Next installment. La de da you know the drill. This story is kinda deep, and I hope you all are following it ok. The fact of the matter is, there is about to be a lot of action popping up. The throttle will be opened up wide well, let's not spoil the fun, we'll just say, by chapter 11 or so. Chapter eight, not only gives you background into this story, but also to the thoughts and feelings and motives of "NeoSquall" So I hope that you are enjoying this. Think about it. Mystery, intrigue, action, adventure, you think you know the characters, fasten your seatbelts. Houston, we have a problem. Same disclaimers apply as with the other chapters.
Squall took his place at the table. His seat was located at the head of the table. He chose that seat because he could easily see the eyes of everyone at sitting there. He reached to his sides, and unstrapped the retaining clips which held his twin pistoldaggers, Gaia, and Cosmo (earth and sky). He did this as a sign that he was ready for any foul play that might occur.
All eyes were upon him, and his threatening gesture. The stares from some were shocked. His old friends Quistis, Zell, Irvine, and Selphie, couldn't believe that he didn't trust him as it seemed to them to be the case from this move. Seifer kinda laughed inside thinking, "Now that's the kinda move I'd'a pulled." Delea, and Rider were just pleased as could be. Both of them in there own way were overjoyed at the fact that he would join a table where they were at. Delea having been in few battles and fewer actual confrontations, didn't even pick up on Squalls gesture being threatening. Rider, however had been on quite a few recon missions, and picked up on it right away. He however didn't mind, in fact, he considered it genius and he immediately put it to memory for future reference.
Orion Huges merely saw a man who was hurt, a man who would not let go of the past, and who put up a needless front. True Orion knew that Squall was a great warrior, probably the greatest alive at the time. He also knew that Squall would not hesitate to use his pistoldaggers if threatened, but there was more there. He needed Squall Leonhart to lead the Sorcerer's War, not "Lion". Everyone had their own thoughts and feelings. No one in this group's motives were the same, but a line was about to be wrapped around them, and drawn tight. They would have to learn to become a team, they would have to learn to work together. The fate of the world, and moreover, the fate of the Universe depended upon it.
Once Squall had taken his seat, and come to rest comfortably with one hand gripping the hilt of each of his pistoldaggers, Orion began the meeting.
"We greatly appreciate your presence, Squall, you are a most valuable asset at this grave time in history. We have been looking for you, for quite some time now. The reasons why we have called you here will become evident to you very soon."
"How 'bout we scratch the soon part, and make it now?" Squall stated coarsely
"Ok Squall we will." Quistis said, "But look, we're all on the same side here. Can't you at least try to act civil?"
"Civil?" Squall asked. "Quistis, You'll know when I choose to be uncivil. Right now, I just want to cut the crap. I'm here on my own agenda. If that agenda happens to help you people, then that's fine, but it's my way, or no way."
Seifer sat forward in his chair. He cast a threatening glance in Squall's direction, but the look soon left his face when Squall pointed Gaia and Cosmo in his direction. There were some people at the table who were thoroughly confused at Squall's behavior. Quistis, Zell, Irvine, Selphie, and even Seifer, just couldn't believe he was acting like this. They didn't remember him this way. As for the others, their awe was due more to the fact that none of them had ever been in his presence for an extended period before, and this first encounter revealed to them a powerful force. More powerful, than even any of them had expected.
For his old friends however, their was sadness associated with this flagrant display. The one who understood best, was surprisingly none other than Orion Hughes, the new head master. Orion, was an ex Galbadian soldier. He had Fought along side of Laguna Loire in many a battle. Before the Ultimacia incident, however, he found himself a vagrant, floating about with nothing to believe in. After he had left the army, he floated around doing some work, first as a mercenary, and then as a bodyguard. One of his clients ended up being a woman named Christina Angelique.
