Hello. This is the first fanfic I have ever submitted, so don’t be to critical of me, please. I intend for the overall story to be 3 or 4 parts (I’m not sure yet). This may seem kind of short, mostly because it is an introduction. The other parts will be longer. My email has been screwed up lately, so you can contact me by using my AOL Instant message address (Rabidpanda867) or you can t-mail me if you have Tribes 2 (look for Vincent Darkfall in the RS tribe). I strongly suggest you read the whole story and not skip around, ‘cause there is some important dialogue. And if you think Prepare for some twists and action in the story I aptly call…
“Come on! Come on!” Rinoa yelled off the back of the train. Squall was running as fast as he could, but he wasn’t sure he could make it. He jumped as far as he could, grabbing onto the back rail. With some help from Rinoa, he pulled himself up onto the back platform. Looking back, he saw Timber speed past him. Rinoa was smiling. He gave her a quick kiss then pulled out the tickets for the train. Squall passed them through the scanner next to the back train door. The device beeped confirmation and the door slid open. “Let’s go inside,” Squall suggested. Leading Rinoa in first, Squall told her to close her eyes. They walked down the cabin isle (Or stumbled, really) laughing the entire way. Squall had come up with the idea for the honeymoon to be on a train. Their long overdue honeymoon. It was hard to find time for a break with all the political turmoil that started up after they were married. Rinoa had always loved trains. Squall still had a few surprises for her though. “Here we are. Cabin 25.” The honeymoon sweet is what Squall didn’t add. He scanned the ticket, and Rinoa opened her eyes. She was shocked. The huge room could have sustained them for a whole year if they wished, even though it was only a 4 day trip. They were traveling to Deling City, where Rinoa would be coronated as the new governor. Her father passed away recently, and the people were welcome to the idea of a non-Galbadian ruling. Everyone was gonna be there. “Squall, how in the world could you afford this?” Rinoa asked. “Cid offered to pick up the bill. He came into a lot of money before becoming a headmaster,” Squall explained as they walked in. Squall remembered to do one more thing. Before closing the door, he placed the “Do Not Disturb Sign” on the outer door handle. Rinoa grinned.
Man, a lot sure has changed in these past 5 years, Zell thought. It seems like just yesterday Squall was an introverted freak and Irvine was an outgoing jerk. Now Irvine is so quiet. I guess living with Selphie for a year would do that to a person. And Squall! He is so different than he used to be. Zell thought back to the wedding a 6 months ago. It was a nice one. And to think, I was actually crying! Zell laughed out loud. “Ju’ say somthin’, boss?” he heard Raijin say from under the car next to him. “Nothing, nothing. Get back to work,” Zell ordered. “Just checkn’, ya’ know,” Raijin explained. That’s another thing, Zell thought. I never thought in a million years would I be selling and repairing cars with Fujin and Raijin. Actually, Zell thought, Fujin is a pretty good salesman. “MAIL!” he heard Fujin shout. Dammit, I am almost done with this car, Zell thought. But he dare not anger Fujin. Oh what the hell, he thought, punching the underside of the car hard. He then heard the familiar cough-splat of the engine starting. Zell wondered why that always worked. He slid out from under the car quickly, and ran through the shop to meet Fujin. They had almost 20 cars in here, meaning they had been getting pretty good business. He turned the corner and almost collided with the white haired she-devil. “FOR YOU,” Fujin said. I am glad she isn’t this way around customers, Zell thought. He opened the envelope carefully and looked at the letter. It was an invitation to Rinoa’s coronation party. Wait, Zell thought, it is four days from now!?! Damn mail service! “Fujin! Raijin! We hafta’ leave! NOW!” Zell yelled.
Quistis was standing in the cafeteria. It was late at night, and it appeared that no one else was out. The air had a strange feeling to it. “Hello! Where is everybody?” she yelled. It was as if no one heard her. She then heard footsteps. She saw a figure moving toward her. It was Squall. “Squall! I am so glad you are here. Where is everybody? Squall? Answer me!” She shouted desperately. He didn’t seem to hear her. “You’re the one I have always wanted. Not Rinoa, you,” he said. He came closer, and embraced her tightly. All of Quistis’ fear disappeared. Squall kissed her passionately. Quistis never wanted leave, but a shrill beeping noise tore her away from her lover. He alarm was going off. Quistis awoke in her bed at Balamb Garden. “Ughhhhh…..” she managed to say. She got up and walked into the bathroom. Her room was quite nice, mainly because she was reinstated as an instructor. Quistis turned on the shower, disrobed, and got in. It was the only soothing part of her day. She had been having the same dream ever since Squall and Rinoa’s wedding. Quistis had always loved Squall, but he had never returned the feeling. It didn’t matter anymore to her though. She remembered that soon she would have what she wanted, with a little outside help. She got out of the shower and put on her instructor’s uniform. Finally, she put the finishing touches on her hair and walked outside. Turning to lock the door, Quistis noticed a small white envelope in her mailbox. Reaching over, she grabbed it and opened it. Inside was the invitation she had been waiting for. Now she had a date and a time. Quistis had to contact him immediately.
“Pull!” Irvine commanded. The disc shot into the air. Pulling out his shotgun and cocking it in one swift motion, he placed the sight to his eye. He ran through a mental checklist in his mind, accounting for every variable possible. Feeling he had judged the situation correctly, he squeezed the trigger. The gun kicked, propelling the bullet out. The small steel-tipped bullet flew through the air as if chased by a demon. It hit the target, bursting it into millions of microscopic pieces. “Great shot, Irvy!” he heard Selphie say. “Thanks,” he responded, swinging the shotgun over his shoulder. They were in the field behind the house they intended to buy soon. For now they were just renting it. Not so much a house as a mansion, located in the town of Windhill. The same Windhill that everyone had visited in the “Dream World”. When they heard it was available cheap (because of the owner’s previous experience with “ghosts”) they couldn’t resist. “Irvy, I’m cold. Let’s go inside,” Selphie offered. Irvine agreed. He threw his arm around Selphie as they began their walk to the house. “So when’s it gonna be Irvine?” Selphie asked, assuming he knew what she was talking about. “What?” Irvine replied, slightly confused. “The wedding, silly,” Selphie answered. “We live with each other, we’re in love. I mean, the next step is obviously marriage.” This surprised Irvine. Selphie had matured much the past 5 years, but he didn’t see this coming. Irvine was afraid of commitment. Afraid it would bind him, afraid he couldn’t see the world anymore. But he loved Selphie, more than she would ever know. As he searched for the answer, he heard footsteps behind him. He spun around, flinging his shotgun to eye level. It was a courier chocobo, used for special occasions. They were specially trained chocobos who could find people 1000 miles away by sound alone (chocobos have incredibly good hearing). Both Irvine and Selphie walked up to it. It had a small white envelope in its mouth. Irvine grabbed the envelope and ripped it open. “An invitation…”
Everyone was there when Squall and Rinoa disembarked from the train. It had only been 6 months but it seemed like forever. Laguna, Ward, Kiros, Ellone, Irvine, Selphie, Zell (with Fujin and Raijin), several of Rinoa’s friends (who Squall did not know), Headmaster Cid Kramer, Edea Kramer, Xu, some members of the D.C.C. (Deling City Council), and last, but definitely not least, Angelo. They were all cheering. Rinoa’s faithful companion ran up to her barking. “Angie!” she shouted. She kneeled down and stroked him. Squall looked hard, but he couldn’t find Quistis. Before he could woory about it, a man in a suit appeared behind the friendly mob. “Ladies and gentleman, May I have your attention please. Arrangements have been made for limo’s to take you to the Presidential Residence. Follow me please,” the man said. Everyone did as they were told. Even Angelo, strangely enough. They filed out the train station to find several limos waiting for them. Everyone got into a limo and the party started before they even left. Conversations and laughing could be heard throughout the cars. Headmaster Cid was sitting to the left of Squall. “Here,” he said, taking out something wrapped in cloth. “Think of it as a honeymoon gift. Even though you have probably already gotten what you want, if you know what I mean.” Squall laughed. The old man still has it in him, he thought, taking the object. Squall removed the cloth wrapping. To his amazement, he found a polished dagger. The dagger had a carving of a lion head on it, like his all so familiar gunblade. Given the joking manner, Squall thought it would be a dinky gift. “I was going to give this to my son, but with Edea’s problems I never had a chance. I forgot to give it to you on your wedding day. My memory is not all it used to be,” he explained, chuckling at the end. “Thanks you so much, sir,” Squall managed to say. “Please, Squall. We’re off campus. Call me Cid. You are the head of Balamb SeeD anyway. In a crisis situation I’ll be calling you sir, “Cid said. Squall took the dagger and placed it through his belt. The talking and laughing continued all the way to Residence. Squall was having the most fun he’d ever had in a long time. He felt as if nothing could go wrong.
“General, your inside source contacted us. The coronation is tonight at 2100 hours,” The soldier said. The general was sitting in his command chair, the very same the great Sorceress sat in when she commanded the Lunatic Pandora. “Good soldier. Summon every person in the Pandora to the Hold for a briefing,” the general responded. “Yes, sir,” the soldier said, saluting briskly. I shall bring the Galbadians out of the shadows, the general thought. After 5 long years of hiding in the ocean and planning, the time has finally come. We’ve found the jewel, and now we need the key. With the coronation, Deling City won’t be ready for us. After 5 long years I can finally strike back, and settle the score. I’m coming for you Squall.
“I’m sure you all remember the murder of the former president of Deling City right here, on this very podium. I’m sure you also remember the terrifying rule of the Galbadians that ensued soon after. Finally, after the defeat of the horrible Sorceress Ultimecia, my father came to rule. My father was a just man, but I am sure some of you were uneasy. As you all know, he was a Galbadian supporter former to his rule. But now, as president of Deling City, I promise a fair rule…” Rinoa stood on the podium, pouring her heart out to the crowds.
Irvine had a good view of Rinoa and the crowds from the Deling City Arch. Rinoa was in the process of giving her acceptance speech. Irvine mind wandered back to her father’s speech. He was in the same place watching it… through his scope. Irvine was leading the Balamb Gun Defense Squadron, a special division of SeeD he started 2 years ago. They had chosen the position on the arch to best defend Rinoa from any assailants that might make an attempt on her life. Irvine could see Squall’s Gunblade Squadron flanking both sides of the podium high-rise. Irvine opened the sniper rifle’s chamber, clicking on the safety. Slowly, he took out the rubber bullets in the chamber, replacing them with armor piercing ones. The SeeD next to Irvine noticed this, a distressed look crossing his face.
“What are you doing, sir? We’re ordered to use rubber bullets,” the always dutiful soldier questioned.
Irvine looked at the SeeD. He was young. No older than 18 Irvine guessed by his face. “I have a bad feeling about this,” he answered, looking back into his scope. “Ever killed anyone, soldier?” Irvine asked out of the blue.
“N-No, sir,” the SeeD stammered.
“It’s nothing like the movies, kid. You always see the young hero kill someone and fall to his knees crying. When you first kill someone, you don’t feel anything at all. You almost feel…excited. Then, maybe 3 or 4 hours later, you realize you took a man’s life without a thought. You think about his life, his family, and his dreams. I once broke down crying in the middle of the night. You feel evil, as if you’re the one that should have died. And, believe me, you will never lose that feeling of guilt. No matter how much experience you get, no matter how many people you kill, you will never recover,” Irvine described.
The SeeD next to him looked like he was going to die. All of the color had drained from his face. Irvine burst into laughter.
“I’m just kidding you! Oh, man!” Irvine burst out, wiping a tear from his eye. “What’s your name?”
“John, sir,” the SeeD responded. The soldier tried to laugh, but it came out like a cough. Irvine made that speech to every young recruit he could find.
Switching back to a serious tone, Irvine ordered, “Tell everyone to switch to live ammunition. My hunches are usually right.”
Squall stood next to Zell and Selphie behind Rinoa. Her speech was excellent. Squall never knew Rinoa could speak like that. The audience was impressed too. Rinoa held the ceremonial scepter which the Deling City Council had presented to her earlier. It had been a stunning ceremony. It reminded Squall of the parade after Edea’s speech of terror. To think, the people were manipulated by that load of shit, Squall thought. He looked to the Deling City Arch in the distance. Irvine’s squad was on the balcony at the top. Peering over the railing, Squall could see his Gunblade Squad in position. Balamb Garden had become the only Garden left after Trabia and Galbadia were destroyed (Galbadia was used a salvage parts for Balamb). Balamb Garden had grown much in the past years to accommodate the new arrivals. Rinoa was also going to support Garden and its affiliates with speeches promoting the “education and life experiences that can be earned by enrolling in Garden”. Balamb had also agreed to back Deling in a wartime situation. With all of the publicity, Balamb Garden could defeat any nation in war. Their soldiers (or students) were the finest in the world. There were still some Galbadian splinter groups in existence, and Balamb Garden made it their business to destroy them. Actually, their main concern was that some obscure terrorism group would make an attack, but they could take them down quickly. In case of a big emergency, they would evacuate to the arch. With some work, they had replaced the gates with bullet-and explosive-proof Plexiglas. Squall had thought it was an unintelligent idea, since it would be highly unlikely they would have to use it. Then again, Squall thought, it’s my wife their protecting so I’m in no position to argue. The COM link in his ear buzzed. He tapped Zell on the shoulder, motioning that he was going inside. He walked past Cid, pointing to his ear. Cid followed him inside, turning his COM link on.
