A Sequel to ReCreating Hell
Chapter One: Missing You
By PasifikStar
"SEPHIROTH!!!" Squall screamed into the darkness, his eyes blazing with red fury as the all too familiar blood scent entered his senses.
"What!?" Rinoa gasped. Her eyes were wide and rapidly filling with tears. "Where is RJ, Squall!?" She demanded in a nervous voice, although she already knew what had happened.
"Impossible!" Quistis shouted, her voice filled with fear as she looked around the area. "No, it can't be him! It CAN'T be! We KILLED him!"
"That's his scent." Seifer agreed, sniffing the air. He looked over at Irvine, who nodded in agreement.
"No doubt about it," Irvine told them. "That's Sephiroth's scent."
"I don't care if it's his scent or not!" Rinoa screamed. "Where is my daughter!?"
Seifer turned around and ran back into the ball room. "I'll go have security check around the area."
"Keep all the children inside!" Selphie shouted. "Irvine!"
"I know!" he nodded. "I'll go with him! Zell, come on!"
"Right!" Zell agreed and ran behind Irvine. Rinoa nails began to dig into the stone railing as her eyes frantically searched for any sign of her daughter. Her shoulders were quaking as Squall jumped from the balcony and on to the gardens below.
"Hunter, go with Squall!" Quistis ordered her son. "Help him find RJ!" She and Selphie moved towards Rinoa, putting their arms around her shoulders as the vampiric sorceress began to cry.
"Right!" Hunter said. He looked over at Rinoa, feeling his heart wrench for the woman as tears of blood streamed down her cheeks. Clutching RJ's garnet earring in his hand, he jumped over the balcony railing and into the darkness.
Rinoa looked out over the garden. "RJ!!" she screamed into the night air. "RJ!!!"
"Rinoa, calm down," Quistis urged. "We have to be rational."
"How can I be rational!?" Rinoa screamed, terrified. "My DAUGHTER IS MISSING!"
"Rinoa..." Selphie said with a worried frown. Rinoa leaned against the railing heavily as she covered her face with her hands.
"Oh, Hyne...RJ..." Rinoa whispered into her hands as she crumpled down against the railing. Quistis and Selphie both knelt down next to her, putting their arms around her.
"The area's being sealed off!" Seifer said as he ran back out into the balcony. He looked around, noticing two missing people. "Where are the others?"
"Squall and Hunter went to look for her out in the garden," Quistis said, motioning her head back slightly to the gardens that laid behind the rented hall. She looked back at Rinoa, who was still in tears. "I'm sure she's here, Rinoa. Don't worry, honey, we'll find her..."
"Was is really Sephiroth?" Rinoa's trembling voice whispered between sobs. Quistis looked over at Selphie and then up at Seifer.
Selphie bit her bottom lip and turned her head away. Seifer closed his eyes and let out a heavy breath. "Yes, Rinoa..."
"Oh, Hyne!" the vampiress wailed. Her eyes closed tightly. "He's taken her!"
"We'll find her-" Selphie began, but Rinoa shook her head from side to side violently.
"No, you don't understand!" Rinoa sobbed. "When RJ was little...when she was still at Hell's Gates...she had nightmares!" Rinoa cried. "She said a white haired man was always coming after her. She'd always get those nightmares..."
"A white haired man...?" Selphie whispered. She looked over at Quistis. "Hyne..."
"But how...?" Quistis said. "We killed him! Seifer cut off his head! We set him on fire!"
"RJ's gift..." Selphie mumbled. Quistis and Rinoa both froze. "She communicates with the dead."
Squall sniffed the air. "Shit!" he growled angrily. "The scent's gone!"
Hunter stopped behind the man and sniffed the air as well. Squall was right - Sephiroth's scent had vanished. He knelt down over the grass and looked around the area suspiciously. He could sense a faint magic signature in the area. "He disappeared..." Hunter mumbled. "There's a magic signature here...It's not RJ's."
Squall narrowed his eyes and walked over to Hunter. He himself couldn't sense magic signatures, as he didn't have an ounce of magic in him. Hunter went over the ground with his eyes. There wasn't any sign of a struggle, meaning RJ must've been unconscious.
"RJ's scent ends here," Squall said. "No scent of blood...she wasn't wounded."
"I think that he used magic to transport himself here," Hunter concluded as he stood back up. "Mr. Leonheart, sir," Hunter said. "This...Sephiroth...what is he?"
Squall's hands turned to fists at his sides as he glared down at the spot that Hunter pointed out. "An ancient vampire."
