Final Fantasy VIII: Promise

by XeroKitty

My first fiction like this was a Final Fantasy X one, and it seemed to do quite well, so, I thought I'd give it one more shot. Yay, cutesy, lovey, mushy stuffage.

Final Fantasy VIII: Promise

1 – Time Compression

He opened his eyes. The blackness had only elevated slightly; the sky was low, thick charcoal gray. No clouds, just an empty void over his head. The desert stretched out before him like an endless orange ocean. The emptiness of the land consumed him, making his insides twist unpleasantly. He turned in a small circle, checking behind him and only seeing the same depressing landscape.
"Rinoa…"
Where was she? The final battle against Ultimecia had been hard—almost too hard. Impossible. But every time he felt like giving up, he only had to look to his right, and she would be there. Rinoa… She had been so worried about not being able to keep up with him or the others, but she was in a league of her own: fast, sharp, and a talent for magic and compatibility with all of their Guardian Forces that was frankly unheard of. She had been beside him through the entire battle, as the others had come up against Ultimecia, then left this time to serve her eternally in her Otherworld. He and Rinoa had been the only ones left. Where is she?
"Rinoa!" he cried. The stale air took his voice and flung it out over the distant mountains; it sounded small and weak in the void stretched before him. His eyes roved across the monotone gray skies, dropping slowly, reluctantly, to his steel-toed boots. He didn't know which way to go. He felt like he was eight years old again, lost, scared, and abandoned without Ellone. But now her face changed—almost as if Squall was actually watching his sister transform into something other than her sweet, gentle self. Ellone… Her eyes darkened, as did her hair; she was getting slightly taller, her body was curving attractively, even more so than before. 'Squall…' Could it be—!
"Squall…" Rinoa whispered, extending her hand to him. He stood speechless, watching her shimmering form solidify, not even a trace of what was the vision of his sister left in this newborn illusion. Illusion?
"Rinoa…?" he choked weakly past a lump in his throat. Her hand rose, her fingers curling, all except one; she raised her index finger, pointing up at the monochromatic sky above. He stumbled forward abruptly. "Rinoa!"
The image faded and he whirled around, almost as if expecting to see her there instead of just in his mind's eye. He screamed dejectedly. The slight curve of the valley made his cry reverberate across the dull landscape, thrumming along for miles, the vibrations of it dying in the distance. Dying…
"Rinoa, where are you?" he gasped and took a shaky step in one direction. Nothing lunged at him, nothing roared incoherently and swung its massive claws at him, barring his path. The right direction? He took another step and still nothing. Only the blank echo of his feet touching dead earth. Slowly, Squall Lionheart stumbled blindly into the recesses of Time Compression.

He walked. And walked. The sky melted into darker hues of burnt gray and blues as the ground turned to dust and rock beneath his black-clad feet. He trudged heavily across the wasteland (that's what it had to be; this was becoming extremely ridiculous), his belts clanking sharply together in time with his heavy footfalls. His eyes were always fixed on the horizon, the shadows around him laughing and dancing mockingly. Dancing… Rinoa…
He stopped, his head turned ever so slightly to the right. Someone had called to him; a woman, he was sure of it. "…" he listened carefully, straining his hearing, commanding the voice to come again. Let it be you, Rinoa, please! The person stepped out from the shadows, almost blocking his path completely. Her hair curled about her round face; once sparkling green eyes were dull and un-naturally dead-looking. He knew her.
"Selphie!"
The woman did not speak, neither confirming or denying his cry with a movement of her head. Squall had the sudden unexplainable urge to take her hand and let her lead him back into the shadows beyond the path. His hand lifted toward her.
"Selphie…"
Her eyes rose to his, locking his stare in a gaze so powerful, his resolve withered and died. He stumbled away from her, almost falling backwards into the shadows, his hand now across his face as if it could ward off her icy glare. She took a slow, almost mechanical step toward him, her eyes glittering with malice.
"Come on, Squall, everyone's waiting."
He froze, looking not at Selphie but past her, toward the second woman who had spoken. Her blond hair had come loose from the traditional bun she always wrapped it up with, and her blue eyes held no trace of the former instructor he knew. "Quistis…?"
He felt the presence of the hand rather than the actual touch of the fingers, and whirled away just in time to avoid the clap on the shoulder from a much more dark and sinister-looking Irvine.
"Rinoa's back over there, waiting," Zell came up on Selphie's right, blocking Squall's only escape completely. Wait a minute… escape? What am I thinking? These are my friends. But even as he tried to reason logically with himself, little things kept nagging at him. Why was Selphie so quiet? It was out of the ordinary. And Quistis, nothing of the "big-sister" air remained. Irvine was just scarier than usual, and Zell was nothing more than a life-injected marionette. It was strange, not to mention downright upsetting.
"Where is Rinoa?" he craned his neck to look over Selphie and Quistis' shoulders, his eyes trying to break the veil of shadows a little farther back.
"She's there; trust us."
Selphie reached for his arm slowly. Squall had half a mind to scream in terror and run in the other direction, but one part of him held him back: These are my friends! I shouldn't be scared of them. They want to take me to Rinoa… Rinoa!
"Where is she!" he asked Zell desperately. "I have to see Rinoa; where is she!"
"Back that way," Quistis motioned behind her, to the shadows. "She's waiting for you, Squall."
'I'll be waiting for you, so…'
He shook his head, slipping past Irvine and backing away from the group slowly. "I can't go."
'If you come here…'
"But we found her—"
'…you'll find me…'
"We promise."
'I promise…'
"No!" he screamed, clapping his hands over his ears and backing away. He kept his feet on the path, staying away from the shadows on either side of him, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "No! We're supposed to meet at the flower field! I told her I'd meet her there! Rinoa!" Their faces contorted angrily, unearthly howls rising from the depths of their mouths as they lunged toward him. Squall threw his head back as he felt the coldness of death on him, and screamed with all of his might:

"RINOA!"

2 – Shooting Star

He wasn't accustomed to it all: being in the midst of a hundred smiling, laughing people. The SeeD uniform lay crisply across his tensed muscles; standing in a corner, drinking champagne, and he was still tense. If only Sis could see me now…
The new transfer student had come up to him the second time since their mission. She wanted to know if he would join the Garden Committee. He declined. People aren't my specialty. Still, as she ran off toward another unsuspecting student, he couldn't help but feeling bad. I should have said yes. He closed his eyes for a moment, and pretended that he didn't care. It was easier not to care. Pretending not to was harder half the time, but it was worth it.
Zell Dincht offered his hand, which he flat-out rejected. You're weird, go away. The other young man had left in a huff, muttering something about coldness amongst comrades. Squall made an indifferent sound in his throat—depending on people was something someone could never do all the time. It was pointless, they only let you down.
Still…
He was getting lonely again. He was always lonely. Too many girls from the Garden had confessed their feelings toward him, and he would always give the same response: '…whatever.' Or a shrug. Something along those lines. He'd never actually cared for someone before (well, he had once, and laughed at himself every time he thought of the outcome since then), or looked up to anyone. Squall was a loner, and nothing could change that. Nothing.
She stood motionless in the center of the dance floor, alone. Her eyes fell like the star that had just done the same from the heavens, and smiled at him. Then she lifted her index finger and pointed up at the glass dome roof. He tilted his head slowly to one side: what is it? She smiled again and dropped her hand, striding confidently toward him.
"You're the most handsome guy here."
He'd heard it before—no different, as per usual. He turned away from her. She leaned over slightly, keeping her face lined with his, her hands clasping behind her back, almost stubbornly.
"Oh, I get it. You only dance with people you like."
He lifted an eyebrow at her, then turned his head the other way. Why won't she leave me alone…?
Her hand lifted again, but this time not to point up, but to wave in his face, her fingers wiggling slightly as she tried to suppress a huge grin.
"You're-going-to-like me...You're-going-to-like-me..." she tilted her head the opposite way of his, smiling up at him cutely. "Did it work?"
"...I can't dance," he murmured lamely. She straightened, made a face, then leaned over and grabbed his hand, tugging him forward.
"You'll be fine. Come on. I'm looking for someone. I can't be on the dance floor alone."
He opened his mouth to protest, but with surprising strength, she dragged him across the marble floor and stood him up straight. Her hands moved quickly, grabbing his, placing one of his hands on her waist and the other in hers, mumbling to herself.
"Okay, your hand goes here, mine goes here, this one goes there, and I hold this one, and now we're ready! And.."
"I can't dance," he warned stubbornly.
"Everyone can dance—even you, with a little practice," she winked, placing her hand on his shoulder and pulling him into a waltz. He stumbled forward, then backward, his feet skidding helplessly along the floor as she tried to lead him. He stumbled, landing hard on her foot. She shook her head, stomping her injured foot once determinedly, then replaced his hands on her and hers on him. He shook his head and pulled away from her, trying to walk back to his corner.
"Oh, no no no no no!" she chased after him, tugging him back onto the dance floor by the wrist.
"You can look for this person without me," he mumbled softly. She shook her head and replaced his hands on her, beginning to lead him once more.
"One two three, one two three, one two three…" she counted, looking down at their feet; hers moving steadily, clad in her white slippers, his clunking along uncertainly, in heavy black boots. She clasped his hand and twirled away from him, then spun back carefully.
"Whoa!" he tripped regardless, knocking her off balance and stumbling back. She sighed and grinned at him, taking his hands and setting them against her once more.
"Again."
"Haven't you had enough?"
"No," she said simply, and started to pull him into a waltz again. After three more desperate attempts at a dance, Squall and the mystery woman slammed into another dancing pair.
"Hey! Watch it!"
"Ow!"
"I, um.." he blinked, not exactly knowing what to say. She turned to them both and gave them a raspberry. He blinked at her. She watched the other couple move away from them, then looked at him and smiled reassuringly.
"Come on. We can do this."

