Disclaimer: Look at the Chapter 1 disclaimer again. It still applies.
About a week after the previous chapter...
Irvine heard Squall signalling him, Selphie, Rinoa, Quistis, and Zell over the Garden intercom. He hurried to the bridge, and found Xu and Squall already waiting at the office below the bridge, while Nida could he heard on the bridge. The five called all assembled, and Squall announced "There's been an emergency request for SeeD. Apparently a prominent Galbadian has been kidnapped by terrorists, and they are holding him for a billion gil ransom, due within three days, otherwise, he dies. A signle sign of an attempted rescue will also result in his death. SeeD has been payed one hundred thousand gil in advance, and another million once he is freed, *if* we succeed. Selphie, I'm appointing you to command this mission." He paused, and Selphie aknowledged his order with a "BOOYAKA!" Squall continued "Pick a team of SeeDs. You leave immediatly by a Garden Boat. From there, go to Fisherman's Horizon, and take the Ragnarok. Xu has programmed the course into the boats nav computer." Selphie shouted, as she always did "Great! Well, I'm off to pick my team!" She sprinted away into the elevator as she said it. Squall made an announcement "All SeeDs, assemble at the first floor lobby in dress uniform," and everyone but him left through the elevator.
Irvine stood in one of several lines, between a veteran SeeD he didn't know, and a SeeD who had only taken the field exam three months ago. Selphie bounced, weaving through the ranks of SeeDs, examining the medals on their uniforms. She finally selected two who met her qualifications, and the three headed off to their dorms to change into normal clothes, pack, and gather weapons. The others scattered. Irvine found Rinoa off in a corner, and Irvine mentioned his retirement to her "Squall always says he's going to process my retirement forms, but somehow he never does." He was glad he wasn't picked for this mission to kill again, and yet at the same time sad. He and Selphie were getting along well, and almost back to where they were before his mission. She'd be gone for about four days, and that would set him back the entire week. He knew, though, that if he had to kill another human, he'd snap. Rinoa broke him out of his train of thought "You know how it is. Squall always forgets everything, now. Besides, he might think you're too young to retire. You're twenty, only slightly past your prime. Squall's only a couple months younger than you, and his retirement's nowhere in sight." Irvine had to think for a second, then responded "He's a bureaucrat, not a fighter, and can't remember any of the lives he's taken." Rinoa changed the subject "Come on, let's get to the dock, see Selphie off."
Irvine and Rinoa walked to the dock, which was once half of the Balamb Garden Parking Lot. Rinoa began to run as they passed the entrance, and said "Wait here, I've got something in my dorm." Irvine was left, puzzled, as he waited. "What does Rinoa have for Selphie?" he wondered. Rinoa came running back, carrying a large framed picture. She showed it to him. It was one of the three of them, Irvine in the center, with Selphie under his right arm, wearing his hat. Rinoa stood next to Irvine's left, both her arms around him. All three had smiles covering half their faces, showing genuine happiness, rather than I'm-posing-for-a-camera or let's-get-this-over-with smiles. Remembering that picture brought a smile to Irvine's face. He and Rinoa waited for Selphie and her squad to get back. She arrived some minutes later, and walked her squad to the docks. As they boarded, she kissed Irvine goodbye, and Rinoa gave her the picture "So you don't forget all of us during the mission."
Two days later...
