Daughters of Hyne

"I care for the rules about as much as I care you. In case you missed that, I care for neither." Gina is your typical SeeD candidate—orphaned, cynical, and really only looking for profitable trouble. That is, until she meets someone that turns her world upside down. Warnings inside.

WARNINGS:

Rated M for: Violence, wartime stories, references to gore and torture, nudity, (allusion to) sex, (allusion to/mention of) rape, and life as a female mercenary.

Lesbian main character. SeeD will be depicted as the mercenaries they are. Ninety percent of Garden students are orphans, this will be reflected in backstories. Starts at the beginning of Disc 1. Loosely follows storyline, but with more emphasis on Sorceresses, culture, history, and warfare. World will be greatly expanded upon, given my imagination is not limited by Playstaion 1 hardware. And there will be organizations that use different forms of magic systems, as one would expect from a world that researches these things.

Chapter 9—Sheer Ice in Sunlight

8-8

I open the bathroom door, tired and annoyed. Stupid commander had Nida teaching me to control Garden, and stupid Nida decided I needed to learn to fly that fucking bird I wish to Hyne we never fucking found. So, of course, I spent the last six days learning all that shit when everyone fucking knows I'll never agree to pilot either.

And that doesn't even cover that dumbass Gerard's stupid riddle. What only grows stronger with age? Hyne! Frustrating as all fuck! It isn't a warrior, they'll grow strong, yes, but after a certain point we deteriorate and grow weak again. It isn't our minds, because it's the same tale—senile old coot isn't a baseless accusation, after all. Maybe it's stone? No, they grow strong under pressure. FUCKING MIND GAMES!

All I want is to take a shower, and curl up in bed.

Nipple-teaser lands in the hamper. Shoulder holster, with pistols and my glasses, lie on the counter beside the sink. Piece by piece I strip down, tossing it all into the hamper—other than my boots, obviously. I still can't believe I agreed to half the shit these assholes have me doing. Training SeeDs, giving lectures, organizing a proper farming community—and that was some serious bullshit! It's impossible to convince a bunch of mercs in training that they need to lend a hand growing their own fucking food.

I train for missions, not manure.

Tossing my panties into the hamper I walk into the shower and turn on the water, nice and hot. I love ice, I love the cold. But I'm addicted to hot showers. There's nothing in this world I enjoy more than…

Stella. Her face pops into my mind for some reason, as I am engulfed in the deluge of warmth. Water pours down me, from every angle, from every curve, from every bit. But her image doesn't leave me.

That smile of hers that seems to chase away the past. The taste of her lips that I'll never get enough of.

My finger gingerly dances over my lips as kiss after kiss loops through my mind. Does she know ours was my first? Does she know that, other than mom, hers are the only arms I've ever had wrapped around me as I slept?

Loofah in hand, shower gel squeezed onto it and lathered up into a poof. The coarse material scrapes against my skin, tearing away the idiocy of my day.

My day. Nothing really special about it. Meetings, trainings, idiocy, plotting against Galbadia. The Council's been working out strategies on how to combat the idiocy of Edea, and her asinine quest. And apparently, there's going to be some major battle soon—something Edea has planned to wipe us out. Which brings us back to exactly why this is all utterly shitty: she and her stupid army will never stand a chance against us.

That worries me. That worries me, because that means she either has a death wish, or she knows and has something up her sleeve. People don't get into power as an elaborate form of suicide. She has a plan, but for the life of me I can't figure out what that might be.

And don't get me started on the meeting with Esthar coming up.

The door opens. "Lu?"

"Everything okay?" I demand, my tone icy and the desire to storm out there and grab my guns almost overwhelming.

"Calm down," she soothes. The door closes. I don't trust this, at all. I open the shower door, peering out. But all I see is Stella peeling her scrunchie out of her hair. She combs her fingers through her blond locks, her cheeks tinged pink.

Green eyes smile for me as she lays her springy hair ornament with my pistols. "Dani's asleep. Poor baby's tuckered out from training." Her eyelids grow heavy, her gaze steamy. She peels her shirt up over hear head, facing me so her bralette is on display, until that too goes up and over her head.

Her thumbs dig into her leggings' hips, she bends over and suddenly the fabric is at her ankles.

There's warmth in me that the shower cannot account for—a searing heat just below the surface that nothing in my life prepared me for. I won't deny it, I lust for her. But as she steps out of her underwear, as she plops her fluffy shoes beside my boots, as she tosses her clothes into the hamper atop mine…

As she walks towards me, naked and unafraid, blushing and biting her lip nervously.

As she opens the shower door completely and nudges me back under the spray of hot water.

As she closes the door behind her.

As she walks right over to me.

As she joins me in this deluge of whatever she pours into me.

Lust can't scratch the surface for the feelings swelling in me. Aroused as I am, I've never felt this naked, this vulnerable.

My greatest fantasy, a naked accomplice to bathe with. The steamy bedroom eyes that tell me she isn't against this becoming everything I've ever wanted this to be. So why am I deathly afraid?

"We need to talk."

"Oh…?"

She nods, her arms snaking up mine, wrapping around my shoulders.

"Zaira explained how to make you my knight." I nod, gazing into her gorgeous eyes. Breathing isn't as easy. She presses herself up against me. Her breasts, humble as they are, now firmly against mine.

