"He should be alright," the doctor said to the four other teenagers. Rinoa sat down next to Squall's bed. She felt so horrible, they'd done nothing but argue the whole time and now he was sick.

"So, what's wrong with him?" Zell asked. The doctor crossed his arms thoughtfully.

"I think that we could classify this as extreme exhaustion…" he answered. "From what you've told me, and the results of the blood test, there's nothing really wrong with him… His body is just tired, that all." Quistis glanced over at Squall and sighed.

(What happened to you Squall? …What's going on inside your head?)

***

Twelve years earlier…

He felt heavy, as if his body was being pinned down by some imaginary weight. The child let out a whimper. It hurt... It hurt so much... That, however, wasn't the cause of the boy's distress. Before passing out again a small semblance of thought ran through the child's mind. Why did his body feel so... wrong?

Someone was moving him. He could feel his body being lifted and a sound... so far away and distant... a song? Ever so slowly, the child opened his eyes. The moment she saw those eyes open, Edea ceased her quiet humming... continuing to gently rock the boy she spoke.

"S...Squall?" Her voice was unsteady as she looked down at the small figure in her lap.

"...Matwon..." It came out as a whisper, and was quickly followed by a small moan. Edea's heart broke. Pushing back a stray lock of his sweat-soaked hair, she gently laid Squall back down on her bed. Squall whimpered softly at the movement. "... It... It hurts," he breathed.

"Shhh..." Edea began stroking the child's hair. "…I know honey… I know." Edea watched silently as Squall fell back into a pain-induced sleep. She couldn't stand watching the boy suffer. He had been unconscious for a few days. Edea sighed with relief, as she pulled a blanket over Squall's small frame.

(At least he's still alive). She stared at the child for a few seconds, trying to figure out whether or not one of her herbal broths would help him.

(Hmm… It might relieve some of his pain, the fever probably… I don't know. It's worth a try I guess…) Edea turned away from the bed and walked toward the door. The old door creaked as Edea opened it. Cautiously, she peered past the frame and saw the blonde hair of a little girl further down the hall.

"Quistis?" Edea whispered, motioning for the girl to come closer. "I need you to do me a favour, ok?" Always happy to oblige, little Quisty nodded eagerly. "I have to go to the garden for a minute, to get some medicine for Squall. Will you make sure that none of the other children disturb him while I'm gone?"

"Sure, Matron" the girl replied.

"Thank you, dear." Edea sighed, making her way towards the garden. Quisty smiled; delighted that Matron had entrusted her with such an important job.

She watched the older woman walk away and thought for a second.

(Squall must be really sick for Matron to be that worried about him). She sighed and leaned against the door, figuring she'd be there for a while.

Seifer stormed into the small stone cottage.

(It isn't fair!) The boy thought to himself. For the past couple of days his beloved Matron had been too preoccupied to give Seifer the attention that he craved.

(All because of stupid Squall) Seifer thought in indignation. He had hardly seen Matron at all. Aside from preparing the children's meals it seemed as though Matron spent all of her time locked away in her bedroom, the place that Squall was now residing. She told the other children at the orphanage that Squall was very ill, and that he shouldn't be disturbed. In fact, Squall was supposedly so sick that Edea's husband Cid was to arrive at the orphanage in a few days in order to help out.

(HA!) The six-year-old thought. (I bet Squall's not sick at all! He's probably just faking so he can have Matron all to himself) The more Seifer reflected on this idea, the more sense it made to him. And with each passing moment the boy got angrier.

"That's it!" Seifer yelled to the air. "Squall's faking! And I'm gonna prove it!"

Seifer slinked down the hallway, careful not to be noticed by Quistis, who was standing guard outside Edea's bedroom door. As Seifer was trying to formulate a way to get Quistis away from her sentinel post, he heard a resounding crash coming from the playroom. Quistis heard the noise too, and went running in its general direction, leaving the door to Edea's bedroom unguarded. Seifer grinned at this lucky turn of events. Slowly opening the door, the boy snuck inside.

The room was dark. Edea had pulled the curtains shut, and the only source of light was one dim lamp on a dresser next to the bed. Seifer grinned as he approached that bed, deviously thinking about the expression on Squall's face as his charade was spoiled.

