Chapter Eighteen
He was somewhere else. The first thought that came to mind when he opened his eyes, where was he? Lying down on a hard surface of yellow. He opened his eyes a little wider, only to be dazed by the bright sun in the sky. Something was prickling the back of his neck. Ignoring the thought, he brought a hand to his face to block out the sun, and looked around his surroundings for the first time. Again, yellow.
He sat up from his lying position and slowly got to his feet. A strange feeling enveloped him as he looked around. He was in a field with no idea of where he was. Yet... as he watched the wheat dance against the current of cool air blowing around him, he couldn't help feeling like he knew this place. It all seemed familiar.
In the distance he could barely see a few buildings, which could be a small village. Deciding that there would probably be a better chance of seeing someone there, he walked to the direction of the few houses. Glancing around his surroundings as he walked, the sudden thought came to mind at how he actually ended up here. Memories came back to his mind, which seemed like not so long ago. He wasn't sure how long ago everything had happened. A few days? Five minutes? Time seemed to have become distorted. He remembered fighting. The anger that rose inside him as he fought the followers. He had killed Shiva. The sword, he stole it from Ifrit. It burned.
Squall looked at his hands. Nothing. He remembered them looking red. He had burnt his flesh because of that sword. Now there was nothing. How could that be? Realising that there was no point thinking about something he couldn't explain, he quickened his pace. He couldn't even explain about being here.
His thoughts were distracted when he saw someone ahead of him. Approaching closer, he realised it was simply a child playing in a field, but figured that maybe there would be some adults around close by. Some wooden buildings stood ahead of him, he guessed that from the state of them, this was quite a poor place. Everywhere seemed so traditional, and by looking at the boy, quite old fashioned.
The young boy seemed to stop playing suddenly as Squall approached close by him, and he just stood quietly. Staring at Squall. Realising that due to Squall's attire and presence in such a village, the boy probably realised he was a stranger. Pushing the thought aside, he continued towards the village.
"Can you see him watching?"
Squall stopped in his tracks, and looked behind him to where the voice had come from. The boy's gaze was still staring at the same spot, even though Squall was ahead of him now. Looking around him, he realised that the boy would be talking to no one else but himself. So he took a few steps closer to the boy, and looked in the same direction the boy was looking in.
In the distance, Squall could just make out a figure of a man stood on a hillside. He turned back to the boy whose gaze hadn't faltered, then back to the man. Although he couldn't make out the mans features properly, it seemed to Squall that he was also looking back over the village.
"He's waiting," the boy said softly.
"Waiting for what?" Squall asked, studying the young boy for a moment. His scruffy short black hair seemed to suit his dirty clothes. Then a sudden realisation came to him. Before when he held the sword, Squall had seen something. A boy had been brutally killed in a field. Looking back at the boy now, he realised that it was the same child he had seen before.
"He's angry," the boy spoke "I'm going to be the first."
"The first?" Squall questioned. He really didn't understand what this boy was talking about.
"You've been searching for most of your life," his gaze turned up towards Squall for a brief moment, before returning back to the man in that distance. "Searching for answers to a puzzle that started before your birth. It seems that you were the only one to watch them do that to Ellone."
Squall's eyes narrowed slightly at the mention of his sister's name. "How do you know Ellone?" He asked, "And who are you?"
"She knew you could put an end to this yourself, but to make sure, she came back to you every night," the young boy turned away from the man in the distance to face the field. "You always thought that they were coming for you as well, but they never were. It was just something so you would help us."
"Why would I be forced to help you?" Squall shot back. He didn't understand what was going on.
"For the one you love," the child took a step forward slightly. "And because of a mistake I made a long time ago. I didn't know it would come to this. It was a test."
Squall watched as the child raised his hands and a small fireball seemed to form in his hands. It stayed there briefly, before being released and into the field, starting a small fire.
"The villagers sometimes saw miracles happen, because certain people have an elemental connection to the Earth, but you already knew that didn't you?"
Squall didn't answer. He didn't have time to. The man from the hillside seemed to disappear for a moment, before appearing next to the boy. He watched as the fire grew bigger, and the man stepped closer to the child. Squall watched in disbelief, as the child seemed to duplicate. One version set on fire and screaming, like he had seen before, the other still stood in the same place as before.
