Disclaimer: I own only the idea for my story and any original characters.
The quote in the summary was originally said by T.S. Eliot.
Chapter 1
Rinoa wandered amongst the battered and bloodied bodies, picking her way carefully so that she would not step upon their ever-sleeping forms. She looked and tried to identify faces where she could, although some had faces that were little more than fractured pieces of skull.
There was a certain face she was looking for, one with a scar etched permanently across his forehead, unhidden by unruly brown hair. She brushed a piece of blood-soaked, black hair away from her forehead and bent over a man who had only shards of clothes left on him, blown away by some fire spell perhaps. She hoped it wasn't Squall…but she knew that he would be here somewhere.
She grunted as she slowly turned him over on to his back. His face was not of her lover Squall, but of someone who was of importance to her.
"Irvine," she whispered softly, a tear streaking it's way down her dirty face. His hair had been all but singed off, making him look like Squall from where she had been standing. His gun was held as if he had tried to protect someone, but had died in the attempt. When Rinoa looked to the left of him she knew why.
Torn and tattered fragments of bright yellow lay on the ground and the bubbly brunette once known as Selphie lay on the dirt on her back, her eyes gazing up at the cerulean sky. It would have been a perfect sky had it not had to witness the carnage laid below.
All of Balamb's SeeDs had turned out to fight this last battle…and one after another they had been slaughtered mercilessly. Not one stood on these vast plains…and Rinoa has soon to join them.
An arrow protruded grotesquely from her side, spilling a little bit of blood every step that she took. Ironic as fate is, she ran out of all healing spells during the battle, trying to keep herself alive. Now, she didn't care…all she wanted was to find Squall. Once she found him…then she could finally close her eyes.
No, that was wrong. There was something else; something important that her pain-racked body refused to let her mind remember.
Rinoa stood up a little too fast then, her sight blurring in front of her eyes. She wanted to find Squall, no, needed to find Squall, if only for that one thing her mind kept her from forgetting completely. She was ever- aware of it's presence but never of it's form. It did not distract her.
She walked a few more steps, then saw Quistis' blonde hair spilling over her pink outfit, face-down in the bloody grass. Rinoa's face twisted with horror and was about to go over and see if she could do anything when she felt another sharp pain in her side, almost causing her to tumble over. No, she must find Squall first.
She stumbled forward and tripped over a nearby body, sending her sprawling to the ground. Rinoa picked herself up painfully and moaned softly. Turning to she if she recognized who it was, her heart caught in her throat. It was Squall.
Rinoa reached over and held his head in her small hands, her own brown eyes meeting his blue. "No Squall, please, you can't die." But she was too late, her love recently dead. She began to sob then, rocking herself back and forth while still cradling his head, ignoring the growing pain in her side as the arrow worked it's way deeper inside of her body.
Suddenly, Rinoa felt a sudden calm descend upon her. She glanced at Squall's closed left fist and slowly opened it, fearing and anticipating what was inside at the same time. A small, crimson orb sat in his palm, no bigger than a grape. It's depths swirled mysteriously as though some power within it had finally come alive. She picked it up and felt the power flow through her body. Rinoa remembered what she had to do now.
"Remember," she whispered softly, and it seemed to swirl about even faster, looking like a contained tornado, "remember all what was happened here, so that this mistake will not be repeated. Let the next turn of this universal wheel have a different ending than what happened here. Remember…."
Rinoa shuddered violently, the arrow finally doing the ultimate damage. It had punctured a lung and Rinoa was starting to die. She let the orb fall from her hands and hit the ground where it glowed brightly for a moment, then disappeared into another time warp.
"No matter what we do," Rinoa grimaced, "it seems we are doomed to repeat the mistakes of our futures. I just hope that this time it will be enough to stop them the next time through…" She collapsed onto Squall's chest as the pain began to assault her every sense.
"Please…live free." As the breath escaped her lungs, no new one came to replace it and she died sprawled on top of her lover.
