Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy X 1. Fading

In the desolate wasteland, she ran frantically to search for Squall. Her hand gripped the tarnished rings that tickled her chest.

"He'll be here soon. He promised..." she whispered to reassure herself.

Rinoa sat on the stony ground and moved her legs towards her body. She buried her face into her knees.

Who would believe that a cluster of kids defeated the strongest enemy of Time? She worried about her friends but most of all, she worried about Squall.

What would he do to himself if he was all alone out here? He needed her.

Grey clouds floated above the Sorceress. A ray of moonlight fell upon her raven-hair and pale skin.

She heard footsteps and stood up quickly, taking her pinwheel for defence.

Her shiny black eyes focused on the fog around her. The mysterious fumes swirled together and a young man stepped out from the shadows.

He seemed distraught. Rinoa slowly lowered her weapon when he faced her.

He had wavy blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes that suited his tanned skin. The sorceress couldn't help but blush when she noticed his well-built chest was bare beneath his short, black overalls.

"Who are you?" she asked.

He seemed about her age and possibly a few centimetres taller than Squall.

"A dream" he replied.

Rinoa gasped as the man's arms became opaque. Iridescent rays gleamed around his body.

"A fading dream...." he added.

The sorceress plucked up the courage to touch his face.

As she expected, her small hand slipped through him as if he was a being of nothing. This creature fascinated the woman. He was human but then again he was not.

"What are you doing in the Time Compression?" she asked empathetically.

The floating rainbow-coloured lights vanished slowly and to Rinoa's surprise, her hand laid gently on the dream's well sculpted face.

He felt warm, so full of life yet dead, like a fading dream.

The young man placed his gloved hand over hers and drew her away from him.

"Let me continue my journey to the Farplane. I have a story to tell someone there."

He walked past her. There was sorrow in his posture and a ghostly hint told Rinoa that the dream was once a genial and boisterous man.

She grabbed his arm suddenly without the acknowledgement of her own actions. Her rough grip caused the dream of the Fayth to glance back at her.

The force of her grip made Rinoa fall into his arms and there she wept when he held her close. His hand brushed her silky hair and she buried her face into the hollow of his neck.

"Ssh, it's okay. Hey, I hate to see pretty girls cry like this."

The dream gave a musical laugh. It was so contagious that Rinoa laughed with him.

As he swept the tears from her face with his thumb, she told him how scared she was. She told him about Squall, about Ultemecia, about the Time Compression.

"Am I dead? Could you be a dream of mine?" the sorceress asked.

Her companion placed his hands into the pockets of his overalls and kicked a few stones away from them. Rinoa took in the detail of petit, sandy yellow coat that was kept in place by the straps of his overalls. The back of his coat had a hood and he had a strange blue material on his left shoulder that she had never seen in her world.

"No. I think you're from a different world altogether. I come from a world called Spira."

He watched her perplexed expression and felt amused.

"Spira?"

"Alrighty, I'll explain."

He told her about a place where the lights never faded. He told her about a monster that was born from mankind's foetus of sin. He told her about his sports team and how he ended up in a new world of Spira.

He explained about people who worshipped a god that never was and the people who were discriminated because of their spiral-green eyes.

There was a girl who had extraordinary powers of summoning mystical creatures and he loved her. Then came the day he found out that he was not a living being. He saved his beloved from sacrificing herself. He saved Spira but he ended their dreams.

"I'm sorry to hear..." Rinoa felt overwhelmed about his world. She wanted to travel there. She wanted to see the city of never-ending lights. She wished to meet the people he travelled with, the places he had been to.

But that was never to be.

"I need your help to find Squall. Dreams can fly, right?" she smiled at the dream who looked surprised.

He took the sorceress into his arms once again and felt a lump in his throat.

"Hey, it's scary to be alone and..." he started but shook his head.

"And?" Rinoa asked. Their eyes met as the two floated across the wasteland.

"And...I'm sorry if this sounds selfish but half of me wants to keep you. Of course, I wouldn't do that though." He laughed again.

