Note: My New Year's resolution was to save enough money to buy the rights to Final Fantasy VIII, but on my way to the bank to get the money I saw some shoes I really liked.... and then another pair.... and then another pair....
I Forgot Your Name
By Kupo
Chapter Eleven: Fork in the Road
--The House in Balamb, Front Hall
Irvine held the door as everyone else entered the house. It hurt him to see the defeated looks in the eyes of his friends, and especially in his Sefie. Everything, from the way she carried herself to the way to the way she spoke, belied the turmoil she was feeling inside.
I don't blame her... it's gotta be so hard for her to choose between her best friend and what logic tells us is happening to Rinoa...
He caught and held Selphie's eyes as she followed everyone else into the hall. He closed the door behind her and softly pulled her into a comforting embrace. Her arms rested around him lightly, fragile as leaves shaking in a breeze. He leaned down and whispered in her ear,
"Sefie... maybe you should go get a little rest. I'm gonna make a few calls and get us all excused from SeeD duty today, alright?"
Selphie nodded slightly, managed a thin smile that lacked all of her usual sunshine, and turned to walk towards the stairs and her bedroom. Irvine leaned against the front door and ran a hand over his eyes.
Feel better, darlin'.
As he rested there, he became aware that he was holding a posture common to Squall when he was in thought. Irvine's worried frown increased as he remembered what had transpired while they had traveled home from the hospital.
--FLASHBACK
The car had been silent as Quistis navigated from the highway onto the route that would take them back to Balamb. To ease the uncomfortable quiet, Zell had leaned forward front he second row of seats to click on the car radio. Heavy metal music assaulted everyone, and Quistis immediately switched it to a classical station. For a few minutes everyone listened in quiet to the lilting tunes of flutes and harp. The piece ended, and an ad began.
"Have you found that someone special? And now you know its the right time to make that big commitment to the one-of-a-kind lady in your life? We know that making choosing a ring is a big decision, but we know that if you stop by Canary Diamond in Fisherman's Horizon you won't be disapp-"
Quistis gasped as she realized what listening to such ads might do to Squall and quickly turned the radio off. Irvine had sneaked a glance at Squall, but the ad hadn't seemed to register. The uneasy silence returned. Irvine sighed softly, found Selphie's hand and squeezed it for a moment, and had looked out the window.
"Stop the car for a moment, Quistis."
Everyone in the car had looked up, surprised. Quistis seemed to hover in indecision for a moment, but then slowed the car and pulled onto the road shoulder. Cars beeped as they sped past, it was a bad place to stop. Only about one mile ahead was a busy intersection where the route split in two, one road heading east toward the tunnel to Balamb, and the other heading south towards the Centra continent.
Irvine watched in only half-surprise as Squall turned in his seat to face his comrades. His eyes held each of their for a moment before he spoke.
"I... can't go back by myself. I need to go to Rinoa. I need to find her. I need her. I can't explain it any better than that."
Zell had spoken up then.
"Squall man, you're her knight. We understand. Just go, for Christ's sake. You don't have to explain yourself to us."
Squall nodded and unbuckled his seatbelt. He exited the car and crossed the street in front of them. Quistis sat in the driver's seat, frowning deeply. With a soft cry, she jumped from the car and followed Squall across the street to a gas station. Irvine watched from his window and Quistis appeared to try and convince him of the danger that might await him should he go off on his own. From across the street Irvine could see as Squall held his hand to the side of Quistis's face for a moment, said something, and then let his hand fall. He turned from her and continued towards the station. As Quistis stood on the opposite side of the street waiting for a break in the traffic so she could rejoin the group, Irvine continued to watch Squall as he approached a man filling his vehicle's gas tank. Quistis returned to the car, wordlessly started it, and merged back into traffic and began head back home.
Irvine rested his head on the glass of the car window and began to be lost in his own thoughts. Suddenly, the sound of a motorcycle assaulted his ears as it roared past at high speed. Irvine didn't need to guess who had either negotiated or threatened his way into borrowing the sleek black machine. Both their car and Squall's motorcycle were approaching the route fork. Irvine could hear as Squall pushed the bike harder and faster. He shot in front of the car, crossed the lane, and headed towards Centra.
The car remained quiet until Selphie spoke up.
"He's gonna be ok... isn't he?"
But no one had dared to break the heavy silence to reply.
--END FLASHBACK
Irvine pushed himself away from the door and wandered into the living room. He pulled a photo album from the bookshelf and thumbed through it. He smiled at the memories that came back to him as he relived the happy days caught for brief moments through a camera lens. He paused at one of Rinoa and Squall. Squall had been seated in a chair, and Rinoa had been standing behind him, leaning down with her arms around him and he face pulled close to his. She was grinning happily and those who knew Squall well could tell from his posture and slight smile that he was happy too. Irvine's attention was caught by Rinoa's necklace, which still bore both her and Squall's rings. It had fallen from her shirt when she leaned over to embrace Squall. Looking at the two rings, Irvine understood that the bond the two felt would never be broken, come hell or high water. The thought both comforted and unnerved him.
