There's something inside me that pulls beneath the surface
Consuming, confusing
This lack of self-control I fear is never ending
It's haunting
How I can't seem...to find myself again, these walls are closing in
I've felt this way before
So insecure
--- Linkin Park "Crawling"
Chapter 13
11:10 A.M.
Ellone smiled down at the scenery below the balcony of her brother's apartment, the new morning light glistening off the pavement. When she thought of him, and the ways she had wronged him, she felt a slight twinge of guilt. But did she regret it? No. Not in the least. It would only be a matter of hours before she took over the role as ruler of her people, and made this town, which was originally theirs, her base. She wouldn't stop with Balamb, of course. She was already thinking up another plan, so that another location would fall into her hands.
At this moment, in the midst of her thoughts and glorious, power driven dreams, the phone rang, shattering her lovely reverie.
"What is it?" she snapped, angered at the sudden interruption.
"Fujin and Raijin failed their mission. Rinoa and Squall both still live. They escaped from the facility. Along with your mother, who's been there for several years," a voice said.
"Fuck!" she growled. "Where are they?! Why aren't they telling me this themselves?"
"They're dead. I've interrogated two witnesses that saw Squall shoot them as he was trying to rescue Rinoa."
"You've disposed of the witnesses, right?"
"Of course."
"Good. Now where is my bastard brother and that rotten angel of his? And my long lost mother?"
"Somewhere between Esthar and Balamb. They could be on their way to Balamb, on a train, or hiding in Deling City."
"Very well. Now, I want you to listen very carefully. I'm going to give you a mission of great importance, and I expect you to fullfill it, flawlessly. This will be killing two birds with one stone, so to speak. Are you ready?"
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
12:34 P.M.
Sun streaked through the the narrow slits in the drawn blinds, the beams shaking and flickering as the train made its steady journey down the tracks. People all over the train went about their business, most completely unaware of the not-so-ordinary couple kissing ravenously on their bed, the blank white sheets wrapped loosely around their bodies, the two no longer so shy with one another.
"You know, I wonder," Rinoa said between heated kisses while running her hand down the front of his naked body. "Being that you're a demon and everything... do you think it might've enhanced you? I mean, do you humans get that big?"
"Rinoa!" he exclaimed, whether from embarresment or shock at the sudden placement of her hand, she couldn't tell.
She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing him down for another kiss. She felt his muscles tense, and smiled up at him.
"Again?" she asked.
He nodded.
"Good. I was getting impatient," she said, pulling him on top of her.
As they pressed closer, an ear-splitting shriek rose from the tracks and traveled up through the train, causing it to shutter as it jerked to a sudden stop. The two lovers parted, looking around in confusion.
"Sorry for the inconvenience, travelers, but it seems we're having some problems. We don't know what it is, or how long it will take to fix it, so everyone must evacuate the train, immediately. Thankfully, we've stopped at the Deling City train station, so you can all find a hotel or something to stay at. We should hopefully be leaving out by 9:00 A.M. tomorrow morning, so make sure to be here. Now please, gather your items and exit the train."
"What kind of shit is this?" Squall grumbled as he stood from the bed and reached for his boxers and jeans.
Rinoa studied him for a moment as she pulled on her own clothes and realized what he was so grumpy about. "I promise I'll make it up to you," she said, pulling his white undershirt over her head and tying the arms of her white jumpsuit behind her back.
He grinned at her for a moment then said, "Hey, that's my shirt! Who said you could wear it?"
She grinned. "You don't walk me walking around topless do you?"
He put his hand on his hip and glared at her for a moment, trying to be serious, before giving in to her playful gaze. "Well," he said. "At least I still have my over-shirt. Hope it isn't cold out."
They walked out of the room, pausing a moment to let the crowd pass by, then continued walking. Alicia came out of her room then, which had been located next to theirs, and fell into pace next to Rinoa.
"Did you have a nice nap?" Rinoa asked.
Alicia glared at her grumpily. "You two are like damn rabits!" she hissed in Rinoa's ear.
Rinoa had to struggle to stifle her giggle as they stepped off the train and went into the crowded station.
"Where do we go now?" Rinoa yelled over the loud noise of the crowd.
"Lets figure it out once we get out of here!" Squall replied.
When they reached the bustling street outside, they found themselves completely lost. The city was huge stretching out far into the horizon. Skyscrapers towered over them like dominating giants, their tops covered in mist, and smoke that poured out from numerous buildings. Expensive cars raced down the street, after sliding down the ramps of various carports, followed by small, broken down cars that rolled slowly and shakily by. The heavy beats of music flooded out into the street through the open doors of small clothes shops and restruants. People walked hurriedly across the street, barely glancing at the oncoming cars so long as they were sure they would make it across in time. Strange sculptures and and statues marked the ends of some streets, and decorated the parks, where people in ragged clothes sat on the benches, their few remaining belongings in a plastic bag at their side. A fountain gushed water at the front of an elegantly designed business building, adding yet another style to the astounding variety of arcitecture.
"Wow..." Squall murmered, taking it all in.
"Welcome to Deling City," Rinoa said with a sigh.
"You've been here before?" Squall asked.
"I used to live here, before I was moved to Balamb."
