From the pits of an envious soul, a fiery path is ignited…

Jealousy

11

…How did I get here?

Squall stirred in his sleep, unconscious and taken prisoner to the bandit group. After a moment of registering the present facts, he was able to recall the events of that evening.

He had been walking, on his way to the hideout to check on Rinoa and make sure she was safe.

I'm almost there Rinoa. He thought to himself, assuring her that he would be returning soon.

Ahead of him the woods came into view. He knew Rinoa was somewhere deep inside, but getting there would be a tad bit tricky since he knew the structure was meant to be hidden. Finally he was a matter of feet away from the woods, the tall oak trees towered him like giants sent from heaven. He stared up at the face of the woods momentarily remembering their adventure in the Timber forest. A smile appeared. Inside he heard Rinoa's plea that they find another course, but his confidence got the better of him, forcing him forward and forcing her to follow. He hadn't given what happened that day any thought since it had happened. Not that it would benefit him much if he wanted to think on it or not.

Thinking was his biggest problem. He knew that if he spent too much time in thought, he'd emerge weakened and exposed to the darkness of his heart, creating fears of his past and plausible future. Squall had rather that door kept shut and decided to refrain from thinking about anything too seriously after that moment. Instead, he focused on actually walking into the woods before the rain came down. The sky grew darker by the second, and the shade from the trees didn't help any of it much.

The breeze rattled through the leaves, sending echoes and bird calls reverberating around him. The sounds of footsteps of animals and possible monsters scrambled ahead of him, most likely scurrying for shade or their next victims. Now that he was properly equipped for a battle, it seemed that he feared nothing, at least anything that was greater than the size of an Ochu. He rested his left hand on the handle of the Shear Trigger.

Suddenly a swift flash came out of nowhere, and before he knew it, Squall was blocking with his gunblade. He had clashed with the dark blade of a weapon in which Squall instantly identified as a Hyperion. He sensed the wielder's grin even from the dark. Sneak attacks were cowardly. He never admired anyone who had won a battle because of their methods of trickery. For that reason, the young man threw a warning attack into the other man's face. The attacker jumped back from Squall's counter-attack swing with a roaring laugh.

"So you can wield a gunblade! And I was starting to believe it was all just for show. Or maybe you just got lucky?" He lowered his weapon at his side and pointed to the brunet who had remained in utter silence. "Why won't you say anything? You're a so called gunblade specialist, aren't you? Hah, that's a laugh. Since you think you can steal my gunblade and live to talk about it, I won't hold back against you."

Seifer grinned once more and held his Hyperion up high, challenging Squall, "I suggest you do the same."

Squall was silent, taking this time to look upon his attacker. It was dark throughout the woods of Balamb. He could barely see four feet in front of him, let alone his opponent. It was only a second after the man's mouth opened to talk that he realized it was the same person from the Balamb shop.

"What's the matter? Got any last words?"

The brunet backed away from him to make a distance between them.

"Aww, are you backing down? You had the balls to steal from me, so don't mess it up now. Don't make me change my opinion of you now!" he chuckled "You should never back down from your opponent. Besides, anyone else might not be as forgiving as me. But if you want to give up, be my guest. Just hand over the Shear Trigger while you're at it." He asked, but Squall hadn't bothered to respond. Since giving up his only blade was out of the question, he saw no other option left open to him but to fight. After a moment of studying the blond's position, he burst out in a full charge, heading directly forward only to clash blades with Seifer once more.

"Very funny," Seifer whispered as he focused his energy on pushing back against Squall's weapon. "Charge when your opponent is most distracted, huh…" He laughed in between breaths, "…That's cute, but I was expecting your move the entire time!" He said as he bypassed Squall's blade and knocked his own gunblade on top of the Shear Trigger causing the nose of the weapon to point toward the ground. Squall slid on rocks to regain his balance.

Finally finding his balance, he stood in his ready stance, the gunblade extended from his body and his legs spread apart. Seifer raised his Hyperion to the sky and cut through the air at Squall. He then assumed a sloppily done fencing stance and bounced from right to left before Squall, "So the old man totally ignored my bargain and gave you the gunblade instead. Fine…I can deal with that. But I'm no pushover! I haven't lost a battle yet and I don't intend to! See if you can keep up with me newcomer!" He yelled, holding out his hand and signaling for Squall to 'come on'.

The brunet remained silent. He never fancied taunting his opponent much. It was something he was taught never to do in a serious battle. More energy expends with talking, and by saving that energy meant more stamina for a lengthy battle against a tough opponent. Sprinting was the key to a successful outcome. With that in mind, Squall braced himself for his enemy's onslaught of attacks left and right of him.

Seifer leapt out and brought down his blade onto Squall's and they contracted sparks from the connection.

He's not alone. There are more of them in the woods… Griever's words were intercepted by Squall's conscience.

I know that…. Squall answered subconsciously.

You could easily defeat him and his men in a heartbeat. Why…why are you holding back?

