Chapter Five
"Night Rinoa," Squall said. He was tired after last night, as he hadn't slept
well. Awful memories plagued him mind and someone there, someone he knew well.
"Night Squall," Rinoa said
back. They then kissed, not a passionate kiss. Just goodnight.
Squall waited for Rinoa to
enter her dormitory before he started walking to his.
"Squall," said Irvine from
behind him. Squall turned round.
"What," he said tiredness
showing in his eyes.
"Something strange has
happened, you've gotta come see."
Squall sighed, his SeeD
work never ended. Squall followed Irvine to the Canteen. The place was deserted
now. Irvine held back a little so Squall went first inside.
"What were you gonna show
me…" Squall noticed that they weren't alone. Someone was sitting on the
counter.
"Who are you," he asked.
"So demanding," said the
stranger, "this is the famous Squall Leonhart, yet you are only a boy, still
naïve. How have you done so much?"
The woman was playing
games with him.
"What do you want," he
said.
"I want only to show you.
I know where your missing friend Quistis is. I can take you to her."
Squall stepped closer to
her, "Why should I trust you?"
She got off the counter
and walked to him. In the glow of the faint light, Squall saw her hand move.
Before he could pull out
his gunblade, she sent him into a trance. Squall couldn't move, his limbs
wouldn't respond to him.
Her hand moved again in
front of her. She slowly opened it and a blue light erupted from it. Squall's
hand clasped it, moving on it's own, like his mind was separated from his body.
Irvine watched them leave;
just disappear, then he could move.
**********
"Seifer he's in there," Andria said, pointing down a hallway to a room at the
end.
"How do you know," Seifer
asked.
"Come on," she yelled,
ignoring his question.
Seifer ran after her, but
Sia on his back was a dead weight.
"Andria wait," he called
out, but she had already entered the room.
Inside Andria saw Jake
lying on the table in the middle of the room. The room looked deserted, but
Andria sensed the monsters hiding in the shadows. She heard Seifer right
outside the door.
Then six monsters attacked
her while she stood there. She was out numbered with no weapon apart from her
fists, and her magic.
Out stretching her hands,
Andria concentrated. They suddenly stopped advancing and stood there. Clenching
her fists, Andria then opened them out again. They then vanished.
Andria grabbed Jake and
ran. Seifer stood, mouth wide open, he never knew she could do that.
**********
Now standing in Laguna's office they talked about the attack. Andria had Jake
with her; he wasn't leaving her side. She had said to Sia that she didn't blame
her for what happened, that it was an accident.
"I don't understand what
they were," Raijin said.
"Mutated, deformed
monsters. Come from Centra," Odine said, it had been his experiment that had
caused the monsters.
"It still doesn't explain
why they attacked us. Or how they got there," Kiros said. It was puzzling.
"Can we finish this meeting," asked Andria.
"I'm tired," she
explained, "and all we're doing now is asking questions, we're not answering
any, so can we finish and Odine can do some research."
"I don't fell comfortable having Odine research more, look what happened,"
Quistis said.
"Fine, you can do it or
watch him, or find someone else."
Andria then left.
Something was wrong with Squall, she could feel it, but she couldn't tell what
it was.
Andria decided to walk
round Esthar, it might help her think more clearly. She stopped to look at the
view of the rising sun; it was always beautiful at Esthar.
"It is wonderful isn't
it," a voice said. Andria recognised it straight away, only one person had that
voice.
"Squall, my god," she
cried. He stood there real as her memory of him was, he hadn't changed at all
in a year. But he had, Andria realised what it was.
She backed away from him
slowly, "Who did this."
"Don't be upset, this body
was wasted on him. I can do wonderful things with it."
"You're not Squall
though," she cried.
"Yes and he can't be
brought back, but you know that from when I possessed your brother. He was an
interesting one to possess, but this one has powers that you never told him
about. Seems you kept many secrets, why even his son. Shame he'll not get to
see him."
Andria sobbed; bitter
tears ran down her cheeks. This was too cruel, Laguna was right, she should
have told Squall everything, now was too late.
"Be glad, you couldn't
have him, now not even Rinoa can."
Squall stepped back,
"Gotta go, there's a young woman I have to pay a visit to."
**********
Laguna," Andria said, rushing into his office, "I need a transport ship and I
need everyone on it."
"Why," he asked.
"Just do it," she replied
ferociously.
"But there's only Quistis
and Raijin free to go," Laguna said protesting.
"I don't care, get them on
a ship."
**********
"This is great," said Selphie, "first Quisty, and now Sqaull, maybe that's what
happened to Quisty, she disappeared like Squall."
