FFIV/FFVIII: From the Mouths of Monsters (PG-13)

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From the Mouths of Monsters (2)
Canon: FFIV / FFVIII Crossover
Rating: PG-13, for now
Characters: Quistis, Rydia, Kadowaki
Notes: This is complete crack. Take with grain of salt and sense of humor.

"What do you want me to do?" Squall asked finally, sliding the top piece of paper towards Quistis. "I have to sign off on whether or not I believe this woman could be a threat to Garden. And all I've got to go on so far are the two of you spouting things about how her magic feels."

From the Mouths of Monsters, Chapter 2
- - -

"I still don't think I understand," Squall said with a huff, crossing his arms. Quistis had to consciously firm her lips to keep from smiling at the gesture. Squall must have seen her face twitch, for the scowl deepened. "Is she a Sorceress, yes or no?"

Rinoa sighed. "Yes and no," she replied wearily. "Squall, it's - it's different, okay? Yeah, she has magic - I can feel it when I touch her. She could cast without a GF if she wanted to."

"And that's how you define what a Sorceress is, right?" Squall looked vindicated. "The ability to use Source Magic. To cast without assistance."

"Yes and no," Rinoa repeated. "Squall, can't you feel it?"

"Feel what?" Squall glanced down at the papers in front of him, avoiding eye contact. There was a long pause while he stared at the top sheet and the two women in the room stared at the top of his head. Rinoa sighed, loudly, and sank into the chair next to him.

"What do you want me to do?" he asked finally, sliding the top piece of paper towards Quistis. "I have to sign off on whether or not I believe this woman could be a threat to Garden. And all I've got to go on so far are the two of you spouting things about how her magic feels."

Quistis glanced down at the paper, her eyes passing over the familiar lines of the Admission to Infirmary form. "I believe she might be some kind of Blue Magic user - a Blue Sorceress, if you will." The memory was still fresh. "Something happened between my GFs and her. I'd like to know what it was."

"Quistis," Squall said patiently, "it knocked you unconscious."

Quistis shrugged. "So does battle." The words were short and crisp. "We face worse every day. If she is something like me, then we can contain her. But she's ...different, too. We should treat her like a guest, not a prisoner."

"I don't like it." Squall reached across the table, took the paper back. "But at least now I know to put yes."

"What?" Rinoa glanced up, almost angrily. "Squall, didn't you hear what Quistis just said?"

Squall finished writing something and scribbled his messy signature at the bottom of the form. He slid it across the table with a sharp flick of his wrist, and when Quistis glanced back up at his face, he gave her a wry smirk.

"I'd put you down as a potential danger to Garden," Squall said, with just a touch of dark humor. "Doesn't mean you're an enemy. It just means... be careful."

Quistis glanced at the release form and nodded. "I'll go turn this in."

The girl was being kept in a containment room in the Infirmary, for now; as Quistis entered, she could see the bright splash of green across the white pillow. All Junctioned personel had been banned from the Infirmary, just in case; Kadowaki, who never Junctioned, was still roaming the room freely. Quistis paused and gently detached her GFs, sending their consciousnesses spiraling down into the mental ether. She handed Kadowaki the form.

The doctor glanced it over briefly. "Well, good," she said finally. "So Commander Leonhart does have a little bit of sense. There's nothing wrong with that girl - no reason to keep her here."

"Is she still sleeping?" Quistis glanced through the window, answering her own question. Asleep, the young woman could have been four, or forty. Her face was pale, ageless, and almost plain in some kind of strange, otherworldly way. Her hair was so bright that Quistis found it hard to believe - a color like that couldn't be fake; but then, she'd never seen green hair before.

"I had the service cadet give her another spell before they left." Kadowaki opened a drawer, rummaged around. "Here," she said, raising her hand to reveal a capsule of Remedy. "We can go wake her up, if you'd like."

Quistis followed Kadowaki into the room, all her instincts on edge. As she walked through the door, the effects of the magical shielding became evident: the air pushed at her as she walked through, for a moment, and once through the door Quistis felt the wild magic hit her again, almost like a thick wind. She winced. Hopefully this stranger could better control herself once she was awake - otherwise, every magical instrument Garden had was going to be on edge for the forseeable future.

Kadowaki broke the Remedy capsule open over the girl's face, and Quistis could see the fine blue haze of the magic work its way through the air and into the girl's lungs. She counted seconds: one, two, three... Eyes fluttered, and then opened.

"Good morning," Dr. Kadowaki said gently. "How are you feeling?"

The stranger's eyes were blue, bright ocean blue. She sat up slowly, glancing around. "I'm alright," she said finally; her voice was strong, and almost sharp, in a strange accent - she speaks our language, at least, Quistis thought with relief. "I've certainly been better."

The stranger's eyes fell on Quistis, and widened almost comically. "You," she breathed. "I didn't dream you. You're here."

Quistis tried to give what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "I'm Quistis," she said. "Quistis Trepe, Class A SeeD. Welcome to Garden."

"You know Bahamut," the girl said urgently, ignoring the words Quistis had spoken. "You know Levia."

"I-" Quistis paused, taken aback. "Levia - you mean Leviathan?"

The girl's plain face broke into a broad smile. "Thank the gods," she said with relief. "You've kept him safe. I tried to follow him, but he was so hard to find." Quistis' face must have given away some of her confusion, because the girl glanced around again. "Where am I?' she asked, sounding so much like a petulant child that Quistis had to keep down a smile.

