Chapter Two

'Loyalty to another, such a beautiful thing, but is it always the right thing? Sometimes too much loyalty to one in particular, can be a bad thing.'

Squall raced up the metal stairs, grasping the white rail with his leather-gloved fingers. His blue-gray eyes were narrowed and his heart was pounding in his chest. Those words…the haunting words, the ones that the cloaked figure had said to him. 'Beware for your friend and your own safety. I warn you now only to make my prey so weak. I have heard you are good, can you prove it to me? Your girlfriend, she is one you could say, oh, is to be terminated.'

Squall blinked his narrowed eyes as he reached the door. He shoved it open, putting all his weight against it. Squall stumbled as it opened, surprised at how easy the rusted door swung open. He raced over to the front of the cruise ship, looking rather clumsy from the near-fall. Squall caught the railing and stood up straight, then he leaned cautiously over it. "Tiamat, please come up to help us! We need to get off this cruise ship."

Suddenly the air seemed to chill. Squall shivered and spun around. His eyes widened slightly at the sight of the black hooded figure. "Who are you?" he spat, anger from the threats thrown at him earlier, rising within him. He unsheathed his Gunblade, ready to fight if Tiamat didn't come up.

The hooded figure didn't speak at first. Instead they took a step toward him and seemed to look his straight in the eyes. Then a harsh whisper filled Squall's ears, "You cannot possibly hope of defeating me, Squall Leonhart, not yet at least. I am far superior than you,"

"…" Squall breathed, clenching Gunblade. His gray-blue eyes bored into the unseen eyes within the hood. He was about to rush the hooded figure when they raised their right hand. Holding out their palm, he heard them muttered something very quietly. At first Squall couldn't figure out what the figure had said, but it didn't take long for him to find out. His body seemed to numb. His blood ran cold and as Squall felt himself weaken, the figure came in for another attack Squall tried to dodge the wisps of flames that were hurled at him, but the Slow magic that had been cast on him, prevented it. He grunted out in pain as the flames licked at his unprotected body. Luckily it had only been a simple Fire spell and hadn't hurt seriously, but it still hurt him enough.

When Squall felt a little strength flood through him, he did not attack the figure, instead, he called out a Haste spell to counter the Slow cast on him. Just as the feeling and haze in his mind cleared, the sound of ocean waters separating filled his ears. Squall blinked, spinning around, forgetting the black figure that was attacking him. Black-blue water spilled from a dark figure as it rose from the ocean.

Tiamat's dark blue wings spread wide, water running off of their slick surface. His harsh yellow eyes looked down on the cruise boat. A growl escaped his parted jaws, fangs glittering in the full shine of the moon. The sight was terrifying and yet beautiful as the dragon rose from the watery depths of the ocean. His scales glowed harshly as he flapped his wings, rising higher and higher until his whole body was out of the black-blue ocean water. He rose up in front of the moon, blocking the soft glow and shadowing the large cruise ship. The hooded figure gave Squall and Tiamat one look before vanishing.

Squall smiled ever so slightly as Tiamat descended upon the ship. He was particularly large, but he was big enough for them to ride on to reach land, Squall knew that much. He walked over to Tiamat, flinching at the burns on his face and neck from where the Fire spell had hit him. He would need to heal himself if he did not want Rinoa and the others to find out about the new enemy just yet. They would be out soon, he was sure. Petting Tiamat on his snout, Squall walked over to the black-blue dragon's side and climbed up on Tiamat's back. Tiamat did not object to it, seeing as he sensed that Squall had been in danger and wanted off of the ship. As soon as Squall was on Tiamat's back, he cast a Cure spell on himself. Lucky for him, the Cure spell just stopped working as the white, rusted door on the large cruise ship opened to reveal Rinoa, Quistis, Selphie, Irvine, and Zell. Quistis was dragging Zell, while Selphie stood behind Irvine. Rinoa was in front, turning to face him and Tiamat.

