Disclaimer: I own nothing in affilation to Final Fantasy VIII.
Whoa, whoa! From 14 reviews to 34!? Did my whining and complaining finally come through? Thanks everybody! I actually had ten reviews for my last chapter but some really nice people decided to review my other chapters, too!
LOL- Listen, dude, why the hell do you always do that? You ATTEMPT to flame me, but you always get your facts COMPLETELY wrong! You said that I "copied" the part where Rinoa dies from the Gunblade from Ashbear. Um... NO! Rinoa didn't even die from a gunblade! She died by Xu's sword! You seriously need to work on your reading comprehension. If you're going to flame somebody, make sure that you know what you're talking about, because you obviously don't. Oh, and you don't have to flame me twice; I can read, unlike you.
dark angel- I totally agree with you: Squall and Rinoa should be together and Xu should burn in hell! But now that Rinoa's dead, how's that going to happen? Thanks so much for your review!^_^
Anonymous- What an educated review lol. It's interesting? Thanks.
Griever Leonhart- KAKAKA! I seriously liked your review. Thanks bunches.
Karla- Yup! Xu's gonna get it now. Oh, and don't feel bad about not reviewing until chapter 6; I'm glad that you reviewed! I have your full support? R...really? *sniff* That's so nice!
Kia- XU IS A COW! I agree! Ooh, I love it when people get into it. ^_^. Sorry for making you mad, lol. Thanks for your review!
Maria Rose Black- Yesh, Squall looked deadly. You get a mental pic from that? Oh yeah, he's hot. I'm glad you liked that, hehe. Yeah... Rinoa was so brave. It'll all pay off, you'll see!
Mystic Kana- Hey there you nice person you! You reviewed all of my chapters! Thanks so much for your comments; you're seriously helping me through everything.
BloodLethal- Hellooo! Thanks SOO much for reviewing all of my chapters! I'm deeply indebted! You seem excited; so, I won't make you wait any longer for the chapter!
Chapter 7: Love Conquers All.
SQUALL
Deplorable my actions were. To think that I had assisted this monster of a woman at the Garden. Xu... who had taken all the happiness that I had come to know. This was her plot from the beginning. A curse, she is; sending woe to any unfortunate enemy.
And if I had thought that I was lonely before, that moment would be the time to realize how agonizingly wrong I was. My world had turned into a black hole that sucked in anyone who didn't have someone else to hold on to.
And-no matter how much the truth hurt- I had to accept it; I was so... so alone.
But I didn't have time to sulk in self-pity. I had to get my revenge on Xu for taking away my angel, and I would achieve this no matter what the cost. Having made that decision, I laid Rinoa's limp body gently on the floor. Her chocolate hair was sprawled in every direction and her cloak billowed about her. Gritting my teeth, I turned up from Rinoa's blood-ridden body to glare at Xu.
Xu was smiling there, Rinoa's blood streaming down her sweaty face. She took this time to chuckle and put her sword back in its crimson sheath, " So... I got what I wanted anyway. If you play your cards right, I might let you back into the Garden as my assistant. As long as you don't tell anyone about this... incident here, that is."
Xu lifted up her right foot and proceeded to kick Rinoa. Already angry, I took joy in slashing her foot away with my Gunblade, making Xu's dark red blood scatter on the floor, " You won't touch her, come near her, breathe in her vicinity, talk about her, or even think about her, Xu."
Cupping her hand to her mouth, Xu let out a laugh, " Oh my. I think that little Squall has lost his temper."
I drew my Gunblade back behind me as several ribbons of yellow began gathering into its blade, " No, Xu, I lost Rinoa. You should fear that much, much more!"
From the corner of my eye I could see Zell opening his eyes and slowly getting up. He gaped at me, " Yo! You're using Lionheart on the Commander!?"
I smirked as the final ribbons were drained and lifted up my sword, " Yeah, I'm using Lionheart. This should be over quickly."
But, to my dismay, Xu only grinned, " You still don't understand. Squall, you can't do anything to me."
" No, Xu, *you* don't understand. I just lost everything, and *you're* going to pay," I began running toward Xu in a frenzied manner, " This is for Rinoa!!"
______________________________
RINOA (A/N: Ah... life after death.)
I walked around on the dark world, darting my head from side to side in hopes of finding some sort of light. When I found none, I shook my head and walked still forward. Almost scared, I clasped my right hand over the ring on my necklace.
*Will this be my eternity? I don't wanna be alone....*
I traveled along quickly, my pace almost at a run. My liveliness was soon drained, however, by the need for food and water. Reluctantly, I trudged through the darkness, kicking the ground with my pained movements. Thoroughly exhausted, I collapsed to the cold floor face down, draping my body with my long, tattered cloak.
