Chapter 25 Goodbye
Author's note: It's time to lower the curtains, and let the actors take the final bow. Thanks so much to everyone (sob) I really, really love you all for supporting me! But this is not the final chapter... I still have one more to go, and hopefully it will be up tomorrow night. I think I should have this chapter rated angst, but I can't - Thank you, thank you, thank you so much! But on with the story.
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As they arrived at the Cape of Good Hope, it took all their courage not to cry out loud in sadness and anger.
The orphanage had been totally destroyed. There was... nothing left.
They landed outside and slowly disembarked, trying to hold back the tears. Quistis looked around her former home, feeling the regret well up.
Squall once again lead, but this time with none of the optimistic spirit and courage - this time they knew that this might be the last battle they would ever face.
The carefully picked their way through the rubble, trying to ignore the smell of burnt flesh and blood. Trying not to think of Matron - or the children. Hoping - wherever they are - it's better there than here.
They came into the once beautiful flower field, once blooming with fragrance. A field which had more than just flowers for them. But now... only blackened grass and wilted blooms greeted them.
In the centre on the dying plain stood a solitary figure, its cloak flapping in the wind. Darkness had begun to gather, but nobody took notice.
A step at a time, they felt their confidence slipping. With each step, their sadness grew, until they couldn't walk anymore. The reality of what they were facing had sunk in, and nobody wanted to face the truth.
"You found me."
A rumble of thunder accompanied this quiet statement, and the heavens spilled their tears onto the starved ground.
It was time.
The rain drizzled under the cover of the gloomy sky, but there was nobody to complain or rejoice. Under the eye of the vigilant birds, five figures stood motionless, willing the rain to shroud them in darkness. Waiting for the gloom to penetrate their hearts, wishing they could be as cold as the droplets soaking to their skin.
Squall lifted his face to the sky, letting the drops mix with his silent tears. Is this the end? The beginning of the future? He felt his hand grip the hand of the girl beside him - she had always been there, and he knew; in the end, this was what it was supposed to be. How it was supposed to be. Whatever it is they had done in the past, it all comes down to...this.
Selphie fell to her knees, tears choking her. Irvine gently hugged her, trying to absorb the confusion he knew she was feeling. "Please don't cry, Seffie. We'll get through this,"
"It's over..." Selphie whispered. "It's all over..." She cried brokenly. All the spirit she had felt before; it all vanished in the space of an instant. As much as she wanted to believe in the comfort her love gave her, she knew, as well as he did; it was the beginning of the end.
Quistis leveled her eyes on the girl standing before her - where once her hair had been raven-black, now it was snowy white from grief. Her eyes, once sparkling and full of life, was hollow and filled with hatred. "Why did you let him die..." The girl rasped. Even her voice had changed - where once it had been bubbly and musical to hear, now it was nothing more than a hiss...
"Rinoa..." Squall croaked, but she wasn't listening. She was Rinoa anymore.
"The ultimate tragedy." Rinoa whispered. "The ultimate sacrifice. Ultimate betrayal." Her gaze burned Squall. "You betrayed my trust, Squall."
"We couldn't save him," He said in a low voice. "Please, Rinoa - "
"You killed him!!! And yet you could have saved him, but you didn't! You turned away from me when I needed you all!!!"
"We could have helped you if you stayed!" Selphie cried. "We didn't want anybody to die, Rinoa! Please, please, you've done enough. Please stop this..."
"I'll stop this." Rinoa hissed and raised her arm. Spirit of pain! Answer my summons and deliver their death!
"Griever!" She screamed. Shock, disbelief, and understanding crossed their features as the huge Guardian Force materialized.
Squall looked at Quistis, who was staring at the roaring apparition. "Is this the end?" he asked quietly, and she bit her lip. Maybe it is. "She's no longer Rinoa, Squall." Irvine said slowly. Even his usual carefree smile was gone. They had changed; all of them, Selphie realized. Amazing what death could do to a person... "She's Ultimecia now. We have no choice."
