Ah The one and only Disclaimer: All right for the legalities Square I own nothing from your precious game, although id love too heh. I'm not making any type of profit or cash what so ever from the production of this story. It is entirely beneficial for the people who love to read fan fiction based on final fantasy. ARE WE CLEAR!!!!! GOOD NOW READ ON
AN :(Anything in italics tends to be the person speaking to themselves. My tenses are not all that great, so please bear with me as I'm still learning, and this is my first story, which was given to me by influence of Malice Shaw, and Destiny.
TEMPER TEMPER ! ! ! !
Rinoa and Squall lay upon the grass of the flowery fields, where they once promised to meet each other. Squall left his weapon, Lion Heart on board the Ragnarock, much to Rinoa's pleasure, as they were having a picnic. The sun was setting, ending a romantic day for the couple, leading onto a romantic evening. Squall leaned in close to Rinoa to whisper in her ear three little words ....
..."I love you"...
She leaned in closer to give him a tender loving kiss. As soon as it started the kiss abruptly ceased, as Squall flinched in pain momentarily.
"Squall what's wrong?" Rinoa asked anxiously.
However as soon as the pain left, it came back just as quick, as it racked his entire body in anguish. His blood begins to boil, causing even more affliction to his vulnerable state. It sears through every vein and every muscle in his body. As the temperature increases, so does the screaming from Squall. Rinoa tries to hold onto Squalls hand, however it was in vain, as she was propelled towards a rock, as her hands were burned from Squall's searing skin.
Unexpectedly the gruelling torture discharged from him, and a sudden force of energy pulsates around him and is shot in waves of forcefulness, as it takes Rinoa with it, instantly killing her.
Squall woke up hastily, waking Rinoa in the process.
"Hey honey, what's wrong? You have another one of your nightmares?" inquired Rinoa.
"Yes, I guess it's the work! Why did Cid have to drop all responsibilities on me?!"
"Don't worry sweety, we'll go on a break, and you can take a rest from Garden. You me and the gang."
"I can't Rinoa, I have too many responsibilities, I can't leave Garden, God knows what might happen if I leave."
"Humph fine... We'll talk about this tomorrow!"
"Fine Whatever..!"
"Why didn't I just agree with Rinoa? Hyne knows I could do with a break.. However I can't just up and leave everyone, Hyne knows what might happen to everyone, if Galbaldia decided to take action against us, because of such heavy damage to its city, and the attempted assassination of Vinzer Deiling... I'll just have to talk with Rinoa tomorrow morning and sort this out."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Squall couldn't go back to sleep after that last nightmare, they were too vivid to actually be dreams, which made them all the more real to him. He slowly slipped out of bed, leaving a sleeping Rinoa with her back to him, which made it easier for him to slip out without waking her. He got dressed, and took Lion Heart out of its case. The ember glowing radiance from the blade filled the room, with deep hues of blue. Squall quickly but inaudibly left the room to go to the Training Centre.
As well as the Training Centre being a source of improving the student's skills, it is also a place of meeting after curfew, and relieving the stress of the day, or the day and night in Squall's case. Squall entered the training centre casually, until he went through the metal doors that prevent any of the creatures from escaping the training compound. As Squall entered the main complex, he encountered a Grat, which was not really much of a challenge to him, however it is necessary to build up the strength of the junior classmen. After one strike of Lion Heart, the Grat fell, dissolving into a viscous acidic liquid, which soon evaporated into the damp humid rain forest atmosphere, which is suited to the creatures that habit the deadly grounds.
After an encounter with 6 other Grats, Squall tried searching the around the centre for a more worthy opponent, which could help Squall take his mind of his problems. He and Rinoa have been with each other for a little more than a year, and he feels so much for Rinoa, however open he has become in the presence of his beloved soul mate, he still has problems with expressing his feelings and emotions. He wants to propose to Rinoa, but doesn't know how too. At some point he would like children with her, but he doesn't want to while still working at Garden, because it takes all his time, which would mean that he could not spend time with his family. The last thing he would want is his child regretting that he didn't see his father so much. This angered Squall al the more, as it reminded him of his supposed father Laguna. He hasn't forgiven him for the fact that he was never there for his childhood. Who would, then again there had to be a reason .... shouldn't there?!?
