Laguna stared at the ceiling of the small bedroom. His head was giving him problems again. Why now? He hadn't had one of these headaches in almost a year. Of course, it had to choose the day he wanted to ask her. What was she going to say anyway? He loved her so much, but he wasn't sure if she felt the same way. Laguna held the ring up. It shone brightly in the sunlight that poured through his bedroom window. What would he do if she said no?
"Uncle Laguna!" a voice called from the stairwell. Laguna quickly slipped the ring in his pocket and sat up. He could hear tiny footsteps running up the wooden staircase. Laguna stood up as a little girl burst into the room. "Uncle Laguna! There's a funny man here to see yoo!" she said excitedly. Laguna blinked. Someone here to see him?
"Me? What does this man look like?" he asked, puzzled.
"Um… He's got funny clothes and he tawks funny too, like yoo… He's tawking to Raine right now," she answered.
"Hmm… Is he at the pub?"
"Yup! That's why I came to get yoo. Am I a good girl?" she asked, smiling.
"No! You shouldn't have come over here Elle, it's dangerous! What if a monster had gotten you and tried to eat you?" Laguna replied sternly. Ellone stared at the ground and pouted.
"It's only next door…"
"It's still dangerous! A monster could've attacked you and eaten you all up! They'd be after you especially, cos' you're such a sweet little girl. If that happened, Raine and Uncle Laguna would cry…" he told her. Ellone sighed.
"It'd be o-tay, I'd just call for yoo and yoo'd come rescue me, right Uncle Laguna?" she answered, running out of the room.
"Elle! Wait!" Laguna shouted, jogging down the stairs after her.
(My head! Dammit, why now? After a year, why today of all days?) When he got to the bottom, he saw Ellone waiting at the front door for him.
"I waited! Am I a good girl?" Ellone asked. Laguna smiled and nodded.
"Yes, you're a very good girl," he answered. She grinned and walked out the front door. Laguna followed Elle onto the porch of the small house and looked around. After a few seconds, he walked to the pub and held the door open. "Elle, now's your chance!" Ellone looked around for monsters then ran toward the pub.
"Cha-nce!" she cried, as she ran through the open door. Laguna smiled and shook his head; she was just too cute. He looked out at the main square of Winhill and pulled the ring out of his pocket again.
(I don't know if I can do it today…) Laguna winced (Ah, my head is killing me!). He stared at the ring for a minute and sighed before putting it back in his pocket and entering the pub.
"…Do you understand, Ellone? Now go upstairs in your room and play," Raine scolded. Ellone turned around sadly and saw Laguna.
"I got in twouble…" she whispered.
"That's cos' you bwoke your promise. Too baaaaad…" he whispered back.
"Laguna, you will use proper English when talking to Ellone!" Raine said loudly as she walked around the bar. Laguna winced.
"I got in trouble…" he said to Ellone quietly. She giggled.
"Too baaaaad…" she answered. Laguna stuck his tongue out at Ellone and stood up straight. Standing at the bar, smiling at him was Kiros.
"Kiros!" Laguna said, surprised. He looked at Ellone. "He's Uncle Laguna's friend. He dresses kinda weird, but he's not a bad guy." Ellone studied Laguna for a second.
"Yoo dress funny, and yoo're a good guy, right?" Laguna tried to glare at Ellone, but a smile flickered on his face. He stuck his tongue out at her again and walked to the bar.
"It's been a while, Laguna," Kiros said as Laguna leaned against the bar. Raine stood behind it and cleaned glasses. "You look well…"
"Yeah, you too. So, how long has it been? Since our grand escape from Centra?" Laguna asked, smiling.
"I think one would call that being 'chased' out…" Kiros replied.
"Uh-huh, that's what I thought…" Raine said, smirking. Laguna rolled his eyes.
"Whatever…" Kiros smiled, same old Laguna.
"Well, I would say about a year or so…"
"I know I was bed-ridden for about six months… It felt like every bone in my body was in pieces. So yeah, I'd say a year is about right."
"I nursed him back to health," Raine said, glancing up. Kiros smiled at her.