Her pupils are dilated. Her gaze affixed on me. She steals the air from my lungs and doesn't seem to notice.

"The best part… you've already done everything you need to do. Save one… little… thing…"

My chest burns, my head feels light. Yet, as she buries her face in the nape of my neck, wrapping my arms around her, holding her feels not just right, but more important than breathing.

Her fingers run through my waterlogged hair, just as mine dance up and down her naked back. The feel of her, the way she so freely lets me touch every inch of her skin, the little bumps and edges of her shoulder blades and the curve of her spine.

She pulls back, tears raining down, but smiling brighter than ever before. Her neck-length hair looks almost brown, falling wherever it pleases. I lean in, agonizingly slow to not freak her out. My focus flickers from one eye to the next, searching for any hesitation on her part.

No matter how badly I want this, she has to want it more. Because if I hurt her…?

I stop, close enough for our noses to touch, close enough that I feel her breath kissing my skin. And I wait.

"And what might that be?" I run my fingernails along her side, slow and light, starting at her hip. Instead of the squeal I always get, instead of giggling and jerking away, she kisses me.

But a peck, a brief touching of our lips. Somehow, the begging in her eyes as she pulls back blows my mind anyway.

"If you had to choose."

I kiss her, knowing where this is going. My fingertips gently scrape her skin. But that quickly is no longer enough. I need more, more from her, more from her heart.

I push her against the wall, under the showerhead. Her hands, now captive, are held high above her, our fingers intertwined. Her kisses grow steamier, needier, deeper.

"If. You. Had. To choose." She tries again, between our interspersed kisses. I smirk, trailing kisses down her jawline. She pushes me back, her eyes begging and full of all her fears and needs. "If Garden wants me dead."

My eyes harden, my every muscle tenses, coiled to strike. My pistols, they're too far away. But I house an army within me—they too grow restless, aching to tear any and everything to shreds.

She smiles, tension leaving her with a breathy sigh as she tightly squeezes my hands.

"Then I am yours, Luciana Lafayette. Wholly, only, and ever yours."

Her eyes glow, the green swirling with white and blue and red and orange. It's enthralling, but all the more terrifying for it.

"If you are mine, Stella North," the words roll off my tongue, uncaring if I know them or not, "then I am yours. All of me, for all of you."

Her light pours into me, blinding me but also not. The look in her eyes, her longing for me—even through a tunnel of blinding light, I see her needing me as keenly as I need her.

I lean forward, carefully pressing my forehead against hers. She's too close, farsighted as I am. But I don't need to. All I need is that image of her, of her longing, of her needing me.

The light explodes in my head, dropping me to my knees. My lungs burn, my heart rampages in my chest and thrashes against my ribs, in my throat, and in my head.

Suspended in an ocean of nothingness, but still feeling Stella under my skin. No color, no warmth, no life around me, and that nothingness stretches out into infinity. A moment—or perhaps an eternity—passes, in which I feel nothing.

A spark. A tiny light, blurred. A single point, like a star in the night sky. Stella's arms are around my shoulders, her legs around my waist.

I don't know what's going on anymore. I don't know if I care. She's here, and that's enough for me.

"This place." Her voice is soft, echoing over itself as if coming from the other end of a tunnel. "This is my gift to you."

She couldn't be more wrong.

8-8

I jerk up, eyes scouring the darkness.

"Lu?" Stell's voice, confused and disoriented.

What's going on? Where am I?

"Hey. What's wrong?" Her arms wrap around my middle, pulling me towards her. There's nothing between us. No sheet, no cloth, nothing.

Hands against my forehead, struggling to remember what happened. We were in the shower. We made out—butt naked, my favorite detail. She said something…

What if Garden wants me dead?

Something else was said, and suddenly I was in this… world.

"Luciana?"

"What was that?" I ask, mostly to myself.

"Hmm?"

My eyes snap into focus. Well, more or less. Stella's right in front of me, her arms and legs wrapped around me. Her face is blurry, but that's what I'd expect.

We take our time bathing, take turns washing each other. Kisses and giggles and little touches for no reason seem to be the theme.

Stepping out of the shower, we wrap ourselves in oversized towels. My arms are around her.

The next thing I can remember, is us in bed. A flurry of kissing and touching and exploring.

"Come on, hon. Talk to me." Her chin lies on my shoulder from behind and she squeezes me gently, trying to show she's here for me.

I shake my head, trying to make sense of all this in one go. Her magic must have done something—probably to mark me as her knight. I came to, we made love, and here we are.

Okay. I can live with that.

I straddle her thigh, my finger circling her clit ever so gently. Her breaths are ragged, her face drenched with sweat. She's a hot mess, and the most beautiful I've ever seen her. Slowly, my finger traces downwards, slipping between her outer lips, looking for that treasure I truly want from her.

"May I?" I ask, my finger circling her entrance. The thing I want from her, the one thing I could never offer in return.

"Sorry," I say, rubbing my forehead to chase off that last bit. "A lot to take in is all."

"What is?"

"I…" Shaking my head, I try to chase off whatever has me like this. A sigh, heavy and draining. You're not this much a spaz. Just tell her. "It was my first time… since…"

"Since that night?"

