Fantasy Thunder Chapter Eighteen: Sigma
By Blue Dragon
Likely to be our greatest line of defense, the questionably loyal Sigma.
Rinoa and Squall followed Irvine back to garden, but they stayed at a distance for a bit more privacy. They were both pleased when he ran ahead to the hall and up the elevator, leaving them in the central area.
Irvine had found them at the stream in his search for Squall and had been surprised to find him actually kissing his girlfriend for a change.
A look of utter shock came on Squall's face as he held Rinoa, however, when he heard the sound of Nida struggling, and someone snatching a speaker over the intercommunication system that soon came on over the intercom. In Irvine's voice, he heard these words ring through garden:
"Attention boys, girls, ladies and gentlemen. I have found our commander, Squall Leonhart, making out in the forest with Rinoa Heartily approximately seventeen minutes ago. Did you catch that? I repeat, Squall Leonhart was making out with Rinoa Heartily!"
Rinoa and Squall's faces turned from bright red to pale white. At first they expected to hear the sound of students erupting in laughter, but after a while they were oriented to the sound of cheering, whoops, cries, whistling, and all other sounds of approval and joy.
Squall breathed out a sigh of relief and looked back at Rinoa.
"I'm glad you've changed. Even if it is a little. But what happened to you? Why did you suddenly decide to open your heart to me the rest of the way?"
Squall looked up as if in thought.
"I just got a little push from my subconscious."
"?"
"Don't worry about it."
Squall was the one that was worrying. His mind went back to Laguna. He was going talk him, and talk to him properly this time. But not before he spent just a little more time with Rinoa.
***
Seymour summoned the last bits of strength inside him and his body was once again encased in metal. He slowly rose above the ground and faced his opponents, forgetting about Tidus who had just finished stretching and now held the gun forward.
The two were at a disadvantage. They hated each other's guts and wouldn't work together, while Zidane and Kuja had their whole strategy mapped out.
Kuja front-flipped upwards going trance in the process, and before hitting the ground activating his flying ability. Zidane followed him, going trance as well and holding his newly charged Ultima Weapon above his head. Seymour and Tidus ignored each other and launched in without worrying about each other.
Seymour saw Kuja do a blast and double around the fighting area. Before he could yell a word of warning to Tidus he was knocked from behind by none other than the doubled-back Kuja, pushing Seymour into Tidus for another burst of pain, met with yet another when the previous blast impacted the both of them.
"Watch where you're goin'! You're going to get me killed!"
"I almost got myself killed trying to warn yo-"
Their bickering was interrupted when the two scrambled to safety as the trails of a Grand Lethal flamed past them.
"You guys give up yet?" asked Zidane semi-sarcastically.
"Never" Seymour responded.
He powered up for Total Annihilation.
"Seymour! Don't do that so damn close to me, you'll kill me!"
He didn't seem to care as Kuja and Zidane easily used each other's power as ladders into the sky, dodging the explosions.
Tidus, who was burnt to a crisp, flew into the air and landed one of the arcs of the metallic Seymour, causing them both to go down.
"Stay out of my way!" Seymour started.
"I would if you'd let me, you crazy bastard!"
Kuja held Zidane in the air by the tail, and the two laughed and slapped hands.
"We have to be like them" Seymour said slowly, standing up.
"What do you mean?" Tidus asked, trying to brush off the ashes.
"I will rocket you up with Total Annihilation, and you do one of those fancy moves."
"What!?"
"Oh, you know. That annoying one where you'd jump high and launch that pixie stuff . . . ?"
"Energy Rain?"
"Yes. Jump precisely when I tell you to."
"Since when do I take orders from you?"
"How silly of me. I should have known you'd much rather be burnt to a crisp. What a fool of me!" Seymour laughed maniacally as he charged up for Total Annihilation once more.
Tidus clutched his sword as he felt the air around him get hot.
"Jump!" Seymour yelled.
Tidus jumped with all his might, a pillar of flame touching his shoes and exploding, sending him upwards, twenty, thirty, and soon ten extra feet above the staring Kuja and Zidane.
Tidus hung in the air for seconds while charging up, sword held high, and then launched the energy he had gathered down. Kuja and Zidane were knocked down by it at high speeds, where Seymour's Total Annihilation gained power and knocked them back up, only to be slammed back down again by yet another Energy Rain from Tidus. The two finally landed in a charred heap in front of Seymour.
Tidus landed with a little more grace next to his "ally".
"Not bad for a guy that's only half human."
"Not bad for a human with only half a brain."
***
Reeve tuned his guitar, turned his speakers up to max, and checked the outside hallway of his room just to make sure no one was there. He looked around, and it was vacant. He closed the door to his room, and then started playing along with the rock song, "Comona". Halfway in he began to get a bit wild, dancing around and sliding back and forth with his guitar held tightly. With an imaginary crowd, he turned to the door and yelled.
"Hello, Junon!" He then imitated the sounds of a cheering crowd. He put in his "Motorhead" CD and started playing his guitar along with the "Ace of Spades".
Eventually he started sweating and he turned off the music and set the guitar down.
"I'm pretty tired. Maybe the cafeteria . . . " He said to himself.
When he opened his door Yuffie fell right in from having been listening intently by pressing her ear against the door and leaning on it. He looked down at her in surprise.
"How long have you been there!?"
"Uh . . . " her cheeks flashed bright red as she slowly stood up.
"You like the guitar?" She asked, quickly trying to change the subject. "You played really well. I didn't think you were into that."
