::Disclaimer and other things people will probably ignore::
FF8 and it's characters are copyright by Squaresoft. The plot, however, is mine. Touch it, 
and eat horrible GF death. I'm serious!
...And finally, this is Rated PG-13-ish for light swearing and suggestive themes. Don't 
kill me. Questions? Comments? Flames? Send them to Megami_Yanagi@hotmail.com 
with the subject "FF8 fic" or something similar, or my junk mail folder will eat it and say 
"yummy" when it is done. arigatou, and enjoy! ^_^

Note: I recommend you listen to the FF8 BGM "Timber Owls" if you have it, while 
reading the frist part of this chapter. Hee hee ^_^



From Forever to Infinity 



Chapter 3: "Limit Break: Nervosa Unfolding"

***************************************

	How was he going to do it...? Kiros pondered, looking at Laguna from a safe 
hiding distance. How was he going to weasle his way into going with them?
	"I can't allow that." Squall said, forcing his glare deep into his father's eyes.
	"Well, maybe he could come for a little bit, like a day or something?" Selphie 
suggested.
	"Out of the question!" Squall snapped, "Besides slowing us down by us having to 
drag his ass back to Esthar tomorrow, who's going to run the city while he's out 
galavanting, hmmm?"
	"It's just paperwork, and meetings. It can be delayed a bit." Laguna said, "Plus, 
the stress is getting to me; I need a few days out of here to unwind."
	"Take a Presidential vacation, but you're not coming with us." Squall glared at 
him.
	Surprisingly enough, Laguna began to glare back. "Take me with you, Squall. I 
could be of help."
	"All you'd do is lose the map, and whine about being lost. I've witnessed it 
firsthand, you know." Squall retorted. Laguna's glare faded into a slightly haughty look.
	"Fine fine, you know what's best, huh?" He waved him off and did a 180 degree 
turn.
	Squall mumbled something as he entered the hull of the Ragnarok, but Kiros 
didn't catch it. He ducked behind a pillar as Laguna headed their way. 
	He kept waiting for Laguna to walk by, and when he didn't, Kiros decided to 
sneak a peek. What he saw was Laguna trying to climb up one of the thrusters of the 
Ragnarok. What was he doing?!
	Laguna heaved himself up over a thruster with nothing but sheer willpower. He 
had dressed in his old adventuring clothes, and his favorite denim jacket with the metal 
plates on the chest. His machine gun hung across his back, giving him a feeling of 
nostalgia. It reminded him oddly enough of the time they snuck into Esthar. The ironic 
part now, was that he was trying to sneak out of it!
	He crawled around, over the plates on the body, looking for a top hatch. Where 
was the service entrance? They had to have one here somewhere! All the Esthar airships 
had one! 
	While Laguna looked for the electrical plate cover, Kiros stripped out of his aid 
robes and down to the outfit underneath, which was the maroon bodysuit from their old 
adventuring days as well.
	He had planned for this. If anyone knew Laguna this well, it was him and Ward. 
They had even arranged it to be alright for him to be gone awhile, as long as one of them 
went with him. Ward had volunteered to stay behind and handle the paperwork. 
Surprisingly enough, Ward liked to do paperwork. He loved to read now, too. It's just 
how he had adjusted. So Kiros had to play bodyguard. The dark-skinned man smiled at 
Laguna's antics over on the Ragnarok. He had found the panel, but couldn't open it, so he 
was pounding on it with the end of his machine gun. Would he ever learn? Kiros started 
to walk over to Laguna, but he noticed that Laguna was now talking to someone.
	Laguna had resorted to trying to catch the corner of the panel with his machine 
gun, but had accidentally bent it. So he was trying to pound it back into place, when it 
opened from inside, and Irvine stuck his head out.
	"Yep. It's Laguna." He said to someone inside. Selphie immediately popped her 
head up next to Irvine.
	"Are you trying to sneak aboard, Sir Laguna?" Selphie asked cheerfully.
	"Um, well, failing at it, but yes. Squall isn't down there, is he?" Laguna asked. If 
Squall knew he was beating up their airship...he'd probably get Lionhearted.
	"Nope." Irvine drawled. "He's with his woman in the cockpit. Sent me to check 
out the noise in the electrical room, and Sefie tagged along like she likes to do, right, 
Sefie?"
	"Yep. I had a feeling it was you." She suddenly looked up, and smiled. "Hello, 
Kiros!" She bubbled. Laguna turned violently in the direction she was looking. Indeed, 
Kiros had climbed up to where they were as well. Now he was going to catch it...
	"I guess your comin' with 'em?" Irvine asked.
	"Well, someone will have to keep him in line." Kiros remarked, smiling lightly at 
Laguna. Laguna just placed a hand behind his head in his usual manner and laughed 
nervously.
	"C'mon you guys! Get down inside! You can hide in the hull until we get a safe 
distance away." Selphie offered, and got herself and Irvine out of the way. As they started 
climbing in, the thrusters roared to life ear-deafeningly.
	"ZELL'S JUST WARMING HER UP FOR ME!" Selphie yelled over the roar of 
the engines, "NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT!"
	"OKAY!" Laguna yelled back as they climbed in.
 
