Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or locations. Plot is all mine…the evil…sick plot…lol.

Rating: M for language, violence, sexual content, and drug reference.

Author's note: Alright so you all seemed to really enjoy that last chapter. ^^ I was hoping it would go over well. I was a little worried as to how the fight scene would sit in everyone's stomach but apparently rather well! And yes…my cliff hanger…you gotta have 'em right? =) Alright guys, even delaying…let's get it goin'!


"I've seen you cry, I've seen you smile. I've watched you sleeping for a while. I'd be the father of your child. I know your fears and you know mine. We've had our doubts but now we're fine. And I love you, I swear that's true. I cannot live without you. Goodbye my lover."- James Blunt, Goodbye My Lover

"Hope dangles on a string. Like slow spinning redemption, winding in, winding out. The shine of it has caught my eye. And roped me so mesmerizing, and so hypnotizing, I am captivated. I am motivated. I am vindicated." – Dashboard Confessional, Vindicated

***********

Rain? Seriously? Did nature even think it was a cry worthy event? Perhaps the angels were crying over the actions taking place on this abandoned continent. Either way, it was cold. With each drop it felt like the air was being sucked straight from your lungs in an effort to make you weaker, more susceptible to defeat. But she would not have it. No, she needed to free Squall of this nightmare. She would not let him succumb to this woman. Not as long as she still had life in her body. She would save him. He spent all of his recent years saving her…it was about time she repaid him the favor.

Her lungs were beginning to burn, her legs as well. If she kept running like this, she would run out of land and end up on the edge of the continent, staring at an overwhelming mass of ocean. She needed to think of a plan. Quickly.

Although Ultimecia wasn't exactly chasing her, it was more than evident that her pursuer knew that she was simply buying time, and didn't seem to find that motive all that threatening.

The predator was more than confident that the girl in blue would fall by her lover's hands soon. It was only a mere matter of time. And time was Ultimecia's ally, as she had proved time and time again. But how to thwart someone such as Ultimecia? Especially alone? And what of her friends? Were they dying out in the vast land, rain cascading down their battered backs? Or were they already dead? They needed her! Now! And Squall…who knew how much damage this possession would scar him with. Would he remember everything? Or simply have a lapse in memory from when he became possessed to the point where the sorceress was removed the bonds of his body? Would he even still be able to communicate? Will her possession have ruined his ability to communicate, rendering him silent and stoic, constantly glancing out the window with a feeling of abandonment written over his worry worn face?

Shaking her head angrily, her thoughts barring her from coming up with a battle plan. She couldn't let her mind wander, not now. So many things were counting on her. She always complained that the others seemed to always work without her abilities thrown into the mix. Now that she had her wish, she realized just how naïve she had been. How naïve she had always been. Here she had been thinking that Squall, although she was in love with him a great deal, to be quite the buzz kill in certain situations. He had admitted at one point, with no one around to hear except for her, that he hated having to ruin the mood but that such relaxation would result in lack combat skills if they were suddenly attacked.

The rain began to pound harder onto her retreating form. Surely the aerial watchers were watching. Why weren't they making to retrieve her? Would Seifer seriously let all of them become butchered and then decide to swoop in and attack the foul sorceress?

'No…he has a certain routine he must follow as well. He is not to interfere with the special ops team unless radioed to do so. So he has to wait…he's just following orders. Seifer's not all that bad…er…sometimes.'

Lightning crackled in the sky, giving the grayed continent an eerie glow. If this wasn't the ideal set up to destroy the top elite SeeD unit and the SeeD High Commander, then she didn't know what was. The setting screamed of evil and despair.

"How long do you intend to keep running?" It was more of Ultimecia's voice. Squall's tone had taken to the undercurrent of the sorceress' screeching soprano.

When had he drawn so close? With a quick glimpse over her shoulder, she caught sight of his location. He was only a mere fifty feet away from her now. When had this happened? Had she noticed Rinoa's lack of concentration and used the mask of the storm to close the distance? As much as she should have been afraid, she was simply angered by that realization. The sorceress was capitalizing on the man she loved. Without his inane fighting ability and strategic prowess, Ultimecia would be stuck in a solitary position, throwing bouts of powerful spells her direction. Again she was abusing her host. Again Squall was being overpowered. And it tore right through her.

What compelled her to turn around, she wasn't sure. Either way, she stopped mid-run, and slowly turned to face her foe, "You aren't welcome here, Ultimecia."

Her pursuer stopped, flicking his long strands of rain soaked hair from his face. They glued back to the sides of his temples, leaving his ice blue and crimson red eyes open for her sight to take in.

"I would like to politely disagree, dear girl. The heavens sing my return. The winds have whispered their glee."

