The Long and Winding Road to Winhill
A Final Fantasy VIII Mixtape
By Vincent Vendetta
Preface
This story is inspired by overchay's Music Mix, Track One. I'm all for innovation in fan fiction writing, and I found this method of writing to be both inventive and fun. In overchay's fic, she put her ipod on "shuffle" and wrote a vignette based on each song, using the song's run time as a time constraint to write in. I lifted the idea and modified it a little. I'm still using the shuffle function, and I'm still writing the entire vignette during the song's run time. I've only changed the formula by narrowing the field of songs. All of these vignette are based on songs by The Beatles.
Track One: Hold Me Tight
"I'd rather not," said Irvine.
"Aw, come on," said Selphie, practically dragging him onto the dance floor.
"Really?" Irvine replied. "Wouldn't you rather go outside, where we can be alone, and look at the stars, together, alone?"
"Nope," said Selphie. "I want to dance."
And with that, she pulled him close and placed his hands on her hips. Irvine felt his face redden as everyone saw for the first time his lack of dance skills. But, as the song went on, his face returned to normal. It felt so right.
Track Two: Don't Bother Me
Squall watched as the boat pulled out of Balamb Harbor. Things were so easy in the past, in black and white, when he was the knight and she was the damsel in distress. He saves the world. He gets the girl. They live happily ever after.
"I guess we never really had time to share interests," he muttered. "Too busy fighting evil."
"Hey, you okay?" said Quistis, putting a hand on his shoulder from behind.
"No," he said. Still watching Rinoa's boat fade into the horizon. "Just leave me alone."
Track Three: Savoy Truffle
"Don't go out that door," said Squall.
Irvine began opening the door, slowly with a face that screamed, "Oh shit, Squall, what'cha gonna do?"
"Kinneas, I'm ordering you, don't go out that door."
"Five o' clock boss. I'm off the clock."
"You're on a mission! There is no clock!"
"Squall, it's a stakeout! Nothing's happening. You can handle it for a little while. You have my cell phone. You can call me if anything happens."
"Or you can just stay here," said Squall. "You know, like you were told to."
"Squall, Squally-baby! Loosen up!"
"Soldiers are not loose."
"Alright, consider this recon." And Irvine stepped out the door.
Track Four: And I Love Her
Squall stood, staring out the window of the Ragnarok at the Lunatic Pandora. Sweat beaded on his brow, his hands were steady on the control panel, but his tendons bulged. He was tense. Under his breath, a single word could be heard: "Rinoa."
"Kwi-chuh!" a voice exclaimed behind him. Squall wheeled around to see Zell making a whip cracking motion with his hand.
"All for a girl, Squall?" he said. Then he mock-swooned and cried, "Oh you're so romantic!"
Track Five: Good Night
"So what's next, ya know?" Raijin asked, standing behind Seifer on the pier. Seifer was busy watching the Garden glide across the water.
"I dunno," Seifer mused.
"REVENGE?" Fujin suggested, a little too cheerfully over his other shoulder.
"Revenge is for the unjustly wronged, not the wrong themselves," said Seifer.
"Wow," murmured Raijin. "Poetic."
"So WHAT then?" Fujin asked.
"Redemption? Forgiveness?" Seifer suggested. "Don't get me wrong, I love you guys, but I'd like a few more friends, too."
Track Six: Something
I didn't even know her name, the girl with the black hair in the soft beige dress, steering me around on the dance floor, amongst what was literally an army. Why is she here? Why isn't she in uniform? Who is she?
I've never danced in my entire life, and yet here I am, shuffling like a monkey around the dance floor of Balamb Garden, dressed in silver and gold. I'm not myself, but you know what? After tonight, I don't think I want to be myself. At least, not who I was.
She looks up at me and winks. You know, Zell did that, but it wasn't nearly as cute. Finally, the song ends. She leaves me in the middle of the dance floor and leaves, looking back, ever so tantalizingly, over her shoulder.
Track Seven: Don't Let Me Down
"What do you want to get from all this?" Cid asked. "Charging like Galahad into a red tornado of chaos?"
"What?" Squall was taken aback. "Isn't it obvious? I… uh… I want to save the world."
Squall had never noticed how sheepish that sounded before. Cid picked up on it, too. The wrinkles in his face creased as he stifled a laugh.
"Isn't that the truth?!" Squall said. "Isn't that what you made me commander for?!"
Cid smiled again. "No and no. I chose you because I could see a fire in your eyes, a certain reckless desire that says 'I'll drive an airship into a mountain for just one thing.'"
"You know," said Squall, "I wish I could say that fooled me, but it didn't."
"I know," said Cid. "So, what's that one thing?"
"I just want her to be there," admitted Squall.
"I hope she is," said Cid.
Track Eight: Yellow Submarine
"All aboard!" Zell cried out. "Airship Ragnarok is leaving the station. It's now or never!"
