Squall was deep inside of his dream world, only this time Laguna was with
him. He didn�t know how he knew, he just knew. Laguna, occupying another
body in the dream, also knew that his son was here. He also did not know
how he knew, he just did.
So both of them knew that the other was accompanying them. This was a particularly
boring past episode. Unlike last time, the participants were in the present.
Also unlike last time, they were not on the planet. Squall had long since
explored the mind of his host, and decided that he was a stuck up, preppy
idiot named Hramonicain (pronounced Romanicane). Squall wondered who would
name someone Hramonicain.
Laguna occupied someone who was the exact opposite of Hramonicain. His host
was humble and wise. Laguna thought he fitted the role perfectly. Laguna,
like Squall, wondered about his host�s name. It was Siznlmroxim (pronounced
Siznelmaroxazim) Actually, and this was the joke to both Squall and Laguna,
Hramonicain was Siznlmroxim�s father.
Squall had figured out that they were in some sort of political meeting,
called a paladar by the people. What a paladar was is not quite so simple.
Paladar- n. Meeting of the Council of Haranth.
Council of Haranth- n. Group of 100 of the cities Fremanths
Fremanth- n. One of the ruling class; acts as the cities generals and admirals
in time of war with other cities.
This quite comical layout of definitions in his hosts mind made Squall laugh.
One other unique thing going on was that Squall and Laguna could converse
without the others hearing them. So the paladar went on, and Squall and Laguna
had eventually had to take part. Laguna handled things quite nicely, but
Squall kept screwing up and making an ass out of himself.
�So Hramonicain, should we, or should we not attack the planet.� Squall identified
the speaker as Frotimik, a local weapon smith.
Squall started talking to Laguna. �What do you think Laguna. Think we should
tell them not to.� Laguna had not had the chance yet to tell Squall that
he was his son.
�Tell them not to attack the planet, if they attack, who knows what things
may happen down on the surface.� Laguna smiled. His son had become a fine
young man.
�Alright. Thanks for the advice.� Out loud: �No, we shouldn�t. You know as
well as I that they are much more powerful than we. What if they have even
found a way to project our attacks back at us? What if they have found technology
to get themselves on the moon�s surface and into our city?�
�That�s nonsense. The last ship they sent up was wiped clear of the living
beings on it, then sent back out into space. The propagators do their work
quite well.�
�The Ragnarok was a good ship! It was rebuilt, I helped the people myself!�
Squall realized his mistake at once. So did Laguna.
�Shit, so what�s your plan for getting out of here?�
�Ellone. She�s the one that got us here, she can get us out, right Ellone.�
You got it Squall. one removal of two lovable idiots from nightmare dream
world coming NOW.
Squall and Laguna were sucked out of the dream world and Hramonicain and
Sniznlmroxin were on their own once again.
--------
Laguna woke up in a daze, not knowing where he was. The walls were white,
and they seemed to be metal. He raised his right arm and yelped in pain when
a shock suddenly went through his body. Letting his arm fall, he tried to
roll over. Pain coursed through his body a second time, this time making
him arch upward in pain.
Falling back down onto the floor, he thought about his situation. As he turned
his head, his eyes shut as if he were expecting another shock. Amazingly
no shock came. When he looked at his wrists, he almost screamed. There was
nothing there.
By nothing there, that means that there was literally nothing there. No hand,
no arm, no shoulder, only a weird blackness. He looked down towards his legs,
and saw the same thing. His stomach gave a violent lurch, and he turned his
head and the contents of his last meal were deposited on the floor.
A weird crackly noise, then a voice echoed around the room. �So you are finally
avake.� Laguna�s eyes opened up all the way in shock. There was laughter.
�You know who I am, correct.�
Laguna didn�t so much say the name as spit it out of his mouth: �Odine�
�Ah yes, you do remember me. It iz such a shame zat we need you for an experiment.
I razzer actually liked you Laguna, but zings happen. I also regret having
taken you in your sleep. Zat was an unfortunate necessity.�
�You bastard! How did you get into the palace!� Laguna wasn�t questioning
him he was demanding an answer.
