Disclaimer: Blah blah, don't own final fantasy, blah blah Squaresoft do.
~*Chapter 26*~
Seifer grinned at his reflection, straightening the uniform self-consciously. He brushed an imaginary speck of dust from the black suit before running his gloved fingers lightly over the gold braiding.
He grunted in annoyance as the door to his dormitory slid open, turning to face the unwelcome intruder. "What the hell do you…Elle?"
He blinked, surprised to find the radiant young woman in front of him. She blushed, smiling prettily as she tried to explain. "Cid told me you'd be here. Uncle Laguna and I came over to see you all and since I don't have a suitable date for tonight, I was wondering…"
Seifer reddened. "What about Laguna? I mean, you came here with the guy and everything, won't he want to go with you?"
She grinned as he scratched the back of his head. "What, you don't wanna go with me?"
He shook his head vehemently, "No! That's not it at all!"
She chuckled lightly, running a hand down his arm. "I'm teasing! Uncle Laguna has some things to sort out with Cid first; they're going to the ball later. Come on Seif, you wouldn't want me walking in alone now would you?
Seifer pulled at the collar of the uniform, trying to quell the heat rising up his neck. "No, of course not. I'd be honoured to escort you Elle." He mock bowed, causing Elle to giggle. The grin faded from his face and he addressed her seriously.
"I want to keep an eye on Rin as well though, ok?"
She inclined her head to the left slightly, "Why?"
He sighed, shaking his head. "It's Squall. There's something…weird about him."
The worry shone through in her eyes, "In what way?"
"He's been acting strange since he got back. You know I don't like chicken wuss at the best of times but some of the things he's been saying to him, damn! Even I wouldn't take it that far. He's worse with Rin. I'm…worried for her."
"You still have feelings for her Seifer? If you do, I'll back away now, I…"
He took her by the shoulders, smiling uncertainly. "She's like a sister to me. Look, Elle, will you talk to him? See what his problem is?"
She nodded, confused by her "brothers" strange behaviour. "I don't understand why he'd do that to anyone. What did he say to Rinoa? What was so terrible?"
Seifer squeezed his eyes shut, trying to forget the image of the distraught Rinoa.
"Rinoa's pregnant. He told her to get rid of the kid. Their kid…that's not him Elle. We all know he worships the ground she walks on, we all know he never tries to hurt anyone. He tried to hurt her and he did."
Ellone drew in her breath sharply. "You're right. That's not him. I'll speak to him tonight, don't worry. He'll listen to me, especially if I get Uncle Laguna to back me up."
Her eyes twinkled and she winked at the astonished man. "But in the mean time, I believe you're meant to be escorting me to a party!"
~*~*~
Selphie bounded up to Rinoa, tugging at the hem of her SeeD uniform. The grin slid from her face as she saw her cheer was not returned.
She touched Rinoa's arm lightly, concern growing as she watched the girl chew on her lower lip. "Rinny? Rinoa, what's wrong?"
She shook her head, smiling in defiance of the pain in her eyes. "Nothing Selphie. I'm fine."
"Liar."
Rinoa scratched her side, remarking absently. "These uniforms are so itchy…we should petition Cid for new ones."
Selphie frowned, "I'm not that gullible Rin. You're not this upset over a uniform. What's really the matter?" She looked around; suddenly realising Squall was missing from his usual position at Rinoa's hip. "Where's Squall?"
Rinoa sighed, a lone tear trickling down her face. "He's training. He said he'd maybe come by later."
The other girl put her hands on her hips, her voice shrill with annoyance. "So that's it! I'll get Irvy to go talk to him…what the hell is his problem just now anyway? We've all noticed it."
Rinoa caught her arm, pleading with her mahogany eyes. "Please Selphie, don't. I think it's my fault he's been acting strange."
"How can it be your fault Rin?" Selphie whispered furiously, trying to defuse the outside interest in their conversation.
Rinoa bit her bottom lip once again, eyes gleaming in the dimly lit ballroom. "I think he regrets asking me to marry him. Selphie, I'm pregnant. He doesn't want our child and I don't think he wants me."
