Fated Chapter 2, a final fantasy viii fanfic

Please leave reviews, questions, suggestions, criticism, anything not rude. The two chapters up now are a test and I need feedback to continue.

Disclaimer: I still don't own anything. Still wish I did.

"Hyne, he's a real mess…" Dr. Kadowaki stood holding a medical chart she had thrown together after running several tests on Seifer's unconscious form. "Low blood sugar, muscle degeneration like I've never seen… Obviously he's not been eating, but that could have something to do with a blood alcohol level that's off the charts…"

"He's really let himself go…" Quistis crossed her arms tightly, hugging herself as she stared down at the man that could be mistaken as a Fisherman's Horizon transient. This had to be some kind of joke. This soulless husk was not the Seifer Almasy she knew. "He can make a full recovery, right? Be back to the level of fitness he used to be?"

Dr. Kadowaki gave a bitter chuckle and a shake of her head. "Oh, I suppose. It'll take a lot of work though. Work he might not be willing to do."

"That's very true. We'll have to wait until he wakes up to see just how willing he is about anything… I'm sure he won't be too excited to be back at Garden, especially after being knocked out and forced back here against his will." Quistis sighed as she continued to stare down at his sleeping form. She wondered, looking at the dirty mass of hair that nearly hid his face, that if she would have passed him on the street, would she have noticed him? She frowned at the though.

"Cid wanted his children back home. Even if it meant force. Seifer may not be happy to be here, but Hyne knows it's better for him than where he had been." The medical file was slipped into the plastic holder on the front of Seifer's bed, no longer needed. Dr. Kadowaki already knew it by heart, and it made her heart break, as she looked at him, no longer the stubborn boy she used to patch up after fights, but now a stranger.

"You try explaining that to him." The blonde woman shook her head and gave one last look to Seifer before turning her back to him. "Call me when he wakes up." With that, she left the infirmary.

With the swipe of her keycard, and the soft beep of acceptance, Quistis slipped into her dorm room quietly. It was nearly midnight and most students were asleep, or settling down for the night, as she should have been. Lights flooded the small living room with a flick of the switch, bathing her, and everything else in the room, in a soft yellow light. The woman sighed.

This was her sanctuary, a safe haven after a hard day's work. The living room was decorated in such a way that it reflected her personality. The couch and chairs were wrapped in royal blue velvet, standing contrast against the white of the walls and carpet. A coffee table, made out of a fine mahogany with cherry tint sat infront of the couch, an empty cup of tea and a book rested upon it.

Across the way, against the far wall, sat a bookcase made of the same wood, several volumes of books held on the shelves. A small wooden desk, with a computer on it, sat against the adjacent wall. Neatly piled stacks of papers and books covered most of it.

The living room opened up into a dining room/kitchen that was just as quaint and classically decorated. A door on the left wall led to her bedroom. This was home, sweet home for Ms. Trepe. Something only a few people had ever seen.

Groaning, she pulled her glasses from her nose and pinched there lightly, feeling the throbbing pain of her headache. Glasses were gently laid atop the coffee table before she collapsed on the couch in a heap. Lying on her side, she pulled her knees to her chest and closed her eyes. Quistis needed to rest and forget the stranger with Seifer's name.

Wisps of blonde hair floated on the cool breeze that smelt of the ocean. He watched her as she danced around the garden, flower petals catching in her hair as they blew off their wilting stems. He often watched her before he made her cry… She was always so graceful, delicate like the flowers she danced around, and he hated it. Her murmured songs, voice sweet as a siren's, reminded him of his mother that was long since dead, yet still a fresh memory in his head.

"Stop singing, your voice kills the flowers!" He jumped from his perch in the tree, a blur of blond until he landed in a patch of daisies.

"That's not true!" The little girl's face had contorted to an angry expression as she glared at the boy with her shockingly blue eyes. "Matron says it makes them grow!"

"Not your singing! I bet it's why your parents died!" Even then, at only seven, he knew what he said was horrible and wrong.

