"Relax…"
"Come on, Squall. Hurry up! If you want to get to the party, move your butt," said Selphie as she dragged Squall in the direction of the garden ballroom. Squall couldn't do anything; he was even surprised a girl that small had such a tight grip. She proceeded to drag him through the hallways of the garden until they were finally at the ballroom. Squall, even though he lived in the garden for a very large part of his life and saw pretty much everything there was to see in it, gawked at the huge room in front of him. Everything about it, from the chandeliers to the tables filled with food lining the walls, was beautiful. Squall quickly pulled up his hanging jaw and turned back to Selphie, "…What do I do now?"
"Relax! Have some dinner. This is our night, and I don't know about you, but I'm definitely not going to waste it!" She gave him a smile and a wink and walked off towards the dance floor.
Squall didn't know what to do. He wasn't a very social character and he despised occasions with a lot of people involved. He, by instinct, walked to the table lined with food and sat down, realizing that he was pretty hungry. He looked at the huge amount of food on the table, ranging from turkey to pork, from clam chowder to Filet Mignon. He walked up and down the table trying to decide what to eat. He strolled past the turkey sitting on the table, still whole, cut himself a leg and dug in.
* * *
Squall picked his head up off the white marble wall that he was resting it on. He finished dinner a while ago – maybe a half-hour – and after that he didn't know what to do with himself. He came up to the wall and decided that he would have a rest.
He managed to look up at the dark sky visible through the roof of the garden. He stared at the beautiful gleaming moon hanging atop of his head. I am a SeeD… He looked down at the floor to try and grasp the concept of those words.
A waitress, noticing Squall standing all alone in the corner of the Ballroom came up to him, "Some champagne, sir?"
Squall took it from the metal tray resting atop the waitress's hand without looking up. The waitress waited a few moments to be sure Squall didn't want anything else, and then walked away to continue doing her job.
He took a sip from the cup and looked back up at the sky trying to do what Selphie told him. Relax. A white streak of light shot across the sky. His eyes followed the streak of white light left behind by the shooting star and it led his eyes to a girl standing in the center of the dance floor all by herself. He looked at her until, as if she sensed his eyes on the side of her head, she turned to him and smiled. She pointed her finger up into the air, obviously to show that she had seen the shooting star as well. She's beautiful! He scowled himself for showing his feelings; he despises being sensitive or "easy to penetrate." The girl turned and began to walk towards Squall.
* * *
"Hi," said the girl as she walked up to the SeeD in the corner of the dance floor, Squall.
Squall looked at her, yet said nothing. Even though he remained silent, he was amazed by the way she looked - her beautiful white dress, her dark hair, her matching black eyes. The girl's hair was dyed reddish orange in strands at the front that hung from her head like strands of silk, or so it seemed to Squall.
"You're the cutest guy here," said the girl as she stared into Squall's blank face, "…wanna dance?"
Squall took a sip of champagne and glanced at the girl, not knowing what to say.
"Lemme guess – you only dance with someone you like, right?" The girl obviously found Squall attractive, yet Squall remained quiet.
"Ok, here goes nothing," the girl cleared her throat and looked deep into his eyes, "you're-going-to-like-me, you're-going-to-like-me, you're-going-to-like-me," the girl smiled. "Did it work?"
Squall looked at her one more time and couldn't hold back a small smile. He quickly got rid of it, though. With one final glance at the girl, he revealed the truth - "…I can't dance."
The girl chuckled and said, "Don't worry. You'll be alright, I'll show you how," and she dragged him towards the dance floor giving Squall just enough time to quietly place his glass of champagne on the floor in the corner.
When Squall, being dragged by the arm, and the girl reached the dance floor they abruptly stopped and she put Squall's hands on her own body; the left hand on her right shoulder and the right hand on her left hip. Squall followed the girl's body around as she showed him a few basic moves. She twirled Squall in a circle and he collapsed onto her own body. He stepped away embarrassed. The girl fixed his hands on her body again in the same fashion and Squall decided to give it another try. Squall attempted the same maneuver as before – a twirl – and he collapsed onto her body yet again. Damn, I knew I shouldn't have done this! He turned and began to walk away. He barely took two steps when he felt two hands grab his arm and pull him back. "Come on. If you keep trying, you're gonna get it eventually."
