The ultimate, top three, best sounding couple names in Final Fantasy 8 fan fiction

(decided by me, but I'm open to other thoughts and suggestions)...

Reifer (Rinoa/Seifer)

Squellphie (Squall/Selphie)

Squrvine (Squall/Irvine)

Feedback on this would be interesting. Enjoy!

In every room, corner and corridor of Balamb Garden, in every dormitory and at every cafeteria table, the volume level had fallen to zero. Every pair of SeeD ears was now listening anxiously to what Squall had to say. The pairs of flirting teenagers on the main corridor bench suddenly lost interest in each other. Quistis quickly forgot which spells she had told her nervous student to junction to Elemental Defence. In the Garden training centre, a rookie SeeD took his attention away from a quick warm-up battle to listen to the announcement. He deeply regretted it when, a second later, he was swatted heavily around the ears by an impatient Grat, and forced to return to the fray.

Some people were staring absent-mindedly ahead, as many people do when their mind is focused elsewhere. Some had their eyes fixed on the loudspeakers through which Squall's speech was about to echo around every wall in the Garden. They were all, however, awaiting this news with dread. Had the time finally come for them to go to war?

Back up on the main bridge, Squall could sense the amount of attention being sent his way. He cleared his throat again nervously. It was always hard to think of what to say when you were being put on the spot over an intercom. Sure, he had had to make these sort of announcements thousands of times. He had even delivered a speech – the very one that had roused SeeD to victory against Galbadia Garden – completely off the top of his head. He had put that down to lucky thinking, and adrenaline.

It never, however, seemed to get any easier. He was thankful that this particular speech, due to the circumstances, was going to have to be short and sweet. He was five minutes away from what, perhaps, could be the first chapter in the book of the Third War. He needed to get into a fighting mindset, not a creative one.

'I'm afraid none of us have much time left now, so I'll be as brief as I can be. It appears that the G-Army has reached Timber quicker than we predicted, and they're right now within attacking distance of the nearest buildings. We can't take any chances with this. At the moment, we think that they are preparing their soldiers for a full-out assault, but it looks as though they could launch their attack at any second. This means that SeeD needs to have an active presence within Timber as soon as possible.

'I need all SeeDs that are involved in today's events to assemble at the main Garden entrance within the next five minutes. In exactly eight minutes from now, we will enter Timber by the method described earlier, so make sure that you have at least one Float spell in your magic inventory. The draw point we set up in the cafeteria should still be open and available - make sure you use it if you have to.'

'Squall!'

Squall spun around on his heels to find that Nida was pacing the floor frantically.

'What?'

'We'll be at Timber in seven minutes time! Wrap it up and get down there!'

'Okay.'

Squall returned his attention once again to the microphone, completely unaware of the bombshell that he had just inadvertently dropped onto the entire population of Balamb Garden. The clock, it seemed, had ticked away at twice the speed that he thought it would - and a million times faster than he'd intended it to.

'All the units and sub-units that were organised earlier will remain the same. As I made clear earlier, any unauthorised, last minute swapping is strictly forbidden. Everybody should know what their role in the battle'll be, and whereabouts they should wait at the main entrance. We have roughly seven minutes left now until the battle begins. I'll make it as clear as I can - this is not a test, or a practice exercise. This is the real thing. So, get ready as quickly as you can! Get ready to give them hell out here!'

With those last words of encouragement left bouncing around the Garden's clean, stone walls, the intercom system clicked off again. The deathly silence that it left in its wake was uncanny.

It was as though somebody, at that exact moment, had decided to take a freeze frame snapshot of the SeeDs in the cafeteria. Not a sound was made for the first five seconds after Squall's announcement ended. Everybody had been paralysed by the shock of what they had just been told. Their brains had suddenly been overloaded with orders. Whatever food had been placed in the microwave behind the counter was rapidly becoming inedible. The diet soda being dispensed was overflowing and unnoticed. All the pairs of eyes throughout the room were still focused onto the loudspeakers above the double doors. All that the loudspeakers could do was stare right back.

It was only when Quistis took the initiative to remember exactly where and who she was, and what had just been asked of her, that she snapped back into full consciousness. The commander in her had awoken.

