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Uprising: The Beast Wars	By : Resting-Madness Category: Final Fantasy VIII > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1109 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't make any money from this story. I do not own the fandom or rights of creation of anything involving Final Fantasy VIII and its world. I did make up original characters but eh.

Chapter List
- 3
- 4
- 5
He had to endure the heart-wrenching screaming for the entire ten minutes it took him to get off the mountain side. Was the storm really that bad? Power outtages, a few fallen powerlines, and maybe a struck house or two, but all the screaming and the booms? Or maybe the panic is due to the flock of Thrustaevis that flew by a moment ago? But they surely aren't the cause of all those loud booms that came in tow with metal scraping.
"Ah!" He lands hard on his buttocks after slipping down from the last leg of the descend.
Rubbing the pain away; he shakes off the slight daze. He's just about to lower his hand to the to the cool grass when he hears a low hisssss. Paused in his action, he swallows hard and cast his dark greens down where his hand is hovering over a large Anacondaur.
'Alright, Laguna, think! ...You've got no ice magic- or any magicks for that matter. If I move, it'll strike me, or worse squeeze me, or even worse than that- spit acid! Aaww shoot!'
Sneaking a longer glance, he sees that the large reptile is actually slumbering- or passed out- in the cool grass in the mountain's rich shade.
He laughs in his head; a big goofy grin spreads across his face. 'Its asleep! I'm in the clear!' Tucking his hovered hand between his semi-parted thighs, Laguna gets himself up from the ground. Pointing down at the creature he says "Stupid snake!" out loud with a joyful laugh that threw his head back when it came out.
It seemed the Anacondaur was not as deep asleep as the former soldier had thought. As soon as its tongue came out, it felt the movement of its surroundings and spots the man beside him. And while he boast his acomplishments through a mental pat on the back, the snake slithered its way around his feet and up his long legs.
"Ahaha- huh?"
With a gasp from his throat, Laguna swiftly heft his M16A4 from around his shoulders- where it lay against his back- and quickly switched it to 'semi-mode' in order to fire off one very powerful round. Jaws open over the man's snack of a head, the monster didn't get to pull the grape off the man's neck, since the bullet made its way up through the monster's open jaws and out through the back of its head. It flailed it agony, but not before giving the man a good squeeze, as if its death were a double-edged sword. You hurt me, I hurt you back.
Laguna bared his teeth against the pain and to keep from screaming because, really, it hurt. Its like being blanketed in razors that slant out just for the purpose of shredding into whatever its touching. But after its last hurrah, the monster does release him and falls limp to the ground.
Catching his exerted breath, Laguna was made aware of his reason for getting off the mountain when another scream caught his ears. Bleeding, though only a little, he heads into Dollet, ready to protect and serve.
But, when he crossed into the city he was not expecting the sight before him... Darkness, like midnight hours. He was suspecting that if he left town it would still be a bright sunny morning coming upon him, not this blackened abyss. And amidst the midnight was the most horrifying thing of all. Fires. Decapatation. Smashed vehicles. Bodies. Dozens of them! And not just people, but even animals: cats, dogs, pigeons, all strewn about the fiery streets! What could have caused all this?!
A rumble of thunder boomed loud in his ears, scaring the crap out of him as he ran for cover in an alley when a car came speeding down the street right before crashing into a deli store's large window. The driver seemed oblivious to the accident, but no man could ignore being caught on fire. The crushed door didn't need to be opened by the driver, because it's already popped open due to the crash; the driver dashed out of the car adding fire to the- well- fire as he ran for something or someone who could help put him out. Laguna could do nothing.
Leaving his hiding place, he's alerted to the dark sky glowing with lightning. The flash was bright enough to mimic the morning sky, but the streaks were so pronounced that unless the bolts hit something to light the sky up, the streaks just look like long dangerous tears running out of the cloudy sky.
He looks left and right, all around! Wondering, "Who can I help?" "How can I help them?" and "How do I stop the cause of all of this?" There must be people inside the buildings. He can help them! And they were in town before he got in, so they must know what's really going on. Just as the thought occured to him, he sees a couple banging their fist again the glass windows in the barber shop across the street. He can start with them.
Dashing over, he feels his height shrinking. He's not shrinking though, as that would be impossible, but he is falling. Something grabbed him around his ankle to get his attention, and he moved before he could feel it, so the sudden jerk coming from his bad leg toppled him completely. Momentarily stunned by the sudden chin to the concrete street, Laguna looks over his shoulder spotting what could be a man or a woman; its hard to tell because the person is so burnt up. He can't even see the whites of their eyes!
"Help.." The voice rasps. "P- please."
"I will." He leans over to be face to face with the poor victim, who's still latched onto his ankle. "Come on. I'll get you inside, or to a hospital." He looks around for anything with a safety appearance. 'Would a hospital be open during something like this? I don't even know what this is!'
It didn't matter either way, the burn victim had died shortly after speaking to him. Hardened hands peel the charred grip from his ankle, and he stands up. Again he takes a look around the carnage, and recalls the couple banging on the window at the barber shop. Hurrying off that way, he sees something strange by the street light at the corner out of the corner of his eye. But he can't bother with it now, he has to see if those people are all right.
