Chapter One - Tendencies


The blood came from her nose, she realized. She ended up losing the fight. "Seifer's going to kill me." She said aloud, covering her nose with her sleeve. She was only fifteen. She examined Seifer's gunblade, noticing the blade had been cracked from her last blow to her enemy. Her head pounded, and the side of her jacket was torn from the thundaga that was cast on her. She was barely hanging onto what life she had left when suddenly; she heard footsteps from down the hallway. She turned, strands of hair flying and sticking to the bloody mess down her chin. She could feel the wind pick up, and the floor vibrate.

Seifer was running towards her, reaching out for her. His footsteps echoed through the hall that had led to Adel's chambers. She could see the look of fear in his eyes, the look that Seifer only gave when he knew something wasn't right.

"Seifer?" She tried standing up, but fell.

Seifer reached towards her, sliding on the small pool of blood that was next to the girl. He grabbed her arms and lifted her up. During the swift movement, she had dropped Seifer's prized gunblade. She tried reaching for it, but was jerked away and tugged forward.

"L-leave it!" He screamed to her. "We have to go!" The two of them started running. He cast his last cura on the girl, causing her to heal faster.

"What's going on?" The blonde asked. Seifer stopped, running out of breath.

"Time Compression. We can't get sucked into it—that's why we have to hurry." He grabbed her hand and held her close to him as the two of them rushed to the airship Fujin and Raijin had prepared for them. The further they got from the void which Squall's party had been sucked into, the faster it chased after them. The girl tripped on a body that lay on the floor and she fell. She turned to look at the golden hue behind her and saw the void, trying to suck her in. Seifer began to try to drag her on her feet, unable to succeed. The girl felt weak and tired. Her body slowed in its movement, as did Seifer's.

"We…re tooooo…la…t…e…" Seifer cried out, his voice deepening as it slowed down alongside with everything else. They slowly turned, watching the golden void only a few yards from them. Seifer pulled the girl to the corner and covered the two of them in his trench coat.

Now, nineteen, she sits on top of the Trabia Garden library, waiting for her target. "What am I doing here? I shouldn't be here. I usually get paid way more than this…fuck. It's not important!" She sat up and looked over the small walkway from the Library to the Parking Lot. She wasn't there yet."…The target should be here by now." She had figured she had picked the perfect spot for the kill, but wasn't sure now.She muttered and grabbed her phone and dialed in a number.

"Evers…where is the target?"

"Look, kid. You wanted to be here—Yeah. Look Emma –complications…She wasn't in there. She's in the dorms with a… a guest." A gruff voice responded coolly.

"You're new room is starting to look more like…you." Rinoa observed while walking around Selphie's apartment. You could tell it was Selphie's, and Selphie's only when you saw the many different colors that had been strewn across the room. Need it be, clothes, furniture, or flowers. Everything had a positive feel to it, and that was how Selphie preferred things to be.

"Yeah, It's starting to get hard walking up the stairs at times. My ankles are swelling, which is unusual. And my head is hurting during most of the day now. I had no idea being pregnant would be such pain." Selphie groaned and sat down for a moment, tired of packing.

"Well, of course it's no picnic…especially when you're reaching your second month. It's good you're going on maternity leave in April." Rinoa smiled, looking at a few snapshots that had been in frames all over the house.

"Who said anything about maternity leave! I'm bringing my daughter with me to work!" Selphie joked, standing up carefully and balancing herself.

"Don't fuck this up." Her father commanded. His voice was never caring or loving. Always cold and heartless; much like the rest of the crew that the woman worked with.

"I wont." She said firmly, lowering her head. Her long black hair blew in her face, shielding her from the cold winds of Trabia.

"Just get it done and over with and get the hell out of there." He never told her he loved her, or that he was proud of her. He never encouraged her to do anything but kill. He wanted a son, but he had a daughter. He didn't want a princess; he wanted a soldier.

"Yes sir."She said, once again, firm and short. There was no such thing as a conversation between her and her father. Only short small talk.What is the Mission? What is our status? How is the team doing? Where is the Target? There was a click and then silence. The woman sat back and stared at her steel-toed boots. The reflection from the sun blinded her. She thought for a moment and sighed. She was pleased she found a good vantage point. On top of the roof of the cafeteria, there was an escape ladder that she could easily climb down if need be. As she was putting her weapon together, she continued to debate on if she could do this or not. She stopped for a moment to light a cigarette, taking a long drag before continuing on with her work.

"She's going to fuck this up." Evers said in a disgusted voice. He looked upon his team. Cort; his leading man, Lux; his youngest, Mara and Morus; his deadliest snipers, all sat silently, waiting for something to happen. Cort fingered the tip of his blade, feeling the skin waiting to break, staring at his boss.

Cort joined the team four years ago, he was once a teacher at Galbadia Garden instructing students on elemental magic.

"We should've left this to me." Cort said, piercing his skin with the blade.