'You heard him!' she shouted at the tops of her lungs. Her voice, at that moment, would have been powerful enough to rival Squall's. Every pair of eyes shifted at once onto her, like an army of robots responding to incoming data. 'What are you all waiting for!? Move out, now!'

That certainly got everybody moving. Chairs were carelessly flung aside and tables overturned as three hundred pairs of feet made a sudden break for the exit. Each was afraid to be the last pair left in the room. The double doors weren't nearly wide enough to accommodate the inevitable scrum that had formed there, as twenty people struggled to get out of the cafeteria at the same time that a hundred more were pushing into their backs. It was like watching an army of seven year olds, all of them trying to break through the school doors on a Friday afternoon. With one vital difference. They were heading out to a day that could only bring misery and warfare, rather than an unbridled weekend of rest and enjoyment.

Quistis was surprised at what a simple order from her could instigate. They wouldn't have moved with the same agility and desperation if she had had two tonnes of plastic explosive strapped to her chest.

She took a second to clear her throat, and her head, before she hurried away to join the carnage in the outside corridor. After all, she had much more to worry about in the looming battle than the rest of them.

Meanwhile, atop the main command bridge, just as Nida was rechecking and adjusting the Garden's controls, Squall turned around slowly to find Zell, Irvine and Selphie still standing faithfully behind him. He was eternally grateful for the unwavering loyalty that they had shown him, dating right from the first day that they had all been together at Galbadia Garden. 'Say something, Squall,' he thought frantically. 'Just say anything.'

'Well, guys,' he announced, 'this is it. It's time.'

He sincerely hoped that each of them, like him, had begun to feel the unavoidable nerves of warfare slowly creeping up on them. As though they read each other's minds, his three companions nodded solemnly in response.

Silence, with no effort at all, could say everything that any of them would have wanted to say at that moment. There was suddenly no need for any encouraging words, or lifting speeches, or mood-lightening jokes, to be exchanged between the four of them. They all knew what it was they had to do, and how to do it – and they were ready to do it with their all.

'So come on!' Squall roared, 'Let's go!'

'Yeah!' yelled Selphie, 'So let's get a move on!'

And with that, they all ran as fast as they could towards the elevator, ready to face whatever the day ahead would throw at them.

The main Garden elevator descended to the ground floor a lot quicker than it had come up. Maybe it was because none of its occupants were looking forward to what awaited them when the doors opened.

'Quistis!'

Quistis spun around from where she'd been patrolling up and down the orderly lines of her unit. There wasn't anything else for her to do at the moment - Garden's army was ready. All of the thousand members of SeeD had somehow managed to assemble themselves into perfect order. She was glad to think that she was partly responsible for the speed at which this had happened. The scene was the same as it had been half an hour ago, when Squall had made his successful rallying speech. The only differences were that everybody was facing in the opposite direction, and that the looks of enthusiasm had been replaced by expressions of dread.

She was relieved to be greeted with the sight of her four best friends racing down the stairs towards her. It was good to have their commander back again, back and ready to take control. Lord help them if she could do that.

It was at that moment that she was struck by a random and badly timed thought... she had totally forgotten about the fifth. What about Rinoa? How could she have forgotten about Rinoa? Was that how worried she had been about today?

Quistis suddenly wondered how the last three hours had played out for her best friend. She hoped with all her heart that they had been optimistic. She hoped Rinoa hadn't just made that promise lightly. In fact, the two of them hadn't crossed paths again since Quistis had finally found her, alone and highly emotional, on the balcony of the Garden bridge. She wondered what Rinoa had been doing since... what she had been thinking about.

Well, at least she had done her part. She had tried her best. All she could do now was hope that it had paid off for everybody - especially for Squall. He needed her now more than he needed anything else, except maybe his Gunblade.

'. . . Okay.'

'Hmm?'

'I said okay. I'll do it. I'll make up with Squall.'

The conversation that the two women had shared in the early hours of the morning quickly replayed in her head. She hoped, she seriously prayed, perhaps beyond all reason, that Rinoa had kept her word to her, and done the right thing. It wasn't like her at all to do otherwise, anyway. Sure, she was unpredictable, but she wasn't unfaithful. No, she definitely wasn't. She'd had to take her advice.

But still, wherever there was Rinoa, doubt usually followed her, like an unwanted admirer. That was what worried her right now. However hard she had tried, she just couldn't be certain something would come of it.

