Chapter Eight
Family: the word had had always seemed alien to me for my entire life. I had seen many alterations of the word in my twenty years of living, I have had seen children foolishly, or perhaps desperately, relying on each other as they trekked across an entire continent to a home that, what would have had appeared at the time, was a better than the one Galbadia offered them. I have seen the works of an abusive and drunk father and the results of those works. I have seen the childish ways students at schools stuck together, thinking immaturely that they will be together for the rest of their lives, when in reality, they would be quick to betray each other through gossip and half baked lies.
When I was in love and devotion to Alladra, I was certain that I had found the true definition of family: a group of people, of any race, of any background and personality that lived for, and loved each other. That was the feeling I had under that moonlight on that night three years ago, when I proclaimed my undying love for that woman that I may or may not still love now.
I was so certain that my vision of family was a false one when Alladra left me for another student. What a fool I was! If I had only looked deeper, if I had only thrown aside my emotions at the time and the rage that swelled inside me, if I had only dug beneath the apparently hard surface, I would have had seen the truth behind Alladra's actions. If I had only looked deeper, I would have seen that Alladra was protecting me from her father, the most powerful man in Dollet, who would have killed me if he discovered of our relationship if only because of political ambitions. She loved me then, and I was a fool to throw that love away.
There is another form of family, besides an undying devotion of two lovers: it is that type of family that I share with Siegfred, Yuri and Vargos. When I was sitting idly and foolishly in that prison, thinking that this was the end, those three came for me: they came to rescue me from that darkness, and ever since our narrow escape, I had come to only one final conclusion.
With they're laughter, their fellowship, their kindness, and their misguided jokes, they had shown me that there was still a chance for me to have a family, for they had, knowingly or not, brought me into theirs. We became as close as brothers as our ship sailed for the northern Trabian continent, and snuck into the hidden Ragnarok sealed away in the Trabian forests.
And the more I stayed with them, the closer I came. And the more Alladra was unbounded, the more she was included into this intimate family of super humans, the more she became a sister in the group. The more we learned of Xhar, the quiet but wise warrior who became a half demon the day when the GAIA scientists injected cells of the brother of Diablos into him, the more we learned of the blind but sensitive and caring spearman Jin, the more I realized that I has been missing out on the greatest joy that we humans can experience.
The joy of being wanted and loved. Not even as a SeeD did I feel wanted, that others needed to rely on me, that others actually wanted to rely on me, that I had to rely on others. But that was not the case with this band of brothers and Alladra: I knew that they wanted me, that they wanted to rely on me, and I know I depend on them, I know now that I could never go on another day without them.
And the more I became wanted, the more I learned of the man who first saved Siegfred and his friends who in turn saved me. That man was Baron, and he too was a GAIA. He was of the apparently second generation of GAIAs. He was as a father to them all, being loud and outgoing, but at the same time wise and caring and more than willing to wrap his hand on them.
And the more I heard of him, this Baron, the more excited I became at the discovery that I had a family.
The more excited I became of having a family, the more hopeful that Alladra and I could forgive my foolish action.
Would she forgive me, though?
No…she could never forgive me, after the way I had treated her, the way I had reacted to her. It was never meant to be, for us to be united.
Never again will my hopes for her occur as they did under that starlit sky those years ago.
Never again will my dreams of her be done by my will…
-Ferin 'the Wolf' Alengar
Trabia; home to a once divided but proud society of warrior clansmen in ancient times, the snowy peaks are now no more than a challenge for daring climbers: the deadly winds, the almost infinite height and magnitude of the peaks, the way they seem to point to the heavens, it is a difficult task indeed for any climber or daredevil to ignore the cry of challenge that the Trabian mountains.
An old man, in his late fifties, sits on the edge of a secret cove within one of the mountains. His hair is jet black, with strands of gray and white. He wears a black kimono, strapped to him by various belts, with a decorative brown colored shoulder pad strapped to his left shoulder. His left sleeve is empty, hanging loosely at his side, with his left arm tucked into his robe.