"We did do it…" Squall looked up slowly. The sky above him had lightened to a faint off white. After walking for so long, he was still alone. "Rinoa…come get me.. like then. Come find me." Take me by the hand, and lead me with your smile. Rinoa.. "I miss you."

3 – Love Grows

"Rinoa... You feel so cold. Are you going to be like this forever?...Isn't there anything I can do? You were so full of life. Now you don't even make a sound.. I want to hear you voice. This is like talking to a wall. Rinoa.. Call my name..."
She lay on the bed, unmoving. The rose had leaked from her cheeks like some porcelain doll that had cried too often. Her eyes, beneath the violet-tinged lids, moved rapidly in a state of REM. She was alive… but this was the most confusing thing Squall had ever witnessed.
"...Rinoa fought with us against Edea. For some reason, she went unconscious after the fight. She's resting in the Garden now. I don't know what happened. We couldn't protect her. I'm.. I'm sorry."
He'd never felt this helpless, this alone. Everyone around him seemed to be so alive, while the only person he truly cared about lay in a guise of eternal slumber. Why wouldn't she wake up? Why couldn't she call his name, even in her dreams? Her subconscious was the only place he couldn't protect her, and she was there, trapped alone in her mind. He felt so useless.
'Let's go, Rinoa. Let's go meet Ellone. Ellone will bring us together…'
'…Sorry, everyone. I can't go on like this…'
"It's a bit far, but we'll make it."
She lay cold and lifeless against him, even in the soothing warmth of the sun. He shook his head tiredly, hoisting her firmly onto his back, walking across the abandoned railroad tracks. Mile after mile he trudged, the horizon getting darker and darker—whether from the sunset or the feeling of impending doom, he really couldn't tell.
'…it's pretty far… Didn't think it would be this far…'
"What am I doing?"
'Find Ellone, talk to Ellone… but there's no guarantee everything will be resolved if I talk to Ellone..'
'Even so, I'm…'
"…I sure have changed."

"I sure have changed."
He looked up from his feet: where was he now? The sky, since his run in with the imposters, had shifted to a chalk gray haze ever-shifting into things only just tangible. He thought he had seen Rinoa on several occasions, but it had just been a swirl of dust in the wind or his shadow distorted and reflected in the shifty air. It was getting more and more tiresome to continue trudging through the bleak landscapes, with nothing but the echo of his boots and his rasping breaths. It was driving him slowly insane—he could feel his usual wall of reasoning breaking before the chaos of Ultimecia's Time Compression.
Squall lifted his head. The cold jaws of an endless blue-black abyss stretched out before him. Was that there a second ago? Uncertain, he trued around to get back on the path, but the same yawning mouth tinted with an ether-real glow met his doubling vision. She closed his eyes for a moment, shook his head smartly, then gaszed back into the gap behind him. The path had gone, and left an eternal drop in its place.
He swayed unsteadily on his feet, for the first time in his entire life, feeling as if he were going to faint. His boots caught in one another and he tumbled down, landing squarely on his backside. He sat there, ignoring the sharp pain as he looked at the unsettling sky above him, pressing down hungrily, just waiting for him to crack. He lowered his eyes to the ledge just before him, then down to the dusty cracked ground, fighting back tears of pain, confusion, and anger.
"Rinoa..!"

"I wonder what everyone's doing..? They're probably laughing at me. Or maybe they're angry..? What do you think? To tell you the truth.. I worry too much about what other people think of me. I hate that side of me… That's why I didn't want anyone to get to know me. I wanted to hide that side of myself. I hate it. 'Squall is an unfriendly, introverted guy.' It made it easy for me when people perceived me that way. That's a secret between you and me. Got that?"
'Yes,' she wanted to nod her head. 'I'm glad you trust me, Squall. I'm glad you see what we're trying to do for you.. what I'm trying to do..' But she couldn't move. She had been torn from him and sucked into a bizarre Wonderland filled with insane sorceresses, vengeful SeeDs, and endless waves of chaos. She saw Ultimecia; felt the pain and anger of a thousand fighters—both dead and alive. Rinoa saw the horrors of Time Compression first hand. The senseless slaughter of uniformed soldiers by hundreds, thousands, of shrieking, cold-blooded witches swarmed in her sights and brought tears to her eyes (which were, surprisingly, closed through the entire ordeal).
And through it all, she continued to shriek for him: "Squall! I want to go home! Where are you! SQUALL!"
Sometimes she could see him. He would be off in the distance, looking sad and alone. She didn't want him to feel alone—she wanted to be with him. She wanted to see him smile, hear him laugh, feel him pick her up in his arms and spin her around. Sometimes she could hear him; his voice, so low and soothing, speaking to her through the darkness of her nightmare world. At those times, she felt that if she could reach out, she could feel him standing there beside her. But, she was alone.
"SQUALL!"

