Suddenly colours and shapes erupted in front of me. I sat up quickly, calling my favourite fire back into action, before realising who was standing there. I surveyed all of my friends’ faces, before throwing myself into Riku’s tight embrace. I clung onto him tightly, never wanting to let go of him. I closed my eyes again, breathing in Riku’s familiar, comforting scent, and felt him doing the same next to me. His breathing was short and shallow, but I listened as it finally began slowing down to the gentle rhythm that I was used to. I could feel his heart beating next to mine, and knew that I was safe with him. “I’m sorry,” I whispered in his ear. He shook his head fiercely, obviously not trusting himself to speak.
I felt so happy. Haru was okay and her powers were totally back. She looked a lot happier too; maybe near-death experiences really do change you. Riku stood there, cradling her for what must have been a long time, because everyone snapped back to normality with the sound of crickets chirping. I walked over to Haru and Riku. “I hate to ruin this… but we have to go… the Garden might still be in danger…” Haru looked confused; she obviously hadn’t heard the announcement. “Some evil guy is trying to take it over, and everyone went off to fight him. But I don’t know how strong they are; they could have won or lost by now.” Haru nodded, and jumped forward, turning back to face us. “Come on!” She started running off, faster than ever before… Maybe Jolt Tonic was good for lots of things.
We got back to the main hall to find it deserted. I pulled everyone in the direction of the emergency staircase and they followed me down to the lowest floor. Nodding slightly, I opened the door and walked into the pitch black room ahead of me. “Fire.” Haru said calmly, and a bright ball of flame erupted on the ceiling, illuminating the room. Everyone gasped. Freya shook her head slightly. Squall couldn’t hold back his sobs. Riku simply stood there, fighting his emotions, and Haru breathed into her robe sleeve. “No… No… It… can’t be…”
I looked around, stepping forwards cautiously. Stepping over the bodies of the students of Balamb Garden, I lead my companions through the field of the dead. Tears ran silently down my cheeks as I saw that everyone, man, woman and child had been killed indiscriminately. I reached the middle of the room, gazed silently at the figure in front of me. Sat upon a throne made of other bodies, propped up in a relaxed position, her face frozen forever in the horror of her final moments… was Quistis.
As I surveyed the mess of bodies, a sick, cold feeling crept through me. I could feel my breath catch in the back of my throat and my body stiffened on reflex. Next to me, Riku’s face was deliberately wooden, but I noticed his hands were trembling freely. I took his hand – although whether it was to comfort him or myself, I don’t know – but at my touch he jumped wildly. He looked at me, but his eyes were blank; as though someone had switched him off.
Vivi stepped forward, picking his way through the tangled mass, and stopped suddenly. I followed his line of sight, and my gaze slowly slid onto Quistis’s shocked mask of disgust. My gasp slipped out before I could stop it, and instantly everyone else looked up at her. Squall’s sobs rang out more fiercely than before, echoing in the otherwise silence. Vivi took a few more steps forwards and gently closed Quistis’s eyes. Freya was shaking with a mixture of rage and horror – and she didn’t look any more reassured when Vivi took her hand in his softly.
I was determined not to cry, but it was difficult when I spotted Freya’s tight lips, or Vivi’s silent floods of tears, or Squall curled up protectively on the floor. I walked over to him quietly, and gently guided him back up to his feet so we could continue. He wasn’t looking at Quistis, though. His eyes were fixed steadfastly on a girl in a yellow dress, and a boy with a long coat and cowboy hat. “Did you know them?” I whispered fearfully. He nodded jerkily, and started crying into my shoulder. I looked around at the others, shocked and unsure of what to do, but they simply looked back unhelpfully. Nervously, I reached out a hand and patted Squall on the back gently. He grabbed my hand and gripped onto it tightly, no matter how hard I tried to shake him off. Vivi cleared his throat to speak, and as Squall looked up, distracted, I wrenched my hand away and scuttled over to Riku.
My voice faltered before it left my lips. “Guys… I… I’m sorry for you all, not being used to this, but where I… where I was made, this sort of thing is normal. It still…hurts… but I can cope. And so can you! Just remember what they fought for, who they fought against, and the reason they died. Don’t let hate consume you, but remember why they died. They died fighting off a usurper, and we have to kill them ourselves. For Quistis.” I started walking forwards, and I heard Freya whisper as she walked, “So brave for one so young…”
As we walked through the gloom and gore, I pulled Squall to the front and took his hand. “You’ll be okay. I’m here for you.” Squall nodded, tight-lipped, as I pulled him forward. Soon enough, a light shone brightly in the distance, then another and a third, and soon we were stood before a pod-shaped object, with three lights shining. Yellow in the centre, Red and Blue to the sides. Squall drew his blade and struck the Blue light, then the Red, and finally the Yellow. The pod opened, and before me sat a fat, yellow creature that began laughing immediately.