"Well in my teenage days I would play a bit."
"It's the greatest music I've ever heard!"
"Really? Glad you think so. When I wasn't working the Cait Sith I would sometimes just sit around and play this. I had bought it for the kid I was expecting. My wife was pregnant when she left me an-- hey wait a minute. Why am I telling you this? And why are you in the men's area anyway?"
"Uh . . . I just heard all the noise and when I figured out it was from your room I couldn't resist. I wanted to find out a little more."
Reeve looked at her suspiciously.
"Then why didn't you just ask me?"
"Well . . . "
"Never mind. I know how much you must like stealth and sneaking and whatnot, you're supposed to be a ninja, right?"
"How did you know that?"
Reeve stared at her wide-eyed.
"Oh yeah, sorry. It's just that I keep thinking of Cait Sith as a person. I'm always forgetting that you were operating him and all that."
"I guess it's pretty easy. I almost forget it too, watching someone else do things I never imagined, running around breaking the law, saving the world and all that jazz."
Footsteps could be heard down the hallway.
"Yuffie! Hide!" Reeve said in rushed urgency.
Already ahead of the request, she dove into his room and looked for a small unnoticeable place.
The footsteps came at a rate twice as fast as usual, almost as if the person wasn't walking on two legs. Reeve immediately knew whom it was when he heard the screams of people that had yet to see Red. He opened the door wider when he saw him running down the hall and into Reeve's room. Reeve closed the door.
"You want something, Red?"
Red was staring at Yuffie who was still looking for a place to hide.
"Well, if this is a bad time . . . "
"No! It's not like that! I swear!"
"Right. The audio librarians say that they need their guitars back in twenty minutes."
"Oh. Well I'm done with it. I might as well return it now."
"Could I ask you something else?"
"Yeah, Red?"
"Could you, well, open my door? I continuously have trouble turning the knob and--"
"You know, garden staff did offer to install a doggie door."
Red looked insulted.
"I would never sink so low!"
"Just a suggestion! Come on, I'll open the door and then return the guitar."
Red paced around the doorway.
"I don't want to go alone to the cafeteria with all of those strange people . . . you wouldn't mind terribly coming with me?"
The room was filled with the sound of an unearthly groaning that made Red's fur stand on end.
"Uh . . . " Reeve looked embarrassed.
"That was my stomach."
He ran to the back of the room and grabbed the guitar after unplugging it from the various amplifiers.
"I wouldn't mind going. Come on."
Reeve closed the door and the two walked off, completely forgetting about Yuffie.
***
"Rinoa, how about I meet you on the east balcony? I have to talk to . . . my father."
Rinoa almost sprung from her seat.
"I thought you were an orphan! Your father is here!? Who is he, can I meet him!?"
Squall stood up.
"I can't tell you yet. I have to talk to him first, but I'll will later, I promise."
Rinoa, of course, would have found these as grounds to get upset about an hour ago. But she had a newfound trust in Squall.
"Okay. I'll see you on the balcony then?"
He nodded. They kissed, and then parted. Squall took the same route before. He should have felt more comfortable now that he had his head cleared, but instead Squall found himself involuntarily shaking as he walked to Laguna's room down the hall. He wondered if he would still be in there? Would he even be willing to listen to him?
To think, the man that he had been watching so long had been directly related to him. He didn't even see any resemblance. No one would have been able to figure it out, they were so different.
As a matter of fact he could go around screaming that his father resided in garden, and no one would ever figure it out.
He was now just a few feet away from the door. He asked himself again if it was probable that he was even there. Questions rushed through his head for many minutes before he finally decided he had enough to worry about without being bogged down with worries from something like this. He opened the door without even knocking and found Laguna in his same position, reading a book.
" . . . Hi" he said, uncharacteristically as he thought grimly to himself that he hadn't even tried to look for him.
"Squall. I'm glad you're okay." He said, standing up.
"I wanted to take a jet or something but Kiros told me I was overreacting and said no. So I just wandered around blindly searching for you."
"I wanted to talk"
All worry evaporated when he heard that Laguna cared. Was his searching a symbolization of the whole truth about him? Meaning, did Laguna care more than Squall allowed himself to think? Would he go further than he initially believed?
Laguna patted a seat next to him on his bed.
Squall hesitated for a split second before taking the seat.
" . . . Are you angry at me?"
" . . . Not anymore. I was just confused. I'm not angry. But I have things I want to ask . . ."
"Wait, that means you don't hate me?"
Squall was almost offended.
"Hate you? I don't really think I hate anyone. I don't hate you, I just . . . don't completely approve of you. But that's not talking about certain 'biological relations'. I just mean that I think some of the stuff you did was pretty boneheaded."
"Oh."
"My mother . . . who was she? REALLY?"
"Raine . . . You look a lot like her. Maybe its fate's way of punishing me. She was really something. She was great-looking, hard working, and what really kills me about her death is that . . . that she wanted me to stay, but didn't want to get in the way of me leaving. Then I left anyway and in her final moments where was I? Goofing off in Esthar. When I found out she was dead and buried on that hill, I thought I was dead too. I found out about you later and tried to forget. I cared, but I knew you were with good people. I'll tell you, your mother at a time couldn't stand me! She said I was a dreamer and an idealist. She called me lunkheaded, clumsy, goofy, all thumbs, unrealistic, lamebrained, moronic, and a clown."
"Geez . . . how did you ever marry her? How did you get her to like you in the least?"
"Uh, you might not want to hear that story."
