This is the final chapter of Brian's (Azrieal) story. Following it are some thoughts that Brian put to print, I hope that you enjoyed it. He has 2 other R/S fics in folders that are complete and that I will posting. Look for "The Angel, The Witch and The Lion" and "The Sacrifice" to be posted by the weekend. He also has atleast a dozen one-shot fics that I will also be posting.

Alicia

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Chapter 16: On Angel's Wings

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The voices echoed in his mind as he tumbled towards oblivion-

"I'll be waiting here..." the male said, his voice barely above a whisper.

She looked around them, taking in the beautiful scenery and floral scents of the flower field behind the orphanage.

"Why?" the girl asked, uncertain what the man she loved was trying to say.

"I'll be 'waiting' here." the man stated, pointing down at the ground, clarifying their position .

"For what?" she asked as a tender smile spread across her face, she understood now, but didn't want to interrupt him, he was in rare form.

"I'll be waiting here...so if you come here...you will find me. I promise."

Small tears formed in her eyes, the sincerity and emotion that he spoke with struck her to the core.

"I promise too."

He smiled, that soft gentle half-smile that sent her heart soaring.

**********

"Squall...open your eyes." the voice was soft and almost angelic.

The young knight forced his eyes open, then closed them immediately as the bright light nearly blinded him.

"It's ok...you're eyes will adjust..."

Squall complied and opened his eyes again, there before him stood a beautiful woman, her hair the color of auburn like his own, and she had eyes of the deepest azure colored eyes. She wore a simple ivory colored robe, her body surrounded by a golden aura.

"Who-who are you?" he asked.

She smiled at him, her eyes lighting up.

"It's me, Squall...Raine...your mother."

Squall pushed himself up into a sitting position, "Mother? Is that really you? Am I dead?"

Her smile remained in place as she stepped towards him and gently touched his cheek.

"No...now is not your time, Squall...Hyne has special plans for you..."

Squall leaned into her touch, "I missed you, mother...I'm sorry...about Ellone...I tried...tried to not make it happen that way."

Her expression sadden a little, "I know you tried, son. Ellone...the magic corrupted her, for so long she didn't have a knight to keep her in balance...and when she finally found one it was too late."

Squall nodded, "I'm sorry...I wanted her to live...to be with me again...to be a family."

Raine tilted her head slightly, "You have a family, Squall...one that is waiting for you...one that needs you...right now. It's time for you to go back Squall."

Squall's eyes widened, "Rinoa...she's safe?"

Rain nodded, her smile growing wider.

"Yes, she is...but she needs her knight. You must remember Squall, that the magic can corrupt, you must always be her balance, her anchor. Never hide your love for her, because she will need it, and you will need her love for you. There is still a great many things left for you to accomplish, and you can do that from here."

Squall nodded, fighting back the surge of tears.

"Will I see you again?"

Raine bent down and kissed him softly on the forehead, "I will always be with you...now go...your Sorceress waits for you, Knight."

A bright light surrounded Squall, blinding all his senses as his body began to fade away.

"Be brave son...be brave."

**********

They landed in a heap, their bodies piled together.

Irvine shook his head trying to clear his thoughts, "Where are we?"

Zell looked around him, "I know this place...this is the flower field behind the orphanage...how did we get here?"

Rinoa wiped the dirt from her dress and stood up on shaky legs, "I'm sorry...I think I did it, this place feels safe...I guess I inadvertently brought us all here."

Quistis gave her a sympathetic look, "It's ok, Rin. At least we know where we are, the orphanage was on the Centra continent. Shouldn't be too hard to get hold of Garden."

Rinoa smiled sadly at her, "Thank you...I guess...I guess we just wait then...huh?"

Quistis nodded, "Yeah..."

"Hey guys...shouldn't that have closed by now?" Selphie asked, pointing at the still open portal.

The group turned to face it.

"That is odd...it should have closed immediately after we landed here." Quistis said, her brows furrowed in confusion.

Suddenly the portal began to crackle as waves of streamed light rolled off it.

Zell pushed the girls back, "Something's coming through!"

The young SeeD's didn't hold back their surprise as Seifer Almasy stepped casually through the portal, his broken gunblade held tightly in his right hand.

"What? You were expecting someone else?" he growled.

The clouds darkened, thunder rolled in the distance and the wind picked up as Seifer and the SeeD's starred at each other.

Seifer smirked, "Guess this is how it ends huh? Too bad Squally's not here, I might have got some enjoyment out of this."

