Chapter IV; "Fragments Of Memories"
The slums weren't just a place for oppressed people, Squall soon noticed. There were some people here who made a bad place worse by merely being there. Drug addicts thieves and rapists were potentially behind every face. Most of the people here were honest and decent enough. It just takes a few bad people to make something a bad place, unfortunately.
The Sector 5 Slums seemed to be a decent enough place, not all that dissimilar to Sector 7, really. A few people were still cleaning up after the Solstice celebrations, but aside from that, everything else seemed fine. It was still open for business, and there were one or two suspicious characters still around. Quistis had gotten a few ugly looks from these characters, but they could clearly see whom she was with. Even if Squall wasn't with her, she could easily take care of herself. She was pretty handy with that whip of hers, and even if she was caught without that, Squall was still sure that she was still what he remembered her to be...
"There's my house." Quistis said, de-railing Squall's train of thought.
He followed her gaze and looked towards the small two-storey hovel. It was a house by itself, and right next to it was a flower field, a sight Squall never expected to see in the slums. How could flowers grow where there was no natural sunlight?
Quistis pushed open the door and held it open for Squall, who followed.
"Mom!" she called. "I'm home!"
Mom? Squall wondered again.
There was the sound of footsteps, and a very tall red-haired woman came walking down the stairs. She wore mostly red and black, and her hair was a bright crimson, the colour of blood. Her skin was a little paler than Squall or Quistis, and what Squall really noticed were her eyes. They were a photonegative. Her whites were jet-black, and her pupils a bright red, the same as her hair. She looked an awful lot like the woman Squall had seen in his dream that night.
"Sorry I'm late." Quistis explained. "I met somebody. Mom, this is Squall. He helped me escape the Turks. He's my childhood friend, mom, from way back when we were held by Shin-Ra."
"Yes, I remember Squall." said the woman. Her voice was familiar too. "But not just from back then. I remember Squall from way before then, Quistis."
"Please, mom, you know we can't remember back that far."
"Indeed." said the woman, then turned her eyes to Squall, and smiled. "You've really grown."
"I know you...." Squall said slowly, trying to remember. "Of course you do. I tried to help you and the others, so many years ago, don't you remember?"
"........" Squall tried to think.
"Try to remember, Squall." said the woman. "I'm Adel. I tried to help you, Quistis, Seifer and Ellone when you were just nine years old. Surely you remember?"
"Yes...." Squall said. "I do remember."
______________________________________________________________________________
Flashback
"No..." Squall said. "I don't remember."
"You've got to know the way, Squall!" Ellone pleaded. "You've been in the vents thousands of times. You should know which way to go."
"I knew it." Seifer groaned. "He's going to wuss out on us."
"Shut up!" Quistis hissed. "This could be our only opportunity to escape. If we fail this, we could be stuck with the Shin-Ra for the rest of our lives. We don't have time for this kind of bickering. Now, which way is it, Squall?"
".... Left." he said eventually. "I think it's left."
"Okay then, let's hurry." said Quistis.
The children scuttled forward, being careful to avoid the laser beams that protected the vents from intruders. But their bodies were small, and Squall had been through the vents thousands of times. They never caught him, and they never would. Especially not if they managed this escape.
They moved quickly, but quietly. The Shin-Ra building was not a day-care center. Children, especially these children, would not be allowed to escape their confines and wander around like this. If they were caught, God knows what Shin-Ra would do to them. On second thought, not even He could imagine how sick some of Shin-Ra's deeds were....
"Here it is!" Squall whispered joyfully. "I knew it, I found it!"
They were at a vent on the 61st floor, the employee lounge. They could see quite a number of staff all talking, joking, eating, and smoking. Basically all the boring stuff adults do.
Ellone shushed them silent and pointed out the Shin-Ra guards that were also there. They tried their very best to remain silent and still.
It was torture. Have you ever tried it? When you do your very best to remain quiet, every single sound is amplified a dozen times. You even think that the sound of your own heart thumping with anxiety will give you away.
