Authors notes: It's been forever. Sorry about the wait. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Read and review.

Kit's POV

We've taken three trains in order to get to Winhill and each time it's gotten harder to keep a low profile. It's not that my father talked about me a lot but people knew, we look alike. Plus the fact that scandal has been hitting Balamb at every turn lately.

The local news papers had published photos of my father and Lauren together, holding hands and kissing in public. Not that it's unsual for someone of authority to sleep with their secretary, it's her young age that has got everyone roaring. She just recently turned 18, barely making her legal.

It disgusts me.. everything about him disgusts me.

Winhill, to me, seemed like the perfect place to live. Not even after my father saved the world did this place become a tourist attraction, overrun by morons and curious journalists. It was quite the same even though the people had changed. All but Laguna and Ellone, anyway.

"Laguna.." I knocked twice softly and heard movement just inside the door. "It's Kit. I'm here to see you and Ellone."

The door opened and there stood a much older looking Laguna, hardly the man I remember from years ago.

"Kit!" He took me into his arms quickly, "You've grown so much! Why, you even look like me a little. Although obviously not nearly as attractive." He released me and brushed his still greying hair back in a comical fashion, posing for me.

"You haven't changed a bit. Well, maybe a little greyer." I recall asking my father if I could live with Laguna back when I was much younger. He wasn't happy with me. I regret not being more assertive with him, perhaps even running away.

"Come in, come in! Ellone, we've got company."

Vincent stood in the background silently, not sure of what to say or do.

"And who's this?" Laguna motioned towards Vince, peering more closely at him.

"I'm Vincent. It's nice to meet you, Mr. Loire." I could tell he was nervous from the way he hung his head, hoping that Laguna wouldn't notice the resemblance. It wasn't as if grandpa had any reason to hate the Almasy's but Vince just came to expect it by now.

"Kit!" Ellone ran from the back room and gave me a tight hug, almost knocking the air out of me. "It's been forever.. I'm sorry I haven't come around often, it's just.."

"It's alright. I understand.." Dad. Even she didn't want to be around him anymore.

An awkward silence loomed over us and the air became thick, we just didn't know what to say. My father had become a completely different man in the matter of a year. Not that he was ever an emotional, loving man but.. Rinoa did manage to change him into a human being. He's ruined my life and pulled away from everyone that cares about him, pushing them all away.

Sometimes when I think about it, I ask myself if I could have changed anything. Maybe I didn't support him enough, if I could go back and change it.. so that my childhood was a good one, so that I have memories of him smiling.. I would. But even when I think about it, I'm not even sure that I could have done anything. He's a different man now, he isn't Squall.

"My little Elle is going to be married soon!" He ruffled her hair a bit, sporting a wide smile. "I'm so proud."

"Please, Uncle.. I'm not little anymore!" She sighed in mock impatience, "I'm 38.. I didn't think I'd ever find anyone to spend the rest of my life with. I'm just happy I found someone that was willing to marry me." She laughed a little at this and poured us all a bit of coffee.

"That's so great to hear, really. How did you two meet?" Things were finally looking up for her, I'm glad I'm here to see it.

"I run the old bar now, Raine's bar. We changed the name and everything, just to keep her memory alive. All the people who would remember her have left this town by now, one way or another. But that isn't important, so long as she knows we love her." Ellone took a small sip of her drink and set it back on the table. "Alex and I met at the bar. He recently lost his wife and I helped him through it. It's a far fetched story but he's a good guy and I'm very happy."

Laguna's home looked much the same as it always did. Untidy, quaint and filled with mismatched furniture. The walls where all the bullet holes once rested were gone now, patched and painted over the same color as before. You'd never know they were there. It felt, to me, like he was erasing the past.

"We were wondering.. are there any homes for sale around here? Preferably ones that don't stand out too much and are farther away from the other occupants of this town." A weird request, clearly. But it's Winhill, who would look here?

"Isn't the old Thompson house for sale? The one sitting beneathe a hill?" Ellone stood from her seat and looked out the window, turning in every direction. "I can't see a sign from here but I seem to remember.."

"Ahh, yeah. It's your best bet around here but.. what's going on?"

Damn it.

"We ran away from Garden, away from Squall, away from them all. I.. I made a mistake. I'm closely tied to my mom and sometimes, she slips out. Maybe not her, sometimes it's Ultimecia. It's all the same to me, I've always struggled with this. But I can feel it growing everyday. The hatred for him, for all of them, building inside of me. So much has happened, the pain hasn't stopped since I was young. I needed to get away and.. I want to get even someday. What she failed to do, I'll do. It's a shame to leave them in peace for a while but I can't.." I stopped dead for a moment, realizing that I had begun to babble on senselessly. "Not right now."

Another silence, still and lighter than the last.

"Rin still talks to you?"

Yes..

"Yes." Wait a second.. "Still? You knew?"

"We heard you talking to someone when you were younger but we weren't sure who. Our bets were on Rinoa." She smiled faintly, placing her empty mug in the sink.

"This has been going on for that long?" Vincent finally spoke up, looking at me in awe.

"On and off. Sometimes I can't hear her so well.."

She has more control now, more so than she used to. It doesn't bother me. So long as she keeps Ultimecia pushed back, everything is fine. I'll be fine.

It's only when I think about what he has done.. all the people he has hurt by his actions..

I begin to lose it. Lose myself.

It scares me. I know so well what I am capable of doing.. of becoming.

Do I keep fighting? Is it worth it anymore?

"..I'm going for a walk."

Just a little while.