Chapter 4
Selphie, Quistis, Zell and Irvine returned that evening to find Squall sat alone in his hotel room, holding his head in his hands.
"What's wrong?" asked Quistis, obviously concerned.
"It's Rinoa. She's missing."
"What?" the group replied in unison.
"She came to help us. She was seen getting on the train to Deling and she hasn't been seen since."
"Oh, Hyne," we have to find her said Quistis.
"Yeah, agreed Selphie. "She must be somewhere in Deling. Why don't we look for her."
"Good idea, Selphie," said Quistis, taking charge of the situation. "Squall and I will check the area of the city south of the presidential residence. You three check the area to the north." The group nodded in agreement. "And whatever you do, do not tell Major Caraway his daughter is missing."
"Come on Squall, we'll check the station first as she will have been there. Someone might know something." Squall was motionless. "Squall?"
"Leave me alone."
"Stop it Squall. We have to find Rinoa. She needs you. You can't just stay in your hotel room." Selphie, Irvine and Zell had already left and Quistis was anxious to start searching for Rinoa.
"She doesn't need me. It's my fault she's in trouble in the first place. I told her not to come. So just leave me alone."
"Squall Leonhart, you WILL come and search for Rinoa with me, and you will leave that attitude behind. Do you understand? It's not your fault she's in trouble. She probably would have tried to help no matter what you said and if you don't help find her, she will be in even deeper trouble." Squall reluctantly got up and left the hotel.
"This is no use. Nobody's seen her. We should just give up."
"No, Zell, we can't give up on Rinoa. We have to find her." Selphie was doing her best to prevent Zell from becoming despondent, but it wasn't working.
"It is hopeless, we've checked everywhere. The mall, all her favourite shops, there's nowhere else to look."
"I guess you're right. We should head back to the hotel. I hope Squall and Quistis are having better luck."
The platform at Galbadia station was bustling with people. Squall was deep in thought, thinking about how he had failed Rinoa, about how she would never forgive him. Quistis knew what he was thinking, but was unable to help. Instead, she was focused on trying to locate a guard in the hope that he might have seen Rinoa.
"Excuse me. Were you working here yesterday?" Quistis asked the first guard she found.
"Yes, why?"
"I was wondering if you might have seen a young girl getting off the train from Balamb."
"What did she look like?"
"She's eighteen years old and has shoulder length black hair and brown eyes. She would have been wearing a long, light blue coat. Oh, and she had a dog with her."
"Hmm, sounds familiar, yes. Do you mean the girl whose father's in the military?"
"Yes, how did you know?"
"Some men met her from the station in military uniforms and said her father had sent a car to pick her up in."
"Do you remember what they looked like?"
"No sorry. I remember the car though. It was a beauty. Magnificent silver colour it was, must have been very expensive."
"Thank you for your help," Quistis told the guard.
"No problem."
"Come on, Squall, we should head back to the hotel to tell the others what we found."
Rinoa couldn't sleep. She was too worried about Squall.
"What will Seifer do to him? I've brought so much trouble to Squall again." Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone entering her room.
"Get up," growled the guard aggressively.
"No," Rinoa replied. "I won't."
"Oh, you won't?" The guard walked over towards Rinoa and punched her in the face. Rinoa fell backwards onto the floor but didn't scream or cry out, despite the pain. The guard grabbed her hair and dragged her to her feet, before leading her to a room down the corridor.
The room frightened Rinoa. It was so cold she could see her own breath in front of her face. Surrounding her were shelves full of medical equipment. There were scissors, scalpels and needles lining the walls. And in the middle of the room, was what frightened Rinoa the most. There was a metal chair that resembled the ones dentists used. Except on this one, there were restraints. It was to that chair that Rinoa was led. She struggled, but try as she might, the guard was too strong for her. She was strapped into the chair, completely powerless.
"Squall, Quistis. You didn't find her." Selphie's voice fell as she saw them unaccompanied. "Did you find anything?" she asked hopefully.
"She's with her father," replied Quistis. "He had some men collect her from the station."
"She went willingly?"
"I think so, yes. The guard didn't mention anything about a struggle. It was a crowded street, someone would have known if she was taken by force."
"You mean, she decided to go and live with her father?"
"I don't know. I just think it's strange that she wouldn't call, or that she didn't tell Cid when she left Garden."
"Do you think she doesn't want to be around us anymore?" asked Selphie, obviously upset. Squall shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"Selphie, don't think that. Rinoa's our friend," Quistis replied, trying to cheer her up. "There must be another explanation."
"There is." These were the first words that Squall had said all evening. "She didn't go to Caraway's. I knew there was something wrong with what that guard told us. He said she went in a white car but Major Caraway's is black."
