Little Lioness. Chapter9: The Twelve.
I know it took a while but I needed to rest my brain for a while. I had writer's block, coursework and have started a making new webmanga which should go online soon! But I decided it was time I got on with it and continued the story, so here we go.
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Squall was the first awake. Though he was unsure if he was awake, this place was surreal and dreamlike and his fear for Rinoa made it border on nightmare. He watched Simeon, the boy was talking in his sleep and stirring violently. What he was saying was impossible to hear because half of his words were mumbled and he kept trailing off. A particularly loud shout woke up Zell, who had been on watch but had dozed off on seeing Squall awake.
"...He's still talking?"
"Yeah, has been most of the night now."
"Any idea what he's on about?"
"No idea, he just mumbles randomly. I think I heard him say 'Pink Bunny' at one point, it's probably just dreams."
"If it isn't then the future is one freaked up place huh?"
Squall stood quiet. The boy knew his daughter. He hoped his future self was a better parent than his own father had been.
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Not very far away, Selphie was the first awake. She had stirred the embers of the fire and got it blazing again by finding old pieces of furniture as kindling. It had been a hard night, nobody seemed to have slept well, except Genji, who had slept soundly right through.
Sylvie stirred. She had curled up and thrown her blanket off, her fingers were twitching. Selphie had been suprised when she'd heard that the four youths were actually younger than they were here, but now she noticed how childlike they seemed in sleep. She carefully pulled the blanket back over, and tucked it under the girl's body, folding it neatly at the top. Sylvie's eyes flickered and she murmured softly, half asleep.
"Thanks mum."
Selphie jumped backwards a little, suddenly a strange thought came to her. What she had just done, perhaps it was something the future her did very often. She immediately felt very sorry that she had no memories of Sylvie at all, and began to try to make up a picture of the sort of person that she was. It didn't work, there was too little to build a picture on. She looked at the other sleepers, Quistis was actually a very untidy person when asleep, she was always moving, which was odd thinking of what a tidy person she always was when awake. Rinoa always curled up when asleep, and she slept very soundly, Selphie had found that Rinoa could sleep almost anywhere, and at any time, if work needed doing at night, she would happily turn nocturnal, and she never seemed to get jetlag flying around in a spaceship all over the world. Selphie herself could only sleep at night, and she liked to go to bed early and wake up early, unless of course there was a party on, but she was more of a daytime person than a nighttime person.
Quistis woke up. And in her typical fashion got up immediately and began to tidy herself and her bed up too, until she looked so immaculate that few people would have guessed she had only been awake for ten minutes.
"Good morning Selphie."
"Morning Quissy, sleep well?"
"Not too badly considering I was sleeping on the floor. Should we wake the others?"
"Maybe in a little while."
"Rinoa doesn't wake up until you wake her."
"That's true, I wonder if Ellone's the same? Awww, look, she frowns like Squall when she's sleeping."
"Interesting how she sleeps with her hand in the "...whatever" position."
"Hey, yeah she does."
"Do we have any food for brekfast?"
"Ummm, not much. There are mushrooms growing near here though, and steps going down to the sea, maybe there's some fish. And I've seen some birds flying around here, perhaps I could find some eggs. I'm sure I can make something."
"You never cease to suprise me."
"Hee hee," Selphie grinned. "Okay, you stay and look after these guys and I'll go mushroom hunting."
"Are you equipped for fighting? you're more likely to be attacked if you're alone."
Selphie tapped the 'Strange Vision' nunchaku on her back. Quistis nodded and gave a SeeD salute. Selphie saluted back and ran into the ruins.
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Zell's stomach rumbled. Squall glanced over.
"Awww, I'm so hungry! I need food man!"
"I doubt there are any hotdogs here Zell." Replied Squall.
"I'd eat anything right now!"
Squall held out a SeeD ration stick.
"Urk, except that! Those things taste like sawdust! I need real food."
As if to infuriate Zell, a distant voice came through the air, singing.
"Mushroom, mushroom, finding lots of mushrooms, la, la, la, mushy, mushy roooom."
