I do not own Final Fantasy, or any of its characters. All that belongs to SquareEnix, this fic is just something of my own making.


With the disclaimers and stuff out of the way, let me get to a brief explanation of this fic.

Final Fantasy VIII: Persecution is a story-line that takes place about 10 years after the game. Things have changed, and though they'll be explained more thoroughly in the actual fic, here are a few of the most notable changes.

The Secret of Time Compression – As you know, in the game Odine developed a machine that harnessed Ellone's ability with time to send Squall and the others through time to fight Ultimecia, but after the battle had been won no one was told of the machine, Ellone's ability, or even Ultimecia. Fearing the knowledge of Time Compression was too dangerous; all those involved swore to never reveal the truth, according to history, the Galbadian war ended when Sorceress Edea was defeated on Galbadia Garden. The Lunar Cry, and the subsequent flood of monsters remains an unexplained incident.

Galbadia – After losing so many resources, and two leaders, Galbadia lost a lot of its influence in the world. Unable to keep control of Dollet, Galbadia has been pushed back to its own borders, only Timber remains in the Nation's clutches. Recently, former Galbadia Garden Headmaster has been elected as Galbadia's newest President, promising a revitalized economy and the return of a powerful Military.

Dollet Dukedom – After slipping out of Galbadia's control, Dollet's wealthy population demanded a return to a Monarchy. After a brief, bloody civil war, Dollet has become a Monarchy once more, a young man who is said to have royal lineage has appointed himself Duke.

Final Fantasy VIII: Persecution

Chapter 1

Be it from the downpour of rain or simply the sheer amounts of blood spilt upon it, the soil had become soft and muddy. A dirty mixture of red and gray tainted each murky puddle, the hill top had virtually become a graveyard on its own right, a messy pile of bodies amassed all over the place. In fact, only the summit of the hill seemed devoid of the dead, but only because the man who had caused it stood there, wounded.

The masked warrior let his guard down, the tip of his blade wedged into the grass, allowing his body to cling to the hilt of the weapon for support. Behind the ornate iron, the warrior's eyes narrowed keenly upon the approaching figure. The man he set eyes on was young, blonde, and the scars his face and arms wore told tales of the lengths he'd gone to get here. The masked man struggled to lift his sword, and only when he did, he'd greet his enemy.

"So, is this what it's come to? "

A flash of lightning and the mountain of bodies disappeared, with them, the hill, the thunderstorm, and the two men who'd been on the verge of engaging in battle. Mathias realized, then, that it hadn't been a bolt of lightning that had stirred him from his bizarre dream, but Instructor Trepe's ruler.

"Since Mathias doesn't seem to think my lecture was interesting enough to stay awake through, I think we'll start from the beginning of the Sorceress Wars. "

An uproar of groans and muttered curses greeted Mathias from his slumber induced daze, one he promptly responded to by offering them a remorseless smile. Instructor Trepe rolled her eyes at the boy, and began down the steps to the center of the classroom. Hoping to fix the mess of moppy black hair that hung in his face, the teenager brushed back raven strands of hair into place, a few bangs still hanging low enough to cover his right eye, a look which had become the norm for him.

"Great, now we have to go through this mess again. What's wrong with you? Did I kick your ass too hard in the Training Quad, Mathias? "

Dietrich flashed his room mate a cocky grin, intent on rubbing his victory in Mathias' face every opportunity he got. Dietrich and Mathias almost seemed inseparable at times, besides sharing the common area in their rooms, the pair often sparred together, studied together, and ate together. Of course, in Balamb Garden close kinship wasn't very hard to find, almost everyone had traveled in a group of some sort; be it the SeeD candidates, the Disciplinary Committee, or even Barth Bildroy's group of self proclaimed " Garden Delinquents ". It was probably a product of the strong sense of camaraderie amongst students that Headmaster Squall promoted all the time.

" Alright, since your sleeping in class gives me the impression that you know everything you need to know for our upcoming mid-term, I'll let you answer a few questions, Mathias. "

Instructor Trepe was such a beautiful woman, she was probably the subject of desire for the entire male student body, the way the SeeD uniform hugged her body so generously, it was no wonder why her tutoring classes were always packed with boys, but as gorgeous as she was, she was twice as evil. Mathias had come to the conclusion that Instructor Trepe must have been a Sorceress in her past life, because no one that beautiful could possibly be so diabolical without having been a witch. The boy with shoulder length black hair nodded the smile on his face still faint as ever, and hardly faltering even beneath the Instructor's cold, scrutinizing, gaze.

"When did the Galbadian War end, officially? "

Dietrich seemed to have found a great deal of humor in Mathias' situation, because the second the Instructor had called upon him he'd turned to the side to muffle restrained laughter in the guise of a cough. Mathias thought for a moment, but quite casually responded to the Instructor in a composed voice, something most freshman boys couldn't accomplish around the woman.

"That would be when SeeD killed Sorceress Edea during the battle of Balamb and Galbadia Garden, Instructor. "

"And what of the incident in Lunatic Pandora? "

"That was an isolated incident, Instructor. Galbadian sabotage, their last desperate act of war, which led to the swarm of monsters. "

Instructor Trepe's efforts seemed to have been squandered, Mathias did know his history, or at least how it was written in the text books, but she didn't seem satisfied with that. While the boy gave off a sort of silent, unseen air of victory, she withdrew a disc from her desk.

"Well, Mathias, since I'm obviously wasting your time in here, and you know your Galbadian War history so well, you won't mind grading last week's exams on your off time. I'll give you an answer key for it. "

It wasn't until then that his smile faded, replaced by a grim, straight line forming on his lips. Definitely a Sorceress in her past life, he thought, noting how she took such satisfaction out of depriving a young, strapping man like himself of his Friday evening. He quickly administered an elbow into Dietrich's side, effectively putting his fit of restrained laughter to an end.

"Class is dismissed. "

With that, the students collected their book bags and shut off their computer consoles, Mathias remained in his seat, one leg perched onto his lap while he reclined back, a look of disgust on his face. His blonde cohort, Dietrich, promptly stood and rubbed his side, giving his unfortunate friend a smile.

"Look at the bright side, now you can heal up and be at 100 the next time I kick your ass. "

An unamused glance shot to Dietrich as he departed, and Mathias curled his fingers into a fist and banged the top of his console in frustration.

"All because of a stupid, meaningless dream. "