2
CHAPTER 2 – THE DAY OF DESTINY
Squall lay back in his stateroom bunk, content to bide the rest of the trip in solitude. He'd already grown tired of outer space. Whatever wonder he'd felt as he'd glimpsed out at the stars from aboard the Lunar Base was gone. Now, there was only the mounting dread of what they might find once they finally re-entered the atmosphere. At best, the Great Plains of Esthar would be swarming with alien creatures, rendering the land completely inhospitable for generations to come. There was always the possibility of another extinction level event should the array at Tears' Point have failed, however.
The rationed portions he'd been allotted for dinner and breakfast, however meager, had sufficed. He knew better than to complain; divvying up the Ragnarok's on-board supply for so many additional mouths to feed couldn't have been easy. Both times, he'd hoped to bump into Ellone in the mess hall, but to no avail. He'd eventually asked Piet to point him to her own stateroom. Only with further assurance that he had no intention of revealing his treachery did the commander oblige him. To his disappointment however, she'd been in no mood for conversation when he finally arrived; the amount of jumping through Rinoa's memories he'd asked of her was taking its toll, necessitating a long rest.
And so, he'd retired to his own quarters. If nothing else, the time had allowed him to process all that had happened in the last 24 hours. He'd surprised even himself at how he'd managed to get the upper hand over Piet. With the clarity of hindsight, so much of what he'd gleaned of Galbadia's emergent technological advances now made sense. The bangles, still yet to see widespread distribution among their armed forces, had been whatever few Piet had managed to smuggle out on his trips.
Moreover, that they'd been designed to counteract Adel's energy frequency shed new light upon the circumstances of Vinzer Deling's assassination. It had never sat right with Squall how the Galbadian president could be so foolish to not wear one himself in Edea's presence; it beggared belief for a man as shrewd as him to be so naive. Now he understood; it wouldn't have protected him from her magic regardless. Nor Selphie's old bronze sphere, derived from the sorceress at the bottom of the ocean. And most pertinently for Squall, Rinoa's power.
That's the key to all this…
A knock on the door interrupted his pondering. Squall sat upright, and called out in response.
"It's open!"
The door slid ajar. Just who it was standing on the other side of the frame was enough to get him on up his feet again.
"Squall," she said his name.
"R… Rinoa?" he stuttered as he stood up and crossed the room. "They let you out? Tell me, are you alri-"
He cut himself short as she lunged for him, and wrapped her arms around his back. However frail her body had become over the last two months spent in a coma, her hold on him was tight as could be. Gingerly, he brought his own arms around her in return. There they stood for what felt like hours, Squall finding just as much comfort in the embrace as Rinoa surely was. It took all the fortitude he had not to break down then and there. As he finally pulled back, it became clear she lacked the same amount as he.
"The… the spacesuit was in the way before," she sniffled, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I just… I really needed that. To know I'm alive… and with you."
"Come on, sit down," Squall said.
He carefully led her by hand to the edge of the bed, and seated himself next to her. Seeing her so distraught was a punch to the gut for him. At the same time however, that she'd been allowed out of the brig in less than a day's time was cause for celebration. Perhaps Odine and the Esthar administration had already seen and heard enough to convince them. He rolled up the sleeve of her appropriated officer's uniform to be sure. There her bare wrist met her hand, with only a faint imprint left from where the bangle had once been shackled.
"Good. I did all I could to get you out of there."
"I know you did," Rinoa spoke softly, her voice still trembling but slightly. "You're always doing so much for me, Squall. Even when I was asleep, I… I could hear you, and everything else going on all around. I can't thank you enough."
No. I'm the one who should be thanking you.
She'd undoubtedly changed his life in the brief time they'd known each other. And more than that, so had he changed; the man he'd been on the dance floor that night never would have had it in him to put so much on the line for anyone, let alone her.
"But, I guess you know by now, don't you? I've become… a sorceress. I probably won't be able to stay with you anymore."
"It makes no difference," he assured her, clasping both his hands over hers. "None of this is your fault. Edea told me and the others about Ultimecia. Thanks to Ellone, we now know it was her controlling you. And they're not going to seal you away like Adel. I'll see to that myself if I have to."
"Even so, I… I just don't see how things can ever be the same for us. As long as I have this power, people are always going to see me as a threat, aren't they? They'll fear me, shun me, brand me as some evil, heartless witch… just like…"
She trailed off, hanging her head in despair. Her hands trembled in the grasp of his own as she fought to remain calm.
"I'm scared, Squall. I didn't want any of this. I just want to go back to the way things were before! With you!"
Acting purely on instinct, he threw his arms around her again, pulling her in close. She continued to sob uncontrollably as she burrowed her face into his chest. He began stroking her hair, trying his best to calm her down. No matter what assurances he could make to the contrary however, she was right. Things would never be the same for them. But regardless of whatever came next, he was determined to face it together with her. She was no longer the innocent young girl with larger-than-life ambitions he'd known in Timber. Neither was he the aloof young SeeD without a care beyond whatever his assignment had dictated. From a client and her mercenary, to a student and her teacher, they'd grown alongside one another in tandem, in their own ways. And so, if she had become a sorceress, he would be her knight.
