![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
batsutousaiTitle: Noblesse Oblige
Fandom: Final Fantasy VIII
Author: Batsutousai/![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
batsutousai
Betas: Shara Lunison/tsuki_no_suzu & Shivani/grazhir
Chapters: 16 of 19
Rating: T
Pairings: Seifer/Squall, Irvine/Selphie, Zell/Xu, Quistis/OMC, Fujin/Raijin
Warnings: AU, major canon-buggery, OoC Squall, slash/yaoi
Summary: No one thought to warn Squall against touching his younger self, and he leaves a part of himself behind when he returns to Time Compression.
A/N: Somewhere between my rereading the game script for this fight and trying to find a way to not be forced to rewrite this scene again, Squall and I decided to try something a little different. Seifer and the others all think we're a bit mad, but Ultimecia was surprisingly accommodating, once she got over her initial shock.
-0-0-0-
Light In My Eyes
-0-0-0-
Getting through the castle had been remarkably easy, but Squall had once sketched out a rough map of the place, so he and Seifer had a general idea of where they were going. It helped, also, that all of them had been regular SeeDs for at least a year, giving them far more battle experience than those couple of months on the run that the Ghost and his friends had. They all still took their fair share of hits, certainly, but it had been nowhere near as difficult as in Squall's stolen memories
Still, just outside the room Squall knew Ultimecia waited in, he called for them to break again. The others, exhausted from traipsing around a castle and taking on violent beasts with questionable access to their usual backups of magic and GFs, were more than willing to take the offered rest. Even Seifer, Squall, and October – the most experienced among them – were happy to settle against the balustrade and catch their breath. October pulled out the last of the sandwiches and water without prompting and they were shared around, much to everyone's pleasure.
"How much further?" October asked of their two leaders as Quistis dozed on his shoulder. Zell, Raijin, and Selphie were also dozing against Xu, Fujin, and Irvine, respectively, and the rest of them looked like they were considering catching a few minutes of shut-eye.
Seifer shrugged. "Ultimecia should be through that door," he replied, the arm around Squall's waist tightening slightly when the slighter teen shifted against him. They were both too keyed up to get any real rest, but that was no reason to deprive the others.
October gave the door just beyond them a worried look. "Is this a good place to be resting, then?"
"There's never a good place to rest," Squall replied quietly, eyes staring off into the twisted lack of sky beyond the castle grounds. "She won't come to us, though, if that's what you're asking. She knows we're here, but she believes in leaving her opponents to wear themselves out on her security, rather than coming straight to us while we're fresh. Given, we outnumber her ten to one..."
"I suppose..." October agreed, still watching the door with some concern for a long moment before turning his gaze to the two Rank As. "I'm curious where you two got all your intel about this place and the Sorceress," he said, a note of suspicion in his voice that he couldn't entirely hide.
"I second that," Irvine called quietly as he settled Selphie a little more comfortably in his lap.
Seifer spared a brief wonder for when the cowboy and explosion expert had become an item, then allowed a casual shrug. "Here and there."
Squall's eyes had flickered away from the non-existent sky to look over their conscious friends, not quite meeting their eyes. Seifer's arm tightened again, sensing the path of his thoughts even before Squall was truly aware that he was thinking about telling them anything. After a silent moment of them all sort of watching each other, waiting, Squall finally returned his gaze to the not-sky and quietly – so quietly, they weren't even certain they'd heard him right in the silence of the bridge – said, "A Ghost told me."
It was a mark of their trust in and knowledge of the gunblader that the four who were awake didn't, for one moment, think that Squall was lying to them, though they questioned how literally the word 'ghost' was meant.
A howl from some monster or another sounded from the courtyard below them and the four who'd been dozing all jerked awake, tired but aware.
"We should continue," Seifer announced, the light brush of his fingers against Squall's arm as he pulled his arm away communicating his pleasure at Squall telling their friends even that much. "As much as I'd like it to be otherwise, we don't have an unlimited time in this time. Eventually, Time Compression will complete, and even our knowledge of each other won't save our existence."
They all shuddered a bit at that, refusing to imagine a world where they wouldn't exist, but unable to deny the fear that they might fail.
It was in silence that they all rose and checked over their weapons and magic stock. The last few drops of water were finished off and the bag October had brought the food and drink in was left behind with the empty bottles, littering the least of their worries.
Seifer was the one who pushed the door open, but Squall was at the lead when they stopped in a crowd at the edge of the room, staring up at the woman who sat above them. "Sorceress Ultimecia," Squall greeted in a voice that was, for him, remarkably cordial. Even his weapon was held in a loose grip at his side, in contrast to the ready positions of those behind him. Even Seifer's expression blanked in surprise at Squall's actions.
Ultimecia, about to fall into a rant, sort of stared down at the brunet for a moment, mouth agape. Then she unfurled black wings and fell lightly to the ground in front of the ten SeeDs, gaze suspicious. "SeeDs," she replied in a voice dark with hatred.
"I don't suppose we could talk you out of this fight?" Squall wondered.
Ultimecia let out a screeching laugh that had the group of SeeDs fighting the urge to cringe. "A SeeD unwilling to fight?" she said, voice sharp with amused disbelief.
"Please, don't mistake me; I'm more than willing to destroy you, I'm just wondering if it's really necessary." Squall shrugged, Lion Heart making a dull sound as the motion knocked the bright blade against the floor. "Do you really need to destroy the world?"
Ultimecia's expression darkened. "I must rid the world of your filth," she spat.
"For whose gain?" Squall wondered, head cocked to one side. "Your own, yes, but how does that help anyone else? If you wanted to live in a world all your own, without SeeD, you'd be better off moving to the moon, right? At least then you're not murdering thousands of other people in the process."
"What does a brat like you know of–"
"The violence and cruelty of my kind?" Squall suggested, knowing that if he let her insult SeeD, his friends might well take it as a sign that they should rush her, with or without Squall's say. The only thing staying their hand right now was their own trust in Squall; never mind that he had no idea what he was doing. "I've been a SeeD for seven years, and I've done some terrible, unforgivable things. But, in dirtying my own hands, the hands of others remain clean.
"You curse us, call us filth and locusts, but in the end, all we really are is humanity's darkest thoughts and wishes in human form; we are no more than the thoughtless guns and swords that swing at the commands of another, following a will not our own."
Ultimecia was speechless for a moment, but then her face curled with a snarl and she spat, "Pretty words, little boy, but that does not exempt you from your sins."
"I never said it did," Squall replied, trying not to tense when someone shifted behind him. 'Please, please let me try this. Give me this chance to talk her down. Please...' he asked of his friends, even as he continued to speak to Ultimecia, "I'm not denying that I'm a murderer and I probably deserve every moment of violence and pain you wish upon me; will probably suffer that pain and violence many times over before I can finally die. In a perfect world, I would not exist, but this is no perfect world, and exist SeeD does." He shook his head. "You lay blame on me for what I am, but do you not, also, deserve some share of the blame?"
Ultimecia frowned, truly confused. "Exkuse me?"
"If you hadn't enacted Time Compression, if you hadn't given the world reason to fear a Sorceress of the future, SeeD would never exist."
"That is a lie," Ultimecia spat.
Squall smiled grimly. "No, it's really not. Sorceress Edea created SeeD because she was warned they would be needed to defeat a Sorceress from the future who threatened the world. That same Sorceress – yourself – fell through Time Compression as it collapsed and gave Sorceress Edea her powers upon her death, which was more than enough proof."
Startled noises came from the SeeDs behind him, but Squall kept his focus on the flash of disbelief in Ultimecia's eyes, which slowly melted to belief and sorrow as she searched his face for any hint of deception and found none. "So the monsters were reated from me," she murmured.
Squall shrugged and said, "Monsters create monsters; that is the way of the world. Sorceress Adel killed indiscriminately those who she believed to have wronged or posed a threat to her. When she was defeated, Galbadia swore it would never again be helpless in the face of its opponents and sought to create an army that could stand against all other armies, crushing anyone that stood against it. Those nations and armies Galbadia crushed during its rise have sat around, biding their time and waiting for a weakness to show that could be exploited. With Deling dead, that weakness has been laid bare, and now Timber and Dollet and the Southern Companies will make their move, killing Galbadians one after another in revenge for the wrongs done to them."
Ultimecia's lips curled with a helpless smile. "And without SeeD, more would have died," she murmured, the knowledge of their future in her voice. "Monsters with peace in their hearts."
Squall inclined his head. "So we are. And so, I believe, are you."
"Squall–!" someone started before they were shushed.
Ultimecia looked at Squall with a new light in her eyes, as if she recognised him, like she hadn't before. "Squall Leonhart, SeeD Ko-Kommander."
Squall blinked in surprise. "Co-Commander?" he repeated. 'I survive? And I share my positi– Seifer.'