You once commended my decision to accept challenges, and now you're questioning my ways? Just because I have your strength doesn't mean I have to yield to it for all of my battles.

This man is out for your blood. You are fighting to the death, are you not? Why then would you choose to not apply my strength? It is foolish.

I'm not helpless without you Griever. You forget that there was a trial before acquiring you in which I had to fight and defeat many.

… You humans and your little pride.

So it seems…

Seifer's guardsmen watched from afar and became drawn in the battle of the skilled fighters. Their leader had been a man of great stature, and the only one in Balamb who could wield the gunblade. Sometimes his arrogance got the best of him, and no one wanted to challenge him, but they held great respect for Seifer. It was an unofficial rule of their gang: Anyone wanting to learn how to wield the gunblade would have automatically made a rival of Seifer.

Squall barred his teeth and pushed against Seifer's gunblade once more, and then returned with a gutter swing, a swing from the ground that ripped through the air and up to the sky. Seifer had stepped back to dodge the attack, smirking as if unafraid, "Not bad! But it's not good enough either!"

Seifer jumped into an attack on Squall of which the brunet skillfully avoided and brought his gunblade around to make a swift attack against him, almost ripping the gunblade from Seifer's hands. Seifer stepped back and smirked at Squall, catching his breath while doing so. He had then noticed how perfectly Squall's stance remained. The man had never taken a breath to ease his heart, never even became tired. There was definitely something different about him, Seifer knew that much, but he would never lose to anyone. Not even this stranger.

"Okay…one more." The blond said, holding out his gunblade again. Little had he recalled that it was the third one more he had said in a row. The fight carried on. They made their way deep into the woods, fighting from the outskirts and making their way near the hideout. With a cry of thunder from above, cold rain finally broke through the sky and seeped down onto them from the leaves. With the rainfall the woods became wet and slippery, seeming to cool off Seifer's hot head and give cover and protection to the darkly clothed Squall. The battle grew intense. As it continued, Seifer found that he was beginning to believe that maybe this particular opponent was possibly undefeatable; however, he would not allow himself to give in to the self-consciousness which his mind produced. He would do what was needed to win.

Seifer allowed the stranger to charge at him, and he held out his blade. At the last moment, he slung his blade and it collided with Squall's, sending sparks all around them. Throughout the battle, he felt himself weakening, yet the blade of his opponents grew stronger, even worse, the gunblade that the stranger used was that of a much weaker model than his own. It was physically impossible that he could be losing to a mere beginner. At this battle, Seifer realized he had no right to call his opponent a beginner or an amateur. The man had appeared on their surface without a trace, why hadn't he ever heard of someone so powerful before?

Squall put his strength down into his gunblade, sharing that of Griever's might as well as his will to fight. Had he used his full potential, he might have severed the man's arm from his body. Against such a force could no man stand and Seifer felt his arms weakening against the strength and might of his opponent's attack. Squall finally utilized only partial of his entire strength. Before he knew it, the Hyperion slipped from Seifer's grasp and fell to the ground.

When a moment of realization of his defeat passed, Seifer sighed aloud and dropped to his knees in the muddy groundwater.

"…I…I lost." Seifer whispered half out of breath, where his eyes found the body of the Hyperion flat on the ground. "…I can't believe it…" He was ashamed; however defeat in this battle meant death. The fact that Squall did not follow through and kill him shamed him even more as it was his challenge from the very beginning, his course of terms.

But then the man who had been collected all battle long had suddenly begun to pant heavily. Squall lowered his weapon and took backward steps. He eventually fell down to the ground, unconscious. All had happened so fast. He could feel nothing but the burning of the pendant against his chest, burning that familiar flame that flowed through his veins.

Griever…have I been cast back to your shadow? Why can't I move?

It is not me. Perhaps there is another force nearby that is causing our immobility.

…And Rinoa?

She is possibly experiencing the same factor since we are all connected. Haven't you learned yet?

I understand…

He sighed into the darkness. …But is she alright? …Rinoa…

"Squall…" Quistis said into the still air of the room.

"How long are you going to be in that dream land?" She asked him, making her way across the room until she was kneeling before him. "How long are you going to make me wait?"

He was a stranger yet he was familiar at once. Ever since she had spoken with Rinoa about this particular man, Quistis had become unnaturally attached to him. The others had not noticed her sudden transformation. She and Squall had never exchanged a word and yet she was drawn to him, unspeakably. She would never tell the others of her obsession with the unconscious man.

She brought a warm hand to his forehead, stroking his skin firmly until her hands slid into his hair. "…I know you're still searching for it… You picked the right year this time. Believe it or not, you're closer to finding it than you've ever been."

Quistis sat up from her chair and moved her face closer to his. When her lips were aligned with his ear, she smiled. "Arise," She whispered softly. His body responded immediately. She backed away until she found her seat underneath her once again.

