Legacy

Second story in the Sands of Time series.
by scribblemoose

Chapter 14

Irvine woke in a rush, gasping and spluttering, as if surfacing through water. He struggled for breath for a moment, trying to work out if he was being strangled, suffocated or drowned... drowned, that's it... and then the cold air fought its way into his lungs, and Irvine breathed.

He counted, slower than felt safe... two, three, four and opened his eyes.

Balamb. He was in his old room at Balamb, he was awake and the crisp air in his lungs was safe to breathe. The chill was from the air-conditioning, nothing sinister at all.

Irvine shoved the bedclothes off his feverish body, and sat up.

His mind was empty. No GFs, no junctions, and the last vestiges of potion-magic had long since left his system. He was left with nothing but his own thoughts and emotions, echoing around in his brain like whispers in a cave.

He let out a long, shuddering sigh. Along with the new-found quiet was a sense of loss so deep and profound that Irvine could scarcely bear it. It reminded him painfully of the moment he'd held Frila in his arms, covered in blood, died for me, or the day back at the orphanage when Sefie left.

~Ether.~

Irvine dragged himself out of bed and into the bathroom. He spun the cold tap on and splashed his face, then ducked his head to take a mouthful of water. Rinsed and spat, took another. Swallowed.

He raised his head and caught his reflection in the mirror. His hair was thickly tangled and plastered to his head. He looked pale, and there were dark smudges of exhaustion under his eyes.

What a mess.

A buzzing, beeping noise started up somewhere, and it took Irvine a while to realise it was his phone. He returned to the bedroom and fumbled through his bag. When his fingers finally closed around the shiny chrome he had second thoughts and almost dropped it back, convinced it could only be bad news: Selphie, Martine, Squall, what difference did it make? But he checked the display just in case. -Balamb Garden - GF Clearing Centre-

Irvine's heart skipped a beat, impossible hope, and he flipped his phone open a second before it went to voicemail.

"Hello?"

"Is that Captain Kinneas?"

"Yes, that's me. Have you-"

"I'm calling with regard to your report of the loss of a GF. As the GF in question has not been found, it is now registered as deserted and we would normally issue a new GF to you. However, as you are currently stationed at Galbadia Garden and Commander Leonhart has removed all GFs from that facility, this may not be possible. Do you have special dispensation to keep GF at Galbadia, Captain Kinneas?

Irvine slumped back on the bed. "He's not a fucking deserter."

"I beg your pardon?"

Irvine sighed. "No. I don't have dispensation. They let me keep Ether because he wouldn't junction anyone else. Are you sure you've looked everywhere? He can't go far, he needs a host to survive. Can't hold corporeal form for long."

"We've searched Garden thoroughly, Captain Kinneas, I can assure you. Our understanding is that if this GF were to expire, there would be no physical residue, is that correct?"

Irvine clenched his fist, squeezed his eyes tight shut for a moment. "Yes," he said, his voice cold and hard. "No damn residue."

There was a pause, and then the voice at the other end of the line said, more softly than before, "In that case, Captain Kinneas, we have to assume GF Ether to have deserted or ceased to exist on this plane. Should you require a GF for junction on future occasions, please submit the appropriate requisition request to Commanders Martine or Leonhart."

Irvine swallowed. He was dimly aware that his hands were shaking. He wanted to cry. "Right," he said.

He turned off his phone and flung it back into his bag.

Dead? Ether?

No. He couldn't believe that, not yet. But if he wasn't in Garden he had to be close by. Somewhere outside, in the head of some monster. Barely surviving the natural malevolence of a creature dedicated to a life of violence and hatred.

Suddenly, Irvine had a plan.

*

"Hey," said Frila, softly.

Sanke looked up blearily. "Fril?"

"Did I wake you?"

Sanke propped herself up on one elbow and shook her head. "No, I was just dozing. It was really noisy in here last night. Someone tried to escape, I think."

"Good luck to them."

"No, it's not a good idea, really. They won't get very far, and someone might have to shoot them. Besides, it's bad manners, when they've submitted and everything."

Frila couldn't help but smile. Only Sanke could sit there in a prison cell and be all disapproving about someone flouting Guardian etiquette.

"D'you have more tests today? No-one sent me a schedule."

"I don't think so. " Sanke hopped off the bed and crossed to the invisible barrier between them.

