Chapter 44: Eyes on Me

In the emptiness between worlds and stars was a place where one of the greatest forces in the world found itself re-forged. It was a power beyond reckoning, both known and not known, understood yet misunderstood by the people who felt it most keenly. No scholar had been able to define it yet, and it was doubtful anyone would in the remaining days of mankind.

Rinoa, where are you?

But one did not need to know what it was to understand what it meant.

I'm going to find you . . . No matter what.

Deep in space, somewhere between the earth and the lunar body orbiting around it, this force drove one man and one woman through the darkest of trials, through fiery hell and across unfathomable distances. This force defied all odds that stood in its way, up to and including the precise planning of a malevolent entity from a time far removed. It defied the Lunar Cry, the most destructive force known to man. It defied the very void itself, the sheer inhospitable environment and vast distances ignored as the paths of the two wayward souls found themselves careening together once again, intersecting into one line.

There she is . . . I have to get in front of her . . . I have to catch her. Come on, I can make it . . . .

Hell had tried to stop their heaven from being made manifest. Nearly everything had stood in their way, but somehow, they had persevered, due to one man's courage, and one woman's faith even as she had lain dying in the grasp of an impossible evil.

I've got you! Hyne, she's alive!

There are few things that are eternal. Not even evil lasts forever. Some say death will never end, but in its very act of destruction it robs itself of purpose, extending those it has taken beyond its grasp. Not even the earth, the moon, or the stars are eternal, eventually burning themselves out and dying over the eons of existence. One day, it would all end, except for two basic tenets of existence that would never pass on, existing forever beyond the realm of the living, material world.

"Squall . . . ."

One is the human soul.

"I can't believe it . . . You're alive . . . ."

The other is the very force that binds those souls together.

"We're safe now."

Love.


Squall was almost sobbing with relief, a sound which he could hear mimicked over Rinoa's radio.

"I heard your voice," she said quietly, smiling. Squall viewed that face with absolute joy, seeing her lips move, her eyes open and bright. "I held on when I heard it. I knew you'd come for me."

"I'm here now," he replied, wishing he could feel her body through the space suit. He'd done it. After so much struggle and hardship, after all that mental anguish, after all the times he'd felt he'd lose her forever, Squall had found her again, alive, and herself. But now that he had found her after so much, where would they go?

He hadn't given himself the luxury of thinking beyond getting to her. That alone might have made him break off in despair, knowing that even if he did rescue her, they were both doomed in space regardless. What would they do now? Be reunited just to die together in space when their air ran out in a few scant minutes? Had he just brought them back together to die as one?

So be it, Squall thought. Better to die with her than to live on with the pain of knowing he had not done everything he could to save her.

"The moon," he heard Rinoa murmur, and Squall looked up to where her eyes were cast, seeing the lunar world far below, then passing above them as they rotated through space on their wild trajectory.

"Looks nice," Squall commented. He turned his head to the side, seeing the distant red column of monsters flowing from the surface of the moon toward the planet, and hoped his friends were not in the middle of that maelstrom when it hit. He followed the river of monsters back toward the surface, and his eyes tracked a red spot that was steadily drifting closer and closer to their position, resolving itself into the form of some sort of crimson dragon.

The SeeD tensed for an instant, wondering if this was some monster that had gotten loose from the sheath of energy encapsulating the other monsters. Some beasts could survive for extended periods in the vacuum. Squall's gunblade was inside the bulky suit, which he'd pulled over his weapon in his haste to get outside, and he doubted he could directly cast magic from inside the suit without damaging the suit itself. But he would rather die in peace with Rinoa, rather than die at the hands of some random creature that had wandered into their path.

As the dragon got closer, though, Squall saw that it was spinning through space slowly, seeming to drift in a very slow orbit around the moon. It wasn't moving, he saw, and as it flipped over onto its rear, he spotted a quartet of black circle beneath a quartet of radically angled wings-

Engines.

It wasn't a monster, it was a spacecraft! An Estharian spacecraft!

"Rinoa, you see that?" Squall asked, and she nodded.

"May be our only way out of here," she replied. "Do you still have thrusters?"

"No, I burned all of my fuel out getting to you," Squall said, shaking his head. "What about you?"

"Let me check," she replied, looked around her helmet's heads-up display. "Umm, I think so. Wait, yeah, I do! I think I've got enough to get us to it!" Squall nodded and turned his body slightly, orienting both of them toward the spacecraft as it drifted closer to them. It seemed like it was caught in a slow, endless orbit around the moon, but that was fine as far as Squall was concerned. The closer it was, the better their chances of getting onto it. He hope that the ship still had air, or at least had a life support system. There were still some lights on inside the ship, he saw, so it might actually still be capable of flying. Who knew, maybe it even had a radio?

"Here we go!" Rinoa said, and the tow held each other tightly as Rinoa burned the tiny thrusters mounted on her suit, propelling them across the void.

They tumbled closer and closer to the spinning spacecraft, and Squall could see the minute designs of the ship as they got nearer. It was sleek, like a dragon in flight, with a bow that was shaped like a dragon's head, neck extended in flight. Two arms were clutched close to its chest, clawed fingers gripped in fists. The arms flanked what looked to be a long and powerful cannon slung beneath the ship's "chest," a weapon which looked like it could destroy a significant chunk of a major city. Beyond the ship's "shoulders" was what looked to be the ship's bridge, a slender dome of clear transparisteel perched behind the tops of the arms. From the cockpit back were swept a quartet of wings at radical angles, the wide fans of red metal covering a quartet of long, powerful black engines. The ship gleamed crimson in the minimal light of space, its chrome surfaces reflecting the starlight and the bone-white shine of the moon.

"Almost there," Squall said as they got closer. He extended a hand as the ship rotated before them, flipping "forward" bow dipping slowly. The dragon's head passed, and as the bridge rotated beneath them, Squall reached out. The bridge swept past, but the hull behind it soon rose up, and Squall's fingers brushed the metal as the ship slowly spun in space. The ship continue to rotate, but as the pair slid along the surface, Squall's hand suddenly found purchase in a crevice along the spaceship's hull.