"Anything?!" Rinoa nearly shouted as she jumped up from her chair and ran to Squall who re-entered the building from the back doors. Her mate stopped and shook his head. Rinoa's eyes filled with tears. "No..."
"There was a magic signature," Hunter said, trying to at least give the woman some hope. "It wasn't RJ's..."
"But how could Sephiroth have a magic signature?" Selphie said as she sat around the table with the others. "He's a vampire."
"He used to travel using magic, I remember that much..." Quistis said with narrowed eyes. "But I always assumed it was Adel who was giving him power."
"You think someone else is giving him that kind of power?" Irvine asked.
"He's an ancient," Squall grumbled as he held on to Rinoa, who was still crying and burying her face against his chest. "Anything is possible."
"What are we going to do?" Rinoa sobbed. "Squall, WHY is he after her? I don't understand!"
"I don't either, Rin..." Squall said. He cupped Rinoa's face and put his forehead against hers. "I don't even know why he's back."
"You don't think he's going to...you know..." Zell mumbled. The group turned to look at the blond, who was holding a sleeping blond boy on his lap. He looked up at them nervously. "He wouldn't try to open the gates...would he?"
"That's impossible!" Selphie piped, her eyes large. "The gates are SEALED! No one is powerful enough to open them when there isn't a Blood Moon!"
"And there shouldn't be another Blood Moon for another several hundred years." Quistis assured them.
"And Sara, Leon, and Adel are all using their power to keep it sealed," Rinoa whimpered as she looked around. "Their power should be enough, shouldn't it?"
"Especially since there isn't a Blood Moon." Selphie agreed. The group was silent as they lapsed into thought.
"Rinoa," Quistis said quietly as she turned to her friend. The brunette turned her head look at her with a red streaked face. "You said something about RJ's dreams...what happened in them?"
Rinoa swallowed hard as Squall lead her over to a chair and sat her down. "I'm not exactly sure..." Rinoa said. "She used to wake up in tears saying that a white haired man was after her. She never gave us any details."
"When she woke up in the morning," Squall added. "She didn't remember them. But we were worried and thought that it was because we were at the gate."
"That's the main reason why we asked to be returned here," Rinoa explained. "We thought that if we were here, her dreams would stop...and they did."
"I wouldn't be surprised is RJ never remembered," Squall sighed tiredly. "We didn't want to tell her."
"Do you think that the white haired man is Sephiroth?" Selphie asked the group quietly.
"I don't know of anyone else..." Quistis trailed off.
"So Sephiroth's been trying to get RJ all these years...?" Hunter asked, confused as he stood there. "Why?"
"Hyne, if we knew that we wouldn't be here trying to figure it out!" Seifer grumbled. Hunter rolled his eyes.
"But you're not just going to sit here and do nothing are you?" Hunter asked the group. "I mean...RJ's gone!"
"Of course we're not just going to sit here!" Squall growled angrily. "But what the hell are we supposed to do if we have no idea what's going on!?"
"Find out what's going on!" Hunter replied back, annoyed. "You've done this before! What's wrong with you all? Are your so old and worn that you can't even start doing research on the subject!?"
"Hey!" Irvine snapped. "What who you're calling old, Hunter!"
"Sorry, Uncle Irvine," Hunter sighed. "I'm just saying..." He looked at them. Rinoa looked like a mess and Squall seemed so lost. "I'm going to Esthar's Library..." he grumbled as he turned around.
"Wait, Hunter!" his mother gasped. "You don't know what you're looking for!"
"I'll find out!" Hunter shouted over his shoulder. "If you're just going to sit there, I'm NOT going to join you!" *RJ's out there...*
Quistis looked up at her companions. "Seifer, call Raijin and Fujin." she said as she stood up off her chair.
"Why?" Seifer asked as he pulled out his cellular phone.
"Because we'll need someone to fly the Ragnarok over," Quistis said. She pulled her glasses out of her purse and put them on. "Once we find out where RJ is."
Rinoa's head perked up and looked at the blond. "Quistis..." she whispered.
"Seraphim!" Quistis shouted to her daughter. The blond young woman turned around from where she was talking to her friends. "Party's over, honey! We have work to do!"
*Hyne, what was that smell?* she thought as her mind began to work once more. All she could think about the heavy chemical scent that invaded her senses before she blacked out. *Was it Hunter?...No, he smells like crap...the bastard.*
Her heavy eyes opened slowly to reveal steel blue eyes behind long dark lashes. The room was dimly lit with a yellow chandelier hanging from the center of the room. She turned her head slightly and looked around the dark room. She was laying on a soft bed.