“Go ahead,” Squall said. The earpiece could receive and send live audio feed.
“Squall, it’s me, Irvine. Something’s up,” Irvine explained.
“What?” Squall asked, in a distressed tone.
“Do you hear it?” Irvine asked.
“Hear what? What’s going on?” Squall questioned.
“Walk outside and listen carefully,” Irvine said.
Squall and Cid walked outside again. At first they heard nothing, but then a soft humming started up.
“Irvine, what the hell is that?” Squall whispered.
“I don’t know, but…hat the hel…Squall its…he……dora …oh shit………!” Irvine said, breaking up.
“Irvine! Irvine! What’s going on? Irvine!” Squall yelled.
The humming was getting louder now. The crowd was beginning to notice. Rinoa had stopped her speech. All eyes were fixated on the arch. A shadow hung over the building, yet nothing appeared to be over it. The ground started to rumble. Squall took out his binoculars from his coat and looked above the Arch.
“There’s something up there,” Squall said.
Then slowly, the image of the arch became distorted. Squall walked up beside Rinoa. She had a distant look on her face.
“It’s back, Squall,” she said in a faraway voice. “He’s back.”
“Sir, the target is in sight,” the Galbadian admiral said.
“Uncloak the Pandora private,” the general ordered.
It was the Pandora.
“No way,” Squall said, amazed.
Gasps came up from the crowd. Some began to flee. Before the SeeDs could react, what seemed like hundreds of Galbadian troops dropped out of the sky. Missiles came out of the Pandora, exploding into piles of green substance. The Galbadians landed in the substance, emerging out unharmed. The crowd was in a state of panic, people were running and screaming. Rinoa was still in a state of shock. The Galbadians, Squall thought. I thought we destroyed them. Squall’s mind seemed blocked. It wasn’t the first time he’d been in command, but for some reason he was frozen. Finally, something came to him.
“We have to get to the arch!” Squall yelled. Squall turned on his COM Link.
“Gunblade Squadron, clear a path to the arch! And Irvine, if you can hear me: OPEN FIRE!” he yelled.
The Galbadians converged on high-rise podium, fanning out to flank it.
“Hand over the sorceress!” a squad leader commanded.
They’re after Rinoa? Squall thought.
It was then the Gunblade Squadron charged them, amidst the chaos. Running through the crowds, they engaged the hundreds of Galbadians stretched across the landscape.
“Let’s go!” Squall ordered to people behind him. Selphie, Zell, Cid, and Xu nodded. “Come on Rinoa!”
She didn’t budge. Her eyes were fixated on the Pandora. Squall sheathed his gunblade, grabbing Rinoa and flinging her over his shoulder. He pulled out the shotgun Irvine loaned him. It was light-weight, and could be handled with one hand. Squall turned to see the others running inside.
Squall yelled back to them, “No time! Over the side!”
They hesitated. Squall knew he had to take the initiative. He ran forward, leaping over the railing. The landing was hard, sending his stomach to his feet. Getting up, he started his dash for the Arch. The others followed, landing as hard as him. Selphie engaged the nearest Galbadian, swinging her nun- chaku into the side of his head. Zell proceeded to beat the shit out of any soldier near him. A soldier charged Squall, lifting his gunblade. Squall swung the shotgun up, firing. The burst of shells hit the enemy square in the chest, sending him flying backward into the confusion. Squall continued into the fray, pushing civilians aside. The arch seemed so far away. He looked up, and could see that the Pandora was directly above them now. Squall saw a giant sun emblem. Strange, he thought, I don’t remember that. Looking back down, he found himself face-to-face with a Galbadian squad leader. Squall looked up and down the length of his red, bulky uniform.
“Hand over the sorceress!” he ordered, pointing his large gun-arm at Squall’s face.
Squall didn’t budge, just stood there. He was desperately trying to think of something. Looking around, he could see no-one in a position to help him. Finally, he thought of something. Squall looked over the Galbadian’s right shoulder, as if someone was behind him. The squad leader made no hint of moving at first, but his curiosity got the best of him. He threw a quick glance over his shoulder, and that was all Squall needed. He executed a sharp kick to the man’s torso, stunning him temporarily. He then pulled the shotgun out, aiming it at the man’s head. The soldier looked at him directly, terror in his eyes. All of Squall’s hate for the Galbadian’s resurfaced. All of the things they put him through. All of the things they put everyone through. Had it been different circumstances, Squall would have spared the man. He depressed the trigger. The squad leader’s head literally exploded, showering Squall with blood. With no remorse, Squall ran on. He was getting very near the arch now, and he could see many of the civilians were already there. He realized Rinoa’s weight was a huge burden on him. His shins ached. Squall then heard screams for help coming from the crowd. It was Xu. Four Galbadian’s had surrounded her, and were closing in. He looked for some way to help. Squall noticed some of the SeeDs were retreating to the arch. He turned around, stopping one of them.
“Take Rinoa!” he ordered. The soldier obeyed. Squall slid Rinoa off his back. Her eyes were glazed over, and her body was completely limp. She was shivering. It reminded Squall of the time he had rescued her from those lizard-monsters. The SeeD shifted his weight to his opposite foot, lifting Rinoa onto his shoulder. The soldier took his time to get comfortable, then sprinted towards the arch. Squall pulled out his Gunblade, charging to Xu. He leapt into the air smashing down and knocking two soldiers out of the way.
“RUN!” Squall yelled to Xu. She nodded, quickly darting out of the way.
The Galbadians converged on him. One of them made a move for their gun. Squall fired the shotgun at that soldier, ripping open his chest. With his last burst of strength, his finger depressed the trigger of his pistol, sending a bullet flying into Squall’s thigh. Squall cringed, slapping his leg where the bullet entered. Two of the soldiers took advantage of this, charging at him. Recovering quickly, Squall ducked under the slash of the first soldier, and slicing him open. When Squall’s gunblade pierced the skin, he pulled the trigger, setting off the explosive charge. Thousands of tiny pieces of metal flew through his body, destroying his internal organs. Squall jumped over the second Galbadian’s low slash, turning and firing into the enemy’s back. Squall looked at the last soldier, finding a surprise. 2 dozen more soldiers had appeared, ready to fight. They didn’t seem intent on taking prisoners either. Squall cleared his mind, concentrating. The ground beneath the Galbadian’s began to shake violently. Slowly, cracks appeared around them, and the ground was lifted into the air. Under the soldiers were the Minotaur Brothers. The bigger on held up the ground, allowing his brother to crawl out of the hole. He then threw the piece of land high into the air. Climbing out the Brothers proceeded to play rock-paper-scissors. The little one lost this time. Looking up, Squall noticed the emblem on the bottom of the Pandora was rotating. A strange pink energy was ebbing off it. As the glyph began to rotate faster, the energy became more visible. Squall knew that couldn’t be good. He sprinted as hard as he could towards the arch. He could see Irvine, Zell, and Rinoa inside. The ground began vibrating. Looking over his shoulder, Squall could see the energy was becoming more concentrated. Squall switched on his COM link in mid-stride.
“Irvine, can you hear me? Close the gate!” he screamed into the COM device.
“Squall, this is Irvine. I can hear you loud and clear. Repeat that order.”
“Irvine, listen to me. Close the gate! Now!”
“Squall, you must be crazy! All of our men…”
“Irvine, get inside, and close that damn gate! “
“But…”
“Do it, or a lot more people are gonna die. Now, dammit.”
Squall switched off the COM link. If he kept up this pace, he might just be able to make it.
Irvine was very distressed.
“Pull back, soldiers. Inside, come on. Move, move, move!”
The snipers weren’t reluctant. They rushed inside without a second thought. The Pandora had been making them uneasy. The ground was vibrating, and the strange force coming off the bottom of the Pandora wasn’t making things better. As the Balamb SeeDs ran inside, Irvine took one last look over the battlefield. They were gonna lose a lot of good men. A lot. As the last soldier ran by, Irvine pulled him aside.
“When you get inside, I want you to go to the gate controls and shut the gate. No questions, just do it.”
The SeeD was very unsettled by this. But he said nothing, and he walked inside. As Irvine ducked inside, he caught a glimpse of Squall running towards the arch. He might make it, Irvine thought. Irvine hoped to God he would make it. Irvine went inside and down the stairs. They lead to a room with a ladder that would go either to the sewers or the gate controls. He could see the SeeD was climbing the ladder up. As he walked outside, he saw Zell, huddled over Rinoa, shaking her frantically. Irvine ran over, pushing away the crowds of frightened civilians.
“How’s she doing?” Irvine asked as stopped by Zell’s side.
“She’s conscious, but her entire body is limp. Her eyes are glazed over. I have no damn idea what’s wrong. Maybe Selphie would know. I mean, she is the head of Balamb Garden medical staff.”
“Oh, shi...” Irvine whispered.
“What?”
“Selphie is not inside.”
Zell eyes weren’t on Irvine. He was looking at the gate. It was closing.
The gate was closing. Squall’s head felt like there was a vice on it. His heart pounded. The ground shaking was almost to a full-scale earthquake level. Buildings began to collapse, but the arch held, mainly because of its shape. Everyone was scared. The Galbadians weren’t even expecting this. The gate was nearing the bottom. Squall looked back. He wasn’t the only one running. Suddenly, his ears drums were shattered by a thunderous noise. A giant beam shot off the bottom of the Pandora from the sun emblem. It hit the ground quickly. Hundreds of people were vaporized instantly by the beam. The shockwave lifted his feet of the ground, sending him flying. The ground tore upward, creating a ripple effect outward. Squall the wave of air that followed made Squall pick up speed. Then came the explosion. A gigantic ball of fire spread outward, killing anyone in its path. Squall could feel the heat behind as he flew through the air. Luckily, the shockwave blew him out of the blast zone. He hit the ground sliding. The arch was only a few feet away. He slid under the closing gate seconds before it locked into place. He rolled over, pushing himself up with his knees on the ground. As he stood up, he could see the ball of flame and debris screaming towards the arch. Squall backed away from the glass, unsure it would hold up. People were moaning and weeping, in fear and in sadness. The ball of fire hit the glass and caused it to bend backwards, but it held. Squall turned to face the crowd, just in time to see Irvine run up to him. Tears were streaming down his face. He pushed Squall aside, running up to the glass. A sheet of smoke clouded the outside view.
“SELPHIE!” Irvine screamed again and again, pounding the glass. “NO! NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!”
Oh no, Squall thought. As he walked up to Irvine, he saw something shiny slip out of his pocket because of his shaking body. Squall kneeled over to pick it up. It was an engagement ring. It appeared to be a simple silver ring with a ruby in the center. Selphie loved rubies. Irvine pressed his hands to the glass, and strength left his legs. He slid down. His face was purple. He was shaking uncontrollably, his face wet with teardrops and sweat. The glass in front of him was fogging up because of his heavy breathing.
“Dammit…I was gonna propose after the speech, when we got back to Garden. B-but now that won’t happen, because…” that was all Irvine could say.
Squall leaned over Irvine, trying to comfort him. But the words didn’t come. Besides, Selphie was his friend too. He felt a burning at the back of his eyes. A prickling. Something he hadn’t felt since Sis left. He looked over at Rinoa and Zell. Rinoa remained unmoving. Zell was in shock. Laguna, Ward and Ellone were tending to Kiros, who had a very large gash across his chest. Headmaster Cid was huddled in a corner with his wife. All of the people in the arch (soldiers and civilians alike) were scared out of their mind. Thankfully, no Galbadians made it to the arch. But the utter hopelessness of the situation hit Squall like a speeding train.
“Oh, God,” Squall sobbed, falling to his knees. There’s nothing I can do, he thought. For the first time in my life, there’s nothing I can do.
It was a pity we had to kill our own men, the Galbadian general thought. But we accomplished our objective.
“Sir, the hostiles have retreated to the Deling City Arch,” the admiral reported from behind the general. The Galbadian general was standing on the bridge, his men working frantically around him.
“Was the target killed?” the general asked calmly. If he was nervous he definitely wasn’t showing it, even though all their plans would fail if the target was killed.
“No sir. The vital signs for the target and the sub-targets are still active. Except…” the soldier paused, pulling out a sheet of paper.
“Except for sub-target D,” he finished.
Selphie. That’s too bad, the general thought. She was always so energetic, and always trying in vain to cheer Squall up. Well, business is business.
