Chapter 6: Leaving for Friends' Sake
'We knew you would come. The mutiny was the perfect time to give you a warning… because it WAS a warning. Of course you didn't kill all of us… You can run, but you can't hide. We'll make you pay for stopping us control the world! You're dead, Squall!!'
That's what was on the letter.
Squall entered his room and put his gunblade's case on his bed. He opened it to see if his gunblade was inside (of course it was) he closed it and took the strap on his shoulder. (There is a strap or else how would he carry the case?)
The case on his back, Squall carefully ran to the entrance of the Garden. He made sure nobody saw him until he got out. He ran a while on the field until the Garden was far enough behind him. He stopped, breathing fast and looked at his home.
"Nobody will destroy that place… And nobody will hurt my friends…"
He looked at the sky, thoughtful.
"Somebody out there want to kill me… They will have to catch me first! At least they won't get my friends, nor Rinoa!"
He walked to the snowfield at the horizon. There was some kind of a snowstorm there because it was snowing a lot. Squall knew the place so he decided to go through even with the snowstorm. He was sure he would be out in no time.
After walking for a while, Squall was wondering from when was he in the middle of the snowstorm. It fact, it was for more than two hours.
'What's going on? It's not supposed to be that big!'
He stopped to think about it.
'What if I'm…'
He shook his head and walked again.
"No! I'm not lost!"
He looked around him, seeing nothing but snow.
"But still…"
Meanwhile, Rinoa just arrived at Balamb Garden. She was sure it wouldn't move because she called before coming. Strangely, she didn't speak to Squall. She was thinking it was strange, but then she thought it would surprise him.
She got her car inside the parking lot before heading to Squall's room, waving to some students on her way.
"Guess who?" she jumped happily in the room.
She was surprised not to find anyone in the room. Squall was nowhere to be seen.
"Oh well," she shrugged.
She went to the cafeteria, hoping to find somebody.
Squall tripped and fell again in the snow.
"Ow…"
He just stood on his knees for a minute.
"I got to face the truth: I-AM-LOST!"
A squall right to his face forced him to protect it with his gloved hands. He shivered before cursing himself for not have taken other clothes than his usual. He was freezing and his feathered collar wasn't keeping him warm at all.
"I can't stay here. I gotta move or I'll freeze right here."
He got up without noticing his case's strap untied by itself, causing the case to fall. The thickness of the snow absorbed the noise so Squall didn't hear anything.
The wind against him, Squall zipped up his jacket and crossed his arms in front of his face. Soon feeling his face was freezing, he directly put both his hands on it without bothering he wasn't seeing where he was going.
He walked for a while, feeling his legs slowly paralysing from the cold. Breezes coming from other ways sent some icy locks hit his cheeks. Which were frozen so he didn't feel anything.
Having more and more difficulties to walk, Squall tripped again and fell flat in the snow. For a second, he thought he could stay right there, but he still got up slowly and started walking again. He was so tired he didn't mind putting his hands back on his face. His sight was blurred, but not because of the snow. Dizzy, he fell again and didn't got up, not even trying.
Once she was in the cafeteria, Rinoa spotted Zell right away in the waiting line. She giggled and reached him.
"Hello!"
"Oh, hi, Rinoa! What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to see Squall, but he's not in his room. Do you know where he is?"
"Just a sec, would ya?"
It was Zell's turn.
"Sorry," the girl behind the counter said. "No more hotdogs."
"Darn!" Zell exclaimed punching the ground.
He put his hands in his pockets and left the place with Rinoa, very deceived.
"Sorry, what did you say?"
"Do you know where Squall is?"
Zell rubbed his chin.
"Hum… it's not like him to go to the Training Centre without me, but you never know! Let's go!"
They headed for the Training Centre.
Squall tried to find in his will a little boost of strength to get up. He succeeded, but did only a few steps before falling again, catching his breath. He could fell his legs anymore.
"Can't…walk…anymore…" he said softly.
He slowly closed his eyes before half reopening them.
"The snow isn't cold…it's warm…I'm well here…"
The smiling face of Rinoa appeared in front of his.
"Rinoa…you'll be…safe…"
'Squall, I love you…'
He was delirious.