She snapped out of her flashback as Squall, Zell, Selphie and Irvine reached her. All four of them were wearing the same grim, determined expression of the seasoned fighter.

'Squall,' she began, 'I'm glad you got down here fast. Everybody's been ordered into their units already. You should have seen how they all moved when you make that announcement.'

Squall returned her playful comment with a forced smile. 'I know,' he replied. 'I wish things had played out differently. Zell, Selphie, Irvine,' he ordered calmly, 'check 'em. You know what to do.'

Irvine nodded curtly, tipping his hat in acknowledgement. Whenever he had the chance...

'Sure thing, Commander. All right, everybody, listen up!' he suddenly shouted. He was clearly using all of the strength his voice box could muster. 'The time's finally come to get it on! The three of us are gonna walk down the lines and check everybody's magic stock for Float spells. Don't be disappointing us now, you're all SeeDs here! Hold out your weapons for us to check!'

Irvine's orders did not immediately go unrivalled. A tall, muscular SeeD, in a move that he would seriously regret to his dying day, quickly nudged his neighbour in the ribs, and cocked his head onto one side to exchange whispers.

'Look at that guy,' he muttered bitterly. 'Who the hell does he think he is? Walkin' round here orderin' the rest of us about. Some big shot from Galbadia Garden, I heard. Transferred here jus' before we trashed 'em. He's a SeeD, just the same as everyone. What right does he have to look down at us – oww!'

The SeeDs on either side of him burst out laughing. Despite his cocky personality, the unfortunate youth couldn't help but cry out in shock as he felt a pair of fingers squeeze tightly around his ear lobe. Irvine didn't make much effort to relieve the pressure quickly, either. In fact, he didn't make any at all.

'Oww! What the – what the hell –'

'Let me just say this,' the confident cowboy hissed menacingly into the ear in question. 'I'm here now because I've risked more than you can imagine for your commander. So jus' wait 'til you've done the same before you start questioning me. When you've fought to the death and put your life on the line for a guy who left you to go to Esthar with his girlfriend on his back, and when you've commanded the greatest counter-attack ever made against your home Garden, and when you've been to the future through time compression, and wasted the most powerful Sorceress of all time, and lived to tell the tale . . . then you've got the right to stand here and take some responsibility. You got that!?'

The youth yelped in pain again as Irvine's fingers began to slowly turn in the air, taking his ear with them.

'Oww! Okay, okay, I got it! I got it! I'm sorry! Just – just let go of me!'

'Certainly,' Irvine grinned, making sure to give the kid's ear a good twist before he did so. 'My pleasure.'

Smirking from ear to ear, he quickly turned towards his girlfriend, like a dog about to receive a reward. Selphie, on the other hand, was none too impressed.

'Irvine Kinneas!' she spat at him, dragging him forcefully to the front rows of the army. She tried not to listen to the giggles that followed her. 'Behave yourself! We haven't got time for you to try and look like a big man in front of me! Start checking them, now!'

'What?' Irvine replied mockingly. 'I would've thought a nice girl like you would've gone wild for a bit of authority in a man. Last time I make any effort to spice things up.'

'Irvine, I'm warning you now, just –'

'Okay, okay. Yes, ma'am. I'm on it.'

The three of them began to systematically move across the front row of nervous faces, glancing briefly at each person's weapon as they did so. Zell still hadn't stopped killing himself with laughter from what he'd just seen Irvine do.

'Hey, that's cool. Good goin' there, sweetie.'

'Irvine,' Selphie whispered to her boyfriend menacingly. He quickly moved on from the attractive, blonde SeeD girl whose nunchukas he had been 'checking'. 'Get this through your ego if you can. Squall's expecting a lot from us today. So am I. I hope you're gonna start taking things a bit more seriously out there.'

She'd done it. She'd touched a nerve. Irvine's cheesy, trademark grin quickly erased itself from his face as he took a deep breath, his eyes suddenly harder and colder.

'Listen, Selphie,' he replied, as the two of them briskly moved on to the second row, 'don't stop me from doing what I do, okay? Do you really think I'm worryin' any less than you about what's gonna happen in five minutes? We've all got our own special ways of dealin' with this stuff, you know. I know it gets a bit – well, okay, very – annoying when I do this sorta thing. But it's just what I do. It's my way of calming myself down. You get my drift?'