“Excuse me for asking sir, but the soldiers are getting curios as what your plans are. You haven’t told us what happens next. I mean, the target that we must capture is inside an impenetrable fortress. I studied their defense plans myself, and there is no way in. Even the air vents are guarded by sentry bots. It’s as if you’re plan has lead us into a stalemate. If I sound intrusive, I am sorry sir. But I don’t want to risk the lives of my men needlessly by sending them into a deathtrap.”
The general turned to the officer. “Admiral Piet, are you saying you doubt my tactical skills?” the general said with much contempt.
“N-no sir, it’s j-just that…” the major didn’t have time to finish, because the general was already at his throat. He grabbed him by the neck, lifting him into the air with one hand. The general’s hand squeezed harder and harder. He could hear the tell-tale popping noises coming from the major’s neck.
“That should be a long enough lesson for you,” he said, throwing the soldier against the nearest wall. The soldier’s back cracked as he hit it. “Never doubt me.”
The general had the major sent off to the infirmary, still alive but badly hurt.
“Major Garm,” the general said to the soldier next to him.
“Reporting, sir,” Garm responded readily. It seemed the Galbadians were always prepared to ascend the chain of command. The infamous general was known to go through his men quickly.
“You will take Piet’s place as Admiral of the Pandora Squad,” the general said.
“What are you orders, sir?” the new admiral asked routinely.
“Prepare a squad of 12 men. The best and most loyal men you know. We are to make a quick tactical strike on the arch. No casualties just get the target and get out.”
“How are we supposed to get in, sir?”
“Let me handle that, admiral.”
“Yes, sir,” Garm concluded, exiting the bridge via the blast door.
The general turned to face the gigantic view screen at the helm of the bridge. It was projecting a picture of the arch in real-time.
“Sorry, Squall. Looks like we won’t be meeting again,” the general whispered to himself. “Pilot, position us over the arch and tell the cannon operators to fire on my command.
“But, General Almasy…”
“Silence! I have a score to settle,” Galbadian High General Seifer Almasy shot back. He switched on his COM link. “I’ll keep in touch.”
“Yes, sir,” the pilot obeyed nervously.
Seifer motioned for his aide to come to his side. The young woman ran to his side. She was exceedingly frightened of him. After a bad day he usually took his anger out on her. He had taken her from Galbadian Garden before they had fled into the sea.
“Jennifer, have them prepare the Sorceresses’ machine. I require it,” Seifer said in his usual harsh tone around her.
Jennifer nodded her head quickly. Fearing his wrath, she sped through the exit of the bridge.
“What now?” Zell asked. Squall, Irvine and Zell were huddled in a corner to get away from the crowds.
Rinoa lay on the ground beside them. She was breathing softly, almost like she was sleeping. It was her eyes that scared Squall. They were wide open. It was if she was paralyzed by fear. Squall had his hand on his forehead, pulling his hair out of his face. He couldn’t think of an answer to Zell’s question. They couldn’t go back outside.
“What about the sewers?” Irvine suggested. His eyes weren’t on them. He was looking off into space.
“We can’t,” Squall answered. “We rigged blast doors down there, so no one can get in…”
“And we can’t get out,” Zell finished. “So were stuck. And no doubt the will fire again soon… this time on the arch. So…”
“We’re screwed,” Irvine concluded. “So here we are. Stuck in this goddamn arch. Countless people dead. Including Selphie. Shit. Just shit. SHIT, SHIT, SHIT!”
Irvine stood up during his outburst, hammering his fist into the wall repeatedly. People were staring at him, startled and alarmed.
“We’re all gonna die! We’re all gonna die! We’re all gonna die!” Irvine screamed.
Zell stood up and approached him.
“Calm down Irvine. You’re scaring people…” Zell said in a vain attempt to calm Irvine down.
“Shut the hell up, chicken wuss!” Irvine yelled, his voice slowly gaining volume.
Irvine spun around, a look on his face that could be described as no less than murderous. He swung his fist at Zell, slamming it hard into his cheek. Zell fell backwards, landing with a hard thud. His raged helped him to recover quickly as he flung himself off his back and onto his feet. Squall dashed in between the two feuding adults, pushing them both back.
“Back off, Squall! Don’t make me take the both of you out!” Irvine warned, struggling to get past Squall’s arm-barrier.
“Calm down. We need to think together if we’re gonna get out of this.” Squall said, holding his ground.
“Forget it, Squall. This is between me and Irvine. Let’s go, Irvine. Right here, right now. Your dead girlfriend can’t save you now…” Zell challenged.
Irvine facial expression turned to one that was more pain than anger. His face was a deep purple, and he was shaking wildly. Irvine pulled his shotgun from Squall’s belt, pulling it up quickly and slamming the butt of it into Squall’s chin. Irvine kicked Squall’s stomach hard, causing him to drop to his knees. Before Zell could react, Irvine aimed it at his head. A look of absolute terror crossed his face. Squall looked up at the unfolding drama. He had been in the same situation before. And he had fired. Headmaster Cid and Laguna had made their way over to the commotion, and were standing to the side. Both had faces that were worn from fear and fatigue.
“Irvine, please put the gun down. No one has to get has to get hurt here,” Cid said in an attempt to diffuse the situation.
“Yeah, Irvine, we are all a little stressed her. Just put the gun down,” Laguna suggested peacefully.
Irvine showed no sign of letting up. His index finger moved to the trigger. And, as everyone watched in horror, he pulled the trigger.
“Is it ready?” Seifer asked the engineer.
“Step inside, General Almasy,” he answered.
The door to the large cylindrical chamber opened. Seifer could already see inside through its glass walls. The device sat in the center of an enormous, barren room. Although the device itself was only ten feet tall and six feet wide, it needed room to project his mind. It was the same thing the sorceress used to posses Rinoa and Edea five years ago. The interesting thing was the sorceress had the Pandora in her possession in the future at the same time the Galbadian’s had it in the present. The Pandora, Seifer thought, it has all your conquering needs. It made sense though. It was made for sorcerers, by sorcerers. But, with a little tweaking, the device had been modified to project normal brain waves. The engineer controlled the device via a computer console on a platform above it. Seifer stepped inside, clearing his mind except for the thought of possessing Rinoa. The only downside to the device was that it could only possess people with special brain chemistry, specifically sorceresses. Luckily, it would cause Rinoa’s immense power to surface, meaning Seifer wouldn’t have much trouble with his plan. Seifer switched on his COM link.
“Admiral Garm, prepare for the retrieval,” Seifer ordered. The command was automatically routed to Garm himself.
Seifer threw the COM gadget out of the chamber door just before it closed.
“Beginning preliminary tests. This could take a while, sir. Try and relax,” the soldier said, his eyes staying on his work.
Lights above Seifer’s head switched on. Although he had been instructed by Sorceress Adel in the use of this machine, they had never actually used it themselves. He wasn’t too nervous, though. It wouldn’t be the first time he had manipulated Rinoa and her friends. He was looking forward to seeing her again.
“Starting up primary generators,” the engineer said.
The air around Seifer began to ripple. It was strange for him to actually see the air. The gas had an eerie purple tint to it. Seifer’s vision began to get hazy, as if obscured by fog.
“Starting up projection enhancer,” the engineer said.
The glass around Seifer began to rotate slowly. Then, the glass began to pick up speed. Seifer felt his feet lift off the ground. He was dangling in the air. He felt a slight twinge of nausea in his stomach, but it passed. The glass was spinning at in incredible rate, so fast it created the effect of rapid movement. The device had tricked space-time into thinking Seifer was falling. Seifer was almost blind, although he could tell if he were to touch the glass his arm would be ripped off his body at the speed it was revolving. That brought a thought to Seifer’s mind. He realized he could not move any part of his body. He was paralyzed, and was having trouble breathing. Please work, please work, please work! Seifer screamed in his head.
“Starting projection in five, four, three…” the engineer’s voice faded farther and farther away.
The last thing Seifer saw was the strange purple light. It had filled the whole room. The almost supernatural air pulsated continually.
“…two, one. Projection commence.”
Nida stood on the bridge of Balamb Garden. The images of the past hour were burned into his mind, to haunt his nightmares forever. He could do nothing. The Lunatic Pandora was relocating to fire on the Deling City Arch, and all he could do was stand there. The blast had knocked out radio communication with him and the people on the ground. Only a few people were present on the Garden, including himself, some junior classmen and several SeeDs. All were present on the bridge. The junior classmen were moaning with terror, but most of the people were frozen in shock. Nida was racking his brain, desperately trying to think of something. Suddenly something came to mind. The costs would be horrendous but it would save hundreds of innocent lives. Nida turned, attaining his soldier posture.
“Everyone is ordered to the evacuation pods. There will be no questions asked, just do it. SeeDs, escort the junior classmen you are assigned to. Diss-missed!” Nida said, saluting.
Everyone saluted in unison, then left the bridge via the elevator. Nida stayed behind. He had a plan, and he sure hoped it would work.
Squall was at the gate controls, racking his brain trying to think of a way out. He ran his hands through his sweaty hair. The events of the past hour flashed through his mind. The Pandora, the explosion, Selphie’s death, and finally Irvine’s breakdown. Squall’s chin still hurt. Luckily, Squall had ejected the clip out of the shotgun before Irvine could take it. Squall was fortunate it was an auto-shotgun with a clip, because a sawed-off would have meant trouble. Zell had passed out after Irvine pulled the trigger. The soft click was a relief to everyone else, though. Irvine had dropped the gun and burst into tears. They had managed to wake Zell up, and he was currently saying how sorry he was to Irvine. Zell’s temper always seemed to get the best of him, and Squall knew it would one day get him killed.
“Think, Squall, think,” Squall said aloud to himself. Suddenly a sharp pain ripped through Squall’s leg. He had forgotten about the bullet in his leg.
“Damn!” Squall yelled in anguish. How could he have forgotten that he had been shot? Squall knew he couldn’t let anyone know he had been shot. It would kill morale and attract too much attention. Squall checked the back of his leg.
“Shit,” Squall whispered. There was no exit wound.
Then he remembered the knife Cid had given him. Goddamn, this is gonna hurt, Squall thought. He felt around his belt for the sheath. His hand ran across it. Then he began to have second thoughts. No anesthesia, no bandages. But Squall knew he had to get the bullet out. He unclipped the sheath from his belt and pulled out the small blade. The sheath he put in between his teeth, knowing he could release the stress by biting down hard. The bullet had hit at an angle, nicking his shinbone and lodging itself in the back of his leg. He was fortunate it had not hit his calf muscle.
“Three, two…” Squall countdown was interrupted by a yell from downstairs. Could it be Rinoa? Squall thought.
He grabbed both sides of the ladder leading down. Putting his feet on each side, he slid down. Squall’s black boots had thick rubber soles that slowed his descent to a safe speed. Two thirds of the way down he jumped off, landing on the concrete floor with a hard thud. He tried to ignore the searing pain in his leg. Squall burst out of the door leading to the open space in the arch. The crowds had backed away to the walls of the arch, leaving a large open circle in the center. In the center of the circle was Rinoa. Irvine and Zell had been thrown against the wall and knocked unconscious.
“No…” Squall whispered. He couldn’t believe it. Not again, he thought. Not again
Rinoa’s head snapped around to look at Squall. Her eyes had turned an eerie blue color. Squall saw the woman he loved turned into a mindless zombie. But it was different this time. Rinoa was smiling.
Seifer saw what Rinoa saw. He had control of her. He had to concentrate fully or he could lose control. If that happened his brain could be might not be able to recover. It was hard to move, but Seifer had no trouble clearing people out of his way. All of the cowardly civilians had retreated to the corners of the Deling City Arch upon “his” awakening. The wave they had projected earlier must have sent her into a vegetable state, just as they had planned. Zell and Irvine stood near “him”. Hello, Seifer thought. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen them. They had not so much a look of terror but of realization on their faces. They know why we attacked now. Rage flowed through Seifer’s veins. These two had caused so much trouble. He couldn’t understand why people wouldn’t leave him alone. It had always been that way. But now, Seifer knew he could pay them back. Goodnight, Seifer thought. He projected a force wave that hit Zell and Irvine hard. They both hit the concrete wall near the door to the gate controls. Zell let out a yell of pain before he fell unconscious, but Irvine remained silent. Blood began to drip from the back of his head, running slowly down the wall. Gasps arose from the crowds. Suddenly, the door leading to the gate controls burst open so hard the top hinge burst off. The figure that came through the door did not take long to recognize. Although his hair was cut shorter and some gristle had grown on his chin, It was still the same old Squall. He was in shock at the sight of his possessed wife. Seifer scanned him from head to toe. He was wearing that same old black coat. Seifer hoped he would have time to talk to him later. Catch up. But for now…
The invisible force hit Squall like a speeding train. He felt as if his head was going to be ripped right off his shoulders. Squall flew backwards through the air, back into the ladder room. His shoulder made contact with the concrete floor first. Squall could feel it slide out of joint, and as his body came to rest he heard a violent pop. Pain seared through his left arm. The slide along the floor had also re-ignited the pain from the bullet in his thigh. He was stunned by pain. And although he didn’t know it, he was screaming. Rinoa walked by him in that strange, dis-attached way. Her upper body swayed with her steps, rocking back and forth. Squall wanted to get up, to stop her, but he could not move. He was frozen by fear and pain. Rinoa reached for the ladder, grabbing it with one hand. She pulled herself over to it and slowly began to climb. Squall thought she would fall. As she disappeared into the gate control room above, Squall realized what was going on. The Galbadians must be using her to open the gate, a voice screamed in Squall’s mind. He got to his knees, ignoring the horrible pain in his thigh. He then used his right arm to push himself up. Laguna and Cid had come into the room by then, and they were standing next to him.