Squall opened his eyes and looked at the mysterious woman who was kneeling before him, it wasn't Rinoa. She placed her hand upon his chest and grinned, "Soon your power will exceed that girl's…hers will deteriorate to your might" The blonde spoke, all the while his eyes had widened at her words, "…and I…I will be waiting for you at the very end of your long journey….Griever."

"Who are you?"

"Your mortal eyes can only see what is natural, but I see you as you are naturally and spiritually. Can't you do the same for me? …Or perhaps I was forgotten? I suppose it has been a long time," she murmured, sliding her hand down to his cheek where he found himself unable to move underneath her spell, despite his chained limbs. "Very well, with your mortality comes limitation. For this, I forgive you this once."

"Am I supposed to know who you are?"

"You sound like a lost little boy…or do I have the wrong person?"

"I'm Squall, not Griever." He had answered, his anger getting the worst of him.

"Of course… but you don't need to lie to me silly boy. I can look into your eyes right this minute and know all your secrets," she smiled seductively as she closed the proximity between them and rested her head against his chest, breathing deeply and releasing a relaxed sigh. The smell of her blond hair mystified him, pulling him into a trance and he found himself relaxing into the pit of the wall. It seemed to put him into a vegetable-like state. "…To find what you're looking for requires some sacrifices."

He wanted to respond, but could not for the life of him. Perhaps he was put under a spell?

--

"Seifer, what do we do now?!" A group member yelled to Seifer, they had gathered outside in the pouring rain, but the rainwater was cancelled out by their water absorbing coats and equipment. "Why are there ships headed this way?"

"I think it's obvious! We've been found out, and that's why they've sent the army here. They don't know half the stuff we're sitting on, which is why we need to start moving some of the cargo boxes to the surface. I need some of you to move the fuel barrels through the mountain and load it up on the ship. Gather the main cannon we got from our last raid, and bring the other weapons, mostly the guns and such. For all the other big cargo boxes, we'll have to leave them behind and hope nobody finds them. Later, when the coast is clear, we'll come back for everything. But for now, we need to get out of here. Escaping is our main priority and we need to do it fast."

"What about the base? What if we never come back? You want us to destroy it or will you do it?"

"I have no intention of destroying the base, but if the going gets tough…I'll handle it. I just want you all to focus on our objectives. Let me handle the rest."

"Seifer," Another man started up, "you've called for us all, but Quistis is nowhere to be found."

"Quistis will be caught up to date once she's finished with her share of orders, so get your mind on the mission and not her! Again, we are moving the important cargo boxes up to the surface, and loading them onto the ship as fast as we can, am I understood?"

"Understood!"

"Alright then, let's get moving!" He said as they all ran around the base for another entrance that was obscure from the naked eye. Seifer took a deep breath and left his men to it. He then ran inside the base through the hall doors and hoped to locate Quistis before the others had.

Before he could get down to the basement level, he saw a girl in blue struggling down the hall. He stopped and put his hands on his hips.

"Whoa, where do you think you're going?"

"…Please don't stop me. She said she would find him for me, but she hasn't come back yet."

"You mean Quistis? …She went down there alone?"

"I guess so."

"…I see," He said quietly. "…Listen, we have a situation. I don't know what you're planning to do now, but we're not going to be able to stay here any longer. You're gonna have to come with us."

"Seifer," he was cut off by a younger lookout, "they've confirmed that it really is Galbadia at sea!"

"Galbadia?!" Rinoa exclaimed, almost falling forward. Seifer moved in quickly and stopped her fall.

"I could've told you guys that with my eyes closed! Stop confirming what I already know and help the others load up the ship!"

"Sorry Seifer, will do!"

"Well get to it!" He ordered them and then looked back at Rinoa. "…Sorry, it seems like you guys crashed here at the wrong time. They're on to our scheme."

"You mean Galbadia is after you?" She wanted to add too to her question, but didn't want to initiate a game of twenty questions.

"We have our reasons" he sighed. "Look little lady, I have to help those morons with the shipment. Stay inside here until we're done and I'll have Quistis continue her watch over you."

"But we can't stay here…"

"What's the difference? Anyway, go back to your room." He ordered and then left her in the hallway, exiting the building instead of continuing to find Quistis. He disappeared into the darkness of the night and rain.

"…Squall." Rinoa whispered and turned to the dark hallway that would lead her down to where Squall was being kept. She resolved that Seifer was out of his mind if he thought she could be ordered around like one of his mindless servants.

--

"…Squall…now I remember… Squall…." Quistis grinned and lifted her head to his eyes, "The boy full of rage…the boy wanting vengeance for the murder of those he loved. You hated war, but you embraced it if it meant bringing those who committed evil crimes against your family and friends to justice." She rubbed her hands over his chest and smiled. The woman lifted her face closer to his. "Such a strong boy…"

Rinoa had found the stairwell leading down to the basement level. It was small and had enclosed a pathway that smelled of damp stone. The stairway led to a tight hall where small cell rooms were lined on each side. Every so often, there would be a gap made between every three rooms down the hall where smaller cell doors were placed adjacent to one another, probably used to lock a prisoner up into solitary confinement. It was then that Rinoa wondered what type of building this mysterious group of people had vacated. Perhaps they had built it from scratch themselves?