"Then you know where to go?" Alicia said.
Rinoa shook her head. "I'm afraid not. I lived here for several years, but I've only been to the train station a few times. Not enough to remember where to go from here. Hell, we don't even know where we want to go, do we?"
Squall shook his head. "I guess we should find a hotel or something. After all, they said it could be before nine a.m. before the train leaves for Balamb again."
"Nine a.am.," Rinoa repeated. "What about Ellone? She plans to claim Balamb at midnight."
He nodded in thought. "Yes, she could always tell her comrades that you're dead and out of the way, so they can commence with the ceromony. In the mean time, she'll probably send some of her most trusted allies out to find you so that you don't come back and take them out of power. She might think you're dead right now. Fujin and Raijin never reported to her, after all."
"Well, whatever happens, we can't just stand here. There's a bus stop over there. Let's take the bus and I'll see if I find my way around to somewhere familiar."
They crossed the street, passing right in front of a halted car, and waited impatiently for the bus to come. When it finally did come, they found themselves squished in between a bunch of strangers, and were barely able to see out the window.
Squall stood there, hanging onto to on of the chrome rings that hung from the ceiling since all the seats were full. He felt someone tap him on the shoulder, and he turned around, thinking it might have been Alicia, since she was somewhere behind him.
What he saw instead was a man in a long blue trench coat with thin, short, greasy gray hair that hung in his eyes and poked out from the sides of his head. He was carrying a battered brown brief case at his side, and his eyes were red and blot shot.
"Hey man," he said with a sly grin. "You need a hook up?" he asked, opening his brief case just a crack, allowing Squall a peak at several large bags of green leaves.
"No thanks," Squall replied.
He shrugged, "Suit yourself."
With that he turned around to face Alicia and threw open his trech coat, laughing. Alicia frowned, shook her head and said, "On a scale of one to ten, I give it a two. Now put that thing away, or risk losing it."
"You actually used to lived here?" Squall asked of Rinoa, who stood directly in front of him.
She laughed softly, having watched the odd scene. "Yes, but it's not all bad, you know. And I've never had a guy come up and flash me, if that's what you're worried about."
"Good," he said, a slightly playful edge creeping into his voice. "It might have burned your virgin eyes."
She elbowed him lightly in the stomach. "Yours didin't."
He smiled down at her, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind, and leaned in to kiss her. The kiss was rudely interrupted when Alicia smacked Squall in the back with a cane she had borrowed from an old lady beside her.
After handing it back with a polite thank you, she said to the agitated man, "Can't you two wait until we get to the hotel room at least?"
Rinoa laughed again, and leaned her head into Squall's chest, staring out of the window at the scenery flashing by.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
"This was the best place we could get?" Squall asked, looking around the small, dark room. There was a twin sized bed pushed up against the wall with faded sheets and a comforter. There was a wooden table on the other side of the room with two broken down chairs and a lamp. In the wall opposite the bed was a door which led to another room, exactly like that one, with a bathroom further down the wall.
Rinoa shrugged, "Me and Alicia don't have any gil. You barely had enough for us to get this room and eat tonight."
"Yeah, why didn't you bring more gil with you?" Alicia asked, knowing it would get on his nerves.
"You're lucky this gil just happened to be in my pants pocket when I left. I wasn't exactly thinking straight. I was too worried," he finished quietly, looking shyly up at Rinoa, who smiled sweetly at him.
Alicia looked back and forth between the two, watching with slight amusment as they exchanged with their eyes the feelings too sacred to be spoken yet.
"Are you two going to blink anytime soon?" Alicia asked, a bit concerned when they continued to stare.
This comment effectively ruined their moment. They both looked away, suddenly taking interest in the cheap carpeting, or peeling wall paper. Alicia shook her head, making a mental note to talk to them each in private when she had the chance.
"So, what are we going to do today? We can't go to sleep so soon," Alicia pointed out.
"Well, there are some things we need to work out," Squall said, seating himself on the edge of the bed. "We don't know where we're going, or what we're doing. You don't rush into battle without a plan. We have to plan ahead."
"What's there to discuss?" Rinoa asked, sitting beside him.
Alicia sat down against the wall across from the bed. "We have to know exactly what we want to do when we get there. What do we want for ourselves? What do we need for the people? What are we willing to sacrifice?"
"Are you in on this?" Squall asked. When she nodded he inquired, "Why? Why do you want to go through this? It's not even your problem."
"Do you know who I am?" Alicia said in a dark voice.
He shook his head. "All I know is that your name is Alicia and that you helped Rinoa and me to escape. Which is why I don't understand you wanting to go with us. It would be safer for you to stay here. It's not your problem."
"My name is Alicia Chang. I am the mother of the very woman you intend to kill."
Squall's eyes narrowed immediately. "Ellone's mother.... You're the same as her."
"The same?" Alicia repeated. "You're the same as me."
He shook his head. "I'm nothing like you. You.... your daughter.... she's caused so much trouble. So much pain. Yet here you are, claiming that you want to kill her. Your own child."
"Yes," she replied, her eyes tearing. "There's nothing left to do."
"You think your daughter is evil, being what she is, yet you think you're not, being the same as she?" he asked.