Around her, black satin pillows, some as large as her, were layered around. She narrowed her eyes and brought her hand over her head. Her soft glove against her forehead meant that she still wore her clothes. She craned her neck forward just to make sure. Sure enough, her blood red gown still adorned her body.
She rested her head back against the pillows and took a deep breath. Her eyes went wide. That scent...that blood scent...she had smelled it right before she smelled the chemical. "Whose there!?" she growled venomously as she narrowed her eyes.
She sensed a presence to her right and her head snapped around. Through the dim light, she could make out the tall figure walking towards her. Long white hair framed his pale face as his body was shrouded in dark clothes. "Raine Julia Leonheart," a deep voice said. Green eyes that seemed to glow in the dim light met her ice blue ones. "Allow me to introduce myself. We've met a few times when you were younger, but you might not remember me."
RJ narrowed her eyes, trying to place his face. "I'm sorry..." she said, suddenly feeling vulnerable. "I...I don't know who you are."
He chuckled a deep and throaty laugh. "My name is Sephiroth," he told her quietly. "I'm in need of your assistance."
"What?" RJ asked. She was still suspicious of him as he walked closer to the bed where she was now sitting up on. She pulled her legs inwards towards her chest and shook her head. "I...I don't think I can help you. I think you have the wrong person."
"No, my dear," he told her sweetly. "I have the right person. Your blood scent doesn't lie."
"Don't get any closer!" she shouted suddenly. "Or I'll...I'll..."
His lips curled into a smile. "You'll what?"
"I'll blow you up!" she shouted defensively. He stopped in his tracks, but then tossed his head back as he began to laugh insanely.
"Blow me up?" he laughed, his eyes glowing intensely as they ran up and down her figure. "Do you REALLY think that'll work on me?"
"Well, typically when one blows up another person, it usually succeeds in the other person dying, so yes, you'll excuse me if I believe it'll WORK." she hissed bitterly.
A smirk caressed his face. "You have no idea who I am, do you?"
"I've never met you before!" RJ shouted. "Who are you!?"
"I already told you, my name is Seph-"
"Sephiroth, yeah, yeah! I get it! But I've never met you previous to now!" RJ growled. "Tell me why I'm here and...and WHERE I am!"
"You are in an old mansion in Centra," he told her casually. "It used to be part of my previous employer's property."
"And why am I here?" RJ asked proudly.
"As I was saying earlier, I need your assistance," he explained. He sat down at the edge of the bed as RJ moved back, farther into the bed and away from him. "I don't want to hurt you."
"So why did you kidnap me?" she retorted.
"You wouldn't have come willingly," he explained simply. "You see, Miss Leonheart, you are a very special young vampiress. Your mother is the famed Rinoa Heartilly, a 'pure blooded' sorceress and one of two who has been successfully turned."
"I already know all about that!" RJ told him with narrowed eyes. "Spare me the details. What do you what with me?"
"To put it quite simply," he said. "I want your blood."
RJ's blue eyes went wide as she looked at him in shock. The pale man smirked at her reaction. "My...blood?" she asked, her voice quivering uneasily. Her hand unconciously rose to her throat.
"Your mother, Rinoa, had the blood combination of all sorceresses. You are familiar with that, yes?" RJ nodded. "And you have her blood with one major difference."
"And that is?"
Sephiroth looked at her with a fanged smile. "You have your father's pure vampire blood as well. The combination is one in several billion. You, my dear vampiress, have the rarest of the rare blood types."
"What do you want with my blood?" RJ asked suspiciously.
"To cleanse the world."
Hunter was hunched over a desk, piles of books around him as he flipped through numerous pages of text. His eyes scanned the words for anything that might be of help. Anything on ancient vampires, magic, and hybrids. Through the dim light of the old library, Quistis watched him.
In her hands, she held a thick note book. She had spent hours going through her belongings trying to find that book. Weeks of non-stop research had gone into it. It was the note book that contained her findings for the Blood Moon, Hell's Gates, and the origins of vampires and sorcerers.
"Hunter," she said quietly. The young blond man was still feverishly looking through the texts. His layered hair was tied at his nape to keep out of his eyes. His coat was draped over the back of his chair as his tie laid at a pile by one stack of books. The top buttons on his white dress shirt were unbuttoned. "Hunter."