The shop is dark, lit up only when the lightning outside flashed through the windows. He looks for the two who were trying to signal him; they must have hid when they thought that he wasn't coming.
"Hey," He whispered, though unsure as to why. "anyone in here?"
"We're here!" A woman with a blond pixie cut rushed over to him, throwing her arms around his torso. "Thank Hyne, someone else is alive."
The dirty blond male came over as well, though he doesn't touch him as this woman has, he instead stands beside them with a skittish look cast out the window.
"Did you see them?" He asks. "Are they still out there?"
"Are what still out there? What is going on?" He asks them, holding the women back at arms length.
"I came to get a hair cut, my sister was picking me up afterwards." He looks to the woman he was holed up with. "I saw something banging on the window... it... it looked like a monster." He shakes his head, still unable to believe any of it. "They seemed to come out of nowhere... but only after the weird eclipse."
"Its not an eclipse, something strange is covering the sky around the town." Laguna looked out the window. "I just got in, but while I was on the mountains I saw this storm cloud coming over from the distance."
"You're saying this is a storm?" By this she meant the darkness. "I thought it was caused by those creatures." Releasing Laguna, she lets out of a heavy sigh that seemed to drop the weight from her shoulders.
"I'm not sure," Laguna moves to the window. "Are you the only two in here?"
"Yes, just me and my brother, Thomas. I'm Paula Shaun."
"I'm Laguna," He looks to Thomas. "You said there are monsters?"
"Yes, at least three kinds that I've seen." Thomas is becoming more skittish by the flash of lightning- and they are aplenty.
"Do you recognize any of them?"
"Snakes, HUGE, and something just ugly... it looked like a mushroom."
'That must be what I saw by the street light, a Funguar.' He thinks.
"And the other looks like-" His gaze shoots to the window right before something bashes into it. "I- its right there!" He points.
Snatching his screaming sister by the upper arm, he heads into the supply closet. Laguna stared out the window, seeing what could only be a Blitz. They must have been attracted to the lightning storm, and the they've gotta be the cause for its being so extravagant. But even still, they're a long ways from Centra. How did they get out here? One of life's mysteries, he guessed.
Cocking his gun, he takes aim and fires. The bullet landed right between the creature's eyes. It looked into the shop with a confused expression before it starts for the shattered window. Laguna opens fire, popping off bullet after bullet into the body of his opponent. Black blood spilled all over its long coat, that looked a lot more seal skinned than it should, when seeing it upclose.
The former soldier was beginning to wonder if he were missing his shots, the Blitz should not have gotten that close to him before falling dead at his feet.
Sighing in relief, he wipes faux sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. "Phew. Had me worried." Turning around to face the supply closet, he says to the pair. "You guys can come out, its dead."
The door remained closed.
"Did you hear me? You can come out." Moving to the door, he pulls at the knob.
"No!" They call out.
"What? The monster's dead!" He's calling through the door. "I can get you safely out of town! Open up!"
"You broke the window, didn't you?" Paula asks.
Laguna blinked at that question. Looking over his shoulder, he then turns back to the door. "Not intentionally. What's wrong?"
"The air... Something's wrong with it!"
Shocked by that statement, Laguna went oldschool ninja mask by pulling his light purple t-shirt up over his nose to shield him from any toxins that might get in. A little late considering he was outside only moments ago breathing rather heavily of the charged air.
"It puts you to sleep!" This is Thomas shouting now, over the storm and through the door. "That's when the accidents started, people were falling asleep in their cars."
'That's why that guy hit the building, he was asleep. The crash woke him up...'
Laguna missed the crunching sounds behind him. A Funguar is wriggling its way through the rubble, after collapsing down onto the floor over the uprise of concrete before the glass started. And once it picked itself up, it swayed its way over to the distracted man; its vertical mouth parted to reveal its sharp teeth.
"I've been outside for a while and I haven't fallen under any sleep spell." He jiggles the knob. "Please, I wanna help you, but you have to let me!"
Banging on the door a bit more, he gives up when there's no response. Dropping his hand it swung back and brushed against something solid, that definitely should not have been there. The former soldier spins around, having to slam his back against the door when the monster made a lunge for him. It doesn't get the chance to sink its teeth into him, though, because his leg juts up and he slams his foot into the long bill of its mushroom cap. Its large eyes boggle about in a stupor, while its body is writhing from the blow to the head, having it resemble a semi-filled water balloon.
Shooting at it, the mushroom monster dances backwards until its flipped out of the window from the impact of the last bullet.
"What's happening?" Paula shouts.
"A monster got in. But," He calls over his shoulder through the closed door that he's got his back pressed to; he wants to keep his attention on the broken window. "don't worry about it. I've got your guys' backs, if you'll just let me!"
He pops the clip from his gun to check the bullet count. Not many. Infact, he can't take too many more shots if these things come at him in droves. And since they aren't going down with one bullet, he'll be defenseless in no time. But hopefully, he'll be out of town with the brother and sister before that happens. He'll have to either head into another town for bullets or rob a artilary store.