Choice? How many choices did he have in the past? And which one of them lead to where he is now? Where did he go wrong?
"Curse you SeeD!" Rinoa shrieked and directed Griever at them. "You won't be able to kill me, ahahaha!!!!" She laughed hysterically. "What luck - the enhancement when Quistis returned my powers to me did not wear off! What ultimate luck..." Her eyes glittered as Griever slashed Irvine across the chest, spilling sacred blood onto the ground. "I have to thank you, Quistis..."
"I should have died with it." Quistis grit her teeth and released a massive burst of energy. "Shockwave Pulsar!"
"How strange, I think I can do that too," Rinoa tapped her chin almost childishly and directed her monster. "Griever! Let me show you the REAL Shockwave Pulsar!"
"Look out!" Selphie screamed and shielded Irvine, taking the full blast. Irvine was knocked back and he lay, gravely injured, with Selphie lying protectively on him. She stirred slightly and raised her head to look at him with tear-filled eyes. "Why...?" She whispered hoarsely. "Irvy..."
"I love you." Irvine mumbled and brushed her hair out of her face. "If this is... what we are destined to be..."
Selphie burst into tears as she watched Irvine closed his eyes and his chest became still. "Irvy!!!"
Squall watched everything with a breaking heart. This was wrong, all wrong. They had gone through life and death together - what happened to that friendship? Why is this the end?
Quistis stepped forward and brandished her whip. "We beat you once." She said steadily. "We can beat you gain..."
"What great words." She sneered. "First you kill Cody, and now you want to destroy me as well? Is there no end to the suffering you inflict on me?"
"We don't want to hurt you." Squall said evenly. "Please, Rinoa..."
"Rinoa is dead!" Her eyes flashed angrily. "She died when the blade pierced through Cody's heart! Stop thinking I'm your ally, because that will be the last though you'll ever have!"
"Ranzekuken!" Squall shouted and lunged at Rinoa. "Squall, no!" Quistis yelled but it was too late. Blow after blow was unleashed, until Rinoa was thrown to the ground. But amazingly she got up, bloody, but quite alive. "Kurse you..." She spitted blood. "So you want to kill me... exactly like the way you killed him - Griever!" She screamed and the huge lion creature threw Squall backwards. "See how you are against your own Guardian Force, Squall Leonhart."
"Shockwave Pulsar!" Griever roared and a huge bolt of energy blasted Squall back. "Recover!" Quistis cried and whirled at Rinoa. "Rinoa, stop! Don't you see what you're doing?!"
"Revenge." Rinoa said quietly. "That is what I'm doing. That is all I want. That's all that matters."
"You're blind." Squall got up on shaky legs. The blow had shaken him. "You're controlled by anger, Rinoa. Please calm down and try to realize - "
"Murderer!!!!" A scream and Selphie was at Rinoa's neck, choking her and screaming hysterically. "You killed him!!!"
"You - deserve - to...DIE!!" Rinoa blasted Selphie away. "The little bird wants to die first... Ultima!" She threw the spell but Quistis had ducked in front first, receiving the blow. She screamed in pure agony as the spell ripped through her body, causing blood to break through in many cuts and gashes. But her own defenses alone was not enough to shield Selphie - the Trabian was thrown back and knocked unconscious.
"How dare you call me a murderer?!" Rinoa shrieked, livid. "After what you've done to me? You destroyed my life!" She blasted Quistis again, her ears deaf to her screams and Squall's anguished yells.
Squall hurriedly ran to her side, face ashes, dreading the worst. But she was still alive. Quistis was not giving up...yet.
"Squall..." She mouthed through blood, eyes hazy as her body fought to keep awake. She could dimly register the tears, the soft voice calling her name. I want to answer you... I want to tell you we'll pull through... but I can't. "Squall... you - end this."
