Her Story

Galbadia Garden

In Yaulny Canyon, the party passes by a forest where Zell looks to Squall for support. Zell has been feeling guilty since he believes it's his fault that Garden may go to war with Galbadia. He had kept things to himself while in the Forest Fox house and on the train but couldn't contain it any longer. Squall brushes him off but Rinoa steps in, saying that a leader should show more compassion. She believes that even a little bit of encouragement or care for comrades can go a long way.

Before Squall can reply about how pointless easing someone's mind is, he, Selphie and Quistis collapse to find themselves in the still unexplained "dream world". When they wake up, Rinoa apologizes for her words and Squall holds back from telling her to forget about it.

If you visit Timber later, a man on the street is heard saying his girlfriend is bothering him about being a loser. He believes that if he was given a little word of encouragement before, he would have tried harder and not given up.

They eventually make it to Galbadia Garden. Although it's in Galbadia and most students end up in the Galbadian Army, Gardens themselves are neutral from the territory. On their way in, everyone notices how different it is from Balamb Garden. There are stricter rules and it's very quiet, which Squall likes. Rinoa giggles, finding this typical of him. In a reception room, Rinoa and the party believe Seifer is dead and begin to share their memories of him; fond and not-so-fond. The overall agreement is that he "was one of them" and he "wasn't so bad".

Sitting on a couch and almost folding her legs to her chest by instinct, Rinoa admits to having liked him, which is why she's talking about him. She possibly thought of him as a boyfriend because of how he encouraged her with his confidence. It seems that by being an outsider from B-Garden, she didn't know Seifer's reputation of being a problem child. It seems Seifer may be one of the reasons Rinoa still fights strongly for Timber's independence instead of living at home. Strangely, Squall has an outburst of emotion and runs out of the room leaving everyone puzzled.

Finally, they receive a briefing from Headmaster Martine of Galbadia Garden. Rinoa asks Squall to pretend she is from Garden during the briefing, in order to avoid having to explain her presence. She mimics the party whenever they do the unusual salute and just barely fits in.

Martine tells the party that he and Cid have decided Garden will take a stand against the Witch. He explains how the Witch acting as an ambassador of peace is really a cover up. Witches create fear among the people and therefore, peace talks are impossible. Galbadia is planning to use this fear to negotiate favorable conditions for itself. It is clear that Galbadia's ultimate goal is world domination.

Martine then introduces the party to Irvine Kinneas, an elite sharpshooter from G-Garden (who is not yet SeeD) to aid in their new orders. Their orders are to assassinate the Witch by sniping her and if that fails, direct confrontation. Depending on how you played out this scene, Rinoa can be easily charmed by Irvine, making Squall a little jealous.

The party begins heading to the capital of Galbadia, Deling City. There, they will meet up with a Colonel Caraway to go over the details for the plan. Rinoa doesn't say anything about Caraway at this time and notices that students at G-Garden and the Far East Galbadia station are already gossiping about the Witch. There's a common fear for her and some students believe she plans to take over G-Garden and use it as her base of operations. As well, the political turmoil as a result of what happened in Timber has already spread and many trains are not running.

Under Her Control

Rinoa seems oddly familiar with Deling City, running ahead of everyone as soon as the party leaves the train station. She also knows that they need to take bus 08 to get to Caraway's mansion. Unlike G-Garden's students, the people currently living in and visiting Deling seem optimistic about the Witch's arrival and are anxious for the parade to start.

When the party is finally able to visit to Caraway's Mansion, Rinoa has an unusual conversation with Squall at the door. Since her contract is still intact, she requests that Squall not leave her in the mansion. Squall doesn't ask why and continues to follow orders but begins to seriously to wonder about the situation.

Inside the richly decorated mansion, which isn't unlike Rinoa's room in the Forest Owl Base, they wait in the study for the Colonel to appear. Rinoa is strangely casual about Caraway with her comments but the party doesn't takes notice. Angry about waiting, she leaves to get "that man" and mentions it's her house as an afterthought. Everyone is stunned. Caraway is a Colonel in the Galbadian Army and his daughter is a member of an anti-government faction.

