Hello! I'm back again! I want to warn you all that there will be this humongous updating of chapters between now and next weekend. I have told myself, "Katelyn, you are going to have to have this entire story uploaded or bad luck will find its way to you for 46 years. (One year for each chapter.) So yeah, I kinda want to have this all posted. Besides, I need suggestions for an ending. I had one, and then stupid me decided that I might end up with stalkers, so yeah. Anyway, I'm going to shut up now.

Disclaimer: (Does a little dance) I still own nothing. I don't own any of the characters of Final Fantasy VIII. But if I did, I kinda like leonblade's idea of putting Seifer in a pink tutu! He he he. I also don't own the FUN song or anything else Spongebob. I'm not a fan.

Chapter Fifteen

"Why Winhill?" Irvine asked.

"I dunno." Zell shrugged. "It's close, so why not?"

"Zell has a point," Quistis said. "It's close, and we are in the area. Plus, aren't there cliffs near that area too?"

"Yeah, but…" Irvine whined, tipping his hat.

"No, 'buts' about it! Let's go to Winhill!" Selphie exclaimed.

"In the morning at least, Selphie. It's too late tonight," Irvine whined again.

"Oh, fine."

They soon went to bed. It was a peaceful night with no disturbances. They stayed, of course, in the grand hotel located in Deling. The rooms they had were big and roomy with the little TVs and the refrigerators. They stayed in two different rooms. The girls in one and the guys in another. Irvine protested, of course, but Quistis told him to suck it up. When morning came, Selphie was more than ready to get up and go.

Banging on the guys' room, she yelled, much to their annoyance, "C'mon! C'mon! C'mon! Get up!" It took the sleepy others a long time to wake up, but soon enough, they were on their way to the little town of Winhill. The people of Winhill knew them quite well and they were welcomed as they entered the town. It was still early when they arrived in the little village, but that didn't stop the villagers. The shops were already open, and children were already out playing their little games of hop-scotch and jacks.

They made their way down the dirt street, past the buildings and children that played. Their laughter was a relieving source. The youngsters had not a care in the world and continued with their games as the day began.

The old woman at the flower shop stopped them as they passed by. The woman had been around for a long time. Today, she wore a flower printed apron to match her product. She wore a kind smile and her white hair was pulled back into a loose bun at the base of her neck. The flowers that she had been watering outside the door, bathing in the sun, let off a scent of heaven and their bright colors dimmed the morning sun ever so slightly.

"If you're looking for Raine's boy, he's in the house next to the pub. Tell him I said good morning." She walked back into the shop.

"Raine's boy?" Irvine asked. The name of Squall's mother hadn't quite registered in his mind. He removed his hat to swat at some bees that seemed to have abandoned their post at the flowers. They apparently found a greater interest in the cowboy.

"Squall's here!" Quistis exclaimed. She bolted down towards the village square and the others followed in the same haste. The pub stood open and welcoming. The laughter from inside the building was appealing, but they went next door instead to the old house that Laguna had once occupied.

Quistis knocked on the door in a rushed style. From inside, they heard something fall followed by a giggle. Rinoa.

The door opened and Squall stood before them in a plain white tee-shirt, black jeans, and his boots. The normal attire. His face went pale as he saw them standing there and had a momentary loss of words. He hadn't expected them to show up here.

"Come in," he finally said, turning and walking back inside.

Rinoa sat in the bright kitchen with a smile on her face that grew even larger when she saw her friends. She squealed and ran over to give them each a hug. Squall motioned for them all to take a seat, as he did also.

"Your timing is horrible," he remarked after a stiff silence. Rinoa laughed.

"I think it's rather good," she corrected him.

"Whatever," Squall muttered. There was another silence before he looked at Quistis. "How did you guys know?" She knew what he was referring to and frowned. He was displeased, that was evident.

"It was pure accidental. We did not know that you were here until the woman at the flower shop informed us." Quistis answered him honestly.

"You're not mad, are you?" Selphie asked timidly. She sat beside Rinoa.

Squall shook his head. How he could be mad? He knew that what he was doing was wrong. He should be fighting this problem, not running from it. That was sensible. Plus, Rinoa probably was beginning to think that he was some over-protective freak. He didn't want that.

"What brings you guys to Winhill, then?" Rinoa asked, taking notice of Squall's distant look. He turned away from her gaze slightly by putting his hand up to block his handsome face.

"We were in the process of looking for energy crystals to fight Ultimecia with," Selphie replied.

"Yes, we haven't had much luck so far. All the places that we've checked, the crystals have been destroyed. We are currently at a standstill and running out of options," Quistis added.

"I'm sorry, but I am failing to see how these crystals are going to help." Rinoa shook her head. "I mean, what good were they last time? These energy crystals, all they're really good for is ammo. How could they help drain the powers of a sorceress? I've handled them plenty of times, and they've never bothered me."

"Well, maybe it's because of the way Ultimecia has returned. I mean, it's possible that the structure of the matter in the crystal now affect her somehow." Quistis shook her head, putting her hand to her forehead in frustration.

"The structure? What's that got to do with it?" Zell asked, finally voicing up in this. He lightly slammed his arms on the table, making the coffee in Squall's untouched cup quiver.

