Second Time’s the Charm
Chapter Two: Origins
Quistis looked straight ahead, scanning the terrain. The glare from the sun reflected off the pure white snow, causing her eyes to water and squint. The pine trees became a blur of green and white as she sped past them on her snowmobile. As fetching as the scenery was, Quistis knew Trabia was a harsh continent, and one mistake could leave you stranded alone in the vast expanse of white. Fortunately, she had Zell and Seifer to keep her company on the mission. Her mind flashed back to yesterday’s briefing.
Squall had announced over the PA, apathetic as ever, that he had wanted to see herself, Seifer and Zell in his office. Quistis had never become quite used to going to ‘Squall’s office’. The term seemed so strange to her. Squall Leonhart having his own office from which he worked seem like some abstract concept in a physics book. Curious as to what mission she had been assigned to go on, Quistis hurried to the third floor.
“We have been hired by the township of Lorol in Trabia to track and if possible, exterminate a large monster terrorising the area. It has been described as large, scaled and winged. So the most likely scenario is that you will be facing a dragon. You three will go to Lorol tomorrow morning where you will be briefed by the town council on exactly what they want you to do. Quistis, you’re team captain. Basically, the contract states you are in the employ of Lorol until the attacks stop.” Squall had instructed.
“And what? You expect us to trek across miles of Trabian snow fields and hunt down this monster on our feet? That’ll take forever Squall. I’m not going unless there’s transport.” fumed Seifer.
“You’ll have a snowmobile each. Lorol is providing them. You’ll want warm clothes. It’s probably best to pack tonight.”
“Before I go Commander, one question. Why am I with a Chicken Wuss and a harlot? Can’t I just do this myself?”
“No. You need support, and don’t call Quistis a harlot. It’s offensive.”
“And what about me? Can he call me a Chicken Wuss? That’s offensive too!” squealed Zell.
Everyone walked off, while Zell threw a tantrum.
Quistis laughed silently, returning to the present. As much as she hated to admit it, Seifer wasn’t as vulgar as Zell made him out to be during their chats. Somehow, conversation would always end up on Zell’s favourite topic; Seifer. If his language when talking about Seifer wasn’t as strong as it was, or as derogatory, Quistis would swear Zell had a crush on him.
Now was no time to be thinking of Seifer, Zell or anything else for that matter. The mission at hand required her full attention. They had an area of eight miles square to cover. Eight square miles overrun with Forbiddens, Snow Lions and other savage beasts. She had to stay focused, lest she make a fatal mistake.
So far, they had covered nearly a square mile today. The people of Lorol had not been wrong when they had said the beast was destroying the surrounding area. Trees had been torn down, houses rendered inhabitable, wildlife ravaged. Areas of attack often featured pink snow, a sign that their foe was a bloodthirsty killer. Quistis’ skin crawled as she thought of confronting the beast, and her stomach filled with fear for what may befall her and her team mates.
“Quistis!” shouted Seifer, his voice barely audible over the howling wind rushing past, “There are carcasses over there!”
Indeed there was. Three Mesmerise carcasses lay in the snow. Leafy green pines shaded them, their enormity dwarfing all around them. They were barely recognisable and had it not been for the tell tale blade protruding from what remained of the skull, there would be no way of knowing what the bodies were. Limbs had been torn from the body and flung metres away, and organs spilled out of the torsos. Blood oozed from the gaping wounds and slashes over the torso.
“Blood is still flowing from the wounds… The beast was recently here…” breathed Quistis.
“So we’re getting closer. We need a direction. Look for anything that will point us in the right direction!” barked Seifer through chattering teeth.
“We’re in a thicket of trees right?” stated Zell, “And if this thing is able to fly like the townspeople say, it follows that there’ll be some sort of displacement of tree branches. And if it can’t fly, we’ll find foot prints. So, looking up or down right?”
“The Chicken Wuss does have brains after all!”
“Shut up, Seifer!”
“Don’t!” warned Quistis, her voice dangerous, “If this beast is still around we don’t want to attract it’s attention. If we fight it, we fight it on our terms. Besides, there’s no time for arguing. We need to find this thing before Lorol is ravaged again, lest it destroy the town next time.”
