Chapter XXV......The Parting
(Why did I have to leave her there?) Laguna sighed, thinking about his parting from Lexi, wishing that she could have come.
"I'm sorry, Lexi, but I've got to do this, I've got to go with the president to defend this country, and hopefully save my own," he told her, unable to look her in the eyes. "Oh, but Laguna.." she had trailed off, fiddling with her sleeve hem. "I promise that I'll see you again, I'll be back," he said to her, now looking into her eyes and lifting her chin. She nodded. "And I promise I will help any way that I can," she whispered, sounding as though she were going to cry and looking into his eyes. She held the gaze for a few seconds, before running off in the direction of the hotel in Deling City.
(I wonder what she meant by that. 'help in any way.'. I hope she's not going to do anything stupid.) Laguna thought, slumping in his seat, and frowning.
"Laguna?" asked Kiros, almost started by the expression that was upon Laguna's face.
"Oh!" Laguna looked up quite suddenly, surprised, and then said, "Sorry, I've just been. thinking."
Kiros raised his eyebrow and smirked a little, "Oh no, here we go again."
It took a moment for Laguna to realize what he meant, "HEY!" he said, defensively, "What's that supposed'ta mean?"
Kiros stood up (he had been sitting across the deck) and crossed the deck, sitting beside Laguna with a soft thump. He looked a Laguna, "It's her, isn't it." he stated, the smirk broadened, his eye brow raised expectantly.
Laguna looked at the floor again and twiddled with his hands, turning his head slightly to the side, trying to figure out the right way to put this. "Kiros," he said, "I. I haven't felt this way about someone.since. since."
"Since Raine?" Kiros finished for him. He was looking at Laguna with sympathy in his eyes. He knew how much he cared for Raine, how much he loved her. how much he still loves her.
"Yeah," Laguna sat up and looked at Kiros, "I felt this way when I first met Raine. and I didn't know what it was," he said, "So I never acted on it for a long time, and then I lost her. It was all my fault, I left her, and now I've left Lexi too. What if. what if something happens while we're gone?" he finished. Kiros could tell by the way he put his head down that he was holding off the urge to cry.
Kiros frowned, "First off, it wasn't your fault what happened to Raine. It would have happened whether or not you were there. If you were there, you'd probably be dead too. How were you to know that the soldiers would come to Winhill again? They'd already come to get Ellone." He said solemnly, " And as for Lexi, well, from what I've seen, she's not exactly someone you should have to worry about.. She's strong, she can fight and defend herself. She's going to be alright."
"I suppose," he put his head down again, grabbing it in frustration, despite the good words that Kiros had said to him.
Kiros put a hand on Laguna's back, "It's going to be fine,"
At that, Landers entered the pilot's deck from the elevator, a determined look on his face. He looked at them quickly, "Ready?" he asked.
Laguna and Kiros nodded, now standing up, ready for action. Fond memories came back to their minds quite suddenly, mostly about their earlier days as soldiers in the Galbadian army, and how they were always ready for a fight.
"Right then! We will address the Garden, tell them to stay behind, and we will fly ahead." Landers said, "Our Ragnarok, with the fifty soldiers aboard, will land inside of Trabia Garden and secure the inside, making sure none of the Estharian soldiers get in, and then we'll go from there. The headmaster of the Garden, Eustace Aravir, should be inside somewhere, we need to find him and inform him that the army is here."
"Shouldn't we at least try to inform Galbadia Garden?" Laguna asked, "The Estharian army is huge! We may not be able to hold them. I should know." he added in an undertone.
"You heard what I said to the headmistress of Balamb Garden. It cannot, and will not happen!" Landers said shortly, obviously holding down his temple (his face was quite red).
Laguna frowned at this, but instead of arguing, he turned to the communications system and switched it on. "Come in, Quistis, Come in."
"Laguna?" said Quistis' voice.
"Yeah, its me," said Laguna, "We're nearly there, you're to direct the Garden to the shoreline and stop there, you will receive transmission when we're ready for you."
"Right," Quistis said, "And what's your plan?"
Laguna glanced quickly at Landers, and then said, "We will land in Trabia Garden, and secure the premises, and then the air fleet will defend the on ground soldiers coming in from the ships, and then, we will call in the Garden students, they are to come on foot."
For a moment, there was no response, and then, "Are you sure that's going to work, how many soldiers do you have in the Ragnarok?"
"Fifty."
