DISCLAIMER

Grace Barton does not own Final Fantasy 8 and is not associated with it or its creators in any way. This is a novelisation of the game and Grace only lays claim to the written form and original scenes and dialogue that do not appear in the game. Everything else is copyrighted to SquareEnix, the creators of Final Fantasy 8.

Final Fantasy VIII [2nd Instalment]

Grace Barton

Prologue

"Uncle Laguna!"

Ignoring the faint buzz that had started in his head, Laguna Loire got up off the bed and turned to the door. A little girl, wearing a blue dress and with a bob of chocolate-brown hair framing a round face, ran into the room. On seeing her, a smile came to Laguna's face, as it always did. Ellone was the cutest, most adorable little girl in the whole world, and pity those who did not agree with him. Not that many didn't. Everyone knew that Ellone was a special little girl. Everyone loved her, but especially Laguna.

When Ellone saw Laguna, her large brown eyes lit up, and she smiled also. "There is someone here to see you," she said, running over to him.

"Huh?" Laguna blinked, confused. "Me? What's this person look like?"

Ellone folded her arms and pouted, a sign that she was thinking hard. "He was wearin' funny clothes," she said, nodding. "He's tawking to Raine right now."

'Tawking'… The adorable way she spoke made Laguna's heart thump. She was so adorable… But then Laguna frowned. "Hmm? Is he at the pub?" he asked her.

"Yup!" Ellone replied. She smiled and her face beamed. "That's why I came over to get yoo, Uncle Laguna! Am I a good girl?"

"No, you're not!" Laguna told her. "It's dangerous to be out there by yourself. What if a monster comes and attacks you?"

"It's only next door," replied Ellone, looking down. "It's okay."

"It's still dangerous!" Laguna pressed. He knelt down in front of her. Taking her face in his hands, he lifted her head so she was looking at him. "And since you're such a cute little girl," he told her, "the monsters will especially be after you! They'll catch you and then they'll suck all your blood out! If anything like that should happen, Uncle Laguna's gonna cry…"

Ellone frowned. Her eyes moved as she thought this over. Then, folding her hands behind her back, she said: "I'll be okay." She looked up at Laguna. "I'll just call yoo, Uncle Laguna! You'll come rescue me, right!" She smiled at him, and then she ran from the room.

"H-Hey! Ellone! Wait!"

It was too late. Ellone was already gone, her feet clattering down the stairs. Laguna jumped to his feet, picked up his machinegun from beside the bed, and hurried out after her. The little girl was quick; she was already at the bottom of the stairs and running out. Without hesitation, Laguna went after her.

He found her in the living room, waiting for him near the door. Laguna stopped and put his hand on his chest, sighing. Thank goodness.

When Ellone saw him, her face lit up and she smiled. "I waited!" she announced. She folded her hands behind her again. "Am I a good girl?"

Again with that smile… Whenever he saw it, Laguna wanted to run over to her and give her a tight, tight hug. This time he resisted the urge and just patted her on the head. "Yes, a good girl," he told her.

Ellone smiled. Laguna then turned from her and walked across the living room. Once his back was turned, Ellone quickly smoothed down her hair.

Laguna stopped by a chest of drawers, upon which rested two picture frames. He picked up one of them. Portrayed in the picture was a young couple. The woman was sitting in a chair with her husband standing behind her, his hands resting on her shoulders. Both of them were smiling, clearly in love. The other picture frame showed the couple again, a few years older. This time they stood together, holding an adorable baby girl between them. A baby girl with familiar brown eyes…

Laguna smoothed off some of the dust from the photo. "Dear Ellone's father and mother: Ellone's been a good girl today," he said. He looked at Ellone. "Right?"

"Yup!" the little girl replied, and she ran out of the house.

Laguna set the picture back down. Instead of following Ellone outside, he took a moment to look around the living room, as he often did.

The house in which he now lived used to belong to Ellone's parents. It was a quaint little house, lived in by a couple who loved their little girl very much. So much so that when Esthar soldiers invaded their home two years ago and demanded they hand over their treasured girl, they resisted. Their resistance had cost them their lives, leaving poor little Ellone an orphan. Hundreds of bullet holes dotted the living room walls—the evidence of her parent's resistance.

