CHAPTER 13 – Going Back Home

Two days later, Squall felt much better. In fact, she felt as though nothing had happened at all. Her head was no longer spinning, she no longer saw double and she wasn't seeing things from over twelve years ago anymore.

They had stopped in a clearing somewhere near where Galbadia Garden used to be. Somehow, the whole thing had up and left. There went any chance that Headmaster Martine would keep them secret and safe until they could get back to Balamb Garden. Assuming there was a Balamb Garden. Squall didn't like to dwell on thoughts like that. They made her feel sick to her stomach.

"So," Quistis started, "we're in a car that's out of gas, we're stuck in a hostile nation, we've got no clue whether or not our home is still there and we've got no way of knowing whether or not it'll still be there."

"Home..." Squall whispered.

"What is it, Squall?" Quistis asked.

"Oh, I was just thinking... Winhill's only about a mile or so away from here."

"What's Winhill?"

"My hometown. Well, more like a village."

"Why don't we go there?" Selphie asked.

"We don't know what'll be there," Quistis answered.

Squall said, "It's just a quiet place, only families and old, retired people."

Quistis took a few moments to respond, then said, "Okay. We'll go there. I just hope this isn't a bad decision."

Twenty minutes later, they stood at the sign that marked off the entrance to Winhill. Just as Squall remembered it, it was mostly farmland at first. She vaguely remembered playing with Ellone in the fields, getting her dresses or her overalls dirty. Her life before her dad had left her at Cid's orphanage had been easy and simple.

A far cry from recent events.

"So, where did you live?" Selphie asked.

"In town. C'mon, it's just down this road."

They walked for another mile through the farmland and wound up in the town of Winhill, also how Squall remembered it. The 'town' itself was basically just a few houses and stores and the mayor's office situated around a large cobblestone town square, the center of which was a large marble fountain.

And, exactly where she remembered it, was her mom's bar.

Tears began to well up in Squall's eyes. She hadn't expected it to still be there. Raine Leonhart (or Loire) had been dead for seventeen years, and yet the building stood just as she remembered it. Just as her dad had kept it after her mom had died.

She walked up to it. A memory of skinning her knee on the front step came rushing into her head. Her dad picked her up and brought her inside to clean it up and put a band-aid on it. The memory made her start to cry again.

"C'mon, Squall," Quistis said, putting her arms on Squall's shoulders. "We don't have to stay here, we can find someplace else."

"No," Squall said through her tears, "I've gotta do this."

She opened the door and walked inside. The barstools, the tables, the bar itself—everything was as she remembered it. She knelt down by the door and wiped a little dust away from a spot on the floor where she and Ellone had carved their names into the wood. Beside that were two stick figures of girls with long hair—the two sisters.

The stairs were just as creaky as she remembered when she walked up them. The place where her parents had made love (and made her) was right in the doorway to the right. That led to a small bedroom. Another memory came rushing forward—Squall finding her dad sitting on the bed in the room and crying. What's wrong, Daddy? she'd asked. Nothing, sweetheart, he answered, though his tears, I'm just thinking about Mommy, okay?

Squall started crying again. The place where she'd been concieved, and it was also the last place her parents had ever been together. Nine months later, and Raine Leonhart had died giving birth to the most powerful Sorceress the world had ever seen.

"Who's there?" someone asked. Squall turned around and an old woman was standing in the doorway. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

Squall dried her face. "I don't know, exactly. I... I'm Squall Leonhart, my mom used to own this bar."

"Leonhart... Leonhart... Oh, oh, Raine's daughter? Raine's youngest daughter?"

"Yeah. Yeah, that's me."

"Oh, dear, I'm so sorry. You've grown so much, it's so difficult to tell. I haven't seen you since you were a little girl."

"So, you know me?"

"Yes, dear," she sat Squall down on the bed, then sat down herself. "My name is Lucrecia Loire. I'm your grandmother."

"My grandmother? I... I didn't know I had any grandparents left."

"I'm one of the last, I'm afraid. Your grandfather died over thirty years ago, and Raine's father was dead when I moved here."

