Final Fantasy 8 :
   Before they were Hero's
               
         
             
         "Irvy! Irvy! Let's go light FIREWORKS!! Boom!", the little 
three year old Selphie shouted excitedly.
         " Ok Sefie! FIREWORKS! Bang!", little Irvine replied taking 
Selphie's hand.
   The two ran down the stone steps together to meet the others. 
" We gonna get in twuble!! Matwyn will get mad....", Zell told the 
others.
      "Hey... aren't we missin Sqwally and Seifer? Where are dey?", 
Quistis asked getting some sticks and rubbing them together try to make a 
fire.
                Meanwhile...
    "Sqwally... Where are you? If you make me miss the fire works!", 
Seifer shouted.
     ".....Sis..?...Where ever you are I'm gonna be okay by 
myself....don't worry...", Squall thought as he sat outside the entrance to the 
orphanage.
    Seifer ran out and grabbed Squall by the arm and led him to the 
fireworks. "Why'd you start all weady!!"
    " Just shut up and enjoy the fireworks Seifer!," Quistis replied 
angrily.
        Squall was just starring off in the direction of the fireworks. 
He was to busy thinking about Sis to enjoy the fireworks.
          "Seifer, be more like Sqwally and enjoy the fireworks now 
that your here!", Quistis said again as she saw Seifer go to hit Selphie 
because he was bored.
    "Sis...where are you....? Why doesn't anyone else care that your 
gone...?", Squall thought to himself.
                           \.........LATER........./
         Irvine walked over to Squall who was outside in the rain 
starring off again. " What are you doing?...It IS raining ya know....What 
goin on inside yer head?"
    "..............Why?......"
          " We gettin worried bout ya...."
  "......Sis......."
                  "You need to move on...Not to forget bout er just 
move on......"
       ".....Stop worrying......................",Squall said then 
looked at Irvine in a way that said,(I cant forget...)
                After that there was total silence, Irvine stopped 
questioning Squall and the both of them just stared out into the rain.
         Squall could now tell that everyone did miss Sis very much and 
had to try hard not to show it. Everyone had a person they cared about 
and didn't want to see crying because they were. Like Irvine had to 
make sure Selphie didn't see him being mournful or she would feel sad 
maybe worse.
         
    Matron the person who looked after the orphanage ran out to the two 
young boys. " You two are going to catch the flue. You can't avoid 
punishment for using the fireworks by standing out here."
     Selphie called Irvine, "Irvy lets play! Come on!"
                " Bye Sqwally, Matwyn."
   Squall looked over at Matron almost in tears, " I can't find 
Sis....Is she ever gonna come back?...."
       Matron looked at him with a kind face and hugged him.
  When Squall and Matron finally came back into the orphanage everyone 
seemed to be asleep. It was past there bed time. Matron wiped a tear 
off Squall's face and put him to bed then went to bed in another room 
herself.
     Zell got out of bed and ran outside. Everyone really wasn't 
sleeping and got up and started to talk. Except Squall who didn't want to 
upset Matron after she had comforted him so he stayed awake but didn't say 
anything.
   Quistis got up and ran outside to Zell who was sitting on a rock 
crying.
" What's wrong Zell....? Why are you crwyin?...", Quistis sat down 
beside Zell and tapped on his back.
    " I...I heard dat we are gonna be dopted......",Zell sniffled.
  " What's so bad bout dat...?...", Quistis asked.
       " Well....I be dopted by myself so are you....Seifer and Sqwally 
gonna be together though.... Sefie and Irvy dopted too...but not 
togeder...."
      "All....alone....no...", Quistis started crying too.
 Soon everyone had heard the news so they decided to sleep so the 
morning would come faster and they could ask Matron about it.
   Squall thought, " If I cant stay here I cant wait for Sis to come 
back....I'll be all alone..."
    Before Matron got up the children did so they could decide who 
would ask Matron about being adopted. They decided to let Selphie ask 
because she was the cutest one there so Matron couldn't lie to her.
 When Matron got up and they had breakfast Selphie decided that that 
was the time.
  " Scuse me Matwyn...Can I talk to you ayone peas....",Selphie asked 
while tugging on Matrons black dress.
  Matron picked her up and took Selphie to her room. " What's wrong, 
your almost in tears...? Did someone tease you?"
   Selphie replied, "No no! They didn't do anything....I need to ask 
you something...."
    Selphie told her what Zell had heard and asked what would happen to 
herself and Irvine.