“Are you alright? I thought she might have killed you,” Laguna asked, clearly still in shock.
“Where’s Rinoa?” Cid asked soon after Laguna.
“I’m okay, but I think my shoulder is dislocated,” Squall faltered as he spoke, into Laguna’s strong arms. He took a second to regain his composure and then spoke again.
“Rinoa is upstairs. I think the Galbadians are using her to raise the gate walls,” Squall finished, standing on his own feet again and holding his left arm.
“Oh, no,” Cid and Laguna whispered in unison.
Ellone charged into the room. Cid stepped in front of her, blocking her path.
“You have to let me through! I know how to help her!” At this remark the air in the room went still. The only sound was the steady hum of the waterwheel.
“What? Tell me!” Squall demanded. Rinoa was still pulling herself up to the next level.
“I can send however is inside of Rinoa’s mind back to the past! Rinoa will wake up a few minutes later, but the person possessing her will be in the past temporarily. Please, let me go! I have to be near her, because her mind is occupied by someone else,” Ellone explained desperately.
“Okay, but I go first. Laguna, Headmaster Cid, go back and tend to Irvine and Zell,” Squall ordered.
Before anyone could object, Squall had already started his one-armed, one-legged climb up the latter. Ellone followed close behind. Squall pushed himself up the last section, and then pulled himself over the ledge. Rinoa was reaching for the gate controls. Squall limped as fast as he could to her. Losing his sense, he reached out to touch her. As his and made contact his arm was forced, pulling the rest of his body with him. He stumbled backwards. Ellone ran to Rinoa, then closed her eyes and concentrated. Rinoa’s body suddenly slumped over onto the controls. Squall sighed with relief.
“Where did you send the person?” Squall asked. He had to know.
“Back into the body of a dog I once owned,” Ellone said, giggling.
Squall laughed. All of a sudden, Rinoa’s body slid down the control console, flipping the switch. The gates slowly began to rise.
“No!” Squall exclaimed.
“How long will it take to reset the gate?” Ellone asked.
“Ten minutes!” Squall answered.
Squall looked through the window into the main chamber of the arch. People were packing into the center, afraid to be near the open sides. The reinforced glass reached the top, and for a moment there was an eerie silence that hung in the air like a wet blanket. Then, unexpectedly, a whole squad of Galbadian jet-packs swooped into the arch. Screams arose from the crowd below. The Galbadian soldiers scanned the crowds below. Squall knew they were looking for Rinoa. Once they got her they would not hesitate to destroy the entire city. The jet-pack soldiers fanned out along the ceiling. One of them just happened to glance at the window Squall was looking through. Squall ducked below the window.
“What is it?” Ellone asked.
Squall put one finger to his mouth, signing to Ellone to be quiet.
“Galbadian jet troops,” Squall whispered.
The two waited in silence. They could hear the hum of jet-packs, but nothing else.
“Ellone, I think it’s sa…”
A two Galbadians burst through the wall next to Squall, their jet-packs flaring wildly. Ellone leapt backwards in fright, inadvertently slipping and falling backwards down the ladder shaft. By the time Squall recovered, one of the soldiers had Rinoa over his soldier.
“We’ve secured the target,” one of them said into his COM link.
Before the two soldiers could leave Squall was in front of them, gunblade drawn.
“Put her down, now!” Squall commanded.
The two soldiers looked at each other. Both gunned the afterburners on the packs. The two hit Squall hard, knocking him out the hole in the wall. The two soldiers flew right over him. Squall could felt the heat from the fire on his face. He hit the ground hard, coughing up blood. The troops had extracted. Zell and Irvine were up and about, but still dazed. They stumbled over to him, kneeling down. Cid, Laguna, Ellone, and Edea were soon next to him. Ellone seemed okay, except for the cut on her face. Zell and Irvine helped him up.
“We have to get out of here. Now that they have Rinoa they won’t hesitate to blast this arch to oblivion,” Squall said, wiping blood from his mouth.
“But how?” Zell asked. “We can’t go outside. They’ll have us surrounded before we could get out of the city.”
“And it isn’t just us. Look around you,” Edea said.
Everyone gazed around the arch. There must have been a thousand civilians in the Deling City Arch.
“There is a way,” Irvine said.
Everyone looked to Irvine at this remark. The air was tense as they waited for his plan.
“I can override the automated turrets in the sewer and open the blast door,” Irvine explained. “The only problem is that the turrets are on both sides of the door. We built it like that so if the enemy breached the door we would nail them in the back. The turrets are thermal sensors, so the lock onto the nearest heat source. We would need someone or something really cold…”
“Shiva!” Squall exclaimed.
“Right,” Irvine continued.
Squall looked at the people around him. They were looking at him. Apparently he was in charge.
“Okay. Irvine and Zell, come with me. Everyone else gather the civilians around the entrance. We will need to get them to move fast through the sewers. Let’s go!”
Seifer awoke in the infirmary. The bright lights stung his eyes. Someone was standing over him.
“Sir? Are you awake?” the medic asked.
“Unnnggggghhhhh…” was all Seifer could manage. His thoughts were jumbled. He had control of Rinoa, and then suddenly he was cut off. He had the strangest dream… or vision… or whatever. He thought he remembered being a… dog!
“Sir, you passed out in the chamber before we turned the projector off. We thought you might have gone brain dead,” the medic explained.
“Did… we… get… her?” Seifer asked slowly.
“Yes, sir. The soldiers are bringing her to the Altering Device right now.”
With that Seifer was satisfied. He got out of the bed. His vision blurred, but he remained standing.
“Tell the people on the bridge to prepare to fire on the arch. Oh, hell, they can destroy the whole city for all I care. But make sure they hit the arch first,” Seifer told the medic. Seifer’s COM link must have been left in the Projection Room. He began to leave the room, but stopped halfway.
“Oh, and tell them to put guards at the sewer exits, so if any of they targets get that far we can catch them there.”
Shiva shot her beam of ice straight down the sewer passage, freezing everything in its path, including the door and its defensive turrets. Shiva then disappeared.
“Go, Ifrit!” Zell yelled.
The flaming demon appeared ahead of them. He barreled down the passage, the flames emanating form his body licked the walls. The ice melted around him. Ifrit hit the door with a huge explosion. Squall, Irvine and Zell ducked beneath the oncoming flames. Squall was the first one to look up again.
“Dammit!” he yelled.
The turrets had been incinerated but the blast door stood.
“Oh, man! Now we have to do this the long way,” Zell said.
“Irvine, Zell, work on the door. I’m gonna see what the Pandora is doing,” Squall said.
Squall made his way to the top level, slipping past the eager crowds. The make-shift splint made it hard to climb, but he managed. Squall opened the fake wall and walked onto the balcony. He was amazed by what he saw. The Pandora was already charging. But even more impressive was that Balamb Garden was no more than 200 feet away from it, charging at full speed.
“Nida…” Squall whispered in amazement. He switched his COM link on to Cid’s frequency.
“Cid, get the civilians into the sewers. The Pandora is already charging its main cannon and is right above us. No time for questions, just hope Zell and Irvine finish quick. Squall out.”
Nida had set the Garden on a crash course with the Pandora. He hoped he could throw the monster off balance before it fired. Nida had an enemy jet-pack on his back that they had recovered from an earlier battle with the Galbadians. Nida shoved the speed control forward one last time, and then leapt off the bridge off the Garden. He activated the jet-pack, breaking his fall and leaving him hovering a safe distance from the Garden. Nida turned just in time to see the Garden crash into the Lunatic Pandora. There was a huge explosion, pushing the Pandora away. But it was to late. About ten seconds after the Garden collided with the Pandora, it fired.
Squall charged down the sewer passage. The blast hit next to the arch instead of directly on it which gave Squall more time.
“Come on!” Zell yelled.
The ceiling behind Squall began to collapse. He leapt forward past the open blast door, trying to keep up with Zell and Irvine. Dust shot up behind him. The sewer branched off into several paths. Squall had no idea which way everyone else had gone, he just followed Irvine and Zell. The sewer was caving in and Squall didn’t have much time to think. As he sprinted down the long hallway, with water coursing next to him, he saw light at the end. Zell and Irvine disappeared into the light. The opening was getting closer. Squall ran into the light… and realized he was falling. Looking down he could see Irvine and Zell in the sewer water below.
“AHHHHHH!!!!!!!!” Squall screamed on the way down.
He hit the water hard, dropping about ten feet deep. Squall swam up quickly, breaching the surface, gasping for air.
“It was a goddam drainage pipe… Zell… Irvine?” Irvine and Zell were staring at something. Squall followed their gaze.
“Freeze!” the Galbadian commanded. He held a Z-90 Assault Rifle in his hands, and was pointing it at them. There was a Galbadian transport behind him, along with a whole squad of Galbadians. Squall knew resistance was futile.
“Swim to the edge, slowly!” another Galbadian ordered. Squall, Irvine, and Zell swam to the edge of the drainage pool and pulled themselves out.
“The silver-and-blue are back, eh?” Squall said cockily.
A sharp pain seared through the back of his head. Squall fell to the ground. He looked up to see the soldier that hit him.
“That is for getting me demoted,” the squad leader said spitefully.
Squall would recognize that voice any day. Biggs. Squall vision began to blur, then he felt tired. Finally, there was only blackness.
“You know Squall, a shirtless man really turns me on,” a voice said in the darkness. The voice seemed distant, but Squall recognized it. He opened his eyes. A tall, slender figure stood above him.
“Quis…tis…” Squall managed.
“Hello, Squall,” Quistis said.
Squall was lying on the floor of what looked like an empty prison cell.
“You know Squall,” Quistis started, walking around the bare cell, her heels clicking, “you could have chosen me. But, nooooooooo. You had to love that slut Rinoa.”
Quistis looked at Squall evilly.
“She wasn’t good enough for you. She was a sorceress! Why couldn’t you see…?” Quistis faltered in her speech.
Squall heard what he thought was a sob. Quistis regained her composure quickly.
“But it won’t matter soon. She’ll be dead and so will you. Unless…”
“What?” Squall asked.
“Unless you join us. Screw Rinoa. Screw everyone else. Just join us. I can be your wife! Do it or die!” Quistis screamed.
“Go to hell,” Squall said.
“Well, it’s your decision,” Quistis replied, pulling out her whip.
“It was you, wasn’t it? You gave the Galbadians all of the information. All because you were jealous. It’s you who doesn’t understand. I love Rinoa. She is the one. You were just a friend. You were always going to be a good friend. But now…”
A searing pain crossed Squall’s bare chest. Blood seeped out of the long gash.
“GAHHHH!!!!” Squall yelled in pain.
“I leave the rest to Seifer,” Quistis finished.
She walked out of the cell, the door sliding shut behind her. Squall’s body ached. He didn’t think much about Seifer. Squall wanted sleep, so he slept.
“The Black Mercenary meets the White Knight once again.”
Squall opened his eyes. He was chained to a wall in a spread-eagle position. Seifer was standing in front of him.
“Been awhile, hasn’t it? What is it, five years? Five long years of hiding in the sea, waiting, watching, searching,” Seifer said.
“Yeah, it has been awhile, hasn’t it? Long time, no see, buddy,” Squall said spitefully.
The look on Seifer’s face turned to pure malice. He threw a switch on the wall next to Squall. Electricity flowed through his body. Seifer flipped the switch again, shutting the flow off.
“Just like old times, eh? Oh, and don’t worry about your arm or that nasty bullet wound. We had our doctors fix those,” Seifer explained. “So, how’s life treatin’ ya’?”
“Just peachy.”
“That’s great, Squall. You know, I’ve been thinking about the past. Trying to remember when we became enemies. Was it when you stole my girl?”
“No,” Squall answered cockily,” it was when you put me and my friends through hell. You know, joining the sorceress, trying to destroy the world. Something like that.”
Squall was zapped again by Seifer.
“I guess you’re wondering what my secret evil plan is. The reason I captured Rinoa and all that. Squall, can you think of any huge mistakes made in life?”
“Yeah. Your mom not using birth control.”
For this Squall got another zap.
“Squall, what would you do if you could change the past?”