"They should let you out, then. I could ask. Just for a few hours."

Sanke shook her head sadly. "Sorry. I have to stay here. It's for the best, really." A little frown furrowed her forehead. "You're so angry. You don't need to be. Laguna won't let anything bad happen."

Frila wished she could believe that. There was no reason for Sanke to stop believing it, she supposed. "Sure."

There was a sudden noise, somewhere between a scream and a high-pitched yowling from the other side of the room. Frila looked around: there was an air of restlessness around the place that she hadn't noticed on previous visits.

"Everyone's a bit edgy," Sanke said. "Don't know why."

"This whole place is edgy," said Frila. "You should have seen Squall yesterday. Spent all night locked in his office wrecking stuff."

"Really?" Sanke's eyes were round as saucers. "Why?"

Frila didn't see there was much point Sanke knowing the details just now. She was struggling enough with the whole business without knowing it had been broadcast around most of the world. "You know Squall," she said. "Some big-ass Commander tantrum, I guess."

Sanke smiled. "Yes," she said. "That sounds like Squall."

*

Irvine leaned back against a tree and reloaded Exeter. Ether had to be out here somewhere. Had to be.

He was breathing hard and something warm and sticky was running down one arm. Fucking catcherpillar. Easy enough when you had a few sleep spells, but like this, with no magic, no junction, no fucking strength...

Irvine wiped his grubby face on his coat sleeve, squinted at the sun and fired, round after round after round. The pile of spent casings grew, until eventually there was nothing left to shoot. Nothing but a few petrified squirrels and his own tethered chocobo.

Then he got up and slunk through the woods to find fresh prey.

He racked up kill after kill: bitebugs, catcherpillars, behemels; but it was only when he found a lone cockatrice in a clearing that the adrenaline penetrated the misery in his head and made his heart sing. It looked like nothing, easy game, just a fat bird with fancy feathers. But a cockatrice could turn you to stone in an instant.

Irvine ducked down behind a weedy-looking bush that could barely be described as cover, and took aim.

The first shot hit true, straight to the bird's puffy chest, but it wasn't enough. One beady black eye fixed on Irvine and he barely turned away in time.

To be turned to stone and left out here forever, until the rain and wind dissolved you to nothing, just quiet, unconscious decay…

Irvine's eyes blinked open just in time to see a blur of feathers as the bird launched itself at him. Irvine rolled to the side, barely avoiding claws and beak, and landed on his feet, Exeter ready.

He felt naked. No potions, no magic.

No Guardian.

Even his hat had fallen off.

Something wet trickled down Irvine's nose, and he tasted blood.

Hardly a heroic way for a survivor of Ultimecia to die. No more than five miles from Balamb Garden at the mercy of a stupid bird. But did that matter? In his line of work, death was part of the deal, sooner or later. Everyone ran out of luck someday.

Why not here and now?

Alone.

Completely and utterly empty and alone.

No.

Not today.

Irvine roared as he lifted Exeter to his shoulder, took aim and fired in a perfect, fluid motion. The cockatrice squawked and fell, toppling onto its side in a cloud of feathers before it finally turned to dust.

Irvine thudded to his knees, gasping for breath.

Not today.

And then he saw the catcherpillar.

No magic. No strength.

Irvine kissed Exeter's barrel for luck, took aim and fired.

His gun jammed.

*

Quistis pinched the bridge of her nose, and counted to twenty.

"Hey," Laguna crooned to her, warm against her back all of a sudden, sliding his arms around her middle to fold across her stomach. His hair was soft against her cheek. "You're doing the worried thing. Who made you do the worried thing?"

"No-one. I'm fine."

"That means it was Squall," said Laguna. "When you won't tell me it's always Squall."

"He's a little angry," said Quistis, allowing herself to melt backwards into Laguna's arms. "It's understandable."

"He can be a stubborn ass, too. What's he doing, chewing out cadets?"

"He wrecked his office. And now he's taken off somewhere, we don't know where, he didn't say when he was coming back. Xu bumped into him in a corridor and reminded him about his schedule and he told her to… well, he wasn't polite."

Laguna chuckled. "That's my boy."

"It's not funny. We've got a situation here."