Ultimecia looked past him, over the group arrayed behind him with their weapons held somewhere between 'at the ready' and 'at ease'. By the flashes of knowledge in her eyes, Squall thought it very likely he and his friends would be making quite the impact in the history of the world, enough to be recognisable far in the future by sight alone, once Ultimecia thought to look. The realisation was both comforting and disheartening, for he knew all too well how hard it was for a SeeD to be easily recognisable.
Ultimecia finally focussed back on Squall, sadness in her eyes. "I wanted to change my past, but all I kan do is bekome the kause behind it."
Squall shook his head. "The past has already occurred. It is only our future which we can change." His smile was bitter as he added, "Even then, perhaps the future is beyond our reach."
"Perhaps it is," Ultimecia agreed, "But I do not doubt you will do your best to make it as you wish." Then she made a sudden motion with her right hand, wings flaring out behind her, and the light of an Ultima spell blinded them all as the spell consumed the Sorceress in front of them.
The world faded away to black and white and Squall found himself alone. He remembered that the Ghost had been almost panicked when Time Compression collapsed around him, but somewhere between living a life filled with friends and family and Ultimecia's knowledge of him sharing his leadership of SeeD with Seifer, Squall felt none of that panic.
Light faded in with the voice of a young Squall as he ran off to find the missing Ellone. The elder Squall looked forward, a smile tugging at his lips when he saw Matron, as beautiful and untouched by Ultimecia's hatred as she was in his memories.
"Excuse me, have you seen a little boy?" Matron asked Squall as she came to a stop in front of him, looking past him almost hopefully.
"He'll be back in his own time," Squall replied quietly. "Don't worry about him."
Matron turned her focus on him, offering him a brief smile that faded as she took in the rips and tears in his clothing from their trek through Ultimecia's castle. "Are you well?" she asked, concern in her eyes.
Squall offered her a fond smile, uncaring if the familiarity in his gaze made her suspicious. "I am." A form flickered into sight behind Matron, and Squall offered a nod to Ultimecia, calling, "And here we are."
Matron turned to see who the man spoke to and looked momentarily startled at the sight of the other Sorceress. "What are–?"
"I am here to die," Ultimecia admitted, a broken smile on her face. "Will you accept my powers, Sorceress Edea Kramer?"
Matron let out a noise of surprise, but nodded. "Yes."
Ultimecia inclined her head. As she faded away, her magic slipping into its new host, she whispered, "The future is yours to touch, SeeD Leonhart..."
Squall reached out and caught Matron as she stumbled, letting her lean against him as she regained her equilibrium. After a moment, she pulled away and eyed him with suspicion. "You're that boy," she realised.
Squall nodded. "Yes, Matron, I am." He paused for a breath, then firmly stated, "I'm a SeeD, trained by Garden to protect the populace from out-of-control Sorceresses. You are the one who founded – will found – Garden."
Matron shook her head. "I–"
"Do you understand?" Squall asked, voice gentle in the face of her faint frown.
"I understand," she agreed in a whisper, and there was sadness in her eyes.
Something bumped into Squall's hip and he turned to catch his younger self, already half prepared to do so. Once the younger Squall was balanced again, he drew away, murmuring, "Careful." The boy stared at him for a long moment, surprised and maybe a little grossed out by the blood covering his new jacket, and Squall couldn't help but wonder what memories he'd passed on to this younger version of himself. Only the memories from the Ghost? Or would he receive Squall's memories of his own life, with all the years of death and violence. And if he got Squall's memories, would he be able to cope? Would he choose to live his life the same way, or would he change things even further?
Then Matron's hands came to rest on the younger Squall's shoulders and he looked up towards her, eyes watering and voice shaking as he said, "I can't find Sis. Am I...alone...?"
Matron smiled down at him, then back at the elder Squall, who was rising to his feet. "Do you know where to go back to? Do you know how? Will you be alright by yourself?"
Squall shot the woman he always thought of as a mother a fond look with his salute, silently promising, 'I'm not by myself, Matron, because my family and friends are waiting for me back home. And I'll get there, don't worry.'
That time faded away, back to the never-ending blackness of Time Compression. Squall glanced around, once, then closed his eyes and let out a breath, turning his mind to those friends, envisioning them cleaning up from the battle with Galbadia Garden, all tired and accomplished. 'We saved the world from Ultimecia. Now all we have to do is save Galbadia from the rest of the world. That should be fun...'
He opened his eyes as sound filtered in around him, voices laughing and talking. He found himself standing next to the lift on the main floor, looking down at a group of cadets who were working together to put the large map back together, a couple of them sweeping up broken glass and mulch from the planters. A skirmish must have broken out in the main hub, and Squall was a little sad for that, but since the cadets seemed so happy, he assumed nothing too bad had come of it.
"–soon as those cables are secu–" Seifer's voice was saying as the lift doors popped open behind Squall, but he cut off with a choked sound before whispering, "Squall?"
Squall turned and raised an eyebrow at him, taking note of the wide-eyed SeeD next to his lover who'd been listening to his instructions. "Yes?"
Seifer's lips curled with a relieved smile. "Thank Hyne. The rest of us have been back for about two hours."
Squall shrugged. "Sorry I'm late. How are things coming?"
Seifer shook himself and looked back at the SeeD in the lift. "Once the cables are secure, have Cadets Paz and Bravo turn us towards Fisherman's Horizon," he ordered her before joining Squall off the lift, ignoring her salute. "I was just heading for the cafeteria to get something to eat," he said to Squall as the lift doors fell closed.
Squall nodded and they moved in step down the stairs, returning the salutes of the cadets cleaning there.
"The Galbadians have already returned to their Garden," Seifer reported quietly as they continued towards the cafeteria. "Our little move to immobilise them broke their ring, though, so they're pretty much dead in the water. We're going to tow them to FH to see what their technicians can do with their system, but no one has any real hopes that it can be fixed. Irvy, Selph, Fuu, Rai, Quis, and October are over there, making sure the idiots behave themselves, but they seem pretty content to follow our lead. Matron being back to her normal self has helped a lot, since she told them to listen to us."
"And Matron?" Squall wondered.
"She, Sis, and Cid are catching up in the boardroom upstairs. Everyone already knows that her actions were not her own, but she's still going to be staying on the third floor unless you or I are there to escort her around Garden, just to be safe."
"Good." Squall rubbed at his chin, grimacing as some dried blood flecked off. "I should go change."
Seifer shot him an amused look. "Probably. It was the first thing the rest of us did upon getting back."
Squall rolled his eyes. "Get me something to eat," he requested as the blond turned towards the cafeteria.
"Sure thing. You want me to bring it to you, or...?"
Squall considered that for a moment, then shook his head. "We can eat in the boardroom."
"I'll meet you up there, then," Seifer agreed and they both continued on.
-0-
By the time they reached FH two days later, a number of things had been sorted, such as who would take over control of Galbadia Garden until they could find Martine, and what sort of punishments would be dealt out to those members of Ultimecia's 'army' that had been willing to continue fighting even after Edea told them to stand down. The hardest of those to deal with had been her Knight, who had hated SeeD for wiping out her home village some years ago; an action done by Squall's hand. (Once she'd realised who Squall was, they'd had to sedate her or chance her killing herself in an attempt to get at the Commander. Squall had watched everything with a blank expression, then turned to the interim Headmaster of Galbadia Garden once she was sated and said, "Perhaps Seifer and I shouldn't be involved in her punishment," which everyone agreed to, if only because they didn't need the woman throwing herself at the bars of her cell again.)
Things had calmed down enough that Seifer and Squall felt secure in letting Matron move around Garden on her own, though she continued to remain in the presence of one of her children, which none of the SeeDs seemed to mind. Similarly, Ellone was often found near Squall and Seifer, preferring her adopted brother's presence to that of their other foster siblings, as she always had. Squall had been a little uncomfortable the first day with her constant shadow, but they'd found the chance to talk that evening about Laguna and Raine – which they'd always sort of avoided mentioning in their letters – and whether their life without Laguna was really okay.
About three hours before they were due to reach FH, a familiar ship docked at the second floor deck and the captain was welcomed aboard and escorted up to the third floor boardroom where Squall, Seifer, and Cid were discussing how to handle the fallout from Deling's murder. Ellone was also in the room, and when the escort stopped outside the opened the door, her face lit up and she called, "Beau!"
The three men turned to look. Cid's expression mirrored Ellone's, while Seifer got an evil little smile and Squall's eyes lit with pleasure at seeing the White SeeD captain. "Captain Owens," Squall said as he rose from his seat. "Thank you, SeeD Mok," he added to the escort as Beau slipped into the room, smiling himself at the room's occupants.
The escort shot off a sharp salute, saying, "Sir!" then turned and left them to it, reassured at seeing that his leaders knew the man in white. He would, likely, go down to the guard at the deck and let them know they could relax their watch on the ship.
