Chapter 22

Powers of the Amulet

A whirlwind of dark energy surrounded Morgana's body. She gripped her hands into a fist and grimaced. Just like Rinoa, she sprouted wings from her back. These were not white as Rinoa's had been though. They were black, as black as the night sky.

Squall stood up and offered his hand down to Rinoa, pulling her up off the ground. He looked down at Rinoa, pulling her chin up to his face, so that she was looking at him straight in the eyes.

"Rinoa, I'm going to give you my power. With it, your strength that you had at the beginning of this battle will be restored! Then you can defeat Morgana!"

"I…I can't do it by myself! I need you there with me!"

Squall smiled down at her. "But I am with you, always."

Rinoa stared back at him for a few more seconds. Then she closed her eyes, and nodded. "Alright, let's do it!" Squall took her hand in his and closed his eyes, she did the same. Where their hands met, it glowed a bright golden color. A stream of energy swirled from Squall's hand, up Rinoa's arm and enveloped her in its magnificent, warm light. Their hands fell apart.

Her white wings had formed new feathers, allowing for flight once again. Her wounds were also healed. When she looked at Squall he had collapsed to the floor. "Squall!" She cried, kneeling beside him.

"It's alright…I'll be fine! Now, do what you have to do!" He said in a low voice.

"I promise you! We will make it out of this alive!" Rinoa whispered back to him.

Rinoa stood back up and turned to face the queen. The two women glared at each other. Morgana spread her black wings as far as they would go, Rinoa doing the same. Within seconds, both had jumped into the air and were flying high above the ground.

"That was a wasted effort! Even if he gave you some of his own power, it won't help you now! You're too late!" Morgana shot fire balls out at her. Rinoa carefully flew from side to side, dodging as many as possible. When the last fire ball had made impact with the ground, Rinoa spun around and sent a wave of her own power. It was pure light, slithering towards her like a serpent.

The Queen returned the blast with her fire. The two powers met in the middle. Rinoa struggled, pushing her stream forward towards her enemy. Morgana did the same. The energy moved back and forth. Their strengths were equal. As both women pushed their beam harder, it exploded. The darkness was engulfed with light and flames.

Rinoa shielded her face with her wings and waited for the smoke to clear. Sure enough, Morgana was still there. "There has to be another way to defeat her!" She thought quickly to herself. "Wait! Of course, I can use the sword again! I just need to summon power from within the amulet once more!" She closed her eyes in prayer.

The Queen's eye's opened wide as she saw a light appear before Rinoa's floating figure. Out of the light appeared two daggers. Rinoa opened her eyes and saw her new weapons. She quickly grabbed the handles and flew for the Queen.

Morgana quickly made her own weapon materialize. Just as Rinoa's had been different, so was hers. She held a staff with sharp curved blades on both ends. Power erupted from the two weapons when they met.

Squall looked up at the two figures above him. "Rinoa looks just like an angel from here, with her wings and dress…" He said to himself. "There's got to be something else I can do to help her!" He glanced around in the darkness. Then he saw it. The Amazons were still trapped against the walls.

Squall pushed himself off the ground and stumbled towards his gunblade on the floor. He staggered over to Makita and lifted his sword high in the air. It came down, the sharp blade cutting the ropes that bound her. Squall caught her as she began to fall to the ground. Very gently, he shook her, trying to awaken her.

Makita's eyes opened and looked at her surroundings. "Where am I?" She asked in a confused whisper.

"We're in the amulet with Queen Morgana. Do you remember?"

"Queen…Queen Morgana…Yes, I do remember! She captured my fellow Amazons and me! The others!" She cried. Her head turned to see her friends still trapped against the wall. Grabbing her spear on the ground she began to hack at the ropes till they fell lose around them. The other girls slid down to the floor, but began to stir a few seconds later.

The Amazons stood up and looked over at Squall. "Where is Rinoa?" They asked him. Squall then pointed up into the air. The Amazon's eyes followed. They all gasped at the sight. Rinoa and the Queen were flying through the air at each other, making power ignite from their weapons at each impact.

"I don't believe it! The amulet bestowed upon her its power!" Makita said in amazement.

"Come on! Let's help her!" Shaltwan yelled to everyone. Makita threw her hand out to stop her.

"No! I'm afraid we can't. She is the only one capable of defeating her. All we can do is give her our strength, our power." Shaltwan looked angry at first, but nodded her head. "Let us give her all that she needs to end this battle!"

The Amazons walked forward and held each other's hands. Closing their eyes they began to chant. Squall watched, not sure what to think. Then without warning, a huge beam of light burst from the center of the circle they had formed and flown straight to Rinoa, covering her. Squall jumped from the ground. A split second later, the amazons were falling to the floor, one by one.

"What did you do?" Squall asked Makita. She glanced up into his worried eyes.

"Don't worry, she'll be fine. We gave her our strength, as you did. Now she should have all the power needed to destroy her!" Squall and the amazons all stared up at the girl hovering in the sky, who was glowing brighter, and stronger than ever before.

Rinoa could feel even more energy building up inside of her. "Be prepared, for this is the end of your reign!" She yelled across to Morgana. Rinoa clasped her hands together and then threw them out, sending out a huge beam of light. The Queen's eyes opened in horror.

Thinking quickly, Morgana shot a blast back to intercept Rinoa's. "I won't let you destroy me! My dream is almost complete!" They pushed with all their strength.

"This is it!" Rinoa thought to herself. "Now is the time to destroy her forever!" Power ran through her body like electricity, she felt it coming. Rinoa then pushed her arms harder and screamed, using all the strength and will power that was left. Her beam pushed Morgana's back at her.

