The Delinquent
Put on your thinking caps, this gets a little confusing. Squall is currently in that dream fantasy that happens so just keep that in mind. Also there is a lot of character switching going on, but hopefully I've made it as idiot proof as possible.
"Umm… Squall are you ok?" Quistis enquired, reaching her hand out to touch his shoulder.
"No…" Squall sighed.
He didn't know what was going on, everything was just all fucked up. One moment he'd been about to have his showdown with Lucas and the next he had Zell and Quistis telling him about how important it was to retaliate.
'I was trying to!' Squall thought to himself.
He no longer really saw the point in answering anything they had to say, it wasn't like they could hear him. He was so confused it was frustrating him, add the fact that he had a pulsing rage pumping inside of him and it equalled a destructive combo.
"Squall…" Quistis said softly.
Squall felt a new resolve settling itself inside of him, he felt a sort of reluctant confidence starting to edge its way to the surface. It was a surreal feeling that he just couldn't explain if he tried.
"I'm fine; send mercenaries to every continent, incognito or course. I want to find out who's responsible for the assassination and see them executed." Squall replied.
The words had burst out of Squall's mouth so suddenly and it left him wondering where they had come from.
"How do we know there was more than one? No one saw it…" Zell began.
"Do you really believe that a single person could take out Rinoa?" Squall shouted suddenly. "I'm sorry… It's not your fault…"
"Its ok Squall, we understand. You're upset and that's ok." Quistis said after a few seconds.
Squall shook his head, not wanting to answer that. He couldn't call what he felt upset, it was much stronger. He felt a strange feeling of purposelessness, he was Rinoa's knight… if she was gone what was he? He had failed, obviously but now that that was over what was he supposed to do? The only thing he could think of was vindication and how he was supposed to get that was anyone's guess.
"I don't care what it takes, find them." Squall finalised before he took the lift down.
Squall didn't know where these emotions were coming from, he wasn't saying the words that were flowing freely out his mouth and even the way he stood and changed considerably.
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Lucas watched as Squall's body slumped to the ground. He raised one of his blonde eyebrows and tilted his head to the side, wondering if Squall had had an epileptic fit or something. He walked over and lightly kicked him with his boot, still wary that this might be one of his hick town tricks or something. How he intended on winning while lying on the ground was anyone's guess but you never know.
Lucas briefly wondered if he should call an ambulance before shrugging his shoulders and planting a kick into Squall's ribs. He'd make sure this wasn't a trick first.
"For fucks sake!" Lucas exclaimed. 'I'm not fighting a disabled person!' he thought to himself.
Although he wasn't what one might refer to as the most sane person on earth,
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Squall felt the rain pelt down on his body and lightening cracked above him. It was as if the heavens themselves were there to witness him getting his retribution. Before him stood the source of his anguish, the reason that he was now futile.
Before him stood a tall man with a dark crimson hood masking his face in shadow, he had black bangs hanging over his face a little and his head was bowed to the ground. He had black pants and a black vest that was mainly covered up by the long crimson coat that he wore.
"You found me…" he stated, lifting his head up to stare at Squall.
He was shocked when he saw Lucas's face staring back at him. He had the brightest blue eyes Squall had ever seen. It could've been because they contrasted so dramatically with all the black he had on but they really were quite startling.
Squall had been informed of his whereabouts about three weeks after the initial search had begun. While finding him had been a challenge, actually capturing him had proved to be even more of one. He'd managed to escape any trap, fight his way out of any fight and generally just give them the slip more times than Squall had cared to count.
Numerous SeeD's had lost there lives to this man, all because they had followed Squall's orders and tried to take the man down.
Some of Squall's closest friends had gone down… all because of his orders.
In the end Squall had decided that he needed to see to this personally. Not that it wasn't personal enough, they hadn't had the chance to duel against each other yet and this was definitely a showdown to remember.
"I guess this is the part where in a fit of rage you give you life for revenge. No one can beat me Squall."
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Lucas backed away from Squall as he slowly stood. There was a hate in his eyes that couldn't be explained. Lucas actually found himself getting a little nervous; he took a couple more steps back before he found himself pressed against his car.