     " I'm afraid what Zell heard is true.... And that you and Irvine 
are being adopted separately... I'm so sorry.....", Matron explained.
    Selphie hugged Matron tightly then went to tell the others. That 
day everyone pretty much was with Matron and each other. 
    Selphie and Irvine clung together.
        "I don't wanna leave...I wanna stay with you and Matron and 
everyone!", Selphie told Irvine.
       " I look for you and write to you I find you! I 
promise...!",Irvine replied trying to sound brave and hiding his tears.
    The next day there was a knock at the door. Matron answered it and 
found that a woman had come for Zell.
       "Hello. I'm Mrs. Dintch. Where's Zell he's not with this group 
of children..?", Mrs. Dintch asked in a kind voice.
   " Dare's no Zell here...",Selphie said.                                                              
" Yes there is. Do you children know where he's hiding?", Mrs. Dintch 
asked.
   They had hidden Zell behind Squall's bed. Mrs.Dintch saw his spiky 
hair and went to go pick Zell up. But Squall stood infront of the bed 
and wouldn't let her through.
   " That's my bed...can ya not go near my bed peas..?", Squall said.
         Mrs.Dintch went to reach for him but Squall stepped on her 
foot.
 Seifer thought he was missing out on the action so he decided to help 
and he bit Mrs.Dintch's finger.
   " Oww! Ahh!......",Mrs. Dintch stepped back.
  Matron ran over and picked up Squall and Seifer. "Mrs. Dintch, I'm 
sorry...They have a pact I guess. Let me talk to the other children and 
you can talk to Zell in private.
   Zell sat on the bed and noticed just then how nice the person who 
was going to adopt him was. "You....look nice...."
    "You look nice too. I think I know what your going through...but in 
the end it will turn out pretty well. If you love your friends that 
much your bound to meet them again. And I don't think are little town in 
Balamb is so bad. When you grow up if you want you can go to Balamb 
garden which is right beside the town.", Mrs. Dintch smiled.
   ".....! Did you say Balamb Garden? My two other friends are being 
adopted to that place!!...I don't feel that bad anymore...thank 
you...",Zell replied and smiled back.
   Soon everyone went there separate ways. Being torn away from each 
other seemed to be the worst thing that could ever happen.

                Meanwhile in Deling City a little girl their age had 
just woken up from her nap.............
   "Howhahh...Psst! Angelo! Wake up.", the girl crawled to the foot of 
her bed and gently shook her dog.
   Angelo gave a yawn then licked the girl happily.
     "Hey! Ha ha! Come on I smell lunch.", the girl sniffed the air 
then followed the sweet aroma to the kitchen.
   A woman in a red dress and an apron was baking donuts. 
     " Why hello little Rinoa. Did you have a good nap?", Rinoa's mom 
asked then gave her a hug.
   " Had a vury good nap! Donuts for lunch!?", she asked.
" Nope. Not for lunch but for desert tonight. Your lunch is on the 
table in the dining room sweetheart.", She replied pointing towards the 
dining room.
   " Okay! But when daddy comes back he's gonna eat em allll up!"
" Fine, you convinced me. You can have one with your lunch."
     Rinoa's mom carried her into the dining room and sat her on a 
chair. She placed a donut on a separate plate beside her spaghetti.
  Rinoa licked her lips and started eating. Her mother smiled then 
started back to tend to the rest of the pastries she was making.
     Rinoa tossed at meatball to Angelo then ate the rest of her meal. 
She looked up a the crystal chandelier and the candles on it. She 
looked around at the paintings of her mother and father on the wall.
   She jumped out of her seat and went into another room. The room was 
huge with a marble floor and many different comfortable chairs. She sat 
in the chair with a magazine on it. She hadn't seen it before. It was 
entitled Timber Maniacs. 
  She looked in it and started to read:
         Deling city is a great place! It has tons of entertainment and 
shops.
    But just the building in the city itself are beautiful! 
       When your passing through be sure to stay at the lovely 
Galbadian Hotel. The beds are very comfortable and the hotel is just up the 
street from the item store and a place to remodel your weapons.
     The best thing in Deling city is the entertainment at the hotel. A 
woman named Julia Heartilly sings there. She has a great voice! 
      The last I stopped at Deling all these things that I have talked 
about were there, but things may change so just hope that nothing will 
ever change in Deling City!
              Rinoa thought, " Daddy must have wrote this since it says 
such great things about mommy!"
