A/N: Here it is.. My first solo fic! Please do read and review. I'm gonna try to keep everyone guessing for the first few chapters or so. Expect the unexpected. =-)
LEGACY
CHAPTER ONE
"I am Ultimecia. Time shall compress…All existence denied."
Rinoa shielded her eyes as twin spears of luminous ethereal energy erupted outward from what constituted the head of the speaking monstrosity before her. When the light finally dissipated, the darkness seemed oppressive. There didn't seem to be anything else in the sprawling vortex; just Rinoa, her companions, and the enormous creature claiming to be Ultimecia. Suddenly it raised its clawed hands and a pillar of flames descended around her friends, bringing them to their knees. Her nerve endings became alight with pain as she too fell to the floor, gnashing her teeth and struggling not to succumb to the intense agony of the assault.
"C…curaga," Rinoa hissed out, feeling a warm and comforting sensation envelope her. The others weren't so fortunate, she noted. Quistis gave one last gasp before going limp, her whip clattering to the floor. Before anyone could react a cherub appeared out of thin air; a stark and almost laughable contrast to the ghastly atmosphere. Rinoa tried to scream but no sound emerged. She could tell what was about to occur before the angelic figure could even wave its wand, had seen the results of its arrival twice before; when Zell had fallen, battling Ultimecia in her palace, and when Selphie had been defeated on the mountaintop battling Griever. Rinoa could only watch in horror as Quistis' limp body disintegrated into nothingness, becoming one with the barren vortex surrounding them.
Absorbed into time…
"NO!" The anguished cry emerged from Irvine's lips, mere paces away from where Quistis had last stood. First Zell, then *Selphie*… now Quistis. He couldn't see through the tears that streamed down his face, but that didn't stop him from firing his rifle. The sharpshooter unloaded round after round into Ultimecia's seemingly unbreakable carapace; each shot ricocheting off or losing itself in the void of her cloak.
Squall, fresh rage piled on top of his already substantial fury, lunged at Ultimecia and let loose his vicious Renzokuken combo; slashing, jabbing, leaping, swinging, slicing.
The creature groaned in what Rinoa had to assume was pain, and countered with a crippling holy magic attack. "Squall…no…" was all she could manage, watching her only love trembling in agony on the ground, hoping against hope that the damned cherub wouldn't come to claim him as well…
It was then that she noticed something odd; the monstrosity was drawing magic from a vaguely human form, wrapped upside down and entangled in the massive entity that was Ultimecia. "Drawing magic… but why? For what?"
The entire atmosphere began to transform, and Rinoa felt an ominous feeling blossom inside of her. For a moment she expected another pillar of fire, but she soon found out this was far more malicious. Colors and shapes of so many different groupings as to defy existence danced before her eyes, as she braced herself for the pain that was to come. The writhing form of Squall caught the corner of her eye, and she reacted as soon as she could. "Shell!" A luminous pink orb materialized around Squall as the words rolled off her tongue.
And then the Doomsday hit.
Rinoa avoided the brunt of the blast, and Squall's shell had protected him. Irvine, however, was not so fortunate. Rinoa didn't even need to watch; she could hear the cherub's wings and the familiar sound of her friend disintegrating, and when she looked back, he was gone. Absorbed into time. Just like the others.
Squall felt raw energy surge through him once again, and lunged at Ultimecia a second time, brandishing his Lionheart blade and attacking for all he was worth.
"Reflect on your…childhood…"
The words came out cold and heartless, all the while Squall was pummeling away at her with his gunblade. It took Rinoa a moment to register their meaning.
"Your sensation… your words… your emotions…"
Was Ultimecia speaking to her? After all, Squall could not reflect upon his childhood, for he had no memories of it. The words conjured images of Rinoa's mother Julia… of her father George… the big mansion and the little puppy named Angelo. It all seemed so long ago, so final… Rinoa longed for things to be that way again, to be simple. She missed being carefree, she missed her mother, and her father…
"Time…it will not wait…"
This was true, Rinoa knew it. It didn't wait, it just kept traveling and leaving her in the dust…
Squall continued striking Ultimecia's ugly visage with his gunblade.
"No matter…how hard you hold on… it escapes you…"
Rinoa was becoming mesmerized by Ultimecia's words, and she slowly felt control of her actions slipping away.
"And…"
Squall's body was inexplicably repelled from Ultimecia, and he fell back to the floor.
"So does your will."
The words seemed to surprise Rinoa. As if the last bit wasn't supposed to have been spoken, as if it didn't belong.