Irvine, Rinoa, Quistis, and Zell were summoned once again, but this time some others were too. Again, Squall and Xu were there. This time, though, Squall said "Xu just recorded this transmission. I think that everyone should hear it. Xu, start the recording." Xu saluted, then pressed a button on a computer console. A sound came from the office radio speaker, in a thick Estharan accent, a man's voice "Last transmission from spaceship Ragnarok." This noticeably shocked the assembled, although they kept their SeeD discipline. Selphie's voice came on "Wooo-hooo! Slowing down to find a suitable landing site! Strap yourselves in." On the computer screen, a wireframe rendering of the terrain around Ragnarok was shown in green. Ragnarok circled, slowed, and dropped in altitude. It began to glide to over a landing site. Suddenly, some red spheres appeared on the screen, flared to become much wider and brighter, then collapsed. Tiny dots flew from them toward the Ragnarok, leaving red trails. Another Estharan accent came on, this one a woman's voice "Incoming missiles." She was calm, as most missile alerts are. Apparently Selphie began to take evasive action. More red flares, heat signatures, apparently, erupted on the ground, and more missiles flew from them. Another heat signature, appeared on the Ragnarok. The other missiles flew toward it. Selphie shouted, a panic in her voice "We've been hit! I'm going to try to land this bird as fast as I can. It's gonna be rough!" Alarms blared throughout the Ragnarok, and could even be heard in the transmission. More missiles hit, enlarging the blast hole of the first. Ragnarok bucked and rolled. Selphie shouted "You can't die on me!" as she fought for control. Then, simply, resignedly "It was a trap. They called us here to die." Another volley of missiles hit. Halfway through the volley, the transmission cut out.
The assembled SeeDs began to mumble to eachother worriedly "Is he..." "Is she?" "Selphie's not dead! No way she can be!" Rinoa had broken down in tears, crying onto Irvine's shoulder, as it was closer than Squall's. Xu added one more thing "The attack identification cameras mounted on Ragnarok managed to pick this up," and projected a picture of five people clustered around two SAM launchers in the Dollet mountains. She highlighted an area on the screen, and zoomed in. It was beyond grainy, but a Galbadian flag was plainly visible on the side of one of the launchers. Further, the (evident) leader of the five was wearing a medal, the Sword of Galbadia's Heroes, one of the higher honors any Galbadian soldier could achieve. Rinoa was painfully shocked by this "Why, father? Why Selphie?" Irvine could do nothing to calm her, except what he was doing, holding her. Squall announced to the assembled "I called you here because you were on friendly terms with one or more of the deceased. I am assembling a mission into Deling City to assassinate General Caraway in reprisal for the Galbadian Army's ambush of SeeD. Any volunteers?" Zell and Quistis remained calm, knowing that they couldn't kill Rinoa's father. Rinoa was, of course, unable to kill her father, and Irvine was a killer no longer. The other SeeDs, though, had vengeance on their minds, and could think of little else.
Rinoa was somewhat in denial. She hated her father, and yet still cared for him, didn't want his death "Maybe there's been a mistake. They could have stolen those..." Squall asked "and the medal?" Rinoa turned to look at him, tears streaming down her face. "It might be faked!" Irvine turned to her "Rinoa, it is a high crime and the worst thing one can do, socially, in Galbadia to fake a medal. Anyone with a faked medal is ostracized and put to death. You should know that." Rinoa cried more "Just because it was a great soldier, and G-Army equipment... Doesn't mean..." Irvine asked her "What else can it be?" She cried even further, shouting "I don't know!" She slammed her fist into Irvine's chest. Irvine didn't notice; Rinoa's fists weren't that strong. The other SeeDs left the office, and Rinoa stormed out to her dorm to cry.
Four days later...
The SeeD hit squad returned to Garden, to hold Selphie's funeral, along with those for the SeeDs who died under her command. They reported to Squall, and Irvine, Rinoa, Zell, and Quistis heard. Selphie had been avenged. The old General had given the weapons to the terrorists, although he had not commanded the attack. He encouraged his men to become terrorists. He had confessed so himself, and been put to a quick and painless death. Rinoa wept loudly at Selphie's funeral. Irvine noticed how close they were as friends in the time before she died, although he couldn't help but think she might also be weeping for her dead father. He didn't dare to ask her, though, as it was a touchy subject. Squall had forgotten to plan Selphie's funeral, and almost forgotten to attend it, so the Garden Festival committee had to plan it on their own. It was a much happier event than a triple funeral should be, but it was done to what Selphie's wishes would be if she were alive. Irvine had to bite back tears for Selphie's death.
