~Squall~
What in Hyne's name is she doing?! I wonder internally as I watch Ellone race out into the crowds of people. My legs flinch, wanting to stop her from leaving but I hold myself in place, following her with my eyes. I see her wet hair dripping as she bobs and weaves between them all, hoping she will look back at me so I can urge her to return. The people in front of us start to break apart, seething in anger and wanting to start a fight. I glimpse at the stragglers stepping away from the others toward us to provoke someone to start the fight, only to fall back against the main line. I quickly search the last place I saw Ellone, attempting to find her again. Everytime I do though, someone else in front jerks up on our level in threat, snapping my attention back in front of me. Suddenly glass shatters over our heads and startles us, followed by a name being screamed out.
"Cloud!" Vincent's voice rings out, hushing the mob in front of me. Quickly looking to where the noise came from, I see Cloud stretching his arms straight out on either side. He's falling from the broken window Vincent now hangs out of with his hand reaching feebly down toward the blonde. Dropping head first to the pavement beneath us, his massive sword twirling in the air a few feet in front of him just out of his reach. Gasps sound through us all when the blade pierces the pavement beside me a half of a second before a large black wing shoots out of Cloud's shoulder. In an instant he shifts his feet beneath him, landing behind the protruding blade in a crouch with his hand on the hilt. Before anyone can fathom what they just witnessed, the blonde stands abruptly, pulling the blade from the ground and holding it out in front of him with the tip still pointed toward his feet. Jerking his sword in front of his eyes, I watch the gaze swirl between ocean blue to a toxic teal again, the remaining blue snubbed out as he places his other hand on the hilt.
"Stop!" he bellows, his voice distinctly different now, sounding as if two people speak from within him at once. The groups before us all still immediately, freezing in place and hushing their screams before slowly disintegrating into the puddles of rain below them. Faces hold their last scornful scowls, eyes empty of life glaring forward at our startled state before droplets of rain wash their bodies away, piece by ashy piece. It is no different than finishing a battle with a fiend, the way their lifeless corpse fades away into the air to meet with the earth once more.
Those are fiends though, monsters that hold nothing more than the urge to kill anything that crosses their path. Not people! People that only wanted to gain answers from their leader; wanted to know they were finally safe from forces so far outside of their understanding that it drove them to attempt to retake control in the only way they knew how. Growing in numbers and learning how to fight with fists and weapons, the same way they saw the infamous SeeD fight, which is how the sorceresses were eliminated to begin with. They wanted answers! They didn't deserve death for that! We watch in horror as the bodies disappear along with any sign of them ever existing, the skies clearing just as rapidly as the people vanish to release the sun once more. Vincent, now appearing behind Cloud grips the man's shoulder which causes the blonde to lower the sword with a heavy sigh. The black wing that stretched out from his back now dissipating as well, completely vanishing from were it once was.
"Hyne," Seifer whispers while the girls clasp their hands over their mouths, but all I see is red. Stepping in front of the blonde, my fist clutches the thick collar of his turtleneck, jerking his face toward my own with our noses touching.
"What the fuck did you just do?!" I yell, twisting the fabric tighter. Cloud's eyes, now back to a weary blue, narrow while reaching a gloved hand up and gripping the tendons in my wrist.
"Saved your sorry asses Leon, what the fuck else do I ever do?!" His hot breath spreads along my face when he speaks through his teeth. Vincent places a hand on my shoulder and lightly pushes me away from Cloud.
"Squall, please, let us explain," he asks, but I ignore his wishes as well as the fingers digging into my wrist, squeezing the turtleneck even tighter around the blonde's neck.
"Ellone was out there you fucking asshole, what the fuck did you do?!" Cloud's eyes begin to flicker between the colors again, his brow bone starting to protrude outward further than before while a faint outline of the large wing flickers behind him.
"She is fine Squall, I assure you," Vincent mumbles into my ear as he rests a hand on my arm to stop me from strangling the blonde. Seeing Cloud start to lose control again, I weigh my options quickly before thrusting the blonde away from me harshly and pointing the tip of Lionheart at the red markings along his throat.
"She better be. For your sake," I threaten before turning away and entering the palace again. Vincent whispers to Cloud, tugging the man's arm over his shoulders and placing a hand on his to guide him inside. The others follow the two numbly, still shocked at the sudden disappearance of so many. My mind races while my heart grows heavy, thoughts willing me to wait until I hear them out before I decide to believe Sis is gone.
