Time's Scars

Chapter Five: Lothlorien

After a tense flight, the Ragnarok finally landed in the Kakashbald Desert. It was the closest to the city that they could land safely.

The group left the ship, walking slowly and quietly towards their destination.

"I hate Centra! It's so hot!" Selphie whined

Rinoa could see the irritation Squall felt, but he was good at keeping himself under control, so he bit his tongue.

It wasn't long before the ruins of the city could be seen on the horizon. Not much closer, the downpour that characterized it started. Of course, they hadn't brought any rain protection, it would have been useless anyway. They were to stay for awhile, keep watch to make sure nobody suspicious came around.

As, at last, they reached the ruins, Squall immediately felt tension in his chest. This was what had become of his home, his beloved home.

The stone buildings were crumbling, and their walls were scorched black from the fires. How could a place, once so beautiful, become something so dreary. He could still hear the screams…

The others were silent, in shock over what they knew had occurred. Humans, their kind, did this.

Squall quickly marched forward, "Come on, quit gawking. Act like soldiers."

Silently, they responded to him, following his lead. Cid had found a place near the center of the city that wasn't too badly destroyed. They were to stay there. That way, they would be close to the area where Galbadia's leader would be headed.

The building was crumbling, but was surprisingly stable considering the years of rain it had endured. Inside, it was dry, and they had shelter from the chilly wind. Lothlorien might have been in southern Centra, but it had become surprisingly cold.

This was nothing like the city Squall remembered. He had always loved the beautiful weather, the ornate carvings of birds and trees in the buildings. He remembered how much he'd loved to play in the center square, with his childhood friends.

He moved over to the wall, running his fingers over the faded carvings. He knew this place well. It was close to where his home had been. A church, sort of a temple, was what it used to be. It was a place of refuge when he was afraid. There was always such peace and solitude inside. Now, it was just a hollow shell. Even the large tree that grew through the center was withered. Its lush green canopy of leaves was gone.

"You okay?" asked Irvine, interrupting Squall's memories.

"Fine."

Of course, he was lying. Inside, he felt an aching sorrow. This place had been his life, everything he knew. Now, it was gone. All because of them…

Suddenly, he walked out of the building, headed down one of the stone pathways. Rinoa quickly got up and followed, and a concerned Selphie and Quistis also tagged along. Zell and Irvine stuck around to keep an eye out for trouble.

Squall walked quickly, as though he knew exactly where he was going. He did.

Upon seeing it, he froze in his tracks.

The ruins of his family's home. All that was left were ashes and a few crumbling stone walls.

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Irvine sighed, getting up and observing some of the carvings on the walls. There were so many of them.

"I wonder what's bothering him so much." Zell said.

Irvine looked back at him, "I know. He's acted strange ever since this all came up."

Zell walked over to where Irvine was standing, taking a look at the carvings as well. "Does it bother him what happened here? Maybe it makes him feel guilty."

"I don't know. Squall's been responsible for bad things happening before, and had no problem. This wasn't his fault."

"True."

Zell walked over to a different wall, observing the foreign language that was written on the walls.

"Irvine! Come here!" He suddenly cried.

Irvine rushed over, "What is it?"

"Look at this."

The carving on the wall was a lion, exactly like the one on Squall's necklace.

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He was frozen in fear, images flashing past his eyes. The flames, the screams of his family as they were slaughtered.

The memories he'd tried so hard to ignore for years all flooded back, the night became real all around him. He saw them all. The mob, the dead bodies, the flames all across the city…

He fell to his knees, unable to stand on his trembling legs.

"Squall!" Rinoa cried out, moving quicker to get to his side. Selphie and Quistis were right behind her, and just as worried. Squall never acted like this.

He put his face into his hands, silently crying.

Rinoa touched his shoulder gently. She knew he was sobbing. The others didn't. Squall was good at concealing emotion. Only she knew the pain this encounter brought him.

Selphie and Quistis also put a hand on him, trying to comfort him.

Suddenly, he lifted his head and looked at them. "Leave me alone!" he snarled.

They were surprised and all stepped back a few steps as Squall turned to face the building again.

