Savior
By Leanne Ashley


Quick summary: (AU) SeeD battles Ultimecia & her followers. When a prophecy foretells the coming of a savior (Sorceress Rinoa) SeeD, led by Squall, is ordered to protect her from Galbadia's assassins as she journeys to defeat Ultimecia. Squall/Rinoa

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Chapter 13: Resist Greed
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Strumming her fingers against the smooth metal surface of the window ledge, Rinoa eyed the door to her room warily as it swung open. In stepped forward two of Seifer's closest comrades: Raijin and Fujin. Raijin, tanned and muscular, though not so fortunate intelligence-wise, served Seifer as his bodyguard while Fujin, a rather sharp-tongued women with silver hair and a distinguishing eye patch, was captain of the Galbadian army.

Neither of the two was a serious threat to her, but they wouldn't give a second thought to stopping her if she ever tried to escape. Their loyalty to Seifer was imperishable.

"Morning, Rinoa!" Raijin greeted loudly. "Tonight's the night, ya know?"

She frowned at them. She had yet to be properly informed of what was to become of her. "The night for what, exactly?"

Raijin and Fujin exchanged glances at each other as if reluctant to tell her. "CEREMONY!" Fujin proclaimed as bluntly as she so often did. She was known for only speaking the words that mattered.

"Yes, I know," Rinoa said calmly as she approached them. "Could I get some details, please?"

Again, the two exchanged glances.

"Well, it's like this," Raijin began, "Seifer wants you to dedicate your loyalty to both him and Ultimecia, ya know?"

Rinoa furrowed her eyebrows in thought. "So… you plan to brainwash me?" she said with a smirk.

He chuckled. "Shucks, Rinoa, you know we can't do that! You're a sorceress. It'd be impossible, ya know?"

"Right…" she said rubbing her forehead slightly. "So, what is he planning to do?"

"Well, after you marry Seifer they'll lock you away in the Sorceress Memorial so your powers—"

"Wait, what!?" Rinoa exclaimed in surprise.

"The Sorceress Memorial? Don't worry, I'm sure it won't hurt! Seifer just wants to be able to concentrate your powers so he can use them whenever he wants, ya know?"

"I was expecting that part, but what happens first again?"

"You mean the marriage part? The ceremony tonight is kind of a wedding too! Seifer wants you all for himself, ya know? He's a pretty selfish guy! Plus the people of Galbadia need to witness it so they know you're on their side, ya know? It'll put them at ease."

Rinoa looked away tiredly. "You're kidding me…"

Fujin shook her head. "SERIOUS!"

The silver-haired captain jabbed Raijin sharply in the ribs. "Ow! Okay, okay… Listen Rinoa; we'll be back later with something for you to wear. Gotta help prepare for the ceremony, ya know? It's gonna be held at the Presidential Residence. You get a parade and everything too, ya know? It's pretty exciting!"

Rinoa turned her back and walked back towards the window. "Thrilling." she muttered between clenched teeth. They shrugged and left quickly. The disappointing sound of the door being locked behind them echoed loudly into the numbing silence of her room.

She soon found herself clutching the window ledge in desperation. She had to escape, but the only way out was to use her powers. Then what? She'd have nothing left. She might not even be able to defeat Ultimecia let alone live afterwards. But now Galbadia was planning to seal her away… What good was she to anyone like this?

She sank slowly to her knees, a single hand still clutching the cold metal ledge. I don't… understand why all of this is happening…The tears fell silently from her eyes as she watched lifelessly. Getting up slowly to her feet, Rinoa crossed the room to where the small wooden music box sat invitingly. She lifted the lid and let the hauntingly beautiful melody fill the silence of her despair.

Her eyes darted to the slightly cracked mirror above it. She watched her reflection curiously as she grazed a hand across her seemingly perfect features. It was the cause of her problems. It was what Seifer desired. Rinoa glared in disgust of herself. I didn't ask for this body… Her other hand had begun to unconsciously finger the cracked surface of the glass in the corner. Her hand jerked away suddenly after it had caressed a rather sharp edge. She watched blankly as the crimson droplets trailed down her hand and off her wrist. If I…? Then maybe Seifer won't want me… Maybe everything would be easier if I didn't look like this…

Ignoring the blood as it trailed down her hand, she reached back to the mirror and clasped the loose piece of glass. She clenched her teeth as the shard dug painfully into her hand. With a frustrated cry of anguish, she finally succeeded in prying it off the wall.