"Thank you very much for taking care of Laguna… He needs someone to watch out for him," Kiros said, glancing at Laguna. "Anyway, it took me about a month to recover. Then I quit the army and came looking for you…" Kiros said.
"Why?" Laguna asked. (If my head doesn't stop hurting soon, I'm going to go insane!)
"Well, life's pretty dull without you for entertainment…" Kiros answered, smiling. Raine snickered.
"That's harsh. I've been productive here!" Laguna said, glaring at Raine. She bit her lip and cleaned more glasses with an innocent look on her face. "Anyway… Where's Ward?"
"He's working as a janitor in the D-District Prison. His voice was permanently damaged. You can tell what he wants to say by his expressions and his eyes though," Kiros answered. Laguna nodded (Poor Ward… I'm glad he's doing okay though).
"Um… How's Julia doing?" Laguna asked sheepishly. Kiros shrugged.
"I don't know..."
"You mean Julia, the singer?" Raine asked, interested.
"Yeah," Kiros said. "Laguna really liked her and always frequented the night club." Laguna blushed furiously.
"Shaddup! So what if I did!" he answered.
"Julia used to sing at a night club?" Raine asked.
"She didn't sing. She just played the piano," Kiros said, smiling at Laguna's discomfort.
"So the first song she released was 'Eyes on Me'?"
"H-How does the song go?" Laguna asked nervously.
"Don't you know?" Raine replied.
"You never let me hear it!"
"I-I didn't think you listened to music. It's about being in love... I really like it," she answered, smiling to herself.
"I heard she recently got married," Kiros said.
"Oh yeah! To some army general, right? General Caraway or something?" Raine answered.
"I'm not too sure."
"I read in a magazine that her true love went off to war and never came back. General Caraway comforted her while she was feeling down. That's how they got to know each other," Raine said, trying to remember.
"...So she didn't wait for the soldier to come back?" Kiros asked, looking at Laguna, who blushed again.
"So what! Who cares!? As long as she's happy, right? That's all that matters! …Quit looking at me like that!" Laguna said to Kiros. He turned to Ellone. "Ain't that right, Elle? As long as she's happy." Ellone nodded enthusiastically.
"Right! Uncle Laguna and Raine are..." she started. Laguna turned around again quickly, blushing even more.
"Ahhhhhhhh! OK, enough talk about this!"
"You know Laguna, I didn't even think it was possible for a human being to turn that colour of red…" Kiros remarked, grinning.
"Oh, shut up…" Laguna mumbled in response, looking at the floor. Kiros laughed.
"Man, did I miss you!" he said between chuckles.
"Whatever…"
"Hmm… I think the faeries are back," Kiros said suddenly. Laguna nodded.
"I know. Someone is playing the drums on the inside of my skull right now. Anyway, that should make our job today easier," Laguna answered.
"Drums? I just have this buzz in my ear…"
"Lucky you... Let's talk some more later, okay? How long you gonna stick around here?" Kiros shrugged.
"I dunno, is there anywhere I can stay?"
"If you're willing to work, you can stay here," Raine suggested.
"That's fine with me. What do I do?"
"You get to go on patrol with me!" Laguna told him, smiling. Kiros groaned.
"Only if you promise not to get us lost…" Raine chuckled. Kiros glanced at her. "You have no idea how many times-"
"Oh, just shut up already!" Laguna cried. "Come on." He turned away from the bar and started to walk out.
"Come back soon, Uncle Laguna!" Ellone shouted after him.
"Lunch should be ready when you get back!" Raine said loudly.
"Okay!" Laguna answered, waving his hand in acknowledgement. Next to Kiros, a vase exploded. The three others jumped.
"Oh no, not again…" Kiros mumbled, following Laguna out.
***
"Hey, Laguna..." Kiros said, slowing down as they reached the crossroads in front of the flower shop. "Do you do this patrol thing everyday?" Laguna stopped and looked at Kiros.
"'Thing'!? What're you callin' a 'THING'!?" Kiros rolled his eyes.
"Weren't you aiming to become a world-travelling journalist?" Laguna shrugged. "Well, you're heard of 'Timber Maniacs', right? I had a talk with the chief editor, and he said he's interested in any article related to world travel." Laguna's face lit up.
