Chapter 4: Scarlet Midnight
For as long as she could remember, she had been trained to kill. Seek and destroy, mission to mission. Nothing ever changed and she never got tired of it because she was a member of the Silver Fang; the elite force of mercenaries of all shapes and sizes who used people like her to assassinate threats to their rising power. Her target this time was going to be simple; a young sorceress named Rinoa Heartilly.
The night after the SeeD Exam had finally come. All the Garden was abuzz with students complaining about how hard the exam had been, saying it was above their level and that's why they hadn't passed. Those lucky few that had passed were overjoyed. They couldn't believe it! They were SeeDs! Thanks to the encouragement from Quistis, Seifer was among those lucky few. He had, for once, listened to all the orders given to him in battle. And he passed with flying colors; Rank 8. When he trudged into the Garden, tired and phased from the battles, he was greeted by an over-joyed Quistis who threw herself at him before he could say anything. She was laughing so hard he couldn't make out her words. She stopped her ecstatic laughter long enough to cry, "You passed!"
Squall frowned slightly at the reports in his hands. They weren't the results of the SeeD exam or even a report made by another SeeD. It was a report from Laguna Loire, the President of Esthar. It stated that lately there had been a lot of assassinations of women with the ability of or near to that of a sorceress. It warned him to watch out for Rinoa carefully and, if the need arose, to take Ellone's safety into the hands of Garden. Squall set the reports down on his desk with a sigh, rubbing his eyes tiredly. He was wearing his official SeeD Commander uniform, which was just a SeeD uniform with a bright blue patch on the arm. Medals and ribbons adorned the front of the uniform, glimmering in the light of his office. A series of clicking footsteps signaled someone's arrival in his worried little world. Without looking up, he knew it was his angel. She always did that, walking in without knocking. Even Zell knocked! "And what are you doing up here all alone, Commander Leonheart? The party's about to start down below." Despite her serious voice, a self-pleased grin was plastered on her face. Squall shoved his worried thoughts out of his mind and smiled slightly. "I was waiting for my escort, Miss Heartilly. And now that you've arrived, we can leave." Rinoa smiled full out now. She was wearing a variation on the dress she had worn the first she had seen Squall. This version had long, transparent sleeves that flowed along with her like shimmering wings. Around her neck she bore the Greiver ring on its silver chain. The plain silver ring Seifer had given her long ago was nowhere to be seen. She looked immaculate, but to Squall she always looked that way. "Alrighty! This is gonna be great, Squall! The first batch of SeeDs to be brought forth without the threat of war to spur them on!" Squall chuckled slightly as he made his way around his desk to take her hand. "Not a lot of work for a SeeD without a war to fight, now is there?" She mock-pouted. "Aw! You're ruining my dreams of a peaceful future." She laughed and grabbed his other hand, dragging him towards the hallway. Squall smiled so hugely he thought his face would crack in half. 'Peace. I sure wish that was possible, Rinoa.' He thought, a flicker of a frown flashing across his face.