Laguna's tongue flicked at Quistis's earlobe, sending a shudder right down her spine. "Give him some credit, Quisty. He'll work it out. You know Squall, it has to be on his terms, is all."

"Well, yes, but…."

"Trust me," purred Laguna. "Hey, does this mean you don't have a ten-thirty any more?"

"I suppose. But I should-"

Laguna shimmied his body along the length of hers, breath and lips soft against her neck. "Nah. I've got a better idea."

*

The morning mist had burned off to bright noon sunshine by the time Squall left Garden, gunblade in hand, to take a good, hard look at his domain. He had defences to build: boundaries, walls, communications. From the beach to the mountains Balamb was wide open and vulnerable. He could simply move all three Gardens somewhere easier to defend (he was sure Xu would suggest it) but that would mean abandoning Balamb to the monsters, and he wasn't about to allow that to happen.

The thought of monsters - real, dangerous, lunar-sent, living, breathing monsters - made Squall's 'blade arm twitch. He'd survived for so long on Training Centre workouts, endless synthesized grats and t-rexes....

Planning could wait a while.

Squall stepped off the path and towards a small clump of trees. The ground crunched under his feet in a positive, satisfying way. His senses, sharpened by Shiva, Siren and Doomtrain, relished the sound.

He knew the first bitebug was there long before it flitted into his field of vision. Knew the second and third were right behind it. Timed slash and shot perfectly to kill all three in one smooth, economical movement.

Satisfaction and euphoria coursed through Squall's veins, and he continued towards the trees and juicier prey.

He'd just squared up to a particularly plump catcherpillar when he noticed a huddled figure on the ground at the edge of the clearing. He'd obviously interrupted the monster in the middle of another fight, and it had been doing far too well for Squall's liking. He dispatched the monster in a storm of hailstones and rushed over it its victim. Growing dread clustered in Squall's stomach as he noted the blood-soaked auburn hair. The long suede duster.

"Irvine?"

Irvine's face tipped up to him, cheeks streaked with blood and dirt and tears. "Was he there?"

~Curaga~ Irvine shuddered as the blue light of Squall's magic hit him.

"What the fuck are you doing out here?" Squall demanded.

~Curaga~

"What time is it?" Irvine asked vaguely. "Was he..." The head wound had mostly closed up now, and the bruises at his throat were fading. But he was still ashen and trembling. He must have lost a lot of blood.

~Esuna.~ "It's nearly midday. Can you stand?"

"Shit. Missed my train." Irvine accepted Squall's offered hand and struggled to his feet. He swayed a bit.

Squall tugged Irvine's arm across his shoulder, held him firmly around his waist to keep him upright.

"Need to get you back to Garden," he said. "Think you can make it?"

Irvine squinted at him. "I guess. 'Sposed to go back to 'badia, though. Missed th' train."

"I'll cover for you," said Squall, with a sardonic little grin. "Now, you gonna tell me what you were doing out here?"

Irvine didn't answer at first. Squall held him firmly and they made a few tentative steps towards the path, safe under Shiva's enclosure. They found a limping rhythm that might just get them back to Balamb, and eventually, Irvine spoke, very very softly.

"I lost Ether."

"Out here? How?"

Irvine shook his head, and coughed. "No, yesterday. Last night."

A thousand questions sprang to Squall's mind, but he could see Irvine was in no state to answer them. He was paler than ever, and fresh tears streaked his face.

Squall tugged him a little closer, and squeezed his hand.

"Come on, man. Let's get you home."

*

Quistis chose a rather appealing tuna salad and cast her eyes around the canteen for a seat. It was crowded, full of over-excited cadets and SeeDs unused to the promise of action. Then she spotted Xu, sitting alone at a table in the far corner, only a pile of reports and a pot of tea for company.

Studiously ignoring the swooning attentions of her fan club, Quistis crossed the cafeteria to Xu's table.

"May I join you?"

Xu looked up and smiled a sad little smile. "Of course. Let me shift this lot out of the way."

Quistis put her tray in the space Xu cleared for her, and sat down. She unrolled her knife and fork from her napkin, spread the napkin neatly across her lap, and began to eat.

"Mmm. This is delicious. Would you like to try some?"

"No, thank you. I had a big breakfast. Still feel like I should go to the training centre and burn it off, you know?"

"Yes." Quistis smiled. "I usually feel that way after one of Zell's hotdog parties."

