"Squall?" Rinoa asked for what must have been the fifth time. She waved her hand in front of his eyes and he broke whatever trance it was he was in.
"Hmm?" He replied, blinking and turning to look at Rinoa. "What's up, Angel?"
"I could ask you the same thing," she replied, concerned. "You haven't said five words since we left Dad's house." Squall shook his head, as if trying to clear his thoughts.
"I know," he said, "I just can't get that dream out of my head. I've been trying, but I just haven't been able to shake the image of Laguna dying in my arms. I know it sounds silly, but I'm sure something bad has happened."
"Squall," Rinoa said, commandingly, "listen to me. Noth-" but before she could finish her sentence, her words were drowned out by the sound of the Ragnarok passing overhead. Squall gulped- he knew it meant trouble, and as there was none in Deling City, the Ragnarok had to be there for one reason only- to collect him and deliver him the news. Squall looked at Rinoa, and as one, they ran (in Squall's case, quickly hobbled as his leg had yet to fully heal) off to where the Ragnarok had been hastily parked. Selphie was already at the entrance hatch and running towards Squall and Rinoa by the time they arrived at the ship.
"SQUALL!!" Selphie shouted at the top of her voice. "You gotta come quickly!!" Squall grabbed Selphie by the shoulders and managed to calm her down.
"What's up?" He asked, maintaining a calm exterior but secretly panicking on the inside. "What happened?"
"You gotta come to Esthar," Selphie said, regaining her breath, "Seifer's attacked." Squall looked at Rinoa, and they both had the same expression on their face- extreme concern. Squall bolted onto the Ragnarok and quickly flung himself in the pilot's seat. It had been some time since he'd flown it last, but he was more than up to the task. Selphie was going to object, but Rinoa managed to give her a glance that seemed to say 'let him do this'. Selphie nodded, and sat down in the passenger seat while Squall took them to Esthar as fast as the Ragnarok could manage. When they arrived, Squall grabbed the radio mike and called the air station.
"Esthar air station, this is Ragnarok requesting permission to land, over," Squall said in one breath. Instead of the usual air traffic controller, however, Squall was greeted by the instantly recognisable voice of Kiros.
"Squall?" Kiros asked, over the radio.
"Kiros?" Squall asked back. "What happened? Over."
"Land first," Kiros instructed, "I'll explain all once we're en route to the hospital. Over and out." Squall cast a glance back to where Rinoa was sitting- it had to be extremely bad for Kiros to greet them personally over the radio, and the hospital statement only made Squall more anxious. Rinoa's face displayed an equal amount of anxiety. Squall landed the Ragnarok, and the three of them exited the ship.
"Wait here and guard the ship," Squall said to Selphie.
"But I wanna go too!" Selphie said, full of the same anxiety that had gripped Squall and Rinoa.
"Wait here," Squall said, more firmly. Selphie nodded and retreated back into the Ragnarok. Squall and Rinoa waved her off, and then turned round to see Ward and Kiros running towards them, exhausted.
"Sq-Squall," Kiros said, panting, "this way." He led them to the nearest shuttle car, which they boarded, before being taken off to Esthar hospital. The shuttle tube was obviously wasting no time, as the four of them had to cling onto their seats to prevent themselves from being flung against the back wall of the car. Squall would have asked Kiros what was going on, but he doubted he could make himself heard over the din the engine of the shuttle tube was making. Eventually, they arrived at the hospital, where, much to Squall's relief, a very upset-looking Laguna was waiting for them. Squall hopped off the car and gave his father a brief hug.
"Dad," he said, letting his father go, "what happened?" Laguna had to fight back tears as he told his son the bad news.
"Squall," he said, his voice quivering, "it's Elle. I couldn't protect her. I'm sorry." Squall's mind turned from one of anxiety to one of rage- Seifer had tried to kill Ellone, just to get to him. Together, Laguna, Squall, Ward, Kiros and Rinoa rushed inside, to where Ellone was lying on her side, badly wounded, in an intensive care bed. She was unconscious, and she was very pale.
"Sis..." Squall muttered, under his breath, as Rinoa put her arms around him for comfort.
"Squall," Laguna said, quietly, "we found this at the scene." He handed him a package, containing a videotape. "It was addressed to you," Laguna finished. Squall took the package and immediately felt his blood start to boil. Seifer… Squall thought, in a cold rage.