"Half of you is the same as me. Half of you is just human. Nothing in you is the same as Rinoa, yet still want to be with her? You still go through hell to protect her?" Squall looked away and sighed, not wanting to meet anyone's gaze. "I admit, I used to be a horrible person. I had an affair with your father, I killed you mother.... You've got reason to hate me. But I want to help you, honestly. I've had several years to think about all that I've done. I want to redeem myself. In the same way that your life depends on your redemption, so does mine."
He said nothing for several moments, allowing all the new information to sink in. Finally he turned to Rinoa, who sat next to him with a worried expression on her face, and asked, "What do you think? Do you trust her?"
"Squall, this isn't my decision," she replied.
"Just tell me. Do you trust her? Do you think she's changed?"
She nodded slowly, "I think so. I think she's proven herself."
Squall turned to look at Alicia again. "If Rinoa trusts you.... that's good enough for me. But you'll have to forgive me if I'm weary of you, knowing what I know now."
"I understand," she replied. "Thank you."
"Well, if all three of us are in this.... What exactly is the plan?" Rinoa asked.
"We have to kill Ellone. I'm not sure how. We can't plan this exactly, since we don't know how this will go down," Squall said. "But we've got to kill Ellone. Probably the rest of them as well."
"Genocide..." Rinoa said with a look of disgust on her face.
"It's survival. It's us or them," he said.
"And after this is over? If we do survive? What happens then?" Rinoa asked.
"Let's burn that bridge when we get there," he said softly. "Let's just concentrate on getting out alive."
Rinoa nodded sadly. "Yeah. We'll worry about that later."
"Well, I think we've settled enough for now," Alicia said quietly. "I'm going to my room for a nap."
"Again?" Rinoa asked, attempting to lighten the mood.
Alicia nodded. "I'm old. I need a lot of sleep."
Rinoa nodded and watched reluctantly as she closed the door, leaving her alone with Squall.
She heaved a sigh and turned her gaze toward the floor, turning her back on Squall.
"What is it?" he asked after a moment.
"I want to know now," Rinoa said.
"Know what?"
"I want to know what's going to happen will all of this is done. Are you going to go off and try to live a normal life? I need to know.... " her voice trailed off, leaving her question unspoken.
"You want to know if I'll still want to be with you, then?"
She nodded.
"Alright then. I'll give you my honest answer."
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Alicia sighed as she flopped down on her bed in her own small, empty room. She stared at the blank white ceiling and stained floral wall paper as she wondered what Rinoa and Squall were talking about. After a moment of thinking, she stood and walked over to the back window of her room, while rubbing the her nose, which was suddenly twitching violently.
As she looked out over the concrete maze of littered alley ways, her nose still twitching, she heard a voice call to her from beyond the window.
"Alicia. Come and find me. Come and find me if you want to save your friends."
She suddenly tore open the windows and jumped out, to a patch of scraggly grass growing in a crack in the concrete. The alley in front of her was covered in mud from a previous thunder storm, and as she studied it, she noticed a set of foot prints leading away from the window and around the back of another building. She immediately began to follow them, without contemplating it for a second.
She followed the foot prints around the back of the building and into an abandoned apartment building. When she had reached the top floor, finding herself in large, stuffy room, where small streaks of sun light streaked through the wooden planks that boarded up the windows, she discovered that the foot prints had ended. She whirled around the room, looking for the threat, but finding none. That is, until her eyes fell on a busted mirror propped up against the wall. She ran at it as fast as she could, shrieking as she did so, and clawed at the shards of glass until her fingers bled.
"I will destroy you," she said in a thick, hoarse voice as she picked up one of the peices of glass and thrusted into her own skin, letting out a scream when it made contact.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
"Alright then" Rinoa said, trying to retain her calmness. "Tell me the truth. Tell me your honest answer."
He leaned close to her, studing her eyes for several moments before saying, "I'm going to be there with you. Now, and afterwards. I'll be with you. I don't think I could stand to have it otherwise. We've been through so much, suffered so much. Mostly because we wanted to be together, right? You wanted me, and I wanted you?"
Rinoa nodded. "Yes. We've struggled for each other."
"Then it doesn't make much sense for me to let you go when I finally have you. So after this is over, you and I.... we'll find some place to live, and raise our daughter."
"Like normal people?" she asked.
He shook his head. "No. Not like normal people. Like us. You have to understand, we aren't normal, we never will be. Our child won't be. She'll be part angel, part demon, and part human. A constant reminder of what we are. Every time we make love, we'll change into our other forms. We can never be normal. Knowing that, do you still want this kind of life?"
She nodded. "Yes. I don't want to be different. I just want to be free to do things differently. To raise a family, to have a home. That's all I ask."
He smiled and pulled her into his embrace. "I can't promise you all of that. Life is unpredictable. But I will try my best to get that for you. And I will promise you one thing. I'll be with you until I die."
As they embraced each other in that warm moment, there ensued a peircing scream that roared through the pits of their stomachs, and reverbrated through their souls. Without question, they knew who it was. There was no other way possible for them to have heard it, when it seemed to come from such a great distance.
