Chapter One
Where are my angels?
Where's my golden one?
Where's my hope
now that my heroes have gone?
Some are being beaten
Some are being born
And some can't tell
The difference anymore
Jewel
Amen
The abyss. How he loved to return there, night after night, to a place where
solace is at best unpredictable. Hopes and fears, dreams and failures, all
becoming a kaleidoscope of images which fill the heart with passion as well as
foreboding. Yes, Squall Leonhart adored this place, and was not one to leave it
without a fight.
"Squall, wake up! Nida wants to talk to you about something, and he was
very worried about it," Selphie yelled into Squall's ear whilst shaking him to get
him up.
"Wha?"was the only answer Squall could voice, having not yet shaken off
the stupor of his dreaming.
"Tee-hee, you look so funny in the morning. Anyways, meet you at the
bridge!" the bubbly brunette said before leaving.
Squall groaned and rolled over, trying to get back to sleep. But sleep was
elusive and Squall decided to just get up.
Why couldn't it have been Rinoa that woke me up? Squall asked to himself,
before immediately remembering that day one week before when Rinoa had
mysteriously run away...
"Rinoa, what are you doing?" Squall asked as he watched Rinoa pack her
belongings into a beat-up leather suitcase.
"Oh Squall," Rinoa began, her back facing him, "I was hoping I could have
left without you knowing,"
"You're leaving?! Where are you...how...why?" Squall replied, feeling a
sudden ache in his chest.
"There is something wrong," Rinoa said, turning around to face him.
"Something very wrong. I can feel it, and I know it's connected to my powers
somehow. Please Squall, I need to go now before anybody gets hurt,"
And with that Rinoa had grabbed her suitcase and fled, giving him no time
to respond or to try to stop her.
Rinoa, Squall thought to himself, What was it that you were fleeing from?
Another evil like Ultimecia? Or worse, an evil that cannot be named?
"Squall, please report to the bridge immediately!" Nida's voice beckoned
from the intercom, snapping Squall out of his dreamy state.
Squall groaned again, then began to get dressed.
* * * * *
15 minutes later Squall was showered and dressed, waiting for Nida to begin explaining
what was so urgent that he had to be woken up.
"I hope I didn't disturb your sleep," the dark-haired man began.
"As a matter of fact you did," Squall snapped, feeling annoyed that Nida didn't just get
right to the point.
"Sorry Commander, but I thought you might want to hear this. It's a transmission from
the Balamb Hotel that was received at two o'clock this morning. By the time it was traced and
SeeDs got there, the perpetrator had already fled the room it was traced to,"
"What did the transmission say?" Squall asked, feeling a sense of foreboding wash over
him. Nida pulled out a small, black tape recorder with the words 'received transmissions' stuck
on the side with masking tape.
"I think that when you hear the voice on the tape you'll know who it is," Nida said as he
hit play.
"Hey Squall, remember me? Heh heh, of course you do. Nobody forgets a Sorceress'
knight. Anyways, if you're looking for your girlfriend, don't worry, she's here with me. Ta-ta,
puberty boy,"
Nida clicked off the tape recorder. "That's where it ends,"
Squall felt his blood begin to boil. If Seifer did anything to Rinoa he'd...
"So, what are we going to do Commander?" Nida asked.
"Send a team of SeeDs out to look for her," Squall ordered, his world starting to get a
little out of focus. "And I'll help look too, I can't sit around not doing anything,"
"Squall, that cannot be done now," Nida said, his voice lowering an octave.
"Oh? And why not?"Squall demanded, wondering why one of his most loyal SeeDs
wasn't heeding his order.
"Well Squall, most of our SeeDs have been sent to clear up the situation in Galbadia
since General Caraway and Vice President Rufus are fighting over who gets control of Galbadia
now that President Deling is dead.
"Besides, you can't leave, this Garden needs you here," Nida finished.
"Then what are we going to do!!!" Squall practically shouted at Nida.
"Hmm...well, since we are close to Trabia Garden we could maybe help them with their
repairs in return for some rations if worst comes to worst," Nida mused.
