Chapter 13 – Make Them Listen
Kylah was settled cozily across her bed, engrossed in a novel. She had changed into a comfortable pair of pajamas, and had slipped her bare feet into her moogle slippers. The trill of her videophone resting on the bed next to her grabbed her attention. She quickly lowered her book, and reached over to answer it.
Irvine's smiling face greeted her. "Hey, K!" he said. "What's shakin'?"
She smiled back at him. "Entirely too much. How 'bout you guys?"
"About the same. How's Squall?"
"Sulking," she replied, wryly.
Irvine nodded. "That's what he does best," he quipped.
"Yeah. The doctor released him, but he's under orders to rest and recuperate."
"That's good to hear. I'm sure he'll be back to his cranky old self in no time."
She laughed. "So, what have you got for me?"
Irvine turned serious. "We're still in Dollett for the moment, but we'll be headed toward FH early tomorrow. I have to say, we haven't been able to find out much. We have heard rumors of a new group that is calling themselves the Punishment Syndicate. The members are all pretty closed-mouthed, unfortunately. None of them seem to be willing to talk to anyone about the group's purpose or leadership."
"Punishment Syndicate," Kylah repeated, turning the name over in her mind. "Do you suppose it means anything?"
He shrugged. "If it does, I don't know what it could be. All I know is, this group smells like trouble. Big trouble."
Squall tossed and turned restlessly in his bed. The pain, combined with his emotional turmoil made it difficult to get any real rest. He dozed lightly, fighting to slip into a deeper, more relaxing sleep.
Abruptly, a familiar sensation gripped him. A buzzing in his head. The feeling of being ripped from his body, torn back into the past.
(Noooo…Not now, Ellone!)
(This is the only way I can get you to listen, Squall.)
"Laguna, man, you must be excited," Kiros' familiar voice met his ears.
(Oh, Elle. Of all people… why him?)
(Because, you refuse to see things from his point of view. So you're going to see it whether you like it or not.)
Laguna grinned back at Kiros, joy shining in his eyes. "You have no idea! I can't believe it's been over a year since I've seen her."
The two of them were seated together in a small aircraft bound for Winhill. Over a year before, Laguna had left the small village in search of Ellone. Four months before, he had found her and sent her back to Raine, along with a letter. Raine had replied to that letter, telling him that she loved him, was waiting for him, and had a surprise for him when he returned.
"Do you think she's going to go for this whole moving idea?" Kiros asked, thoughtfully. "I mean, she seems to love it where she is. I'm not sure how she's going to react to the idea of moving to Esthar to become the president's wife."
(You're too late! She's already gone. You let us both down!)
"Ah, it's just a temporary arrangement," Laguna waved off his arguments. "Just until I can make sure Adel is taken care of. The last thing I want is for her to go after Ellone again."
(He stayed in Esthar to protect Ellone?)
"Don't forget about the rest of the world," Kiros reminded him. "That crazy witch was terrorizing the entire planet. If you hadn't sealed her away…"
"Maybe…But that still doesn't make me the hero that everyone seems to think I am. I mean, making me president and all? What the heck do I know about running a country?"
"I know," Kiros agreed. "They seem like they're a smart bunch of people. You'd think they would make better decisions about who they want their leader to be."
(No kidding.)
"Hey look," Laguna said, ignoring Kiros' comment. "There it is!" Winhill, he thought to himself. Raine! Ellone! He pressed his face to the window straining for a better look.
(They're not there. Get over it.)
The aircraft landed neatly just outside of the village. Laguna bounded out almost before it had completely landed. He practically flew into the town, anxious for to see his wife again, with Kiros hot on his heels.
The town of Winhill was quiet when they entered. Laguna looked around, hoping to catch sight of a familiar face. "That's weird," he observed. "Town's not usually so…quiet this time of day."
"Maybe they're hiding," Kiros suggested. "The 'Monster Hunter of Winhill' has been gone for over a year, you know."
Laguna only laughed, and strode quickly up to the door of the pub. He flamboyantly threw open the front door, and dashed inside expecting to see his wife standing at her usual place behind the counter.
He was surprised to find another woman standing there. "Who are you?" he blurted out, confused. "Where's Raine?"
"Raine's gone," the woman replied, suspiciously. "Who the heck are you?"
(Yeah, she's gone. If you'd been there, you'd know that.)
Laguna's blinked. "I'm her husband. What do you mean, she's gone? Where is she? Where did she go."
The woman's eyes widened in recognition, then narrowed angrily. She threw her towel down on the bar, stalked over to the bottom of the steps leading up to the living quarters. "Charlie!" she called. "Come here!"
"What?" an annoyed masculine voice replied. "I'm busy. What do you wa—" he froze when he saw Laguna standing in the middle of the pub. "You!"
"Yes, me," Laguna replied. Yeesh, would these people never accept him? "Now can someone please tell me where the heck my wife went."
