Um...hi? (^ ^;)

So it's only been about...6 years since I updated this. (laughs nervously) Reason being was some of the backlash I got from the last chapter, but people always like to jump to conclusions. I had most of this planned out, but when I read all the negativity, I kinda went, "Fuck it," and stopped altogether.

But I started replaying Final Fantasy VIII and it just made me want to finish this damn story. I'll be updating this pretty frequently from here on out (if there are any readers left) because I know exactly where I want to go. You might find that my writing style's changed a bit, but I promise it's for the better.

So, if there's anyone left out there, enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I don't know shit.

Chapter ten: Reality

Quistis shook her head as she and Selphie walked through the front doors of the hotel. Selphie sighed and looked back at the doors as they closed and saw a group of students go running pass, three girls laughing about something. Once they had arrived back in Deling, Quistis had a frank talk with the students, saying that if someone from their Garden was the cause of Galbadia Garden forced into lockdown, they should just come forward. No harsh penalty would be put against them; however, no one stepped forward and the instructors could only assume that it really was no one from their group that committed the act.

There was no other way around it. Irvine was still clamed up, so Zell decided to take the Galbadian to a bar and get him a drink…or five. Whatever it took to get him to start talking. Selphie had made a comment that if after seven he still would not open up, then just drop it. She said that any more than eight would probably send him into a coma. Afterwards, Quistis had decided to return back to the hotel and try to figure out what she could do to help assist the matter. Selphie, not wanting to be stuck wandering about on her own, decided to join her, figuring that if Quistis needed to rant, then it would be better if someone else was present.

They sat at the bar in the lower floor of the hotel and listened to the band play soft jazz music. People around them chatted quietly about other matters and Quistis sighed, shaking her head as the bartender walked away after they had requested drinks.

"So…who do you think did it?" Selphie asked as she spun back and forth in her chair. She watched as Quistis shrugged, her arms crossed over her stomach.

"I don't know. But I don't think it was anyone from our group."

Selphie just nodded and stopped spinning in the chair as their drinks were set in front of them when the bartender returned. They thanked him and he walked away to serve a man who sat down at the other end. Selphie grabbed her drink and took a sip, staring absentmindedly in front of her. She glanced back to Quistis who seemed to be thinking.

"So…what do we do now?" she asked and Quistis only shrugged.

"I suppose we just stay with the schedule we have." She looked up at Selphie. "We'll take the students to Tomb of the Unknown King tomorrow and let them get a feel for areas similar."

Selphie just shook her head. "Okay." She sipped her drink again and looked over at the band. She swayed with the music for a minute or so before speaking again. "I wonder how Zell's faring with Irvine?" Quistis just shrugged. "Also can't help but wonder how Squall and Seifer are holding up at Garden." She turned to look back at the blonde. "Think they've managed to stay alive this long?"

Quistis could not help but laugh at the comment. She sloshed the liquid in her glass around and replied. "Maybe. Though, I won't go so far as to say they're both perfectly fine."

Selphie cracked and began spinning in her chair again. "Here's my question. If they got into a huge fight, like brawl, who do you think would win?"

Quistis put her hand to her face and thought about it. "Depends how they would fight, I suppose." Selphie smirked.

"Oh. I get it. If it came to brains, then Squall would win. But physically—"

"I hate to say it, but Seifer would probably rule in that department." She took a drink before setting in back on the counter. "However, that's how Squall would win overall, because he would mix his intelligence with his physical capability, therefore probably winning overall."

Selphie nodded. "Couldn't have said it better myself! Blondes are dumb!" Quistis gave her an annoyed look and Selphie just waved her hands. "I meant some blondes! Not all!" She laughed nervously, then Quistis took another sip of her drink, but not before chuckling at the remark.

Squall shot up straight, his heart pounding in his chest, his breath fast and rigid. His eyes darted around the room – the same musty room. He was still lying on the couch, his clothes wrinkled, but not touched. He began feeling his chest and legs.

There was no pain.

He held his head and inhaled deeply, trying to get his mind right.

