Within the soul lies an entity menacing than even the chaos stirring beneath the ocean's mist.

Premonition:

Facing the Wrath of the Sea

7

Walking against the edge of the ocean, Rinoa realized how small her world had become. She was a wanted criminal and in such a state she felt that the ends of the earth would cave in and crush her for lack of protection. She felt open, exposed, and made as obvious as the sun. Her description had been captured, spread by word of mouth, and who knew? Even the next town might know her by first name. The young woman shuddered at the thought of being hunted again by more soldiers. She would hate to witness what had happened before to the others who had dared to attack her.

She folded her arms and fought against the gusts being forced upon her from the open waters. Although the sun blazed in the sky, she continued to feel the chill of the waves recede the shoreline as she had walked beside Squall. Aside from Griever who had seemed to disappear from her reality for the moment, Squall was the only present protection in her world. He had been staring directly ahead as if certain they would find something worth settling upon. Rinoa realized she had no say so in their destinations, not that she had any bright ideas nonetheless. In the meantime, she would follow her self-appointed leader and try to trust his decisions, as he had asked of her before. She forced her eyes to the short grass, watching as it rattled against the wind that had swiveled wildly, luring a fresh waft of air to her person. For the first time in hours she had begun to relax and had even managed to smile.

"Look ahead," Squall ordered, stopping suddenly and pointing out before them where the ground cut off like the edge of the earth. Her smile was lost just as soon as it came to be. There they saw a large vessel docked at a man-made harbor where a tiny plank bridge extended from the seashore and to the edge of the darker waters. There were large cardboard and wooden boxes stacked upon more of those same boxes along with metal contraptions gathered at the foot of the sea, all of which were hidden underneath plastic sheets, cloths, and blankets to protect the goods most likely until the seamen reached their final destination. Not too far from this harbor was a settlement made up of tents that surrounded an old, abandoned campfire. Squall noticed the exhausted fire had probably been put to rest moments ago when he saw a stream of smoke continuing to rise and dissipate at the skyline from the firewood.

"What now?" Rinoa asked in a murmur, bringing her eyes back to Squall as she awaited his thoughts, but he answered with a silent shrug of his shoulders. "You don't know?" She continued, turning from him with a sigh and facing the busy harbor again. Rinoa was surprised. She was absolutely positive he would have some plan that would thrust them forward. If there was one thing that she learned about Squall, it was that he seemed to be reliable in getting them out of sticky situations. The young woman still found it puzzling that he had escaped the forest despite the words of the warning she had received beforehand.

Understanding that now was not a good time to reminisce, Rinoa decided to observe the area ahead closely. Near the settlement she saw large men, all dressed in casual clothes, climb out of the vessel one at a time to gather the boxes and the pieces of metal and steel from the ground. She was relieved to find they had held no part of the Galbadian Army, seeing as there were no emblems, uniforms, or symbols of any such thing. For now, this particular ship crew might be their only means of hope.

"…Someone will find those Galbadian vehicles eventually…" She whispered, hoping to turn Squall's decision in her favor. Perhaps he would very much have reason to cross the ocean as well?

Squall's eyes remained glued to the vessel. "…If you stayed here," He had begun in a mutter, understanding the point she was getting at, "…it'll only be a matter of time before you're discovered…"

"…So you wanna take that boat?" She asked, looking back to Squall who had folded his arms with a soft exhale.

"Might as well," he answered blankly.

"But I don't think we can just walk onboard," the young woman groaned. "It doesn't look like it's open to commoners…"

"What other choice do we have?" The stern brunet solicited, beginning a bold pace toward the vessel.

"Squall..." Rinoa sighed worriedly, following behind in his dangerous trails.

-- - - - - -

"This is the last shipment of the day!" Zell, a short blond and the newest member of the workers, yelled to his fellow comrades who were loading boxes of cargo onto a small metallic vessel bound for the distant horizon. The blond, wearing a sleeveless blue windbreaker, had a tattoo shaped to be a lightning bolt streaked down his left arm; its symbolism remained confidential even to most who knew him personally. Although loud and common, this particular young man was earnest and had quickly become a favorite among clients to those who had special deliveries overseas; however, he faltered under the demands of his own crewmembers and basically became center to their jokes. Zell, among the seamen, was the shortest yet loudest of them all.

