She tried Balamb first. That was the place she had last seen him, before they waved goodbye. Maybe he was still there, or maybe she could find some evidence of where he might have travelled. She had nothing to lose, and maybe there was something she could gain.
The train pulled in, and she got off. The little town had expanded slightly; some more houses had been built there. But none of them looked like his house.
She decided to try Ma Dincht first, she might as well start somewhere familiar. [Author's note: Ina is kawaii, ne? please agree!] But when she came to the house she noticed something severely wrong.
Ma Dincht had disappeared, all her stuff was sprawled out all over the floor. 3 people were standing inside the house, Rinoa didn't know what to do or say to them.
When she got nearer to them, she realized that they were all clothed in some sort of uniform, and were all holding some sort of weapons.
They left silently, leaving Rinoa alone in this house. She didn't know how she felt. Lonely, lost, afraid, but a strange sort of calmness, too, like-
Then she heard noises from upstairs. She ran up there, quickly just in case there was serious trouble.
Another man was bent over Ma Dincht, holding a knife to her throat, and muttered, "Give me the money. Now."
"i…i…don't know where it is…"
"Leave her alone!" Rinoa said fiercely, hoping someone would hear her.
"Tell her to give me the money!" The man said back to her, "She's trying to shut us down! She stole our money!"
"Who are you?" she enquired.
"We are an elite military force. Only the toughest, strongest people can join our forces. We are SeeD's."
"No…" Rinoa muttered.
They couldn't be SeeD's, it was impossible. They were not…human enough. And Squall would have never joined their ranks, nor Selphie, nor Quistis, nor Zell…Zell. Why would his own mother try to shut down what he stood for?
"I…don't believe you!"
*