Disclaimer: No, I don't own Final Fantasy 8 or anything related to it... I just borrowed the characters for a little while. ^.^;;
All right, so here I go... What happens when Squall and Rinoa disappear after the Second Sorceress War and it's discovered that the Third War is about to start? Who's behind it? Who's going to stop it? How are they going to stop it?
"When the Heavens Cry"
[ - - Part One - - ]
Quistis Trepe sat silently at her desk in her dorm room. She had been rummaging through odds and ends in an effort to clean up her room when she stumbled upon a small scroll in a box, hidden in the back of her closet. It had been a year since the day they arrived back in Balamb Garden, battered and bruised, but alive. Since then, Squall had the Garden re-rooted in it's former position at the end of the path near Balamb. She sighed and looked down to read the scroll aloud to herself:
"The Knight will become a King
The Watcher will become a Queen
When the midnight clouds gather
And shroud the world in mist
The King will seek the Queen
They will fight together side by side
Four warriors will appear to aide them
One with eyes like an emerald
The spirit of the faeries
One with eyes like a misty opal
With a weapon of chrome
One with eyes like the ocean
Flying fists of steel
One with eyes like the dark night
Quick like the wind
If they prove to be the victors,
The sun will emerge from hiding
The moon will be placed among it's glitter
If they die bravely in the battle,
The mighty rains will pour from the Heavens
And forever trap the planet in it's Cry."
Quistis pondered for a moment what it could mean and then shook her head lightly. "This is silly... It's probably one of the old stories Matron used to read us... I remember her telling us a story of knights when we were little... That's probably where Seifer got his silly idea...."
Hmm... She got herself thinking of Seifer now. She raised an eyebrow gazing down at the scroll. Why was she thinking about him? Especially now... She hadn't seen him in a year and all of a sudden he pops up in her mind?
She rolled up the scroll and tucked it securely under her pillow as a faint knocking came from her door. "Coming," she announced as she smoothed the wrinkles from her sheets.
She pressed a button beside her door and watched as it disappeared into the wall. "Can I help you?" she asked the figure standing before her.
The figure looked up; She was girl. She had long black hair that reached her waist; The bottom 4 inches or so were dyed an electric blue -- her bangs matching the striking blue color as well. She had dark eyes, almost black, with just a hint of violet. She wore an orange tank-top and baggy forest green pants, almost covering her gray sneakers completely, carrying with her a black backpack. She was about 5'2'' and seemed to be a cheery person in general, her smile never leaving her face. "Hi, I'm Kimari Loire. Are you Quistis Trepe?"
Quistis nodded, recognizing the last name; Loire. It was the same as Squall's father, Laguna Loire. "Yes, I am... How can I help you?"
"Um, well, I came here to find Squall Leonhart by orders of my Uncle Laguna... I went to the office on the third floor, but the man there... Nida, I think, his name was... told me that Squall wasn't here and to find you 'cause you're the one in charge while Squall is gone... So he told me your dorm number and here I am... Um, so, do you know where Squall is?" Kimari explained.
Quistis raised an eyebrow. "Well, Ms. Loire..."
Kimari shook her head. "No formalities, please... Kim is fine."
Quistis nodded, crossing her arms and leaning against the door frame. "Well, Kim, Squall left with his girlfriend Rinoa three days ago to meet with President Loire in Esthar... Nobody at this Garden has heard from them since."
"That's why I'm here," Kim told her. "He was supposed to arrive by train two days ago... I was supposed to meet my cousin and his girlfriend at the station just outside of Esthar... I was really looking forward to seeing him again, but he never showed up. I waited all day, thinking maybe he just got on a later train, but when night started to fall and he still wasn't there, I went back to Uncle Laguna. He called here, but someone just told him that Squall and Rinoa had already gone. Uncle Laguna started to get really worried so he sent me here to find him."
Quistis stood up straight. "They haven't contacted the president in anyway?"
Kim shook her head. "No."
Quistis stepped forward, turning and pressing an access code into the panel beside her door. She turned toward Kim and nodded, "We'll find them... Follow me."
She led Kim to the bridge and picked up the microphone. She switched it on and spoke quickly. "Zell, Selphie, Irvine... This is Quistis. Come to the bridge quickly."
Within minutes, Zell, Selphie and Irvine met Kim and Quistis in the office below the bridge. "What's up?" Zell asked as he strolled up to the older girl. He turned to Kim. "Aren't you Squall's cousin? I think I've seen a picture of you and Ellone in his room..."