"I…love you…too…"
He fainted, the wind covering his voice.
Rinoa and Zell got out of the Training Centre with Irvine and Selphie they found there. No sign of Squall in the Center.
"Where could he be, then?" Rinoa asked.
"Maybe at the Headmaster's office?" Selphie suggested.
"Hardly," Quistis arrived. "I was just there and he wasn't."
Zell turned to Rinoa.
"You didn't saw anything helpful in his room when you went there?"
"Well I didn't pay any attention, I was just looking for him."
"Then let's go see."
"I'm going to the library just in case," Quistis said.
"I'll look at the Quad," Selphie added.
"I'll see at the infirmary if somebody saw him," Irvine said.
The group went different ways.
When Rinoa and Zell entered Squall's room, Zell knew there was something wrong.
"Where is his gunblade?" he asked.
Rinoa looked around.
"Even the case is missing! I never saw Squall take his case before!"
"Anyway that means he's not in the Garden," Rinoa concluded.
"But why?"
They found the answer on Squall's desk. There was a crumpled piece of paper. Zell read it.
"Rinoa…"
She came to read along.
"God…"
They exchanged a glance before running outside of the room.
Squall didn't know how he woke up either how he still had the strength to walk and he didn't care. He knew he was walking but he wasn't sensing his legs anymore. He was frozen to the bones and all his body was painful.
"Rinoa…I'll be here…I promise…" he said still delirious.
His legs finally gave up and he fell again. This time, nothing would make him get up anymore.
"Squall! Get up! You can't give up!"
Squall heard the voice as if it was right in his mind. It was the voice of his dream and it was really there, not from his delirious state.
"Leave me…alone…"
"You gotta hold on!"
"It's you that told me to leave… I did…To die here or being killed…the others'll be safe…"
"You can't die, Squall! YOU CAN'T!!"
"Let me sleep…"
The voice was still calling but Squall couldn't hear it anymore. Nothing would wake him up now.
The snow slowly started to cover him like it was closing his coffin.
The gang was running to the entrance of the Garden.
"Does anybody have an idea why he left?" Quistis asked.
"I'm sure it's because he didn't want us to get involved in this," Rinoa answered.
"We have to find him!" Zell exclaimed. "We've always been together for everything so there's no way we'll let him go through this alone!"
"Right!" everyone answered.
As they ran out, somebody stopped them.
"Halt! No running in Garden! I'll discipline you, guys!"
It was Seifer looking very serious doing his job, but when everyone turned to him with worried faces, he worried himself.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
"Squall is gone!" Rinoa told.
"Oh! I saw him…"
Rinoa jumped and grabbed him by the scurf of the neck.
"When? Where?"
The others helped Seifer get rid of Rinoa.
"Calm down, Rinoa," Selphie said. "Tell us, Seifer."
"He was in a big hurry so I guess he didn't saw me. I was just entering Garden. He was heading for the snow field."
"What?" Quistis gasped in horror. "There's a snowstorm there!"
"When?" Irvine asked Seifer.
"Three hours or maybe more. God!"
They all started to panic.
"What was he wearing?" Quistis asked with hope.
"His usual clothes and he was carrying his gunblade's case on his back."
Zell tried to reassure everyone.
"Wait, guys! He already went to that place so he knows it. Maybe he got through."
Quistis shook her head, not optimistic as her friend.
"Not in the middle of a snowstorm, Zell."
"We have to go find him!" Rinoa said.
"Yeah!" Selphie added.
"Alright," Quistis said. "I'll warn the Headmaster while you go get things useful: proper clothes and sheets for him when we'll find him. And flares in case we get lost ourselves. Move out!"
Everyone, including Seifer went to their dorm except Rinoa.
"I didn't bring anything with me!"
"Come with me," Selphie said. "You'll take my clothes.
Rinoa followed her friend.
Not even half an hour later, they were at the parking lot.
"You got everything?" Quistis asked
"Yes!"
"Let's go!"
"Wait!"
Seifer arrived with a rucksack, wearing his usual grey trench coat with something warmer under.
"You're not forced to come…" Quistis started.
