The lid was shoved back into place. There were some echoes of the grinding
sound of stone and then silence. Rinoa looked at the small structure in the
large hall. It felt like a vice gripped her throat. Her nose was filled
with watery goo, her eyes were red. Just like 7 years ago. She looked at
the statues. It showed two men. One of the men was sitting on a rock,
looking to an invisible thing. He wore a coat with fur lining, his right
hand held a gunblade that was stuck in the ground. He wore a scar between
his eyes. She sobbed. He looked just like when they had met. The grim,
stoic, introverted silent SeeD mercenary. Her knight. Squall Lionheart
How different had he been 7 years ago, and how much the same. His hair had grown to white, his skin had wrinkled and in the later years his muscles had weakened as he slowly lost his fight against the cancer that had started from his leg. He had learned to show emotions though, but he had still only cried when only she was with him. The worst had been when Cid had died. He had not cried when Laguna died. He had never officially resigned from SeeD, but had never done another mission for Garden either. None had complained and the cheques had kept coming in. He had spend the time with her and training the knights. Ah, the knights. They were all around her. Men and women. Many of them had been personally trained by Squall, and these had cursed his name often, but they had almost cried as hard as she had when he had died.
And the other man. He was sitting with his back against the other one. He looked down to the ground with an expression of relaxed arrogance on his face. He wore a trench coat with crosses on the sleeves. His hair was combed back. His gunblade was lying lazily next to his leg, the right hand holding the gun. Seifer Almasy. The failed SeeD and the failed knight. Her first love, Squall's rival but for the biggest part of his life, a good friend. And the last 7 years he had been her support. She still remembers how he was standing at the door, drenched in the rain, his face pale, his hair uncombed with grey circles under his eyes. He had knelt for her and her if he could serve her. She had told him to rest a night in the barracks. She and Squall had both stayed awake the whole night, exchanging glances now and then, not saying a word. When dawn had broken Squall had gone to Seifer to tell him the news. The blond man had sped trough the knight's order's ranks with great speed. Rinoa didn't know what had happened in the 11 years she hadn't seen him, but it had tempered the fire that seemed to rage within him. Maybe he had told Squall. The two had still been rivals in anything but her, but often they would have long talks that would die when she entered the room.
And now Seifer Almasy was dead too. The few grey hears combed backwards rested on the satin in the coffin. A heart attack. If someone had told her 60 years that would have been how Seifer Almasy would have died she would have laughed at him or her in the face. Now she was attending his funeral. The two corpses in the same marble stone construction, dominating the great hall of the Sorceress' castle. It was built on the Cetra continent, on the exact location of the old orphanage. The medieval looking building hid a complex full with state of the art equipment, and highly trained warriors that could handle practically every weapon. The knights of the Heart. There had always been only one Knight, as in Knight of the Sorceress but there now was a large number of Knights of the heart. Squall had been her first one of course. When he had died she had taken Seifer the next day. She remembered what Edea had said. Sorceresses must have knights. She looked behind her. Young men as well as hardened veterans were staring at the ground in silent mourning. She would have to choose one of them as her next Knight tomorrow. She already knew which one she would pick. Zidane. A blond young fellow that somehow reminded her of Selphie. He was just as energetic for one.
She walked away in silence, the ceremony now complete. Her thoughts went to all the people she had known. Zell, who had stayed with SeeD and had died on the battlefield fighting an overwhelming force of Dollet forces that had been attacking Galbadia. Irvine had gone more into politics, becoming a driving force into the evolution of SeeD from a mercenary organization to some sort of negotiator in disputes, with some punch to add if a country was getting too aggressive. He had become the face of Garden to the other countries, and the guide to the world to Garden. He had also married Selphie, to everyone's amazement. Selphie who had become the treasurer of Garden. The disputes between the two had been as often about personal affairs like who got to say where to spend New-Year as issues like the question whether three million Gil wasn't a bit much for organizing a conference of nations. But they had been very close trough it all. When Irvine was sniped while riding trough Galbadia in triumph she had taken it quite badly. Their only child had been 16 when it happened. Selphie had kept both her professional responsibilities. But she never had smiled since then. Until the day 5 years after Irvine died. Anna, as their daughter was named, had left the house by then. She had walked trough the whole Garden laughing, weaning her yellow short skirt, even though it didn't quite fit anymore. Someone had been worried and had gone to her room. He had found her, and three empty bags of poison powder.
Rinoa kept thinking of them, images flashing in front of her. Quistis. She didn't think Quistis had ever forgiven her. She knew that Squall's former teacher had fallen in love with him, and perhaps even a bit with Seifer. She had never married. Rinoa sighed. They never got the chance to make it up too. Stupid car accident. It was never really clear who was at fault about it anyway. But since all participants in the crash were dead it wasn't that important either. Then there was Fujin. Seifer hadn't told her what happened between his disappearance and his arrival in the castle. The only thing she knew was that Fujin was found dead in a cheap hotel room somewhere. Overdose heroin. And Rajin. Poor Rajin and poor Seifer. Rajin who had been in the clock tower that night. Rajin who had been on the exact spot where Irvine had been many years ago. Rajin who hadn't hesitated, because he wanted to kill everyone who broke up the posse. Rajin, who killed Irvine. And Seifer who had hunted down and killed Rajin. Nobody had been there. He just left when he heard his description on TV and came back two weeks later and the next day Rajin's body was found. Nobody had ever talked about it.