Xu smiled back. "I know what you mean. Y'know, I miss Zell. Any news of the wedding?"

"Only that it's back on again. Sel... I got an e-mail the other day."

"From Selphie?" There was no disguising the hunger or the sadness in Xu's eyes.

"Yes. Sorry. I didn't mean to..."

"I know. It's alright, I have to get used to things being different, it's just..."

"You must miss her very much."

"Yes," said Xu, softly. "But I have to accept..." she gave a little shrug and lifted the lid of the teapot to stir her tea.

"It must be so difficult," said Quistis.

"It's what she needs. It seems to be doing a lot of good. Rinoa says she's training a lot, and getting out more, seeing people. And she has Irvine, of course."

"Hm. But-"

"He succeeded where I failed, Quisty. He deserves her. If she'd stayed here, she wouldn't have got better. I was about to have her hospitalised! I can see now that wasn't what she needed, but Irvine saw it all along. There's something, a bond between them that I can't match. It's better this way. I'm quite convinced of that."

She looked as though she believed it, or had made herself believe it, at any rate. "Don't be too hard on yourself," said Quistis.

"Thanks. You're all so kind to me, even after... after what I did."

"It's in the past," said Quistis, firmly.

"Yes," said Xu with a wry smile. "But which one? If I hadn't changed things, Selphie wouldn't have got hurt.

And I wouldn't be with Laguna. "You don't know that for sure."

"It's a pretty safe hunch. And it didn't achieve anything in the end, did it? She's still ended up with Irvine."

Quistis smiled sympathetically. "I'm sure it's not that simple."

Xu stirred her tea, and then said, far too casually, "is Irvine still in Balamb, do you know?"

"I'm not sure. I was quite surprised to see him yesterday. Is he here on a mission for Squall?"

"For Martine. I don't know exactly what it is, you know how Martine likes to keep his little secrets."

"Oh yes. That must put Irvine in quite a difficult position."

"I'm sure he can handle it."

Xu's phone buzzed; she took the call while Quistis kept her attention discretely on her salad. After a short conversation, Xu snapped her phone shut with a sigh of irritation. "I don't suppose you know where Squall is?"

"Um, no. Last I heard he was still... not wanting to be disturbed."

"That's what I thought. He's missed three meetings this morning already and I'm running out of excuses to give."

"You have his diary?"

"It' on the computer, security clearance Gold, you should be able to see it too."

"Then let me handle it. I'll go through his appointments with Laguna, we'll handle what we can and postpone the rest. If that would help?"

The relief was plain on Xu's face. "Thanks, Quisty," she said. "You're a gem."

*

Squall grabbed the first cadet he saw when they finally reached Garden, ignoring the panicked, star-struck expression on the kid's face. "Find Dr Kadowaki," he said. "Tell her to come to my quarters straight away. I'll meet her there."

"I.. is th-that C-Captain Kinneas?" "Is he-"

"You have an order, cadet! Now go!"

The boy ran off, stumbling over his feet as he went. Squall shifted Irvine's limp form on his back, and started into a jog.

He got Irvine to his rooms thankfully without incident - if he saw anyone else on the way it didn't register - and lay him carefully on the sofa. There was blood trickling down from Irvine's temple, the wound too old for Squall's healing spells to touch. He took a vial of mega-elixir from his pocket and tipped it over Irvine's bloody skin, a hundred tiny rivers of rainbow colours. It cleared the blood, took some of the pallor from his skin for a moment, but a second later a fresh stream of blood trailed from Irvine's hairline, trickling towards his ear.

Squall cursed and tipped the rest of the vial between Irvine's lips. Irvine coughed, spluttered and finally swallowed. A faint smile appeared on his face.

"Thanks, Duck... my favourite," he whispered - and fell straight back to unconsciousness.

The entry buzzer sounded, and the door opened.

"Commander Leonhart? I was told you.... oh my goodness! Irvine!"

Dr Kadowaki was at Irvine's side in seconds, feeling for his pulse with calm, experienced fingers.

"He's lost a lot of blood," Squall said. "He was kind of awake to start with, but..."

"Are you junctioned?"

"Yes, of course."

"Curaga spells. Keep them coming. I need some things from my bag."

Squall did as he was told, marshalling Shiva's power and channelling it through one outstretched hand to wash over Irvine in a steady blue glow of healing.

