Disclaimer- All things owned by Square are owned by Square, not by me.
Light filtered in through the blinds of the co-headmistress' office, waking the snoring leader of Garden from her snooze on the desk. Papers flew everywhere as she was startled into wakefulness. Always the portrait of grace, the headmistress promptly fell backward out of her plush chair. Upon regaining her footing, the young woman stood up straight and walked over to the blinds of her office. With the flick of a wall switch, the wooden slats folded up, revealing a breathtaking view of the open ocean.
It seems so strange, Rinoa thought, Every day I think we're still by Balamb, on the land... Rinoa rubbed sleep from her eyes and sighed. Has it been that long? Rinoa ran through her mind, trying to remember the last time she had set foot on real, honest-to-God ground. Garden just seems... so natural... it reminds me of Timber... but when I look outside... Rinoa felt a tug at her heart. She grew up in the forest, and any feat of Shumi bio-engineering could not replicate home for her. It had to be done, though. What other options did we have? Squall almost died that night! How could I deal with that every day? Tears began to run down Rinoa's cheeks.
Rinoa never wanted to re-live that night; the night* of the first Lunar Cry after Ultimecia's death; the one that forced Garden to escape into the sea. Rinoa tried to force the memory out of her consciousness. No. Never again, she thought. Yet, like an undeterrable juggernaut, the memory of that night smashed through her mental defenses and she was overtaken.
***
Rinoa woke up to the sound of shouts outside her room. Alarms were sounding in the quad. She jumped from her bed and opened the door out to the main dorm hallway. As she glanced down the hall, she saw people rushing from their rooms in full combat gear. Startling her, Zell tapped her shoulder from behind.
"What's going on?" Rinoa asked.
"I don't know," Zell said, "but whatever it is, it's not good." Rinoa nodded in response. Almost instinctually, she opened her foot locker and dressed and armed herself for battle. Thoughts rushed through her mind. What's going on? Who could be attacking us? She affixed her pinwheel to her arm and glanced out her bedroom window. Fear struck her as she saw swarms of large flying creatures weaving in and out of the light cast by the Garden.
Breaking into a dead sprint, she followed Zell into the quad, where all hell was breaking loose. Cadets and SeeDs were running everywhere, shouting and readying their weapons as they moved. Rinoa's eye caught Irvine moving to the elevator lobby of the quad, his rifle in hand. As she stopped to look, Zell had unknowingly taken off without her.
Squall... where are you? What's going on? Rinoa thought to herself. All of a sudden, her thoughts were lost in the sound of smashing glass. She looked up towards the quad's windows and saw glass flying everywhere. The traffic in the room slowed to a halt, as all stared with fear at the breach. Time seemed to slow for a moment. What was a duration of five or six seconds turned into a minute as everyone prayed that what they saw outside was not coming inside. Then, a single bird-like monster flapped through the newly made entrance. Rinoa turned her head as she heard guns cocking. Rinoa jumped in alarm as the first gun fired, followed by at least twenty more. The bird crumpled and fell to the ground as its body was ripped apart by the firing SeeDs. The gunfire stopped, waiting for what was next. Silence fell over the defense team as all eyes fell on the windows. In the blink of an eye, dozens of the same type of bird-beast dove in through the window. Rinoa hit the ground as the birds swooped down. The chatter of gunfire and screams echoed around her. She rolled onto her back and loosed her pinwheel into the swarm. Her eyes filled with hope as the projectile spun towards her target. Ten feet. Five feet. The ring nicked one of the attacker's wings and then shattered against the thick hide of another. A cold wave passed over the young woman. That was her one shot. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate amid the gunfire and screams in the battleground.
Where is it? Why can't I use it?
Rinoa frowned as she broke her meditation. Ifrit wasn't there. She always de-junctioned her Guardians when she went to sleep, and in the sudden events she had forgot to bind with Ifrit. She swore under her breath as she broke into a run towards the front line.
She was still about fifty feet from the main line when something large hit her, knocking her down. Rinoa thought that she had been hit by one of the falling bird corpses. Yet, this corpse seemed to breathe. Hot breath blew against her face. She opened her eyes and found herself staring into the open mouth of a cat-beast. Rinoa began to tremble as she looked at the beast's sharp teeth and powerful jaw.
This is it, she thought, I've gotten out of death before, but this time, Death's come to collect his due. Rinoa closed her eyes hard and tensed her muscles, expecting the killing blow. A vision of Squall ran through her mind, and she felt a tear roll down her cheek.