   Then Rinoa continued to find that it had been written by a man named 
Laguna Loire. She kinda felt mad at Laguna because her father didn't 
write the article. Then she turned the page and saw a picture of him. He 
looked very kind so she forgot about how she was mad at him and started 
to read more.
   Little Rinoa sat there for hours reading. She never really went 
outside Deling city or even across the street from the mansion she lived 
in. She was getting to know everything about the world around her. 
   After she finished the magazine (which was really very thick.) she 
wondered if her mother and father had anymore. The issue she read was 
only about Deling and Esthar. But it had so much information about those 
two places that if she went to Esthar by herself she could find her way 
easily. Then again some pages were totally dedicated to Laguna. He 
seemed to like flattering himself.
    Rinoa hopped out of the chair carrying the magazine with her.
She put the magazine on the table in the kitchen and tugged on her 
mother's dress.
   "Hey!....I mean excuse me, do ya...you have anymore magazines like 
this one?...With Mr. Laguna in it!"
  "!? You said Laguna...? Laguna Loire!?", Her mother asked.
 "Yeppers!!....Yes....",Rinoa replied.
      " Oh....My....Well to answer your question, no...",she replied 
hastily.
  "To bad, I really liked...enjoyed reading the one we have too...."
       "I want you to forget everything you have read...I don't want 
you to read Timber Maniacs ever again!"
   "But...why?...."
              "No buts, just to what I have told you. And throw that 
magazine away right now!"
   "Bu-...I don't understand! I like Timber whateveracs......!"
         Rinoa's mother took the magazine, ripped it up, then threw it 
away,             "Now Rinoa no more talk about that magazine or 
Laguna...He did a very bad thing to mommy....",she added to herself, "He left 
me......he never got to here me sing.....",she sighed.
      "Yoo mean!!", Rinoa yelled and ran up to her room.
   Rinoa stayed up in her room for hours. Suddenly she heard the door 
open, her father was home! It must have been dinner time by then because 
Rinoa's father always came home at dinner time.
   She wondered what her mother would say to her father and what they 
would do. Would they punish her, buy her something, or talk to her? She 
wished that they would just come to her room and talk to her about it.
   She wanted to know why her mother didn't like Mr. Laguna. She heard 
foot steps coming up the stairs. Her father tried to open the door but 
it was locked.
   She heard her mother take a hairpin and unlock the door. The door 
opened. Her parents faces looked very kind and concerned, she could tell 
that she wasn't getting punished or getting a new toy, they were going 
to talk to her about it. She got a little happier.
  Her father and mother sat down beside her and put their hands on her 
shoulders.
      " please don't be mad at your mother right now. That Laguna and 
her had known each other and things happened between them, some good, 
some bad.", Her father explained.
    She could tell he had just gotten home and was very tired and 
sweaty. She saw some donut on his face that he had failed to clean off. She 
looked at him in a king way and hugged him, kind of motioning that he 
could go now and she wasn't mad at her mom.
     Her father kissed her mother on the forehead than left her and 
Rinoa alone together. 
   "Would it be okay to tell me what happened...?"
        " I think I want to wait to tell you about Mr.Laguna...Is that 
all right?"
   " Yeah...But will I ever know?...I will right?.."
         " Of course, when you get older and can understand what I will 
be telling you without asking so many questions. Do you understand?"
  " Yes...", she smiled, "I just hope I'll be older soon..."
 They both giggled. Then they hugged each other.
     Her mother went to turn the doorknob but stopped and turned 
around. She reached into her dress pocket and unfolded a piece of paper, she 
smiled than placed the paper on Rinoa's dresser.
   When her mother left Rinoa went over to see what she had placed on 
her dresser. It was a picture of Laguna Loire. Rinoa just smiled then 
called out to her mother, "Is there any donuts left!?"
   " No your father ate the rest...but I did hide some for 
you...",Rinoa's mother walked into her room with a plate of donuts.                                                                                             
   " I told you father would try to eat them all!"
" Yes, I remember you warning me after your nap..."
         
          In a place far from Deling City lay Trabia Garden where 
Selphie now resided, alone and hating it.
    She missed Irvine and her friends...mostly Irvine but she didn't 
want to admit it to herself. She would tell her friends about Irvine, her 
friends, Matron, and the life she used to live. She couldn't decide if 
she liked her old life better than her new life.
    Selphie sat on her bed studying for her next class. Her roommate 
ran in. 
