Disclaimer: Anything that is not mine, is not mine. The game, the characters, they are not mine. The concept of the story is mine, but the elements added that were not originally mine, are definitely not mine. I hope that's enough disclaimer!

Author's Note: I need something to balance my emotions on my favorite pair! This is a challenge that I gave myself years ago. What if Rinoa and Squall didn't understand each other? Like literally didn't understand each other? How would they settle their differences? But then, I figured that since I'm feeling a little mean, why not make them enemies who try to understand each other? Hahaha! I have plotted the whole story for this, and I'm planning to balance it out with my "Best of Honor" fic (which I will be updating very soon!) because that one felt more lighthearted, and this will be more drama/adventure. By the way, I have a Tumblr page, check it out of my profile. I haven't fixed it yet, but I will! My updates go there, and you guys can share things with me there, better if you also have your tumblr pages. Anyway, let's end the ramble here. Here's my latest fic. Enjoy, and as always, I would really appreciate a review and let me know what you think!

"Good evening, Zell."

Zell gave the receptionist a quick nod for a reply while keeping his papers together in his arms. His sprint slowed into a walk and he took a deep breath to calm his sharp ones when he reached the door and gently opened it. Peeking, he saw only one of the female attendees of the meeting turn her head to his direction, her blue eyes widening in warning to be quiet and careful while their Commander in front was still looking the other way. Said Commander was answering a question brought up by one of the attendees who refused to either cut his brown ponytail short or remove his cowboy hat indoors. Taking advantage of his chance (and luck), Zell tiptoed to an empty seat and mustered all his strength to be as quiet as possible in settling himself on the swivel chair. He could feel the cold building up under his pits, while, this time, two sets of eyes were watching him in anticipation whether or not his chair will betray him and distract the Commander. Once his thighs touched the chair and his weight was fully rested without any problem, he relaxed and his comrades let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Until the chair creaked.

The Commander's eyes immediately shifted to Zell and he frowned. Zell tensed and could only smile in compensation for his tardiness.

"We've been waiting for your files." said the Commander while extending his hand for the papers Zell brought with him.

Zell scratched the back of his head. "Sorry Squall. I had to make some last minute changes." he replied while handing the documents over. Squall's eyes scanned through them, undistracted from the snickering by one of the female attendees with brown hair and green eyes.

"Water transportation was only approved thirty minutes ago?" Squall asked tonelessly while his eyes were still on one of the pages.

"Yeah." Zell replied. "They argued that land transpo was enough and cheaper than water. But I told them what you told me– we're saving time, not money."

"It has Kramer as the approver." Squall replied, finally looking up to Zell. "Captain Hewley didn't approve?"

"He did, but since the Norg was having second thoughts about it… you know, budget and all… he advised to have Kramer sign the approval it so it'll be final."

Deadpan, Squall nodded and handed the papers to the female blond with blue eyes, who quickly took them. "Please, Quistis. Thanks." he mumbled. She nodded as she kept the files in a white binder.

The door opened again, this time, more loudly. In came a taller, bulkier blonde man with blue eyes and clad in a white trench-coat. He smugly walked to an empty chair and threw himself on it, propping his feet on the table. Squall was glaring at him while Quistis pointed a pen at him.

"Seifer, take your feet off the table." said Quistis.

"Say 'please.'" Seifer replied. He turned to Squall and lifted his shoulders. "So, what's up Commander?"

"We're not repeating anything you missed." Squall replied.

"Did I miss anything? Basically we're going to attack the sorceress' town at Timber, right?"

"Do you know when?" the girl with brown hair challenged.

"Of course I do, Selphie." Seifer replied, stressing her name. "Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow night." The one with brown ponytail clarified.

Seifer narrowed his eyes. "Aren't hats not allowed indoors? Why is Irvine still wearing that stupid hat?"

Irvine shrugged. "You have your trench-coat. Would appreciate it if you leave my hat alone."

"Children, children, please." said Quistis, massaging her temple. "The sooner we finish this, the better. We have a long day tomorrow and I want to sleep in early."

