Her Story

Rinoa's past, present and future.  

The Time Compressed

The party rides the Ragnarok towards Esthar to visit the Presidential Palace. When they enter the President's office, Rinoa notices that the huge man from the Witch Memorial is also present. Squall seems to recognize everyone in the room but Rinoa doesn't know who they are. It turns out that Ellone had been allowing Squall and his friends to experience the past through these men's eyes.

The President introduces himself as Laguna Loire and tells the story of how he became the President of Esthar. When he finishes, he says that Ellone has been taken hostage by Galbadia and placed in Lunatic Pandora, where Adel is still awakening from her stasis. Doctor Odine then explains their new plan to stop Witch Ultimecia by using Ellone's power.

The plan involves going to the future when Ultimecia compresses time and defeating her there. When they rescue Ellone, they will take advantage of her power by defeating Adel and having Rinoa both inherit Adel's powers and be possessed by Ultimecia. Then Ellone will send Rinoa and Ultimecia back into the past.

When Ultimecia begins to compress time, Ellone will cut them off from the past. This will send Rinoa and Ultimecia back their proper bodies, leaving everyone in a time compressed world where all times are mixed together. Everyone will keep moving towards the future, eventually reaching Ultimecia's world where they must defeat her.

The final briefing is explained on board the Ragnarok by Laguna. He asks Rinoa if she is willing to inherit Adel's powers and she formally agrees, doing a slight bow with her hands behind her back. He then asks Rinoa if she's willing to allow Ultimecia to possess her, something she fears will end up causing her to hurt others. Rinoa reluctantly agrees to it, nodding her head.

Laguna tells everyone that the only way to exist in the future when time compresses is to be sure of each other's constant existence. It's also important for everyone to think of each other and imagine being in a place together to get back. The party then goes to the bridge as Selphie sets course for Lunatic Pandora.

Rinoa nervously takes a seat as the Ragnarok begins attacking Lunatic Pandora. She eventually stands up to hold her balance when the Ragnarok's arms tear a hole through the fortress. Once they're inside, Fujin and Raijin greet them, demanding that they hand over Rinoa. Squall shouts that he'll never do it and Rinoa bounces happily.

Fujin and Raijin refuse to let them pass so they fight. Raijin compliments Squall on his skills, saying that he can see why Squall and Seifer are rivals. The posse members run away in defeat and Squall's team follows them deeper into Lunatic Pandora. No longer wanting to fight, Fujin and Raijin instead lead everyone towards Seifer and Ellone.

Seifer orders his posse to take care of Squall's party but they refuse to do it. Fujin lets Ellone go, confusing everyone - especially Seifer. She and Raijin explain that they want to help Seifer but they can't while he's being manipulated. The two leave, saying that only Squall can get through to Seifer now.

Seifer, who is no longer having delusions of being a Knight, can't stop what he has started out of pride. He fights against Squall and Rinoa, destroying Odin during the battle. When the party is in a pinch, Gilgamesh appears and defeats Seifer. Rinoa looks down at her fallen friend and then walks away, hanging her head.


   

However, Seifer was only pretending to be unconscious. He jumps back up and grabs Rinoa, dragging her to Adel so that the two Witches will "become one". Rinoa doesn't understand why Seifer is doing this. She tries to remind him of who he really is but it doesn't work. Rinoa begs Seifer to stop and Squall shouts at him, too, but it's too late. Adel has awakened and junctions Rinoa onto her. Squall and the party then defeat Adel, taking care not to hurt Rinoa.

Rinoa stands in a daze as she inherits Adel's power and Ultimecia possesses her. She falls down as her consciousness is taken back through time, experiencing life through a young Adel's eyes. Ellone then uses her special power to send Ultimecia and Rinoa back to where they belong.

When Rinoa is back to her normal self, she stands up and time begins to compress. Images of different times and places appear while Squall reminds everyone to think of Edea's house so that they don't cease to exist. Still disoriented from what she had just gone through, Rinoa worries that she'll disappear.

They fight dozens of Witches from different times and places until they arrive at Edea's house in the future. In this world, Ultimecia reigns supreme. The bodies of SeeDs who couldn't defeat her lay dead on the path to her castle.

Together, everyone climbs the chains that fasten the floating castle to the ground. They don't know what lies ahead but Rinoa is somehow sure that Ultimecia is there. They split into two parties and grimly make their way through the castle's front door.


Fulfilled Days

The two parties fight their way through the castle until they reach Ultimecia's throne room together. Ultimecia is sick of the SeeDs who have fought to stop her and says that she will send them to a timeless hell. During the battle she summons then junctions onto Griever, the lion on Squall's ring. The party defeats Griever and time begins to go out of control.

Ultimecia then changes into a final Witch appearance, an alien-like one. The party defeats her in this form once and for all. Time begins to unravel and everyone wakes up in a bright haze, separated from one another.

They each begin running through time, trying to get back home and where they belong. Rinoa tries to think of Squall and the place they promised to meet at but it seems like her nightmare is becoming a reality. She holds onto her necklace and screams for Squall but can't find him. Refusing to give up, she runs through every time and place to find him.


   

Rinoa ends up at the fields behind Edea's house at another time but a storm is brewing and nothing looks as it should. She eventually finds Squall laying on the ground and kneels down. She places him on her lap and brushes his hair, asking him to wake up. He doesn't respond and she holds him tightly while screaming his name, which brings them back into the present time. Rinoa watches with wonder as the clouds part and flowers bloom around them, just as they do behind Edea's house. Squall then wakes up to a surprised Rinoa who begins to cry with happiness.

Later that night, everyone reunites in Balamb Garden for a celebration. Both Kramers and even Angelo is present for the occasion. Since Rinoa doesn't really know most of the students present and Squall isn't one to mingle, they go to a balcony and watch the stars. The two don't realize that Irvine and Selphie are spying on them with a camcorder.

When Rinoa finally spots a shooting star she points it out to Squall, just like she did when they first met. Squall returns her smile and pulls her in for a kiss.