Squall suddenly slapped himself mentally. He had forgotten that the others didn't know that Tiamat wasn't evil anymore. Rinoa gave the black-blue dragon a look full of terror. She obviously hadn't seen Squall on the dragon's back yet. "Tiamat!" she gasped out loud enough for the others to turn to look in the direction Rinoa was facing.

He had to say something before they attacked Tiamat, otherwise his plans would be ruined! Squall suddenly jumped off of Tiamat's back and yelled, "Don't hurt him!"

Irvine gave Squall an incredulous look and then spoke, "Are you drunk or something, Squall?" he asked, staring at his best friend. Squall gave Irvine a dangerous glare. He walked over to Rinoa, glancing back at Tiamat. The black dragon seemed a little uneasy.

"No, Irvine, I'm not. Rinoa-um, guys-Tiamat isn't evil anymore. He was when we fought Ultimecia, true, but he's different. I guess you could say he's neutral. He attacks anything he sees that is a threat to him." Squall explained hastily, spinning around to face Tiamat, "So don't act hostile around him unless he sees the reason to be hostile towards something like he did a few-" Squall stopped himself at once, mentally kicking himself this time. He had almost let it slip!

Rinoa came up beside him and placed a hand on Squall's shoulder. Squall felt himself wince under her touch. Had the Cure not been enough to heal his wounds completely? Surely the cloaked figure could not be that good with magic? "And what is it that you plan to do with Tiamat?" she asked him casually, eyeing the black-blue dragon cautiously.

"He's going to get us off this cruise ship, for one," Squall responded, tensing at Rinoa's words. He did not give her time to ask im what he meant, "No questions for now, we just need to get off the cruise ship,"

Squall wasn't exactly sure why he was keeping the threatening enemy a secret from his friends, but he was. Maybe it was because he wasn't going to the face the facts that there was a new enemy out to kill them. And Rinoa. He didn't want to put her in harms way, but wasn't it also harmful for her not to be aware of someone who could strike at anytime?

Squall tried to forget this as he sped past Rinoa and scrambled back up onto Tiamat's back. Rinoa gave him a look before turning to the others and motioning for them to follow. All of them looked a little uneasy about it, even Zell, who was still rather drunk, eyed the dragon with uncertainty.

Squall didn't pay any attention to anyone but Rinoa as he helped her up onto Tiamat's back. As he gazed into her eyes, a knot formed within his throat. The new enemy wanted to hurt her and if he was as good with magic as Squall had come to believe he was, then Rinoa could easily become harmed fatally. He wouldn't let that happen. He would stay by her side no matter what.

After everyone had gotten onto Tiamat's back, Squall spoke to the dragon in a kind, soothing voice, "Okay, Tiamat, please take us to land and then you can return to the ocean." The dragon's yellow eyes seemed to brighten and Squall could have sworn that Tiamat nodded. Then, the dragon rose, flapping his dark black-blue, gold trimmed wing. Even though Tiamat had just come out of the ocean, his body had already dried.

Squall let the wind rush against his body as he leaned against Tiamat. He felt Rinoa wrap her arms tightly around his waist so that she could stay on the fast-moving dragon. What he didn't expect, was for her to lay her head against his back, leaning into him. He turned to glance at her questioningly. She caught his eye and spoke, "Why did we leave?" she asked, disappointment shining in her voice. Squall could see the dullness in her usually bright eyes and blunt tone she used, mixed with disappointment. He reflected that it must have been somewhere around 12:45 am. 'Rinoa must be tired,' he thought, staring at her for a few seconds.

Then he tore his eyes away from her and spoke to her quietly, "I'll tell you later," Squall knew he most likely wouldn't unless Rinoa forced it out of him. Mostly Squall wanted to protect her-and his friends-but he didn't want to make them worry.

"But Squall, why can't you tell me now?" Rinoa asked, staring at him with pleading eyes. This time that wouldn't work, Squall wouldn't give in to that look like he usually did. Instead he turned fully around and completely ignored Rinoa. He had never done that in the time that he had known her, he knew, but now, as he rode on Tiamat's back, he realized that if he kept secrets from her, he would have to change the way he acted around her.