	Selphie and Irvine managed to sneak them into the hold without much incident. 
After they warned them not to leave there until one of them came back and gave the ok, 
they had taken off. Laguna slid down one of the walls and into a sitting position.
	"Alright, Kiros, why are you on my side with this?" He asked warily.
	"Well, Ward and I agreed you needed a small break, so Ward volunteered to 
handle all the paperwork for you while you were gone, so I was left to accompany you. 
Not that I mind, though." Kiros added.
	"So you're a babysitter?" Laguna asked.
	"Only sometimes." Kiros said playfully.
	"Do you know where they're headed?" Laguna asked, "Because I have no idea."
	"Galbaldia, I believe. Starting with Deling, and ending with Winhill." He replied.
	"The town where I met...and also the town I met..." He let it trail off and hang in 
the air. "Geez, I was a big loser in Galbaldia, huh? First Julia, and then...Raine..."
	"Neither was your fault, Laguna." Kiros said softly, "It was all bad 
circumstances."
	"And now I have another one on my hands- a son who rejects me." Laguna bit his 
lip. "He and Ellone are all I've got left of Raine, and, and I want to make the best of it 
before I go and join her. I want to greet her in Heaven, and say that everything is alright! 
That I was able to fix something for once, instead of messing it up, you know?"
	"Maybe you should tell that to Squall." Kiros suggested, "Perhaps he cannot 
percieve what you feel."
	"I can't! I'm no good with words! I'll screw it up, and he'll hate me even more..." 
Laguna sighed and brushed the hair back out of his eyes. Where was the band he'd had in 
his hair a few moments ago? He looked around. No where to be seen. Probably fell out 
when he was climbing in. Oh well, now he really felt young again, with his old clothes, 
and his old hairstyle...like time travel. Kiros must have known what he was thinking, 
because he pulled out his Katar and began to polish them.
	"Haven't used these in a while, " He commented, "Yet I've kept them in good 
condition. Why is that?" He wondered aloud. 
	"Because they're nice. Just like my-" He reached for his machine gun, and found 
himself lacking it severely." HEY! Where is it?!" He panicked.
	"You probably left it on top of the Ragnarok." Kiros mused. "That's a shame. 
You've had that gun for..."
	"24 years!" Laguna cried, and pounded the floor in frustration. He pulled his 
knees to his chest, wrapped his arms around them, and hung his head. "Shit..." He 
muttered.
	"I'm sorry, Laguna." Kiros consoled him. "This is no way to start an adventure."
	"It's definately not!" Laguna agreed, and raised his head to the roof of the 
Ragnarok's hold. 

