Well, we have another record-time update here XD And it's a long chapter. Go figure.

NebraeExbaren: Thanks! And I really didn't even think about Isa .-. Shame on me. But he might pop up eventually...you never know XD And I kinda liked Braig in his human form...I don't know why. He just kind of looks dashing for some reason ^-^ And I'm sorry about your grandparents :( Thank you for your prayers, though. I really appreciate it :)

Erxenesh: Thanks :) I will be taking my time, but at the same time, writing is a nice getaway from all the stress. I hope you enjoy the chapter!

xkelbix: Thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying it! And thank you for your thoughts :)

Please enjoy!

It wasn't even evening yet and it had already been a long day. Squall had overseen the unloading and storage of the Ragnarok, helped at least a dozen of his people move in to town houses on the other side of the city, and managed to get every SeeD, soldier and scientist interested back to the castle in time to sign a contract and pledge loyalty to Ansem.

But his day was far from over. Only now had he managed to gather his own meager possessions and head to the soldier's barracks on castle grounds.

The building was a large stone construction located near the servants' entrance of the castle. Despite its purpose, it was nothing if not luxurious. The entrance hall was covered in plush carpeting with gold fixtures, overstuffed chairs, and a fireplace.

Zack was there to meet the group of SeeDs, cadets and others and proceeded to lead them on a tour of the building. The Garden students were awed. Most of the SeeDs and cadets had come from orphanages and foster homes. They had never really experienced wealth first hand, and seemed eager to do so. Frankly, Squall didn't approve in the least, but he reminded himself he wasn't in command anymore. The performance of soldiers was no longer his concern.

That thought surprised him. It had yet to sink in that he was nothing more than a grunt again, but Squall was already liking the idea of once again only being responsible for himself.

There were over fifty bedrooms to be shared with a bunkmate, a dining hall complete with expensive-looking tables and chairs, a sitting room filled with dusty novels and maps, a meeting room, a recreational room, showers, and a gym. Anything a soldier could ever need and a lot more.

"This place is amazing!" Laguna interrupted Squall's musings, walking up behind him and clapping him on the back.

Oh, yeah. The big drawback: Laguna had had military training. That meant Squall would spend the rest of his time on the job with Laguna not too far away. Grand.

Squall shot the older man an annoyed look. "Don't touch me," he growled.

"Sorry," Laguna blinked, seeming to be a bit surprised by the reaction. He was wonderfully silent for a moment as they followed Zack down the halls. Then, he asked in a low voice, "You alright?"

Alright? Was he alright? Did he already forget that their planet was destroyed? That the rest of their friends and family were dead? That Rinoa was dead?

Squall shot him a withering look. "I don't like to be touched."

Laguna caught the hint. After a few awkward moments of hovering, he picked up his pace to catch up with Kiros and a SeeD that were speaking with Zack.

"You shouldn't be too hard on him, you know."

Squall didn't slow his pace or turn to look at the cowboy as he fell into step beside him. "He's hurting, too. He just doesn't show it the same way."

"Shut up, Irvine," Squall muttered. He didn't need to be told. But knowing it didn't make his pain any more bearable.

The last stop on the tour was the dormitories. A long hall of red doors stretched before them. Several residents gave the group curious looks as Zack divided them into groups of two and showed them to their rooms. Squall held his breath until the General declared Laguna and Kiros as bunkmates.

Soon, all the others had been assigned rooms, leaving Squall alone in the hallway with Zack.

The raven-haired soldier looked the list in his hands, then up at Squall. "I hope you don't mind that I've assigned you a roommate you don't know."

It was probably for the best, actually. At least he wouldn't have to put up with his friends constantly prying…

Zack sighed. "It's just a kid that I've been kinda worried about. His name is Cloud, which I guess is asking for trouble," he offered Squall a sheepish smile. "The other guys give him a hard time. His last roommate pulled all kinds of nasty pranks on him, like shredding his bed sheets and putting itching powder in his uniform. It got bad enough that I had to discharge him. So I was just wondering if you'd look out for the kid, huh?"

Squall blinked. This guy was asking him to act like some kid's mother? Squall shook his head. "Whatever."

Zack grinned. "Thanks, buddy!" he crowed, clapping Squall on the shoulder.

Squall staggered under the friendly blow. That felt a lot more forceful than it should have…He got his feet under him before glaring at the soldier. "Which one is mine?"

The brunet cleared his throat. "Um, right here," he gestured to a room on his left.

With a last parting glare, Squall stepped past him and into his new room.

