Mythology
Chapter Ten: The Sorceress
By PasifiKStaR
Author's Note: I'm back. Thanks for waiting for a month! And thanks to everyone who has been reviewing! I really appreciate the feedback and hope you guys continue to enjoy the story!
All Standard Disclaimers Apply: I do not own Final Fantasy.
"Quistis..." Seifer panted as he closed his eyes and carefully moved back from her. Quistis opened her eyes and frowned.
"What?" she asked, somewhat annoyed that he was stopping all of a sudden. Seifer opened his eyes and looked down at her. "Don't tell me you're tired already."
"Tired?" he scoffed out. "WHY would I be tired!?"
"You stopped."
"That's not the point," Seifer said. "It's the quality, not the quality that matters." he added as Quistis rolled her eyes.
"Forget it! I can do it myself! Just sit there and watch!" she snapped as she moved into a different position.
Seifer smirked. "Be glad to."
"Ugh!" Quistis grabbed a long metal object and shoved it into the seal that went around the crack. Seifer raised an eyebrow and watched in interest as she moved the object from side to side. She'd lift it up and then jam it back in until there was a slight pop. Grinning with self satisfaction, Quistis dropped the butter knife she had been using to loosen the metal lid from the glass jar before putting her hand on the lid and twisting it easily off the top of the strawberry jelly jar. She held it in her palm as she turned around and glared at Seifer. "See!? How hard was that?"
"I'm impressed," Seifer nodded. He crossed his hands over his chest as he leaned against the counter beside Quistis. "Now make me my sandwich."
"Ugh! No!" Quistis frowned and shoved the lid against his chest.
"Hey!" He let out a yelp, but wasn't fast enough to avoid the metal lid landing on his chest, leaving a red stain from sweet jelly. "What the hell! Thanks a lot!" he growled sarcastically.
"You're welcome." she answered sweetly as she took the butter knife and put it into the jar. She took out a healthy heap of jelly and slathered it over a slice of white bread before putting that slice over one slathered with peanut butter. Seifer grumbled something incoherent as he reached for some slices of bread to make his own sandwich.
"Hey!" a voice said. Quistis turned around as she lifted her sandwich to her mouth and bit into it. She smiled as Selphie walked in with Irvine and Zell behind her.
"Lunch ready?" Zell asked enthusiastically.
"Almost," Quistis replied. She looked over her shoulder at the portable grill where six hot dogs were being cooked. She turned back to the other three. "Where are Rinoa and Squall?"
"Rinoa's finishing up the sixth tablet and Squall disappeared." Irvine shrugged. Selphie went to one of the cabinets and dug out some condiments for the hot dogs.
"Disappeared?" Quistis asked. She looked over at Seifer, who was having trouble getting the peanut butter to stick to the bread without the bread crumbling. "Do you know where he might have gone?"
"How the hell am I supposed to know!?" he growled as he dropped the butter knife on the counter and lifted up a slice of bread that now had a hole in it.
"What's that supposed to be?" Irvine smirked. "A donut?"
"Shut up!" Seifer growled as he tossed it into the garbage can. Grumbling, he reached over and took another piece of bread.
"Seifer, you're wasting food." Quistis scolded lightly.
He whirled around to her, lifting the peanut butter coated butter knife in front of him. "Well, if you had done it for me in the first place instead of selfishly making one only for yourself, I wouldn't HAVE to." he retorted proudly.
"If you knew how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to begin with, you wouldn't have to either." Quistis replied coolly.
Seifer opened his mouth to yell, but Zell let out a shout. "Okay! Who wants hot dogs!"
Selphie and Irvine jumped at the chance and Quistis watched them. She turned to Seifer. "Do you think you can find Squall?" Quistis asked casually. "And if you see Rinoa, tell her to come and eat, too."
"And WHY should I do that?" he asked. Quistis lifted up a piece of bread and quickly put peanut butter on it. She took another slice from the package and put jelly on it.
She handed it to him with a raised eyebrow. "You want the sandwich or not?"
Seifer frowned as his stomach let out a loud rumble. He narrowed his eyes and snatched the sandwich from her hand. "You were just waiting for this, weren't you?"
"You ARE smarter than you look!" she let out a fake gasp. Seifer rolled his eyes. As Quistis turned to look at the others, who were fighting over the ketchup, Seifer's arm darted out and grabbed her by the waist.
"I'll see you back at the ruins then." he whispered gruffly in her ear before letting her. Quistis felt her entire body burn as his hand lifted off her body. She turned around to smack him but he was already out the tent.
