Twisted Destinies: Part Ten
Authoress: Tsutae Kouken
.oO~*-*~Oo.
Headmaster Cid was awakened by one of the Garden Faculty.
"Matron has arrived." The monotonous voice said to him. Quickly dressing, he headed
for the Front Gates of the Garden.
"Matron." He looked at the tall dark woman, his wife. She looked back at him, a slightly
pained expression on her face.
"Something is going to happen, Cid…" She said, softly to him. He put a hand on her
shoulder and tried to smile.
"It'll be all right, Matron."
"There is much evil in that spirit, Cid. There will be much pain afterwards. For the young
Saviors." Matron said, looking down. Cid frowned at this prediction.
"Let's go inside. I'll get Squall. You will want to talk to him." Cid said, gently leading
her towards the Garden.
"Yes. I want to talk to the one with the Gunblade." She nodded and they went into the
Garden, some of the staff members following.
.oO~*-*~Oo.
Squall looked wide eyed at Rinoa. Her lower lip quivered slightly.
"What are we going to do?" Rinoa asked, her heart pounding in her chest. Looking at the
puddle on the floor with the bits of broken glass, she felt very young and silly for
dropping the glass.
"We'll have to see if Dr. Chiyuu has more of that potion. Tari won't be able to destroy
Rhapha without it." Squall said, pulling on his jacket as he got out of his bed. Rinoa stood
up also and began to get dressed.
"Watch out for that glass." Squall said, gently, seeing the very troubled look on her face.
Rinoa smiled a little bit at him.
When both had finished putting on their jackets over their night clothes, Squall gently
took Rinoa in his arms, for she looked pained.
"Hey, it's okay. There's got to be more of that formula or potion or whatever it was
around. Okay?" He said, stroking her hair, for she had buried her face in his jacket.
"I feel so childish. Dropping that glass is what a five year old would have done." Rinoa
said against the black leather. She felt his arms tighten around her and she sighed.
"Let's go. We have no time to waste." Squall let her go and turned towards the door. As
he put his hand on the knob, there was a knock at the door.
Flinging the door open, Squall was face to face with the Headmaster. A guilty look
sprang to Rinoa's eyes and Squall felt uneasy.
"Matron wants to speak to you." Cid looked at the unhappy-looking teenagers.
Something wasn't quite right. "Is something wrong?"
"Headmaster, I-" Squall started, stepping out of the room, but Rinoa cut in.
"We've spilled the potion."
"Well, there's nothing to be done about that right away. You must go see Matron. She is
anxious to talk to you." Cid said with a sigh, a slight look of sorrow in his eyes and voice.
Rinoa felt more guilty than ever.
"Squall, Rinoa, you know this isn't for Tari. What we have to do is to be done for the
good of the Garden. It's most likely that Tari will…have to go…to get rid of this demon."
Cid said quietly, turning to lead the two teens to his office.
Squall and Rinoa exchanged puzzled glances, and then followed Headmaster Cid.
.oO~*-*~Oo.
Quistis giggled softly at Seifer. He'd stumbled as the two of them were trying to sneak in
during the night. Obviously no one had missed them yet. They'd only been gone a day.
"What's so funny?" He hissed at her, playfully pulling some of her blonde hair. She just
grinned at him and the two of them proceeded to sneak in the front gate.
"Shh. We'll have to climb over them." Seifer said, nimbly getting over one of the gates.
Quistis looked at him with a knowing glance.
"I see…the head of the disciplinary committee knows how to sneak in and out of
Garden?" She teased softly, following him.
"Hey, there've been a few times a guy has to get out, you know." Seifer said, catching
hold of her hand and the two made their way into the heart of Garden. As they entered the
hall with the directory, they heard voices.
"Oh…man, busted!" Seifer whispered to his wife. She smiled at him and they continued
to walk towards the dormitory area.
"Not so." Quistis said as the two of them ducked behind a large plant pot as they watched
Squall, Rinoa, and Headmaster Cid enter the elevator.
"Wonder what's up?" Seifer mused, as he watched Squall. Quistis sighed, for the familiar
competitive look was coming upon her new husband's face.
"Let's just get back to our rooms without getting caught, okay? We'll probably hear
about it tomorrow." Quistis tugged on his arm. He turned and saw the concerned look on
her face. Smiling at her, he nodded and the two headed for their rooms.
Reaching the dormitories, Seifer gently kissed Quistis before they parted for their
separate rooms.
Quistis went to her room in a state of bliss, and fell asleep immediately. Seifer lay awake
in his room, wondering what was going on in Headmaster Cid's office and soon fell
asleep.
