Chapter Fourteen
"Squall…"
"Rinoa?"
"Squall…" Squall looked around. He could hear Rinoa's voice, but he couldn't see her.
"Rinoa! Where are you?" Flower petals flew by his face as he looked around. He was back in the flower field outside of Edea's House. As he watched, the blue sky and meadow disappeared, only to be replaced by a desert-type landscape; similar to the one he had found himself in after the fight with Ultimecia.
"Where…where am I?" Something silver flashed from a nearby rock and caught his eye. Going over to examine it, he gasped, and then grabbed the object.
"No!" Rinoa's chain with her mother's ring and Griever dangled from his hand. "What…what…what is this doing here?" As in response to his question, the ring started to give off a soft glow.
"The heck…what gives?" Squall thought. Placing Griever in the palm of his left hand, he touched it gingerly. "Why is it glowing like this?" Behind him, a thick purple-black fog appeared out of nowhere. From its center, a figure dressed in a black robe materialized. As Squall puzzled over Griever, it slowly started to drift towards him.
"This isn't making any sense." Squall thought. Then, he suddenly straightened. Years of SeeD training and his own finely tuned senses told him that he wasn't the only person standing there. Whirling around, the caught a fleeting glimpse of the robed figure bearing down on him.
"What the…" The figure raised a robed arm, and Squall's right ankle turned, causing him to fall down. As he tried to get up, pain shot up through his right leg.
"Ah! My ankle…" The figure, sensing Squall's injury, continued to advance towards him. Wincing, Squall rolled over onto his back.
"Who are you? What do you want?" He demanded. The figure didn't reply, just moved closer. The continuous silence, and its very presence sent chills down the SeeD commander's spine. As it loomed over Squall, a clawed hand protruded from the folds of its robe. But before it could touch him, it suddenly stopped. At the same time, Squall felt an intense heat coming from his left hand.
"What the…" Looking over, his eyes widened in shock. Griever was shining even brighter. Fearful, the figure shrank back from Squall, who noticed it's sudden retreat.
"It's afraid of the light!" Squall thought. Quickly, he switched Griever to his right hand and thrust it out in front of him. The light flared even brighter, sending pearl-white rays into the dark fog. As the fog started to fade, the figure retreated into it, disappearing as well. Breathing heavily, Squall pulled himself up to a sitting posistion.
"What…what…what just happened?" He thought, trying to catch his breath. Wincing, he managed to pull himself to his feet. "What was that thing?"
"Squall."
"Rinoa?
"Squall! Hey man, wake up!" Squall blinked. Zell and Irvine were looming over him.
"Meeting with your dad in five minutes. Let's go!" Irvine said cheerfully, banging on Squall's headboard. The two left, leaving behind a very puzzled Squall.
"It was just a dream? But…but it seemed so real!" Shaking his head, he sat up, throwing the sheets off. Then…
"Ouch! What the…" His jaw dropped. The area around his right ankle was slightly swollen, and tender to the touch. "What the…no way. This isn't real." He leaned over and gingerly touched his ankle. The resulting explosion of pain had him hissing in pain. "Ouch! Ooohhh!" He leaned back, staring at his ankle.
"There is no way this could have happened during a dream. Dreams aren't real! But…the pain is real. And if the pain is real…then that thing! It's real too! But…but what is it?" Wincing, he got up and hobbled to the bathroom.
In Another World, at that same second…
Raine rubbed her temples. Morning had found her in the Library again, with a stack of books piled in front of her. Following the clue Seifer had given her, Raine had looked up the years in-between the defeat of Ultimecia and her parents' marriage. Nothing.
"After Ultimecia's death, it was peaceful for quite a while." Irvine said. Raine had paid him and Selphie a visit before her stop at the Library.
"Galbadia wasn't trying anything due to the fact that there were so many warring factions fighting for control." Selphie added, coming in with two plates of pancakes.
"So basically, it was BORING." I.J. said, sticking a fork into one of the plates and getting a swat on the arm. "Ow!"
"Mind your manners!"
"He has none." Tifa said, sneering. I.J. shot her a Look.
"But you forgot Irvy, things weren't all that peaceful." Selphie said, putting the plates down in front of I.J. and Raine.
"What do you mean, Aunt Selphie?" Raine asked.
"What I mean is there were some problems with Galbadia. Remember the year after?"
"Oh yeah!" Irvine exclaimed.
"What?" Raine asked, interest piqued.
"The son of Vinzer Deling, Setzer, tired to unify the warring factions and follow through with his father's original plans. Which were the elimination of SeeD, the Gardens, and get control of Gaia." Selphie replied. "Tifa hon, you want any more pancakes?" Tifa shook her head.
"So what happened?" I.J. asked around a mouthful of food.
"Setzer was like Vinzer. He didn't take into consideration every single thing that could go possibly wrong. For Vinzer, it was the fact that Ultimecia was using him. In Setzer's case, it was underestimating SeeD and the Gardens." Irvine said.
