Hey, guys!

Kurosukai: Of course he could. He just didn't want to mess with it ;)

Silverstargirl: I'm waiting for Vincent to lash out irrationally XD

Krimson65: I'm very glad you're enjoying this fic! And Griever? I've never heard of Squall being Griever o.o Now I'm curious. Must research...

rebirth-flame: Yes, Hellmasker is one of his limit breaks. And I have no idea how you get him. I've never played VII XD And I'm thinking Rin's going to have a bigger role a bit later, but I'm not too sure at this point...we shall see.

Thatotherguy: Eh...I'll work on that. Maybe. If you're lucky XD

Disclaimer: No.

Irvine was very concerned about the state of things. Namely Squall.

They had returned to Garden at about two in the morning and Cloud was still zoned out. He hadn't said a word since he suddenly screamed. Irvine heard Vincent murmur something about psychological shock and couldn't help but wonder how Squall must be.

But Cloud wasn't responding to questions, so it was anyone's guess.

And to add to it all, Quistis had finally gotten in touch with Kiros earlier. It seemed Squall was requested to assist in the investigation, since they believed he was detached enough to handle it.

Detached was one way of looking at it, Irvine supposed.

"Keep an eye on him," Vincent said in Irvine's ear before turning and heading outside to his car.

"Cloud shouldn't be alone," Quistis said decidedly as she eyed the blond. Cloud was standing with his back to them, staring at nothing. "You or Zell should stay with him tonight."

"I'll take him," Irvine volunteered. Zell wasn't exactly the nurturing type.

"Are you sure we shouldn't just send him to the infirmary?" Selphie asked, worry tinting her voice.

"And tell the doctor what?" Quistis asked.

Selphie looked away. "Guess not. Why can't Vincent watch him, though? Cloud said he was a doctor."

"He didn't seem too concerned," Irvine informed.

Zell snorted. "Such a good friend."

"Let's get some sleep," Quistis sighed, turning and heading toward the girls' dorms.

Irvine took Cloud by the elbow and followed Zell to the men's dorms.

Someone was shaking him.

Irvine cracked open and eye. A dark shape loomed over him and he jumped. "Hey!"

"It's me," Cloud said, his voice carrying a strange urgency. "We have to go see the President."

If he hadn't been so surprised that Cloud was up and talking, Irvine might have shot him for waking him up at this indecent hour.

"Cloud," he began, glancing at the empty couch where the blond should have been. "It's five in the morning."

"And it'll take most of the day to get there without the Ragnarok," he informed. "We should get moving."

So persistent. Where was his gun when he needed it? "Shouldn't you be in shock or something?" he growled, rolling over.

"Aeris spoke to me!" Cloud exclaimed.

"That dead girl?" Irvine asked, his interest piqued enough for him to keep his eyes open.

"Yes, the dead girl," he confirmed impatiently. "She said the President left something to help us find Sephiroth."

Irvine sighed. "What does Squall say?"

Cloud was quiet for a moment. "He says to get your lazy cowboy butt out of bed."

Irvine snorted. "Yes, Commander."

Cloud was tired, but Squall really couldn't find it in himself to care. Before they had left Balamb, they had gone to see Rinoa and found her asleep. Cloud had asked the nurse about her and though she didn't understand the stranger's curiosity, she had told him that Rinoa was in an induced coma. The pain from the burns would have been more than she could handle, at this point, even with morphine.

And now it was Laguna lying before them in a hospital bed. His flesh was pale and his breathing labored, but he was alive and awake.

"Cloud?" he asked, his voice the weakest and most lifeless Squall had ever heard it.

Cloud shifted his gaze back outside where the others were waiting with the guard detail. Then he looked back to Laguna. "Yeah, it's me."

"And Squall? He's still there, right?" he sounded worried.

""Yes. He's still here," Cloud confirmed.

Laguna sighed, then winced. "Good."

Squall wasn't sure what to think anymore. He knew he should be looking at things from an aloof, military perspective. This should be like any other mission.

But every time he heard the name Sephiroth, or thought of Rinoa or Laguna, his rage built evermore. He wanted nothing more than to kill him, to have his throat in his hands or to impale him with Lionheart's blade.

