~~Mistakes~~

~Chapter 2: Dream~

It's been a long time since, she thought, stepping right into Balamb Garden's gate, dragging a suitcase behind her. Nothing seems to have changed though, she mused, it's just the people that go through the transformation, good or bad.

Had it been that long since she left Balamb for Esthar? Probably, happy times fly by the fastest with Uncle Laguna. Now she was back for her brother, barely able to keep her smile off thinking of his happy plans just this coming Sunday. Squall and Rinoa. I hope Squall wouldn't blame me. I had to know the truth that Uncle was keeping from me. All those times…

The wheels of her luggage rolled soundlessly across the hall, slowly approaching the elevator, and stopped right in front of the huge directory. The common area was quiet, save for the scarce students shuffling around, too late for their classes to be paying attention to the stranger standing alone in front of the huge sign. Suddenly, Ellone was unsure where she should go. She had come unknown to anyone in the Garden, except Quistis, so to give them a surprise. But she was lost now, unsure of where to go. Maybe she could go Dr. Kadowaki's infirmary first to hide out, or to head for Squall's dorm, but knowing now he wouldn't see her…

"ELLONE!!! You… You came!" The hyperactive Selphie just had to boom her voice right across the hall.

Drat. There goes the surprise she had in mind.

Turning around to face the excited girl, she was caught off guard by the fierce and warm hug by the brunette, and for a moment Ellone felt as though a Great Dane had pounced on her. Well, almost, if Selphie had the size of that dog.

"You… You're joining us for Squall's big thing right? I just knew you were coming, couldn't leave your brother alone huh?" Selphie grinned, her hands waving wildly around as she peered at Ellone, then finally noticing Sis' baggage behind.

"Oops, I forgot you would be tired after the long trip, huh? I'll bring you to a guest room ok? Here, I'll take this." She picked up the black-leathered suitcase and showed her the way. Ellone smiled at the girl's boundless energy. One can never know just how much life she has.

"Selph, I know it's a sudden decision, and I almost…" She closed her eyes, and took in a deep breath. "I guess the damage has been done. How's Squall?"

The bouncy girl was suddenly thoughtful for a moment. "Not very happy, Elle, I'm sorry to say. He doesn't talk much, but we all know he isn't in high spirits when he heard you weren't coming."

"Has he gone back to his… old behaviour?" Ellone asked, not knowing how to phrase her question. That question never failed to raise a lump up her throat, fully aware that she was the one who left him years ago, and then, recently…

"Oh no, no… not that," the brunette assured her, "he's over that stage, but of course, and since you are here already… He'll be fine." She smiled at Sis, hoping to ease the worry on her face.

"Here you are," Selphie informed Elle, handing her the room key, "I bet you're jetlag, or train-lag… You better get some rest, while I inform the rest you're here, ok?" Beaming at the older girl easing herself onto the sofa, she left.

Ellone? I thought… I hope Squall recovers fast when he sees her. And meanwhile, I've got to tell Quistis.

*******

No one noticed the girl with the white turtleneck and blue cotton skirt walk past the library reception counter. In fact, there weren't many people there to begin with. The exams were finally over, and many students finally had an excuse not to come to the library, resulting in the near-empty study benches. Ellone was glad for once she didn't have to wait for the seat – her favourite corner at the end of the room was empty.

Somehow, whenever she paid a visit to Garden, she needed to come back to the library. To refresh her memories, to relive them. It was the place she linked Uncle Laguna to Squall. It was the place Squall was reintroduced to her. It was the place she whispered to her brother that he was her only hope. It was the place she stored her memories. Today, I have something I need to do. I have to unlock that secret that Uncle refused me, something that had to do with Squall.