It was only a dream – a horrible dream that he would much like to forget; but it had felt so real. He could feel his body shift and the pain that was going with it; yet now there was naught. Other than the pounding in his chest from his rapid heartbeat, there was nothing wrong with his body. He exhaled and looked at the door. He shifted and swung his legs over the edge of the couch, taking to his feet, leaving the old, musty couch behind. It took him a moment to regain his balance and perception of thought, but when he did, he opened the door and walked out of the back room and into the main restaurant.

Now, there were few people – only a few people at the bar – and just one bartender; the same bartender that allowed him to use the back room. He shook his head again before the bartender noticed him. He held up his hand to signify a wave and looked back to the person he was talking to, telling them he would be right back.

He walked up to the Commander and set down the cloth he had been holding.

"How you feeling, kid?" he asked as he watched Squall's dazed look.

Squall just blinked. "Uh…fine." He paused, still half-asleep. He rubbed the back of his head, then looked at the man. "How…long was I back there?"

The bartender shrugged. "An hour or so. Maybe a little less." He eyed Squall, who looked away off to the side. "You all right? Probably shouldn't have given you that one."

Squall gave him a confused look. "What?"

"Look, I've had guys three times your size give up after only two and have to be carried to the hotel. The stuff's strong – it just takes a little bit for the effects to hit." Squall's eyes searched in front of him. "It's no wonder you could barely walk. But you're fine, now, right?"

"Yeah. Fine." He looked back up at him. "Uh…thank you again," he said as he did a slight bow.

"No problem, kid. Watch yourself next time, all right?" was the reply as he turned and headed back towards the person he had been talking to.

Squall bit his bottom lip and turned to leave. When he walked out of the restaurant, he began feeling his pockets for the gil that he had been given. Sure enough, it was still in his pocket. He extracted it and counted it, seeing if it was enough for a cab ride back to Garden. Hyne killed his luck, whereas he had not enough to get a cab. He forgot about the drink that he had purchased before going to back room; of course, he also assumed that Seifer would have given more than such a meager amount.

Just enough for the cab and the cab alone?

"Cheap ass" was the phrase to suddenly run through Squall's mind.

He sighed and shoved the gil back into his pocket. It looked as though he was going to have a nice little midnight walk back to Garden. As he began to head in the direction of the exit to the town, he started reviewing his night.

He filed some paperwork; was busy working on said paperwork in the Cafeteria that morning before he was joined by the blond; he yelled at Seifer for being an arse; went back to his quarters to nap; took a shower and was walked in on by the same blond; and he was forced to accompany Seifer to Balamb for dinner, only to be ditched as the older male went to go sow his seeds. With all that on top of not having enough gil to just ride back to the Garden, he realized that it had just been an off day from the start.

He started wondering why he ever allowed Quistis to convince him to allow the blond to work at Garden. Between everything that man had put him and the group through, he did not see how he was able to be redeemed so easily.

With that and….

Squall shook his head.

It was best not to bring it up – the memory never fading. He had hoped that if he ignored the problem it would have just gone away; and it was so close. That was until Seifer did start working at Garden. He had tried to just ignore him at first, but that proved to be ill fated, whereas he continually ran into the blond wherever he went. It was starting to become upsetting.

Nothing good ever came from being near him. That would never change.

He shook his head as he came up to the entrance of the town. The woman working at the car hire waved at him as he left and he acknowledged her with a nod. He sighed and rolled his head back once he was out of the town and back on the road to Garden. The night sky was shining with trillions of stars and the moon was gone from view. He intended to finish up the last bit of paperwork once he returned, and then retire for the night.

"Ugh…what happened?"

Seifer groaned and turned his head to the side; he sat up, grabbing and shaking his head. He was still on the floor, but the waitress was next to him, breathing an obvious sigh of relief. He released another groan from the pit of his throat.

"What happened?" he reiterated, pulling his knees up and setting his elbows on them while holding his head.

The waitress released another relieved breath and leaned back on her heels. "That's what I'd like to know." Seifer brought his hands down and shook his head lightly, staring at the floor. "You just passed out and started freaking out on me." She paused, staring at him, but he did not return the look. She suddenly shrugged carelessly, her demeanor changing. "Kept going on about Squall." Seifer adverted his eyes to stare at a spot on the floor. "Look, if you've got the hots for the Commander and you swing that way, that's perfectly good and fine, but don't go around leading people on." She gathered to her feet, half expecting Seifer to look up; or acknowledge her in one way or another. When he just continued to stare at the floor, she scoffed and maneuvered to the side where her shirt and jacket lay. She snatched them up along with her purse and left the room, slamming the door behind her.

