A/N: Hello darlings! I had really hoped this one was coming up sooner, but I've been busy. And if the action is a little iffy, I'm sorry, I rushed and I just really wanted this done and posted. XOXO

xXx

Rinoa kept her forehead pressed firmly against the wall, her finger tips tapping in a slow rhythm. The curtain was still pulled aside and she knew outside the glass was a promising audience. They don't care…so why should I?

From a slow glance into the glass behind her, she saw a faint transparent reflection of herself, and she turned back to the wall. They had tried to offer her food, and she dismissed it, not finding the energy or care to eat, the only nourishment she would take was water. And in those few hours of refusing food, she could already see it in her ribs. She hadn't eaten since the restaurant…it was only last night. Seems forever, she silently quipped. She had no knowledge of the time when she had awoken, or the duration of her sleep, all she knew it had at least five hours since then, and she noticed the staff had lessened a bit and the security heightened. She guessed it was later in the evening.

Her anger had demanded she release it, but no one was quick to oblige, and she settled for taking it out on the measly little cot they tried to pass as a bed. It lay in shattered pieces beside the wall, the blankets in a puddle of ripped fabric, and the pillow which Rinoa thought was more like a Maxi pad was strewn in pieces across the room.

Since the room wasn't exactly 'perfected,' there was no source of ventilation, and Rinoa had to succumb to tearing off strips of her clothing in order not to be sweltered. Her boots were the first article to come off. In the corner they sat almost haphazardly amidst the remnants of the cot. Her tank dress now had a very large and gaping hole in the back, exposing her spine so that when she leaned back against the cool glass she received some sort of reprieve from the heat.

At first the staff had hesitated in repeatedly giving her water, since every time the doors were opened she regained some power, but after Odine saw her dehydration he demanded she be given water every hour or less.

What was he thinking, she mused. To ask that? He told her it was for her own good, to protect her, because he loves her. For my own good to be prey? To be weak? To admit you're a threat.

Rinoa slumped down into the corner, her hair plastered to her forehead from sweat, and she stared vacantly out through the glass. Outside she saw Quistis, arguing with Odine, pointing at Rinoa and shaking her head. Odine simply put up his hands in a sorry dismissal and hurried away. Quistis slammed a palm to her head and dropped down into a chair.

Rinoa lowered her head to stare at the nearly empty water cup. She lifted her hand slightly, and smiled when the water jumped from the cup and splashed onto the top of her head. Sighing in content, she leaned her head back. It won't be long now…

xXx

Odine raked his fingers through his straggly white hair as he looked around the office the hospital allowed him to use while the situation of the Sorceresses were at hand. He wasn't exactly too comfortable with this new predicament, if anyone found out…he and the Commander would be charged with fraud, and that was something he definitely did not want to deal with.

"Everything is ready, Doctor," his assistant called from the doorway. "Our transportation will be here momentarily to relocate the Sorceress to Esthar."

"Yes, thank you." He turned to the strongest security the hospital had to offer, and even a few of SeeD graduates sent in from Squall. "Inside that room…" he began, his throat swelling when he saw Quistis enter through the threshold. He swallowed when she crossed her arms and glared at him intently. Quickly he cleared his throat and continued, turning his eyes away from her. "Inside that room is the most powerful woman you will come across in your entire lifetime. Even though her signature is on this paper, she will not go easily. This is a direct order from the Commander, and it must be completed as quick and cleanly as possible. There is no room for mistakes." He gestured towards one of the SeeD's who had a tranquilizer gun strapped to his chest.

The SeeD nodded and removed the gun to release the safety. "Lock and load guys," he ordered, immediately followed by the synchronized metallic sounds of guns opening and closing.

Odine walked over to Quistis who was obviously appalled by the display. "I can't believe you're allowing this," she whispered. "She's already locked up like an animal and now you're having her hunted and packed up and delivered."

"It's for her health and safety."

Quistis swallowed and shook her head. "Try telling her that," she barked and began to turn away. As she furiously began to march down the hall, she was interrupted by a man in a torn security uniform running her way and waving his arms madly.

"Everybody get down!" he screamed.

A sharp whistling pierced Quistis' ears and she instinctively ducked for cover. She landed on her belly, covered her head as the floor beneath her shook violently. The explosion wasn't on her side of the hospital, but it was close enough. She scrambled to her feet and raced towards the commotion. Very briefly did she check up on the nurses and patients she passed, but she quickened her pace when she deducted the point of impact—in the very same wing that Rinoa was locked in. "Shit!" she hissed.

She silently prayed thanks to whatever deity was watching over when she saw Rinoa, safe yet not exactly sound, inside the glass. Quistis hurried to the control panel to enter the password. She glanced up and saw Rinoa against the glass, staring at her with a "What the fuck just happened" look.

"I might lose my job, but fuck it I'm letting you out of here!" Quistis muttered, slamming her palm onto the control board that was proving to be an enemy thanks to the piece of shrapnel wedged into its side.

Around her she heard the sirens ordering evacuation and the panicked shouts of all inside. She had to think quickly, whoever caused the explosion was most likely reloading, and she hoped the hospital securities and SeeD's that Odine and Squall had hired were focused on fighting rather than taking claim of Rinoa.