"Is this a hatch or door or something?" Rinoa asked as she looked over the crevice, which was actually part of a rectangular shape set into the ship's hull. Squall looked over the panel and saw what looked to be another panel just beside the crevice. He reached over and touched the panel, which slid open to reveal a rotating handle. Squall turned it, and was rewarded with the panel beneath them sliding open. Directly beneath them was an airlock. Squall and Rinoa quickly pulled themselves down into the chamber, and the door slid shut behind them. An instant later, the relieving sound of air being pumped into the room as it was pressurized sounded in their ears. Mere moments after that, the lower door of the airlock opened, and they drifted down into a gray-paneled chamber beneath. As they drifted toward the floor, they both felt the tug of gravity restore itself gradually, until their feet hit the floor and stayed there.

Squall quickly reached up and doffed his helmet, feeling his ears pop slightly as the air pressure equalized in his head. He then started to take off the gloves and torso equipment, but paused to look back at Rinoa. He blinked in surprise to see her taking off her gear even more quickly than he was. Squall shrugged and removed the gloves, followed by pulling off his torso suit, and then removed the pants, pulling them down past his sheathed gunblade at his hip. Once the space equipment was off he began to turn back to Rinoa-

Something was diving at him, and he raised his hands, catching the slender, outstretched fingers reflexively and turning with the momentum, spinning around to throw the attacker off. It took him a heartbeat to realize it was Rinoa, and he tightened his grip enough so he didn't fling her across the room, but instead set her down gently.

"What was that?" he asked, a bit surprised, though after a second's though, he realized he shouldn't have been surprised in the first place.

"What do you think?" Rinoa replied, her smile wider than it had been in a while, something that filled Squall with an undeniable sense of happiness that she really was back. She held her hands out wide. "The suit was in the way before."

"A hug?" Squall said, realizing belatedly how stupid h e sounded when he had said that.

"Yes," Rinoa said, nodding. "A nice, tight one!" She pulled her slender arms around herself, as if pulling someone into a bear hug. "I need to feel it! To feel like I'm alive after I almost died out there."

Squall was about to answer, though he wasn't sure if his answer was going to be something the practical Squall would say, or something more impulsive. However, his answer was cut off by a dull rumbling from somewhere inside the ship, followed by a low roar that sounded distinctly biological, from the other side of the room's only door. He spun, drawing his gunblade quickly.

"Are your junctions intact?" he asked quietly, and Rinoa nodded.

"Yes," she replied, though she hesitated slightly. "What is it?"

"Let's find out," Squall replied, edging toward the door beyond which he'd heard the noise. It slid open silently, revealing what looked like a suiting room for space suits, though there were none in the lockers and alcoves built into the bulkheads on either side of them. Aside from this, there was only another door at the other end of the room. Squall moved to it, and it hissed open, revealing what looked to be a wide cargo area and hangar, spanned by a catwalk starting from their position and extending across to another door. A staircase by the door led down to the lower level of the hangar. There was nothing but silence as they entered. Squall moved forward, crouching low to the floor as he walked, Rinoa mimicking his steps and position. Squall kept his eyes scanning and ears open and alert, and froze when he heard a shuffling noise beneath him. He slowly turned, keeping his eyes on the floor of the catwalk as he tracked the movement of whatever was making that noise. It moved out from under the catwalk and into view below, and Squall had to stare for a second at how absolutely . . . Freakish it looked.

Four slender yet muscular legs supported the aberration, body. The body itself was long and slender, extending past the legs by about five feet, tapering into what looked like a snout of some kind. Slung beneath this body were hundreds of curving "teeth" waving in the air. Positioned just above the legs was a pair of long, muscular arms, the fingers of which were tipped in black claws. A slender neck rose up over the body, topped with a tapering snout-like head with glowing blobs inside its length. Its skin had a generally green hue to it.

Squall wasn't exactly sure what to make of the thing. He didn't know what part was precisely for what purpose on the freakish monster, but he guess that whatever this thing was it was not likely to be friendly. It didn't seem particularly intelligent, just shuffling around on the hangar deck aimlessly. There was no purpose behind its movements, which immediately ruled out intelligence. Some kind of creature that had somehow wandered onto the ship while it was floating in space, perhaps?

"Doesn't look too friendly," Rinoa commented, and Squall nodded. He didn't want to risk confronting the creature, so he ignored it, moving down the catwalk toward the door at the other end. He neared the door, but it failed to open. Confused, Squall glanced around, locating the control panel. He tapped it once, then twice, then a third time, but nothing happened. Some type of glowing Estharian script appeared over the panel.

"Hyne, I wish I could read this stuff," he growled, at which point Rinoa peeked over his shoulder.

"It says the door is locked. Some type of biohazard control system."

"You can read Estharian?" he asked, and she nodded.

"Mm-hmm. My father put me through a pretty good education. I can almost speak Estharian like a second language."

That'll be helpful, Squall mused, and turned back. He peered over the railing of the catwalk as the creature below shuffled away, and spotted a door beneath this one. He nodded toward it.

"We'll try that one," he said, and moved toward the staircase, gunblade ready in his hands. Squall took the lead down the steps, Rinoa right behind him. He kept his eyes on the creature shuffling around, ready to spring the instant it would turn on them. However, the creature ignored them as their feet hit the hangar floor, and Squall moved to the right, toward the hangar doorway. Rinoa followed him, and they moved across the room slowly.

Then, for no readily apparent reason and with no indication it had heard or otherwise sensed them, the monster suddenly whirled on the pair of humans, roaring and charging across the room.

The thing was fast. its slow, shuffling walk seemed to belie its shocking speed as, one second, it was creeping slowly, and the next it had virtually leaped across the length of the hangar, stopping right in front of the pair of intruders and rearing back with one arm to smash it down. The arm shot down toward the pair, but Squall's gunblade flashed up into its path, slicing into the beast's skin and severing the hand with one cut. Black ichors flew from the wound, splattering on the wall behind the pair as the hand went rolling across the deck.

The monster seemed to completely ignore the damage, raising its other arm to strike. At that moment Rinoa leveled a hand at the creature and unleashed a torrent of blazing fire that sent the monster reeling backward. Squall took advantage of the momentary distraction and stepped forward and to the left, around the creature. The Revolver hacked once, and then a second time, severing them monster's legs on that side. The SeeD stepped back quickly as the creature toppled to the floor, and swept his gunblade across in a hard cleave that severed the thing's strange "head." The monster let out a wheeze of shock and pain, spasming a few times as it settled to the floor and remained still.

"You okay?" Squall asked Rinoa, and she nodded, wiping some of the creature's ichors off her face with the back of her wrist.

"Definitely not friendly," Rinoa replied. Squall nodded grimly.

"Hopefully it's the only one," he said, wiping his gunblade off. "And if there are others, they go down just like this one."