**********************************

	Edea entered the cockpit and walked over to Squall quietly.
	"Squall?" She asked him softly, as if not to startle him.
	"What is it, Matron? Is Zell's flying too rough for you; Want me to get Selphie?" 
He asked.
	"Hey! I fly just fine!" Zell exclaimed, "I'd fly better if I had some-"
	"-chili dogs." Squall finished for him. "I know."
	"Just saying..." Zell said, looking straight ahead.
	Squall turned to Edea. "What do you need, Matron? And where are the children?" 
He inquired.
	"Selphie and Rinoa are teaching them Triple Triad in the Conference Room. 
they're fine. However, Mecia seems to not like either of them, and they are very nice to 
her." Edea mentioned.
	"The girl's name is Mecia, so what's the little boy's name? He's not deaf, is he?" 
Zell interupted.
	"No Zell, he's not deaf, and his name is Bari." Edea explained. "But, there is 
something that should interest you. I sense two more people on board than there should 
be."
	Squall looked at her warily. "Two? Are you sure? We checked the Ragnarok up 
and down for any monsters that may have gotten aboard."
	"The essence given off is not that of a monster." She said. "I think you might want 
to check it out. And also, the feeling of the power has changed. It seems to be all around, 
instead of focused in one place. It's done this before, and should straighten out soon."
	"Ok, well, then, rest until anything changes, then come find me." Squall told her. 
"Meanwhile, I'll run another scan of the ship."
	"You should take someone with you, in case it is an enemy." Edea suggested.
	"I'll be fi-" Squall started, but was stopped by Edea's concerned look. "Oh, alright, 
I'll take Irvine or something- he's not doing anything useful right now."
	"Take care, Squall." Edea smiled softly at him.
	"I will, Matron." He replied, then left the control room.
	Squall made his way back to the Conference Room, where indeed, Selphie and 
Rinoa were trying to teach Mecia and Bari how to play cards. Irvine sat lounging in a 
chair towards the back, spinning his Exeter in silly, cowboy-style arcs. Quistis was 
reading some papers off in the corner. Probably SeeD reports, or pre-SeeD exams.
	"Irvine." Squall said as he leaned against the doorframe, "Can I see you in the hall 
for a moment?"
	Irvine looked up, startled. "Sure thing Mr. Commander." He drawled, and set his 
gun down.
	"You might want to bring that." Squall mentioned, pointing at the Exeter with the 
tip of his Lion Heart. Irvine gave him a strange look and followed him out the door, gun 
in hand. 
	"Squall, what's goin-?" Squall heard Rinoa begin, but she was cut off as the 
automatic doors shut behind them.
	" What's up, Squall?" Irvine asked as they walked back into the control room. 
Squall punched a few buttons, but didn't speak.
	"Squall?" Irvine inquired as the screen reported two stowaways on board.
	"Damn..." He muttered, and placed his hand against his forehead, "Why does this 
have to happen?"
	"What's wrong, Squall?" Irvine asked again.
	"We've got company. There are two unidentified people or things in the hold. 
Come on, let's go check it out." He said, swinging the Lion Heart back onto his shoulder.
	"Are you sure?!" Irvine stammered, "I really don't think there are people on board 
that shouldn't be! I mean, we checked, right, huh? We did a thorough check, we're SeeDs, 
remember?" He laughed and spread his arms in a defenseless gesture. "Nothing can get 
by us!"
	"Are you done?" Squall asked, walking in the direction of the hold. Irvine dashed 
after him.
	As they were nearing the hold, Irvine said in a really loud voice, "I don't think 
there's anyone in the hold, Squall."
	"What are you yelling for? I'm right here." Squall muttered annoyedly, poking a 
finger in his ear to get Irvine's voice out of it.
	Squall tapped a few codes into the panel, and the doors opened. Irvine expected 
Squall to explode that very second when he saw Laguna and Kiros, but, they were no 
where to be seen! Irvine looked in ahead of Squall. He looked around carefully, and 
finally spotted them.
	Laguna and Kiros were hiding against the small section of wall between the 
doorframe and the sides of the hull. As long as Squall didn't go all the way in, they were 
safe. Laguna looked at Kiros frantically, but Kiros put his fingers to his lips in a "shhh." 
motion. Squall walked a little past the frame, and spun around to face Irvine. In doing so, 
he brought the tip of the Lion Heart's blade barely millimeters from Laguna's nose! 
Laguna stared at it, and began to panic silently, trying to get his hand between the blue 
glowing tip and his face. From across the way, Kiros was trying to calm him silently, 
telling him taciturnly not to move. While Squall and Irvine were talking, mostly Irvine 
trying to convince him the hull was empty, that blade stayed fractions of a quarter inch 
from his nose. His nose, in indignation at having such a pointed weapon so close to it, 
began to tickle in protest. 
	Must not sneeze, must not sneeze, must not sneeze! Laguna repeated to himself 
quietly as the Lion Heart hovered in front of his nose. Must...not...
	Laguna was forcing that sneeze down with all his might and focus. Irvine saw his 
dilemma, both with the Lion heart and the sneeze, and his eyes widened slightly. He 
stepped back a few paces.
	"Why don't we talk out here?" Irvine suggested.
	"Why?' Asked Squall, beginning to bounce the Lion Heart slightly on his 
shoulder. Laguna looked severely panicked at this point, and sweat dripped down one 
side of his face. 
	"I trust what the computer says, Irvine." Squall told him, "They may have ways
to avoid detection."
	"Such as..." Irvine prompted him. 
	"There are many things, like-" Squall was cut off in his explination by a loud
sound echoing throughout the hold. He and Irvine turned abruptly, and to
Laguna's relief, got the Lion Heart out of his face. But they had been found out
now!
	"Alright, get out here and fight!" Squall called, "I know you're in there!"
	Another very loud sneeze echoed thoroughout the large chamber.
	"Get out here!" Squall yelled, for the first time in awhile. Irvine had never
seen Squall get angry enough to yell before. He had a cold chill run up his
spine. First here was one tenative footstep, and then another, and a man with long hair 
came into view, and then another, darker skinned man walked up. The first man had his 
hands held high, and an embarassed look on his face. The second had his hands at his 
sides very stoically.
	"L-Laguna...?" Squall asked under his breath as the men came the light from the 
doorway. "...and Kiros...?" Suddenly, Irvine and the others saw a deep, dark thundercloud 
pass over their commander's face. He turned to Irvine.
	"You helped them, didn't you?" He seethed. Irvine took one look at Laguna and 
Kiros, another at Squall, then took off down the hall at a dead run. Squall swung his 
Gunblade as if to persue him, but decided against it. Instead, he turned to Laguna and 
Kiros. 
	"Get in the conference room." Was all Squall could manage without exploding.