"Shortly after he was made President, Setzer ambushed and took over Galbadia Garden, holding everyone in there hostage. Naturally, both Balamb and Trabia Garden joined forces to help out." Selphie said, sitting down. "Your dad and the Headmaster from Trabia led the attack to free Galbadia Garden. But for security reasons, your mom stayed here." Raine nodded.
"Anyway, it turned out that the whole thing was a trap. While we were away helping Galbadia Garden, Setzer lead an attack against Balamb Garden. With only students and few SeeDs here, he expected to take control easily."
"Did it work?" Tifa asked. Irvine shook his head no.
"Right at the very beginning of the attack, Rinoa raised this powerful magic shield around the entire Garden. The Galbadians couldn't get in, no matter how hard they tried. The problem was, nobody knew if she could hold it up long enough until help arrived." Irvine said, sipping his coffee. "Somehow Rinoa was able to keep it up, despite the Galbadians attacks to break it, until we heard what had happened and came back."
"What happened to Setzer?" Raine asked.
"He managed to escape, but later on he was assassinated by one of his generals who wanted the job of President." Selphie said. "With his death, Galbadia fell apart again." Raine nodded, absorbing the information.
"Aside from that, nothing happened!" Raine thought, closing the book in front of her. Yawning, she massaged her eyes with the tips of her fingers.
"So tired…maybe if I close my eyes for a few minutes…" Shoving the books to one side, she put her head on her arms.
"Just a couple of minutes…" Her eyelids drooped, and then closed as her mind shut down.
The click-click of heels against marble echoed down the hallway.
"Mmm? Whaa??" Raine thought. Blinking sleepily, she looked around.
"Whoa!" She was standing in the middle of a large room, richly decorated. Tapestries, wall hangings, paintings, and various objects de art adorned the room.
"Wow…" Raine whispered, turning around so she could get a better look. Never in her wildest dreams had she ever imagined a place like this.
"Where am I? Huh?" Something on the far wall of the room caught her eye. Walking over, she discovered that the "something" was a life-sized marble statue of a woman. "Ooohhh…how beautiful…" Then her eyes narrowed.
"Wait a minute. There's something familiar about this…" The statue depicted a woman Raine guessed to be in her early-mid 20's. She wore a long, flowing sleeveless dress, with the right hand resting on her heart, and the left hanging down by her side. The eyes were closed, and the face, while gentle, held an expression of unbearable sadness. Several locks of hair framed the face, while the rest cascaded downwards, held back by a jeweled headband of some sort.
"Dang…I know some people who would kill to even look at this!" Raine thought. Then she blinked suddenly as her vision started to blur. "What the…" The blurring worsened, and then Raine was forced to shield her eyes with her hand as everything went white. When her vision had cleared, a dark-haired woman stood in front of her, back turned.
"What the heck…" Raine watched in amazement as the woman stretched out a hand and touched the right hand of the statue. The floor started to rumble and shake as the statue slowly moved backwards, and then to the right, revealing a secret staircase. Without a word, the woman headed downwards, her sky-blue gown trailing behind. Puzzled, Raine followed in hot pursuit.
"This is a dream. This is most DEFINATLY a dream. So why does it feel so real? And WHY am I getting the feeling that I know this woman?" The girl thought as she hurried down the stairs. Reaching the bottom, she stopped. As she looked on, the woman walked over to a bluish pedestal holding what looked to be like spheres, red, blue, purple, and pink in color. Swiftly she rearranged them, putting the blue in the southern slot, the pink in the northern slot, the red in the eastern slot, and the purple in the western slot. This resulted in all four spheres glowing, and sending beams of light to the middle slot. When the light faded, a fifth sphere was in the center, cream-pearl in color.
"Wow…" Raine thought. The woman picked up the fifth sphere, and walked over to the wall, where another slot awaited. Putting in the sphere, she looked on impassively as a beam of cream-pearl light shot from the slot towards a seal on the door, dissolving it. The door opened, and the woman walked inside, Raine trailing behind her.
"This is getting really, really, REALLY weird. I don't know where I am, where is this…huh?" The same white light that had nearly blinded her before had returned, engulfing the entire room.
"Acckk!" In defense, Raine threw up her hands. The light intensified, then faded away, leaving her in darkness.
"Now what's going on?" Behind her, a dark purple fog coalesced. As Raine tried to get her bearings, the same robed apparition that had haunted Squall in his dreams earlier appeared! Almost desperately, it lurched itself at the girl, who whirled around.
"What the…Aaahhh!" Raine stumbled backwards, trying to get away from the rapidly advancing figure.
1.1.1 Balamb Garden Infirmary…
Rinoa lay in the room, her chest rising and falling as she breathed in and out. Around her neck, Griever suddenly started to shine. Then, as if it had a will of it's own, the ring rose into the air, and then vanished.