He had said all of this very quickly in one breath, as though afraid she'd actually hear him. He shook his head, and immediately went back to checking each SeeD's magic stock for Float spells. Selphie noticed that he avoided catching eye contact with the more appealing of the girls that he passed.

They didn't speak again until they were halfway done. She couldn't bear the tension between them anymore.

'Listen, Irvy,' she began in a whisper. 'I'm sorry. I didn't mean t' say you weren't bein' serious. I know you are, underneath all that crap you call good fashion sense.'

She caught Irvine's smile out of the corner of her eye. It encouraged her to plough on.

'I'm sorry, okay? I don't wanna fall out with you now. You know I love you, right? And if that means accepting this stupid ritual you do, then I'll do it.'

She quickly felt Irvine reply to her apology with a warm, passionate kiss onto her cheek.

'Hey,' he whispered into her ear softly, 'it's okay. And I'm sorry for always being the jerk around here.'

Selphie shot a mischievous smile at him. 'Okay. Accepted.'

'Did I ever tell you how sexy you look in that little yellow dress? Damn, I'd kill to be in your unit any day.'

'Irvine!'

'Yeah, yeah. Okay. Hey, you, did you even bother to check your magic in the first place? You're a SeeD, for Christ's sake. Here, take a Float spell from mine. Jesus. Don't make me have to come by you again.'

Meanwhile, Squall and Quistis were talking softly together behind the back rows of his army. Squall stole another brief glance at his watch, and grimaced.

'How're you feeling, Quistis? Still ready for this?'

Quistis sighed with the weight of her anxiety.

'Don't speak too soon, Squall. You may just change my mind.'

'Very funny. So, anyway, Commander Trepe, let's have a quick run through. What orders will you be giving to your unit for this battle?'

Quistis responded immediately with gusto. The words seemed to roll gracefully off her tongue.

'Lead all Groups towards the central Timber bridge. Have Group A guard and defend over the west point, Group B over the east train station entrance, and Group C stop all incoming soldiers from attacking over the train tracks.'

'Good. At least your memory's still working. And try not to worry too much, Quistis. I know you'll make me proud.'

'Thank you again, Squall. Thank you so much for this.'

'Hey, what did I say? Wait until you're out there in the heat of it all before you thank me.'

'I guess you're right. How much time do we have?'

'A little over four minutes. Nida's going to broadcast the message over the intercom when it's time. I wonder what –'

'Squall!'

The unexpected cry came from somewhere behind Quistis. A look of sudden surprise formed on her face as she saw Squall glancing eagerly over her shoulder with a similar look on his. The surprised expression, however, quickly turned to one of utter glee. She didn't need to turn her head to know who it was that that voice belonged to.

'Listen, Squall,' she added quickly, 'I'll check over each individual unit one more time. Just to be sure that – Squall?'

Her words were lost on her commander. Squall had frantically darted past her as soon as he recognised who it was running towards him from the Garden dormitories. He hadn't so much as glanced at her. She sighed again, softer this time, and hurried away briskly towards the front rows of SeeDs, where Zell, Selphie and Irvine were now patiently waiting. All three pairs of eyes were glued dumbly to the back of a fur-lined, black leather jacket, as it moved quickly away from the back row of soldiers with a body attached.

As soon as Squall had taken in the trailing blue cardigan, the pale skin, the silky, jet-black hair and the pure emotion in a pair of dark brown eyes, he had started running. Everything else around him – the thousand odd soldiers waiting for his next command, the looming encounter at Timber – had been suddenly pushed aside. He ran as fast as he could. He didn't stop running, in fact until he was standing half a foot away from Rinoa Heartilly. The contact between their gazes was unbreakable.

Squall's initial feelings were a complicated mixture of surprise, apprehensiveness, and unbridled joy. There was a second of silence between them as they both caught their breaths. Neither of them seemed to know how to begin. Squall decided to make the first move - it was the least that he owed her right now after all that had passed between them so far today.

'Rinoa,' he breathed. 'Rinoa – what are you doing here? I thought you wer –'

Whatever Squall was about to say, Rinoa never found out. She forced a hand over his mouth and blocked out his voice, never for a moment taking her eyes off his. She had taken a lot of time to build up the courage for this, and she was damned if Squall was going to break it with whatever he said first. It was her that needed to do the talking.