Kim smiled, as Quistis started to speak. "Well, we have reason to believe that Squall and Rinoa are missing. They failed to appear in Esthar and have not contacted anyone since they left, over three days ago." She turned to Kim. "This is Squall's cousin, Kim... President Loire sent her to find Squall's whereabouts... We're going to help her find them."
Selphie frowned. "Missing? Super-bummer... Where should we start looking?" she asked worriedly.
Irvine placed a hand on his girlfriend's shoulder. She looked up and pouted. He smiled reassuringly at her. "It's ok, Sefie... We'll find 'em... So, Quisty, what's the plan?" he asked the former Instructor turned Second in Command.
Quistis shrugged. "I really don't know... We don't have any clues... Right now, I think we should just split up and search for even the slightest clues... We know they're not in Esthar, so we don't have to look there. Selphie, Irvine; You two check out the Trabian area... Maybe they took a detour there or something. Zell, you take Kim and check out the Galbadian area... Try to find out anything you can. I'll leave Xu in charge here and check out Centra, maybe even see if Edea and Cid have seen them... Does that sound ok?"
Irvine, Selphie, Zell, and Kim all nodded in unison. Quistis smiled. "All right... Then we'll meet at the front gate in an hour... Pack up anything you'll need for about a week... I'm sure we'll find them by then."
Irvine and Zell saluted and turned to take the elevator down to the first floor. Selphie stayed a minute longer and introduced herself to Kim. She, Quistis, and Kim started for the dorms together, giggling slightly. "So, you think Zell is cute?" Selphie asked the newcomer.
Kim blushed slightly. "Rinoa once showed me a video tape... I think it was back when she and Squall first came to visit Ellone, Uncle Laguna and I in Esthar... Zell was eating hot dogs or something and started to choke on them... He looked so innocent..."
Quistis and Selphie started to a laugh a bit more loudly. "I remember that!" Selphie announced.
Quistis nodded. "Irvine couldn't keep the camera still, I think he was laughing a bit too hard...And Zell's girlfriend was panicking and started to run around like a chicken without a head... It was a sight to see..."
Kim's grin slightly lessened to a mere smile. "Oh, he has a girlfriend?"
Selphie shook her head. "Not anymore... She and Zell got into a big, big, super duper jumbo argument and she asked to transfer to Trabia Garden when it was rebuilt."
Kim nodded. "Oh..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
An hour passed; Irvine and Zell, both carrying duffle bags, waited patiently at the front gate. Kim and Selphie came giggling a few minutes later, followed by Quistis by only a moment. "Ready?" she asked, walking up to the small group.
She started down the concrete path toward Balamb with the rest of the party following beside her. "Ok, so everyone's clear on what to do, right? Irvine and Selphie take the 2 o'clock train to Trabia and see what you can find... Zell and Kim, take the 2:15 to Deling and start your search there... I'll be leaving on the 4:00 train to Timber, where there's a helicopter waiting to take me to the Kramer's house in Centra."
The group parted at the Balamb Train Station; Irvine and Selphie boarded their train first, saying quick good-byes. Kim and Zell had gone to see Zell's mother before boarding their train 15 minutes later. Quistis walked about the town, wondering what she could possibly do for an hour and 45 minutes.
She absentmindedly made her way to the docks, dangling her feet over the pier. She sighed and took the scroll from her bag. She read it over and rolled her eyes. "Now, what made me bring this?" she asked herself. She couldn't really answer her question either. She just had the urge to keep it near her.
Setting down the scroll beside her, she glanced at her watch and saw that it was only 3 o'clock, give or take a minute or two. Her eyes fell back to the ocean before her as the breeze brushed against her skin; Intently, she watched the ocean, sparkling and glittering as if just for her. She frowned momentarily thinking to herself that all she ever did was watch; She watched over everything instead of jumping in and joining. She shrugged it off, thinking that's the way she was. With a sigh, she smiled as she closed her eyes, grabbing hold of the clip in her hair and pulling it free, letting her long golden hair cascade down her back.
She sighed once more, feeling at peace just listening to the waves ripple lightly. She seemed to be lost in time, not quite keeping track of the time. She flinched slightly as she heard a familiar voice; A voice she hadn't heard in over a year. "Instructor?"
Quistis' eyes jolted open. She turned to look behind her, where the voice had originated from. "Seifer?!"
Seifer Almasy walked toward her. "It's nice to see you too, Instructor..."