"What on earth has he been up to?" The doctor bustled about with dressings and bottles and a syringe. Her voice was no different from the times he (and Seifer, more often than not) had ended up in the infirmary with cuts and scrapes from too much fighting. But he could see from her face that this wasn't anything that could be sorted with a bandage and a good telling-off.

"I think most of the damage was done by a catcherpillar," he said. "Although it's hard to tell."

"A catcherpillar? Irvine?"

"As far as I could tell."

Dr Kadowaki shook her head. "I don't know what he was trying to do, but really, a young man of his experience should know better."

"Don't worry," said Squall darkly. "He won't be doing it again.

She looked at him, and the expression on her face sent a chill down his spine.

"Let's hope you get a chance to tell him that," she said.

*

Frila marched along the shoreline, boots splashing in the surf. She was breaking curfew in grand style, she knew, but she couldn't stand being cooped up in Balamb Garden one second longer. She should never have come back. She should have stayed in Esthar or better still, run away to the Shumi village and pleaded sanctuary for her and Sanke. Anything but here and Squall and Quistis and another stupid war.

She cried hot, angry tears, and let the roar of the ocean fill her head. Let them punish her. It was worth it, to breathe fresh air and feel the spray on her face. Even just for an hour.

Suddenly there was a shape rushing towards her; she blinked away the tears and recognised Seifer. He didn't stop, didn't acknowledge her; maybe he didn't even see her. He was running towards Balamb as if his life depended on it.

"Hey! Seif!"

Too late; he was already well out of earshot.

Frila considered running after him, but she knew she didn't stand much chance of catching him. They'd confiscated Sulis when she'd been grounded and even though she was fast, Seifer was faster. She turned instead up the beach to where he'd been running from. She couldn't see anything unusual: no monsters, no angry mobs, just the beach, the cliffs and the usual huddle of SeeDs around the seal. Nida was there, waving his arms about.

Uh-oh.

She didn't know Nida very well, but she did know he was a stickler when it came to rules, and he must know she was grounded. He took his duties as beach monitor very seriously. She retreated from the waves towards the rocky cliffs, where at least she wouldn't be so conspicuous.

From her new vantage point behind a ragged spur of rock, Frila watched the advancing ocean and listened to the hum of voices from further up the beach. Nida was clearly giving his guards a piece of his mind about something.

Better them than her, though.

Frila sat down, leaned her back against the warm rock, and let her gaze follow the waves. The sea was calm, no more than ripples on the sand, the light glinting silver from the tiny crests. She found herself thinking of the ridges of scale on Oceanus's back; the way he'd lay with them just a little open when he needed to dry out, like a bird fluffing up its feathers. She smiled an aching, painful sort of smile, and hugged her knees up under her chin.

After a while, Nida marched past, all military precision even when no-one was watching. Maybe some people were just born like that.

She waited until he was no more than a speck at the other end of the beach, then made her way cautiously around the rocks to get a closer look at the seal. The guards were patrolling, marching in short sweeps in front of the cave. She didn't recognize either of them, which meant she stood a good chance that they wouldn't recognize her either.

She approached the cave as nonchalantly as she could, smiling brightly at the guards as if she had every right to be there, tossing her hair back to make sure they could see her SeeD insignia. They greeted her with a nod.

"Just come to see the, um, there's a memorial thing to the Guardian that died here?"

"Sure," said the guard nearest to her. "It's right there on the wall. Knock yourself out." His companion nodded and turned to do another sweep.

The smooth rock gleamed, even in the dim light of the cave entrance. The lettering was, as she'd remembered, clustered to the right hand side, leaving the perfect space for what she had in mind. She measured it quickly with her thumbs.

Yeah. That would work just fine.

A little weight lifted from her heart, and she was about to leave when she caught a snatch of conversation from the guards.

"It had to be him. Who else would it be? He's been hanging around for days. A torama don't change its spots."

"Wasn't on our shift, that's for certain. We'd know, if anyone had tampered with it. No bastard gets in there on our watch."

A cold chill ran down Frila's spine. She turned her head slowly towards the cave mouth, and the seal.

It looked fine. The magic was intact; a shell as hard iron.

She'd died in there.

"So you knew Oceanus, huh?"

