Disclaimer: I make no claim whatsoever to the characters or world of Final Fantasy VIII, which is the property of Squaresoft/Square Enix.
Chapter VI
Rinoa felt a chill sweep across the back of her neck the moment she stepped through the automatic doors to the lobby of O-Lab. There was a distinctive smell to the place: a mix of antiseptic cleaning fluid, hot machinery, and some sort of synthetic mintiness that set her teeth on edge. Perhaps it was a lingering memory, embedded in her subconscious. Rinoa had been comatose the entire time that Odine had kept her here for observations many months before, but her nasal receptors seemed to recognize the place well enough.
She had stopped mid-stride without realizing. Irvine's hand pressed lightly on her shoulder.
"Need a moment first?" he said in a low tone.
"No. Let's do what we're here for." She pushed forward to the reception desk, and they were ushered into a waiting room, the data-panels on its walls flickering with fast-moving strings of numbers.
It was not long before Odine bustled into the room, his black eyes glittering with excitement. "Sorceress Rinoa! Vat a great honor. It has been too long. Much too long." He reached out to grasp her hands, and she froze.
"The honor's all ours, Doctor." Irvine stepped to Rinoa's side and smiled pleasantly, the warning in his eyes forceful enough to make Odine shrivel back.
"The President haz told me some nonsense about your request. He iz always talking nonsense; this iz his way. Please, explain the details yourselves."
Rinoa paused to let Irvine speak first, but he did not, so she launched into a summary of Selphie's unexpected transformation, her attack on Irvine, and the question of whether Selphie's magic could be subdued by an external force.
Odine, who had been nodding along to her words, began to pace in a tight circle. "Hmm. Yes, zis may be possible."
"You think so?"
"You are ze Sorceress. I am not. You can see ze magic. Feel ze magic. I can only theorize. But you may be able to look inside her mind and pull ze magic out. Yes, I think so. You are a strong Sorceress. Zis Tilmitt girl, she is unstable, crazy. She will not be able to stop you, I think."
Irvine's whole body had tensed up at the word 'crazy', and Rinoa discreetly leaned against his arm. I know, I know. But we have to stay calm, she thought, wishing his mind was available to her in the way Squall's was.
"But how? How would I do it?" she asked.
Odine stopped pacing, and fixed her with a bright stare. "When you access your own magic, you 'see' it in your mind, iz this correct?"
"Yes, I suppose so."
"And then you pull on zat magic until it comes out. Very much like ze Draw process, no?"
"I... I never thought of it in that way."
Odine grinned, baring his stubby little teeth. "Zis is not your fault. Zis is because you do not have ze Great Odine's mind." He tapped the side of his head obnoxiously. "Let us return to my point. You are accustomed to Drawing magic from an adversary in battle, yes?"
"Well, of course."
"There. You have ze answer." He folded his arms, and bobbed up and down.
Rinoa stared at him, trying to make sense of his words. "You think I can just Draw all her magic out of her, as if it was a dozen Firagas?"
"The process is ze same. Only ze order of magnitude iz different. Yes, I believe zis is how you received your own powers, Sorceress Rinoa."
"Me?" she protested. "But I didn't-"
"No, no, not yourself. Ultimecia switched her consciousness from Edea to you, using my amazing Junction Machine, and then she Drew Edea's powers into you." Odine snapped his fingers. "Just like zat."
"I... Wow. I guess it makes sense, but..." Rinoa ran her fingertips around the two silver rings threaded on the chain at her throat, Squall's Griever, and her mother's wedding band. She blinked at Odine, still unconvinced.
Irvine adjusted his hat, frowning. "So why doesn't that happen to Sorceresses all the time? If their powers can be Drawn so easily?"
Odine tutted at him. "'Easily'. I did not say zis. No, only an exceptionally powerful Sorceress could do zis. Ultimecia was exceptionally powerful. Sorceress Rinoa is her heir, through Edea's powers. And let us not forget that she is also ze heir of Adel. Therefore, Sorceress Rinoa is exceptionally-exceptionally powerful. Miss Tilmitt stands no chance."
The doctor turned his face back to Rinoa, eyes gleaming with admiration, and she had a sudden desire to take a long, hot shower, to scrub the places his greedy gaze had touched with a thick lather of Dolletian soap.
"If I try..." she began. "Will it hurt her?"
"Zat, I cannot say. It iz unlikely to kill her." He waved a dismissive hand. "Zis is sufficient for your purposes, no?"
Rinoa's eyes slid to meet Irvine's. His were stony, hard. Cold.
"How likely is 'unlikely'?" he asked, in a tone of voice Rinoa knew was dangerous.
Odine shrugged. "Zis is not a precise matter. You vant statistics, you go to a mathematician. You vant magical theory, you come to Odine."
