Angel/Angel
>By Anne Haringsma
>butterfly.an@hetnet.nl
>Started: 16 October '01
>Finished: 22 October '01

"May this flesh turn into clay,
may this blood turn into water.
God of chaos, trap this soul
forever in this form."

~*~

The sound of footsteps. Panting. A voice. The young man turns, slowly, rolling his eyes. No talking. No chattering.
Please. Girl, clad in blue, knows the rules, and refrains from talking. Yet, it is the young man, no, boy, who breaks
the silence.
"You want to talk." He knows. His love, the girl, nods. "Yes." "...Cafeteria." They sit down. People stare. He gets up
and walks away, returns a minute or so later with two coffee. She sips from hers, he stares at his. "Talk," he says.
Which is unusual for him, Lion.

"Alright," the girl sighs. "It's about her..."

She called him Love. She called him Honey, and giggled when he scowled. He called her Angel, and scowled anyway.
They were the most famous couple of Balamb Garden: Commander Squall Leonhart-Loire and Sorceress Rinoa
Heartilly-Caraway. They were together now for a year and a month, and even their closest friends were surprised at
that fact. It was the most dependant relationship ever seen. She was bouncing all day long, making even Zell Dincht
and Selphie Tilmitt dizzy, constantly chattering about her boyfriend the Hero. He scowled and frowned and
whatevered, of course, but was never away from his Heroine's side. They were happy, as happy as could be. Squall
was still leader of Garden. Rinoa was the most powerful Sorceress in existence. They both got along with their
respective fathers. They were strong, beautiful young people, living in a free world.

"I knew as soon as I looked into her eyes," the girl starts. "Not Matron's eyes..." Matron? When did she start
calling Edea that? "But the eyes I saw when she stole my body. Up in space. And so many days later, when I saw
her again, in the castle. We were lost, and she called me. Do you remember? That's how we found her. That's how
we fought her. Do you-"

He stares into space, not because he's not interested, but because he is the Lion. She stops, considers pouting and
walking away, but instead just snaps her fingers. He pretends to smile.

"I do." "I do." "I do." "I do."

The four young couples were told to kiss. Irvine Kinneas grabbed his bubbling bride by the waist, then kissed her
passionately. Zell Dincht, usually the first to act on impulse, looked his pigtailed girl into the eyes and shyly placed
his lips on hers. Quistis Trepe, now Commander of Galbadia Garden, realized Nida wasn't going to do anything, and
kissed him firmly before casting a sideways glance at the couple standing next to her: Squall Leonhart and his lovely
bride Rinoa. The boy, no, man, looked at the girl and smiled, actually smiled, and as he kissed her the entire Quad
burst into cheers. Music started, "Waltz from the Moon", and the newly weds started dancing. Soon more couples
joined in. Laguna Loire, still president of Esthar, mumbled something about Raine. General Caraway, now president of
Galbadia, tried to hide his tears, caused by the strange combination of his daughter's wedding and his late wife's
music.

"Squall..." Rinoa said, resting her head on her husband's shoulder, "look..." And as Squall looked up to where his
young wife pointed to, he saw. "A shooting star..." "Just like..." "That day..." He sighed. "Rinoa? I... I love you."

"She had the Griever. Do you remember, Love? The Griever. She summoned it and it obeyed her. It attacked you,
it attacked us... Why? Isn't the Griever yours, your symbol, your legacy? Didn't you give it to me?" Silence. "Look
Love, I have it, right here, on my necklace! What would happen if I junctioned it? Or, even more, tried to summon?
Would it obey the commands of a sorceress? So many questions..." Silence. "The Griever is ours, Love. And she had
it."

They walked under the stars, hand in hand, looking up at the night sky. Utter silence, only broken by the sound of
crickets chirping. They were alone. This was their home. The flower field. Not too far away, they could see the
silhouette of the stone orphanage where Cid and Edea Kramer lived. They sat down. Rinoa named the constellations,
the stars, pointing each one out. Squall smiled. "What's that one, over there? That bright one?" he asked. She
snuggled up to him. "I dunno..." "Then I name it Rinoa's Star," Squall whispered, and they kissed. "You're so
beautiful, my Angel... so beautiful and young... always..." "Always..." she echoed, "No... not always. Squall, there's
something you need to know... Edea told me..."

