CHILDREN OF DESTINY

Disclaimer: Although I own a copy of Final Fantasy VIII, I don't own the legal rights to it or any characters. Don't bother suing me, I don't have much.

PROLOGUE

I'll be here...

Why?

I'll be here...waiting...

For what?

I'll be waiting...for you...So...If you come here...you'll find me...

I promise.

---

The sky was dark, just a few minutes before sunrise as a sound filled the air, the clanging of metal-on-metal. One of these objects came hurdling to the ground from the sky, a weapon. This weapon was sort of a half-gun, half-sword. The handle was that of a Revolver handgun, but instead of a barrell to fire bullets, there was a long blade about two feet in length. This weapon was called a gunblade. Gunblades came in about 8 different models. This was one of the more basic models, the Revolver. Before long, a fingerless-gloved hand reached out and pulled the weapon out of the ground. This person had brown, shaggy hair. He wore a leather jacket that had thick, white fur around the collar. He left the jacket open, exposing the white undershirt he wore underneath, as well as the silver pendant he wore around his neck. He wore black pants and boots. He had on three belts, one he wore as normal, the other two fell on either side of him, resulting in a criss-cross on his front and back sides. If looks could kill, this young man had a fury in his eyes that could destroy an entire country as he stared down his opponent.

The other young man wore black pants and boots as well. He wore a blue zipped-up vest with a Silver cross across his chest. His body was covered by a big, grey trechcoat. He had short blond hair that was slicked back, except for a small bang on the left side, which hung about halfway down his forehead. He wielded a weapon similar to the other, but the difference was while his opponent had a Revolver model gunblade, his handle was that of a .45 calibur handgun, this model was called Hyperion. The look on this ones face was not that of a serious warrior, but more of a cocky smirk. He stood a good 4 inches above his rival.

Without warning, the two men were once again locked in battle, neither letting the other gain much of an advantage. As it seemed that the brown haird young man seemed to gain some momentum, the blond knocked the others Gunblade right out of his hand. Before it could hit the ground, its owner quickly spun backward, grabbing it again.

"C'mon," Said the taller man, "Is that all you got?"

"You woke me up at the crack of dawn to spar," Said the other, "I'm tired."

"Stop making excuses and fight like a man," tauted the first. With that, the battle raged on again. Once again, the brown haired individual started gaining an advantage when he saw an orange globe of energy appear in his adversary's hand...fire magic. The young man put up his gunblade to block it, but the magic was just too powerful as he felt the heat knock him on his rear.

"Am I getteng better, or are you getting worse?" taunted the blond. As the other person tried to climb to his feet, the blond man had lifted his gunblade into the air. The brown haired person knew what was comming as he shut his eyes and felt his opponent's blade scathe across his face. His blood immediately spilled as he opened his eyes and saw the dark, red liquid hit the ground beneath him. This only fueled his anger as he got up and drug his gunblade on the ground, bringing it up to his opponents face, repaying the favor before he blacked out...

CHAPTER 1: THE JOURNEY BEGINS

The brown haired boy opened his eyes. The last thing he remembered was dueling with his arch rival before blacking out. He could feel a scar starting to form from his left cheek to his right eyebrow, crossing the bridge of his nose. He looked at the only person in the room, a middle-aged, heavy set woman waring a lab coat. He couldn't read the nametag because of his blurred vision, but knew it was the resident Doctor at his military academy, Dr. Kadowaki. Obviously, he was in the infirmary.

"How are you feeling?" She asked. He didn't answer right away, he never did. he paused before giving an ".......Ok." Which was a lie. His forehead hurt like hell, but he didn't tell her that, he wasn't one for conversation, much less more treatment.

"Take it easy next time, you hear?" She said as he nodded and sat up a little bit. "Looks like your eyes are focusing," She continued, "You should be fine. Say your name for me." This was strictly to make sure he didn't have amnesia.