'Listen, Squall,' she began, in a fragile voice, 'I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry for doing what I did. I was just – oh, it was reckless, and it was downright stupid of me. No surprise there, huh? I don't know why I did it in the first place. I just –'

Squall gently took Rinoa's hand away from his mouth.

'Rinoa, I –'

'No, Squall, I have to say this now, or I'll never have the heart to say it again! I made a mess of things earlier today. I was so blinded with trying to help you in whatever way I could that I didn't realise how it'd make you feel. I just – I just wanted to do something for you, you know? I just felt so, so helpless - standing there and watching you just, just fall apart. Fall apart in front of me! But – but I know now, it was stupid of me. I – I –'

Her voice began to falter at the same time that her hands started trembling, and a shiny film of tears formed over the soft surface of her eyes. Squall quickly took her hand in his.

'Rinoa,' he breathed. 'You don't have to say anything. It wasn't you that was in the wrong. It was me. I knew it deep down as soon as the words came out of my mouth. Nobody has the right to treat anyone the way I did you. You were trying to help me. It was me, trying to play the tough guy that was wrong. Not – not you.'

Rinoa's voice was on the verge of breaking when she spoke again.

'You – you really think that?'

Squall's intense stare was unmatchable.

'Rinoa... I knew I was wrong right away. I've known it every second since it happened. Do you know what I've been thinking these past hours, when I've had the chance? How I wish I could set back the clock and do things differently. How I wish I hadn't been such a jerk to lose my temper as easily as that. How –'

'S-Squall, you're wrong. It was me, me being such a stupid...'

Squall smiled, but it wasn't a smile of amusement. It was a warm, loving smile, a smile that he always reserved for her, and her alone.

'I guess we're both idiots a lot of the time,' he said calmly. He even chanced a small grin. 'Boy, what a pair we must make, huh?'

The pent up feelings in Rinoa had reduced her voice to a splutter.

'Squall – you can't just say – you – oh God, Squall, I love you so damn much! And I don't know what I'd do if I lost you today! If the last thing I ever said to you was...'

But Rinoa suddenly lost the power to speak as she felt Squall's arms throw themselves around her, and pull her into a tight embrace across his chest. She could do nothing but sob, loudly and uncontrollably, into the depths of his white t-shirt. All her powers were useless against the intimate warmth that flowed between them. It was too much for her to handle. All of this passion, this tenderness, this comfort, this fear. . . it was like feeling the greatest and the worst feeling in the world, both at once. It excited her at the same time as it paralysed her. It comforted her at the same time as it scared her. And she lost track of the time that she had spent, shielding herself from her emotions, in the one place that she knew that no harm could ever come to her... in the centre of Squall's embrace.

The moment, as most perfect moments are, was too good to last. Squall's eyes sharply opened again as the familiar static crackle filled the main Garden hall once again. The intercom system was up and running. To Squall, that could only mean one thing... they were out of time.

Sure enough, the high-pitched voice of Nida soon followed.

'Squall! You've got exactly three minutes now until its time! Get your troops sorted!'

The intercom quickly snapped off again with an audible clunk. The noise jerked Rinoa out of her reverie. Her sobs had steadily quietened to small snuffles and gasps here and there, but the tears continued to pour down her face as though a dam of emotions had suddenly been broken.

'I'm so worried, Squall,' she whispered. Her voice was muffled from within Squall's arms. 'I can't help but think what could happen to you, or to Zell, or Selphie, or Quistis or Irvine. I – I don't want to lose any of you.'

Squall sighed heavily, but it was not a sigh of impatience. It was a sigh of anxiety, of understanding. He moved his arms down to link intimately with Rinoa's, and withdrew from the embrace, gazing deep into her eyes.

'Rinoa,' he said, 'you're not alone. I'm scared too. Everybody's scared. Zell's scared, Selphie's scared. Even Irvine's scared, I think. Good people are going to die today because of what I've done.'

Rinoa's snuffles had mostly died down by now. She gazed up at Squall with worry in her eyes.

'But – but it's what you have to do, right? It's what's best in the end that matters.'

Squall grimaced. It was a difficult job to give someone an insight into a commander's conscience. It couldn't be done in five minutes, let alone the one that he had been given in that moment.