The dulled sound of Rinoa's palm smacking on the glass caught her attention, and Quistis glanced up in time to see Rinoa mouth "MOVE."

Quistis dodged the second explosion, this one aimed directly for the bottom of the thick glass she was standing in front of. She cried out as she fell to the floor, crashing her head against the marble ground covered in glass and concrete. "Rinoa..." she gasped as she tried to pull herself up.

Rinoa had moved back towards her corner after warning Quistis, and she held her arms out protectively in front of her when the missile collided with the glass, shattering it to pieces. She moved her arms away to see the missile lying on the ground, completely crumbled as a result from creating a large hole in the thick glass.

The energy that Rinoa had felt upon her earlier, the sick and smothered feeling like a wet cloth draped over her nose, was suddenly lifted, practically sucked out through the jagged hole. Rinoa's breathing quickened as fresh air was suddenly slamming into her, but she clenched her fingers as she glanced around through the glass, checking for who had aimed the weapon and if it was aimed for her. She glanced down as she kept her eyes focused on the ground as she heard and felt someone stepping towards the room. The pace was slow and steady, obviously not someone from the hospital. Without looking she could tell it was a man, could feel his masculine aura drowning her.

The man came closer and closer until he was standing before the hole of the room.

Beneath her clawed hand a crackle of energy emerged, forming in her palm like a star. Her heart raced as the fight or flight adrenaline swam through her veins.

The man stepped through without any hesitation, boots crunching over the glass as he slowly made his way over to her.

Rinoa panted, finally glaring up through her hair defiantly. Her eyes blazed when she saw that the man, still standing at the entrance of the hole, was wearing a hood to keep his face concealed. Coward! You dare to assault me yet hide your face. She continued glaring at him, grinding her teeth as she kept her power hidden while it formed.

Then the man bowed before her, his head down as he spoke. "Sorceress Rinoa, I have come for you."

She cocked her head. "Am I supposed to be threatened?" she growled.

He lowered his head even more. "No. I came here to release you from this prison the humans have placed you in, and to save you from another. You must come with me Sorceress, for your safety."

Rinoa stood to her feet, the power in her palm completely dissipated as she gauged the man with his face concealed by a hood. "I go with no one," she hissed. "I will wait here for my lover."

He raised his head slowly, tilting it to the side as if mocking her. "They were going to Seal you, Sorceress, you are not safe here."

Rinoa scoffed as she kept her gaze steady and hard. "They wouldn't. Not without—"

The man tossed a stack of blood-stained papers to her feet. "According to this, they already have your permission."

Her ears perked up and she lifted the papers into her lap, scanning over the meaningless and repetitive words until she came across a scribbled excuse for her signature. "But I…" Then her heart skipped a beat when she saw Squall's signature as the witness.

"He betrayed you, Sorceress. He was going to hand you over like a worthless animal."

Rinoa threw the papers away from her as if they were covered with disease. "No! No, he wouldn't betray me, he loves me!"

Out of the man's throat came a harsh scoff. "Loves you enough to commit a crime of forgery? Sign your life away because it is for your own 'good?' Loves you enough that he would do anything to make you to submit to weakness, to become their prey?"

Her blood turned cold momentarily at his last words, echoing the very thought she had not too long before. "You're…you're lying to me! He wouldn't do this to me. He wouldn't!" Her breathing quickened as she tried to focus, but the voices were rising up again. He already told you he wanted you Sealed. Face it, he betrayed us. Betrayed you he betrayed you. You can't even trust your own lover. Screaming, she grasped her head and tried to silence herself.

Soon, voices she knew that were not inside her head sounded off outside the broken walls. She glanced up to see the hospital officials and security racing towards them. The man glanced at them behind his shoulder, his body language appearing almost nonchalant.

"Make your choice," he said. "Come with me and I will take you to Norg. He will release you and your sisters from the poison."

He works with Norg? Why should I trust him...he's been helping him kill me!

"Or stay here and become prey to the humans."

Prey? Prey? I'm not the prey. Before she could answer the humans pulled out weapons and aimed.

"Stop him!" one cried.

"Contain the Sorceress!"

"She must be Sealed! It's a direct order from the Commander!"

A fire rose within her breast and blazed throughout her veins. He betrayed you he betrayed you he betrayed me. But he loves me KILLTHEM! Rinoa walked towards the wall, her powers crackling around her body like streams of electricity. As she reached the hole, the crackling shocks around her disintegrated the glass, and it rained down to the ground as dust.

"Hurry!" one of the men standing before her shouted, and she seethed at the sight of the SeeD uniform. He fingered the trigger, aiming for her leg to simply halt her, but he was stopped when the man stepped in his way, gripping his wrist and forcing him to his knees.

Odine's jaw dropped as he saw Rinoa, eyes blazing, and raw power sizzling around her like a veil of smoke. He jerked his eyes towards the men who pulled their triggers, only to see their tranquilizer darts be stopped in midair, dangling before her as if on strings. Odine's heart lurched to his throat in fear. Rinoa hadn't even lifted a finger to stop them.