"Squall," He said, "Squall Leonhart."

"Why don't you take it easy in training?" She asked, "Next time, you might not be so lucky."

"Tell that to Seifer." Squall replied, refering to the one that put him where he was.

"Seifer Almasy," She sighed, "Won't listen to anyone, Why dont you ignore him?"

"I can't just run away." Nobody knew Seifer like Squall did. No matter who he stepped on, Seifer always got his way. Squall had too much pride to back down from his rival.

"You wanna be cool, huh?" She said, defeated, "Well, don't get hurt in the process." Squall just rolled his eyes, like I said, he wasn't one for conversation.

"Lets see," She said, "Your Instucter is...Quistis, right?"

"Quistis Trepe, Yeah." He confirmed.

"I'll call her now, Just wait here a minute." She said headed towards the phone, punching in a few numbers. He could hear the Doctor just fine, and the distant voice of his instructor as he layed back down on the bed, putting his arm over his face to shield the sun from his vision.

"Quistis?" Said Dr. Kadowaki, "Come get your student...Yes, yes, his injury's not too serious, but it'll probably leave a scar...Right, now please come by" Dr. Kadowaki then went into another room to check on a sick student.

"Squall...so we meet again." He heared a woman say. He couldn't place her voice, because he has never heard it before in his life. He caught a quick glimpse of her as she left the room. She wore a blue blouse and a long white skirt. She had a green wrap in her arms that cradled her lower back. She had brown hair. She wasn't gon long before he heard the door hiss open again. The woman had on black boots and a knee length black skirt. She wore a black jacked that was adorned with gold trim. She wore thick glasses and her blond hair hung just past her shoulders. This was Squall's instructor. Quistis. As she saw Squall laying on the bed, she gave a sigh before forcing a small smile. Quistis was only 18, just a year older than Squall and the younges insrtuctor there. Squall really had no problems with his instructor, it was just that sometimes, she could nag the paint off the walls. Squall knew that this was going to be one of those times.

"I knew it'd be either you or Seifer." She said. "Come on, let's go. Today's the field exam." The walk back to class was pretty uneventful. Squall payed no attention to those around him, however, several students waved to Quistis as she waved back. She was possibly the most popular instructor.

"Squall, Is there something on your mind?" She said, breaking the silence. There was a small pause before Squall answered.

"Not Really..." They both said at the same time. That was another thing that annoyed Squall to no end. Quistis was able to predict what he would say. Though Squall was annoyed at this, Quistis started to giggle a little bit.

"Whats so funny?" He asked.

"Funny?" She said, "No, no, it's not that! I'm just happy. I feel like I'm beginning to understand my student a little, thats all."

"I'm more complex than you think." He said.

"Then tell me," She said, "Tell me more about yourself." There was another small pause before Squall opened his mouth again.

"It's none of your..." He began.

"...Business!" Quistis ended, annoying Squall again. Squall had enough conversation and walked ahead of Quistis, headed for Class. The classrooms were on the Second Level of the academy, which was known as Balamb Garden.

Balamb Garden was blue in color hand had a shape almost that of a cone. The thing that caught most eyes was the Halo surrounding the top, mostly because there was NOTHING holding it up, it just floated there. There were only Three gardens in the World. Trabia Garden was to the northeast of Balamb Garden, lying just beyond the sea that separated the Balamb Continent and the Trabia Continent, out of the three, Trabia Garden was the smallest. Balamb Garden was just about the same size as the third garden, Galbadia Garden. Each garden served its own unique perpose. Galbadia Garden was more of a military academy than the other two. The students there were trained so that one day they would become members of the Galbadian Army. You didn't have to go there to join the army, but if you Did, you had more of an advantage over those that didn't. Trabia Gardens only real perpose was acidemics, though if they wanted to get a feel for battle, they were transferred to Balmab Garden to apply to become a SeeD. SeeD's were the pride and joy of Balamb Garden. SeeDs were mercinaries for hire, and the source of Balamb Garden's income.

