Like Father, Like Son
by Rikku Chic9
***
(Author's notes: The second Laguna scene is Squall dreaming again, not Ellone's power. The first one's just there. AU, some blood, little swearing, SPOILERS, all the usual. Enjoy.)
***
"So in other words, you're saying that Squall's a vampire?" Zell leaned towards Quistis and Ellone with suspicion.
"To put in a nutshell, yes." Quistis replyed.
"Cool!" Zell jumped a little from his seat in excitement.
Everyone in the room including Squall who'd been sitting on his bed, stared at Zell strangely.
'Unexpected, but definately something Zell would say in a situation like this.' Squall thought, but slightly grateful Zell at least didn't think he was a freak.
Irvine looked as though he was thinking deeply, but no one could really tell with him. Selphie seemed to just stare at the group as if she hadn't caught anything of what Quistis had for the last few minutes explained to them. Rinoa not being present was due to a message from her father inviting her back home to celebrate his birthday and was expected to return in a day or two.
"Ellone, you still haven't mentioned how this happened to Squall. Was he bitten recently, early sometime in his life and just started showing the symptoms now, or possibly during our travels? What?" Quistis implored.
"No. He was never bitten." Ellone answered.
"Then what?" Irvine suddenly spoke out.
"Well... He was born with it..." Ellone replied.
Everyone became silent for a minute or two. Quistis finally broke the silence.
"If he inherited it... then from which of his parents?" Quistis contemplated.
"Raine, am I right?" Selphie guessed.
"Actually, no..." Ellone corrected.
Everyone turned to her and Squall raised his head up toward Ellone.
"You're kidding me..." Squall spoke softly in an exasperated tone.
"No... It's Laguna." Ellone finally breathed out.
***
Laguna had been tempted everytime he drew near Raine with that pulse of her's calling to him.
'Sheesh, will you quit already.' He thought to himself with a small smile and thanking that he had good control after so long.
He'd lost count of how many times he'd had to cover his mouth when in the middle of a conversation with her because of his body's reactions. His fangs were constantly in threat of being exposed.
He had too many close calls with Ellone almost catching a glimpse of them forcing Laguna to come up with a lie such as it being a trick of the light or how it reflected off his teeth. It seemed to work everytime, thank goodness, but even he began to suspect she knew to an extent and was just being silent for now until she had the entire truth worked out.
At the moment, he was sitting at Raine's bar after she'd told them to take a break for the day. Ellone was running aroung just as hyper as she was everyday. Kiros always had the same drink, but Laguna didn't take anything. Except water sometimes after explaining to Raine that he didn't drink. Well, wine and such anyway.
Blood was alright with him, but it wasn't a subject he actually conversed about, obviously. The only ones he'd ever told about what he really was was to his best pals, Kiros and Ward. Kiros came along to Winhill to keep him in check, while Ward was working.
"Laguna, Kiros, did you every run into anything really out of the ordinary while with the army?"
This was the first time Raine had asked them a question like that. Especially, one that involved... well... Laguna's condition which she wasn't aware of.
They both kind of blurted out the first excuse they could think of.
"Dragons!"
"Wow!" Ellone exclaimed.
"Really? Are they as dangerous and rare as I keep hearing those Galbadian soldiers say? ... Or are you guys trying to show off?" She gave aboth of them a suspicious glare which she always saved for them.
"No, really!" Laguna waved.
"Just as dangerous!" Kiros added.
"... I see." Raine still looked like she didn't buy it just like she never really bought anything they told her.
'Man, she's on to us and you know it!" Kiros looked at Laguna.
"Why are you worrying?!" Laguna shouted out toward Kiros, but Raine lept at him.
"Caught you again! I didn't even say anything! What are you shouting about?!" She glared dangerously at him.
Man, he let his caution go down again for the fourth time around her. He thought about how much more stupid he could get. Now all he had to do was have her walk in on him nibbling on Kiro's neck. Then everything would be just perfect...
'Forget it. I'm gonna have to come up with something else!' Laguna planned mentally as Raine pulled away from the glare.
"Raine, that glass is overflowing." Raine turned to see the counter flooding over since she didn't pay attention.
"Darn it all!" She quickly wrestled the nozzle and threw towels all over the place.
Ellone started laughing which didn't help Raine in the least.
