I don't own FF8 or any of the characters. Squaresoft are the ones who
created it all!!!
A/N: You're probably thinking that this is the final chapter for this fic, judging by the title of the chapter. Well don't worry, it's not. I'm FAR from finished with this fic. Those who have thoroughly played FFVIII (I don't mean story-wise) will understand why I named Chapter 15, "The End". Those who don't understand it, well . . . keep playing 'til you do!
The End
" . . . The hell is it?" Zell half-whispered.
Squall shook his head in disbelief.
It all happened so fast, that no one even knew how it had come.
A demon creature. A huge, demon, winged creature that had no reason to exist had suddenly appeared, most likely flown in from somewhere far off. Some place that hardly anyone knew about. But here it was, in all its gruesome glory.
Of course the roof of the tower smashed as the massive creature flew down to the party of astounded comrades. Most of the broken pieces of the roof landed on the ground below the tower. As the creature landed in front of the party, one part of the wall of the tall tower gave way. It too, broke into many pieces.
The best writer in the world would not, perhaps, be able to portray how this winged creature looked. But the best way to describe it would be to say that it was something close to a devilish incarnation. Its clawed feet were about ¾ of the size of Laguna's whole body. Its body was as big as all the eight fighters put together, bigger still, and the scaly skin of its body glowed a horrible blood red. Its head was something totally abnormal. The mouth was neither proper like a human's, nor a beak-like one. It was just a black hole with tiny, sharp fangs embedded in it. The eyes were like that of a snake, except more horrific. They were just slits, but when the demon chose to open them wide, a sickly yellow colour glowed from them. On top of its head were two dark red, pointed horns that curved and then fixed in a forwardly direction. The whole being was like the re-incarnation of some sort of devil. The only way to describe it in a single sentence was through one word.
Monstrosity.
Then it gave a blood-curdling screech/roar that almost shook the tower.
" . . . Alright everyone. Looks as though this'll be tougher than any battle you've ever fought before," commented Laguna quietly.
Irvine was the first to attack, casting Aura on himself and then using 'pulse ammo' to blast the monster. But this most powerful group of bullets did not effect the winged creature in the least bit.
"Wha . . . what is this thing anyway?" asked Selphie questioningly.
Irvine shrugged.
Just then a non-human, slow voice boomed across the room. It belonged to the winged, demon creature. "FOOLS," said the creature. "PETTY, INSOLENT FOOLS. FOOLS WHO DO NOT KNOW IMMENSE POWER WHEN THEY WITNESS IT!"
"It . . . it talks!" squeaked Selphie.
Zell stepped forward, his fist clenched. "Hey! Stop callin' us fools already!"
"Zell!" hissed Quistis. "Don't!"
Ward shook his head.
The demon turned to Zell. Little Zell in its eyes. Then it gave the most piercing laugh. An evil laugh that was immensely hard to listen to.
"What's so funny?!" demanded Zell. "And who . . . or what are you anyway?"
The creature stopped its terrible laughter to speak once again. "I AM NOTHING YOU HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED BEFORE. I AM THE DEVIL'S RE-INCARNATION. I AM CALLED HYPERION!"
Hyperion? thought Squall. Seifer's weapon . . .? Seifer's gunblade is named after this . . . demon?
Then Kiros spoke up to the 7 others. "Don't use a GF in this battle everyone," he warned. "Hyperion will kill it easily. It's best to use your equipped weapon in this situation."
Everyone in turn attacked Hyperion with their weapon, but the maximum amount of damage they did was 100. Nothing worked against it.
"Its defense is too high!" wailed Selphie.
"Try using magic," suggested Quistis.
This option was attempted with hopes of damaging Hyperion more than a weapon. Laguna cast 'scan' on it, but was greeted with ill news.
"Its HP is . . . infinite!!!???" yelled Laguna in disbelief.
"It can't be . . ." said Squall, frowning.
Quistis cast 'protect' on everyone, which helped shield Hyperion's attacks. Selphie cast 'float' on everyone so that it wouldn't try anything like sending something through the ground. Curaga was used often, which was all very well and good, except for the fact that no one knew how to defeat Hyperion. Everyone used everything they had or could think of, but no progress was made.
Then Hyperion seemed to examine all the pieces of the broken wall carefully, before picking one particularly large part up with its half- mouth, half-beak. It tossed it up into the air and slammed its wing against it, sending it across the room, and into a very unlucky victim's right arm. . .
The gun dropped to the ground, as did the sharpshooter. The part of the wall which had hit his arm was not only big, but sharp also. A stifled groan was all that was needed to inform everyone that Irvine was in great pain.
"Irvine!" With no care for her own safety, an anxious Selphie ran as fast as her legs would carry her over to the sprawled figure of Irvine.
"Selphie be careful!" Quistis warned.
But Selphie either didn't hear or would not hear, for the girl was soon crouched down beside the gunman's body, beside herself with anxious worry. Irvine was close to unconsciousness, because the metal shard had hit his arm so hard.
