Defying fate
Rinoa along with the other SeeDs ran towards the room where Tehn was. They had made it through the base easily enough. Selphie kept running ahead and checking the corridor ahead to see if it was clear. Irvine had followed her and assisted in shooting down any soldiers who dared to attack the SeeDs.
But as soon as they saw the signs which had been put up for navigation around the place they split into two groups. Zell and Selphie went to the cells to see if the prisoners were there. Quistis, Irvine and Rinoa headed to the main laboratory to see if the prisoners were there instead. By all accounts of soldiers pleading for their lives Tehn had left when the SeeDs had started invading.
Selphie and Zell headed towards the cells. The reason they were a smaller group was because the soldiers would most likely have left the cells when they needed to assist in the fight. It was good reasoning but Zell felt it seemed flawed somewhere.
They ran further down the maze of green corridors. Zell was actually surprised that nobody was stopping them to ask why they were there. The soldiers were occupied. They were losing the battle because many of them were young, barely trained and unorganised.
I wouldn't like to be them, Zell decided. They were all idealistic people who didn't know what they were fighting for; they were on a losing side and trusting in the wrong people. A sudden thought entered his mind as he followed Selphie who was running hell for leather down towards the cells. He considered the fact that they didn't really know what they were fighting for either, besides knowing their friend was in trouble. Ellone was too though and she needed help. Unlike Squall she wasn't trained to deal with such a situation.
Confusion swirled in his thoughts as they were running nearer and nearer to their intended destination. The temperature was starting to drop and Zell found his arms were becoming cold. "Selphie?" He called out, stopping for a second. In which time Selphie had nearly gone out of sight around a corner.
She looked at him, confusion on her face. "What's the matter Zell, are we going the wrong way?" She looked at a nearby map and judged they were heading in the right direction. So now she couldn't understand why they had stopped.
Zell answered the unspoken question. "I wondered if you knew why we're fighting."
"Does that matter?" Selphie was getting the shadow of a rare frown on her face. But whatever thoughts she was having she pushed them aside. "We need to help Squall and sis!"
"Yeah," Zell agreed, "But I have a funny feeling something is going on here and we need to get to the bottom of it."
Selphie shrugged, her light brown hair bounced as she did so. It amazed Zell that she could stand it. "We should go and find Squall and sis."
Zell had to agree again. There was no answer she could give and nobody else could either. "Yeah, let's go now." He began running to the cells again. Selphie watched him, bemused by his sudden decision. She soon realised where he was going and started running faster than she had before to catch up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"How long have we been running?" Zell asked- leaning against a wall for support, the posters on the walls were misleading. It turned out that they were totally unreliable and they had been running around for ages in a circle.
Selphie glanced at the watch on her wrist which she had taken to wearing all the time. "Ten minutes." She said, gasping for air, the same as Zell. She suddenly laughed. It was an unusual sound in the middle of a quiet corridor.
Zell looked at her, "What's so funny?" Selphie wiped tears from her eyes and straightened.
"We're SeeDs," She answered, "And we get tired from ten minutes running. I'm ashamed!" She started laughing even harder. Zell felt the accusation keenly and felt embarrassed. It was true, but the reason they were tired was because they had been running flat out.
They had also made the mistake of trusting the maps. They were evidently to fool intruders and the SeeDs had been fooled spectacularly, they had run flat out in full circle trying to find the prisoners.
But while Selphie could have a sense of humour at a time like this, Zell couldn't. He felt time was going to waste and he needed to back up the others because while they were split up the other team was at risk.
Zell looked around the corner; there were no guards anymore to get information out of. They were being overwhelmed above by the highly trained SeeDs. Every circumstance said this should have been an easy mission. He suddenly jumped.
Selphie had screamed- in a split second someone had run straight into her. They knocked her over easily as she was fairly short and thin, she fell to the floor with the attacker falling clumsily onto her. He had evidently expected some resistance.
But Zell was a martial artist. He pulled up the attacker from behind, and let him go by pushing him away from Selphie. He drew back his arm and punched straight into the attacker's ribs, stepping forward as he did so to put force into the punch and to extend his reach.
The punch landed exactly where it was intended to, the man had fallen face forward onto the floor struggling to breathe, obviously in pain.
Selphie disentangled her own legs. She had kept her face on the floor to keep herself out of harm. Now she was safe she looked at the guy who had knocked her over. Zell turned him over to look at him and to demand reasons for his actions. But he stopped.
"Squall!" Zell practically shouted, one thing registering in his mind, I punched my friend. I punched a fellow SeeD. He couldn't believe it. Most of all he wondered why he hadn't recognised him.
"Squall what happened to you?" Selphie had spoken. Squall had lost weight somehow and his hair was tangled as though someone had dragged him by his hair. His skin was pale but otherwise he was still the same Squall he remembered.
"Why did you knock me over?" Selphie demanded. Squall struggled to answer; the wind had been completely knocked out of him by the punch Zell had delivered.