Suddenly, Seifer clasped his hand to his mouth and sneezed. It was muffled, and no louder than the sound of a mouse, but in the vent, it felt like an explosion had gone off.
The children's hearts stopped. One of the guards looked over to the vent curiously.
"I'll check it." said one of them, and walked over.
The children hushed and pressed themselves against the vent walls, trying to avoid the probing light of the soldier's torch shining through the vent. The light stopped searching and clicked off.
And then, the vent was opened, and the soldier looked inside.
She removed the faceplate of her helmet and smiled at them.
"Thank Hyne." breathed Adel. "You made it. This floor is too crowded children. Try to make it to the 65th floor. There's nobody there. I'll get you out from there, okay. Squall, do you know the way?"
Squall nodded.
"You're a very brave boy." said Adel. "Okay, good luck, children."
Adel replaced her faceplate and then put the grille back on the vent. The children the relaxed, and began to follow Squall through the vents to get to floor 65.
Upon reaching floor 65, Quistis drew back against the vent wall and began to kick the grille out of the frame. Seifer helped, and it soon clattered noisily to the ground. Adel was already there, her face-plate off.
"Come on, children." she said quietly, catching them in her arms as they dropped out of the vent one by one.
"We'll take the lift down to the bottom floor." she explained. "I know two soldiers who can help us. They were very sympathetic when I explained what happened to you all. They have a van waiting outside to take us to freedom. Okay, is that everyone?"
No, it wasn't. Squall was still in the vent, hesitating.
"Squall, sweetie, drop down. I'll catch you." offered Adel.
"He's scared." said Seifer, condescending as ever.
"Squall, we have to hurry, please!" pleaded Ellone.
"Squall, we can't stay!" explained Quistis. "If we do, we'll be stuck with thee Shin-Ra for the rest of our lives. They'll just make you a soldier, Squall. They'll just turn all of us into living weapons, is that what you want?"
"....No."
"Then come on!"
Squall jumped out the vent and landed in Adel's arms. She set him down and they began to walk quickly, as a group, towards the elevator.
"Hey!" shouted a voice.
"Damn." hissed Adel, not turning around.
"Hey!" shouted the voice. "What are you doing with those kids! They're not supposed to be here! Hey....are they the ones from the Generation; NeXus project?!?!? RED ALERT!! RED ALERT!!!"
Adel turned and threw up her hands, raising a firewall that bisected the entire floor. The guards shouting for back-up could be heard on the other side of the towering inferno.
"Run, children!" Adel shouted and sprinted towards the lift. They followed her without a second's pause. The doors slammed shut behind them, as machine-gun fire impacted with the steel on the other side.
Adel breathed a sigh of relief as she clicked the button for the first floor.
"We're safe." she said. "We'll soon have you home, children."
Squall looked out through the glass, over the glowing dark city beneath them. I don't ever remember having anywhere to call a home....
There was a disorientating jerk as the elevator instantly halted, stuck between floors.
"They cut the power!" Adel gasped.
"What do we do now?!" Quistis panicked, then they all screamed as the floor beneath them began to tilt at an angle, tipping them off their balance. Ellone and Quistis slid forward and clung to the side, desperately hanging on for dear life. Adel flung herself forward, lying flat as she tried to hang on to Quistis, who was slipping.
"Squall! Seifer!" she gasped. "I can't get to Elle! Grab on to her!"
Squall and Seifer dove forward, each grabbing one of Ellone's hands, until they were all she was hanging by. Adel cried for Quistis to hang on to her hand, then looked up as soon as she heard the sound. The soldiers were trying to force the doors open.
Squall and Seifer managed to full Ellone up before the circular lift tilted again, and Adel slid forward. Now she was holding onto the ledge with one hand, and Quistis with the other.
"Squall, try to get out of here!" Adel shouted. "You know the way through the vents! Try to get outside, and find two soldiers named Ward and Kiros! They'll take you all to a safe place!"
