All the characters depicted herein are only fictional and are created solely for people who enjoy playing and reading fictional stories of the game: Final Fantasy VIII

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Dream or Reality?

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Flashes of deadly laser beams were fired every where, one got so close it grazed the side of his face. The pain felt real as he brought his right hand to touch his wound. Fortunately, the wound was not so deep. He felt a bit relieved as he traced a long, thin line that had raked his right cheek with his fingers. He felt numbed and a terrible sinking feeling of helplessness as though a molten lead had settled in his stomach.

He found himself amidst of a battlefield where wreckages and pockmarks of small craters where some is still burning and the entire field was scorched and to his left he saw an unidentified huge building which suffered tremendous damage to its structure and the places around it. The building seemed like it was hit by scores of missiles which has destroyed nearly half of it. Then when he looked around him and the ground which seemed to be littered with garbage or bits of machinery or so he thought.

This can't be happening…NO!!! , he cried in shock.

All around him, he sees dead bodies lying everywhere, bodies that wore the proud black with gold trimmings uniform of a SeeD with the Garden's crest emblazoned on their left side lapels. Some of them he knew or had talked to as he looked at the bodies with a terrible and defeated look. Screams of pain were heard all throughout of the once beautiful landscape with green grass that spread as far as the eye can see; now it has turned into a devastated and terrible place where even the dead seemed to be troubled by it. Smoke and dust billows across the platform that he was standing on.

He realized that this scene had played before his eyes. He closed his watery eyes, feeling the bitterness of the battle's dust grime that bit his red, bloodshot eyes. Then he remembered it, it was like the same scene after they came out of the Time Compression to battle the ruthless Sorceress Ultimecia that resides in the future. In that bleak future, SeeD's of all types from different Gardens had battled and died at the hands of the evil Sorceress Ultimecia. But here, at this present time, most of them are from…

Garden? Balamb!! What the hell is happening here?? Zell Dincht realized as the situation sinks in. The huge building which seemed hauntingly familiar to him was actually Balamb Garden itself.  He shook his head and beginning to massage his temple as his brain felt like as though it will burst with all that's been going on. It is too much for him as he dropped on his butt when his legs were beginning to shake and buckled underneath him. His Garden was attacked, and why was he here and have not done anything about it yet. He looked into his palms and noticed that his fingers were covered with blood and dust. He tried to stand up, but he felt like his muscle won't respond to his brain. He concentrated hard and slowly, he lifted himself up and began walking towards the Garden's circular hallway. The Quad, where he was now is nothing but a wrecked part of Garden.

Selphie's gonna get real mad when she finds out about this.., he realized with a start. His friends!! He has to find and help them if they're in trouble. Adrenaline once again flowed in his veins like a drug and he ran up the flight of stairs, now broken and scorched towards the inside of Garden. He felt a prickle feeling of heat and he dropped all four while rolling across the floor as his honed battle instincts took over. Luckily, he managed to evade a laser shot that was pointed where his head had been. He turned around and looked down back at the Quad, where a cadre of troopers with enough firepower to invade a city begin marching across the landing towards him with guns drawn.

Apparently, these soldiers are using this place to make their landing as scores of hover tanks were disgorging troopers from its hold. As he looked closely, their uniform were nearly as similar to a SeeD uniform would look like. The uniforms are in deep scarlet colour, while fitted with metal plates on their chest, shoulders and legs, with helmets of gleaming black with visors that covers their eyes like the Galbadian army usually wore making them look like a cyborg in appearance. Now as their number has grown larger, Zell came to a horrifying decision. He has to delay these troopers from getting inside of the Garden and help was nowhere to be found. He hoped in his heart that Squall and the others will be able to fight the invaders away as he begins to power up his fists to welcome the enemy now nearly a hundredfold is in range for battle. Suddenly they all stopped just meters away from him.

This is it… I didn't even have my last hot dog..., he mused. His tense face cracked with a tiny smile as he surprised himself for having such thoughts in his mind at the near end of his life. All his life he wanted to embody his grandfather's ideals by becoming a proud and powerful soldier. Now, whether the dream may have been achieved or still out of reach is unknown to him, the only thing now that mattered is to deal with this fools who chose to attack his Garden that symbolizes his pride and honor.

As Zell readies himself for the duel of his life, suddenly one of the troopers spoke in a deep but mechanical voice; "Surrender now, you are all but beaten".

