Chapter four:
Selphie rolled out of the bed and began to panic. 'She's back? What's that supposed to mean?' Rinoa asked as Selphie began freaking out.
"What are we gonna do Rin!" Selphie yelled at a confused Rinoa. She just sat there dumbfounded on what could possibly be going on.
"Ok Selphie, calm down, first of all, you need to tell me what's going on." Rinoa sat Selphie down on the bed, when she sprang up again and began to pace.
"She's back I told you already!" Selphie yelled at Rinoa, not loudly enough to be scared, but loud enough to get the attention of Squall, who was sitting in the kitchen.
"Who is 'She'?" Rinoa asked calmly adding, "Camille?" Selphie stopped pacing and looked at Rinoa.
"I wouldn't be this panicky if Camille was back! I would be leaping for joy," there was a long pause when she said quietly, " Ultimecia. She's back. I don't know what were going to do." Selphie said quieting down quite a bit, as Squall walked up to stand in the doorway.
"Is everything okay in here girls?" Squall asked, crossing his arms. Rinoa looked at him with her eyes wide. She felt her body hit the floor, but it really didn't phase her. Too much was going on in her mind.
"Selph, are you positively sure that Ultimecia is back? How could we possibly know? She's been gone for at least three years. Why would she come back now?" Rinoa asked Selphie, who stared at her blankly, not knowing any of the answers to those questions.
"Rinoa, calm down, if we got rid of her last time, we can certainly do it again." Squall said, moving down to the now teary eyed Rinoa and held her in his arms.
"Squall, we aren't in the same shape we were when we fought Ultimecia the first time. It's been a long time since I've even picked up my blaster edge, let alone shoot it." Rinoa made Squall realize something.
"You're right, I haven't been working out much since I got my job with the detective force, and I would more than likely have problems picking up my gunblade." Rinoa looked up at Squall, fearing that they would never be able to do what they once did.
"But still," Squall said breaking the silence, "We have a pretty good chance of being able to get back what we once used so often. We will have to train and train hard, but in the end, we will be strong again, and be able to defend our world from the evils of a Sorceress." Squall said tightening his embrace around Rinoa.
"Hey buddy, don't forget who you're talking to." Rinoa said jokingly, getting a giggle from Selphie who sat behind them on the bed.
The phone rang and Squall asked Selphie to answer it. She jogged her way to the phone and answered it quickly.
"Hello? Leonhart residence." Selphie said flatly. There was a pause then a familiar voice spoke quickly.
"Selphie? Is that you?" It was Quistis' proper English accent that gave her away.
"Yes Quisty, it's me. Irvine and I are staying at Squall and Rinoa's house for the time being. Do you need to talk to either of them?" Selphie asked getting a refusal from Quistis.
"No actually, I wanted to talk to Irvine, but I somehow misplaced his number, but if he is there could you put him on?" Quistis paused while Selphie explained.
"No he's not here, but I can give you his cell number, he should be here whenever he gets done with his errands." Selphie said finding her purse on the entryway table and whipping out her cell phone.
"We each got new phones for our anniversary, and I still haven't mastered this phone yet, hold on while I find his number." Selphie said clicking through all the menus until she finally reached her phone book. She scrolled down until she reached Irvine's number and said it slowly to Quistis.
"Is that all you need Quisty? Because we're sort of in a dilemma right now." Selphie said looking back to Squall and Rinoa in her room who seemed as if they were frozen in time.
"Yes that's all I need. What's going on over there?" Quistis asked obviously paying close attention to what Selphie had mentioned.
"I had this startling premonition that Ultimecia came back, and I'm trying to figure out if it is real, or if I'm just trying to get over the sorceress war." Selphie explained to Quistis.
"That's really strange, because Seifer has been acting really weird, like he locked himself up in his room, and has been screaming out, 'What have I done?' and been crying ever since we got back to our place." Quistis confessed to Selphie.
