Chapter Two:
Quistis
stood, reading her light green-covered book, inside the library with
her back turned towards the entrance. Rinoa, sighing with anxiety,
still sat on the bench and looked into the library, trying to bring
up the nerve to ask that simple question: "Quistis, can you help
me?"
But why
would Quistis help her win Squall back? She herself had once, and
perhaps still, held strong feelings towards him and wouldn't go out
of her way to help someone else impress him.
Rinoa stomped her foot on the ground and rose from her bench. "I'm being ridiculous! Quistis is my friend, why wouldn't she help me? She's always been good to me!" She stated in direct resolve before beginning to walk towards the entrance of the library. However, when she looked up into the library, Quistis was no longer standing beside the shelves. Rinoa paused and stared blankly into the library, "Where the hell did she go?" Upon saying this, she looked over and noticed her walking down the side walkway and turn to enter into the Training Center.
Quistis
exited the locker rooms of the Training Center dressed in a white
tank top, gray sweatpants, and black boots with her chain whip firmly
held in her left hand. As she entered into the central area of the
Center, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
Upon
taking a few steps deeper into the Center, a large T-Rex stomped
forward from around the corner and glanced down at her with an eager
eye. Quistis looked up at the large dinosaur approaching her and took
a step back with her left took and bent her knees to prepare for the
fight. 'That was fast…' she thought to herself as she
braced.
Rinoa
crept quietly into the Training Center and looked up to find Quistis
challenging the T-Rex head on and felt confused, "Why is Quistis
training? What does she have to train for?"
Quistis
shouted loudly as she leapt high into the air before being crushed by
the dinosaur's massive, swinging tail. While still in the air,
Quistis began twirling her whip's blade beside her. Upon her
falling towards the grass beneath her, she lifted the twirling blade
above her head and chucked the sharp blade towards the dinosaur's
neck. Before landing on the ground, Quistis' blade stuck deep into
the monster's thick neck.
The
T-Rex let out a massive roar and lifted its head high into the air,
baring its sharp and massive teeth. Quistis held onto the end of her
whip as she swung up around the underneath of the dinosaur's neck
and twisted up and land, roughly, on the back of the T-Rex's skull.
With the chain whip wrapped around the front of the monster's neck
like a noose, Quistis lifted her right hand into the air while
holding the handle of her whip with the other.
"Blizzaga!"
she shouted loudly as she pulled her hand down from the air to press
it heavily against the back of the T-Rex's head.
Rinoa
watched, unbelieving and disgusted, as she watched the bloody mess
that occurred after the ice-shards had run through the T-Rex's head
like a knife through butter. She watched as Quistis leapt off from
the top of the large beast as it collapsed onto the ground with a
loud crash, to only vanish from sight.
Quistis
landed on the ground and stood, not at all tired or out of breath,
from the battle that just ensued. She retracted her whip into her
hands and brushed her hair out of her face as she continued her walk
down the grassy path of the Training Center.
Rinoa
paused, hesitant to move forward in her pursuit for Quistis, and
looked around nervously. She then looked forward and curled up her
bottom lip in a moment of bravery, and began to trek out in pursuit
of Quistis.
Quistis
sighed as she walked aimlessly down the dark, grassy path of the
Training Center. She stared at the ground below her and paid no
attention to anything around her, she felt like she didn't
care.
"No matter
how much I give, how hard I try... I can never be him..." Quistis
whispered quietly to herself as she closed her eyes
sadly.
As
Quistis walked around the path, she had almost completed her entire
circle in the Training Center when she paused for a moment to catch
her breath after her last battle. She had set the new computer system
to provide her with stronger and tougher monsters to battle, and it
was beginning to wear her down a little.
She
paused and placed her left hand on her right shoulder and began to
rotate her arm in a circular motion, "I really have to remember to
take this a few times a week, not everyday..."
She
stopped and stared intently forward after hearing something of a twig
snapping. With her elbow still high into the air from trying to
stretch, she looked around curiously, "Hello?"
After
another few moments, she shrugged and lifted her foot to take another
step, but was interrupted after hearing a loud scream and crashing
sound. Before she knew what had hit her, Quistis found herself lying
on the ground, her back against the ground, with a body resting on
top of her.
"Quistis!
Oh my god, are you okay!" Rinoa cried out as she sat up from
Quistis and turned to look at her. Quistis leaned up from the ground
and rested against her elbows.
"Rinoa?
Were you in that tree?" Quistis asked, somewhat annoyed with a hint
of blush in her cheeks. Rinoa smiled and laughed embarrassingly as
she stood and took Quistis' hand to help her up.
"I
was afraid of getting attacked by any of the monsters, so... well, I
thought I'd just... hang around! Pardon the pun..." Rinoa stated
as she scratched her head, still embarrassed.
"You
were afraid of being attacked by the monsters, but you willingly came
in here?" Quistis asked blatantly as she crossed her
arms.
Rinoa paused
and looked down at the ground, "Well, I actually came here to find
you. I need your help-"
Quistis
quickly held out her hand to stop Rinoa's speaking and paused, as
if listening to something. Rinoa could see the fear that was forming
in Quistis' eyes and began to worry herself.
"Can
you hear that?" Quistis whispered, her hand still extended in front
of her. They both paused, and Rinoa could hear it. It sounded like a
child, and child screaming.
"Is
that... a kid?" Rinoa asked slowly with unbelief. "What's a kid
doing in here?"
"Oh
no..." Quistis whispered quietly to herself before quickly turning
to race quickly down the path towards the main field near the
entrance of the Center.
"W-Wait
for me!" Rinoa called out before following quickly after her.