Quistis turned back toward the ocean. "You know very well that I'm not an instructor anymore..."
Seifer shrugged. "Hmm, just think of it as a nickname then... So, what brings you here? You know you're in my favorite fishing spot?" he told her, gesturing to Raijin and Fujin, both leaning against a car with fishing gear at their feet.
Quistis stood up, grabbing her bag hastily. "What no rude comments? No insults?" She shook her head, as if telling him not to answer. "Forget it... I was just going anyway," she mumbled as she walked past him.
Seifer grabbed her arm. "Quistis, listen, I'm really sorry," he said rather quickly.
"Seifer, to be honest, I don't want to hear it," she told him. "I really have to go, I'm going to miss my train if I don't. See ya around." She stepped back slowly as Seifer released her arm. She turned around and walked away from the pier.
Seifer watched her until she disappeared around the corner. He frowned at his former instructor; She had never been so cold to him before... If anything, she was always the one who saw the good in him; Pushing him to his very limits.
He glanced down at his foot as a scroll rolled over and tapped it lightly; Quistis must have left it. He bent over and picked it up, unrolling it and reading it to himself. It seemed familiar somehow, but from where? He remembered Matron once talking about Kings and Queens; Was that it? That was so long ago, though... And why had Quistis had it?
He walked back toward his posse, tucking the scroll into his inside coat pocket, and stopped before them. "You know what? Um, go on without me and meet me back at the apartment later... I have to go talk to Quistis about something..."
Fujin and Raijin both nodded, picking up the gear and carefully walking toward the end of the pier. Seifer watched them as they sat down and went on his way, rounding the same corner Quistis had earlier. He remembered she had mentioned something about a train, so he headed toward the Balamb Train Station. He glanced at his watch; 4:05. No more trains would be leaving after 4pm. He watched as the last train pulled out; This was the only train Quistis could have boarded, determined from the time she left from the pier. He turned toward the train schedule posted on the wall behind him. The last train was heading for Timber.
To Be Continued...
Like it? Love it? Hate it? Despise it? (for other reasons than new characters) Good? Bad? Great? Sucked? Give me some input! ^.^ I hope that you liked it though... I'd like to know how you thought of it so leave a review or email me if you'd like! Thanks for reading! I hope to keep this series going for a bit!
All right, so here I go... What happens when Squall and Rinoa disappear after the Second Sorceress War and it's discovered that the Third War is about to start? Who's behind it? Who's going to stop it? How are they going to stop it?
"When the Heavens Cry"
[ - - Part One - - ]
Quistis Trepe sat silently at her desk in her dorm room. She had been rummaging through odds and ends in an effort to clean up her room when she stumbled upon a small scroll in a box, hidden in the back of her closet. It had been a year since the day they arrived back in Balamb Garden, battered and bruised, but alive. Since then, Squall had the Garden re-rooted in it's former position at the end of the path near Balamb. She sighed and looked down to read the scroll aloud to herself:
"The Knight will become a King
The Watcher will become a Queen
When the midnight clouds gather
And shroud the world in mist
The King will seek the Queen
They will fight together side by side
Four warriors will appear to aide them
One with eyes like an emerald
The spirit of the faeries
One with eyes like a misty opal
With a weapon of chrome
One with eyes like the ocean
Flying fists of steel
One with eyes like the dark night
Quick like the wind
If they prove to be the victors,
The sun will emerge from hiding
The moon will be placed among it's glitter
If they die bravely in the battle,
The mighty rains will pour from the Heavens
And forever trap the planet in it's Cry."
Quistis pondered for a moment what it could mean and then shook her head lightly. "This is silly... It's probably one of the old stories Matron used to read us... I remember her telling us a story of knights when we were little... That's probably where Seifer got his silly idea...."
Hmm... She got herself thinking of Seifer now. She raised an eyebrow gazing down at the scroll. Why was she thinking about him? Especially now... She hadn't seen him in a year and all of a sudden he pops up in her mind?
She rolled up the scroll and tucked it securely under her pillow as a faint knocking came from her door. "Coming," she announced as she smoothed the wrinkles from her sheets.
She pressed a button beside her door and watched as it disappeared into the wall. "Can I help you?" she asked the figure standing before her.