Immediatly after the funeral, Rinoa cornered Squall, who had almost forgotten to attend, and shouted "Squall, we're finished!" Squall asked her "What?" Rinoa replied, anger filling her voice "I said we're finished! Through! You completely forgot Selphie's death yesterday. You forgot to do any funeral arrangements, and you're practically her brother! You almost missed the beginning of the funeral!" Squall tried to calm her "Look, Rinoa, I know my memory is hard, but I need to keep the GFs junctioned. Just because I'm commander doesn't mean I never have to fight. I need the GFs to keep my skills up, and I feel vulnerable without them." "So you're blaming your memory on the GFs. It was *your* choice to junction them in the first place." Squall saw little way to escape this fight, and so withdrew into his emotionless armor. He said nothing to her, letting her scream at him. Some time later, Rinoa left to scream to a wall in her dorm, leaving Squall broken and bitter. Irvine caught up to her on her way, and she invited him in, let him listen to her cry. She was terribly saddened by Selphie's death, as she had known Selphie well, far better than Ellone. Irvine tried to comfort her, and the two fell into bed together.
Author's Notes: My computer is still not working.
Recap: Selphie and General Caraway died. I'd have to start keeping track to make sure I don't kill the same character twice, if I didn't already have a general plan.
To my reviewers:
fallingfarther: Well, sorry, but the love triangle is gone now. Selphie's dead, and Rinoa dumped squall. Time to decide who to kill next... Next chapter will probably be fluffy, though, and not involve any death.
wonderful failure: Thanks. I'm not sure what makes Irvine x Rinoa work for me either. The idea came to me as a sort of random thought, and this story fleshed out around it, and (apparently) my muse convinced me of it. There are some good AU Squinoas, but the bad, cliche'd ones get all the reviews (although even they get more reviews/chapter, on average, than the good stuff).
Green: Where'd you go?
About a week after the previous chapter...
Irvine heard Squall signalling him, Selphie, Rinoa, Quistis, and Zell over the Garden intercom. He hurried to the bridge, and found Xu and Squall already waiting at the office below the bridge, while Nida could he heard on the bridge. The five called all assembled, and Squall announced "There's been an emergency request for SeeD. Apparently a prominent Galbadian has been kidnapped by terrorists, and they are holding him for a billion gil ransom, due within three days, otherwise, he dies. A signle sign of an attempted rescue will also result in his death. SeeD has been payed one hundred thousand gil in advance, and another million once he is freed, *if* we succeed. Selphie, I'm appointing you to command this mission." He paused, and Selphie aknowledged his order with a "BOOYAKA!" Squall continued "Pick a team of SeeDs. You leave immediatly by a Garden Boat. From there, go to Fisherman's Horizon, and take the Ragnarok. Xu has programmed the course into the boats nav computer." Selphie shouted, as she always did "Great! Well, I'm off to pick my team!" She sprinted away into the elevator as she said it. Squall made an announcement "All SeeDs, assemble at the first floor lobby in dress uniform," and everyone but him left through the elevator.
Irvine stood in one of several lines, between a veteran SeeD he didn't know, and a SeeD who had only taken the field exam three months ago. Selphie bounced, weaving through the ranks of SeeDs, examining the medals on their uniforms. She finally selected two who met her qualifications, and the three headed off to their dorms to change into normal clothes, pack, and gather weapons. The others scattered. Irvine found Rinoa off in a corner, and Irvine mentioned his retirement to her "Squall always says he's going to process my retirement forms, but somehow he never does." He was glad he wasn't picked for this mission to kill again, and yet at the same time sad. He and Selphie were getting along well, and almost back to where they were before his mission. She'd be gone for about four days, and that would set him back the entire week. He knew, though, that if he had to kill another human, he'd snap. Rinoa broke him out of his train of thought "You know how it is. Squall always forgets everything, now. Besides, he might think you're too young to retire. You're twenty, only slightly past your prime. Squall's only a couple months younger than you, and his retirement's nowhere in sight." Irvine had to think for a second, then responded "He's a bureaucrat, not a fighter, and can't remember any of the lives he's taken." Rinoa changed the subject "Come on, let's get to the dock, see Selphie off."
