Hello,

First off, just like everyone else, I hope that everyone is safe and that their friends and family were not involved in the tragedy. For those that have been struck by what has happened my deepest condolences and sympathies to you.

Anyways, here's another chapter for anyone. Please be aware of -spoilers- and -bad language- and stuff!

Previous chapters can be found at (once ff.net is back up):

http://www.fanfiction.net/index.fic?action=story-read&storyid=321570

- Kus Kus
http://www.kuskus.org/


[ three ]

"I really can't give that to you Sq -- Commander."

Squall repressed the urge to disconnect the conversation. A fist through the monitor would do nicely. One of the few good things to have come out of Sorceress Edea's relatively short reign was the reapplication of long-distance satellite communications. This meant that Esther, though still isolated physically, could still be contacted without the use of unreliable couriers. It was a joy to some, especially those SeeD with family or sweethearts in other Gardens, but at this point the Balamb Commander would have given up every single satellite if only that he'd have the excuse to be there talking to Laguna in person... and be able to wring his neck.

It was one thing to be treated casually by old comrades, but it was something totally different to be treated in such a way by a fellow diplomat. The fact that he'd spent a good deal of time traipsing around Laguna Loire's considerably muddled brain did not make them "pals". The fact that he'd dropped the motherload on him after they'd returned from Time Compression by letting him know that it was very, very possible Squall was his son did not make them "family". If anything, it made Squall want to spread the distance between him and his supposed father as far as humanly possible... and then some. He was grateful, then, for his military upbringing and the forced dignity required by his current position, otherwise he'd be inarticulate for all the rage he felt.

Deceptively calm, Squall faced the fuzzy image on his monitor. The feed wasn't perfect, especially when Esthar's personal satellites and radio frequencies interfered with the ones that were regularly used by the rest of the world. "Why?"

"Information on the Sorceresses is highly confidential. It's on a 'need-to-know'" - here he wiggled two fingers on each side of his head - "basis. The Estharians are incredibly sensitive about their past and don't really like outsiders knowing the details." He sighed, as if he found the situation exasperating.

"I �need to know�,� Squall replied, bereft of the finger gestures but with the same, heavy sarcasm. �Now."

"Why?"

"We have a situation here. I don't know the reliability of your telecommunications security so I'm not giving out any details. All I need from you is to send all the information you have regarding the Sorceresses and their Knights as soon as possible."

"And if I can't?"

"You'll do it anyways," the Garden Commander snapped, the vestiges of his patience lost, "or the information will be taken by force."

An empty threat and Laguna knew it. Esthar's defenses were formidable, and with only one Garden's SeeDs under his command the boy was sorely outmatched in both manpower and technology. He paused for a moment, looking closely at the son he hadn�t ever really known. Squall had been rankled from the start (more than usual anyways), which meant that whatever was going on had hit him personally and had hit him hard. Put together with the fact that he'd requested information on the Knight as well as the Sorceress, there was only one other person that could get under Squall's skin more than he could...

"Ah," he exclaimed, lighting up with this new revelation, "I see! Well, in light of not wanting to start bad relations between us, I suppose I'll have to comply."

"Good."

�Give me twenty four hours. I�d like to send it through one of my personal assistants.�

�What? Just send it electronically.�

�No can do. Odine will have kittens when I tell him what I want. I�ll transfer it all to CD and have it sent with someone I trust. After all, like you said, we don�t really know the reliability of either of our channels, do we?�

�Whatever. Just get it here.�

The stern, professional demeanor dropped (or, as Quistis tended to point out, what Laguna apparently thought was a stern, professional demeanor), and Squall steeled himself for what was coming. The soft, imploring tone of his absentee paternal figure confirmed his suspicions. �Squall, can�t we � �

�No,� he snapped.

�I don�t understand why � �

�I said /no/. Twenty four hours, no less.� Connection severed abruptly, and the visage of the individual on the opposite end thinned and blipped into non-existence.

Laguna felt like screaming. He pounded a frustrated fist into his desk and let out a short, inarticulate cry. Regretting a decision made almost twenty years prior seemed futile at the moment, but there were times he wished he�d stayed either with Raine, a peaceful life in a relatively peaceful village, or that he�d had the guts to take on Julia back in Deling. One way or another he�d be relieved of the nauseating feeling he got every time he saw his son�s angled scar.