Before she could make the next gap between the cells, she heard a muffling sound similar to a woman's voice that was coming from one of the closed doors in the hall. Slowly Rinoa made her way to the door, listening in first, but was unable to distinguish the words properly. She decided that opening the door would be for the best. She pressed her fingers against the cool steel of the door and pushed harder so that it opened up slowly and quietly.

"The rage from your mother's death has not left you." Quistis' voice immediately filled the void. "It is as if you have returned back from that very day. Griever feeds on that rage in your soul…and for that reason, you are the same Squall. How I have missed you…" She moved in closer to his face and placed her hand on his cheek, turning his face in line with hers. Without a struggle from him, Quistis pressed her lips against his.

Rinoa backed out of the door immediately. She was hurt, her heart wrangling with pain and betrayal. Quickly, she made her way toward the stairs, but found that the task was impossible to bear. Her only choice was to rest between the gaps of doors to gather her strength.

Quistis smirked when her lips were nearly inches away from his, the heat of their breath passing between them; however, she stopped before they could get any closer. Her mission was complete. "Sleep," she exhaled softly, it had emerged from her lips like a melodious tune.

His body immediately fell back into its unconscious state. The pendant around his neck rattled a bit and emanated a wild yellow before sending a shockwave of energy around the room. Unable to defend the force field released from his pendant, Quistis was struck and fell across him, her subconscious instinct forced her to grab onto his shoulders.

Quistis snapped out of her trance-like sleep and rose from his chest. He was still unconscious, but how she had fallen onto him became a mystery to her as well. Quickly the woman got to her feet, her quick movements woke him from his slumber.

"What happened?" She asked quietly, looking down into her hands and then to the man chained down on the floor. "…Something's not right about all this. Just now…it was that same feeling I had when I touched Rinoa."

"Rinoa…" He murmured from the floor, "…What about Rinoa?"

"…You must know about that girl...who she really is, right?" She walked toward him, "…Tell me, is it true?"

"She probably isn't that much different than you." He said, lifting his head with eyes that sparkled yellow. Seeing this, the young woman backed out of the doorway quickly and trotted down the hall. She had glanced behind quickly to make sure he wasn't following her. She grabbed at the clothing covering her chest tightly and made her way for the stairs stopping suddenly when she discovered Rinoa's figure sitting inside the gap between the rooms.

"Rinoa, what are you doing down here? It's not safe!" She said, making her way to the girl and helping her from the floor. Rinoa was too betrayed to retaliate and allowed the woman to help her up. "Quickly, we have to get back to the others."

Rinoa was quiet, but she did as Quistis suggested and together they found where the men had gathered their vehicles to transport the boxes through the manmade tunnel. It trailed through the mountain behind the woods and surrounded their base.

Seifer approached them slowly, his trench coat still dotted with rain sprays across it. The rain had finally ceased as they began their move, which he was thankful for. The heavy duty trucks used to drive underground to claim the boxes and over to the ship, their tires would not have held up with too much soggy ground. He only wished them to grab a few more boxes before they could leave the base for good.

"Finally, there you are! I need you to get to the ship and prepare for our departure."

"Departure? Why?"

"Didn't Earl tell you? He said he would…"Seifer trailed off for a second. "Anyway, there's a fleet of Galbadian ships headed this way. I think we messed up big last time, and they've found us. So we need to get out of Balamb for now."

"But why would they be after us?" Quistis asked, knowing clearly why a group of soldiers would be on their way to Balamb, and it wasn't for their measly group of thieves either.

"Look Quis, we don't have time to talk about this. Right now, the guys are loading up what they can and preparing to get us as far away from here as possible." He looked at Rinoa and then to Quistis, "Now that you two are out of there, we can get going. There's no point in lingering around here any longer."

"Okay, I understand. We'll go now. Come on Rinoa!" Quistis yelled and made for one of the large vessels that would be passing through the tunnel.

Rinoa followed behind her mindlessly, her thoughts only reflected the moments that had passed before. Quistis was so beautiful. She could easily have any man she desired. Blonde hair, blue eyes and a perfect smile, it was no wonder that Squall hadn't pushed her away. If it were her, he wouldn't have let it get so far. He probably considered her as a child anyway.

On top of that, her looks would never measure up to Qusitis'. Rinoa grumbled for a moment realizing her mind had replayed what had happened for far too long. She felt weird. It was unusual behavior for her. Rinoa was never the jealous type, but somehow ever since her meeting Quistis, she had become aware of her own looks.

Maybe she was overreacting? Her feelings were openly sensitive suddenly, almost as if being manipulated by some unseen force.

No… Nothing else could possibly get that much of her control. It should've been the other way around, meaning that she was fully aware of her own emotions and had full control of everything that had happened thus far. She knew Squall wanted Quistis.

