FIC: Silver Wings ~ Final Fantasy VIII ~ Seifer/Squall ~ Mature ~ Chapter 7

[batsutousai]

Title: Silver Wings
Fandom: Final Fantasy VIII
Author: Batsutousai
Pairing: Squall Leonhart/Seifer Almasy
Rating: Mature
Warnings: AU, canon violence, Sorceress!Squall, original character death, mind rape, mental torture
Summary: On that fateful day, when a child grown visited his childhood home and a dying sorceress passed on her powers, it wasn't another sorceress they found, but a young boy running lost.

Chapter Seven — Clouds of Sulphur

Squall hated trains.

Any other form of transport, if he needed to get away, it was easy. (He might end up drowning in the attempt, but at least he'd die free.) But trains did things like travel through tunnels, and in a tunnel, you were trapped.

The sensation was especially poignant with five expectant faces staring up at where he'd jumped onto the top bunk in the SeeD car while the others settled along the wraparound couch. Irvine had settled himself between Selphie and the client – what was her name? Heartlily? Heartilly? – with Zell on Selphie's other side, and Quistis next to the client.

"What is your contract?" he asked after a moment, pointing at Miss Heartilly.

"Oh, uhm. I just asked to be taken out of Timber, to safety."

Squall glanced towards Quistis and she offered, "Selphie, Zell, and I are contracted to her until Timber gains independence from Galbadia."

Squall snorted. "Sounds like Uncle Cid."

"Hey, Irvine called him that, too!" Selphie realised, nudging Irvine with her shoulder.

Squall sighed and leaned forward. "Cid Kramer is the husband and knight of Edea Kramer; Sorceress Edea." He paused for a moment, watching as understanding started to fall over the assembled. "You begin to understand, I think, why the headmaster wouldn't have sent those orders."

"They're married?" Quistis breathed out.

Squall nodded. "During the Sorceress War against Adel, Edea opened an orphanage down in Centra, at the Cape of Good Hope. Everyone in this compartment, save for Miss Heartilly, was an orphan there."

"But I wasn't–" Zell started.

"You really were, Zell," Irvine interrupted. "You were always tattling on us. Drove Seifer absolutely batty."

"Seifer was there?" Quistis asked, a new light of understanding in her eyes, and Squall gave a sharp nod. "That explains a lot about the two of you. I always thought it was strange, how you remained friends when all he did was insult you."

"He remembers as much as the rest of you," Squall offered. "He's met Matron a couple times in recent years, when she's come to visit me, but he always forgets her again after a couple weeks. She keeps trying; I gave up years ago."

"Why can't we remember?" Zell complained. "I want to."

"The GFs steal memories. They don't always give them back."

Zell shook his head. "But...you remember this stuff, and you have GFs before you even came to Garden, right?"

Squall smiled humourlessly and glanced towards Irvine. "I'm just lucky."

Irvine flinched and looked away.

Squall sighed and shook his head. "It doesn't matter, right now, what you do or don't remember. You'll simply have to take Irvine and my word for it." He looked them over, taking in their rebellious frowns. Before one of them could start an argument with him about what mattered, he said, "I lied, earlier. Or, well, I omitted a large detail: Uncle Cid and I don't believe Matron is completely under her own control right now. We believe there's another sorceress somehow controlling her actions, via possession, most likely.

"That means that while we will see Matron, she won't be the one fighting us, and she may have more than just ice magic at her disposal. There's no guarantee that we can get this other sorceress out of her head, or that there will be enough of Matron left to save. Uncle Cid would like her brought back safely, but he's aware that it may not be possible, given the circumstances.

"This mission is dangerous. I can't tell you anything about the sorceress controlling Matron, and I can't promise it will work out. But Irvine is right, she's not just my mother." He pushed off the bed and landed lightly on his feet in front of the ladder. "I've had two months to prepare for this, you have twenty minutes; talk. You," he added, turning to Heartilly and crooking his finger at her, "with me."

Squall led the woman out into the hallway, letting the door slide shut behind them. It was a relief to see flat ground out the window, rather than the hated tunnels, and he turned to the inconvenient client with a lighter heart than he otherwise might have had. "You asked for protection, but you're being led towards danger. If one of the others chooses to return to Balamb once we reach Deling, I will send you with them. If not, I will buy you a ticket and give you money to either rent a car or stay a few nights in Balamb Hotel, as is your choice. If you go to Garden and explain the situation, I'm sure the headmaster will be willing to put you up until he receives word about our success or failure."

"But I want to come with you!" the young woman cried.

Squall stared at her, unmoved.

Heartilly withered. "I can fight..."

"How long have you been training for?" Squall asked.