Following her parent's deaths, the then two-year-old Ellone was taken in by Raine, the owner of the pub next door. A year later, when Laguna came to Winhill, he took up temporary residence in the abandoned house. When he saw the damage that had been left by the Esthar invasion, Laguna was left shocked. He was even more impressed by Ellone, who, even after losing her parents, was still able to smile. He knew then just what an amazing girl she was.

Laguna left the house and stepped out into the square. Ellone was waiting for him just outside the door. It seemed his story of monsters sucking out her blood had made her think twice about going off alone, after all. Laguna patted her on the head and then ran out into the street. He looked left and right as he ran over to the pub and stood in the doorway. He then waved to Ellone.

"Ellone!" he called. "Now's your chance!"

"Cha-nce!" Ellone repeated. She ran out of the doorway and, copying Laguna's method of looking left and right, ran to the pub. Passing Laguna, she ran inside.

Before following her inside, Laguna looked around the square. A small group of Galbadian soldiers patrolled the square and guarded the mansion where they had set up their base. This was the only place where the soldiers patrolled, leaving the rest of town undefended.

Winhill was a pastoral village, located in the southern half of the Galbadian continent. It was the only village around for miles, surrounded by the vast fields of the Winhill Bluffs. It was well-protected, sheltered by the Lalapalooza Canyons, but at the same time it was isolated, for those same canyons kept the village cut off from the outside world. There were no roads or rail routes to the village, and was accessible only by the air and the sea. To top it all, most of the townsmen had left the village, summoned to join the army in the fight against Esthar.

So when the Esthar army invaded Winhill two years ago and demanded that the townspeople hand over all the young girls in town, there was no one who could help them. Ellone was among the very few who managed to escape the first invasion. It was thought there would be another, to capture the girls who had escaped, and so Galbadian soldiers were sent to guard the town. As yet there was no sign of Esthar returning.

As for the soldiers, they had little interest in Winhill or its people. Their orders were only to watch for Esthar invasion. Dealing with other problems were none of their concern.

Turning from the square, Laguna entered the pub. Inside, he saw Ellone standing in front of Raine. Raine's face was very stern as she looked down at Ellone. The little girl was unable to meet Raine's gaze and kept her eyes fixed on the floor, shuffling her feet back and forth.

"You understand, Ellone?" Raine was saying. "Now go to your room and play."

Her reprimand done, Raine turned and headed back behind the bar. She brushed back her long, brown hair and then picked up her cloth to continue her chores.

Ellone turned to Laguna and looked up at him. Her cheeks were flushed. "I got in twouble," she whispered. She continued to shuffle her feet.

"That's 'cause you broke your promise," Laguna whispered back. "Too baaaad…"

"Laguna!" Raine's head snapped up. Her dark eyes flashed and she put her hands on her hips, scowling at Laguna. "Use proper English when speaking to Ellone!"

Laguna's own face flushed and he clamped his hand over his mouth. "I got 'n trouble," he said to Ellone.

"Toooo baaaddd!" replied Ellone, and she and Laguna giggled. Raine looked at them and shook her head. It was like having two kids and not just one. She then looked up as the man who was standing next to the bar turned and walked over. He stood by the bar and smiled at Laguna.

"It's been a while, Laguna," he said.

Laguna finished ruffling Ellone's hair and looked up. His jaw dropped and for a second he feared he might faint. That slender frame… the dark skin and the long, braided hair. Yes, it was! It was—

"Kiros!" exclaimed Laguna, spreading his arms. He grinned and then knelt down beside Ellone, who was eyeing the man curiously. "He's Uncle Laguna's friend," he told her, "but he's not a bad guy."

Ellone looked back at Laguna and then turned to Kiros. She stared up at him, her brown eyes wide as she looked him over. "Yoo dress funny," she remarked. She then smiled and said: "But you're a good guy, right!"

Kiros folded his arms and nodded, smiling down at her. Ellone grinned and then ran over to the bar. Laguna followed her and stood by his friend. The two sat down on the stools, while Raine continued to clean the worktop. For a moment or two they said nothing and looked at each other.

"You seem well," Kiros said at last, breaking the silence.

"Yeah… You, too," replied Laguna. He was unable to take his eyes off his friend. It seemed like forever since they last saw each other. "Hey, how long has it been? You know, our grand escape from Centra?"

Kiros rubbed his chin. "That was… One would usually call that being chased out…"

Behind the bar, Raine chuckled. "I thought so…" she said. Laguna glared at her, but Raine just smiled and picked up a glass to polish it.

