2- The General Returns
Squall took the long way home that afternoon. He had renounced any romantic interest in Rinoa for as long as he could remember, but seeing her run up to Cloud and hug him was more than he could take. So Squall did what he always did when he was down: he took a long walk along the castle walls. They didn't let people who weren't staff or guards around the edge of the castle, but it hadn't been patrolled in years and Squall knew the sections that nobody walked around. He just snuck up and casually walked around like he usually did.
He stopped after a while to watch the sunset. It was beautiful, the sun was setting right beyond the Rising Falls, turning the whole valley into a myriad of colors as the ice separated the light like so many prisms. It made him think.
He didn't think Cloud would ever do anything to hurt him, and looking back he could see that Cloud did look surprised when Rinoa hugged him. Or maybe this was a new thing; Cloud had mentioned that she was gorgeous and that someone would take her if Squall didn't act. But it wasn't like Cloud to be dishonest with him, he was always so straight forward. So Squall sat on the railing, looking out onto the sea of colors below, and thought. By the time he left, it was well into the night.
* * * * * *
I must have been about midnight when Squall finally got to his street. He was in no hurry, and no one ever waited up for him at home. His parents had died during the Great War like Rikku's, and he lived with his half-sister Ellone and his uncle Laguna. They all got along fine, and worried about Squall when he left for so long, but they were so accustomed to it that no one lost any sleep over it. He was about to turn down the pathway to his door when he heard a familiar voice behind him.
"Rough night, eh Squall?" Snickers from a small gang of people could be heard in a dark corner.
'Great, the whole squad's here,' Squall thought. He turned around to face Seifer, only to see him with his gunblade drawn. Not unexpected. Seifer was always challenging Squall to fights, but there was always someone around to stop them before things got too serious. A quick glance in both directions told Squall that they would not have that happening tonight, for better or worse.
"Girl troubles, friend?" Seifer mused. His gang laughed hysterically in the dark. 'So Seifer knows. Perfect.'
"Why don't your cronies come out into the light, Seif?" Squall challenged. He had no reason to fear Seifer's buddies, he knew Seifer would never let any of them touch Squall. Squall belonged to Seifer.
Out into the dim light of a dying streetlamp stood Zidane, Lulu, and Zell, though the last seemed uncertain about this matter. Squall knew these guys were constantly around Seifer. They'd be a gang if Squall thought them a serious threat. They could all pick a decent fight, but they didn't have the unity to be feared.
"So let's make this quick, what do you want?" Squall asked. He knew the reason well enough, but Seifer loved to make speeches. Squall just wanted to vent some anger and Seifer Almasy got to be the lucky one he took it out on.
"Well, Squall, I got to thinkin' today. You and I have a scored to settle. Damn Garland broke up our last little contest, and your deadbeat uncle broke it up the time before. So this is what I'm thinkin'," Seifer pointed his blade at Squall, and cocked the hammer on his handle. "You and me. For keeps this time. How's that sound, Squally boy? Hell, maybe you'll get that bitch's attention after al-"
Squall didn't let Seifer finish. The comment about Rinoa threw Squall into a rage and he flew towards Seifer. They were almost evenly matched, but Squall had a superior head in battle, and usually won their fights. This time, however, it was all in blind rage. If it came to it, Squall would kill Seifer here, tonight.
The flurry of attacks from both sides looked morbidly beautiful in the dim light as the blades caught the reflections of the street lamps. Lulu watched the battle, silent but smiling. Zidane jumped around doing flips and cartwheels, cheering wildly at Seifer's every strike. Zell just watched, his mouth agape, unable to decide what to make of the fight. Splashes of water from the puddles on the ground reflected off the lights from the lamps. The two boys danced on, both totally absorbed in their fight when
BAAAM!!
A gunshot echoed down the street as Squall flew two feet back and stumbled at the force of Seifer's parry. Squall, down on one knee, look his opponent in the eyes. "I said for keeps, Squally boy."
Seifer's cold eyes reflected the street lamp as he calmly reached into his coat pocket and loaded a new charge into the empty chamber of his revolver. "What, not loaded? Uh oh.. well aren't you in trouble?"
