A/N: Okay, I'm really sorry it's been like a month since my last update! But I'm trying my best to edit as best I could and still write the story at the same time. I have so many chapters to re-read and edit! And also, I'm setting up a deviant art account for my artwork! I'm trying to finish one up right now, and for anyone who likes this fanfic you might wanna check it out after I'm done! I'll be sure to post it as my pic. Also on another note, I've been bouncing around some ideas for MORE stories! ...and a possible sequel. I still prewritting, though, so I don't really know how that will out. Keep reviewing because I love reading them and replying back to you guys!
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, but I'm glad to say I own some of the characters in this story!
Phase 8: Briefing
"Three and a half days and were finally in Deling!" Riki burst out, walking along side Angelus as the group advanced down the crowded streets of the Galbadian Capital, Deling city. "It's good to finally be home again!"
"It feels like it's been FOREVER since we were last in Deling, don't you think, Squall?" Selphie asked, peering up to his taller figure.
"I suppose…" was his reply, shrugging at a loss for words.
"When was the last time we were here, anyway?" Zell asked him, treading not too far away.
The memories flooded back into his mind, recalling the assassination attempt on Edea two years ago. That resulted in a failed mission and imprisonment in the D-District prison, oh, how could he forget that? Squall had been charged on many counts, having Caraway, who was in charge of the attempt, back out of taking any responsibility when it came to the expense of his reputation. Therefore, with Squall unconscious and unable to make any protest, Caraway acted like it never happened and failed to bail the SeeDs out for parole.
As a result, being in Deling City wasn't as delightful as it may have seemed to be. "Never mind that, we need to find the guy who was in charge of the attacks in Dollet."
"We're staying in the Galbadia hotel for the night until we can locate where the Sahara group is. In the meantime, we are to hang tight there." Angelus informed the group.
"Sahara?" Selphie asked, "Sounds kinda like a desert to me."
Selene giggled to her comment, cocking her head to the side to see Selphie from the corner of her eye. "Sahara is our ally group. We correspond with them on a regular basis. They are the group who notified us about the attack."
"So, they were the ones who overhead the galbadian guards talking about the attack." Squall murmured.
The sound of Angelus' Cell phone going off caught everyone's attention. He pulled it out and flipped it open, "Hello?"
"Hey man! Heard you're back in Deling!" A man on the other end cheered enthusiastically.
"Caesar?" Angelus broke into a smile, "Hey, how did you find that out so soon? I haven't even been here for an hour and you already know?"
"Who is Caesar?" Selphie whispered to Mike.
"He's the leader of Sahara. He and Angelus go way back." answered the taller man.
"Even you should know that news spreads like wildfire in Deling!" he laughed. "So, the reason I called you is that I'm just chillin' here in the Hotel by myself…just drinking my cocktail. I was wondering if we can meet up, we need to talk."
"Cocktail, huh?" Angelus chuckled, "And nothings ever good after you say 'we need to talk'."
Caesar laughed once more, "Always was the joker, Angelus. But seriously, I've got more info on the attacks that my groups have uncovered. I think you need to check this out."
"Fine, I'll be on my way." His conversation concluded with that and the line went dead.
"What was that?" Zell asked him.
Angelus looked at his phone for a few moments, and shoved it into the depths of his trench coat pocket. "'Looks like we got some more info. It might even be a lead!" the leader's pace quickened breaking into a run. The group followed suit, cutting through the arcade district.
"So, what's the deal about this Caesar guy?" Squall asked Angelus as their gait decelerated, arriving to the destination.
"An old friend; his group is more about spies and gathering information, while ours are in action. Like in Dollet, Caesar found out some stuff, and we went out to gather more, and then did the action part." The Galbadian Leader explained. "We do both, but our status is more active than theirs."
Angelus trotted towards the counter and asked the female receptionist, "Has Caesar Lamont checked in yet?"
"Oh, yes, Angelus. He said he will be waiting down in the bar area for you," said the blonde woman.
"Thanks Danielle!" he spoke before darking off again.
"He always gets like this…"Riki muttered, shaking her head to his predictability. Her statement had snatched the attention of Zell, who just rolled his eyes.
"So, what info have you found out for us, Caesar?" Angelus asked, anxiously, his old chum as they all crowded around the nearest table to the bar.