The roar of a T-Rexaur had broken Squall out of his reverie, and back down to a fighting stance, awaiting his opponent's attack. Squall was thinking of his opponent's every attack, and endeavouring to predict his every move, however his thoughts were quickly averted back to Rinoa. The ravenous beast had taken this as his opening window to make his attack, and swiped his tail, lifting Squall high off the ground, and landed with in some foliage that weaved its way around the humid jungle. Squall quickly regained his battle stance and leaped into a frenzied attack, slashing his blade in diagonally, which made a deep cut in the ferocious beast. This only made it more aggravated, and launched itself at Squall, preparing to take him in between its jagged teeth, which were sharp enough to make less than a snack out of him. Squall with his agility, which he had strived to learn through his training as a SeeD soldier, had darted across to the right of the beast.
"Enough foreplay you bastard just fight!" screamed an infuriated Squall.
A huge bellow followed by a growl came as Squalls' reply from the nocturnal warrior. Squall decided to make his next point of attack with magic. Squall began to chant the incantation for a Blizagga spell, when the T-Rex charged down the path ready to take another bite out of Squall. As he finished reciting the spell, two balls of pure blue glowing energy began to form in his tightly clenched fists. He drew his hands towards his chest, and shot both balls of energy towards the rampaging beast. The two energy blasts had swirled around the T-Rex, making it confused, as they both shot up into the air causing 5 icicles to trunk from the ground encasing it in sub zero crystal ice. As the T-Rex had broken free of the ice, the two energy balls had made its decent towards its target, and caused the beast to roar in agony, as one of the balls of pure energy had speared a hole through its head, while the other had frozen it from the inside. This had then caused the bulk that stood before Squall to collide towards the earthy hard ground, shattering the icy form of the once proud T-Rex. The noise of the battle had alerted the many couples that were rendezvousing in the "Secret Area". They all came out and stood in awe of the mess that was spread before them. Never in their lives had they seen this happen to any beast. Squall was shaken about the whole incident that stood before him. Never had he cast such a powerful spell. T-Rex' were weak against ice magic, but never had he cast such a powerful Blizagga. He hadn't even seen Edea cast such a powerful ice attack. She attacked him with the same one, but that was nowhere near as powerful as the one hat he had produced.
Squall had quickly regained his composure and ran back to his dorm, where he left a sleeping Rinoa, before he attracted any more attention from the curious onlookers within the Training Centre.
Squall removed his belts and pants, and put Lion Heart back in its case, as he thought about the events that had taken place. He was confused at what had happened. Where did he even find the power to cast such a powerful spell?
"I think I'll leave magic alone! Even a junction to Eden doesn't boost the power of a user that much, does it?"
If anything, Squall could not fall asleep again. He just laid there in his bed, next to Rinoa, awaiting sunrise, so he can get back to work.
Squall could not figure for the life of him what happened in the Training Centre earlier that night. He began to question the powers of what a G.F can really do. As Squall was junctioned to Shiva, maybe she might know more about the ice attack that he pulled off, desecrating that T-Rex into nothing but shards of crystal.
Over the year, Squall had studied in more detail about G.F' and carried out tests on himself, by communicating with the different G.F' through junctions. Before the Second sorceress war, it has been claimed that G.F junctions can induce a type of temporary amnesia, whereby it can become worse depending on the length of time a person is junctioned. Squall had investigated why this had happened, and once he communed with Shiva, she had explained why the users of G.F' had experienced cases of amnesia. Squall and Shiva had both found a way of junctioning a G.F, without loosing any memory, whereby when junctioning, before it used to be memory resident, which meant that memories were driven out of the mind of the person, whereas now; G.F's tend to exist on many different planes of existence, so therefore the G.F can be resident in the users dream world, which makes the junction still as powerful, and eliminating any memory loss.
Squall had become closer to Shiva, superseding any master and G.F bond, whereby they are friends as well as battle partners. As impersonal as Squall is, he has lowered his barriers to not just Rinoa and his friends, but Shiva as well, which resulted in a more powerful junction at the same time. However as powerful as the junction has become, this still could not explain the sudden appearance of such power.
"I can't explain what's happening Squall I'm sorry. I am as confused as you are my friend"
"But where did it come from?"
"I will talk with the other Guardians and see what they can make of it, but otherwise I don't know what to make of it."
"Don't worry Shiva, I'm sorry if I disturbed you! ... Thank you!"
"Good night Shiva... or what's left of it heh" as Squall mumbled the last part to himself
The sun began to rise over the horizon of the Balamb shores. As it began to shimmer across the horizon, emitting a warm glow, which caused the sleepy form of Rinoa to awaken from her sleep. She looked to the left of her, to find that Squall had already awoken and had already left for work in his office where Cid had once taken residence. She sighed remembering the little argument that they had the night before about him taking some time off. She realised that Squall could not leave Garden alone, as he had many responsibilities. She knew that he has so much on his plate, but she needed him as well.