"How?" He asked hoarsely. He was powerless... Everyone who had stood by him was leaving one by one, leaving him alone again. "Don't leave me, Quistis..." He whimpered, shaking from unsuppressed tears. Not now... not after so long... after all it took to finally find you... after finally realizing what I had... don't leave... "Don't leave me..."
Quistis smiled faintly. She could hear the pain... Rinoa's pain. Hyne... fate has been playing with us. Played with our lives and our decisions, making us believe we had actually changed the future - when we were moving towards the inevitable. "I'll always be with you. I always have." She replied weakly. "But... you're a SeeD. You must do - what you have to do. What you were destined to do."
The never ending cycle of fate. Are they destined to move in circles for the rest of their lives? Living, then dying, knowing that this is what fate has decided?
"Quistis..." He painfully closed his eyes against the beating rain. Was this how his life would end? Alone again? There was nobody to save him now... only himself.
Pain overtook her and she reached up to touch his face one last time. Cruel... it was cruel...
Her hand fell limply to her side and he gazed at her final form... even through the obvious torture, her face was serene. Never leave me...
"Accept death, SeeD." Rinoa sneered. "It will make things easier for you."
Slowly truth dawned on him as he sat there, holding the one thing that had held his faith till now... this play will continue on and on... time and time again... he will love, lose and love again and again... or could he change it this time? Is there a way?
You can't change the past, but you can change the future...
But the future is the past, and the past has been foretold. Could he change the inevitable future?
"A-ack...!" A choked scream brought him back to earth and he sickeningly realized what had happened.
Rinoa smiled evilly as she withdrew her hand from Selphie's neck. The girl crumpled to the ground, lifeless. "You're alone now, Squall. Face me to the finish."
Squall gently laid Quistis down and slowly took her whip from her grasp. Holding it gave him a sense of peace - like she was still there, holding his hand, whispering to him. His strength.
"Griever!"
Squall launched himself at Griever and slashed in continuous strokes, making sure each slash didn't miss. He would change the future, or die trying. Life is only meaningful when you live for somebody else...
Griever howled as he fell, defeated. Rinoa narrowed her eyes. You failed me, Griever! Is my grief not strong enough for you?!
Patience, my mistress... call upon me once again... I will bring down the world on him...
"I summon you, Ancient Guardian of Power!" Rinoa screamed, throwing the Griever Ring into the air, throwing with it all her hatred, thirst for vengeance and her grief at the loss of her love. For a moment nothing happened - and then a bright burst of light momentarily blinded Squall. Out of the light, a huge creature materialized. It was, Griever, yet... different.
"Fused with the power of darkness, combined with the power of the ancients!" Rinoa cried triumphantly. "Let me show you - Griever; Shockwave Pulsar!!!"
As the bright light surrounded him, he knew it was true. The wheels will continue to turn. He gripped the whip in one hand and his Lion Heart in the other, and looked around one last time. His shield was thinning, and he would join Quistis soon. He looked around him for one last time, reliving everything. How, and when this legacy began.
"Squall..."
Through the light, he saw her, smiling at him. And Selphie, and Zell, Irvine. They were sad, yet still smiling. "We've done what we can, for now." Selphie said mournfully as she held on to Irvine. Zell nodded. "It hurts like hell, but we'll win."
"We'll win." Quistis repeated, holding out her hand. "It's a future we know will come."
"We'll win." Squall repeated softly. "It's not the end..." He smiled as the images slowly faded, but he could still see her, reaching out her hand. Accept death, Rinoa had said. He will now, because with death, comes retribution. And life will begin, and end. Maybe... they'll break away. Maybe.
His hand closed around hers and the light of Pulsar ripped him apart, leaving nothing.