"Just as I had expected, Ifrit and Shiva were doing this out of love," the boy explained, "I granted them a gift, as followers they were to aide the people of the earth. It's written that they did it out of jealousy at not being the only ones that had the gift. They lied to the three other followers, when really they knew that because of their gift they couldn't be together in this life."
"When I gave them the gift, it made them almost godlike. They live as long as the Earth lives. However, they were not supposed to love. When they became a Guardian, they gave up their life, without being influenced by love."
Squall looked down at the boy. The small, fragile looking child. Hyne? "Why do they kill?" Squall asked, "Why?"
"Because they found out a secret about the Earth. Some people are born with a connection to the Earth and this allows them to do things others can't. But the Earth also uses these people as an energy source, using their energy to help itself live. Destroying every human able to connect means that the Earth cannot live. As the Earth dies, Ifrit and Shiva would get to be together. I granted them the power; it was my fault that this happened, but I couldn't take it away from them as they also had a connection with the Earth, although not naturally."
"I thought they were locked away," Squall thought out loud. He looked up briefly to see that the flaming child and man had disappeared. It was as if... nothing had ever happened.
"They were," the child replied. "But they became so desperate, they fooled a soldier into freeing them. Being locked in the mortal world allowed them to contact those close by."
Squall thought over everything that had been said for a moment. "Where do I fit into all this?" Squall asked.
"Ellone seemed to have a more powerful connection. Even in death she could take you back to that night when you were asleep, although the dreams would often become distorted as your memories entwined with them. As you became more open about what happened to her, your mind would let her show you more."
"I believe that you're the one who can stop all of this," the boy said, his eyes concentrated on Squall as he spoke with sincerity.
"You said earlier that they're not even after me. Why would I be able to stop them?"
"Because you feel you have to fight, so they don't take the one you love. Because you've seen the pain they can cause. You want to find answers. There are many reasons," the boy responded. "You took his sword and killed the one he loved. He'll be coming back soon to get revenge. When he does, I hope you know what to do."
Squall nodded his head slightly. "What about the other three?" he asked. "I only killed one, there are four more."
"Ifrit and Shiva lied, the other three did what they thought was right. After tonight, they'll realise what the real reason was, and when it doesn't concern them, they have no reason to continue," the boy took hold of Squall's hands and stood silent for a moment. "He'll be coming soon, kill him with the weapon you took from him earlier."
Squall watched as the young boy let go of his hands, and he suddenly saw the scenery around him darken. There were no more fields anymore. He looked back to where the boy had been standing only to see he had disappeared.
The world seemed to fade in and out of existence. He could feel his body beginning to wake up, his mind waking yet his body refusing to move. His eyes flickered open and he saw his dark room before him. As he tried to move his head he felt a pain shoot through it and the room began to spin in front of his eyes. He closed them for a moment trying to block out the pain that was running through his head.
As he opened his eyes again he saw a blurry figure move before his sight. Rinoa? He watched as the dark-haired figure sat down on the bed and felt his hands being moved. Blinking a few times, his vision cleared, enabling him to see Rinoa sat beside him as he lay in bed. She looked down at him, giving a little smile as she pushed loose strands of hair from his eyes before turning back to his hands, which he saw she was bandaging.
Squall tried bending his fingers, unsure if his hands were still burnt from what he saw previously in his... dream. Hallucination? He wasn't sure. Letting in a sharp breath at the pain, he realised his injuries were still present, so he stayed still until she had finished bandaging his hands, and sat looking at him with a strange look in her eyes.
"How are you feeling?" she said softly, her voice barely audible.
"Alright I guess," Squall responded hoarsely, as he tried to sit up. Once in a more upright position, he looked around his surroundings to see it was still dark. "What happened to me?" he asked.
"You fell unconscious," Rinoa started "I was really worried, if you hadn't of woken up soon, I was thinking of calling an ambulance."
"Don't worry about me," Squall responded seeing a look of hurt shining through her eyes within the dimness of the room.
"But I do," she said quietly, before a smile embraced her features, "You should be grateful you're in a bed, you're a lot heavier than you look."