"I come. It's my fault if he is…in trouble. I didn't notice when I saw him; I didn't pay attention to the distress on his face. I come and you can't change my mind!"
Everyone got inside the car and Quistis drove to the snowfield. After a few minutes, they were there.
"How are we gonna search now?" Irvine asked.
"We split," Seifer proposed.
So they did. Three teams of two: Irvine with Selphie, Zell with Quistis and Seifer with Rinoa.
"We're all dressed up properly but if we don't find him, everyone get back in two hours," Quistis ordered. "If any of you finds him, shout as loud as you can!"
Everyone was wearing warm clothes and coats and some had scarves.
"Good luck," Irvine said.
Every team went different ways.
After half an hour of walking, Rinoa and Seifer had no sight of Squall or anything that could help find him.
"Why, Seifer?"
"What? I can't hear you!"
She came closer and spoke louder.
"Why do you do that?"
"Squall let me come back to Garden."
"So it's payback time, huh?"
Seifer didn't say a thing for a moment.
"I can't abandon a friend…"
The blowing wind covered his words, but Rinoa heard anyway. She grabbed his arm.
"Thanks, Seifer!"
He smiled before gently freeing his arm from Rinoa's grip, respectful that she was Squall's girlfriend.
"Look carefully," he said.
She nodded before looking around, not seeing much in the thickness of the snowstorm.
After another half an hour, still nothing.
"Maybe we should get back, Seifer. It's been an hour already and if we want to get back before the two hours, we should leave now."
"Are you cold?"
"Well, a little. Why?"
"If you're cold even with the clothes you're wearing for only an hour, how do you think Squall is after four hours in simple clothes?"
She widened up her eyes.
"Oh, Squall! What if he… NO!!"
She buried her face in her hands while Seifer took her by shoulders.
"Hey, don't give up already! Rinoa…"
She looked at him with red and teary eyes.
"Don't cry, the tears will freeze," he said rubbing the bottom of her eyes. "Look, I promise you we'll find him. And ALIVE, ok?"
She nodded.
"Let's look better around…"
They continued walking.
Selphie looked at her watch.
"Hum…Irvine!"
He turned to her. She showed him her wrist so he looked at his watch. Thinking about the same thing, they shook their head and kept on walking.
"We'll find him…" Irvine said.
The wind covered his voice so Selphie couldn't hear anything. Anyway, she was thinking the same thing.
Zell just looked at his watch.
"Quistis, it's…"
Quistis shook her head, still walking.
"We still haven't found him," she answered loud to cover the wind.
"But you said…"
"I know what I said! Just forget it and watch where you're going!"
Zell smiled. He didn't want to get back, of course. He was just afraid Quistis would.
Just looking around and not where she was going, Rinoa tripped when her foot hit a rock or something.
"Waah!"
She fell, but Seifer caught her before she touched the ground.
"Thanks."
He put her back on her feet and took a peek at what she tripped on. Her hair floating before eyes, she couldn't see so she held them to see Seifer's eyes widening up.
"What is it?" she asked crouching down by his side.
Seifer cleared the snow covering his discovery.
"Squall's case…"
Seifer opened it. To his amazement, the gunblade was inside.
"Squall would never leave his gunblade…"
He closed the case and lifted it to find the strap untied.
"He lost it…" Rinoa concluded.
"At least he would have notice! It's impossible!"
"What if… he was too weak and cold to notice?"
They exchanged a glance before getting up, Seifer taking the case on his back.
"Squall!!" Rinoa called.
"Squall, where are you?" Seifer called along.
No answer. Just the blowing wind and the falling snow.
"We can't give up! At least we found something!" Seifer said.
They started walking again, Seifer first. Rinoa kept looking around, getting worrier by the minute. She put her hand under the blue coat she borrowed from Selphie to clench her rings.
'Squall…where are you?' she thought. 'Please, be alive…'
A little open in the storm far to her left let her see something, but she wasn't sure. She stopped walking and looked again carefully, trying to pierce the snowstorm. There was definitely something on the ground. As she felt her heart beating faster, she knew it was him, she knew it with all her heart.
"Squall…" she muttered. "Squall!!"
