"Love and Disloyalty"
A/N: This is the former "Love & Betrayal." After two years, I decided that the story wasn't as great as I thought it was and it went through some serious updating and revising to make it a little more realistic. Hopefully, you'll all enjoy it a little better and see it in a different light…the coupling in this story isn't as common as Squall/Rinoa or Seifer/Quistis. So, w/o further adieu…the prologue! J
I never thought much about the battle against Ultimecia after it ended. I guess like everyone else, I tried to forget it. That was fairly easy, because it seemed that once she disappeared, so did all the monsters that roamed the earth. Unfortunately, not all of them went away.
All of us-Squall, Zell, Quistis, Selphie, Irvine, and myself-were trying to lead as normal a life as we could, but it was difficult. We were all SeeDs now, and most of the time we were out on missions, but basically it was easy stuff, like attending special ceremonies and keeping peace between countries. I actually enjoyed it. I got to be with Squall and the others, and even Zone, Angelo and Watts came along occasionally. It didn't bother me at all.
One day, the six of us were on board the Ragnarok. We were soaring over the Great Salt Lake. I was looking outside and the beautiful land below me, and of all the things I saw, there was something that struck fear in my heart.
A herd of T-Rexaurs, about five, seemed to be causing trouble down below. They scared me because they could easily leave the Lake and bring problems to anyone or anything in their path. They're not the easiest things to kill, either. It took all six of us and a slew of magical spells to bring one down. I ran to find the others. On my way, I bumped into Xu.
"Hey, Rinoa. What's bothering you?" she asked me.
"T-Rexaurs! There's a whole bunch of them in the Lake."
"Don't have to tell me twice!" Xu said and ran to the intercom. "WILL COMMANDER SQUALL LEONHART AND HIS FRIENDS PLEASE MEET OUTSIDE THE RAGNAROK ONCE WE BOARD? WE HAVE A PROBLEM!"
I was scared. Last time I was in a fight with one T-Rexaur, I almost got killed. Selphie saved my life though. But this time was going to be different. I made sure I had Shiva equipped and ran to find the others.
When we landed, I was the first outside. Then Headmaster Cid, Xu, and Quistis came out. I walked towards Quistis and gave her the salute, smiling.
"Instructor Trepe," I joked.
"Hello, Rinoa," she said. "The others are going to be out in a minute. I guess she saw the nervousness on my face. "Are you all right?"
"I'll be fine," I said half-heartedly.
"Don't worry. We'll bring these things down. If we don't…" She gulped, then smiled shakily. "Just have to work fast, then, I guess..."
I returned the smile. Normally, this wouldn't be such a big problem. T-Rexaurs are around all the time…but they're loners. The feelings going through everyone were easy to understand.
Suddenly, Squall, Zell, Irvine, and Selphie ran outside. They gave the salute to Cid, then Squall came over and kissed my cheek. "Hey, you don't look good." He said.
"I'm just a little apprehensive about this, I guess," I said softly. "There's something telling me…something bad's gonna happen."
"Rinoa, don't worry," Selphie told me and smiled. "We're gonna kick their butts!" She jumped up in the air.
"I can't help but worry," I said softly.
"Everyone, I'd like to speak," Headmaster Cid said. We hushed up and gave him the salute. He returned it and continued. "As reported, there is a heard of five T-Rexaurs
by the Great Salt Lake. Supposedly, they broke out of Balamb Garden's training center when we parked here last…. unfortunately, we never knew. Your assignment is to defeat these creatures for not only the Garden, but for this region of the planet as well. If you don't…we will have a slight problem. Remember that they are extremely powerful and you should approach them with respect and extreme caution, or your life may be at risk. Also, last time they were seen they were near a canyon. Be careful of that." He gave us the salute. "Good luck to you all."
As we set out to find these monsters, I assumed my party was Squall and Zell, so I followed them. It wasn't easy though. The terrain was rocky and difficult to maneuver. I wouldn't have expected this to be a lake…no one would have. Fortunately, the others knew this place…I didn't, because I was in a coma or something when we came through here.
"Are….we there….yet?" Zell asked. He wasn't enjoying this one bit.
"Should be," Irvine answered, pointing to the canyon.
"I just wanna kick their sorry T-Rex asses!" Zell yelled, adding a slight bounce in his step as we walked.
Squall sighed. "Relax, Zell."
I was wishing that they would just appear in front of us so we could fight them, but we had to hike a long way. I checked my magic every now and then.
We fought a couple of Lefties, Righties, and Vysages on the way to the canyon, but there was nothing serious to worry about…. until we found the monsters.