"I understand if--"
"No! I was being sarcastic! Its nothing serious, but here it goes . . . "
***
Laguna felt the ring around in his pocket. Now all he had to do was get Raine to come out to the hill. The beautiful hill under the moon, of course . . .
He knew, however, that she wasn't likely to listen to the likes of him. Kiros had helped him plot a bit. Plan A was asking, Plan B was begging, C was sweet-talking, and X was classified. So classified that Kiros said that he wouldn't tell him until plan C failed.
Laguna walked down the stone streets that had long since been cleared of the pesky monsters and the equally pesky Galbadian soldiers. The pub, as usual, had slow business and Raine was behind the counter polishing mugs, finishing the set, and then polishing again.
"Raine?" He asked as he entered the doors that went into the counter area. He heard her sigh.
"What now?"
"Do you want to come to that big hill with me tonight? I have something to show you."
She sighed deeper.
"Listen, I can't go on any more of your adventures. I have work to do here. Can't you understand that? Goodbye."
"Uh, please?"
"No"
"I'll cry . . . "
"Goodbye, Loire."
"Pleeeeeaaaaaaase?"
"Go away, Laguna."
"You're pretty."
This time Raine hesitated.
"Nice try Laguna"
She once again finished polishing the whole collection of mugs and started on the dinner plates.
Laguna followed her across the room.
"You're really pretty?"
This time he didn't even earn a response. Laguna stared at the piece of paper on his sleeve partially hidden.
"A look from you dwarfs the ecstasy of a thousand wonderful things?"
She gave more of a sympathetic sigh and turned around.
"I realize that you must think that whatever you want to show me is really important if you would say something so sweet and out of character, but I really am busy. Can't it wait?"
"But, the moon will be big today!"
Raine put a hand to her head, closed her eyes, and shook her head in disapproval.
"You can really be foolish sometimes. The moon is big every day! Do you realize how close it is to this planet?"
"Can you excuse me?" Laguna asked her, inching back to the door. He quickly ran out to Raine's pleasure and found Kiros waiting outside the pub polishing his katals.
Kiros' braids that had been nicely draped around his shoulder were thrown off and around when Laguna shook him.
"Nice to see you too. How'd it go?" he asked his friend.
"Geez! She can be so cold! Plan A, B, and C all failed!"
Kiros looked skeptical.
"What did you say to her for plan C?" he asked suspiciously.
"Well, I told her she was pretty . . . "
"Yeah . . . "
"I told her she was REALLY pretty . . . "
"Yeah . . . "
"And then I said a look from her gave on the ecstasy of a thousand wonderful things."
Kiros looked like he didn't believe him.
"And you, Laguna Loire, are telling me that after quoting that you were rejected by Raine STILL?"
"I don't understand it either! Help me out man!"
Kiros put his hand to his chin and thought for a while what a good course of action would be.
"Okay. We have to go to plan X."
"Plan X . . . ?"
"Laguna, you have to kiss her. Not a peck on the cheek, but a good long one."
Laguna raised an eyebrow.
"She'll slap me."
"She thinks you're cute!"
"?"
"She swore to kill me if I ever mentioned this . . ." Kiros quickly looked left and right.
"But, she says that she thinks you're cute. I asked her if she'd stop you if you kissed her, she said no. Trust me."
"I don't know about this . . . "
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance . . . If you wish to back out . . . "
"Okay! When do I start?"
"Now"
"What?"
Kiros slapped his forehead.
"You want some other guy to steal her? You'd better hurry!"
That got Laguna going. He sped down the road and into the pub, praying Raine was still in there. When he went through the doors he found that Raine was still behind the counter polishing things.
"Raine . . .?"
He went through the doors behind the counter and came behind Raine. Her back was still to him. Then it occurred to him that he had never been in physical contact with Raine for more than half a second.
"I thought I told you--" she started without even looking up from her work. She didn't finish, because she gasped as Laguna gently held her around her midsection, turned her around, and looked into her eyes. It was then that he saw she had been crying. What about, he didn't ask, because he blindly trusted Kiros' plans and began to kiss her.
Her arm twitched before she dropped the mug, shattering it into a million pieces, but she didn't care. She wrapped her arms around him as the kiss deepened and Laguna slowly broke it, looked at her, and asked again.
"W-Will you go with me to--"
"I'll go with you anywhere"
Laguna blinked as if he didn't believe it. Could he have actually won? Good lord, what if he actually had the guts to ask her to marry him?
That was it. Plan X was a success.
***
Squall looked at Laguna after he finished his story.
"So she just transformed after that?"
"No! Sadly. The day after my proposal she was as mean as ever with marriage preparations. She almost killed me. Literally and figuratively, I think."
"Out of strict curiosity . . . never mind. You probably don't remember"
Laguna looked alarmed.
"Go ahead! Ask me anything!"
" . . . Was my mother a good kisser?"
"Was she a good kisser? Squall, Raine was probably the worst kisser in the history of the world! I mean, it felt good and all, but she was too tight- lipped."
"What . . . ?"
"It took a while for her to open her mouth so I could slip her--"
It was Squall's turn to look alarmed when he quickly stood up and put up his hands.
"STOP! Geez, I didn't need to hear all that! Too much information."
"Oh, sorry. I just forgot I wasn't talking to myself anymore . . . "
Laguna stood up as well.
"Thank you for telling me this . . . it might take me a while to get used to, but I feel differently, now"
Laguna hugged his son, and after a split second of hesitation Squall hugged him back.