Squall looked at Zell, and Zell looked at Squall.
"Is it just me? or does that sound a hell of a lot like-"
Irvine suddenly jumped up, apparently he hadn't been asleep, just dozing.
"Sephie!" He cried.
Selphie, a little distance away, put the mushroom in her hand into her pocket and looked up.
"Hello?!" She called.
"SEEEELLLLPPPHHHHHIIIIEEEEE!!!!!"
"IRVY!"
Simeon woke up and looked around, he was very confused. Tim Bob continued to sleep, oblivious.
Selphie stumbled through the halls, Irvine sprinted towards her voice and footsteps. Entering a courtyard with a dead fountain and wild ivy they caught sight of each other in opposite doorways. The sniper opened his long arms out wide and smiled, Selphie ran and jumped into him. They embraced tightly.
"Sefie, I've missed you babe." Irvine's large hand touched her bouncy brown hair. Selphie squeezed him and leant her head into his chest.
"I missed you too Irvy." She had missed him even more with her new knowledge of the future. "We're never gonna be apart right?"
"Right!" Irvine felt so sure of it, he didn't know why, he just knew. "We're destined to be together!"
"Awww, ain't that cute." Zell, just awake and looking tousled was stood a little way behind Irvine. "Ya know man, if you don't marry her, I'm gonna kick your-"
"Selphie. You're here." It was hard to tell with Squall sometimes, but Irvine thought he sounded anxious. "Have you seen any of the others?"
"Squall, you're so cute when you're all worried, sure, everybody else is with me, back that way, including Rinoa."
Squall couldn't help but smile with relief.
"Thanks Selphie."
"C'mon you guys! Get packed up and follow me!" Selphie pulled herself away from Irvine and jumped impatiently.
Simeon rubbed his head. Having just woken up, it had taken him some time to remember precisely why he was in a wierd old castle with Squall Leonhart. He began to pack up his things, not that he had much to pack. He nudged Tim Bob until he woke up, though Tim Bob awake wasn't much more lively than Tim Bob asleep. The five young men were ready for travel very quickly, and were soon following Selphie through the corridors.
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"Quissy! Look who I found!"
"Well done Selphie, but I might have preferred some food."
"Hee, I found that too. I've got some mushrooms..." She brought out a very generous number of white button mushrooms from her pockets, "...And some eggs..." She produced a dozen eggs from Irvine's hat, which he was holding in front of him, "...And some fish." Zell dropped the makeshift net he had made from twine to reveal four moderately sized fish, "...And I found some blackberries too, lots of them, this place is full of brambles!" Everybody empties their pockets to show a massive number of berries.
"...How?" gasped Quistis
"Well, when you have five strapping guys with you it's not too hard. Took no time at all!"
Squall had ceased to listen to the women talking, somebody had caught his eye. She walked quietly over and knelt by Rinoa.
"Time to wake up princess." His leather glove touched her cheek.
"You're never gonna wake Rinoa being that subtle."
The noise of talking had woken Ellone. She squinted in the morning light and turned her head. She blinked. There was a young man kneeling by Rinoa. She sat up instantly thinking something bad was happening. The sound of her movement made the man look up at her.
Their identical blue eyes met. She knew that scar anywhere, but on her father it was a fine pink line, on this femenine looking young stranger it was a deep red gash. The little girl inside her suddenly wanted her daddy very much.
"Ya know," said Irvine to Selphie, "Simeon told me that in the future we...uh." He inhaled and rubbed the back of his neck.
Selphie giggled and held his hand. She guided him over to Sylvie, who was half awake and blinking. Sylvie stood up and looked at Irvine.
"Hi." She said quietly.
"Y-you're...this is...me and Selphie's...hoo boy."
"I'm Sylvie Kinneas, pleased to meet you."
"So, you're my little girl huh? Or my rather big girl, how tall are you anyway?"