She jumped. The guard was standing at her side, looking up at the inscription.

"Um, yeah. I was junctioned to him when... for a while. Was there trouble with the seal?"

"He was with me for two months once, when I was a cadet. I was sorry to hear what happened. He was a great Guardian. One of the best. What do you mean, trouble with the seal?"

Frila attempted a nonchalant shrug. "Nothing in particular. Just someone said something in the cafeteria, must have been a rumour. You know how that happens."

"Yeah, you better believe it. I was down here three times last week because some cadet thought it was funny to report a problem that didn't exist. Great fun, sure, when you're getting someone else out in the middle of the night to come and check every inch of the beach by torchlight."

"Must be tough. So, just another false alarm then?"

"Yeah. Way I look at it, nothing's happened here for years now. If there's anything in there that could break out, it would've done it by now. Safe as houses, trust me."

Frila tried to look reassured. But she knew she'd never trust this place, not completely, however many years passed.

She touched the cool white cliff-rock of Oceanus's memorial, and thought of Irvine. Would she make the same choice now as she had back then? Would she give her life - Oceanus's life - for that sad bastard who'd been in the clearing centre last night, too screwed up and wasted to even apologise for running out on her at Graduation for his precious Selphie?

Frila sighed deeply.

In a heartbeat.

*

Laguna stared at the box of files and freshly-printed papers in front of him with something akin to horror.

"He does all this, every day?"

"Believe me, this is the tip of the iceberg," said Quistis. "Remember, we didn't start 'til lunchtime."

"But there's already been four meetings and a ton of boxes of crap to go through. And that's not including the ones we cancelled. No wonder he's in such a bad mood all the time."

"Actually, he's always been like that."

Laguna was ready to leap to Squall's defence until he noticed the twinkle in Quistis's eye. "You should be more respectful of your commander," he scolded.

"Sorry, Mr President."

Laguna would forgive Quistis anything when she called him that, especially when she was smiling that mischievous little smile. He suddenly found it difficult to form sentences. Words, even.

"Schedule first," Quistis said. "He has meetings still booked for seventeen-hundred hours, eighteen-hundred hours and twenty-hundred. The first one was a routine mission-scheduling with Xu, I already cancelled that. The one at eight is with Nida, don't know what about but easily enough to get rid of. The other one is a bit trickier. It's a meeting with the Guild of Armourers."

"I didn't even know there was a Guild of Armourers."

"They're quite a new group, based in Dollet. I don't know much, except that they drive Squall nuts."

"Let's face it, that's not difficult."

"Now who's being disrespectful?!"

"I'm allowed, he's my son. I bet it's nothing on the things he says about me."

"I couldn't possibly comment. So, what d'you think about the Armourers meeting?"

"Bring it on. I'd like to know a bit more about these guys. Any idea what they want out of Squall?"

"I believe they're seeking to renegotiate Garden's contract for defensive equipment."

"Don't you have a requisitions department to deal with that stuff?"

"Oh yes, but when it comes to this sort of thing, anything military, Squall prefers to deal with it personally."

"Why? Doesn't he trust his own people?"

"Well..."

Quistis cleared her throat and busied herself sorting through a pile of papers. "Ah, here's the notes from his last meeting with the Guild."

"Quisty?"

"Hmm?"

"I can tell when you're covering up for him, you know. You're a rubbish liar."

"He's my Commander," said Quistis, firmly.

"He's my son. And he's in trouble. So? How come he's trying to run this place single-handed? What's all the cloak-and-dagger stuff for?"

"It's not without good reason."

"And that reason is?"

The burden of secrecy had been lying on Quistis too heavily and for too long. She couldn't fight Laguna's questions any more. "He's been watching Deling for a while now. Centra too. He's convinced there's something big coming."

"He's right. This election could be devastating for SeeD, right?"

"Yes, it certainly looks that way."

"So Squall thinks you're all Galbadian spies?"

"Of course not. It's just... he's never found it easy to trust people."

Laguna flinched inwardly. Old, familiar guilt. If he hadn't left Raine alone... "He trusts you. And Rinoa."

She couldn't, quite, meet his eye.

"Quistis?"

"I really think we should get on with these papers."

"What's going on? Doesn't he trust you?"

"It's not me. It's... I think Rinoa's done something foolish. And Squall took it badly."