"Zell, did you notice how quickly we gathered those boxes? It means we know it's the last shipment! We all wanna get out of here before nightfall, and with you screaming like that about this being the last shipment ain't helpin' us none—so get off your scrawny little a-"

"That's enough! He's doing what I ordered him to do."A shorter man said. "You know this final shipment will mean the end of his first sail with us—I'm disappointed that you would even speak to him that way, Zebac." He was dressed in a spiffy festive shirt with a pattern of palm trees aligned across its front and back that had fallen over his green pants. He placed his hands on his hips and stared into the taller sailor's eyes. His glare drew beads of sweat from the top of Ward's head, perspiration that could be seen even through the scarf that covered his hair.

"Sorry, Boss…" Ward Zebac answered his captain. There was a large scar covering his face which scrunched with fear at the moment he received the death glare. He feared for his termination— even if the threat had come from such a petite man. Ward's job as a sailor was his pride in life. To lose it would mean to lose life as well. He owed much to his fellow Captain Dobe; in fact, they had all called the little man boss or mayor because he had earned much of their respect as denizens of Fisherman's Horizon, a place that was barely a town at all. FH was mostly a gathering point for all vessels and ships that had been going to and fro between continents delivering goods to either side of the sea. Made up of mostly men, it was where a man could dream high and have the pride of earning his place in the world. Still, people of small towns like Dollet would never dream of travelling to such a place, because it had been rumored a breeding ground for conniving thieves.

"Ward, you're one of my best men, but I will not tolerate you demoralizing my newest and competent worker. Now finish what I asked you to do quickly, we need steam for the trip."

"Yes, sir." Ward answered, looking down at the boss first and then slipping Zell a sharp glare. Zell shook off Ward's threats immediately. He had no reason to fear the gigantic man; his skills in martial arts would more than make up for his lack of mouth power. If he could, he would've shared his mind with the bully long ago, but his honorable captain had stepped in before he could do anything to defend himself. In a way, he was thankful to his superior, but then the young fighter had wanted to make a name for himself onboard the ship as well, a name that was to be remembered and respected, and not as the captain's competent worker.

"Zell, see to it that everyone is back onboard and that all the cargo is loaded," the captain ordered. "Afterwards, report to deck and alert me when she's all ready to take off. We'll leave shortly after."

"Aye, sir." Zell answered, saluting the would-be mayor who had walked away muttering something of crawling back home for dinner with his wife. Seeing Dobe's frame disappear into the darkness of the ship's interior, the blond sighed into the blistery winds at sea.

"…I can't help but feel like something's wrong. I could be wrong though..." He said, folding his arms and turning his back to the open lands behind where his team had gathered the cargo not long ago. Hoping that the sunset would put his mind at ease, he faced the sea to smell the saltwater swirling in the breeze. Even in that moment standing so far away, his instincts told him of a terrible storm brewing in the belly of the ocean.

Then the blond was jerked backward suddenly; his arm was forced behind his back as a sharp object plunged toward his throat. "Wait!" The voice of a young woman called out as she made her way around the blond and his attacker, rushing into their view. Her arms were extended as if in defense and she pleaded with the man standing behind Zell who had just begun to push the tip of the dagger into his throat. "Are you crazy?!" the female screamed.

"You wanted to board the vessel, right?"

"Yes, but this is not what I had in mind!"

Hearing the attacker behind him sighing, Zell realized the man was momentarily sidetracked. Seizing the moment of his distraction, the young fighter took this opportunity to break free. With a short breath, the blond shifted his energy to his arms and attempted to sling the man from his back and to the ground; however, he only found himself wrestling with a man of great strength. Instead of his victorious battle tactic, he was met with the sands of the ground as the man thrust him forward into the earth and planted his foot onto his back. The brunet stood over him with the tip of the dagger's blade pointed directly at his face.

"Squall!" The woman yelled, rushing over to the two men. "Stop, please!" Rinoa yelled to him, keeping her arms extended, "That's enough!"

The blond had swallowed his breath hard as he stared upwards into the lifeless eyes of his attacker.

"Please," Rinoa begged, dropping her arms slowly and taking a step toward them "…just release him and we'll be on our way." Squall looked at the man on the ground once more before shifting his eyes to Rinoa's. The rush of adrenaline and rage slowly abandoned him and he lowered his weapon, finally turning his attention away from the injured man lying on the ground. He had taken a step back while facing the sea and exhaling deeply as Rinoa sighed in relief.