'It's easy to say that. It's easy to say lots of things. Following through with the things you say is a bit trickier, though. It's not so easy when you think about each person that's gone. All those people with relatives, and families, friends, a life story behind them... all those stories are just ended. I don't think there's anybody who can do that without questioning themselves. Well, maybe Seifer could've, but...'

'Seifer – Seifer was nothing better than a murderer. Just a cold-hearted murderer. You're a million times the man he was, Squall. That was what made me realise – just how selfish I was. How stupid - if – if you died today –'

'Don't say that. I'm not going anywhere. I'll survive to the day when I make Massery beg for his life.'

Squall leaned his face in closer to Rinoa's. He could almost taste the salty tears running over her skin. Their eyelashes were almost batting against each other's.

'I'm not going anywhere, Rinoa.'

Then he leaned himself in even closer to kiss her. It was like magic, like kissing her again for the very first time. It sent electric shocks shooting down his spine and made him tingle to the very surface of his skin with warmth. He wished it could've lasted forever, just like every time before that their lips had met. Now, however, was a time when he could only delude himself with wishes of eternity. He had to live through today. The thought of her face, her lips, and most of all, her touch, would keep him alive. He would live to see her again.

'I love you, Rinoa. I love you too much. That's why I didn't want to get you involved in anything today. I couldn't bear to nearly lose you again.'

'I had you around to save me, remember? All I have to do is scream, and you come running. You – you've always been my hero.'

She giggled softly, the tears now rolling smoothly over her chin and down her neck.

'I love you too, Squall. That's what's important. Not any stupid little argument we have, they come and go. My love for you won't. I'll never abandon you. I hope that, that thought helps you when you're out there.'

She pulled him in to her again for one last, uplifting kiss.

'Now – now you've gotta do what you've gotta do. I'll be here for you if – when you get back. I hope – I hope there's something you can do for me as well.'

'What is it?'

Rinoa's smile shone through the tears that stained her face. 'Go kick his ass.'

Squall grinned mischievously. 'Rinoa,' he replied, 'how can any man disobey an order like that?'

The restless feeling continued to spread along every row and column of the G-Army unit, and it was long since the soldiers' eyes had begun shifting towards each other with looks of confusion and bewilderment. What was this certain time that they were waiting for? They could've started the attack on the city, so tantalisingly close to them and yet so far away, at least an hour ago. The nearest buildings were, to some of the more athletic members of the unit, a stone's throw away.

One soldier, his hands shaking now from the silence and the tension of the past hour, could bear it no more. He dropped his weapon quietly onto the dewy grass and turned his head to his partner.

'This sucks,' he hissed. 'What the hell are we doing now? SeeD are getting' all fired up to fight us now, I bet. Massery'd better be paying us big time for this.'

His neighbour chose wisely not to respond. He knew, as did most of the men surrounding him, that their Colonel Massery was not the sort of man to placate, let alone anger. God have mercy on the men that dared defy him. What would any of them do, the ones that survived today, if the thought of any payments suddenly slipped Aifel Massery's mind? 'Not a damn thing' would be fairly close to the answer.

It was just at that moment that the soldier shrugged his head in annoyance, and picked up his weapon again like a pouting child, that the clouds in the sky ahead were either pushed aside or chose to get out of the way. A deep rumbling made the earth beneath the unit's feet quake. Something large, something enormous, was definitely coming their way.

Since there was no other object in existence of the Garden's size that regularly flew over warring continents, there was nothing that its movements could be compared to in a simile. In an analogy, however, let's just say that it was the hungry eagle to the terrified earthworms of soldiers on the grass. The unit's commander, however, was not an author of any kind. All he could think of was that it moved as it did.

In fact, that wasn't strictly true. Another thought awoke instictively in his mind - Balamb Garden was now visible to the unit. This meant that it was time for their attack on Timber to begin.

It was time for war.

The waves of his booming voice rolled and bounced across the bulk of the unit, not caring to lose a decibel of volume as they went.

'Attack! Launch the full assault! Invade the city! Do not stop until SeeD is conquered, and the city is taken! Go!'

As Squall dashed away from the lonely figure of Rinoa Heartilly, after they had finished exchanging farewells, SeeD had only two minutes of peace remaining. If you could call it that. Barring Zell, Selphie, Irvine and Quistis, who were stood to attention near the Garden's front entrance with the other four commanders, none of the other thousand people in the room were aware of what had just taken place. Even if they were, they would have been hard pressed to make sense of it.

