DISCLAIMER: Don't own any of it. Square does. Pooey.

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Somewhere in the not too distant future.

It was stillness and seeming tranquillity that bred fear into the few shattered remnants of Balamb Garden, cowering in Esthar. The explosions, the screams, the blood; those they'd gotten used to, could handle. If someone was shrieking in agony it was at least because they were living and in pain. Silence meant there was no-one alive to make any noise. Silence meant that the Sorceress was floating toward them on wings of death.

Quistis felt the beginnings of the old despair nagging at her senses. Every time she swore that it would be different from the last. And every time it was the same. Balamb had fallen. Timber. Winhill. Galbadia. Now the only scraps of humanity left were huddled together in Esthar and Centra. She had no idea how many millions had been wiped out. The charred and twisted corpses of the last few SeeD's lay scattered around her, the smoke hovering over them in a malignant cloud ready to gather their souls. Of the seven heroes, only she and Selphie were left alive. And she was dying. Quistis cursed, knowing that she had no way of stopping the bleeding; her friend would be dead within ten minutes. Selphie gave a smile that did not reach her now ancient eyes. True smiles were a thing of the past. "Go get Matron."

Edea was also alive, walled inside the Sorceress Memorial. For her own protection. If the plan was to have any hope of succeeding, Edea would be needed. Quistis shook her head anyway. "I'm not leaving you."

"Quisty, you have to. It can't-"

A coughing, retching sound came from their left, and Kiros emerged from the rubble. Laguna was lying stretched out a few feet away, a trickle of blood coming from his mouth, his neck broken. Quistis helped Kiros up. "Are you alright?"

The man nodded. "I am. Is no-one else…?"

Quistis shook her head solemnly. "No."

"I see." He gave a swift assessing look at Selphie's wound. "There is nothing to be done for her." Perhaps in a better time he would not have stated that so plainly, or at least not in front of the dying woman, but there was no time for subtlety anymore, no point in tact. Death did not leave room for politeness.

Selphie spoke again. "Quistis, go. I can slow her down."

"I can't leave you. You know what she'll do to you-"

"It won't make a difference if you're here or not. She'll just kill you as well. Go and stop it."

Quistis took a deep, shuddering breath, and nodded. No tears. They'd all been shed already, even by the time Zell was gone. He'd been the fourth, killed defending Ellone. She was the fifth. "Alright."

She kissed Selphie's forehead, and she and Kiros ran. Ran as fast as their screaming lungs and protesting muscles could carry them, dodging between corpses and rubble lying in what had once been tidy streets. By the time they arrived at the Sorceress Memorial, most of the firestorms had died down. She grabbed her weapon from its holster at her side; even in this moment, with death at her heels and all she knew about to come to an end, she could not hold back the wrench of sadness her heart gave. The weapon smashed through the glass prison holding Edea in suspended animation, and the older woman fell into Quistis's arms. Kiros remained at the entrance to act as a warning, though he could not hold back what was coming, he could at least be of some use.

"Matron! Matron, wake up!"

Edea stirred. "Quisty?"

"Yes, it's me."

Despite the fact that she'd only just come back to consciousness, there was no time to recover. "It's time."

Quistis nodded. "She's here. We need to use the spell."

"You know what you have to do when you get there."

Quistis swallowed and nodded. "Save him. Save Seifer."

There was a bloodcurdling scream that echoed through the streets, only vaguely recognisable as human it carried that much pain. It was Selphie, and she was being tortured. It stopped, only to begin once more a millisecond later. Kiros ran from the entrance. "She's coming."

As if on cue, the screams ceased, heralding Selphie's release into painless death. Quistis closed her eyes and said a tiny prayer for her sister's soul. I'm the only one left now. "When I've gone, get Matron out. Take her as far away as you can from-" her voice was lost as they all ducked from the explosion that rocked the building. Quistis turned with desperation in her blue eyes. "Please, Matron. Do it."

Edea nodded and placed her hands either side of Quistis's head, literally pouring all but a little of her power into the younger woman, along with the knowledge of how to use it. Kiros watched nervously, flinching every couple of seconds as more crashes from outside came. After no more than twenty seconds, Quistis opened her eyes once more. "It is done," she said softly.

"Good luck, my child," Edea murmured.

"Hyne protect you both," she answered. Closing her eyes, she gathered her newly loaned magic and focused on where – or when – she wanted to go. Crackling filled the air, and with no warning, Quistis disappeared in a burst of lightning that seemed to come from within herself. The last stray bolts flitted around the room, leaving Kiros and Edea staring at the spot where she'd just been.

Suddenly there was an almighty crash, louder than the others, coming from directly outside. Then the sound of footsteps. Knowing there was only one – thing – left alive out there, Edea grabbed Kiros's arm. "We must go."

He nodded anxiously. "I second that."

"Hold on." With the miniscule amount of power left in her, Edea initiated the transportation spell that would be their escape.

Just before they vanished in a haze of light, a figure appeared at the entrance. Upon seeing them about to leave, it let out a scream of rage. "No!"

Hyne, why have you forsaken us? Edea completed the spell, and they disappeared, leaving the lone figure to vent her rage on the room. The once pretty face was distorted in hate, Selphie's blood spattered on her face, deceptively dainty hands spread, powerful thrusts of magic battering the remnants of Esthar. "I'll find you! I'll rip you apart!" The hot rage passed, leaving behind cold steel. "The world will fall at my hand."

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A/N: I realise I'm sounding whiny but pleeeeeeeeeaaaaaaase review!