She looked at the frightened blond and extended her hand to him, offering him her aid from the ground. He stayed still a moment longer contemplating his and their actions. Finally, he reached his hand to hers where she lowered her own to grab and pull him up from the sand, but before the young woman could pull him entirely, he had pulled her roughly and moved his hand to her head, as if to break her neck.

"Sleep!" She panicked, and the man's grip at her throat released immediately. He fell backward with a loud thump to the ground almost instantly.

Squall had faced her quickly and saw the watchman lying flat on his back asleep. Rinoa stood to her feet with a bright smile. "See…that wasn't so bad," She grinned playfully. "If I had done that from the beginning, we could've avoided all this."

"Whatever," Squall groaned.

Only moments before the plan initiated, the two had hidden away in the wilderness and watched as all the cargo was loaded onboard the ship. They were debating whose plan would be more effective until all the boxes were gone and only one worker remained. When the lone worker had finally taken his patrol lightly and abandoned his watch, the desperate duo took action.

Eventually, they dragged the young man's body onto the vessel, stuffing him inside of a large crate half full of white powder and placed a smaller box atop that one. Squall closed the door with a button to the right of the entryway and watched as the two halves of the door came from the top and bottom to close them inside, creating an air tight closure to the vessel.

Concluding the closed doors as a signal from Zell, the captain ordered his men to take them out to sea. Within moments the ship departed from the harbor, leaving behind the only home Rinoa had ever known. She and Squall hid themselves at the very back of the vessel behind taller cargo boxes to be sure they weren't spotted out by any of the ship scouts who would probably walk back and forth monitoring the vessel's interiors to ensure a safe and worry-free trip to their destination.

Back on the front deck, Dobe stood behind a crewman who had busied himself with reading telegraphs sent in to them from various ships that were already out at sea.

"Sir, this doesn't look good." He said, turning to Dobe with a scrap of paper with S.O.S. scribbled on it, written out in his own fear.

"A distress?"

"Yes…" The crewman answered, bringing his eyes to the floor. "We've received this message from three separate ships, all within the same hour."

"Are you sure?" Dobe asked as he folded his arms and aligned his eyes with the crewmember. "What about that fisherman? What of his ship?"

"The last I heard… he was just docking in FH. They seem to be fine."

"And?"

"He couldn't deliver his cargo. He says his crew is more important than the cargo, and that you can yell at him for it all day long when you get back. He doesn't care."

"…That old man." Dobe laughed, bringing his hand to his face. "…Well, whatever's in those waters will have to wait because we're not going back to FH until we've delivered these things to Esthar first."

"Aren't we going to stop to refuel at the half mark?"

"We've got enough fuel and steam to last us two trips, besides we've lost enough time already with the break near Galbadia." He paused, turning his back and looking about the cabin, "…I think I'm beginning to grow soft like the old man. I can't let your wives go on being worried about you any longer, but I can't have them think of you as cowards either."

"Boss?" Ward hinted to his captain as he approached the man with folded arms, "…What now?"

"But…Maybe," Dobe frowned. "Maybe I'm not like that fisherman after all…." Bringing his eyes to Ward's concerned glare, he swallowed his breath and released a sigh. "…We sail."

----- -- -

"Hey! You can't keep me locked in this thing! This is deadly stuff you know!" The caged man screamed, knocking at the roof of his imprisonment. "Hey man! Are you even listening to me?!"

"No," Squall said simply, turning his face away from the box as he sat across from it, leaning his back against the wall.

"Squall, you don't have to be so mean." Rinoa gnashed, crouching down before the box.

"Hey!" Zell said, his voice muffled by the walls between them. "Is somebody there!?"

"Yeah." Rinoa answered stiffly, giving the box's side a thump with the ball of her fist that would be loud enough to answer the trapped man, but soft enough to evade a guard's ear. "Don't panic," she said, "we'll let you out just as soon as we've docked."

"Did you say dock?!" He yelled and exhaled loudly. "That'll take forever! You have no idea how long it takes to travel by sea! I'm going to die in this box if you don't get me out of here!" the blond retorted.

"Hey, calm down!" the girl urged. "Keep panicking like that and you'll run out of air!"

"I can't take it! I'm claustrophobic! Please!" he begged, causing Rinoa to look back at Squall with concern hefty in her eyes.

"Squall…" She whispered as her eyes grew full, forcing his eyes to catch her own. Can't we release him?

"…No." He answered, leaning his head against the wall of the vessel.

