Chapter Two
Inexistent

She sat on the edge of the bed in her new room, and her eyes took stock of her surroundings. The room was sterile-looking, almost too white and clean. There were no carpets or rugs, just a blue- and white-checkered linoleum floor. The bed -- well, it wasn't even a bed, really. It was a cot, lumpy in all the wrong places. There was a single blue blanket upon it. In the opposite corner was a small table, with a lamp on top of it. The lamp's dim bulb was the only light in this place, for there were no windows. And even if there were, it wouldn't have done any good. Hadn't Edea said that they were far underneath Esthar?

The man had said "only the best for the Descendants of Hyne" … this was the best? Sighing, she looked down at her clothes … when she had woken up in the dungeon-like room she had been removed from, she had been wearing a shapeless, off-white muslin dress. That much had not changed. She wondered, not for the first time, what she'd been wearing when she was brought here. Hadn't she fallen asleep after … her face reddened at the thought, and suddenly she felt horribly violated in a way that hadn't occurred to her to feel before.

He had taken her away after the most intimate of acts … just plucked her from Squall's arms like it was nothing!

Her mind drifted back to Balamb and the previous evening. How beautiful it had all been … it was exactly what she'd always imagined it would be like. Squall had been attentive and gentle, and he had held her close afterward, like she was precious. What had he thought, she wondered, when he had woken up and found her gone? Surely, he wouldn't think that she had …

Biting her lip, she blinked back stinging tears. She reached up to finger the rings at her neck and realized with a shock that they were gone. She hopped off the bed and began searching frantically for them, on the bed, on the floor, everywhere in the room. When she couldn't find them, she sank to her knees and choked back a sob.

"We've got to get out of here," she murmured. Whatever this man was planning, there was no way that she, Ellone, and Edea could stick around to find out. They needed to get away, get back to Esthar proper, at the very least. They could see Laguna, he could help them, and he would get in touch with Balamb. Everything would be okay … if they could just get to Laguna.

xXx

Irvine's first clue that something was wrong came at about ten the next morning, when he tried to use his keycard to get back into Garden from Fisherman's Horizon. The light kept flashing red, and making that horrible buzzing noise. "Access denied," the automated voice droned.

"How in the hell is my access denied?" Irvine muttered irritably. "I freakin' live here!" He slid the card again, agitated.

"Access denied."

"Dammit," he swore, kicking the door. He looked down at his card, and his brow furrowed.

Irvine Kinneas it read, and gave all of his vital statistics -- birth date, blood type, weapon specialty. But instead of saying Balamb Garden at the bottom, it said Galbadia Garden. That was strange. He'd gotten a new card months ago, when he had officially joined Squall's team at Balamb. And he'd gotten rid of his old one, so as to avoid any confusion.

The door suddenly swished open and Selphie and Quistis stepped out, eyeing him warily. "Thank Hyne," he muttered. "The stupid door kept, like, denying my card," he said conversationally to the two ladies. He noticed they were missing their usual third member. "Where's Rinoa?"

Selphie just looked at him, confusion all over her face. "Who?" she asked, blinking rapidly. "Rinoa? I don't know anyone named Rinoa …" She looked over at Quistis, who shook her head, seemingly as confused as Selphie.

The hell? Irvine wondered. "Rinoa Heartilly. Brunette, 'bout so high. Cute. Squall's girlfriend?"

Quistis laughed bitterly. "Like Squall Leonhart would ever open up enough to have a girlfriend," she said sourly. "Are you … drunk, or something?"

"No, I'm not drunk," Irvine said evenly. He didn't know what the hell was going on here, but if it was a joke, it was a pretty sick one.

Selphie peered at the laminated card in his hand. "Anyway, your pass says Galbadia Garden, no wonder you can't get in," she replied. "Are you lost?" Her voice was concerned, her green eyes suddenly warmer. She had a soft spot for lost causes.

