Chapter 2
"The grave is no bar to my call"
-The inscription on the Horn of Valere
Book II of The Wheel of Time
You don't remember anyone else...
"I don't…just Squall and Seifer." Rinoa sighed, dejectedly tucking her feet under her.
There are others who do care for you as well. Don't you remember them?
"Well, I remember this guy who ate hot dogs a lot. Oh, and a really chipper girl…short...and a tall blonde…really uptight…and some scumbag cowboy who flirted with any girl who had a pair of legs and…well…yeah," she said easily to her intertwined fingers that sat on her lap.
They're your friends...they saved your life just as a many times as you saved theirs.
"They're my friends?" she asked softly, now looking up at her canine companion.
They are.
---"Sorry to keep you waiting! Thank you so much for coming all the way out here, everyone," a bright, bouncy and petite brunette called out. Her usually very cheery and infectious smile seemed darker, her expression more solemn. A pair of green eyes shone regardless of her mood. Despite the freezing weather of Trabia, she wore a yellow dress that went above the knees.
'Selphie…her name is Selphie Tilmitt. She always did the funniest things!'
"Cheer up, eh?" a tall, lanky man dressed in western attire asked. He looked the part with the hat, boots and coat. His brown hair was tied loosely at the nape of his neck.
'Irvine Kinneas…the sniper from…Galbadia.He was handsome, but didn't hold a candle to Squall. I can't believe I ever flirted with him!!'
"Thanks. Take me with you when you fight the sorceress, okay? I wanna get even. I want my revenge!"
'Who's the sorceress?'
"Um... Do we...have to fight? Isn't there another way? Y'know, to avoid any bloodshed?" Rinoa asked quietly, almost shyly.
"Yo...!? What the...!? What are you sayin' all of a sudden!?" a young man asked, with wide hand motions. He had bright blond hair and an intricate tattoo that resembled a dragon on the left side of his face. It began near the ear and extended horizontally sideways.
'That's Zell…the hot dog eater.'
"Maybe someone really smart can come up with a way, so we wouldn't have to fight anymore..."
'What are you getting at...? If someone can come up with something, that'd be great...But no one's doing anything... they're all scared, uneasy. All they do is complain. They just pretend to be thinking. They criticize others, but in the end, they can't do anything, either. Rinoa, why all this, all of a sudden? What do you expect from me? I grew up in Garden. I'm a SeeD. Do you understand?' Squall thought to himself, looking away from Rinoa.
"Squall? You have to voice your feelings, or else I wouldn't understand," Rinoa said quietly.
'It's almost as if I could have read his mind…weird.'
"You were...part of a resistance movement in Timber, right? Unlike others who were all talk, you took to your weapons and fought... And now you're saying all this? What happened to you?" he asked almost skeptically. She could almost see confusion in his blue eyes.
'Those eyes!!'
"I guess...I'm getting scared. Sometimes...when I'm with all of you... I...feel like we're on the same wavelength......you know?" She took a deep breath looking at everyone in the eye. "But when the battles start happening, it's different." Rinoa looked down at her intertwined fingers. "Everyone's tempo seems to pick up and... I get left behind. I try to catch up, but it's no use... How far is everyone going? I can't hear anyone... Once I catch up, I wonder... Is everyone safe? Will they welcome me with open arms? ......Is everyone okay? Will we all make it back together? When I start thinking like that..." She left it open to interpretation, the fear and sadness coming back to her.
'Did everybody leave me behind? It always seemed they did. Even Selphie.'
"Rinoa, I understand. Someone might not be there. Someone you love may disappear before your very eyes. It's tough when you live your life thinking that way. But that's why I fight..." Irvine said, picking up the basketball in the middle of the court. He turned to her, then to everyone else. "When I was a little kid... I was about 4 or so... I was in an orphanage." He looked straight ahead, to where the net was and launched a shot. It bounced off the rim and landed on the cracked and uneven cement.---
"They were all in the same orphanage…even Seifer was…except me…the odd one out," Rinoa murmured, more to herself than to Angelo.
In a way that was true…but you weren't the odd one out anymore. You became one of 'the gang'.
---"What's wrong, Rinoa?" a young blonde had asked worriedly, tilting her head sideways. Strands of blonde hair swung with her. She was barely older than Rinoa, by a year at the most. The whole gang stood around her, though they were either sitting or standing around the smooth, slick cockpit of the ship.
'Quistis…Quistis Trepe. She was-is-such a good friend...I bet she was a better instructor. '
"I'm just a little...embarrassed," Rinoa muttered, looking down at her feet and starting to kick the ground with the tip of her shoe gently.