"Shit," He mutters. "my bag is up on the mountain, along with my phone."
Laguna wasn't expecting a day like this; a couple monsters on the cliff, sure, but nothing this strenuous. Its why he brought only one clip. Its why he didn't think it was so bad that he'd need to bring his phone down with him. But this is Hell on Earth! And now they're telling him something is drifting through the air causing people to sleep!
"We can make it out of town," He says to the couple as confidently as he can. "you just have to trust me. Its worth the risk! You don't have to hide in this closet."
"But the snakes have poisoned people!" Paula shouted. "We watched it happen! The wind blew and this child fell asleep, and before we could run out to get him a snake bit him!"
"What?!" He missed that comment over the BOOM of thunder.
"I said-..."
Laguna didn't hear her anymore after that, he was off again, this time chasing after a young man with his hand on his head. He looks drunk with how he's drifting left and right, and stumbling with nearly every step.
"Hey!" He calls out over the noise, made louder by his being outside.
The young man turned to him, and it caught Laguna's breath in his throat. Half his head is missing! But how, he couldn't say. Did a Blitz do this? Maybe the Funguar? It couldn't be the Anacondaur. But when he reached the young man, he caught him in his fall and got a better look at whats happened to him. It was a snake bite, the amount of venom was causing his head to dissolve; the bite was made up around his right arm's chest and shoulder, just like the one dozing outside had tried to do to him.
"He-... Huh?" He tried saying. "Manna... I-ugh." His hand came up touching who he hoped would be his hero's cheek.
Blood sputtered up from his mouth, and he gags on it. Laguna turned his caved in head for him, and allowed the blood to drain from his mouth before he drowned in it.
"I'm sorry." He whispers to the convsuling male. Setting him down, he stands up and looks around.
There are a lot of buildings to check out. But he has to make the effort. He was President once- true- it was President of Ethar, but it sort of went without say that he was sort of incharge of all the towns and the people who reside in them. The Mayors have the upclose and personal, but he has the overall say. But its more than that, he grew up a Galbadian Soldier and he has the utmost sense of duty to his country, and with Hyne as his witness he will get these people to safety!
The library is the closest to him. There could be people hiding in there.
'Come on leg, don't fail me now.' He coaches himself when he feels that familiar nervous knot tightening his knee.
There were sightings of slithering Anacondaurs along the way, but they payed him no mind and went about like their being in town was a normal accurance. There's been so much chaos in such a short amount of time, it was spell binding to think about. The dark cloud from earlier seemed like an omen when you think about it; and as he banged on the locked library doors, calling over the storm to be let in, he takes a pause when he noticed that the flag beside the door with its seasonal blue waves and sewn on sun began to gently sway. The wind is blowing....
Remembering what the pair had said, he covered his nose again then went back to banging on the door. "Open the door! I'm not a monster!" Trying to use the power card, he adds. "This is former President of Esthar, Laguna Loire! Please, open the door!" He turned the knob again, only this time it opens. "Thank you." He breaths out.
Stepping into the building made his stomach tighten, it seems his bumb leg isn't the only thing getting nervous. His eyes look left and right for signs of life.
"Please don't come any closer." A small voice whispered from the hide away behind the check-out counter.
"Why? I wanna help you... I can get you out of here."
He wanted out of there, to be honest. The book shelves look like big black giants ready to smash you flat as a pancake if you made too many sudden movements. The white around to room looks like spirit mist, and its giving the room a really nasty chill, even in this heatwave.
"So many of them...." She sniffles. "I did it." A sob came after those words, and she's now gently crying.
"What did you do?" He asks, and slowly starts moving toward her hiding spot. The cold is becoming more intense, causing him to rub his arms to remove the chill. "Did you keep others out?"
"No." She sniffles.
"Umm, did you cause all this?" He didn't mean it in a negative way, but he wants to keep her talking to maybe calm her down.
"Nooo." It was groaned.
"Well, what then?" He asks, just a few short steps from the counter.
Lightning flashed again, shining in through the back windows. He spots several people standing back there, highlighted by the flash. They aren't moving, and they don't seem to even be aware of the two conversating. The library isn't like the tiny barber shop, the walls are thicker and the building has more weight to it with the extra floors, so he doesn't have to shout over the noise of the thunder storm going on. So why are these men and woman so passive?
"....Are they ok?" He asks the girl when passing her hiding place to instead speak with them. "Excuse me?" He reaches out and touches a guy closest to him.
The body tipped forward and smashed apart against the wooden floor. He wonders about them being statues, but they're so cold it'd be more like ice sculptures.
"I did that... I'm soooo sorry." The girl is saying from behind him. "So sorry."
"Did what?" He asks until another flash lights up the room.
It revealed that they aren't statues, but people! Frozen people! And he just broke one of them... His heart begins to race. The girl said that she'd done it... She froze them! But how?! With Blizzard? Why would she need to do that? Spinning around, he's relieved to see that she hadn't snuck up on him as the Funguar had, but she's instead standing over by another set of windows at the other side of the room. When the room is lit up, he can see she has a huge chunk of ice coming from her hand- or that her hand IS made of ice.