As he watched her, her little hands curling into fists, tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes, catching on her lashes, he knew he had succeeded. Even then, the rush hadn't been what he was hoping for, and like all the other times, he felt like a piece of shit.

"Don't you dare say that, Seifer Almasy! Don't you dare!" She wailed loudly and ran back into the little house, door being slammed harshly, like many times before, leaving the boy to himself.

"I already did…" He mumbled to himself and crouched on the small path next to the flowers her had crushed when he landed. Chubby, sun burnt hands began attempts at straightening the broken stems. "I already did."

Seifer awoke with a start. His vision was blurry, and his memory hazy; he had no idea where the hell he was. His attempt to sit up was a grand failure. Muscles groaned and tensed under the restraints that held him at the wrists, chest, stomach, and ankles. Where in Hyne's name was he? A shake of the head was given in attempts to clear his vision, but it only scattered his hair further into his face. Well, this wasn't going to be easy.

Dr. Kadowaki had been filing charts when she heard a string of curse words and several angry grunts coming from behind the curtain where she had left Seifer. Peeking into his room, she saw him struggling against the restraints like a wild animal caught in a trap. "Stop struggling, darling, it won't do you any good." She cooed softly at him. "I'll go call Quistis…" The old woman's words weren't even heard over all the other noise, but she spoke then anyway and disappeared into her office.

Seifer was only vaguely aware that someone had even been there. His mind was cloudy from the alcohol and Selphie's sedatives, and there was a horrible ringing noise he wasn't sure was in his head or not. His vision had cleared up enough that he knew he was in an infirmary of sorts, and for some reason it looked familiar… if only he could remember how and why he passed out.

"Hello?" He'd call out, his voice hoarse. His throat hurt like it was on fire. What had been done to him? "Hello? Is anyone fucking here?" He felt so helpless… fighting against the fabric restraints that were starting to cut into his skin, so unsure of where he was. Had to stop drinking so much. "I swear to Hyne, when I get out of these damned restraints I'm going to fucking kill whoever put me in them!"

Left in silence. He started to scream out again when he heard someone tell him to shut up behind the swaying curtains to his left. It had been a man's voice. Scowling, Seifer growled in that direction. "Come and fucking say that in here, you bastard." Without knowing where he was or who the enemy was, he was pretty much screwed and he knew it. Not to mention the restraints.

"Yes, he seems quite awake now… as is all the other injured students in here thanks to his screaming… I'd like for you to come quick, or else I'll give him a damn sedative myself and risk it mixing with the alcohol that's still running in his blood." Dr. Kadowaki practically had to screech into the phone so that Quistis could even hear her. Seifer had just recently, within the last few minutes, picked up to singing 'We Will Rock You' as loud as he possibly could. To the old doctor's annoyance, some of the other students had joined in.

"Is that… singing I'm hearing?" Quistis stood cupping the phone against her ear, trying to make out all of the background noise. Just what was the poor doctor going through? She had expected to hear horrible screaming, and possibly the breaking of things… not singing.

"Buddy you're a young man hard man!"

"Shoutin' in the street gonna take on the world some day!"

"You got blood on yo' face!"

"You big disgrace!"

"Wavin' your banner all over the place!"

"We will we will rock you!"

"Will all of you just shut up?" Dr. Kadowaki didn't even bother to pull the phone away from her face as she yelled at the students and Seifer from her open office door. Their answer was given as they continued to sing off-key and ever some of the wrong words at the top of their lungs. "I sweat to Hyne, Quistis…"

"I'll be there in two minutes. Don't do anything you'll regret…" Quistis grinned softly at the phone, knowing her friend couldn't see it, but it didn't matter. "Well, at least don't do anything that will get the Medical Board upset."

With a dry chuckle and several more screams to the men, Kadowaki hung up without a goodbye. Quistis sighed as the dial tone hummed in her ear and hung the phone up. "Just what are you thinking, Seifer?" Who are you now, Seifer?

"Buddy you're an old man poor man! Pleadin' with your eyes gonna make you some peace some day!" Seifer was probably the most vocal out of all of the men singing, but there was a reason for that. As long as no one could hear what he was doing, he could fucking get out of the restraints.