"I don't need you to love me back, or call me 'father'. Just let me know you."
"I will."
***
Reeve and Red walked into the library, which was frankly one of the most impressive establishments in this massive garden, and in the small audio facility they found that girl with the long ponytail behind the counter apparently working on something important. Red followed closely behind Reeve who carried the guitar up to the counter.
"Excuse me . . . " Reeve began, taking a moment to look at the name tag.
". . . Andrea, I would like to return this guitar?"
"What?" she looked up.
"Oh. Hold on, let me record it in the records back in the storage." She left briskly and after two minutes the two began to get bored.
"Red?"
Red stopped pacing around and looked up.
"How sharp are those claws?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Uh, well, I just wanted to know."
"Sharp enough to tear a three inch gash in a human body with me using eighty-three percent strength."
"Oookay"
Reeve decided that he'd rather look at what Andrea had been doodling on. When he did, he called Red over.
"Look at this."
Red put his front legs on the counter and looked at what Reeve had been pointing too.
"I think she likes that Zell kid."
The paper was covered with doodles of Zell and his name in hearts that were actually drawn beautifully.
"Red, you know what this means?"
"She's quite a magnificent artist . . . "
"She likes Zell! We have to fix 'em up!"
"What are you talking about? We're both grown men."
Reeve looked at Red skeptically.
"Fine, you're grown but still. That would be meddling and immature, don't you think?"
"Look at it like this: I never had a girlfriend, so . . . "
"You have a soft spot for young couples?"
". . . "
"Reeve, you're just being ridiculous."
"Come one, when have the two of us really bonded!?"
". . . "
"Not as if you had anything better to do . . . ?"
"Fine. But if I'm caught this is completely and totally your fault."
***
Seifer and Jessica rushed out of space and behind a very nervous Reno. When he turned around, he looked relieved.
"Thank God! Help me out here, I don't wanna die!"
Pi was taking her time, walking slowly to Reno.
Oren appeared in the same manner that he usually did, with the unconscious body of another girl that looked exactly like Pi.
Oren lay down the body, looked at Pi number one, looked at Pi number two, and then said something very out of character.
"What the hell?"
Suddenly the conscious Pi's body tensed up dramatically and she clutched her head, stopping dead.
Jessica looked at Oren, then the unconscious body of Pi number two that Oren had brought.
"Oren? What is this? There was only one the last time I checked."
Reno was regaining his Turkish composure.
"As much as I'd like to stick around, I have people to meet."
He walked off, right passed Pi number one who was now on the ground.
"Not a word of thanks . . . " Seifer muttered.
Oren scratched his head.
"Jessica, Seifer, take them both. I have to give the others a little more time. I'll be back at garden for a while."
Jessica nodded.
"Come, Seifer."
Seifer walked over to Pi number one and put her over his shoulder, as Jessica did with Pi number two.
Oren did the honors and opened the portal in space. The two walked through before it made the sucking sound and shut itself closed.
***
Freya and Kimahri no longer hid behind the bushes, but watched the fight from an open position.
"They are impressive fighters. I haven't seen a fight like this since . . . I have never seen a fight like this."
Freya stood frozen in place by Kimahri watching the scene.
The sides had used up most of their energy, Kuja had lost trance state and Seymour had lost his Flux. It had come down to a contest of pure skill.
Of course it was harder than an actual fight would have been, because they had to make it so they would stop the blows from actually hitting if they got through the opponent's guard, so in a way it was halfhearted.
Zidane parried, thrust, flipped back and flew forward with blinding Terran speed as Tidus defended and countered with blows of his own. Of course he could barely hold his own in the fight because the period where he had actually used the sword had only been about two weeks.
Tidus focused all the energy left within him on his blade, and flew out at Zidane.
He smashed him with five horizontal slashes that Zidane barely deflected, and then followed it up with a backwards spin, another, and then a final slash down that Zidane narrowly dodged. Before he fell in exhaustion, Zidane tackled the already weakened Tidus and the two went down on the brink of unconsciousness.
With Kuja and Seymour it had been a mind game of launching spells that would break through the others' barrier. Seymour and Kuja would launch elemental spells and the dominant element would break through. If they were the same, they would clash. Seymour launched a fire while Kuja launched an ice, Kuja launched then launched lightning that was met with quake, and eight times in a row two spells of the same kind clashed. After intense battling the two were completely out of energy for any more casting, and Seymour's body glowed.
Kuja went down to his knees and smiled. He began summoning all the energy left for his Flare Star attack. Seymour powered up for one last Total Annihilation. In a flash that nearly blew a hole through the roof, the two beams encased each other and exploded violently, knocking both exhausted fighters back.
After two minutes of heavy breathing, Seymour stood up followed by Kuja, and eventually Zidane and Tidus.
"N-not bad. I never thought anyone could stand up to one Genome, let alone two. You, Seymour and Tidus, are truly impressive. I would smile had I the muscle left."
"What he said." Zidane added.
"You're not bad yourselves" Tidus summoned just enough muscle to smile.
The teams shook hands and walked their separate ways.
Tidus looked up at Seymour.
"You aren't as bad as you seem, but I still don't like you."
"You are as bad as you seem, and I still do not like you." Seymour said dryly.
The two laughed semi-bitterly and walked out of the center down the hall. Tidus felt he needed to meet Yuna.
______________________________________________________________________
AN: I know, I broke my promise, but next chapter will focus on couples after the other stuff's out of the way. Sorry for the long wait . . . I turn fourteen tomorrow!