" I wonder if I can get him and the gang to go and take a break at least for two weeks, that's all .... Hmmm I'm sure Xu and Nida can easily take over Squall's job for a while, God knows they have been doing it before he took over, so I'm sure this is a good enough excuse for Squall to escape for a while."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Squall sat on his desk going through a number of underclassmen's files considering their applications to take the upcoming yearly SeeD written and field exams.
"Great another boring day of paperwork. It was so much easier when I had to go on SeeD missions with the rest of the gang. Rinoa was right back in Timber when we first met, by saying what an easy life it must be to follow orders."
Xu entered Squall's office, and took the files that he had finished reviewing, in order to make way for more paperwork. Xu noticed how much of a burden the job was giving him. Since the Ultimecia affair, Squall had just accumulated more tasks, which gave him less time to spend with Rinoa and his friends. This had begun to concern Xu from 4 months ago, as she has seen how troubled he is.
"Thank you Xu! Are there many more files left?"
"Yes Commander, I'm afraid so."
"There is no need for the formalities Xu, we're friends.
"Yes Comm.... sorry Squall!"
"It's alright, just keep em coming"
"Why don't you take a small break before you tackle the rest of these files"
"I can't Xu, I need to finish these so I can try and meet Rinoa for lunch at the cafeteria
Xu left his office, closing the glass door behind her, and turned around, only to be met by passive Rinoa.
"What's wrong Rinoa?" inquired Xu
"Nothing I just can't seem to get Squall away from his work long enough so that he can take a break" grumbled Rinoa
"Heh I know what you mean, I tried to get him to take a break for a short while before he takes on anymore of the underclassmen's files. It's impossible!"
"Xu... you've done all the jobs that Squall's done before right? How did you cope with it at the time?"
"I didn't have to, the responsibilities were divided between myself and other higher ranking officers, such as Quisty and Instructor Bronson."
"Xu.. can I ask you favour" requested Rinoa in an all too innocent tone
"Sure.. What's up?"
"Err.. I don't know how to say this, but is it possible to get Squall out of the office for at least a couple of weeks?"
"Heh yes of course, the trick is actually getting him to listen to you" commented Xu
"The things that worries him is that nobody can take care of Garden while he is gone" exclaimed Rinoa
As Xu and Rinoa agreed that Squall needed a break, they both went to the couple's dorm and fished out his suitcase, which was hidden underneath their King size bed. Rinoa left Xu fumbling around in Squall's drawers for some clothes. She blushed at the site of his black boxers, and threw them in the open suitcase behind her. Rinoa had opened the large leather case, which was the housing for the legendary Lion Heart. At this point Xu looked as the bright moon glow, from the luminous blade making the daylight seem dull, in retrospect, grabbed her attention.
"Now I don't think I have ever had the chance to see Lion Heart so close before. I've heard of what Squall's capable of with it, but never witnessed it. It is such a magnificent piece of craftsmanship" graced Xu.
"To tell you the truth Xu, it does nothing more than scare me." Rinoa commented.
"Ever since our the encounter with Ultimecia, I have noticed when Squall made his move to attack her, his technique was more brash and belligerent, as opposed to his composed attacks. It has continued like this every time I see him in battle. Even in the Training centre, which seems to be his only way of keeping himself fit these days."
"Don't worry Rin." Xu comforted "When we all fight, it's just an adrenaline rush, besides what does it have to do with Lion Heart." Questioned Xu.
"Whenever Squall is in any battle, the blade glows a brighter shade of blue, yet it also seems to affect him in some way, making him able to fight harder faster, pushing himself in ways that you could imagine, yet it is not the Squall that I know... I'm scared Xu, I just don't know what to do!"
"Rinoa you have to talk this over with Squall, as this is troubling you deeply as I can see
"Let's get on with this packing!" Commented Xu cheerily, trying to take Rinoa's mind off any depressing matters. "We have lots to do" as she held up a pair of boxers, which belonged to none other than Squall.
Both girls burst into fits of laughter, at the expense of the underwear that was before them.
"Hyne I'd love to see Squall's face. If he saw you fishing through his underwear." Commented Rinoa through hysteria.
This just brought about more mirth to the two girls. Eventually after much laughing and time later they finished packing the bags. They took all the luggage to the Ragnarock which was in the docking bay, which had been converted, from the Parking lot.
"Xu keep Squall busy in his office, while I gather the rest of the gang, so they can pack their stuff." Informed Rinoa. "I will call Edea and let her know we are going to pay her a visit."
"You can use the Com-Link in my office .. just be careful," warned Xu "remember his office is just next to mine."
