Author's Note: Sorry it took so long for me to update this! I got caught up in finals, then hit with a massive case of writers block! This is rapidly approaching the end of the story, though. Maybe another two chapters.

Chapter 21

It was the absolute worst scene that Squall could have imagined walking in on.

As Zell literally knocked the door to the study off of its hinges, the very first sight that greeted Squall was that of Kylah, pinned against the desk, and Seifer relentlessly holding her down. Her shirt had been ripped open in the front, and Seifer was smoothly reaching for the buckle of her pants.

The normally calm and collected SeeD commander literally saw red.

So angry was he that he hardly noticed the deafening sound of Exeter dealing with one of the three thugs assigned to that room. The sound was, however, enough to draw the attention of both Kylah and Seifer.

"Let her go, Seifer—" Squall started to say, but the statement proved unnecessary.

Kylah used the distraction to her advantage, taunted Seifer briefly, then brought one swift knee directly into Seifer's groin. With a strangled yelp, Seifer released her and took a dizzied step backwards, clutching at the injury. Breathless, he fell to the ground and doubled over, looking like he might vomit at any moment.

Squall wasted no time in reaching Kylah's side. "Are you okay?" he asked, looking her over.

Easing herself away from the desk, Kylah rubbed her lower back painfully. "I'm alright," she assured him. "Just a little banged up. I swear, it was like fighting a behemoth," she grumbled, trying to roll stiffness and soreness out of her limbs. She paused to glare down at Seifer. With great ceremony, she heaved one booted foot back and kicked him firmly in the kidney. "Next time pick on someone your own size," she said, firmly.

From the floor, Seifer rolled over, looked up at her and laughed. "Oh, I'm not done with you yet," he said, struggling to reach for her.

Before Kylah could react, Squall pulled her well out of Seifer's range. "I'd carry you out of here, but I don't think my shoulder can manage it," he said, sounding apologetic. Briefly, he looked her over, then shrugged out of his jacket. "Put this on," he said, tossing it to her. She obeyed without argument, since she was already feeling quite exposed in what was left of her shirt.

A loud noise in the hallway alerted them to the fact that it was only a matter of time before they were in a hot situation again. "We need to get out of here," Quistis said. She turned and looked at President Caraway and the Deraldis. "President Loire has offered the three of you refuge in Esthar if you feel that Deling City is not a safe place to be at the moment," she said kindly. Another noise sounded outside. "I would advise taking him up on it, at least for the time being."

"President Loire is very kind," Caraway said, graciously. "You'll have no arguments from me on that arrangement for now."

Seifer was struggling back to his feet by now, though having some difficulty managing it. "Run, run, run!" he cried, gleefully. "You can run, but you can't get away!"

"I think we can for now!" Zell said. He had taken the opportunity to open up the passage in the corner of the room. "Let's get the heck out of here and back to the Ragnarok before we bite off more than we can chew."

"Mr. President," Irvine said, bowing and gesturing toward the passage with a flourish. "Ambassador Deraldi, Mrs. Deraldi." Gratefully, the three of them passed by him and into the passage. Zell, Selphie, and Quistis were hot on their heels.

"Here," Irvine offered, scooping Kylah up before she could argue. "You're not moving too fast right now, and Squall is in no position to be carrying you." He flashed Squall a grin. "I promise, I'm not getting fresh with her."

Squall rolled his eyes. "Let's just get out of here," he said. Irvine nodded in response, and took off for the passage. Squall slammed it shut behind them, looking around as soon as the door was shut. Locating a stray metal rod lying near the stairs, he wedged in the door, making it nearly impossible to reopen. "I don't think that'll keep them occupied forever, but it'll buy us time. Now let's GO!"

A couple of hours later, the tired-looking group landed at the airstation in Esthar. They were both surprised and relieved to see a presidential caravan waiting to take them back to the palace.

Squall raised Kylah's chin gently, wincing at the bruises on the underside of her chin, and down along the sides of her neck. "You need to get to the hospital ward in the palace and have that looked at," he said, firmly.

Vehemently, Kylah shook her head. "No," she said. "It's really not as bad as it looks, and I have a lot that I need to tell you all. Right now, we need to get straight to the palace and find Laguna." Kylah's tone held a note of urgency, and left no room for arguments.

Several moments passed as Squall looked at her, a silent battle of wills passing between them. Selphie and Irvine exchanged amused looks, wondering which one's stubborn streak would win out. Finally, Squall nodded, and pointed to one of the cars. "Let's go, then," he said, sighing with resignation. He then offered her a stern look. "But as soon as we're done talking to Laguna, you're getting that looked at."

It took them only minutes to arrive at the palace. Once they arrived, presidential aids whisked President Caraway and the Deraldis off to guest suites elsewhere in the palace, and the SeeD company headed up the lifts to the top floor. As they walked through the door of the presidential office, Laguna looked up from his desk. His eyes widened as he looked Kylah up and down. "You look like you've been fighting with an elnoyle," he said, raising both brows in surprise.