The man's weapon, a katana by the name of Murasame, was sheathed and placed on a flat counter a few feet behind the man. The man was told by his father-in-law, who gave him the sword as a wedding gift nearly thirty years ago, that it was the supposed cursed brother of an ancient sword of legend, Masamune, that Murasame's wielder was a monk who nearly achieved enlightenment, but was betrayed by a close friend. Thus, the sword, sensing it's master's anguish, became a cursed blade, splitting gore and fluids at everything it touched.
The man never believed the tale: he was a Christian man, and did not believe in enlightenment, and needed to only trust in his God and his friends. The man, however, still admired the sword's craftsmanship and amazing durability.
"They should have been back by now. Nearly a week and Siegfred hasn't returned. Darn it kiddo, what did you get yourself into?" Suddenly, to answer the man's call, a stout man in a sleeveless sweater and long black pants ran into the cove.
"Baron!"
Baron turned, pulling on his large collar that covered nearly half of his face so it wouldn't choke him. "What is it Calvin?"
"Siegfred and the rest of them are back! And four more are with them!"
"Well don't just stand there man! Bring me to them!"
The two ran down a small maze of stone walls and steel floors, sliding down several ladders and initiating a code in other places to open the doors, until they reached the hangar where one of the four remaining Ragnaroks had just opened its back door.
"Siegfred! Yuri! Vargos!"
The swordsman merely chuckled as he hugged the old warrior. "No need to worry a thing Baron," Siegfred assured the old warrior, knowing well enough how he cared for them, even though he wasn't one to show such emotions in publics. "We can take of ourselves just fine. Besides, we brought more!"
"Four more!" Vargos added to the report as he flexed his shoulders.
"Well, where are they then?"
"On their way Baron" Yuri answered with a grin as he pointed his thumb in the direction of the Ragnarok. Almost immediately after the red clothed Xhar and the white robed spearman, Jin, appeared from the steel vessel.
"And who are they, Siegfred?"
"The blind one, that would be Jin, and the one that doesn't like to talk to is Xhar, right?"
The blindfolded spearman nodded in agreement. "That would be correct, Yuri. And forgive Xhar, but he does not speak much?"
"Xhar?" Baron asked, quite confused by the name.
"It's not his real name."
"Then what is it?"
"We don't know. He forgot it when they injected parts of Xhar into him." The look Baron gave him told them easily enough that it made no sense to him. "Xhar is the brother of Diablos."
"They inserted a guardian force into him?"
"Yes: they wanted to turn him into a demon that would obey them."
"They got half the wish" the half-demon muttered as he walked past them, heading into the main part of the facility.
"He doesn't talk much, now does he?" asked the slim Calvin.
"Not much. Being a half demon tends to make you a bit quiet."
"Where is Ferin and the girl?" asked Siegfred, although he demanded more than pondered. "He should have been here by now."
"He's here!" came the all too familiar voice of the Wolf as he exited from the vessel's bridge, holding a large metal box under his arm. Alladra walked slowly behind him, with a gym bag over her shoulder and under her arm.
"Ferin!" yelled Siegfred. "This is the oh so infamous Baron we've told you so much about."
Baron grinned, sensing the joke in the swordsman's voice. "Shut your trap Siegfred, before I knock that grin off your face."
Siegfred chuckled. "Sure thing Baron."
"Calvin-"
"Yes, Baron?"
"Close the hangar gates will 'ya?" The slim Para-Magic user nodded in agreement as he rushed into the main body of the facility to enter a series of codes to shut the long iron doors. As they screechily slammed tightly, Baron walked over to the Wolf to shake his hand eagerly.
"So what's your name Ferin?"
Ferin raised his eyebrows in confusion. "You just answered your question, old man" he answered harshly, not exactly impressed by this first impression. After what Siegfred and the others told Ferin about Baron, he was expecting their leader to be a bit wiser in his words and actions.
