*Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VIII or any of its characters*

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*Chapter 14 – Cruel Reality*

The passage seemed to be endless, as if he was running in place. He had already lost Rinoa from his sight. He earned a deep wound on his leg while he was casting brake on that monster. The pain in his leg was terrible, but there wasn't enough time for a cure spell. The growls behind him were louder and louder, the monster obviously wasn't under the effect of the spell anymore. Zell felt dizzy. With his last strength he made it to the end of the passage. Finally he could see the cave exit. The sunlight blinded him temporally when he came out of the cave. He had never though he could be so glad to see the sun.

As his eyes were getting habituated to the light, he recognized his friends in front of him. When they saw him coming out, they ran toward him. He turned around, still afraid of the monster, but for some unknown reason, the creature stopped following him.

Elly opened her mouth to say something, but then she noticed the blood covering his leg. "Hyne, Zell! Are you alright?"

He looked at her and then at his leg. "I'll be fine."

"Where's Rinoa?" Seifer asked worriedly. 

"I thought she was here, she was right in front of me, but…then I've lost her from my sight."

"Let me see that, come, sit." Elly showed Zell to sit by the three and she knelt next to him. "Curaga! It'll probably leave a scar, but you'll be okay." She gave him a small smile, stood up and went toward Seifer and Irvine.

"Where could she go? Why?" Irvine was confused; it didn't make any sense.

"Zell, are you sure you haven't heard or seen anything strange?" Seifer looked toward him.

"I only heard that beast growling." Zell answered.

"She was right behind me." Seifer said more for himself.

"And Zell was behind her. It's obvious she's still in there and that we have to find her!" Selphie finally spoke. "So let's go in and kick that thing's ass!"

"We need a plan, we can't help them if we're dead. Any good ideas?" Irvine put a hand on her shoulder, trying to show her that he agrees with her, but that she has to calm down a little. "Actually, Elly, Zell said you can contact Rinoa if you want. Can you?"

Elly shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I can't contact her when she's in this cave. It has some kind of barrier that blocks telepathic contacts, not even Ell…nevermind." She looked down at the ground, suddenly finding huge interest in a butterfly that was resting on a flower.

"Not even who?" Zell, who was trying to avoid the eye contact with her whole day, now suddenly looked at her.

"It's not important." She answered without looking at him.

"Elly, who are you talking about? Ellone?" Irvine kindly put his hand on her shoulder and lowered his head too look her in the eyes. Elly nodded slightly. "What does she have to do with this?"

~Oh, what the hell…~ "Elly contacted me few times to give me some information about Squall and the Cave, she told me Squall is here and," She looked at Selphie. "Where to find that book."

"How come you know Ellone?" Irvine asked.

"She works at the Esthar Garden, remember?" Selphie gave him an annoyed look. Irvine replied with a simple "Oh…"

"Can we go now? She might be in danger!" Selphie said impatiently.

"Elly?" Seifer asked suddenly, breaking the silence that followed Selphie's question. "Can you contact Ellone?"

"I don't know. I tried only when she was expecting me to. I can try though, why?" She gave him a questioning look.

"Maybe she can call Quistis, we need all the information we can get."

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"Hyne, I missed you so much." Rinoa buried her head in his shoulder, tightly grasping his white t-shirt. She closed her eyes and enjoyed in his presence. It felt s good to be close to him, to feel safe again. She gently broke her hug, one he didn't return. "Are you ok?" She raised her concerned, but smiling eyes too meet his.

And then she saw it. Desperation and helplessness were revealed in his icy blue eyes, same eyes that were haunting her dreams. Her worst nightmare was coming true. She slowly shook her head, refusing to believe her eyes. She could already see him falling into the nothingness with a solitary tear in his eye, when his expression suddenly changed and the emotions in his eyes were replaced by emptiness. For a moment she tried to convince herself that it was all in her imagination, and that this place was playing games with her mind, but she knew she was just fooling herself. Rinoa recognised this eyes, she saw them before, in the garden… ~He's still possessed… Of course he is! Hyne, what a fool I am! ~ She felt the tears forming in her eyes, but put her head down to hide them. ~Why would they stop controlling him if they can continue? I'm such a fool… What…what happens now? ~ Only now she realized the gravity of the situation. ~He's under their control…what'll happen with me now? ~ Rinoa raised her questioning eyes to meet his. She felt her heart braking as he fiercely grabbed her wrist and started dragging her toward the other side of the passage.

"Squall, please let me go." She quietly pleaded him, trying to stop him or free herself. "You're hurting me." She muttered through tears. "Please, this is not you! You don't want this! You're being controlled!" She cried desperately. Squall stopped for a moment, but then continued as if nothing had happened.