"How..?"
"I don't know." She sobbed.
He can make out a cadet uniform in the flickering light. She's from a Garden, though he isn't sure which. It must be Trabian, though, he's seen his nephew in the Balamb and Galbadian uniform. But this one isn't like either of those, its a very pale silver. Its not the only thing that's pale either, the girl is as white as a ghost. And her lips are a dark blue, her ears are too. She looks inhuman, almost... well, like a monster. Maybe she did do all this.
"We were all hiding out," She says softly. "I was just asking them about making a break for it, when I felt a sort of cold run through me... then I was just freezing, and not just myself.., everyone in the room!" The cadet is crying again. "Anyone near me started to freeze like that! I touched two already and broke them, just as you did... I hid behind the desk- what's happening to me?" She's crying in earnest now.
"I don't know. But I'm gonna find out." He assures her. "But, you have to stay here, you might be too dangerous to travel with if I find more people." He's making his way for the door. "I'll be back, but I want you to stay here... okay? Stay here."
"I didn't do it on purpose." She repeats.
"I know." He holds a hand out toward her, to comfort her. "I'll be back. I promise you."
"It was an accident." She wept against the window glass.
Its freezing over where her forehead is pressed to it. The sound of the crackling ice spreading sounds like the glass is breaking right away. If she doesn't move, its going to shatter.
"I think you should get back behind the desk and wait for me." He requested of her in a kind tone. He doesn't want her to continue panicking.
"I... okay." Nodding, she walks over to the desk like a doll on strings, one jerked, flopped step at a time; it was like watching a ghoul in a horror film, its frightening but you can't look away. To make it worse, she grabbed the edge of the counter and froze in place.
Laguna's heart sank seeing the statue, but what could he do. If he carried her, he could end up like the others. His gaze cast a look over the darkened silhouettes over by the windows. There may be help for the ones who have not been smashed, he just can't tamper with the situation any further. Lifting his shirt once again, he steps out the door into the broken scene of the streets.
"Aaah!" A teen shouts.
Laguna was startled as well. He hadn't expected to have someone come flying around the corner at the crosswalk and smash into him. Helping the teen up, he hurries him into a nearby building.
"We have to get out of here." He says to the teen.
"I need help... my Dad, he fell asleep and he's not waking up, and I can't carry him myself."
"Okay. Take me to your house."
Nodding, he exits the building feeling a lot better now that help was on the way.
"We heard a loud boom, my Dad opened the window to let the breeze in, 'cause its been so hot, and next thing I know he's passed out on the floor. I didn't know what happened, I thought something hit him, but when I checked on him I found out that he was only sleeping; I looked down onto the streets and saw what was going on- it scared the shit out of me... I closed the window, and pulled my Dad into the bathroom to hide with me. I didn't leave the house until I was sure it was safe, but then" He paused to push open the door to his home. "I didn't know who to turn to; once I got to the police station, and found that they were all gone... I don't know what happened, the sirens stopped blaring a while ago." He closes the door. "I think they all fell asleep somewhere like my Dad."
"I'm here now." He squeezes the male's shoulder.
"We can take my Dad's car." He rushes upstairs. "He's this way!" He called over the boom.
Following the teen up the stairs of his home, he turns off into the first bedroom. Stooping, he places the man's arm around his shoulders. The teen does the same. And together, they carry his Father out of the bedroom and into the hall. Even in the distance they can hear hissing.
"One of those snakes got-.."
Cutting the boy off, he replies. "I heard."
"Here." He moves the man's weight over to him. "You hold him while I handle that." Holding his gun, he braces himself for combat. If he runs out of bullets... they're screwed. "And if I say..." He racks his brain. "Uuumm- holes in the attic- you bring your Dad downstairs and don't look back, just do the best you can to get him out of this house."
Scared, the teen nods. "But wait, what does it mean? You can't help me?"
"I'm just short on ammo, but I definitely wanna help you."
Something crashes to the floor downstairs.
"I'll distract it if my ammo runs out, that's why you have to do your best to move your oldman downstairs and outside- alright?"
"Yeah."
"Okay. Wait here." Creeping from the room, he can't help but think as he travels down the stairs. 'I'm getting too old for this sort of thing.'
Back against the wall, he looks around the corner. The snake isn't too bright, its got itself coiled around a long lamp post, giving it a tight squeeze like its laying waste to its prey. Its so enthralled at what its doing, he's sure they could sneak by.
'Can snakes hear... Can a snake hear?' He wonders with a scratching of his head. 'One way to find out.' Turning to look up the stairs, he sticks his fingers between his teeth and gives a whistle.
"What does that mean?" The teen asks wondering why he didn't hear any fire.
"I mean... Head over heels." Laguna whispers up the stairs.
"What?" He asks.
"Whatever I said I'd say... let's just say, I said it." He replies. "And we don't have much time, so come on."
Slowly, due to the weight of his Father, the teen rounds the corner to the stairs. Laguna met him halfway up, and took a hold of the man. While the large snake bites off the lamp's "head", the three make their way out to the car parked at the side of the street.