He had been trained as a soldier, whoever put him in these restraints weren't very keen to that fact. Slowly though, his memory was coming back and several familiar figures were starting to pop up in his mind. Was he at Garden? He was too drunk and doped up to tell for sure.

Seifer already had his legs free. It had been much easier to pull his legs out of ankle restraints because at least his skin was covered there by pants. His wrists on the other hand, well, that hurt like a bitch. He was sure he had rubbed at least ten layers of skin off and was also sure he'd given his arm hair a waxing from trying to twist his right hand free of the stupid cuff.

"You got mud on your face! You big disgrace!" One… two… three. He tugged as hard as he could and nearly screamed the next verse in pain. "Somebody better put you back in your place!" With a pop that was thankfully the restraint and not his wrist, he was free. Looking at his arm, he swore loudly while the other men kept singing. The skin had been torn all to hell and was bleeding several places. But he was free. Now to get the hell out of there.

Quistis could hear the sounds of poorly sung Queen lyrics even before she reached the infirmary, and apparently so could others on the Garden staff. People were giving odd looks in the direction of the hallway, some even stopping to listen or hum the tune along with everyone else. What the hell was going on?

The blonde cut through the small crowd quickly and stalked down the long hall with an irritated look on her face. Only back for little over two hours and Seifer Almasy was already making a scene and drawing a crowd. Perhaps he had let his outer appearance wilt away, but his personality hadn't seemed to falter much at all.

Stepping into the infirmary, she could see several injured soldiers sitting up in their beds, singing gleefully along with one another. Dr. Kadowaki was in there with them, pointing a finger at each one of them and scolding loudly, but she was being drowned out by their singing.

More singing was coming from a small room entirely hidden behind curtains. Seifer. Boots echoed against the tile floor as she stormed over to the front curtain and tore it back. Without even looking, she stepped into the room to find quite a surprise. She gasped, but it was too late.

Seifer had spun around the moment he heard the rattle of the curtain, only to find his favorite instructor standing there. He lunged at her in an instant, all of his blurred thoughts being confirmed. So he was back at Garden. How sweet, the gang had brought him home.

The smaller blonde tried to duck his grasp, but he caught her around the middle and plowed her back against a heart rate monitor that was resting against the left wall. Giving a small cry of pain, Quistis kicked at him, getting one blunt shot at his left kneecap. Seifer crumpled to that side but wouldn't release his hold on her.

"Dr. Kadowaki!" She screamed as she wriggled her arms against his weight, trying to get her hand down to the handle of Save the Queen, her whip, but couldn't move her arm because it was crushed against his side.

"Shut up, Trepe." Seifer growled, recovering from the pain in his knee long enough to throw the slender woman away from him and into the back wall near his bed.

She hit the wall; shoulders first and then felt the dull thud as her head cracked back into it. Black dots swirled in her vision, the feeling of bile starting to collect at the back of her throat. She would not pass out. Willing herself to stand, Quistis narrowed her eyes and squared her shoulders just in time to get hit with a sweeping fist.

Quistis felt the contact with her jaw, her head snapping back as the rest of her recoiled to the side. For being so damn sickly thin, he still packed quite the punch. She found herself in a heap on the floor; blood dripping from her now busted lip. "So this is how you want to play?"

She brought her right leg up and over her left one, letting her feet catch at the back of his legs as she rotated her hips in the same direction. It was enough force to knock him off his feet, and with the pain in his knee, was enough to keep him from regaining his balance.

He fell with a hard thud, back making contact roughly with the floor. The wind was knocked out of him, and left him gasping for breath while his vision swam. Damn it was hard fighting while all knocked up on sedatives. "Bitch." He'd growl and try to roll on his side only to receive a kick to the stomach that sent him sprawling again.

"Stay down." Quistis was trying to get to her feet, blood still falling from her mouth to blot over her shirt and the floor. She was hunched over, trying to breathe and trying to watch him at the same time. One hand was safely resting on Save the Queen, while her other was pressed to her ribs.