Author's note: Oh dear... I guess I should have seen this coming (choke) but it still hurts to end it like this (sob~!) Anyway, please, please, review everybody. Your words mean so much to me, even if they're not nice! :)
Author's note: It's time to lower the curtains, and let the actors take the final bow. Thanks so much to everyone (sob) I really, really love you all for supporting me! But this is not the final chapter... I still have one more to go, and hopefully it will be up tomorrow night. I think I should have this chapter rated angst, but I can't - Thank you, thank you, thank you so much! But on with the story.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
As they arrived at the Cape of Good Hope, it took all their courage not to cry out loud in sadness and anger.
The orphanage had been totally destroyed. There was... nothing left.
They landed outside and slowly disembarked, trying to hold back the tears. Quistis looked around her former home, feeling the regret well up.
Squall once again lead, but this time with none of the optimistic spirit and courage - this time they knew that this might be the last battle they would ever face.
The carefully picked their way through the rubble, trying to ignore the smell of burnt flesh and blood. Trying not to think of Matron - or the children. Hoping - wherever they are - it's better there than here.
They came into the once beautiful flower field, once blooming with fragrance. A field which had more than just flowers for them. But now... only blackened grass and wilted blooms greeted them.
In the centre on the dying plain stood a solitary figure, its cloak flapping in the wind. Darkness had begun to gather, but nobody took notice.
A step at a time, they felt their confidence slipping. With each step, their sadness grew, until they couldn't walk anymore. The reality of what they were facing had sunk in, and nobody wanted to face the truth.
"You found me."
A rumble of thunder accompanied this quiet statement, and the heavens spilled their tears onto the starved ground.
It was time.
The rain drizzled under the cover of the gloomy sky, but there was nobody to complain or rejoice. Under the eye of the vigilant birds, five figures stood motionless, willing the rain to shroud them in darkness. Waiting for the gloom to penetrate their hearts, wishing they could be as cold as the droplets soaking to their skin.
Squall lifted his face to the sky, letting the drops mix with his silent tears. Is this the end? The beginning of the future? He felt his hand grip the hand of the girl beside him - she had always been there, and he knew; in the end, this was what it was supposed to be. How it was supposed to be. Whatever it is they had done in the past, it all comes down to...this.
Selphie fell to her knees, tears choking her. Irvine gently hugged her, trying to absorb the confusion he knew she was feeling. "Please don't cry, Seffie. We'll get through this,"
"It's over..." Selphie whispered. "It's all over..." She cried brokenly. All the spirit she had felt before; it all vanished in the space of an instant. As much as she wanted to believe in the comfort her love gave her, she knew, as well as he did; it was the beginning of the end.
Quistis leveled her eyes on the girl standing before her - where once her hair had been raven-black, now it was snowy white from grief. Her eyes, once sparkling and full of life, was hollow and filled with hatred. "Why did you let him die..." The girl rasped. Even her voice had changed - where once it had been bubbly and musical to hear, now it was nothing more than a hiss...
"Rinoa..." Squall croaked, but she wasn't listening. She was Rinoa anymore.
"The ultimate tragedy." Rinoa whispered. "The ultimate sacrifice. Ultimate betrayal." Her gaze burned Squall. "You betrayed my trust, Squall."
"We couldn't save him," He said in a low voice. "Please, Rinoa - "
"You killed him!!! And yet you could have saved him, but you didn't! You turned away from me when I needed you all!!!"
"We could have helped you if you stayed!" Selphie cried. "We didn't want anybody to die, Rinoa! Please, please, you've done enough. Please stop this..."
"I'll stop this." Rinoa hissed and raised her arm. Spirit of pain! Answer my summons and deliver their death!
"Griever!" She screamed. Shock, disbelief, and understanding crossed their features as the huge Guardian Force materialized.
Squall looked at Quistis, who was staring at the roaring apparition. "Is this the end?" he asked quietly, and she bit her lip. Maybe it is. "She's no longer Rinoa, Squall." Irvine said slowly. Even his usual carefree smile was gone. They had changed; all of them, Selphie realized. Amazing what death could do to a person... "She's Ultimecia now. We have no choice."