It's going to be alright, Rinoa. I promise, I will never let them take you from me…
The following days as the Ragnarok made its return from space passed without incident. After 17 long years spent in orbit, the ship was set to make landfall once more at the Esthar Presidential Palace's airstation. A substantial amount more caution had been needed to steer clear from the Lunar Cry, forcing the crew to adjust their trajectory in turn. Resultantly, the return trip wound up taking a fair amount longer than the pods they'd been sent up in. The cry had finally subsided by the time lunch on the second day rolled around, clearing the way for their descent.
What other news Squall had picked up from the bridge crew gave him some reassurance they wouldn't be taken into custody upon landing. That Rinoa was still allowed to roam freely all the while boded better still. Having spent the rest of the second day decompressing on her own, she'd met up with Squall again the next morning in a significantly livelier mood. Together, they'd journeyed to the cafeteria for breakfast, and wasted no time making up for all they had lost over the months they'd been held at bay. He insisted she take most of his portion on account of her frail figure. Any hunger pangs would be negligible for him; her reinvigorated spirits were all he needed to keep going.
Few were the surprises for Rinoa as they began catching up; a veritable library of historical information, both future and past was now imprinted into her mental faculties. Excluding whatever had transpired at the research center – the intricacies of which he still did not fully understand himself – she could have practically recited the rest back to him already. Ultimecia had done her research on SeeD, courtesy of a downloaded archive of the Garden's files. Unfortunately for her, a gaping hole had been left in the record from the battle at Trabia onward. Indeed, following the loss of Xu and his ascension to her station, Squall had made no attempt nor request for such a record to be compiled. Nor would he ever think to now; the sorceress had known far too much already. And though the circumstances surrounding the Lunar Cry had likewise never been chronicled, its date had been memorialized forever. She'd known precisely when it would come, if not how.
So I guess we can trust these people to keep their mouths shut?
A few wary glimpses from the other crew members would occasionally catch Squall's eye. Their whispers went undiscerned by his ears. So long as they continued to leave him and Rinoa in peace, he was content to let it slide. Only as Ellone entered did he finally take his focus off her in any significant capacity. He waved to her. To his delight, she started over to them. He still had many more questions, the answers to which only she could provide.
"Rinoa," he said as he stood up, gesturing to their new arrival. "This is Ellone, my… 'sis' from the orphanage days."
"Pleased to finally meet you," Rinoa said as she stood up herself and extended her hand. "I've heard so much about you."
Not from me, I'll bet.
"Likewise," Ellone replied as she shook her hand and took a seat at the table. "You're a very lucky lady, you know."
"In all the ways that matter, I guess."
The two of them flitted their eyes to Squall and back. The implication was not lost on him. For the sake of keeping Rinoa's spirits elevated, he would put up with however many jabs as they came.
"Dr. Odine hasn't been bothering you anymore, has he?" Ellone asked. "Believe me, I know how tenacious he can be."
"No, nothing else so far. I get the feeling he'd still love to, but… looks like someone told him to leave it alone until we're back on solid ground."
"Good to hear it. And you're not wrong. I've been in touch with the president. He'll be more than willing to let you walk free once this is all over."
The urge to question how receded the moment after it crossed Squall's mind. Of course she could have, via the same method she'd used to call him to Esthar. Still, whatever accord she seemed to have with the government remained a mystery to him.
"You still haven't told me why you wanted me to come here in the first place," he reminded her. "Ellone, tell me. What's going on here?"
She hesitated at being put on the spot, but otherwise kept a straight face.
"That's a conversation you're better off having with the president himself," she calmly replied. "He's looking forward to meeting you once we've landed. Just trust me, Squall. You'll get the answers you're looking for. And others… you didn't even know you were."
With that, she excused herself, and traipsed across the hall. She did not return to their table once she'd gotten something to eat. Fed up as he now was at Ellone for perpetually keeping him in the dark, a guaranteed audience with the nation's leader was a decent consolation. For the time being, his current audience with Rinoa was everything he could have hoped for. Still, she too seemed less than forthcoming in some respects where the experience of her possession was concerned. He declined to pry just the same.
The rest of their voyage together passed in peace. By the morning of the final day, Squall could swear Rinoa was even starting to put some weight back on, though he dared not mention it. At Odine's insistence, they'd both been provided a pair of seats on the bridge to witness the landing. Down through the atmosphere they made their final approach. As they cleared the clouds, Squall saw for himself the spoils of the Lunar Cry spread far and wide across the land. He could barely discern the soil through the cockpit windshield, so immense were the writhing throngs of alien life. Only the towering monolith standing in the center of it all could direct his attention away.