"Do you guys want to hear my opinion?" Seifer said, standing up and taking slow steps forward.

"Nope." Zell replied for the whole group.

Squall sat on his chair at the other end of the table, crossing his arms and his eyes on Seifer. Ignoring his comrade, Zell stood by the window and pulled apart the blinds with his fingers, peeking at the crimson-colored moon, its blood-hued light blending with the blue of the night. The sight of it and the mental vision of the fanged witches dancing around a bonfire or doing whatever they do to celebrate their red moon festival sent goosebumps down his arms.

"If you ask me," Seifer continued. "we should attack while the moon is still red."

"An ambush?" Squall challenged.

Seifer narrowed his blue eyes at the Commander. "An unexpected attack."

"So," Squall leaned on the table. "an ambush."

"Honestly, how many times should we go through this proposal of yours, Seifer." Quistis said. "You said it before, and I'm just going to repeat myself. We can't go against the SeeDs' code. Nobody shall harm any sorceress, dangerous or not, when they are docile as they celebrate the red moon festival."

"But we're going to kill them anyway!" Seifer asserted. "What's the point? Attacking them when they least expect it will save more SeeD lives and SeeD time."

"And money." Zell added.

"Yes, thank you Zell!" Seifer waved a hand at Zell in recognition. "And SeeD money!"

Quistis sighed and lifted her chin at Seifer. "We're not barbarians, Seifer. Even if they are sorceresses, we will not attack them in their most defenseless state. No, Seifer, it will not happen."

Seifer scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Right. So, tell me, why are we choosing the day after the red moon to attack when we could have attacked them months ago when we got our SeeD titles? Why did we wait until the red moon?" His eyes shifted to the Commander. "Squall?"

Everyone turned to look at Squall.

"Good question, Seifer. Why, Squall?" Irvine pressed.

Squall looked at them, his steely blue eyes scanning the assembly before him. "If we can't attack on a red moon, then the night after is the next best thing. Not once in the history of the Garden did SeeDs attack the day before or after the red moon festival. They feared the coven will anticipate it, like a calm before the storm. The coven knows about this for sure. Their senses will be down, they will never anticipate it."

A grin grew on Seifer's face. "Like a thief in the night."

"You sure they will never anticipate it?" Selphie asked.

"Yes." Seifer and Squall replied in unison.

"We've never been in a coven. This is our first mission of this kind. Do you have a basis for this?" Quistis asked.

Seifer's eyes met Squall's. "You got your hands on those Adel Files, didn't you?" When Squall didn't respond, Seifer's smile widened. "You sneaky son of a gun."

"Wha- really? The one Cid had been trying to get his hands on?" Quistis asked.

"From Dr. Odine?" Zell inquired with widened eyes.

"Why not? Squall's dad is the President of Esthar!" said Selphie. "He could get anything from Esthar with a flick of his fingers!"

"Do you still have the papers?" Irvine asked.

Squall shook his head. "No. Not anymore. I returned them as soon as I finished reading."

"What about Cid? He wanted those."

"Odine only agreed to let me read it under the condition that only my eyes will see them."

Zell whistled and leaned back with his hands behind his head. "Sounds like it's confidential for a reason."

"Does it matter?" said Quistis. "Thanks to his research, we have a bigger chance to pull this mission off. We now know our enemies better."

Seifer pointed at Quistis before placing his hand back against his chin. "For once I agree with you."

"Even when we have the advantage, the coven is not to be underestimated. Sorceresses are powerful creatures who can and will kill you in every way possible with their magic, so we have to strategize carefully." said Squall. "Timber will not be the last coven we'll be visiting. There are many more out there which remain undiscovered. Remember that the Garden needs you— it needs its SeeDs to kill every single sorceress."

"Aww Squall." said Selphie, raising the pitch of her voice. "Just tell us you care about us!"

Squall's furrowed brows deepened. "Whatever."

"So what's the plan, Squall?" Irvine asked.

Squall pointed a small remote control to the black screen behind, which revealed a digital blueprint of Timber.

