I've been waiting forever for this chapter. I think I may cry, now that it's finally written.

The opening quote is by Auron, who is from Final Fantasy X.

And for anyone who may be wondering, the flashback at the beginning of this is from chapter 13, when Cloud asked why Rinoa had time magic.

Chapter 22- Honyaku

I wanted to change the world, too. But I changed nothing. That's my story.

((((()))))

"You have her powers."

Startled, Rinoa flinched back from the sudden statement. Kain sat down beside her and looked out over the horizon rising outside of Zanarkand. She looked back at her dark boots and sighed. So he had figured it out, then. "Yes," Rinoa grudgingly confirmed. "I have Edea's powers. Whenever a sorceress is going to die, they pass on their powers. Edea passed hers on to me, but she didn't really die. She only turned back to normal. Squall told me that after the battle with Ultimecia, he went back in time to see Ultimecia give Edea her powers. So, in a sense, I sort of have Ultimecia's powers."

The dragoon nodded, as if he'd known it from the start. "And you simply refuse to tell the others?"

"It's not something they're in dire need of knowing."

Kain was silent for a long while, and Rinoa didn't break it. Instead, she looked over her shoulder at the rest of the warriors. They'd set out tomorrow to try and figure out just what Kuja was planning, and why Ultimecia had tried to take control of her.

Of course that was obvious- she wanted the warriors to turn against each other, and it almost worked.

Almost…

But Zidane caught on. How could he? Ultimecia's plan was flawlessly put together. Not even Squall saw through it. Yuna had mentioned something about Garland, the creepy old man with the obsidian armor that looked at you like he was trying to see how you ticked, and how to mess you up completely…. Frankly, he gave Rinoa the creeps. She decided she'd ask him later, then.

Rinoa barely caught Kain's sentence, too absorbed in her own thoughts. "…forgiveness."

She turned back to him. "What?"

Kain shook his head. "I said, I need to concentrate on finding forgiveness. I'm no better than those on Chaos's side, and Cecil knows it. Yet… yet Cosmos chose me. I do not understand. She should have chosen Rosa. She was going to be Cecil's wife. He had promised to marry her after we saved the world, but then he was sent to Dissidia. Rosa believes he is dead, and I suppose she hopes I accompanied him."

"…Why would Rosa hate you?" Rinoa asked. She sighed, shaking her head. "I'm sorry. You really don't have to tell me."

"It's fine. Everyone else is preoccupied at the moment anyway and it seems my help isn't needed at the moment."

Kain sat his helmet at his side and began his tale.

Rinoa's face was surprisingly expressionless as he finally finished. She really couldn't believe that he had once worked alongside Golbez, but throughout it all, he was still Cecil's friend.

He reminded her of Seifer. He was a SeeD student with Squall, Quistis, Selphie, Zell, and all the rest. Rinoa used to love him until Seifer kidnapped her and tried to kill Squall. Used to love him….

She figured Kain didn't want to hear her tragic love story, so she simply said, "I was a spy when I first met Squall. I used him as a way to infiltrate Balamb."

Kain cocked a disbelieving eyebrow that made her face turn red involuntarily. "You were a spy? For whom?"

"Forest Owls, a resistance faction part of Timber. We rebelled against Galbadia with SeeD's help, and eventually joined the battle to fight against Ultimecia. Only one of my old friends turned out to be a bad guy and tried to kill us. And after that, my stupid father locked me in my room and told Squall he was going to kill Edea. She was practically his mother, you know?"

Actually, he didn't know. "Edea was like his mother? How?"

Rinoa was going into touchy territory, so she warned him not to mention the conversation with Squall. "Squall and a few other SeeD's used to live in an orphanage ran by Edea Kramer. She was a kind woman until Ultimecia came and took control over her. Squall never really knew his parents. We met his dad once. His name was Laguna."

Kain listened to her ramble on, and she felt glad that she finally had someone to talk to. She'd been with Garnet and Lenna a lot, but she just felt too out of place with the queen and princess. They were royalty and she wasn't. Terra didn't talk much to anyone besides the first ten warriors and Celes. Rinoa supposed she was just shy towards everyone still.

