Disclaimer: I do not own FF8 or any of the characters from FF8. I forgot to
put this thing on my last chapter lol
AN: Wow, you guys are a bunch of smart reviewers! I'll give shout outs at the end. I'm not giving anything away ~_^ But I'm glad all of you liked the story. Oh and just to let you guys know, this story is slightly darker than "Metasite" though I doubt any of you would really care =P Anyway, here's chapter 2.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 2: Discovery of the Metasite
My instructor/mentor, Kiros was a metasite. He had retired from fighting and turned to teaching. Kiros was a formidable fighter and was awarded an S rank in Galbadia's SeeD forces.
Many soldiers are great on the battlefield but terrible at transferring what they knew to a pupil. That was not the case with Kiros. The man was possibly an even better instructor than fighter. He had a way with words and he could also see weaknesses in his pupils that he could exploit and get rid of.
Because of this, Kiros only dealt with the higher level metasites. He would only teach metasites with a rank of A or higher. I didn't know this when I first came to Galbadia Garden. Much later on I would find out why he dropped all his other students and only focused on my training...
Ellone went and got me a new Galbadian uniform and I got ushered into a changing room to change out of my old pajamas and into my black and red jacket and pants. After that, Kiros took me and led me down a bunch of hallways. I remember thinking about my dad and mom and how they were both killed. I wanted to find out who killed them.
The Galbadian soldiers all had masks so I couldn't tell which ones were the murderers. I would go to any lengths to find them and then question them about what they did.
"Squall, here's your room." said Kiros.
I didn't even know he was talking to me at first because of the name. I looked up and noticed him looking at me and then remembered what he told me.
I liked Kiros. He was a kind man but at the same time he had an air of authority around him. I didn't know much to think of the name. When you're five years old, you don't really care what your name really is.
The only thing I would miss about the name is my last name. I reached down and touched the ring on my left hand's ring finger. That would be my last remaining memory of my parents. Even my name was gone now.
"Go on in. Get some sleep. I'll come wake you up tomorrow and I'll take you to your classes." Kiros said.
"Classes?"
What? What classes?
"Oh Ellone didn't tell you." he shook his head "This is a Garden Squall. This place is a military school. What happened with your dad was an accident...I-it couldn't be helped. He would have wanted you to come here."
In all the years I've know Kiros, that would be the only time I've seen him show a flicker of doubt. I picked it up too and I knew he was keeping something from me. What it was I didn't know. But I just stared at him and then walked into my room.
I don't think I could have gone to sleep that night had I not been that tired. I was exhausted and collapsed onto the bed immediately.
The next morning, I really got a good look around the room. It wasn't bad for a dorm actually. It had a small desk, and a lamp for my homework, and a cupboard for my clothes. The bed was small but it fit me fine. I was midget sized back then.
I only got a few hours of sleep that night and woke up at around 6 in the morning. Kiros came around at about 7 and handed me a cereal bar.
"I wanted you to sleep in. Everyday you will wake up at 6:30 and eat breakfast with the other children in the cafeteria. Today I brought you a bit of breakfast because you had a rough night." he said.
Ironically, I was up half an hour before breakfast was even served.
I ate my cereal bar and asked Kiros questions about Galbadia Garden. Kiros told me the answers but he saw through me like newly cleaned glass.
"You better stop thinking about your past Squall. This is a new life and it will do you no good to dwell in your old one." he said.
But I couldn't. I was obsessed with the people who killed my parents. Even though over time, the obsession died down, it never went completely away...
Kiros brought me out to the open fields outside Galbadia Garden and I joined a group of three other kids. They all looked like they knew what they were doing and all of them looked at me like I was a slug or something nasty on their shoe.
Kiros just dropped me there and told me an instructor would be there soon. I stood there uncomfortable facing the other kids. It's amazing how early bullying starts.
The kids were all older than me and bigger than me.
"So you're the new kid?" one of them said.
I met his gaze with a cold hard stare of my own. I was different from them. I was an outcast.
Again, I learned later that most of the metasites who go there are not orphans. Their parents usually are very proud of them when they get chosen to go. Metasites were considered a great honor to have in the family.
"What's the matter? Can't speak?" he said. The other boys were laughing.