"Mm." I nod, tears flowing. "You're my first kiss, but… sorry that he—"

She pulls me back, toppling me onto the bed and straddling me. "You didn't ask for that." Her hands cup my cheeks, her fingers covering my ears as her thumbs wipe away the stupid tears I swore I'd never cry.

She pulls me up. "Shh shh shh shhh shhh. It's alright, Luciana. Let it out." She holds me, even as I'm wracked by sobs.

8-8

Pacing. Back and forth, and back again. This all feels awkward and wrong. It shouldn't make sense. We've visited Trabia Garden, and Zaira had her people collect any and everything they could. We visited Balamb Town, and everyone was encouraged to go shopping, to stimulate their economy, so they can build up quicker.

I'm not complaining about that last bit, because frankly our apartment is now decked out as we please. And having a coffee/tea maker in my office for those meetings that seem to get only more common, along with four one-seaters so we can convene in comfort, is a blessing.

But, the problem is that Galbadia has gone silent. That shouldn't make sense, and yet it's what we find.

Terrence has found no orders, no matter how many times he's looked. So we're essentially flying blind. But, there's one thing I find quite interesting—Edea's and Almassy's whereabouts are a mystery.

And I really like our new meeting room. A large round table, with seating enough for the entire Summoners Council, the Sorceresses Council, and Squall and Headmaster Cid. All of whom are watching me pace as I try to figure out what the hell is going on. Why I have to figure this out, is another thing I need to figure out. I'm not the smartest person in this room!

"Luciana?"

"Shut it, Commander." There is no right answer anymore. We don't know their endgame. Other than needing Ellone, we don't know their plans. And frankly, our phone's been ringing off the hook from smaller towns being occupied by Galbadia.

It's profitable, don't get me wrong. But we barely even get to the mission site before another call comes in. Which is exhausting!

"Ter. How many of their airbases remain?"

"Six. Esthar has them all under surveillance." Surveillance is good, wiped off the map is better. But we can't even plan a proper strike, because we're too busy outing the hundred little fires all over the place. Is that their plan? Keep us occupied?

No, not likely. They mean to find Ellone, and there won't be a trace of her, because she's here and we'll never sell her out. Not even Esthar officially knows she's here.

"Zaira. What are the odds they simply need another sorceress to amplify Edea's power?"

"Nil. That's not the way it works." I nod, accepting she'd know better than me.

So there's something else. Something specific about Ellone. But there's no way to know what—and I don't buy that time compression crap for a second. We need to get to Edea herself. And we need that dumbass under lock and key—fucking idiot always needs to create the most havoc possible.

"Ter. Can they track us?"

"No."

Then that means they'll try to play on what they think they know. Almassy is from the same orphanage. The orphanage Cid and Edea ran. That means we have every other member of their crew here, and Ellone to boot. The only tie, the only lead they might have, is nostalgia…?

Actually no. There are a million other options. They could be trying to infiltrate Esthar. They could be leading a charge on the smaller towns, but they'd have encountered us by now.

Okay. They aren't leading the attacks. And Xu's interrogation of the majors in charge of each show they received orders weeks ago, before even the attempt on Edea's life. So that means Edea's either in hiding—which makes no sense—or she is waiting for something, likely us to make a move she feels she can predict.

"What's Esthar's intel on Galbadia Garden's current location?"

"They won't say," Ni says, frustration in her tone. "Not until we allow an envoy to board and hold a private meeting with us."

"Headmaster Cid. What are the odds of Edea and Almassy believing we'll go on a nostalgia hunt, to visit your old orphanage?"

"Hmm?" I stop pacing, turning to a thoughtful look on the headmaster's face. "Pretty good, actually." It's not guaranteed, but that's better than we've faced thus far. And frankly, fighting Galbadia is doing little but filling their orphanages. And that's the last thing we want.

"Alright. Then here's my suggestion. We hold a new SeeD Exam. We infiltrate Galbadia Garden. And we hijack her from those asshats."

"Luciana."

"Hear me out. We need to defend every village that calls for aid. But all we're doing is killing the little guys. And that's filling their orphanages, which I assume none of us want?" There's some muttering, but overall, everyone agrees with me.

"So we need to do three things. One. We need to take out Edea. Two. We need to take out the upper echelons of Galbadia that support her and her direction for Galbadia. And three. We replace them with a new government—or they'll just keep throwing grunts at defenseless villages. Agreed?"

"What are you suggesting?" Nida asks, almost demands. I narrow my eyes.

"I'm suggesting we solved the totality of a complex problem by tackling it from multiple angles so this doesn't just reset the timer. I mean, think about it." I motion to the four sorceresses, and smile for Stell. "This Ultimicia, she wants a sorceress from our time to manipulate. She got one. That one allied with a dictator. So what we need to do, is take away the power she's gained, and ensure that she cannot just possess another sorceress to continue what she started."

"So you aren't suggesting that you approach General Caraway, to convince him to help you straighten out Galbadia from the inside?"

"Why would I approach him?" I ask, blinking. "You do realize that I have too much going on already?"

"Because it's logical," Ter jumps in. "Commander Squall would need to face Edea. Xu would need to take over Galbadia Garden's command center."