"Well, I would say about a year or so," finished Kiros.

Laguna shook his head. Had it really been a year already? It did not seem even half that time. He, Kiros and Ward had wandered into a covert Esthar mining operation on the Centra continent. Without meaning to, they ended up going up against the Esthar army. The last time Laguna saw Kiros and Ward was when they had 'jumped' from a tall cliff and into the ocean. Remembering his own plunge into the water still gave Laguna nightmares. He shivered.

"I was bedridden for over six months," Laguna said. "It seemed like every bone in my body was in pieces."

"I nursed him back to health," Raine pointed out. She replaced the glass.

"Thank you," Kiros said to Raine, "for taking good care of Laguna." Raine smiled and inclined her head. Kiros turned back to Laguna. "I was able to recover in about a month or so," he said. "Ever since then… I've been searching for you."

"Why?" Laguna asked him.

"After leaving the army…" Kiros shrugged. "Well, just killing time I guess." He looked at Laguna and grinned, patting his friend on the shoulder. "Life's pretty boring without you as entertainment, my man."

"That's a harsh thing to say," Laguna replied. He pouted. "I've been living a productive life here."

Raine put down her cloth and folded her arms. "I think I understand what you mean, though," she said. She looked at Laguna, and he scratched his head.

The two men fell silent. After a moment Ellone, growing bored of the silence, began to run around the empty pub. Raine carried on with her cleaning.

Seeing that Laguna had a number of questions for him, Kiros got comfortable. "So, what do you want to know?" he asked his friend.

"Let's see…" Laguna rubbed his chin. "How's Ward doing?"

Kiros nodded. "Ward quit the army, too," he informed Laguna. "Luckily he found a job, and he's working pretty hard."

"What's he doing?"

"He's a janitor down at the D-District Prison."

Laguna looked surprised. In his mind's eye he saw his tall, robust friend wearing not a soldier's uniform but the mucky overalls of a janitor, and armed not with his oversized harpoon but a mop and bucket. It was… a strange image. "Wow…" Laguna said. "Can't picture him moppin' floors, but I'm glad he's doing well."

"Oh, and he never got his voice back," Kiros added. "You could basically tell what he wants from his facial expressions."

Laguna felt a pang of guilt. Ward's throat was damaged during their escape from Centra, when they had engaged the Esthar army. At the time Laguna had thought it was a temporary thing, something Ward would recover from in time. The incident at Centra was Laguna's fault, he would admit… To think that he might never hear his friend's voice again… it made him feel kind of sad.

Thinking of voices he might never hear again… "…How's Julia doing?" he asked.

"I don't know…" Kiros replied, but he avoided Laguna's gaze.

"You mean Julia, the singer?" asked Raine.

"That's right," said Kiros. "Laguna really admired her and always frequented the nightclub."

Laguna's face turned red. "Shut up!" he snapped. "So what if I did!"

Raine did not seem to notice. "Julia used to sing at a nightclub?" she asked Kiros.

"No," Kiros said, shaking his head. "She didn't sing. She just played the piano."

"Then the first song she released was 'Eyes on Me'?"

Laguna felt his heart skip a beat. That was the title of Julia's first song? He recalled Julia's words to him, moments before they had parted in Deling City. 'The many faces you've shown me. Times when you were hurt, worried… Or felt pain deep inside you… Your smile, your face, your eyes…' Laguna swallowed. "H-How does the song go?" he asked. His leg twitched.

"You don't know?" Raine asked him, surprised.

"Well, you never let me hear it!"

"I didn't think you listened to music," Raine said. She put down her cloth again. "The song's about being in love… I really like it."

"Heard she recently got married," said Kiros. He looked at Laguna to see his reaction. Laguna's face was a mask, unreadable.

"Oh yeah!" said Raine, snapping her fingers. "To some army general, right? General Caraway or something?"

"I'm not too sure," admitted Kiros. He was still watching Laguna.

Raine carried on, not noticing. "I read in a magazine that her true love went off to war and never came back," she said. "General Caraway comforted her while she was feeling down. That's how they got to know each other."

"…So she didn't wait for the soldier to come back…?" Kiros asked.

