Odyssey VIII:III

"Dammit! Dammit, dammit, dammit!" Quistin repeatedly cursed as she and her comrade travelled through the strange terrain. It bore no signs of life, but the glow from the crystal surfaces gave off a comforting warmth. The warmth, however, gave the gunblader no solace. The shimmer of the crystals around her could not pull her away from her thoughts. 'I should've done something. Anything. I should've been there earlier. I shouldn't have been so helpless…'

Tears unconsciously started to run down her cheeks. It was when Squall had offered a piece of cloth that she realized that her face was moist. "Crying shows weakness. The enemy will easily exploit that weakness."

Quistin took the piece of cloth and started wiping away the tears from her eyes. "Yeah, I guess so," she mumbled as she got a better view of her surroundings. Platforms and pillars of various sizes floated everywhere. They were all seemingly made out of the same, crystal-like material. A mist covered the land below and the sky was obscured with clouds. At the moment, they were standing at the largest piece of crystal that was stable enough for them to rest.

"Your friend, she's very dear to you, wasn't she?" Squall asked, only looking at his companion from the corner of his eyes.

The woman nodded. "Among them all, Claudine was what I could consider my best friend in this world," Quistin stated. "But now… She's gone, because of that woman," she said, anger lacing her ever word. "If I ever see her again… I'll-"

"Threats do not suit you Quistin," a feminine voice chimed. The two gunbladers turned and saw two figures fully dressed in armor. "Nor do you ever live up to them."

"Light…" Quistin whispered. She quickly started to wipe off any remaining moisture so that their leader would not notice her recent depression. "Who's your friend?" she asked, pointing a finger at the other Warrior of Light.

"I am the Warrior of Light," Warrior introduced himself. The female gunblader gave him a look. "Is there something the matter?" he innocently asked, his stoic expression ever present.

Quistin crossed her arms. "What? Just a title? No name?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Warrior could only lower his head in shame. The female brunette widened her eyes at her mistake. "I'm… very sorry. I didn't mean to offend you."

The Warrior shook his head. "There is no need for your apologies. I trust that when I retrieve my Crystal, my name, and my memories, will come back," he explained, raising his head. "It is only the two of you?"

Squall nodded. "She wouldn't leave me be, so she tagged along," he said, his eyes sending a glare towards the woman being referred to. Quistin stuck out her tongue, making Light chuckle at the childish action.

"I see you are faring well Quistin. I had felt a disturbance here a while ago, but it seems as though my worry was out of place," Light said with a kind smile on her face. "It's best that we be on our way, don't you agree?"

Warrior nodded. "Are you sure that you would not like us to join you? There is safety in numbers after all," he offered. A noticeable frown appeared on Squall's face.

'Not another one…' he groaned to himself. 'I bet Quistin would immediately accept his offer.'

"No, it's alright. We're fine on our own, thank you very much," Quistin politely declined, surprising the other SeeD. "Anyway, we might be heading different directions. We might just become a burden for each other."

Light narrowed her eyes at her friend. By what she knew of the brunette, she would welcome anyone's company. Her declining such companionship was strange for her. "Has something happened Quistin? Your eyes seem to be swollen. Have you been crying?"

The said woman widened her eyes in surprise. It wasn't that she didn't expect Light to notice, but it still caught her off guard. "No. I'm perfectly fine, see?" she said, flashing a bright smile. "No need to worry."

Squall, noticing Quistin's discomfort, decided to take matters into his own hands. "You should really get moving. If you want to cover more ground before the sun goes down, I advise you to get a move on. The two of us will be setting camp here for the mean time," he interjected.

Warrior made a hum of agreement. "Let us go," he stated, turning about.

"Alright. Take care Quistin… And good luck," Light whispered before following the Warrior. 'You'll need it. We all need it,' she thought to herself as she left.

The two gunbladers watched quietly as the two knights slowly disappeared from their view. When they were out of their sight, Quistin let a sigh of relief escape her lips. "Thanks Squall…" she muttered as she sat herself down onto the ground. "Light would've freaked if she found out." The brunette pulled her knees closer and wrapped her arms around them. "I… I don't know anymore Squall," she said, shaking her head. "I feel so… so helpless. I should've been there for Claudine. I should've… I should've done something," she cried, tears threatening to fall again.

Squall sighed. 'This is exactly why I steer clear of others,' he thought to himself as he watched the woman cry. 'I have nothing to do with this. She brought this upon herself. She shouldn't have become so attached.' The male gunblader pinched his nose, thinking of what to do. Quistin was crying and he had to make her stop and come to her senses.

Quistin shook as another wave of sadness came over her. She knew she needed to stop, but couldn't. Her tears just continued to flow down her cheeks, even though she knew there was nothing more to cry about. Her friend was dead and she couldn't do anything to save her. That was it. It was reasonable, but she had stopped thinking about it. She just couldn't stop. It was as if she hadn't cried for a long time.

A hand on her head made her stop her sniffing, but it didn't stop the tears. The hand ran through her hair gently, as if trying to calm her down. Quistin looked up and saw the hand belonging to Squall. The said gunblader had his face turned away, but nevertheless, the simple gesture made her smile.

"Thanks Squall," she whispered as she tried to look at the said SeeD's face. As soon as Squall heard her thanks though, he tightened his grip on her hair and forced her to stand up. "Ouch! What was that for?" she yelled, rubbing her scalp as soon as he had let go.

"You need to accept what had happened. We need to keep moving," Squall said as he started to walk towards on direction.

Quistin frowned. "But I thought we were camping here," she whined, crossing her arms.

"Change of-"

Quistin waited for him to finish his sentence, but he never did. She pulled her eyebrows together as she walked up to him. "Squall? You alright?" she called, but when she saw his face, she was even more confused. His mouth was open, as if trying to speak, but it only remained that way. He had frozen in place.

