“Okay, are you ready?” Squall asked Rinoa as they stood outside the entrance to the Centra caverns.  Quistis and Irvine stood nearby, watching them.  The rules stated that Rinoa had to defeat this monster with the support of one SeeD member, and that there must be two outside support members, in case there was an emergency.

Rinoa nodded vigorously -- too vigorously.  In fact, she just kept nodding.  Squall almost laughed at her … she was so clearly terrified.  “Tell me one more time?” she asked.

“There’s a rare monster called Zagan waiting inside.  Kill it, with a SeeD member supporting you, obtain one of it’s horns, and you pass the test,” Squall explained as if it were the most simple task in the world.

“You left out the other part,” she said pointedly, narrowing her eyes.

“Oh, you mean about how this particular nasty beast is said to be the High King of Hell?” Irvine chimed in, grinning wickedly at the nervous brunette.  Quistis smacked the hat off of his head, and he ran to catch it before it blew away.

Rinoa clapped her hands in false glee.  “Oh, please tell me again; that’s my favorite part!” she yelled scathingly at Irvine.  She looked back at Squall.  “I don’t think this is fair,” she continued.  “When you became a SeeD, all you had to do was obtain Ifrit.  I have to kill a Hell-God.  I bet he eats little girls like me for breakfast!  I don’t know if I want to be a SeeD any more.”

“You knew the task beforehand,” Squall pointed out, ignoring her petulant tone.  After nearly two-and-a-half years with her, he knew she was just stalling.  “And for your information, I did not just have to obtain Ifrit.  I had to obtain Ifrit and liberate Dollet from the Galbadian army.”

“Oh, how could I forget,” Rinoa quipped dryly.  “Remind me -- were there any Hell-Gods in Dollet?” 

From her vantage point, Quistis bit back a laugh.  Rinoa had a tendency to get quite nasty when she was afraid or nervous about something, and it never ceased to amuse Quistis.

“Rin.”  Squall’s eyes were serious now as he studied her.  He recognized her lashing out for what it was -- sheer terror.  He placed his hands on her shoulders and looked deep into her eyes.  “You will do just fine.  You have your magic, which can take out anything.  Hey.  Look at me.”  He smiled at her gently, and she managed a tenuous smile back.  “If we can beat Ultimecia, then this should be no problem.  And the Hell-God thing is just a myth.  You know that, right?”

Rinoa pursed her lips and nodded.  “Okay, I’m ready,” she said, though she had never felt more un-ready in her entire life.  She’d seen pictures of this monster, which looked like a bull-headed griffon.  Selphie had shown her the textbook entry about him, and Rinoa had seriously had nightmares for a week.

Squall squeezed her hand again, and they entered the cavern.  At first, things weren’t too bad, even though the cave was so dark, Rinoa couldn’t see more than a few feet ahead of her.  Small creatures, like armadodos, bats, and blobras roamed the many labyrinthine corridors, and a few of them jumped out of the shadows and ambushed them.  But they were easily taken care of as Rinoa blasted them with her highly-refined Sorceress magic.  Nearly a year of training with Edea after the war had given Rinoa incredible control over her powers, and she was now one of the most formidable SeeD candidates that Garden had ever seen.

Squall sliced through an angry group of monsters with his gunblade, and looked back at Rinoa.  “You’re doing just fine,” he said reassuringly, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.

“Yeah, because these are the lowest of the low creatures on the planet,” Rinoa retorted.

Suddenly, there was a deep, rumbling growl from somewhere in the back of the cavern.  To Rinoa’s ears, it sounded very angry … and possibly hungry.

Rinoa’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.  “Let me guess -- Zagan?”

“Probably,” Squall said, concern knotting his stomach for the first time since they’d arrived.  Whatever it was, it didn’t sound pleasant.  “Come on, let’s keep going.”

Rinoa could only nod and follow along.  She blasted a few bats away without even realizing what was she was doing as they continued toward the back.  Or at least, she assumed it was the back.  It was so dark, it was really hard to tell.

