Changing Faces - Part 7

Changing Faces

Death of an ideal

Everyone has a theory about the silent one, the bitter one.

Dad was always away.

Love hasn't been very generous.

Luck was an archenemy of the worst kind.

That is why he turns away from human affection.

But never had any observer noticed the discomfort of the prying eyes of curiosity. And Squall felt the same thing now, as he felt the observing eyes of Laguna scanning his face for emotions, watching him like an optic illusion, in the hope of seeing the hidden surface of an image he had managed to glimpse, before reality mocked his assumptions.

He adverted his eyes from him and glanced out of the airplane window. The familiar grassy fields of Balamb came in sight, there, was that not the Fire Cavern? For a split second he allowed his sensible mind to wonder how different things would have been, had he not entered that cave a year ago. What if he hadn't made it, what if the injury Seifer had inflicted on him had been too severe, would all the chaos of the past year have happened? Would he have been able to forget a past he could not remember for the life of him? Would he have accepted the unsolved mysteries in the long run? Would he have had other things that were more worthy of his attention?

"Please fasten your seatbelts, we'll arrive at Balamb in ten minutes," the voice of the head pilot sounded over the intercom, forcing Squall back from useless questions no one could answer to a reality that was too damn clear.

Automatically he followed the pilot's instructions and Laguna did the same. His face now more relaxed with the thought of leaving the plane very soon.

Squall watched Balamb Garden become greater as it neared his vision. It was stationed near the place it had once claimed as Balamb garden, but now had become nothing more than a dusty deserted crater.

The entrance to Garden was totally empty, while usually it was crowded with students who preferred the natural sunlight and grass over the brilliant perfection of the interior. And for a Garden who had to prepare for a likely war, it was suspiciously quiet. It was then when he noticed streaks of fiery red contrasting with the metallic gray of above Balamb garden's entrance. His delicate shaped brows knitted in a deep frown as he bent towards the window to get a closer look. The wind was playing with locks of red, hair which belonged to a student, judging by the length, it was female.

The view of the student above the Garden entrance grew sharper as the plane neared the ground. She lay flat on her chest, he couldn't see her face as the red locks waved in front of her eyes. Squall's mind quickly calculated his assumptions against the likeliness of facts. She was clearly on the outlook for something.

As the plane announced its contact with the earth with a thumping vibration, he suddenly recognized in her the familiar position of a sniper. Head low, eyes fixed on a moving target, one leg slightly bent to reach up quickly if necessary and hands apart on an object which he couldn't identify but knew instinctively what it was.

She was on the outlook for someone.

Squall hadn't noticed that the plane had stopped moving until he saw Laguna bidding him to come. The steward had opened the stair-door for him and stepped aside to let the president through. Squall glanced at the over-heading above the entrance of Garden. He could not see the girl from this angle, but he knew she was there. And her eyes had been fixed on the position where their plane was stationed now. While he gave himself one last inwardly curse, he stood and jumped towards Laguna who had already started to descend the stairs.

"No!! Wait!"

* * * *

Cid walked over the marble halls of Balamb Garden with a grave look on his aging face. His shoulders hung like that of man who is being lead towards the guillotine by the masked fate. His eyes fixed in space, indifferent to whatever was happening around him. Why should he care? In a few moments nothing would matter anymore. As far as he was concerned, they were leading a dead man towards his execution. Cid was no longer. For Cid had been the man Edea once loved, Cid had been the man who had held Edea close as they watched their children grow. That was a man who had been worthy of her affection. But he was not the Cid she used to bestow her smiles upon. Her husband had died in that accursed Garden a day ago, making of her a living widow. He could no longer love her, for she belonged to another man.

With that thought he stepped outside Garden, walking the stone walkway until the entrance. Here he was to wait until one bullet would finish everything. The older student, Scarlett, had already taken her position on entrance roof and Neo was already waiting from the 2F classroom window.

Cid took the small machinegun he carried under his armpit, to free his hand to weep off the sweat of his forehead. Little watery traces of salt trailed their way down his face which had never seemed so old as it did now. A man in his forties, who seemed amicable and goodhearted at first sight, dressed in his regular clothes. Who would think him a monster?

A difference in the Balamb meadow snapped his thoughts back to alert. The airship neared Balamb Garden with the speed and elegance of an eagle. The white eagle, now about to be trapped by the black mouse.

He emptied his mind of thoughts, he drained his body of feelings and he filled himself with the soothing indifference. Cid readied his weapon, the same weapon which had saved Edea's life so many times. Now this would be the same weapon to kill her idealistic illusions.

The plane had reached the ground and was now racing towards him. The painted Estharian flag became clearer with every second. Carrying Squall Leonheart towards his destiny. No, damnit, this was no destiny for him. He wasn't meant to die like this. To be assassinated? Not even granted an honorable battle. God, Edea, what would she think? What was she doing now? Was she strolling by the beach, smiling in silent reverie. Musing about how the orphanage once used to be?