He watched silently as she looked back down towards him. For a moment neither spoke, not really sure how to approach the situation earlier. They should really discuss what happens next, he knew that, but for the moment he wanted to forget about everything that had happened. Yet he knew that this could never happen. Not tonight.
From the side of him, he saw something shining on the floor. He looked to his left, to be confronted by the sword. The same sword that Ifrit was going to kill Rinoa with, had he not been there to stop those events happening.
"They were never coming for me, Rinoa," Squall said quietly "I thought they were... but they're not."
Rinoa looked at him confused for a moment, "What do you mean?"
"Because of what happened to my sister, and the dreams. I thought we were both going to be victims of them. My dreams were just showing me what I tried to block out," Squall stopped suddenly as he saw something emerging from behind Rinoa. Something dark, and he knew what it wanted.
Rinoa looked at Squall expectantly, seeing that he looked like he wanted to say something. His eyes turned deadly serious all of a sudden, and when he spoke it made her feel she had to obey. "Leave the room, Rinoa."
Without objecting, Rinoa stood and quietly left the room, leaving Squall on his own. Squall's eyes focused on the thick bulging black shadow that was beginning to take form in the corner of the room. Standing from the bed he looked at the sword on the floor and cautiously advanced to the weapon. His hands reached out to grab the blade, but he paused just before he reached it, telling himself it was the only way.
He felt his injuries ache as he moved his fingers in position on the blade. As his grip tightened on the metal he was comforted by a cool feeling. He looked at the blade in confusion; the fire of the sword had been extinguished. Squall lifted the blade as he prepared to face Ifrit, turning around he saw the cloaked figure was stood watching him.
Squall adjusted the sword in his hands, raising it in front of his face. His eyes caught sight of the symbol engraved at the base of the blade. The eye that once wore a tear beneath it had vanished. He realised that this was the Eye Of Faith Quistis had once mentioned. Perhaps this meant that Ifrit no longer owned the sword? Pushing his thoughts aside, Squall's eyes locked onto Ifrit's cloaked form. Ifrit flicked his wrist and a small dagger appeared in his hand.
Time seemed to stop as the two opponents stared at each other in the dark room. Shadows appeared to dance around the room, willing the fight to commence. Squall decided to take the initiative, breaking the hypnotic silence that had formed within the room. He quickly stepped up to Ifrit and swung the blade towards his chest. Ifrit's arm moved quickly upwards, wrapping both hands round the handle, he deflected Squall's weapon away to the side. The cloaked figure took advantage of the situation, and extended the dagger towards the recovering Squall. Ducking backwards he dodged the attack, only to see that the dagger had already changed direction and was coming to him again. Quickly he spun the blade in front of his face, managing to fend off the attack.
Squall took a few steps back to recover as he saw Ifrit withdraw another dagger. Squall spun the blade horizontally at chest height hoping to catch him off guard, but watched as his opponent slipped back into the shadows. His eyes darted around the room trying to find Ifrit again. He caught sight of him reappearing at the left of him. Squall didn't waste any time attacking the reforming Ifrit. The blade, lifted above his head, swept downwards through the black mist. Out of nowhere, two daggers crossed each other and stopped the blade in its tracks. Squall's arms jolted at the connection, and he felt his hands hurt as they struggled to hold the weight of the blade. He didn't have time to think about it though, and instead pushed the blade forward, using the daggers for direction, he aimed it towards Ifrit's head. The cloaked head leaned to the left avoiding the blow by inches.
Rinoa stood in the doorway as she watched the fight unfold before her. Squall had told her to leave, but she couldn't. She had to know what was going on. How could she leave Squall to fight alone? She felt so helpless. She couldn't help Squall fight Ifrit, yet she hated just standing there watching. Rinoa cringed as she saw Ifrit's blades journey close to Squall. At the moment she felt Squall and Ifrit were evenly matched, she only hoped that Squall's injuries wouldn't be a disadvantage as the battle continued.
