Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VIII only my own character.

Chapter II

When I came to, I felt weird. I felt my head pounding. I had the worst headache. I even felt as if I had scraped my knees really bad because they ached too. I couldn't remember what had happened at first. I was straining to remember. It must have been a bad dream though. I opened my eyes and blinked several times. I was looking at a ceiling I totally didn't recognize. And there was this strange smell I didn't recognize. Not really. I sat up and looked around. This was not my room. Nor my dad's. I was in a strange room. The walls looked multicolored and strange. I was in a bed that didn't belong to me. I was really starting to freak now.

I pushed the blankets off of me and put my feet to the cool floor. I looked down and found myself wearing new cloths. A thin cloth night gown with short sleeves. My heart nearly stopped. "What the hell is going on!" I whispered. I looked over and spotted a window. So I went over and looked out. My heart nearly stopped. I swear I was going to have a heart attack. Where the hell was I! What city was this!

I was looking out at one of the largest cities I had ever seen. There were so many buildings and I could see strange cars on blue clear roads. I think I had seen this before. But from where?

I turned and looked at the door of the room I was in. This room…it was definitely a man's room. That made me freak even more. It better not have been a man that changed my cloths. It was kind of messy. So the guy was definitely a slob. I hurried over to the door and tried it. It was unlocked. I pushed it open and looked out. The halls were deserted. I could hear music though. Coming from down the hall. I pushed the door open and walked down the hall towards the music. I was trying very hard to be quiet. Which was enough. I slowly followed the music to another door that was half closed. I could hear voices coming from inside. I carefully pushed it open and peered around the corner. There were two men inside. I could see one shuffling papers, his back to me. The other one was facing me though, but looking at the other man.

The first man was a white man. He had long black hair that was pulled back into a ponytail and wore a strange blue green shirt and dark pants. He was quite tall and had a soldier's build. I could see he had some muscles so I knew that he worked out pretty well.

The other man was a tall and thin black man. He was wearing strange cloths. He looked like an African warrior. His hair was buzzed short, except there were three long braids spilling down his back at the nape of his neck. He had a boyish looking face even though I could tell he was of the age of the late 30's. His skin was very dark. He had two hand blades strapped to his waist.

They were talking about something. I wasn't really sure what. But I didn't have the chance to just stay there and listen because I felt a strong hand drop onto my shoulder. I jumped and spun around, running right into a plump belly. I backed away looked up at the man that had put his hand on my shoulder. And I swear I was going to start screaming with shock.

This man was in his 40's. He was sort of big bellied but I could see that half of his build was muscle. He wore strange looking robes that looked almost like Estharian clothing. He had a scar running down from one side of his face. And I recognized him right off. I knew him by seeing his picture one time.

"Ah, Ward. I see our guest is up. Hello, miss." I heard from behind me. I slowly turned around to see that the other two men were looking at me and I felt my entire body go numb. I knew who all of these men were. I recognized them right off. "Hello, I'm Laguna Loire." The man with black hair said stepping forward holding out his hand. My jaw fell. I couldn't believe it. It was him. I couldn't say anything. The only thing I did was faint. Everything when dark for me and I felt myself fall into the strong arms of the man behind me.

I don't know how long I was out for but I could tell that it wasn't long. I was lying on the soft bed again only this time I could see three figures standing over me looking down. They were saying something but most of their words were blurred.

I blinked several times trying to clear my vision. Then everything settled in. I could see the men's faces clearly now. And I swear I was going to faint again. My body went numb again. It was really him. And his two travel buds! It was Laguna Loire from Final Fantasy 8. And there was only one thing my body allowed me to do. Scream.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

All three men jumped back looking shocked And Laguna even started screaming like a girl himself. I sat up and tried to get away from them as fast as I could. Only to topple right over the side of the bed. That made Laguna stopped screaming. I quickly got up and backed away looking terrified. All three stared at me looking concerned or shock. They were all just standing there. Just staring at me. I backed away until I was in a corner. And that was then I slid down the wall and wrapped my arms around myself. I was dead scared. What the hell was going on here?

The three men went around the bed and came towards me. I flinched and buried my head into my arms fearfully. "Ah, look what you did, Laguna. You scared her. You dolt!" I heard Kiros say. I peeped through my arms just in time to see Kiros slap the back of Laguna's head.