Laguna slammed his fist on the bar. "So what!" he barked. "Who cares! As long as she's happy, right? That's all that matters!" He turned away from the bar and knelt down by Ellone, who had come back. "Ain't that right, Elle?" he asked her.

Ellone nodded. "Right!" she said, loud and cheery. "Uncle Laguna and Raine are…"

"Ahhhhhhhh!" Laguna cried, cutting Ellone off. He jumped to his feet and waved his arms. "Okay, enough talk about this!"

While he waved his arms, Laguna felt his head start to buzz again. It was a feeling he had felt twice before: once in Deling City and the other on the Centra continent. Laguna had no idea what it was or what caused it. He would have dismissed it as pure coincidence if Kiros and Ward had not felt it, also. It had been a year since he last felt this sensation. He paused, waiting.

(…Where am I?)

There it was. It was that silent voice that he could hear, and yet could not make out. Laguna folded his arms. "…I think the faeries are here," he said to Kiros.

Kiros looked puzzled. "…Faeries?" he repeated. He frowned and closed his eyes. He then opened them and nodded. "Yeah, I guess so…"

"Then our work today should be a cinch," Laguna said, clapping a hand on Kiros's shoulder.

"I'm looking forward to the battles," said Kiros.

Rather than feeling unnerved by the reoccurrence of the 'faeries' as he had chosen to label the sensation, Laguna felt empowered. In those other times when the sensation occurred, it made him feel stronger somehow. It was as though someone else's strength had been added to his own. It was a good feeling, and Laguna felt lucky. Kiros, on the other hand, could not care for the 'faeries' or the strength they seemed to give him. All he wanted was to fight alongside Laguna again. Just like old times.

Laguna lifted his arms up and stretched. "Let's talk later," he said to Kiros. "Time to do some work."

"…Okay," said Kiros, although he had no idea what Laguna meant.

Lowering his arms, Laguna asked: "What's your plan? You're gonna stick around here for a bit, right?"

"Would that be okay?" Kiros asked, turning to Raine.

Raine nodded. "You work for what you eat. If that's fine with you, you're more than welcome," she answered.

Laguna grinned and clenched his fist. Good old Raine… You could always rely on her to aid someone in need. Of course, if she heard him call her 'old'… Well, it was not an exaggeration to say his ears would be ringing for a few hours. Raine was kind and gentle, but she had one fierce temper. She was always telling Laguna off in some way or another, and she kept Ellone in line, too.

The two men left the pub and left Raine to her chores. Ellone stood in the open doorway, her face smiling as she waved them off. Laguna stood on the bridge leading from the square to the rest of town and waved back at her. As always, he felt so guilty about leaving her behind, but he knew that she was safe with Raine.

"Laguna… I have a simple question…" said Kiros, when Ellone went back inside. Laguna turned to him. Kiros folded his arms. "What exactly do you do here?"

Laguna nodded. He had expected this question to come up. "It's like this," he began. "All the working men in this town were sent off to war. The only ones still left in town are old people, children, chocobos, dogs, and cats. I'm sure you've noticed, but the monsters have made their way into town. This here town took real good care of me. So basically, I want to return the kindness."

The former soldier placed his hands on his hips. "You're lookin' at the Monster Hunter of Winhill!" he said, proud. "So as of today, you'll be my assistant. We're to patrol the town up to the town entrance! If we see anyone in need along the way, we help them. That's our basic duty!"

That was just like Laguna, Kiros thought. More than repaying a dept to the people who helped him, Laguna just wanted to help people in need. It was a drive Laguna could not fight, and he did not even try to fight it. It was Laguna's way and nothing more. Kiros just smiled. It would indeed be like old times.

Laguna led the way as the two set out on their patrol. They did not go far before they encountered the first of the monsters prowling about the town. A small group of Bite Bugs were buzzing by the flower shop, drawn by the scents of the flowers displayed outside. The shop was closed and they could see the owner through the curtained windows, watching the Bite Bugs.

Without any hesitation at all, Laguna gave a loud yell and charged in. Pulling out his machinegun, he fired a few rounds past the insects. As he hoped the sound of the gunshots drew the monsters' attention, and they pulled back away from the shop. The insects turned and flew right at Laguna, their long jaws open wide.

When the first of the monsters reached him, Laguna drew back his fist and punched it in the jaw. The insect's exoskeleton was crushed by the blow, and the insect pulled back, its legs clawing at its face. Laguna then turned and fired a shot at another Bite Bug as it flew at him from the side. The insect fell instantly and Laguna turned again to fire at a third, approaching him from the front.