"Into my office," Laguna directs everyone as he sits himself on the lift. The President and his adviser were watching the scene from inside the doorway, startled by everything that has happened along with the rest of us. He holds a hand out beside him, inviting Vincent and Cloud to join him and Kiros while the rest of our group head for the stairs. We meet again at the doors to the president's office, my arms tightly crossed over my chest. I glare at Vincent as he helps Cloud enter the room, placing him roughly in one of the chairs by Laguna's desk. The others filter in and we take our seats on the various couches, leaving the pair of chairs in front of Laguna's desk for both Cloud and Vincent. Noticing the broken window at the far end of the room, we all watch the two closely while each of our minds race with possibilities.
"Ellone's fine, she wasn't a part of it," Vincent starts off, resting his hands in his lap. I gaze at the pointed edges of his golden armored hand before coming up to meet his eyes.
"Where is she then? She ran out there in the middle of them before he decided to vaporize them all," I jab a finger toward the blonde beside him, keeping my eyes on Vincent.
"I didn't vaporize them Leon," Cloud mumbles out to explain. I snap back up on my feet from the couch, Lionheart falling from my lap down to the tile floor with a harsh metal clang while I glare into the blonde's still weary eyes.
"My name's Squall damn it! Not Leon!" Vincent holds a hand out between us in front of Cloud, waving it slowly as he takes a deep breath. Cloud's scowl matches mine but we both remain silent as the brunette beside him continues to explain.
"Ellone found what she needed to find and left before the others vanished, I assure you. Nobody was harmed." Seifer snorts at the last part of Vincent's statement, but Cloud interrupts any arguments.
"You cannot harm what does not exist in the first place, Squall." Sarcasm drips off of every letter when he says my name, folding his arms over his chest and slouching back against the chair.
"They weren't real, Squall. They were visions projected by her to gain all of your attention. The groups of people," Vincent points a finger at the large window, "all over your world, gathering against you? They never existed. They never even appeared past the confined boundaries of Esthar."
"Umbra groups," Cloud mumbles to help explain but keeps his frown on his boots.
"What did you say?" Irvine asks the blonde, glancing around at the rest of us before leaning closer to Cloud. The hostile blonde sighs, sitting up in his chair.
"Umbra groups. Y'know, Unite the Men Before the Return of Adel? U-M-B-R-A. Umbra groups."
"They were implanted by Gentiana as a form of a test for you, well, for Ellone. She is fine," Vincent assures us as he looks each of us in the eye. How could we not see it? I pinch the bridge of my nose at the realization of the chants my group told me of before, settling back down on the couch behind me. It all made sense. So then did that mean Sis really is alright?
"This was all part of the visions we saw before of the coming future. That was part of why we are here, why I am here," Cloud explains quietly, maybe regaining some of his composure or possibly expending too much energy before and is now too depleted.
"So, why else are you here then? While we're sharing stories, what are you exactly?" Seifer chimes in, spreading his question between the two of them. Cloud sighs again, turning his attention back to me. His oceanic eyes are pained when they meet mine briefly before he frowns and drops his gaze back down to his lap.
"I know you are not Leon, Squall. No matter how much I wish you to be him, you never could." I stare at the man, wondering if I should be thankful for his words or insulted. Before I can question the meaning behind it, Vincent decides to speak.
"From what we can deduce, the two of us are not from this planet." Confusion plastered over all of our faces, we gawk at the men sitting before us while waiting for further explanation. Cloud and Vincent share a glance before Cloud slumps further into his seat, urging the brunette beside him to continue.
"To keep explanations brief, we believe we were taken from our time on our planet and brought here to rest until taking up our part of this journey in aiding to save your planet… our planet. The home we once had was destroyed by a greedy corporation that effectively syphoned the planet's lifestream until it ran dry, killing everything and everyone in the process." A movement out of the corner of my eye catches my unamused glare off of the two, turning to see Selphie raising her hand into the air.
"Question!" She announces in case the childish gesture wasn't an obvious enough hint that she might have one. "What's a lifestream?" The tiny brunette asks, tilting her head sideways and dropping her hand back down to her lap.