.oO~*-*~Oo.
Matron sat in a deep black chair, the darkness of the fabric heightening the paleness of
her skin. She watched with tired and worried eyes as the three she had been waiting for
came to her. She smiled gently on Rinoa, who blushed, and then turned to Squall.
"You do know of the demon, Rhapha?" She questioned him.
"Yes, ma'am. Headmaster Cid has already given as much information as possible on the
subject." Squall said respectfully.
"Then you must know about as much as there is to know."
"Yes."
"Has there been any sign of the demon as of lately?" Matron wanted to know.
"No, there hasn't been any sign at all. Tari's been under the best of care and watched
constantly. She is being kept in one of the isolation chambers. She is weak, physically,
mentally, and spiritually. Obviously Rhapha has drained her immensely." Squall
reported. Matron nodded at him to continue.
"Otherwise, I think that Tari would be very strong, if she were to regain all of her
strengths. Then I believe she would be able to resist the demon. But as I look at your
face, I can see there isn't time for that." Squall said, looking keenly at the expression on
Matron's face.
"You are right. Rhapha must be destroyed as soon as possible. I trust that you have the
potion that Dr. Chiyuu gave you?" Matron questioned.
"No. It was spilled in an accident. I'm sorry, Matron." Squall looked at the floor.
Rinoa looked at Matron's kind face and something dawned on her. "Matron, did you
bring some?"
Matron's face softened beautifully as she smiled. "Yes, I did, child. I had a feeling
something of this nature would happen."
Squall felt a surge of relief flood his body. Looking at Rinoa, he saw she was her normal
happy self. He smiled inwardly.
"You must make her drink this soon, Squall. Then let her find Rhapha. I have a feeling it
is very close at hand, the time for the girl to face her choice in life." Matron once again
looked sad. Cid did also. Matron then handed a bottle to Squall, much like the previous
one.
"I am tired. Please, go back to bed. I must get some rest." Matron said, leaning back in
the black chair, her face very white.
Squall and Rinoa, led by Cid, left the room. Cid didn't say anything, just nodded his good
night, and went back in to his wife.
Rinoa looked at Squall. "Her choice in life? Why did Matron sound so sad?"
Squall stared at the bottle of liquid in his hand. "I think she meant that Tari might not live
through this."
"No!" Rinoa's eyes immediately filled with tears. The thought of anyone dying at the
hands of a demon was too much for her tender heart to bear. "Squall, we can't let her
die!"
"I'm sorry too, Rinoa, but it's either her, or someone else."
"How can you be so cruel?"
Squall just took her in his arms silently and let her cry against his jacket. Rinoa felt a
calm start to creep over her as the tears started to flow.
His brow furrowed with deep thought, Squall sighed. 'I don't understand this at all.'
.oO~*-*~Oo.
The next morning, Zell awoke to see that all was all right. Smiling to himself, he quickly
got out of his bed and dressed before Tari could wake up.
Running a comb through his wild bed-head hair, he styled it in his usual spikey style.
Grinning at himself in the mirror that was set up, he felt slightly different today. He
couldn't explain it, but he felt something was going to happen.
As he turned back to his part of the room, there was a knock at the door. Going over to
the door, Zell looked through the glass slot to see who it was.
Irvine and Selphie.
Pulling out his key card he unlocked the door and heard the shield turn off as the two
prepared to come in.
"Hey. Tari awake yet?" Irvine asked softly as he came in. Zell shook his head.
"No. Not yet." He said, locking the door again after Selphie came in.
"I heard Matron came last night." Selphie informed Zell. Zell looked to Irvine to confirm
this news and was surprised to see the mahogany haired boy nod in agreement.
"What is she here for? Is it because of Tari?" Zell asked, sitting down on his bed. Irvine
and Selphie helped themselves to chairs in the partial room.
"I don't know. But something is up and I don't know wha-" Another voice cut into
Irvine's words.
"It is because of me. I've brought a curse upon Balamb Garden!" Tari stood at the edge
of the divider of the rooms. Though they had been talking quietly, she had awakened and
heard the last few sentences.
"No. No, Tari, I'm sure it's not that…" Irvine stood, his hands out stretched to his sister,
hoping to calm her down. Her hair was wild from sleeping and she wore shorts and a tank
top. Her eyes seemed to flash with an unearthly fire.
"I am sure! I know! I can feel it. I'm going to die!" Tari said, her voice growing louder as
she spoke. Her eyes seemed to turn red. She put her hands to her ears as if she heard a
noise that the others couldn't hear.