"Hey Squa~all~" she chimed, waving her hand before his face. "Hmmm…" She stepped back a little and it was then that she noticed something. The clouds had stopped moving. There was no wind. There was nothing to hear except for her own breathing and footsteps. "What the-" A black hole appeared right under her feet, quickly consuming her before she could even finish speaking.

Quistin groaned as turned to her side. 'Damn. What just happened?' she thought to herself as she tried to open her eyes. The bright light of the sun momentarily blinded her, but as soon as she regained her sight, she saw the clear blue sky. 'Pretty…' she mused, distracted.

"Ouch! Alright Zidane, what did you do this time?" a shrill voice yelled not far from the gunblader. "I know you're hiding somewhere you genome! Come out and I might not kill you!" she threatened.

"Oh my head… Keep it down will ya?" another voice complained.

The gunblader finally decided to sit up and inspect her surroundings. "Huh?" It was the only thing that could she say as her comrades lay scattered on the ground, all clutching their heads. "Guys!" Quisitin called as she waved her arms to get their attention.

A confused Zina raised an eyebrow. "Quistin? Breeze? How'd you get here?" the genome asked, stopping her search for whoever had transported her here. It had only been a few days when she passed by this area.

"We might ask the same thing," Tina interrupted, Cecilia and Tony right beside her. "I remember everything stopping then some black hole sucked me and Ces in."

"We apologize for sending you here in such short notice, but not all of us have all the time in the world," a woman in jester's clothing said as she and four other figures came into view.

"You!" Tony hissed, ready to attack at any moment.

A genome with silver hair got between the two mages, eyes pleading. "Please, hear us out. This fighting… This struggle, it needs to be known," Kajie softly whispered. Zina could only narrow her eyes at her 'sister.'

Cecilia frowned, though her expression was hidden by the helm of her armor. "And why believe you? You are our enemy. This could be nothing more than a trap."

"Cecilia, I don't think we should jump to conclusions," Tina said as she stepped up beside her dark knight friend.

"Artema…" Quistin mumbled as she noticed the man cloaked in red. The said man merely nodded in acknowledgement of her presence.

Breeze, noticing that they were not complete, moved to the front of their group and asked, "Where are the others, Light, Luna, Claudine and Frina?" The brunette narrowed her eyes as the air grew silent. Quistin flinched as she registered Claudine's name. Tony couldn't help but feel ashamed that none of his comrades knew of Luna's whereabouts.

"I'm right here Breeze," Frina chimed as she moved from behind one of the castle's pillar. Tina and Cecilia grew wary as the silverette came into view. "No need to worry."

"And I am right here," Light announced as she walked pass the group and took the front. "You jester, what have you done this time?" she hissed, pointing a sword at the mage.

Kelpie shook her head. "I've done nothing. A simple announcement is all I have in mind," she calmly replied as she pushed the threatening blade to the side. "Besides, I think you know what I'm talking about." Light flinched as she caught wind of the jester's intentions.

"What is she talking about Light?" Quistin asked, confusion written all over her face.

The Empress turned to their 'leader' and sighed. She had no intention of participating in this little gathering. It was only a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong place. "The Truth," she whispered, her eyes turning towards the ground.

"So this is where everyone gets to know everything, huh?" Tina mumbled to herself. "So are we really…" The blitzball star couldn't bring herself to accept the reality. Her mother had told her everything, but even then she could not comprehend. It would mean that everything she was fighting for… wasn't real.

Light widened her eyes. "You know of it?" she gasped, turning to the blonde. Tina nodded in response, causing her to sigh. "Who… Who else knows?" Frina raised a hand. Light turned to her comrades, all greeting her with confused looks.

"So… We fade?" Cecilia spoke out, remembering her sister's words. "We disappear into nothingness?" Her statement earned mixed reactions. Zina and Breeze could only frown in confusion. Tina, Light and Frina turned away in hurt. Tony was about to burst in anger, not understanding. Quistin kept quiet, trying to make sense of it all.

"And I thought no one had the courage to say it," Feigh muttered as she crossed her arms. She had been the one who transported them here. At first it was unknown to her as to why Kelpie had asked her to bring them here, but she dared not to question her decisions.

Quistin still hadn't processed the information when she suddenly spoke. "Is that what happened to Claudine?"

"And to Luna?" Tony added, earning him surprised looks from his comrades.

Zina separated from the group and held Light by the breastplate, her blue eyes glaring into the others. "Answer us! If we're meant to disappear like trash, then what are we? Why fight?" she screamed at the warrior. Kajie looked away as her sister broke down. "You mean to say that everything we've lived through, everything we fought for… Was it all a lie? Were we just some experiment?"

Tina winced. "Were… Were we some dream the gods played with?" she whispered.

"A weapon to wreak more destruction than this war has already caused?" Tony asked softly, eyes downcast.

"Some soldier to do the bidding of the gods?" Cecilia said, crossing her arms.

Frina took a step closer to Light, her brown eyes narrowed. "A tool, perhaps?" Light shifted her glance from one warrior to another, their questions pressuring her. The gunblader sighed in defeat, having given up on trying to understand on her own.

"Just answer the question already. What's going on?"

So far, I've been enjoying reliving my FFIV days on the PSP. It is a new FFIV experience. Thank Square Enix for AUTO. I'm currently working on Edge's Chapter in After Years.

Oh yeah, a bit of foresight… or whatever that means… Anyway just to give a heads up, yeah that's better, I'm so not going to tell the whole tale of how they all get their crystals. That's just… too long and overly… exaggerated. So I may end it somewhere. Exactly where and when, I dunno…