Bitter Revenge
~From Kouen's twisted, sick mind~
Chapter Four ~*~*~*~*~ Chasing Shadows
Wind shivered through his thin hair, cooling his face, and billowing out his black cape. The messenger stood high up on Balamb Garden, on the highest balcony, with his arms outstretched to the sea. There, he prayed to his fatal god, his salvation, to know what to do, where to strike next.
With his cold eyes gleaming, he turned to his new servant. The wriggling cowboy, eyes glittering with reflected moonlight, which knew all too well what fate awaited him. The messenger grinned. "My Angel told me you had pretty hair," with agonizing slowness, he dragged his hand through the copper ponytail. "Any last words? Too bad you're gagged," he looped the rope around the smooth skin of the cowboy's neck. "Get along little doggy!" and heaved his body over the railing.
Twenty feet he fell like a brick, until the rope reached its limit and strained. The messenger watched over the side, perched on the banister, and saw the body bounce back up, once, twice, then settle. SQUIRM, boy, SQUIRM! He watched as the cowboy twisted and struggled. In due time, just as the sun rose, the wiggling slowed, slowed…stopped. No more oxygen for the cowboy. Such a shame, such a sad, sad, necessary shame.
A sinner must pay for his sins, whether he liked it, or not.
~*~*~*~*~
~Balamb Garden, Early hours of Monday morning~
Squall Leonhart was completely exhausted, not physically, but emotionally. He didn't know what was worse, loosing friends to death, or loosing friends to grief. While it had hurt loosing Zell, and it had hurt loosing Quistis, it also hurt to be loosing Selphie and Rinoa to their grief. Selphie, usually bright and cheery, was much more subtle, much less talkative. Rinoa hardly said anything outside of "Poor Zell," or "I can't believe Quistis is really gone!" He wondered if her eyes would be permanently red and puffy.
Worse, he was being asked to trust Seifer Almasy, the one who'd betrayed Garden, committed treason, not too long ago.
There was a light knock on the door, and Selphie Tilmitt peeked her head in. She spoke in a quiet, whispery voice, "Hey, Squall. Is… Is Irvine here? He said he had to run an errand before he came to my room, but… but well, I just got tired of waiting,"
Squall shook his head slowly, but wished her luck in finding him. He lay back on his bed, and didn't wake until red fluffy clouds spotted the sky.
For a second, he waited a bit longer in his comfortable bed, but was forced up by yet another soft knocking. Once again Selphie poked her head in. This time her eyes were as red and puffy as Rinoa's. "Irvine never stopped by?" Squall shook his head, dread setting in his stomach. "He never came back to my room, he's gone, I know it, I just know it." She sank to the floor on her knees and sobbed. Squall only watched, listening to the rushed boot-steps in the hallway. Soon enough, Fujin had joined the party.
"IRVINE, WHERE?"
Squall shrugged, and Selphie moaned, tears increasing. Fujin motioned for Squall to join her in the hall, and he did, reluctantly.
"NOTE ON BRIDGE FOUND. IRVINE MISSING. WORRIED."
Squall sighed deeply, and glanced over his shoulder at Selphie. "Find Rinoa," he told the albino girl firmly, "And tell her to watch over Selphie. Have them go somewhere out of the way. And then," he clenched his jaw tightly, "You will find Seifer and report to Cid's office."
"SEIFER, THERE. TELL CID ABOUT NOTE."
Squall nodded jointedly. "Just come up there when you're done with the girls. We've got to search the entire Garden and find Irvine, hopefully alive."
Fujin acknowledged him curtly, and then stomped away. Squall put her in a sour mood with his 'after you're done with the girls,' gig. She was a girl too, but she was subjected to finding Irvine's possibly dead body. Not that she cared. Fujin was a strong girl, and she could handle it. With that, she marched off to track down the blue-clad brown-haired puffy-eyed girl.
~*~*~*~*~
Despite the massive size of Garden, the search had taken less than fifteen minutes. They were to set off in pairs, as goes safety in numbers. Squall refused to let Seifer and Fujin go together, a rule of distrust, so they'd been paired up with Cid and Edea, respectively. Squall had been partnered with Xu, the female secretary of garden, while Dr. Kodawaski, the Garden's head nurse, took Nida, the pilot with her.
Filing out of the elevator, Squall, Xu, Nida and the doctor took the second floor, while the others took the first. At the end of the first hall the two groups separated, and Squall and Xu headed towards the lift balcony. There they were greeted with another horrible surprise.
The rope was attached to a support beam, and hanging from his neck, twenty feet bellow, was Irvine Kinneas's body, dead, lifeless, swaying gently in the morning breeze.
Xu gasped, and for a moment Squall thought she might faint, but thankfully, she didn't. "Go inside," he told her, "And get the others." She backed up slowly; unable to take her eyes off of the balcony's edge, then disappeared into the building.