She ran to the place, her scream alerting Seifer.
"Rinoa, what the…?"
Then he saw him too.
"God… Squall!"
He ran after Rinoa.
Her sight was blurred from the fear tears that he could be dead. She let herself fall on her knees once she was by his side. It was Squall, no doubt about it, with snow almost totally covering his body. A little later, he would have been invisible.
She turned him on his back to see his face. He was very pale, almost blue and had closed eyelids puffy and purple.
"Squall!" she yelled shaking him.
She held his face on her chest to heat him until Seifer arrived. He let the case and rucksack fall and he took off his own coat.
"What are you doing? You'll freeze!"
"My coat is warmer than a stupid sheet! Besides the coat is already warm 'cause I wore it while the sheets are cold. We want to save him, not finish him!"
Rinoa had to admit he was right so Seifer covered Squall with his coat before shooting two flares from his sack. They exploded in a blue light.
"It's to tell the others," Seifer explained.
He kneeled by Squall's other side, staring at his lifeless-looking face. Rinoa got her ear near Squall's mouth to see if he was still breathing.
"So?"
"Hardly…weak…"
She started crying silently.
"Give me a hand," Seifer said starting to rub Squall's arms and legs under the coat to make the blood run faster in the veins.
Rinoa did it along while looking at Seifer's blue becoming face.
"You'll catch a cold," she warned.
"I don't care…"
"At least, put a sheet on, please!"
Seifer sighed from exasperation then took a sheet from his sack and put it on his shoulders.
"There! Happy?"
She smiled when he shivered.
"Brr…lucky we didn't put that on Squall! It's freezing!"
Seifer was trying to calm Rinoa with a little humour, but he was worried himself.
Seeing her beloved like that was enough to make Rinoa panic. She held his head on her chest to give him all the warmth from her body. Suddenly, she looked at him with wide opened eyes.
"What?" Seifer asked.
"He moved! I'm sure I sensed him moving!"
She caressed his face to clear it from the frost hair.
"Squall, speak to me! Say something! Please, call my name!" she pleaded.
"Come on, Squall…"
After a minute, his purple lips moved weakly.
"Shut…up…let me…sleep…" he hardly articulated.
They didn't hear what he said but they knew he said something.
"Squall!!" Rinoa called.
Seifer moved to shield Squall from the wind.
Rinoa started crying from relief seeing Squall was alive. His eyes moved under his eyelids but didn't open. Rinoa munched her lips. Finally, but weakly, Squall half opened his eyes.
"Rinoa…" he mumbled weakly. "Am I…still…deli…rious…?"
"No, you're not! I'm here, Squall!"
"Glad you're okay," Seifer said.
"Sei…"
He couldn't finish the word.
The wind blew stronger. Rinoa looked up when she sensed Squall trembling from the cold.
"God! Give us a chance!" she yelled.
"Sleep…so…tired…" Squall mumbled before closing his eyes.
"No!" Rinoa screamed shaking him. "You have to stay awake!"
"Too…hard…tired…" Squall whispered before fainting, his head falling back in Rinoa's arms.
"NO!!" she yelled holding him tightly.
Desperate, Rinoa put her lips on his, trying to get a reaction from him, but he didn't budge. She felt like kissing a corpse, but didn't care.
The others finally arrived.
"Guys!" Zell called. "You found him!!"
Selphie kneeled by their side.
"Is he…?" she started unable to continue.
Seifer shook his head, closing his eyes.
"Not yet, but if we don't hurry, he will!"
Irvine got rid of his sack.
"We have to get out of here fast! Quick, put him on my back!"
Without arguing, they obeyed.
"Which way?" Irvine asked holding Squall's legs each side of his waist.
Quistis got a compass out of her pocket.
"Am I the only one who thought it could be useful?"
Without waiting for answer, she pointed a direction.
"This way!"
Zell took Irvine's sack while Seifer took off the sheet, unable to carry his sack and the case with it on.
"You shouldn't," Rinoa protested.
"If I keep on moving, I'll be fine."
They all ran after Quistis, eager to get out of that place.
'It's the second time I carry you on the verge of death, Squall,' Irvine thought. 'Don't die on me now, ok?'