They looked into each others eyes for a brief moment before storming into Alicia's room, only to find that it was empty.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
"Are you sure this is where you heard the commotion coming from?"
"Yes. I'm positive."
The tall, broad-shouldered man in the black suit turned to look at the shorter, plump man that had given him directions. "Good. You won't tell anyone?"
He shook his head, the dim light reflecting slightly off his bare scalp. "I won't tell a soul."
The first man turned to his smaller, but equally intimidating companion and said, "Do you think we should trust him?"
"I don't know," he replied. "He looks like a rat to me."
"N-no, I swear I'm not!" their informant stammered.
"Get going!" the first man growled.
The small man started to walk out the building, but didn't make it far before a bullet peirced his heart, sending him to the ground.
"You know, I think you're getting lazy," one said to the owner of the smoking pistol. "Do you kill your meals like that too?"
"Of course not. But if I'm not going to eat it, I'm not going to go through the trouble of severing it, and gutting it. Now lets go. If we don't get this out of the way beforew midnight, our ass is grass."
The two men traveled up to the ninth floor, which the top floor had caved in on. They were picking through the rubble when a putrid scent assualted their nostrils, leading them to the proper location. They shoved some debris away from the spot, until they had uncovered a battered femal body. She layed there, breathing but unconcious, with shards of glass surrounding her. Blood flowed from several wounds, and a thick, reddish black liquid poured from her mouth. It smoked as it ate a hole through the floor, like acid, and pooled on the ground, swirling with its reeking odor.
"This is the mother. What do you think happened to her?"
"I don't know, but she's still alive. We'll use her to our advantage."
Several minutes later, when Alicia's eyes fluttered open, she was immediately met with the sight of a pistol in her face. She followed the pistol up to the hand, up the arm, and over the shoulder, before finally locking gazes with a pair of cold green eyes.
"And you are?" she asked calmly.
"Never mind that. Get up, Alicia, and take us to your friends," he said.
Alicia began to tremble violently as a scowl became evident on her face. "Never call me by that name!"
"If you're not Alicia, then who are you?"
"I have no name," she responded in a dark, low, and gravely voice. "Names are just labels that I have no need for. Never compare me to that weak fool Alicia!"
"Very well," the man replied, arching an eyebrow. "Can you lead us to your.... I mean, Alicia's friends?"
"What's in it for me?" she asked.
"Anything you want. Our ruler will see to it that you have it, I promise."
"And if I don't?"
"We'll shoot you, right here and now."
She was silent for a moment, smirking all the while, before saying, "I suppose I'll humor you, today. I'll take you to them. Follow me."
They quickly reached Alicia's bedroom window, and climbed through. Standing there, in the middle of her room, were Squall and Rinoa, with worried looks etched on their faces.
"Alicia, are you alright? Who are these people?" Rinoa asked.
She started to raise a hand and slap Rinoa across the face, but she suddenly doubled over in pain, her veins swelling with blood until they were all visible through the skin. She screamed and clutched at her head, her fingers ripping at her short brown hair. She opened her mouth, and more of the stinking liquid rushed from her mouth in a short stream before burning into the capet. She looked up then, her eyes blood shot and remorseful as she struggled to speak.
"I didn't mean to... betray you. Something's happening to me.... I don't know.... I'm sorry."
At that moment, one of the men hit her over the head with his gun, knocking her unconcious, before turning to Rinoa and Squall, who stood there in awe.
"Well, Ms. Heartilly, Mr. Leonhart. It's been a pleasure meeting you. But I'm afraid we have no time to chat. Ellone sends her deepest apologies that she could not be here to witness your end, but I promised to tell her all about. Well, Goodbye, Ms. Heartilly, and Mr. Leonhart."
The man raised his pistol, grinning, and pulled the trigger, at the exact same moment that Alicia awoke and hit him as hard as she could in the back of the knee, causing him to lose his balance, as well as his aim. The bullet went harmlessly through the ceiling.
Alicia stumbled to her feet, still weak from the recent events, and urged Rinoa and Squall to run with her, into their room and out through their front door, dodging bullets the entire time.
"What do we do? We can't lose them!" Rinoa pointed out as they ran across the street, barely avoiding an oncoming car.
"We've got to try!" Squall said. "Rinoa, you know your way around. Can't you show us through some alleys or back roads that we can lose them in?"
Rinoa nodded. "Yeah, follow me. But where do we go? We can't stay here, they'll find us eventually."
"Head for the train station," Squall replied.
Rinoa led them through a series of narrow alleys and small streets until they reached the train station.
There, on two sperate tracks, sat two seperate trains. One was the train bound for Balamb, which wasn't yet repaired judging from its emptiness. The other was a train transporting goods to Dollet. They jumpeed in one of the open cars as it slowly began its journey down the track.
The car they were in was crowded with large steel boxes and cooling devices. Just like the boxes that had been in the other train.
Alicia leaned against one box, looking out the door toward the destination, and Squall and Rinoa sat beside each other against another box, facing the train station as the distance grew between it and them.
All was silent for a moment before finally Rinoa asked, "What happened Alicia? You seemed sick or something. Are you alright?"
Alicia quietly shook her head. "Something's very wrong with me. I just don't know what it is. I just don't know....."