That was the best they could get out of him; there was no further guarantee to be had. Rinoa and Irvine left O-Lab under a blanket of heavy silence, which Irvine only broke once they had reached the grand entrance of the Presidential Palace.
"Think he's right?" he said, his expression grim.
"I don't know. It might be our only shot. I..." She swallowed. "I won't hurt her intentionally, Irvine. You must know that."
"'Course. Neither will I."
Ward greeted them by the main elevator and led them to Laguna's office, his vast form towering high above Rinoa as he walked. She could not help finding Ward comical in the traditional Esthari robes of the political class, the way the white silk stretched almost to tearing point across his broad shoulders, the green hat perched on the top of his balding head. No wonder Laguna eschewed it all for a loosely-buttoned shirt and comfortable sandals. Ward gestured at her and Irvine to enter the room, and shuffled off down the corridor.
Laguna sprung up from his desk immediately to meet them at the door. "Was he any help?" A worried furrow spread across the President's brow. "Kept thinkin' I should've gone with you. It's just, me'n Odine, we always end up in an argument, and... I didn't want to get in the way, you know?"
He was half-babbling, and Rinoa wondered why he was so nervous. Laguna barely knew Selphie; it was unlikely to be out of concern for her. More likely, she reasoned, he was anxious to prove himself to be of use to Squall. This was the first official contact between Garden and Esthar in several months, and she was unsure whether there had been any unofficial communications between Squall and his father in the meantime. Squall disliked it when she brought up the subject, and Rinoa had decided to let it drop. She would not be happy, after all, if Squall took it upon himself to badger her to reunite with Caraway. This was a matter for father and son.
"Dr. Odine gave us some practical suggestions," she replied. "It's the best we could have hoped for. We're grateful to you, Mr. President."
"Ah, now, Rinoa, you really must start callin' me Laguna. Seein' as we're almost family." He flashed her a wide smile, and she returned it, even though she knew Squall would be cringing if he could see them both.
"We'll give it all we can, sir," announced Irvine, overtly ignoring the moment that had passed between Rinoa and the President.
Laguna nodded at him with approval. "I'm sure you will. Is there anything else Esthar can do, or provide for you? I've heard that Miss Tilmitt is... ah... one of my biggest fans." A touch of pink had risen in his face, and he scratched an ear self-consciously. "Wouldn't want to let her down."
Irvine stiffened again at Rinoa's side. She knew he was jealous of Selphie's infatuation with Laguna. Rinoa had once been present during an argument between Irvine and Selphie, when Irvine had attempted to convince Selphie to take the website she had dedicated to Laguna offline.
It was one thing when you thought he was a dream. But now we know he's real, he's the goddamn President of Esthar! Don't you realize how creepy it looks?
It is not creepy, Irvy! It's a touching tribute to him! She turned to Rinoa, eyes pleading. Rin, help me out.
Well, Selphie, she had hedged, the thing is, we also know that he's Squall's father now. Which makes it kind of weird for Squall. I think it might be better if...
Selphie had crossed her arms and glared at Rinoa, betrayed. Squall's never complained to me about it. Not once.
C'mon, Sefie! You think Squall's gonna come up to you and say 'hey, stop running an online shrine to my pops'? He can barely bring himself to say the guy's name!
Selphie had stormed off, and added a new entry to the Laguna page that very afternoon, in an admirable show of defiance. Rinoa wondered if Laguna knew of the website's existence. If he did, it might explain the color on his cheeks right now.
"We won't let her down," she said firmly, to Irvine as much as to Laguna. "I can promise that."
They excused themselves, and Irvine marched out of the door, his hat pulled low over his face. Laguna stepped forward to keep the door held open for Rinoa, leaning down to her as he did.
"I was just wonderin'... Squall, is he...?"
"He's fine," she said.
"Think he's ready to talk?"
The note of sadness, of longing, the misplaced hope in his eyes was almost too much for her; he looked so much like his son in that moment. Rinoa fought her instincts hard. She wanted so much to say yes. But Squall would not welcome her making such a decision for him, she was sure of that.
"It's not for me to say," she said, as gently as she could, trying not to watch Laguna's face as his hope crumbled away. "I'm sorry."
"No, I... I get it." Laguna brushed a lock of hair away from his eyes and managed a weak smile. "Give him my best, at least, would you?"
"Of course." She was not sure what possessed her, but she stood on the toes of her boots and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'm sure we'll see you soon, Laguna."
He was stunned for a moment, then beamed at her warmly, and the warmth stayed with her as she jogged down the corridor to catch Irvine up. Rinoa was relieved that he had not witnessed her goodbye to the President. It would not have improved Irvine's mood one iota, and she was not even sure herself that she had done the right thing.
"Ready?" Irvine asked while she caught her breath.
"Ready," Rinoa said, and she was. Ready to get the hell out of Esthar, and to put Odine's plan into practice.
Ready to get Selphie back, no matter what.