"So, when was that? And what about her mother?"

"Oh, I'd say about ten years ago. Your father asked me to come and take care of the bar and his house. And, as for her mother... I'll tell yo that story later. Why, the last time I saw you, you were about four. I remember you and your sister playing in the mud right outside the house."

"My sister... Do you know where Ellone is?"

"I'm sorry, dear. No more than I know where your father is."

Squall lowered her head. "It's alright... I guess one family member's fine for now."

Her grandmother smiled. "That's sweet, dear."

"Laguna had a soft spot for Raine the first time he met her." Squall's grandmother poured tea into Quistis' cup. She thanked the elderly woman. "He told me, 'Mom, I've met and angel, and her name is Raine'. I laughed and said, 'Isn't that what you said about Julia Heartily?'"

"Heartily?" Selphie asked. "Wasn't that Rinoa's last name?"

Squall answered, "Yeah. Julia married General Caraway a couple years after my parents met."

"Well," her Mrs. Loire continued, "as soon as I met Raine, I wondered—no offense to your father, dear—but I wondered why a woman that beautiful would want Laguna Loire. The man had been in more wars than I can count before he was twenty years old. He had scars, shrapnel burns and goodness knows what else, and still he tried to pick up every woman he ever saw.

"Well, Laguna and Raine hit it off well when he stopped in Winhill for his leave one day. That was the day Ellone was concieved. After that, every chance he got, he snuck away from his base and into Winhill to see both your mother and his first daughter."

"So, when did he come to live here for good?" Quistis asked.

"That was when Ell was about four. The Galbadia-Esthar War had almost ended and Laguna was already set to retire. He was twenty-six and had already gotten farther ahead of some soldiers who had entered the service decades before him. Laguna was a man who rose up quickly because he made friends with the right people—his fellow troops."

"Dad was really popular with his compatriots?"

"Yes, dear, he was. Your father was loved by all. When he asked Raine to marry him, she said yes before he'd even finished asking. Sadly, that didn't last long. It was only two years before you were born, and your mother died in childbirth."

"All because I'm a Sorceress..."

"If that's what someone told you, you were misled."

"Whaddya mean?"

"Your mother was a Sorceress, too. So's Ell. If your being a Sorceress had anything to do with it, then how did she live past Ellone to have you?"

"Wait, I come from a family of Sorceresses?"

"Dating back as far as I know, dear. Your mother, Raine's mother, her grandmother—all the way down the line. I wouldn't be surprised if you were a descendant of the first Sorceress."

"So, there have been a lot more natural-born Sorceresses than anybody knows about?"

"Yes. Your whole line. Adel and that other one weren't all. And when you think about it, how could they be? Neither one of them was the first Sorceress. Surely the first Sorceress was born that way."

"Did any other members of my mom's family turn evil? Any of the other Sorceresses, I mean?"

"Oh, certainly. I'm sorry to tell you this, but it kind of runs in the family. Raine's mother was the last, though. Of course... she's still alive."

"She is?"

Mrs. Loire nodded slowly. "I hate to be the one to tell you this, sweetheart, but Raine's mother was Sorceress Adel."

"Adel is my grandmother?"

"Yes."

Squall slumped back in her seat, a dour expression on her face. "God, I just keep learning things about my family I'm not sure I wanted to know..."

"I'm sorry about all of this, sweetie."

Squall shook her head. "It's alright, Grandma... I guess it's just my fate to end up a big bitchy Sorceress in the future."

Huh? Where am I? Hello! Ah, crap, am I in Dad's memories again?

Laguna could have sworn he'd shut that voice out years ago, but every so often it came back. He was sitting on his front porch, watching Ellone and Squall chase each other around the fountain. Those two girls brightened him up every day. Ellone was eight, and was starting to grow into a real beauty. Squall was only three, but she, too, was going to end up beautiful.

Just like their mother.

A tear fell from his eye as he thought about Raine. He blamed himself for her condition. If he had seen it earlier... If he had just known the symptoms... Even being among the world's oldest living line of Sorceress hadn't stopped Raine from dying of cancer. Childbirth had been too much for her. And every bit of her power, every bit of her strength was transferred into Squall.

