Chapter Ten
In Another World…
Squall hit the switch, and the hatch started to close. The Dollet military had arrived in the nick of time, and helped the SeeDs drive out the mysterious enemy that had attacked them.
"You wanna explain what just happened?" Zell asked. Squall shook his head.
"I have no clue. How are…" Selphie appeared.
"They're both doing fine. Rinoa's just about recovered from whatever hit her, and Raine's back to normal." She frowned. "But I thought Raine had that bangle on. How come it was off?"
"I had her take it off when I met them at the communication tower. It was hard enough getting up there, and having the bangle off would make it much easier for her and the others to get to the beach faster." Squall replied.
"That would explain the reason why she nearly collapsed on the way here." Selphie said. Rinoa appeared in the doorway.
"Ooohh…"
"Baby? What are you doing up? You should be lying down!" Squall scolded as he crossed over to Rinoa, who smiled shakily.
"I'm fine, darling. Really. How's Raine?"
"She's fine. You should get some rest."
"Stop babying me! Jeez! You're worse now than when I was pregnant with Raine!" Rinoa said, exasperated. Squall frowned. Rinoa's face was pale, and her eyes were still a bit on the glassy side.
"I am so tempted to take you to Odine right now, even if I have to petrify you!" he said. "I thought you were getting better!"
"I am!"
"Not if you're collapsing every five seconds!"
"Like…"
"Ok! Everybody calm down! Everything's alright, we're all alive…"
"Zell, shut up!" Rinoa and Squall yelled at the same time.
"Ok, shutting up." Zell said, hands raised. Rinoa blew out a breath.
"Time to negotiate." She thought. "Squall. In case you haven't noticed, this is the first real attack I've had in quite a while." Squall started to open his mouth to speak, but Rinoa held up a hand.
"Let me finish. I can see you're still worried about me, so how's this. After we get everything settled with what happened today, you can take me to Esthar. I won't complain, and I won't argue."
"You won't."
"No."
"No death threats at me, or Odine, no shocking people, no disappearing acts?"
"None whatsoever." "We're not going to make it up there right now anyway, so I just bought myself a little more time to figure out what's wrong with me!" Rinoa added mentally to herself.
"Good." Squall said.
In the present…
Rinoa slowly got up, shocked by what she saw in front of her. It was as if she was looking in a mirror, but this time her reflection had come to life.
"Little sister?" Squall said, interrupting her thoughts. "Rinoa doesn't have a sister!" The edges of Julia's mouth curled slowly upwards into a horrible smile.
"It's nice to see you again, Squall." At this, Squall's eyes narrowed, and he pulled out Lionheart.
"Squall…" Rinoa said.
"Get back and stay behind me." Squall said. Julia threw back her head and let lose a high, shrieking laugh.
"Hahahaha! Oh, how quaint, I had forgotten! Hahaha! Protect the sorceress at all times, even if it costs you your life! The code of the Sorceress Knight! Hahaha!"
"Squall…I'm getting some really bad feelings from her." Rinoa said.
Julia stopped laughing and faced them.
"I'd like to continue this family reunion, but unfortunately, I have plans. And they don't involve you!"
"Oh yeah? Well, now they do!" Zell roared, launching himself forward at Julia. She barely blinked, and a shield appeared around her, knocking Zell backwards.
"Zell!" Quistis yelled. As she started to cross her arms, Julia turned to her.
"Don't interfere!" Quistis and Xu were lifted up and thrown back into the Garden, leaving only Rinoa, Squall, and the unconscious Zell.
"Oh oh. This is going to be good." Squall said. Julia turned back to face him.
"Now it's your turn."
"Squall. The bomb." Rinoa said suddenly. Squall put his hand to his back pocket.
"I've still got the remote."
"If you're gonna detonate it, you better do it soon! We're moving, if you haven't noticed!"
"Energy Bomber!" Julia screamed, throwing a ball of light at them.
"Get down!" Squall pushed Rinoa down and, dodging the ball, lunged at Julia. He raised Lionheart over his head and brought it down towards her. Smirking, Julia raised her arm and blocked the blade harmlessly.
"My turn. Hah!" Her hair flew up, and several beams of light struck Squall away from her."
"Ugh!"
"Squall!" Rinoa screamed. Incised, she raised her hand and a beam of light appeared. "Leave him alone!" She threw the beam at Julia, knocking her backwards. "You want a fight, you pick on me! Not Squall, not any of my friends. You fight me! You got that, witch?!"
"Look at who's calling who a witch! You, of all people!" Julia said, recovering.
"I consider myself extremely lucky. I've been blessed!" Rinoa said.
"Blessed? With that curse upon you? Destined to be scorned, rejected, unloved?"
"You wouldn't know what I've been through. And you would never understand!" Rinoa screamed, releasing a Firaga spell. Julia managed to avoid the blast, moving to the side. Several feet away, Squall blinked as he slowly got up.
"Uhh…ow. Rinoa!" He pulled himself up quickly. In front of him, Rinoa was defending herself against Julia's attacks. Black and white feathers flew as the two sorceresses fought each other. "I gotta help her!" As he stood up, Julia whirled around.
"Oh no you don't!"
"Squall!" Rinoa screamed, jumping in front of him. Julia let lose a powerful magic blast that would have killed them had it not been for Rinoa's shield. As the light faded away, Rinoa slumped to the ground.
"Uhh…"
"Rinoa!"
"Squall, she's too strong…I don't know if I can hold her off for much longer…" Rinoa gasped.
"That's it." Squall took the detonator out of his pocket. "Hey!" Getting up, he faced Julia, who frowned.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"You look like a smart woman. Figure it out." Keeping his eyes on Julia, he opened his right hand, revealing the detonator. Julia's eyes widened.
"You wouldn't."
"I would." Squall pressed the button. There was silence, and then a massive flash of light shot up from the Centra ruins as an explosion rent the silence. Squall threw himself over Rinoa, shielding her with his body.
"Whoa!" Nida said. Grabbing a pair of binoculars, he aimed them out at the horizon. A shockwave from the explosion was headed straight for the Garden.
"Oh my…" He grabbed the radio. "Everyone, this is Nida! Get down now!"
The ground bucked and rolled beneath Squall and Rinoa as the shockwave hit the Garden. Pieces of wall, roofing, and other debris fell around them as a result of all the magical power released. Squall tightened his grip as Rinoa curled into a ball beneath him. The shaking continued for several more minutes, and then stopped.
"Agghh…" The sound of a groan had the two of them pulling apart. Julia lay on the ground, an eerie blue-black light surrounding her.
"What's going on?" Squall asked.
"She's losing her powers! Squall, the bomb worked!" Another moan from Julia had them both looking at her.