By Blue Dragon
Likely to be our greatest line of defense, the questionably loyal Sigma.
Rinoa and Squall followed Irvine back to garden, but they stayed at a distance for a bit more privacy. They were both pleased when he ran ahead to the hall and up the elevator, leaving them in the central area.
Irvine had found them at the stream in his search for Squall and had been surprised to find him actually kissing his girlfriend for a change.
A look of utter shock came on Squall's face as he held Rinoa, however, when he heard the sound of Nida struggling, and someone snatching a speaker over the intercommunication system that soon came on over the intercom. In Irvine's voice, he heard these words ring through garden:
"Attention boys, girls, ladies and gentlemen. I have found our commander, Squall Leonhart, making out in the forest with Rinoa Heartily approximately seventeen minutes ago. Did you catch that? I repeat, Squall Leonhart was making out with Rinoa Heartily!"
Rinoa and Squall's faces turned from bright red to pale white. At first they expected to hear the sound of students erupting in laughter, but after a while they were oriented to the sound of cheering, whoops, cries, whistling, and all other sounds of approval and joy.
Squall breathed out a sigh of relief and looked back at Rinoa.
"I'm glad you've changed. Even if it is a little. But what happened to you? Why did you suddenly decide to open your heart to me the rest of the way?"
Squall looked up as if in thought.
"I just got a little push from my subconscious."
"?"
"Don't worry about it."
Squall was the one that was worrying. His mind went back to Laguna. He was going talk him, and talk to him properly this time. But not before he spent just a little more time with Rinoa.
***
Seymour summoned the last bits of strength inside him and his body was once again encased in metal. He slowly rose above the ground and faced his opponents, forgetting about Tidus who had just finished stretching and now held the gun forward.
The two were at a disadvantage. They hated each other's guts and wouldn't work together, while Zidane and Kuja had their whole strategy mapped out.
Kuja front-flipped upwards going trance in the process, and before hitting the ground activating his flying ability. Zidane followed him, going trance as well and holding his newly charged Ultima Weapon above his head. Seymour and Tidus ignored each other and launched in without worrying about each other.
Seymour saw Kuja do a blast and double around the fighting area. Before he could yell a word of warning to Tidus he was knocked from behind by none other than the doubled-back Kuja, pushing Seymour into Tidus for another burst of pain, met with yet another when the previous blast impacted the both of them.
"Watch where you're goin'! You're going to get me killed!"
"I almost got myself killed trying to warn yo-"
Their bickering was interrupted when the two scrambled to safety as the trails of a Grand Lethal flamed past them.
"You guys give up yet?" asked Zidane semi-sarcastically.
"Never" Seymour responded.
He powered up for Total Annihilation.
"Seymour! Don't do that so damn close to me, you'll kill me!"
He didn't seem to care as Kuja and Zidane easily used each other's power as ladders into the sky, dodging the explosions.
Tidus, who was burnt to a crisp, flew into the air and landed one of the arcs of the metallic Seymour, causing them both to go down.
"Stay out of my way!" Seymour started.
"I would if you'd let me, you crazy bastard!"
Kuja held Zidane in the air by the tail, and the two laughed and slapped hands.
"We have to be like them" Seymour said slowly, standing up.
"What do you mean?" Tidus asked, trying to brush off the ashes.
"I will rocket you up with Total Annihilation, and you do one of those fancy moves."
"What!?"
"Oh, you know. That annoying one where you'd jump high and launch that pixie stuff . . . ?"
"Energy Rain?"
"Yes. Jump precisely when I tell you to."
"Since when do I take orders from you?"
"How silly of me. I should have known you'd much rather be burnt to a crisp. What a fool of me!" Seymour laughed maniacally as he charged up for Total Annihilation once more.
Tidus clutched his sword as he felt the air around him get hot.
"Jump!" Seymour yelled.
Tidus jumped with all his might, a pillar of flame touching his shoes and exploding, sending him upwards, twenty, thirty, and soon ten extra feet above the staring Kuja and Zidane.
Tidus hung in the air for seconds while charging up, sword held high, and then launched the energy he had gathered down. Kuja and Zidane were knocked down by it at high speeds, where Seymour's Total Annihilation gained power and knocked them back up, only to be slammed back down again by yet another Energy Rain from Tidus. The two finally landed in a charred heap in front of Seymour.
Tidus landed with a little more grace next to his "ally".
"Not bad for a guy that's only half human."
"Not bad for a human with only half a brain."
***
Reeve tuned his guitar, turned his speakers up to max, and checked the outside hallway of his room just to make sure no one was there. He looked around, and it was vacant. He closed the door to his room, and then started playing along with the rock song, "Comona". Halfway in he began to get a bit wild, dancing around and sliding back and forth with his guitar held tightly. With an imaginary crowd, he turned to the door and yelled.
"Hello, Junon!" He then imitated the sounds of a cheering crowd. He put in his "Motorhead" CD and started playing his guitar along with the "Ace of Spades".
Eventually he started sweating and he turned off the music and set the guitar down.
"I'm pretty tired. Maybe the cafeteria . . . " He said to himself.
When he opened his door Yuffie fell right in from having been listening intently by pressing her ear against the door and leaning on it. He looked down at her in surprise.
"How long have you been there!?"
"Uh . . . " her cheeks flashed bright red as she slowly stood up.
"You like the guitar?" She asked, quickly trying to change the subject. "You played really well. I didn't think you were into that."