"FIFTY?" said a new voice, "They won't survive for more then twenty minutes in there!" It was Seifer's voice.
"Well," said Laguna, frowning, "It isn't up to me how many soldiers are going in, it's up to me to secure the premises."
"Laguna," said Quistis' voice again, "Please. be careful."
Laguna said nothing more except, "Take care. and.see you."
He changed the channel on the system and informed the fighter jets of the air fleet to standby and be ready to fight, once the on land soldiers leave the ships.
Once he was finished informing all of these people, the Ragnarok was now hovering over a mountain on the edge of the continent, and they were all looking out the window, staring at the ongoing battle at Trabia.
Though it was still hundreds of yards away, they could see the Estharian forces going at Trabia, bombing it, and trying to find ways in to it; there were even ladders being pushed upwards and falling onto the sides of the barrier of the Garden, allowing soldiers to get in.
The grounds in the valley were the Garden sat was filled with soldiers, some dead, but many still up and fighting with the Garden students. The sad thing was that there were only about three hundred Garden students fighting, and about a two thousand soldiers against them. Also, on the other side on the mountain, there were soldiers marching towards the Garden, going around the mountain.. So many that Laguna had to sit down.
There was a good five thousand soldiers coming around the mountainside. It was clear that Adel was willing to do anything. anything. to take hold of Trabia Garden.
"Come on now," said Nateria, holding onto Irvine's leg, "Come on," With unbelievable strength, with Ulrich steadying her by holding onto her middle, she pulled Irvine and Selphie up, and out of the Gap.
Selphie and Irvine stood up, brushing themselves off, and looking cautiously over the edge, wondering how they got up. They turned to Nateria and stared. Selphie suddenly hugged her, causing Nateria to give a look of confusion. Though, the look quickly turned to a smile and Selphie let go.
"How can we ever thank you enough?" Selphie exclaimed.
Irvine was smiling but didn't know what to say, so he hugged her too, and in turn, shook Ulrich's hand.
"Oh," said Nateria, "No need. Ve must keep going, ve are more zen 'alf way zere now. Follow me!" she ran ahead, Ulrich just smiled broadly and then turned to follow her, leaving Irvine and Selphie to follow into the bright bluish light of the tunnel ahead.
"How'd she pull us both up?" Irvine wondered out loud to Selphie, who shrugged and walked on.
They quickened their pace and caught up to Ulrich and Nateria. The tunnel wasn't twisting and turning anymore, though, the slope was getting gradually steeper, and the bluish light was fading.
After nearly an hour on walking on and on, the tunnel's light was faint, but still sort of bluish and the slope had taken a definite turn upwards. It was like they were walking up and continually long staircase, even though the stairs were like landings and in between, they had to use roots and such to make their way up the slope.
The last part of the slope came slowly, as they were travelling in silence. The tree-swingers seemed to have no trouble finding their way up the slope, but Selphie and Irvine were drenched with sweat and stopping for a few seconds on each landing to catch their breath.
The tunnel was gradually getting thinner and soon was only about six feet across, from about fifteen feet when they were at the bottom. Finally, they reached the last landing and stood up, looking around. The tunnel went straight ahead for awhile, and then ended, it seemed to take a turn.
Irvine and Selphie turned to Ulrich and Nateria, who were standing, no longer moving along; "You guys comin'?" Selphie asked.
"It iz ze end of ze line," said Ulrich, "Past ze turn is the moveable rock where you can leave zis tunnel and enter your world."
"You guys won't go that far?" Irvine asked.
Both of them shook their heads and stared at Irvine and Selphie.
Irvine stepped forward and smiled, "Thank you," he said, "For welcoming us the way that you have, and for listening to our story and for everything that you have done for us."
"Don't forgot leading us through the tunnels too, and saving our lives," piped in Selphie, also smiling.
Ulrich hugged Selphie, and Irvine, so did Nateria. "Our kind vould 'ave never thought zat ve'd become friends with 'umans," said Nateria, smiling (a first true smile they'd really seen), "But you 'ave shown uz zat ve can. thank-you.. Friends." she added.
"Ve velcome you back at any time you vant to come, if you can find ze vey." Ulrich said, smiling.
At that, the two tree-swingers turned and walked down the slope, as easily as if it were no slope at all, and eventually, they were out of sight.
Irvine and Selphie turned, and walked silently down the tunnel, and sure enough, at the turn, the tunnel continued for only a few feet and then there was a solid wall where a small shining light could be seen shining at the floor.