Seifer opened his mouth to argue, but shut it quickly after Quistis gave him a look of pure venom. Zell to crumbled under the look as well, and hurried over to a patch of snow many metres away from the blonde. Satisfied the two men would not clash, she too busied herself with an area in the forest blanketed by snow.
With time to think, the realisation she was terribly cold hit her, and Quistis began to shiver madly. Quistis wrapped her arms around her body, covered by a thick, comfortable snow jacket. The pale pink garment did well, but the biting cold still found a way to penetrate the many layers separating the female and the freezing air. The pale skin of her face was flushed with red, having been chilled by the ferocious winds and numbed by the cold. A thin layer of snow had already formed atop the matching pink beanie Quistis wore in the short space of time the SeeDs had stopped. As she stopped to scrutinise the area around her, Quistis realised just how magnificent the continent of Trabia was. The majestic pines who rose high into the air, their magnificent green enhanced by the pure white snow. The snow which lay upon the pines, slightly melted so the light refracted on contact, creating a magical light show. The mountain ranges extending up towards the heavens, beautifully purple against the blue sky, topped with snow. Her ‘moment’ came to an abrupt end with a shout coming from about twenty metres behind her.
“Hey guys! I’ve found where it left! There’s a big hole in the forest canopy.” called an excited Zell.
Quistis stalked over the site which Zell suspected to be the beast’s exit point, slightly annoyed she had to tear her eyes away from the exquisite landscape. She gazed upwards, into to gaping hole above her. Seifer whistled as he moved himself directly beneath the opening.
“That’s one big monster.” he marvelled, “Do you think it went directly to its lair?”
“Well, we can only hope.” replied the instructor.
“It went thatta way, you can tell by the angle of the hole.”
Seifer indicated to his right, a north westerly direction. It would take them towards the mountains, which made sense. The Trabian Mountains were riddled with caves, perfect for an enormous dragon to occupy and thrive in. With each passing second, Quistis became surer and surer that was where the beast would be found.
“Okay, it’s settled. Let’s head for the mountains. It makes sense for him to be there if it’s a dragon. They love caves. We’ve only got around four hours of light left, so let’s make the most of it!”
===
The trip to the mountains was shorter than expected, only taking forty-five minutes. It went smoother than anticipated, almost like fate wanted them to reach the cavernous expanse as quickly as they could. The terrain was flat, with not a tree in sight, nor a monster or building. The information flowed through Quistis’ head, being processed. If a terrible beast lived here, it made sense that no other monsters would dwell in the area out of fear. The stony mountains grew larger and larger with every metre the trio covered, and so did their imposition. Quistis, Seifer and Zell were close enough now to spot the caves that dotted the huge elevations. They were nearly there, and the investigation would soon begin.
Upon arrival, Quistis wondered how they would ever find where the beast lived. The sheer number of caverns would take months to explore! There had to be a sign, a clue to point her in the right direction.
“It makes sense that a dragon would want the largest cave, right? They’re hardly the daintiest little things in the world.” Zell thought aloud, “So should we start with that frickin’ big one over there?”
Quistis turned to look where Zell was pointing. The huge, gaping chamber of rock he indicated certainly did look to be the biggest one in the vicinity, and she had to agree with his logic. A dragon would certainly want a cave with space it could move about in.
“I agree Zell. Let’s move in and survey the cave. Seifer, any problems?” she queried.
“Chicken Wuss has a point, yeah. Let’s get inside so we can get rid of this problem.”
Zell looked positively furious, angered by Seifer’s favourite insult. Quistis groaned as she brought her hand to her forehead. Why did Squall, or whoever formed the party for the mission, put Seifer and Zell in the same team? Their mutual dislike for each other was famous throughout all of Garden, and Squall knew better than anyone of it. Putting those two together was like lighting a match in a room full of hydrogen gas. Disaster. Action was necessary to prevent a punch up that Quistis felt was about to erupt.
“Seifer! Zell! Can it! We have much more important things to worry about, as I keep telling you. Stop these petty fights and get along for the sake of the mission. Otherwise, I’ll make it my mission in life to have both your SeeD ranks reduced to one.” snarled Quistis.
