Redemption Chapter 4
By Katie Herdman
The Garden was peaceful at night; all of the students were sleeping. Footsteps echoed the silent hallways.
Ria slipped out of the dream that was the night. She had always loved the dark; it had a mysterious and haunting feel. Here only the forgotten people could roam.
She walked quietly to the dormitories, no one had seen her, people were too stupid to see things that were right in front of them, and they didn’t want to see. She would make them see; her plan would work.
Ria looked around carefully, searching for a particular door. Finding it, she opened it and stepped inside.
The occupant slept on, not knowing of the invader.
Ria sat down on the bed, Squall turned in his sleep. She then whispered close to his ear.
“Soon, you shall see everything more clearly, my love. You will show them, but first I shall show you.”
Ria then passed her hand over Squall’s forehead. Images of destruction and death invaded his dreams and he slept fitfully, all the while there was someone there, in his dreams, someone familiar.
**********
“Andria,” Quistis said, “please don’t ever put me on Seifer’s team ever again.”
Quistis and Andria were early for the next afternoon’s meeting. Laguna couldn’t make it so was sending Dr. Odine who Andria couldn’t stand, but he had to update her on the project.
Andria had been on another mission all day to the Bika snowfield. Something had been mutilating the monsters. They had found a Moror demon there.
“I won’t for the moment, but you should have stood up to him, it’s just one of his bad pranks. They’ll go wrong one day. Maybe then we can laugh at him.”
Quistis sat down in the nearest chair and started to swing.
“So, why is Dr. Odine coming?”
“He’s gonna fill me in about Genesis,” replied Andria. She was impatient to get back to Jake; she had left him with Sia for the moment.
“What is Genesis?” Quistis wasn’t as sure that she really wanted to know, after all, she couldn’t really trust Andria, or Odine for that matter.
“Genesis is a project that he’s working on now. He wants to make Centra a continent where people can live again, and he’s gonna use magic.”
Andria shrugged and turned from Quistis. From the window that she looked out of, the whole Esthar continent lay before her.
“What was it,” Quistis asked, “… that… well… with Squall…”
The words she was trying to form choked in her throat. It wasn’t a nice question to ask.
“What happened with Squall?”
Andria thought sorrowfully. Squall, she seemed to go into a coma every time she thought about him. The raw pain was still there.
Quistis saw the hurt in Andria’s eyes. She wasn’t that sorry for her. Andria didn’t have to see Rinoa crying most of the time after that day. For months she couldn’t even talk to Squall.
“Why,” she asked, she had to understand why it had happened.
“I’d like to believe it was nothing,” Andria started, “… but it was more than that for me.”
Andria couldn’t continue; her heart was bleeding.
Wiping a tear away she thought about Jake, maybe it was better if neither Squall nor Jake knew about each other. It would save a lot of heartache for everyone but her.
Quistis decided not to press any further. Rinoa wasn’t the only one affected, everyone had been.
She remembered the meeting that her, Selphie, Zell and Irvine had held. They were deciding if it was best to let Squall stay, or tell him to leave Garden.
After two hours they had decided that Squall’s one mistake didn’t justify him getting kicked out of SeeD.
Thinking of what she had left behind, Quistis started to feel homesick.
**********
Any person to dare venture out onto the Esthar plains was either crazy or stupid. What happened if someone did who was neither?
Ria stood watching the dusk, soon the sun would go down and her plan would start. Soon people would see the hidden pasts of their world, the people forgotten by the ignorance of many. Soon revenge would be had and it would be the sweetest thing.
**********
Seifer watched the sun set over the plains, the golden dusk; it was beautiful to behold.
“Can I join you,” Vincent asked.
“Sure,” replied Seifer, really he had wanted to be alone.
“The setting sun is always the most beautiful thing to behold,” Vincent said, making conversation.
Seifer rolled his eyes; it was still only a sunset.
**********
The final light faded from sight. The golden light of sunset quickly gave way for the purple night sky. Finally it was time for Ria.
Bringing her hands in front of her she clapped once, twice, three times.
The wind picked up and whistled across the plains. Monsters rose up from nowhere. They looked different, mutations of known creatures wandering.