Caesar looked as if he were Galbadian himself. He had dark brown curly hair, and had brown eyes as dark as chocolate. He had a series of wrinkles upon his face, indicating he was about 40 or so. He had a medium build with had very little muscle. It was no wonder that he was positioned as a spy for the Underground Association. He had very little strength due to his ageing. He wore a brown leather jacket with a navy blue dress shirt underneath it and wore faded blue jeans. If Squall didn't know his of occupation, he would have assumed he was just some average civilian. He also noticed his speech was lacking due to his accent, but nevertheless he trusted that this man was quite intelligent.
"Apparently, word on the street says there's a guy by the code name 'Jenster' who lives deep within the Timber forest; his cribs some ol' shack or somethin' 'long those lines. A few nights ago, he found some bodies decapitated within the woods and some strange markin's."
"Could it have been magic?" Zell questioned.
"Could be," he shortly said, "They did have burns 'round their bodies, too. Not just that, but strange large slashes. Couldn't be some regular sword, I can tell ya that!"
"What sword can inflict fire on itself?" Angelus muttered, but only Squall heard him clearly.
"…." Then it hit him. "A gunblade!"
"What?" Selphie yelled.
"It could have junctioned fire on its physical attack." Squall suggested.
"Junctioned?" Zell echoed, "But only SeeD and Cadets can use that! Garden has been closed down for two years now!"
"Could it be?" Selphie asked amongst herself, Squall and Zell in utter shock, hoping she could be wrong, "Could an ex-SeeD be the one who killed them?"
"No…"Squall muttered, "It's an ex-cadet…the only one who is ruthless enough to do such a thing…"
"It CAN'T be him!" Zell exclaimed.
"Seifer…" Squall finally said, "It could be him. He uses a gunblade which has fire junction towards its physical attack."
"But c-couldn't it be another Gunblade user?" Selphie asked, hesitantly.
Squall turned to her and explained, "There aren't many Gunblade specialist's left after the war. There weren't that many to begin with, anyway."
"So, you're saying you might know the guy who did it, Squall?" Angelus inquired, cocking an eye brow at the brunette, suspiciously.
He glanced over at the Naperic leader, "Seifer wouldn't do such a thing if the person telling him what to do is weaker than he is. He MUST be working along side someone of higher authority."
"The galbadian general, perhaps." Caesar stated, causing the group's attention to revert to him again.
"What does Caraway have to do with this?" Angelus asked him.
"He might have some connection with what's goin' on in Galbadia. I mean- doesn't he always?" the older man explained logically.
Riki tilted her head, murmuring, "If he commands the galbadian army, he probably has some of input on the governmental matters of the nation. So…wouldn't he be aware of what happened in Dollet?"
"And why didn't he even bother to send troops over towards Dollet?" Selphie cut in.
"Wish I knew…"Caesar sighed in defeat, and leaned backed into his chair. "Our underground groups haven't found that out yet. They're still lookin', but they can't find anything…"
"I say we bust in on the generals house and get our answers from him!" Zell cried out in excitement, expected by his usual nature.
"That'd be stupid, Blondie!" Angelus raised his voice, angrily, "If we did that, there's no doubt he'll get the cops involved. We would have to be slick, move silently through the shadows…"
"So, we gonna do it, Angelus?" Riki asked expectant for his answer.
"I-"
"That ain't a good idea," Caesar cut in and interjected Angelus before he offered his opinion on the matter. "We don't got much proof that the general was the person who killed those guys in Timber forest or the reason he didn't bother to do anythin' 'bout the Dollet attack. We can't bust 'em yet, the time is still young, and we got important matters to get to. I'll keep watch and report anythin' I see. As for you guys, you need to get to Timber ASAP and find out who…or what killed those guys."
"How we gonna get there?" Zell asked Caesar. "We got no money!"
Selene smiled, "Well, there are perks in working with the Underground Association. The UA has ties with different people, and they can get what the want from them; such as seven train tickets to Timber."
"It's true. Call us one big happy family!" Riki chirped.
"And you three are part of us now, so get used to it." Angelus smirked, eyeing Squall once more.