 "Do you know what time it is!? Do ya!? Two minutes till class!! Were 
going to the training center today! You dont want to be late for that do 
you? We may even get to fight a monster in there....like a T rexaur 
!!!!!!"
    " Well I guess we better get going then! Ummm...We would get there 
really fast if we use your flyin skate board thingy...!"
    The boy jumped on the thing Selphie described happily.
" Great idea come on and hold on to me...This will be fun!!"
      "Yay!! Lets go Ron!"
Ron and Selphie skate boarded to the class room but no one was there. 
They both saw a poster on the bulletin board that said:
     WE WENT TO THE TRAINING CENTER TO FIGHT FOR THE FIRST TIME!!
        Then the whole class except Selphie and Ron had signed their 
names.
 Selphie took a pen and wrote Ron and her name. Then she hopped back on 
the board with Ron.
     " We gotta go to the training center!!"
 "yeah Ron step on it!!"
      When they got to the training center Ron hid his board behind a 
bush.
They ran to the left thinking the class probably went this way because 
there were less T rexaurs roaming about the area.
    " Yeah...soo...no T rexaurs this way...good, I dont think I could 
fight one without the instructor here.."
  " Me neither Sefie.. I just made up a new nickname for you!"
Ron calling her Sefie was like a harsh reminder of the friends she 
would most likely never see again.
     "...Please dont call me that,okay?"
         " But why? You think its really corny or embarrassing?"
 " No! It's the coolest! Just please dont okay..?"
     " Whatever you say!"
 Soon they heard a roar. Not a grat roar, not a lion roar....,a T 
rexaur roar.
    "Ahhh!! RON!!! I thought you said there were less monsters here!"
" Oh no! I knew I should have studied harder.....!!!!!"
       " Ahh! Here comes a T Rex! We'll never outrun it we have to 
fight it!"
"But Ron I'm scared!!", Selphie screamed as Ron started bouncing back 
and forth getting hyped up.
   Selphie muttered, " Here goes!"
 The T Rex tried to swing it's tail at Selphie and Ron but they jumped 
over it. The T Rex roared loudly making Ron and Selphie fall over.
  Their instructor heard screams and came running. She saw Selphie and 
Ron and ran toward them leaving the rest of the class at the secret 
area for safety.
   Selphie and Ron saw her coming and quickly got up. Selphie wanted to 
show her instructor that she could do it and casted a blizzara spell. 
Then a blind and sleep.
   Since the T Rexaur was now sleeping they all hammered at It with 
blizzara spells and soon they had won the battle together.
   Selphie and Ron shook hands then hugged the instructor tightly.
" I was studying ten Ron got me and said we were late so we hopped on 
his skate board thingy and rode to the classroom but no one was there!", 
Selphie started as she cried.
  " So we hopped back on my skateboard thingy I was borrowing from one 
of the older students and rode to the training center then hid it in a 
bush! Then we went the wrong way thinking you went that way cause less 
monsters were there but I was wrong so we got in a fight with a T 
Rexaur!", Ron added hugging the instructor very tightly.
  " The T Rexaur swung his tail and roared really loud knocking us 
down, but when we saw you running to help us at least I felt the courage to 
get up and fight!", Selphie said proud of herself.
   " You know, I missed you two very much and I'm very proud of you but 
you broke some rules trying to get here...You might get in trouble if 
someone saw you...Of course I wont tell..", she smiled with glee.
   
.................................................................................
            Mean while back in Galbadia Garden where Irvine had been 
adopted he was a very popular student among the girls he refused to get 
too close to them because he didn't want to hurt Selphie...And 
himself...
  There was a knock on Irvine's dormitory door.
     " Come on out!...Or I'm comin in!!", a little blonde pigtailed 
girl came rushing in.
   Irvine was laying asleep on his bed. A picture laid face down on his 
heart.
 " Guess who's here to wake you up sleepy?...Jewels is here!", Jewels 
whispered.
   She was Irvine's best friend and Irvine knew it but failed to admit 
it to himself that he would probably never see his old best friend, 
Selphie again.
  Jewels saw the picture laying face down on him and picked it up to 
look at it. It had Irvine holding hands with someone on the photo. Little 
did she know the little girl in the picture was Selphie.
  Irvine started to awaken. He reached for the photo but it wasn't 
there he leaped up out of his bed and started taking off the sheets looking 
for it. He failed to notice Jewels holding the photo behind him.
   " That girl's pretty...who is she?", Jewels asked curiously.