"What about you?" Squall cried. "What about Quisty?!"
"I'll protect her." Adel pledged. "Whatever you do, Squall, don't stay here! Don't let them make you a soldier! You were all meant for better things!"
The doors opened above them, and the lift tilted once more. Adel lost her grip, and she and Quistis plunged through the shaft. As Quistis screamed, Adel tucked her tight in her arms and flipped around, preparing to take the full painful brunt of the fall and protect Quistis....
"Hello, kiddies." came a sinister voice. "You know you're up past your bedtime."
Squall, Seifer and Ellone struggled and screamed as they were carried away by the soldiers, whilst Hojo and Gast stood there, looking on, pondering their next move.
"Prepare the mind-scan." Hojo advised. "We must purge their memories, otherwise they'll never accept their training, and all our plans will be for naught."
"Say what you will about science." said Gast. "But that Odine guy isn't human. Just not human."
Hojo grinned.
_______________________________________________________________________
"Yes...." Squall said. "I do remember."
Adel smiled.
"But, you didn't die?" he asked, confused.
"No, Squall." she said. "It's very hard to kill a Sorceress. The power in our bodies won't let us die. It makes us immune to even the most fatal of injuries, sometimes. But sometimes, the injuries are too severe, and we die, but our body won't rest until it passes on its power. Sometimes, we suffer terrible injuries, and passing on our powers and becoming mortal is the only way to save us."
"Is that how you and Quistis survived the fall?" Squall asked.
Adel looked at him, still smiling. "Is Squall going to be staying the night?" she asked Quistis.
"I don't know, mom." Quistis replied. "He's kind of eager to get to Sector 7."
"I don't mean to impose...." Squall trailed off.
"Oh nonsense, we have plenty of space." said Adel. "I don't mind. You can take the spare bedroom, it's right next to Quistis' one."
***
Squall stared up at the ceiling, hands behind his head. He was trying not to think about the Midgar Owls, wondering if they would still be there when he got back. Shin-Ra seemed pretty serious with their "Operation; Zero Tolerance." policy towards rebels.
Odd, Squall...hoping they're alright?
He looked over towards the locker. There was a dog-eared copy of a script there. It was the play "Loveless". Squall flicked through it, couldn't get interested, and set it back on the locker.
Adel, Adel, Adel, that's.......the same Adel back at the canyon, with that Edea woman. Edea, even her name sounds familiar. I remember Hojo said something about a mind-scan. Is it possible that those memories are mine, and they were taken from me?
As his thoughts raced and raced, he barely noticed the buzzing in his head, growing louder and louder, until it was too late.
* * * * * * *
~Dreamworld~
* * * * *
The train whistle blew, amongst the clearing steam and fog of the slums.
As the door opened, the people emerged, and several ran to open arms, reunited with family members. They hugged, kissed and laughed, before walking with their kindred towards their homes.
Two figures also emerged from the train. The small one, trying to support the other, much taller. She leaned against the carriage door, trying to support her weight with her dying strength. With the help of the younger one, she began to step lightly across the platform, before collapsing at the foot of the steps. The younger one did not let go, still trying to help her.
".... I'm dying." said Adel, softly.
"No." refused Quistis. "You're going to live."
"...the fall...." panted Adel. "I protected you...at great.....cost....to myself...."
"There has to be something I can do!" pleaded Quistis. "We've come this far, I can't survive without you. The Shin-Ra will never stop looking for us, I can't face them all by myself."
"....You...can..." gasped Adel. "If you...are...strong enough..."
"My powers haven't matured." whined Quistis. "I'm not strong enough to face them if they come."
"That is why....I must...give you....my power."
"What?!"
"It's the....only....way to save.....my life." Adel explained. "To become.....mortal.....and, if something should....ever happen to me.....you...will be....strong enough....to fight."
Quistis nodded. "Alright...."
