Talk To Me

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy is the property of Square-Enix, not me. Yeah. It sucks. I know. Jade, Matt, and Nic are mine.

Author's note: This fanfic was originally posted under the name Hyperionchic, and since I've long forgotten my password, and that e-mail address no longer exists…well, it's now being posted under this name. Also, I've gone back through this fic and corrected some errors, fleshed it out quite a bit, and hopefully I've just made it better.

Enjoy.

Prologue

"Are you sure no one's home?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Hyne, you can be such a pussy sometimes!"

"Hey! I am not!"

"Mhmm…and that's why you're here about to break into this huge house, dressed all in black, but yet you're wearing that pink scarf I got you for coming out of the closet. Yeah, you're definitely the epitomy of all that is masculine."

"Would you c'mon already Jade? I want to get this over with. Something just doesn't feel right about this."

"…Whatever." A few more seconds and the lock was picked. It never ceased to amaze Jade at how ignorant some Estharians could be. Really, like in this day and age a simple bolt lock on a door could keep out an experienced cat burglar, much less a ten year old. "Alright, let's go."

And in they went. They weren't overly cautious like they usually were. What was the point when there wasn't anyone there to disturb?

The house was located in one of the more posh districts of Esthar, where the more prominent members of Esthar society resided. For example, they were in the home of one of Laguna Loire's ambassador's. Kiros Seagill…or some weird name like that. Jade didn't really care. They'd been approached a couple of weeks ago by some little twink that worked in the palace. She'd heard of Jade and her friends through a friend. That's how it always worked. They did a job for someone, then that person recommended them to a friend, then that friend told a friend; it was a network of fucking friends. And they profited from it.

"Jade, do you have any idea what this thing looks like?" Nic asked. Him and Jade went way back, like, playing together in diapers back. Both of them had lost their parents at the tender age of two during the Sorceress War. They'd been each other's support for the twelve years they were at the orphanage. However, they'd finally had enough the of roaches and rats. And, like poof, they were gone. For good.

Soon after escaping, the dynamic duo had met Matt. He was a street savvy kid of sixteen, two years older than both of them. Like so many, he'd been left homeless after the war, thus leaving his family to do whatever was necessary to survive.

They took the two orphans in, raised them as though they were their own flesh and blood. And trained them in the art of thievery. Matt was the master of pick pocketing. His mother, with her quick and agile fingers, could pick any lock. And his father could find places that would reek the best rewards, and provided muscle whenever it was necessary. However, unlike most, they didn't do mugging. It was dishonorable, and too easy. They felt that thieving was an art, and that every place they burgled was just another piece to add to their collection.

"She said it was a gold bracelet with a bunch of different jewels in it. Plus a yellow envelope with some incriminating pictures." She could only guess what those pictures might be of; not that she cared. They made it a rule not to get into the affairs of their clientele. If this chick was going to blackmail this guy, then so be it.

"Got it.", Nic nodded. It was time to go to work. They didn't know how much time they had before this Kiros guy came home. A clean getaway was always preferable to being chased by some glorified rent-a-cops, which were common in these neighborhoods.

While Nic was searching the downstairs living room and study, Jade made her way upstairs. The place wasn't as big as she thought it would be; or perhaps it seemed small because this guy had a lot of shit. The first room she came across was the bedroom, and boy was it nice.

In the middle was a large bed, queen size from the looks of it, with a canopy. What really struck her as odd was the pink sheets and bedspread, although they did look really soft and warm. Maybe he had a daughter…no, a family was never mentioned. Besides, there'd be evidence of a family living here. Pictures, toys left on the living room floor and the stairs, stuff like that. Nope, this guy was either gay, or just really liked pink.

"To each his own, I guess.", she snorted. She was glad she came up here instead of Nic. He would've started digging through drawers and the closet. She sighed and couldn't help but chuckle. She loved the guy, but he could be such a queen sometimes.

That's when she spotted their booty. One the table next to the bed, lay the bracelet and a large, yellow envelope. "Score!", she ran over to the table and picked up the items. Figuring they had enough time, she decided to take a peak at the pictures. Upon opening the envelope, her eyes practically popped out of their sockets. She certainly could see why these would be very incriminating, especially for someone as high profile as the two men in them. Really. What would Estharians think if they knew their President was sleeping with one of his advisors?

Before she could start to contemplate the consequences of what would happen once these were in the hands of their client, headlights from a car pulling into the driveway illuminated the lavish bedroom.

"Oh shit! Jade, time to bolt!", she heard Nic call from downstairs. Going with her gut, she dropped the pictures to the floor, but not the bracelet for that could always generate a profit without harming anyone, and placed it in her pocket. She'd lie and say they didn't find the pictures in the house.

She took the stairs two at a time, her long legs allowing her to do so with ease. Before she could reach the last two, she heard a voice shout from the front door, telling her to stop. The man standing there was about her height, lean, and from the way he was standing she figured he knew how to handle himself. While Jade was fairly able to defend herself, she knew she couldn't take this guy.