"Please?" She asked, abandoning the box and facing him with a frown. "…I can empathize. After all, he was forced inside of that dark, compressed place …" Rinoa sighed seeing that her sympathy for the stranger had fallen short with Squall. Even though he stared back at her, there was no expression, just a blank pair of haughty blue eyes.

"The point is," She continued, "…I wouldn't want to be locked inside of a box on a ship either! … So please…let's just let him out."

The brunet's eyes wandered to the young woman, momentarily sensing hurt and scorn from her words. He immediately looked away from her face. "Fine," He gave in. "Do what you want, but don't run to me when they've gathered pitchforks…"

"…You're terrible," She muttered.

"Whatever." He spat, closing his eyes. "Like it or not, I won't always tell you what you want to hear."

"Yeah, but that's still…" Rinoa sighed and looked away from him, "Never mind. I'd rather just take my chances and help him out than sit here and take this from you."

"You wanted to be here…"

"Probably no more than you did." She said, standing to her feet and grabbing the iron crate from the top of the large box. Squall grinned at her words and allowed her to carry on in rescuing their prisoner. As she dropped the top to the floor, the blond burst from the large box and jumped from its hold, landing clumsily on his knees and falling to his bottom with a loud bump to the ground.

"Ouch!" Zell yelped, rubbing the back of his thigh with a slight moan. Taking a moment to gather himself correctly, he bounced off the ground and wiped his hand on his leg. "You know, if you folks wanted to be stowaways, all you had to do was ask and I would've let you on. No problem," He said, shaking off the remaining dusty powder from his hair and clothes.

"Really?"

"No! You can't attack a person and expect him to help you afterwards!"

"Oh…" Rinoa mouthed with a frown.

"I suppose if you told me from the get go, the whole attacking me thing wouldn't have happened and that's when I would've let you onboard." He thought aloud, rubbing his index finger to his chin. "Well," he sighed, "it doesn't matter now because you're here and there's nothing I can do about that. Stay quiet and no attention will be drawn to you. We've had plenty of stowaways before, and I kept my word with them so I won't tell anyone that you're here either…just as long as you agree to keep to yourselves and refrain from using any physical attacks." He said, eyeing Squall especially for a moment longer. "Anyway, if you need anything, the name's Zell. I won't ask for yours or about where you're going because it's not any of my business! …But if you want to talk, I'm here."

"Well…" Rinoa started, looking to the left of his face for an answer. She wouldn't be able to tell him the whole truth without sounding suspicious.

"Zell, what are you doing back there, the boss has been calling for you!"

"Oh!" He chuckled coolly, "Sorry, I was just uh…checking out the boxes, they seem to be A-Ok! I'll be right there then!"

"Good, so hurry up, will ya?!" The crew member said, shaking his head as he turned from the hallway and headed back to the vessel's front.

"No problem!" Zell yelled, waving his hand and then turned back to Rinoa with a smirk, "…I guess this can wait. Remember you're in good hands, I won't tell a soul about you or your friend."

Friend…? Rinoa thought, her eyes falling to the floor at the edge of Zell's disappearing frame. She looked back at Squall who had still been sitting on the ground with his head pushed back against the wall. …I've never thought about it until now… I don't know what to call him… My friend…?

The brunet stretched his legs before him and folded his arms tightly against his stomach, creating a comfortable sit for the long sea trip. As Rinoa watched him, she felt her mouth form into a soft smile. He had seemed to be relaxed about everything since they had boarded the ship, and from his easiness, she too could feel a realm of safety around them.

Soon Rinoa was sitting adjacent to Squall on the floor in a hazy state, fighting against her sleep. She had promised to keep a watch out for any of the crewman other than Zell lest they be discovered and possibly cast overboard. Roughly an hour had passed since the blond left the two to keep themselves company, as his boss busied him with cabin duties elsewhere in the vessel. Rinoa eventually found herself drifting into a light slumber.

-Foolish woman, what are you waiting for?!- The beast's voice roared into her soul, shaking her violently out of her sleep.

-Griever…? Is that you?-

-Of course, I am always with you.-

-But you left…I didn't know what happened to you.-

-Soon you will understand my ways…and the ways of that mortal's.-

-You mean Squall, right?- She sighed, -I haven't forgotten my word to you, but I'm curious about Squall.-

-…He was a child of hate, and there was a time long ago when he and I, our souls tangled as one and we came together in shared desires. I gave him my strength, and he gave me his life.-

-But why… What would drive him to such extremes?-

-You mustn't concern yourself with his life. He is of no use to you. Better to rid the pendant from his neck now while he has submitted to the will of his flesh.-

-Are you sure he's the person you say he is…?-

-Am I or am I not your guardian? I will not allow you to lounge in the hands of the enemy, now take heed of my words and stop his pursuits! Strip the pendant from him, now!-Griever snarled, his impatience coursed through her soul, and she opened her eyes immediately to be certain Squall hadn't sensed its presence nearby.

