BREAKING THE MIRROR
Disclaimer – I don't own any of the FF8 characters etc, but I do however own some original characters that are going to be included in this story, and the imagination I have to give them life. Hope you like it…
Also huge thanks to Michael Kenny for letting me use a technique he invented (will use it in due time! Oh, and read his fics. Top notch!)
Chapter 7 – Seven Over Six
'6 is the number of evil, 7 is the number of luck, ever wondered why they are so close together?'
Rinoa dashes to the lift, wondering, just like the others, what was wrong with Squall. The lift has already gone. Sighing, she closes her eyes gently, and concentrates on Squall's image. She sees him, lost in thoughts on the lift. The lift stops and he gets out, then proceeds to the Quad.
By the time she has followed him, the lift reappears at the top. Getting in, she too loses herself in thought. I know what's troubling him. Wow, I have never felt that before…
***
She approaches him as he sits facing out towards the ocean. His legs hanging over the edge of the Quad. His face is downcast and very serious looking. He looks up slightly and notices the girl in blue standing next to him. He is about to speak when Rinoa places a hand over his mouth. He looks at her startled.
"Feel free to tell me to go away or something Squall, but it won't matter, I know what's wrong with you, it's up to you though, if you want to talk about it."
Squall looks up at her, face expressionless. Finally he speaks.
"You know what's wrong with me?"
Rinoa smiles gently. "I can read your soul. It's a sorceress thing," she laughs. "Yeah, 'thing' can't really tell what it is." She stops laughing and looks at him, smiling. "I know all of it, but it's up to you, like I said."
Squall turns away and looks out to the ocean. He shakes his head, as Rinoa sits down next to him and curls an arm around him. He sighs.
"In one word Rinoa, arrogance. That's what's wrong."
Rinoa nods slightly as Squall continues. "I am angry, not at you, not at Seifer, not at anyone, I'm angry at myself."
Rinoa says nothing, but Squall knows she is listening.
"I took Mirror on, something inside me screamed you can't beat him yourself. Even Seifer said so, but no, my pride took over. My arrogance took over." He shakes his head.
"I guess that, ever since I had beaten Seifer 4 times, hell, even after I beat him the first time on my own at the Sorceress Parade, that no-one could ever better me with a gunblade. That thought buried itself in me, and that was it. I didn't 'brag' about my ability, nor was I 'cocky' like Seifer. But I knew I was the best. It just seemed to always remind me. Even though I didn't say anything. I knew."
Rinoa is looking at him now, Squall maintains his stern look out to the waters below.
"Until he came along. This Mirror guy. He beat me," he looked at Rinoa in the eyes. "He beat me fairly, and with his 2 gunblade, he outclassed me. He outclassed us both. I think it was a fluke that we are still alive to this day. A sentence he said bored into me, I think that is what is causing this anger, because it made me realize I am not the best, and that there is always room for improvement."
"What did he say?" asks Rinoa
"He said that my 'ability' was harder to learn, than go up against. It was if he said that learning how to use a gunblade was more difficult than actually fighting someone. As if I was easy."
He falls silent. Rinoa is about to speak when Squall places a hand on her shoulder. He looks at her with a look of worry, and also fear. It causes Rinoas spine to shiver slightly.
"I thought I would never say these two words in the one sentence, but I am worried and a bit scared Rinoa."
"Why?" she whispers.
"What if he comes back? He beat Seifer and me, and from what Seifer says he can fight like Zell too. He may be able to fight like all of us. If he comes back, what if we can't beat him then?"
Rinoa look at him with her mouth open slightly as Squall goes on.
"Did you know, it took myself, Seifer, a haste spell on me, a limit break, AND a finishing maneuver just to put him down for about 5 minutes? That is worrying Rinoa… and scary too, since he got straight up and was able to escape, and you saw the state of me and Seifer."