�Problems?�

�Same ones,� he responded to his longtime friend�s casual query. Dark, lithe Kiros, the voice of rhyme and reason walked into the office escorted by the silence giant, Ward. Without such steadfast support and continuous reinforcement, Laguna felt that he�d be ill-equipped to deal with juggling the battles he had between his son and the responsibilities to the people he was supposed to be leading. He faced the two with an easy smile, relieved and burdened all at once. They were used to it, willing to let him take the forefront while they were free to hold him up in the shadows, lifting them up their shoulders when needed and dropping him cheerfully on his ass when they thought it was time for him to ease up.

Balamb Garden�s former Disciplinary Committee would have sympathized. The thought made him wince. He stood up to pace, something he only did when he was extraordinarily agitated. �Remember when we were doing that movie?� he asked, absently scratching his head, though no physical itch bothered him.

�Yeah?� Kiros said. Mute Ward merely nodded.

�Remember how the guy had us doing some research, trying to see if he could put any sorta realism into the film while keeping to his budget?�

�Yeah?�

�Remember how we said, �Damn, nothing in the world could make me wanna be a real Sorceress� Knight�?�

�Yeah?�

He sat back down and directed his computer to open a local communication to the laboratories of Doctor Odine. �I need one of you to make a delivery to Balamb Commander Leonhart.�

Ward lifted an eyebrow and crossed his massive arms. Age and lack of labor had done nothing to decrease his size. �Ward wants to know why you�re asking us to do this,� translated Kiros.

�VOT?!� screeched the image of Doctor Odine. �I am doing very buzy zings right now!�

�Just a bit Doc,� Laguna said before turning back towards his compatriots. Enraged, the doctor fell to muttering accented obscenities at his President�s back. It was something they�d learned to ignore � after all, Odine couldn�t do without the government�s money and the government couldn�t do with Odine�s innovations. �Indispensable� was what they labeled each other, no matter their personal misgivings. That and the kind-hearted President just didn�t know what else to do with the old coot.

�There are a few good reasons. The first is that I really can�t trust anyone else to transport this stuff. If either of you got stopped I know for sure you�d swallow the package before surrendering it.

�The second,� � pity and sorrow bent Laguna�s friendly smile into a heavy frown � �is that nothing in the world could make me wanna be Seifer Almasy right now.�



�Hugk.�

Seemed to be the closest he was going to get to vocalizing the profanity he�d had in mind. Some inconsiderate ass had shoved a tube down his throat.

Through a drug-filled haze he heard a female voice. An attempt to open his eyes only revealed a blur of colors and indistinct shapes. Someone clad in blue was sitting beside him, apparently the source of the enthusiastic warbling.

So he was alive.

He moved to check the wound on his stomach only to discover that someone had strapped him down. Most likely the same inconsiderate ass involved with the tube.

�Hugk.�

//Fuck this, fuck that, I�m gonna kill Fuujin when I get outta here. Should have left me in Winhill, or Timber, or something. What the hell were they doing dragging me all the way� somewhere� wherever the hell this is. Bet I�m in a Garden. If I�m lucky I�m in Balamb, if not we�re in Galbadia and Fuuj and Raij have already gone in front of a firing squad. I mean, if we�re in Balamb that means that they�re gonna wait until I�m better and put all three of us in front of the squad at once so that they can send off their former Disciplinary Committee as a team.//

He tried to laugh and ended up choking on the tube.

Warbling Woman was probably telling him not to talk, but he couldn�t really tell. Wouldn�t have listened to her as it was.

There was only one thing that could comfort him now, make him lie down and take the medicine that was coming to him, make him cooperate. He knew what he needed, he knew how to find it.

But how to make Rinoa see that /he/ was the Knight, not that fucking prettyboy?

//Oh God. No. What am I thinking? I�m done being the damn Knight. Aren�t I? I don�t need that bullshit anymore. I�ve got Fuuj, Raij, nice place, no job, no status but hey, life�s good, ain�t it?

//No.

//It�s not. No goal, no glory, no goddamn anything other than a stinking little cottage with the only two people left in the world that�ll bother to speak to you without trying to kill you. Maybe. Who knows. Fuujin probably wants to shove her big ol� boots right down my throat right about now.

//Maybe I should ask Squall to let me back into SeeD.

//Ha ha ha.

//But that won�t do it.

//It might.

//No, I need �

//-- I DON�T need --

//The Sorceress, I NEED her �

//I need US �

�Oagk. Nk.� He reached for the girl, or attempted to. His fists clenched weakly in their bonds, quivering more from the lack of strength than the exertion of it. She wrapped her soft hands around his, murmuring softly. So comforting. Silver hair, brown hair, he couldn�t tell; the lights and his poor eyesight caused a bright, indistinctive halo around her head.

//Rinoa. God, Rinoa, please let it be Rinoa.