Damn her, Edea died. She is no longer for me . . . . . like I'm no longer for her.

The white door, with the built-in stairs was slowly opening, as if in a cruel urge for sensation to extend the suspension beyond endurance. Long locks of dark hair appeared, a tall man, stepping casually down the stairs. It was when he reached half-way that Cid realized who this was.

President Laguna of Esthar

Esthar, the cosmopolitan high-tech city, with the arms and men beyond imagination. Before Cid had the time to break of his shock, a shot sounded over his head. It seemed far away, audible but insensible, as if shot under water.

In the split second before that bullet would meet the sheath of human flesh, Cid just stood there, watching the approaching death of the president, the end of Garden and the world. Even now, the end of Garden filled him with hurt, the hurt of acknowledging his failure. Even now, this still mattered to him, the world still did, the welfare of his students and . . . . . Edea still did.

But the bullet never met the flesh it sought out.

Cid saw just how the president was being pulled back by his collar, surprisingly taken from behind. Had it been in another situation, it would have been funny to see how the president was dragged back into the plane. Oh how he wished this to be another situation, how he wished for an occasion to laugh.

Just before the plane raced away, as quickly and graceful as it had arrived, he saw one sight he would never forget for the life of him. No other sight had hem ever filled him with such a terror, hurt and above an all consuming sense of guilt. Cid was frozen in visual ice as he met the shock, the amazement without understanding in the eyes of Squall Leonheart.

Cid died once again.

* * * * *

Zell watched Selphie negotiate with the Deling Junkshop owner about the price. Normally he would have explored every item in this shop, admiring them like the artifacts they were. But tonight, they seemed no more than a collection of various materials, designed for fatal decisions. Gloves, guns, whips, blades, what did their beauty and rarity matter? In the end it was just a piece of junk, ending another life. For the first time in his life he wondered how his life would have been, if there was no such thing as battle. If only he had stayed with Ma in Balamb and had lived in the place he loved, with the parents he loved.

There was so much going on, the complicated course of events seemed to have lost their logic in the heat of action. Irrationality seemed to dominate every sequence of decisions. All this was rising beyond his grasp. Even now, in the midst of their quest, he still did not understand it. Squall was in danger, the world in was in danger, Rinoa was in danger and his conscience was in danger. Only one could be saved.

He understood Quistis' motives of course, she loved Squall, that much was obvious. And to her, Rinoa's life was a worthy sacrifice. But could he really do that? Sacrifice one friend for another? He cared deeply about Rinoa, she treated him differently than everyone else. Of course he had noticed that some people didn't think highly of him, even to some of his friends. He had always been Zell, the chicken-wuss, the joker, the guy whose every action is the cause of the hilarity or disappointment amongst others.

But to her, he had been a true friend. She actually saw him, behind the mask of simplicity. That had been one of the reasons why he was prepared to do everything for her. He had felt like stabbing Squall in the neck with an unsharpened pencil for hesitating to rescue her all those times. The guy was an idiot for turning her down for so many times. When she asked Zell to make a replica of Squall's ring, he had been more excited than she was, being able to do something that was actually appreciated. She had been the only one to notice him, but that was until Arian came into play.

Arian. She was truly something, the minute he had seen her, some sensation had channeled through his limbs, like a poison, freezing him in movements, thoughts and speech. Only once they had really talked, that was during the party after Ultimecia's, supposed, defeat. After the first few uneasy mutterings, they had been talking for the entire night. And he had realized that she made him think of Rinoa in a way, maybe that was what he had noticed about her in the first place. She had been a more lighter version of Rinoa, but with her own unique ability to make him laugh and silence at the same time. What would he have done, if Squall's situation applied to him? Almost immediately he decided that he would have taken Squall's decision, if it was only Zell. But it wasn't just Zell, it was Squall and Rinoa, both carried his love. One his undying admiration and the other his affection.

Either Squall would die or Rinoa. That was the logic but irrational truth. And they were here to fetch Rinoa, to kill Ultimecia in her body. Even though Odine didn't say it in so many words, that was the most obvious plan. Suddenly he felt very unsure of his loyalty. Could he really trust himself not to intervene in everyone's plan when the time came. Could he really pursue a benefit without losing something? Zell prayed that he would never need to find out.

He suddenly noticed that the familiar melodious, attention dominating voice of Selphie has silenced. Zell snapped his thoughts back to the Junkshop and saw Selphie with an expression of sheer amazement on her face. Her large green eyes were gazing wide-eyed out of the window. Before he or the shop owner could ask her something, she dashed out of the shop, leaving even her nunchu-chuks behind on the counter. Without hesitating he ran after her into the busy shopping street of Deling City.

"Yo Selphie, wait up," Zell yelled at the running young female before him. But Selphie didn't hear him and made for the Deling Park. Zell just glimpsed the bright yellow of her dress disappearing through a mass of people on Deling Park square. What the hell had gotten into her?