"What's the matter, can't handle it, Trepe?" Seifer tried to laugh but found it hurt when he did. Must have been that kick to the stomach. He could try to knock her feet out from under her, but figured she'd be expecting that… He wasn't going to give up that easily. He'd need a distraction, and one was coming.

"Oh my goodness! For Hyne's sake, Quistis are you all right?" Dr. Kadowaki had finally gotten the soldiers to quiet down long enough to hear the scuffle between the two blondes in the other room. She had snatched a syringe full of a mild tranquilizer off the counter and rushed between the swaying curtains to find the two in the middle of the fight. The doctor wasn't stupid; she knew not to step in on that.

"What?" Quistis was so shocked to hear someone else's voice she actually looked up in surprise. "Oh, Doctor, yes, I'm—" She didn't even get to finish her sentence.

Seifer was off the floor the second she looked up, and had put all his weight into his shoulder as he used it to drive her back against the bed he had been restrained in. Quistis screamed, as did Dr. Kadowaki. The bed caught her at the back of the knees and she went right down into it, Seifer following her over. A hand was clasp to her throat, other hand pressed painfully to her chest to keep her down.

"Enough playing around, Trepe. I want some fucking answers." He snarled as he leaned down over her, feeling the pulse in her throat under his strong grasp. So delicate, like a flower, he could crush her in an instant. Make her pulse stop forever. It would be all too easy.

"Get…off… me…" Quistis struggled with each word, but managed to get them all out, though whispered. She tried to swallow, but it hurt. The bones were starting to bend in from the pressure, not to mention the horrible pain he was causing in her lungs from the weight of his hand over them.

"Why am I here? Why did you fucking bring me here? Tell me!" His grasp increased, tightening around her slender neck so much that his fingers almost could touch. He could feel her gasping, hear the gurgling sound as she tried to breathe. He could feel her squirming, trying to live. It was… amusing.

Blue eyes stared up in wild horror at him, trying to search his face for any sign of humanity and failing to find any. He'd kill her. It wasn't the first time he tried, but he'd really do it this time. Lips parted, but she could only manage to gasp helplessly. The world was becoming nothing but white, and her brain was telling her to sleep. She was dying.

"I'm sorry, child." Dr. Kadowaki shoved the needle roughly into Seifer's thigh, thumbing the end of it so that the liquid rushed into his body. It'd take a minute, a minute Quistis might not have, but she had to stop him.

"What the fuck?" Seifer growled in surprise and took his hand off Quistis' chest. He swept it back to knock the old woman away from him. Kadowaki went tumbling backwards against shelves full of medical supplies and knocked them everywhere. He snatched the syringe from his leg and glared down at it. "Fuck."

The world swam and colors blurred. Everything seemed to become fuzzy and he was feeling awfully warm. Gradually, his grip on Quistis' neck loosened and then became nonexistent as he slipped to the floor. The last thing he saw was that damn shot in his hand before his world became dark for the second time that night.

Quistis lurched forward on the bed into a sitting position. She was sputtering and gasping for air as she practically clawed at her throat, willing for it to work again. Each gulp of air she took burned in her throat and made her lungs ache, but at the same time, it was a marvelous feeling she might never take for granted again.

Seeing Kadowaki on the floor with medical supplies on and around her, made Quistis' heart leap into her throat. She forgot about her need to breathe and ran over to the old woman. "Dr. Kadowaki?" Index and middle fingers were firmly pressed to the Doctor's neck.

Not only was there the relief to find a steady pulse working in the old woman's neck, but also the fierce groan that her touch had caused the Doctor to make. "I'm okay, I'm okay." She swatted Quistis away in an annoyed fashion and looked over at Seifer's unconscious form. "He's still a hellish boy, isn't he?"

The soft patters of a little girl's feet could be heard against the cool stone floor, her shadow dancing along the walls from the candlelight. She stopped when she reached the last bed in the room, staring down at the boy that was pretending to be asleep. A hand drifted out, tugging lightly at the covers he held up to his chin. "Seifer, I'm scared."