For an entire moment Squall was there, staring into her eyes, wanting their lips to meet. The woman hadn't even been in the same room with him for long and he was charmed enough to kiss her without contest. She, on the other hand, could barely get close to him without hearing a sigh or a plea for his space. He would probably never look at her in that way simply because she was a sorceress….

An ugly sorceress unwanted by him…unwanted by everyone. She was possibly the cause for Galbadia's fleet on the move, wanting to get rid of her even though she stood innocent in her own eyes, but they wouldn't tolerate it because she was a sorceress. She was a poor, pathetic sorceress…and not some blonde who was charismatic and beautiful, and not to mention the second in command to a group of men with a very mysterious purpose.

The woman stopped in the midst of her aimless running and closed her eyes.

"Rinoa!" Quistis yelled as she had looked back, stopping to see what was the matter. "We have to go, come on!"

The girl took a deep breath and opened her eyes slowly, purposely avoiding Quistis at all costs.

"Come on Rinoa!"

Rinoa lifted her palm toward Quistis and shook her head slowly. "….No," She said, and immediately the ground began to shake furiously.

Quistis lost her balance and fell to the ground. She stared at Rinoa, who had remained in place and now lowering her hand with her face downcast. The girl had turned toward the beach and walked forward slowly.

"What are you doing Rinoa?" Quistis questioned the girl, marveling how she could walk even though the ground quaked uncontrollably. The men ran out of the tunnel as the ground roared, hoping to escape before the walls crashed in on them. Some of them ran out the opposite end and took refuge on the ship that was located on the sea at the mountain's back.

Inside the base Squall felt the ground trembling. He watched as the things inside the room tossed and toppled to the floor. He wondered what was happening outside. It seemed the lethargic feeling he had been having since that evening finally passed and his strength level was back to normal. When the ground shook more violently, he heard a voice call from within.

Why are you waiting to be rescued when you're more than capable of doing it yourself?

The young man sighed. "No. …Something's wrong with Rinoa."

Using all his strength and might, he pulled his arms apart to break the chains around his wrists. Finally when he was loosed, he rose from the ground and made his way out into the hallway.

Rinoa finally stopped walking and grabbed at the ring on her necklace. Squall…

The ground cracked and split down a large boulder that was hidden beneath tall grass. It burst open and collapsed down into the ground where fire and molten lava emerged.

Rinoa finally came to her senses and backed away from the scene quickly, scared for her life about the speed that the lava traveled. Quickly, she made her way back to the base to find Squall. Seeing her, Seifer followed behind her.

"Seifer!" Quistis yelled and ran to him as he followed Rinoa inside.

The lava boiled over and shot out to the sky then fell back to the earth and raged quickly through the woods and near the base. The other men climbed upon the mountain side for shelter as the lava quickened beneath them.

Inside Rinoa remembered where Squall was being kept and opted to reach him in time, but she was stopped by the one Quistis had called Seifer. "I don't know what you did…but you're coming with me." He said, slapping his hand on her shoulder."

"What?" She said, facing him with a look of dismay.

"Stick with me for now." He said, and reached down to the floor to retrieve Squall's gunblade from the floor where they had left it earlier. "Let's go," he said, turning around for the doorway again.

"No!" Rinoa screamed, "I'm not going with anyone! Squall is—"

"Seifer!" Quistis yelled as she burst through the door, "there's lava everywhere, we need to get out of here."

"What about the others?"

"Most of them found higher ground, but those who didn't…."

"Dammit!" He yelled and balled up his fist. "Looks like there's no time to waste… Forget about the cargo, we just need to leave now."

"Yeah" Quistis agreed and they ran down the back hallway. Rinoa ran behind them and stopped at the second stairway that led down to the basement knowing that Squall was being held prisoner there. Quistis stopped running and looked back, "Rinoa there's no time to save him. The lava's going to rush through this building! Think about your own life for now!"

Rinoa charged at Quistis and envisioned herself slapping the woman's cheek, although in reality she stopped only inches away from Quistis' face. "I am not leaving without Squall! You don't know anything about him!" the girl yelled with tearful eyes, "You have no right to just leave him behind!"

I can't believe he would choose a person like you! I didn't think he was so shallow.

Quistis stared into Rinoa's eyes. "…Are you sure he's just your friend?"

Rinoa made a look of disgust at Quistis when she realized the woman's words. Her eyes fell to the floor shyly and her cheeks reddened.

Squall? …I'll be lucky if he still wants me to tag along after all of this. I can't believe I got so jealous! I'm the one who caused the lava to break through the surface… I'm putting people's lives in danger again! I just need to find Squall. He'll know what to do.

Seifer sighed, "Well…This is his weapon." He lifted the gunblade and watched as she walked toward him to grab it. "…If you two make it out of this, tell him I said I'd like a rematch."

"Seifer!?" Appalled, Quistis raised her hands suggestively.

"He didn't go down that easily," he added. "Let's go Quis, time's running out." Seifer said as he walked ahead toward the back exit. Rinoa watched as their figures disappear deep within the facility. Her hands now bore the heavy weight of the gunblade.