It started with flashes of Uncle Laguna's past, smiling as she transcended time into the olden days. She stood amidst the jungle watching her kin battle gigantic Funguars and Geezards, his gun sharp and lethal towards the enemies. She was running with her uncle as they entered Lunatic Pandora's excavation site, desperately trying to shake off the irritating Esthar soldiers chasing them. She saw them finally ending up at a cliff, and boosting their guts for a fall down into the sea. To her, those memories were like photographs in an album. She knew she just had to show it to Squall, and she did, even if he didn't remember her or Uncle Laguna. She wanted her brother to know of Uncle Laguna achievements, and maybe that would help Squall to see his father's betrayal as an inevitable outcome.

She had led him as they watched Julia playing the piano through Laguna's eyes. They knew of his feelings towards the graceful pianist. They saw him clumsily approached the lady, and came back with a leg cramp, but not defeated. They watched as she at last took the initiative to invite him up to her room, and to see Laguna nervous but yet never holding back his words in Julia's presence.

The images started to get misty, and Ellone could only make out the silhouettes of two people face to face and slowly bridging the gap between them. This is the place. But why the secrecy? Then suddenly there was a burst of light flash across Ellone's mind, trying to tear her head apart. The light was blinding her, throwing her into fits of hysteria and sheer pain. Her eyes were closed, and her hands were groping around the ends of the table. No… The headache was increasing by the second, she felt her head squeezed as though it was a balloon. A scream suddenly pierced the silent airs of the library, as everyone turned to stare at the figure stumble out of her chair and head for the ground.

The eventual thud silenced the library.

"Help!! Ellone's down!!"

*******

The commander lay on his bed with his eyes closed, listening to the humming noise of the ceiling fan. So Ellone wouldn't come. But why? Did she really have something to do? I trust her, do I? Answers didn't come by his way, but he felt a sharp pain sear through his head, and then light-headedness. What is this? Ellone? Why are you doing this to me again?! Standing up, his legs wobbled, feeling the intense giddiness, before falling down onto his bed, knocked out.

Visions of Laguna flashed past his eyes, and once again, he thought, I'm in the shoes of that moron. My father. How ironic. He fled through Lunatic Pandora, the Galbadian Jungle, together with Ward and Kiros. What now? Haven't we seen all these before? What do you want to prove, that I'm as moronic as my father? He screamed through his mind, but Ellone didn't stop.

They were at the hotel, where Laguna had met Julia. Oh boy, moron of all morons. Cut it out, Elle. I don't wanna see this. They were in Julia's room, and Laguna was talking to her, face-to-face. He had started to move towards her, settling down right beside her. What's the point, Sis…? Argh… Why the sudden pain…? Images were misty, and the light became brighter and brighter as the pain intensified. Visions turn constricted, and his head felt as though it was grabbed by a vice. Elle… Stop… Elle…? ELLE…!!

It blinded him totally, and he blanked out, cast into a dream he didn't want to be in.

*******

The light flooded her senses. Groping frantically, she was searching for something, yet there was nothing in front of her. No, she knew there was someone in front. Not one, but two people. The figures were close to each other, but she could see no features, save for the dark long hairs they had. Ah, perhaps they were both women in embrace. No, one was well built and muscular. The other was petite. Instinctively, she knew that they were people she was familiar with, that she had seen them in the past.

Yes, he was… Ellone searched crazily for the name. Laguna! Suddenly, the silhouette became clearer, the built of Uncle Laguna, and his raven hair… The lady must be Julia. The petite pianist, yes, it was her… They were in each other's arms, laughing into each other's eyes… They? They couldn't, shouldn't be with other, not at such proximity.

Slowly, she saw the taller figure lead the woman to onto the bed, their eyes never leaving each other's gazes, their lips sealed. He lay beside her, softly stroking her luscious mahogany hair. He was whispering to her, his emerald eyes warm and passionate. She was listening intently in his arms, her luminous brown eyes adoring his chiselled features.

Ellone was watching too much. She tried to reach out for them, but it was as if there was a force barrier in between. No, there was no use. They were together. Julia and Laguna. Something he never told them. They spent the night together in Julia's room. They were like soul mates, their hearts impatient with desire. Their images faded under the increasing bright light, the very same bright light that caused so much pain to Ellone. The crushing grip on her head, bent on destroying her. She envisioned Laguna and Julia, and the intensity of the pain increased. She was bursting.