"Why?" Zell inquired, unusually.
"I was so set on staying in Esthar. But then, when you guys rescued me... It made me so happy, and..." She blushed furiously, leaning closer to Squall.
"No need to be embarrassed!" Irvine interjected again, saving her from explaining herself.
"Yeah, happy is good," Selphie added immediately, as if she knew what the lanky cowboy was about to say.
"Thanks...everybody."
'I have a lot on my mind...' Squall thought, looking away from his group of 'friends' and out to the open blue skies.
"As an expert Squall observer... He's thinking, 'what do we do now'? Blah blah blah... If you think and worry too much, everything tends to turn back. Squall, why don't we just picture a brighter future?" Quistis said, almost humorously.
'Damn…she is an expert Squall observer…dammit! Huh…do I see a tinge of jealousy there, Rinoa? I'm becoming more and more like Squall…talking to myself!'
"...Whatever," Squall said blankly.
"But seriously, what do we do from here? I'm not really sure, but...don't we have to do something about that 'Lunatic Pandora' in Esthar? After all, the Galbadians are controlling it. Which means Seifer is behind all this too, right?" Zell asked, obviously piecing the puzzle together out loud.
'Lunatic Pandora? Ultimecia…'
"Seifer is...Ultimecia's puppet," Squall answered easily, if somewhat uncertainly.
"Yeah, and that Ultimecia! We can't let that sorceress from the future mess up our world! Let's go kick her ass! We're SeeDs! We're here to destroy the sorceress, right!!!?" The martial artist exclaimed, pumping his fists in the air. He didn't realize his mistakes until he was reminded.
"ZELL!!!" the gunblade wielder exclaimed sharply.
"...S-Sorry..."---
'He really needs to think before he opens that mouth. I guess if it wasn't big, he wouldn't be able to fit all those hotdogs in.'
"Angelo…I don't understand why I hear Squall's thoughts in these 'flashbacks' and I don't hear the others."
You do know. He is your knight. After all, all sorceresses must have knights or else they'll go…'off the wall' as you humans say. He's yours. You two have an amazing connection, and nothing will break that.
"Not even death?"
Not even death.
"Are we there yet?" Squall asked nervously, beginning to pace. Nida hated when he did that. It always made him nervous. He wiped his sweaty palms against his dark blue SeeD uniform.
"Yes…I just need to land and…" Nida gulped and opened his mouth to continue.
"Open the hatch now!!" The commander commanded abruptly, taking the elevator down to the air lock. Nida quickly did as he was ordered to although he was still in the air from jumping in surprise. In a matter of seconds, he saw Squall run across the sandy plains towards the stone building that was once an orphanage. Tall beams lay broken into pieces, victims of environment and age. It took a moment to realize that Squall had jumped out of the Ragnarok in mid-air.
Nida was about to sit back in his chair when a flash of bright blue caught his eye. He bolted up in his seat. That was Lionheart, Squall's upgraded gunblade. If he was ready to attack, then he shouldn't be alone.
Nida lifted the Raganarok off and towards Balamb Garden all the while calling the command to alarm Quistis, Zell, Irvine and Selphie. He would need help, and maybe for once, they would listen.
---"We'll be home soon?" Rinoa asked, half in hope, half in fear. Her arms were wrapped around his neck as she sat in his lap, burying her head in his shoulder. His right arm was instinctively placed around her waist.
"Hopefully. Now go sit down," Squall said as gently as possible.
"Just a little longer."
"Why are you holding onto me like this?"
"You don't like this, Squall?" She looked up at him.
"Just not used to it," he answered briefly, almost sadly.
"How about when you were little? Didn't you feel safe and secure being held by your parents?" Rinoa inquired softly, her eyes getting lost in his blue ones. He wasn't even looking at her. Just straight ahead, at the dark expanse of space.
'Damn…I must really have it bad.'
"I can't remember anything about my parents... but...Ellone was there for me. Ellone was there to hold my hand."
"Made you feel safe and secure?"
"Sure. But she left. Just disappeared. I'm afraid... Afraid of having that feeling of comfort taken away," he revealed, putting a hand on her right arm. A warm feeling spread throughout her body.
"You were afraid of losing us? Is that why you kept your distance?" she inquired shakily, trying to keep her happiness away from her voice. She shifted lightly in his presence. If she had died now…she would have been happy.
"I was always alone..." Rinoa's heart almost broke right there.
'He opened up to me. He did.'
"Squall... You missed out on all the good things in life. You've missed out on so much."
