...a small apartment in a bustling city... Deling City... Traffic sounds invade the small living room as a child with curls of brunette hair laughs and plays with a doll house made of shoe boxes, tissue paper, and marker-drawn windows with curtains and blue skies. Her eyes are bright with innocence and laughter; her face is beautiful with the grace of youth.

There is a fumbling at the door. The child's laughter and smile fades as she looks over her shoulder to the door. Her beauty pales with fear. She turns away and scrambles with picking up her imaginary doll house and paper dolls. There is the sound of keys inserted clumsily into the lock. The child whimpers, tears glimmering in the wide eyes as she rushes to a back room and quickly deposits the imaginary world into her closet. She scurries out for the rest of her things--

The door is pushed roughly open, revealing a large man with a wrinkled uniform and a haggard expression of exhaustion and anger. The child freezes in horror; her small form begins to tremble. The man tosses down his things, muttering under his breath in oblivion of the terror on the child's face. In oblivion even of the child.

He looks up and stops. Anger flares to rage and he stalks forward, grabbing the child by the arm and ignoring her whimpered cry. "What the hell is this, you good for nothin'--" He pushes her roughly to the ground. "What have I told you about leaving your toys in the middle of the floor! Dammit, you little--" He grabs her up and gives her a rough succession of shakes. "If I ever catch you leaving your shit everywhere again, Ahndra, I'll break your face!" Throws her down. "Now pick it up!"...

...a young girl's laughter... "and I heard that Bobby likes Tina, but she won't even look at him because he's in 7th grade like her and she's going out with a freshman"... costume jewelry and hidden stashes of make-up, dream slumber parties and long phone calls...

...a small apartment in a bustling city... Deling City... Traffic sounds invade the small bedroom as a young girl with curls of brunette hair and surprising streaks of silver laughs and talks on the phone; speaking of life and school and future dreams. Her eyes are bright with laughter; her face is beautiful with the grace of youth muted by a bruise on the left cheek and a scar on her forehead near her left temple. One of her fingers is wrapped in a splint made of popsicle sticks.

There is a slam from the living room. The young girl sits up, her eyes darkening with a look of fear. "I-I've got to go, Seifer. Dad's home. ... No. I-I'll be fine. ... I-I know. ... Seifer, I've got to go--"

The bedroom door slams open, revealing a large man with a wrinkled uniform and a haggard expression of exhaustion and anger. The young girl's eyes open wide and she drops the phone; her thin form begins to tremble. The man strides forward and grabs the phone from her hand, ripping the line from the wall and throwing the phone across the room. He slaps her hard across the face.

The blow sends her over the side of the bed and onto the floor.

"Damn useless bitch. Get out there and make dinner! Don't ever let me catch you slackin' off again." He tromps around the bed and grabs her by the arm, throwing her ahead of him to the door as she whimpers and cries. "Shut up! Or I'll give you something to cry about!"...

...a young woman's awkward silence... "It's not a big deal. I tripped..." ... "It's nothing. Really. I shut my hand in the car door." ... "Oh. I'm fine. I bumped a can of soup out of the cupbard. It hit me in the eye." ... silent hours in her room, silent walks home; alone, staring off in space out the window, starting at the slightest sound...

...a small street in a bustling city... Deling City... Traffic sounds invade the silence as a young woman and young man walk side by side toward a three-story apartment complex. The young woman has short straight brunette hair with a mass of silver streaks throughout. Her face is solemn and shadowed with a slowly vanishing bruise on her right cheek. Scars and scratches have faded with the years, hidden now by always used make-up. The young man has short-cut blonde hair and a brooding expression of withheld anger. He wears combat boots of black and military issue slacks and shirt of dark blue. A gunblade is holstered at his side.

The pair halts outside the entrance of the apartment building. The young man faces the young woman, who continues to stare at the road at her feet.

"Let me go up with you."

She shakes her head. "It's okay."

The young man motions to the third story. "It's late. He's gonna beat you around."

She raises sorrowful and dead eyes to the entrance of the building. "I'll be fine."

The young man rubs at the back of his neck and releases a quick breath. "Dammit, Ahndra, finish your studies at Garden. It'll be a helluvalot safer than staying here." Ahndra remains quiet and lowers her gaze to the ground again. The young man clenches his jaw. "I swear, if that damn drunk hits you one more time, I'm gonna rip his arm off and shove it up his ass."