She looked around wildly. The scream had brought nothing but a resounding echo that made her head hurt. Rinoa took in a deep breath and kept running. She had been running for a long time, trying to catch up; trying to find Squall. But he was nowhere to be seen, and she couldn't run any longer. She stumbled to a stop, the grass beneath her feet crunching lightly. She blinked, looking down at the green against her black boots. Green!
Her eyes scanned the area wildly, searching desperately for any sign of him. 'If you come here, you'll find me… I promise.' He had to be here! She was standing in the middle of the flower field!
As she looked around, Edea's stone house loomed in the distance to her right. And just behind that.. Rinoa could make out the spindly towers and spiraling stairs that constructed Ultimecia's castle. The grand structure was already crumbling away, decaying because of its master's demise. She smiled smugly for one moment—Squall stopped you! He stopped you! You can never return, Ultimecia! He—She turned around frantically: "Squall!" Nothing came to her; no answering shout, no spot of black on the horizon, nothing.
Rinoa bowed her head, her fingers instinctively clutching at the two rings dangling off her chain. She felt the smooth curve of her mother's ring and smiled sadly at the briefly-passing memory. "Mom…" The sharper of the two cut deeply into her palm, and she let it do so, savoring the pain, glad to know she was still alive. Squall's ring, the one with Griever on it. She had called it a monster, but Squall had explained that it, in fact, was a lion: a tough, ferocious beast with high pride and a nobility in the way it moved and held itself. 'Definitely Squall, even though he won't admit it,' she grinned to herself. Lions were also fiercely protective of their territory and defended what was theirs with a passion that was rarely matched by any human. Rinoa felt safe in knowing that.
'He'll always protect me.'
But a colder, more prominent voice in her head followed right after: 'What if he's not alive to protect you?'
"Squall will always be there; he promised!" she cried, vocally arguing with the cold little voice. But even then, the harsh truth of the statement stuck in her brain until it was almost a searing pain in her head. She looked up, gathering all her strength and all of her magic, and summoned him.
"Squall, you're lost too, aren't you? Remember: 'if you come here, you'll find me; I promise..' I'm waiting, Squall."

4 – Eyes On Me

The deep blackness of space was so cold and lonely. She shivered uncontrollably.
'Am I... gonna make it...? How? I can't do anything... Drifting... endlessly. I'm helpless...'

Remaining Life Support 0

No one could outrace Death.
'No.. I'm... That's it. I'm gonna... I'm gonna... die.'

Life Support Has Terminated

And death had finally come.
'Good bye.. Squall...'

He pounded on the escape pod's window, the glass of his helmet clinking against the thick-paned glass.
"Rinoa! NO! Don't give up!"

'…?'

"Can you hear me? It's Squall, Rinoa! Rinoa, come on! Try to remember! RINOA!"
Nothing. She was lost.
"I'm… right there with you! Listen to me!"

'… I'm.. still.. alive? Squall..?'

No. She was still alive. He felt it.
"I'm gonna go find Rinoa."
"You didn't need my help at all."
"Thanks, Sis."
Quistis ran out after him.
"Wait! Come back!"
"Idiot! There's no way he can get back! He's insane!" The doctor turned to the two women looking after the young man. "He's gonna run out of fuel and life-support in no time. They're both gonna die."

'Rinoa… where are you? I'm gonna find you, no matter what.'

The voices echoed in his head. The emotions he had been feeling before, he felt them now; stronger than ever. "Rinoa…"

"Squall.. thank you… I heard your voice."
"…I can't believe it."
"Are we gonna make it?"
"Don't worry." 'Out of fuel… Low on oxygen… What now? Die in space? I'm so helpless… I can't even save Rinoa? Come on, think!'
The bright magenta hull of the dragon-shaped craft loomed out of the darkness like some demonic beacon. He took her hands, felt her shaking in his arms, and guided her onto the Ragnarok.

"You're home free, Ragnarok. From all of us here at ground control: Godspeed."

Gravity Off

"Whoa!" she lifted quickly into the air. Giggling, Rinoa used her momentum and rolled her body forward, doing a somersault in mid-air. With a slightly exasperated sigh (more playful, than anything), Squall kicked off his chair and tackled her in the zero-g. She squealed as he scooped her up in his arms, then rocketed back to the pilot and co-pilot seats. He set her down behind his chair, then hopped up over the headrest and landed lightly in his seat. He reached over and pulled his seatbelt on, then motioned for her to do the same.
"Go sit over there. Put your seatbelt on."

