Disclaimer: I do not own FF VIII or any characters used. Sorry I don't update with any regularity.
The Price We Pay
Chapter VII
As the memories flowed through him, a sense of understanding dawned on Squall. He remembered now why this meadow had held importance. It was the place where he had first seen Rinoa. He hadn't realized that he'd seen her in his life before he had died. It was his devotion to his art and seeing her that had led him back here each night for six full months. Squall's desire to see her again had led him to this place so many times… and had ultimately led to his death.
Now that he was no longer irked by his inability to remember that, he was not left in contentment for long. The man he had run into… who had it been? The face seemed slightly familiar, yet no name fit with it. The glimpse into his past had not allowed his mind to recall who exactly the mysterious man was. Squall would figure that out later.
The sun was beginning to rise, which Squall took as a signal to begin his search for Rinoa. But first he had to visit the Garden, his beloved home. He had loved it there, even though he did not realize it until it was far too late. Using his slightly heightened speed and senses, he picked his way through the forest swiftly and with great ease. His excitement grew as he neared the place of his only home, yet his confusion grew exponentially as he could feel no one there.
And suddenly Squall arrived. But overwhelming sorrow overtook him and he fell to his knees. He released a strangled cry of rage and sadness; where Balamb Garden should have stood, only a crater remained. The Garden was gone. Things had changed… and not for the better. His journey had not started out well. His agony increased as another problem revealed itself: he was alone. Squall had forgotten the rules of returning to the Mortal Realm. One would have to return to the place where they had died. And Squall had no idea where Selphie or Quistis had died… or Rinoa. In their haste, this fact had been overlooked. Squall would have to carefully search the entire world for a young woman who had no idea who he was or why he would want to see her.
Squall left the crater that once held his home; he began to search the world, starting with Balamb…
Several Weeks Later
Squall collapsed into the bed of his hotel room in Deling City, exhausted. He had been fruitlessly searching for weeks and could find no trace of any of the angels. He hadn't stopped to sleep throughout this entire journey, and felt that the best time would be now. He was quite angry at himself for his inability to find her… or even sense her presence. She would still have a holy aura that he could sense, as would the other angels. Just when he was about to shut off all of the lights and sleep, rather early for a mortal, for a solid night, he felt suddenly ill. This was a sickness he had not felt since he was alive… that man… the night he died… Seifer…
Seifer! He could feel that dark presence poisoning his mortal body. Concentrating on his pendant, some black energy came from it and reentered his body. It eased the sickness a little. Seifer was a fool to keep himself so strong with darkness. Even normal corporeal beings would be able to feel his dark presence be uncomfortable in his presence. The angels would know exactly where he was…
Squall could feel more now. He had not noticed before since he was overpowered by Seifer, but he could feel Irvine and Zell as well. They were both quite a distance from Seifer, but in the city nonetheless. All three were here… But that was not all. He could feel the presence of the angels. Quistis and Selphie were here, but they were quite close to Seifer. Another thing disturbed him… rushing out of his room and downstairs at an insane pace, he was quick to find out that his worst fear was confirmed.
For just in front of Squall, looking revoltingly happy and walking hand in hand were Rinoa and Seifer.
Quistis and Selphie were not far behind the seemingly cheerful couple, but far enough away to avoid detection. It was not hard to see them even though they wore different clothes. Squall caught up to them and violently grabbed Quistis, whirling her around to face him.
"When did he find her?" Quistis looked affronted at first, but seeing Squall's ragged and already furious state, she let it slide. They continued to follow Rinoa and Seifer.
"Seifer found her about a month ago. Selphie and I came upon them two weeks later. Irvine and Zell are always close enough to keep an eye on us, but they don't know you're here yet. They think you are still close to Balamb. Seifer told them you would be there, but Irvine already knew that and took Zell along with him."
"But he is her sworn enemy! Why is she acting like she is in love with him?"
"She doesn't remember anything. All of her memories and powers are locked inside the ring she wears. She will become an angel again only when her life is in great danger."
Seifer led Rinoa into a café not far ahead of them. The trio who had been following simply waited outside in tense silence until Seifer and Rinoa reemerged. The couple looked blissfully happy; Squall could not remember a time when Seifer looked so cheerful. Seifer hailed a taxi for Rinoa and sent her off. Squall was pleased that there were no long goodbyes or displays of affection. He supposed it was Seifer playing innocent to get Rinoa to trust him completely. Then he would… no…!