Irvine and Rinoa walked to the dock, which was once half of the Balamb Garden Parking Lot. Rinoa began to run as they passed the entrance, and said "Wait here, I've got something in my dorm." Irvine was left, puzzled, as he waited. "What does Rinoa have for Selphie?" he wondered. Rinoa came running back, carrying a large framed picture. She showed it to him. It was one of the three of them, Irvine in the center, with Selphie under his right arm, wearing his hat. Rinoa stood next to Irvine's left, both her arms around him. All three had smiles covering half their faces, showing genuine happiness, rather than I'm-posing-for-a-camera or let's-get-this-over-with smiles. Remembering that picture brought a smile to Irvine's face. He and Rinoa waited for Selphie and her squad to get back. She arrived some minutes later, and walked her squad to the docks. As they boarded, she kissed Irvine goodbye, and Rinoa gave her the picture "So you don't forget all of us during the mission."
Two days later...
Irvine, Rinoa, Quistis, and Zell were summoned once again, but this time some others were too. Again, Squall and Xu were there. This time, though, Squall said "Xu just recorded this transmission. I think that everyone should hear it. Xu, start the recording." Xu saluted, then pressed a button on a computer console. A sound came from the office radio speaker, in a thick Estharan accent, a man's voice "Last transmission from spaceship Ragnarok." This noticeably shocked the assembled, although they kept their SeeD discipline. Selphie's voice came on "Wooo-hooo! Slowing down to find a suitable landing site! Strap yourselves in." On the computer screen, a wireframe rendering of the terrain around Ragnarok was shown in green. Ragnarok circled, slowed, and dropped in altitude. It began to glide to over a landing site. Suddenly, some red spheres appeared on the screen, flared to become much wider and brighter, then collapsed. Tiny dots flew from them toward the Ragnarok, leaving red trails. Another Estharan accent came on, this one a woman's voice "Incoming missiles." She was calm, as most missile alerts are. Apparently Selphie began to take evasive action. More red flares, heat signatures, apparently, erupted on the ground, and more missiles flew from them. Another heat signature, appeared on the Ragnarok. The other missiles flew toward it. Selphie shouted, a panic in her voice "We've been hit! I'm going to try to land this bird as fast as I can. It's gonna be rough!" Alarms blared throughout the Ragnarok, and could even be heard in the transmission. More missiles hit, enlarging the blast hole of the first. Ragnarok bucked and rolled. Selphie shouted "You can't die on me!" as she fought for control. Then, simply, resignedly "It was a trap. They called us here to die." Another volley of missiles hit. Halfway through the volley, the transmission cut out.
The assembled SeeDs began to mumble to eachother worriedly "Is he..." "Is she?" "Selphie's not dead! No way she can be!" Rinoa had broken down in tears, crying onto Irvine's shoulder, as it was closer than Squall's. Xu added one more thing "The attack identification cameras mounted on Ragnarok managed to pick this up," and projected a picture of five people clustered around two SAM launchers in the Dollet mountains. She highlighted an area on the screen, and zoomed in. It was beyond grainy, but a Galbadian flag was plainly visible on the side of one of the launchers. Further, the (evident) leader of the five was wearing a medal, the Sword of Galbadia's Heroes, one of the higher honors any Galbadian soldier could achieve. Rinoa was painfully shocked by this "Why, father? Why Selphie?" Irvine could do nothing to calm her, except what he was doing, holding her. Squall announced to the assembled "I called you here because you were on friendly terms with one or more of the deceased. I am assembling a mission into Deling City to assassinate General Caraway in reprisal for the Galbadian Army's ambush of SeeD. Any volunteers?" Zell and Quistis remained calm, knowing that they couldn't kill Rinoa's father. Rinoa was, of course, unable to kill her father, and Irvine was a killer no longer. The other SeeDs, though, had vengeance on their minds, and could think of little else.