"We need the key!" The teen recalls.
Before Laguna can grab him back, he's off and running into the house.
"Kid, wait!" He calls but judging by his garbled screams its too late.
He didn't think he was strong enough to lose one more person through this. This job is simply too big for one person, especially one slightly gimp, exhausted, person. Very exhausted. 'But that cool breeze sure feels nice.' Smiling, he turns his face toward the cooling breeze, and he took a deep relaxing breath.
The Anacondaur finished with its meal and slithered about for dessert, and when it came upon the sleeping men, it wriggled its tongue joyously through the air. Unlike human snakes, an Anacondaur can swallow enough to amount to a SUV because of its stomach acid being so fast in breaking down what it eats. And seeing Laguna drop to his knees and hit the ground, it knew it was in for a good snack.
Tires screech noisily on the dry street, and a car spinning out of control slams into the parked car of the dead teen's family, sending the vehicle into the starving snake killing against the home when the weight of the car smashes into it. If Laguna were awake, he would have heard the sickening sound of the teen's meatless bones crunching from inside the monster's gut. But instead he lay motionless, beneath the skidding car thats ended up right over top of him, after coming to an instant hault when it hit the parked car.
Laguna lay there, resting, beneath the wreckage. All around him screams, storming, and a mumble in the wind. It's like the town was drunk, because none of it made any sense. When one piece fit, another came along that just didn't. The lines blurred somewhere between reality and fiction.
A man staggered out onto the street screaming like he was on fire, but he's holding his head in pain. Something's on his back, hidden beneath his shirt and it appears to be bubbling like boiling water. Thrashing in movement, he drops to his knees. The pain is great that he can't even scream, but his mouth is open.
Long teeth shove out natural human teeth, leaving fangs in their place. His bubbling back stretches and there's an unnatural sound as a large pair of wings rips through his skin.
"Somebody please!" An elderly man calls out.
The mutating man turns his beady blood-shot eyes to the delicious fresh scent of meat in the air.
"Young man, please help me... there's a thing in my house."
Drool drips from its fangs, and as if he's had them his whole life, his wings expand out to their full length and he leaps into the air diving down on the man feet first, crushing him flat by the shoulders. Dinner battered, he sinks his teeth into the exposed inards that popped up through his skin from his brittle bones stabbing through his flesh.
He wasn't the only one. Many people locked away in their homes are falling victim to loved ones morphing out then coming after them. Pretty soon no one will be left... no one but the monsters.
Rinaul Coast. 11:37 a.m. Its a beautiful bright sunny day at 78 degrees, and the salty sea air is blowing North East at a comfortable 17 miles an hour.
"Gittie up, little Mesmorize!" Zell called while leaping onto Irvine's unsuspecting back.
Making neying and whinnying sounds, he tips his head forward giving the shorter length of his damp hair a good shaking, before charging off with the rider.
"Come on, Squall, we'll play knights!" Zell calls from the distance.
"I'm the knight around here, Dinky!" Seifer calls after him, but mutters to himself. "The Hell is 'gittie'?"
Crossing his arms, Squall shakes his head. "Well?"
"Tch. Climb on my back and you're dead." Replied the oppointed horse.
"Hn. What? You've never wanted me to ride you before." He puts on a knowing smirk, then heads away from the ex-knight to join his son's friend Raul on the blue and white checkered picnic blanket.
A lot of cadets are at the beach since this is practically the last free day they have before exams. And unaware of when Garden will show up, they have to live every day as if it were their last- hard as that is during tourist season, since every where is crowded or booked full.
"Eat my ass, Leonhart! That was one time!" Seifer snips before he's leapt upon by Selphie.
"Onward, trusty steed!" She shouts, holding a long stick in the air.
Hearing the shout of "charge", Irvine makes a u-turn from his trek to dump Zell over into the ocean and hurries to the challenger.
"Wait, wait. I need a stick." Zell says to his horse.
Looking around, Irvine spots some drift wood a couple feet away. "A club'll do." Readjusting his grip beneath the rider's knees, he heads for the drift wood.
"Hurry! They're coming!" Zell cried, but it was too late.
And the two riders engage in clashing sounds while their poor horses endure the battle. Squall watched with amusement, glad that he had no part of it. Changing sitting positions, he begins fixing himself a chicken borrito; he notices that Raul is sneaking glances at him in the process.
"Something the matter?" He asks with a certain tone.
The reason is that he's hoping like Hell to get an answer that wasn't a mouthful of awkward stutters because the kid 'likes' him or something. He's had a little too much of that scenario to last him a lifetime. First with Quistis when she was fired as an instructor, then Seifer- multiple times- when they've gone on missions together, or they had a good work out at the gym, or a productive training session. But the advances only happened after he'd rejoined Garden, never before. It was always so dumb, and he had no tact to it just: "Let's fuck around" or something like that. They've all experienced the sudden interest in each other, but they'd never talk about it with that person. Hyne forebid Seifer be discrete about it. But, this is Seifer we're talking about, guy probably thinks he has a chance. Ha!