"That must be it," said Selphie and Irvine nodded. They walked to the wall and touched it, waiting.
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Chapter XXVI.....Dreams do Come True
(What good is this?) Squall wondered to himself as he flew over the vast ocean, towards the Continent where Edea resided (he'd just been in the Balamb area). The sun was setting on the ocean, and Fisherman's Horizon could be seen in the distance in front of him, glowing slightly in the falling darkness.
(Quistis and Seifer probably really need me right now, and I've left Rinoa. why did I do this did I leave?) he thought, clicking a button on the board causing the Roknarag to a stop in mid-air, over a vast field.
He looked around, the small specks of stars were now appearing in the sky and the faint city lights of Esthar City could be seen in the far distance, glittering like stars on the land.
He leaned back in the seat of the ship, placing his hands on the side of his head in frustration. "WHY?" he yelled out loud, now leaning forward and cupping his hands over his face.
"Why didn't they tell me sooner?" he whispered, closing his eyes.
A faint sound could be heard in the not to far from him. It was the sound of another aircraft. Squall looked up, now hearing it. He could see something coming towards him rapidly, and he squinted out the window, it was hard to see in the dark.
"Squall?" the communications system was on, and Rinoa's voice echoed through.
For a moment, Squall sat stunned, had he just heard Rinoa on the comm system?
"Squall, is that you in front of me?" she said, and now Squall knew that it was her. Her jet approached his, close now.
"Rinoa?" Squall picked up the reciever.
"Oh, Squall! I didn't think that I'd find you!" she sounded as though she were about to cry. "I searched and searched." she trailed off before saying, "Please land, I want to talk to you!"
Squall said nothing for a moment, unsure of whether or not he should just leave. He knew he couldn't let his anger get a hold of him again. After a moment of consideration, he ultimately decided that they should talk, even though he avoided talking things out most of the time, if possible. He took the steering and brought the Roknarag down in the field, and Rinoa followed suit.
He left the jet and walked out into the field, it was wide and vast, a flowery field. The stars gleamed above, like tiny candles individually lit. The large moon shined down onto the ocean that could be seen, glittering with the reflective twinkles. Crashing waves boomed in the distance against the rocky cliffs and the soft and pleasant sound of crickets could be heard, chirping happily in the dark. The place was familiar. how could he have forgotten?
He walked forward and several feet from the ship, stopped and stood silently, waiting. Soon enough, Rinoa reached him, stepping in front of him, tilting her head to the side as she always did, she seemed to be waiting for something.
Squall's dark eyes turned to her, at first they were hard, and cold. It was as though they were a closed window to his soul, wishing to be opened. He stared at her, frowning, he didn't want to give in. but he couldn't help it. His eyes suddenly didn't seem so cold, but warm now, and open. He couldn't bear it; he stepped forward and embraced Rinoa in a hug, wanting to stay like this forever, but she pulled away, soft tears running down her cheeks.
"I'm sorry." she whispered, now looking at the ground, her foot rotating in a slow circle, "So sorry."
Squall reached forward and wiped the tears off her soft cheeks, but he said nothing. His throat seemed to have closed off.
"I." she hesitated for a moment, looking up into his eyes. "I didn't want to tell you because." she paused for a moment, "Because when Aurora was born. the love in your eyes. it was unbelievable, a genuine love for a child that I haven't seen before. The moment you laid eyes on her, I saw it! I guess. I wanted Aurora to have the love of a father that I never had. " She wished he would say something now.
Squall still remained silent, he couldn't find his voice, so he just looked into Rinoa's eyes, frowning.
"I couldn't bear to take that away from her. I couldn't take it away from you." she hesitated for a moment, holding their gaze, "And despite was anyone says, you are her father, nobody but you. That will never change."
Squall nodded numbly, and more tears ran down Rinoa's cheek. A tear even leaked out of his eye. There was silence, and for a few moments he looked around, his gaze sweeping the area around them. then it came to him. He looked down at Rinoa, a small smile crossing his face as she looked up at him.
"Do you remember the first real promise that I ever made to you?" he asked her in a soft voice, brushing his finger lightly down her cheek and into her hair.
She frowned for a moment, as if straining to remember, and then finally, she looked up at him, her mouth gaping a little and she put a hand to the side of her face, cupping her hand over his, smiling.
"I promised that if you were ever searching for me, that if you were ever afraid that you'd never find me, to come here.. And I would be here." He whispered, a smile crossing his face, "And here we met. just like I promised."