Squall strolled confidently between the columns of tense SeeDs to where they were stood. Irvine softly nudged Selphie in the ribs.

'I take it they're sorted now?'

Selphie's girlish grin couldn't be hidden for long. 'Sure looks like it!' she gushed. 'Now that's romance for you. I wish, I just wish, that there's a nice man out there somewhere like that for me. I wish he'd show me that kind of passion someday.'

'Don't get your hopes up, sweetie. I doubt anyone in the world would put up with you for too long.'

Irvine glanced at Squall as he continued to cut the distance between them. The slightest of smirks appeared on his face.

'Hey, Sefie.'

Selphie sighed. 'What do you want now?'

'How good is your imagination?'

'What?'

'Imagine a guy has a lady friend over to his place. Y'know, for a meal, or a movie, or something slushy like that. I know not many guys have done that for you in the past, but jus' try to picture it for a minute, okay?'

'Very funny... big jerk. Where are you going with this?'

'You'll see. So, they spend a couple o' hours quality time together. They have some drinks, and they talk, and they get along. And, then, you know, after all that stuff's outta the way, it gets down to a whole night of even better quality time between them... if you catch my drift.'

'Eeew, I get the idea. Is this some kinda rubbish joke or something?'

'No, no, it's going somewhere. Now cut to the next morning, the morning after. They wake up together as the sun rises, maybe spend a little more time with each other, an' then the guy gets up and goes to work. Do you know how he walks when he walks out of his front door and down the street?'

Selphie was non-plussed. 'How?'

'Just like that,' Irvine replied simply, nodding his head towards their fast-approaching leader. 'I mean, look at him. He couldn't look more pleased if Rinoa was stood there naked.'

Selphie couldn't help but giggle. 'If you say so. Not that you'd know much about it. Always jokin' 'bout everything, Irvy. Shouldn't we just be glad that they're back together now, and we all lived happily ever after?'

'If only,' Irvine shrugged. 'I sure am glad Quistis got to talk to her, though, you're right about that. Can't have a man's mind on something else when he's on the 'field. She sure picked the dramatic moment to do it, though. Guess that's Rinoa for you through an' through.'

Squall, meanwhile, was addressing the other five commanders of the SeeD units.

'Are we ready?' he inquired to the circle that had instinctively gathered around him. 'Reiken?'

'Check.'

'Gilmore?'

'All ready.'

'Beasley?'

'Ready.'

'Simons?'

'All clear.'

'Quistis?'

'All ready, Squall.'

'Okay. It's time. If I don't get the chance to talk to you again, good luck from me. Make SeeD proud, all right? Okay, everybody!' He turned around to the loyal army assembled behind him and shouted the last sentence, stepping backwards towards the main Garden entrance as he did so. The SeeDs that were at ease immediately stood to attention. 'In one minute's time, Nida's going to give us the word! This is it! We've got no more time to lose now, and we need to talk our places! If my unit could just move closer to the entrance, and get prepared, we'd all be ready to make the jump when the time comes! Commander Gilmore's unit should be immediately behind mine, followed by Commander Simons' unit, then Commander Reiken's, then Commander Beasley's, and then Commander Trepe's unit! Keep your ranks as they are! Let's move, guys! We don't want the G-Army to have any sort of advantage over us before everything starts!'

The sound of two hundred pairs of feet hurrying forward echoed dramatically throughout the Hall. As the first line of men and women approached him, some far younger than he had been when he'd first fought for SeeD, Squall could read each of their expressions clearly. They were all the same; a tinge of fear, a scent of frustration and a sudden wave of eagerness. It was understandable, for Squall anyway. They were done with all the waiting, and all the tension, that the past hour had brought them. They couldn't bear any more of the sitting around the cafeteria, drumming their fingers nervously on the table edges. The adrenaline was kicking in. They were ready to get their hands dirty. They were ready to give the Galbadians hell.

As the last few lines began to shuffle forwards, Squall was busy surveying the scene seven hundred feet below them at ground level. His eyes suddenly concentrated. He could see Timber very clearly from where he was stood – every tower, every building and the streets in between. He could also, to his shock, now see explosions taking chunks out of rooftops, and legions of G-Army soldiers hurrying through the cobbled streets. He was mortified.

