Author's Note: Update time! Nothing much to say about this particular chapter, except that it happens right after the previous chapter, as you'll soon find out. On a completely different note, I know that during this time period that I'm writing, a slightly edited version of Final Fantasy VIII happens (edited mostly because Squall is not a SeeD). I was wondering if you guys had any opinions for how much of that I should write? Should I go into great detail, or just give snippets, like I've been already doing? I just want to hear your thoughts on this.

Anyway, onto the chapter! Check out my blog for review responses and more background information!

Deling City: Quistis, Age 16

Quistis watched Rinoa make her way away from the house and out onto the street, a dog following at her heels. She frowned. Something was amiss. What could have made Rinoa change her mind like that?

Still frowning, Quistis turned to head back to the car to return to Balamb. Then she heard screaming from inside the Caraway house. The door was still open, so Quistis only thought a little about intruding. Given all the monsters floating around nowadays, Quistis didn't want someone to get hurt when she could have prevented it. She stepped inside, drawing her nun chucks out from her belt. She followed the source of the screaming to an office of sorts. What she found there was not a monster, but a cook (who was the person screaming) and a frozen General Caraway. He wasn't just frozen, he was Stopped.

It didn't take long for Quistis to put two-and-two together. Rinoa had Stopped her father and then ran. Quistis wasn't sure how the girl had managed to cast magic. She also wasn't entirely sure how he'd managed to be Stopped for so long. Usually, the spell did not last more than fifteen seconds. He had to have been frozen for more than a couple minutes. She would figure both of those questions out later. For now, she needed to take care of this. She pulled out an Esuna and used it on the general.

"…I will not…" he began, then he realized something had changed. He glared at Quistis. "Where is my daughter?" he roared.

"Presently? I am not sure," Quistis said. "I came in her to see what all the fuss was about. You appeared to have been Stopped, and I remedied the issue."

"Who let you into the house?"

Quistis was beginning to see another reason why Rinoa might have been running.

"The door was open and I heard screaming. It is one of my duties to aid people in need. There are warnings posted all over the city regarding un-named monsters…"

"I don't care about your stinking monsters that keep you poor-excuses for soldiers in business!"

Quistis clicked the heels of her boots together and stood up straighter. Unfortunately, she was still a head shorter than the general. She hoped she could appear imposing enough. She didn't become a fully-fledged SeeD cadet at age 15 for nothing.

Sadly, the general wasn't impressed.

"Where is my daughter?!" he repeated. "That little brat is a Sorceress! She cast magic! Unless you" he turned on Quistis "people recruited her without my knowledge and gave her one of those fancy Guardians of magic or whatever they're called."

"Guardian Forces, sir," Quistis replied calmly. "They're called Guardian Forces."

Quistis had one Junctioned currently. His name was Quezacotl. She'd nicknamed him "Ketzy."

"Whatever," General Caraway spat. "Did you people recruit her?"

Quistis thought about how to best proceed with her answer. On one hand, Quistis was well aware that Rinoa was not actually being trained at any of the Gardens yet and thus could not have achieved a rank in which she could have received a Guardian Force. On the other hand, since Rinoa did not have a Guardian Force, she must be a Sorceress and there were bigger problems. Based on how General Caraway was acting, if he knew that his daughter might be a Sorceress, there were bigger problems still.

Quistis made the split-decision to stretch the truth—a lot.

"Yes, we did recruit her," Quistis said. Not a lie. "We will also get to the bottom of why she felt it appropriate to use para-magic on you." Possibly a lie. SeeD probably won't track down Rinoa, and it certainly wasn't para-magic that she had used.

"She's my daughter and I reserve the right to pun—"

Quistis cut him off. "As SeeD, it is our responsibility to follow this one. Magic and para-magic are our specialties. I suggest you just calm down and let us handle this."

"You SeeD's don't know how to do anything…"

"Sir, if you are going to continue to insult my line of work, I'm going to have to talk to your superiors and inform them of your conduct. While it is clear you do not respect SeeD, your superiors will agree with me that the services SeeD and the Gardens offer are a benefit to society."

"You have no authority to do that! You can't talk to my superiors."

"Fine. You are correct. I may not be able to, but Headmaster Martine will."

General Caraway frowned. His demeanor quieted. Quistis knew she had him. Galbadia Garden worked very closely with the Galbadia military. Galbadia Garden didn't train SeeD's though, only Balamb Garden did that. However, Headmaster Martine of Galbadia Garden would not be pleased to learn that one of their most respected Generals was insulting a very helpful organization that a sister Garden was supporting.

"I believe our business is done here," Quistis said. "I, personally, will see to it that your daughter is found. Whether or not she returns here is not my call, however, but hers."

"She is fifteen! She is still a child."

Quistis shook her head. "She is fifteen, and thus has enough autonomy to refuse to return to you. Like I said, that is her call. I will notify you when I find her."

Before the general could say anything else, Quistis turned, nodded at the petrified cook, and left the house.

xx

Quistis slid into the backseat of the car and informed the driver to head back to Balamb.

Zell, a SeeD in training, turned to look at Quistis.

"Didn't our new recruit just run that way?" he asked, jerking his thumb behind them.

"Did she?" Quistis asked, mildly intrigued.

"Yeah! What happened?"

"Something came up," Quistis responded. "She had to cancel her application."

"Aw, sad day," Zell replied, bummed. "I was looking forward to another lady around."

Quistis gave him a disapproving look.

"What?!" he asked, shrugging. "I like the ladies!"

