Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VIII, or any of the characters…that's it.

The Imposter

Chapter 11

Clash of Lion, Angel, and…Instructor?

"Quistis," the young man said, his eyes bored into hers, "You are a perfect vision of beauty…"

"Zaer, I've had enough of your compliments," Quistis said without blushing, "I just want to be your friend. Please do not push it."

"Ah, shucks, Quistis," Zaer said, leaning back on the bench, "You know you're denying me 'cuz you can't have me."

Quistis sighed and shook her head. It was night, and it was only this morning that Squall was forced to be on the run. To Quistis, it seemed like days ago. Every waking moment in the Garden without his face was slowly biting at her heart. She was only able to confess to herself, and no one else, that the reason she returned was she had missed him dearly during all those times on the hazardous road. Thinking back, she thought maybe she was too harsh on him.

this is how you greet a person who's like a sister to you!

Her heart winced as she remembered to clearly the exact words that she had shouted at his face before his departure. But then, again, she thought, why would he do such a thing? Wandering around the Garden and running into may Trepies who still hadn't forgotten her, Quistis pondered over Squall and what he did. However, she began to realize running into and talking to all these Trepies were not doing her any good. The one sitting on the bench in the hallway right now was no exception. His name was Zaer, a newbie, a SeeD cadet.

"It's almost curfew," Quistis said tiredly, "Go to bed, Zaer."

"Oh, you want us to get in bed now?" Zaer asked.

"You!" Quistis' face ignited red with anger, "You little cadet, report to your dorm, now!"

"Alright, alright!" Zaer stood up with his hands in front of his face, as if shielding himself, "I'm going, here, look, I'm walking."

Quistis sighed, looking at his retreating figure until it disappeared in the elevator. Slumping onto the bench he was sitting on before, Quistis closed her eyes for a brief moment, refusing to go to bed until she heard any news about Squall. After all those years, she was not going to deny that she still cared for him. He had began to appreciate her sisterly love, but the truth was, she did not, and never did care for him as a sister.

It was something else…something he'll never understand…

"ZELL! IRVINE! SELPHIE!" a voice suddenly ran through the quiet, empty hallway of Garden, "QUISTIS!"

Quistis stood up in a blink, eyes opened wide and alert. Obviously, the person who was in need of help had to know her or Irvine, or Selphie, or Zell to be screaming their names like so. Reaching her hand to her belt and finding the whip she attached there, she yanked it out and smacked it hard against the floor once, creating a deafening cracking sound. Not hesitating, she began to run forward, ears perked if the person was to scream again.

"QUISTIS! THANK GOD!" the voice sounded closer, and apparently, the person had already spotted her before she did. Following the source of noise towards the direction of the training center, Quistis held her whip at the ready, prepared to strike anyone in the way.

When she was about to make a turn into the hall of the training center, a flash of light blue rammed into her and toppled her over on the floor. Lying on the tile on her back and blinking in confusion, she was face to face with Rinoa's wide, frantic eyes. The grip on her whip tightened.

"Rinoa…?" Quistis asked as Rinoa stood up and dusted herself, "What are you…?"

"Quistis, Squall's in the training center!" Rinoa said frantically, her eyes filled with fear.

Squall? In there? Why are you running from him then? I thought you were supposed to get married and live happily…

"Quistis, you still with me?" Rinoa asked, offering Quistis a hand, "Sorry for knocking you down. Squall's in the…"

"Don't worry about it," Quistis said, taking Rinoa's hand and hoisted herself up, "So why are you so scared about Squall being in there? You think he's gonna kill you like he killed that female cadet?"

"No, you don't understand," Rinoa said, "It's not him."

"What, I don't understand you," Quistis sighed, releasing her grip on the whip, "One minute you said he's in there, and the other you said it's not him."

"Yes, he's in there, but it's not him," Rinoa nodded.

"Explain yourself," Quistis said, folding her arms across her chest.

Rinoa looked frantic, at a loss for words, words that will make Quistis understand. Rinoa grew nervous then, under that commanding and firm gaze of Quistis, telling her she was not going to buy anything Rinoa threw at her. Rinoa opened her mouth to begin the long explanation when out of nowhere, a bolt of thunder struck down, hitting with accuracy at the tile in between Quistis and Rinoa, harming neither of the girls. Whoever did this must have wanted their attention rather than their lives.

