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Diamond
Chapter Two
"But how? How the fuck did it happen?" yelled President Laguna Loire into the phone. He was alone in his office when he had received the news about the death of his foster niece.
"She was taking a bus to Balamb Garden. Apparently, the vehicle she was traveling on lost control and drove off into a ravine. The driver was having a heart attack. Only one person survived the crash, and he's in critical condition," the coroner replied.
Laguna put his hand to his forehead, covering his eyes. "Alright," he said gruffly. "Call if you get any more information." He dropped the phone.
Laguna realized that he was shuddering. Ellone, his only remaining family, was gone. His eyes started stinging with horror as he pictured her frail, broken body, lying among a mangled bus in a ditch. He squeezed his eyes shut and massaged his temples.
Never. He never wanted to think of that again. Laguna leaned against the cool glass of his office window, silent tears shining on his face. She had been like his daughter. She had called him "Uncle Laguna," and he had loved her. I loved her, and now she's gone. He had lost Raine, and now he had lost Ellone. Now I have nothing to lose.
He jumped as he heard knocks on his office door. "Come in!" he said hotly, quickly wiping his eyes.
It was Kiros. He stood in the doorway cautiously, looking at Laguna. "I heard about…" he said finally.
"Yes," Laguna said quietly. He didn't feel like anyone saying Ellone's name at present. "Is there something you need?"
"Not particularly," Kiros said. "I just thought I'd tell you that Ellone's funeral is in 3 days. You're going, right? It's going to be held here."
"Of course I'm going," Laguna murmured. "Tell them I'll pay for everything."
"I will," Kiros said sympathetically. "You gonna be OK?"
Laguna attempted a smile, but only succeeded in making himself look pained. "Sooner or later, Kiros, I'm sure I'll be fine."
Kiros nodded and started to leave. He didn't have a reason to doubt that Laguna would bounce back. But it was different this time. Laguna had now lost everything.
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Here Lies Ellone Loire
Ellone's funeral was on a windy autumn day in Esthar. Students in SeeD uniforms, various Esthar residents, and friends of Laguna Loire were gathered around her casket, bracing themselves against the cold.
Squall was careful not to let his face show any emotion. His face looked as though it had been set in stone. His friends were throwing curious glances at him, but he only had eyes for the mahogany casket lying in front of him.
As the casket was being lowered into the freshly dug earth, Laguna glanced at Squall's face. It was strange. He looked so familiar. "That boy looks so much like Raine," he remarked quietly to Kiros. He instantly regretted saying it. Now that the women in his life were gone, he was starting to see them everywhere.
"Yeah, I guess he does," Kiros said dubiously. "But half the kids here have brown hair and blue eyes. It's nothing special, Laguna."
"I know," Laguna admitted sadly.
Kiros patted his friend's back, trying to console him. I hope you'll smile again.
Rinoa gently tugged at Squall's sleeve. He ignored her. It was like Squall Leonhart wasn't really there, and there was an empty shell in his place. It hurt Rinoa so much that she refused to accept it as true.
Later that night, as Squall lay in bed and stared up at the ceiling, one word was reverberating in his brain, echoing and invading all his thoughts.
Sis…
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Laguna was having a hard time sleeping. He woke up continuously during the night, and when he finally did drift off into sleep, he had a dream.
Laguna was sitting in a Winhill field, gazing at Raine's grave again. The windmills lazily stirred the air, and bees were zooming among the flowers. All was well here. He wasn't sad. He didn't feel anything but pure contentment.
"Uncle Laguna!" he heard a voice call. He turned. Ellone was on the top of the hill, waving and smiling. "Hey!"
"Ellie!" he cried jovially. He hadn't been this happy in such a long time. His Ellie wasn't dead. She was right in front of him and smiling.
She hugged him tight. "I missed you so much. But I didn't come here just to say hi."
"Well, what is it?" an unsuspecting Laguna said. He was ready for anything she had to say. He felt like his normal self now - upbeat and cheerful. "It's good news, right?"