The angels were about to leave and follow Rinoa, but Squall suddenly burst out, nearly shouting and giving away his position.
"We need to talk. Come to my hotel room with me. None of them know I'm here."
As the trio hurried toward Squall's room, he ignored the looks he received from people who had seen him enter alone earlier. When they were safely inside, he closed the curtains and locked the door. When he was satisfied that they were alone, he turned quickly to the slightly puzzled seraphs.
"I'm sorry that it took me so long to find her. I cannot forgive myself for letting Seifer find her first… Where did he find her?"
"He found her in Timber… the place where she died." Quistis answered with a hint of sadness. "He got there faster than we did and took her here. It took us two weeks to find them."
"This doesn't bode well. He will poison her mind… Do you talk to her?"
"Yes. We were friends in real life, too. I went to Trabia Garden and Quisty went to Balamb Garden. But we were both in Timber visiting Rinoa when she died… that's when we died too." Selphie looked vexed by that fact.
"Quistis, you were at Balamb Garden? I never knew you."
"I knew who you were, Squall. You were quite famous and popular around there. Of course, I was ahead of you so we never met. You were too much of a loner to acknowledge me anyway."
"I do apologize for that Quistis. But if I may, how did Seifer beat you to Rinoa? You were in the same town while Seifer was closer to Balamb."
Quistis looked angry and distraught as well. She did not answer, nor did Selphie. She went to sit down on one of the beds in the room. Selphie joined her, sitting cross legged next to her friend. Clearly they felt the sting of that fact far more than Squall had imagined. Squall moved to the other bed, feeling that this talk would last well into the night.
"Shouldn't we go after Rinoa? We have to get her away from Seifer. Now that you're here, it will be easier. Seifer could kill her at any moment and try and take her soul with him to Hell." Quistis sounded concerned and was clearly avoiding the question. Squall could tell she was embarrassed by her failure.
"Rinoa is in no danger now. Seifer has acted like the perfect gentleman to her, has he not? From what I saw tonight, he will act the same way until he has her trust completely. He will do no harm to her. How did he get to her first?" Quistis saw that he would pursue this until she answered.
"We had to rest. The spells we performed to help Rinoa escape drained us of nearly everything. When we came here, we slept for nearly a week. In that time, Seifer had his two minions scout her out and he was able to beat us there. He does disappear for two to three days at a time every so often."
"He has to return to Hell. His power is drawn from the deepest fires of his domain. He is so connected to that place that it is almost painful for him to leave for very long. And he must prevent any uprisings in his absence."
"Now that that's settled, I have a question for you, Squall," Selphie interjected, "Why is Rinoa safe?"
Squall sighed. He had learned the nature of Hell almost as soon as he had arrived. He knew precisely what Seifer was playing at and exactly what he was doing.
"She is, for the moment, the safest person alive. And yet she will soon be in more danger than any of us can protect her from. Seifer is quite clever. Never forget that."
"But to leave her by his side? That's asking for trouble!"
"Listen to me," Squall snapped rather uncharacteristically, "I know Seifer. He's making sure she can never escape again. By gaining her trust, he aims to keep her in Hell forever!"
The silence that followed settled on the room in a think blanket. No one spoke for several long moments. Selphie looked confused.
"I don't understand what you're saying, Squall. Keep her in Hell forever? She'll find ways to escape."
"No, that won't be possible. You see, Hell is a dangerous and foul place. Those of us who try to leave have much trouble. Going to the Dream Plane is taxing. Coming here is even worse. That is why I have sealed some of my power into this," he pointed to the pendent he wore, "which lessens the burden slightly. Hell has a great pull on us. Seifer feels it the most. He must continually return due to his connection. But if someone willingly goes to Hell and condemns themselves for all eternity, they can never leave. The pull is too strong. They cannot visit dreams in a corporeal form, nor come to the Mortal Realm. They are forever bound to Hell, and by association, the ruler. If Seifer can convince her to come to Hell with him, Rinoa will be his forever. Eventually, I have no doubt that Seifer's pull on her will be too great. But that could take years. The more she is around him, the more he will slowly exert his influence on her; he'll brainwash her and make her need him forever. She will be his to command and to use for whatever purpose he deems necessary. He will be able to overpower all of us… he will win."
Another silence crept into the room, this time of understanding.
"Fortunately, Seifer will have to carefully draw out his plan until she is willing to do anything for him. If he tries to take her too soon, he'll fail. It's not a decision most are faced with. Being asked to die and live forever in fire would scare away all but those who are truly addicted to darkness. If her attachment to Seifer grows too strong, she is doomed."