"What do we do now?" she asked him, and he gestured toward the door.

"Move on. We have to find the bridge of this ship and see if we can at least get out a radio message or something to Esthar." She nodded and turned toward the door, which miraculously unlocked as they neared it and slid open. Squall stepped through the door first-

and was greeted with what would be the second of many very angry roars and rumbling charges as another of the freakish monsters, this one with yellow-tinged skin, rushed directly towards them, down what looked to be another hangar area.

Rinoa snapped up a hand and unleashed a bolts of electrical energy that staggered the monster in mid-charge, her magic erupting with speed that surprised even Squall. Not hesitating, squall rushed toward the beast, moving on its right flank. The creature was still reeling from the thunderous blast when Squall's gunblade hacked across and sliced off one of its legs. The other leg followed suit, and the SeeD rolled away from the falling monster as it dropped to its side, and whirled, gunblade smashing down like an executioner's axe. Its sliced clean through the beast's "head," and the monster went still.

"Definitely more than one of them," Squall grumbled, and Rinoa nodded.


The spacecraft had numerous hallways, storage areas, and rooms for crew quarters, a mess hall, and an engineering room, and more areas that the pair hadn't taken the time to bother checking. It was quite well designed, they saw, with advanced Estharian technology. With one exception, Squall would have liked the ship.

That exception being that every room seemed to have another of those damned monsters roaming around. And all of them were brutally aggressive. Fortunately, the creatures were all vulnerable to the tactic Squall and Rinoa had engineered early on, which involved her staggering the monsters with powerful bolts of energy and then followed by Squall cutting out the legs and then severing the beast's head. They had finished off the seventh monster while entering what looked like an observation deck lined with numerous chairs, obviously for passengers. A transparisteel canopy was at one end of the room, looking out over the vastness of space as the ship slowly rotated among the stars.

"Nothing here," Squall said, and began to turn back, when Rinoa stopped him and pointed. He turned back to see what looked like a computer panel at the front of the room, with the lights still on. Curious, they walked toward it, and Squall waved a hand over the panel. Instantly, a holographic image of a man in a uniform similar to he olive and black outfits of the Lunar Base crewmen appeared. The man seemed injured, with blood streaming down the side of his face and a bandage wrapped around his head and over one eye. The man took a slow, deep breath.

"I never thought I'd be saying this," the mans said, shaking his head. "But this is the last log of Ragnarok's crew. Probably the last log of the ship, period. We're about to engage the escape pods and get the hell off this ship and back to Esthar, but I'm going to leave this. Doesn't really feel right to not leave it. This is my ship, after all, I need to pay my respects.

"Two days ago our ship was on a routine lunar survey, in an effort to analyze the monsters on the surface. I'm not sure how they got inside. All we know is that they just attacked, staring form the airlock. There were maybe two of them at first, but they moved forward methodically, killing everyone in their path and eating them. We think that's how they reproduce, through food. They can survive for long periods of time without food, judging by their anatomy, and were very hard to kill even with our weapons. We found the best way to dispose of them was by direct hits to the head. We also found that we have to kill them quickly; if even one survived, it could go to the others and revive them, though exactly how we don't know.

As of this message we have confirmed that there are eight of the creatures remaining. We're putting the Ragnarok on lockdown to seal them in and setting it on an eternal orbit around the moon, so these things don't get off the ship. Until they've all been killed, the bridge controls are locked. If anyone wants to recover Ragnarok, they'll have to dispose of those monsters. Sorry to say it, but we've got no other choice. It they get to a population center where they can feed on a large number of humans, well, the world won't be a happy place.

"If anyone reads this, good luck, and Godspeed." At that, the hologram flicked off.

"So, eight monsters," Rinoa said. "We've killed seven already."

"Let's find that last one and then get out o here," Squall replied, and she nodded. He stepped back out of the observation deck and began to move out into the hallway beyond. They had passed a lift earlier, but it had been inert. Maybe that one led to the bridge, and once they killed the last beast then it would activate?

Squall stopped next to the lift and looked up at it. He moved over to it and peered up the shaft, which apparently didn't go very far up. No doubt that was indeed the bridge up there. He back out of the open lift and turned back to Rinoa.

"We've searched most of the ship already, but I think we may have missed part of the hangar area. Lets go back there and check it out-"

A sudden roar sounded around them, and Squall spun, scanning the hall, but didn't see the monster, wherever it was. He reached a hand back to Rinoa, pushing her back toward the secured observation deck. He then heard a scrabbling sound inside the elevator shaft, and began to spin toward it when a clawed hand emerged from the shaft and swatted at him. He snapped his gunblade up and gashed the arm as it reached round the inside of the shaft, but the creature's claws slashed along the front of his chest, tearing through Squall's shirt and drawing blood, despite his junctions. The sheer force behind the slash sent Squall stumbling back, gritting his teeth against the pain, and the monster fell down the shaft, landing on both feet and rushing forward. Rinoa raised a hand toward the monster and discharged a bolt of magic, but the creature saw the gesture and, apparently smarter than its kin, pulled back, the bolt of lightning shooting past and smashing into one of the walls, sending electricity everywhere. The monster whirled on Rinoa and slashed across with its arm, the back of its hand impacting with Rinoa's stomach and sending her flying backward down the hall with shocking force.

Squall's gunblade dove toward the monster's legs, and it backed up just enough that the revolver only bit into one leg, not severing it. The creature then countered with another roaring rush, its arms flashing across at the SeeD. One arm was severed by Squall's lightning0fast counter, but the other smashed into his face, knocking his head back and throwing him to the floor. The monster advanced toward squall, and slammed him in the face again as he rose. The SeeD was dizzied by the impact, and a third punch that hurled him against the wall hard slumped down, shocked and confused. The wounded monster waded forward, and as Squall stubbornly rose it hammered him again, with both its intact arm and the stub of its severed hand. The SeeD was pummeled by the punches and beatings, and finally dropped to the floor, eyes darkening. He didn't hear Rinoa scream his name as the monster walked toward him teeth widening as it prepared to feed.


"Squall!" Rinoa screamed as she saw the beast lower its body toward him, preparing to feed on him. She raised her hands to fire off magic, and twin bolts of white light lanced out at the monster jolting it and pushing the beast back. It turned its head toward her, more angry than injured, and began to move towards her.

Red rage flashed through Rinoa's head as she saw Squall laying there, beaten and bloodied, and she turned her attention back toward the monster. Raw fury sent her emotions bailing, and almost instantly a surge of radical power ripped through her body. She focused her power, her strength, and called up what lay within in a holy fire of retribution and wrath.