Squall busied himself pulling up the body, slowly, one hand after the other, up, up, up, so slowly. By the time it was there, the others had gathered. Selphie burst through the crowd, only to faint at the sight. Squall glared in Fujin's direction, but she kept her face emotionless. Seifer's hands were shaking, not in sadness, but in anger.
"A clue," he pointed at the body, fingers twitching. It was written on his duster in inky black letters.
"A COWBOY NEVER GOES FAR WITHOUT HIS LASSO. NOW YOU'RE ON THE RIGHT TRACK."
"There's something in the pocket," Xu pointed out the little piece of paper just barely visible. Cid bent to tug it out.
A train ticket to Deling City.
"I think I understand, a little." Edea told them.
"How's that?" Her husband asked.
"Whoever the murderer is must have something to do with trains. Think about it. The word training was stressed, twice, and the first five letters spell out train, and a train travels on a track… maybe they work with trains, or maybe they are just noting that we could take a train to Deling City."
"Rinoa lives in Deling City," Seifer noted.
"Selphie loves trains," Squall added. Several pairs of eyes swerved to watch the two girls.
"I would never kill Irvine!" Selphie sobbed. "Besides, I was at the club when Raijin was murdered, I couldn't have done it!"
Everyone looked to Rinoa. "Why would I kill people?! I wouldn't do that!"
"You weren't at the club, plus you had access to all of the people when they were killed," Xu pointed out rather harshly.
"I don't think she did it," Seifer proclaimed. Everyone looked at him. "I mean, think about the other clues. I got the first one, and it said 'Chicken Wuss' in it, so I thought maybe Zell was the murderer, but he ended up dying, and the same thing happened to Quistis and Irvine. Maybe the person is pointing out that their next target… I don't know, it has something to do with trains or Deling."
"I think we should go to Deling," Cid told them. "Special SeeD mission."
"Why?!" Squall was near rage. "So Selphie or Rinoa can end up dead?"
"No, we'll take precautions on that. No one go anywhere alone. I think our murderer might appear in Deling City, there will be less people they know, and will have to keep a close eye on us. Who's willing to go?"
Seifer was the first to agree, and Fujin was almost synchronized with him. Slowly, Squall stepped forward, followed by Selphie and then Rinoa.
"All right, so it's settled. You'll leave for Deling tomorrow." No one spoke. No one knew what to say.
What they didn't notice were the words scratched on the balcony too tiny to see.
"EVEN WITHOUT MY COWBOY HERO, I CAN STILL RIDE OFF INTO THE SUNSET. DON'T WORRY, BE HAPPY."
~From Kouen's twisted, sick mind~
Chapter Four ~*~*~*~*~ Chasing Shadows
Wind shivered through his thin hair, cooling his face, and billowing out his black cape. The messenger stood high up on Balamb Garden, on the highest balcony, with his arms outstretched to the sea. There, he prayed to his fatal god, his salvation, to know what to do, where to strike next.
With his cold eyes gleaming, he turned to his new servant. The wriggling cowboy, eyes glittering with reflected moonlight, which knew all too well what fate awaited him. The messenger grinned. "My Angel told me you had pretty hair," with agonizing slowness, he dragged his hand through the copper ponytail. "Any last words? Too bad you're gagged," he looped the rope around the smooth skin of the cowboy's neck. "Get along little doggy!" and heaved his body over the railing.
Twenty feet he fell like a brick, until the rope reached its limit and strained. The messenger watched over the side, perched on the banister, and saw the body bounce back up, once, twice, then settle. SQUIRM, boy, SQUIRM! He watched as the cowboy twisted and struggled. In due time, just as the sun rose, the wiggling slowed, slowed…stopped. No more oxygen for the cowboy. Such a shame, such a sad, sad, necessary shame.
A sinner must pay for his sins, whether he liked it, or not.
~*~*~*~*~
~Balamb Garden, Early hours of Monday morning~
Squall Leonhart was completely exhausted, not physically, but emotionally. He didn't know what was worse, loosing friends to death, or loosing friends to grief. While it had hurt loosing Zell, and it had hurt loosing Quistis, it also hurt to be loosing Selphie and Rinoa to their grief. Selphie, usually bright and cheery, was much more subtle, much less talkative. Rinoa hardly said anything outside of "Poor Zell," or "I can't believe Quistis is really gone!" He wondered if her eyes would be permanently red and puffy.
Worse, he was being asked to trust Seifer Almasy, the one who'd betrayed Garden, committed treason, not too long ago.
There was a light knock on the door, and Selphie Tilmitt peeked her head in. She spoke in a quiet, whispery voice, "Hey, Squall. Is… Is Irvine here? He said he had to run an errand before he came to my room, but… but well, I just got tired of waiting,"
Squall shook his head slowly, but wished her luck in finding him. He lay back on his bed, and didn't wake until red fluffy clouds spotted the sky.