1.1.2 Raine's dream…
A small ball of light suddenly burst out of nowhere, appearing between Raine and the figure. It hovered in the air, and then shot towards Raine. The girl gasped as it wrapped itself almost gently around her neck. When the light had faded…
"Oh my…!" Griever shone like a beacon, attached to a silver chain around her neck.
"Griever? What the…how did…Mom? Did Mom send me Griever?" As if in response, Griever shone even brighter. Then…
"Little sorceress…"
"What?" Raine stopped staring at the ring and looked at the figure.
"Dear little sorceress…" The voice had a harsh, screeching quality to it, like nails on a chalkboard. "Your time will soon be at an end…"
"Huh? What the…what are you talking about?" As the figure disappeared, Raine dashed forward. "Wait! What are you talking ab…Ahh!" She put her hands to her head as pain exploded within it. "Owwww!" Her legs gave way, and she fell to her knees, unable to bear the pain. Then…
"Squall!"
"Get Rinoa out of here!"
"Hahahahaha!" Raine watched in horror as her mother broke free of Zell and Irvine's grasp and launched herself towards a familiar dark-haired woman.
"Leave him alone!"
"Rinoa, no!" Squall screamed, dropping Lionheart. The woman whirled around, a malicious gleam in her eyes. Rasing a hand, she struck Rinoa down, sending the younger woman back several feet. As Rinoa tried to regain her senses, the other woman loomed over her, Lionheart in hand.
"Meet your death, Sorceress Rinoa!" As the Gunblade fell, a streak of black threw itself over Rinoa.
"Uunngghh!"
"NO! SQUALL!" The woman withdrew Lionheart, its blue blade dripping with blood. Lifeless, Squall slumped in Rinoa's arms.
"Don't worry. You'll be with him soon enough." The woman said, raising Lionheart above her head. Terrified, all Raine could do was watch as the flash of the blue blade arced downwards towards her mother, who was holding her father tight...
"NOOOOO!!!! AHHHH!!!" With a snap, Raine's head bolted upwards from its resting place on her arms. Her breath came out in short gasps, and her skin had gone pale. Eyes wild, she got up and dashed to the bathroom. Once inside, she headed for the sinks, turned on the cold water full blast, and started to splash her face.
"…It was a dream. It was just a dream. God!" Turning off the spigots, she leaned her head against the mirror. "It wasn't real…it's just a dream…huh?" Lifting up her head, she gasped, and raised a hand to her throat. Griever hung on its chain around her neck. "I didn't have Mom's ring before! Then that means…oh my God! Was my dream real?!" Her legs turned to jelly, and she slumped to the floor. Which was how Anita found her when she walked in to use the bathroom just at that moment.
"Raine! Are you alright?!" Dashing over, she helped the younger girl to her feet.
"I'm fine…" Raine said, drawing in a deep breath. "Get a grip." She told herself. Still, she leaned on Anita for support as the older woman helped her outside.
"Sit." Anita said, directing Raine towards a chair. Going over to the water cooler, she filled a glass with cold water and gave it to Raine. "Drink all of this, you hear?"
"Yes ma'am." Raine murmured, taking the glass and putting it to her lips. Anita busied herself by straightening up all of the books that had accumulated on the table.
"Are you feeling better?'
"Yes. I'm sorry, Aunt Anita. I guess I'm just tired, that's all." Anita's eyes softened, and she ran a hand over the girl's head.
"Raine, you can't make yourself sick with worry over your mother, darling. She's going to be ok." Raine nodded absentmindly. Anita sighed.
"Go home. Read. Watch T.V. Go fool around on the computer or something. Just don't let me catch you in here!" Raine nodded again, and got up. As she left, her eyes fell on one of the papers she had scribbled notes on.
"3018…Setzer Deling is made President of Galbadia, leads failed attempt to take over Balamb Garden. Assassinated several days later by General Sephiroth...3020...Squall Leonhart marries Rinoa Heartilly..." Quietly, she grabbed the paper and left the Library.
In the present…
Squall sighed, rubbing his eyes. Images of the dream he had that morning flashed through his mind, and he could not shake the feeling of dread that washed through him every time he thought of it. Eventually, like how most dreams do, it would fade from his mind, only to come up once in a while as a fleeting memory.
"Hey Squall!"
"Huh?"
"Hey man, snap outta it!"
"What?"
"Jeez, don't tell me he's turning into Laguna now!" This got Squall's attention.
"Sorry. I was thinking about something."
"Now that my son has returned to us…" Laguna said, smiling.
"We can get down to business." Kiros finished. Hitting a button on the panel in front of him, he turned back to the group as several pictures came up on the screen behind him.
"Yesterday, we sent out several surveillance teams to evaluate and explore this…castle and the surrounding area. This is what they brought back."
"Phew." Zell whistled as a large picture of the crystal palace appeared on the screen and started to rotate. "That place is huge!"