I just kept staring at him without emotion in my eyes. You see, a strong person toughens up even more if something bad happens to them. Having your parents killed when you're five years old does that to you.
There was no love in me anymore. One day took away all the love I had before. I probably would have fought those three kids that day. But I didn't because the instructor just arrived.
"Morning kids" he said.
The guy was a mountain. HUGE! He had a bandanna on and a nasty scar running down half the side of his face covering one of his eyes. He was an imposing figure.
"Sir!" everybody saluted except for me.
"Well, it looks like we have a new arrival." said the instructor. "Kiros told me about you. I'm instructor Ward Zabac. You'll be taking group classes with me and then privates with Kiros" he said.
Like Kiros, he was friendly and I quickly figured that he was an okay guy. In Galbadia, metasites are trained in groups of four or less for their basic metasite skills and one on one for their metablade skills. Since every metasite's blade is different, it requires private training.
It is common for metasites to be found every once in a while and so they had no fixed class dates. I was not lucky because the class that was the most preliminary was already two weeks into their lessons. Most of the boys in the class had well over a week's practice.
I was so confused I didn't know what to do. But I was determined not to let them know it. "Okay everyone, this is Squall" said Ward "Squall this is Jonas, Stefan, and Brad"
The three boys threw me dirty looks and I just ignored them. Ward could see there was already tension building so he changed the subject.
"Uhhh we're going to be working on agility today. It is possibly a metasite's most important attribute" he told us.
Metasite training is based a lot on practice and very little theory. Ward explained a little about the back thrusters of a metasite and how they could be used to give a metasite extra speed.
I was in the clouds when he was telling us this. NO CLUE. I still didn't even know what a metasite was. Up until then, I had envisioned a sort of dog popping out of my skin. Creepy thought.
Then Ward told us to all "suit up" as he called it. And I nearly shit myself.
All three of the boys AND Ward looked like their intestines were getting pulled out of their backs and then strangling them. I had a look of horror on my face. Then it looked like a bunch of bony plates were gluing themselves onto their intestine-covered skin. Believe me, you haven't seen anything gross until you've seen a metasite transformation for the first time.
It all ended in a split second and there were four insect-looking creatures standing in front of me. They had become monsters.
Then one of the boys turned around and pushed the other one jokingly. The guy flew back and landed on his feet with catlike grace.
"Quit fooling around you two" said the huge metasite. It was Ward. I still couldn't believe it.
I had my mouth hanging open and Ward came over to me.
"It's okay, don't worry. First time's always a little creepy."
Understatement of the millenium.
"Now, listen to what I say. Keep a clear head and reach out with your mind. You should feel something like an electric charge in your head. Touch it." he said.
I could hear the boys in the background making fun of me. They wanted to laugh at me when I couldn't do it. Kiros told me that it usually takes a whole lesson to be able to "touch" the metasite and use it's power...I did it on my first try.
For the second time that day, I almost shit myself...It felt like a dozen snakes were sprouting out of my back. Then my whole body was ice cold but quickly came back to a comfortable temperature. I opened my eyes and saw the world in sharper colors than I have ever seen before. My eye was like a telescope and a binocular in one. And this telescope/binocular didn't need adjusting. I wanted to look up close, it automatically focused up close at exactly what I wanted to see. It even followed whatever it was I wanted to follow. A bird in the distance for example. It was just mind-boggling! The best telescope in the WORLD couldn't do this! I spent what seemed like ages just looking at everything. I could see the crickets in the grass and follow them in the air while they jumped all the while counting the spines on their legs!
I revisited the hearing I experienced in the "waiting room" where I heard the lock. But this time, I could control it. I could hear Ward's voice like it was normal but I could also crank it up so it was like a stereo system on full blast.
"Are yoU OKAY?" I was playing with the sounds.
"Y-yeah I'm fine." I said. My voice came out normal. No distortions or anything.
"You are?" he asked. He seemed to be shocked.
"Yeah...this is just...crazy" I said.
That was the only word for it. Crazy.
All my senses were so enhanced and so easily controllable. It's like I didn't even have to think about them! Like walking or eating.