"...Maybe."
"Definitely." She looked back up at him. This time... he was staring into her eyes. "I like it like this. I liked having my mom hold me. My dad, too, back when we got along."
"I'm not your mom," Squall pointed out, barely lifting an eyebrow.
"No, of course not," she amended quickly. "But now... Squall, you're the one who gives me the most comfort. Comfort and happiness..." Squall blushed lightly. "And annoyance and disappointment, too!"
'He blushed!! I never thought the stoic Commander of the Garden would blush.'
"...Whatever," he said in monotone. It took a moment to realize that Rinoa had said the same three-syllable word as well.
"You should get back to your seat now," Squall said again.
"Just a little longer."
'You'll be safer in your seat.'
'He's worried about my safety…that's why he wanted me to go…I thought he wanted to close up again.'
"We're gonna make it home, right?"
"We can only hope," Squall repeated again, shifting the arm that supported her back.
"When we get back... We won't be able to stay together, huh?" Rinoa said it sadly, burying her face in his shoulder again.
"...Maybe. No one can predict the future, there are no guarantees. Those were your words, Rinoa."
"That's not what I meant," she half protested, half stated.
"We'll figure out what to do once we get back." Suddenly, she untangled herself from his arms and floated gracefully back into her seat. Having zero gravity helped.
"They'll all be angry with me," she said sadly, buckling her safety belts.
"Angry?"---
'I'm a sorceress Squall…did you think the world wouldn't be afraid of me? That they wouldn't care that I could wreak havoc on the world that they know?'
"Matron…what are you talking about?" Seifer asked, a tinge of worry echoing in his tone. Edea merely grinned at him and stepped around the levitating bed. She gently grabbed the edge of the gunblade wielder's chin and tilted it down so his dark green eyes locked with hers.
"Seifer…you love Rinoa, correct?" The flicker of emotion in his whole body, his posture, his eyes gave her her answer. "You would do anything to keep her safe…if she is in the presence of a Tai'fan such as Squall then her life, her soul is in danger…" Matron's dark eyes began to bore into Seifer's. "You wouldn't want that…would you?" In a way, he played straight into her plans.
"NO!! If Squall is a danger to her…then it's right she dies!" He stated, unaware of the slight manipulation of 'Matron' he was victim to.
"Very well…Seifer…dip your Hyperion into the seas three times and cleanse the bloodshed away!" she ordered, lifting her arms slowly above her head, a small surge of energy building up just above her extended hand. An evil smile spread across her face. Two deaths would be victim to that gunblade…and they both would benefit her.
"Are you saying Squall is at the orphanage trying to find Rinoa..?" Irvine said calmly, hiding his confusion well.
"Seifer took her?" Selphie asked almost angrily.
"Squall is not that stupid to go after Seifer by himself…" Quistis whispered to herself, not directing her comment towards Nida as the rest of them had been doing.
"WAIT A SECOND HERE!!!" Zell exclaimed, stopping the confused chatter around him. He looked at everyone in the room as they looked back at him. "Doesn't Matron live there?" he asked, hoping that they would catch his meaning. Selphie was the first to understand.
"I KNOW WHAT HE'S SAYING!!! IF MATRON LIVES AT THE ORPHANAGE, THERE'S NO WAY SHE WOULD ALLOW SEIFER TO KIDNAP RINOA AND HIDE HER THERE!!" she exclaimed, her voice reaching a strident pitch. Only Quistis did not flinch.
"So guys…what if he hurt Edea….then Rinoa, Matron and Squall are in danger! Who knows what Seifer is capable of!!" Nida watched calmly at the display of 'knowledge' in front of him. He could've told them all of that.
"Where to?" he asked, sitting back into the pilot's seat. Irvine grinned in that sly, western way.
"Nida…head to Matron's Orphanage…and hurry…or Selphie'll have to take over!"
"Please Angelo…I wanna go back home," Rinoa said, barely audibly. An empty hole began to reveal its presence in her heart.
Rinoa…I cannot. You will come back when Fate permits you to. Otherwise you must wait.
"But-"
That emptiness within you is only there because you refuse to believe your friends, your knight, is with you, but in truth, master…they are. You must believe.
Angelo curled herself beside the sorceress and nudged her lightly. "I want to remember more about what happened…there are still so many holes in my memory," she whispered, combing Angelo's fur with her hands.
You do not have to. Once you leave this place you'll remember everything.
"Please, Angelo…"
As you wish. Ah…I see a question in the back of your mind…what is it?
Rinoa narrowed her eyes, very confused. "Well…I was wondering what this place really was."