Selphie carefully examined the arm, trying very hard not to break down. But one look at how much blood Irvine had lost sent her into a mass of tears.
" . . . Irvey," whimpered Selphie. "No . . . stay with me, OK?"
No one had ever seen Selphie like this before. She hardly ever cried, but now that Irvine would not be regaining complete consciousness soon, they didn't blame her at all for the endless tears that streamed down her cheeks.
Then Selphie started casting Curaga on Irvine repeatedly, but it had no effect on him whatsoever. She soon became desperate.
Irvine opened an eye weakly. "Selph . . ." he managed to say.
Selphie shook her head. "No, don't try to talk. It'll be ok . . . won't it?"
"I . . . don't know," Irvine said hoarsely. "Hurts . . ." he glanced at his injured arm.
Selphie's tears were now pouring down faster than ever, onto Irvine's body.
Irvine gave Selphie a little smile, which shocked her because he looked so helpless. "It was . . . really fun Sephie. Thanks for . . . being such a good friend and all . . ." he took her hand with his left one. Selphie's face was a mixture of grief and shock. "Selphie . . ." Irvine stuttered. "I . . . I -" but his words did not continue after that; his left arm dropped down like the right one, and his head soon did as well.
"No . . ." Selphie whispered. She collapsed onto Irvine's seemingly lifeless body and sobbed gently on his jacket. Then a change came over her. She was no longer the Selphie everyone knew and loved. "No," she said again. "No, no, no! NO! I WON"T BELIEVE IT!"
She got up from the ground and stood looking at the demon that had done this to Irvine, face-to-face. Anger flared in her eyes. Hyperion sensed the change in her. Everyone sensed her pain as well. They were almost afraid of what would happen next.
Selphie did not say anything. But she started to glow a strange yellow colour.
Zell stepped back. "What's . . . happening to her?" Concern for his friend showed in his face. Another expression of grief was also showing, for he and Irvine had really been buddies.
"Her limit-break," said Kiros. "If she's not careful, something fatal could happen."
"Selphie stop!" yelled Squall surprisingly. "You could kill us all!"
Selphie didn't seem to hear Squall's voice at all. There was a voice in her head telling her to take the next step - to do it. And that's exactly what she did just then.
Quistis was about to run to her friend and try to stop her, but Laguna grabbed her arm just in time.
The yellow colour was now even more overwhelming as Selphie raised her nunchaku weapon in the air. (A/N: I think I may have spelt nunchaku wrong in one of my earlier chapters. Sorry about that.) Then she started performing her limit-break sequence with her weapon that she always did whenever she was hurt badly.
But as the series of weapon movements came to an end, everyone in that single room seemed to vanish for that minute. Selphie's limit-break was starting. Everyone was gone, except for one person. Squall.
~ ~ ~
Suddenly, he wasn't in the Galbadian tower anymore. He was in a familiar place. The promised place. The sacred flower field, where he had promised to meet her when all else failed. But she wasn't there. He couldn't see her. He started to get desperate. He needed to see her. To hear her voice. To hold her in his arms. He started running across the field, senselessly, but he couldn't find her anywhere. And then, just as he was about to give up searching, she appeared. Standing right in front of him, his angel was there. He ran towards her, as did she. They finally reached each other and he grabbed her. It all seemed so real, because they just stood there, in each other's arms for what seemed like eternity. She looked up into his eyes and smiled. He held her as tightly as he could, not wanting to let go. Not ever.
~ ~ ~
"So what's yer plan?" asked a curious Galbadian, addressing Seifer.
Seifer smirked cheekily. "I have many plans; it just depends on which one you want to hear."
The leader of that particular Galbadian faction folded his arms angrily. "Don't mess around with us Seifer. You know very well what Soldier B was talkin' about."
"Is that a threat, might I ask?" grinned Seifer. "If that's the case, you can answer to my Hyperion. Don't forget who the gunblade wielder is in this sorry group of -"
"Hmph. Just get on with it then," said the leader crossly. "I'm the lieutenant in this group anyway, which makes ME the boss. So if anything should happen to me, it'll be the downfall of you Seifer."
"Err . . ." started another Galbadian. "It clearly states in the 'Galbadian Army Soldier Guidebook', page 29, paragraph 2, that we the soldiers of the Galbadian Military are not to misjudge ours or any other soldier's rank in the Army."
The lieutenant looked at this book-worm Galbadian incredulously. "What? What are you saying?!"
The lower-ranked Galbadian stepped back. "I . . . um, well you're not a Lieutenant yet sir, only a Junior Lieu -"
"SHUT UP!" yelled the 'Junior Lieutenant'. "What would you know about anything Soldier D?!"
Soldier D stepped back again.
"Hehehe," said Seifer, a smirk on his face. "Looks like the 'boss' has been caught out. Oh well, we'd better get on with the procedure, right Junior?"
The 'Junior' Lieutenant turned to face Seifer. Everyone there could tell that he was enraged. "You will address me with either 'Sir', or 'Lieutenant'! No more, no less. Got it?"
