To the Light
A Teen Titans/Final Fantasy VIII Crossover
Disclaimer: The author of this fanfiction does not claim to own Teen Titans or Final Fantasy VIII, for the author is not Warner Bros./DC or Square-Enix.
Prologue: Transcending the Bonds of Time
"Time…place…who I wanna be with…I wanna go there! Where Squall and I promised. Squall! Squall! Let's go home! Where are you?"
Judgement day has come at last. My friends and I, the SeeDs of Balamb Garden, have ended the reign of Sorceress Ultimecia at last. The time that was compressed into one unending present is returning to its normal flow, and the sorceresses, myself included, whose magic was used to grip our world in terror, are free from the evil woman's reign. Now, only one thing stands between Squall and I. Time.
"Ultimecia lives far in the future where none of us can technically exist. There's only one way to make yourself exist in a world like that! As friends, don't forget one another! As friends, believe in one another! Believe in your friends' existence! And they'll also believe in yours. To be friends, to like one another, to love one another…You can't do these things alone. You need somebody."
President Laguna Loire of Esthar, and the rest of the world for that matter, was counting on my friends to save their world. He truly believed that love and friendship could pull through anything. I believed his words, trusting that the tight bond between my buddies and I would pull us out of Time Compression safely. We would return to the present, triumphant heroes.
"I'll…Probably disappear."
Oh, how very right I was. My moment of weakness and self doubt would be the thing preventing me from reaching home. Just as the vivid field of sunflowers I imagined was appearing before my eyes, a cold embrace of blackness surrounded me. I could feel my body fading from wherever I was, and I could hear a distant cackling ringing in my ears as my consciousness slipped away.
Chapter One: Where I Belong
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"
My eyelids fluttered open instantly, the slate gray sky above meeting my eyes. The alien words that someone had just yelled were baffling to my ears. Had I slipped into the far past, a world of prehistoric sorcery and barbaric behavior? Was this the far future, where my words were as foreign as Centranese to most people? Where was I? Where was Squall? Was I even on Gaia anymore? Confusion clouded my thinking until I heard another shout.
"You WILL relinquish the currency you have wrongfully taken!" I tilted my head to the right, where five teenagers were standing in front of me. At least, three of them were standing. The one who had just spoken was a young woman clad in purple with crimson hair, hovering above the ground with her hands glowing green. The other floating person, whom I guessed had chanted the alien words, was dressed in a navy cloak. Standing below them were three boys. One with raven colored hair and a cape, one with green skin and hair, and a half robot with dark skin on the human parts of his body. My battered body, worn from the epic confrontation with Ultimecia, was obscured by the shadows, so it was doubtful that any of them noticed me.
Their foe, a man dressed in black, was clutching a bag of what I guessed was money. The scene was just another bank robbery, but these teens meant business. Absently, I wondered why the SeeDs back home didn't have part time jobs in Balamb as police officers. They were definitely qualified to do the job.
My train of thought was interrupted when the criminal disappeared around a street corner to the left. Thinking on their feet, the heroic teens chased after him. I decided that the teens were capable of chasing a crook, and the matter wasn't any of my business, so I brushed myself off and searched through my spell stock for a curing spell.
Aha! I had found 3 Curaga spells in my inventory, and I had just lifted my hand to cast one when something grabbed my waist unexpectedly. I was thrown over someone's shoulder, which I instantly recognized as the bank robber's. Alas, I, Rinoa, have turned out to be the damsel in distress once again. Over the course of the past year, Squall had been forced to save me from the evil clutches of a pack of Iguions, a predicament in which I was clinging to Garden's wall for my life, and Sorceress Adel. And during that time, Squall had brought out my inner lion, the pillar of strength I truly was. All I needed to do was tap into my strength, and my fears would fade. At least, I hoped so. Would I sit here and wait for the teens to rescue me? 'Not this time,' I decided. In an instant, I had cast a Thundara spell at the man's foot and scrambled off him.