Griever… She said inwardly, holding a hand to her heart to calm its thudding. It had felt like it shattered inside her chest with the beast's anger. When the girl opened her eyes, the light from the pendant around Squall's neck had reflected around the room against the metal hinges on each of the boxes around them. She swallowed a large lump in her throat and gathered the courage that would help her to carry out Griever's wish: taking the pendant from Squall's neck.

The young woman licked her lips and pushed herself from the vessel's door. Slowly, she placed her hands to the cold floor and got to her knees, beginning to crawl over to Squall as he lay asleep. He had remained in his snuggled position against the wall, but his eyes were closed and his head was lowered to the floor. As Griever had mentioned, the man had fallen asleep against his own will.

Rinoa made her way toward him, crawling slowly until she reached him, and brought her hand before herself. She inched her arm in front of him and aligned her fingers with his pendant, readying to snatch it from his neck. Finally, her fingers were inches away from touching the cold metal when Squall awoke, reaching forward suddenly and grabbing her wrist from his neck. The girl was frightened stiff.

"What do you think you're doing?" He asked with his head still downcast. His voice was too low to distinguish the level of betrayal she bore him.

She gulped immediately, her eyes darting side to side trying to think up an excuse. Her face grew pale and she tried jerking her hand away, but he maintained a tight grip around her wrist.

What are you doing Rinoa? She told herself. Stop him! Put him to sleep!

"Don't even waste your breath," He said, opening his eyes and briefly Rinoa caught a glimpse of yellow light coming from them. "…That won't work on me."

"Squall I—l" Suddenly, the ship began to shake violently side to side upon the seas. "Aaaah!" Rinoa screamed and she fell forward into his arms. When the boxes scattered about them began to slide across the floor, Squall forgot the ordeal temporarily and held his arms around her, encasing them safely in the corner of the vessel.

When the turbulence made it impossible to walk, Squall realized they were trapped inside of the room. A large box toppled over and slid toward them dangerously, but Squall extended his leg and shielded Rinoa while he kicked the box aside and watched as it crashed into another that was on the verge of sliding across the room toward them also. He continued to protect her from the boxes skidding across the room as the ship tipped side to side amidst the angry sea.

He wrapped his arms around her and devoted his concentration to keeping the large boxes that had once shielded them from the eyes of the crewmembers, from now smashing them against the wall behind them. While in their struggle, Squall cast a silent spell of protect on them to lessen the damage inflicted by the loose boxes or that the boxes would repel to the walls of the ship.

At the front of the cabin, the ship's controls were going out of control. The vessel had been rammed at its side and had been rocking uncontrollably in the sea ever since. The screens were marked with a red line of words where pictures of a damaged wing of the ship had been projected onscreen.

"What the hell was that?!" A crewmember yelled, standing from his workstation. He had removed the headphones from his ears and faced the would-be mayor with fearful eyes. "This is not a regular storm!"

In that moment each of the men had stared at one another quizzically, all in utter confusion and anxiety.

Outside of the vessel the waters were dark, the air was thick and the sea was upset. Her waves had collided against the ship, causing it to rock heavily side to side and making it unsteady. The sky was pitch black as the water grew full and menacing. Accompanying the sounds of the angry waves was the uproar of a blistering thunderstorm which had growled angrily. The sea cried with a rage of wind because it had sensed the trespassing of humans into its deepest and most sacred depths. The winds blew the ocean's deep waves into insanity conjuring up a deep wave that would surely devour the ship in one swallow; unfortunately, the nose of the vessel was falling directly into the mouth of the sea's angst.

"What's going on outside? There's no way a tide could've done that much damage to us!" Zell questioned, leaving the others in the cabin and making his way out to the deck.

"Zell! You stupid kid, get back inside!" Ward yelled to him, following the young man outdoors where he found him already drenched by the salt of the sea water. Zell was staring into the deep blue sea, his hands gripped tightly around the outer vessel's railings. The blond seemed to be staring at something peculiar out at sea. He gritted his teeth at the sight of a giant shadow in a large wave of water engaging the ship. When Ward forced his eyes to see what Zell had been staring at, his heart began pounding rampantly.