"You're a.....very....brave....girl......"
With her last ounce of strength, Adel reached up and placed the palms of her hands on Quistis' temple. The little girl closed her eyes as shards up purple fire began to emanate from Adel's eyes and run down her face and hands, into Quistis.
When it was over, Adel let go and fell back onto the steps, unconscious but alive. Quistis fell to her knee's gasping. She could feel the power inside her now, the crackling raw energy of the universe, flowing through her body. She was now a conduit for the full-unchained powers of the cosmos.
She could also feel Adel's words in her mind....
Always remember; with great power comes great responsibility.
Quistis stood up, and began to try to support Adel, as they walked deep into the slums. After a long time of searching for shelter, she found a run-down abandoned house. Upstairs, she found a bed for Adel to lie in whilst she recovered.
After looking around, Quistis decided this might be a good place to spend the night. Adel's recovery took longer than expected, however, so she decided it best to stay there for a week or so. By the time Adel had recovered, Quistis had already begun to put her enhanced powers to use in cleaning out the old house. When Adel was strong enough, she helped, reminding Quistis that they would have to move on, lest Shin-Ra come and find them. But, Shin-Ra never came. The Turks never found the house, which by now had a garden and running water. Quistis liked nothing better than to spend all her time in the Garden...
By the time Quistis had started puberty, the house had become home, and Adel had become "Mother".
* * * * *
~Dreamworld End~
* * * * *
Darkness.
Again.
".....I see." said a familiar voice.
"See what?" asked another voice. Squall realised it was his own.
"Mhm? Oh, nothing." said the familiar feminine voice again. "I'm just trying to unlock the past, is all."
"Unlock the past? Why? Are you who I think you are?"
"Squall.........I'm not even sure I am who I think I am......"
"What?"
But then the voice trailed away, and Squall felt himself lost in the darkness once more. But he could feel the explosive light of consciousness hurtling towards him, as he began to wake up. His mind thundered out into the light, he opened his eyes and found himself staring at....
A pair of blue eyes behind spectacles, looking right into his. Strands of blonde hair fell into his face, and there was a real heavy feeling on his chest.
"Phew!" breathed Quistis. "You're awake."
"Yes." said Squall. "And now you can get off me."
"Oh, sorry about that."
Quistis lifted herself off him and sat at the side of the bed. "I was just trying to wake you up." she explained. "You were mumbling something, and you seemed a bit distressed, so I tried waking you up."
Squall sat forward and looked at her. She was dressed in a shiny pinkish-yellow satin set of pyjamas. Her hair was rough from a night's sleep, and she smiled at him, realising the embarrassment of the situation.
"What time is it?" he asked.
"Late enough." Quistis said, standing up. "Come on, you wanna get to Sector 7 or not?"
She walked out of the room and into hers, and began to get change. Squall began to pull on his own clothes. He was a little angry with himself for sleeping too long. What if he got back to Sector 7 and there was nothing there but dust?
***
They made their way quickly through Sector 6, after saying goodbye to Adel. Quistis no longer wore the normal clothes she had worn when Squall met her in the church. She had now changed into a mostly orange and light brown ensemble colour. She also carried her trusty whip, hooped at her side, and the glasses were gone. She also wore her hair tied up, with two long thick strands whisping past her cheeks.
They crossed the Sector 6 highway, which was no small task, considering it's ruination. After crossing through an old playground, they came to the Sector 7 wall. They were on the right track.
After about another half an hour's walking, finally they reached the area of Sector 7 Squall was familiar with.
"What are you looking for?" Quistis asked.
"A sign." he replied.
"Huh?"
Squall pointed, and they began to walk down the street towards the bar, with the neon sign above it that said "Roses & Wine".
As they walked up the steps, Squall could hear arguing.
"– and I say it is important." was Rinoa's voice.
"I'm not disagreeing, Rinoa." came Xu's voice. "In fact, I agree that it should be checked out."
