|
|
(Author's Note: This story takes place on Disc 3 of the game, so if you haven't reached there prepare for a BIG spoiler)
"There that's the last one." Squall replied as the last alien fell to the ground and disintergrated..Rinoa looked at him. "Now what do we do?" she asked. Squall looked up. They were inside the spaceship Ragnarok. "The most obvious." he replied. "Getting back to our home." He took her hand began to head upstairs. "Squall, where are we going?" Rinoa asked. "We're going to the cockpit. Its look like I got to figure out how we're going to get back home.
They entered the cockpit and Rinoa looked out the window. "Wow!" she exclaimed. Squall stood there watching her, but there something else on his mind, "I have to...fly this thing?" His thoughts were interrupted by a beeping coming from the instrument panel. Rinoa looked at the panel. "Squall, it's trying to talk." ahe said. Squall turned a knob, "Maybe this will adjust the volume?" "This is Esthar Airstation." a reply came over the radio. "It's.." Squall thought hoping for some miracle. "Ragnarok, do you read? Ragnarok, do you read!?" the voice continued."This is Airstation. Do you copy?" Squall looked around at the ship interior's "This ship is the Ragnarok?" "Whoa! Is this really the Ragnarok?" the voice exclaimed. "You're in space, right?" Squall looked at the radio and picked up the reciever. "Yeah but, I have no idea where we are." "Roger that! We can track you from here." came a reply. "We can go home...?" Squall thought absolutely relieved.
"Ragnarok...It's been 17 years!" the voice over the intercom responded. Squall picked up his reciever and asked, "Can we make it back?" "Leave it to us! You should have enough fuel." the voice said reassuringly. "Enter your location into the atmospheric reentry program and you'll be ok. Once you enter the atmosphere, we can guide you down. You'll be just fine." Squall looked at the console not knowing what to do. "How do I enter the data?" he asked. "No sweat. We'll take this step by step. Are you in the pilot seat?" Squall looked at the seven or eights seat in the cockpit. "There's too many seats here." he said. "It's the one on the right. Go sit there." Squall looked at seat he was supposed to seat and sat on it. "Ok, I'm here." "See the touch panel in front of you?" the voice instructed. "Yeah, I see it." Squall replied. "The rest is easy. Just enter the following data." Squall placed his fingers on the keypad. "Go ahead." "WJHEIE/2872/HD-IEU" Squall typed along with the instructions and said he was finished. The next instructions were "Next, I'm sure you're ok, but there's something I need you to do. Turn off the gravity generator. This should save some fuel.Use the same touch panel to turn it off." Squall looked at pad and saw the button. "Alright." He touched it. "Done." Congratulations. You're home free, Ragnarok. And..there's one more thing we need to tell you. From all of us at Ground Control, we wish you godspeed." Squall breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks."
Squall looked over Rinoa was still standing and motioned her to sit next to him. She took a step and immediately was in the air. "Hey!?" she shouted. Squall got out of his seat and help her to the front and returned to his seat. "Go sit over there. Put your seatbelt on." he ordered. However, Rinoa decided to sit in his lap. "Now go sit down." he said. Rinoa looked at Squall. "Just a little longer." she whispered. "Why are you holding on to me like this?" Squall asked slightly worried. She looked at him. "You don't like this, Squall?" she asked. He shook his head. "Just not used to it." he muttered. "How about when you were little? Didn't you feel safe and secure being held by your parents?" Squall looked away for moment before looking back at her. "I can't remember anything about my parents..." he began, "But...Ellone was there for me. Ellone was there to hold my hand." Rinoa then asked, "Made you feel safe and secure?" "Sure." he replied, "But she left. Just disappeared." "I'm afraid..." he began to stutter, "Afraid of having that feeling of comfort taken away." Rinoa looked at Squall. A look of concern was on her face. "You were afraid of losing us? "Is that why you kept your distance?" Squall sighed. "I was always alone..." "Squall..." Rinoa began and placing a hand on his face. "You missed out on all the good things in life. You've missed out on so much." Squall shrugged. "...Maybe." Rinoa forced a little smile. "Definitely." She looked away for a moment "I like it like this." she whispered. "I liked having my mom hold me. May dad, too, back when we got along." "I'm not your mom." Squall replied. Rinoa quietly laughed for a moment. "No, of course not." She looked back into his eyes, "But now...Squall, you're the one who gives me the most comfort. Comfort and happiness..." She then playfully punched on the shoulder, "And annoyance and disappointment, too!" There was silence for a few moments. "...Whatever." Rinoa and Squall said at the same time.