"The Lunatic Pandora," Odine said from the adjacent seat. "Do you remember the weapon I was referring to before? The one capable of artificially inducing a Lunar Cry?"
Squall had no words, nor even thoughts. Such a thing was far too big to even imagine being man-made.
"I certainly never expected to see it again after all these years, much less in the hands of Galbadia. But I suppose there is some excitement to know all the work that went into it didn't go to waste after all. Bittersweet, I dare say."
Still, Squall had nothing. Each successive statement out of the doctor's mouth sounded more outrageous than the last.
Am I dreaming? Or have I just completely lost my mind?
Neither would have surprised him anymore. As they soared across the Great Plains and onward to the capital city however, the harder it became to deny what his eyes beheld. The swarm of monsters had completely overrun the city limits; flaming wreckage and ruin dotted the streets below, clearly visible even from so high above. The once picturesque, utopian marvel of the eastern world he'd glimpsed on the way to the Lunar Gate was no more. Ahead, the presidential palace loomed. From a distance, and now with a frame of reference, its architecture in fact resembled the containment unit Adel had been sealed within: from its towering center sprouted a symmetrical offshoot of office blocks in either direction, arrayed in a manner resembling a pair of synthetic angel wings.
The Ragnarok zoomed in towards the height of the central tower, leveling off to meet a circular landing platform just beside. The ship delicately lowered onto the stretch as if no time had been lost since its last docking. Squall unbuckled himself the instant it touched down. Rinoa followed after as he made a break for the loading bay. To his surprise, Ellone was already on the scene by the time he arrived. They shared a glance and nothing more before the boarding ramp automatically descended. The bay slowly opened, revealing a congregation of gathered people waiting upon the platform to greet them. To Squall's amazement, he actually recognized the front-most three.
"Squall! Rinoa!"
No sooner had Selphie belted out their names, she came charging up the ramp with more intensity in every step than he'd ever seen. She practically threw herself into Rinoa, nearly bowling the poor girl over in her still fragile state. She quickly recovered and returned the embrace.
"You've got a lotta nerve!" Zell shouted up to Squall. "Thinking you were gonna give us the slip just like that!"
The smile stuck to his lips was all the assurance Squall had that there were no hard feelings. However relieved he was to see them, the shame of his desertion still hung like an albatross around his neck. Selphie pounced on him before he could give it any further thought. Instinctively, he wrapped her in his own arms, still keeping his eyes trained over her shoulder.
"I've heard of loving someone to the moon and back, but this is something else!" Quistis piped up from Zell's side.
Kill me now…
"It's… great to see you all."
Squall turned as Selphie finally released her death grip on him. Ellone stepped forth from behind him, and bowed gracefully to each of them in turn.
"Selphie, Quisty, Zell… it's been a long time," she spoke. "I don't know if you all remember me nearly so well, but-"
She was cut off as Selphie immediately launched herself at her.
"Of course we remember you, Sis!" the hyperactive girl insisted. "We've heard all about what you've been through, and we're so happy you're okay! And wow! I can't believe how pretty you've become!"
Ellone, however startled, hugged her back. She smiled as she brought her head down to rest beside Selphie's, seemingly more content than Squall had ever seen her. One crept over his own lips as he marveled at the miraculous reunion. Against all odds, they were together again. Except for one.
"Where's Irvine?" he finally asked.
"Stuck aboard the Lunatic Pandora," Zell answered matter-of-factly. "You know, that big rectangular thing out over the plains? We spotted it coming into the country, and went to check it out. He snuck aboard, it took off, and we haven't heard anything from him since. But never mind that. Seifer's the one controlling it. Have you heard what he's asking for?"
"I'm sure there will be plenty of time to hash out the details later."
The comment had come from an Esthar official dressed in regal white robes with a streak of brown running down the center. The blood practically drained from Squall's face as his eyes settled on him. This was a man was every bit as familiar to him by now as his own retinue. Likewise had the two shared the battlefield in years past, even were it in the guise of another soldier altogether. However aged, there was no mistaking him. His jaw dropped further as a second, far heavier-set official came up beside him. From the piercing blue eyes, to the signature scar trailing down to his stubbled chin, there was simply no one else it could be.
"Commissioner Seagill," the first man introduced himself; the second predictably said nothing at all. "Squall Leonhart, I presume? The president would like to speak with you in his office right away. Please follow me."
He turned, but Squall did not oblige. He instead looked back to Ellone. The bashful smile upon her face told him everything; she likewise knew exactly who these two men were, and more pertinently, that he did.
"Go on," she impelled him. "I hope this gives you the closure you need. And at least I can be satisfied with that."
"Yeah!" Selphie lit up, grabbing Rinoa by the arm. "And speaking of which, we've gotta get you all gussied up! Only one chance to make a first impression! I've been going through the private wardrobe here, and I've got the perfect outfit picked out for you! Come on!"