Seifer laughed and Squall assessed the situation. He was in trouble, there was no denying that. Squall almost never kept his weapon loaded, especially not while just walking home from classes at the academy. He carried no charges on him, and Seifer certainly wasn't going to give him some of his. He had two options: one was to fight it out with Seifer even though it wasn't a fair fight, the second was to someone get the chargers out of Seifer's weapon. Running was not an option.
Squall lunged forward, this time thinking clearly. Seifer blocked Squall's first attack, and BAM! used up a shot. Careless. He was expecting it this time and the force didn't through Squall of balance. Now very close to Seifer, Squall thrust his elbow into Seifer's face, breaking his nose and causing him to grunt. Siefer, now thoroughly distracted, hardly noticed as Squall slipped his hand down onto the back of Seifer's elbow. 'Now if I can only remember that pressure point,' Squall thought to himself as BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!!! Seifer's hand involuntarily contracted seven times. Lulu decided to jump in and hit Squall with a rather painful Thunder spell, but she immediately stopped after being given a dirty look from Seifer.
The two were both on their knees, Squall's shirt still smoking from the spell and Seifer's nose bleeding into the gutter. They gasped for breath waiting for the other to make the first move. When it was obvious that neither was going to move soon, Seifer took the moment to taunt his rival.
"You know, Rinoa is never going to like you if fight dirty like that."
"Hey, me and her may not have hit it off too well, but at least she doesn't hate me." The look in Seifer's eyes let him know he'd struck a chord. "Yes, Seif, I've seen how you look at her, but she doesn't go for your type. First off, you're too stupid to-" Seifer didn't waste a second. He leapt the gap between then through the air and slashed Squall's face before he could react. If Seifer had any charges left, he would be dead. But that thought didn't impair Squall's judgment as he batted the weapon from Seifer's hand and counterattacked with a rising slash. Seifer attempted to back away from the strike, but he wasn't quick enough and he felt the searing pain between his eyes as he stumbled backwards.
Blood was dripping from both boy's faces when they heard the sirens from the main road, obviously getting closer. Someone had heard the shots.
"Everyone, get out of here!" Seifer shouted to his lackeys as he picked up his gunblade and ran himself. "And don't think we ended this tonight, Squall!" he screamed as he disappeared into the darkness.
Squall rose as well, and limped toward his front door. The porch light cast his eerie silhouette against the wall as he walked slowly towards the house. He passed out cold on the concrete, feet from the door.
* * * * * *
The General of Defense walked through the hallways of the castle, briskly as usual. She always had somewhere to be, and didn't have time to be having meetings in the castle. This meeting was different, though. It was rumored that General Sephiroth had returned from is expedition in Wutai, though many eye witnesses from his battalion claimed they saw him impaled by the Wutainese during their final battle.
She believed the witnesses, but also believed that Sephiroth had returned. He wasn't an easy man to take down in a fight, and she knew that from personal experience. She had trained with him for many years while rising through the ranks of the White Knights. She had no particular fondness of him, and found him to be quite cold, but if there was a battle, she wanted him on her side. She pitied the fool who would think he could betray the great Sephiroth. Turning one last corner, she arrived at her destination, and opened the door with haste.
"Ah, General Beatrix, I was hoping you would join us this afternoon," Lord Ansem greeted her. He rose as she entered the room and pulled out a chair for her as she sat down.
"Thank you sire, but I assure you such formalities are unnecessary. You do not need to pull a chair out for me."
"I'm just trying to be hospitable. I apologize if I offended you in any way," Ansem responded as he sat back down. Beatrix was very serious about her work, and it always preceded the pleasures of everyday life. "I know you are on a tight schedule, so I assure you we will make this meeting as short as possible. First," he announced, extending his arm to one side towards the people in the other chairs around the table, "I shall introduce my team."
'Team?' Beatrix thought. 'Why would a team be necessary for the Sephiroth's arrival?'
"First is the C.I.T Zack Ebony, whom I am sure you have met with before."
"Hello, General Beatrix," he bowed his head.
"Next is Cid Highwind, my head aviator and engineer."