No one spoke the rest of the way there, but just by Rinoa tightening her grip around his waist, practically squeezing him, made Squall realize she was rather frustrated with him. Every time she tightened her grip ever so slightly, Squall flinched. The Fire magic that made burned into his body had not damaged his clothes, and it had not burned his skin, but it felt as though it had. It was like it had burned just past the skin.

Squall longed to use another Cure spell on himself, but that would risk showing the others that he had been attacked when waiting on them. 'At least the visible burns healed,' he thought grateful for that much.

About half an hour past in silence, Squall dozing in the flight, but every time he started to drift asleep, Rinoa seemed to shift her position, moving her arms that remained around his waist in the slightest, but her movements were rough. Pain flashed through the place where she applied the pressure, Squall would flinch, biting back the urge to tell Rinoa to stop moving around so much.

At last, just as Squall couldn't take it anymore with watering eyes, Tiamat came upon land. He nearly cried out in joy, but he face remained blank. His body, however, tensed with eagerness to get off the dragon's back. Rinoa, seeing the land, released her grip on Squall for a second, and yelled to the rest, who had dosed off, "Hey guys! Get up! We've almost reached land!" she shouted in obvious pleasure.

Then Rinoa twisted back around as everyone behind them began to wake up with a start, looking wildly around them. Squall couldn't help but groan as Rinoa wrapped her arms around his rib cage and gave him a big hug. Her anger seemed to have faded, but Squall's hadn't. He flinched, unable to suppress a sigh of obvious pain. Rinoa heard him and drew back in confusion. And then she leaned forward until her head rested on his shoulder. Her arms were wrapped around his waist, but not as tight as they had been. "What's the matter?" she asked him, staring at him with worried eyes.

Squall blinked and looked down at Rinoa. He shook his head, "Nothing, Rinoa, nothing," It was an obvious lie, but Rinoa didn't say anything against him, thankfully. Squall tried to looked away from Rinoa and the island that was up ahead, but every time he did, he found himself moving his head back to look down at the young girl leaning against him and then at the island.

Minutes past until Squall could make out everything on the large landmass ahead of them. He recognized Dollet, a small city by the sea. Tiamat sped up at the sight of land. He seemed to want to reach the land just as much as Squall and the others did. It didn't take long for the blue-black dragon to land on the beach. Tiamat's long, deadly claws dug into the sand. He let out a soft growl as Squall and Rinoa quickly jumped off of his back. Zell, Irvine, Quistis, and Selphie slid off next.

Squall hit the ground hard, his legs locking. He gasped, dropping to the ground for a moment before the blood flowed in his legs again. Pain flashed visibly across his face as he straightened up and turned to face everyone. Rinoa also winced from the loss of blood in her legs, along with everyone else.

Then Squall turned to watch Tiamat rise into the air and glide gracefully back into the ocean. "Hey Squall, can we go to an inn in Dollet and rest there?" Selphie asked groggily, her eyes nearly closing shut where she stood from how tired she was. Squall noted that Selphie was swaying on her feet. Irvine, also seeing this, stepped up to her and wrapped an arm around Selphie's shoulders, pulling her into him so that she wouldn't fall.

Squall nodded, feeling very tired him self. Also, he could use another Cure there. "Yeah, Squall, that party killed me…" Zell groaned clutching his head from a headache that had obviously formed from hangover.

"Come on, we'll find an inn in Dollet somewhere," Squall said confident that one would still be open this late at night. Rinoa looked as if she could hold her own walking into Dollet, and so could Irvine and Zell. Quistis, Squall wasn't so sure about. She seemed rather tired and woozy. He knew that she and Selphie both had done a lot of running around and stuff at the dance by just how hyper they had been earlier. Being hyper was so not like Quistis unless she was having fun, otherwise she was stern and serious, but some times she joked around just for a good laugh.

