Squall looked out of the window as Esthar came into view. The ship from the, ahem, 'camp', had been early, thank Hyne, and he had used his charm and general status as World Saviour to convince the captain to give him a free ride. And some clothes.
Shame, Shiva said in amusement.
Squall blushed. I can't very well go back to Esthar naked.
It would certainly have been be fun to watch.
A voice sounded over the ship's PA system, and Squall broke away from his little conversation as the ship approached the Esthar port. Built recently after hostilities with the rest of the world had ended, it was now fast becoming the busiest port in the world. He thanked the captain and disembarked. He was instantly drawn away from the ship b the press of the crowd. Now all he had to do was find a ship back to Balamb.
He fought his way through the crowd, and spotted a man in a small booth just on the edge of a wall.
"Excuse me?" he shouted over the noise.
The man looked up from the paper he was reading. "Yes?"
"Can you tell me when the next ship to Balamb is?" he asked.
The man shrugged. "Not for another week," he said.
A week! Squall fumed, as he pushed his way out of the port and into the city proper. Esthar was now the busiest city in the world since their isolation had ended, and getting anywhere was difficult amongst all the gaping tourists.
One week!
He walked until he found a small patch of greenery in a park, and sat down on a bench to think about what he was supposed to be doing next. He watched the children play on the swings, the adults watching over them, the couples sitting on the grass, laughing and smiling. He felt a pang in his heart. Rinoa. I need to get back. But how? He wasn't prepared to wait one week. When the answer came he realised he had been staring at it all along.
Silly boy… Shiva commented in amusement.
Quiet. Squall got up, and began to walk towards the Presidential Palace, and Laguna.
~*~*~
Seifer was last off the boat and into Winhill, keeping his distance from Rinoa and the impostor. Rinoa, how can you be fooled so easily? He asked her back.
'Squall' turned to address the two. "We'll split up here. Seifer, go and check the shoreline. Rinoa, would you go and check the town?"
Rinoa smiled. "Sure," she said, and walked off towards the town, noticeably happier.
Squall turned to Seifer and grinned. "Well? Why aren't you going?" he asked.
Seifer's eyes narrowed. If looks could kill the impostor would be a small puddle of trace elements cooling on the grass. "You can't keep this up forever," he said dangerously.
"Actually, I think I can," he said, and drew his Gunblade.
Instantly Seifer's hand was on the Hyperion, ready to swing it at him if he moved. But Squall just calmly checked it was loaded, and began to walk away towards the woods, whistling cheerfully.
"Damnit!" Seifer swore, and walked towards the shoreline.
Rinoa nearly skipped through Winhill, smiling at curious peasants She waved at couple cheerfully, but they stayed in their homes, not opening the doors. Is the monster problem really that bad? Her problem was soon answered when a roar sounded from across the village.
Seifer turned when he heard the roar and looked towards the village. Rinoa… He ran. Rinoa quickly drew her Shooting Star and stood her ground as the biggest Ruby Dragon she had ever seen lumbered it's way through the village. It's eyes fixed on her, and the two just stared at each other for a few seconds. Then the Ruby Dragon roared again, and a huge spurt of flame emerged from its mouth, singling the buildings around it. Windows slammed shut instantly as villager ran into whatever basements they had.
Rinoa took one step back as the dragon approached. Guess it was pretty serious then. Better get started. She closed her eyes, and concentrated. She didn't have to wait long. White lights flowed through her arms, and suddenly translucent wings sprouted from her back. She opened her eyes again, and they were totally white, and glowing. She held her arms out. "BLIZZAGA!" she screamed.
Instantly a massive and deadly storm of icicles flew from her palms and impacted on the Ruby Dragon as if a whirlwind had picked up a collection of knives. And that takes care of that, Rinoa thought, rubbing her hands together to work some feeling back into them. She turned away to find another monster to deal with. Another roar sounded, and Rinoa turned back just in time to see the massive claw swinging towards her head.
"No!" A bright flash went past Rinoa's vision, and the dragon staggered backwards, claw bleeding heavily from its claw. She turned to see Seifer standing next to her, Hyperion covered in the dragon's blood, a look of rage on his face. He turned to her. "Are you alright?"