Seifer bit into his sandwich, relishing the taste of food. "Hey, Seifer, lunch start already?" He looked up and saw Rinoa approaching. He opened his mouth, but found that it was too stuffed with food. Rinoa laughed as he struggled to keep the chewed food in. "Forget it, you just keep on masticating. I'll get my own."
Seifer nearly choked. Rinoa let out a snicker as she walked past him and he tried to swallow his food. Looking disturbed, he turned around to look at her. "Keep on WHAT!?" he gasped, sounding disgusted.
Rinoa turned around just as she reached the entrance to the tent. "Masticating...you know... CHEWING?" she asked coolly, stressing that word. She smirked. "Where was YOUR mind?" she added before disappearing into the tent.
Seifer frowned. She really doesn't change... he thought to himself. He looked back to the dirt path and proceeded to make his way down it. There was only one place he could think of where Squall could've been hiding.
He stood rooted at his spot, staring down at the stone that lined the ground. The grounds of a place he walked over so much earlier in his life. The white walls were cracked and had holes in them. Some had fallen completely. Columns were missing pieces as they fell over the once organized area.
And he stood where he had first seen her, when she wandered into the garden. It was where he had caught her in his arms after so many painfully long years. When he once again looked into pools of brown as she opened his eyes. Squall swallowed and closed his eyes.
"There you are!" a voice boomed behind him. "So this is where you've been hiding out!" Squall let out a heavy breath as Seifer casually walked into the once glorious temple. "Have you been here all day? You're missing lunch-"
"She knows." Squall cut him off. Seifer stopped in his tracks and looked at him. He narrowed his eyes slightly.
"What?"
"Rinoa..." Squall repeated, her name rolling off his tongue like honey. "Rinoa knows what we are..."
Seifer paused for a second before the corners of his lips turned upwards. "Is that so? How'd she take it?"
"We haven't talked since I confirmed it this morning." the brunette replied.
"I thought you two were a bit quiet at breakfast..." Seifer trailed. Squall let out a growl and turned to look at him.
"Will you shut up!? Don't you realize that Rinoa is just a step away from realizing what she is? What's hidden inside of her!?" Squall growled. "She'll know what she had become. She'll know what she DID," He watched as Seifer's brow twitched. "She'll know what I did..." he trailed off.
"That was a different time," Seifer assured him, trying to sound rational. "She has a chance this time...a chance to avoid any of that."
Squall shook his head and leaned against a white washed column. "No...she can't deal with it," Squall replied. "Rinoa can't find out that she killed Quistis and Selphie. She'd never be able to handle it."
"But it wasn't HER who did it!" Seifer gasped. "You know that! I know that! Everyone knew that Rinoa was a victim just as much as Quistis and Selphie!"
"But it was still her body!" Squall gasped. "How can she possibly deal with knowing that her body was a tool to kill her best friends!?"
"Do you think she's too weak to handle it! She deserves the truth about this! We can't just hide it from her, Squall! She needs to deal with it!" Seifer snapped back angrily.
Squall slammed his fist against the wall. "Damn it, Seifer! I can barely handle it!" he growled loudly.
Seifer too a slight step back as he watched the former temple boy writhe in his own personal hell. Squall's shoulders heaved up and down as he tried to regain his normal breathing. Seifer slowly shook his head. "This isn't about you and your pain, Squall..." Seifer told him harshly, gaining him a dangerous glare from the blue eyed brunette. "This is about her. About saving her and giving her another chance. It's about avenging hundreds of lives! It's about avenging Quistis and Selphie... and Rinoa," Seifer paused. "It's about stopping it from happening again. You know that."
"I don't want her to feel pain..." Squall murmured.
"Then stop feeling sad for yourself and do your job." Seifer ordered, his voice full of authority.
At hearing his tone, Squall smirked slightly and looked up at the blond. "That's strange...you sound like a Prince again."
Seifer glared at him. "Shut up..."
"Seifer!" a female voice yelled into the temple. Seifer's face lit up immediately as he recognized the voice. Squall rolled hi eyes.
"You're like a dog waiting for it's master to come home." Squall told him.
"Have you found Squall yet!?" another female voice shouted. Seifer smirked back at Squall, who turned his head away and rubbed the back of his neck. A faint blush was on his cheeks.
"Yeah!" Seifer shouted. "He's in here!"
"Since you found him already," a voice said from the hall way. They turned their heads and saw Quistis appear with Rinoa not far behind her. "Then we can go."