"Tari, wait!! Just, calm down! I'm sure that everything will be all right!" Zell said,
moving over to her, and gently grabbing her wrists. She struggled with him, and Zell was
surprised to feel the strength that was all of a sudden in her. She fought her way free and
backed up against the wall of the isolation chamber.
"Why am I in this chamber? Why is Matron here? Why do I have to be protected all the
time? Isn't it obvious? I AM GOING TO DIE!!" Tari looked wild and half-mad. Zell
again advanced towards her. She looked at him like a trapped animal.
"Don't come near me!" She warned. Irvine could only just look on, keeping his hand on
Selphie's shoulder.
"Calm down. No one is going to hurt you." Zell tried to speak in a soothing voice. She
flinched at the sound of his words as if she had been struck. He came near her again.
"STaaY Awaay…" Her head rolled to one side. Her eyes glowed completely red. "I
DOn't wAnt TO hURt YOU…" Her speech was slurred badly.
The color of her glowing eyes reminded Zell of something, but he couldn't quite place.
He backed slightly away from Tari.
"Guys, you move to the other side of the parition." He ordered. "I have to deal with her
myself."
"But, Zell…" Irvine started to say, as he pulled Selphie along with him.
"GO!" Zell yelled. The last thing Irvine saw was Zell moving in on Tari again and her
looking straight at him with those red, glowing eyes.
Irvine crouched against the corner of the parition wall. Selphie was huddled against his
back. All he could hear was Zell mumbling softly to Tari and her ordering him to stay
away. Just when Irvine thought he couldn't stand anymore, he heard his sister make a
final threat.
"You asked for it." Her voice was calm but angry. Irvine wondered what had happened
when he heard Zell yelling.
"What the hell?" Zell's voice came over the sound of fire-crackling and a piercing
whistle. "GOD NO!" The yell belonged to Zell. It was filled with pain.
.oO~*-*~Oo.
A/N:
I know this looks REEALY Bad but it all turns out good in the end. I don't know how
many chapters I have left but it might go on, but I am trying to wind it down. So, later,
and I'll keep writing, and you keep reviewing, as long as it isn't a flame. (all flames will
be kept to roast some poor character she doesn't like) ~Tsutae~
Authoress: Tsutae Kouken
.oO~*-*~Oo.
Headmaster Cid was awakened by one of the Garden Faculty.
"Matron has arrived." The monotonous voice said to him. Quickly dressing, he headed
for the Front Gates of the Garden.
"Matron." He looked at the tall dark woman, his wife. She looked back at him, a slightly
pained expression on her face.
"Something is going to happen, Cid…" She said, softly to him. He put a hand on her
shoulder and tried to smile.
"It'll be all right, Matron."
"There is much evil in that spirit, Cid. There will be much pain afterwards. For the young
Saviors." Matron said, looking down. Cid frowned at this prediction.
"Let's go inside. I'll get Squall. You will want to talk to him." Cid said, gently leading
her towards the Garden.
"Yes. I want to talk to the one with the Gunblade." She nodded and they went into the
Garden, some of the staff members following.
.oO~*-*~Oo.
Squall looked wide eyed at Rinoa. Her lower lip quivered slightly.
"What are we going to do?" Rinoa asked, her heart pounding in her chest. Looking at the
puddle on the floor with the bits of broken glass, she felt very young and silly for
dropping the glass.
"We'll have to see if Dr. Chiyuu has more of that potion. Tari won't be able to destroy
Rhapha without it." Squall said, pulling on his jacket as he got out of his bed. Rinoa stood
up also and began to get dressed.
"Watch out for that glass." Squall said, gently, seeing the very troubled look on her face.
Rinoa smiled a little bit at him.
When both had finished putting on their jackets over their night clothes, Squall gently
took Rinoa in his arms, for she looked pained.
"Hey, it's okay. There's got to be more of that formula or potion or whatever it was
around. Okay?" He said, stroking her hair, for she had buried her face in his jacket.
"I feel so childish. Dropping that glass is what a five year old would have done." Rinoa
said against the black leather. She felt his arms tighten around her and she sighed.
"Let's go. We have no time to waste." Squall let her go and turned towards the door. As
he put his hand on the knob, there was a knock at the door.
Flinging the door open, Squall was face to face with the Headmaster. A guilty look
sprang to Rinoa's eyes and Squall felt uneasy.
"Matron wants to speak to you." Cid looked at the unhappy-looking teenagers.