"Daddy, daddy!" Squall ran up to him. She was out of breath. "Daddy, Ellone ran off to docks so I can't catch her!"

"Alright," he picked her up and put her on his shoulder, "let's go get your sister before she ends up hiding there all day."

Laguna carried Squall with him down the rickety stairs to the Winhill Port (named so because there was little else to call it). He saw why she had run down there, and it wasn't to get away from little Squall in their game of tag.

A Galbadian Navy ship was pulling into the docks.

Laguna walked down the dock to where Ellone was standing. She looked concerned. "What's going on, Dad?" Ell had given up calling him 'daddy' the day she became a big sister to Squall. That kind of depressed him. He thought it was cute that she called him 'daddy'. Oh, well, he still had Squall to call him that for a few more years.

"I dunno, sweetie." He set Squall down on the docks and straightened her. "Keep close to each other, okay? Ell, don't let your sister fall into the water; Squall, don't let your sister push you into the water." He walked out to the gangplank of the ship and waited for their captain to come down. He was more than a little surprised that it was General Caraway. "General, nice to see you again."

"Please, Laguna, neither one of us is an active military officer, don't call me 'general'."

"Sir, I'm not entirely certain I've ever known your first name."

"Well, don't take that too personally. Very few people do. Ah! Those your little girls?" He pointed to Ell and Squall. "Beautiful little munchkins, I'll say."

"Thanks. You know how it is when you become a dad, right? How's Julia? She bear you any kids yet?"

"Just one." He turned and looked back up at the boat. "C'mon, dear, and bring Rinoa with you!"

Julia Heartily-Caraway—still as beautiful as Laguna had thought her almost seven years ago—walked down the gangplank, carrying a little raven-haired girl who couldn't have been much older than Squall. She was wearing a little blue dress and black boots, holding a puppy in her arms.

"Hello, Laguna," Julia said, smiling, "it's been a long time."

"It has, it has. So, this is your little daughter? Rinoa, was it?"

"Hello Mr. Loire," Rinoa said, politely.

"You know my name, sweetheart?"

"Daddy talks about you all the time."

Laguna looked up at Caraway. "Does he, now?

"Yep, and he says you're the bestest friend he could ever have."

"Bestest friend, huh?" Laguna stood up. "Didn't know you liked me that much, General."

"Laguna, I've told you more than once that you're the finest soldier I've ever trained, and the best man I've ever met. I was sorry to hear about Raine, though."

"Yeah, me too."

"Was Raine your wife?" Julia asked.

"Yes, she was." He knelt down to Rinoa again. "Tell you what, Rinoa, how do you feel about getting dirty and muddy while you're playing?"

"I do it all the time, but Daddy doesn't like it."

"Okay then, see those two girls over there?" He pointed to Squall and Ellone. "Their names are Ellone, the taller one, and Squall, the one that's about your size. They'd love to play with another girl. Tell 'em to show you their favorite spot, okay?"

"Okay!" She looked up at Julia. "Can I go, Mommy?"

"Of course you can, sweetie. Just be careful, okay?"

"Okay, Mommy!" Rinoa ran off and introduced herself to the two girls, then the three of them ran off up the stairs and back out into the town. The girls' favorite spot was out in Old Man Ursan's farm. Plus, Old Man Ursan loved to see the girls. If the man wasn't a hundred and twelve, Laguna'd worry that he was a pedophile.

He turned back to General Caraway and Julia. "So, what brings you to the neighborhood?"

"Vacation. We haven't left Deling City in such a long time, we felt it was necessary." Caraway poked his thumb at the boat. "This was just a gift from some of my Naval friends. They gave it to us for a wedding gift."

"Huh... All I got was a notice of my wife's cancer."

"I'm sorry, Laguna."

"Don't be. The doctor said that nine times out of ten, the patient doesn't even know they have that type of cancer until it's too late. And Raine's final days were pleasant and peaceful."

They didn't talk at the docks for long. Laguna brought them inside the bar and treated them to his famous 'Winhill Whiskey', a drink which five people before them had tasted. Of course, two of them were his young daughters. He decided to leave that part out.