Squall breathed deeply as another attack failed to strike Ifrit. Whatever he did he was unable to strike his opponent. He noticed Ifrit had taken a few steps backwards, and without warning he watched as a dagger flew past his shoulder barely missing him. The dagger struck the wall behind him loudly as it became embedded in the plaster. He returned his gaze back to Ifrit's position, only to see empty air. He had disappeared again.
He looked around, a shadow seemed to move about the room but just as Squall saw it, it would have disappeared again. He heard a noise behind him and turned to see Ifrit pulling the dagger from the wall. Rearmed, the cloaked figure prepared another attack. He quickly approached Squall, his advance silent as he moved through the dark room, and swung the daggers in a diagonal direction. Squall tried to parry the attacks but the blades moved quickly and he felt his feet unconsciously backing away from his enemy, until he ended up against the wall.
He had nowhere to go. He looked at the dark hood that loomed in front of him, even this close he could not make out any features below the cloak. Ifrit paused, examining his rival, before pulling a dagger backwards, preparing for the final attack. Squall decided to counter quickly realising that he had to act now. Ifrit had already realised the danger of the weapon, and his other dagger moved position deflecting the blow and pinned the sword by Squall's side. Ifrit's fingers twitched around the dagger as he realised the imminent kill. He thrust the blade towards Squall's chest.
Squall watched as Ifrit was knocked to the side, just as the blade was about to hit him. He looked on as he realised Rinoa had pushed Ifrit to stop him killing Squall. Rinoa looked back at Squall in silence for a moment, a tear trailing down her cheek as she looked at him in desperation. For a moment their eyes locked, and he realised that she had saved his life. Then she let out a scream.
Squall felt puzzled for a moment at her actions, before seeing the blood pour from her, as she collapse to the floor clutching her side. Anger rose in his eyes, as he saw the blood stained metal glistening from Ifrit's dagger. Gripping his own sword tighter, he watched as a small light came from Ifrit's hand. Just like he had seen the boy doing earlier, Ifrit let the fire grow in his hands, before it flew in Squall's direction, knocking him to the ground with a hard force.
Landing on the floor next to Rinoa, he saw the cloaked man approach closer until he was stood over Squall. Glancing to his left, Squall saw the blood pouring from Rinoa and staining the carpet. A pool of crimson was beginning to form around Rinoa's body as he felt the warm liquid touch his fingers. It was just like before. His eyes met Rinoa's briefly, before turning back towards Ifrit who was raising the dagger. All seems so familiar.
The dagger came down swiftly towards Squall's direction, as he lay, now able to feel the burning sensation in his hands again. I've failed? He heard the sound of the dagger cutting through the air, and Rinoa's quickened breaths.
I won't let you fail...He had to try. That was a promise he made to Rinoa, and he planned to keep it. With shaking hands, he grabbed the sword, breathing in a sharp breath from the pain of his injuries. Why didn't it hurt before? It didn't matter to him anymore. Gripping the blade tightly. He thrust the weapon up.
Darkness filled the room, and from above him, he could just make out Ifrit's form. He saw the cloaked mans figure descending closer to him slowly. Probably to kill him. Ifrit's form moved downwards, Squall then saw the blade of the sword struck through Ifrit's body, and sliding down the blade, until his body disappeared into the shadows.
There was nothing left. Squall looked at the empty air, where Ifrit had once been. Scanning the room, in case he was going to attack again. Looking around, he saw nothing. Then his eyes rested down onto Rinoa. She looked weak. Quickly, Squall got to his feet, tearing a sheet from his bed and applying pressure to Rinoa's wound in attempt to stop the bleeding.
"Rinoa..." Squall said weakly, as his hands became drenched with blood. "Speak to me."
She didn't reply, only raised her hand weakly and touched his arm. He looked down at her injured form. It's happening again. He tried to erase the thoughts that were running through his mind. Just like what happened to Ellone. But he couldn't. The warm feel of the blood, as it stained her nightgown. It all seemed too familiar.
"Don't let that happen."
The voice came from out in the hallway. Briefly he looked to where it had come from, before looking back at Rinoa. "Hold that there for me," he said placing her hands on the sheet. "I'm calling an ambulance"
Squall quickly got to his feet and made his way to the phone in the living room of his apartment. Picking up the receiver, he called the emergency services, giving them the correct details before placing the phone back down. He made his way back towards his room, but stopped briefly along the way. "Thank you, Ellone" he said before returning to Rinoa.