"…This is a gunblade? Sure is heavy… I wonder if…if it's the one he's looking for?"

Realizing that time was against her, she stopped her questioning and headed downstairs to find Squall's cell. The door was wide open compared to last time. It seemed that the earthquakes had done more damage than she might have thought. All she wanted was justice for all the pain and suffering the ship bandits had caused, but it turned out worse than she could ever imagine. To top it all off, the room was now empty with pieces of chains on the floor.

"Squall?!" She called out to him, making her way down the hall.

"Rinoa..." She heard his voice echoing down the hall and then saw his figure standing at the end of the long hallway.

"Squall! You're okay!" She ran toward him quickly, but realized something was different about him. At this realization, she immediately discontinued her run and examined him closely from afar. The hallway was dark. It smelled of rust, dampened stone and mold. The girl summoned every ounce of her courage to continue her walk toward him. Every step toward him made her insides squirm. She was silent at first, but she attempted to maintain her composure, "There's…There's no time to lose. This building is about to be destroyed by fire, and lava will melt this entire bottom level. I came back to get you so we can escape together."

He was silent. He stood at the end of the hallway with his hands at his sides. It was then that Rinoa realized his eyes had begun to glow yellow again.

"Squall!"

"…He's here."

The ground shook again knocking Rinoa off of her feet. The power was lost inside the building and the lights that lit up the hallway all went out simultaneously. "Who's…?" Rinoa muttered within the darkness and quakes.

All was silent both underground and above. The sky was dark and the night air was filled with smoke and ashes.

With a roar almost as menacing as Griever's, a beast emerged from the ground with the heat of lava. The land shook and caved in at some areas. Men, clinging to the rocks of the mountain for survival, fell to their deaths landing in pits of lava as the beast burst through from the fiery pits. Others clung to each other and any piece of stable rock they could find. Seifer and Quistis had climbed to the opening of the mountain and watched the mythical beast blow fire from its mouth. He called for all those who were able to follow in their tracks. However, Quistis was mesmerized by the beast's power. She watched as fire gushed from its paws and flamed the grass and the trees of the woods surrounding them. A river of lava poured out from the giant hole in the ground and rushed to the base where it continued to crackle with the grumbling of the ground.

Down in the hallway, Squall ran towards Rinoa until reaching her and grabbed her arm. He then made his way to the stairs and burst through the large iron door that had been shut behind Rinoa to stall the lava's path to ensure the 

safety of their unreached treasures. With Squall bursting through the door, the lava sprang up and around them and Rinoa realized they had soared through the ceiling and to roof of the shelter. At the top of the roof, Squall placed Rinoa down and scanned the area for his opponent, the demon from hell known as Ifrit.

"Squall!" Rinoa cried, barely able to comprehend what had just happened. She clung tight to his gunblade and his leg as the sparks from the violent gushing lava emerged with Ifrit's consent. "What is that?!" She asked, pointing to the giant fire being who breathed boulders of flame toward the woods surrounding its cave home, which had eventually spread to the surrounding lands and the coast beyond that.

"He is Ifrit. …The one who had blinded us since we came into contact with this land. His spirit manipulates fire, however, he senses your hate and channels that hate with its own energy to make him stronger. Such is the trait of a guardian force…a trait that I too have been doomed to carry."

"He uses my hate?"…Jealousy too? …I guess that explains why I got so mad when she…. She paused and looked down at the fiery land, focusing her mind on more important matters. His words were curious ones, especially the bit about the traits between the guardian forces and how Squall had included himself as one. "…Squall?"

"No." He looked back at Rinoa, the wind gusting through his hair. She swallowed the lump in her throat and looked down at the gunblade in her grasp to avoid his eyes. "…I don't need that piece of metal to fight."

"Griever…" Rinoa whispered teary eyed, she knew he had overtaken Squall again. "I don't know what to do anymore… They said that the Galbadian Army has ships on its way here and now this." Lifting her eyes from his gunblade and to the field of flames before them, "Look at all this fire! Everything's going to burn up!"

"…Don't despair," He spat as his eyes returned back to their usual blue. "It's a waste of time and energy." He held his forehead with his left hand and gave a light sigh of pain, "Griever's right, Rinoa." He spoke weakly. "Despairing about the situation will only strain you, and make you weaker."

"Squall? You're back? What just happened?" She inquired, standing to her feet to see about his forehead.

"The pendant…" He muttered, reaching his hand for the Griever symbol dangling on his chest. "Look, I can't explain…there's no time anyway."

"You're right. We have to do something then, Squall! I feel partly responsible for that thing being here now! …There isn't enough time and people could die… The lava's travelling fast and this place will go up in flames by then."

He looked at her, staring into her eyes, "…Trust your own instincts; you'll know what to do when the time comes. Just because I'm supporting you doesn't mean I have to watch you at every second, though. So be careful."

