Clash of the Gardens

Part V : False Solace

"Live a little, it's good to laugh from time to time."

Finally some recognition, Headmaster Cid trusts me with only a mission I know of again. Yes! I am the Commander of SeeD after all, aren't I? Who's going to stop me now?

"Hey, Xu!" Quistis waved to her from afar.

Oh, no…I'll have to keep my mouth shut this time. Xu took a deep breath and sighed. That's it. Relax, Xu. You'll be okay! "Hi, Quistis." She smiled and shook off her nervousness. "What brings you up here at a time like this?"

"I was coming to check up on you, actually."

"Really? Why's that?"

"I can't just check up on my friend?"

"Oh, I didn't mean it that way…it's just that, things have been really crazy after our battle. All of these other people need to be checked on and you're checking up on me-"

"Xu, take a breath. Please…"
Xu sighed again and looked at the elevator. "I'm sorry." The smile once again returned to her face, "Well, I should go now. I have a lot of work to do."

"Great, I'll help you."

"Great…" Xu looked at the ceiling in wonder. Is it just me… or is Quistis being a little too close today? Is it because I'm keeping something away from her? Just because I need to keep clear and stay to myself, she's going to hound me today.

Quistis innocently chuckled and shook her head, "What's with you today? You need a vacation?"

"Oh…" I would Love a vacation right now. "No, that's ridiculous. I'm just fine. Let's go." Excellent recovery, this will be a breeze.

Rinoa was on her way through the exiting gates when she remembered the sights of the Alcauld Plains. There were bodies of soldiers everywhere; who would want to see that? She looked at the Parking Garage and remembered the rental car she and others arrived in. A smile crept upon her lips as the idea instantly came to her mind.

Quickly, Rinoa ran to the Parking Garage and saw the old car that was once driven by Squall, parked in its lot. She ran to the vehicle and opened its door. Thankfully, had he not left the key in the sun blocker, Rinoa would have been stuck there with no ride. Rinoa cheered and put the key in the ignition. Hearing its engine roaring was like music to her ears, although, her destination was not as delightful as the sound of the car. Her smile disappeared and she pulled the car out of the parking garage.

She drove on the road through the Alcauld Plains and kept her eyes forward, not wanting to see anything her eyes would regret. All the moments of the battle returned to her. It was a thrill ride. Seeing those people trying to kill her and watching her self possess so much power, Rinoa was amazed that she had survived. She thought about the moment when she jumped in front of Squall to stop the bullets. What on earth was she thinking? At that exact moment in time, Rinoa had no clear thoughts; saving Squall was the most obvious reason for leaping before bullets. Her memories after that moment were a bit fuzzy, but she could remember only bits and pieces of what actually happen. There was one thing she was certain of: Squall had saved her life yet again.

She smiled, but shook her head. Now was not the time to think about Squall, she had to focus on getting to her father and discussing business. There was no time to think about the state she left him in. He was in a coma, a sleep that many people cannot wake from. Just thinking if Squall never woke up made her heart tremble.

She reached one hand from the steering wheel and rested it on the rings of Julia and Squall. Just feeling the metal beneath her fingers put her soul at ease. Thank you. She silently told them and continued to drive.

When Rinoa looked ahead, she saw that Balamb City was in her view. "Alright! All I have to do is turn this car in and go to the train station." And with that, she entered into Balamb with full confidence knowing that the spirits of her mother and Griever were with her.

Ever since Rinoa left the room, the pain from his wounds had worsened. His back ached terribly and his torso felt like shredded flesh due to the gunshot wounds. Squall was in no shape to leave his room, and he opted to stay inside and rest the day away, but sadly he needed to have Dr. Kadowaki look at his wounds. He saw that he had undergone surgery, and the bullets had been removed, but the injuries were still as fresh as ever. He wondered if Rinoa went through this kind of pain as well, and if she even had a surgery.

When he thought about her, his body tensed up and he sighed. I wonder what Caraway's going to say to her? Maybe she's really nervous to see him. I wonder if she's scared too. Knowing her, she's probably crying. He smiled and for a split second, noticed that his wounds didn't hurt, until he realized he had thought about his wounds and the pain came again.

"Aaah!" He pushed himself off of his bed with his arms and got to his feet quickly. "Enough of this." He placed his hands against his stomach and chest, the areas where he had been shot and stitched, and cast cure upon himself. Instant relief came over his being, but the wound on his back still teased him with its openness. It wasn't as bad as his gunshot wounds, but it really had hurt him when he woke up on his back, but all that changed once Rinoa entered his room before.

