Disclaimer: I don't own FFVIII, and all that jazz. Now, let's carry on, shall we?
Save Yourself
Chapter Eleven
It was a cold winter's evening. A soft blanket of snow covered the ground, untouched and pristinely white. Frost was sketched in intricate designs without patterns on the windowpanes. Inside the orphanage, the air was chilly, and the floor was colder - all of the kids were huddled around the woodstove, rubbing their hands and sipping mugs of steaming hot chocolate, while Matron handed around a hot supper of pancakes and syrup to their eager hands. Quistis and Seifer were huddled under a thick quilt, for once not fighting when they were in such a close proximity. They were talking quietly between mouthfuls of food.
"Hey Quisty, want to go play in the snow after this?"
"I don't know, Seifer. It's really cold out." She shivered for emphasis. However, he wouldn't have any of it.
"C'mon, Quisty. I bet you're scared, aren't ya? You chicken?" The magic words. Quistis could never resist one of Seifer's challenges, and this was no exception.
"Fine, you're on. I challenge you to a snowball fight!"
The duo tossed the warm blanket aside (Zell snatched it for himself soon after) and scampered off to find some winter clothes, while the rest of the orphanage gang shrugged it off and returned to their nice, warm meal in front of the toasty fire. Only crazy people went outside when it was this nice inside. Matron asked Ellone to watch over Zell, Irvine, Squall and Rinoa while she watched Seifer and Quistis from the living room window.
Waddling out into the waist deep snow, looking like the Michelin man in their snowsuits, Seifer and Quistis reveled in the crisp white powder. While Quistis was particularly entranced by the snow falling from the night sky, Seifer took the opportunity to shove her into a nearby snowbank.
"Seifer!" The screech echoed over the snowy fields. Enraged, cheeks dark pink from the stinging snowflakes, Quistis launched herself out of the snowbank and plowed into Seifer. They both toppled over in the opposite snowbank, Seifer's laugh ringing through the clear night. They lay there for a minute of two, both winded for the moment. Seifer's eyes were a bright jade, even they seemed to be gleaming with silent laughter. Quistis, all anger gone, was laying beside him, trying to dig snow out of her hood.
"Quisty?" Seifer's laugh had quieted, and he had stretched out in the snow lazily.
"Mmm?" Quistis relaxed as well, and started making a snow angel. "What is it?"
"Thank you." It didn't need a reason behind it, it didn't need an explanation. Quistis didn't expect one. It was just one of those things that was naturally understood.
Students came and went through the cafeteria, although her corner of the room remained abandoned since Squall's departure. Her eyes drifted back to the scrap of paper in front of her.
A Dormitory is a Dirty room.
A Schoolmaster lives in The Classroom.
A Dictionary is Indicatory.
So Try to figure out this Story.
It was a simple rhyme, really. But what was it trying to tell her? Was a 'schoolmaster' Cid? Herself? Maybe it was supposed to be her, because Cid certainly didn't live in a classroom. And what did a dormitory have to do with anything? Could this tie in with her mystery visitor? And what was up with the Dictionary? Just when she thought she was getting out of this whole mess, a little slip of paper had to pitch her right back in.
"Hey, what's up?" Her second surprise of the morning arrived with a double serving of hot dogs. Zell, hair still glistening from freshly applied gel, sat down across from her with gusto, rattling her coffee mug. She raised her eyebrows in question, but said nothing."Hey, you want a hot dog?" He waved the steaming 'meat' in front of her face. Her stomach turned in protest. Oh well, even during all this confusion, some things didn't change. "Huh? Oh, I forgot you hate them. Sorry. Hey...anything wrong? You seem kinda down about something."
"Okay, I'm kind of stuck in a situation. Do you know who Sam Liamay is?" Zell nodded as he drizzled ketchup on the hotdogs - Quistis wished she knew the secret behind his early-morning stomach of steel. "Well, I'm on the case to find him. But I want to get out of it. This pompous guy named Alec Crowell, who also happens to be the chief of police, is supposedly 'helping me out'."
"Supposedly? You mean he isn't? Heyyy, I think I've seen that guy around Garden. I was walking to my dormitory, right, and I saw him standing around with some fancy-pants guys. They weren't officers, but they sure looked professional. One of them was wearing a black sportcoat, the other had a black jacket. They were talking about Sam Liamay, I think." He paused to chug his orange juice, then took an enormous bite out of a second hotdog. If anyone else had bit off that much they would've choked. It's a wonder Zell wasn't.