But the senses weren't even the most amazing thing about the metasite. I still remember it...The power. The awesome sense of invincibility...Nothing could challenge me! Nothing and nobody! I was a different person! The total cool, confidence of the metasite distilled itself into my brain.
I can't even explain it. It's like all of a sudden I was unstoppable. I was afraid of nothing...
I hadn't even done anything yet. I hadn't taken a step in the strange new armor and that feeling of fear and wanting to shit my pants disappeared entirely even though I knew it should still be there...but it wasn't. Like I said, I hadn't even taken a step, and already I could feel that power welling up inside of me. It felt like a year while I was discovering this new power. But in fact it wasn't even a minute.
"You're sure you're okay?" Ward asked again.
"Yes...I'm okay." I replied.
Ward didn't know I heard him say this until almost ten years later. But my hearing was so sensitive that I picked out the tiniest of whispers.
"...Dear Hyne...Kiros was right..." AN: Done! This chapter probably didn't explain a lot *sweatdrop* but I just wanted it to be about Squall's new life in the Garden and how it feels to be a metasite. I'm glad all of you picked those things out from the first chapter. This story would probably be more effective when read through the second time since there are lots of subtle details all over the place =) Shout outs now (I'll do the shout outs for the reviews of Metasite chapter 20 here as well):
Etherealist: Thanks for your review for chapter 20. I don't RP much so a "moder" is a new term for me =P Yes, I sort of exaggerated. But I'm not sure if I mentioned it or not in an earlier chapter, but the metasites are supposed to be the ultimate combat design. So basically, they're supposed to be all powerful lol Yes the killing scene was supposed to be brutal
remote mine: Kudos to you for being the first reviewer of this story! The fact that Squall understands death at a young age was done on purpose. Keep on reading to see why ~_^
Angefantasy: Keep wondering...lol Thanks for the review. You'll find out in time why Squall sides with Galbadia.
Ari-Morrigan: You're my reviewer of the week! Hahaha love your reviews (not to say I don't like any of the other ones). The memory thing will once again be mentioned in a later chapter (next chapter possibly *hint hint*) so just keep reading and reviewing! Glad you got the hook!
Okay that's about it. Time to start writing Chapter 3!
AN: Wow, you guys are a bunch of smart reviewers! I'll give shout outs at the end. I'm not giving anything away ~_^ But I'm glad all of you liked the story. Oh and just to let you guys know, this story is slightly darker than "Metasite" though I doubt any of you would really care =P Anyway, here's chapter 2.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 2: Discovery of the Metasite
My instructor/mentor, Kiros was a metasite. He had retired from fighting and turned to teaching. Kiros was a formidable fighter and was awarded an S rank in Galbadia's SeeD forces.
Many soldiers are great on the battlefield but terrible at transferring what they knew to a pupil. That was not the case with Kiros. The man was possibly an even better instructor than fighter. He had a way with words and he could also see weaknesses in his pupils that he could exploit and get rid of.
Because of this, Kiros only dealt with the higher level metasites. He would only teach metasites with a rank of A or higher. I didn't know this when I first came to Galbadia Garden. Much later on I would find out why he dropped all his other students and only focused on my training...
Ellone went and got me a new Galbadian uniform and I got ushered into a changing room to change out of my old pajamas and into my black and red jacket and pants. After that, Kiros took me and led me down a bunch of hallways. I remember thinking about my dad and mom and how they were both killed. I wanted to find out who killed them.
The Galbadian soldiers all had masks so I couldn't tell which ones were the murderers. I would go to any lengths to find them and then question them about what they did.
"Squall, here's your room." said Kiros.
I didn't even know he was talking to me at first because of the name. I looked up and noticed him looking at me and then remembered what he told me.
I liked Kiros. He was a kind man but at the same time he had an air of authority around him. I didn't know much to think of the name. When you're five years old, you don't really care what your name really is.
The only thing I would miss about the name is my last name. I reached down and touched the ring on my left hand's ring finger. That would be my last remaining memory of my parents. Even my name was gone now.
"Go on in. Get some sleep. I'll come wake you up tomorrow and I'll take you to your classes." Kiros said.
"Classes?"
What? What classes?