"It's him!" Rinoa shouted, jumping back.

Quistis turned towards the direction of the training center, as just as Rinoa had screamed at her, Squall began to emerge. Quistis gasped, staggering backwards. The expression on Squall's face was none she had ever seen on him before. It was murderous, almost with a hint of wanting to spill some blood and guts. He was not holding his Gunblade, but rather, his right hand was outstretched with black smoke gushing from it as if he had just cast a powerful spell.

"Squall, what are you doing!" Quistis screamed, stepping up in between him and Rinoa, and spreading her arms wide.

I won't let anything happen to Rinoa…I know it'll break Squall's heart. I'd rather not have him than see him in pain.

"Squall, stop this!" Quistis demanded.

"Quistis," Rinoa said, "It's not Squall."

"What are you talking about?" Quistis said as Squall advanced closer, "Never mind that, you can still fight, right?"

"I didn't spend all those times eating popcorn," Rinoa joked.

"Alright," Quistis said, "This is just one of those times where your friend got controlled by some evil force. This is like same old, same old, like how Seifer was manipulated…"

Seifer?…I wonder how he's doing now? Damn, I really want to know, but without Garden's permission, I can't go and investigate what he's up to…

Shaking her head to clear the irrelevant thought out of her mind, she turned again to Rinoa.

"You have your weapon with you?" Quistis asked.

"What are planning to do?" Rinoa asked, and Squall raised his hand again.

"Hurry, he's gonna cast more spells," Quistis said firmly, "We're going to attack him to pull him back to his senses and find out who's doing this."

"I don't have my weapon with me," Rinoa admitted, "But I can use magic."

"He's using magic, magic and magic don't mix," Quistis said, "We're gonna bring down the whole Garden if we keep casting things at each other. Remember, we're in the hallway and we can strike down a wall easily with thunder. Go, hurry, get your pinwheel or something."

"I don't use a pinwheel anymore," Rinoa said as she started to back up slowly and waited for the right moment to dash to her room, "I use a…"

"I don't care what you use," Quistis said, holding her whip in two hands in front of her, "Just hurry before I get fried."

Rinoa nodded and turned, running for her room.

?lt;/p>

"Hey, what do we do now?" a small, thin-formed soldier stood up and turned around to ask his superior.

"What now?" the person sitting in the far corner of the dungeon asked.

The dungeon was still as dark as ever, oblivious to the sun rays of dawn that burst outside. However, now, with the odor of foul blood and sweat mingling together, the executioner of Deling had allowed the latch of the main door to be released, letting wind pass through, and perhaps allowing a bit of light.

In the patch of small light, the small soldier saw the executioner of Deling, Rar, rub his beard again as he stood up heavily.

"He wouldn't wake up, sir," the soldier reported, then walked over to the far end of the wall, making way for Rar to enter the cell.

"You tried everything?"

"Smelling herbs, hot patch of cloth of his forehead, bandaging to slow the blood loss, and blankets to keep him warm at night," the soldier said, "But since he passed out last evening, he still hadn't woken."

Rar thumped his way into the cell, which was darker than the far corner in which the patch of light rested upon. The cell was beginning to smell worse with the amount of blood and sweat spilled on the damp, musty floor. Rar scratched his hardened beard again before looking to the soldier.

"Run and get me a bucket of ice," he ordered, and the soldier saluted and ran off without another word.

Rar rested his hand upon his chin as he looked upon the still body on the floor of the cell.

"It only been a day," Rar said, "Have I been that brutal? Man, I hadn't executed anyone in so long, I guess I got carried away."

The soldier came back almost instantly, with a full bucket of ice that looked too heavy for him to carry.

"Sir, may I ask?" the soldier asked as he handed the bucket over, "What have you done?"

"To tell you da truth, I don't remember," Rar said, then hacked a laugh as if it was the funniest thing.

"Looks bad," the soldier cringed as he asked, "You think he'll d…?"

"NO," Rar roared, startling the soldier, "Course not, he apposed to leeve so we, uh, can bring him, back to his Yard."

