****Disclaimer****
FF8 characters are all properties of Squaresoft and the lyrics of 'My Last Breath' belong to Evanescence respectively.
PART ONE 1 – Hold Me
His heart broke just to see his angel lying there. On a plain white-sheeted bed that was located in an anti-magic building that was heavily guarded. The white sheets gave a comparison of how pale his lover really was. She looked almost lifeless…
He stood there watching her from behind the five inch of thick anti-magic proof glass that separated him from her… His gloved fingers rested on the cool glass. Finally, he couldn't stand there anymore. Taking out a card, he swiped it in the reader and pushed in a code. After brushing away the 'Caution' sign, he walked in and sat in a white chair next to her bed.
Squall gently took one of Rinoa's hands and held it in his own-gloved one. He watched her breathe slowly and traced a large gash on her leg with a gloved hand.
('I'm so sorry Rinoa…') he thought as his stormy blue/gray eyes rested on the almost ghostly looking figure of his 'fiancée'. He sighed. After everything… Adel and Ultimecia… Diving into space… Defeating the Sorceresses and saving the world, he clung onto the foolish thought that the future with Rinoa would be a good one…
However, he was horribly wrong… SeeDs and Sorceress… It seemed like a fairytale and a fantasy but to him, it was real… After the Ultimecia incident, Squall and Rinoa got engaged and they were very happy.
For the time it lasted… Five years after saving the world, and defeating Ultimecia, another threat came into view. It was her.
Balamb Garden welcomed Rinoa with open arms thanks to the efforts of Cid and Edea. After all, she did play a role in the fall of Ultimecia. In the process, she became a Sorceress with Adel and Ultimecia's powers but the heart of the Sorceress determines her side right?
That was what he hoped and everyone else did too but little did they know that a part of the evil Sorceresses existed in the powers that Rinoa inherited and day by day, it started to consume her. He was her knight and he should have been there for her. Why didn't he notice that his angel was slowly slipping away from him until it was too late?
Squall frowned slightly. He did notice changes in Rinoa's powers and her eyes… But Rinoa assured him that she was fine. Squall knew that she was stubborn so why didn't he see that? He was blinded by love, he didn't regret it though but if they weren't able to stop her, the lives across the world would be in danger.
He knew that he was a SeeD but she was more to him than anything else. If Squall had to make a choice between his job and his love, it would be an easy question but if it were between the world and his possessed girlfriend, he'd pick the world. After all, wouldn't the real Rinoa want that as well?
"Squall…" whispered a soft voice. Squall looked down and saw warm brown eyes returning his gaze.
"Rinoa." He replied. "How are you feeling?" He already knew the answer. She was badly hurt and the anti-magic barrier didn't help her cause either. The magic was raging within the young inexperienced Sorceress and by keeping it confined it hurt her.
"I'm cold Squall." Whispered Rinoa as she shivered. Squall grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders and sat next to her.
"I'm so sorry Rin…" a cool finger placed on his lips silenced him. Rinoa looked at him with a weak smile.
"It wasn't your fault Squall." Said Rinoa. "Don't blame yourself. We knew that this might happen. Remember you promised me?"
Squall nodded. "I remember…"
~*~Flashback~*~
Squall and Rinoa were watching a sunset from the balcony.
'Squall, if I ever lose control, I want you to kill me.' Said Rinoa out of the blue. 'You're the Commander of Balamb now. That's your duty.'
'Rinoa, I would never… I rather die first.' Said Squall as he held her.
'I know, my knight but even if it does happen, I want you and only you to stop me. Promise?'
'Rinoa…'
'Squall, answer me… I NEED to know.'
'I…'
'Please Squall…'
'Whatever… I promise you Rinoa.'
'Truce?'
'Truce.'
Rinoa smiled and threw her arms around Squall. 'Remember your promise Squall…'
~*~ End Flashback ~*~
"I'm glad that you kept your promise Squall." Said Rinoa as a smile graced her beautiful face. "I know what you are thinking and don't even blame yourself for that. I know that you're my knight but I want you to do what's right… If I ever lost control, I won't want you to follow me blindly Squall." A cold tremor spread across her body. The Sorceress powers were going to eat her inside out…
"Hold me Squall." Whispered Rinoa as she closed her eyes as another cold chill passed through her. Squall wrapped an arm around her shoulders and another around her waist. Rinoa wrapped both of her arms around Squall's waist and placed rested her head on his chest.