Laguna glanced at Kiros who gave him a quick thumb up.
***
"How the hell did that happen???!!!" Zell blurted out.
Squall had to admit he was thinking the exact same thing. Everyone else looked just as shocked since they all knew Laguna and he was definately not anywhere close to being vampire material.
"Laguna was bitten during his service in the Galbadian army, well... four months after he joined," Ellone began, " he had just turned twenty when he signed up."
"I turned eighteen a few months ago, but what does that have to do with anything...?" Squall questioned softly.
"It's very likely due to you being half human. Meaning your body may not have been able to fully contain it much longer. The vampiric nature seems hard to control from what I've seen. It's a blessing Laguna was quite the struggler to be able to hold it back so well. Though he wasn't perfect, but still good compared to most cases." Ellone explained.
"What? So I'm going to be an uncontrollable blood-sucking maniac?" Squall looked like he wanted to jump off a very high cliff from all the pressure.
"Not necessarily. It's possible Laguna passed on his good control to you... but it may have been just him... so there's no real way of telling." Ellone felt helpless since she couldn't really answer Squall.
"Well, you're sitting here and nothing's happened has it?" Quistis noted to Squall.
"Yeah, but I don't even know how it really works, yet." Squall felt his fangs, which he still was trying to figure how those worked, too.
Ellone stood up suddenly.
"I think this's all we can say for today. Everyone should go rest now. Headmaster Cid's had to cancel classes for a while because of another attack, but it was outside the inside the Garden this time... right in the Quad area last night."
"But, you and Squall were near that hallway last night, so how come... ?" Irvine couldn't figure how to finish his question.
"I don't really know either. We were pretty vulnerable and neither of us heard or saw anything around there." Ellone started to look relieved.
"We should just be grateful both of you are safe and nothing happened last night, but that poor girl... " Quistis placed her hand under her chin thinking.
"Hope she makes it. Seems she wasn't as lucky as Nida and Xu, but at least she made it out somehow... unlike Marie." Everyone knew Irvine meant the girl who'd been killed and triggered all of these events.
"Who's the girl?" Zell asked out of the blue.
"Oh, I know her! Ummm... Jessica!" Selphie exclaimed.
"Has anyone noticed that the victims were all women, but with the exception of Nida?" Irvine threw out.
"Well, you'd notice a factor like that wouldn't ya, Irvine?" Zell smirked glancing at Quistis who was shaking her head embarrassed.
"No! I'm trying to be serious, people!" Irvine turned red wishing he'd kept it to himself.
"Well, despite that, Irvine does has a point, but why'd a guy get attacked in the middle of that chain?" Quistis questioned.
"Maybe he was in the wrong place at the wrong time," Squall suddenly answered, "maybe the target was female, but Nida was in the way at the time."
"That's definatly possible. Which could explain why he came out with nothing. Like a retreat since a plan didn't work." Quistis pondered.
"The nature of all of them were like they had blood drained from them since there are small anemic cases," Quistis explained, "Squall can be defended since the vampiric nature he inherited didn't actually break free until last night and these things have been happening well before then."
"I was with him all of last night and it happened while both of us were in the hallway. Squall was with me that whole time, so there was no way. It's something else in here doing in the people of Garden, but we still haven't figured out why?" Ellone noticed Squall going white.
Irvine stood up.
"We should get going. This has been hefty on us all. See ya in the morning then." He turned and gave a little wave out the door.
"Yeah. We should all be going. Let's meet back here in the morning to get further on all of this." Quistis stood and walked out.
Zell and Selphie shrugged giving Ellone and Squall their good-bye's.
Ellone was about to say something, but turned around to see that Squall had fallen asleep. She felt his pale forehead which was still cold.
'It's alright.' Ellone just stared at his calm face.
***
Laguna saw a small grey cat half mauled, more than likely the result of a run in with the local monsters settling in the small town, but still alive behind the bar hidding near the run down wooden fence.
'It'll have to do...' Laguna thought with a small frown. He thought of it as just putting it out of it's misery though still not thrilled about taking the life of any living thing even a small cat. The Galbadian soldiers had all been called back to Deiling for an emergency concerning Adel, so most of his food supply had gone with that.
He walked up to the tiny furball and gathered him up gently without the cat putting up a fight most likely due to it's condition.