"There's a VCR in the other room you can use," Laguna informed Squall. Squall nodded, and entered the room, followed by Rinoa. Squall was not too happy about this.
"I don't want you to have to see this, Rinoa," Squall said, barely able to contain his rage.
"Too bad," Rinoa said, staring at him. "Ellone's my friend too. I want to see why he did this." Squall nodded- she had a point. He pushed the video into the machine and pressed play. He was greeted by Seifer's smiling, bearded face, just as he had been the day after the Garden bombings.
"Hello, Squall," Seifer said, smugly. "I expect you're wondering why I chose Ellone as my latest target, aren't you?" Seifer didn't even show the slightest hint of remorse- he was laughing, loving every second of it. Squall was quivering with rage. "Well," Seifer went on, "it's quite simple. I know how close you are to her, how much she means. How much you hogged her at the orphanage. Well, it's time I showed you how much she means to me- as bait. Do you want me, Squall? Come and get me. I'll be waiting for you near the sorceress memorial. Apt, don't you think? And come alone. We have unfinished business. Goodbye." Seifer clicked off the camcorder, laughing, leaving Squall and Rinoa alone in the room. Squall could contain himself no longer. He leapt up, ejected the videotape, and repeatedly smashed it with his gunblade. Rinoa desperately tried to calm him down.
"Squall!" She shouted, on the verge of tears, "Calm down! Please!" She couldn't bear to see Squall angry. He had a dark side, same as everyone else, but he was a dangerous man when provoked. Too dangerous. Someone had to calm him down. That someone was Rinoa. Squall turned around and faced his fiancée, wild-eyed.
"He's gone too far, Rinoa," Squall said, a hint of madness on his voice. "He's gonna pay. I swear it."
"Squall," Rinoa said, futilely trying to calm him down, "Please, think about what you're saying..." unfortunately, this only served to fuel Squall's rage.
"Think about what I'm doing!?" Squall asked, incredulous. "What's there to think about, Rinoa? He bombs the Garden. He murders innocents. He wounds me. He threatens your life. He tries to murder Elle. Am I supposed to let this slide? NO!!" Rinoa jumped slightly as Squall yelled at her. This was as angry as she'd ever seen him, and she was legitimately scared.
"The line has to be drawn somewhere," Squall continued, "and I am gonna draw it HERE! This far, and no further! Make no mistake, Rinoa, I am gonna make that bastard pay for what he's done." He was so caught up in his rage he didn't even realise Rinoa was crying.
"Squall, please," she tried to dissuade him, but he couldn't hear her. He marched out of the room, without even saying goodbye to the one he loved. Rinoa slumped back down onto the chair where she had sat to watch the video, and wept uncontrollably.
Laguna was highly surprised to see Squall marching down the hallway, gunblade in hand, faster than his injury should have normally allowed him to. Uh-oh, Laguna thought, this ain't good. Leaving Ward and Kiros to look over Ellone, he took off after Squall.
"Squall!" He shouted after his son. "Wait!" Even though he was injured, Squall was almost thirty years younger than Laguna, and Laguna, with his knees, had a hard time keeping up. Fortunately, Squall heard his father, and turned round.
"I have business to attend to," Squall said, coldly.
"Seifer can wait," Laguna said. "Ellone needs her brother here when she wakes up."
"I won't be long..." Squall replied, resuming his march towards the exit.
"Squall!" His father shouted. "He's not worth it! We'll capture him, I promise! You're hurt, you shouldn't do this!" Unfortunately, Laguna's words were lost on Squall. He walked straight out of the building, and headed towards the sorceress memorial, to the southeast of the city. Laguna wandered back inside the hospital, only to hear crying from the room where he had sent Squall to watch the videotape. Venturing inside, he saw Rinoa, weeping.
"Hey," he said, "what's up, girl?" Rinoa managed to stifle her tears long enough to answer her soon-to-be father-in-law.
"He's gone off," Rinoa said, barely. Laguna sat down next to her and gave her a fatherly hug.
"I know, I know," he said, "but don't worry. He'll calm down by the time he reaches the memorial." Rinoa shook her head.