Beau gripped Squall's offered hand, giving a firm shake. "It's good to see you again, Squall," he offered, looking over the brunet's shoulder to the others at the table. "Headmaster, Elle." He completely ignored Seifer, which just made the blond's evil smile widen.
"Seifer," Squall warned as he waved Beau into a chair and retook his own seat.
"Aw, no greeting for me?" Seifer asked, pasting on a wounded expression.
Squall rolled his eyes and joined their guest in ignoring his lover. "What can we do for you?"
Beau glanced towards Ellone, who was still smiling, then towards Cid and back to Squall. "Well, we were going to suggest that Elle return to our ship, to stay out of the grasp of Matron, but since you're towing Galbadia Garden..."
Squall shrugged. "Matron was being possessed," he explained. "We...exorcized her, so to speak."
Beau snorted, amused by Squall's usual blasé attitude towards the unusual. "So we don't have to hide Elle from her anymore?"
"Nope!" Ellone called. "I'm perfectly safe. And having a good time." She gave Beau a pointed look.
The captain chuckled. "Then I suppose you can stay here. Hyne knows you should be more than safe in Garden." He shot a glance towards Squall. "You'll be around to keep an eye on her?"
"Certainly," Squall agreed.
Beau nodded and rose from his chair. "Then we'll leave you to your towing. You know how to reach us–"
"Hey, Owens," Seifer interrupted, a serious note in his voice that had everyone turning to look at him. He looked up at the captain, none of the usual teasing in his expression. "Galbadia Garden's a bit busted right now, and we're hoping the FH technicians will be able to fix it, but we don't really have a way to let them know we're coming. Could we borrow your ship to send a group ahead and warn them?"
Beau blinked in surprise, then nodded. "Certainly."
"Did you have anyone specific in mind?" Squall asked.
Seifer nodded. "You're the only person in Garden that's been to FH before."
Squall frowned slightly, because he'd only been in the sense that the Ghost had been, but that, at least, was more than anyone else in Garden could say; FH didn't hire SeeD out, and SeeD stayed out of FH. Cid hadn't even been, having sent someone who had since passed away to get the FH technicians to work on Garden when it first opened. "I suppose," he agreed. "You'll be staying here?"
Seifer shrugged. "One of us needs to." Which wasn't, necessarily, true, since Garden and SeeD had managed without a Commander – or two Commanders, as the case was – for years, but now that Squall and Seifer had taken the title, at Cid's direction, they'd wordlessly agreed that one of them needed to remain in easy contact, in case something came up.
Squall nodded to himself as he rose from the table. "Very well. I'll take Selph and Fuu with me, since they both look relatively harmless."
Seifer snorted, amused.
"Can I come?" Ellone asked, looking hopefully towards her two brothers.
Squall had half expected her to ask that. "If you want," he allowed, figuring that FH was more than safe enough for her to come along, and it wasn't like she wouldn't have three SeeDs with her, not to mention however many White SeeDs followed them ashore.
"Thank you, Squally!" Ellone called, hopping out of her seat and joining Beau next to the door, where he was waiting for them to sort themselves out.
Squall shot her a fond look, then looked back at his partner. "Could you have Selph and Fuu told to meet me at the deck within half an hour, sans obvious weapons?"
Seifer nodded as he stood, joining Squall in heading out the door so he could use the intercom from the bridge and leaving Cid to amuse himself for a few minutes. "I'll tell Paz to cut our speed, so you'll have more time to assure our happy, pacifistic neighbours that we come in peace."
"I'll probably need it, knowing Dobe," Squall agreed drily, stopping next to the lift Beau and Ellone were holding for him. "Don't break Garden while I'm gone."
"Your lack of trust in my abilities wounds me," Seifer replied with a grin. "Go on."
Squall rolled his eyes and flicked a hand in Seifer's direction in a hint of a wave, then joined his sister and Beau in the lift.
Once the doors closed behind them, Ellone sighed and said, "You could have kissed him goodbye, you know."
Squall sighed. "No PDA, Sis."
Beau blinked in surprise. "You and Seifer? Really?"
Squall sighed again and rubbed at his scar. "Yes. Please do me a favour and don't spread it around. I doubt Cid or the faculty is going to make a deal about it, not after recent events, but Seifer and I prefer to keep our relationship something of a secret."
Beau understood far better than Ellone how taboo relationships between SeeDs were, so he nodded and asked, "Recent events?"
The lift opened on the first floor and all three stepped out, catching the tail-end of Seifer's call for Fujin and Selphie to meet Squall on the second floor. "Cid made me the official leader of SeeD, and I named Seifer my Co-Commander," Squall explained, taking pleasure in the shock that crossed Beau's face at the announcement.
Beau chuckled. "So, I guess that means you're actually my boss, rather than just having a higher rank."
Squall shrugged. "Technically," he agreed. "I'll try to avoid being difficult about it, but no promises for Seifer." His eyes danced with quiet amusement when Beau groaned.
"Squall!" Selphie called, coming up beside them as they turned off toward the dorms, Fujin at her side. "Hey! So, we're going ahead to Fishermen's Horizon?"
Squall nodded. "Captain Owens has agreed to lend us the use of his boat so we can forewarn the mayor about his coming guests."
"POLITE," Fujin declared.
"It's probably one of the few sensible things to ever come from Almasy's mouth," Beau agreed, only smirking a little bit.
Since the entire posse already knew about Beau and Seifer's stupid game of one-upmanship, neither girl even blinked at the statement, and Ellone just giggled a bit.
When they separated at the dorms, Beau followed Squall, rather than face the awkwardness of waiting just outside a girl's room. He'd never actually seen Squall's room before, having generally stayed out of the dorm wing while in Garden, but it didn't take him much to recognise Seifer's gunblade case, as well as some of his things. "He's staying with you?"
Squall glanced towards Hyperion's case – it was the most obvious item belonging to Seifer – and shrugged. "He's still got a room across the hall, but, yeah, he mostly stays here. We're out of Garden often enough that no one really notices." He let out a quiet sigh as he snapped Lion Heart's case shut, his trusted weapon inside. "That's certain to change."
"I doubt Cid will really care," Beau offered carefully. He wasn't quite certain how true that was, though, since he cared when his people paired up with each other, even when it was just a one-night fling. But, then, they all lived on the same ship year-round, and things got awkward easily there. Living in Garden was a little bit different, there being more room for them to escape each other.
Squall shook his head, somehow managing to not mess up the make-up he was applying to cover his scar in the process. Beau was in silent awe, especially since the younger SeeD was putting it on without a mirror. "Maybe not," Squall allowed, "but the faculty will. And we don't need to be fighting with them right now. Or ever." He snatched up a light jacket that Beau swore he'd seen Seifer wear – and it was a little big on Squall, when the younger man tugged it on – then motioned for them to leave the room. "Let's collect the girls."
Fifteen minutes later, they were pulling away from Garden and speeding their way towards FH, moving much faster than Garden could have managed, even without the added weight of Galbadia Garden dragging them down. Beau saw to it that word would get around to all of his people that Matron was fine and that Seifer and Squall were now their superiors in more than just rank, then left the piloting to his helmsman and joined his guests at the prow, where Ellone was introducing her siblings – Fujin included – to the group of children who had come out to meet them. Most of them had met Squall before, during one of the few times that he and Seifer had met up with the White SeeDs, but Fujin and Selphie were new to all of them.
"I suppose we'll have to sort out visitation, now," Beau commented as he leaned against the railing next to Squall, watching the children as they bounced around the three women.
"Visitation?" Squall repeated, brow furrowed.
"For Elle," Beau offered. When Squall's questioning look didn't lighten, he explained, "The reason Matron and Cid set her with us was because there wasn't anyone else who could effectively protect her, especially not with you lot first being cadets, and then always out on dangerous missions and never in Garden. But if you and Seifer are going to be there all the time, there's no reason why she can't spend time in Balamb and actually spend some real time with all of you. It would probably be safer than a boat travelling the oceans, anyway, with how many SeeDs and cadets you've got on a normal afternoon."
Squall nodded his understanding. "It's something we can work out with her after Galbadia Garden is set up at FH, if you're willing to stick around," he suggested. "We should probably work out a more effective way to communicate with each other, anyway."
Beau grimaced, since communication with Garden had always been a sort of back-and-forth battle for them. "If we're not solely responsible for Elle anymore, we can probably make port more often," he admitted. "I know some of my people would appreciate that, too."
Squall glanced towards the shadow of Horizon Bridge coming into view, gaze thoughtful. "I know your ship was meant to be rather inclusive, but would you be against trading your crew out every once in a while?" he asked. "Give your people a chance to be landlocked for a few months or a year while we send some of our SeeDs out with you."
