~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fithos lusec wecos vinosec
Fithos lusec wecos vinosec
Fithos lusec wecos vinosec
Excitate vos e somno, liberi mei
Cunae non sunt
Excitate vos e somno, liberi fatali
Somnus non eat.
Surgite
Inventite hortum veritatis
Ardente veritate
Urite mala mundi
Ardente veritate
Incendite tenebras mundi
Valete, liberi
Diebus fatalibus
Fithos lusec wecos vinosec
Fithos lusec wecos vinosec
Fithos lusec wecos vinosec
Fithos lusec wecos vinosec
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No Mercy
Part Two
"Squall, I don't get it." Zell whined, and Selphie smacked her forehead on the table, pretending to snore. Quistis poked her disapprovingly and she sat back up groggily. Irvine peered at Selphie over the book he was flipping through disinterestedly, noting a few hairs that were out of place on her pretty little head.
"I don't either." Squall snapped harshly. He let out a sigh, rubbing his forehead with one hand and cursing his lack of patience. "I know, it's late... but this is serious. If only Xu had returned tonight..."
"Well she didn't." Quistis pushed back her chair and stood up abruptly, catching everyone's sleepy attention. "And Xu really does need some down time, so she'll come back when she's ready. In the meantime, I think everyone needs some rest. That goes for you too, Squall. We can go over this in the morning." She laid a light hand on his shoulder to ease the scowl depicted across his face. He had been wanting to do some research on the latin phrase that Xu had told him was on the sheet of paper. It wasn't going well, however. Selphie practically leapt to the doorway, the first one to the hallway. She slowed to a walking pace and let out a deep sigh, glad to be away from the ice cold eyes of Squall Leonhart. She tried to be cheerful with him, but it was hard when he was so stone hearted. She didn't know how Rinoa could put up with him. Was he ever romantic with her?
Finally reaching her dorm, Selphie locked the door and slipped out of her favourite cute yellow dress, tossing it into the laundry hamper situated beside her closet. Snuggling into her blankets, she wrapped her arms fondly around the pillows and shut her eyes. Irvine's face wafted into her thoughts, as it always did before she slept. His pleasant eyes, and sweet nature- suddenly her phone rang, jolting Selphie wide awake.
"Ah, damn!" She cursed, sighing with fatigue and annoyance. "Hello?" She furrowed her brow, waiting for a reply.
"Wwwwhhhooo is this?" A shaky voice at the other end asked. There was noise in the background, sounded like rain. The line crackled a little bit, and Selphie struggled with her memory to match a voice to a face.
"Fujin!" She cried, fully alert in the darkness. She fumbled for a moment, finally finding her lamp and flicking it on to bathe her room in a happy glow. "What's going on?"
"Ssssomething's happening to me... SQUALL. NOW... Gggget outttt offfff meee..." Fujin stammered, her words jumbled together. Selphie felt fear wrench at her as she threw on a robe, flinging open her door to run down the hall full speed. She ran right into Irvine, who nearly fell backwards onto the carpet in shock. Selphie stopped for a moment to try and collect herself. Irvine tried to find words to ask her what was wrong, but that utter frightened look on her face disheartened him and he couldn't think straight. She bolted off to Squall's office, barging in and causing him to stand up abruptly. Everyone had gone, and he was still thumbing through books on the desk.
"Squall! Something's wrong with Fujin! She-" Selphie's voice failed her and she tossed her cordless phone to him, sitting down on the floor, dazed.
"Fujin?" Squall asked hesitantly, a line of worry across his slender forehead.
"HELP. BODY." Fujin tried to explain. "SOMETHING. SOUL. HEART. PAIN."
"Fuu, you're rambling." Squall calmly tried to settle her. "Slow down, and try to tell me what's wrong." She took a deep breath.
"There's a living thing inside of me and it's eating away at my heart..." She tried, and it was the best she could do. She didn't even know why she called Garden, maybe they'd know something, anything that might do her justice. Squall read the display on the phone, he saw Fujin was calling from a payphone in Deling.
"Listen, Fujin." He kept his voice steady. "I want you to go to the General's house. Rinoa is there, and you can come back to Balamb with her tomorrow afternoon." He paused, waiting for her response.
"HELP NOW." She quietly replied.
"I can't help you without seeing you." Squall reasoned. There was a short pause and he heard her breaths grow heavy.
"You can't kill me, Squall." Fujin's voice came out in a low snarl. "I'll live on forever, Lion Heart... you can't kill me..." She then began to laugh. A loud, confident laugh that ripped through Squall like fire. He could actually feel his skin melting from his bones, and Selphie shuddered at the expression covering his strong features.
