Final Fantasy VIII: The Forgotten
DISCLAIMER: I own Aries! Remember…Death by spoonage!
Chapter II
The wooden like doors were now close. All was quiet…Nothing made sense. Well at least to Aries the Squall look-alike and Xu. However…Cid just sat there, Mindlessly staying quiet and being calm. For some thought…He knew quiet a lot on what the hell was going on. But now was not the time to talk about it.
"Come now, Aries. We must figure out what we have to do about your SeeD exam." Cid began to rear away from the big finding. Aries was just left, staring at the imprinted image. Was this really true? Or some sick joke? It was true that he had never seen the face of the older Squall. All Aries could truly remember was that lifeless look on his face. They both shared a slight passion for their loved ones. The Irony….Oh how this could not be true! What was he? A clone? A sibling? Would this even explain his so-called 'amnesia' of the past few months? What the fuck was truly going on?
"Aries, Now is not the time to worry about facial structure!" Cid finally let a voice of authority burst through his pinkishly wrinkled lips. Aries blinked for a moment, following a nod.
"…" No answer was received. Just the same confusion. More added to the mind of the raven haired look-alike.
"Now, Tomorrow is your field test. Since you qualified for all of your other rankings at Galbadia Garden, we have no choice but to put you towards your final induction." Cid carried on shuffling the papers around on his desk. Finally finding Aries', the old man laid it in to one of the drawers that were held along his desk. Slipping it in, the drawer was locked on the spot. Confidential no doubt about it.
"You and a few other candidates will be making there way to Galbadia tomorrow. Your test will begin once you soon get your orders. And you will also be accompanied by a SeeD." Cid carried on lecturing the young boy. He had no true thought on what had just happened. Maybe fate had taken its toll? Or maybe this was the reason why Aries didn't believe in fate.
"Yes sir." Aries replied, hesitating momentarily. He was breaking from the vivid thoughts what where running through his mind at that very moment. This all was just too much to take in.
"A Gil for your thoughts?"
"…Not really."
'Here we go…'
"C'mon I know there is."
'She never gives up…'
"You know I'm not going to stop-..."
'"You know I'm not going to stop."'
"Until I give in to you, My Sorceress (?)"
"Hey!"
"Now is that clear?" Cid held his head high, watching over the window what held the beautiful country before him.
"Yes. I'll work on the other option also, to avoid confusion." Aries replied in a malice like tone. Things had now calmed down in the office. Cid had decided to plan out what was to happen about his arrival and his long awaited SeeD exam. True, he would be one of the youngest people to ever take an exam (other than the beloved ex-instructor Quistis Trepe).
"Xu, You must not breath a word on this Façade" Cid lowered his head, somewhat as is he was staring at his shoes, asking the daughter like figure to keep quiet on this incident. Cid wanted to avoid confrontation on the young boy's past, along with many other questions. Xu gave a nod, staying silent as the confusion had begun to fade away from her face. She was trying to understand this connection what the look alike had with Cid. She was slightly jealous in a way; she never had truly seen Cid be so intimidated by someone's arrival nor with someone like him. The boy wasn't even famous! He was just a look alike rather than anything else! What was so big about it! Another look had embraced her fair like face. She became slightly angered as her lips coiled, wrinkling.
"Should I show HIM to the dormitory?" A cunning idea had sprung over her mind.
"I can manage…" Aries seemed to reply with out even thinking about it. He knew he would need help to find the dormitory area, but he was too stubborn to even ask. Damn! Xu's plan had failed. Giving a warm smile, she nodded and stood back in her former position.
"You are dismissed. By the way, try and keep out of sight for today. Weapons are kept away, do not resort to violence and on that fact, your love for blades and guns should come in handy on the mission. I know I shouldn't lecture you on this, but do not underestimate the mission you receive. What ever it is, look out for your partner." Cid had finally turned around to face the boy, giving a small nod of admittance; his eyes ran over the somewhat surprised look of Aries.
"Partner? No team?" Now this truly seemed to be awkward. Aries was just about to leave but, this was a much bigger deal. He figured that he would be left with a group of 3 or 4. Not just one more person.
"Your skills need not more people. You on your own should be enough. But, you need a SeeD to also come with you. And that I leave to the choice of your Commander." Nodding some, Aries turned and walked away. His eyes seem to take interest in the floor. He wondered why Cid thought so much of him, he was a normal kid right? Aries seemed to always dumb himself down to keep his ego from taking over. He did many things what made him in to the person he was today. Maybe it was for the best…then again was choosing to go to a different Garden than his childhood friends a smart move? The purple eyed boy twitched his eyebrow momentarily, as he passed Xu. The female SeeD didn't seem to take a liking to him, Aries could feel it…Something from inside him crawled, telling him about what was around him. Maybe he was just gifted? But even gifted children aren't so special…Right?
The hood had come back on once again. Aries took Cid's advice, he wanted to avoid any type of confrontation what involved the words 'Squall' and 'You look like'. Aries rested his pale coloured hand along the glass shell of the elevator. Watching the contraption lower him to the bottom floor, his eyes had ran over the beautiful like Garden. Even though this place was much smaller, Aries enjoyed it. It was peaceful and not so many students running around like they have a T-Rexaur chasing after them.
"?" Aries felt a slight jerk as the contraption came to a stop. 'Damnit! So much for trying to keep a low profile.' Aries felt his mind implode, he knew he was supposed to be out of sight, but this was inevitable, then again…maybe the hood would come to its work once again? If it had worked with Irvine and Zell (until he had gotten close) it should be able to do its work once again. Stepping back against the wall of the elevator, Aries lowered his head, feeling the bangs what were held to the sides of his head, fall on top of his forehead and hide his face. Well enough.
"Commander, Commander! Where art thou Commander?"
"…"
'If it's not one thing…It's another.'
"C'mon! Lighten up, would it kill you to smile?"
"Smile?"
'This again?'
"Yeah!…Would you like me to spell it for you, Commander?"
"If I smile, I have to kiss you in public…All over that dumb promise."
"So you do still remember!"
Aries had finally reached his dormitory. It took him a while to manage to sneak past everyone with out noticing the shocking truth. He had hoped that nothing would truly leave the walls of the Headmaster's office. Aries wasn't so worried about Zell. He figured that Zell would just sound that same loon who everyone knew. Well if times were same, Zell seemed to be. Looking around the corner of the hall, Aries was hiding behind the wall, trying to keep himself hidden from anyone. This was fun (!). Who thought that trying to stealth your way around the garden would be an inevitable chore? Seeing that no one was around, Aries took a deep breath and made a run for his dormitory. Trying to keep in mind what the number was, Aries dove out of the corner and clung on to his hood as he jolted towards the wooden door. Locking on to his goal, his eyes lighted up. '1023! My dorm!' Aries had to stop himself before he ended up getting a mouth full of wood. Nearly slipping as he came to a halt, Aries took out the cardkey what he was given. Proceeding his movements with complete perfection, Aries ran the white plastic object over the scanner of the door and heard a 'Click!'. He was in.