Little Light of Love Chapter 3
Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2003 6:40 pm
A Little Light
By: The Engrish Spy
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 8. Those people at Square do. So don't come to my door begging for money, and I mean in the form of lawyers.
A/N: This is my first Final Fantasy 8 fan fiction. This had been bothering me a lot since I thought it up on a vacation I took. That was two years ago. It's taken me that long to write this and this is only the first chapter. Oh I took the title from a Fifth Element Soundtrack song. I was listing to that soundtrack a lot when I was both designing the characters and writing the story. Enjoy.
PS: I'm sorry I jump a lot from first person to third person. It's just the way I wanted to do this. I am also sorry I jump time a lot as well. I'm trying to tell background stories along with Julia's story.
Rinoa paced the front foyer of Garden awaiting the return of her daughter and her friends from their field mission. They had called back to Garden only a few days ago stating that they were returning because the problem had solved itself. Selphie sat near by. She was quite and calm. Zell came running into the foyer, with a look of a protective father on his face. Irvine came up behind him and sat next to Selphie.
"Hey mom, dad." A voice sobbed.
Out of know where came a brown haired girl in black. She flung herself into their awaiting arms.
"Hey Ray, " Zell yelled to his son and ran the rest of the way to meet the teen in the wheelchair.
Rinoa looked in the far distance for Julia. She strained her neck and tried to look for anything that looked remotely like her daughter but turned up with nothing.
"Where is Julia?" Rinoa asked as the tears began to well up in her eyes.
"She's disappeared." Was all Raymond could state from his father's death grip.
~*~
Squall sat in his office. He was tired and cranky, plus he was dealing with a whole new set of Cadets today who would just not co-operate with him in the training arena. He lifted up a paper that was a request for a delegation of SeeD to see to the security of the Princess of a Southern Island on the other side of the world and looked it over not caring at that moment. He rubbed the remnants of the scar on his face.
"What the hell do you think you are doing by sending my daughter on a mission?" Screamed a black haired girl.
Squall was startled by the intrusion. He looked at the woman who was standing in front of him. The love of his life, the woman he was holding out for, silently praying that she would love him back. But there was all ways something holding him back. His pride and the fact that she loved her daughter's father more then she had ever loved him.
He studied her for a moment. She had definitely changed over the year. He once long black hair was now short and he discovered the few grey hairs that popped up over the last few years. She now had the beginnings of laugh lines around her face. Well they all did now.
"May I ask what you are doing in my office?" Squall asked in a cold tone
"Julia, my daughter has not come back." Rinoa puffed
Just then Raymond and Lily chose to come in. Squall motioned for them to sit and then proceeded to shuffle through the piles of paper of his desk for a debrief form.
"You may proceed." He said in a calm tone and then motioned for Rinoa to take a seat on the couch. Lily began to talk.
"We reported to Ethstar Underground Sea Research facility at 2200 hours on the full moon of Hyne Septus 6050. We observed that the facility for over a month. At around 2330 on the night of Half Moon Hyne Octobabus 6050 we observed that in Beta Test Area a small disturbance. Once we reached the main laboratory, we noticed a glowing light under the main catwalk that hung around the large cavern area of the test site." Lily could not continue because of tears in her eyes. Raymond took up the report.
"We descended into the cave and came upon a large crystal orb. For some reason our teammate Julia Heartilly was attracted to the sphere. I then came to the realization that the orb happened to be a Guardian Force that was about to be born. But there was also something in about how it was born. When I realized that it was too late. Julia was sucked into the orb and was gone from this realm." Raymond finished in a quite voice.
Squall took in everything they said. He was a little saddened that they had lost their best friend but then he remembered that they should not mourn because that was a SeeD's job. One must sacrifice their life to save others. He remembered that saying from one of the instructors on his first day. He remembered that he died shortly after that on the final test for cadets.
"Thank you for you report. I will see to it that you get sometime off. I suggest you see the good doctor in the medical center to see if you did not injure anything while you were out." Squall said dismissed the teens.
He turned to Rinoa. She sat on the couch in shock. There were no tears, no emotions, no life in the woman's body. She was pale and babbling on about something.
"What is my poor baby going to do, she had no mother or father to protect her right now?"
"It's ok." Squall stated and kneeled in front of her.