"Squall? Squall, are you okay?" She asked innocently, but he had her completely blocked out.
"What are you doing?" He absently questioned, but Fujin just kept laughing, the evil sensation wafting over him. Then the laughter stopped as soon as it had begun.
"What's happening to me?" Fujin meekly stated before the line went dead.
"Fujin? Fujin!" Squall felt panic rise in his chest. "FUJIN!" He threw the phone down onto the floor harshly, hearing it crack dangerously close to where Selphie was situated. She couldn't say a word, and Squall was too shaken to even think at the moment. Yet something felt... familiar. Some type of insane deja vu that had quickly came over him in a wave. It was almost nauseating.
"Yes, Rinoa." Squall clenched and unclenched his fists. "She's out there somewhere... I'm worried about her. And Xu hasn't come back yet. She's always bright and early..." His wary tone scared him, the sound of his own voice unsteady in worry and fear. Selphie had left a little while ago to get Quistis, and now the two of them were perched at the end of Squall's table, listening intently.
"Don't worry sweetie, Daddy sent out a search for her. She'll be fine." Rinoa assured him, and then sighed. "Calm down Squall, you should get some rest. I love you." She paused.
"Love you too." Squall murmured, and hung up the phone.
"I'm sure everything will be okay." Quistis began in her Instructor like manner.
"But Xu..." Squall trailed off in his own introverted like fashion.
"Xu will come back when she feels right about it. That woman has been working day and night to keep everything in order, she needs a little bit of a rest. Trust me Squall, everything will be okay." She repeated, and turned on her heel. Selphie looked from the disheveled Headmaster to the righteous Instructor, and then shook her head, exiting to go back to her room once again.
"I just don't get it, Quis." Squall sat down in a huff, letting his cold exterior melt away. "The things she said... she just... it was like the war all over again." He lowered his gaze, and Quistis blinked at him.
"Squall, Ultimecia is dead." She hesitantly said, and strode over, putting a quaint hand on his shoulder. "She's not coming back."
"You're right." Squall stood up abruptly. "I'm going to sleep." Quistis managed a triumphant smile and they exited the office together.
"Wh, where am I?" Fujin almost laughed at the sound of her pathetic voice in the darkness that shrouded her.
"You know, you really are beautiful." A familiar flowing voice lulled her mind, put her in a peaceful state where she could not move or see, only listen and feel. "It's a shame you were cursed with the eye."
"... Eye..." Fujin managed to hiss, hatred splurging out along with the word. She didn't remember losing her eye, but the injury had outcast her as long as she could remember.
"It's alright to feel lonely, Fujin." The voice went on. "You've never been able to channel your energy quite right. But now, my sweet Fujin, you'll never be alone. Never. You're beautiful, and you will never have to be alone." Fujin's eyes opened and a shape took form before her eyes, a dark purple mass that seemed to materialize out of thin air. If that's where she was in the first place. Her breath caught in her throat as she recognized the woman from the hotel, the one whom she heard sing that fated song.
"Why did I hear you?" Fujin croaked.
"You chose to hear me."
"No... I never chose anything..." Fujin shook her head.
"From the day you were born, you chose to hear me. You chose to accept me, to be united with me." The woman's expression grew sympathetic. "And yet, you haven't even considered who I am." She made a sound of disapproval.
"Why didn't anyone else hear you?" Fujin's breathing grew heavy as she struggled to move, to try and gain some sense of understanding from this smothering place.
"Because they don't have the power to choose." The woman threw back her head and laughed. That laugh, that haunting laugh that Fujin had cackled to Squall not long ago. "You're so beautiful, Fujin. You will see, you will see so very soon." The woman began to disappear, and the silver haired woman was finally allowed out of her hold. She lunged forward, but caught nothing but air. Then suddenly she was falling, falling through the dank universe she was caught in.
Suddenly Fujin sat up, and realized she was still in the phone booth, sitting in the fetal position. Her surroundings looked strange, something was wrong with the scenery around her. She stood, and exited the booth, looking about her with wonder and awe. Things looked so much more alive, so lush and near to her senses.
"What's happening to me?" Looking to the floor of the booth, Fujin saw her eye patch strewn across the pavement.
"Daddy it's okay." Rinoa rolled her eyes and offered her father a warm hug, which he gracefully accepted. "I'm just going for a walk. I'll be back soon, okay? Just need to relax."