A hundred thoughts passed through her mind as he was dragging her down the passage. ~I must free myself! He doesn't have a weapon…I can try to fight him with my magic. I could cast break on him…or confuse… sleep… Maybe elemental magic or…~ She felt shivers down her spine. ~…or forbidden. I just have to distract him and contact the others. I could just scream. Squall…~

She let him drag her toward the unknown, with her head down, tears that refused to fall, and a broken heart.

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Ian was sitting deeply concentrated on the stone floor with his legs crossed. Suddenly he opened his small cold eyes and with an evil grin on his face went toward one end of the circular room. He put his hand on the cold stone, which slowly rose and revealed a huge cavern with something that appeared to be a big chair made of crystal. Searyn was peacefully sitting on it. Her long black hair was freely falling down her back. Her dark eyes were looking at him as if they could look through him; see everything he saw. Ian knelled on one knee in front of her and lowered his head.

"My queen," He raised his head and looked at her, with a look of success in his eyes. "You did it, we have the sorceress. Everything went as you planned. Your destiny awaits you." He bowed his head and then stood up.

"Have you told your pet to hide that passage?" She asked.

"Of course, my queen, as you ordered." He nodded.

"That ugly beast seems to be useful after all. Those SeeDs could've ruined everything, but your Zodraken has warned us in time. And the commander, you didn't have any problems with controlling him?" She wanted to clear the last insecurity.

"He fell asleep under the effect of the sleeping powder you put in his water, and the spell is stronger as it was thrown on him while he had no conscious of himself, exactly as you planned my queen. And as if he was inside the cave, it was easier to control him."

Searyn stood up with a victorious grin on her face. "Go and welcome our guest. I'm not in the mood right now. I hope she won't mind." She said with sarcasm in her voice and elegantly walked toward the exit.

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They were walking for what seemed to be ages, from one passage to the other, always followed by the eerie green light. Rinoa let him drag her without fighting. She was walking right behind him, while he was still holding her wrist. Her head was down. She hadn't spoken a word since they started walking. Nothing seemed to have sense for her anymore. Here she was, with the person that she loved more than herself, one that she'd give her life to save, and this person was leading her to the enemy, and probably to the death. He was her knight, one that was supposed to protect her, and yes, he was being controlled, but that didn't ease her pain. ~Is he aware of what he is doing? How long will they control him? When they stop, will he remember anything? Will they ever stop? I failed him…I should've helped him, I should've fight. But I'm weak…I'm too weak.~

"Squall?" She called him quietly. He didn't answer.

"Squall?" She tried again. He stopped, as her heart did. He turned around to face her without saying a word. His eyes were still empty and emotionless. She was observing him for a moment, trying to remember his every feature under the green light. He seemed to grow impatient. She looked down and reached for her rings, and then looked back at him.

"Squall? Do you …remember this? It's yours." She raised the griever to the light of crystals. She noticed confusion in his eyes. He reached for it and took it in his hand. He was silently examining it. And then he reached for the small white golden heart that was resting below her neck. She couldn't help putting her hand on his face. He leaned toward her hand. She looked in his eyes and recognised fear in them. She felt a terrible urge to embrace him, to console him, but she feared his reaction. She slowly closed her eyes and put her arms around him in an embrace. Still insecure and confused, he slowly returned the gesture, embracing her small body with his strong hands. She slightly pulled away from him, so she could look in his eyes, lost herself in them as she used to do once, so long ago, one whole eternity. He raised his hand to her face and gently put few strands of her hair behind her ear. She felt tears falling down her face as he put his hands on the back of her head and pulled her into a kiss. She slowly closed her eyes and let herself to the wonderful feeling that she thought it was lost forever for her. And then, in a blink of an eye, he pulled her away from him and slapped her across the face, and in a blink of an eye the world around her crashed.

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Elly was sitting on the soft green grass under a tree. She put her hands on her crossed legs and closed her eyes. She has never done this before, and she didn't have a clue about what she actually had to do. She was trying to focus on Ellone, to reach her somehow. Though she couldn't see anything, she felt like if she was surrounded by mist. And then she heard her voice.

Elly? Thanks Hyne! I've been trying to reach you for hours! She heard Ellone's voice.

~We were in the cave, that's why you couldn't contact us. Ellone, can you call Quistis?"~

I'm in the Garden, Quistis called me. Everyone is worried here. Are you okay? What do you need?

~We still haven't found Squall, and Rinoa is lost somewhere in the cave. We need any information you can give us about Green Cave, especially that GF. ~

Hyne…Okay, the GF has the ability of confusion and illusion. The important thing is that, he's not almost invincible, as some legends say, his power is mostly illusion, but he's still very dangerous. Another thing, somewhere in the cave must be a crystal.

~The cave is covered with crystals! ~ Elly interrupted her.

This must be different somehow. We still haven't found out a lot about it, but it has something to do with capturing and giving powers.

~People from Elron… Hyne, Rinoa! ~

Yes…it's all we know…please take care and find them.