Beau blinked for a moment, then smiled. While enough of his crew liked the life they led out on the oceans – himself included – he knew a couple of them would have preferred a chance to live on land for a while. "Yeah, I think they'd like that. Only..." He frowned a bit.
"Only?"
Beau shook his head. "Because of how rarely we touch land, having orphans has always been for the best, since there aren't a lot of reasons for them to need to be ashore. No families to be missing, you know?"
Squall nodded, because he did know, especially with a family and friends of his own that he far too often missed. "We can work it out so you're only getting orphans, or those who prefer to avoid their families on land," he suggested. "They might have some trouble being separated from friends at Garden, but given how regularly SeeDs are just missing each other, letters passed every five months or so should be fine."
"I'll leave figuring that out in your capable hands," Beau replied, only a hint of mocking in his tone.
Squall rolled his eyes, then shoved away from the railing as they slowed to dock at FH. "I'd like to keep our presence in town as minor as possible until after Mayor Dobe has okayed our visit."
Beau nodded in understanding. "I'll keep everyone on the ship until you've returned," he promised.
Squall flashed him a grateful look, then moved forward to collect his small party.
While ships docking at FH were a little unusual, it wasn't quite the spectacle that Garden crashing against the crane had been in the Ghost's time, so there wasn't the same 'welcoming committee' awaiting them as the four stepped ashore. Instead of a group of hostile men, there was just a fisherman who'd been mending a line in his ship at the dock, and he flashed them a smile as he asked, "What brings you folks to our little town?"
"We were hoping to get a word in with Mayor Dobe," Squall replied evenly, not even bothering with attempting a friendly smile. Selphie and Ellone more than made up for it, though, grinning around at the town and just generally being their normal, happy selves. Even Fujin managed a small smile, unusual on her usually severe visage, but not nearly as out of place as a smile would have been on Squall's own face.
The fisherman nodded, waving at the line of kids at the railing of the ship. A couple of them giggled and ducked while others waved back, wide smiles on their faces. "Sure thing," he told the group in front of him. "Just follow the tracks down that way to the amphitheatre and take the stairs down to the middle. The mayor's in the house with the tree growing out the side."
"A tree–?" Selphie started, eyes bright.
"Thank you," Squall said to the fisherman before starting off the dock. Ellone had entwined her arm with his, so she followed without pause, but Fujin and Selphie took an extra breath, Fujin having to drag their excitable friend along.
"This place is cool!" Selphie declared, trying to keep her balance on the rail. "I am totally moving here!"
"Of course you are," Squall replied with an air of fond exasperation. "And you're planning to retire from SeeD to do so."
"I am?" Selphie wondered, hurrying forward on the rail and almost losing her balance to get a look at Squall's face. "Oh, 'cause they're pacifists?"
"NO CABLE," Fujin helpfully pointed out.
"Yes," Squall agreed to both of them. "They don't really see many trains through here, anyway. If you want to live surrounded by trains, you're better off moving to Timber."
"But Timber's so... bland," Selphie muttered, making a face and catching herself on Ellone's shoulder when she almost lost her balance again.
"I'm sure it's about to get much more exciting," Ellone commented, expression sad as she remembered the conversations she'd sat in with Cid, Seifer, and Squall over the past couple days about the likely state of the Galbadian continent.
Squall tilted his head slightly, a thought coming to him. "Selph, would you be against us stationing you in Timber for a while with a couple other SeeDs? We need to keep any riots from breaking out, and that might well mean a show of force."
Selphie nodded, expression grim. "Sure thing." Her eyes lit with an idea of her own and she quickly asked, "Can I have Irvy with me?"
Squall shot her a knowing look, remembering how close they'd been in Ultimecia's castle, and she replied with a poor attempt at an innocent look and hopping down from the rail before she lost her balance again. "I should say no," he told her.
Selphie looked away, knowing when she was caught. "But you won't?" she said hopefully.
Squall sighed. "This time, yes, you can be partnered together. But, in the future, if Seifer or I say no, we mean it." He and Seifer were proof that being both lovers and partners could work, but having done it himself, he also knew there were some missions that you were better off being separated on, which was even more true when Selphie and Irvine had such different specialisations, not to mention Irvine being even more of a hopeless flirt than Seifer was.
Selphie nodded, expression grateful and understanding. "Yes, sir."
"Any other sudden relationships I should be made aware of?" he asked. "Or are you lot going to try hiding from Seifer and myself now that we're doling out the orders?"
Selphie flashed him a smile, somehow managing to look both innocent and like she was about to blow something up. "Zell and Xu have been making eyes at each other for the last two weeks or so, but nothing's official. Unless they're being clever and hiding it."
"ZELL," Fujin pointed out.
Ellone giggled. "Yeah, he wouldn't be able to hide it."
Squall rolled his eyes, but made a note to keep an eye on the two of them. There was also Fujin and Raijin to keep an eye on, but Squall and Seifer had known about that pretty much from the beginning.
With two giggling women and Fujin's slight form looking harmless at his back, not even Squall's blank stare could get the mayor and his wife to put their welcoming smiles away. The people of FH actually had nothing against visitors – loved them, really – and so they were welcomed upstairs with open arms and offered refreshments, which Ellone and Selphie were more than willing to indulge in. Squall couldn't help wondering how long the welcoming air would last, given their affiliation with the mercenary force that Dobe so hated.
"So, what brings you kids here?" Dobe asked once they were all settled.
Squall resisted the urge to rub at his scar, uncertain if the mayor would even recognise it, but unwilling to take the chance, especially since he doubted they would react favourably to having so well-know a murderer in their home – them being Garden was bad enough, him being Squall Leonhart was worse. "There was a recent battle between Balamb Garden and Galbadia Garden which ended with Galbadia's propulsion ring cracking. We're incapable of fixing it ourselves and were hoping your technicians would be willing to take a look at it."
There was a moment of stunned silence at that, then Dobe and Flo's faces darkened and the mayor said, "You're from Garden."
Selphie and Fujin both tensed a bit at the hostile tone in Dobe's voice, while Ellone shifted a little closer to Squall. "We are," Squall agreed, voice remaining even and giving no hint of being bothered by the response to their presence. "Are you willing to assist us, or should we have Garden turn around and attempt to fix things ourselves?"
Dobe spent a long moment warring with himself – he didn't believe in turning away those who requested their help, even people as violent as Garden – before finally grumbling, "We'll help you. But we don't want any of your kind causing trouble in our city!"
Squall inclined his head in understanding. "Those SeeDs and cadets with an interest in observing the city will be directed to leave all weapons and personal fights in Garden," he promised, and Dobe and Flo both relaxed a bit at that. "Given the size of Garden and the current position of the cracked ring being under water, where would you like Galbadia Garden parked? We might be able to lift it slightly for ease of access, but I'm uncertain what sort of strain that will put on both Garden and the city's structure."
Dobe frowned in thought and shook his head. "For now, if you'll park near the cranes, our technicians can take a look at the damage to the systems inside and see if there's any way to get the ring back in working order without doing actual work on the physical object. If further work is required, we'll figure it out then."
"Do you require any form of reimbursement for your services, or...?"
"No. We help because that's what we do," Dobe replied a touch sharply. "Just keep your fighting urges out of my city."
Squall stood. "You have our gratitude, then," he offered before turning to the three women. "We need to let Garden know where to park."
Flo rose with them, saying, "I'll let our technicians know to expect you."
Squall shrugged and led the way out of the mayor's house, not reacting when Ellone once again took his arm.
"Squally, can I stay in the city while you're back at Garden?" Ellone asked as they reached the tracks and Selphie hopped up onto the rail again to try her balancing act.
Squall sighed. "Yes, but I want you to stay with Fuu and Selph."
Ellone rolled her eyes at the protection. "I know, I know."
"TROUBLE?" Fujin asked.
Squall shook his head. "Unlikely, but I'd prefer to be safe, especially with how close we are to Esthar."
"UNDERSTOOD."
"Yeah, we'll make sure nothing happens to Sis," Selphie agreed.
When they reached the ship, Squall left Ellone with his two friends and waited for Beau to let some of his own people ashore before they set off back to Garden to deliver the news.
-0-0-0-
-0-0-0-
A/N: It's not over yet! Still a couple loose ends to tie up! *big grin* I know, I'm kinda excited, too. XD
~Bats ^.^x
Chapters:
1 - Touch of Memory ||| 2 - No One Here to Save
3 - Burn Up the Tracks
4 - Orphans and Widows ||| 5 - Close the Last Window ||| 6 - Melodies of Life
7 - Lie Under the Night ||| 8 - Not Invincible ||| 9 - Don't Want the World
10 - Dance With the Enemy ||| 11 - Everything I Have in This World ||| 12 - Running Out of Days
13 - Wake Up and Fight ||| 14 - Crimson Sky ||| 15 - Heroes Waiting
16 - Light in My Eyes ||| 17 - Lying Next to a Ghost ||| 18 - Living For Today
19 - Some Things Are That Simple
..
