Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VIII or any of its characters and locations; if I did I would be lying down in my private island with a piña colada in my hand.
Author's Note: I need you guy to read this one well. I'm just writing as I go now and I'm getting a little worried as to where this story is going. I think my idea is good, but I don't know what you guys are going to say about it. In order to not leave any spoilers here, read the Author's Note at the end of this chapter. Read & Review, please!! X)
Chapter 7: His eternal struggle
Selphie hit Ultimecia with her oversized nunchuks, making her bend over in pain. Her body was bruised, cut and battered. Her arms close to her chest and blood was all over. Selphie's knees were bruised and as soon as she finished her attack she knelt down next to Squall, who was bleeding a little by the corner of his mouth. Next to Squall was Irvine, who had a nasty cut on his leg; Griever had tried to slash Selphie and he had stepped in the way receiving the full force of the hit. Irvine shot Ultimecia again for the hundredth time. Ultimecia let out an eerie scream as the shot went through her right shoulder blade. She shook in pain and raised her hand casting an Ultima spell at Irvine.
"Reflect on your... Childhood..." Ultimecia said as the spell consumed Irvine's figure within the green explosion; her voice coming from nowhere and from everywhere. Squall covered his eyes from the spell's glow while Selphie screamed Irvine's name. The spell slowly dissipated and Irvine was gasping for air; he was pushing himself up with his hands, his shotgun near his right hand. He was supporting his lower body with his good leg, leaving the other limp. Squall jumped at her, hitting her with his gunblade, but only used Renzokuken on her. "Your sensation… Your words… Your emotions…" She said after Squall retreated back to his place between Selphie and Irvine. Selphie prepared her Slots limit break. Concentrating her little energy she had and used a Full-cure X3. Blue and green lights surrounded the three of them, releasing the pain from inside their bodies. Irvine slowly got up and took a hold of his shotgun. Ultimecia spoke again. "Time… It will not wait…" She said preparing a Firaga and firing it at Selphie, who used her arms to shield her face. Irvine tried to reach her, but fell in the process and the fireball hit her. Squall ran up to her blindingly through the smoke. He lowered his body touching the ground until he found her arm. He got her up and pulled her out of the smoke. Irvine let out a sigh of relief and prepared his limit break; he looked at his stock of ammo and looked up at Squall, who was helping Selphie stand upright.
"I'm out of pulse ammo!!" Irvine yelled putting the last rounds on his shotgun. Squall looks over to him.
"How many do you have left?" Squall said as Selphie finally stood with slight burns on her arms, her big green eyes were teary. Irvine aimed.
"Just these two, but I have other ammo." Irvine said shooting Ultimecia again with hyper shot. Ultimecia writhed in pain again.
"No matter… … how hard you hold on. It escapes you…" Ultimecia said and threw a thundaga at Squall, who got ready to receive it; closing his eyes shut and holding his gunblade tightly. When a few seconds passed and he felt no pain, he opened his eyes to see Irvine fall forward with smoke coming from him. Squall reached out, but Irvine's body disappeared. Selphie let out a squeal. Squall turned to Selphie. In a matter of second, Selphie lost everything that made her look angelic as she glared at Ultimecia and began to glow.
"I'll kill you bitch!!!" Selphie yelled. Squall tried to grab her as she ran passed him. She used the Kamikaze ability on Ultimecia. Squall tried to reach her body, but it also disappeared. Squall screamed at the top of his lungs. He lost everyone, even Rinoa to Ultimecia, the little angel-thing had taken them all to another dimension in which they were Ultimecia's slaves.
"And…" Ultimecia continued to speak, but was cut off by the barrage of slashes Squall was delivering through Renzokuken. He had to kill Ultimecia; only that way would the others return to their time and dimension. When he was done with Renzokuken, he jumped back and began to glow; the golden light surrounding his whole body. He charged at Ultimecia, hitting her again and again with Lionheart. Her eerie scream filled the air around him. Once Squall finished, he jumped away from her and looked at her as her body began to fall into nothing. Ultimecia's true form was awful, but he looked down at her human body dangling upside down. She finally opened her eyes, they were brown and she just smiled at him as her body disappeared into the blackness of their surroundings. He thought it was weird that she smiled if she had gotten killed. She just smiled happily.
Squall walked through the desert like landscape, tired, thirst, hurt… His whole body was in pain. He suddenly reached an endless cliff and when he turned around he found the he was in a small island; there was not a large desert behind him. His legs betrayed him and he fell down, sitting on the floor with his head down. He looked up, wishing to scream at the top of his lungs; he was alone. As he looked up, he saw a feather slowly falling towards him. He reached out to grab it and his surrounding changed. Rinoa was standing there. He quickly got up.
"Rinoa!" He called out, but there was no response from her; she did not even move. He turned worried, she was not like that. "Rinoa?" He said again. She finally turned to him with a smile, but her whole face was a blur; distorted in a way that her features were barely recognizable. Squall gasped and right before his eyes many images of her appeared, but her face was always distorted. Her features even mixed up with Ultimecia's at one point. Then he saw it, the truth; Ultimecia's truth. Followed by the image of Rinoa's helmet broken in outer space.
Squall woke up in the middle of the night screaming with sweat covering his body. Sitting up on his bed he sobbed quietly. He moved both hands to his head running them through his soaked hair and then moved one down to his aching heart. He was having the same nightmare every night and sometimes he wished he had died with the ice Edea had thrown at him when she was controlling her. He lied back down on his side in a fetal position, crying alone and wishing to sleep and never wake up again; wishing to find a way to save her.
Zell walked towards his door and opened the door, when he heard Squall crying once again. He turned to Squall's door and for a moment he thought on knocking, but he knew Squall would not open the door and if he did, he would deny everything. He just lowered his head with sadness dominating his expression and entered his dorm quietly.
Author's Note: First of all, I never believed the Rinoa/Ultimecia theory and I know it has been disproven, but this popped into my head and I won't be able to write anything else until I get it out of my system, plus it doesn't hurt to write this. I truly hope I haven't discouraged you from reading it, but I just have to write this if I want to write something else. Sorry. Anyways next chapter will be done in a few days; if not tomorrow (I'm on a roll). Please leave your comments; this time I beg you!!! X)