�Kiros and Vard vere concerned about you. Being ze number one expert on all
zings magical, zey called me. I vill let you go back to your normal life
under one condition.�
Seeing an avenue of escape here, Laguna decided to play along. �What is it
Odine? What do you want from me?�
�You must assist me viz my current project.�
�What is your current project?�
�I am vorking on a vay to nullify ze powers of magic. As president of Esthar,
you have access to the best magic zat exists. I need to test my shields against
all forms of magic. You see, zere now walk three with ze power of sorcery.�
�Three!�
�Rinoa, your son�s lover, Sinra Deling, President of Galbadia, and an undead
monstrosity, I know not its name. If you help me, your son may be added in
battling Sinra and his legions. If not then your son is probably as good
as dead.�
Laguna grimaced. After muttering a sting of curses he said, �Alright. I accept
your offer. Now get me the hell out of here.�
-------
Practically on the other side of the world, Squall also woke up.
�Hey! Sleeping beauty here is awake. Long time no see Squall. What was it
this time?� Squall started laughing at Zell�s outburst.
�Take it easy Zell, he�s still hurt you know.�
�Your right.� Zell smiled. �Sefany here and me, we patched you right up.
We had a little help from the Gardens infirmary doctors, but they didn�t
do much.�
�What happened to me Zell? How did we get back to Balamb Garden?�
�We aren�t in Balamb. This is Galbadia Garden. And you were about to die
when we got you in here. You can think Sefany for your still being alive.�
�Idiot here wanted to kill the thing hat did this to you. You have a broken
arm, other arm shot, chest filled with shrapnel from the buildings around
you, and a hole through your stomach. Luckily, no vital organs were hit during
the fight.�
Squall interrupted her before she could say another sentence. �What happened
to Que?�
�Ummm� Squall. Who�s Que?� Zell looked puzzled. He looked over at Sefany
and saw that she was also puzzled.
�Que is the person that did this to me.�
�Well, he seems to play on both sides at once or maybe none at all. He helped
us save your life.�
�WHAT!�
�We don�t know what is going on, but we have worse news for you. Both Ellone
and Laguna disappeared last night. We don�t know where Ellone is, but Laguna
is with Doc Odine we think� Sefany�s voice became very urgent. You were in
the dream world again, weren�t you? And what�s more, you were talking to
Laguna. Don�t ask me how I know this all, I just do.�
Zell, after having been quiet for so long, decided to join in the conversation.
�I know how you know, and how I know. And I�m positively sure that if you
ask any of the others, they know it as well. It�s our GF�s�
�Our GF�s?� Squall and Sefany both said the same thing at the same time.
�Our GF�s give us many abilities and also exact a costly price from us. Sefany,
how long have you had a GF?�
�About six years. My dad let me have one.�
�Do you remember his name?�
�Cid.�
�Are you sure.�
�Yes, of course! If Cid weren�t my father, then why was I raised in Balamb
Garden with my last name as Kramer?�
Zell stumbled backwards in shock and Squall�s eyes opened up all the way.
�Did I say something offensive?�
�So you�re the headmasters daughter.� Squall managed to keep his voice from
a wavering vibrato while he was speaking. �Cid mentioned it to me once that
he had a daughter. He spoke of her as if she were the best part of his life.
He often spoke to me about you, though never mentioning your name.� Squall
smiled, and Zell was surprised to see that there was actual emotion in his
expression.
�He told you about me.� her face was a mask, somewhat like the one that Squall
wore on a normal everyday basis. �What did he say?�
�He said only about how his daughter was beautiful and strong. He told me
that he did not really know her anymore.�
�Why are you talking about me in third person, when you are talking to me?�
�Because, I�m telling you what he told me.�
�Well, Cid was right.� Zell started to talk and stopped suddenly.
Sefany looked over at Zell and in her sweetest voice inquired, �What was
he right about Zell.�
Zell started to say some thing then stopped. A bright red spread across his
face as he started blushing. �I- Ah- What I mean to say is-�
Squall couldn�t help it. He burst out in laughter at the site of loudmouthed
Zell finally caught speechless.