Thoughts continued to run through his head as he sat on the floor, staring down. He heard the waitress's footsteps fade down the hall before finally standing up and moving to sit on the edge of the bed.

Every dream he had continued to have about the past he remembered; but to have one he did not remember – that he had somehow forgotten – did not seem to make sense. If that was what had truly happened, it was no surprise why Squall resented him so much. There was no other reason for him to despise the blond so much, but that—

Makes sense. He set his elbows on his lower thighs and stared at the wall ahead of him.

More images of Squall on the floor of the prison flooded his mind; with him being degraded by a trio of guards before he, Seifer, had walked in and chased them off. Then himself…violating the seventeen-year-old, despite his cries – despite his pleas. His grey eyes shimmering as they seeped liquid onto the concrete floor beneath him….

How could I forget?

He felt a sharp jab to his chest. Every time he had Squall alone, it was no wonder he would become tense. Between that, his apprehension and his insomnia, Seifer was confused as to why the Commander even allowed him to work at Garden.

Pressure from the others to hire him solved that problem.

He cursed and punched the bed, leaving him feeling unsatisfied by not hearing a thud or pain shooting up his arm.

Looking around, his eyes landed on the clock next to the bed. It had only been about an hour. If he moved quickly enough, he might be able to catch Squall on his way back to Garden…if the Commander hadn't left, yet. He stood, threw his shirt on and picked up his coat. He opened the door to leave, but not before glancing back at the room. He cursed and shut the door, walking down the hall and down the stairs to the lobby. As he entered the lobby, the hotel clerk looked at him, though she had two other patrons – two of the Garden students – at the counter.

"Thank you for staying with us and we hope to see you back." As she spoke, the two students turned to look and immediately recognized him.

"Sensei!" the female squeaked as her face flushed red.

The male she was with snickered. "Looks like we're not the only one having fun tonight."

Seifer rolled his eyes and did not respond to either one, leaving the hotel lobby as the female cursed at her partner, while her partner merely laughed. As he exited the hotel, the cool night air hit him in the face, the wind blowing and sending a small chill down his back. He saw a man running towards the docks as he, himself, went in the opposite direction. He could hear the sound of music coming from one of the bars, followed by the sounds of laughter as there was the sound of glass breaking. As he walked through the streets of Balamb towards the town's exit, his mind could not help but wander and focus back on the realism of the flashback. A sharp pang hit him in the chest and he shook his head, trying to get rid of the feeling.

Near the town's entrance, there was a mechanic underneath a vehicle and another man crouched at their feet, asking him what the issue was with the car. The man turned his head when he heard Seifer approaching.

"If you're heading out this late, I'd recommend you drive," they said towards him. Seifer stared at him, eyebrows raised. "Fine," they muttered as they turned back to the person underneath the car. "Second guy tonight to think they're too good for a car."

At that, Seifer stopped and turned to look at them. "What'd the other guy look like?"

The man redirected his attention. "Oh, now you wanna acknowledge me." Seifer frowned, which must have made him appear violent, because the man suddenly looked distraught. "Oh, young kid. Had a scar like yours."

"That kid's name is Squall Leonhart, you idiot!" the person underneath the car scolded.

"Wait," the man said awestruck as he turned back to the mechanic. "The commander?! But he's so young! Huh." The man stared at the ground in front of him. "Go figure." He turned to look at Seifer, but the blond was already outside of the town limits. "Hey! Be careful out there!"

Seifer just waved him off.

The path curved into darkness, the only light displayed was by the stars and the lights of the town behind him. As he put a bit of distance between himself and Balamb, the sounds of the nocturnal creatures buzzed around him; he could hear rustling coming from the forests, followed by silence and immediately replaced with a shriek. Reflex had him reach for his gunblade, before he remembered that he had left Garden without it.