Fandom: Final Fantasy VIII
Author: Batsutousai/
batsutousaiBetas: Shara Lunison/
tsuki_no_suzu & Shivani/grazhirChapters: 16 of 19
Rating: T
Pairings: Seifer/Squall, Irvine/Selphie, Zell/Xu, Quistis/OMC, Fujin/Raijin
Warnings: AU, major canon-buggery, OoC Squall, slash/yaoi
Summary: No one thought to warn Squall against touching his younger self, and he leaves a part of himself behind when he returns to Time Compression.
A/N: Somewhere between my rereading the game script for this fight and trying to find a way to not be forced to rewrite this scene again, Squall and I decided to try something a little different. Seifer and the others all think we're a bit mad, but Ultimecia was surprisingly accommodating, once she got over her initial shock.
Light In My Eyes
-0-0-0-
Getting through the castle had been remarkably easy, but Squall had once sketched out a rough map of the place, so he and Seifer had a general idea of where they were going. It helped, also, that all of them had been regular SeeDs for at least a year, giving them far more battle experience than those couple of months on the run that the Ghost and his friends had. They all still took their fair share of hits, certainly, but it had been nowhere near as difficult as in Squall's stolen memories
Still, just outside the room Squall knew Ultimecia waited in, he called for them to break again. The others, exhausted from traipsing around a castle and taking on violent beasts with questionable access to their usual backups of magic and GFs, were more than willing to take the offered rest. Even Seifer, Squall, and October – the most experienced among them – were happy to settle against the balustrade and catch their breath. October pulled out the last of the sandwiches and water without prompting and they were shared around, much to everyone's pleasure.
"How much further?" October asked of their two leaders as Quistis dozed on his shoulder. Zell, Raijin, and Selphie were also dozing against Xu, Fujin, and Irvine, respectively, and the rest of them looked like they were considering catching a few minutes of shut-eye.
Seifer shrugged. "Ultimecia should be through that door," he replied, the arm around Squall's waist tightening slightly when the slighter teen shifted against him. They were both too keyed up to get any real rest, but that was no reason to deprive the others.
October gave the door just beyond them a worried look. "Is this a good place to be resting, then?"
"There's never a good place to rest," Squall replied quietly, eyes staring off into the twisted lack of sky beyond the castle grounds. "She won't come to us, though, if that's what you're asking. She knows we're here, but she believes in leaving her opponents to wear themselves out on her security, rather than coming straight to us while we're fresh. Given, we outnumber her ten to one..."
"I suppose..." October agreed, still watching the door with some concern for a long moment before turning his gaze to the two Rank As. "I'm curious where you two got all your intel about this place and the Sorceress," he said, a note of suspicion in his voice that he couldn't entirely hide.
"I second that," Irvine called quietly as he settled Selphie a little more comfortably in his lap.
Seifer spared a brief wonder for when the cowboy and explosion expert had become an item, then allowed a casual shrug. "Here and there."
Squall's eyes had flickered away from the non-existent sky to look over their conscious friends, not quite meeting their eyes. Seifer's arm tightened again, sensing the path of his thoughts even before Squall was truly aware that he was thinking about telling them anything. After a silent moment of them all sort of watching each other, waiting, Squall finally returned his gaze to the not-sky and quietly – so quietly, they weren't even certain they'd heard him right in the silence of the bridge – said, "A Ghost told me."
It was a mark of their trust in and knowledge of the gunblader that the four who were awake didn't, for one moment, think that Squall was lying to them, though they questioned how literally the word 'ghost' was meant.
A howl from some monster or another sounded from the courtyard below them and the four who'd been dozing all jerked awake, tired but aware.
"We should continue," Seifer announced, the light brush of his fingers against Squall's arm as he pulled his arm away communicating his pleasure at Squall telling their friends even that much. "As much as I'd like it to be otherwise, we don't have an unlimited time in this time. Eventually, Time Compression will complete, and even our knowledge of each other won't save our existence."
They all shuddered a bit at that, refusing to imagine a world where they wouldn't exist, but unable to deny the fear that they might fail.
It was in silence that they all rose and checked over their weapons and magic stock. The last few drops of water were finished off and the bag October had brought the food and drink in was left behind with the empty bottles, littering the least of their worries.
Seifer was the one who pushed the door open, but Squall was at the lead when they stopped in a crowd at the edge of the room, staring up at the woman who sat above them. "Sorceress Ultimecia," Squall greeted in a voice that was, for him, remarkably cordial. Even his weapon was held in a loose grip at his side, in contrast to the ready positions of those behind him. Even Seifer's expression blanked in surprise at Squall's actions.
Ultimecia, about to fall into a rant, sort of stared down at the brunet for a moment, mouth agape. Then she unfurled black wings and fell lightly to the ground in front of the ten SeeDs, gaze suspicious. "SeeDs," she replied in a voice dark with hatred.
"I don't suppose we could talk you out of this fight?" Squall wondered.
Ultimecia let out a screeching laugh that had the group of SeeDs fighting the urge to cringe. "A SeeD unwilling to fight?" she said, voice sharp with amused disbelief.
"Please, don't mistake me; I'm more than willing to destroy you, I'm just wondering if it's really necessary." Squall shrugged, Lion Heart making a dull sound as the motion knocked the bright blade against the floor. "Do you really need to destroy the world?"
Ultimecia's expression darkened. "I must rid the world of your filth," she spat.
"For whose gain?" Squall wondered, head cocked to one side. "Your own, yes, but how does that help anyone else? If you wanted to live in a world all your own, without SeeD, you'd be better off moving to the moon, right? At least then you're not murdering thousands of other people in the process."
"What does a brat like you know of–"
"The violence and cruelty of my kind?" Squall suggested, knowing that if he let her insult SeeD, his friends might well take it as a sign that they should rush her, with or without Squall's say. The only thing staying their hand right now was their own trust in Squall; never mind that he had no idea what he was doing. "I've been a SeeD for seven years, and I've done some terrible, unforgivable things. But, in dirtying my own hands, the hands of others remain clean.
"You curse us, call us filth and locusts, but in the end, all we really are is humanity's darkest thoughts and wishes in human form; we are no more than the thoughtless guns and swords that swing at the commands of another, following a will not our own."
Ultimecia was speechless for a moment, but then her face curled with a snarl and she spat, "Pretty words, little boy, but that does not exempt you from your sins."
"I never said it did," Squall replied, trying not to tense when someone shifted behind him. 'Please, please let me try this. Give me this chance to talk her down. Please...' he asked of his friends, even as he continued to speak to Ultimecia, "I'm not denying that I'm a murderer and I probably deserve every moment of violence and pain you wish upon me; will probably suffer that pain and violence many times over before I can finally die. In a perfect world, I would not exist, but this is no perfect world, and exist SeeD does." He shook his head. "You lay blame on me for what I am, but do you not, also, deserve some share of the blame?"
Ultimecia frowned, truly confused. "Exkuse me?"
"If you hadn't enacted Time Compression, if you hadn't given the world reason to fear a Sorceress of the future, SeeD would never exist."
"That is a lie," Ultimecia spat.
Squall smiled grimly. "No, it's really not. Sorceress Edea created SeeD because she was warned they would be needed to defeat a Sorceress from the future who threatened the world. That same Sorceress – yourself – fell through Time Compression as it collapsed and gave Sorceress Edea her powers upon her death, which was more than enough proof."
Startled noises came from the SeeDs behind him, but Squall kept his focus on the flash of disbelief in Ultimecia's eyes, which slowly melted to belief and sorrow as she searched his face for any hint of deception and found none. "So the monsters were reated from me," she murmured.
Squall shrugged and said, "Monsters create monsters; that is the way of the world. Sorceress Adel killed indiscriminately those who she believed to have wronged or posed a threat to her. When she was defeated, Galbadia swore it would never again be helpless in the face of its opponents and sought to create an army that could stand against all other armies, crushing anyone that stood against it. Those nations and armies Galbadia crushed during its rise have sat around, biding their time and waiting for a weakness to show that could be exploited. With Deling dead, that weakness has been laid bare, and now Timber and Dollet and the Southern Companies will make their move, killing Galbadians one after another in revenge for the wrongs done to them."
Ultimecia's lips curled with a helpless smile. "And without SeeD, more would have died," she murmured, the knowledge of their future in her voice. "Monsters with peace in their hearts."
Squall inclined his head. "So we are. And so, I believe, are you."
"Squall–!" someone started before they were shushed.
Ultimecia looked at Squall with a new light in her eyes, as if she recognised him, like she hadn't before. "Squall Leonhart, SeeD Ko-Kommander."
Squall blinked in surprise. "Co-Commander?" he repeated. 'I survive? And I share my positi– Seifer.'
