There was a dank, sullen feeling about Galbadia Garden. Squall sat back, uptight but with an unreadable expression. Eventually he looked to Skye. Curiosity was getting the better of him.
"How are you related to Rinoa?" his voice was as blank as he could possibly make it.
She looked back at him, smiling, and shook her head. Squall supposed he was meant to take that as an answer.
"Well?" he asked.
"I'm her sister." She answered thoughtfully.
Squall shook his head. Could things get any worse?
"Squall?"
"What?" he glared faintly at her.
"Do you-"
"Believe yet, no. Do I have a reason too? No. Do I care? Once again, no. Won't you tolerate refusal?"
"Never." She smiled at him. "But trust me; all with be alight in time."
"Whatever."
"She told you to let go, Squall. Why won't you listen to her?"
"How do you know?" Squall shot at her.
"Haven't you learned yet that things are more than they appear to be? If you haven't, you will. Listen to your dream, accept things. Rinoa would want you to. I promise." She waked swiftly away.
Squall stood there, enveloped in thought. Should I believe? Should I truly accept that Rinoa's gone and I should move on? Are there really greater things? How did she know about my dream? What did she mean? How did Rinoa talk to me through a dream? Was that a true example of an angel? Maybe angels DO exist? Maybe there is a God? So many questions, with no answers available to me. His eyes closed for a second. If this is all true, I pray that the answers will be revealed to me. God, if there is one, and if you're listening, please prove to me what's true and what's not. I'm in the dark, and if everything I've heard is true, you're my light. If you're my light, then guide me. And hopefully I'm making the right choice. Because if I don't, all I'm asking for is pain.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The golden sunlight washed over Squall in comforting warmth. It lit his face, and for the first in a long time, he looked content and thoughtful, and a small smile played across his face. It felt good to be at ease again. Things had felt better ever since he had let the dream affect him. Squall had decided to trust that Rinoa was right and let go. It hurt, but that's what Rinoa wanted him to do… right? There was a knock on the door.
"Come in."
Skye looked at him. She cocked her head slightly. Was it just her, or did he look a lot happier? She shook her head and smiled at him.
"Do you believe now?" she asked.
She wasn't expecting a change, but that didn't stop her from hoping for one.
"…Yeah."
"You truly, honestly believe?"
"Yes."
"Great! Um…" Skye thought back to the last time she had talked to Rinoa.
"Rinoa, you want him to believe in angels, and you want him to trust in God, right?"
"Mm hm."
"And then?"
"And then… We'll see when we get there."
"If we get there at all."
"What makes you say that? He's not as cold as you might think. Under that cold exterior lies a heart that will touch you. You'll easily find a friend in him if he opens up."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive, Skye."
"Okay… whatever you say."
"Well… Let's see… What exactly do you believe?"
"You have to make this hard, don't you? I… I read a little of the bible. I'm as far as believing that Rinoa is an angel. I'm not too far in thinking God, if there is one, loves us."
"Don't you see? He does love us-"
"Don't push me faster than I'm ready to go." Squall interrupted her.
"Okay." Skye smiled. She was just happy she had gotten that far.
"Let's go. We need to check out the area and see if we can get any information on the Deathborn."
"Alrighty." Skye nodded cheerfully, and looked him in the eye. "And thank you for trying, Squall." She walked out the door.
Squall shook his head and put on his jacket. Skye was a pain. Somehow that didn't bother him all that much any more. He sighed. Skye wasn't an easy person to comprehend. The more he had to put up with her, the more complex her character seemed. It was like a maze. The deeper you went in, the more lost you got. Squall's eyes were distant. Part of him wished Skye would just leave him be. But… Something inside him wanted to figure her out. Most of her personality was still a mystery. He scowled. One thing was for sure, she was too persistent for her own good. He jogged down the hall, gun blade at his hip, trying to catch up to Skye. He looked at his watch. 3:50 p.m.
"Stop." A thin girl with hair so blonde it was silvery white frowned.
She had eerie deep green eyes that seemed to pierce him. She was tall and odd looking, and wore flowing robes that went down to her ankles made of gray silk. Resting on her forehead was a silver tiara with a deep gray stone set in the middle. She was deathly pale, and her gaze made Squall's skin crawl. For some reason, it seemed like she really wasn't supposed to be there. Squall glared at her.
"My name is Ashita." She looked at him cautiously.
"Squall."
"Why are you here?"
"I could ask you the same thing."
"Well… Squall… I came to warn you."
"Of what?"
"Echo."
"The sorceress?"
"Yes. She is after you. She'll stop at nothing until you are insane or dead. Echo's not afraid to use cruel mental tactics. She will hurt, even kill, your friends if she must without hesitation."
"How do you know?"
"None of your concern."
"Then why should I pay any heed to the warning if you won't even tell me where you got the information? How do I know you aren't a spy of Echo?"
"Because of this." She walked right through him, her long robe rippling behind her. He spun around, the hair on the back of his neck standing straight up. Squall glared at the girl in complete shock and total distrust.
"Squall… Do you believe me now?" Ashita smiled grimly.
"Should I?"
She shook her head, her hair glimmering as it caught the dim light of the hallway.
"So much, and still you refuse to trust?"
She seemed to emit a strange power and Squall's vision blurred. The ground rushed up to meet him, and all was dark.
Squall's sight was distorted, and he was dizzy, but he forced himself to stand up. Maybe that would clear his head a little. Everything was exactly how it was when he had lost awareness… He faintly wondered if he had just imagined it all. But that couldn't have been. He glanced at the black clock on the hall. It struck him that it still said 3: 52. It was nearly the exact same time it was when he last looked… Maybe the clock was broken. He shook his head, tried to forget the strange event, and strode down the hallway, hoping he could catch up to Skye. He looked ahead. She was waiting for him, smiling. Squall nodded, shook everything out of his mind, and came up to meet her. Something gave him a feeling of unease about trying to find out more about the Deathborn… but that still left him with no options, regardless of the bad sense he was getting. Squall simply put up a wall to block all his emotion, despite the nagging suspicion at the back of his mind, and followed Skye outside.