"Everyone thinks I got it from my mother. That's what they say here in Garden, right?" She nods. "But I didn't. I
got it from Matron. I remember her having a GF of her own. You know, the holy one..." "Alexander," she helps.
"Yes. That's the one. Anyway, she often showed it to us, and we would laugh, and say stuff like 'the monster! The
monster! I'm gonna defeat it!' You know how kids play." She nods again. "But the day she received the Griever...
that was no game." Silence. "Angel... it was the day, thirteen years ago... the day, mere weeks ago... the day I got
lost."

"It's okay. Rinoa... Rinoa! Listen to me. It's okay. Angel... I love you. You can't help it. It's okay. Don't cry, please,
don't..."

"Matron received, no, took the Sorceress' powers. That's when she got the Griever. Apparently, the Sorceress was
still junctioned to it. It was a normal power transfer, like we do so often, and the GF was transferred with it. And
when I came to Garden, she gave it to me. Because, she said, I was her Lion, son of the Lioness, and the Lion should
be mine. She used every bit of her powers to create a Summoner's Ring..." He pauses. "I... never saw her again,
until, you know..."

Death. Squall Leonhart, of all people, knew what that meant. Gone, lost, forever, darkness, forever. He had been so
close to it, right after defeating Ultimecia... He had wandered in the desert of his own mind, he had seen the feather,
sent by Rinoa... he had seen his life through the eyes of a stranger... he had heard his Angel sing. He had seen
death's eyes, and looked away.

But now, death was close again. He watched in silence as the coffin, showered with white flowers, was carried
towards the empty grave. He listened as the tall dark man, best friend, spoke. And as he was asked to say last words,
he cried. "Laguna Loire. His soul will be part of Gaia. His memories will be part of the sky."
People talking. Memories forgotten. Rinoa squeezed his hand.

"So, the Griever was hers?" He nods. "But it's not its real name. I don't know what it's really called. It... merely
became a symbol of my grief, hence it's name. Matron used to talk about the 'Bright Lion', but all I could see was
darkness, and I held onto it. The necklace, the gunblade... it's all grief.

"Her eyes. Her face. Her voice. Her wings... didn't you see, Love? Didn't you recognize her? Love... your sword
pierced her heart."

"Uncle Irvine? Why is mommy so beautiful?" Juliette Leonhart was fidgeting with her uncle's ponytail, waiting for an
answer. She stared at him, Irvine Kinneas, now in his mid-thirties and father of two teenage boys. He thought for a
second. "Well," he finally said, "As you can see, Aunt Selphie is beautiful too." Juliette nodded. "And you know
why? It's because Aunt Selphie loves Uncle Irvine. And sometimes, Aunt Selphie kisses Uncle Irvine, right here," he
said, pointing to his lips. "And when a girl kisses Irvine, she'll always be beautiful. Now, about twenty years ago,
Uncle Irvine and your mommy had a little--"

"IRVINE KINNEAS!" A small woman with brown hair and green eyes stormed in, carrying a large frying pan. "That'd
better not be true, or you're gonna have a LOT of explaining to do!" she said furiously, holding the frying pan above
her head. Irvine grinned widely at her. "Easy Sefie, I'm just messin' with ya. Nothing happened between me and
Rinoa, I swear! You know how attached she is to Squall. They're like twins or something. I could never have kissed
her without having Squall in it too, and you know that's--" Selphie placed a finger on his lips, hushing him. "That's
enough for now, mister. You're giving the girl all warped ideas." She turned to the little girl, who was staring at her in
confusion. "Juliette," she said, "Your mother is beautiful because she is a Sorceress. She has lots of magic. And I
think she'll always stay like this. Beautiful."
"I wanna be beautiful too!" little Juliette said, kissing Irvine on the lips.

"...Pierced her heart? I've heard that somewhere before... you said..." His storm eyes widen, as he finally
understands what she's saying. "Angel. Listen to me. I don't know what you're thinking, but she, the Sorceress, was
from a future far away. She was evil, Angel. Evil. Whatever you're thinking, it was just coincidence. You hear me!?
Coincidence!" People stare.

Convincing someone of something is difficult. Especially when you know it isn't true.

Convincing yourself is impossible.

Rin... Rinny? No. Rinoh... Rinoa. Her name was Rinoa. He knew it was. He could see it in her eyes, beautiful eyes that
shimmered as he spoke her name. If only he could remember who she was. He loved her, that much he still knew. But
why... he didn't know... He seemed to be forgetting quite a lot of things lately. His own name, for example. But that
could happen to anyone, right? He grinned at the two young women in front of him. The left one was Rinoa. the girl
he loved. She was beautiful, just beautiful. The one on the right, a young woman with storm eyes and chocolate hair,
her name was... oh, it was like staring into a mirror. Squ... Squall? No, that was his name. See, just like a mirror. It
didn't matter... he loved them both. And they loved him back. Whoever they were.