Golden light filled the corridor of the Ragnorok, and nowhere was the light brighter than at Rinoa's back, where the luminance coalesced into a pair of shining white wings, seeming to emerge feather by feather. Rinoa's feet left the floor as the wings stretched outward, casting their light across the corridor, bright as a thousand suns, causing even the monster attacking them to shy back in surprise. The light itself suddenly receded, flowing back into Rinoa, and into her hands, where it gathered and intensified, causing her to look like nothing less that a divine angel of heaven sent to mete out justice upon mankind. She gestured toward the monster as it advanced, and pure incandescent energy, absolute destruction, rippled out from her hands and poured upon the monster. The creature was simply snuffed out of existence, as if a pool's worth of water had been dropped on a campfire. The white light simply erased the monster with raw destructive force, ripping it apart right down to the molecular level.

The light faded, and as the wings became more transparent Rinoa sunk to the floor, her chest heaving in shock at her raw energy and power. She had never imagined it would be quite like this . . . Even after all she'd read about the power, this was above and beyond what she'd imagined it would be like. Not that she'd ever expected to wield that power herself.

Slowly, Rinoa rose, crossing the corridor on unsteady legs, to where Squall lay. She crouched beside the unconscious SeeD, and reached out, touching his face. White light flashed, flowing over his body, and the SeeD jerked back into consciousness, his wounds healing instantly. He looked around, hands scrabbling for his gunblade, searching for the monster, when Rinoa put a hand on his shoulder.

"Relax," she said quietly. "I got him."

"You did?" Squalls aid, looking around. He didn't see a corpse, or even blackened remnants of the monster.

"Yeah," she replied, looking back at the corridor, where only a very fine ash remained of their enemy. "I really got him good."


The lift was unlocked as they approached, with the deaths of the eight monsters infesting the Ragnarok. It rose up silently, rising into a long cockpit with a quartet of seats, doubtless for the various systems on the ship. Two seats were positioned at the front, likely pilot and copilot seats. A dome-like transparisteel canopy arched overhead, giving them a beautiful view of the endlessness of space.

"So, where's the on button?" Rinoa asked, and Squall almost smiled at the joke. Hyne, how he was glad he could have her around to hear her voice again . . . .

There was a faint beeping noise coming from the front of the ship, near the pilot's seats. They walked over to it, and as they approached they could make out the beeping as a very faint voice, almost inaudible. A holographic panel phased into existence as they approached, directly in front of the seats.

"Looks like the volume's down," Rinoa commented as she looked over the holographic panel. She reached down and touched a box, dragging it across the panel, and as she did so the volume rose.

" . . . repeat, any Lunar base Survivors, report in. Is there anyone out there? This is Esthar Ground Control, does anyone read me?"

"Where's the radio?" Squall asked. "I wish I could read all of this, its not in the western language-"

And like magic, all of the Estharian script transformed into blocky Galbadian letters. Squall frowned, only slightly annoyed by that bit of Estharian technology, and found the radio fairly quickly.

"This is . . . ." Squall paused, remembering the name from the recording. "The Ragnarok. Do you copy?" There was a long pause on the other end, followed by some shouts and confused cries.

"Ragnorok, is that you?" the speaker said.

"Affirmative," Squall replied. "We found our way onboard the ship and dealt with the infestation. We could use some help getting back home."

"Roger that! Hold on, we're tracking your position. Just . . . There! We've got you! Holding orbit around the moon. Okay, looks fairly stable. Hold on a minute, lets run the numbers . . . . Wow, its been seventeen years since we last heard from you, Ragnorok! Hold on . . . Okay, are you sitting in the pilot's seat?"

"Which one is that?"

"Front of the bridge, right side. You see it?"

"Yeah," Squall answered, and he climbed into that seat. "Now what?"

"There should be something on the upper right side, says 'fuel gauge.' What's the numbers on it?"

"It says forty-two-dash-one-three."

"Plenty of fuel to get you home, then. You'll have to drop by the airstation once we sort things out down here. it's a mess, but you should have enough fuel to last a long time until you can get that ship back. Okay, you see a holographic keyboard in front of you, yes?"

"Yeah," Squall replied.

"Okay, enter the following data: WJHEIE/…"

"Entered,' Squall said as he tapped the holographic keys.

"Then...2872/HD-IEU."

"Done."

"No errors?"

"It all looks good,' squall said.

"Okay, hit the glowing green panel next to the keyboard. That will activate the autopilot." Squall taped it, and it turned a cool blue. The ship shuddered slightly, and a dull thrumming sound began from the rear of the ship. The stars outside began to shift as the ship stopped its spin, and the moon flashed by as it rotated back to the planet. A sphere of green, blue, and white came into view moments later, beyond the moon, and the ship centered its bridge on that wonderful world and began to accelerate towards it.

"That's it," the man on the ground said. "Welcome back to the world Ragnarok. And from everyone here at Ground Control, we wish you Godspeed."

"Thanks," squall replied.

"You may also want to cut off the artificial gravity, if its working," the man commented. "Should be right next to the autopilot. It'll give the engines more power, and get you home faster."

"Right," Squall said, and found the control. He switched it off, and his butt immediately left the seat, the SeeD floating up into the air.

"By the way are you part of the Lunar Base crew?"

"Negative," Squall answered.

"Your lucky day, then," the controller replied. "President decommissioned that ship when it was lost, and Estharian salvage laws state that anyone who finds a derelict can claim it. Ragnarok's your to keep." Squall nodded, but said nothing, simply glad to be alive and on the way home.

"We'll have a ground crew standing by once you land to look over the ship, and then you can take it home, wherever home is. Nice deal, I'd say. See you on the ground. Ground Control, out." The radio went dead, leaving Squall in silence.

Squall felt Rinoa's slender arms wrap around his neck, which caused him to turn in the artificial gravity in surprise. They spun through the air for a few moments, before Squall reached down and grabbed the pilot's chair, stopping them.

"You should sit down and strap in," squall commented as he pulled himself down into the pilot's chair and did just that. Rinoa seemed to ignore him, pulling herself down on the same seat and dropping into his lap.

"This seat looks more comfortable," she commented, smiling. She wrapped one arm around his neck and set her head on his shoulder, surprising Squall. He almost would have felt uncomfortable, but instead a basic human desire swept over him, and put an arm around her waist, holding her a little closer. He had spent so long simply touching her cold hands and face, and now, to feel her warmth like this, right next to him, to smell her skin so close to his, it was . . . . Peaceful. He felt oddly comforted by this, despite its strangeness.