"Can you inherit them?"
"I don't know. Maybe." Rinoa got up, still unsteady. "Give me a hand here." Squall started at that.
"What?"
"We can't just let her suffer. If we get her to the Infirmary, I can slow the process down." Squall narrowed his eyes.
"She can't do anything?" None of them noticed Julia suddenly opening her eyes, and then closing them again.
"No." Squall hesitated. Then he picked up Lionheart, and hooked it onto his belt.
"Hang on." Together, they both walked over to Julia. As they started to turn her over, Julia's eyes popped open.
"Surprise!"
"Ahh!" Julia grabbed Rinoa by the neck.
"You're going to pay dearly, little sister."
"Get your hands off her!" Squall snarled, karate-chopping Julia on the back of the neck. She released her grip, and Rinoa fell down, gasping for air. Whirling, Julia focused her fury on Squall. Her powers were slipping away, and she needed a fresh source. Now.
"I'll kill you first, brother-in-law!" Squall gasped as he was caught up in a powerful grip. He beat at Julia with his fists, but in vain. Lionheart clattered to the ground, forgotten.
"Don't worry. She'll be with you soon enough." Squall's eyes slowly started to glaze over as his air was cut off. Behind Julia, Rinoa grabbed the Lionheart.
"Yaahhhh!!!" Swinging with all her might, she aimed the blade at Julia's unprotected back. Julia screamed with pain as the sword cut deep into her side. Releasing her grip on Squall, she turned on Rinoa, who stepped backwards, dropping the Gunblade.
"You little…agh!" She fell as Squall kicked her in the side. Her right hand metamorphosed into a claw as she whirled to face him. Raising it, she brought it down towards his heart.
"NO!" Rinoa leapt at Julia. Her cry of fury seemed to echo in Squall's ears, and he watched in horror as Julia suddenly turned around and hit Rinoa instead. She staggered, and as Squall struggled to get up, she gripped Rinoa by the throat and squeezed.
"Ugh…" Rinoa's eyes slowly started to glaze over. The blue-black light that had surrounded Julia disappeared, only to be replaced by a light blue one instead. The light started to fade as Julia drained her of her sorceress powers. A maniacal laugh came from the other woman as Rinoa slowly slumped, all the muscles in her body going limp. Vaguely, she could hear Squall scream her name as her body hit the ground. Darkness closed in around her, and she felt herself slipping away.
Her last thought was "Squall."
Then nothing.
In Another World…
Rinoa's eyes narrowed. A sharp pain had suddenly hit her in the chest, and then had disappeared as quickly as it had arrived.
"Ow…" she thought.
"Everything ok?" Xu asked.
"Yeah." Rinoa said, absentmindly rubbing her chest.
"You sure?"
"Uh huh."
In the present…
Quistis blinked. Wincing, she sat up. She was in the Infirmary, Xu lying in a bed next to hers, still unconscious.
"Ooohh…"
"Stay still." Dr Kadowaki said, coming in. "You're alright, just a nasty bump to the head."
"Xu?"
"Concussion. It's a mild one, however. What the heck happened?"
"That woman…"
"Doctor!!" Doctor Kadowaki bolted out of the cubicle, Quistis hot on her heels. Then they stopped in their tracks, gasping in shock at the sight in front of them.
"Oh my…Squall!" Squall stood in the doorway, bruised, battered, and bloody, holding a limp Rinoa in his arms. Wordlessly, he brushed past a medic, and placed her on a bed.
"What happened?!"
"Andrew, take care of Squall!" Dr Kadowaki snapped.
"No. I'm fine!" Squall struggled as the medic grabbed him by the arm.
"Quistis, go with him. Keep him calm while I work on Rinoa!" Dr Kadowaki said, grabbing a stethoscope. All Squall could do was allow himself to be pulled away by the medic and Quistis into an examining room.
"Squall, what happened?" Quistis said. Dully, Squall took off his jacket, not even responding when the medic started to clean his wounds.
"He's in shock!" Quistis thought. "What the…what happened?!" Before she could speak, a girl burst in.
"Andrew! We need the oxygen tank now!"
"What's happening?" Andrew grabbed the tank and ran out of the room with the girl. Squall raised his head and looked out the window. His eyes widened, and then he jumped off the table.
"What?" Quistis asked. Following his gaze, she saw a swarm of medics surrounding the bed where Rinoa lay. One held up her head and quickly put on the oxygen mask, while Dr. Kadowaki slipped a needle into Rinoa's left arm. "Oh no…Squall, no!" Moving quickly, she blocked Squall from bolting out of the room.
"Rinoa! Quistis, let go!"
"No, you can't do anything!"
"I should be lying there, not her! Let go of me! Rinoa!" Squall screamed.
"Squall, no!" It took all of Quistis's strength to drag Squall away from the door. "Squall, stop! Please!" Squall struggled for a few more minutes, and then he went limp. Quistis led him back to the table.
"Stay here. I'll go see how she's doing." She went outside. Seeing her, Dr. Kadowaki pulled away and walked over.
"Doctor?" Kadowaki shook her head.
"She's in very bad shape. I can't tell right now, but it looks like she was stripped completely of her sorceress powers." Quistis gasped in horror. "How's Squall doing?"
"Bad. I think he's in shock." Quistis said, her voice barely above a whisper. Dr. Kadowaki sighed.
"I don't know how he's going to take it when I tell him what else is wrong."
"There's more?" Quistis asked.
"Rinoa's pulse is weak, and so is her heart rate. When we tried to stabilize her, she went into magi-shock. She's on the O2 tank now, and we've got a drip bag of Diploriven going into her, but that's only a temporally solution."
"Irvine and Selphie should be coming back with the Ragarnok soon. If we got her to Esthar, would it help any?"
"Yes, it would."
"Doctor? They need you out at the Front Gate."
"Alright, I'm leaving now." Dr. Kadowaki said. She hurried out.
He was in a world of hurt. Every breath he took seemed to stab daggers into his chest.
"Zell?"
"Uugghh…"
"He's still out of it."
"I can't blame him."
"Wait. His eyelids are twitching."
"He's coming around!" Zell opened his eyes to see two medics looking down at him.
"Is he awake?"
"Yes, Instructor, but I don't think…"
"Quistis? What happened?" Zell croaked. "The last thing I remember is us facing off against that woman and…" The look on his best friend's face had him stopping cold.
"Zell…its Rinoa. She's…she's in pretty bad shape."
"Squall…?"
"They're treating him now. He doesn't know how bad it is yet." Zell sat up gingerly.
"Is she gonna…" Quistis shook her head.
"Honestly…I don't know. Squall isn't doing so well now."