Cid and Edea. A small pang of jealousy teased her. Edea had lost her sorceress powers and the longevity that comes with them, but Rinoa envied her. Cid had soon retired from Garden permanently, and she and his wife had moved into a small farm near Winhill. One day a neighbour came in to check on them and found them in bed. Both were dead with smiles on their faces. Carbon Monoxide poisoning in their sleep at age 88 and 85 respectively. The faces went on and on. Xu, Dr. Odine, Laguna, Kyros, Ward, Ellone, Nida. And they were all dead. She stopped. And then there was him. General Caraway, her father. At least something good had come out of Quistis' stupid accident. The next week, she had gone to his mansion where he was taking it easy since he didn't get re-elected president of Galbadia, and they had talked. Squall had slept in the car nearby, leaving her and her father alone to talk. Rinoa was grateful for that chance. She had never thought how her father felt. Her mother Julia. To her she had been a friendly voice and loving hands. To him she had been a cold poison in his heart. To her he had always been a second choice, a replacement Laguna. Rinoa wondered for a moment of Seifer had felt like that. She reassured herself. No, Seifer knew he could only replace Squall as a Knight, not as…. Squall. Her father had died from a lung infection six year later.
As Rinoa entered her chamber, leaving the knights that followed her in silent obedience, she was bitterly thankful that she couldn't have children. It was one of the problems Edea had old her about. She had told her it was for the best. Now she knew why. She didn't think she would be able to be at the funeral of her own children. As the door closed behind her, her throat let enough air get trough for a single sob. It was the starting sign for more sobs, all shakingly leaving her throat. Gabriël, a descendant of Angelo, sympathetically whined next to her bed. It wasn't that she wasn't prepared. When Squall had been dying the two of them had been talking a lot about death, and Seifer had talked about death too, though never about his own. If the subject was ever brought up he had always laughed as if the idea was too ridiculous to discuss. But she had known it. And she would be strong. Tomorrow, she would pick a new knight and the Sorceress would be ready to face the future, but tonight Rinoa Caraway cried in her pillow.
…
Somewhere far away from there, on Balamb Island, a man was staring at another image, a hologram image. It depicted, from left too right, Selphie, Zell, Squall, Quistis and Irvine. Squall was in the middle, his finger pointing at what, as written on the card the former place of the Lunatic Pandora. He was staring ahead with a serious face, his hand at his gunblade. His comrades in arms all looked ready for battle too. Selphie had her mouth in an o, her Nunchaku's swinging to the far corner of the hologram. Zell was slight hunched over, his fist cocked back and an eager look on his face. Quistis held her whip in a circle above her head, ready to strike, her face icy coldness. And Irvine was smirking, his shotgun aimed at an invisible enemy. The man sighed. The spirit of Garden. These people got the job done. He hoped he'd be inspired, though he doubted these people would get this job done. Or would even touch the job he would undertake now.
He looked back at the table. His audience would come soon. He checked the Data disk on his personal view. All the pictures were there, in the order that they were supposed to be. He couldn't afford to look sloppy if he was to come across certain, and he would have to. He breathed deeply. The door opened. 5 persons entered. The first one was a grey haired, bearded man. He looked like a nice grandpa. He was Gendar Hegerman; former SeeD specialized in heavy explosions and current headmaster of Balamb Garden. Then came a redheaded woman with soft eyes. A couple of wrinkles announced a ripe age. She was Kila Dermi, one of the shrewdest diplomats before she had become headmaster of Galbadia Garden. The next woman looked stern. Her grey hair was in a very tight knot. Fari Hikera and though it was years ago since she had left the battlefield to become headmaster Trabia Garden she could probably still handle the scythe with great ease. The next man, Kalon Raden looked like a buisinessman. You wouldn't have given him a second look, unless he would have used the knives hidden in his gloves and shoes. He was the headmaster of Eshtar Garden, built shortly after the second Sorceress war. And finally there was a slightly obese, greying woman. Her years as headmaster of Cetra Garden since it's beginning had left their marks on Festa Decate, but she probably could still beat any level one SeeD without breaking a sweat using the giant axes she seemed to like. The 5 Headmasters of Garden, all here to listen to him. Cato Ciban.
Cato Ciban, SeeD level 13. Important contributor to the Paradox project, dedicated to find Ultimecia and eliminate her before her tyranny of the future could begin. The name was obvious because such an action would cause a paradox, since how would the SeeD of the hologram battle Ultimecia if she was destroyed before she could travel back in time, and how would they find all the dead SeeD bodies? But the notion of a fixed timeline was only a hypothesis. And one that could never been completely proven. And nobody in SeeD felt like waiting for Ultimecia to appear and slaughter them. So he and many others had spend their time looking. And now he was the one that would give their findings to these people, and try to convince them to act.
"Good day Headmasters and Headmistresses. Thank you for coming on such short notice. I'm afraid there was no way to avoid this urgent meeting."
Polite muttering followed.
"As you know we, the members of Project Paradox, have been looking for any signs that the sorceress Ultimecia is rising. To this end we have many informants all over the world, technicians working on devices to track sorceress power and many researchers looking trough all the sources we have about this enigmatic woman. It is these researchers that recently made a breakthrough. We have hesitated to report however, since the unveiling of this could lead to very unpleasant consequences in the balance of power. It wasn't until yesterday that news reached us that made clear that we should stop hesitating, since time is of the essence. So without further ado, I will present you with what we think is the future Sorceress Ultimecia and a target for the military arm of Project Paradox."
He pushed a button. The hologram projector in the centre of the room showed a woman of indefinable age, wearing a black cloak. Her hair was black and she looked rather small. On that back of the black costume there were two stylised white feathers.
Gendar raised his eyebrows, Kila scowled, Fari stroked her chin, Kalon made a whistling gesture with his mouth and Festa looked Cato in the eyes.