"Why would we have to stay here?" Squall asked, wondering what Nida had in mind.
"Because, with your permission, I would like to be the one that goes out and finds
Rinoa!"
* * * * *
Seifer opened his eyes and saw the aging yellow ceiling of the orphanage. He grinned.
Another day, another way to bother Squall. Seifer rolled out of bed and walked over to a grimy
mirror that hung on the wall.
Yup, he thought to himself, Still looking good. Seifer turned around and marvelled at the
structure of the orphanage. After the Second Sorceress War, President Laguna of Esthar had
decided to fund the rebuilding of the orphanage; the result being the place looked almost like
new.
Seifer had come back here one rainy day night in hope of shelter from a storm, both the
physical one outside and the one raging inside his heart. Edea and Cid had taken him in, being
the kind of people that forgive and forget. They figured Seifer could help them care for some of
the orphans there. As surprising as it may seem, there was still quite a few orphans there and
Seifer was good with kids.
Although life with the Kramers was peaceful, Seifer found it very boring. As he once
said in the Lunatic Pandora, "I've always got to be doing something BIG!!!"
Of course he did find ways to amuse himself during his spare time. One night a SeeD
from Balamb Garden called him, a guy who called himself Spike, and offered to be Seifer's tap
on the inside. Seifer questioned this man's motives, but in the end he figured he would have to
use the information to poke fun at Squall, not to take any of it too seriously.
Seifer sighed and looked out the window, almost sickened by the millions of different
colours of the flowers.
"Seifer, come quick!" Edea's voice called through the open window, twinged with fear.
Seifer grabbed his Hyperion, which was leaning up against a nearby wall, and ran outside,
adrenaline giving him and extra boost of speed.
Seifer stopped beside Cid, for all the orphans were flocking around Edea for protection.
Cid glanced at Seifer, than turned his attention back to the flower field that Seifer had been
gazing at a few seconds ago.
A figure that Seifer had failed to notice stood in the flower fields, which was strange
because the pure white of her dress contrasted (though not in an unpleasant way) with the
colours of the flowers. She was beautiful, her long brunette hair reached down to her shoulder
blades and her red highlights shone naturally in the noonday sun. Even from where he Seifer
stood he could see the blue of her eyes, the colour of the deepest part of the ocean on a clear and
sunny day. Her figure was petite, but that didn't mean she didn't have any muscle tone. A
spaghetti strap dress made of what looked like silk flowed around her and ended at her delicate
ankles.
Seifer lowered his Hyperion and approached the woman. "Are you lost?" he asked
gently, not wanting to either offend or frighten her.
She tilted her head slightly. "I am looking for the Sleeping Lionheart," she said, not
knowing whether to trust the man or not.
"You mean Leonhart? Squall Leonhart?!" Seifer exclaimed, taken a little aback by what
she said.
She giggled. She thought it was funny when this silly little mortal lost his composure.
She thought that she would like this fellow. "My name is Adalia," she told him as she extended
her hand.
"Seifer," he replied as he took her hand in his and kissed it, noting the simple silver band
on her right ring-finger.
"Seifer, will you help me find this Leonhart fellow?" Adalia implored gently.
An uncontrollable shudder passed through Seifer, followed by white-hot rage. It wasn't
enough that Squall had taken Rinoa away from him, but he may also take this beautiful and
graceful Siren in front of Seifer. If Seifer did accompany her, he would try to keep her from
falling for puberty boy. "Only if you tell me one thing," Seifer teased to prove he was callous
about the chain of events.
"Oh, and what would that be?" Adalia asked, curious about what he wanted to know and
yet fearing it at the same time.
"What are you? You're almost too perfect to be someone on this planet," Seifer asked,
only half joking.
Adalia seemed to think for a minute, then she replied "I am what the people here call...a
Sorceress,"
______________________________________________________________________________
Author's Notes: Mwa hah, I love cliff hanger endings. Also, if anybody noticed that little joke
from FF7, please say so if you review. I know I also got a little out of character with Seifer in
the last few lines, but oh well :) BTW, the next chapter will be a whole lot more exciting.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except for Adalia.