All thoughts of mischief flew out of Seifer's mind the minute he laid his eyes on Squall. The younger boy looked absolutely horrible. Squall's skin was a sickly white and the dark circles underneath his eyes made the boy's complexion seem even paler. Seifer was about to retreat from the room when Squall unexpectedly opened his eyes, looking directly at his rival.

"...Seifer...?" the ill child asked, confusion apparent on his face. Seifer didn't want to respond. In fact, every instinct in the boy's body was telling him to flee the room, and fast. However, even at the ripe old age of six, Seifer had a problem with following orders. Especially if those orders were his own.

Plastering an infamous smirk on his face Seifer replied, "That's my name." His gaze roamed across Matron's bed. Squall was only a year younger than Seifer, but right now, lying weakly in that bed, the child seemed so small. So... fragile. The two boys were far from close. In fact, on any other day Seifer would delight in tormenting Squall relentlessly. But now... Seifer couldn't bear to see the other boy in so much pain. Pushing aside an extra pillow, he sat down on the bed next to Squall. Squall moaned a little as the bed moved with Seifer's added weight. He winced, not having meant to hurt Squall.

"Squall? What's the matter?" Seifer asked quietly.

"…I… I don't know… It hurts…" Squall groaned, rolling away from Seifer. "…Where's Matwon?" Seifer shrugged.

"In the garden…" he answered, nonchalantly. Squall coughed loudly, shaking the bed a little, and moaned again. Seifer could tell that he was in a lot of pain. "…She's getting medicine for you, and she'll be back in a little bit…" Squall nodded. Seifer looked around the room casually, not sure of what to say next. "So… Um… Hey, do you know what Sefie did today?" Seifer asked, grinning. Squall turned back toward Seifer slowly and shook his head. "…Well, we were playing on the beach today… and she was sitting in the water, and then she started to pretend that a monster was getting her… Then Irvy ran out into the water to save her, and she pulled him in and got him all wet!" Seifer giggled, remembering the incident. Squall smiled weakly.

"…Then… what?" Squall asked.

"…Well… Then, Irvy got real mad and pushed Sefie under the water, then Quisty yelled at them… Tch… Quisty is so bossy…" Squall giggled a little and then cringed in pain. Seifer stood up. "Are you alright? Whassamatter?" he asked frantically. Squall just moaned. Behind him, Seifer heard the door open, and he turned to see Matron enter the room and stop.

"Seifer! What are you doing in here!" On the bed, Squall moaned again. Edea closed the door behind her and approached Seifer. "What did you do?" Seifer just stared up at Matron, his mouth hanging open.

(…I-I didn't do anything! I just… I just wanted to cheer him up!) He thought agitatedly. Suddenly, Squall cried out and a wave of energy passed through the room, originating from the small child's body. Behind Seifer, the lamp exploded, shattering onto the floor next to the bed. Matron and Seifer jumped at the explosion. Edea ran toward the bed and pulled Squall close. Seifer looked up at the woman, as Squall started to sob in Matron's arms.

"…Matron…?" Seifer whispered. She glanced at the other boy, seeing his eyes wide with fear.

"Seifer… It's alright, go outside with the other children…"

"Is he okay, Matron?"

"Squall's gonna be fine, Seifer, he just needs some rest," she lied. Seifer stared innocently into her eyes and nodded.

"Bye Squall…" he whispered as he left the room.

A few days later…

Seifer crawled silently into the kitchen, trying not to be seen. Matron's husband, Cid, had just come back from a trip and she was telling him about Squall. Seifer sat down behind the counter and listened.

"…Absorbed the powers by accident… I feel so horrible that I wasn't there to take the powers in his stead…" Edea sobbed. Cid pulled Edea closer and hugged her.

"It's not your fault Edea… You couldn't have known that she was just going to show up like that," he said, soothingly. He pulled back from their embrace and wiped the tears from her cheeks. Edea raised her eyes to Cid's.

"But Cid-"

"Shhh…" he said, placing a finger to his lips. "Don't think about it. You'll only feel worse." Edea nodded. She didn't want to think about what was inevitably going to happen to Squall. "How is he doing?" Cid asked quietly.

