Another week has passed. Guess what that means, my readers…YES! A new chapter! Thankfully I was able to update it on the right day and I hope this will maintain also next week. Once again I am sorry if the update is slightly delayed and as always I DON'T OWN ANYTHING IN THIS STORY. However Aria is mine as well as all the OCs that I introduce in the plot.
To my dear reviewers:
Anon – Thanks for reviewing once more. I was very happy when I noticed that I had sparked your curiosity. About your questions I'm afraid I can't say much cause it would take away the surprise factor. But one thing I can say. Expect the unexpected. As my friends constantly tell me I have a very weird mind and that it kinda translates into this.
About your Rinoa comment I can say without any problems that I don't like her much either. If you noticed there is a part in the story (see chap3) where Aria displays her opinion over her companions. You'll see there a bit of my own on Rinoa. Hope to hear more from you and once more thank you for your words.
Angel Of Apocolypse – Nnnoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Please don't scream! Have mercy! (Reyavie falls on her knees and pleads…convinced you yet?) THANK YOU! It was great to hear (read actually but let's forget about that) someone saying that they loved my story. And even more to know that it's considered imaginative and well-written. Taking into account that I'm Portuguese (PORTUGAL! Sorry…insanity break) and English is not my original language you made me a great compliment. Thank you! Good to know that I was fault free and I'll try to continue to write as best as I can. And yes, Squall acted like a jerk and will probably continue to be so for a while. He wouldn't be Squall in any other way would he? Here's the new chappie.
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A.N – Please consider that Minotaur is the younger brother and Sacred the oldest. I'm afraid I'm not sure of this and wrote the chapters taking this as a reference. It means that I will probably not change it now. Hope it doesn't bring too much confusion. Thanks for your attention.
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Welcome to the twelfth chapter of Second Life. See ya downstairs.
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"Squall?" – The Commander turned around to see Quistis, now his second in command, enter the headmaster's office. She seemed worried, an anxious expression etched in her face. He vaguely thought that it was due to the approaching mission but it went deeper than that. Besides she never got nervous because of a mission. She usually hid it inside and kept herself calm and confident.
– "Yes?" – The blond took a letter from her pocket and extended it to him
– "Aria told me to give this to you" – And with that she left without one single word. He frowned as he opened the letter to find a somewhat familiar round and fluent handwriting that he presumed to be Ariadne's.
The signature clearly stated it if any doubt had remained.
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Hello Commander,
If you are reading this it means that Quis did what I asked of her. Thank her for me will you? She was very annoyed in doing this and even more in allowing me to do what I am about to do. But I can be very persuasive when I want to, so don't blame her for anything. You know that even if she forbade me I would not stop anyways.
I have chosen to warn you only after I left as I don't want anymore unnecessary confrontations. You know what I am talking about. I am tired of arguing with you over my choices and somehow I think you are as well. Besides, I don't have any time to lose.
I left half an hour before this letter was given to you and will probably only come back at dawn. If something goes wrong I will try to wait for you guys in Balamb. Continue the mission and don't be concerned because of me. I have my own to take care of. Just please try to understand what I am about to say Squall.
I am going to Galbadia Garden.
I have to do it… My training is quite enough (I hope) to be able to get in undetected so I can at least talk to my friends and try to help them as much as I can.
Please comprehend…they gave me shelter, they gave me a home when I had nothing. I lived there for four years straight and I was never asked for nothing in return except for companionship and friendship. And they gave me so much in all this time. So I have to help. I need to help. I would never forgive myself if I didn't.
I'm sorry for that but it is something that my mind wouldn't allow me to ignore even if I tried. It is a part of myself. Of whom I am… I'll come back as soon as I can, hopefully with good news.
Trust me okay? So don't you even try to give my room away fearsome leader! You will not get rid of me that easily.
Sincerely, the thorn of your life,
Ariadne Beckerman
P.S: I probably shouldn't say this as it will take from me an advantage but in the future you should reinforce the guard on the front entrance. The old man snores really loudly you know?