Squall was on his last nerve. He was nearly sick with fear over Rinoa, and every time he tried to get out of the room, somebody would come and block him.
"Rinoa…what happened to Rinoa?" Questions flew in his mind, back and forth like tennis balls. Finally, unable to bear the suspense any longer, he bolted outside, nearly barreling over a medic in the process.
"Quistis! Dr. Kadowaki! Where are you?" He poked his head in every room, every cubicle, until finally he walked into Zell's room. Quistis, Zell, and Dr. Kadowaki's heads shot up.
"Squall!"
"Where's Rinoa? Why won't you tell me what's wrong with her?" Squall demanded. The looks on Dr. Kadowaki and Quistis's faces stopped him. Dread swept through him.
"No. NO!"
"Squall…" Quistis said, her heart breaking for her "little brother."
"Rinoa's…Rinoa's in a bad state of magi-shock. Her powers have been totally stripped from her, and she's barely hanging on enough as it is." Dr. Kadowaki said gently. Squall shook his head in disbelief.
"No. You're lying. She's fine."
"No Squall, she's not."
"YOU'RE LYING! RINOA'S FINE!" Squall screamed. Quistis tried to reach out and grab him, but he knocked her hand away. He shook his head violently.
"No…no!"
"When the Ragarnok arrives, we're going to have her flown out to Esthar. Squall, I'm praying that I'm wrong, that Odine will find something different and Rinoa'll be fine." Dr. Kadowaki said, trying to give Squall some hope. Deep down, she didn't believe it, but the pain and anguish on Squall's face ripped into her and she couldn't bear it. Squall shut his eyes tightly.
"No no…this is a nightmare. A bad dream. She's fine. She's alive! I got to believe that!" Unbidden, the memory of Julia turning and attacking Rinoa rose to the front of his mind.
"I didn't protect her! I promised I'd protect her and all I did was just watch!" Tears started to run down his face, and he ran out of the room.
In Another World, several hours later…
Rinoa sighed as she pulled her hair back in a ponytail. Fragments of the de-briefing meeting her, Squall, and the other SeeDs had when they got back to Balamb Garden ran through her mind.
"They were after Rinoa?" Quistis asked. Squall nodded.
"We were fortunate that the Dollet military arrived when it did. If they hadn't, we would have been in more trouble than we were already in."
"This is not good. I just had a long talk with the head of Galbadia Garden. Apparently, there's a small faction of soldiers being lead by a former general of the G-Army."
"Oh brother." Zell said.
"Gets worse. Their main goal right now is to try and recruit as much people as possible for their cause. And we've never been able to completely break apart that militant group that caused problems 17 years ago."
"They're still around?" Rinoa said in disbelief. 17 years ago, some of the remaining generals and soldiers from the G-Army had gotten together and formed a small, yet powerful force. Their plan was to destroy the Gardens and SeeDs and gain control of Gaia. Rinoa was in the final month of her pregnancy at that time, and gave birth to Raine shortly after the group first made its presence known. What should have been an joyous occasion for her and her husband soon turned to fear as all four of the Gardens were attacked right after Raine's birth. The militants demanded that the SeeDs give over both Rinoa and the newborn Raine to them. Afraid for his wife and daughter's safety, Squall sent them to Esthar Garden until the mess could be straightened out. The newly built Garden was no haven; as two days into their stay Rinoa and Raine were kidnapped. The Estharian SeeDs were able to get Rinoa back, but not Raine. Then, something odd happened. Four hours after they had gotten Rinoa back, the SeeDs received a message that the kidnappers were heading for FH via the old train station. When they arrived there, a small mystery awaited them. They found Raine neatly wrapped up in blankets, sleeping peacefully in an abandoned car. Around her, the unconscious figures of her kidnappers lay sprawled at various locations. A note pinned to Raine's blankets simply asked that she be returned to her mother, Rinoa Leonhart. The handwriting was never identified, and when interrogated, the kidnappers could not remember a thing that had happened when they had arrived at the train station. There was also one final puzzle. On the door on the car Raine was found in, there were several deep gashes that were an exact match for slashes created by a Gunblade. Squall and Rinoa really weren't checking very much at that time, as both were grateful that nothing bad had happened to their daughter. But their curiosity was soon aroused when the person who saved Raine could not be found. The mystery was never solved, and every day, Squall and Rinoa were grateful that they still had their daughter.
"They can't do anything, can they?" Irvine asked, jolting Rinoa out of her reverie.
"No, I don't think so. We've got to get rid of this problem before it becomes any worse." Quistis said.
"What about the exam?" Xu asked. Quistis grinned crookedly.
"I have the scores right here…"
"No!" Rinoa said, clapping her hands over her ears. "I don't want to hear!"
"I do!" Squall said. "Ommphh!"
"Shut up!"
"Raine did very well, particularly in the magical section." Quistis said, flipping through papers.
"Someone complained, didn't they?" Rinoa asked. Quistis nodded.
"I'm sorry, but as Headmaster…"
"It's alright." Rinoa said.
"As things stand now, we need to get in contact with the other Gardens and let them know what's going on." Squall said.
"Selphie and I will take care of that." Irvine said. He raised his eyebrow. "Don't you have a little business to take care with your wifey?" This resulted in him getting an extremely hard blow to the head from Rinoa.
"Owwww!"
"Thanks for reminding me, Irvine." Squall said, grinning. He turned to Rinoa. "You're not backing out on me now, are you?"
"No…" Rinoa muttered. Quistis cocked her head.
"What's this about?"
"Nothing." Rinoa said.
"Rinoa had a little…spell during the exam, so she's going to see Odine." Squall said. "With NO nonsense."
"I thought you were alright." Quistis said.
"I am!" Then, after Squall sent her a glare, she added, "But it doesn't hurt to check."
"Check? Yeah right. Odine'll have me hooked up to so many machines, wires and tubes it won't be funny!" Rinoa thought, looking at herself in the mirror. "But, I can't complain. Best for me to do this now and get it over with!" With that thought in mind, she headed outside and to the elevator.
Raine sighed.
"You ok?" Celes asked.
"No…I've had this funny feeling all day. Like something's about to go horribly wrong."
"It's probably leftover exam nerves." I.J. said.
"Maybe…" Raine said. Unnoticed, on her right wrist, the gold bracelet that she wore all the time, started to emit a soft glow.
Rinoa got on the elevator and hit the button for the third floor. Sighing, she rolled her neck to try and relieve some of the tension. Then…
"Uhh!" A crippling pain hit her. She fell to her knees, chills running throughout her entire body.
"What…what…what is this? What's wrong with me?" Images flashed through her mind. Pictures of Julia, the younger Squall and Rinoa all flew by at the speed of light. And then…
"Haha…"
"What?"
