(Disclaimer: As a work of fanfiction, the creation of this piece does not imply ownership of the Final Fantasy franchise, its characters, or any affiliated intellectual property.)

As the train exited the tunnel, Rinoa squinted in the sunlight and felt her stomach churn. It had been four months since Ultimecia's defeat, four long months of recuperation – from the effects of junctioning, the effects of time compression, from the effects of the nightmares each of them had to walk through just to come home, from the nightmares themselves that still tore them from their slumber on any given night.

In that time, she'd only spoken to Zone once, a quick conversation just to let him know she was all right and that she would see him and Watts soon. She didn't trust herself to talk any longer than that, didn't trust herself to not let her new identity slip. No one wanted a sorceress meddling in Timber's affairs, especially not after what they saw happen with Edea and Deling. She'd been reserved, and he'd not even been that. She couldn't drag more than two or three words out of him at a time, and she feared he thought she'd abandoned him and the rest of the Forest Owls.

As the train pulled up to the platform, she reached over and took Squall's hand, squeezing it hard. He responded by placing his other hand on top of hers, firm and reassuring. He looked at her.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" he asked.

"I can't let any more time go by," she said. "They probably already think I forgot about them."

"But are you ready?"

Rinoa took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "As ready as I'll ever be."

Timber had changed. It looked the same as ever, maybe even better, with fewer Galbadian soldiers posted there, but its atmosphere was different. The scrappy energy she'd come to love, the rumbling of rebellion just below the surface, was gone, replaced by a languid apathy. The sounds of the trains coming and going now competed with those issuing from the TV tower. A stream of Galbadian propaganda came from its speakers, and corresponding images flashed on the giant screen outside. For one fleeting moment not that long ago, the TV tower had represented a last-ditch hope, a chance to finally get ahead of Galbadia and make Timber's voice heard.

Now, she couldn't hear a whisper of the Timber she once knew.

The people she passed looked so tired, burdened with the constant reminder of their political situation, staggering beneath the weight of the words that played in an endless loop from the speakers and even in their dreams.

The physical occupation of Timber never had this effect. Galbadia had discovered, even as its army dwindled, a new weapon, more efficient and cost-effective than any soldier.

The hotel receptionist did a double take as Rinoa and Squall walked into the lobby. "Rinoa! You're all right!" she said. "We hadn't heard anything from you in months, we were so worried that something terrible had happened."

"I'm perfectly fine, Miss DiMarco." Rinoa bit back the whole truth. "It just took us all a while to get back to normal after the craziness of time compression."

"Is that what it was called? 'Insanity' seems a better word." She grinned. "And didn't I tell you to call me Francesca? We're still friends, right?"

"Right, Francesca!" Rinoa asked whether Zone had arrived at the little café off of the lobby, where he said he'd meet them.

"Yes, he got here about a half an hour ago." Francesca leaned forward and dropped her voice. "I just want to let you know, neither he nor Watts have been doing particularly well. It seems that constant barrage of Galbadian garbage is getting to them, and without the other Owls, they've lost direction."

Rinoa opened her mouth to ask what had happened to the rest of the group, but Francesca only nodded toward the café.

Zone looked up from his coffee cup and smiled when he saw Rinoa and Squall. Rinoa hesitated for a moment. That was not Zone's usual smile; his had been one full of mischief and vigor, one of a man convinced he could help change the world. Now his smile was empty, cold, almost grotesque on his drawn face.

"Ah, she lives!" he said, motioning to the pair of chairs across from him. "As does her knight in shining armor." Rinoa tensed at the word "knight", but soon realized Zone only used it as a mild joke. "Thanks, Squall," he continued, "for taking care of her for us."

"You're welcome," Squall said, looking sideways at Rinoa with a little smile. Rinoa relaxed and turned to Zone.

"So, Zone, how are you doing? Where's Watts?" she asked.

"I'm still alive, if that counts for anything. Watts is running late, as usual. He got a job at one of the shops in town, and that takes up most of his time now." Zone took a sip of coffee. "Took the edge off him, too. No more talk about gathering info, just gathering a paycheck."

"So … how are the Owls?"

"Ah, the Owls. I thought you had forgotten. You've been gone long enough. Anyway, the Owls have disbanded. We all scattered after the incident at the TV station, and most of the others just never came back. Those who did seemed spooked by the ordeal, and wanted nothing to do with the resistance movement anymore. It's just been me and Watts, and Scruggs, that kid that'd get excited over everything we did. He's not really any help, but he keeps our egos from shriveling up."

"I'm sorry to hear that. What now?"