"I think this lady needs no introduction, but we must be precise. Rinoa Caraway. Better known as the sorceress. Son of General Patrick Caraway and Julia Heartlily. Kept the name of her mother for a long time as a protest against her father. Changed this policy some years later. Used to be the leader of a Timber resistance group known as the Forest Owls. Joined up with the famous SeeD's in the battle against the possessed Edea and fell in a coma in the battle between Balamb Garden and Galbadia Garden. Proved later to be possessed by Ultimecia when she freed Adel. Was imprisoned by Eshtar for a while because of her Sorceress powers before Squall Lionheart freed her .She then assisted in the finding of Ellone. Was taken by Adel and freed again. Helped to fight Ultimecia and was found next to Squall Lionheart near Edea's old orphanage. Married shortly after with Squall Lionheart. She disappeared from sight after some years of immense press interest. Then she and Squall Lionheart announced the forming of 'The knights of the Heart'; an organization dedicated to protect and support the Sorceress. Similar to the task of the normal knight but not as intense. The organization is not very popular as many people still harbour ill feelings towards sorceresses. But they have never shown any desires to rule anything more than Heart Castle. The organization has grown since it's beginning and is still growing as the hatred for sorceresses is waning. 7 years ago there was an unusual lack of visitors from the castle in the neighbouring areas and visitors inside weren't allowed. Later it was told that Squall Lionheart had died and the next day a new knight had been chosen. Seifer Almasy. Today, Heart Castle has again shut their doors. We suspect this means he passed away."
The Headmasters nodded. They too had heard this.
"Now I would like to present you with the information we have found that lead us to believe this woman will be the Sorceress Ultimecia. To begin I will play an interview made shortly after the final battle against Ultimecia. The first voice is a Garden Interviewer; the second one is Zell Dincht.
I: Thank you Mr. Dincht. Could you tell us what happened then?
Z: Well, after I unloaded my Ultima's on her, she suddenly… euhm. Well it was weird. It seemed like she was junctioning a GF, or maybe the GF was junctioning her. It looked really weird. And she said something like. "The most powerful GF you will… suffer. "Oh man, I had to admit, I was a bit spooked then.
I: And how looked this monster?
Z: Like a black animal really, with white…. Euhm… whatsthatword? Manes…yes. It's nose looked a bit strange really. It reminded me… euhm… oh yes. Squall's ring. It looked just like that animal on Squall's ring and on his gunblade too. What was it? Oh yeah, a lion, like in his name. I got a good look at it when I had a copy made for Rinoa.
I: Ahah, and what happened then?
Z: Well, we were fighting when all of a sudden we hear Ultimecia's voice from nowhere. It was "something… something… Griever, make them bleed." I was going "Hah, we'll see who'll be bleeding when we're done with you right Squall?" He didn't answer though. Looked a bit shocked. Perhaps he saw the next attack coming because MAN. That was a WORLD of pain. I almost bit it then, but I sure made him pay for that trick…
The sound of the recorded conversation grew softer and died. "This one of the strange things that led us to further this possibility. In itself it isn't conclusive evidence. While the lion is not that known it IS a mythical being known for it's strength and courage, and there is no reason why there could not be a GF as well as a ring that bears it's symbol. The name is something else of course. In a printed interview you can read here, Rinoa, who was then still called Heartlily reveals that Squall gave his ring a name that quote: shows that he can be so pessimistic sometimes, unquote. We don't know, and since Sir Lionheart is dead we never will know, but his reaction to the name of the GF and the lawsuit he pressed against the newspaper to remove that line, and won, lead us to believe that the names are one and the same. Also I would like to show you these two images. The left one is a drawing of this 'Griever' made using descriptions of the SeeD's that fought him; the other one is a picture of Rinoa's ring, which is an exact copy of Squall's ring. Pay attention to the strange triangular eyes. And the mouth of the GF that is constantly open. Not to mention that they both appear to have wings."
He coughed. The Headmasters looked carefully at the pictures. One by one they hung back in their seat, silently showing they were ready.
Cato pushed a button and the images disappeared. "Very well. This alone is of course insufficient to make such a person with a long and good relation with Garden the target of our most highly trained force. However these are not all the reasons we have to our theory. Once we were following this path of research, which few did, since it was thought to be 'impossible', pictures of Ultimecia were compared to pictures of Rinoa. What you see now" he pressed a button " are sketches made of Ultimecia with the help of all the fighters separately, very soon after their return, including Rinoa Caraway herself, underneath them are pictures of Rinoa and underneath that is a sketch made, again with their help, of the body that 'adorned' Ultimecia as she was absorbing time itself. Again, the image needs no further explanation. I would ask you to pay attention to the black wings that she wears, and remind you about the wings that are depicted on Rinoa's back and the wings that sometimes manifest when she uses high quantities Sorceress power."
He paused again for the headmasters to look at the pictures. "And then of course there is this. This is an interview made with Irvine Kinneas and Selphie Tilmit. The first voice is the interviewer, the second one Mrs. Tilmit, and the third one Mr. Kinneas."
In: And then she, as you say, changed?
S: Yeah, it was really Lots of weird. Super Miss Meanie sounded sad suddenly. Said sad things too. About time flowing past and that you can't stop it and such. She still hit us a couple of times but it seemed to be like something you do because you've been doing it but don't know why. She sounded… lonely and hurt. Just like… euhm… Just like Rinoa did when we were locked in the dessert prison, and she knew Squall was tortured. Funny, it reminds of her like that, yes.
Ir: You know what's funny too. I was on the ground groaning at the time, but when Ultimecia died… I… for a moment I really thought I saw Rinoa's costume in there.
S: Oh Irvine, you see other women everywhere. And you just got a serious bang on the head.
Ir: Yeah, I guess it must have gotten mixed up with my memories about Adel. Never mind.