A/N: I will only write the next chapter if I get satisfactory reviews/any reviews at all. Thanks for taking the time to read it!
Chapter 1
Rinoa wandered amongst the battered and bloodied bodies, picking her way carefully so that she would not step upon their ever-sleeping forms. She looked and tried to identify faces where she could, although some had faces that were little more than fractured pieces of skull.
There was a certain face she was looking for, one with a scar etched permanently across his forehead, unhidden by unruly brown hair. She brushed a piece of blood-soaked, black hair away from her forehead and bent over a man who had only shards of clothes left on him, blown away by some fire spell perhaps. She hoped it wasn't Squall…but she knew that he would be here somewhere.
She grunted as she slowly turned him over on to his back. His face was not of her lover Squall, but of someone who was of importance to her.
"Irvine," she whispered softly, a tear streaking it's way down her dirty face. His hair had been all but singed off, making him look like Squall from where she had been standing. His gun was held as if he had tried to protect someone, but had died in the attempt. When Rinoa looked to the left of him she knew why.
Torn and tattered fragments of bright yellow lay on the ground and the bubbly brunette once known as Selphie lay on the dirt on her back, her eyes gazing up at the cerulean sky. It would have been a perfect sky had it not had to witness the carnage laid below.
All of Balamb's SeeDs had turned out to fight this last battle…and one after another they had been slaughtered mercilessly. Not one stood on these vast plains…and Rinoa has soon to join them.
An arrow protruded grotesquely from her side, spilling a little bit of blood every step that she took. Ironic as fate is, she ran out of all healing spells during the battle, trying to keep herself alive. Now, she didn't care…all she wanted was to find Squall. Once she found him…then she could finally close her eyes.
No, that was wrong. There was something else; something important that her pain-racked body refused to let her mind remember.
Rinoa stood up a little too fast then, her sight blurring in front of her eyes. She wanted to find Squall, no, needed to find Squall, if only for that one thing her mind kept her from forgetting completely. She was ever- aware of it's presence but never of it's form. It did not distract her.
She walked a few more steps, then saw Quistis' blonde hair spilling over her pink outfit, face-down in the bloody grass. Rinoa's face twisted with horror and was about to go over and see if she could do anything when she felt another sharp pain in her side, almost causing her to tumble over. No, she must find Squall first.
She stumbled forward and tripped over a nearby body, sending her sprawling to the ground. Rinoa picked herself up painfully and moaned softly. Turning to she if she recognized who it was, her heart caught in her throat. It was Squall.
Rinoa reached over and held his head in her small hands, her own brown eyes meeting his blue. "No Squall, please, you can't die." But she was too late, her love recently dead. She began to sob then, rocking herself back and forth while still cradling his head, ignoring the growing pain in her side as the arrow worked it's way deeper inside of her body.
Suddenly, Rinoa felt a sudden calm descend upon her. She glanced at Squall's closed left fist and slowly opened it, fearing and anticipating what was inside at the same time. A small, crimson orb sat in his palm, no bigger than a grape. It's depths swirled mysteriously as though some power within it had finally come alive. She picked it up and felt the power flow through her body. Rinoa remembered what she had to do now.
"Remember," she whispered softly, and it seemed to swirl about even faster, looking like a contained tornado, "remember all what was happened here, so that this mistake will not be repeated. Let the next turn of this universal wheel have a different ending than what happened here. Remember…."
Rinoa shuddered violently, the arrow finally doing the ultimate damage. It had punctured a lung and Rinoa was starting to die. She let the orb fall from her hands and hit the ground where it glowed brightly for a moment, then disappeared into another time warp.
"No matter what we do," Rinoa grimaced, "it seems we are doomed to repeat the mistakes of our futures. I just hope that this time it will be enough to stop them the next time through…" She collapsed onto Squall's chest as the pain began to assault her every sense.
"Please…live free." As the breath escaped her lungs, no new one came to replace it and she died sprawled on top of her lover.
A/N: I will only write the next chapter if I get satisfactory reviews/any reviews at all. Thanks for taking the time to read it!