//What? No, /Fuujin/. I need it to be Fuujin! Someone that still cares about me!

//But she won�t give me what I need �

//I don�t want �

//I /do/ want �

//Fuck.

//FUCK!

�Hugk.�

The tears were making their stinging pathways down his cheeks before he knew it, obscuring his vision so that everything became a singularly mushy blur of indistinguishable nothings.



She wiped the tears away with her hand, weeping bitterly herself, wishing that she knew anything that could comfort him. He collapsed a few moments later; the drugs Dr. Kadowaki had administered to ease the pain that wracked his sickened frame redoubling their efforts to comfort him. She leaned in, wiping away dirty, oily strands of unwashed hair. His handsome face, made sweet and calm by sleep, looked just as he�d once been. The arrogance and the mindless devotion that had characterized the Sorceress� Knight were gone from his features, leaving the handsome visage she�d known and once loved.

�Get away from him.�

Few people had heard Fuujin speak in complete sentences. Many were the ones who had heard her speak words in anger. There were probably less than a handful of people who had heard her speak both furiously and comprehensively. Perhaps it was best that she barely used the latter; it sent a cold, fearful chill up Rinoa�s back and caused the color to drain from her face.

�I � I was only � � Embarrassed the young Sorceress leaned back and wiped away the moisture under her eyes. �I care about him too, you can�t � �

�I /can/ and I /will/!� Fuujin snarled. She grabbed the girl�s arm in a strong, painful grip and hoisted her from the chair beside Seifer�s bedside. �You�re not to get close to him /ever/. UNDERSTOOD?� she roared, reverting for a moment to her usual mode of speech.

�You� You can�t stop me. I�ll come in here whenever I want. Why are you being like this? I�m just trying to be his friend!� Pulling on the albino�s grip did nothing to alleviate the pressure. If anything, Fuujin gripped her even harder. Rinoa gasped.

�Why? /WHY?/ FAULT, YOURS!� the silver-haired girl shouted, tossing Rinoa against the glass panes that separated the bed from the visitor�s observatory. The frames shuddered at the impact but didn�t break, having been built to withstand the possibility of an attack upon a patient. Nevertheless the noise, coupled with the girl�s frightened cry, was enough to send the doctor running in.

�What is going on here?� she demanded. Fuujin cast a disdainful look at her before peacefully sitting down at the chair Rinoa had occupied. The slighter brunette picked herself up, bruised and close to tears.

�Nothing,� Rinoa whispered before fleeing the room. The doctor moved to one side to let her pass and then looked questioningly at the one-eyed monster that remained.

�NOTHING,� repeated Fuujin, deceptively calm.

�Fine.� Frowning, unfooled, the doctor folded her arms. �Another incident like this, though, and I send in the guards at the door and have you put in lockup. Is that clear?�

�AFFIRMATIVE. CRYSTAL.�



�AAAARGH!!�

The cry reverberated off the walls of the library, causing the other students to look up from their studies and glare balefully at the source. Zell hadn�t noticed, however, though his companion looked mortified. Selphie clapped a hand over his mouth and grinned winningly at the people who were staring. Most of them, knowing well the tattooed boy�s penchant for obnoxious behaviour, rolled their eyes and resumed what they were doing.

Once Selphie had released him he apologized. �There�s just nothing here!� he hissed. �Nada! Zip! Zilch!�

�I know, I know!� she whispered in reply, flipping through the ancient tome that was in front of her. �All of the stuff in our library was written by SeeDs. �Sorceress ruled Esthar, blah blah blah.� �Always accompanied by her Knight, blah blah blah. Not a word about Knights that went bonkers.�

�What did Irvine find out?�

Selphie swiveled in her chair to face the computer near the wall. She pulled up her email and scrolled through the latest, giggling at the heart-shaped emoticons her lover had left at the bottom of his personalized introduction. �Nothing much. Some obscure references to some female Knights, loads of propaganda against Matron,� a flicker of irritation swept across the plucky girl�s face, �and tons more propaganda against Seifer especially since, uh, they like, know he�s here.�

�/Already/?!�

Zell�s second outburst signaled a chorus of simultaneous shh�s from the other students. June, the library technician that he�d been dating for several months now, and who normally protected him when he got out of hand, had already gone to bed. The only other SeeD and SeeD hopefuls that remained were those that were preparing for the upcoming midterms, and quite rankled to have been interrupted once again. Selphie glared at him and he sank into his chair, the skin from the tip of his ears to the bottom of his chin turning a faint pink.