Soldier C spoke. "But sir, what about the 'G. A. S Guidebook'?"
"Screw the Guidebook! You're all under my orders now, so you don't have your precious 'guidebook' to protect you! And that goes for you too Seifer," muttered the Lieutenant.
Seifer shrugged. "Hey, I don't follow rules from some book, and clearly, I don't want to. You suckers all have the privilege of obeying boring orders. Haha."
Rinoa looked over at the group of quarrelling men. It looked as though they would be occupied for quite some time, so she squirmed around in an attempt to get hold of her Shooting Star. She fidgeted madly and soon, a soft metal *clang* informed her that she was successful. Before attempting to start the procedure, she glanced over at Seifer and the group of Galbadians again. They were still deep in discussion, so Rinoa took this chance to turn herself around while on the ground, so that she was facing them.
She'd need to plan this out carefully; one mistake, and that was the end of her freedom. Rinoa took hold of her Shooting Star, (which was directly behind her) with one hand. As she did so, the sharp particle on the end of the weapon just scraped against her hand. She gave a little yelp, but luckily, the Galbadians hadn't noticed. She looked at where it had cut her. Dark red blood was slowly trickling out of the palm of her hand. But one little cut wasn't going to stop her from escaping - not in a lifetime.
Rinoa proceeded with taking hold of her weapon, this time being more careful. She successfully got hold of it and concentrated on the next task at hand: cutting the ropes.
It wasn't long before the tight ropes had been slit right in half, and Rinoa breathed heavily when her job was done. Once again, she took a quick glimpse of what was happening with Seifer and the Galbadians. She still couldn't believe he had actually teamed up with them - how much lower could one person sink? But that wasn't her main concern right now.
Very slowly, Rinoa stood up and edged away from the group of intent speakers. Her plan was working so far, but what would she do from here? She kept walking backwards, keeping a sharp eye on the back of Seifer's head. As she did, she did not notice the stone right behind her. . .
*Slip* *thump*! Rinoa's head spun with dismay as the Galbadians and Seifer turned and saw her - saw her trying to escape.
"HEY!! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!!" screamed the Lieutenant.
Rinoa thought with much disappointment, "oh no. . ."
The whole group of Galbadians started running towards Rinoa, angry expressions on their faces. Seifer walked behind them, as casual as can be, shaking his head at Rinoa's hopeless act.
Rinoa didn't try to run now; she knew it was all too much in vain. She should have known from the start that this would probably happen. So, she waited silently as the 6 Galbadian soldiers reached her, finally grabbing her arms.
"So," said the Lieutenant. "You thought you'd try and escape did you?"
Rinoa refused to look at him.
"Well it's not going to happen again, sorceress."
Another confident Galbadian addressed Rinoa. "So why don't you just get possessed again sorceress? Why don't you just turn all evil and kill us all? It's what you've been doing for the past -"
But he did not get to finish, for Rinoa speedily landed a swift punch, right in that sorry Galbadian's face. He immediately was knocked over, clearly not expecting this sudden act - especially not from a girl like Rinoa.
"Just try to talk to me like that again!" shouted Rinoa crossly. That particular act was complimentary from practicing with Squall and Zell in the training centre. Squall had helped her to hold her balance and stand in the right position, and Zell had told her how to "get 'em, and get 'em good!" in his case.
The other Galbadians were evidently as shocked as the victim.
Seifer had a smirk on his face, and made Rinoa feel a little uncomfortable by applauding her softly. "Rinoa, I never actually thought that you had that in you. Where'd you learn to do that?"
"Squall," said Rinoa, without any hint of amusement in her voice. "And Zell."
"What?" said Seifer as if he couldn't believe it. "Old puberty-boy and our friend chicken-wuss?"
"Don't call them that!" said Rinoa. "You're just being . . . a MEANY!"
Before Seifer could reply, the Lieutenant cleared his throat impatiently and said, "Are you two done yet, or can we get on with the plan?"
"Sure thing," said Seifer calmly. "Let's go."
Soldier B and Soldier C were told to take Rinoa hands and walk behind her, so she wouldn't try anything again. They grasped her arms tightly and she was made to walk with the others.
"Where are we going now?" Rinoa asked sternly. "I deserve to know that, at least."
"Let's just say we're not going anywhere in particular," said the Lieutenant. "Just to the helicopter."
"That doesn't make sense!" shouted Rinoa. "Tell me where we're really going!"
"You will be quiet or suffer the consequences!" shot back the leader.
Rinoa made the decision to do that, in case they really did do something drastic. She was hating this, every moment of it. She just wished she was back at Balamb Garden now, maybe sitting down in the quad with Squall or something.
But one more question still lingered on Rinoa's mind. She decided to just ask this one, at least. "Please just answer me this," she said looking at them determinedly. "All I want to know is why you're doing this. You don't have to, do you? Whose orders are you under?"