"What does this mean?" asked Selphie.
"Someone pretending to be one of Caraway's men took her," explained Squall.
"She's been kidnapped!" screamed Selphie.
"Vhere iz she?" asked a familiar voice.
"In here, just as you ordered." Rinoa recognised this voice as the guard who had taken her from her cell.
"Iz everything ready?"
"Yes." As the two men entered the room, Rinoa realised that the other voice came from Dr Odine.
"Ah, Rinoa. Do not worry. Zhis won't hurt too much." Odine wheeled over a strange looking machine from the side of the room and placed it by Rinoa.
"What are you doing here?" asked Rinoa, clearly shocked.
"Good qvestion. Prezident Laguna did not like some of my work. I found General Seifer to be a much better employer."
"What are you going to do to me?"
"I'm just going to drain your powers."
"What? Why?"
"General Seifer wishes to make a veopon powerful enough to destroy Balamb Garden easily. I intend to use your powers to create it."
"No. He can't destroy Balamb. He can't."
"Do not worry. You vill not be around to see it." Odine filled a syringe with a strange, orange coloured liquid and was about to inject Rinoa when she began to cry out.
"Leave me alone. Don't come near me." The instant Odine touched Rinoa's arm, she let out a blood-curdling scream. Odine stepped back in shock. Rinoa's eyes had completely blackened and with frightening ease, she broke the restraints and stood upright.
"Stop her," screamed Odine. The guard fired a shot at Rinoa. She held up her hand and the bullet stopped in mid-air, before dropping, harmless to the floor. The guard then ran up to her, about to hit her for the second time, but she picked the guard up off the ground by his neck and flung him across the room. The guard's head hit the wall and he slumped to the floor, unconscious. "No, no. Zhis cannot be." Odine was staring at Rinoa, not quite knowing if she was human. The eyes, he knew were not human and the unnatural movements she made gave him the impression that she was possessed. Rinoa walked slowly and purposefully towards Dr Odine. He couldn't move, he was frozen, helpless. As Rinoa held her hand out towards Odine, he wanted to scream. It was glowing, an eerie blood red. In the next instant, Dr Odine had erupted into flames, his screams echoing around the room. Seconds later, his terrified screams ended as he fell to the floor, dead.
As soon as this was done, Rinoa, obviously exhausted, collapsed.
Selphie, Quistis, Zell and Irvine returned that evening to find Squall sat alone in his hotel room, holding his head in his hands.
"What's wrong?" asked Quistis, obviously concerned.
"It's Rinoa. She's missing."
"What?" the group replied in unison.
"She came to help us. She was seen getting on the train to Deling and she hasn't been seen since."
"Oh, Hyne," we have to find her said Quistis.
"Yeah, agreed Selphie. "She must be somewhere in Deling. Why don't we look for her."
"Good idea, Selphie," said Quistis, taking charge of the situation. "Squall and I will check the area of the city south of the presidential residence. You three check the area to the north." The group nodded in agreement. "And whatever you do, do not tell Major Caraway his daughter is missing."
"Come on Squall, we'll check the station first as she will have been there. Someone might know something." Squall was motionless. "Squall?"
"Leave me alone."
"Stop it Squall. We have to find Rinoa. She needs you. You can't just stay in your hotel room." Selphie, Irvine and Zell had already left and Quistis was anxious to start searching for Rinoa.
"She doesn't need me. It's my fault she's in trouble in the first place. I told her not to come. So just leave me alone."
"Squall Leonhart, you WILL come and search for Rinoa with me, and you will leave that attitude behind. Do you understand? It's not your fault she's in trouble. She probably would have tried to help no matter what you said and if you don't help find her, she will be in even deeper trouble." Squall reluctantly got up and left the hotel.
"This is no use. Nobody's seen her. We should just give up."
"No, Zell, we can't give up on Rinoa. We have to find her." Selphie was doing her best to prevent Zell from becoming despondent, but it wasn't working.
"It is hopeless, we've checked everywhere. The mall, all her favourite shops, there's nowhere else to look."
"I guess you're right. We should head back to the hotel. I hope Squall and Quistis are having better luck."
The platform at Galbadia station was bustling with people. Squall was deep in thought, thinking about how he had failed Rinoa, about how she would never forgive him. Quistis knew what he was thinking, but was unable to help. Instead, she was focused on trying to locate a guard in the hope that he might have seen Rinoa.
"Excuse me. Were you working here yesterday?" Quistis asked the first guard she found.
"Yes, why?"
"I was wondering if you might have seen a young girl getting off the train from Balamb."
"What did she look like?"
