Maybe I shouldn't have told them. Maybe…. No. They're my friends. They understand.
He was just so glad that it was finally over. There was nothing left to say, nothing left to do. But why, then, was he still restless? He sighed heavily and sat up on the edge of his bed.
A knock at the door jerked his head to the side.
"Hey, it's me," Rinoa called out.
He turned his head away from the door and stared at the floor. "Come in."
The door slid open and she stepped inside quietly. He continued to stare pensively at the floor.
For a few moments, they said nothing while their thoughts hung heavy in the air. Squall finally slid over to make a spot for Rinoa, glancing over at her out of the corner of his eye as he did so.
She spoke up tentatively. "… Are you okay? You don't seem to be sleeping much these days." She fell onto her back and spread her arms wide upon the bedspread. He turned to make eye contact with her. "I mean," she continued, "you used to nap all the time, but…" she trailed off.
"I have a lot on my mind," he answered simply.
She sat up abruptly and slid her hands over he knees, rocking back and forth.
"I think…" he began.
"Hm?"
"I think I would've died if you hadn't found me."
"You think so?" she murmured quietly.
"I tried thinking about you, but every time I did, I had a harder and harder time imagining your face." He felt her hands grasping his forearm but didn't look down, instead letting his eyes wander all around the room. "I forgot about everybody else and just focused on you, but I couldn't even do that."
She sat up and rested her head on his shoulder. "If you're afraid that deep down inside, we won't be able to stay together, then tell me," she urged him. "Please, just tell me. What's on your mind?"
Could that really be what his failing meant? Why else wasn't he able to find her?
"It didn't matter in the end," she said finally, "because I found you."
So that's the answer. She's the one keeping us together. He stood up on impulse. But I can't.
She stood up, too. "Squall?"
He shook his head. "You should go get some sleep."
"Come on! Just say something! One sentence!" she begged. "I know you're clamping up because you're afraid, so just tell me what you're so afraid of."
He paused for a moment to gather his thoughts.
"We're never going back there, right?"
"Oh. That's… an interesting thought," she murmured. "Is it even possible to go back into Time Compression?"
"It's definitely possible."
"Hm," she laughed. "That place… it was so cool to just be there, you know?"
he moved to the side and adjusted the blinds on his window so the moonlight flooded through and clashed with the overhead lights. "So cool, but so dangerous, too."
She only laughed some more. "I guess the nicest things in life are just that. You have to be willing to lose something important to you if you want to have a chance at gaining something else."
"Okay, so who should we worry about first?" Cid asked wearily.
"Ellone's with Laguna," Edea began, "so she should be all right for now—"
"Wait, wait, wait. Esthar. The—monsters from the Lunar Cry—" he mumbled half-confusedly. "Are they within the city limits with all those monsters roaming around free?"
Edea clutched at her head. "Just calm down! I—I… actually don't know where they are, either, but I'm sure they're sticking together, at the very least."
Cid took a long, deep breath. "So they initiated Time Compression, and then they just left?"
He took a few moments to think things over.
"What about Seifer? Where's he? What did Fujin and Raijin do after they stopped following his orders?"
"Would you please stop asking me? Squall and the others told us everything they know, and it's up to us to investigate everything else."
He sighed and closed his eyes momentarily. "So they haven't responded yet? They didn't find anybody?"
At first, she didn't reply. "Everyone except Seifer."
"Did they know where he went?"
For the whole eternity of the elevator ride, he couldn't think. He couldn't focus. Perhaps he couldn't even do anything to help, either.
At the top, the elevator spat him and his party out onto the level. As they ran through the corridors, he silently read through the mental list of instructions.
"Sir, what if they haven't stayed put? What if they already left the Pandora?" his burgundy-haired female comrade inquired.
"Then we let them go and assume they're safe with each other. With Seifer and… Fujin and Raijin, though…."
"There are no guarantees. Got it."
"Ellone!" he burst out as he caught sight of her and quickened his pace. She was sitting down with her back against the wall and her knees pulled up to her chest. Why? Was there anything wrong with her?
A middle-aged man in a light blue shirt stepped in and extended his hand. "Pleased to meet you guys. I'm Laguna."
"Ah, yes," he replied quickly. Laguna shook hands with all of them in turn, wearing a bright smile all the while. "Will you be taking care of Ellone for the time being?"
At this suggestion, Laguna scratched his head as he thought. "Well, that would be nice if we could have some more time to catch up, but… if she needs to be somewhere else right now, then go ahead."