He says no more after this and goes back to watching the ocean. Shaking slightly instead. Rinoa cannot make out whether it is the wind, or anger, or fear, or hate, or a combination. She stands back up and Squall looks at her. She holds out her hand. Squall takes it and is suddenly pulled to his feet.
"Then we will prepare for him. We will train for him. We will defeat him in the end, and whoever else is in the way. No more of this 'defeated' stance, we will win."
(The Training Center)
Seifer readies his blade, and scrapes it along the ground at a fast pace as he runs. Zell awaits him. Seifer spins and attempts to behead Zell. Zell dives to the left and delivers a right hook, but Seifer is faster back and deflects it with his blade. There is a clang as Zells fist connects with the metal. Zell winces very slightly, but flips back…
Only to be tripped up by Selphies flail, as she joins the fray. Seifer uses his blade to stop the helicopter-spin of her flail. Selphie suddenly uses her 'barrier' magic, a huge blue-orange shield flying all around her as Irvine attempts to riddle her with bullets. The bullets dissolve as they disappear into the shield. Irvine then pulls Exeter to his left as Quistis bears down on him, but her whip snakes its way round his gun.
She barely manages to pull it back as Squall attempts to chop the whip in two as he goes for Seifer, the two of them clash blades, but are suddenly blown apart as Rinoa separates them with her magic. The others look at her as she stands in the middle of them, crossing her arms over her chest, she begins to glow. The others just watch her…
Suddenly she throws her arms open and there is a huge boom. Every one of them is thrown in a different direction and crash into something. The ground cracks and shakes as she lifts off. Spotting her first target, Zell, she goes for him, her beautiful white wings now flapping gently.
Zell grimaces and dives away, but Rinoa uses astonishing speed and, using one hand, grabs him, spins him, and throws him away again. He smashes into some trees and they come tumbling down on him. Smiling, she looks at Squall.
Squall smiles back. Rinoa notices he has his 'game face' on, but she also spots he is hesitant. She crouches slightly, noting Selphie standing just to her left, and flies at Squall. Squall readies his blade but she is already upon him. Stopping right in front of his face, she kisses him once, smiles, and then places her hands on his chest. Shaking her head slightly, she shoves him away. Instead of just falling, Squall is propelled 20 feet backward and crashes into a wall. He hits the floor.
Rinoa then spins and launches a huge blast at Selphie. Selphie mutters something as the spell hits. A huge wall appears in front of her, the spell widens to accommodate the wall. Rinoa cocks her head to one side and, while using one hand to control the blast, she throws her other arm to the left, casting Stop on Seifer. Irvine can't help but laugh. Neither can Selphie.
"That's enough!" she booms, her sorceress voices warping her own. She drops her power, as does Selphie. Rinoa walks up to Seifer and places a hand on him, muttering 'Esuna' he moves again. She then casts Curaga on Squall and Zell. Who walk up to her. Irvine and Quistis follow. Irvine's eyes glitter.
"Wow Rinoa, simply wow. You stopped all of us."
Rinoa smiles sheepishly. "I know, and it's this we must learn."
The others look perplexed. Rinoa sighs.
"You took me one one-by one. That won't work and you all know it, how did you defeat Ultimecia? It took all of us. Mirror, according to Seifer and Squall, was struggling a bit with the two of them, he might be good, but he couldn't possibly beat all of us together" she emphasizes the last word. The others nod.
"Selphie was the only one who had the right idea, she was already coming at me when I was busy with Squall, and while she kept me busy, Seifer went for me. I don't know about Mirror, but that was a bit of a task there, casting a spell on Seifer while already using one on Selphie. Mirror might be more weapon-based, but even he has only two arms. And even he must get tired"
Squall, his face set nods slightly. Rinoa looks at him.
"Squall, what's up?"
The others, expecting a 'nothing' or 'never mind' suddenly answers...
"I remember the guy in the suit talking about he needed all 6 of us"
"So?" asks Seifer. The others also look at him oddly.
"I think Mirror can and has copied the fighting techniques of the 6 of us down to a tee. Without effort."