His head snapped up and turned in the direction of her voice. "Mom...sorry, I was-"
She raised her hand to silence him. "Where are your reading glasses?"
"I left them at the house. I didn't have time to go get them," he explained. Quistis sighed and placed her note book over the thick book he was reading. "What's this?"
"Everything you need to know about the Blood Moon and Hell's Gates," she explained. "It's the research I did twenty years ago."
Hunter's eyes went wide and he opened the front cover. "Thanks...this'll save me a lot of time."
"I know," Quistis said as she reached over and stroked her son's head. "I'll go home and bring you your glasses. I'll join you then."
"Thanks, mom." he smiled weakly.
Quistis turned around and took a step and then stopped. Hunter looked up, realizing she hadn't left and looked at her questioningly. "Hunter...about what you said earlier at your sister's party..."
"Did it work?" Hunter asked. "I mean...is everyone going to help?"
"Everyone was going to help," Quistis sighed. She turned around and looked at him. "I know you were trying to get them riled up, but the initial shock was still there. You were out of line at times, Hunter."
"But they were just sitting there-" he began defensively.
"Their daughter was kidnapped," Quistis cut him off. Her eyes squinted and she looked at him thoughtfully. "Hunter, you're not a parent. You don't know how it feels to loose a child. You don't know how Rinoa and Squall felt and they were still in shock."
"But they weren't doing anything!" he gasped. "I mean...if she were MY kid I'd be out there right away trying to find out what happened to her!"
"Hunter," Quistis sighed heavily. "We were all devastated. RJ is their only child. They thought she was safe and all of a sudden, she was taken from them. You have to understand that they were in a state of confusion. All they wanted to know at that moment was WHY. Why did it have to be RJ? Why did he take her?"
"But-"
"Just think about it," Quistis insisted. Hunter let out a heavy breath and nodded. "I'll be back soon." She turned around and left him sitting at the library desk.
Hunter rubbed his hand against his forehead and closed his eyes tiredly. *I can't believe the last thing I said to her was that anywhere away from here was better...I feel like such an ass...* He shook his head to clear his thoughts and began to look through the note book his mother had given him. It was a thick book...it was going to be a long day. *I'm sorry, RJ...I'll make it up to you.*
"WHAT!?" Laguna gasped. He paled of all color as his eyes went wide. Shaking hands gripped the edge of his oak desk as Squall nodded on the seat in front of him.
Ellone was at Rinoa's side, trying to console her as Rinoa sniffled and tried to stop crying. She failed miserably. "By who?" Kiros asked with narrowed eyes. "Who'd kidnap her?"
"Sephiroth," Squall said. "I recognized is scent. Seifer and Irvine confirmed it."
"No..." Laguna said, shaking his head as red tears rimmed his eyes. "No...it can't be...it's just a joke right?"
"Uncle..." Ellone whispered quietly. Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at him. "They wouldn't kid about something like this."
"But RJ can't be gone!" Laguna gasped. "No! I won't believe it!"
"She's not GONE!" Squall growled. "She's been kidnapped! We just have to find her!"
"Where is she then!?" Laguna replied tearfully. "Where can she be? Do you have any idea? Any clue at all?"
"Hunter sensed a magic signature in the garden," Rinoa sniffed as she handed Ellone a blood soaked tissue. "He used magic to transport them."
"Magic?" Kiros said. "She could be anywhere..." At his words, Laguna closed his eyes tightly, as if in pain.
"Sephiroth is an ancient," Squall added. "Anything is possible with his age and powers."
"It took a combined team of Quistis, Seifer, Selphie, Irvine, and Zell to kill him the first time," Rinoa choked out as she was handed another tissue. "And even then, they had to use several methods..."
"They said they burned his body," Squall explained. "Beheaded him, shot him... they were sure that he was dead."
"Then are you SURE it was him?" Laguna asked. Squall nodded and narrowed his eyes.
"I can never forget that scent..." Squall mumbled bitterly. His hands balled into fists.
There was a knock at the door. Ward, who had been standing by the door way, looked at the group. Laguna nodded and he opened the door. Rinny walked in, dressed as she was from that evening's event. "Uncle, Auntie," she began. She was skinny and petite, like her mother, with straight, thick blond hair that was tied in a pony tail at the base of her neck. Large, green eyes the color of the jungle looked back at them. "Auntie Quisty just called. She said that she and Hunter are at the library. If they find anything, they'll call you."
"Thank you, Rinny," Rinoa said tearfully. The young lycan girl nodded and quickly exited the room. "There isn't much we can do until we find out where she could be."