He continued to thumb through the pictures, but paused as he heard the door shut, and he froze as he recognized the footsteps as Squall and Rinoa's.
--The House in Balamb, Living Room
As Squall closed the door behind himself and Rinoa, he listened for a sound that someone was home. Sensing more than hearing someone in the living room, he took Rinoa's cool hand and led her in that direction. Irvine was seated on the couch holding a book in his lap and appearing casual, but the tense look in his eyes betrayed his indecision. Squall cleared his throat and tried to sound normal.
"Hey Irvine, Rinoa decided to come home," he said as routinely as he could. He could sense Irvine hesitate for a moment, but he must have seen the pleading look in Squalls eye's and shook off his apprehension.
"Hey girl!! Good to see ya, we were all worried about you," he said, too brightly, too loudly for it to sound quite normal, but Rinoa didn't seem to notice. She accepted Irvine's hug and glanced over his shoulder at the photo album that lay open on the couch.
"Squall, could you get me a glass of water, please?" she said calmly. Squall nodded, glad that she had said something, she had been entirely too silent on the way home for him to feel comfortable. He cocked his head at Irvine, communicating his wish for Irvine to follow him into the kitchen. Squall looked over his shoulder as they left the room. Rinoa had settled on the couch and had picked up the photo album, trailing her fingers lightly over the pages as if she could touch days gone by.
--The House in Balamb, Kitchen
Zell frowned at the mess he had made. Bread crumbs were everywhere, along with measuring cups and bits of chicken.
How hard can it be to cook some Shake n' Bake chicken? I knew I should have gone with hot dogs...!
Zell thought dismally, as his attempt to feed everyone so that they could relax and process everything without having any extra worries seemed to be failing miserably. He froze as he heard footsteps come his way, and was not very shocked to see Squall enter with Irvine.
He feigned indignation when Squall cocked an eyebrow and said sarcastically "And I thought the border dispute between Galbadia and Timber was a mess..." although secretly Zell rejoiced to hear his friend make any kind of joke, even if it was at his expense. He motioned towards the table and chairs, but Squall shook his head and went to the cabinets to retrieve a glass.
"Rinoa wants some water," he explained, filling the glass from the tap.
Zell sneaked a look at Irvine, who shrugged. Zell scratched the back of his neck and shifted his weight from one foot to the other.
"Oh yeah? Is she, um... ok?"
Squall turned to face him and held his Zell's eyes with his cool blue ones.
"I don't know, Zell. But I know I can't leave her to face whatever is happening alone. I promised to stand by her no matter what, and I won't go back on it. Even if the world turns against her."
Zell was so shocked by Squall's conviction and emotion that he was taken aback. Unsure of how to respond, he held out his hand. Squall looked confused for a moment, but then put down the glass of water, took Zell's proffered hand and shook it briefly.
"So will we, Squall."
The moment was broken by soft laughter from the living room. Squall picked up the glass of water and walked towards the laughter, and Zell and Irvine followed.
--The House in Balamb, Living Room
Selphie paced her room restlessly. She knew that Irvine was right, if she got some sleep she'd be able to think more clearly and hopefully feel better about the whole situation. Her stomach growled. Glad to feel something besides worry, Selphie decided to head down to the kitchen and grab a bite to eat.
As she reached the bottom of the stairs, she stopped in surprise. There, sitting on the couch as if nothing had happened, was Rinoa. Rinoa glanced up from the book she was looking at and smiled slightly.
"Hello," she began, but had no time to finish as Selphie ran from the foot of the stairs and enveloped her in a tight hug.
"Rinoa! I knew that you'd come home! I knew that Squall would find you! We're all so sorry about what happened, and we don't blame you! We're your friends and we love you so much!" Selphie cried, overwhelmed.
"So much joy, just for me? You shouldn't. " Rinoa spoke softly, more to herself than to Selphie. Selphie just shrugged and smiled, and then she noticed the book which she had knocked to the floor when she had hugged Rinoa.
"A photo album! Oh Rin, this is one of my favorite ones, from our vacation to the Centra coast!" she exclaimed.
Rinoa smiled again. "Tell me your favorite memories of the trip," she asked lightly, and Selphie was happy to oblige. Lost in her remembering, she scarcely noticed when Squall and the other men entered the room. Looking up, she was surprised to see how shocked they looked to find the source of the laughter as something normal, not malevolent.