Where are my angels?
Where's my golden one?
Where's my hope
now that my heroes have gone?
Some are being beaten
Some are being born
And some can't tell
The difference anymore
Jewel
Amen
The abyss. How he loved to return there, night after night, to a place where
solace is at best unpredictable. Hopes and fears, dreams and failures, all
becoming a kaleidoscope of images which fill the heart with passion as well as
foreboding. Yes, Squall Leonhart adored this place, and was not one to leave it
without a fight.
"Squall, wake up! Nida wants to talk to you about something, and he was
very worried about it," Selphie yelled into Squall's ear whilst shaking him to get
him up.
"Wha?"was the only answer Squall could voice, having not yet shaken off
the stupor of his dreaming.
"Tee-hee, you look so funny in the morning. Anyways, meet you at the
bridge!" the bubbly brunette said before leaving.
Squall groaned and rolled over, trying to get back to sleep. But sleep was
elusive and Squall decided to just get up.
Why couldn't it have been Rinoa that woke me up? Squall asked to himself,
before immediately remembering that day one week before when Rinoa had
mysteriously run away...
"Rinoa, what are you doing?" Squall asked as he watched Rinoa pack her
belongings into a beat-up leather suitcase.
"Oh Squall," Rinoa began, her back facing him, "I was hoping I could have
left without you knowing,"
"You're leaving?! Where are you...how...why?" Squall replied, feeling a
sudden ache in his chest.
"There is something wrong," Rinoa said, turning around to face him.
"Something very wrong. I can feel it, and I know it's connected to my powers
somehow. Please Squall, I need to go now before anybody gets hurt,"
And with that Rinoa had grabbed her suitcase and fled, giving him no time
to respond or to try to stop her.
Rinoa, Squall thought to himself, What was it that you were fleeing from?
Another evil like Ultimecia? Or worse, an evil that cannot be named?
"Squall, please report to the bridge immediately!" Nida's voice beckoned
from the intercom, snapping Squall out of his dreamy state.
Squall groaned again, then began to get dressed.
* * * * *
15 minutes later Squall was showered and dressed, waiting for Nida to begin explaining
what was so urgent that he had to be woken up.
"I hope I didn't disturb your sleep," the dark-haired man began.
"As a matter of fact you did," Squall snapped, feeling annoyed that Nida didn't just get
right to the point.
"Sorry Commander, but I thought you might want to hear this. It's a transmission from
the Balamb Hotel that was received at two o'clock this morning. By the time it was traced and
SeeDs got there, the perpetrator had already fled the room it was traced to,"
"What did the transmission say?" Squall asked, feeling a sense of foreboding wash over
him. Nida pulled out a small, black tape recorder with the words 'received transmissions' stuck
on the side with masking tape.
"I think that when you hear the voice on the tape you'll know who it is," Nida said as he
hit play.
"Hey Squall, remember me? Heh heh, of course you do. Nobody forgets a Sorceress'
knight. Anyways, if you're looking for your girlfriend, don't worry, she's here with me. Ta-ta,
puberty boy,"
Nida clicked off the tape recorder. "That's where it ends,"
Squall felt his blood begin to boil. If Seifer did anything to Rinoa he'd...
"So, what are we going to do Commander?" Nida asked.
"Send a team of SeeDs out to look for her," Squall ordered, his world starting to get a
little out of focus. "And I'll help look too, I can't sit around not doing anything,"
"Squall, that cannot be done now," Nida said, his voice lowering an octave.
"Oh? And why not?"Squall demanded, wondering why one of his most loyal SeeDs
wasn't heeding his order.
"Well Squall, most of our SeeDs have been sent to clear up the situation in Galbadia
since General Caraway and Vice President Rufus are fighting over who gets control of Galbadia
now that President Deling is dead.
"Besides, you can't leave, this Garden needs you here," Nida finished.
"Then what are we going to do!!!" Squall practically shouted at Nida.
"Hmm...well, since we are close to Trabia Garden we could maybe help them with their
repairs in return for some rations if worst comes to worst," Nida mused.