Fresh tears poured down Rinoa's face as she smiled up at Squall. He embraced her in another hug, and this time they stayed like this. The crickets chirped all around them and the crashing waves could still be heard. A shooting star crossed the sky, and they stared at it.
"Dreams do come true." Rinoa whispered. The crickets chirped happily around them, and the breeze came though softly as they kissed.
Still grasping Aurora's hand tightly, Sirus swam with all his might to get away. People dived in all around them, and grabbed at their feet. Sirus and Aurora kicked back with all the strength they could, while swimming at the same time.
Time was running out, if they went to the surface, they'd be caught, and if they stayed under, they'd drown. Sirus couldn't allow either to happen, but his breath was catching up with him, they were running out of options. They had to choose: be caught, or die.
Sirus looked around frantically; he was terrified. In the greenish murky water ahead there was a patch of pitch black, it appeared to be some sort of a hole. He wasn't sure what it was but he pointed it out to Aurora who nodded frantically to go to it. With all their might, they swam towards the hole.
The soldiers dove in all around them, and they were trapped. Sirus and Aurora were nearly out of breath; another thirty seconds and they would be gone. They had to reach the surface; there was no way to get to the hole.
Suddenly, Aurora shook her hand out of Sirus' and swam forward, towards the soldiers blocking their way. Sirus swam after her, but before he could get to her, she'd already acted. A great blast of water exploded, the water seemed to glow bright blue for a few moments and the soldiers that were in front of her floated upwards; dead.
Sirus stopped, looking around, the soldiers who were untouched by the blast were swimming away fearfully. Sirus looked back at Aurora, and his eyes widened. She was now floating upwards, not holding her breath. she was unconscious.
In a panic he swam quickly and grabbed her around the waist. If they reached the surface they'd be caught, he would take the chance in the hole. He swam with all his might, carrying her at his side, towards the hole.
At a closer look it appeared that they'd reached the side of the land and were swimming into a cave. Sirus, however, didn't pay much attention because of his rush into the cave. His air was running out and he was beginning to swim upward, unknowing of what good it would do.
He was unaware, a few seconds later, that they'd reached the surface, and were floating in the ocean water the large cavern above them. He breathed in a large, deep breath of air. Aurora suddenly coughed and sputtered. Water spewed from her mouth, and she coughed more. She raised her head and looked at Sirus, "Hey," she said faintly, smirking.
Sirus smiled broadly, a quite suddenly, kissed her. For a moment they stayed that way, in the water, floating, and kissing. Once they pulled back, Sirus opened his eyes and looked at her, "We made it!" he whispered, "We're alive!"
Aurora nodded happily. At that they began to look around at their surroundings. When they'd first reached the surface, they didn't notice the greenish tint in the air. It was hardly noticeable, really. About twenty feet from where they were, there was a ridge type feature, coming out of the water. It did an arch around the entire cave and several paths came out into it. They swam to the part in front of them and climbed up, looking around.
The cave began about fifty feet away, where the tunnel from the ocean came in, and was about twenty-five feet high, creating a large arch downwards. The cave appeared to be in a round type shape, and they assumed, underwater followed the same type of pattern.
"I suppose that we're between the ocean level and the above land.." said Sirus, looking around, touching the rock wall. He looked at the cave entrances from the arch of rock; there were a good ten caves other than the one that they were standing in front of, "Or there's some sort of an air pocket in here."
"But what is this place?" he frowned.
Aurora was staring that the water, Sirus looked at her. "Aurora?" she didn't answer, just stared at the water in which they came from. "What is it?" he asked her.
She pointed numbly. Sirus saw a shape, a very large and spiky shape, moving beneath the surface of the water. Sirus backed up, pulling Aurora with him. They both pulled their eyes off of the shape and looked at each other.
"What do you think it is?" she said.
"I don't know." he frowned, "But I don't think we should be here when it decides to come to the surface."
Aurora nodded her agreement and looked around, at all the cave entrances. She ignored the one in front of them and noticed the one two entrances to the left. She walked up to it and looked down it, "This one looks like it goes somewhere," she said.
Sirus looked down the cave and nodded, noticing the slope downwards, which was shallow, "Should we? We don't know what's down there."
Aurora tilted her head towards the water, "And we don't know what that is either. What do you want to take your chances with?"
Sirus saw her point and no sooner were they headed down the mysterious cave entrance, away from the ocean water.