Squall put his hands on the girls body, now familiar with the way to do it, and they continued to do basic dance steps. They lost track of where the rhythm of the music was taking them and the couple bumped into another pair of dancers, knocking Squall against the other male. They glance at each other awkwardly when Squall's partner breaks the silence, "Watch it!" She gave the guy who bumped Squall a mean look and turned back to her partner. Squall looked at her, surprised at her little outburst. She simply smiled and said, "Let's keep going, you're getting better."
The pair continued to dance for quite some time until Squall was finally tired, "Can I go now?"
"Just one more dance."
A new song came on – a ballet. Squall's partner looked at him, "May I have this dance, dear sir?"
Squall nodded hesitantly and they danced throughout the song, putting on rather a spectacular show with Squall's new-found talent. When he sensed the song coming to an end, Squall gave another twirl a try and finally performed it successfully. He spun his partner around and back and they end up extremely close to each other. They look into each other's eyes and had an awkward silence. The silence was broken by a new batch of fireworks that lit the night sky and the moon. Squall looked up at the pyrotechnics and admired the red and green fires ablaze above his head. The girl continued to stare at his face. He's pretty cute…and a good dancer, with a bit of encouragement. As she glanced over his shoulder, the girl saw Headmaster Cid chatting with his associates. She tapped Squall on the shoulder and said, "I'm sorry, but I got to go. Maybe we can talk some other time," and with these words, she hastily walked off.
Squall opened his mouth to talk, "But wait, I don't even know your-" He realized that the girl was out of hearing range, "-name…" He stood there, looking at the girl as she walked away from him. …wow…
* * *
Even though everything was barely visible through the cover of night, Squall stood out on the Ballroom balcony, taking a breather. He couldn't get the girl that he danced with out of his head. He never saw her before so it shouldn't have had any significance to him…but it did and he couldn't figure out why. Behind him, he heard the soft sound of pebbles crunching as someone walked toward him. Squall noticed that they were light footsteps and he had a feeling that the same girl who danced with him was coming toward him. But he understood that it wasn't when he heard Quistis's voice, "Wow, you really are a perfect student; even that dance was perfect."
Squall looked at her, partially disappointed, "Thank you." Quistis walked up next to him and looked into the distance. After a while, Squall became uncomfortable and asked, "…yes?"
She chuckled, "So you'd dance with someone you don't even know, but you can't even stand to be around me," she said, a little more seriously than a joke.
"Whatever," Squall turned to her, "You're my instructor, and I'm your student; it's kind of awkward when you don't say anything…"
Quistis continued to look into the distance, "Oh! I completely forgot," she said, ignoring her student's last statement, "I've come to give you an order – you are to go to the secret area. The place where students gather after-hours to chat a while…you know where it is, right?"
Squall nodded yes.
"Good, now go get changed and meet me outside of the training center."
Squall smelled a faint odor of champagne in her mouth. "Wait a minute, what are we going to do there? If you're bringing me there just to tell them their violating curfew, then forget it! Leave that for the disciplinary committee."
Quistis gave a chuckle and her facial expression changed rapidly; her smile turned into a frown as if it was weighed down by lead at the corners, "Go get changed, Squall. Meet me in front of the training center. This is officially my last order…." And with that, Quistis sighed and turned around to head back. Squall remained a while longer, thinking about her last words. 'This may be my last order'? What's that supposed to mean…? He turned around and walked to his dorm to change.
It was around midnight and the students of garden were fast asleep. Everyone lay in his or her bed, dreaming about next years exams and how to become a SeeD faster. Headmaster Cid was in his office doing paperwork like he normally does and he knows that he won't be getting any sleep at all. The Garden Faculty patrolled the halls to catch any students up late. They hovered around in their purple robes and yellow masks like ghosts, soundless to the human ear. Squall, even though he was a SeeD, still didn't have the authority to walk around after hours so he was extra careful moving to his Dorm and from there to the Training Center. When he was inside his dorm, he changed into his clothes quietly, so as not to wake his roommate up. He put on his black coat and pants, his boots, and his white undershirt. Atop his undershirt, he put on a chain; a chain with a silver tiger at the end – Griever. He hung up his SeeD uniform with pride and, smiling, he turned around and began a slow pace towards the Training Facility.