The figure looked up; She was girl. She had long black hair that reached her waist; The bottom 4 inches or so were dyed an electric blue -- her bangs matching the striking blue color as well. She had dark eyes, almost black, with just a hint of violet. She wore an orange tank-top and baggy forest green pants, almost covering her gray sneakers completely, carrying with her a black backpack. She was about 5'2'' and seemed to be a cheery person in general, her smile never leaving her face. "Hi, I'm Kimari Loire. Are you Quistis Trepe?"
Quistis nodded, recognizing the last name; Loire. It was the same as Squall's father, Laguna Loire. "Yes, I am... How can I help you?"
"Um, well, I came here to find Squall Leonhart by orders of my Uncle Laguna... I went to the office on the third floor, but the man there... Nida, I think, his name was... told me that Squall wasn't here and to find you 'cause you're the one in charge while Squall is gone... So he told me your dorm number and here I am... Um, so, do you know where Squall is?" Kimari explained.
Quistis raised an eyebrow. "Well, Ms. Loire..."
Kimari shook her head. "No formalities, please... Kim is fine."
Quistis nodded, crossing her arms and leaning against the door frame. "Well, Kim, Squall left with his girlfriend Rinoa three days ago to meet with President Loire in Esthar... Nobody at this Garden has heard from them since."
"That's why I'm here," Kim told her. "He was supposed to arrive by train two days ago... I was supposed to meet my cousin and his girlfriend at the station just outside of Esthar... I was really looking forward to seeing him again, but he never showed up. I waited all day, thinking maybe he just got on a later train, but when night started to fall and he still wasn't there, I went back to Uncle Laguna. He called here, but someone just told him that Squall and Rinoa had already gone. Uncle Laguna started to get really worried so he sent me here to find him."
Quistis stood up straight. "They haven't contacted the president in anyway?"
Kim shook her head. "No."
Quistis stepped forward, turning and pressing an access code into the panel beside her door. She turned toward Kim and nodded, "We'll find them... Follow me."
She led Kim to the bridge and picked up the microphone. She switched it on and spoke quickly. "Zell, Selphie, Irvine... This is Quistis. Come to the bridge quickly."
Within minutes, Zell, Selphie and Irvine met Kim and Quistis in the office below the bridge. "What's up?" Zell asked as he strolled up to the older girl. He turned to Kim. "Aren't you Squall's cousin? I think I've seen a picture of you and Ellone in his room..."
Kim smiled, as Quistis started to speak. "Well, we have reason to believe that Squall and Rinoa are missing. They failed to appear in Esthar and have not contacted anyone since they left, over three days ago." She turned to Kim. "This is Squall's cousin, Kim... President Loire sent her to find Squall's whereabouts... We're going to help her find them."
Selphie frowned. "Missing? Super-bummer... Where should we start looking?" she asked worriedly.
Irvine placed a hand on his girlfriend's shoulder. She looked up and pouted. He smiled reassuringly at her. "It's ok, Sefie... We'll find 'em... So, Quisty, what's the plan?" he asked the former Instructor turned Second in Command.
Quistis shrugged. "I really don't know... We don't have any clues... Right now, I think we should just split up and search for even the slightest clues... We know they're not in Esthar, so we don't have to look there. Selphie, Irvine; You two check out the Trabian area... Maybe they took a detour there or something. Zell, you take Kim and check out the Galbadian area... Try to find out anything you can. I'll leave Xu in charge here and check out Centra, maybe even see if Edea and Cid have seen them... Does that sound ok?"
Irvine, Selphie, Zell, and Kim all nodded in unison. Quistis smiled. "All right... Then we'll meet at the front gate in an hour... Pack up anything you'll need for about a week... I'm sure we'll find them by then."
Irvine and Zell saluted and turned to take the elevator down to the first floor. Selphie stayed a minute longer and introduced herself to Kim. She, Quistis, and Kim started for the dorms together, giggling slightly. "So, you think Zell is cute?" Selphie asked the newcomer.
Kim blushed slightly. "Rinoa once showed me a video tape... I think it was back when she and Squall first came to visit Ellone, Uncle Laguna and I in Esthar... Zell was eating hot dogs or something and started to choke on them... He looked so innocent..."
Quistis and Selphie started to a laugh a bit more loudly. "I remember that!" Selphie announced.
Quistis nodded. "Irvine couldn't keep the camera still, I think he was laughing a bit too hard...And Zell's girlfriend was panicking and started to run around like a chicken without a head... It was a sight to see..."
Kim's grin slightly lessened to a mere smile. "Oh, he has a girlfriend?"
