A New Day has Come
Rinoa opened her eyes to the windows overlooking Squall's apartment, revealing a rather breathtaking view of Obel lake and the lush, green forests of Timber. The fauna of the air were flying freely in the morning skies, and it really was a beautiful sight. Rinoa turned over to her other side, and noticed Squall staring at her in a white t-shirt and boxers (and with his hair dripping wet, to add to that).
"Morning beautiful." Squall kissed her lightly on the lips.
"Mmm...Morning." Rinoa sighed dreamily.
'Wow! He even looks this hot in the morning!'
"Squall, I feel lonely," she pouted at her lover. "Come here, will you?" Rinoa patted the side of the bed, gesturing Squall to come closer.
'Wow! She looks hot, even at this time in the morning!"
Squall dried his hair with a towel and joined Rinoa in bed, his fingers intertwining with hers as they gazed at each other, saying nothing. Rinoa stroked his cheeks with her free hand, and Squall stroked the back of her head with his.
Ten minutes later, the couple was still locked in arms of love, when Squall suddenly spoke up.
"Rin, do you want to take a walk?"
Rinoa unconsciously replied, "Anytime, anywhere with you, my love."
Squall blushed at her heartfelt comment and kissed her again before sitting up on the bed. He offered her a hand and she took it, getting lifted off the bed strongly but gently. She rubbed her eyes lightly to wipe the sleep off, and she hugged Squall around the waist.
"Squall, I love moments like these...moments when we're alone together...moments where we could cuddle up into each other." Rinoa let out another sigh and she rested her head against the crook of Squall's neck, snuggling up to him affectionately.
Squall tilted his head slightly to lean it on Rinoa's own, and he kissed her hair deftly. "You know what I love the most about these moments?"
Rinoa looked up. "Hmmm?"
Squall looked into her brown almond eyes and continued, "You."
Rinoa blushed and pushed him back on the bed. She laid her head on his chest and listened for his heartbeat.
"Squall, you mean everything to me, and I mean that," she smiled directly onto his skin. Squall smiled at her and stared at the ceiling, taking in the moment like it would never happen again. He was about to tell her something when she stood up without warning.
"I'm going to take a shower, Squall. You get changed too, okay?"
"..."
Giggling at his silent response, she poked his ribs to get him out of bed. She got the reaction she wanted, as Squall jumped like a rabbit with its foot on fire.
"We're taking a walk, remember? I don't think people will be pleased seeing their commander in underwear." Rinoa got her clothes from the cabinets and went into the bathroom. Squall scratched his head and took out a pair of comfortable jeans and a plain leather jacket without the fur lining. As he got changed, he looked at the gorgeous scene below.
'This is going to be a long day.'
-----------------
The streets of Deling were an attractive sight during the evening, the streetlights blazing with their effervescent brilliance. The starry night sky added to the dreamy look of the busy city, giving the capital of Galbadia a modern aura that blended well with the Old World charm of its several edifices. The Galbadia Hotel of course, was the most beautiful of them all. The luxuriously extravagant lobby boasted materials imported from all over the planet. No expenses spared on this one. Even the rooms were given utmost care as the interior designers had only demanded that the best adorn these quaint pads.
In one of the rooms above, a man strode across the rich carpets with a mug of coffee, swirling it with a spoon. It would be hours before sunrise, before he would continue his journey.
Looking down on the streets, he saw a man crossing the empty dawn roads with a briefcase in one hand. Shutting his eyes, he envisioned his spirit traveling through the window and entering the man's body.
-----------------
The man in the streets convulsed for a moment and felt dizzy, and by an unknown force in his mind, he opened the case in his hands, revealing a set of syringes and serums banned in Galbadia. He felt a presence earlier, but in a matter of time it had disappeared. He replaced the briefcase cover, wondering why he had opened the bag, and continued on to the "spot".
---------------
His consciousness reverted to him in a few seconds, and his eyes glowed a pure, untainted white. The figure shimmered on the spot, and he was gone. His coffee mug crashed to the floor, spilling its' contents on the beautiful carpets.
---------------
The messenger cautiously slinked through the alleys of Deling City, unaware of the dark cloud following his every movement. He had just come from Esthar recently, bringing back to his boss a case of serum smuggled from Dr. Odine's laboratory. He stopped on his tracks when a crow flew in front of him.
"Shoo! Go away!" the man shouted at the creature. The bird just stared dryly at the messenger.