“But Quistis-”
“I don’t care what he called you, Zell. Be the bigger man and get over it. If you didn’t get all offended over the slightest thing, you wouldn’t be as big a target for him.”
Seifer snickered.
“And you, Seifer Almasy! You need to learn to keep your mouth shut!”
Seifer’s face darkened, adopting a mutinous look. However, he had the sensibility not to argue with the team’s captain. A strained silence fell over the group.
“Now, can we please just work together? We need to get this mission over and done with.” asked Quistis, her voice softer now.
“I guess.” muttered Seifer.
“Fine.” said Zell, slightly embarrassed.
“Good. Now let’s explore this cavern.” Quistis pronounced, and made her way over to the opening in the mountain as the two men followed suit.
The climb was more dangerous than it looked. A lack of safe climbing surfaces made the journey more difficult, and turned it into a trial. Hugging the mountain wall was all the three SeeDs could do to maintain balance, and hope they would not lose their footing. The blanket of snow covering everything did not help either, creating a slippery surface and reducing friction between boot and ground. What looked like it would be a five minute walk turned into fifteen minutes of fear and anxiety. Never had Quistis been happier to walk into a dank, dark cave. The moment she walked in, the pungent smell of dead flesh hit her, causing her eyes to water.
“I think this is the one. I can smell the dead meat. Oh, it’s foul.” groaned Quistis, her voice sounding strange due to her nose being held shut.
The cave was extremely dark, and necessitated the use of a torch. Now illuminated, Quistis could see the cave in its entirety. The huge entrance belied the size of the cave. The inside was colossal. The cave was round, carved from black rock and filled with skeletons and dead bodies. Quistis estimated the cave to be around one hundred metres in diameter, and ten metres high. The number of bones lying on the ground was enormous as well, lining the walls of the cave. Convinced this was the place they were looking for, Quistis turned to her companions and made for the exit.
“Where are you goin’, Quistis?” asked Zell.
“We need to get out of here. If we’re to take this thing down, there’s no way we can do it in here. It’s where it lives and were trespassing. It’ll be furious and more savage for it. We need to get out-”
The last words of her speech were drowned out by an eerie sound from outside the cave. All three rushed to the entrance to investigate, only to hear screams and see Lorol being razed. Buildings seemed to be vanishing into thin air, and the town was slowly shrinking as a result.
“Lorol’s under attack! It must be the dragon!” shouted Zell.
“It can’t be, Zell! Look at what’s happening to it! The buildings are just… Disappearing!” screamed Quistis, “We need to get over there now, and see if we can do anything. If we get there in time.”
“But our mission, we can’t just abandon it!”
“There’s no point continuing the mission if there’s no town to save!” shouted Quistis in reply, looking for a way to get to their transport more quickly, “We’ll have to slide down here to get to the snowmobiles quickly. Come on.”
And with that, she slid down the slope.
===
“Oh Hyne…” whispered Quistis, overcome with shock.
The town of Lorol had been devastated. The entire township had literally melted. Buildings, or at least what used to be buildings, had been liquified. A dark, thick, syrupy liquid covered everything. Small mounds of bricks dotted what used to be the town, steaming presumably from the heat that must have melted them. The most disturbing thing though, was the lack of people.
“Where is everyone? Where have they gone? What happened to them?” panicked Quistis, pacing all over, constantly changing direction.
“I… I think they’ve…” Zell paused, looking like he was going to be sick, “Sorry. I think they’ve been incinerated…”
He indicated to the numerous piles of ashes inside the remains of buildings and the piles lining the streets. The piles contained charred fragments of what appeared to be bone.
“But how?! HOW? There was no fire, no explosion, no sign of anything that would produce heat! You’d need a massive amount of energy to do something of this scale! But there was no sign of anything! Nothing! Just screams!”
“Quistis. Calm down. The mission is over now; we need to report to the nearest Garden, which is Trabia.” said Seifer calmly.
Quistis turned to face him, and regained her composure somewhat.
“You’re right Seifer. We need to report this. An entire town has been liquified, and all its inhabitants reduced to ashes. We can’t stay here anyway. What if whatever, or whoever, did this occurs or comes by again?”