"Ah, yes. And me returning to Deling City is just the thing I've always wanted." I roll my eyes and shake my head in disgust. "It's far more logical for me to stay here and help defend—"

The elevator comes down. Why is someone coming down in a close-door meeting? The doors slide open, revealing a dark-skinned man with dark eyes and three plats at the back of his head. And a brightly colored dress-like outfit that I can't make sense of.

"Uncle Kiros!" Ellone goes running for him, and the two share a hug. Ah. Esthar's here.

"As I was saying, it's far more logical for me to stay here and—"

"Please forgive me for interrupting." The man says, bowing low.

"Then sit down, shut up, and—"

"Luciana." Sigh.

"You're Kiros Seagill. Representative of Esthar, personal friend of the president, and someone that knows Sorceress Ellone quite well. Now that you're introduction is out of the way, sit down, shut up, and we'll continue with the meeting you shouldn't be present for."

"Ah, Miss Luciana Lafayette. I'd say it's a pleasure, but I doubt you'd agree." Sigh. "Yes. About this meeting I shouldn't be present for. You are actually missing something vital. Two things, in fact. The whereabouts of the mobile Galbadia Garden. And the successor for Sorceress Adel, former dictator of Esthar."

"I'm aware of what I don't know. And I'm aware that you do. So why don't we just talk about what you want to talk about, instead of letting me say my piece so I can l—"

Stella gets up, walking around the Esthar representative and comes right over to me. She turns heel, leaning her back against me, and grabs my arms to wrap around her. "Better?"

I snort, shaking my head. But I won't deny I like this.

"Hmm?" The Esthar representative can't seem to make sense of this. And it only gets worse when Ellone tries to get him to sit beside Zaira—Gerard really doesn't take well to an unknown so close to her. "Forgive me. I seem to make people uncomfortable."

"Gerard. It's alright. He isn't—"

"No. I'm sorry, I hadn't considered that," Ellone says, moving two seats over and grabbing the outsider and dragging him with her. Gerard is still leery, but he relaxes considerably.

"I'm sorry about them, Mister Seagill. Luciana and Gerard are… zealous sometimes." I squeeze Stell gently, glad she understands I don't want her near anyone I cannot predict.

"Uh. Zell's pretty over the top himself sometimes," Serene teases, taking Zell's hand and rubbing his callused knuckles against her cheek—I'm assuming that's her way of saying she doesn't mind.

"Back to the point." I try to get us back on topic, before this ends up being another three hour meeting for no fucking reason. "You have information we need. But what do you want in exchange for this?"

"Well. President Loire offers Esthar's full support, provided Ellone is being cared for as she deserves and desires."

"That's nice. Well, you're here. She's right there. Talk to—"

Stella's fingertips graze my cheek, running around my ear and into my hair. "What do you say we take a break for lunch? That way Ellone can talk to Mister Seagill privately, and we can reconvene in… an hour?"

"Hmm. You're a sorceress." I hold Stell a little closer, but she seems relaxed. It's as if she knows she's as safe as she'll ever be in my arms. "But it would seem the Trabian Headmistress is as well. Along with the young lady beside her."

"Congratulations. You have eyes," I snipe. "Commander?"

"I'm more curious about your angle." Squall's gaze is as sharp as his tone. Hmm.

"Where was I…? Right. I have no intention of going into Galbadia. Not their Garden, not their capital. So I will be here, guarding Garden. My suggestions are merely pointing out the fact that if we take out Edea, we only solve part of the problem. As such, we need to ensure Galbadia's government doesn't fall, we need to ensure that Ultimicia doesn't possess another sorceress to continue her work."

"Hmm. She isn't wrong. But how does one ensure such a thing?" Seagill asks.

"Her knight," Ellone says. Really, she's the only one with the patience for it. "It's why Adel fell, she had no knight, or lost him. It's why matron fell, she and Headmaster Cid grew apart."

"Terrence is right. Me facing matron and Seifer makes the most sense. Xu would be able to take over their command center. However, it makes the most sense that you approach Caraway. You've made quite the impression on him, from what I've heard."

Right through his dominant hand, if memory serves. "What do you think, Stell?"

"Would it be safe enough for Dani?"

"Nothing you can't handle," Commander says.

I nod. So that's what Stella meant, huh. Princess, is there anything on your side to worry about? "What do you think?"

No, Mistress. Mistress Danica studies. Though she complains about how long your meeting takes.

Be on high alert. I'm getting some funny vibes here.

Always, Mistress.

"I don't trust this," Stella just comes right out and says it. I smirk, cupping my hand over hers. "We're at war, and Galbadia is just going to let us walk into their capital and talk to a general? Let alone a general that had his daughter caught up in an assassination attempt on their dictator, who then had that daughter escorted out of an army controlled prison."

Xu snorts, glaring at Squall. "Commander, I suggest you consider your stance. Sending an already overprotective knight into what can easily turn into a suicide mission, with not just her sorceress but their child as well?"

"Hmm?" Squall narrows his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Clueless. Commander Leonheart. I am saying that you are setting up a key player with what is easily perceived as a suicide mission. And then doubling down and sending her lover and their child with her. You are in fact casting her aside like she doesn't matter."