"Hello, sister."
"You!"
"What, no hug?"
"How could you? You killed Father! All those innocent people! Why?"
"It's all about power, little sis. All about power."
The chills came faster and faster, in waves. Rinoa shook violently, her arms wrapped around herself as if to ward off the cold. In her mind, darkness surrounded her. Then, the ground beneath her feat disappeared, and she fell straight down, deep into the heart of the darkness.
Quistis picked up a folder and walked out of her office.
"I need to talk to Squall before he leaves for Esthar." She thought. Being Headmaster of a Garden involved so many pesky details, but she loved every minute of it. As she headed towards Squall's office, she glanced towards the elevator as it opened. The folder dropped to the floor, forgotten.
"Rinoa!"
In the present…
Squall had wandered around aimlessly for several hours, not seeing, not hearing anything. Eventually, he ended up in front of Rinoa's bedroom, staring at her door. As he walked in, memories assaulted him.
Rinoa sitting at her desk, books piled on top of one another, her eyes narrowed in concentration as she read. The case where she kept her Shooting Star and her other Pinwheels. A sketchpad, left carelessly open, pencil on top.
Squall threw himself down onto Rinoa's bed; despair engulfing him. Closing his eyes, he pulled one of her pillows towards him and inhaled deeply.
"No…she's alright. This is just a nightmare. I'm gonna wake up and she'll be in front of me…" He clutched the pillow even tighter. "This is just a bad dream…" His eyes closed, as weariness took the place of shock and his brain shut down.
Squall blinked. One minute he had been lying down in Rinoa's room, the next minute he had found himself standing in the Cafeteria in Balamb Garden.
"What the…"
"Hey!" A voice, high, youthful, and female, had him turning around.
"Get 'm!" A dark-haired boy burst out of a doorway. Squall watched as he rounded the corner and vanished.
"Where'd he go?"
"That way!" Two girls appeared, one holding a pair of giant nunchaku, the other holding a whip.
"I'll kill him." The first one said.
"Whoa…" Squall thought.
"I get first crack!" The tone, and the voice had Squall whirling around. A brown-haired girl appeared out of nowhere, dressed in black pants, a black jacket, and a white shirt. Her blue eyes held traces of annoyance as she walked towards Squall, who blinked.
"Huh?" His vision began to blur. "What the…" The girl's face started to fade in and out, like a bad T.V. reception. Squall closed his eyes and shook his head, trying to clear his mind. When he opened them again, the girl and her friends had vanished. He was now standing in the garden outside the orphanage, dressed in his SeeD uniform and facing a woman dressed in white.
"What?" The woman turned around and stuck her tongue out at him, then winked. Squall gasped in disbelief.
"Rinoa!" Rinoa turned fully to face him, smiling. Her hair was pulled up in a bun, and she wore a sleeveless white ball gown. Griever shone around her neck as she opened her arms to him. Joy and relief flooded through Squall. He rushed forward and took her into his arms. As he felt her head on his shoulder, he closed his eyes and rested his cheek on her forehead.
"I thought you'd never open your eyes again…" he murmured. Rinoa pulled away from him, her hands on his shoulders. Squall looked down at her.
"What?" Rinoa's eyes darkened. As she opened her mouth to speak, her body suddenly stiffened.
"Rinoa?" Squall said. The sudden feeling of moisture on his fingers had him lifting his hand from off of Rinoa's back. Fear washed over him as he stared at his fingers. Blood slowly dripped off of them.
"Rinoa!" Rinoa's eyes blinked as she slumped into Squall's arms. Squall grabbed her as she slowly sank to the ground. Desperately, Squall looked around for some sort of help, but saw nothing. He looked back down at Rinoa.
"Hold on. Please, just hold on!" he begged her. Rinoa looked at him, as if she were trying to tell him something. Her hand reached up to stroke his hair weakly. Squall glanced around desperately again.
"Please! Somebody help me!" he cried. Cradling Rinoa, he looked around again. His eyes landed on a woman standing several feet in front of them. She hadn't been there before, but at that point, all Squall could think about was Rinoa.
"Please. Help me!" He begged her. The woman simply stared at him. Then she slowly stretched out a hand. All of a sudden, Rinoa's eyes widened, and her body stiffened. She started to gasp, her breath wheezing in and out.
"Rinoa!" Squall cried. Rinoa reached a hand towards his face, her chest heaving as she tried to draw in oxygen. Her eyes were desperate as she reached towards him.
"Rinoa!! No!" Squall screamed. He jolted straight up, drenched in a cold sweat. His heart raced as he tried to calm himself, but the fear still gripped him. He got up and raced out of the room.
Dr Kadowaki blew out a breath. Rubbing the back of her neck, she got up from her seat. As she started to turn off the light, something caught her eye. Moving into Rinoa's cubical, she sighed. Squall was asleep in a chair next to Rinoa. His head lay on the bed, and one of his hands clutched her own.
"God, let Rinoa be alright. Please. Not just for her sake, but for his." She thought. Turning off the light, she left the Infirmary.
In Another World…
Squall ran his hands over his face. The past several hours had been like a nightmare.
"Here man, have this." Zell said, passing him a cup of coffee. Squall didn't say anything, just ran a hand over the rim.
"How's Raine?"
"Asleep." Zell eyed his friend.
"She wouldn't want you to be like this." Squall closed his eyes. Several doors down, his other half and lover lay in a coma, and he didn't know why.
"Well, how am I supposed to feel like?" he said. Zell sighed. On her way to get Squall, Rinoa had collapsed in the elevator. Squall and Quistis rushed her to the Infirmary, but were too late. For reasons unknown, Rinoa had slipped into a coma, and there was nothing that the doctors could do to revive her.
"I'm worried about Raine right now." Squall said.
"You think she might pull something?" Zell asked. Squall shrugged.
"In her current frame of mind, yes. She's almost like Rinoa when it…" His voice cracked, and he took a deep breath to steady himself. "When it comes to matters like this." Zell put a comforting hand on his back.
"Rinoa'll be alright. I know it." All Squall could do was nod in response.
Raine couldn't sleep. Getting up, she took her robe off its hook and put on slippers. Noiselessly, she walked out of her room and headed for the door. Once outside, she glanced around to make sure nobody was following her, and then headed for the Infirmary.
The steady, rhythmic sound of a machine beeping greeted Raine as she slipped into her mother's room. Rinoa lay in the hospital bed, still and unmoving. Next to her, a heart monitor kept track of her heart rate, that was the source of the beeps. Raine sat down in an empty chair and took off her robe and slippers. Getting into the bed, she curled up next to her mother, putting one of Rinoa's arms around her.
"Mama…" she thought. As her eyes closed, silent tears started to run down her cheeks.