At sea, they saw a large fin rip through the waves like the slicing of butter. Its scales mirrored the lightning of the growing thunderstorm. It moved like a serpent through silk, fluidly like an eel. When the beast dived underwater, Ward knew it would make a landing on the vessel soon. He pulled Zell by his shirt collar and dragged him inside of the vessel with inhuman haste. The older sailor forced the younger man inside of the cabin just as the giant fish made contact with the boat again, rocking it viciously to its side. Without his heroic efforts, Zell might have easily been crushed or shaken from atop the vessel's deck.

Inside the ship, the captain and his crew had held onto their desks and safety bars platted around the room which had been installed in case the vessel had ever found the unlucky wrath of a white squall at sea. After surviving the second blow of the sea beast, the vessel fell onto the flat side of its bottom again.

All were quiet, stooping down and clinging to the support bars for security.

The blond tried to make his way back outside to get another glimpse of the serpent of the water, but Ward kept a tight grip around the back of the curious boy's neck. "Idiot, where are you going? Cut it out!" He snarled.

Dobe remained cautious as he stood to his feet in the back of the room, still holding on to a hand railing as well. Seeing that the older man was fine, Zell tried to make his way toward him, but Ward held him back in place again.

Succumbing to Ward's death grip, Zell sighed aloud and focused on informing his captain about the threat. "Something's out there sir and it ain't some whale! That's for sure!" He said in the doorway with Ward at his back.

"Oh no!" A fellow crewmember gasped. "The tail blade's been wiped out boss, there goes our speed!" He yelled, pointing at the screen where the red letters spelled out danger.

Dobe bit down into his lower lip and took a deep breath before turning to his dedicated crew. "…At this rate," He muttered to himself, not wanting the others to hear his distress, "I don't think we'll make it to Esthar in one piece."

Meanwhile, Rinoa clung tightly to Squall's coat as they were tossed around inside of vessel's interior like the sifting of rocks in a diamond hunter's net. She screamed and wrapped her arms around his waist, hiding her face into his belly as he looked around them, shielding her from rampant cargo. Most of the boxes surrounding them in particular were carrying iron rods and other hefty equipment that would be sure to deal a fatal blow to either of them if left unchecked. Rinoa, sobbing into Squall's stomach, continued to hold onto him tightly.

I'm scared… She cried within. …I don't like this at all… She lifted her head from his stomach and looked into his blue eyes with a sniffle. Squall, are you angry with me? Is that why you're not doing anything else?

Then a loud thump resounded throughout the ship's interior. The clanking pierced through her ear drums, sending her fearfully hiding her into his comforting embrace once more, where he tightened his arms around her shoulders while his own became hardened to the blows of the boxes that had continued to fall upon him as her protector.

At the uncontrollable twists and frightening bending of vessel's metal and steel, Rinoa closed her eyes and whisked her fears to Squall, trusting him to carry out what would be his duty for now. However, once she closed her eyes, she was granted a vision of the current storm at sea. Although the vision was blurry, she could distinguish the sea waves, the rain waters, and the grey clouds aligned in the black sky. Yet of all the frightening images of the natural storm, there was one that stood out amongst the rest.

Rinoa saw the body of a long, slender serpent viciously cutting through the ocean's mist and waves with fins of metallic and azure. It moved unlike any natural creature of the sea, swimming below and above the water's surface at times. Seeing the aberrant side to side swishing of the beast's tail blade, Rinoa knew it was unlike any natural fish of the ocean.

The young woman placed her hand onto Squall's shoulder and squeezed it tightly as if to get his attention—hoping he too could witness her vision. She made a noticeable cry aloud, grabbing his full attention.

Then she saw what would be its final blow to the vessel. The serpent swam out yards away from the vessel at first, but then it turned around suddenly. Its nose was like a razor, knifing down into the deep blue water, and then dipping upward, the serpent made its way back to the surface of the ocean. At the moment it burst through the ocean's surface, the beast brought about the largest wave known to man ever, a tsunami of destruction. And it darted across the ocean's surface with a tsunami wave trailing its tail purposely to sink the vessel under the ocean where it would hold them as prisoners to its depth.