Ultimecia looked past him, over the group arrayed behind him with their weapons held somewhere between 'at the ready' and 'at ease'. By the flashes of knowledge in her eyes, Squall thought it very likely he and his friends would be making quite the impact in the history of the world, enough to be recognisable far in the future by sight alone, once Ultimecia thought to look. The realisation was both comforting and disheartening, for he knew all too well how hard it was for a SeeD to be easily recognisable.
Ultimecia finally focussed back on Squall, sadness in her eyes. "I wanted to change my past, but all I kan do is bekome the kause behind it."
Squall shook his head. "The past has already occurred. It is only our future which we can change." His smile was bitter as he added, "Even then, perhaps the future is beyond our reach."
"Perhaps it is," Ultimecia agreed, "But I do not doubt you will do your best to make it as you wish." Then she made a sudden motion with her right hand, wings flaring out behind her, and the light of an Ultima spell blinded them all as the spell consumed the Sorceress in front of them.
The world faded away to black and white and Squall found himself alone. He remembered that the Ghost had been almost panicked when Time Compression collapsed around him, but somewhere between living a life filled with friends and family and Ultimecia's knowledge of him sharing his leadership of SeeD with Seifer, Squall felt none of that panic.
Light faded in with the voice of a young Squall as he ran off to find the missing Ellone. The elder Squall looked forward, a smile tugging at his lips when he saw Matron, as beautiful and untouched by Ultimecia's hatred as she was in his memories.
"Excuse me, have you seen a little boy?" Matron asked Squall as she came to a stop in front of him, looking past him almost hopefully.
"He'll be back in his own time," Squall replied quietly. "Don't worry about him."
Matron turned her focus on him, offering him a brief smile that faded as she took in the rips and tears in his clothing from their trek through Ultimecia's castle. "Are you well?" she asked, concern in her eyes.
Squall offered her a fond smile, uncaring if the familiarity in his gaze made her suspicious. "I am." A form flickered into sight behind Matron, and Squall offered a nod to Ultimecia, calling, "And here we are."
Matron turned to see who the man spoke to and looked momentarily startled at the sight of the other Sorceress. "What are–?"
"I am here to die," Ultimecia admitted, a broken smile on her face. "Will you accept my powers, Sorceress Edea Kramer?"
Matron let out a noise of surprise, but nodded. "Yes."
Ultimecia inclined her head. As she faded away, her magic slipping into its new host, she whispered, "The future is yours to touch, SeeD Leonhart..."
Squall reached out and caught Matron as she stumbled, letting her lean against him as she regained her equilibrium. After a moment, she pulled away and eyed him with suspicion. "You're that boy," she realised.
Squall nodded. "Yes, Matron, I am." He paused for a breath, then firmly stated, "I'm a SeeD, trained by Garden to protect the populace from out-of-control Sorceresses. You are the one who founded – will found – Garden."
Matron shook her head. "I–"
"Do you understand?" Squall asked, voice gentle in the face of her faint frown.
"I understand," she agreed in a whisper, and there was sadness in her eyes.
Something bumped into Squall's hip and he turned to catch his younger self, already half prepared to do so. Once the younger Squall was balanced again, he drew away, murmuring, "Careful." The boy stared at him for a long moment, surprised and maybe a little grossed out by the blood covering his new jacket, and Squall couldn't help but wonder what memories he'd passed on to this younger version of himself. Only the memories from the Ghost? Or would he receive Squall's memories of his own life, with all the years of death and violence. And if he got Squall's memories, would he be able to cope? Would he choose to live his life the same way, or would he change things even further?
Then Matron's hands came to rest on the younger Squall's shoulders and he looked up towards her, eyes watering and voice shaking as he said, "I can't find Sis. Am I...alone...?"
Matron smiled down at him, then back at the elder Squall, who was rising to his feet. "Do you know where to go back to? Do you know how? Will you be alright by yourself?"
Squall shot the woman he always thought of as a mother a fond look with his salute, silently promising, 'I'm not by myself, Matron, because my family and friends are waiting for me back home. And I'll get there, don't worry.'
That time faded away, back to the never-ending blackness of Time Compression. Squall glanced around, once, then closed his eyes and let out a breath, turning his mind to those friends, envisioning them cleaning up from the battle with Galbadia Garden, all tired and accomplished. 'We saved the world from Ultimecia. Now all we have to do is save Galbadia from the rest of the world. That should be fun...'
He opened his eyes as sound filtered in around him, voices laughing and talking. He found himself standing next to the lift on the main floor, looking down at a group of cadets who were working together to put the large map back together, a couple of them sweeping up broken glass and mulch from the planters. A skirmish must have broken out in the main hub, and Squall was a little sad for that, but since the cadets seemed so happy, he assumed nothing too bad had come of it.
"–soon as those cables are secu–" Seifer's voice was saying as the lift doors popped open behind Squall, but he cut off with a choked sound before whispering, "Squall?"
Squall turned and raised an eyebrow at him, taking note of the wide-eyed SeeD next to his lover who'd been listening to his instructions. "Yes?"
Seifer's lips curled with a relieved smile. "Thank Hyne. The rest of us have been back for about two hours."
Squall shrugged. "Sorry I'm late. How are things coming?"
Seifer shook himself and looked back at the SeeD in the lift. "Once the cables are secure, have Cadets Paz and Bravo turn us towards Fisherman's Horizon," he ordered her before joining Squall off the lift, ignoring her salute. "I was just heading for the cafeteria to get something to eat," he said to Squall as the lift doors fell closed.
Squall nodded and they moved in step down the stairs, returning the salutes of the cadets cleaning there.
"The Galbadians have already returned to their Garden," Seifer reported quietly as they continued towards the cafeteria. "Our little move to immobilise them broke their ring, though, so they're pretty much dead in the water. We're going to tow them to FH to see what their technicians can do with their system, but no one has any real hopes that it can be fixed. Irvy, Selph, Fuu, Rai, Quis, and October are over there, making sure the idiots behave themselves, but they seem pretty content to follow our lead. Matron being back to her normal self has helped a lot, since she told them to listen to us."
"And Matron?" Squall wondered.
"She, Sis, and Cid are catching up in the boardroom upstairs. Everyone already knows that her actions were not her own, but she's still going to be staying on the third floor unless you or I are there to escort her around Garden, just to be safe."
"Good." Squall rubbed at his chin, grimacing as some dried blood flecked off. "I should go change."
Seifer shot him an amused look. "Probably. It was the first thing the rest of us did upon getting back."
Squall rolled his eyes. "Get me something to eat," he requested as the blond turned towards the cafeteria.
"Sure thing. You want me to bring it to you, or...?"
Squall considered that for a moment, then shook his head. "We can eat in the boardroom."
"I'll meet you up there, then," Seifer agreed and they both continued on.
By the time they reached FH two days later, a number of things had been sorted, such as who would take over control of Galbadia Garden until they could find Martine, and what sort of punishments would be dealt out to those members of Ultimecia's 'army' that had been willing to continue fighting even after Edea told them to stand down. The hardest of those to deal with had been her Knight, who had hated SeeD for wiping out her home village some years ago; an action done by Squall's hand. (Once she'd realised who Squall was, they'd had to sedate her or chance her killing herself in an attempt to get at the Commander. Squall had watched everything with a blank expression, then turned to the interim Headmaster of Galbadia Garden once she was sated and said, "Perhaps Seifer and I shouldn't be involved in her punishment," which everyone agreed to, if only because they didn't need the woman throwing herself at the bars of her cell again.)
Things had calmed down enough that Seifer and Squall felt secure in letting Matron move around Garden on her own, though she continued to remain in the presence of one of her children, which none of the SeeDs seemed to mind. Similarly, Ellone was often found near Squall and Seifer, preferring her adopted brother's presence to that of their other foster siblings, as she always had. Squall had been a little uncomfortable the first day with her constant shadow, but they'd found the chance to talk that evening about Laguna and Raine – which they'd always sort of avoided mentioning in their letters – and whether their life without Laguna was really okay.
About three hours before they were due to reach FH, a familiar ship docked at the second floor deck and the captain was welcomed aboard and escorted up to the third floor boardroom where Squall, Seifer, and Cid were discussing how to handle the fallout from Deling's murder. Ellone was also in the room, and when the escort stopped outside the opened the door, her face lit up and she called, "Beau!"
The three men turned to look. Cid's expression mirrored Ellone's, while Seifer got an evil little smile and Squall's eyes lit with pleasure at seeing the White SeeD captain. "Captain Owens," Squall said as he rose from his seat. "Thank you, SeeD Mok," he added to the escort as Beau slipped into the room, smiling himself at the room's occupants.
The escort shot off a sharp salute, saying, "Sir!" then turned and left them to it, reassured at seeing that his leaders knew the man in white. He would, likely, go down to the guard at the deck and let them know they could relax their watch on the ship.