Rinoa did not respond.

Part of her wanted to leave with the dream but she had to stay for Squall. She was enticed by the creature she was travelling with.

They landed close to a body sprawled on the ground.

"Gotta go now. You help your guy" and with those words, he vanished into the fog as mysteriously as he had appeared.

"Hey wait! You never told me your name!"

No answer.

Rinoa could not sleep that night. Squall's kiss was still lingering on her lips. His taste was still fresh on her tongue but her mind was filled with thoughts about the other man.

She slept for as long as she could for the next few weeks in hope of dreaming about_ him_.

She never did.

He was right.

He was never a dream of hers.


	2. Love

Squall was never one to share his feelings. None the less, he only opened himself to Rinoa on rare occasions. A year after the time travel, he remained more reticent than before.

His brooding face was lost in pensive and he dismissed people from his company.

Rinoa pinched his arm softly in the cafeteria. He narrowed his stern blue eyes. A curdled growl escaped from the back of his throat.

The young woman pursed her lips angrily. The place was full at this time of the day.

"Squall, something is wrong. Tell me" she coaxed as she twirled a strand of his thick brown hair with her slim finger.

He pushed her hand aside and avoided eye contact.

There was silence.

"Squall! You big meanie, you never even said happy birthday."

Rinoa moved her chair closer and pinched the commander again.

"What?" the latter grunted.

"I'm eighteen! Remember?" she exaggerated the last word and tried not to whimper.

White light fell through the glass ceiling. Noises of cutlery rattled loudly. Squall took a bite of his sandwich.

"Oh yeah, happy birthday Sorceress Rinoa" he mumbled.

A tormented gasp escaped Rinoa's small, cherry lips. She felt as if the man next to her was a complete stranger.

He stood up, the chair creaking with his movement. The man pushed a feather into Rinoa's hand.

"Your gift."

He left.

Rinoa pushed her plate away. Her nervous body shivered as she twitched her nose. She ran after the SeeD member.

"What is wrong with you? You're supposed to be my knight" she stood opposite him.

He smacked his palm on his forehead and folded his strong, muscular arms.

"Whatever."

"Say anything but that."

"...Leave me alone."

Rinoa had had enough. She kicked his shin stubbornly and when he hopped on one foot while holding his injured one, she felt satisfied.

"Rinoa, you're the problem! You want to destroy us all, don't you, Ultemecia?"

His hand clasped his moth as he watched the two large black orbs stare hurtfully at him but the damage had been done.

"Rinoa...I'm...."

She was gone like a butterfly from a chrysalis.

The woman ran as fast as her legs could carry her, her woollen blue coat caught in the wind. Tears fell like drops of moonlight down her face. She did not take notice of the monsters around her as she fled across the green plains.

"Is that why he is not talking? Because I have the potential to be Ultemecia?" she sobbed to herself.

Her ribcage was throbbing from her harsh cries. The sorceress entered the cave where Squall had obtained Ifrit and sat in a dark corner against a few stalagmites. The cave had a fiery red glow. Molten lava spewed ferociously from holes in the earth.

The heat did not bother Rinoa. She felt so cold and broken as she lied on the sooty ground and curled herself into a ball.

"Please Squall, I need you" she choked through her tears.

Her sobs echoed against the hollow walls of the cave.

"Squall..."

She cuddled her arms around her legs. Her head felt heavier than the rest of her body. Her brain was sore beneath her temples.

"I'm not Ultemecia" she whispered as her fingers tangled themselves with the silver rings on her necklace.

She heard a strange sound, like many people sighing. It was eerie, comforting and at the same time, haunting.

Rinoa shut her eyes and gulped as much oxygen as she can. Her skin was damp from the heat. The sound continued and it was getting louder. Something was getting closer.

The blue-clad woman covered her ears. She wasted her energy from crying too much. Now she had none to spare for protecting herself.

A hand slipped around her waist and another beneath her legs.