The man was beginning to shiver. The bird held its stare unwavering, sending jitters and chills into his gut. Realizing that animals don't understand English, he kicked at it and it flew away. The messenger continued walking when he saw an entire flock of blacks birds staring at him from window sills and flower boxes. The yellows of their eyes was haunting, their shiny black coats emanating the darkness of evil. Simply having such creatures of the night stare at you was enough to send a man to the E.R. room, but he had business to do, so he continued walking. The very thought never escaped his mind, and a few meters away from the rendezvous point, the birds that had been peering down at him earlier were now standing like an army of soldiers before him, wings on the sides, and yellow eyes eyeing him blankly. It seemed like hundreds, thousands of birds even, and not a single one fled when he began swiping his palms at them in an attempt to shoo them off.
"Stupid things! I told you to go away!" he shouted at them. But to no avail, they were still standing firmly, staring at him.
The man was losing it, so he chucked out a gun from his coat and began shooting at the birds. At the sound of the bullet, the birds flew away and congregated in the air, swarming into a large mass much like Diablos' Dark Messenger bats. Rather than forming a pool of black liquid though, the birds turned into a hooded figure in black with arms outstretched. From his fingertips, two foot-long steel claws began to emerge and he swept at the messenger shooting at him, screaming for dear life. Slashing at the man's throat, the figure sprayed blood all over the alley before bringing his sharp weapons claws down on the vertical towards his victim's head. The cloaked one ran through the man, taking the briefcase with him, and turned to face his prey.
The messenger just looked at him as though he were a void, and blood trickled from slits that seemed to cut through the bridge of his nose, his eyes, and his ears. Soon, blood began gushing like water and the man fell apart in six perfect slices, his gore spilling on the Galbadian alley. The figure retracted the claws, tossed the briefcase into the air, and said, "Flare!" The briefcase was engulfed in a mass of hot energy that consumed the vials of liquid inside, burning through the leather as a black smoke emerged from the alley. In a matter of seconds, sirens began to blare and the figure took a last glance at his fallen victim.
"Wretched creature..." he mumbled under his breath, and he shimmered as he did earlier.
A group of Galbadian soldiers, investigators, and reporters gathered into the alley only to be welcomed by the bloody mass of skin, flesh, and muscle that was sprawled freely before them.
Behind the city workers, three people were walking by to see what the people were gawking at.
"LOOK." A woman pointed at the bloody mess in the alley.
"Hey, now that's disgusting, ya know?" said a dark man who had a bag of order slips in
"TELL THEM."
"The people at Garden? They won't listen to us, ya know."
A tall blonde smirked behind them. "Well well well, we just came to deliver some good Balamb fish to the hotel and we see some action brewing here. Not a bad time to start training again, eh?"
"TROUBLE BREWING."
The blonde agreed with his silver-haired friend. "You know, she's right. From the looks of this...eww...gore, I think we had better go back to the Garden and inform them about this...thing." The blonde pinched his nose and looked away from the six slices of human that unfolded before him.
"I like your idea boss, but don't ya think that would be a problem?"
The blonde whirled around and looked at his friend, avoiding the ugly sight of perfectly sliced corpse. "What do you mean?"
"SQUALL."
"Oh, that. Well, Puberty Boy has got to accept that something's brewing and his academy will soon be a part of it...if he's just going to brush it off. I mean come on! No regular thief could pull of something like this. From the looks of it, it would seem deadlier than the usual cat burglar."
"You've got a point, but how will ya get him to listen? You chucked his woman at some transvestite sorceress, ya know?"
The blonde scratched the back of his head. "In times like these, I will have to use my impeccable people skills then."
The patch-eyed lady seemed amused and asked him, "PEOPLE SKILLS?"
"Both of you will just have to wait and see that when we get there. I the meantime, we'd better go look for Garden. Heard it was in the Galbadian continent somewhere."
"TIMBER."
"How do ya know?"
"DRIVING FISH TRUCK. PASSED IT. OBEL LAKE. YOU TWO SLEEPING."
"Whoa! That's a mouthful, ya know." The silver-haired woman kicked her friend in the shins and he cried in pain.
The blonde smirked at them and said, "This is going to be a long day."
-------------------
Selphie and Irvine walked hand in hand towards a little café in Timber. The Maniacs Lounge, as they called it, was a place where young people would usually come to have a sip of coffee or sneak in a few glugs of alchohol with their fake ID cards. Selphie and Irvine took a table for two by the corner of the upscale bar, and a waiter passed by with two menus in hand.
"Let's see...what's your specialty here?" asked Selphie.
