Thank you to Crystalight for reviewing! don't worry, it's a little mushy in this chappy, but the angst will come in the next chapter! I promise! Oh, and a virtual replica of Squall's ring, "Greiver" for you, Crystalight! And to all those who vote/review, virtual plushies to you all of your own choice! So, tell me your favorite Final Fantasy character, and I'll see what I can do!

Disclaimer: I do not own the song, "Kokoro/ The Words I Feel" from Xenosaga: Episode one! The people that made it does, and I also don't own Final Fantasy!

Now, sit back, grab a bag of popcorn, and enjoy!

Chapter Seven

"And it is nothing but snow, snow, snow in Balamb! In fact, it is the first major snowfall since fifty years ago! So all of the schools are out to enjoy it, and all schools are canceled for this blessed day. And now for—"

Seifer shut the wall-screen TV. off with a smile. Should he wake Quistis to tell her the news? Or should he let her sleep in and worry when she wakes up that she's late for school? He shrugged. He really shouldn't wake her, since she should rest her bloodied feet and ease her mind from all of the events from yesterday.

Wait, why should he care? He was just her favorite bully at school everyday…

But then, over the summer, Seifer realized that he had won over every girl in school (or at least kissed the stubborn ones) except for her. Quistis Trepe, a.k.a.—Ice Queen. The girl that hid her emotions very well, and had never shed a tear in public when she was physically injured. Heck, he hated needles! And he still couldn't believe that she got a humongous needle injected into her bashed arm! And he had thought that she didn't have an Achilles heel…

…Until she danced. And got blisters and cuts all over her bloody feet.

He now wondered if she was asleep, after all…

And that's when he heard an unfamiliar melody from her room.

"I've been watching you awhile

Since you walked into my life…

Quistis sang as she soaked in the deluxe Jacuzzi bathtub. This song…was her song. The song she had made from last year, just for Squall. She had always had this crush on him, ever since grade school. But, she soon discovered it was as a love that she had felt for him, as a brother and a friend.

Monday morning, when first

I heard you speak to me…

I was too shy to let you know

Much too scared

To let my feelings show

But you shielded me

And that was the beginning

She remembered the time that he helped defend her from Seifer. He had called her a bunch of names, but Squall was there to fend him off, and got a large, diagonal scar across his forehead.

Now at last we can talk

In another way

And though I try, 'I love you'

Is just so hard to say

If I only could be strong

And say the words I feel

My bleeding heart begins to race

When I turn to see your face

I remember that sweet dream

Which you told to me

Seifer was right by the door to the bathroom, listening to her beautiful voice. He couldn't resist, since he was trying to win her over, and yet couldn't help but be…hypnotized by the way her voice went from one note to another within seconds. Now that…was talent.

I wanted just to be with you

So we could make the dream come true

And you smiled at me

And that was the beginning

Now at last we can talk

In another way

And though I try, 'I love you'

Is just so hard to say

If I only could be strong

And say the words I feel…"

She then felt someone on the other side of the bathroom door. Haha, her gifts were somehow useful, after all. After wrapping herself in a towel and traveling to the closet to find her regular clothes neatly folded, (normal clothesschool uniform!) she slipped them on (don't worry, she had her underclothes under that! XD) and blow-dried her blonde hair. She just left it down out of lazy-ness, and opened the door to find Seifer staring at her with an amused look in his eyes. After quickly recovering, he smiled mischievously at her.

"What?" He shrugged, secretly wishing that her white shirt was soaked to the bone, like it had been yesterday. "Seifer!"

"What? What'd I do, now?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her remark.

"That's just gross." He growled.

"What the heck are you talking about, woman?" She sighed as she pushed passed him, putting on her regular black heels as she hobbled over to the bed to collect her uniform jacket.

"Never mind."

"What? You heard me?" Now she was the one to growl.

"Heard what, Seifer!"

"You heard my…what am I thinking right now?" She raised a hand to his forehead.

"Are you alright?" He grabbed her hand, saying nothing aloud, but started to think.

"Testing, testing! Quistis, can you hear me?" She rolled her eyes.

"Of course I can hear you! You moron…" He smiled, looking at her, thinking some more.

"Quistis, I didn't say anything. Aloud, at least. Now, just think, don't say anything aloud." Her eyes widened.

"It's just like mom had said, Seifer!" He raised an eyebrow.

"What DID she say?"

"She said that our two families share the same 'gifts'! And telepathy is one of them!" Seifer's eyes went wide.