The boy groaned and turned his head away from her, tugging the blanket further up so that they almost covered bright emerald eyes that were now open and watching the shadows of the blonde that still lingered beside his bed. He just waited; holding his breath, knowing this was almost a nightly routine for her.

"Seifer! I saw something by my bed!" Her voice was childlike then, not the stern voice of authority she had now. Her ways were also gentler then. She gave his blanket another tug, pressing a knee to the side of the bed for strength. "Seifer, I know you're awake!" She whined quietly, trying not to wake the other boys.

Giving a huff of a sigh, he rolled onto his back and looked over at her. "Go sleep with Squall if you're so scared, Quistis. Everyone knows he's your knight in stupid armor!" A chubby little hand came out, giving the blonde girl a soft shove in the direction of the other bed.

Her tiny hands balled into fists at her side; jaw locking into place as she glared at him. She did throw a glance over her shoulder at the brunette sleeping a little ways down, curled up with the blankets half way off him. "No I don't want to, Seifer let me sleep with you!" Blue eyes with unshed tears stared at him, lip quivering as she pouted.

Giving her his most nastiest look possible, which wasn't anywhere near as good as the looks he could give her now, he pealed the blanket back for her. As she started to climb into bed, he'd scoot over to the far side, giving her enough room so that she wouldn't fall off. "See, even you know I'm stronger than him! I'm so strong… I could take on a dragon!"

"No, you're just warmer." She said it in that matter-of-fact tone he had always hated and grown to loathe greatly later in life. Pressing her head against his shoulder, she cuddled under the blanket against his side, one hand latched onto the front of his nightshirt for comfort.

Seifer lay there pretending to scowl, while on the inside he was smiling. Quistis always came to him when she was afraid, no matter how mean he was to her during the day. She was the only person at the orphanage that did that.

When Seifer awoke again he found himself practically chained down to the bed. The cloth restraints had been replaced with metal cuffs and there were several leather straps crisscrossing over his chest and legs. Apparently they didn't want to have the same thing happen again. He was also in a different room, somewhere darker with harsh white lighting. It looked like they have shoved him in the cargo hold.

Straining against the hold the restraints had on him, he tried to lift his head to better survey the area. The drugs had worn off and he was left with the pounding effects of a hangover. Things were going from bad to worse, and as he caught movement out of the corner of his eye, he realized just how 'worse' they'd gotten.

Squall sat backwards in a metal folding chair, a few feet away from Seifer's bed. The look he had on his face was one that suggested horrible pain and a smile while it happened. "I see you're awake again."

"Watching over me while I slept, Squall? That's so sweet of you." Seifer sneered. It was hard to look at Squall due to his current position, but he could tell by the charge in the air that this wasn't a friendly look he was getting.

"Shut up, Almasy." Squall stood so abruptly that the chair spun from under him and clattered to the floor. That did nothing to help Seifer's headache. He stepped over the chair, one hand clutching the hilt of his gunblade, but he didn't remove it from its sheath. "You hurt two very important members of the Garden staff and you haven't even been here a full day."

Still wincing from the sound, Seifer clenched his fists against his sides, trying to ease the tremors in his body away. "What can I say? I was trying to make myself at home again."

Gloved hand moved so quickly Seifer couldn't see it in time, but he could feel it. His head snapped to the opposite side, jaw sagging from the sudden pain. "I told you to shut up." Squall hissed; staring down at the man with his hand still raised as if he would strike him again.

Seifer gingerly dabbed the tip of his tongue against the side of his mouth that now had an aching pain in it. The metallic taste of blood started to fill around his teeth, bleeding down the corner of his lip and onto his chin. "Now that wasn't very nice." He growled, bringing more blood dribbling down his chin.

"Nice? What the fuck do you know about nice, Almasy?" Squall screamed each word with such anger that is made Seifer wince. It also made the walls rattle with the echo. "Killing thousands of innocent people all for a dream you couldn't even fulfill?"