"That's great!" Kiros nodded.
"Yeah, we should go talk to him sometime."
"Y-Yeah... Um, it'd be ok if we stayed here a bit longer, right?" Laguna ventured. Kiros frowned.
"You need to gather more material? This seems like a really nice little town. You're gonna write about this place first, aren't you?" he asked. Laguna shook his head.
"No way. I'm not gonna make this place famous. Too much publicity and you get all those tourists and stuff." Kiros raised an eyebrow.
(Hmm… Going with Kiros would be fun… It's what I've always wanted, but…) Laguna stuck his hand in his pocket.
"You're afraid someone might come and take Raine away, aren't you? Laguna… You've changed." Laguna shrugged and turned back toward the pub.
"Hey! I see a monster!" he exclaimed and started running toward the main square.
Laguna and Kiros entered the bar and found the downstairs empty. Laguna scratched his head.
(Man, I need to get some sleep or this headache is gonna kill me…) He turned toward the staircase and went up, Kiros following behind. They got to the top of the staircase and heard voices.
"...What?" Kiros whispered. Laguna looked at Kiros.
"Girl talk... Let's come back later," Laguna whispered back and started down the stairs. "Come on!" Kiros shook his head.
"Something inside me says we should listen."
"Raine... Aren't yoo gonna marry Uncle Laguna?" Laguna heard Ellone asked. He suddenly felt sick to his stomach and closed his eyes.
(Please-say-yes, please-say-yes…) he chanted mentally.
"A guy like that?" Raine sounded doubtful. "He was carried in here crying like a baby, and I was the one who had to take care of him..." she sighed. "His crude way of speaking... I don't know if his aspirations as a journalist are very well founded... Every time I try to have a serious conversation, he avoids it... I can't stand his snoring and he talks in his sleep..." Raine stopped. Laguna opened his eyes. Kiros watched him closely and could tell that Raine's remarks had really hurt him. Ellone pouted.
"But he's really nice! I really, really like him! Raine, Uncle Laguna and Elle should all be together!" she exclaimed. Laguna smiled a little.
"...But you know..." Raine continued. "He does have nice eyes… And he's really sweet… Oh, and not bad looking eith-AH! What am I saying?" Ellone giggled. "No, Elle, I think he really wants to travel all over the world. I don't think he has it in him to live in a quiet country town like this one. Some people are like that..."
"...Yoo don't like him?" Raine sighed again.
"I feel the same as you, Ellone." Laguna sighed in relief and walked quietly down a few stairs. Then he ran back up them, acting as if he had just come in. He reached the top of the staircase and pretended to try and catch his breath. Kiros followed him, walking.
"Yay! Yoo're back!" Ellone exclaimed happily.
"I came back in a hurry!" he answered. Ellone pointed at Raine.
"Report to the commander!" she ordered. Laguna walked up to Raine and came to attention.
"Here's my report on today's patrol and monster extermination! Including Buchubuchus and Bunbuns, that Assistant Commander Ellone oh-so-hates, we've exterminated ten monsters!" he said. Raine smiled.
"Alright! Thank you. Shall we eat before you get started with the next patrol? I'll call you when it's ready, so just wait in your room." Laguna nodded. He felt tired, the headache took a lot out of him and he wasn't sure why. "Yes, you seem pretty tired. You should take a quick nap." Raine said, looking at him worriedly.
"Yoo're joining us too, right Mr. Kiros!?" Ellone asked. Kiros nodded.
"It would be my pleasure…" he answered.
"Good! We have me and Raine and Uncle Laguna and Mr. Kiros!" Ellone grinned widely.
***
Squall groaned loudly as the world around him came slowly back into focus. He was so tired. He opened his eyes and blinked. He was lying on a metal cot in a small room. Squall sat up groggily and groaned again.
(Where?) He pulled his jacket back and looked at his shoulder. It was completely healed, although his shirt was torn where the icicle had been lodged. As Squall stood up slowly the whole room started to move. He lost his balance and fell forward on his hands and knees. The room stopped moving almost as suddenly as it had started. The door in front of Squall opened and a man walked in. Squall slowly looked up into the face of Seifer.
