The evil castle loomed in the backdrop of the black sky. The Annihilator cruised to a halt above the courtyard in front of the chapel. It drew to a silent halt, and landed. The cyclical cockpit lid slit open. Squall stepped out and looked around. Empty. It seemed to underscore his feelings for the past month.

It had stopped raining. Squall drew his gunblade. The eerie blue glow of the adamantine filled the sky with a pleasant blue. He raised the gunblade high up. He closed his eyes and concentrated.

The blue of the gunblade seemed to shine brighter, and a beam of blue energy leaped from it. It shot straight into the sky, the clouds, before a very magical thing happened. The sky seemed to turn into a more pleasant shade of blue. Bringing the gunblade down, he swung it crazily around him. Everything the beam of energy touched had changed darkness into light, despair into love, death into life. Flowers magically blossomed, clouds became fluffy and white, and plants started to grow where once were inhabitable. Squall opened his eyes. The energy slowly faded to a nil. Squall re-sheathed the gunblade. He walked towards the broken chapel door, and pushed it opened. He walked to the pulpit.

He came to a stop when he reached the front, and knelt down, Bowing his head in silence, he clasped his hands together.

"Rinoa. I am going to rescue you now. Wish me luck." He whispered. His emotions were overwhelmed. He got to his feet. Throwing Rinoa's statue one last glance, he turned and broke into a run.

The castle door stood solid in front of Squall. Squall was undaunted. He knocked. Once, twice. No answer. Not hesitating, he drew his gunblade, once again filling the door with a shade of blue. With a swift slash, the door was no more, or rather, it had loss its oak frame. Squall gripped the gunblade tightly and ran inside.

Beasts and demons soared freely inside the Castle, but none dared approach him. In fact, they tried not to look at him. Squall's eyes darted across the hall, and he spotted a girl sitting alone in the corner. The gunblade flared up into a violent blue, and Squall walked towards her direction. The beasts and demons seemed to fade away into the darkness, terrified of the blue. He came to a halt when her eyes looked up at his.

Her brown red eyes stared at Squall's clear blue eyes. Both of them held each other at attention. Beneath those blue eyes, Alexandria could see that Squall was actually afraid, but she was certain that whatever the brave man was afraid about, it definitely was not her. It was something, not of a horrific nature, but of an unavoidable and undeniable one. Alexandria unleashed the full power of her mighty will in her eyes. Squall's eyes never looked away.

"Alexandria." Squall spoke, his voice impatient and authoritative. The little girl in her dress looked around. She put her doll aside.

"You call for me?" her voice sweet, laced with honey. She looked innocent. Squall nodded his head solemnly.

"Yes. Give me your powers. I need to travel across space." He ordered. The girl's mouth smiled.

"And you think I would obey you?" she grinned. He was silly, she thought. Since when did mortals go around asking witches for their power? Either he was silly or he was brave. But it had to be the latter. Alexandria reasoned that for a man to beat even the likes of her mother, Queen Ultimecia, Squall had to be of some caliber. No matter, Alexandria was confident he wouldn't fall to the feared slayer. She has watched this squall from a safe distance, observing his every strength and pitfall, untouched by the storm that is he.

"Yes." Squall said.

"Convince me."

The hall was suddenly enveloped in a dark blue. Squall raised his gunblade. The formidable weapon shook in his arms, as it gained strength. Alexandria was not impressed. She got to her feet. Raising both her hands, she chanted a ditty, which she thrust both hands in the direction of Squall. Her small palms flared up instantly, as it grew bigger. She finally let them loose. Two fireballs flew in his direction. Squall easily deflected it with the blade of his weapon. Alexandria rose in the air, magically. Squall expected it. After all she was a witch's daughter.

"You shall have to give me your powers in the end, for after I kill you with my blade, I shall draw your powers out of you. Give them to me Alexandria, and I will let you live." Squall spoke. He waved his gunblade around in the air. The beam of energy shot out. Everything thing the beam touched was destroyed instantly. Alexandria willed for a spherical shield. The shield encompassed around her tiny body, protecting her from the beams. Bits of the castle were already falling apart from the ferocious attack.

" Die now, mortal!" Alexandria screamed. She flew towards Squall, her eyes suddenly changing into an inferno of flames. Squall's eyes suddenly changed into a flaming blue, his true energy taking over. Squall slashed Alexandria across once. She dodged the first attack, but took it hard when Squall suddenly struck without warning. Alexandria fell off the sky. Squall leaped into the air, and brought his gunblade down hard on her. Miraculously, Alexandria's little body did not split into two. She got up, and raised her powerful arms again. Two beams of ice froze everything it touched. Squall threw his gunblade high in the air, and jumped after it. He twirled it around twice, and blue circles of destructive energy took Alexandria down hard. She conjured a spell, and deflected bits of the destructive energy.

Squall was ready for his finale. The blue flame on Squall's gunblade spread to his body, as the flames rose high, lighting everything up blue. He charged, blade first towards Alexandria. Releasing a frenzy of experience honed slashes and strikes, Alexandria finally fell down to the stony castle floor, beaten. Squall's temper had subsided considerably, and the flame of his gunblade died down to its usual luminous blue, and the blue flame around Squall disappeared. Lionheart had never found its match.

"I'm sorry, Alexandria, but I really need your powers." Squall said gently. He slowly stroked her hair back from her tiny, beautiful face, clearing her vision.

Alexandria looked at Squall not believing what she had just heard. Fearing the formidable man, she nodded her head. Summoning whatever strength she had left, she moved her emaciate fingers over to Squall's left hand. She closed her eyes. Then, a wonderful thing happened. From her body radiated red energy. This energy gathered from all around her body, before entering Squall's. Squall took a deep breath. He could feel the red energy trying to overpower his, but it finally succumbed to be harnessed by the blue energy. Squall kissed Alexandria.

"Thank you Alexandria." He said. Squall sheathed his gunblade, and carried Alexandria with both hands. He walked her back to the Annihilator.