"Makes Ultimecia's own look like a dollhouse." Quistis said.
"Not only that. Take a look at this." Laguna said, pressing another button.
"Ahh!"
"WHOA! WHAT THE…"
"Jeez!"
"What happened to those monsters?!"
"Eeekk!"
"Dad, what are those things?!" Several monsters lumbered by on the screen, grossly mutated. Laguna bit his lips.
"We're guessing that the high level of magical energy in that area has caused the monsters to mutate."
"What's the MGL?" Quistis asked.
"8000 and rising."
"That's not good." Irvine said.
"Any way we can get inside?" Selphie asked.
"From the looks of it? Either by stealth or by just blasting through the front door." Kiros replied.
"The second one won't work." Squall said. Everyone looked at him. "If we're to get the sorceress and bring her back here, we need the element of surprise. If she knows we're coming, she might make it harder for us to reach her."
"It's hard enough already just to get in there!" Zell said. Squall winced.
"Ow."
"What's wrong?" Laguna asked.
"My ankle…I think I did something to it while I was sleeping…"
"Did you go to the doctor?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Didn't want to." At this, Laguna rolled his eyes.
"Oh lord…just like Raine. Sit down."
"I'm fine! I cast a Cure spell on it, and it should be fi…hey!" Squall protested as Zell forced him into a seat.
"Uh huh. Take off your shoes."
"Excuse me?"
"Which foot is it?" Zell asked.
"My right. But it's fine!" Squall said, and then winced as Zell yanked off his right shoe. "Ouch!"
"Off with the socks, man." Zell said, pulling off Squall's sock none too gently, and revealing a swollen right ankle.
"Jeez Squall! What did you think you were doing? Fighting?" Quistis scolded, walking over and sitting beside him. Putting Squall's foot on her lap, she took a deep breath. "Curaga!" Immediately, the swelling fell away, returning the ankle to its normal size.
"Are you finished playing doctor now?" Squall complained, pulling his foot away and retrieving his sock and shoe from Zell.
"Yes." Quistis said.
"You gotta take care of yourself! Or else what are we gonna tell Rinoa when she wakes up?" Selphie chirped.
"Yeah man. If something ever happened to you, she'd go postal!" Irvine added. Squall didn't say anything, just silently put on his sock and shoe.
"So what's the plan?" Zell asked.
"Right now, figuring out a way to sneak into that place." Squall replied. "I think the stealth route is the way to go."
"We can't fly in on the Ragarnok, so we probably have to walk there…" Quistis mused.
"You think that place has traps and puzzles like Ultimecia's castle?" Zell wondered.
"Most defiantly!" Selphie said.
"Only person who could have helped us with that was Rinoa…" Irvine said.
"I know a little about traps and puzzles…" Squall said. "Rinoa was teaching me about those types of things…"
"Do you know enough to get through safely?" Laguna asked. Squall looked to the side, arms crossed.
"It depends on what's there." He replied. At this, Laguna blinked, then sighed heavily.
"This probably isn't the best time to tell you this…"
"Tell us what?" Quistis asked.
"The President has a meeting with his advisory board in several hours." Kiros said. Squall shrugged.
"Yeah, so?"
"A representative from Galbadia will be with them also."
"I have to give him a tour of the city. So…Rinoa's going to have to be moved to the Sorceress Memorial until the meeting's over." Laguna said.
"Do you know who Galbadia's representative is?" Irvine asked. Laguna shook his head, and then shot a sideways glance at Squall, whose face had become unreadable.
"I swear to you Squall, nothing will happen to Rinoa. Kiros and Ward will accompany her back and forth. At this, Squall uncrossed his arms and looked at Laguna.
"It's alright. I trust you." Silence reigned for a few minutes.
"Uhh…now that we have the father-son moment all wrapped up…" Zell said.
"Yes. Let's plan." Laguna replied.
In Another World…
Raine sighed as she put down her pen.
"I've been through every single thing over and over! The only time that Seifer could be referring to is the year after Ultimecia's death!" She thought. " Only other ones that make sense is the year that Mom and Dad got married, and the year I was born. But it's strange…" Her left hand unconsciously rose to finger Griever, as her right hand circled 3017 with the pen.
"Somehow I feel like I'm being drawn to this one in particular…"
Selene eyed Raine. As she watched, the girl leaned back in her chair, rubbing her eyes. Her gold bracelet flashed as she raised a hand to her face.
"Her powers are starting to awaken. That's good. God knows, she's going to need every ounce of strength for this ordeal and the one that's coming after." She thought.
"And then…it's all up in the air. The question is, can she fulfill her destiny before it's too late?"
Meanwhile, Raine had made a decision.
"I don't know how, but something's telling me that this year is the one causing the problems. It's the only one that makes sense!" She sighed. "The problem is…now that I've figured out the year…how can I figure out what the problem is?"
