Emerald Storms
Silverium
Squaresoft not Silver, except Trianon, Psyche, Michelle and Kerei.
"Oooeee!" Irvine grinned roguishly as a maid showed him to his room. He sauntered in and threw his bag down on the massive bed and sighed—Esthar was the golden city of the best hotels ever.
The maid, flushed red from the cowboy's teasing, hurried out, making Irvine smirk. Teasing Laguna's helpers was always a source of amusement to the man, he couldn't help it, Laguna had thought that helping the youth get jobs would be good for the city. He was dressing up teens in those skimpy maid dresses…come to think of it, Irvine thought that was a pretty smart move.
"Laguna you dog," He grinned softly.
In the next room over Quistis Trepe finished organizing her bathroom accessories. Shampoo. Conditioner. Oil. Hair spray. Gel. Combs 1, 2, 3. Brush number 5. Strawberry perfume. Blush. Eyeliner. Eye shadow. Lip gloss. The list went on.
After every bottle and container was accounted for Trepe looked at her watch and realized she had half an hour before the final briefing with Laguna. Hurriedly she changed into her SeeD uniform and fixed her hair.
An hour later she sat with her fellow SeeDs and fiddled with papers until she had her case on display. Laguna approved of the areas they wished to search, and he would have his guards surround the area first. By this time there wasn't too much to see at the original scene where Morgan's apartment used to be, but it never hurt to double check.
"We need to find out if Morgan was working alone or if he were just a pawn, is there more to this or was it one-shot," Quistis announced, her eyes skimming over the various Head of Departments for their approval, "Garden, as it is, is in repair, we need to know if there's still reason to be cautious. We have a lot of mysteries. There are weapons out there that are not approved by the EGWM,"
"There will always be some weapon unapproved by the Estharian Government Weapon's Manufacturers," one man started sternly,
"But, these involve poisons that disrupt the victims mind, it also has the look of mass production. These weapons can't be seen via scanner. They're invisible, organic in make, it's unique but with the right dosage or chemical changes we could be in for some trouble," Quistis interjected.
The man closed his mouth and nodded, giving in under the SeeD's harsh stare. Quistis placed her palms flat on the table and outlined her plan of investigation. The men, surprised at her hawk-like gaze and steely tongue, agreed mostly out of shock for the competence of the woman. Laguna smiled knowingly.
The meeting lasted three hours to pick out details and finalize some plans for the future, searches that would involve other parts of the city where they could only predict action might be taken. By the end all of them were exhausted. Seifer felt his eyes uncross when Laguna announced that they had used up all their time, as the President left with a small wave the four SeeDs trailed out wearily.
"That was…awful," Michelle groaned, "We're going to have to do that tomorrow too,"
"Every day," Quistis nodded,
"I'm hitting the shower, I'll join ya all in the common room," Irvine tipped his hat at them and sauntered off,
"See you later," Quistis called, "What are you up to?"
"Sleeping," Michelle announced,
"Nothing," Seifer yawned,
"I'm planning on going on a tour of Esthar, would you like to join me Seifer?" Quistis asked,
"Yeah," He replied gruffly, a faint pink tinge falling across his cheeks as Michelle's eyes widened and a grin split her face.
Michelle skipped off with a big grin while Quistis and Seifer rolled their eyes and then ducked out of the Presidential Palace. The streets held a scattering of people but they were easy enough to weave through. As they entered a more quiet area Seifer, without looking at Quistis, took her hand in his own. The blonde woman blinked and then smiled softly, looking at the ground.
They walked silently, enjoying each other's company, and seeing the sights of Esthar of which Quistis would never tire of. Endless blue skies stretched on until they met with the sea, the sparse clouds reflected in Quistis' eyes when she looked up. Seifer's hand over her own was warm, rough from handling the gunblade, but comforting. It had been a long time since she was able to take pleasure in such rarities such as affection.
The day was a typical Autumn day, a faint breeze that picked up randomly made Quistis' hair thrash against its confines and had Seifer's jacket swishing behind him like a tormented soul. They took shelter in a side street until one such gust disappeared before setting out into a torrent of leaves. Quistis shrieked in surprise as they whipped past her, and as her barrettes were torn from her hair letting the leaves get tangled in the blonde strands. Seifer turned and looked back at her, watching her try and keep her hair in control and failing. He smiled in amusement and walked over, pulling her against his chest and wrapping his jacket around her body, shielding her and plucking the leaves out of her hair. Quistis buried her face in his chest, seeking his warmth and inhaling his spicy cologne. She could feel his arms wrap around her lower back and her eyes slid closed. This must be bliss.
They stayed in that moment for a short eternity, before people became to clutter on the streets to talk to friends. Seifer parted from Quistis, wishing he didn't have to. She was giving herself to him, letting him touch her, but it wasn't time for that yet, not now, they were here to work. She seemed to regret it just as much and they shared rueful smiles before locking hands and touring back to the Presidential Palace.
In the common room Michelle was twirling one of her long pigtails in boredom, a polished brace of knives on her lap and an empty glass beside her on a table. Another over stuffed chair had yielded to Irvine, who was sitting sideways with a leg draped over the arm. He grinned and mock-shot the two blondes as they stepped inside.
"Ready to go?" Quistis asked,
"Am I ever, dahlin'" Irvine swung his leg over and stood up, ignoring Seifer's bristle at the comment.