* * * * * * * * * * *
It was that time of day when Zell's stomach made a call that was all too familiar to the canteen ladies. To his revelation, he managed to actually get some of the infamous hot- dogs of Balamb Garden. He took his tray and sat down in the corner of the cafeteria. He took one of his hotdogs, and took some mustard and squeezed the yellow sauce over the brown meat. He sniffed the aroma of the feast before him and opened his mouth to take a huge bite out of it, when all of a sudden he notices Rinoa running towards him. Out of instinct he placed his beloved hotdog back on the plate, and stood to see what was wrong with Rinoa.
"Hey Rin, what's the rush" inquired Zell.
"You are Zell" Rinoa stated, which just confused Zell even more. "Go to your dorm, and pack your bags, we're going for a break to the orphanage"
"EXCELLENT!!! this place is getting waaaaaaaaayyyyy too boring! How'd you manage to rope Squall into going?" Questioned Zell.
"He doesn't know just yet!" smiled Rinoa.
"Ah I seeeee!" said Zell in childish voice.
"If you see the rest of the gang, pass the message on. We are going to meet in the docking bay by the Ragnarock in an hour. By this time I'm going to get Squall" directed Rinoa
"Okay Rin see you in an hour" remarked a sprinting Zell
* * * * * * * * * * *
Selphie was up on the ladder, removing the decorations from a party held last week, while Irvine was holding the ladder for her. A pretty young brunette who wore a beautiful flower in hair shiny auburn hair, which is quite a contradiction in terms, due to her being a SeeD who has been trained to fight and kill. Abruptly the serenity was broken by a speeding bolt of Zell, which caused Selphie to drop her hammer, which left a very irate Irvine as it landed on his foot.
"Ouchhhhh!" cried Irvine
"Ha serves you right for looking at that girl" screamed Selphie, as she hit him on his shoulder.
"Hey come on sweetypie, you know you're the only one for me." Whined Irvine
"What's all the rush about Zell?" enquired Selphie
"T.....T.h..er.e y..o..u are" Gasped a breathless Zell.
"Whoa calm down there" instructed Irvine "Take a breath, then say what you have to say"
After a few minutes, Zell regained his composure and explained the news about their trip to the orphanage.
"Alright Zell, you go find Quistis and we'll go and inform Raijin and Fujin, pack our stuff and meet you up in 45 minutes in the docking bay"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
There was nothing but pure silence inside the brightly lit classroom of Quistis Trepe as she was marking a number of her student's homework. She sat at her wooden mahogany desk, with the monitor reflecting its light onto her beautifully etched features. Quistis was bored with the current life of Balamb Garden, and needed a well deserved break, due to her re-taking up her position as instructor after the Ultimecia incident. Everything was so tranquil, until yet again a speeding bolt of Zell came rushing through the sliding doors of the classroom. This time before he spoke he took a few breaths, as Quistis watched him with utter amusement as he tried to compose himself yet again.
"What's the rush Zell" Giggled Quistis
"Ok you know how much you wished to have a holiday, well now is your chance. Go and get your bags packed, we're gonna visit Matron in the orphanage." Exclaimed Zell.
"Alright, but what about Squall?" queried Quistis "I thought that he would not be able to go anywhere due to him saying that he had so much work and all?"
"Ah don't worry about that Rinoa has him hooked.... I hope!" assured Zell.
"Ok I'll see you later!" commented Quistis, as she ran out of her classroom, leaving all her papers behind, for the instructor that would cover her lessons.
AN: OK GUYS I GOT SERIOUSLY SOME POSITIVE REVIEWS WHEN I POSTED UP MY BETA CHAPTER OF THIS STORY. I STILL BELIEVE THAT I COULD HAVE PUT MORE ONTO THIS CHAPTER, AS I WANTED IT TO BE LONG ENOUGH FOR YOU THE READERS TO ENJOY. I HOPE YOU WILL ENJOY READING THIS CHAPTER AND OTHER FUTURE ONES, AS I HAVE WRITING THIS. HOPEFULLY THERE WILL BE MORE. I WOULD ONCE AGAIN LIKE TO THANK THE PEOPLE WHO DID HELP ME IN BOOSTING MY CONFIDENCE TO WRITE THIS STORY. WITHOUT THEM I WOULD NEVER HAVE POSTED THIS. AS ALWAYS I WOULD APPRECIATE REVIEWS ONCE YOU HAVE READ THIS STORY, AS I STILL AM NERVOUS ON WRITING THE REST. IF YOU HAD ANY IDEAS THAT YOU MIGHT WANT TO SEE HAPPEN, PLEASE DO TELL ME, AND SEND ME AN EMAIL, PREFERABLY TO cra5hovride@btinternet.com I WOULD BE VERY GREATFUL.
