She was truly alone now, she could feel it all around her, her love, her blood, gone, taken from her leaving her cold and hollow inside. She couldn't blame her son for not wanting to come back to Garden, the boy so much like his father she had expected this to happen once he had completed what was expected of him. She had tried so hard not to withdraw herself from him when Squall had been murdered, her own rage at Seifer's betrayal scarring her inside, battling with the grief at Squall's passing.
These feelings had hurt her so much that it was no doubt obvious to Crave whose battle intensity grew vigorously until he was feared by all of Garden. She had been in no shape to take over Garden, constantly weeping for what she had lost and taken to secluding herself in bouts of brooding, and so she gave it over to Crave and Vine Tilmitt for they knew what had to be done next. Just like Squall she knew what was to happen, Crave would send himself back in time, to spare everyone all this pain so that she wouldn't have to suffer this loss and Squall would still be alive, but she knew he would fail and she never told him of this for who knew what would happen if Crave didn't attempt what he had in mind. Quistis sighed softly running the furry collar of Squall's old jacket against her cheek soothingly as she sat in her darkened room, gazing out the window as she wondered where her son was now and what he was doing now he had hopefully spent his rage in killing Seifer.
His gloves were scuffed at the fingertips and palms as he gripped the rough rocks as he pulled himself up the mountains, pulling his feet into crevasses between the rocks as dirt and grit crumbled away beneath them, tumbling down in short meandering paths. Crave paused to get his breath back, the thinner air up at these altitudes making climbing hard going. The midday heat beat down on him adding to the exertion but he couldn't stop for too long, no matter how much the sweat ran down his face or how much his muscles screamed at him in agony, he had to reach the top and make his way down the other side before night fell and the chilling cold came and froze him.
'Wouldn't be much of a problem for you would it?' he thought with a smile and slowly pulled a bottle of water from his hip as he lay against the mountain face.
'Well shouldn't bother you much either if you can put up with me' Shiva retorted.
'Internal and external cold are two different things' Crave answered as he took a mouthful of water which was slightly warm but soothed his dried mouth and thirst.
Replacing the bottle he continued the slow process of dragging himself up the dusty surface of the mountain.
Vine Tilmitt lay on her bed trying to blank the world as the chatter of thoughts in her head continued on. Another problem with Crave dumping the command of Balamb Garden on her was that she couldn't go visit her mothers in Trabia. She never thought it strange at having two mothers and no father even with all the taunts she got. Then again Selphie and Xu put a stop to a lot of that themselves, the two of them a force to be reckoned with when they got going, which was why they now ran Trabia Garden together.
She had no idea who her genetic father was or if she even had one especially if she heard about what the legendary Dr. Odine was capable of was true. As for her name she knew it came from Selphie's first love Irvine Kinneas who the last she heard still remained in isolation in Esthar somewhere because of his psychiatric problems. She sometimes wondered what he looked like, what had drawn her mother to him in the first place back then before it all went wrong and she ended up with Xu.
So far her life had been a loss in the romance department something she often complained about to her mothers who simply replied that she should bide her time. Strange how younger members of Garden were quick to put her with Crave, but they were nothing more than friends, even if she desired something more. He was too much like his father and besides she knew of his secret affair with Shiva, strange as that may seem to her, but no doubt her mothers would say that love finds a way, and they would be right for how many people have judged their relationship as strange over the years?
She sat up, legs splayed across the bed, the black pleated skirt of her uniform stretched across her thighs, her hair falling over her eyes as she was struck by a thought. She knew where Crave would be heading now, he wouldn't be able to resist the action, which meant she'd have an excuse for popping in to see her mothers after all.
He jumped the last few feet, landing at the bottom of the mountain as pebbles and small boulders tumbled down behind him, pattering against his boots. His right cheek was red as blood seeped slowly through his grazed skin where he had slipped on the way down. The sky was turning red as the sun was setting, and in this enclosed space surrounded by mountains with only one side open to the sea, the sky was darker, crimson like blood. Here it seemed his luck would be better, the leaves in the canopy of the dome like forest were emerald green and the land seemed healthy, hidden from Amelia in its enclosure. He just hoped that what he had in mind would work and that he'd be able to get out of this trap once he had his hands on a chocobo.
He entered the forest slowly, rays of fire-like light falling through the leaves and branches of the trees in patches in the centre of the clearing. Crave waited in silence in the empty forest. As he figured the strange boy his father had encountered on his travels no longer remained, there wasn't even a strange man in his place. There was a rustle in the undergrowth and a small chicobo stepped out into the reddish light, unaware of who waited for them. Crave quickly crossed the clearing and reached the chicobo before it could run, he had to do this right since he didn't have a Chocowhistle. Luckily he reached the chicobo before it could bolt, gently grasping it by the sides and stroking its back making it call out in a high pitched squawk.
A large chocobo then appeared from the other side of the forest glaring at Crave with its beady eyes. Crave returned the stare and released the chicobo which ran to its mother and Crave slowly walked towards it, his hands spread out a little from his sides, still keeping eye contact. The chocobo kept a wary eye on him as he approached but stood its ground. Crave reached into his pouch slowly trying not to alarm the majestic yellow bird and pulled out a small round vegetable-like object. He couldn't exactly remember the name of the vegetable other than it was a Green, the favourite food of chocobos. If he remembered the lecture correctly though this green was more potent than the Gysahl greens that could also be used to summon Boko the chicobo GF and if fed to a chocobo had some special effect.
