The beach was pristine, perfect. The waves moved back and forth with the tide, untouched by time. The only sounds were the gentle crashes of the waves on the white sand. The sun floated high overhead, beaming down on the silent beach.
A loud rumble of thunder broke the serenity of the scene. A wave of light, rippling and moving, ran across the beach, issuing from a single point in the sand. The force had caused a small crater to form on the shore. Another wave of light came from a different direction and the two collided forcefully. The two lights shot straight up into the air, forming a beacon that could be seen for miles, if anyone was looking for it.
The woman lying in the crater only saw it for a few moments before she passed out.
Hours passed before the woman woke again. She sat up slowly, gazing around her, confused.
Where am I? The last thing she remembered was seeing the sorceress' face glaring at her. And him, lying unconscious on the floor at the witch's feet. At least Quistis had thought he was unconscious. He might have been dead.
She immediately rejected that thought. He was too stubborn to die.
So where was everyone else?
She stood up and surveyed her surroundings. It appeared that she was on an endless beach. At least, that is what it looked like from here.
To the north and south there appeared to be only shoreline. To the east there were hilly plains and, further out, some mountains.
As she looked around, she decided that she would walk south. She didn't know where in Gaia she was so south was as logical a choice as any.
With that decided, she climbed out of the crater she was in and, keeping the ocean on her right, began walking down the shore. For a long time she couldn't see anything that would help her find out where she was. She just kept walking.
She made her way to the top of a large sand dune, hoping to see something, anything. The top of a lighthouse was found by her seeking eyes. The glass enclosure that surrounded the flame, had there been a fire lit, was old and some of the panes were broken.
While she stared at the lighthouse, a flash of memory drifted to the front of Quistis' mind. Those panes had been broken by Seifer and Squall. They had been fighting, as was normal, and little Seifer had being pushing young Squall against the glass. They were fighting over… she couldn't remember but she was willing to bet it was something about Sis or Matron. The fight had gotten rougher and the glass had started cracking. Matron had arrived then, separating the two boys and banning the rest of the children from entering the top of the lighthouse, at least until the glass was fixed. It had never been repaired. Quistis remembered, however, that Squall had snuck up there to be alone sometimes.
The memory faded and she blinked. She was back on the beach, looking at her childhood home. She moved down the back side of the dune, headed towards the lighthouse. From there she could get in touch with the Garden and see what was going on.
The lighthouse grew in her vision as she trekked down the beach. Between her and the lighthouse she saw a crater, similar to the one she had woken up inside of. She walked quickly towards it. What if one of her friends was there? Time Compression had dropped her here; maybe it had dropped one of her friends here too.
Her hopes were dashed as she looked down into the crater and saw, not one of her friends, but their betrayer. Seifer's coat was shredded and dirty. His blonde hair was not in it normal slicked back style but was a little spiky and longer than she would have expected. He was lying on his stomach in the sand, breathing quietly.
Reaching a decision, she climbed down into the hole cautiously, alert for any sign of motion from the man on the ground. She reached his side and knelt down beside his inert body. She turned him over slowly, one hand on her whip.
Green eyes opened slowly, surprising her with their intensity.
"Quistis," he murmured, "Where are we?"
She stared at him, confused. "Seifer," she paused, "Don't you remember?"
Seifer's eyes glazed and she feared she was about to lose him to her again. Quistis began to slowly move back, away from him.
Then he blinked and his eyes cleared and she sighed in relief. She still didn't trust him but having him normal was much better than facing the monster he had become under the sorceress' control.
"I remember…everything," he said quietly, closing his eyes slowly.
Quistis stared at him, waiting for him to say something else. His eyes opened gradually and he met her gaze.
The remorse that was visible in his eyes was plain to see. Seifer was sorry for what he had done. Quistis found her gaze riveted to Seifer's. She was unable to look away. She had seen Seifer with many moods but this remorse that was visible in his eyes was a new one. Seifer had always been so supremely confident in himself. He wasn't sorry for the things he did. He was proud of them.
But now, he had been brought to his lowest point and seen what he had become. And he was sorry.
The transformation she saw in his eyes amazed her. The man lying before her was a different person than the one she had grown up with.
Surprising herself, she stood up and extended a hand back down to help him to his feet. The shock was visible in his eyes as he took her hand and got up. He released her hand and brushed himself off as she stretched.
"Why are you helping me?" he asked quietly, staring at her.
"I couldn't just leave you to die in that hole. The orphanage is right up the beach. We can call for help from there," she replied, glancing at him.
"When we go back they're going to kill me," he declared, moving his gaze across the beach to stare at their childhood home. She followed his gaze and sighed.
There wasn't much she could say to that. The fact of the matter was that the Garden would have to do something to punish Seifer. They couldn't just let him off. He had done too much to help the sorceress to just be forgiven offhand.
"I'll do everything I can to help you," she stated firmly. He physically jumped in surprise at her words and turned to stare at her incredulously.
"Why?" the question was torn from his lips, "Why would you help me? I tried to kill you and your friends. I was helping the sorceress. There is no logical reason for you to try and save me."
"You've changed. I can see it in your eyes. For the first time in your life you are sorry for something that you've done," she declared without looking away from the lighthouse. With that, she began to climb out of the crater.
Wordlessly he followed her.
AN: Please review this. A lot of people asked for a continuation and now no one is reading it. I changed my plan for this story and decided to add another chapter. This means that there will be two more. I can't make any promises about when they might get posted but I will try to finish this peice up soon. I am really busy working on the updates for SC and a random one shot that wouldn't get out of my head until I at least wrote an intro for it. They should both been up by next week.