He hid in the shadows from the Garden Faculty as they moved back and forth in front of him. He put his back up against the wall and maneuvered his body forward, almost as soundlessly as the guards. As the Garden Faculty passed him, he picked his speed up to a quiet jog and ran through the hall, around the fountain in the center of the Main hall and took a minor hallway to the Training Facility. The Training Facility was the idea of the founder of Balamb Garden; it was meant to toughen up SeeDs in training for their real job.
It was dark inside of Balamb Garden except for a lamp here and there, so Squall had no trouble finding his way and being hidden at the same time. Once the motion-sensing door to the Training Facility slid open, Squall walked in and, since he knew that Garden Faculty wasn't permitted inside, stood up straight, now not afraid to walk normally. He knew that after the door he just walked through, there would be another hallway leading up to yet another door that connected to the Training Center. This was done to ensure safety so that if one door breaks, there would be another left to work as a barrier, protecting the students of the Garden from the real monsters inside the Training Center. After a couple of steps, he noticed Quistis leaning up against the metal wall of the hallway proceeding to the second door.
"Good, you came," she said as her student came closer and nodded. "You have been in here before, right? You know your way around?" Squall nodded again. "Excellent. Let's go."
The two began to walk and Quistis began to talk, "Oh, almost forgot! You do know how to junction magic, right?"
"Junctioning magic"? What's that…? Squall slowly shook his head, "I'm not entirely sure."
"What's this?!" They stopped. "A SeeD who doesn't know how to junction magic?! I can't believe it!" Said Quistis with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
"…Whatever…can you just show me, please?"
"Sure thing," said Quistis, "All you have to do is tell a guardian force to drain the power of whatever magic you want it to and have access to as well. Concentrate really hard and you are basically communicating with your guardian force, even though you might not notice it. The force will then drain power from the magic – if it has the ability to – and it will power up one of your traits, whether it be physical or mental, greatly helping you in battle. Remember, though, that you can junction magic if and only if you have the magic you want to junction and the GF has the ability to junction magic to the trait you want to junction to. Get it?"
Squall absorbed the knowledge that was virtually emanating from his instructor in vibes and nodded.
"Good. Now let's go."
The door automatically opened and Squall could see inside the familiar Training Center. It was a man-made swamp in which many different types of monsters resided. Everywhere he looked, the metal walls were overgrown with plants and vines that made a creepy scene. He followed Quistis as she led him over a wooden plank laid out across a ditch in the floor. As he examined the ditch, he realized that it was actually a gigantic footprint. A footprint with three claws that must have been at least four human feet in length.
Squall showed it to Quistis, who, knowing the dangers that resided in the Facility, responded, "Yes, this is the footprint of a T-Rexaur that lives in here – a new addition to the Training Facility. A very grumpy fellow, though not very deadly. He attacks without warning, usually because he's hungry. He's a meat eater, and most of the stuff living in here is plants."
A shiver ran up Squall's spine. "Usually because he is hungry"? He didn't want to run into anything that could make up a footprint that huge, especially if it was hungry, so he looked up from the footprint and told Quistis to hurry. She nodded obediently and they proceeded to jog. Behind them, the sounds of tropical birds chirping and insects flying reminded Squall of how much of a real jungle this is. He looked all around him and he could barely see anything past the thick boundaries of trees that have now formed a natural hallway on both of his sides. Quistis took a right and Squall followed his instructor. In a couple of moments, Squall felt his legs beginning to shake from the muscle tension. He told Quistis to stop for a rest. He knelt down on his knees and began to massage his legs. Even though that he was massaging them, he noticed, they weren't getting any better. He then realized that the vibrating wasn't being caused by muscle tension. It was as if the ground itself was shaking.
He slowly removed himself from the ground and turned to Quistis, who was already on her guard. He put his hand on the gunblade holster and moved closer to his partner. From around the bend behind them, a huge creature emerged running. A creature surpassing anything living Squall had ever seen. It stood on two legs and had a humongous head that was being held down close to the ground so as not to scrape the ceiling. Squall could see that the giant monster was of an orange color, even though it was running so fast it was only a smudge on the green background. We can't take on anything that big! He looked at Quistis, who, despite her fear, stood ready for battle. Squall looked once more at the huge monster and screamed, "RUN!!!"