�Yes, /already/,� she said, whispering harshly. �They didn�t exactly come in too quietly, you know.�

�So what are they saying?�

�People are petitioning for his execution already. Some people want him jailed for life and stuff.�

�He should be!�

�Zell!�

�I mean, look how many guys died because of his stupid �romantic dream�!�

�So? Doesn�t mean that we should just shoot people! Maybe he�s sorry. I mean, look at him now.�

Zell hesitated. �Yeah. I guess.�

�Find anything?�

The two looked up at Rinoa�s tear-streaked face with alarm and concern. She was cradling her left arm in her right, a colorful bruise growing on the back of the exposed flesh. The young Sorceress sat gently and elegantly in an empty chair. Seats all around them squealed against the floor as the other students caught sight of her. They left quietly but quickly, some leaving their study materials in their haste. Already miserable from her encounter with Fuujin, the slight girl bit her lip and sighed.

�Jackasses!� Zell roared, tossing a book at their backsides. One of them stopped and scowled.

�We�re not staying around when we might end up like Seifer,� he said before retreating from a flung encyclopedia.

�That�s, like, so totally unfair!� Selphie wailed. �They can�t blame you, Rinoa,� she said, patting the other girl�s arm in consolation. �I mean, we don�t know why he�s like that. Maybe he just went nuts.�

�Maybe.�

Now free to express himself at any volume he wished, Zell pounded his fist into the table rattling pens and papers and knocking a book to the floor. �No maybes! She�s right! He just went nuts. It�s nothing to do with you, ok?�

�Ok.� She smiled at him. Though they�d known each other for only little more than a year, Rinoa found herself welcomed and treasured by the small group of heroic SeeDs. Part of the reason, she suspected, was that her love, and subsequent relationship, with Squall had managed to break apart some of the icy barriers he�d erected around himself. Even though now burdened with command, the change was apparent; the boy had begun to /socialize/. Where before he�d sought seclusion far above company, keeping mostly to himself and his quarters, the newly appointed SeeD Commander could now be found in the cafeteria taking meals with everyone else and even partaking in games of Triple Triad. Though there were times when Rinoa�d had to literally drag him from his apartment to the more populated areas, he came voluntarily more times than anyone had thought possible.

On the other hand, being recently bestowed the grandeur powers of the Sorceress far outshadowed her success with Balamb Garden�s beloved leader. A good number of students and graduates found themselves inclined to take another route to their destination if they saw Rinoa coming down the corridor. Though never threatened directly, the oppression had been there in stares and gestures, whispers and frightened cries. Both Quistis and Zell, out honing their already considerable skills, had come across the young girl in a state of utter despair, weeping in a corner of the training center where only the beasts would venture. She�d been trying to hide herself, hoping that Squall would be too busy to find her, afraid that her misery would only burden her overworked lover.

After that one or two of them always walked with her down the halls, chatting and laughing with her, reassuring the rest of the Garden members that the Sorceress among them meant no harm. Gradually they warmed to her presence, forgetting the infamy associated with what she had become. Rinoa made a few other friends, and found herself more than welcome in their social get-togethers. During the last SeeD Graduation Ball she�d found herself whirled around the floor with no less than a dozen other partners, though a good deal of the night was spent gazing into Squall�s beautiful gray eyes.

Only now, with Seifer�s arrival and his maddened desire for her, the other students had now once again become fearful of her. She wasn�t sure just yet, but she was certain the others were whispering of things like magical enslavement or prolonged revenge. Another disheartened sigh escaped her. Selphie wrapped her arms around her in a warm embrace.

�It�s ok, Rinoa,� she said as Zell began cleaning up their workspace. �I�m betting, like, we�re gonna find out Seifer�s just lovesick or something and he�ll go back to his little hut and we�ll go back to, like, being normal and stuff!�

�Yeah!� Zell added enthusiastically. �You�ll see! It�s gonna turn out to be nothing!�

�Thank you,� Rinoa whispered. �I just hope he gets better.�


�Clearing Estharian airspace, Vice President.�

Distracted as he was by the words and images on the ship�s online computer system the gentleman in question merely waved in confirmation of the pilot�s statement. He read, chilled, of the high security documents within, information of the Sorceresses and their Knights that only Esthar was privy to.

//You were right, Laguna//, he thought, //nothing in this whole damn world would want me to be a Sorceress� Knight.//

He removed the disc and placed it in its case � a heavily constructed attach� that Doctor Odine had insisted they carry the information in. Should they be intercepted for any reason by anyone the old coot had insisted that they toss the thing out the window and activate the time-bomb he�d implanted into it just for such occasions. The Vice President looked out the window and prayed.

//I hope we�re not too late to save you, Seifer.//




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