The young waiter looked at her with interest until Irvine threw him a really disgusting look. When he saw this, he eyed Selphie even more maliciously and said, "Well, little lady, I can get you anything your heart desires, but I'll think you will love the..."
Irvine cocked his rifle beneath his coat to startle the man and said, "I'll have the continental breakfast please with a cup of coffee."
Selphie giggled at her jealous boyfriend and put down the menu. "I'm having whatever he's having."
The waiter jotted down their orders in a small notebook and winked at Selphie. "Whatever your heart desires, ma'am." He nodded at Selphie and ignored Irvine before going back to the kitchen.
Irvine was tempted to pull out Exeter from his coat when he felt Selphie's hand on him.
"Jealous?"
"Hell no!"
"Then why are you itching to grab Exeter all of a sudden? I've never seen you like this before, cowboy."
"It's not that Seffie."
"If it's not that, then what is it?" Selphie said seductively. She took of her right sandal and lifted it to Irvine's crotch, rubbing it gently with her foot. "You know, you could ready your other gun for me, so that by the time we get back to Garden, you'd be all charged up."
Irvine moaned and felt himself stirring underneath her foot's touch. "Darlin...Oh Hyne! Let's have breakfast first and I'll give you my dessert later in my room, okay?"
Selphie giggled at his choice of words and took her foot off his sensitive organ. "Okay! Booyaka!" she said energetically.
Irvine glared at her in amazement. "You know Seff, you amaze me! All that energy and spunk really turns me on."
"Glad to hear that cowboy."
An older waiter brought the food this time and Irvine let out a sigh of relief.
'At least it's not the perverted ass.'
Selphie looked at her food hungrily and said, "Oh! Irvy, I think I'll get a newspaper from the stands. I wanna see what's on sale today!"
Selphie jumped up and ran to the stand to pick up the Galbadian Times and Irvine just shook his head in amusement. However, his face turned sour when he saw Selphie coming back with a very worried look on her.
"Seff, what's the matter?"
She didn't say anything this time, as if all her energy was drained when she saw the papers. She passed the Times to Irvine and his mouth dropped. "Oh Hyne! We'd better tell them about this."
==========
One more chapter bites the dust! Okay, that was a bit gory, but I think I've been dwelling too much on the mush. Glad to know that most of you are enjoying the story! Don't worry, I'm already working on the next chapter: Enigma.
Rinoa opened her eyes to the windows overlooking Squall's apartment, revealing a rather breathtaking view of Obel lake and the lush, green forests of Timber. The fauna of the air were flying freely in the morning skies, and it really was a beautiful sight. Rinoa turned over to her other side, and noticed Squall staring at her in a white t-shirt and boxers (and with his hair dripping wet, to add to that).
"Morning beautiful." Squall kissed her lightly on the lips.
"Mmm...Morning." Rinoa sighed dreamily.
'Wow! He even looks this hot in the morning!'
"Squall, I feel lonely," she pouted at her lover. "Come here, will you?" Rinoa patted the side of the bed, gesturing Squall to come closer.
'Wow! She looks hot, even at this time in the morning!"
Squall dried his hair with a towel and joined Rinoa in bed, his fingers intertwining with hers as they gazed at each other, saying nothing. Rinoa stroked his cheeks with her free hand, and Squall stroked the back of her head with his.
Ten minutes later, the couple was still locked in arms of love, when Squall suddenly spoke up.
"Rin, do you want to take a walk?"
Rinoa unconsciously replied, "Anytime, anywhere with you, my love."
Squall blushed at her heartfelt comment and kissed her again before sitting up on the bed. He offered her a hand and she took it, getting lifted off the bed strongly but gently. She rubbed her eyes lightly to wipe the sleep off, and she hugged Squall around the waist.
"Squall, I love moments like these...moments when we're alone together...moments where we could cuddle up into each other." Rinoa let out another sigh and she rested her head against the crook of Squall's neck, snuggling up to him affectionately.
Squall tilted his head slightly to lean it on Rinoa's own, and he kissed her hair deftly. "You know what I love the most about these moments?"
Rinoa looked up. "Hmmm?"
Squall looked into her brown almond eyes and continued, "You."
Rinoa blushed and pushed him back on the bed. She laid her head on his chest and listened for his heartbeat.
"Squall, you mean everything to me, and I mean that," she smiled directly onto his skin. Squall smiled at her and stared at the ceiling, taking in the moment like it would never happen again. He was about to tell her something when she stood up without warning.
"I'm going to take a shower, Squall. You get changed too, okay?"
"..."