~We'll do our best. ~

Elly opened her eyes and found her friends looking at her with questioning looks in their eyes.

"You made it?" Seifer asked. Elly nodded, still shocked.

"What happened?" Zell asked worriedly.

"I've got a good and few bad news." Elly almost succeeded to smile. "The good one is that GF's strength is mostly delusional. The bad ones are that he can play with our minds, and that Rinoa might be in a great danger." Other silently waited for her to continue. "There is a crystal somewhere in the cave." Irvine already opened his mouth. "Somehow different from the others." Elly interrupted him. "It has something to do with powers…it might have something to do with the people from Eldar, and it might be a reason why Rinoa hasn't come out.

"You're trying to say that someone wants her powers?" Seifer asked.

"No, I'm saying that someone might want them. I don't know, but we can't risk, right?" She turned to face him.

"But," Zell started. "If they wanted her powers, why did they kidnap Squall, and not her?"

"Well, She's probably too strong for being controlled." Seifer answered him.

"And," Selphie started. "They'd probably have whole Garden on their neck with Squall as a commander."

"Now they have them both…" Seifer was thinking out loud.

"So," Selphe started abruptly. "Are we going in or what? You've heard Elly, the GF's strength is delusional so what are we waiting for? A written invitation?" She was looking at Seifer, waiting for his decision.

"Let's go in!" Seifer said suddenly. Selphie gave him a smile and, taking her nunchaku in her hands, ran toward the cave.

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Ian closed his eyes, as if he was trying to remember something and then a frown appeared on his face. ~ Damn!  This girl could've ruined everything. How could I let this happen…It doesn't matter now; I have everything under control… I won't drop my guard this time you little witch! There's no way to escape anymore! I hope you liked my little gift. ~ Ian opened his small eyes with an evil grin and continued walking.

He noticed Squall sitting on his bed as he walked to his open door. When he noticed Ian, Squall approached and handed him a key, and then returned back in the room. A smile of satisfaction appeared on Ian's face as he proceeded. He found himself in front of another door, took a key from his pocket and unlocked them. In front of him, in a room not much different than the previous one, a girl was lying on a bed with her head buried in her hands.

When she heard the door opening, Rinoa raised her head. There stood a man in long, dark grey coat. He was tall, much taller than her, and thin. Few strands of his shoulder length silvery grey hair were falling on his eyes. But what caught her attention were his eyes. His green eyes were small and filled with hatred. They made her feel uncomfortable and vulnerable. She moved her eyes away from him, but soon looked back, this time there was determination shown on her face. He just laughed.

"Don't be silly girl. Do you really think we would keep a sorceress in a place where she could freely use her magic? Our dear commander already made sure that your junctioned magic is at safe, and this cave has a natural anti-magic filed that disables the use of any kind of power, including sorceress' power. You may try if you want though, I surely won't mind."  His cold voice made her shiver. "Make yourself at home, your knight will bring you some food. We don't want you to be hungry at the ceremony." Ian laughed quietly. "The queen will probably come to see you. Try to be polite with her, she'll take care of your powers and knight for you after all." Apparently amused, he turned around and left, locking the door behind him.

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Selphie stopped running as soon as she entered in the cave. She didn't like the feelings this place was waking in her. She stopped to wait for others. Elly passed by her, offering her a weak smile and continued toward the entrances that she and Rinoa discovered before and started examining the stone walls. Seifer and Irvine hurried in front of her, while Selphie and Zell stood behind. They were progressing slowly, but safely. The dragon was nowhere to be seen and they were glad for it, but still, they haven't dropped their guard, this place seemed to be full of surprises. After more than an hour of searching, Elly came to the end, she leaned on the stone behind her, disappointed. No one spoke. They all felt powerless. There seemed to be nothing they could do to help their friends. Zell punched the stone in front with all his strength and silently, with a painful frown grabbed his hand with the other one. Elly shivered at the sight.

"Hey guys?" Selphie whispered. "Look at this!" She pointed toward the stone in front of her. They came closer. There were triangle shaped scratches on the wall. Everyone looked at Elly, who took a small piece of crystal from her pocket and drew the triangle over the scratches. The triangle shape glowed with green light and slowly started crystallizing until it was completely replaced with a triangle shaped crystal. Surprisingly quietly, a huge rock started rising. Elly smiled and turned around, she saw smiles on her friends' face, smile and concern - the fear of the unknown.

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A/N: I know I'm mean, but you'll forgive me, right?  ^-^ Real-sweetie-fantasy said that Squall/Rinoa meting was sweet in last chapter; I wonder what she thinks now. ^-~ Anyway, please review! And yea, this chapter wasn't edited…so – sorry!

I've been getting more and more reviews recently (and I'm SO HAPPY!!!) so I'm going to answer them ALL at: Thank you all once again!

I WISH YOU ALL A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!