The glass shard gleamed brightly from the faint spill of sunlight as she examined it curiously. Her eyes moved up slowly back to her reflection. You're doing this to me... she scolded silently.

Rinoa reluctantly placed the sharp object to her forehead. I have to do this…I'm sorry… She shut her eyes as she dragged the glass shard across her face. It burned against her flesh. The surface grew slippery as her blood leaked out past the moving blade. The pain was overwhelming, but it only made her slash her skin faster. The blood ran quickly down her neck and onto her clothes. The warmth from both the pain and the blood seared her senses as she dropped the glass shard to the floor.

Breathing heavily, Rinoa collapsed to her knees and tried to ignore the blinding agony across her face. Eventually, she felt her face grow numb as the pain began to subside. She reached over and picked up the piece of glass she had dropped. Her reflection startled her; the cuts she had made were zigzagged across her face in the form of deep red welts. Satisfied, she clasped her eyes shut and tossed away the glass.

The music box continued to play.

She sat and stared at the tiny fragments of dust that danced over the thin beam of sunlight. Several minutes passed as she continued to stare. The sun's vibrant colors, yellow orange and red, each melting into the next at a gradual succession.

Grabbing the table ledge, Rinoa finally found the energy to pull herself up. She got off her knees and onto her feet. Gripping the table for support, she brought herself up to face her reflection. Immediately, she slammed her hand against the mirror in shock of what looked back at her.

WHY!?

Her face had healed itself.

There were no cuts and no traces of blood. Everything had healed. She looked just as she had always looked.

That's right… I can't… because I'll always…

She glared at herself one final time before smashing her fist into the mirror. The glass cut her hand of course, but it would heal in only a matter of minutes. She remembered that now. Lost in the midst of defeat, she repeatedly slammed her fist against the glass remains. If tears were her only option now, she would take it willingly.

Exhausted, she backed away from the empty frame and let herself crumple slowly to the floor. As she lay on her back, she brought her hand to her face and watched the blood trickle from her knuckles. She didn't flinch as it eventually fell upon her face.

I have to be real…Everything feels real…

She dropped her hand and closed her eyes, trapping the warm liquid that escaped in her weakness.

Squall… He was her only hope now. Please help me…

The room grew silent as the music box slowly came to a stop.


Standing with the bright lights of Deling against him, he walked slowly past the town's front gates. The sun was setting and the nightlife was already filling the streets. Civilians crammed the sidewalks while cars and taxi carriages jammed the roads. An important event looked to be taking place.

After placing a foot on the street of a Deling, a guard quickly approached him. "Sir, I'll be needing proof of your Galbadian citizenship." Without a word, the young man reached behind him and casually speared his gunblade to the ground. The rare weapon itself was a symbol of Balamb Garden and the fact that he held it, gave immediate warning of his military status.

The guard's eyes went wide with fear and astonishment. "Holy shit…"

Squall reached forward and grabbed the guard quickly by the shirt collar. "What's happening here?" he interrogated coldly.

"It's… It's a ceremony… for the new Sorceress…!"

"What the hell for?"

"She's… to wed the General. Then… th-they'll seal her powers at th-the memorial!"

Squall narrowed his eyes and pushed him to Zell who promptly knocked the frightened man unconscious with a single blow.

"Dude, she's marrying Seifer? That's gotta suck!" Zell said as he dusted his hands.

"I'll kick the shit out of him before that happens." Squall muttered.

Irvine, Quistis and Selphie, who had been securing their position outside the gates, ran in quickly to join them.

"We got ourselves a wedding to crash!" Zell announced to them.

Irvine nodded. "We overheard. There's going to be a hell of a lot of people there."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Quistis inquired.

"Both. Depending on how you look at it."

"So, how are we gonna do this?" Selphie asked as she peered anxiously towards the crowd. "If they're taking her to the Sorceress Memorial right after then we can't wait. We gotta do this now!"

Irvine watched Squall carefully. "Squall… you good to do this?"

Squall scowled at the other boy. "Why wouldn't I be?" he snapped.

"You had some second thoughts before. Just making sure you got it out of your system." Without waiting for a response, Irvine wrapped an arm around Squall's neck and dragged him away. "We'll be right back!" he called over his shoulder. "Just giving him a pep talk! You guys stay here and figure out positionings!"

"Hey…! What are you doing?" Squall growled. "Get off me!"

"Listen!" Irvine said in a hiss. "I know you're a little confused right now. Believe me, I've been there."

Shit, I don't wanna have to hear this from him.