"Lost?" Irvine repeated. "Sefie, it's me. I live here, remember? Last night you called me a 'scum sucking son-of-a-Malboro'?" He thought that maybe she was still pissed about last night … she did have every reason to be, if he was being honest with himself. He probably shouldn't have gone back to Drea's place with her last night, but Selphie just … she expected so much from him. And he liked her, a lot. But he wasn't sure if he was ready for everything Selphie seemed to want. And Drea didn't want anything but him. It had been a simple choice at the time … now, though, in the harsh light of day, he was beginning to regret his decision.

"Do I know you?" Selphie asked. She turned to Quistis. "Who is this guy?"

"Is this some kind of joke?" Irvine asked. "To get back at me for being an ass? Sefie …"

"Why are you calling me that?" Selphie said, the warmth suddenly gone from her eyes.

"Why are you acting like you don't know me?" Irvine demanded. "Look, Sefie, I know I fucked up. Can we just go somewhere, and like, talk about it?"

Selphie froze. "I told you, quit calling me that. Look, I don't know who you are, or what you're doing here … but you probably should just go."

"What's going on?" Squall had appeared at the doorway, and he was eyeing Irvine with the same suspiciousness that the girls had given him. "May I help you with something?"

"This guy was trying to get in," Quistis informed the Commander. "But his card says he's from Galbadia. He swears that he lives here."

"I do live here!" Irvine protested. "Squall, seriously, what is going on? And where the hell is Rinoa?"

Squall blinked at the name. "Who?" he asked, brow knitted. He shook his head. "Whatever. Look, you're harassing two of our students, and I think it's about time you left."

Irvine shook his head in disbelief. "I don't know what the hell is going on here, but fine. I'll go … and I'll figure it out on my own." He turned around and headed back into FH. He didn't have a clue what he was going to do now, but something was just … not right. He had the strongest feeling of discontent that he had ever experienced in his life.

Cid was in Trabia, visiting the Headmaster of that Garden. Irvine figured that was as good a place to start as anywhere, and set off to FH to book passage on the next boat sailing north.

xXx

Rinoa, Ellone, and Edea were allowed to have their meals together in the common room just down the hall. The more Rinoa saw of this facility, the more she got the feeling that it had been an asylum of some sort. The idea gave her no comfort whatsoever.

They had learned that their captor's name was Cyrus Blakeslee, and that he had ties to Dr. Odine, somehow. She waited until he left the room, and then turned to her two companions. "We have to get out of here," she hissed. "Whatever he is planning, we can't be part of it."

"I agree," said Edea solemnly. "But how are we to get away?"

"There's got to be some way into Esthar from here. And if we can just get to Laguna … everything will be all right. He can have this lunatic thrown in jail or executed or something," Rinoa said hopefully.

Ellone nodded. "Yes, Laguna can help!" she concurred.

Suddenly a cold blast of air spread throughout the room, and Rinoa knew that Cyrus was back. And that he had heard every word. He laughed menacingly. "Do you really think it that easy, Miss Heartilly?"

"Do you really think that there is no one looking for us?" Rinoa asked with a bold flip of her hair.

"Are you so certain of your importance, Miss Heartilly?" he asked, a cold hand on the back of her neck. "Fine. I will give you two months to get back to your loved ones and see for yourselves. If at the end of the two months you have found what I know you will find … you will come back to me, and the plan will continue as scheduled."

"What is it that you expect us to find?" Edea asked carefully.

He turned his cold gray eyes to the older lady. "Nothing."

He turned back to Rinoa, and his eyes had a frightening glow to them. He fisted his fingers in her dark hair and yanked her out of her seat. "Come on. It's time for a little game," he said, dragging her from the room.

"Rinoa!" Ellone gasped. "Wait, what are you doing?"

"You don't think I bestow such gifts upon you for free, now do you? No, this one, the one with all the questions … she'll be paying for your freedom."

"No!" Ellone cried. "It's not … that important! We don't have to go."

But Rinoa looked at them. "It is that important, Ellone. It's okay. We're going to get out of here, no matter what."