"So why not have Watts do it?" Zell asked. "Gathering information is his speciality, after all."
"Um, s-sir. You're not that serious, are you?"
"Everyone, shut up!" snapped Zone. "Customers."
Squall stepped through the swing-doors, followed by Quistis.
"I'm not buying, we're just looking, thanks." panned Squall.
Yes! he thought. They're alright!
Rinoa's smile cut across her face, swelling up with happiness, even though she remained quiet, Squall could see her excitement.
"Alright, it's Squall!!!" shouted Zell, rushing forward to hug him. Squall planted his hand on his forehead and held him back, before Zell stopped.
"Great." said Zone. "Just when we needed him too."
"Sssh!" Xu shushed him. "Nice to see you again, Squall."
"Who's the ma-ma-ma-ma" Watts stuttered until Xu patted him on the back. "Madam?"
"Hey, yeah , I know you!" Zell exclaimed, looking at Quistis. "This is the girl I get the flowers from, Rin."
Rinoa stepped forward and shook her hand as Squall sat on a table next to them. "Nice to meet you." she said. "Rinoa Heartilly."
"Quistis Yvonne Trepe." smiled Quistis, shaking her hand.
Zell looked at Squall. Quistis? he thought Sounds familiar....
"Nice to finally meet you at last." Quistis continued.
"You've heard of us?" Rinoa asked, referring to the group.
"Nothing but good things."
Rinoa smiled. "Oh!" she said. "We're ignoring Squall! Hey, how did you two meet?"
Quistis looked at Squall. "We've actually known each other for a long time. We go way back."
"Oh?" Rinoa echoed. "It's like that, is it? Well I'm sorry for you that Squall got hurt. We apologise. We didn't know he had a lover."
Squall blinked.
"Lover?" Quistis parroted. "Well now, I wouldn't say that exactly. You thought he was my–? Oh, no, we're just friends, that's all."
"You're not involved?" said Rinoa.
"The thought never crossed my mind."
Squall blinked again.
"Sorry to hear about it." Rinoa giggled. "Really."
The two girls began to giggle together, as all the men rolled their eyes, knowing they were victims of a feminine wind-up.
"Um, sorry to break this up." said Zone. "But we have something really important to discuss."
"Then let's stop talking about my love life and get on with it." Squall said urgently, standing up.
"You mind if I stick around?" Quistis asked.
The Midgar Owls all looked at her.
Zone frowned. Maybe one spy is enough for the evening.... he thought.
"It's okay, Zone." Quistis said. "I'm no spy."
"Huh?"
Before he could ask her how she knew that, Squall spoke; "It's okay. I can vouch for her. She's just as anti-Shin-Ra as you guys are."
"Alright then." said Rinoa.
"Rinoa...." Zone protested.
"Zone. Who's leader?" she reminded him. "When you form your own resistance group, then you can make the rules, okay?"
Zone rolled his eyes and followed the others downstairs, including Quistis. They all filed past Squall and Rinoa until they were left standing there, facing each other.
"What's up!?" she asked.
"Yeah." said Squall.
"I miss'd ya." Rinoa said. "...You know, I thought we were gonna die on the train. But you were able to save us all. I really missed you."
"I......wanted to see you, too."
"Squall......" she gasped. "I can't believe you just said that! Oh my gosh! I'm so...happy...! Whew...wow..."
They stood silent for a few moments.
"You know, you just surprised me." said Rinoa. "You looked and sounded so happy to see us. It was the first time I've seen you so honest. It was...really sweet."
Well, ummm... Squall thought.
"I was just happy to see that you were all alright." he explained. "What's so surprising about that? Is there something wrong?"
"No!" Rinoa laughed. "There's nothing wrong! They're your comrades, but moreover, they're your friends."
...Friends, huh...? Squall thought.
"Hey Squall, would you have been worried about me, too? Y'know, if Shin-Ra had caught us?"
What? Why is she asking me this? I don't know. thought Squall.