The farther they walked, the louder the rumbling noise seemed to get.  Rinoa swore at one point, she felt the ground shudder beneath her feet. 

“Ummm,” she said as the corridor began to widen.  It felt like they were walking into a large chamber -- she could no longer feel the walls on either side of her when she stretched out her arms.  “You’re absolutely sure this cave doesn’t actually lead into hell, right, Squall?” she asked him in a tremulous voice.  He didn’t answer.  “Squall?” she hissed.  “Squall Leonhart, I swear to all the gods, if you don’t answer me right this second I will blast you into next week!”

A hand on her shoulder caused her to nearly jump out of her skin.  “Sorry,” he said quietly.  “I was trying to figure out the best course of action.  According to Xu’s research, if this is the right place … Zagan should be in this room.”

“You know he’s probably watching us from the shadows right?  Smacking his lips and preparing his human-roasting spit.  We probably look so tasty to him.”

“Rin,” Squall said in an even tone.  He knew she was coping with her fear the best way she knew how … but he was starting to get more than a little freaked himself and her incessant chattering was wearing thin.  Xu was definitely going to be hearing about her poor choice of SeeD qualification exams when they got back to Balamb.

There was a sudden blast of cold air behind him, and he stiffened into his battle stance immediately, gunblade at the ready.  He reached out, but Rinoa wasn’t in range.  Shit, he cursed to himself.  “Rinoa?” he said in a low voice, hoping not to attract any unwanted attention.

“Something’s here,” she said, and her voice sounded strange.  He knew she was calling on her magic then.  “I can feel it.  Hold on.”  There was a flicker, and suddenly he saw Rinoa clearly.  She had summoned a small orb of incandescent light, and held it in the palm of her hand.  The light wasn't as bright as normal, for some reason, but it was better than nothing.  “There you are,” she breathed in relief, seeing his face for the first time since they’d entered this horrid place, nearly two hours earlier.

She turned slowly, allowing them to get their bearings in the room.  It was enormous … it seemingly stretched on forever, with no walls that she could see.  “Squall?” she breathed.  “Where’s the entrance?”  She turned quickly now, trying to find the corridor that would lead them back out of here.

A deep voice met their ears then; it seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere, all at once. 

You must defeat me to get out, little humans.

“Squall, I’m going to kill you.  No, really.  You are sooo dead if we get out of here …” Rinoa hissed warningly.  There was a growl and what sounded like the swiping of a massive claw to her left, where Squall was standing, and she shrieked, spinning on her heel.  “I said I was going to kill him!” she shrieked.  “Not you!”

“Rinoa -- look out!” Squall’s voice called out a split second before the spell for her light faded, and they were thrown back into darkness.

“Squall?” Rinoa cried.  “Squall, where are you?”

“Ow, son of a bitch!” Squall’s voice snarled in the darkness, off to her left, and Rinoa followed the sound to stand at his side.

“Are you hurt?” she asked him, touching his arm.  She jerked back instantly as something warm and viscous coated her fingers.  “Oh, my Hyne, you’re bleeding,” she said.

“I’m okay.  Just … focus on finding this thing.”

The creature laughed then, and it chilled Rinoa to the bones.  “Where is he?” she asked, mostly to herself.  She closed her eyes and tried to summon another orb of light, but it didn’t work.  Frowning, she stretched out her hand and tried to fling a firaga spell into the void of the room.  Only a weak spray of sparks radiated from her fingertips.

“Rin, what’s wrong?” Squall asked her, knowing that his voice was giving away how nervous he truly felt.

“I don’t know,” she whispered.  “My magic … it’s not working.”

“What do you mean, ‘it’s not working’?” Squall asked in a strained voice.  “How can it not be working, Rinoa?”

Rinoa ground her teeth at his testy attitude and the way he had said her name, as though she were some incompetent five-year-old.  “Did you see those sparks a minute ago?” she asked him.

“Yeah,” he said warily.

“That was supposed to be firaga,” she snapped.

He was silent for a long moment, and Rinoa wondered what was going through his mind, if he was as terrified as she was at that point.  “Try again,” he finally said.

