Note: If I owned FFVIII, I'd play it while eating fava beans and enjoying a nice bottle of Chianti… fftt fftt fftt fftt….
I Forgot Your Name
By Kupo
Chapter Sixteen: Like We Once Were
--Winhill, Outskirts.
Squall slammed the car through the turns, heedless of personal safety and other vehicles on the road. Speeding around the final corner, he sighted Winhill in the distance. He squinted, trying to make out details. As he drove closer, he could see many vehicles and barricades surrounding the town entrance. He pushed the car faster, glancing at the speedometer needle as it traveled all the way over to the right. He neared the barricades, and gritting his teeth, he pushed the car harder and slammed through them. The noise brought foot soldiers from the nearby vehicles. Seeing that his entrance to town would be hampered, he stepped on the car brakes, spraying gravel in all directions. Tires screaming, the car fishtailed as he attempted to stop the vehicle.
"Stop immediately!" called out a soldier clad in a traditional blue Galbadian uniform, raising his sword in a menacing way. "You cannot go in, we have a situation inside!"
Squall exited the car and moved quickly towards the town entrance on foot, his hand resting lightly on Lionheart's hilt. A young, excitable soldier trotted after him, and then stood in front of him.
"Sir, you can't go in there… the sorceress is in there! We're gonna get her this time! But you have to wait until--"
His voice choked off as Squall's hand tightened around his neck.
"I'm going in there…" he growled in a low voice, locking eyes with the young soldier. He found himself slightly unnerved at the blatant fear that stared back at him.
He's just a kid… let him go
With effort, he released his grip on the young man and began to run towards the town's main road. Suddenly, pain exploded across his lower back.
Fire spell… damn it, I don't have time to fight…
He turned to face the soldiers pursuing him. With a swift stroke, he felled one of his adversaries. He winced as another counterattacked him, but struck back before that soldier could return to his place. He glanced from side to side, seeing that more Galbadians were advancing towards him.
Closing his eyes and concentrating, he put a hand to his forehead for a moment. A light encircled him and he disappeared from view as Diablos appeared. The Guardian Force decimated most of the soldiers, and as Squall reappeared he was easily able to defeat the few that lingered on in a weakened state.
As he turned to continue his run towards Rinoa, he caught movement in the corner of his eye. He frowned as the young soldier who had caught up with him before came into view. The young man approached him with his sword raised, although his body language gave away his fear. He charged Squall and swung at him. Squall easily parried the strike and knocked the sword from his hands. He looked him in the eye again, and saw the youth for what he was, young, frightened, and only following orders.
So much like we were… back then…
"Go home. This battle isn't meant for you," Squall said simply, and turned on his heel. He offered up a silent prayer as he reached the top of the hill, once he reached the other side he would be able to see Laguna's old house. He had to pause for a moment in shock as he crested the hill.
The town square was filled with activity. Everywhere were the bright metallic colors of Esthar and their soldier who bore uniforms of the same markings. Most stood guard at the doors of other houses, but most of them were congregated around the entrance to the one place he didn't want them to be.
Squall felt anger rise up within his chest. Unquenchable, horrible, and indiscriminate hatred toward anyone and everyone who would dare to harm Rinoa. With a low snarl in his throat, he sprinted down the hill and overtook two soldiers simply by surprise. However, the sounds of battle alerted the rest of the Estharians in the square and they all came at him with a vengeance.
Squall knew that Estharian soldiers were better equipped and had many technological advantages that the Galbadians did not. Attempting to avoid being completely encircled, he backed up towards the side of a house. He fought with bravery and with a grace that those who had watched him fight had seen but still couldn't quite put into words. Despite all this training, the sheer amount of men coming at him began to overtake him.
Squall hesitated. For this many men, he would have to use his most destructive Guardian Force, Eden. Eden, while a great asset, caused much damage to surrounding areas and was a danger to innocent people in its blast range.
It doesn't matter… I need to help Rinoa…
Without another thought, he once again touched his forehead with his fingertips. As light swirled around him and he disappeared, he caught sight of several people, including children, watching from their open doorways and windows.
After Eden had been summoned and had decimated the whole of the Estharian force in the town square, Squall reappeared. He looked quickly to the doorways and windows where he had seen people before, but turned away when all he saw were lifeless forms on the ground.