One of the monsters avoided Laguna's shots and swept around behind him. Laguna, too busy dealing with the monsters coming at him from the front and side of him, did not notice. The Bite Bug swerved around and flew at him from behind. Its jaws opened wide, baring its sharp teeth.

"Laguna!" called Kiros.

Laguna started to turn. He saw the bug approaching him, with its jaws wide and screeching, and liquid oozing from its mandibles—poison. It was coming at him too fast for Laguna to strike in time but there was no need, for Kiros moved in and slashed with his Katals. The insect was sliced clean in two and the two halves of it fell to the floor. They twitched and then lay still.

The rest of the Bite Bugs froze, suddenly unsure. Taking advantage of their fear, Laguna turned and fired another shot at them. The insects scattered and flew off. Laguna grinned and sheathed his gun. He turned to Kiros, who was wiping the insect's blood from his Katals.

"I see your skills haven't changed, Kiros," the former soldier remarked.

Kiros finished cleaning his weapons and placed a hand on his hip. "And you still rush into battles blind, Laguna," he said back with a smile.

Laguna grinned and scratched his head. It felt so good, fighting alongside Kiros again. If only Ward were here as well…

There came a rustling sound over by the window, and he and Kiros turned. The flower shop owner—an elderly lady—was watching them. She looked at Laguna, and though she did not scowl at him, she did not smile either. She drew the curtains and did not come out. Laguna scratched his head again, before turning away and running off down the street. Kiros stayed behind a moment, looked at the flower shop, and then hurried after him.

As Laguna had said, there were not many people left in Winhill. Those that were here preferred to stay indoors, avoiding the monsters that now wandered the streets. Those they did see were, as Laguna described, women, children, and the elderly. Even the animals seemed to stay out of sight, afraid of the monsters.

The Bite Bugs were not the only monsters in town. Caterchipillars had also wandered in from the Bluffs, drawn by the scents coming from the town. They found one of these oversized caterpillars prowling around just inside the town entrance. The two dispatched the monster and hurried over to the entrance.

"Alright!" said Laguna. He sheathed his machinegun and wiped his brow. "Our first patrol, complete! We're to report to the commander and asst. commander."

Kiros unhooked his Katals and flexed his fingers. "Commander…" he repeated. "You mean that woman at the pub?"

Laguna spun around to face him. "Her name's Raine," he said. "Raine, okay! She saved my life. And the asst. commander is Ellone."

Kiros looked closely at his friend. He had noticed that there was something… different… about Laguna. Something had changed. He got very touchy when it came to this Raine woman. Kiros started to wonder. "She seems like a really nice person," he observed. He smiled. "But easily taken in by a hotshot."

"…A hotshot?" Laguna asked. He folded his arms and looked at the ground. Was he really that much of a hotshot? The ex-soldier drew his machinegun and rested it on his shoulder. "Okay, let's step up our patrol a notch," he said. "Asst. Kiros, let's come up with a plan after we get back to the base."

Kiros nodded and put on his Katals. He caught sight of movement off to the side and turned his head. An old man was standing in the doorway of the item shop. Like the old lady at the flower shop, he appeared to be watching them. Yet, unlike the old lady, he was scowling at them.

Laguna also saw the old man's look. Turning to the old man, he smiled and gave him a thumb's up. The old man just scowled further and went back into his shop, shutting the door behind him.

The two men headed back through the town towards the square. When they reached Chocobo Lane another group of Bite Bugs approached them. These were more vicious than the first, and tried to bite them with their venomous fangs. Only Laguna's gun and Kiros's Katals kept the monsters at bay, until the lane was littered with their remains.

Once all the monsters were eliminated, the two soldiers paused for breath. Kiros leaned against a fence and wiped his brow. "Hey, Laguna…" he asked. "Are you doing this patrol thing every day?"

Laguna was pacing about the lane, his arms over his head. "'Thing'?" he repeated. He stretched and turned back to Kiros. "What're you callin 'THING'!"

"Weren't you aiming to become a world-travelling journalist?" Kiros continued, ignoring Laguna's outburst. He pushed himself away from the fence. "You've heard of Timber Maniacs, right? I had a talk with the chief editor. He said he's interested in any article related to world travel."