Selphie shook her head. "Not anymore... She and Zell got into a big, big, super duper jumbo argument and she asked to transfer to Trabia Garden when it was rebuilt."
Kim nodded. "Oh..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
An hour passed; Irvine and Zell, both carrying duffle bags, waited patiently at the front gate. Kim and Selphie came giggling a few minutes later, followed by Quistis by only a moment. "Ready?" she asked, walking up to the small group.
She started down the concrete path toward Balamb with the rest of the party following beside her. "Ok, so everyone's clear on what to do, right? Irvine and Selphie take the 2 o'clock train to Trabia and see what you can find... Zell and Kim, take the 2:15 to Deling and start your search there... I'll be leaving on the 4:00 train to Timber, where there's a helicopter waiting to take me to the Kramer's house in Centra."
The group parted at the Balamb Train Station; Irvine and Selphie boarded their train first, saying quick good-byes. Kim and Zell had gone to see Zell's mother before boarding their train 15 minutes later. Quistis walked about the town, wondering what she could possibly do for an hour and 45 minutes.
She absentmindedly made her way to the docks, dangling her feet over the pier. She sighed and took the scroll from her bag. She read it over and rolled her eyes. "Now, what made me bring this?" she asked herself. She couldn't really answer her question either. She just had the urge to keep it near her.
Setting down the scroll beside her, she glanced at her watch and saw that it was only 3 o'clock, give or take a minute or two. Her eyes fell back to the ocean before her as the breeze brushed against her skin; Intently, she watched the ocean, sparkling and glittering as if just for her. She frowned momentarily thinking to herself that all she ever did was watch; She watched over everything instead of jumping in and joining. She shrugged it off, thinking that's the way she was. With a sigh, she smiled as she closed her eyes, grabbing hold of the clip in her hair and pulling it free, letting her long golden hair cascade down her back.
She sighed once more, feeling at peace just listening to the waves ripple lightly. She seemed to be lost in time, not quite keeping track of the time. She flinched slightly as she heard a familiar voice; A voice she hadn't heard in over a year. "Instructor?"
Quistis' eyes jolted open. She turned to look behind her, where the voice had originated from. "Seifer?!"
Seifer Almasy walked toward her. "It's nice to see you too, Instructor..."
Quistis turned back toward the ocean. "You know very well that I'm not an instructor anymore..."
Seifer shrugged. "Hmm, just think of it as a nickname then... So, what brings you here? You know you're in my favorite fishing spot?" he told her, gesturing to Raijin and Fujin, both leaning against a car with fishing gear at their feet.
Quistis stood up, grabbing her bag hastily. "What no rude comments? No insults?" She shook her head, as if telling him not to answer. "Forget it... I was just going anyway," she mumbled as she walked past him.
Seifer grabbed her arm. "Quistis, listen, I'm really sorry," he said rather quickly.
"Seifer, to be honest, I don't want to hear it," she told him. "I really have to go, I'm going to miss my train if I don't. See ya around." She stepped back slowly as Seifer released her arm. She turned around and walked away from the pier.
Seifer watched her until she disappeared around the corner. He frowned at his former instructor; She had never been so cold to him before... If anything, she was always the one who saw the good in him; Pushing him to his very limits.
He glanced down at his foot as a scroll rolled over and tapped it lightly; Quistis must have left it. He bent over and picked it up, unrolling it and reading it to himself. It seemed familiar somehow, but from where? He remembered Matron once talking about Kings and Queens; Was that it? That was so long ago, though... And why had Quistis had it?
He walked back toward his posse, tucking the scroll into his inside coat pocket, and stopped before them. "You know what? Um, go on without me and meet me back at the apartment later... I have to go talk to Quistis about something..."
Fujin and Raijin both nodded, picking up the gear and carefully walking toward the end of the pier. Seifer watched them as they sat down and went on his way, rounding the same corner Quistis had earlier. He remembered she had mentioned something about a train, so he headed toward the Balamb Train Station. He glanced at his watch; 4:05. No more trains would be leaving after 4pm. He watched as the last train pulled out; This was the only train Quistis could have boarded, determined from the time she left from the pier. He turned toward the train schedule posted on the wall behind him. The last train was heading for Timber.
To Be Continued...
Like it? Love it? Hate it? Despise it? (for other reasons than new characters) Good? Bad? Great? Sucked? Give me some input! ^.^ I hope that you liked it though... I'd like to know how you thought of it so leave a review or email me if you'd like! Thanks for reading! I hope to keep this series going for a bit!