"Agreed," Gerard pipes up. "If you give that mission to me, I'd be packing my bags and disappearing into the sunset with my wife. Perhaps thinking this through would be wisest."

"We're mercenaries. Everything we do caries a risk," Squall argues.

"Agreed." I take Stell's hand, and I start walking. The water may be murky, but the path is as crystal before me.

"I'm warning you, Commander. If you let her walk away, the next time you see her, it'll be on the battlefield. And not on our side."

"Whoa! Hold on! Lafayette. Are you going rogue?" Ter asks.

"Is the commander giving her a choice?" Xu argues. "It's either go rogue, or take a suicide mission. Shit. I'd go rogue too."

"Squall!" The entire room erupts into nothing but chaos. Not that this is my problem. They're shoving the facts under his nose, and he will not relent.

I press the button for the elevator, entering without a care. To think I taught that ungrateful little shit much of anything.

8-8

I can't believe I got suckered into believing those people care. But you know what? That's on me. Life taught me people will only hurt you, and I go all sappy and hope for more.

The last, and now emptied, drawer slams shut. Shirts land in the duffel bag before zipping it shut. Tossed, the bag lands on a stack of ten others.

I summon the Gemini twins, each so tall they have to bend down to not slam their helmets into the ceiling. They're little more than armor. No sentience, no thoughts, nothing but base instincts. Not even a squishy being inside, just emptiness.

Princess grabs the bags and stuffs them into their cuirasses. One of them grabs our bed and hefts it up, the other grabs the chester drawers. They unsummon back to the void within me, with our things. That's the last of it.

I head out into the living room, finding Stella and Danica curled up on the cold, metal floor together. They're both in tears, not quite ready to believe this is really happening. It's dinner time. Everyone's going to be distracted, and no one's going to find it odd that we're reclusive. Now's the time to move.

I grab their hands, tugging them up onto their feet. Much as I wish I could console them, we don't have the time. I press the button on the door, a lump of emotion sinking in the pit of my stomach.

All this shit, so easily avoidable. But no, Cid had to go crybaby on the world and curl up in a fetal position, handing the reins to someone that has no idea what the fuck to do with the power he now wields, or the weight on his shoulders.

Figuring this shit out isn't hard. That doesn't equate to a willingness to tolerate it.

The door slides open. Terrence, Nida, and their bratty boys await us.

"You don't have to do this," I say, tugging my two along to keep on schedule.

"You didn't have to save me," Nida counters, their footsteps keeping up with ours. We walk. All seven of us.

I don't know why that lump of fear won't go away. What do I think will happen? That they'll try to stop us? That mutey will be there just before we leave, saying he's sorry and please don't go?

Snorting at my own thoughts, I keep walking at the same sedate pace. Dani and Stella grip my hands so tight, their hearts no doubt in their throats as we tread down the eerily silent hallway.

We make it to the main hall, not a soul to be found. The cafeteria's to the right, so I lead them left. Walking along. No sound but the staccato of our footfalls.

Five years. Five years I lived here. It never felt like home—nowhere did, or could. Home used to be where mom would wake me up to help her cook, no matter how I sucked at it. Home used to be where mom would bribe me to help her clean, so we could go spotting wildlife in the park near our house.

Now I hold the hands of my home. They are where I lay my head at night, wherever that may be.

Passing the Training Area. My eyes linger on the hall I've crawled more than any other; the hall that's seen Nida dragging me out almost as often as I walked in.

We reach the entrance. Still no one in sight. We walk passed the old ticket area, finding even the both with the old man standing watch lies abandoned. Six planes are parked, the planes we captured for Garden. How ironic.

We walk up to Ter's baby, the X-14. We walk right up into the bay, just like the first time. Nida takes the pilot's seat, Ter by her side running the diagnostic—I assume. While they're busy, I get the kids strapped in, and tell Stell to take the last seat.

I head back, closing the entrance manually—it's quieter. And, just in case, I do a round, checking there's nothing we cannot predict. The benches we sat on heading to Balamb Town. Mutey, the son of a bitch, sat beside me as we discussed the plan, and how to improve Garden—his Garden.

Stop it. Lingering is pointless. This is the path lain out before you. Walk it, and shut the fuck up.

I check under the benches, finding nothing. I check the two standing closets, finding machine guns with boxes of cartridges, and spare gunblades with cartidges and quarterstaffs. The door closes, squeaking a bit and rattling.

A gasp.

I snap to the noise. In the corner, a little silhouette. Moving closer, and closer, a little girl slowly comes into focus.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm… I'm sorry, I…" She can't form a coherent sentence. But what strikes me as important, is the moogle bear she's clutching. That's Dani's bear, no doubt in my mind. I didn't even know it was missing.

I go closer to her, squatting down to her height. She's young, and tiny. Five or six, tops. In the low lighting, I make out her tearstained cheeks, the puffiness of her eyes. She's been crying by herself for a while.

Little to be done now. Die is cast. I scoop her up, holding her against me as protectively as I can. She's tense, no doubt fearing the worst.

Into the cockpit, I carefully shift the little bundle into Stell's lap. "Figure out what's up with this one. I have more rooms to check."