The recording stopped. Cato spoke again "As we browsed to some records we found another hint. This one is of the interrogation of Seifer Almasy. You may have troubles hearing it; Seifer Almasy was rather shocked back then, and not speaking very clearly. The first voice is Dr. Kadowaki, the second one Seifer Almasy "
K: So you lost again, Seifer? And she insulted you.
S: [sigh] yes…I…lost… I was just…. it was all so clear back then. They were… and I was…I felt so… useless then. I failed everyone, EVERYONE. [A hand banged on a table]
K: Calm Seifer. So what happened then?
S: I just sat there… feeling…bad… and they were fighting…and then suddenly… she fell… Oh shit it hurt. [Deep breathing]
K: It's all right Seifer.
S: So then… things were getting… strange…they were… falling…. And Rinoa, she… walked forward… and then I… heard a voice telling me to stand up…
K: How did that voice sound
S: Strong… With authority… It was a woman that is sure but… she sounded… cold… hard… But I felt…. Pretty… good hearing it. Like I…. knew the voice… My mother maybe? No… It was…. Someone I…loved? Rino…No that can't be. THAT CAN'T BE! C: Calm Seifer, just sit down. S: IT WASN'T LIKE THAT! IT SOUNDED COLD AND ROTTEN AND I HATE HER GUTS! IT CAN'T BE HER! HER VOICE IS DIFFERENT!"
K: Yes Seifer I… guys get him to his room, he needs to rest.
The recording stopped. Cato cleared his throat "While Seifer Almasy was clearly very unstable at the time, in the context I think his reaction should be heard. These are the direct evidences. However, I must tell you too that since the war, there hasn't been a single report of Sorceresses. In 60 years. The only known sorceress is Rinoa Caraway. Eshtar reports that it is making good progress on their Neuro-imitator. A device that can send basic brainwaves, and has succeeded in getting telepathic animals and humans to sense it, as if it were a strange kind of animal. We have, unsuccessfully, tried to convince these people to stop their research, as it seems that with enough refining this could very well lead to what late Dr. Odine called the JDE or the Junction Device Ellone. Ellone may be dead, but her brainwaves signal has been recorded and within perhaps ten years they will be able to make a machine that could theoretically cause 'Time Condension' should enough magical power be added."
"May I draw your attention to the graph. The vertical red line shows the magical energy that our scientists estimate someone should have to perform such an action. Yes indeed Score 20000. This is not counting some practical problems like life support, and powers to use while defending herself. Almost a hundred times what the best SeeD can manage. In order for a woman of normal or even extremely high powers to reach this amount of power within 50 years her power would have to go up very fast. So fast even, that it is unlikely she will survive such a growth. Even the growth SeeD- students obtain is dangerous. We know that there are casualties when students fail to contain their magic powers. Well, this is what a student power rising level looks like…. And this is what a new sorceress now would have to do to get to 20000. As you see, both lines go up exponentially, but a SeeD reaches a certain platform. Certain… chemicals and the help of Guardian forces may help pushing the limits further, but these can be highly dangerous, which is why they have been banned."
"However, let me show you our estimates of the Magic score of the Sorceress Rinoa. I would like to add these are conservative estimates, and we don't even know what she's still hiding in her sleeves. But now she's at about 3000 and still going up. She's estimated more powerful then Adel at the height of her power. She could very well soon be powerful enough to bring SeeD to its knees and use the Neuro-imitator for time condension. As we see it, unless something very unexpected happens, Rinoa is the only possible future Ultimecia."
There was a long silence as the headmasters looked at the graphs. They were probably measuring their own powers to the graphs. It was mind- boggling what power was talked about.
"One last thing I would like to show you Headmasters is, as you all know, strictly confidential. It is data from Rinoa's medical records when, after her coma, the problems in space with the Ragnarrok and her capture by Eshtar, Dr. Kadowaki did a thorough examination. One of these was a psychological examination. Dr. Kadowaki never liked this and said it was against her principles, but she is a member of Garden. This is her report on Rinoa. I will read the relevant parts."
"She [Rinoa] has a very extrovert personality and places high value on being appreciated. She cares about those she calls friends and is often consumed with worry when doubted. Her resistance to indifference or hostility from those she considers friends is also very weak. This may be caused by the early loss of the mother and the emotional distance to her father. This need and sensitiveness could evolve in a dependency on others for some people and a loss would hit her very hard."
"Then on page 4 at the bottom there is this piece. "
"She [Rinoa] has shown a tendency to be rash and impulsive, often taking decisions at moment's notice. The potential bad consequences of her actions do not seem to occur to her. While she would not directly hurt people, she does tend to forget them once an idea has formed in he head. She will also follow this idea, the more she is opposed, the fiercer. This may also have connections to her difficult relation with her father."
"So we have a very powerful sorceress that is dependant on others, sensitive, impulsive and stubborn. As you know she has suffered more then her share of losses. Some of the people dear to her died in very tragic circumstances. And then there is the infertility being a sorceress brings. Perhaps she has grown more mature. Perhaps not. All I know is that there is a barrel with a fuse and I know that there will be an explosion. The barrel may contain sand, and it may contain gunpowder."
He sat down.
"That's it. The Paradox Forces has been notified to stand ready. With your permission, they can move out within 10 minutes. It would be prudent to take the decision today however. My apologies for the short time, but we were still hesitating to report. When we heard Heart Castle closed its doors again, just as when Sir Lionheart died, we presumed this could mean Sir Almasy had died. This would mean the Sorceress would be vulnerable now. The knights of the Heart have dropped their guards slightly, which is an edge we will need. The training of them rivals SeeD training. We may not get a chance as good as this one ever again"
There was silence. The Headmasters looked at him expectantly, as if waiting for him to say something. Cato stared at his back. Squall Lionheart looked straight ahead of him, straight to his goal. He inhaled "It's my opinion" he said "as a scientist, a SeeD and as human being" he swallowed "that Rinoa Caraway should be killed." He sat down. The headmasters looked at each other. Cato knew what they would decide. They knew what was the ideal course of action; the only thing left to do was convincing themselves to do it.