Selphie was impatiently hopping around, looking all over for the rest of her friends. She was wearing her SeeD uniform, which was also quite decorated with medals, and her hair has flipped out like it always was. Her emerald eyes glowed with an excited light as she waited eagerly for her companions. Irvine was leaning against the nearest wall, his hat tipped down so you couldn't see his face. He was wearing his usual cowboy outfit except it was black with some silver accents. It was a formal-like occasion, after all. Even sharp shootin' cowboys need to have a little class now and then. "Where are they? They're late!" The perky little SeeD squeaked, crossing her arms. She spun around and pointed an accusing finger at him. "Irvine Kinneas! You did tell them what time to be here, right?" Irvine flicked his hat up to reveal his mischievous grin. "'Course I did, Sefie. I told them to come ten minutes from now." Selphie pouted dramatically. "Now why'd you do that, Irvy? I told you to-" Irvine pushed himself off the wall and grabbed her hands in one fluid motion, cutting her off. She gasped and looked up into those dark brown eyes. His smile faltered a little as she pulled out of his hold. "U-um.I have to go greet the guests now. See ya later!" She turned and ran down the hallway towards the main gate. Her cheeks were beet red. Irvine smacked his own forehead. "Crap! I always do something like that! I know Sefie doesn't like it like that. She's a hopeless romantic." Then he frowned, uncharacteristic of the usual up beat guy. "Irvine! Yo!" The cowboy turned around slowly, knowing exactly who it was calling to him. Zell jogged down the hall towards him dressed in his medal festooned SeeD uniform. The bleach blond martial artist stopped and bent over to catch his breath. "Hey man! I just saw Selph runnin' away lookin' real embarrassed. What happened?" His shocking blue eyes locked onto Irvine's eyes with a piercing stare. Despite his violent, fight based outer self, Zell was VERY protective of his friends, but especially Selphie since she was the smallest and seemed more vulnerable. Irvine sighed and leaned against the wall again, tipping his hat to hide his crushed expression. "It was nothin'! I just tried to hit on her and she took it the wrong way, is all." Zell shook his head. "You're impossible, cowboy!" he snapped his fingers right under the brooding cowboy's nose making him jump. Zell cracked up. Irvine growled a nasty threat under his breath that made Zell laugh even harder. This kind of thing went on until the clock above them chimed 9. They both sobered up and hurried in the direction Selphie had fled in.
Quistis nodded to her reflection. She was wearing her SeeD uniform, which bore as many medals as her friends and a few extras besides. Her hair was styled like it always was, but there was something different about her. She was beaming. Her face was flushed with some inner excitement and she couldn't stop smiling. Maybe it was because she had finally encouraged Seifer to work hard and take orders. Or maybe it was because she was in love. Oh well! Whatever the reason she was super duper uber happy all the time. She sometimes felt like Selphie. That thought made her smile even more and even chuckle a little. A slight knock at her door echoed in the still dorm room. "Its open!" Quistis called, the happiness obvious in her voice. Seifer peaked around the door and opened it up, seeing that Quistis was decent. He looked down bashfully as his new girlfriend examined him. "Seifer, you look great." She mentally kicked herself for stumbling over her words, but the way he looked really made her feel like being silly and bashful. His SeeD uniform added this level of maturity to his already gorgeous looks. He blushed a little which only made Quistis want to squeeze the life out of him more. 'He's so cute when he blushes!' She thought with a smile. "Uh the party's about to start." Seifer lifted his baby blues to Quistis and she melted. "Okay then. Lets go, you rookie SeeD." She liked the way he suddenly stood at attention and saluted, a mock serious look on his face. She laughed and brushed up against him as she passed by to leave. He grinned and followed her closely, taking her hand in his.
'Too easy.' She thought, scoping the land around Balamb Garden's new position. Just outside Winhill, the tiny little pacifist village that wouldn't interfere if there was a problem at the garden. 'Perfectly positioned to my advantage.' If this Rinoa was so highly esteemed in Garden and all over the world, wouldn't they be more careful with where they landed and so on? Maybe not seeing as these fools were like babies to her. She was highly trained to hate all SeeDs and all people affiliated with them. Flicking a stray strand of her scarlet hair out of her yellowy brown eyes, she smiled coldly. "Tonight is a great night for the Silver Fang; the night I crush everything this place stands for."
Laguna pushed Ellone forward ignoring her questions. She didn't need to know some wacko mercenaries were hunting them down from the Silver Fang. All she needed to know was that they were going to see Squall. That's it. End of story. That's what he had told her the first time she asked, but she was too smart for him. She knew something was up and was trying to pry the information out of him. They reached the Ragnorak without any problems and the president of Esthar shoved his surrogate daughter into the huge airship. "Uncle Laguna! What is going on?" She cried as he rushed the rest of the crew on board. Just a few of his trusted advisors (Ward and Kiros, of course) and some technicians to help run the ship. Laguna looked at her and smiled slightly. "I just wanted to leave town before the press caught up with us, that's all." Ellone narrowed her eyes slightly. "You're a horrible liar." She turned and stomped out of the entryway, towards the passenger bay. Laguna sighed and rubbed his eyes (like Squall did before), tired and scared for Ellone's safety. He felt a big hand on his shoulder and saw Ward nodding at him. Kiros stood nearby, nodding too. "You did the right thing, Laguna. She doesn't need to know, not yet."