She dragged Rinoa down the boarding ramp and clear past the commissioner. Squall watched them go, no longer able to fathom what was happening anymore. He glanced to Quistis, then Zell. Neither gave him a hint. Instead, his former instructor simply bade him to follow after with a mischievous smirk, the very same kind he'd loathed for so many years. Whatever might lay ahead for him, she was clearly ready to savor every moment of it.
With no other recourse, he followed the two men off the platform and into the palace. Once immersed in the maze of twisting halls, he finally broached the all-important question.
"You two… are Kiros and Ward, right?"
"Ah, so you do know us," the commissioner responded. "I admit, I was skeptical when I first heard about this power Ellone apparently has. But, I suppose Adel wouldn't have gone after her all those years ago for no reason."
Ward meanwhile simply shot him a look over the shoulder.
"She told us you were en route a little over a week ago, but my station never got word you'd arrived. And wouldn't you know, she disappears out of the palace just days later, only for your friends to show up unannounced. Suffice it to say, things have been a real mess down here while you were up in space, even before Galbadia came into the picture."
"Dr. Odine's the one you should be talking to about all that," Squall insisted. "And it probably wouldn't hurt to set some new ground rules for him going forward."
"Oh, I'd love nothing more. But there are more important matters to attend to at the moment. And personally, I can't think of one that tops this."
They arrived at an imposing double doorway. Upon its surface was etched a pair of decorative black wings, encircling a blazing fire in the center. At once, he recalled the mural which had adorned the door to Norg's chamber. Given how eerie this particular ornamentation appeared, he assumed it to have once been the entrance to Adel's private sanctuary. Given his current companions however, he imagined the man awaiting him on the other side would be far less of a threat, if no less unbelievable.
"You may enter," Kiros told him with a bow of his head. "I have other business to attend to at the moment, but Ward will be right out here if the two of you need anything."
Squall nodded back to them. With a breath in through his nose to steady himself, he set his hands to the right side door, and pushed. It creaked open, allowing him to sidle inside. A wide domed chamber awaited beyond. The sunlight streaming in through the west windows glistened off the spotless, polished floor. A synthetic, circular meeting table was situated further across, its surface playing host to a full holographic rendering of the city. Even the encroaching army of monsters was accounted for in its display; they appeared to have already overrun half the city's outer limits, with no signs of slowing. A man in a light blue dress shirt stood on the other side of the hologram with his back turned to Squall. He stared out into the distance, presumably in some desperate plea that his own eyes might show him something different. To no avail, however; the city was lost.
The door shut firmly behind Squall. He jolted as he peeked his head back over his shoulder; Ward must have pulled it back into place. As he turned back around, so too did the man on the other end of the room. Their eyes met across the table. A look of surprise flashed across his face. Despite his expectations, Squall couldn't help but gawk in disbelief.
What is wrong with this country?
His features were nowhere near as familiar to him as the two aides' were; how could they be, when in every instance he'd seen the world precisely as this man had, through those very same eyes? Still, he remembered seeing that face in the mirror for the first time, the morning he'd awoken in the infirmary all those months ago. The luscious head of dark hair, while tied up in the back now, was as he remembered. And though his face had turned significantly more gaunt in the span of 20 years, the earnest smile which crept over his lips spoke loudly enough: none of it had put a dent in his usual demeanor.
"Hey, there!" he called out as he rounded the table. "We meet at last! Ellone's told me so much about you. It's… kind of surreal, now that you're finally standing here. Almost don't even know what to say."
Squall too was at a loss for where to start. And so, he defaulted to the part which strained credulity more than any other.
"Who in the hell elected you?!" he blurted out.
"Ah… yeah, well, what can I say?"
Laguna slowed as he drew near, and brought his hand up to rub the back of his head.
"It's funny. Back in the day, I never really had any interest in politics. But, I guess sometimes politics takes an interest in you. The people needed a fresh new start after Adel, and as the guy who helped jump-start the revolution, I kind of got volunteered. Couldn't really say no to that, could I?"
Surprisingly, Squall understood. Such was the very dilemma he'd been faced with when Xu had named him her successor.
"Anyway, I'm sure you've got a lot of questions. We're already in the middle of making preparations to evacuate, but I still wanted to get a chance to talk with you one-on-one, man-to-man."
"If it's about the space station, that wasn't Rinoa's fault," Squall insisted. "You need to understand-"
"Don't sweat it!" Laguna reassured him with a playful slap on the shoulder. "Ellone's told me everything, and I believe her. Odine's a real snake, trying to smuggle you guys out of here under my nose. Always has been. And here I thought we'd turned a corner somewhere along the line."
He turned his attention back to the hologram of the city on the table.
"None of it would have been possible without him. So much new technology, so many huge leaps forward for the country, and now thanks to him, it's all crumbling to the ground right in front us. Poetic justice, I guess. It's just a shame the rest of us have to suffer, all because he couldn't be satisfied with the leeway I gave him."