'We knew you would come. The mutiny was the perfect time to give you a warning… because it WAS a warning. Of course you didn't kill all of us… You can run, but you can't hide. We'll make you pay for stopping us control the world! You're dead, Squall!!'
That's what was on the letter.
Squall entered his room and put his gunblade's case on his bed. He opened it to see if his gunblade was inside (of course it was) he closed it and took the strap on his shoulder. (There is a strap or else how would he carry the case?)
The case on his back, Squall carefully ran to the entrance of the Garden. He made sure nobody saw him until he got out. He ran a while on the field until the Garden was far enough behind him. He stopped, breathing fast and looked at his home.
"Nobody will destroy that place… And nobody will hurt my friends…"
He looked at the sky, thoughtful.
"Somebody out there want to kill me… They will have to catch me first! At least they won't get my friends, nor Rinoa!"
He walked to the snowfield at the horizon. There was some kind of a snowstorm there because it was snowing a lot. Squall knew the place so he decided to go through even with the snowstorm. He was sure he would be out in no time.
After walking for a while, Squall was wondering from when was he in the middle of the snowstorm. It fact, it was for more than two hours.
'What's going on? It's not supposed to be that big!'
He stopped to think about it.
'What if I'm…'
He shook his head and walked again.
"No! I'm not lost!"
He looked around him, seeing nothing but snow.
"But still…"
Meanwhile, Rinoa just arrived at Balamb Garden. She was sure it wouldn't move because she called before coming. Strangely, she didn't speak to Squall. She was thinking it was strange, but then she thought it would surprise him.
She got her car inside the parking lot before heading to Squall's room, waving to some students on her way.
"Guess who?" she jumped happily in the room.
She was surprised not to find anyone in the room. Squall was nowhere to be seen.
"Oh well," she shrugged.
She went to the cafeteria, hoping to find somebody.
Squall tripped and fell again in the snow.
"Ow…"
He just stood on his knees for a minute.
"I got to face the truth: I-AM-LOST!"
A squall right to his face forced him to protect it with his gloved hands. He shivered before cursing himself for not have taken other clothes than his usual. He was freezing and his feathered collar wasn't keeping him warm at all.
"I can't stay here. I gotta move or I'll freeze right here."
He got up without noticing his case's strap untied by itself, causing the case to fall. The thickness of the snow absorbed the noise so Squall didn't hear anything.
The wind against him, Squall zipped up his jacket and crossed his arms in front of his face. Soon feeling his face was freezing, he directly put both his hands on it without bothering he wasn't seeing where he was going.
He walked for a while, feeling his legs slowly paralysing from the cold. Breezes coming from other ways sent some icy locks hit his cheeks. Which were frozen so he didn't feel anything.
Having more and more difficulties to walk, Squall tripped again and fell flat in the snow. For a second, he thought he could stay right there, but he still got up slowly and started walking again. He was so tired he didn't mind putting his hands back on his face. His sight was blurred, but not because of the snow. Dizzy, he fell again and didn't got up, not even trying.
Once she was in the cafeteria, Rinoa spotted Zell right away in the waiting line. She giggled and reached him.
"Hello!"
"Oh, hi, Rinoa! What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to see Squall, but he's not in his room. Do you know where he is?"
"Just a sec, would ya?"
It was Zell's turn.
"Sorry," the girl behind the counter said. "No more hotdogs."
"Darn!" Zell exclaimed punching the ground.
He put his hands in his pockets and left the place with Rinoa, very deceived.
"Sorry, what did you say?"
"Do you know where Squall is?"
Zell rubbed his chin.
"Hum… it's not like him to go to the Training Centre without me, but you never know! Let's go!"
They headed for the Training Centre.
Squall tried to find in his will a little boost of strength to get up. He succeeded, but did only a few steps before falling again, catching his breath. He could fell his legs anymore.
"Can't…walk…anymore…" he said softly.
He slowly closed his eyes before half reopening them.
"The snow isn't cold…it's warm…I'm well here…"
The smiling face of Rinoa appeared in front of his.
"Rinoa…you'll be…safe…"
'Squall, I love you…'
He was delirious.