"Squall, I'm not going to last much longer…" said Rinoa. "I'm going to die…"
"…" Squall was shocked. "No you won't Rinoa… You'll survive and after I resign from SeeD we'll go and live somewhere peaceful where no one will know us. We'll even get Angelo a friend if you want." Squall was shocked by what he said but he didn't care anymore. This was the one that was for him. Rinoa was the one that made him feel secure…
Rinoa laughed softly. "That sounds romantic Squall but I'm not going to make it…" she said sadly. "I want you to move on after I die… Please Squall; don't hold yourself sad and guilty. I want you to live… I saw how Quistis looks at you. She'll keep you company after I die…"
"Don't talk like that Rinoa." Said Squall. "I love you and only you."
Rinoa's eyes watered. She knew it hurt him as it hurt herself but she wanted him to find happiness. "I know and I love you too Squall." She said as tears flowed down her cheek. "I'm scared Squall…"
Hold on to me love
You know I can't stay long
"I'll be here for you Rinoa. I'll stay here the night if you want…" Rinoa squeezed on his hand gently.
All I wanted to say was I love you and I'm not afraid
"I know. Thank you." She shivered again. Squall tightened his arms around Rinoa a little more as if he let go, she would disappear from him.
Can you hear me?
Can you feel me in your arms?
Rinoa sighed as she breathed in his scent. Clean and masculine. Looking up, she smiled. Her knight and lover…
Holding my last breath
Safe inside myself
Squall looked down and gave Rinoa one of his rare smiles. ('She'll be alright…') he thought desperately with his heart but his mind disagreed. My Sorceress and soul mate…
Are all my thoughts of you
Sweet ruptured light it ends here tonight
It seemed that Fate had a harsh
sense of humor. After all, they brought
Squall and Rinoa together and now, they would be separated…
I'll miss the
winter
A world of fragile things
Rinoa sighed. The whiteness of the room reminded her of………snow…
"Do you remember when we spent time at Edea's orphanage last year?" she whispered. Squall nodded.
Look for me in the white forest
Hiding in a hollow tree (come find me)
"How could I forget?" he replied.
It was one of the most memorable experiences of his life. They revisited the orphanage and spent a month there in the winter. The world form there was covered in heavy blankets of snow.
I know you hear me
I can taste it in your tears
Rinoa shuddered again as a wave of
cold like nausea swept over her. Pain
erupted in her abdomen. Squall noticed
her hands on her abdomen and knew that she needed to transfer her powers to
rest peacefully. He couldn't get
another person now to receive them…
Holding my last breath
Safe inside myself
It meant one thing… He would need to take it within himself… Of course, the powers never got transferred to a man before… Squall looked down and brushed the tears away from his angel's face. Looking at her once again, he decided that she was worth it…
Are all my thoughts of you
Sweet ruptured light it ends here tonight
Rinoa closed her eyes and fell
asleep in the warmth that surrounded her.
'I'll love you forever Squall Leonhart.' She thought before she
fell asleep.
Closing your eyes to disappear
You pray your dreams will leave you here
Perhaps it was all just a nightmare that they lived in and when they woke up everything would be all right. Right? They didn't think so. As much as Squall hoped it would be, it wasn't. His angel was dying and he couldn't so anything to stop it…
But still you wake and know the truth
No one's there
"Goodnight Rinoa…" whispered
Squall. Rinoa opened her eyes and
looked at him with sadness. She leaned
forward and the two kissed. Rinoa broke
off.
Say goodnight
Don't be afraid
"Goodnight Squall." She replied. Rinoa fell back asleep as Squall joined her. They fell asleep in each other's company…
Calling me calling me as you fade to black
('Rest well my Angel…')
******************************
Morning came in Balamb Garden as Instructor Quistis Trepe made her way to the training area. Squall had been commander for five years now and he demonstrated an excellent ability even though he seemed like 'Mr. Anti-Social'. Rinoa had brought many changes in him.
She looked at the files in her hand. It wasn't pretty. Galbadia demanded for the Sorceress because of the 'incident' that happened when Rinoa lost control of her powers and tried to take over the world.
Quistis sighed. She was in defeat. Rinoa in the end had won Squall's heart. Quistis felt a bit of jealously toward the Timber Owl leader but she had to admit that Rinoa was the perfect match for Squall.
Just like Selphie and Irvine – who got married a year ago. Quistis smiled to herself. Yes, definitely a good match for Selphie and Irvine.
The blonde instructor walked in and surprising didn't see any sign of the brunette Commander anywhere. Frowning, she headed to the cafeteria where Zell already was – plowing through the way of a tray of hotdogs.
"Zell, have you seen Squall?" she asked. Quistis recalled that Squall said something about Zell and himself fixing the Ragnarok yesterday.
"Nope." Replied Zell as he poured an enormous amount of ketchup on another hotdog. "I haven't seen him since yesterday. But he did say something about visiting Rinoa."
"Ah… Thank you Zell." Said Quistis as he got up and headed toward the door. A few minutes later after getting ambushed by the Trepies, Quistis got to the isolated part of the Garden where the Sorceress containment field was. The dome itself was white.
