þLd) °T
Š, , , , , à=Ð/ ,
(Insert proper legal disclaimer here)
Chapter 5: Preperations are Made.
Construction had begun on the ships that she requested. Rinoa Heartilly watched as literally thousands of Esthar's technitions worked on several space craft identical to the Ragnarok. Laguna Loire, the president of Esthar, and the late Squall's father, stood next to her, tapping his foot.
"I sure hope you know what you're doing," Laguna said worriedly. Just as she was about to answer him, and tell him that she knew what she was doing better than even he did, the elevator chimed behind her on the observation platform. The door slid open, revealing a beautiful young woman with dark brown hair, and deep green eyes.
"Akari!" Rinoa was pleased to see her.
"Hi, Rin. How's construction going?" Akari stepped out of the elevator.
"Just fine. How's the training going?"
"Well. It's going better than I planned. Zell's in charge of combat training, and I put Selphie in charge of pilot training. Without...um...Irvine around...I put Jek in charge of explosive and combat weapons training," she reported.
"Who's Jek?" Rinoa was curious.
"Oh, he's a transfer from Galbadia Garden. He and Irvine were close friends. He was at Irvine's funeral, don't you remember? The guy with the blue hair," she demonstrated this point by jabbing her finger towards her own hair.
"Oh....yeah..I saw him. So he and Irvine were good friends?"
"Yes. They were both about equally matched. Irvine was just a bit better," Akari sighed.
"So? Is it time for my weekly training session?" Rinoa perked up.
"Yes, I brought his weapon, and I brought my own. C'mon, let's go. I've got the Ragnarok on standby for us. Zone won't be too happy about me being late, so let's go."
"Zone is our pilot?" Rinoa narrowed her eyebrows.
"Yeah. He volunteered for the job," Akari said, and ushered Rinoa into the elevator.
"Who's the co-pilot?" Rinoa asked, as Akari poked one of the directional pads.
"Who do you think?" Akari cast her a wry grin.
"Not Watts..." Rinoa groaned.
"I'm afraid so. Hey, go easy on them. You guys were close friends, right?" Akari smiled.
"Oh yes. We were very close, but don't get me wrong. I just can't see Zone and Watts in pilot chairs, piloting me around. Are you sure they check out?"
"Of course they do. I trained them both myself. You know how good a pilot I am," Akari stood taller. Rinoa rolled her eyes in resignation, and stepped off the elevator first, as it came to the bottom floor. There, in the center of the hanger, sat the Ragnarok, still looking the same as it had when she and Squall had boarded it. There were happy memories on that ship. Rinoa cast those thoughts aside. She hadn't totally gotten over Squall, nor would she ever completely, but she had returned to her normal attitude and pace of life in the face of this horrible incident. She wore the kind of clothing Squall would as a sign to everyone. A sign that she would never love anyone else as long as she lived. At least she hoped that's what others thought when they saw her wearing those clothes. Rinoa climbed the boarding ramp, and noticed a large gash on the inner hull. She remembered where that came from.
"Squall and I were fighting a Propagator there, and it clawed the wall as it slashed at me. Squall stepped in its way, and sliced it's hand off, before it could hit him or me." she said suddenly to no one in particular.
"Really? I didn't know where that came from. I always thought it was one of those clumsy CC group members who used to inhabit this ship, during your time in the Compressed World," Akari shrugged, and turned to the right, where the elevator leading to the cockpit would be.
The cockpit...Rinoa thought...more happy memories. That was the first time she had held Squall close. That was the first time that he hadn't pushed her away. That was the first time they had truly had interest in each other.
"......inoa!"
"Huh?" Rinoa shook her head, releasing the memory.
"Get on the elevator!" Akari scolded.
"Oh...ah...yeah." she said, and hopped on.
"What is wrong with you?" Akari insisted.
"Oh, just thinking about Squall..." Rinoa knew how to end the conversation, if her actions were ever being questioned. All she had to do was say she had been thinking about Squall, and everyone would leave her alone. Akari Yoshida wasn't one of those people.
"Rinoa. We've been over this plenty of times. Before practice, you shouldn't go to thinking about Squall," she put a hand on Rinoa's shoulder. They arrived in the cockpit.
"Rinoa! Long time no see!" Zone shouted, and hopped up from the pilots seat, arms outstretched. Rinoa hugged him, telling him it was good to see him, then sat down in one of the passenger seats nearby.
"Hi Rinoa," Watts said sheepishly from the co-pilot's chair. She smiled and returned his greeting, then slumped her head down on the control panel in front of her.
"Where are we going this time 'Kari?" Rinoa asked.
"We're headed to one of those nearby plateaus," Akari said, pointing out the viewport. Rinoa looked out, and saw the barren landscape of Esthar before her. About two hundred miles ahead, she could just make out a plateau that stood out amongst the rest. So that was to be their place of battle. Good, she liked high altitude training.