"I… I thought you were someone else…" He wheezed slightly. But it was a good sign, his breathing was becoming more even and he was recovering slightly. "Why are you here? Where's everyone else?"
It struck Zell that Squall was talking more to him than he had since their mission some months ago. But he had to answer; maybe Squall could explain what was happening. "We're all here; there are some more SeeDs outside fighting those soldiers. We don't really know any more than some scientist guys from Esthar are involved."
"Rinoa!" Squall shot up painfully from the floor. "She's in trouble we need to help her!"
"Easy Squall, we came to find you and sis. Where is she?"
Squall struggled to get up. "She isn't here, Tehn has her." He sat up, and watched Zell, who was trying to figure out something.
"I don't get it Squall, what are you worried about Rinoa for? She came with us to help you."
"She what!" Squall demanded, it was a nightmare come true for him. It wasn't really a question; he knew why Rinoa would come. It was just the sort of thing she would do. She had acted on impulse before and didn't know why it was dangerous to come now.
"What's the matter?" Selphie asked. She was beginning to feel very confused.
Squall answered wildly. "If Tehn finds her he'll kill her and Ellone as well we have to stop him!" The news came as a shock to Selphie and Zell, Zell hadn't been wrong in thinking that something was wrong. But on such a scale that could possibly result in death of two people he knew and loved like his family.
"Who's Tehn?" Zell wanted to know before they started running to help their friends. Why don't I care why they're doing this? He somehow knew why, the sooner they got there and stopped it the more likely they would have that they could ask 'why?' later.
"Tehn's the head scientist; he's trying to carry out some experiment that gets rid of the sorceress powers. But it means Rinoa and Ellone would have to die, and it's not guaranteed to work."
Zell had been letting his mind wander, after asking Squall whether he felt better and getting silence in reply he followed the new leader of his team to the direction the others had been in. They were running, because they knew the risk of this mission had magnified several times. They needed to be there before Rinoa agreed to some bargain.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rinoa walked into the room where Tehn and Ellone were, Tehn was waiting for them, Rinoa glanced in the direction of Ellone who shook her head desperately for some reason. Rinoa didn't understand.
"Ah, Sorceress Rinoa, I expected you to find us sooner." Tehn walked forward a little and stopped when he saw Irvine and Quistis pulling out their weapons. The expression on his face changed. "I don't think that would be a good idea if you value her life as much as I think you do."
Rinoa looked at the others; they were dismayed she could see. But then they would be, their 'sister' was being held hostage for something- she didn't know what. The best she could do was to try to find out what he wanted.
She felt nervous, in the middle of a room on a virtually deserted continent. She was essentially alone, there was no Squall to decide for her and sort out any mistakes if the need arose. She was bargaining for the life of someone really close to Squall and her friends. She had to make her own decision one that would have consequences.
She was a sorceress wasn't she? Surely she could do something. But really it was a question of what. Her powers were still new to her and she didn't know of any spell accurate enough to hit the guards and not Ellone.
She didn't know what to do.
She needed Squall again. Where was he? A sudden stab of fear made her feel almost sick. He wasn't here; he had been kidnapped hadn't he. What if he hadn't been captured by these people? If he hadn't Squall was still not safe.
"Is Squall here?" She asked, forcing her voice to stay still despite her fear about Squall and the anger that her friends were letting her talk on her own. Why weren't they helping her?
"Squall is here." Tehn said. Quistis spoke- seeming to have read Rinoa's mind. Rinoa didn't really feel very relieved.
"Where is he then?" Rinoa listened and considered the statement, it was a fair question. If they had Squall they would have two hostages instead of one.
Tehn's expression changed, Rinoa would not be able to tell normally but her Sorceress powers gave her intuition into what people felt sometimes. He was trying to hide something. And it was taking all of his self control to not let his face show it.
"You let him go…" Rinoa said, the realisation dawning on her, not really understanding where it had come from. Quistis and Irvine were surprised.
"You have a choice," He said, avoiding answering their question. "Save her life by staying behind when they go or let her die." He indicated to Ellone.
"And what happens to Rinoa?" Irvine replied. "Does she die instead?" He looked at Ellone for a second to let her know he was sorry. She shook her head, she couldn't wipe the tears out of her eyes so she blinked furiously instead.
"She stays for a while we study her powers." Tehn answered quickly. "Then she returns to Garden safe and we both end up getting what we want." Ellone struggled at this, her muffled cry more than letting the SeeDs and Rinoa know Tehn was lying.
"Keep her quiet!" Then ordered the soldiers and they pulled the gag tighter and pulled her further back into the room. "This is your last chance Rinoa." He walked across the room, pulling something out of the drawer. Rinoa prepared a spell to cast on Tehn if the need arose.
She looked around the room, scanning it in a second, if she cast the spell and killed Tehn Ellone might be killed as well. The mission might already be over because Squall might be dead already.
She stopped believing that quickly. If Squall was dead she would know. She didn't know how she would but she would know. They had been together through so much. So much that had been worse than this- she hoped it would stay that way.
