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CHAPTER THREE
TRAINING AND PLANNING
At 430 AM Squall finally gave up on sleep and decided to work out in the Training Center. He had been so wound up with thoughts of Rinoa agreeing to marry him that he had been able to do little more than toss and turn. So now he found himself wandering towards the Training Center hoping to work off enough energy to get some sleep.
As he walked down the hall leading to the steel blast doors, his thoughts trailed back to the previous night. After scraping Selphie off of the floor and dragging her home everyone else had decided to call it a night. Rinoa had said she wanted to go see her father as soon as possible and had headed back to her dorm to pack so that she could leave as soon as the train station opened the next day.
She had decided a few months ago to try to salvage her relationship with her father. It had been going well so far and she believed this would be a perfect chance to spend some quality time with him.
Squall hated to see her go without him but he had too many duties as Commander to leave on such short notice. He did plan on asking Quistis if she could take over for a few days so that he could meet up with Rinoa in Winhill after she talked to her father. That would give them a chance to talk to the current owner of Raine's old Pub to see if they could hold the wedding there.
Plus it would give him a chance to get away from his job for a few days and relax.
'Yeah that will be the day!'
As Squall entered the Training Center he stopped for a second to make sure he had Diablos and Bahamut junctioned. Once satisfied he proceeded on to look for some T-Rexaurs to beat up. Moving over the bridge he quickly found himself confronted by several Grats.
Stepping forward he slammed Lionheart into the closest one and pulled the trigger, sending a energy pulse down the blade into the leafy monster in front of him. The Grat, unable to get away in time, tried to spit poison on him but he quickly stepped back and cast a Blizzard spell. After the spell wore off the Grat, its body fell to the ground and melted in a pile of its own poisons and gastric juices.
Squall scanned around to find the other two Grats slinking around behind him in an attempt to attack his undefended back. He quickly spun around and charged at the nearest one, planning to cut it in half before they could double team him.
He was just recovering from the move when the T-Rexaur attacked.
It burst through the trees to his left and snapped up the remaining Grat in its mouth and devoured it whole before turning its attention to the remaining combatant. Squall, still off balance from his last attack found himself flung backwards by the beasts monstrous tail.
He slammed into a nearby downed tree and slid to the ground. He immediately jumped to his feet and cast a Cura on himself before rolling left to avoid the next swing.
I'm gonna have to be more careful with this guy! He's bigger than most of the T-Rexaurs in here.
'Squall! Can I play with the nice lizard? I need the exercise.'
'Whatever Diablos. Might as well.'
Squall gave himself over to the power of his GF and felt his body fade as Diablos burst forth from a orb of dark energy. Diablos reached up to the orb and allowed his own energy to mix before slamming it down on the beast below him. He then burst into a flock of bats and returned to Squalls mind.
'Damn! Barely fazed the overgrown Iguana. Any suggestions?'
Squall merely grunted as he charged forward and struck at the T-Rexaur. All he managed to do was just about get squished under it's foot. Jumping backwards he reached down to his belt and felt for one of the stones he had in a pouch there. He then tossed it up in the air and watched it break open releasing its magic.
Squall faded away for a second time as the scenery around him dimmed only to be replaced by swirling blacks and browns. Within seconds, massive rocks began to rain down. A few of them missed their target but for the most part they slammed into the T-Rexaur's back and head.
Squall watched and prepared for his next attack just as the monster gave one last growl before collapsing dead to the ground. Seeing this he stepped up and found a piece of Bone laying near its head. 'Hmmm. Irvine could probably use this to get a new upgrade on his Exeter.' He slipped the item in his pouch and prepared to move on.
Sudden clapping and hooting caused him to stop and spin around. But it was only Zell and Irvine so he slid his Gunblade back into its sheath and jogged towards them.
"What are you guys doing up? Oh, by the way, here's something you might be able to use Irvine." Squall drew to a stop in front of them and pulled out the piece of Dino Bone he had just found and tossed it to Irvine. Irvine went to catch it and missed it by about a mile before breaking out in drunken giggles. "What the hell! Are you two drinking again? And what are you doing in the Training Center if you are?"
"Whaddya mean, again! We never stopped, man. And we were out walking when we heard noises in here and decided to see who was fighting." Irvine let out a loud belch as he plopped down on the ground. "Speaking of which, what the heck did you think you were doing. That's a pretty stupid move taking on that T-Rexaur all on your own. You trying to widow Rinoa before you even get married?"