The old warrior chuckled. "Ah, that I did, that I did! Well, good to meet you kiddo." Ferin frowned a bit when Baron called him by the term. Fenrir was also not slow to call him pup, and Ferin believing he had rose above the rank of a child was not too keen to hear the title referred to him by every other senior he met. "Think nothin' of it kiddo. I call everybody I meet kiddo nowadays, even if they were fifty two. Now," he began as he approached Alladra, "who is this?"
"Alladra," the woman answered cheerfully, not at all insulted by the goofy manner of Baron.
"Alladra?" Baron said in a somewhat surprised manner. "You wouldn't happen to be Alladra Hemmingway by any chance, now would you? Eldest and only child of Senator Matthew Hemmingway of Dollet?"
"That's right."
"That's interesting."
"How so?" Ferin asked, approaching Baron.
"Hemmingway and I…we, uh, go way back."
"Really?" Alladra asked, wiping some wayward strands of hair from her face, "I don't remember my dad saying anything about you."
"Well, did you dad say much about anything?"
"Not really," she said with a chuckle.
"Well, there 'ya go then!" Baron paused as he once again loosed up his tight collar. "What do you guys say to a little tour of this hidden fort in this frozen wasteland, huh?"
"Sounds good to me" Vargos blurted out enthusiastically.
"Not you, you big buffoon! I meant Ferin and the new guys. You have some overdue maintenance work to get back to. Now," Baron said as he turned to face Ferin, Alladra and Jin, "let's get started…wait a minute, where's that Xer fellow?"
"Xhar" Ferin corrected.
"Xhar then, sorry. Where did he run off to?"
"Inside" Jin answered. "He doesn't like big groups."
Baron slapped a stern look onto his face. "Well, go get him Jin, because he's going to have to know this place from top to bottom." Nodding in agreement, the spearman let go of his belongings and ran off into the facility to fetch Xhar. A few minutes later, the two appeared the half-demon's head down in obvious anger. "Now that we all decided to show up, let's get this show on the road!"
With all four new additions to the rag team of GAIA survivors in check, Baron led them into the central area of the facility, a sort of bridge like area that divided itself like a twelve pointed star to six other areas, hovering high above several floors.
"This is an ancient fortress that I think was created by the Ancient Centra Empire a few thousand years before they're destruction," the tour guide began, his hands raised how to motion his guests to look up at the circular ceiling. "It was probably meant as a safe haven for them to run to from whatever force it was that they predicted would destroy them. As you can probably guess, they never got to it…or as large a group as they intended to."
"What makes you think the Centra built this?" Ferin asked, always the lover of history and quite the debater.
"Well kiddo, if you look at the runes that we get to see further down the tour, they're pretty similar to the ones at the ruins at the Centra continent."
Ferin wasn't the only one with questions. Xhar also butted in. "And what convinces you that it was meant as a safe haven? Couldn't it have been just a fortress to watch over Trabia?"
"It could, but they have food storages here that are pretty darn well preserved, and I'm no Centra historian or anything of the sort, so you can just take my guesses at a grain of salt, but I doubt they would be so keen on preserving food if it was just a regular old fort." Nodding in agreement, the tour group allowed their guide to take them at a three o' clock, into a small hallway.
"These are the runes I told you about kiddo," Baron alerted to Ferin, patting on a series of symbols. Ferin rubbed his chin, caught well in thought, staring at the symbols.
"Oh no, I know that look," Alladra alerted the others. "He's going to be here all day now, looking and debating on these runes."
"Well, we can't have that then!" Jin decided. Approaching from behind, the white robed spearman grabbed Ferin's hands. "Where to next?"
"Hey! Let me go!"
"Not a chance Ferin. Now, Baron, where we heading off to now?"
"The way we came. Now you get to see the clones."
"The clones!" everyone asked in unison.