(Why did I have to leave her there?) Laguna sighed, thinking about his parting from Lexi, wishing that she could have come.
"I'm sorry, Lexi, but I've got to do this, I've got to go with the president to defend this country, and hopefully save my own," he told her, unable to look her in the eyes. "Oh, but Laguna.." she had trailed off, fiddling with her sleeve hem. "I promise that I'll see you again, I'll be back," he said to her, now looking into her eyes and lifting her chin. She nodded. "And I promise I will help any way that I can," she whispered, sounding as though she were going to cry and looking into his eyes. She held the gaze for a few seconds, before running off in the direction of the hotel in Deling City.
(I wonder what she meant by that. 'help in any way.'. I hope she's not going to do anything stupid.) Laguna thought, slumping in his seat, and frowning.
"Laguna?" asked Kiros, almost started by the expression that was upon Laguna's face.
"Oh!" Laguna looked up quite suddenly, surprised, and then said, "Sorry, I've just been. thinking."
Kiros raised his eyebrow and smirked a little, "Oh no, here we go again."
It took a moment for Laguna to realize what he meant, "HEY!" he said, defensively, "What's that supposed'ta mean?"
Kiros stood up (he had been sitting across the deck) and crossed the deck, sitting beside Laguna with a soft thump. He looked a Laguna, "It's her, isn't it." he stated, the smirk broadened, his eye brow raised expectantly.
Laguna looked at the floor again and twiddled with his hands, turning his head slightly to the side, trying to figure out the right way to put this. "Kiros," he said, "I. I haven't felt this way about someone.since. since."
"Since Raine?" Kiros finished for him. He was looking at Laguna with sympathy in his eyes. He knew how much he cared for Raine, how much he loved her. how much he still loves her.
"Yeah," Laguna sat up and looked at Kiros, "I felt this way when I first met Raine. and I didn't know what it was," he said, "So I never acted on it for a long time, and then I lost her. It was all my fault, I left her, and now I've left Lexi too. What if. what if something happens while we're gone?" he finished. Kiros could tell by the way he put his head down that he was holding off the urge to cry.
Kiros frowned, "First off, it wasn't your fault what happened to Raine. It would have happened whether or not you were there. If you were there, you'd probably be dead too. How were you to know that the soldiers would come to Winhill again? They'd already come to get Ellone." He said solemnly, " And as for Lexi, well, from what I've seen, she's not exactly someone you should have to worry about.. She's strong, she can fight and defend herself. She's going to be alright."
"I suppose," he put his head down again, grabbing it in frustration, despite the good words that Kiros had said to him.
Kiros put a hand on Laguna's back, "It's going to be fine,"
At that, Landers entered the pilot's deck from the elevator, a determined look on his face. He looked at them quickly, "Ready?" he asked.
Laguna and Kiros nodded, now standing up, ready for action. Fond memories came back to their minds quite suddenly, mostly about their earlier days as soldiers in the Galbadian army, and how they were always ready for a fight.
"Right then! We will address the Garden, tell them to stay behind, and we will fly ahead." Landers said, "Our Ragnarok, with the fifty soldiers aboard, will land inside of Trabia Garden and secure the inside, making sure none of the Estharian soldiers get in, and then we'll go from there. The headmaster of the Garden, Eustace Aravir, should be inside somewhere, we need to find him and inform him that the army is here."
"Shouldn't we at least try to inform Galbadia Garden?" Laguna asked, "The Estharian army is huge! We may not be able to hold them. I should know." he added in an undertone.
"You heard what I said to the headmistress of Balamb Garden. It cannot, and will not happen!" Landers said shortly, obviously holding down his temple (his face was quite red).
Laguna frowned at this, but instead of arguing, he turned to the communications system and switched it on. "Come in, Quistis, Come in."
"Laguna?" said Quistis' voice.
"Yeah, its me," said Laguna, "We're nearly there, you're to direct the Garden to the shoreline and stop there, you will receive transmission when we're ready for you."
"Right," Quistis said, "And what's your plan?"
Laguna glanced quickly at Landers, and then said, "We will land in Trabia Garden, and secure the premises, and then the air fleet will defend the on ground soldiers coming in from the ships, and then, we will call in the Garden students, they are to come on foot."
For a moment, there was no response, and then, "Are you sure that's going to work, how many soldiers do you have in the Ragnarok?"
"Fifty."