There's no time to feel… I need to get upstairs.
He easily kicked the door to the house open with his foot.
"Rinoa!!" he called out. He heard the sound of many heavy footsteps upstairs and two soldiers came charging from the second floor towards him. The unquenchable anger that he had felt before filled him again as he heard a muffled cry from upstairs, and with two swift strokes he dispatched of the two Estharians before they had time to strike once.
"Rinoa! Answer me!" he called out again as he raced up the stairs. When he reached the top, what he saw made him angry to the point of frenzy,
Rinoa had been bound hand and foot, arms behind her back and legs tied to the legs of the chair she was sitting on. Three high-ranking Estharian soldiers stood guard in the room, while a fourth was advancing on her, carrying some sort of syringe. Tear stains streaked her cheeks. She looked up at him with frightened eyes.
Damn it, I'll kill you all. All of you!
With a cry of anguish, he came at the fourth soldier. Unarmed, the man had no time to react before Squall had run him through. As he dropped to the floor, the last three men in the room looked at each other with fear in their eyes and held up their hands. The first one spoke to Squall in a frightened tone in an attempt to reason and maybe spare their lives.
"You have to understand, this is for the good of the world! We cannot allow the sorceress to come to power! The entire would world be in danger. Surely you can see the threat that we face! You must see reason and--"
From the other side of the room, Rinoa whimpered softly.
"Squall…?"
Hearing her voice so full of fear and pain, emotion once again overrode his mind and he engaged in combat with the three soldiers. Although they were better trained than the rest of their predecessors, Squall's anger gave him strength. He felt filled with a power he hadn't when he had fought on the street and in the square. It was alarming… but also exhilarating.
He went to Rinoa and knelt in front of her. He released her bonds and pulled her trembling body to him. She buried her face in the collar of his jacket and twined her hands in his hair. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him, breathing in her scent and hoping to quell her shaking.
"My knight… you're here, I knew that you would come for me," she whispered, pulling back from him slightly so that she could look into his eyes.
Squall touched a hand to her cheek, wiping away a final tear. Leaning forward, he kissed her lips gently. She put a hand behind his neck and pulled him closer, and he felt a surge of power.
Love…?
He felt invincible. In that moment, that feeling told him that he would indeed take on the world for Rinoa. As she broke the kiss, the feeling remained, but faded to the back of his mind as the world encroached upon them.
"Rinoa… we need to get out of here. Are you alright to walk?"
She nodded and stood uncertainly. He took her hand and pulled her from the room and down the stairs. As he crossed the door's threshold, he felt resistance on his hand. He turned to look at Rinoa.
She was frozen in the doorway. Releasing his hand, she moved past him and into the middle of the square. Looking from side to side, she surveyed the destruction all around her. Bodies littered the ground as a result of Squall's struggle to reach her. He noticed her gaze lingered on the bodies in the doorways of the surrounding houses. Squall frowned as guilt overcame him, and he moved in front of her and tried to explain his actions.
"I needed to get to you. There were… unintended casualties. I'm sorry."
Rinoa turned her eyes to him, and Squall was surprised to see that they were rather blank.
"It's alright Squall, I understand. I… we… let's just get out of here, yes?"
Squall nodded, took her hand again, and they began to run back the way Squall had come and towards his car. There was no way that Squall could have known that as Rinoa ran a step behind him, her eyes came alive as a smile flickered across her face.
--Balamb Garden, 3F Office.
Quistis stood at attention, appraising her image in the mirror.
You're acting Commander. You have the training, the experience, and the ability to handle this. You will not let this Garden fall.
Her eyes traveled down to the whip at her side.
It's been so long…
Suddenly, a low vibration shook the floor beneath her feet. Almost at the same moment, the door to the office swung open and Zell strode in.
"Instructor, they've blown a hole in the side of Garden. We're doing everything we can to hold them off there, but it's only a matter of time before they start coming through."
Quistis nodded and turned on her heel. Together, they ran from the office and into the hallway. Taking the two flights of stairs because they were more direct, the two SeeDs turned down the corridor and met the battle head on.
The wall outside the parking lot was gone. Small pieces of the building and insulation were scattered on the flooring and on fire. The soldiers who had breached the wall were already engaged in combat with the SeeD forces, while a second wave of Galbadian and Estharian soldiers were already clambering over the rubble
Quistis pulled her whip from her side and snapped it in the air.