He faced the group. "The plan is simple."

.

.

.

.

She played with the wisp of green and white light dancing around her fingers as she laid on the rooftop of her neighbor's home in the forests of Timber. She stared at the crimson orb among the bright stars in the distant sky, its color illuminating the black of the night. She had always liked the red moon, it made her feel calm, safe, and happy. It was the only day where no one, not even the SeeDs, attack them or their town, as if the moon was protecting them from harm.

It was definitely worth the festivities below her.

She sat up and looked upon her sorceress sisters who were playing music and their different-colored dresses dancing with them. Some of them chatted, played games, and ate like there was no tomorrow. The lights from their small houses irradiated their little town, and the colors of their banquet that lined the streets made the scenery look like a painted masterpiece. When a group of them started throwing sparks of magic that garnered laughs from others was also the time when she decided to jump down. She landed with a soft thud.

"Rinoa!" one with a bright pink hair tied in curly pigtails called for her in between her laughter. She waved at her with a smile and giggled when she received an embrace in greeting. "You were just there the whole time?" her friend asked, pointing at the surface where she had been resting.

Rinoa shrugged. "We don't always see the red moon, do we Vanille?" she said, locking arms with her friend. "And I have a lot to thank it for. I will miss it after tonight."

The other sorceress tugged her by the arm and pulled her closer to the open lawn where more of their kind were gathered. "Well, we'll also miss the fireworks display! It's starting in a few!"

Rinoa ran with Vanille and as she did, the sweet smell of cranberry and bread stole her attention and she grabbed one from an opened basket along the lengthy banquet. Once they have stopped, she took a bite and all her nostalgia came back to her. It was the first treat she was given when she first arrived in the town, the first comfort she felt. And at that moment, she knew she was home.

Soon after, the lawn was getting more crowded with other sorceresses who tried to get as much view of the show as possible. Another sorceress with emerald hair that matched her dress stepped forward and stood a few good meters from them. She twirled in a perfect circle, leaving a trail of green, glowing encryption behind her as she did. She raised her arms, and the symbol below her rose through her, above her, and flew up to the sky. It shattered in a blast of colorful dancing wisps that shaped like carbuncles, each of which flew back down to them. One hopped around Rinoa and she reached for it with her hand. It sat on her palm and looked at her and Vanille curiously with its glowing green eyes. A few seconds later, it hopped out and back to the green-haired sorceress. Smiling, she bowed before the crowd, who gave her due applause.

She was then replaced by another, a shorter one with short brown hair and yellow overalls over her long white sleeves whom Rinoa remembered as Garnet. She closed her eyes until her audience grew silent and rolled her arms over each other again and again until she drew a ball of fire. She gently threw it above her and a large, dog-like figure in bright flames formed from her fire spell, which shot colorful sparks as it ran around midair.

Rinoa gaped in awe as she watched her fellow sorceress' talent in magic turn to life. She felt Vanille's hands tighten around her arm and she patted them with her free one.

"That's so cute!" Vanille exclaimed pointing at the dog while bouncing.

"I know!" Rinoa replied, her eyes following the glowing canine. "I shall call it Angelo."

"Angelo? I like it!"

As Angelo glided in front of her cheering audience, she left trails of sparks that turned into small floating clover-shaped lights, bouncing at the slightest touch.

Rinoa smiled. Garnet, being one of the youngest, had to really make everything cute and child-like for everyone. She looked around and noticed that they had grown in numbers in their gathering, recalling how there were fewer of them during the last year's festival. Their small town flourished in some way, saving more lives of sorceresses that ran to them for sanctuary.

"I'm happy. I feel so happy right now." Rinoa said as she gazed upon the gathering. "There are more of us. Our family is getting bigger. Nobody is alone anymore."

Vanille gazed at Rinoa and gave a slight nod. "Everyone's happy and worry-free. I wish we're always like this."

Rinoa smiled and nodded back. "I wish the red moon lasts forever."

A/N: This chapter is a little short, but I want this to be an introduction of the whole fic. So stay posted on the next chapters!