"You killed Rinoa." Squall stated slowly.
"Aye…" Lucas trailed off. "Rinoa's not dead."
"Now I'm going to kill you." Squall continued.
Lucas tilted his head to the side as he saw a single tear roll down Squall's cheek; he was acting more insane than Lucas felt at this point.
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Squall dropped his Gunblade to the ground; it was enough to inspire his opponent to do the same. Squall didn't actually believe that he could win a hand to hand fight against this man. Zell had done the same and he… he wasn't around to see Squall extract his vengeance.
He felt the tear roll down his cheek but didn't lift a finger to wipe it away, this tear wasn't just for his anguish, it was for Rinoa… and everyone else that this man had harmed.
The man laughed, he lifted his head up in the air and put his hands on his stomach for effect. Had it been any other situation Squall might have thought of what an idiot this guy was turning out to be but he wasn't overly concerned about that right now.
"Do you really think you can hurt me without your Gunblade!" he cried incredulously.
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"I don't intend to hurt you, I intend to kill you." Squall said softly before he flew at Lucas.
His right fist was bawled beside his chest and the other was in front of his body, partially open and extended slightly in front of him. Lucas was ready with a punch of his own though and was the first one to land anything. His fist slamming forcefully into Squall's face, the feeling wasn't so much painful but his ears go a little deaf for a couple of seconds.
He gritted his teeth and with his extended hand deflected an oncoming punch, settling one of his own into Lucas's stomach.
And so the fight had begun…
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Ellone parted the curtains a little as she watched Rinoa and the other girls leave to go find Squall. She was extremely worried about Squall, he was more fragile than he seemed and he was getting into way over his head.
She sighed and reached for the phone, not wanting to be the one who had to do this but seeing no other option. Squall would never forgive her but she was scared.
Scared of seeing her little brother get himself in more shit, scared that he might get the shit kicked out of him but mostly scared that he was going to come back a lot more fucked up than he already was.
She wasn't going to just come right out and say it but sometimes, just occasionally, she wished that Squall was like everyone else. Life would be so much simpler then… Raine wouldn't be stressed out all the time, Laguna could have the father son relationship that he'd always strived for but never attained and she wouldn't have to feel the same anxiousness that she was going through now.
Ellone slowly hung up the phone, closing her eyes tightly as she did so. She couldn't, she just couldn't. if she rang the police Squall would never forgive her, ever.
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Lucas backed away slightly, he hit the brick wall behind him after a couple of steps and he glanced over his shoulder. Why did he have to back himself into the fucking wall?
He felt a drop of rain and looked up in disbelief, not believing that it could possibly rain anymore than it already had that day.
Squall didn't stand around for long though, he ran at Lucas, head butting Lucas with staggering force. Lucas was knocked to the ground while Squall stood above him, dazed a little but certainly better off than Lucas.
Lucas lifted one of his hands and felt his forehead. He brought his hand back down to see a little bit of blood marking his fingers.
He kicked up as high as he could and nailed Squall straight in the nuts, dropping him instantly. Squall reached down to massage his injured babies, rolling around on the ground, coughing and gasping for breath as the inconceivable amount of pain jolted through his body.
Lucas took the opportunity to stand, smirking slightly as he kicked Squall as hard as he could in the stomach.
"Why do you keep coming to get your assed kicked?" Lucas laughed, too caught up in his ego trip to notice Squall regaining a bit of his mobility.
Squall grabbed Lucas' leg and ripped on it as hard as he could, sending Lucas on the ground with him.
Squall crawled up his body and straddled him between his legs. He grabbed Lucas's shirt and just planted his fist into his face, again and again and again.
Squall saw the blood, it wasn't just covering Lucas's face, it was up Squall's hand and his knuckles were bleeding profusely.
He knew he had to stop, he was taking it too far but he couldn't. Every time Lucas's head flung up after the powerful jolt down he had to crack him another time.
Lucas grabbed a small piece of concrete that lay near him, knowing that he had to get himself out of this or he'd be walking away with a shit load more than a broken nose.
He grasped it in his hand and smashed it into Squall's face with all the force he could muster.