"FIFTY?" said a new voice, "They won't survive for more then twenty minutes in there!" It was Seifer's voice.
"Well," said Laguna, frowning, "It isn't up to me how many soldiers are going in, it's up to me to secure the premises."
"Laguna," said Quistis' voice again, "Please. be careful."
Laguna said nothing more except, "Take care. and.see you."
He changed the channel on the system and informed the fighter jets of the air fleet to standby and be ready to fight, once the on land soldiers leave the ships.
Once he was finished informing all of these people, the Ragnarok was now hovering over a mountain on the edge of the continent, and they were all looking out the window, staring at the ongoing battle at Trabia.
Though it was still hundreds of yards away, they could see the Estharian forces going at Trabia, bombing it, and trying to find ways in to it; there were even ladders being pushed upwards and falling onto the sides of the barrier of the Garden, allowing soldiers to get in.
The grounds in the valley were the Garden sat was filled with soldiers, some dead, but many still up and fighting with the Garden students. The sad thing was that there were only about three hundred Garden students fighting, and about a two thousand soldiers against them. Also, on the other side on the mountain, there were soldiers marching towards the Garden, going around the mountain.. So many that Laguna had to sit down.
There was a good five thousand soldiers coming around the mountainside. It was clear that Adel was willing to do anything. anything. to take hold of Trabia Garden.
"Come on now," said Nateria, holding onto Irvine's leg, "Come on," With unbelievable strength, with Ulrich steadying her by holding onto her middle, she pulled Irvine and Selphie up, and out of the Gap.
Selphie and Irvine stood up, brushing themselves off, and looking cautiously over the edge, wondering how they got up. They turned to Nateria and stared. Selphie suddenly hugged her, causing Nateria to give a look of confusion. Though, the look quickly turned to a smile and Selphie let go.
"How can we ever thank you enough?" Selphie exclaimed.
Irvine was smiling but didn't know what to say, so he hugged her too, and in turn, shook Ulrich's hand.
"Oh," said Nateria, "No need. Ve must keep going, ve are more zen 'alf way zere now. Follow me!" she ran ahead, Ulrich just smiled broadly and then turned to follow her, leaving Irvine and Selphie to follow into the bright bluish light of the tunnel ahead.
"How'd she pull us both up?" Irvine wondered out loud to Selphie, who shrugged and walked on.
They quickened their pace and caught up to Ulrich and Nateria. The tunnel wasn't twisting and turning anymore, though, the slope was getting gradually steeper, and the bluish light was fading.
After nearly an hour on walking on and on, the tunnel's light was faint, but still sort of bluish and the slope had taken a definite turn upwards. It was like they were walking up and continually long staircase, even though the stairs were like landings and in between, they had to use roots and such to make their way up the slope.
The last part of the slope came slowly, as they were travelling in silence. The tree-swingers seemed to have no trouble finding their way up the slope, but Selphie and Irvine were drenched with sweat and stopping for a few seconds on each landing to catch their breath.
The tunnel was gradually getting thinner and soon was only about six feet across, from about fifteen feet when they were at the bottom. Finally, they reached the last landing and stood up, looking around. The tunnel went straight ahead for awhile, and then ended, it seemed to take a turn.
Irvine and Selphie turned to Ulrich and Nateria, who were standing, no longer moving along; "You guys comin'?" Selphie asked.
"It iz ze end of ze line," said Ulrich, "Past ze turn is the moveable rock where you can leave zis tunnel and enter your world."
"You guys won't go that far?" Irvine asked.
Both of them shook their heads and stared at Irvine and Selphie.
Irvine stepped forward and smiled, "Thank you," he said, "For welcoming us the way that you have, and for listening to our story and for everything that you have done for us."
"Don't forgot leading us through the tunnels too, and saving our lives," piped in Selphie, also smiling.
Ulrich hugged Selphie, and Irvine, so did Nateria. "Our kind vould 'ave never thought zat ve'd become friends with 'umans," said Nateria, smiling (a first true smile they'd really seen), "But you 'ave shown uz zat ve can. thank-you.. Friends." she added.
"Ve velcome you back at any time you vant to come, if you can find ze vey." Ulrich said, smiling.
At that, the two tree-swingers turned and walked down the slope, as easily as if it were no slope at all, and eventually, they were out of sight.
Irvine and Selphie turned, and walked silently down the tunnel, and sure enough, at the turn, the tunnel continued for only a few feet and then there was a solid wall where a small shining light could be seen shining at the floor.
