A/N: Thank you for the reviews guys!

'Meeting At Four'

FRIDAY MORNING

04:00

Her hand reached to her throat to check that the chain still hung there, and her fingers wrapped around the warm metal links with familiar comfort, before sliding down to hold the silver ring. It was such a well-known movement that she was now unconscious of doing it, like tucking stray strands of hair behind her ears.

Taking a step towards the edge of the pavement, Rinoa looked up and down the empty road for moving traffic. There was none, only parked cars lined up along the opposite side, some in the darkness, others under the glare of the streetlamps. Walking out of the orange glow into the darkness on the other side, Rinoa wondered why she didn't feel afraid.

There was nobody around, everyone had disappeared into taxis, or walked on ahead of her. She didn't know why she had insisted on her friends taking the taxi, and then lying to them, saying she would get the next one that came along. Telling them she'd be fine, refusing their offers for someone to stay behind with her.

She felt reckless suddenly, as if all her usual fears of muggers, rapists, and murderers were stupid. Why had she been so worried before? Even to the point of mistrusting the taxi driver, making her friends promise to call her as soon as they got home. Nothing seemed to matter on this dark night, at four in the morning, with not a soul to be seen.

Rinoa's mother had always woven bedtime stories that were far and beyond the regular kind of princesses and dragons. Rinoa Heartilly grew up knowing of magic, not the hocus pocus kind that turned people in frogs, and sent shooting sparks into the air, but the quiet kind, that no one ever noticed. It was all around, but she had never been able to see it or understand it like her mother had.

Even with the death of her mother, she had felt nothing unusual in the air, not even standing at the graveside, looking down at the freshly turned earth. She had hoped that her mother might have appeared to her, and revealed her secrets of the world she always spoke of, but nothing changed.

Perhaps she should have let go of such stories long ago and left them in childhood, but she had not. Some how they spoke more of truth than just entertainment. Her mother might have told her more, but had been taken away too soon. Rinoa had kept her eye out for the odd and unusual ever since, but always keeping her vigil a secret.

"This way!" Seifer shouted, running full pelt down the alley and turning the corner before disappearing around the corner.

Squall looked at his watch, it would be getting light soon. Something dark rushed overhead too fast to be seen. It hadn't noticed him, it was chasing Seifer. Picking up the pace, Squall took a different alley to Seifer, they would meet in the middle, as long as everything went to plan. Something fast and bright streaked past him, glittering and laughing.

Changing direction, Squall too another path, he had no desire to follow the pixie. If she was deciding to help then she could handle her share of the capture alone, and if she was merely enjoying the ride, then it was best to keep out of her way.

Seifer looked behind him, he was alone and running, Squall must have taken another path, so they had been separated. Great, he thought, sometimes it paid to split up, but he didn't think today was going to be one of those days. He was already been followed, and there were three more Bleaks up ahead. He dropped to the floor, and changed direction. The Bleak that had been following zoomed across the sky in the wrong direction. He'd have to leave it, he was outnumbered.

He rounded the corner to come abruptly face to face with Selphie.

"Arrgh!" he shouted almost tripping as he skidded to a halt. "What the hell?"

"Miss me?" she asked sweetly, her hands clasped behind her back.

"No," Seifer replied irritated. She'd made him loose his concentration, and the Bleaks had disappeared. "What do you want?" he snapped, spinning the chamber in his gun. He always liked to double check that the bullets were still there.

"I know where he is!" she said in a singsong voice, that made Seifer fume with anger. They were already running out of time, he didn't need the pixie's games.

"What?" he snapped.

Selphie pointed.

"There!"

Seifer jumped as a shot was fired much too close, and he felt something hot graze his ear. The silver bullet passed straight through Selphie, causing her to change to her shimmering golden dust. The bullet ripped through the air and into the Bleak that had gone unnoticed by Seifer, just inches away. It shattered like a mirror.

Seifer spun around enraged.

"Damn it Leonheart!" he yelled. Selphie re-materialised next to him looking put out, clearly she didn't appreciate being shot.

"Stop talking to your girlfriend, we've three Bleaks to go!"

Seifer shot a scathing look at Selphie.

"She's not my girlfriend... hey, where are you going?"

As soon as he began following Squall he felt it, a change in the Bleaks. They were not hunting them any more, but someone else. There shouldn't have been anyone around at this time.

Rinoa checked her phone as she walked, she didn't have any messages but looked anyway. She felt as if she was waiting for something, but didn't know what. Suddenly she was confronted by two men, running towards her, but it was the firework streaking towards her face that was causing her the most concern. Ducking down, she felt it lift strands of her hair as it whistled overhead.

Squall didn't like to involve civilians, but this was something different. This girl was either calling the Bleaks with dark magic, or she was a great magnet for them. They wouldn't know until the Bleaks had been dispersed, and they could apprehend her. Squall saw the girl's eyes widen at the gun in Seifer's hand, and realised that Seifer had just fired a shot.

Rinoa screamed, but the bullet missed her. A noise like shattering glass sounded nearby and she flung herself to the floor. Without thinking, Squall's trigger finger twitched and another Bleak was down. One left, unperturbed by it's brother's having been shot down, still desperate to get near the girl.

Selphie's light illuminated it for the briefest of seconds, and two shots shattered it into pieces.

Rinoa staggered to her feet and looked around, the ground at her feet looked darker than the rest of the world, and she stepped away from it. She felt someone take her elbow, and she pulled away. It was one of the men who had tried to shoot her. She stared at him, but he was no longer shooting, or even looked murderous. What was going on?

"Selphie, no!" Squall shouted, but it was too late. Selphie materialised

in front of Rinoa.

Rinoa jumped, but did not scream. She wondered instead how much alcohol she had consumed to be creating these hallucinations.

The blond man who had taken her elbow to steady her stepped away, but the girl who had appeared out of nothing continued to come closer. Rinoa reconsigned her as the girl from the bar, and then looked past her.

Squall stared, he remembered her face now, the Bleaks had found this girl in the bar. Maybe they should have paid her more attention.

"She's human alright," Selphie said staring with squinted eyes. "Whoops!" she added, realising that she would be in trouble for appearing before a human.

"Idiot," Seifer muttered under his breath, and Selphie scowled at him.

Squall holstered his gun.

"You need to go home," he instructed Rinoa.