Suddenly she held still, just like that, as if someone had slapped her out of her excitement. She shuffled towards a tree and gazed from behind it at something in the dark.

Why was she hiding?

"Hey Selph- . . ." he spoke, but she hastily interrupted him, vigorously motioning him to be silent. Zell walked towards her, peering over her shoulder into the darkness.

"What's wrong?" he whispered.

She pointed at a scenery in the distance. "Look!"

"What the hell, isn't that . . . "

"Yes, we better warn Quistis and Irvine."

"Yeah, I'll stay here, you go and get them."

* * * *

"LOOK" said the young woman standing at the window. With her back to the other young man, lying on the bed, she gazed over the streetlight covered Deling City. With her one free eye she watched two people sitting on a bench, in the darkness, a man and a woman. Even though the darkness and the distance concealed their faces, she knew perfectly well who those two people were. She had been standing here almost all night, as she had spotted the only person who held her affection, walking into Deling City with her by his side.

The tall well muscled boy stood up to look over her shoulder. "Where?"

She raised her index-finger into the direction of the half lit park.

"Huh, those two sittin on the bench? Whoa, didn't know you were into that kinky voyeurism stuff."

She kicked him out of annoyance, grabbing his chin to direct his gaze to the scenery behind the pair. "THERE"

"Oh-uh, you mean tha-, whoa, wait a sec, isn't that . . . "

"ZELL," she finished his sentence.

"Geez, what is he doin here in Galbadia?"

"SPYING."

"Spying? On who?," he asked confused, as he looked closely he noticed that Zell did seem suspicious, the way he was hiding behind that tree. The only people in that part of the park, were Zell and the horny couple on the bench.

"Wait a sec, is he spying on that couple there," he asked.

"YES."

"Damn, what's with everyone being horny tonight?"

"SEIFER"

"Seifer too?"

"NO. ON BENCH."

"Ah, that sneaky dog," he chuckled, "who's that chick there with him?"

"RINOA."

"Rinoa? You sure? Why the hell is Rinoa with him? Ooh, I get it, Zell's watchin Seifer and Rinoa make out." Raijin paused in confusion to contemplate this situation. But as usual, pondering was not his style so he nudged Fujin.

"Let's go and find out."

"WAIT."

"Erm, shouldn't we warn Seifer that he's being spied on?"

"NO."

I need to know what's going to happen.

* * * *

"I-irvine!"

Even before he saw her, Irvine recognized the voice to be Selphie's. There was only one person he knew who always forgot to breath while running and talking. He snapped his eyes open to see a young girl running towards him and Quistis, who curled up against his chest, like a little child curling up against the bosom of her mother.

Quistis heard her too, as she quickly retreated from their embrace and straightened her dress and hair, before Selphie reached them out of breath.

"Selphie darlin, what's wrong?" Irvine asked her, as she was trying to catch up her breath.

"Y-you gotta come and see this," she gasped.

"What is wrong?" Quistis asked, who already stood up, ready to get back in action, after her brief submission to weariness.

"I h-have found R-Rinoa, in the p-park," she replied, her cheeks flushed with excitement. Before Quistis or Irvine could answer, she ran away in the direction she came from.

"By Hyne," Quistis whispered, "she's here in Deling City". She was here all along, while they were on their way to leave. Had she believed in supernatural signs, than this was what she would recognize as a sign from the heavens. A sign that everything meant to turn out well.

"Hurry up!" she said, as she ran after Selphie who was leading the way. All worries, fear and pessimistic voices passed, making way for a renewed energy and passion. She did not notice the citizens of Deling City raising their eyebrows at the young SeeDs running from the crowded streets towards Deling Park like mad. Rinoa was here, that was a knowledge she never thought would give her such pleasure.

In the distance they saw Selphie coming to halt before a tree. Quistis noticed that the vicinity was more dim due to the spare parklamps. Selphie motioned them to stand behind them.

"Be quiet and look," she whispered. Irvine looked over her chestnut hair in the park. He could make out the silhouettes of two figures sitting on bench. Only when one of them stood up in the parklamp did he recognize the blue fabric, the angel motif, the slender figure and that nice bum. She stood with her back towards them, but he did not need to see her face to know it was Rinoa.

Before he could speak, the other figure stood up too and walked towards Rinoa. She turned around, most likely responding to a comment. The taller person grabbed her by her elbow and bent down as to kiss her. That slightly harsh gesture, that walk, those familiar things made him notice the more obvious signs. A trenchcoat, light hair and the tip of a blade tied to a belt.

Behind him he heard someone gasping in disbelieve. Upon turning he saw the shocked face of Quistis, her blue eyes widened in sheer amazement. He was unsure how to define the display of emotions in her face. Was it hurt? Happiness? Fury? Confusion? Before he could hold her back, she stepped out from the shadow and approached the two people.

The two people in the distance turned around when they heard her footstep.

"You undeserving witch," Quistis spoke, almost as a whisper, spitting out each word in disgust.