"Keep it under control!"

"Stop that thing!"
"Watch out!"

"If this thing isn't gone soon it'll kill someone!"

The shouts were loud, and very near. Squall had no doubt in his mind what 'it' was. He pushed through the crowd, Skye on his heels. Neither said a word, but both were concentrating on the same thing… the Deathborn. There was an immense bellow of anger and hatred.  Squall's eyes flickered distantly for a moment, but he shook his head and ran for the source of the sound. Skye stared at his back as he disappeared into the crowd. She shivered, ignored her instincts, and sprinted after him.

Squall had his gunblade out by the time she reached him. At first she didn't even look up at the Deathborn.

"Are you ready to fight it?" he looked at her with impassive eyes.

"I don't have my weapon with me…"

"You can use a gun, right?"

"Yeah…"

He tossed her a gun that he had kept, nearly invisible because of the length of his shirt and jacket, in a holster in his belt.

"There."

"Are you sure about this, Squall?" she faltered.

"Do I look unsure?"

His eyes were cold and hard, determined to accomplish whatever he set his mind to. He looked like he wouldn't be anywhere but here given the choice. He was definitely ready.

"Let's go then." Skye felt her knees go weak.

He advanced purposefully, an all-business, cold look on his face, and Skye had no choice but to follow. She stared at the ground as she walked. She was dreading this… She would rather be anywhere but there at that particular moment. She closed her eyes, measuring her steps precisely as not to run into Squall. She looked like she was going to be sick.

"What's wrong?" Squall didn't even turn around.

Skye briefly wondered how he knew how she felt.

"Nothing. I'm just dreading this fight."

"Hm."

"Don't you believe me?"

"… Not really. You only told half the truth, but I won't press. I know how it feels to be demanded of like that."

Skye bit her tongue and stared at the robin's egg blue sky. White clouds danced across it. If only things were half as good as they appeared from a distance…

"Okay." Her voice was filled with renewed resolve. 

Squall nodded, not even sparing her a second glance.

He scowled slightly. You've gotta be crazy Skye. What do you take me for? I know you're more than you let on.

It seemed to Skye that waves of ice radiated from him. One thing was for sure; Squall was picked off at her, the Deathborn, or the world in general.

"Are you mad?"

"Maybe."

"Why?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes."

"Can you blame me?" his pace quickened, and he seemed to be daring her to carry on the conversation. 

They came upon a giant monster, lashed down with ropes as thick as Squall's waist. It was black and ruby, and was huge. It had beady red eyes and long fangs that dripped what looked like a mixture of venom and blood. It let out an ear splitting roar that seemed to shatter a blanket of stillness. It had to be bigger than any GF they had ever seen. Squall instinctively shifted into attack mode. His brain whirled, and immediately without a second thought he drew his gunblade and prepared to summon and limit break. That thought was quickly put out of his mind.

Skye stepped back and stumbled, falling with no elegance whatsoever on her butt. All was still. The Deathborn stopped moving. Its evil eyes fell upon Skye and remained there. A growing yearning appeared on its face. With seemingly no effort at all it broke free of the gargantuan ropes. A terrible clawed hair batted the air. The Deathborn searched the ground, giving a shriek. It made Skye cover her ears and flinch. Squall seemed completely unperturbed. He switched in two seconds from offensive to defensive. It was obvious he had fought many battles before. The colossal, grotesque GF's clawed hand flew down and pinned Skye to the ground. She screamed. If it moved an inch it would crush her beneath its humongous hand.

             Squall flew over, thwacking at it, preparing to Lionheart it. Its other hand rushed up behind him, came over his head, and raked its claws down his chest. He squeezed his eyes shut for a second, holding off the searing pain, caught off guard. Squall shook his head, gritted his teeth, and prepared to lunge again at the monster. It batted angrily at him, in the process coming down hard on Skye. Skye yelped, pressing herself flatter against the ground. Squall thrust forward, plunging his gunblade deep into the GF's hand. It roared fiercely and maneuvered its injured hand one last time so that it stabbed through Squall's shoulder. It pulled its claw loose, unfolded wet, slimy, disgusting wings, and took off.

Skye was badly shaken but not hurt. Squall sank to his knees, for once admitting that he was hurt. She ran over to him, terrified.

"Squall! Are you okay?!" she cast curaga on him. Several of the men that had been attempting to keep the GF under control rushed over.

"I'm fine." He mumbled, eyes shaded. He didn't want anyone to see the pain there.

"Why did you do that? You coulda got killed!"

"You could've gotten killed, too. What was I supposed to do, let that thing have you?"

No matter how much she annoyed him, he didn't want anything bad to happen to her. Skye knew he was hurt when, even being the hardhead he was, he actually let someone help him to his feet. He winced but blanked his face of all emotion. Squall backed off from the man, frowning.

"I'll do this myself. If I can't handle this, then what kind of SeeD am I?"

Skye shook her head, hands on her hips. Men… such hardheads. And Squall… why did you do that? I'll tell you one thing… This was to close for comfort. She sighed, frowning slightly, and let herself be swept away by the crowd of people, prepared for the barrage of questions. It was going to be a while before she had any time to herself.

Here we go again…