"Squall, look out!"
Rinoa screamed out a warning as the gigantic creature vaulted from its post at the top of the staircase. The party had just filed in through the larger-than-life iron doors of Ultimecia's castle; Squall was addressing the best plan of action, with his back to the stairs. He turned around just as its huge shadow settled over him, giving his SeeD instincts just enough time to dive out of the way. The six friends scattered in all directions, forming a ring around their attacker. The creature had a reddish hue to its scaly skin, and seemed to be wearing a mask over its long face. It shifted its weight to its back two feet, drawing itself up to a stately position. As it wavered between possible targets, Rinoa quickly fired her Angel Wing at its exposed back. The deadly white wings sliced into the nape of the attacker's neck, returning to their owner with a line of deep crimson blood.
The loathsome creature turned towards Rinoa with a mix of a roar and a hiss, then launched itself forward. A fury of spells were called out somewhere in the room.
"Blizzaga!"
"Meltdown!"
Rinoa dove to her right as the creature vaulted into now-empty space. It sprung again as soon as its back legs hit the ground, pivoting to chase after Rinoa and a very confused Quistis.
"Squall! My magic won't work!" she screamed.
"No GFs either!" Selphie cried out.
Realizing this battle could be up to her, Rinoa dove to the ground, turning slightly to land on her back. The sphinx leapt entirely over her, and she fired a pair of projectiles into its soft stomach. It wrenched in pain and slid across the floor. Rinoa stood and reloaded Angel Wing as the monster turned to face her once again. It stepped forward cautiously, preparing its next move.
A blue blur rocketed in from Rinoa's left, as Zell joined the fight. He leapt into the creature with both legs extended, crushing ribs with his junction-enhanced strength. He pushed off the monster's flank into a back flip, landing perfectly on his feet. He followed this display with a flurry of punches, attacking the tender spot he had created with his flying kick. For once, Rinoa appreciated his reckless enthusiasm for physical combat. The monster spun, trying to force Zell into a corner. In doing so, it turned its back to the rest of the party.
Finally in a good position, everyone sprang into action. Irvine sent bullets whizzing past the sphinx's head, looking to lodge one in its thick skull. Squall and Selphie ran to either side of the beast, striking at muscle and bone with perfect accuracy. Quistis laced her whip over its hide again and again, looking for a weak spot. Rinoa sent another winged pinwheel at the creature's neck, this one junctioned with Blizzaga magic for an extra punch. The combined might of all six assailants soon felled the creature, which collapsed awkwardly against the castle wall. Once Zell climbed out from behind the dead monstrosity, Squall went into de-briefing mode.
"Good work everyone; we should expect a lot more tough battles like that one. So it seems that we can't use magic or GFs for some reason. Everyone shift your junctions towards physical attack power – move your status and elemental spells to defense, and…Rinoa, you can relax, the battle's over."
Rinoa remained in her battle stance, the Shooting Star still stained with blood. She rested the weapon on her arm and prepared to strike, to the bewilderment of Squall and the others.
"Rinoa, what's wrong? Why-"
"Look," she said calmly.
The creature pulled itself up from its half-leaning position on the wall as if was not injured at all. Indeed, it acted as if the previous encounter had never happened. Then, as the six teenagers looked on in disgust, its mask began to slide down its face. But it didn't slide so much as ooze, as if the mask were a part of its body that was now melting away. It fell to the castle floor with a squish. The creature then unleashed a mighty roar as its wings opened up, grabbing at the empty air and filling a good part of the large foyer. It leveled its mighty head, staring at the heroes with eyes of stormy green. The new enemy pushed all its weight to its back legs, preparing a counterattack.
"Weapons!" Squall and Rinoa shouted simultaneously. With no time to be confused, their four associates complied.
This second form was craftier than the first. It bounded over a banister to the middle of the central staircase, then leapt straight into the group. Not waiting to be surrounded after the six scattered once again, it continued on its path towards the front entrance. Once there it turned abruptly, facing the students a second time.
Rinoa crept towards the fiend, forming a ring around it with her five compatriots. As Irvine opened fire, the other four rushed in for close-range combat; she pulled back, picking off the weak creatures it summoned to its aid with well-aimed shots from her weapon. No one else took notice of this sub-battle, too encompassed with the largest of the beasts to look around. The sphinx brought its wings down around its body for protection, but the combined might of five SeeDs was too much for the creature to handle. With a final, authoritative slice, Squall beheaded the monstrous being. It collapsed in a bloody heap, blocking the door behind it.
After waiting a full five minutes for another resurrection, Squall turned to Rinoa in surprise.
"How did you know it was going to come back?" he asked her.
"Yeah, and how did you know not to use magic?" Selphie inquired.
"Honestly, I don't know," she lied. "I think I'm finally getting that battle instinct that you're all constantly talking about. I think, maybe, in some small way, I'm becoming like a SeeD."
Squall's mouth twitched; Rinoa had never seen him smile, but this was as close as he had ever gotten. He's proud of me, she thought to herself. She wished she could be happy in this moment; the only thing she had really succeeded in was deceiving Squall, and even that was only because he was too blinded by his love for her to question anything she said. If only you had listened about Adel, she thought.
"Good work," he said formally, though she could read what he was trying to say, "I love you," in his eyes. Silently she thanked Hyne that he was so unconditionally accepting of her. After all that she had put him though - from the Timber mission, to the battles with Seifer and Edea, to making him a veritable outlaw for rescuing a sorceress - he still cared for her. Sure he might not always say it, but he felt it. She prayed that those emotions would remain after all this was over, after Ultimecia was defeated and these confusing voices were removed from her mind.
"All right, let's keep moving," Squall said, heading for what Rinoa knew was the art room. She gently linked her arms around his, trying to look frightened.
"Why don't we try heading up those stairs? That minion might have been guarding something. And maybe we can get a better look at this place from above." She tried to sound convincing while maintaining the proper amount of illogic.
"Sounds good," he responded after a moment of reflection. "Let's move out."
Crisis averted, she thought to herself. One at a time…
They will all die.
A / N: I will not be covering each boss individually (for an entire fanfic on that very subject, check out Final Destination by Jam3rz, currently in progress). This chapter was merely written as an example of Rinoa's actions inside the castle, which will be mentioned in general later. Oh, and I doubt any new chapters will come up until at least the 27th. Happy holidays everyone!