"I know, Cort." Evers said. "I shouldn't trust her with something like this." Evers sighed and bit the tip of the phone.

"She will not chicken." Morus said quietly. "She is different now." He spoke with a Centran dialect, making it hard to understand what he would say at times.

"This is her first mission in almost two years." Mara said quietly. "She hasn't killed since the Council initiated the Guardian Force Ban."

The head Council that was established after the Sorceress War initiated a ban on Magic and Guardian Forces after all of the monsters had been wiped out completely. They found them dangerous to the health of the user and the lives of others. This also included Sorcerers and Sorceresses'. Rinoa Heartily was told to surrender her magic and abilities. A few short months of discovering that people still ventured to Trabia to fight monsters, they restricted Healing Items as well. Her fighting had once solely been based on a stolen Guardian Force that her father obtained for her from the Gardens. However, when the Guardian Forces were called, she was left alone. Serpentipes, was her name, and she was her one and only companion.

"Emma, what's your status." Mara asked into her headset.

"Desiccated…and forced." Mara smiled to herself and handed the headset to Morus.

"This first in great while. Can you conclude?" He asked.

"Of course I can."

Emma Mortali was an alchemist, originally. She specialized in creating newer and more powerful spells that could instantaneously kill a monster, regardless of their statuses. She was intelligent, however, her father thought that she could do greater things.

For most of her childhood, Morus and Seri raised her, along with Mara, who was Emma's playmate and daughter to Seri. When her father was around, he would neglect her except when he was training her. Morus and Seri performed as her parents, up until her brother Lux, was born. Lux was weak as a baby, and Emma was left to raise him with Mara and Seri.

Lux grew to be asthmatic, and so the once proud father of Emma and Lux, finally realized that he would never have the son he wished for. So he abandoned trying to help Lux and solely focused on Emma. Emma grew up, with a great heart, yet numb from any romantic or loving emotion anyone other than family would give her; up until the time she and Seifer had their first encounter.

"She's going to be so cute." Rinoa said again, shifting the baggage onto her other arm again.

"So how are things with you and Irvine?" Selphie asked, buttoning up her coat with one hand.

"He's away in Galbadia with some business executives." Rinoa slowed her pace. "He said he'd be gone for a few days…" She stopped, looking down at the footprints in the snow.

"What's wrong Rin?" Selphie turned and gave Rinoa a look of concern. But before Rinoa could mention it, she knew exactly what was wrong.

"It's just that… he never invites me along." She said, pressing her foot into the white fluff under her. "We're supposed to be getting married but…I don't know…" Rinoa sniffled. "Sometimes I think he's cheating on me."

"No…Rinoa, he'd never do that!" Yes, he would. He did when he was with her.

Emma could see them through her scope. She felt relieved. Should she shoot her in the back, or the head? Did it really matter? A life is a life. She couldn't remember exactly all of the things they had taught her, but she was still accurate. She could hear the conversation between Tilmitt and another person. She cocked her weapon, and aimed it at Selphie's lower back. When she would turn around and walk out from the concrete canopy, she'd shoot her in the head and run.

"Ok… concentrate…" She steadied her gun well on the side of the roof. "Come on…just turn around." She said to herself in a whisper. After a few minutes Selphie Tilmitt turned around, hands to her stomach, smiling.

Entering the room like the leader he was, Squall stepped towards Zell with a note in hand. "I take it you heard." Squall said as he noticed Zell pacing around nervously, muttering.

"My Selph…my daughter….what if she's-"

"Zell…I'm sure they're okay. They rushed to the helicopters and were in the air last I heard." Squall lied, still trying to find a way to council Zell after he faced the truth of his family.

Emma walked into the condo quietly, not wanting to bother with talking to anyone. She held her equipment quietly and slinked up the stairs. She opened her door and shut it carefully, not even letting the lock click.

"How did it go?" Came a voice from her couch. Emma didn't turn around. She knew who it was.

"It went fast and easy. I want to take some time off."

"Why would we want to do that?"

"Because I had to shoot a mother. A mother holding her baby." Emma said harshly.

"Cort, please. I don't want to…I just some time off." Cort stood up and walked over to stand behind Emma. He checked himself out in the mirror that was in front of the two of him, straightening his hair. Emma walked into the bathroom and changed out of her uniform. Cort found this as a conjugal opportunity. He walked in behind her and watched her bend over in her undergarments to turn on the shower faucet. He snuck in and grabbed her ass.

"Stop it, Cort."

"Don't lead me on, then." He said coyly. Emma stood up and turned to him.

"How was I leading you on! I just want to take a show—" Before she could finish her sentence, Cort had backhanded her she slammed into the door. Her head made a dull thud against the wood. She groaned silently, not wanting to make him angrier for making noise.

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO SNAP AT ME!"

"FUCK YOU!" Emma screamed and pushed him into the wall, unable to stop herself from acting out.