Whenever sang my songs
Rinoa floated there for a moment, silently contemplating something. Then she rose higher into the cockpit and disappeared from sight for a moment. Softly, she lowered herself into his lap, slipping her arms around him.
On the stage, on my own
"Will we be home soon?"
"Yeah."
Whenever said my words
"Now sit down."
"Just a little longer."
Wishing they would be heard
"Why are you holding onto me like this?"
I saw you smiling at me
"You don't like this, Squall?"
"Just not used to it."
Was it real or just my fantasy?
"How about when you were little? Didn't you feel safe and secure being held by your parents?"
You'd always be there in the corner
"I can't remember anything about my parents…"
Of this tiny little bar
"But Ellone was there for me. Ellone was there to hold my hand."
My last night here for you
"Made you feel safe and secure?"
"Sure."
Same old songs, just once more
"But she left. Just… disappeared."
My last night here with you?
"I'm afraid… Afraid of having that feeling of comfort taken away…
"You were afraid of losing us?"
Maybe yes, maybe no
"Is that why you kept your distance?"
"I was always alone…"
"Squall…"
I kind of liked it your way
"You missed out on all the good things in life."
How you shyly placed your eyes on me
"You missed out on so much."
Did you ever know
"…Maybe."
That I had mine on you?
"Definitely."
Darling, so there you are
"I like it like this. I liked having my mom hold me."
With that look on your face
"My dad too, when we got along."
As if you're never hurt
"I'm not your mom."
She laughed softly. "No, of course not."
As if you're never down
"But now… Squall, you're the one who gives me the most comfort."
Shall I be the one for you
"Comfort and happiness."
Who pinches you softly but sure
"And annoyance and disappointment too!"
If frown is shown then
'…What—"
"—Ever!"
She laughed again. He released her hand (When had he taken it?) and motioned again to her seat.
"You should go back to your seat now."
I will know that you are no dreamer
"Just a little longer."
'You'll be safer in your seat.'
So let me come to you
"We're gonna make it home, right?"
"We can only hope."
"When we get back… we won't be able to stay together, huh?"
"…Maybe."
Close as I want to be
He took her hand again; this time he was aware of it. Her slightly trembling fingers curling beneath his. Her hands were so cold…
Close enough for me
"No one can predict the future. There are no guarantees. Those were your words, Rinoa."
"That's not what I meant."
To feel your heart beating fast
She pushed away from him, floating in the lack of gravity to her seat and curling up slightly. She leaned against the window, looking out at the heavy blackness.
"We'll figure out what to do once we get back," he tried to assure her.
And stay there as I whisper
"They'll all be angry at me."
'Angry…?' he looked at her in confusion.
How I love your peaceful eyes on me
"Squall, this is Ground Control. Do you copy?"
"Yes."
"We've collected all of the escape pods, and pretty much figured out what happened. Is there anyone else with you?"
Did you ever know
"Yes. One more person."
"…Name?"
"Rinoa."
"The Sorceress!"
That I had mine on you?
Squall looked over at Rinoa, 'So.. it's true? Rinoa is a sorceress?'
Darling, so share with me
"I've… become a sorceress. I can't stay with you anymore, Squall."
Your love if you have enough
"Respond, Ragnarok!"
Your tears if you're holding back
'Rinoa…'
Or pain if that's what it is
"I don't want the future. I want the present to stand still."
How can I let you know
"I just want to stay with you.."
I'm more than the dress and the voice
"Nobody would want to be around me anymore."
Just reach me out then
"Respond, Ragnarok! The sorceress will be seized upon arrival."
You will know that you're not dreaming
"I'm.. scared"
Darling, so there you are
"Squall, do you copy?"
With that look on your face
"I'm scared, Squall.."
As if you're never hurt
She was trembling, her face pressed against the pane of thick glass as tears began to stream down her cheeks.
As if you're never down
She was clutching at the necklace around her neck. His ring. She twirled it over and over in her shaking fingers.
Shall I be the one for you
Squall slowly reached over, his eyes on Rinoa.
Who pinches you softly but sure
She looked back at him, sad and confused.
If frown is shown then I will know
He unfastened his seatbelt and knelt beside her. His hand took the one curling in the thick silver chain around her neck.
That you are no dreamer..
She wailed and threw her arms around his neck. He caught her and held her close, one hand running softly through her soft dark hair. He savored the scent of her trembling body.
Squall closed his eyes and shared Rinoa's sorrow.