Squall looked at Seifer curiously.
“I mean, what If you found a way to travel back in time?”
“I would say you’re crazy, Seifer.”
“Not really. We discovered a device in the Pandora that Ultimecia had not instructed us on. We discovered from ancient records that the Sorceresses built a device that could bend time. They used a stone that could refract matter to such a high degree that the space-time would rip. The “gate” through time needed to be opened by a sorceress. Wait, let me re-word that. They would have to sacrifice a sorceress to open it. Energy would run through a conductor, into the sorceress whose powers it would drain to magnify itself, then into the stone. This stone, or crystal really, would then magnify the energy and create the time rip. The sorceresses never had a chance to use it because their enemies soon stole the crystal and hid it at the bottom of the ocean. And guess where we were for five years, Squall.”
Seifer’s story shocked Squall beyond comprehension. What would a madman like Seifer do with power like this? Squall thought.
“You’re going to kill Rinoa?” Squall asked, dazed.
“Yeah. Too bad, isn’t it? She’s good in the sack, too, eh? Ah, hell, you would know. Actually, we both screwed her. I guess Quistis was right. She is a slut,” Seifer explained.
“Don’t you ever talk that way about her! Never, do you understand me!” Squall yelled.
“What’s stopping me? You’re the one chained to an electrocution rack,” Seifer pointed out. “You know, you’re not the only ones we captured. All of the civilians made it out, but we managed to get Laguna, Kiros, Ward, Fujin, and Raijin, too. Guess their luck wasn’t too good either.”
Seifer paused. He looked at Squall.
“You know Squall, you’re to thank for all of this.”
“What?” Squall asked, perplexed.
“You eliminated Ultimecia for us. We could have crushed you any time we wanted to. But we thought it would have been better if you just killed the witch. Now, we get all the technology, all the power, without some bitch sorceress bossing us around,” Seifer said, chuckling. “Ohhhh, you stupid fools. Well, I’ve just loved this little get together. We’ll have to do it some other time. Until then… goodnight Squall.”
Seifer flipped the switch next to Squall. The electricity coursed through Squall again. And this time there seemed to be no end.
“Goodbye, Squall.”
The man was definitely suffering. Jennifer could see that as she opened the cell door. The man was strong and well-built, and could have easily overpowered her and escaped. A chill ran through Jennifer’s spine, but then she remembered the two armed guards outside of the cell. She walked over to the dark-haired man and set his food tray down in front of him. He looked horrible. A huge gash ran across his chest and his skin was slightly charred. He smelled like barbecue. He was sitting with his back against the wall, his head hanging and his dark hair covering his face. Jennifer thought he was asleep. Jennifer turned around, and before she could react the strong arm was around her neck. The fork from the food tray was pressed against her jugular vein in her neck.
“Don’t say a word if you want to live,” the man whispered into her ear.
Jennifer didn’t make a sound, but deep down she knew he wouldn’t hurt her. Something about his voice. The man hadn’t made a sound with any of his movements, so the guards had not moved from their spot. He pushed her forward slightly, so Jennifer began to walk slowly. Her neck began to ache. The man was squeezing hard. She was scared, but she hoped if she freed this man from his prison, he would free her from hers. The guards were standing on both sides of the door, their backs partially exposed in the door frame. Jennifer knew the guards would be suspicious soon. The dark-haired man slipped the fork into his pant pocket. They neared the guards and ended up standing a few inches behind one. One of the Galbadians had a pistol holstered in his back pant pocket. The man reached out with his free arm, silently slipping the gun out of its holster. The guard felt nothing. The man pointed the gun at the guard’s head, letting the barrel tap the metal helmet.
“Freeze,” the man said calmly.
Both guards turned around. One of them discovered a gun pointing at his face. And that face seemed familiar to the man. Jennifer felt the arm around her neck drop away, and she was pushed to the side.
“Hello, Wedge. What rank are you now?” the man asked cockily.
“Hello, Squall. I thought patrolling your cell would be a challenge. I guess I was right,” Wedge replied, just as smug.
This is the Squall? Jennifer thought, surprised. She knew him from her history lessons on the Galbadian Wars. Seifer’s arch rival, the general responsible for the death of Ultimecia.
The unnamed guard was still in shock. “How…what...you guys know each other? Don’t shoot me, man. I’m just a reservist! This is obviously a grudge thing, so I am just gonna leave, okay…” the young guard said, backing towards the exit.
Squall pointed the gun at him. “Don’t move,” he said firmly.
All of the sudden, Wedge’s leg arched up into Squall’s arm. This sent the gun in Squall’s hand flying. Wedge then executed a hard punch into Squall’s ribcage, knocking him farther back into the cell.
“I’ve been training for this,” Wedge said excitedly. He was hopping back and forth from one leg to the other, hands raised.
“But sir, Seifer wants him alive,” the young soldier said, holding Wedge back.
“I’ll make sure he’s still breathing,” Wedge said evilly. With that Wedge broke through the young soldier’s makeshift barrier.
Squall prepared himself as Wedge charged at him. Jennifer eyed the gun lying on the floor. The two men collided. Wedge was knocked over, but performed an excellent slide kick that took Squall’s legs right out from under him.
Why should you help him? There is no way he could take down the Galbadians, one part of Jennifer’s brain said.
That is just the Galbadian mental conditioning talking. Free him, and he’ll free you, the other part said.
But Jennifer’s uncertainties were obviously dominant, as she stood motionless and watched the fight. Wedge was on top of Squall, pounding his fists into his face. Blood was leaking from Squall’s nose.
Come on, Jennifer. Now’s the time to decide, she thought. Suddenly she remembered something else. If this is Squall, than the sorceress who was going to power the machine was… Jennifer was shocked. General Seifer must have told Squall his plan to lead the Galbadians to victory. He must have told Squall that he was going to kill his wife. Jennifer knew she had to do something fast. Squall had thrown Wedge off of him, and the young soldier was charging into the fray, his gunblade drawn.
Squall pushed with all his strength, managing to throw Wedge off. Wedge smashed against the wall. Squall jumped up, turning just in time to see the young soldier charging at him, gunblade raised high into the air. Squall had no time to react. He closed his eyes, waiting for the blow to end it all. Then he heard gunshots. Squall thought for a second that Wedge had shot him in the back, but then he felt the dead weight fall upon him. He opened his eyes to realize the dead weight was the limp body of the young soldier, his arms dangling around Squall’s neck. Blood poured from the back of his head. There were also bullet wounds in his side. Squall stepped backwards, letting the body fall to the ground. He looked right, where the sound of the shots came from. It was the young girl he had held hostage. She held the smoking gun in front of her as if it was the only thing keeping her alive. Determination shone in her face, and she was breathing deeply. Suddenly she let out a cry that sounded like a scared puppy’s, and let the gun slide out of her hands and drop to the floor. She fell to her knees and started to sob, head in her hands.
“You bitch!” Wedge yelled. “He was only 20 years old, just a damn rookie!”
Wedge exploded in fury. He drew his gunblade, charging across the cell towards her.
Seeing as the girl was in no state to fight back, Squall ran towards her too. As Squall neared her, he jumped, sliding along the slick metal floor. He grabbed the gun she had dropped, fire three times at Wedge before colliding with the girl. She ended up lying on top of him, still crying as hard as ever. The girl turned her head up to see a monstrous Wedge towering over them, his gunblade in striking position. She screamed. Squall saw his shots had missed. But, Wedge seemed to have missed the fact that Squall had a gun. Squall grabbed the girl’s shoulder, pulled her out of the line of fire, and pulled the trigger. Wedge’s evil grin continued until the initial shock wore off. He then realized he had been shot in the chest. Wedge slumped, rasping for air. Squall stood up, leaving Jennifer on the floor. He knelt next to Wedge.
“You put up a good fight, Wedge,” Squall comforted. And with that Wedge seemed satisfied.
“I…am…lung-shot,” Wedge said, gasping for breath constantly. “Finish…the job. Less…painful.”
Squall nodded his head solemnly. Not to alarm the girl any further, he took the pillowcase from the generic prison cot in the room and rapped it around the gun’s barrel. He then returned to Wedge.
“Goodbye, Wedge,” Squall said, and then he fired one well placed shot through the base of Wedge’s chin.
It severed his brainstem, killing him instantly. The sound of the gun was muffled by the pillowcase, so the girl hardly noticed. She seemed to be in a state of shock. Squall walked over to her.
“Can you tell me your name?” he said with all the patience of teacher talking to an autistic child.
“Jen-Jen-Jennifer,” she stammered.
“Can you tell me where we are?” Squall asked.
The girl named Jennifer seemed to have recovered from her fit. “We are in the Lunatic Pandora,” she said.
The Pandora? Why would Seifer bring us here? Squall thought, bewildered.
“How can I get out of here?” he asked next.
“The shuttle bay to the east. The blast door is most likely closed, so you can’t leave until you open it from the control room,” Jennifer answered.
“Where are the rest of the prisoners and where is my gear?” Squall asked quickly. He didn’t have much time.
“The rest of the prisoners are in the cells along the hallway,” Jennifer said, pointing towards the exit to the cell. She then proceeded to give Squall the directions to the armory, where he could find his gear along with his friends. And with that Jennifer sat down, knees folded. Squall didn’t ask her where Rinoa or Seifer were. He doubted she knew.
“Get out of here as soon as you can,” Squall ordered urgently.
“Okay,” she said. Squall hoped she could recover fast enough to escape. Squall knew in the end he would have to destroy the Pandora.
Zell and Irvine sat on the cold metal floor together. They were huddled together, shivering. They had been stripped of all their clothes, forced to wear prison boxers.
“Hey Irvine, d’ya figure this is some kinda’ mental torture? Stickin’ us in some freezin’ cold cell, makin’ us wear this short little boxers? D’ya think they want us to talk?” Zell asked Irvine, who was sitting next to him.
“Shut up Zell. You think too much,” Irvine responded indignantly. If I get my hands on the guy who fired that cannon… he thought.
Machine gun fire ripped through the air.
“What the hell?” Irvine questioned, standing up quickly. Zell also jumped up.
“Irvine, Zell, stand back from the door!” shouted a muffled voice from outside.
Irvine and Zell exchanged glances then slowly backed away. They would have to take the advice of whoever was on the other side. Suddenly, the large metal door locking them in exploded outward. The door flew off its hinges, traveling across the large cell until colliding with the far wall. Dust kicked up and Irvine and Zell vision was clouded. They saw a figure form in the dust cloud. It began to move towards them. Finally the dust cleared and the two prisoners found themselves face to face with a Galbadian squad leader. Neither of them moved. They were frozen in fear.
“Guys, relax,” said the soldier, ripping off his helmet.
“Squall!” Zell exclaimed. “How did you get out?”
“What about the rest of the group?” Irvine questioned.
Squall didn’t answer. He carried a large sack, which he flung off his back and quickly opened. He dug deep, lifting out two Galbadian uniforms.
“Put these on. There’s no time for questions. We have to get everyone out and rescue Rinoa,” Squall ordered.
Zell and Irvine looked at each other.
“Rescue Rinoa from what? Squall, what’s going on?” Irvine asked.
“Seifer’s alive,” Squall answered.
“Oh, God,” Zell said. “What’s he trying to do?”
Squall pulled out three machine guns from the sack. He changed the subject.
“Three Z-90 Personal Assault Rifles. Use them,” Squall commanded, throwing one to Zell, one to Irvine, and keeping one for himself.
Irvine and Zell, knowing they would get no more out of Squall, quickly slipped the uniforms on.
“We rescue the others first, and get them to the airship bay,” Squall said briskly.
He slung the bag around his shoulder. He looked at Zell and Irvine, as if waiting for something.
“Well, let’s go!” Squall ordered.
Squall reached into the pack with his free hand, pulling out his gunblade. He gazed at it for a while, then suddenly snapped back into reality. The group left the cell.
“Prisoners coming through!” Squall yelled.
The soldiers in the hallway moved to the side. Squall, Irvine and Zell marched side-by-side, their guns pointing at the backs of Laguna and Raijin. Squall wasn’t quite sure where he was going, but the prisoner ploy seemed to be working. They had been wondering around aimlessly for half an hour. They went through the door on the end of the hallway, finding themselves in the proto-ice column again.
“Dammit! Squall, do you even know where you’re going?” Zell asked, frustrated.
Squall looked around. He knew Seifer would be somewhere at the top of the column. He had always liked being above people.
“Man, I wish Ward was here. He always had a natural sense of direction,” Laguna said, sighing. “By the way, can I put my arms down when no one is around? They’re getting tired.”
They had left Ward with Kiros and Fujin in one of the transports. They were probably hiding in the cargo bay. Hopefully no-one would need take the ship they were in. He remembered going into the shuttle bay control room and opening the main blast door. Squall had discreetly disposed of most of the guards, and had left everyone in the bay. When the door opened he saw what was left of Deling City. Nothing. The Galbadians destroyed it all.