"That must be it," said Selphie and Irvine nodded. They walked to the wall and touched it, waiting.
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Chapter XXVI.....Dreams do Come True
(What good is this?) Squall wondered to himself as he flew over the vast ocean, towards the Continent where Edea resided (he'd just been in the Balamb area). The sun was setting on the ocean, and Fisherman's Horizon could be seen in the distance in front of him, glowing slightly in the falling darkness.
(Quistis and Seifer probably really need me right now, and I've left Rinoa. why did I do this did I leave?) he thought, clicking a button on the board causing the Roknarag to a stop in mid-air, over a vast field.
He looked around, the small specks of stars were now appearing in the sky and the faint city lights of Esthar City could be seen in the far distance, glittering like stars on the land.
He leaned back in the seat of the ship, placing his hands on the side of his head in frustration. "WHY?" he yelled out loud, now leaning forward and cupping his hands over his face.
"Why didn't they tell me sooner?" he whispered, closing his eyes.
A faint sound could be heard in the not to far from him. It was the sound of another aircraft. Squall looked up, now hearing it. He could see something coming towards him rapidly, and he squinted out the window, it was hard to see in the dark.
"Squall?" the communications system was on, and Rinoa's voice echoed through.
For a moment, Squall sat stunned, had he just heard Rinoa on the comm system?
"Squall, is that you in front of me?" she said, and now Squall knew that it was her. Her jet approached his, close now.
"Rinoa?" Squall picked up the reciever.
"Oh, Squall! I didn't think that I'd find you!" she sounded as though she were about to cry. "I searched and searched." she trailed off before saying, "Please land, I want to talk to you!"
Squall said nothing for a moment, unsure of whether or not he should just leave. He knew he couldn't let his anger get a hold of him again. After a moment of consideration, he ultimately decided that they should talk, even though he avoided talking things out most of the time, if possible. He took the steering and brought the Roknarag down in the field, and Rinoa followed suit.
He left the jet and walked out into the field, it was wide and vast, a flowery field. The stars gleamed above, like tiny candles individually lit. The large moon shined down onto the ocean that could be seen, glittering with the reflective twinkles. Crashing waves boomed in the distance against the rocky cliffs and the soft and pleasant sound of crickets could be heard, chirping happily in the dark. The place was familiar. how could he have forgotten?
He walked forward and several feet from the ship, stopped and stood silently, waiting. Soon enough, Rinoa reached him, stepping in front of him, tilting her head to the side as she always did, she seemed to be waiting for something.
Squall's dark eyes turned to her, at first they were hard, and cold. It was as though they were a closed window to his soul, wishing to be opened. He stared at her, frowning, he didn't want to give in. but he couldn't help it. His eyes suddenly didn't seem so cold, but warm now, and open. He couldn't bear it; he stepped forward and embraced Rinoa in a hug, wanting to stay like this forever, but she pulled away, soft tears running down her cheeks.
"I'm sorry." she whispered, now looking at the ground, her foot rotating in a slow circle, "So sorry."
Squall reached forward and wiped the tears off her soft cheeks, but he said nothing. His throat seemed to have closed off.
"I." she hesitated for a moment, looking up into his eyes. "I didn't want to tell you because." she paused for a moment, "Because when Aurora was born. the love in your eyes. it was unbelievable, a genuine love for a child that I haven't seen before. The moment you laid eyes on her, I saw it! I guess. I wanted Aurora to have the love of a father that I never had. " She wished he would say something now.
Squall still remained silent, he couldn't find his voice, so he just looked into Rinoa's eyes, frowning.
"I couldn't bear to take that away from her. I couldn't take it away from you." she hesitated for a moment, holding their gaze, "And despite was anyone says, you are her father, nobody but you. That will never change."
Squall nodded numbly, and more tears ran down Rinoa's cheek. A tear even leaked out of his eye. There was silence, and for a few moments he looked around, his gaze sweeping the area around them. then it came to him. He looked down at Rinoa, a small smile crossing his face as she looked up at him.
"Do you remember the first real promise that I ever made to you?" he asked her in a soft voice, brushing his finger lightly down her cheek and into her hair.
She frowned for a moment, as if straining to remember, and then finally, she looked up at him, her mouth gaping a little and she put a hand to the side of her face, cupping her hand over his, smiling.
"I promised that if you were ever searching for me, that if you were ever afraid that you'd never find me, to come here.. And I would be here." He whispered, a smile crossing his face, "And here we met. just like I promised."