Kylah grinned. "Yeah, well," she said, a bit smugly, "I completely ruined the other guy's weekend, so it's a good tradeoff."

Even Quistis couldn't resist a small smile. "I don't think the other guy will be having any kind of romantic thoughts about anyone for a very long, long time after meeting up with Kylah," she said, examining her nails.

Laguna looked back and forth between them for a long moment. "What did happen?" he finally asked.

Wearily, Kylah sank down onto the couch on one side of Laguna's office. "Sit down, and I'll tell all of you about it."

Everyone followed her lead, taking different positions around the office. Laguna in his desk chair. Selphie and Quistis both perched on the edge of his desk. Irvine leaned against a nearby wall, Zell energetically shadow-boxing in the corner. Squall took a seat beside of Kylah, and she took the opportunity to lean her battered body back against him comfortably.

"I have a lot to tell you all," she began, "and not all of it is going to be easy to hear." She took a deep, steadying breath, then launched into her story. She told them of her captivity in Deling City, and her subsequent encounter with Seifer Almsay. She described Seifer's maniacal attitude, how he had figured out her true identity, and used that knowledge to taunt and try to intimidate her. From there, she started into the deeper details of their conversation. She told them all the things Seifer had told her; how he had been behind the attack on the treaty signing. She spoke of his vendetta against Squall. And slowly, carefully, and without too many details, she described his story of Rinoa's death, and how he had killed her as she tried to protect Cassidy, his real target.

As she neared the end of her tale, she briefly glanced up at Squall. His lips were pressed firmly together, fury rolling in his blue eyes. Kylah felt a bit conflicted over Squall's apparent rage. On one hand, it felt a little odd to her to see him so angry over another woman. On the other hand, he had loved Rinoa and always would. It seemed only natural that he would be angry over this new revelation… right?

"That's some pretty heavy stuff," Zell mused when Kylah had finished.

"So, like," Irvine spoke up, "where do we go from here? Deling City was pretty well taken over by Punishment Syndicate when we left."

"Where did they get that many members anyway?" Selphie interjected.

Through all of this, everyone was carefully avoiding meeting Squall's gaze. For his part, he kept silent, dealing in his own way with the revelations that had been thrown at him. Carefully, he stood to his feet and strode across the room, refusing to look at anyone. He did pause briefly as he passed by Laguna, and glanced at him long enough to ask a single, terse question. "Cass?"

Laguna glanced up sharply, as Squall had abruptly pulled him from a numb shock. He shook his head to clear it, and then replied. "She's with Ellone. And we have guards posted around her room around the clock."

Satisfied that Cassidy was safe for now, Squall nodded and stepped over to the window. "I'll ask Elle if I can stay in there tonight, too," he said, folding his arms over his chest and gazing silently over the city of Esthar.

"Laguna," Kylah spoke up, carefully eyeing Squall even as she spoke to his father, "we need to tighten security on you, too. Squall's paternity isn't exactly a secret anymore, and that means that you're in more danger than you ever have been."

Laguna, too, shot his son a covert glance, then turned his gaze back to Kylah. Wrinkling his nose, he nodded. "I'm still not sure how that got out," he said with a heavy sigh.

A slightly bemused expression crossed Kylah's face as she raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I don't know," she said, dryly. "Only half of the hospital wing heard you announce it when Squall was taken in after the attack…"

Squall, by this time, had tuned everyone out. His mind was completely focused on the story that Kylah had told, and the terrible revelation that had come with it. It hadn't been some nameless face that had killed Rinoa two years ago – it had been Seifer, in cold blood. And even more chilling was knowing that he had taken Rinoa's life, but still failed at his real objective of killing Cassidy.

Though he fought hard against it, Squall's mind continually played scenarios over and over again that could have left things different. If he had done something differently, maybe Rinoa would still be alive. If he had gone with them to the park that day, like she had asked. If he hadn't insisted on keeping such a public and dangerous occupation.

He couldn't shake the feeling that somehow it was his fault.

As Squall stood in contemplative silence by himself, Laguna covertly watched him. Instinctively, he knew what was going through the younger man's mind. Maybe it was because he was his father. Maybe it was a case of a sixth sense of sorts firing away.

Or maybe it was just because he'd been there himself.

Silently, Laguna caught Kylah's eye and subtly glanced at Squall. He then shifted his gaze around to the other SeeD scattered about the room, and nodded his head just a touch toward the door. Kylah, understanding his silent request, nodded briefly in return, and listened as Zell finished a long monologue about what their next move should be.

