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Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or places in this story. I only own the plot and three characters. (Why do I feel like I'm missing a character somewhere?)

Chapter Twenty-Two

Rinoa woke the next morning by someone constantly shaking her arm. She kept her eyes closed, hoping whoever it was would go away. She didn't want to move. She was warm and comfortable.

"Rinoa! Get up!" Quistis harshly whispered in an attempt to wake the stubborn girl. Somewhere along the line last night, Squall had fallen asleep, and now he was being rudely woken up. He swatted at Quistis' hand by Rinoa's arm. Quistis threw her hands up in defeat.

"You two are impossible!" she said loudly.

"What's wrong Quistis?" Irvine asked, sitting up. Geez, talk about bedhead.

"I can't get Squall and Rinoa up. We have to leave soon and they're still asleep!" She flopped down on the empty bed beside the two of them.

Irvine walked over to the Instructor. He inspected the two sleeping forms. "Rinoa's awake and I believe Squall is too."

At the sound of his name, Squall opened an eye. Quistis glared at him. "Get up!" She hissed. Squall looked down at Rinoa who now rested on his chest.

"I'd love to. Just one problem." Quistis was becoming annoyed. (Wait a minute, becoming?) She reached over and nudged the sleepy girl.

"Come on, Rinoa! Get up!" Quistis shook her harder. Irvine chuckled.

"There is an easier way, you know." He put a hand on Rinoa's arm and one on her knee and shoved her. She rolled completely over the side of the bed. Squall resisted the urge to laugh but couldn't control the smile. He looked over at Irvine who was smiling smugly and nodded.

"Ouch!" Rinoa muttered as she sat up rubbing her head. Irvine laughed, and Squall's smile broadened.

"Well, it's about time!" Quistis snapped. "We have a job to do and just wasted twenty minutes to wake you two!" Disgusted, she left the room.

Squall climbed out of bed and held out a hand to his girlfriend. She took it and he helped her up. Rinoa's face was a deep red. Irvine was still laughing at her. In embarrassment, she hid her face in Squall's chest. The smile on Squall's face got all the more broader.

Quistis popped her head into the room. Those two were really making her mad. "Will you two come on! Really!"

Rinoa blushed again and broke away from Squall to head over to Quistis. He followed behind her, trying hard not to laugh. Quistis was tapping her foot impatiently, waiting on them. She hated waiting when there was something important to be done.

The three of them walked out to the Airstation where the Ragnarok was currently stationed. Once on board, they discussed what to do.

"Okay," Quistis sat in the seat behind the pilot seat. "What's the plan? Where do we start?" Squall moved over to the pilot seat, and Rinoa stood beside Quistis, knowing that she would get nervous once they started off.

Squall stared off past the boundary of Esthar, thinking. His mind kept wandering and he couldn't stay on the same topic for very long.

"Squall?" Rinoa tapped him on the shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He turned away from her. "Where do we start?" His mind had been wandering again, and he didn't hear the previous conversation.

"Where have you been, Squall? That's what we just asked you!" Quistis 'kindly' informed him.

"Oh," he dropped his eyes to the floor. He had too much swimming around in his head. Rinoa sensed something was bothering him, but didn't push him.

"Why don't we start at the Sorceress' Memorial? It's been unused since our break in. Since no one's been in there, she could go there for some obscure reason," Quistis suggested. Silence. "Well, let's go," she shuddered.

Rinoa searched through Squall with her eyes, but never moved from Quistis' side. The blonde began to grip the seat in sheer terror as they took off.

Nobody said anything on the ride to the Sorceress' Memorial. Nobody wanted to say anything. Quistis was frozen in her stature. She hated, no, loathed flying. Rinoa was extremely quiet which was making Squall uncomfortable. The look on her face was forlorn and neglected. He felt like he had done something, so now he was quiet too. Rinoa couldn't help wondering if Squall even wanted her there with him.

Upon landing, they stepped off the Ragnarok. The air around them was heavy and eerie. Something didn't seem right.

Rinoa was suddenly drawn back into that feeling she experienced yesterday, and she didn't like it.

"Keep your weapons, just in case," Squall commanded, pulling out his gunblade. "Let's go."

Armed, they walked into the deserted building. What was normally a very neat and orderly building, was now a disaster area. The equipment was destroyed with the exception of one computer that monitored the area around the moon where Adel's seal had been.

"Ultimecia must be playing it safe," Qusitis said after inspecting the destroyed equipment. "She's making sure we can't capture her. I expect her next goal is Lunatic Pandora once again."

"Then why is there just one computer left?" Rinoa asked.

Squall nodded from his crouched position by one of the monitors.

"Look at this," he kept his voice low in case they weren't alone. The other two came down beside him. He moved a finger through a pile of shattered glass. Underneath was a deformed sort of key.

"What's that?" Quistis asked.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, this pile was put here to hide it," Squall replied. Next to him, Rinoa had become a tad jittery.

"What do we do with it? Should we take it just in case it's something Ultimecia could use to achieve Time-Compression?" Quistis asked, her voice wavering.

"I...don't know. It could be a trap or something extremely dangerous," Squall replied. He felt Rinoa grab his arm. He put it around her to let her know that she was safe there with him.

"What's wrong?" he whispered. She was shaking.

"Should we touch it?" Quistis asked, unable to control the nervousness in her voice.

"I don't think we should." Squall tightened his grip on Rinoa to try and steady her.

"What's wrong?" he asked her sternly.

Rinoa bit her lower lip nervously. Quistis looked over at Rinoa. He face was so pale.

"Rinoa?" Quistis looked from Squall to Rinoa again.

"We have to get out of here now," Rinoa spoke in a small voice. "Now!" They stared at her.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash, and everything went black.

A?N: Ooh! Lookie! I rememebered the nifty little bar! Go me! (Does a little dance)I'm just gonna go now...Later Days!

E/N: Yeah but you forgot the / this time. Ah well. Good chapter! R&R guys!

A/N: Forgot the what?

E/N: Read your first Author's Note. -nod- Note the editor notices and she doesn't. ;D

A/N: OH! I get it! And it took three days! That's funny... and sad...