It wasn't enough to seriously injure Squall, but it was enough to knock him off Lucas. He fell sideways onto the ground and cradled his head in his hands. He could hear Lucas breathing heavily and spitting out blood.
Squall shook his head and stood up slowly, once he was steady enough he grabbed Lucas's hair and pulled him up.
Lucas let out a quiet but desperate "No…" as he did, too weak to think he could put up much of a fight.
"Did she say no?" Squall shouted, his face inches away from Lucas's. "When you killed her? Or did she not see you?"
Tears again rolled down Squall's face, mixing with the rain that had started to drench them.
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Lucas begged.
He was serious too; he was starting to get a little worried. What if something had happened to Rinoa out there? He had to get the hell out of here fast and find out what was going on! If she was dead then it was his fault and he'd go to prison, he couldn't survive prison!
"Liar!" Squall screamed, throwing Lucas to the ground fiercely.
He crushed his eyes together, his angst taking over.
"Were you paid to do it!" Squall continued.
Lucas heard a car coming and thanked sweet merciful Hyne; he wasn't going to be stuck for long. Surely whoever it was would try to help somehow.
His face fell when he saw Quistis, Selphie and… Rinoa…
Squall on the other hand was completely unaware to their presence. He bent down beside Lucas and grabbed his collar once again, his face, again, directly in front of Lucas's.
"Well you should've known!" he hissed through clenched teeth.
He began again sending an assault of attacks on Lucas's face, this time warranting three words that stopped his battering immediately.
"Squall please no!" Rinoa's voice wailed out.
His fist stopped in mid air and he turned. The look in his eyes couldn't be explained and he dropped Lucas instantly.
Squall took a couple of steps towards her before dropping to his knees, never taking his eyes from Rinoa.
Rinoa ran to his side, crouching down beside him and wrapping her arms around his body.
"How is this possible?" Squall stuttered out. "You're dead."
Rinoa pulled herself away, staring at Squall deeply in the eyes. They weren't the same…
"Holy shit what is that!" Selphie exclaimed in the background.
Rinoa looked up to see the outline of a person. The rain was trickling down and it was obvious that there was someone standing there but they couldn't be seen.
Squall felt a hand placed gently on his shoulder, he closed his eyes once again… he knew her touch.
"Rinoa…" he whispered out.
Rinoa stood and stepped back, her mouth slightly agape and her eyes never leaving the area the person should've stood.
Squall stood and turned to the ghost, obviously seeing a lot more than Rinoa or anyone else was seeing.
"I'm so tired Rinoa." Squall cried.
He nodded, hearing something that only he seemed to be able to hear. As quickly as it had all been there it disappeared and Squall's body fell swiftly to the ground.
Rinoa gasped and tried in vain to catch his fall; she missed and had to opt for resting his unconscious head on her lap.
Rinoa didn't even look when she heard the running footsteps behind her; she knew that it'd be Lucas running away. He couldn't exactly stick around could he? Before she'd thought that she was going to lay charges, he was mentally defective for Hyne's sake!
But she wouldn't, he wasn't going to make the same mistake again. She'd seen the state he'd been in when she'd turned up and her only concern right now was for Squall.
Quistis and Selphie were by her side in seconds. Quistis checked all his vitals, afraid that he'd died or something while Selphie wept over and over again "is he ganna be ok?"
"He's ok! We gotta take him home though, he needs rest." Quistis deducted.
"Shouldn't we take him to the hospital or something?" Selphie exclaimed.
"He's not actually that bad, I don't know why he's unconscious, it could just be all the stress or something!" Quistis barked.
She got a bit moody when things got intense and things were certainly getting pretty damn intense.
Rinoa looked down at his sleeping form, feeling an unreal feeling of relief. She suddenly felt like it was over, a weight that she hadn't been aware of had been taken away. She was worried about Squall yes, but she just felt that for once everything might be alright.
Can you see me rounding everything off? Ow, I know its ganna end though cause I got a wicked idea for another fic as I was walking home before.
Hope you all enjoyed that, things are back to normal now so expect my next update HEAPS quicker than the last two. I'd say there's only about another two chapters left in this story, maybe three but I dunno.
Anywayz, thoughts anyone?