"Courage, everyone! We can beat these guys!" she called out. She looked to her left as Zell flipped a man several feet through the air. Just then, two Galbadians rushed her and she began to defend her Garden, and her home, with all that she had.
--Centra Ruins, Courtyard.
Squall paced the ruins back and forth. They had left the car two miles back under some brush in the hopes that no one would be able to trace their journey.
What are we doing? Are we going to run forever? This doesn't make any sense. Is there anyone that we can trust? What do I do?
He paused in his pacing and looked over at Rinoa. She had spread his jacket on the ground and had curled up on it like a cat. He was overcome by another wave of concern for her, and went to her. He moved to put a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"Rinoa…? Let's find you a better place to sleep, alright?"
The moment that his fingers connected with her body, she rocketed awake.
"Squall! Help me! Please, please see me! Oh Hyne, I'm right here! I'm--" her cry broke off abruptly as her entire body shuddered. Squall grabbed a hold of her shoulders and looked deep into her eyes.
"Rinoa, what's going on? Are you alright?!" he said worriedly. He watched with concern as her eyes emptied of fear and color returned to her cheeks.
"Squall… you startled me," she explained, standing up and turning away from him. Not satisfied with that answer, Squall grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him again.
"That's not good enough, Rinoa! I want to know what's going on! Everything, tell me everything! Hyne Rinoa, I'd go to the ends of the earth for you, the least you can do is be honest with me! Is it true, what Matron said? Are you becoming someone I don't know? Rinoa, I'm your knight, forever. I'll fight for you, I'll defend you… I just want to know exactly who it is that I'm defending!"
Out of breath from his outburst, he let go of her arm and watched her for a moment. She remained expressionless for a moment, but as she blinked a tear ran down her cheek.
"Squall… I'm just frightened… I'm alone and I don't understand what's happening to me. I… I need you to believe in me, and to trust me. If you've ever trusted anything in your life… trust us," she finished, her voice just above a whisper as she covered her face with her hands. On her chest, the two rings that she still bore glistened in the fading daylight.
Squall closed his eyes for a moment, conflicting emotions battling within him. He found himself drawn to those rings, and what they symbolized.
"Rin…" he said softly, and held his arms open. She looked up from her hands and into his eyes for a moment. With a small cry, she closed the distance between them and Squall folded her into his arms.
--Void.
Rinoa sighed and stared into the blackness. She had resolved to fight, but it was kind of hard to fight something… when there was nothing there. She had not slept since her window into the real world had disappeared, and she was fighting a mix of fear, boredom, anger, and tiredness.
Anger began to win out over her other emotions. Stomping her foot, she called out into the darkness again.
"You won't win! That's my body you're in, and that mean's its my turf! I've got the home-field advantage and soon enough everyone's gonna figure it out!"
There was no reply.
Rinoa ran a hand through her dark hair and contemplated her options. She had no weapon with her, not that having a weapon would make much of a difference. But…
I do have the power of a sorceress… I could try and use that, couldn't I? But.. I hate being a sorceress.. and using that power is like accepting the fact that I am one… I don't know if I'm ready to confront that- but what other choice do I have?
"Abra cadabra," she whispered sarcastically to herself. She put a hand to each of her temples and closed her eyes. Concentrating on the one thing that had saved her before, during time compression. Her one, sure, and unshakeable truth.
Squall… I'm… right there with you…
Suddenly, in a bright flash of light, the world turned white. She found herself looking at Squall, his eyes full of concern, his hand on her shoulder. Her heart raced, but she wasn't sure if it was real or just an illusion.
"Squall! Help me! Please, please see me! Oh Hyne, I'm right here! I'm--" she began, but an intense pain inside her head caused her to lose concentration and Squall disappeared replaced by the familiar black space.
"Don't you dare."
A voice echoed through her dark prison. Rinoa stood up and screamed triumphantly at the voice.
"I saw him! For a moment, I was THERE! I can do it again!"
"No… you cannot. Whatever power you had reserved, you just used. Wasting your chance. What a pity. Now I only have to wait for you, this last little part of your consciousness, to give in or die out. It really doesn't matter either way…in the end, I win. But when the time comes, I am certain you'll see things my way, and give up."