Rinoa glared at her, her entire body beginning to shake with the obstacle standing before her. With this pivotal moment, it became clear, that one of them…Squall or her, was going to die.

"They have whispered nothing but their fear. You are evil and the world will not welcome a witch such as you to be their leader. The heavens sing their despair. Only hell sings of your return."

This earned a slight uplifting of one of Squall's eyebrows, "Is that so? Are claiming that I come from the abyss of fire? The same haven that Ifrit resides in? Are you calling me a demon, Rinoa?"

She swallowed. The word demon had been emphasized in a way that left her spine tingling and her body clammy, "Yes. So go back to hell where you came from! And leave Squall here. You seriously must possess him in order to accomplish your rule? Without him you would fall-"

Ultimecia chuckled, grabbing at Squall's head as she laughed, "Please…you are simply mocking me now. That is most rude, Sorceress Rinoa. I could rise to power without his body. But where would the fun in that be? A familiar face slaying friends and family? It's perfect! He can be my knight. A knight that shares the body with his sorceress, never before has there been such a close bond."

Rinoa grit her teeth together, her hands fisting in her raw anger, "You will not have him!"

"Sure…your bond with the man was deep. Who can deny the force of true love? But to share one body? Ahh, that surely takes the golden medal, does it not?"

Typically she would have been able to ignore the typical taunting of an enemy. But Squall was off limits. That territory belonged to her and her alone.

"If you won't give him up, I'll take him from you!" Rinoa warned her, raising her fist in front of her face, a warm wind washing around her as she began to whisper an incantation.

"Ah ah ah, surely you don't plan to use magic against me, dear? You are being rather foolish! Prepare yourself; I will not hold back his true power as I did with the others. You are the one that will be the crucial piece in this wretched man's demise."

Rinoa's eyes widened as the lightning flashed off of Squall's weapon's blade. It was blinding.

************

Laguna shifted uneasily in the transport car. Surely his eyes had deceived him. His son would not massacre his friends and turn on SeeD. Turn on the world. Turn on him. Never…

As he disembarked from the vessel and nodded his farewell to the pilot, his eyes stared in disbelief at the carnage that had been left behind. Four bodies were scattered about the land, smoke rising from one of the fallen combatants.

It brought a sour look to his face and sinking feeling to his stomach. Their pain and possible deaths had been the result of his son's attacks. Of his son's evil plot.

The president held back the need to fall to the ground and weep over such a travesty. He was mistaken. Something had to have gone wrong. Squall would never hurt his allies. No, not just his allies, his friends. Those he held near and dear.

Checking his inventory for the needed spells and tonics, Laguna ran up to the body closest to him. Upon closing the distance, he found it to be Selphie.

Holding back a gag when his eyes spotted a trail of blood that led down to where her head rested against the stone, he bent before her, "Selphie?"

No response.

He watched her patiently, for any rise and fall of her chest.

The thunder clapped and the rain drenched his form as he patiently waited.

There!

Her chest rose and fell slowly; breathing indicating that she was indeed still alive and able to receive healing.

He wasted no time. Hopefully, if he worked quickly enough, he would be able to heal them and find Squall and Rinoa.

Laguna growled in frustration as he realized that Rinoa was fighting one on one with Squall. He didn't have time to waste attempting to heal them. And the infirmary would have stronger spells and medicines to cure these wounded soldiers. No…he would call the aerial watchers and have them take these injured heroes back to Balamb Garden so that they may be treated and that their lives may hopefully be saved.

Yes…he needed to get to Rinoa. Quickly.

************

She cried out as she rolled out of the way of an attack. She didn't know why she cried out like that, but she did. Was it fear? Or was it the knowledge that with that attack, he had attempted to murder her?

Jumping backwards to gain a little distance, she braced her free arm against her left forearm, releasing her pinwheel.

Squall smirked with her attempt to cause him the same physical damage that he had attempted to just instill upon her small frame.

With a lazy wave of his weapon, he deflected her attack, "So what are you to do now, sorceress? Your physical attacks are pathetic and your spells are weak in comparison to my own. Why not just let me finish you off? I will not make you suffer for too fairly long. Just enough to squirm before his eyes and that will be it."

Rinoa shook her head in denial, rain rolling off of her blushed cheeks, "No! You think he'll actually kill me? If you had complete control of Squall he wouldn't have missed. Squall rarely misses a target, especially not one that isn't nearly as quick as he is. He fought you! That's why you missed. That's why I remain unscathed."

Ultimecia glared at her, emitting a low growl, "You annoy me, girl."

There was her proof. Her enemy hadn't denied her accusation. And she knew enough of Squall's deadly technique to know that the skilled High Commander did not miss a target. Especially not a target that moved slow under its emotional distress. He was fighting her from the inside-out.