"That isn't of your concern," said the Lieutenant. He seemed to be doing the most talking at the moment. "You can't know, and we will not tell you. All of us here are sworn to secrecy. If any one of us tells you, I'm afraid the consequences will be fatal."
"It used to be me," the voice was of Seifer. Rinoa was startled to hear him speak so suddenly. "You already know the whole story behind that. But I didn't care to lead such petty soldiers any more."
"Who're you callin' petty?" yelled the Junior Lieutenant. Rinoa listened intently to this new story she hadn't been told before.
Seifer ignored him and continued. "So the army isn't under my order anymore - there's another. But that's really beside the point in my case. The only reason why I'm doing this job is because I'm in it for the money. Yeah, I already told you that, but they're paying me big bucks to do it, even bigger than 'junior's' salary."
At this point, everyone could tell how irritated Seifer was making the 'lieutenant'.
"You were never like that Seifer," said Rinoa quietly, as they walked. "You never cared much for the money at all. All you ever wanted was . . . well to have your dignity. That's why I liked you."
The others could see that Seifer's expression had not changed, but Rinoa knew that inside, he was silently being torn apart; it was not Rinoa that was doing this to him, it was the fact that she was reminding him what he had become.
Rinoa continued. "But now that . . . you're working for them, for money, I see you differently. I never actually hated you Seifer, but now I'm starting to. . ."
For the rest of the way that they walked to the helicopter, everyone was completely silent. Especially Seifer. Rinoa felt a tinge of guilt at the way she had behaved towards him, but knew that he probably deserved it. After all the trouble he had caused her and everyone else at Garden, (the orphanage gang) she had never actually stood up to him fully; never actually told him exactly what she thought of him. But now that she finally did, she felt ashamed and sorry for what she had just said.
As they all neared the helicopter, the Lieutenant walked over to a small red button on the side of the 'copter. He pressed it and, before Rinoa's very own eyes, the helicopter increased in size. An extra compartment at the back of the source of transportation was amazingly added. It could probably only fit about 2 people, but it was still pretty remarkable.
Soldier E turned to Seifer. "Err . . . sir, Mr. Almasy," he started.
"What is it now?" asked Seifer.
". . . The Lieutenant has asked me to tell you to sit in the back compartment with the sorceress, so you can keep an eye on her," concluded the hesitant soldier.
"What for?" demanded Seifer.
". . . I think, because . . . he doesn't think the rest of us are up for it," said Soldier E.
"Have it your way then," said Seifer. "Just don't let me catch you guys up front up to no good."
The Galbadian nodded and took his place near the front of the helicopter. Rinoa was also informed of her seating arrangements and soon everyone was in the helicopter.
Rinoa stared out of the window and tried to picture what was going to happen next. The other Galbadians up front wouldn't be able to see or hear anything in the back compartment even if they tried.
Rinoa decided to speak. "Seifer, about what I said before . . . um, I don't hate you, really. But . . . after all the things you did in the past, I mean the things you actually chose to do yourself, well, I haven't forgiven you for them. The things you put Squall and the others through were horrible. It might take me a long, long time before I do forgive you."
Seifer leant back in his seat and crossed one leg over the other in a relaxed way to show it didn't bother him. For that, Rinoa was glad. "It doesn't matter really," he said, smirking. "I don't care one way or the other. But I'll tell you one thing - I'm not doing this for the money."
Rinoa looked puzzled. "Then what are you doing it for?" What puzzled her most was the answer Seifer gave her.
"Garden."
Hooray!! I finally updated! Don't blame me for taking so long to do it, but I wouldn't know where to begin to tell you how busy I've been with school and stuff. But I have gotten round to it now, so hopefully I will be able to keep this story together (for a while at least). Most people will have noticed that I changed my pen-name (AGAIN!). It's now: Rinoa Heartilly-Leonhart. All it is, is if Rinoa got married to Squall, that's what her full name would be. I checked to make sure there aren't any users by that name, and if there are, I will be mad. I'm worried that it's a bit too long, but I don't know. Sorry about this, hope it's not getting too confusing for you. This SHOULD be the last time I change my name (hopefully), unless something else happens.
Now, I'll just give the people who don't fully understand the concept of why this chapter is called "The End", a little hint. Okay, maybe a BIG hint. If you want to know all about it, fling Selphie on your party and keep using her limit-break, until the bar where it shows all the magic reads, "The End". Now I will say no more, but you most likely know all about this, so I'm probably just wasting your time.
Well once again, big thank you to the people who reviewed my previous chapter(s). It really helps, although you may not think it does. Thanx to:
The Angel of the Lion: Thanks for always reviewing, and always putting in a kind word. It really helps (
Galdrix: In answer to your question, no Rinoa does not have a GF equipped because the party in Winhill have equipped them all. If she did, where do you think the Galbadians and Seifer would be now? :P
Wumbahi: No
Renegade Seraph: Thanks again, your reviews are always very encouraging.
Momiji-chan: I hope you thought the "RPG feel" was okay. I'll try to make it seem more realistic if you don't like my other way of writing.