"There has to be a way to find out where she could be..." Laguna said with a heavy frown as he looked down at the framed picture of his precious granddaughter on his desk.
Rinoa narrowed her eyes and nodded. "There is something," she whispered. Her hand tightened around the tissue she was holding. "I'm going to summon Faith."
Ellone looked surprise as the vampire men looked at Rinoa questioningly. "Rinoa... can you still do that?"
"My powers have just been dormant and unused for a few years," Rinoa shrugged as she stood up. "They're not gone. I'm still a sorceress. THAT hasn't changed."
"What will summoning Faith do?" Laguna asked, having been unfamiliar with it.
Rinoa was heading towards the door. "Faith is a spirit. It guides and foretells the future. A sorceress can only summon Faith once...maybe twice their entire life."
"So you haven't summoned Faith yet?" Laguna asked.
Rinoa stopped at the door. "Not formally..." she whispered. "But it's worth a try if Faith can lead us to RJ." She put her hand on the brass handle of the door and pulled it open.
Squall ran his hand through his brown hair and closed his eyes tightly. "Hyne..." he whispered.
"Squall," Laguna told him. "If there is anything we can do. Anything we can provide to help, just say the word."
The brunette nodded as he stood up and headed towards the door. He opened the door and stepped out of the older vampire's office. His eyes were narrowed, showing hints of red as he walked through the halls. *The only thing I want right now,* he thought as he followed Rinoa's scent to their room. *Is my daughter. When I find you, Sephiroth...I'll kill you and make sure you're in hell.*
She looked at the food spread out in front of her on a silken white sheet over an antique wooden dining table. Sitting several yards across from her was the tall white haired man. He had both elbows on the table with his fingers woven through each other as he looked at her with those seemingly radioactive green eyes.
Her blue-gray eyes wandered from him, to the table, to the elegance of the old mansion's dining room. It's walls seemed unnaturally high as wooden panels, no longer dusty, stretched high into the air against a rose colored wall. Dim wall light fixtures sent a light glow around the room. In one corner of the room two vampires were playing the violin and the grand piano, sending soft music into the otherwise silent room.
The silence was broken by a lycan in werewolf form walking out from behind the servant's entrance from the kitchen, two metal trays with lids on them on either hand. He placed the first tray in front of Sephiroth and then walked over quickly to RJ, placing the last tray in front of her.
As Sephiroth lifted up his lid, the lycan who served them lifted up RJ's. Her eyes went large as she laid eyes on the neatly prepared game hen that rested on her plate. Before she knew it, a thin necked crystal wine glass was placed next to her plate, filled with still warm blood.
"Is something wrong with the meal?" his deep voice carried over to her. RJ looked up and shook her head.
"I...I don't drink fresh human blood," RJ said as she poked at her food. "I don't like it."
"Don't like it?" Sephiroth let out a deep chuckle. "My dear, our kind LIVE off it. You're much too young to remember the glory days of the nosferatu, but fresh human blood was a delicacy."
"I have human friends..." RJ whispered as she pushed the drink away. "I...I just can't."
He gave her a questioning look and snapped his fingers. "I'll have then bring you some water then."
RJ nodded and looked back down at her food. Nervously, she took her fork and took a piece of game hen and lifted it to her mouth. It tasted excellent. Soft, moist, and juicy. She began to devour it.
Sephiroth watched the young vampiress eat her food quickly, but still in a very lady like manner. She had been taught well and he had expected nothing less from a child descended from the infamous Loire family. RJ brushed aside some stray bangs that had fallen over her face as she ate.
Her long dark dress was now slightly wrinkled. Gone was it's gorgeous glow in the lamp light that had struck Hunter when she entered the room. Hunter...*I wonder if he even knows I'm missing...* Suddenly the thought hit her and she dropped her fork. Sephiroth looked up from his own meal.
"Is something the matter?" he asked casually.
"My parents!" RJ gasped. "They don't know...oh Hyne! I have to get home!"
"How exactly do you plan on returning home from here, my dear?" he asked calmly. "We aren't in Esthar any more."
"I have to tell them where I am! Dad's probably worried sick! And mom...!" RJ covered her mouth as her eyes squinted. "Oh, Hyne! My mom will have a break down!"
"Are you not familiar with the concept of being a prisoner?" Sephiroth sighed heavily. "Until your job for me is complete, you will not leave my sight."
"I need to contact them!"
"The moment you contact them, they will come to find you," Sephiroth said. "Is that what you really want?"