In Another World…
Squall hit the switch, and the hatch started to close. The Dollet military had arrived in the nick of time, and helped the SeeDs drive out the mysterious enemy that had attacked them.
"You wanna explain what just happened?" Zell asked. Squall shook his head.
"I have no clue. How are…" Selphie appeared.
"They're both doing fine. Rinoa's just about recovered from whatever hit her, and Raine's back to normal." She frowned. "But I thought Raine had that bangle on. How come it was off?"
"I had her take it off when I met them at the communication tower. It was hard enough getting up there, and having the bangle off would make it much easier for her and the others to get to the beach faster." Squall replied.
"That would explain the reason why she nearly collapsed on the way here." Selphie said. Rinoa appeared in the doorway.
"Ooohh…"
"Baby? What are you doing up? You should be lying down!" Squall scolded as he crossed over to Rinoa, who smiled shakily.
"I'm fine, darling. Really. How's Raine?"
"She's fine. You should get some rest."
"Stop babying me! Jeez! You're worse now than when I was pregnant with Raine!" Rinoa said, exasperated. Squall frowned. Rinoa's face was pale, and her eyes were still a bit on the glassy side.
"I am so tempted to take you to Odine right now, even if I have to petrify you!" he said. "I thought you were getting better!"
"I am!"
"Not if you're collapsing every five seconds!"
"Like…"
"Ok! Everybody calm down! Everything's alright, we're all alive…"
"Zell, shut up!" Rinoa and Squall yelled at the same time.
"Ok, shutting up." Zell said, hands raised. Rinoa blew out a breath.
"Time to negotiate." She thought. "Squall. In case you haven't noticed, this is the first real attack I've had in quite a while." Squall started to open his mouth to speak, but Rinoa held up a hand.
"Let me finish. I can see you're still worried about me, so how's this. After we get everything settled with what happened today, you can take me to Esthar. I won't complain, and I won't argue."
"You won't."
"No."
"No death threats at me, or Odine, no shocking people, no disappearing acts?"
"None whatsoever." "We're not going to make it up there right now anyway, so I just bought myself a little more time to figure out what's wrong with me!" Rinoa added mentally to herself.
"Good." Squall said.
In the present…
Rinoa slowly got up, shocked by what she saw in front of her. It was as if she was looking in a mirror, but this time her reflection had come to life.
"Little sister?" Squall said, interrupting her thoughts. "Rinoa doesn't have a sister!" The edges of Julia's mouth curled slowly upwards into a horrible smile.
"It's nice to see you again, Squall." At this, Squall's eyes narrowed, and he pulled out Lionheart.
"Squall…" Rinoa said.
"Get back and stay behind me." Squall said. Julia threw back her head and let lose a high, shrieking laugh.
"Hahahaha! Oh, how quaint, I had forgotten! Hahaha! Protect the sorceress at all times, even if it costs you your life! The code of the Sorceress Knight! Hahaha!"
"Squall…I'm getting some really bad feelings from her." Rinoa said.
Julia stopped laughing and faced them.
"I'd like to continue this family reunion, but unfortunately, I have plans. And they don't involve you!"
"Oh yeah? Well, now they do!" Zell roared, launching himself forward at Julia. She barely blinked, and a shield appeared around her, knocking Zell backwards.
"Zell!" Quistis yelled. As she started to cross her arms, Julia turned to her.
"Don't interfere!" Quistis and Xu were lifted up and thrown back into the Garden, leaving only Rinoa, Squall, and the unconscious Zell.
"Oh oh. This is going to be good." Squall said. Julia turned back to face him.
"Now it's your turn."
"Squall. The bomb." Rinoa said suddenly. Squall put his hand to his back pocket.
"I've still got the remote."
"If you're gonna detonate it, you better do it soon! We're moving, if you haven't noticed!"
"Energy Bomber!" Julia screamed, throwing a ball of light at them.
"Get down!" Squall pushed Rinoa down and, dodging the ball, lunged at Julia. He raised Lionheart over his head and brought it down towards her. Smirking, Julia raised her arm and blocked the blade harmlessly.
"My turn. Hah!" Her hair flew up, and several beams of light struck Squall away from her."
"Ugh!"
"Squall!" Rinoa screamed. Incised, she raised her hand and a beam of light appeared. "Leave him alone!" She threw the beam at Julia, knocking her backwards. "You want a fight, you pick on me! Not Squall, not any of my friends. You fight me! You got that, witch?!"
"Look at who's calling who a witch! You, of all people!" Julia said, recovering.
"I consider myself extremely lucky. I've been blessed!" Rinoa said.
"Blessed? With that curse upon you? Destined to be scorned, rejected, unloved?"
"You wouldn't know what I've been through. And you would never understand!" Rinoa screamed, releasing a Firaga spell. Julia managed to avoid the blast, moving to the side. Several feet away, Squall blinked as he slowly got up.
"Uhh…ow. Rinoa!" He pulled himself up quickly. In front of him, Rinoa was defending herself against Julia's attacks. Black and white feathers flew as the two sorceresses fought each other. "I gotta help her!" As he stood up, Julia whirled around.
"Oh no you don't!"
"Squall!" Rinoa screamed, jumping in front of him. Julia let lose a powerful magic blast that would have killed them had it not been for Rinoa's shield. As the light faded away, Rinoa slumped to the ground.
"Uhh…"
"Rinoa!"
"Squall, she's too strong…I don't know if I can hold her off for much longer…" Rinoa gasped.
"That's it." Squall took the detonator out of his pocket. "Hey!" Getting up, he faced Julia, who frowned.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"You look like a smart woman. Figure it out." Keeping his eyes on Julia, he opened his right hand, revealing the detonator. Julia's eyes widened.
"You wouldn't."
"I would." Squall pressed the button. There was silence, and then a massive flash of light shot up from the Centra ruins as an explosion rent the silence. Squall threw himself over Rinoa, shielding her with his body.
"Whoa!" Nida said. Grabbing a pair of binoculars, he aimed them out at the horizon. A shockwave from the explosion was headed straight for the Garden.
"Oh my…" He grabbed the radio. "Everyone, this is Nida! Get down now!"
The ground bucked and rolled beneath Squall and Rinoa as the shockwave hit the Garden. Pieces of wall, roofing, and other debris fell around them as a result of all the magical power released. Squall tightened his grip as Rinoa curled into a ball beneath him. The shaking continued for several more minutes, and then stopped.
"Agghh…" The sound of a groan had the two of them pulling apart. Julia lay on the ground, an eerie blue-black light surrounding her.
"What's going on?" Squall asked.
"She's losing her powers! Squall, the bomb worked!" Another moan from Julia had them both looking at her.