Please R+R once more, it would be much appreciated to know that people still like this fic.
A/N: You're probably thinking that this is the final chapter for this fic, judging by the title of the chapter. Well don't worry, it's not. I'm FAR from finished with this fic. Those who have thoroughly played FFVIII (I don't mean story-wise) will understand why I named Chapter 15, "The End". Those who don't understand it, well . . . keep playing 'til you do!
The End
" . . . The hell is it?" Zell half-whispered.
Squall shook his head in disbelief.
It all happened so fast, that no one even knew how it had come.
A demon creature. A huge, demon, winged creature that had no reason to exist had suddenly appeared, most likely flown in from somewhere far off. Some place that hardly anyone knew about. But here it was, in all its gruesome glory.
Of course the roof of the tower smashed as the massive creature flew down to the party of astounded comrades. Most of the broken pieces of the roof landed on the ground below the tower. As the creature landed in front of the party, one part of the wall of the tall tower gave way. It too, broke into many pieces.
The best writer in the world would not, perhaps, be able to portray how this winged creature looked. But the best way to describe it would be to say that it was something close to a devilish incarnation. Its clawed feet were about ¾ of the size of Laguna's whole body. Its body was as big as all the eight fighters put together, bigger still, and the scaly skin of its body glowed a horrible blood red. Its head was something totally abnormal. The mouth was neither proper like a human's, nor a beak-like one. It was just a black hole with tiny, sharp fangs embedded in it. The eyes were like that of a snake, except more horrific. They were just slits, but when the demon chose to open them wide, a sickly yellow colour glowed from them. On top of its head were two dark red, pointed horns that curved and then fixed in a forwardly direction. The whole being was like the re-incarnation of some sort of devil. The only way to describe it in a single sentence was through one word.
Monstrosity.
Then it gave a blood-curdling screech/roar that almost shook the tower.
" . . . Alright everyone. Looks as though this'll be tougher than any battle you've ever fought before," commented Laguna quietly.
Irvine was the first to attack, casting Aura on himself and then using 'pulse ammo' to blast the monster. But this most powerful group of bullets did not effect the winged creature in the least bit.
"Wha . . . what is this thing anyway?" asked Selphie questioningly.
Irvine shrugged.
Just then a non-human, slow voice boomed across the room. It belonged to the winged, demon creature. "FOOLS," said the creature. "PETTY, INSOLENT FOOLS. FOOLS WHO DO NOT KNOW IMMENSE POWER WHEN THEY WITNESS IT!"
"It . . . it talks!" squeaked Selphie.
Zell stepped forward, his fist clenched. "Hey! Stop callin' us fools already!"
"Zell!" hissed Quistis. "Don't!"
Ward shook his head.
The demon turned to Zell. Little Zell in its eyes. Then it gave the most piercing laugh. An evil laugh that was immensely hard to listen to.
"What's so funny?!" demanded Zell. "And who . . . or what are you anyway?"
The creature stopped its terrible laughter to speak once again. "I AM NOTHING YOU HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED BEFORE. I AM THE DEVIL'S RE-INCARNATION. I AM CALLED HYPERION!"
Hyperion? thought Squall. Seifer's weapon . . .? Seifer's gunblade is named after this . . . demon?
Then Kiros spoke up to the 7 others. "Don't use a GF in this battle everyone," he warned. "Hyperion will kill it easily. It's best to use your equipped weapon in this situation."
Everyone in turn attacked Hyperion with their weapon, but the maximum amount of damage they did was 100. Nothing worked against it.
"Its defense is too high!" wailed Selphie.
"Try using magic," suggested Quistis.
This option was attempted with hopes of damaging Hyperion more than a weapon. Laguna cast 'scan' on it, but was greeted with ill news.
"Its HP is . . . infinite!!!???" yelled Laguna in disbelief.
"It can't be . . ." said Squall, frowning.
Quistis cast 'protect' on everyone, which helped shield Hyperion's attacks. Selphie cast 'float' on everyone so that it wouldn't try anything like sending something through the ground. Curaga was used often, which was all very well and good, except for the fact that no one knew how to defeat Hyperion. Everyone used everything they had or could think of, but no progress was made.
Then Hyperion seemed to examine all the pieces of the broken wall carefully, before picking one particularly large part up with its half- mouth, half-beak. It tossed it up into the air and slammed its wing against it, sending it across the room, and into a very unlucky victim's right arm. . .
The gun dropped to the ground, as did the sharpshooter. The part of the wall which had hit his arm was not only big, but sharp also. A stifled groan was all that was needed to inform everyone that Irvine was in great pain.
"Irvine!" With no care for her own safety, an anxious Selphie ran as fast as her legs would carry her over to the sprawled figure of Irvine.
"Selphie be careful!" Quistis warned.
But Selphie either didn't hear or would not hear, for the girl was soon crouched down beside the gunman's body, beside herself with anxious worry. Irvine was close to unconsciousness, because the metal shard had hit his arm so hard.