She nodded her head mutely, and a shadow descended on them. Seifer barged into Rinoa and pulled her out of the way as a steady stream of fire engulfed the ground they had been standing on moments before.
Seifer spun around without pausing and fired a volley at the Ruby Dragon's head. This only seemed to enrage it more, and it charged towards him. He easily ducked under its claws and sliced his Gunblade across its weak underbelly. It screamed in pain and reeled backwards, blood pouring from its stomach.
Rinoa felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Squall looking at her in concern. "Are you alright?" he asked.
"Fine, but Seifer-"
"Don't worry, I'll handle this. Go to a safe place."
Squall ran out towards where Seifer and the dragon were battling, drawing the Lionheart. He leaped up onto it and hacked directly at its tail. The blue Gunblade pierced the thick armour and pinned the tail to the ground. The dragon turned to see him, and Squall leaped away sans Gunblade as it tried to turn him to Ash. Seifer took the opportunity to stab at its head. The Hyperion connected cleanly into the dragon's eye.
"Nice to see you've improved, but you're still not him." Seifer hissed.
"Shut up and kill this thing," the impostor said quietly.
Seifer jumped backwards and fired a quick round at the dragon, which whirled around, trying to keep the two together. Squall ran for the tail and wrenched the Lionheart from it. Armed again, he made a mad dash for the creature and literally ran up the tail onto it's back. The dragon swung around frantically to get him off, and for a second it looked like Squall might make it, but then the tail, somehow, stretched around, and the dragon hit itself. And Squall. It caught him a resounded blow on the head, and he blinked, and so very slowly, fell off. Seifer forgot himself for a second and ran to aid him, but then remembered. Let him burn. Rinoa had other ideas though. Something cold and fast whipped past Seifer's head, and he looked around quickly to see Rinoa, wings extended, power coursing down her arms, firing wave after wave of pure ice at the dragon's head. It reeled backwards, but rallied, unwilling to give up its victim. Rinoa watched in horror as, very deliberately, the dragon raised one leg and stood on Squall.
"No!" she screamed.
The crunch of bone breaking was horrible, and Seifer cringed as the impostor's ribcage was shattered, and he died almost instantly. Some mission. Rinoa screamed in rage and despair, and a huge block of ice, even bigger than that summoned by Shiva, materialised above the dragons head. It looked up in surprise, and then it fell on him, and exploded, tearing the beast to shreds. Rinoa ran over to 'Squall' and slid to a stop next to him, casting cure after cure on his body in vain. She threw her hands over him and cried onto his chest. Seifer turned and pointed his Gunblade when he heard a noise. The villager that had been approaching him held up his hands.
"I come to thank you. The dragon had been hounding us for weeks."
Seifer looked incredulous. "You mean that was it? Only one monster? In your request you said there were dozens!"
The man shrugged. "We did not think SeeD would bother with a measly Ruby Dragon."
Well, it did the job for me. Maybe we should decorate the damn thing with a medal.
Rinoa looked up in rage. "That one dragon killed Squall!" she shouted.
The man stood back when he saw the lights in Rinoa's eyes, and muttered something under his breath. Seifer would have bet a month's pay it was: Sorceress! "We mean no offence. I am sorry for your loss. Do you have a way to contact Garden?"
Seifer nodded. "We do." And they are not going to like this…
~*~*~
Squall looked over at Kiros. "How much longer?" he asked.
Kiros shrugged. "A day at most," he said.
Squall thought about cursing, but held his tongue. Since Garden had permanently 'borrowed' the Ragnarok, and Laguna was still working on building another, they had to travel to ship. Luckily the president had given him use of his personal transport, and he was speeding back to Balamb. And Rinoa. The day I find out who did this to me is the day that person needs to watch their back.
You miss her don't you? Shiva asked.
More than you can imagine.
Oh, I can imagine. She commented wryly, and did not elaborate.
~*~*~
Rinoa sat in Cid's office, not speaking, only looking at the floor, as Seifer gave the report to Cid. They had killed and only monster and Squall was dead and Cid had received payment for the mission and Squall was dead and Squall was dead…She buried her face in her hands and started to cry. What was she going to do now? Why did fate hate her so? Why whenever everything was going right did something reach out to ruin her life? A door swung open, and Cid walked out, a frown on his face. "I'm sorry," he whispered. Rinoa didn't reply. Another door slammed open, and she heard four pairs of feet enter the room.