Christina was a mage of sorts. She went around from town to town performing her magic to awe and entertain the spectators. But what a lot of people didn't see was that she used her powerful white magic, to help people who were sick or injured. Christina's actions completely caught Orion off guard. He being a soldier from his childhood, never knew about peace, he never knew about love, or the desire to help others. It was a concept that was completely knew to him. The more he was around her, the more this question filled his mind. Finally, he just couldn't resist. He asked her what it was that caused her to do what she did. To his surprise, she laughed, and said "It is my belief, that to hurt others one needs a reason, but to help someone, there is no reason required. You help someone else, because in the end you realize that if we never helped each other, no one would ever make it. It feels good to help someone in need, you should try it sometime." He still didn't understand how this woman felt. The hate and aggression that had been taught him from his childhood was still too prevalent in his heart, but this conversation led to many others. And soon Orion and Christina had become friends.
The more time he spent with her, the more he understood what it meant to care, and the more time she spent with him, the more she saw the wonderful person inside of him. They grew to be very close, and in the end, they fell in love, and were married. The couple were inseparable. Christina's fame grew rapidly. Soon, she was a world class figure. She had no enemies, so it seemed, but one fateful day a group of armed men stormed the hotel suite where the couple was staying. Orion fought valiantly, but to no avail. The men seized her, and took her away.
Orion, was devastated, he just couldn't understand. She hadn't done anything to harm anyone. Why would anyone want to harm her? He became angry, and vowed to find her. He searched everywhere. He found leads, and followed them. All during the Ultimacia incident, he was looking for her. He found nothing but a lonely person... himself. He wound up in a pub in Esthar, drunk out of his mind. Then the next thing he knew, he heard a voice that he remembered saying. "How've you been, it's been a long time." When he turned and looked, there stood Laguna Loire.
Laguna looked different. He seemed to carry with him a sort of presence, and the five Esthar Soldiers around him, added to that. Laguna explained to him who he was, and invited him to come to the castle and sleep it off. Orion agreed, and did so. During his stay at the castle, Laguna explained to him the situation with the Sorceress, and with much coaxing, he convinced him to join Esthars Sorceress suppression team. The purpose of that team was to monitor the activities of the Sorceress' and report the information back to Laguna. He did just that, and although it was a dirty job, and he didn't get fame, or fortune from it, he knew that for once he was fighting for the right thing, and that Christina would have been proud of him.
After the Time Compression was thwarted, Orion intended to retire from military service, and live a peaceful life in honor of the wife who he had finally come to the conclusion, was dead. But Laguna again talked him out of that. He had told him of places called gardens, and their purpose. He had convinced him to join on as staff. He had agreed. He could still retire his gunblade Revenge's Blood, and live a peaceful life, but he would still be serving a purpose. He agreed to take a position. He was quickly promoted in garden. He was the SeeD operations director of the NeoTrabia Garden, when Cid, and Edea had decided to better unite Garden as a unit. They formed the Garden Oversight Committee so that they could create a uniform standard among all the gardens to essentially create a stronger garden. In order to perform this task, Cid had to retire from his position as Head Master of Balamb, and to Orion's surprise, he was asked to take the position.
He thought about it for a while, and then agreed. He might have thought a little longer if he'd have known what would occur soon after he accepted. But all and all, he sat here at this table with the greatest warriors of this time, and the greatest of them all was Squall Leonhart. He knew Squall's story, he'd heard it many times before. While everyone seemed to take Squall and his reactions at face value, Orion knew there was more to it than that. He knew the hurt, and the pain of blaming ones self for loosing the one you love the most. He knew the shame of having to live with that, but most of all, he knew that there was hope, but he also knew that Squall was their only hope. With all of that knowledge, he knew exactly what to do, and that was Be patient, and do his best to appease Squall'd burning rage. So that is exactly what he decided to do.
"You're right squall," He said casually. "... Let's cut the crap."
Well, that's it for chapter eight. Chapter nine begins a lot of stuff, and clues you in on the direction of the story. When I played FF8 I always thought if there was a Sorceress, their had to be a Sorcerer. If there was a Sorceress' knight, then their had to be a Sorcerer's Queen. I did a lot of thinking on that and came up with two stories. This is the latter story. I'll release the prequil after this story. It however does not deal with the Sorcerer, it merely leads to this story which does. In the next chapter a legend will be revealed, a hideous reality explained. As well as my explanation for the origin of the Sorceress. The purpose of this chapter was a general background on Orion Huges, and to begin to give insight as to the direction of the storyline as it involves him. I know it was slow, but just trust me and bear with me the good stuff's about to start and we haven't even scratched the surface.