"Squall…"
"Rinoa?"
"Squall…" Squall looked around. He could hear Rinoa's voice, but he couldn't see her.
"Rinoa! Where are you?" Flower petals flew by his face as he looked around. He was back in the flower field outside of Edea's House. As he watched, the blue sky and meadow disappeared, only to be replaced by a desert-type landscape; similar to the one he had found himself in after the fight with Ultimecia.
"Where…where am I?" Something silver flashed from a nearby rock and caught his eye. Going over to examine it, he gasped, and then grabbed the object.
"No!" Rinoa's chain with her mother's ring and Griever dangled from his hand. "What…what…what is this doing here?" As in response to his question, the ring started to give off a soft glow.
"The heck…what gives?" Squall thought. Placing Griever in the palm of his left hand, he touched it gingerly. "Why is it glowing like this?" Behind him, a thick purple-black fog appeared out of nowhere. From its center, a figure dressed in a black robe materialized. As Squall puzzled over Griever, it slowly started to drift towards him.
"This isn't making any sense." Squall thought. Then, he suddenly straightened. Years of SeeD training and his own finely tuned senses told him that he wasn't the only person standing there. Whirling around, the caught a fleeting glimpse of the robed figure bearing down on him.
"What the…" The figure raised a robed arm, and Squall's right ankle turned, causing him to fall down. As he tried to get up, pain shot up through his right leg.
"Ah! My ankle…" The figure, sensing Squall's injury, continued to advance towards him. Wincing, Squall rolled over onto his back.
"Who are you? What do you want?" He demanded. The figure didn't reply, just moved closer. The continuous silence, and its very presence sent chills down the SeeD commander's spine. As it loomed over Squall, a clawed hand protruded from the folds of its robe. But before it could touch him, it suddenly stopped. At the same time, Squall felt an intense heat coming from his left hand.
"What the…" Looking over, his eyes widened in shock. Griever was shining even brighter. Fearful, the figure shrank back from Squall, who noticed it's sudden retreat.
"It's afraid of the light!" Squall thought. Quickly, he switched Griever to his right hand and thrust it out in front of him. The light flared even brighter, sending pearl-white rays into the dark fog. As the fog started to fade, the figure retreated into it, disappearing as well. Breathing heavily, Squall pulled himself up to a sitting posistion.
"What…what…what just happened?" He thought, trying to catch his breath. Wincing, he managed to pull himself to his feet. "What was that thing?"
"Squall."
"Rinoa?
"Squall! Hey man, wake up!" Squall blinked. Zell and Irvine were looming over him.
"Meeting with your dad in five minutes. Let's go!" Irvine said cheerfully, banging on Squall's headboard. The two left, leaving behind a very puzzled Squall.
"It was just a dream? But…but it seemed so real!" Shaking his head, he sat up, throwing the sheets off. Then…
"Ouch! What the…" His jaw dropped. The area around his right ankle was slightly swollen, and tender to the touch. "What the…no way. This isn't real." He leaned over and gingerly touched his ankle. The resulting explosion of pain had him hissing in pain. "Ouch! Ooohhh!" He leaned back, staring at his ankle.
"There is no way this could have happened during a dream. Dreams aren't real! But…the pain is real. And if the pain is real…then that thing! It's real too! But…but what is it?" Wincing, he got up and hobbled to the bathroom.
In Another World, at that same second…
Raine rubbed her temples. Morning had found her in the Library again, with a stack of books piled in front of her. Following the clue Seifer had given her, Raine had looked up the years in-between the defeat of Ultimecia and her parents' marriage. Nothing.
"After Ultimecia's death, it was peaceful for quite a while." Irvine said. Raine had paid him and Selphie a visit before her stop at the Library.
"Galbadia wasn't trying anything due to the fact that there were so many warring factions fighting for control." Selphie added, coming in with two plates of pancakes.
"So basically, it was BORING." I.J. said, sticking a fork into one of the plates and getting a swat on the arm. "Ow!"
"Mind your manners!"
"He has none." Tifa said, sneering. I.J. shot her a Look.
"But you forgot Irvy, things weren't all that peaceful." Selphie said, putting the plates down in front of I.J. and Raine.
"What do you mean, Aunt Selphie?" Raine asked.
"What I mean is there were some problems with Galbadia. Remember the year after?"
"Oh yeah!" Irvine exclaimed.
"What?" Raine asked, interest piqued.
"The son of Vinzer Deling, Setzer, tired to unify the warring factions and follow through with his father's original plans. Which were the elimination of SeeD, the Gardens, and get control of Gaia." Selphie replied. "Tifa hon, you want any more pancakes?" Tifa shook her head.
"So what happened?" I.J. asked around a mouthful of food.
"Setzer was like Vinzer. He didn't take into consideration every single thing that could go possibly wrong. For Vinzer, it was the fact that Ultimecia was using him. In Setzer's case, it was underestimating SeeD and the Gardens." Irvine said.