Rinoa stepped around Zell, much to his dismay.

"Go away, Seifer...before I kill you myself."

The fallen knight chuckled, "Right...you might be a sorceress now Rin, but you have no idea how to use your powers."

Rinoa's eyes flashed yellow her anger rushing the surface, "Do you really want to find out?"

Seifer took a cautious step back, "You're bluffing...you don't have it in you to kill me."

Rinoa casually raised her hand, the magic forming in her fingertips, "Wanna bet? You are responsible for the death of my knight...the man I love."

The young Sorceress stepped forward maliciously, her eyes glowing yellow.

Quistis grabbed Zell, "We have to do something, we can't let her kill him!"

Zell rolled his eyes, "Why not?"

Quistis stared at her friend blankly, "Because it's Rinoa...Squall wouldn't want this for her."

Rinoa turned her head slightly to address her friends, "Don't get in my way...Seifer must pay for what he has done."

Selphie approached her friend slowly, "And he will Rinny...but you can't do it this way."

Rinoa spun and faced the young girl, "Why not!? Squall's dead! He's to blame...didn't you love Squall? Wasn't he like a brother to you!?"

Selphie nodded her head vigorously as the tears welled in her eyes, "You know I thought the world of Squall! I did love him, he was my brother in so many ways! But Rin...Squall wouldn't want this...because he knows it's not you..."

Rinoa paused, her confused emotions visible on her pale face, "He wouldn't? How do you know?"

Zell was beside her now, his voice calm. "Because he loves you, Rin. He would never want you to commit murder."

Rinoa's eyes flashed again, "Murder!? This wont be murder! It will be justice!"

She spun back around, her hand glowing with the magic, and hurtled it at Seifer, slamming into his chest, the former knight was sent sprawling backwards through the air, landing with a grunt and smoke rising from his burnt chest.

Rinoa marched towards his fallen form, her hand still glowing.

"You will pay for everything, you son of a - "

And then she felt it, the familiar tug on her soul that she had not felt since...

She spun around quickly, looking everywhere for the source. Her eyes traveled up to the sky, as the gusting wind slowly died down.. Then a white feather softly grazed her cheek, with gentle hands, Rinoa grabbed the feather, letting it rest in her open palm.

I'll be 'waiting' here...

Suddenly, millions of flower petals blew around them, all different colors and shapes. Rinoa began to laugh as tears of joy streamed down her face, she gripped the feather tightly in her hand as the wind came back to life and the dark clouds were pushed away as the sun, in all its glory, fought back the darkness.

The SeeD's, unsure of what was happening looked in awe at the young Sorceress as she dashed past them, a serene smile spread across her face, running further into the flower field, in the direction of the shoreline. They paused to give each other confused looks, before quickly following after, Seifer's unconscious body, all but forgotten.

**********

Rinoa reached the beach as the pillar of light shot down from the heavens, partially covering her eyes, she approached it, her heart in her throat and her hand still holding the white feather tightly.

I'll be waiting here...so if you come here...you will find me. I promise.

He appeared then, within the light. His features the same as when she saw him in the witch's castle, his long hair flowing behind him in the wind and his now bearded face was spread in the most gorgeous smile she had ever seen.

Rinoa felt her knees begin to shake and heart pound mercilessly in her chest. No thoughts other than reaching him entered her mind, so she ran to him, arms spread out, praying to Hyne that this wasn't a dream.

Squall caught her in his arms and held her to him, his own own tears falling from his eyes as he held his Sorceress in his arms.

Rinoa rained soft kisses all over his face, her lips lingering softly on his. She pulled back slightly, their mouths hovering close together.

"You came back..." she whispered.

Squall nodded, too many emotions running through his body.

"I always will..."

Their friends reached the beach, the looks of astonishment on their faces speaking more than words ever could. Selphie being her usual self, began to cheer and jump in place as both Zell and Irvine broke out into wide grins, while Quistis smiled at her friends return, making no effort to wipe away her tears.

Rinoa clung to her knight, "Please don't leave me again...I couldn't take it."

Squall held her tighter, "I wont...you're never gonna get rid of me. You can count on that."

She pulled back again and kissed him with so much passion he felt his knees go weak, forgetting where they were, the two lovers fell to the sandy beach, lost in their passionate embrace.

Zell's eyes widened, "Whoa! Ok...looks like they need some alone time."

