SW/FF Crack X-Over - Part 13
Characters: Squall, Lightning, Tidus, Cecil, Zidane, and Bartz
Rating: T
Seventh Heaven was closed temporarily, thanks to an unruly leak in the water pipes. The brigade’s back up spot was a pub situated not far from the Temple. It was cozy yet spacious enough. Although it didn’t compare to Seventh Heaven’s jovial, laid-back atmosphere, it was a good place to get a private booth away from curious ears if need be. And that was exactly what Squall wanted when he talked to his friends that night, merely two days after the almost-incident in Rinoa’s home.
They sat in a booth towards the far corner of the pub, drinks and empty plates of food scattered in front of them on the table as they conversed in low voices. Normally the men would be loud and cheery, but the moment Squall had recounted the scene with Seifer and muttered the word Sith they went silent.
“Lightning said she would report to the Council about it,” Squall finished as he leaned back. “I told her to meet us here tonight to see if there’s been any progress.”
“Wait.” Bartz, who had been unusually quiet as well during the exchange, raised his hand in protest. “She’s coming here?”
Cecil chuckled as Bartz and Tidus exchanged horrified looks. “Lightning is a decent person and a good Jedi. I think you’ll find her agreeable if you cast aside your misconceptions about her.”
Tidus chuckled nervously. “But she’s-”
“Here,” Squall said as he nodded towards the door. “So you might want to keep it down.”
“It seems Zidane has found her,” Cecil commented as Lightning walked inside, proceeded by Zidane. The latter gave Squall a perplexed stare as he walked over. “I found her wandering around, looking for his place. Said Squall invited her.”
“I did.” Squall’s eyes met Lightning’s, looking for the answers he sought. As usual, her expression was neutral. “You made it.”
“I said I’d come,” she replied as she sat down across from him; Zidane took the seat next to him.
“By the way,” Squall began as he picked at the remainders on his plate, “did you mean what you said to Rinoa the other day? About her offer?”
Even though he voiced it casually, like he was merely curious, Lightning’s mouth twitched into a smirk. “Yes,” she said. “It’s not every day a senator invites you to visit. Why?” she added with a tilt of her head. “Afraid I might learn about something I shouldn’t?”
“It’s not like you can find out much more than you already know.”
“True, although she could be scheming something. You never know.”
“Why would she?”
“She’s a senator,” Lightning said with a shrug. Although she was clearly joking, Squall seemed to be rising to the bait as he frowned at her. “They plot. Politicians are like that.”
“Not Rinoa,” Squall retorted.
"Someone’s got blinders on,” Lightning said casually. She crossed her leg over the other, leaning against the seat cushion behind her. "One can never know."
Squall decided to give her a dose of her own medicine. “And if I said the same about Serah?”
Lightning’s eyes narrowed. “I know my sister.”
“And I've known Rinoa, longer than you’ve technically known Serah.”
This might have been one of the few instances where Lightning really could have punched him and be (sort of) justified in doing so. However, she merely shrugged. “Point taken.”
The other Jedi, meanwhile, were glancing back and forth between the two during their exchange, wondering what in the galaxy they were talking about. “Eh, Squall?” Bartz said.
“She knows about us,” Squall explained.
Zidane almost jumped to his feet, but Lightning quickly motioned to him to sit down. “Relax. I’ve known longer than even you have.”
“What?” Tidus said in disbelief. “How?”
“Visions?” Cecil guessed. “Are you capable of having them?”
“The future, mainly.” Lightning glanced at the bar, as if considering getting up to order one. With the night she was likely to have, she might need it. “Though that depends on when you met Senator Farrell.”
Before any of them could accuse Squall, he shook his head. “I didn’t tell her anything. She knew about it when I talked to her last.”
“Like I said, I knew before most of you did.” Her sharp eyes darted back to Cecil. “How long have you known her?”
“About two years,” Cecil answered hesitantly. “We wed about six months later.”
“That’s about the time I started having those visions.” Lightning glanced at the various drinks the men had, perhaps in helping decide what she should order. “It was also after my mission with Squall.”
