Squall couldn't sleep much after that. He laid in his bed, the covers bunched around his waist. He heard the faint splashing of Rinoa in the tub, heard the soft movements of water around her limbs. He knew exactly what she was doing too. She would be leaning back against the cool tiled border of the tub, her hair piled atop her head almost haphazardly. One knee would be bent while her other leg stretched out before her, her toes curling around the mouth of the faucet.
Back when they lived together he had walked in on her in the tub many times. It was one of her favorite things to do to relax and wind down at the end of the day. He remembered coming in late from work and finding her relaxing in the tub, her limbs stretching and splashing in the warm water. He would come to the side of the tub, crouch down to the ground and lean in to give her a deep, slow kiss. He would strip down, climb atop of her and plunge deep into her, sloshing water over the rim of the tub. He tried to think back at how many times he had done so. His brows furrowed as he recalled it was a small number of times. Muttering to himself, he rubbed his palms against his eyes. We were only together a few months, he thought to himself. Why did she affect me so?
When he heard her rise from the water, heard the drain start pulling, he turned onto his side to face away from her side of the room. He listened as she shuffled her way into the room, the strong scent of the hotel's soap exploding from the open bathroom door. He heard her sigh as she climbed back into her bed, heard her fuss with the pillow before she finally settled into sleep.
A few hours later he woke up to his phone buzzing. He hadn't really 'fallen asleep' exactly, more like closed his eyes and dozed off only to awaken every few moments or so. He groaned and patted his fingers over the night stand to search for the vibrating contraption. When his fingers finally grasped it he pulled it to him. The numbers that glowed back at him read 8:16 and the screen announced that he had received a text. He sat up and brushed the fallen strands of hair from his eyes.
The text was from one of the officers at the train station. It read: Burn victim/suspect has been taken out of the critical care ward. No identity as of yet as everything on him was burnt to a crisp. We'll have to take dental imprints and search through records. He is not talking. Will keep you informed.
Squall sighed and rose from the bed. Well...nothing left here to do. He stood and began to pack. He figured he'd let Rinoa sleep in a little longer before making the trek back to Balamb. He took the opportunity to shower. As the water beat down over his head he groaned and ran his fingers through his hair and raked his nails over his scalp. While he rubbed the soap over his chest he mentally tried to configure a plan. Obviously there was not much else they could do here in Deling regarding the sorceresses, but he wondered if Rinoa wanted to make a pitstop at her father's.
On the other hand, he himself wanted nothing more than to just head back home.
xXx
"Rinoa, wake up, we have to go back to Balamb."
Rinoa groggily sat up at Squall's command. "Something wrong?" she managed to say through a yawn. She rubbed her eyes to clear her vision and she saw Squall walking around in faded black jeans with holes at the knees and a tight black wife beater.
"No, but there's nothing else we can learn in Deling. We're going back to Balamb to talk to Cid and find you accommodations for the duration of your stay." Squall neatly folded his clothes into his suitcase and pulled a shirt over his head.
"Sounds like I'm getting a hotel room…" Rinoa sang, clapping her hands excitedly as she got out of bed. She rummaged through her clothes for a bit before yanking out an outfit and getting into the bathroom to change. She pulled on a stretchy black shirt that hung off her shoulders and clung to her ribs, exposing her flat belly above the jean capris and, of course, her boots.
As she exited the bathroom she found Squall crouched low to the ground with his gunblade at his side. A feeling of danger washed over her and she caught a glimpse of something in the window. It was small, and on the building across from them. Suddenly there was a small explosion of light and Rinoa ducked, grabbing her dufflebag. "Time to go," she said as the bullet that was meant for her head stuck into the wall she was just in front of.
Squall grabbed his suitcase and ushered her out the door, running for the elevator. "Hopefully we can get to my car before they do."
"Do you think it's the same people as last time? At the train station?" Rinoa asked, keeping pace with him. They got to the elevator and Squall kept his gunblade to his side. The doors opened and they quickly ran out, tossing the room keys onto the receptionist desk.
"I don't know. I got a text from one of the officers. The guy they took into custody won't talk." Squall grabbed Rinoa and pulled her to the side, carefully poking his head around the threshold of the entrance. He saw the coast was clear, for now, and looked over to Rinoa. "Just stay close to me, alright?"
Rinoa glanced up. I'm not even going to say it…she thought. "Right, you just head to the car and I'll cover your back."
Squall nodded and snatched her hand, running out of the hotel and into the parking garage. A small sound reached Rinoa's ears and she shoved Squall behind a car, ducking behind another.
A barrage of bullets swarmed the ground, sinking into the metal of the cars used as shields. Squall swore beneath his breath and glanced at Rinoa. He saw her hands posed as if she were holding a precious jewel, her eyes closed as her lips moved quickly. Suddenly her eyes snapped open, glowing an eerie white as she rose her hands in the air. The metallic plinks of the bullets hitting metal halted, and Squall dared a glance. The bullets were frozen in the air, moving slowly as if trying to force through rippling ice.
Rinoa shot to her feet and grabbed Squall by the collar of his shirt. "Move it, Commander!" They ran to his car and violently slammed inside, bags tossed into the back, with Squall stabbing the ignition and peeling out of the garage.
Squall kept an eye on the rear view mirror and sure enough, there were three identical black cars following them, attempting to flank them. "Rinoa," he called over the howl of the air blowing through the car as a result of his speeding. "There's a present for you in the back seat." With that said he flipped a switch and the sun roof peeled back.