"For the moment," she said, stretching, "my next move is going to be to head to the hospital wing and get some pain killers. Then I think a nice, hot bath is in my future." A bit painfully, Kylah rose to her feet, shot her friends a pointed look, then nodded at the door, indicating that they should follow in suit. On cue, each and every one of them made up an excuse as to why they needed to leave, and quietly exited the presidential office.

Squall never noticed that anyone had left, so wrapped up was he in his own thoughts. Laguna silently watched him for a moment, then stood to his feet, strode over and stood next to him to look out over the bustling city of Esthar. "Quite a view isn't it," Laguna said, breaking the silence.

Slightly startled, Squall looked up. Mutely, he nodded. Seconds later, it dawned on him how quiet the office had gotten. "Where did everyone go?" he asked, glancing around over his shoulder.

Laguna grinned. He didn't think Squall had been paying attention. "Kylah said something about painkillers and a hot bath, and everyone else followed suit."

Squall nodded again, frowning just slightly. "Yeah, Seifer really roughed her up," he said, a dark look filtering into his eyes again.

Another moment of silence passed between them, until Laguna once again broke it. "It wasn't your fault, you know," he said, softly.

The younger man looked up sharply. "What are you talking about?" he asked, while inside wondering if Laguna had somehow developed the ability to read minds.

Laguna simply continued to gaze out the window. "Rinoa. It wasn't your fault that she died, so don't go blaming yourself for it, whatever Seifer said to Kylah."

Squall stared at him for several long, silent moments. Finally, he turned his attention back to the window. "How did you know what I was thinking?" he asked, sounding a little tired and frustrated.

There was no answer for quite a while. Finally, Laguna swallowed hard and looked away. "Because I spent over twenty years blaming myself for what I thought I might have been able to prevent," he said, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Sharply, Squall shot a look back at him. He couldn't speak, could only stare at his father speculatively. It had never occurred to him that anyone would understand how he felt right now, certainly not Laguna Loire. Suddenly, he began to realize that he and his father had more in common than he would ever care to admit.

Sighing, Squall folded his arms over his chest. "If I had gone with her that day, it might not have happened."

"Might is a pretty vague word," Laguna replied, folding his own arms in an unconscious gesture. "If you had gone, it might have been Cassidy that you lost instead of Rinoa." He paused and shot him a wry grin. "As Ellone is pretty fond of telling me, you can't live your life for what 'might' have happened." He shrugged. "If I had gone back to Winhill with Elle, you 'might' have had a completely different life and never even met Rinoa."

Squall sighed wearily. "Didn't we cover that a few days ago?" he asked, shooting Laguna a dark look.

Laguna thought it over, then shrugged. "Ah, probably," he admitted, waving Squall's annoyance away. "My point is, don't blame yourself for things that you might or might not have been able to change. Leave the past in the past. Concentrate on the future. That's what's important."

"As I see it," he continued, grin spreading over his handsome face, "there's a gorgeous girl waiting downstairs for you, and an even prettier and younger girl also waiting for you to tell her goodnight. You've got a pretty good present and future."

After a few silent moments, Squall replied. "I'll think about it," he conceded, looking out the window. Another beat passed before he turned to Laguna. "Where did all of that philosophical advice come from anyway? That doesn't sound like you."

Boyishly, Laguna reached up to scratch his head. "From Ellone," he admitted. A soft sadness passed across his eyes, just briefly. "She reminds me of that same thing every single August," he admitted, before turning away from the window and walking over to his desk.

August… Squall thought, watching his father contemplatively. My birthday. For the first time ever, Squall felt some sort of connection to Laguna. They really were alike. Both had loved, both had lost. And deep down, both knew what it was like to wonder if there was anything that they could have done to make things turn out differently.

As he passed by Laguna's desk, Squall reached out and briefly clapped the older man on the shoulder as he bent over some paperwork scattered across the desktop. "I'll catch you in the morning," he said, briefly squeezing Laguna's shoulder. He released the small, brief contact, then headed toward the door and quietly exited.

The smallest of smiles tugged at Laguna's lips as he watched Squall walk away. The smile blossomed into a grin as the younger man left the room and the door slid closed. Laguna sat, grinning like an idiot at the closed door for several moments before he glanced over at the picture on his desk.

"Well," he said, "I'm making progress."

Raine only smiled in response.

Late that night, Kylah was settling dreamily beneath the covers in her room. It had been an incredibly long day, and the bed in Esthar felt nearly as good as the one she had at home in Balamb Garden. The mild painkillers that she had gotten from the nurse in the hospital ward had helped immensely, as had the hot bath she had taken. A tiny, blissful smile touched her lips as she remembered how Squall, bless him, had braved squeals, whistles, and catcalls from their friends to join her in the bath, bringing champagne with him.

At least the day had ended on a pleasant note.

Now she was settled cozily in bed, just on the verge of sleep. She could hear the snufflings and shufflings of Quistis and Selphie in the darkened room as the two of them also began to settle down to sleep. After several moments, she had nearly dozed off when Selphie's voice pierced the silent darkness.