When Caraway finally arrives, he explains that Rinoa is his daughter, not a SeeD and may become a burden. He also points out that he cannot remember the last time Rinoa had called him her father but that this domestic problem does not involve SeeD.

Purposely leaving Rinoa out of the plans, Caraway briefs the group on the assassination plan. He also reveals the name of the Witch, Edea. The name somewhat rings a bell among the SeeDs but they don't think much of it. Squall mentions to Caraway that Rinoa's orders still take precedence and coldly requests that Caraway not interfere when the time comes. Caraway is angered and amused by this, then hints that Squall better not interfere with him and his daughter.

Just as the party with Quistis is about to leave, Rinoa meets them on her way back into the study. Rinoa seems to have her own ideas for dealing with the Witch. While everyone else was preparing for the mission, she found an Odine bracelet in Caraway's room. She made a plan to put the Odine bracelet on the Witch instead of killing her, that way they can somehow capture her instead. Quistis, unimpressed and acting on feelings of jealousy, stomps over to her and points out how malformed her plan really is.

Quistis' party leaves as they have an operation to do and Rinoa stays in the house by herself, wondering why everyone isn't taking her seriously. Outside, Quistis is feeling guilty. She realizes that she is no better than Squall who told Rinoa that accepting death is part of their job. Quistis then decides to go back and apologize to Rinoa since they have enough time. Unfortunately, Rinoa, having noticed that her father activated the locking mechanism on the house, escaped just as Quistis' party comes back in. Trapped in Caraway's mansion, Quistis and the rest of the team find a way out through the Deling City sewage system, hoping they can get in position before 20:00.

Rinoa makes her way into the Presidential Residence, carrying out her own plan to the bitter end. Her "this isn't a game" mantra also helps to calm her nerves, as what she plans to do is very dangerous and she's scared of being alone. Still, she hopes that what she is doing will finally prove herself to everyone. When she gets inside, she tries to trick the Witch by saying the bracelet is a gift from the daughter of the Galbadian Army's Colonel. The Witch isn't deceived and uses her powers to throw the bracelet away, Rinoa along with it!

Rinoa is knocked down, reraised and controlled like a doll by the Witch's power. Rinoa then follows the Witch out to a podium on the roof of the building like a puppet. Edea makes a speech, insulting the cheering lowlifes below for being under her control. Noticing that she made no sense, President Deling tries to interrupt but is halted when she kills him on the spot.

Meanwhile, Squall and Irvine are waiting to snipe Edea. They eventually notice that Rinoa is on the podium as well. Irvine is worried but Squall once again sticks to orders. When Edea leaves and decides to use Rinoa as a sacrifice, Squall and Irvine go through the crowds and to the Presidential Residence to help her. On their way, Squall notices that Seifer is alive and on a float with the Witch.

Squall and Irvine quickly defeat the statues-turned-monsters that were about to feast on Rinoa. When Rinoa comes to, she shakes in fear and grabs onto Squall's arm. Annoyed by physical contact, Squall brushes her off. He's still under the impression that Rinoa may be Seifer's girlfriend. Rinoa keeps repeating that she was scared even though Squall tells her that she should be used to battles. The truth is, she never had to fight alone before. Squall moves to leave, reminding her that they have to get going but she grabs his hand again. Sighing, Squall says that he hasn't forgotten her order, for him to not leave her and that she should just stay close to him.

Back in the Clock Tower with Irvine, Squall decides to tell Rinoa that Seifer is alive and with the Witch. She is glad he's alive but they both don't understand what he's doing. Squall realizes that he might have to kill Seifer, although Rinoa would rather not have it happen. The time comes and Irvine shoots but Edea uses her powers to stop the bullet. Since sniping didn't work, Squall goes to confront Edea directly.

Squall finds Seifer, who now calls himself Edea's "Knight", and reluctantly fights past him. Once Seifer is defeated, Rinoa and Irvine show up to help Squall fight the Witch. They fight Edea and when she is wounded, Edea uses her limit break as a final weapon. Rinoa instinctively dodges the Ice Strike but it impales Squall who was behind her. She screams in terror as Squall topples backwards and falls from the building, Rinoa runs and reaches over the edge for him but it's too late.

next: Retaliation – Fisherman's Horizon