How different had he been 7 years ago, and how much the same. His hair had grown to white, his skin had wrinkled and in the later years his muscles had weakened as he slowly lost his fight against the cancer that had started from his leg. He had learned to show emotions though, but he had still only cried when only she was with him. The worst had been when Cid had died. He had not cried when Laguna died. He had never officially resigned from SeeD, but had never done another mission for Garden either. None had complained and the cheques had kept coming in. He had spend the time with her and training the knights. Ah, the knights. They were all around her. Men and women. Many of them had been personally trained by Squall, and these had cursed his name often, but they had almost cried as hard as she had when he had died.
And the other man. He was sitting with his back against the other one. He looked down to the ground with an expression of relaxed arrogance on his face. He wore a trench coat with crosses on the sleeves. His hair was combed back. His gunblade was lying lazily next to his leg, the right hand holding the gun. Seifer Almasy. The failed SeeD and the failed knight. Her first love, Squall's rival but for the biggest part of his life, a good friend. And the last 7 years he had been her support. She still remembers how he was standing at the door, drenched in the rain, his face pale, his hair uncombed with grey circles under his eyes. He had knelt for her and her if he could serve her. She had told him to rest a night in the barracks. She and Squall had both stayed awake the whole night, exchanging glances now and then, not saying a word. When dawn had broken Squall had gone to Seifer to tell him the news. The blond man had sped trough the knight's order's ranks with great speed. Rinoa didn't know what had happened in the 11 years she hadn't seen him, but it had tempered the fire that seemed to rage within him. Maybe he had told Squall. The two had still been rivals in anything but her, but often they would have long talks that would die when she entered the room.
And now Seifer Almasy was dead too. The few grey hears combed backwards rested on the satin in the coffin. A heart attack. If someone had told her 60 years that would have been how Seifer Almasy would have died she would have laughed at him or her in the face. Now she was attending his funeral. The two corpses in the same marble stone construction, dominating the great hall of the Sorceress' castle. It was built on the Cetra continent, on the exact location of the old orphanage. The medieval looking building hid a complex full with state of the art equipment, and highly trained warriors that could handle practically every weapon. The knights of the Heart. There had always been only one Knight, as in Knight of the Sorceress but there now was a large number of Knights of the heart. Squall had been her first one of course. When he had died she had taken Seifer the next day. She remembered what Edea had said. Sorceresses must have knights. She looked behind her. Young men as well as hardened veterans were staring at the ground in silent mourning. She would have to choose one of them as her next Knight tomorrow. She already knew which one she would pick. Zidane. A blond young fellow that somehow reminded her of Selphie. He was just as energetic for one.
She walked away in silence, the ceremony now complete. Her thoughts went to all the people she had known. Zell, who had stayed with SeeD and had died on the battlefield fighting an overwhelming force of Dollet forces that had been attacking Galbadia. Irvine had gone more into politics, becoming a driving force into the evolution of SeeD from a mercenary organization to some sort of negotiator in disputes, with some punch to add if a country was getting too aggressive. He had become the face of Garden to the other countries, and the guide to the world to Garden. He had also married Selphie, to everyone's amazement. Selphie who had become the treasurer of Garden. The disputes between the two had been as often about personal affairs like who got to say where to spend New-Year as issues like the question whether three million Gil wasn't a bit much for organizing a conference of nations. But they had been very close trough it all. When Irvine was sniped while riding trough Galbadia in triumph she had taken it quite badly. Their only child had been 16 when it happened. Selphie had kept both her professional responsibilities. But she never had smiled since then. Until the day 5 years after Irvine died. Anna, as their daughter was named, had left the house by then. She had walked trough the whole Garden laughing, weaning her yellow short skirt, even though it didn't quite fit anymore. Someone had been worried and had gone to her room. He had found her, and three empty bags of poison powder.
Rinoa kept thinking of them, images flashing in front of her. Quistis. She didn't think Quistis had ever forgiven her. She knew that Squall's former teacher had fallen in love with him, and perhaps even a bit with Seifer. She had never married. Rinoa sighed. They never got the chance to make it up too. Stupid car accident. It was never really clear who was at fault about it anyway. But since all participants in the crash were dead it wasn't that important either. Then there was Fujin. Seifer hadn't told her what happened between his disappearance and his arrival in the castle. The only thing she knew was that Fujin was found dead in a cheap hotel room somewhere. Overdose heroin. And Rajin. Poor Rajin and poor Seifer. Rajin who had been in the clock tower that night. Rajin who had been on the exact spot where Irvine had been many years ago. Rajin who hadn't hesitated, because he wanted to kill everyone who broke up the posse. Rajin, who killed Irvine. And Seifer who had hunted down and killed Rajin. Nobody had been there. He just left when he heard his description on TV and came back two weeks later and the next day Rajin's body was found. Nobody had ever talked about it.
Cid and Edea. A small pang of jealousy teased her. Edea had lost her sorceress powers and the longevity that comes with them, but Rinoa envied her. Cid had soon retired from Garden permanently, and she and his wife had moved into a small farm near Winhill. One day a neighbour came in to check on them and found them in bed. Both were dead with smiles on their faces. Carbon Monoxide poisoning in their sleep at age 88 and 85 respectively. The faces went on and on. Xu, Dr. Odine, Laguna, Kyros, Ward, Ellone, Nida. And they were all dead. She stopped. And then there was him. General Caraway, her father. At least something good had come out of Quistis' stupid accident. The next week, she had gone to his mansion where he was taking it easy since he didn't get re-elected president of Galbadia, and they had talked. Squall had slept in the car nearby, leaving her and her father alone to talk. Rinoa was grateful for that chance. She had never thought how her father felt. Her mother Julia. To her she had been a friendly voice and loving hands. To him she had been a cold poison in his heart. To her he had always been a second choice, a replacement Laguna. Rinoa wondered for a moment of Seifer had felt like that. She reassured herself. No, Seifer knew he could only replace Squall as a Knight, not as…. Squall. Her father had died from a lung infection six year later.