"Hiya, sweet cheeks," Cid mumbled unemphatically while tinkering with a small piece of electronics. He was in his early forties, but still in good shape, despite is apparent nicotine addiction. He had a cigarette in his mouth and a pack tucked under the strap of his goggles on his head, plus a back up pack tucked into his pants. He also, Beatrix noted, had a gross disrespect for authority.
"Finally, the Head of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Laguna Loire."
"It is very good, that is to say, great, to… um… finally be able to see—meet with you, Lady Beatrix," Laguna stumbled. He had long black hair with prominent wisps of gray, and wore very casual clothing: a half buttoned up shirt and some old khaki pants with holes in them. 'Funny, for the Head of Foreign affairs, you'd think he'd be better with words.'
"So now that the formalities are aside, I may tell you the reason for your being here," Ansem began. As he spoke, he stood up and walked around the table, talking to everyone, but mostly to Beatrix. "As you may have all heard, General Sephiroth has made a triumphant return the Hallow Bastion. After being away for years, and presumed dead for a little more than a year now, he has returned to us, battle scarred but alive. He arrived late two nights ago in torn clothes. Nobody recognized him, so he came straight to me. I have put him to rest in my private chambers while he recovers his strength. I have not kept this a secret, but I have made no official declaration on the matter. Sephiroth will return to his former glory next Thursday, as he picks the Top Ranks in Commander Ebony's next ceremony. I chose to invite you here today, Lady Beatrix, because Sephiroth has urgent news for you. He was taken prisoner by the Wutainese and has only very recently escaped. He has some military issues to discuss with you. If you wish to speak to him now, I will have my secretary take you to my chambers."
"Thank you, sire, I will take you up on that offer."
* * * * * *
Cloud walked to class the next day alone. It was Friday, and Cloud hadn't seen Squall since Wednesday afternoon. No one had. Seifer had gone missing too, and Cloud hoped in his gut that they hadn't gone off and killed each other. He had tried to get answers from Seifer's gang, but they were a tight lipped bunch when they needed to be. Zell he could get answers from, but not if the others were around. They knew this, so they never left Zell alone.
"So no Squall yet, huh?" It was Tifa standing next to a tree. She looked disappointed at Squall's absence.
"Not yet, Tif," Cloud answered. "I don't know where he's gotten himself to. I'm going to go look for him this weekend, maybe get some answers from him or Seifer if I see him."
"Don't you practice with Rinoa this weekend?" Tifa inquired.
"This is more important, Rinoa will understand." Rinoa had been, expectedly, terribly worried about Squall, too. Cloud had told her he thought Squall ran off he saw them together, but he didn't think that he'd be gone this long over that. Something else must have happened to him, and it took a lot to keep Squall down.
The two began walking together toward the castle to attend their Magic Studies lecture. Cloud was pretty good with magic, too. He knew some basic heal spells, and had a decent ice spell, but he knew he wasn't as naturally inclined towards magic as Sephiroth was. It just made Cloud work harder at it. He had started to trade with Rinoa: he taught her sword fighting and she tutored him in magic. They were becoming pretty good friends.
"You're right, I'm sure Rinoa is worried about Squall, too," Tifa said, minutes later.
The rest of the walk was in silence. There was a strange discomfort between them, and Cloud couldn't place it. They had been such good friends since they were kids, but for the past couple of months things were just different. Cloud tried not to think about it too much, and just kept his mind on the pretty girl at the bar.
When they got to the hall, after a long walk in silence, Tifa nervously muttered, "See you," and ran to sit in the back of the class. She looked embarrassed, so Cloud thought it best not to follow her. Instead he went to sit next to Rinoa. The eager look on her face told him what she was about to ask.
"No Squall yet, sorry, Rin." Her face fell. She was obviously distraught, so Cloud tried to ease her mind. "But don't worry, I'm going to go look for him this weekend, he's probably just ran down to the rising falls. He did that a lot when we were kids." Rinoa faked a smile, she knew Cloud was trying to cheer her up. She tried to put Squall out of her mind during the lecture.