5 - My Mind

She remembered it clearly. The panicked look on his face, reflected in terrified eyes, his face pale in the darkness of the Sorcerress' Memorial.
"Rinoa, hold on! I'll get you out in a sec!"
Despite her resolve to no longer be a burden, Rinoa Heartilly found herself pounding on the crystalized glass of the seal.
"Squall!" she screamed, but of course, he couldn't hear her. His fists banged against the seal, making the entire contraption shudder, but it remained closed. He looked up at her with pleading eyes.
"What am I supposed to do?"
For a moment, he looked like such a small and scared child, and her heart went out to him. In that moment, Rinoa felt the reminants of her feelings for Sifer disintigrate in the wake of this new love.
"Come on!"
Her eyes fell to the silver weapon at his hip. She opened her lips to cry out the answer, but remembered he couldn't hear her like this. Instead, she screamed to him in her thoughts: The Gunblade, Squall! The Gunblade!
His eyes cleared for the shortest of moments and looked at her. She shivered as he moved with a will that was not entirely his. I'm controlling him, she thought in dismay. I don't want to control him, I... I...
The weapon sliced down cleanly through the tubes and wires criss-crossing over her prison. A loud exhale of gas set off the emergency abortion system, and white smoke poured out all over the area. Rinoa felt herself falling. She wanted Squall to catch her, but she broke that link with his mind. I want him to catch me.
Squall turned to her, his eyes still on her. She opened her arms pleadingly. He opened his own in return, those eyes so happy yet so very sad. She couldn't remember if she had cried out his name but suddenly she was swept up into his arms. He held her close; tightly, protectively. One arm wrapped around her waist strongly and she almost swooned with pleasure. Her head fell to his shoulder as his other hand came up to her hair and stroked it tenderly. They stayed that way for countless moments; Rinoa lost all track of time.
"Squall, don't! I'm a sorceress," she heard her own voice protest.
"I don't care," he answered softly, looking down into her eyes. Her breath caught in her throatwas that love hidden within the depths of his eyes..?
"Rinoa! Squall!" came a shout from the control room. He glanced up for just a second, and she felt the slightest twinge of sadness that his attention was diverted to somewhere else. She almost laughed at the weirdness of the situation. He turned his gaze back to her.
"Let's go."
And he warpped his arms tightly around her and squeezed longingly. What little breath she had regained was taken from her again, but she was still happy.

'Squall...'
Lionheart raised his tired head slowly, almost afraifd to look up at whatever was beconing him.
'Squall...'
He felt his eyes rising of their own accord. No... I don't wanna see... I can't stand it if it isn't...
"Squall..."
Floating slowly from the monotone sky above him, a single white feather descended into his view. His hand reached out to grasp it.
"Rinoa..?"

She stared off into the distance, watching the wind caress the long-growing blades of field grass dotted with flowers.
"What'll become of me?"
He didn't know how to answer her. He never knew how to answer her; he always got tongue-tied.
"Don't worry about it. There've been many good sorceresses. Edea was one. You can be like her."
"But Edea's still... I can't guarantee anything either. If Ultimecia possesses me again... You saw me. She controlled me in outer space and made me break Adel's seal. What might happen next time?" she turned her eyes to his, and he saw the fear reflected in them. "What will I end up doing? Will I end up fighting everyone? ...Scary thoguht, isn't it?"
Squall swallowed hard, unsure of what to say. Rinoa... Even if you end up as the world's enemy, I'll... I'll be your knight.

"If I fall under Ultimecia's control again... SeeD will come kill me, right?" She let her foot scuff the grassy rock beside it, avoiding his piercing gaze. "And the leader of SeeD is you, Squall... Squall's sword will pierce my heart..." She almost smiled with the irony. "I guess it's okay if it's you, Squall. Nobody else. Squall, if that ever happens..."
"That's enough!" he snapped and sent her into a stunned silence. "I'll never do anything like that. The sorceress I'm after is not you, Rinoa. My enemy is the sorceress from the future... Ultimecia."

"Can I tell you a story?"
She clutched at the chain around her neck, almost convulsively.
"I had a dream. It was a scary dream. We make a promise. We promise to see shooting stars together."
She saw him smile faintly. Almost. How she wished he would smile for her.
"I get dressed up and put on your ring. But the thing is, I can't remember where I'm supposed to meet you. I start to panic. I really want to see you Squall, but I don't know where to go." She shrugged helplessly. "I start running through the mountains, the desert, the plains... Through Timber, Balamb, and Galbadia..."
Her breathing started to quicken. The memory of the dream.. the nightmare, held her: "When I realize I can't run any longer... I... I just want to see you so badly... So I scream, 'Squall, where are you?' Then I woke up; I was crying." She wiped her eyes swiftly with one hand and sniffled quietly.
"I'm sorry, you don't have to say anything. I just felt like I had to tell you."

"How about this..." Rinoa watched him motion toward the flower field beside the abandoned orphanage. "I'll be here..."
She stared at him for a moment: "...Why?"
"The reason why you couldn't find me was because we haven't promised yet," Squall reasoned.
"Promised...?" she couldn't believe what she was hearing.
""I'll be waiting for you. If you come here, you'll find me."

"I promise."
"Squall, come on! Where are you...?" Rinoa looked up at the desolate gray sky.