Squall sat on his bed and closed his eyes, and the first thing to appear in his mind were the noses of the guns those Galbadian Soldiers used on he and Rinoa. Watching the bullets fly in slow motion toward his body, seeing his end right before his very eyes, and experiencing death afterwards; that was truly an unforgettable moment.

Why had she been there? Why did she jump in front of him? He opened his eyes and looked at the floor. What possessed her to make her do something as spontaneous as that? He remembered just hours before the war, he had told her to stay back in the Garden. She disregarded what he said and went anyway. Once again, he had almost gotten her killed, but it wasn't his fault this time. No way. How could it be his fault? She chose to dive before those bullets.

As his thoughts rambled on back and forth about Rinoa, he felt his heart racing as though he were back in that moment. "Rinoa…" He muttered underneath his breath, but then questioned himself as to why he had just called her name. Still, his heart raced on, and every single thought was about Rinoa again. He sighed and stood from his bed. "I'll just go see Dr. Kadowaki."

It was an excuse, a horrible one, but it was the only way he could stop the endless thoughts of Rinoa. He got dressed, but made sure not to put on anything that would hurt the wound on his back any further, and went to see the doctor.

The Infirmary was emptier than Squall thought it would be, maybe all those injured SeeDs were taken care of over the course of his sleep from reality. He rested stomach down on the bed in the Infirmary and closed his eyes as he waited for Dr. Kadowaki to perform her treatment on his wound.

Dr. Kadowaki entered the room as she pulled plastic gloves over her aging hands and walked toward the bed. "Hello, Squall. I was wondering when you were going to wake up. …Do you know how many people thought you were in a coma?"

"Yeah, I heard."

"You don't say? From who?"

"…Well…" He knew Rinoa was amongst those people who thought the worst possible case, just by listening to her words told him that much. He figured she had probably heard from others. "…Gossip." He said, something he knew would strike up an interesting conversation from this woman. He knew she would do most of the talking and Squall felt himself about to smile.

"Gossip, gossip, gossip, it's all this Garden knows, I tell you… We just survived a war, but are we concerned about the outcome? No because Squall's in a coma!" The woman giggled and shook her head while pealing off the bandages from Squall's scarred back. Squall smiled and rested his head on his folded arms as he was listening to the old woman speak her mind.

If there was one thing that made him smile, it was listening to the doctor truthfully speak her mind. Squall wished she were around when he was a kid and had first started his training in Balamb Garden, but the doctor had arrived when he was thirteen. By that time, he was hardened and relied only on his own skills to protect him. It was later on in his life when he had gotten injured in a fight against a T-Rexaur that he met Dr. Kadowaki. Thinking back on those moments in the Infirmary, he realized that she was best thing about Balamb.

Dr. Kadowaki became a mother figure for Squall, but the relationship was never fully expressed. Sure he grew to enjoy being in the woman's company, but he never told her otherwise.

He sighed as she rubbed a cream onto his wound and bandaged him again. She had been talking off and on about who knows what, but just listening to her had eased his mind. For just that short while, Rinoa was out of his thoughts and his mind was at peace.

Quistis looked through some papers with Xu and realized there weren't too many things to be done. Sure there were plenty of papers to file, but it wasn't as much as Xu had stressed it to be. Finally, Quistis turned to Xu and sighed, "Xu, what's on your mind? You have to tell me."

"…" Xu kept her eyes on the document and pretended to ignore Quistis' questions.

"Xu!"

"…Am I that obvious?"

"Do you really need to ask that question?"

Xu smirked and put the paper on the table. "…I'm sorry Quistis, but it's confidential and I'm on strict orders. I can't tell you what I know."

"Come on Xu, it's not like I'm going to tell anyone."

"It doesn't matter if you tell or not, I feel that I should keep my word with Headmaster Cid."

"…Do you want me to tell him that you're ready to step down as Commander? "

"Aah! You wouldn't dare!"

"Excuse me Xu, I have an appointment with the headmaster." She stood from her seat, but Xu got up and pulled her back down.

"I can't believe you would do that."

"In a heartbeat."

"Yeah, and see if you ever get a promotion."
The two laughed and sat back in their chairs. Xu closed her eyes to gather her thoughts for a few moments before she sat up and faced Quistis. She opened her eyes and the serious Commander look overtook her face. Quistis sat at the edge of her seat eager to hear the news.

"Are you ready for this?" Xu questioned her friend.

"I'm prepared for anything, now tell me."