AN :(Anything in italics tends to be the person speaking to themselves. My tenses are not all that great, so please bear with me as I'm still learning, and this is my first story, which was given to me by influence of Malice Shaw, and Destiny.
TEMPER TEMPER ! ! ! !
Rinoa and Squall lay upon the grass of the flowery fields, where they once promised to meet each other. Squall left his weapon, Lion Heart on board the Ragnarock, much to Rinoa's pleasure, as they were having a picnic. The sun was setting, ending a romantic day for the couple, leading onto a romantic evening. Squall leaned in close to Rinoa to whisper in her ear three little words ....
..."I love you"...
She leaned in closer to give him a tender loving kiss. As soon as it started the kiss abruptly ceased, as Squall flinched in pain momentarily.
"Squall what's wrong?" Rinoa asked anxiously.
However as soon as the pain left, it came back just as quick, as it racked his entire body in anguish. His blood begins to boil, causing even more affliction to his vulnerable state. It sears through every vein and every muscle in his body. As the temperature increases, so does the screaming from Squall. Rinoa tries to hold onto Squalls hand, however it was in vain, as she was propelled towards a rock, as her hands were burned from Squall's searing skin.
Unexpectedly the gruelling torture discharged from him, and a sudden force of energy pulsates around him and is shot in waves of forcefulness, as it takes Rinoa with it, instantly killing her.
Squall woke up hastily, waking Rinoa in the process.
"Hey honey, what's wrong? You have another one of your nightmares?" inquired Rinoa.
"Yes, I guess it's the work! Why did Cid have to drop all responsibilities on me?!"
"Don't worry sweety, we'll go on a break, and you can take a rest from Garden. You me and the gang."
"I can't Rinoa, I have too many responsibilities, I can't leave Garden, God knows what might happen if I leave."
"Humph fine... We'll talk about this tomorrow!"
"Fine Whatever..!"
"Why didn't I just agree with Rinoa? Hyne knows I could do with a break.. However I can't just up and leave everyone, Hyne knows what might happen to everyone, if Galbaldia decided to take action against us, because of such heavy damage to its city, and the attempted assassination of Vinzer Deiling... I'll just have to talk with Rinoa tomorrow morning and sort this out."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Squall couldn't go back to sleep after that last nightmare, they were too vivid to actually be dreams, which made them all the more real to him. He slowly slipped out of bed, leaving a sleeping Rinoa with her back to him, which made it easier for him to slip out without waking her. He got dressed, and took Lion Heart out of its case. The ember glowing radiance from the blade filled the room, with deep hues of blue. Squall quickly but inaudibly left the room to go to the Training Centre.
As well as the Training Centre being a source of improving the student's skills, it is also a place of meeting after curfew, and relieving the stress of the day, or the day and night in Squall's case. Squall entered the training centre casually, until he went through the metal doors that prevent any of the creatures from escaping the training compound. As Squall entered the main complex, he encountered a Grat, which was not really much of a challenge to him, however it is necessary to build up the strength of the junior classmen. After one strike of Lion Heart, the Grat fell, dissolving into a viscous acidic liquid, which soon evaporated into the damp humid rain forest atmosphere, which is suited to the creatures that habit the deadly grounds.
After an encounter with 6 other Grats, Squall tried searching the around the centre for a more worthy opponent, which could help Squall take his mind of his problems. He and Rinoa have been with each other for a little more than a year, and he feels so much for Rinoa, however open he has become in the presence of his beloved soul mate, he still has problems with expressing his feelings and emotions. He wants to propose to Rinoa, but doesn't know how too. At some point he would like children with her, but he doesn't want to while still working at Garden, because it takes all his time, which would mean that he could not spend time with his family. The last thing he would want is his child regretting that he didn't see his father so much. This angered Squall al the more, as it reminded him of his supposed father Laguna. He hasn't forgiven him for the fact that he was never there for his childhood. Who would, then again there had to be a reason .... shouldn't there?!?
The roar of a T-Rexaur had broken Squall out of his reverie, and back down to a fighting stance, awaiting his opponent's attack. Squall was thinking of his opponent's every attack, and endeavouring to predict his every move, however his thoughts were quickly averted back to Rinoa. The ravenous beast had taken this as his opening window to make his attack, and swiped his tail, lifting Squall high off the ground, and landed with in some foliage that weaved its way around the humid jungle. Squall quickly regained his battle stance and leaped into a frenzied attack, slashing his blade in diagonally, which made a deep cut in the ferocious beast. This only made it more aggravated, and launched itself at Squall, preparing to take him in between its jagged teeth, which were sharp enough to make less than a snack out of him. Squall with his agility, which he had strived to learn through his training as a SeeD soldier, had darted across to the right of the beast.