"Set her down," she heard Akari say, as they reached their destination quickly. The ship lurched to a halt, and Akari brushed past her, hopping on the elevator. It was always this way. Akari would go and prepare for the practice battle, and wait for Rinoa at the destination. After a few moments, Rinoa got up, and followed Akari out onto the plateau. Her weapon sat on the ground, deactivated. She picked it up anyway. She had gotten accustomed to the grip of the LionHeart gunblade, Squall's weapon. A week after he had been slain, she had asked Akari to train her in the art of the gunblade, since Akari was a well-known schollar in the art. Akari had reluctantly accepted, but had now grown fond of their practice fights. Akari activated her gunblade, which surged out as a beam of pink energy, provided by the pulse energy crystals inside the hilt. Rinoa followed suit, and activated hers, taking pleasure in the brilliant blue color of the blade. The two deadly females circled each other, looking for weaknesses in the other's defensive pose, holding their gunblades high above their heads. Rinoa began the battle. She ran forward, and executed a perfect " climhazzard " meneuver, stabbing at Akari, then leaping over her head. She landed perfectly on the ground, but was knocked down by Akari's " cross-slash" technique. Momentarily paralyzed, Rinoa could only watch as Akari came in for what they had dubbed the " killing blow ". One woman would tap the other in the back with their respective gunblade, and end the match. A new surge of energy entered Rinoa, and she rolled away, turning in mid-somersault. She came to her feet, and executed a
" blade-beam " move, throwing some of the energy from her gunblade at Akari, who held up her voilet gunblade, and blocked the blow. It still sent her backwards a bit, her feet grinding into the ground. She gritted her teeth, and leapt into the air, summoning a volly of small meteoroids to crash down upon Rinoa...." meteorain " if she remembered correctly. Rinoa dodged the attack, and sped towards Akari. At the last possible moment, she leapt into the air, and hit Akari lightly with her gunblade, performing a perfect
" rough divide " attack. Akari fell to the ground, quite reasonably stunned. Rinoa quickly junctioned Shiva, and cast Aura on herself. Instantly, she felt impowered. Akari got up, and leapt towards her. She stood her ground, waiting for the attack. When Akari got there, Rinoa side-stepped, allowing Akari to fly by, and hit the dirt behind her. Rinoa turned around, pointed her gunblade, and pulled the trigger. The sound was deafening. She didn't know how Squall could have stood it for so long. A plasma blast issued from the hilt of the blade. Akari was faster, however, and leaped into the air. The blast from the gunblade devastated the area she had just been standing in, leaving a crater the size of a Malboro in it's wake. When Rinoa turned around, she saw Akari had landed, and now glowed gold. She had cast Aura on herself, and was prepared to use her limit break, the deadly " omni-slash ". She rushed Rinoa, and began slashing faster than the eye could see. Rinoa deftly dodged each blow, making Akari angrier, so that she used the technique over and over. Finally, Rinoa backflipped, and landed ten meters away. She prepared her own limit break, one that she had seen Squall use countless times, and hoped she could master. She had been practicing it behind Akari's back, and now smirked knowing she had the edge, if she could pull it off. She now rushed Akari, and performed eight perfect slashes, which Akari barely blocked. Unexpectedly, Rinoa hit Akari with the gunblade as if it were a golf club. Akari soared into the air as a result of the concussion that the blade caused. Rinoa leaped into the air with her, and, while in mid air, executed seventeen spot-on cuts with her gunblade, tossing Akari this way and that. Finally, Rinoa soared towards Akari, and delivered the final cut, pulling the trigger of her gunblade as she did. The explosion was increadible, and could probably be seen all the way in Esthar City. Akari flew through the air, and landed rough on the ground below her. She did not get back up. Rinoa landed near her, strolled up casually, and tapped Akari on the back with the LionHeart.
"Damn!" Zone exclaimed from the cockpit. He had been watching the whole battle with his mouth hanging open, nearly drooling.
Rinoa cast Full Life on Akari, who woke up groaning.
"Are you okay?" Rinoa asked, giggling.
"I...uh...yeah..but my leg seems to be broken, and I think I might have a black eye."
"Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to...I.." Rinoa gasped.
"It's allright. It's good, actually. I was used to winning, so its's good that I finally got my ass kicked by someone like you. You've got what it takes, Rinoa. You're ready for battle," Akari said as Rinoa helped her up.
Well, sorry to leave you without any info on what Rin's up to, but there was the fight scene...... Anyhow, chapter six will be up soon, so be expecting it. Everyone, thanks for your reviews. You all are incouraging me to write more, so I will....as soon as I finish this fifty-two chapter fic. There are forty-seven more chapters to go, so that will be a while. Catch you on the flip side!
ral space craft identical