************************************

	The boat bumped against the rocky shore in the waves, and the motion finally 
roused her from her unconsciousness. She sat up blankly, her hair falling out of it's 
headband, and her sweater wrinkly and slightly damp. She reached up and readjusted the 
beige headband, and tried the best she could to fix the sweater.
	"Where am I...?" She asked aloud. There were miles of rocky beach, and 
mountains all around. She did not recgonize the place at all, but knew she wasn't back in 
Winhill.
	She climbed unsteadily out of the boat and drug it up the rocky coast so that it 
wouldn't float away.Then she picked a direction to walk in, and began walking.
	All she wanted to do was see him. Each footstep, possibly bringing her one step 
closer to her Laguna...
	She walked on, for miles and miles, wondering again why she felt no exhaustion, 
and no hunger. Well, she had cravings for food-- like the scallop linguini that she used to 
serve back at the bar in Winhill, but no real stomach growling or any of that. Maybe she 
really did have to force herself to eat. What if she couldn't taste anything anymore? She 
could see, and smell, and touch...what about?
	In the barren wasteland, there was a small scrubby bush with withering berries on 
it. Raine walked over, and picked one. She crushed it between her fingers, and licked a 
little of the juice that came out from off of her finger.
	It was tart, very tart. She coughed until the funny feeling in her throat left, and 
tossed the berry aside. Well, she definately could taste again.
	She walked on for about anothe mile, before she saw the city in the distance. It 
was tall, and beautiful; Greens and blues and yellows shining off of it in the bright 
sunlight. Was he...? She wondered. Was Laguna there?
	The closer she got to the city, the more she began to hear the noises. Yelping, 
growling, fearful noises one should only hear at night. Suddenly, one of these nosies 
came from right behind her! She pressed her hands against her chest, and looked around. 