Zell startled. They are all cyborgs and that trooper's voice sounds strangely familiar. The fact is more evident as he noticed that some of them have flashes of red light in their eye sockets that could be seen through their dark visors. Quickly, he ran through his collection of magic spells searching for Thundaga magic. But there was none to be found. He cursed silently for that.

Of all the damn moment, looks like it's goin to be a long fight, he regretted for not even have Quezacotl at his side at the moment. If not, it would have been an easier fight for him. Well, easy is not the way for a SeeD, he saluted that fact silently. Right now he only has Ifrit as his Guardian Force to battle. He tapped his right temple while whispering; "Looks like it's you and me pal", he felt a sign of understanding and recognition from Ifrit in his mind and prepares to summon his Guardian Force.

In that same exact moment, the trooper that spoke earlier, spoke something into his head mounted communicator and the rest of the troopers took up rifles that were slung on their shoulders and positioning it to fire upon Zell.

"Hehe, you've got to be kidding. I can evade those easily guys!" shouted Zell confidently. He cancelled his summoning in time to evade the shots. He knew in combat where guns are concerned, he could easily zip pass bullets as he was trained to do that since his method of fighting involves close combat situations. But the troopers seemed unfazed by Zell's comments and fired volleys of deadly red beams towards him.

Zell rolled and dived to evade the shots but each shot that were fired seemed to be closer than he felt to be comfortable with.

"Whoa! That was really close", he cried as one of the shots nearly clipped his left foot. He intends to finish this quickly and begins to dive and roll in motion to bring him closer to the large congregation of the enemy. Suddenly, unknown to him one of the troopers was readying a weird looking weapon whose shape seems to look like controller with handles at the sides with its short barrel placed at the center of the weapon. As Zell landed on his feet and was about to leap towards the closest enemy he was met by the weird weapon's beam. It all happened so fast. It shot a silvery beam that connected to his torso and Zell thought that was the end of his life. He shut his eyes as knew that any of the beams now will start to open holes in his body. But he didn't felt anything except that his body suddenly felt really tired and lifeless. He collapsed. He realized dimly that the troopers have stopped firing at him. Quickly, he called Ifrit as a last gambit to take out the enemy. As he prepares himself, he felt very strange, aside from feeling exhausted, he can't seemed be able to reach for Ifrit. He felt as though he was disconnected from his Guardian Force. Slowly, realization settled in his mind.

"Damn! What is happening to me??" he cursed again at himself. Few meters in front of him he heard one of the troopers was advancing upon him. He lifted his fist now felt like a heavy thing and tried to punch the oncoming threat. The trooper caught Zell's fist in his own and held it there. Zell opened his eyes and saw the trooper now was leaning forward close to his face and whispered robotically;

"Your friends are dead, your pitiful Guardian Force is being sealed in your mind and now you're the last among the six that survived against Ultimecia. Don't worry your death will come in a timely fashion."

Zell felt as though his entire world had collapsed around him. Squall, Rinoa, Selphie, Irvine, Quistis and the others have been wiped out. He felt scared, angry, confused and everything else as he contemplated his incoming death. Now that it's all over, he had one last thought;

"If I'm gonna die, then this might well be the best way to do it", he shouted defiantly as he took one last lunge to knock his opponent down. As he looked up with his fist, ready to use his body like a battering ram against the trooper while his fist was still being held he was greeted with a nasty surprise. The trooper now had his helmet off and its face resemble closely to.. Squall??

"NO!!!!" cried Zell in anguish. The cyborg 'Squall' had an evil grin that betrayed Zell's memory of him. The trooper caught Zell off guard when the trooper punched Zell into his chest that was unbelievably strong. Zell coughed blood as he felt one or two of his inside organs injured suffering from the heavy blow.

"NO!! This is all a dream. It's just a dream. Snap out of it Zell!!!"  Zell mouthed silently as he saw cyborg 'Squall' still holding both of Zell's fist, raised his rifle with his other arm and pointed to Zell, in point blank range squarely in the chest.

"A dream? Your reality was never a real one. Bow down while you still have your pitiful existence in this world" the cyborg whispered in a cold and low voice while his grin seemed to be more menacing than ever now. Shivers of feeling utter defeat now began to course in his veins up and down. Zell smiled inwardly. Giving up was never an option to him and he wasn't going to start now. He stood up slowly in a dignified way with the fire of defiance seemed to shine in his eyes. He held himself proudly even though the rifle's muzzle was digging painfully into his ribs while stared into the cyborg's cruel eyes. He had to admit that it was a good copy of his late friend, but Squall's eyes, even though cold at times was never this cruel.