Zone glared at her with something close enough to hatred to chill her blood. "You tell me, Princess. It was your idea to hire SeeD, your idea to storm the TV station. And when it all went to hell, you just traipsed off to play hero with your new friends."

"That isn't true! A lot of things happened after I left, and I couldn't come back here, at least not as a part of the Forest Owls. I never abandoned you, and I'm here now to help."

"Well, you're too late."

"Listen." Zone started at the sound of Squall's voice. Squall crossed his arms on the table and leaned forward. "What Rinoa says is true. We got swept up in things we couldn't have foreseen right after we left here, and the craziness didn't stop until quite recently. We couldn't help being away for so long, but we're here now, and even if most of the Owls are gone, you, Watts, and Rinoa remain. You three hired SeeD to complete a mission, and we're going to complete it."

Zone scowled. "Didn't you hear what I just said? It. Is. Too. Late."

"You know, you're loud, obnoxious, a bit of a coward, and your choice of reading material is questionable. But I never figured you for a quitter."

"What did you say?" Zone jumped to his feet, rattling the table and causing his coffee cup to teeter precariously before righting itself. "I'm not obnoxious! I'm no quitter!"

"You just said it's too late to help Timber."

Rinoa had to fight from giggling at the sight of realization dawning on Zone's face. He slumped back in his chair and pressed his hand against his eyes.

"So," Rinoa said, looking from Zone to Squall and back, "which one of you is right?"

"Forest Fox is still active, but just barely," Zone said with a sigh. "And Forest Duck … well, if you provide the drinks, they'll follow you anywhere."

"Okay, so we still have some people to work with."

"Furthermore, a lot of students that got booted out of Galbadia Garden when the army seized it ended up here, as well as a quite a few soldiers who defected. None of them seem particularly concerned about our independence movement, but we might be able to use their animosity toward Galbadia to our advantage. We just don't have anyone who's able to convince them to do so."

"That sounds promising," Rinoa said with a nod.

"But the conditions of the battle have changed," Squall added. "Looking around after we arrived, I noticed that there are far fewer soldiers stationed here than before, and I don't think it's because Galbadia is in the process of rebuilding its forces."

"What do you mean?"

"Galbadia's tactics have changed. They've replaced their physical intimidation with psychological intimidation."

"I see," Rinoa said. "The propaganda from the TV tower. Tell me, Zone, does it ever stop?"

"There's like, maybe six hours or so of peace every night," Zone said. "But by then, the words are already on a loop in your brain and you can't shut it off."

"They're wearing you down. You can only hear something repeated for so long before you start to believe it yourself."

"So what do we do? Storm the TV station again? That didn't work out so well last time."

Rinoa shook her head. "There's nothing we can do about the propaganda. At least not right now. But it proves Squall's point, that Galbadia has changed the nature of the battle, which means that we'll have to change our tactics to match."

"Go on."

"You can go ahead and try to organize a force," Squall said. "They can be helpful in a security capacity. But to get anywhere on the independence front, you have to take the fight to Galbadia."

"The Galbadian congress!" Rinoa clapped her hands and bounced in her seat. "Timber sends a delegate to every session. We can declare our independence from Galbadia via the delegate, in front of all those politicians and bureaucrats!"

Squall looked at Rinoa, then closed his eyes and sighed. "In that case, you'd better prepare a force. To counter any retaliation."

"Do you know when the next session convenes?" When Zone shook his head, Rinoa pulled a notepad and pen from her bag and began making notes. "We'll have to find that out right away, and get in contact with the delegate, make sure they know who we are and what we're doing …"

"There she is," said Zone. "There's our princess!"

"Of course! Like I said, I never abandoned you." She turned to Squall. "How would you phrase it, 'declaration of independence' or 'articles of secession?'" Without waiting for his answer, she decided on the latter, citing diplomatic reasons and the dangerous edge the words carried. She scribbled a few more notes then looked up and noticed that Zone was smiling. His old smile.

"This feels great," he said, "getting back into the movement. The Owls are still around. Let's go stir some stuff up!"

"Are you sure your stomach can handle it?" Squall deadpanned.

"Well, we aren't going to be fighting any physical battles soon," Zone replied, oblivious, "so I think I'll be all right for a while."

"Rinoa!" Watts called from the other end of the café. He ran to the table and gaped at her. "Rinoa! And … and Sir!"

"You forgot my name?" Squall stared at him.

"Sorry, Sir, a lot's happened." He shrugged apologetically, then turned to hug Rinoa. Rinoa glanced at Squall and chuckled, then settled into a conversation with her old friends, talking about their past, their troubles, and the newly-revived hope that lay ahead of them all.

- END -