Giggling at his silent response, she poked his ribs to get him out of bed. She got the reaction she wanted, as Squall jumped like a rabbit with its foot on fire.
"We're taking a walk, remember? I don't think people will be pleased seeing their commander in underwear." Rinoa got her clothes from the cabinets and went into the bathroom. Squall scratched his head and took out a pair of comfortable jeans and a plain leather jacket without the fur lining. As he got changed, he looked at the gorgeous scene below.
'This is going to be a long day.'
-----------------
The streets of Deling were an attractive sight during the evening, the streetlights blazing with their effervescent brilliance. The starry night sky added to the dreamy look of the busy city, giving the capital of Galbadia a modern aura that blended well with the Old World charm of its several edifices. The Galbadia Hotel of course, was the most beautiful of them all. The luxuriously extravagant lobby boasted materials imported from all over the planet. No expenses spared on this one. Even the rooms were given utmost care as the interior designers had only demanded that the best adorn these quaint pads.
In one of the rooms above, a man strode across the rich carpets with a mug of coffee, swirling it with a spoon. It would be hours before sunrise, before he would continue his journey.
Looking down on the streets, he saw a man crossing the empty dawn roads with a briefcase in one hand. Shutting his eyes, he envisioned his spirit traveling through the window and entering the man's body.
-----------------
The man in the streets convulsed for a moment and felt dizzy, and by an unknown force in his mind, he opened the case in his hands, revealing a set of syringes and serums banned in Galbadia. He felt a presence earlier, but in a matter of time it had disappeared. He replaced the briefcase cover, wondering why he had opened the bag, and continued on to the "spot".
---------------
His consciousness reverted to him in a few seconds, and his eyes glowed a pure, untainted white. The figure shimmered on the spot, and he was gone. His coffee mug crashed to the floor, spilling its' contents on the beautiful carpets.
---------------
The messenger cautiously slinked through the alleys of Deling City, unaware of the dark cloud following his every movement. He had just come from Esthar recently, bringing back to his boss a case of serum smuggled from Dr. Odine's laboratory. He stopped on his tracks when a crow flew in front of him.
"Shoo! Go away!" the man shouted at the creature. The bird just stared dryly at the messenger.
The man was beginning to shiver. The bird held its stare unwavering, sending jitters and chills into his gut. Realizing that animals don't understand English, he kicked at it and it flew away. The messenger continued walking when he saw an entire flock of blacks birds staring at him from window sills and flower boxes. The yellows of their eyes was haunting, their shiny black coats emanating the darkness of evil. Simply having such creatures of the night stare at you was enough to send a man to the E.R. room, but he had business to do, so he continued walking. The very thought never escaped his mind, and a few meters away from the rendezvous point, the birds that had been peering down at him earlier were now standing like an army of soldiers before him, wings on the sides, and yellow eyes eyeing him blankly. It seemed like hundreds, thousands of birds even, and not a single one fled when he began swiping his palms at them in an attempt to shoo them off.
"Stupid things! I told you to go away!" he shouted at them. But to no avail, they were still standing firmly, staring at him.
The man was losing it, so he chucked out a gun from his coat and began shooting at the birds. At the sound of the bullet, the birds flew away and congregated in the air, swarming into a large mass much like Diablos' Dark Messenger bats. Rather than forming a pool of black liquid though, the birds turned into a hooded figure in black with arms outstretched. From his fingertips, two foot-long steel claws began to emerge and he swept at the messenger shooting at him, screaming for dear life. Slashing at the man's throat, the figure sprayed blood all over the alley before bringing his sharp weapons claws down on the vertical towards his victim's head. The cloaked one ran through the man, taking the briefcase with him, and turned to face his prey.
The messenger just looked at him as though he were a void, and blood trickled from slits that seemed to cut through the bridge of his nose, his eyes, and his ears. Soon, blood began gushing like water and the man fell apart in six perfect slices, his gore spilling on the Galbadian alley. The figure retracted the claws, tossed the briefcase into the air, and said, "Flare!" The briefcase was engulfed in a mass of hot energy that consumed the vials of liquid inside, burning through the leather as a black smoke emerged from the alley. In a matter of seconds, sirens began to blare and the figure took a last glance at his fallen victim.
"Wretched creature..." he mumbled under his breath, and he shimmered as he did earlier.
A group of Galbadian soldiers, investigators, and reporters gathered into the alley only to be welcomed by the bloody mass of skin, flesh, and muscle that was sprawled freely before them.
Behind the city workers, three people were walking by to see what the people were gawking at.
"LOOK." A woman pointed at the bloody mess in the alley.