The creature didn’t speak, but Squall shook his head violently. “NORG…” he said calmly, and struck. Quicker than you can blink, there was the slash of metal through the air, the sound of a gunshot, and the creature’s laughing stopped abruptly. Sitting in the pod was a now dead NORG, and several screams rang through the air. The pod imploded, leaving a great hole, and from the whole came a mass of smaller creatures, robed in uniforms similar to those of the Garden, and they swarmed to attack us. Haru let loose several Fira spells and Squall slashed left and right. Riku leapt to protect me and I aimed several Blizzard strikes under his arms. Freya leapt from creature to creature, impaling them upon her Lance before jumping to the next. As the creatures bared their sharp claws, Haru swapped from Black to White magic, playing healer as we needed it.
Within a few minutes, all but one creature lay dead upon the cold, metal floor. It crawled away, and Squall ran after it, determined to exact his revenge, but I pulled him back. “Don’t. There’s been too much death today.” Squall looked at me, his eyes slightly watery, and fell to the floor, trying his hardest to keep his eyes dry. I sat down next to him (though it didn’t make too much difference) and lay my head on his shoulder. “It’s not easy, I know… But you’ll be fine…”
I watched Vivi comforting Squall silently before turning to Riku. “I wish…I could be as strong as Vivi is…” I mumbled, embarrassed to admit it. Riku looked at me curiously. “You don’t need to be stronger. The way you are now, it’s good for you. You know to call for help, and yet you try to help others.” I shook my head. “I try. But sometimes, just trying isn’t enough. Sometimes you have to be able to do something. And I can’t, not by myself.” Riku nodded. “But you don’t have to do it all on your own. That’s why you have me.” He smiled, thinking he had won, and took my hand. But I pulled it back.
“And if you ever left? I wouldn’t be able to cope without you, Riku. I need you with me all the time, I can’t function without you. But we can’t be together forever. We just…can’t. And I love you too much. It isn’t good that I depend on you for everything.” Riku cocked his head. “Why not? We will be together forever, I promise.” I closed my eyes. “That won’t be allowed. Life isn’t that kind to me. Knowing my luck, you’ll start to hate me or…or you’ll die. Everyone else has.” He started to speak, but I shook my head one last time, and sat down on the floor, blocking out everything else.
I turned my head, hearing Haru touch the floor. Plucking up my courage, I stood up and walked over to her. She looked up at me, and before she could make any movements, I’d slapped her hard across the face. “Get a grip, Haru!” She stared blankly at me, before standing up and glaring down at me. “What was that for? Aren’t I allowed a little self-pity? After all I’ve been through?” I adjusted my hat so I could see up to her, and shouted back. “No, Haru, you’re not! All that’s happened to you, killing your best friend, losing your parents, this, it’s nothing compared to what I’ve been through!”
“I discovered I was made, a lifeless doll with only one purpose, to kill! I don’t know how many I did kill before I woke up, but I did! And then, I found out anyone else who found themselves like I did would die, not too long after! I was so scared, but I carried on! I carried on fighting, I didn’t sit and wallow in misery, I just carried on! Eventually, everyone else died, all the people like me, and then they stopped making more, so now I’m the only one left! You have no idea what that’s like!” Haru shifted uncomfortably. “And then, a teenage girl comes to me looking for help, even buys me an ice cream, and I think: Finally, a friend! One who isn’t harsh to anyone, like Seifer, but a true, real friend! So I help you, and you become my friend, and then you become Queen! Queen, Haru! And now you’re here, complaining that a kid is stronger than you? Well get a grip, and then maybe you’ll be as strong as I am!”
Haru looked down at me for a few seconds, and walked away. Riku didn’t follow, nor did anyone else. I walked over and hugged Riku’s legs, mumbling an apology to him, before going back to Squall and pulling him up. “We have to go after her.” Riku nodded, and Freya, Squall and him followed me to the entrance, and walked up the stairs together, but I stopped halfway up, crashing into Haru. I looked past her to see why she had stopped, and gasped. There, on the stairs by the doorway, was Zell. Riku looked as well, and, seeing Zell, he shouted “You!” and tried to push past, but was stopped by a familiar voice. “No. Zell is with me.” There, in the doorway, was Dr. Kadowaki.