There goes Rinoa’s election, he had thought. Squall knew she would be distraught when she found out.
Also, Squall hoped the civilians had cleared the blast radius. He knew that Xu and the rest of the SeeDs had probably taken charge. There was a contingency plan for Nida to pick them up in the Ragnarok. Squall had seen the mighty ship leave with the rest of the escape ships before the Garden collided with the Pandora, but he did not know who was piloting it. He could only hope. Coming back to the present, Squall quickly came up with a plan.
“Follow me,” he ordered.
They walked up the sloping column. The pack on Squall’s pack was heavy, and his shoulders began to ache. In it were the explosives he intended to use to destroy the Pandora. Squall knew if he placed them at the very top of the proto-ice column, in the chamber were he had fought Adel, the Pandora would not stand a chance. The entire upper structure would separate, falling down the column and destroying it. Without the column structural support, the Pandora would collapse in on itself. Squall felt the dagger at his hip, the one from Headmaster Cid. It had become a kind of good luck charm to him. He hoped this would work. As they went up they column, they noticed a lone Galbadian squad leader. The red uniform was old and tarnished. Squall motioned for the rest of the group to stop, and then approached the soldier.
“Excuse me, sir,” Squall said in his best Galbadian accent. Most native Galbadians had a very distinct accent. “I was given orders to transport two prisoners. Apparently…” Squall tried to think what Seifer would call himself. The answer popped into his head. “High General Almasy wishes to see them. I need to know where he is now.
The squad leader had his back to Squall.
“Follow me,” he said, without turning around.
Squall motioned for the rest of the group to follow. Raijin was reluctant, but he soon took his place in front of Irvine. The followed the squad leader up the column some more, until they reached an elevator.
“Up that elevator will take you to the top structure. You will find General Seifer there,” the Galbadian said, still not turning his back.
The group stepped into the elevator. First Irvine and Raijin, then Zell and Laguna, and finally Squall himself.
“Thank you, sir,” Squall said as the elevator doors began to close.
The squad leader turned to face Squall.
“Private Biggs is always happy to oblige an old friend,” said Biggs. He began to laugh, just before the elevator doors closed.
“Oh, shit,” Squall whispered.
Everyone looked around, half-expecting the elevator to blow up. Instead, the alarm ripped through the air. A computer recording blared on the speaker overhead.
“Intruder alert. Intruder alert. Escaped prisoners in Elevator 4, heading to top level. Squads B,C and D intercept,” chimed the recording.
Everyone looked at Squall. Again it was time for him to be the leader. From where Squall was standing he could see right out of the glass back wall of the elevator. It let him see a good portion of the center of the proto-ice.
“Squall, what do we do?” Zell asked nervously.
Squall looked at all of them. Zell, shaking crazily. He had always pretended to be so courageous, but when the death knocked at the door he couldn’t deliver. Laguna, nervous at love but not at war. He stood strong, his dark black eyes were fixated on the elevator door. Squall could depend on Laguna. Irvine had nothing to lose. He was breathing rapidly. His rage had activated his adrenaline, and he would not hesitate for a moment to kill every Galbadian he could. Irvine was a short fuse, but Squall thought he could keep him under control. At last he looked a Raijin, but a sharp whining noise distracted him. It was coming from outside the elevator.
“What the hell is that?” yelled Laguna. The noise had gotten so loud that the group could hardly hear each other.
It was then that Squall saw it. The A.D.D. (Automatic Defense Drone) hovered into view. It huge bulk could barely be supported by its small propulsion jets. The Galbadians had modified it from the original Balamb design, making more room for guns. The four 50mm Rail Cannons began to rotate. Everyone turned to look at it.
“Irvine, get do…” Squall started, but did not get to finish.
The cannons all opened up at once. The elevator was torn to pieces. The huge rail bullets traveled near the speed of light, so fast they were only their wake of energy was visible. They entered through the bullet-proof glass and exited through the solid metal doors like a hot knife through butter. Squall jumped to the ground, face to the floor. Shards of glass and jagged metal cut the back of his head. The noise was unimaginable. It was if Squall had jumped into a tornado. Suddenly, the noise stopped. There was no other noise either, the elevator had stopped rising. The lifting mechanism was obviously destroyed. Squall looked up. Laguna was on the floor next to him. The back of his head was bloody, like Squall assumed his own was.
“Laguna! What’s going on?” Squall whispered. Laguna knew a lot about technology.
“His barrels have overheated. It takes about forty-five seconds for them to cool down. That’s what they get for tampering with our design,” Laguna explained.
Squall looked forward. He could see the barrels had stopped spinning. Irvine was crouched in the corner and Zell and Raijin were nowhere to be seen. Glass and blood littered the elevator. The bot obviously had thermal imagers so there was no point in trying to fool it by playing dead, so Squall got up. Irvine was still in the corner behind him, but he did not think anything of it yet. He was scared of what may have happened to Zell. He ran to the edge where the window used to be, and then saw a sight that relieved him. Zell was hanging off the edge and he was not hit, but pretty badly scratched up by the glass. He looked up at Squall, who offered his hand to help him up. Once Zell was aboard the elevator, Squall made the assumption that Raijin must have fallen to his death.
“You gonna be okay, Zell?” asked Squall. Raijin had become a pretty good friend to Zell, and Squall knew Fujin would be devastated.
Zell nodded, but did not look directly at Squall.
“Thirty seconds!” Laguna yelled, knocking Zell out of his mourning.
Laguna had gotten to his feet and was looking at his watch. As Laguna and Zell looked for a way to escape, Squall ran to Irvine.
“Come on, we gotta go,” Squall said, kneeling down beside Irvine.
He didn’t budge. Squall then noticed the pool of blood beneath.
“Oh, God no,” Squall whispered.
Squall lifted pushed Irvine’s legs down and pulled his arms away from his chest. There was a gaping hole in Irvine’s chest. The rail bullet ripped right through him. Squall was shocked. He lips were moving, but words refused to come out.
“Squall come…oh my God,” Zell finished.
Zell and Laguna walked over.
“Guys, I’m so sorry,” Laguna comforted.
Squall stood up, grabbed his assault rifle, and walked to the empty edge facing the A.D.D.
“Laguna, Irvine. You guys find a way to the top. Set the explosives. You can detonate them remotely. If it doesn’t look like me or Rinoa is coming out, you know what to do,” Squall said solemnly.
Squall’s shock had been replaced by anger and a sense of purpose. Seifer would pay for what he had done.
“Squall…what are you doing?” Laguna asked calmly. He was afraid he was going to do something crazy.
Squall did not answer. The A.D.D. was very close now, so Squall jumped.
“SQUALL!” Zell yelled.
The A.D.D. pulled back, and for a second Squall thought he wasn’t going to make it. As he flew through the air he began to drop. He passed under the A.D.D. he shoved his arm into the tangle of cords on the bottom of it. Grabbing a whole bundle of wires he caught himself. The two propulsion jets were on both sides of him and the heat was unbearable. He slung the rifle over his back and grabbed onto the wires with his other hand. Squall looked back at the elevator. Zell and Laguna looked on in amazement. Squall looked above the elevator and saw the maintenance ladder leading up along the wall behind the elevator. There was a maintenance hatch at the top of the elevator.
“Zell! Laguna! The hatch…the ladder! Go to the top!” Squall yelled to the two.
Laguna and Zell nodded. The heat was about to overpower Squall. With all of his strength, he flung himself feet first onto the back of the drone. The drone was zooming back and forth, trying to throw Squall off. He grabbed onto the radar cone of the robot to hold himself steady. He then pulled himself to the top of the robot and straddled it. Squall was trying to remember the specs of the robot. He had to approve them when the prototype was being tested for SeeD use. Suddenly, he remembered. There was a hidden maintenance hatch on the top. Hidden so it could not be tampered with by people not cleared for usage. Hopefully the Galbadians hadn’t altered the design too much. The drone shook left and right, and Squall struggled to stay on. The robot began to ascend, and Squall was hit with a huge attack of vertigo, which he had to shake off quickly. Squall’s hand searched across the smooth metallic top. Finally, he felt a bump. Tapping the bump twice, a small section of the robot’s metallic exoskeleton hissed and popped off. Squall held on tight and inspected the mess of wires inside the A.D.D. He had no idea what to do. Then he remembered Zell’s old saying. “When in doubt, give it a good smash”.
“How about a good slash,” Squall whispered to himself.
He pulled out his dagger, jabbing into the nearest bundle of wires and ripping them apart. The robot suddenly stopped moving then flew upward at a insane speed.
“Oh, damn!” Squall yelled.
The top structure was getting closer, and so was the end of the proto-ice column. Before Squall could react the drone had reached the end of the line. It clipped a walkway, which sent it spinning wildly out of control. Squall flew off the A.D.D. and landed on the walkway. The sudden stop inflamed the pain in his previously dislocated arm. The robot spun wildly, colliding with the ceiling of the proto-ice column. The sharp impact caused it to explode. The alarm was also still sounding.
Here come the guards! Squall thought.
Getting up, he grabbed the assault rifle off his shoulder, checking the clip and cocking it just to make sure. From his memory, he was on the walkway that led to where he fought Adel. The memory still horrified him. Squall had come very close to losing Rinoa that day. He knew he wouldn’t find Rinoa in Adel’s chamber, so he turned around. He knew that if he went the other way he would reach the chamber where he fought Seifer five years ago. If Squall knew Seifer would be waiting for him there. The upper structure had been remodeled since that fateful day, soon found out he had t take a different route to get to Rinoa. Squall ran to the door guarding the main section of the structure. Surprisingly, the door slid open for him, even though it required special clearance. Squall found himself staring at a hallway full of Galbadian soldiers.
“Freeze!” ordered the lead soldier.
The word setup flashed through Squall’s mind.
This was all arranged, Squall realized.
He raised his hands into the air, placing them behind his head.
“Now drop the gun!” commanded the soldier.
Squall was just about to drop the gun when several loud explosions ripped through the air. The Pandora shook wildly and most of the soldiers were thrown off their feet. Squall held onto the doorframe to steady himself. He had a whole belt of grenades strapped around his waist. Before the soldiers could recover Squall unlatched the belt, throwing it into the hallway of Galbadians. Squall leapt backwards, firing at the belt in midair. A bullet hit one of the grenades, igniting the explosives. The hallway filled with flames, and the shockwave sent Squall flying. He flew off the walkway, catching himself with one hand. The flames eventually subsided, whereupon Squall lifted himself back up. The bodies of the soldiers littered the hallway. Some had been disintegrated by the blast but most had just burned to death. Squall held his nose and walked through. Seifer knew from the beginning that Squall would try and escape. That was why he sent his aide to Squall’s cell. She was weak and Seifer knew Squall would use that to break out. Seifer was playing a game with Squall. And in the end he just wanted to fight. Seifer had found a way to carry out a vendetta without looking weak to his men. Squall ran down the corridor. Seifer would pay.
Rinoa awoke. Her head hurt badly, and her memory fogged up. Suddenly, the events of the past day flashed back to her. She looked around. She was spread eagled on the floor, her arms and legs strapped down by restraints. Above Rinoa was what looked like a large hexagonal crystal, suspended by four thin metal cables. Above it was a giant laser.
“What…” Rinoa whispered weakly.
The room around her was dark. She couldn’t see the walls. Rinoa had this strange feeling of floating alone in space. She looked at the restraints on her wrists and ankles. She fidgeted, and the restraints proved solid. Rinoa noticed her tongue was unusually dry. She had no idea how long she had been here. The last thing she remembered clearly was seeing the Lunatic Pandora. The worst feeling passed over her, and then that was it. She just woke up here. Suddenly, the overhead lights flashed on. Rinoa was blinded by the glare. She turned her head and blinked her eyes repeatedly. Her eyes adjusted to the glare, and the room became clear. It was basically empty, aside from a control console next to her. She assumed it must be what operated the device overhead. That thought unsettled Rinoa. Her mind had fully cleared, and the fear of the unknown had set in. All of the sudden, Rinoa realized where she was. This was the room where they had fought Seifer 5 years ago. She was in the Pandora. The room was a little different than she remembered. Several doors lead into it instead of one. But it had to be the same place. Suddenly, one of the doors opened. The two people that entered took the breath right out of Rinoa.
“Rinoa, good to see you,” Seifer greeted.
Quistis looked on over his shoulder. Her expression could have been described as nothing less than demonic.
The traitor, Rinoa realized.
Rinoa could not speak easily, so she gave up trying. The emotions that rushed to her mind overwhelmed her. Everything became clear.
“Sorry about the restraints, sweetheart, but we agreed that they would be necessary,” Seifer explained, grinning. “Oh, that reminds me. You may not be able to talk for a while. Side affect of the mental paralysis wave,” He said.
Both Quistis and Seifer walked forward and stood next to Rinoa. Seifer walked around her to the console. He pressed a few buttons and the laser above her hummed to life.
“Why…” whispered Rinoa.
