~Squall~
Waiting in the office with the others anxiously, my mind continues to fight me with flashes of what I saw as Noctis. Seeing Prompto injured, reviving him, and more importantly, seeing him possibly see me for the first time. I try and shake the images out of my head, but they are relentless, feeding into my interest in the blonde stranger more and more with every passing breath. Knowing he was alright was all I had to go on at the moment, and knowing I would see him again. One way or another, my mind insists I will see him again.
The door automatically glides open, allowing the group to enter with an unusual looking man dressed in a lot of black leather and belts which is covered slightly by a long red cape that is torn to pieces. His eyes burn blood red, barely hidden behind his ashy black hair that spans almost the same length as his cloak. Golden armor covers one of his arms as well as the bottom portion of his knee-high boots, the other arm has a simple wrist-length and fingerless leather glove. My eyes take note of the gauze wrapping that covers the rest of his exposed skin above the fingerless glove. Staring only at me, he enters the room behind Zell and Seifer who practically carry a screeching Odine with them.
"He's insane," Kiros bellows above Odine's tone, irritation boiling to the surface. Zell and Seifer release the doctor with little regard for his footing as he almost face plants into the tile floor. With a huff, the man turns and stares the two down before addressing the president with a smile.
"Mr. President, may I introduce Vincent Valentine," he then turns to the newcomer and continues with the formalities. "Mr. Valentine, this is Esthar's president, Laguna Loire along with the SeeD members that failed to defeat the sorceresses, Quistis Trepe, Selphie Tilmitt, Irvine Kinneas." Odine points behind them towards the two blondes, "the two oafs are Zell Dincht and Seifer Almasy, which that one was the sorceress's knight." Pointing towards Rinoa and myself he ends his title-giving, "Rinoa Heartilly, the temporary sorceress for Ultimecia and finally, Squall Leonhart, the man which you seek." We all stare at Odine, stunned by his words before Laguna finally speaks up.
"What do you mean by failed to defeat the sorceresses, Odine?" Before the doctor can draw in enough breath to go on another rant, Zell and Seifer step forward, eyeing Vincent cautiously when they do.
"Odine claims he kept Vincent Valentine alive because he has someone inside of him to help us defeat the sorceresses finally." The vein in Laguna's forehead looks like it is about to burst, his eyes threateningly narrow when he responds.
"That's insane. Lock him back up immediately! We do not have time for these games, Odine!" Zell and Seifer move toward the doctor, but the man scrambles in front of Vincent, holding his hands out in each direction between himself and the encroaching blondes in a weak stance to stop them.
"That is not what I said! I said he contains a man inside of him that is a crucial and key component to the journey we are on, which is to help to save the human race! I assure you it is true, Mr. President. Vincent, tell them." The others stop in their places, and all eyes fall on the stranger. The man breaks his eyes away from mine, scanning over the rest of us before looking back at me. He takes a step away from Odine, leaving him wide open for retrieval before he jerks his arm up beside himself. The gauze-wrapped limb is bent in front of him, now the center point for all of us to see. It appears to be normal medical gauze, except it is altered somehow with ice, frozen breath radiating off of the fabric which he slowly unwinds before us.
"I am Vincent Valentine, and I have heard of you, Squall Leonhart." My eyes flicker between his and his arm, watching the skin slowly come to light. A faint shimmer of red shines through the layers of bandages, growing brighter with each one removed. "My companion from many decades ago has also heard of you, and knows this is his destiny, despite his unwillingness to participate in it." His arm is released from the final layers of gauze, showing the rest of us his glowing wrist. A painfully bright red sphere shines through the layers of skin, flickering hastily like a strobe light. I shield my eyes from it as the man continues. "I have seen what could come to pass after your sorceress wars, as has my companion. We are here to aid in the destruction of the three." My eyes widen briefly before I close them from the brightness, recalling the same phrase being told to Noctis and his group. "Cloud Strife, come forth! I summon thee!" Vincent yells, holding his arm out to his side again and turning to face away from it. The strobing red light flashes to a blinding white, beaming over everything in the room until the sound of steel colliding with tile rings out and the light disappears. Lowering my hand from my eyes, I see a new blonde hunched over on the ground. Kneeling beside Vincent, he has one hand stretching above him to hold the handle of an impressively large greatsword, the tip of it stuck into the tile floor. His blonde hair waves on top of his head, sticking up in a somewhat familiar way that makes me think of Prompto. Excitement courses through my veins before I can stop it while the man slowly stands beside Vincent.