"Pitiful…" Seifer said, shaking his head. He reached down and pulled Squall to his feet. Squall was too tired to fight back. "Take him away," Seifer ordered the two moombas behind him as he threw Squall against the back of the cell, knocking him out. Seifer turned around and left. The two moombas scurried in and picked Squall up, one took his arms, the other his legs, and they carried him out of the room.
Squall slowly opened his eyes again and found himself chained to a wall. Seifer was standing on the ground in front of him, grinning widely. Squall pulled at his bonds, trying to break free. Seifer chuckled.
"You can't get out of them," he said.
"What the hell do you want from me?" Squall growled.
"What is SeeD? The Sorceress demands to know," Seifer answered, suddenly becoming serious.
(SeeD, code name for the elite mercenary force of Balamb Garden, started to fight the Sorceress…)
"…Don't you know?" Squall asked, suspiciously.
"I'm not a SeeD. They must tell you some secret when you join."
(Not really… They didn't tell us… I've always known…)
"They didn't tell us anything… Even if they did, do you actually believe that I'd tell you?"
"I was hoping you'd say that, it makes my job more fun." Seifer snapped his fingers. Squall cried out as an electric bolt shot through his body. "Even if you don't talk, the others will. Instructor Trepe, the messenger girl, and Chicken-wuss... Ha! He wouldn't last 2 seconds!" Squall raised his head.
"...They're... all here...?" Seifer smirked.
"You bet, but since I like you so much, I thought you should go first. I was hoping you'd be there, Squall. So... How did I look in my moment of triumph? My childhood dream, fulfilled. I've become the sorceress's knight." Seifer grinned widely. Squall closed his eyes, he was in so much pain.
"…You looked… unconscious…" Squall muttered. Seifer glared at him and motioned for more electricity.
"I was great! The sorceress's knight!" Seifer shouted angrily.
(...Knight... His... dream...? But... Seifer... You're just a...)
"...torturer," Squall murmured before passing out.
"What did you call me!? Out cold, eh? This is supposed to be the scene where you swear your undying hatred for me! The evil mercenary vs. the sorceress' knight... The fun's just beginning, Squall. Don't die on me now!" Seifer said. Suddenly a picture flashed through his mind. A small, sickly boy who used to follow him everywhere, and do whatever he did, like a little brother. A promise made to be knights together. "You're not allowed to die on me yet, Squall!" The voice echoed in his head. He stared up at the unconscious Squall and his eyes widened.
"Sir?" the warden said, pulling Seifer back to the present. He shook his head and pushed the memory away. Seifer looked at the man and nodded. The warden smiled and flipped the switch, causing more lightning to shoot through Squall.
***
"Come on, Squall. Aren't you tired of this yet? You just have to tell me what SeeD is and why they oppose the sorceress. It's that simple," Seifer said. He sounded bored. Squall was being much more stubborn that Seifer had thought he would be. The door into the room opened suddenly, and a soldier walked in. He saluted Seifer.
"Sir Seifer! The missiles targeted for Balamb Garden are ready to launch!" he said.
"Good." Seifer smiled at Squall. "Balamb Garden is to be destroyed on charges of training SeeDs to oppose the sorceress."
"WHAT? Seifer, you can't-" Squall began.
"Shut up puberty boy. It's a pity really, I grew up there too you know… Sorceress Edea wants it destroyed however, and I'm not going to disobey her orders," Seifer said.
"No! …Don't- Aahh!" Squall cried out again as the warden flipped the switch.
"After Garden is gone, the SeeD hunt will begin. This is going to be fun Squall, you should stick around a little longer," Seifer remarked, grinning widely. "Continue the interrogation," he told the warden and followed the soldier out. The warden flipped the switch off and walked up to Squall.
"Well? Are you going to talk?"
"…"
"That's the way it is, huh?" the warden said. He turned back to the console and flipped the switch again. As the electricity passed through Squall's body, he tried to concentrate.
(…Maybe… a spell…)
The flow stopped and Squall tried to cast a sleeping spell on the warden. The spell fizzled and failed.
(Wha? …How?)