"I...ahhh...I don't know. Umm...maybe...I don't know."
"Oh my gosh!" Rinoa exclaimed. "You're turning red!"
What...? No I'm not.
"You're so cute!" she remarked. "Taking it seriously!"
The heck!? Why is she toying with me?
"Come on, Squall." she said, still smiling. "We need you for this meeting too, you know. Hee hee, I promise I won't tell everyone about this."
"...Whatever." Squall dismissed and followed her downstairs.
***
"Okay, Squall." Rinoa began. "I'll fill you in on what happened after the train mission. The train car we were in eventually came to a halt, and we got out. From where we were, it was a long walk back to the hideout. Plus, we had to move through the rubble and wreckage to avoid being seen. By the time we did get back to Sector 7, however, we were surprised to find that there were virtually no Shin-Ra guards searching the place for us. There was, however, one suspicious guy looking around and asking questions about the Midgar Owls. So Zell caught him and squeezed some information out of him."
"That's when the name of Don Corneo popped up." said Zone.
"Oh my." said Quistis. "The Sector 6 Mafia? What do they want?"
"No idea." said Rinoa. "All we know is, the Don wanted to know the location of our base of operations. We have no idea why. That's why–"
"That's why we were thinking of sending in a spy to find out, and catch the bugger at his own game!" Watts blurted out. He looked at Quistis and grinned shyly. "Gathering information is my speciality, ma'am."
"It'll be dangerous." Squall said, speaking for the first time. "He'll be surrounded by all sorts of highly dangerous mercenaries."
"Luckily we have our very own highly dangerous mercenary." Rinoa giggled. "That's why I want you to come, Squall."
Squall nodded. "Who else?"
"Just me."
Everyone looked at her.
"Hey, I'm team leader." she explained. "I should be the one to go. Besides, we'd all look suspicious if we all went to Wall Market together. Better just a small team go. Just me and Squall."
"Then let's not waste time." said Squall, moving towards the lift.
"Rinoa." said Quistis. "You mind if I stay here? Just until you and Squall get back, I mean?"
"No, not at all." Rinoa smiled. "Make yourself at home."
As Squall and Rinoa left, Quistis turned and faced Zell, Zone and Watts.
"Okay, boys." she said. "Let's talk about that spot of flower arranging you've got going on upstairs..."
***
After a brisk walk out of Sector 7, they finally came to the great wall that marked the border between sectors. Squall had passed through here with Quistis little more than an hour ago, and was now on his way to Wall Market with Rinoa at his side.
"Hey." said Rinoa, slowing her pace to a stop.
"What?"
"Can we take a break?" she asked, walked over towards a large Moogle-shaped children's slide. Squall shrugged and followed her. He climbed up after her and sat with her there.
It was just like on the night they had first met, the two of them looking out over the misty slums together, staying silent and serene.
"What rank were you?" Rinoa asked. "You know? In SeeD."
Squall broke his gaze away from the slums and glanced at her for a second. "I was a Commander."
"Oh." she remarked. "Just like him."
"Who's him?"
"Oh? It's not important...." Rinoa trailed off. "Just my first boyfriend, that's all. From back when I used to live up on the plate."
"You were serious?" Squall asked.
"No. I didn't love him. And I think for a while, he couldn't accept that. He would try to do things to impress me, but they were usually just moronic. I liked him, but that was all. Maybe he wanted it to be something more, but it just wasn't going to happen, you know? But still, I guess I just really love the memories. I was 16, it was a nice summer, and I was with a great guy. There are many girls who could only hope for memories like that."
Squall couldn't even begin to understand how relationships work. He had no idea where to even begin trying.
"I might have known him. What was his name?"
"It's not important, Squall. Pay it no nevermind, okay? Let's not tell each other our sad stories."
Squall nodded and stood up, leaping off the slide. Rinoa went down the old-fashioned way, and together the two of them walked on towards Wall Market.
* * * * * * * *