"I don't believe you!" Rinoa called back, but the voice was silent again. Rinoa paused for a moment, horrified by what she was feeling… weak. Not of mind, for she was more determined than ever to escape, but she felt drained, just as her enemy had said she would feel.
She slid down to her knees.
I won't give in…
--Centra Ruins, Tower.
Rinoa stood at the balcony, watching the darkness creep across the land. Squall was down in the courtyard as well, gathering brush with which they could start a fire. He looked up at her and waved his hand and pointed towards the tower itself, wanting her to move back from the balcony, the railings had long since crumbled and it was a dangerous spot to stand. She moved back into the tower.
A few moments later she heard Squall's steps on the stairs, as well as a metallic clinking noise. As he opened the door to the room, Angelo burst through ahead of him.
"Rin, look who hitchhiked in the back of my car when I left Garden," he said with a half smile. Angelo skidded to a stop in front of Rinoa, and the fur on the dog's back stood up. Squall frowned and nudged the dog with the toe of his boot. "What's the matter, boy?"
Rinoa smiled and squatted down to the dog's level.
"Come here, Angelo," she called in a high, sing-song voice. The door was clearly torn between its intuition and loyalty towards his mistress. Finally, Angelo slowly walked to Rinoa, his tail between his legs. Rinoa scratched the dog affectionately behind the ears. Squall nodded and left to go back out to the courtyard to retrieve the firewood he had left there. As he gathered it, he heard a cry from inside the tower. Dropping the tinder, he sprinted back in the direction he had come from, and threw open the tower door at the top of the stairs.
Rinoa stood beside the open balcony, tears coursing down her cheeks. It took Squall only a quick glance around the room to realize what had happened.
"I… he… I threw the ball… I… too far over… and he ran.. and the balcony crumbled… Angelo…" she gestured, moving towards the balcony to look over the edge.
Squall caught her hand and pulled her away from the edge to prevent her from looking over. She wrapped her arms around him and he did the best he could to console her.
Rinoa… our world's crumbling, just like that balcony… but I won't let us fall, I promise.
Boom! There's Chapter 16! Whew… it was my longest one yet, I hope I didn't lose anyone due to boredom or anything like that… since this is my first fic, it's also my first experience with writing WAR, so be kind in your reviews, hehe. I'm so excited to be in the triple digits for reviews, you cannot even comprehend! Thank you to the reviews who helped me get there, especially the ones listed below that reviewed my last chapter ^_^
Karla3- Yay for my beta reader! The more, the merrier, always! You're awesome!
Squeakychris- Look, look! I did some real, bona fide, honest to goodness fighting in this chapter! Hehe. I hope I didn't let you down =)
Rinny Leonhart / Rikku- I hope that I answered some of those questions for you! Let me know what you think of this chapter, ya? ^.^
Noacat- You love it?!?! Awww… that makes me so happy!! *imitates Laguna* Erm… I killed Angelo… I… feel so… BAD!!! Teehee… I wrote that scene extra special because I liked your idea so much. Thank you for so much praise, I hope you like this chapter too! =)
cusp of a butterfly- Hehe, ya I made him run all over the place, he's gonna have buff legs by the time I am done with this fic! Thanks for your review, keep 'em coming =D
angels0ul – Thanks! Here's the new chapter, hope you enjoy it! =)
SoulSwhispers666- Thank you very much! I'm glad that you've enjoyed all the chapters so far, I hope that I can keep up the trend! I will certainly be starting another fic on the heels of this one, too. Send me a review and let me know what you think of this chapter! ^_^
DemonRyu- Hehe, they found her and it wasn't pretty! Mwahaha…! Thanks for the review! =P
Knighted- Sometimes I wonder how I am gonna get her out of it too, hehe. Send me a review and let me know what you think of this chapter if you have a moment!=)
eDSta- You liked the speech? Yay!!! I wanted to write a good little one, so I'm glad that you liked it! Thanks for so many compliments and let me know if that monument ever gets built, hehe ;-)
Sain- Thanks for your sweet review! I hope you liked this chapter too =)
Beta Reader Note: *Takes a tissue* That was so…sweet. Even though you are the queen of typos, you are the god of nice scenes. Cheers. ^ ^
That's all for now, folks. Please review me, woohoo! Everyone! Peace! And love! =)
Next Up: Squall makes a final choice!
