A/N 1 – I don't own anything except the story.

A/N 2 – I actually wrote this chapter 4 years ago but for some reason never got round to posting it. I will get on with writing the next one – hopefully it won't be too long before it's up!

Chapter 25

They climbed slowly, pausing frequently to listen for sounds from above. The mysterious light diminished as they climbed higher, so that they were moving through almost total darkness by the time they reached the top. As they turned the final bend in the spiral, they could see real light spilling out of the doorway that led to the room where they had first met Odin.

They could also hear voices.

'They are klose…' said one and Selphie felt as though an icy hand had just crawled up her spine. The voice was Rinoa's but with an all-too-familiar edge to it.

Before she could say anything to Quistis, a second voice responded. 'I shall go, Highness,' said Seifer. But again, there was a strangeness to the voice, a formality that was at odds with his usual, relaxed persona.

'Are you sure, little boy?' Rinoa asked, malice and mockery ringing through her tone in equal measure. 'They are armed, remember. And they bring GFs. Perhaps I should send the Knight…'

'There is no need, Highness. They are only two women and I shall take them by surprise. The Knight should stay at your side.'

'Go, then. But do not fail me.'

Now she did glance at Quistis and saw that the colour had drained completely from her friend's face.

The sound of heavy boots walking across a stone floor came drifting down to them. Without a word, they began backing down the stairs the way they had come both gripped by the same horror. The voices they had heard were those of their friends but they also reminded them of Edea and Seifer as they had been when under the influence of Ultimecia.

They turned the bend in the stairs as the boots arrived at the top. 'Come out, come out wherever you are!' Seifer called, his voice echoing off the walls. His taunts were quickly replaced by the sound of his feet on the stairs.

The girls continued backing down the stairs as quickly as they dared. They needed to get to a place where they could move more freely, to give themselves at least a chance against the warrior who was following them. There seemed little point in arriving in that place with a broken leg, however.

At last, they reached the landing. Instantly, both adopted battle stances and pulled out their weapons. The sound of Seifer's feet rang louder and louder on the stairs. Selphie felt her mouth go dry. She took a firmer grip on her weapon and tried to decide which GF she should summon first.

And then he was suddenly there, leaping down the last few steps, dashing over to Quistis, ducking under the end of her whip as it flicked towards his eye, sweeping her into an embrace…

'Get off her,' snarled Selphie, deciding that Diablos was the only appropriate reaction to such impertinence.

Before she could begin the summoning process, however, Seifer kissed Quistis full on the lips. He followed this with a typically infuriating question. 'And why would I want to do that, Messenger Girl? It feels like a long time since I last gave my lady a cuddle.'

'Well, whilst this "lady" appreciates the gesture, she would also like some kind of explanation,' Quistis commented, dryly.

'I've played the Sorceress and her new boyfriend to perfection! What more explanation do you need?'

He grinned at both girls who merely glared back at him. 'You have until I count to three or I'm summoning Diablos, anyway,' Selphie informed him.

'OK, OK! Geez, where did you lose your sense of humour?'

'Outside the cave where we found Jewel. Next stupid question?'

Seifer glanced at his feet and actually had the grace to look ashamed. 'I guess I deserved that. OK, the short version of the story is…

'Squall, Irvine and I got inside the Ruins all right and got right up to Odin's room. Then Rinoa tried her "come hither" look on us with varying results. Squall just fell right away, just couldn't help it. But there may be a way… OK, I'll come back to that.

'He was ahead of us, of course, so we had a bit of warning. Irvine just wasn't susceptible to her whiles at all. They've got him tied up but if we could free him that would be an extra weapon for the good guys. I… she nearly got me but… I'm not entirely sure how I did it but I managed to avoid her influence without her realising it. I think it's connected to what happened to me before…

'Anyway, she was in the company of Hubal and she was all over him like a rash! Even in his besotted state, Squall couldn't really ignore how she was acting. I think we can play on that.'

Quistis pondered his words for a few minutes. 'OK, what's your plan?'

'I pretend to capture you both and march you upstairs. Then I leave you over by Irvine and you untie him while they're all distracted with each other. Once he's free, you give him a GF or two and we kick some demi-god butt.

'What do you think?'

Selphie opened her mouth to speak but then found that she was lost for words. Her thoughts, however, were racing. Could they trust Seifer? What if he was actually 'playing' them, preparing to hand them over to Rinoa the way he had thrown her to Adel? And if she did not go along with him, what would he do? She might be a trained SeeD with GFs and magic at her disposal, but he was much bigger than her – and fast – could she complete even a Stop spell before he got to her?

Her train of thought was broken by Quistis who had grabbed both of her arms. 'Selphie! Speak to me, or I swear I'm going to call you "Squall" from now on…'

She managed a small smile but the frown never left her face.

'I just don't know what to think,' she said. 'Of course you're going to trust Seifer but I… I need some kind of assurance. This might all be an act.'

She had been speaking to Quists but now she turned to Seifer. 'How do I know you're telling us the truth?' she asked, bluntly.

'What about Squall? Do you think we can free him from Rinoa's influence? Is there any way we could free her from Hubal?!' asked Selphie.

'I think we could talk Squall round,' he replied after a moment's thought, 'but, of course, he wouldn't fight against Rinoa.'

'Well, to be honest, I wasn't looking to fight her, either. Or Squall for that matter.'

'We might not have much choice, Messenger Girl.'

'I know! I just… OK, so while Quis and I are "tied up", how about we shout out questions to Squall about what's going on between Rin and this Hubal? See if we can rile him up a bit?'

'Sounds just about perfect.'

Quistis held up her hand. 'Just one other detail… Where's Jewel?'

'I think she still has him Junctioned but I haven't seen her summon him.'

'And what if she did?'

But that, of course, was a question nobody could answer, since the unicorn was a GF that none of them knew anything about.

The blonde girl shrugged. 'I suppose we just launch all of the GFs at him and hope for the best? I don't like it, though. It's hardly a plan, really, is it?'

'It's all we have, though, Quis,' Selphie said laying a comforting hand on her arm. 'In the meantime, how about Seifer having a GF or three?'

A/N – if you enjoyed this chapter (or even if you didn't) I'd love to know what you thought of it. Please leave a review and I promise to come and read something of yours!