"The chemical composition could have an element that she now possesses a weakness against. It may contain some sort of holy magic that would affect her since she has returned." Squall answered with no tone and without making eye contact with any person.

"Oh, like an undead monster?" Irvine wondered. A nod from Squall. "So, if she's undead, we can just dump a bunch of holy-based attacks on her?"

"It could be more complicated than that. Maybe it's not the holy magic that's doing it to her. Maybe the energy crystal has been found to lock down power somehow by the state she's in," Selphie suggested. She fiddled with a string of hair, twisting it around her finger with her face in a thinking expression.

"Could be. Maybe Dr. Odine has some idea." Quistis spoke.

"That duck?" Zell all but shrieked. "What does that idiot know?"

"Probably more than you do!" Irvine snapped. Zell attempted a swap at him with the back of his hand, but Quistis stopped him and sent him a menacing glare.

They sat in, yet again, another silence. They were waiting for Squall to say something. He was still their leader, whether or not he participated in this battle.

"Squall?" Selphie finally broke the unwelcome silence. He looked up at her. He tried his best to hide the doubt and anger that resided in him. "Are you and Rinny going to come with us?We can't do this without you."

"Yes, you are our leader. None of us could ever take your place." Quistis agreed.

"And none of us plan to." Zell chirped in.

Squall said nothing to their kind remarks. He knew that he should rejoin them. He couldn't stay in this place. He had no idea how long it would take to get rid of Ultimecia for good. It could take months. He knew that there was no way in Hell that he could stay in this place. He would rot.

Rinoa caught his eye finally. She pleaded with him silently. Their earlier conversation sparked in his mind. She knew that he couldn't stay there. He wanted to go so bad, but he wanted to keep her safe. Her safety was his main concern.

"If I stay with you, how much harm can come to me?" Rinoa inquired quietly, knowing what thought was running through his mind.

"I can't guarantee that I will be able to protect you from everything. If Ultimecia possesses you again, I can't do anything. What then?" He frowned at her.

Much to everyone's surprise, Rinoa laughed. "You could be there to restrain me. That would be enough. I trust you. I know that you will know what to do if something happens, but we can't stay here. Not when all that action is going on. Think of all the fun we're going to be missing!"

"Yeah!" Selphie, Zell, and Irvine chimed in. Quistis nodded.

"Fun?" Squall inquired.

"Yes, fun. You know: 'F' is for friends who fight things together. 'U' is for you and me! 'N' is for Nasty sorceresses! That die by the gunblade!" Rinoa sang. Squall rolled his eyes at her and shook his head. Selphie almost giggled her head off.

"Squall, you had that one coming, you know," Quistis smiled sweetly.

"Whatever," He restated firmly.

"So are you two coming or not?" Zell asked. He had found Rinoa's little song cute.

"It looks like we have no choice," Squall muttered.

"We have no choice? How come?" Rinoa wondered.

"We have no choice because you'll probably use that 'song' as a weapon and I have a feeling that they aren't leaving this town without us." Squall thrust a pointed finger in the other four's direction.

"Yep! That sounds about right!" Selphie grinned.

"Oh dear Hyne," Squall mumbled with a shake of his head.

"So now what happens?" Zell asked.

"Now, we figure out what to do next," Quistis replied.

Squall's mind went back to the crystals. "What about these crystals? You mentioned, Quistis, that you all haven't had much luck in finding them."

"That's right." The Instructor nodded.

"Well, where are these crystals normally found?"

"In cold, damp places," Selphie told him brightly. "They're blue and are made from magical glass."

"Ha!" Zell exclaimed pointing an accused finger at Selphie. "You did listen to that duck!"

Selphie shot her tongue out at him.

"Blue?" Squall recalled something. "I saw a blue, glassy object in the flower shop this morning."

A/N: Ooh…. I think I should mention that I "borrowed" the FUN song tune from SpongeBob Squarepants. The way Squall asked "Fun?" in my mind reminded me of that episode. I changed the words, but yeah, the tune and title belong to the makers of that show. Nickelodeon right? Wee, anyway, that belongs to them, so no one can sue me. (You wouldn't be getting much anyway. I'm a very broke teen.) I redid that entire chapter. I'm so proud of myself. I just thought that the original sucked and was like, "I'm not posting THAT! Dear Gussie!" Heehaw. R&R peeps. Thanx and…Later Days! (That's my phrase!) Whoo-hoo!

E/N: Shouldn't that belong in the disclaimer? Ne? And is that "Wee" supposed to be "Well"? Yeah, I'll say you're broke, you can't even pay attention. You're going to cause carpal tunnel in me yet, Katelyn! I'll sue you for that! xD

A/N: I already told you, Megan! You won't be getting much! And you just said that I'm broke, so what's your case now, ya silly blonde! And what's a carpal tunnel?

E/N: Medical condition, you get it when you work with your hands a lot. And I'll just put you in debt and corrupt your credit history, mwahahah!

A/N: Whatever you say, your Majesty. I don't have a credit history...

E/N: Thank you, Jester from another land. bows Bring gold and chocolate and your life may be spared when I finally control all the lands. Call me Queen Megan or off with your head! (and you REALLY won't have any credit history when you run those debts up. :P)

A/N: Mockingly...That's not funny!