Irvine cocked his head, "She's pretty flexible."

"Irvine Kinneas! Don't stare!"

Quistis laughed, "Come on...lets go round up Seifer."

The four friends left the Sorceress and her Knight to their private moment.

Rinoa broke their kiss and placed her hand on his cheek lovingly, "I love you, Squall..."

Her Knight smiled at her, taking Rinoa's breath away.

"I love you too, Rinny...always."

She smiled and kissed him again, knowing that this time it wouldn't end with them fading away. They would always be there for each other, whatever life threw at them didn't matter, because she had her Knight by her side, for this lifetime and the countless lifetimes that remained. In that she was thankful, because she knew now that their love was 'Truly Eternal'.

The End.

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Authors Notes -

In closing: Hi everyone, I'm sitting here in a very uncomfortable hospital bed right, its Wednesday, July 28th, 2002, I think it's a little after 9pm, not sure though because my eyesight sucks after about 5 feet. Anyways, I am writing this to all of you because everyone one of you were with me in mind and spirit as I wrote "Truly Eternal", I took all suggestions to heart, trying to implement those that made the most sense to the story. I know in some cases, something might not have made sense to people, or it might not have jelled with what I had written previously in the story, but for what it is, I think this is some of my best work. One of the things I will regret is not being able to finish "Lost Time" which was one of those stories that just smacked me in the head one night while I was watching Rock Star (Don't ask), I am saddened that I won't be able to get past the 3rd chapter on that one, but hopefully you will all understand. I would like to do some shout-outs to certain people, and here they are:

Ashbear - I can honestly say that in all my 28 years, I have never seen a writer with more talent and more writing instinct than you. You took the time to help a rank amateur like myself when I hit snags with this story, your wisdom and insight into the characters of Rinoa and Squall is unmatched. Stories like Crimson Lies is so flowing and natural, that you make me feel like I were actually playing a sequel to this game. The depths that you take these characters in C.L. is amazing, and I hope you forgive me if I can't finish reading it, I know it will be amazing. Also...Castles in the Sky...in my opinion, there has been no other story that has captured my imagination and made feel so much than this story. I truly hope that you find the time to rewrite certain parts as you once told me that you wanted to do. I know it will be excellent. And you better give that girl her eyesight back...she deserves it=) Thank you for everything, live long and may God bless you and your family.

Wayward Temptest - Wow, you are right up there with Ashbear. Tides of Fate, is in my mind one of the most touching and eloquently written Squinoa stories ever! The Ice That Abandons Me has such depth that I forgot I was actually reading a story, and not watching some sort of movie. The Mating Habits...had me laffing my ass off, while at the same time being sincerely sweet and endearing. And finally, Tempo Giusto, simply amazing, I can't say enough about this story, so I wont waste time putting my thoughts down when it wouldn't do justice to how I feel about that story. I wish you all the best and ask that you keep Ashbear in line, she can be a bit feisty, oh and make sure she does that thing with Castles...don't let her slack off on that. May God bless you and your family.

Optical Goddess - Wow...I can say that your stories, Leather Gloves and Lost and Found were beyond hot. Lost and Found was the one of very first Squinoa stories that I read, then my wife read it, then she read Leather Gloves...and then, well, that would be going into NC-17 territory if I told you what happened after that. Please, continue writing, you are extremely talented and you should never waste that. May God bless you and your family.

Kate Lorraine - Girlfriend, you and I have known each a couple years now. Your "A Mist Over Winhil" was the very first S/R fic that I read. It touched me, and will forever remain one of my favorite stories of all time. I wish you the best in everything that you do, and hopefully you can take some times out of your busy schedule and write some more, we miss your stories. God bless you, Kate.

If I left anyone out, I sincerely apologize, my mind is pretty scattered right now, with all the drugs and treatments I'm undergoing. I can feel that I don't have much time left, and I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me or sad, the best thing you can do is go on, live your life for what it is - a gift. I did my time, found a woman that I love with all my being and will hopefully see again some day. In closing I leave you with this....

"Whatever you do in this life, remember that nothing is at seems...we all change, we all grow, we all learn that we are here for a reason, it might not be the reason you thought it would be, but it's something...make the most of it. Because, you don't get to push that rewind button and try it all over again...just remember to live." - My father (The last words he spoke to me before he passed away in 1995)

P.S. - If you see a shooting star...it doesn't hurt to believe...so make that wish...

Brian "Azrieal" Thompson