"Is it true?" Zell's voice asked.
Cid must have nodded, because Selphie gasped.
Someone sat down next to Rinoa, and she instinctively leant her head against the woman. "I'm sorry Rin," Quistis whispered. "You know we all loved Squall."
"I just can't believe he's gone," Rin whispered back.
"Rinoa, we will be holding a funeral tomorrow. I can't say I understand what you're going through, but we're all here for you," Cid said gently.
Rinoa wiped tears from her eyes and looked up at the Orphanage Gang. Yes, they would be there. They always had been.
~*~*~
Squall got up the next morning. Well, Kiros shook him awake anyway. "Wht? Whuzzat?" he asked groggily.
Kiros chuckled. "We're here," he said.
Squall jumped up, instantly awake. Rinoa. He almost ran out onto the deck to see the familiar town of Balamb. He sighed as he saw the blue beam of light that signified Balamb Garden's magnetic ring. He ran to the side as the ship docked against the stone steps and leaped off even before the workers had finished tying the ropes. He turned back to Kiros. "Thanks for the ride," he said happily, and jogged away from the boat, back towards his home.
Kiros waved as Squall disappeared. "No problem."
~*~*~
Rinoa stood, dressed all in back, as the coffin was carried to the grave in the outside of Balamb Garden. She cried softly as it passed her, and Cid stood to read the small speech that always seemed to be de rigueur in these situations. The other members of the gang were stood next to her right in front, all but Seifer, who stood near the back, watching everywhere but the solemn ceremony.
She clutched at the tissue, staring dully ahead. It wasn't supposed to be like this. We were supposed to grow up happy.
The coffin went passed and was lowered into the grave, and Rinoa noticed how small it seemed. Somehow she had thought coffins were bigger… Seifer did not watch the coffin being lowered into the ground, but instead watched the surrounding countryside. He contemplated screaming to everyone that that wasn't Squall they were burying, but contained himself.
"Who died?" a voice said, and Seifer turned.
~*~*~
Squall walked through the village of Balamb towards Garden, fighting the urge to run. He needed his strength to fight any would-be attackers, and he didn't have his Lionheart with him.
Patience child, you'll get there soon enough, Shiva said gently.
He crossed his arms. But I want to be there now!
If you tire yourself out some bandit will attack you, and you won't get there at all.
Squall walked past the forest towards the Garden, and without thinking about it his head was drawn towards the sound of a voice coming from beyond the hill where the small SeeD centenary was, where SeeDs that actually had their bodies recovered where buried. He heard Cid's voice, and angled over that way. He crested the hill, and looked down to see…
Rinoa.
She sat at the front, next to a grave, holding her stomach, and for a minute he feared the worst. Then he saw everyone was standing on the same row, and were very much alive. He breathed a sigh of relief. He ran down the hill towards the funeral, slowing to a walk as he approached the site. He saw Seifer leaning against a tree at the back, not looking at the grave, but towards Garden. Then Cid looked up, and Squall waved.
For a second Cid didn't look like he believed his eyes, and his mouth dropped open. He looked from Squall to the coffin, and back at Squall again. Then at that point people turned to see what the man was staring at. Then Rinoa looked around, and they locked eyes. She jumped up and ran to him. Squall was about to ask what was going on, when she jumped into his arms and started crying. Squall wrapped her arms around her and kissed her.
"I never thought I would see you again," he whispered.
Suddenly Rinoa reached back and punched him lightly on the cheek. "You insensitive jerk! How could you do that to us!" she shouted, pointing at the coffin.
Squall frowned. "Why? Who died?" he asked.
"You did!"
Squall blinked. "What?" he asked quietly.
Seifer came up to his side and slapped him on the back. "Was wondering when you were gonna show up," he said.
Everyone looked around at him. He sighed. "Let me explain…"
The thanks:
Pierson for writing this chapter (I love my knight :) )
The Angel of the Lion
Refugee
Caleb Nova
Squall
Angelheart