"…He has a fever, exhaustion… and the pain, the endless pain…" she replied.

"Is that how it was for you?"

"…No. I was tired for a while, due to the lack of control over the power, but then again, I'm a woman."

"Why does that matter?"

"…The only other sorcerer in history, Cid, was the Great Hyne… And he isn't technically a sorcerer; he's a god… Men just weren't meant to inherit the power. No man that has inherited the power has received it at Squall's age so he might be alright for now, but…"

"What happened to those men?"

"…They're dead, and unfortunately, the same thing is probably going to happen to Squall."

Seifer gasped softly and snuck out of the kitchen. As he reached the other side of the doorframe, Seifer stood up and ran down the hall to Matron's room, which was Squall's new permanent residence. Seifer stopped outside the door and swallowed.

(Squall's gonna die? …No! Matron said he'd be okay!) Seifer's eyes started to tear up. He pushed the water away savagely; crying was for babies, like Zell, and girls. Seifer turned the doorknob cautiously and walked into the room.

"Squall?" Seifer whispered, while closing the door softly behind him. He walked closer to the bed and saw that Squall was awake, staring at the ceiling. "Squall?" he said again, a little louder. Squall turned his head in the direction of Seifer's voice.

"…Seifer?" he whispered back. "What were… They sayin'?" Squall asked, forcing the words out. Seifer stopped next to the bed.

"Um... They said that… um… you're going to… um… die…" Seifer answered hesitantly. Squall's eyes grew wide and he looked away from Seifer.

"Seifer… I don't wanna die…" he sobbed.

"…You're not gonna die Squall! You can't!" Seifer said, crossing his small arms. Squall looked back at Seifer, with tears in his eyes.

"I'm not?" Squall whispered. Seifer shook his head.

"Nope. You and me gotta grow up to be knights together, remember?" Seifer said, reminding Squall of the promise that they had made the day before. Squall nodded.

"…I 'member…"

"Good! Cos' you're not allowed to die on me yet, Squall!" Seifer told him, grinning widely.

***

"You and me gotta grow up to be knights together…" The voice echoed in Squall's mind. His head hurt. His whole body hurt. Where was he? Squall slowly opened his eyes and found that he was lying on a bed. He slowly pulled himself into a sitting position and winced. The room he was in looked vaguely familiar, kind of like an infirmary. He glanced around quickly. There wasn't anyone there.

(I wonder what time it is?) He thought blankly. A figure walked into the room and turned the lights on. Squall blinked a few times and shielded his eyes. He could see the outline of a person, a woman, coming toward him.

"…Quisty?" Squall said quietly. The woman stopped.

(Quisty? …I haven't been called that since…) the woman thought, somewhat surprised.

"Yes, Squall?" Quistis answered. Squall brought his arm slowly back down as his eyes adjusted to the light. Quistis walked closer to the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"…Better… I'm not nearly so tired anymore…" he replied softly.

"That's good to hear," she said, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Squall, can you tell me why you were so tired?"

"…No… I really don't know why. It started after we went to the 'dream world' for the first time, on the train to Timber," he replied, shaking his head. Quistis stared at him for a moment.

(Why? Why did he call me 'Quisty'?) She thought, moving her gaze to the window.

"What did you say?" Squall asked her, puzzled. Quistis looked back at him and blinked.

"…I didn't say anything." Squall raised an eyebrow.

"Yes you did, I heard you… You said 'Why did he call me Quisty?'," he repeated, frowning. Quistis stared at him, puzzled.

(Does he know what I'm thinking? Huh? I didn't say that out loud…) Squall's eyes widened in comprehension.

"How did you do that?" she asked suspiciously, narrowing her eyes. Squall swallowed.

"Um… I just had a dream about this… Kinda like déjà vu. And in my dream you asked that out loud," he lied quickly.

(I remember now! When I was a kid… I could always tell what was going on in the other rooms… I knew what everyone was thinking…) he thought, amazed that he had forgotten. It wasn't just that he hadn't done it in a long time, he had not remembered that he could do it period (I wonder what else I can do that I've forgotten about…).