Looking back and forth from Kiros, to the back door, then back to Kiros, she knew she couldn't make it to the back door. Turning back around, she bolted up the stairs for the bedroom again. She'd seen a balcony and hoped that their would be a way out from there. It was just her luck, too.

Just as she made her way out to the balcony, she saw Nic hopping over the fence, and the headlights of Matt's car even as she was hopping over the balcony's railing right into the swimming pool below. The water was freezing as it hit her pretty hard, considering the height that she had fallen from.

Such a thing didn't bother her much though. She couldn't let it. After all these years, she wasn't going to get caught over something so trivial. As she was pulling herself up out of the pool, she heard her assailant screaming and the sound of sirens getting closer and closer.

"Damn it!" She cursed as she ran over to the fence. Using her arms, she pulled herself up and over the fence, landing on the other side with the grace of a cat…a wet cat. The sirens were getting closer as she climbed into the old, beat-up truck.

"Drive!", she yelled at Matt and he stepped on the gas.

"Someone must've tipped them off! How else could they have gotten here so fast!", he yelled. They could see the sirens behind them now, and getting closer and closer as the truck tried to gain speed. It occurred to them that they'd been set up. Sure, it had been all over the news and papers that there had been a record number of break ins in the last three years, but they'd been careful. Apparently, not careful enough.

"I told you this was a bad idea!", Nic screamed into Jade's ear, which in turn earned him a glare and a promised smack upside the head if he didn't shut up.

"Fuck!", the truck suddenly came to a screeching halt, throwing it's passengers forward. There, at the end of the alley, were two squad cars blocking their way. Police officers were standing next to them, guns drawn, ready to fire. Behind them, another two cars were blocking their exit. They'd been caught. Jade looked at her best friends, her brothers, and they all shared the same look. A look of defeat. It was over. Well…at least they'd all wind up in some kind of detention center together.

…A few days later.

"…Balamb Garden.", Jade whispered to herself in disbelief. Why are they sending three hood rats to such a distinguished academy? She thought to herself. Oh, yeah, now she remembered. They were trying to rehabilitate them; they were only minors after all. Not that the idea of getting paid to fight someone else's battles didn't appeal to her. There was just one little problem. Jade, Matt, and Nic didn't really know how to fight. Sure they knew a few moves, but they'd mainly relied on sneaking through the shadows of darkened alleyways for the past four years. It was only because of their stealth that they were able to survive when those monsters had invaded Esthar not even a year ago, during that whole ordeal with another damn Sorceress.

They were fast learners though. Besides, it wasn't like they had to stay there the rest of their life. All they had to do was pass the SeeD Exam, put in three years of service afterward, then they were free to go. Of course, the option to stay was available to them as well. Jade wasn't really sure what she wanted to do. All she could do was wait and see what it was like.

"Yo, Masters! You're transports here. Get your ass up!", the guard was banging on the door to her cell with his night stick. He was wearing the usual Estharian soldier get up. Really, she thought, Esthar has to be the weirdest place on the planet.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't get your thong in a twist. I'm comin'." That little remark would probably earn a good wrap of that baton. Well, it was more like a cattle prod, if you asked her.

"You'd do good to watch that smart mouth of yer's. No SeeD's gonna take that kind of shit from the likes of you!", and with that he smacked the back of her head with his hand. Well, she thought, at least he didn't use the stick.

When she entered the next room, she saw that they'd already pulled Matt and Nic from their cells and were already waiting with their escorts. One was a tall man, dressed as a cowboy, and apparently Nic already had quite a crush on him. She noted the starry-eyed gaze he was giving the cowboy. Not that she could blame him, he was awfully…pretty.

The woman they'd sent had her back turned to them. Not that Jade minded all that much. The SeeD uniform she was wearing did nothing to hide the figure underneath, and boy, was she glad for that. Long blonde hair was put up in a very sophisticated bun. Jade could only imagine how it looked when she let it down. She let her eyes travel lower. Down her back to her ass. A small "eep" escaped her lips at that, and then she noticed the long legs that were covered mostly by the black skirt and boots she was wearing. What a pity, she thought.

And that was when the mysterious woman turned around, and cornflower blue eyes met violet. Holy shit, she's beautiful! Jade thought. They just stood there, staring at each other for what seemed like hours, when really it was only a matter of seconds.

"Masters, Jayden?", the blonde broke the silence between them. She looked down at the file in her hands, then back to Jade. The picture didn't do her justice in Quistis's mind.

"The one and only.", she smirked.

"Hmm…", was Quistis's only response. Looking to the officers, she motioned for them to give the three their belongings so they could be on there way. Turning back to Jade and the others, she smiled, much to Jade's delight. "My name is Quistis Trepe, and this is Irvine Kinneas. We'll be your escorts to Balamb Garden. Once we're on our way, we'll answer any questions you may have about Garden."

She's so damn formal, Jade thought, and she called me Jayden. She wasn't used to being called by that. To everyone she knew, she was just "Jade".

"Alright kiddies, let's get the show on the road!", the cowboy named Irvine said a little too enthusiastically for her liking, but apparently Nic seemed to enjoy it.