"Whoa…so you and I can communicate in our minds?"

"Yeah…" She mentally gasped.

"Oh my gosh…"

"What?"

"I…this is all too weird!"

"Tell me about it."

"Um…Seifer?"

"Yeah, babe?"

"First, I'm not your babe. And second…" She looked down at their entwined fingers…they had a red-ish glow around them. Seifer's eyes widened.

"Mind to tell me what that means?"

"I'll have to consult my mother on that one." So she reached into the depths of her mind, and called for her mother.

"Yes, my daughter?" They both looked at the transparent figure suddenly beside them.

"Uhm…what's happening?" Her mother looked down at their hands, held together by a red-ish glow.

"Oh, dear…just as I had feared."

"What? What is it, mom?" Her mother shook her head, but had no other choice but to tell them.

"Join your other hand with Seifer's, Quistis, and you shall see." She looked at Seifer, who had a look of understanding in his features, and slipped her hand into Seifer's outstretched one. Once her hand was laced with his, and gust of wind took them from the room, mansion, and everything else, out to the ruins of…

"The Orphanage!" Both Seifer and Quistis exclaimed at the same time. Her mother smiled, but that smile faded as soon as it had appeared.

Two adults on a pair of chocobos rode side-by-side towards the orphanage. The Orphanage was now a very different structure. It was now a large, cozy stone house, with a chimney peeking out of the far side of the roof. There was then a clothesline, and beyond that line was the vast beach, that eventually led to a lighthouse. Quistis smiled as she looked at the tall lighthouse, wondering if Seifer remembered…

"Quisty…" She turned to Seifer, shock evident upon her graceful, porcelain features as his emerald eyes locked with hers. "…It's our hide-out." They smiled, but then turned back to see Quistis' mother nowhere in sight. She searched her mother out, but all she said was, "Watch, and you will see."

So they watched as the couple got off of their mounts, and took a small five-year-old from out of the woman's sidesaddle, which was large enough to fit only her form inside.

After a bit of talking, in which they couldn't hear, they said their goodbyes to their little girl, by giving her a whip, along with hugs and kisses. They then mounted their chocobos, and rode off into the distance, leaving the crying, helpless girl behind, holding the whip in her tiny hands.

"Who is that girl?" Quistis looked at Seifer, who caught hers.

"That little girl…" She took a deep breath, before telling him.

But she was abruptly interrupted by the scene change.

And this particular scene…wasn't pretty. Quistis gasped, bringing a hand to her mouth in horror.

Corpses littered the ground around them, and there was nothing but chaos around them.

It was then that they saw the same pair of chocobos ride in, the same couple on them, both with weapons drawn, and knocking down enemies to get their way into the City Hall. Once in, they met with a blonde-haired boy and his parents, whom were huddled in a secured corner, the parents with blade and whip drawn, fighting to keep the boy alive.

"Almasy!" The man looked over with a great and unexplainable gratitude, towards his friend. The men and the two women surrounded the frightened boy, back-to-back, fending off soldiers of all kinds with both whip and blade.

"Cornelia! Go! Take your son to safety!" The blonde woman looked at her best friend. "We'll cover for you!"

"But, it's impossible! You're the sneaky one, remember?" Once they were in a deserted ally, her friend made one request. "Please, protect my son. You're my only hope of getting him out of here alive!" The other woman shook her head.

"He's your son! Get out of here while you still can!" Cornelia took her by the shoulders.

"If I did that, I would be dead in an instant, and Seifer wouldn't have a chance to live! So, you have to go! You and your husband, get out of here! Protect Seifer…"

And after their final goodbyes, the couple left with the boy of five years of age, and met up with Edea Kramer, and handed him over to the caretaker.

And off they rode, back into the night towards where they had left their friends for dead, with a small glimmer of hope that they were still fighting and were still alive.

They were. And the two couples, husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, and best friends still fought…until they became exhausted, their guards were completely down, and they had fought their last fight, and subjected themselves, still back-to-back in their battle stances, to the quick, relieving pain of death by…

And they awoke. They awoke from the horrible dreams that their parents left behind to tell the truth of their legacy.

Quistis' body shook with irrepressible sobs as she thought about what they had just witnessed. Seifer hugged her tightly to his chest, as sobs of his own racked his body. They actually shared something, beyond human's comprehension.

They shared their parent's past.

And yet, so much more…

Okay, everyone! You know what to do! Review, and tell me what you think!

Thanks to my faithful reviewers!

See you all later!