dominant over the other. Our strengths, our weaknesses, they balance out."

"From what we've learned from researching it, our bond is rare because it's a bond of equals. In antiquity, the sorceress chose her knight, and hers was the dominant personality. He was her servant, her armsman, and her guardian. Nothing more. They did not marry, and they rarely fell in love with each other. The knight might fall in love with his sorceress, but it was the love of servant to master. A function of the bond so that the knight would be more willing to do his job and die for his mistress if it was required of him to do so." Rinoa explained.

"Even so, even those pair bonds, while not as strong as this, had a profound effect upon the sorceress if the knight was killed. Unless she found a new knight to bond with immediately, the sorceress would become…unstable." Squall said.

"Were there any sorceress-knight pairs like you two? Those that enjoyed a true marriage, like you?" Selphie asked, wondering.

"Well, aside from Cid and Edea, we only found a reference to one, over a thousand years ago. We don't have a name. And if the sorceress ruled anything, she did so quietly. The only thing we know for certain was that her knight was killed through treachery." Squall answered.

"What happened to the sorceress?" Selphie asked, biting her lip.

"The moment her knight died, so did she." Rinoa answered softly.

Selphie gasped, eyes filling with tears, and covered her mouth with her hand. Irvine swallowed. What they'd told him explained so much about their relationship that he hadn't understood before.

He wondered what it would be like, to be able to feel Selphie's pleasure as well as his own when they were together. It had to be the most incredible and yes, frightening experience a person could have. But, to feel her pain as well… Suddenly, Irvine remembered Squall dropping to his knees at the SeeD games, looking as though someone had hit him.

"You felt Rinoa's pain, didn't you, at the SeeD games. That's why you collapsed." Irvine stated.

Squall nodded, "I can shield out almost everything. But not that. If she hurts, I feel it."

"And…. if you die…." Irvine swallowed again.

"So do I." Rinoa said.