"Everyone!"

Rinoa and Kain jumped to their feet, hands flying to their weapons. Rinoa calmed down a little once she noticed it was Light, but she didn't know who was with him. It was one of Chaos's warriors, she knew, because she had remembered fighting him for a while during the first battle in Dissidia. What was he doing here?

Unless… this was Ultimecia again coming back for round two.

The Warrior slowly put his hands up in surrender, and Light only stared at them in confusion. Mage stepped forward, a cautious hand on the hilt of her sword. "What happened to Red Mage and Black Mage when we fought Kary?"

Light easily answered. "They both came up with a stupid plan of encasing her in ice so Thief could successfully steal the fire orb while I fought off fiends, and you healed Black Belt's injuries."

Mage grinned and everyone let out a sigh of relief. Rinoa saw the man with Light go straight to Terra and Celes, grinning. He was the villain from their world? Rinoa's eyes narrowed at him. Kain took noticed and asked, "What's wrong?"

Her hand went up to her throat where there was the faintest line a paper cut could have given her. Zidane had to have done that on purpose, earlier, and he had to have been an expert. Anyone else, and she would have had her throat slit. "Terra said my necklace had the symbol of Gestahl on it. What if he had been the one to make that?"

Kain turned back to him and slowly shook his head. "No, it wasn't him."

"How do you know?"

"There isn't a bit of malice in him. He must have come with Light so he could join our side. He most definitely is an ally."

Rinoa also looked back at him. He had a genuine smile on his face, talking to the two girls. He certainly didn't look like he was going to murder them in their sleep, at least.

And besides, he looked familiar to her…

"All right, we can keep him!" she decided cheerfully.

Kain stared after as she skipped off to properly meet their new guest. "What a strange girl. Said just like he was a pet."

((((()))))

"You monster!" Rinoa screamed, running in first.

The Cloud of Darkness smugly turned to see the warriors pour into the old throne room. "You're late, Cosmos Dogs. The party started hours ago."

Rinoa ignored all the witch was saying. She was too preoccupied with staring at Gil. He lay on the ground with countless dents in his already rusty armor. Blood matted a part of his hair and his face was already turning purple with bruises. Tears sprang to the sorceress's eyes.

He had a genuine smile on his face. He wasn't someone out to intentionally hurt them.

Terra ran past her in a blur, swinging out two whips of fire spewing from her palms. Rinoa snapped into focus, conjuring ice spikes. She sent them flying at Enuo, who immediately put up a shield around the three of them.

Jecht and Squall ran up to Exdeath and slashed at him. They're attacks made it through the shield, giving Terra and Rinoa the cue to draw their weapons. Terra ducked around the Cloud of Darkness, cutting in between the witch and Gilgamesh. Leon and Firion joined Rinoa in fighting against Enuo, the two brothers dashing to and fro, tag-teaming to cut off his quick spells while Rinoa shot out at him and constantly cast her own protective spells. Golbez and Maria ran off to help Terra with the Cloud of Darkness. Golbez kept doing his best to keep the girls open to a good hit, but the Cloud kept fading into and out of the shadows, making it hard for anyone to hit her.

Light and Mage quickly ran over to Gilgamesh, Kain and Cecil blocking any stray magic spells coming their way. Mage lifted Gilgamesh's head onto her lap and quickly cast a cure spell. Gilgamesh wearily opened his eyes. A small smile appeared on his face. "You guys came."

"Of course," Light responded, taking an arm over his shoulder. "We'd never leave you behind."

Gilgamesh's grin widened.

It happened all to fast, then. The Cloud of Darkness slid up from the floor in front of Light and Gil. Mage called out and cut her sword through the air, splitting the Cloud into darkness again. The Mage of Light froze, her hands shaking. "Where did she go?" she whispered.