The chamber where the clones were contained in their egg shaped pods was thirty four below the main deck of the ancient Centra fortress. Baron told the group that according to documentation and files he found in the fortress, there were a thousand clones in hibernation.
"You kiddos see that plug that's in the back of their heads? Those plugs are connected to some sort of massive hard drive somewhere deep below us. They are constantly being filled with information; combat tactics, politics, maneuvers, weather patterns, the slightest change in weather around here, these guys probably know more things about what happened than we do!"
"Then why don't we just wake them up and ask them stuff?" Alladra asked.
"Simple: we can't. They are in such a deep hibernation that if we forced them to awaken they'll probably die. You can't be asleep for thousands of years and just wake up. They'll awaken only when the database tells them to."
"And when will the database tell them to?" Jin questioned.
Baron shrugged in defeat. "Hell if I know! Anyways, these guys are meant as what was to be the ultimate soldiers: the best guys for the Centra to be their bodyguards if they got here."
"Good to have in a firefight, I'm guessing."
"You bet. I'm guessing one of these guys equals about twenty or so regular troops."
"Hold it!" Ferin alerted the others, stopping the tour in its tracks. "You mean to tell me that there are probably about twenty thousand worth of soldiers that have been sleeping under our noses for God knows how long, could of have woken up at any moment and cause devastation on a level that could probably only be compared to a Sorceress?"
Baron let out a loud laugh. "Pretty screwed up, isn't it kiddo?"
The helicopter hummed loudly as it landed on the rainy balcony of Balamb Garden. A line of SeeDs stood as a body of impenetrable walls as the Senator walked onto the balcony. An attendant was already outside the door of the copter, a black umbrella stretched to keep the Senator dry. Commander Squall Leonhart and his second in command, Zell Dincht, were waiting for the Senator under the arch that would lead into the main interior of the prestigious academy.
"Kind of odd timing for that Senator to come up, don't you think?" Zell whispered to his old friend, barely moving his lips but still having his dialect intelligible. It was an old trick the martial artist mastered back in his days of when he was just a student, and it was one that saved him many times from detention with the Disciplinary Committee, although sometimes even that wasn't enough to save him away from Ferin's careful eye.
Squall nodded in agreement. Quickly the Senator approached the two, and the Commander and his second in command gave the customary salute. "It is good to see you Senator Hemmingway, although I must admit we were not expecting you tonight."
"There is no such thing as odd timing for a politician, Commander." A few SeeDs appeared behind their Commander, opening the large door, motioning the three to enter. "I am surprised that you were able to repair the Garden so quickly after Ferin's second assault on Balamb, Commander."
"Thank you for the compliment Senator, but there was essentially nothing to repair. They attacked only what they needed, and left."
"The casualties among the students must be high, I'm sure."
"Actually, no. I was as surprised as I'm sure you will be when I was informed on my return after looking for your daughter that no students were killed. Only the bodyguards I had recently hired from Dollet."
By then they had reached Squall's office, which was located on the third floor, adjacent to Cid's old office. "That is a shock, although of which kind I am finding hard to determine. Well, now that we're at your office, let me get down to business. I wish to hire SeeDs."
"For what purpose, Senator?"
"As you know, I am head financer of RA-SHIN, which is the head manufacturer of nearly every type of war machines available. Well, RA-SHIN is ready to announce some very big news in a month, and I am to be the one to announce it. However, I fear for my safety. I cannot help but feel that the recent turn of events that have transpired are somehow connected to my welfare."
"Well then," began Squall as he reached into his draw to bring out the proper documentation, "how many do you wish to hire?"
"Just three…"
"Three?" Squall said with a surprised look.
"Three…yourself, Mr. Zell Dincht here, and your fiancé, Rinoa. I want the best, and who could possibly be greater than the ones who saved the world no sooner than a few years ago?"