Seifer grinned and walked over to Quistis. "Go? Go where, my dear?" he asked in a deep voice. Quistis raised an eyebrow.
"Back to the site we were working on," she stated. She looked over at Squall. "And Squall, don't disappear like that. We might need you if someone gets hurt."
"I'll be more visible next time." he informed her. Quistis nodded and began to head out. She was in the hallway already when she turned around to find Seifer standing there, pretending to be looking at something interesting on the wall.
She let out a tired sigh as Rinoa smiled slightly. "Seifer, are you coming or not?" she snapped, annoyed.
"Hmm?" Seifer turned to look at her. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know you were still here." he told her calmly. Quistis rolled her eyes and turned around.
"Rinoa, Squall, I'll see you two at dinner." With that, she left the room. Seifer waited for her to back out and grab him, but she didn't return.
"Seifer...Quistis isn't coming," Rinoa sighed finally. "We all know that."
"She'll be back..." Seifer assured himself as he kept his eyes on the opening of the hall way. Rinoa and Squall exchanged glances.
"Seifer," Rinoa repeated again, a little louder this time. "Quistis isn't coming back. She's too focused on her research now. If you want to get her attention, you'll just have to do what you did before and barge in and annoy her."
"I am not annoying!" Seifer growled.
"She says you are." Rinoa replied. The tall blond and the short brunette locked eyes, as if trying to determine who was right. After a few seconds, Seifer headed towards the hall.
"Have fun with your love slave, Rinoa." Seifer shouted loudly as he left. Rinoa felt her entire body flush as Squall shouted something profane at Seifer, whose laughter could be heard echoing back at them.
"That bastard never shuts up..." Squall mumbled. He looked over at Rinoa, who smiled at him. She looked down quickly and he followed her gaze to the paper bag she was holding. Silently he looked back up at her and motioned to the bag.
"Oh!" she gasped, as if suddenly remembering. Smiling broadly, she walked over to him and lifted it up. "You missed lunch so I brought you hot dog. I didn't know what you wanted on it so I just put ketchup."
"Thanks..." Squall mumbled. He reached for the bag and took it from her before opening it up and pulling out a hot dog wrapped in foil.
"Uh...thanks for moving my tent this morning," Rinoa said suddenly. "I'm sorry I didn't get to thank you earlier...you disappeared before we could talk."
Squall nodded as he bit into his food. He sat down on the ground of the temple floor, his legs stretched out on to the dirt that had once held lush grass in the center of the temple. Rinoa stood behind him, watching his back move as he breathed. Was he ignoring her?
"Have a seat." Squall said, putting his hand down on the space to his left.
"Um...are you sure you're not busy?" Rinoa asked hesitantly. Squall nodded. Slowly, she walked closer to him and then sat down next to him. She felt goose bumps on her skin as she realized just how close she was the leather wearing man.
"You have questions, don't you?" Squall asked. "From this morning..."
Rinoa's eyes went wide, surprised that he had actually been the one to steer the conversation in that direction. "I..." she stammered. Her mouth suddenly went dry as she turned her head and stared at his chiseled profile. Her heart began to beat faster as her fingers coiled against her palms.
That morning, he had left her in a stupor. Her mind was racing with so many questions, she could barely get herself to function. Now that he asked her, none came to mind. Squall turned his head to look at her as he finished his hot dog. "I'll answer your questions." he assured her.
Rinoa nodded dumbly. "Squall..." she trailed off. Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Are you... are you serious?"
He took a deep breath. "Rinoa..." he began, trying to find the best words to describe what he was going to say. "The Chamber of the Dead..." he mumbled. "The bodies aren't missing. You know where they are."
"I do?" she asked, confused. She stared at him, studying his features intently. Her eyes followed his face down to his neck and down the heavy silver chain around his neck that ended with a... Her eyes went wide as she let out a gasp and covered her mouth. Panic filled her body as she looked back up at him.
The creature on his chest. It resembled the decorations on one particular tomb. The one that belonged to the temple boy.
Noticing the panic in her face, Squall frowned. "You're scared." he immediately assumed.
"No..." Rinoa whispered quietly, her eyes still showing a great deal of confusion and uncertainty. "Squall, you can't possibly be...no..." she assured herself. She shook her head and slowly reached out her hand. Warm, pale finger tips caressed his cleanly shaven face. He closed his eyes as he enjoyed the feeling of her skin against his. "You don't...LOOK dead.."