RJ looked at him as if he had gone mad. "I don't want to be here!" she hissed as she stood up and knocked the glass of blood on to the table.
He elder vampire watched as the white sheet over the table soaked up the dark red liquid as it moved over the table. RJ was up and out of her seat, walking towards the door. She grabbed on to the brass handles and found that they were locked.
Growling, she looked around the room and spotted the window. Without hesitation, she strode over to the window and pulled the curtains open. Her froze in her spot as her eyes laid upon the view beyond the clear glass.
Hundreds of lycan warriors, all battle scarred, littered around the palace grounds. There were dozens of vampires as well, walking around. Some of the creatures were practicing fighting with weapons RJ had never seen her entire life.
Her mouth dropped slightly. A cold breath brushed the back of her neck and she froze. She could vaguely make out his reflection in the glass as he stood closely behind her. "Do you still want to call your parents?" His tone was mocking her, daring her to call just to watch those she loved die.
"What the hell is going on...?" she whispered, her pale hand shaking as it gripped the heavy velvet curtain.
"The story goes that after the gates were sealed, the followers of Adel vanished," he whispered, deep and low in her ear. "Things don't just vanish into thin air. They are merely placed elsewhere."
RJ let the curtains slip from her hand and cover the window as she stood there. "What are you going to do?"
"This world needs cleansing," the fallen one stated. He backed away from her, watching her as she turned around and looked at him with confused eyes. "We of heaven were never meant to live amongst those of earth," he began. "If heaven refuses to let us return then we must make earth our heaven."
RJ swallowed and stared at him. "You're going to start a war?" she asked quietly.
"I'm going to 'cleanse' the world of those inferior to us," he told her. "Who is weaker and mortal? Who brings pain on their own for their own means? Humans."
RJ shook her head. "You're going to kill all the humans in the world?"
"Not all of them," he shrugged. "We'll still need some as food sources."
"They're not animals!" RJ gasped. "You can't just go and wipe them out! This is their world, too!"
"They're not animals?" he asked, as if joking. "Those disgusting creatures would be no where without us immortals. They fear everything different and have come close to hunting us underworlders to extinction because of their fears. They are weak because they fear us. They KNOW that we are better and use their numbers to control us. Why do we, the powerful, have to be careful as to not disturb, them, the weak? Does that make sense?"
"They just need some more time to get used to us-"
"They will NEVER get used to us," Sephiroth laughed as he threw his head back. "Hundreds of thousands of years those primitive beasts have had a chance to get used to us! And yet they still fear us! Because we are different! We have married some them, lived among them, died for them, but never will they accept us. We are different, Raine Julia. That is all they need to know."
"You're talking about millions of lives!" RJ gasped. "How can you do that!? That's not cleansing! That's GENOCIDE!"
"Our numbers are already dwindling, RJ," he replied, as if not having heard her. He turned his back to her and walked across the room, deep in thought. "We need to gather together and bind in order to reassert our numbers!"
"That's already happening!" RJ said. "The clans are-"
"The clans are WEAK!" Sephiroth announced as he turned around to look at her. "Through the ages, they have lost the edge that we ancients have had since we fell!"
RJ jerked her head back and narrowed her eyes. "We?" she whispered. "I'm not like you..." she hissed in disgust.
He walked over to her quickly and cupped her pale face in his hands. "No," he said as his eyes looked deep into hers, seeing into her soul as her pupils dilated in fear. "You are EXACTLY like me...your blood is the blood of an ancient...it is...sacred blood."
The balcony was wide open was Squall walked in. Cold night wind blew through it's open doors as the gauzy curtains flew in to the sides. On the balcony floor, he saw the white cloth that had been spread over it's cold stone surface. His mate was placing candles around her in a circle she sat in the middle. She faced the railing and her back was to him.
For Rinoa, this was as close as she could come to a Sorcerer's Holy Place, as there were none in Esthar. She had changed into a simple white dress and had a gauzy white scarf over her face. There were about twenty round, thick candles of white wax surrounding her.
She closed her brown eyes, allowing the wind to caress over her skin as she sat on her knees. She held her hand over the candle directly in front of her and closed her eyes. Energy from her hand flew from her finger tips and on to the candle. As a flame danced over it, Rinoa held her hands over the other candles, simultaneously setting them on fire around her.
Squall stood by the foot of their bed, watching her intently. Aside from the magic she had used when she lost control of herself and the small spells here and there, he had never really seen her do serious magic. Rinoa took a deep breath and put her hands together.