"Afraid of the dark, are you?" came the malicious reply. Mage screamed as the Cloud came up behind her and wrapped her snakes around her wrists, making her drop her sword.

"Mage!" Light called out. Cloud ran up and took Gilgamesh. The knight wasted no time in running back to help her.

The Cloud lifted Mage easily and threw her away, grinning to show her canines. "Come to play, little one?"

A snake shot out and ripped through the side of his neck where his shoulder started. Light winced and dropped his shield, the weight too much for the injury.

Terra and Maria shot out attacks at the Cloud of Darkness, but she melted away in the shadows before any could land on her.

The others were doing just as well against Exdeath and Enuo. Exdeath swung out his fist and hit an unawares Rinoa, sending her crashing to her knees. Squall turned to her, and Enuo shot an ice spell at him, freezing him in place.

"Rinoa!" Kain shouted, rushing over to lend them aid. "Use your time magic!"

But she didn't have time to. Knocking Jecht, Firion, and Leon away with a barrage of magic, Enuo and Exdeath ganged up against Rinoa. The sorceress struggled to her knees, still holding the bleeding wound at her side, and tried to run out of the way. Exdeath ran in front of her and cut off her escape route. Enuo came from behind and blocked her off that way.

"To the Void!" they both declared, holding out their hands. The black mass shrouded around her.

"No! Rinoa!" Kain burst. He tackled into Exdeath, but he swatted him away with the spell still intact.

Rinoa thrust her hand out, and Kain grabbed it, trying to pull her free. "The Void shall rend your very soul!"

The sorceress screamed.

Her hand turned cold as ice. Kain jumped back as Exdeath jabbed at him. Rinoa's eyes turned sleepy, and she simply fell over on the cold, cluttered ground. Enuo walked over her limp form went back to shooting magic out at Jecht, Leon, and Firion.

Light, with one hand on his neck to keep it from bleeding to heavily, charged up at the Cloud without a moment to stop and worry about the wound. Golbez shot out dark balls of energy crashing into her. Maria and Terra shot at her the second her image started to reform. It was working for a while, until Light stumbled, finally succumbing to the dizziness of losing so much blood at once.

Gilgamesh pushed Cloud off. The ex-SOLDIER was taken aback for a moment, taking a moment to process what had just happened. The warrior broke into a pitiful run towards the Cloud, drawing a small blade from a place under his armor.

Zidane, who had been anxiously watching near the entrance with Dagger and Kuja, suddenly recognized it. His hands when to his sides. One dagger was missing.

He must have stolen it back in Mobliz….

It was certainly something Alley-way Jack would do. "Gil," he yelled, getting everyone's attention, "don't do it!"

Gil ran up to the Cloud of Darkness and stabbed the dagger into her stomach.

Even Exdeath and Enuo stopped in surprised at the Cloud's wail. She grabbed Gilgamesh's neck and conjured a spear made of raw darkness in her hand.

Before anyone could react- before anyone could even draw a breath- she plunged it through his golden armor.

"GILGAMESH!" Terra and Bartz screeched.

With shaking legs, Light watched as Gilgamesh dropped to his knees in from of him.

One thought came to his mind as he fell forward on the ground, his eyes coming to a close: I failed.

((((()))))

Rinoa snapped her eyes open and shot upward. Pain erupted in her side where Exdeath had rammed his armored fist into her, and she sucked in a sharp breath. As the pain slowly ebbed away, she cracked open an eye and looked around her.

A large expanse of endless rocky terrain seemed to last forever in all directions. The sky was pure black, like the night sky, but no stars pierced the blanket of night.

She gradually got to her knees, then to her feet. She felt dizzy and disoriented, and the endless ground only threw her off further.

The main thought on her mind was where the heck she was, but she already knew the answer to that.

She was in the Void.

((((()))))

AND THAT'S IT, FOLKS! I'm really mad at myself that this chapter was so short. It's one of the most important ones, and it barely makes seven pages on Word. Most of it was nothing but fighting, too. I promise the next chapter will be much longer though.

Please make my day and review.