"You should get back to your seat now." Squall whispered to her. Rinoa looked at him. "Just a little longer." she silently pleaded. Squall looked at her. "You'll be safer in your seat." he thought. Rinoa looked at him, "We're gonna make it home, right?" "We can only hope." he answered. Rinoa looked away, a face of sadness overcame her, "When we get back...We won't be able to stay together, huh?" Squall didn't know what she meant by that. "...Maybe. No one can predict the future, there are no guarantees." He looked at her. "Those were your words, Rinoa." She sighed. "That's not what I meant." she replied. "We'll figure out what to do once we get back." he said trying to be supportive. Rinoa moved from Squall's lap and went to her seat. "They'll all be angry at me." she whisperd. Squall looked at her "Angry?" he responded. "Why would they be angry at her?" he thought.
"This is Airstation. Ragnarok, please respond." the intercom came back to life. Squall quickly picked up the reciever. "This is the Ragnarok." he answered. "We have some questions for you." the voice replied. "We're collecting escape pods. We have a good idea of what happened. I hear no one from Lunar Base is on the Ragnarok. How many of you are there?" Squall looked at Rinoa for a moment. She was still looking away. He then looked at reciever and responded, "Just two." "......Your names?" the voice asked. Squall indentified himself. "Squall. I'm a SeeD from Balamb Garden." "And the other?" Squall looked at Rinoa one last moment before saying her name over the intercom. "Rinoa?" the voice shouted obviously surprised. "The sorceress!? She's on the ship!?" Squall looked at Rinoa and thought, "So...It's true? Rinoa is a sorceress?" Rinoa looked at Squall. A look of fear was on hear face. "I've...become a sorceress. I can't stay with you anymore, Squall." "Respond, Ragnarok!" Tears started to form in her eyes and began to roll down her cheek. "I don't want the future." she said, "I want the present to stand still. I just want to stay here with you..." Squall was shocked at what he heard. "Rinoa..." he began before the voice interrupted. "Respond, Ragnarok!" "Nobody would want to be around me anymore..." Rinoa said as her tears starting to flow freely. "The sorceress will be seized upon arrival. Be sure to follow the crews instructions." the voice ordered. "I'm...scared." Rinoa whispered as her tears continue to fall. "Squall, do you copy? Is the sorceress listening, too?" Rinoa turned to Squall "I'm scared, Squall. I don't wanna go back." Squall looked at Rinoa's tearstained face and hated seeing her like that. He immediately rushed to her and held her.
The Ragnarok landed on the plains of Eshtar and Rinoa and Squall exited. They were met by some Esthar men. "Sorceress Rinoa." the leader began. "Hyne's descendant." She nodded. "Come with us. We must seal your power for the sake of the world." Rinoa sighed. "......All right." "Thank you for understanding. Tell us when you're ready." the official said with a hint of understanding in his voice. Rinoa took a breath, turned to Squall and said, "I should tell you this before I go. I was possessed out in space. There was a sorceress inside me. Ultimecia, a sorceress from the future. She's trying to achieve time compression. She's the only one who would be able to exist in such a world. She, and no other." She looked away from him, "As long as I'm free, she'll continue to use me to accomplish her goal. I...We can't let that happen, right...?...I should go now." She turned to Eshtar attendant and said, "......I'm ready." The attendant nodded, "All right. We'll be heading to the Sorceress Memorial." Rinoa slowly followed them. Squall ,at that time, couldn't take it anymore."Rinoa! Don't go!" he shouted. Rinoa turned and smiled faintly, "......Thanks, Squall. But I have to go..." Squall didn't say anything. He couldn't say anything. Rinoa looked at her necklace. She had Squall's ring in it. "......Oh...I still have your ring." Squall looked at the ring, before saying, "You keep it." Rinoa looked at him. "You sure?" she asked. He nodded. Rinoa waved goodbye, leaving Squall standing there alone. He turned and walked to the Ragnarok. But before he entered the ship, he felt something wet on his face. He put his hand to his face. It was tears. It was such a long time since he had shed a tear. He had to admit it. The mighty lion was crying like a meek, little lamb.
