Chapter Forty-Six:

A/N: Finally, the return to Garden. Tessa thinks she has finally found somewhere safe, but anyone who read the chapter "Hunter's Eyes" knows otherwise. I'm not going to give anything away, but no more of the heroes from the game (including the Disciplinary Committee) has died. Yet. I've already killed off two of the most popular characters in Final Fantasy history (Zell and Tifa), and the equally unpopular Rinoa, so what am I not capable of? Seriously, read any SquallxZell or SquallxSeifer yaoi fic, those guys really hate Rinoa.

Come to think of it, with Beyond Love and Gore, You're Wonderful, and this fic, I seem to have an obsession with lesbians, which is weird since I'm not a heterosexual male. Meh, go figure.

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The vehicle was put into park and the engine killed. Boots hit cement as Tessa climbed out and looked around. Balamb Garden wasn't warm and welcoming like she had expected. It was cold and quiet, like no one was left there. She shivered.

Her eyes scanned the vehicle for damage, taking note of the broken window and lack of a back bumper. The bumper had been torn off when she momentarily lost control and slammed into a tree. The wreck had also left a large dent that wouldn't allow the passenger door to open, which sucked since the car was only a two-seater to begin with.

While she had been driving, and was satisfied with the distance between herself and Balamb, Tessa had stopped the car and pushed the dead torso out of the car and onto the road. It didn't even bother her anymore, the stench of death. Living in a city full of it had been one thing, but running from it to save her own life was another. Something had changed Tessa, the fear was gone. No, no the fear of death, but the fear of the dead. She could deal with the dead now, as long as they weren't chasing her around.

Out of the corner of her eyes Tessa saw movement, but when she adjusted her gaze there was nothing. She continued on her way, the large building looming high overhead. On the way, she saw the communal Cure drawpoint. She reached out a hand and drew the Magic, collecting thirteen spells.

Her skin prickled and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. When Macone had tortured her, Tessa had lost the long red hair that hung around her shoulders. He cut it similar to a bowl cut, except for the bangs he left behind. He said that her kind shouldn't have long hair, but she hadn't known what he had meant. She still didn't. As her thoughts wandered back to the present, Tessa tucked those surviving bangs behind her ears. The past was the past, and that was all it ever would be. There was no need for her to dwell on what had already happened, no need to "get over it" as so many psychologists had tried to help her do. It was over, done, forget about it and move on. Already, the pain of losing Holt was gone. In fact, she hadn't thought once about him since the kiss.

The ring on Tessa's finger caught the sun, and the once-lustrous silver still held a bit of a gleam. Yes, Adette was a lesbian with a partner, the ring was clear in that. But Tessa wasn't, she was straight and alone. If that were true, then why did she want to throw the ring as far away as she could?

Because you love her. Rinoa knew it when she took Squall's ring Griever, and he knew it when he handed it over to Zell for her. Neither of them wanted to admit it, though.

Are you ever going to just let me stew in my thoughts? Must you always interfere?

I was there for them, and I'm here for you. You wondered why you cared so much when Xu wanted you to leave Adette in the Gate back in Galbadia City, and I can tell you why. Even though you hadn't realized it yet, you loved her. She was the only one you comforted after the train incident, even though Phelan was the one that had almost died. She was the one that went to see if you were okay after you saved Zell's life, when everyone else was freaked out by your irrational behaviour. Both of you knew that there was something there, but you didn't know what. Now that you do, you both want to run away from it. You can see it in Adette's eyes, and I can read it in your thoughts.

What do you know about love? You were manufactured in a laboratory somewhere, you told me yourself. I'm not a lesbian, everyone just thinks so because I'm not some weakling that puts up shit from men. Is independence only something that a lesbian can obtain? No, it's not.

I lied.

What do you mean?

Shiva didn't answer.

Tessa saw that the old man behind the counter at the entrance to Garden was gone, but it was okay since she didn't have her keycard. Breaking protocol, the medic jumped over the small gate and landed on the linoleum of the Garden's entrance with a thud. Oddly enough, the lobby was empty with the exception of a single girl at the directory. Yet, even from a distance, Tessa could make out the profile of her best friend. She ran, not caring if people thought she was being a normal girly-girl.

"Aili!" she screamed at the top of her voice, opening her arms for an embrace and catching the other girl's attention. When Aili turned to look at Tessa though, the redhead stopped and stared with her mouth hanging open.

In one moment, all of Tessa's hopes had vanished. In the excitement of seeing her best friend, Tessa had ignored her surroundings. Now the blood splattered floor and walls rushed at her, the smell of blood, death, and decay assaulting her nose. The most offensive thing, though, was the appearance of Tessa's best, and only, friend at Balamb Garden.

With an ear hanging by a small sliver of skin, one eye torn out, and an empty chest cavity, Aili was obviously dead. Aili was a Rot. Fighting a scream, Tessa cried for her friend. She turned and ran, hearing her friend moan despite a ripped out throat. Soon others joined Aili, an unearthly chorus trailing after the sole living being.