Something wasn't quite right. "Is something wrong?"
"Headmaster, I-" Squall started, stepping out of the room, but Rinoa cut in.
"We've spilled the potion."
"Well, there's nothing to be done about that right away. You must go see Matron. She is
anxious to talk to you." Cid said with a sigh, a slight look of sorrow in his eyes and voice.
Rinoa felt more guilty than ever.
"Squall, Rinoa, you know this isn't for Tari. What we have to do is to be done for the
good of the Garden. It's most likely that Tari will…have to go…to get rid of this demon."
Cid said quietly, turning to lead the two teens to his office.
Squall and Rinoa exchanged puzzled glances, and then followed Headmaster Cid.
.oO~*-*~Oo.
Quistis giggled softly at Seifer. He'd stumbled as the two of them were trying to sneak in
during the night. Obviously no one had missed them yet. They'd only been gone a day.
"What's so funny?" He hissed at her, playfully pulling some of her blonde hair. She just
grinned at him and the two of them proceeded to sneak in the front gate.
"Shh. We'll have to climb over them." Seifer said, nimbly getting over one of the gates.
Quistis looked at him with a knowing glance.
"I see…the head of the disciplinary committee knows how to sneak in and out of
Garden?" She teased softly, following him.
"Hey, there've been a few times a guy has to get out, you know." Seifer said, catching
hold of her hand and the two made their way into the heart of Garden. As they entered the
hall with the directory, they heard voices.
"Oh…man, busted!" Seifer whispered to his wife. She smiled at him and they continued
to walk towards the dormitory area.
"Not so." Quistis said as the two of them ducked behind a large plant pot as they watched
Squall, Rinoa, and Headmaster Cid enter the elevator.
"Wonder what's up?" Seifer mused, as he watched Squall. Quistis sighed, for the familiar
competitive look was coming upon her new husband's face.
"Let's just get back to our rooms without getting caught, okay? We'll probably hear
about it tomorrow." Quistis tugged on his arm. He turned and saw the concerned look on
her face. Smiling at her, he nodded and the two headed for their rooms.
Reaching the dormitories, Seifer gently kissed Quistis before they parted for their
separate rooms.
Quistis went to her room in a state of bliss, and fell asleep immediately. Seifer lay awake
in his room, wondering what was going on in Headmaster Cid's office and soon fell
asleep.
.oO~*-*~Oo.
Matron sat in a deep black chair, the darkness of the fabric heightening the paleness of
her skin. She watched with tired and worried eyes as the three she had been waiting for
came to her. She smiled gently on Rinoa, who blushed, and then turned to Squall.
"You do know of the demon, Rhapha?" She questioned him.
"Yes, ma'am. Headmaster Cid has already given as much information as possible on the
subject." Squall said respectfully.
"Then you must know about as much as there is to know."
"Yes."
"Has there been any sign of the demon as of lately?" Matron wanted to know.
"No, there hasn't been any sign at all. Tari's been under the best of care and watched
constantly. She is being kept in one of the isolation chambers. She is weak, physically,
mentally, and spiritually. Obviously Rhapha has drained her immensely." Squall
reported. Matron nodded at him to continue.
"Otherwise, I think that Tari would be very strong, if she were to regain all of her
strengths. Then I believe she would be able to resist the demon. But as I look at your
face, I can see there isn't time for that." Squall said, looking keenly at the expression on
Matron's face.
"You are right. Rhapha must be destroyed as soon as possible. I trust that you have the
potion that Dr. Chiyuu gave you?" Matron questioned.
"No. It was spilled in an accident. I'm sorry, Matron." Squall looked at the floor.
Rinoa looked at Matron's kind face and something dawned on her. "Matron, did you
bring some?"
Matron's face softened beautifully as she smiled. "Yes, I did, child. I had a feeling
something of this nature would happen."
Squall felt a surge of relief flood his body. Looking at Rinoa, he saw she was her normal
happy self. He smiled inwardly.
"You must make her drink this soon, Squall. Then let her find Rhapha. I have a feeling it
is very close at hand, the time for the girl to face her choice in life." Matron once again
looked sad. Cid did also. Matron then handed a bottle to Squall, much like the previous
one.
"I am tired. Please, go back to bed. I must get some rest." Matron said, leaning back in
the black chair, her face very white.
Squall and Rinoa, led by Cid, left the room. Cid didn't say anything, just nodded his good
night, and went back in to his wife.
Rinoa looked at Squall. "Her choice in life? Why did Matron sound so sad?"