The lower part of his face is covered by a cloth that matches Vincent's cloak, blood red pooling down behind him in tattered pieces. When he finally stands tall, the purpose of the material became clear as it covers a majority of one black wing that protrudes out of his back. The rest of his attire seems somewhat normal; a deep violet sleeveless turtleneck tucked into some oversized baggy black pants which are held up by the same number of belts I always wear. The man takes in a few deep breaths and as he does, I take note of the slight differences between him and Prompto, letting my excitement fade. Eventually, the man's eyes snap open, narrowing when they find mine.
"Cloud," Vincent calls out to the man who tightens his grasp on the massive sword beside him, but it is too late. Before I or anyone else have time to react, my body is forced to the ground and he is standing over me, the base of his sword's sharp blade at my throat.
"Hello Leon," he hisses through a sneer, deep ocean blue eyes are swirling with an intoxicating green in front of me as they bore into mine. I hold my hand up to stop the others from reacting but otherwise remain in place, staring at the towering blonde with a blank face. This only irritates the man further as he slides the blade along my Adam's apple, piercing the skin.
"Cloud!" Vincent warns, now standing beside him and gripping his arm. "He did not ask for any of this, do not blame him!" Cloud's eyes narrow more, shifting completely from blue to a teal, the iris now slitting like a cat eye. He roughly shoves the hand off of his arm and jumps to the other side of the room, clearing thirty feet in one hop. I stare after him in awe at his maneuvering, knowing how impossible the movement is but believing it only since I had just witnessed it.
Striking the sword into the tile once more, the blonde holds both his hands on the tip of the hilt while he checks the others out. He watches me closely when I slowly stand back on my feet, Rinoa gripping her hand to my throat to stop the bleeding despite my attempts to push her behind me. A sneer reappears on the blonde's face as he kicks the blade out of the floor and bolts toward the farthest window behind him. Just as he is about to shatter it in his escape, Vincent's arm snaps upward beside me and a red ring shoots out from his wrist, halting Cloud in midair briefly before he falls to the ground, his sword clanging down beside him.
"You cannot leave as long as I control you, Cloud, and I do control you with this orb! Now stop!" A low rumble of laughter escapes through the blonde's pursed lips while he quickly rolls over and stands on his feet. Bending down to retrieve his sword, he locks his gaze onto mine, witnessing the motions Rinoa is taking to fuss over me.
"So, this is who you chose then?" he asks me through gritted teeth. I eye him curiously before glancing towards Rinoa. What is he talking about? Before I can show a sign of my confusion, Vincent takes a step towards Cloud, holding his wrist up as a warning but also opening his hand as a peace offering.
"The life you and I saw never came to pass, Cloud. This is not Leon, this is Squall." The brunette turns his head toward Laguna, then shifts his eyes to me. "I need time with him, to explain things to him. Please, may we have the room?" He looks pleadingly between Laguna and me while keeping an eye on the agitated blonde across from us. I stare at Laguna, refusing to make this decision when it is his city, and his office these two want to use. Laguna nods briefly, but points a finger towards the man threateningly.
"Fine, but guards will remain outside this room to ensure neither of you leave without my knowledge. Once you two are on the same page, the rest of us would like to join you on it as well." Vincent nods while the blonde snorts a laugh and crosses his arms, leaning his cheek against them as they now rest heavily against the sword in the floor.
"Ha! Like a couple of people are going to stop me from leaving? Or him? Let alone both of us!" His booming voice holds the sound of two people, one deeper in tone than the other. The brunette waves an apologetic hand behind him before agreeing to the terms, mentioning he would alert the guards when things have calmed down. Laguna nods once before turning and addressing the rest of us within the room.