"Why can't you relax here?" The General's stern eyes were soft, as they had become over the past while she had been visiting. He felt his fatherly touch returning, and he reached out to protect Rinoa at every chance he got. She was a jewel to him, all he had left of his beautiful wife Julia.
"I won't be long." She smiled cutely and then hurried out into the damp night air, letting out a huge sigh. She finally let her frown show through as she thought about Squall. He had been so distressed, she had never heard him sound so uncontrolled before. It wasn't Fujin, she knew, it must be something that she wasn't aware of. Fujin and Squall had never been close at all. Something strange was going on, but she couldn't pinpoint it.
Rinoa saluted a passing soldier of her father's, and he returned it, nodding in respect. Continuing down the busy road, she came to a stop at the Galbadia Hotel. So many years ago had her mother played the piano at that very hotel, slept between the satin sheets of the suite designed for well known people. Rinoa wished she had that talent, that fame. Suddenly something caught her eye to the left of the doorway and she stepped towards the glass, seeing yellow tape strung along the lobby. Curiosity irked her, and she pushed open the door, stepping inside where a nervous secretary was answering questions.
"Miss Heartilly." One of the General's youngest soldiers, Colton, moved in front of her. "I think you should go home."
"What happened?" Rinoa raised an eyebrow, staring up at his masculine features.
"You should go home." When she didn't move, he sighed lightly. "There's been a murder, Ma'am." He gently put a hand on her shoulders, and his brow furrowed as a look of pure fear washed over Rinoa's face. Her first thought was Fujin, and she tried to get past him. "I can't let you go in there!"
"Who is it?" She clenched her jaw, panic rising in her chest. "Who was killed?"
"She's identified as Xu Reines from Balamb, Miss Heartilly." Colton kept his voice steady, knowing well that Rinoa would be acquainted with the deceased.
"WHAT?!" Rinoa shrieked, eyes growing wide with confusion. "What's Xu doing here? She's supposed to be in Timber!" She bolted to the front desk and picked up the secretary's phone, dialing Squall's number rapidly. Colton was right by her side, wanting to say something but not knowing what words to utter.
"Hello?" Squall's voice was alert, not groggy as she had expected it to be.
"Squall... I... Xu was murdered." Rinoa blurted, cringing at the expression she imagined would fall over his sweet face. "Here, in Deling."
"Wha... why was she in Deling... Xu..." Squall stammered, his thoughts all jumbling together to form something unexplainable in his mind. His eyes squeezed shut, trying to block everything from existence as he struggled to think straight.
"Actually," Colton began, trying to help Rinoa in any possible way. "The police think her body was moved here." She couldn't stop the tears as everything finally sank in. She put the phone down, allowing Colton to wrap his arms around her in a comforting fashion.
"What's going on?" She sobbed into his chest, and heard a small click as Squall's end of the line went off. He was likely contacting the Timber Hotel to ask about Xu.
"Miss? I couldn't help overhearing... you knew the victim?" A police officer tapped Rinoa on the shoulder, and she wiped her tears as best she could to help.
"Yes. I work... worked with her." She let out a deep breath, and Colton gave her arm a reassuring squeeze.
"Can you tell me anything about the past few days?" The police officer's expression was blank, showing no emotion at all.
"She was running an errand for me in Timber, with some friends I have there... my old resistance..." Rinoa clenched her throat, holding back anything that threatened to surface once again. The questions continued, nothing that she couldn't answer to the best of her ability. Finally Colton escorted her out of the building, and she began walking in the opposite direction he was heading.
"Miss Heartilly!" He jogged to catch up to her long strides, and then tried to turn her around to face him. Finally her eyes burned into his with fear, anger, and sadness all mixed together to form a glare that he almost couldn't handle.
"I need to be alone right now, Colton." She tried to keep her voice steady, and held her chin high.
"Your father likely doesn't want you out alone with what just happened." Colton argued, pursing his lips. "We're supposed to look out for you."
"Well then tell him you never saw me." Rinoa spat, hurrying away. When he tried to protest, she just repeated a yelled version of what she had previously said. Finally Colton backed off, and she ran down a side street, taking cover in an alleyway. There, she sank to her knees, letting her sorrows fall freely in rivers from her big innocent eyes. "What is all this?" She cried, pounding her fist into the pavement in anguish. "What is happening?" Sensing a presence nearby, she turned her head and brushed her raven locks from her vision as a silhouette of a well built male entered the alley.
"It will all be answered." Then, everything went black.