"Why would we have to stay here?" Squall asked, wondering what Nida had in mind.
"Because, with your permission, I would like to be the one that goes out and finds
Rinoa!"
* * * * *
Seifer opened his eyes and saw the aging yellow ceiling of the orphanage. He grinned.
Another day, another way to bother Squall. Seifer rolled out of bed and walked over to a grimy
mirror that hung on the wall.
Yup, he thought to himself, Still looking good. Seifer turned around and marvelled at the
structure of the orphanage. After the Second Sorceress War, President Laguna of Esthar had
decided to fund the rebuilding of the orphanage; the result being the place looked almost like
new.
Seifer had come back here one rainy day night in hope of shelter from a storm, both the
physical one outside and the one raging inside his heart. Edea and Cid had taken him in, being
the kind of people that forgive and forget. They figured Seifer could help them care for some of
the orphans there. As surprising as it may seem, there was still quite a few orphans there and
Seifer was good with kids.
Although life with the Kramers was peaceful, Seifer found it very boring. As he once
said in the Lunatic Pandora, "I've always got to be doing something BIG!!!"
Of course he did find ways to amuse himself during his spare time. One night a SeeD
from Balamb Garden called him, a guy who called himself Spike, and offered to be Seifer's tap
on the inside. Seifer questioned this man's motives, but in the end he figured he would have to
use the information to poke fun at Squall, not to take any of it too seriously.
Seifer sighed and looked out the window, almost sickened by the millions of different
colours of the flowers.
"Seifer, come quick!" Edea's voice called through the open window, twinged with fear.
Seifer grabbed his Hyperion, which was leaning up against a nearby wall, and ran outside,
adrenaline giving him and extra boost of speed.
Seifer stopped beside Cid, for all the orphans were flocking around Edea for protection.
Cid glanced at Seifer, than turned his attention back to the flower field that Seifer had been
gazing at a few seconds ago.
A figure that Seifer had failed to notice stood in the flower fields, which was strange
because the pure white of her dress contrasted (though not in an unpleasant way) with the
colours of the flowers. She was beautiful, her long brunette hair reached down to her shoulder
blades and her red highlights shone naturally in the noonday sun. Even from where he Seifer
stood he could see the blue of her eyes, the colour of the deepest part of the ocean on a clear and
sunny day. Her figure was petite, but that didn't mean she didn't have any muscle tone. A
spaghetti strap dress made of what looked like silk flowed around her and ended at her delicate
ankles.
Seifer lowered his Hyperion and approached the woman. "Are you lost?" he asked
gently, not wanting to either offend or frighten her.
She tilted her head slightly. "I am looking for the Sleeping Lionheart," she said, not
knowing whether to trust the man or not.
"You mean Leonhart? Squall Leonhart?!" Seifer exclaimed, taken a little aback by what
she said.
She giggled. She thought it was funny when this silly little mortal lost his composure.
She thought that she would like this fellow. "My name is Adalia," she told him as she extended
her hand.
"Seifer," he replied as he took her hand in his and kissed it, noting the simple silver band
on her right ring-finger.
"Seifer, will you help me find this Leonhart fellow?" Adalia implored gently.
An uncontrollable shudder passed through Seifer, followed by white-hot rage. It wasn't
enough that Squall had taken Rinoa away from him, but he may also take this beautiful and
graceful Siren in front of Seifer. If Seifer did accompany her, he would try to keep her from
falling for puberty boy. "Only if you tell me one thing," Seifer teased to prove he was callous
about the chain of events.
"Oh, and what would that be?" Adalia asked, curious about what he wanted to know and
yet fearing it at the same time.
"What are you? You're almost too perfect to be someone on this planet," Seifer asked,
only half joking.
Adalia seemed to think for a minute, then she replied "I am what the people here call...a
Sorceress,"
______________________________________________________________________________
Author's Notes: Mwa hah, I love cliff hanger endings. Also, if anybody noticed that little joke
from FF7, please say so if you review. I know I also got a little out of character with Seifer in
the last few lines, but oh well :) BTW, the next chapter will be a whole lot more exciting.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except for Adalia.