"Squall, shouldn't you be hard at work?" She looked at him with no emotions. Soon the tears came down her eyes and she wailed, " My baby, she's gone. My only child is gone."
Squall tried to sooth her. She cried until she lay on the couch sleeping fitfully. Squall was there next to her. He picked her up and carried her down to her quarters in second level dorm for the instructors and their families. He did his best to keep from jostling the sleeping beauty as he made the way to her apartments. She moved but then settled. As he reached her apartment she began to mumble incoherently.
"Julia I want to tell you. You do have a father. I can't tell you his name." She mumbled
Squall moved to her bedroom and gently set her on the bed. He looked around her room. It was such a Rinoa room. It was littered with pictures of her and Julia, Julia and her friends, Rinoa and the other instructors, mostly his friends. There was even a picture of Seifer and Quistis on their wedding day. It was a picture of the whole wedding party. He could remember that day very well.
~*~
(16 years ago)
"Squall you have to be in the picture?" Quistis demanded to him.
"Fine?" He grumbled and then went over to the group.
He felt out of place. He was only there because Quistis wanted him to give her away at the ceremony. He had done his job but sadly to say he was also roped into doing 'brother of the bride' duties. Squall stood in the back. All around him everyone was happy. Rinoa two-year-old daughter and Slephie?s one year old wore lilac purple dresses. In their hairs wore crowns of lilacs and their sandy coloured hair hung loosely about their shoulders.
He pulled at his collar on his SeeD uniform. He looked over to his other fellow males who had been roped into the ceremony as well. Zell was cradling his one-year-old son in his arms after he fell on the ground. Zell?s wife was next to him trying to stop the crying child. Irvine was next to Rinoa and Selphie. He was wearing his new nametag on his uniform today. Squall snicker at the fact that the man cherished his new position as doctor of Garden.
Seifer was smilling like a mad man. Squall smiled inwardly. To think this man, who only two years ago was a mad man, was very happy back at Garden teaching and marrying Quistis.
His gaze turned from Seifer to Rinoa. She wore a royal purple dress much like the one Selphie wore. The bodice was cut square and hung from her hips. She wore a crown of green ivy in her hair. It was simple yet elegant. He sighed inwardly as he watched her talk and holds the child. He wished he could have been there with her, that the little girl she held was his child as well. He shook his head as he came back from his little dream. The little girl was not his child. It was another faceless man that he cared not to think about. He had lost his chance with Rinoa long ago and he was not going to try again. The picture was taken and then that was that.
"Can we get a picture of the Bridal party without the Bride and Groom?" The photographer said
Squall tried to back out but Selphie would not have it and stuck him next to Rinoa who was holding her little girl. Squall studied Rinoa for another moment and then the picture was taken. The photographer then motioned for couple pictures. Squall was about to escape but then the photographer was up in his face.
"Can I get a picture of you, your wife and your daughter?" Squall was shocked.
He glanced at Rinoa and noticed her face was pale with shock.
"Mommy wanna take pictures." The little girl said from Rinoa's arms.
Squall looked at the girl and then back to the photographer.
"I'm not married to him and he is not her father." Rinoa was scolding the photographer.
Squall laughed any ways.
~*~
"He got us to take that photo any ways,? Squall whispered under his breath as he traced the frame of the picture with the three of them in it. They almost looked like a happy couple. A mother, a father and a child, who were happy and content with their lives as they were. Squall sighed and then hung his head.
"Squall please help me?" Rinoa cried frantically from her sleep
Squall rushed to her side. He did not want to wake her for fear of her going into shock; instead he spoke to her in a soft voice.
"Rinoa I'm here don't worry." He said softly
"No you're not Squall. It hurts I need you here." She muttered incoherently
Squall was puzzled. Rinoa was not making any sense in what she was saying.
"Our daughter Squall, she's coming. She's about to be born." She said and then stopped. Rinoa fell limp against the pillow. Her eyes fluttered open. Brown met blue in a glance of horror and understanding.
~*~
Squall sat in the deserted cafeteria. It was past lights out for the cadets. This was a time that instructors and staff could enjoy the peace and quite of the Garden and a cup of coffee. Tonight nobody but the commander was in the cafeteria. The low lights reflected off the marble tables casting a faint greenish hue over Squall's face.