"Shortly after he was made President, Setzer ambushed and took over Galbadia Garden, holding everyone in there hostage. Naturally, both Balamb and Trabia Garden joined forces to help out." Selphie said, sitting down. "Your dad and the Headmaster from Trabia led the attack to free Galbadia Garden. But for security reasons, your mom stayed here." Raine nodded.
"Anyway, it turned out that the whole thing was a trap. While we were away helping Galbadia Garden, Setzer lead an attack against Balamb Garden. With only students and few SeeDs here, he expected to take control easily."
"Did it work?" Tifa asked. Irvine shook his head no.
"Right at the very beginning of the attack, Rinoa raised this powerful magic shield around the entire Garden. The Galbadians couldn't get in, no matter how hard they tried. The problem was, nobody knew if she could hold it up long enough until help arrived." Irvine said, sipping his coffee. "Somehow Rinoa was able to keep it up, despite the Galbadians attacks to break it, until we heard what had happened and came back."
"What happened to Setzer?" Raine asked.
"He managed to escape, but later on he was assassinated by one of his generals who wanted the job of President." Selphie said. "With his death, Galbadia fell apart again." Raine nodded, absorbing the information.
"Aside from that, nothing happened!" Raine thought, closing the book in front of her. Yawning, she massaged her eyes with the tips of her fingers.
"So tired…maybe if I close my eyes for a few minutes…" Shoving the books to one side, she put her head on her arms.
"Just a couple of minutes…" Her eyelids drooped, and then closed as her mind shut down.
The click-click of heels against marble echoed down the hallway.
"Mmm? Whaa??" Raine thought. Blinking sleepily, she looked around.
"Whoa!" She was standing in the middle of a large room, richly decorated. Tapestries, wall hangings, paintings, and various objects de art adorned the room.
"Wow…" Raine whispered, turning around so she could get a better look. Never in her wildest dreams had she ever imagined a place like this.
"Where am I? Huh?" Something on the far wall of the room caught her eye. Walking over, she discovered that the "something" was a life-sized marble statue of a woman. "Ooohhh…how beautiful…" Then her eyes narrowed.
"Wait a minute. There's something familiar about this…" The statue depicted a woman Raine guessed to be in her early-mid 20's. She wore a long, flowing sleeveless dress, with the right hand resting on her heart, and the left hanging down by her side. The eyes were closed, and the face, while gentle, held an expression of unbearable sadness. Several locks of hair framed the face, while the rest cascaded downwards, held back by a jeweled headband of some sort.
"Dang…I know some people who would kill to even look at this!" Raine thought. Then she blinked suddenly as her vision started to blur. "What the…" The blurring worsened, and then Raine was forced to shield her eyes with her hand as everything went white. When her vision had cleared, a dark-haired woman stood in front of her, back turned.
"What the heck…" Raine watched in amazement as the woman stretched out a hand and touched the right hand of the statue. The floor started to rumble and shake as the statue slowly moved backwards, and then to the right, revealing a secret staircase. Without a word, the woman headed downwards, her sky-blue gown trailing behind. Puzzled, Raine followed in hot pursuit.
"This is a dream. This is most DEFINATLY a dream. So why does it feel so real? And WHY am I getting the feeling that I know this woman?" The girl thought as she hurried down the stairs. Reaching the bottom, she stopped. As she looked on, the woman walked over to a bluish pedestal holding what looked to be like spheres, red, blue, purple, and pink in color. Swiftly she rearranged them, putting the blue in the southern slot, the pink in the northern slot, the red in the eastern slot, and the purple in the western slot. This resulted in all four spheres glowing, and sending beams of light to the middle slot. When the light faded, a fifth sphere was in the center, cream-pearl in color.
"Wow…" Raine thought. The woman picked up the fifth sphere, and walked over to the wall, where another slot awaited. Putting in the sphere, she looked on impassively as a beam of cream-pearl light shot from the slot towards a seal on the door, dissolving it. The door opened, and the woman walked inside, Raine trailing behind her.
"This is getting really, really, REALLY weird. I don't know where I am, where is this…huh?" The same white light that had nearly blinded her before had returned, engulfing the entire room.
"Acckk!" In defense, Raine threw up her hands. The light intensified, then faded away, leaving her in darkness.
"Now what's going on?" Behind her, a dark purple fog coalesced. As Raine tried to get her bearings, the same robed apparition that had haunted Squall in his dreams earlier appeared! Almost desperately, it lurched itself at the girl, who whirled around.
"What the…Aaahhh!" Raine stumbled backwards, trying to get away from the rapidly advancing figure.
1.1.1 Balamb Garden Infirmary…
Rinoa lay in the room, her chest rising and falling as she breathed in and out. Around her neck, Griever suddenly started to shine. Then, as if it had a will of it's own, the ring rose into the air, and then vanished.