Selphie carefully examined the arm, trying very hard not to break down. But one look at how much blood Irvine had lost sent her into a mass of tears.
" . . . Irvey," whimpered Selphie. "No . . . stay with me, OK?"
No one had ever seen Selphie like this before. She hardly ever cried, but now that Irvine would not be regaining complete consciousness soon, they didn't blame her at all for the endless tears that streamed down her cheeks.
Then Selphie started casting Curaga on Irvine repeatedly, but it had no effect on him whatsoever. She soon became desperate.
Irvine opened an eye weakly. "Selph . . ." he managed to say.
Selphie shook her head. "No, don't try to talk. It'll be ok . . . won't it?"
"I . . . don't know," Irvine said hoarsely. "Hurts . . ." he glanced at his injured arm.
Selphie's tears were now pouring down faster than ever, onto Irvine's body.
Irvine gave Selphie a little smile, which shocked her because he looked so helpless. "It was . . . really fun Sephie. Thanks for . . . being such a good friend and all . . ." he took her hand with his left one. Selphie's face was a mixture of grief and shock. "Selphie . . ." Irvine stuttered. "I . . . I -" but his words did not continue after that; his left arm dropped down like the right one, and his head soon did as well.
"No . . ." Selphie whispered. She collapsed onto Irvine's seemingly lifeless body and sobbed gently on his jacket. Then a change came over her. She was no longer the Selphie everyone knew and loved. "No," she said again. "No, no, no! NO! I WON"T BELIEVE IT!"
She got up from the ground and stood looking at the demon that had done this to Irvine, face-to-face. Anger flared in her eyes. Hyperion sensed the change in her. Everyone sensed her pain as well. They were almost afraid of what would happen next.
Selphie did not say anything. But she started to glow a strange yellow colour.
Zell stepped back. "What's . . . happening to her?" Concern for his friend showed in his face. Another expression of grief was also showing, for he and Irvine had really been buddies.
"Her limit-break," said Kiros. "If she's not careful, something fatal could happen."
"Selphie stop!" yelled Squall surprisingly. "You could kill us all!"
Selphie didn't seem to hear Squall's voice at all. There was a voice in her head telling her to take the next step - to do it. And that's exactly what she did just then.
Quistis was about to run to her friend and try to stop her, but Laguna grabbed her arm just in time.
The yellow colour was now even more overwhelming as Selphie raised her nunchaku weapon in the air. (A/N: I think I may have spelt nunchaku wrong in one of my earlier chapters. Sorry about that.) Then she started performing her limit-break sequence with her weapon that she always did whenever she was hurt badly.
But as the series of weapon movements came to an end, everyone in that single room seemed to vanish for that minute. Selphie's limit-break was starting. Everyone was gone, except for one person. Squall.
~ ~ ~
Suddenly, he wasn't in the Galbadian tower anymore. He was in a familiar place. The promised place. The sacred flower field, where he had promised to meet her when all else failed. But she wasn't there. He couldn't see her. He started to get desperate. He needed to see her. To hear her voice. To hold her in his arms. He started running across the field, senselessly, but he couldn't find her anywhere. And then, just as he was about to give up searching, she appeared. Standing right in front of him, his angel was there. He ran towards her, as did she. They finally reached each other and he grabbed her. It all seemed so real, because they just stood there, in each other's arms for what seemed like eternity. She looked up into his eyes and smiled. He held her as tightly as he could, not wanting to let go. Not ever.
~ ~ ~
"So what's yer plan?" asked a curious Galbadian, addressing Seifer.
Seifer smirked cheekily. "I have many plans; it just depends on which one you want to hear."
The leader of that particular Galbadian faction folded his arms angrily. "Don't mess around with us Seifer. You know very well what Soldier B was talkin' about."
"Is that a threat, might I ask?" grinned Seifer. "If that's the case, you can answer to my Hyperion. Don't forget who the gunblade wielder is in this sorry group of -"
"Hmph. Just get on with it then," said the leader crossly. "I'm the lieutenant in this group anyway, which makes ME the boss. So if anything should happen to me, it'll be the downfall of you Seifer."
"Err . . ." started another Galbadian. "It clearly states in the 'Galbadian Army Soldier Guidebook', page 29, paragraph 2, that we the soldiers of the Galbadian Military are not to misjudge ours or any other soldier's rank in the Army."
The lieutenant looked at this book-worm Galbadian incredulously. "What? What are you saying?!"
The lower-ranked Galbadian stepped back. "I . . . um, well you're not a Lieutenant yet sir, only a Junior Lieu -"
"SHUT UP!" yelled the 'Junior Lieutenant'. "What would you know about anything Soldier D?!"
Soldier D stepped back again.
"Hehehe," said Seifer, a smirk on his face. "Looks like the 'boss' has been caught out. Oh well, we'd better get on with the procedure, right Junior?"
The 'Junior' Lieutenant turned to face Seifer. Everyone there could tell that he was enraged. "You will address me with either 'Sir', or 'Lieutenant'! No more, no less. Got it?"