"Why are you holding onto me like this?" Squall asked after a second, his voice quiet.

"You don't like being held?" she replied, equally quietly.

"Just not used to it," he said with a half-hearted yet automatic shrug.

"How about when you were little?" she asked, and Squall looked up and away from her, toward the stars. He leaned his head back slightly, watching the tiny white dots float past lazily in the expanse beyond. "Didn't your parents ever hold you?"

"I never knew my parents," Squall replied honestly. "I'm an orphan, remember? But Ellone, she was there for me. Always there to hold my hand."

"She made you feel safe and secure, didn't she?" Rinoa asked, and Squall nodded.

"Yes," he replied. "Whenever I was around her, things were fine. But then she just left one day. Just disappeared. I . . . I don't want that feeling of comfort to ever go away. That's why I never got close to anyone."

"You were afraid of losing us?" Rinoa asked, and Squall nodded again. "Losing your friends is always painful. That's why you kept your distance from everyone."

"As long as I was distant, I couldn't get hurt," Squall said. "I was always alone. But I never felt that safety and comfort again, so, I guess my life was empty before. Safe, but empty."

Squall was surprised when Rinoa hugged him tightly.

"Squall, you've missed out on so much in life," she said quietly. "All the good things in life."

"Maybe," he replied, and she nodded.

"Definitely," she clarified. She was silent for a few moments, looking out at the stars along with him.

"I like it like this," she said after a few moments. "My mother would always hold me like this. I liked having her hold me. My dad, too, back when we got along."

"I'm not your mom," Squall deadpanned, and she chuckled, her shaking shoulders shaking Squall as well.

"No, of course not," she replied. "But, now, Squall, you're the one who gives me the most comfort." He blinked in surprise. "You've saved my life how many times now? I feel so safe with you. You give me so much comfort and happiness . . . And disappointment and annoyance, too."

"Whatever," Squall said, half-smiling.

"Indeed, whatever," Rinoa mimicked him.

"You should get back to your seat," Squall added as the planet got bigger and bigger before them.

"A little longer," she replied. He nodded after a moment. Several more moments passed, and in all honesty, squall didn't want her to leave him. He enjoyed this more than anything else, holding her tightly in his arms.

"When we get back, we won't be able to stay together, will we?" she asked quietly. Squall wasn't sure what she was talking about. They were both living within Garden, surely they would be able to stay together. Squall had gone so far to save her, he wasn't going to lose her again for no reason.

"The are no guarantees in the future," he replied. "But I'm not going to let you go."

"Thank you," she said, nestling her face in the crook between his neck and shoulder. It was several minutes before she spoke again, and they were already within the planet's atmosphere.

"They're going to be angry with me," she said, almost too quietly to hear.

"Who?" Squall asked, surprised. The Estharians? Why would they be angry with her? She clearly hadn't been in control during whatever had happened on the space station.

The radio suddenly popped back on.

"Ragnarok, this is Ground control," the man said. 'We're trying to get an accounting of the survivors of the Lunar Base. We've been collecting pods right now, and we need to know who is on the Ragnorok."

"Squall Leonhart, Balamb Garden Commander,' Squall answered.

"Alright," the man said. "Anyone else?"

"One person," Squall replied. He felt Rinoa tense up in his arms, and hug him a little tighter for some reason. "Rinoa Heartilly."

"Heartilly?" the man on the ground replied, and all the noise in the background stopped, replaced by silence. "Rinoa Heartilly?"

"Yes," Squall said, dread entering his heart.

"The Sorceress Rinoa?" the man demanded.

Squall froze on the spot, his mind suddenly and simply freezing at that statement. An instant later, his thoughts exploded like a fragmentation grenade, flashing back to the insanity aboard the Lunar Base and then to the flash back to when Rinoa had been speaking to Seifer, being a medium for Ultimecia from the future.

Ultimecia possesses only Sorceresses. Hyne, why didn't I see it sooner? Oh, Rinoa . . . .

He thought he heard her sobbing quietly in his arms, but the ground controller cut in again.

"Can she here us? Is the Sorceress listening? She will be seized upon arrival, do you understand?" Squall let out an angry growl and slapped the radio control, switching it off. Then, without even really thinking, he pulled Rinoa close, hugging her tightly, the same hug she had wanted earlier. Hyne, he wished he could have given it to under other circumstances.

"Its true," she said after a moment, keeping her head buried in his shoulder. He felt warmth on his neck, and knew she was crying as she spoke. "I'm a Sorceress now. I didn't want to tell you. I hoped everyone would never find out. But Ultimecia, she wouldn't let me . . . I can't be with you anymore, Squall."

Squall said nothing. He couldn't say anything. A dozen emotions he couldn't identify filled him, ranging from shock to despair all the way to anger at existence for being so damned cruel to give him back Rinoa just to rip her from him so suddenly.

"I don't want the future, Squall," she continued, and he listened, only holding her tightly as he tried to sort through this horrible new complication.

"I just want now," she said. "I want the present to stay still. I just want to be with you."

As she was speaking, Squall saw the surface of the planet rising up, and could tell where they were headed: toward the eastern edge of Centra, a desert region that Esthar controlled. As he watched, a pair of Estharian fighters could be seen closing in on their new ship, doubtless an escort to the ground.

"I'm scared, Squall," Rinoa whispered, and he said nothing again, simply holding her, the dearest thing in the world to him.


They had been waiting for them when they arrived on the surface. There was a small army of Estharian soldiers, complete with combat vehicles, and Corsair and fighter escorts standing by as the Ragnorok touched down. It had taken the pair several minutes to finally break free from their hold, Rinoa slowly pulling herself away from him. Every inch she moved from Squall was like a part of him was being stolen by a laughing, malicious reality.

It's a point in my life where I don't know what I'm supposed to do, or what I'm supposed to think. I've just discovered how much I care for you, but now, fate decides that we can't be together?

"Sorceress Rinoa," stated a woman who was waiting for them at the foot of the Ragnarok's ramp. Rinoa had nodded.

"You understand, do you not? For the safety of the world, we must ensure your power is sealed at the Sorceress' Memorial."

"I understand," she had said quietly, and began to walk down the Ragnarok's ramp. Squall watched her, is legs numb and unmoving.