Rinoa spun around in a circle as she and Squall walked towards where Selphie and the others were meeting before going into the party. Her sleeves fanned out around her like transparent wings. Squall watched her a bemused expression on his face. She was so beautiful, so innocent. He couldn't let anything happen to her not in a million, billion years. She laughed, a tinkling, joyous sound and hurried to catch up to Selphie, who was standing near the main entrance to Garden. Squall slowed a little to just watch her. Rinoa hugged her best friend and then spun the smaller girl in a huge circle. Selphie laughed along with Rinoa and then they both stopped spinning, looking really dizzy. Rinoa looked over at him, pouting. "Squally! Hurry up, slowpoke!" He smiled and waved before jogging over to them. Rinoa hugged him. She was in a good mood tonight, though she always hugged him every time they saw each other. Selphie sighed and shook her head. Rinoa turned away from Squall and stuck out her tongue. "You're just jealous, Miss Single!" Selphie blushed slightly as if she knew something they didn't know. Zell and Irvine sauntered over to them looking like they just jumped out of an old cowboy movie because Zell was mocking the way Irvine walked, again. Irvine flicked up his hat in greeting. "Evening, ladies. Evening Squall." Zell flicked up an invisible cowboy hat and fake spat tobacco. "Evenin', buckaroos! Yeehaw!" He did a funny little 'Make fun of Irvine' dance and posed funkily at the end of it. They all laughed when Irvine decided to make fun of Zell by punching at the air and screaming about hotdogs. Zell shook his head and crossed his arms. "No, no, no, no! You've got it all wrong! Here!" Zell did a few back flips, motioned for them to 'Bring it on', and then he punched at the air. Irvine laughed. They all laughed. Everyone was so jim-skipper happy that they didn't see Quistis and Seifer walk up and watch them, curiously. Seifer grinned mischievously when he saw Zell repeat his punch the air technique. "What's the matter, Zell? Swatting flies?" Quistis smacked his arm and the others all laughed. Zell blushed and scratched his head. "Uh, no…" Zell was looking behind them all, towards the front gates. Something had caught his attention that was coming in through the doors. Everyone turned to see what it was that shut Zell up.
It was a young woman wearing a bright red dress that made her red-orange hair seem scarlet in contrast. The dress was simple enough, so that couldn't be the reason Zell had shut his mouth so quickly. Then it had to be her eyes. They were an odd shade of light brown that seemed yellow, like topaz. She stopped walking when she was still a few feet from where they were all clustered around the Directory. Her topaz eyes scanned them and fell upon Rinoa, making her shiver slightly. Then she looked at Zell and seemed to be taken aback, surprised to see him for some reason. He blinked, shocked by her eyes, so familiar. He felt like he knew her from somewhere, as odd as that seemed. A smile graced her red lips. "Is this where the SeeD coronation ball is? Balamb Garden, right?" Her voice made them all wonder how someone dressed in bright red spoke so softly. Zell felt his mouth drop open. He knew her! Selphie seemed to remember her job. "Welcome! Yes, this is Balamb Garden! You're in the right place!" She smiled and bowed to the guest in scarlet. The girl smiled wider. "Good. I thought for a second I got lost on the way here." Zell couldn't put his finger on where he knew her from. He felt like there was something there that he had forgotten. The GF made him forget? Selphie pointed out where to go for the ball and the mysterious woman thanked her. Zell just happened to be standing there gawking as she passed. She stopped and looked in right in the eyes. "Good to see you again, Zell Dincht. It's been a while." And then she walked away, her long scarlet hair flowing after her like a trail of fire. Zell felt like someone had smacked him upside the head. Shaking the afore mentioned head, Zell turned back to his friends. They were all looking at him questioningly. "Zell, you know that girl?" Squall asked gently, his eyebrows knitted together in thought. Zell shrugged. "Its weird. I feel like I should, but I just can't put my finger on it, ya know?" "We can figure this out later, guys! Lets hit the ball before they play 'Eyes on Me'!" Rinoa cried, grabbing Squall's hands and dragging him along again. They all followed the couple except Zell, who stood staring after them for a long moment before running to catch up.