 Irvine jumped and turned around. Jewels handed him the photo and he 
grabbed it then looked closely at it to make sure it hadn't been harmed. 
Then he just stared at Selphie's face in a daze. 
"Sel-phie....Selphie...Sefie."
               He started to cry. As he cried he told Jewels about his 
life at the Orphanage. Then he told her in grave detail how he felt 
about Selphie and when they were separated.
      " You gotta help me find her! Please! Help me! Your-your my best 
friend..", Irvine then realized something. Selphie was more than a best 
friend so it was all right for him to have a different best friend.
   Jewels looked at him then smiled cheerfully, " Of course!! What do 
you think I am an evil heartless beast! Of course!"
  She brought Irvine to her room where they sat and started to talk 
about how they would make all this possible.
     " Ok! Now that were here Jewels what do you think? Do you have any 
idea how to get Sefie's address?"
  "Well...I dont know...hmm...WAIT!! I know! I have an aunt who lives 
somewhere near here! She been all the way around the world! She has 
phone books and pamphlets and everything! Maybe she has the phone book to 
Trabia Garden!"
  "How do you know she was going to Trabia? I never told you that..."
      "You were saying it in your sleep yesterday afternoon. I just put 
everything together to come up with the answer! Aint I smart! I bet 
I'll be an awesome instructor some day!"
   " Sure you could be a good instructor, but definitely not a great 
instructor...."
  "Why! Even the older students and instructors think I'll be great...! 
So there!! Why dont you?"
   " Cause ya said aint in your sentence instead of aren't."
 "Well you'll never be an instructor if your life depended on it 
because you said cause instead of because and you said ya instead of you! Ha! 
That's two grammar mistakes!"
  "OKAY!! You win...geeze...lets just get on with it..."
      " So we gotta call my aunt...."
           "Wait a minute! I have a better idea! We ask to use one of 
those desk computer things then we look up Trabia Garden and call the 
number it lists and I could actually talk to her!! Ha!! I win now!"
  "No you dont! Those desk computers dont have that information on 
there! And if they did it would be pass code protected!"
   " Then we just ask the headmaster! He should know. He's the wisest!"
" Well what are you waiting for! We need to sneak into the elevator and 
go to the headmasters level with someone who can access that level! Now 
were tie again..."
   "Never mind that...Lets go!!"
   Irvine and Jewels waited by the elevator for someone who they knew 
who had access to the level. They knew what to look for in a person. 
They had to be wearing a SeeD uniform.
  Finally they saw two people with SeeD uniforms, a guy and a girl. 
They ran into the elevator and hid behind them. They both looked down at 
the floor scared that they would be noticed.
   When the elevator stopped they ran behind the two people and 
followed them into a room. It was dark and very small. They couldn't see what 
was happening.
  Jewels felt a broom leaning on her and whispered it to Irvine. Irvine 
replied, " Uhh...I think I'm stepping in a bucket...Oh no! Were in the 
supply closet...!"
   Suddenly they heard kissing...Jewels wanted to run out but she was 
trapped along with Irvine. She held his hand tightly. Then the guy's 
SeeD uniform shirt fell onto of Jewels. It was so heavy that she fell to 
the ground. Irvine heard her start to whimper and tried to find her 
hand.
  He reached down to the ground but felt something wet on his hand. He 
smelled it realizing it was blood, most likely Jewel's blood.
   " Stop!!! Stop doing what ever your doing SeeD people and turn on 
the light!!", Irvine shouted.
   The girl shrieked and turned on the light to find two little kids in 
the closet with herself and her new boyfriend.
   Irvine looked down at Jewels who he could now see clearly. She had 
fallen on a gunblade that was put there to show the next class someone 
had how to use a gunblade. Her arm was bleeding terribly. 
   "Wahh! OWW! Help me! Get me out of here!! Wahh!!"
 The man put his shirt back on and picked up Jewels and carried her to 
the infirmary with the girl and Irvine running behind him.
        An hour later...................................
           Jewels laid on the infirmary bed touching her arm making 
sure it wasn't bleeding anymore than looked up at Irvine. " Thanks...a 
lot. You win now!"
  "Thanks...I dont think I want to search for Sefie anymore...we were 
just friends like me and everyone else at the orphanage...I dont want 
you to object about it anymore either...", Irvine walked out of the 
infirmary without another word. 
   The rest of the night he told himself what he told Jewels, then his 
conscience would reply, "That's not true...You just dont want to see 
anyone else hurt in a search for a person you think you'll never 
find...You think but you dont know...