To taunt them she flicked a few aside with her nails.

Odine waved his arms frantically. "Cease fire—Cease fire!" he shouted. "Fall back! Evacuate everyone now!"

But his orders reached only a few ears, for the hooded man snapped the neck of the SeeD he held in his grasp, and sliced open the bellies of a few securities. The survivors threw down their guns and retreated, obeying Odine in getting everyone else to safety.

Quistis pushed herself up to her elbows, blood streaming over her eyebrow in a thin red ribbon and a shrill, deafening pitch in her right ear. She gasped when she saw Rinoa, standing not too far from her. "R…Rinoa!" she managed to spurt out, panicking when she could hardly hear her own voice over the high squeal inside her ears.

A blade came down around her throat and a fist painfully gripped the back of her head. "What shall we do with this one?" a thick voice bellowed above her, just outside her line of vision. Quistis choked on her own spit, moving her eyes toward Rinoa slowly.

Rinoa paused and glanced over her shoulder. The look in her eyes reminded Quistis of a wolf staring at a hurt rabbit after it had already fed, debating whether or not it was worth the time. Then she looked up to the man with the grip. "Leave her," was all she said.

"But—"

Rinoa turned back to him, her eyes blazing. "I said leave her," she repeated forcefully. Her eyes traveled down to Quistis, softened for a split second, and then turned away.

The man released Quistis and then welcomed her with a sharp blow, knocking her out cold.

xXx

Squall's blood froze over when he and the others reached the hospital. The survivors were panned out in the parking lot, receiving the medical attentions they needed.

Irvine's jaw hung open as he scanned the crowd, hardly noticing when Selphie gripped his hand. "What…happened here?" he breathed.

"Quistis Trepe?" Zell asked of one of the medical practitioners.

The woman skimmed down a list and waved her pen in a direction. "She was right next to one the explosions but managed to dodge it in time. Right now the only severe injuries are temporary deafness in her right ear and she's had a mild traumatic brain injury."

Zell thanked her and motioned for them to follow him as he raced towards where the woman directed. They found her sitting down, her head leaned back as a doctor checked her eyes. She was swaying very slightly from side to side, and a nurse kept her steady from behind.

Squall raced up and tapped the doctor on the shoulder. "How is she?"

The doctor pulled back and tucked his little flashlight into his pocket. "She's had a minor concussion due to a blow on the back of her head. The deafness in her right ear should go away but I can't give a guaranteed answer of when." He cleared his throat and glanced at her. "We've treated her cuts, and her wrist is sprained but…" He turned and looked Squall squarely in the eye. "She's very lucky. Witnesses say she dodged at the last minute, a matter of seconds less and…well, she wouldn't be as pretty."

"Thank you," Selphie said, gesturing for them to leave as she took hold of Quistis' hands. "How are you feeling?" she asked, making sure to speak towards her left ear.

Quistis shook her head, her uninjured hand massaging a temple. "I can't…what happened? Was I in an accident?"

"What's the last thing you remember?" Irvine asked.

She swallowed and glanced around, frowning as she tried to clear her head. "The hospital…it was attacked. And I…" She growled in frustration, stamping her foot and biting her lip. Why can't I remember? "I…I tried to get her out!"

Squall jumped. "Is she still in there?" he demanded, turning away as he started to make his way into the hospital.

Irvine latched onto his bicep and pulled. "Let her finish man," he said. "I somehow doubt Rinoa's hurt."

"Yes! She's gone!" Quistis shouted, sitting up a bit straighter. "She warned me. She saw the missile coming! Then I…then I…" She turned away, inwardly swearing. "Someone," she whispered. "Someone took her."

"Who?"

"I…I didn't see his face. He was behind me…and then…" She closed her eyes. "…I don't remember!"

Squall swore and turned away, covering his mouth with his glove to keep in the more obscenities that wanted to fall out.

"Squall…I am so sorry," Quistis breathed, her voice ragged as she tried not to sob. Protectively she held her sprained wrist in her lap as she felt him stand over her.

"I'm…I'm not mad at you," he told her, placing his palms over her shoulders and giving her an awkward, supportive shake. He sighed and pulled back, turning away from her as he paced restlessly.

Odine waddled over, his face emotionally and physically drained. "Commander," he said. "I know nothing I can say will make this situation any easier…but I have recovered the files you asked for." Almost sheepishly he handed them over.

"Thanks," he muttered. He opened up the folder and scanned the first file. "Zell," he called, neatly removing the file. "You are to question this…Calen, Aria." As the file rested in Zell's hands, Squall picked up the next one. "Irvine, you take Hemingway, Marlon." When Irvine dutifully took the file from his grip, Squall fingered the last one. His eyes quickly skimmed over the page and he stopped, holding out his hand for the two men who started to leave. "Wait," he muttered, his blood heating at the image that was printed on the sheet, the image of the man with glaring green eyes. "Fuck," was all he could growl as he slapped the file onto the ground.

The folder lay open, for everyone to see. And when they did they all froze in their spots, swearing heavily beneath their breaths.

Beneath the photograph it read, clear as day—Almasy, Seifer.