"Oh Ellone didn't tell you." he shook his head "This is a Garden Squall. This place is a military school. What happened with your dad was an accident...I-it couldn't be helped. He would have wanted you to come here."
In all the years I've know Kiros, that would be the only time I've seen him show a flicker of doubt. I picked it up too and I knew he was keeping something from me. What it was I didn't know. But I just stared at him and then walked into my room.
I don't think I could have gone to sleep that night had I not been that tired. I was exhausted and collapsed onto the bed immediately.
The next morning, I really got a good look around the room. It wasn't bad for a dorm actually. It had a small desk, and a lamp for my homework, and a cupboard for my clothes. The bed was small but it fit me fine. I was midget sized back then.
I only got a few hours of sleep that night and woke up at around 6 in the morning. Kiros came around at about 7 and handed me a cereal bar.
"I wanted you to sleep in. Everyday you will wake up at 6:30 and eat breakfast with the other children in the cafeteria. Today I brought you a bit of breakfast because you had a rough night." he said.
Ironically, I was up half an hour before breakfast was even served.
I ate my cereal bar and asked Kiros questions about Galbadia Garden. Kiros told me the answers but he saw through me like newly cleaned glass.
"You better stop thinking about your past Squall. This is a new life and it will do you no good to dwell in your old one." he said.
But I couldn't. I was obsessed with the people who killed my parents. Even though over time, the obsession died down, it never went completely away...
Kiros brought me out to the open fields outside Galbadia Garden and I joined a group of three other kids. They all looked like they knew what they were doing and all of them looked at me like I was a slug or something nasty on their shoe.
Kiros just dropped me there and told me an instructor would be there soon. I stood there uncomfortable facing the other kids. It's amazing how early bullying starts.
The kids were all older than me and bigger than me.
"So you're the new kid?" one of them said.
I met his gaze with a cold hard stare of my own. I was different from them. I was an outcast.
Again, I learned later that most of the metasites who go there are not orphans. Their parents usually are very proud of them when they get chosen to go. Metasites were considered a great honor to have in the family.
"What's the matter? Can't speak?" he said. The other boys were laughing.
I just kept staring at him without emotion in my eyes. You see, a strong person toughens up even more if something bad happens to them. Having your parents killed when you're five years old does that to you.
There was no love in me anymore. One day took away all the love I had before. I probably would have fought those three kids that day. But I didn't because the instructor just arrived.
"Morning kids" he said.
The guy was a mountain. HUGE! He had a bandanna on and a nasty scar running down half the side of his face covering one of his eyes. He was an imposing figure.
"Sir!" everybody saluted except for me.
"Well, it looks like we have a new arrival." said the instructor. "Kiros told me about you. I'm instructor Ward Zabac. You'll be taking group classes with me and then privates with Kiros" he said.
Like Kiros, he was friendly and I quickly figured that he was an okay guy. In Galbadia, metasites are trained in groups of four or less for their basic metasite skills and one on one for their metablade skills. Since every metasite's blade is different, it requires private training.
It is common for metasites to be found every once in a while and so they had no fixed class dates. I was not lucky because the class that was the most preliminary was already two weeks into their lessons. Most of the boys in the class had well over a week's practice.
I was so confused I didn't know what to do. But I was determined not to let them know it. "Okay everyone, this is Squall" said Ward "Squall this is Jonas, Stefan, and Brad"
The three boys threw me dirty looks and I just ignored them. Ward could see there was already tension building so he changed the subject.
"Uhhh we're going to be working on agility today. It is possibly a metasite's most important attribute" he told us.
Metasite training is based a lot on practice and very little theory. Ward explained a little about the back thrusters of a metasite and how they could be used to give a metasite extra speed.
I was in the clouds when he was telling us this. NO CLUE. I still didn't even know what a metasite was. Up until then, I had envisioned a sort of dog popping out of my skin. Creepy thought.
Then Ward told us to all "suit up" as he called it. And I nearly shit myself.
All three of the boys AND Ward looked like their intestines were getting pulled out of their backs and then strangling them. I had a look of horror on my face. Then it looked like a bunch of bony plates were gluing themselves onto their intestine-covered skin. Believe me, you haven't seen anything gross until you've seen a metasite transformation for the first time.