"Well, if we find anything out we'll let you know." Selphie said saying her goodbyes and hanging up the phone. She went back into her room, and sat down on the bed, behind Rinoa and Squall.
"Squall, don't leave me to be taken captive of Ultimecia." Rinoa said looking up into Squall's grey cloudy eyes.
Bleary eyed Squall asked who it was, and was told Quistis' story. He looked puzzled, and spoke in a low scratchy voice, noticeably being on the verge of crying, saying, "If we must put ourselves out on the line to defeat ultimecia once more, I am willing. Hyne forbid anything horrible happens before we can put a plan into action. I will search far and wide for her, and will not stop until we have ended her life."
"Seifer, I have some food for you. Are you hungry?" Quistis asked Seifer through the solid oak door. He apparently had been crying, and Quistis could hear the uncertainty in his voice.
"How could you love a man like me? I killed thousands of people, out of sheer pleasure. Even I can't live with myself. How can you?" He asked still trying to mask sobs behind the door.
"What are you talking about Seifer?" Quistis asked getting a snappy response from her loved one.
"You know what the hell I'm talking about! Don't try to lie to me!" Quistis jumped. She wasn't used to seeing Seifer like that. 'What could make Seifer act like this?' Quistis asked herself thinking about what Selphie had said earlier. 'Could it possibly be Ultimecia, bringing his old memories back as if he had done it yesterday?' Quistis felt bad for Seifer, and wanted to be there to hold him.
"Seifer, I love you no matter what you do. If you can't see that, then what do we have?" Quistis asked making sure Seifer couldn't hear her; she wouldn't want to give him any more grief than what was already burdening him. She backed away from the door, knowing fully that Seifer would be emotionally unstable for a while, and that it was best to leave him alone. So she left the house.
"Hey Zell, something doesn't feel right." Ellone said bringing a bowl of popcorn into the living room. Zell had a plate of hotdogs in his lap. He shrugged and pushed the play button on the remote. Zell set the remote down and began to stuff hotdogs into his mouth viciously.
"Zell stop. I don't feel right, there's something wrong here." Ellone said taking the remote and pausing the movie. She got up and called Quistis and Seifers house, and got no answer.
"That's weird. They always answer the phone." Ellone said hanging up the phone and dialed Selphie and Irvine's number. She got an answer, but it wasn't what she was expecting.
"Hello? Officer Campbell here." It was a deep voice, and definitely wasn't Irvine playing a prank.
"Hello is Selphie or Irvine there?" Ellone asked shakily. There was a pause an dsome whispering in the background.
"Yes, you have the right number, but no, Selphie and Irvine aren't here. They have taken shelter somewhere else, so we can find any evidence that can help their case." 'their case?' Ellone wondered to herself.
"Is there a number I can reach them at?" Ellone asked beginning to worry that something bad happened to her friends.
"Yes there is." The man told Ellone the number which she soon recognized to be Squall and Rinoa's number.
"Thank you sir." Ellone said as she hung up the phone and rapidly dialed Squall and Rinoa's number.
"Hello, you've reached the Leonhart residence, please leave a message for us after the beep." Rinoa's voice rang through the device into Ellone's ear. 'Please someone pick up!' Ellone thought as she heard a click.
"Hello?" It was Rinoa who answered.
"Rinoa!" Ellone screeched through the phone, which made Rinoa pull the receiver away from her ear. She waited until the yelling stopped and put the phone back up to her ear.
"Rin?" Ellone asked suddenly quieting down.
"What's up Ell?" Rinoa asked looking at Squall who looked at her questioningly.
"Well, Zell and I were watching a movie, and I suddenly got this horrible feeling, and so I called Quisty, and I got no answer, so then I called Selphie and Irvine's place and some police officer answered the phone. I'm so worried about them. What happened?" Rinoa sighed not really wanting to give out details, but knew Ellone needed to know.
"Well," Rinoa said sighing deeply adding suspense to the story, "Last night something horrible happened."