"I'm sorry," Squall sympathized.
Despite Laguna's assurances, he felt some onus for the dilemma still lay on his shoulders. Had only he not been so impatient to get Rinoa to Ellone, or raised more of an objection against Odine's proposal.
"It is what it is," the president said. "The base and the city can be rebuilt. We've managed to get the people underground, and you and the rest of the space crew are safe. Plus your crew. I've spent the last few days getting to know them. Talk about ride-or-die."
"From what I've seen, that's nothing new in your world," Squall replied, tilting his head back to the door.
"Yeah, brings back plenty of memories, though. Hell, even these days, there's no way I'd be able to keep on top of this job without those two."
Squall concurred; that too had been another hard learned lesson for him.
"But anyway, that's not what I was looking to talk with you about."
"Then what is?" he broached the question. "Ellone's clearly hiding something from me. She just keeps telling me over and over that it's not the right time, or that she's not the one I need to be hearing it from. Whatever 'it' is, anyway."
"And she's right. It's my responsibility, and I'm not going to shirk it any more than I have already."
The abrupt change in Laguna's delivery put Squall on edge. For the first time, his face and tone of voice reflected the solemnity expected of the position he held.
"But first, I need to know where we stand. So, you tell me: what's it been like seeing the world through my eyes? Do you even know how I got here?"
The president part is still a hard one to get my head around…
"You went out to save Ellone after she was taken by Adel's forces," Squall began, straining to recall everything. "The three of you made your way up through Trabia, and stayed with the Shumi for a while. That's where you met Norg. He deceived you, and sold you into slavery here. Last I saw, you were servicing the crystal pillar in that giant thing floating out there."
"Right on the money!" Laguna proudly proclaimed. "I remember feeling that buzzing sensation running through my head from time to time. Who'd have thought all these years later I'd finally get an answer for it? Ellone's still pretty new to learning how to control her power, you know. She only really started putting it to use around the time she bumped into you back at your Garden. Still, looks like it worked well enough."
"But how did you manage to overthrow Adel?" Squall followed up. "You said you helped jump-start the revolution. How so?"
"Well, there was already an underground resistance movement in place by the time we showed up. Didn't take long for a couple of their agents working on the Lunatic Pandora to approach me. I mean, I guess they were really more interested in the company I kept."
"You mean Kiros and Ward?"
"Close, but no cigar. Think: who else was I brought into the country with?"
It took but a moment for Squall to ponder.
"You're talking about the moombas?"
"Bingo. Those little guys started taking a liking to me ever since I showed up in Shumi Village. However many days we spent holed up together in the back of that transport only brought us closer. The resistance heads were shocked when they found out. No one else had ever even thought of befriending them, let alone succeeded. But I'm telling ya, don't discount 'em. They'll fight tooth and nail for the right cause. Or the right person."
Squall simply nodded in agreement. He needed no further convincing; his own escape from the D-District Prison was owed in large part to the moombas there, doubtless others sold into captivity by Norg over the years. They'd known of Laguna's name for certain. If anything, they'd seemed to think he was the man himself.
And here I thought Biggs and Wedge were just that terrible at their jobs…
"They're the reason the resistance took so much interest in me," Laguna went on. "With their help, it wasn't long before we got Odine under our thumb. Turns out he didn't need much pressure to submit to our demands. He had no love for Adel either, and was happy to help us get rid of her if it meant he could put his talents to work in other areas. Guess the warning signs were there all along, huh?"
"So, how did you manage to trap her?" Squall egged him on, now fully invested; the history of nearly two decades past, unknown to the rest of the world, was unfurling before him.
"Don't ask me," Laguna deflected. "I didn't stick around long enough to see how it all went down. All I cared about was getting Ellone out of here and back to Raine. With Odine's help, I chartered a ship for us off the east coast. Kiros and Ward stayed behind to keep his feet to the fire while I was gone. They'd know better than me."
Isn't it part of your job to know these things?
"We followed the same general route they'd taken into Winhill the first couple times. We ran ashore, and made our way into town. And when we got there…"
Swathed in shadow though it was at this late hour, the darkness broken only by what streetlamps ringed the town square, Laguna could tell it had changed little. There the familiar brick houses loomed all around, exactly as he'd pictured them in his dreams many a time. His own former abode stood just beside the tavern, seemingly still abandoned as it had been since he'd moved in with Raine. And there he stood before her door, Ellone at his side, with his fist raised to knock. After nearly a full year away, having circled the entire globe in his quest to find and return her, he was home at last. Still, he hesitated.
So much time had passed. Though the town appeared no different at a glance, who could say the same of Raine? He recalled the emotionally vulnerable state he'd left her in. Had the parting promise he'd made her been sufficient to keep her going through it all? Or had she already given up hope long ago? Despite all the trials and hardships he'd faced over the course his journey, the heartache should another person besides her open that door might be too much to overcome.
