Okay everyone… This is the HUGEST flashback in the story, and we’re getting close to catching up now.
I’m not sure about this section… Comments on EVERYTHING are welcome, from style to grammar to storyline. I’m open to it all =D
[i]The day hadn’t been going well at all, and this was just another event to add to the pile. Squall was very angry.
Rinoa sat off to the side. She was starving, but decided against asking the angry commander for some food. He was busy wrestling with the car.
“Stupid thing,” he muttered to himself. He couldn’t understand for the life of him why Garden kept its vehicles in such bad repair. “Cid’s gonna hear about this one,” he growled. Finally, he stood up and turned around.
“We’re going to have to walk,” he said to the girl sitting on the grass. “It’s not too terribly far…” He paused. It wasn’t really. It was just the thought that they would have to pass through Deling in order to make it back to Garden. They could possibly go around, but it would take three or four times as long, and the sun was setting already.
Rinoa got up and walked over to him. She didn’t say anything, allowing him time to think it through. She knew what was on his mind, and it weighed heavily on hers as well. The last thing she wanted to do was waltz through the streets of Deling, but she wasn’t very fond of getting lost on the way around either.
Squall weighed the risk in his mind. Of all the countries, Galbadia had been the one that had most strongly opposed the Sorceress living at Balamb Garden. Their government objected, saying that SeeD could easily ‘place her under their control’ and ‘use her for destructive purposes.’ Cid and Edea had fought a long battle in order to see Rinoa permanently installed at Garden. She had even accepted a SeeD rank, though she hadn’t wanted to.
He remembered when Cid had broached the idea to her. She had nearly flown off the handle, until the Headmaster had calmly explained his reasoning. He had already been going against Garden rules by ‘harboring her’ in Balamb Garden, and couldn’t afford to break another one. For SeeD to continue protecting her, she would technically need to continue paying them. However in the instance that she took a SeeD rank, her protection would be ensured for as long as she held the title.
“We’ll have to go through Deling,” Squall resigned himself to the decision. “But we’ll go carefully. The less we’re seen, the better.”
Rinoa nodded and fell in beside him as he turned towards home. They walked in silence for some time, and Rinoa could hear the ammunition clips on his belt jingling softly. Her stomach growled loudly, and she put a hand over it, embarassed. Squall smiled at her.
“I’m sorry Rin, I don’t have any food left. We can try and pick some up in Deling if you’re really hungry,” he said. Rinoa could sense the reluctance in his voice, and shook her head.
“No, I’ll be fine. Oh look, there’s the gates already.” She pointed. Squall nodded and looked around. There didn’t seem to be many people about, so he continued forward. He hoped that the darkness would disguise the trademark copper highlights in Rinoa’s hair.
They walked swiftly, but silently, hunched over to hide their faces. About half-way through the city, they were noticed.
“Halt!” One of the guards that patrolled Deling called to Squall. He grimaced, and decided to ignore the man, pulling Rinoa after him as he walked faster. No good. Another guard was waiting at the other end of the street. Squall glanced around swiftly, counting three more. Why were there so many?
Rinoa tried to hide her face with her hair as one of the guards shone a flashlight on her, but unfortunately her trademark haircolor came to immediate notice. The guard laughed and summoned the other four over. Rinoa sidled closer to Squall.
“Looky here,” the soldier drawled. “Turns out tonight wont be a waste of time after all. We coudln’t find the Almasy kid, but we did find the Sorceress.”
Squall stared at the armed man. The Almasy kid? Seifer was here?
“The Sorceress is under the protection of Balamb Garden.” Squall said forcefully, holding Rinoa tight. If he was lucky, they could just walk away. If not…
The soldiers laughed. They were beginning to draw a crowd, and Squall groaned inwardly, wishing he’d decided to take the long way back home.
“The Sorceress needs to come with us,” one of the soldiers said abruptly, making a grab for Rinoa’s arm. Before he could blink, the Lionheart was pressed against his chest. The crowd was increasing in size now, and was growling angrily.
“I wouldn’t do that Leonhart.” One of the other soldiers spoke. “Just let her go.” His arm was also reaching slowly towards Rinoa. Squall swung the Lionheart towards the other man, but three pairs of arms grabbed him and pulled him back, tearing him from Rinoa’s grip.
“No!” He yelled, struggling to grab her as the crowd pulled him back, pinning his arms and legs. Another soldier wrenched the Lionheart from his grasp, effectively disarming him. He carried a small pistol at his ankle, but right now it was as far away as the moon.
Rinoa kicked at her captors, landing a few solid hits. When they grabbed her legs, she scratched and bit, desperate to free herself. More and more people arrived, drawn by the struggle, and within moments Rinoa was handcuffed and immobilized.
From the shadows of a near by alleyway, another person watched the struggle. Seifer’s eyes flicked back and forth between Squall and Rinoa. He could easily make his escape while the soldiers were distracted. He didn’t know what they wanted with him exactly, but he could rest assured that whatever it was, wouldn’t be pleasant. Seifer walked slowly to the entrance of the alley, eyes on the seething mass of humanity near the center of the street.
Seifer heard Rinoa cry out in pain, and he stopped, searching for her face in the crowd. There she was, down on her knees, with her arms twisted cruelly up behind her back. He was suddenly overcome with disgust in himself. He had done enough damage to her already… How could he do more by slinking away when she needed help?