She straightened and proudly stated, "Three years!"

Squall closed his eyes, his GFs laughing in his head. "Everyone else has been training at least twice that long," he informed her in a tone that he struggled to keep even. "And they are all Garden." He opened his eyes and stared at her until she shrank back. "You asked for protection, Miss Heartilly; either break your contract and come with anyway, or listen to the people you hired when they tell you you're in over your head."

The hallway darkened and Squall glanced out the window to find the blackness of a tunnel. "Fucking Hyne," he complained before turning away from Heartilly and towards the entrance car, itchy to get out.

"You're not a part of my contract!" Heartilly shouted after him.

Squall rubbed at his chest in irritation, magic shivering angrily under his skin. "Stop it," he muttered at it. "We can send Matron back with the others and look for Seifer after this. And then you can fight him for a change."

"Squall?" Zell said from behind him, and Squall carefully blanked his expression before turning to look. The martial artist looked determined, and Quistis, Selphie, and Irvine were arrayed behind him wearing similar expressions. "We're coming with you."

It was an odd sensation, to have one burden lifted from one's shoulders, only for another to immediately take its place. "I see," he told them, keeping his voice even.

The train slid easily to a stop, and a glance out the nearest window showed them in an underground station.

"Quistis, Zell, or Selphie, one of you needs to get Miss Heartilly on a train to Balamb, for her own safety. Irvine, I need you running recon again–"

"Where is Matron, how can we get to her, that sort of thing?" Irvine suggested as Quistis left to collect Heartilly.

"Essentially. Zell, Selphie, go with him."

"You got it!"

"Sure thing, Squall."

Squall nodded and waved them out of the car, then waited for Quistis and Heartilly.

Between Squall and Quistis, they managed to get Heartilly onto a train back to Balamb, a voucher in her pocket – graciously donated by Quistis – for one free car rental at Balamb. They couldn't keep her from using her own money to come back to Deling, but Squall considered the 'get me to safety' request fulfilled.

"Anything she does after this is outside our power and grounds to claim she broke the contract," Squall murmured as they watched the train pull out of the station, both looking over the crowds to ensure she hadn't stuck around; as determined as she'd been to help, Squall wasn't going to put it past her.

"But is she aware of that?" Quistis wondered.

Squall snorted and turned away from the station. "I explained it to her. Let's go find somewhere out of the way to meet the others."

"We're not doing recon of our own?" Quistis asked as they climbed the stairs out into the city.

Squall sighed and shook his head. "The other sorceress knows what I look like. I'm hoping she thinks I'm dead, so I'll be able to catch her off guard."

Quistis grabbed his shoulder and pulled until he turned to face her, one eyebrow raised. "You didn't mention that part!"

Squall simply watched her until her grip loosened, then gently reminded her, "I was in a coma for ten months, Quisty."

Her eyes went wide. "Sweet Hyne. But you just–"

"Fainted," Squall agreed, looking out towards the street. "She's very talented at getting into people's heads, this sorceress."

There was a long silence, then Squall felt arms wrap around him from behind. "Do you ever ask for help?" Quistis asked quietly.

Squall closed his eyes. "Only when I don't have any other choice," he admitted and she let out a watery laugh.

They were browsing a nearby magazine stand when the others returned, meandering easily in their direction.

"She's staying at the Presidential Residence," Zell told Squall, while Irvine and Selphie did the same to Quistis a few steps away, under the guise of Irvine hitting on the eldest of the orphans. "It's well guarded, but Irvine says he's heard of a back entrance through the sewers."

Squall nodded and motioned for the owner so he could pay for the Weapons Monthly issue he'd been looking through, then stepped away from the stand.

Irvine joined him after a moment, looking dejected, with Selphie staying back with Quistis. "You people sure know how to have fun breaking a man's heart," he complained quietly as he led the way along the block.

Squall snorted and gently smacked Irvine's arm with his new magazine. "Payback, Kinneas; I've heard how many hearts you've broken in Galbadia."

"Ouch. Those waggling tongue do slay me so." He pushed Squall into an alley and followed quickly enough after. "Quisty said something about hiding you from sight when we get in?"

Squall raised an eyebrow, impressed that Quistis had managed to tell Irvine even that much under the cover of his womanising. "The sorceress controlling Matron and I have met before; she left me for dead."

"Element of surprise," Irvine murmured. "Fair enough." Then he cut Squall a sharp look. "You forgot to mention that bit, before."

"There was a lot of information to dump," Squall replied with an easy shrug as Zell wandered into the alley, a Combat King magazine open in front of him. "I'm sorry if I forgot one or two things. I am, in fact, only human."