"She's eighteen years old and has shoulder length black hair and brown eyes. She would have been wearing a long, light blue coat. Oh, and she had a dog with her."
"Hmm, sounds familiar, yes. Do you mean the girl whose father's in the military?"
"Yes, how did you know?"
"Some men met her from the station in military uniforms and said her father had sent a car to pick her up in."
"Do you remember what they looked like?"
"No sorry. I remember the car though. It was a beauty. Magnificent silver colour it was, must have been very expensive."
"Thank you for your help," Quistis told the guard.
"No problem."
"Come on, Squall, we should head back to the hotel to tell the others what we found."
Rinoa couldn't sleep. She was too worried about Squall.
"What will Seifer do to him? I've brought so much trouble to Squall again." Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone entering her room.
"Get up," growled the guard aggressively.
"No," Rinoa replied. "I won't."
"Oh, you won't?" The guard walked over towards Rinoa and punched her in the face. Rinoa fell backwards onto the floor but didn't scream or cry out, despite the pain. The guard grabbed her hair and dragged her to her feet, before leading her to a room down the corridor.
The room frightened Rinoa. It was so cold she could see her own breath in front of her face. Surrounding her were shelves full of medical equipment. There were scissors, scalpels and needles lining the walls. And in the middle of the room, was what frightened Rinoa the most. There was a metal chair that resembled the ones dentists used. Except on this one, there were restraints. It was to that chair that Rinoa was led. She struggled, but try as she might, the guard was too strong for her. She was strapped into the chair, completely powerless.
"Squall, Quistis. You didn't find her." Selphie's voice fell as she saw them unaccompanied. "Did you find anything?" she asked hopefully.
"She's with her father," replied Quistis. "He had some men collect her from the station."
"She went willingly?"
"I think so, yes. The guard didn't mention anything about a struggle. It was a crowded street, someone would have known if she was taken by force."
"You mean, she decided to go and live with her father?"
"I don't know. I just think it's strange that she wouldn't call, or that she didn't tell Cid when she left Garden."
"Do you think she doesn't want to be around us anymore?" asked Selphie, obviously upset. Squall shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"Selphie, don't think that. Rinoa's our friend," Quistis replied, trying to cheer her up. "There must be another explanation."
"There is." These were the first words that Squall had said all evening. "She didn't go to Caraway's. I knew there was something wrong with what that guard told us. He said she went in a white car but Major Caraway's is black."
"What does this mean?" asked Selphie.
"Someone pretending to be one of Caraway's men took her," explained Squall.
"She's been kidnapped!" screamed Selphie.
"Vhere iz she?" asked a familiar voice.
"In here, just as you ordered." Rinoa recognised this voice as the guard who had taken her from her cell.
"Iz everything ready?"
"Yes." As the two men entered the room, Rinoa realised that the other voice came from Dr Odine.
"Ah, Rinoa. Do not worry. Zhis won't hurt too much." Odine wheeled over a strange looking machine from the side of the room and placed it by Rinoa.
"What are you doing here?" asked Rinoa, clearly shocked.
"Good qvestion. Prezident Laguna did not like some of my work. I found General Seifer to be a much better employer."
"What are you going to do to me?"
"I'm just going to drain your powers."
"What? Why?"
"General Seifer wishes to make a veopon powerful enough to destroy Balamb Garden easily. I intend to use your powers to create it."
"No. He can't destroy Balamb. He can't."
"Do not worry. You vill not be around to see it." Odine filled a syringe with a strange, orange coloured liquid and was about to inject Rinoa when she began to cry out.
"Leave me alone. Don't come near me." The instant Odine touched Rinoa's arm, she let out a blood-curdling scream. Odine stepped back in shock. Rinoa's eyes had completely blackened and with frightening ease, she broke the restraints and stood upright.
"Stop her," screamed Odine. The guard fired a shot at Rinoa. She held up her hand and the bullet stopped in mid-air, before dropping, harmless to the floor. The guard then ran up to her, about to hit her for the second time, but she picked the guard up off the ground by his neck and flung him across the room. The guard's head hit the wall and he slumped to the floor, unconscious. "No, no. Zhis cannot be." Odine was staring at Rinoa, not quite knowing if she was human. The eyes, he knew were not human and the unnatural movements she made gave him the impression that she was possessed. Rinoa walked slowly and purposefully towards Dr Odine. He couldn't move, he was frozen, helpless. As Rinoa held her hand out towards Odine, he wanted to scream. It was glowing, an eerie blood red. In the next instant, Dr Odine had erupted into flames, his screams echoing around the room. Seconds later, his terrified screams ended as he fell to the floor, dead.
As soon as this was done, Rinoa, obviously exhausted, collapsed.