She was now being carried by someone out of the cave. The outside air sent a chill through her fragile body but Rinoa had her face hidden beneath the person's jaw.

"Squall?" she asked tiredly.

"Just a visitor" a male voice replied.

If she was not so weak now, she would have leaped away from the stranger's arms and punished him for the physical contact but she remained still.

"Who are you?"

"I told you, a visitor" the man laughed. He smelt like sea-water and fresh clay but also of death.

The sorceress cried quietly, her tears causing the skin of his throat to get wet. He did not mind and headed towards Balamb Inn. He held Rinoa close as if they were a couple.

"You're my dream, right?" the girl in his arms asked hopefully.

"You can say that if you want but no quite."

"No, you're my fading dream..."

And she fell asleep in the realms of his arms.

"A fading dream...But no yours....Yuna's fading dream."

She never heard those words.

_"Spend all your time waiting_

_For that second chance_

_For the break that would make it okay._

_There's always some reason to _

_Feel not good enough_

_And it's hard at the end of the day._

_I need some distraction or beautiful release._

_Memories seep through my veins._

_Let me be empty and weightless and maybe,_

_Find some peace tonight._

_In the arms of the Angel,_

_Fly away from here_

_From this dark cold hotel room_

_And the endlessness that you feel_

_You are pulled from a wreckage_

_Of your silent reverie._

_You're in the arms of the Angel,_

_May you find _

_Some comfort here...."_

_ -Angel by Sarah McLachlan._


	3. Will

Rinoa woke up to find herself in a room in the Balamb Inn. The sea breeze kissed the azure curtains and its mist sprayed on the woman's natural face.

She sat up on the comfortable bed and held the pale yellow blankets tightly.

"Where did he go?"

There was no sign of the dream anywhere. Sunlight poured into the room and spread across the crisp blue carpet. She did not recall how she ended up here.

"Maybe I fell asleep."

Rinoa took a scrumptious breakfast downstairs in the hall. The waitress poured coffee into her porcelain cup, the smell of the liquid activated the sorceress' nerves.

"Glad to see you're awake. You're boyfriend was very worried," the red haired girl said. She glanced at Rinoa and gave a wide smile.

Her front teeth were too large for her baby-doll face. The bright room made the girl's freckles appear more obvious on her sunburnt skin.

Rinoa arched an eyebrow.

"Squall was here?" she asked, embarrassed. Her pale cheeks flushed a soft red colour.

"Squall? He told me his name was Tidus. Milk?" the waitress remarked.

Rinoa shook her head.

Tidus.

His name was Tidus.

"Where did he go? It's only eight o'clock. Surely, he couldn't have left earlier than this" the sorceress continued. She needed to know more about him.

Her heart thumped loudly against her ribcage.

"He did leave early. Went to Balamb Garden or so he said" the waitress explained. She winked at Rinoa and praised how handsome her partner was before letting out a contemptuous laugh.

Thankfully for Rinoa, the red-headed girl left after that. Rinoa sipped her coffee. The bitter taste caused her to flinch. She had forgotten to add the sugar but she was forgetting to do a lot of things.

She was preoccupied with thoughts about Tidus. The sorceress cursed herself for falling asleep. She should have watched him and memorised his youthful appearance.

"Tidus" she repeated. The name was like honey sliding down her tongue. The syllables were sweet and optimistic for her.

Rinoa returned to Balamb Garden.

It did not surprise her that Squall was avoiding a colloquial conversation. However, the other students were curious as to why the pair were not talking to each other.

"S'up between you and Squall?"

Zell approached the lithe, slim woman. Rinoa shrugged and hid her dismay.

"Just a quarrel. It happens in every relationship."

The boy nodded in response. His sun-bleached hair remained tousled. He wiped his glove against his blue shorts and gave her a quizzical look.

"If you need help –..."

"I'm fine Zell. Squall needs some time on his own."

Rinoa left for the training centre harshly. She needed to avoid company for a few days.

She never liked to fight so she sat on a bench in the green area.

