Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 8, yadda yadda yadda, they belong to Squaresoft.....blahblahblah..so don't sue blah blah blah I'm too poor to pay a good lawyer yadda yadda....Yay Squarsoft!


Tell Me I'm Not Alone
( An Unexpected Friend)

Fire.

So much fire.....

Screams.

So many.....

The little girl wrapped her arms tighter around someone's neck. The woman held her tightly and looked around frantically.
"(..... The smoke... it... burns...... my eyes....)"

Kicking down the door, the woman clutched the child and ran through.
She wheezed as she ran, the child bouncing in her arms, holding on for dear life.
"(..... I'm scared....)"

They were under the open sky now. The little girl looked up in awe at the stars. The scent of smoke and ash wafted into her nose as the woman carried her further and further away from the fires. She could hear cries of wounded, and shouts behind them, but the further away they got, the less recognizable they became. She looked ahead and saw the edge of a forest drawing nearer.
The woman panted. Some of her blonde hair brushed over the little girl's face.
Looking over the woman's shoulder, the little girl tightened her grip around the woman's neck.
"There they are!!!!!" a man cried.
The woman let out a small whimper and pushed herself harder. The forest was only about ten feet away from them now.

A gunshot peirced the air.
The little girl watched the gound suddenly come toward her as the woman cried in agony.
The child landed a foot away as she fell out of the woman's arms, letting out a small whimper as she made contact with the ground.
Rubbing her head with her little hand, she looked around for the woman.
She lie in a pool of blood not too far away.
Feeling tears spring to her wide eyes, the child scrambled over to her and shook her shoulder.
The woman groaned and looked up at the crying girl. She grimaced as she tried to reach out and touch her face.
The child shook her head.
(......What...... What's happening......?)
Squeezing the small child's hand momentarily, the woman urged her forward.
"... Just run and don't look back..." the voice seemed to echo through and all around the girl.
Hesitating for a moment, the girl stood up, giving the fallen woman one more glance before she turned and ran as fast as her little legs could carry her, towards the trees.

Just as she reached the forest edge she heard a blood curdling scream behind her. Not thinking for a moment, she turned around.
A group of soldiers were gathered around the fallen woman, one with a gun pointed at her head. The little girl's throat became tight, unable to breathe, as she watched the man pull the trigger.
Her eyes widened, shining with tears.
" MAMA!!!!!!!!!!"
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Quistis sat up straight. Her breath was heavy, and sweat covered her brow. She rubbed her forehead and groaned as she looked towards the alarm clock on her night-stand.
"2:30 a.m....." she said bitterly as she swung her legs off of the bed. Resting her face in her hands, she took another couple breaths, trying to calm her racing heartbeat. She knew she wouldn't be sleeping tonight....

After drowsily getting dressed in her trademark attire, she resolved that she would head to the training center and make use of her time.

Her boots clicked down on the polished floor of the Garden's main floor. Taking a deep breath, she looked around cautiously, hoping that no one would come and scold her for being out at such an ungodly hour.
She rolled her eyes, "(I'm an adult, why should I worry about getting in trouble for being up late? It's no one else's buisness anyway.....)"
Upon reaching the sturdy metal doors of the training center she stopped and looked back for a moment, before grasping the handle and giving it a mighty tug.

It was quite peacful, to her surprise. There seemed to be no one else here, and she was glad she'd be able to have some private training time.
Reaching to her army belt, she pulled Save the Queen from her resting place on her side and cracked it with little effort on the hard ground. Closing her eyes as if in a trance, she just stood there and listened to the sound of her whip echo of the walls.

She heard another noise.
It sounded metallic, and it pricked her ears.

"....A gunblade.." she said aloud as she headed towards the source of the noise.

Rounding a corner, she came face to face with......
"(... Seifer..?)"

He was kneeling on one knee, over a brutally mangled Grat. It's oozing green blood splattered over his face and bare arms. She didn't move, she just found herself watching his shoulders move up and down with his tired breaths.
After a few moments, he stood up and proceeded to wipe the green slime from his face.