"I'm not dead, Rinoa..." Squall replied softly. His larger hands rose and cupped her smaller one. His icy eyes opened and looked over at her as he brought her hand to his lips and kissed her palm.
Her lower lip trembled as she felt the warmth of his breath against her skin. "You...you lied to me..." she whispered with a shaking voice. "You were in my tent before..."
"I'm sorry, I didn't know what to say-"
"Squall, WHO are you," Rinoa heard herself say. Squall's eyes locked with hers and saw the desperation in her eyes. She wanted to know. She NEEDED to know. "You weren't able to answer me before, Squall. Please...tell me who you are..."
Her voice was shaking, as if afraid of hearing what she would find out. Squall squinted his eyes slightly and kept her hand in his. "Do you really want to know?" Squall asked, unsure if he should tell her. Rinoa nodded.
"I'm so confused right now..." she gasped out nervously. "I need to know what's going on, Squall. Don't hide things from me...I'm having all these dreams all of a sudden..." She closed her eyes tightly as waves of scenes from a distant past flooded back to her. "I don't know what's going on..."
Her voice was filled with such frustration that it hurt. Rinoa bit her bottom lip as she struggled to keep her composure. She heard him shifting and then opened her eyes as his arms wrapped around her body. Her mind screamed at her, telling her that the man who had her in his arms had been laying in a casket, buried in a tomb under mountains of sand for centuries.
But her heart calmly reminded her that the man's heart was still beating against her chest as strong arms held her firmly against him. Squall gathered her up in his arms, her back against his chest as he cupped one hand in his. He felt Rinoa's head lean against his shoulder and could smell the scent of her shampoo once more.
A small hand went over his larger ones and he kissed the top of her head. "Several thousand years ago, there was a city in a sky called Centra. It's citizens were immortals... I was born to the owner of a tavern and a former soldier. When I was born, there was a raging storm outside and my mother named me Squall..."
"Oh, wow, look at all of this!" Selphie said as she looked over the tablets that were laid out across one of the large tables in the research tent. "Rinoa's been busy this morning."
"No kidding," Irvine agreed. Zell was left in the kitchen tent. Having been the last one to finish eating, he was assigned to kitchen duty. Irvine ran his hand against one of the cleaned tablets at were laid out in front of them. "Is she going to translate all of this?"
"Nope, I think Quisty is," Selphie said as she went to one of the back cabinets to dig out some more tools. "Rinoa might help, but Quisty will probably be translating it."
"It's not a lot..." Irvine said. "Just a few one sided tablets. In standard Centran, too..."
"Do you speak Centran, Irvy?" Selphie asked as she knelt down and pushed aside a box of brushes.
Irvine smiled slightly. "The...dialect I speak is no longer used," he grinned. His eyes roamed over the text on the tablets before glancing over a Selphie. He raised an eyebrow as he saw her on her hands and knees, looking into a large cabinet. "What are you looking for?"
"A roll of paper..." Selphie trailed off. "Anyway, do you think you can read what's on those tablets?" she asked jokingly.
Irvine caught her tone, but told her the truth. "Of course," he said. "Want me to read it?"
"Sure," Selphie giggled, not really believing him. "But I'll know if you're faking!" she added. "I've already read the first tablet's translations!"
Irvine chuckled and nodded. "All right," he said. He stood over the first tablet. "Where shall I start? Oh, here we go...straight to the action. The Sorceress had taken over the body of a youthful girl, making it into nothing more than a shell for it's magic. At once, the girl's body's life ended, kept only from deteriorating by sheer magic alone...," Irvine quoted. He shook his head. That Elle, she's so dramatic whenever she writes. Even in written records.
"How'd you know that!?" Selphie gasped as she stood up back, a roll of paper in her arms. Her emerald eyes were filled with curiosity. "Do you know ancient Centran!?"
ANCIENT Centran...? Irvine thought to himself. Well, if that doesn't make a man feel old... "Actually, Selphie, I do."
"Cool! Maybe you can help Quistis and Rinoa," Selphie smiled. "What else can you tell me?"
Irvine looked down at all the tablets. Many of them were cleaned off already and just waiting to be scanned. He walked over to the last tablet and ran his fingerless gloves across it. It was still caked with dust and sand. He narrowed his eyes slightly as his hand went across some letters. "These characters..." he said. "They're the names of the people who were mentioned in these tablets."
"Really?" Selphie asked. She walked over and looked over his arm. "Like their real names?"
"What they were called...in the tablets they were all just described by their occupation. The Prince, the guard, all that stuff," Irvine said. "But here are their actual names."