"She was a sorceress. She had angel wings. She had the Griever. Her castle was built directly next to the
orphanage. And you know why, Love? Because you promised her you'd be there. Waiting. She was searching for
you, I don't know why, but she was waiting for you. She must've wandered there for ages, with only her ring for
company. I guess she junctioned it, and the Griever stole her memories... until she only knew one thing: She had to
wait for you, wait for you right there, at the flower field. And SeeD was a threat. Because SeeDs are trained to
defeat the sorceress. Now do you see, Love? Do you see? Oh, Love, I don't know what to do... her face, haunting me
every moment, her words... oh, Love, even her = words!"

"Do you remember? 'Time... it will not wait... no matter... how hard you hold on... it escapes you...' it escaped her,
you escaped her. That's why she needed Ellone! To go back in time! To reach you! Please, Love, try to see it, try
to..."

He was the last of the group to die. Irvine, Zell, Selphie, Quistis, Seifer... all gone. And the Lion was the last to find
out that even he wasn't immortal. He died of old age, peacefully, without pain. His last words were for his Angel.
Juliette, her husband, and her four children were there when it happened. They were the only ones to hear his last
words, see his chest raise one last time, before freezing forever. None of them cried. They covered his body with a
blanket, and prayed to Hyne.

Rinoa Heartilly ran.

"You're not immortal," storm-eyed Lion says, voice trembling. "I've killed your kind. Your blood is as red as mine.
Matron looks young, sure she does. But she was a Sorceress at age five. Does she look five? You're not immortal,
Angel. You're not the one from the future. You're merely a young girl, a young Sorceress, who has lived her life in
an age of fear. There is no more fear. There is only peace now. Angel... look into my eyes. You are no wicked tyrant
from the future. You never were. You never will be. You're my Angel... my girlfriend, my best friend, the possible
future mother of my children! That's how I see you! Angel..."

"Come. I'll bring you to your dorm. You need rest. Come."

"...Yes."

Night sky. A shooting star. Crickets chirping. Flower field. Images blurring, = desert-field-desert-field-ballroom-sky-
desert, flower field. A young woman, running, panting, screaming. Angel wings. Singing... not remembering the
words, singing, let me come to you, singing, close as I wanna be, singing, to feel your heart beating fast, singing, but
his heart-had ceased to beat? Crying, where are you, crying, you promised! Promised... promised... why? I'll be
waiting. But you can't. And why not? You're not immortal! I've killed your kind. Who killed? SeeD... why? Help me
help this woman this girl, help her, HELP ME!

Witch's loved had failed.

Shooting star behind angel wings.

L I O N heard her call.

~*~

A/N: Whew... that was fun ^_^ hey, did I mention that I hate Rinoa, but love Ultimecia? Err... doesn't go with my
theory... >.<
Okay, author's notes. Yeah. I wrote a Squall/Rinoa romance fic with tons of angst and no Rinoa-bashing. *feels
forehead* Aiya! I no understand!
And yes, I do know words besides 'beautiful'. Just don't use 'm ;)
Hey, howd'ya like my IC Irvine & Selphie? Anyone want to sue me for having Quistis marry Nida?
...do you even remember Nida?

Griever's real name is Maduin, and he was originally yellowish gold. He's also in FF VI and FF IX. In IX,
he's called Madeen, Madain and even Maiden (as in Maiden's Prayer). Can someone smack that translator upside
the head, please? Why, thank you! 'nyways, the only correct way to spell his name is Mael Duin, which is the name
of a legendary Irish hero (and a really hot main char in a Bridget Wood novel ^^).

Some other things: The Griever can be summoned from Squall's ring, just like Doomtrain from the Solomon's ring. It is
NOT the wedding band Laguna gave to Raine. It is NOT the band on Laguna's finger. Zell did NOT make a duplicate
for Rinoa. Edea was completely possessed by Ultimecia. She does NOT remember anything about the past seven
years or so. Rinoa received Edea's powers, meaning, Edea is NOT a Sorceress anymore. Rinoa also received Adel's
powers. Edea first became a Sorceress at age five, and once again thirteen years ago. Sorceresses do age, but they do
NOT die of old age. They can be killed, though.

Feedback welcome. No, scratch that. Feedback NEEDED.