Fragile Existence

Chapter Two


The train station isn't far from my house, so I don't have too much walking to do, nor do I have much time to really think straight. In fact, I can't seem to process anything through my mind because of this massive headache I have. I'm slightly concerned about the headaches; almost concerned enough to speak to Dr. Odine about them. I know I may just be paranoid, but what if these headaches are being caused by something other than stress and worry? Then again, maybe I shouldn't worry about them and they'll just go away by themselves.

As I approached the train station, the familiar sounds brought a flash of happiness. I remembered my days as Leader of the Timber Forest Owls and how I was so dedicated to my job. Those days are over now, though. I sometimes wish I could go back to being the way I used to be, before I became a Sorceress… Sigh… I bought my ticket and sat down on one of the benches while I waited for the train to arrive.

The man sitting next to me was reading the Deling Daily: the local newspaper. I couldn't help but scan the newspaper for any articles about Squall, or anything out of the ordinary. One article in particular caught my eye. It was something about the random appearances of monsters within the cities. This was something that normally never happened, in fact there was only one time when monsters appeared in the cities, and that was during the Lunar Cry. As far as I'm concerned, there is no Lunar Cry going on at the moment.

Before I had the chance to ask the man if I could borrow his newspaper, the train pulled in to the station. The man looked at his watch an stood up while folding the newspaper. Shortly after, he disappeared in the crowd of people. I stood up as well and made my way over to the train and gave the man my ticket. I got on board and found myself a small private room and sat down. A newspaper sat on the seat opposite from me. Without hesitation, I leaned over and picked it up.

I settled in my seat and leaned against the window. It will be a few hours before we arrive in Dollet, and from there I'll have to take a boat over to Balamb which will be another hour or so. I opened the newspaper and scanned the pages until I came across an article titled, "Mysterious Monsters: An Early Sign Of Lunar Cry?" I continued to read on.

There have been several reports in the past week of monsters mysteriously appearing within the cities. Normally, this would never happen until a Lunar Cry, which has only ever happened twice in the past seventeen years. Could this be a sign of another apocalyptic event? Scientists around the world debate the issue.

"It couldn't possibly be another Lunar Cry," Dr. P. Torama of Timber states. "We only just witnessed the second recorded Lunar Cry in history; it is much too soon for another one to happen. It's just impossible. With the Sorceress War over, who could possibly be controlling a Lunar Cry anyway?"

Another theory that has surfaced is the theory of left-over threads of Time Compression slowly coming undone. "I believe that when the Time Compression took place, several monsters were caught in it's threads, and now it is slowly winding down, causing the monsters to appear out of nowhere, in odd places such as the cities," says Adria Grendel, a student of Galbadia Garden. "Since the end of The War, I've been studying the effects of the Time Compression. Although I can't say my research is completely accurate, and most of it is hypothesis, I do believe that these monster appearances have something to do with the Time Compression."

Even though our biggest threat has been abolished, we still have to watch our backs. Volunteer cadets from each of the Gardens have been dispatched around the world to help protect civilians from the monsters. To date, there have been no reports of any deaths, but there have been several attacks. No one knows how long this will last for, but we can only hope that it is coming to an end soon.

A glimmer of hope sparked in my heart again. Could it be true? Are these monsters the remnants of the Time Compression? If they have been spontaneously appearing again, in our time, could it be possible that Squall is still caught in the threads of Time Compression? I can only hope that he will appear in front of me at any moment. I closed my eyes and imagined him. His comforting cold eyes locked on to mine gave me a sense of safety. I can always count on Squall to keep me safe…

I opened my eyes again and set the paper down. I pulled out my journal and began to write again.

Could it be possible that Squall is still attached to the threads of Time Compression? An article in the newspaper says that monsters have been appearing randomly throughout the cities. I'm sure they've also been appearing elsewhere as well, such as the deserts and plains. No one would know though because monsters are always roaming the continents. Will Squall randomly appear again? What if he is dropped off in the middle of the ocean!

My head began to hurt more than ever. Just thinking about Squall drowning in the middle of the ocean made my heart sink into oblivion. What if he had randomly appeared in the snowy mountains of Trabia? What if he froze to death? I'll never be able to see him again! I took a deep breath and held it in for a moment before releasing. Squall would be able to survive; he can survive anything. He has his Guardian Forces with him and they will help him if he is ever in peril.

I began to breath normally again and continued to write.

I just need to calm down. I'm sure Squall can handle anything the world throws at him. I just have to keep my fingers crossed and hope that he will make it back in one piece, and still alive.

This girl, Adria Grendel, a student at Galbadia Garden, has this theory that the monsters are randomly appearing because they are slowly being let out of the Time Compression. It sounds a bit strange that the Time Compression hasn't fully worn off yet, but I now believe that can be a possibility. I plan on visiting Adria some time on this journey. I have a lot of people I need to see, and now she's another one to add to the ever-growing list. I first need to speak with Cid though. I'm not quite sure what I am going to ask him exactly. I'm kind of just going with the wind here; I'm going where my mind is telling me to without much thought. Cid has a lot of connections to people, so I'm sure some way or another, he will be able to help me.