"NO!!!" She sprung up as if just awaken from a nightmare, tiny beads of perspiration forming over her brows. Immediately, relief washed over her head, released from tremendous pressure that a minute ago was almost killing her. Her face still taut with tension and fear, she roughly made up the figure of Quistis and Dr. Kadowaki hovering about her.

"Ellone?" A hand reached out for her forehead, while another sat her up and wiped away the drops of perspiration mounting on her face. She was pale, her lips dry. Both women were worried for her. Whatever had caused her to scream like that was definitely something to fret about.

"Hi… Quisty… Dr. Kadowaki…" she was perched between her conscious and subconscious, not fully awake from the visions she saw just now. She needed rest. Her body was weak, and the doctor knew it. Beckoning Quistis out of the infirmary, she had Ellone pop a sleeping pill, and put her under an IV drip.

"Sleep girl, you'll need it." She'll have a lot to explain tomorrow.

*******

He was slumped on his bedside when he awoke, his hearing jarred by the constant knocking on his door. He had dreamt of Julia and Laguna, and erotic images still floated in his mind. Am I supposed to believe that the both of them had… Still blurred by sleep and the headache from before, he swung open the door, only to realise Selphie was pounding on it.

"Squall! You won't believe it… You have to come," she dragged him by the hand, heading towards the infirmary. "Ellone's here, and she was found unconscious in the library."

His head sprang up from the news, and grabbed the petite girl by the shoulders. "What did you say? Ellone…?" He thought for a moment, whatever that had played through his mind when he blacked out, all those flashes the past. Ellone had been just a few walls away from him? Then what about the dream… It had suddenly taken a drastic turn from fiction to reality.

"I don't have time to explain, Squall, you just come and see."

*******

"Yo!! Ellone!! You almost had us… We were so worried… What happened…? Are you alright…?" Words scrambled in her head, her subconscious rapidly losing control over her, vanishing like yesterday's dream. Roughly, her visions still blurred from the long sleep, she made up figures of Selphie peering at her, Irvine behind her shoulder, while Zell paced about before Squall's figure leaning at the Infirmary door, his knuckles cracking up and his face betraying a look of concern. Rinoa and Quistis were talking to Dr. Kadowaki, for obvious reasons, her sudden relapse into the subconscious so strongly that she couldn't bear it.

"Hi… you people…" Fluttering her eyes, she slowly sat up on the bed, aided by her friends. Dr. Kadowaki noticed the frail girl posed herself against the metal bed frame, and hurried over to inspect her eyes. Good. They were focused.

"Ellone. Glad to see you better, young girl. We almost lost you there; you were screaming out loud for a second, murmuring and muttering the other second. We couldn't figure out what was going on." The old woman cast a look on her, as if waiting for an answer. She didn't have to wait long. The young woman was ready with her reply.

"It was Uncle Laguna." The group of friends gave a small gasp, but didn't interrupt Ellone. She glanced at the impassive Squall, now looking at her for answers she hated to give.

"I saw Uncle Laguna."

Author's Notes: Yep, this chapter's probably the longest, and I'll try to lengthen the rest of my chapters. And I'm really getting long-winded. Can you guess what I'm writing? It will be revealed next chapter, but please comment if you don't understand what I am writing about. All thanks to Marty for beta-reading this, so I can post this up!

Blessedsilence: Yea, it's the same story from before, but I sorta redid it again, thanks for reviewing… Laters, lol…

Teletha: Thanks for reviewing and putting on your alert… I hope this chapter didn't disappoint you!

Marty: Thanks for reviewing and being the beta-reader for this chapter… Can never thank you enough for this… You wouldn't mind doing it again would you? =)

Pipinfiend: Thanks for reviewing, and hope you find this chapter to your satisfaction!

Beeker: I had been toying with this idea all along, and hope you would continue to read on… =)