"There's a pot against that, you know," Zell commented, eyes glinting. "Popular choices are GF and alien."

Squall rubbed at his forehead as his GFs burst out laughing. "Yes, thank you. That was extremely amusing, I'm sure. Shut up, Bahamut," he added as the dragon took a breath like he was going to speak.

'CAN WE PUT DOWN MONEY?' Sacred asked.

"No," Squall said at the same time as Minotaur enquired, 'and whose money are you planning to use? the sorceress's?'

"Sacred, no," Squall ordered before the younger of the two Brothers could decide that was a good idea. "Minotaur, stop giving him bad ideas."

"This is actually vaguely entertaining to watch," Irvine commented.

"He got so much shit for it, though," Zell murmured.

"Mostly from Seifer," Squall offered, raising an eyebrow when the other two looked at him in surprise. "I am, in fact, perfectly capable of listening to two conversations at once. Especially when one of them is pointless," he added, rubbing at his forehead, where the Brothers were still squabbling. "Shut up, both of you, or I'm going to have Eden sit on you."

Eden laughed, amused, and the Brothers immediately shut up.

"Small favours."

"How many GFs do you have?" Irvine asked as Quistis and Selphie finally joined them.

"Nine," Squall replied with a shrug before turning away from their stares and looking down at the sewer cover he'd been standing next to. "How hard is it to get around down there?"

"That's what I'm trying to find out," Irvine admitted as Zell stepped forward to heft the cover out of the way.

"Right. Irvine, take point. Zell, you've got our rear; remember to put that cover back in place once you're heading down."

"You got it," Zell agreed as Irvine started down.

Squall glanced towards Quistis and Selphie and wasn't even a little surprised when they both waved him on, Selphie waving at her dress and saying, "Don't let Irvy look up."

Squall easily shrugged out of his jacket and tossed it to her before starting down. "Tie that around your waist." It wouldn't help a lot, since the jacket was short, but it would help some.

Eventually, they were all in the sewers, Zell pulling the cover closed over them. Irvine had pulled out a rough map and was studying it. "This way," he finally decided and they were off.

It took them probably about two hours to find their way to the correct exit, between the maze-like quality of the place and the monsters infesting it. At last, though, they climbed out behind the massive gates.

"Squall in the back," Quistis ordered. "Irvine, try and stay in front of him – you're the only one who's taller – and the rest of us will take the lead."

There was a pile of crates up to a balcony, out of view of the gate, so they scaled that, Squall bringing up the rear. The others stepped around the corner and didn't make a sound or – according to his Quake magic – a motion after, and Squall was immediately on his guard. So he stayed back as Irvine stepped down onto the carpet and...froze.

No, not frozen, Squall realised, sensing the familiar magic, Stop.

"Look," said a voice that made Squall's magic strain against his skin, "Uncle Cid sent my childhood friends to play with me."

"Not nice, Sorceress," Squall called before jumping down behind Irvine. The Stop trap reached for him, but his own magic slapped it away and he stepped, unimpeded, around the stilled forms of his team. "You're not supposed to cheat."

Matron sat in a throne at the far end of the room, dressed in a revealing black dress, Seifer standing next to her. Matron's face twisted with shock and she pointed a shaking hand at Squall. "How are you alive?!"

"I'm stubborn."

"Kill him!" Matron shouted, and Seifer jumped forward, gunblade raised.

The first attack hit against Squall's Auto-Protect as he fumbled for Sheer Trigger, surprised by the lack of hesitation, and the second attack sounded of clashing blades. "What the fuck, Almasy?" Squall snarled, his magic writhing under his skin and giving him the strength to push Seifer away from him. "I wasn't serious about stabbing you!"

Seifer laughed, the sound cracking around the edges and he ran forward again, swiping at Squall. "I'm not the one come here to die, Squally!"

Squall got tired of pushing Seifer away, only for him to run back in again, pretty quickly. After the fourth time he pushed Seifer away, he immediately reversed his swing, trying to catch Hyperion and yank it from the blond's grip, but Seifer dodged in time. Instead, he got a diagonal cut up his forehead, blood dripping into his eyes and making him look slightly deranged.

"This grows tedious," Matron commented in a monotone before flicking her fingers and waking two gargoyles.

Squall blasted one with a Blizzaga before he had to block Seifer again. The second gargoyle took its chance and scratched across the back of his leg, causing it to buckle.

Squall shot out a second Blizzaga as he let himself fall back, out of the way of Seifer's swing. Still, it caught him across the forehead and across the bridge of his nose. He grunted as he hit the ground, then immediately brought his gunblade up to block the expected follow-up attack.

No attack came.

Squall looked up to find Seifer staring down at him, horror writ across his face. "Squall?" he whispered.

