Blue
Chapter 3
by Mariye
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Disclaimer: I don't own FF8
This story is dedicated to Rhyein, cause she helped me fix my computer! Yay! Go read Time Out of Mind now!
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Quistis jumped back as a huge bomb flew up out of the pit into the air. It hovered for a bit, then seemed to vanish.
~Where?~ Quistis kept scanning the area around her.
"Scan!" She searched the area with her magic, but to no avail.
~I'm a sitting duck here. I have to try and get out and to safety.~
She took a chance and started running across the bridge. She heard a roar behind her, and turned to see what it was. The bomb was floating behind her, and growing larger by the second.
~It gonna explode!~
"Mighty Guard!" She crossed her arms in front of her and a huge blue dome of light surrounded her.
{[KABOOM!]}
Quistis clenched her eyes shut and crouched down as the bomb disappeared in a huge flash of white light. The magma flowed around her, but Mighty Guard protected her from any damage.
~THE BRIDGE!~
She looked down and saw the planks around her starting to dissolve, and the ropes start to fall apart. She clenched her eyes shut.
"Oh please Hyne let me somehow survive this!"
~I wish I were outside in the hall right now!~
She felt the ground give away beneath her feet and the sensation of falling.
"Oof!"
She opened her eyes as she felt herself land on a hard surface. She saw the familiar entrance to the Training Center in front of her, and the halls and fountains around her. In the center was the usual elevator.
"What just happened?" She asked.
Fel ran out of the Training Center and turned completely pale when he saw Quistis.
"But... but you were behind me, outside the cave! The bomb!"
Quistis stood up.
"Where's the other boy, Heyn?"
"Heyn? What are you talking about?"
"There were two of you in there. You and another student. He said you were training in there early."
"No. I was sleeping in bed and when I woke up I was in there and you were casting a cure spell on me. And there was no other student there. You were the only other person in there." Fel looked at her puzzled.
~But there WAS another boy in there. I saw him!~
"Are you alright?"
She looked up as Fel spoke.
"I'm fine. Listen, head to the infirmary and have Dr. Kadowaki examine you. I'll make a report to the Commander and Headmaster." She watched as he nodded and ran off. Quistis examined herself.
~No scorch marks. No cuts. Not a trace of any damage or signs of a battle. How? And how did I get from in there to out here?~
As she rose up and smoothed her skirt, a thought popped into her head.
~What if I'm still dreaming?~
She stopped for a moment in shock, then tried to make sense of things.
~Instant travel makes sense in dreams. So does hearing strange voices and seeing people who disappear.~
As she walked towards the elevator, she pinched her arm. She winced at the pain.
~Course that doesn't mean anything. I can remember having dreams where I felt pain or discomfort before. I could still be on that couch and Seifer or Irvine could be poking me.~
She stopped as she waited for the elevator to come.
~A clock! I need to find a clock!~ She looked around and saw the huge clock above the entrance to the library. She read the time.
"4:51."
She looked away and forgot the time.
~If this is a dream, when I look at the clock the time will have changed.~
She looked at the clock again.
"4:51."
She sighed as she walked into the elevator.
~Maybe it was just luck.~
"Third floor."
After she spoke the elevator came to live and moved upward.
~I'll report to Cid and Squall. Maybe I'll just leave a message. This all doesn't seem that urgent. Plus the Training Center is isolated and all the bombs are gone. That can be fixed later. The way things are here a maintenance crew is probably already there. Then I'll head to Kadowaki's and tell her what's been happening to me. Maybe its all an effect of insomnia on my mind. I have been having trouble sleeping for the past few weeks. And she was prescribing a sleeping aid for me before the whole Ultimecia ordeal.~
The elevator stopped abbruptly.
"Damn. Not now..."
She pulled open the control panel and picked the emergency phone out.
"Hello? Maintenance?"
"Huh? Oh, Yes?"
"The main elevator is stuck. Can you send someone to fix it?"
"Yes ma'am. Right away."
As Quistis hung up, she knew it would be a while, judging by the sleepy tone of the man's voice.
~Now I know I'm not dreaming. I would never imagine being trapped in an elevator.~
She leaned against the wall and let herself slide to the floor. She closed her eyes and focused on the gentle hum of the machines in the elevator.
She found herself envisioning a small field outside of the huge city of Esthar. Esthar was uncloaked, which was still uncommon, despite the fact that now it still often stayed cloaked out of habit. A tall man was seemingly sitting there, staring off at the advanced city.
She was aware of people around, watching, but not doing anything. It was like they were all faceless, mindless zombies. Unable to do naything but watch this silent figure.
Quistis envisioned herself walking up to him, and somehow even felt the grass beneath her feet, despite the fact that she was wearing boots now. She touched the man's shoulder, but he still didn't move.
"Who are you?" She whispered.
A murmur started to arise from the mass that surrounded her and this figure. And despite being around so many people, she felt isolated.
~What's going on?~
"Are you alright?" She asked, walking up a little and turning to look at the man in front of her. She was shocked when she saw his body ended at the waist.
He held up a hand as if to silence her and stop her shock.
He had brown-blond hair, and clear ice blue eyes that seemed to have an unearthly glow about them.
"What are you?" She asked silently. The words barely came out.
He said nothing, but raised his opposite hand to point to Esthar. Quistis looked where he pointed.
The ground began to tremble and shake, and huge pillars of fire began to shoot out of the ground encircling the great city.
"WHY?!?!" Quistis screamed out, covering her ears.
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Is this some kind of premonition?
A dream brought on by anxiety?
How was Quistis able to escape the Training Center?