She did as he asked, but this time, not even a sputter of magic emanated from her.  She couldn’t even feel it inside her any more.  “Something’s wrong, Squall.  I’m not … I’m not feeling anything at all.”

Your magic is useless here, little human.  No power on this planet can defeat me!

Rinoa gulped.  The voice seemed closer now.  And without her magic, they were so beyond screwed.

As if on cue, there was a great whooshing noise behind them, and she heard Squall curse.  “Rinoa!” he called out from somewhere in the room.  She spun frantically, arms outstretched, trying to find him in the darkness, but she couldn’t find him, and then, she heard the clatter of his gunblade on the stone floor. 

Her heart stopped, her throat constricted, and she couldn’t even think of how to make her feet move.  “Squall!” she screamed.  “Squall!” she screeched, practically hysterical with terror.  No answer.  Nothing.  And she had no idea where he was.  She could hear the beast breathing somewhere not that far behind her and she closed her eyes, willing herself to be brave.

Too bad, little human.  Looks like there’s no one left to protect you.

With those words, Rinoa’s head snapped up.  “Protect me?  You think I need someone to protect me?” 

She closed her eyes, and looked inward.  Edea had taught her all about keeping calm in times of great stress, and using her inner eye to see what she wanted, what she needed.  “Trust the bond,” Edea had told her.  “Reach out for it … it won’t fail you.”  This would be the first time she’d ever have to put those lessons to the test, in a real life-or-death scenario.

She focused on the bond, and on what she wanted most of all … strength to stand up to this creature, and she put all her energy behind that thought.  She felt a crackle of electricity surrounding her, and in her mind’s eye, she saw Squall … lying not five feet from her, his gunblade a short ways beyond that. 

Relieved, she quickly went to him, wanting to make sure that he was still breathing.  As soon as she touched his face, she felt the spark return to her … that was it.  They hadn’t been close enough inside the cavern, they hadn’t been able to see each other, and Zagan had been able to mess with the magic.  But now … now she was right beside Squall, her hand on his face, and she felt strong.

You’re just a little human, Zagan continued to taunt her.  Weak.  There was another whoosh, and Rinoa suddenly felt suffocated by an overbearing presence.

She looked up, and saw him standing above her.  She could feel his hot, rancid breath on her face as he stared down at her.  She reached her hand out, preparing to launch another spell at him.  Instead, Squall’s gunblade slid across the floor, and skidded to a stop beside her.  Knowing better than to argue with the magic, she grabbed it.

Her body immediately jerked upright, as if pulled by an invisible cord, into a battle stance that she’d seen Squall use so many times in the past, but had never herself mastered.  Until now.  She felt something coursing through her, and though there was no way that she should know this, she recognized what was happening … Renzokuken.  It had taken Squall years to master the art of the gunblade, and yet, somehow, it was in her brain as if she’d been born to wield this weapon.

It was the bond.  It had to be the bond.  She was understanding and executing maneuvers that she would only know if she were Squall.  It doesn’t matter now, she told herself.  Use it.  Use it, or you’re both dead.

A sound escaped from her throat, a low, guttural growl -- she hadn’t known she could even make such a sound -- and she leapt at Zagan.

“I am not weak!” she cried out, thrusting the weapon outward.  A rain of sparks flew from it, and her body began making movements that were not her own, movements she’d seen Squall do a million times in the past.  Magic flashed down the blade of the sword, enhancing the power of the attack.

Zagan howled as the magic burnt his flesh, as the blade cut into him unrelentingly.  Closing her eyes, Rinoa let the power of the gunblade, and her own magic, take over.  She didn’t need to see what she was doing.  She felt the sword connecting to the monster, heard him howling out in pain and anger.  Satisfaction flared through her as she felt the rush of air beneath her feet that lifted her off the ground.  A flurry of attacks rained down on Zagan … Lionheart.

With a final slash of the blade, Zagan fell to the ground with a heavy thud.  With the death of the beast, the darkness in the cave lifted, and suddenly the room was filled with a blazingly bright light.  It seared Rinoa’s eyes after having been in the dark for so long. 