"Well in my teenage days I would play a bit."
"It's the greatest music I've ever heard!"
"Really? Glad you think so. When I wasn't working the Cait Sith I would sometimes just sit around and play this. I had bought it for the kid I was expecting. My wife was pregnant when she left me an-- hey wait a minute. Why am I telling you this? And why are you in the men's area anyway?"
"Uh . . . I just heard all the noise and when I figured out it was from your room I couldn't resist. I wanted to find out a little more."
Reeve looked at her suspiciously.
"Then why didn't you just ask me?"
"Well . . . "
"Never mind. I know how much you must like stealth and sneaking and whatnot, you're supposed to be a ninja, right?"
"How did you know that?"
Reeve stared at her wide-eyed.
"Oh yeah, sorry. It's just that I keep thinking of Cait Sith as a person. I'm always forgetting that you were operating him and all that."
"I guess it's pretty easy. I almost forget it too, watching someone else do things I never imagined, running around breaking the law, saving the world and all that jazz."
Footsteps could be heard down the hallway.
"Yuffie! Hide!" Reeve said in rushed urgency.
Already ahead of the request, she dove into his room and looked for a small unnoticeable place.
The footsteps came at a rate twice as fast as usual, almost as if the person wasn't walking on two legs. Reeve immediately knew whom it was when he heard the screams of people that had yet to see Red. He opened the door wider when he saw him running down the hall and into Reeve's room. Reeve closed the door.
"You want something, Red?"
Red was staring at Yuffie who was still looking for a place to hide.
"Well, if this is a bad time . . . "
"No! It's not like that! I swear!"
"Right. The audio librarians say that they need their guitars back in twenty minutes."
"Oh. Well I'm done with it. I might as well return it now."
"Could I ask you something else?"
"Yeah, Red?"
"Could you, well, open my door? I continuously have trouble turning the knob and--"
"You know, garden staff did offer to install a doggie door."
Red looked insulted.
"I would never sink so low!"
"Just a suggestion! Come on, I'll open the door and then return the guitar."
Red paced around the doorway.
"I don't want to go alone to the cafeteria with all of those strange people . . . you wouldn't mind terribly coming with me?"
The room was filled with the sound of an unearthly groaning that made Red's fur stand on end.
"Uh . . . " Reeve looked embarrassed.
"That was my stomach."
He ran to the back of the room and grabbed the guitar after unplugging it from the various amplifiers.
"I wouldn't mind going. Come on."
Reeve closed the door and the two walked off, completely forgetting about Yuffie.
***
"Rinoa, how about I meet you on the east balcony? I have to talk to . . . my father."
Rinoa almost sprung from her seat.
"I thought you were an orphan! Your father is here!? Who is he, can I meet him!?"
Squall stood up.
"I can't tell you yet. I have to talk to him first, but I'll will later, I promise."
Rinoa, of course, would have found these as grounds to get upset about an hour ago. But she had a newfound trust in Squall.
"Okay. I'll see you on the balcony then?"
He nodded. They kissed, and then parted. Squall took the same route before. He should have felt more comfortable now that he had his head cleared, but instead Squall found himself involuntarily shaking as he walked to Laguna's room down the hall. He wondered if he would still be in there? Would he even be willing to listen to him?
To think, the man that he had been watching so long had been directly related to him. He didn't even see any resemblance. No one would have been able to figure it out, they were so different.
As a matter of fact he could go around screaming that his father resided in garden, and no one would ever figure it out.
He was now just a few feet away from the door. He asked himself again if it was probable that he was even there. Questions rushed through his head for many minutes before he finally decided he had enough to worry about without being bogged down with worries from something like this. He opened the door without even knocking and found Laguna in his same position, reading a book.
" . . . Hi" he said, uncharacteristically as he thought grimly to himself that he hadn't even tried to look for him.
"Squall. I'm glad you're okay." He said, standing up.
"I wanted to take a jet or something but Kiros told me I was overreacting and said no. So I just wandered around blindly searching for you."
"I wanted to talk"
All worry evaporated when he heard that Laguna cared. Was his searching a symbolization of the whole truth about him? Meaning, did Laguna care more than Squall allowed himself to think? Would he go further than he initially believed?
Laguna patted a seat next to him on his bed.
Squall hesitated for a split second before taking the seat.
" . . . Are you angry at me?"
" . . . Not anymore. I was just confused. I'm not angry. But I have things I want to ask . . ."
"Wait, that means you don't hate me?"
Squall was almost offended.
"Hate you? I don't really think I hate anyone. I don't hate you, I just . . . don't completely approve of you. But that's not talking about certain 'biological relations'. I just mean that I think some of the stuff you did was pretty boneheaded."
"Oh."
"My mother . . . who was she? REALLY?"
"Raine . . . You look a lot like her. Maybe its fate's way of punishing me. She was really something. She was great-looking, hard working, and what really kills me about her death is that . . . that she wanted me to stay, but didn't want to get in the way of me leaving. Then I left anyway and in her final moments where was I? Goofing off in Esthar. When I found out she was dead and buried on that hill, I thought I was dead too. I found out about you later and tried to forget. I cared, but I knew you were with good people. I'll tell you, your mother at a time couldn't stand me! She said I was a dreamer and an idealist. She called me lunkheaded, clumsy, goofy, all thumbs, unrealistic, lamebrained, moronic, and a clown."
"Geez . . . how did you ever marry her? How did you get her to like you in the least?"
"Uh, you might not want to hear that story."