Before, I would have called this just another crossroad in my life. But now, I don't know what to do. I came this far, because . . . Oh, who am I to lie to myself? I've fallen for you, Rinoa. Your smile, your thoughts, your mind, your attitude. Everything. You broke that hardened shell around me without me even knowing it. You saw I was dying a slow death as the man I was and made me live again.

"Thank you for cooperating," the woman had said to Rinoa, and she nodded. "Please tell us when you are ready."

Rinoa slowly turned back to Squall, meeting his eyes.

"You know what happened, don't you?" she asked him. "Ultimecia . . . She possessed me from the future. She made Edea's powers become mine so she could use me, and everyone. I can't let myself be used like that again, Squall. For everyone's sake, I . . . We can't let that happen now, can we?"

Squall didn't say anything. How could he? The woman he had fallen for was now going to walk off, of her own free will, and allow herself to be contained, sealed away to protect the world. Did he have any right to stop that?

"I should go now," Rinoa added quickly. "I'm sorry, Squall." She turned and nodded. "I'm ready."

And now I'm just supposed to let you go?

The woman gestured behind her, toward a waiting Corsair, and Rinoa began to walk toward it. Squall watched her move away, his mind reeling and thoughts flashing like a thousand machineguns firing at once. Finally, he opened his mouth, saying one thing that he could coherently speak, and the one thing he wanted the most at that moment.

"Rinoa, don't go!"

She stopped and looked back, a sad smile on her face.

"I have to, Squall. You know that."

Squall couldn't reply. His shoulders slumped slightly in defeat and despair, his expression showing he didn't want her to leave at all. She quite clearly saw this, and Squall knew she wanted, more than anything, to run back to him then and there.

"I . . . Squall, I still have your ring," she said after a moment, holding up her chain, fingering the ring in question. Squall fixed on that ring, and knew she was almost wanting him to take it.

No. She would be better wherever she was going with it. He couldn't come with her, but hat least he would be with her that way.

"You keep it."

"You sure?" Rinoa asked, and he nodded, looking away.

"Yeah."

Rinoa nodded and slowly turned back toward the Estharian soldiers, who led her toward the Corsair. She stepped inside, and spared one last look back at him, a look that made Squall's eyes warm with tears. An instant later, the Corsair's doors slid shut and the vehicle lifted off, and quickly rose into the sky.

Squall followed it with his eyes, watching it swoop into the clear blue skies and over the horizon, away from him, carrying Rinoa far, far away.

It was several minutes later that Squall finally found himself sitting in one of the chairs on the observation deck, which was where he now sat, staring at the deck, his emotions still whirling in his mind. They stayed that way, part of him berating himself and the other part reassuring him, when he heard boots on the deck. Squall looked back slowly, and was surprised to see a familiar pale face and blue eyes staring at him from over his shoulder.

"Quistis?"

"Yeah," she replied, smiling. "Glad I'm home."

"How did you . . . ?"

"Long story," she replied. "Basically, we had a hard landing. Piet and I were knocked out, but Ellone was still conscious. An Estharian rescue crew had come to pick us up right after we landed, but they were wiped out within moments, apparently. It looked like it was Galbadia. Ellone was missing, so they likely took her with them. A second crew had arrived as we were recovering, and they told us where you two were going to land. They brought me here, and they said that they were bringing Zell, Irvine, and Selphie too to see you two."

"Us two," Squall said darkly, shaking his head.

"Speaking of which, where is Rinoa? I thought you wouldn't have let her out of your sight after what you pulled out there."

"Long story," Squall echoed. Anything he would have said was cut off as a loud clanging sounded, and Zell burst into the room, followed by Selphie and Irvine.

"S'up people?" Zell called. "Wow! Glad to be back, huh, Squall? Hate to ruin the homecoming, but we've got some big problems."

"Galbadian problems," Selphie added, and Irvine nodded.

"Some big huge thing called the Lunatic Pandora came out of nowhere," Zell said. "The Galbadians that were kicked out of the country are running it, apparently. Seifer's in charge, but that's no surprise. Anyway, they flew over Esthar and caused a big huge ruckus before moving to some place called Tear's Point. Now this is where it gets weird, because when this Pandora thing got there is caused a Lunar Cry to occur. The monsters are all over Esthar. Some of 'em are in the capital, and its going crazy over there, but I think they can handle a few bugs."

"What's more important," Irvine cut in. "Is that Esthar's air defense grid picked up an object falling with the Lunar Cry. Turns out its this thing called Adel's Tomb. The Lunar Cry knocked it down and it went right into the Lunatic Pandora. They caught it somehow, and now the Tomb is in their control. They said it contains Sorceress Adel, and the Galbadians are probably trying to revive her."

"So, that means that the Galbadians are going to try to use Adel for whatever it is Ultimecia's planning," Selphie finished.

"So, we have to go and-" Zell began, but Squall raised a hand.

"That's enough for now."

"But-"

"I know," Squall interjected. "I know we have problems. But I can't think right now."

"What is it?" Quistis asked.

"Its Rinoa," Squall replied. He looked back down to the deck for a moment, before taking a deep breath "Matron lost most of her powers, and they went to Rinoa. She's a Sorceress now."

"No fucking way!" Zell exclaimed in total shock, and his words were mimicked in the expressions of Irvine, Selphie, and Quistis. Squall nodded and stood.

"An escort from Esthar picked her up and took her to someplace called the Sorceress' Memorial, where she's going to be sealed away so her power can't threaten the world."

We have to go get her!" Selphie shouted, and turned and ran out of the room before anyone could respond. Irvine followed a second later.

"Was she taken by force?" Quistis asked, and Squall shook his head.

"She went voluntarily," he replied. "She was afraid because of what she was. She was afraid of being feared and hated, of no one wanting to be near her. She didn't want that, so she opted to seal herself away. I couldn't stop her; it wasn't my place to make her stop."

"Squall, I know we're buddies," Zell said, his face locked in anger. "But that was possibly the most fucking dumbassed thing you could have done!"

"Squall, you walked across an ocean," Quistis said, nodding. "You walked into an unknown, possibly hostile country, you went into space, hell, you leaped out into space with no air supply and almost no hope of survival for either of you even if you did get to her!" She walked over to him, her face expressing genuine anger.

"And for what? To let her be handed over to Esthar? To be sealed away so that you might never see her again, ever? No! You did it so you could be with her, right?" She shook her head.

"You're a damn fool, you know that?" Zell added, crossing his arms. "I thought you would have gotten smarter than that by now."

