Stolen
Chapter 31 - Homecoming Dance
Stolen
Chapter 31 - Homecoming Dance
The air was clean, but too quiet. Pulling himself from the ground, Kyle looked around the once glowing city.
Home.
"Boy..."
Turning, Kyle frowned as the face of his once loving grandfather glared back at him, his green eyes glassy and dead.
"Pa'Guna." The simple reply came as he removed his sword from the sheath.
"When did you come back? I thought you'd still be hiding in the past with your friends."
"I came back to finish what I started. If Squall wants me dead so bad...let's see him kill me." He shouted, lifting the sword into a ready position.
"I'm afraid you won't have a chance to see Squall when Weapon arrives."
Kyle's jaw dropped, his grip loosening enough to drop his sword.
"He found Atma?"
"Was there any doubt?" He spat, grabbing the hair at the back of the SeeD's head in a swift movement.
"Leave now, Ien." He whispered, biting the teen's ear as both men dropped to their knees.
"No! I'm not leaving you and Squall here to fuck up my future. I can stop it."
Laughing, Laguna pulled Kyle's head closer to his own.
"It started in the past, Ien, don't you see that? You started this. Not Squall. When you were born..."
"You're lying!" he cried, tears welling at the base of his crystal-blue eyes. Before the former president could blink, the sword pierced effortlessly though the greying man before slicing up through the cold heart that had once belonged to his warm and friendly Grandfather.
The shine instantly fell from the staring orbs, replaced briefly by the familiar twinkle the elder man held for his grandson.
"Thank you." The cough came, drowned out by thunder as buildings collapsed around him. Looking up, Kaien barely jumped out of the way as a chunk of wall fell on the corpse, crushing the lower half of the former man's body as dust billowed from the brickwork.
Blinking for a moment, the SeeD smiled lightly. At least he was finally with Grandma Raine.
Shadow quickly overcame the two figures, Kaien's training kicking in as he moved back towards Laguna, snapping his head up to the obstruction.
"You shouldn't have come back, Ien." The leather clad SeeD mocked, jumping from the Atma Weapon, his leather jacket flailing wildly behind him.
"Why, Dad?" The younger man asked, drawing the sword from Laguna before pointing it toward the approaching figure.
"You should have stayed in the past, and worked out what went wrong." Yellow eyes looked down for a moment, blinking regretfully. "Then I wouldn't have to do this..." Snapping his head up, the evil smirk on the pale face was one of unmistakeable malice as the sparks flew from the former SeeD's sinewy fingertips.
The boy could hardly withhold the scream as it tore from his throat. White energy crackled around him, sending him to his knees as he tried to keep his bright blue eyes on Squall.
"What would Pa'Guna say...if he was still here?" Ien managed, struggling to remain upright. The light around him quickly dimmed, as the older man looked at the decaying corpse now half hidden beneath the rubble.
"You keep him out of this." The leather-lad man whispered through clenched teeth, glaring at the weakened boy beneath him.
"Tell me, Dad. Why did you want me in the past?"
"So you could stop this." The cold replay came, looking up as the world froze, fading into black and white, except for the two Leonhart's staring haplessly at one another.
"I made one mistake...and here we are."
"Dad, what are you...?" The brunette boy asked, quickly silenced by a spell as his father lifted into the air by some unknown force.
"I always knew you'd follow in your father's footsteps, Ien. You're going to save the world."
The scene around them melted, waves of blue energy shooting from the floating body like a shockwave, bringing the trees and the road into crisp clarity.
Dropping to the ground heavily, Squall let out a breath, the yellow fading from the orbs leaving only the crystal grey Ien remembered from his youth.
"Dad...?" Kyle asked, crawling over to the prone figure, lifting the limp head into his lap. "Where are we?"
"The worst day of my life." He said simply, looking down the rough bitumen road before returning his gaze to his son. Lifting a hand weakly, the elder man pressed his palm against the young man's now moist cheek.
"You'll know what to do." The SeeD smiled before his hand fell limply to his side, the clarity of the man's eyes dulling as the leather-clad chest fell for the last time.
Nodding slowly, Kyle watched his father's body vanish, replaced by a warm red dust that seemed to cover his skin. Within moment's, the young man was on his feet, walking down the road towards Balamb, knowing almost instinctually where he was heading.
"It all started because of me. Going back with Simon...the first blood on his hands as a sorceress. A righteous quest leading back to the doom of my father, the exact fate I'd gone back to stop." Looking up at the sun a moment, Ien smiled, dropping the sword on the ground.
"You're right dad. I do know what to do." Smiling, the SeeD dropped his gaze, watching as the black jeep sped up the road towards him.
"I'm gonna save the world." He grinned, stepping in front of the oncoming vehicle.
Squall hardly had the time to blink as his tortured world passed through the boy and into darkness.