Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Until the End of Eternity, and Longer ❯ Chapter Seven ( Chapter 7 )

Hrm…didn't I say these chapters got longer? I think this is the shortest one yet! Ah well.

Disclaimer and et cetera.

Thanks to my reviewers. Anime-diva, I'm glad you liked Squall calling Laguna a moron. Writing it made me snicker a little too, so I'm glad I'm not the only one. As far as a possible Quistis/Seifer pairing, if the story unfolds in such a way that makes it feasible without throwing things totally off-sides, I'll consider it, though I actually think I may wait on any pairings for them until I write fanfics with their histories. See, I intend to do one for each char, over some long stretch of time. Irvine came to me first, and I have a rough idea for Selphie, so it's only a matter of time before Quis and Seif come along. As far as this fic goes though, maybe. It's not that they won't be in the fic at all, it's more that I think they'll have more minor roles for this one, coming in closer to the end, in the sections that I haven't written yet. Gyah! Rambling again. Slap me when I do that. . .

Rieyu Orin, thanks for the support and the vote of confidence. I've managed my way through most of the game, except the last cd, so I guess I've got most of the basic storyline down, and I've read other fics so that helps too. I actually intended for this to be post-game stuff, primarily b/c I couldn't see it happening during or before(obviously), so it work out, but I don't guarantee that I won't accidentally au it later. Thanks for the offer to answer questions too, I may take you up on it if something comes up.

Cherry and Amanda, thanks again for your support.

So everyone can know how progress is coming, chapters will come slower after chapter fifteen, because that's how far I've written so far(the equivalent of 77 pages…told you it was long). I've decided, for the moment, to put most of my effort into this fic, since all I have to do for a little while is reformat it, but after that, I'm going to have to space out my time between this fic, "before there was you", "so this is love", and "a fragile heart". I know I SHOULD write one thing at a time but. . . uh. . .well, I don't.

Well, enough ranting. R&R. Here's chapter seven.

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"Until the End of Eternity, and Longer"

by: Banshee Puppet

Chapter Seven

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Tears ran down Irvine's cheeks as he slept. When Squall entered, he couldn't help but notice. It made him cringe; seeing Irvine cry. And now there he was, Selphie all curled up in his arms as silent tears ran down a sleeping face that looked like it was in pain. `He was in bad shape when we went up against Matron, the closest thing to a mother he can remember, but it was nothing compared to this. Of all the villages in the middle of nowhere to stumble upon, why did it have to be this one?' Squall wondered. He didn't like seeing his friends in pain, and though he thought, in the same situation, he would want to know everything too, he wished the situation had never come up, because his friend was suffering. Another thing to never mention out loud. He had his pride, after all, and so did Irvine. He wouldn't want to be reminded.

Rinoa was fast asleep on the bed on the opposite wall and Zell was lying on the floor with his hands behind his head staring at the ceiling.

"Rinoa told me you guys saw Laguna today," he whispered.

Squall nodded briefly, leaning against the wall by the door with his arms across his chest, his expression stable and rather blank, careless, but not in the way Zell's expression was careless. Zell would show you exactly what he was thinking, carelessly, recklessly even, and he had a million different smiles. But Squall put on a careful mask that made him appear as if he didn't care about anything. His friends knew better than that, and Zell, for one, had learned to read what Squall was thinking in the tone of his voice. "He was paying his respects," Squall told him quietly.

There was a long silence as Squall sat carefully on the edge of the bed where Rinoa slept and took off his boots, jacket and gloves. With only one small window, despite the chill night air, it was warm in here. He leaned forward, elbows on knees, head bowed in thought.

"Do you believe in fate, Squall?" Zell asked finally.

It was so strange to hear Zell's voice in a whisper. He was always so loud, you could never notice how gentle and young his voice really was.

"I've never thought much about it," he answered. "I suppose. . .it's possible."

"You don't find it a little strange that we stumbled across a village where Irvine lived with his mom, in the middle of nowhere, after being unexpectedly stranded in the desert, and that, on top of it all, your dad knew her really well and is now here…the president of Esthar, visiting a village that you wouldn't even know to look for, if you didn't already know it was here?"

"Well…if you put it that way. I guess so. What's your point?"

"There's gotta be some reason for it; that's all. I don't know what it is, but, there's a reason we're all here. Doesn't seem to really have anything to do with me, but maybe that's why I've been thinking about it. Maybe I'm here to be the one to think about weird things like that. I dunno, since I'm not really connected. I mean, you, Irvine, Laguna. . .and anything that concerns you and Irvine concerns Rinoa and Selphie. . .maybe I'm just here to make sure everyone's paying attention."

"Or maybe you're just here for comic relief," Squall commented

absently, then shook his head. Once in a while he would forget that he was supposed to be serious and come out with something like that. It surprised him as much as everyone else, really. "Go to sleep Zell, you're thinking too much. It was just a coincidence."

"One hell of a coincidence," Zell said and rolled over, burying his head in his bicept. "G'night Squall."

After a pause, Squall laid back on the bed. "Goodnight Zell." And damn if he didn't go to sleep wondering if Zell wasn't exactly right. All of them here, now. At the same place at the same time. It was almost unprecedented. But what were they supposed to discover? What were they supposed to figure out? And more importantly still, why did he care?

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uh. . .dun dun dun!!!! What'll happen next? I'd give you a hint. . . but I don't remember. Reformatting is turning out to be great for my memory though! Hehe.

Well, anyway, till next time,

Happy Haunting,

~Banshee Puppet~