Part Twenty Three

Beyond Trabia Garden

Fisherman's Horizon

Seifer Almasy forgot about the world around him as his lips brushed against Squall's. It was like drinking from the nectar of the gods. Squall had always been Seifer's personal ambrosia, a forbidden fruit that could never be touched by mere mortals.

For a blissful moment Seifer let the world and all its problems melt away so that he and his beautiful brunet fantasy were all that remained. Even if Squall pushed him away and wanted nothing more to do with him Seifer could hold this memory in his heart. He got to taste Squall one last time and this was more than he could ask for. The illusion shattered when Squall ripped his wrists from the blond man's grip and wiped the sleeve of his jacket across his mouth.

"What the fuck was that?" Leonhart hissed in pure rage and disgust.

"Did you feel anything Squall?" Seifer asked with desperation.

"I felt you kissing me." The brunet snapped. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I just wanted to know something." Seifer whispered. He looked and sounded so out of character that Squall felt his heart ache for the briefest of moments.

"What was that?" Squall snarled. He didn't know what game Seifer was playing but the blond wasn't going to win.

"Squall...I'm sick of lying ok. I'm sick of pretending that night never happened." Seifer cried. "When you got Shiva you forgot."

"So you decided to kiss me to make me remember a night with you? That's low Almasy, even for you." Squall bit out.

"I'm not lying or playing you Squall." The blond man wrung his hands nervously. "Just listen to what I have to say."

"I don't have to listen to you." The brunet snapped.

"We slept together Squall!" Seifer yelled and he had to fight back the tears. "The next day you got that fucking GF in your head and you forgot about me."

"You're sick Almasy." Squall was clenching his fists.

"I've gotta get this off my chest. I care about you Squall, a lot more than I should but I do care." Seifer tried to explain but Squall was already leaving.

"Please don't go!" Seifer tried to grab the man's arm but Squall backed away.

"I can't believe you'd say things like that. I feel nothing but contempt for you Almasy." Squall spat out the name as if it were acid in his mouth.

"You have to still feel something for me." Seifer was desperate. "How could you have forgotten that I fucking love you?"

"Fuck you!" Squall yelled before he drew back his fist and punched Seifer in the jaw. "Don't come near me or touch me ever again you sick freak!"

Seifer sat there on the cold ground, his nose busted and his jaw aching while his heart broke into millions of pieces. He wanted to scream or break something. He wanted to demand that Squall love him back and remember what they had shared that night.

Seifer felt so cold all of a sudden and he drew his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. Squall hated him for sure now. It didn't matter what he did or said to the man, Squall was going to hate him forever. It hurt more than he ever imagined it to. The only guy he ever loved had rejected him. His heart had been crushed and thrown away like garbage. Squall hated him.

Seifer didn't say anything when he felt warm arms wrap around his shaking body. He didn't say anything when warm lips were pressed against his head and the person started rocking him back and forth. Seifer knew it was Axel.

The red head had felt his pain as if it were his own. Seifer said nothing as the hot tears ran down his cold cheeks. He felt sick all of a sudden and he lurched forward just as he retched up the bile clogging his aching throat. Axel only held onto Seifer as the blond did something he hadn't done since he watched his parents die in front of him. Bowing his head Seifer Almasy cried.

Trabia Mountains

The morning after the concert Cid Kramer ordered the Garden to be made mobile again and Squall told Nida to take them to Trabia. It was decided that Selphie, Irvine, Zell, Quistis and Rinoa were to accompany Squall to the ruined Garden to try and find any survivors.

When Zell had asked why Seifer wasn't coming Selphie had explained that Cloud found the blond staggering through the Garden completely drunk. After a lot of effort Cloud had gotten Seifer to his room. He ended up having to break the door down just to get inside. Squall had remained silent during this conversation. He didn't want to think about the scarred man who had kissed him last night.

He felt guilt twisting his gut but he squashed it down and focused on the mission at hand. Nida was already flying the Garden towards the snow capped mountains that acted as a valley for Trabia Garden. Balamb hovered directly before the blackened ruins of the structure.

Squall led the others out of Balamb and onto the cold pathway through the valley. Selphie led the way through the place that had been her home for most of her young life. Pieces of metal pierced through the snow and the smell of smoke was still distinct even days after the attack. Selphie ran through the narrow snowy road until she stopped at the entrance to Trabia Garden.

The devastation was horrific. There wasn't a piece of the Garden left untouched by the missile attack. The once beautiful white Garden was nothing more than a twisted mass of metal. The wire fence acted as a ladder through the ruined stone wall.

Selphie climbed through while the others followed her closely. Once she was past the wall she set foot in the courtyard of her old home. The old basketball court had large cracks in the concrete and chucks of the main building littered the ground. Selphie choked when she caught sight of a group of people standing around the building. They were tending to the wounded still.

"Mara!" Selphie called when she spotted her old classmate.

"Selphie?" the girl stammered. "Hyne it's really you!"

"Squall we need help over here!" Selphie called when she saw the group of wounded men, women and children.

"Zell go back and get Kadowaki." Squall ordered. The small blond nodded then he took off.

"We'll look for others." Quistis motioned for Rinoa and Irvine to follow her into the ruined Garden.

"The attack...we didn't even have time to evacuate." Mara sobbed as she rocked a child back and forth in her arms.