"I…love you…too…"
He fainted, the wind covering his voice.
Rinoa and Zell got out of the Training Centre with Irvine and Selphie they found there. No sign of Squall in the Center.
"Where could he be, then?" Rinoa asked.
"Maybe at the Headmaster's office?" Selphie suggested.
"Hardly," Quistis arrived. "I was just there and he wasn't."
Zell turned to Rinoa.
"You didn't saw anything helpful in his room when you went there?"
"Well I didn't pay any attention, I was just looking for him."
"Then let's go see."
"I'm going to the library just in case," Quistis said.
"I'll look at the Quad," Selphie added.
"I'll see at the infirmary if somebody saw him," Irvine said.
The group went different ways.
When Rinoa and Zell entered Squall's room, Zell knew there was something wrong.
"Where is his gunblade?" he asked.
Rinoa looked around.
"Even the case is missing! I never saw Squall take his case before!"
"Anyway that means he's not in the Garden," Rinoa concluded.
"But why?"
They found the answer on Squall's desk. There was a crumpled piece of paper. Zell read it.
"Rinoa…"
She came to read along.
"God…"
They exchanged a glance before running outside of the room.
Squall didn't know how he woke up either how he still had the strength to walk and he didn't care. He knew he was walking but he wasn't sensing his legs anymore. He was frozen to the bones and all his body was painful.
"Rinoa…I'll be here…I promise…" he said still delirious.
His legs finally gave up and he fell again. This time, nothing would make him get up anymore.
"Squall! Get up! You can't give up!"
Squall heard the voice as if it was right in his mind. It was the voice of his dream and it was really there, not from his delirious state.
"Leave me…alone…"
"You gotta hold on!"
"It's you that told me to leave… I did…To die here or being killed…the others'll be safe…"
"You can't die, Squall! YOU CAN'T!!"
"Let me sleep…"
The voice was still calling but Squall couldn't hear it anymore. Nothing would wake him up now.
The snow slowly started to cover him like it was closing his coffin.
The gang was running to the entrance of the Garden.
"Does anybody have an idea why he left?" Quistis asked.
"I'm sure it's because he didn't want us to get involved in this," Rinoa answered.
"We have to find him!" Zell exclaimed. "We've always been together for everything so there's no way we'll let him go through this alone!"
"Right!" everyone answered.
As they ran out, somebody stopped them.
"Halt! No running in Garden! I'll discipline you, guys!"
It was Seifer looking very serious doing his job, but when everyone turned to him with worried faces, he worried himself.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
"Squall is gone!" Rinoa told.
"Oh! I saw him…"
Rinoa jumped and grabbed him by the scurf of the neck.
"When? Where?"
The others helped Seifer get rid of Rinoa.
"Calm down, Rinoa," Selphie said. "Tell us, Seifer."
"He was in a big hurry so I guess he didn't saw me. I was just entering Garden. He was heading for the snow field."
"What?" Quistis gasped in horror. "There's a snowstorm there!"
"When?" Irvine asked Seifer.
"Three hours or maybe more. God!"
They all started to panic.
"What was he wearing?" Quistis asked with hope.
"His usual clothes and he was carrying his gunblade's case on his back."
Zell tried to reassure everyone.
"Wait, guys! He already went to that place so he knows it. Maybe he got through."
Quistis shook her head, not optimistic as her friend.
"Not in the middle of a snowstorm, Zell."
"We have to go find him!" Rinoa said.
"Yeah!" Selphie added.
"Alright," Quistis said. "I'll warn the Headmaster while you go get things useful: proper clothes and sheets for him when we'll find him. And flares in case we get lost ourselves. Move out!"
Everyone, including Seifer went to their dorm except Rinoa.
"I didn't bring anything with me!"
"Come with me," Selphie said. "You'll take my clothes.
Rinoa followed her friend.
Not even half an hour later, they were at the parking lot.
"You got everything?" Quistis asked
"Yes!"
"Let's go!"
"Wait!"
Seifer arrived with a rucksack, wearing his usual grey trench coat with something warmer under.
"You're not forced to come…" Quistis started.