Sefany now had a glint in her eye, and a smirk was starting to form at the
corners of her mouth.
Still stammering, Zell promptly passed out cold onto the floor.
-------
�Let me out of here now Damnit
�What your arms and legs are in sir Loire, is the anti-sorcery zone. Magic
works in there, but it is weaker. Only a GF could possibly break out of there.�
Odine smirked. �Let us see how much of a strain you put on it.�
Laguna cursed at the top of his lungs. �Odine, when I get out of here you�re
a dead man.�
�I know. By the way, you can move again.�
�Thanks.� Laguna�s voice took on an extremely sarcastic tone. �You�ll soon
know just how fast I can move.�
�I don�t think that you will get out of there without me releasing you.�
�Don�t be so damned cocky.� Cursing under his breath, Laguna began to gather
energy.
-------
�Sefany, please wake up Zell.�
�Gotcha Squall.� Sefany bent down towards Zell. �Wake up. Wake up.� Still
smiling, she bent down and slapped him across the face.
�Owww! That hurt.�
�Glad to see you�re awake Zell. Now what were you going to say?�
Zell�s face started to turn red. �I- Um- Uh-�
�Just quit stuttering and tell me already Damnit.�
�But- I � Uh- I mean��
Sefany sat there looking at him with a mischievous grin on her face. �You
said my father was right. Which part was he right about?�
With his face almost entirely crimson, Zell finally managed a reply. �Your
father- I � He was right about-� He broke off, stuttering.
�You�re hopeless.�
�I meant to say he was right about how beautiful you were.�
At this remark, Sefany�s face turned bright red too. Squall laid back down
on his bed and started laughing. Sefany and Zell looked over at him threateningly.
Seeing the look in their eyes, Squall only laughed harder.
Sefany got up and walked out of the room without saying a word. The only
thing she did was look over her shoulder at Zell.
When the door shut behind her, Zell let out his breath. �So Squall, do you
remember anything that happened during the last three days.�
�What do you mean last three days?�
�You�ve been up and around for almost three days now, slipping in and out
of consciousness like and eel.�
�I�ve been up for three days? How long was I out?�
Well, you were out since the fight about a week ago, so about four days.
Then, your semi-conscience state has been wandering around for the past three
days.�
�Did you manage to free Timber without me?�
�I got some really bad news for you Squall my friend; Timber isn�t there
anymore.�
�What do you mean by it isn�t there?� Squall�s voice suddenly took on a sinister
tone.
Zell managed to shrink back against the wall even more than he had with Sefany.
�Timber isn�t there anymore Squall. It�s gone. Galbadia destroyed it.�
Squall fell back on the bed this time, a shocked expression on his face.
�Why would Galbadia do that�?�
�Anyways, we got lucky. Almost everybody was evacuated from Timber. About
the only people we don�t know about are the Galbadians.�
�Why did Galbadia destroy Timber?�
�We don�t know. They had to have sustained casualties from the attack. Actually,
it would have caused more harm to them then it would to us.�
�I- Where�s Rinoa?�
�She�s out helping people from Timber that managed to evacuate on board the
Garden.�
Squall started to get up, and then winced from the pain all over his body.
�I don�t think I�ll be able to get Timber back for what they did. I took
too many wounds.� Squall sighed heavily. �When she�s free, have Rinoa come
talk to me.�
�It�s as good as done.�
�Thanks man.� Squall fell back into the bed and fell asleep.
�No problem man. She�ll be overjoyed to hear you�re better. But we need a
miracle for you to pull through this in one piece.� Zell got up from the
chair he was sitting in and left the room making sure that he didn�t slam
the door.
-------
The words of the spell flashed through Laguna�s mind. The power stored deep
inside of him was starting to surface.
Kerata ni otochi hun
Nera vo sachi da
So mira ni wo!
The words in his mind flew out of his mouth. All of his power flew into his
hands, and he struggled to break free of the trap that he was in. His fingers
heated up slowly, yet at the same time they began to freeze over, and Laguna
swore that he felt dirt surround his fingers and start to shock him.