Quistis stared at him uncertainly for a few more seconds before continuing. "…Squall, we received some orders this morning from Balamb Garden. They were delivered by Fujin and Raijin-" she began.

"What did they say?" he interrupted. Quistis pulled out a manila envelope and handed it to him.

"I don't know. Headmaster Martine wouldn't allow us to open them until you awoke. We are also receiving some help from Galbadia Garden on this one. He's a sharpshooter, name's Irvine Kinneas…" she said, standing. "Come out when the doctor lets you…" Quistis walked to the door and stopped. "Oh, and I thought you might like to know… Fujin and Raijin don't think that Seifer's dead…"

***

"So, who's this boss of yours?" Irvine Kinneas asked, glancing around at the others.

Selphie ignored him; he was such a flirt. Who cared if his Galbadian accent was cute, or that he was sorta good-looking, and his clear blue eyes weren't THAT beautiful. He's just an annoying gunbunny, who's whole job is to shoot people, and he's probably about as intelligent as a wall anyway. Besides, he was too tall for her, and his long hair was too red. The cowboy hat was kinda cute, but it didn't look good on him anyway… It would look much better on her.

"Who? Squall?" Zell asked. Irvine rolled his eyes.

"No, the Great Hyne… Of course Squall!" Irvine said. Rinoa giggled.

"Squall is… Um… Well, um… Squall," Zell replied, scratching his head. Irvine crossed his arms.

"Is that the best you can come up with?"

"Um…"

"Squall is just kind of a soft-spoken, shy person," Selphie interrupted. "That's about it."

"…And he's the boss?" Irvine inquired. They nodded. "…Um, is that him?" Irvine asked pointing behind them. The three turned to see Squall and Quistis walking toward them. Rinoa's heart jumped. He was okay, he was conscious, and he was definitely alive.

"Hey Squall, how ya feelin'?" Zell asked cheerfully. Squall just glanced at him and then looked at Irvine. The two men locked eyes and an unspoken connection passed between them. Rinoa and Quistis were the only people who noticed this "connection;" Zell and Selphie just chattered on about how worried they had been. After a brief staring contest, Irvine looked away and Squall turned to the others.

"This is Irvine Kinneas, Squall. He's Galbadia Garden's in-house sharpshooter…" Quistis said, introducing them. "Irvine, this is Squall Leonhart. He's the leader of the operation." Irvine nodded.

(Why do I always get stuck with the leader job?) Squall thought, somewhat annoyed.

"So, what are the orders, mon capitane?" Selphie asked, enthusiastically. Squall opened the manila envelope and pulled out a piece of paper. It was a letter from Cid. "Well? What does it say?"

"…The orders state that… That we have to assassinate the sorceress," Squall said quietly, staring numbly at the paper. Irvine's eyes widened and he quickly pulled his hat down and stared at the ground. Quistis glanced at Squall and Irvine; they both seemed very affected by this order.

"The sorceress?" Zell asked, shocked. "We have to go kill a sorceress?" Squall closed his eyes.

(This-isn't-happening… This-isn't-happening…) he chanted mentally. (Edea, we have to kill Sorceress Edea… Matron…)

Rinoa stood to the side, not really knowing what to do. She wasn't a SeeD, she had Squall, Selphie and Zell under contract, and this was definitely not in the contract. But it wasn't like she could just order them not to do it.

(…Should I just go with them?) She thought. (I'm scared… Why did Headmaster Cid choose them to carry this mission out? Why not some other SeeDs?)

"Well? What exactly is the plan?" Quistis asked, pulling everyone out of their thoughts. Squall opened his eyes and glanced at the paper.

"…We're to use the sharpshooter, which I assume is Mr. Kinneas here… If that fails, we must attack her head on. We are to go to Deling City for Sorceress Edea's inauguration as the new ambassador…" Squall looked at the paper again. "…At eight o'clock tonight. We have to meet General Caraway and he will debrief us with the plan."

"Wait, General Caraway? As in the leader of the whole Galbadian Army?" Selphie spoke up. Squall nodded. Rinoa turned pale and felt as if she were going to be sick.

"This sorceress must be really bad news then," Zell said.