"I'm six foot one." She answered, she had folded her arms in an attempt to stop herself from trembling, she was quite relieved to see that Irvine was shaking too, his normally very steady hands were visibly twitching by his sides. She smiled, trying to hide her emotion.
"You have Selphie's cute smile. I never thought of myself as a dad, can't imagine it, I don't remember my father."
Irvine's smooth Galbadian accented speech had a calming effect on Sylvie, he was closer to the man she knew as her father than Selphie seemed to her mother.
"You'll be a great dad. Not many girls have a cowboy gunman to tell them bedtime stories." She lifted his hat and placed it onto her own head as she had so often done in childhood.
Ellone and Squall were still staring at each other.
"You must be Ellone Leonhart."
She nodded. Looking up she noticed a very quiet young man stood away from most of the group. They made eye contact and both blushed. They had both felt something strange, like a bond pulling between them that had been there before they'd met, but was suddenly obviously there. Ellone looked back at the spiky haired young man and found herself unable to remove her gaze. She stood up slowly and walked, drawn towards him as he was to her. They stopped half a meter from each other.
"...Sorceress?" Asked Simeon.
"...Knight?" Ellone lifted a hand and they let their fingers meet. A shock of something passed between them. They both knew they were sorceress and knight, they both knew it was love and suddenly, frighteningly they both realised each other's identities.
"Simeon!"
"Ellone!?"
They leapt apart like pole to pole magnets.
"You're my knight!?"
"I'm your knight! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"
"What are you appologising for!?"
"I don't know! But you know, I, um, ahhh. I'm your knight...And you're really, really beautiful by the way, and...oh god why can't I just stop talking?"
('Ack! What do I do!? He thinks I'm beautiful, and I have the wierd feeling that I'm in love with him.')
"I don't understand how we ended up as...Wait, this is something the future me did right? You don't have a letter in your pocket do you?"
"A letter? ...Oh, hey, yeah I do...Two letters. I didn't know. This one's written by me, and this one isn't my writing, feels like there's something inside the envelope."
"That's my writing." Gasped Ellone. ('Why does he have it?')
"Woo! More letters!" Sylvie was looking over Ellone's shoulder. Everybody who was awake had now crowded around, including Best, who was belting on her armoury piece by piece over her bodysuit.
A second letter to myself, Ellone Leonhart.
You've found your knight. Well done. He talks too much when he's nervous, but he's the sweetest guy, and the most chivalrous knight you could wish for. I know you've never really felt love before, not like this, just don't feel you have to fight it okay?
('I'm beginning to hate the future me.')
You're all together now, so I guess I can brief you further. This is all Odine's fault.
('That little arse, I'm gonna kill him.')
But don't blame him too much, you have to do the task you've been given to get home. There's something here that you need to do, Odine chose you because of something you're going to do in the future, something that makes you and your friends not so different from your father and his friends. He also chose to bring your parents, at the peak of their fighting powers to help.
('Oh, "help" is it? Well, I could've sworn the reason for bringing them was more to "screw with our heads" than to "help".')
There's somebody here he wants eliminating. That's all you have to do. Don't worry, you don't have to kill them, just knock them out and everybody will be chucked out of compressed time.
Don't worry.
-You.
"I hate me." Muttered Ellone.
"That's a bit harsh." Said Quistis.
"I haven't even left instructions on who I'm meant to defeat! What's with this? I tell myself not to worry and to have fun, but never what I'm meant to do!"
"Perhaps the future you knows that you'll work it out yourself, in fact, she must remember doing it when she was you, so she knows you will."
Ellone scowled and sat down. There was a lump in the envelope, something solid. She pulled it out. It looked like a small electronic device, but she didn't know what it was. There was a button on the side.
"Press the button." Said Best.
"It might be dangerous."
"It isn't, it's an Estharian recording device."
Ellone pressed the button, gingerly.
[I'm gonna end this chapter here, because it's a good place to stop, and I need to get a chapter online as I've been taking ages, I just ran into plot problems. By the way, my new webcomic, 'Anglomanga' is online at and my old comic 'stereo'ed' as well. Check them out if you want.]