The four were driven to the block of apartments and once there they crawled under the fluttering yellow tape, advancing in on the shards of the room. Quistis let her eyes pass over the scene once, just to get a sense of the area, and then she did a more thorough search, noting details she had skimmed over before.
"Glass is on the inside and outside, they threw something in and then the men jumped out," She announced, investigating the window,
"Normal gunfire used, machine guns, everything typical, they didn't use the poison," Irvine added, as he looked at fragmented clasps that would have held guns.
He dropped the one he was holding and rubbed his fingers together, disliking the sooty residue. Standing up slowly he looked around and shook his head.
"They really blew this place to bits," He murmured sadly,
"Yes," Quistis nodded, her tone lacking any care, "But they did leave evidence, they flew in, so someone get on the rooftops of the other apartments and compare the dust up there. Whatever apartment is cleaner is most likely the direction they took,"
"Yeah, the ships would have blown the dust away," Seifer nodded appreciatively, "I'll go check the East side,"
"I'll take North," Michelle added, racing off.
Quistis and Irvine poked around some more, finding nothing of real interest. Quistis sighed in soft frustration, she wanted Morgan behind bars for what he did to Selphie, and she wanted to guarantee the safety of Garden. Turning around she stumbled on a piece of rubble and nearly went down completely if it weren't for Irvine lunging to half catch her. Pain jarred her body as her knee slammed on to the gravel ground, making her eyes flare and an intake of air catch in her throat.
"Are you all right?" Irvine gasped, crouching beside her worriedly,
"Y-Yeah," Trepe's fingers curled against the ground as she pushed herself up and shook her head to clear the daze.
She brushed her hair back and noticed something wound around her fingers. It was a long strand of raven hair. Quistis stared at it, the throbbing pain in her knee disappearing.
"It's his hair," She stated in shock, looking at Irvine, "We've got him now. Sir!"
Quistis whirled and ran to the Head of the Guard and beamed at him, "DNA this sample please!"
The man stared at her. Quistis' hair was falling around her shoulders in a mess, her hands were covered in ash, and blood was soaking through her pants. He numbly took the strand of hair and locked in a clear plastic bag and then steered her to a man dressed in white to get her leg bandaged. Too excited to sit still, the blonde leapt to her feet as soon as Seifer ran back breathlessly. The man who had been wrapping her knee stared at her in exasperation and shook his head as Seifer forced her to sit, ignoring her prattle until he was sure she was okay.
"I'm fine, I'm fine, now listen!" Quistis cried, "We found a strand of his hair! We can get a record on him, we can put up real wanted signs and tour the Internet for any information, this is a tremendous lead!"
"I'm happy," Seifer said, "Are you sure you're okay?"
Quistis sighed, "Stop worrying, what did you find?"
"They went that way," Seifer pointed out across the expanse of Esthar, making the shine die from Quistis' eyes.
"He could be anywhere," She said bleakly,
"Not anywhere, the ship needs to land somewhere, and we can search all the areas big enough to fit airships,"
"Airships can be tiny," Quistis argued,
"Not ones with that laser power, we can get Selphie to help us. She'll know how powerful a ship needs to be in order to use the ammunition seen here, and then we can ask her the minimum size a ship would have to be. Trust Seffie," Irvine smiled lightly.
Quistis nodded, and rewarded them with a brilliant smile.
Xxxxxxx
Review My Pretties!!!
Author's Quick Note: I'm going home for a week, and then attending a joint funeral. This is why your update comes today. I figured I wouldn't be in the mood to write afterwards, I think you can understand. For the record, the funeral is for my grandparents on my father's side. Stunning people with good hearts.
Author's Corner:
Shortey: Sadly my boy's gone. I won't see him for a few months, maybe not even until next year.
Rob-h-09: There is one more GF yet to be introduced.
Bella: I love how I ask for one reason, and you list them all. Lol. Nice. Glad you're here for more than just one aspect though.
Hikari Heijin: Seiftis' are good. It's a sweet pairing, almost as popular, or maybe even more so, than Squinoas. Thank Aries. Squall and Rinoa are one of the worst couples ever. Like Zell and Quistis. Yick!!
Ruby-Weapon: Yes! Squall x Selphie! Whoo!
Selphie108: Aww, you're too kind. Well, hopefully this all turns out. I do admit, I plan nothing except what pairings I have and, if necessary, who will die by the end.
Black-Lily1704: It'll be an interesting twist to see who takes Psyche, well, perhaps not a twist, but I think it'll be a surprise for you.
T.a.i.n.e.Dreamz: You actually think I'd put Rinoa with Squall? SHAME ON YOU! I can't believe you'd think that! Go to your corner and CRY!!! That's terrible! The worst accusation you could possibly pull on me! I'm hurt! I'm insulted!
Fireflydreams: Everyone wants the Aries, heh, you'll find out their motives soon enough. I really like the idea of Guardian Forces having bigger rolls in the scheme of things, so that will develop into a sub-plot for this fanfiction.
Well…I'll see everyone in a week and a half! I know it's a long time to be without an update, but I might write while I'm at home to make the catching up easier. I'm doing my best to make each update about five pages to give you all some content. It may be tricky for a bit. Good news is next semester (starting Tuesday) I'll have Fridays off. That'll give me some extra time for those all-nights I spend writing.
P.S: Emrelle, I didn't get a review from you o.o;;; so if I "missed" you, I seriously never got one. O.o;; So apologies beforehand.