"Squall, can you hear me?"

Her opponent tightened her grip around her lover's weapon, "You are delusional, Sorceress Rinoa."

Again she began to form a shield around her body, preparing to spare her body an intense physical attack. This only caused the High Commander's face to contort into a ruthless sneer, blue and red eyes gleaming with a malicious intent, "You dare try to spare your life? You are simply wasting your time in casting a spell that will protect you from my wrath as much as a layer of plastic wrap would."

Rinoa swallowed fervently, finishing the incantation, sighing as the protect spell covered her body.

"Squall, please! Don't do this!"

Her opponent flipped his head to the side, brown locks freeing themselves from his eyes. And his shoulders rose and fell as if he were trying to suppress a cough or a sneeze. Was she getting through?

As soon as the movement had appeared, it vanished, leaving the possessed man fully functional before her.

"You're becoming a nuisance. Stop trying to reach him. He's in a place where you can't follow, you stupid girl."

If that were true, then why was she getting so upset at her so called 'futile' attempts to reach him? If that were so, why had Squall flinched? It was working…somewhere, somehow…it was working.

With an indignant expression on her face, and her eyes challenging those of her enemy, Rinoa raised her chin and began another incantation.

Ultimecia let out a low hiss of anger, "You little wretch! How dare you disobey!"

His gloves squeaked under the amount of pressure he was using to grip his weapon. It was more than evident that with this strike, she aimed to kill her. And not just kill her, dismember her.

Rinoa's eyes rounded as she finished her reflect spell and glanced around quickly. There was no where to escape to. With a cry of frustration, she ran towards a boulder. If anything she could use it for added protection.

This time, as she ran, heavy, quick, determined footsteps followed her own.

************

"He has not radioed for your interference, sir."

Seifer cursed under his breath, pacing back and forth on the bridge of the Garden, "This is absolutely ridiculous. He made me the stand in commander because of my battle expertise. Sometimes you must go against orders to be successful in combat-"

"But sir-"

"You will not speak again unless spoken to, understand cadet?"

The aerial watcher grit his teeth together and gave the blond warrior a curt nod before waiting his orders.

"What do you expect me to do? With reports of Laguna's arrival onto the continent and Squall's attempt at killing Rinoa Heartilly, what else am I to do except send other troops down to assist?"

Suddenly the door to the bridge opened and Kawadoki ran through, holding onto her thick sides as she gasped for air, "Sir…" She gasped, quickly saluting him before continuing, "A transport has just docked with the Garden. I suggest you come and take a look at what came back with it."

Seifer glanced at his aerial watcher before nodding, "Report back in half an hour. If things have not changed then, I will send more troops. Do you understand?"

The cadet, victory clearly pressed over his face, grinned, disconnecting the transmission.

Seifer turned back to the doctor, young features dressed with concern, "This had better be worthwhile, Kawadoki."

The older woman nodded, "Indeed. I would say that the injured members of the special ops force is a worthwhile cause, would you not?"

His eyes rounded in disbelief, "Laguna got their bodies onto the transport?"

She grinned, motioning for him to follow her.

Typically he tried to suppress any noticeable display that he was genuinely concerned for something, but desperate times called for desperate measures. He was more than thrilled that the others were ok. Even if they weren't friends, they were familiar to him, and he didn't want that familiarity to leave. Ever.

************

She had stumbled! After all of Squall's training and words of advice during combat, she had failed to take notice of her surroundings enough to notice the large, dry rotted root that was obscuring her path towards her selected heap of rock.

Her boot hooked underneath the hook-shaped root, sending her forward in an awkward position. While her footsteps became non-existent, heavy, murderous stomps followed after her. He was closing the distance, at an alarming rate.

Luckily she was close enough to the boulder that she was able to catch her upper body against its surface, letting her lower body play catch up with her now safe torso. Just as she was about to gather her footing, something grabbed her.

Rinoa howled in pain as a heavy hand grabbed a fistful of her hair, and slammed her cheek hard into the stone surface.

She didn't need to see who it was. She knew. It was only a matter of time before he had been able to get his hands on her. Honestly, she had been lucky to get this far. What had she really planned on doing anyways? Talking Ultimecia out of him? Surely she had known that was a completely ridiculous notion that would never work.

Lightning cracked as he pressed her rough into the stone, his breathing reverberating off of her outer ear. If it had been any other instance, such a gesture would have ripped right through to her lust. This was the sound of a predator breathing its warning over its prey. 'Move and die.'

"All this running…you are truly a foolish girl, aren't you?"

The former sorceress was terrified. Death had a hold of her hair and was holding her captive against a rock that had been intended to be her safe haven. It was now the device used for her demise.