"Finish him, you useless little boy!" Matron shouted.

Squall climbed gingerly to his feet, trying to ignore the sense of his magic dancing gleefully under his skin. "So," he said quietly, "it looks like your control can be shaken. That's helpful." He slid Sheer Trigger away, knowing he wouldn't be able to move as fast as he needed to while using his gunblade, not with the wound on his leg. He met her stare, noting the way Matron's green eyes had gone more gold. "Now, how about you free Matron?"

Behind him, Squall's magic reported movement from the others; the Stop spell was wearing off. A flick of his fingers with an Esuna helped them on their way; he could use their help.

Matron smiled and stood. "I shall free all of my sisters from the curse of your kind, SeeD," she said, the words sweet when dripping from Matron's once-kind voice.

"That line sounded much better when you weren't speaking through someone else," Squall informed her.

Her smile widened and her hand moved in a motion Squall had seen Matron make many times before, just before unleashing ice on an unwary monster. "Get down!" he shouted.

Before he could consider his own danger, a firm arm wrapped around him and Squall was pulled out of the firing path, his back hitting Seifer's chest. He watched the ice fly over the heads of the others, just barely missing Irvine's hat.

Something within Squall suddenly connected, and he felt his magic gentle under his skin as a warm consciousness settled against the back of his mind, not intruding, simply there. "Your timing sucks," he whispered, and he wasn't sure if he was talking to his magic or the newly completed knight bond or Seifer himself.

Matron let out a scream of fury and Squall turned to look over his and Seifer's shoulders to see the pile of ice she was gathering, the sharp edges sparkling.

"We need to leave. Now," Seifer ordered.

Squall's magic jumped on the problem, twisting itself into a new spell before Squall could even wonder what it was doing. "You're fucking kidding me," he breathed out as he realised his magic had given him a spell for instant teleportation. It wouldn't go far, but it would get them – all of them – out of Deling.

"Die, Sorcerer!" Matron screamed, turning her ice towards Squall and Seifer.

"Not this time," Squall intoned before closing his eyes and letting his magic flow out, catching Quistis, Zell, Selphie, and Irvine in the spell that dragged Squall and Seifer away.

The spell deposited them in a heap, all of them one atop another, with Squall on the bottom.

"Where the hell are we?" Zell breathed once he was standing, holding a hand down to help Quistis up, while Irvine helped Selphie.

"Gotland Peninsula," Irvine supplied. "Look, there's the Tomb of the Unknown King."

"What I want to know is how we got here," Quistis snapped, brushing down her skirt.

Squall groaned and started pushing himself to his feet, only to find the ground suddenly falling out from under him. He grabbed for the shoulders of the man who'd picked him up and ordered, "Put me down."

"You're hurt. No," Seifer replied.

"Then be useful and heal me. I am not some fucking damsel in distress."

"No," Seifer replied, humour in his voice, "you're rather too male for that label."

"I swear to Hyne, Seifer–"

"I'm not putting you down, Squall," Seifer snapped, narrowing green eyes. "You're not going back to Deling."

"My mission–"

"Was a fucking bust," Seifer interrupted. "You had to run away."

"That doesn't mean shit."

Seifer leaned in, until his eyes took over Squall's vision. "No. Stop arguing with me."

And Squall's magic, the traitor, apparently took that as an order to drag Squall down into the darkness of unconsciousness.

-0-

It took him a moment to recognise the steady movement of the transportation he was in, and he groaned and rubbed at his face. "I hate trains."

"Don't let Tilmitt hear you saying that," Seifer suggested.

Squall opened his eyes to the SeeD cabin. He was on the bottom bunk, his pack and gunblade laid out next to him in easy reach. Seifer was sitting on the couch next to his head, reading what looked like the Weapons Monthly Squall had picked up in Deling, while Zell was stretched out across the other end. There was a fresh scar drawn between Seifer's eyebrows, and Squall was surprised to recognise the blow he'd landed on his erstwhile knight, scarred over from a Cure spell that hadn't been cast until a few hours after the damage had been done. "Fuck you," Squall bit out, forcing himself to sit up.

Seifer set the magazine aside with a grunt. "Trepe healed your leg. She and Tilmitt are the next car down in their own cabin; Kinneas is in the top bunk."

Squall swung his legs over the side and pushed himself to his feet, gingerly testing Quistis's healing job. Not that he didn't trust her, he simply knew better than to force something recently healed. "Why aren't they sleeping in here?" he demanded, keeping his voice down in respect for his sleeping team.

Seifer shrugged. "Trepe insisted. I didn't argue." He pushed himself up from the couch, only to tilt a little too far to one side.