2: 27 P.M.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Consuming, confusing
This lack of self-control I fear is never ending
It's haunting
How I can't seem...to find myself again, these walls are closing in
I've felt this way before
So insecure
--- Linkin Park "Crawling"
Chapter 13
11:10 A.M.
Ellone smiled down at the scenery below the balcony of her brother's apartment, the new morning light glistening off the pavement. When she thought of him, and the ways she had wronged him, she felt a slight twinge of guilt. But did she regret it? No. Not in the least. It would only be a matter of hours before she took over the role as ruler of her people, and made this town, which was originally theirs, her base. She wouldn't stop with Balamb, of course. She was already thinking up another plan, so that another location would fall into her hands.
At this moment, in the midst of her thoughts and glorious, power driven dreams, the phone rang, shattering her lovely reverie.
"What is it?" she snapped, angered at the sudden interruption.
"Fujin and Raijin failed their mission. Rinoa and Squall both still live. They escaped from the facility. Along with your mother, who's been there for several years," a voice said.
"Fuck!" she growled. "Where are they?! Why aren't they telling me this themselves?"
"They're dead. I've interrogated two witnesses that saw Squall shoot them as he was trying to rescue Rinoa."
"You've disposed of the witnesses, right?"
"Of course."
"Good. Now where is my bastard brother and that rotten angel of his? And my long lost mother?"
"Somewhere between Esthar and Balamb. They could be on their way to Balamb, on a train, or hiding in Deling City."
"Very well. Now, I want you to listen very carefully. I'm going to give you a mission of great importance, and I expect you to fullfill it, flawlessly. This will be killing two birds with one stone, so to speak. Are you ready?"
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
12:34 P.M.
Sun streaked through the the narrow slits in the drawn blinds, the beams shaking and flickering as the train made its steady journey down the tracks. People all over the train went about their business, most completely unaware of the not-so-ordinary couple kissing ravenously on their bed, the blank white sheets wrapped loosely around their bodies, the two no longer so shy with one another.
"You know, I wonder," Rinoa said between heated kisses while running her hand down the front of his naked body. "Being that you're a demon and everything... do you think it might've enhanced you? I mean, do you humans get that big?"
"Rinoa!" he exclaimed, whether from embarresment or shock at the sudden placement of her hand, she couldn't tell.
She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing him down for another kiss. She felt his muscles tense, and smiled up at him.
"Again?" she asked.
He nodded.
"Good. I was getting impatient," she said, pulling him on top of her.
As they pressed closer, an ear-splitting shriek rose from the tracks and traveled up through the train, causing it to shutter as it jerked to a sudden stop. The two lovers parted, looking around in confusion.
"Sorry for the inconvenience, travelers, but it seems we're having some problems. We don't know what it is, or how long it will take to fix it, so everyone must evacuate the train, immediately. Thankfully, we've stopped at the Deling City train station, so you can all find a hotel or something to stay at. We should hopefully be leaving out by 9:00 A.M. tomorrow morning, so make sure to be here. Now please, gather your items and exit the train."
"What kind of shit is this?" Squall grumbled as he stood from the bed and reached for his boxers and jeans.
Rinoa studied him for a moment as she pulled on her own clothes and realized what he was so grumpy about. "I promise I'll make it up to you," she said, pulling his white undershirt over her head and tying the arms of her white jumpsuit behind her back.
He grinned at her for a moment then said, "Hey, that's my shirt! Who said you could wear it?"
She grinned. "You don't walk me walking around topless do you?"
He put his hand on his hip and glared at her for a moment, trying to be serious, before giving in to her playful gaze. "Well," he said. "At least I still have my over-shirt. Hope it isn't cold out."
They walked out of the room, pausing a moment to let the crowd pass by, then continued walking. Alicia came out of her room then, which had been located next to theirs, and fell into pace next to Rinoa.
"Did you have a nice nap?" Rinoa asked.
Alicia glared at her grumpily. "You two are like damn rabits!" she hissed in Rinoa's ear.
Rinoa had to struggle to stifle her giggle as they stepped off the train and went into the crowded station.
"Where do we go now?" Rinoa yelled over the loud noise of the crowd.
"Lets figure it out once we get out of here!" Squall replied.
When they reached the bustling street outside, they found themselves completely lost. The city was huge stretching out far into the horizon. Skyscrapers towered over them like dominating giants, their tops covered in mist, and smoke that poured out from numerous buildings. Expensive cars raced down the street, after sliding down the ramps of various carports, followed by small, broken down cars that rolled slowly and shakily by. The heavy beats of music flooded out into the street through the open doors of small clothes shops and restruants. People walked hurriedly across the street, barely glancing at the oncoming cars so long as they were sure they would make it across in time. Strange sculptures and and statues marked the ends of some streets, and decorated the parks, where people in ragged clothes sat on the benches, their few remaining belongings in a plastic bag at their side. A fountain gushed water at the front of an elegantly designed business building, adding yet another style to the astounding variety of arcitecture.
"Wow..." Squall murmered, taking it all in.
"Welcome to Deling City," Rinoa said with a sigh.
"You've been here before?" Squall asked.
"I used to live here, before I was moved to Balamb."