Her grip on the gunblade loosened and it fell from her hands as all the power left her.  She fell to her hands and knees, gasping for breath, her heart feeling as though it might explode at any moment.  She wondered if she’d ever be able to move again.  And they still had to get out of here …

“Rin!” She heard Squall’s voice then.  She sat back on her heels and looked up at him, a wide, tired smile on her face.

“Thank Hyne,” she breathed, touching his face as he knelt down beside her. “You’re all right.”

“I’m fine,” he said, looking at her intently as his hands felt their way down her body, checking for broken bones and lacerations.  “I’m sorry, Rin.  He came completely out of nowhere, blindsided me.  What happened to you?  Did Zagan -- did he get away?”

Smiling, she motioned in the direction of Zagan, and Squall turned.  His eyes widened in amazement.  “You killed him,” he said.  “You did it!”

“You helped, you know,” she said softly.

The light in his eyes warmed her all the way to her toes, and before she realized what was going on, she was crushed up against Squall’s body, and his lips were on hers, and he was kissing her as though his very life depended on it.

She tangled her fingers in his hair and pulled him even closer.  The realization of just how close to death they had actually been suddenly hit her hard, and she clung to Squall as though he were a lifeline.  They had almost lost each other.  “You almost died!” she whispered against his lips.  “I almost died!  Oh, Hyne …”

“Shh, shh, it’s okay,” he said soothingly, raining kisses across her face.  “We’re okay.”

“But we almost weren’t!” she cried.  “I couldn’t find you … and you were out cold … it was just like …”  She looked away, unable to go on as she remembered coming back from time compression -- how scared she’d been then.  Taking a deep breath, she turned back to face him.  “I had to call on the bond, you know.  And I had to use your gunblade.”

Squall frowned at that.  “What?  But you don’t know how …”

Rinoa shrugged.  “The bond, I guess.  I was able to do everything you can do.  And I think I did it better,” she teased him.

“Not likely, Heartilly,” Squall said, pulling her back to him for another kiss.

Rinoa sank against him and deepened the kiss, so glad to be alive.  Kissing him had never been better than it was at this moment.

“We should get back,” he said, pulling back slightly.  “Or they’ll come looking for us.”

Rinoa nodded.  “I just have to go get the horn,” she told him as they stood up.

He frowned, his “Commander face” firmly in place.  “Actually …” he said, and Rinoa inwardly groaned, knowing she wasn’t going to like this.  “I can’t pass you.  You … used the gunblade.  And you’re not registered with that weapon.”

“Are you freaking kidding me, Leonhart?” she screeched, whirling around to face him.  “We almost died here today.”

“I have to follow the rules, Rinoa,” he said earnestly.

She raised her eyebrow at him.  “Fine,” she said.  “I’ll just tell Irvine and Quistis that you got knocked out in the first five minutes of battle and I had to save your ass.  Again.”

“Hey,” he protested.  “I saved you from space, right?”

“Pass me and we’ll call it even,” she said with a sly sparkle in her eyes.

Knowing he’d been bested, Squall just shook his head and took Rinoa’s hand in his. “Deal,” he said, kissing her forehead.  “Now come on.  Let’s get out of here.”

Smiling with relief and contentment, and feeling prouder of herself than she ever had in her entire life, she allowed Squall to lead her out of the cave and to the car where Quistis and Irvine were waiting.

“So?” Quistis asked when they got back.  “How’d it go?”

“Well, the monster was big, and nasty, and we almost died,” Rinoa told her, climbing into the backseat.  “Seriously.”

“Did it get away?” Irvine asked.

“Nope,” Rinoa said, smiling broadly.  “I killed it real good.”

“So?  How do you feel?  You’re a SeeD now!” Quistis said, grinning at her friend.

Taking a deep breath, Rinoa looked over at Squall who was now sitting beside her.  She smiled and said the one word that had been in her mind since Zagan had fallen. 

“Whew!”