Cid can take me to Edea, I think I will ask her about these headaches. I'm sure if they have anything to do with being a Sorceress, she will know. I should probably rest up now. Maybe if I fall asleep, my headache will be gone by the time I awaken.

I read over my entry again to make sure I didn't leave anything out. Slowly, I closed the journal and sat it next to me with the pen sitting on top of it. I looked out the window and watched the day go by as we crossed the desert. I felt my eyes begin to get heavy as I stretched and yawned. The warmth of the sun flooding through the window made me feel overpoweringly tired. I closed my eyes and let myself fall into sleep…

I awoke as I was suddenly jerked off of my seat and flung to the opposite side of the small room. I forgot all about my headache as I was now in immense pain from being jolted from my seat. I heard screaming outside and there was a sudden thud. A shockwave passed through me as the train rumbled. I looked out the window and noticed the train had stopped. Out of curiosity, I reached up and unlocked the window to slide it open. I cautiously peeked my head outside and nothing could prepare me for what I saw next; there was a huge monster stopped on the tracks.

Quickly, I ran out of the small room and down the hall towards one of the doors. There were people running around like idiots screaming their brains out as the conductor was trying to keep them calm. A few cadets that were riding the train were in battle stance outside, preparing themselves for battle. I don't have my Valkyrie with me, but I do have magic. I rushed over to aid them in battle, but one of the male cadets told me to stand back.

I was slightly insulted, but I know he is only trying to protect me. I stood back and watched as they engaged in battle with the enormous creature. Somehow, it looked oddly familiar; I think I've seen it before, but I can't quite put my finger on it. It looks alarmingly similar to a Behemoth, but it's larger and slightly different.

Suddenly I knew where I had seen this creature before; it was one of the monsters from Ultimecia's castle. I thought we had destroyed that monster back when we were there, before the Time Compression. Could it be possible that the Time Compression disrupted more than just the present time? Could it have disrupted the past as well, intertwining it with threads of everything else? It's far too confusing to think about, in fact, I don't even know what I'm currently thinking. I can't seem to make sense of it, but somehow it makes sense without having to.

I shook my head in confusion and watched the cadets fight off the large monster. I studied it as I stood there, looking for anything out of the ordinary, anything that would help me to understand the random appearance of the monsters linked to the Time Compression. To my dismay, there wasn't anything abnormal about the creature, and it didn't seem to have any strange effects on the cadets who came into contact with it.

My head began to throb again and a sharp pain jolted up my spine. I felt myself falling towards the ground; I had been struck by something. I began to breath heavily, trying to fill my lungs with air, but the sharp pains were too much to handle. There was an abrupt silence that startled me; I couldn't hear anything, not even the throb in my head. Am I breathing? What is going on?

"Rinoa… Rinoa! Where are you?" that voice… I know that must be Squall! "Am I… alone?" his voice echoed in my head.

"Squall!" I shouted into the darkness. It was too dark to tell where I was, or if I was even in existence. "You're not alone Squall! I'm here!" I yelled as loud as I could, trying to follow his voice.

"Will I ever get back home?" Squall questioned.

"Squall!" I called out.

"Rinoa…" there was a quiver in his voice. I couldn't find him anywhere. I ran without moving, I screamed without making a sound and I cried without tears. How was I ever to find him if I was trapped in darkness?

"Are you all right?" I opened my eyes and found myself back in the train. There was someone sitting next to me with his hands on my shoulders. I couldn't quite see straight, but… Could it be? Is it Squall?

"Squall?" my voice was quiet and shaky.

"Sorry…" the voice apologized. "I'm not Squall. My name is Alexander. I'm a cadet from Galbadia Garden. I saw you get struck by one of the monsters and so I brought you here to see if you were all right. How are you feeling?" I rubbed my eyes and took a good look at Alexander. He was about Squall's age. He almost had the same hair… But just a bit lighter. His eyes were an endless abyss of ice blue and his skin was lightly colored, like Zell's. His appearance somewhat bewildered me because of the strange resemblance to Squall.

"I'm fine," my voice was still shaky, but a little more pronounced. I pulled my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them tightly. Although Alexander reminds me of Squall in a strange way, I don't want him to be here right now. I need time to myself. I always need time to myself these days, but now more than ever.

"Are you sure?" his calm voice was soothing. I looked out the window again and noticed we were moving again.

"Yeah, I'm fine," again, I lied. "I just need some time to myself. I'm sorry, but I have a lot on my mind." Without saying a word, he nodded and left me alone in the small room. Soon we should be arriving at the train station in Dollet. It will only be a matter of time before I finally reach Balamb.