    ..............................The story happening in 
Balamb..............................
      " Zell...were here...Your new home, this is the city of Balamb.", 
Mrs. Dintch shook Zell to wake him up.
  They had just drove in, in a rental car. Zell had fallen asleep just 
after he had caught a very small sight of Balamb Garden from a long 
distance. He could barely see it but still he could tell that his friends 
would be all right living in it.
   Zell still laid asleep after Mrs.Dintch shook him many times. 
Mrs.Dintch just picked him up out of the car and carried him to his new room.
  After hours he woke to find himself in a room he didn't know was his. 
He jumped out of bed and looked around. There were two punching bags in 
the room. One of them had a note on it. Zell stepped closer to read it. 
It said "hit me!" Zell punched it then kicked it. The bag flew back and 
hit the board that was holding it making the board shake and make 
something fall from the top.
   Zell kneeled down to look at the package. It was wrapped in blue 
paper then tied with a black bow.
  Mrs. Dintch heard the noise in the kitchen coming from Zell's room. 
She then knew that her trap had worked. She tiptoed to Zell's room and 
watched him through a crack in the room.
   Zell looked at the gift. It was addressed to Zell. He opened it 
carefully to find a piece of carved wood. It was a rectangle but had the 
corners chopped off. The border was lined with blue. It said "Zell 
Dintch" neatly carved on it. It was like someone bought this for him, but it 
had a sense of loving care inside it that made him sure his new mother 
had made it for him. 
   He smiled proudly, " Zell...Zell Dintch, I'm Zell Dintch!"
  He took the plaque and put it on his door realizing this was his 
room. His alone. He had a new home, this was his home and he should get 
used to it cause he cant do anything about it anyway.
   Mrs. Dintch entered the room smiling her kind loving smile. Zell 
realized he would probably se that smile a lot.
   " Hello Zell! Do you like you new room? Sorry about the punching 
bags this was my father's room some time ago and he put them there."
   " That's fine! Maybe I'll start practicing with them! I liked your 
gift a wwwwhhhooooooolllllleeeeee lot! See? It's on my door..."
       " Yeah...Well come down soon. We could go fishing and then I'll 
give you a tour of Balamb. Would you like that Zell?"
 " Yes! I'd like that a lot...Mom!"
           "Okay then...son..."
      Mrs.Dintch took Zell's hand and led him down the stairs.
 " To your right is the living room. To your left is the door, and to 
the north west is the kitchen. You can wait in the living room until I 
get the water boiling for after we catch fish. Oh! And I'm taking you to 
the Hotel right away also! I have a surprise! And maybe we'll find a 
Timber Maniacs inside too!"
 Zell took a piece of paper and a pencil and wrote "Timber maniacs! 
NOT!!!"
   He put the paper on one of the tables.
      "Can't wait for my surprise! Oh and Mom?"
 " Yes dear?"
        " The Timber Maniacs on the table is a fake! It's for guests 
that drop by!"
  " Oh Zell! Your gonna grow up a trickster like your grandfather was 
when he was your age!", Mrs. Dintch walked into the living room and sat 
down beside Zell.
  " Can you tell me more about him please? I'm getting interested."
        " Ok, sure! Your Grandfather was very strong when he was young! 
There is a lamp post near the entrance that is really high up. He 
climbed it and did three hundred fifty chin ups easy! He served in a war 
when he got older and died. But he died with honor. He would practice on 
those punching bags of his everyday! He's a legend in this town!"
   "Wow! Cool! Ya know what? I'm gonna be a legend too! I'm gonna do 
four hundred chin ups and fifty flips on that lamp post! I'll be just 
like him!!"
   Mrs. Dintch looked at her watch, " Oh no! Were late! We need to go 
to the hotel quick before he leaves!"
  Mrs. Dintch took Zell's hand and they ran to the hotel to see a kind 
of jolly looking man with glasses saying his last good-byes to the 
workers in the hotel. 
   Mrs.Dintch walked up to him with Zell. " Hello Mr. Cid! I caught you 
just in time it seems. This is Zell! His friends were adopted to the 
garden..."
   " Why hello there! Hi, Zell! I hope you'll be joining Balamb Garden 
soon. You look like you'll grow up really strong!"
  " Hi, Mr. Cid...Is there any chance I could see my friends any time 
soon?"
         " Well, that depends on some things...They are your age? Do 
you know there names?"