"That's great!" exclaimed Laguna, delighted.

"We should go talk to him sometime."

The smile on Laguna's face faded. He turned from Kiros, so he would not see the troubled frown that replaced it. "Y-Yeah…" he replied, and the two hurried on.

When they reached the flower shop they stopped again. The remains of the Bite Bugs they had killed earlier had disintegrated, leaving nothing but piles of dust. Yet the flower shop doors remained closed, those inside too afraid to come out.

Laguna paced across the dirt-trodden lane. He then stopped and rubbed his chin. "Um," he began, "it'd be okay if we stayed here a bit longer, right?"

"You need time to gather more material?" Kiros asked him. He looked around at the flower shop and the fields of flowers surrounding it, bright and full of colour. "This seems like a really nice town," he observed. "You're gonna write about this place first, aren't you?"

"No way," Laguna said, turning to him. "Can't make this place famous. Too much publicity and you get all those tourists and stuff."

"You're afraid someone might come and take Raine away?" Kiros asked, voicing the words that Laguna neglected to say out loud. "Laguna, you've changed, man."

Laguna turned away from him, unable to meet his gaze. Suddenly he looked up and pointed down the path. "Hey! I see a monster!" he shouted, and then ran off down the lane, leaving Kiros behind.

In no time at all, Laguna and Kiros found themselves back at Raine's bar. After taking one last look around the square to make sure no monsters were lurking between the houses, the two men went inside.

The bar stood empty. Raine was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Ellone. The tables and chairs were all set out, the worktops polished to a glimmering shine. It seemed that Raine had finished her cleaning already.

When Raine was not working down in the bar, she was usually found in the rooms upstairs, where she lived with Ellone. The door to the upstairs rooms was unlocked, so Laguna opened the door and headed on up.

Sure enough Raine was there, along with Ellone. Both girls were in the living room. Ellone was standing in the middle of the room and was talking to Raine. Raine had her back to Ellone, and appeared to be busy tidying up a bookshelf. Laguna peered over the bottom of the banister, saw them talking to one another, and ducked back down again.

"…What?" Kiros whispered behind him.

Laguna turned from the banister. "Girl talk…" he whispered back. "Let's come back later." He started to head down the stairs.

However, Kiros did not move. A troubled look crossed his face, and he drummed his fingers on his arm. He shook his head.

"Come on!" Laguna said, whispering a little louder. He tried to walk past Kiros, but his friend reached out and grabbed hold of his arm. Laguna stopped, looked at Kiros's hand, and then at his face. He was aware, at that moment, of the buzzing feeling in his head growing stronger.

Kiros must have felt the same, for his grip tightened. "Something inside me tells me to listen," he said softly.

Laguna stared at Kiros.

"Raine… Aren't yoo gonna marry Uncle Laguna?"

Laguna's heart jumped, and he turned back to the living room. He walked back up the steps and peered over the banister. Inside the room he saw Ellone, standing in the middle of the room. His eyes moved from her and went to Raine. The woman still had her back to Ellone, but when the girl spoke Raine placed her hands on the bookshelves and sighed.

"A guy like that?" she replied. She shook her head, and her hair moved over her face. "He was carried in here crying like a baby, and I was the one who had to take care of him…" She turned from the bookshelf, and Laguna ducked down again. Raine paced across the room. "His crude way of speaking… I don't know if his aspirations as a journalist are going to come true… Every time I try to have a serious conversation, he avoids it… I can't stand his snoring and he talks in his sleep…" She stopped next to a cabinet and spread her hands.

"But he's really nice!" Ellone insisted. "I really, really like him!" She clenched her fists and looked down. "Raine, Uncle Laguna and Elle should all be together!"

At first, Raine said nothing. Laguna waited, listening.

Raine folded her arms. She wound her fingers in the thick sleeves of her jumper, and her face torn. She then turned around, and Laguna and Kiros quickly ducked down out of sight to avoid being seen.

Luckily, Raine did not see them. "…But you know…" she said, while Ellone walked over to the sofa. "I think what he really wants to do is travel all over the world. I don't think he has it in him to live in a quiet country town like this one. Some people are like that…" She unwound her fingers from her sleeves and threw down her fists. "Ouuu," she moaned, "it makes me so mad."

"…Yoo don't like him?" Ellone asked. She looked down, sad.