"Rinoa …" Edea said sadly.

"Don't worry about Rinoa," Cyrus sneered. "I'll take good care of her."

He took her down the long corridor and into the room with all of the magical accouterments. He locked the door behind them, and then flung her roughly into one of the chairs along the wall and strapped her into the seat at her wrists and ankles. He began sticking electrodes onto her temples and arms. He tore the front of her dress roughly and stuck them on her chest, his hands lingering longer than necessary. She choked back the bile in her throat and closed her eyes.

She would endure. She had to endure. It was the only way she was going to be able to go home.

xXx

He subjected her to numerous painful procedures and experiments. Throughout all of them, he had frozen her in place, rendering her absolutely unable to move. He had passed electrical currents through her body, at varying degrees of intensity, and she had been unable to even scream out. He'd jotted down notes at several points, and Rinoa honestly didn't know what this torture had to do with bring the Sorceress back.

"You're strong, Rinoa," he said after a while. "That was 60V. That would have killed a man twice your size. Very impressive." He seemed almost in awe of her.

"Please," Rinoa managed to croak. "Just … stop." Unable to take any more, she passed out.

He looked at the girl in the chair and was overcome with an overwhelming urge to get closer to a true descendent of Hyne. He unstrapped her from the chair and placed her limp body on the floor. "This will make me even more powerful," he told himself as he joined with her.

She woke up just as he was finishing, and her eyes widened in shock and horror. He pulled out of her and readjusted his clothing. "You … bastard," she hissed.

"I told you, Rinoa, that you would be paying for the freedom you so desperately seem to want. I was going to let you leave tomorrow … but I think I'll keep you around for another day or so," Cyrus remarked casually as he wiped his glasses with a cloth, and held them up to the light for closer inspection. "You're actually quite … pleasant. I can see what the SeeD Commander saw in you."

"Sees in me," she retorted blandly. "He loves me. And when I find him … you'll be sorry. He killed a Sorceress. You're nothing compared to that." She pulled herself up, wincing from the pain she felt all over.

He slapped her across the face, hard. "You think you're something special, Rinoa, but you'll see. No one even remembers who you are. Not a single one of your friends would know you if they passed you on the street."

She swallowed hard, a feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach. "What -- what does that mean?"

"Oh, I think it'll be much better to let you see for yourself. And then you'll come crawling back to me," Cyrus said malevolently. "You don't realize it yet, but you're mine now. The other two will be useful later, but you … you're special." Rinoa blanched as he reached out to touch her. "Tomorrow afternoon. 3 o'clock, you will meet me back here. If you don't … you won't be going anywhere."

She managed to hold back the tears until she got to her room. She saw her reflection in the dirty mirror that hung above the lamp table. Her dress was torn, exposing her in a lurid manner. There were several red welts all over her body from the electrodes. Her hair was in disarray, and her eyes were horribly bloodshot.

She burst into tears at the sight, wondering if Cyrus would really let them go. Or if this was all just a cruel game. Would she be tortured and used like this until someone came to find her? And when would they find her?

What was Squall doing now? Was he worried? Angry?

And what did he mean when he said that nobody remembered who she was? Squall wouldn't forget her. He wouldn't. They were in love, and you didn't just go to sleep at night and wake up the next morning with your memories of a person completely erased.

He wouldn't forget her. He wouldn't. She told herself this over and over again as she lie down in her bed and cried herself to sleep.

xXx

Squall lie in his own bed that night, back in Balamb, and stared at the ceiling. Ever since that run-in with that strange guy earlier, the one who said he was from Balamb, Squall had this niggling feeling that he'd forgotten something very important.

But he couldn't for the life of him figure out what that might be. He sighed in annoyance at himself for being stupid, and reached over to turn off his bedside lamp.

He didn't notice the silver chain that fell to the floor when his hand brushed by it.

The rings made no noise as they hit the rug beside his bed. The wedding band and Griever …

The Promise and the Guardian. Right now, Rinoa was without both. And Squall had no idea.