Selphie's eyes widened in surprise, "Oh my Hyne! Rin, what did he say exactly, maybe you got the wrong end of the stick?"
She laughed bitterly, "I don't know how wrong I can be with "you're enough of a snivelling, whining brat, get rid of it.""
Selphie's voice was piercing as it called out over the ballroom. "Irvy!"
The cowboy, still with Stetson atop his long auburn locks sauntered over, a lopsided grin on his face.
"You called me, oh angel of delight?"
Selphie giggled before remembering why she'd called him over. "Irvy, go find Squall and bring him here. We need to have a little talk with our esteemed leader."
Irvine grinned, "Do I get to kick his ass?"
She wagged a finger, "Only if you're very, very good and he doesn't make it up to Rinny."
He tilted his head to the side, confused. "What'd he do?"
"Later. Go!"
Irvine dutifully sloped off, leaving the two women alone.
"How far along are you Rin?"
"Huh? Oh, about a month or so. It wasn't that long ago since we…" She trailed off, a blush colouring her deathly pale complexion.
"Since you what?"
Rinoa looked up into the duel cerulean stares of Quistis and Zell. "Nothing." She shook her head.
Zell grinned. "Rinny's got a secret, eh? Quisty, can I torture it out of her?"
Quistis rolled her eyes in amusement. "No, Zell. Seriously though, what's wrong with you Rinoa? You haven't been yourself today."
Selphie crossed her arms, sticking her nose in the air. "There's nothing wrong with her that Squall sorting himself out wouldn't fix."
"That explains it. He has been acting more than a little strange recently. What's he done now?"
Rinoa burst into tears, unable to handle the emotional stress any longer. "He, he doesn't want me or our child! He's just a bastard like all the rest. I thought he was better than that Quisty, I though he was different." She smirked through the tears. "I guess I was wrong."
The group descended into a shocked silence before Zell broke the stillness.
"You're pregnant? Well, I think that's great, don't you Quistis?"
She cleared her throat, "It is. We'll sort it Rin, don't worry. Whatever is making him act this way will be knocked out of him soon enough. I guarantee it."
~*~*~
"Yo, Squall!"
Irvine spotted the youth sweating as he felled a T-Rexaur and strode over to him purposefully. When he reached the dark haired boys side, he pushed him, throwing him off guard.
The youth narrowed his eyes, growling at Irvine. "What the hell is your problem?"
Irvine flung up his hands incredulously, "What the hell is my problem? You've got Rinoa sobbing in the ballroom waiting for you to turn up and you ask me what my problem is? Get a grip, Squall! This is becoming too regular an occurrence, us having to come down here and try and sort out your mess."
The boy sneered. "Tell that stupid little bitch to get a grip. Upset just because I told her to get rid of the bastard kid she's trying to pass off as mine, what a loser."
The cowboy didn't hesitate as he punched the other youth, speckles of blood flying into the air as his nose burst from the impact. He fell to the ground, rolling away from Irvine as he tried to regain use of his faculties.
"Fuck you, Irvine." He hissed, holding a hand to his nose to stem the bleeding. "What do you care about her anyway? Doesn't Selphie satisfy you? Maybe the kids yours…"
Irvine raised his fist, seeing red as he listened to the poison uttered from Squall's lips. As he was about to vent his anger once more, he was stopped by a shout.
"Irvine, don't!"
Both youths turned to see Seifer followed closely by Ellone and Laguna. Laguna's eyebrows were knitted together in confusion as he took in the sight of his son lying on the ground, bloodied by a blow from one of his best friends. "Hey guys…uh, what's going on."
Irvine pushed past the blood soaked youth roughly, glaring at him as he left. "You deal with you Hyne damn son, Laguna. I'm done with him, we all are."
He turned to address the boy one last time. "You come near any of us again, Rinoa especially, and I'll kill you."
He stormed off, leaving Laguna looking at his son quizzically. "Son? What have you done to make them all so mad?"