Squall reached out and grabbed him, sensing exhaustion not his own at the back of his mind. "Hyne. Why haven't you slept?"

Seifer smiled tiredly and pressed his hand against Squall's chest, over the same place he'd always marked out as his magic. "Punishment," he murmured before nodding towards the door out into the hallway.

Squall stared at him for a long moment, warring between his anger at the blond and a swell of concern. The anger finally won out and he ducked back down to grab Sheer Trigger off the bed, then led the way out into the hallway and down to the entrance car, where they didn't chance being overheard or waking the sleeping team. As soon as Seifer reached him, Squall grabbed the front of his waistcoat and used it to spin Seifer around and shove him against the wall. The blond let out a startled sound, eyes going wide at the magic-driven strength that he had never got a taste of before. (Well, save for while he'd been under the sorceress's control.)

Squall pressed forward, using his body to keep Seifer in place, and snarled, "You have ten minutes to explain yourself before I see how hard it is to throw you out one of these windows."

Seifer slumped back against the wall and closed his eyes. "You'll have to be more specific than that, Squally; as you are so very fond of proving, you know far more about me than I do."

"You left!" Squall nearly shouted, his magic throbbing with its own anger.

Seifer winced. "Yeah," he agreed quietly, voice heavy with shame. "It was stupid." His lips turned up with a wretched excuse for a smile. "I wanted, so badly, to be a Sorceress's Knight, as a kid. And you just... I thought you were fucking with me, in Balamb. I didn't–" He swallowed and looked to the side, a profile of poor choices. "You have no idea how hard it is to live up to you, Squally. I wanted to be worth something, be your Knight–"

"You already were," Squall whispered, anger cooling. He dropped his forehead against Seifer's shoulder, feeling the blond's regret at the back of his mind.

"But why?" Seifer complained as his arms wrapped almost absently around Squall's waist. "I never did anything worth–"

"I didn't pick you," Squall informed him drily. "My magic fixated on you. If it had been up to me, I assure you, there are other people I trust far more than you to keep me safe and sane."

Seifer snorted. "Maybe," he agreed, "but how many of those will you let tell you no?"

Squall shoved at Seifer's chest, but the blond's arms had locked around his waist, and Squall's magic had helpfully stopped fuelling his strength. Seifer raised a tired eyebrow at him, amusement thrumming at the back of Squall's head, and he scowled. "Speaking of telling me no," he snarled, giving up on escaping, "would you like to explain why you wouldn't let me complete my mission?"

Seifer sighed. "You were hurt," he said, as though that explained everything.

"Then heal me!"

"And," Seifer continued, undeterred, "you used a lot of magic to pull off that spell, Squall – don't argue with me, I can feel your magic, which, by the way, holy fuck – plus whatever else you'd done since the last time you'd rested. And you weren't the only one tired. Or did you completely forget about your squad? Because they pretty much all fell right to sleep when we got on the train." He tightened his arms around Squall, drawing him closer. "It's not like you to get tunnel vision, Leonhart."

Squall pulled on the front of Seifer's coat, forcing the blond to lean in, and spat, "You expect me to worry about my own fucking health when Matron is being tortured?"

Seifer's eyes went wide and Squall could feel his presence flinching inside him. "Sweet Hyne," he whispered before tugging Squall into a proper hug, and Squall realised he'd somehow managed to share his own torture with his knight. "I never should have left..."

Squall held himself stiff for approximately two careful breaths before he gave in and relaxed against his knight. A little bit of the ache of the memory eased with the knowledge that he wasn't the only one who knew how it felt to be the sole focus of that sorceress's attention, that someone other than his GFs had more than passing idea of what had been darkening his dreams over the past two months. "Seifer," he whispered, throat tight with tears he forced back, "we have to save her. I can't–"

"You can't save her if you're dead, Squally," Seifer whispered back, the words shifting Squall's hair. He pulled back after a moment, eyes hardening. "Do you think she'd want to be saved if one of her children died in the attempt?" And Squall knew he meant the group of sleeping SeeDs and Irvine in the train with them.

"I tried to keep them from coming," Squall pointed out quietly.

'And as I told you, Sorceress,' Shiva said, 'you cannot save them from their own bad choices. You told them what they were getting into and left it in their hands. That was as much protection as they would have accepted.'

Seifer was shaking his head, eyes closed and expression odd, as he said, "What she said."

Squall blinked and smoothed his hand against Seifer's coat, only just realising his hands were still caught on the lapels. "You can hear Shiva?" he murmured.

Seifer's eyes opened, expression guarded. "It seems so."

'Oh, this is ex–'

"Bahamut," Squall growled in warning and the GF shut up with a sense of him flipping his tail in Squall's face.