Quistis walked in and saw no signs of Squall. She finally looked in the window and saw Squall sitting – asleep with Rinoa in his arms peacefully. Quistis decided whether or not she should disturb them but the file was urgent. She pressed the buzzer but the couple didn't wake up.
He was in a field of flowers with her. 'I don't understand Rinoa.' Said Squall as he looked at his love that was standing there with her full elegance.
'Squall, I'm here to say thank you.' She said. 'But you shouldn't have done that. Sorceress powers weren't meant to be inherited by a man.'
'I know but no one else who have made it in time and… I didn't want to leave you.' He replied. They embraced but Rinoa began to fade away.
'STAY STRONG!' she whispered before darkness consumed her. Squall looked around and found himself alone in the darkness.
An evil laugh echoed in the distance…
"Squall! Wake up!" said Quistis as she shook the Commander lightly. He collapsed off the bed and fell motionless to the soft padded ground. Horrified, Quistis checked Rinoa and found out that she was cold as stone and dead. Quistis ran over to the phone and called Headmaster Cid.
Within a few minutes, Dr. Kadwoski was on the scene with the Ultimecia Team. Squall was unconscious and looked deathly pale as Rinoa was dead.
"How did all of this happen?" asked Selphie silently.
"We're not sure." Said Xu as she climbed down from examining the security cameras. "All we know is Squall went in and Rinoa and him talked and they fell asleep and Rinoa never woke up."
Irvine placed a hand on Selphie's shoulder. "I'm sure that Squall's alright…" he said. "I mean he faced Ultimecia so I'm sure that a little loss of consciousness won't affect him."
Cid looked out of the window and sighed heavily. Rinoa had died and Squall lad passed out… He frowned as thought about where the powers went… 'Which girl?' asked Cid mentally. 'Why did if affect Squall like that?'
The next day…
Dr. Kadwoski checked the young commander again. He was in the same condition… Dying but yet alive… She looked onto the face of her patient. All of a sudden, a cut opened up out of nowhere on the side of his face and crimson flowed from the wound…
'What is happening to you Squall?' Asked Dr. Kadwoski as she placed a bandage on the wound and preformed a Curga but it had no effect.
Meanwhile…
"NEVER!!!" yelled Squall as he swung his Lionheart outwards. It was a giant figure that looked like Adel and Ultimecia combined.
"FALL IN DARKNESS FOR OUR POWERS CAN NEVER BE TAMMED! WE'LL TAKE YOU LIKE WE DID TO YOUR SORCERESS!!!" screeched the abomination. "AFTER WE KILL YOU HERE, WE SHALL HAVE CONTROL OF YOUR BODY AND ABILITIES!!!"
Squall's eyes flashed. "Over my dead body…" He hissed as he ran forward with the Lionheart.
The figure struck forward and lashed out with giant claws.
Dr. Kadwoski noticed a numerous amount of wounds opening all over Squall's body. A giant claw like slash was across his chest as a deep face wound was on the side of his face. More and more wounds and injuries appeared and the Cure spells had no effect.
He clutched his side as he got back on his feet.
"GIVE UP NOW!" said the shadow as it came closer. Squall sighed in defeat. He felt helpless against it… But he realized that this was a chance he couldn't pass up. Holding the Lionheart in front of him, an orange and yellow aura flared.
"Come and get me." He replied.
Quistis walked in. "What's going on?" she asked as she ran over to the commander and saw his blood soaked shirt.
'Perfect!' thought Squall as he executed a Lionheart at the figure with all the energy he would muster along with the love for Rinoa. After all, this was the thing that caused his angel to loose control and took her away.
The figure collapsed and smiled bitterly. "I HAVE STILL WON…" It fell.
Squall got up – painfully- and felt lightheaded…
'How can this be?' he thought as he wobbled on his feet. 'Isn't this just in my mind?'
"I'm not sure but at this rate he'll bleed to death." Said Dr. Kadwoski as she tried to bandage up the wounds.
BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!
Squall fainted on the ground in the darkness.
The life monitor went flat and straight. "We lost him." Said Dr. Kadwoski sadly as she placed a white sheet over Squall's body.
"Rinoa, you are avenged…" he whispered as he collapsed.
"No…" whispered Quistis as she ran off with tears.
Silence……………
**********
~*~Comments~*~: Shall I continue? Should I let it be as a tragic ending or shall I continue? Yes, it is quite sad in Part 1 and please note that I have a little bit of Part 2 written out but it many take a bit longer to write & update than the other fanfics.
In case you're wondering, I did rewrite this chapter a little since I wasn't satisfied with the layout of the song scene.
R+R and please tell me how I did and anything that I did wrong in writing this fanfic would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!
~ Ari