It all ended in a split second and there were four insect-looking creatures standing in front of me. They had become monsters.
Then one of the boys turned around and pushed the other one jokingly. The guy flew back and landed on his feet with catlike grace.
"Quit fooling around you two" said the huge metasite. It was Ward. I still couldn't believe it.
I had my mouth hanging open and Ward came over to me.
"It's okay, don't worry. First time's always a little creepy."
Understatement of the millenium.
"Now, listen to what I say. Keep a clear head and reach out with your mind. You should feel something like an electric charge in your head. Touch it." he said.
I could hear the boys in the background making fun of me. They wanted to laugh at me when I couldn't do it. Kiros told me that it usually takes a whole lesson to be able to "touch" the metasite and use it's power...I did it on my first try.
For the second time that day, I almost shit myself...It felt like a dozen snakes were sprouting out of my back. Then my whole body was ice cold but quickly came back to a comfortable temperature. I opened my eyes and saw the world in sharper colors than I have ever seen before. My eye was like a telescope and a binocular in one. And this telescope/binocular didn't need adjusting. I wanted to look up close, it automatically focused up close at exactly what I wanted to see. It even followed whatever it was I wanted to follow. A bird in the distance for example. It was just mind-boggling! The best telescope in the WORLD couldn't do this! I spent what seemed like ages just looking at everything. I could see the crickets in the grass and follow them in the air while they jumped all the while counting the spines on their legs!
I revisited the hearing I experienced in the "waiting room" where I heard the lock. But this time, I could control it. I could hear Ward's voice like it was normal but I could also crank it up so it was like a stereo system on full blast.
"Are yoU OKAY?" I was playing with the sounds.
"Y-yeah I'm fine." I said. My voice came out normal. No distortions or anything.
"You are?" he asked. He seemed to be shocked.
"Yeah...this is just...crazy" I said.
That was the only word for it. Crazy.
All my senses were so enhanced and so easily controllable. It's like I didn't even have to think about them! Like walking or eating.
But the senses weren't even the most amazing thing about the metasite. I still remember it...The power. The awesome sense of invincibility...Nothing could challenge me! Nothing and nobody! I was a different person! The total cool, confidence of the metasite distilled itself into my brain.
I can't even explain it. It's like all of a sudden I was unstoppable. I was afraid of nothing...
I hadn't even done anything yet. I hadn't taken a step in the strange new armor and that feeling of fear and wanting to shit my pants disappeared entirely even though I knew it should still be there...but it wasn't. Like I said, I hadn't even taken a step, and already I could feel that power welling up inside of me. It felt like a year while I was discovering this new power. But in fact it wasn't even a minute.
"You're sure you're okay?" Ward asked again.
"Yes...I'm okay." I replied.
Ward didn't know I heard him say this until almost ten years later. But my hearing was so sensitive that I picked out the tiniest of whispers.
"...Dear Hyne...Kiros was right..." AN: Done! This chapter probably didn't explain a lot *sweatdrop* but I just wanted it to be about Squall's new life in the Garden and how it feels to be a metasite. I'm glad all of you picked those things out from the first chapter. This story would probably be more effective when read through the second time since there are lots of subtle details all over the place =) Shout outs now (I'll do the shout outs for the reviews of Metasite chapter 20 here as well):
Etherealist: Thanks for your review for chapter 20. I don't RP much so a "moder" is a new term for me =P Yes, I sort of exaggerated. But I'm not sure if I mentioned it or not in an earlier chapter, but the metasites are supposed to be the ultimate combat design. So basically, they're supposed to be all powerful lol Yes the killing scene was supposed to be brutal
remote mine: Kudos to you for being the first reviewer of this story! The fact that Squall understands death at a young age was done on purpose. Keep on reading to see why ~_^
Angefantasy: Keep wondering...lol Thanks for the review. You'll find out in time why Squall sides with Galbadia.
Ari-Morrigan: You're my reviewer of the week! Hahaha love your reviews (not to say I don't like any of the other ones). The memory thing will once again be mentioned in a later chapter (next chapter possibly *hint hint*) so just keep reading and reviewing! Glad you got the hook!
Okay that's about it. Time to start writing Chapter 3!