"What do we do?" Quistis asked.

"You guys get out of here. I want to see if I can help." Rinoa whispered

"You sure? I don't want you to get hurt." Selphie replied.

"Yeah. He won't do anything to me."

She waited until they were out of sight, then moved back towards Squall. He stared forward, his eyes glazed over.

"You have to, for us. You have to go. For everyone."

"No…I love you mommy! I'm sorry!"

"Go. You have to. I'm sorry."

He shook his head. "No. Why did you do it? You should've let me die with you!"

Rinoa stopped, surprised to hear him speak.

She knelt by him, gently taking his hand. "Squall, you know that isn't true."

He pulled away from her, "I thought I told you to leave!"

"Hey, stop it. Don't get angry at me. I didn't do this. Squall, you are an ambassador for them, for every one of them. Your parents knew you would be. I know it hurts. But you have so much now, and I know you don't want to be dead."

"…"

"Please, Squall. Please just let me be here. We all feel emotions. It's okay."

He looked at her, and hesitated to move towards her.

"R…Rinoa…" He managed to choke out.

She put her arms around him, and he held her tightly, quietly crying on her shoulder.

"Why? Why did it have to happen? Why did they all have to die?"

She felt tears come into her own eyes as well. Squall didn't cry, usually. "I'm so sorry." She whispered.

He pulled away, keeping his arms around her, and looked back at the house. "My family. Everything I ever knew…"

She continued to stay close to him, letting him finally have a chance to truly mourn the deaths of his loved ones.

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Quistis and Selphie returned to the shelter, greeted by a surprised Zell and Irvine.

"What happened? Where's Squall and Rinoa?" Irvine asked.

Selphie shook her head, "He just sort of freaked out, I guess. Collapsed in the middle of the walkway. I think he might have been crying. Couldn't tell."

"Crying? Squall doesn't cry." Zell said

"I know. We tried to comfort him a little, and he just yelled at us to leave. Rinoa told us to go, that she would help him alone. I think something big is going on, I just don't know what."

Irvine sighed, "Well, I think we just found out, guys."

"What?"

"Come here."

The girls followed him over to the wall, where he pointed out the carving.

Quistis took a breath in quickly, "That…that's the lion on Squall's pendant!"

Selphie looked at Irvine, "Why is it here?"

"Well…this might sound crazy…but…"

"Out with it!" Quistis snapped

"We think Squall used to live here."

Selphie looked at the carving again, then back at Irvine. "Why?"

Zell joined them over by the wall, "Well, see all these symbols? I think these are the family symbols of everyone that lived here."

"Wait…that would mean…"

Irvine looked at Zell, "Guys, Squall is one of them, a surviving Elf."

Quistis shook her head, "We have no real proof! We don't know what this even means. We can't read this language. The pendant doesn't mean he's an Elf!"

"She's right." Selphie agreed.

"It would be quite a coincidence." Zell said.

"But we don't know that, not yet." Selphie replied, "We can't just approach him on it. We've got to keep this quiet for awhile, until we know more, or have some more evidence. Besides, Squall is in bad shape, we don't want to make things worse for him."

"It would make sense, somewhat, though." Quistis said.

Selphie looked up, "What do you mean?"

"Well, Squall has been distraught lately, especially since we heard about coming here. He would be. If he was a survivor, then his family was murdered here, and he probably saw it. It would explain why he's upset at us, we're humans, the same as the people who did it."

"What about Rinoa?"

She shook her head. "No, Rinoa's an exception. She's a sorceress. She would understand him more. She knows what he's feeling. They both have an enormous amount of power that they are feared and hated because of."

Irvine looked up, "That's right! You remember what she said on the Ragnarok! We didn't know how it felt to be different. She was talking about her and Squall!"

Selphie leaned back on the stone wall, "Wow. Guys, this whole time he's been…"

Zell sat down, "I know. It's incredible. I never would have thought."

"So, what are we going to do with him?" Irvine asked

"What?"

"He's an Elf. You heard what Cid said. The leader of Galbadia needs an Elf to obtain the ring. He's got one right here. What if Squall ends up being that Elf?"