Today had been the memorial service for his daughter. Julia was gone. His only daughter was gone from this world. It was sickening that he had a daughter and he failed to do anything about it. He sipped the cold coffee and grimaced.
"This should help you." Said a gruff voice
Squall looked up at the man. He was holding a sliver flask, which reeked of alcohol. Squall took the offering and placed a heavy amount in his coffee cup. He sipped at the coffee again and then turned his tired eyes to the man who had sat down in front of him.
"So how is Rinoa taking the whole disappearance thing?" He asked as he watched Squall down his coffee laced gin.
"Not really all that well." Squall said quietly
There was silence between the two men.
"As one father to another, I know what it is like to lose a child. I'll be here for you." He said
Squall just bowed his head. The other man could hear the sobs that Squall made as his head bowed.
?Why did I not know? Why did I care more about work then Rinoa and my child, Laguna? Why?" Squall sobbed
"Why did I think not to ask your mother if she was pregnant with you? Because she loved me so much that she did not want to interrupt my dream to become a journalist. She put my happiness over her own." Laguna said with a sigh
"But you have had time to a least try and make up with me. I don't. I've lost my chance." Squall face was now void of the tears.
"He has a point." Said a voice from behind them.
Both of the men looked at their new guest. It was Rinoa. Her eyes were red rimed with all the crying she had done over the day. She was wearing a black dress and her black hair was swept off her face.
"I'm sorry I never told you. It's not your fault. What Laguna said about Raine was very true about me. I saw a great future ahead for you. Me and Julia would have never fit in that future." She said as she took a seat between the two men.
Squall looked to Rinoa. She had sacrificed her happiness for his. She went and had Julia on her own as well as raise her.
"It was hard to tell her that she really had no father when she was little. She was always jealous of Raymond and Lily." Rinoa said trying to choke back the fresh set of tears.
Squall gave Laguna a look and he got up and left. Squall came closer to Rinoa.
"Tell me more about our daughter?" He asked emphasizing the 'our' part.
Rinoa sniffed and then looked into Squall's blue eyes.
"Well she looks like the both of us?" She trailed off and then looked at Squall again, "I guess that you did not noticed that even though she's been hear at Garden for more then fourteen years." Squall was silent trying to avoid her gaze.
"She's bossy and a tomboy." She said with a little laugh, "I figure she got this way because of Zell. But when I look back at my days in Timber I was a lot like she was." Rinoa began to trace patterns on the table.
"I remember the first day you came back to Garden. She was hiding behind your skirt. She was scared to becoming to Garden." Squall said with a small smile
"Yeah and then next thing you know she set lose all the biology departments dissection frogs hoping they would just go off into the forest and instead they ended up clogging up the fountain. She was smart for a two year old" She giggled
"Do you remember the time she and Raymond had the hot dog eating contest?" Squall remarked
"Oh yeah and the two had to be taken to the infirmary to have their stomachs pumped." Rinoa answered. Both of their laughter died off.
"She's really gone." Rinoa stated and then began to cry again.
Squall did his best to comfort the grieving mother.
~*~
Raymond sat at the computer desk in his room, after the lights out issue for younger cadets. He was typing away at keyboard hell bent on whatever it was that drove him. Zell popped his head into his room.
"What are ya up to?" Zell asked his blond haired son
"Hn." Was all he could reply to the question.
Zell moved into his room completely. Looking around he noticed the floor was covered with old issues of Timber Maniacs and Occult Fan. Zell rubbed his head at the mess.
"I see you've become addicted to the paranormal again." Zell said with a half laugh.
Raymond just grunted again. He continued to type away on the keyboard in front of him. Zell sat down on the boy's messy bed.
"You know you can't bring back Julia?" Zell said in a soft yet sad voice
Raymond grunted again. Zell became angered. He stood up briskly and then went to behind the computer and unplugged the computer.
"What the fuck did you do that for?" Raymond yelled.
"You need to see the doctor." Zell said with a worried look and then pulled his son into a hug.
~*~
(Some where in time)
A young girl floated in what looked to be an iridescent area. The air around her pulsed different colours with every breath she took. The little girl began to panic
'Where am I?' a girl asked the air
'You have kome to me, my child.' A heavily accented voice called from the air
'What do you have that I want?' She asked
'More my dear it's what you can give me.' The voice began to cackle and then the world went black.