Zidane glanced at the table, his brow furrowed in contemplation.
Tidus noticed his friend’s quizzical brow. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s just weird,” Zidane said, his stare never leaving the table’s surface. “Eighteen months… that’s about when I met Garnet, too.”
Lightning had started to get out of her seat to order a drink, but she paused upon hearing Zidane’s words. She turned and said, “It was at that time as well?”
“Weeeeeeird,” Bartz said with a shake of his head. “Just weird.”
“I really want that drink now,” Lightning muttered as she got up to get one.
~*~
When Lightning returned with her drink and everyone was settled, she said, “All right. It’s not like we all came here just to have drinks.”
“Did the Council get back to you about what you told them?” Squall asked earnestly.
“Get back to you about what?” Zidane asked, not having heard Squall explain to the others what had happened at Rinoa’s home.
“Squall and I encountered an individual inside Senator Heartilly’s home two days ago. He was an old friend of hers from the orphanage they grew up in.” With a quick glance at Squall, she added, “To her, at least. He was considered a rival of Squall’s back then. Anyway, we came there because there was a complaint about him harassing the senator. We investigated and we promptly demanded he leave at the senator’s behest. While he left, we noticed he was carrying a light saber.”
Zidane’s brow shot up. “Seriously?”
“Yes. According to Squall, he had joined the Temple alongside of him but was kicked out after two years.”
“That would be before he could start learning how to wield a light saber, if I recall correctly,” Cecil added.
“Exactly. So someone taught him.” Lightning sighed quietly, her arms loosely crossed. “It doesn’t look good.”
“A Sith taught him?” Zidane’s mouth dropped slightly.
“Well…” Lightning struggled to formulate her next words. “I had gone to the Council because that was all I could think of as well. Master Beatrix did say that it’s possible that even with that little bit of training Seifer had received he could teach himself. Whether he has a Master or not is still up for question. However…”
Squall’s eyes narrowed when Lightning trailed off, looking rather uneasy at continuing. “What?” he demanded.
Her eyes told him one thing when she looked at him: you’re not going to like this. “Do any of you know a Jedi by the name of Firion?”
“Firion?” Cecil said in mild surprise.
“Yeah, we know him,” Tidus added. “We’re pretty good friends.” He paused, his eyes widening in fright. “Did something happen to him?”
“He’s fine,” Lightning said, “although he did nearly get himself into trouble. A couple weeks ago he was sent to one of the sparsely occupied planets in the Outer Rim. It was some kind of complaint about a disturbance, I don’t know the details. He came across a tiny village during his mission. One of the villagers spotted him and asked him for assistance. Eight of their people had been killed while on a hunting expedition. One of them had managed to make it back to the village and told them what happened before he passed away.”
Bartz tilted his head to the side. “Eight people… that’s a lot for a hunting accident.”
“It wasn’t an accident. When Firion examined the bodies the villagers had brought back, he realized they had been killed with a light saber. Angry that it might have been another Jedi, he set off to the scene of the murders.”
“This can’t end well,” Squall murmured.
Lightning continued, “When he got there, he began looking around, maybe for some kind of clue. Suddenly he was attacked. Someone came out of the forest nearby and tried to strike him down. Fortunately, Firion was able to block and fought off the foe. It was a quick battle, but Firion managed to get a partial description of his attacker.”
“It being?” Zidane asked.
“Tall. That was something he was sure about. Good build. Caucasian. His opponent was wearing a black cloak over his attire so he couldn’t get a really good look, but…” She inhaled deeply and continued, “He saw him wearing a long gray coat beneath it.”
It didn’t mean much to the other Jedi, but to Squall, he knew what it meant. “Just like Seifer’s.”
“It’s similar, yes,” Lightning admitted. “Nothing’s definite, Squall.”
“It’s no coincidence.” Squall tightened his fist into a ball on top of the table. “Why would Seifer murder eight people?”
“If it was Seifer,” Lightning stressed. “We don’t know that yet.”
His Jedi training told him that Lightning was right: until all the evidence was in, there was no point in assuming anything. However, his gut told him that Seifer had done something terrible. He had a lot of pressing questions, but one concerned him the most: what was going to happen next?