He lifted the cat carefully then gently sank his fangs into the small creatures throat. He held it softly so as to keep it calm while it was unaware that it's life was slowly draining away. As soon as he had begun, Laguna softly removed his fangs unconsciously licking them and his lips of any blood.
Laguna walked over to a large tree behind the fence and placed the small feline under it's roots carefully. He felt slightly shaky as he heard someone coming ducking behind the tree. Kiros stepped out smoothly.
"Hey, man. Out for a snack?" Kiros folded his arms looking over at the tree.
"Don't freak me out like that, man!" Laguna smiled stepping out from behind the tree.
"If it was that kind of matter you could have just asked." Kiros started to walk back to the run down house.
"I'm surprised you have a drop left in you after all the times in the army. I don't plan on those procedures anymore." Laguna stood firm.
Kiros stopped slowly.
"After all those bottles of water, do you really think I go down easily?" He smiled with his back turned.
"Sorry. I'm not going to that again." Laguna finally walked passing Kiros who just stood there.
'You really are stronger, kid.' Laguna turned his head slightly, but kept walking.
***
"Have yourself a good ol' sleep?" Zell pulled up the blinds which definately got Squall awake.
"What happened this time?" He turned his head to see Ellone.
"Laguna and cat... some other stuff... " Squall remebered this dream more clearly than most of the others.
When he sat on the edge of his bed, he touched his mouth again in relief that his teeth were normal, but he still had no clue how that business worked. He looked around to see everyone cramed in his room.
"Was this a sleep-over or what?"
"No. We're just waitin' for a decision." Irvine answered from a corner of the room.
"Who's decision?"
"Yours'." Squall turned his head to see a content Quistis.
"Last time I heard, you were still the leader of SeeD." Quistis smiled now.
'I don't know. All of this just happened. I don't know what we should do about what's going on in Garden, but I know where I can get answers. Maybe that person will have answers to what's going on... possibly. But, Laguna's in... '
"Well, what are we doing, leader!" Selphie bounced slightly.
"... I..." Squall finally found the right words with Ellone and the others waiting anxiously, " we're going to Esthar."
***
(Author's notes: To be continued!)
by Rikku Chic9
***
(Author's notes: The second Laguna scene is Squall dreaming again, not Ellone's power. The first one's just there. AU, some blood, little swearing, SPOILERS, all the usual. Enjoy.)
***
"So in other words, you're saying that Squall's a vampire?" Zell leaned towards Quistis and Ellone with suspicion.
"To put in a nutshell, yes." Quistis replyed.
"Cool!" Zell jumped a little from his seat in excitement.
Everyone in the room including Squall who'd been sitting on his bed, stared at Zell strangely.
'Unexpected, but definately something Zell would say in a situation like this.' Squall thought, but slightly grateful Zell at least didn't think he was a freak.
Irvine looked as though he was thinking deeply, but no one could really tell with him. Selphie seemed to just stare at the group as if she hadn't caught anything of what Quistis had for the last few minutes explained to them. Rinoa not being present was due to a message from her father inviting her back home to celebrate his birthday and was expected to return in a day or two.
"Ellone, you still haven't mentioned how this happened to Squall. Was he bitten recently, early sometime in his life and just started showing the symptoms now, or possibly during our travels? What?" Quistis implored.
"No. He was never bitten." Ellone answered.
"Then what?" Irvine suddenly spoke out.
"Well... He was born with it..." Ellone replied.
Everyone became silent for a minute or two. Quistis finally broke the silence.
"If he inherited it... then from which of his parents?" Quistis contemplated.
"Raine, am I right?" Selphie guessed.
"Actually, no..." Ellone corrected.
Everyone turned to her and Squall raised his head up toward Ellone.
"You're kidding me..." Squall spoke softly in an exasperated tone.
"No... It's Laguna." Ellone finally breathed out.
***
Laguna had been tempted everytime he drew near Raine with that pulse of her's calling to him.
'Sheesh, will you quit already.' He thought to himself with a small smile and thanking that he had good control after so long.
He'd lost count of how many times he'd had to cover his mouth when in the middle of a conversation with her because of his body's reactions. His fangs were constantly in threat of being exposed.