TBC?
By: The Engrish Spy
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 8. Those people at Square do. So don't come to my door begging for money, and I mean in the form of lawyers.
A/N: This is my first Final Fantasy 8 fan fiction. This had been bothering me a lot since I thought it up on a vacation I took. That was two years ago. It's taken me that long to write this and this is only the first chapter. Oh I took the title from a Fifth Element Soundtrack song. I was listing to that soundtrack a lot when I was both designing the characters and writing the story. Enjoy.
PS: I'm sorry I jump a lot from first person to third person. It's just the way I wanted to do this. I am also sorry I jump time a lot as well. I'm trying to tell background stories along with Julia's story.
Rinoa paced the front foyer of Garden awaiting the return of her daughter and her friends from their field mission. They had called back to Garden only a few days ago stating that they were returning because the problem had solved itself. Selphie sat near by. She was quite and calm. Zell came running into the foyer, with a look of a protective father on his face. Irvine came up behind him and sat next to Selphie.
"Hey mom, dad." A voice sobbed.
Out of know where came a brown haired girl in black. She flung herself into their awaiting arms.
"Hey Ray, " Zell yelled to his son and ran the rest of the way to meet the teen in the wheelchair.
Rinoa looked in the far distance for Julia. She strained her neck and tried to look for anything that looked remotely like her daughter but turned up with nothing.
"Where is Julia?" Rinoa asked as the tears began to well up in her eyes.
"She's disappeared." Was all Raymond could state from his father's death grip.
~*~
Squall sat in his office. He was tired and cranky, plus he was dealing with a whole new set of Cadets today who would just not co-operate with him in the training arena. He lifted up a paper that was a request for a delegation of SeeD to see to the security of the Princess of a Southern Island on the other side of the world and looked it over not caring at that moment. He rubbed the remnants of the scar on his face.
"What the hell do you think you are doing by sending my daughter on a mission?" Screamed a black haired girl.
Squall was startled by the intrusion. He looked at the woman who was standing in front of him. The love of his life, the woman he was holding out for, silently praying that she would love him back. But there was all ways something holding him back. His pride and the fact that she loved her daughter's father more then she had ever loved him.
He studied her for a moment. She had definitely changed over the year. He once long black hair was now short and he discovered the few grey hairs that popped up over the last few years. She now had the beginnings of laugh lines around her face. Well they all did now.
"May I ask what you are doing in my office?" Squall asked in a cold tone
"Julia, my daughter has not come back." Rinoa puffed
Just then Raymond and Lily chose to come in. Squall motioned for them to sit and then proceeded to shuffle through the piles of paper of his desk for a debrief form.
"You may proceed." He said in a calm tone and then motioned for Rinoa to take a seat on the couch. Lily began to talk.
"We reported to Ethstar Underground Sea Research facility at 2200 hours on the full moon of Hyne Septus 6050. We observed that the facility for over a month. At around 2330 on the night of Half Moon Hyne Octobabus 6050 we observed that in Beta Test Area a small disturbance. Once we reached the main laboratory, we noticed a glowing light under the main catwalk that hung around the large cavern area of the test site." Lily could not continue because of tears in her eyes. Raymond took up the report.
"We descended into the cave and came upon a large crystal orb. For some reason our teammate Julia Heartilly was attracted to the sphere. I then came to the realization that the orb happened to be a Guardian Force that was about to be born. But there was also something in about how it was born. When I realized that it was too late. Julia was sucked into the orb and was gone from this realm." Raymond finished in a quite voice.
Squall took in everything they said. He was a little saddened that they had lost their best friend but then he remembered that they should not mourn because that was a SeeD's job. One must sacrifice their life to save others. He remembered that saying from one of the instructors on his first day. He remembered that he died shortly after that on the final test for cadets.
"Thank you for you report. I will see to it that you get sometime off. I suggest you see the good doctor in the medical center to see if you did not injure anything while you were out." Squall said dismissed the teens.
He turned to Rinoa. She sat on the couch in shock. There were no tears, no emotions, no life in the woman's body. She was pale and babbling on about something.
"What is my poor baby going to do, she had no mother or father to protect her right now?"
"It's ok." Squall stated and kneeled in front of her.