He was here, too? That was going to complicate things a bit. The woman in scarlet stood near where the band would be playing in a few minutes, pondering seeing him again. She hadn't counted on this. It was throwing her off. Too many emotions were getting involved that didn't need to be. She NEVER got emotional about her missions and she wasn't about to start with this one. Nodding angrily, she walked to the other side of the room to watch everything go on from the shadows. People starting streaming into the huge hall and the band struck up 'Waltz for the Moon'. Young SeeDs and all kinds of well to do people took the dance floor, but she was staring down the most graceful couple out there. Squall and Rinoa. They flowed along together flawlessly, like this whole dance floor was one with them. A pang of longing struck her usually hard heart and she shook herself. Someone cleared their throat near her and she turned to she him standing there, shuffling his feet bashfully. "Hello again, Zell." She said pleasantly. He swallowed and looked up at her, their eyes locking. Zell stuttered over his words and swallowed again. "Um, I was just kinda wondering, well, how do you know me?" She looked away from him, through the huge skylight ceiling above them. The stars glimmered down on them and the gigantic moon shed its pearly light on the dancing couples. "You don't remember?" She tried to hide the hurt in her voice but it trickled into her words making Zell look even more embarrassed. "N-no. I kinda feel like I know you, but I've never even met you before." Closing her eyes, the scarlet garbed one turned away from him. "I wish you remembered me. It hurts me that you don't." Zell felt really guilty now. "Well, if you'd tell me, I'd probably remember." She whirled around and brought her face close to his, so close that their foreheads were touching. "Here." She whispered as an unfamiliar heat flooded through Zell's head. The music around him faded and the only thing he could see were her topaz eyes, burning into him, making him remember.
Fire. Screaming. The sound of running and the intense heat all around made him panic. Opening his eyes, he saw what looked like a small town burning away around him. Screams mingled with the sounds of fighting and then he felt a small hand clutch his. He looked down, but not too far seeing as he was smaller now, too. And there she was, looking up at him with a terrified look on her smoke and tear stained face. Her topaz eyes were the same, but her hair was black streaked with red. "Zell, I'm scared!" She cried, squeezing his hand. Zell didn't know what to do. This was all too weird for him. Suddenly, the nearby building burst into flames, showering them with sparks. The girl screamed and hugged him suddenly. Zell held her close, trying to protect her from the fire. He didn't know why, but he felt like he had to save her. He had to get her away from here. "Its okay now. I'll get you out of here and back with your family. I promise." She looked up him and nodded. He grabbed her hand and took off running through the flaming streets. Dodging fallen rafters and dead bodies, tightly gripping her hand, making sure she didn't fall too far behind. They ran for what seemed like forever before they got free of the burning city. A forest swallowed them as soon as they got out of the city, but Zell didn't stop. He could hear her sobbing and could still feel the heat from the burning city on his back. Then a stream popped up in front of him and he flew head long into it. The girl fell in after him and he hurried to grab onto her. It was shallow enough that he could stand and the flow wasn't very strong. Still the girl coughed and clung to him like he was the only thing keeping him alive. Zell shivered as she sobbed into his shoulder uncontrollably. She was so sad, so sad he didn't now what to say to make her feel better. Then she looked up at him with those shocking eyes that were streaming tears down her cheeks. "Zell, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I did this to you." "What do you mean?" He answered, honestly confused. She bit her lip. "It was my fault Donah burned down. I lost control of my powers when you-" She looked away from him guiltily. "When I what?" He asked pulling her a little closer so she couldn't look away. "When you told me you got adopted to another family in Balamb I got real mad at you for leaving! You said you'd never leave