She looked over at Matt, and just as she thought, he was eyeing the blonde as well. He spared her a glance and they both nodded their heads in agreement. The blonde was definitely a looker. And that also meant the competition was on. They had a really bad habit of going after the same girl, and more than once, it'd ended up with the two of them not speaking to each other for a while. However, Jade had a feeling that this wouldn't end like that. More than likely they'd both strike out with her, because frankly, she looked way out of their league. Really, what would a high profile SeeD want with a couple of hood rats like themselves?

Quistis had made the mistake of taking the seat right across from Jayden, and now, she was feeling really uncomfortable. She didn't know why the girl made her so…nervous. Well, edgy was the more appropriate word for how she was feeling. Okay, actually it was a little of both. Hell, she didn't know. Okay Quistis, get a grip. She thought. She had a job to do. But, she just couldn't help sneaking a glance at the girl every now and then. She had blonde hair, with an assortment of highlights mixed in, and Quistis found herself trying to guess what her natural hair color was. The roots were blonde, but then there was a little bit of red and brown mixed in also. And she had it cut in a style almost similar to Squall's, only a little longer. Her eyes were a dark blue now, but earlier they seemed almost violet.

But what amazed Quistis most of all was the way Jayden carried herself. Actually, all three of them carried with them an air of confidence that vaguely reminded her of Seifer. But there was also something else, something that told her she should keep an eye on the three. She'd read their files. Not that she thought they could try and escape once they were in Garden. GPS locators were installed in every SeeD issued watch as a way to find SeeDs when they were lost. Plus, with this new rehabilitation program with Esthar, Cid and Edea had taken the liberty of adding special locks to the dorms the newly acquired cadets would be staying in.

"So…what do we do now?", Quistis was startled and looked over at Matt. He was looking at her, waiting for her to answer his question.

"Once we arrive, you'll be given a tour of the facilities and you will be issued your cadet uniforms. But first, while we're waiting to get back, we need to set up your class schedules and figure out what weapons you want to train with.", Quistis answered in that same formal way she did back at the detention hall, and this of course, caused Jade to swoon in delight.

"Weapons? Cool! What are our options?", this time Nic answered. Quistis smiled slightly. This one certainly was a gem. And judging from the way she had seem him grinning at Irvine, she knew that he would also have a hard time at Garden. Some older cadets could be really cruel.

"Anything from gunblades to your own two hands. Frankly, we only have one gunblade user at the moment. It'd certainly be nice to see more cadets try and master such a weapon.", Irvine answered. He handed each of them a booklet that contained the variety of weapons that Garden had available. "Take your time and read each weapons advantages and disadvantages. And if you like, a back-up weapon maybe be chosen as well. I'd recommend choosing one. You never know when such training might come in handy."

"Of course, all cadets are required to take at least two courses in hand-to-hand combat. It's always good to know how to defend yourself when you don't have a weapon handy.", Quistis stated. She knew all too well what it was like to be caught without a weapon, magic, or her trusty Guardian Forces. That time in Galbadia Prison was hell.

A good hour had went by before any of them had decided on what weapon to use. Finally, after looking through the book, Jade had made her decision.

"I know what I want to use.", she looked at Quistis and grinned. She was disappointed when all she received was a glance from over her glasses.

"Yes?", Quistis didn't want to look into those eyes. She hated when something made her nervous and caused her to lose that cool composure she'd spent many years perfecting. Really though, she was wanting to know what weapon Jade would be using.

"The gunblade. And uh…the scimitar, as a secondary weapon.", she was really intrigued by the gunblade. Such a powerful weapon had to be hard to master, and if there was one thing Jade liked, it was a challenge.

This didn't surprise Quistis. It would be interesting to see a girl take up the gunblade. So far, only males had tried to use the weapon. And one of them was now commander of Garden, and the other? Who knew. They'd never heard from Seifer and his gang after the ordeal with Ultimecia.

"Alright. Have you guys decided?", Quistis looked to Nic and Matt. Both of them nodded their heads.

"I want to use the rifle. And uh…I'll use the metal knuckle as a back-up.", Nic replied, purposefully grinning at Irvine. He'd noticed the weapon next to the cowboy's chair. Hopefully, he'd get to 'train' with this extremely delicious looking fellow.

"I'll take the staff, with a couple of katanas on the side, please.", Matt joked, which earned him a look from everyone in the small conference room.

"Dude, that was lame. Even for you.", Jade smirked

"…Bite me!", he paused, then looked to Quistis and Irvine. "But seriously, that's what I want to use."

"Okay. Now that we've got that, sit back and enjoy the rest of the flight. We'll be arriving in Balamb in about another hour or so. We'll have your schedules ready for you when we land.", and with that the two SeeDs left the room.

The friends looked at each other. They had a feeling they were in for quite an adventure. Who knows, maybe they'd make the best of this? And of course, they'd have a blast while doing it.

"Triple Triad anyone?", Nic piped up, causing both Matt and Jade to sigh.

Continued in Chapter 1.