"You don't understand," she said, still weeping. "He's vulnerable. He's been emotionally fragile ever since Seifer..." she couldn't bring herself to say the word 'torture', and quickly had to think up an alternative. "...Hurt him. He can't stand to see people taken away from him. Please, you have to stop him!" Laguna thought for a few seconds, before leaving Rinoa alone.
"Don't worry," he said, exiting the room, "he'll not get out of Esthar."
Seifer, meanwhile, was not at the sorceress memorial at all, but had gone to ground within the Esthar city limits. His thoughts were not on Squall or revenge, but on the woman he'd attacked. His mind was full of guilt, and penitence. Why did I do that? Seifer thought, grief-stricken. She never did anything to me? What possessed me to do such a thing? As if in answer to his question, Ultimecia appeared before him.
"Don't concern yourself with that," she said, trying to soothe him, "Squall is on his way. You have to kill him." Seifer nodded, but he didn't really believe Ultimecia.
"You doubt me?" She asked. "Think of all Squall has done to you. All he's taken from you." Seifer answered, saying out loud what was on his mind.
"He never hurt the ones I love..." He said. Ultimecia forced him to stare at her.
"Pitiful child," she spat in his direction. "Mercy is for the weak. Only the ruthless will get what they truly want." However, as Seifer was about to submit to Ultimecia's will, a vision of Rinoa appeared before him.
"Rinny?" He asked, using the pet name he had given her all those months ago...
"I'm here, Seifer," she answered him. "Don't give in to Ultimecia. Let go."
"NO!" Ultimecia commanded. "Squall is your enemy! You must kill him!" Rinoa stepped in front of Ultimecia.
"No, Seifer," she said, softly, "Listen to me. Spare Squall. He is not your enemy." Seifer nodded. Ultimecia started to walk towards him, but Rinoa cut her off with a vicious magic spell. Ultimecia shattered into a million pieces, and Rinoa put her hands on either side of Seifer's face. "You're free now," she said. Seifer shook his head.
"No," he said, thinking clearly for the first time since his descent into madness had started at FH, "there's still something I have to do. Someone I have to apologise to." Rinoa faded from his view, and where she stood, Seifer focused on a figure at the end of the alley he was in. The figure was wearing a fur-lined jacket and wielding the same weapon as him.
"Hmm?" He replied, blinking and turning to look at Rinoa. "What's up, Angel?"
"I could ask you the same thing," she replied, concerned. "You haven't said five words since we left Dad's house." Squall shook his head, as if trying to clear his thoughts.
"I know," he said, "I just can't get that dream out of my head. I've been trying, but I just haven't been able to shake the image of Laguna dying in my arms. I know it sounds silly, but I'm sure something bad has happened."
"Squall," Rinoa said, commandingly, "listen to me. Noth-" but before she could finish her sentence, her words were drowned out by the sound of the Ragnarok passing overhead. Squall gulped- he knew it meant trouble, and as there was none in Deling City, the Ragnarok had to be there for one reason only- to collect him and deliver him the news. Squall looked at Rinoa, and as one, they ran (in Squall's case, quickly hobbled as his leg had yet to fully heal) off to where the Ragnarok had been hastily parked. Selphie was already at the entrance hatch and running towards Squall and Rinoa by the time they arrived at the ship.
"SQUALL!!" Selphie shouted at the top of her voice. "You gotta come quickly!!" Squall grabbed Selphie by the shoulders and managed to calm her down.
"What's up?" He asked, maintaining a calm exterior but secretly panicking on the inside. "What happened?"
"You gotta come to Esthar," Selphie said, regaining her breath, "Seifer's attacked." Squall looked at Rinoa, and they both had the same expression on their face- extreme concern. Squall bolted onto the Ragnarok and quickly flung himself in the pilot's seat. It had been some time since he'd flown it last, but he was more than up to the task. Selphie was going to object, but Rinoa managed to give her a glance that seemed to say 'let him do this'. Selphie nodded, and sat down in the passenger seat while Squall took them to Esthar as fast as the Ragnarok could manage. When they arrived, Squall grabbed the radio mike and called the air station.
"Esthar air station, this is Ragnarok requesting permission to land, over," Squall said in one breath. Instead of the usual air traffic controller, however, Squall was greeted by the instantly recognisable voice of Kiros.
"Squall?" Kiros asked, over the radio.