"Garden, Sir,"

"Same thing," Rar said, then squatted down and dumped the full bucket of nice without gentleness on top of the body, "You're dismissed."

The soldier saluted, but held on for a second longer, as if to watch if anything should happen. But fearing of being slaughtered himself, he quickly scurried away after no more than two seconds.

"C'mon, now," Rar said, "We stopped yer bleeding, could ye be more of a wuss?"

The first thing Squall was able to register again was pain. It was beginning to become his wake up call everytime he emerged from his unconscious mind. His head began to pound mercilessly and every bone in his body started to ache. It even hurt to twitch a finger, so therefore, he decided to lie still and try to register an upcoming command. It seemed that was all he was able to do lately.

"You awake?" An idle, but rough voice spoke, making Squall open his eyes a bit, trying to take in his surrounding, which was rocking back and forth.

Rar's face came into view.

Squall closed his eyes again.

"You…here…to torture…me, again?" Squall asked.

Surprisingly, Squall heard Rar's hand moving around his body, as if scraping something off. The clinking of objects around him made him wonder.

"What's…on me?" he asked.

"Ice," Rar said, and strangely, this time, without any venom in his voice, "Used it to wake ye up, Commander."

"Ice?" Squall asked, "Why can't…I…feel it?"

Rar was slightly shocked.

Damn, he's so numb he can't feel, Rar thought, Damn, I've gone too far, definitely.

"Ah, don't worry," Rar mumbled.

"Why…are you…doing this?" Squall asked, opening his eyes a bit.

"Don't move," Rar said, "I've figured I've done enough, and since, ye not going to answer anything I asked ye…I'm gonna have to hand ye over to your Yard at last."

"Garden…" Squall coughed.

"Whatever, boy," Rar said, "The Garden will pick you up sometime this afternoon, and whether you live or die is entirely upon them."

"So…you're done with me? Like a damn toy?" Squall asked, "And now you're going to let…someone else…play with me?"

Squall grunted and tried to sit up, but failed miserably. He turned his head sideways and choked up blood.

"Easy," Rar said, "I'm not tryin' to be soft on ye, but since I'll hand ye over to the Garden, I gotta make the package at least look nice."

"Damn…you," Squall muttered, his ribs hurt as he took in a deep, angry breath.

"Listen," Rar said, leaning in closer, "I did go too far on torturing ye…uh, you, but don't think I'm soft when I admit this. I'm gonna leave ye alone for now. Stop moving and turning, ye'll rip yer bandages on accident."

"No…"

"What do ye want? Ye can't expect any fancy treatment, ye a criminal,"

"I swear…I'll…" Squall said, then stopped stirring around. His eyes closed and he passed out again.

Rar shook his head and stood up. Upon departing, he locked the cell and closed the main door, sending the dungeon into eternal darkness once more.

Master…

Master…Please awaken…

Squall opened his eyes slowly and unwillingly. The pain his body had now decreased to a dull, numb feeling do the amount of ice poured on him. Turning his head slightly to see if anyone was in the cell with him, he discovered he must have been hearing things due to his headache. The cell was still as empty as when he had passed out, and it did not look like anyone was sitting in the corner, talking to him.

Damn, he thought, Am I still gonna live? No, I can't think like this…I gotta live, maybe just another day, or another minute, I want to see her face again…I wanna see Rinoa's eyes again.

Shaking his head and closing his eyes, he began to try hard to think of a way to plead to the Garden and make them believe him about the whole ordeal.

You can't, Master…you've already tried.

Squall's eyes shot open, and he began to sweat slightly. Naturally, he was not afraid of monsters or living spirits for all that matter, but at this moment, he was helpless. He could not move a muscle to wipe the sweat off his face, let alone getting up and fight whatever mysterious being that was talking to him.

Don't fear me, Master…I'm at your service. And no, I won't hurt you.

"What's going on?" Squall asked, relaxing a little, "Who…are you?"

Master, I am…Griever…

AN: Hey, ah, sorie 4 takin' so long. My computer was goin' stupid 4 awhile. But I think it's good now. Apparently, 'cuz i got dis chapter up and runnin'. Review!