Grasping all the elements offered to him, he swung his arms up and encountered
token resistance as his arms swung up and out of the void, shattering it
like glass. Shards of the weird black stuff flew all over the room that he
was in. Not taking the magic back into himself, he instead let it spiral
out around him.
Without realizing it, he was holding his gun and firing at the wall behind
which Odine hid. not taking a moment to wonder how he had gotten his gun
in the first place, he focused the excess power through the barrel, creating
shots of light instead of bullets. An orb surrounded the tip and shot out
in one giant blast.
An iridescent beam shot out and struck the wall. Splinters flew everywhere,
and a huge hole formed. He saw Odine cowering behind a desk with someone
else. Without thinking, he raised his gun to fire.
-------
Que walked back and forth in the room. Clutching his wounded arm he howled
into the night. He thought back to his fight against the swordsman, and realized
when he had been hit. It had been just before the other two had shown up.
The sword was moving so fast he couldn�t see it correctly and it had struck
deep into his right arm, almost severing his muscle.
Blood dripped off of his fingers onto the beautiful white carpet that was
in all the presidential palace of Galbadia. The entire area around his was
bright red and made a squishy sound when he stepped on it. He didn�t think
anyone could have that much blood.
�I�ve got to get myself healed before I am forced to revert into my undead
form.�
Sinra Deling walked into the room at that moment. Que noticed that the president�s
white suit had been stained by something reddish-purple, and wondered if
he hadn�t by chance gotten into a fight. Sinra didn�t so much walk up to
Que, as take one giant step. Que didn�t see him move at all before he was
looking down into a face filled with anger.
�You let them get away! I give you another chance at life and you let the
bastards get away! What kind of god-damned repayment is that for all that
I�ve done for you?�
Que stumbled backwards in shock. The president had helped him? When? �All
you�ve ever done for me Sinra was bring me back into a world that would not
accept me. A world that does not need soldiers such as myself.�
�You mean to say that you are not happy to be alive again?�
�No, as a mater of fact, I am not. Nobody likes me, nobody will try to get
to know me. My powers are not needed in this world. The world has moved on
Sinra, and you were left behind. You still use others to fight your own battles.
People don�t respect you instead they fear you. And in all of your high and
mighty power bestowed on you by the people, you still don�t understand that
they don�t love you. You don�t understand that they don�t need you. And neither
do I.�
Sinra noticed that Que pronounced the word neither as nyther, and for some
unknown reason, he couldn�t stand it. �You will regret saying that! Do you
forget about the power that I possess?�
�It passed itself on to some other person without your consent. You are defenseless.
I will make you realize the error of your ways by ending your life.�
So saying, Que reached out, grabbed Sinra by the throat, and squeezed, ending
his life. He called for a servant and when one came, he started speaking
in a soft tone of voice. When the servant left, he closed the door.
�Galbadia shall have a new president, and this time I will crush our opponents.�
-------
Laguna squeezed the trigger and fought back against the recoil of the gun.
All sixteen of the bullets that were left in the chambered were ejected in
a forceful manner in the direction of Odine. Odine�s companion shot his hand
up and all sixteen of the bullets bounced off of an invisible wall.
�Thank you Seifer.� Odine looked genuinely grateful. �That�s he fastest that
I�ve ever seen anyone put up a shield spell.�
�Fight Squall once and you�ll find that it�s necessary.�
Laguna stared in shock. The person standing next to Odine was his son�s rival,
and one of Esthar�s worst enemies. �Seifer?!�
�Yes Laguna, zis is Seifer. He is sort of my lab assistant. Vizout his help,
I vould never have acquired your assistance vith my experiment.�
�Hi Laguna. I realize that we never got along in the past, but there were
reasons that I fought against Esthar and for Ultimecia. I know that you�ll
never accept just sorry, but I am trying to make amends.�
�After what you did, you are trying to help us. I just don�t believe it.�
�Believe it Laguna. Zis man is trying to help us save your son�s life.�
�Believe it or not Laguna, I owe a lot to Squall. He saved me when he could
have easily killed me. I don�t know why, but we both knew that there was
no good or evil in our fight. It was just a friendly rival all along. He
knew the reason that I tried to kill him, and he forgave me. Thanks to him,
Fujin and Raijin are also alive. It�s because his life is in danger right
now that I gave up the vows I took when I took up residence in FH.