As Rinoa entered her chamber, leaving the knights that followed her in silent obedience, she was bitterly thankful that she couldn't have children. It was one of the problems Edea had old her about. She had told her it was for the best. Now she knew why. She didn't think she would be able to be at the funeral of her own children. As the door closed behind her, her throat let enough air get trough for a single sob. It was the starting sign for more sobs, all shakingly leaving her throat. Gabriël, a descendant of Angelo, sympathetically whined next to her bed. It wasn't that she wasn't prepared. When Squall had been dying the two of them had been talking a lot about death, and Seifer had talked about death too, though never about his own. If the subject was ever brought up he had always laughed as if the idea was too ridiculous to discuss. But she had known it. And she would be strong. Tomorrow, she would pick a new knight and the Sorceress would be ready to face the future, but tonight Rinoa Caraway cried in her pillow.
…
Somewhere far away from there, on Balamb Island, a man was staring at another image, a hologram image. It depicted, from left too right, Selphie, Zell, Squall, Quistis and Irvine. Squall was in the middle, his finger pointing at what, as written on the card the former place of the Lunatic Pandora. He was staring ahead with a serious face, his hand at his gunblade. His comrades in arms all looked ready for battle too. Selphie had her mouth in an o, her Nunchaku's swinging to the far corner of the hologram. Zell was slight hunched over, his fist cocked back and an eager look on his face. Quistis held her whip in a circle above her head, ready to strike, her face icy coldness. And Irvine was smirking, his shotgun aimed at an invisible enemy. The man sighed. The spirit of Garden. These people got the job done. He hoped he'd be inspired, though he doubted these people would get this job done. Or would even touch the job he would undertake now.
He looked back at the table. His audience would come soon. He checked the Data disk on his personal view. All the pictures were there, in the order that they were supposed to be. He couldn't afford to look sloppy if he was to come across certain, and he would have to. He breathed deeply. The door opened. 5 persons entered. The first one was a grey haired, bearded man. He looked like a nice grandpa. He was Gendar Hegerman; former SeeD specialized in heavy explosions and current headmaster of Balamb Garden. Then came a redheaded woman with soft eyes. A couple of wrinkles announced a ripe age. She was Kila Dermi, one of the shrewdest diplomats before she had become headmaster of Galbadia Garden. The next woman looked stern. Her grey hair was in a very tight knot. Fari Hikera and though it was years ago since she had left the battlefield to become headmaster Trabia Garden she could probably still handle the scythe with great ease. The next man, Kalon Raden looked like a buisinessman. You wouldn't have given him a second look, unless he would have used the knives hidden in his gloves and shoes. He was the headmaster of Eshtar Garden, built shortly after the second Sorceress war. And finally there was a slightly obese, greying woman. Her years as headmaster of Cetra Garden since it's beginning had left their marks on Festa Decate, but she probably could still beat any level one SeeD without breaking a sweat using the giant axes she seemed to like. The 5 Headmasters of Garden, all here to listen to him. Cato Ciban.
Cato Ciban, SeeD level 13. Important contributor to the Paradox project, dedicated to find Ultimecia and eliminate her before her tyranny of the future could begin. The name was obvious because such an action would cause a paradox, since how would the SeeD of the hologram battle Ultimecia if she was destroyed before she could travel back in time, and how would they find all the dead SeeD bodies? But the notion of a fixed timeline was only a hypothesis. And one that could never been completely proven. And nobody in SeeD felt like waiting for Ultimecia to appear and slaughter them. So he and many others had spend their time looking. And now he was the one that would give their findings to these people, and try to convince them to act.
"Good day Headmasters and Headmistresses. Thank you for coming on such short notice. I'm afraid there was no way to avoid this urgent meeting."
Polite muttering followed.
"As you know we, the members of Project Paradox, have been looking for any signs that the sorceress Ultimecia is rising. To this end we have many informants all over the world, technicians working on devices to track sorceress power and many researchers looking trough all the sources we have about this enigmatic woman. It is these researchers that recently made a breakthrough. We have hesitated to report however, since the unveiling of this could lead to very unpleasant consequences in the balance of power. It wasn't until yesterday that news reached us that made clear that we should stop hesitating, since time is of the essence. So without further ado, I will present you with what we think is the future Sorceress Ultimecia and a target for the military arm of Project Paradox."
He pushed a button. The hologram projector in the centre of the room showed a woman of indefinable age, wearing a black cloak. Her hair was black and she looked rather small. On that back of the black costume there were two stylised white feathers.
Gendar raised his eyebrows, Kila scowled, Fari stroked her chin, Kalon made a whistling gesture with his mouth and Festa looked Cato in the eyes.