“Exactly. Trabia is to the East, about 30 miles. We should have enough fuel, but failing that we’ll need to walk.”
All three SeeDs shaky, they mounted the snowmobiles and headed towards the half built Trabia Garden. Behind them, the sun was setting, casting an orange haze over everything. Hoping, wishing that when she glanced back at Lorol, she would see the township completely intact, rotated her head in that direction. Quistis saw nothing but ruin. The reality of what happened hit her and she broke down. Tears streaming down her face for every living thing within the town which had perished. All their dreams, hopes and aspirations destroyed. Their potential never realised. She couldn’t appreciate the beauty of Trabia at sunset, couldn’t think of anything but the tragedy of Lorol.
“No.” she thought, “I’m a SeeD. I need to forget this. At least, until I arrive at T-Garden…”
===
The construct which was to be the new Trabia Garden appeared on the horizon as Quistis, Seifer and Zell made a turn. The trip had been one full of despondence and sorrow. Removing the horror of Lorol from their minds seemed an impossible task. They had left the town far behind now, but the memory of what they had witnessed had burned itself inside the minds of the three mercenaries. Guards outside Trabia Garden’s gates greeted them and ushered them inside, eager to flaunt the new building to the foreign SeeDs. Trabia Garden was a state of the art complex now, designed and engineered by Esthar. There was no time to dwell on it now though. The Headmaster needed to be addressed, and Balamb Garden informed of Lorol. Looking for any SeeD at all, Quistis spotted one.
“You! I’m Instructor Trepe from Balamb Garden. We need to speak to the Headmaster right away, and our own Garden. It’s urgent. Lorol is no more.”
===
“So you’re saying the entire town was liquidated?” asked the Trabia Headmaster incredulously.
“Actually, we believe Lorol was melted.” replied Seifer.
“Yes. So our mission is over now, and we need to contact our Garden to inform them.” added Quistis, exhausted.
“Indeed, indeed. In fact, I think it would be best if both Garden’s discussed this… Yes, that would be best.” said the Headmaster cryptically.
“Why?” asked Zell sharply.
“You’ll see soon enough. This matter cannot go ignored, and because of the strange circumstances surrounding it, all Gardens need to know. You may rest here for the night. Felos will take you to the dorms.” the Headmaster indicated to the SeeD on his right, “I’ll contact both Balamb and Galbadia Gardens, and call you over the PA tomorrow for a meeting. Dismissed.”
Quistis walked out of the office, which she thought was much more impressive than Cid’s. It overlooked the Trabian Mountains and was exquisitely furnished. It accommodated two comfortable sofas and another three luxurious arm chairs. The wooden desk, behind which the Headmaster sat, featured ornately carved panels lined with what appeared to be gold. From the high ceiling hung a crystal chandelier, shining its superb light on the entire office. However, the promise of a bed and a shower was far better than admiring a Headmaster’s office.
===
The next morning, Quistis woke later than usual. Her sleep had been terrible, filled with thoughts of Lorol. Nightmares replaced dreams, nightmares of the residents of Lorol being melted, tortured, dying. Three times that night she had broken down and sobbed into her pillow. This whole mess was so tragic, and Quistis couldn’t seem to forget it. The PA chimed, and a voice filled the room.
“Could the three SeeD from Balamb Garden please make their way to the second floor conference room in the next ten minutes? Could the three SeeD from Balamb Garden please make their way to the second floor conference room? Thank you.”
Another chime, and the announcement ended. Quistis wondered what to wear, she only had her snow gear, a singlet and underwear. Bleary eyed, she gazed around the room and found a SeeD uniform hanging from the door, with a note attached. Without her glasses, Quistis had difficulty reading but after studying the card she managed to make out the words “Thought you might need this”. She hurriedly threw it on and made her way to the conference room. With the reconstruction of Trabia, a decision had been made to increase the size of the building and redesign it completely, causing Quistis distress. She no longer knew where anything was, and had to be in a conference room in five minutes.
“Great.” she muttered, “I’m lost in Trabia Garden and I have a stinking conference in five minutes.”
She looked around, and realised that staring her in the face was a map.
“Nice one, Quistis. There’s a map in front of you, so you have a nervous breakdown.”