She had stared back into his for a moment longer, and silently they reached an agreement. She would do her best knowing he was there to support her. If she had his support, nothing would stand in her way. Rinoa nodded to him quickly and released an unsteady sigh. "Okay," She answered, moving her eyes to the scene of chaos across the fields and then down to the gunblade caught between her fingers.

"He said it belongs to you. Is it the one?" Rinoa lifted the gunblade to him with both hands. "You said we'd split when you found it…"

"…It's not the Lion Heart, but it'll have to do," Squall took the weapon as he heaved a great sigh. "…The Lion Heart won't be an easy find. A weapon like that deserves a great intrigue… Let's go."

"Wait!" She stopped him, "What do I do? You don't expect me to just jump head first into this lava, do you?!"

Squall grinned faintly, "…Use your imagination." With that spoken, he faced the fiery plains while closing his eyes and gathering his breath. Rinoa realized his gunblade had begun to glow white as white ripples swirled about the blade. It had then begun to extend into a long slender blade as Squall lifted it to the sky. When the blade almost reached heaven, he landed it down to the ground, striking through the lava until it struck Ifrit who physically stood yards away from them. Rinoa was mesmerized at his power. The weapon had not only struck Ifrit, but created a pathway through the lava in which Squall leapt down from the roof and onto the ground and made his way toward the fire demon by foot.

Squall ran from the shelter and out to the plains of Balamb with Rinoa trailing behind after him, where he came face to face with an incoming ocean of molten lava and fire. Standing at the very end of this fiery plain was none other than the Guardian himself, Ifrit: the spirit manipulating fire. The beast stood, his bulky frame sizzling in maroon and orange fur. Its ear pierced with a searing gold earring. And he looked upon the land, his demeanor of that like some underground ruler. He was pleased with his outcome, moments away from achieving his version of paradise above land: a world covered in fire.

Rinoa was terrified of him. To his disadvantage, Squall felt her fear coursing through his veins. He would not partake in that fear. He wouldn't dare to stand and have her indulge in that fear either.

"Rinoa, don't be afraid!" Squall encouraged her, taking to his battle stance at the forefront of the fire river. "Listen to me! Don't doubt yourself for a second, that's the worst thing you can do right now!" He had turned to her yelling. "Fire has two weaknesses: that's ice and water. You can cancel out all of these flames if you just meditate on it…"

"What?!" The young woman retorted.

"There are other people at risk here, so hurry up!" Squall snarled, his eyes trailing from hers, and over to the mountain where the men dangled for life, and then he rested his eyes on their opponent. "You wanted me to trust you…" He added.

Trust me…? Squall, do you really…

Squall lowered his gunblade and faced her with penetrating eyes. He had never stared at her before for as long as he did in that moment. When Rinoa finally understood that he had meant his words she took a deep breath.

Rinoa closed her eyes and dug deep within herself. Before she knew it, a whirlwind of cool air began flowing around her. Taking a little time to concentrate, she remembered the day out in the fields of Dollet where her body had been taken over and had released unmatchable power from within. Regaining part of that discipline, she channeled the ice energy around and shot it forward where Squall had begun running.

Just as he made contact with the Lava, a bridge of frozen solid ice crafted underneath his feet and protected him from the blistering fluids. Although the bridge was effective enough to carry him over to Ifrit, it had not created a barrier to the fire surrounding them. Rinoa, standing in awe at her own mystical power, realized she would need to do more than create the bridge if she were going to help Squall in this fight. Not only that, but what about the rest of the fire? How was Squall going to defeat him without her ice magic when the rest of the land was still in flames? He had charged in to battle Ifrit personally, and left himself vulnerable to any other attacks. How could a gunblade protect him from fire and lava?

Still, none of her questions seemed to interest Squall. He charged in fearlessly, seeming to know his enemy and set out for a victory regardless of the circumstances. With Squall so confident in his own skill and technique, Rinoa pushed her worries aside and focused her attention to the pathway of lava that was continuing to destroy the land. At the same time, Squall was now within attack range of Ifrit. The beast laughed to himself and ruffled up some flames and smoke around, a few rims of fire began with him at their center and then expanded around him quickly.

Squall dragged his gunblade from the ground where pale light began to shine from its edge. With the weaker gunblade, he was able to perform a perfect Rough Divide, splitting Ifrit's defenses into two. The fire dissipated as smoke in the air and evaporated. Allowing no chance for him to create anymore rings of fire, Squall sent another wave of his divide toward Ifrit. The beast held up its arms defensively, its biggest advantage was its strength and immunity to any flame attack. Squall barred his teeth when the beast snarled at him standing a whopping seven feet over Squall's own height; however, Squall hadn't allowed the beast's height to stir fear in his heart. He would never falter under Ifrit's presence. Instead he fought as if driven by an unseen force, a force greater than any magic spell to come against him, his pride.