"What are their names?" Selphie asked, glancing up at him.
Irvine's eyes read the names and smiled slightly. He looked over at Selphie and shot her a seductive smile. "Well, it says that the pretty little merchant's daughter was named Selphie."
"Irvy!" Selphie sighed, disbelievingly as she rolled her eyes. Irvine chuckled and continued.
"And the damn hot janissary she had a thing for was named Irvine." he winked at her and Selphie let out a loud laugh.
"Irvy, you're so funny!" she laughed as she lopped her arm around his. "Come on," she said, handing him the roll of paper. "Let's get back to work before Quistis finds out we're slacking off."
Irvine chuckled and kept her arm looped in his. "Go ahead and take me away, Selphie. I'll go anywhere you want me to."
"They sealed my tomb," Squall whispered, all to painfully aware of Rinoa's shaking body in his arms as she cried against him. Despite her quiet sobs, he continued, knowing she didn't want him to stop. "And I rested for years...10 years ago, I was awakened."
Rinoa sniffled and tilted her head to look up at him. Tears were sliding down her soft face as she looked up at his blue eyes. "By...by WHO?" she stammered.
Squall lowered his head and kissed her eyes lightly as she closed them. He stroked her arms as she leaned heavily against him. "My father..." Squall mumbled. He closed his eyes and rested his head against hers. "He was in charge of making sure that we awoke when the time was right. He came to wake me, Irvine, and Zell up. We would return the night you thought you saw 'grave robbers' to awaken Raijin, Fujin, and Seifer."
Rinoa's arms were wrapped around Squall's upper body, underneath his leather jacket. She sat between his legs, her own legs curled beneath her as she buried her face in his chest. "It was you..." she whispered softly. "You caught me when I fell..."
"I stayed with you," Squall added, his hands going up and down her body slowly. "I stayed with you until I heard Quistis yelling for you."
"I'm sorry, Squall..." Rinoa choked out. Her eyes were puffy as tears continued to come down. She tilted her head to look up at him. "I'm sorry you hurt so much...I made you hurt..."
"No...shh..." Squall cooed as he pulled her head back against the crook of his neck.
Her fingers dug into his T-shirt as her warm body pressed against his. "What's going to happen...?" she whispered. "Will it happen again?"
"No," Squall told her sternly. He pulled her closer and seemed to rock her body gently against his. "I won't loose you again, Rinoa...I..." he took a deep breath. His hands were clamped around her shoulders tightly, almost as if afraid that she would be ripped from him. "I can't live another life time without you." he asserted.
Rinoa closed her eyes. "Where is the sorceress then?"
Squall felt his heart clench in his chest. He had told Rinoa the entire story. How they met, who they were, the sorceress that possessed her, and how she ended up there. He had left out two important parts: Selphie and Quistis' deaths and where Ultimecia was currently 'resting'.
He swallowed, unable to tell her the truth. "I...I don't know," he told her, trying to sound as convincing as possible. He shook his head slightly and kissed her head once more. "No matter what happens, Rinoa... you'll be safe. I promise."
Seifer kicked the dirt in front of him and frowned. He had been wandering around for the last hour and had just come back from the market where he and Quistis had been working earlier. She should've been there. Shaking his head, he headed back to the temple to ask Rinoa or Squall, providing they were still there, if Quistis had come back.
As he turned the corner, he stopped. Quistis was leaning against the a column, her eyes staring straight ahead, a glassy look over beautiful blue eyes. Smiling, Seifer approached her, about to let her know of his presence when he watched her remove her wire frame glasses. She lifted up her free and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and the cuff of her sleeve.
She was crying, he realized. Picking up speed, he quickly made his way over to her. Quistis heard the shuffling of feet and looked up to see Seifer walking down the path, a concerned look on his face. She swallowed and quickly put her glasses back on, trying to act as if nothing had happened.
"Quisty, where have you been?" Seifer asked as he reached her. "I've been wandering around looking for you!"
"I'm fine, Seifer," Quistis said, frowning as she heard her voice shake. She straightened herself up and tried to walk past him. "Let's get back to work-"
"Quistis," Seifer said sternly as his hand grabbed her arm. It immediately stopped her from getting further and she was forced to turn around. Her rich blue eyes looked into his green ones with a blank stare. "Quistis...what's wrong?"
"Nothing," she shrugged, turning her head away from his. "Everything is fine."
"Everything is not fine," Seifer snapped as he pulled her closer to study her face. "Where were you?"