"Can you inherit them?"
"I don't know. Maybe." Rinoa got up, still unsteady. "Give me a hand here." Squall started at that.
"What?"
"We can't just let her suffer. If we get her to the Infirmary, I can slow the process down." Squall narrowed his eyes.
"She can't do anything?" None of them noticed Julia suddenly opening her eyes, and then closing them again.
"No." Squall hesitated. Then he picked up Lionheart, and hooked it onto his belt.
"Hang on." Together, they both walked over to Julia. As they started to turn her over, Julia's eyes popped open.
"Surprise!"
"Ahh!" Julia grabbed Rinoa by the neck.
"You're going to pay dearly, little sister."
"Get your hands off her!" Squall snarled, karate-chopping Julia on the back of the neck. She released her grip, and Rinoa fell down, gasping for air. Whirling, Julia focused her fury on Squall. Her powers were slipping away, and she needed a fresh source. Now.
"I'll kill you first, brother-in-law!" Squall gasped as he was caught up in a powerful grip. He beat at Julia with his fists, but in vain. Lionheart clattered to the ground, forgotten.
"Don't worry. She'll be with you soon enough." Squall's eyes slowly started to glaze over as his air was cut off. Behind Julia, Rinoa grabbed the Lionheart.
"Yaahhhh!!!" Swinging with all her might, she aimed the blade at Julia's unprotected back. Julia screamed with pain as the sword cut deep into her side. Releasing her grip on Squall, she turned on Rinoa, who stepped backwards, dropping the Gunblade.
"You little…agh!" She fell as Squall kicked her in the side. Her right hand metamorphosed into a claw as she whirled to face him. Raising it, she brought it down towards his heart.
"NO!" Rinoa leapt at Julia. Her cry of fury seemed to echo in Squall's ears, and he watched in horror as Julia suddenly turned around and hit Rinoa instead. She staggered, and as Squall struggled to get up, she gripped Rinoa by the throat and squeezed.
"Ugh…" Rinoa's eyes slowly started to glaze over. The blue-black light that had surrounded Julia disappeared, only to be replaced by a light blue one instead. The light started to fade as Julia drained her of her sorceress powers. A maniacal laugh came from the other woman as Rinoa slowly slumped, all the muscles in her body going limp. Vaguely, she could hear Squall scream her name as her body hit the ground. Darkness closed in around her, and she felt herself slipping away.
Her last thought was "Squall."
Then nothing.
In Another World…
Rinoa's eyes narrowed. A sharp pain had suddenly hit her in the chest, and then had disappeared as quickly as it had arrived.
"Ow…" she thought.
"Everything ok?" Xu asked.
"Yeah." Rinoa said, absentmindly rubbing her chest.
"You sure?"
"Uh huh."
In the present…
Quistis blinked. Wincing, she sat up. She was in the Infirmary, Xu lying in a bed next to hers, still unconscious.
"Ooohh…"
"Stay still." Dr Kadowaki said, coming in. "You're alright, just a nasty bump to the head."
"Xu?"
"Concussion. It's a mild one, however. What the heck happened?"
"That woman…"
"Doctor!!" Doctor Kadowaki bolted out of the cubicle, Quistis hot on her heels. Then they stopped in their tracks, gasping in shock at the sight in front of them.
"Oh my…Squall!" Squall stood in the doorway, bruised, battered, and bloody, holding a limp Rinoa in his arms. Wordlessly, he brushed past a medic, and placed her on a bed.
"What happened?!"
"Andrew, take care of Squall!" Dr Kadowaki snapped.
"No. I'm fine!" Squall struggled as the medic grabbed him by the arm.
"Quistis, go with him. Keep him calm while I work on Rinoa!" Dr Kadowaki said, grabbing a stethoscope. All Squall could do was allow himself to be pulled away by the medic and Quistis into an examining room.
"Squall, what happened?" Quistis said. Dully, Squall took off his jacket, not even responding when the medic started to clean his wounds.
"He's in shock!" Quistis thought. "What the…what happened?!" Before she could speak, a girl burst in.
"Andrew! We need the oxygen tank now!"
"What's happening?" Andrew grabbed the tank and ran out of the room with the girl. Squall raised his head and looked out the window. His eyes widened, and then he jumped off the table.
"What?" Quistis asked. Following his gaze, she saw a swarm of medics surrounding the bed where Rinoa lay. One held up her head and quickly put on the oxygen mask, while Dr. Kadowaki slipped a needle into Rinoa's left arm. "Oh no…Squall, no!" Moving quickly, she blocked Squall from bolting out of the room.
"Rinoa! Quistis, let go!"
"No, you can't do anything!"
"I should be lying there, not her! Let go of me! Rinoa!" Squall screamed.
"Squall, no!" It took all of Quistis's strength to drag Squall away from the door. "Squall, stop! Please!" Squall struggled for a few more minutes, and then he went limp. Quistis led him back to the table.
"Stay here. I'll go see how she's doing." She went outside. Seeing her, Dr. Kadowaki pulled away and walked over.
"Doctor?" Kadowaki shook her head.
"She's in very bad shape. I can't tell right now, but it looks like she was stripped completely of her sorceress powers." Quistis gasped in horror. "How's Squall doing?"
"Bad. I think he's in shock." Quistis said, her voice barely above a whisper. Dr. Kadowaki sighed.
"I don't know how he's going to take it when I tell him what else is wrong."
"There's more?" Quistis asked.
"Rinoa's pulse is weak, and so is her heart rate. When we tried to stabilize her, she went into magi-shock. She's on the O2 tank now, and we've got a drip bag of Diploriven going into her, but that's only a temporally solution."
"Irvine and Selphie should be coming back with the Ragarnok soon. If we got her to Esthar, would it help any?"
"Yes, it would."
"Doctor? They need you out at the Front Gate."
"Alright, I'm leaving now." Dr. Kadowaki said. She hurried out.
He was in a world of hurt. Every breath he took seemed to stab daggers into his chest.
"Zell?"
"Uugghh…"
"He's still out of it."
"I can't blame him."
"Wait. His eyelids are twitching."
"He's coming around!" Zell opened his eyes to see two medics looking down at him.
"Is he awake?"
"Yes, Instructor, but I don't think…"
"Quistis? What happened?" Zell croaked. "The last thing I remember is us facing off against that woman and…" The look on his best friend's face had him stopping cold.
"Zell…its Rinoa. She's…she's in pretty bad shape."
"Squall…?"
"They're treating him now. He doesn't know how bad it is yet." Zell sat up gingerly.
"Is she gonna…" Quistis shook her head.
"Honestly…I don't know. Squall isn't doing so well now."
Squall was on his last nerve. He was nearly sick with fear over Rinoa, and every time he tried to get out of the room, somebody would come and block him.