He had too many close calls with Ellone almost catching a glimpse of them forcing Laguna to come up with a lie such as it being a trick of the light or how it reflected off his teeth. It seemed to work everytime, thank goodness, but even he began to suspect she knew to an extent and was just being silent for now until she had the entire truth worked out.
At the moment, he was sitting at Raine's bar after she'd told them to take a break for the day. Ellone was running aroung just as hyper as she was everyday. Kiros always had the same drink, but Laguna didn't take anything. Except water sometimes after explaining to Raine that he didn't drink. Well, wine and such anyway.
Blood was alright with him, but it wasn't a subject he actually conversed about, obviously. The only ones he'd ever told about what he really was was to his best pals, Kiros and Ward. Kiros came along to Winhill to keep him in check, while Ward was working.
"Laguna, Kiros, did you every run into anything really out of the ordinary while with the army?"
This was the first time Raine had asked them a question like that. Especially, one that involved... well... Laguna's condition which she wasn't aware of.
They both kind of blurted out the first excuse they could think of.
"Dragons!"
"Wow!" Ellone exclaimed.
"Really? Are they as dangerous and rare as I keep hearing those Galbadian soldiers say? ... Or are you guys trying to show off?" She gave aboth of them a suspicious glare which she always saved for them.
"No, really!" Laguna waved.
"Just as dangerous!" Kiros added.
"... I see." Raine still looked like she didn't buy it just like she never really bought anything they told her.
'Man, she's on to us and you know it!" Kiros looked at Laguna.
"Why are you worrying?!" Laguna shouted out toward Kiros, but Raine lept at him.
"Caught you again! I didn't even say anything! What are you shouting about?!" She glared dangerously at him.
Man, he let his caution go down again for the fourth time around her. He thought about how much more stupid he could get. Now all he had to do was have her walk in on him nibbling on Kiro's neck. Then everything would be just perfect...
'Forget it. I'm gonna have to come up with something else!' Laguna planned mentally as Raine pulled away from the glare.
"Raine, that glass is overflowing." Raine turned to see the counter flooding over since she didn't pay attention.
"Darn it all!" She quickly wrestled the nozzle and threw towels all over the place.
Ellone started laughing which didn't help Raine in the least.
Laguna glanced at Kiros who gave him a quick thumb up.
***
"How the hell did that happen???!!!" Zell blurted out.
Squall had to admit he was thinking the exact same thing. Everyone else looked just as shocked since they all knew Laguna and he was definately not anywhere close to being vampire material.
"Laguna was bitten during his service in the Galbadian army, well... four months after he joined," Ellone began, " he had just turned twenty when he signed up."
"I turned eighteen a few months ago, but what does that have to do with anything...?" Squall questioned softly.
"It's very likely due to you being half human. Meaning your body may not have been able to fully contain it much longer. The vampiric nature seems hard to control from what I've seen. It's a blessing Laguna was quite the struggler to be able to hold it back so well. Though he wasn't perfect, but still good compared to most cases." Ellone explained.
"What? So I'm going to be an uncontrollable blood-sucking maniac?" Squall looked like he wanted to jump off a very high cliff from all the pressure.
"Not necessarily. It's possible Laguna passed on his good control to you... but it may have been just him... so there's no real way of telling." Ellone felt helpless since she couldn't really answer Squall.
"Well, you're sitting here and nothing's happened has it?" Quistis noted to Squall.
"Yeah, but I don't even know how it really works, yet." Squall felt his fangs, which he still was trying to figure how those worked, too.
Ellone stood up suddenly.
"I think this's all we can say for today. Everyone should go rest now. Headmaster Cid's had to cancel classes for a while because of another attack, but it was outside the inside the Garden this time... right in the Quad area last night."
"But, you and Squall were near that hallway last night, so how come... ?" Irvine couldn't figure how to finish his question.
"I don't really know either. We were pretty vulnerable and neither of us heard or saw anything around there." Ellone started to look relieved.
"We should just be grateful both of you are safe and nothing happened last night, but that poor girl... " Quistis placed her hand under her chin thinking.
"Hope she makes it. Seems she wasn't as lucky as Nida and Xu, but at least she made it out somehow... unlike Marie." Everyone knew Irvine meant the girl who'd been killed and triggered all of these events.
"Who's the girl?" Zell asked out of the blue.
"Oh, I know her! Ummm... Jessica!" Selphie exclaimed.
