Disclaimer: FF8 doesn't belong to me, neither do any of its characters.

Author's Note: I don't care how many reviews I get, I'll continue this to the end, but I just want to say that I'll post things faster if I get more reviews. Please, PLEASE review. I'd really appreciate it. Thank you! This chapter is much longer than the first, so I hope you enjoy it.

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4 Alternate Realm

Chapter 2

Anger of the Angel





Laguna's brow furrowed as his eye caught a name in the paper. His heart began to pound as he read:

"Beloved General of Deling City dies in crash."

Widow, singer Julia Caraway, and daughter Rinoa Caraway, 15, pictured left.

"Julia!?" Laguna cried aloud, almost choking on his coffee. He read on for a while, and thought about his next step.



Julia hummed, "Eyes on Me," her trademark song, as she planted a few flowers, she didn't hum in the usual buoyant fashion she had before, but she hummed all the same. Rinoa had been locked up in her room since the funeral, and Julia was beginning to think she should just pick the lock and go in.

No, she reconsidered. Rinoa needs her space right now. She'll be fine won't she? But other thoughts entered her mind, disturbing ones. Rinoa might not be handing this as well I think she might be, Julia thought once again. What if she does something to hurt herself?

At this sudden notion, she jumped up from what she was doing and headed for Rinoa room. But on the way, the doorbell rang. As much as she wanted to keep going and check on her daughter, something inside her told otherwise. She opened the door slowly, and drew in a sharp breath as she caught sight of who it was.

"Laguna…" she breathed, surprising herself by speaking. Raising a hand to her mouth, her heart initiated in a hammering beat, and all she could do was stand where she was, frozen in shock.

"Hey," he replied rather inappropriately, laughing a little in spite of himself.

Julia felt fainter by the moment. Laguna wasn't dead, as she'd thought all these years. He was standing right in front of her!

"C-come… come in," she stuttered, trying to control her raging emotions. He smiled that smile she'd missed for so long as he walked inside.

He looked around the house as Julia followed behind. "Please," she said, "sit down."

Laguna did as she asked, but felt a bit awkward as a heavy silence filled the room.

"I, uh, I heard about your loss," he started; praying he'd said the right thing.

Julia averted her eyes, suddenly finding the upholstery of her couch fascinating. "Yeah, the um… the funeral was yesterday."

"I'm so sorry Julia."

She looked back up at him, tears filling her eyes. His heart wrenched for her, and he reached out, embracing her tightly. She cried in his shoulder, each remembering the love they'd secretly shared. She pulled away, sniffing and managing herself again.

"Where have you been all these years, Laguna?"

A pained look entered his stark green eyes, and he answered simply, "I'll tell you later. It's a long story."

"I thought you were dead…"

She began to choke up again, and Laguna hugged her once again. "I missed you so much Julia. When I heard that you married Caraway I just… decided to let you lead your life."

Julia could say nothing in reply; she simply basked in Laguna's presence.



At this moment, Rinoa came down the stairs. She saw her Mother, and someone else, but she could not see clearly who the other person was.

"Mom?"

Both of them looked up at her, and Rinoa was startled to see a man's face meet her eyes.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Rinoa! Your manners!"

"Who the hell is that Mother!?"

"He's… I…."

"I'm Laguna Loire. An old friend of your Mother's. You must be Rinoa. It's good to meet you," he greeted politely, trying to score a few points for himself.

Rinoa simply gaped, refusing to believe that her Mother would so easily transfer from her Father to an "old friend" in one day.

"Why are you here?"

Laguna stood, attempting to come up the stairs. Rinoa backed away, up the stairs, so he stopped. "I heard of your loss, and I only came to offer my contradictions."

Rinoa was ready to spit out a comeback, but as she thought about what he said, she stared oddly at him.

Julia giggled. "You mean condolences, Laguna."

"Yeah, that."

"Well, I certainly don't need condolences from a moron. If you'll excuse me, Mr. Loire."

Laguna sighed, defeated, as he watched Rinoa dashed up the stairs, her Mother calling after her.

Maybe I shouldn't have come, he thought silently. I should've known one day wasn't enough time. But I just had to see her again.

"Rinoa!" Julia called a final time. Abandoning the futile calls, she turned back to Laguna. "I'm sorry, she usually isn't like this."

Laguna waved off her apology. "No, it's alright. I came too soon…"

"No! You couldn't have come at a better time. I needed you Laguna. I still do. I always have. Don't leave. Don't walk out of my life again."

"But Rinoa…"

"Rinoa… she… well, to be frank, I don't have a clue what's going on. But I'm sure if she took the time to get to know you, she'll be fine. Please…"

Laguna thought for a moment, and then said, "Will you meet me for dinner Friday night?"

Julia grinned for the first time in the past week, and replied, "I'll be there."



Rinoa stared up at the ceiling, feeling wetness in her inner ear from the tears that fell inside it. How could her Mother do something like this to her? How could she so nonchalantly move on to some other "friend" after her husband's death?

A knock came upon her door, but Rinoa gave no invitation to come in. Julia opened the door, saying, "Rinoa? Can I talk to you sweetie?"

"Why does it matter?" Rinoa snapped back. "You never talked to about your so-called "friend" who you're dating now. Not to mention a WEEK AFTER MY FATHER'S DEATH!"

The malicious word burned into Julia like wildfire. "Okay," she said as she sat down," I guess I deserved that. But please Rinoa, listen to what I have to say."

Rage sparked in her eyes, but she remained silent. Julia sighted and began her story.

"When I was younger, around 29 or 30, I used to play the piano for guests at the Deling Hotel in town. Almost every night, Laguna would watch me with his friends. He watched me so intensely… I knew he had a crush on me."

Julia's tone seemed brighter as she reminisced in these times, and Rinoa rolled her eyes.

"Well, one night, since I could stay free at the hotel, I invited him up with me. He was so nervous. It felt so magical though. I told him about my dreams of being a singer, and he told me his of being a journalist. I felt so comfortable, just standing there with him."

Rinoa still sat quiet, thinking to herself and trying hard to keep her mouth shut.

"In the middle of our conversation, a knock came on the door. Laguna had to leave, but he promised he'd come back for me. But…" Julia's face fell. "I never saw him again. Not until today." She glanced over at Rinoa. "And that is why I was so happy to see him. I love Laguna."

Rinoa's anger never wavered. "That's a very touching love story Mom," she said sarcastically, "but that still doesn't explain to me why it seems like Dad meant nothing to you."

An indescribable feeling took over Julia. How could her daughter say such hateful things? "M-meant nothing to me?" she repeated, not believing that Rinoa meant what she said.

Rinoa looked away, unwilling to meet Julia's gaze. Tears filled her Mother's eyes, and Rinoa's heart twisted in pain. Julia sucked in a shaky breath, and arose from the bed.

"Well, you listened to the story, and that's all I asked of you. I love you Rinoa, and although you may not think so, I loved your Father with all my heart too. Good night."

Rinoa waited for the click of the door to be heard, and she rubbed her temples. Things aren't going to be east now, she thought unhappily. What will happen next?