	There were two cat-like creatures, both spotted, and with long magenta tendrils 
flowing from off their muzzles. They ran at her, and laid down on the floor. 
	What were these creatures?! Raine ran through her mind frantically, trying to 
place them. They were some mythological creature, only coming from the moon during a 
Lunar Cry. Was there a Lunar Cry while she was dead?
	That's what they were called- Toramas. She remembered suddenly, as one begain 
to twitch it's wiskers, and cast a spell.
	Raine turned to run, and didn't get very far before a dark cloud encircled her, and 
sucked away some of her strength. She fell to her knees one it had dissapated, and turned 
back toward the Toramas.
	The other one was starting to cast. Raine felt this incredible surge of energy 
within her, and wondered how she would protect herself. Then, as if her 
subconsciousness took over, she cast a spell! 
	A bluish energy hit the creature, and it stopped mid-cast. What had she done to it? 
The other Torama snarled and stood up. The other stood as well, but didn't make any 
noise. Had she silenced one? What other magic did she know?
	A list of spells went running through her head all at once, so she picked the first 
one she had seen, and cast it at the Toramas.
	A huge blast hit the Toramas, and they went flying in all sorts of directions, like 
their bodies were being torn apart! They flew high in the magenta blast, and hit the 
ground from miles up with a loud sickening thud. They did not move. 
	What was this power? She asked herself as she dropped to her knees in front of 
the Torama's corpses. That was the spell "Apocalypse"? The earth and dead Torama's 
images became blurry and fuzzed out of her view. She felt incredibly depleted, like her 
energy was rushing from her as fast as it could. So these were her powers, and she could 
use them. What an odd feeling, she thought to herself as she fell to the dusty earth. But 
why? Why did the sorceress choose her? Why did she want to achieve making time into 
one linear movement? 
	And where was her Laguna? She wondered as she slipped back into the healing 
arms of unconsciousness.