Seifer looked up from the console at Rinoa. Quistis was also surprised by Rinoa’s ability to speak.
“Well…let’s see…” Seifer said sarcastically. “Let’s just say me and Quistis are two forlorn souls searching for love, eh?” Seifer laughed.
“You could also say we are getting revenge,” Quistis finished. “Well, it won’t matter to you soon.”
“Hey, this could take a while. Why don’t you get some rest?” Seifer said, laughing again.
Rinoa felt the darkness enveloping her. Whatever Seifer had used to knock her out earlier hadn’t entirely worn off yet. She was as scared as she had ever been, but she couldn’t stay awake. Rinoa closed her eyes and sleep came.
Squall sprayed the barracks with bullets. Unluckily, his only path to Seifer lay through the barracks, and therefore the combat was heavy. The barracks were made up of 10 rooms, five on each side, which lie off the main hallway. He just entered the fifth room, on his count, and used the same tactic as the other rooms. Suddenly, instead of a firing noise came a clicking noise. The gun was jammed.
“Damn!” he yelled, throwing the gun to the floor.
Quickly, he pulled out his two pistols, which he had “borrowed” from Wedge upon his escape. Squall saw no sign of movement in the room. Feathers from exploded pillows and mattresses flew through the air. No one was in this room. Squall relaxed slightly. All of the guards must have been in the first four rooms. Squall leaned backwards, peering into the main hallway. No guards were coming. With that Squall continued his dash down the long hallway. It was if the Lunatic Pandora was taunting him. The hallway seemed never-ending. Finally, a door came into sight, and in front of it stood Quistis. Squall halted about 20 feet away from her.
“Hello again, Squall,” she said calmly.
Squall knew that Quistis was responsible for everything. She had been in constant contact with Seifer for the past couple of years, feeding him all the information he needed. All of this was because she just couldn’t accept the fact the he loved Rinoa.
“I don’t want to have to hurt you,” Squall responded after some thought.
“Oh, if that isn’t a cliché,” Quistis snapped back.
All of the sudden the floor entire hallway rocked back and forth. Both Quistis and Squall maintained balance, but were badly shaken. It took them both a second to regain their composure. Quistis was the first to speak again.
“Looks like your friends are trying to rescue you. That Ragnarok packs quite a punch,” Quistis said.
Squall knew she was right. Nida must have been at the helm, because besides Selphie no-one was very good at piloting the mighty ship.
“I wouldn’t get your hopes up though,” Quistis continued. ”We have already sent our ships to engage them. And I guarantee you our units will quickly overpower yours.”
Squall knew that Quistis was right again. If the Galbadian airship fleet was at its former glory the Balamb fleet, even with the help of the Ragnarok, would not last long.
“Quistis, please. Stop this charade. You know Seifer isn’t really going to fulfill his end of the bargain. You know how manipulative he is. I don’t know what he promised you, but…” Squall was cut off.
“He promised me you!” she yelled, pointing at him. Tears began to run down her face. “He said I would be able to go back with him. Back to that summer 6 years ago. He would keep Rinoa away from you. Change the flow of history. And by doing that, I would get you! That was all that I wanted! Why couldn’t you see?” Quistis screamed.
She fell to her knees and began to cry. Squall was deeply moved, and for the first time he finally understood her. He walked over and kneeled beside her. She looked up. He gently brushed the hair out of her face.
“Maybe, if things had been different…” Squall said tenderly. “You know you will always be the closest friend I will ever have. I love you. I always will. But as a family member. Family. That was what we were. Irvine and Selphie were both part of our family. They were killed. By Seifer. You must have some feelings for them. If you do, please help me to rescue Rinoa.”
Quistis sniffed. Her face was very red, but she seemed to have recovered.
“Irvine…Selphie…they were killed?” Quistis asked, sniffling.
“Yes. Selphie was killed by the Pandora’s laser and Irvine by the attack drone,” Squall answered.
“Oh, God,” she said. The blow came hard to her.
Squall gave Quistis some time to recover. Apparently she did not think Seifer would hurt any of her friends. Quistis had been blinded by her emotions, making it easy for Seifer to manipulate her. Squall did not know for how long had had been feeding Seifer information, but he assumed it must have started as far back as the wedding. Quistis had shown up, but not once did she smile, laugh, or even talk. She just stared at Rinoa the whole time. Squall remembered looking at her in the pews. The stare seemed to pierce right through him. It was full of hatred, and longing. He remembered feeling sorry for her, and had tried to talk to her. But it was his wedding day, and he quickly forgot about her.
“This is my fault,” she whispered.
Squall, fearing Quistis would soon lapse into another fit of weeping, interjected quickly.
“No, Quistis, it is Seifer’s fault. He’s the one that is doing all of this. You can make it all end. You just have to tell me where he is,” Squall comforted.
Finally everything had become clear to her. She knew that she had been manipulated. Her expression became rigid.
“Go through the door behind me, then look for the door marked Generator. Go through that room and out through the door on the opposite side. You’ll find him and Rinoa there. You have to hurry, though. Once he starts the devices final countdown there will be no stopping it,” she said, the stolid expression on her face still remaining.
“Okay. Thanks. Get yourself to docking bay 3 and find Ward. He’s hiding in the cargo bay of the red transport. Get them both and radio the Ragnarok using the COM link you’re wearing. The frequency is 44.22.55. Tell them to attempt to land in the bay. Zell and Laguna will probably make it back before me, but if it looks like I’m not coming back I want you to get out of here with the rest of them. When those charges go off the Pandora will collapse in on itself. Do you understand?” Squall explained.
“Yes,” she answered.
Squall kissed her softly on the lips, then got up and began his run.
“Go!” he yelled, before the door closed behind him.
Quistis was slightly shocked by his kiss. She had forgotten how much he had changed over these past few years. She got up and ran in the opposite direction. She hoped he made it out in time.
“Rinoa, wake up,” a voice said in the darkness.
Her eyes opened. She sighed. She had had the worst dream. She had dreamt she was captured by Seifer and that Deling City was destroyed. When her vision cleared Rinoa realized that it wasn’t a dream. She was back in the room with the laser, and Seifer was standing over her, grinning.
“You’ve been sleeping for quite a while,” he said. “I didn’t think you wanted to die in your sleep, so I woke you up.
Rinoa found that she could talk now, so she spoke.
“Die?” she asked clearly.
“Yes,” Seifer answered, “I’m afraid so. You see, this machine requires the life force of a sorceress. And Edea was too old and her powers were fading, so you have to be used. Sorry. Nothing personal.”
“You’re crazy,” Rinoa replied.
Seifer laughed. “You think I’m crazy?!? What about you? You’re the one who left me for the quiet, introverted guy! You could have ruled with me, but no, you choose Squall. The person who is so innocent, the person that plays by the rules. I’ve been meaning to ask you this question for 5 years, but I haven’t had the chance until now. Why him?”
“Because he cared!” she snapped back. “He jumped into outer space to save me! Would you have risked you life, your power to save me? No, you don’t really love me. You wouldn’t know true love if it walked right by you. You just wanted me along as your toy, but you rationalized it by making yourself think you loved me. Squall had no aspirations of glory. He saw me as an equal, and sometimes even as a superior. And I just get this feeling when I’m around him. The feeling that I can depend on him. That I am with the right person. I know that he won’t think twice before jumping down into the flames of Hell to save me. He cares more about other people than himself. That is a quality that you will never have, Seifer.”
Seifer did not like this answer.
“Well,” he said, “it won’t matter soon. Goodbye Rinoa.”
Seifer tapped a button on the console. The laser above Rinoa hummed to life. Suddenly, as computer voice chimed in.
“Final countdown initiated. Five minutes until time rip,” the voice stated.
Oh, God. Please don’t let me die, Rinoa thought.
Suddenly, the door to the room slid open.
Squall saw that the laser had already begun its power up. He did not have long to get Rinoa out of the way.
“Ahhhh, Squall. You are just in time,” Seifer said cockily.
“Squall, help me!” Rinoa screamed.
Squall dare not use guns in this place. The bullets would ricochet off the walls, and they might hit Rinoa. Seifer had known this, which would explain why he placed the device in this room. Squall and Seifer both drew their gunblades.
“Finally, it’s down to one-on-one. And just to make sure…” Seifer said.
The computer voice returned, saying, “Anti-magic barrier activated.”
The Black Mercenary faces of with the White Knight for the last time, Squall thought.
“Let’s get to it,” he said.
Squall charged Seifer. He spun around, aiming to swing the blade down across Seifer’s chest. Seifer reacted quickly. Holding the blade up with two hands he blocked the blow. He then pushed up with his blade, pushing Squall backwards and forcing him off balance. Squall dodged to the left, narrowly avoiding Seifer’s jab. Squall swung the blade up, but it was parried by Seifer before reaching his waist. Seifer pulled is sword back first, slicing crosswise. Squall parried it, and for a moment there blades were lodged together, both of them trying to overpower one another. Seifer grinned at Squall, and then received a sharp kicked in the gut. This caused him to stumble backwards, giving Squall time for a powerful overhand blow. Squall pulled he sword high above his head, preparing to end it all. Seifer was double over and coughing up blood. But before Squall brought the blow down Seifer executed a surprise attack, swinging the blade up. Squall did not block it and was left with a moderately deep cut across his chest. Distracted by the pain, Squall did not recover in time to dodge Seifer’s punch. Seifer’s knuckles landed on Squall’s jaw, swiping his head sideways and knocking him to the ground. As he lay flat Seifer brought his blade down upon him. Squall rolled out of the way just as the blade came crashing down. Seifer had transferred most of his weight to his gunblade, so Squall kicked the sword out of Seifer’s hands, causing him to lose his weapon and fall to the ground. Squall jumped to his feet, standing over Seifer, his gunblade ready to strike at a moments notice. A small trickle of blood ran from Seifer’s mouth.
“That was a hard kick,” Seifer said, laughing.
“Give up now,” Squall commanded.
“Oh, Squall. You are so naïve. You know I could never do that,” Seifer responded.
“Three minutes until time rip,” chimed the computer voice.
Seifer was out of the fight temporarily, so Squall turned and ran to the device. Strangely, Seifer said or did nothing, as if he expected this. Squall kneeled beside Rinoa. She was frightened out of her mind. Sweat poured down her face.
“I won’t let you die,” Squall said, grabbing her hand and squeezing it hard.
She nodded. Rinoa trusted him, and he would not let her down. The restraints were solid metal half-circles. They were probably controlled by a computer. Squall left her side, heading to the console. All the while Seifer did nothing, but instead he just watched. Arriving at the console Squall observed that none of the buttons were labeled. The labels had all been pulled or scratched beyond recognition.
“Enjoying my games, Squall?” Seifer asked.
Seifer was on his feet now, walking slowly over to Squall.
“You got an “A” on the prison break, but I had to give you a “B-“on the A.D.D. because of the two deaths,” Seifer said.
This remark infuriated Squall, but he did not turn to face Seifer. He was concentrating on the scratched labels. He had a slight chance of reading those.
“Here’s a riddle to help you solve this one. If blue is yellow, and yellow is blue then what is a?” Seifer said.
What the hell does that mean? Squall thought.
Knowing that questioning would get him nowhere, Squall began to think it through in his mind.
Okay, Squall, think, Squall commanded himself.
Squall scanned his brain for some sort of pre-acquired knowledge that might help him. He remembered Matron’s lessons at the old orphanage.
Mixing colors! Yellow and blue is green! Squall’s mind screamed.
He remembered how much he loved to mix colors when he was young. Each day for two hours Edea would sit everyone down and she would teach basic skills. It started out as simple things and as they got older progressed into complicated math and science. When Squall was four she had them memorize the basic colors and how they could be mixed together. But, how did ‘a‘ fit into the equation?
‘A’ could mean anything, Squall thought. That’s it! Anything! Its algebra!
Squall remembered Edea teaching them basic algebra at the age of 10. He had trouble understanding why letters represented numbers until she explained variables. Squall figured that Seifer meant for the ‘a’ to be a variable.
So ‘a’ is green! Squall thought.
Squall looked at the console. He saw there was one green button. Seifer must have thrown in the ‘a’ to confuse him. Squall pressed the green button. Rinoa’s restraints opened in the center and retracted to each side. She scrambled up, out of the path laser and into Squall’s arm.
“It’s okay, it’s okay…” Squall comforted, stroking her hair.
“No, it’s not,” Seifer said.
Rinoa turned her head to look at him. He was pointing a pistol at both of them. Out of his pocket he pulled a remote control.
“Wow, you cut it close. Only 15 seconds left,” Seifer said, showing Squall and Rinoa the display at the top of the control.
Suddenly, Squall noticed something strange. Seifer’s clothes had ripped, and revealed a strange red pendant. It hung from his neck by a silver chain. The jewel hanging from the chain was glowing blood red. Seifer realized that Squall was looking at the gem.
