Disclaimer: I'm not repeating the disclaimer *pouts* I hate repeating myself.

Warnings: Laguna! (he deserves a warning) Slight mention of Quisty-bashing. Possessed Ellone. Weird Griever pendant.

A/N: Whoo! *wipes brow* I finally got it finished. I got a serious case of writers block, it was like my fingers refused to type, man! Anyway, I think I took long enough updating so I'll leave you to read and not listen to me blabber lol.

Enjoy!

"Oh, how lovely to see you again Seifer!"

Seifer grit his teeth and grimaced as he found himself with an armful of Laguna, the brunette goofball hugging him, patting his head affectionately. They had just landed in Esthar after having a lengthy flight in Ragnarok when Seifer was surprised to see Laguna, Kiros and Ward waiting for them. Of course it was only a second later that Laguna gave out a cry and glomped him. Seifer patted the mans back awkwardly, trying not flinch when the older man hugged him tighter, as if he was going to disappear.

It was a tense few minutes where Seifer stood there like statue and let Laguna preen over him like a mother hen, and everyone else caught up with each other. Quistis was talking in hushed tones to Kiros and Zell. Ward was off to the side, a giggling Selphie thrown over his shoulder and a smiling Rinoa hanging off his arm just for the fun of it. Irvine was still on the ship, doing Hyne-knows what. Probably practising pick up lines knowing the cowboy. Fujin and Raijin had stayed at Balamb, the silver haired woman commenting on how they didn't want to be suffocated by the lovey dovey scene that was bound to happen when they found Squall; Seifer thought it was because the woman didn't like flying. Laguna tutted, brushing down Seifer coat.

"Really, how are you suppose to woo my son with your badass coat a mess?"

It took another few minutes for Seifer to stop choking on air. He glared at the slightly shorter man,trying his hardest not let flush creep up his neck. Though it must have showed on his face how embarrassed he was because Laguna just beamed cheerily at him. Still, Seifer thought it was best to deny whatever the brunette was saying, or thinking for that matter.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, President." Laguna frowned, his eyes going impossibly large and draped himself over Seifer. He blinked cutely, his bottom lip wobbling.

"You don't find my son attractive? And please call me Laguna." He added as an after thought. Seifer groaned internally, wishing he had stayed in Balamb himself. How could he get out of this situation without making it possibly worse? If he said that Squall was attractive, he would probably find himself married to the commander, but on the other hand, if he said that he didn't find Squall attractive (which certainly would be a lie) Laguna would no doubt go into hysterics. He was up a creak without a paddle. He weighed up his options and found being forced into marriage would be better than causing a scene here and now.

"Uh, Squall is very attractive," He started awkwardly, wincing when Laguna's eyes began to sparkle."But we're just good friends, that's all. There is nothing going on between us and there is definitely no wooing going on." He explained, trying to be tactful with what he was saying but it was lost on the President, it seems the man was still going over the fact that Seifer said Squall was good looking. Seifer knew he was doomed, and accepted it with grace by hanging his head and sighing deeply. He decided a change of subject was needed.

"So, when are we moving out?" It was amazing how fast Laguna's personality could change. The man was suddenly serious, his face set in a determind grimace as he began to herd everyone towards the Presidential Palace.

Seifer found himself in awe at the sheer largeness of the building, the hallways could probably take up a quarter of Balamb Garden, the rooms were even bigger. The Estharans didn't do things by half it seemed. Seifer was still flabberghasted, if not more so when he stepped into Laguna's office. The place was dismally furnished, a desk placed in front a large stained glass window, a dozen chairs in front of that. A bookcase was placed in a far corner, and palmtree-like plant in the oppisite corner. A few pictures of Esthar landscapes hung from the wall but that was it.

Seifer now knew where Squall got his habit of poorly furnishing rooms. Everyone took a seat and stared seriously at Laguna. The man turned to Kiros and whispered something that had the dark skinned man leaving the room. Ward was a silent statue behind Laguna, his face void of any expression. That's quite creepy. Seifer thought to himself, and it was really creepy. Who wouldn't find a man of Ward's size standing there with a face as blank as a piece of paper, creepy?

It took an hour for the plans to be set on the liberation of Lunatic Pandora, an hour which was mostly full of Seifer and Quistis arguing like rabid dogs, and Laguna planning Hyne-knows what with Ward, though Seifer was sure he caught his name and Squalls several times which couldn't be good.