"Has anyone noticed that the victims were all women, but with the exception of Nida?" Irvine threw out.
"Well, you'd notice a factor like that wouldn't ya, Irvine?" Zell smirked glancing at Quistis who was shaking her head embarrassed.
"No! I'm trying to be serious, people!" Irvine turned red wishing he'd kept it to himself.
"Well, despite that, Irvine does has a point, but why'd a guy get attacked in the middle of that chain?" Quistis questioned.
"Maybe he was in the wrong place at the wrong time," Squall suddenly answered, "maybe the target was female, but Nida was in the way at the time."
"That's definatly possible. Which could explain why he came out with nothing. Like a retreat since a plan didn't work." Quistis pondered.
"The nature of all of them were like they had blood drained from them since there are small anemic cases," Quistis explained, "Squall can be defended since the vampiric nature he inherited didn't actually break free until last night and these things have been happening well before then."
"I was with him all of last night and it happened while both of us were in the hallway. Squall was with me that whole time, so there was no way. It's something else in here doing in the people of Garden, but we still haven't figured out why?" Ellone noticed Squall going white.
Irvine stood up.
"We should get going. This has been hefty on us all. See ya in the morning then." He turned and gave a little wave out the door.
"Yeah. We should all be going. Let's meet back here in the morning to get further on all of this." Quistis stood and walked out.
Zell and Selphie shrugged giving Ellone and Squall their good-bye's.
Ellone was about to say something, but turned around to see that Squall had fallen asleep. She felt his pale forehead which was still cold.
'It's alright.' Ellone just stared at his calm face.
***
Laguna saw a small grey cat half mauled, more than likely the result of a run in with the local monsters settling in the small town, but still alive behind the bar hidding near the run down wooden fence.
'It'll have to do...' Laguna thought with a small frown. He thought of it as just putting it out of it's misery though still not thrilled about taking the life of any living thing even a small cat. The Galbadian soldiers had all been called back to Deiling for an emergency concerning Adel, so most of his food supply had gone with that.
He walked up to the tiny furball and gathered him up gently without the cat putting up a fight most likely due to it's condition.
He lifted the cat carefully then gently sank his fangs into the small creatures throat. He held it softly so as to keep it calm while it was unaware that it's life was slowly draining away. As soon as he had begun, Laguna softly removed his fangs unconsciously licking them and his lips of any blood.
Laguna walked over to a large tree behind the fence and placed the small feline under it's roots carefully. He felt slightly shaky as he heard someone coming ducking behind the tree. Kiros stepped out smoothly.
"Hey, man. Out for a snack?" Kiros folded his arms looking over at the tree.
"Don't freak me out like that, man!" Laguna smiled stepping out from behind the tree.
"If it was that kind of matter you could have just asked." Kiros started to walk back to the run down house.
"I'm surprised you have a drop left in you after all the times in the army. I don't plan on those procedures anymore." Laguna stood firm.
Kiros stopped slowly.
"After all those bottles of water, do you really think I go down easily?" He smiled with his back turned.
"Sorry. I'm not going to that again." Laguna finally walked passing Kiros who just stood there.
'You really are stronger, kid.' Laguna turned his head slightly, but kept walking.
***
"Have yourself a good ol' sleep?" Zell pulled up the blinds which definately got Squall awake.
"What happened this time?" He turned his head to see Ellone.
"Laguna and cat... some other stuff... " Squall remebered this dream more clearly than most of the others.
When he sat on the edge of his bed, he touched his mouth again in relief that his teeth were normal, but he still had no clue how that business worked. He looked around to see everyone cramed in his room.
"Was this a sleep-over or what?"
"No. We're just waitin' for a decision." Irvine answered from a corner of the room.
"Who's decision?"
"Yours'." Squall turned his head to see a content Quistis.
"Last time I heard, you were still the leader of SeeD." Quistis smiled now.
'I don't know. All of this just happened. I don't know what we should do about what's going on in Garden, but I know where I can get answers. Maybe that person will have answers to what's going on... possibly. But, Laguna's in... '
"Well, what are we doing, leader!" Selphie bounced slightly.
"... I..." Squall finally found the right words with Ellone and the others waiting anxiously, " we're going to Esthar."
***
(Author's notes: To be continued!)