Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VIII or any of it's characters, Square Enix does, and that's probably a good thing.

CLOSER

Chapter Two

Quistis pushed through the crowd of panicked students as she rushed toward the front gate. Her attempt would have been a lot faster and easier if everyone wasn't running in the opposite direction. The deep roars were building in strength, becoming much more menacing as she progressed. She didn't have her whip with her, but if she ran into one of these monsters she had no qualms about relying on Shiva, the only Guardian Force she had junctioned, to take care of it.

She stopped; suddenly realizing she didn't need to go any further. She wasn't close to the beast, but she was close enough to see what it was. It's three heads snarled and snapped as its hulking body lumbered toward the Garden. Acidic spit slid down its mouth as if its thirst was insatiable and unwilling to wait any longer to be quenched. Why is there a Cerberus here, she thought briefly. And why is it assaulting the Garden?

Quistis had no time to contemplate the matter. To her horror she could make out a figure in the distance, not too far from the Cerberus. It was a small SeeD student. She watched momentarily as he rushed to get away, but then tripped and fell.

"Damn," Quistis whispered as she took off running. Thankfully, she reached the boy quickly.

"Run," she commanded to him. The boy only nodded, stumbled to his feet and ran with a speed that probably surprised even himself. Quistis turned to the Cerberus. "Looks like it's just us now," she quipped. Her remark was met with a particularly nasty snarl from the central head. As she prepared to summon her Guardian Force, Shiva, a man flew seemingly from the air in front of her. It was Squall, gunblade raised and ready.

"What are you doing here Squall?"

He raised his gunblade with two hands then brought it down heavily into the right neck of the Cerebrus. Blood shot from its neck in a incredibly strong force as the other two head furiously growled and twisted. The one that Squall had struck lay limp. Quistis saw the center head lift and give a low moan. Shit, she thought, knowing what was coming next.

Diamond Dust she yelled, her hands stretched out in front of her.

Just as the beast was about to spit out a line of fire at them, Shiva countered with a blast of ice, nullifying the beast's attack. Seizing the opportunity Squall, leaped in the air and delivered a blow to the monster's central head. She heard the trigger fire as he struck. The beast groaned in pain. Not only had Squall's gunblade given it a deep gash, it had also lodged a bullet into its neck. With two heads out of the way Squall made short work of the other one, with a bit of Quistis' help.

After it was over they stood still for a few moments to catch their breath. Quistis stretched out her hands, casting a cure spell on the two of them. It helped with the minor injuries they had withstood, but did nothing to get rid of the mess from her clothes.

"So, I guess you are ready for your field exam," Quistis said to Squall. "I didn't know you had grown so proficient with your gunblade."

Squall shrugged off the compliment and started walking away. Typical, Quistis thought. She rolled her eyes. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine," she called after him sarcastically.

Squall turned around and shrugged again. "I didn't worry about you," he began, "I knew you were fine, you're more than capable of handling yourself Instructor. I think we should go see Headmaster Cid now."

"You're right, we should." Quistis replied, following a little behind him as they walked back toward the Garden entrance. So, Squall thinks I can take care of myself, that must mean he thinks I'm strong. Quistis could feel herself beginning to slip into a line of 'guess what Squall is thinking' thoughts, and honestly she didn't feel like going there right now. Here she was having just survived a battle with a monster that in no way should be near Garden, and she was contemplating what Squall thought of her. She slipped back into her role as an instructor again, if only so she could retain some bit of sanity. They would have to see Headmaster Cid and figure out exactly what this meant.

At any rate, it was unlikely that she would be conducting she would be conducting any field exams any time soon. Squall was an exception, but most of the students probably wouldn't survive if they had encountered something like that.

Quistis assumed that Squall must have been spending a lot of lonely hours in the training center to reach that strength. If that was the case, then that was something they had in common.

The elevator ride up to Headmaster Cid's office was all different kinds of uncomfortable. Quistis was thankful it was a short trip. She had wanted to at least change clothes first, but Squall had insisted on reporting to Headmaster Cid right away. With his sense of efficiency Quistis thought Squall would make an excellent instructor, albeit a boring one. She chuckled at the thought.

"What's so funny," Squall said in a serious tone.

"Oh, nothing." She smiled as she exited the elevator to the Headmaster's office.

When they entered, the middle aged Headmaster was pacing worriedly back and forth, he looked up as he heard them . He wrinkled his nose at their appearance, and then suddenly seemed to remember what had brought the two of them there in the first place.

"Quistis, Squall, I'm glad you two are alright. Hmm..." He looked at his chairs and then back at them. "I would offer you a seat but—"

"It's alright Headmaster, we'll stand." Squall crossed his arms and hung his head, obviously anxious to get out of the office. He was the one in such a hurry to get here, Quistis thought.

"Please tell me what happened." The Headmaster said.

The Headmaster was silent after Quistis recounted the events, which was in no way reassuring. She put her hand on her hip a little impatiently as he sat down behind his desk. He placed his hands flat on his desk and spoke in a calm voice.

"Well, I thank you two for taking care of the situation," he said. "Of course we could have dispatched a few SeeD's but you took care of it before it got to that point."

Quistis shook her head puzzled. "That's it?"

"Well, we will hold off on holding the field exams and the SeeD evaluations for the time being as well. I'll make an announcement on the matter shortly. "

"With all due respect Headmaster, I think we should get some kind of explanation." Quistis heard Squall let out a small sigh next to her, but she didn't care. She didn't understand why the Headmaster was being so nonchalant about the incident.

"I'm sorry," he said, "but that will be all. Continue on with your daily activities, like I said, I'll make an announcement momentarily." With that said the Headmaster turned around in his chair to face his office window. Quistis scoffed and against what she considered her better judgment left the office with Squall.

"I can't believe he didn't tell us anymore," Quistis said to Squall when they were back in the elevator. He shrugged again. It was times like these that Quistis wondered why she had the feelings she did for Squall.

"He obviously doesn't want to share any knowledge with us right now. I respect the Headmaster's decision to be discreet." Quistis rolled her eyes. She could be discreet too, it just didn't make sense. The elevator reached the first floor as Headmaster Cid was making his announcement.

Good afternoon students. By now you are all aware of the recent incident that has just taken place outside of Garden. I urge you to not be alarmed for it was merely a minor situation that has been resolved. I assure you it was an isolated incident, and there is absolutely no cause for worry. Please continue with your routine as normal.

"What the hell was that about," Quistis said sharply, but Squall had already began walking off. Fine, she thought. It was all a little too strange for her. She would try to put it out of head as the Headmaster asked. She couldn't help feeling that what she had just took part in was the start of something much bigger, and much more dangerous to come.