The conversation was little more than their family lives. Julia and the general told Laguna about how they'd gotten married, why they got married and the circumstances that led to the tryst that brought Rinoa into their lives. Laguna talked about how he and Raine had met, about Ellone and about Squall.

He didn't tell them that Squall and Ell were Sorceresses. No one could ever learn that unless it was absolutely necessary. They'd be hunted, all for something they couldn't control.

"Your daughters are beautiful, Laguna," Julia said, "but you look worried about something."

"No. Nothing."

Caraway looked at him, sternly. "Laguna, I won't lie to you. There's another reason we came to see you."

"What is it?"

"Raine was smart to cover it up on her papers, but we do know that Adel was her mother."

"And now you're going to tell me that you know she was a Sorceress."

"Yes. And, I'd like you to be honest with me, are Ellone and Squall?"

"Uh-huh."

Caraway sat back in the chair. "I was afraid of that." He sighed. "Have either of them shown signs yet?"

"They're eight and three, respectively."

"I see. So, Ellone's not that far off."

"No, she's not. But they won't go bad easily. Neither one's gotten any negativity from me, and all of the people in this town knew that Raine was a Sorceress, too."

"I hope you're right."

"I know I'm right."

Wow, General Caraway knows that I'm a Sorceress...

Laguna pushed the voice away again. He slumped forward in his seat. "Are you suggesting I do something about them now?" He looked directly at Caraway. "They're my only daughters."

"I know, Laguna, and I'm not suggesting that at all." He leaned back in his chair. "I'm just suggesting that you keep a good eye on them. Preferably two."

"I will. Don't worry. Squall and Ell won't become problems."

Squall sat up in the bed, breathing heavily. She turned on the lamp next to the bed and slowed her breathing. In the next bed over, Selphie stirred. "Turn the light off, Squally. Some of us not living through our parent's memories are trying to sleep..."

"Wait, did you see that?"

"Uh-huh... you and your sister were cute as kids..."

"Selphie, get up, talk to me about this."

Selphie sat up, pulling her left bra strap back over her shoulder. "What is there to talk about? You were stuck in your dad's memories."

"You were, too?"

"Well... actually, I was seeing stuff from General Caraway's point of view. How's come you never told me your dad was hot?"

"Well, how's about 'cause he's my dad?"

"Okay, good point. But what is there really to talk about?"

"Nobody else ever saw that except me. I kinda wanted to know what it felt like to you."

"It felt like..." she trailed off, as if trying to find the right words, "well, it felt like I was just a passenger. And it was really creepy because I was looking down at my hands and they were really somebody else's. Seeing somebody else's life is just weird. I hope I'm never around you when you fall asleep again."

Squall frowned. "Wow, that makes me feel good about sleeping with my boyfriend again."

"Sorry."

"I wonder how Shibi's doing..."

"I bet he's okay."

"I hope so." Squall laid back down in her bed and shut off the light. "I really hope so."

The next morning, Squall awoke, happy that she hadn't had any more flashbacks to her dad's life. She considered asking her grandmother about it, but decided not to.

She walked out onto the cobblestone street that made up the town square and her own memories started surfacing. Mostly just times when she and Ellone were playing was all she saw. Every now and again a memory of her dad popped in.

Am I angry at him? she asked herself. Am I just pissed off that he left me and Ell? Am I pissed off at Ell for leaving me? Why am I so screwed up? I hate my life... I hate it, I hate it, I hate!

She sat down on the bench on the porch and just stared.

A cloaked figure came up the road. Squall could tell it was a woman by the body shape, but her face was hidden by a hood. The cloak she was wearing was blue, and she had a green sash coming down from her shoulder, around her waist, and then finally it was trailing behind her. Part of it was wrapped around her arm, as well.

Something about her seemed... familiar. She walked right past the bar and the house and walked up to the mayor's place. Without knocking, she just walked right in. The door then closed behind her. Squall was intrigued, now.

She thought about going up and knocking, but decided against it. Instead, she walked around to the back of the house and, while keeping low, peeked in the windows.