"Your wife," he spat the word as if it tasted bad, "is gone. She died. In August. Three months ago. If you had been here, you'd know that."
Laguna's heart froze. "What!" he cried. "What are you talking about? That can't be true!"
"Oh, it's true alright," Charlie replied, fury rising in his voice. "And if she'd never gotten involved with you, she'd still be here. So why did you come back? Wanting more? You had your fun, walked away, and now you're back to break her heart again?"
(No wonder he got so upset when I said that this afternoon.)
Laguna couldn't breathe. "No," he whispered. He closed his eyes, refusing to accept what he was hearing. "What happened?" he finally asked. "How did it happen?"
"It doesn't matter," Charlie shot back at him. "You weren't here when she needed you to be. It's too late to do anything about it."
"But I'm her husband," he shouted. "I have a right to know!"
"You lost that right when you walked out on her. As for being her husband, any kind of husband would have stood by her. That poor woman died of a broken heart, and it's all your fault!"
(Now that's a little harsh…)Laguna fell to his knees. Kiros hesitantly stepped forward to put a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. "Please, I'm begging, tell me what happened!" Laguna pleaded.
"Forget it!" Charlie retorted. "You don't deserve to know. You deserve to rot after what you put Raine through."
What he'd put her through? He'd just gone to save Ellone. Wasn't that what Raine wanted? Ellone! "Where's Ellone? What happened to her?"
"Doesn't matter. She's safely away from the likes of you."
Laguna felt like his world was crashing in around him. "Please tell me this is a dream," he whispered.
(More like a nightmare.)
"Come on," Kiros pleaded on his behalf. "The man has a right to know what happened to his wife."
"He doesn't have the right to know anything. And if he was smart, he'd get out of town while he still can."
(Hey, now come on! Kiros is right! He does have the right to know what happened!)"Come on, man," Kiros said to Laguna, softly. "I think it's probably a good idea to leave now."
"No," he whispered. "I'm staying here. I want to stay here."
Charlie reached behind the bar and pulled out a gun. "I think it's time you left," he said, cocking the gun.
Kiros grabbed Laguna by the arm and dragged him to his feet. "No arguments," he said. "We're getting outta here."
Laguna blindly allowed himself to be pulled along back toward the town entrance. Raine. She was gone. She couldn't be gone. If she was, that meant he would never hear her call his name again. Would never feel her arms around him. Would never kiss her again.
(That's how I felt when Rinoa died…)And Ellone. Had he gone to all of that for nothing? Was she still alive? What happened to her?
"No!" he suddenly cried, yanking his arm away from Kiros. "It's not true! It can't be! I'm not leaving until I know what happened!"
Kiros sighed. His heart ached for his friend, but he had a feeling that Laguna wasn't going to get the answers that he wanted. "Man, I know it hurts. But I don't think the people here are too happy to see you. You need to get out of here, and fast!"
"I said, I'm not leaving! Not until I get some answers!"
Movement off to the side caught Kiros' eye. He turned and gasped when he saw a large group of men headed their way, all armed and ready for battle. This doesn't look good…
"Laguna, we really need to go! These guys are gonna kill you!"
"I don't care! I don't want to live without Raine!"
(Wow. He really loves her…)
"We can talk about this later, now come on!"
Without waiting for Laguna to reply, Kiros grabbed him and forcibly shoved him out of the town and toward the waiting aircraft. He signaled for the pilot to start it up and get ready to go. Behind them, he could hear angry cries following them.
"It's all your fault!"
"She died because of you!"
"You took advantage of her, then left her!"
(Nooooo! Stop! Leave him alone!)Kiros managed to drag Laguna onto the airship and shoved him into his seat. He quickly signaled to the pilot, who closed the doors and prepared to take off.
Laguna could only sit and start blankly out the window, tears sliding down his cheeks. "Gone," he whispered. "They're both gone. The whole reason I've been fighting was to protect Elle and Raine. And now they're both gone." Leaning forward, he buried his face in his hands. "How am I gonna make it without them?"
The scene abruptly changed. He suddenly found himself back in the pub. It was dark and cozy. Rain fell softly on the windows outside.
"Doctor, please come quickly!" a female voice cried.
(I'm a doctor?)
Dr. Talbott moved quickly through the bar and toward the stairs. He caught sight of a small, silent child sitting quietly at one of the corner tables. She was clutching a small stuffed animal, and looked frightened.
He paused, then turned around. Stepping over to the child, he knelt next to her and patted her head. "Don't worry, Elle," he comforted. "Raine will be just fine."
She didn't look convinced.
(Ellone… When have you taken me to? What's going on?)
The doctor took the stairs two at a time and quickly arrived in Raine's private quarters above the pub.
Raine lay in one of the two beds, sweat pouring down her face, which was red with exertion. As another wave of pain overtook her, she groaned and doubled over. "Laguna!" she cried, helplessly. "Laguna, where are you?"
(Elle, please no. Not now. Not this!)
"So you weren't able to dig up anything else?"