He checked Hyperion quickly, making sure everything was in working order, and before he even knew what he was doing, he took several steps out of the alley and fired off the gunblade into the air.
Squall heard the shot and tried to turn his head towards it, but he was still being held firm. The crowd went silent, turning as one; following the noise.
“I thought you were looking for me,” Seifer was grinning as he walked forward, trenchcoat swinging. The crowd parted, backing away nervously. Seifer glanced at Squall, nodding slightly, and then at Rinoa. He took a couple of small steps towards her, eyes on the soldiers who held her. “If you’re after me, then why don’t you let her go?” He asked, extending one hand in front of him. A blinding light flashed in his palm, and then a small crystal of ice appeared and began to grow.
Squall was dumbfounded that Seifer would be trying to help them, and furious with himself that he’d allowed them to be caught in the first place. He tried again to struggle forward, but the grip on his body was relentless. He watched as Seifer strode towards Rinoa, balancing the shimmering ice in his palm, juggling it with his fingers. The soldiers raised their guns.
“Stop moving Almasy or we’ll open fire!” The commander sighted down his gun, keeping the tall young man in his vision. Seifer threw back his head and laughed, tossing the ice backwards into the air, over his head. Squall was suddenly alarmed. He was summoning Shiva… but Shiva was Quistis’ responsibility. Quistis hadn’t left Garden since they had returned from their ‘hunting trip’ a few months ago. She had been too busy teaching to go on leave. How had Seifer gotten ahold of the Guardian?
“Open fire on me?” Seifer smiled like a dragon as a splintering crash sounded behind him. There was another shattering sound, and then everyone went silent. Seifer bowed and stood to the side as the woman-creature took several light steps forward. The metal ornaments in her hair clinked together softly as she tossed her head, looking contemptuously at the guards.
They stood still, staring at the Ice Queen. Her beauty was so captivating that they hardly noticed she had moved several steps closer to them. Seifer edged closer to Rinoa, prepared to yank her clear once Shiva began her attack. The Guardian raised one hand to the sky, and light began to flicker and collect about her fingertips. The crowd shuffled, and alarmed voices began to make themselves heard.
The commotion roused the soldiers out of their stupor just as a brick of ice materialized in the sky and came crashing down on the Galbadian commander, crushing him to the ground and then shattering into a thousand pieces. Bullets flew through the air at the Guardian, but she either avoided them with a lightning fast step, or simply froze them in mid air.
“Don’t worry,” Shiva’s voice was unnatural; reminiscent of ice scraping together, with high tones overlaying impossibly deep ones. She looked at the pile of ice on the street, slowly beginning to melt, then back at the soldiers. That eerie voice spoke one more time. “Don’t pity him. He was frozen before he felt the pain of death. You should hope to be so lucky.”
Shiva danced backwards as more bullets flew towards her. She avoided them easily, and small patches of ice appeared wherever her feet touched the ground. One of the soldiers released Rinoa with a shove that sent the Sorceress sprawling forward, scraping her hands along the stones. It was the exact opportunity Seifer had been waiting for, and he grabbed Rinoa around the waist, hauling her upright and putting her behind him.
“Grab my belt, and don’t let go no matter what.” He commanded her, turning back to the fight and raising Hyperion. Shiva sent one of the soldiers sailing through the air and into the side of a building with a bone-breaking crunch. and Seifer could hear her claws scraping over stone and ice as she worked her way through the small army.
Seifer turned to Squall, and motioned Rinoa to kneel down behind him. She did so obediently, cursing herself for not having a weapon, and no magic junctioned. Squall was in a murderous rage, pulling with all his might against his captors. Seifer was sympathetic, but he had business to attend to before he could explain himself.
The erstwhile Knight levelled his weapon at the head of the civilian holding Squall’s arms and glared down the length of the razor-sharp blade.
“I suggest,” Seifer said quietly, “that you let him go. I don’t really want to kill you, but I can’t say the same for the ice-creature over there.”
Squall felt the grip on his arms slacken only slightly, but it was all he needed. He grabbed the man’s arms and flung him over his shoulder and onto the ground several feet away. He stood, panting heavily, and then snaked an arm out and grabbed the Lionheart from the shaking hands of the young boy who was holding it.
Squall backed away from the crowd slowly, Lionheart held at the ready, until he reached Seifer’s side. He grabbed for Rinoa, pulling her into a tight embrace at his side. Then he turned to Seifer.
“I don’t suppose you know how we’re going to get out of town now, with the whole damned army coming after us?” Squall asked in a pleasant tone. Seifer rolled his eyes.
“I save your girl and this is what I get? Jeez, I shouldn’t have bothered.” Seifer muttered, looking left and right for an escape route. More and more soldiers were pouring into the town, and even Shiva was beginning to falter. Seifer touched a hand to his forehead, calling the Guardian back.
“Now, we run.” Seifer said quietly. “Follow me until we get out of the city.”
So they ran, following Seifer’s white coat into the dark alleys, over fences, up ladders, and onto the roofs of houses. Here they paused to catch their breath. Squall and Seifer were only slightly out of breath, but Rinoa was gasping, and she looked sickly pale. Squall gave her a reassuring squeeze.
“The gates are just there. All we have to do is get through there and then we’re home-free. Can you do that?” He asked. Seifer waved a hand, interrupting Rinoa’s answer.
“She’ll have to,” he said in a low voice. “They’re coming this way.”
[/i]