LA VITA NUOVA

CHAPTER 5:

AN AWKWARD REUNION

Squall hadn't been to Deling City before, having only seen photos and videos. Now that he was here, he thought it gaudy and overcrowded. He much preferred the quiet of Balamb or Winhill. That, and the stares. Rinoa, after all, had a rather exotic appearance, and it was possible that she was known in Deling City.

As his eyes flickered around, keeping an eye out for anyone who might be hostile (Rinoa, after all, was the daughter of General Caraway), he asked, "How did you become estranged from your father?"

Rinoa scoffed. "That's a rather personal question."

"Consider it my trying to know more about my client to help the mission," Squall said. His instincts were jangling. They were being followed. "I normally don't try to get involved in other people's problems if I can help it."

"Unless it's for a mission? As a SeeD, a mercenary, you get involved in people's problems by default," Rinoa observed. After a time, Rinoa said, "It's complicated. Yes, I know, that's a cliché answer. Do you know anything about my mother?"

"Julia Heartilly, songwriter, best known for Eyes on Me. Your anecdote about her knowing Laguna Loire was probably the most I've heard about her. And him, for that matter."

Rinoa shot him a look with her gold-ringed dark eyes. "A SeeD knowing their own ignorance. Will the wonders never cease?" As they continued down the street, Rinoa said, "My mother died when I was rather young. My father was loving before then, and, well, he still was afterwards. But he became distant after that. Then again, I guess I became distant too. The love went out of both of our lives. My father tried to bridge the gap, true, trying to help me enjoy my life…but we were too different. I was, admittedly, different to my mother, but she loved me all the same."

As they turned a corner, Squall caught a glimpse of their tail hurrying to catch up. "You miss her," he said, keeping half his mind on the conversation.

"And you love to state the obvious. In a way, it's so strange. The pain I felt when my mother died, it felt strangely familiar, as if I had known what it was like to lose a loved one. I think it's due to my premonitions. It's as if I lived a whole different life before, but in the future." She scowled. "Oh, why am I telling you this?"

"I've no idea. Like I said, I don't like to get involved in other people's problems. Why did you part ways with your father? You didn't leave when your mother died."

Rinoa nodded. "It was when I first thought of the concept of Hyne's Shield. We had an argument. I was fifteen, but I felt ready to set up Hyne's Shield. My father, though, thought I was too young. In truth, I feel older in some regards. We had a blazing row, though I was the one doing most of the shouting, and then, I upped and left. Took every Gil out of my account, and left Deling City. We've only spoken intermittently since, though I know he uses his contacts in the Galbadian spy networks to keep an eye on me."

Squall frowned as he stopped to peer in a shop window, and caught a sight of their tail in the reflection. "Speaking of voyeurs, there's been someone tailing us since we left the station. I'm still trying to determine whether she's with the Galbadians or with the Strangling Figs."

Rinoa stiffened, resisting the urge to turn around, before she smirked. "There's a park nearby. Good place for an ambush…"

As they made their way into the park, Squall got ready. "How good are you at interrogation?"

"I can tear the memories straight from her skull," Rinoa said.

"That means you're very good, then?" Squall asked wryly.

They made their way through a tree-riddled area. It was getting late, and there weren't many people in the park itself. The verdant surroundings reminded Squall a little of the Training Centre back home at Balamb Garden. He had tested himself against T-Rexaurs in there. He had felt no small amount of pride in being able to defeat one with his gunblade.

Rinoa, meanwhile, cast a spell on the ground. Then, as they moved behind another tree, they heard a yelp of surprise and pain. "What was that?"

"Simulated Malboro breath," Rinoa said with a vicious smirk. "I'm no Blue Mage, but I like to study the abilities monsters use and try to emulate them."

They went back to where their tail was on the ground, looking rather ill. Long red hair framed a cruelly beautiful face. An attractive, but dangerous-looking woman, Squall thought. Then again, so was Rinoa. The woman was not the one who was following them in appearance, but Squall's instincts were telling him that she was the one. "Well, well, well…" Rinoa mused thoughtfully.

"You recognise her?"