Three shots rang out, louder than the rest of the fire in the quad. The first shattered the cat's kneecap, causing it to roar out in pain. The next two slammed into the monster's head, ending his roar in a gurgle and splattering blood all over Rinoa'a face. The cat hit the ground to the left of the co-headmistress. Irvine leaped from his position, reloading his rifle and firing into the bird. swarm circling above Rinoa.
"Rinoa, get up! We have to get you out of here!" Irvine shouted. Rinoa ordered her limbs to react, but they refused.
Move, dammit! Rinoa screamed in her mind, Just move!
Irvine looked on as Rinoa sobbed, her tears carrying the blood on her face away in tiny red rivulets. Seeing no other option, Irvine picked her up and slung the woman over his shoulder and ran back to the front line, firing one-handed into the swarm above him.
Rinoa could only look on helplessly as Irvine moved her into the line, which was already being torn apart by ground monsters. In the few seconds before she was taken to the infirmary, she saw a sight that would stick with her for the rest of her life. Her eyes fell upon a young boy, no older than thirteen, drawing his sword against a serpent-like invader. Behind him was a girl much younger than him, who had been caught in the hustle and bustle of the quad traffic. The serpent flew forward and delivered its poison into the underclassman's right arm. Rinoa watched the boy's face go pale as the venom carried out its sanguine duty. With a loud scream of his dying breath, the boy swung at the serpent and cleaved its head from its body. The boy then fell to the ground, and his eyes met Rinoa's; eyes which were once filled with life and hope were now dulled with the haze of death. Rinoa screamed out in pain, feeling as if her very soul was being wrenched away from her. Then all went black.
***
Rinoa rose from the floor, the memory having passed.
Why did this happen? Why am I on the floor? It wasn't a dream, but why did it seem like I was sleeping?
Rinoa noticed her face was covered with tears, and that two hours had passed since the flashback started. With a sniff, she rose from the floor and left her office.
*Garden was located within the 'dark zone' of the planet, the area that endured 24-hour darkness, before moving into the light part of the open ocean.
- There was a bit of confusion (from what reviews tell me) in the second part of this chapter... the attack is a memory from two years past, sorry if that confused anyone, I added a few lines that help transition out of the memory -
Light filtered in through the blinds of the co-headmistress' office, waking the snoring leader of Garden from her snooze on the desk. Papers flew everywhere as she was startled into wakefulness. Always the portrait of grace, the headmistress promptly fell backward out of her plush chair. Upon regaining her footing, the young woman stood up straight and walked over to the blinds of her office. With the flick of a wall switch, the wooden slats folded up, revealing a breathtaking view of the open ocean.
It seems so strange, Rinoa thought, Every day I think we're still by Balamb, on the land... Rinoa rubbed sleep from her eyes and sighed. Has it been that long? Rinoa ran through her mind, trying to remember the last time she had set foot on real, honest-to-God ground. Garden just seems... so natural... it reminds me of Timber... but when I look outside... Rinoa felt a tug at her heart. She grew up in the forest, and any feat of Shumi bio-engineering could not replicate home for her. It had to be done, though. What other options did we have? Squall almost died that night! How could I deal with that every day? Tears began to run down Rinoa's cheeks.
Rinoa never wanted to re-live that night; the night* of the first Lunar Cry after Ultimecia's death; the one that forced Garden to escape into the sea. Rinoa tried to force the memory out of her consciousness. No. Never again, she thought. Yet, like an undeterrable juggernaut, the memory of that night smashed through her mental defenses and she was overtaken.
***
Rinoa woke up to the sound of shouts outside her room. Alarms were sounding in the quad. She jumped from her bed and opened the door out to the main dorm hallway. As she glanced down the hall, she saw people rushing from their rooms in full combat gear. Startling her, Zell tapped her shoulder from behind.
"What's going on?" Rinoa asked.
"I don't know," Zell said, "but whatever it is, it's not good." Rinoa nodded in response. Almost instinctually, she opened her foot locker and dressed and armed herself for battle. Thoughts rushed through her mind. What's going on? Who could be attacking us? She affixed her pinwheel to her arm and glanced out her bedroom window. Fear struck her as she saw swarms of large flying creatures weaving in and out of the light cast by the Garden.
Breaking into a dead sprint, she followed Zell into the quad, where all hell was breaking loose. Cadets and SeeDs were running everywhere, shouting and readying their weapons as they moved. Rinoa's eye caught Irvine moving to the elevator lobby of the quad, his rifle in hand. As she stopped to look, Zell had unknowingly taken off without her.