6 - Search for a Lost Time

There she was. Standing alone in the flower field. Alone...
"Rinoa!" he cried.
She ignored him, or perhaps she didn't hear? Squall licked his lips desperately, running both of his hands through his tangle of sweaty brown hair.
"Rinoa!" he tried again.
After what seemed like an endless moment, she finally turned to face him. Squall gasped and stumbled back a step. Her face... was missing. Then it felt as if something had hooked him in the center of his chest tugged forward. He was flying through the air, toward her, into the distorted abyss where her eyes used to be. Her beautiful eyes. Past her, through her, into her, until he was standing again. Standing... in the ballroom?
The music, soft and even, pierced his mind and made him aware of what had just happened. I'm back in the past... I'm searching for Rinoa! He looked around at where she had been standing that night, looking positively stunning in the creme-colored dress she wore for him a second time in Fisherman's Horizon. She was there... but something wasn't right. Her image looked... fuzzy. He closed his eyes, counted to three, and opened them again.
She wasn't there.
With a paniced cry, Squall whirled around and saw the same scene taking place bhind him. Rinoa's figure was transparent, the arm she lifted to point out the shooting star above them repeating the motion almost like a haunting gesture. He turned again. Not there.
"Rinoa!" he screamed.
The ballroom melted away into the blackness of space. There she was, drifting, half-conscious. No, he thought wildly, no, I don't want to be here. What if I pick the wrong time and... and she...! A glare of silver made him shield his eyes with one arm. The feeling of something latching onto him and pulling returned. For a split second, everything that had happened since he became a SeeD ran together in one long, drawn out daymare. He saw his ring, Griever, on a chain. Rinoa's chain! The machine from his SeeD field exam was charging at him again. Car tires screeching, rapid gunfire puncturing his concentration, the roar of the ocean, people screaming, Rinoa.
"Rinoa!"
Standing at the observation deck of the Garden, watching her stare out at the magnificent view, turning to him, smiling, drop. Drop?
From the television tower in Dollet, looking all the way down to the crashing waves far below. Seifer's grinning face. Seifer... Rinoa screaming his name. He tried to scream back, he wanted to, he reached for her, and then he was being dragged away, into Galbadia Garden. She was there too!
Rinoa, wearing her dress, turned from pointing upward and started walking toward him. Her heels clacked eerily in the deserted entrance hall, then began to echo strangely, as if someone else with high heels were walking toward him. He didn't want to turn around and look, fearing if he took his eyes off of her she'd disappear again. But his worry suddenly escalated when her image faded out then reappeared a little further back than before. The room began to spin, faster and faster, Rinoa appearing, disappearing, smiling, fading, pointing, distorting, dancing...
Everything blended together: sounds, images, memories. Hundreds of faces and eyes swirling together, mixing, reflecting. Like a rewinding video tape, the spectacle before his eyes whined and warped, the sound of the times converging slicing into his head like a knife. Then, it all exploded in a shower of glass.

Squall looked up at the time he had fallen into. He was freezing, and it was dark. Shards of thick-plated glass whizzed past his face, and he looked up into the blank, dark eyes of Rinoa Heartilly.
"NO!" he screamed, trying to go back, away from this horrible fate he had found. "NO! RINOA!"
Floating silently in the darkness of space, Rinoa's body drifted off into the void behind her. The silver necklace she always wore had broken in the violence of her death, and now snaked toward him slowly, her plain silver band slipping from the links and falling away from his reach. Squall couldn't move, the effects of time decompressing already hitting him, he could only watch helplessly.

With a scream of agony, Squall Lionheart threw his head back, a single tear slipping from the corner of one narrow blue eye. A white light surrounded him, and then...

No more.

7 - Gifts and Curses

He's here.

Out of the gray-black mists of Time Compression, the sorcerress emmerged. She strode forward confidently, powerfuly, walking toward her target.

Squall... Squall is here.

Stretched out on the ground was the figure of a young man. His body lay stiff against the cracked dirt, and his unusually sharp blue eyes were closed. Rinoa Heartily stopped beside Squall's body and looked down at him.

He's... sleeping. Yes, that's it. He's sleeping.

Rinoa slowly fell to her knees, knowing deep in her heart that this was not true. Squall was...

...sleeping. That's all. Just sleeping.

She lifted him up into her arms. His weight settled heavily in her embrace. His body met her own only slightly; he was very stiff and cold. She played her fingers across one side of his face, running them gently back through his thick, rich brown hair. His bangs feathered slightly with her touch, sifting through the webs of her fingers like fine silk strands. They flopped back into place over his forehead, covering the nasty red scar that burned across the proud features of his angular face.
"Squall?" she whispered softly, the sound barely escaping her lips. The desolate air around her took her voice and smothered it in thick blankets of heavy silence, almost as if that very whisper could have shattered the sky. Her eyes searched his face, studing his features one by one: his lashes, covering his icy gaze, curling almost feminately over each other; high cheekbones, lacking the tinge of warmth that she knew had always been there; a fine-pointed nose, centering his face perfectly, making everything else about his seemingly plain appearance more animate and solid; the strong jawline, usually clenched in tension or anger, but now, neither.
Lifeless.
Rinoa held him for what seemed like an eternity but was only a moment. Her vision clouded as stinging tears sprang from the depths of her heart and filled their corners, trembling, almost as if waiting for the perfect opportunity to fall. She felt her face contorting, growing hotter as it no doubt grew redder as well. Something like a cry hitched up into her throat, locking behind her teeth, bracing itself as if it too were waiting. The air, that was once heavy with magical tension, seemed to clear and then become heavier, as if the magic had saturated every fiber, every particle of the air. Something deep, deep inside of her swelled and throbbed, aching, stinging, burning.