"We'll go to the conference room to continue discussions. We should probably eat as well, given the late hour now. Squall, do you need any medical attention?" He asks worriedly. Before I can argue against his need to mother everyone into eating or any medical aid, the brunette holds his other hand out towards me, the wad of gauze in his grasp. I slowly take it from him, nodding my thanks before glancing over my shoulder at the angry blonde. Teal eyes bore into mine before staring at the gauze offered by Vincent, but the brunette ignores his anger.
"Right then, let's go," Laguna orders the rest of us before pressing his intercom button to alert a chef to join us in the conference room. With one last glance towards Cloud, the blonde's gaze seems to return to their original blue although appearing to be pain stricken now at my leaving. The wing hidden beneath the cloak slowly disappears along with the slit pupil. I stare at him until I pass the doorway, wondering what in Hyne just happened between us.
~Rinoa~
I can help him, I know I can. All the time I spent here in Esthar, away from him and the others, it had to be worth something! Learning how to control my abilities and harbor such powerful magic, why can I not control a simple cure spell now? He needs me and I can't do anything for him, my mind focusing instead on what just happened in the other room. Vincent Valentine, a vampire and Cloud Strife, a nightmare of a man who both came from another time to help us save humanity? We did this already! We fought against the sorceresses and won! Why now am I hearing they are still alive? Is this why I can't cast a cure on Squall? Are my magical abilities already being drawn to darker uses by terrifying forces trying to control me again?
"Rinoa, please," Squall's agitated voice breaks through my rambling mind, his hands clutching my wrists at his neck where my hands are clamped over the severed skin. Shaking my head briefly, I keep my hands against the wound while I focus once more to cure him. The brunette huffs in irritation, slipping his gloved hands down to the crook of my elbows and forcing my arms back to my sides, his glare prompting me to stop fussing over him. My concerned gaze slips down to the cut on his neck, a thin trail of blood seeping out and dripping down his skin. What would Vincent do if he were in here, seeing the blood coming from Squall's neck? I shake the thoughts from my mind and draw in a deep breath, Squall now draping the gauze the stranger gave him around his shoulders. My hands are back near him once again, shaky fingers moving to help wrap the material. Seifer steps between us, his eye catching the look on Squall's face that I am ignoring before sliding his hands gently over my own and turning me slowly to face him.
"Calm down Rin," the blonde whispers against our fingers, a sweet smile spreading over his face when I look into his eyes. "He's fine. A superficial injury like that won't kill him." Slowly nodding with him, my nerves tense as I fight the urge to fix it anyway, but I ignore them and stand off to Squall's side. Wrapping my arms around myself, I stare at my feet and focus on my breathing while Seifer takes over helping Squall wrap his neck in gauze. Hooking a digit between skin and material, the blonde asks if it is too tight before shuffling back over to Zell's side when Squall shakes his head to the question.
"Sit down, everyone. Please," Laguna holds his hands out, gesturing all of us to take our seats while keeping an irritated glare on Odine. Quiet shuffling fills the room as we all silently settle into the chairs scattered around the large wooden table. I keep close to Squall, telling myself I am near enough to help should he really need it, or if the cut continues to bleed even with the cooling gauze pressing against it. Squall remains tense when he sees me sit beside him, but keeps quiet about it when he turns his gaze out around the table at the others. A maid steps into the room from the swinging door leading to the kitchen, her eyes searching around for the president for a moment before making her way toward the man with a polite smile. "What would everyone like to eat?" Laguna asks solemnly.