Crave reached out his hand, holding the green out to the chocobo. The chocobo cocked its head from side to side, regarding the green closely before reaching its long neck and taking the green from out of Crave's hand in its beak.
It ate the green in two short bites calling out cheerfully with its characteristic "Wark!" and gave Crave what seemed to be a friendly look. Then suddenly it started to ruffle its wings wildly and gave out a shrill surprised "Kwehh!" as its feathers started to change colour, a wave of red spreading from behind its beak and down its neck to its tail as the air around it cracked intensely.
'It worked!' Crave said amazed.
The chocobo calmed down as the crackling faded, its ruffled feathers settling and it started preening itself.
Crave got even closer to it so that he could stroke its neck, the feather warm and soft under his hand, the palms exposed where his gloves were torn. Slowly he pulled himself onto its back, which it calmly allowed his to do, turning around to him slightly with an inquisitive "Kweh?"
Holding onto the base of its neck he nudged it forward with his feet, it was time to see if what they said about those greens were true, he really hoped so cause there was no way he was climbing another mountain by himself.
She was stuck, who the hell could she get to watch over Garden while she took the Tiamat to Esthar by way of Trabia? Quistis would be the best choice, every one looked up to her but she was still in solitary not coming from out her room and even if she could get her out, Vine figured her mind wouldn't be on the task.
None of the other heroes from the first Ultimecia Event were left at Garden, Zell, Rinoa and Squall were dead, Selphie was in Trabia, and Irvine was long gone. She was the only child of theirs that remained and all the people at Garden looked up to those families, they were unlikely to listen to anyone else.
Vine placed a thick strand of her hair and nibbled on it thoughtlessly whilst her attention was elsewhere… there had to be someone they'd follow for the few days she was to be gone.
The chocobo flapped her wings as it skidded down the side of the mountain ridge, its clawed feet landing in the sand of the desert, sinking in slightly, leaving shallow footprints as it moved on at Crave's gentle persuasion.
He still couldn't believe it, he had created a mountain climbing Chocobo, something he was told was a myth but he'd never believed it, the Brands had had an ocean crossing chocobo, the one that helped Amelia get to her place of safety before Garden had been able to contain her when Seifer had stolen the Juction Machine Ellone from Esthar. Funny how the chocobo that made him target Dana Brand in the past was the same one that made him disbelieve the notion of only one type of chocobo.
'She still plagues your mind doesn't she?' Shiva asked him as he swayed slowly on the chocobo's back as it galloped towards the seashore.
'She wasn't like Seifer, she was a by standing target but I had to be sure, all help Amelia gained in her rise had to be destroyed. I wonder where she is now, I know she left Garden a long time ago…' Crave replied softly.
'You know she was pregnant at the time?' Shiva mentioned to him.
Crave froze momentarily at that comment. 'No… so I would've taken more than one innocent then… so she may be out there with a family.' Crave said finally as he unfroze.
'Could be… but the world has been very turbulent of late so who knows if she still lives?' Shiva replied.
'She would be the same age as my mother now…' Crave mused 'I wonder where she is now… no doubt she thinks me dead and is happy about it' he sighed.
'I thought we were going to Esthar?' Shiva said breaking his thoughts.
'We are… but a search for Dana Brand to maybe explain myself, unload this last demon of mine will be next to do.' Crave said smiling.
'So sure of yourself aren't we?' Shiva teased.
'Well I was raised to be.' Crave retorted as the moonlight grew brighter and the sky darkened, the desert erupting with the sounds of chirping crickets and the sound of crashing waves drawing nearer as the chocobo ran on.
There was no other way to go about it, she just had to leave Garden in the hands of the Senior SeeDs, it shouldn't be too difficult for them since they practically saw to the running of Garden anyway. But Vine knew there had to be a figurehead, someone who made the decisions, usually a number of opinions and group effort was a good thing but when it came to running such a place as Garden it was always nice to have someone to look up to for orders, it was part of being a mercenary, besides its nice to be able to blame someone when it all goes wrong, and right now Vine was blaming Crave.
Well she had bitten the bullet now, her rucksack was stowed in Tiamat's hold and was getting ready to leave, she couldn't just say that she'd changed her mind not after she had got the Senior's all worked up with orders and making sure everything would work out alright.
The dark navy blue airship loomed over her, slightly smaller than the Ragnarok or Bahamut but it had more flexible wings, numerous flaps and hinges allowing for better manoeuvrability.
She sat alone in the passenger cabin as Tiamat rose into the sky, white clouds soon obscuring the windows that surrounded the cabin. Her mind was wandering again, transfixed by the myriad patterns of condensing steam that swirled along the glass and faded abruptly. It was something she had inherited from her mother Selphie, a love of travel, of watching the world moving past through a window. However she hadn't inherited a tendency to sing about it though.
Her mind was brought back to reality as Tiamat began to descend on Trabia Garden.