Squall walked into the Infirmary just as Dr. Kadowaki was walking out with a box of medical supplies.
"Squall, be a dear, and take care of things till I get back, ok?" she asked kindly. Squall nodded, then made his way over to Rinoa's bed. She was still lying there, hands resting on her stomach and completely comatosed.
Squall very carefully sat her up, then pulled her onto his back and stood up. He secured her legs through his arms, and made sure her head was resting on his shoulder.
"Let's go, Rinoa. Let's go meet Ellone," he thought, walking out of the Infirmary. "Ellone will bring us together."
"...Sorry everyone," he continued thinking as he made his way to Garden's emergency exit, through Fisherman's Horizon, and onto the railroad. It was going to be a long walk. "I can't go on like this. I can't wait any longer."
"It's a bit far, but we'll make it," he said aloud, taking his first few steps onto the railroad.
Squall tried to switch his brain off, and tune out his thoughts, instead concentrating on his surroundings.
There wasn't much to look at though, although it was quite a rare sight. The railroad was long and narrow, and he could barely see the land at the other end. The railroad was suspended in the air, above the sea. There was nothing all around but land behind, land in front, and endless ocean.
When Squall had started walking, it was sunset. Now it was beginning to become quite dark. Luckily the moon was bright tonight, and its rays basked down on Squall and his silent companion.
"It's pretty far," Squall thought, noticing the pain in his legs. "Didn't think it would be this far..."
He suddenly stopped walking, for the first time since he began the journey. His feet were throbbing.
"What am I doing...?" he asked himself hopelessly. "Go to Esthar...Find Ellone...Talk to Ellone...But there's no guarantee that everything will be resolved if I talk to Ellone. Even so, I'm..."
His thoughts trailed off, and he bathed in the silence that surrounded him. He adjusted his arms and shifted Rinoa up further onto his back, so she didn't fall.
"I … sure have changed," Squall realised, sitting Rinoa down and looking out to the sea. He took a seat on the edge of the railroad and dangled his legs over the edge, pointing down into the sea.
"I wonder what everyone's doing?" he wondered. "Me suddenly disappearing like that, with no explanation … They're probably laughing at me. Or maybe they're angry."
"What do you think?" he peered over his shoulder and asked Rinoa. Of course, she didn't say anything.
"To tell you the truth," Squall continued, his own voice comforting him, "I worry too much about what other people think of me. I hate that side of me...That's why I didn't want anyone to get to know me."
He paused, and looked out again at the sea.
"I wanted to hide that side of myself. I hate it," he said quietly. "Squall is an unfriendly, introverted guy. It made it easy for me when people perceived me that way. But that's just a secret between you and me. Got that?"
He peered over his shoulder again, but Rinoa still slept. He knelt down next to her, scooped her up and placed her back on his shoulders.
"Rinoa," he sighed, as he continued walking. "I wonder what will become of me?"
Rinoa said nothing; she was sleeping like an angel.
When Squall eventually arrived at the train station, it was early morning. He'd been walking all night, but it didn't feel like it. He looked up suddenly, and was very surprised Quistis and Zell stood in front of him.
"Squall, you're late," Quistis said, but she wasn't angry at all, she was smiling fondly at him as she leant her weight against a pillar.
"Is the princess still asleep?" Zell grinned, looking at Rinoa.
"She might wake up with a kiss from the prince," Quistis suggested jokingly.
"Is that why you came all the way out here?" Squall blurted, quite rudely. "To tell me that?"
"You're going to Esthar, right?" Quistis guessed, crossing her arms and looking at him deeply. "We're coming, too. You can't do everything alone, Squall."
"We're Edea's escort," Zell explained, punching his own chest proudly. Ever since the fight with Edea, he had become very protective of his old Matron.
"Let us be on our way, Squall," Edea bowed, and he only just realised she was there. Before she had been a powerful sorceress, having great presence in any room, and now she was a quiet, retiring woman, who blended in among any background.
"What business do you have in Esthar?" Squall asked wonderingly, shifting Rinoa up further onto his back again, so she didn't fall.
"I must go see Doctor Odine," Edea said simply.
"Dr. Odine," Zell repeated, looking at Squall. "You've heard the name, right?"
"...Odine?" Squall thought, but his mind was a scrambled mess at the moment.
"Tell me more," he said, not openly admitting that he had totally forgotten. He didn't want his group to think he was going crazy.
"You know the famous Odine brand, don't you? That's all Dr. Odine's work," Zell told him. "When it comes to knowledge about the sorceress, he's number one."
"So why do you need to see this doctor?" Squall asked Edea.
"Sorceress Ultimecia is alive. She is able to take control of my body at any
time. If that were to happen..." Edea paused, looking down at her feet. "I would once again bring terror. I, too, value my well-being. I want to protect myself. If it were possible, I would like to rid myself of the sorceress' power. Doctor Odine may know a way. He may be able to save me."
"...I understand," Squall nodded after hearing her explanation. "Let's all go to Esthar."
He took a step forwards when Selphie and Irvine came along from a dusty path opposite the train station.
"Yo, they're back," Zell said, stretching out a hand and stopping Squall.
"The two of them went to take a look," Quistis explained helpfully. She was trying to keep herself as cool and collected as possible – but she had to admit, even though she knew her feelings for Squall were similar to those of a big sister – it still pained her slightly to see him taking so much care of Rinoa. In the past, Squall always pushed Quistis away with a blunt, rude comment. She wondered if he would look after her the same if she was in Rinoa's position.