Squall...? Squall...! Squall! SQUALL!

"SQUALL!"

Her head fell to his shoulder, no longer screaming, but shrieking. Her cry shot into the sky, ripping through the grayness of Time Compression.
The power that had built up inside of her, the unknown force of the sorcerress in her blood, rose forth with the power of her scream. It bloomed from her back, in the shape of two enormous white angelic wings. For an instant the image held, and Rinoa looked even more like an angel, taking pity on a lost soul. Then the whiteness from her back spiraled upward, touching the roof of the sky and cascading out in a ring of golden white. That magic pushed away the clouds, forced back Time Compression, and brought forth the sun. It beamed down on them and the dead earth, warming her skin instantly. From the cracked, dried ground, grass suddenly sprang in abundance and flowers threw themselves up and into the welcoming embrace of the sunlight.
Rinoa looked up at what she had done. At a breakneck pace, the magic that had errupted from her body spilled across the desolate wasteland that was once Ultimecia's nightmare world. It breathed life into the heavens, the earth, the air; everything swelled and blossomed with the promise of life. The wind caressed her face and shoulders, pushing her hair out of her tear-filled eyes, almost as if telling her to turn her head.
Slowly, with the world coming back to life around her, Rinoa looked down into the face of the man she loved.
A soft touch slipped against the top of her right arm. A hand slipped around her waist, placing itself lightly against the small of her back.
Rinoa's eyes widened. She opened her mouth to say something, although she wasn't quite sure what to say. A finger lifted to her lips. And she cried.

8 - Promise

"Heeeeeey, look!" Selphie jumped, clapping her hands together.
"What?" Quistis turned to look where Selphie's finger was pointing.
"Out there! On the balcony!"
"I don't see"
"Look! Look!"
"Ooh! How cute!"

Rinoa Heartily leaned against the cool stone balcony, staring up at the blue-black arc of the sky. Stars spilled themselves across the heavens, stretching up and around the moon, blanketing it like a diamoned cloak.
She sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. It's over. It's finally over...

Ultimecia, with her maniacal idea of Time Compression, had almost robbed her of everything. Rinoa could feel the magic within her stir with her anger. Her power, fueled by her emotions, had been what saved them all. An emotion caused by the most horrible fate she could imagine...

Squall... she lowered her eyes to the horizon, watching silently as the waves lapped at the moon's reflection, making the water sparkle.

She knew he had been searching for her, just as she had been searching for him. He travelled through thousands of times and places, all in the span of three lifetimes, but it had only seemed like three hours. Time Compression had turned everything upside-down.
Except for his love.

Rinoa squirmed lightly at that thought. Love. Squall loved her. A smile quirked up one corner of her mouth, and she closed her eyes again, recalling her journey through the bizzare world of Ultimecia's creation.

She had run across the world: Timber, Balam, Galbadia; the mountains, the desert, the plains. No sign of him. With her last breath, Ultimecia was still trying to kill the one who had thwarted her plans of world domination. Rinoa had to do everything in her power to stop it from happening, and still...

A single tear slipped from beneath a closed eyelid. She wiped it away with her knuckle, sniffling and opening her eyes again. She turned her head slowly to the side.

He called out... and I answered.

Squall turned his head to Rinoa, noticing her slight movements. She looked both eternally sad and infinately happy. His hand rose to her back, stroking gently, his fingers lightly tracing the white wing designs on the blue cloth. Although they were just on her clothing, Squall somehow knew the wings were more real than he could ever imagine. She had saved him that day. The angel that guided him through his nightmares.

She loved him, and it made him happy. It felt good to be happy. And if he had to depend on people, so what? As long as it was Rinoa. And as long as he let her know she could depend on him too. That's how it would work; it should work, always.

"I love you."
She smiled. "I love you too."

Squall took Rinoa's hand off the balcony railing. It was cold. He clasped it with his own, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand. Slowly, he pulled her closer. Rinoa came to him willingly. He didn't want to own her, nor she him. But they knew they belonged to each other anyway.

He wrapped his arms around her slender waist and held her tight against his body. The contours of her own fit his exactly. Squall melted against her, closing his eyes and savoring the scent wafting from her hair in the wind around them. Then he cupped his hand beneath her chin and turned her face up to his. The motion was simple and fluid, like the melody that hung in the stars above them.

Just reach me out then...
"I'm glad I met you, Rinoa."
"I'm glad you met me too, Squall."
He laughed and she smiled.
You will know that you are no dreamer...

Squall leaned down, his hair falling lightly over his eyes. Rinoa stroked it away with gentle fingers, tilting her face up. Their lips met softly and sweetly. And above them, a single star fell.