"Raine!" Ellone broke the silence of the night as she pounded her little fists on the door. "Raine, wake up! It's Ellie and Uncle Laguna here to see you! We're back!"
"Easy there!"
He reached down and grabbed hold of her arms. However grateful he was that she'd gotten the ball rolling where he could not, he wasn't looking to go waking up the entire town. Steeling his nerves, he rapped on the wood a couple of times himself.
"Raine, it's us!" he called. "Please… please tell me you're in there."
For moments longer he idled in place, the anticipation mounting ever more. It came to a head as the faint wooden creaking of the staircase met his ears. Soon after, a flicker of candlelight began seeping out from under the doorway. And then, it slowly opened. To his relief, amazement, and overwhelming joy, it was she who stood on the other side. Her hair was unkempt, and her figure perhaps slightly heavier-set than he recalled, but this was undeniably the woman he loved.
"Laguna?" she gasped disbelievingly. "Ellone!"
"Raine!" the little girl squealed as she leapt at her.
She stumbled backwards, barely managing to keep her grip on the candle. Laguna rushed in and caught her from behind with one hand. He froze in place as he held her steady, his eyes gazing into hers. She looked positively stunned to see him. He felt no different; just to finally hold her in his arms again was almost too much for him to process. And so, he stopped thinking. Acting purely on instinct, he drew her in for the most passionate kiss they'd ever shared.
All tension left Raine's body as she allowed herself to be embraced, and wrapped her arms around him in return. There they stood for ages. Ellone's cheers barely registered to Laguna in the midst of their emotional reunion. For the first time in nearly a year, all was right in their quiet little corner of the world. There was no longer anything or anyone who could keep them apart. It had taken all his willpower and fortitude, but at last, things could be as they once were.
And then, the sound of a child crying broke through. He and Raine separated from one another, Laguna glancing down to Ellone in the interim. There she stood at their side, apparently just as confused as he was. Following his ears, he quickly traced the bawling up to the floor above.
"I guess we were making a lot of noise," Raine said. She placed her candle on the nearest bar table, and started for the stairs. "But I guess there's no better time to introduce you. Go ahead and get the lights on. I'll be right back down."
She hurried up the steps, leaving the two of them both figuratively and literally in the dark. Only then did the implication strike Laguna directly through his heart: Raine had another child now. And by that same token, another man in her life. The happy family he'd fantasized of for so long, the one he'd fought for with all his might to make reality once again, was falling apart.
"Uncle Laguna?" Ellone meekly prodded him.
"Sh-shut the door, Ellie," he stammered.
As she obeyed, he made his way along the tavern walls, lighting the gas lamps set around its perimeter. All the while, he frantically fought to recall just how many months he'd been away. By his count, it was just a few weeks shy of a full year. The possibility had always been a niggling concern tucked away in the back of his mind; Kiros had indeed suggested that one of the bar's local regulars might be willing to step up for Raine in her time of need. He'd just never anticipated such a thing could ever progress so far, so quickly.
Damn it, Raine. Were you expecting me to die out there?
With the tavern proper fully illuminated, he turned back to the stairs as they started creaking again. Down she came, cradling a bundled up infant in her arms. The child's crying had subsided. She carefully reached the bottom step and strode over to meet Laguna at the bar.
"Come on, Ellone!" Raine called the girl over. "Come meet your new baby brother!"
He braced himself as the boy's features came into view. Yet for however much the prospect filled him with dread, it was impossible to deny how cute he looked nestled in his mother's embrace.
"Isn't he adorable?" she fawned over the baby.
"Raine," Laguna spoke lowly, his fist clenched in frustration on the bar. "I… I know I've been gone for a long time. And if nothing else, I did what I set out to do. Ellie's safe, and at the end of the day, that's all that really matters. But still, I… I can't accept this. Not a day's gone by that I haven't thought of you. And… well, I want an honest answer! How long did you really wait for me before you moved on?"
He looked her dead in the eyes with passion to rival the kiss he'd given her.
"I promised you I'd be back! Now here I am, and this is what I have to come home to? Couldn't you at least have waited another year or two before giving me up for dead? I don't care what kind of guy he is, there's no excuse for jumping into bed with him that quick! Did you even care if I made it ba-"
"Ellone," Raine cut him off as she irritably shut her eyes. "My hands are full. Could you please hit Uncle Laguna a few times for me?"
"Sure! Take this!"
"Hey, what the…?!"
Laguna grunted as the rapid fire jabs hit him in the stomach. They were hardly painful coming from a 6 year-old, but still caught him off guard.
"What was that for?!"
"For being an idiot, as usual," Raine reprimanded him with a firm stare. "Do you really believe I would just throw myself at another man like that? After all we've been through? For crying out loud Laguna, think for a second! This isn't some other guy's baby! He's yours!"