"Enough foreplay you bastard just fight!" screamed an infuriated Squall.
A huge bellow followed by a growl came as Squalls' reply from the nocturnal warrior. Squall decided to make his next point of attack with magic. Squall began to chant the incantation for a Blizagga spell, when the T-Rex charged down the path ready to take another bite out of Squall. As he finished reciting the spell, two balls of pure blue glowing energy began to form in his tightly clenched fists. He drew his hands towards his chest, and shot both balls of energy towards the rampaging beast. The two energy blasts had swirled around the T-Rex, making it confused, as they both shot up into the air causing 5 icicles to trunk from the ground encasing it in sub zero crystal ice. As the T-Rex had broken free of the ice, the two energy balls had made its decent towards its target, and caused the beast to roar in agony, as one of the balls of pure energy had speared a hole through its head, while the other had frozen it from the inside. This had then caused the bulk that stood before Squall to collide towards the earthy hard ground, shattering the icy form of the once proud T-Rex. The noise of the battle had alerted the many couples that were rendezvousing in the "Secret Area". They all came out and stood in awe of the mess that was spread before them. Never in their lives had they seen this happen to any beast. Squall was shaken about the whole incident that stood before him. Never had he cast such a powerful spell. T-Rex' were weak against ice magic, but never had he cast such a powerful Blizagga. He hadn't even seen Edea cast such a powerful ice attack. She attacked him with the same one, but that was nowhere near as powerful as the one hat he had produced.
Squall had quickly regained his composure and ran back to his dorm, where he left a sleeping Rinoa, before he attracted any more attention from the curious onlookers within the Training Centre.
Squall removed his belts and pants, and put Lion Heart back in its case, as he thought about the events that had taken place. He was confused at what had happened. Where did he even find the power to cast such a powerful spell?
"I think I'll leave magic alone! Even a junction to Eden doesn't boost the power of a user that much, does it?"
If anything, Squall could not fall asleep again. He just laid there in his bed, next to Rinoa, awaiting sunrise, so he can get back to work.
Squall could not figure for the life of him what happened in the Training Centre earlier that night. He began to question the powers of what a G.F can really do. As Squall was junctioned to Shiva, maybe she might know more about the ice attack that he pulled off, desecrating that T-Rex into nothing but shards of crystal.
Over the year, Squall had studied in more detail about G.F' and carried out tests on himself, by communicating with the different G.F' through junctions. Before the Second sorceress war, it has been claimed that G.F junctions can induce a type of temporary amnesia, whereby it can become worse depending on the length of time a person is junctioned. Squall had investigated why this had happened, and once he communed with Shiva, she had explained why the users of G.F' had experienced cases of amnesia. Squall and Shiva had both found a way of junctioning a G.F, without loosing any memory, whereby when junctioning, before it used to be memory resident, which meant that memories were driven out of the mind of the person, whereas now; G.F's tend to exist on many different planes of existence, so therefore the G.F can be resident in the users dream world, which makes the junction still as powerful, and eliminating any memory loss.
Squall had become closer to Shiva, superseding any master and G.F bond, whereby they are friends as well as battle partners. As impersonal as Squall is, he has lowered his barriers to not just Rinoa and his friends, but Shiva as well, which resulted in a more powerful junction at the same time. However as powerful as the junction has become, this still could not explain the sudden appearance of such power.
"I can't explain what's happening Squall I'm sorry. I am as confused as you are my friend"
"But where did it come from?"
"I will talk with the other Guardians and see what they can make of it, but otherwise I don't know what to make of it."
"Don't worry Shiva, I'm sorry if I disturbed you! ... Thank you!"
"Good night Shiva... or what's left of it heh" as Squall mumbled the last part to himself
The sun began to rise over the horizon of the Balamb shores. As it began to shimmer across the horizon, emitting a warm glow, which caused the sleepy form of Rinoa to awaken from her sleep. She looked to the left of her, to find that Squall had already awoken and had already left for work in his office where Cid had once taken residence. She sighed remembering the little argument that they had the night before about him taking some time off. She realised that Squall could not leave Garden alone, as he had many responsibilities. She knew that he has so much on his plate, but she needed him as well.