"Kylah?" she called softly across the room. "I have a question…"

Yawning sleepily, Kylah rubbed her eyes. "What's that, Selph?" she asked, fighting to stay awake long enough to answer.

"I've wanted to know this for a while, and I figure you're in the best position to tell me, so I'll ask you." Selphie paused, and to Kylah it sounded distinctly as if she was trying hard not to laugh. "Is it true that a man's gunblade is in direct proportion to the size of his—"

"Selphie!" Kylah cried, her cheeks flushing a hot crimson. Next to her, she heard a distinct snort, and the bed began to vibrate as Quistis fought hard against her own laughter.

"What!" Selphie asked, sitting up in her bed. "I've always wondered about Squall. He's so cool and detached most of the time, I figure that he's a tiger in the bed—"

"SELPHIE!" she interjected again, burying her face under the pillow in mortification. By now, Quistis was making no attempts to hide her howling laughter.

"Oh, come on!" Selphie coaxed. She slid out of her bead and bounced over to jump on the end of Kylah's. "I share stuff with you about Irvine! It's only fair!"

Kylah peered at her from beneath her pillow. "You say that as if I want to hear those kinds of things about Irvine."

Quistis began pounding the bed with laughter, tears streaming down her face.

"What the heck is going on in here?" a sleepy voice called from the doorway. All three women looked up to see a tousled and annoyed-looking Irvine peering into the room. "You three are loud. What are you doing?"

Kylah offered Selphie a smug smile, and promptly retaliated against her for the mortification she'd been subjected to. "We were just talking about your sex life," she said, smiling sweetly at Selphie. "Just what is that birthmark in the shape of?

The color drained from Selphie's face, and she shot Irvine a sharp, "deer in the headlights" look. Irvine's cheeks flushed and his eyes narrowed at Selphie. "Good night," he said sternly, just before he slammed the door behind him.

Dead silence rang in the room for several moments, as Selphie sat still, wondering what she should do. Finally, she dared to look over at Kylah and Quistis, and found them both shaking with silent laughter. "Not funny!" she cried, flouncing back over to her own bed.

Wiping the tears of laughter from her cheeks, Quistis sat up and looked over at her. "I hate to tell you this, Selphie," she chuckled, "but I think you deserved that."

"And you have no more troops to spare than that?" Squall asked, peering across the conference room table at Laguna.

The president of Esthar and the members of SeeD currently stationed in the city were all gathered in a small conference room, crowded around a world map that had been spread across the table. Their goal was to figure out a way to defend Esthar against a Galbadian/Punishment Syndicate attack if it came to that, and by now all looked flustered, frustrated, and more than a little tired.

Laguna dragged a hand through his hair. "That's it," he said, sounding a bit helpless. "Our troops were really depleted after the Lunar Cry, and we just haven't been able to recover as fast as we'd like."

Kylah's eyes scanned over the numbers. "If it's just Punishment Syndicate that comes," she mused, trailing her finger down the page in front of her, "then it will probably be more than enough. But if they bring the Galbadian Army too…"

"…Then we're screwed!" Selphie finished up, cheerily.

"We're screwed, then," spoke up a voice from the door. Everyone turned to find Kiros and Ward walking into the room, grim expressions on their faces. "Here," he said, handing Laguna a sheaf of papers. "Latest intelligence report."

Laguna's green eyes glanced over the pages, and his face went pale. Softly, he sword under his breath, uttering a word that raised even Kylah's brow. "Entire Galbadian army," he muttered, tossing the papers down on the table. "Headed right for us, with Seifer in the lead. If they keep their current heading, they'll land on the cliffs on the eastern part of the continent, passing right by the Lunar Gate."

"ETA?" Quistis asked, gazing down at the map.

"Two hours," Kiros responded, sounding glum.

"Then let's not stand around with our hands in our pockets looking depressed," Squall spoke up, stepping over to the table. This was a military operation. While Kylah shone in the political and diplomatic arena, military was his turf. "Kiros," he said, looking over at the older man. "Send out an order for any and all able companies to gather at the eastern edge of the city. Tell them to be battle ready."

He then turned to his teammates. "You guys be ready to head into battle too. We're going to support the Estharian army as best we can." His gaze paused, resting on Kylah. "Get on the phone and call Cid," he said, looking her directly in the eyes. "Tell him we need backup, and pronto. He'll know what you mean."

Fighting back a smile of pride, Kylah paused long enough to salute, then strode briskly out of the room.

Finally, Squall turned to Laguna. "Mr. President," he began, standing tall and firm, unafraid of what was to come. "With your permission, I would like to lead your army into this battle." His eyes darkened, expression grim. "If it's me that Seifer wants, then it's me that Seifer will get."