"I know Rinoa must mean a lot to you, but you can't let it cloud your judgment, okay? You kinda freaked us out before."

"Okay, understood, let's go."

"Wait, there's something else!"

What's his deal? "What is it?" Squall demanded impatiently.

"Ever since you told us that… well, you know…"

I knew I shouldn't have said anything… "Yeah, I know. So what is it?"

"Look, nobody wanted to say anything, but I felt like I should."

That caught his attention. With a smirk, Squall folded his arms and stared expectantly at the other boy. He knew where the conversation was headed. "Fine. Let's have it."

"Rinoa's great. And I'm happy you feel this way about her… but with Rinoa… if you keep it up then it'll kill you if she has to leave us in the end… "

I know… "So… you think I should just leave it alone?" Squall finished for him.

Irvine nodded reluctantly. "That's probably best, man. I mean, I've been in love more times than I wish I had! But if you get out of it before it's too late, then it won't hurt as much in the end, know what I mean?"

"Look, I'm not in love with her, okay?" Squall protested angrily. "I never said that! I just feel… like… I don't know…" I don't know what love is… He ran a hand quickly through his hair. "Forget it."

"Squall…"

"I know though, alright? I know what might happen and I know it's not right for me to—" Squall paused as if to quickly interrupt the next words that came out of his mouth. "…I know, okay?"

"So, you know what you're doing then?"

"Yeah…" he turned away from Irvine and slowly headed back to the others.

But it might already be too late...


Ignoring the importance of her own ceremony, Rinoa stared off absently to the side. She could only see the lights of Deling City faintly enough through the sheer white fabric of her veil. Her dress clung to her figure and trailed off behind her, carried by several of Seifer's servants. She flinched as she yet again felt a sharp pain against her back. "Eyes forward!" someone commanded hoarsely.

Rinoa frowned in annoyance but continued ahead. How far could the ceremony really go if she didn't say a word?

The streets were crowded with Galbadian spectators. She had contemplated making a run for it but the crowd would only push her back.

She walked as slowly as she could to prolong the event as if it were her execution. If she was to be sealed away then it was close enough to being just that. After performing her duties so many years back, the great Sorceress Adel had been sealed away and sent to space. It was respectfully the ice-cold grave she wanted and deserved after bringing to life her own prophecy; the monsters on the planet were of her creation. Like Ultimecia, Adel only brought with her the promise of demise. Rinoa; however, would have a different fate at the Sorceress Memorial. She would be sealed away, but kept alive so that the Galbadians could use her powers. The last thing she wanted was to help them harm humanity.

Seifer, who hadn't even taken the time dress up, stood in his usual attire with his trademark gray jacket. He smiled eerily as she approached and turned to face the crowd. They cheered for their leader's achievement as he casually bowed and ran a hand smugly through his hair.

"Rinoa." he greeted as she stood emotionlessly at his side.

She stared straight ahead. "Why are you doing this?"

"I'm only protecting you," he assured. "When you're sealed at the memorial, do you really want these people to go burn the place down? They have to know you're on their side."

"Oh please," Rinoa whispered angrily. "They know I don't want to be here."

"You'd be surprised how gullible these people are." Seifer reached down and grabbed her firmly by the wrist. "Don't try anything stupid. The President of Galbadia is here watching this. If you decide to have a hissy-fit, I'll break your wrist, got it?"

He tightened his hold on her till she cried out in pain. "Got it!?"

"OKAY!" She gasped as he relaxed his grip. "If I didn't have anything stopping me, I'd blast you to shreds!" Rinoa hissed.

"Yeah well, that isn't my fault, princess." Seifer said simply as he practically dragged her up beside him. As the priest spoke, Rinoa scanned her surroundings frantically for an escape route. Seifer frowned at her and tightened his grip again as a warning. She flinched as she glared up at him hatefully.

Just then, shouts of surprise were heard in the crowd as a car engine suddenly roared loudly to life. Seifer quickly stepped forward, pulling Rinoa with him as they both scanned the crowd.

Spectators quickly jumped out of the way as a car plowed its way through them and quickly towards the platform.

Rinoa's eyes widened in disbelief as she recognized Squall behind the wheel.

He skidded the car to a stop beside the platform and jumped on quickly with his gunblade out infront of him.

"Squall!" Rinoa cried out.

Seifer pulled her possessively behind him and smiled at his rival. "Well look who finally decided to show."

"Let her go, Seifer." Squall demanded coldly.

"You didn't really think this through, did you?" Seifer asked as he scratched his head. "There's only one of you!"