Irvine shook his head. "Afraid not. Selphie and I have been working overtime, but haven't been able to find out anything more. I don't expect to find out much more, if anything, in FH. Those people do anything they can to avoid conflict and battle. You're best bet is going to be Quistis and Zell in Timber. We have contacts there in the underground. They'll probably be able to find out more."
"I'm expecting one of the two of them to call any minute," Kylah replied. "Let's hope they have been able to get the dirt." She yawned, tiredly.
"So, like, you look bushed," Irvine observed.
"I'm a little tired," she admitted. "Things are a little crazy here."
"What's going on?"
Kylah thought about Squall, Laguna, and Ellone. About all of the arguments and stress of the past few days. "I'm not at liberty to say," she finally said.
"Aw, c'mon, Deraldi. What's up?"
Her phone beeped to let her know she had another incoming call. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Oops! Looks like there's Quistis or Zell. Catch you later, Kinneas."
Before he had a chance to respond, she reached over and switched to the other line. This time, Quistis appeared on her screen.
"Let's hope you have more for me than Irvine and Selphie," Kylah said in greeting.
"I'm afraid I don't have a lot," Quistis replied apologetically. "We've contacted some old friends of ours here in Timber, but so far all we've managed to dig up here is a name."
"Let me guess. Punishment Syndicate."
"That's right. These guys seem to be pretty nasty, from what little bit we have managed to cook up. They're associated with some petty crime in the Galbadian territories, but no one has ever been able to get conclusive evidence that would make the charges stick, and we can't really put a name or a face with the organization."
Kylah sighed deeply. "Well, that does complicate things, doesn't it?"
"Laguna! Oh, Laguna! I wish you could be here!"
Raine's cries continued as she each contraction wracked her body. The doctor was doing the best he could for her, but as her labor grew longer and longer, he grew more and more fearful for her life and the life of her baby.
Quietly, he drew the midwife over into a corner. "It's not looking good," he whispered, hoping that Raine did not hear him.
(No! Don't give up on her!)
The midwife gave an angry little cry. "I wish she'd never gotten involved with that outsider!" she spat fiercely.
Raine cried out again, causing the midwife to look over her shoulder. "Is she going to make it, doctor?"
"We'll soon see, won't we?" He walked back over to the bed. "Raine," he said gently, wiping her forehead with a cool, damp cloth. "Raine, you really need to remain calm. Getting this upset is not good for you or the baby…"
"Laguna! Where is Laguna?" she cried in answer.
The doctor closed his eyes. Obviously, he wasn't going to be able to reason with her. He hoped one day he'd have a chance to get his hands on that soldier who had gotten her into this condition and then abandoned her.
(He didn't abandon her! Do something!)
Quickly, the doctor set to work. What seemed like hours later, a lusty cry joined Raine's in the tiny little room.
"Oh, what a beautiful boy!" the midwife cried, taking the squirming bundle from the doctor. She set about cleaning and wrapping him in a warm blanket that Raine had knitted for him.
The doctor turned his attention to Raine herself. Her eyes were closed as she lay still on her pillow. Her breathing had become shallow and raspy. He checked her pulse. It was light and irregular.
The midwife stepped over to him with the bundle in her arms. "Doctor?"
He looked up at the nurse gravely. "She's lost a lot of blood, and she's nursing a broken heart. There's not much hope."
(Of course there's hope! Get her to Deling City! To a hospital! Take her someplace where she can get some real help!)
Tears filling her eyes, the midwife gently placed the baby in the crook of Raine's arm. Her eyes fluttered open, then shifted down to her baby. She smiled, gently.
"Ellone," she whispered. "Where's Ellone?"
The doctor turned to the midwife, who nodded and went downstairs.
"Oh, Laguna," Raine sighed. "I wish you were here. I wish you could see him."
(He has seen me! Don't give up! You have to fight! We need you!)
A small sniffle was heard at the door. Raine turned and smiled at Ellone, who stood shyly in the doorway. "Come hear, sweetheart, and meet your brother."
Ellone tiptoed to the bedside and climbed up next to Raine. "He's little," she commented. "What's his name?"
Raine kissed the baby's forehead gently. "I think I'll name him Squall," she replied dreamily.
She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again and struggled to focus on Ellone. "Elle, I need you to promise me something. Promise me that you'll look after Squall, always. He's your little brother. He needs his big sister to take care of him right now."
(Hey, you stupid doctor! Do something! Isn't that what you're paid to do? Don't let her die!)
Ellone looked near tears. "But won't you take care of us?"
It was getting more difficult to stay awake. "I don't think I can, sweetheart." She sighed, deeply. "Always, remember, Elle, that I love you both."
Raine closed her eyes one last time. She took a long, deep breath, then let it out slowly. "Laguna," she whispered.
Then she was gone.
"Raine!" Ellone burst into tears. "Raine, wake up!"
(No! Do something! Someone! Anything!)
(I'm disconnecting now, Squall…)