The place was about three times as big as his old dorm at Garden. The beds were both doubles with royal blue comforters, beige carpeting underneath and large dressers beside them. A small chandelier hung from the ceiling and light fixtures were attached to walls. A fireplace sat in a wall with two stuffed blue chairs situated on a woven rug placed before it.

In one of the chairs sat a young man. He was probably about sixteen, with aqua-colored eyes and a shock of spiky blond hair that shot off in every direction. Squall could understand why he might have trouble with the other troops. He had a delicate look about him that screamed "easy target".

Cloud glanced up from a book to meet Squall's gaze. "Are you Squall?" he asked softly, his voice holding a tinge of nervousness. Probably afraid Squall would beat him up or something.

"Yes. Cloud?"

"Yeah."

Squall shifted uncomfortably in the entryway.

"Um, make yourself at home," Cloud gestured to the bed on the other side of the room.

Squall nodded, heading over to the bed. He placed his Lionheart against the wall, his only possession aside from the clothes on his back. He would have to go into town soon and find some new ones.

He sat down on the bed, sinking into the downy mattress. Suddenly, he felt very tired. It was an exhaustion that penetrated all the way to his soul. Too much had happened in the past week. More than he knew he could bear.

He eased himself down and closed his eyes. Squall was asleep seconds later.

A week later, things were going smoothly. Squall had curbed a few beatings Cloud had almost been victim of, but so far there had been no other problems of that nature. All of the new recruits seemed to be adapting well to the new accommodations, and even Squall found himself enjoying all of the work. It kept his mind occupied.

His days consisted of drills and downtime, while most of the night he patrolled the southern wall with Cloud, Irvine and Zell.

"Did you see the look on that guy's face when Quistis turned him down?" Zell asked the group as they walked the walls.

"You bet. It was priceless! He was sure Quisty would say yes," Irvine chuckled.

Squall tuned them out and turned his gaze over the city below them. Lights glistened here and there, but at this hour, most were asleep. The night was comfortably cool with a soft breeze, and a full moon hung high overhead.

Rinoa would have liked it.

"Who's that?" Zell asked suddenly.

Squall turned to look down the other side of the wall, where the martial artist was pointing. A man was casually making his way from the castle to the soldier barracks. At this distance, all Squall could really note about him was the long silver hair that hung down to his thighs, and the ridiculously long katana that was sheathed at his side. It had to be longer than Squall was tall.

"His name is Sephiroth," Cloud supplied quietly. "He's a General, like Zack. One of Ansem's closest advisers."

"I've seen him around a few times, but not all that often," Irvine said.

"He does a lot of work out of town, or so they say," Cloud said. "Either way, he's not around very much."

"Huh," Zell muttered. "Well, what were you saying about Selphie?" he began again to Irvine.

"SQUALL LEONHART!"

Squall was at attention in an instant, his reflexes overriding any thoughts he might have had. When one's name was said in that tone of voice, it was best not to ignore it.

Unless that voice just so happened to belong to a certain Lea.

The redhead marched up behind the group with his chest held high, dressed in the uniform of the Royal Guard and wearing his hair in a low ponytail. He even had the air of a soldier. "Your presence is required at the castle this instant," he said, sounding all the world like a drill sergeant.

Squall dropped his pose immediately, opting instead to glare at the intruder. "Get out of here, Lea."

The 'officer' pulled a disbelieving look across his face. "Are you refusing a summons from Ansem himself?"

"No, I'm refusing a summons from an idiot like you," Squall growled.

"Um, Squall? He's a superior officer," Irvine pointed to the bars and badges that glittered on the uniform's lapel.

"No he isn't. He's an imposter. If we had any sense, we'd throw him off the wall."

"Squall, I really think you should just go with him," Zell said, his tone cautious. "He's got the marks."

Lea nodded. "A good idea, soldier."

"For the love of all things good, he is not an officer!" Squall hissed, careful not to raise his voice. "He probably doesn't even work here."

The others blinked. "How do you know that?" Zell asked.

Lea interrupted Squall's reply by turning to Cloud. "Cloud Strife, am I an officer?"

Cloud blinked like a chocobo caught in the headlights. " Um, I'm not sure, sir-"

"You're not sure?" he demanded, leaning into the poor kid's face. "You're not sure? I asked you a simple question, soldier! Am I, or am I not an officer of the Royal Guard?"

Cloud sputtered for a moment before spitting out a hasty "Yes sir!"

Lea turned to Squall, a hint of his usual smug smile tugging on the corner of his lip. "See there? Now, come with me." Without another word, he turned on his heel and marched down the wall.