me, remember?" She pointed to a tree next to the stream that had a heart on it. The names Zell and Arilynn were craved in the middle of the crudely cut heart. Zell was really confused now. They couldn't be older than 7 because that's when the Dinchts adopted him. He didn't remember much about his life before going to Balamb. Arilynn looked up at him angrily. "I lost control again. And this time I lost it bad. I didn't mean to burn the city down!" Tears rushed down her cheeks again and she sobbed silently. Zell looked down at her, totally aghast. This one girl had burned a whole city down when she lost control of her powers? He felt a sorrowful pang in his heart. She was so upset because of him and that's what made her lose control of her powers. She looked so alone, so afraid shivering and crying in his arms. He leaned closer to her, trying to keep them both warm. She looked up at him longingly. "Don't leave me alone Zell. Please." Her voice shook slightly. Zell nodded and gently took her hand. "I won't ever be really gone, Ari. As long as you keep me here in your heart, I'll always be with you." Where that came from, he didn't know. Maybe that's what he said originally. She smiled and reached up with her other hand to trace the line of his jaw. He shivered at the somehow tantalizing touch. "I won't ever forget you, Z. I promise." She kissed him on the cheek just as lights flared into life above them. Wind rushed down all around them making the stream's waters rush away from them. "ARILYNN VARZAD! WE KNOW YOU'RE DOWN THERE!" She shook her head and buried her face in Zell's shoulder. Zell glared up at the helicopter as a rope ladder lowered near them. A man dressed in gray with an odd symbol tattooed on his face slid down the ladder and grabbed Arilynn. She screamed and clutched at Zell. He hung on as tightly as he could, but the man was much stronger and snatched her away easily. "Arilynn! NO!" He cried as the ladder, the man, and Arilynn flew upwards and away from him. "Zell! Don't let them take me!" her screams sent a shiver down his spine as the world shimmered strangely.
Everything came into sharp focus and Zell found himself holding onto Arilynn again, only this time they were standing in the SeeD coronation ball. She must've collapsed against him or something because she was clinging to him like she did back then. Zell didn't know why but he didn't want to let go this time. She looked up at him and smiled weakly. "Remember? You said you'd never leave me alone as long as I remembered you. But you forgot me, now didn't you?" Zell shook his head. "I meant to. It hurt too bad to remember you cuz I couldn't do anything to save you. So, I made myself forget." Arilynn suddenly pulled away and hurriedly walked away leaving Zell standing there looking thoroughly lost. He sat down at a nearby table shakily. He felt like someone had punched him a little too hard in the stomach, like the wind had been knocked out of him. He looked out on the dance floor to see Quistis and Seifer dancing near Squall and Rinoa. They all looked so peacefully, floating along like that to the favorite song of all SeeDs, 'Eyes on Me'. Zell caught sight of Arilynn on the other side of the room. She was looking at him with something like sadness in her odd eyes. The grand finale of 'Eyes on Me' was a huge fireworks display above the school. Just as this began, Zell looked away from his mysterious childhood friend to watch the impressive show. When he looked back at Arilynn, she was gone. He shook his head and shoved his hands in his pockets deciding this really wasn't worth it anymore. Zell took the long route out of the ball, moving slowly so everyone could see him. He knew for a fact that all his friends were too busy with their significant others to see him wallowing in his own misery.
Flicking his second cigarette off the balcony of the secret area, Zell sighed heavily, leaning against said balcony. What had he said to make her react like that? He just told her the truth, so what was the big deal? She just walked away after showing him that whole thing about his past. He wanted to know more, he needed to know more. His thoughts mulled around like this until he heard the first explosion. It rocked the whole Garden, throwing him off balance. Whipping around, Zell narrowed his eyes. The screams reached his ears and he took off running. 'The ball…' He thought, pushing himself as fast as he could go.