1.1.2 Raine's dream…
A small ball of light suddenly burst out of nowhere, appearing between Raine and the figure. It hovered in the air, and then shot towards Raine. The girl gasped as it wrapped itself almost gently around her neck. When the light had faded…
"Oh my…!" Griever shone like a beacon, attached to a silver chain around her neck.
"Griever? What the…how did…Mom? Did Mom send me Griever?" As if in response, Griever shone even brighter. Then…
"Little sorceress…"
"What?" Raine stopped staring at the ring and looked at the figure.
"Dear little sorceress…" The voice had a harsh, screeching quality to it, like nails on a chalkboard. "Your time will soon be at an end…"
"Huh? What the…what are you talking about?" As the figure disappeared, Raine dashed forward. "Wait! What are you talking ab…Ahh!" She put her hands to her head as pain exploded within it. "Owwww!" Her legs gave way, and she fell to her knees, unable to bear the pain. Then…
"Squall!"
"Get Rinoa out of here!"
"Hahahahaha!" Raine watched in horror as her mother broke free of Zell and Irvine's grasp and launched herself towards a familiar dark-haired woman.
"Leave him alone!"
"Rinoa, no!" Squall screamed, dropping Lionheart. The woman whirled around, a malicious gleam in her eyes. Rasing a hand, she struck Rinoa down, sending the younger woman back several feet. As Rinoa tried to regain her senses, the other woman loomed over her, Lionheart in hand.
"Meet your death, Sorceress Rinoa!" As the Gunblade fell, a streak of black threw itself over Rinoa.
"Uunngghh!"
"NO! SQUALL!" The woman withdrew Lionheart, its blue blade dripping with blood. Lifeless, Squall slumped in Rinoa's arms.
"Don't worry. You'll be with him soon enough." The woman said, raising Lionheart above her head. Terrified, all Raine could do was watch as the flash of the blue blade arced downwards towards her mother, who was holding her father tight...
"NOOOOO!!!! AHHHH!!!" With a snap, Raine's head bolted upwards from its resting place on her arms. Her breath came out in short gasps, and her skin had gone pale. Eyes wild, she got up and dashed to the bathroom. Once inside, she headed for the sinks, turned on the cold water full blast, and started to splash her face.
"…It was a dream. It was just a dream. God!" Turning off the spigots, she leaned her head against the mirror. "It wasn't real…it's just a dream…huh?" Lifting up her head, she gasped, and raised a hand to her throat. Griever hung on its chain around her neck. "I didn't have Mom's ring before! Then that means…oh my God! Was my dream real?!" Her legs turned to jelly, and she slumped to the floor. Which was how Anita found her when she walked in to use the bathroom just at that moment.
"Raine! Are you alright?!" Dashing over, she helped the younger girl to her feet.
"I'm fine…" Raine said, drawing in a deep breath. "Get a grip." She told herself. Still, she leaned on Anita for support as the older woman helped her outside.
"Sit." Anita said, directing Raine towards a chair. Going over to the water cooler, she filled a glass with cold water and gave it to Raine. "Drink all of this, you hear?"
"Yes ma'am." Raine murmured, taking the glass and putting it to her lips. Anita busied herself by straightening up all of the books that had accumulated on the table.
"Are you feeling better?'
"Yes. I'm sorry, Aunt Anita. I guess I'm just tired, that's all." Anita's eyes softened, and she ran a hand over the girl's head.
"Raine, you can't make yourself sick with worry over your mother, darling. She's going to be ok." Raine nodded absentmindly. Anita sighed.
"Go home. Read. Watch T.V. Go fool around on the computer or something. Just don't let me catch you in here!" Raine nodded again, and got up. As she left, her eyes fell on one of the papers she had scribbled notes on.
"3018…Setzer Deling is made President of Galbadia, leads failed attempt to take over Balamb Garden. Assassinated several days later by General Sephiroth...3020...Squall Leonhart marries Rinoa Heartilly..." Quietly, she grabbed the paper and left the Library.
In the present…
Squall sighed, rubbing his eyes. Images of the dream he had that morning flashed through his mind, and he could not shake the feeling of dread that washed through him every time he thought of it. Eventually, like how most dreams do, it would fade from his mind, only to come up once in a while as a fleeting memory.
"Hey Squall!"
"Huh?"
"Hey man, snap outta it!"
"What?"
"Jeez, don't tell me he's turning into Laguna now!" This got Squall's attention.
"Sorry. I was thinking about something."
"Now that my son has returned to us…" Laguna said, smiling.
"We can get down to business." Kiros finished. Hitting a button on the panel in front of him, he turned back to the group as several pictures came up on the screen behind him.
"Yesterday, we sent out several surveillance teams to evaluate and explore this…castle and the surrounding area. This is what they brought back."
"Phew." Zell whistled as a large picture of the crystal palace appeared on the screen and started to rotate. "That place is huge!"