Quistis turned right away, eager to get out of the bulldozing monstrosity's way. Even if it didn't feel like eating them, they would surely be trampled under its incredible weight and speed. Squall took his hand off of his gunblade holster and ran full speed, following Quistis. They ran through a trench filled with plant-life, making it harder to see. Squall removed his gunblade from his holster and cut through the foliage. He let Quistis through and they continued to run through the Training Center. They made a left turn and got out of the way of the monster. It ran past the intersection, and they calmed down.
They barely caught their breath when they again felt the ground shaking beneath their feet. Its coming back! He and Quistis again ran. From behind them, they heard the roar of the monster as it came back and made the same left turn they did. Their hearts pumped and their legs burned, but they continued to run anyway. The creature was gaining speed and fast. Before long, Squall thought, We're going to be a meal…
Squall continued to swing his gunblade to clear the path of foliage and Quistis continued to run through. They ran for another minute or so and then Squall heard Quistis yell, "There's the entrance!"
He was relieved but he didn't dare give up strength. He heard the pounding of the creature's feet and the roaring originating from it. He heard Quistis pulling every last bit of air that she could in. If she didn't, her legs would fail and she would fall to her peril.
He continued to run.
The clanking of his gunblade was loud in his ears as it connected with its holster. It was a loud, metallic clanking that made a slight melody with the roaring and the thumping of his heart. Squall put his hand on it to stop the clanking. In front of him, he saw the secret area entrance – a hole. A hole small enough so that they would get through, but their chaser wouldn't. Foliage hung from on top of it and cleverly covered it so that anyone that wasn't looking directly at it wouldn't see it.
He continued to run.
Beneath his feet, the muddy earth left tracks of his boots as his feet hit it. It made a guttural sound that would have disgusted Squall if he was listening. But he couldn't listen; he couldn't afford to listen, or else it would be the last thing that he listened to. His hair wiped at his face as he ran. Sweat streamed down the strands of it and leaked down his cheeks and nose; he brushed it away.
The roars grew louder by the second as the monster grew closer and closer. Squall could feel its heavy breathing as it tried to keep up. He smelled its breath; it smelled of burning tire and rotten eggs.
He continued to run.
They neared the hole and Squall ducked down to access it. Behind him, Quistis did the same. They ducked and rolled inside and behind them they heard the creature hit the wall of the entrance as it tried to squeeze through only a moment later. It's breathing elevated dust inside the entrance. After a few moments of effort, the creature retreated and left the duo to catch their breath. They felt the ground shake as it ran away.
Through her heavy breaths, Quistis uttered, "That, Squall, was a T-Rexaur."
* * *
They slowly stood up and examined their new surroundings. They were inside yet another hallway drilled right into the wall. Crudely constructed, the walls were cracked and it looked as if they were quite old. The hole which they came through was a clever disguise for what was hidden behind it. As they reached the door, they realized that it opened automatically as well. They walked through the door and Squall welcomed the site of the Garden from afar. The Training Center was built as an add-on to the Garden, not being an actual part of it. Without realizing it, Squall and Quistis ran through a long series of hallways leading from the Garden to the Training Center that was approximately 7 miles long, as stated in the Garden Library.
The Garden looked beautiful from afar. In the night, the lights of it seemed amplified and brighter than ever. When he examined his immediate surroundings, Squall realized that he was on a balcony. In one corner of the balcony, there was a couple chatting. In another, a couple was kissing. Squall and Quistis walked by and rested themselves on the railing of the balcony.
"God, it's been forever since I've been here. What time is it?"
"It's after midnight."
"Oh well," said Quistis. After a long pause, she continued, "I, Quistis Trepe, am no longer an instructor as of now…only a member of SeeD. Who knows, maybe you and I might work together later."
Squall replied coldly, "…Oh really?" His mind was elsewhere.
"Is that all you're going to say?"
"If that's how it was decided, you have to abide by it, right?"