"Anyway. These guys were setting up some little security cameras. Or at least, that's what I think they were doing. One of them said that they knew the other cameras were going in for maintenance the next day, so they wanted to install some backup ones. I find it pretty weird that they were focusing on the dorms and nowhere else, y'know? Like they knew Sam was going to be there or something. Weird, huh?"
"Yeah…yeah it is weird Zell." This put a whole new light on the matter. According to what Zell saw, Alec was hiding some vital information from her. But why? Was there something he didn't want her to find out? "I got this paper, it's supposed to somehow relate to Sam Liamay but I can make heads or tails of it. Can you?" Zell, having polished off the plate of hotdogs, wiped the crumbs off his lap and took the piece of paper from her hands. Squinting, his eyes flitted back and forth, reading the words, a perplexed look on his features. A few minutes passed before he said a word.
"Well, what do you think it means?" The tone in his voice hinted that he had some theories about it himself, but he was hesitating.
"I think it's saying something about the school. Maybe that Sam Liamay lives in Garden? Maybe he was a previous student, or a Instructor?"
"I think it's a little more than that."
"What?" Since when had Zell surpassed her in perception? Was she, Quistis Trepe, losing her touch? What was hidden in those four short lines that she was missing? It wasn't like this was an epic Shakespearian sonnet, there didn't seem to be much to it. "What do you mean by that?"
Zell gave her a lopsided smile. "I know you're capable of figuring it out on your own. I know enough, so naturally you know more. You can figure it out. Just think. There's more to it than just recognizing the words." And with that, he left her alone again. What was up with people today? Was she the only person who didn't understand something? Was she left out of something? And how the hell did Zell know more than she did?
That's mean, she thought to herself. Zell's grown up a lot the past year, you have to give him credit for that. He's changed...but maybe you haven't. Sighing, she got up from the table and headed back towards the dormitories. It was Monday morning, and she had a precious hour before her classes began. And of course she had no lesson plan prepared.
All right, I can handle this…we'll do cryptography. Yeah, that can always come in handy, plus I don't need to photocopy anything or prepare anything beforehand. Quistis is back in control. I won't let a small puzzle stop me.
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Seifer was in hell. There was no other explanation. Alec was the devil himself, forcing him to listen by any means necessary. If he turned his head to the side, Alec would punch him in the face. If he looked down, Alec would punch him in the temple, causing his vision to turn black for minutes at a time. The only reason he was fighting was not only in defiance, but because the words hurt more than the punches.
"So, Seifer. Now that we've finished talking about your heinous acts during the Second Sorceress war, let's talk about a certain Balamb Garden Instructor…"
"Bastard." It was mumbled, but Alec heard enough to understand. He balled his hand up into a fist and shot it straight at Seifer's nose. A snap was heard, and blood gushed down his face and shirt. Seifer let out a cry of pain, then looked up in rage and disgust as Alec flashed him a malicious grin.
"Struck a chord, have we? Don't know why you like that bitch. The only reason I'd ever like her is because of her body. Bet she'd be good in bed, huh?"
Seifer shut his eyes, trying to control his anger and pain. How dare he disgrace Quistis, degrade her…
"I'll even bet you I could seduce her. Easily too." He snapped his fingers. "I could get her into my bed like that." Seifer gritted his teeth, seething with fury. "After all, she seemed to enjoy my company last night." His eyes widened in surprise, and he forgot his code of silence.
"W-what?"
"Ahahah, yes that's right. We spent a lovely evening together. She was a little cold at first, but she warmed to me by the end of the night. Of course, I don't love her. It just seems a shame for such a good body to go to waste. Stupid girl, she's been single for the past two years – waiting for you." He added with particular disgust. "Not for long. She's going to be mine."
Seifer was in shock. She had really been waiting for him? And she really went to dinner with this creep? She must not know anything about this guy, she's just as helpless as I am…he thought sadly. The rage that he had been holding back was bubbling to the surface. It erupted out of him seconds later.