Squall stared at the bottle of liquid in his hand. "I think she meant that Tari might not live
through this."
"No!" Rinoa's eyes immediately filled with tears. The thought of anyone dying at the
hands of a demon was too much for her tender heart to bear. "Squall, we can't let her
die!"
"I'm sorry too, Rinoa, but it's either her, or someone else."
"How can you be so cruel?"
Squall just took her in his arms silently and let her cry against his jacket. Rinoa felt a
calm start to creep over her as the tears started to flow.
His brow furrowed with deep thought, Squall sighed. 'I don't understand this at all.'
.oO~*-*~Oo.
The next morning, Zell awoke to see that all was all right. Smiling to himself, he quickly
got out of his bed and dressed before Tari could wake up.
Running a comb through his wild bed-head hair, he styled it in his usual spikey style.
Grinning at himself in the mirror that was set up, he felt slightly different today. He
couldn't explain it, but he felt something was going to happen.
As he turned back to his part of the room, there was a knock at the door. Going over to
the door, Zell looked through the glass slot to see who it was.
Irvine and Selphie.
Pulling out his key card he unlocked the door and heard the shield turn off as the two
prepared to come in.
"Hey. Tari awake yet?" Irvine asked softly as he came in. Zell shook his head.
"No. Not yet." He said, locking the door again after Selphie came in.
"I heard Matron came last night." Selphie informed Zell. Zell looked to Irvine to confirm
this news and was surprised to see the mahogany haired boy nod in agreement.
"What is she here for? Is it because of Tari?" Zell asked, sitting down on his bed. Irvine
and Selphie helped themselves to chairs in the partial room.
"I don't know. But something is up and I don't know wha-" Another voice cut into
Irvine's words.
"It is because of me. I've brought a curse upon Balamb Garden!" Tari stood at the edge
of the divider of the rooms. Though they had been talking quietly, she had awakened and
heard the last few sentences.
"No. No, Tari, I'm sure it's not that…" Irvine stood, his hands out stretched to his sister,
hoping to calm her down. Her hair was wild from sleeping and she wore shorts and a tank
top. Her eyes seemed to flash with an unearthly fire.
"I am sure! I know! I can feel it. I'm going to die!" Tari said, her voice growing louder as
she spoke. Her eyes seemed to turn red. She put her hands to her ears as if she heard a
noise that the others couldn't hear.
"Tari, wait!! Just, calm down! I'm sure that everything will be all right!" Zell said,
moving over to her, and gently grabbing her wrists. She struggled with him, and Zell was
surprised to feel the strength that was all of a sudden in her. She fought her way free and
backed up against the wall of the isolation chamber.
"Why am I in this chamber? Why is Matron here? Why do I have to be protected all the
time? Isn't it obvious? I AM GOING TO DIE!!" Tari looked wild and half-mad. Zell
again advanced towards her. She looked at him like a trapped animal.
"Don't come near me!" She warned. Irvine could only just look on, keeping his hand on
Selphie's shoulder.
"Calm down. No one is going to hurt you." Zell tried to speak in a soothing voice. She
flinched at the sound of his words as if she had been struck. He came near her again.
"STaaY Awaay…" Her head rolled to one side. Her eyes glowed completely red. "I
DOn't wAnt TO hURt YOU…" Her speech was slurred badly.
The color of her glowing eyes reminded Zell of something, but he couldn't quite place.
He backed slightly away from Tari.
"Guys, you move to the other side of the parition." He ordered. "I have to deal with her
myself."
"But, Zell…" Irvine started to say, as he pulled Selphie along with him.
"GO!" Zell yelled. The last thing Irvine saw was Zell moving in on Tari again and her
looking straight at him with those red, glowing eyes.
Irvine crouched against the corner of the parition wall. Selphie was huddled against his
back. All he could hear was Zell mumbling softly to Tari and her ordering him to stay
away. Just when Irvine thought he couldn't stand anymore, he heard his sister make a
final threat.
"You asked for it." Her voice was calm but angry. Irvine wondered what had happened
when he heard Zell yelling.
"What the hell?" Zell's voice came over the sound of fire-crackling and a piercing
whistle. "GOD NO!" The yell belonged to Zell. It was filled with pain.
.oO~*-*~Oo.
A/N:
I know this looks REEALY Bad but it all turns out good in the end. I don't know how
many chapters I have left but it might go on, but I am trying to wind it down. So, later,
and I'll keep writing, and you keep reviewing, as long as it isn't a flame. (all flames will
be kept to roast some poor character she doesn't like) ~Tsutae~