"The lifestream is what keeps the planet alive, like the bloodstream inside of people. Everything and everyone on the planet when it perishes returns to the lifestream to continue to sustain the planet until it is brought back to the surface to live again." Cloud blurts the explanation out, eying Selphie irritatedly. The girl mouths an 'oh' before nodding, showing her question was answered and allowing them to continue on.
"By removing us from the planet, we survived, but we believe it was only due to Cloud's newfound abilities mixing well with mine, since I am able to hold such a power."
"My creation, you mean," Cloud mumbles, an attempt to keep the comment between the two of them fails when I catch his hushed words. Creation? Does he mean his existence within the power orb in Vincent's arm? Barely following what these two are trying to tell us, parts do start to come together to create a picture. If they came from another world, it explains why they are the way they are, and why we have never heard of magic being contained in spheres and pressed into someone's body to be able to use it.
"What 'abilities' are you talking about?" Seifer asks, using his fingers to quote the word the brunette just used. Vincent, glancing over to Cloud, looks for some unknown sign from the blonde on if he should elaborate. With nothing more than a stern frown and downcast eyes, Vincent decides to continue since his companion is all but ignoring his approval-seeking eyes.
"As you know, I am vampiric. I am capable of controlling such powerful beings, like Cloud, with ease due to my increased strength. Cloud is... a combination of beings." A what now? What the hell does that mean? My mind is filling with more questions than answers, more confusion than I thought possible. The small connections I made to help this all make sense seem more frivolous with every passing word of explanation from them. Why would Gentiana set up such an elaborate hoax for a mere test? Where did these two come from? Nothing makes sense!
"During the final battle to save our planet, Gentiana stepped in and fused Cloud with another being; a darker being that was on a revenge-fueled rampage with the sole purpose of destruction. Killing people, killing the planet, just destroying everything in its entirety. His name is Sephiroth." The mention of this name brings rigidity all over Cloud's entire body. Stiff shoulders and tense back, the blonde scowls but keeps his hardened gaze in his lap.
"After they were fused together, the both of them were confined to a materia orb, which I was forced to push beneath the skin of my arm. Gentiana explained what was happening to our planet, but also informed me of the coming need in the future. When I was placed within my coffin, where I woke here and now with all of you, Gentiana told me of what needed to be done, and who I would seek in the future when it was time. Her clear vision of you, Squall, is what Cloud saw when he was in his orb."
"My Leon was born," Cloud whispers sarcastically, his eyes finally trailing lazily up from his hands to meet mine. We stare at each other for a breath before the familiar wince of a frown crosses over the blonde's brow and he drops his head again.
"Being in an orb, Cloud could still see Gentiana's shared visions despite not being fully formed in the world around us. What he saw of you is what either he, or Sephiroth, created to exist with him in the orb while I slept. Cloud had decades with a man that he thought was Leon, but really it was an imagined being with the name of Leon. There is a possibility Cloud created him to get through the years, or Sephiroth created him to torture Cloud further, that we do not know."
"So, what you're saying is the two of you aren't from this world, and you were brought here by Gentiana to help fight this world-saving battle because Cloud is two people fused together, and you are strong enough to wield him? Oh, and while you waited decades for me to show up, Cloud created another me to entertain him while he waited, and you just... slept? You're also saying Gentiana decided to test Ellone by using a bunch of fake people in growing riots to get her attention and drag her away from the rest of us?" I struggle to keep my tone even, praying my teeth do not shatter since I am clenching my jaws together so tightly. Swiping my hand through the air in front of me, I rapidly return to my feet.
"Why? What is the point?! Going through all of this, this extra shit just to make sure Ellone will act at a certain point?! Forcing us to stay behind so she can draw Ellone away to do Hyne knows what?! It doesn't make sense!" Yelling echoes through the room, everyone's shocked faces are locked onto me as I stoop down to gather Lionheart into my grasp from the floor. Ignited fiery eyes glare at my every move, but I ignore Vincent, focusing completely on the man that cast so many lives out of existence in a single shout, possibly Ellone's as well. Cloud remains seated in his chair with his eyes staring down at his boots as I approach, the tip of my gunblade pointed at his chest.
The second before my blade will meet his body, Cloud's hand clutches at my throat. Without seeing him move, the blonde went from a weary sitting position in a chair to standing on his feet, his arm stretching out to hold me inches off of the ground by my neck. Blackened feathers fall to the floor from the outstretched wing that twitches with tension behind his small stature, blazing green eyes burn against my glare. "You will threaten me before you see your proof then? Strike against me so I should make you fall before your beloved sister returns with the others?" That voice, the voice made up of two brings a small acknowledgement within me of their story possibly being true. Angling my blade to press against his throat, I stall the threat against me with a threat of my own, a threat against them if what they say proves true.