Fithos lusec wecos vinosec
Fithos lusec wecos vinosec
Fithos lusec wecos vinosec
Excitate vos e somno, liberi mei
Cunae non sunt
Excitate vos e somno, liberi fatali
Somnus non eat.
Surgite
Inventite hortum veritatis
Ardente veritate
Urite mala mundi
Ardente veritate
Incendite tenebras mundi
Valete, liberi
Diebus fatalibus
Fithos lusec wecos vinosec
Fithos lusec wecos vinosec
Fithos lusec wecos vinosec
Fithos lusec wecos vinosec
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No Mercy
Part Two
"Squall, I don't get it." Zell whined, and Selphie smacked her forehead on the table, pretending to snore. Quistis poked her disapprovingly and she sat back up groggily. Irvine peered at Selphie over the book he was flipping through disinterestedly, noting a few hairs that were out of place on her pretty little head.
"I don't either." Squall snapped harshly. He let out a sigh, rubbing his forehead with one hand and cursing his lack of patience. "I know, it's late... but this is serious. If only Xu had returned tonight..."
"Well she didn't." Quistis pushed back her chair and stood up abruptly, catching everyone's sleepy attention. "And Xu really does need some down time, so she'll come back when she's ready. In the meantime, I think everyone needs some rest. That goes for you too, Squall. We can go over this in the morning." She laid a light hand on his shoulder to ease the scowl depicted across his face. He had been wanting to do some research on the latin phrase that Xu had told him was on the sheet of paper. It wasn't going well, however. Selphie practically leapt to the doorway, the first one to the hallway. She slowed to a walking pace and let out a deep sigh, glad to be away from the ice cold eyes of Squall Leonhart. She tried to be cheerful with him, but it was hard when he was so stone hearted. She didn't know how Rinoa could put up with him. Was he ever romantic with her?
Finally reaching her dorm, Selphie locked the door and slipped out of her favourite cute yellow dress, tossing it into the laundry hamper situated beside her closet. Snuggling into her blankets, she wrapped her arms fondly around the pillows and shut her eyes. Irvine's face wafted into her thoughts, as it always did before she slept. His pleasant eyes, and sweet nature- suddenly her phone rang, jolting Selphie wide awake.
"Ah, damn!" She cursed, sighing with fatigue and annoyance. "Hello?" She furrowed her brow, waiting for a reply.
"Wwwwhhhooo is this?" A shaky voice at the other end asked. There was noise in the background, sounded like rain. The line crackled a little bit, and Selphie struggled with her memory to match a voice to a face.
"Fujin!" She cried, fully alert in the darkness. She fumbled for a moment, finally finding her lamp and flicking it on to bathe her room in a happy glow. "What's going on?"
"Ssssomething's happening to me... SQUALL. NOW... Gggget outttt offfff meee..." Fujin stammered, her words jumbled together. Selphie felt fear wrench at her as she threw on a robe, flinging open her door to run down the hall full speed. She ran right into Irvine, who nearly fell backwards onto the carpet in shock. Selphie stopped for a moment to try and collect herself. Irvine tried to find words to ask her what was wrong, but that utter frightened look on her face disheartened him and he couldn't think straight. She bolted off to Squall's office, barging in and causing him to stand up abruptly. Everyone had gone, and he was still thumbing through books on the desk.
"Squall! Something's wrong with Fujin! She-" Selphie's voice failed her and she tossed her cordless phone to him, sitting down on the floor, dazed.
"Fujin?" Squall asked hesitantly, a line of worry across his slender forehead.
"HELP. BODY." Fujin tried to explain. "SOMETHING. SOUL. HEART. PAIN."
"Fuu, you're rambling." Squall calmly tried to settle her. "Slow down, and try to tell me what's wrong." She took a deep breath.
"There's a living thing inside of me and it's eating away at my heart..." She tried, and it was the best she could do. She didn't even know why she called Garden, maybe they'd know something, anything that might do her justice. Squall read the display on the phone, he saw Fujin was calling from a payphone in Deling.
"Listen, Fujin." He kept his voice steady. "I want you to go to the General's house. Rinoa is there, and you can come back to Balamb with her tomorrow afternoon." He paused, waiting for her response.
"HELP NOW." She quietly replied.
"I can't help you without seeing you." Squall reasoned. There was a short pause and he heard her breaths grow heavy.
"You can't kill me, Squall." Fujin's voice came out in a low snarl. "I'll live on forever, Lion Heart... you can't kill me..." She then began to laugh. A loud, confident laugh that ripped through Squall like fire. He could actually feel his skin melting from his bones, and Selphie shuddered at the expression covering his strong features.