"I was wondering," Raul brought him from his thoughts.
The hispanic male is definitely about to confess something, he can't even look at Squall, he's busy trying to either remove the color from the blanket or the loosen the threading. But he suddenly became very shy about whatever the rest of that sentence was going to be. Kait only had one shy friend his whole life, and that was Antione, but the two haven't talked since he's joined Garden. It was then that this kid took over as the number one friend. That thought seemed to strike a cord, and Squall asked.
"How long have you liked him?"
Looking like a Deer in headlights, Raul shakes his head. "I don't... I mean, I won't if I know that I don't have a chance with him." Looking pleadingly into Squall's dual colored eyes, he asks meekly. "Do I have a chance with him?'
"You know he's seeing someone, right?"
"And I love Leo!" He admits a little louder than his normal voice goes. "But, if things didn't work out with them?"
"I don't know." He shrugs, already wishing he'd never sat down. He'd rather be getting pulverized for playing horsy with Seifer and everyone. "This is really something you should be talking with Kait about, its not up to me who he sees, and I don't think I have grounds to put in a 'good-word' for you."
"Oh. I guess not." He lowers his downtrotten eyes to the blanket once again. "Sorry for bugging you."
"Forget it." Replied the male, who's staring out at his friends who're parading about like their aren't sixty other people out there as well. 'I already have.'
"And please don't warn him beforehand, my Mom is always like that."
'I wish you never told me.' Thinks Squall, but out loud he holds up a hand to respond of his sealed lips.
Raul clearly wanted to change subjects, when really the right action was to simply end the conversating right there, but he opens a new conversation with. "Where are we going for SeeD exams?"
"Hell."
"Really?!" He sounds spooked, looked it too. "I thought we were going to someplace around Timber to fight Ochus."
Setting down the can of soda he was drinking from, he replies, "There was a change of plans." then lifts the can to take another sip. Setting it down, he adds. "Galbadia said they were taking their cadets to Heaven, so we figured why not do the same?"
"Garden really thinks we're ready?"
'I don't.' Thinks the man. "Garden will be docked on water, while cadets are on land. Each team of three will be assigned a General who can deal with the monsters if they become too much. There really shouldn't be a problem."
Raul, pleased that the original conversation was dropped- Squall wasn't even really all that invested though- he happily busies himself with taking huge bites from a corn beef sandwich with very rich brown mustard.
Zell and Selphie dropped their actual weapons and instead engaged in hand to hand combat of a single held hand, over their horses' shoulders. The point was to push the other person from their horses' back; so far all they seemed to be accomplishing was pissing off their horses' eardrums which they're shouting in.
Snickering, Irvine then says to the blond. "You wanna just drop 'em?"
"Yes."
Releasing hold of their riders, the two take a nasty little fall left; a hand still conjoined, as they recover from the tangled mess of limbs and sand they've become.
"Ow!" Brushing off her bikini bare hip, Selphie got up from the sand. "That's my good hip," She teased about being older. "I should sue; what if I can't help my cadets out tomorrow?"
"Then they die." Seifer rubs his lower back. "I'm gonna swim, its hot as shit out here."
Stretching his back with his arms swung up over his head and back, Irvine says. "Me too."
"Let's make sand feet." Selphie's on her knees already making heaps. "But in reverse like all those shows where people find Big Foot tracks."
"Okay." Crouching, he scoops some sand for prints as well. "I wonder why they're in reverse? Makes it seem really fake."
"Mhm."
"Hey, Sel'..."
"Hmm?"
"You still with that guy, Serge?"
"On again, off again. I mean," She looks up at him. "He's a cop, he lives in Esthar... I'm not gonna kid myself that certain things don't happen with long distance relationships."
"You don't know that." Defends one male for another. "He doesn't strike me as the type to get all 'oh baby, oh baby' on someone." He couldn't help but think. 'He's attracted to the sisterly type after all, guys like that usually can't be seduced by some short skirt vixen.'
Selphie's patting dirt for a second foot. "To the water."
Chuckling, Zell works on his second foot as well. "I mean, I was only wondering because I thought it'd be kinda cool if you two got married someday."
"Whaaat? Where'd you get marriage from?"
He shrugs. "I just thought that you two make a cute couple, and Seif's never gonna get on the ball with me, so..."
"Why not sign me up for a walk down the aisle?" She laughs. "Yeah right!"
"Seriously! Hey, these are the 20s, you should ask him."
"Ahaha, wouldn't THAT be crazy?" She replies. Smiling, she looks to the sky in thought. "Married. Maybe." She shrugs and goes back to her feet. "Next time I see him, I'll bring it up."
"Good luck, Sel'. And when he says 'yes', congratulations." He pops her one on the shoulder.
"Meeeh!" She sticks her tongue out at him with a wink. "Speaking of hotties, I wish Sir Laguna could be here. He always makes the day more fun."
"Uh-huuuuh." He smirks knowingly. "You still have a thing for him?"
"Soooo don't, besides, its not like anything can ever happen between us now."
"You never know, older guys like to feel like they've still got it- Ow!" He rubs his palm assaulted forehead.