For a second, he waited a bit longer in his comfortable bed, but was forced up by yet another soft knocking. Once again Selphie poked her head in. This time her eyes were as red and puffy as Rinoa's. "Irvine never stopped by?" Squall shook his head, dread setting in his stomach. "He never came back to my room, he's gone, I know it, I just know it." She sank to the floor on her knees and sobbed. Squall only watched, listening to the rushed boot-steps in the hallway. Soon enough, Fujin had joined the party.
"IRVINE, WHERE?"
Squall shrugged, and Selphie moaned, tears increasing. Fujin motioned for Squall to join her in the hall, and he did, reluctantly.
"NOTE ON BRIDGE FOUND. IRVINE MISSING. WORRIED."
Squall sighed deeply, and glanced over his shoulder at Selphie. "Find Rinoa," he told the albino girl firmly, "And tell her to watch over Selphie. Have them go somewhere out of the way. And then," he clenched his jaw tightly, "You will find Seifer and report to Cid's office."
"SEIFER, THERE. TELL CID ABOUT NOTE."
Squall nodded jointedly. "Just come up there when you're done with the girls. We've got to search the entire Garden and find Irvine, hopefully alive."
Fujin acknowledged him curtly, and then stomped away. Squall put her in a sour mood with his 'after you're done with the girls,' gig. She was a girl too, but she was subjected to finding Irvine's possibly dead body. Not that she cared. Fujin was a strong girl, and she could handle it. With that, she marched off to track down the blue-clad brown-haired puffy-eyed girl.
~*~*~*~*~
Despite the massive size of Garden, the search had taken less than fifteen minutes. They were to set off in pairs, as goes safety in numbers. Squall refused to let Seifer and Fujin go together, a rule of distrust, so they'd been paired up with Cid and Edea, respectively. Squall had been partnered with Xu, the female secretary of garden, while Dr. Kodawaski, the Garden's head nurse, took Nida, the pilot with her.
Filing out of the elevator, Squall, Xu, Nida and the doctor took the second floor, while the others took the first. At the end of the first hall the two groups separated, and Squall and Xu headed towards the lift balcony. There they were greeted with another horrible surprise.
The rope was attached to a support beam, and hanging from his neck, twenty feet bellow, was Irvine Kinneas's body, dead, lifeless, swaying gently in the morning breeze.
Xu gasped, and for a moment Squall thought she might faint, but thankfully, she didn't. "Go inside," he told her, "And get the others." She backed up slowly; unable to take her eyes off of the balcony's edge, then disappeared into the building.
Squall busied himself pulling up the body, slowly, one hand after the other, up, up, up, so slowly. By the time it was there, the others had gathered. Selphie burst through the crowd, only to faint at the sight. Squall glared in Fujin's direction, but she kept her face emotionless. Seifer's hands were shaking, not in sadness, but in anger.
"A clue," he pointed at the body, fingers twitching. It was written on his duster in inky black letters.
"A COWBOY NEVER GOES FAR WITHOUT HIS LASSO. NOW YOU'RE ON THE RIGHT TRACK."
"There's something in the pocket," Xu pointed out the little piece of paper just barely visible. Cid bent to tug it out.
A train ticket to Deling City.
"I think I understand, a little." Edea told them.
"How's that?" Her husband asked.
"Whoever the murderer is must have something to do with trains. Think about it. The word training was stressed, twice, and the first five letters spell out train, and a train travels on a track… maybe they work with trains, or maybe they are just noting that we could take a train to Deling City."
"Rinoa lives in Deling City," Seifer noted.
"Selphie loves trains," Squall added. Several pairs of eyes swerved to watch the two girls.
"I would never kill Irvine!" Selphie sobbed. "Besides, I was at the club when Raijin was murdered, I couldn't have done it!"
Everyone looked to Rinoa. "Why would I kill people?! I wouldn't do that!"
"You weren't at the club, plus you had access to all of the people when they were killed," Xu pointed out rather harshly.
"I don't think she did it," Seifer proclaimed. Everyone looked at him. "I mean, think about the other clues. I got the first one, and it said 'Chicken Wuss' in it, so I thought maybe Zell was the murderer, but he ended up dying, and the same thing happened to Quistis and Irvine. Maybe the person is pointing out that their next target… I don't know, it has something to do with trains or Deling."
"I think we should go to Deling," Cid told them. "Special SeeD mission."
"Why?!" Squall was near rage. "So Selphie or Rinoa can end up dead?"
"No, we'll take precautions on that. No one go anywhere alone. I think our murderer might appear in Deling City, there will be less people they know, and will have to keep a close eye on us. Who's willing to go?"
Seifer was the first to agree, and Fujin was almost synchronized with him. Slowly, Squall stepped forward, followed by Selphie and then Rinoa.
"All right, so it's settled. You'll leave for Deling tomorrow." No one spoke. No one knew what to say.
What they didn't notice were the words scratched on the balcony too tiny to see.
"EVEN WITHOUT MY COWBOY HERO, I CAN STILL RIDE OFF INTO THE SUNSET. DON'T WORRY, BE HAPPY."