The mind.
The element or complex of elements in an individual that feels, perceives, thinks, wills, and especially reasons.
He used his mind well.
Because of his lack of consciousness, he was not able to use any of it. Perhaps it is ironic that such a thing would happen to the over-thinking Commander. Maybe it was for his very own good. But whatever the case, it happened, and it was inevitable.
~~~~~~~
Esthar was there, asking to take her away when such ruckus was going on around them in the ocean blue waters. Battling and fighting, fighting and battling… would it ever end? Without fighting there would be no peace, without peace there would be no fighting. Such things had reasons to exist so that the other opposite would exist.
Right now Galbadia was fighting with Esthar upon the waters with the White SeeD ship smack-dab in the middle. Ellone was inside the SeeD leader's quarter along with Zone and Watts, and the orphan children surrounding her for comfort. Watts literally ran around in circles, secretly wanting to cry to Ellone for comfort along with the children. Zone, trying to keep his cool, was looking out the window nearby to keep watch.
"Oh no, Esthar soldiers boarded… the leader's talking to them now." The boy turned around from the window and looked over to Ellone, seeing that she was handling things calmly. No surprise at all for him, since she had a very good way with children. But unfortunately catching sight of his companion running around in circles, made him lose his composure.
"Waaatts! Stop that, you're scaring the children!" Growling under his breath, Zone ran over to Watts, discombobulating the tracks of his circle by grabbing his arm and stopping him in his round.
"S-Sorry, sir! I-I can't help it! I dunno what to do! N-No information to gather, sir!" His voice cracked, and his legs still jogged in place even though he was stopped.
"Grr, don't make me tie you to a chair!" Without any further warning, that was what Zone tried to do to his friend. He grabbed Watts, with all his might to make him stay still as well, and dragged him over to the table that was nearby. Watts panicked and squirmed around like a wild animal, soon knocking them both to the wooden floor. Behind their struggle and wrestling with each other as well as yelling, Ellone was now to the window where Zone once was, looking out to the Esthar soldiers. This was it, and she knew it. It was time for her to leave.
The boys stopped wrestling and grunting with each other and paused, watching Ellone reach her hand out to the door of the room. Immediately, Zone jumped up from the tangle he was in with Watts as they both stared in shock. What was she doing? "Ellone---?!"
Before he could say or ask more, the woman raised her free hand as the other stayed upon the knob of the door. Her brown eyes stared at the door in front of her as she spoke out in a motherly tone… "Take care of the children." As if on cue, the children gingerly called out her name questioningly as she opened the door, walking out and closing it behind her. Zone gasped and ran to the door, opening it with haste and watched as Ellone ran to the deck of the ship. The children gathered around him, looking out the door to her as well while Watts' head peeked up from below.
The Esthar soldiers had already retreated back to their ship after the discussion with the White SeeDs and were ready to sail away. Ellone, just realizing this, gasped in fear and ran a little faster. The leader of the White SeeDs eyes widened as he saw her run by, too shocked to yell out to her or make any movement. This was not something she would do… or so he thought.
Since the ship was almost a great distance away, there was no time to run to the very tip of the deck, so she stopped on the way there, turning to the Esthar ship. Without any fear, the girl stood on the very edge, raising her head as the sea wind blew through her bobbed brown hair. Slowly opening her arms out horizontally, to keep her dear green garment to remain on them, the woman smiled and took in a breath of air to call out to the ship.
"Uncle Laguna!"
With that, Ellone jumped forward, landing upon the deck of Esthar's ship. Watching in awe, the White SeeDs ran over to where Ellone jumped off, along with the leader, and watched as the Esthar ship pulled away. After Ellone landed, she fell to her knees, letting a couple of Esthar soldiers to help her to her feet. Carefully, they tended to her and made sure she was all right. Regaining her composure, the woman turned around and watched as the White SeeD ship got further away by the minute. Softly, she spoke out into the sea breeze. "Thank you for everything… good bye."
~~~~~~~
"We'll be arriving at Esthar by tomorrow afternoon."
"All right."
Ellone watched as the soldier left her given room, releasing a sigh from her lips. It has been a very unusual day for her, and so much has happened. Finally, she had the chance to get to her precious Uncle Laguna. It's been quite a few years, but she knew that he would be there to protect her and to welcome her with many open arms.
But why… why didn't he stay with Raine when she needed him the most? Why did he come after her? He was so selfish, so unorganized and so perfect at the same time. There were so many things that he could have done in his life, but at the same time he has done so much.
Ellone frowned and walked over to the chair that was next to the window in the room, taking a seat upon it slowly. Since it would be a day before they got to Esthar, trying to change the past again wouldn't hurt, now would it? Taking in a soft breath of air, the woman closed her eyes and relaxed her mind… focusing on "connecting" to Squall and the others. Her brows wrinkled as she concentrated.
Strange… it usually didn't take this long for her powers to take effect…
~~~~~~~
"Booyaka!"
She giggled, tapping the enter button once for her diary entry to post upon her page. Obeying her own suggestion that she brought out to the rest of the group, Selphie made an online diary so she would not forget the events that were going on with her life. Thanks to the loss of memory the Guardian Forces had upon humans in exchange for power, she had to do so or she would forget everything.