Rinoa was somewhat in denial. She hated her father, and yet still cared for him, didn't want his death "Maybe there's been a mistake. They could have stolen those..." Squall asked "and the medal?" Rinoa turned to look at him, tears streaming down her face. "It might be faked!" Irvine turned to her "Rinoa, it is a high crime and the worst thing one can do, socially, in Galbadia to fake a medal. Anyone with a faked medal is ostracized and put to death. You should know that." Rinoa cried more "Just because it was a great soldier, and G-Army equipment... Doesn't mean..." Irvine asked her "What else can it be?" She cried even further, shouting "I don't know!" She slammed her fist into Irvine's chest. Irvine didn't notice; Rinoa's fists weren't that strong. The other SeeDs left the office, and Rinoa stormed out to her dorm to cry.
Four days later...
The SeeD hit squad returned to Garden, to hold Selphie's funeral, along with those for the SeeDs who died under her command. They reported to Squall, and Irvine, Rinoa, Zell, and Quistis heard. Selphie had been avenged. The old General had given the weapons to the terrorists, although he had not commanded the attack. He encouraged his men to become terrorists. He had confessed so himself, and been put to a quick and painless death. Rinoa wept loudly at Selphie's funeral. Irvine noticed how close they were as friends in the time before she died, although he couldn't help but think she might also be weeping for her dead father. He didn't dare to ask her, though, as it was a touchy subject. Squall had forgotten to plan Selphie's funeral, and almost forgotten to attend it, so the Garden Festival committee had to plan it on their own. It was a much happier event than a triple funeral should be, but it was done to what Selphie's wishes would be if she were alive. Irvine had to bite back tears for Selphie's death.
Immediatly after the funeral, Rinoa cornered Squall, who had almost forgotten to attend, and shouted "Squall, we're finished!" Squall asked her "What?" Rinoa replied, anger filling her voice "I said we're finished! Through! You completely forgot Selphie's death yesterday. You forgot to do any funeral arrangements, and you're practically her brother! You almost missed the beginning of the funeral!" Squall tried to calm her "Look, Rinoa, I know my memory is hard, but I need to keep the GFs junctioned. Just because I'm commander doesn't mean I never have to fight. I need the GFs to keep my skills up, and I feel vulnerable without them." "So you're blaming your memory on the GFs. It was *your* choice to junction them in the first place." Squall saw little way to escape this fight, and so withdrew into his emotionless armor. He said nothing to her, letting her scream at him. Some time later, Rinoa left to scream to a wall in her dorm, leaving Squall broken and bitter. Irvine caught up to her on her way, and she invited him in, let him listen to her cry. She was terribly saddened by Selphie's death, as she had known Selphie well, far better than Ellone. Irvine tried to comfort her, and the two fell into bed together.
Author's Notes: My computer is still not working.
Recap: Selphie and General Caraway died. I'd have to start keeping track to make sure I don't kill the same character twice, if I didn't already have a general plan.
To my reviewers:
fallingfarther: Well, sorry, but the love triangle is gone now. Selphie's dead, and Rinoa dumped squall. Time to decide who to kill next... Next chapter will probably be fluffy, though, and not involve any death.
wonderful failure: Thanks. I'm not sure what makes Irvine x Rinoa work for me either. The idea came to me as a sort of random thought, and this story fleshed out around it, and (apparently) my muse convinced me of it. There are some good AU Squinoas, but the bad, cliche'd ones get all the reviews (although even they get more reviews/chapter, on average, than the good stuff).
Green: Where'd you go?