"I'm so sorry Mara." Selphie whispered meaningfully. "It was the Sorceress."

"There's going to be another war isn't there? More people are going to die just like last time." Mara cried.

"Not if we can help it." Selphie swore. As she helped the wounded Zell arrived back with the doctor and her medics.

"Go and tell the others I'll be with them as soon as I can." Kadowaki instructed Selphie and Zell.

The brunette nodded then she and Zell took off into the building along with Squall. They passed through the ruined entrance and into what was once the main hall. The roof had collapsed and was now littering the staircase leading to the second floor.

Squall was amazed that the survivors lasted this long in such conditions. Selphie and Zell went to the right while Squall took off down the left hand corridor to look for anymore people. It took the Balamb SeeD members an hour but eventually but they found everyone and Kadowaki and her team were treating their wounds. Squall and the others were sitting in the ruined basketball court. After helping the survivors Irvine had asked them to meet up in the courtyard.

The cowboy had asked that Seifer be present as well. At first Squall objected and he pointed out that Seifer would still be sleeping off his hangover. Irvine was adamant about it and eventually Zell had to go back and get the Gunblader.

When Seifer arrived he looked like shit. He had bags under his eyes and he looked as if he slept in his clothes. He was wearing his trench coat though and Hyperion was gripped in his right hand. Rinoa noticed that Seifer's eyes were red and blotchy. He was wincing as a terrible headache tore through his skull.

"So what do you wanna talk about?" Zell questioned.

"Listen I have a confession to make." Irvine said steadily. "Before you guys turned up in Galbadia I already knew you."

"What do you mean?" Quistis questioned.

"Do you guys remember your childhood? Do you remember where you used to live?" Irvine stated firmly.

"We grew up in the Garden except for Zell. He's lived with his mother all his life." Selphie pointed out.

"You got GFs right? And they take your memories so they'll have room in your mind." Irvine explained.

"What does this have to do with anything?" Zell asked.

"Because Irvine remembers just as much as I do." Seifer spoke up and the group stared at him. "We used to live in an orphanage."

"How do you know? You've got Phoenix?" Irvine questioned.

"My GF doesn't affect my memories." Seifer shrugged. "If we're going after Edea then Irvine is right and the rest of you should know the truth."

"But I know my family. I don't remember anything about an orphanage." Zell said.

"We used to live together in a house on the beach. There was a lighthouse there..." Irvine began to speak then Quistis spoke up.

"And we used to set off fireworks along the beach." She murmured gently.

"Irvine would follow Selphie around all day. I used to call Zell cry baby. He'd cry at the drop of a hat." Seifer smirked but there was no maliciousness to it.

"But how could we have forgotten that?" Quistis whispered.

"The GFs took away your childhood." Seifer replied. "They took away a lot of things." He stared at Squall but the brunet wasn't looking at the blond man.

"Squall, do you remember a girl that used to live there? She was called Ellone." Irvine questioned.

"I..." he wanted to say no but then a single word came to mind. "Sis?"

"You used to call her your big sister. You wanted her all to yourself. When she went away you just locked yourself up." Seifer said stiffly.

"I don't..." Squall wanted to deny it but images of a pretty dark haired girl filled his mind. "Stop talking about this."

"It's not just Ellone. Do you remember the matron who took care of us?" Irvine pressed.

"She was tall and beautiful with long black hair. She used to wear a black dress." Seifer filled in. "Her name was Edea Kramer."

"That's not possible!" Selphie cried.

"Look we're going to fight the Sorceress and you need to remember what happened." Seifer snapped irritably. "Edea was our matron; all of you got adopted except for Squall and me. We're gonna be fighting a woman who was like a mother to us. The sooner you understand that the better off you'll be."

Seifer didn't wait for an answer. Instead he turned and stalked off. He didn't want to be anywhere near Squall right now. It was true that he and the brunet had never been adopted. Squall became so withdrawn he seemed to be an emotionless boy while Seifer had too hot a temper.

It was funny...he and Squall had always been together it some way or another. They had grown up together, been left behind together and gone to Garden together. But none of that mattered anymore. They would have to fight Edea and kill her to bring peace back to the planet. Seifer brushed away hot tears angrily as he went back into Balamb Garden.

Balamb Garden

It took most of the day but Kadowaki managed to help as best she could and she brought the wounded and survivors on board Balamb Garden. Nida was given the co-ordinates to the orphanage by Cid and soon the Garden was flying across the ocean towards the southern part of the continent.

Sora, Riku, Cloud, Leon, Baralai, Ienzo and Roxas had all been informed about Edea and her connection to Squall and his companions. Rinoa was the only one who wasn't part of the orphanage group and she felt out of place among them now. Seifer had disappeared back into his room but Roxas had gone to check up on him. The Garden was already approaching the house on the beach with the lighthouse.

Squall and the others stood on the deck of the Garden and stared down onto the beach. The house was a ruin now but the lighthouse still stood like a silent edifice. Nida put the Garden down just outside the house on the hill and Squall departed along with his friends. Sora and his friends remained on board Balamb Garden for the moment.

Seifer had refused to come out of his room, claiming that his headache was too bad for him to move. Taking a glance at the silent house Squall took a breath then approached it. As he stared at the house he felt a pressure clamping down on his head and then he cried out when he started to remember something. A long forgotten memory bubbled to the surface and Squall couldn't stop it.