D.H.
Squall took his place at the table. His seat was located at the head of the table. He chose that seat because he could easily see the eyes of everyone at sitting there. He reached to his sides, and unstrapped the retaining clips which held his twin pistoldaggers, Gaia, and Cosmo (earth and sky). He did this as a sign that he was ready for any foul play that might occur.
All eyes were upon him, and his threatening gesture. The stares from some were shocked. His old friends Quistis, Zell, Irvine, and Selphie, couldn't believe that he didn't trust him as it seemed to them to be the case from this move. Seifer kinda laughed inside thinking, "Now that's the kinda move I'd'a pulled." Delea, and Rider were just pleased as could be. Both of them in there own way were overjoyed at the fact that he would join a table where they were at. Delea having been in few battles and fewer actual confrontations, didn't even pick up on Squalls gesture being threatening. Rider, however had been on quite a few recon missions, and picked up on it right away. He however didn't mind, in fact, he considered it genius and he immediately put it to memory for future reference.
Orion Huges merely saw a man who was hurt, a man who would not let go of the past, and who put up a needless front. True Orion knew that Squall was a great warrior, probably the greatest alive at the time. He also knew that Squall would not hesitate to use his pistoldaggers if threatened, but there was more there. He needed Squall Leonhart to lead the Sorcerer's War, not "Lion". Everyone had their own thoughts and feelings. No one in this group's motives were the same, but a line was about to be wrapped around them, and drawn tight. They would have to learn to become a team, they would have to learn to work together. The fate of the world, and moreover, the fate of the Universe depended upon it.
Once Squall had taken his seat, and come to rest comfortably with one hand gripping the hilt of each of his pistoldaggers, Orion began the meeting.
"We greatly appreciate your presence, Squall, you are a most valuable asset at this grave time in history. We have been looking for you, for quite some time now. The reasons why we have called you here will become evident to you very soon."
"How 'bout we scratch the soon part, and make it now?" Squall stated coarsely
"Ok Squall we will." Quistis said, "But look, we're all on the same side here. Can't you at least try to act civil?"
"Civil?" Squall asked. "Quistis, You'll know when I choose to be uncivil. Right now, I just want to cut the crap. I'm here on my own agenda. If that agenda happens to help you people, then that's fine, but it's my way, or no way."
Seifer sat forward in his chair. He cast a threatening glance in Squall's direction, but the look soon left his face when Squall pointed Gaia and Cosmo in his direction. There were some people at the table who were thoroughly confused at Squall's behavior. Quistis, Zell, Irvine, Selphie, and even Seifer, just couldn't believe he was acting like this. They didn't remember him this way. As for the others, their awe was due more to the fact that none of them had ever been in his presence for an extended period before, and this first encounter revealed to them a powerful force. More powerful, than even any of them had expected.
For his old friends however, their was sadness associated with this flagrant display. The one who understood best, was surprisingly none other than Orion Hughes, the new head master. Orion, was an ex Galbadian soldier. He had Fought along side of Laguna Loire in many a battle. Before the Ultimacia incident, however, he found himself a vagrant, floating about with nothing to believe in. After he had left the army, he floated around doing some work, first as a mercenary, and then as a bodyguard. One of his clients ended up being a woman named Christina Angelique.
Christina was a mage of sorts. She went around from town to town performing her magic to awe and entertain the spectators. But what a lot of people didn't see was that she used her powerful white magic, to help people who were sick or injured. Christina's actions completely caught Orion off guard. He being a soldier from his childhood, never knew about peace, he never knew about love, or the desire to help others. It was a concept that was completely knew to him. The more he was around her, the more this question filled his mind. Finally, he just couldn't resist. He asked her what it was that caused her to do what she did. To his surprise, she laughed, and said "It is my belief, that to hurt others one needs a reason, but to help someone, there is no reason required. You help someone else, because in the end you realize that if we never helped each other, no one would ever make it. It feels good to help someone in need, you should try it sometime." He still didn't understand how this woman felt. The hate and aggression that had been taught him from his childhood was still too prevalent in his heart, but this conversation led to many others. And soon Orion and Christina had become friends.