"I come. It's my fault if he is…in trouble. I didn't notice when I saw him; I didn't pay attention to the distress on his face. I come and you can't change my mind!"
Everyone got inside the car and Quistis drove to the snowfield. After a few minutes, they were there.
"How are we gonna search now?" Irvine asked.
"We split," Seifer proposed.
So they did. Three teams of two: Irvine with Selphie, Zell with Quistis and Seifer with Rinoa.
"We're all dressed up properly but if we don't find him, everyone get back in two hours," Quistis ordered. "If any of you finds him, shout as loud as you can!"
Everyone was wearing warm clothes and coats and some had scarves.
"Good luck," Irvine said.
Every team went different ways.
After half an hour of walking, Rinoa and Seifer had no sight of Squall or anything that could help find him.
"Why, Seifer?"
"What? I can't hear you!"
She came closer and spoke louder.
"Why do you do that?"
"Squall let me come back to Garden."
"So it's payback time, huh?"
Seifer didn't say a thing for a moment.
"I can't abandon a friend…"
The blowing wind covered his words, but Rinoa heard anyway. She grabbed his arm.
"Thanks, Seifer!"
He smiled before gently freeing his arm from Rinoa's grip, respectful that she was Squall's girlfriend.
"Look carefully," he said.
She nodded before looking around, not seeing much in the thickness of the snowstorm.
After another half an hour, still nothing.
"Maybe we should get back, Seifer. It's been an hour already and if we want to get back before the two hours, we should leave now."
"Are you cold?"
"Well, a little. Why?"
"If you're cold even with the clothes you're wearing for only an hour, how do you think Squall is after four hours in simple clothes?"
She widened up her eyes.
"Oh, Squall! What if he… NO!!"
She buried her face in her hands while Seifer took her by shoulders.
"Hey, don't give up already! Rinoa…"
She looked at him with red and teary eyes.
"Don't cry, the tears will freeze," he said rubbing the bottom of her eyes. "Look, I promise you we'll find him. And ALIVE, ok?"
She nodded.
"Let's look better around…"
They continued walking.
Selphie looked at her watch.
"Hum…Irvine!"
He turned to her. She showed him her wrist so he looked at his watch. Thinking about the same thing, they shook their head and kept on walking.
"We'll find him…" Irvine said.
The wind covered his voice so Selphie couldn't hear anything. Anyway, she was thinking the same thing.
Zell just looked at his watch.
"Quistis, it's…"
Quistis shook her head, still walking.
"We still haven't found him," she answered loud to cover the wind.
"But you said…"
"I know what I said! Just forget it and watch where you're going!"
Zell smiled. He didn't want to get back, of course. He was just afraid Quistis would.
Just looking around and not where she was going, Rinoa tripped when her foot hit a rock or something.
"Waah!"
She fell, but Seifer caught her before she touched the ground.
"Thanks."
He put her back on her feet and took a peek at what she tripped on. Her hair floating before eyes, she couldn't see so she held them to see Seifer's eyes widening up.
"What is it?" she asked crouching down by his side.
Seifer cleared the snow covering his discovery.
"Squall's case…"
Seifer opened it. To his amazement, the gunblade was inside.
"Squall would never leave his gunblade…"
He closed the case and lifted it to find the strap untied.
"He lost it…" Rinoa concluded.
"At least he would have notice! It's impossible!"
"What if… he was too weak and cold to notice?"
They exchanged a glance before getting up, Seifer taking the case on his back.
"Squall!!" Rinoa called.
"Squall, where are you?" Seifer called along.
No answer. Just the blowing wind and the falling snow.
"We can't give up! At least we found something!" Seifer said.
They started walking again, Seifer first. Rinoa kept looking around, getting worrier by the minute. She put her hand under the blue coat she borrowed from Selphie to clench her rings.
'Squall…where are you?' she thought. 'Please, be alive…'
A little open in the storm far to her left let her see something, but she wasn't sure. She stopped walking and looked again carefully, trying to pierce the snowstorm. There was definitely something on the ground. As she felt her heart beating faster, she knew it was him, she knew it with all her heart.
"Squall…" she muttered. "Squall!!"
She ran to the place, her scream alerting Seifer.
