Reminiscence
For those who gaze down with unforgiving eyes,
Have seen the cruelty,
Of Mortal Life.
-Dr. Odine, Beginning of the End
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It was a long time ago, that we sat together at the victory ball, the grand celebration held after defeating Ultimecia. We knew she would rise again, but would it be wrong to enjoy a brief respite?
It was that very night, where Rinoa kissed Squall, on the moonlit balcony of Balamb Garden. Yet, it was also the night that she became infused with The essence.
What made Sorceress Ultimecia evil? She was not always a ruthless, evil witch bent on total domination. It was He, who had made it become so.
Hyne, who sat in His golden throne, far in the Heavens, or so the lore spoke of. He manipulated the worlds to His liking, and He might have achieved his goals, if not for the liberi fatali, who had wrested from Him His pawns.
Even so, in the midst of the fated children, at their helm, was a Knight, foolish enough to serve his Sorceress. Hyne prized honour and chivalry, yet they were all part of His one scheme. He controlled the Sorceresses, each one of them. In their minds was a seed of His thought, and he awoke that now.
The leader of the liberi fatali was one by the name of Squall, the sudden storm that sweeps the seas. When he was to kiss his beloved, on the day of their wedding, that terrible seed of Hyne awoke.
Rinoa had seemed to pull away from Squall, and the next thing that the Commander knew, she had risen amid cascading waves of energy to the top of the large chamber, and called upon he who was the protector of Sorceresses, even more so than their Knights.
Griever, the lion, had emerged from her ring and cast destruction upon all who stood before him. Squall, who was unarmed, was unable to face the might of the lion alone. His friends had rushed to his aid, but such was the power of Rinoa, Sorceress of Hyne, that Griever's power was amplified as well. It blasted the SeeD away without much trouble, and the Sorceress escaped on her summoning.
Squall and his friends tried many times, to convince the Sorceress to return to their side, but all hopes were in vain. Hyne possessed control far beyond the wildest dreams of humanity over the Sorceresses. They would kill themselves willingly for Him. They would kill the ones they loved, for Him.
For Him.
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Deling City, Holy Galbadian Empire.
Two years ago……
Squall reeled from a jawbreaker launched by General Caraway of the Holy Galbadian Empire.
"You were supposed to protect her!"
Another punch threw him against a wall. Squall could have killed the general, but he did not do so. Instead, he stood quietly allowing the general to exhaust his fury on him. Caraway threw an uppercut, and knocked Squall to the ground. He drew a pistol, and aimed at the Commander's head.
"You swore-you swore on the day I gave her to you-you swore that you would protect-her."
At Squall's imminent decapitation by a bullet, Quistis barked. "Hold it, General! You of all people should know that Squall grieves for your daughter as well. Perhaps even more than you do."
General Caraway scowled and prepared to fire the bullet. He aimed, but hesitated. A good thing too, for the entire SeeD delegation was prepared to spring at him. Squall rose. "General Caraway, I tried. I really did try to stop her, but-" His voice faltered.
Of all his tough moments, this was one of the worst. Telling Rinoa's father of her transformation.
General Caraway fell to the ground, and said no more, consumed in the paroxysms of his grief. Quistis laid a calming hand on Squall's shoulder. "Let him be, Squall."
Squall made as if to speak, but thought better of it and receded with his comrades out of the Mansion.
It would appear that they had no choice.
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Present day, Rinual Plains.
Squall stood at the bridge, next to Nida who guided Garden with the new touchglobe systems that consisted of a console with two orbs, allowing control of speed and direction simultaneously.
"Towards the Sorceress' ship, Nida."
Nida acknowledged the order, and all three Gardens including an airship, swung so that they were facing the massive Sorceress airship, named Eternity. It was the size of a Garden, and black, looming large over the small town of Balamb.
Nida tightened his grip on the control globes, and down below in the Command Centre, personnel were preparing SeeD for battle while readying artillery barrages. Squall, his heart in his throat, nodded once at Nida.
"All units, open fire."
Massive artillery cannons and flak launchers emerged from the decks of Garden. Missile batteries and other projectile launchers swiveled out of intricate walls. Galbadian and Estharian ships too prepared to fire alongside their allies.
And fire they did.
Almost two hundred tonnes of shells and artillery bombarded the Sorceress ship, tearing it apart. Metal rained down into the ocean, and flames burst from the torn hull. SeeD and military soldiers alike cheered as the shadow fell from the sky, to be cleansed in the deep ocean.
Nida let out his own victory shout, but Squall was more sombre. "Nida……run a full spectrum scan of the area with the White SeeD airship."
Nida complied, and immediately, the cheering ceased as the results were broadcast for all to see. There was no ship. It was merely a three-dimensional image projected by strategically located holocameras. And it had served its purpose; the SeeD had revealed their weaponry alongside the Galbadians and Estharians. Now, the Sorceress knew of their weapons, and would be able to defend against them.
However, not all was lost. As Squall would mention later, in a top secret meeting with the leaders of Galbadia and Esthar, they had bought the world some time. Some time while the Sorceress prepared, no doubt, but still time. For peace and harmony.
"And when she does come, we shall be ready."
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A/N: Ah, it might be a bit rushed at this point, yeah, I think so…… anyway, after this is when it gets interesting!
Neverending gratitude to Lunar-Girl! You really made me wanna continue this fic!
A great big thank you to bembem for reviewing! I presume you found out what happened between Squall and Rinoa?
Thanks to Pretty Green Eyes and Karla3 for adding their comments!
P.S: Sorry to all of you Squinoa fans out there, but I thought that this might be an interesting take on things.
Tidbits of next chapter: It is three years later, and the Sorceress still eluded the searchlights of the world. The people had seemed to recover from the endless wars that rocked their world, and now, peace at last seemed to be given a chance. Doubtless, there were still conflicts, but no longer on such a scale as the Sorceress Wars.