This...is Squall's Story

Final Fantasy VIII and X-2 Crossover

Summary: Squall, Garden Commander is sent through space on the Ragnarok to save Spira from Vegnagun. When he gets there, he meets a woman who reminds him of himself. Things start to change for the Commander. Squall x Paine, Zell x Rikku, and Selvine— slightly unconventional parings…

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VIII or X-2.

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Chapter 1: The Break-up From Hell

Squall rolled over and stared at his beeping alarm clock. 4:30. He groaned and rolled over, wishing he could sleep in like a normal person on a Saturday morning, but he had work he still needed to do. Being Commander of Balamb Garden's SeeD forces meant that he had to be in his office at five o'clock every morning and he had to stay there until midnight—roughly. His body had gotten used to the three to four hours of sleep it got. He really didn't mind it anymore, but with Rinoa's constant nagging, he felt like his head was going to explode. She always seemed to feel the need to pester him until he finally conceded to sleep. He could go a couple of days, if he needed to.

Squall got up—after a few quiet minutes of rolling around—and started to sulk off toward the bathroom that was just down the hall from his dormitory. Just as he walked out of his dorm, Rinoa stopped him. She had that annoying 'I'm-gonna-nag-you-to-death' look on her face. Squall blinked; stunned that she was up and about this early.

"Now what? I just woke up…can't I at least take a shower before you start in on me?" Squall said, irritation coloring his voice.

"I just wanted to make sure you had something to eat before you started your day…you skipped our dinner reservation last night and I got worried…" Rinoa said, looking down at her feet.

"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I'm not a child. Besides, I had work to do."

"I know that, Squall, I really do! I just worry… I don't want you to hurt yourself. Besides, you're only nineteen…you shouldn't be working this much!"

"Whatever… Can I take a shower now?" Squall asked, as he walked toward his bathroom. Rinoa stepped to the side, and looked back to her feet. Squall knew he was being jerk right now, but he really didn't care. Rinoa brought this upon herself when she took over the role of 'Squall's caretaker'—as the rest of his friends called it. He hated it, if truth be told. Yes, he did know that she cared about him and didn't want him to hurt himself, but there were times that he needed to take care of things. Like now. "Shit!" he muttered, and broke into a run. He was already ten minutes late and really didn't need Cid on his case too—and he stopped that train of thought. He wasn't going to blame other people for his problems. He needed to deal with things on his own.

After he took his shower, he sprinted to his office. Xu was sitting on his desk when he got in. She was a young woman, two years older than Squall himself. She wore a SeeD uniform, and had her hair cut to shoulder length. When she saw Squall, she smiled.

"Good morning, Commander." She said.

"How many times have I told you not to call me that…" he asked, getting agitated again.

"Would you rather I call you 'Rinoa's Pet'"?

"…Shut up…"

Xu chuckled and looked back down to the reports that she had been going over. Squall looked around and wondered where Cid was. Seconds after he thought this, Cid walked into his office.

"Good morning, Squall. How have you been?" Cid asked.

"…Fine, Headmaster."

"Well, I'm glad to hear it. I've a new assignment for your team, Squall. You, Zell, Irvine, Selphie, and Seifer are all going. I know I can count on you to complete this to the best of your ability. You are to go to another world. The world is called Spira. Right now, they are locked in a conflict with a machine called Vegnagun. They requested SeeD's help 27-hours ago. The three—"

"Three? They only sent three people to fight that thing?" Squall burst out.

"Yes. Three young women went by themselves to the Bevelle underground—completely unaided. The people of Spira called our Garden with the request that SeeD go and help them. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir." Squall said, saluting, "But, what about Quistis?"

After a short pause, Cid said,"She is off on another mission. That is why I assigned Seifer. Now, get going and good luck, Squall."

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Ten minutes after Squall left his office, he met up with the rest of his team. After explaining the situation, they all agreed to accompany him to Spira. Rinoa, on the other hand, wanted Squall to stay at the Garden.

"Rinoa, I can't stay. I have to go…they need me—everyone else too. I can't just say 'no' when there are people who need SeeD. Besides, I've already told Cid that I would do this."

"Squall, you just can't go! …but if you have to Squall…I-I wanna come with you." Rinoa said, looking very concerned.

"No. I can't allow you to come with. If you can't accept that…then…" he trailed off.

"A-are you b-b-breaking u-up w-w-with me?" Rinoa asked, on the verge of tears.

"Rinoa, I know that it's hard…but this is for the best. I'm sorry. I don't want to do this, but I have to." Squall said, genuinely sincere.

"You are such an asshole!! I hate you! Fine, go to Spira! I don't care anymore! Go! Get on the damn ship and leave me!! It's what you want, isn't it; to just get the hell out of here!? I hate you!!! Go! Now! Get away from me! Leave me ALONE!!!" Rinoa shouted, finally loosing all the frustrations she had felt towards Squall over the past several months of their relationship. Squall knew that he brought this on himself. He even half expected it; just not this bad. He never thought that Rinoa could harbor such anger and resentment. 'Evidently she can, though…' he thought. When Rinoa was finished with her rant, she turned and ran off towards the dormitories, but not before yanking the ring he gave her off its chain and throwing it at his face. Squall caught the ring before it hit his head and agitatedly shoved it back onto his finger. Her anger made Squall thankful that he never gave her a key to his dorm room. Who knew what would walk away if she could get herself in there. With that thought in mind, Squall turned and walked toward the Quad, where the Ragnarok was parked. Once he was inside, he sealed the airlock and proceeded to the bridge area. After using the lift, he learned that everyone was already on board. After taking his seat—the pilot's—he addressed everyone:

"Morning, again…" Squall said with a sigh.

"Yo, Squall, what's up, man?" Zell asked, lacking tact as usual.

"…It's just…I had to break up with Rinoa…" Squall said; blushing slightly and looking down at the controls, feigning to prepare for launch. This latest revelation caused everyone in the cockpit to inhale sharply.

"Oh, Squall…I'm so sorry." Selphie was the first to speak after an awkward silence. She moved to put her hand on his shoulder. Squall just shrugged it away.

"Don't worry about it… I made my choice, and I need to live with it." Squall replied. Selphie simply nodded and everyone else conceded to stay silent. "Anyway… Let's get going. It isn't exactly the shortest trip to Spira. Once we get there, we will be departing at Zanarkand—well, the Zanarkand Ruins. Anyway, it's a twenty-two hour flight; try to get some rest, alright? That's all for now. Dismissed."

Seconds later, the Ragnarok shot off into the sky. Little did Squall and the rest know, but at the same time; Yuna, Rikku and Paine were all sitting around on the airship Celsius. They didn't know that the request that they put in for SeeD was granted and, that at that very moment, five members of the most elite mercenary force in the galaxy were on their way to help them.

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