Rinoa hastily twisted her body and tugged at a blanket. Her eyes widened at the sight of the HK21E machine gun and she grinned. "Just what I always wanted!" She scooped it up easily and looped the sling around her shoulders. Quickly she pulled herself through the roof and moved her fingers skillfully to prepare the belt of pointed bullets for destruction.
The three identical black cars rolled down their windows and men leaned out, aiming rifles at the speeding vehicle ahead of them. One caught sight of Rinoa's weapon and hesitated a brief second.
"Hello boys," Rinoa murmured, grinning as she pulled the trigger. She kept her ground as the machine gun shrieked, spraying bullets going 800 rounds per minute at their assailants. One of the cars swerved out of the way and attempted to sideswipe them. Squall reached over and pulled out his semi-compact Glock, moving it into his left hand swiftly and unloading several rounds into the car beside him before they could make their first move. Rinoa kept her finger pressed on the trigger as she raised her hand, fire shooting from her fingertips like ribbons, wrapping around the car to her left and engulfing them in flames. She sucked in a breath and waved her hand in front of her slowly, casting a protective border around the rear of Squall's car.
Squall grit his teeth as he tried to keep his grip on the steering wheels steady with his knees while he reloaded his gun in record timing along with shifting gears. The car beside him swerved, colliding into his side to force them off the road. Rinoa shouted as she was slammed against the side of the roof and ducked while the car behind them shot at her. Squall jerked the steering wheel, scraping his car against theirs. He lifted his Glock and fired at the hands of the driver who was so wrapped up in trying not to crash. "Hang on Rinoa!" he screamed.
Rinoa gripped onto the rim of the roof with one hand, keeping her rounds unleashing at the black car in back that was now joined by five more identical ones, as Squall gave a violent tug on the wheel, sending their car screeching sideways as the nose crashed against the car beside them. Their assailant slammed on their brakes a moment too late and was welcomed with Rinoa's machine gun breaking through the windshield with its shower of bullets.
Squall shifted the car into reverse and sped backwards through the highway of Deling. The following cars sped up; hoping that Squall's reversing would be their downfall. But instead Squall was more than skilled in the art of reversing a vehicle through a street in a hurry. He kept his eyes on the road behind him and ordered Rinoa to cover him.
"Aye aye captain!" Rinoa grinned, snatching up another belt for her gun. She quickly reloaded and focused her power to keep hold on the trigger while she rose a dark energy within her core. Quietly she murmured words to ignite the magical beast inside. Her eyes flared blue and her arms shot high into the sky. "Leviathan…drown the bastards!"
Squall dared a quick glance forward and his eyes shot wide as he saw a ghostly Leviathan pour out of Rinoa's body, hovering above her like a phantom veil. Her power released from the trigger. Rinoa remained still, her arms high and fingers spread out painfully as she held control over the guardian. Leviathan coiled above his master and cracked open his jaws. With a mighty roar he dove forward, his lengthy body crashing down into the asphalt and exploding into a large, tumultuous wave. The cars tried to steer around but could not escape the tsunami of seawater ambushing them.
Rinoa closed her eyes at the sounds of gurgling screams that rose up from the water like a plague. She lowered her arms and slumped over the roof, exhausted as Leviathan seeped back into her body.
Squall braked and stared at the carnage that remained. His eyes scanned over the eight cars that now looked nothing like the sleek and dangerous automobiles that had pursued them. They were now covered in rust and rippling dents and were toppled over like playthings a child had grown tired of. Out of a window Squall could see the puffy, swollen, and gangrene arm of a driver hanging uselessly.
The streets were now dry. Nothing other than the bodies and the ruined cars suggested anything dealt with a monster and water from his depths. He looked over as Rinoa slowly came back into her seat, carefully holding her gun as if it were a treasure.
"Who were they?" she whispered, her eyes shadowed by her hair as she stared out at the slaughter before her.
Squall shrugged and turned off the car. "One way to find out." He exited and walked to where the cars lay. His ears perked at the sound of the passenger door opening and closing and he kept his finger on the trigger of his Glock. When he came to the nearest car he paused to cover his mouth and nose. "Fuck!" The flesh of the bodies in the car were splotched with blue bruises over gray skin, and smelled like corpses that had been baking in the hot beach sun for weeks. Their faces were hardly recognizable beyond the gray sloughing skin.
Rinoa stayed behind. She didn't need to be near the cars to know what lay inside them. She very well knew what Leviathan's powers were capable of. Instead she watched Squall professionally examine the closest body to find some sort of clue to their attackers. After a few moments Squall returned.
"What's the matter?" he muttered, wiping the grime onto his jeans. "Can't stand to see your handy work?"
Rinoa scoffed. "I know the aftermath of Leviathan's power. I knew the smell would be unbearable so I stayed here. There's no need for the both of us to gag on the stench."
"Whatever. Anyways, I found something that was on the sleeve of the driver but the water ate away most of the design." Squall scratched the back of his head and groaned at how the stench of the dead remained of his hands. Quickly he pulled off his black shirt and wiped whatever he hadn't removed before onto it. "It was like an outline of a shape. Like a circle or oval."
Rinoa frowned. "No idea," she said. Sighing, she looked to the wreckage. "So what do we do about the mess? I mean, we can't just leave it here."
"We'll have to call the military to clean it up. The officers will have to take the bodies to the hospitals to investigate, see if they can get something out of them." Squall slung the dirtied t-shirt over his shoulder.
"Military," Rinoa murmured absently.
Squall looked over to her and gave a mock sympathetic pat on her back. "Yeah, you get to see your daddy."