"I think this lady needs no introduction, but we must be precise. Rinoa Caraway. Better known as the sorceress. Son of General Patrick Caraway and Julia Heartlily. Kept the name of her mother for a long time as a protest against her father. Changed this policy some years later. Used to be the leader of a Timber resistance group known as the Forest Owls. Joined up with the famous SeeD's in the battle against the possessed Edea and fell in a coma in the battle between Balamb Garden and Galbadia Garden. Proved later to be possessed by Ultimecia when she freed Adel. Was imprisoned by Eshtar for a while because of her Sorceress powers before Squall Lionheart freed her .She then assisted in the finding of Ellone. Was taken by Adel and freed again. Helped to fight Ultimecia and was found next to Squall Lionheart near Edea's old orphanage. Married shortly after with Squall Lionheart. She disappeared from sight after some years of immense press interest. Then she and Squall Lionheart announced the forming of 'The knights of the Heart'; an organization dedicated to protect and support the Sorceress. Similar to the task of the normal knight but not as intense. The organization is not very popular as many people still harbour ill feelings towards sorceresses. But they have never shown any desires to rule anything more than Heart Castle. The organization has grown since it's beginning and is still growing as the hatred for sorceresses is waning. 7 years ago there was an unusual lack of visitors from the castle in the neighbouring areas and visitors inside weren't allowed. Later it was told that Squall Lionheart had died and the next day a new knight had been chosen. Seifer Almasy. Today, Heart Castle has again shut their doors. We suspect this means he passed away."
The Headmasters nodded. They too had heard this.
"Now I would like to present you with the information we have found that lead us to believe this woman will be the Sorceress Ultimecia. To begin I will play an interview made shortly after the final battle against Ultimecia. The first voice is a Garden Interviewer; the second one is Zell Dincht.
I: Thank you Mr. Dincht. Could you tell us what happened then?
Z: Well, after I unloaded my Ultima's on her, she suddenly… euhm. Well it was weird. It seemed like she was junctioning a GF, or maybe the GF was junctioning her. It looked really weird. And she said something like. "The most powerful GF you will… suffer. "Oh man, I had to admit, I was a bit spooked then.
I: And how looked this monster?
Z: Like a black animal really, with white…. Euhm… whatsthatword? Manes…yes. It's nose looked a bit strange really. It reminded me… euhm… oh yes. Squall's ring. It looked just like that animal on Squall's ring and on his gunblade too. What was it? Oh yeah, a lion, like in his name. I got a good look at it when I had a copy made for Rinoa.
I: Ahah, and what happened then?
Z: Well, we were fighting when all of a sudden we hear Ultimecia's voice from nowhere. It was "something… something… Griever, make them bleed." I was going "Hah, we'll see who'll be bleeding when we're done with you right Squall?" He didn't answer though. Looked a bit shocked. Perhaps he saw the next attack coming because MAN. That was a WORLD of pain. I almost bit it then, but I sure made him pay for that trick…
The sound of the recorded conversation grew softer and died. "This one of the strange things that led us to further this possibility. In itself it isn't conclusive evidence. While the lion is not that known it IS a mythical being known for it's strength and courage, and there is no reason why there could not be a GF as well as a ring that bears it's symbol. The name is something else of course. In a printed interview you can read here, Rinoa, who was then still called Heartlily reveals that Squall gave his ring a name that quote: shows that he can be so pessimistic sometimes, unquote. We don't know, and since Sir Lionheart is dead we never will know, but his reaction to the name of the GF and the lawsuit he pressed against the newspaper to remove that line, and won, lead us to believe that the names are one and the same. Also I would like to show you these two images. The left one is a drawing of this 'Griever' made using descriptions of the SeeD's that fought him; the other one is a picture of Rinoa's ring, which is an exact copy of Squall's ring. Pay attention to the strange triangular eyes. And the mouth of the GF that is constantly open. Not to mention that they both appear to have wings."
He coughed. The Headmasters looked carefully at the pictures. One by one they hung back in their seat, silently showing they were ready.
Cato pushed a button and the images disappeared. "Very well. This alone is of course insufficient to make such a person with a long and good relation with Garden the target of our most highly trained force. However these are not all the reasons we have to our theory. Once we were following this path of research, which few did, since it was thought to be 'impossible', pictures of Ultimecia were compared to pictures of Rinoa. What you see now" he pressed a button " are sketches made of Ultimecia with the help of all the fighters separately, very soon after their return, including Rinoa Caraway herself, underneath them are pictures of Rinoa and underneath that is a sketch made, again with their help, of the body that 'adorned' Ultimecia as she was absorbing time itself. Again, the image needs no further explanation. I would ask you to pay attention to the black wings that she wears, and remind you about the wings that are depicted on Rinoa's back and the wings that sometimes manifest when she uses high quantities Sorceress power."
He paused again for the headmasters to look at the pictures. "And then of course there is this. This is an interview made with Irvine Kinneas and Selphie Tilmit. The first voice is the interviewer, the second one Mrs. Tilmit, and the third one Mr. Kinneas."
In: And then she, as you say, changed?
S: Yeah, it was really Lots of weird. Super Miss Meanie sounded sad suddenly. Said sad things too. About time flowing past and that you can't stop it and such. She still hit us a couple of times but it seemed to be like something you do because you've been doing it but don't know why. She sounded… lonely and hurt. Just like… euhm… Just like Rinoa did when we were locked in the dessert prison, and she knew Squall was tortured. Funny, it reminds of her like that, yes.
Ir: You know what's funny too. I was on the ground groaning at the time, but when Ultimecia died… I… for a moment I really thought I saw Rinoa's costume in there.
S: Oh Irvine, you see other women everywhere. And you just got a serious bang on the head.
Ir: Yeah, I guess it must have gotten mixed up with my memories about Adel. Never mind.
The recording stopped. Cato spoke again "As we browsed to some records we found another hint. This one is of the interrogation of Seifer Almasy. You may have troubles hearing it; Seifer Almasy was rather shocked back then, and not speaking very clearly. The first voice is Dr. Kadowaki, the second one Seifer Almasy "
K: So you lost again, Seifer? And she insulted you.