" I wonder if I can get him and the gang to go and take a break at least for two weeks, that's all .... Hmmm I'm sure Xu and Nida can easily take over Squall's job for a while, God knows they have been doing it before he took over, so I'm sure this is a good enough excuse for Squall to escape for a while."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Squall sat on his desk going through a number of underclassmen's files considering their applications to take the upcoming yearly SeeD written and field exams.
"Great another boring day of paperwork. It was so much easier when I had to go on SeeD missions with the rest of the gang. Rinoa was right back in Timber when we first met, by saying what an easy life it must be to follow orders."
Xu entered Squall's office, and took the files that he had finished reviewing, in order to make way for more paperwork. Xu noticed how much of a burden the job was giving him. Since the Ultimecia affair, Squall had just accumulated more tasks, which gave him less time to spend with Rinoa and his friends. This had begun to concern Xu from 4 months ago, as she has seen how troubled he is.
"Thank you Xu! Are there many more files left?"
"Yes Commander, I'm afraid so."
"There is no need for the formalities Xu, we're friends.
"Yes Comm.... sorry Squall!"
"It's alright, just keep em coming"
"Why don't you take a small break before you tackle the rest of these files"
"I can't Xu, I need to finish these so I can try and meet Rinoa for lunch at the cafeteria
Xu left his office, closing the glass door behind her, and turned around, only to be met by passive Rinoa.
"What's wrong Rinoa?" inquired Xu
"Nothing I just can't seem to get Squall away from his work long enough so that he can take a break" grumbled Rinoa
"Heh I know what you mean, I tried to get him to take a break for a short while before he takes on anymore of the underclassmen's files. It's impossible!"
"Xu... you've done all the jobs that Squall's done before right? How did you cope with it at the time?"
"I didn't have to, the responsibilities were divided between myself and other higher ranking officers, such as Quisty and Instructor Bronson."
"Xu.. can I ask you favour" requested Rinoa in an all too innocent tone
"Sure.. What's up?"
"Err.. I don't know how to say this, but is it possible to get Squall out of the office for at least a couple of weeks?"
"Heh yes of course, the trick is actually getting him to listen to you" commented Xu
"The things that worries him is that nobody can take care of Garden while he is gone" exclaimed Rinoa
As Xu and Rinoa agreed that Squall needed a break, they both went to the couple's dorm and fished out his suitcase, which was hidden underneath their King size bed. Rinoa left Xu fumbling around in Squall's drawers for some clothes. She blushed at the site of his black boxers, and threw them in the open suitcase behind her. Rinoa had opened the large leather case, which was the housing for the legendary Lion Heart. At this point Xu looked as the bright moon glow, from the luminous blade making the daylight seem dull, in retrospect, grabbed her attention.
"Now I don't think I have ever had the chance to see Lion Heart so close before. I've heard of what Squall's capable of with it, but never witnessed it. It is such a magnificent piece of craftsmanship" graced Xu.
"To tell you the truth Xu, it does nothing more than scare me." Rinoa commented.
"Ever since our the encounter with Ultimecia, I have noticed when Squall made his move to attack her, his technique was more brash and belligerent, as opposed to his composed attacks. It has continued like this every time I see him in battle. Even in the Training centre, which seems to be his only way of keeping himself fit these days."
"Don't worry Rin." Xu comforted "When we all fight, it's just an adrenaline rush, besides what does it have to do with Lion Heart." Questioned Xu.
"Whenever Squall is in any battle, the blade glows a brighter shade of blue, yet it also seems to affect him in some way, making him able to fight harder faster, pushing himself in ways that you could imagine, yet it is not the Squall that I know... I'm scared Xu, I just don't know what to do!"
"Rinoa you have to talk this over with Squall, as this is troubling you deeply as I can see
"Let's get on with this packing!" Commented Xu cheerily, trying to take Rinoa's mind off any depressing matters. "We have lots to do" as she held up a pair of boxers, which belonged to none other than Squall.
Both girls burst into fits of laughter, at the expense of the underwear that was before them.
"Hyne I'd love to see Squall's face. If he saw you fishing through his underwear." Commented Rinoa through hysteria.
This just brought about more mirth to the two girls. Eventually after much laughing and time later they finished packing the bags. They took all the luggage to the Ragnarock which was in the docking bay, which had been converted, from the Parking lot.
"Xu keep Squall busy in his office, while I gather the rest of the gang, so they can pack their stuff." Informed Rinoa. "I will call Edea and let her know we are going to pay her a visit."
"You can use the Com-Link in my office .. just be careful," warned Xu "remember his office is just next to mine."