A wave of idiocy washed over him and he was silently asking himself how the one person who teaches fighting and self-defense forgot to make sure he was prepared. If anything did try to ambush him, magic was always a good replacement. Of course, if he did not have his weapon, then Squall did not have his, either. The only difference was that Squall would be more than willing to fight without a weapon – probably saying that he enjoyed the challenge or whatever other lame excuse he would come up with.

Seifer snickered at the thought.

A chill ran down his neck as the wind picked up. Chatter from the surrounding forests increased, which seemed to not just get louder, but closer. He stopped, trying to hone in on which direction the noise was coming from. He turned his head to the left just as a bite bug flew across his vision, causing him to jerk back. He watched it fly off towards the beach before turning back and jumping backwards as a swarm of them followed suit, along with a few glacial eyes and a gesper. The ground began quaking as whatever the creatures were fleeing from got closer. Seifer expected it to be a T-rexaur, but knitted his eyebrows together at the thought. T-rexaurs were not nocturnal.

As the source finally became visible, Seifer raised his eyebrows as all he could get out was, "Huh." His fight or flight response began kicking in as the large, horned behemoth came to a sudden stop. It began sniffing the air, appearing to catch Seifer's scent. As its head turned towards him, Seifer released a sarcastic laugh, a nervous smirk stuck on his face.

"Fuck me," he muttered.

The behemoth's eyes dilated as it decided to give up its chase on the lesser game and focus on the blond. Its claws dug into the ground. Taking the one chance he was given, Seifer took off running just as the creature jumped towards him. It hit the ground where he had just been standing, its weight breaking the paved path. It released a loud roar as it began running after Seifer, its giant claws picking up cement and earth with each step. As it gained on him, Seifer rolled off the path just as the creature tried to snap at his back. He slid across the dirt, stopping in a kneel. Heart racing, the behemoth turned to charge him once more. Waiting for it to get closer, his muscles tensed and, when it was within proper distance, he slid a large handful of dirt and gravel into the beast's eyes.

It released a cry, shaking its head and trying to get the particles out of its eyes. Taking advantage of its stupor, Seifer cast blizzaga towards its claws, freezing its back legs in a sheet of ice. It struggled to free itself, which Seifer took full advantage of and took off running in the direction of Garden. As the lights from Garden came into view, he heard the sound of ice shattering and the ground start to quake. He cursed, trying to move faster, but the beast was quickly gaining – its strides long and powerful.

The beast jumped towards him once more, but something shoved him off the side.

Both he and the other person hit the ground.

Seifer rolled onto his side and picked himself up. He reached down and hauled Squall back to his feet.

"Good timing," he panted.

"Are you ever not pissing something off?"

There was no time to respond and both men jumped in different directions as the behemoth hit right where the duo had been standing.

"I take it you don't have your sword on you, either," Seifer called to Squall, who jumped back from the beast's paw swiping towards him.

"Well"—he dodge rolled when the creature's back leg kicked out towards him—"I would have if someone wouldn't have dragged me out." He cast fira, which struck the creature in the side, causing it to release a howl of pain.

Seifer clicked his tongue as he began summoning blizzaga for a second time. "Oh, yeah. Make everything my fault…." The magic caged the beast's front paw as it tried to reach up and swipe at the Commander once again. Squall took the opportunity and rolled under the behemoth. He called for Seifer to cast on its rear legs, which the blond obliged. As the creature fought against the ice, Squall set both of his hands on the behemoth's chest and summoned thundaga. The beast released a shriek, which was loud enough to have both of them cover their ears, feeling as though their eardrums might rupture. The ice surrounding the beast's paws finally broke and it began swaying.

By the time either one of them were able to recover from the paralyzing shriek, the behemoth was already falling.

"LEONHEART! MOVE!"

It was too late.

The creature hit the ground, landing on the younger male still beneath it.

-to be continued

From the get-go, what happened in the last chapter was supposed to be a dream. Why? Because, if you haven't realize it yet, Squall and Seifer are a bit linked. Whenever Seifer has a flashback, so does Squall - the only difference is that for every flashback Seifer has, Squall has a dream that somehow relates to it.

I'd been eluding to that since the beginning, but no one's caught on.

Figured I might as well just tell everyone.

Anyway! If there are any readers out there, please make yourselves known so I know if it's worth it or not to keep updating!