Squall slams one of his fists against the table, all eyes snapping toward him at the sudden bang. His angered glare now fixated on the president, he doesn't utter a word of explanation to him, hoping his exasperation would be all the explanation Laguna might need. The president's wide eyes stare back at his son for a few moments before he clears his throat, turning his head back to the still startled maid. "Salad. We all would like salad please, with coffee as well. Just bring all the dressing choices in with it, thank you." The woman nods hastily before scooting quickly back to the kitchen. "Something light would be best for us, I think. We still need to eat, Squall." The brunette beside me jerks his fist from the table up to his face, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose as he sighs heavily. Nothing else is said while we all recover from what happened in the other room, our thoughts going over the details and behaviors of the two newcomers while also taking note of what the now unusually quiet doctor mentioned as well. People come into the conference room with stacks of dishes and our food and drinks on rolling carts, keeping themselves hushed after the maid informed them of the seemingly tense atmosphere here, possibly from the conversation we were having. Said maid keeps to herself near the doorway, cautiously watching when the staff gave Squall and Laguna their salads and coffees. Once the staff served each of us and left the room, Squall turns his attention back to the quiet doctor, shifting the bowl of greens away from himself with a huff.
"What the hell was that Odine?" The brunette snaps, bringing the others' minds back into the room to focus. Odine lowers his fork back down to the table, dabbing the corners of his mouth briefly before quirking one of them upwards.
"That was you all meeting the two that will help save the human race." We all stare at him, expecting further explanations but only witnessing the doctor pick his fork up again to continue eating, a knowing smirk across his lips. Selphie and Quistis glance back over at Squall with me, the three of us waiting for him to bend and snap his fork in half. His jaw clenches and unclenches rapidly, the muscle along his jawline flickering in and out of focus as he does.
"Spit it out Odine," he warns, narrow eyes burning into the doctor's cocky pose. Odine releases a dramatic sigh, criss-crossing his silverware over the top of his half-eaten salad and scooting the dish away from himself. He blots his napkin along the entirety of his mouth slowly while his eyes read each of our faces before eventually setting it on top of his dish as well.
"Do you remember when I had Ellone in my labs when she was a child?" the shorter man asks, directing his question toward the president. Laguna bristles at the sudden reminder but nods curtly after it is asked. Glancing back over at Odine, a smirk is intentionally placed on his face as he reveled in his moment of getting under Laguna's skin, but he quickly removes it when he sees Squall's temper begin to boil over. Standing from his chair, Odine scoots it back underneath the table before gripping his hands behind his back. Pacing calmly, he stares ahead of himself instead of focusing in on any of us listening.
"I will spare you the details of what happened while I had her then, what discoveries I made even without the ability to continue my research after you took her away from me."
"Took her back Odine, she is my daughter!" Laguna interrupts, correcting the infuriating man with a vengeance. Odine drops his head downwards, shaking it lightly as he breathes out a laugh. The joy he takes in holding that over Laguna's head is horrifying. If only there were someone else that had Odine's brilliance, the heartless man would be sent to the other side of the world so fast and personally escorted by Laguna I'd imagine.
"Right after Ellone left me, I was visited by someone. Someone who knew details about my research of the girl that nobody else did, since I kept all of it locked away from even my most trusted assistants and interns." Ellone droops lower in her seat when the doctor shuffles behind her, her eyes remaining on her lap until he makes his way by. "She recounted all of the things I had recently learned about, paying special attention to certain aspects of Ellone's abilities. When I yelled at the guards to enter and take her away for somehow breaking in and stealing my research, guards never came. That was when she finally revealed her name." Odine stops pacing between Seifer and Zell's chairs, scooting toward the table before he leans against his hands on the table top and locks analytical eyes on Squall. "Gentiana." Squall drops his hand away from the side of his face, sitting up and staring into Odine's crooked sneer.
"That's her, the clairvoyant." Odine nods at the brunette, taking pleasure in having this information and keeping it from all of us until now. Squall's face drops into a frown, his gaze leaving Odine's when he gets lost once again in a whirlwind of confusion and deep thought.
