Disclaimer- All FF8 characters and FF8-related swag are owned by Square.
Quistis shot up from her bed in a cold sweat. She gasped for breath as she looked around the room wildly.
Where am I? Quistis thought, her mind scrambling for answers.
The well-kept room she was sitting in seemed completely alien, and her eyes darted to the door. With a bound, she flew from the bed and was about to turn the latch when her mind jump-started itself. She withdrew from the door and sighed.
It's not another dream, she informed herself. Quistis looked at the clock on her nightstand then gave a pained sigh.
2:30 in the morning... Peachy.
The adrenaline rush she had received earlier destroyed Quistis' chances of getting back to sleep for a few hours. Rubbing the remains of sleep from her eyes, she stepped into the bathroom. She flicked a small switch and a pair of fluorescent lights flickered to life bathing her in soft white light. Her hand grabbed for a bottle of aspirin, popped the top off with one swift motion, and she shook a few tablets into her hand. Quistis turned the faucet on and filled a small glass with water, then reached into a small pouch on a shelf and withdrew a green anti-saline* capsule from it. Dropping the capsule into the water, Quistis watched the water fizz for a few seconds; then she picked up the glass, popped the aspirin in her mouth, and drank the newly treated water.
The young woman then glanced into the mirror and began to tend to her chronic bedhead. After she had the frizzed mass under control, she stepped back into her bedroom.
I'm not sleeping anytime soon, she thought. Might as well get some air.
Quistis then donned her jogging clothes, then sat down. Closing her eyes, Quistis focused her mind outward, trying to lure a very special sort of prey. She felt her target tug once at her will, then again. On the third tug, she focused inward, pulling her quarry, the Guardian Quezacotl, into her mind. With her Guardian junctioned, Quistis snatched up a small crystal orb and tossed it into the air. At the apex of its climb, the orb froze in place, hovering curiously above the ground. Quistis muttered a few words and red mist began to swirl out from the crystal. The woman took a deep breath and inhaled the mist. Following this, Quistis ran through the thought process of junctioning her newly acquired magic. As she did so, her irises changed to a deep fiery red, and once she had completed the exercise, she felt lighter and more agile. With her pre-jog preparations complete, Quistis turned the latch on her door, stepped out into the hall, and jogged into the Quad.
I thought I had gotten over this. I'm not supposed to be losing sleep because of these demos. I've been doing this for years now, and why do I decide to feel bad about it now? I haven't gotten any sleep in two days! These dreams... just keep coming back... Quistis heard the last word the angelic voice said during the demo: Squall.
No. That ended years ago. It didn't even start! I had a crush on Squall... but that was it. It's in the past now. After Quistis finished this thought, another voice began to speak. It was the voice of a man.
Don't lie to yourself, the voice said. Quistis thought for a moment then discerned that the voice was that of her junctioned Guardian. She remembered back to her early lessons, where she was told that Guardians and their host body shared a mind, and that whatever the host felt was also felt by the Guardian. However, Guardians would frequently try to alleviate any negative feelings in their hosts, and Quistis discerned that Quezacotl was doing just that.
You know as well as I do... the voice continued. Quistis rebutted this statement with a harsh denial.
The voice returned. Silly woman. Do you not know that I can see your mind as well as you can?
But you don't understand... Her statement was punctuated by a laugh from the Guardian.
Maybe I do, maybe I don't; but one thing is for certain. You still love this man, whether you want to believe it or not. Quistis gulped as she circled the quad; she wasn't expecting an answer that blunt.
But if that is true... how could I have fought him?
You knew full well that he was going to be fine afterwards thatÕs why. Since he is tied to a Guardian Force, his spirit can come back to his body in due time. You know that he's going to be back among the living in a few hours. The reason why you feel so bad is because he's not here right now. You've always felt this same feeling when Squall was away. Even in the orphanage, you would cry in secret when he went out to play without you.
Quistis's childhood flooded back into her memory as the Guardian reminded** her of her past.
You try to hide the feeling now, the voice said, but it tears you up when you are alone. You keep up a strong face, but at your core, you're just like everyone else.
As the truth dawned on the young woman, she stopped her sprint and sat on the ground. A single tear rolled down her cheek.
Leave, Quistis commanded.
I expect you will make the right decision, the voice retorted. Quistis felt her soul shake as Quezacotl left her consciousness. Sitting on the floor, bathed in the bright sunlight filtering through the skylights of Garden, Quistis broke down and wept.
*Since the Garden is at sea, all water in the building comes from the ocean. Lacking a desalinization facility, Garden desalinizes its water with military-grade anti-saline tablets, which convert the salt in the water into harmless gas.
**Memories lost by those who junction GFs are taken in by the GF itself, allowing the GF to recall them.
- Wow. That took me a while to get out. Just to clarify, Squall -did- die in the demo, but can come back to life (in the game, a Phoenix Down or Full-Life would do this... -grin-) because his soul can return to his body since he has a GF junctioned. That was just my explanation of how the game brings people back to life after running out of HP or having Death cast on them... FYI, expect edits on this chapter -
Quistis shot up from her bed in a cold sweat. She gasped for breath as she looked around the room wildly.