"…I guess this means we're going to Deling City…" Squall remarked. The others nodded in agreement.

***

The train ride to Deling City felt like it had taken forever. Irvine kept trying to hit on Rinoa and Selphie, and Quistis was jealous that Irvine was hitting on all the girls but her. To make herself feel better, she started hanging on Squall, who ignored her. Rinoa did seem to glare at Quistis whenever she would say something flirty to Squall, who would only reply with a "whatever" to anything Quistis said.

Selphie and Rinoa were talking animatedly about the best shopping centres in Deling, while Quistis and Zell argued about whether Deling City or Dollet was the best vacation spot. Squall and Irvine just stood on the escalator silently. Deling City started to become visible as the escalator rose to the street level. The others got off the escalator and kept chatting, not noticing Squall who had stopped and was looking around wide-eyed and open-mouthed.

"You'll want to take the bus from here, to get to the Caraway Mansion," Rinoa said moving toward a bus stop outside of the train station.

"How do you know that?" Selphie asked. Rinoa shrugged.

"I've been to Deling City a few times…" she replied. Quistis looked suspiciously at Rinoa, but said nothing.

"…Hey, where's Squall?" Zell asked looking around. Everyone glanced at each other, where was Squall? Irvine pointed behind them. They all followed Irvine's finger and saw a rather overwhelmed Squall standing at the mouth of the train station entrance.

"What's with him?" Rinoa asked, giggling. Selphie shrugged.

"Hey Squall!" Quistis shouted, motioning for him to follow. Squall blinked and realised how idiotic he must've looked, standing there with his mouth hanging open in awe. He joined them sheepishly as the bus pulled up.

"What's with you?" Rinoa asked. Squall scratched his head and coughed.

"Um… Well, I've never been in a city this big before…" he said, embarrassed, as they boarded the bus.

"What do you mean you've never been in a city this big before?" Rinoa asked incredulously as they got off the bus a few minutes later. It had been too loud on the bus for anyone to talk without yelling in each other's ears. Squall shrugged.

"The biggest city I have ever been in is Timber, and yesterday was the first time I'd ever been in there too…" he answered. Rinoa pointed to a small path leading off the main road.

"The General's house is that way," she stated. The group started walking in the direction she had pointed. "Now, don't tell me you've never been in a big city before!"

"What about Dollet?" Zell asked suddenly, turning away from his conversation with Quistis. Squall shook his head.

"Believe it or not, that was the first time I had been off Balamb Island since I came to live at Garden…" Zell's mouth dropped open.

"You mean you've never been outside Balamb before this?" Quistis asked. "What about the training missions to Winhill and Trabia?" Squall shook his head.

"I didn't do them." Quistis's brow crinkled. If Squall hadn't done those missions, how did he get into SeeD? Quistis opened her mouth to ask him that very question, but Selphie interrupted her train of thought as they walked around a corner.

"Look! There's General Caraway's house! It's so big!" Selphie exclaimed, pointing.

Rinoa stopped and turned to Squall. The others walked on ahead as Rinoa fidgeted. Squall crossed his arms, waiting.

"Um… Squall? Is my contract still valid?" she asked finally.

"…According to Selphie and Zell, the contract is valid until Timber achieves independence, which hasn't happened yet… So, yes. It's still valid," he answered calmly. Rinoa sighed in relief.

"Okay, then whatever happens, don't leave me in this house… Do you want me to explain why?" Squall shook his head.

"You don't have to if you don't want to…" he answered. "Come on." Rinoa nodded and followed Squall to the front door.

***

"What is taking so long!?" Selphie asked impatiently, staring longingly out the parlour window at the lights of the Deling City shopping district.

"We've been waiting for quite a while..." Quistis agreed. Rinoa stood up suddenly and walked to the door.

"Ooooh... He always does this! He's so uncivil, making people wait for him. I'm gonna go complain… You guys just wait here," Rinoa said, leaving the room. A second later, her head appeared around the door. "Oh, and by the way, this is my house," she informed them, leaving again. Everyone stared after Rinoa in shock. A few minutes later, a middle-aged man, in a Galbadian dress uniform, entered the room. Squall assumed this was General Caraway.