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Squall's hands nearly crushed the small letter as he finished reading the missive. His first reaction was to find her and try to bash some good sense into her stubborn mind. To do something that would actually stop her from making the stupid actions she seemed so fond of doing. But he couldn't.
His dark blue eyes found the letter and he read it again now slowly until he stopped in three specific words "Trust me okay?" and then he could have sworn that he was hearing her voice as he had five days before – "I know that you don't trust shit about my abilities but you know what? I DON'T CARE!"
– "She did." – His words didn't get an answer from the empty room – "Damn it Ariadne. Stubborn fool." – He closed the letter somewhat forcefully and placed it on his pocket. Thorn of his life indeed.
He closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them no emotion could be perceived. Within minutes he was walking to the entrance only to find the old guard sleeping.
– "Sometimes I would just like her to be wrong" – He muttered as the snores invaded the quiet place.
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Her feet were nearly soundless as she crossed the small bridge that would take her to the Garden. She didn't know why it had been left there but it suited her purposes fine. Even if she had to deceive two guards to pass.
– "Thank Hyne Galbadian soldiers are complete idiots" – She pushed the single sheath she carried on her back to a more comfortable position, mentally thanking Fenwick's thoughtfulness in managing to make her katanas so that they could be transported together, and adjusted the student uniform she had taken from the armoury earlier.
The hallways she was crossing were familiar as her own two hands and she would have been able to find her way in the dark. After all she had almost done that on the training to her specialization. It wasn't really her fault that they had changed the guard's table from its usual place. But nevertheless that had been training and this was real life.
As silently as she could she entered one of the empty classrooms and looked for the ventilator. That had been one of her teacher's advice two years before. – "If you know the terrain use it to your advantage as much as you can" – And if there was a place she knew well in Gaea it was Galbadia Garden.
– "Especially because you spent half of your time escaping the teachers" – Grumbled Minotaur
– "Shush 'Taur. Not now" – She couldn't allow herself to be distracted at the moment even if she knew that he was deadly worried and was talking to try and calm down. But she had to concentrate. She slowly entered the dark space and started to move on her knees to the central point, a very interesting discovery of hers years back.
When she had first tried the ventilation system she had found out that all of it connected to one central focus and wherever she was on the Garden this point could be achieve somewhat easily if one had no claustrophobia and a bit of patience. She had both.
After fifteen minutes she finally reached the crossroad she had been looking for. With a smirk her hand removed the metal protection on the floor and turned it around to see instructions written in white chalk. A quick inspection told her that they had not been tampered with. It was her own handwriting after all and she doubted anyone in Gaea knew French. Even if someone knew about her "gates".
With ease she placed it back in the exact same way as she had found it and of the eight paths she chose one to her right. Voices began to come to her as she approached the dormitories but she ignored as she had done so many times before and only stopped next to a ventilator which had a small screw missing. Nobody would ever notice it but she had been the one to take it after all and in the middle of the all the others no one would see it. Then very silently she took all the others and stepped out of the ventilator to find a student's room.
Two beds were lined to one side and a table to the other. White walls were filled with photos and posters that the owner had put up and other small things clearly stated that the room was currently being used. The window of the balcony was wide open and the sun was shining through.
– "Into the wolves' den huh?" – She rolled her eyes with the comment – "Aren't you optimistic? I made it here Sacred. I will be alright."
– "And I hope we'll be as well or are you forgetting we're on your head?" – Muttered Minotaur.
Ariadne smiled a bit – "Kinda difficult if you ask me. But I can always give you away if you want to travel a bit"
– "Thank you for that kind offer Aria" – Started the older brother
– "But what Bro really wants to say is that we are already used to the Chaos that is your mind" – Completed her GF with yet another smirk.