"Rinoa…what happened to Rinoa?" Questions flew in his mind, back and forth like tennis balls. Finally, unable to bear the suspense any longer, he bolted outside, nearly barreling over a medic in the process.
"Quistis! Dr. Kadowaki! Where are you?" He poked his head in every room, every cubicle, until finally he walked into Zell's room. Quistis, Zell, and Dr. Kadowaki's heads shot up.
"Squall!"
"Where's Rinoa? Why won't you tell me what's wrong with her?" Squall demanded. The looks on Dr. Kadowaki and Quistis's faces stopped him. Dread swept through him.
"No. NO!"
"Squall…" Quistis said, her heart breaking for her "little brother."
"Rinoa's…Rinoa's in a bad state of magi-shock. Her powers have been totally stripped from her, and she's barely hanging on enough as it is." Dr. Kadowaki said gently. Squall shook his head in disbelief.
"No. You're lying. She's fine."
"No Squall, she's not."
"YOU'RE LYING! RINOA'S FINE!" Squall screamed. Quistis tried to reach out and grab him, but he knocked her hand away. He shook his head violently.
"No…no!"
"When the Ragarnok arrives, we're going to have her flown out to Esthar. Squall, I'm praying that I'm wrong, that Odine will find something different and Rinoa'll be fine." Dr. Kadowaki said, trying to give Squall some hope. Deep down, she didn't believe it, but the pain and anguish on Squall's face ripped into her and she couldn't bear it. Squall shut his eyes tightly.
"No no…this is a nightmare. A bad dream. She's fine. She's alive! I got to believe that!" Unbidden, the memory of Julia turning and attacking Rinoa rose to the front of his mind.
"I didn't protect her! I promised I'd protect her and all I did was just watch!" Tears started to run down his face, and he ran out of the room.
In Another World, several hours later…
Rinoa sighed as she pulled her hair back in a ponytail. Fragments of the de-briefing meeting her, Squall, and the other SeeDs had when they got back to Balamb Garden ran through her mind.
"They were after Rinoa?" Quistis asked. Squall nodded.
"We were fortunate that the Dollet military arrived when it did. If they hadn't, we would have been in more trouble than we were already in."
"This is not good. I just had a long talk with the head of Galbadia Garden. Apparently, there's a small faction of soldiers being lead by a former general of the G-Army."
"Oh brother." Zell said.
"Gets worse. Their main goal right now is to try and recruit as much people as possible for their cause. And we've never been able to completely break apart that militant group that caused problems 17 years ago."
"They're still around?" Rinoa said in disbelief. 17 years ago, some of the remaining generals and soldiers from the G-Army had gotten together and formed a small, yet powerful force. Their plan was to destroy the Gardens and SeeDs and gain control of Gaia. Rinoa was in the final month of her pregnancy at that time, and gave birth to Raine shortly after the group first made its presence known. What should have been an joyous occasion for her and her husband soon turned to fear as all four of the Gardens were attacked right after Raine's birth. The militants demanded that the SeeDs give over both Rinoa and the newborn Raine to them. Afraid for his wife and daughter's safety, Squall sent them to Esthar Garden until the mess could be straightened out. The newly built Garden was no haven; as two days into their stay Rinoa and Raine were kidnapped. The Estharian SeeDs were able to get Rinoa back, but not Raine. Then, something odd happened. Four hours after they had gotten Rinoa back, the SeeDs received a message that the kidnappers were heading for FH via the old train station. When they arrived there, a small mystery awaited them. They found Raine neatly wrapped up in blankets, sleeping peacefully in an abandoned car. Around her, the unconscious figures of her kidnappers lay sprawled at various locations. A note pinned to Raine's blankets simply asked that she be returned to her mother, Rinoa Leonhart. The handwriting was never identified, and when interrogated, the kidnappers could not remember a thing that had happened when they had arrived at the train station. There was also one final puzzle. On the door on the car Raine was found in, there were several deep gashes that were an exact match for slashes created by a Gunblade. Squall and Rinoa really weren't checking very much at that time, as both were grateful that nothing bad had happened to their daughter. But their curiosity was soon aroused when the person who saved Raine could not be found. The mystery was never solved, and every day, Squall and Rinoa were grateful that they still had their daughter.
"They can't do anything, can they?" Irvine asked, jolting Rinoa out of her reverie.
"No, I don't think so. We've got to get rid of this problem before it becomes any worse." Quistis said.
"What about the exam?" Xu asked. Quistis grinned crookedly.
"I have the scores right here…"
"No!" Rinoa said, clapping her hands over her ears. "I don't want to hear!"
"I do!" Squall said. "Ommphh!"
"Shut up!"
"Raine did very well, particularly in the magical section." Quistis said, flipping through papers.
"Someone complained, didn't they?" Rinoa asked. Quistis nodded.
"I'm sorry, but as Headmaster…"
"It's alright." Rinoa said.
"As things stand now, we need to get in contact with the other Gardens and let them know what's going on." Squall said.
"Selphie and I will take care of that." Irvine said. He raised his eyebrow. "Don't you have a little business to take care with your wifey?" This resulted in him getting an extremely hard blow to the head from Rinoa.
"Owwww!"
"Thanks for reminding me, Irvine." Squall said, grinning. He turned to Rinoa. "You're not backing out on me now, are you?"
"No…" Rinoa muttered. Quistis cocked her head.
"What's this about?"
"Nothing." Rinoa said.
"Rinoa had a little…spell during the exam, so she's going to see Odine." Squall said. "With NO nonsense."
"I thought you were alright." Quistis said.
"I am!" Then, after Squall sent her a glare, she added, "But it doesn't hurt to check."
"Check? Yeah right. Odine'll have me hooked up to so many machines, wires and tubes it won't be funny!" Rinoa thought, looking at herself in the mirror. "But, I can't complain. Best for me to do this now and get it over with!" With that thought in mind, she headed outside and to the elevator.
Raine sighed.
"You ok?" Celes asked.
"No…I've had this funny feeling all day. Like something's about to go horribly wrong."
"It's probably leftover exam nerves." I.J. said.
"Maybe…" Raine said. Unnoticed, on her right wrist, the gold bracelet that she wore all the time, started to emit a soft glow.
Rinoa got on the elevator and hit the button for the third floor. Sighing, she rolled her neck to try and relieve some of the tension. Then…
"Uhh!" A crippling pain hit her. She fell to her knees, chills running throughout her entire body.
"What…what…what is this? What's wrong with me?" Images flashed through her mind. Pictures of Julia, the younger Squall and Rinoa all flew by at the speed of light. And then…
"Haha…"
"What?"
"Hello, sister."