A T-Rexaur roared close by. Screams filled the air for a few seconds.

Rinoa shuddered.

She never came to this place alone. Squall, her knight-in-shining-armour, would tag along to make sure no harm was done to her.

The sorceress rolled her eyes. She wanted to punch the arm rest, imagining it was Squall's head. Thinking about him made her blood boil.

"Oh Tidus...Who exactly are you?"She sighed.

"Who's Tidus?"

A girl in a bright yellow miniskirt startled Rinoa who stammered that she had no idea about what she was asked.

Selphie flung herself beside the other woman and grinned energetically.

"I heard you, Rinoa! Keeping dirty little secrets, aren't you? Just joking! So who's Tidus?"

The girl's head bounced a little with each word she spoke, her brown curls flowing smoothly with the movements. Her boots were bemired from excessive training.

Selphie's Morning Star hung loosely from a strap around her waist.

" Tidus? What are you talking about? I was saying 'Tease Us', a song I am planning for our next Garden Festival" the sorceress replied a little too quickly than she had expected.

The other did not seem to notice. Instead, she danced around the bench, her elongated arms flailed enthusiastically.

Selphie crushed Rinoa with a hug and thanked her for the participation. Rinoa ridiculed herself. Why did she mention the Garden Festival? Now she was trapped, like the fly sucking the nectar from the dangerous Venus-Fly-Trap.

She stayed with Selphie for the rest of the day and they fought a few monsters before heading to Rinoa's room where they discussed their upcoming song, 'Tease us'.

When the brunette left, Rinoa kicked her shoes off with relief and faced the mirror.

_He_ was there.

" You're making a mockery out of my name" he chuckled, his playful blue eyes looked at her and she looked at him.

"Oh and I suppose you telling Balamb Inn that you're my boyfriend isn't mocking Squall?" Rinoa protested.

She heard his seductive laughter.

"Sorry, I wasn't the one who said that. The waitress in that place mistook me to be your boyfriend."

The dream gave another musical laugh. The sorceress dropped her gaze to the floor. The very mention of Squall forced the moon-like drops to form on the edge of her vision.

"Who are you Tidus? Stop interfering with my life" she told the man opposite her. She regretted those words instantly.

"Well that's some way to say thanks. Rinoa you're the one who's interfering with me. I'm not your dream. You have to let me go" he told her with a more solemn tone. His voice was deeper with that tone.

Rinoa covered her face. She bit her lower lip to prevent the sobs but that did not stop the tears from falling.

A strong hand held her wrist and allowed her to enter the mirror.

She wept in his arms again and he kissed her hair softly. His touch was so gentle. He made sure not to hurt her in any way.

The world seemed brighter inside a mirror. It also seemed sepulchral because the objects were in mirrored positions.

Gloomy rainbow spheres of fog surrounded them now and again.

"Pyreflies, they're fragments of souls that ceased to live" explained the dream.

He wiped her cheeks like the time he did back in the Time Compression. Rinoa was amazed by the little, sparkling sounds that were made by the pyreflies.

She turned back to Tidus.

"Tidus, take me away with you. I want to stay with you like Yuna did," she whispered. The dream's smile faded from his face. He turned to her with a stern expression.

"No, I can't do that. No one can take Yuna's place and I don't love you, Rinoa. I'm not your dream," he replied.

Rinoa whimpered and protested how much she wanted to get away from here. She knew now that she was falling in love with Tidus. She needed to be with him. She never wanted to wake up.

Acting on impulse, she planted a chaste kiss upon the dream's lips. He regarded her gravely.

A strong force pushed the Sorceress backwards and she started tumbling into empty white space.

The woman screamed for Tidus to help her but no one was there to break her fall. Rinoa snapped her eyes shut as she fell further down this vacuum and landed softly onto silk.

She sat up immediately and realised she was in bed, the duvet was covering her form. Was she truly dreaming?

Rinoa ran to the mirror immediately.

Only her reflection stared back.


End file.

Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy X, Hurt-Comfort, Romance