*I can't make it alone....*
As if on cue, the skies of the dark land cleared, revealing a blinding light of white glory that spread like a blanket. Instinctively, I shielded my eyes. When the light became bearable, I peaked out from my hands and gasped, " Lelani? What are you doing here?"
The red-haired woman bent down near me and lifted my chin up with her finger, " I knew that you'd get killed. How can Squall mean so much to you that you'd give up your own life? I worked so hard to convince the people on Gaia to let you go back, and you thank me by getting killed?"
I looked away sadly, " I'm sorry. I--"
Lelani took her finger away from my chin and put it thoughtfully on her own, " But it was courageous, and I admire that." My friend stood up, making me strain my neck to see her clearly, " That thing you told me about before you left... the power of love, you said? That got me thinking. How strong exactly *is* the power of love? So, with that in mind, I made another deal."
I stood up slowly and stared wearily into her face, " What kind of deal?"
Lelani smiled, " I'm getting you outta here." The red-haired woman pointed her index finger in my face, " I'm giving you one...last...chance!" She closed her eyes and smiled, " After that, you're history."
Lelani opened one eye to see my face and smiled a toothy grin. She motioned her hands in a frantic gesture, " Go on! Get outta here! Go back to your Squall!"
" But how do I get back?"
" Your body already has its warmth and organs working. As for the rest, well, you're the one with the power of love!"
I furrowed my brows, " What? But how?"
Lelani began jumping up and down, " C'mon! Wish yourself back!"
" Wish myself back...?"
I felt a wind come from underneath me. Petals came to dance in front of me all in one great whiff of beauty. Lelani clapped suddenly and smirked, " Tell me. Why do you want to go back? What's the sole reason why you want your life?"
Feeling the wind growing stronger and seeing the petals fly up high into the air, I beamed, " It's because.... It's because I love Squall!"
______________________________
SQUALL
I don't know how the hell she did it, but Xu did. She blocked every last one of my Lionheart slashes. Xu didn't have a scratch on her. This left me to glare at her in disdain and back away mechanically. To my surprise, I bumped into something.
" Hey, Zell, you've gained weight. You surely shouldn't have... those...."
" But, Squall, I'm right here." Zell said from the other side of the room.
Curious, I turned around. To my astonishment, I found Rinoa smiling mischievously behind me. I spread my arms apart from each other, ready for her to run right into them. And when she did, I felt all of my sorrows being lifted into the air, and each of them was replaced by one solitary thing... Rinoa.
But I was a fool if I thought that Xu would stand for this. Seconds later, I heard the whisper of her metal sword as it descended. However, her sword never hit flesh. I looked up from Rinoa to see that Xu's sword was lodged in a protective shield. Rinoa backed out of our embrace and put her hand levelly in front of her in a spellcasting stance. She glanced at me for a moment and grinned affectionately.
" Let's beat her together. Squall.... let's defeat her with the power of love!"
I agreed silently and whisked my Gunblade in front of me. Rinoa walked in front of me and put her hand on the hilt of the Gunblade, right next to where mine were. The Gunblade started shimmering with a radiant color of lime. With a nod, we both proceeded to end Xu.
We both released one hand from the hilt and pointed it at Xu, " Stop," we exclaimed in unison, brining Xu to a standstill.
Rinoa snickered impishly and returned her hand to the hilt, laying it directly on top of mine, " You can only block one 'Stop' attack."
I snickered as well and took a step forward, " Now... die slowly!"
We ran toward the stagnant Xu with perfect coordination. As we neared, we elevated the Gunblade to tower above Xu. With one last glimpse of the Commander, we sliced her feeble body in half, dispersing blood to all corners of the room, and leaving her gory carcass on the floor to rot. That was the end... Commander Xu of Balamb Garden was... dead.
Unconsciously, I dropped the Gunblade to the floor and captured Rinoa into my arms. I inhaled the sweet aroma of her hair and cuddled my angel closer to me, " Rinoa... how did we manage to do that?"
Rinoa squeezed closer to me; I could feel her body burn as she blushed, but I ignored it, far too happy to let anything ruin this moment, " I'm not sure... but maybe love really conquers all."
*******************************
A/N: Aww... now wasn't that cute! It's not the end, though, don't worry! Sorry for the long wait.... My sister took over the computer for a few weeks and I practically had to beg to get on. I have no pride left.... ;_; But it was all for your nice, nice, nice people! (Insert seven other 'nice' for more reviews! lol) I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Please review! Ja ne! ~Bianka-chan. 4/08/03.