This time it was Quistis who looked slightly miffed.
"I can only assume that someone as evil as Seifer willingly went to Hell. The legends of him say that he died while proclaiming his allegiance to Ultemicia and all of the damned."
("Squall…I…I don't……… want…to…die… I don't want…to…die…")
"One must be willing to accept death. I was there when Seifer died… he didn't want to die. We were friends in life; he always thought he would go to Hell. But when the time came, he clung to life and hope. The emotions we have as we die have a strong pull on where we go…" Squall trailed off, remembering his own death. He had died with anger in his heart. The hatred he had felt had led his soul to Hell, where Seifer took it for his own uses.
"I have always wondered why so many seemingly dreadful people were able to find Heaven. Their last thoughts were pure and good… It makes sense." Quistis grasped the concept fully. Selphie however, did not.
"So, murdered people can go to both Heaven and Hell? Quisty and I were murdered on our way to Rinoa's home in Timber. We must have been thinking about how happy we were that we could see Rinoa. What about you Squall?"
"I was murdered while cursing the world for leaving me alone to die."
An awkward silence filled the room. The lack of sound was something they were getting used to, but Squall's cold response had robbed the room of comfort.
"If I may ask… how did all of you die?" The silence was broken for an instant by the question, but quickly returned. Neither wanted to talk about their deaths, even though one story would explain them all. Quistis recovered first and realized that it had to be told.
"It was when the Gardens had allowed us a break. The three of us had been friends for a long time, even though we all went to different Gardens. There were always mixers with the three, and we had hit it off." Squall remembered these, but he had never actually gone to one. "When Selphie and Rinoa were seventeen and I was eighteen, we decided to meet while on break. Rinoa lived in Timber in an apartment payed for by her dear friend, Azrael. Azrael's family was very well off, and he and Rinoa were close in age. There is no doubt that they were in love." Squall felt a slight pang of jealousy at this. "His family had the very great honor of secretly protecting the Deep Sea Research Center and Bahamut. Azrael himself was only a few months off from being able to go and guard it personally. But he was with Rinoa on the day that she died."
Selphie picked up the story now.
"You see, the protecters were in constant danger. Many people tried to steal Bahamut and use his power. Only one succeeded. He was a criminal who went by the name of Gutsco. This man found out what family guarded the fabled beast and set out to eliminate them. He wanted to get rid of anyone who could stop him. He killed many people in his quest. When Quistis and I arrived at Rinoa's home, Azrael wasn't there. He was to arrive later; he was out of town that day. So we were catching up on old times and teasing Rinoa about her and Azrael's relationship. They weren't officially dating or anything, but it was clear that they were together and would be for a long time. His family adored her. We were all chatting when he returned from his trip. He came inside and apologized for being rude to us. He asked to speak with Rinoa alone, so the two of us left to go get something to eat and look around the town. Almost as soon as we left, giggling about what we thought would happen, a man asked us if Azrael lived here. We told him that he did, and as we turned to leave, he shot us both dead. As far as we know, he did the same to Rinoa and Azrael." Quistis took up the story again.
"I suppose he must have wanted to show his love to her, because it was the love Rinoa held in her that made her so strong. That is why she is such a powerful arch angel. The love we had for our friend, and the surprise of our deaths, sent us to Heaven. As far as we know, Gutsco was quite successful with his attempt to get Bahamut-"
"He was. I am a witness to his power with Bahamut." Squall then briefly explained his tale about Seifer's death at the hands of Gutsco and Bahamut. Then he asked one more question.
"What happened to Azrael?"
"Azrael is the collector of souls. He is hardly ever seen by any of us, as he is always circling the Mortal Realm, ready to snatch any soul that comes within his reach. It hurt Rinoa dreadfully that she couldn't see him very often, but they remain great friends. She has left the romance behind her and instead has devoted herself to her task of helping mortals. He remains very dear to her, but in a different way than in her life."
There was nothing left to do but contemplate all that had been said. Squall pushed open the curtain and saw the faintest trace of sunrise. He would get no rest today.
Ehhh. Sorry that this was more backstory.
I am sorry for the lack of updates, but I literally have no time. I'm in my junior year of High school and have to focus on school (especially physics… bleh) and college stuff. And I just got a new job, am way too involved in my church and dance a lot and it takes up so much time. So for now, this story is on hold until I free up my schedule a bit. Thanks for understanding!