"Yes. That's Lamia, one of the Strangling Figs. I've seen the wanted posters Galbadia have put up on the network. Girlfriend to their leader, Mateus, and one of their spies. She's got an uncanny knack for disguising herself with custom Para-Magic, but my spell dispelled her disguise. Rumour has it that she learned from a Gerogero how to shapeshift using Para-Magic."

"Charming," Squall said with a grimace. Gerogeros were grotesque revenants, intelligent undead creatures that could shapeshift so that they could attack their victims without trouble. Thankfully, like undead creatures in general, healing magic and items hurt them(1).

Rinoa smirked, before casting a series of spells in quick succession. Lamia was soon cured of her ailments and conscious, but unable to speak or move much beyond her head and face. She was glaring, though, at Rinoa. "I take a very dim view of stalkers, you know," Rinoa said. "Now, I know that you're thinking that, even if we have caught you, we can't make you talk, right?" Lamia nodded. "That's fine, talking's wholly optional. You see, I'm really good with memories. And I can pluck them right from your skull. I'd say this won't hurt a bit, but I'd be lying."

Squall was disturbed when Rinoa's irises turned completely golden, like the baleful gaze of a monster. Lamia stiffened, and convulsed, her eyes wide, her mouth open in a silent scream. This went on for a few seconds, before finally, Lamia subsided, her eyes twitching, her jaw slack with a rivulet of drool trickling from it. A dark patch began to appear on Lamia's pants, her bladder control having gone the same way as her consciousness.

"She's not dead," Rinoa said, anticipating Squall's outraged exclamation as her eyes returned to (what was for her) normal. "She's still very much alive, and she will recover, given time. She deserves worse. She was the one who personally gutted Ruby, and she loves torture and assassination. She even loves killing people as she has sex with them."

Squall glared down at the catatonic Lamia in disgust. "What do we do with her?"

"Bring her to my father. I can use a charm spell to control her, effectively make her my puppet. She'll look like she's drunk, but I think we can deal with that. After all, I'm the designated driver here." Rinoa made a gesture, and Lamia got to her feet, swaying slightly. "Let's go for a walk, shall we?"

To the rest of the populace, they looked like a pair of people escorting a drunken friend home. Ten minutes later, they made it to Caraway Mansion. It was a pretty snazzy place, and Squall knew that Caraway came from old money, hence his ability to afford such a place. The guard, a young officer (an officer cadet, if Squall's knowledge of Galbadian rank symbols was up to snuff) recognised Rinoa. "Rinoa! Who are these people?"

"Wedge, this is Squall Leonhart of SeeD. And this woman is our prisoner. We came to visit my father about something, but this woman was stalking us." She then whispered into Wedge's ear.

"I see. Wait a moment." Wedge spoke briefly into a radio, and nodded. "Wait here, please. General Caraway will be out before long."

"You know each other?" Squall asked.

"I have been on guard duty here on occasion since a few months before Rinoa left," Wedge said. "Unfortunately, my superiors don't seem to like me. They keep bouncing me back to guard detail here. At least General Caraway's a nice guy. He's helping me get through the ranks."

"You're nicer than him, Wedge. I remember the goodbye you gave me when I left here," Rinoa said with a smile. "You've also lost that stutter too."

Squall considered Wedge. Lately, the G-Army was filled with a lot of backbiting and politics, with officers docking the pay of those of a lower rank for the slightest infringement, perceived or otherwise. It was partly due to Deling's own administrative style, which supported cronies and punished dissidents with, at best, fiscal penalties. Wedge was probably competent enough without the pressure such an environment placed on him.

The gates opened, and a tall man with dark, albeit greying hair framing a hard, lined, but handsome face. His dark eyes were already roving over Squall and Lamia, not looking at his daughter, until he had finished his assessment. He finally turned his attention to Rinoa, and sighed quietly. "You cannot just drop in for a simple hello, can you?" he asked his daughter. "You had to bring in a SeeD cadet and one of the key members of the Strangling Figs."

"Nice to see you too, father," Rinoa said in a sardonic lilt. "I would have come without Lamia, but she insisted on coming along. I looked at her memories. She happened to spot us as we left the station, and was tailing us to see if she could ambush me and imitate me to infiltrate here."