Fresh tears poured down Rinoa's face as she smiled up at Squall. He embraced her in another hug, and this time they stayed like this. The crickets chirped all around them and the crashing waves could still be heard. A shooting star crossed the sky, and they stared at it.
"Dreams do come true." Rinoa whispered. The crickets chirped happily around them, and the breeze came though softly as they kissed.
Still grasping Aurora's hand tightly, Sirus swam with all his might to get away. People dived in all around them, and grabbed at their feet. Sirus and Aurora kicked back with all the strength they could, while swimming at the same time.
Time was running out, if they went to the surface, they'd be caught, and if they stayed under, they'd drown. Sirus couldn't allow either to happen, but his breath was catching up with him, they were running out of options. They had to choose: be caught, or die.
Sirus looked around frantically; he was terrified. In the greenish murky water ahead there was a patch of pitch black, it appeared to be some sort of a hole. He wasn't sure what it was but he pointed it out to Aurora who nodded frantically to go to it. With all their might, they swam towards the hole.
The soldiers dove in all around them, and they were trapped. Sirus and Aurora were nearly out of breath; another thirty seconds and they would be gone. They had to reach the surface; there was no way to get to the hole.
Suddenly, Aurora shook her hand out of Sirus' and swam forward, towards the soldiers blocking their way. Sirus swam after her, but before he could get to her, she'd already acted. A great blast of water exploded, the water seemed to glow bright blue for a few moments and the soldiers that were in front of her floated upwards; dead.
Sirus stopped, looking around, the soldiers who were untouched by the blast were swimming away fearfully. Sirus looked back at Aurora, and his eyes widened. She was now floating upwards, not holding her breath. she was unconscious.
In a panic he swam quickly and grabbed her around the waist. If they reached the surface they'd be caught, he would take the chance in the hole. He swam with all his might, carrying her at his side, towards the hole.
At a closer look it appeared that they'd reached the side of the land and were swimming into a cave. Sirus, however, didn't pay much attention because of his rush into the cave. His air was running out and he was beginning to swim upward, unknowing of what good it would do.
He was unaware, a few seconds later, that they'd reached the surface, and were floating in the ocean water the large cavern above them. He breathed in a large, deep breath of air. Aurora suddenly coughed and sputtered. Water spewed from her mouth, and she coughed more. She raised her head and looked at Sirus, "Hey," she said faintly, smirking.
Sirus smiled broadly, a quite suddenly, kissed her. For a moment they stayed that way, in the water, floating, and kissing. Once they pulled back, Sirus opened his eyes and looked at her, "We made it!" he whispered, "We're alive!"
Aurora nodded happily. At that they began to look around at their surroundings. When they'd first reached the surface, they didn't notice the greenish tint in the air. It was hardly noticeable, really. About twenty feet from where they were, there was a ridge type feature, coming out of the water. It did an arch around the entire cave and several paths came out into it. They swam to the part in front of them and climbed up, looking around.
The cave began about fifty feet away, where the tunnel from the ocean came in, and was about twenty-five feet high, creating a large arch downwards. The cave appeared to be in a round type shape, and they assumed, underwater followed the same type of pattern.
"I suppose that we're between the ocean level and the above land.." said Sirus, looking around, touching the rock wall. He looked at the cave entrances from the arch of rock; there were a good ten caves other than the one that they were standing in front of, "Or there's some sort of an air pocket in here."
"But what is this place?" he frowned.
Aurora was staring that the water, Sirus looked at her. "Aurora?" she didn't answer, just stared at the water in which they came from. "What is it?" he asked her.
She pointed numbly. Sirus saw a shape, a very large and spiky shape, moving beneath the surface of the water. Sirus backed up, pulling Aurora with him. They both pulled their eyes off of the shape and looked at each other.
"What do you think it is?" she said.
"I don't know." he frowned, "But I don't think we should be here when it decides to come to the surface."
Aurora nodded her agreement and looked around, at all the cave entrances. She ignored the one in front of them and noticed the one two entrances to the left. She walked up to it and looked down it, "This one looks like it goes somewhere," she said.
Sirus looked down the cave and nodded, noticing the slope downwards, which was shallow, "Should we? We don't know what's down there."
Aurora tilted her head towards the water, "And we don't know what that is either. What do you want to take your chances with?"
Sirus saw her point and no sooner were they headed down the mysterious cave entrance, away from the ocean water.