"Then you know where to go?" Alicia said.
Rinoa shook her head. "I'm afraid not. I lived here for several years, but I've only been to the train station a few times. Not enough to remember where to go from here. Hell, we don't even know where we want to go, do we?"
Squall shook his head. "I guess we should find a hotel or something. After all, they said it could be before nine a.m. before the train leaves for Balamb again."
"Nine a.am.," Rinoa repeated. "What about Ellone? She plans to claim Balamb at midnight."
He nodded in thought. "Yes, she could always tell her comrades that you're dead and out of the way, so they can commence with the ceromony. In the mean time, she'll probably send some of her most trusted allies out to find you so that you don't come back and take them out of power. She might think you're dead right now. Fujin and Raijin never reported to her, after all."
"Well, whatever happens, we can't just stand here. There's a bus stop over there. Let's take the bus and I'll see if I find my way around to somewhere familiar."
They crossed the street, passing right in front of a halted car, and waited impatiently for the bus to come. When it finally did come, they found themselves squished in between a bunch of strangers, and were barely able to see out the window.
Squall stood there, hanging onto to on of the chrome rings that hung from the ceiling since all the seats were full. He felt someone tap him on the shoulder, and he turned around, thinking it might have been Alicia, since she was somewhere behind him.
What he saw instead was a man in a long blue trench coat with thin, short, greasy gray hair that hung in his eyes and poked out from the sides of his head. He was carrying a battered brown brief case at his side, and his eyes were red and blot shot.
"Hey man," he said with a sly grin. "You need a hook up?" he asked, opening his brief case just a crack, allowing Squall a peak at several large bags of green leaves.
"No thanks," Squall replied.
He shrugged, "Suit yourself."
With that he turned around to face Alicia and threw open his trech coat, laughing. Alicia frowned, shook her head and said, "On a scale of one to ten, I give it a two. Now put that thing away, or risk losing it."
"You actually used to lived here?" Squall asked of Rinoa, who stood directly in front of him.
She laughed softly, having watched the odd scene. "Yes, but it's not all bad, you know. And I've never had a guy come up and flash me, if that's what you're worried about."
"Good," he said, a slightly playful edge creeping into his voice. "It might have burned your virgin eyes."
She elbowed him lightly in the stomach. "Yours didin't."
He smiled down at her, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind, and leaned in to kiss her. The kiss was rudely interrupted when Alicia smacked Squall in the back with a cane she had borrowed from an old lady beside her.
After handing it back with a polite thank you, she said to the agitated man, "Can't you two wait until we get to the hotel room at least?"
Rinoa laughed again, and leaned her head into Squall's chest, staring out of the window at the scenery flashing by.
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"This was the best place we could get?" Squall asked, looking around the small, dark room. There was a twin sized bed pushed up against the wall with faded sheets and a comforter. There was a wooden table on the other side of the room with two broken down chairs and a lamp. In the wall opposite the bed was a door which led to another room, exactly like that one, with a bathroom further down the wall.
Rinoa shrugged, "Me and Alicia don't have any gil. You barely had enough for us to get this room and eat tonight."
"Yeah, why didn't you bring more gil with you?" Alicia asked, knowing it would get on his nerves.
"You're lucky this gil just happened to be in my pants pocket when I left. I wasn't exactly thinking straight. I was too worried," he finished quietly, looking shyly up at Rinoa, who smiled sweetly at him.
Alicia looked back and forth between the two, watching with slight amusment as they exchanged with their eyes the feelings too sacred to be spoken yet.
"Are you two going to blink anytime soon?" Alicia asked, a bit concerned when they continued to stare.
This comment effectively ruined their moment. They both looked away, suddenly taking interest in the cheap carpeting, or peeling wall paper. Alicia shook her head, making a mental note to talk to them each in private when she had the chance.
"So, what are we going to do today? We can't go to sleep so soon," Alicia pointed out.
"Well, there are some things we need to work out," Squall said, seating himself on the edge of the bed. "We don't know where we're going, or what we're doing. You don't rush into battle without a plan. We have to plan ahead."
"What's there to discuss?" Rinoa asked, sitting beside him.
Alicia sat down against the wall across from the bed. "We have to know exactly what we want to do when we get there. What do we want for ourselves? What do we need for the people? What are we willing to sacrifice?"
"Are you in on this?" Squall asked. When she nodded he inquired, "Why? Why do you want to go through this? It's not even your problem."
"Do you know who I am?" Alicia said in a dark voice.
He shook his head. "All I know is that your name is Alicia and that you helped Rinoa and me to escape. Which is why I don't understand you wanting to go with us. It would be safer for you to stay here. It's not your problem."
"My name is Alicia Chang. I am the mother of the very woman you intend to kill."
Squall's eyes narrowed immediately. "Ellone's mother.... You're the same as her."
"The same?" Alicia repeated. "You're the same as me."
He shook his head. "I'm nothing like you. You.... your daughter.... she's caused so much trouble. So much pain. Yet here you are, claiming that you want to kill her. Your own child."
"Yes," she replied, her eyes tearing. "There's nothing left to do."
"You think your daughter is evil, being what she is, yet you think you're not, being the same as she?" he asked.