* * * * * * * * * * *
It was that time of day when Zell's stomach made a call that was all too familiar to the canteen ladies. To his revelation, he managed to actually get some of the infamous hot- dogs of Balamb Garden. He took his tray and sat down in the corner of the cafeteria. He took one of his hotdogs, and took some mustard and squeezed the yellow sauce over the brown meat. He sniffed the aroma of the feast before him and opened his mouth to take a huge bite out of it, when all of a sudden he notices Rinoa running towards him. Out of instinct he placed his beloved hotdog back on the plate, and stood to see what was wrong with Rinoa.
"Hey Rin, what's the rush" inquired Zell.
"You are Zell" Rinoa stated, which just confused Zell even more. "Go to your dorm, and pack your bags, we're going for a break to the orphanage"
"EXCELLENT!!! this place is getting waaaaaaaaayyyyy too boring! How'd you manage to rope Squall into going?" Questioned Zell.
"He doesn't know just yet!" smiled Rinoa.
"Ah I seeeee!" said Zell in childish voice.
"If you see the rest of the gang, pass the message on. We are going to meet in the docking bay by the Ragnarock in an hour. By this time I'm going to get Squall" directed Rinoa
"Okay Rin see you in an hour" remarked a sprinting Zell
* * * * * * * * * * *
Selphie was up on the ladder, removing the decorations from a party held last week, while Irvine was holding the ladder for her. A pretty young brunette who wore a beautiful flower in hair shiny auburn hair, which is quite a contradiction in terms, due to her being a SeeD who has been trained to fight and kill. Abruptly the serenity was broken by a speeding bolt of Zell, which caused Selphie to drop her hammer, which left a very irate Irvine as it landed on his foot.
"Ouchhhhh!" cried Irvine
"Ha serves you right for looking at that girl" screamed Selphie, as she hit him on his shoulder.
"Hey come on sweetypie, you know you're the only one for me." Whined Irvine
"What's all the rush about Zell?" enquired Selphie
"T.....T.h..er.e y..o..u are" Gasped a breathless Zell.
"Whoa calm down there" instructed Irvine "Take a breath, then say what you have to say"
After a few minutes, Zell regained his composure and explained the news about their trip to the orphanage.
"Alright Zell, you go find Quistis and we'll go and inform Raijin and Fujin, pack our stuff and meet you up in 45 minutes in the docking bay"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
There was nothing but pure silence inside the brightly lit classroom of Quistis Trepe as she was marking a number of her student's homework. She sat at her wooden mahogany desk, with the monitor reflecting its light onto her beautifully etched features. Quistis was bored with the current life of Balamb Garden, and needed a well deserved break, due to her re-taking up her position as instructor after the Ultimecia incident. Everything was so tranquil, until yet again a speeding bolt of Zell came rushing through the sliding doors of the classroom. This time before he spoke he took a few breaths, as Quistis watched him with utter amusement as he tried to compose himself yet again.
"What's the rush Zell" Giggled Quistis
"Ok you know how much you wished to have a holiday, well now is your chance. Go and get your bags packed, we're gonna visit Matron in the orphanage." Exclaimed Zell.
"Alright, but what about Squall?" queried Quistis "I thought that he would not be able to go anywhere due to him saying that he had so much work and all?"
"Ah don't worry about that Rinoa has him hooked.... I hope!" assured Zell.
"Ok I'll see you later!" commented Quistis, as she ran out of her classroom, leaving all her papers behind, for the instructor that would cover her lessons.
AN: OK GUYS I GOT SERIOUSLY SOME POSITIVE REVIEWS WHEN I POSTED UP MY BETA CHAPTER OF THIS STORY. I STILL BELIEVE THAT I COULD HAVE PUT MORE ONTO THIS CHAPTER, AS I WANTED IT TO BE LONG ENOUGH FOR YOU THE READERS TO ENJOY. I HOPE YOU WILL ENJOY READING THIS CHAPTER AND OTHER FUTURE ONES, AS I HAVE WRITING THIS. HOPEFULLY THERE WILL BE MORE. I WOULD ONCE AGAIN LIKE TO THANK THE PEOPLE WHO DID HELP ME IN BOOSTING MY CONFIDENCE TO WRITE THIS STORY. WITHOUT THEM I WOULD NEVER HAVE POSTED THIS. AS ALWAYS I WOULD APPRECIATE REVIEWS ONCE YOU HAVE READ THIS STORY, AS I STILL AM NERVOUS ON WRITING THE REST. IF YOU HAD ANY IDEAS THAT YOU MIGHT WANT TO SEE HAPPEN, PLEASE DO TELL ME, AND SEND ME AN EMAIL, PREFERABLY TO cra5hovride@btinternet.com I WOULD BE VERY GREATFUL.