Where am I? Quistis thought, her mind scrambling for answers.
The well-kept room she was sitting in seemed completely alien, and her eyes darted to the door. With a bound, she flew from the bed and was about to turn the latch when her mind jump-started itself. She withdrew from the door and sighed.
It's not another dream, she informed herself. Quistis looked at the clock on her nightstand then gave a pained sigh.
2:30 in the morning... Peachy.
The adrenaline rush she had received earlier destroyed Quistis' chances of getting back to sleep for a few hours. Rubbing the remains of sleep from her eyes, she stepped into the bathroom. She flicked a small switch and a pair of fluorescent lights flickered to life bathing her in soft white light. Her hand grabbed for a bottle of aspirin, popped the top off with one swift motion, and she shook a few tablets into her hand. Quistis turned the faucet on and filled a small glass with water, then reached into a small pouch on a shelf and withdrew a green anti-saline* capsule from it. Dropping the capsule into the water, Quistis watched the water fizz for a few seconds; then she picked up the glass, popped the aspirin in her mouth, and drank the newly treated water.
The young woman then glanced into the mirror and began to tend to her chronic bedhead. After she had the frizzed mass under control, she stepped back into her bedroom.
I'm not sleeping anytime soon, she thought. Might as well get some air.
Quistis then donned her jogging clothes, then sat down. Closing her eyes, Quistis focused her mind outward, trying to lure a very special sort of prey. She felt her target tug once at her will, then again. On the third tug, she focused inward, pulling her quarry, the Guardian Quezacotl, into her mind. With her Guardian junctioned, Quistis snatched up a small crystal orb and tossed it into the air. At the apex of its climb, the orb froze in place, hovering curiously above the ground. Quistis muttered a few words and red mist began to swirl out from the crystal. The woman took a deep breath and inhaled the mist. Following this, Quistis ran through the thought process of junctioning her newly acquired magic. As she did so, her irises changed to a deep fiery red, and once she had completed the exercise, she felt lighter and more agile. With her pre-jog preparations complete, Quistis turned the latch on her door, stepped out into the hall, and jogged into the Quad.
I thought I had gotten over this. I'm not supposed to be losing sleep because of these demos. I've been doing this for years now, and why do I decide to feel bad about it now? I haven't gotten any sleep in two days! These dreams... just keep coming back... Quistis heard the last word the angelic voice said during the demo: Squall.
No. That ended years ago. It didn't even start! I had a crush on Squall... but that was it. It's in the past now. After Quistis finished this thought, another voice began to speak. It was the voice of a man.
Don't lie to yourself, the voice said. Quistis thought for a moment then discerned that the voice was that of her junctioned Guardian. She remembered back to her early lessons, where she was told that Guardians and their host body shared a mind, and that whatever the host felt was also felt by the Guardian. However, Guardians would frequently try to alleviate any negative feelings in their hosts, and Quistis discerned that Quezacotl was doing just that.
You know as well as I do... the voice continued. Quistis rebutted this statement with a harsh denial.
The voice returned. Silly woman. Do you not know that I can see your mind as well as you can?
But you don't understand... Her statement was punctuated by a laugh from the Guardian.
Maybe I do, maybe I don't; but one thing is for certain. You still love this man, whether you want to believe it or not. Quistis gulped as she circled the quad; she wasn't expecting an answer that blunt.
But if that is true... how could I have fought him?
You knew full well that he was going to be fine afterwards thatÕs why. Since he is tied to a Guardian Force, his spirit can come back to his body in due time. You know that he's going to be back among the living in a few hours. The reason why you feel so bad is because he's not here right now. You've always felt this same feeling when Squall was away. Even in the orphanage, you would cry in secret when he went out to play without you.
Quistis's childhood flooded back into her memory as the Guardian reminded** her of her past.
You try to hide the feeling now, the voice said, but it tears you up when you are alone. You keep up a strong face, but at your core, you're just like everyone else.
As the truth dawned on the young woman, she stopped her sprint and sat on the ground. A single tear rolled down her cheek.
Leave, Quistis commanded.
I expect you will make the right decision, the voice retorted. Quistis felt her soul shake as Quezacotl left her consciousness. Sitting on the floor, bathed in the bright sunlight filtering through the skylights of Garden, Quistis broke down and wept.
*Since the Garden is at sea, all water in the building comes from the ocean. Lacking a desalinization facility, Garden desalinizes its water with military-grade anti-saline tablets, which convert the salt in the water into harmless gas.
**Memories lost by those who junction GFs are taken in by the GF itself, allowing the GF to recall them.
- Wow. That took me a while to get out. Just to clarify, Squall -did- die in the demo, but can come back to life (in the game, a Phoenix Down or Full-Life would do this... -grin-) because his soul can return to his body since he has a GF junctioned. That was just my explanation of how the game brings people back to life after running out of HP or having Death cast on them... FYI, expect edits on this chapter -