Time ground to a halt, as did Laguna's train of thought. There was nothing he could say, do, or even think upon being hit by the revelation. When at last his mind was kick-started back into motion, a shockwave of awe, shame, and boundless jubilation rippled over him from head to toe.
"He's… m-mine?" he eked out, looking down once again upon the boy's pudgy, sleepy face.
"Yes," Raine assured him. "I never lost faith in you. Not once. Because I know the kind of man you are. The kind of man I'll always love, no matter what."
Tears were now welling up in his eyes. Even so, he didn't dare wipe them away lest he take his attention off his son for even a moment.
'Son'. I have a son.
"Say hello, Ellone," Raine said as she pivoted away, bringing the baby down to their daughter's level.
"Hello, baby brother," the girl bashfully spoke.
Laguna tracked their every moves, beaming with pride all the while. The picture-perfect image of their family he'd envisioned, so abruptly shattered, was whole once more, and now all the more beautiful. His journey was over, and the reward waiting for him at the end the most gratifying he'd ever known. Still, one question lingered.
"What's his name?"
Silence enveloped the presidential office in the wake of Laguna's recounting. The man himself stood still as a statue, his eyes locked with Squall's. There was no longer any trace of his usual bravado. The smile previously stuck to his lips had vanished along with it. This was a man humbled, vulnerable, his gaze brimming with raw emotion the likes of which Squall had never seen. By contrast, his own state of mind was one of complete and utter incredulity; there was nothing more ridiculous he'd ever heard in his entire life.
Try as he might to dismiss it however, he could not. Ellone's actions, with the motivations behind them now crystal clear, were proof plenty. She'd known all this time. She'd drawn him halfway across the world for this one purpose alone. It was not that he refused to believe what he was hearing, but simply that he could not. It was incomprehensible, inconceivable, and frankly impossible. And yet, the longing with which Laguna continued staring him down, the years worth of guilt and remorse clearly built up behind those eyes was no facade.
"Squall," he softly spoke. "I… I know 'sorry' doesn't even begin to make up for all this time. And I'm not expecting you to just forgive me right away… but I just want you hear me out for a-"
"Bullshit."
Squall balled his fists. His arms shook as he fought to keep himself composed. It was no use; the outrage was too much to contain any longer.
"This is bullshit!" he roared. "You're fucking nuts if you expect me to buy this!"
In his heart, he knew it was more to convince himself than anything else. Still, he continued to lash out, however he could.
"You want me to believe you're so torn up about it?! Then where the fuck have you been all these years?! Why weren't you ever there?!"
"That's what I'm trying to tell you," Laguna pleaded, doing his best to remain level headed. Squall was having none of it. He violently slammed his fist down on the table.
"'Sometimes politics chooses you'! Is that what you've been telling yourself all this time?! Is that why me and Ellone had to be shipped off to the orphanage?! What a load of crap! You talk such a big game about being there for the people you love, and then leave your family to fend for themselves when they need you most! And for what? Fame? Prestige? Do you have any idea what I was willing to throw away just by coming here?! The sacrifices I was ready to make for someone I love?!"
Squall stalled only as he heard the great doors creak open. He looked back to see Ward standing at the ready, glaring at him. It made no difference; he refused to leave this room until he'd given Laguna every solitary piece of his mind.
"It's… it's alright," Laguna calmly dismissed his friend with a wave of the hand. "I can handle this myself. Nothing's going to happen."
Ward solemnly nodded and excused himself, shutting the door again.
"I completely understand your anger, Squall," he continued. "And really, there's a good chance I do deserve some of the blame. But don't think for a second that I didn't want to be there for you. Or Ellone. Or Raine."
"Then why weren't you?" Squall asked, making a conscious effort to reign himself in. "Why did you come back here at all?"
"Well, I couldn't just leave Kiros and Ward behind, could I? That, and I wanted to make sure Adel had been taken care of. Needless to say, they got the job done. But what Odine went ahead and did after that… well, you were up there. You've seen where he sent her, and what he wanted to do with her power. And do you know what happened after he shot her containment unit into orbit?"
"The radio interference?"
"Exactly. My ship had barely made it back into Esthar waters by the time they'd launched her. He hadn't thought about what effect that would have down here on the planet. Galbadia assumed it was an EMP strike, to take down their communication lines right before we launched a massive assault. Deling immediately put the country into a state of lockdown, and beefed up the army's foothold along the coast like you wouldn't believe. Even all the way down to Winhill. We sent a few ships out to scout the area. None of them made it anywhere close to the shore. We couldn't even radio them to call a ceasefire. The Horizon Bridge was a no-go, and thanks to the crater up near Trabia… well, what other options did I have left?"
Squall too recalled Galbadia's response to the interference from his history lessons at the Garden. It was part of why he'd instructed the nav crew to keep ample distance from the shore en route down to Centra.
