Time's Scars

Chapter One: Enemy Territory

Squall ran his fingers through his hair. Alone, on his own for thirteen years now. He yawned, rubbing the sleepiness out of his eyes that the mirror made so easy to see.

Looking over at his small dormitory bed, he couldn't help but smile. Laying there was Rinoa, the love of his life.

He didn't know exactly how she'd won him over in those short few months they'd been fighting sorceresses. All he knew was that she was different. Unlike the others, she was the only human he didn't hate. That burning, seething rage he had was not present around her.

Maybe it was because she knew how hard it was to be different. She knew what it was like to be hated by everyone, to be a fugitive because of something she had no control over. Not unlike him. Squall knew how scary the world was when everyone around you hated what you were.

Except that nobody knew what he was.

Everyone assumed that his loner attitude was because of Ellone leaving him. That, of course, was not even close to the truth. His fear was being discovered. Ellone had tried to get close to Squall on many occasions. She wouldn't leave him alone. The others all assumed he was hogging her. In truth, she was hogging him.

Rinoa began to stir, and Squall quickly adjusted the rubberlike bits that covered the tops of his ears, rounding them out to mask the trademark point of an Elf ear. Of course, he'd had to get new ones as he grew, so the points would remain disguised, but he'd been able to.

She sat up in bed and yawned, "Morning."

He looked at her, "Yeah. Sleep well?"

She nodded, stretching her arms out. "You?"

"Yeah," he lied. He never slept well. His dreams were plagued with painful memories.

She got up and walked over to him, using the mirror as well. "How long have you been up?"

"Not long."

She smiled at him. "Thanks for letting me stay again last night. I just get scared sometimes when I'm alone."

"No problem." What she didn't know was that he actually liked it when she came.

Rinoa could almost never sleep alone. Four months into their relationship, she'd come into his room to sleep. From then on, she practically lived with him. He didn't mind. He had comfort when he held her as they slept. Something to relieve him when he was startled awake by nightmares.

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"Hey, bout' time you two got up!" said Zell as Squall and Rinoa joined the others at their usual breakfast table.

Irvine nudged Squall, "Have an exhausting night?"

Squall looked at Irvine, and promptly pushed him out of his chair.

"Hey!" yelled Irvine, fixing his hair and getting back up.

The rest of the table was laughing, with the exception of Squall, who had gone right back to eating.

"Man, that wasn't called for." Irvine grumbled as he sat back in his chair, trying to regain his dignity.

Selphie giggled, "You did deserve it, Irvy."

"For what? Just poking fun at the resident couple."

Quistis also joined the group, looking tired and frustrated.

"Well, Quisty definitely had an exhaustive night." Zell joked.

Quistis shot him a death glare, and he shut up.

"Missions are just crazy right now. All these things are going on. You know, right Squall?"

"Yeah, whatever." Squall mumbled, obviously uninterested.

Rinoa looked at him, "Well, Mr. Compassion strikes again."

"What?" He responded. "I just don't give a flying rat's ass. I don't want to hear whining about work."

Rinoa sighed and put a hand to her forehead. Quistis glared at Squall, who kept his usual stoic expression.

"Meanie." Rinoa said.

Squall ignored her.

Selphie smiled and clapped her hands together. "Squally's just having a bad day, huh?"

The others chuckled at the nickname, and Squall looked at Selphie. "Shove it."

The table went silent in surprise. Squall didn't usually act like that. Sure, he was cold, but he'd been a lot better over the past eight months with Rinoa.

"What's the matter?" Rinoa whispered.

"Nothing." He lied.

Getting up, he quickly left the table, off to the third-floor office. Rinoa got up too, and chased after him.

She caught up to him in the hallway and grabbed his wrist. "Hey. What has gotten into you?"

He stopped, sighing frustratedly. "Nothing, okay?"

"No. It isn't nothing. What is your problem?"

He looked at her. "Rinoa, I…"

"What?"

He shook his head. "Please just leave me alone for awhile, okay?"

She let go of him, and sighed. "Okay. But you know you can talk to me, okay?"

"Yeah." He replied, turning around and continuing down the hall.

I can talk to her, yes. But not about this. What would she think?

He knew it was the dream that was bothering him. He'd been having it every night for the past week. The memory of that childhood moment was too much, and it just made him more and more bitter at the others. They weren't his friends. They killed his family, and would kill him, too. Rinoa was the only one he could trust, but she would hate him if she knew.

Instead of going to work, as he usually did, Squall diverted towards the parking lot. Grabbing a garden vehicle nonchalantly, he drove into Balamb City.

He stopped outside of a bank. Once inside, he carefully made his way upstairs, towards a janitor's closet. When he was certain that nobody was around, he slipped inside.

He traced the concrete wall with his hand, and opened up a door, leading into a small chamber. Once he was inside, the familiar full-body scan by a computer commenced.

"Accepted." Blurted a computer voice.

The other side of the small chamber opened, leading him into a hidden area, bustling with activity. Only it wasn't normal. He knew these people well, he worked for them.

Squall made his way to the head official's office. The man inside was glad to see him.

"Good to have you here, Squall. You got our call."

Squall nodded. "Yes, sir. I got it. What do you need me for?"

"Well, we found a man who is digging too deep into our organization. He's finding evidence that Elves do exist. We can't be exposed yet, so I need you to eliminate the information."

It wasn't a murder mission, of course. The Elves were a peaceful people. They didn't like to hurt people, but they would if forced.

"Alright. What's his name?"

The man reached down into a folder. He pulled out a rolled up paper and handed it to Squall. "A General Caraway."

Surprise immediately hit Squall, but he didn't let it show.

"Those are the blueprints of his home. We've marked areas where information is being stored. The biggest target is the computer. Pull the hard drive and replace it with a blank one. I want you to destroy all of the information, okay?"

Squall nodded. "I will."

"I know. You're our most reliable one, Squall. Your parents would be proud."

He closed his eyes, quelling the pain that came up at the mention of his parents. "Yeah. Thanks."