"Our loving Headmaster…" She sighed, "called upon Esthar's help to kidnap Rinoa Caraway."

"WHAT?"

"Shh! Keep it down, Quis!" Xu said while Quistis covered her mouth in horror.

"Why-" She had to lower her tone, "Why would he do that? What is he thinking?"

"I don't know. I have no idea what's gotten into him." Xu said as she mimicked Quistis' lowered tone as well.

"What will happen once General Caraway finds out about this?"

"Who knows, but it looks pretty bad on our part. Here we are, holding loads of Galbadian Soldiers as prisoners when Caraway could probably send more over and take us down."

"…Yeah, that's possible. I just can't believe Esthar is on our side."

"A kidnapping isn't good. One wouldn't call that a partnership. What if the headmaster gave something up in order for Esthar to cooperate with us?"

"…I really hope not. After all our hard work and dedication, he'd hand over something that's ours? I…don't think I'd be able to handle that." She sighed, "Xu, I think I'm going to lie down for a little while. You don't mind, do you?"

"No, go right on ahead, but remember to keep your lips sealed."

"As tight as glue."

"Glue can be pealed apart!"

"Okay, super glue and you know what Super Glue does if it were to dry on skin."

"Tears it to pieces…"

"…I think I'll…I just won't tell anyone."

"You better, or I'll tear you to pieces!"

"I figured." Quistis said as she stood from the table and quickly made her way out from the angry woman. Xu rested her head on the table and sighed deeply. She wondered if it were a good idea to tell Quistis, but an even greater idea to break her word to Headmaster Cid. Then again, he broke his word and made an action without first speaking with her. Even though she had no power to stop him, it would have been better if she were there to talk with him before he made that choice.

"…What am I going to do?" She said and closed her eyes.

Quistis leaned against the elevator's wall, as her ride seemed to take forever. She was suspicious of Rinoa and wanted to punish her for being Galbadian, but that was in the past. Rinoa acted with her heart and protected one of her allies, something Quistis really admired about her now. She admitted to herself that Rinoa did something she couldn't do, and probably would never do. She risked her life to protect that of another. The girl was bold and acted without thinking; at least, that's how Quistis felt. There was no way she deserved to be kidnapped and handled like some criminal.

But what could she do? There was nothing to do. Rinoa would be kidnapped and only God knows what would happen after that. The elevator's bell sounded when she reached the first floor, and the doors pealed open. Quistis stepped out of the elevator and walked slowly as she approached the steps. With every step she thought of the possibilities until one stood out from the rest of her thoughts.

Of course, Squall should know about this. Maybe he could do something to stop the Headmaster's Plan. Is that a good idea? I just promised Xu I wouldn't tell…but Xu broke her promise to Cid. I don't know…maybe he should know… Come on, Quistis. Think! …But then something is telling me to wait. I can't wait that much longer. Rinoa could be snatched away for good. How can the Headmaster order something as huge as this! He's insane!

The train ride from Balamb to Timber went smoothly. Rinoa was relieved that the trains were operating once again. She learned from another passenger that there was a car blocking the tunnel for sometime recently. It was strange to learn that the car was a Galbadian Vehicle, but Rinoa had given up thinking about the vehicles. It was because of those things that Angelo went missing on the fields. Rinoa had rested her head against the window and closed her eyes when she thought about Angelo.

Upon arriving in Timber, she noticed that the bodies were carefully placed in separate graves dug by the survivors. Gloom still lingered over Timber, but at least the children were playing again.

She smiled when she watched a little girl play with a tiny brown kitten that seemed to enjoy her company as well.

"Miss, we only have two car choices due to the bombings that occurred recently." The Rent-a-Car merchant said to the eager young woman.

"…Okay, I'll take the blue one." Rinoa pointed to the blue car that seemed to be in obvious better condition than the other car.

"That'll be three thousand gil, ma'am."

Rinoa paid the merchant and received a key to the old dirty car. It wasn't much, but it would most likely get her to Deling City. She purchased two fuel cans for the road and placed them into the car. She was all set to go.

As she left Timber, she silently said her goodbyes to her friends. She was careful not to look back at the grave sight again or her emotions would overtake her being. She drove onto the road that would take her all the way to Deling City.

Moments after her journey began, she saw a large object in the distance. It was up ahead and to her left, there was no way one could miss its massiveness. She pushed the gas pedal down harder and ignored the strange object.

Rinoa glanced at the vehicle once more and swore her eyes were playing tricks on her, but when she saw the headlights and the dust forming from behind it's tires, she knew that huge 'thing' was headed directly to her.