– "Jee…Thanks. I love you too" – She rolled her eyes but their banter stopped as soon as she heard steps coming closer to the closed door. She jumped behind it just when the lock was being opened with the almost inaudible slip of a card
– "I see you later then" – Said the newcomer talking to whoever was with her. As soon as the door was closed Ariadne grabbed the girl and placed her hand firmly on her mouth to avoid the scream that was about to emerge
– "Stef! Stef!" – She whispered while trying to stop the girl from getting away – "It's me! Aria!" – The blond stopped struggling and turned her head slightly, brown-golden eyes wide in surprise. Ariadne let go but in the next second she was being literally hugged to death by the smaller girl
– "Side note: Never introduce her to Selph" – She had a fleeting suspicion that Stephanie was crying and just held her tightly in whatever support she could give
– "They told us you had died" – The girl murmured after a few minutes – "That you had been injured in the mission and had died. They even refused to send your body back. Said that it was punishment from the sorceress for your part in the assassination attempt." – Her head rose from Ariadne's shoulder to see her smile
– "I was injured alright… but I'm ok. Come on Stef" – She patted her friend on the head – "You should already know that I am hard to get" – Stephanie stopped crushing her and grinned widely as she cleaned her tears
– "Thank Hyne for that Aria. But what the hell are you doing here?" – She finally asked when she finally assimilated her presence – "The Galbadians will most probably kill you if they find you." – Ariadne shrugged
– "That doesn't worry me much right now." – She answered truthfully – "I am more concerned about you guys. So tell me. What has happened since I've left?"
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- "They arrived first when the capture of your entire party was announced on TV." – Stephanie was sitting at the table, legs crossed underneath her, and she was talking quietly as she didn't want to be overheard from the outside
– "Senior Seeds lost most of their power and a lot of them spent their time attempting to convince us that everything was alright." – She paused with a small smirk to her friend – "I believe that they sometimes think that we are plain stupid." – Ariadne smiled dryly. She knew well some of the Seeds from that place.
– "Then they started to get tighter schedules and pretty soon we weren't able to see them at all" – She continued slowly – "Everyone here has a timetable that has to follow exactly. We are not allowed to be outside of the rooms after hours or to be in certain places by ourselves, like the classrooms or the training center. At meals we have to eat fast and scram so we are not able to talk much with between us. To worsen things up we even have to use our cards after leaving the classes so that they can know that we have left. They are thinking about doing that also to our rooms so that they can monitor our movements here."
– "Hyne…" - Aria didn't seem happy. Understatement of the year would be what anyone would think if they looked at her at the moment. – "This is worse than I thought" – She stood up from the bed where she had been sitting as she listened to one of the first persons that had befriended her years before, a scowl crossing her face.
– "We will have more trouble to do something about it. And we don't have a lot of time left." – She made a pause seeming as if she was deep in thought and then… - "I cannot stay much longer Stef but I do have an idea and I need your help" – Stephanie nodded
– "You know you can count on me Aria" – She said, all her attention on the brown haired girl – "What do you have in mind?" – A smirk appeared on Ariadne's lips and pretty soon a matching one could be seen on Stephanie's
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- "Understood everything?" – Ariadne finished hiding the things that Stephanie had taken from her room on the ventilation and turned to look at her – "Talk with the others but only with those you trust. Be very careful. You cannot attract more attention to you." – The other girl swallowed somewhat nervously but nodded nevertheless.
– "I will try to find you guys as soon as I can" – Continued Aria – "Just keep a low profile and…"
"It is from here" – Voices stopped her from continuing. Voices she didn't know. But by the scared look on Stef's face she did.
– "It's them" – Ariadne cursed under her breath while she took once more the grid that covered the air system.
– "Enter" – She whispered as she pushed the girl's towards the shaft – "Keep silent and only move when they leave" – Her instructions didn't stop her from placing the grid once more leaving the metal between her and safety. She could see well Stephanie's scared face on the other side
– "But what will you do?" – "Search that room" – Screamed the voice from outside. Ariadne smiled reassuringly.