"Kiros?" Squall asked back. "What happened? Over."
"Land first," Kiros instructed, "I'll explain all once we're en route to the hospital. Over and out." Squall cast a glance back to where Rinoa was sitting- it had to be extremely bad for Kiros to greet them personally over the radio, and the hospital statement only made Squall more anxious. Rinoa's face displayed an equal amount of anxiety. Squall landed the Ragnarok, and the three of them exited the ship.
"Wait here and guard the ship," Squall said to Selphie.
"But I wanna go too!" Selphie said, full of the same anxiety that had gripped Squall and Rinoa.
"Wait here," Squall said, more firmly. Selphie nodded and retreated back into the Ragnarok. Squall and Rinoa waved her off, and then turned round to see Ward and Kiros running towards them, exhausted.
"Sq-Squall," Kiros said, panting, "this way." He led them to the nearest shuttle car, which they boarded, before being taken off to Esthar hospital. The shuttle tube was obviously wasting no time, as the four of them had to cling onto their seats to prevent themselves from being flung against the back wall of the car. Squall would have asked Kiros what was going on, but he doubted he could make himself heard over the din the engine of the shuttle tube was making. Eventually, they arrived at the hospital, where, much to Squall's relief, a very upset-looking Laguna was waiting for them. Squall hopped off the car and gave his father a brief hug.
"Dad," he said, letting his father go, "what happened?" Laguna had to fight back tears as he told his son the bad news.
"Squall," he said, his voice quivering, "it's Elle. I couldn't protect her. I'm sorry." Squall's mind turned from one of anxiety to one of rage- Seifer had tried to kill Ellone, just to get to him. Together, Laguna, Squall, Ward, Kiros and Rinoa rushed inside, to where Ellone was lying on her side, badly wounded, in an intensive care bed. She was unconscious, and she was very pale.
"Sis..." Squall muttered, under his breath, as Rinoa put her arms around him for comfort.
"Squall," Laguna said, quietly, "we found this at the scene." He handed him a package, containing a videotape. "It was addressed to you," Laguna finished. Squall took the package and immediately felt his blood start to boil. Seifer… Squall thought, in a cold rage.
"There's a VCR in the other room you can use," Laguna informed Squall. Squall nodded, and entered the room, followed by Rinoa. Squall was not too happy about this.
"I don't want you to have to see this, Rinoa," Squall said, barely able to contain his rage.
"Too bad," Rinoa said, staring at him. "Ellone's my friend too. I want to see why he did this." Squall nodded- she had a point. He pushed the video into the machine and pressed play. He was greeted by Seifer's smiling, bearded face, just as he had been the day after the Garden bombings.
"Hello, Squall," Seifer said, smugly. "I expect you're wondering why I chose Ellone as my latest target, aren't you?" Seifer didn't even show the slightest hint of remorse- he was laughing, loving every second of it. Squall was quivering with rage. "Well," Seifer went on, "it's quite simple. I know how close you are to her, how much she means. How much you hogged her at the orphanage. Well, it's time I showed you how much she means to me- as bait. Do you want me, Squall? Come and get me. I'll be waiting for you near the sorceress memorial. Apt, don't you think? And come alone. We have unfinished business. Goodbye." Seifer clicked off the camcorder, laughing, leaving Squall and Rinoa alone in the room. Squall could contain himself no longer. He leapt up, ejected the videotape, and repeatedly smashed it with his gunblade. Rinoa desperately tried to calm him down.
"Squall!" She shouted, on the verge of tears, "Calm down! Please!" She couldn't bear to see Squall angry. He had a dark side, same as everyone else, but he was a dangerous man when provoked. Too dangerous. Someone had to calm him down. That someone was Rinoa. Squall turned around and faced his fiancée, wild-eyed.
"He's gone too far, Rinoa," Squall said, a hint of madness on his voice. "He's gonna pay. I swear it."
"Squall," Rinoa said, futilely trying to calm him down, "Please, think about what you're saying..." unfortunately, this only served to fuel Squall's rage.
"Think about what I'm doing!?" Squall asked, incredulous. "What's there to think about, Rinoa? He bombs the Garden. He murders innocents. He wounds me. He threatens your life. He tries to murder Elle. Am I supposed to let this slide? NO!!" Rinoa jumped slightly as Squall yelled at her. This was as angry as she'd ever seen him, and she was legitimately scared.