The more time he spent with her, the more he understood what it meant to care, and the more time she spent with him, the more she saw the wonderful person inside of him. They grew to be very close, and in the end, they fell in love, and were married. The couple were inseparable. Christina's fame grew rapidly. Soon, she was a world class figure. She had no enemies, so it seemed, but one fateful day a group of armed men stormed the hotel suite where the couple was staying. Orion fought valiantly, but to no avail. The men seized her, and took her away.
Orion, was devastated, he just couldn't understand. She hadn't done anything to harm anyone. Why would anyone want to harm her? He became angry, and vowed to find her. He searched everywhere. He found leads, and followed them. All during the Ultimacia incident, he was looking for her. He found nothing but a lonely person... himself. He wound up in a pub in Esthar, drunk out of his mind. Then the next thing he knew, he heard a voice that he remembered saying. "How've you been, it's been a long time." When he turned and looked, there stood Laguna Loire.
Laguna looked different. He seemed to carry with him a sort of presence, and the five Esthar Soldiers around him, added to that. Laguna explained to him who he was, and invited him to come to the castle and sleep it off. Orion agreed, and did so. During his stay at the castle, Laguna explained to him the situation with the Sorceress, and with much coaxing, he convinced him to join Esthars Sorceress suppression team. The purpose of that team was to monitor the activities of the Sorceress' and report the information back to Laguna. He did just that, and although it was a dirty job, and he didn't get fame, or fortune from it, he knew that for once he was fighting for the right thing, and that Christina would have been proud of him.
After the Time Compression was thwarted, Orion intended to retire from military service, and live a peaceful life in honor of the wife who he had finally come to the conclusion, was dead. But Laguna again talked him out of that. He had told him of places called gardens, and their purpose. He had convinced him to join on as staff. He had agreed. He could still retire his gunblade Revenge's Blood, and live a peaceful life, but he would still be serving a purpose. He agreed to take a position. He was quickly promoted in garden. He was the SeeD operations director of the NeoTrabia Garden, when Cid, and Edea had decided to better unite Garden as a unit. They formed the Garden Oversight Committee so that they could create a uniform standard among all the gardens to essentially create a stronger garden. In order to perform this task, Cid had to retire from his position as Head Master of Balamb, and to Orion's surprise, he was asked to take the position.
He thought about it for a while, and then agreed. He might have thought a little longer if he'd have known what would occur soon after he accepted. But all and all, he sat here at this table with the greatest warriors of this time, and the greatest of them all was Squall Leonhart. He knew Squall's story, he'd heard it many times before. While everyone seemed to take Squall and his reactions at face value, Orion knew there was more to it than that. He knew the hurt, and the pain of blaming ones self for loosing the one you love the most. He knew the shame of having to live with that, but most of all, he knew that there was hope, but he also knew that Squall was their only hope. With all of that knowledge, he knew exactly what to do, and that was Be patient, and do his best to appease Squall'd burning rage. So that is exactly what he decided to do.
"You're right squall," He said casually. "... Let's cut the crap."
Well, that's it for chapter eight. Chapter nine begins a lot of stuff, and clues you in on the direction of the story. When I played FF8 I always thought if there was a Sorceress, their had to be a Sorcerer. If there was a Sorceress' knight, then their had to be a Sorcerer's Queen. I did a lot of thinking on that and came up with two stories. This is the latter story. I'll release the prequil after this story. It however does not deal with the Sorcerer, it merely leads to this story which does. In the next chapter a legend will be revealed, a hideous reality explained. As well as my explanation for the origin of the Sorceress. The purpose of this chapter was a general background on Orion Huges, and to begin to give insight as to the direction of the storyline as it involves him. I know it was slow, but just trust me and bear with me the good stuff's about to start and we haven't even scratched the surface.
D.H.