Squall saw the mysterious girl in red just as the explosions started. A choker he hadn't noticed before was suddenly glowing a fierce red around her neck and odd symbols were dancing around the collar-like metal thing. He was suddenly aware of the mass chaos taking place around him and of Rinoa clinging to him tightly. "Rinoa! Get out of here!" He cried shoving her towards the door just as he pulled his gunblade out of nowhere. Quistis and Seifer were closest and ran to Squall's side promptly. The blond woman narrowed her eyes and cracked her flail threateningly. Seifer smirked as he slashed the air with his gunblade. "Guess its time to break the SeeD in, huh Commander?" Seifer said as the woman in red formed a ball of fire in her hand. Squall's eyes held a cold fury that had swayed many the Galbadian solider mid-battle. Selphie and Irvine were working on getting all the people out of the hall and away from the immediate danger. Squall saw the woman move as if she was going to attack and so he charged with a cry. She opened her eyes right before he struck some kind of shimmering barrier around her. The way it shimmered resembled the heat-shimmer effect that makes the road look warped on a hot day. She smiled coldly at Squall who was hacking away at the barrier, to no effect. "Fools. I am Arilynn, the Scarlet Assassin of the Silver Fang! You're no match for me!" The flames she had been holding in her hand leapt upwards and grew larger in the air. Then they rushed down at the people below. Quistis gave a shout and dodged and Seifer moved to shove Squall out of the largest flames' path. "What was that?" Quistis cried, jumping up and Scanning Arilynn. "It didn't look like a normal Firaga to me!" Squall shouted as he leapt up, whirling to meet a new wave of fire from Arilynn. Seifer cast a Blizzaga on Arilynn and she staggered slightly, her shimmer shield flickering out. "NOW!" Cried the newest SeeD to his commander. Squall took the hint and rushed forward, slashing into the red haired woman's side with ease. She screamed as the blood gushed out of her wound, soaking her dress but not changing its scarlet color. She gasped and shuddered horribly. Quistis looked confused by the scarlet woman's reaction; according to the Scan she had set up the woman was more powerful than all of them combined. The way she went on, gasping and shaking like she was about to die, made them all put their guard down. Selphie and Irvine raced back into the Quad, weapons in hand. "All the students have been evacuated, Squall!" Selphie cried. Squall nodded and waved her comment away. "Doesn't matter…looks like we've got her just where we want her." Arilynn had become a heap of red cloth and hair after slumping to the ground. Quistis looked away because she almost felt sorry for the poor assassin. Selphie looked aghast and Irvine just tilted his hat in a sort of farewell.
Rinoa stood watching all this happen from a safe distance behind one of the pillars in the Quad. She clapped her hands over her mouth to keep herself from screaming as a molten rod of panic rushed up her spine. That wave of power was immense…that woman was going attack again and it wasn't going to be pretty. Closing her tear filled eyes she pushed herself away from the pillar, knowing what she had to do. The others had no clue what they were dealing with here and she did. Her faint sorceress powers were enough to give her a great understanding of other magical forces. Swallowing her fears she ran over to where Squall, Quistis, Seifer, Selphie, and Irvine stood. A figure rushing into the Quad stopped her progress and she threw herself behind another pillar, thinking it was one of the scarlet woman's helpers. "ARILYNN! STOP IT!" 'That's Zell!' Rinoa thought, shocked that Zell knew the woman but more shocked that he was just now coming to help. His voice was pleading; he knew she was stronger than all of them, too. Rinoa raised herself from where she had thrown her body in panic. She peaked around the corner of the massive pillar to see all her friends looking back at Zell and Arilynn rising to her feet again. The odd choker around her neck flared and she grimaced as her whole body tensed up. Her hair did something interesting even as Rinoa watched. It seemed to go more red and dance around her like there was a wind or something. When she opened her eyes again, the Scarlet Assassin looked calm and concentrated. Zell had reached the bottom of the stairs now and was running across the hall, his face twisted in fear and anger all at once. Rinoa watched as Arilynn gained power, her friends still had their backs turned to the odd woman how was now floating a few feet above the floor. Zell was hurriedly explaining that the Ragnorak had just landed and Laguna and Ellone were helping get all the students away from here. Squall shouted that he had given no such order and Zell explained, quickly, that Laguna had given it. He seemed to know about this Arilynn and knew what she was capable. Mass destruction was her strong suit. So her fears hadn't been totally unfounded and the woman was dangerous. Nothing to be proud of though since she was no match for the raging assassin either. With fear holding her back, Rinoa sobbed silently at her own weakness. Panic closed her throat so she couldn't yell at her friends that the woman was gathering power for another attack. But, if she didn't do something, NOW, they would all be gone. She'd be alone again and she hated it when people left her alone. When her mother had died she had cried for so long and felt so empty. If she lost Sefie, Irvy, Z, Quisty, Seif, and Squall, she'd die. Literally. She'd die from sorrow, a broken heart. This morbid realization drove her fears away and left her with an unshakeable resolve; she had to stop that freaky red head from killing her friends, the people she loved. Balling her gentle hands into strong fists she ran toward the Silver Fang member just as the wacko drew in a breath to speak.