"How are we gonna look for him, we don't know where to start," Xu said.
Rinoa sat down by Cid's
desk, her voice quivered as she spoke, "What if he doesn't come back."
"Why would you think I wouldn't come back?"
Squall stood there in
front of the doors, they closed shut behind him.
"Squall," cried Rinoa and
promptly ran towards him.
"Hey," he said gently.
Rinoa tried to speak, but he shushed her and kissed her deeply.
"What was that for," she
asked when he finished.
"Rinoa, get away from him," the voice from behind Squall demanded. Andria stood
there, crossbow aimed at Squall. Rinoa stared shocked at her.
"Rinoa," Andria said
again, "move away from him, he isn't Squall."
"You're dead," was all Rinoa could say; she couldn't believe what she was
seeing.
Squall pushed Rinoa
away. "Andria, Andria," he said, walking towards her.
Quistis and Raijin held up
their weapons behind Andria, ready for him to try anything.
"You won't fire that at
me, you can't. Your love for him won't let you."
"Don't tempt me," Andria replied, "it would be better to kill Squall."
He laughed coldly, "Now
rather than later. Like I said, you won't fire it."
Andria tried to look
determined, but she knew her eyes told all, she couldn't do it.
"Be seeing you then."
Squall then knocked the crossbow out of Andria's hands and knocked her into
Quistis. Both women fell down.
Raijin stood ready, his
staff spinning above him.
Squall tried to knock it
out of Raijin's hands, but Raijin was too quick for him. He hit him hard in the
side, but that didn't stop Squall from attacking again.
When Raijin attacked
again, Squall grabbed the staff and wrenched it from his grasp. He threw it
back into his stomach and ran.
"What the hell is going
on," shouted Rinoa.
"Quistis," shrieked
Selphie and ran to her old friend. Irvine, Zell and Xu looked expectantly at
Andria. Rinoa walked towards her.
"Rinoa," Andria began.
Without warning Rinoa hit Andria on her jaw.
"Bitch," she cried. Andria
just looked down; she deserved to get hit after last year.
"You knew she was alive
Quistis," accused Zell.
"No, I…"
"Quistis didn't know until
Seifer and Fujin captured her," defended Raijin.
"What exactly has been
going on," asked Irvine, he was even more confused now.
"Andria," said Raijin,
"maybe you should explain, ya know. You know more."
"I can't guarantee we'll
listen," said Rinoa, "since she's lied for how long? A year almost."
"Rinoa please," begged
Andria, "Squall's in mortal danger, and I don't know what's gonna happen."
Rinoa looked hard at
Andria.
"He's in no more danger
than he was with you. But," she said the next part very carefully, "you're
responsible for all this. If he gets hurt, I'll kill you, if everything's all
right, then you'd better watch out anyway. You destroyed me, and I'm not gonna
let it lie."
"Rinoa… I." Andria
couldn't finish, the words stuck in her throat. How do you say, "I'm sorry,"
especially when you're not sorry.
"Maybe we should tell
what's happening, ya know." Raijin nodded at her. Andria didn't know what to
do; she didn't want to tell Rinoa the truth about Squall.
"Rinoa," she said, "I won't
lie to you, this is real bad. Squall… he's been possessed by the demon that
possessed Leraikhe."
Andria stumbled over the
next words. "The… the only way a person can be separated…" Andria hesitated as
Rinoa moved closer to her. She decided to be honest; Rinoa had a right to know.
"He'll die Rinoa, I can't
save him."
"You lying bitch." Rinoa
went to strike Andria once more, but Irvine stepped in the way.
"Rinoa," he said trying to
calm her down, "like it or not, we need her, she know what's going on. That
wasn't Squall before."
Rinoa stared hard at
Irvine, she wanted to kill Andria for hurting her and he was standing in the
way.
Andria turned and fled
from the room. Quistis and Raijin stared dumbly after her.
"Maybe you should go after
her Quistis, ya know," said Raijin. Quistis nodded and left.
**********
Quistis found
Andria sitting in the Quad, watching the children play in the sunshine, the
salty breeze swept their ball around.
"When do we change,"
Andria asked as Quistis sat down next to her.
"What do you mean," asked
Quistis, Andria was being very confusing.
"From children, when do we
grow up, or do we not really change at all."
Quistis though about it, Andria was right in a way, when were people
responsible or old enough to understand things. Some people never did.
"I miss him," Andria said finally, "and I feel like my chance to be with him
has gone, I've missed it."
Author's Note
I decided to keep Squall's
name. He has now been possessed, but he'll still be called Squall. I didn't
want to keep calling him Babalel instead.