Quistis rolled her eyes. Boys. At this rate, Zell would be 19 before he became a full SeeD. He seriously needed to start maturing.

Quistis' thoughts strayed to Rinoa again. Unless she'd somehow managed to acquire a Guardian Force outside of SeeD, the girl was likely a Sorceress incarnate. Part of Quistis wanted to go after what was probably a very afraid teenager, but the rest of her knew an action like that was unwise. Assuming she was a Sorceress (and Quistis would have to assume that until otherwise, because that was the most dangerous option), Quistis was not trained to deal with her, especially if she was not in control of her powers, or potentially possessed. Balamb Garden had people specifically trained for this purpose after the Sorceress War happened.

Quistis massaged her forehead. Then there was the general to deal with. Though, technically, Quistis wouldn't have to deal with him.

That would be Headmaster Cid's job. As soon as they got back to the school, she would need to talk to him.

"What's up?" Zell asked.

"Training question for you, Zell," Quistis said.

Zell rolled his eyes. "Oh boy."

"What are you supposed to do when you encounter a Sorceress?"

"Are we assuming I'm a SeeD or no?"

"Say if you saw one today."

"Oh, well, then I wouldn't be able to take her on by myself. I'd have to go notify the SeeD's trained to…"

"You only need to talk to one person."

"Oh. Headmaster Cid!"

"Correct."

"That's it?"

"Yes."

"Why ask that, Quistis? I mean, it seems sort of random…"

"Hypothetical scenario. You must be able to think on your feet at all times."

"Right."

"Zell, when we get back to the Garden, I want you to do a couple of training levels, okay?"

Zell sighed.

"You want to become a SeeD, don't you?"

Zell nodded. "Yeah, like my grandfather."

Quistis gave a curt nod. "Two training levels. Do the appropriate paperwork following them and give them to any of your instructors."

"It would just be so much easier if you were an instructor."

"No one becomes an instructor at 16," Quistis replied, smiling shyly.

"Wouldn't be surprised if you did."

"Thanks, Zell. I appreciate it."

"Well, you sure tell me what to do a lot."

"Well, you certainly want to become a SeeD. I'm just trying to push you to do well."

"What, and be like you?"

Quistis shook her head. "No. Definitely not. I just want you to do your best."

Zell shrugged and rolled his eyes.

Quistis did her best not to sigh and tried to think about anything besides the current Sorceress issue.

xx

Quistis knocked on the door to Headmaster Cid's office.

"Come in!"

She took a deep breath and walked in.

"Ah! Quistis! What brings you to my office, today?"

"Sir, I think we have a Sorceress running about."

Headmaster Cid frowned. "Who?"

"The new recruit I was sent to go see, Rinoa Ca—Heartily."

Headmaster Cid paled.

"I just barely managed to catch her," Quistis stammered. "She was in a hurry to leave. She cancelled her application and literally ran out of the house. I heard screaming and ended up going in the house because she'd left the door opens. Turns out, she'd Stopped her father."

"Stopped as in…"

"Magic, sir. Likely not para-magic, unless she managed to get a Guardian Force."

Headmaster Cid shook his head.

"Right," Quistis said. "So that means Sorceress."

Headmaster Cid swallowed. "Even that seems unlikely. The only Sorceress…" He licked his lips nervously. "Right, I will need to get in contact with some people."

"Do you need me to do anything?"

Headmaster Cid shook his head. "No, no, I can handle this. I just need to contact the President of Esthar and…"

"Sir, I think someone should send a letter to General Caraway."

"Who?"

"General Caraway of the Galbadian army. He's Rinoa's father."

Headmaster Cid's eyes widened. "Right. I will send letter out. What did you tell him about his daughter's outburst of…magic?"

"I told him that we had recruited her and had given her a Guardian Force. It seemed the best option, given how angry he was. I didn't want him suspecting his daughter was a Sorceress, he might try to deal with her himself, and I saw no peaceful end to that. He is a very angry man, or at least, he was when I was speaking to him."

"In his defense, he had been Stopped."

"Oh, I am aware. It's just, something seemed off about him."

Headmaster Cid sighed. "Right. I will take care of that, too."

"Are you sure there isn't anything…?"

"No, Quistis, that will be all. Go take the evening off or something. You do too much."

Quistis raised her eyebrows, but did not argue. She bade the headmaster a good evening and left his office.

She wasn't quite sure what to do with herself now. She supposed she could read some more books about how to become an instructor. She was hoping to become one before she turned 20. She still had a few years. Either that, or she could maybe go to one of the places where the Triple Triad players liked to hang out and play. She was getting good at Triple Triad. She just had to make sure Zell didn't find out. He'd never let her forget it. Not that there was anything wrong with Triple Triad, just… Quistis was not the type of person who "seemed" to be a Triad player. Which may be why she'd been able to beat Dr. Kadowaki a couple years ago…

"Oh look, it's goody-goody Quisty, ya know!"

"Shut up, Raijin," Quistis growled.

"You're not an authority, ya know!"

"No, really?" Quistis said, knowing her sarcasm would be lost on him.

"Leave her alone, Rai," said his friend, Fujin.
Quistis knew better than to thank her. Fujin only did what was beneficial to her.

Fujin still kicked Raijin in the shins. "You know messing with Quistis will only get you in trouble with everyone else. Sometimes, it's not worth it to pick on the teachers' pet!"

Quistis sighed. Of course.

Raijin started to argue with Fujin, though Quistis wasn't sure why, it wasn't like he was particularly witty. She slipped away before either bully noticed.