Rating: T
Seventh Heaven was closed temporarily, thanks to an unruly leak in the water pipes. The brigade’s back up spot was a pub situated not far from the Temple. It was cozy yet spacious enough. Although it didn’t compare to Seventh Heaven’s jovial, laid-back atmosphere, it was a good place to get a private booth away from curious ears if need be. And that was exactly what Squall wanted when he talked to his friends that night, merely two days after the almost-incident in Rinoa’s home.
They sat in a booth towards the far corner of the pub, drinks and empty plates of food scattered in front of them on the table as they conversed in low voices. Normally the men would be loud and cheery, but the moment Squall had recounted the scene with Seifer and muttered the word Sith they went silent.
“Lightning said she would report to the Council about it,” Squall finished as he leaned back. “I told her to meet us here tonight to see if there’s been any progress.”
“Wait.” Bartz, who had been unusually quiet as well during the exchange, raised his hand in protest. “She’s coming here?”
Cecil chuckled as Bartz and Tidus exchanged horrified looks. “Lightning is a decent person and a good Jedi. I think you’ll find her agreeable if you cast aside your misconceptions about her.”
Tidus chuckled nervously. “But she’s-”
“Here,” Squall said as he nodded towards the door. “So you might want to keep it down.”
“It seems Zidane has found her,” Cecil commented as Lightning walked inside, proceeded by Zidane. The latter gave Squall a perplexed stare as he walked over. “I found her wandering around, looking for his place. Said Squall invited her.”
“I did.” Squall’s eyes met Lightning’s, looking for the answers he sought. As usual, her expression was neutral. “You made it.”
“I said I’d come,” she replied as she sat down across from him; Zidane took the seat next to him.
“By the way,” Squall began as he picked at the remainders on his plate, “did you mean what you said to Rinoa the other day? About her offer?”
Even though he voiced it casually, like he was merely curious, Lightning’s mouth twitched into a smirk. “Yes,” she said. “It’s not every day a senator invites you to visit. Why?” she added with a tilt of her head. “Afraid I might learn about something I shouldn’t?”
“It’s not like you can find out much more than you already know.”
“True, although she could be scheming something. You never know.”
“Why would she?”
“She’s a senator,” Lightning said with a shrug. Although she was clearly joking, Squall seemed to be rising to the bait as he frowned at her. “They plot. Politicians are like that.”
“Not Rinoa,” Squall retorted.
"Someone’s got blinders on,” Lightning said casually. She crossed her leg over the other, leaning against the seat cushion behind her. "One can never know."
Squall decided to give her a dose of her own medicine. “And if I said the same about Serah?”
Lightning’s eyes narrowed. “I know my sister.”
“And I've known Rinoa, longer than you’ve technically known Serah.”
This might have been one of the few instances where Lightning really could have punched him and be (sort of) justified in doing so. However, she merely shrugged. “Point taken.”
The other Jedi, meanwhile, were glancing back and forth between the two during their exchange, wondering what in the galaxy they were talking about. “Eh, Squall?” Bartz said.
“She knows about us,” Squall explained.
Zidane almost jumped to his feet, but Lightning quickly motioned to him to sit down. “Relax. I’ve known longer than even you have.”
“What?” Tidus said in disbelief. “How?”
“Visions?” Cecil guessed. “Are you capable of having them?”
“The future, mainly.” Lightning glanced at the bar, as if considering getting up to order one. With the night she was likely to have, she might need it. “Though that depends on when you met Senator Farrell.”
Before any of them could accuse Squall, he shook his head. “I didn’t tell her anything. She knew about it when I talked to her last.”
“Like I said, I knew before most of you did.” Her sharp eyes darted back to Cecil. “How long have you known her?”
“About two years,” Cecil answered hesitantly. “We wed about six months later.”
“That’s about the time I started having those visions.” Lightning glanced at the various drinks the men had, perhaps in helping decide what she should order. “It was also after my mission with Squall.”
Zidane glanced at the table, his brow furrowed in contemplation.