"ZELL!" Selphie ran in the office, throwing her bag on the ground before reaching for her fiancé. "Can you believe it? Someone… wanting to kill ME!" Zell held her tightly to his chest. Rinoa walked in after Selphie, anticipating to hear what was going on.

"Baby…I was so worried! You… could've been…it's…" Zell sighed and took Selphie back in his arms.

"Zell! It's ok! I wasn't hurt at all. No one was. They missed by a few feet that's all." Selphie tried to cheer Zell up but all that it did was make him hold her tighter.

"Emma Mortali was planning an assassination on the main officials of Trabia, Esthar, and Galbadia Garden." Squall said quietly. Selphie backed away from Zell and sat in his plush red leather chair. "That's not all. We've been able to see that she's trying to target the Main Council."

"Wha…why?" Selphie rubbed her face with her hands.

"We don't know." Squall spoke quietly, folding his arms and leaning up against the wall.

"What about Seifer?" Rinoa asked, twirling her hair in her fingers.

"What about him?" Squall asked with heavy apathy.

"He's on parole right? Didn't he run with them?"

"Was on parole." Zell raised an eyebrow. "Remember?" He gave Rinoa a look and pointed out at the window.

"And Fujin and Raijin?" She asked again.

"Won't have anything to do with Seifer for him running with the Mortali's. They're engaged and Fujin has a two year old."

"Oh yeah…but—" Rinoa was embarrassed for forgetting about what had happened in Galbadia. "Oh, forget it… I still wish he would just rot away and do us all a favor."

Before anyone could respond to Rinoa's statement, Quistis stormed into the room looking weary and tired. She greeted everyone with a smile and a hand to her head to brush back her fallen hair. "They moved him to the G.M.I.C.I. a few weeks back. The judge from the prison put him there by mistake. Probably some sick joke because most people believe he wasn't punished enough... Sorry. I was doing paperwork in the other room and I couldn't help but overhear." She walked over to Squall and kissed his cheek.

"Did you take a nap?" Squall asked his lover, brushing her hair from her face.

"Did you quit smoking?" She asked with a smirk.

"No."

"No, as well as me then." Quistis left a note with a few phone numbers listed on his desk and sashayed out of the room.

Seri cleaned Emma's bloody lip with a washcloth. Seri was also Evers' lover, and nurse to those who come back hurt. She stepped back and looked at Emma for a moment, who had sighed and looked at her toes.

"He's only going to keep doing this until you either kill him or you obey him." She said after a moment of silence.

"How can you be on their sides!" Emma kept her voice low, not wanting to wake anyone up. They were going on a hit tonight, and needed their rest.

"Because us women don't have a choice." Mara said, walking through the kitchen to grab a bottle of water from the refrigerator. Her blonde hair was in her face, yet Emma knew she was glaring at her. "You have a great shot at Cort. I love ya, but don't screw it up." She said and left.

"Don't listen to her. She's just angry she doesn't get to go." Seri said and threw away the bloody paper towel that Emma had held on her lip.

"Hey you know what…?" Squall walked over to the file cabinets by Zell's desk and began searching for Seifer's file. He quickly pulled it out and tossed it out on the table. Photos, records and summaries scattered on the table in front of the group.

" Last name 'Almasy', first name 'Seifer', middle name 'Colin'…Colin…?"

"Sounds too much like colon." Selphie giggled.

"Tch…keep reading." Zell motioned for Squall to read.

"…Sent to Balamb at the age of-"

"We know all of that! Read the most recent ones!" Selphie piped up, reaching for a pad of paper and a pen.

"…Whatever…Expelled from Balamb Garden for assault and battery, rape…possession of narcotics…breaking and entering…"

"Rape?" Zell stopped and looked at Squall.

Squall tilted his head down and started reading the details in the file. "…Yeah…statutory rape when he was seventeen. The girl was…" He turned the page. "Fourteen."

"Drugs I can believe… but…are you sure that's Seifer's file?" Selphie stood up and walked over by Squall.

"Yeah it's got his picture and everything in it…" Selphie pointed at the student photo over Squalls shoulders. Squall pulled the picture from the paper clip and handed it to Selphie, who was standing on her tiptoes to see the file.

"My god…who was it that he killed?" Rinoa asked.

"…Um—"

"We have a lead." Quistis bounded into the large room with another note with a number on it. "We have clarified that the sniper was most likely a Mortali." Quistis said and sat down, folding her arms together. "A few students saw on top of the Cafeteria roof, after hearing the shots fired, a feminine figure, goggles and all."

"Goggles? What do you mean?" Rinoa looked at Quistis for her answer.

"It's their status. The Mortali Assassins always wear goggles. It helps with their sight or something like that." Quistis noticed Selphie beginning to cry.

"Zell…what am I going to do?" She wept, covering her face. "I can't leave the Garden. But I've got to be at that meeting at the end of the week. What am I going to do?"

"Let's think about that later. Come on." Zell stood up, Lula in one arm and his lover in the other and started walking to their room. "Let's just go and rest for a while."

"Poor Selph…" Quistis muttered.