Ellone smiled enigmatically. "In a way." She settled herself next to him and began to tell her story.
"You have a son, Uncle Laguna," she said, without beating around the bush. "Raine had a baby after you left. Then she died."
Laguna's head was reeling from the way she had delivered this news. It was HORRIBLE of her! How could she just change Laguna's life so nonchalantly? There was a roaring inside Laguna's head, in his body, in his ears, but the only thing he could say was, "What?"
"I'm sorry you had to learn this way, Uncle Laguna, I was going to tell you…"
Laguna jumped up. "Wait! Why DIDN'T you tell me? This was more than 17 years ago! Why hasn't ANYONE told me? Why am I the LAST person to know about MY OWN SON!" He was yelling now, even though he didn't want to be. God damn, he was angry now.
Ellone was crying now. "I'm sorry, Uncle, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean for it to turn out like this!" she sobbed.
Laguna's face immediately softened, and he hugged her again. He hated yelling at people, especially the ones he cared about. "No, I'm sorry. It's just…it's hard to just learn about this now. There's still someone out there for me to love, and I didn't know it…" he said, his voice breaking.
"I was trying to change time," she explained. "I wanted to make things happen differently. I was trying to make Raine survive, and I was trying to make you come back, and…we'd all be a family again. Stupid of me, right?"
"No," he said. "Not stupid at all. In fact, I'm glad you tried. It's what I want, too."
"Well, I was wrong. You can't change time, no matter how much you want to. So…I was just going to let time take its course. But that didn't work. Obviously, I have to bring the two of you together."
Laguna's head was still spinning. A son. He had a son. He could hardly believe it. "What am I supposed to do now?" he whispered tearfully.
Ellone wrapped her arms around him. "You have a son, Uncle. You have a son, and he's beautiful."
"Tell me all about him," Laguna said breathlessly. His skin was tingling.
Ellone giggled. "You have to find all that out for yourself. I'm just here to let you know that he's out there."
"Please," he begged. "At least tell me his name." There was a yearning inside him that almost hurt.
She smiled again and started to disappear right in front of his eyes. But before she was entirely gone, she whispered something that infiltrated Laguna's ears like wind:
"Squall Leonhart."
When Laguna woke up, his face was wet with tears. Crying in my sleep? And I thought I couldn't get any crazier…
But it was odd: he was in a much better mood that day. He was confident that his dream was not really just a dream.
He called Kiros. "Tell 'em all that I'm taking the day off!" he announced grandly. He had two meetings today, but he couldn't care less now.
"Okay. You sound…better…" Kiros said awkwardly. "What are you up to now? It isn't anything crazy, is it?"
"I'll tell you later. Meet me at the field in ten."
Before Kiros got there, Laguna stood over Raine's grave. "I wish I had known," he said softly to her. "But now, I'll make things right. I swear to you."
Kiros appeared ten minutes later, looking very apprehensive. "Are you sure you're alright, Loire?"
"I'm fantastic, Kiros, and I'm going to tell you why," Laguna said, beaming. "I had a dream last night. In my dream, Ellone came up to me, alive and healthy. She told me…" he paused for dramatic license. "She told me that I have a son."
Kiros raised an eyebrow. "Laguna…have you taken into account that this was…a dream?" he said incredulously.
Laguna laughed. "It wasn't just a dream, Kiros. I know it."
"Laguna," Kiros said impatiently. "You've got to be kidding me." The last thing Kiros needed right now was an Outlandish Laguna Loire Plan.
"Can't you just believe me? Please, Kiros. I need this more than you know," Laguna implored.
Kiros sighed. "I swear to God, Loire, this better not be some wild goose chase…"
"So you'll help me? Great!" Laguna said, his face brightening. "This is going to be great, Kiros. I have a son. Do you wanna know his name?"
"Astonish me," Kiros said wearily.
"It's Squall Leonhart," Laguna replied, savoring the name. "And we are going to find him."
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Alrighty. It's gonna start getting interesting real fast. Until next time...(Note: I won't update until there are at least five reviews! So get on it!)