"Squall, shouldn't you be hard at work?" She looked at him with no emotions. Soon the tears came down her eyes and she wailed, " My baby, she's gone. My only child is gone."
Squall tried to sooth her. She cried until she lay on the couch sleeping fitfully. Squall was there next to her. He picked her up and carried her down to her quarters in second level dorm for the instructors and their families. He did his best to keep from jostling the sleeping beauty as he made the way to her apartments. She moved but then settled. As he reached her apartment she began to mumble incoherently.
"Julia I want to tell you. You do have a father. I can't tell you his name." She mumbled
Squall moved to her bedroom and gently set her on the bed. He looked around her room. It was such a Rinoa room. It was littered with pictures of her and Julia, Julia and her friends, Rinoa and the other instructors, mostly his friends. There was even a picture of Seifer and Quistis on their wedding day. It was a picture of the whole wedding party. He could remember that day very well.
~*~
(16 years ago)
"Squall you have to be in the picture?" Quistis demanded to him.
"Fine?" He grumbled and then went over to the group.
He felt out of place. He was only there because Quistis wanted him to give her away at the ceremony. He had done his job but sadly to say he was also roped into doing 'brother of the bride' duties. Squall stood in the back. All around him everyone was happy. Rinoa two-year-old daughter and Slephie?s one year old wore lilac purple dresses. In their hairs wore crowns of lilacs and their sandy coloured hair hung loosely about their shoulders.
He pulled at his collar on his SeeD uniform. He looked over to his other fellow males who had been roped into the ceremony as well. Zell was cradling his one-year-old son in his arms after he fell on the ground. Zell?s wife was next to him trying to stop the crying child. Irvine was next to Rinoa and Selphie. He was wearing his new nametag on his uniform today. Squall snicker at the fact that the man cherished his new position as doctor of Garden.
Seifer was smilling like a mad man. Squall smiled inwardly. To think this man, who only two years ago was a mad man, was very happy back at Garden teaching and marrying Quistis.
His gaze turned from Seifer to Rinoa. She wore a royal purple dress much like the one Selphie wore. The bodice was cut square and hung from her hips. She wore a crown of green ivy in her hair. It was simple yet elegant. He sighed inwardly as he watched her talk and holds the child. He wished he could have been there with her, that the little girl she held was his child as well. He shook his head as he came back from his little dream. The little girl was not his child. It was another faceless man that he cared not to think about. He had lost his chance with Rinoa long ago and he was not going to try again. The picture was taken and then that was that.
"Can we get a picture of the Bridal party without the Bride and Groom?" The photographer said
Squall tried to back out but Selphie would not have it and stuck him next to Rinoa who was holding her little girl. Squall studied Rinoa for another moment and then the picture was taken. The photographer then motioned for couple pictures. Squall was about to escape but then the photographer was up in his face.
"Can I get a picture of you, your wife and your daughter?" Squall was shocked.
He glanced at Rinoa and noticed her face was pale with shock.
"Mommy wanna take pictures." The little girl said from Rinoa's arms.
Squall looked at the girl and then back to the photographer.
"I'm not married to him and he is not her father." Rinoa was scolding the photographer.
Squall laughed any ways.
~*~
"He got us to take that photo any ways,? Squall whispered under his breath as he traced the frame of the picture with the three of them in it. They almost looked like a happy couple. A mother, a father and a child, who were happy and content with their lives as they were. Squall sighed and then hung his head.
"Squall please help me?" Rinoa cried frantically from her sleep
Squall rushed to her side. He did not want to wake her for fear of her going into shock; instead he spoke to her in a soft voice.
"Rinoa I'm here don't worry." He said softly
"No you're not Squall. It hurts I need you here." She muttered incoherently
Squall was puzzled. Rinoa was not making any sense in what she was saying.
"Our daughter Squall, she's coming. She's about to be born." She said and then stopped. Rinoa fell limp against the pillow. Her eyes fluttered open. Brown met blue in a glance of horror and understanding.
~*~
Squall sat in the deserted cafeteria. It was past lights out for the cadets. This was a time that instructors and staff could enjoy the peace and quite of the Garden and a cup of coffee. Tonight nobody but the commander was in the cafeteria. The low lights reflected off the marble tables casting a faint greenish hue over Squall's face.