– "Don't worry. Do what I told you. When they leave walk past two vents until you find one marked with a small white cross. That's Lara's room. Explain the situation to her and stay there no matter what" – And ignoring the silent pleas her friend was sending she stayed as the door was opened roughly. Five soldiers were at the entrance, all armed and with the aura that she knew that meant magical users
– "So the Lady was right" – Said the first one as he looked at her – "We had intruders" – Ariadne smirked, arms ready to grasp her weapons if needed
– "You only noticed now huh? Damn your security really sucks. You should tell that to your…Lady" – They flinched in anger with the tone in her voice. Only a two year old would miss the mocking that underlined it
– "You will have opportunity to say that to her yourself" – She bowed scornfully as she took a small step back
– "I think will pass that lovely invitation" – Her right hand placed itself on her chest near her beating heart and her magic started to rise. Movement met her own and she knew that they were about to attack
– "But she will see me soon enough FIRAGA!" – And without waiting to see the result of her attack she turned and jumped to the banister behind her. The sea shone underneath and she frowned as screams filled the room she had just left – "Good time to remember that I hate heights. Someone must really hate me up there."
– "Stop right there" – A slightly wounded soldier approached the balcony, sword on his hands, ready to assault. She unsheathed a katana as he attacked, the blade sliding over hers and by little missing her hand. She merely reacted, ignoring how close she had come to injury and, just as she had done in FH, she brought her katana's hilt to her opponent's head. As soon as he fell the Seed realized that the others were recovering too fast from her diversion
– "I have to be cursed" – Ariadne climbed to the banister without a second thought and jumped without looking back. In the next moment she was falling, a feeling of freedom overwhelming her heart and mind as she seemed to fly in the direction of the calm waters. She closed her green eyes as she saw the sea closer and not long after the chilling water touched her skin, almost burning. She pulled out quickly attempting to breathe as her air-deprived lungs begged her to before looking up to where the soldiers were. One of them was looking directly ay her as she fought the sea's strength and was screaming something in anger.
She just saluted him sardonically and with a renewed energy she started to swim to shore still thinking about what Stephanie had said to her. Her expression turned cold as the water around her as she did so – "Someone is really going to get killed for this."
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The battle was going as well as it should when they had been stopped from using one of their best GF's. And it wasn't helping the fact that Rinoa without Quezacotl had pretty much stopped attacking. Zell, by Squall's side, had taken matters in to his own hands making the Commander somewhat pleased that he had given him Ifrit before their Seed exam. Not that he could have kept it. Shiva and Ifrit weren't the best partners to have in one's head.
– "Brotherly Love" – The unexpected voice broke through the battleground announcing the arrival of the two brothers and their holder. The three looked at where the voice had come from to find Ariadne. A wet Ariadne. An extremely wet and scowling Ariadne. A chilling glare was being sent in Raijin and Fujin's way as if she wanted no more that to maim them
– "Let's make this very clear" – She growled, her voice just as cold as she was feeling, the frozen clothes hanging to her body with a death grip, the caramel brown hair heavy with the water that was dripping from it. Emerald eyes flashed in pure anger
– "I'm drenched like a bloody idiot and cold as hell. My head seems like it is breaking apart with a headache from here to Esthar and I'm beyond pissed right now. So if you two could get the fuck out of here I would be awfully satisfied." – She looked momentarily to her comrades and gave them a sharp nod before taking a place next to them and directing her glare once more to the two ex-students.
Ifrit made its appearance then and was closely followed by a small yellow hue that overtook Squall's body. He turned slightly to Aria by his side that just grinned showing him a yellow stone she carried on her hand. One he had already seen before. But instead of questioning it he attacked with his limit break not allowing himself to lose precious time.
– "Hey you two. Up to one more?" – A snort was heard on her head as the brothers prepared themselves for their entrance and she evaded the Sai that Fujin had sent her way. She was beginning to think that people under the Sorceress's orders had something against her. And after what she had seen on the Garden they better had or she would have to be forced to hate them without having fun with it.
– "Brotherly love" – The words left her lips as they had always done in the years she had had them with her and just like before they appeared without much waiting. But a flicking in her mind told her that they were getting tired and would probably not take much more. So she grabbed her katanas tighter in her hands and proceeded to shield Rinoa that was taking the place as the group's healer while helping Squall to attack the more dangerous of the two attackers.
Zell was the only one still attacking with Ifrit. It didn't take too long before Raijin fell behind grumbling something that had Fujin muttering idiot under her breath. Ariadne hid a smirk and was about to attack again when an idea crossed her mind. Something she had forgotten in the mist of all the fights.