"You!"
"What, no hug?"
"How could you? You killed Father! All those innocent people! Why?"
"It's all about power, little sis. All about power."
The chills came faster and faster, in waves. Rinoa shook violently, her arms wrapped around herself as if to ward off the cold. In her mind, darkness surrounded her. Then, the ground beneath her feat disappeared, and she fell straight down, deep into the heart of the darkness.
Quistis picked up a folder and walked out of her office.
"I need to talk to Squall before he leaves for Esthar." She thought. Being Headmaster of a Garden involved so many pesky details, but she loved every minute of it. As she headed towards Squall's office, she glanced towards the elevator as it opened. The folder dropped to the floor, forgotten.
"Rinoa!"
In the present…
Squall had wandered around aimlessly for several hours, not seeing, not hearing anything. Eventually, he ended up in front of Rinoa's bedroom, staring at her door. As he walked in, memories assaulted him.
Rinoa sitting at her desk, books piled on top of one another, her eyes narrowed in concentration as she read. The case where she kept her Shooting Star and her other Pinwheels. A sketchpad, left carelessly open, pencil on top.
Squall threw himself down onto Rinoa's bed; despair engulfing him. Closing his eyes, he pulled one of her pillows towards him and inhaled deeply.
"No…she's alright. This is just a nightmare. I'm gonna wake up and she'll be in front of me…" He clutched the pillow even tighter. "This is just a bad dream…" His eyes closed, as weariness took the place of shock and his brain shut down.
Squall blinked. One minute he had been lying down in Rinoa's room, the next minute he had found himself standing in the Cafeteria in Balamb Garden.
"What the…"
"Hey!" A voice, high, youthful, and female, had him turning around.
"Get 'm!" A dark-haired boy burst out of a doorway. Squall watched as he rounded the corner and vanished.
"Where'd he go?"
"That way!" Two girls appeared, one holding a pair of giant nunchaku, the other holding a whip.
"I'll kill him." The first one said.
"Whoa…" Squall thought.
"I get first crack!" The tone, and the voice had Squall whirling around. A brown-haired girl appeared out of nowhere, dressed in black pants, a black jacket, and a white shirt. Her blue eyes held traces of annoyance as she walked towards Squall, who blinked.
"Huh?" His vision began to blur. "What the…" The girl's face started to fade in and out, like a bad T.V. reception. Squall closed his eyes and shook his head, trying to clear his mind. When he opened them again, the girl and her friends had vanished. He was now standing in the garden outside the orphanage, dressed in his SeeD uniform and facing a woman dressed in white.
"What?" The woman turned around and stuck her tongue out at him, then winked. Squall gasped in disbelief.
"Rinoa!" Rinoa turned fully to face him, smiling. Her hair was pulled up in a bun, and she wore a sleeveless white ball gown. Griever shone around her neck as she opened her arms to him. Joy and relief flooded through Squall. He rushed forward and took her into his arms. As he felt her head on his shoulder, he closed his eyes and rested his cheek on her forehead.
"I thought you'd never open your eyes again…" he murmured. Rinoa pulled away from him, her hands on his shoulders. Squall looked down at her.
"What?" Rinoa's eyes darkened. As she opened her mouth to speak, her body suddenly stiffened.
"Rinoa?" Squall said. The sudden feeling of moisture on his fingers had him lifting his hand from off of Rinoa's back. Fear washed over him as he stared at his fingers. Blood slowly dripped off of them.
"Rinoa!" Rinoa's eyes blinked as she slumped into Squall's arms. Squall grabbed her as she slowly sank to the ground. Desperately, Squall looked around for some sort of help, but saw nothing. He looked back down at Rinoa.
"Hold on. Please, just hold on!" he begged her. Rinoa looked at him, as if she were trying to tell him something. Her hand reached up to stroke his hair weakly. Squall glanced around desperately again.
"Please! Somebody help me!" he cried. Cradling Rinoa, he looked around again. His eyes landed on a woman standing several feet in front of them. She hadn't been there before, but at that point, all Squall could think about was Rinoa.
"Please. Help me!" He begged her. The woman simply stared at him. Then she slowly stretched out a hand. All of a sudden, Rinoa's eyes widened, and her body stiffened. She started to gasp, her breath wheezing in and out.
"Rinoa!" Squall cried. Rinoa reached a hand towards his face, her chest heaving as she tried to draw in oxygen. Her eyes were desperate as she reached towards him.
"Rinoa!! No!" Squall screamed. He jolted straight up, drenched in a cold sweat. His heart raced as he tried to calm himself, but the fear still gripped him. He got up and raced out of the room.
Dr Kadowaki blew out a breath. Rubbing the back of her neck, she got up from her seat. As she started to turn off the light, something caught her eye. Moving into Rinoa's cubical, she sighed. Squall was asleep in a chair next to Rinoa. His head lay on the bed, and one of his hands clutched her own.
"God, let Rinoa be alright. Please. Not just for her sake, but for his." She thought. Turning off the light, she left the Infirmary.
In Another World…
Squall ran his hands over his face. The past several hours had been like a nightmare.
"Here man, have this." Zell said, passing him a cup of coffee. Squall didn't say anything, just ran a hand over the rim.
"How's Raine?"
"Asleep." Zell eyed his friend.
"She wouldn't want you to be like this." Squall closed his eyes. Several doors down, his other half and lover lay in a coma, and he didn't know why.
"Well, how am I supposed to feel like?" he said. Zell sighed. On her way to get Squall, Rinoa had collapsed in the elevator. Squall and Quistis rushed her to the Infirmary, but were too late. For reasons unknown, Rinoa had slipped into a coma, and there was nothing that the doctors could do to revive her.
"I'm worried about Raine right now." Squall said.
"You think she might pull something?" Zell asked. Squall shrugged.
"In her current frame of mind, yes. She's almost like Rinoa when it…" His voice cracked, and he took a deep breath to steady himself. "When it comes to matters like this." Zell put a comforting hand on his back.
"Rinoa'll be alright. I know it." All Squall could do was nod in response.
Raine couldn't sleep. Getting up, she took her robe off its hook and put on slippers. Noiselessly, she walked out of her room and headed for the door. Once outside, she glanced around to make sure nobody was following her, and then headed for the Infirmary.
The steady, rhythmic sound of a machine beeping greeted Raine as she slipped into her mother's room. Rinoa lay in the hospital bed, still and unmoving. Next to her, a heart monitor kept track of her heart rate, that was the source of the beeps. Raine sat down in an empty chair and took off her robe and slippers. Getting into the bed, she curled up next to her mother, putting one of Rinoa's arms around her.
"Mama…" she thought. As her eyes closed, silent tears started to run down her cheeks.