Squall glared at Cloud like this was somehow his fault, but didn't follow Lea. Zell and Irvine stared at him like he had lost his mind.

Irvine quirked an eyebrow.

Zell glanced after Lea pointedly.

Cloud looked a little lost.

With a pained sigh, Squall turned and followed after Lea. Cloud would have a lot more to worry about than ripped sheets and itching powder when Squall got back tonight. If Squall got back tonight.

"What do you think you're doing?" Squall demanded when he caught up to Lea.

"I think I'm breaking into the castle's basement," the redhead said smoothly, all traces of his act gone. His stiff, military pose had been replaced with a slight slouch, and the stony face of a war-hardened warrior had been overrun by a smirk. "I also think that you're going to help me do it."

"Why me?" Squall asked crossly.

"I'm not sure. Must be your charming personality that just called to me."

Squall glared.

He just chuckled. "You seem to be the most . . . capable."

"Capable of what?"

"Now now, Squally. There'll be plenty of time for questions later. Right now, we've got a castle to infiltrate, right?"

Squall had to admit that he was vaguely curious about what was going on underneath the stronghold. If a man like Xehanort was involved, it probably wasn't anything good. But Squall was also wondering if it was worth risking his new career, and possibly his life, over.

Well, there was really only one way to find out.

Squall sighed. When had he become adventurous? It must have been Rinoa's doing. She had always tried to encourage him to be more outgoing and spontaneous.

The memory brought a ghost of a smile to his lips before other, more recent ones wiped it from his face.

Getting into the castle wasn't as hard as he had predicted it would be. The two guards, both of whom Squall recognized, let them pass without question or even a second glance. Either security was pathetic, or Lea was a very good con artist. Probably a little of both.

"Like candy from a baby," the redhead laughed as they walked down the middle of the hall. "Maybe next we should try breaking into the treasury."

Squall didn't feel the statement was worthy of a reply.

"What kind of security does the basement have?" the brunet asked. If he was going to do this, he may as well know what he was up against.

Lea shrugged. "Don't know."

"You don't know?" Squall hissed.

"No. Can't say I've ever been down there before."

"Then how do you know that anything bad is going on?"

Lea glanced around them, the first sign that he might actually be on the lookout for any castle residents. "You know that guy you just saw outside? With the freakishly long hair?" he asked in a quiet, serious voice. When Squall nodded, he continued. "Well, he disappears into that basement for days at a time. When he comes out, he looks. . . different. Strange. It's hard to explain. Then there are the rumors…"

"What rumors?"

"Something about hearts and shadows. It's the hearts that have me interested, though."

"Why?"

"All in good time. For now, let's just see for ourselves what's going on in that basement."

Squall wasn't sure what to think, or even why he was here. Lea seemed to think something was amiss, but what did it concern Squall? He felt no sense of loyalty to this world or it's people, only to people of his world.

But if this was something that could hurt them…well, it would be a good idea to find out what was going on down there, wouldn't it?

It wasn't long before Lea had led him to an older, darker section of the castle. The fixtures and furniture all seemed to be a bit more weathered, and the carpet a bit more worn and faded. The only light came from the windows, spilling moonlight onto the floor like liquid silver.

They finally came to a halt in a small library. A large marble top desk took up one wall of the room, while a massive hearth took up the opposite one. There was no light in the room, so it was difficult for Squall to make out anything else.

"Come on, it can't be this cliché," Lea chuckled.

Squall turned to look at him, barely making out his silhouette in the dimness. "What?"

"The library? I mean, really!" he laughed aloud. "It's always the library! Now all we have to do is find the bust of Ansem that triggers the sliding bookcase."

Squall toed the rug at their feet, flipping the corner to reveal a trapdoor. "Or we could just try this."

Lea gave him a deadpan look. "Killjoy," he muttered. He bent down and carefully lifted the lid. It opened silently, revealing a dark staircase. "Looks cozy," he commented before turning his emerald eyes to Squall. They glittered mischievously in the dimness. "Who goes first?"

Silly Lea. Next chapter, we shall see what trouble he drags Squall into XD Hope they don't get shot...

For those interested, my granddad is scheduled to have surgery on Tuesday to remove a tumor. That'll be the week that an update probably won't happen, so that's why this chapter was a bit longer. I'm kinda trying to make up for it...

I hope everyone has a splendid week, and I look forward to hearing from you all in your reviews (pwease? :D)!

God Bless,

-RainFlame