All of Balamb Garden's classrooms were on the Second Floor. The First Floor Split into Eight different sections. Going clockwise, The Dormitory was to the north. Most Cadets and ALL SeeD's stayed in the dorms. That was one of the advantages of being a SeeD, you got your own room. All Cadets usually had a roomate. Next was the Parking Lot. Sometimes, Vehicles would be taken from the Garden to deal with a SeeD mission, other than that, there was really no other perpose for it. To the East was the Training Center, which had Real monsters inside. The Training Center was the only facility open at night, therefore, there was an old ventilation shaft that became what had been known as the "Secret Area" Also in the training center were REAL monsters, mainly just Grats, but there was the occasional T-Rexaur. Next came the library, were everyone could check out books and use them to study. The Front Gate was to the South, then the Infirmary, where the sick and Injured were treated. To the West was the Quad. this is where special events took place. And finally there was the cafeteria, which was usually a mess during meal time, mainly because of the Hot Dogs. Hot Dogs were the most popular food in the garden, but there was a limited supply. Balamb Guarden also had a third floor and a basement, but those were restricted areas. The third floor housed the Headmaster's office, Cadets and SeeDs alike needed permission to go in there. The Basement was said to house the owner of the garden by the name of NORG, who held the title of Garden Master. Supposedly, nobody but the Headmaster had ever seen NORG, and even if that was so, the Headmaster never spoke of him. NORG was so mysterious that many believed him to be purely a myth.

Before much Longer, Squall entered his classroom and took a seat in the back, where he could feel himself being watched. As he glanced over, he saw his arch rival, Seifer Almasy, wearing his trademark smirk across his face as he sat (More like reclined) in his study area. Quistis entered shortly after.

"Good morning, class." She said as she took her seat at the front of the room. "Let's start with todays Schedule." Everyone leaned forward to listen to what she had to say, except for Squall and Seifer, who already knew.

"There seem to have been some rumors flying around since yesterday." She began, "Yes, the field exam for the SeeD candidates will begin later this afternoon. Those not participating and those who failed last week's written test are to remain here in study hall. Field Exam participants will have free time until the exam, just make sure you're in top condition. Meet in the hall at 1600 hours. I'll announce the team assignments there. Any Questions?"

As Quistis continued her speech that Squall already knew, he opened a drawer on his study panel and took out two gems.

"Oh, and Seifer!" She said, getting the cocky gentleman's attention, "Do NOT injure your partner while training. Be careful from now on." With that, Seifer slammed his fist onto his study panel, he would easily get a detention for Squall's scar.

"Field exam participants, I will see you all later." Quistis said. "And Squall, I need to talk to you."

As the class was dismissed, Squall stuffed the Gems into his pockets as he steped over to his instructor, who was chatting among other students. These students called themselves 'Trepies' and self proclaimed themselves as Quistis' own fan club. Yes, Quistis Trepe was THAT popular as an instructor.

"You haven't been to the Fire Cavern yet, have you?" Quistis asked, "You won't be able to take part in today's SeeD exam if you don't pass this prerequisite."

"I was gonna go this morning," thought Squall to himself, "But Seifer..." Before he could think any longer, Quistis' voice snapped him back to reality.

"Do you have a good excuse?" Asked Quistis.

"Not Really..." Said Squall

"Then let's get going," She said, "I'll be waiting for you at the Front Gate in half an hour." She said before leaving. Squall then took out his gems. These Gems were like Diamonds, but they had another gem inside them. These gems came in many different colors, They were the keys to a SeeDs special power. These gems gave an otherwise regular humen the strength of unearthly monsters known as a Guardian Force, or GF for short.

GF's were used through a process called Junctioning, where The Gem would be absorbed into the body, giving him or her the Strength of the mighty GF. With a GF Junctioned, a human could use magic spells, draw extra power from their adversaries, use stocked magic to enhance their abilities, or, in times of Great danger, could summon the GF itself.