"Believe me, I wanted to wring Odine's neck after that. Hell, by the time he'd gotten the Lunar Gate up and running, I was practically begging him to use it to shoot me across the ocean. That's how desperate I was to see you again. He talked me down, though. Someone would have to be on scene to open the pod once it landed. More than likely, that someone would end up being military, and I'm still technically a deserter. And on the other hand, if it lands somewhere too remote, then I'm stuck there in cryo-sleep for the rest of time."
The more he expounded, the more Squall's anger receded; Laguna truly had been dealt a horrible hand. Perhaps he had in fact been too quick to pounce at him.
He sounds sincere enough, at least…
"Once we started dealing with SeeD, I actually commissioned a couple of operatives to go check out Winhill and deliver a message to Raine. That's when I learned she'd passed away just a few years after I left. And that you two had been sent off to an orphanage somewhere. They said they couldn't tell me which one or where. Now though, after talking with Ellone and your friends, I'm guessing they knew all along and just wouldn't say, what with its connection to Balamb Garden. I was at a loss. There was nothing I could do but accept the love of my life was gone, and hope the two of you had gone to a good home.
"And then, all these years later, out of the blue, Ellone got in touch with me. With her power, I was able to see the world through Raine's eyes, and yours. She told me you were en route to the Centran coast, and when to expect your arrival there. I sent out a squadron of ships to escort you both here. Instead, they found her ship under attack by Galbadia, and brought her back alone. The rest you know."
He should have figured Esthar's run in with the White SeeDs had been no coincidence. And though he couldn't recall a point in his past where he might have felt Laguna's presence in his mind, neither was he surprised; there were already too many things he'd forgotten over the years. His fury at his absent father now assuaged, there was only one aspect left which still ate away him.
Why didn't Ellone just tell me all this?
It wasn't even a question of whether he would have believed her; prior to recalling his days at Edea's orphanage, he likely wouldn't have. It was the principle of the matter. What excuse did she have for withholding so much knowledge of his upbringing from him?
"Laguna, do you read me?"
He jumped at the sound of Kiros' voice. Setting his eyes on the table, he deduced its source: a small handheld radio placed on its rim further along. Laguna circled back to grab it.
"Copy! What's the word?" he spoke into the receiver.
"I'm outside with the sorceress girl. Ward seems to be telling me the situation's been a little volatile in there. Should we hold off?"
"Nah, everything's all good now. Give me about a minute to wrap things up, and then send her on in."
"Rodger."
He set the comm down and turned his focus back.
"Look, Squall, it's like I said before: I'm not expecting you to just roll over and forgive me right away. Whether it's destiny, or sheer dumb luck that's brought us together after all this time, I don't know. But with all that's happening right now, we're probably better off leaving it on the back-burner anyway. I've talked with your friends, Ellone, and Dr. Odine. Soon as we're all set, and the Ragnarok's refueled, we're heading back to meet with your old matron. Based on what she tells us, we'll determine our course of action where the Lunatic Pandora and everything else is concerned. Once it's all over though, I just hope you'll be willing to give me the time of day. And if you really don't want to… well, I'll understand."
It was all so much to wrap his head around, and not the appropriate time besides as Laguna had said. And while the resentment still faintly lingered in his heart, he was willing to take the time to consider it, at least. By all accounts, his father had done whatever he realistically could.
"I'll think about it," he finally said.
"That's all I'm asking," Laguna smiled back. "One step at a time."
The door creaked open again before Squall could respond.
"Right now though, I'd really like to meet this girl you were ready to throw it all away for," he said as he turned. "She must be something."
Squall looked back in time to see Rinoa step through into the chamber. Her attire instantly took his breath away.
From afar, it nearly resembled her old duster sweater, if noticeably fancier. The blue top was lined by frilly white ruffles. Its matching arm warmers hung far looser and more elegantly than her previous ones, strapped in place by intertwining black ribbons which spiraled up her bare upper arms. The short black skirt was offset by a lighter blue fringe of yet more layered ruffles, extending out from the bottom of the blouse; they trailed down her left side to her knee, appearing like crashing waves cascading off her. A pair of plush brown boots like Selphie's own completed the outfit. Altogether, with her hair freshly groomed, she looked more gorgeous than Squall had ever seen her.
"Well now," Laguna muttered to him out the side of his mouth as she approached. "Not bad, Son. Not bad at all."
Gee, thanks, Dad…
"Rinoa Heartilly," she introduced herself with curtsy. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, sir."
"Heartilly?" he repeated; a puzzled look flashed across his face. "You mean like… um, I'm sorry but, you wouldn't happen to be-"
"Yes," Squall cut him off.
Laguna stood frozen in disbelief for only a moment. He burst into a laughing fit the next, its meaning clearly lost on Rinoa. She looked to Squall. He rolled his eyes, and prepared to hash out the same story again with yet one more addendum.
"Yup!" Laguna exclaimed. "It's destiny, alright!"