"I will never bow to whoever my enemy is" Zell replied with the same cold voice that the cyborg used. The cyborg seemed to be amused by that remark.

"So be it"

Zell's last thought as blackness begins to cloud his visions as he was flown backwards by the cyborg's shot to hit savagely against the wall behind him and slowly slid down and crumpled in a heap on the floor.

"Eri.."

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Quistis Trepe walked gracefully down the ramp of Garden's armored transport onto the harbor of Balamb Town. It was the same one used back when she was Instructor on the Dollet mission to accompany Squall, Zell, Selphie and others on their SeeD field exams. That memory seemed to be so far in the past that she hardly believed that it was already a year that has come to pass.

She breathed deeply the cool breezy air in the afternoon of this quiet town. Now that it has become one of the most visited tourists town around the world because of Balamb Garden that was originally located here before it became mobile. She noticed the town has become more lively now as there were a number of new shops seemed to have opened in this town as she walked the down the road towards the center of town.

Even with the large amount of people who seemed to be flocking to this quiet town, the peacefulness and tranquility that fills the air in the town is very much relaxing indeed to Quistis. But that is not the real reason as to why she was here. Her visit is much more important than just sightseeing. She walked some more until she reached the Dincht's residence. As she rounded the corner past the famous Balamb Hotel, she noticed there was an unusual amount of people crowded in front of the Dincht's residence. Her heart skipped a beat. Suddenly she felt a sense of foreboding as she hastened her pace faster to the house. The people around the house all wore a solemn expression as to signify something awful had happened. Quistis looked at the crowd, trying to find if there's a familiar face that she could ask an explanation of the situation at hand. Her gaze fell onto a girl who wore a short hair that ends just below the ears. She also wore a SeeD uniform and was just standing outside the door. Quistis recognized the girl who is a friend to the pig- tailed librarian girl who seemed to fancy Zell ever since last year. She was sobbing quietly and jumped a little when Quistis put her hand on the young woman's shoulder.

The young woman turned and was surprised to find Quistis Trepe standing in front of her. Before she could utter a word, Quistis cut her first. In a gentle tone she asked with concern;

"Do you mind if I have a word with you Miss Izumi?" The girl was again surprised as Miss Trepe knows her name but she quickly recovered and obediently followed Miss Trepe to the nearest bench that was just a block from the house. When they were seated, Quistis asked in a gentle tone;

"What has happened Miss Izumi? Has something happened to Zell?"

"This morning, Eri asked me to accompany her to go and meet Zell at his house because she suddenly was so eager to meet him today. She even packed some hot dogs for him which is his favorite stuff." Shizuka smiled a little at this point while holding up a bag that is filled with food.

Even Quistis had to smile at that remark as those who knows Zell with his incredible appetite of the cafeteria's famous hot dogs which Zell always crave whenever it's available. Quistis also recognize the name Eri as she was the girl with the pigtails. Her full name is actually Faeri Artwright, an attractive young woman who is known to have keen interest in reading. As a librarian, she displays an unusual amount of knowledge in many fields. She might become an aspiring scholar in Quistis personal opinion. Quistis then nodded to urge the young woman to continue. In a softer tone she continued;

"Then when we reached here, news was out saying that suddenly Zell was said to fall into a coma with no apparent reason. Eri was so distressed by it that Ma' Dincht only let her in to visit Zell in his room."

"So Miss Artwright is the only one in there now? Besides the Dincht's is it not?" Quistis asked. Shizuka only nodded. Obviously, her friend's distress was affecting her a lot. She wanted to ask more but she knew that wouldn't help much because, like others, they do not know the real reason of what had happened. The crowd now she saw started to disperse when Mrs. Dincht told everybody to go back to their business as they have not found what was wrong with Zell yet. Slowly the gathered crowd went back to their routines while whispering to each other, speculating the events that might have happened.

"Thank you, Miss Izumi. Why don't you go back to Garden and go see your other friends. Who knows, Miss Artwright might be here all day." Quistis said in a gentle tone.

"I can't, Miss Trepe, Eri might need me here." Shizuka replied. She didn't have the heart to leave her friend alone when she might need her for support. Besides, she was also concerned for Zell who is her friend's love interest.

"If you're worried for Miss Artwright, please don't be. I'm sure Miss Artwright needs some time to herself and Zell. Don't worry, as I will personally take care of your friend myself. Okay?" Quistis added with a smile.

Shizuka smiled back. She nodded lightly and excused herself as she made her way past Quistis with her head down.

