~~ A dream is a Wish your heart makes... ~~

Rinoa glanced up as Ellone quietly entered. Instead of the wild eyed witch she'd been expecting Rinoa looked pale, drained. Whatever type of spell she'd cast, or whatever magic she was using. It had drained her. Squall didn't look much better, head bandaged much as it had been when she had first seen him.
Rinoa eyes were dark naturally, but now they looked as if there was no brown iris remaining, only a black void, outlined with red.
"Rinoa. Are you ok?"
Even though she couldn't understand why Rinoa had felt the need to attack Squall, she was taking this hard. The girl shrugged slightly, still stroking Squall's hair.
"Why don't you go get some food, and I'll sit with him for a while? You need to eat. And maybe get some rest?"
Rinoa nodded, rising sluggishly. "I'll be back in an hour..."
"Okay..." Ellone walked over to her, ready to catch the girl should she fall. Rinoa seemed to regain her balance as she neared the door. Ellone watched her till she left, then sat down next to Squall.
"What a fine mess this is..."
Squall said nothing, chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. She studied him quietly. Dark lashes nearly rested against the upper curve of his cheeks, except that they curled up just a few millimeters away. From Raine. His facial shape and nose he'd gotten from her as well. But the ears, cheeks, and eyes... those were Laguna's. She remembered the comment she'd made to him on the pod before he jumped. Those innocent, irradesient eyes had indeed, belonged in the past.
"Squall..." She whispered softly, wishing he'd wake up, so she could be sure that everything was okay. But she didn't get a reply. She slipped her hand around his, closing her eyes.


Zell was carefully handling the energy crystal. The bangle, for some reason, reminded him of the eye of Horus or Orisis... One of those guys. Anyway, trust Odine to have a few dozen lying around. Those had been the hardest item, while they had been trying to upgrade their weapons. Once Bahamut had been taught the rare item ability, it had been a little easier - but not much.
The crystal pulsed with a light blue light, reminding him of the core... and of Rinoa's blue duster. Her duster before it'd been turned purple, thanks to Squall's blood. The hand holding the crystal started to shake, and Selphie placed her hands over his. "Zell... It'll be okay." He set the crystal down, eyes brighter then usual. "It won't be okay, Selphie... We don't know if we've lost Squall... And we *did* loose a friend, no matter what she did to him... Selphie... I..."
She said nothing, but instead just placed her arms around him, hugging him as tightly as she could. He'd been the closest to the both of them, so this was hitting him pretty hard. And here they were, asking him to make a bangle that none of them knew anything about.
"I'm so sorry, Zell..."
He used the curve of her shoulder as a pillow, returning the hug tightly. "So am I..." He spoke softly, words slightly slurred. As though he was holding back tears.


They were standing in a sea of color. Petals of every hue danced around them, a whirlwind of white petals in the middle of the field. Ellone frowned slightly, something about this was wrong. Beside her, though he could not see her, was Squall.
He was looking for someone. She watched as his gaze shifted restlessly around, then Rinoa appeared, back turned to him. She too, was looking for someone.
"Rinoa." Squall spoke her name softly, since they were maybe two feet from each other. Nothing. Perplexed, he called her name again, louder.
Still nothing. Ellone felt him tick over words in his mind. Something about waiting, and a promise being made. A promise that wasn't kept. What was keeping them from each other?
However, as the landscape around changed to all white, Ellone felt a frission of fear. She was supposed to be able to control what he could see, but this was different. She was shunted into Squall's room, standing beside Rinoa. The girl was sitting on Squall's bed, eyes wide as she stared at the picture on his nightstand.
She had expected maybe a group shot, one of her, one of them, maybe one of Matron and Cid... but not what she saw before her. Selphie had taken the picture just a week before. Irvine was reclining in one of the chairs, hair out of its usual ponytail. His coat and hat were also gone. His eyes were half closed, studying the yellow butterfly that was perched on his "trigger finger."
Almost the same pose he'd been in when they had first seen him. Ellone watched as she placed the photo back on his nightstand, other hand reaching to clasp the Griever ring. She spoke to the photo.
"So it's been you, all this time... Would he leave me for you, I wonder? He wouldn't. I think..." A pause. "Or would he?"
She made up her mind to leave that very night. Squall loved her, she was sure of it. There was a bond between them that could not be broken...

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and the contact was broken. She stiffened slightly, not knowing who had entered the room. She glanced upwards, meeting a pair of dark eyes, but not Rinoa's.
"Matron...?"
"I decided to come see him. After passing by Rinoa. Did you see anything unusual?"
"They're both..."
Matron nodded. "I thought as much. Squall had to have resisted rather strongly, for her to physically attack him. She feared he was going to die, so she gave him some of her magic. Which means..."
"What?" Ellone asked, after the rather uncomfortable pause.
"If we place the bangle on her... She might die. Squall might die, or they both will..."
"Then what... What are we going to do?"
"He needs to awaken, in order to live. But I don't know if she's controlling that. She may rather they die together, then for him to be with Irvine. I suppose she loves him that much."
"What kind of love is that, though? She knew that something was between them..."
"A love for a Knight. But uncommon... Perhaps it's because she's not just one, Ellone. As you and I are. She has three within her... Adel, Ulitemicia... and herself. Her own love for Squall, combined with the other two's needs for a Knight... Who knows? But, she'd give her life to save his, at least for a little while. Think of it that way."


Zell and Selphie watched as the crystal went from light blue to a darker shade. Selphie wondered if was feeding off someone's emotions. For it was that deep blue for a mere moment, before fading back to the lighter color.

~~ But sometimes, dreams don't come true if a heart is broken.... ~~
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A/N - Hmm. Well. Ok, this might be a long note. I decided that one of them needed to be a tad more humane about what Rinoa did. I choose Zell, because many sites (and stories) seem to imply a friendship between them. I also think there's one in the game. And so, Zell is torn, between wanting revenge, and feeling sorry for her.
Two: Ok, so it's not all Rinoa's fault that she attacked him. I think her hurt over his no coming for her, combined with those two forces within her, would cause her to attack him. But afterwards, her love for him causes her to save him, even if in the process - it could kill them both. But will they both die? Maybe. Maybe the bangle would work, without killing her. Or maybe it would. Or maybe he'll snap out of it.
If I keep this chapter, it will be because of your reviews. I may rewrite it, so please let me know what you honestly think of it, ok?


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