"Pleasant bunch, aren't they?" Seifer commented.

Squall snorted. "They've been trying to keep my magic under control practically since I became a Sorceress."

Seifer let out a startled laugh. "Sorcerer, Leonhart. Unless there's something else you've been keeping from everyone." He tugged on the back of Squall's trousers, just above Sheer Trigger's sheath.

Squall shoved against Seifer's chest and was vaguely surprised when the blond actually let him free. "Fuck off, Almasy."

Seifer wiggled his eyebrows. "I'll find out eventually, since we're going to be roommates."

Squall pointed a finger at his knight. "No."

Seifer smirked and pushed away from the wall. "I'm sure there's a SeeD policy somewhere about rooming Knights and Sorcerers together," he teased as he started forward, stride slow and steady.

"The only SeeD policy concerning sorceresses is that any that get out of control need to be killed immediately," Squall deadpanned.

Seifer froze, disbelief and horror churning at the back of Squall's mind.

Squall turned away. "The less attention you draw to our connection, the better for everyone involved. Now, you need–"

"Squall," Seifer interrupted, one hand tightening around Squall's bicep. Squall turned to glare up at him, but his irritation faded at the serious expression his knight wore. "Matron called you 'Sorcerer', and then you transported everyone out; there's no way they aren't going to catch on," he warned and Squall felt almost like the ground was falling out from under him. "Chicken-wuss may never get it, and I don't know enough about Tilmitt to say, but Kinneas and Trepe looked like they'd both figured it out already, by the time we boarded."

"Well," Squall heard himself saying, his voice flat, "this is a right mess."

Seifer gave him a gentle shake. "You know them best, Leonhart; how are they going to take it?"

Squall shot Seifer a glare. "How the hell am I supposed to know? It's clear I can't judge people's reactions." He snatched his arm away from his knight, refusing to care about the blanket of shame at the back of his head. "You need sleep. I'm going to check on Selph and Quisty, and if you're not asleep by the time I return to our cabin, I will make you regret it."

Seifer sighed. "Fine. They're in the–"

"Trust me, Seifer," Squall offered with a sharp smile, "I always know where people are around me." He tapped one boot against the train floor, setting it rippling outward for a second before it easily retained its original form, slightly more stable than before.

Then he turned and strode through the door to the train hallway, going quickly past the SeeD cabin and out onto the pass-through between trains. He paused there, balanced easily against the train's movement, and stared out across the open land they were travelling past for a moment before closing his eyes. "Diablos, Tonberry, I need you two to keep tabs on Matron."

'I doubt she will be hard to find, now that she's made her appearance," Diablos pointed out, even as he formed on the walkway next to Squall.

"I don't want any surprises, and I don't know enough about that sorceress to know what she might try next."

"As you wish, Sorceress," Diablos agreed as Tonberry appeared at Squall's feet.

The smallest of his GFs very firmly held up his lantern and squeaked insistently at Squall until he took it. Then he turned and let Diablos pick him up.

"I'll keep it safe," Squall promised, amused.

Tonberry gave a determined nod, then he and Diablos were flying away from the train.

'You know more about that sorceress than you want to admit,' Pandemona said quietly, voice a whisper of wind. 'You share her magic, do you not?'

Surprise radiated from the back of Squall's mind and he gritted his teeth at the reminder that Seifer could hear his GFs now, too. "Which is exactly why I'm expecting surprises," he bit out before striding forward to step into the next car.

'She didn't use any forbidden magic,' Bahamut pointed out once Squall was in the new car and had stopped to unbuckle one of his loose belts.

'She stuck to Edea's preferred magic,' Shiva agreed. 'It's possible she cannot use her own magic through her host.'

"No," Squall disagreed quietly as he slipped Tonberry's lantern onto the belt, so he wouldn't chance losing it if he needed both hands. "That Stop spell was innate magic."

'So there is a limit to the amount of magic she can use,' Bahamut decided.

'But what is the limit, and how quickly will it cease to have a hold on her?' Quezacotl murmured. 'We don't know enough about her possession magic to know its limits.'

Squall paused, belt half buckled, and realised, "The possession magic isn't hers."

'Then we are facing two powerful Sorceresses in the body of a third. This is getting dangerous,' Shiva murmured.

'Call Bahamut or myself next time. We'll just eat her,' Leviathan suggested.

"No one is eating Matron," Squall hissed, rolling his eyes. "Now, shut up so Seifer will sleep."

The GFs all fell silent, leaving Squall to finish doing up his belt and hunt down the correct cabin in silence. The door opened at a swipe of his SeeD card, and Squall silently blessed Quistis's thoroughness in ensuring the rest of the team – or, at the least, Squall – could get inside of the additional room. The lights were all off, but the soft glow of Tonberry's lantern at Squall's hip cast more than enough light for him to spot the two women.