The large fields could be seen in almost every direction as the wind blew through the air softly. The boy sat quietly in the field looking up towards the sky, observing the different shapes of the clouds, like most carefree children do. The bright sun in this tranquil place warmed the ground below as it beamed down. He knew he had been here for too long now. He should have taken responsibility, before trusting five mortals. They were imperfect, full of emotions, and easily led by temptation. How could they just give up their nature for even him?
From behind him, he heard the sounds of footsteps making their way towards the boy. He turned to look over his shoulder briefly to study the three men, before returning his gaze back towards the sky. "You were fooled," he spoke, taking in a deep breath. He was silent for a moment, enjoying the feeling of the warmth on his face.
After a short time of silence, the boy finally stood to his feet, and turned to the three men. All in their human form, how they looked before they became twisted in a web of lies. "You no longer need to hide yourselves away in the dark," he said, watching as the three got down on their knees in prostration.
"We apologise," one of the men spoke.
The boy looked on at the three men, as they bowed down to him. They had made mistakes, but he knew he had made the biggest mistake of all to trust them. "Become the Followers you intended to be," he said "Just remember what path you chose to take before, and stay clear of it, if the choice ever comes by again."
The young boy turned his back to the men again, and looked out in the distance. "Come," he spoke as he began to walk out into the fields "We must leave this place now."
The three remaining followers stood to their feet, following their leader once more.
Looking out the window of his apartment, Squall watched down on the streets of Deling City. The once busy roads had now cleared, as the sun had set in the sky. The lights from the many buildings now illuminated the night sky. Pressing a hand against the cool glass, Squall looked up towards the stars in the sky briefly, before turning back to his small apartment.
Picking up a box, Squall walked out of the door, closing it behind him as he made his way out into the cool night. He walked down a small gravel path, making a short walk out of the City. He stopped in his tracks briefly as he saw a figure just ahead of him, upon seeing her stood patiently, he quickened his pace. She was stood facing a small fire, which had been lit, watching the embers fly from the flames.
Hearing footsteps behind her, she turned to face Squall. "You're late," she said with a smile as she saw him approach closer to the fire, placing a box down on the rocky ground.
"Sorry," he said facing her, "I wanted to make sure I had everything."
Rinoa giggled slightly at the serious tone in his voice. "I'm sure the doctors won't be very pleased with you for keeping me waiting out here," she responded, placing her hands carefully on her hips with a playful smile.
He smiled. He honestly couldn't help the expression on his features. She was that happy person again, just like she was when he first met her. "How are you feeling?" he asked, thinking back to those long days he had spent in hospital with her. The doctors had told him that no serious damage had been done to her, she had a deep cut in her side, but through time her wounds would heal. He hadn't left her side at all during her stay in hospital; it had all seemed too good to be true that Ifrit hadn't killed her. He didn't dare leave her side, just in case something happened to her while he was gone.
Rinoa looked back at him, instinctively putting her hand on her side, "It still hurts," she said "but it could have been worse than it was." She looked to the floor, kicking gently at stones around her feet. From the side of her she could hear Squall rummaging through the box he had brought with him. She watched as he began throwing old newspaper cuttings and books into the fire, hearing the cracking noises as the flames swallowed them.
Squall continued to throw all his research into the flames. He was going to just throw everything away, not really feeling to need to keep his research, but Rinoa had suggested burning them. She had wanted them both to put everything that had happened behind them now. Deep down, he knew that neither of them could actually forget what had happened. It was something that had changed them both. It had also bonded them together, he thought about how he would be now if he had never taken the courage to ask about the picture, or if he had just pushed her away. Pushing the thought aside, he worked on burning the rest of his research.
He knew Rinoa was right. They should put this all behind them and move on. He had no reason to find articles on the killings anymore. Squall stopped abruptly as he looked down at an article in his hands. Beneath it was a drawing. Ellone. He studied it for a moment, briefly reading through the article on his sister.