When we reached the canyon, the monsters were out of sight. Quistis looked confused. "Aren't they supposed to be here?" she asked, puzzled. She walked up to the side of the cliff…and fell backward about 15 feet. The T-Rexaurs were coming out of the canyon! My jaw dropped and my eyes widened when I saw these beautiful but deadly creatures. I froze, studying their behavior…it didn't seem normal. Squall started to shake my shoulders roughly.
"RINOA! Pay attention!" he yelled at me. I knew he only did it so I wouldn't get hurt early on, so I snapped out of it quick.
"Diamond Dust!" I summoned Shiva. Although the T-Rexaurs were strong against most magic, ice was their weakness. Unfortunately, it didn't halt their onslaught. I couldn't believe it. Usually, Shiva and ice magic was the death of them.
"Runaway Train!" Zell summoned Doomtrain. That was kinda dumb, I thought. That won't do much…but it may petrify one of them. It petrified one T-Rexaur…that wasn't enough though.
We fought as bravely as we could, but they were tough. They must have been in the wild for a long time, because they knew magical attacks and they were faster than the average T-Rexaur at the training center. Like I said, these weren't normal T-Rexaurs.
"Squall, I don't think we can do this alone!" Quistis yelled as a T-Rexaur tail knocked her down.
"Yeah! Squall, these things are tough!" Irvine said.
That moment, I remembered something I had that no one else did--Angelo!! He could use Invincible Moon and save us!
"Angelo!" I called and whistled. "Angelo?" He didn't show up. I found him cowering behind a boulder. "ANGELO!" I yelled. "Invincible Moon!" He wouldn't come out. As I was trying to call Angelo, I didn't realize that a T-Rexaur was coming up to attack me.
"RINOA!!!!" Squall screamed, but he was too late.
"RRRRRRRRRRAWWWWWWORRRRRRRR!!!"
The T-Rexaur knocked me out. I went flying….flying over the cliff. The world around me was a blur. I screamed at the top of my lungs and tried to grasp onto anything. I found a rocky part of the cliff to grab on, and I screamed and screamed.
"Rinoa! Rinoa!" I heard Squall yelling over the roars of the monsters.
"Squall! Where are you!" I yelled. I was too far over the side to see anything that was going on.
"Right here," he said softly and leaned over the edge. His hand was as far over as it could go. I saw a glint of frustration fly across his usual cool exterior. "Rinoa…I can't reach you…" Squall inched over a little bit more, but I was still so far…
I started to cry. "No…please Squall."
Just as I gave up hope, I saw Selphie lean over the side! "Here Squall," she said, handing him her nunchakus. "Get her up quick!"
Squall leaned over again and lowered the nunchakus down for me…but I couldn't grab it. I was afraid that if I let go of the wall I would fall. I…I can't….what if I fall? My legs are just hanging….I'm gonna die…
"I'm afraid Squall…" I whimpered. "I can't let go."
Squall shook his head. "Rinoa, you're stronger than this. Grab on!" I saw the fear in his eyes….the fear was for…me. Squall loved me. His eyes gave me strength.
I summoned all my courage, and I grabbed the nunchakus. Squall's eyes were watering up…he loved me! It seemed like forever for him to pull me up, but when I finally came over the side, he wrapped me in his arms so tight I never wanted to let go. I was crying, he was crying…and for some reason, Zell was right there. His eyes were round and in awe of us.
I looked over at him, then looked up at Squall. He said the most painful words I ever heard.
"Rin…you have to go with Zell. We're going to stay here and finish them off."
My heart shattered into a trillion pieces. "NO! I'm not leaving your side, Squall."
"You have to!" He yelled. "You could get killed!"
"So could you. You're not invincible! I'm not going anywhere."
"YOU HAVE TO!" he screamed at me, then he changed his tone. His eyes were filled with terror, and it scared me. "Please….Rinoa. I don't want you to….please, go. Zell will take care of you."
I started to run away with Zell. Angelo saw us too, and he trotted to reach us. Squall stopped me one more time before I was out of his grasp. "Rinoa…I love you."
I wanted to tell him I loved him too, but it would be too risky. Zell grabbed my wrist and led me away…away from my friends…Squall. I started to cry.
Squall…Irvine…Quistis…Selphie…they can't die. No, they can't. Then…Zell and I would be alone….NO!
"Rinoa…don't worry about Squall and the others," Zell said. "He's tough…they're probably kickin their butts…" When he saw that I couldn't be consoled, he did the only thing he could do--I felt his arms around me and he squeezed me tightly. It was so unlike Squall's…comforting, but…. I didn't want it. I broke away from him and ran into the Ragnarok.
In my confusion, I ran into Xu and almost knocked her over. She looked at me with so much concern. She wiped tears from my eyes for me.
"Rinoa, what's wrong?" she asked me softly.