"I know there was something odd going on!" Zell proclaimed to his two friends a few hours after the Senator left Balamb for his mansion in Dollet. "It just so happens that right when we discover that Cid is performing experiments, RA-SHIN prepares to announce something big."
"And Senator Hemmingway wants us to protect him while this is going on. These things have to be connected somehow Squall."
However, Squall wasn't convinced. "RA-SHIN has announced plenty of big things in the past before, like when they started those Okam reactors, or the new version of the Golem tanks. It's probably just another weapon announcement."
"The question is Squall," Rinoa asked her lover, "What is it?"
Murasame came crashing down on Edomfray, the blade and katana pushing their owner's against their foe, the screeching of metal filling the dueling chamber. Baron leaped away from the conflict, but it was evident that it wasn't a retreat as he charged towards Ferin again, striking at the him in an offensive matter, giving the Wolf enough time to only parry the blade. It was not long until Ferin dropped his blade, and was up against the wall, with Murasame's edge pointing against his throat.
But this was no battle to the death. Baron sheathed his ancient blade, and handed Edomfray to his newest student. "Not bad kid, but you didn't react fast enough."
"And you acted too fast yourself."
"No excuses, remember that kiddo. Now, get yourself some water, will 'ya?" Grunting in agreement, if a grunt could be considered an intelligent means of communication, Ferin wiped some sweat off his brow and took a half empty water bottle from the stands.
"An odd weapon, that Edomfray is."
"What's that?"
"Or an odd choice. You're not familiar with it, now are you?"
"No, not really."
"You treat it as if it was a hammer...like you wanted to smash my brains out. But swords aren't for bashing: they're for slicing! Why bash when you can slice?"
"I guess that I'm still used to my old buster sword?"
"A buster sword? Kid, how many of you youngsters use those things?"
"I would say quite a few by your tone."
"Well back in my day, everyone used buster swords. Young and stupid, that's what we were. Thinking we could use it like that ancient hero."
"The Nameless, you mean?"
"Yeah, that's the one; the one who stopped that Harsoph guy, right?" Ferin nodded, confirming Baron's suspicion. "Were you any good with it?"
"With what? The Buster Sword?"
"Yeah, well were ya? You probably were: you SeeDs, you train in one weapon for most of your life, don't you?"
"Not really, no. We train a little bit in all types of weapons, but we choose one weapon we prefer."
"So I guess that leaves one question then: why the Buster Sword?"
Ferin shrugged. "It just felt right."
"And Edomfray doesn't, right?"
"No…I mean, yes it did, it felt like second skin, but theres something about the Buster that makes me, well, you know."
"Whole?"
"Yeah, that's it."
"Wait here kiddo. I think I know what 'ya need." With that Baron went behind a counter into the nearby armory. The sound of gears moving slots of nearly a thousand weapons arrived in Ferin's ears, and in a moment Baron came back with a large, but familiar weapon over his shoulder: a buster sword with angelic wings imprinted at the hilt. "Now let's see how ya do with something you're good at, eh?"
They dueled a second time, and it didn't last nearly as long as the first. Within seven minutes, Murasame was on the ground, away from its master's grip, and the buster sword was pointed at Baron, who was on the ground. "Darnit kiddo, you know you're buster swords! Now help me up!" Ferin dropped the buster sword to the ground as he helped the old man to his feet. "Now that we got that out of the way, there should be something that you know."
"And what would that be?"
"Alladra's father-"
"Yeah, what about him? You said you knew him, didn't you?"
"Yes I did, but not in the way I told her yesterday."
"Well, in what way did you know him?"
"He started GAIA."
"What? No, no Cid did."
"Cid continued it. It was Hemmingway that forced him to continue it."
"How?"
"Well from what I understand, NORG didn't give Cid all of the funding. Hemmingway gave a big dose of it as well, and it was under the condition that there would be a third generation of GAIA."
"Why?"
"Did he start it? Power…the man loves power that much should be evident since he unofficially own RA-SHIN."