"The line has to be drawn somewhere," Squall continued, "and I am gonna draw it HERE! This far, and no further! Make no mistake, Rinoa, I am gonna make that bastard pay for what he's done." He was so caught up in his rage he didn't even realise Rinoa was crying.
"Squall, please," she tried to dissuade him, but he couldn't hear her. He marched out of the room, without even saying goodbye to the one he loved. Rinoa slumped back down onto the chair where she had sat to watch the video, and wept uncontrollably.
Laguna was highly surprised to see Squall marching down the hallway, gunblade in hand, faster than his injury should have normally allowed him to. Uh-oh, Laguna thought, this ain't good. Leaving Ward and Kiros to look over Ellone, he took off after Squall.
"Squall!" He shouted after his son. "Wait!" Even though he was injured, Squall was almost thirty years younger than Laguna, and Laguna, with his knees, had a hard time keeping up. Fortunately, Squall heard his father, and turned round.
"I have business to attend to," Squall said, coldly.
"Seifer can wait," Laguna said. "Ellone needs her brother here when she wakes up."
"I won't be long..." Squall replied, resuming his march towards the exit.
"Squall!" His father shouted. "He's not worth it! We'll capture him, I promise! You're hurt, you shouldn't do this!" Unfortunately, Laguna's words were lost on Squall. He walked straight out of the building, and headed towards the sorceress memorial, to the southeast of the city. Laguna wandered back inside the hospital, only to hear crying from the room where he had sent Squall to watch the videotape. Venturing inside, he saw Rinoa, weeping.
"Hey," he said, "what's up, girl?" Rinoa managed to stifle her tears long enough to answer her soon-to-be father-in-law.
"He's gone off," Rinoa said, barely. Laguna sat down next to her and gave her a fatherly hug.
"I know, I know," he said, "but don't worry. He'll calm down by the time he reaches the memorial." Rinoa shook her head.
"You don't understand," she said, still weeping. "He's vulnerable. He's been emotionally fragile ever since Seifer..." she couldn't bring herself to say the word 'torture', and quickly had to think up an alternative. "...Hurt him. He can't stand to see people taken away from him. Please, you have to stop him!" Laguna thought for a few seconds, before leaving Rinoa alone.
"Don't worry," he said, exiting the room, "he'll not get out of Esthar."
Seifer, meanwhile, was not at the sorceress memorial at all, but had gone to ground within the Esthar city limits. His thoughts were not on Squall or revenge, but on the woman he'd attacked. His mind was full of guilt, and penitence. Why did I do that? Seifer thought, grief-stricken. She never did anything to me? What possessed me to do such a thing? As if in answer to his question, Ultimecia appeared before him.
"Don't concern yourself with that," she said, trying to soothe him, "Squall is on his way. You have to kill him." Seifer nodded, but he didn't really believe Ultimecia.
"You doubt me?" She asked. "Think of all Squall has done to you. All he's taken from you." Seifer answered, saying out loud what was on his mind.
"He never hurt the ones I love..." He said. Ultimecia forced him to stare at her.
"Pitiful child," she spat in his direction. "Mercy is for the weak. Only the ruthless will get what they truly want." However, as Seifer was about to submit to Ultimecia's will, a vision of Rinoa appeared before him.
"Rinny?" He asked, using the pet name he had given her all those months ago...
"I'm here, Seifer," she answered him. "Don't give in to Ultimecia. Let go."
"NO!" Ultimecia commanded. "Squall is your enemy! You must kill him!" Rinoa stepped in front of Ultimecia.
"No, Seifer," she said, softly, "Listen to me. Spare Squall. He is not your enemy." Seifer nodded. Ultimecia started to walk towards him, but Rinoa cut her off with a vicious magic spell. Ultimecia shattered into a million pieces, and Rinoa put her hands on either side of Seifer's face. "You're free now," she said. Seifer shook his head.
"No," he said, thinking clearly for the first time since his descent into madness had started at FH, "there's still something I have to do. Someone I have to apologise to." Rinoa faded from his view, and where she stood, Seifer focused on a figure at the end of the alley he was in. The figure was wearing a fur-lined jacket and wielding the same weapon as him.