"Squall? Squall, are you okay?" She asked innocently, but he had her completely blocked out.
"What are you doing?" He absently questioned, but Fujin just kept laughing, the evil sensation wafting over him. Then the laughter stopped as soon as it had begun.
"What's happening to me?" Fujin meekly stated before the line went dead.
"Fujin? Fujin!" Squall felt panic rise in his chest. "FUJIN!" He threw the phone down onto the floor harshly, hearing it crack dangerously close to where Selphie was situated. She couldn't say a word, and Squall was too shaken to even think at the moment. Yet something felt... familiar. Some type of insane deja vu that had quickly came over him in a wave. It was almost nauseating.
"Yes, Rinoa." Squall clenched and unclenched his fists. "She's out there somewhere... I'm worried about her. And Xu hasn't come back yet. She's always bright and early..." His wary tone scared him, the sound of his own voice unsteady in worry and fear. Selphie had left a little while ago to get Quistis, and now the two of them were perched at the end of Squall's table, listening intently.
"Don't worry sweetie, Daddy sent out a search for her. She'll be fine." Rinoa assured him, and then sighed. "Calm down Squall, you should get some rest. I love you." She paused.
"Love you too." Squall murmured, and hung up the phone.
"I'm sure everything will be okay." Quistis began in her Instructor like manner.
"But Xu..." Squall trailed off in his own introverted like fashion.
"Xu will come back when she feels right about it. That woman has been working day and night to keep everything in order, she needs a little bit of a rest. Trust me Squall, everything will be okay." She repeated, and turned on her heel. Selphie looked from the disheveled Headmaster to the righteous Instructor, and then shook her head, exiting to go back to her room once again.
"I just don't get it, Quis." Squall sat down in a huff, letting his cold exterior melt away. "The things she said... she just... it was like the war all over again." He lowered his gaze, and Quistis blinked at him.
"Squall, Ultimecia is dead." She hesitantly said, and strode over, putting a quaint hand on his shoulder. "She's not coming back."
"You're right." Squall stood up abruptly. "I'm going to sleep." Quistis managed a triumphant smile and they exited the office together.
"Wh, where am I?" Fujin almost laughed at the sound of her pathetic voice in the darkness that shrouded her.
"You know, you really are beautiful." A familiar flowing voice lulled her mind, put her in a peaceful state where she could not move or see, only listen and feel. "It's a shame you were cursed with the eye."
"... Eye..." Fujin managed to hiss, hatred splurging out along with the word. She didn't remember losing her eye, but the injury had outcast her as long as she could remember.
"It's alright to feel lonely, Fujin." The voice went on. "You've never been able to channel your energy quite right. But now, my sweet Fujin, you'll never be alone. Never. You're beautiful, and you will never have to be alone." Fujin's eyes opened and a shape took form before her eyes, a dark purple mass that seemed to materialize out of thin air. If that's where she was in the first place. Her breath caught in her throat as she recognized the woman from the hotel, the one whom she heard sing that fated song.
"Why did I hear you?" Fujin croaked.
"You chose to hear me."
"No... I never chose anything..." Fujin shook her head.
"From the day you were born, you chose to hear me. You chose to accept me, to be united with me." The woman's expression grew sympathetic. "And yet, you haven't even considered who I am." She made a sound of disapproval.
"Why didn't anyone else hear you?" Fujin's breathing grew heavy as she struggled to move, to try and gain some sense of understanding from this smothering place.
"Because they don't have the power to choose." The woman threw back her head and laughed. That laugh, that haunting laugh that Fujin had cackled to Squall not long ago. "You're so beautiful, Fujin. You will see, you will see so very soon." The woman began to disappear, and the silver haired woman was finally allowed out of her hold. She lunged forward, but caught nothing but air. Then suddenly she was falling, falling through the dank universe she was caught in.
Suddenly Fujin sat up, and realized she was still in the phone booth, sitting in the fetal position. Her surroundings looked strange, something was wrong with the scenery around her. She stood, and exited the booth, looking about her with wonder and awe. Things looked so much more alive, so lush and near to her senses.
"What's happening to me?" Looking to the floor of the booth, Fujin saw her eye patch strewn across the pavement.
"Daddy it's okay." Rinoa rolled her eyes and offered her father a warm hug, which he gracefully accepted. "I'm just going for a walk. I'll be back soon, okay? Just need to relax."