Raising her arms up, the sugary girl stretched them out as if they could touch the ceiling, and afterwards let them fall lifelessly back at her sides. Not too far away, Irvine watched his childhood love in action and couldn't help but smile at her antics. The lone star leaned against the wall with his eyes hidden under his cowboy hat, but not far enough for him to not see the surroundings about him. That was his secret way of checking out girls without them knowing.
Planning out the situation in his head before he asked the spunky girl to go to the cafeteria with him for dinner, he pushed himself off the wall, making his way towards her. At the same time Selphie stood, picking up a couple of books she had with her.
"Hey Sephie, hold your horses--…" The cowboy stopped in his tracks, beginning to get weak in the knees. His head began to spin and he kneeled down to the floor, raising his right hand to his head, placing it over his hat. He had gotten used to that feeling already. It was Sis, she wanted to use them again. His eyes automatically wanted to close all of a sudden, and his body wanted sleep; however this time there was an unusual ringing sound throughout his mind… it was as if Ellone was having trouble?
Groaning from the eerie sound, Irvine reached up and took hold of one of the seats in the second floor classroom, where Selphie sat not too long ago. He peeked over, seeing that she was having trouble as well. Selphie's emerald eyes were tightly closed as her hands were placed over her ears, although it didn't help much at all. After a few minutes, the ringing sound in their minds stopped and the sudden urges to sleep were gone.
Selphie and Irvine gasped for air as if they were under water for those few minutes. The cowboy stood, rushing over to Selphie to see if she was all right without thinking twice about himself. He placed his hands upon her shoulders and helped her sit up, frowning in confusion as they both tried to catch their breath.
"My goodness!" She exclaimed, looking up to Irvine with curious eyes. "What was that all about?"
"I guess you heard the annoying ringing, too?" He asked, dropping his hands from her shoulders and looking her in those curious green eyes.
"I did! Hey, you think the others heard it, too?— It really seemed like Sis was struggling that time… didn't it?" Selphie stood, losing herself in thought for a few moments before Irvine stood and raised his left hand, taking a hold of the tip of his hat before signaling to the door of the classroom.
"We should go meet up with the others. Maybe something different happened to them."
"You're right, let's go!"
~~~~~~~
As if the woman lost all energy in her body, Ellone barely stood from the chair she sat before she fell forward onto her knees out of weakness. She too, was catching her breath as a drop of sweat slid down from the depths of her hair to the middle of her forehead as she leaned over her kneeled legs. She had full control over Zell, Selphie, Quistis, and Irvine to "connect"… but Squall… what was wrong with Squall? She had so much trouble getting into the depths of his mind to take him to the past that she cancelled the whole process.
She never experienced something like this before. Usually, it would always work and everything would go smoothly. But without Squall to be a part of the past, how could he change it for her? He was her only hope to succeed in this, and since he wasn't currently in a suspension of consciousness, he was in a state of profound consciousness… and that she didn't know. But somehow, she did know that she would find out soon enough.
~~~~~~~
Those white impressed wings upon the back of her duster were concealed against the small wall under the large window on the left side of the infirmary room. Hugging her legs to her chest, the pale girl helplessly kept her soft brown eyes on the sleeping lion that lay before her on the bed as she leaned back on the wall. Resting the back of her head against the wall behind her, she began to wonder what was to become of all of this. Would he ever open those grayish-blue eyes again? Would she ever again be able to stare back into them and smile because their eyes met?
They say that when you talk to a person in a coma that they take it in as if they listened when they were awake, although they do not remember it when they wake up. Is this exactly true, though? She didn't know… or care if it did work that way or not. But she had to voice her feelings about what was happening. Not just to anyone, but to him. Maybe that would make her feel a little better---
Why was she feeling this way? So sad, empty, lonely, and lost…
Well yes, she was always attracted to him. He was definitely a good-looking guy. But now… that didn't matter anymore. She watched from the past weeks how he handled situations and missions, and admired the way he took care of things. Perhaps he was right about her pathetic little group huddles that didn't get the Forest Owls anywhere. So full of courage and bravery… there was no time to fear anything. He just took action after being told what to do. Maybe that was why he was lost in thought so much, to reflect on what he has done.
Either way… she admired him. And now, she admired him for the way he looked… valiantly sleeping there like a baby and taking in the dangers of the inevitable coma.
The girl laid her legs out upon the floor before pushing herself to sit up, getting a little closer to his face from the wall. Slowly, she raised her right hand as her eyes fixed upon his content facial feature, gently letting her index and middle finger slide over his painful-looking scar that traced along his forehead and upper nose. Just maybe he would open his eyes… and that he did not. One part of her wished that he would wake up and start scolding her for doing such a thing. Another part of her wished that he would open his eyes and stare into hers, and give a sweet smile— but that was not like him at all.
Rinoa sighed, allowing her curious hand to explore his face. After her fingers encountered the forbidden scar area, she slowly let her hand lay softly on his cheek, sliding her thumb over his long eyelashes. Doing so, this made her smile slightly with a hint of helplessness. There was a lot of beauty in this boy, and she was glad that she had the chance to observe it a little closer. Gently, the girl took her hand away and rested her right arm over her left, keeping her eyes on him at all times.
What was this feeling at the bottom of her heart that refuses to go away? It slightly ached, but it was all new to her. It did not hurt, but it felt great… refreshing.
She was in love.
The girl in light blue stared at Squall's closed eyes and whispered out in all hopes that he could hear her…
"Squall… come back to me…"