Poor girl, Quistis looked at the girl until she was lost from her sight. Quistis got up and walked towards the Dincht's residence again. Once she was at the door, she pressed the door chime. A long melodic tone rang inside the house while Quistis straightened herself from any wrinkles on her dress that she got when she sat at the bench. Normally it's ok for any of them whenever they drop into town to just enter without waiting for anyone to answer the door. But today she really felt like it's not any normal day and it would be really courteous for her to wait. Soon, she heard footsteps nearing the door. She took a deep breath when the door opened to show Ma' Dincht who normally wears a cheerful face now changed to one that has cried so many times with tears still evident at the corners of her tired, old eyes. Ma' Dincht wiped her eyes and broke a small smile when she saw Quistis at the door.

"My, what a pleasant surprise Miss Trepe for you to be coming here. I assume you already knew what happened to my boy Zell?" Ma' Dincht asked with a sad tone.

"Please Ma' Dincht, call me Quistis. No need in being formal to each other and yes, I've heard what has happened" replied Quistis with the same solemn tone.

At that, Ma' Dincht broke into a sob again. Quistis quickly gathered Ma' Dincht in an embrace which the older woman gladly accepted. Even though, Quistis just found out about this and were still puzzled by it felt equally sad with the older woman's emotions that was pouring out. She led Ma' Dincht to the living room and set her on the sofa. Quistis patted Ma' Dincht's back while whispered slowly that she'll bring the tea for her. Ma' Dincht quickly recovered while saying that she was okay. But Quistis quickly shook her head by saying it's the least she could do. Ma' Dincht nodded weakly while she laid herself across the sofa. Quistis went to the kitchen to brew some tea before serving it for both herself and Ma' Dincht. She prepared a third cup for Faeri just in case.

When both women settled down quietly on the sofa, it is then Ma' Dincht decided to break the silence first.

"I got up early this morning to prepare for today's chores since Zell is always up by dawn to carry out his orders by clearing up monsters that were lurking near the town. It is then I noticed that Zell was still in bed and he hasn't come down even for a peep when the sun had come up. At first, I thought Zell must've been tired since he was battling those monsters until late in the evening, yesterday. When he got back, he was all happy and cheery and he was still up for some more if I didn't call on him to be home by evening. I know he's all grown- up and strong, but I still cared for him as if he was still a child." Ma' Dincht spoke calmly after sipping some of the tea that Quistis had prepared earlier.

"Anyway, when the girl, Faeri; what a sweet girl, came by to meet Zell at home I realized that Zell was still upstairs in his room. When I rushed upstairs, Zell was sweating heavily as though he had a high fever, and he was muttering something like 'end of Garden' and 'Sorceress'.."

At this point, it was Quistis turn to start shivering at the mention of the word 'Sorceress'. They all thought that Sorceress Ultimecia was eliminated when they traveled through the Time Compression to eliminate the threat from the future.

Ma' Dincht stopped in mid- sentence when she noticed Quistis had paled suddenly.

"Are you alright, Quistis?"

Quistis only shook her head and motioned for Ma' Dincht to continue.

"After that I called the doctor to check up on Zell of his condition. But, there was nothing that the doctor could do except concluding that Zell's condition was perfect, except that his brain activity seemed to shut down. But he still breathes normally, as though he's sleeping. I was about to call on you people when you appeared at my doorstep" Ma' Dincht admitted after inhaled and exhaled deeply.

Quistis sat quietly in her chair to process of the happenings of today. There's a great deal to be done and it has to be done fast. This matter requires the immediate attention of Garden.

"Don't worry Ma' Dincht, we will do everything we can to find out what happened to Zell. I can assure you that Zell will be cured in no time." Quistis added positively. But the fact is there's nothing that she could think of that could help Zell's current situation. Best leave that when the team is gathered. She took both of Ma' Dincht's hands into her own assuring that Zell is strong in body and mind so should she also. Ma' Dincht smiled and nodded appreciatively.

"You kids are so nice to Zell. Zell would be proud to have you kids standing by him when he's in trouble"

"Ma' Dincht, that's why we all are here, to help him whenever he got into trouble by himself time and time again" Quistis added humorously.

At this comment Ma' Dincht seemed to be feeling better and she thanked Quistis for being so caring.

"By the way, is Faeri still upstairs taking care of Zell?"