"Everything seems to lead back to power, now doesn't it?"
"Nah…it leads back to the apple and the snake."
"If you believe in God."
"Which I do."
"And I don't."
"And from what I take it, neither in Alladra."
"You stay out of this!"
"You don't think I see that hurt in both of you two? Don't you think I heard what you said to her last night?"
You remember well the conversation you and Alladra shared last night; more than you wished. So many things said, so many scars revealed.
It was midnight, and you were just getting ready for bed. You had finished the last of your dinner, which you barely touched when Calvin prepared it for everyone. Everyone sensed your hurt, but no one wanted to get involved in it.
Everyone but Alladra, and they knew that was more than enough.
A knock came on the door as you took off your trench coat, and without thinking, you answered it. Alladra stood in the hallway, her hands at her hips as she tapped her naked feet impatiently. "Well?"
"Well what?" you said with a yawn.
"What was up with you at dinner?"
"What do you mean, what was up with me at dinner?"
"Ferin, don't play dumb with me. You barely touched your soup. What's up with you? You laugh and holler when you don't have to look directly at me?"
"It's not that…"
"Then what is it?" she demanded out of you as she made her way into your room. "Why is it that you won't talk to me anymore?"
"Oh, where do you want me to start?" you began in a dark sarcastic tone. "How about three years ago? How about that night when I got on my knees like a slave, and professed that 'you were the love of my life, that I would protect and love you and only you until the day I die?' Remember that?"
"Ferin…"
"Don't Ferin me, you bitch! I loved you Alladra, I would have done anything for you! And what did you do in return? You dumped me the next day to screw some other punk! Oh, I bet you fucked him up real good, now didn't you? I bet you had a good time screwing his brains out, now did ya?" Alladra didn't reply, crying with her head bowed down in tears. "Well did you enjoy it you slut? Did you!"
"Yeah…"she said with a tear-covered smirk. "I had a lot of fun with him, fucking him up really good. He was never as good as you, Ferin."
"Fine! I don't give a god damn fuck about you anyways! You can get every STD known to man and I wouldn't give a shit!"
"Fine Ferin, be that way!" With that, she ran off, her face full of tears, unable to face you any longer.
By the time she was gone, you felt a lump in your stomach when you realized that you said the all worst things to the only person you ever loved, and who ever loved you back. You said all the things that you never wanted to say her. You loved her with all your heart then, and she should know that you still love her now.
Now, it seemed nothing could change. It seemed that it was all over.
You threw up.
"Do you really think that she had fun having sex with that other man, Ferin? Do you honestly believe that in your heart?"
"…No."
"You're hurting man, I know it; I was there too. See, I was in the first Sorceress War, a platoon leader for Galbadia. I had a wife and kid, brand new son born right out of his mom. I promised her, before I went on my tour of duty, that I would see her again. Well, as anyone would come and tell you, I don't keep promises real well. She died a week before I came home. Now Ferin, I had my chance: I lived ten years all alone, all mourning and crying inside, wishing I had made a different choice then. I didn't HAVE to go to battle, but I did anyways. If I didn't, I would probably be with her right now, but I know that God put me here, in this spot at this exact time and place for a reason, and I am glad for doing His will kiddo. Now Ferin, you go talk to Alladra. Tell her you do love her. Tell her that you understand why she left you."
"That's the thing Baron: I don't know why I left."
"Then you know nothing about her dad. Her dad has killed people over politics. Think how it would look if it leaked out that his only daughter was dating somebody from the slums, hmm? It wouldn't look good on his rep, and since Cid still owed him big time for that hulleva of Gil he owed him, you would be six feet under right now if she continued the relationship. Now, she may have stopped dating you, she may of stopped holding your hand, she may have stopped putting her hands on your rough cheeks, she may have stopped kissing you, but I know that she never stopped loving you. And I know the same is for you. Now, for your sake, go to her. Now."
Ferin never ran faster in his entire life.
