(When the Dust Settles: Balance of Power - cont.........)
Squall sat in the darkness of his room. In his hand was a picture frame containing a photograph of Rinoa, taken in their secret "meeting" place behind the lighthouse. A tear trickled down his cheek, followed by another. It wasn't enough that Meg was infirmary-bound, but Rinoa had to be missing as well. Squall didn't know what to do. He had blamed Zell and Seifer, mostly Seifer, for her kidnapping. Seifer didn't just stand there and take Squall's scolding. Seifer blamed Squall for Meg's injuries in return. It ended rather badly with two door slams. Squall had lost Rinoa, Meg, and Seifer all in one day. He was terrified.
"Rinoa..." Squall whispered in the dark, all alone.
"Basically it's...a death invitation. But don't.worry about that now. Just...rest." Seifer placed the invitation back into the envelope and handed it to Meg.
"How is everyone?" Meg asked. Seifer looked at her and smiled. His eyes seemed to start to water, but he blinked quickly. Meg didn't know about Rinoa or Squall.
"What's wrong?" Meg sat up slowly.
"R...Rinoa was....Rinoa's gone. She was kidnapped." Seifer began. "Squall is...well...angry at me and probably thinks I'm angry at him."
"Why would he think you're angry at him?"
"He was blaming me for Rinoa's disappearance so I blamed him for...your injuries."
"Oh Seifer..." Meg moved her hand onto his. Seifer cried.
The next day, Meg was well enough to be released from the infirmary. She had a slight problem breathing regularly as her throat was badly bruised. Her head suffered a slight concussion, but only normal headaches occurred sporadically.
The four SeeDs sat at each of their desks, not saying a word. Meg held the invitation in her hand and read it in her mind one more time:
"You are cordially invited to a match to the death 3 days upon receiving this letter. Failure to attend will result in world chaos as you can see. You are one of the chosen ones destined to face the four elementals. You will be going one-on-one with Aurora, the mistress of water. Sign here..."
Meg glanced out the window at the black sky. The phones have been ringing off the hook since early this morning. The world seems to have been affected by this unbalance of power. The four strangers weren't lying. They have the power to control earth, wind, water, and fire. But nobody in the room spoke. They had too little information on their opponents.
Finally, Meg made some commotion. She slowly got up and stumbled a bit as she made her way past some shattered glass and debris and over to Squall. Seifer and Zell stood up and observed her. Meg grabbed a pen off Squall's desk and signed her name on her invitation card.
"Meg wait!" Seifer yelled. Squall stared into Meg's sure eyes. Meg held her card up at Squall as her signature burned bright red. The card burned and crumbled into a pile of dust.
"Ex.explain.yourself." Squall stuttered.
"I'm going. We can't just sit her and watch as the world suffers. Take a look outside. We have a chance to stop all that...to put things back the way they should be. I'm taking it."
"Meg, you...can't just risk your life like this without knowing what you're doing!" Squall scolded.
"Why not? Why can't I? We do it every day. We never know if one field trip, one mission will be our last. What's changed? This is just another mission. I have nothing to lose." Meg replied.
"Yes you do. We all do. Our lives are at stake. If one of us...doesn't make it...we are all affected. You can't just jump into something when your decision affects everyone in this room!"
Attention was moved to Seifer who's invitation card burst into a flame.
"Meg has a point. It's not about our life....it never is. We gotta remember why we became SeeDs. We're in this for them." Seifer explained. Zell signed his card.
"Squall, come on. Rinoa's probably just an assurance. She'll be there...I know she will. They're just holding her so that we accept their invite." Meg said.
"Squall. We're all gonna come back together.Rinoa too." Seifer assured his best friend.
Squall's invitation burst into a flame.
Squall sat in the darkness of his room. In his hand was a picture frame containing a photograph of Rinoa, taken in their secret "meeting" place behind the lighthouse. A tear trickled down his cheek, followed by another. It wasn't enough that Meg was infirmary-bound, but Rinoa had to be missing as well. Squall didn't know what to do. He had blamed Zell and Seifer, mostly Seifer, for her kidnapping. Seifer didn't just stand there and take Squall's scolding. Seifer blamed Squall for Meg's injuries in return. It ended rather badly with two door slams. Squall had lost Rinoa, Meg, and Seifer all in one day. He was terrified.
"Rinoa..." Squall whispered in the dark, all alone.
"Basically it's...a death invitation. But don't.worry about that now. Just...rest." Seifer placed the invitation back into the envelope and handed it to Meg.
"How is everyone?" Meg asked. Seifer looked at her and smiled. His eyes seemed to start to water, but he blinked quickly. Meg didn't know about Rinoa or Squall.
"What's wrong?" Meg sat up slowly.
"R...Rinoa was....Rinoa's gone. She was kidnapped." Seifer began. "Squall is...well...angry at me and probably thinks I'm angry at him."
"Why would he think you're angry at him?"
"He was blaming me for Rinoa's disappearance so I blamed him for...your injuries."
"Oh Seifer..." Meg moved her hand onto his. Seifer cried.
The next day, Meg was well enough to be released from the infirmary. She had a slight problem breathing regularly as her throat was badly bruised. Her head suffered a slight concussion, but only normal headaches occurred sporadically.
The four SeeDs sat at each of their desks, not saying a word. Meg held the invitation in her hand and read it in her mind one more time:
"You are cordially invited to a match to the death 3 days upon receiving this letter. Failure to attend will result in world chaos as you can see. You are one of the chosen ones destined to face the four elementals. You will be going one-on-one with Aurora, the mistress of water. Sign here..."
Meg glanced out the window at the black sky. The phones have been ringing off the hook since early this morning. The world seems to have been affected by this unbalance of power. The four strangers weren't lying. They have the power to control earth, wind, water, and fire. But nobody in the room spoke. They had too little information on their opponents.
Finally, Meg made some commotion. She slowly got up and stumbled a bit as she made her way past some shattered glass and debris and over to Squall. Seifer and Zell stood up and observed her. Meg grabbed a pen off Squall's desk and signed her name on her invitation card.
"Meg wait!" Seifer yelled. Squall stared into Meg's sure eyes. Meg held her card up at Squall as her signature burned bright red. The card burned and crumbled into a pile of dust.
"Ex.explain.yourself." Squall stuttered.
"I'm going. We can't just sit her and watch as the world suffers. Take a look outside. We have a chance to stop all that...to put things back the way they should be. I'm taking it."
"Meg, you...can't just risk your life like this without knowing what you're doing!" Squall scolded.
"Why not? Why can't I? We do it every day. We never know if one field trip, one mission will be our last. What's changed? This is just another mission. I have nothing to lose." Meg replied.
"Yes you do. We all do. Our lives are at stake. If one of us...doesn't make it...we are all affected. You can't just jump into something when your decision affects everyone in this room!"
Attention was moved to Seifer who's invitation card burst into a flame.
"Meg has a point. It's not about our life....it never is. We gotta remember why we became SeeDs. We're in this for them." Seifer explained. Zell signed his card.
"Squall, come on. Rinoa's probably just an assurance. She'll be there...I know she will. They're just holding her so that we accept their invite." Meg said.
"Squall. We're all gonna come back together.Rinoa too." Seifer assured his best friend.
Squall's invitation burst into a flame.