Squall watched them both, their words sinking in, and striking a deep part of his soul. Yes, Rinoa had made the decision for herself, and he had agreed, because he didn't have any right to stop her. But was that what he wanted? Was that what she wanted?

No way in hell.

Squall roared in sudden fury and smashed a hand down on one of the armrests for his chair, and the metal dented inward with the impact. With one motion, he threw all the doubts and confusions away. At that moment, Squall Leonhart's purpose was changed completely and irrevocably.

"Squall?" Zell asked, and he turned toward them.

"We have to find out how this thing flies," he said.

"Heading for Esthar?" Quistis asked, and he nodded.

"Pandora whatever and Sorceress Adel are out of my hands," Squall growled. "The only thing I think of now is Rinoa. The only thing I want to do for sure right now is to find her. We're getting her back!"

"Hell yeah!" Zell shouted, pumping his fists. No sooner had he done this than the entire ship shuddered. An instant later, the ground outside the observation deck started to descend, as if they were lifting off.

"Why," Quistis commented, "do I get this sudden image of Selphie sitting in the cockpit of this ship shouting 'Whoo-hoo!'?"

"And Irvine standing right behind her grinning like a lunatic?" Zell added.

Mere moments later the trio were upstairs, riding the lift up to the cockpit. They were greeted by a hearty "Whoo-hoo!" from Selphie, seated in the pilot's chair, and Irvine turned back toward the, grinning like a lunatic.

"Selphie is amazing!" he declared. "She figured out how to fly this thing instantly!"

"Great interface," Selphie explained as she gripped a pair of flight control sticks. "Practically flies itself!"

"Is there a map?" Squall asked, and Irvine tapped a hologram over one of the side seats' consoles, displaying a world map. Squall tapped it and focused on Esthar, and soon spotted what he was looking for. He tapped the label and the image appeared before Selphie.

"Can you fly us to this place?" he asked.

"Sorceress' Memorial?" Selphie replied. "Sure thing!"

The Ragnarok jetted forward, cutting through the air over the skies of Esthar for the first time in seventeen years, on a new quest: to reunite two terribly misguided souls in finding their paths together.


The Sorceress' Memorial was a somber structure on the southern side of the primary Estharian continent, far from any cities or population centers, excepting one very close-by military base. The Ragnarok swooped in, cruising easily toward the structure without so much as a challenge by any of the aircraft flying overhead. Not that there were many. All the fighters and transports they could see were en route to the main metropolis, doubtless to fight the waves of monsters that had recently dropped to the planet's surface.

The building itself looked like a single tall tower constructed from a triad of curving support structures that started on the ground and curved up as they met, almost like a very tall, extremely narrow pyramid. Selphie had mused out loud that it almost looked like some type of takeoff mechanism.

The Ragnarok settled down easily outside the main structure, seeming to land itself. Selphie appeared to have totally mastered the aircraft's flight capabilities within minutes after the initial takeoff, citing its simple interface and very intuitive nature. The quintet of SeeDs disembarked from the ship outside a staircase leading up into the bunker-like entrance to the somber Sorceress' Memorial. As they moved up, a squad of Estharian soldiers moved into their path.

"Play it cool," Squall hissed as they approached. "We might be able to sneak past them with sympathy."

"And if they don't have compassionate hearts?" Irvine asked.

"We beat their asses," Zell answered.

"Halt," came a call from the lead soldier, marked by a rank insignia on his shoulder. "This is a restricted area." He paused as he saw Squall's face, and glanced back behind him, before nodding.

"You're her to see her, right?" Squall nodded. "I was there at the landing zone. I understand you'd like to see her off. You may pass, but do not go past the observation area."

"Thanks," Squall said, and he started past the soldiers. The others followed him, but the commanding soldier held up his hand.

"Hold it," he commanded. "Only he can go in. The rest of you stay out here." Squall nodded to his comrades, who stood down and waited as he turned back and walked up the steps to the interior of the Sorceress' Memorial. Two soldiers accompanied him as his escorts as he entered and moved down a long hallway. They gestured toward a door as they neared what looked like the control room, and Squall nodded, stepping toward it.

Without warning he whirled and planted a hook to one armored soldier's face, sending him flying backward. He spun around into a low sweep that took the second man off his feet before he could react, and rose up into a high axe kick that slammed his heel down onto the soldier's stomach. The man, prone on his back, doubled up, and Squall put a boot into his helmet, blasting the soldier into unconsciousness.

The other soldier had begun to rise, still dazed by the powerful blow, and didn't have a chance to defend himself from the cross and hook that Squall pummeled him with, sending the soldier to the floor, out of the fight before it had begun.

Squall then spun toward the door leading into the control room and dashed for it. He quickly reached I t, and found it unlocked. He slapped a control panel, and the door slid open, revealing a large chamber filled with thousands of pipes, tubes, wires, and unidentifiable machinery, surrounding a large vertical ring. Squall rushed inside, to find he was on a balcony with several technicians, overlooking the chamber. In the center of the ring stood Rinoa, who looked up in shock as Squall burst out onto the balcony. The technicians spun, exclaiming in surprise, and then in terror as he drew his gunblade.

"Let her go, now!" Squall shouted, and one of the techs shook his head.

"The process has already started!" he yelled. "We can't stop it now! The coolant is already being piped in, there's only seconds before she's frozen!" Squall growled in anger and rushed past the technicians, leaping off the balcony and landing on the floor below. He rushed through the mix of pipes and tubes, toward Rinoa, who was watching him with surprise and hope as he advanced. As he got closer, he saw that the walls around her were already hardening, sealing her in before she would be frozen shut.

Squall burst free of the maze of obstacles and jumped over an intervening pipe, landing in front of the machine. He reared back and slashed against the barrier sealing her in with all his strength, but the gunblade bounced off like it had hit solid metal.

"Dammit!" he shouted. "Hold on, Rinoa! I'll get you out of there!" He smashed the things twice more, but it didn't show a dent or even a scratch. He punched the barrier in rage and then stepped back, preparing to raise a hand to launch a bolt of magic, when his eyes spotted a pipe leading directly into the base of the ring, marked with bright red and yellow script. That had to be the pipe the techs said was pumping coolant.

The SeeD raised his gunblade over his head and slashed down with all his inhuman strength, pulling the trigger of his gunblade as the blade met the pipe. There was a flash, and explosion, and a sudden wave of frigid air as the coolant erupted from within the pipe. Squall stepped back, shielding his eyes, and then closed them as a bright flash of magic could be seen behind the curtain of white frost. Something shattered, and he opened his eyes.