"Makes Ultimecia's own look like a dollhouse." Quistis said.
"Not only that. Take a look at this." Laguna said, pressing another button.
"Ahh!"
"WHOA! WHAT THE…"
"Jeez!"
"What happened to those monsters?!"
"Eeekk!"
"Dad, what are those things?!" Several monsters lumbered by on the screen, grossly mutated. Laguna bit his lips.
"We're guessing that the high level of magical energy in that area has caused the monsters to mutate."
"What's the MGL?" Quistis asked.
"8000 and rising."
"That's not good." Irvine said.
"Any way we can get inside?" Selphie asked.
"From the looks of it? Either by stealth or by just blasting through the front door." Kiros replied.
"The second one won't work." Squall said. Everyone looked at him. "If we're to get the sorceress and bring her back here, we need the element of surprise. If she knows we're coming, she might make it harder for us to reach her."
"It's hard enough already just to get in there!" Zell said. Squall winced.
"Ow."
"What's wrong?" Laguna asked.
"My ankle…I think I did something to it while I was sleeping…"
"Did you go to the doctor?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Didn't want to." At this, Laguna rolled his eyes.
"Oh lord…just like Raine. Sit down."
"I'm fine! I cast a Cure spell on it, and it should be fi…hey!" Squall protested as Zell forced him into a seat.
"Uh huh. Take off your shoes."
"Excuse me?"
"Which foot is it?" Zell asked.
"My right. But it's fine!" Squall said, and then winced as Zell yanked off his right shoe. "Ouch!"
"Off with the socks, man." Zell said, pulling off Squall's sock none too gently, and revealing a swollen right ankle.
"Jeez Squall! What did you think you were doing? Fighting?" Quistis scolded, walking over and sitting beside him. Putting Squall's foot on her lap, she took a deep breath. "Curaga!" Immediately, the swelling fell away, returning the ankle to its normal size.
"Are you finished playing doctor now?" Squall complained, pulling his foot away and retrieving his sock and shoe from Zell.
"Yes." Quistis said.
"You gotta take care of yourself! Or else what are we gonna tell Rinoa when she wakes up?" Selphie chirped.
"Yeah man. If something ever happened to you, she'd go postal!" Irvine added. Squall didn't say anything, just silently put on his sock and shoe.
"So what's the plan?" Zell asked.
"Right now, figuring out a way to sneak into that place." Squall replied. "I think the stealth route is the way to go."
"We can't fly in on the Ragarnok, so we probably have to walk there…" Quistis mused.
"You think that place has traps and puzzles like Ultimecia's castle?" Zell wondered.
"Most defiantly!" Selphie said.
"Only person who could have helped us with that was Rinoa…" Irvine said.
"I know a little about traps and puzzles…" Squall said. "Rinoa was teaching me about those types of things…"
"Do you know enough to get through safely?" Laguna asked. Squall looked to the side, arms crossed.
"It depends on what's there." He replied. At this, Laguna blinked, then sighed heavily.
"This probably isn't the best time to tell you this…"
"Tell us what?" Quistis asked.
"The President has a meeting with his advisory board in several hours." Kiros said. Squall shrugged.
"Yeah, so?"
"A representative from Galbadia will be with them also."
"I have to give him a tour of the city. So…Rinoa's going to have to be moved to the Sorceress Memorial until the meeting's over." Laguna said.
"Do you know who Galbadia's representative is?" Irvine asked. Laguna shook his head, and then shot a sideways glance at Squall, whose face had become unreadable.
"I swear to you Squall, nothing will happen to Rinoa. Kiros and Ward will accompany her back and forth. At this, Squall uncrossed his arms and looked at Laguna.
"It's alright. I trust you." Silence reigned for a few minutes.
"Uhh…now that we have the father-son moment all wrapped up…" Zell said.
"Yes. Let's plan." Laguna replied.
In Another World…
Raine sighed as she put down her pen.
"I've been through every single thing over and over! The only time that Seifer could be referring to is the year after Ultimecia's death!" She thought. " Only other ones that make sense is the year that Mom and Dad got married, and the year I was born. But it's strange…" Her left hand unconsciously rose to finger Griever, as her right hand circled 3017 with the pen.
"Somehow I feel like I'm being drawn to this one in particular…"
Selene eyed Raine. As she watched, the girl leaned back in her chair, rubbing her eyes. Her gold bracelet flashed as she raised a hand to her face.
"Her powers are starting to awaken. That's good. God knows, she's going to need every ounce of strength for this ordeal and the one that's coming after." She thought.
"And then…it's all up in the air. The question is, can she fulfill her destiny before it's too late?"
Meanwhile, Raine had made a decision.
"I don't know how, but something's telling me that this year is the one causing the problems. It's the only one that makes sense!" She sighed. "The problem is…now that I've figured out the year…how can I figure out what the problem is?"