Whoa, whoa! From 14 reviews to 34!? Did my whining and complaining finally come through? Thanks everybody! I actually had ten reviews for my last chapter but some really nice people decided to review my other chapters, too!
LOL- Listen, dude, why the hell do you always do that? You ATTEMPT to flame me, but you always get your facts COMPLETELY wrong! You said that I "copied" the part where Rinoa dies from the Gunblade from Ashbear. Um... NO! Rinoa didn't even die from a gunblade! She died by Xu's sword! You seriously need to work on your reading comprehension. If you're going to flame somebody, make sure that you know what you're talking about, because you obviously don't. Oh, and you don't have to flame me twice; I can read, unlike you.
dark angel- I totally agree with you: Squall and Rinoa should be together and Xu should burn in hell! But now that Rinoa's dead, how's that going to happen? Thanks so much for your review!^_^
Anonymous- What an educated review lol. It's interesting? Thanks.
Griever Leonhart- KAKAKA! I seriously liked your review. Thanks bunches.
Karla- Yup! Xu's gonna get it now. Oh, and don't feel bad about not reviewing until chapter 6; I'm glad that you reviewed! I have your full support? R...really? *sniff* That's so nice!
Kia- XU IS A COW! I agree! Ooh, I love it when people get into it. ^_^. Sorry for making you mad, lol. Thanks for your review!
Maria Rose Black- Yesh, Squall looked deadly. You get a mental pic from that? Oh yeah, he's hot. I'm glad you liked that, hehe. Yeah... Rinoa was so brave. It'll all pay off, you'll see!
Mystic Kana- Hey there you nice person you! You reviewed all of my chapters! Thanks so much for your comments; you're seriously helping me through everything.
BloodLethal- Hellooo! Thanks SOO much for reviewing all of my chapters! I'm deeply indebted! You seem excited; so, I won't make you wait any longer for the chapter!
Chapter 7: Love Conquers All.
SQUALL
Deplorable my actions were. To think that I had assisted this monster of a woman at the Garden. Xu... who had taken all the happiness that I had come to know. This was her plot from the beginning. A curse, she is; sending woe to any unfortunate enemy.
And if I had thought that I was lonely before, that moment would be the time to realize how agonizingly wrong I was. My world had turned into a black hole that sucked in anyone who didn't have someone else to hold on to.
And-no matter how much the truth hurt- I had to accept it; I was so... so alone.
But I didn't have time to sulk in self-pity. I had to get my revenge on Xu for taking away my angel, and I would achieve this no matter what the cost. Having made that decision, I laid Rinoa's limp body gently on the floor. Her chocolate hair was sprawled in every direction and her cloak billowed about her. Gritting my teeth, I turned up from Rinoa's blood-ridden body to glare at Xu.
Xu was smiling there, Rinoa's blood streaming down her sweaty face. She took this time to chuckle and put her sword back in its crimson sheath, " So... I got what I wanted anyway. If you play your cards right, I might let you back into the Garden as my assistant. As long as you don't tell anyone about this... incident here, that is."
Xu lifted up her right foot and proceeded to kick Rinoa. Already angry, I took joy in slashing her foot away with my Gunblade, making Xu's dark red blood scatter on the floor, " You won't touch her, come near her, breathe in her vicinity, talk about her, or even think about her, Xu."
Cupping her hand to her mouth, Xu let out a laugh, " Oh my. I think that little Squall has lost his temper."
I drew my Gunblade back behind me as several ribbons of yellow began gathering into its blade, " No, Xu, I lost Rinoa. You should fear that much, much more!"
From the corner of my eye I could see Zell opening his eyes and slowly getting up. He gaped at me, " Yo! You're using Lionheart on the Commander!?"
I smirked as the final ribbons were drained and lifted up my sword, " Yeah, I'm using Lionheart. This should be over quickly."
But, to my dismay, Xu only grinned, " You still don't understand. Squall, you can't do anything to me."
" No, Xu, *you* don't understand. I just lost everything, and *you're* going to pay," I began running toward Xu in a frenzied manner, " This is for Rinoa!!"
______________________________
RINOA (A/N: Ah... life after death.)
I walked around on the dark world, darting my head from side to side in hopes of finding some sort of light. When I found none, I shook my head and walked still forward. Almost scared, I clasped my right hand over the ring on my necklace.
*Will this be my eternity? I don't wanna be alone....*
I traveled along quickly, my pace almost at a run. My liveliness was soon drained, however, by the need for food and water. Reluctantly, I trudged through the darkness, kicking the ground with my pained movements. Thoroughly exhausted, I collapsed to the cold floor face down, draping my body with my long, tattered cloak.