He saw movement beyond the whiteness, and then a figure burst through, hands outstretched. He reached up with one arm as he saw her break free, leaping out at him. Her hands closed around his body, and his arm wrapped around hers. She pulled him in tight, and he did the same, burying his face into the side of her neck, inhaling her scent, feeling her warmth as they met again.

Squall Leonhart almost cried as he pulled her in, tightly hugging Rinoa to his body. He almost cried because he had almost lost her so many times, and this time, he had almost given her up right when he had gotten her back.

He had been such a fool.

Squall held her tightly, holding back the tears, and promised himself at that moment, swearing upon everything in this world and the next, that he would be damned if he ever let her go again.


Oh, man. That was, quite simply, amazing. Holy crap.

Well, that bits done. Yay! One of the greatest scenes in the game, completed and ready for the viewing pleasure! Hope you enjoyed it, cause I sure as hell loved writing it. And remember: never, ever get between Squall and Rinoa. You just get injured.

No other real commentary here, actually. So, without further ado, shout-outs!

Jade Almasy: One gripe I had with FFVIII was that Squall doesn't curse enough, especially when in desperate situations. I dunno, maybe that's just part of me I put into him, but I feel that when he goes into situations like when Rinoa is in danger, he should start cursing.

DBZ Fanfiction Queen: Don't worry, my Spanish is bad too. No habla espanol bien. XD

One thing that did confuse me was how Ellone sent Squall back. I then realized that, hey, those are all people Squall and Ellone know, right? Why not send Squall back into them so Ellone can see Rinoa's personality? And it worked fine.

Heh, I used to like DBZ. I still do, sort of. The over-the-top battles are awesome, though a bit mind-boggling.

Sorry I didn't include the monsters regenerating. I wanted to get through the Propogator battle fairly quickly. Ever notice how I used to relish battles, but ever since the big Garden battle I tend to rush through them? Weird.

Chris Ganale: Well, I was going to reserve matte black for Galbadian elite troops, so I went with orange. XD And no, that was not a jab against Wedge, because Wedge rules all.

Daniel Wesley Rydell: yes! Go squall! Kick ass into the wild blue yonder! XD

Dragoon Swordsman: Yeah, Blasting Zone is a bit, umm, big. I am planning on using it later on, though. Maybe not quite as hugely massive, but definitely a big huge energy blade. That was a bit of a jaw-dropper when I first saw it. ("Is that from SPACE?")

"Reviewer with crazy-ass name I could never properly spell for the life of me:" XD Pathetic imitation? How so? I admit I did follow the battle very closely, but that was intentional as it was a cutscene, and I tended to view the cutscenes back then as perfect gospel. I'm a bit more liberal now about them, but still follow them closely.

References are a bit of a trademark for me by now. The Gunblade Saga is a tribute, so to speak, toward FFVIII, and in that respect it has its tiny tributes to other great things, such as Halo, Metal Gear, Hellsing, The Matrix, Linkin Park, etc. Be happy I didn't throw in giant mecha and genetically engineered warriors that looked like Elites. XD Besides, some of the weapons and technologies from Halo made perfect sense to be adapted to Esthar, after all. AIs, energy shields, and needlers, for example, seemed to fit Esthar's advanced, quirky technology. I could have come up with my own ideas, but I included Halo things mainly because they fit Esthar and as an ever-present tribute.

Kimahrigirl: Hope you enjoyed this chapter too!

Solid Shark: I loved writing that "Mr. Foot meets Mr. Spine" comment. XD

Lidardios: Heh. Let me rewrite those earlier chapters with my new mad 1557 skills and maybe they would be interested. I doubt it, myself.

I've got some ideas about Bahamut, but I'm uncertain. I might yet involve him, if I can think of a way beyond going to the Deep Sea Research Center.

Kiyenna: Wow, people are still writing about it? I'm shocked. Five year-old game, what loser writes for that kind of thing? And heaven forbid some idiot with no life writes a novelization.

NolianStorms: First off, yes. You can print this. Just in case you didn't get that email I wrote to you about it. Feel free to make as many printed copies as you wish. I'm not like some assholes who are all artfaggy about their works and restrict people from messing with their oh-so-perfect writings. So, go ahead. I have no problem.

Now, again, saying that you have friends who never played FFVIII yet love it despite that fact, and can grasp everything in the FFVIII world, is one of the greatest compliments I could get as a writer. That is half of my objective with writing this in the first place.

Heh. 8-Bit fan? Just like me. I actually quoted that comic in response to a question about random encounters. I really try to cut out unnecessary battles. They were heavy at the beginning but as time passed, I moved past them and toward pure storyline.

Akira Stridder: Ragnarok rules. Enough said. Esthar's crisis will be less prominent in the coming chapters. I'm probably not going to show too much of the devastation (this chapter has already pointed out that the problem isn't too bad, at least as it was in the game)

Elachim: Yeah, sometimes, when I type real fast, I forget that I'm using too many of the same synonym. XD As for your questions:

"1: What is the appropriate abbreviation for Lieutenant Major?"

There is no such rank as "Lieutenant Major" There is a "Lieutenant Commander" (Navy, commissioned officer, rank O-4, abbreviated "LtCom.") and "Sergeant Major" (Marine Corps, enlisted non-commissioned officer, E-9, I think, abbreviated "SgtMaj.") but no Lieutenant Major. Are you making this rank up, or are you thinking of a specific rank?

"2: What is is a less clumsy rank for a wing leader?"

Wing leader? If its Navy, it would be a Captain. They usually command an air wing, I think. Air Force and Marine Corps would be Colonel.

"3: Should female officers be referred to as 'sir'?"

Female officers are referred to as "Ma'am." My Marine ROTC Captain was a woman, and military protocol asks for her to be called "Ma'am".

Prodigy: Hearing such things from you makes me tingly. Hey, maybe you could send me some of your ideas, I could help you out with what you're thinking, or at least give you some pointers or suggestions.

Shootski: Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Anime Obsessed Fan: When I portray Rinoa's Sorceress limit, she simply loses it and goes all "BRAAA ZAPPY-BURN-DEATH-KILLY-KILL!"

Avion Jade: I exported the previous chapter and fixed it before reloading. That's why the error is gone. I love exporting, brilliant addition to the site.

That's it? Yay. Now, to go do my coursework, like I've been supposed to be doing. XD

Till next chapter!