'Jesus,' he breathed, turning towards Irvine, 'we're too late. We've been too slow! They've begun their assault!'

Irvine grimaced.

'Damn,' he replied simply, flicking a strand of hair aside, 'you're right. They ain't holding back for anyone. We're lucky it's now, though. They could've started this at least an hour ago. Don't worry, Squall. There's nothin' we can do now. Let's just sit tight and wait for Nida's word.'

Squall turned his head away from Irvine's, and swore under his breath.

'You're right. It still doesn't help us one bit.'

'Well, it can't be changed now, right? So they're gonna have an advantage of, what, three minutes? Big deal. Not exactly a battle-clinching twist of fate.'

'It's still an advantage for them.'

'It sure is. We'd best give them more than hell when we crash the party to make up for it.'

Squall laughed. The sound of his own mirth suddenly seemed alien to him.

'I wish I could see things as you do, Irvine. How are you feeling?'

Irvine gave the thought the smallest of shrugs, and shuffled his feet.

'Hey, you know how it is. We're all feelin' a bit of the nerves here, but we'll deal with it. I'm dealin' with it. I'm cool as can be. What 'bout you?'

Squall grinned as he gave the notion some thought.

'I – couldn't feel much better than I do right now, given the circumstances.'

'Ready for the Third War?'

'If it comes to it, I'll meet it. Aifel Massery won't get the better of us. We'll see this through to crush him.'

'Leave some of him for me to pound, will you?'

'I sure will.'

There was a final ten-second period of calm, as the two men stood confidently side-by-side. Squall closed his eyes as if in prayer.

I'll live to see you again, Rinoa.

He took a deep breath through his nostrils, savouring the taste of the air as though he would never get the chance to breathe it again.

I love you.

And with that thought, it began.

'Squall! It's time! We've reached the Garden's optimal position! Go for it, guys! Good luck to all of you! Show them what SeeD is made of!'

Squall didn't turn around. If he had done, and seen the faces of the people who wouldn't survive that day, he might never have jumped at all. As it were, he sprinted the two yards to the very edge of Balamb Garden, and leapt gracefully through the morning air, his voice being whisked away on the breeze.

'FLOAT!'

At the front line of Squall's unit, Zell, Selphie and Irvine were the next to follow him, as always. They gave each other a brief nod before they did so.

'Float!'

'FLOAT!'

'Float!'

As her four best friends jumped through the air and shouted the necessary spell, all of the attention was quickly drawn away from Rinoa Heartilly. She was now stood at the bottom of the set of stairs, waving half-heartedly as the tears dried on her crimson cheeks. She didn't know what was going to happen that day. She didn't know whether she would ever see Squall's face again. However, she knew one thing for certain. Every little helps. And if her help was going to tip the balance in SeeD's favour, how small the advantage was, she was going to help him in whatever way she could.

'Good luck, Squall,' she whispered in a faltering voice. 'I know you'll make them proud. I'll be watching you from afar.'

She placed one shaking hand into a pocket on her blue cardigan, and slowly withdrew from it three items. She could have caught her breath in her hand as she stared down at them. A dark cloak that could cover her from her head to her toes... a pair of advanced, hi-tech binoculars... and a radio transmitter.

'I love you, Squall,' she breathed, 'I love you more than I've loved anything. I hope you'll understand why I'm doing this.'

The Garden Hall was emptying quickly. Rinoa watched with half an eye as row after row of identical green uniforms took the run and jump that might lead them to their inevitable deaths. If she were a passing bystander, she would have felt sorry for them at that moment. She would have cared, just like she'd cared when she was the 'princess' of the Forest Owls. As it were, she was blind to whatever it was they were feeling. She had her own role today to worry about.

When the moment came that she saw a flash blonde hair flying back, as Quistis leapt from the Garden platform, she straightened up rigidly. Her time to act had come. No-one else involved in the events that day would notice what she was about to do. The attention was, after all, now away from her. As it was, none of the SeeDs in Quistis' unit noticed a hunched figure, wrapped in a black cloak, tag onto the left end of the back line. This figure took the run and jump along with the rest of the soldiers – in the air, however, she turned, and the path she took was suddenly very different to theirs. The topmost cliffs of the Shenand Hills awaited her.