I remodeled my Hyperion; made it the opposite of the Lionheart I guess you
could say. Fujin and Raijin also gave up their vows to help Squall. They
are on their way to see him now. As soon as possible, you should do the same
Laguna.�
�Why?�
�Because your son is dying Laguna. Zere is no vay to treat him right now.
He is resting in Galbadia Garden because of a fight he got into while trying
to save Timber. I think you may be able to break ze power zat prevents magic
from being used on him.�
�Then I must go at once. Come on, you two tell me the story on the way to
Galbadia Garden. We have got to leave now.�
�Hold it Laguna. We don�t know where the Garden is. Also, we need to radio
in first to see if they are even letting people on board to see Squall. I
know for a fact that Squall�s time to die is not yet. Squall knows that too.
There is no way that he will die.�
�Seifer is right Laguna. You need to wait and think it over.�
�I- But I-� Laguna looked down at his hand and realize that his gun had disappeared.
Realizing that something really weird was going on, he promptly fainted.
-------
About 2 months later
-------
Squall was back on his feet, ready to be sent back into action. With help
from his father, whom Squall now knew was his father, he recovered fine.
Together with Laguna, Seifer, Rinoa, Zell, and Odine, he had perfected an
anti-sorcery technique that was used to defeat William (the man that received
Sinra�s powers) in a one-on-one battle.
A certain general named Caraway soon filled Galbadia�s vacant presidency.
Que disappeared, and was not heard from for a long time after.
Life went pretty much back to normal for everybody, and life continued for
everybody. Zell and Sefany did begin dating, and so far it is going quite
well.
But not all peace lasts for a long time, and they got luckier than most.
This story may end here on a happy note if you wish. It must go on, but you
may not like it. This story gets much happier, but also much sadder. But
if you choose to read on, I warned you.
Author�s notes:
I had a lot of fun making this first part of my FF8 fanfic. The entire fanfic
does not have a name as of yet. part one was �The Promise of Tomorrow� and
part 2 will be �For Love�. Part three is still in the faint notion stage
of making it, and I�ve already though of a good transition into it. if I
pull it all off correctly, part three will be called �Shards of a Broken
World�. Sounds kind of foreboding huh.
Part two will be slightly longer and much more action oriented than this
one was. It will also be sad, since the characters we al know and love move
on through their adventures. I ask you to read it, and I will try to make
it end sort of happily.
In the beginning, I received a message asking me if the name of the part
had anything to do with the plot. In short, yes it does. In the end, they
were fighting for the promise of Timber�s future. In the dream, Squall tried
to promise the entire planet that they would have a tomorrow to live.
I�m sitting here writing this at 10:20 PM in my room, on my laptop, and I
feel happy. I have reached a goal that I set for myself, and I have struggled
through everything that has happened. If anyone is curious, I want to write
for a living when I grow up (If I ever do.). I want to write for a magazine
(Computer Gaming World in particular right now. By then it may be gone so
I�ll have to shoot for another magazine of the same type.
On the side, I would like to write novels maybe, or provide plots for games.
Any advice for the aspiring writing would be much appreciated.
Almost finished now. If I offended anybody by the destruction of Timber (Plane
Crash) I am sorry. I had the whole thing written out before 9.11.01. Or at
least the idea for it.
Questions, comments, complaints: e-mail me at
[email protected].
This is dedicated to my good friends who help me stay sane at school:
Mark, Andrew, Jeff, Gordon, Trent, Chris, Stephanie, Alicia, Mona, Heather,
Matt, TJ, Joe, Preston, Teila, and Rachel
Thanks go to Daimon and GundamPilot who just help me stay sane period.
Thanks go to all of you that read this long boring Author�s note.
Thanks to you thre that provided feedback on my story.