chapter 16! oh yeah! I was so amazed by how many reviews i got on the last chapter! I'm so glad you all like the story! 4 reveiws in one day! does happy dance... but notices everyone watching. ahem... Well on with the story!
Max was as amazed as the others were, he had half expected the ritual to be a total failure, but here was Rinoa smiling at them. That smile only she had, the one for the people she cared about. As Rinoa looked around the room, she spotted Squall, his hand still tightly gripping Max's, and smiled even brighter. The clasps holder Rinoa in place disintegrated as she floated through the glass and to Squall. She hugged him and kissed him on his cheek.
"I'm here," She sobbed. "We promised, remember?"
Squall nodded and tired to stand, only to fall down. Zell and Irvine picked him up from the floor and with the rest of the group, made their way out of the Sorceress Memorial.
It took a few days for Squall to regain his strength and Rinoa stayed by his side the entire time.
"I thought I really had lost you." Said Squall as he lay on a bed in the Ragnarok. "I didn't think you'd ever come back to me."
"You think I would just die so easily?" Rinoa replied with a smile. "Besides, I don't think I could be happy if you weren't happy.
Squall's happiness had returned, something he knew lay within Rinoa's heart. His love for her kept him going in the tough situations they endured in the past. And that smile… it lightened his heart just a little every time she smiled. Rinoa looked out the window at the clouds slowly passing by the stationary Ragnarok.
"How long was I gone?" she asked still looking at the clouds.
"I don't know… I was out of it for a while too. But a lot has happened since then. Max left to find you, met Laguna, and had to rush back when things were going wrong in Garden. Now all this stuff with Ultemicia is happening, including that fake Seifer I had to defeat to free you. Everything is in a state of chaos."
Rinoa turned to him with a slight frown, but quickly smiled when she saw him notice it.
"You know," she began. "I never thought of myself as such an important person to everyone else. Makes me feel kind of special."
"Well you are."
They both chuckled as Max slipped into the room unnoticed by the happy couple.
"Hey how are you two?"
"Great." Squall and Rinoa both replied.
It was about time Squall could smile again, thought Max. Things still needed to be done however.
"Sorry to ruin this happy moment but, It's been about 5 days since this whole incident started and I think we had better get going. The longer we give Ultemicia, the stronger she gets."
He may have been blunt, but sometimes the truth needs to be. As He continued with his plan to over take Ultemicia at Tears Point and stop this crazy fiasco, he noticed a far off blast of light leading to the moon. No, this couldn't be it!
"The Lunar Cry?" Max said more to himself than the other two.
No. this was nothing like that. If Ultemicia had something to do with it, she'd most likely bring the moon down onto the planet. With a power as large as hers, it is possible. As Max kept his eyes plastered on the beam of energy, Squall and Rinoa tried to capture his attention, until they saw what he was so fixated upon. Squall stood and looked out the window as well, trying to get a fix on what the beam was. He came up with nothing.
"Do you have any idea what that is, Max?" He asked turning to the young man.
"Either Ultemicia is starting another Lunar Cry or she plans to bring the moon down on us. Unless…"
He broke off. There might be one more possibility, if she were truly desperate to destroy all SeeD's. Using the moon as… No, she would not go that far. Then again, she might not be holding back this time. It could be done with her abilities.
"Squall," Started Max. "We need to get to Ultemicia very soon. If we don't, she will become even more powerful than she is now."
"How? She's already taken Rinoa's powers."
Max sighed and looked back at Rinoa.
"We will need you for this battle sorceress Rinoa. Without you we will fail." He turned to Squall. "Have everyone meet me in the conference room and I'll explain all of this there. Do it quickly please!"
He ran out of the room, leaving Squall and Rinoa somewhat dazed, but they went to round everyone up into the conference room. In the matter of a few minutes, the entire group had gathered there with Max standing near the large window staring at the sky as they all walked in. They each found a chair and waited for him to begin. Without turning, he began.
"The moon, it shines so brightly around here. It's always so vibrant. It has an unearthly power about it, and for that reason, Ultemicia is targeting it. She is sapping the power from it, the power that causes the Lunar Cry and random Monsters to fall onto this planet."
He turned to them with another gem in his hand. He lifted it into the air, where it floated and returned to speaking.
"The same power in that crystal is the power of the Moon. It can bring the dead back to life, kill anything in its path, be used for fuel, or heighten someone's magical powers. That's with a stone of this size… If Ultemicia get's an entire Moon's worth, I'm afraid there is nothing we can do to stop her, even with the help of Rinoa."
The gem drifted back into the palm of his hand.
"I have 7 stones. Each of which I am going to give you so that we might have a better chance at defeating Ultemicia." He hands each one of them a stone and keeps the last one for himself. "Hopefully with these we'll be able to beat her."
"How do we use their power?" Asked Squall.
"Simply place them on your chest and push." He demonstrated as he placed the crystal onto his chest and it melted into him. "That's all."
The rest followed suit and felt the power of the crystals flowing through them. It immediately heightened all of their powers.
"Now." Continued Max. "Let's get going before she realizes our plan to stop her."
I've kinda noticed this is a Max-heavy story... i hope you all dont mind. but i really ty to even out the main characters roles. (sorry for making some characters really small to all of their fans. Gomen!) I hope you liked reading it as much as i liked writing it! Vincent Sekod