Laguna raised an eyebrow, and Quistis took a deep breath, and told him the truth. Once started, the words came easily, and Quistis felt a huge weight lift from her shoulders.

For the first time, it was clear to her that there was one person she could trust more than anyone, one person she loved the most, one person she would follow to the end of the universe without question.

And to her surprise, it wasn't Squall.

*

Frila found Seifer in the Quad, staring out at the Balamb stars, a cigarette dangling from his lower lip. She hadn't been looking for him, not particularly, but she couldn't deny her curiosity.

"Hey," she said. "What chased you off the beach this afternoon?"

She saw his reflection watching her reflection in the domed glass. He didn't turn around. "None of your business, Hotshot."

"Didn't know you could run that fast."

"Fuck you."

She sighed. "Ah shit. Gonna be one of those conversations, huh?" She walked around to stand in front of him, a little to the side, and leaned back against the viewing glass. "Want to go kill stuff?"

"You left me to get mauled by a t-rex last time we went training."

"Don't look very mauled to me."

Seifer took the cigarette from his mouth, flicked ash off the end, and took a long drag. "I'm not in the mood for company, kid."

"And I'm not going 'til you tell me what spooked you."

Another drag, a sigh, another drag. "Trouble. Nida and his stupid, petty rules. Told me off for being too close to his fucking domain."

"You tried to mess with the seal?"

"Don't be an idiot."

"But Nida thinks you did?"

"Nida thinks I'm responsible for every petty crime in the world since the dawn of time. Where were you on the beach, anyway? I didn't see you?"

"You were too busy running."

"You shouldn't've been there." Seifer's face lit briefly with a grin. "You naughty girl. You broke curfew?"

"Wouldn't be the first time."

Seifer leaned in a little closer, and looked at her properly for the first time since their conversation had started. "You know what?"

"What?"

"I like you, Hotshot. Don't suppose you feel like-"

She shook her head. "Uh-huh. Never again."

"You sure? We're a lot alike, you and me. We get along great. You don't see me as the enemy, unlike every other bastard 'round here. And that night, when we..." He nodded towards the window. "Wasn't too bad, huh?"

She shivered at the thought. No. Not bad. Stupid and pointless and wrong, but not bad.

"I don't get involved," she said. "Lone gunblader and all. You know how it is."

Seifer shrugged. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess."

Frila turned around, leaning in just close enough that her shoulder almost but not quite touched his arm. "Pretty stars," she said, looking out into the endless night sky.

"Yeah," said Seifer, his voice a bit rough. "Pretty and a long, long way away."

They watched the night in silence.

*

Squall checked Irvine's life signs with the med reader like Dr Kadowaki had told him to, wondering briefly (but only briefly) if it had been wrong to insist that Irvine be treated here rather than in the infirmary. But there was no room for doubt: Squall simply couldn't take the chance of Irvine running out on him again. And if that meant locking Irvine up here until he, Squall, could finally get some answers - well, so be it.

Satisfied that Irvine was stable for now, Squall turned his attention to the data terminal he'd had installed in the corner of the room.

Rinoa hadn't approved of its addition to his bedroom furniture at all. She hadn't said much, exactly, but he had caught her glaring at it once or twice, sighing deeply when he used it. She'd tried to persuade him to hide it under a cloth or build a cupboard around it, claiming it ruined the décor.

He sat at his desk, and watched the familiar image of the SeeD logo flow into life.

His in-box was full of messages as usual, including one from Quistis to tell him that she was taking care of his diary. He skimmed the rest, even the ones marked urgent - mostly from Xu and Nida, demanding to know where he was. He found the mail he was looking for on the third screenful: from the Clearing Centre. Report to Commander Leonhart. Regarding:renewed search for GF Ether. Result of search: negative. GF Ether presumed non-existent on this plane.

They'd sent out nearly thirty teams to search in a twenty-mile radius around Garden, as well as undertaking another sweep of Garden itself. They'd found nothing. And by now, that could only mean one thing.

Non-existent on this plane.

Squall left the machine and returned to Irvine. He slept on, his face still, relaxed, pale. For all the world as though he were just taking a nap.

Sleeping, unconscious... Squall wasn't sure how to tell the difference, and he was trying very hard to tell himself it didn't matter.

Just so long as Irvine woke up soon.

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