"What this can't be happening! I am undefeatable! I am Queen Morgana, Ruler of Darkness!" Morgana tried to push it back, but failed miserably. The light over took her. Everyone closed their eyes and shielded their faces. It looked as if a giant flash bomb had been set off. The bright light slowly dimmed, smoke taking its place. The Amazon's and Squall looked up.

Squall's eyes gazed around the room. "Rinoa!" He called out. He couldn't see anything through all the smoke in the air. His heart was beating faster every second. "Rinoa!" He yelled again. Then he heard some crumbling of rocks. He turned around quickly to see them beginning to rise. His heart stopped, afraid it was Morgana. Instead, it was Rinoa.

She slowly picked herself up off the ground. Her wings were once again missing feathers, falling limply by her sides. Her dress was now torn and covered in dust. She began falling backwards, but Squall ran over and caught her in his arms.

Rinoa had her eyes closed, but opened them when she felt Squall's embrace. "Squall…I did it…I defeated Queen Morgana!"

Squall smiled down at her. "I know. You were incredible!" He could see tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "Rinoa, what's wrong?" He asked concerned.

"You've been freed from the curse, but now…" The tears now fell down the sides of her face into Squall's lap.

"But now what?" He asked getting worried.

"When the amulet gave me its power, it healed you, but…it…it overtook me. I can't handle the power it has anymore. It gave me what I needed to defeat Morgana, but my body can't handle it now…" Her vision began to focus in and out.

"What are you saying Rinoa?" He asked her seriously. He forced himself to hold off his tears that wanted to come out.

"I'm sorry Squall…I wanted to be with you…forever…"

"Stop talking like that!"

"I'm sorry. Just remember, I'm always with you in your heart and you'll always be in mine…I love you…ah…" Rinoa sighed and her eyes closed.

"Rinoa? RINOA!" Squall screamed out. Her body became limp and lifeless in his arms. "Don't leave me Rinoa…you said everything would be all right!" He couldn't fight back anymore. Tears began to stroll down his cheeks onto Rinoa's face.

The Amazons stood nearby, watching the horrible scene before their eyes. Squall was crouched over Rinoa's body, crying. Makita could feel her own eyes beginning to water. "It can't end like this!" She thought quietly. Choking back the tears, she walked forward and kneeled next to Squall.

"We can save her…" Makita said while placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. He looked up startled, but then his eyes grew large with hope.

"How? Tell me! I'll do anything!" Makita silenced him and then went on.

"I'm afraid you cannot…but I can."

"Why can't I?"

"You see, you have already felt and had some part of the amulet within yourself. Therefore you cannot do what needs to be done. I haven't, so I can…"

Squall remained silent for a little bit longer and then stared deeply into the Amazons eyes. "What are you going to do?" He asked her.

She stared intently back, but answered with no fear in her voice. "I will have to take the amulet's powers from her and…sacrifice myself…"

"What! You can't do that Makita!"

"Yes I can! Rinoa risked everything for us! She defeated the Queen that has destroyed my people for centuries! It's the least I can do to repay her!"

Makita looked at Squall. He had risen from the floor and was clenching his fist.

"You want her back, right?" She asked him.

"Yes…"

"You love her and want her by your side?"

"Yes…"

"Then there should be no reason for you to not want me to do this."

"There is though! You're our friend! You helped us find this place and helped us destroy her!"

"I did not help destroy her. Rinoa did that by herself. I could only watch. Now I must do my part…" She glanced over and saw a sad expression across his face. Her eyes softened. "I appreciate your concern, really I do, but this is for the greater good. Rinoa would understand." She walked forward and placed her hands on his shoulders, making Squall look up. "You have been a great friend. You're loyal, strong, and brave. Rinoa is very lucky to have someone like you in her life. Promise me that you will always protect her."

"I promise." He paused and then spoke again. "I'll miss you…we'll all miss you." Squall said as he gazed over towards the other Amazons. They all had their heads hanging low, staring at the stone floor.

Makita smiled. "I will miss you, too. You must know, I will never truly be gone. As long as you remember me, I will always remain in your heart." She saw Squall bow his head in understanding. "Thank you." Then she hugged him. Squall returned her friendly embrace.

Makita then walked towards her Amazon friends. "Amazons! You are all incredible warriors! Continue our race and fight against all evil with every ounce of strength in you! I will be watching over you always! You were all like my sisters…" The girls all had tears in their eyes. "Remember that even if it seems futile to keep trying, there will always be a way to win. The prize at the end is ultimate." The Amazons couldn't take it anymore. They all ran forward and hugged Makita, crying out.

"You'll be in our hearts Makita!" Shaltwan said through sobs.

"We'll build a statue and temple in your honor for such a noble sacrifice!" Tennetra whispered in her ear. Makita smiled and then pulled away from her friends.

"It's time…" She turned on her heel and walked over to Rinoa's cold, limp body on the floor. "It's time to wake up now Rinoa. You have too many important things to leave behind." She sat down on her knees and took a deep breath. Her eyes closed and her hands hovered above Rinoa, glowing.

"Amulet, you bestowed upon this girl your power, but she no longer needs it. Leave her now and enter a new host. She has a life that needs to be lived. To make you leave her I am sacrificing myself to your powers of greatness. Please accept my offering." She said out loud. Her hands glowed brighter.

Squall watched as little streams of power rose from Rinoa's body and into the palms of Makita's hands. The next second Makita looked over at everyone and whispered her final words. "I'll be with you…always…" Then she gasped and fell to the cold stone floor.