"No…Squall, please-"

His chest rumbled as a menacing growl slipped from his throat. Releasing her hair, he grabbed her by the shoulders, and spun her around, quickly placing his hands on her upper arms and pinning her against the rock. Rinoa held back the urge to scream for help. Who would hear her? There were no other ears to hear her pleas for life. This was it. He finally had a hold of her. The sorceress had won.

"Not even going to fight back, hrmm?"

Rinoa peered up at him through rain soaked lashes, her warm eyes shimmering with her fear and her own self-loathing. She had failed him. After everything he had ever sacrificed for her, including his own body, had been in vain. She hadn't been able to set him free. She hadn't been able to carry out his wish. More lives would be lost because of her doing.

She shook her head angrily, a whimper creeping from her chest, slipping past her lips to whisper into the storm filled air, "No…no, no, no. Squall-"

The hand that held her left arm shifted, the gunblade, still securely held within his grasp, brushed against her leg. The cool metal teased her with its blade. Angrily his head shook. His eyes closed. Another growl fell from his mouth.

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! He can't hear you!"

Rinoa's breathing increased. Their close proximity seemed to be working in her favor.

"Squall, listen to me. You don't want to kill me. I know you don't. Don't let her do this…she's trying to destroy you from the inside out. Please…Squall, hear me."

For the first time in her entire life, she heard him whimper. Not only did he whimper, but he shook. Quickly his eyelids shot open, his icy eyes finding hers. The blood red was beginning to fade, blue attempting to overpower the evil that held them captive.

It was then that she noticed he was focusing on her mouth, trying to make out anything she may say or whisper. Anything to grasp on to. Anything to free him from this captivity.

"Fight her. You can do it. You can do anything. You're Squall Leonhart. Everyone is counting on you…please…come to me."

The red was beginning to circle around his irises again, his fumbling grip beginning to tighten again.

Rinoa shook her head quickly, moving her face so that he could reestablish a visual connection with her wet mouth, "You don't want to kill me. You don't want to kill anyone. You're a good person. Do you hear me? You're a good person. You can do this, Squall. I believe in you. I've always believed in you…always," She whispered, her eyes beginning to burn with the weight of her words. Words he needed to hear, even if they were in vain, "I'm sorry I doubted you. I'm sorry I let you fall…Squall-"

His left hand tightened on the gunblade, spinning it around so that the blade was ready to strike from any angle. The raindrops were sent spiraling from the blade, hitting Rinoa in the face.

"Please don't…" She continued, her lips trembling as tears joined with the rain on her cheeks, "This isn't you…it's her. She wants to destroy everything you love. Everything I love…everything. Squall…find me. Follow my voice…hear me. Listen to me…"

He hesitated. She capitalized, whispering words that would break through, if any of the words would.

"You aren't alone. I love you."

"YOU STUPID LITTLE BITCH! YOU ARE FINISHED!"

Rinoa's eyes rounded as the red reestablished the dominance around the beautiful blue eyes that she had fallen in love with. He raised the weapon, death his goal.

Her eyes fell shut as she pushed against him with all of her strength, disrupting his attack stance. She fell to the side, but his weapon followed her easily.

The ground met her side roughly. There was a loud sound and the clanging of metal. That was it…he had delivered his final blow.

She felt her side, her body needing to valid the spilling of blood from her torso.

All she could feel was the cool, damp moisture of rain soaking up her clothing. He'd missed?

Slowly, her eyes fluttered open and she pushed herself up. Why wasn't he finishing her off? What was going on? Was Ultimecia seriously going to make her stare at him while he killed her? She was to watch her death through the reflections of his eyes?

He was standing before her, eyes wide and emotionless. His gunblade fell from his limp fingertips. Something had happened.

"S-S-Squall?"

His knees began to shake. She looked up at him and noticed red soaking through his wife beater. Her eyes rounded as his knees buckled and he fell to the ground face first, a hand reaching for her, not out of anger or devilish intent, but out of need. Out of a motion of helplessness.

"Rinoa…"

The muddied earth soaked up the sound of his limp body connecting with its surface.

She hadn't retaliated in any way. What had happened? What had been that noise?

Quickly she looked around. If there was another enemy around she needed to prepare herself.

It was barren except for one loan figure. Long tresses of raven black hair swirled around his head, his gun still smoking from its discharge.

Rinoa let out a cry of surprise and anguish.

"Laguna!"


So how was that guys? =) I really liked this one. Lots of excitement and a sad twist. Lemme know whatcha think. I think there's a chapter or two left so I hope you all have liked it up to this point. I'll update within a few days.

Much love,

~Nikki~