"I understand if--"
"No! I was being sarcastic! Its nothing serious, but here it goes . . . "
***
Laguna felt the ring around in his pocket. Now all he had to do was get Raine to come out to the hill. The beautiful hill under the moon, of course . . .
He knew, however, that she wasn't likely to listen to the likes of him. Kiros had helped him plot a bit. Plan A was asking, Plan B was begging, C was sweet-talking, and X was classified. So classified that Kiros said that he wouldn't tell him until plan C failed.
Laguna walked down the stone streets that had long since been cleared of the pesky monsters and the equally pesky Galbadian soldiers. The pub, as usual, had slow business and Raine was behind the counter polishing mugs, finishing the set, and then polishing again.
"Raine?" He asked as he entered the doors that went into the counter area. He heard her sigh.
"What now?"
"Do you want to come to that big hill with me tonight? I have something to show you."
She sighed deeper.
"Listen, I can't go on any more of your adventures. I have work to do here. Can't you understand that? Goodbye."
"Uh, please?"
"No"
"I'll cry . . . "
"Goodbye, Loire."
"Pleeeeeaaaaaaase?"
"Go away, Laguna."
"You're pretty."
This time Raine hesitated.
"Nice try Laguna"
She once again finished polishing the whole collection of mugs and started on the dinner plates.
Laguna followed her across the room.
"You're really pretty?"
This time he didn't even earn a response. Laguna stared at the piece of paper on his sleeve partially hidden.
"A look from you dwarfs the ecstasy of a thousand wonderful things?"
She gave more of a sympathetic sigh and turned around.
"I realize that you must think that whatever you want to show me is really important if you would say something so sweet and out of character, but I really am busy. Can't it wait?"
"But, the moon will be big today!"
Raine put a hand to her head, closed her eyes, and shook her head in disapproval.
"You can really be foolish sometimes. The moon is big every day! Do you realize how close it is to this planet?"
"Can you excuse me?" Laguna asked her, inching back to the door. He quickly ran out to Raine's pleasure and found Kiros waiting outside the pub polishing his katals.
Kiros' braids that had been nicely draped around his shoulder were thrown off and around when Laguna shook him.
"Nice to see you too. How'd it go?" he asked his friend.
"Geez! She can be so cold! Plan A, B, and C all failed!"
Kiros looked skeptical.
"What did you say to her for plan C?" he asked suspiciously.
"Well, I told her she was pretty . . . "
"Yeah . . . "
"I told her she was REALLY pretty . . . "
"Yeah . . . "
"And then I said a look from her gave on the ecstasy of a thousand wonderful things."
Kiros looked like he didn't believe him.
"And you, Laguna Loire, are telling me that after quoting that you were rejected by Raine STILL?"
"I don't understand it either! Help me out man!"
Kiros put his hand to his chin and thought for a while what a good course of action would be.
"Okay. We have to go to plan X."
"Plan X . . . ?"
"Laguna, you have to kiss her. Not a peck on the cheek, but a good long one."
Laguna raised an eyebrow.
"She'll slap me."
"She thinks you're cute!"
"?"
"She swore to kill me if I ever mentioned this . . ." Kiros quickly looked left and right.
"But, she says that she thinks you're cute. I asked her if she'd stop you if you kissed her, she said no. Trust me."
"I don't know about this . . . "
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance . . . If you wish to back out . . . "
"Okay! When do I start?"
"Now"
"What?"
Kiros slapped his forehead.
"You want some other guy to steal her? You'd better hurry!"
That got Laguna going. He sped down the road and into the pub, praying Raine was still in there. When he went through the doors he found that Raine was still behind the counter polishing things.
"Raine . . .?"
He went through the doors behind the counter and came behind Raine. Her back was still to him. Then it occurred to him that he had never been in physical contact with Raine for more than half a second.
"I thought I told you--" she started without even looking up from her work. She didn't finish, because she gasped as Laguna gently held her around her midsection, turned her around, and looked into her eyes. It was then that he saw she had been crying. What about, he didn't ask, because he blindly trusted Kiros' plans and began to kiss her.
Her arm twitched before she dropped the mug, shattering it into a million pieces, but she didn't care. She wrapped her arms around him as the kiss deepened and Laguna slowly broke it, looked at her, and asked again.
"W-Will you go with me to--"
"I'll go with you anywhere"
Laguna blinked as if he didn't believe it. Could he have actually won? Good lord, what if he actually had the guts to ask her to marry him?
That was it. Plan X was a success.
***
Squall looked at Laguna after he finished his story.
"So she just transformed after that?"
"No! Sadly. The day after my proposal she was as mean as ever with marriage preparations. She almost killed me. Literally and figuratively, I think."
"Out of strict curiosity . . . never mind. You probably don't remember"
Laguna looked alarmed.
"Go ahead! Ask me anything!"
" . . . Was my mother a good kisser?"
"Was she a good kisser? Squall, Raine was probably the worst kisser in the history of the world! I mean, it felt good and all, but she was too tight- lipped."
"What . . . ?"
"It took a while for her to open her mouth so I could slip her--"
It was Squall's turn to look alarmed when he quickly stood up and put up his hands.
"STOP! Geez, I didn't need to hear all that! Too much information."
"Oh, sorry. I just forgot I wasn't talking to myself anymore . . . "
Laguna stood up as well.
"Thank you for telling me this . . . it might take me a while to get used to, but I feel differently, now"
Laguna hugged his son, and after a split second of hesitation Squall hugged him back.