"What in the world is that?" She said softly underneath her breath. She heard its engine roaring as it gained speed and was headed for a direct collision with her.

She turned off the main road and drove quickly across the rough terrain to escape the large shuttle van, but it gained in speed and made its way directly behind her.

She swerved to the left, and saw that she had shaken if off for a mere second. She pretended to swerve to the right, but steered her car to the left quickly, and made a quick donut spin. The vehicle couldn't keep up with her and spun out of control.

Excited with her victory, Rinoa drove her car away from the vehicle, but as she began to cheer, two more vehicles similar to the other that had just chased her, were up ahead and on both sides to block her path.

"NO!" She yelled and slowed down the car. When the men stepped out of the vehicle in a strange flashy uniform, she rubbed her eyes in disbelief. "Are those Estharian uniforms?"

"Ms. Caraway!" One man yelled as he approached her car slowly.

"…Yes?"

"Ma'am, you must come with us. We will not harm you, but please do not ask us any questions."

"…But why?"

"We'll try to explain later, but for the time being, would you come with us?"

"…Um, sure." As if I really have a choice here…

"That was really something, you gave us quite the run back there." Rinoa could swear the soldier was smiling at that moment.

"…You mean you were driving that other vehicle?"

"Yes, but since we're familiar with this land, we found a short cut and blocked your path." Yes, he was obviously smiling confidently now. Rinoa sighed in relief when she realized these soldiers hadn't meant any harm.

"…Can you really blame me for getting scared? I mean, you don't just charge that big thing into the path of people's cars like that!"

The soldier had to laugh at her, "Forgive us, it's been so long since we've been this active. I guess we were eager to have you."

"…I suppose."

"Please, Ma'am, this way."

Rinoa was 'kidnapped' and forced to ride in the same vehicle that could have taken her life just a few moments ago. She sat in the back of the car and looked at the floor. There weren't any windows, and the interior consisted of hard seats covered in cloth that were built for war; seats that commanded soldiers and kept the attitude of not wanting a soldier to get to comfortable in his seat, otherwise he would never charge out on the field. There wasn't much to look at, except a few other soldiers that were silent and facing forward.

She began to wonder where they were taking her. How in the world did Esthar get all the way over here to kidnap me? She looked at her hands and clasped them together in her lap. Why in the world are they targeting me? Squall, it looks like for once, you won't be able to help me. She looked at the floor and sighed. …I wonder what he's dreaming about right now? Hmm…at least he can sleep soundly now. Still, a coma is the worst form of sleep. Come on Rinoa, you said you wouldn't think about his condition right now. …But really, what else is there to do?

She faced forward just like the soldiers were. Wherever they were going, wherever they were taking her, was now her main concern.

Squall had gone to the cafeteria and eaten before he headed back to his room. His back still ached, but it wasn't as bad as it had been that morning. He lied across his bed and embraced a pillow while closing his eyes.

Without her, there wasn't much else to do. Usually, he'd have to spend the entire day trying to get away from her, but now that she was gone…he wondered what was so important that made him push her away. Squall was obviously bored without her. He could always make an activity to keep his mind off of her, but he just didn't have it in him to do anything else.

He thought back to their first encounter, the night they really met, the journey to Dollet, the boat ride, to arriving and staying in Balamb: Every memory he had of her, she was smiling, unless it involved him hurting her, whether it were physically or emotionally. He noticed that she would talk to him even after he gave her the cold shoulder. So many people would have given up and left him alone, but Rinoa, she continued to be there for him.

Her smile was permanently etched into his memory. He knew every crease and curve it formed. Her brown eyes usually lit up brightly whenever she laughed really hard, and her laughter was wonderful. Not some hideous horselaugh like some women have whenever they laughed beyond their limits, but a peaceful laughter. He never realized a person could make such a heavenly sound.

He remembered when they were both on the ground, wounded and unable to move very much, and she smiled to him. They were both dying and yet Rinoa had enough energy to smile. She was careless and had tossed herself in his way to protect him. That was why he couldn't let her die, and that was why he cured her so quickly after discovering she was shot as well.

She would throw herself before someone as insignificant as he to take in the attack? All those times he had treated her so unfairly, and yet she saved his life whilst risking her own. He felt his heart racing again, but this time he allowed it to continue. There wasn't anything he could do about his heart's pace, seeing that Rinoa was the cause of its rhythmic patterns; he knew he would end up thinking about her again. Squall closed his eyes and tightened his arms around the pillow. Rinoa…