Tidus noticed his friend’s quizzical brow. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s just weird,” Zidane said, his stare never leaving the table’s surface. “Eighteen months… that’s about when I met Garnet, too.”
Lightning had started to get out of her seat to order a drink, but she paused upon hearing Zidane’s words. She turned and said, “It was at that time as well?”
“Weeeeeeird,” Bartz said with a shake of his head. “Just weird.”
“I really want that drink now,” Lightning muttered as she got up to get one.
~*~
When Lightning returned with her drink and everyone was settled, she said, “All right. It’s not like we all came here just to have drinks.”
“Did the Council get back to you about what you told them?” Squall asked earnestly.
“Get back to you about what?” Zidane asked, not having heard Squall explain to the others what had happened at Rinoa’s home.
“Squall and I encountered an individual inside Senator Heartilly’s home two days ago. He was an old friend of hers from the orphanage they grew up in.” With a quick glance at Squall, she added, “To her, at least. He was considered a rival of Squall’s back then. Anyway, we came there because there was a complaint about him harassing the senator. We investigated and we promptly demanded he leave at the senator’s behest. While he left, we noticed he was carrying a light saber.”
Zidane’s brow shot up. “Seriously?”
“Yes. According to Squall, he had joined the Temple alongside of him but was kicked out after two years.”
“That would be before he could start learning how to wield a light saber, if I recall correctly,” Cecil added.
“Exactly. So someone taught him.” Lightning sighed quietly, her arms loosely crossed. “It doesn’t look good.”
“A Sith taught him?” Zidane’s mouth dropped slightly.
“Well…” Lightning struggled to formulate her next words. “I had gone to the Council because that was all I could think of as well. Master Beatrix did say that it’s possible that even with that little bit of training Seifer had received he could teach himself. Whether he has a Master or not is still up for question. However…”
Squall’s eyes narrowed when Lightning trailed off, looking rather uneasy at continuing. “What?” he demanded.
Her eyes told him one thing when she looked at him: you’re not going to like this. “Do any of you know a Jedi by the name of Firion?”
“Firion?” Cecil said in mild surprise.
“Yeah, we know him,” Tidus added. “We’re pretty good friends.” He paused, his eyes widening in fright. “Did something happen to him?”
“He’s fine,” Lightning said, “although he did nearly get himself into trouble. A couple weeks ago he was sent to one of the sparsely occupied planets in the Outer Rim. It was some kind of complaint about a disturbance, I don’t know the details. He came across a tiny village during his mission. One of the villagers spotted him and asked him for assistance. Eight of their people had been killed while on a hunting expedition. One of them had managed to make it back to the village and told them what happened before he passed away.”
Bartz tilted his head to the side. “Eight people… that’s a lot for a hunting accident.”
“It wasn’t an accident. When Firion examined the bodies the villagers had brought back, he realized they had been killed with a light saber. Angry that it might have been another Jedi, he set off to the scene of the murders.”
“This can’t end well,” Squall murmured.
Lightning continued, “When he got there, he began looking around, maybe for some kind of clue. Suddenly he was attacked. Someone came out of the forest nearby and tried to strike him down. Fortunately, Firion was able to block and fought off the foe. It was a quick battle, but Firion managed to get a partial description of his attacker.”
“It being?” Zidane asked.
“Tall. That was something he was sure about. Good build. Caucasian. His opponent was wearing a black cloak over his attire so he couldn’t get a really good look, but…” She inhaled deeply and continued, “He saw him wearing a long gray coat beneath it.”
It didn’t mean much to the other Jedi, but to Squall, he knew what it meant. “Just like Seifer’s.”
“It’s similar, yes,” Lightning admitted. “Nothing’s definite, Squall.”
“It’s no coincidence.” Squall tightened his fist into a ball on top of the table. “Why would Seifer murder eight people?”
“If it was Seifer,” Lightning stressed. “We don’t know that yet.”
His Jedi training told him that Lightning was right: until all the evidence was in, there was no point in assuming anything. However, his gut told him that Seifer had done something terrible. He had a lot of pressing questions, but one concerned him the most: what was going to happen next?