Choice? How many choices did he have in the past? And which one of them lead to where he is now? Where did he go wrong?
"Curse you SeeD!" Rinoa shrieked and directed Griever at them. "You won't be able to kill me, ahahaha!!!!" She laughed hysterically. "What luck - the enhancement when Quistis returned my powers to me did not wear off! What ultimate luck..." Her eyes glittered as Griever slashed Irvine across the chest, spilling sacred blood onto the ground. "I have to thank you, Quistis..."
"I should have died with it." Quistis grit her teeth and released a massive burst of energy. "Shockwave Pulsar!"
"How strange, I think I can do that too," Rinoa tapped her chin almost childishly and directed her monster. "Griever! Let me show you the REAL Shockwave Pulsar!"
"Look out!" Selphie screamed and shielded Irvine, taking the full blast. Irvine was knocked back and he lay, gravely injured, with Selphie lying protectively on him. She stirred slightly and raised her head to look at him with tear-filled eyes. "Why...?" She whispered hoarsely. "Irvy..."
"I love you." Irvine mumbled and brushed her hair out of her face. "If this is... what we are destined to be..."
Selphie burst into tears as she watched Irvine closed his eyes and his chest became still. "Irvy!!!"
Squall watched everything with a breaking heart. This was wrong, all wrong. They had gone through life and death together - what happened to that friendship? Why is this the end?
Quistis stepped forward and brandished her whip. "We beat you once." She said steadily. "We can beat you gain..."
"What great words." She sneered. "First you kill Cody, and now you want to destroy me as well? Is there no end to the suffering you inflict on me?"
"We don't want to hurt you." Squall said evenly. "Please, Rinoa..."
"Rinoa is dead!" Her eyes flashed angrily. "She died when the blade pierced through Cody's heart! Stop thinking I'm your ally, because that will be the last though you'll ever have!"
"Ranzekuken!" Squall shouted and lunged at Rinoa. "Squall, no!" Quistis yelled but it was too late. Blow after blow was unleashed, until Rinoa was thrown to the ground. But amazingly she got up, bloody, but quite alive. "Kurse you..." She spitted blood. "So you want to kill me... exactly like the way you killed him - Griever!" She screamed and the huge lion creature threw Squall backwards. "See how you are against your own Guardian Force, Squall Leonhart."
"Shockwave Pulsar!" Griever roared and a huge bolt of energy blasted Squall back. "Recover!" Quistis cried and whirled at Rinoa. "Rinoa, stop! Don't you see what you're doing?!"
"Revenge." Rinoa said quietly. "That is what I'm doing. That is all I want. That's all that matters."
"You're blind." Squall got up on shaky legs. The blow had shaken him. "You're controlled by anger, Rinoa. Please calm down and try to realize - "
"Murderer!!!!" A scream and Selphie was at Rinoa's neck, choking her and screaming hysterically. "You killed him!!!"
"You - deserve - to...DIE!!" Rinoa blasted Selphie away. "The little bird wants to die first... Ultima!" She threw the spell but Quistis had ducked in front first, receiving the blow. She screamed in pure agony as the spell ripped through her body, causing blood to break through in many cuts and gashes. But her own defenses alone was not enough to shield Selphie - the Trabian was thrown back and knocked unconscious.
"How dare you call me a murderer?!" Rinoa shrieked, livid. "After what you've done to me? You destroyed my life!" She blasted Quistis again, her ears deaf to her screams and Squall's anguished yells.
Squall hurriedly ran to her side, face ashes, dreading the worst. But she was still alive. Quistis was not giving up...yet.
"Squall..." She mouthed through blood, eyes hazy as her body fought to keep awake. She could dimly register the tears, the soft voice calling her name. I want to answer you... I want to tell you we'll pull through... but I can't. "Squall... you - end this."