Squall had two GF stones. The gems inside were colored Yellow and Blue, representing the magic of Thunder and Ice respectively. Though GFs werent just called "This GF," or "That GF." the GF's had names of their own. Squalls GFs were known as Quezacotl and Shiva.

Quezacotl had somewhat of a glowing body, It looked like a bird, but had no visible face. Quezacotl was a GF of Thunder Magic, and with him junctioned, Squall could use Thunder Magic. Shiva on the other hand, looked almost human, save for her cold blue body and long golden hair. That and the fact that she was about 9 feet tall, with her, Squall could use Ice magic, more particularly, Blizzard spells. When a GF was summoned onto the battlefield, it unleased their own attack of their respective magic power. GFs were what made SeeDs such dangerous opponents. The GFs did have a downside though, they could be knocked out, making it useless in battle until it came to.

Since Squall was headed towards the Fire Cavern, he thought it best to Junction his GFs right now. He closed his fists on both of the gems and concentrated, after about ten seconds, the gems dissapeared, his muscles bulged a little, and he could feel two live beings in the back of his mind. Shiva was definitely going to give him an advantage in the Fire Cavern, since Ice could easily beat the heat of fire. Quezacotl was pretty much just backup, in case Shiva was knocked out. Thunder magic wasn't as effective against fire as Ice was, but it still packed a punch.

As Squall exited the classroom, there was a Cadet running full speed towards him.

"I'm late, I'm late, I'm LATE!" She was only about 5'1", but she was running full speed and slammed into Squall. She fell back on her rear, but Squall hardly budged because of the GFs he had recently junctioned. Squall said not a word as this young woman got to her feet. She had Brown hair down to about her shoulders, then it kind of swept out at the ends.

"There," She said as she got to her feet, "Sorry, I was kinda in a hurry. Oh yeah! Hey, did you just come from that class? Is.......homeroom over?" She was speaking faster than her lips moved, but Squall just gave her a nod.

"Woo...oh no!" She said, "This place is so much bigger than my last Garden." Obviosly, this girl had just transferred from Trabia Garden, Squall heard about the trasfers in advance, the new Trabian students who were trying to become SeeDs

"Oh, hey, hey," She said before Squall could leave. "I just transferred here, Do you think you could give me a tour of this Garden?" Squall still had some time before heading to the Fire Cavern, but not much. though he could show her the directory.

"Sure," He said.

"Whoo-hoo!" She squealed excitedly. Squall took a mental note not to have any form of candy around her, she was hyper enough as it was.

"I have things I need to do," Said Squall, "So all I can really do is show you the directory." With that, they headed towards the Elevator and went down to the 1st floor. Squall showed her how to get to each area, and what it was basically for.

"Any questions?" asked Squall.

"Um, just one," She said, "Whats the Headmasters name?"

"Cid Kramer." Said Squall. "But in his presence, you supposed to address him as 'Headmaster Cid.'" As she left, Squall looked up at the clock, he had 15 minutes before he had to head to the Fire Cavern. He quickly stopped in his Dorm and filled a canteen at the bathroom sink. He was definitely going to need water in that inferno. He strapped the canteen to his belt, grabbed his Gunblade, and headed towards the Front Gate, where Quistis was waiting, just like she said she would.

Quistis was no longer wearing her SeeD uniform, but instead was in Battle gear. She wore a red-orange sleveless shirt and a matching Skirt that went down to her shins. She had two belts on, one for regular perposes, the other mainly for something to hold her weapon, a chain whip. She had on Brown Boots, and dark purple gloves, which were more like sleeves bacause the went up to her shoulders. also, her glasses were gone.

"Did you remember your GFs?" She asked.

"Yes," He replied.

"Remember, as your GF's become stronger, so do you." She continued. "OK, we'll leave as soon as you're ready."