"YOU FUCKING MONSTER! DO YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST 'OWN' SOMEONE! QUISTIS IS WORTH MORE THAN A HUNDRED OF YOU COULD EVER BE! I DON'T KNOW WHO YOU ARE, BUT I SWEAR TO HYNE I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU FOR THIS!" His eyes were a uncontrollable blaze, muscles taught and straining against the chains, blood spraying to the floor. Alec took a step back. His façade faltered for a moment – this was no normal man in front of him. This was a human pushed to their very limit. And it could strike fear in any living creature.
He regained his composure, narrowing his eyes, his own anger rising to the surface. "You, Seifer Almasy, are in no position to be threatening me. To answer your question, I can own someone. And I will. But don't worry," he drawled sarcastically and cruelly. "I'll keep you updated." He pulled the taser gun out from his pocket and adjusted the voltage carefully. "Now it's time to pay for your defiance. Don't worry, I won't kill you. It's just enough for you to realize you're below me. And you always will be, you filthy mutt." And with that, he struck Seifer with the taser.
Unimaginable pain. His vision flashed black and white, as his body was wracked with agony. He vaguely heard Alec's sickening laugh as he crumpled to the floor, unconscious.
"Yes…that's right Seifer. Let your anger control you. Once you've lost all hope, then our project will really begin…"
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"Alright class, settle down." The excited chattering dampened to a quiet murmur throughout the room. "Today we'll be studying cryptography and codes, an essential part of becoming a SeeD. We'll cover number codes, as well as basic code making. To finish it off, we'll do a small activity with combat signals. Alright?" The students nodded enthusiastically, which was oddly surprising because they usually didn't like non-fighting topics. "Great. Now who can tell me the difference between a code and a cipher?" A male student near the back raised their hand. "Yes?"
"Codes substitute groups of letters or figures for words, phrases or even complete concepts, ciphers replace every individual letter of every word."
"Very good. Someone's been doing research. Alright, why are ciphers often easier to crack?" The student next to him raised his hand to answer.
"Ciphers are vulnerable to letter frequency."
"Excellent." Quistis turned to the board and wrote down a single line of text.
G XZGAST VL STBD GL LFJSTW GL FOZ LSBKVZJ.
"Now, the first step to cracking a cipher is to target the most common letters in English. These are E, T, A, O, and N. If we use the principle of 'letter frequency', the letter that came up most often would represent E. The second most common letter would be T and so on. Using this, common words usually show up. However, I've made this example different to make it a little harder. Letter frequency won't work very well with this phrase. In the next five minutes – speed is essential in any mission - I want you to try and solve it. Remember to corner out the one letter words and work from there."
The class went smoothly for the next 45 or so minutes, the student adapted well to the number codes and handled them almost effortlessly. Finally, with five minutes left in class, a female student raised her hand to ask a question.
"Yes, what is it?"
"You didn't cover anagram codes, Instructor Trepe."
"Anagram codes? Oh, yes. Well, anagram codes are basically phrases and quotes formed by switching the letters in every word around. They're often the easiest codes to break, so they aren't used very often. In fact, Gardens stopped using them about a decade ago." Satisfied with her answer, the student continued packing up. The bell rang a minute later, and Quistis was left alone at her desk again. Sighing with relief, she gathered up her papers. It felt like she hadn't been teaching for years.
A dormitory is a dirty room.
Anagram codes.
A Schoolmaster lives in The Classroom.
Letters rearranged.
A Dictionary is Indicatory.
Forming a different word.
So Try to figure out this Story.
They were all anagrams. Something was an anagram…and she had to figure it out. That was what they were trying to tell her! Attention and energy surged back into her as she tackled the puzzle with new hope. She settled back down into her chair, mind running like a well-oiled machine.
Sam Liamay.
Her trained eyes studied the word, trying to pick out small words, or common letter combinations. The outside world was pushed aside.
I.
I am.
I am Sam…
I am Al?
I am….I am….
I am….
I am Almasy.
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Yes, I know, took me a little while to update. You'll all live, I'm sure.
A huge thanks out to Ultimate Sorceress, Aaron, Jack, Lain and Yuyami no Okami, as well as Ai ne Shenlong no Miko. I don't believe in pulling any punches either, but I do believe any reviewer should get credit and thanks.
Yes, a cliffhanger. Could've avoided that if I had the work ethic to boost this chapter up by another 500 words, but you guys know me well enough that I'm far too lazy to do that.
Anyone who can figure out the cipher will get my official thumbs up of approval.
Peace out.
Juusan Ikkiuchi