As this swarm descended on the base, Ria looked on smiling madly, soon she would have revenge on everyone, she had waited a long time for now.
**********
“What the hell’s going on,” Vincent asked, pointing to the monsters that gathered, getting ready to attack.
“I don’t know, but I wanna be prepared when I ask,” Seifer replied, then hurried into the base.
A weapon, he thought, would be really handy now.
**********
“What’s happening,” Quistis asked.
“I don’t know,” replied Andria and handed Quistis her Save The Queen, “I need to find Jake.”
“I’ll come with you,” said Quistis.
**********
Leaving the room they bumped into Fujin, “There’s some strange monsters outside,” she yelled, “they’re attacking everything, trying to get in.”
Loud banging could be heard in the background noise, even above the shouts of personnel everywhere. The whole base was surrounded. They would have to evacuate on their air ships.
“Where’s Sia and Jake,” Andria demanded.
Fujin shrugged, but added that they might still be in the dormitories.
Turning to Quistis, Andria said, “Find Seifer and tell him to get on a ship.”
As Andria went to leave, Quistis asked, “Where shall I tell him you are?”
Andria thought for a moment, if she told Quistis to tell him, then he would refuse to leave.
“Don’t tell him,” she said finally.
**********
“I’m not going till Andria gets here. In fact I’m gonna go look for her.”
Quistis sighed; it would be better to let him go, and even quicker to tell him where she had gone.
Giving in she sighed again, “She went to the dormitories, and she thinks Jake and Sia are still there.”
Seifer grabbed his gunblade and set off.
**********
“Sia,” Andria cried out.
Sia was lying on the floor, unconscious and covered in blood.
Andria shook her, but she was out cold. Andria scanned round the room for Jake, she couldn’t see him or feel he was there.
There was the sound of footsteps, then a voice called her name.
**********
This has been a great day, thought Seifer sarcastically. First a bunch of real nasty monsters attack, then I’m nearly killed by them. They destroy my home, and then I have to go find my friend in them. To top it all off I’m told by the same woman that I’m like puberty boy.
The wound that he had received from the last monster hurt like hell.
These monsters were nothing he’d seen before. They resembled monsters that he’d slain before, only different. If they’re part of Odine’s experiments gone wrong then…
Another one jumped out in front of him, this one was quick and sharp. Seifer had to stay on his toes to stop getting hit.
He tried to keep out its way and kept on slashing at it. Soon the monster was no more.
Looking at the carcass, Seifer realised that it had been a Jelleye, only now it was stronger. “What did that,” he whispered and hurried on, he didn’t want to meet another one.
Coming to the dormitories, Seifer accidentally kicked a stone. Outside Andria’s room, he called out her name.
Andria was bending over an unconscious Sia.
“Jake’s not here,” she cried.
“He’s gotta be here,” Seifer said. A quick search came up with nothing. Andria was frantic now.
“I’m not leaving till I’ve found him,” she kept on saying.
“Well we have to get Sia to a medic. We can take her there, and then go look for him.
Andria stamped her foot.
“No,” she said firmly. Picking up Sia, Seifer said, “We can find him on the way, just come on.”
Seifer started back to the ship as fast as he could, he didn’t want to meet any more monsters. Andria thought for a second then decided to follow him.
**********
Ria once again strode along the 1F hall of Garden. People were still up, talking and laughing. Soon their perfect little world would come crashing down on them.
There he was, Squall. Talking to Rinoa, his girl.
Squall, she thought, this will be your last night with her.
“Are you lost,” the voice asked from behind her.
Turning round an odd man in a cowboy hat smiled at her.
“No, just looking around,” she said.
“That normally means you’re lost and won’t admit it.” He smiled even broader.
“What makes you think I’m looking for something,” she said. The man frowned, looking confused. “If I’m lost, then I was looking for something in the first place,” she explained.
“Do you want me to show you round,” he asked. He obviously thought he was a charmer.
“Maybe you could show me the dormitories first,” she said seductively.
The man grinned broadly. Maybe he could get Squall to her, thought Ria, it would save her waiting for curfew.
“What’s your name,” she asked him.
“Irvine, and you.”
“Ria.”