"Yeah Squall! You should be more careful next time. Besides if you woulda' told me I would have tagged along. I sure would have liked to give you a hand in that fight."
"In your condition, Zell? You would have been more trouble than help. Besides I had Diablos and Bahamut with me."
"Heh, your probably right. How is that overbearing goof Diablos doing anyway's?"
'I heard that!'
'Be quiet Diablos or I'll junction Siren again. Remember last time I did that she wouldn't leave you alone until you promised to go out on a date with her.'
'Hey I was just making a statement. I can't help it if she likes me. Besides how are we supposed to go on a date? We're inside a brain. Sheesh.'
'Diablos! Last warning.'
'Shutting up!'
Squall turned his attention back to his friends, but not before he heard a deep throated laugh from Bahamut. Apparently he found the younger GF to be quite amusing this morning.
"You guys want to get out of here? I think I'm gonna head back and get some sleep before I take Rinoa to the Train Station."
"Sure, why not. We ran out of alcohol a little while ago anyways and I think there's a little left at Irvine's place." Zell dropped his empty can of Old Galbadian Lite then turned and followed as the other two started for the door. "Hey wait for me!"
"I'll see you guys later. Make sure to watch out for Faculty. SeeD or not, you still shouldn't be drinking and wandering around the Garden." Seeing Zell and Irvine walk off towards their dorms Squall pushed open his own door and stepped into his room. Dropping his jacket on the couch he headed for his kitchen and grabbed a drink of water. He then went to the bathroom to clean some of the grime off of his face from the battle in the Training Center. Satisfied, he was about to turn out the light and head to bed when he caught his reflection in the mirror.
'Yup, I sure have changed.'
He then killed the light and went to his bedroom where he collapsed fully clothed and was snoring within minutes.
Rinoa's alarm went off at 600 am sharp. She arose immediately from a light sleep and began getting ready for her trip to Deling City. After a quick shower and some light makeup she was ready to grab her bags and meet Squall by the main gate. On her way out she whistled for Angelo and headed out.
Within minutes she was heading for the main gate. As she approached she saw that Squall had already arrived and from the look on his face and the bags under his eyes she could see he hadn't slept well.
"You okay Squall?"
"Yeah, just tired." Taking Rinoa's bag from her he turned and the two began the walk towards Balamb Town.
Knowing that Squall wasn't much of a conversation starter and that it was a several minute walk, Rinoa took the lead and poked him in the side.
"What was that for?" He exclaimed as he jumped slightly.
"Just making sure you were awake." Trying not to giggle she trotted a few paces ahead and turned to wait for Squall.
"Hahaha, everyone's a comedian today."
"So? Have you talked to your father yet?"
"No, I will later." Squall glanced up to see that they had arrived at Balamb Town and turned to head down the street to the Train Station.
"Ok, I think that's everything." Exclaimed Rinoa as the baggage handler loaded the last of her gear into the baggage car. She turned to Squall and gave him a look that he found rather scary. He started to back away but before he had even moved two feet Rinoa pounced on him and gave him a hug. "Take care Squall. I'll see you in four days." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek that turned him a bright red before turning and walking towards the passenger car.
"Take care Rinoa. Be careful."
"Don't worry. I have Shiva with me. And besides I'm just visiting my dad. What's the worst that could happen?"
"Yeah your probably right. Ok I'll see you later."
With that he turned and strode towards the exit.
Rinoa settled into her cabin as the train began it's descent into the underwater tunnel towards Timber. Opening the small carry on bag she had brought with her, she pulled out the Timber Maniacs magazine she had borrowed from Squall and began to read.
'Rinoa, someone is coming towards the door.'
'What? Oh thank you Shiva.'
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!
"Just a second!" Rinoa yelled as she stood up and walked towards the door. She could hear talking coming from the other side of the door and figured it was a steward checking to see if she wanted anything.
She pulled the door open to see who was there. Just as she did she heard a mental shout of warning.
Unfortunately, Shiva's warning was a second too late. The last thing Rinoa saw was the butt of a Rifle connecting with her face.
Then blacknessā¦.
To be continued.
Authors Ramblings:
Hello all. I hope you like this chapter. I am tying to give the GF's a bigger role in this story and I hope it works. Also, I was wondering what everyone thought of Squall's character in this story. Do you think that's what he would be like a year later or would he be more like he is in the game? If you have a second to do it, drop a review and give me your opinion or any other criticism you might have. Thanks again to Angelprinczess29 for the reviews.
P.S. Don't ya hate cliffhangers?