"What others?" I hiss, the grip on my neck becoming tighter after I shifted my weapon. Everyone around us jumps into action, Vincent standing on his own feet with his hands gripping Cloud's shoulders to stop him from finishing. The others rally behind me with their various weapons drawn, all of them threatening the pair should anything happen to me. All of this should drive the crazed blonde to the end, but instead I watch as the wing behind him fades away to an outline, his hand lowering me back to my feet before releasing me from his grasp and falling back into his seat. Vincent drops back down into his own beside him, an arm over the blonde's shoulders as he struggles to keep the man conscious.
"Your proof." The final sentence slips out before the hypnotizing green irises shift back to blue, a moment before they close and Cloud is lost to the rest of us.
~Ellone~
"W-what? What happened?" I moan, pressing my hand against my forehead. A cooled cloth drips water down my temples when my fingers push into it, causing my eyes to snap shut automatically. The trickles only fall from the edges of the washcloth, keeping my eyes dry so I can open them.
"Are you alright?" Ignis asks, squatting over me. He gently removes the cloth from my face and folds it up, using the driest part to wipe away the stray beads of water.
"Ignis?" I whisper while my eyes enlarge. Glancing at the movements behind him, I see Gladiolus leaning against a wall with his arms crossed over his chest. Noctis is sitting in a chair beside him and leaning to one side, his finger pressing against his temple to keep his head upright, and finally Prompto who scurries back and forth in the room with his cell phone raised up toward the ceiling. The room we are in appears to actually be someone's home here in Esthar; the wide open windows shining brightly with sunlight bathing the familiar blue surfaces of the pathways outside. "Where are we?" I ask as I attempt to sit up. Ignis slides his arm behind my shoulders and helps me upright, telling me to take it slowly in hushed whispers.
"Ugh, please tell me at least one of us knows the answer to that question," Noctis groans out, eyeing me curiously with a tiny smile. Gladiolus now stands straight up, dropping his arms down to his sides and walks over to us.
"Hey there, how you feelin'?" The huge man asks in a quiet tone as he reaches his hand out toward me. I slip my hand over his, which could engulf half of my arm with how large his hands actually are, and slowly stand on my feet. Ignis stands with me, keeping an arm on my back to ensure I don't fall backwards onto the bed. I glance between them all, surprise plastered on my face before finally nodding slowly to Gladiolus' question.
"Oh man! There's no signal anywhere here!" Prompto whines, dropping the arm holding his phone with a huff.
"That will not work here, Prompto."
We all turn to face Gentiana who suddenly appears in the doorway. She holds her usual stance with her hands linked together in front of her and her eyes closed. Beside her are the two dogs I remember from before, sitting quietly and glancing around the room.
"What's going on Gentiana? Where are we?" Noctis asks, standing from his seat to address the woman straight on. A smile spreads over the woman's lips, but she doesn't make a sound.
"You're in Esthar," I inform them before frowning, knowing that tells them nothing. "We're, er, this is a different time and place than where you're from, right?" I ask Gentiana, hoping she may clarify. The men gawk at me before turning back to the woman I questioned, waiting for her answer.
"A different time and place, yes, but one that is essential for all of your survival. This is the next chapter of your story."
Before any of us can ask any more questions, the woman places her hands on both of the dogs' heads and the three disappear before our eyes.
The next chapter of all of your stories.
"Wait, that's it?! Gentiana!" Noctis yells up at the ceiling, waiting for her to reappear. The others frown and look around the room, knowing she won't be returning anytime soon.
"Give it up Noct, you know how she talks in riddles," Gladiolus mentions before looking back at me. Gently dropping his own hand startles me briefly, surprised that I still held it, and return mine to rest against my chest. The corner of his lips quirk up for a second before he places his hands on his hips and shifts his face to frown down at me.
"Where are we? How much do you know? And actually, how do you know? Like, know us," he asks, swinging his thumb over his shoulder gesturing toward his group. I sigh, wishing the woman would have given us more to go on than just the mention of a new chapter for all of us. Looking out the window, I recognize the pathways and the lifts outside, giving me an idea of where we all are.