Ahndra looks up. "Don't. Please."

The young man motions behind him. "Then come with me to Balamb Garden. Headmaster Cid'll enroll you first thing! You won't need to come back here; ever!" He stretches his arms and hands toward her, ignoring her flinch. "I'll loan you some money, so you can get some clothes and shit. Hell, Headmaster Cid'll probably give you some things. But you have to come now. If you don't..." The young man straightens and releases a deep breath. "Ahndra, If you don't, he's gonna kill you. I know it."

Ahndra focuses on the door again. "No. He won't." She steps toward it. "Bye, Seifer."

Young Seifer Almasy watches her enter the building with an expression of helplessness.

Ahndra walks softly and stealthily up the stairs to the third story, missing the creaky boards she knows so well. She treads down the long hallway with the torn carpet and peeling wallpaper with growing dread, her mouth going dry as nausea works its way into the deepest pit of her stomach and soul. She swallows hard, eyes focused on the farthest door.

She halts in front of it, pulling a single key from her pocket and biting her lower lip as she slips it into the lock--

The door is yanked open, light from beyond is shadowed by the massive frame. She cowers back as her wide-eyed gaze focuses on the heavily-lidded eyes of her father. His breath smells of stale beer and cigarettes. A pornographic movie is heard in the background, the moans and groans heightening Ahndra's dread.

"You little whore!" He grabs her arm and drags her forward. "What're you doin' out this late? Workin' the street for drugs? Blowin' each money-lovin' dickhead that puts his hand up your legs!"

He throws her forward ahead of him, keeping a vise-like hold on her hand as he slaps her hard across her face. She doesn't make a sound as blood drops from her broken lip. He slaps her again, so hard she drops to her knees.

"Yeah, that's right, you sex-hungry bitch. Get in the position." He begins to unfasten his belt. "I'll give you what you want!"

Ahndra stares up at him with sorrowful eyes. "Daddy, please..."

He cuffs her hard. "Don't 'daddy' me!"

She chokes back a sob, and he grabs her up and throws her across the room toward her bedroom. "Get in there!" He follows after her, pushing and shoving at her trembling form. "You want it so bad, I'll sex you up."

She bites back a whimper as he shoves her forward onto the bed...

...a young woman's dead silence...

...a small apartment in a bustling city... Deling City... Traffic sounds invade the silence of a dead room as a young woman with short silver hair and a cast on her left arm deftly packs a small bag. Her beauty is marred with experience and an unnatural coldness. She looks to a clock with emotionless eyes and then finishes her packing. A slam of the apartment's front door is heard as she closes the lid and zippers it closed.

clomp clomp clomp clomp - bedroom door crashes open.

She looks up with an unmoved gaze.

"What the hell? Where do you think you're going, you liitle slut!"

She picks up the bag and steps toward the exit blocked by the huge frame. "AWAY."

"Like hell you are!" He grabs hold of her arm and shakes her. She stares up at him with dead eyes. "You don't go nowhere until I give the word, you ungrateful bitch!"

"NO."

He cuffs her hard across the face, sending her backwards. She trips over the tattered carpet and turns, falling into the old desk to the left of her bed. "Don't you say no to me, girl! I'll whip you within an inch of your life!"

He strides forward as she struggles to her feet, grabbing her by the arm to lift her the remaining way. Blood gushes from her left eye. He cringes in disgust and pushes her away. She falls back, smacking her head into the desk and tumbling to the floor.

"Get away from her!"

The man turns sharply to see a towering form filling the doorway. A blonde-haired young man dressed in a military-type uniform of dark blue strides forward and grabs him by the shirtfront, lifting him several inches from the ground. Rage and revenge flash in the young man's dark eyes.

"You bastard," the young man hisses. "I'm gonna kill you, you sack of shit."

The young man punches the father in the face to the sound of cracking bones. Blood splatters the young man's clothes and the floor at his feet. The father groans in pain and goes limp. The young man tosses him hard to the left, sending him into the far wall with a loud crash and crunch. The father slumps to the ground.

"Ahndra!" The young man strides forward, gently holding the young woman by the upper arms and pulling her up from the floor. Blood continues to ooze from her left eye and her head falls limply back. "Ahndra..."