"That's why I got you these," Caesar said pulling ticket stubs from his coat pocket and revealing them to the group. "Tickets to Timber. You're train leaves first thing in the morning."
"Timber…" Squall muttered as he sat alone on the balcony of the hotel room he shared with Selphie and Zell. "I haven't been there since…"
"Since you and Rinoa met up again after the graduation ball, right?" Selphie's voice said from behind him. He turned to see her leaning against the doorway, still wearing her normal attire.
He nodded, reminiscing over all the events that occurred in Timber and the girl he met there two years ago.
Selphie scoffed, "How could you forget? I mean, it was Rinoa who started it all." The brunette began to pace further onto the balcony, "Not only she began to make you fall for her, our last journey started in Timber. We all thought it was just a regular SeeD mission, but we got thrown into the disarray of the Galbadian government…"
"Yeah…" Squall finally said, feeling Selphie sit right next to him in a nearby chair.
Her green eyes gazed at him, her voice becoming softer, "Isn't it going to be hard to go back there, Squall?"
"Whatever…" he muttered to hide his true emotions like he always did. He stood up and began to head to the doorway.
"I could tell…" She spoke after a moment's silence, causing him to turn around in question.
"What?"
"You still love her, right?" She asked persistently, but not a word came from his mouth.
"That's why…" her eyes narrowed to a sudden thought. "That's why you didn't keep in contact with me…am I right?"
Silence swallowed him whole.
"That night…under the stars where I hugged you… The night she cheated on you….it makes sense now." She pouted, staring at the stars.
"You were embarrassedof what I saw that night... the real you. That's why you never kept in touch. You never answered my emails or my calls. I was pushed out of your life so easily." Her eyes ventured over to Squall again, anticipating for his reply.
Squall inhaled deeply and let out a loud goaded sigh. She was right, but all he could do was watch her from the corner of his eye as his back was to her. Just by seeing her reaction to her newfound discovery, he could tell how hurt she was because of him. The only words he could say were, "You think you know so much about me, but you know so little…"
This statement slightly shocked her, yet she half expected it from him. It did not sooth her issues of being so fed up with his 'act', and aggravated by his attitude, "Why can't you just open up to anyone? Honestly! I thought we were making so much progress!"
"Love makes you do crazy things…such as open up to people."
"What can hurt you if you do open up to me? Can't you trust me? Cant you trust anyone?!"
"By trusting as in letting others in and making them aware of your personal business when they have nothing to do with it? I chose not for people to meddle into my affair and never asked for it either. Rinoa just happened to be an exception, that's all." He explained.
"So what am I?" Selphie demanded, springing up from her seat.
"Selphie, goodnight." He stated firmly as his feet lead him back inside to leave the petite brunette to vent.
"He…he never used to be like this with me. He used to help me and cared for me as a good friend. What am I now? Why has he changed his ways with me? Did I do anything wrong…?" she thought, turning to the stars above for the answer she was seeking. They only twinkled in reply and no answer came.
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Squall lay down onto his bed later that night as the time ticked into the early morning. He sighed, unable to sleep, thinking over the conversation he had with Selphie. "I've closed myself off from the people around me again." he concluded mentally, turning to his side as his eyes caught sight of the brunette sleeping on the bed next to his. The thick blankets were covered up to her shoulders as she cuddled up with the pillow that was under her head. Her face was blank; he found that unusual for she always slept with a smile. Squall figured that it was due to the result of their argument. "It's for the best…cant you see that?"
He rolled onto his side, staring at the darkened ceiling, being bombarded by more of his musings. "I can't believe it's been two years already. I remember my last days at Garden so clearly…I remember her so clearly." His heart began to ache, he tried to gulp down hard trying to ease the pain, but it did little help. "Why? Why do I miss her after what she did? She caused me pain. She made me turn back to the way I was. I can't thank her for anything…I suppose I haven't fully gotten over her…"
"Fuck, what do I do?" he asked himself, his eye lids began to get heavy and after a moment, he too fell asleep.
A/n: I know, I know, I just posted. I know how much you guys like my double chapter updates, but I promise I'll get the second one up as soon as possible. I'm tired of writting and reading and photoshoping and it's 3 am here. Lol. So, I hope you liked it anyway, and REVEIW PLEASE!