*I can't make it alone....*
As if on cue, the skies of the dark land cleared, revealing a blinding light of white glory that spread like a blanket. Instinctively, I shielded my eyes. When the light became bearable, I peaked out from my hands and gasped, " Lelani? What are you doing here?"
The red-haired woman bent down near me and lifted my chin up with her finger, " I knew that you'd get killed. How can Squall mean so much to you that you'd give up your own life? I worked so hard to convince the people on Gaia to let you go back, and you thank me by getting killed?"
I looked away sadly, " I'm sorry. I--"
Lelani took her finger away from my chin and put it thoughtfully on her own, " But it was courageous, and I admire that." My friend stood up, making me strain my neck to see her clearly, " That thing you told me about before you left... the power of love, you said? That got me thinking. How strong exactly *is* the power of love? So, with that in mind, I made another deal."
I stood up slowly and stared wearily into her face, " What kind of deal?"
Lelani smiled, " I'm getting you outta here." The red-haired woman pointed her index finger in my face, " I'm giving you one...last...chance!" She closed her eyes and smiled, " After that, you're history."
Lelani opened one eye to see my face and smiled a toothy grin. She motioned her hands in a frantic gesture, " Go on! Get outta here! Go back to your Squall!"
" But how do I get back?"
" Your body already has its warmth and organs working. As for the rest, well, you're the one with the power of love!"
I furrowed my brows, " What? But how?"
Lelani began jumping up and down, " C'mon! Wish yourself back!"
" Wish myself back...?"
I felt a wind come from underneath me. Petals came to dance in front of me all in one great whiff of beauty. Lelani clapped suddenly and smirked, " Tell me. Why do you want to go back? What's the sole reason why you want your life?"
Feeling the wind growing stronger and seeing the petals fly up high into the air, I beamed, " It's because.... It's because I love Squall!"
______________________________
SQUALL
I don't know how the hell she did it, but Xu did. She blocked every last one of my Lionheart slashes. Xu didn't have a scratch on her. This left me to glare at her in disdain and back away mechanically. To my surprise, I bumped into something.
" Hey, Zell, you've gained weight. You surely shouldn't have... those...."
" But, Squall, I'm right here." Zell said from the other side of the room.
Curious, I turned around. To my astonishment, I found Rinoa smiling mischievously behind me. I spread my arms apart from each other, ready for her to run right into them. And when she did, I felt all of my sorrows being lifted into the air, and each of them was replaced by one solitary thing... Rinoa.
But I was a fool if I thought that Xu would stand for this. Seconds later, I heard the whisper of her metal sword as it descended. However, her sword never hit flesh. I looked up from Rinoa to see that Xu's sword was lodged in a protective shield. Rinoa backed out of our embrace and put her hand levelly in front of her in a spellcasting stance. She glanced at me for a moment and grinned affectionately.
" Let's beat her together. Squall.... let's defeat her with the power of love!"
I agreed silently and whisked my Gunblade in front of me. Rinoa walked in front of me and put her hand on the hilt of the Gunblade, right next to where mine were. The Gunblade started shimmering with a radiant color of lime. With a nod, we both proceeded to end Xu.
We both released one hand from the hilt and pointed it at Xu, " Stop," we exclaimed in unison, brining Xu to a standstill.
Rinoa snickered impishly and returned her hand to the hilt, laying it directly on top of mine, " You can only block one 'Stop' attack."
I snickered as well and took a step forward, " Now... die slowly!"
We ran toward the stagnant Xu with perfect coordination. As we neared, we elevated the Gunblade to tower above Xu. With one last glimpse of the Commander, we sliced her feeble body in half, dispersing blood to all corners of the room, and leaving her gory carcass on the floor to rot. That was the end... Commander Xu of Balamb Garden was... dead.
Unconsciously, I dropped the Gunblade to the floor and captured Rinoa into my arms. I inhaled the sweet aroma of her hair and cuddled my angel closer to me, " Rinoa... how did we manage to do that?"
Rinoa squeezed closer to me; I could feel her body burn as she blushed, but I ignored it, far too happy to let anything ruin this moment, " I'm not sure... but maybe love really conquers all."
*******************************
A/N: Aww... now wasn't that cute! It's not the end, though, don't worry! Sorry for the long wait.... My sister took over the computer for a few weeks and I practically had to beg to get on. I have no pride left.... ;_; But it was all for your nice, nice, nice people! (Insert seven other 'nice' for more reviews! lol) I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Please review! Ja ne! ~Bianka-chan. 4/08/03.