"Rinoa and I are reliving the Centra vacation," she explained with a small giggle, and gestured for everyone else to join them on the couch. Zell shrugged good-naturedly and plunked himself down on the couch next to Selphie, and Irvine stood behind them and leaned his elbows on the back of the couch and he looked over Selphie's shoulder. Selphie raised an eyebrow at Squall, who had yet to join them. Squall paused a moment with a glass of water in hand, and then crossed the room, handed the glass to Rinoa, and halfway sat on the couch's armrest next to Rinoa. Selphie could sense that Squall was tense and the aura of worry and fierce protection he was feeling towards Rinoa and was glad for it. She knew that Rinoa would need help to face whatever was plaguing her.
Rinoa smiled again and looked up at Squall this time. "Squall, what do you remember? Tell me everything."
--Void.
Rinoa looked around herself, everything was black. It was as dark and frightening as time-compression had been.
"Help me!!" she called out into the darkness, but there was no answer.
Where am I? she wondered, feeling desolate. What happened? The last thing I remember... going to Centra... my head was hurting... I was fighting... fighting who?
Fighting a growing panic, she cried out as loud as she could for help.
'What's going on?!!" she sobbed, but again received no answer. Crumbling to her knees in the darkness, Rinoa wept for herself and for Laguna, and for whatever else she had been a party to but couldn't help. Through her tears, she sensed a change in her surroundings. She looked up, and the was a hazy circle of white light hanging in the darkness all around her.
Startled, Rinoa stood and advanced towards it. Trembling, she reached out one hand and touched the light. It shimmered underneath her fingertips, and then began to move. A moment later, she found herself looking at Selphie's smiling face.
"Rinoa! I knew you'd come home! I knew that Squall would find you! We're all so sorry about what happened, and we don't blame you! We're your friends and we love you so much!" Selphie cried with joy. Rinoa felt relief well up inside her, her friends knew where she was, they would help her, Squall was on the way! But then Rinoa paused. Something was wrong.
"So much joy, just for me?" Rinoa heard a voice ask. In growing panic, Rinoa noticed who was sitting beside Selphie, and she began to realize that Selphie wasn't seeing her at all. She was seeing someone else, someone who she believed was her. Her heart in her throat, Rinoa called out to the Selphie in the ring of light.
How is this possible?! I'm right here, that's not me! Oh Selphie, look at me, I'm right here!
"No, Selph! I'm here! Look at me!" but Selphie didn't seem to hear her as she happily began flipping through the pages of a photo album and chattering about what each meant to her. Tear spilled down Rinoa's cheeks as the rest of her friends joined Selphie. None of them seemed to hear her cries to see her. Suddenly the view shifted and she found herself looking at Squall, who was smiling down at her softly. She heard herself ask him to tell her everything, and thought her heart would break as she watched him lift her hand and brush it lightly with his lips.
Rinoa screamed into the darkness again, but there was no one there to answer her cry.
Word up! Chapter Eleven is done! Yay. I don't know if the whole "void" thing was confusing or not. Just imagine a big dark place that seems to go on forever. At least, that's what I imagined. If you see any similarity to the movie "Dreamcatcher", adapted from the Stephen King book, that's sorta on purpose. I loved the idea of being able to be conscious and see yourself doing things, but to be unable to do anything about it except watch. Freakayyy!!! =P
I dedicate this chapter to Karla's monkeys. May there be many years of peace between them and I.
and also many thanks to the reviewers of chapter ten!!!! lovies!!!!
Rinny Leonheart / Rikku- Yep, there is def. gonna be some more evil Rinoa coming up! I hope you liked this chapter! Let me know, ya?
Noacat- Teehee, poor Squall. He doesn't even have a clue yet! Or does he? I'm not telling! Mwahaha! I'm a sucker for romance too though, so I will see what I can do for ya in later chapters. I hope you liked this one =)
squeakychris- Heh, who knows if I am gonna turn Rinoa into some sorceress we've already heard of? Well... I do, but I'm not telling about that yet either! Thanks for the comment about Squall, because it took me a long time to think about what he'd do if placed in a situation like that. I'm glad you agree with me! How was this chapter for you?
DemonRyu- Hehe, yeah, its probably a good time to start getting worried about Squall. Thanks for saying such nice things about the last chapter though! I feel like I have so much to live up to!
OrionsDefender- Ok, from now on I'm just gonna post warnings for graphic content or language! Hold on to your socks!
Edsta- No worries about not reviewing sooner, if anyone understands how busy life can get, its me! hehe, and if you can find me a publishing company, I will make a book! And then I will threaten people on the street if they don't buy it!!! (evil cackle) Let me know what you think about this chapter!
Karla3- Yay for chocolate! *eyes monkeys warily* I hope this chapter and dedication was enough to keep them at bay! Hurry up and throw those chapters of your story up, I wanna read them!!! Hehe, give me feedback on this chapter if you get the chance =P
Cusp of a Butterfly- Like a movie?! I am so honored! Woohoo! And I even found time to turn off the ps2, hehe. I hope you like this chapter!
Ok everyone, that's it for now! Next chapter will be sneaky-evil Rinoa! Mwahaha! Te amo~ Kupo