Squall... where are you? What's going on? Rinoa thought to herself. All of a sudden, her thoughts were lost in the sound of smashing glass. She looked up towards the quad's windows and saw glass flying everywhere. The traffic in the room slowed to a halt, as all stared with fear at the breach. Time seemed to slow for a moment. What was a duration of five or six seconds turned into a minute as everyone prayed that what they saw outside was not coming inside. Then, a single bird-like monster flapped through the newly made entrance. Rinoa turned her head as she heard guns cocking. Rinoa jumped in alarm as the first gun fired, followed by at least twenty more. The bird crumpled and fell to the ground as its body was ripped apart by the firing SeeDs. The gunfire stopped, waiting for what was next. Silence fell over the defense team as all eyes fell on the windows. In the blink of an eye, dozens of the same type of bird-beast dove in through the window. Rinoa hit the ground as the birds swooped down. The chatter of gunfire and screams echoed around her. She rolled onto her back and loosed her pinwheel into the swarm. Her eyes filled with hope as the projectile spun towards her target. Ten feet. Five feet. The ring nicked one of the attacker's wings and then shattered against the thick hide of another. A cold wave passed over the young woman. That was her one shot. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate amid the gunfire and screams in the battleground.
Where is it? Why can't I use it?
Rinoa frowned as she broke her meditation. Ifrit wasn't there. She always de-junctioned her Guardians when she went to sleep, and in the sudden events she had forgot to bind with Ifrit. She swore under her breath as she broke into a run towards the front line.
She was still about fifty feet from the main line when something large hit her, knocking her down. Rinoa thought that she had been hit by one of the falling bird corpses. Yet, this corpse seemed to breathe. Hot breath blew against her face. She opened her eyes and found herself staring into the open mouth of a cat-beast. Rinoa began to tremble as she looked at the beast's sharp teeth and powerful jaw.
This is it, she thought, I've gotten out of death before, but this time, Death's come to collect his due. Rinoa closed her eyes hard and tensed her muscles, expecting the killing blow. A vision of Squall ran through her mind, and she felt a tear roll down her cheek.
Three shots rang out, louder than the rest of the fire in the quad. The first shattered the cat's kneecap, causing it to roar out in pain. The next two slammed into the monster's head, ending his roar in a gurgle and splattering blood all over Rinoa'a face. The cat hit the ground to the left of the co-headmistress. Irvine leaped from his position, reloading his rifle and firing into the bird. swarm circling above Rinoa.
"Rinoa, get up! We have to get you out of here!" Irvine shouted. Rinoa ordered her limbs to react, but they refused.
Move, dammit! Rinoa screamed in her mind, Just move!
Irvine looked on as Rinoa sobbed, her tears carrying the blood on her face away in tiny red rivulets. Seeing no other option, Irvine picked her up and slung the woman over his shoulder and ran back to the front line, firing one-handed into the swarm above him.
Rinoa could only look on helplessly as Irvine moved her into the line, which was already being torn apart by ground monsters. In the few seconds before she was taken to the infirmary, she saw a sight that would stick with her for the rest of her life. Her eyes fell upon a young boy, no older than thirteen, drawing his sword against a serpent-like invader. Behind him was a girl much younger than him, who had been caught in the hustle and bustle of the quad traffic. The serpent flew forward and delivered its poison into the underclassman's right arm. Rinoa watched the boy's face go pale as the venom carried out its sanguine duty. With a loud scream of his dying breath, the boy swung at the serpent and cleaved its head from its body. The boy then fell to the ground, and his eyes met Rinoa's; eyes which were once filled with life and hope were now dulled with the haze of death. Rinoa screamed out in pain, feeling as if her very soul was being wrenched away from her. Then all went black.
***
Rinoa rose from the floor, the memory having passed.
Why did this happen? Why am I on the floor? It wasn't a dream, but why did it seem like I was sleeping?
Rinoa noticed her face was covered with tears, and that two hours had passed since the flashback started. With a sniff, she rose from the floor and left her office.
*Garden was located within the 'dark zone' of the planet, the area that endured 24-hour darkness, before moving into the light part of the open ocean.
- There was a bit of confusion (from what reviews tell me) in the second part of this chapter... the attack is a memory from two years past, sorry if that confused anyone, I added a few lines that help transition out of the memory -