**Disclaimer: For heaven's sake, do I have to go through this for every chapter?!**
I know this story is quite long and it jumps around a lot, but I'm very inexperienced and when I want to write something, I just write it, no matter if it doesn't seem fluent! So just bear with me and review my story…please…
What are we going to do?
**This takes place three days after the end of the last chapter.**
His face was thinner now, and somehow more haggard, though not entirely in a physical way; his hair was duller, the locks of hair over his forehead hanging slacker, more limp. He was trying not to show it; she knew that, but every day the fatigue and hunger set in more and more. They were both wasting away. What was the point of it all? Ultimecia captured them both, just to let them starve to death? That couldn't be it. She just wanted them weak enough – to overpower them.
They'd been in this dank, dark cell for the last three days. A dank, dark cell; something that sounded like it had come out of a fairytale about dungeons and dragons. However, she wasn't so sure that this time there would be a happy ending. They had nothing to eat, only stale bread and tepid water once a day, nothing to sleep on, except for the cold, unfeeling stone floor.
It was night time now, she was guessing. She shifted her position and snuggled closer to Squall. He was the only warm thing in this cold, cold room; they belonged together; their forms fit perfectly against eachother, melded into one. She buried her face in the crook of his neck and slid her arms around his neck. She loved him; more than anything else in the world. With a faint sense of realisation, she found herself thinking that she would die for him, if need be.
As the minutes passed, she found her thoughts wandering back to her friends in Balamb. Would they forget her, if she never returned? Would they be the same? Would they all be ready, and waiting to welcome them? Zell, Irvine, Quisty? And – Seifer? Her brow minutely wrinkled as she thought of the man she'd once shared her life with. That summer – that fated fling. Had he been in love with her? She had never been – was it in love? She had felt things, strange, unfelt feelings, but they could not have been love. Love was what she was feeling for her brave, caring knight, the knight who was protecting her with his life, even though his own life was fading away. Slowly.
A tiny chink of dim light fell across the dark floor. Rinoa looked up, quickly. The wall was – melting away? Scared, apprehensive, she shook Squall's shoulder gently. He murmured something and his eyelids fluttered open. They widened, and he sat up, drawing Rinoa protectively to his side. "What – is it?". A strange, ringing noise filled the room. The closest thing he could ever remember to the noise was the sound of the resonating rocks, when they had excavated Ultima Weapon. He reached automatically for his gunblade, only to find his empty pocket. Of course. The Lionheart had been destroyed when he had been captured. They both lay there, huddled, mesmerized…
…as the large, familiar, ominous shadow darkened the future, present, and past…
"How're you holding up?"
Selphie slid softly into the seat opposite Zell in the cafeteria. The past few days had been hell for them both. Only now were they beginning to regain something of their former selves. Quistis' death had affected them deeply, and what made it worse was that nobody knew why she had died. The bubble of noise in the cafeteria was the same as always. Perhaps things would get back to normal. Eventually. She had Irvine, didn't she? And she would have him forever…
"I – I don't know." Zell said truthfully. He didn't know. There were so many things…
"Were you in love with her?"
Selphie blurted out the words, turning a bright crimson as the words escaped her lips. She looked down and bit her lip. She hadn't meant to say it out loud…so blunt, so tactless…
"With Quisty?"
Selphie nodded slightly and gestured with her hands as if to say "Of course."
"I'm not sure." And it was the truth. Had he really been in love with her? Or had the feelings of friendship just become so strong that the barrier between friendship and love had been overcome? He didn't know. And now he never would. "I'm not sure," he repeated softly.
"I just wanted you to know – Zell – if you ever needed to talk…" the brunette bowed her head slightly, ashamed of herself. How could she expect his feelings to be overcome just by talking? She could never understand what he was going through, never, even though she was going through it herself. You couldn't get inside people like that. It was – their mind. Would he misunderstand…
"I'd like that." Zell whispered, smiling crookedly and placing his warm hand on top of hers. "And by the way…"
His smile blossomed now, genuine and beautiful in its simplicity.
"Congratulations. I hope you and Irvine will be very happy together."
"What is it?"
Rinoa scrambled to her feet and prepared her Limit Break magic. She was going to need it if they were even going to have a chance in battle. Without the Lionheart…
"What are you doing?"
"We – we'll have to fight…"
Squall found that he was trembling. He'd always tried to protect her. And now, it was just the two of them. If she was hurt…
The shadow emerged from behind the melting wall, the grotesque head, the dreadful weapon, the rearing, bucking legs and body…
Omega Weapon…the monster they had never managed to defeat…
He was in a daze…he got up quickly – too quickly – the blood rushed to his head and stars winked before his eyes…
"Let me handle this…"
He wouldn't let Rinoa get hurt – he wouldn't! But she was already up, junctioned and ready…
The next few minutes passed in a misty haze. He was hitting the monster as hard as he could with magic, but he was weakening…weakening…
Healing, hitting, the rhythm was quickening, maybe – maybe they could do this together?
The air around them was darkening. The monster was getting weaker, he could tell. But as the stars in the air around them glistened maliciously, the meteors and comets hurtled and whisked around them. The Terra Break. The Ultimate…
He was weak, down, but not dead. He heard a cry beside him, a soft scream and gasp. He turned blindly towards her and caught her falling body in his arms as the monster exploded in smithereens of blinding light.
"Rinoa…"
I know, I know, that chapter was really crap…but flame me if you want to, just please please review!! I only got two reviews for my last chapter…and I am really depressed…does this story suck?