"... Isn't it a little passed your bed-time." Quistis sneered putting a hand on her hip. She visibly startled him, and took a little delight in it.
He whipped around to face her, "Trepe. I should be saying the same for you."
Her eyebrow twitched slightly, but after a shaky breath, she regained control and crossed her arms.
".... Why waste your time with weaklings like that." she said pointing at the mutilated plant monster, "Even I know those aren't really worth your time."
The blond man just shrugged cooly and propped his elbow on the handle of his Gunblade, "Not much else to fight in here."
There was a brief silence, which was finally broken by the young woman's sigh, "Well, I came here for a challenge. Wanna have a go?"
This surprised the young man and he raised an eyebrow, "Excuse me?"
She cracked her whip and pointed a gloved hand at him, "I wanna see if you're really worthy to be a SeeD! I challenge you!... (What the hell am I doing..?)"
He stood up straight and got into his fighting stance, "... Fine Trepe. (What the hell is she doing..?)"
Quistis knew Seifer was an excellent fighter, and that if it wasn't for is arrogance and attitude problem, he probably would have passed the SeeD exam the first time he took it.
But she just felt she had to take out some frustration on something.... Who better than the one who had caused it the most? He was always such a little bastard when he had been her student, and she's surprised she fought the urge to throttle everytime she had laid eyes on him.
Shaking her head she got into her stance and lunged toward him.

The battle had begun.

He dodged with ease and countered her with a dangerous swipe that almost made contact with her shoulder. Ducking in the nick of time, she rolled back.
"You've gotten fast....." she said standing up. He clenched his teeth.
"And you've gotten sloppy." he retorted causing her to lunge at him again. This time she managed to make contact with his arm causing him to let out a small cry. She grinned with satisfaction as she fell back into position.
He held his hand over his wound for a moment and growled. He was angry now.
Without warning he rushed her sending her toppling backwards into the dust. She coughed and tried to get back up, her eyes stinging from the sand. Looking up, she saw Seifer through the dust above her, Gunblade poised to thrust into her flesh. Quickly throwing her hand into the air she cried,"Thundaga!!!!"
A flash of light erupted from no where and crashed down upon her foe. Hearing his racked cry she quickly scrambled up and fell back a few steps.
When the dust cleared, there was Seifer, his Gunblade still raised high above his head. He was shaking still, no doubt from the electrictiy that had just surged through his body. Moaning slightly, he dropped his weapon, fell to his knees, then face first into the dirt..
The woman's eyes widened slightly. She hadn't expected him to go down so easily. This was Seifer Almasy, former threat the world, and former sorceress's knight. Had he grown so soft over the passed year?
She promptly hooked her whip to her belt and walked over to where he lay.

Kneeling beside his still form, she held her hand above him slightly and closed her eyes.
"Full-life..." the words slipped off of her tounge, and she felt the cool feeling, and blue glow of the magic curl around her arm and enter his body.
Only when she heard his rasped cough did she open her eyes and sit back.
After a few moments, Seifer pulled his face out of the dirt and sat on his heels.
".... You okay?" she asked sitting back a little. She was startled for a moment at the genuine tenderness she had just used in her voice, and it seemed to surprise Seifer as well.
"....Yeah, I'll live." he answered brushing himself off.
Silence.
Quistis shook her head and stood up. After a moment, she outstretched her hand to Seifer. He looked at it incredulously.
Then after a moment, he took it. With a mighty pull, the blonde woman helped him out of the dust.
"...Thanks." he mumbled releasing her gloved hand.
She shrugged and knelt down to pick up his discarded Gunblade. It was surprisingly light. She always thought it would have weighed a ton considering it size.
"You still have skill, but you weren't fighting to you're maximum potential." she said handing him Hyporion, "Don't worry though, your probably just having a bad day."
"...Yeah....."
They stared at each other for a moment.
"(Why aren't we at each other's throat? Could it be possible that he's changed...? Could Seifer Almasy actually not be so much of a jerk as I keep making him out to be..?)"
"....Um... You wanna talk for a bit...?" Quistis asked a little hesitantly.
He shrugged and in a smug tone answered, "Tch...Why the hell not. It's not like I have anything better to do..."
She narrowed her eyes a little.
"(...... Never mind...)"