Soldier C spoke. "But sir, what about the 'G. A. S Guidebook'?"
"Screw the Guidebook! You're all under my orders now, so you don't have your precious 'guidebook' to protect you! And that goes for you too Seifer," muttered the Lieutenant.
Seifer shrugged. "Hey, I don't follow rules from some book, and clearly, I don't want to. You suckers all have the privilege of obeying boring orders. Haha."
Rinoa looked over at the group of quarrelling men. It looked as though they would be occupied for quite some time, so she squirmed around in an attempt to get hold of her Shooting Star. She fidgeted madly and soon, a soft metal *clang* informed her that she was successful. Before attempting to start the procedure, she glanced over at Seifer and the group of Galbadians again. They were still deep in discussion, so Rinoa took this chance to turn herself around while on the ground, so that she was facing them.
She'd need to plan this out carefully; one mistake, and that was the end of her freedom. Rinoa took hold of her Shooting Star, (which was directly behind her) with one hand. As she did so, the sharp particle on the end of the weapon just scraped against her hand. She gave a little yelp, but luckily, the Galbadians hadn't noticed. She looked at where it had cut her. Dark red blood was slowly trickling out of the palm of her hand. But one little cut wasn't going to stop her from escaping - not in a lifetime.
Rinoa proceeded with taking hold of her weapon, this time being more careful. She successfully got hold of it and concentrated on the next task at hand: cutting the ropes.
It wasn't long before the tight ropes had been slit right in half, and Rinoa breathed heavily when her job was done. Once again, she took a quick glimpse of what was happening with Seifer and the Galbadians. She still couldn't believe he had actually teamed up with them - how much lower could one person sink? But that wasn't her main concern right now.
Very slowly, Rinoa stood up and edged away from the group of intent speakers. Her plan was working so far, but what would she do from here? She kept walking backwards, keeping a sharp eye on the back of Seifer's head. As she did, she did not notice the stone right behind her. . .
*Slip* *thump*! Rinoa's head spun with dismay as the Galbadians and Seifer turned and saw her - saw her trying to escape.
"HEY!! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!!" screamed the Lieutenant.
Rinoa thought with much disappointment, "oh no. . ."
The whole group of Galbadians started running towards Rinoa, angry expressions on their faces. Seifer walked behind them, as casual as can be, shaking his head at Rinoa's hopeless act.
Rinoa didn't try to run now; she knew it was all too much in vain. She should have known from the start that this would probably happen. So, she waited silently as the 6 Galbadian soldiers reached her, finally grabbing her arms.
"So," said the Lieutenant. "You thought you'd try and escape did you?"
Rinoa refused to look at him.
"Well it's not going to happen again, sorceress."
Another confident Galbadian addressed Rinoa. "So why don't you just get possessed again sorceress? Why don't you just turn all evil and kill us all? It's what you've been doing for the past -"
But he did not get to finish, for Rinoa speedily landed a swift punch, right in that sorry Galbadian's face. He immediately was knocked over, clearly not expecting this sudden act - especially not from a girl like Rinoa.
"Just try to talk to me like that again!" shouted Rinoa crossly. That particular act was complimentary from practicing with Squall and Zell in the training centre. Squall had helped her to hold her balance and stand in the right position, and Zell had told her how to "get 'em, and get 'em good!" in his case.
The other Galbadians were evidently as shocked as the victim.
Seifer had a smirk on his face, and made Rinoa feel a little uncomfortable by applauding her softly. "Rinoa, I never actually thought that you had that in you. Where'd you learn to do that?"
"Squall," said Rinoa, without any hint of amusement in her voice. "And Zell."
"What?" said Seifer as if he couldn't believe it. "Old puberty-boy and our friend chicken-wuss?"
"Don't call them that!" said Rinoa. "You're just being . . . a MEANY!"
Before Seifer could reply, the Lieutenant cleared his throat impatiently and said, "Are you two done yet, or can we get on with the plan?"
"Sure thing," said Seifer calmly. "Let's go."
Soldier B and Soldier C were told to take Rinoa hands and walk behind her, so she wouldn't try anything again. They grasped her arms tightly and she was made to walk with the others.
"Where are we going now?" Rinoa asked sternly. "I deserve to know that, at least."
"Let's just say we're not going anywhere in particular," said the Lieutenant. "Just to the helicopter."
"That doesn't make sense!" shouted Rinoa. "Tell me where we're really going!"
"You will be quiet or suffer the consequences!" shot back the leader.
Rinoa made the decision to do that, in case they really did do something drastic. She was hating this, every moment of it. She just wished she was back at Balamb Garden now, maybe sitting down in the quad with Squall or something.
But one more question still lingered on Rinoa's mind. She decided to just ask this one, at least. "Please just answer me this," she said looking at them determinedly. "All I want to know is why you're doing this. You don't have to, do you? Whose orders are you under?"
"That isn't of your concern," said the Lieutenant. He seemed to be doing the most talking at the moment. "You can't know, and we will not tell you. All of us here are sworn to secrecy. If any one of us tells you, I'm afraid the consequences will be fatal."