Growling, Seifer turned his head once more to glare at the brunette. "You're lucky I'm fucking chained down or else I'd be on you in a second, Leonhart."

Squall swung his hand down again, this time clenched into a fist. Blood splattered across his glove as he hit Seifer in the jaw again, sending his head back against the cot. "No, Seifer, you're the one that's lucky. I'd kill you in a heartbeat and not even have a second thought about it. I might even enjoy it after what you did to everyone."

The blonde hissed in pain, tasting the blood as it rolled down his throat. He touched around the inside of his mouth with his tongue again, finding a few teeth had been knocked loose. "Then what are you fucking waiting for? Fucking kill me and make yourself feel better. You'd be worshiped, fuck you might even get a Hyne damned holiday named after you!"

He had lurched against the restraints, trying to get as close to Squall as he could so he could see his face. The look in his eyes made something turn in the brunette's stomach. He was wild like an animal, but knew he was caught and couldn't do a damn thing about it. The look was almost a deadly plead, like a dog that knows its going to die and doesn't want to suffer anymore but still wants to fight. Just put him out of his misery.

"No," Squall shifted and placed a hand upon Seifer's chest. With a shove that was hard enough to bruise a few ribs, he slammed the blonde back down against the cot. "I won't do what you want me to do. I want you to suffer." His hand was removed, and then he was out of Seifer's sight range, walking towards the cargo hold doors.

"Where the fuck are you going, Leonhart?" Seifer called after him, his voice going hoarse from all the yelling and all the screams of pain he had to hold in. "Don't fucking run away now! We were just getting started. I'm sure you have a whole fucking lot of other things you'd like to say to me!"

Squall's reply was the sound of the heavy door being slammed closed and then locked. Soon after, the lights in the room hummed and then dimmed before shutting off completely. Seifer was left in darkness, alone to scream and curse everything from Squall to Hyne himself. No one could hear him through the door.

"How many times have I told you two not to fight, especially not in the house?" Matron stood, pacing the small kitchen floor, with the pieces of a broken vase in her hands as an example. The two little boys in question, a blonde and a brunette, stood by the table with all sorts of bruises and cuts on their faces and arms.

"He broke the vase, Matron! I was just punishing him for it!" The blonde gave an earnest nod, pointing a finger at the other boy.

Squall stood there silently, little arms crossed over his chest. The look he gave Seifer was a cross between anger and pure hate, a look he had never quite gotten rid of. He hadn't broken the vase, but had caught Seifer breaking it and went to tell Matron. Now he was getting blamed for it. He wouldn't tell though, he knew Matron knew who did it.

"I don't care who did it! Seifer, how many times am I going to have to tell you that you need to leave the punishing to me? It only gets you in more trouble when you hurt the other children. Do you really want to hurt your friends?" The tall woman chided, still pacing.

"They aren't my friends." The boy sneered. "I don't like any of 'em. I can't wait until I can get out of here!"

"Then go away." Squall finally spoke, turning to face the taller boy. He stood his ground, waiting for the punch that he knew was coming. Seifer never took an insult well, of course, neither did he.

A punch didn't come, but the blonde had lurched forward. He tackled Squall to the ground, one hand holding his head back by his hair, other hand raised in a small fist. "Don't you tell me what to do!"

The boy swung that fist, but it was caught by a bigger hand. Matron had him by the entire hand and wrist. "Do not hit him!" Wrapping her other hand under his stomach, she picked him up and set him on the other side.

"You heard what he said! You heard him! Aren't you going to punish him? You always punish me! You don't even like me! You hate me! You all do!" The boy was screaming, face red and hands in fists. He looked like he might cry, but he'd never allow for it.

"Seifer, you know that's not true! I love all of you equally, but you can't be hurting the other children!" Matron then turned and helped Squall to his feet, tenderly holding him against her side so that Seifer couldn't go for him again.

"You're a liar! I hate you! I hate you both!" The rage in the boy's eyes was immense, and made Matron shudder. Seifer was so young and so angry, what had she done wrong? He turned quickly and stormed out of the kitchen and into the boys' room, the door being slammed shut.