===
The conference was attended by more people than Quistis had expected. Squall, Cid, Xu and a member of Garden Faculty represented Balamb, Martine and three others from Galbadia, while Headmaster Dori, Felos and two SeeDs represented Trabia. Headmaster Dori spoke first.
“Ah, Instructor Trepe. Could you please take a seat with the party from Balamb?”
Nodding, Quistis made her way over to her friends from Balamb. She sat and leant over to Squall.
“What in Hyne’s name is going on here?” she hissed at Squall, determined to get an answer.
“You’ll find out soon enough. I’m not meant to tell you yet.” Squall whispered back.
“Well, I think we’re all here, yes? Let us begin. Squall, if you would.” announced Cid.
Squall gave the man a bored look, stood up and made his way to the centre of the room.
“As most of you know, SeeD has been monitoring all of Gaia since Time Compression to prevent any hostile activity from Sorceresses, both to protect Gaia’s citizens but also to protect Sorceresses. We don’t need them assailing citizens, nor do we need anyone attacking them. Strange events have been happening lately; The freezing of Cralle off the coast of Esthar, Mortis being lifted twenty metres into the sky, and now Lorol has been melted. We believe that these events are connected. We cannot find any reason for these events besides this; a rogue Sorceress. There is no other reasonable explanation. Not even Esthar can suspend a town of fifteen thousand people in mid-air. The melting of Lorol without producing flames, and the ice storm in Cralle are near impossible. Therefore, SeeD has decided that it must track down this Sorceress as soon as possible and detain her. A group of six elite SeeDs will be deployed to investigate and hopefully capture the Sorceress. All Garden are to monitor the situations on their respective continents, and any information at all is to be shared with the two other Gardens. This must be resolved before something which could destroy all of Gaia occurs. Thank you.”
The Commander returned to his seat, slightly embarrassed. Quistis looked at him in disbelief.
“There has been Sorceress activity all over Gaia? Why didn’t you tell us, Squall?” she asked, a little hurt she had not been told after all they had been through.
“Like I told you, I wasn’t allowed to. Now we need to return to Balamb Garden. We have a briefing.”
“What? I’m going on the mission?”
“We all are. The old group. You, Rinoa, Zell, Selphie, Irvine and I. We’re the six elite SeeD being dispatched to capture the Sorceress.” grinned Squall.
Quistis again gave Squall a look of disbelief. He was grinning. This was all too new for her. A grinning Squall was beyond weird.
“That’s fabulous, Squall. The old gang together. But tell me this. Since when did you smile?”
Squall look taken aback, and soon his standard expressionless face was back. Quistis laughed.
“That’s the Squall I know.”
“Ha ha. Funny, Quistis.”
“It is! It truly is!” laughed Quistis, “Oh, don’t look at me like that! Think of the fun we’ll have together! Well, as much fun as you can have tracking down a crazed Sorceress…”
“Hence why we should return to Garden. There’s a crazed Sorceress on the loose. We need to be briefed now. Garden’s waiting nearby, so come as soon as you can.”
“Oh. You came in Garden?”
As she said it, Squall was already stalking off, back to his home. Realising she had better do as well, Quistis made for the dorm she had slept in last night, collected her things and made for Balamb. Soon, things would be back to the way they were. All she had to do now was endure a briefing. Compared to that, catching a Sorceress was child’s play.
===
A note from the slightly eccentric author: Woot! Chapter Two is done. Finally. Keep in mind I did write this in a bit of a stupor (Most was written in the afternoon, but I was dead. Some was written at night as I couldn’t sleep. Guess where.), so I wasn’t “with it”. But! The plot is actually underway now! When I say underway, I mean only just started. And I couldn’t resist having a chapter where Quistis is the main focus. I am a self confessed Trepie. Keep reading, and review! I need them to guide my writing!
Disclaimer: I own none of these characters, except those I created. I also do not own any locations, terms, etc. Unless I made it. If I did own this stuff, Quistis would be in a helluva lot more FMVs in the game, and you would have the option to control her rather than Squall.
Also, sorry for the pretty generic format for each character. There was a method to my madness though as I tried to let you see how characters interacted and how they thought. Or at least my interpretation of them. Woo for my insanity.
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