"How's it goin', Squall? Is Rinoa still asleep?" Selphie asked with a wave, quite brightly. Then she leant forwards to Squall's ear and whispered: "Rinoa's so cute when she's asleep."
"Whatever," Squall brushed her off coldly. "So, how is it? Can we make it to Esthar?"
"Wooo!" Selphie grinned and started jumping up and down. "Are you blushing?!"
"Selphie, don't make Squall angry," Irvine chuckled, adjusting his hat, then turning to the others. "Esthar's on this continent, right? It's supposed to be huge...I don't know why, but I can't seem to find it anywhere."
"Couldn't find it up north or down south," Selphie filled them in. "So let's try going east next!"
Squall nodded, and lead the group east, although he had no idea where he was going. But Irvine was right, Esthar was known to be a huge city … surely they would stumble upon it sooner or later.
After the railroad tracks gradually ended, the team wandered down a sandy dirt track, until they reached a giant frozen lake, surrounded by rocky ledges, caves, and hilly areas.
"Hel-lo!" Selphie shouted sarcastically, and her voice echoed in every nook and cranny of the frozen structure. "I don't see a city!"
"Looks like we are in for a long trip," Edea sighed.
"Everything'll be all right," Zell said optimistically to his former Matron. "We'll all be by your side all the way!"
"Thank you Zell," she smiled fondly, patting his arm. "But remember, you must stay alert even in my presence. As long as I can be myself, everything will be fine. But if Ultimecia gets inside me again...You all know what to do..."
She trailed off, and there was an awkward silence.
"What, what, did I miss something?" Selphie asked quickly. "Uh-oh, it's so quiet. The air's getting heavy. Guys...What's wrong?"
No one said anything to her.
"COME ON!" she pleaded. "We're all together again! We're gonna bring back Rinoa! It's like a picnic! We're gonna have fun!"
"Somebody once told me," Squall began, "That if you mention bad things, they'll come true. I know it's a silly superstition, but right now I want to believe it. So let's not talk about it anymore."
A few seconds before Squall finished his last sentence, a giant skeletal monster strode out from a nearby cave. It bent its rickety knees and scratched at something on the ground, before peering up at the group and then suddenly bounding over to them.
"It's an undead monster!" Squall shouted to the group as he ducked backwards under a small ledge, to protect Rinoa. "Use recovery-related magic and items on it!"
Wasting no time, Zell pulled out a Potion from his jacket pocket and threw it at the beast, as Edea cast Curaga on it. The healthy ingredients in the potion and the magic caused the monster's bones to burn horribly, like acid. Quistis finished it off by throwing a Phoenix Down.
Squall breathed a sigh of relief after the hurried battle, then stepped out from the safety of the ledge and noticed that the pathway ahead and it surroundings were … flickering.
"There's something here," he called out to the others, stepping closer towards it. A hole appeared in the air in front of them, as if by magic.
"WHOA!" Zell reeled back in surprise. "What the hell is that?! It's some kinda hole or tunnel."
"This looks like the only way," Squall informed the group, reaching out near the hole. He patted the air and eventually his hand grabbed onto an invisible ladder. "There's a ladder here. Follow me, everyone."
He steadied himself on the ladder that he couldn't actually see and pushed Rinoa through the hole, before clambering in himself, as his group followed.
The team were stood on an elevator, which began to move downwards. It was an accurately square room, with diamond-shaped panels on each of the four walls.
"What's this, an elevator?" Zell peered around at the dark room.
"Oh geez," Irvine muttered to himself, looking around in disbelief. "Whatever."
"I don't know what I'm doing, where I am…" Squall thought, eyeing up the dark walls of the small elevator. "I don't know if we'll ever get to Esthar. But I don't care."
"I'm not turning back now," he said aloud to the others, as the elevator came to a sudden halt.
"It stopped," Zell said, but no one bothered telling him that he was clearly stating the obvious. It was nice to keep the conversation going; it kept everyone calm. "So, is that it?"
"Well Squall, what are we gonna do?" Selphie asked with a shrug.
"I don't care at this point. Nothing's gonna surprise me," Squall thought, as he placed Rinoa on his back once more and turned to the others.
"What else? Let's go," he instructed.
He approached one of the panels, which suddenly disappeared, and set off a chain reaction, making all the panels become transparent. Before Squall and his friends was the futuristic city of Esthar.
Bustling with people and transport of all kinds, Esthar was literally buzzing. It was the most amazing place Squall had ever seen – roads and paths intertwining with each other in complicated turnings and hoops, people in expensive robes walking around as floating cars zoomed past them, buildings of all sizes … tall and narrow, short and fat, but all equally spectacular, with all kinds of colored lights and intricate detailing and shapes.
"THE HELL IS THIS?!" Zell yelped.
"Incredible," Quistis breathed in awe. "I've read about Esthar, but I never imagined it would be so … breath-taking!"
The transparent panels moved away from Squall's party and railings appeared beneath them. The only panel left was the one they were standing on, and it moved down the rails quickly but steadily, following a ropeway through the wondrous city.
"Judging from their technology, they must know we're here," Squall said calmly, although everyone else was still stunned with amazement. "It's possible we might encounter some hostility, so stay alert."
He couldn't say anymore after that, as Squall dropped onto the ground, and Ellone connected him to memories of the past once again.