8-8

"So where are we going?" Ter asks just as the sun is rising. Honestly, it's a good question. Just not one I have an answer to. We can go to Dollet, dukey would be thrilled to hire us as personal guards. Miniville is great, but impossible to get lost in. Deling is out of the question. Balamb is just begging for Garden to get an anonymous call as to our whereabouts. Esthar we don't know enough about to blend in, and clearly Garden has ties to them as well.

Trabia. Hmm. There are dozens of villages in Trabia where we can get lost. There's chocobo forests where we can get lost. And Nida and I have survived there in the dead of winter.

My phone rings. Purely out of habit, I answer. "Talk to me." But there's only static. Hmm? "Hello?"

"I will never let you forget."

I narrow my eyes. "Ter, where are we?"

"What, the view didn't answer that?" I peer through the windshield, seeing nothing but ocean. Yeah, middle of nowhere.

"I will never let you forget… about me." The voice is scratchy, swimming in static, but the wrath is hard to ignore. I hang up, stuffing my phone right back into my pocket.

"The voice?" Ter asks.

"Yeah. You hear her a lot?"

"I hack wirelessly, of course I hear her a lot. Though she's never called my phone before."

Something bothers me about that, though. Something the Esthar representative mentioned. Adel's successor. Who inherited her powers?

My phone rings again. I answer it just the same. "Talk to me."

"I am alive here." Static, and the same wrathful voice. Only this time, there's a pleading to it.

"So you're alive. Miss Alive, why are you calling me?"

"I will never let you forget about me." Do you have something interesting to say? "Bring me back there."

"I'll tell you what. Tell me your name, and we'll discuss this 'here' and 'there' of yours."

"I will never let you forget." I hang up, figuring it's a pointless conversation.

"I'm thinking Trabia. It's remote, and Ni and I already know how to survive there," I say, stuffing my phone back in my pocket.

"Thought of that. But we'll get lost in the crowd in a city."

"Which narrows it down to Deling, Esthar, and Caine. I hate all three choices."

"What about Trabia Garden?" Ni chimes in. "It's a wreck, I don't doubt. But we can make it home, and we can get everything up and running again. They won't think to look for us there."

Well, other than Zaira and Gerard, but I'm not worried about them finding me. Not even a little. "Alright. Trabia Garden's got my vote."

"I can live with that."

My phone rings again. I answer, wondering what the voice has to say this time.

"Luciana Lafayette. What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Instructor Quistis Trepe. How lovely to hear from you," I drone, clearly being sarcastic. "Tell me. Why is it that you're calling?"

"Why am I calling? WHY AM I CALLING?!"

"Now that we understand what my question is. Could you try answering it? I'm rather busy, you see."

"I am CALLING. Because your little stint has all of Garden in an uproar!"

"Oh?" I make sure to sound mildly curious, as if I don't understand what's going on. "How so?" I ignore the sputtering and half formed words meant to add up to admonishing me.

"Funny," I cut her off, already tired of her making less and less sense. "Of everyone that was at the meeting yesterday, none have called me. And as you clearly demonstrate, I haven't turned off my phone. Why is that, Instructor?"

"Because they're too busy outing the fire! Ellone left for Esthar, Headmaster Cid is completely unresponsive, Headmistress Zaira is packing up the Trabian cadets to head back, the council is rounding up all cadets to protest Squall as commander, and even Serene and Zell are considering jumping ship and heading back to Balamb!"

"And all this is because I left? Or is it because of the reason I left?" I hear nothing but sputtering. "If you want to keep the pieces from falling apart, start looking at the glue that fails at holding it together. Gina out." I hang up.

"So. Trabia Garden it is." Real subtle, Ter.

8-8

"I dunno. This bird might be too heavy for the structure to support," Nida says. The whole place looks like the set of a zombie apocalypse movie, though luckily there are only three or four craters inside and a dozen dotting the lands surrounding the place. Is it just me, or was Balamb Garden meant to get hit harder? Well, this place is arguably smaller, so maybe that's it.

"No need. Hover park over that court," I point to what might well be a basketball court, "and we do the drop right inside. We scout the place, and we start making maps and plans. Sound good?"

"Alright."

I start walking to the bay, wondering just how fucked the rest of this day is going to be.

A phone rings, but mine isn't vibrating. Stell fishes out hers, answering it without looking at the caller ID—so I'm not the only one that does that.

"Hello? … Oh hey, Zaira." Her tone is flat, lifeless. Her eyes grow teary, as if something she desperately needs is just out of reach. The same green that smiles for me. "No, I probably shouldn't tell you where we are. But we're doing okay… Yes, I'm meditating every six hours. Luciana hasn't let me forget once."

"Hey, Stell? Tell 'im spring's already here." You like your mind games, don't you Gerard. If you want to find us, you'll have to figure that out on your own.

I walk down the hallway with Ter hot on my heels, spying Danica talking to the little girl that's still surgically attached to Dani's moogle bear. My girl pets the stowaway's head, both of them smiling about something. "Dani. Keep an eye on your mom for me?"

"Will do, momma."

8-8

Wendigo holds the iron beam up a little higher, so Nida and her team can weld it in place. It isn't the move elegant space I've ever been in, but the main lobby now has a hole-free roof that's strong enough to withstand the snow we all know is coming. The doors can all close, so we need to do is finish this last section, and we'll have a working kitchen area. It's barebones, but who cares. Dollet wasn't built in a day.