Beau gripped Squall's offered hand, giving a firm shake. "It's good to see you again, Squall," he offered, looking over the brunet's shoulder to the others at the table. "Headmaster, Elle." He completely ignored Seifer, which just made the blond's evil smile widen.
"Seifer," Squall warned as he waved Beau into a chair and retook his own seat.
"Aw, no greeting for me?" Seifer asked, pasting on a wounded expression.
Squall rolled his eyes and joined their guest in ignoring his lover. "What can we do for you?"
Beau glanced towards Ellone, who was still smiling, then towards Cid and back to Squall. "Well, we were going to suggest that Elle return to our ship, to stay out of the grasp of Matron, but since you're towing Galbadia Garden..."
Squall shrugged. "Matron was being possessed," he explained. "We...exorcized her, so to speak."
Beau snorted, amused by Squall's usual blasé attitude towards the unusual. "So we don't have to hide Elle from her anymore?"
"Nope!" Ellone called. "I'm perfectly safe. And having a good time." She gave Beau a pointed look.
The captain chuckled. "Then I suppose you can stay here. Hyne knows you should be more than safe in Garden." He shot a glance towards Squall. "You'll be around to keep an eye on her?"
"Certainly," Squall agreed.
Beau nodded and rose from his chair. "Then we'll leave you to your towing. You know how to reach us–"
"Hey, Owens," Seifer interrupted, a serious note in his voice that had everyone turning to look at him. He looked up at the captain, none of the usual teasing in his expression. "Galbadia Garden's a bit busted right now, and we're hoping the FH technicians will be able to fix it, but we don't really have a way to let them know we're coming. Could we borrow your ship to send a group ahead and warn them?"
Beau blinked in surprise, then nodded. "Certainly."
"Did you have anyone specific in mind?" Squall asked.
Seifer nodded. "You're the only person in Garden that's been to FH before."
Squall frowned slightly, because he'd only been in the sense that the Ghost had been, but that, at least, was more than anyone else in Garden could say; FH didn't hire SeeD out, and SeeD stayed out of FH. Cid hadn't even been, having sent someone who had since passed away to get the FH technicians to work on Garden when it first opened. "I suppose," he agreed. "You'll be staying here?"
Seifer shrugged. "One of us needs to." Which wasn't, necessarily, true, since Garden and SeeD had managed without a Commander – or two Commanders, as the case was – for years, but now that Squall and Seifer had taken the title, at Cid's direction, they'd wordlessly agreed that one of them needed to remain in easy contact, in case something came up.
Squall nodded to himself as he rose from the table. "Very well. I'll take Selph and Fuu with me, since they both look relatively harmless."
Seifer snorted, amused.
"Can I come?" Ellone asked, looking hopefully towards her two brothers.
Squall had half expected her to ask that. "If you want," he allowed, figuring that FH was more than safe enough for her to come along, and it wasn't like she wouldn't have three SeeDs with her, not to mention however many White SeeDs followed them ashore.
"Thank you, Squally!" Ellone called, hopping out of her seat and joining Beau next to the door, where he was waiting for them to sort themselves out.
Squall shot her a fond look, then looked back at his partner. "Could you have Selph and Fuu told to meet me at the deck within half an hour, sans obvious weapons?"
Seifer nodded as he stood, joining Squall in heading out the door so he could use the intercom from the bridge and leaving Cid to amuse himself for a few minutes. "I'll tell Paz to cut our speed, so you'll have more time to assure our happy, pacifistic neighbours that we come in peace."
"I'll probably need it, knowing Dobe," Squall agreed drily, stopping next to the lift Beau and Ellone were holding for him. "Don't break Garden while I'm gone."
"Your lack of trust in my abilities wounds me," Seifer replied with a grin. "Go on."
Squall rolled his eyes and flicked a hand in Seifer's direction in a hint of a wave, then joined his sister and Beau in the lift.
Once the doors closed behind them, Ellone sighed and said, "You could have kissed him goodbye, you know."
Squall sighed. "No PDA, Sis."
Beau blinked in surprise. "You and Seifer? Really?"
Squall sighed again and rubbed at his scar. "Yes. Please do me a favour and don't spread it around. I doubt Cid or the faculty is going to make a deal about it, not after recent events, but Seifer and I prefer to keep our relationship something of a secret."
Beau understood far better than Ellone how taboo relationships between SeeDs were, so he nodded and asked, "Recent events?"
The lift opened on the first floor and all three stepped out, catching the tail-end of Seifer's call for Fujin and Selphie to meet Squall on the second floor. "Cid made me the official leader of SeeD, and I named Seifer my Co-Commander," Squall explained, taking pleasure in the shock that crossed Beau's face at the announcement.
Beau chuckled. "So, I guess that means you're actually my boss, rather than just having a higher rank."
Squall shrugged. "Technically," he agreed. "I'll try to avoid being difficult about it, but no promises for Seifer." His eyes danced with quiet amusement when Beau groaned.
"Squall!" Selphie called, coming up beside them as they turned off toward the dorms, Fujin at her side. "Hey! So, we're going ahead to Fishermen's Horizon?"
Squall nodded. "Captain Owens has agreed to lend us the use of his boat so we can forewarn the mayor about his coming guests."
"POLITE," Fujin declared.
"It's probably one of the few sensible things to ever come from Almasy's mouth," Beau agreed, only smirking a little bit.
Since the entire posse already knew about Beau and Seifer's stupid game of one-upmanship, neither girl even blinked at the statement, and Ellone just giggled a bit.
When they separated at the dorms, Beau followed Squall, rather than face the awkwardness of waiting just outside a girl's room. He'd never actually seen Squall's room before, having generally stayed out of the dorm wing while in Garden, but it didn't take him much to recognise Seifer's gunblade case, as well as some of his things. "He's staying with you?"
Squall glanced towards Hyperion's case – it was the most obvious item belonging to Seifer – and shrugged. "He's still got a room across the hall, but, yeah, he mostly stays here. We're out of Garden often enough that no one really notices." He let out a quiet sigh as he snapped Lion Heart's case shut, his trusted weapon inside. "That's certain to change."
"I doubt Cid will really care," Beau offered carefully. He wasn't quite certain how true that was, though, since he cared when his people paired up with each other, even when it was just a one-night fling. But, then, they all lived on the same ship year-round, and things got awkward easily there. Living in Garden was a little bit different, there being more room for them to escape each other.
Squall shook his head, somehow managing to not mess up the make-up he was applying to cover his scar in the process. Beau was in silent awe, especially since the younger SeeD was putting it on without a mirror. "Maybe not," Squall allowed, "but the faculty will. And we don't need to be fighting with them right now. Or ever." He snatched up a light jacket that Beau swore he'd seen Seifer wear – and it was a little big on Squall, when the younger man tugged it on – then motioned for them to leave the room. "Let's collect the girls."
Fifteen minutes later, they were pulling away from Garden and speeding their way towards FH, moving much faster than Garden could have managed, even without the added weight of Galbadia Garden dragging them down. Beau saw to it that word would get around to all of his people that Matron was fine and that Seifer and Squall were now their superiors in more than just rank, then left the piloting to his helmsman and joined his guests at the prow, where Ellone was introducing her siblings – Fujin included – to the group of children who had come out to meet them. Most of them had met Squall before, during one of the few times that he and Seifer had met up with the White SeeDs, but Fujin and Selphie were new to all of them.
"I suppose we'll have to sort out visitation, now," Beau commented as he leaned against the railing next to Squall, watching the children as they bounced around the three women.
"Visitation?" Squall repeated, brow furrowed.
"For Elle," Beau offered. When Squall's questioning look didn't lighten, he explained, "The reason Matron and Cid set her with us was because there wasn't anyone else who could effectively protect her, especially not with you lot first being cadets, and then always out on dangerous missions and never in Garden. But if you and Seifer are going to be there all the time, there's no reason why she can't spend time in Balamb and actually spend some real time with all of you. It would probably be safer than a boat travelling the oceans, anyway, with how many SeeDs and cadets you've got on a normal afternoon."
Squall nodded his understanding. "It's something we can work out with her after Galbadia Garden is set up at FH, if you're willing to stick around," he suggested. "We should probably work out a more effective way to communicate with each other, anyway."
Beau grimaced, since communication with Garden had always been a sort of back-and-forth battle for them. "If we're not solely responsible for Elle anymore, we can probably make port more often," he admitted. "I know some of my people would appreciate that, too."
Squall glanced towards the shadow of Horizon Bridge coming into view, gaze thoughtful. "I know your ship was meant to be rather inclusive, but would you be against trading your crew out every once in a while?" he asked. "Give your people a chance to be landlocked for a few months or a year while we send some of our SeeDs out with you."