Every one sighed in relief as they looked wearily at Squall. He didn't really understand why they followed him around so much like he was still a leader. He wasn't; he never was in his opinion, but in their eyes, he had been. Squall thought of himself as a loner, but Rinoa had shown him otherwise, but that still didn't mean he could go around being a leader! Oh well…

Squall trudged through the sand, Rinoa walking beside him. Zell, who seemed rather sick from hangover, was helping Quistis; Irvine practically dragged Selphie and he was furthest back because of her slow striding. Just as Squall thought they would have to be walking at two miles an hour, an idea formed in his mind. "Hey Rinoa," he called to her, the sleep heavy in his voice. She looked over at him expectantly, but said nothing. He looked down at her and asked, "Do you think a Haste spell will help us speed up?"

She looked at him, her eyes suddenly brightening as she nodded eagerly, "Yeah! Great idea, Squall!" Squall watched in amusement as Rinoa nearly jumped up at the suggestion. It was clear that no matter how strong she made herself look, she wanted to get to an inn and fast.

Squall nodded and then focused on his magic, using his GF, Ifrit for help as he used a Haste spell on Selphie, who seemed about to fall over. Rinoa helped him out, knowing that he would have to wait to use another Haste spell and cast one on Quistis. Bolts of energy surged through both young women as they straightened up, quickening their paces. Selphie, though, still kept close to Irvine, who was her boyfriend.

Irvine, who also had the GF, Shiva, summoned a Haste spell and cast it on Squall so he could use more magic quicker. With the energy searing through his veins, Squall cast Haste on Irvine and Rinoa cast Haste on Zell. Irvine cast it on Rinoa and with everyone supercharged with energy, they were able to move much quicker.

Squall thought about using a Cure on his body, or maybe a Cura as they made their way to Dollet, but it was impossible when he was in front of everyone. He cursed under his breath, but his voice came out a little louder than he meant it to. Squall hoped Rinoa hadn't heard him. He moved his eyes to look at her, just not his head to show her that he was looking at her. She was looking at him, but she turned to look straight ahead as if nothing had happened. Squall felt nervousness rise within the pit of his stomach. What if Rinoa heard him and she started questioning him for his actions? What would he say? For cursing out loud in front of her, something he tried to avoid the best he could?

His worried thoughts faded away as Dollet's entrance came into view. The Haste spells cast on everyone kept them wide awake and full of energy, allowing them to quicken their pace to a swift jog. Squall found himself entering Dollet within what seemed like mere seconds. When he first stepped into the city, it was quiet and dark. Everyone was asleep except for the guards who had been guarding Dollet for some time.

They ignored Squall and his friends, knowing exactly who they were as they past. Squall ignored them too as he headed towards an inn that he had seen the first time he had ever entered Dollet. When the inn came in sight, everyone slowed down to a slow-paced walk.

Squall walked right up to the door and pushed it open. Walking into the dimly lit front office, he spotted someone standing there, looking half-asleep. As soon as Squall stepped foot in the room, however, the person bolted away, looking at the group with dull brown eyes. Squall looked back with his own glazed look. As he approached the counter, the man standing there asked, "Will you be staying the night? Or will you want a few days rental?"

Squall looked back at his friends, but before he could ask them which they wanted, Rinoa spoke up, "Just a night's stay, in two separate rooms, three beds in each,"

The man nodded, his look not changing as he handed them a clipboard to sign. They signed their names, showing that they had signed in. "That will be…" the man counted everyone, "300 gil,"

Squall nodded, too tired to be upset at the large price. He handed the man the money, and in exchange, received two door keys and the room numbers. Squall gave Rinoa one of the keys and a door number. He then looked down at his and saw that it read Room #15. He glanced at Rinoa's. It read Room #27.

"Okay, boys in room 15, girls in room 27," Squall ordered and then walked down the hallway.

Squall opened the door to a pitch-black room. He turned on the light, nearly blinding himself from the brightness of it. For an instant, Squall could have sworn he saw a flash of black by the window, but dismissed it as he walked over to one of the beds. Ignoring Zell and Irvine, he dropped onto the nearest bed. Without even getting in a comfortable position, Squall found himself soon in a world of black. He had forgotten about using Cure.

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Hope you like it! R&R peeps! Okay, I'll update soon!