"Why can't you relax here?" The General's stern eyes were soft, as they had become over the past while she had been visiting. He felt his fatherly touch returning, and he reached out to protect Rinoa at every chance he got. She was a jewel to him, all he had left of his beautiful wife Julia.
"I won't be long." She smiled cutely and then hurried out into the damp night air, letting out a huge sigh. She finally let her frown show through as she thought about Squall. He had been so distressed, she had never heard him sound so uncontrolled before. It wasn't Fujin, she knew, it must be something that she wasn't aware of. Fujin and Squall had never been close at all. Something strange was going on, but she couldn't pinpoint it.
Rinoa saluted a passing soldier of her father's, and he returned it, nodding in respect. Continuing down the busy road, she came to a stop at the Galbadia Hotel. So many years ago had her mother played the piano at that very hotel, slept between the satin sheets of the suite designed for well known people. Rinoa wished she had that talent, that fame. Suddenly something caught her eye to the left of the doorway and she stepped towards the glass, seeing yellow tape strung along the lobby. Curiosity irked her, and she pushed open the door, stepping inside where a nervous secretary was answering questions.
"Miss Heartilly." One of the General's youngest soldiers, Colton, moved in front of her. "I think you should go home."
"What happened?" Rinoa raised an eyebrow, staring up at his masculine features.
"You should go home." When she didn't move, he sighed lightly. "There's been a murder, Ma'am." He gently put a hand on her shoulders, and his brow furrowed as a look of pure fear washed over Rinoa's face. Her first thought was Fujin, and she tried to get past him. "I can't let you go in there!"
"Who is it?" She clenched her jaw, panic rising in her chest. "Who was killed?"
"She's identified as Xu Reines from Balamb, Miss Heartilly." Colton kept his voice steady, knowing well that Rinoa would be acquainted with the deceased.
"WHAT?!" Rinoa shrieked, eyes growing wide with confusion. "What's Xu doing here? She's supposed to be in Timber!" She bolted to the front desk and picked up the secretary's phone, dialing Squall's number rapidly. Colton was right by her side, wanting to say something but not knowing what words to utter.
"Hello?" Squall's voice was alert, not groggy as she had expected it to be.
"Squall... I... Xu was murdered." Rinoa blurted, cringing at the expression she imagined would fall over his sweet face. "Here, in Deling."
"Wha... why was she in Deling... Xu..." Squall stammered, his thoughts all jumbling together to form something unexplainable in his mind. His eyes squeezed shut, trying to block everything from existence as he struggled to think straight.
"Actually," Colton began, trying to help Rinoa in any possible way. "The police think her body was moved here." She couldn't stop the tears as everything finally sank in. She put the phone down, allowing Colton to wrap his arms around her in a comforting fashion.
"What's going on?" She sobbed into his chest, and heard a small click as Squall's end of the line went off. He was likely contacting the Timber Hotel to ask about Xu.
"Miss? I couldn't help overhearing... you knew the victim?" A police officer tapped Rinoa on the shoulder, and she wiped her tears as best she could to help.
"Yes. I work... worked with her." She let out a deep breath, and Colton gave her arm a reassuring squeeze.
"Can you tell me anything about the past few days?" The police officer's expression was blank, showing no emotion at all.
"She was running an errand for me in Timber, with some friends I have there... my old resistance..." Rinoa clenched her throat, holding back anything that threatened to surface once again. The questions continued, nothing that she couldn't answer to the best of her ability. Finally Colton escorted her out of the building, and she began walking in the opposite direction he was heading.
"Miss Heartilly!" He jogged to catch up to her long strides, and then tried to turn her around to face him. Finally her eyes burned into his with fear, anger, and sadness all mixed together to form a glare that he almost couldn't handle.
"I need to be alone right now, Colton." She tried to keep her voice steady, and held her chin high.
"Your father likely doesn't want you out alone with what just happened." Colton argued, pursing his lips. "We're supposed to look out for you."
"Well then tell him you never saw me." Rinoa spat, hurrying away. When he tried to protest, she just repeated a yelled version of what she had previously said. Finally Colton backed off, and she ran down a side street, taking cover in an alleyway. There, she sank to her knees, letting her sorrows fall freely in rivers from her big innocent eyes. "What is all this?" She cried, pounding her fist into the pavement in anguish. "What is happening?" Sensing a presence nearby, she turned her head and brushed her raven locks from her vision as a silhouette of a well built male entered the alley.
"It will all be answered." Then, everything went black.