"It's nice to see you again," the mayor greeted the woman. She didn't remove her hood. "I haven't seen you for years."

"I know. I haven't had time. I still haven't been able to find him."

"He'll turn up, somewhere."

"I hope so."

"And...?"

"Safely at Balamb Garden, or, somewhere else."

"You heard about the missile launch? And the assassination attempt on Edea?"

"Yes. I saw it—well, the Garden, anyway. I saw it floating in the water towards Fisherman's Horizon."

The Garden is floating? The Garden moves?

"I hope she's either aboard or somewhere else that's safe."

The mayor leaned back in his seat. "Me, too."

The girl pulled back her hood and revealed her face. Squall's eyes widened. The face that stared at her now, she hadn't seen since she was a little girl.

She shouted, "Ellone!" and jumped up, hitting the window between them.

Then she blacked out.

Squall awoke some time later, back in the bed that she'd slept in. She sat up and rubbed her forehead. "Owwie..." she said, whimpering.

The door opened and footsteps came around the bed until Ellone sat down in the chair next to the bed. Squall studied her face. Both of them looked like their mother, with little of their father visible in their features. Both of them had light brown hair that fell to their mid-back.

"Wow... I never thought I'd see you again," Ellone said. A tear slipped down her face. "You've grown up, a lot."

Squall felt a tear fall down her own face. "Yeah. You, too."

The two sisters embraced. Both of them giggled for a few seconds as they hugged. Neither wanted to let the other go. Finally, they each pulled away from the other and calmed themselves down. "Man, I haven't been this happy in years," Ellone said. "Maybe together we can go find Dad."

"Ell... why did you leave me alone?"

Ellone lowered her eyes. When she spoke, she raised them again and looked straight at Squall. "I didn't do it on purpose."

"What does that mean?"

"I was kidnapped."

"Kidnapped? By who?"

"Sorceress Adel."

"As in, Grandma Adel?"

"You know about that, huh?"

"Grandma told me."

"Well, I guess you should have known."

"So, what happened?"

"Dad came to my rescue, then put me on the first plane back to the Centra continent. I haven't seen him since."

"So, is he still in Esthar?"

"I doubt it. But, I don't know."

Squall sighed. "Well, that's a story for another day, what's this about the Garden floating?"

"Well, Headmaster Martine told me once that the Gardens were once fortresses built by some ancient civilization."

"You know Headmaster Martine?"

"He dropped by a lot when we were kids. You were too young to remember."

"Not to mention my memory's all screwy."

"Right. Anyway, Martine told me that he thinks the Gardens were more than just fortresses. He thinks they were once airships."

"Wow..."

"I know."

"So, the Garden is in the air right now, flying to Fisherman's Horizon?"

"No, actually, it's in the water."

"So, it's a boat right now?"

"Pretty much."

"Oh..."

"Why aren't you there?"

"My friends and I went to stop the bombing of the Gardens, while my boyfriend and a couple other guys were sent to Garden to warn them."

"Boyfriend?"

"Shibiru. I hope you'll meet him later."

"I hope so, too. My little sister has her first boyfriend? This is something I've got to see." They giggled for a few seconds.

"This is Quistis," Squall introduced the older girl. She had dark brown hair, and was wearing an orange dress over a black leotard. "And the one chowing down on toast at the table is Selphie," she pointed to the girl in the yellow overalls-dress with oddly styled brown hair. Selphie waved while eating the toast laid out on the plate in front of her. "So, that's my team."

"The boys go off and save the school while the girls do the dirty work?" Ellone asked. "Isn't that kinda shitty?"

"That's just how it ended up," Quistis said, "not like it storming that missile base was difficult, or anything."

Selphie spoke with food in her mouth, "Yeah, you shoulda seen Squall shoot bullets back at people with her mind, and then blow up a tank!"

Ellone turned to look at Squall. Squall blushed. "What? It was the heat of the moment and my life was at stake." She turned her head. "Not to mention the lives of my friends. The safety of my school, too."

Ellone nodded. "Even though it was useless."