“It was a gift from Edea when I first started to serve her. Well, serve Ultimecia to be more precise,” he explained.
“10 seconds until time-rip,” the computer voice said.
“Get back onto the platform, Rinoa. Do it or I kill Squall,” Seifer commanded.
Rinoa looked up at Squall. She smiled.
“No. You aren’t going anywhere,” Squall said. He held onto her tight.
“I have to. I’m sorry I have been so much trouble. From the very beginning I’m always the one who had to be rescued. That ends here. Stop Seifer, Squall. You have to stop him,” Rinoa said.
She pulled herself free of Squall’s harsh grip on her. Walking over to the laser and taking her place beneath it.
“Five seconds,” said the computer.
Squall stood in disbelief. He was about to lose everything that was important to him, but he could do nothing. If he tried to save her he would be shot by Seifer and she would die anyway.
“Time rip commence,” the computer voice stated.
Any second Squall expected the laser to fire, but it did not. Instead, a panel in the ceiling opened and a T.V. screen was lowered down. The screen sparked to life, and on it appeared the face Ultimecia. She began to speak
“Hello, Seifer. I am recording this during the compression of time. If you are hearing this I have died and you are trying to access power greater than you could ever control. I would be a fool to let a device of the much power fall into your hands. So I have planned to do something a little more productive with the Pandora. I have pre-programmed the navigation systems to take the Pandora’s course directly over Esthar. There all four reactors will simultaneously go into overdrive. That much strain will cause them to go critical, producing an explosion like no other. The entire city of Esthar will be destroyed, not to mention you. Goodbye, Seifer,” Ultimecia said. The screen turned off.
Everyone in the room was shocked.
“No. How could she!” Seifer said.
His COM link began to buzz. Seifer answered it.
“Sir, something is wrong. We’ve lost control of the Pandora. Were heading towards Esthar, and our reactors are going critical!” the bridge officer said distressfully.
Seifer did not respond. He only stared at the blank TV screen.
“I should have seen this. I should have seen this coming!” He yelled.
And without warning charged Squall. Squall, who had been creeping silently to Rinoa, could not react in time. Seifer collided with Squall, knocking them both to the ground. Seifer got to his knees and grabbed Squall’s neck, holding him to the ground. Squall found it harder and harder to breath. His vision began to get blurry. Seifer muscles bulged on his arm, and the strange red amulet hung down from his neck. Rinoa screamed. She came running at Seifer, leaping at him and scoring a hard kick right in the center of his forehead. His head jerked back. Rinoa lost her balance and fell, but Seifer was also temporarily stunned. Squall had lost his gunblade when he fell, so he pulled the dagger out of the sheath on his waste. Seifer was just looking back down just a Squall jabbed the dagger at him. Seifer caught Squall’s hand, forcing it sideways. The dagger struck the metal chain from Seifer’s amulet, severing it. With the chain separated, the amulet fell from Seifer’s neck. Strangely, the expression on Seifer’s face changed from malice to confusion. Suddenly, he gasped and hopped backwards off of Squall. He blinked rapidly, as if he had just come out of a trance.
“The amulet…it was controlling me,” he said, bewildered.
Squall knew he was right. He said it had been a gift from Edea while she was possessed. Ultimecia had taken advantage of Seifer’s headstrong, power-hungry attitude and used it against him. It was if the true Seifer had been blind-folded, as the amulet lead him around. Seifer wouldn’t have risked so much for this “time machine”, but the amulet had given him a push down that path, and the momentum had carried him here.
“The entire time…I can’t believe it,” Seifer said again, still amazed. Then he looked up at Squall and something he had never said before. “I’m sorry”
He then turned to Rinoa and said the same thing.
“I am so sorry,” he finished.
Squall was on his feet quickly and next to Seifer even faster.
“You can beg for forgiveness later,” Squall said. “Right now we have to get out of here.”
Squall offered his hand, which Seifer seemed slightly hesitant to take. But after a moment’s deliberation he grabbed it hard, upon which Squall pulled him up.
“I guess the White Knight and the Black Mercenary aren’t rivals anymore,” Seifer mused.
“I guess not,” Squall responded.
They both looked at Rinoa. She had gotten up and was standing beside them.
She smiled. “Now I never thought I see this happen,” she said, laughing.
Squall looked back to Seifer, who nodded and smiled. Squall smiled back.
“Come on, enough with the secret guy-code. We have to get out of here,” Rinoa said. A tone of urgency crept into her voice.
The problem at hand came back to them.
“Seifer, is there any way one of your people could override the course set by Ultimecia?” Squall asked.
“Possibly. But the reactors we can’t undo. If she set them to go critical it would take half-an-hour to repair them. And were going to be over Esthar in less than twenty minutes,” Seifer explained.
“Damn. Okay, Seifer. Get your boys to work. We’re gonna send have to get this thing out into the middle of the Southern Ocean,” Squall said. It seemed strange that Seifer was finally accepting him as a leader.
“But Squall, why don’t we put it in the ocean?” Seifer asked.
“If this thing were to explode under the ocean it would send a giant tsunami to all of the continents and interfere with seismic activity. I could cause earthquakes all over the world,” Squall explained.
Seifer nodded then began to give his orders into his COM link.
“Okay, I’m done. Let’s get out of here,” Seifer said.
He then pressed a button on the COM link which caused an alarm to go off throughout the ship. He had also called off the attacks on the Balamb fleet and told the Ragnarok to come aboard. The alarm now was an evacuation alarm. He was broadcasting to the radios on the other ships, hoping they would know to get the hell away. They began their run to the docking bay.
Nida sat in the cockpit of the Ragnarok which sat in docking bay 3. Behind him were Quistis, Zell, Laguna and a strange girl whom seemed to have been told by Squall to come aboard. Ward, Kiros, and Fujin were in the medical bay. Galbadian soldiers poured through the door to the back, boarding their ships and fleeing as fast as they could two soldiers broke off from the rest of the pack, then sprinted towards the Ragnarok and throwing off their helmets. They turned out to be Zell and Laguna, who Nida lowered the boarding ramp for. They came up to the cockpit, breathing heavily.
“Any sign of Squall or Rinoa?” Zell asked.
“No,” Nida answered.
“Shit,” Laguna said.
Nida had thought it strange how the air attacks were called off and the Ragnarok was allowed to board. After meeting up with the SeeDs and soldiers who were evacuating the civilians on the outskirts of Deling City (or what was left of it) he had taken the Ragnarok and leapt into the ensuing air battle. He had ordered all of the Balamb fleet to leave the Garden and charge the Pandora. But he would have never expected for Seifer himself to order the Galbadians to stop firing. Nida assumed that Squall must have “persuaded” him to do so, which lead Nida to believe Squall was alive.
Squall, Rinoa and Seifer burst into docking bay three, encompassed by a flood of Galbadians. They saw the Ragnarok, sitting proudly, about 50 yards away.
“Go ahead!” Squall yelled to Seifer and Rinoa. He wanted to make sure there would be no surprises.
They both nodded and ran towards the Ragnarok. Squall pulled out both of his pistols, stepping out of the crowd of soldiers. He watched the door, occasionally glancing back to see how Rinoa and Seifer were doing. Finally, they reached the boarding ramp, and were waiting for him. Squall turned and ran.
Biggs entered the docking bay just in time to see Squall running towards the Ragnarok. Biggs had entered at the back of the line of soldiers, as not to arouse suspicion. He would make Squall pay for everything. Biggs raised the sniper rifle to eye level, adjusting the scope to the right length. He sighted Squall in the center, aiming for the head. Clicking the switch on the side, he set the rate of fire to three round burst, just to be safe. Before Biggs could fire a missile from the Ragnarok detached and flew at the entrance next to Biggs. Seeing the missile out of the corner of his eye, Biggs knew it was all over. The missile hit the wall behind him, showering him with a lethal barrage of shrapnel. But before the first piece of shrapnel had hit him, he had depressed the trigger to the rifle.
The first bullet hit Squall in the shoulder, the second in center of his back, and the third in his right calf. The high-velocity bullets all but tore him apart. Squall felt the searing pain overcome him. He stumbled, falling to the ground. Blood poured from his wounds. His left calf muscle was severed, and his one of the bullets was lodge in his shoulder blade. He could not move. Squall coughed up blood. He felt as if he was going to die right there. But then hands fell upon him. His vision was blurring, so he could not tell who had picked him up, but he could hear muffled voices. The last thing he heard was the voice of Rinoa.
She was saying, “Don’t die. Please don’t die.”
Squall wanted to comfort her, to say he loved her, but he could not. His vision became so blurred that blackness began to creep in from the side of his vision. It slowly engulfed all of his sight. He faded away to blackness.
The first thing Squall sensed was a soft presence all around him. Then a wonderfully fragrant smell filled his nostrils. It was so wonderful, a mix of lavender and jasmine. It was the most pleasant air he had ever smelled. He had never felt so comfortable and content before, and he wished to lie where he was forever. But he felt obligated to find out where he was. He opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was and endless sea of azure blue, which he soon realized was the sky. It was cloudless, which was an odd thing for the rainy season. Suddenly he remembered all that had happened to him in the past day. Squall was so stunned that he stood upright, and what he saw was almost enough to knock him down again. He was in a giant field of flowers. A long distance off in front of him was a range of breathtaking mountains. The only clouds he could see were around their peaks. To his far left and right were beautiful forests. Squall started to wonder how he got here. He remembered running towards the Ragnarok, and then the pain. He had been shot. Squall looked down at himself. There was no blood. His clothes were completely clean. Squall, completely bewildered, began to walk forward through the field of flowers. He noticed that something was missing, which he soon realized was noise. Squall looked at his feet and saw that the flowers were not crushed under his heavy boots. Instead they swayed gently around his feet and to the side, taking their places again after he picked up his foot. He continued to walk forward and began to lose himself again in this beautiful world. Everything was so serene, so peaceful. The only thing that broke his concentration was the bright light that was slowly glowing brighter and brighter on the ground beneath the mountains. He stopped, trying to discern what it was. But his contemplation was interrupted by a tap on his soldier. Squall spun around, only to see Irvine standing behind him.
“Hey, Squall,” Irvine greeted.
Squall was stunned.
“How?” Squall managed to ask
“Well, that is going to take some explaining,” Irvine said, laughing heartily.
Squall could not understand. He had seen Irvine’s lifeless body. He had seen the blood. There was no way he could be standing here now.
“Well, Squall, remember how when we were kids, we always were told how when we die, we going to a better place? Well, that better place happens to just beyond the horizon over there,” Irvine explained, pointing to the bright light a ways off.
Squall did not answer for a long time.
I’m…dead? Squall thought.
He remembered the darkness. How everything had faded away.
“No,” Squall said.
“Hey, I know it’s hard to accept. Give it some time,” Irvine said, trying to calm Squall down.
“No! I can’t be dead! What about everyone else? I don’t want to leave them!” Squall yelled.
Irvine put his arm around Squall, walking him forward.
“That’s okay. But there is someone else that wants to talk to you,” Irvine said.
Squall looked at Irvine.
“Who?” Squall asked.
“Your mother,” Irvine answered, smiling. “I have to go tell her you’re ready. Excuse me,” Irvine said.
Irvine disappeared before Squall’s eyes, but he was too preoccupied to notice. Squall could not remember his mother. He had been taken from her at such an early age and placed in Edea’s orphanage. But why had he been taken in the first place not even Edea knew. She had found him on the doorstep. No notes, no letters. Squall suddenly felt the presence of someone behind him. He turned around slowly.
“Hello, son,” the woman said.
She ran her hand through her long black hair. Squall looked down upon her. She was a short woman. Her face seemed strangely familiar. And then it came to him.
“Mom?” Squall asked like a little lost boy.
“Yes,” Raine answered.
The full force of everything hit Squall. He fell to the ground, landing hard on his rear. He put his hand to his forehead. The death of Irvine and Selphie, his own death, and now this. He didn’t think he could take this. Just when Squall thought he was going to go crazy Raine kneeled down beside him. She looked exactly the same as Squall remembered her from his dreams of Laguna.
“I know this is hard to take in. Just let me explain,” she said in a sweet voice. “I hadn’t told Laguna that I was pregnant when he left to find Ellone. I thought it would distract him. I wanted him to find Ellone as much as anyone and he was the only one that could do it. I also didn’t want any rumors to spread. You know from those memories how much Winhill’s citizens hated Laguna. I guess I didn’t want to be hated too. I’m sorry. It’s my fault that you didn’t know anything. I should have told Laguna. I was just to afraid.”
She put her arm on Squall’s shoulder.
“Finish the story,” he said. His voice seemed drained of all emotion.
“Okay. I was hoping that Laguna would make it back in time for the birth, but I went into labor before he showed any sign of returning. I remember their being a horrible storm that day. I was in this small room with a doctor and a nurse and that was it. I remember when I first saw you. I knew you would be special. I looked out the window and I saw lighting flash. And that’s when I nam