"Don't be fresh in Sir Laguna's name." Though she's blushing.
She has thought about it now and then, and she's not that 17 or 19 year old girl anymore. She's a full grown woman, and he's only 62 years old to her 35. The guy still has it 'goin-on' for his age. He hasn't become some wrinkled old man gumming apple sauce, or creeping out the younger set with his dancing and come-ons. He's just that really cool, older guy. And really the only things stopping her are her boyfriend, and her emotional brother being the guy's son. Oh. The personal struggles.
Watching his friend quietly swoon, Zell shakes his head. "Yeah, you're over him." He goes back to making his foot path.
Seifer pops his head up from the luke warm waters, giving it a shake to get the water from his face. It always amazed Irvine seeing the blond's hair all soaking wet and hanging down over his head, he really must use a lot of product to keep several inches of hair slicked back. But then again, they all need a summer trim from the winter growth. They went on vacation to ski, and just let the days blow them in whatever direction it pleased.
"When are you idiots leaving?"
"Right after we leave the beach. You and Zelly should come with us, might do you some good."
"What? To have the scent of flowers blowing up our noses all summer?" He removes some itchy water from his chin by brushing it away. "Existing in a dry heat with no beach to relieve ourselves from it."
"Hey, they've got a lake."
"Whoopie a lake... I'll pass. Besides, we're gonna be shacking up in hotels while we travel with Garden during exams. That'll be vacation enough."
"Right. I forgot y'all don't have off."
"Ah heh heh heh." He laughed dryly.
"Don't be sour. We'll be out there right along with you in July."
Dunking himself under the water, since he was stationed in a particularly hot beam of sunlight, he pops back up. "Frankly, I don't care either way. I love fighting, and whereas three weeks worth of nothing but eating and fucking is nothing to sneeze at, we'll have it pretty good too."
Grinning like a fool at the future, he chuckles. "Hey, we go for rides too."
"Naked?"
"Ahaha... yeah alright, pardner." He splashes water at him. "We ride naked." He lied.
"I knew it." He laughs.
"You gonna watch our house til you both leave?"
"If you mean eat all your food, fuck in your bed, and do some Satanic shit in the bathroom, then yes." He grinned.
"That about covers it." He laughs. "...You hot?"
"Is it not eighty thousand degrees out?"
"No. I think it actually went down to seventy four."
"Hn." He splashed some water in his face. "Coulda fooled me."
"Wanna hear something strange?" He moves in closer, though no one important was really going to hear the conversation even though there are people around. "Squall was giving me a massage last night-..."
Cutting him off he says. "Mm. That is strange."
"No. That ain't it, the problem is that his hands were really friggin' cold- like..." He searches for a word. "gloveless winter, digging in the deep freezer for a while, cold."
"At what point am I supposed to take it seriously, instead of laugh over the fact that I knew he was an ice princess."
"The bed was cool on a summer night, that's all I'm sayin'."
"Again... Ice princess."
Scoffing, Irvine shakes his head. "Forget it. There's no serious conversationing when its about Squall, huh?"
"Nope." He looks as though he's doing a face cleansing commercial by leaning a bit and splashing water into his face. "You sure its not getting hotter?"
"Maybe you should go hug the ice princess." Irvine teased. Cocking his head when he doesn't get a snippy remark, he asks. "Maybe you're sick and don't know it?"
"I don't feel sick."
"Hence the don't know it part." He rolls his violet eyes. "Lemme see." Reaching for him, he holds him beneath his chin. "Its pretty hot. Maybe you should lie down for a while."
"And what? Eat chicken soup? Chicken soup on a hot day, when I'm already burning up."
"I don't know. Drink some ice water, and lay in an air conditioned room." He shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you, I'm no doctor."
"Exactly."
"You wanna go butt kickin' when Garden shows up, you better watch your health."
"Mhm." He rolls his head back.
"Hey darlin'!" He calls. "What time is it?!"
"Near one!"
"Bye Seif', feel better." He pats him on the head like he's a little kid.
"Asshole." He replied.
Wiping his hand across his forehead, he looks up at the sky before dunking himself under the water. Its probably cooler in Centra! What next, melting ice caps? Freezing deserts? Damn global warming.
8 8 8
"Support me!" Kait calls out before leaping onto a very tall friend's back.
He let out a refreshed sigh when his cheek falls upon the soft place between the male's brawny shoulderblades. Content, he lay there frowning, only to get jumbled and bustled about from his ride bouncing him a little higher up on his back.
"Yeah, yeah. Looking to change sides Kinhart?"
Chin resting on the male's shoulder, he snickers. "Spell it with an 'E' when you say it, its less of a straight shoot."
"But that isn't how its spelled." Repremands the ride.
"Well, whatever." He qoutes his Father, though its a bit off when you add 'well'. "We can't all be Von Helsing like you, Cliff." He slaps him on his big beefy shoulder.
Cliff's skin is a nice roast chicken color, but its all covered up beneath his cadet uniform, but he big muscles still show quite nicely through the material.