Prayers ran through her head as she began to summon the spirit. The wind began to pick up and Squall narrowed his eyes. Wind seemed to be gushing in, but the flames of the candles didn't blow out. It was as if inside their circle, they were in another world.
He watched as she tilted her head back and slowly opened her eyes before looking forward. He could not see what she was looking at or rather who, but he felt another presence there. Although without any physical proof, he knew that Faith had arrived.
"You have summoned me Rinoa Leonheart, daughter of Heartilly and Caraway, blood of the vampire Leonheart and Loire?" a voice said softly.
Rinoa looked at the figure in front of her. A shrouded child like figure in a dark blue hooded robe that reached their knees was standing before her. Their face was hidden in the shadows of the robe.
"I would like to know the whereabouts of my daughter, Raine Julia Heartilly Leonheart." Rinoa stated.
The figure didn't move. "This will be the only time I will come to you, child of the heavens," Faith told her. "Is this the question you wish to ask?"
"I am certain," Rinoa repeated. "I cannot live not knowing where my child is."
"There is a shadow from your past whose strong discontent prevents him from moving on," Faith explained. "Lying in the sources of his past, he hides away and holds your daughter captive."
Rinoa's eyes widened. "Faith, is she well? Is she in any danger?"
Faith held their hand up to silence Rinoa. "Only one question may be answered at my summoning," Faith added. "I cannot answer that question, however know that your daughter holds secrets long lost to this world. She is yet another key to the world's future and will not be disposed of until she unlocks her part."
*That means she's still alive! Oh, thank, Hyne!* Rinoa thought to herself as she let out a deep breath. "Is there anything else you can tell me about my daughter, Faith?"
"Your daughter is still a sorceress although she has fully embraced her vampire side," Faith reminded Rinoa. "But her sacred blood needs to be protected."
"Of course, Faith," Rinoa agreed feverishly. "We will protect her-"
"She will need a knight," Faith cut off Rinoa. "Only he can protect her."
"A knight..." Rinoa whispered. She narrowed her eyes as her mind struggled to find the purpose of a knight. "But...how-"
"Do not let sacred blood be spilled." Faith spoke. Rinoa looked up and opened her mouth to ask more questions only to watch the figure disappear before her.
A cold wind blew around her, extinguishing all the candles that surrounded her body, leaving her sitting there staring into empty space. Behind her, Squall walked forward hesitantly. He opened his mouth to speak, but Rinoa cut him off.
"Have them find all the locations purchased under Adel's name and see if any of them have recently shown any activity," Rinoa said suddenly, making Squall stop and stare. "RJ is alive...but she's captive now."
"How long to we have?" Squall asked.
Rinoa was still staring out into empty space. "I don't know," she admitted. "But have them search immediately. RJ won't be hurt...at least until the reason she had been kidnapped is fulfilled."
Squall nodded and was about to turn and go make some phone calls when he stopped and looked at his mate. He sensed her blood tears in the cool breeze. "Rinoa," he told her sternly. "We'll get her back."
She merely nodded. "We can't let sacred blood be spilled, Squall," she mumbled incoherently. "Something bad will happen if it's spilled..."
Hunter looked over at his mother as he took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He blinked tiredly. Dawn was rising and his mother still seemed to be in the peak condition as she scanned endless volumes of text.
*Hyne, I don't know how she does it...* he thought to himself. He shook his head and quickly reminded himself that his mother took research as her chosen profession. Therefore, she was used to it.
Quistis glanced up at her son and saw him struggling to stay awake. She smiled softly. "Honey, why don't you go home and get some sleep?" she asked. "We can bring these books back."
Hunter shook his head. "No..." he said, struggling to hide his yawn and failing. "I have to make it up to her..." he mumbled, half asleep.
Quistis raised an eyebrow. "Make what up to her?"
"What?" Hunter looked up at her, confused. His green eyes looked so tired as he looked up at his mother. "I'm sorry, mom, what was that?"
Quistis let out a heavy sigh and reached over the desk, closing his book. "Go home and get some rest." she told him sternly. Hunter, once again, shook his head.
"I can't-"
"What good are you to RJ if you're going to fall asleep trying to find her?" Quistis asked.
He narrowed his eyes tiredly. "I am NOT doing this for RJ."
"Then who ARE you doing it for?" Quistis asked. Hunter opened his mouth, but nothing came out. She smirked. "I know you still care about her, Hunter. I can read you like a book."