"I don't need you to love me back, or call me 'father'. Just let me know you."
"I will."
***
Reeve and Red walked into the library, which was frankly one of the most impressive establishments in this massive garden, and in the small audio facility they found that girl with the long ponytail behind the counter apparently working on something important. Red followed closely behind Reeve who carried the guitar up to the counter.
"Excuse me . . . " Reeve began, taking a moment to look at the name tag.
". . . Andrea, I would like to return this guitar?"
"What?" she looked up.
"Oh. Hold on, let me record it in the records back in the storage." She left briskly and after two minutes the two began to get bored.
"Red?"
Red stopped pacing around and looked up.
"How sharp are those claws?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Uh, well, I just wanted to know."
"Sharp enough to tear a three inch gash in a human body with me using eighty-three percent strength."
"Oookay"
Reeve decided that he'd rather look at what Andrea had been doodling on. When he did, he called Red over.
"Look at this."
Red put his front legs on the counter and looked at what Reeve had been pointing too.
"I think she likes that Zell kid."
The paper was covered with doodles of Zell and his name in hearts that were actually drawn beautifully.
"Red, you know what this means?"
"She's quite a magnificent artist . . . "
"She likes Zell! We have to fix 'em up!"
"What are you talking about? We're both grown men."
Reeve looked at Red skeptically.
"Fine, you're grown but still. That would be meddling and immature, don't you think?"
"Look at it like this: I never had a girlfriend, so . . . "
"You have a soft spot for young couples?"
". . . "
"Reeve, you're just being ridiculous."
"Come one, when have the two of us really bonded!?"
". . . "
"Not as if you had anything better to do . . . ?"
"Fine. But if I'm caught this is completely and totally your fault."
***
Seifer and Jessica rushed out of space and behind a very nervous Reno. When he turned around, he looked relieved.
"Thank God! Help me out here, I don't wanna die!"
Pi was taking her time, walking slowly to Reno.
Oren appeared in the same manner that he usually did, with the unconscious body of another girl that looked exactly like Pi.
Oren lay down the body, looked at Pi number one, looked at Pi number two, and then said something very out of character.
"What the hell?"
Suddenly the conscious Pi's body tensed up dramatically and she clutched her head, stopping dead.
Jessica looked at Oren, then the unconscious body of Pi number two that Oren had brought.
"Oren? What is this? There was only one the last time I checked."
Reno was regaining his Turkish composure.
"As much as I'd like to stick around, I have people to meet."
He walked off, right passed Pi number one who was now on the ground.
"Not a word of thanks . . . " Seifer muttered.
Oren scratched his head.
"Jessica, Seifer, take them both. I have to give the others a little more time. I'll be back at garden for a while."
Jessica nodded.
"Come, Seifer."
Seifer walked over to Pi number one and put her over his shoulder, as Jessica did with Pi number two.
Oren did the honors and opened the portal in space. The two walked through before it made the sucking sound and shut itself closed.
***
Freya and Kimahri no longer hid behind the bushes, but watched the fight from an open position.
"They are impressive fighters. I haven't seen a fight like this since . . . I have never seen a fight like this."
Freya stood frozen in place by Kimahri watching the scene.
The sides had used up most of their energy, Kuja had lost trance state and Seymour had lost his Flux. It had come down to a contest of pure skill.
Of course it was harder than an actual fight would have been, because they had to make it so they would stop the blows from actually hitting if they got through the opponent's guard, so in a way it was halfhearted.
Zidane parried, thrust, flipped back and flew forward with blinding Terran speed as Tidus defended and countered with blows of his own. Of course he could barely hold his own in the fight because the period where he had actually used the sword had only been about two weeks.
Tidus focused all the energy left within him on his blade, and flew out at Zidane.
He smashed him with five horizontal slashes that Zidane barely deflected, and then followed it up with a backwards spin, another, and then a final slash down that Zidane narrowly dodged. Before he fell in exhaustion, Zidane tackled the already weakened Tidus and the two went down on the brink of unconsciousness.
With Kuja and Seymour it had been a mind game of launching spells that would break through the others' barrier. Seymour and Kuja would launch elemental spells and the dominant element would break through. If they were the same, they would clash. Seymour launched a fire while Kuja launched an ice, Kuja launched then launched lightning that was met with quake, and eight times in a row two spells of the same kind clashed. After intense battling the two were completely out of energy for any more casting, and Seymour's body glowed.
Kuja went down to his knees and smiled. He began summoning all the energy left for his Flare Star attack. Seymour powered up for one last Total Annihilation. In a flash that nearly blew a hole through the roof, the two beams encased each other and exploded violently, knocking both exhausted fighters back.
After two minutes of heavy breathing, Seymour stood up followed by Kuja, and eventually Zidane and Tidus.
"N-not bad. I never thought anyone could stand up to one Genome, let alone two. You, Seymour and Tidus, are truly impressive. I would smile had I the muscle left."
"What he said." Zidane added.
"You're not bad yourselves" Tidus summoned just enough muscle to smile.
The teams shook hands and walked their separate ways.
Tidus looked up at Seymour.
"You aren't as bad as you seem, but I still don't like you."
"You are as bad as you seem, and I still do not like you." Seymour said dryly.
The two laughed semi-bitterly and walked out of the center down the hall. Tidus felt he needed to meet Yuna.
______________________________________________________________________
AN: I know, I broke my promise, but next chapter will focus on couples after the other stuff's out of the way. Sorry for the long wait . . . I turn fourteen tomorrow!