"Half of you is the same as me. Half of you is just human. Nothing in you is the same as Rinoa, yet still want to be with her? You still go through hell to protect her?" Squall looked away and sighed, not wanting to meet anyone's gaze. "I admit, I used to be a horrible person. I had an affair with your father, I killed you mother.... You've got reason to hate me. But I want to help you, honestly. I've had several years to think about all that I've done. I want to redeem myself. In the same way that your life depends on your redemption, so does mine."
He said nothing for several moments, allowing all the new information to sink in. Finally he turned to Rinoa, who sat next to him with a worried expression on her face, and asked, "What do you think? Do you trust her?"
"Squall, this isn't my decision," she replied.
"Just tell me. Do you trust her? Do you think she's changed?"
She nodded slowly, "I think so. I think she's proven herself."
Squall turned to look at Alicia again. "If Rinoa trusts you.... that's good enough for me. But you'll have to forgive me if I'm weary of you, knowing what I know now."
"I understand," she replied. "Thank you."
"Well, if all three of us are in this.... What exactly is the plan?" Rinoa asked.
"We have to kill Ellone. I'm not sure how. We can't plan this exactly, since we don't know how this will go down," Squall said. "But we've got to kill Ellone. Probably the rest of them as well."
"Genocide..." Rinoa said with a look of disgust on her face.
"It's survival. It's us or them," he said.
"And after this is over? If we do survive? What happens then?" Rinoa asked.
"Let's burn that bridge when we get there," he said softly. "Let's just concentrate on getting out alive."
Rinoa nodded sadly. "Yeah. We'll worry about that later."
"Well, I think we've settled enough for now," Alicia said quietly. "I'm going to my room for a nap."
"Again?" Rinoa asked, attempting to lighten the mood.
Alicia nodded. "I'm old. I need a lot of sleep."
Rinoa nodded and watched reluctantly as she closed the door, leaving her alone with Squall.
She heaved a sigh and turned her gaze toward the floor, turning her back on Squall.
"What is it?" he asked after a moment.
"I want to know now," Rinoa said.
"Know what?"
"I want to know what's going to happen will all of this is done. Are you going to go off and try to live a normal life? I need to know.... " her voice trailed off, leaving her question unspoken.
"You want to know if I'll still want to be with you, then?"
She nodded.
"Alright then. I'll give you my honest answer."
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Alicia sighed as she flopped down on her bed in her own small, empty room. She stared at the blank white ceiling and stained floral wall paper as she wondered what Rinoa and Squall were talking about. After a moment of thinking, she stood and walked over to the back window of her room, while rubbing the her nose, which was suddenly twitching violently.
As she looked out over the concrete maze of littered alley ways, her nose still twitching, she heard a voice call to her from beyond the window.
"Alicia. Come and find me. Come and find me if you want to save your friends."
She suddenly tore open the windows and jumped out, to a patch of scraggly grass growing in a crack in the concrete. The alley in front of her was covered in mud from a previous thunder storm, and as she studied it, she noticed a set of foot prints leading away from the window and around the back of another building. She immediately began to follow them, without contemplating it for a second.
She followed the foot prints around the back of the building and into an abandoned apartment building. When she had reached the top floor, finding herself in large, stuffy room, where small streaks of sun light streaked through the wooden planks that boarded up the windows, she discovered that the foot prints had ended. She whirled around the room, looking for the threat, but finding none. That is, until her eyes fell on a busted mirror propped up against the wall. She ran at it as fast as she could, shrieking as she did so, and clawed at the shards of glass until her fingers bled.
"I will destroy you," she said in a thick, hoarse voice as she picked up one of the peices of glass and thrusted into her own skin, letting out a scream when it made contact.
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"Alright then" Rinoa said, trying to retain her calmness. "Tell me the truth. Tell me your honest answer."
He leaned close to her, studing her eyes for several moments before saying, "I'm going to be there with you. Now, and afterwards. I'll be with you. I don't think I could stand to have it otherwise. We've been through so much, suffered so much. Mostly because we wanted to be together, right? You wanted me, and I wanted you?"
Rinoa nodded. "Yes. We've struggled for each other."
"Then it doesn't make much sense for me to let you go when I finally have you. So after this is over, you and I.... we'll find some place to live, and raise our daughter."
"Like normal people?" she asked.
He shook his head. "No. Not like normal people. Like us. You have to understand, we aren't normal, we never will be. Our child won't be. She'll be part angel, part demon, and part human. A constant reminder of what we are. Every time we make love, we'll change into our other forms. We can never be normal. Knowing that, do you still want this kind of life?"
She nodded. "Yes. I don't want to be different. I just want to be free to do things differently. To raise a family, to have a home. That's all I ask."
He smiled and pulled her into his embrace. "I can't promise you all of that. Life is unpredictable. But I will try my best to get that for you. And I will promise you one thing. I'll be with you until I die."
As they embraced each other in that warm moment, there ensued a peircing scream that roared through the pits of their stomachs, and reverbrated through their souls. Without question, they knew who it was. There was no other way possible for them to have heard it, when it seemed to come from such a great distance.
They looked into each others eyes for a brief moment before storming into Alicia's room, only to find that it was empty.