Half way through class, a familiar girl walked through the door of the grand lecture hall and sat in one of the few empty seats in the front row. The instructor paid her no mind and continued on with the class. Cloud elbowed Rinoa and hissed, "Hey! Hey! That's the girl from the bar!" He had told Rinoa about her the day before, after a break from studying. The new girl looked a tad distraught as she sat down, and it was obvious she was thinking about something else the entire rest of the class. When the lecture ended, she jumped up and scurried out the door as quickly as she had come in. Cloud jumped up and ran after her before Rinoa could tell him "Go talk to her!"
He darted out of the building and look both ways, only to find out he'd lost her. Disappointed, he turned around to find Tifa to walk home with when the beautiful girl from the bar bumped straight into his back.
"Oh goodness… I'm so sorry, I'm just in such a rush," she scrambled, trying to pick up all her papers she had dropped during the collision.
"It's okay… here, lemme help you." Cloud was astonished. He'd never before had so much good luck in his life. He was starting to think he'd never be able to track down this girl. Now he just need to get her name. Name. 'Oh right, introduce yourself!'
"I'm Cloud," he said. 'Good start. Very straightforward, to the point.'
"Aerith," the girl told to her papers. Cloud couldn't help but notice that she was amazingly preoccupied with something, and in a big hurry. The he noticed the blood stain on the leg of her dress.
"Is that blood? Are you okay?" Cloud asked frantically. She was shocked at the sudden questioning, but composed herself to answer.
"No… no its not. Not mine, anyway. Actually, I found a boy unconscious the other day, bleeding all over," she motioned at the stain on the dress. "He had a big cut on his face and some internal injuries, obviously from a fight. He was just a few feet away from a door. I think he may have been trying to rob the house," Aerith explained. Cloud wondered. "He's been unconscious for a few days now, but he's just starting to come to, so I really need to hurry to go see him, so he knows I didn't kidnap him or something."
Cloud couldn't help but think that he'd found Squall.
"Tell me, what does this guy look like?"
* * * * * *
"Excuse me sir," Beatrix began, looking at the back of Lord Ansem's assistant's head. She knew that she wouldn't get a straight answer from this man, since Ansem wouldn't pick a loose lipped assistant, but any light shed on the subject would be nice. "But why does Lord Ansem need a team to arrange for Sephiroth's return?"
"Ah, Lady Beatrix, you misunderstand," the assistant replied. He obviously considered himself very important to the inner workings of the castle, since he addressed her as "Lady" rather than the more formal "General". "The team in the Meeting Hall is working on one of the Lord's personal projects. I'm afraid any more information I could give you would be too much, Lady." He gave a short bow as he stopped in front of a large door and motioned toward it with his hand. "Lord Ansem's quarters, Lady," he addressed solemnly. "The General awaits you inside."
Beatrix opened the door and walked inside the room. A cold draft blew across her face as the opening was shut from behind, echoing loudly in the large room. She looked around and admired the valuable items that Lord Ansem kept himself surrounded by: ancient tapestries from both the Hallow Bastion and Wutai, magical relics from long extinct species of dragons and unicorns, ancient textbooks containing knowledge of everything from scientific experiments, to magic, to the study of great literature. Her Lord was truly a cultured and wise ruler, and she thanked the heavens to be under the command of such a fine individual. Past the desks and the bookcases and lamps and tapestries was a large bed, with its curtains folded inward. Beatrix tried to think of the best way to announce herself to the esteemed general, only to realized that he had already noticed her.
"Ah, General Beatrix. It has been so long."
His voice was deep and soothing, like that of a psychiatrist's when speaking to a suffering soul. However, the harsh battles and cold weather had put a rasp into it that would probably never fully heal. He sounded weak, but still dignified and strong in the mind. He was, as he had always been, an easy man to obey.
"Allow me to get up out of this bed," she heard him struggling with the inadequate strength of his own muscles, "so we may have this talk on a common level."
He opened the curtain and Beatrix saw him for the first time in almost ten years. He was tall, but now hunched; strong, but now deteriorating. His hair was a mesmerizing silver which seemed to make his robe, a deep white, luminescent. It was tied loose enough to reveal his chest, covered in bandages but obviously bruised. His legs were in a similar state. His arms had scars from blades from the shoulder to the wrist, a memento from his most recent battle that would stay with him until the day he died. Despite his ragged appearance, he managed himself to be graceful and worthy of respect. He owed much to his eyes, beautifully bright and youthful green, for this.