   " Well they are Squall, Quistis, and...Seifer...Quistis and Seifer 
are older than me and squall is my age but acts older then me and is 
very kept to himself..."
   " I know those kids! Who couldn't!? Seifer always teases Squall, he 
tries to walk away from the teasing but cant and they end up fighting. 
Then little Quistis comes along and tries to stop them like a big 
sister...You may be able to see them in a couple years..."
   " YEARS!!! Your kidding!!! Right?...."
           " Young one aren't aloud to leave garden and you are to 
young to go on the tour of garden where there still is very little chance 
of catching  a glimpse of them."
   " FINE!! I'll wait a couple years!! But I'll probably forget them 
and they will forget me so it would be useless and I wouldn't even 
remember you! MEANY!!", Zell ran off away from everyone.
   " Cid... You couldn't even make one little exception for one little 
boy...Good bye Cid, I have to go get my son..."
        Mrs. Dintch could see Cid walk off slowly and frown from the 
corner of her eye so she ran back to him. " I'm sorry Cid...You didn't do 
anything wrong, you just obeyed the rules. Dont worry about it.", she 
smiled then turned to race off to find Zell.
     Cid smiled and thought of how the kids would turn out grown up, he 
couldn't help but laugh hysterically.
    Zell was fishing when Mrs. Dintch found him. 
          " Look Ma! I caught one!", he smiled at her. He seemed to not 
be angry at all anymore so Mrs. Dintch didn't mention anything about 
it.
   They fished together for hours talking. They never returned to the 
hotel.
        They got home finally and put the fish in the pot of boiling 
water. 
  " Did you have a pretty good day today?"
       " No way!"
" What?!"
         " When we eat it will be a great day!"
 " You had me worried there for a moment Zell..."
             After that Zell and his new mother had many more great 
days. In a week Mrs.Dintch bought him a weapon...gloves...

...........................<Balamb 
Garden>........................................      
         " Squwally! Wake up now quick!", Quistis shook Squall hard.
                  "............",Squall sat up and looked at her weary 
eyed.
        " Seifer is coming to pick a fight with you since he heard that 
the headmaster wasn't here in the garden right now. HIDE!!", Quistis 
heard Seifer's arrogant voice and pushed Squall under his bed and told 
him to be quiet.
  Seifer entered the room quietly, "...Where is Squwally boy now?!"
       "I dont know I came in here to warn him of your presence but he 
wasn't here...", she snapped.
   " Well then he's probably stuffing his face in the cafeteria like a 
pig...Bubye!", he ran out of the room. He pretended to walk away but 
hid so he could see into Squall's room but they couldn't see him.
       Quistis kicked the bed as a sign for Squall to come back up. He 
wouldn't come up. She looked under the bed to find Squall sleeping 
again. He really didn't care what Seifer did to him anymore. She was 
surprised. She dragged him on top of his bed.
             Squall awakened, "Hey! I was sleeping down there! And 
besides...I dont care if Seifer threatens me! You shouldn't either! Mind 
your own business!"
    " hey! You should be thanking me right now not yelling at me like 
that...Squall! I did you a favor! I didn't want to see you hurt! I bet 
if Sis did that you would be happy! Squall! Your mean! Meany!", Quistis 
ran out of the dormitory and to the infirmary.
       Quistis loved hanging around Dr. Kadowaki and watching her. 
Quistis loved learning. The infirmary was her favorite place to be. Dr. 
Kadowaki looked over at her from her desk. " Are you all right dear? You 
look like you'll burst any second now..." 
    Quistis had told Dr. Kadowaki many secrets and could trust her. She 
also told her about the orphanage and what happened every single day 
she could remember. " Dr. Kadowaki! I miss Sis so much!", she started to 
cry as Dr. Kadowaki brought her to her chair and sat her down on her 
lap.
   " What happened? Did Seifer start to tease you about her again?"
          " No...Seifer heard the headmaster was gone so he went to 
find Squall to threaten him and start a fight with him again. I got to 
Squall first...he was in his room asleep. So I told him but he wouldn't 
budge so I hid him under his bed just as Seifer started into the room. He 
soon left and I went to get Squall out. I found him asleep...He really 
didn't care...I put him on his bed and he woke up. He yelled at me. I 
told him I just didn't want to see him hurt but he still yelled. I told 
him that I knew if .I was Sis and did that he wouldn't yell he would be 
thanking her... That made me think that if Sis was here everyone would 
be happy again...", she sniffled and stopped crying.