It was a normal cabin, meant for small groups, rather than SeeD teams, so there were two benches facing each other, with just enough foot space between them for two people to stand next to each other comfortably. Selphie was stretched out across one bench, dead to the world, a blanket draped loosely over her lower half. Quistis was curled up on the other bench, half reclined against the wall in a position that Squall recognised from late nights in the library when she'd been studying for her SeeD exam. Her eyes were open, but it was clear she'd just woken.

"It's just me, Quisty," Squall murmured as he let the door slide shut behind him. "Seifer told me you were down here, so I thought I'd check in."

Quistis let out a tired hum and closed her eyes. "We're fine." She shifted in her spot and rubbed a bared shoulder, as though cold. "How's your leg?"

Squall took a quick glance around the cabin and, upon seeing no sign of a second blanket, shrugged out of his jacket and stepped forward to drape it over her. "It's fine. Thank you for healing it."

Quistis hummed again and tugged on his jacket to reposition it. Squall was just pulling the blanket on Selphie up to cover her more fully when Quistis murmured, " 'S no wonder you've always been so good with magic."

Squall swallowed down a wave of terror and whispered back, "Go back to sleep, Quisty. I'll watch our backs."

She hummed an agreement and fell still, finally going back to sleep.

Squall stepped quietly back out into the hallway and stood there for a moment, fingers clenched tight around his lion's head as he tried to convince his racing heart that it was safe.

When he felt calm enough, he stepped back out to the pass-through and stopped there, balanced with one foot on either side of the connection between the cars. His Quake magic spread out over both cars, keeping an eye on his napping team, and he leaned forward against the railing intended to keep people from falling to their deaths on the tracks below, settling himself with the intention of staying there for a while.

-0-

Squall got stuck with Seifer and Irvine on the drive from Balamb Town to Garden. It was sort of the only option, between Seifer's refusal to drive in a car without Squall, the knowledge that putting Zell and Seifer in the same car would only end in a black eye, and the simple fact the Squall was pretty sure he was best served by letting the two women gang up on Irvine when he turned on the charm. But, still, he'd known it wasn't going to be a fun trip even before Irvine had barely waited until Squall had driven through Balamb Town's gate before he said, "So, you're a Sorcerer."

Squall gritted his teeth.

"Leave him alone before we crash, Kinneas," Seifer ordered from the front passenger seat, him having called shotgun in Squall's car before the train had even stopped.

Irvine kicked the back of Seifer's seat. "Oh, go rot, Seifer. Not all of us have had access to Squall for years." He paused, putting on a considering look, and Squall wondered if he wouldn't have been better off sticking Zell and Seifer together. "Then again, that also means some of us didn't have the chance to abandon Squally, either."

"I will stop this car and kick you both out if I become the focus of a pissing match," Squall snarled. "Yes, Irvine, I'm a sorcerer, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't spread it ar–"

'Sorceress!' Diablos shouted in his head, and Squall hit the brake so he could focus on the panicked note in his GF's voice. 'She's sending missiles towards both Gardens not under her control. We have no way to stop them.'

"Sweet Hyne," Seifer breathed, horror pulsing at the back of Squall's mind.

Squall quickly unbuckled and shoved his door open, needing to get out of the car. He could probably protect Balamb, but there was no way he could save Trabia; he couldn't be in two places at once.

'Send me,' Bahamut ordered. 'Recall Diablos and send me.'

The other car pulled up next to Squall and the others leaned out of their open windows, concerned. "Squall?" Zell called.

Warm hands gripped Squall's shoulders and he looked back to see Seifer standing there, eyes hard. "You need to send someone with him, to explain what's going on," he pointed out.

Squall gave a sharp nod, even as he felt Diablos returning to his mind. "Selphie, Quistis, I need you two to go with Bahamut to Trabia," he ordered, the dragon GF appearing next to them as he said his name.

"Holy shit," Zell spat, while the others jerked back in surprise and Seifer's fingers tightened around his shoulders, and Squall recalled that no one there had ever seen the dragon before. (Most of them had never seen him summon any of his GFs before, actually, since he rarely called on them.)

Quistis stepped carefully from her car. "Squall, what's going on?"

Squall shook his head. "I sent some of my GFs to keep an eye on Matron, so I could find her again. I just heard back; they're firing missiles at Trabia and Balamb." Selphie let out a whimper, while the other three's eyes went wide. "Bahamut can protect Trabia Garden, but he needs someone with him to explain what's happening. Selph, you know the school the best; Quisty, you have seniority."