"No where, I -"
"Quistis, don't lie to me," Seifer warned in a low voice. "Where were you?"
She kept her eyes locked on him as they narrowed. "I was in the temple hall."
Squall laid next to Rinoa, gently stroking her hair as her head laid against his arm. They were laying on the floor of the temple, looking up at the sky through the fallen rough and watching the stairs appear in an inky darkness above. Rinoa wanted to stay like that forever, lost in his arms, feeling his breath against her skin and his steady heart against her.
Everything was perfect. And then...GRUMBLE. Her face went red as Squall tilted his head and looked down at her, amusement evident in his eyes. "Hungry?" he asked softly.
"We've been here since forever," she giggled sheepishly. "Maybe we should go up for dinner?"
He nodded and they began to stand up. Rinoa brushed off her clothes as Squall stretched a little. Within a few minutes they stood up and headed out towards the temple. Upon stepping out, they saw Seifer sitting against a fallen piece of stone across from them. He was slumped forward, his eyes glazed over as he looked at the ground.
Rinoa tugged on Squall's jacket sleeve to direct his attention over to the blond man. Squall's eyes narrowed. "Seifer." he called out in a low voice. Slowly, the other man raised his head and looked up at them. Rinoa frowned.
"Seifer, what's wrong?" Rinoa asked. She attempted to smile slightly. "Quistis try to get rid of you again?" she asked, trying to ease the tension.
Seifer shook his head. "Something's up with her," Seifer mumbled. "I don't know what."
"What are you talking about?" Rinoa asked. "She seemed fine earlier."
Seifer stood up and dusted his pants as he looked at the dark haired couple. "I saw her earlier against the temple doors..." he trailed off. His eyes squinted slightly, as if pained to remember what he had seen. "She was crying."
"Crying!?" Rinoa gasped. She instantly let go of Squall's arm. "Where is she, Seifer? I should go talk to her!"
Seifer shook his head and looked at her confused. "I don't know," he admitted. "I tired to talk to her, but she threw my arm down and ran off. I have no idea where she could be."
"Hyne...I better go find her before it gets too late!" Rinoa said as she began to run towards the inner city.
"Rinoa, wait!" Squall called out. "You shouldn't go by yourself-"
"I'll be fine!" she assured him. She turned around as she gave him a slight wave. "I'll find Quisty! We'll meet you two at the camp!"
Without another word, she turned the corner and ran off. Squall let out a heavy sigh and shook his head. Seifer was looking at Squall, as if trying to study him. The brunette frowned. "What?" he snapped.
Seifer let out a heavy breath. "What were you two talking about in there?" he asked. Squall raised an eyebrow and looked back at him.
"Why does it matter?" Squall asked slightly.
Seifer looked over his shoulder, as if to see if anyone else was there. He turned back to Squall. "Quistis was inside one of the halls," Seifer told him. He watched as Squall's eyes dilated. "I think she heard what you two were talking about."
Squall's eyebrows furrowed as he shook his head. "Then she knows, too..."
"Knows WHAT?" Seifer asked, his voice demanding. Squall narrowed his eyes as he locked gazes with the green eyed blond.
"What we are. What they are...and the ring..." Squall mumbled. "The ring that sealed Ultimecia away within Rinoa."
Seifer closed his eyes and ran his hand down his face. "This can't be happening..."
"I have to find Rinoa," Squall said as he began to head in the direction where Rinoa had run off to. "I have to tell her that Quistis knows!"
"I have to talk to Quistis..." Seifer agreed, following Squall eager. "Hyne, I can't let her go through this alone!"
Quistis stared at crumbled remains of the merchant's shop. Selphie's aunt and uncle's shop. She sat in the corner, where she had sat for hours on end millennia before, talking to Rinoa and Selphie. Where she had hidden behind some large vases whenever Seifer dropped by to visit.
Now, it was nothing more than a fallen piece of stone. The vases were replaced with shards of ceramics that littered the floor. It was nothing more than shadows of distant memories. Memories that flooded her senses little by little every night. Memories she couldn't comprehend. Until that afternoon...
Quistis leaned against the wall of the temple's hall, across from where she had exited. She watched from her shadowed space as Seifer stomped off in search of her. She smiled to herself, satisfied. She was going to turn around and head back to the dig site, hoping to get there before Seifer could, when she began to over hear Squall and Rinoa's conversation.