"Your point is?" asks Zell impatiently. Squall looks at him.
"Isn't it obvious? There's 7 of us."
There is silence as the realization suddenly hits them. Irvine speaks up.
"He doesn't know the techniques of one of us. You're sure its 6?"
Squall nods.
"That means that he doesn't know one of us enough to have learned what they can do."
There is silence, a monster roars in the background. Some look up as Seifer speaks.
"Well, As you seen the results for yourself, he can and did take me and Squall on, so that rules us out. I saw him training like Zell in a huge room. Same moves and everything. But I never did see him use any other weapon besides the gunblades. So the leaves you 4." He says looking at Selphie, Quistis, Irvine and Rinoa.
"I don't think it would be me, I mean, anyone can handle a gun easily" says Irvine. "But now that you mention it, I think it might be one of these lovely ladies. For a very good reason"
They look at him as he stands there with a smile on his face. Selphie places her hands on her hips.
"Irvine, cough it up or no 'Hide and Seek' tonight!"
The others, even Squall burst out laughing as Irvine struggles to keep a straight face, but he too laughs, his face beet red.
"I think it is one of them, because they have unique abilities."
This shuts everyone up. Selphie, Rinoa and Quistis, who was very quiet, but no one seemed to notice, all nod.
"That's true," Selphie says. "We do! I have my Blue Defense magic, Quistis has her Blue All Round magic, and Rinoa is the sorceress, there's no way he can copy that! Especially Rinoa!" Rinoa beams.
"As much as I sometimes wish I did not have this power, she has a point. We have to try to figure out who can do it."
Seifer grumbles "Well seeing it's a woman who gets to kick his ass…" he grins stupidly, but that is wiped off as Rinoa casts silence on him. He frowns and says no more, obviously because he can't. Squall, lost in thought, begins to walk away slightly.
"Squall!" calls Rinoa. Squall stops and turns around. "Where are you going?"
"To train" he says simply, and walks off.
"Squall, what have we to do now? Just keep training?"
Squall stops and turns again. "Yeah, we'll train till the elections are over, then we will have our man."
Rinoa decides not to follow him. Searching his feelings with her power, she reads exactly what he is thinking.
Rinoa, you're the one who can beat him. The others, they will have been learned by Mirror. You said it yourself. Weapons based. He did not use one piece of magic when I fought him. It's you Rinoa, somehow, I know it is you…
She looks at him sadly, then joins the others.
"He OK?" asks Zell.
"Yes, he's fine, let's go again, before monsters decide to rain on our parade."
Zell grins and the others take up battle positions, ready to resume training.
***
"They are starting to piece it together?" the man speaks down the telephone softly. There is noise from the other end as a voice from the receiver tells him something.
"Hmmm he had a point. But not to worry, by the time we have finished, she will be in no fit state. And thank you for telling me where to find her, she will be dealt with in due time, but first I must eliminate them, you realize they will die to protect her."
The other voice says something again. The man places a cigarette to his mouth, takes a smoke, then puffs out, blue smoke wafting away from him lazily.
"Excellent. Oh, and as a thank you, well, if you could call it that, you can destroy her husband. He is a peon, and it will be a fitting revenge. Being killed by one of his own, in his own home."
There is a spout of laughter from the receiver, then drops dead. A boy walks up to him as he places it down.
"They are preparing for you my boy, they think they can take you together. But patience my friend, after the elections, you are going hunting."
Mirror smiles. "I may have been taken by surprise by that fool Squall, but not now, I am ready for them, and anything else."
The man observes him as he looks at what he is wearing under his trenchcoat. A Save The Queen on his left, a Strange Vision on his right, a pair of Ergheiz gloves on his hands, and 2 Exeters, one at either side just next to the flail and the whip. 2 Gunblades, one gold and one silver, cross over his back. All of these except the gloves are hidden away effortlessly when he pulls the coat on. His reddish-blonde hair sweeping to just on his shoulders.
Mirror smiles.
So does the man.