Author's note: I do not own Final Fantasy VIII or its characters. This is AU.

An Unexpected Showdown

Quistis didn't know how it had come to this. Her father had to be absolutely crazy. What was he thinking getting into a gun fight? Thank god that Selphie had contacted her as soon as she heard about it. Hopefully, Quistis would be in time to put a stop to this. The whole idea was ridiculous, and it could get her father killed. What on earth had prompted him to do this?

She tied Shiva up at the hitching post in front of the general store before dashing down the street. Quistis knew that the showdown was supposed to be at the corral on the edge of town. She bit her lip as she headed there. She could hear the sounds of shouting. This was not good at all. Quistis arrived just in time to hear a gun go off. Skidding to a stop, she watched as her father's body fell to the ground.

A cry was torn from Quistis, and she found herself dashing over to her father's body. His shirt was stained with blood, and his eyes were glassy.

"Papa?"

He tried to smile. "Sorry, sweetheart."

"No. No, you can't leave me." She shook his shoulders.

Quistis was aware of other sounds and several more gunshots, but they didn't really register with her. Her father was dead. He had been the only family she had, and now he was gone too. She was on her own. There was shouting over her head, and hands grabbed her shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Miss, but we need to go. Now."

Quistis shook her head. There was another gunshot fired, and someone swore. The next thing Quistis knew she'd yanked to her feet and thrown over a man's shoulder. That was enough to startled her out of her shock. She started to struggle.

"Don't make me drop you." The man's voice was gruff.

She found herself unceremoniously tossed over a saddle. Quistis struggled into a sitting position as the horse took off. A pair of arms steadied her.

"What in Hyne's name do you think you're doing?"

"Keeping you from getting killed or worse. Martine was paid to kill your father for a reason, sweetheart, and he won't leave witnesses behind."

Quistis shuddered and bit back a sob. The stranger wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her tight against him. The man continued to talk.

"I'm not going to hurt you. But we need to get away from Martine. Just stay still."

"Why should I trust you?"

"Well, unless you want to fall off a galloping horse, you don't have much of a choice."

He did have a point. Quistis would just have to deal with this guy when she got off the horse. They would have to stop eventually. She glanced around, trying to get her bearings. She hadn't really been paying attention when they took off, and none of the scenery looked familiar to her now. She didn't even know which direction they had gone in. This was not exactly looking good for her. Carried off who knew where by an unknown man who could very well be an outlaw and with someone chasing them.

For all she knew, the person chasing them could be trying to rescue her. A bullet whizzing over her should dashed that thought, and made the man behind her swear. Quistis felt his grip on her tighten as the horse suddenly wheeled around. The man chasing them wasn't anyone she knew. The only time she'd seen him before was when she'd first arrived at the showdown.

"Give me the girl, Almasy, and you can go on your way."

The man, Almasy, snorted. "Like I'm stupid enough to leave a woman alone with you. Besides, given that you just killed her father, I'm pretty sure she doesn't want to do anything with you except possibly kill you."

Martine smirked. "You're just going to end up dead, Almasy. If I'm lucky, maybe I'll be the one to do it."

"Not today."

And then they were galloping again. Quistis ended up just shutting her eyes and holding on for dear life. It was only when the horse came to a stop that Quistis opened them again. She was lifted down from the saddle, and Quistis found herself face to face with a young man who had a pair of emerald green eyes.