"The guards never came because she stopped them from entering, showing me part of the power she held while explaining who and what she is. She told me what would come of my explorations into Ellone's abilities, again, details I will keep from you due to the vast devastation it brought onto the world. She showed me," Odine's expression shifts away from overconfidence to one of horror, his focus growing bleary as he recalls the distant memories he speaks of now. When he shudders himself back to the present, he clears his throat and returns to pacing behind all of us. "She showed me how time holds many outcomes, various paths lead to various conclusions, some leading to life and prosperity while others lead to death and destruction. The majority of them though did lead to a horrific end to the human race in one way or another, only postponed by brief moments of peace before ultimately the paths merged. The one we are on now, currently," Odine stops behind Laguna, shifting his eyes to stare at the back of the president's head, "is the only path that will lead to the survival of humanity."
The doctor turns his attention to Squall who stares at him now, along with most of the rest of us as we digest what he just mentioned. Odine tilts his head toward the door. "They are key to remaining on that path. That is why I did my part to keep them alive." Squall frowns further while Odine changes his appearance back to one of confidence. "I'll let them explain to you who Leon is. Just know that the two of them are needed along with you to save the rest of us." Turning back and taking another step, Odine resumes his pacing as he shuffles quietly behind me.
"So you see, everything that has happened so far has all been a part of Gentiana's plan. Every action I have taken has been to ensure we get to this precise moment, where you meet them and they meet you. All of that has happened as it was supposed to, thanks to me. Which proves, Mr. President," Laguna looks up at Odine who has now made his way back to his own chair, his fingers gripping tightly into the leather. "I am needed. Not in jail, but in my labs." A scoff on my side of the table brings my eyes over to Laguna, the man scowling at Odine's statement.
"You drugged my daughter, Odine! You kept her asleep for a week!" the president spouts off to the doctor, but Odine shifts his eyes over to Ellone.
"Gentiana did speak to you while you were asleep, did she not?" Ellone drops her eyes back down to her lap before nodding slowly. Odine's smile grows while he thrusts his hands out across the table. "See? As I knew she would! I was to keep Ellone asleep until Gentiana could speak to her!"
"Bullshit! That's a cop out and you know it! There's nothing and/or nobody to prove that!" The door to enter the conference room opens abruptly, Laguna and Odine snapping their mouths closed while we all turn to see who is entering.
"Forgive my interruption, but I wanted to inform you all that the process with Cloud is proving more difficult than I originally anticipated. I felt it best to advise you all to retire for the evening, given the slim possibility of getting through to my companion in one sitting. I have no qualms with a pair of guards posted outside of the room, although if I may suggest a new pair of them to be stationed outside considering the probability of my continued efforts exceeding throughout the night." Vincent waits patiently for his request to sink in until Laguna finally agrees to his wishes, asking one of the guards outside of the room we are in to rotate the two outside of the office.
"Please ask them to wake me if you need anything, Mr. Valentine, or if you get somewhere with your companion. I don't think any of us are against the idea of some well needed rest." Vincent gracefully bows at the president's words and bids us good evening, sliding the door shut behind him while he returns to his companion.
"Well," Laguna sighs, stretching his arms above his head, the previous tension appearing to vanish at the suggestion of rest. "I urge you all to get some sleep. Odine, you will be placed within one of the guest rooms since I am weary of your return to the lab. Guards will be placed outside of your door as well to ensure you stay put." Odine mumbles to himself as we all stand from the table and start to leave, saying our good evenings to the president. I stand beside Squall, not wanting to leave him alone until Selphie wraps her arm around my waist.
"Come on, Rinny, let's have a sleepover," the girl says, pulling me toward the door. Glancing over my shoulder, I see Squall having no interest in my whereabouts, whether I stay by his side or go, so I turn with a huff and allow Selphie to lead me out into the hallway.
"Goodnight Irvy," Selphie practically sings when we pass the cowboy in the hall of rooms, looking a bit triumphant. Irvine tips his hat at us with a smirk before stepping into his room. Zell shuffles passed, waving effortlessly at us as the brunette enters the code to my room and guides me inside. When the door slides shut behind her, she turns and wraps me into a hug, letting my tears fall onto her bare shoulder.
"Oh Selphie," I squeak out through my sniffles, squeezing her back in thanks for suggesting I don't be alone for the night.