"Come on. We have to get back to the others. Hopefully everything has calmed down there now. There's someone you'll want to meet." I step toward the door, Ignis releasing his cautionary hold on me when I move but Gladiolus' hand grips my wrist, stopping me from getting too far.
"What? Calmed down where? Who are you talking about we'll want to meet?" I drop my eyes to the floor, exhaustion weighing heavily on me.
"I'll explain on the way. It's not far, see?" I point out where the palace is through the window, telling them that is where we are going. They each peer through the glass and stare at the building that towers above all others. "That's the palace, where the others are. The man you'll want to meet is there now. His name is Squall." Prompto's eyes lock onto mine, which were staring at him already expecting him to recognize Squall's name.
"Did you say Squall?" The blonde asks, leaning toward me and grasping my shoulders in his hands. I nod, unable to shield the smile spreading on my lips. Prompto glances behind him at the others and tells them that is who he was speaking of before they ended up here.
"Come on," I urge, stepping out the doorway and onto an empty path. The air is fresh and crisp after the rain showers that had recently passed overhead, leaving Esthar cleaner in its wake, if that is even possible. Having a bit of a ways to go until we end up at the palace entrance, I tell the men behind me a bit about my abilities and how Squall and I were able to visit them, although I wasn't sure why. Filling them all in would save time once we arrived, I decide. We were almost to the palace when I finally finished, the group speaking amongst themselves about how unusual my explanation was. They couldn't disagree with me though, since they all are in a strange and unusual place. While keeping up with me, the four decide to call their various weapons to themselves, testing to see if they could still since they are in an unknown land. Each weapon materialized with ease as expected, calming their worries when they appeared. When we finally reach the entrance, I notice the mobs of people are no longer present.
"They're gone," I tell everyone behind me as I walk into the building. Beside the doorway, I see shards of glass scattered around on the ground near a gash in the pavement. Glancing up, I note the window that holds no reflection like the others. Something broke out a window, or someone. My mind floods with possibilities when I realize that broken window is the window from Laguna's office, where the mysterious duo has taken residence and I wonder if they had something to do with the shattered glass. I'll find out soon enough, I tell myself as I shake the thoughts from my mind. Giving a brief tour of the building we are walking into, I explain where halls lead and what the lift is when we all take our seats.
"Whoa!" Prompto yells when the lift hovers off of the ground. Biting back a giggle, I briefly explain what is happening as the lift raises higher and enters the tube leading toward the hall where the others are.
"When we stop, we will be in the Presidential Hall, where my father resides as the President of Esthar. His office and conference room are down the same hallway."
"Your father is a king?" Noctis asks curiously, his eyes lighting up at the title. I smile at him, recalling how Noctis is a prince where he is from.
"Sort of, yes. We don't have kings here, only presidents of individual countries. My father is the president of the country of Esthar." He slowly nods, a smirk appearing on his lips before he hides it behind his fingers as he rests his chin against the palm of his hand. The lift stops and slowly lowers back to the ground to everyone's amazement, other than mine obviously. We each step off before I lead them toward Laguna's office at the opposite end of the hall. Mutterings can be heard when we approach the door to the room, and I raise a brow to one of the guards standing just outside. Without word, he turns sharply and presses the button behind him, raising the door for us to enter.
"Ellone!" Laguna's voice rings out before everyone else's, immediately followed by Squall's.
"Sis!" he yells, standing abruptly from his seat on the couch. He bounds toward me briskly, wrapping his arms around me and raising me to the tip of my toes in a hug. "Thank Hyne," he whispers into my hair, expelling a breath I feel he may have been holding since I left. I grip the crook of his arms in my fingers and try to prepare him for who he is about to meet.
"Squall," I say, but the blonde behind me speaks his name at the same time as I do. Squall slowly releases me, now staring directly behind where I stand. I turn to see his eyes are locked onto Prompto's, who must've recognized the color of Squall's eyes when he hugged me.
"Prompto," Squall whispers, the shock between them radiating off of their skin. Prompto's eyes scour every inch of Squall's face before dropping down lower while Squall does the same. I reach a hand out and grip the blonde's hand within mine, smiling at the confused pair of eyes that shift over to focus on me.
"Come on, we have a lot to discuss," I urge, pushing passed Squall to direct the others into the room for introductions.