"I'm totally there!" Selphie declared, stumbling out of the car and hurrying towards Bahamut, only to stop in front of him uncertainly.

"And Balamb?" Quistis asked, meeting Squall's eyes.

"Do you trust me?" Squall replied.

Quistis paused for a moment, then nodded. "Yes."

"Then I need you in Trabia."

"Trepe, the longer we stand here, the more likely it is that one or both of the Gardens will suffer," Seifer pointed out, tone unforgiving. "Get on the asshole dragon so we can get moving."

Quistis shook herself and hurried over towards where Bahamut was politely lowering his head for the two women, rather than forcing them to climb into his claws, as Squall would have done.

"Quickly, please," Squall told his GF. I promised I'd never be too slow again.

Seifer's hands tightened on Squall's shoulders even as Bahamut jumped into the air with a roar of, "Trust me!"

Squall reached up and touched one of Seifer's hands. "I can't drive right now," he admitted quietly.

Seifer squeezed his shoulders before stepping away. "I've got it," he promised. "Kinneas, you and Chicken-wuss figure out who's driving that other car and get to it."

"Go straight in and report to Uncle Cid," Squall added as he forced himself to walk towards the passenger side of his original car. "Tell him I'll manage the missiles; he'll understand."

"We're on it," Zell promised as Irvine hurried around to the opened driver's door of the other car.

Irvine sped out ahead, kicking up a cloud of dust as he fairly flew down the road towards Garden. Seifer followed at a more reasonable speed, pulling off not long after Garden had come into view and turning them towards the west before he turned off the motor.

"Waiting is the absolute worst," Seifer complained, leaning forward against the steering wheel.

Squall closed his eyes and forced himself to relax, trying to rest so he could manage the impossible spell without endangering Bahamut or Tonberry's integrity; he would much rather cast an unnecessarily strong spell than one that was too weak.

A warm hand settled against the back of his neck, thumb rubbing over the short hairs there. Squall let himself relax into the touch, inexplicably soothed by the contact of his knight; just as Seifer was able to ease his magic by his mere presence, it seemed he could calm Squall with a touch.

An indeterminable time later, Seifer called, "Squall," and he pulled himself from the doze he'd fallen into.

Leaning forward across the dashboard, Squall saw the glint of light on metal high in the sky at a distance, and he shoved his door open to get out.

Seifer got out himself and stepped forward to join Squall as he walked forward, stopping just in front of the bonnet. "Do you have any magic?" Squall asked as Seifer stopped next to him.

"Nothing useful." Seifer snorted. "You know I'm hopeless with magic, Squally."

"You manage fire magic fine," Squall replied before filling one hand with his entire stock of Firagas. "In case I miss," he explained, handing them back.

"What, no Ultimas?" Seifer teased as he took the magic.

Squall glanced back at him. "I've never used Ultima para-magic in my life," he admitted, smiling at the way Seifer's eyes widened in realisation.

When he looked back up at the approaching missiles, he could finally make out what they were, and how many. "In case anyone was uncertain how much she hates SeeD," he murmured. "Bahamut, we have twelve incoming."

'Only eight, here,' Bahamut replied with humour.

"Is he enjoying this?" Seifer muttered.

Squall reached deep into his magic for his first impossible spell and felt himself smiling at how gleefully his magic responded, ever eager to destroy things. He pointed a hand towards the incoming danger and whispered, "Apocalypse."

Rune-marked circles lit up on the ground around him and Seifer before mirroring in the sky, lighting the missiles in a rainbow of colour. Beams of white light shot from the circles, gathering at one central point, which almost seemed to vanish against the sky for a moment, before it suddenly exploded outwards with enough force to push the nearest trees backwards and make the car behind Squall and Seifer let out a warning groan.

More explosions followed, lighting the sky with the proof of their continued survival as the missiles each detonated. "Holy fuck, Squally," Seifer breathed, awe dripping from his words and pulsing against the back of Squall's mind.

Squall, for his part, didn't fight a laugh; the spell that had once terrified him didn't seem anywhere near so horrible against the lives he'd just used it to save and Seifer's approval, warm at the back of his mind.

-0-

Chapters:
1 - Water in My Eyes ||| 2 - Delusional Sunset ||| 3 - Reach For Your Metal
4 - Carry This Burden Alone ||| 5 - Somewhere Worse Than Here ||| 6 - Bound and Breakin'
7 - Clouds of Sulphur ||| 8 - I Will Be With You ||| 9 - Every Story I Have Told is a Part of Me & You
10 - Burning in the Skies ||| 11 - Colour of Your Soul ||| 12 - Beneath My Wings

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