"Ah! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" Laguna said rubbing the back of his head. I almost smiled. But stopped when Laguna walked forward bending down in front of me. I whimpered and cowered in my corner. Why was I so scared? I knew that Laguna was a nice guy. Well, it probably had to do with the existence of him. He was only a character of the Final Fantasy 8 game, right? Laguna tilted his head looking concerned. "Don't be scared. I'm not going to hurt you." He said softly. His voice was sort of comforting. I could feel a peace coming from him. He really meant it. He wasn't going to hurt me. I shivered slightly. I knew that he wasn't going to hurt me. I had to stop being afraid of him.
"Are you okay now?" Laguna asked softly. I slowly nodded. "Y-yeah. I'm sorry for screaming. Wh-where am I?" I stammered. Laguna smiled softly."Your in Esthar City. I'm Laguna Loire, the president of the City. Those are my councilers, Kiros Seagille and Ward Zaback. Don't worry. We're not going to hurt you." He offered his hand. I stared at it for a minute then took it. Laguna pulled me up to my feet and led me towards a chair to sit me down at.

"H-how did I get here?" I asked shivering in my seat. The three men just stood around. "Ah, one of our soldiers found you drifting near the bay. He pulled you out and contacted us. We brought you're here and had checked you over for any injuries." Kiros said. I slowly nodded before looking at my different cloths. I felt my face heat up. "Uh….you didn't….um…." Kiros caught on right away and shook his head. "No. We had a female attendant change your cloths. Your cloths are being washed. Don't worry." He said. I felt relieved. "Oh, good." Laguna tilted his head. "So, what's your name and why were you floating in the water?" he asked. I felt myself nearly panic again. How did I get there? This was all a dream right? Then again, it couldn't have been. I was actually here. I was in the world of FF 8. But I couldn't tell them that I was from a different world. They wouldn't believe me. So I decided to lie.

"My name is Dawn. But I can't remember anything. I think I was in an accident." I said. The three men bought it. "She must be suffering from amnesia then. That does happen." Kiros said. Laguna sighed. "Aw man. That sucks. All well. At least your alright, that's good." He looked at me. "So, Dawn. Are you hungry?" he asked. My stomach answered for me because it growled very loudly. I felt my face heat right up and tried to stifle my stomach by pushing my fist into my gut.

All three men laughed and nodded. "Yep. I think she's hungry. We'll have Yena bring some food up for you." Laguna said moving over to a phone. I was still blushing.

At least ten minutes later, I was eating strange sea food but at least it was good. I had gotten my cloths back. I even got to take a quick shower in Laguna's bathroom. The water was soothing to me. Then I got dressed and was now eating. I was also listening to Laguna and Kiros talk about political things that I didn't understand one bit. And apparently neither did Laguna. He would interrupt and ask what the heck that meant. Kiros would slap the back of his head and go on. They were such a funny pair. Ward of course was quiet. I was trying to decide if this was after the game or during it. What if I was in the game? Of course, I had to be. This world couldn't possibly be real. I didn't know what was going on. I must have been dreaming. I was going to ask about the Sorceresses; see if this was during the game but someone walked in. My eyes grew wide seeing her. It was Ellone! I definitely knew this was after the game. Because Laguna didn't get to see Ellone until they went to space, and they were definitely not in space now. And he only saw her after they went to the Lunatic Pandora. But still. I could have been a possibility.

Ellone looked straight at me as she entered and smiled. "Ah, so she is finally awake. I was worried." She slowly made her way to where I sat and held out her hand. "Hello, I'm Ellone." She said. I was right. She had a very sweet and kind voice. I smiled right back at her. "Hello, Ellone. I'm Dawn. Nice to meet you." Ellone nodded before looking at Laguna. "Uncle Laguna, Squall and the others called. They were wondering if they could borrow the Ragnarok again." She said softly.

There it proved it. It was definitely after the game. Laguna looked up and smiled brightly. "Of course they can! Are they going to come and get it?" He asked brightly. Ellone shrugged. "I'm not sure. They'll be having someone coming." She said.

Laguna nodded. "Alright!" He looked at me. "In the mean time, why don't we show Dawn around the city!" He said happily. I smiled and shrugged. "I would love to have a small tour around the city." Laguna quickly stood. "Alright! I'll show you around!" He said merrily. Kiros folded his arms. "Uh, Laguna. There's one problem." He said. We all looked at him. Kiros rose his eyebrow. "You still have to meet with President Sofija of the Trabia Nation on the vid screen, remember?" He asked. Laguna blinked a few times then slouched.

"Ah, that's right. How boring." He grumbled. I laughed. "Hey, Laguna. It's alright. If it's okay, can I just wander on my own?" I asked. Laguna scratched his head. "Well, I guess it would be okay. But this is a very big city. You could get lost pretty easy." Ellone shook her head with a soft smile. "I'll go with her then. I know my way around. And it's not dangerous anymore to go outside." She said.

Laguna smiled and nodded. "Alright, lil' Elle. Just be back before dark." He said. Ellone nodded before looking at me. "Okay, Uncle Laguna. Come on, Dawn." I nodded and stood. The two of us hurried out and began our tour.