Seifer narrowed his eyes. "He got Rinoa pregnant and then told her he didn't want the child. Except he wasn't quite as articulate as that."
Laguna looked crestfallen and tried to put a hand on the disgraced boy's shoulder. He was surprised when he shook it off angrily, but continued none the less. "I thought you said you'd take care of her if something like this happened? That you'd be there for her, not let her get in trouble? Why are you hurting her?"
"Because this isn't Squall." A voice muttered.
Laguna and Seifer turned to Ellone. She repeated herself more clearly. "This isn't the real Squall, this isn't him! Something terrible must have happened; something must have traumatised him to make him like this!" She stood before the youth, smiling lovingly. "Isn't that right? What happened Squall? You can tell me."
He smirked and she stepped back in fear. "You think you know me? Well you don't. Stay out of my head and stay out of my damn way. Bitch."
Laguna stood slack jawed as the boy rounded on him. "And you! Call yourself a father? You're nothing but a fucking moron! Call me your son again and I'll run you through."
Seifer stood watching the other scarred man coolly, waiting for him. He wasn't disappointed.
"Almasy, just you watch your back. I'll be waiting for you…"
Ellone collapsed weakly in her perplexed uncles arms. "That isn't him! He's not like that…"
~*~*~
"Not so perfect now, are you?" He thought gleefully. The stone gave way as days and nights of scrabbling with his fingernails to take advantage of a small structural weakness in his prison paid off. He kicked a hole big enough to squeeze through and slid through easily, the weight he had lost proving useful.
He squinted as his eyes adjusted to the brightness of the outside world, savouring the heat of the sun on his skin after the time spent in the cool, dank cell. He reigned in his joy at his freedom for the time being, concentrating instead on getting as far from the hell he had been trapped in as possible. He ran, getting his bearings as he moved. He recognised the desert and racked his brains to remember where he was. It came to him like a bolt of lightening illuminating the night sky and he almost shouted with joy.
"The Kashkabald desert! I'll be home soon, Rinoa, I promise…Nothing can keep me from you."
Squall picked up the pace, each step burning the bare soles of his feet, every stride closer to home, closer to her. He didn't even notice; the joy in his heart elevated him above the pain. He felt a presence stir in his mind and he grinned.
Shiva?
He could feel the GF's hesitation as she decided if it was truly he. Master?
Yeah, it's me.
The ice queen appeared in front of him and he blushed as he tried to cover his modesty. She turned away, a ghost of a smile on her lips. "It is you! Thank Hyne, we were all so worried!"
He frowned a little as he realised the full extent of his nakedness. "Could you give me a bit of warning the next time you decide to pop up? I'm a little…naked."
The GF's laugh tinkled across the vast desert expanse. "I had noticed. There is a settlement not far from here, worry not."
"Is everyone alright? They weren't captured too, were they? Is Rinoa safe?" Squall pleaded desperately.
Shiva looked at him sadly, shaking her head. "No one else was captured, but another has taken your place, an impostor. He causes great sorrow and anger to all whom you hold dear."
Squall's eyebrows knitted together as he thought back to the day of his capture, the last image he remembered of the mission in Timber. "That man, my double…he's taken my place?"
Shiva nodded and continued. "You will need to reconcile when you return and cast out the intruder. A new threat has appeared in the world and the slayers of Ultimecia shall be called on to defeat the evil that threatens all once again. He threatens the very fabric of all existence, but if your hearts remain true you shall prevail. An unlikely man shall be your aid, trust in him. He has earned redemption."
The GF faded away leaving Squall to ponder her words as he approached the settlement.
"Redemption, eh? Who could it be?"
A/N: I apologise for the unforgivably long time it has taken to post this. I have had the worst writer's block ever, which now seems to be gone. Thank God. Anyway, I apologise if this sucks, and I probably will tweak and re post, but better than nothing n'est pas? Thanks to Refugee and Pierson for continued support in the face of writers block, The Angel of the Lion, Nomad, Ashbear (omg!!!), Caleb Nova and anyone I may have missed. Thank you all.