S: [sigh] yes…I…lost… I was just…. it was all so clear back then. They were… and I was…I felt so… useless then. I failed everyone, EVERYONE. [A hand banged on a table]
K: Calm Seifer. So what happened then?
S: I just sat there… feeling…bad… and they were fighting…and then suddenly… she fell… Oh shit it hurt. [Deep breathing]
K: It's all right Seifer.
S: So then… things were getting… strange…they were… falling…. And Rinoa, she… walked forward… and then I… heard a voice telling me to stand up…
K: How did that voice sound
S: Strong… With authority… It was a woman that is sure but… she sounded… cold… hard… But I felt…. Pretty… good hearing it. Like I…. knew the voice… My mother maybe? No… It was…. Someone I…loved? Rino…No that can't be. THAT CAN'T BE! C: Calm Seifer, just sit down. S: IT WASN'T LIKE THAT! IT SOUNDED COLD AND ROTTEN AND I HATE HER GUTS! IT CAN'T BE HER! HER VOICE IS DIFFERENT!"
K: Yes Seifer I… guys get him to his room, he needs to rest.
The recording stopped. Cato cleared his throat "While Seifer Almasy was clearly very unstable at the time, in the context I think his reaction should be heard. These are the direct evidences. However, I must tell you too that since the war, there hasn't been a single report of Sorceresses. In 60 years. The only known sorceress is Rinoa Caraway. Eshtar reports that it is making good progress on their Neuro-imitator. A device that can send basic brainwaves, and has succeeded in getting telepathic animals and humans to sense it, as if it were a strange kind of animal. We have, unsuccessfully, tried to convince these people to stop their research, as it seems that with enough refining this could very well lead to what late Dr. Odine called the JDE or the Junction Device Ellone. Ellone may be dead, but her brainwaves signal has been recorded and within perhaps ten years they will be able to make a machine that could theoretically cause 'Time Condension' should enough magical power be added."
"May I draw your attention to the graph. The vertical red line shows the magical energy that our scientists estimate someone should have to perform such an action. Yes indeed Score 20000. This is not counting some practical problems like life support, and powers to use while defending herself. Almost a hundred times what the best SeeD can manage. In order for a woman of normal or even extremely high powers to reach this amount of power within 50 years her power would have to go up very fast. So fast even, that it is unlikely she will survive such a growth. Even the growth SeeD- students obtain is dangerous. We know that there are casualties when students fail to contain their magic powers. Well, this is what a student power rising level looks like…. And this is what a new sorceress now would have to do to get to 20000. As you see, both lines go up exponentially, but a SeeD reaches a certain platform. Certain… chemicals and the help of Guardian forces may help pushing the limits further, but these can be highly dangerous, which is why they have been banned."
"However, let me show you our estimates of the Magic score of the Sorceress Rinoa. I would like to add these are conservative estimates, and we don't even know what she's still hiding in her sleeves. But now she's at about 3000 and still going up. She's estimated more powerful then Adel at the height of her power. She could very well soon be powerful enough to bring SeeD to its knees and use the Neuro-imitator for time condension. As we see it, unless something very unexpected happens, Rinoa is the only possible future Ultimecia."
There was a long silence as the headmasters looked at the graphs. They were probably measuring their own powers to the graphs. It was mind- boggling what power was talked about.
"One last thing I would like to show you Headmasters is, as you all know, strictly confidential. It is data from Rinoa's medical records when, after her coma, the problems in space with the Ragnarrok and her capture by Eshtar, Dr. Kadowaki did a thorough examination. One of these was a psychological examination. Dr. Kadowaki never liked this and said it was against her principles, but she is a member of Garden. This is her report on Rinoa. I will read the relevant parts."
"She [Rinoa] has a very extrovert personality and places high value on being appreciated. She cares about those she calls friends and is often consumed with worry when doubted. Her resistance to indifference or hostility from those she considers friends is also very weak. This may be caused by the early loss of the mother and the emotional distance to her father. This need and sensitiveness could evolve in a dependency on others for some people and a loss would hit her very hard."
"Then on page 4 at the bottom there is this piece. "
"She [Rinoa] has shown a tendency to be rash and impulsive, often taking decisions at moment's notice. The potential bad consequences of her actions do not seem to occur to her. While she would not directly hurt people, she does tend to forget them once an idea has formed in he head. She will also follow this idea, the more she is opposed, the fiercer. This may also have connections to her difficult relation with her father."
"So we have a very powerful sorceress that is dependant on others, sensitive, impulsive and stubborn. As you know she has suffered more then her share of losses. Some of the people dear to her died in very tragic circumstances. And then there is the infertility being a sorceress brings. Perhaps she has grown more mature. Perhaps not. All I know is that there is a barrel with a fuse and I know that there will be an explosion. The barrel may contain sand, and it may contain gunpowder."
He sat down.
"That's it. The Paradox Forces has been notified to stand ready. With your permission, they can move out within 10 minutes. It would be prudent to take the decision today however. My apologies for the short time, but we were still hesitating to report. When we heard Heart Castle closed its doors again, just as when Sir Lionheart died, we presumed this could mean Sir Almasy had died. This would mean the Sorceress would be vulnerable now. The knights of the Heart have dropped their guards slightly, which is an edge we will need. The training of them rivals SeeD training. We may not get a chance as good as this one ever again"
There was silence. The Headmasters looked at him expectantly, as if waiting for him to say something. Cato stared at his back. Squall Lionheart looked straight ahead of him, straight to his goal. He inhaled "It's my opinion" he said "as a scientist, a SeeD and as human being" he swallowed "that Rinoa Caraway should be killed." He sat down. The headmasters looked at each other. Cato knew what they would decide. They knew what was the ideal course of action; the only thing left to do was convincing themselves to do it.