– "Draw" – A rush of energy met her body and she almost cursed when her head flashed in pain for a few seconds as it tried to accommodate the new inhabitant
– "Pandemona right?" – She asked as she watched Squall attack once more with his limit break and end the fight. She had done it just in time
– "That would be correct mistress" – The voice was kind and soft, one she would associate with an older, wiser woman. She already knew who she was going to receive it.
– "You shouldn't call her that" – Stated Minotaur matter-of-factly – "She hates it."
– "He is right" – Continued Aria as she listened to her friends talk with the two renegades – "Besides I cannot stay with you. I'm sorry. But I know just the person for you take care of. Can you do that for me?" – She could almost see the GF smile at her
– "As you wish" – And her presence vanished as quickly as it had come, a small white ball appearing on her right hand. – "Did she see anything guys?"
– "You don't need to worry" – Calmed Minotaur understanding immediately what she was worried about – "Bro shielded them for you. She didn't see only single thing."
She sighed in relief – "Thanks. What would I do without you two?"
– "Not realize that your companions are looking at you for the past thirty seconds?" – An urge to smack herself almost took over but she ignored it before sheathing her second katana
– "Something went wrong I presume?" – Squall was looking at her, his blue eyes for once easy to read. He hadn't liked the letter. Pity.
– "More than I actually expected." – She said quietly as they got out – "I need to speak with you as soon as you are able to grant me some time Commander. We have serious shit going on" – And with that she walked away placing the ball on Selphie's hand as she did so. – And to answer your question Aria you would be…
- "Sane?" – She interrupted with a mental smile. A "humph" was heard – "I was going to say the exact opposite" – Aria sighed once more as she walked beside a quiet Quistis. She placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled when she realized that the instructor was simply nursing a headache from Selphie's very bad singing
– "I know…and I think you are right. I would be crazy…Now you two get some rest before I stuff you with those horrific potions." – Her mind fell silent with the lingering feeling that she had learned to associate with the GF's form of sleeping. A fading form of their usual presence.
– "Can we move quickly now?" – She asked interrupting the small conversation that had taken her comrades attention – "I'm bloody cold" – Someone groaned.
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My POV
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Well, this was a nice situation………Not. I actually got myself in even more trouble than usual something that I never thought that was would be possible. But I guess everything turned out alright. I hope they don't find about Stef and what we are trying to do though. It would destroy everything before it even began. And I hope she's alright.
Still I wasn't expecting them to think I was dead. Makes me wonder why the Galbadians said that to my friends when they had admitted the escape of the others. Maybe to scare them into submission? To prevent an uprising against the sorceress I don't know…Squall seemed to agree with me.
I almost had a heart attack there and then. He didn't scold me, he listened to everything I had to say and didn't told me that I was mentally unbalanced, just to put it lightly, when I told him about my plan. And he actually agreed with me in some points even if I could see that he most likely was thinking about locking me somewhere just to make sure I don't blew it up. That or actually go through with the whole thing.
Not that he would be able to dissuade me from anything. He even had a hard job just for me to talk after I had a bath and changed from my very wet clothes. I did after Quis made me notice just how…well…those clothes had become form-fitting. I was divided between laughing to death or die of embarrassment, both of them leading to something I don't wish to do at all. And when I do I hope it will be surrounded by family, friends…just not alone…anyways I talked with Squall after that small interlude, that left me quite unable to look at his face for a while, and he gave me the go to the whole thing.
I even got help that I wasn't expecting ssooo…life is good. Maybe I will actually live this thing after this. And then go back to Galbadia Garden and help to rebuild everything. Move on with my normal life…I just don't understand why my mind doesn't agree totally with it.
Maybe I am crazy after all.
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And here it ends this chapter my readers. Do you want the next chapter? Do you really want me to give the next part of the story? How about you tell me just that? Opinions, suggestions or just plain streaks of insanity are really welcome so REVIEW!
Next chapter: Ariadne meets a really unexpected person and a Trabia becomes a holiday destiny…
See ya all next week
Reyavie