After a moment, Caraway sighed again. "Bring her with us. I have a cell for intruders that has seen too much use. Once we're done, I'll send her to get a hearing."

"I Drew her shape-shifting spells along the way," Rinoa said. "She won't be using them any time soon."

"I'm surprised you haven't considered your daughter to be Lamia in disguise," Squall said.

Caraway looked at the young SeeD. "I know my own daughter better than Lamia could. And she gave to Officer Cadet Wedge the password that I had in place when she first left. Come along…"

Squall waited in the opulent room as Rinoa briefed Caraway on the situation, as well as telling what she had gleaned of the Strangling Fig's plans from Lamia's mind. Caraway pinched the bridge of his nose when Rinoa had finished. "So they're considering using the Sorceress, this Jessie, to try and gain control over the Missile Bases?"

"And wipe out Deling City. As much as I'd like to see Deling's regime overthrown, wiping this city off the map isn't the way to go about it. I mean, there are innocent people…theoretically," Rinoa said.

"People wanting vengeance do extreme things," Caraway said. "Mateus, the leader of the Strangling Figs, wants revenge on Galbadia for the deaths of his parents. Should he succeed, then some power or other would turn on him, if only because he has a powerful Sorceress enslaved to him. Probably the Dollet Dukedom. They're the only power on this continent with a substantial military. Of course, that's nothing if Esthar gets involved, though that's highly unlikely given their isolationist stance. It's only if Esthar is directly threatened, I think, that they'll get involved." He crossed his arms. "So, what do you want out of me?"

"Support more than anything else. Thanks to Lamia, as well as the intelligence from Minwu, we know how many of them there are. Thankfully, the Figs are a relatively small group, even if they are dangerous. I'm in this to rescue Jessie and bring her back to Timber, or else find a new guardian for her, given what happened to her mother. Once I'm done with the Strangling Figs, you can do what you like with them, as long as it's by the book. No Deling-style summary justice, no secret hearings. I don't care if they end up in D-District Prison, or shot, as long as there's a public trial."

"And what about your involvement?"

"I'm using SeeD to rescue a kidnapping victim and bring the perpetrators to justice. That should cover it, as Garden has quite a bit of sway. Some of the resistance groups in Timber might not think much of me for doing this, but they know that the Strangling Figs have gone too far."

Caraway nodded, before looking over at Squall. "Do you have a position on this, Leonhart?"

"I am bound to my current client. That being said, I personally find what the Figs did, and intend to do, reprehensible."

"Even though you are helping the G-Army? I know we are not popular with the rest of the world, and with good reason."

"Even so, I will still complete the mission. There's a difference between freedom fighting and mass murder," Squall said. "A distinction the Strangling Figs will doubtless object to."

Caraway nodded. "And as a SeeD, a mercenary, personal feelings have to be set aside, especially those of a nationalistic nature. Though I'm surprised that my daughter has assented to working with you, Leonhart. From a young age, she has had a surprisingly strong animosity for Garden and SeeD."

"Times change," Rinoa said with a scowl. "I'll tell you the details later. Once we capture the members of the Strangling Figs, how do we notify you?"

"Once you have secured them, send up a flare. I will give you a flare pistol and rounds. I will send people to wait at a discreet distance."

"Got it." Rinoa looked at Squall. "Are you ready to begin the operation?"

"Of course…"

CHAPTER 5 ANNOTATIONS:

Sorry about the long wait. For a time, it looked like I was going to abandon this story, as I really had no idea how to write this chapter. Writing in Lamia helped. Hope you enjoyed, but don't expect a new chapter any time soon.

Now, why is Wedge, despite being an officer, on guard duty at the Caraway Mansion? Well, he's given a lot of flack in the game by Biggs (Wedge is ranked as a lieutenant in the game), so I thought Caraway would have him assigned to his mansion as 'punishment' for his screw-ups, but in reality, is actually mentoring Wedge on how to be an officer…with mixed success, given the G-Army's working culture.

1. Gerogero, of course, is the undead creature masquerading as Deling in the game during the train hijacking.