"Where's Rinoa?" Squall asked quietly from the windowsill he was leaning on.

General Caraway glanced at the boy. There was something odd about him. "She has not received the type of training you all have, and will become a burden. It's best that she stays out of this operation," he answered. Selphie turned away from the window and sized up the General.

"So, you're Rinoa's dad?" Selphie asked. General Caraway raised an eyebrow.

"I can't remember the last time she called me that..." he answered.

"Lemme get this straight… The father is the leader of the whole Galbadian army, and the daughter is a member of an anti-government faction!?" Zell asked. "That's a… um… problem…"

"Yes. It's a serious problem, but it's one that doesn't concern you… It's our problem." He answered. Squall frowned.

(I'm afraid it might become our problem pretty soon…)

"Besides, we have far more important things to worry about," the General continued.

(Garden's orders and Rinoa's contract have the same value to us.)

"Once our mission is finished here, we're working for Rinoa, as per our contract," Squall spoke up. "I don't know what your situation is, but don't interfere when the time comes." General Caraway looked at the seventeen-year-old and blinked. He suddenly felt a small pit in his stomach. This boy was much more dangerous than he looked.

"And if I do?" The General asked quietly, looking at Squall nervously. Squall's eyes narrowed.

(What's his problem?)

"We were hired by her. Rinoa's orders are just as important to us as yours… If you interfere, we'll act accordingly," he answered with a quiet viciousness. Irvine took his feet off of the desk he was sitting behind and sat up straight.

"Hey, hey, hey... People... We're here to kill the sorceress, right? Let's get down to business," he said, trying to break the tension. This Squall was a lot different from the one Irvine remembered. General Caraway dropped his eyes.

"…Let me explain the plan. I'm sure you know about the Galbadian Government reaching an agreement with Sorceress Edea..." Everyone nodded. "Well, there is going to be a ceremony tonight to commemorate the event," he continued. "It will be held at the Presidential Residence. During the ceremony, you will split into two teams and get in position. The gateway team and the sniper team… The gateway team will enter the archway in the middle of the city and stand by. The sniper team will stand by at the entrance of the Presidential Residence until the ceremony is over."

The General pulled a small map of Deling City out of his pocket and set it on the desk. The SeeDs crowded around. "This is where the sniper team will wait," he said, pointing to the map. "That's the Presidential Residence," he continued, pointing again. "Once the ceremony ends, a parade for the sorceress will begin… That's when the front gate will open. Once the gate opens, the sniper team will move out. With the parade drawing the crowd and the guards' attention, it should be rather easy to move about. The sniper team will head for the roof of the Presidential Residence... In the corridor by the sorceress' room, there is a hatch that leads to the clock tower. The tower is housing a carousel clock. You will find a sniper rifle there. Stand by in the clock tower until exactly 8:00. The parade begins by the gate, and the sorceress will be riding on a parade vehicle. After leaving the gate, the vehicle will turn left. The parade will circle once around the city along the outer road and return to the Presidential Residence. It will arrive on the opposite side and turn right, toward the arch. At exactly 8:00, the parade will pass under the archway…"

"At this point, the gateway team will operate the controls to drop the gates. The sorceress will be trapped inside the archway. At 8:00, the carousel clock will rise out of the roof of the Presidential Residence, carrying the sniper team up as well. There will be no obstruction between the sniper team and the sorceress… Take the open shot." The General folded the map and placed it back in his pocket. "That is all for the moment. Now we just wait… You're free to do anything. Take a look around the city if you wish. Just stay out of trouble." Squall furrowed his brow.

(What do you take us for? We wouldn't be SeeDs if we didn't know how to behave… We're not your daughter…)

"Report back here when you're ready. We'll hold a final meeting then, and after that, we'll proceed with the operation."

***

Author's Note: Okay, this chapter was co-written by my friend and fellow CBB conspirator, SarcasticVAL. ^_^ She's my muse and Jaina's evil inspiration faerie, and also the owner of Irvine! *snaps her fingers* I'll get all those Deeds yet! Anyway, she wrote a lot of the flashback sequence. LALALALA! R&R… almost done updating! YAY!

-Rhyein