A loud rumble of thunder broke the serenity of the scene. A wave of light, rippling and moving, ran across the beach, issuing from a single point in the sand. The force had caused a small crater to form on the shore. Another wave of light came from a different direction and the two collided forcefully. The two lights shot straight up into the air, forming a beacon that could be seen for miles, if anyone was looking for it.
The woman lying in the crater only saw it for a few moments before she passed out.
Hours passed before the woman woke again. She sat up slowly, gazing around her, confused.
Where am I? The last thing she remembered was seeing the sorceress' face glaring at her. And him, lying unconscious on the floor at the witch's feet. At least Quistis had thought he was unconscious. He might have been dead.
She immediately rejected that thought. He was too stubborn to die.
So where was everyone else?
She stood up and surveyed her surroundings. It appeared that she was on an endless beach. At least, that is what it looked like from here.
To the north and south there appeared to be only shoreline. To the east there were hilly plains and, further out, some mountains.
As she looked around, she decided that she would walk south. She didn't know where in Gaia she was so south was as logical a choice as any.
With that decided, she climbed out of the crater she was in and, keeping the ocean on her right, began walking down the shore. For a long time she couldn't see anything that would help her find out where she was. She just kept walking.
She made her way to the top of a large sand dune, hoping to see something, anything. The top of a lighthouse was found by her seeking eyes. The glass enclosure that surrounded the flame, had there been a fire lit, was old and some of the panes were broken.
While she stared at the lighthouse, a flash of memory drifted to the front of Quistis' mind. Those panes had been broken by Seifer and Squall. They had been fighting, as was normal, and little Seifer had being pushing young Squall against the glass. They were fighting over… she couldn't remember but she was willing to bet it was something about Sis or Matron. The fight had gotten rougher and the glass had started cracking. Matron had arrived then, separating the two boys and banning the rest of the children from entering the top of the lighthouse, at least until the glass was fixed. It had never been repaired. Quistis remembered, however, that Squall had snuck up there to be alone sometimes.
The memory faded and she blinked. She was back on the beach, looking at her childhood home. She moved down the back side of the dune, headed towards the lighthouse. From there she could get in touch with the Garden and see what was going on.
The lighthouse grew in her vision as she trekked down the beach. Between her and the lighthouse she saw a crater, similar to the one she had woken up inside of. She walked quickly towards it. What if one of her friends was there? Time Compression had dropped her here; maybe it had dropped one of her friends here too.
Her hopes were dashed as she looked down into the crater and saw, not one of her friends, but their betrayer. Seifer's coat was shredded and dirty. His blonde hair was not in it normal slicked back style but was a little spiky and longer than she would have expected. He was lying on his stomach in the sand, breathing quietly.
Reaching a decision, she climbed down into the hole cautiously, alert for any sign of motion from the man on the ground. She reached his side and knelt down beside his inert body. She turned him over slowly, one hand on her whip.
Green eyes opened slowly, surprising her with their intensity.
"Quistis," he murmured, "Where are we?"
She stared at him, confused. "Seifer," she paused, "Don't you remember?"
Seifer's eyes glazed and she feared she was about to lose him to her again. Quistis began to slowly move back, away from him.
Then he blinked and his eyes cleared and she sighed in relief. She still didn't trust him but having him normal was much better than facing the monster he had become under the sorceress' control.
"I remember…everything," he said quietly, closing his eyes slowly.
Quistis stared at him, waiting for him to say something else. His eyes opened gradually and he met her gaze.
The remorse that was visible in his eyes was plain to see. Seifer was sorry for what he had done. Quistis found her gaze riveted to Seifer's. She was unable to look away. She had seen Seifer with many moods but this remorse that was visible in his eyes was a new one. Seifer had always been so supremely confident in himself. He wasn't sorry for the things he did. He was proud of them.
But now, he had been brought to his lowest point and seen what he had become. And he was sorry.
The transformation she saw in his eyes amazed her. The man lying before her was a different person than the one she had grown up with.
Surprising herself, she stood up and extended a hand back down to help him to his feet. The shock was visible in his eyes as he took her hand and got up. He released her hand and brushed himself off as she stretched.
"Why are you helping me?" he asked quietly, staring at her.
"I couldn't just leave you to die in that hole. The orphanage is right up the beach. We can call for help from there," she replied, glancing at him.
"When we go back they're going to kill me," he declared, moving his gaze across the beach to stare at their childhood home. She followed his gaze and sighed.
There wasn't much she could say to that. The fact of the matter was that the Garden would have to do something to punish Seifer. They couldn't just let him off. He had done too much to help the sorceress to just be forgiven offhand.
"I'll do everything I can to help you," she stated firmly. He physically jumped in surprise at her words and turned to stare at her incredulously.
"Why?" the question was torn from his lips, "Why would you help me? I tried to kill you and your friends. I was helping the sorceress. There is no logical reason for you to try and save me."
"You've changed. I can see it in your eyes. For the first time in your life you are sorry for something that you've done," she declared without looking away from the lighthouse. With that, she began to climb out of the crater.
Wordlessly he followed her.
AN: Please review this. A lot of people asked for a continuation and now no one is reading it. I changed my plan for this story and decided to add another chapter. This means that there will be two more. I can't make any promises about when they might get posted but I will try to finish this peice up soon. I am really busy working on the updates for SC and a random one shot that wouldn't get out of my head until I at least wrote an intro for it. They should both been up by next week.