"E-e-everything," I sobbed. "Squ-Squ-Squall…." I couldn't say anymore. Xu seemed to understand and brought me to my little room on board the Ragnarok. She sat me down and gave me a friendly hug. "Rinoa…please, don't worry about--"
"NO! I yelled at her. "I'm not gonna stop worrying!! Squall…and the others are out fighting and…it scares me. I can't help but worry….I-I love Squall. He can't…."
She understood what I was saying. "I'm sorry Rinoa…tell you the truth, I'm worried about them, too. But…Squall is the best damn Commander we could ask for. I know he's going to be OK. I have to go…Rinoa, I'll be back in a few." I was suddenly all alone in a tiny room where nothing felt safe.
I curled in a ball on my bed and cried my eyes out. Squall… I thought, You have to stay with me…. you told me you loved me…you'd never leave me…don't leave me here…alone…now. I…I love you…I need you here by me….to tell me everything will be alright…don't leave me.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. "Who is it?" I asked coldly.
"Um…it's me, Zell."
I let him in, and he sat on my bed. His eyes were glued to the floor. I assumed that he was embarrassed about before, but there really was no reason for him to be. His face was kind of flushed, and he wasn't looking like his normal self.
"Are you gonna be all right?" He asked me softly, without taking his eyes off the floor.
"Yeah…once I know the others will be OK."
He was silent for a while. "It would suck if we were the only ones left…" He said. Awkwardly, he tried to look up at me, but glanced back down.
I sat on the bed by him. "Yeah, it would…suck…"
Zell looked up at me and smiled a little. "He really loves you, ya know. I can see it." He brushed a piece of hair out of my eyes for me, then blushed a little. Then he glued his eyes to the floor again. Suppose he's not comfortable with girls, I thought.
"Zell, are you…all right?" I asked him. Normally, he wasn't like this around me.
"Uh-huh. Just…you know…"
"Are you embarrassed about…before?"
"A little." He said softly.
"Don't be…it was just a friendly thing…you know.."
He looked up and smiled. I could tell he was relieved. "Oh…cuz by the way you ran I thought that you thought I was making a pass at you…which I wasn't doing….I'd never do that…you know me…"
"Yeah…you're no Irvine, I'll tell you that." I laughed a little. He looked at me, and I stared into his eyes…they weren't like Squall's…they had more…depth. More trust. "I feel a lot better. Thanks."
"No problem, Rin." Zell nodded. "It's the least I could do." I could tell that he was about to get up and go, so I stood up and was going to open the door for him. He stood too, but before anything happened, he smiled shyly and hugged me again. "Don't cry, all right?"
"Sure." There was nothing more comforting than Zell's hugs. This time, however, I wrapped my arms around his neck and let him draw me a little closer. Rinoa, what are you doing? I thought. This is more than a friendly hug, isn't it? Yeah…it is…but I like it. It's……different…Squall was never like this… Ah, don't worry Rinoa. It's a harmless hug with a good friend…Zell. Only friends, nothing more. No harm done.
We broke the hug just as there was a knock on the door. Still holding onto Zell's hand, I opened the door with the other. Xu was standing there, her face tear-stained. I looked her in the eyes, puzzled.
"Xu, what's wrong?" I asked.
"The others returned." She said softly. A smile escaped from my face, and Zell jumped up in the air.
"Then why are you crying?" I asked her, a hint of exuberance in my voice..
"Well…" She didn't have time to answer. I was running down the corridor, Zell right behind me. When I saw Selphie, Irvine and Quistis at the end of the hall, I laughed, relieved to see my friends.
I couldn't see Squall, but I was sure he was there. I was going to jump in his arms and kiss him and never let go, even if someone threatened me with a crow bar.
But…when we reached the others, they didn't look as happy as I felt. Once Quistis looked at me, she buried her face in her hands and left the room. Selphie was gasping for breath between sobs, and tears fell from her eyes. Irvine couldn't look me in the eye. He took his hat off and bowed his head.
I suddenly felt as if someone punched me in the stomach, and I lost any feeling that I had. A disbelieving laugh escaped from my lips as I looked over each one of my friends.
"Guys…where's Squall?"
As soon as the words left my lips, Selphie wailed. Irvine walked over to me and shook his head. His eyes were so sorrowful. No one needed to say anything, because I already knew the answer. I looked back at Zell, whose jaw dropped in disbelief.
Suddenly, my whole entire world went numb. I felt myself fall to the floor, like a sack. The tears just came and flowed freely, and there was nothing I could do to stop any of it. Zell and Irvine both fell to their knees and tried to say things that would make Squall's death easier to bear, but to this day I don't remember a word they said. I simply sat there and wept loudly…
The only thing that would've made me feel better was for Squall to just walk right in the door. He would take me in his arms and say, "Rinoa, I love you. I'm here, don't worry anymore."
But that was just too good to be true.