"You are as beautiful as you were the day I left, General," he told her in tone much like that of speaking to an old friend as he embraced her shortly. She may have thought he was cold, but she was glad to have him back. They were comrades.
"Pity fate did not present the same gift to you, General," Beatrix jested, nodding towards his bandaged ribcage. They smiled at each other.
"Well, I have had a rough week," he informed her understatedly.
"So tell me, what information do you have for me?" Beatrix asked.
"Just the same as always, work before pleasure," Sephiroth reminisced. "Well, General, I am afraid I come with bad news. The Wutainese are planning a strike. I learned of this while escaping their stronghold. They plan to attack from the west first, from the direction of the Rising Falls. They wish to distract us by attacking the village before they attack in greater numbers from the east, directly into the castle. Their goal is Ansem's life." He let his words hang in the air a moment before he continued on. "They do not know I have discovered this information, so an effective counterstrike may be planned with my full confidence."
"Thank you General," Beatrix replied, shocked at the thought of a recreation of the Great War, but hiding it under years of military training. "Do you know the time of the strike?"
"They are already on their way, and plan on attacking in eight days." Next Saturday, Beatrix thought. A plan immediately started to form in her mind.
"Would you like to aid in the preparations of this strike, General, since I assume you will not be on the battlefield?" Beatrix suggested.
"Not on the battlefield? Now now Lady Beatrix, I would not dream of sitting out on that battle," Sephiroth replied with a wink.
* * * * * *
"Oh my God, it's him," Cloud gasped as he walked into a small, musty building in a bad part of town. "I knew it. I knew he must have gotten in with Seifer," he commented, noting the slash on his face. He sat on a stool near Squall's bed and examined his wounds. "Is he going to be okay?"
"Yes, yes, he'll be fine," Aerith replied reassuringly, fetching a wet cloth and putting it on Squall's forehead. "He's pretty beat up, and he'll have a scar on his face, and he has some internal damage, but none of that should be lasting. But I'm so glad I found someone who knew who he is!" she exclaimed, smiling at Cloud.
"Why didn't you take him to the castle? Or to a doctor?" Cloud inquired.
"I've been studying healing magic for years, and I can say that I've become quite good at it," she said nonchalantly, while cleaning up the rest of Squall's face. "I noticed what was wrong with him right away, so I thought it best if I took care of him until he came to. Taking him to the castle never even crossed my mind, I didn't know they took in injuries there. I'm new in the area," she informed. "I am supposed to be working on something directly with Lord Ansem, but my contact never showed up for my meeting."
"Oh, you mean that day in the restaurant?"
"Yes," she said smiling and looking at her feet. She was embarrassed he'd remembered her.
As if sensing a tender moment between the two next to him, Squall chose the precise moment to revitalize himself by mumbling, "OOOi Noa?"
Cloud looked down into the eyes of his best friend, quietly rejoicing at his recovery. At this important moment in their friendship, and in this instant of closeness that neither had ever had with the other, all Cloud could vocalize was, "I have no idea what the hell you just said."
"OO," he mumbled and pointed at Cloud's chest. "An' R'noa?" Cloud got the point this time.
"No, Leonhart," he smiled. "No, there was nothing. She likes you and she's been worried sick about you since you ran off, you moody bastard."
'I deserved that,' Squall thought.
And with that he spent all the energy he had, and Squall fell back asleep. Cloud could have sworn he saw a smile start to appear on his friend's lips. 'I knew it,' he thought. 'Just a good girl.'
"So, ummm…" Aerith interrupted his thoughts. "Would you like to stay around for dinner? I'm sure I have stuff for a salad that I can whip up," Aerith suggested, smiling eagerly.
"Actually, that sounds great."
________________________________________________________________________
~Well, that's it for this chapter, be sure to look forward to the next one, and here's a preview of it to keep you interested! Squall recovers and settles the score with Seifer, this time with a large audience and Rinoa on his side. And what will Ansem's reaction be when he finds small, shadow-like creatures roaming around beneath the castle? Find out in the next chapter, From the Hearts of Shadows, coming soon! This one's where the real action starts!