He frowned. "Mom, I asked you to stop reading my mind-"
"I'm not talking about that," Quistis sighed as she rolled her eyes. "Honey, I'm your mother. You may have been gone a long time, but I know that how you act around RJ hasn't changed. You act the same way as you did when you two were children."
"No, we don't-"
"First you glare each other down. Then you verbally spar. And then, if no one is there to stop you two, you physically and mentally attack each other," Quistis said, as if going through the stages of the life cycle of a butterfly. "Afterwards, you feel bad for what you've said, but are too damn proud to admit it. Who would've thought that the both of you would've ended up with your fathers' pride."
"I don't have dad's pride-"
"Arrogance then," Quistis cut him off. Hunter scowled miserably. His mother merely smiled. "I also know that when something bad does happen to her, you worry about her."
"No, I don't!" he denied proudly.
"When you came home from camping, RJ had fallen pretty badly and was having a hard time having her ankle heal. So you spent the whole trip back to Esthar helping her move by carrying her," Quistis reminded him. Hunter merely let out a snort and turned his head to the side. "When you realized RJ was missing, do you know how you looked?" she asked quietly.
"Happy?" he asked casually.
"You looked WORRIED," Quistis answered. "You were the one who wanted to start trying to find her immediately. You didn't care about the reasons why she was missing, you just wanted her back...safe."
"I don't like seeing Mrs. Leonheart cry...and Mr. Leonheart and everyone else was freaking out-"
*Including you,* she sounded in his mind. *Go home, Hunter. Get some rest. I'll have your father come by and help bring these books home so we can study them further.*
He finally relented and nodded. Slowly, he packed up his glasses and put his coat back on. Within a few moments, he was out the door, clutching his coat around him tightly to keep away the cold morning air. Hunter walked down the street, loosing himself in memories long gone.
"It HURTS!!" she had cried, tears of blood in her eyes as she looked down at her swollen ankle. Even in the darkness of the night when they had started their hike, he could still make out RJ's tearful face.
"I'm sorry, RJ," her father told her. "But you won't be able to walk comfortably the rest of the way back...but it'll heal, soon."
"I want it to heal NOW!" she piped tearfully.
"Do you want me to carry you?" Squall asked. RJ shook her head, her soft dark brown locks swishing around her face as large blue eyes looked away.
"I don't need to be carried!" she retorted proudly.
"If I carry you, it won't hurt." he explained. She shook her head once more.
"No, daddy! I can do this by myself!" she said. She winced as she took a step and struggled to keep herself from screaming out in pain. *CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP!!*
"Will you shut up already?" Hunter sighed as he walked past her, looking bored out of his mind as they hiked back up to where their car was. "You're such a baby. Even Rinny isn't whining and she's younger than us."
"She's not the one with a messed up ankle, meany!" RJ snapped back bitterly.
"Hyne, are you two going to banter the whole way up there?" Seifer grumbled as he carried some of their camping equipment.
"You're beginning to sound like Seifer and Squall..." Zell sighed. The objects of his comment had glared at him.
"I'll shut her up, Uncle Zell," Hunter said. He, who hadn't been carrying anything, knelt down with his back to RJ. "Hop on."
"I don't need YOUR help." she retorted proudly.
"Look, it'll just hurt more if you walk and it'll probably take longer to heal because of that," Hunter stated. "So get on my back. I'll carry you the rest of the way up."
"My DAD can carry me."
"Don't be stupid," Hunter retorted. "He's busy carrying camping supplies. Come on."
"You're going to drop me." she stated. Hunter smirked, as if the possibility suddenly crossed his mind.
"Oh, why? Are you scared?"
"Of what? YOU? No. Of your diseases? Yes."
"Ouch..." Irvine mumbled. "Vicious..."
"Poor baby..." Hunter pouted. "She's so scared she'll get sick that she won't - gack!"
Hunter smirked as he walked down the rest of the street to his family's house. He hadn't seen RJ jump on his back, but felt her frail arms around his neck as she demanded he carry her the rest of the way up like a 'good little man servant'.
He rolled his eyes. Strangely enough, they hadn't fought a single second once he carried her up, but instead had fallen silent. At one point, she had fallen asleep on his back. That was the last moment they had spent together without fighting.
He shook his head and looked up ahead at the street. The sun was rising and humans were starting to come out for the day. *I'm not going to act like she's gone,* he told himself sternly. *She may be a brat. She may complain a lot and like crushing my self esteem like a bug, but she's still RJ. And...* He took a deep breath and admitted to himeslf. *I don't think I can bring myself to see her hurt.*