She vaulted over the gate at the Garden's entrance, tears blurring her vision, and fell to the ground, scraping her palms. When she pushed herself up, Tessa left bloody handprints on the cement. Her stolen vehicle had become overrun by Rots, fifteen to twenty surrounding it as they wandered around dumbly. With nowhere else to go, the emotionally crippled young woman ran past the security shack to the administration building. Perhaps she could hide in there until help came, if help ever came.

When she reached it, Tessa found that the door was locked. She pounded on it, openly sobbing as she knew death was upon her. It didn't open, so she ran around the entire perimeter looking for an entrance and finding none. Meanwhile, the Rots had locked onto her and were approaching the administration building from all sides, cutting off any escape. The door came back into view and Tessa launched herself at it again, pounding and yelling for help. Suddenly, the door opened and Tessa fell inside. Calloused hands grabbed and pulled her the rest of the way inside as the door was closed again.

"Thank..." Tessa said looking up, but she didn't get to finish her sentence because a woman screamed and something hit her in the back of the head. She fell forward to the floor and her body was soon overwhelmed with waves of pain. Something sharp hit her in the back, puncturing a lung and emptying her of all breath. Another object smashed her in the back of the head.

"Stop it! Stop it!" a woman with a familiar voice shouted. The attackers backed away, leaving Tessa curled up in a ball and struggling to breathe. A pair of hands picked her up and held her close as the girl continued to cry. "They can't talk, you idiots!"

"But she had those red eyes," someone, a man, whined.

That was when a voice, one that permeated through Tessa's pain and into her brain, spoke up. "She has always had them, since we were young children. I suspect she hid them to prevent this sort of occurrence."

Great, Hunter's still alive, Tessa thought bitterly before coughing up blood.

---

As it turns out, the person who had rescued Tessa was Quistis Trepe, her Introduction to Basic Black Magic Instructor. After casting a Curaga on the medic, Quistis had proceeded to chew out the fellow survivors. Only a handful of people, maybe twenty, had made it into the Administration building. Among them were the four remaining heroes of the Sorceress War and the three security personnel, formerly of the Disciplinary Committee. The headmaster and Dr. Kadowaki were not there.

"...and if you ever do something that stupid again, I'll throw you out there to be eaten alive!" Quistis yelled.

"Instructor," Tessa said quietly, silencing the rest of the waiting area. "What happened here?"

Isn't it obvious? The same thing as Galbadia city.

"I'm not entirely sure," Quistis said. "It started a few days ago when Mr. Calvin Regire, a resident SeeD, was attacked at the train station. It seems some sort of monster had crawled through the train's tunnel," at this Tessa swallowed nervously, remembering how she had thrown Johnny off the train, "and it didn't die until Calvin cut its head off with his axe. Shortly afterward, he became ill. He got really bad, students were treating him since Dr. Kadowaki was out of town, and bit a couple of them. They had to strap him down. Within days, we ended up here with people attacking each other. We think Calvin's illness was involved."

"You're perfectly right," Tessa said, ignoring Shiva. "The same thing happened to us in Galbadia City. The Rots attacked the second we stepped into the city, and we couldn't get out. That's why it took so long to get back."

"Where is everyone else?" a man with a Galbadian accent asked. Tessa looked around until she spied Irvine Kinneas looking at her from under the brim of his cowboy hat. Resting on the floor beside him was a shotgun.

"They're dead," Tessa said. Most people probably would've hung their heads as they spoke those two words, but she didn't. She had made her peace with it.

"ALL?" someone shouted. It was Fujin, the girl with the eye patch. Something made Tessa immediately dislike her.

"No," Tessa said. "there's a vessel in the harbour. On it is a student named Adette Berna. Other than that, they're gone."

A flicker of relief crossed Fujin's face before it became completely void of emotions. It was as plain as day that she was Adette's "significant other."

Jealous are we?

"So Zell and Rinoa are..." Selphie, the perky bitch who had attacked Tessa on her first day at Garden, looked as though she were about to cry. "But how? They're such experienced fighters."

"Zell was killed by some bigwig at Caraway's Mansion."

"No!" Selphie wailed. Flinging herself across the room, she buried her face into Irvine's chest. He awkwardly put his arms around her and shot Quistis a glance. Tessa thought that she was being a drama queen.

"And Rinoa?"

The dominating presence of Squall Leonhart made itself known. With his gunblade in hand, he stepped over to Tessa and motioned for Quistis to move.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Tessa asked. "I told you that she was dead, what more do you need?"

"How she died would be a start," Squall said, keeping his voice in check and his face still.

"A... a Galbadian soldier shot her," Tessa said, careful not to mention Adette. "I..."

Quistis saw how much trouble Tessa was having, but she thought it was because the girl was being emotional and not because she couldn't think of a good lie. "I think you should back off, Squall. The girl did just get here, after all."

"..." was his response as he skulked away.

That was close.

Shut up, Shiva. Now is not the time for me to deal with your crap.

I have a plan.

This should be interesting.