"I'm so confused right now...I need to know what's going on, Squall. Don't hide things from me...I'm having all these dreams all of a sudden..." she heard Rinoa stammer out. concerned, Quistis opted to stay, hoping to find out what was bothering her friend. That and hoping to find out an answer to her own questions. She'd been having dreams as well.
"Do you really want to know?" Squall's deep, unsure voice asked.
As Rinoa answered, Quistis nodded her head. Slowly, a surreal dream was woven in front of her, gluing together bits and pieces of dreams that had been plaguing her since her first night there. But the question that remained was 'why?'.
"The ring you're wearing..." Squall said slowly as he raised his hand and slowly ran his finger tips down the length of Rinoa's chain until they touched the silver ring. "It was mine. When I found out that you were born under a bad star, I had the ring blessed. It was supposed to seal away any evil that entered your body. But when it actually happened, the ring was over-whelmed. All it could do was weaken the evil momentarily."
"I had my first dream that night," Rinoa whispered softly as she looked over at Squall. "When I found this ring...here in the temple."
Squall nodded slightly. "The ring triggers your memories," Squall said. "It must be a side effect of the blessing."
Quistis closed her eyes and leaned forward, bringing her knees up to her chest. Her eyes watered as she shook her head. She hadn't told Rinoa, even when she saw the ring hanging on Rinoa's necklace. She couldn't tell the others, they would've thought that she was insane. Yet, it made so much sense now why she had those dreams suddenly.
"Quistis!" a voice shouted. The blonde's head perked up. "Quistis, are you in here!?"
"Rinoa..."
"You never told her!?" Seifer growled as they ran up the street. "Why not!?"
"What was that supposed to do!? How could I possibly tell her what the ring carried with it?" Squall replied as they ran up an ancient set of stairs. Seifer swore.
"That ring was on Ultimecia when you killed her," Seifer hissed. "That ring was entombed with you in that niche in your tomb lid. HOW did Rinoa find it in the temple!?"
"I don't know," Squall said. "Maybe one of the other volunteers found it and moved it."
"That means there might be someone else out there who might have part of Ultimecia in her!" Seifer shouted.
"The chances are still slim," Squall stated. "They must've been or are an immortal in order for Ultimecia to inhabit them."
"But if someone else has her in them, then what about Rinoa?"
"Rinoa has the ring itself," Squall stated. "Part of her is in that ring. If the person who found it first in my tomb gets the ring from Rinoa, that sorceress will be let loose!"
"Wait!" Seifer stopped and froze. Squall turned around and looked at the blond.
"What?" Squall snapped.
Seifer swallowed nervously. "What if Quistis found it?" he stammered. He looked up at Squall. "Quistis was spear heading the tomb clean up when they started...what if she found the ring?"
Squall narrowed his eyes. "Then it's not Rinoa we have to worry about."
"Quistis?" Rinoa's quiet voice asked. She saw the blond sitting in the corner, hugging her knees. She frowned. "What's wrong?"
Quistis looked up, smiling weakly as she shook her head. "Nothing..." she whispered. "I'm fine."
"No you're not," Rinoa said sternly as she frowned. She rushed over to Quistis and knelt down beside her. "Something's wrong, Quisty, what's going on?"
"I'm fine-"
"Stop lying!" Rinoa insisted, keeping Quistis' blue eyes on her brown ones. "Seifer's worried about you and said you were crying. What's wrong?"
Quistis swallowed as her eyes followed the silver around Rinoa's neck. "Rinoa...I found that ring on Squall's tomb."
"What?" Rinoa gasped. She shook her head. "Quistis, what are you talk-"
"I heard you and Squall talking in the temple," Quistis admitted. "You found that ring in the temple," Quistis said, staring at the dangling piece of silver. "But I found it a few days earlier in the Chamber of the Dead. On Squall's tomb lid."
Rinoa's eyes narrowed as she slumped down next to Quistis. "So then...you know?"
Quistis nodded. "I know...I heard," she said. "I've been..." she took a deep breath. "I've been having dreams, too..."
Rinoa's eyes went wide as her head perked up. "Of what!? What did you see in them?"
"I don't know how to describe it!" Quistis admitted as she shook her head. "It's dark...it's always so dark. There's a lot of dark haze and I could see fire...it was chaos, Rinoa...absolute chaos."
"My dreams haven't had that..." Rinoa whispered.
"But Squall said that they are supposed to be your memories," Quistis whispered back. Her eyes squinted. "Rinoa, these memories AREN'T mine," she stressed, shaking her head. "I know for sure...something's telling me that what I'm seeing aren't my memories, they're someone else's."