"Hah! You wish, dumbass!" Zell said as he casually pushed the priest off the platform.

"You're stuck with your own crappy sorceress!" Selphie exclaimed as she appeared beside Squall. "You can't have ours!"

They were quickly joined by Irvine and Quistis who stood with their weapons ready at both sides of the platform. Seifer was surrounded, but didn't seem the least bit worried. He shrugged casually and nodded at Irvine. "You were trained as a sniper, correct?" he asked suddenly.

Even though he was caught off guard by the question, Irvine regarded him coolly. "Yeah, so?"

"Galbadia had a hand in that. In fact, Galbadia trains a lot of snipers…" He pointed a finger upwards. "It is our specialty. I thought you of all people would've realized that."

Immediately, they all looked up in the direction Seifer was pointing. Close to them was the gateway tower, and above it held what looked to be hundreds of Galbadian soldiers with sniper rifles.

"Oh man…" Zell exclaimed wide-eyed.

"I knew it," scoffed Seifer. "I knew you'd all be stupid enough to try something like this. Admirable, really. But stupid."

Squall cursed silently to himself as he lowered his gunblade.

"Seifer, please…" Rinoa spoke up suddenly. "Please let them go. I'll marry you, okay? But let them go!"

Seifer smirked at Squall and turned to face Rinoa. "You weren't given a choice anyway," he said as he lifted the veil from her face. "Either you go through this without a fight or I have them all executed."

As Rinoa looked slowly to the others, her eyes locked with Squall's. Something about the way he looked at her felt different, but his features were unreadable.

Rinoa nodded in defeat as Seifer leaned in and kissed her. Squall could only watch with clenched fists as the anger he felt slowly crawled over his judgment. The fact that Seifer was even touching Rinoa was filling him with rage.

She was the first to break from the kiss as she lowered her head in disgust of herself. Seifer merely smiled smugly at Squall as he ran a hand through Rinoa's loose strands of hair. Without a word to them, he pulled out a small radio attached to his belt and switched it on. "Shoot 'em all down when I give the word," he stated simply.

Rinoa turned on him sharply and grabbed his arm desperately. "You said you wouldn't!"

"I say a lot of things," he said icily. "Now since you belong to me, I'd go easy on the whole 'pissing me off' thing." And with that, he backhanded her across the face. She fell to the ground hard and lay slightly disoriented from the blow.

"Get the fuck away from her—!" Squall shouted as he attempted to charge his rival. He was quickly restrained by Irvine and Quistis.

"Squall, easy!" Irvine hissed.

I'll kill him. I'll fucking kill him.

He could feel it building within him: the anger, the rage, the sheer maddening hatred. Everything went red. He felt it run through him like a wave of electricity. His inner power had been triggered. His limit break had been reached.

Seifer could watch with surprise as the red and blue aura grew around his rival. Irvine, Zell, Quistis and Selphie backed away from their leader slowly. They had all experienced their limits before, but knew for a fact that Squall's was a rare thing. After all, a person who was pretty much emotionless all the time needed to be truly enraged to reach a limit break.

Squall raised his gunblade over his head and let his energy use it as a vessel. It surged through the blade in a blindingly white beam of light as it reached up to the heavens. Unsure of what to do, Seifer backed up slowly but Squall was already bringing down his weapon.

The light severed through the platform and ignited the area in a thick cloud of smoke. The Galbadian soldiers positioned above the gateway tried desperately to see through it to no avail. They resisted on taking free shots in fear they might hit Seifer or Sorceress Rinoa.

Through the thick cloud of smoke, Squall made his way to Rinoa and quickly helped her up. "SPLIT UP!" he ordered to the others. He could hear their footsteps as they scattered off in different directions. After he got Rinoa to her feet, he shook her till she regained her focus.

"Hey! Rinoa!"

"Squall…" she answered in confusion. "What are you—?"

"I'll explain later," he said as he grabbed her wrist. "Come on. We gotta make a run for it."


Authors note: The last couple paragraphs were rushed. I may change it a bit later if I have the time. Sorry for the wait guys But I'm graduating this year and my prom is coming up so you know how it is. The whole "wedding scenario" was kinda inspired from Final Fantasy X but the setting (which I didn't describe that well, I'll admit) is suppose to be like Edea's parade scene in the orignal ff8 story. And if anyone's wondering, Squall's limit break there was "Blasting Zone" (I was originally going to have him use "Lionheart" but I needed one that would shake up the place and cause a distraction for the snipers)