Here is chapter eight. Enjoy! By the way, this is where it gets good…

Disclaimer: Last time I checked I had no ownership in Final Fantasy. It makes me sad…

Chapter Eight

It happened so fast. The moment Rinoa hit the floor; Squall was down next to her. She was hot as fire and glowing slightly. He had touched a hand to her face when her eyes shot open. But they weren't her eyes. They weren't the big, enchanting, curious, and loving eyes that he knew so well. They were cold and hard with a glare in them.

She pulled away from him and stood. As he attempted to follow, she spun around. The look she gave him was almost pure evil. Something threw him against the wall, pinning him there. She walked down the hall, moving swiftly. She was not his Rinoa.

Quistis, Zell, Selphie, and Irvine came running down the hall.

"Squall! Squall! What happened? Where's Rinoa?" Quistis asked, helping him from the wall's clutches.

"Something's wrong. Very wrong," was all he managed to saying before tearing down the hall after her, forcing the others to follow.

Squall kept his distance but followed 'Rinoa' out of Esthar. Just outside of the great stone doors of Tears' Point, she turned and lifted her arms.

Ultimecia had emerged from Rinoa.

Rinoa now lay crumpled on the ground. Ultimecia turned to her, and with a twist of her wrist, lifted her up to the wall where she chained her.

Squall, and the others all ran up, drawing their weapons.

"Not another step," Ultimecia commanded, "or I will kill her." She pointed a warning finger at the helpless Rinoa.

Squall held a hand up, signaling them not to move as he watched Ultimecia intently. A look of pure hatred in his eyes.

Ultimecia turned and walked into the stone building. Moments later, she emerged and facing them with a wicked smile, brought her hand over her face and disappeared.

Rinoa's chains were broken and she fell to the ground.

Squall ran over to her. She lay in a crumbled heap at the foot of the wall. Squall dropped to his knees as he reached her side. He wanted more than anything for her to be alright. If she was hurt, Ultimecia would pay. He'd drive his gun blade right through her evil heart.

Squall put his arms around Rinoa. She buried her face into his chest, sobbing. "Never again. I promise. Never." He whispered in her ear. "She won't do that again. I'll kill her myself. I need no stupid energy crystal." A sudden rush of anger flowed over him and he strengthened his grip around her.

Ultimecia will pay. Even if it killed him. He would make Ultimecia pay for even laying a finger on Rinoa.

"Squall," Quistis came over to him. "She's destroyed the energy crystal."

Squall placed an arm underneath Rinoa's knees, lifting her. He didn't say a word to anyone and walked back to Esthar. The others followed, silently puzzling what had happened.

Something didn't seem right. That didn't seem like Ultimecia. Sure, it looked like her, but there was no accent…

When they returned to Esthar, the anger in Squall had not gone away. He wanted to throw something.

Squall carried Rinoa to their sleeping quarters and laid her on the bed farthest away from the others. She was still sobbing.

He gripped Rinoa's hand before turning and stamped out of the room. Quistis signaled for Zell and Irvine to follow him, and she and Selphie walked over to Rinoa.

"Rinoa," Quistis asked, placing her hand on the girl's quivering shoulder. "Are you alright?"

Rinoa had finally stopped crying and was hiccupping quietly. Her knees were pulled up to her chest, her cheeks tear-stained.

"Rinoa?" Selphie asked sitting down next to her. "Rinny, are you okay?"

Rinoa slowly nodded her head. She wanted to be with Squall. She wanted to be in the safety of his strong arms.

"Where's Squall?" she asked in a rather small voice.

Squall banged on Laguna's door. The anger in him had only increased. Not only did he want to throw something, but he also wanted to kill Ultimecia and shred her into little pieces.

"Come in," Laguna's tired voice responded. Squall stormed in, he was going in whether Laguna allowed it or not.

"What's wrong?" Laguna looked up to see Squall's angry face.

Where'd he go!" Zell asked frantically.

"I don't know. He lost us." Irvine was starting to worry. What if Squall went and did something rash? Not only would Laguna get in trouble, but Quistis would also roast them both.

"C'mon, let's check with Laguna." Irvine and Zell walked down the corridor to Laguna's office.

Approaching the door, the two heard voices. Unmistakably, they belonged to Squall and Laguna. They refrained from entering.

"Is she alright? Where is she? Should I send for a doctor?" Laguna's hurried voice was heard.

"I believe she's fine. Don't worry where she's at, and no, a doctor isn't needed." Squall sounded agitated. "But I'm taking her from here. She isn't safe."

"But what about the others? Aren't you supposed to get this done together?" Laguna asked. He didn't want his son going out there alone with a sorceress. He was putting himself in danger by being with her.

"They'll be fine. They know what to do. Rinoa's not safe here. I'm not going to keep her somewhere where she isn't safe." Squall seemed to not care whether Laguna approved or not. He was determined not to lose Rinoa, even if it meant putting his own life on the line. He would do that for her. He would sacrifice his own life to save hers.

Giving up, Laguna nodded in a disappointed approval. He watched with sad eyes as his son left his office. Laguna felt that he had let himself down. He didn't know how, but the feeling was there.

Squall walked back to where they were sleeping. He had to get Rinoa. The others just won't understand. He thought. They won't understand that I'm trying to protect her. I'm trying to keep her alive. Squall walked right past Zell and Irvine without even seeing them. Zell knew that something was up, or Squall would have jumped down their throats for following him.

"Let's go see Laguna and find out what's going on." Zell whispered to Irvine and they headed inside.

Squall opened the door. No one was in the room except for a sleeping Rinoa in the far bed. Squall walked over to her, watching before waking her.

"Come on," He moved around her bed. "Get your things. We're leaving."

"Leaving now? What time is it?" Rinoa got up, hurrying around, grabbing her things.

Squall wondered how to let the others know without actually speaking to them. He then, after a quick assumption, figured that Laguna would probably fill them in. It wasn't his problem anymore. His only thought was to get Rinoa somewhere safe.

Rinoa watched his facial expressions change and knew what was going on. "You mean," she began slowly thinking it over, "just you and I are leaving? Why?"

Squall didn't look at her as he grabbed her hand and headed towards the exit. "I'll explain later."

Squall made sure not to be seen, and they slipped from the building.

A/N: You know, after rereading and editing this chapter, which is something I don't do very well (my personal, wonderful, awesome editor, Megan, does that for me and by golly, she'd great at it. Picky but great) I saw that I had made a really amusing mistake. Where Rinoa says, "Leaving now?" that was, in my original copy, "Leaving up?" I thought that was entertaining and so did my mom. But that goodness I fixed it before Megan got a hold of it! Love ya Megan!

(Gonna hear the butt of that one later!) Anyway, R&R peeps! Thanx and Later Days!

E/N: Katelyn, what on Earth would you do without me? Next time don't typo the email subject line, you nut! Anyways, all of you out there, R&R this awesome story right now!