*******************************

	"Squall, " Quistis tried to calm him, "You need to relax. Your veins in your 
forehead are going to explode if you don't lower you blood pressure."
	"He snuck aboard after I specifically forbade him not to." Squall gritted through 
clenched teeth, "Why should I go easy on that idiot?"
	"Squall, he means well!" Selphie told him.
	"Oh, so that's why you and Irvine helped him sneak in? Trying to be helpful, huh? 
That's so like you two, causing trouble when you're together! Why can't you two grow 
up?"
	"Squall!" Yelled Rinoa angrily, "You take that all back! You're the one acting like 
a spoiled child in all of this! He's not compromising anyone, and you're just doing this 
over your own selfish, unbased dislike of him just because you haven't taken time to get 
to know your own father!" She exploded. "You're a big meanie!" 
	Squall looked taken aback. "This is SeeD protocol, I can't-"
	"You've broken rules for everything else!" She shot back at him, "Especially me. 
Technically, I shouldn't be here either. Are you going to jettison me off with them?" 
Rinoa glared at him daringly, tapping her foot, waiting for an answer.	
	"I'm not going to jettison them off." Squall said, taken aback by Rinoa's anger, 
and the fact that she spoke the truth. "But he's being completely undependable to Esthar, 
and-"
	"I'm sorry." Kiros interrupted, "But he does have a period of absence designated 
for his leave, and Ward is taking care of things. It's perfectly alright for him to be here, if 
this information helps alleviate some animosity between us all."
	"See?" Irvine drawled, half hiding behind a conference room chair. "It's ok for 
him to be here."
	"Stay out of this Irvine." Zell warned quietly, "I don't like that look on his face."
	"Squall, I promise..." Laguna said suddenly, "...to stay out of your way." And with 
that, Laguna turned and walked out of the room. Kiros looked after him, but didn't 
follow, seeing that his friend needed time alone. Squall turned and left as well.
	"That didn't go over too well." Zell commented.
	"Rinoa...?" Quistis asked the girl in light blue, "Are you alright?"
	"Yes, fine. Just a bit angry, that's all." She flopped down in a conference room 
chair in a very un-Rinoa-like manner, her hands dangling in her lap. "You know, 
sometimes I'd just like to-!" Rinoa muttered angrily.
	"Strangle him?" Selphie offered.
	"Take my Blaster Edge and shove it in that big insensitive mouth of his!" Rinoa 
huffed angrily.
	"You don't wanna do that, Rinoa." Irvine said to her, "Besides, that's a Shooting 
Star. Best you can find. Very expensive to make; You don't wanna wreck it by crammin' 
it down Squall's throat, now do ya?"
	"No, probably not!" Rinoa laughed. "Sometimes, he just frustrates me so much, 
that I turn into him."
	"Yeah, it's a little like that." Selphie giggled.
	"Well, hopefully, this will bring Laguna and his son closer together." Kiros 
commented, thinking aloud.
	"What do you mean, Kiros?" Zell asked him.
	"Hmmm? Oh, nothing, just thinking." Kiros said. Rinoa jumped up, with mischief 
in her eyes.
	"You helped him sneak aboard so him and Squall could make amends?!" She 
smiled excitedly, "That's wonderful Kiros! What a great friend for Laguna to have!" She 
jumped up and hugged Kiros, who looked a little shocked. Selphie laughed, and pointed 
this out.
	"Well, it was kind of the intent. The other was to just give Laguna a break, but 
that doesn't seem likely here, does it?" The dark-skinned man commented wryly.
	"Well!" Rinoa stood up, apparently full of new resolve, "This is our chance to get 
those two together and be father and son! I can't sit around like a lump and let you do all 
the work, Kiros. I'll help from my end too!"
	Kiros laughed, which was a rather nice experience.
	"Raine would have loved you." He said quietly.
	"Who is...?" Rinoa began, confused.
	"Squall's mother, and Laguna's wife." Quistis explained.
	"Oh..." Breathed Rinoa, "Squall never said anything, so I never found out her 
name...Raine, and...Squall...and Laguna...all water related."
	"So," Irvine pondered jokingly, "Rain in a Lagoon makes a Squall?" He smiled 
his best charming smile at everyone. Everyone groaned except for Selphie, who, of 
course loved Irvine's terrible jokes.
	"I guess I should talk to him." Rinoa piped up and swung herself out of the chair. 
As she reached the door, it opened all by itself, and she almost ran into Edea!
	"Oh! Sorry!" Rinoa exclaimed, and backed up so the sorceress could pass. Edea 
thanked her, and walked in, explaining that she had disturbing news.
	"What is it Matron?" Quistis asked concernedly. 
	"For a moment, I felt the power pulling back the way we came from. But then, it 
was all around again. If the sorceress- huh? Where is Squall? And who is that man?" 
Edea asked.
	"Kiros Seagul, Presidential Aide to President Laguna of Esthar." Kiros offered a 
hand, "Pleasure to make your aquaintance. But please, call me Kiros."
	"The pleasure is mine, Kiros. I am Edea, I run an orphanage on Centra, but I am 
also a Sorceress. Please do not think ill of me for that." Edea accepted his hand, and 
shook it warmly.
	"I had no thought of doing so." Kiros replied. There was a small bit of silence.
	"Please go on, Matron." Irvine prompted.
	"Oh, right. As I was saying, it seems the sorceress is getting a better handle on her 
powers. the only way my powers pull toward hers is if the power has been lying dormant 
for a bit, as if charging up. If the sorceress uses the power, it seems my powers pull me in 
every direction,a s if it's all around me. We are, I'm afraid, running out of time for the 
easy search. One she finally realizes her powers fully, we will be searching blind, so to 
speak." Edea hung her head. " And then I will be of no further help to you all."
	"Oh no, Matron, you're a big help! " Selphie exclaimed, "We'll find her soon, I 
know it! Please trust us, Matron!"
	"That's Sefie for ya, so cheerfully looking on the optimistic side, and full of 
hope." Irvine smiled at Selphie. "She's our whole morale!" Selphie blushed at the 
compliment.
	"Alright Matron, just go back and relax, and we'll take it from here." Quistis said.
	"Do you need anything, Matron?" Zell asked. 
	"Oh, no I'm fine. Thank you Zell."
	"If you need anything at all, just let one of us know!" Selphie piped up brightly.
	"Thank you, everyone." Edea said as she left.
	Everyone hung around the Conference Room, except Rinoa, who left to find 
Squall.
	"Uh...guys...?" Selphie asked after a minute had passed.
	"Yeah?" Zell answered.
	"If we're all here, who's flying the Ragnarok...?"
	"It's on auto-pilot to Deling City." Zell said, "Relax."
	"You put my ship on auto-pilot!?" Selphie screamed, and ran out of the room.
	"Ah...ha ha ha..." Zell laughed nervously while everyone else just looked at him.

********************************

End chapter 3 ^_^