"Maybe you should keep it," Rinoa said quietly as she realised why he had stopped. It was one thing throwing away research, but this was his sister. She defiantly didn't want him to forget his sister, and to Rinoa, this felt like burning away her memory. Rinoa saw Squall glance up at her briefly, before turning back down to the article in his hands. With one swift motion he put it within the flames, along with everything else.
"I would rather keep my memories," she heard him say. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she squeezed it gently to let him know that she was here. She watched the last traces of the article slowly disappear into ashes as the fire continued to burn, lighting up the small area around them. They stayed silent for a moment, neither really sure of what to say, as they watched the flickering flames.
"Do you think they're together," Rinoa said finally, breaking the silence.
Squall looked at her, slightly puzzled at whom she was talking about. "Who?"
"Ifrit and Shiva," she replied. Truthfully, she had no idea why she was thinking about them. They killed many people throughout the years, yet at the same time, she felt like their love was some sort of tragedy. Neither of them were heartless spirits. They were just trying to be together.
"I don't know," Squall said after a moment of thought. He saw Rinoa look at him briefly, before returning her attention back to the fire before them.
"I hope so," she spoke, looking beyond the light glowing from the fire and into the darkness of the night. She leaned her head against Squall's shoulder, and returned to silence as the flames danced in front of them.
The morning breeze blew through the town, leaving a freezing atmosphere as the girl made her way along the cobble path. Wrapping her arms around herself to try and keep warm, she continued to walk, looking up at the sky. The sun could be seen, giving warmth, between the regular gusts of wind.
Making her way down the path, she approached a black metal gate. Opening it with her gloved hands she made her way into the church grounds, as the frozen grass seemed to crunch beneath her feet. Remnants of snow still lay on top of building roofs and walls, and were starting to melt in the sun.
The young woman stopped in front of a stone slab, stuck in the grass. Her emerald eyes gazed down onto the engraved letters. Somehow today felt different. The brunette crouched down on the ground to get a little closer to the gravestone. She never had been this close before. She never dared. Usually whenever she came here, it was like looking at a person's grave she didn't even know.
She would normally see the young age engraved in the stone, thinking to herself what a tragedy this must have been. Irvine Kinneas. She would feel sorry for those that knew the man. The twenty-two year old who was murdered in his sleep. What a tragedy. It was always easy to pretend that she didn't know this person. How could a stone slab be the man she married?
Today felt completely different. In a way, she wanted to imagine that it was still a stone slab. It shouldn't have to mean anything. But stood here now, she could feel something. It almost felt like he was there with her, saying everything would be all right. If she closed her eyes, she could picture him there beside her, the mischievous look on his face she used to adore. Opening her eyes again, there was nothing. No one there to comfort her, or hold her. Just the memory, and feelings that he was lingering around this grave somewhere.
Letting out a deep sigh, she stayed by the grave in hopes that maybe one day he would come back, but she knew he wouldn't. She had slowly deteriorated over the long and painful months since his death. Slowly lost her once positive and upbeat attitude. Now there was nothing. She was like a robot, going to work everyday, only to return to an empty house, and wait until the next day came. She couldn't move on. Not when there was always a voice at the back of her mind telling her that he would come back for her.
She shivered from the cold weather, or maybe the thought that had come to her this morning. Here she could feel his presence, it was like he belonged here, surrounded by the dead. Never to return again. Today she realised, that he was never coming back. She never would see him again.
Selphie looked around her, taking in the feelings of him being there. Sensing him watching her. Then it slowly seemed to fade away, as if it had been blown away by the wind. She looked back at the grave. The stone slab held nothing once more. He was gone.
She cried.
Authors note: Oh my god... this is the last chapter. I'm so upset! Sorry if the ending sucked, initially it was all going to be happy, but I wanted there to be something more to it to show that there's never truly a happy ending. Ooo going all deep now. I'd like to thank my brother for writing the action scenes and helping me with this story! Also thank you to those who have reviewed, it's been fun reading peoples comments, and they always make me smile. Umm... I'm all emotional now lol. This chapter was over 5000 words, so I hope you enjoyed it and didn't think it was too corny... I guess all I can say is look out for more stories in the future from us. I already have another one planned! This time I'll be working on my own though. Thank you everyone, it's been a great experience! Please leave one last review.