"So? Are you gonna talk now?" the warden sneered. Suddenly he felt a little sleepy, but he quickly shook it off. "A sleep spell? Ha ha! Nice try, but there's an anti-magic field surrounding this prison." (How did he do that without speaking?) the warden thought. "What is SeeD?"
"…Go…" Squall whispered hoarsely
"What? …What was that?"
"…Go to… hell…"
"WHAT? Alright mister, you asked for it!" The warden ran to the console and flipped the switch again.
(Why? Edea should know this…) Squall thought, before he lost consciousness again.
***
Edea methodically collected the dirty plates from the table. She stopped suddenly, staring at the place in front of her. It was Squall's lunch. The sandwich and fruit that the children had been given for lunch was still sitting, untouched, on his dish. The woman sighed and glanced at the small boy, who was staring absently out the window, wrapped in a blanket. He had been out of bed for two months now, but he was still too weak to do anything other than sit at the window and watch the other children play. Edea was rather surprised that the child had any energy at all. He never ate, only picking at what he was given. Squall had problems sleeping too, he had been having nightmares for weeks, and of course the control over the power itself was exhausting for his small body. She heard Squall sigh as he stared out the window.
(It must be hard for him to have to sit in here and watch the others play…) she thought sadly. Edea took the plates into the kitchen and started to clean them off. She heard the back door open and close loudly. Edea dried her hands off and walked back into the room where Squall was. Seifer had come in and was talking to Squall.
"…Come on Squall! It'll be fun!" Seifer exclaimed. Squall stared passively at the other boy and then turned his head to Matron. Seifer turned around and saw Edea standing in the doorway.
"What will be fun, Seifer?" she asked. Seifer dropped his eyes to the floor and put his hands behind his back.
"Um… Playing tag. Can't Squall come out and play too?" Seifer asked, raising his eyes hopefully. Edea frowned as she looked at the two boys. Ever since Squall had gotten "sick" Seifer had become his protector, his best friend and his big brother. It was strange since before Squall got sick, Seifer and he had hated each other.
"…I don't know," she said, looking from one boy to the other.
(I don't think so… He's still too weak, the other children will wear him out after five minutes…) Edea thought. Then she saw Squall's face fall.
"It's okay Seifer… I don't really wanna go anyway," Squall said quietly. Edea blinked, had he known what she was thinking? No, he couldn't. Seifer stamped his foot in frustration and crossed his arms.
"Come on Squall! It'll be fun!"
"…Alright, it's okay with me… But only for a little while, alright Squall?" Edea said finally. Squall looked at Matron, surprise registering on his face. Seifer turned to Squall with a triumphant smile.
"SEE! Come on!" he grinned and waited as Squall untangled himself from the blanket slowly. Edea took the cover from him and watched him follow Seifer out the door. He stopped and looked at Matron.
"…Thank you, Matwon…" he whispered as he closed the door. Edea smiled and walked to the window. The other children all gathered around Squall and she could see them talking.
"No, he can't play! He's too slow!" Quisty argued. Seifer stuck his tongue out at her. Squall turned around to leave.
"Stop Squall!" Seifer said. "We didn't wanna play with you guys anyway!" Seifer turned and ran after Squall. "Come on Squall, we don't need them…" Squall sat down under a tree sadly and stared at the ground.
"But they're right Seifer. I'm too slow and sick… I can't play with them," Squall said quietly. Seifer frowned and sat down next to Squall.
"Well, you do get tired kinda easy… but that's cos' you don't eat or sleep enough…" Seifer pulls his sandwich from lunch out of his pocket. "Want some?" Squall shook his head. "Okay…" Seifer shrugged and tore the sandwich in half. He took a bite. Squall stared at the other half of the sandwich for a while and thought about what Seifer had said. After a minute, Squall picked up the other half of the sandwich and took a small bite. Seifer pretended not to notice, but smiled to himself as he finished off his own half.
***
Author's Note: Only 3 more chapters to update!! Yay! Then I move on to I Am Not Alone… Maybe… If I can't force myself to work on it…^_^ R&R. *goes off to plot ways to steal Laguna and Irvine's Deeds* MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
-Rhyein