As the last of it is welded—I'm not ever going to ask why Nida knows about welding, because I really don't want to know—I look at the Frankenstein of a countertop we just poured an hour of my life into.

Made entirely of debris, lopsided—need to find a rock or something to even out that shorter leg—and we couldn't be prouder of it. After all, it has a working fire pit. Who cares if that's ancient? It'll also keep the cold out.

"We're so burning in aether for this," Ter complains, rolling his eyes for some reason.

"Fuck you, it's beautiful."

"Yeah. And what, you're gonna go gather firewood?" I snort, shaking my head. "Didn't think so." I won't send you to chop firewood for having a dick, you know. For being a dick is another matter entirely.

"What do we need firewood for? When I, your darling and one true love, summon fire GFs." Nida pokes his nose to tease him further. I chuckle, unwilling to get into their thing.

"Get a room, you two!" the elder of their boys complains.

"Seriously! We can see you!" the younger chimes in.

I right my glasses, mostly to hide the grin behind my hand. "Alright, munchins. Huddle up! Today's lesson is on spotting wildlife you can eat! Keep in mind, I don't want you brats more than five meters from me at any point. Ruin this trust, and you won't get a second chance."

8-8

"Who'd have thunk it." Ter's words ring through the night, but I'm too busy enjoying this moment. Right here, under the cloudless and starry sky. Laying on a picnic blanket Stell thought to bring, on my back, with my lady snuggled up beside me. Her head lies on the crook of my arm, but she keeps inching closer to me. Tired of her little will-she-won't-she game, I tug her closer and let her get comfy half curled up on me.

"The biggest geek Garden has ever known. Having the hottest girlfriend. And is one of the few that the Luciana considers a friend."

I feel her gaze on me, drinking me in, burning this moment into her heart so she'll never forget. Yeah, my girls are far more interesting than Terrence being a spaz.

Dani decides we have the right idea, and slithers closer, but keeps her eyes on the stars.

Another lingers nearby. On the skirts of peripheral vision. Like a little shadow, lurking in the dark. Stell shifts her head towards the little girl. "Don't you want to join us?"

Silence returns, no movement to break the mold.

"Violet?" The shadow moves, but I can't make out exactly what she did. As if to accentuate her words, Stella unzips my jacket—what'd I do to get tangled up in this? "It's alright. I promise she's really sweet once you get to know her."

The next thing I know, a tiny little thing starts crawling up my thighs, up my tummy, and kind of just zones out atop me. Stella wraps this… Violet… in my jacket—you know, that thing that I'm supposed to wear to keep me warm? I mean, you know things are bad when I forgo my nipple-teaser in favor of a proper jacket. But Stell doesn't seem to mind inviting some perfect stranger to lay her little head between my boobs.

Whatever.

As if aware of how far outside my boundaries this is, Stella kisses my eye—actually pushes up my glasses out of the way and makes me close my eye in self-defense, to kiss my eyelid. I should be annoyed with her. So why am I smiling instead?

Maybe it's the sniffled sigh of the little terror I haven't paid any attention to. Maybe it's feeling her wrap her little arms around me and clutch whichever part of my shirt she pleases. Maybe it's how the tension leaves her, or how her breathing evens out.

I don't know; I'm not sure if I'm meant to, or even want to.

No. It's the little snores. They remind me of Stella, so that must be it.

8-8

My eyes open, finding the room dark. My body tells me it's time to get up, but sunlight seems too lazy to bother coming to the sole little window in our room. It's been a week since we got here. Every day we fix a little more of Garden. Every day I take the munchkins hunting. It isn't really all that interesting, but that doesn't feel like it matters.

We still haven't move into Garden. It should be more or less livable, but we claimed two of the rooms on the X-14, and just stay up here when it gets too cold. What I'm having trouble figuring out, is why Violet likes sleeping curled up against me with her nose pretty much buried in my armpit.

And I really need coffee. Mornings are bullshit.

Three weeks. It's been three weeks since I found out Stella was a sorceress. And worse, it's been only just over a month since I was a fucking cadet. In that time I've gone from that bitch everyone fears, to everyone's savior, to research mogul, to head of Garden's most prestigious branch, to sitting to the head table, to the one that walked away.

"Mmmmmm." Stell's little moan of complaint tells me she's starting to wake up, but she isn't any happier about it than I am. She turns towards me, slithering deeper into my warmth, her forehead nudging against my jawline and her hand lain flat on my chest.

I'm not foolish enough to believe in that insanity people call love. Love is how you convince a rational human being to commit the most horrendous crimes. Love is how you turn a plain Jane into a heroine.

Love is how you convince a good woman to stay faithful to an abusive shitstain modeled after a human being.

No. Fuck love. This isn't any of that bullshit, this is better. This is someone that takes care of me, someone that wants to ease what pain she can, someone that wants to prevent future pains entirely.

I kiss her brow, mushing my cheek against the kiss-site, as if to protect it from the cruel world.

This isn't any of that mushy bullshit. This is someone that would have a gun in her mouth, and only care about how that would affect me. Only this time, I have the strength to save her from that.