Quistis sighed and looked into the distance. "Perhaps you're right…they told me that I failed as an instructor, basically that I lacked leadership qualities." Another long pause, "I was SeeD by the age of 15…an instructor by 17…only one year ago. I wonder where I went wrong…what did I do?" She turned to Squall, "Are you even listening?"
Squall awakened from his daydream, "Are you done yet? I don't really want to talk about other people's problems. I mean, what am I supposed to say?"
"I'm not asking you to say anything, Squall. I'm asking you to listen…"
"…Then go talk to a wall." Even Squall was surprised at how cold his last remark was.
"Forget it, Squall," said Quistis, "Aren't there times when you want to share your feelings?"
Squall turned around and began to walk off, "Everyone has to take care of themselves. I don't want to carry anyone's burden." He exited through the sliding door leaving Quistis alone.
She followed Squall's trail as he walked through the sliding doors, which closed behind him. She turned back to the night which engulfed Garden, "…No leadership Qualities…failed as an instructor…perhaps they were right…"
* * *
As Squall began to walk back towards Garden, he heard Quistis, his former instructor, crawl through the hole of an entrance into the secret area out into the open. She ran up to him and they continued to quietly walk. Careful not to make much noise so as not to anger the T-Rexaur probably patrolling the Training Center, they paced through the dense foliage that engulfed the center.
Halfway back, they heard the voice of a female somewhere in front of them, "Help! Someone, please help me!!!"
They began to run towards the origin of the voice. When they got there, Squall realized that the woman calling for help was the same woman he saw yesterday morning, after his duel with Seifer. She watched him through the glass-pane windows of the infirmary wearing a green shawl and a blue and white dress. A creature, a resident, of the Training Center was attacking her.
The creature looked like an oversized wasp. The stinger on its rear side was up and pointed towards its victims. It hovered viciously, waiting to attack. The wings flapped at extremely high speeds, capable of sending a grown man flying through the air if he was hit by one. Squall ran in front of the woman and pulled griever from its holster.
"Squall?! Squall! Quisty!" The girl yelled out to them to help her.
Squall viciously swung his gunblade at the oversized insect to keep it at a distance. Quistis ran up behind him and told the woman to run back. The group backed up toward the Training Center's exit. As the automatic doors slid open, Quistis led the female through and Squall ran through behind them.
In front of them, the wasp-like creature decided to make a final attempt at an attack and dived towards them, kamikaze-like. Unluckily, the doors closed as the creature was flying through, catching it by the head. The body was cut clean off and the head rolled off into the bushes as the door reopened. Its wings were still moving, but, Squall knew, they were only moving from muscle and nerve spasms. It was dead.
Behind them, two employees of the Garden Medical Team came up to the girl.
"It's not safe here. You better come with us."
"…Okay." She took one last look at Squall and allowed herself to be led back to Garden.
Quistis spoke up, "Who was that…?"
They glanced at the green bile flowing from its decapitated neck to see if it was still moving. The antenna on the head gave a small twitch, but it didn't mean anything. When they were satisfied, they moved on. They got to the entrance of the Training Center and stopped to rest.
"You know, Squall, it's not like everyone can get by on their own," said Quistis as she walked off into the darkness of the hallway.
"…Says who?" Squall waited a while and then continued to walk through the shadows toward his dormitory room.
In front of his dormitory, he ran into Zell, who was pacing back and forth. When he catches sight of Squall, "Finally! Where the hell were you?! I was looking everywhere. Anyway, we're both members of SeeD, right?"
He knew Zell was leading him on, but Squall nodded in agreement nonetheless, now feeling light-headed from his overwhelming lack of sleep.
"Well, guess what; we got our own rooms, baby!!! Yours is a couple of steps down the hall from your old one!" After he was finished delivering the news, the two began to walk into the Dormitory department, "…Man, it took me forever to get that to you….Seriously, where the hell were you?"
"Meeting the inhabitants of Garden…and learning about others."
Zell said good-bye and walked into his room. He eagerly wanted to do the same so he sped up pace and finally got to his own room.
The room was carpeted red and the walls were a beautiful color of blue. A huge bed rested in one corner, and a normal sized refrigerator rested in another. A desk stood in the center of the room, complementing the other pieces of furniture.
He threw his body onto the bed and closed his eyes, finally resting. In a couple of minutes, he was fast asleep.