Chapter Five: The Loveless Knight

The docks in Balamb Town had never been quite as busy as they were that afternoon. Angry voices buzzed like bees, and multitudes of angry fingers pointed at a blonde teen they thought was a convicted criminal. Said teen held his fishing rod over his shoulder, wishing with all his might that he could smack some sense into these people.

"There he is, the sorceress's knight!"

"He betrayed the SeeDs, get 'im!"

"He's dangerous, stand back Juliet!"

The young man's emerald eyes scanned across a mob of infuriated Balamb citizens and Galbadian soldiers. They gripped a variety of weapons in their fists, including but not limited to swords, guns, grenades, axes, nunchaku, whips, and his personal favorite, flaming torches. The mob appeared to be ready to strike.

Their opponent, the blonde man, gestured to his friends hurriedly. A man with dark skin and an accent wielded a thick staff, pointing at the mob threateningly. A silver-haired woman wearing an eye patch gripped her weapon of choice, a shuriken. Their friend, the convicted blonde, grabbed for his sword/gun, formally called a gunblade.

"You want a fight, you got a fight, ya know?" The dark-skinned one that shall now be referred to as Raijin commented.

"MUST DESTROY." The silver haired woman known as Fujin barked.

"Payback time." The blonde, whom shall now be known as Seifer Almasy, charged headfirst into the mob of people surrounding them. With backup from Raijin and Fujin, he disposed of most of the mob efficiently. Thankfully, Fujin's protective spells ensured that none of the mob members were killed, though they would certainly deserve it in her mind.

Unbeknownst to Seifer and company at the time, a shadowy figure lingered among the K.O.ed mob. Just as Seifer was happily wiping his Gunblade, Hyperion, Raijin pointed behind Seifer and began to stammer incoherently. Fujin cocked her head to the side curiously.

"WHAT?"

"Um…yeah…well…ya know…so…ya know…pie…ya know…ASSASSIN!" Raijin yelled, shoving Seifer out of the way of an incoming sword.

"What the…Raijin cut it out!" Seifer appeared to be agitated for a moment, but he quickly forgave his friend once he spotted the assassin.

The newcomer was dressed entirely in black, and muttered something in a language the trio could not understand. He/she/it appeared to lift his/her/its head (but Seifer couldn't be sure, his/her/its head was fully cloaked), and then struck without warning.

"YOWCH!" Fujin shrieked, tumbling to the ground as a pool of blood formed around her.

"FUJIN! YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT, YA KNOW!" Raijin charged at the assassin blindly, and Seifer followed. Gunblade and staff attacked the cloaked one relentlessly, as various 'clank' sounds were heard. The battle raged on for about twenty minutes, and then the newcomer unleashed his/her/its wrath.

He/she/it raised a gloved hand into the air, performing a swishy movement with his/her/its index finger. After a moment or two of finger waving, it yelled, "Omdesi Vino!"

As the "it" stopped yelling, the sky suddenly shifted from a pale blue to a midnight violet. Ominous clouds swirled in a spiral above their heads, and flashes of green lightning struck Seifer and Raijin. Fujin remained unconscious in her little pool of blood. The green bolts were truly painful, causing the guys to fall to their knees screaming. Once it was over, they lay on the ground panting. Seifer was disgusted for allowing himself to submit to pain, and Raijin was praying quietly.

The assassin moved in on its prey, preparing to strike for the last time, when a hurricane suddenly appeared. Ocean water spiraled into the sky, and tidal waves splashed over the docks. It looked up to find himself suddenly squashed by a mass of black leather and belts. Finally, Seifer's greatest rival and childhood friend had returned to the present.

Mass of Black Leather, formally known as Squall Leonhart, pushed himself off the cloaked one and jumped to his feet. He waited patiently for his friends to return as the cloaked one recovered from the shock all the while. (Big mistake Squall, big mistake…)

A chestnut-haired girl wearing a sunny yellow dress was the first to emerge from the hurricane. She bounded over to Squall, grinning madly.

"Hiya Squall, where is everyone?" Selphie Tilmitt asked curiously.

"They're coming." He replied, crossing his arms over his chest. 'I didn't see Rinoa with us, is she out there?'

After a few moments, the others joined Squall and Selphie on the dock. Zell Dincht, a blonde martial artist, glared at Seifer but said nothing at the moment. Quistis Trepe, a blonde instructor with awesome whipping skills, gazed at the once-again-blue sky serenely. Irvine Kinneas, a sharpshooter wearing a cowboy hat, winked at Selphie and glanced at the sky.

"Dammit Seifer, what the hell are you doing here?!" Zell shouted, kicking his longtime enemy in the ribs.

"Seifer? Whaddya mean? Ohmygosh, SEIFER!" Selphie squealed, grinning. She moved to crush Seifer in a hug, but regained her senses and held herself back.

The others glanced at him questioningly, while Squall rolled his eyes. "Let's go everyone, Cid is waiting for our report." 'And I'm waiting for you, Rin. We promised to see each other again, remember?' Squall bowed his head solemnly, wondering where his lost love had gone.

"Has anyone seen Rinoa?" Quistis asked, arms folded over her stomach.

Squall sighed, Zell clenched his fist, Selphie clasped a hand over her mouth in realization, and Irvine shook his head sadly.

"She's not here."

"I'll bet Seifer kidnapped her, that arrogant ba-" Selphie smacked Zell across the head before he could continue. Seifer glared at the 'chicken-wuss', refusing to acknowledge Zell's accusation.

"Waitaminute, Rinny's gone? No!" Selphie panicked and began running around in a circle frantically, screeching her head off.

"I hope she made it through." Irvine placed his hat over his heart, closing his eyes.

Something flashed in Seifer's eyes at the mention of Rinoa's name. "Squall, watch it!" He warned, gesturing at the cloaked assassin that was getting to his feet.

"Seifer, you're coming with us." Irvine declared, regaining his tough front andignoring Seifer's comment. He hoisted the wounded Seifer to his feet while Squall spoke again.

"Watch what?" He asked, confused. But it was too late already. The others watched in terror as the person in black rose to his feet. The assassin displayed his blade to the rest of the group for a moment before stabbing Squall through the stomach frombehind.His bodytoppled forward as the assassin grabbed him and vanished into thin air.

"SQUALL!" Everyone, including Seifer and Raijin, had yelled simultaneously out of shock. Quistis hurriedly cured the ex-Disciplinary Committee and yanked them to their feet. Together, the group of seven raced in the direction of Balamb Garden. They silently swore to recover Squall and Rinoa, no matter what the cost.