Of course, since he had committed a crime, the robber attempted to escape, since the paralyzing effects of Thunder spells are temporary. Fortunately, I had bought the teen heroes enough time to unite and prepare a full-scale attack. I waited on the sidelines, spell spring ready, as the crook was beat into the ground. The red haired one fired bolts of green lightning from various angles. The green one morphed into several animals, and I watched as a hawk, a cheetah, a greyhound, and a wasp assaulted him. Strangely, all the animals were the same color as the boy's skin.
Our criminal, the one with bank money, was surprisingly strong. I sensed a chilling black aura about him, the same one that had encircled me when I tried to get back to the present. His eyes, which were revealed when the green hawk ripped off his mask, were glazed over. He summoned deadly projectiles from nowhere, which we dodged. He cast a flurry of black spells, which I negated with my own. Something was clearly not right.
The black haired boy wore an eyemask, which I could now see clearly. He sported a diverse arsenal of gadgets, including a staff, nunchaku, grenade-like explosives, a grappling hook, and several other things that were not used in the confrontation. The half man, half robot used an arm cannon and his brute strength. The girl wearing a cloak used black shields to protect her allies and manipulated various objects while chanting "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" I provided magical aid, fighting the man's spells and sneaking in a Flare or two. Eventually, the five heroes knocked the crook into submission and tossed him into a waiting police truck.
The teens glanced at me curiously. Clearly, they had noticed my flurry of spellcasting amongst the chaos.
"Who are you and what the hell were you doing?" the cloaked girl demanded, arms crossed over her chest.
"Thanks for the help, man!" The green skinned boy grinned sheepishly.
"What are your intentions?" the girl in purple asked curiously.
"What was that?" the 'borg and the Many Gadgeted One questioned simultaneously.
The teens blinked at me, and I blinked back. "Alright, I'll explain." I glanced at each of them in turn. "My name is Rinoa, and I am a sorceress. I have come from another time period, though I am not sure if it was in your future or your past. What you just witnessed was magic, the gift passed to sorceresses through the ages."
"We have some experience with 'magic', but who are these sorceresses you speak of?" the girl in purple asked.
"Sorceresses are descendants of Hyne, the great god of magic from many years ago. Average humans fear our power, because some members of our kind have used their gifts to control and oppress. Girls who are capable of possessing this power may absorb another Sorceress's power by drawing it from their minds. A Sorceress cannot die while she has her powers, so she gives them up to end her suffering. The cycle of fear and hatred continues."
"Where do you live?" the half robot asked.
"I live on another planet." By now, I had determined that this was not Gaia. "I got here because time compression deposited me in the wrong place."
"Will you explain all this to us on the way back?" the boy in a cape requested. I glanced at him. He wore a red shirt with green sleeves and a badge with the letter R on it. His pants were green, and he wore steel-toed boots. I assumed he was the leader of the pack.
"On the way back to where?" I questioned, wondering where this group lived.
"Titans Tower." The boy with green hair explained. He observed the look of confusion on my face and added, "Dude, don't you recognize us?"
"Should I?" I asked, rubbing my forearm for no reason. The girl in the blue cloak smacked him. She wore a black leotard and white belt decorated with ruby stones beneath the cloak.
"She's from another world!" The cloaked girl hissed.
The boy with green hair and skin rubbed his cheek agitatedly. He wore a black suit with patches of maroon on the front. "Well in that case, let me introduce us!" He walked up to me, grinning happily. "We're the Teen Titans, defenders of this city! I'm Beast Boy, and that's Robin, Raven, Starfire, and Cyborg!" He pointed at himself, followed by Cape Boy, Cloak Girl, Purple Girl, and Half Robot.
Beast Boy extended his arm toward me, and I shook his gloved hand, attempting to offer a disarming smile.
"Then we will return to the tower!" Starfire crushed me in her arms excitedly, taking my hand and racing down the street. Robin chased after us after a moment's pause. Beast Boy and Cyborg followed, yelling something back and forth. I managed to pick up the words "pizza", "meat", and "tofu". Finally, Raven decided to follow once B.B. provoked her with what must have been a joke. Eventually, the six of us merged into one mob of teens, and I began to explain about magic, SeeD, and my childhood. Maybe my stay in this world would be worthwhile after all.