"How?" He asked hoarsely. He was powerless... Everyone who had stood by him was leaving one by one, leaving him alone again. "Don't leave me, Quistis..." He whimpered, shaking from unsuppressed tears. Not now... not after so long... after all it took to finally find you... after finally realizing what I had... don't leave... "Don't leave me..."
Quistis smiled faintly. She could hear the pain... Rinoa's pain. Hyne... fate has been playing with us. Played with our lives and our decisions, making us believe we had actually changed the future - when we were moving towards the inevitable. "I'll always be with you. I always have." She replied weakly. "But... you're a SeeD. You must do - what you have to do. What you were destined to do."
The never ending cycle of fate. Are they destined to move in circles for the rest of their lives? Living, then dying, knowing that this is what fate has decided?
"Quistis..." He painfully closed his eyes against the beating rain. Was this how his life would end? Alone again? There was nobody to save him now... only himself.
Pain overtook her and she reached up to touch his face one last time. Cruel... it was cruel...
Her hand fell limply to her side and he gazed at her final form... even through the obvious torture, her face was serene. Never leave me...
"Accept death, SeeD." Rinoa sneered. "It will make things easier for you."
Slowly truth dawned on him as he sat there, holding the one thing that had held his faith till now... this play will continue on and on... time and time again... he will love, lose and love again and again... or could he change it this time? Is there a way?
You can't change the past, but you can change the future...
But the future is the past, and the past has been foretold. Could he change the inevitable future?
"A-ack...!" A choked scream brought him back to earth and he sickeningly realized what had happened.
Rinoa smiled evilly as she withdrew her hand from Selphie's neck. The girl crumpled to the ground, lifeless. "You're alone now, Squall. Face me to the finish."
Squall gently laid Quistis down and slowly took her whip from her grasp. Holding it gave him a sense of peace - like she was still there, holding his hand, whispering to him. His strength.
"Griever!"
Squall launched himself at Griever and slashed in continuous strokes, making sure each slash didn't miss. He would change the future, or die trying. Life is only meaningful when you live for somebody else...
Griever howled as he fell, defeated. Rinoa narrowed her eyes. You failed me, Griever! Is my grief not strong enough for you?!
Patience, my mistress... call upon me once again... I will bring down the world on him...
"I summon you, Ancient Guardian of Power!" Rinoa screamed, throwing the Griever Ring into the air, throwing with it all her hatred, thirst for vengeance and her grief at the loss of her love. For a moment nothing happened - and then a bright burst of light momentarily blinded Squall. Out of the light, a huge creature materialized. It was, Griever, yet... different.
"Fused with the power of darkness, combined with the power of the ancients!" Rinoa cried triumphantly. "Let me show you - Griever; Shockwave Pulsar!!!"
As the bright light surrounded him, he knew it was true. The wheels will continue to turn. He gripped the whip in one hand and his Lion Heart in the other, and looked around one last time. His shield was thinning, and he would join Quistis soon. He looked around him for one last time, reliving everything. How, and when this legacy began.
"Squall..."
Through the light, he saw her, smiling at him. And Selphie, and Zell, Irvine. They were sad, yet still smiling. "We've done what we can, for now." Selphie said mournfully as she held on to Irvine. Zell nodded. "It hurts like hell, but we'll win."
"We'll win." Quistis repeated, holding out her hand. "It's a future we know will come."
"We'll win." Squall repeated softly. "It's not the end..." He smiled as the images slowly faded, but he could still see her, reaching out her hand. Accept death, Rinoa had said. He will now, because with death, comes retribution. And life will begin, and end. Maybe... they'll break away. Maybe.
His hand closed around hers and the light of Pulsar ripped him apart, leaving nothing.
Author's note: Oh dear... I guess I should have seen this coming (choke) but it still hurts to end it like this (sob~!) Anyway, please, please, review everybody. Your words mean so much to me, even if they're not nice! :)