"Yes dear, the poor girl was all tears while she was tending Zell in his bed. She's a strong girl to love a person like Zell even though he's a bit stubborn and free- willed at times. I guess that's why she liked him most. I don't know of what Zell's feelings for her. But Zell certainly has grown up considerably whenever the girl drops by to see him." Ma' Dincht admitted. She really liked that girl as she seemed to care for Zell a lot. Ma' Dincht also learned that the girl attended the same Garden as he is.

"If there's nothing else Ma' Dincht, I would like to check up on Zell and make the necessary arrangements. Zell may need to be transported to where he could be treated properly." Quistis said while she got up and held up her hands to excuse herself.

"Alright dear, just do what you can for my boy. I trust you and others will be able to help him and thank you." Ma' Dincht also got up and embraced Quistis in a motherly fashion. When she finally let go, Ma' Dincht excused herself while busied herself in the kitchen. Quistis left the room while stepping lightly up the stairs. When she was halfway upstairs, she walked a bit more quietly when she saw the inside of Zell's bedroom. The room was brightly lit from the window that was next to Zell's bed. The ray of sunlight seemed to lend an air of peacefulness underlying the reality of Zell's current condition. Zell's expression was calm and he was clothed in a white shirt and his hair was pulled back neatly to keep it away from his face. He was tucked in the bed, appeared to be sleeping soundly while Faeri was found sitting on the floor leaning beside the bed while she put her head at the edge of the bed. Her fingers were intertwined with Zell's left hand. Quistis peered into the young woman's face and found that she seemed to be sleeping too. Quistis smiled inwardly, they both looked so happy as though nothing had happened. At first she thought of waking Faeri up but decided just to leave them alone until the team comes in later because it might take a while until they would be reunited again. Suddenly, she felt like an intruder, spying in on this couple. She left the room quietly to go down the flight of stairs.

Quistis went out of the house, took out both her small datapad and removed a gadget from a pouch at her waist. The gadget is a new invention, courtesy of Esthar's scientists that could establish a communication link through the use of infra red. Since radio waves could not be used yet since the last moon drop that disrupts radio waves all across the world. The scientists were still wracking their brains to overcome this problem and in the meantime, this gadget is the only means of an easy and portable communication. She checked her bearings to position herself for the gadget to work its wonders. While waiting, she typed a summary report of what has happen today to the people back at Garden. Squall and the others must be notified. Once she got the confirmation beep that a link could be established, she extended the antenna and dialed in the appropriate numbers and spoke to it while holding it up at face level. There was no visual to accompany the call but it was sufficient enough.

"Ragnarok, this is Quistis Trepe. Do you copy?"

Silence ensued. Quistis repeated her sentence to make sure they got it right.

"Tee- hee. Hello Quistis, how's things?" Selphie Tilmitt answered cheerily from aboard the Ragnarok. Apparently, she's taken a liking to pilot the amazing spaceship whenever she can.

"Selphie, I'm going to transmit a report to you and I want you to immediately take it back to Garden by yourself personally. This matter takes a high priority and I need a team for transporting someone, probably for Esthar city" Quistis said in an authoritative manner while attaching a thin cable from the datapad to the gadget that acts as a communicator link.

Selphie was taken aback at the seriousness of Quistis but she complied anyway by keying in the necessary commands for the information that's being uploaded into the Ragnarok's databanks. She read the incoming report on one of the displays quickly and saw an entry that says Zell was in a coma. She gave a start when she heard over the speaker when Quistis continued.

"I know you have a lot to ask and I can only say that what is written in the report is all I know now. Are you in on a mission by the way Selphie?" Quistis inquired. She hoped it was not important as time might be the case here.

"No, currently I'm flying over the Centra region heading towards Garden in fact. I just got back from the Orphanage to drop off some supplies and equipments for the construction team" Selphie did have a lot of question and she was dying to know more. But she understood the tone when Quistis had asked her to do.

"Good, I hope you could get here by evening because like I said, time might be the essence."

"I understand. I will be there as soon as possible Quisty. Just hang in there. Ragnarok, out." Selphie cut off the communication line and pulled the lever thrusters to increase the speed. The ship's engine roared louder as the ship kicked into higher speed.

Wait for us Zell, we're coming for you. Selphie prayed silently.

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Sorry for the late update as I was a bit busy with other things.. hehe.. that's not a good excuse I know.. sorry ok?? This story is written just to pass the time while my friend Nique is off somewhere to find inspiration for his story which is the 'Final Fantasy VIII The Written Adaptation'

Hope you like this part and there's more to come.. and don't forget to R&R even if the story suck ok??