Today had been the memorial service for his daughter. Julia was gone. His only daughter was gone from this world. It was sickening that he had a daughter and he failed to do anything about it. He sipped the cold coffee and grimaced.
"This should help you." Said a gruff voice
Squall looked up at the man. He was holding a sliver flask, which reeked of alcohol. Squall took the offering and placed a heavy amount in his coffee cup. He sipped at the coffee again and then turned his tired eyes to the man who had sat down in front of him.
"So how is Rinoa taking the whole disappearance thing?" He asked as he watched Squall down his coffee laced gin.
"Not really all that well." Squall said quietly
There was silence between the two men.
"As one father to another, I know what it is like to lose a child. I'll be here for you." He said
Squall just bowed his head. The other man could hear the sobs that Squall made as his head bowed.
?Why did I not know? Why did I care more about work then Rinoa and my child, Laguna? Why?" Squall sobbed
"Why did I think not to ask your mother if she was pregnant with you? Because she loved me so much that she did not want to interrupt my dream to become a journalist. She put my happiness over her own." Laguna said with a sigh
"But you have had time to a least try and make up with me. I don't. I've lost my chance." Squall face was now void of the tears.
"He has a point." Said a voice from behind them.
Both of the men looked at their new guest. It was Rinoa. Her eyes were red rimed with all the crying she had done over the day. She was wearing a black dress and her black hair was swept off her face.
"I'm sorry I never told you. It's not your fault. What Laguna said about Raine was very true about me. I saw a great future ahead for you. Me and Julia would have never fit in that future." She said as she took a seat between the two men.
Squall looked to Rinoa. She had sacrificed her happiness for his. She went and had Julia on her own as well as raise her.
"It was hard to tell her that she really had no father when she was little. She was always jealous of Raymond and Lily." Rinoa said trying to choke back the fresh set of tears.
Squall gave Laguna a look and he got up and left. Squall came closer to Rinoa.
"Tell me more about our daughter?" He asked emphasizing the 'our' part.
Rinoa sniffed and then looked into Squall's blue eyes.
"Well she looks like the both of us?" She trailed off and then looked at Squall again, "I guess that you did not noticed that even though she's been hear at Garden for more then fourteen years." Squall was silent trying to avoid her gaze.
"She's bossy and a tomboy." She said with a little laugh, "I figure she got this way because of Zell. But when I look back at my days in Timber I was a lot like she was." Rinoa began to trace patterns on the table.
"I remember the first day you came back to Garden. She was hiding behind your skirt. She was scared to becoming to Garden." Squall said with a small smile
"Yeah and then next thing you know she set lose all the biology departments dissection frogs hoping they would just go off into the forest and instead they ended up clogging up the fountain. She was smart for a two year old" She giggled
"Do you remember the time she and Raymond had the hot dog eating contest?" Squall remarked
"Oh yeah and the two had to be taken to the infirmary to have their stomachs pumped." Rinoa answered. Both of their laughter died off.
"She's really gone." Rinoa stated and then began to cry again.
Squall did his best to comfort the grieving mother.
~*~
Raymond sat at the computer desk in his room, after the lights out issue for younger cadets. He was typing away at keyboard hell bent on whatever it was that drove him. Zell popped his head into his room.
"What are ya up to?" Zell asked his blond haired son
"Hn." Was all he could reply to the question.
Zell moved into his room completely. Looking around he noticed the floor was covered with old issues of Timber Maniacs and Occult Fan. Zell rubbed his head at the mess.
"I see you've become addicted to the paranormal again." Zell said with a half laugh.
Raymond just grunted again. He continued to type away on the keyboard in front of him. Zell sat down on the boy's messy bed.
"You know you can't bring back Julia?" Zell said in a soft yet sad voice
Raymond grunted again. Zell became angered. He stood up briskly and then went to behind the computer and unplugged the computer.
"What the fuck did you do that for?" Raymond yelled.
"You need to see the doctor." Zell said with a worried look and then pulled his son into a hug.
~*~
(Some where in time)
A young girl floated in what looked to be an iridescent area. The air around her pulsed different colours with every breath she took. The little girl began to panic
'Where am I?' a girl asked the air
'You have kome to me, my child.' A heavily accented voice called from the air
'What do you have that I want?' She asked
'More my dear it's what you can give me.' The voice began to cackle and then the world went black.
TBC?