You're trapped in a place between life and death. The unknown in your unconsciousness. The dreamers seek your life for their own purposes. Without human life, they cannot live...They send you to the dark recesses in your own mind and trap you there. They have already half succeeded in your case. But luckily, I came in time to stop you from walking too far.
"Why are you here?"
That, Master, is another question for another time.
---'...It's pretty far...Didn't think it would be this far...What am I doing...? Go to Esthar... Find Ellone... Talk to Ellone...But there's no guarantee that everything will be resolved if I talk to Ellone. Even so, I'm...I.........sure have changed.' Squall paused in mid-stride but stopped firmly. He shifted Rinoa off his back and placed her down on the soft asphalt. For a moment, his blue eyes watched carefully, taking in her soft breathing and her soft features. 'I wonder what everyone's doing....They're probably laughing at me.' He sighed outwardly and sat down on the ledge beside her, a gloved hand supporting his head. The sunset was beautiful. 'Or maybe they're angry...?'
Squall looked over at the unconscious sorceress again. She was in a deep coma, unable to be woken by the strongest spells. 'What do you think? To tell you the truth... I worry too much about what others think of me. I hate that side of me...' he admitted mentally to himself and to her. 'That's why I didn't want anyone to get to know me. I wanted to hide that side of myself. I hate it. Squall is an unfriendly, introverted guy. It made it easy for me when people perceived me that way. That's a secret between you and me. Got that?' He combed his other hand through his own hair, looking out at the empty tracks in front of him.
'Rinoa..' He thought sadly at her, picking her up and putting her limp body on his back, carrying her piggy-back style. 'I love you'.---
'You might have thought that I couldn't hear you Squall…but I could…because I knew that you loved me….I love you too.'
Squall leaned slightly forward, barely exposing his head in the open doorway. He stood, his back against the wall, eavesdropping on Matron's chanting. 'No…she's not Matron anymore…not after this.' He grimaced inwardly. 'They're planning to kill her…my sorceress….'
Before Squall could even remember, he lived at an orphanage with Quistis, Zell, Seifer, Irvine, Selphie and Ellone. Ellone was known as 'Sis' at the time. The orphanage was run by Edea and Cid Kramer. Edea was known as Matron, she took care of the kids until they were adopted or in Squall and Seifer's case, until Cid brought them to the Garden. Cid is now known as Headmaster of Balamb Garden. When their past was revealed, the gang took up their old name for the former sorceress. It represented trust and love towards their mother figure.
He eyed Seifer's back first before transferring his gaze to Edea. 'Matr-Edea doesn't have her sorceress powers anymore but…she has some kind of magic in her…Seifer has the gunblade…but if I can use Rinoa as a shield…he won't attack. WAIT!! What the hell am I saying…I'm supposed to protect Rinoa…not put her in danger!!' He let out a barely audible sigh and tightened his grip around his gunblade, Lionheart.
'This is it…I'm coming, Rinoa!' he said mentally, unsheathing his weapon and he revealed himself.
Rinoa felt a cold shiver make its way up her spine. She looked around her. "Angelo…something's wrong," she whispered, shuffling closer to her companion. Angelo lifted his head and began to sniff the air, walking around. She paused and looked directly at Rinoa and began to bark furiously.
Your knight is in danger!! You must try to leave now!!
It took a full minute for the dire meaning the words held to sink in. A surge of panic overcame her. "What?! I can't! You said it yourself!! I can't leave unless Fate let's me leave!! I don't know how!"
You can leave…you are a sorceress and so is Fate.
"What?! I don't understand…how can Fate be a sorceress?"
Master…if I had time to tell you I would. But I shall tell you this. The Fate I am speaking to you about is a person. Not the fate that pulls the strings of time. Now you must leave, Squall is making a mistake!
"What kind of mistake…wait…it has something to do with Fate doesn't it?!" Angelo barked again and started to run.
Yes…he is walking into his own deathtrap now…follow me…I will get you out of here!
I sit and wait; does an angel contemplate my fate and do they know the places
Where we go when we're grey and old
'cause I've been told that salvation lets their wings unfold
So when I'm lying in my bed thoughts running through my head
And I feel that love is dead I'm loving angels instead
Jessica Simpson-Angels
TBC
Author's note- Please Review. There's going to be some twists in turns in the next chapter…I'll tell you that right now. Anyway, thanks to all those who have reviewed. The next chapter is going to contain quite a bit of curse words. If any body is offended by those words, I suggest you do not read further. I fixed up the formatting so it is much better now.