The light was dim so the back of the room was shaded. The figures creeping around at the back of the room were intent on remaining unseen, two people waited behind the soldiers. Tehn pulled out a small, discreet gun and there was the sound of the safety lock being turned off.
Quistis tried to stop him. The gun was let off however. Fortunately he was a bad aim because he only shot her shoulder. But it was still painful and she winced as her shoulder began to bleed.
Rinoa was ready to release the spell and cast it on the other soldiers who were armed. Tehn was determined his plan would work. He made his way toward her. Irvine aimed his gun but Tehn had already run across the room to Rinoa. Ellone had been released when Selphie and Zell had knocked the soldiers out moments before.
Joining them Squall left the safety of the shadows to help her. He had been one of the people at the back of the room. Tehn hadn't seen him and still held the barrel of the gun to her neck.
Tehn stared in hatred at Rinoa. "You think you're wonderful and kind don't you?" He grabbed her arm, her eyes met Squall's she sent a silent plea to him through her eyes, He shook his head, he couldn't do nothing.
Tehn continued. "You aren't though; you'll act like the rest of them. They all start off with good intentions and then power corrupts them." He glanced at Squall who was trying to inch quietly toward them. "Are you paying attention? The sorceress always becomes corrupted. You're a fool for becoming her knight." He was going to do it; he was going to accomplish his plan. Even if he died he would be acting on the best interest of the world. With no sorceress there would be no more sorceress wars. Countless lives would be saved in the process.
Rinoa didn't know Squall could move so fast. He moved while Tehn contemplated what his actions would mean. He repeated what he had done to Selphie earlier with more force, knocking the scientist over and picking himself up to get himself and Rinoa out of the way.
Tehn still had the gun, he pulled it straight for a clear target, the SeeDs were watching as if in slow motion. Squall making sure Rinoa was safely out of the way. His duty was to make sure she was safe as a Knight; neither of them had considered what it would cost. Squall had meant to check that Tehn had no gun but his duty to ensure she was out of the way prevented him from doing so.
It was a mistake not to do so.
Tehn pulled the trigger, hoping to shoot Rinoa; he was a bad aim from a distance. But Squall was in the way. Squall lurched forward in pain as the bullet went into his back. Tehn felt the recoil of the gun as Squall fell. Rinoa watched horrified; her expression was that of complete and utter shock- Squall looked… dead. But he couldn't be could he? He can't be.
But she saw Tehn, lying on the floor picking himself up, she turned to look at Squall who was surrounded by his friends- Irvine was shaking his head and amid her grief something inside her snapped.
It was anger. She wouldn't want another knight. She only needed Squall; this would be the only way. Never mind the complications. Inside herself her power stirred. It was real power this time, fuelled by emotion, and the powerful desire to be wherever Squall would be in a short time-he was dying.
"Rinoa?" Selphie looked up and saw her friend was glowing. It actually made her eyes hurt and she turned them away. Wings spread out of Rinoa's back and the light grew brighter but Tehn would be on the receiving end of the spell. He would feel worse than her soon.
Emotions fuelled the spell; fear and self doubt inside her were triggered with grief and anger. She didn't believe Squall could live; certainly nobody else could either judging by the looks on their faces. Her anger finally released the spell onto Tehn.
The light filled the room and spread into the of the corridors. But it only injured the one Rinoa wanted to hurt. It was spreading everywhere and Ellone couldn't understand it. But it was simple to understand in truth had any of them considered it.
Rinoa was letting go. Letting go of all the unwanted emotions she had had to deal with since becoming a sorceress- fear, loneliness, and worry that her powers would change her. Not all change was a bad thing. She finally realised that in the closing moments of the spell.
The spell was drawing to an end. The light dimmed, it returned to her. Her friends watched her. She felt so tired, more tired than she had ever been in her whole life. It was so deep that she collapsed onto the floor.
Irvine was torn between Squall and Rinoa. A check revealed Rinoa was not breathing and Squall's pulse was becoming weaker. Selphie was pouring magic curaga spells into Rinoa. "It's not working!" She said urgently. Zell shook his head.
Ellone waited near the door, there were people marching up the corridor. She looked up and her heart jumped in fear as she saw Estharian soldiers- so many of them, she and the others were outnumbered. "No," She murmured.
She saw someone she recognised however- they weren't the enemy. But it was too late. Far too late, if they had got here sooner Squall and Rinoa would be okay. It was alright to cry she decided as she let herself fall to the floor. There was no hope now.
I hate this chapter. No matter how many times I wrote it, it came out wrong. I'll leave it though. I'm near the end now. It came out much quicker when I started getting reviews, so if you want the epilogue to come out sooner please review.
I'll always remember this as my first 'long' story. I can't write well with action scenes but when I started writing I spent days writing the first chapter and now I find myself automatically putting in description.
If you think this is rushed I might revise it. But this story is drawing to a close,
The main theme is fate and what it means. The next chapter 'epilogue' will explain the theme of the story and the title so 'defying fate' will be explained.
Thanks everyone.