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The Secret Area was deserted.
She wasn't surprised though, it was really late, or rather really early in the morning.
Quistis walked up to the railing and leaned her elbows on it, while Seifer hung back and leaned against the wall.
There was silence for a long time, and the tension between them was growing.
"...So," Quistis began, "Why are you here? Couldn't sleep either?"
She heard a grunt behind her then the sound of the Gunblade being sheathed.
"..... You could say that."
She looked over her shoulder to see Seifer with his arms crossed, looking off into the distance.
"..... What about you Trepe? Why are you out here?"
She faced him and crossed her arms, ".... Couldn't sleep.."
Silence.
A soft wind blew, rustling the leaves and branches of the trees below the balcony.
"Aren't you afraid of me.....?" the blonde man asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Huh..?"
"I mean, I did try to kill you..."
Quistis shook her head, "Key word being *try*..."
".... I'll take that as a 'no'."
She leaned her back on the railing, "I'm willing to give you the benefit of a doubt."
"Why the change of heart?" he asked inquisitively.
She raised an eyebrow, "Why are you so interested anyway?"
He shrugged, "Only natural when one of your former enemies doesn't leave you to die after winning a fight... Also," he raised a finger, "your voice doesn't seem to hold the same contempt for me as it used to."
Her eyes widened a little.
"(Perceptive little bastard aren't you..)" she thought, a smile tugging at the edges of her lips.
"... Well, do you really want to know?" she asked.
He nodded.
"..Well, when I challenged you to that fight, I wasn't sure if I would live or die, but after kicking your butt like that, I don't find you too 'scary'."
He stayed silent.
She put her hands on her hips, "What? You like being thought of as this big frightening monster...?"
He shook his head,"....No.... I'm just used to it."

Her hands fell to her sides, a look of surprise on her face.
He looked at her and smiled a little, "Your the last one I expected to actually come even close to being a friend....."
The Instructor felt her cheeks get incredibly hot.
"..I mean, I know people here hate me, and would try and beat the shit out of me if the opportunity ever arose--"
Quistis's gaze softened a little, and her heart, to her surprise, did a little too,"(Your still just a lost boy looking for acceptance aren't you.....?)"
"--- and I understand why they'd want to but--"
She shook her head and smiled, silencing him with a wave of her hand.
"You don't have ot try and explain yourself..... I already forgive you..."
He raised an eyebrow,"What..?"
She crossed her arms, "Though I'm not sure if I should or not...." she took a step towards him, "but for once I'll take a chance Mr. Almasy."
Stopping about a foot away from him, she held out her hand.
"....Truce..?" she asked, "Or are you still so arrogant you're not willing to accept my apology?"
He smirked and shook her hand.
"..... Truce."
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"My room's off this way." Quistis said pointing down the hall to their left.
"Mine's down here." Seifer gestured to the right.
"..... So... I guess I'll see you in class tomorrow." the blonde woman said shifting a little.
".. Yeah...."
"Now don't be late. I don't want to have to make you sit in study hall for two hours!" she said using her Instructor's voice.
Seifer smiled, "I won't..."
She smiled and turned to leave, "G'night Seifer."
She started toward her room.
"... Good night... Quistis.."
She stopped dead in her tracks and turned to face him slowly.
He just stood there with his trademark smirk, then turned and walked down the hall.

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Author's note:Anywho, hope you liked this chapter, and I swear on my running shoe that I'll get the next chapters up soon! (And I really like my running shoes)
So, I'll be seein' ya, and thank you for reading!!!!