He knelt down next to her and looked at her closely. Laguna knelt down as well. She appeared to be simply napping; her eyes were closed, but not shut tightly.
"I guess she must be tired," Laguna sighed.
"Do you know where you're planning on going after this? After she's rested a bit, I mean. It's not safe in the Capital with all those monsters, sir. We can accommodate you and Ellone on the ship for as long as you need."
Laguna smiled gratefully. "That sounds perfect. Thanks a lot for this!"
"Wait," Ellone requested abruptly. Her voice was clear and loud, nothing like that of someone who had just awoken. Her eyes latched onto the White SeeD's with a dizzying attraction. "I know you're only thinking about leaving, but I have to wait. Even if they never show up, I have to wait."
This was it: this was who they were looking for. He was sure of it. "Who are you talking about?
Raijin stayed where he was and refused to speak, regardless of what Fujin tried to say.
"Raijin, come on!" she pleaded. "Why are you just turning your back on him like this?"
He sighed and gave in to her persuasion momentarily. "Okay, look. We tried, but he didn't listen to us, ya know? So we should just let him figure things out on his own—"
She rolled her eyes. "I can't believe this," she spat fiercely. "In that case, you can stay and drown in your own guilt!" The door yielded to her presence and flew open, then shut again behind her.
Ellone stopped to loiter outside Adel's room.
"Are you sure they'll be okay, Uncle Laguna?" There was a slight note of anxiety in her words.
Laguna allowed his gaze to wander. "We can only hope, I suppose," he sighed. "No matter how good they are, something could always go wrong." He paused to think over what he just said, then shook his head vigorously. "Nah. No use thinkin' about all that depressing stuff!"
She laughed freely at how little he had changed ever since they had last met. She hadn't laughed like that in a long time.
Wait. All she did was blink, and Fujin startlingly appeared before her. Ellone stared as if mesmerized, searching for a split-second answer to Fujin's arrival. Fujin definitely wasn't there to drag her somewhere else; she was sure of it. And that's when she noticed her answer: a look of fear and utter desperation, a barely noticeable—yet still present—softening of body attitude.
"Where's Seifer?"
"Seifer." She had been so preoccupied with Squall that she had forgotten about Seifer. Just like Fujin, she started to panic a little. She had no idea where he was. When did she last see him? And deep inside, she could feel the guilt slowly enveloping her: she was supposed to pay equal attention to all of them, and yet she let her predisposition get in the way.
"Did he get sucked into Time Compression?" Fujin's eyes narrowed in noticeable anxiety rather than hostility. "Was he in that room when you initiated Time Compression?"
Ellone hung her head and gesticulated weakly with her hand. "… I'm sorry."
Even still, she dared to glance up. The raw emotion behind Fujin's facial expressions almost demanded to be noticed; intrigued by this facet of her, Ellone let her own actions run free, just to see what would happen.
"He brought this on himself," she muttered sadly. "Whatever it is you're asking me to do, I can't help you. It's just too late." She squeezed her eyes shut and blinked a few times, trying to stave off her exhaustion.
"So you… can't bring him back here somehow?" Fujin's voice sounded small and hollow.
"I can't. They all have to find their own way back. Seifer is no exception."
Fujin didn't budge. "Then, can't I go there?"
Ellone eyed Fujin most curiously. Smiling inwardly, she nodded and stepped aside.
"Good luck then. It's dangerous to be all alone in there."
"We'll wait up for you," Laguna assured Fujin. "Go!"
Fujin yanked opened the door and was immediately sucked in.
"Are you sure about this?" she asked Laguna. "The Galbadians could come any second once they find out we're here."
Laguna smiled. "Oh, don't worry. I have a good feeling about this."
Ellone grinned back. Apparently, he noticed the same thing about Fujin that she had.
…
Ellone blinked again—at least, she thought she did—and Fujin flew out of the Timestream and collapsed onto the floor. The White SeeDs swarmed around her, helping her sit up, then stand.
And then the question, the very same one all over again.
"Where's Seifer? Do you know where Raijin is?" the leader questioned her.
Fujin stared down at her feet. She could see snowflakes clinging to her bangs drooping downward, along with her mood, and snow still stuck to her boots.
"He won't be coming," she declared simply, then turned and headed back to the room where Raijin was waiting. And what perplexed Ellone most was the complete lack of expression in her words and actions, when, during their previous encounter, the exact opposite had been true.