"Rinoa, what the…?"
Then he saw him too.
"God… Squall!"
He ran after Rinoa.
Her sight was blurred from the fear tears that he could be dead. She let herself fall on her knees once she was by his side. It was Squall, no doubt about it, with snow almost totally covering his body. A little later, he would have been invisible.
She turned him on his back to see his face. He was very pale, almost blue and had closed eyelids puffy and purple.
"Squall!" she yelled shaking him.
She held his face on her chest to heat him until Seifer arrived. He let the case and rucksack fall and he took off his own coat.
"What are you doing? You'll freeze!"
"My coat is warmer than a stupid sheet! Besides the coat is already warm 'cause I wore it while the sheets are cold. We want to save him, not finish him!"
Rinoa had to admit he was right so Seifer covered Squall with his coat before shooting two flares from his sack. They exploded in a blue light.
"It's to tell the others," Seifer explained.
He kneeled by Squall's other side, staring at his lifeless-looking face. Rinoa got her ear near Squall's mouth to see if he was still breathing.
"So?"
"Hardly…weak…"
She started crying silently.
"Give me a hand," Seifer said starting to rub Squall's arms and legs under the coat to make the blood run faster in the veins.
Rinoa did it along while looking at Seifer's blue becoming face.
"You'll catch a cold," she warned.
"I don't care…"
"At least, put a sheet on, please!"
Seifer sighed from exasperation then took a sheet from his sack and put it on his shoulders.
"There! Happy?"
She smiled when he shivered.
"Brr…lucky we didn't put that on Squall! It's freezing!"
Seifer was trying to calm Rinoa with a little humour, but he was worried himself.
Seeing her beloved like that was enough to make Rinoa panic. She held his head on her chest to give him all the warmth from her body. Suddenly, she looked at him with wide opened eyes.
"What?" Seifer asked.
"He moved! I'm sure I sensed him moving!"
She caressed his face to clear it from the frost hair.
"Squall, speak to me! Say something! Please, call my name!" she pleaded.
"Come on, Squall…"
After a minute, his purple lips moved weakly.
"Shut…up…let me…sleep…" he hardly articulated.
They didn't hear what he said but they knew he said something.
"Squall!!" Rinoa called.
Seifer moved to shield Squall from the wind.
Rinoa started crying from relief seeing Squall was alive. His eyes moved under his eyelids but didn't open. Rinoa munched her lips. Finally, but weakly, Squall half opened his eyes.
"Rinoa…" he mumbled weakly. "Am I…still…deli…rious…?"
"No, you're not! I'm here, Squall!"
"Glad you're okay," Seifer said.
"Sei…"
He couldn't finish the word.
The wind blew stronger. Rinoa looked up when she sensed Squall trembling from the cold.
"God! Give us a chance!" she yelled.
"Sleep…so…tired…" Squall mumbled before closing his eyes.
"No!" Rinoa screamed shaking him. "You have to stay awake!"
"Too…hard…tired…" Squall whispered before fainting, his head falling back in Rinoa's arms.
"NO!!" she yelled holding him tightly.
Desperate, Rinoa put her lips on his, trying to get a reaction from him, but he didn't budge. She felt like kissing a corpse, but didn't care.
The others finally arrived.
"Guys!" Zell called. "You found him!!"
Selphie kneeled by their side.
"Is he…?" she started unable to continue.
Seifer shook his head, closing his eyes.
"Not yet, but if we don't hurry, he will!"
Irvine got rid of his sack.
"We have to get out of here fast! Quick, put him on my back!"
Without arguing, they obeyed.
"Which way?" Irvine asked holding Squall's legs each side of his waist.
Quistis got a compass out of her pocket.
"Am I the only one who thought it could be useful?"
Without waiting for answer, she pointed a direction.
"This way!"
Zell took Irvine's sack while Seifer took off the sheet, unable to carry his sack and the case with it on.
"You shouldn't," Rinoa protested.
"If I keep on moving, I'll be fine."
They all ran after Quistis, eager to get out of that place.
'It's the second time I carry you on the verge of death, Squall,' Irvine thought. 'Don't die on me now, ok?'