Final Fantasy VIII Story-line
I'll be here...
...Why?
I'll be 'waiting' here...so if you come here you'll find me...I promise...
--Intro to Final Fantasy VIII
DISCLAIMER: THIS SECTION IS FULL OF MAJOR SPOILERS. IF YOU HAVE NOT BEATEN FINAL FANTASY VIII, DO NOT PROCEED ANY FURTHER.
After the intro fades, Squall wakes up in the Balamb Garden infirmary. His forehead is bandaged. Dr. Kadowaki calls Squall's instructor, Quistis Trepe, and asks her to come and get him. Squall recieves a mysterious visitor, then Quistis arrives. She is none too pleased that two of her students, Squall and Seifer, got carried away in training. After expressing this, she and Squall leave the infirmary. As the two walk on to the 2nd floor classroom, Quistis begins teasing Squall a bit about his introverted nature. She is thrilled to finally be understanding her student a little. Squall does not like this bantering, but he does not get angry.
Once the two get back to the classroom, Quistis announces that the SeeD Field Exam is to take place that afternoon. All students who passed the written exam may take part. Then class is dismissed. Quistis reminds Squall that he has one more pre-req to fill before he can go on the field mission--the Fire Cavern. Quistis tells Squall that she will meet him at the Front Gate and together they will go the the Fire Cavern.
Squall meets Quistis at the Front Gate. They then proceed northeast to the Fire Cavern. Once there, Squall must challenge and defeat the Ifrit.
After the Fire Cavern, Squall is able to go on the SeeD Field Mission. He rushes back to his dorm room, changes into his uniform, and then meets his team at the directory. Squall is on a team with Zell Dincht and Seifer Almasy. They drive to Balamb to board boats bound for Dollet, the place of the field exam. On the way to Dollet, Xu explains the mission. The Dollet Parliment has requested SeeD assistance to push the Galbadian army out of their town. SeeD canadites are to help clear the town. Team B, Squall's team, is to hold position at the center of Dollet--Central Square. Once, Team B has arrived at their designated position, the Galbadians come in. After defeating the Galbadians, Seifer gets bored. He orders the team to the Communications Tower. Once there, Seifer runs off, leaving Squall and Zell behind. The two follow him, but then a messenger arrives. She accompanies the two up the Communications Tower. Once at the top of the Tower, two of the Galbadians finish repairing the Tower. A huge satellite comes up, and begins transmitting. The two Galbadians, Major Biggs and Wedge, attack Squall, Zell, and Selphie(the messenger). Soon, however, a huge monster, the Elvoret, appears and blows Biggs and Wedge away. After the party defeats Elvoret, Seifer appears. Selphie delivers her message: "All SeeD canadites are to report to the beach by 1900." That's only 30 minutes away!!! Seifer again leaves his team in the dust. Squall and Co. rush to make it to the beach. However, Biggs has sent a suprise to them...X-ATM092. This huge mechanical spider chases the trio through the town. When they arrive at the beach, Squall becomes Target Prima Alpha of the Big Nasty Spider. However, Quistis saves the day(and Squall's butt!) She pumps several hundred rounds of lead into X-ATM092, and the thing collapses into scrap metal on the beach.
The group returns to Balamb, anxious to discover whether or not they made it into the ranks of SeeD. Rajin and Fujin are there, waiting for Seifer. The three of them jump into the car and head back to Balamb Garden, leaving Squall, Zell, Quistis, and Selphie to walk back. Zell is furious, but Squall just shrugs and starts walking.
Once back at the Garden, Squall sees Quistis, Xu, and Headmaster Cid standing around the directory. He approaches them and speaks with them for a moment. Then, Squall goes on to the 2nd floor classroom to recieve his score.
He did it. Squall, along with Selphie and Zell, made it into the ranks of SeeD. Seifer did not make it, however. But, graciously, Seifer congratulates those who were accepted. Headmaster Cid later formally inducts four students into SeeD: Nida, Selphie, Zell, and Squall.
That night, a reception is held in honor of the four students who have graduated to the ranks of SeeD. Squall goes back to his room directly after the graduation ceremony in Cid's office. Selphie is in his room, decked out in her new SeeD uniform. She tells Squall to change and come to the PAAH-TAY!!!
Once he arrives at the reception, Squall hangs back. He leans against one of the columns, calmly drinking champagne. Zell comes up to him, to congratulate him. Squall's demeanor has not changed, and Zell, still in a good humor, walks aways. As Zell is leaving, Selphie asks him to join the Garden Festival Committee. Zell hastily makes excuses, then BOLTS! Selphie glances over and sees Squall lounging against the background. She asks him if he wants to join...
After Selphie leaves, Squall watches the dancing couples. The crowds part, and a beautiful young woman is shown. She is standing alone on the dance floor. She looks over at Squall, and he slightly inclines his head, in invitation. She approaches him and says: "You're the best looking guy here. Dance with me?" After a brief conversation, the young woman(who will not take no for an answer)drags Squall(who has two left feet when it comes to dancing)onto the dance floor and gets him to dance. The two have several near-misses(Squall can't seem to figure out how to dance)and even collide with another couple. At one point, Squall begins to walk off, but this young woman isn't about to let that happen! Eventually, Squall gets the hang of this dancing thing, and even gets good at it! The music ends, and fireworks appear through the gothic ceiling windows. The young woman sees someone she knows, and leaves Squall for a minute. The scene ends with Squall staring after her, a lost expression on his face. Who is she?
Later that night, Squall is out on the balcony, looking over the plains in the moonlit night. He is alone with his thoughts and perceptions until Quistis appears. She tells him to meet her at the secret area in the middle of the Training Center. Apparently, she has something to tell him.
Squall returns to his room and changes out of his SeeD uniform. He goes to the Training Center to meet Quistis. The two head for the secret area. Once there, Quistis tells Squall that she has resigned her teaching position and gone back into SeeD full time. She obviously expected some kind of reaction, but Squall merely shrugs and says, "So what?" Quistis is not thrilled with this turn of events...is there some kind of interest here?
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