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"Are you sure this is where you heard the commotion coming from?"
"Yes. I'm positive."
The tall, broad-shouldered man in the black suit turned to look at the shorter, plump man that had given him directions. "Good. You won't tell anyone?"
He shook his head, the dim light reflecting slightly off his bare scalp. "I won't tell a soul."
The first man turned to his smaller, but equally intimidating companion and said, "Do you think we should trust him?"
"I don't know," he replied. "He looks like a rat to me."
"N-no, I swear I'm not!" their informant stammered.
"Get going!" the first man growled.
The small man started to walk out the building, but didn't make it far before a bullet peirced his heart, sending him to the ground.
"You know, I think you're getting lazy," one said to the owner of the smoking pistol. "Do you kill your meals like that too?"
"Of course not. But if I'm not going to eat it, I'm not going to go through the trouble of severing it, and gutting it. Now lets go. If we don't get this out of the way beforew midnight, our ass is grass."
The two men traveled up to the ninth floor, which the top floor had caved in on. They were picking through the rubble when a putrid scent assualted their nostrils, leading them to the proper location. They shoved some debris away from the spot, until they had uncovered a battered femal body. She layed there, breathing but unconcious, with shards of glass surrounding her. Blood flowed from several wounds, and a thick, reddish black liquid poured from her mouth. It smoked as it ate a hole through the floor, like acid, and pooled on the ground, swirling with its reeking odor.
"This is the mother. What do you think happened to her?"
"I don't know, but she's still alive. We'll use her to our advantage."
Several minutes later, when Alicia's eyes fluttered open, she was immediately met with the sight of a pistol in her face. She followed the pistol up to the hand, up the arm, and over the shoulder, before finally locking gazes with a pair of cold green eyes.
"And you are?" she asked calmly.
"Never mind that. Get up, Alicia, and take us to your friends," he said.
Alicia began to tremble violently as a scowl became evident on her face. "Never call me by that name!"
"If you're not Alicia, then who are you?"
"I have no name," she responded in a dark, low, and gravely voice. "Names are just labels that I have no need for. Never compare me to that weak fool Alicia!"
"Very well," the man replied, arching an eyebrow. "Can you lead us to your.... I mean, Alicia's friends?"
"What's in it for me?" she asked.
"Anything you want. Our ruler will see to it that you have it, I promise."
"And if I don't?"
"We'll shoot you, right here and now."
She was silent for a moment, smirking all the while, before saying, "I suppose I'll humor you, today. I'll take you to them. Follow me."
They quickly reached Alicia's bedroom window, and climbed through. Standing there, in the middle of her room, were Squall and Rinoa, with worried looks etched on their faces.
"Alicia, are you alright? Who are these people?" Rinoa asked.
She started to raise a hand and slap Rinoa across the face, but she suddenly doubled over in pain, her veins swelling with blood until they were all visible through the skin. She screamed and clutched at her head, her fingers ripping at her short brown hair. She opened her mouth, and more of the stinking liquid rushed from her mouth in a short stream before burning into the capet. She looked up then, her eyes blood shot and remorseful as she struggled to speak.
"I didn't mean to... betray you. Something's happening to me.... I don't know.... I'm sorry."
At that moment, one of the men hit her over the head with his gun, knocking her unconcious, before turning to Rinoa and Squall, who stood there in awe.
"Well, Ms. Heartilly, Mr. Leonhart. It's been a pleasure meeting you. But I'm afraid we have no time to chat. Ellone sends her deepest apologies that she could not be here to witness your end, but I promised to tell her all about. Well, Goodbye, Ms. Heartilly, and Mr. Leonhart."
The man raised his pistol, grinning, and pulled the trigger, at the exact same moment that Alicia awoke and hit him as hard as she could in the back of the knee, causing him to lose his balance, as well as his aim. The bullet went harmlessly through the ceiling.
Alicia stumbled to her feet, still weak from the recent events, and urged Rinoa and Squall to run with her, into their room and out through their front door, dodging bullets the entire time.
"What do we do? We can't lose them!" Rinoa pointed out as they ran across the street, barely avoiding an oncoming car.
"We've got to try!" Squall said. "Rinoa, you know your way around. Can't you show us through some alleys or back roads that we can lose them in?"
Rinoa nodded. "Yeah, follow me. But where do we go? We can't stay here, they'll find us eventually."
"Head for the train station," Squall replied.
Rinoa led them through a series of narrow alleys and small streets until they reached the train station.
There, on two sperate tracks, sat two seperate trains. One was the train bound for Balamb, which wasn't yet repaired judging from its emptiness. The other was a train transporting goods to Dollet. They jumpeed in one of the open cars as it slowly began its journey down the track.
The car they were in was crowded with large steel boxes and cooling devices. Just like the boxes that had been in the other train.
Alicia leaned against one box, looking out the door toward the destination, and Squall and Rinoa sat beside each other against another box, facing the train station as the distance grew between it and them.
All was silent for a moment before finally Rinoa asked, "What happened Alicia? You seemed sick or something. Are you alright?"
Alicia quietly shook her head. "Something's very wrong with me. I just don't know what it is. I just don't know....."
2: 27 P.M.
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