It took another ten minutes for Kiros to come back and say in his best dry tone that the troops are outside of Esthar and waiting for orders, and for them to get back to Ragnarok. Seifer sat in his chair, trying not to throttle Selphie as she sang away happily as she flew through the air. He could agree with Squall that the nunchaku user was a good pilot, but she was so Hyne-damned noisy. It didn't help that she had somehow accosted Laguna into joining in, the man as chipper as ever despite the growing battle looming upon them...

Seifer stared out the window and eyed the looming Lunatic Pandora with loathing as he felt his muscles tense at the pure feeling of her; an all consuming aura of hate, anger and murderous intent eminating from the building. If he had any doubt that he was wrong, that this Sorceress wasn't Ultimecia, he didn't now. And by how everyone tensed, he knew they could feel it too.

I'm coming Squall...

Squall paced in his cell, glancing every now and then at his glowing Griever pendant on the other side of the room. It had been no less than ten minutes since he had to wrestle the pendant from around his neck, his hands throbbing with pain at the burns he had recieved. He wondered if Ellone had done it, but then changed his mind. The possessed woman only seemed interested in her 'jewel'. Squall resisted the urge to scratch at his neck, the skin there itching after being chafed by hot metal. He sent another glare at it for good measure.

Ellone had not come back to pester him, he hadn't suffered another dream either, but he wasn't taking his chances. It would be just his luck that he would probably be just dozing off when the woman would come back to nag at him like an old hag.

Squall couldn't help but snort at the thought and grinned internally to himself, but he frowned a minute later when his head throbbed, warning him that if he tried one more time to think, or do anything that required mental function it was going to come out as a migraine.

Slumping to the ground, Squall eyed his necklace closely as it started to sizzle on the ground, glowing brighter. What in Hyne's name is wrong with it? Squall twirled his ring round his finger, trying to figure out when the pendant became magical, because when he brought it, it was just a plain necklace. The glowing grew brighter and heat got worse until Squall was tugging off his jacket, sweating. He had to cover his eyes in the end as the light eminating from the jewelry began to hurt. The scent of magic hung heavy in the air, choking Squall, and then as suddenly as it began, it stopped. The light was sucked back into the necklace as the temperature in the cell dropped down to normal. Squall gazed warily at his favourite pendant, noticing that the metal covered floor was scorched black, the burn spreading out in an odd fashion. He was about to get up to see if the thing had stopped acting out when the whole building shuddered, throwing Squall back to floor in an ungraceful heap.

He groaned out in pain as his shoulder throbbed, complaining about being abused; Squall ignored it though, he was more concerned about why he had been thrown to floor in the first place. The cell was silent for a few seconds until the Intercom switched back on and Ellone snarled at him.

"How did they find us, Squall?" Squall couldn't help but smirk, pride swelling his chest as he thought That's my Seifer. Wait, when did he start thinking of the blond as his? Obviously sleep deprevation was getting to him.

"Answer me, Squall!" Ellone shouted through the intercom and Squall heard the faint of crashing, banging and other battle like sounds, though the most clear was Seifers cackling in the background. Squall decided to give the possessed Ellone some pity.

"Seifer isn't stupid, just really really hotheaded," Squall said, exasperation colouring his voice and he heard a noise of agreement come from the intercom. He had to admit, this surprised him a little. "He's also really suspicious of people, always has been. Always will be. He'd be a good SeeD if he just tried to follow some orders." Squall muttered, not really caring if Ellone heard him or not. He didn't doubt that if Seifer just reigned himself in a little, the blond could be the best SeeD Balamb ever had. Galbadia couldn't bitch about the blond then, not unless they wanted to start a war.

Ellone snorted, her voice coming out in a leer. "Ah, is that why the little kitten is attracted to Almasy?" Squall sneered at the intercom, failing to hold back a flush. Ellone cackled, sounding unbothered by the noises of battle that was slowly getting closer.

"When you dream, you sigh his name." Ellone said, oddly sounding wistful and maybe a little jealous. Squall blushed deeper, embarrassment making his skin crawl as he denied what the woman was saying. Ellone just cackled again before the intercom clicked off. Squall frowned, he hoped Seifer was going to be okay.

Lunatic Pandora shuddered again as the sound of explosion going off caused Squall to cover his ears. He quickly ran to the door, banging on it as hard as he could, hoping to get someones attention, though when the door opened and he saw who it was, he wished he had stayed silent...

A/N: Yeah, it's a bit short, well to me it is. You probably know who's at the door, it can only be one of two people anyway *rolls eyes* Anyway, I love writing Laguna, he's so easy to write. Kiros is a bit harder and Ward's just easy peasy. Though I don't blame Seifer for being creeped out, I'd be creeped out if I saw a guy like Ward just standing there, silently with a blank face *shudders* Please Review and tell me what you think!