"This is Balamb Garden." Quistis spoke slowly, watching as the girl's relieved smile turned to worry and ash. "We found you in a mountain range on the Centran continent. There was a large earthquake, and we detected strong magical residues. When we followed the trail, we found you." She paused, not really sure how to phrase the question. "You are a magic user, are you not?"

"Well, yeah," the girl said automatically, as if it didn't matter. "What's Balamb? What's Centra? Where am I?"

"Where are you from?" Quistis glanced at Kadowaki, who was dutifully taking notes, bless her. "How did you come to be in the middle of the earthquake?"

The girl's face paled slightly. "I came from the Land of Summons," she said, looking pained. "It was falling apart, and we were trying to hold onto it, but something happened. It vanished! And when I went there and tried to Call..." She looked away. "I woke up here."

"So you did something that caused the earthquake?" Quistis tried not to think about the potential ramifications of the phrase Land of Summons.

"I guess so," the girl said, not sounding very surprised. She sounded concerned, yes, but more like she was resigning herself to certain facts.

Quistis tried very hard not to sound too intrigued or intimidating. "What did you do?"

"Well," the girl said matter-of-factly, "last time, I Called when I was upset, and blocked the pass to Baron. I must have just... I don't know," she ground out, angry. "I don't know where they all are. I didn't know a Call would do that. They're supposed to be there when I call, you know?" She glanced at Quistis, looking for confirmation.

"I think we have a problem," Kadowaki said softly. Quistis nodded in response.

"What?" The girl was on her feet like a shot, and Quistis felt the wave of magic hit her again - she hadn't even noticed it subsiding, but the stranger was clearly agitated about something again, and the strange fiery magic was wafting around her like a hot breeze. "Did something happen? Did something happen to Baron? Is Cecil alright?" There was a short pause as the girl looked from Quistis to the doctor and then back. "I'm Rydia," she insisted. "Rydia of Mist. I'm friends with the King. I swear, just ask him. Is he alright?"

"There is no Baron here," Quistis said softly.

The girl - Rydia - shook her head angrily. "That's not possible. Baron. The country of Baron. You know, airships and war? Really good beer? Baron. King Cecil, Queen Rosa. Seriously, just ask them, they'll know who I am right away-"

"Let me explain." Quistis took a breath. "Whatever Baron you speak of - there is no Baron here. There is no country of Baron. There are no Kings and Queens." She paused. "Rydia?" The girl looked at her, confirming her name. "Where exactly are you from?"

"The Village of Mist," Rydia said, now looking pained and a little scared. "The Land of Summons. I'm a Summoner. Like you."

Quistis was speechless for a moment - two moments - two moments too long, for Rydia noticed the look on her face and said, "But Bahamut - you Called Bahamut, and he came to you, and... you must be a Summoner, only a Summoner could Call him like that." Her face creased with genuine worry, and she sat back down on the bed with an audible thump. "Did you not know it? Callers are rare, I know, but we haven't died out yet."

Quistis winced. "I ...I don't think I'm a Summoner." She glanced at Kadowaki, suddenly wanting confirmation that she was in her own world, where GFs worked by sticking them in your head and yelling their names loudly and no one could summon a GF out of nowhere, not even a Blue Sorceress. The doctor nodded at her crisply. "There are no - Summoners in our world. None that I know of, anyway. We use the - Guardians - in a different way. Anyone with the right training can - call one."

Rydia's eyes were disbelieving. "So you're all Summoners?"

"I think we're talking about two different things." Quistis had an idea then, something that might make everything clear - and a way to evaluate the girls' strange powers, safely. "Why don't you come with me to the Training Center? I'll use Bahamut for you, and maybe you'll see what I mean."

Rydia looked doubtful, but she nodded. "Alright," she said. "Is that where they live?"

Quistis smiled, amused. "They live in my head."

Rydia raised an eyebrow. "How?"

Quistis glanced at Kadowaki for permission; the doctor nodded. She mentally reached back, downward, grasping at where she knew the GFs would be, and drawing out Carbuncle, who would be a more simple Junction than the others. She gently nudged him into his mental place, feeling the tug and pull as Carbuncle began to re-arrange her magic the way it liked. She opened eyes she hadn't realized had closed -

- to see Rydia backing away from her, a terrified look on her face.

"It's in your head," she gasped, "and it's not really there, and it's messing with all the magic inside of you - what are you?" The magic around her blazed up again, this time meeting Quistis' fully head-on in the middle of the room. It felt familiar, and down in the back of her mind she could feel the girl's power tugging at Bahamut - even without having the dragon Junctioned.

"What are you?" Rydia demanded of her again, looking determined and angry. There was another firm tug, and Quistis felt a cold sinking feeling in her stomach as a few important things suddenly came together.

Summoner. Bahamut. Blue Magic. This all adds up to something, and I don't really like it.

"What are you?" she asked the girl instead, meeting her glare head-on. "What are you doing with my GFs?"

Kadowaki took a step forward, radiating that cold sensible doctor-aura that had stopped so many cadets before. "Not in my Infirmary," she snapped, her voice strict. "Quistis, you should know better. Take this girl to the Training Center and work it out there."

Rydia was still eyeing her with suspicion. Quistis looked at her and gave a firm, solid nod.

"I'm not your enemy," she said.