But with this, this host of irrational feelings, Squall couldn't help but feel troubled and overwhelmed. Never before had he wanted one man's blood so much. Never before had he felt so enraged and livid with a thirst for vengeance.

And Squall suddenly wondered when it had all started to matter.

Squall wasn't with him anymore. He was lost in his own musings.

"Mr. President-"

"Laguna, please," the man requested, his eyes drooping.

Cloud nodded. "Laguna, I need to ask you what happened."

"Have you read the police reports?" Laguna asked.

"No. Squall thought it would be best to come to you," Cloud explained, his eyes wondering to the various machines around the room. "He said you know better than to tell investigators about this kind of thing."

Laguna snorted in derision, then winced. "Glad he gives me some credit. I realize the panic it could cause if something like this became public."

Cloud nodded. "So, what happened?"

Irvine cracked open an eye from beneath his hat to glare at Zell. "Give it a rest, Zell. If I hear one more vampire joke, I'll shoot you myself."

Zell looked at him from his position over Vincent's shoulder. "C'mon, Irvine, he is one!"

Irvine hoped Vincent was as distracted as he looked. Cloud had been in with Laguna for a half hour. In that time, Vincent had been pouring over the laptop they had discovered in the basement.

"Why don't you do something more productive and beneficial to mankind?" Irvine suggested, closing his eye again.

"Like what?" Zell asked, sounding suspicious.

"Shut up?"

Zell spluttered indignantly, making no sense, as far as Irvine was concerned.

"When are they going to be done?" Selphie interrupted the martial artist's rantings from somewhere to Irvine's right.

But Irvine wasn't listening. He was tired. He'd been awake much too long for his liking and now was the perfect opportunity for sleep. There was just enough noise to offer a dull, soothing roar that made it easy to drift off...

The squeak of Laguna's hospital door signaled the end of his nap. "It's chaos," Cloud's voice announced.

The cowboy opened his eyes blearily and sat up, pushing his hat back with a forefinger. "Of course it is. What does that have to do with-"

"No," Cloud interrupted, looking at Vincent. "It's Chaos. That's who he's trying to summon!" There was the barest trace of panic in his voice.

Vincent nodded, not appearing fazed in the least. "I have come to the same conclusion," he said, clicking his odd metal appendage against the laptop.

"What's Chaos?" Quistis asked from her seat on the window sill.

"It is what is called a WEAPON," Vincent informed. "'Omega's squire to the lofty heavens'. When the Planet senses that it is in peril, Chaos will be sent to gather all life of it's inhabitants. When that is finished, Omega will be summoned to pull the rest of the Lifestream from the Planet and leave to settle another world. When that happens, all that will be left is an empty shell of a world."

There was silence as everyone tried to wrap their minds around it all. Irvine was having a bit of difficulty believing it himself.

The world coming to an end?

"What would be the point?" Quistis was the first to recover. "Sephiroth would be ruling a piece of rock."

"He must have a way of cloning himself or something," Zell offered. "Otherwise, there wouldn't be a reason to-"

"Wait," Selphie spoke up,"What if he was planning on repopulating the planet not with clones but with, you know, kids?"

"I don't think the Lifestream works that way, but it doesn't matter why," Cloud said. "It's how. How can he summon Chaos?" The question was directed at Vincent.

"It is possible that his services can be won just like any GF's," the man said. "In his studies, Sephiroth shows special attention to the mountain ranges near Trabia Garden," he informed, pressing something on the computer.

"It could take months to search the whole range!" Zell cried, horror on his face.

"Sephiroth has several caves marked," Vincent continued, ignoring Zell's outburst. "He seems to think them important."

"Then that's where we're headed," Cloud announced. He tossed something to Vincent, who caught it effortlessly. It took Irvine a second to realize it was a voice recorder. "See what you make of that."

Vincent nodded and tucked it into his pocket.

"Let's move," Cloud ordered, leading the group through the hospital.

As they made their way out of the city, a brief, morbid thought flitted through Irvine's mind; This could be the last time he saw Esthar.

Yes, that Omega quote was from DoC. My nerdiness knows no bounds.

I know there was something I wanted to tell ya'll here. I just don't remember what...oh well XD

Hope you guys have an amazing week :D

God Bless,

-RainFlame