"True." He holds his head up very proudly. "What's with the piggybacking? You suddenly forget how to walk?"
"No." He rest his head back down. "I'm just feeling perchy."
Rolling his eyes, Cliff gives him a shaking before saying. "Well 'perch' when you get to your room. Get down."
Having crept along beside them going unnoticed, Kait's best Galbadian friend pokes him in the sides, laughing when he yelps and leaps out of his skin. "I'll carry you, bucko."
And before he could say 'yes' or 'no' he's lifted and held bridal style by the wirey male. He admired his friend's brown tipped black spikes up close, then looks at his pale face. "You know what, you're really cute, Sorin." He bats his lashes, laughing at the nauseous look on Sorin's face, especially when he starts tugging at his long ponytail.
"Ooookay, ride's over." He sets him down on the floor. "Now Kait, you know I'm solely into women."
"Uh-huh."
"The bigger the boobs, the tighter the pussy the better."
"Gross." Kait comments.
Walking steadly beside Sorin, he looks around the long gray hall. Oh the repression of Galbadia. In Balamb, you can look out at the courtyard or across the way into another hall while you walk the corridors, but Galbadia is like a bank's safe. No one sees in and no one sees out.
"Have you seen, Leo? I don't know where she is."
"Gym." Slipping an arm around his friend's waist he asks. "Why do you look so miserable? You two fighting?"
"Why would we be fighting?" Kait wondered. "No. I'm just... I don't know, feeling kinda gloomy."
"Probably because you're coming off the climate change. We're gonna hit the Esthar mountains in a while, then it'll get nice and cool." Kissing him on the side of the head, he smiles. "Cheer up."
"Meeeh." He sticks his tongue out before hard pouting.
"Yeesh. Don't make that face."
But Kait is curious as to why he suddenly feels so weird. Did he catch his Mother's cold? Its possible. He always feels down when he's sick. He's an outdoors type, he can't be confined. Not to mention if he's sick, he can't take the field exam.
"We probably won't even get to go out, if we don't pass the written test." Kait says to himself.
"Wow. Its like I'm looking at a mirror-boy." Spanking him on the butt, he detaches from his side to head into class. "Find your girlfriend, get some, and cheer up!"
Kait only waved a goodbye and kept moving to his class. He's been at school all day and hasn't seen his girlfriend, but with the way his mood was worsening he was kind of hoping to continue avoiding her. The last thing he needs is to snap at her, and then they get into a whole big thing. Its like he can't control it! This voice just keeps muttering to him.
'What the heck is making me so down? I'm not like this.' He thinks. 'I mean, everyone's got a darkside, sure, but mine only whispers at me like once in a purple moon. This feels really... intense. Hyne, its like someone is whispering in my ear...'
"Kait!" A Trabian girl says. "Where are you going? Class is back this way?" She waved a hand.
"Huh?" He blinks. Spotting the look on the girl's face, he gives a dry laugh. "Oops. I missed it."
"You really spaced out there."
"Its been happening all day, get off my back." Shaking his head, he corrects himself. "I'm sorry, about that... I'm going through something."
"Its called puberty." Hands on her hips, she turns her nose up at him and stalks into class.
"Hyne... I should just go back to bed." He walks into class behind her.
8 8 8
"He must be having a good time." Squall hangs up his phone. "I tried three times, and he's not picking up."
"Don't bother him," Irvine zips his duffle. "guy's probably in the zone." Wrapping his arms around his lover's shorter frame, he sways them back and forth. "I'll bet he's got so much going on in that novel, it'll make ladies flock to his love."
'Gross.' Thinks the man's son.
Last thing he wants to think about is his Dad having dates, girlfriends, and sex. Laguna's an unintentional length talker, he'll trap them. Squall turned green at the idea of details.
"We need to get going." He shoves away the mental image with his words. "I paid for a sub ride. None of the trains are running now." He walks his bag to the door. "Only way to get around is by water, or air." Closing the door, he adds. "It should only take four hours to get out there."
"I can already hear that fishin' line casting." Trotting down the stairs, he pulls out his key.
"Zell's got the spare." He's going over the check list. "All the detectors are working. Stove's off. Windows are locked."
Cutting him off with a smooch on the lips, he says quickly. "The house'll be checked on. Let's go." Dropping his arm around his shoulders he steers him town and down to the pier where their ride awaited them.
The sea seemed so serene and peaceful as men, women, and children splashed around enjoying the warm weather. It was calm while fishermen cast their lines and watched their lures bob up and down on top of its sheet of liquid glass.
Balamb and Galbadia Garden drift slowly through the choppy waves of the farther out ocean waters, and beneath it where fish swin, jelly fish sway, something large moves about. Its long, and strong, and has enough force in its natural action of swimming to kill and de-scale any sea life it passes by. But where is the large creature going to? It seemed to have a goal.
It hissed at the submarine going by, but doesn't attack. Its mind is very driven to what it wants, and a little cat and mouse with the metal fish wasn't it at the moment. The serpant swirled around the support beams like a cat slinking about its owner's ankles. Its grace was almost beautiful.... And then it went in for the kill.
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