Rinoa examined the lava field and the ocean surrounding the continent. "I have to do something, but what?!" She questioned herself aloud. …Leviathan's Scales can penetrate any fire, no matter how deep the flame. You saw how the ocean wielded to his command. Summon him forth… "Griever!?" Rinoa called to him, but received no answer. "Please! Why do you keep disappearing like that! I need you!" She yelled, looking around herself.

For a moment, she wanted to continue to call Griever so he could help her step by step to solve the problem, but when reality set in of the heated flames growing against her skin Rinoa knew she would need to try to get in touch with Griever at a later time. For now, she faced the sea and allowed her heart to call out for help. Just as soon as her eyes closed, there was a distress vibe released from her inner spirit seeking its desired guardian force.

Leviathan, her heart cried, and with its name spoken, all the waters of the ocean sprayed overland.

The water came first, breeching the lands with not so violent waves. Then suddenly from the sea, the serpent emerged. Its body was capable to hover above ground as well as it could tear through the tides of sea. Leviathan successfully passed a tsunami of water over the molten lava and put the searing plains to a rest. The scales from Leviathan froze the lava in place just before the water finished the job and pushed everything back into the earth. With the sizzling of forgotten lava and fire put to an end, so had Leviathan's spirit. Rinoa saw its spirit fading back into mere nature before falling softly into the ocean spray again. The girl's heart relaxed.

"…I did it." She murmured into her palm, falling to her knees on the warm ground. "…Squall was right… All I have to do is trust my own instincts…" Rinoa smiled, "…I can't believe it." Suddenly the young woman had forgotten to check up on Squall since she'd put the flames to ease. "Squall!" She yelled out, rising to her feet and running through the slabs of hot mud left behind by the fiery lava moments ago. Rinoa stopped her pursuit and looked ahead when realizing it was too much mud ahead of her to get through. When she looked ahead of herself, she feared that Squall was in danger of his life.

Although she had cleared the land of lava, there still remained a radius of lava around Squall and Ifrit that was enclosing in on them by the second. Rinoa gasped aloud and pushed through the mud to get closer to their battle.

Even holding the advantage of a body that wouldn't perish over time, he could still feel the heat of the flames simply because they were inflicted by that of another guardian. The proud young man wouldn't admit it, but he felt like he couldn't last much longer against this beast. Ifrit growled again, folding his arms, "Fool! If you can't kill me, don't even bother challenging me!" As soon as he had spoken, he charged in full speed with a punch that knocked Squall back into the air.

Rinoa, running through the mud in full haste, saw Ifrit's direct blow to Squall. She saw Squall fall back lifelessly toward the hot lava. "Squall!" She screamed, reaching out but feeling like she had just missed him. "No!" I can't do anything! He's going to die! I need help! I can't move fast enough on my own-- And then she remembered how easily his voice had come through to her when she was in trouble, she felt it only necessary to return the favor, "Griever!!" She yelled from the top of her lungs and equally as loud from the pit of her soul.

The pendant on Squall's chest thumped once, and in that moment, his heart was opened, allowing Rinoa to entrust her strength to him. With her inner power and his strength combined, his body was restored. Just as Leviathan's body had withered into the sea, so had Squall's, lest he had returned in a form Rinoa recognized, the first being she had encountered when her world fell into chaos: Griever.

Griever's pallid spirit wings spread from his back and the maroon crown stretched from his skull and out, along with the blades on each of its elbows and arms. The beast snarled, its smallest roar was louder than any of Ifrit's mightiest roars. Greiver emerged flapping its wings above land and looking down upon Ifrit. Its body compared to Ifrit's was more than twice in build and even more deadly. The lion's great beard swayed with its own wind, and its pale beard shamed the orange of Ifrit's. Both beasts stood in each other's way, Griever looking down at Ifrit.

"So you've come." Ifrit muttered underneath his breath, "You hide behind the flesh of a mere human."

You are gravely mistaken, for it is I whom that human hides behind.

"Do you enjoy deluding yourself Griever?" Ifrit folded his arms.

On the contrary, what makes you believe you can defeat me?

"Because your presence here means that the Sorceress is nearby, is she not?"

Correct. For us to be here now, means the sorceress has indeed resurfaced.

"Then when she has witnessed my power, she will regret ever making you into her guardian!"

Rinoa stood watching the two beasts from afar.

Behind her, the Galbadian ships had made their way to the town of Balamb but had changed course once they saw the fire that became of the once beautifully tropical land. The fire had not reached the town itself, but very well neared it. And with another on pour of flames beginning now, they feared the people's lives were at stake.

It was definitely a sure sign of the sorceress.

Wedge glared at the direction of the fire's source and ordered a direct attack against her. He would not lose his target again.

Author's Corner.

I really don't have much to say this time. Hope everyone's enjoying the story. Please let me know what you thought of this chapter; be it bad or good. I don't mind. Some encouragement helps. I felt it could've been better, but oh well. We'll see. Thanks again for reading. Btw, my beta's still not in action, so really, any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

StardustRay Last Update: 8/13/08 --See that, you put your mind to something, and it works out in the end. I'm getting faster. (Only, I hope it's worth it...)