Rinoa watched as the large serpent tackled the vessel seconds before its violent wave landed, and where its nose touched down the steel was sliced in two. The tsunami would follow shortly after and rip the fractured vessel to shreds almost instantly. Witnessing the devastating blow moments before it would actually happen sent a cry from the young sorceress' heart, a cry that echoed from her being and reverberated throughout the vessel and the ocean. -Leviathan, please go away!!- She ordered the large serpent with such a demand in her cry that even Squall was quickened by her power.

The beast growled, readying to charge into the vessel's side with its mouth extended like a swordfish's. Surely this time it would cause the vessel to flip over and upside down, where a devastating tsunami would have dragged it underneath the ocean's demands; however, the words of its master were written in gold, and the beast retreated into the distant sea like a fleeting nightmare.

With the serpent's retreat, the vessel and the crew inside were left in utter silence and bewilderment. The heavy thunderstorm finally died down leaving the air in an almost dead state. Although the danger was gone, the darkness still remained. No sailor had opened his mouth to speak against the curse.

When a solemn moment had passed, Rinoa rested her face against Squall's stiff chest in relief, glad to have him there to hold on to throughout her dilemma; however, the young man broke away from her quickly and stood to his feet. He glared at her with smoldering eyes.

"Squall…" She whispered, rising from the floor.

"Choose your battle wisely, sorceress. Don't mistake your foe for a friend…" He instructed her, but he fell to his knees suddenly, gasping for air. The brunet held his forehead with a steady palm persisting that she had kept her distance away from him. "Ugh!" Squall yelped, bringing his other hand to his face. Rinoa had watched him, and opted to help him, but he had upturned his face to her with fury. "…Don't come any closer," he grumbled, moving against the wall and closing her out completely. Rinoa was hurt by his words. Quickly she had to make amends with him. Surely he would forgive her false motives.

"But I didn't mean to—"

"You guys okay?" Zell said, rushing in and stopping to catch his breath at the end of the entryway. He saw how the boxes had overturned due to the rabid beast of the sea. "What a mess…" He muttered, bringing his hand to the side of his head.

"Zell…" Rinoa said from behind the tall and crashed boxes from the tiny corner of the vessel, "We're okay."

"Oh! Thank God!" The blond cheered, holding his hand over his heart. "I was gonna get a bruising for sure this time if the boss found two bodies back here."

"What do you mean 'bodies'—" The tall sailor said behind him, "Who's there?" Ward pushed Zell aside and looked through the boxes tossed at the sides of the room. He stepped inside the room and scanned the area. He especially took notice of the boxes near the right hand corner of the storage room and made his approach there.

Rinoa grabbed her necklace and took a step back out of the man's sight, hiding behind the boxes, but the lofty man pushed away her barrier and leered down at her and her companion who remained in a weakened state. Ward took another look at her and then his eyes shifted to the injured boy on the floor. "What are you two doing here?" He asked Rinoa. "Snuck onboard did you?"

She had swallowed her breath and nodded her head twice.

The big man stared intensely at her for a brief moment and then abandoned his rage. He burst out into a fit of laughter. "Well come on up to the deck and introduce yourselves. The boss'll be pleased to meet more survivors," Ward said, moving aside the broken boxes to help the young woman from the dark corner of the vessel. She had looked back at Squall for a second, and watched as he grabbed at his shirt as if struggling to breathe.

"What's the matter with your friend?" The huge sailor asked. "Doesn't like a few bumps in the sea?"

Rinoa sighed and faced the tall man again, this time giving him a soft smile, "I'm afraid so…he's not used to sailing."

"Is that so? Hmph, too soft to be a sailor then." He chuckled, his eyes finding Rinoa's again. "Guess we better get you two to someplace comfortable in the meantime. You can meet the boss later if you like."

"…Are you sure it's okay?" She murmured from her throat. "We don't mean to be a bother…"

"We're in the middle of the sea and won't be reaching land for a day or two." His voice boomed throughout the storage room. "Besides, you're travelers, just the kind of people we like to see. There's plenty of space onboard this ship, so why not trouble us with the luxury of a cabin room, eh?"

"See, didn't I tell you?" Zell cut in. "All you had to do was ask—"

"Numbskull, you're the one who has to ask. You let them on without even telling the boss!"

"Geez Ward, they sneaked inside," The blond retorted, "What was I suppose to—"

"Anyway…" The large sailor groaned, slapping the boy's head out of his sight. "I wish it were just a few bumps back there… There was some kind of a monster ramming into us a few moments ago—"

"Hey! I was talking!" Zell continued behind Ward's deep voice.

"Are you sure that's what it was?" Rinoa asked, looking at the taller man in shock.