Stella North. I wouldn't just die for you… I would live for you.

8-8

I sit. My knees spread comfortably apart, my shins on the cold steel floor, my butt on my feet. Between my thighs, with my arms around her waist, Stell meditates. Her breaths are even, unhurried. There's no tension in her I can feel.

Dani sits across from us, mirroring me. Curiously, Terrence decided to join us, and Nida decided to bug him but snuggling up to him much like Stell is with me. The room is deathly quiet, as Stell needs it to be.

Something feels off, different. It can't be something as pathetic as a 'shift in the winds', because we're in the X-14 and the doors are closed. But it's there, on the edge of awareness. Something, or someone.

My phone rings, the vibration slamming into the silence far more than the ringing itself.

I fish it out, annoyed that I didn't shut it off during Stell's meditation. "Make it quick."

"Lady Gina." Gerard. I smile. "You've been taking a little too strongly off me."

"You solved my riddle then?"

"You could say that."

"Tell Yandre I'll be down after Stell's meditation. Gina out." I hang up, still smiling.

8-8

Shooting down the stupid umbilical cord, I slam into the ground and roll. There's just no way to get down here without finding myself hitting the ground too fucking fast.

And just my thrice damned luck, I find myself facing Zaira, Gerard, Yandra, and mutey. I unzip my jacket, taking out one of my pistols just as Stella lands beside me—how she manages to come down with Violet, and neither of them take a tumble, isn't something I'm meant to understand. Bitch about, yeah sure, but not understand.

Stella comes to me, putting herself between me and mutey and gently nudging my gunhand down to keep lead from flying. I wish she'd stayed on the ship.

"It's good to see you, Yandre. Sorry about leaving without a word."

"It was nothing if not predictable," Yandre says, his eyes smiling. "I was surprised when they told me you'd taken a second junior, though."

"She stowed away."

"I figured. But you would have discovered her before takeoff." The knowing smile hints at the suggestion there's more to this. "That aside. How goes the restoration effort?"

"We're no engineers." I look around, finding some thirty cadets, most seniors. They're all suited up in overalls, no doubt intent on rebuilding their home. "But the main hall and the dorms are livable. There's accommodation for a fire. And it's solid enough that we cook in there. How'd you get here?"

"Oh, Xu gave us a lift." The amusement tells me she did something that pissed mutey off, and was likely ordered to go do something else. "She's out hunting." I figured.

"So, Gerard. What's the situation?"

"Well…?" He rubs the back of his neck, no doubt wondering how to word this. "To be honest. Nothing's happened. Everyone refuses to engage Galbadia Garden without you, arguing that you'd keep casualties to a minimum, and Sorceress Stella will heal the wounded. Not to mention Xu refusing to take their command center without Terrence to hack in and see what we're up against. So it's mostly been outing the fire in another three towns."

"'Everyone' referring to the cadets, of course."

"Well, no. The Summoners Council, all active Ops, the instructors, the cadets, everyone knows you four would turn the tables in our favor."

"Everyone but one stubborn little shit," I snipe, glaring at mutey.

"Luci—"

I move my arm around Stella's and aim my pistol right at him. Stella turns, placing her finger on the muzzle, and she smiles for me. Her eyes are warm and pleading and so utterly trusting.

Safety clicks on and I holster my pistol. Just in time for a thud and shuffling.

"Whoo!" Dani shouts, pumping her hands into the air in victory and laughing. "Still alive!"

"DANI!"

"What? You jumped with Violet. At least I was only risking my life."

"Danica." My cold tone and blank gaze cuts deeper than anything Stella could say.

"Sorry, mom. I just wanted to tr…" My narrowing my eyes cuts her off. "Sorry."

"We'll discuss this later. For now. I am still waiting for a reason why I should give a shit that everyone but the SeeD Commander wants me back."

"Operative Lafayette. I—"

"That's nice. Now tone down the rank-pulling, and turn up the actual reason."

Mutey crosses his arms, his eyes narrowed. "There's a consensus. That you would be a better commander."

"Didn't ask for it. Don't want it. And don't even try giving me back that bullshit status of head of the Summoners Council either." He squares his jaw, obviously hating my stance. He must have been trying to coin that shit on me. "I play along, and all I get is more work. Fuck you and your—"

Stella kisses my neck.

"I'm not bending on…" She nibbles on my tender skin, noising just to show me she's smiling.

"I think my moms need a moment to converse about the topic at hand. As such, I would ask that you offer them some food for thought. Consider setting up Garden as a proper settlement. One in which they can get married. And let them legally adopt me and Violet. Oh. And a guarantee that you aren't going to keep mom from other sorceresses. And momma wants the same with other knights. They don't admit it, but they miss those guys most."

"If she's the head of the Summoners Council, she can do all that and more," Yandre tries.

"And if the commander wasn't a dick, we wouldn't have left. So. Do you want them to discuss this matter like mature adults, or are you too busy trying to sucker her back in?"

8-8

End Chapter 9

8-8

A/N: Just so you guys know. The next chapter is scheduled to come out in 9 reviews. So, how do you think this is going to play out? Will Gina and Stella go back to Garden? And did anyone figure out who the voice is?