"It used to be me," the voice was of Seifer. Rinoa was startled to hear him speak so suddenly. "You already know the whole story behind that. But I didn't care to lead such petty soldiers any more."
"Who're you callin' petty?" yelled the Junior Lieutenant. Rinoa listened intently to this new story she hadn't been told before.
Seifer ignored him and continued. "So the army isn't under my order anymore - there's another. But that's really beside the point in my case. The only reason why I'm doing this job is because I'm in it for the money. Yeah, I already told you that, but they're paying me big bucks to do it, even bigger than 'junior's' salary."
At this point, everyone could tell how irritated Seifer was making the 'lieutenant'.
"You were never like that Seifer," said Rinoa quietly, as they walked. "You never cared much for the money at all. All you ever wanted was . . . well to have your dignity. That's why I liked you."
The others could see that Seifer's expression had not changed, but Rinoa knew that inside, he was silently being torn apart; it was not Rinoa that was doing this to him, it was the fact that she was reminding him what he had become.
Rinoa continued. "But now that . . . you're working for them, for money, I see you differently. I never actually hated you Seifer, but now I'm starting to. . ."
For the rest of the way that they walked to the helicopter, everyone was completely silent. Especially Seifer. Rinoa felt a tinge of guilt at the way she had behaved towards him, but knew that he probably deserved it. After all the trouble he had caused her and everyone else at Garden, (the orphanage gang) she had never actually stood up to him fully; never actually told him exactly what she thought of him. But now that she finally did, she felt ashamed and sorry for what she had just said.
As they all neared the helicopter, the Lieutenant walked over to a small red button on the side of the 'copter. He pressed it and, before Rinoa's very own eyes, the helicopter increased in size. An extra compartment at the back of the source of transportation was amazingly added. It could probably only fit about 2 people, but it was still pretty remarkable.
Soldier E turned to Seifer. "Err . . . sir, Mr. Almasy," he started.
"What is it now?" asked Seifer.
". . . The Lieutenant has asked me to tell you to sit in the back compartment with the sorceress, so you can keep an eye on her," concluded the hesitant soldier.
"What for?" demanded Seifer.
". . . I think, because . . . he doesn't think the rest of us are up for it," said Soldier E.
"Have it your way then," said Seifer. "Just don't let me catch you guys up front up to no good."
The Galbadian nodded and took his place near the front of the helicopter. Rinoa was also informed of her seating arrangements and soon everyone was in the helicopter.
Rinoa stared out of the window and tried to picture what was going to happen next. The other Galbadians up front wouldn't be able to see or hear anything in the back compartment even if they tried.
Rinoa decided to speak. "Seifer, about what I said before . . . um, I don't hate you, really. But . . . after all the things you did in the past, I mean the things you actually chose to do yourself, well, I haven't forgiven you for them. The things you put Squall and the others through were horrible. It might take me a long, long time before I do forgive you."
Seifer leant back in his seat and crossed one leg over the other in a relaxed way to show it didn't bother him. For that, Rinoa was glad. "It doesn't matter really," he said, smirking. "I don't care one way or the other. But I'll tell you one thing - I'm not doing this for the money."
Rinoa looked puzzled. "Then what are you doing it for?" What puzzled her most was the answer Seifer gave her.
"Garden."
Hooray!! I finally updated! Don't blame me for taking so long to do it, but I wouldn't know where to begin to tell you how busy I've been with school and stuff. But I have gotten round to it now, so hopefully I will be able to keep this story together (for a while at least). Most people will have noticed that I changed my pen-name (AGAIN!). It's now: Rinoa Heartilly-Leonhart. All it is, is if Rinoa got married to Squall, that's what her full name would be. I checked to make sure there aren't any users by that name, and if there are, I will be mad. I'm worried that it's a bit too long, but I don't know. Sorry about this, hope it's not getting too confusing for you. This SHOULD be the last time I change my name (hopefully), unless something else happens.
Now, I'll just give the people who don't fully understand the concept of why this chapter is called "The End", a little hint. Okay, maybe a BIG hint. If you want to know all about it, fling Selphie on your party and keep using her limit-break, until the bar where it shows all the magic reads, "The End". Now I will say no more, but you most likely know all about this, so I'm probably just wasting your time.
Well once again, big thank you to the people who reviewed my previous chapter(s). It really helps, although you may not think it does. Thanx to:
The Angel of the Lion: Thanks for always reviewing, and always putting in a kind word. It really helps (
Galdrix: In answer to your question, no Rinoa does not have a GF equipped because the party in Winhill have equipped them all. If she did, where do you think the Galbadians and Seifer would be now? :P
Wumbahi: No
Renegade Seraph: Thanks again, your reviews are always very encouraging.
Momiji-chan: I hope you thought the "RPG feel" was okay. I'll try to make it seem more realistic if you don't like my other way of writing.
Please R+R once more, it would be much appreciated to know that people still like this fic.