    " Well I know why he was mad. He's worried about Sis. When you try 
to take he place you remind him of her and he gets sad and mad...You 
are doing the right thing but dont try to take her place...You should go 
now Quistis. I will come with you. We need to get to Squall's room...I 
know that Seifer will come back to his room looking to start a fight 
again..."
    Meanwhile Squall lied on his bed. He couldn't go to sleep again. He 
didn't know why. He usually stayed up thinking about Sis. But he knew 
that he was not thinking about her at all. Maybe he should say sorry to 
Quistis. He thought. Then I can go back to sleep finally. He made a 
decision that that was what he was going to do. He sat up. He heard 
snickering coming from just around the corner. Seifer walked in his head held 
high.
       " Hello Sqwally! How was your day? I think it may get worse if 
it hasn't already. You must be so humiliated right now. A girl had to 
shove you under a bed to protect you...And you fell asleep!!! HA !HA! HA! 
And Quistis at that too!", It looked like he was going to fall over 
from laughing so hard.
  Squall knew Seifer and him would fight in a couple minutes. It 
couldn't be avoided. So he jumped out of his bed and kicked Seifer while he 
was laughing. Seifer fell to the ground. He looked surprised at the move 
he had just made. He didn't know Squall was up to a move like that. He 
decided not to think so less of him anymore.
      He crawled to his feet, " Well now I didn't know you had it in 
you! I was just going to tease you about Quistis all day! But ok maybe 
fighting would be more fun on a day like today after all! And this time I 
can say you started it and not be lying. Thanks buddy!"
          Seifer delivered a punch to Squall in his gut. Squall had 
only one thing on his mind right then and there. "I need to stay strong 
for Sis. I can fight him..."
                A fire seemed to suddenly light in Squall's eyes. His 
day so far had been filled with thoughts of Sis or no thoughts at all. 
He couldn't take it anymore. He seemed filled with so much anger. He 
started to think that he was being stupid to think that Sis was coming 
back with every punch he took and delivered. And if she did come back it 
would be to the orphanage where he no longer was. It was hopeless. He 
thought that only himself had thoughts of Sis in his mind and every one 
else forgot and got stronger day by day. But he was left behind. He was 
the weak one now. He had to become stronger. He had to forget about Sis 
and the orphanage. He thought Sis was holding him back from what he 
wanted in life.
                        Squall delivered a kick to Seifer on his leg 
making him fall over. He laughed then kicked Squall down too then 
delivered a kick in the head making him unconscious just before Seifer himself 
fainted.
    Seifer couldn't move get up or anything. His knuckles were a bright 
red. He saw Squall beside him. But he was sure Squall couldn't see him. 
Squall was sleeping...Seifer at first was terrified at what he had 
done. He had never hurt Squall like that before. Squall always guarded 
himself so well...What was on his mind. Seifer closed his eyes with and 
thought some more. What did he do to Squall. He never should have kicked 
him in the head! No! It's not my fault it is Squall's! He saw Quistis 
and doctor Kadowaki enter the dorm. Seifer opened his eyes with a final 
thought. Squall better learn to fight soon. I need better competition! 
Man! I better make him start training!
          Squall opened his eyes a little. Quistis kneeled beside him 
crying. " I'm sorry! I didn't mean what I said I swear! Please forgive 
me!"
              Squall had made up a new personality for himself while he 
slept. He didn't show his feelings that much so he couldn't make a 
friend so he couldn't lose a friend. But he was semi not really at all 
kind. But he wanted Quistis to stop crying so much. " I forgive you...Just 
dont cry...Stop crying........... ... ... ..."
    " Oh...Okay...Would it be all right if you told me what happened?"
          "... ... ...Dont feel like it... ... ..."
                "Fine I guess that will be okay...Oh and the headmaster 
wants to speak with you so be careful..."
   "... ... ... Where is Seifer?"
        " On the bed beside you. His knuckles are really red..."
              Squall looked over. Indeed Seifer's knuckles were almost 
bleeding. But that was not the reason he was unconscious. But he would 
let everyone think so any way. That is what Seifer would want.
  Seifer sat up and looked over. Squall had a bandage on the side of 
his head. He wondered if Squall had gotten brain damage. So he tried to 
talk to him.
     " Hey Squwally! Did I beat ya that bad!?"
                       " Not really... I was just unconscious that's 
all..."
 " He he he..." 
          
 ....To be continued