Squall hurried up what was essentially a gangplank into the airlock. The doors shut behind him.
"Almost didn't make it, Cap'n," Said Zell, patting him on the back. Squall shrugged him off.
"Where is everyone?" Squall asked.
"Up front, skipper," said Zell. Leading the way.
The crew all stood in the cockpit. Selphie's eyes looked in wonder out the window.
"Isn't this so fun?!" she exclaimed.
"Yeah," Squall confirmed sarcastically. "Fun."
Track Nine: Get Back
Squall slumped back in a chair on the Ragnarok, his mission completed. The doors opened up and Rinoa sauntered in.
"Nice ride," she said.
"Eh, I try." Squall found himself smiling for the first time in a long time. Rinoa plopped herself down on his lap.
"So," she said. "The wicked sorceress is slain, the knight's saved the damsel in distress, and the world's finally at peace. Where to next, Commander?"
Squall's smile widened. A wave of relief washed over him like a hot shower. "Let's go back to Balamb. Let's go home."
"What was that?" Rinoa asked again, teasing him.
"I said we're going home!" Squall yelled, and for the first time in his life, he was not only happy, but overjoyed.
Track Ten: Sea of Monsters
There was a thud against the side of the boat.
"What was that?" asked Zell.
"Probably nothing," said Xu.
Another thud.
"There it is again!" said Zell.
Suddenly, the lights went dark. The engine died. The boat had lost power. There was another thud.
"Hell of a way to start off a field exam," said Seifer.
"Everyone up top," Quistis commanded.
Xu, Quistis, Zell, Seifer, and Squall emerged onto the top deck of the boat, only to find a winged monster, and Elnoyle, pecking at it furiously.
"Alright Squad B!" said Quistis. "Let's see what you've—"
The Elnoyle erupted in flames, screeched a deafening screech, and fell into the see. Seifer, his hand smoking from the Fira spell, turned to the rest of the crew and smiled a cocky smile.
Track Eleven: Don't Pass Me By
Please, please, please notice me, thought Irvine. He swung his legs up onto the ledge, bending one at the knee and placing his hand on it. He tilted his head forward, letting strands of vibrant red hair fall into his eyes. God damn, I'm so cool. There's no way she can resist this pose.
Selphie drew closer, her brown her flapping lightly in the wind. She looked at Irvine. He lifted his head up, tilted the brim of his cowboy hat ever so slightly as to create a stunning reveal of his gorgeous eyes.
"It's buy one get one free hot dog day," she said, and she just kept walking.
Track Twelve: Mother Nature's Son
"What are you doing?" asked Seth, Irvine's roommate.
Irvine was busy in the bathroom applying what appeared to be a translucent yellow nail polish to his fingers.
"It's honey," he explained.
"Honey?" asked Seth.
"Yeah," said Irvine. "You ever see me do that butterfly trick, where it lands right it my hand? You don't think that's luck or some kind of spiritual connection to the earth, do you? No, it's a magic trick. Slight of hand. I have to bait them. But you know what, chicks don't know that, and they love it all the same."
Track Thirteen: Please Please Me
"Look at the stars!" Irvine exclaimed, wrapping his arms around Selphie as they stood on a ledge overlooked Galbadia. "The lights from Deling City reflect off of them. It gives them a certain color. There's no stars like the stars over Deling City."
Zell watched this and took very in depth mental notes. Then, he sauntered over to Quistis, who was standing a reasonable distance away, looking at the same sky.
"You know, Quistis," he said. "They say there's no stars like the stars over Deling City."
Then he wrapped his arms around her waist. She put her lips to his ear and whispered, "You know, Zell, in this position, I could kill you. Twice."
Track Fourteen: Words of Love
"You know, you don't have to be so withdrawn all the time," said Rinoa. "This whole mysterious air of darkness, it must get tiring after a while. There's certain things you can't talk about to yourself, and I wanted to let you know, I'm here for you."
Squall looked up at her and opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. They stood together, in awkward silence for a little while, Squall's mouth open like an idiot's, until he finally rushed forth and kissed her.
Track Fifteen: Help
In this world, there are warriors, trained from the age of twelve to infiltrate, subdue, and exterminate. They are the most elite fighting force in the world. They work for whoever's willing to fork over the cash and they always get the job done. They are damn near unstoppable. But in this world, there are things that not even the most elite can conquer.
"One percent? Two percent?" said Squall, holding a jug of milk in each hand in the middle of the grocery store. "What the hell is the difference?!"
"One percent," said Rinoa.
"So which is better?!" Squall said, his frustrated grip tightening. "Why the hell do they even make two different kinds?!"
Finally, the one percent carton burst, showering Squall in milk. He turned to Rinoa and grinned sheepishly at the ridiculousness of the situation.
"It looks like we're getting two percent," she said.