"You said it was dark and chaotic?" Rinoa asked. Quistis nodded slightly. Rinoa narrowed her eyes. "They must be HERS."
"The sorceress?" Quistis asked, putting the two pieces together. Rinoa nodded slightly.
"What else could it be...?" Rinoa whispered. "But I don't understand WHY you have HER memories..."
"You only have your own?" Quistis asked. Rinoa nodded.
"From what I could remember, yes."
Quistis paused for a moment and turned her eyes back to Rinoa's ring. "Rin..." she said nervously. "The last time I wore that ring, I had a flood of memories. None I could discern, but I knew they were memories." Rinoa nodded.
"How did it end up in the temple?" Rinoa asked.
Quistis closed her eyes. "I put it on and then the memories hit. A little afterwards, I couldn't take it. I grabbed the ring and just threw it. I didn't know where it landed."
"In the temple..." Rinoa concluded. She looked up at Quistis. "Do you...want to try it again?" she asked, reluctantly.
Quistis stared at the piece of metal hesitantly, but slowly nodded. "I need to know what's going on as well, Rinoa..."
The young brunette nodded and reached up behind her neck. She unclasped her necklace and slowly pulled the ring off. She clasped her necklace back and held the ring out to Quistis. "Here goes nothing."
Quistis nodded and took the ring, slipping it on to her finger. A yell came from the store front and Quistis and Rinoa turned to see Squall and Seifer rushing in. "Quistis, no!"
"What are you going to do with that ring now?" Zell asked as Squall looked over the winged lion engraved on to the silver ring.
"It needs to be safe..." Squall said. "The next time she wears this ring, Ultimecia will join with her again."
"I don't get it," Irvine added. He was sitting against a crumbed piece of stone staircase. "The ring is a seal or what?"
"Weren't you listening?" Zell sighed.
"I don't know, were you?" Irvine retorted.
The two of them stared at each other. Seifer rolled his eyes. "The ring is a seal. Inside Rinoa's body, when she will be reborn, is part of Ultimecia. Inside this ring is part of Ultimecia. When Rinoa finds it and wears it again, Ultimecia will join together and then one day come out."
"But she'll take over Rinoa again..." Zell trailed off.
"But this time we can save her," Squall said in a low voice. "This time her body will be alive and not merely a dead puppet."
"What if someone else finds the ring?" Irvine asked. "Like...what if finds it before Rinoa does?"
"The part of Ultimecia in the ring will join with that person," Squall mumbled. "But as long as Rinoa and that person don't meet, Ultimecia won't come together...the hard part is, the parts will find a way to find each other."
"And the ring?" Irvine continued.
"If Rinoa gets the ring after the it has been found, Ultimecia in Rinoa's body will be sucked into the ring and then the two parts of the sorceress will seek each other out. Either Rinoa will get the Ultimecia or the other person will get her," Seifer explained. "The question is who will be possessed next?"
"It needs to be kept safe for now," Squall said. He straightened himself up from where he was leaning. "I'll have it buried with my tomb."
"Speaking of tomb," Zell said as he looked up at the sun in the sky. "We better get going. By midnight, this place will be swallowed up by desert."
"Fujin and Raijin are already asleep?" Irvine asked.
"They have been since yesterday," Seifer said. "Whose supposed to wake us up?"
"Laguna's waking us three up," Irvine explained as the four of them headed down the stone streets of the fallen city as winds blew in sand from all sides. "Then we'll wake you, your cousin, and her husband up."
"Sis is putting us to rest," Squall said. They approached the building centered in the city and a young woman in teal robes met them at the door. "Sis...here is the ring."
She nodded. "Get into your tombs," she said softly. The four obeyed and each slipped into a stone sarcophagus. "Good night. I will see you in a few centuries."
Squall laid in his tomb, staring at the ceiling as he heard his sister's smooth voice caress their ears. His eyes fell heavy as he heard the grinding of stone against stone as the lid of his tomb enclosed him in darkness. His last thoughts were of her.
Ellone placed her brother's ring into a small niche at the top of the lid. With a final prayer, she left the chambers, watching with deep regret as the servants sealed them within. In the distance, thunder sounded and she closed her eyes.
Heavy drops of rain began to fall from the sky. "Mistress," one of the servants said. "It is time to leave. The desert will swallow the city soon."
She nodded allowed herself to be lifted up on to the back of a white chocobo. Within seconds, she was speeding away, watching the immortal city as it was swallowed by the earth as the skies that once held it in it's greatness cried for it's loss.