"You can… feel it, running away…along with your sanity…"
The world seemed to blur and Rinoa shook her head to clear it, but realized the effort was futile.
"You… know what you must do…"
Rinoa's arm trembled as she raised it, leveled the blaster edge attached to her wrist, then launched it.
Watched as it severed Squall's head from his body.
***
Rinoa woke up, sweating.
She looked around in alarm, and realized everything was the way it had been when she went to sleep. A pile of Timber Maniacs was stacked on her side of the bed, the television was still in place, the LCD on its cable box giving off a dull red glow. She rolled over and felt a warm vacancy on the other side of the bed. "Squall?"
The bathroom door opened, shedding light on the dark room and Squall walked through, a towel wrapped around his waist. Rinoa felt a wave of relief wash over her. Thank God, he's alive. "Morning Rin--" He paused in midsentence. "Are you ok, babe? You don't look good."
It was then that Rinoa realized she breathing in ragged bursts. She stopped immediately, trying to calm herself. It was just a dream… just a horrible nightmare…"I'm fine, Squall… Fine." She seemed to be reassuring herself. To lighten the mood she stood and tip-toed over to Squall, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him softly. "How are you?"
A boyish smile tugged at the corner of Squall's lips, and his cheeks almost seemed to redden. "Good," he replied absently.
"Good," she said, nodding. "Because I'm good too." She broke away from his embrace and forced a smile. "I hosy the shower."
"You better get moving," Squall called over his shoulder after Rinoa had closed the door. "The service for Ma Dincht is in an hour and a half. We need to get down to Balamb as soon as we can."
Ma Dincht. Rinoa bit her lip as she thought about the poor woman. Her death had been unexpected, and a major blow for poor Zell. No one had seen it coming; just a massive heart attack, something that happens to people when they're old. But to Zell Ma Dincht had been all but ageless; the only mother that he truly had memories of. Rinoa had never known it possible for Zell to wear such a forlorn, lost expression. It was almost as if he was taking it worse than Pa Dincht.
Rinoa's reflection split in two as the medicine cabinet opened with a stubborn creak, and Rinoa pulled out scented lotion from behind a canister of hair gel belonging to Squall. It closed with the same eerie sound, and Rinoa's reflection came back together.
But it wasn't Rinoa's reflection.
Ultimecia stared back at her.
"N…no," Rinoa gasped.
"No matter how hard you hold on, it escapes you."
Rinoa began clawing at the glass, her lip trembling. "Stop it!"
"And… so does your will…"
"Damn you, witch! I don't know what you're talking about!"
"You can… feel it, running away… along with your sanity…"
Rinoa pulled back and punched her fist through the glass, shattering it.
"You… know what you must do…"
Ultimecia's final words rang through Rinoa's head as the doorknob turned and Squall rushed in, an alarmed look on his face. "Rinoa!" He flew to her side, supported her as she collapsed into his arms. Shards of glass protruded from her hand, and blood seemed to be everywhere; as if part of a cheap horror movie or something.
Rinoa did not respond for a few moments, her eyes staring vacantly off into space. "You…know what you must do…"
Squall began waving a hand in front of her eyes. "Rinoa?"
She shook her head, pulled from the trance. "I… must've tripped, or something," she said shakily. "It's ok, I'll pick it up--"
"Nonsense," Squall silenced her. "You go lay down, I'll see what I can do about your hand."
Rinoa obeyed, but not before turning to bathe Squall in one last stare. The words repeated themselves in her head, over and over, a twisted chant. "You…know what you must do…"
Suddenly it all made a grotesque kind of sense.
"Honey, do you think we'll make it to the funeral in time?" Rinoa asked weakly, seating herself on his bed.
// Time…. //
"Sure," came his reply as he began to clean Rinoa's injuries. "We've got plenty of time…"
// It will not wait. //
"Good." Squall wrapped a bandage around her hand and she winced; it was very tender. "I'm sorry about the mirror."
// No matter… //
"Don't be. These things happen." Squall gave her a kiss on the cheek before he stood and continued to get ready.
// How hard you hold on…//
Twenty minutes later Rinoa stood in the doorway, prepared to leave for the funeral. She gave the bathroom one last glance before ridding her mind of all thoughts relating to the visions and simply thinking of poor Zell and Pa Dincht. They were her first priority right now, not her own delusions. And that's what they are… delusions.
It seemed so wrong that life ever had to end.
// It escapes you. //