"Yes, saw it with my own eyes," He answered. "But everything seems to be fine for the moment, so you can relax."

"Relax…" The young woman murmured softly, looking back to Squall who had finally gotten his composure. Although breathing heavily still, his body seemed to be at ease now. Despite their mild ordeal, she was glad to see how much he had relaxed. Rinoa wondered how long he would be angry with her this time, possibly the length of the trip. "…You said it will take a day or two to reach land?"

"…Yeah, that's only if that beast decides not to attack us again." Ward muttered, folding his arms as he faced the cracks of the ship's floors. "…On the other hand, we may take a pit stop along the way. Only if you folks think that Balamb's the place to be. You might decide to stay there for a few days."

"Balamb…?" Rinoa asked, touching her fingers to her chin. "…I've never been there before."

"What-you've never been to Balamb?!" Zell exclaimed, pushing Ward aside using both of his arms and making his way directly in Rinoa's face. "…What kind of small hick place did you come from?"

Rinoa's eyes fell to the floor quickly, descending as suddenly as the lump in her throat had upon hearing the words leaving the young man's mouth.

"What's the matter?" He asked, tilting his head to the side hoping to have her full attention. Rinoa lifted her eyes from the floor slowly as a smile spread across her lips.

"…Nothing, I'm fine. I'd rather not talk about it, that's all." She looked away from them, making a full turn to face Squall as he had finally begun to stand to his feet. "…If you don't mind, we've had a long journey and we'd like to take up that offer…"

At her words, Ward smiled and nodded his head slowly. "Understood," He said, and then grabbed Zell by the neck and jerked the boy to the doorway of the storage room. "Zell, go tell the boss we've got company while I show them a room," His boisterous voice resounded across the room.

"…Okay." Zell said, mumbling about how the big man had begun to show off by ordering him around.

Rinoa smiled at the young blond as he left them all in the room together. The fairness of his hair immediately reminded her of the color of Squall's eyes as he had held his hand around her wrist moments before the serpent attacked the ship. His eyes had illuminated the same light as before, back when she had first encountered him in Edea's house. She wondered why it was so. Also, in a panicked state, she could have sworn that Squall answered to the mere thoughts flowing across her mind.

"Follow me." Ward said, his voice slicing through her thoughts as he had finally begun to lead them out of the messy storage room. Rinoa lingered in the room a moment with Squall alone, hoping to apologize about attempting to remove his pendant.

When the sailor was completely out of the room, she stared at Squall wondering if he had formed a grudge against her.

"Squall…" She whispered, reaching her hand to touch his shoulder but he refused her gesture by backing away disgustedly.

"…." The young man stared upon her face a second longer with eyes of scorn. At her mistrust, he found it difficult to say anything further to the young sorceress.

Now Squall, without a moment to spare, followed after the tall sailor as he had exited the room, leaving Rinoa alone to sigh aloud--- sinking into a lull of gloom.

------

ANNOUNCEMENT! RED ALERT!

"Attention to all those at sea, there is a sorceress among us! The new sorceress has risen and she is very dangerous! She is not to be trusted! The sorceress allegedly murdered innocent civilians of Dollet and an entire fleet of Galbadian soldiers who were on scout patrol. Her descriptions are as follows: She's about 5'3, with black hair, and brown eyes, and she has a pale skin complexion. According to the scarce survivors in Dollet days ago, she was last seen wearing pajamas. If you see the witch, you are to report her position immediately. The last sighted reports place her near Timber shores, so anyone traveling with stowaways— please be careful…"


Author's Little Notepad:


Sorry I took my sweet time getting this to you all, but it's here at last! Hurrah! Thanks tremendously to everyone who reads this story. I know for a fact that I need to continue to evolve the story more, up until we see the last chapter…hmm, I wonder what that's going to be like?

So like, I'm under a new law now--- meaning I should've already replied to each of you who left a message (or review)---but I would still like to thank you guys for doing so, it helps me out so much! Thanks again, you know who you are!! (unless you forgot you did…which would be kinda sad, but don't worry…I forget things too!! lol)

Feel free to leave a message about this chapter: Tell me if it's great, good, bad, or ugly! (Gosh, I hope it's not that bad, to the point where it's just plain ugly, lol…)

Well...until next time, I hope you enjoyed the chapter much. Stay Tuned for the next chapter, "Conviction"...muahahaha-coughs-aaah..(I'm so goofy...)

Take care,

StardustRay