Beau blinked for a moment, then smiled. While enough of his crew liked the life they led out on the oceans – himself included – he knew a couple of them would have preferred a chance to live on land for a while. "Yeah, I think they'd like that. Only..." He frowned a bit.
"Only?"
Beau shook his head. "Because of how rarely we touch land, having orphans has always been for the best, since there aren't a lot of reasons for them to need to be ashore. No families to be missing, you know?"
Squall nodded, because he did know, especially with a family and friends of his own that he far too often missed. "We can work it out so you're only getting orphans, or those who prefer to avoid their families on land," he suggested. "They might have some trouble being separated from friends at Garden, but given how regularly SeeDs are just missing each other, letters passed every five months or so should be fine."
"I'll leave figuring that out in your capable hands," Beau replied, only a hint of mocking in his tone.
Squall rolled his eyes, then shoved away from the railing as they slowed to dock at FH. "I'd like to keep our presence in town as minor as possible until after Mayor Dobe has okayed our visit."
Beau nodded in understanding. "I'll keep everyone on the ship until you've returned," he promised.
Squall flashed him a grateful look, then moved forward to collect his small party.
While ships docking at FH were a little unusual, it wasn't quite the spectacle that Garden crashing against the crane had been in the Ghost's time, so there wasn't the same 'welcoming committee' awaiting them as the four stepped ashore. Instead of a group of hostile men, there was just a fisherman who'd been mending a line in his ship at the dock, and he flashed them a smile as he asked, "What brings you folks to our little town?"
"We were hoping to get a word in with Mayor Dobe," Squall replied evenly, not even bothering with attempting a friendly smile. Selphie and Ellone more than made up for it, though, grinning around at the town and just generally being their normal, happy selves. Even Fujin managed a small smile, unusual on her usually severe visage, but not nearly as out of place as a smile would have been on Squall's own face.
The fisherman nodded, waving at the line of kids at the railing of the ship. A couple of them giggled and ducked while others waved back, wide smiles on their faces. "Sure thing," he told the group in front of him. "Just follow the tracks down that way to the amphitheatre and take the stairs down to the middle. The mayor's in the house with the tree growing out the side."
"A tree–?" Selphie started, eyes bright.
"Thank you," Squall said to the fisherman before starting off the dock. Ellone had entwined her arm with his, so she followed without pause, but Fujin and Selphie took an extra breath, Fujin having to drag their excitable friend along.
"This place is cool!" Selphie declared, trying to keep her balance on the rail. "I am totally moving here!"
"Of course you are," Squall replied with an air of fond exasperation. "And you're planning to retire from SeeD to do so."
"I am?" Selphie wondered, hurrying forward on the rail and almost losing her balance to get a look at Squall's face. "Oh, 'cause they're pacifists?"
"NO CABLE," Fujin helpfully pointed out.
"Yes," Squall agreed to both of them. "They don't really see many trains through here, anyway. If you want to live surrounded by trains, you're better off moving to Timber."
"But Timber's so... bland," Selphie muttered, making a face and catching herself on Ellone's shoulder when she almost lost her balance again.
"I'm sure it's about to get much more exciting," Ellone commented, expression sad as she remembered the conversations she'd sat in with Cid, Seifer, and Squall over the past couple days about the likely state of the Galbadian continent.
Squall tilted his head slightly, a thought coming to him. "Selph, would you be against us stationing you in Timber for a while with a couple other SeeDs? We need to keep any riots from breaking out, and that might well mean a show of force."
Selphie nodded, expression grim. "Sure thing." Her eyes lit with an idea of her own and she quickly asked, "Can I have Irvy with me?"
Squall shot her a knowing look, remembering how close they'd been in Ultimecia's castle, and she replied with a poor attempt at an innocent look and hopping down from the rail before she lost her balance again. "I should say no," he told her.
Selphie looked away, knowing when she was caught. "But you won't?" she said hopefully.
Squall sighed. "This time, yes, you can be partnered together. But, in the future, if Seifer or I say no, we mean it." He and Seifer were proof that being both lovers and partners could work, but having done it himself, he also knew there were some missions that you were better off being separated on, which was even more true when Selphie and Irvine had such different specialisations, not to mention Irvine being even more of a hopeless flirt than Seifer was.
Selphie nodded, expression grateful and understanding. "Yes, sir."
"Any other sudden relationships I should be made aware of?" he asked. "Or are you lot going to try hiding from Seifer and myself now that we're doling out the orders?"
Selphie flashed him a smile, somehow managing to look both innocent and like she was about to blow something up. "Zell and Xu have been making eyes at each other for the last two weeks or so, but nothing's official. Unless they're being clever and hiding it."
"ZELL," Fujin pointed out.
Ellone giggled. "Yeah, he wouldn't be able to hide it."
Squall rolled his eyes, but made a note to keep an eye on the two of them. There was also Fujin and Raijin to keep an eye on, but Squall and Seifer had known about that pretty much from the beginning.
With two giggling women and Fujin's slight form looking harmless at his back, not even Squall's blank stare could get the mayor and his wife to put their welcoming smiles away. The people of FH actually had nothing against visitors – loved them, really – and so they were welcomed upstairs with open arms and offered refreshments, which Ellone and Selphie were more than willing to indulge in. Squall couldn't help wondering how long the welcoming air would last, given their affiliation with the mercenary force that Dobe so hated.
"So, what brings you kids here?" Dobe asked once they were all settled.
Squall resisted the urge to rub at his scar, uncertain if the mayor would even recognise it, but unwilling to take the chance, especially since he doubted they would react favourably to having so well-know a murderer in their home – them being Garden was bad enough, him being Squall Leonhart was worse. "There was a recent battle between Balamb Garden and Galbadia Garden which ended with Galbadia's propulsion ring cracking. We're incapable of fixing it ourselves and were hoping your technicians would be willing to take a look at it."
There was a moment of stunned silence at that, then Dobe and Flo's faces darkened and the mayor said, "You're from Garden."
Selphie and Fujin both tensed a bit at the hostile tone in Dobe's voice, while Ellone shifted a little closer to Squall. "We are," Squall agreed, voice remaining even and giving no hint of being bothered by the response to their presence. "Are you willing to assist us, or should we have Garden turn around and attempt to fix things ourselves?"
Dobe spent a long moment warring with himself – he didn't believe in turning away those who requested their help, even people as violent as Garden – before finally grumbling, "We'll help you. But we don't want any of your kind causing trouble in our city!"
Squall inclined his head in understanding. "Those SeeDs and cadets with an interest in observing the city will be directed to leave all weapons and personal fights in Garden," he promised, and Dobe and Flo both relaxed a bit at that. "Given the size of Garden and the current position of the cracked ring being under water, where would you like Galbadia Garden parked? We might be able to lift it slightly for ease of access, but I'm uncertain what sort of strain that will put on both Garden and the city's structure."
Dobe frowned in thought and shook his head. "For now, if you'll park near the cranes, our technicians can take a look at the damage to the systems inside and see if there's any way to get the ring back in working order without doing actual work on the physical object. If further work is required, we'll figure it out then."
"Do you require any form of reimbursement for your services, or...?"
"No. We help because that's what we do," Dobe replied a touch sharply. "Just keep your fighting urges out of my city."
Squall stood. "You have our gratitude, then," he offered before turning to the three women. "We need to let Garden know where to park."
Flo rose with them, saying, "I'll let our technicians know to expect you."
Squall shrugged and led the way out of the mayor's house, not reacting when Ellone once again took his arm.
"Squally, can I stay in the city while you're back at Garden?" Ellone asked as they reached the tracks and Selphie hopped up onto the rail again to try her balancing act.
Squall sighed. "Yes, but I want you to stay with Fuu and Selph."
Ellone rolled her eyes at the protection. "I know, I know."
"TROUBLE?" Fujin asked.
Squall shook his head. "Unlikely, but I'd prefer to be safe, especially with how close we are to Esthar."
"UNDERSTOOD."
"Yeah, we'll make sure nothing happens to Sis," Selphie agreed.
When they reached the ship, Squall left Ellone with his two friends and waited for Beau to let some of his own people ashore before they set off back to Garden to deliver the news.
-0-0-0-
A/N: It's not over yet! Still a couple loose ends to tie up! *big grin* I know, I'm kinda excited, too. XD
~Bats ^.^x
1 - Touch of Memory ||| 2 - No One Here to Save
3 - Burn Up the Tracks
4 - Orphans and Widows ||| 5 - Close the Last Window ||| 6 - Melodies of Life
7 - Lie Under the Night ||| 8 - Not Invincible ||| 9 - Don't Want the World
10 - Dance With the Enemy ||| 11 - Everything I Have in This World ||| 12 - Running Out of Days
13 - Wake Up and Fight ||| 14 - Crimson Sky ||| 15 - Heroes Waiting
19 - Some Things Are That Simple
..