"Hey, now that's disgusting, ya know?" said a dark man who had a bag of order slips in
"TELL THEM."
"The people at Garden? They won't listen to us, ya know."
A tall blonde smirked behind them. "Well well well, we just came to deliver some good Balamb fish to the hotel and we see some action brewing here. Not a bad time to start training again, eh?"
"TROUBLE BREWING."
The blonde agreed with his silver-haired friend. "You know, she's right. From the looks of this...eww...gore, I think we had better go back to the Garden and inform them about this...thing." The blonde pinched his nose and looked away from the six slices of human that unfolded before him.
"I like your idea boss, but don't ya think that would be a problem?"
The blonde whirled around and looked at his friend, avoiding the ugly sight of perfectly sliced corpse. "What do you mean?"
"SQUALL."
"Oh, that. Well, Puberty Boy has got to accept that something's brewing and his academy will soon be a part of it...if he's just going to brush it off. I mean come on! No regular thief could pull of something like this. From the looks of it, it would seem deadlier than the usual cat burglar."
"You've got a point, but how will ya get him to listen? You chucked his woman at some transvestite sorceress, ya know?"
The blonde scratched the back of his head. "In times like these, I will have to use my impeccable people skills then."
The patch-eyed lady seemed amused and asked him, "PEOPLE SKILLS?"
"Both of you will just have to wait and see that when we get there. I the meantime, we'd better go look for Garden. Heard it was in the Galbadian continent somewhere."
"TIMBER."
"How do ya know?"
"DRIVING FISH TRUCK. PASSED IT. OBEL LAKE. YOU TWO SLEEPING."
"Whoa! That's a mouthful, ya know." The silver-haired woman kicked her friend in the shins and he cried in pain.
The blonde smirked at them and said, "This is going to be a long day."
-------------------
Selphie and Irvine walked hand in hand towards a little café in Timber. The Maniacs Lounge, as they called it, was a place where young people would usually come to have a sip of coffee or sneak in a few glugs of alchohol with their fake ID cards. Selphie and Irvine took a table for two by the corner of the upscale bar, and a waiter passed by with two menus in hand.
"Let's see...what's your specialty here?" asked Selphie.
The young waiter looked at her with interest until Irvine threw him a really disgusting look. When he saw this, he eyed Selphie even more maliciously and said, "Well, little lady, I can get you anything your heart desires, but I'll think you will love the..."
Irvine cocked his rifle beneath his coat to startle the man and said, "I'll have the continental breakfast please with a cup of coffee."
Selphie giggled at her jealous boyfriend and put down the menu. "I'm having whatever he's having."
The waiter jotted down their orders in a small notebook and winked at Selphie. "Whatever your heart desires, ma'am." He nodded at Selphie and ignored Irvine before going back to the kitchen.
Irvine was tempted to pull out Exeter from his coat when he felt Selphie's hand on him.
"Jealous?"
"Hell no!"
"Then why are you itching to grab Exeter all of a sudden? I've never seen you like this before, cowboy."
"It's not that Seffie."
"If it's not that, then what is it?" Selphie said seductively. She took of her right sandal and lifted it to Irvine's crotch, rubbing it gently with her foot. "You know, you could ready your other gun for me, so that by the time we get back to Garden, you'd be all charged up."
Irvine moaned and felt himself stirring underneath her foot's touch. "Darlin...Oh Hyne! Let's have breakfast first and I'll give you my dessert later in my room, okay?"
Selphie giggled at his choice of words and took her foot off his sensitive organ. "Okay! Booyaka!" she said energetically.
Irvine glared at her in amazement. "You know Seff, you amaze me! All that energy and spunk really turns me on."
"Glad to hear that cowboy."
An older waiter brought the food this time and Irvine let out a sigh of relief.
'At least it's not the perverted ass.'
Selphie looked at her food hungrily and said, "Oh! Irvy, I think I'll get a newspaper from the stands. I wanna see what's on sale today!"
Selphie jumped up and ran to the stand to pick up the Galbadian Times and Irvine just shook his head in amusement. However, his face turned sour when he saw Selphie coming back with a very worried look on her.
"Seff, what's the matter?"
She didn't say anything this time, as if all her energy was drained when she saw the papers. She passed the Times to Irvine and his mouth dropped. "Oh Hyne! We'd better tell them about this."
==========
One more chapter bites the dust! Okay, that was a bit gory, but I think I've been dwelling too much on the mush. Glad to know that most of you are enjoying the story! Don't worry, I'm already working on the next chapter: Enigma.