Perhaps Squall felt Rinoa's mind faltering through her fearful thoughts or maybe he heard her rushing to meet the Scarlet Assassin. Whatever, he spun around just in time to see Rinoa stop in front of their enemy. The scarlet woman shifted her topaz gaze from Squall and co. to Rinoa; a fire burning away in those that would've scared away all the SeeDs in all of Garden. A smile, cold and triumphant, flitted across her ruby lips. "Ah, just the person I've been looking for." Squall's ears filled with a horrible roaring noise as he figured it all out. This was one of those assassins his father had been talking about. She was after Rinoa; she was going to kill her. "….Squall….?" Selphie's small voice barely reached his ears over the rage-roar that was pumping the blood through his body. It made him super-alert to everything around him, from the heat shimmer around Arilynn to the wave of emotions he could feel from his friends. Fear above all else, curiosity, uncertainty. They all mixed themselves with Squall's rage and made him confusedly sway. Seifer caught his arm, supporting him. "What's up?" His ex-enemy asked, his blue eyes full of concern. Squall yanked himself out of his grasp, panting and shaking with rage. Arilynn seemed to have frozen Rinoa because she wasn't moving; just standing there, transfixedly staring into the assassin's topaz eyes. No one else moved, they hardly dared to breath. The tension in the room was so thick you could slice it with a knife. Then, everything happened at once. Arilynn reached out and grabbed Rinoa's arms just as the black haired girl went mysteriously limp. Squall roared like a lion and rushed forward only to be thrown back by a wall of fire. Hovering above them, Arilynn cackled triumphantly. "FOOLS! You're too weak and now that I have what I came for, you're all through!" Her eyes went red, glowing like the odd symbols on her choker and flames sprung up all around her. She flew upwards and the flames flew in every direction but up. Things slowed down suddenly in the rage-induced clarity of Squall's mind. Pain throbbed down his whole front side, the others rushed to him screaming his name, things about the Ragnorak, saving Rinoa, saving themselves, just getting the Hell outta there! Zell and Irvine attempted to pull him up, but he sat there staring up at Arilynn as she flew slowly upwards, carrying the limp Rinoa whose sleeves flowed like wings all around her. The glass of the skylight shattered as Arilynn passed through it, tossing a few more fireballs onto the Garden. Glass fell around him and the stinging pain of the shards slicing into his face didn't bother him. Explosions rocked the Garden again, but he didn't care. His friends' screams echoed through his shocked mind. Suddenly, with a WHOOSH and a gust of wind, the huge red Ragnorak was hovering above the recently broken skylight. A ladder fell down from nowhere and Laguna's panicked voice shouted at them from the PA system. "Get on the ladder NOW! HURRY! Garden's gonna blow any second!" Squall was staring through the Ragnorak, still following the Scarlet Assassin as she carried away the one thing that had changed him away forever. He felt two rough hands grab him and drag him along; he heard Selphie sobbing and Irvine shouting for them to hurry; he thought he saw Quistis pointing into the sky where Rinoa had disappeared, tears racing down her cheeks and Seifer gently pushing her into the ship. Then the world swirled away from him with a final thought, 'And there was nothing I could do to stop it all…it was all my fault…'