Raine turned to her. "…I feel the same as you, Ellone," she told the girl. Raine then took a few more steps closer to the sofas, and her gaze fell over the banister. She saw Laguna and Kiros standing there, and her eyes widened. "Oh!"

Realising that they were spotted, Laguna leapt into action. He jumped up from the spot he where he had been hiding, ran up the stairs and into the living room. He leaned over, panting hard.

"Yea!" cheered Ellone, grinning. "Yoo're back!"

Laguna nodded, still panting. He wiped his brow, as though to wipe off sweat. "I came back in a hurry," he breathed. After taking a moment to 'calm' himself, he went over to Raine. Her face was pink, but she did not try to hide her face from him. Laguna, in turn, made no remark on their conversation and went on like nothing had happened. "Here's my report on today's patrol and monster extermination!" he said instead. He coughed and then turned to Ellone, standing at ease. "Including the Buchubuchus and Bunbuns that Assistant Commander Ellone oh-so-hates… I've exterminated thirteen monsters!"

Both Raine and Ellone clapped their hands. "Alright! Thank you," said Raine. "Shall we eat before you get started with the next patrol? I'll call you when it's ready, so just wait in your room. You seem pretty tired. You should take a quick nap."

"Let's eat, let's eat!" Ellone said, jumping up and down. "Let's all eat together!" She stopped jumping and turned to Kiros, who stood at the top of the stairs. "Yoo're joining us too, right Mr. Kiros!"

Looking into those eager brown eyes of hers, Kiros could not say no. He bowed his head and then clenched his fist, indicating that, yes, he would join them for dinner.

Ellone again jumped for joy. "We have me and Raine and Uncle Laguna and Mr. Kiros!" she said, barely able to contain her excitement. Raine giggled.

Laguna also smiled. He ruffled Ellone's hair once more before he and Kiros left the pub and headed over to the house next door, where Laguna now lived.

When Kiros saw the damage done to the walls by the Esthar soldiers, he was shocked. He had heard stories of how merciless those soldiers were of late, as well as the rumours that they had begun kidnapping young girls and taking them back to Esthar. At first, he had found it hard to believe them, but now that he could see the damage done he changed his mind. All at once he felt profound sympathy for Ellone and, like Laguna, he was amazed at how cheerful she seemed. Perhaps she was too young to remember it. Or maybe living with Laguna and Raine had given her new reasons to smile.

Laguna took Kiros upstairs to the main bedroom where he slept. "Well now," the former soldier said, standing by the bed, "shall we rest up a bit?"

Kiros nodded and began to remove his Katals. Laguna drew his machinegun and removed the nearly empty magazine. He placed both items on the bedside cabinet and then turned to the bed. Slowly, the smile on his face faded and he stood, still, lost in thought.

Looking up, Kiros caught the look on Laguna's face. "Hm?" he said. He put his Katals on a chest of drawers. "What's the matter?"

Laguna did not reply. Reaching out a hand, he laid his hand on the bed. He let his fingers run across the rough sheets and the old, worn pillow. His lips pressed together.

"I get scared sometimes," he confessed. "Scared of waking up somewhere else… Scared of not seeing Ellone…"

"Scared of not seeing Raine?"

Laguna closed his fingers around the blanket and lifted it up, clenching it tight. "What happened to me?" he asked himself. "I feel… What is this I'm feeling?" Laguna shook his head. He released the blanket, letting it fall back onto the bed. He looked up at the ceiling. "Oh, please let it be this room when I wake up!" he pleaded. "Please let me be in this puny bed when I wake up!"

Kiros could only stare. He then walked over to the window and looked down at the square, at the quiet little country town that had affected Laguna's heart so much.

"Laguna," said Kiros, "you've changed."

A Note from the Authoress

Hello there, everyone! To those of you who are new to this fic, this is the second instalment in my Final Fantasy 8 novelisation. You will find the first part in the first instalment, titled Final Fantasy 8: The Story.

To those of you who are joining us from the first instalment: welcome back! I hope you're all enjoying the fic so far, and I hope you continue to enjoy it.

This instalment is expected to cover the whole of Disc Two of the game. As always, if you spot any grammatical or spelling errors, do please let me know.

You will also have noticed that I have changed my name on the top of the instalment. This is my pen-name, and I will eventually change my username on to match. For now, this is me, okay?