A/N: Okay, this took me a little longer that I'd like to have updated. But
the past few days have been absolute *hell* on me. But now I've got myself
together, and am ready to continue Redemption once more! Oh...but just so
you know...I'm basically pulling this story out of my ass as I go along. So
if it seems a little scattered, or dumb, I apologize. I am also trying to
make my chapters a little longer. Previous ones I have all completed in 2-3
hours each, so now I'm going to take my time a little more, making it
longer and hopefully better, so I can get more nice reviews. :-D Now enough
of that, on with the story!
Three very pissed off blondes stalked out of the mayor's house.
"Honestly, is there anyone in the world who has less of an open mind?!" Quistis complained.
"Tch, every time I see that bastard I hate him even more!" Zell joined in.
"Man, and that shirt. Total fashion no-no," Seifer said in a high-pitched, sarcastic voice.
"Well, at least we got a little bit of information out of him..." Quistis tried to say cheerfully.
"You call 'I don't know anything, now get out of my house...' information?!" Seifer bellowed at her.
"Well...anyway. If we want to learn more from Dobe, we may have to hire someone, a resident here that he would trust. But I'm not sure I want anyone else involved in this because it might go all wrong, and plus he really may not know anything at all... I wonder where we should go from here..."
"You know, if you're gonna ramble to yourself, can you at least do it inside your head...?" Seifer suggested helpfully.
"Yo man, it's not like you're helping with your dumbass sarcastic comments."
"Yo man, it's not like *you're* helping with your dumbass ghetto accent!" Seifer mimicked, perfectly.
"And it's not like *either* of you are helping by fighting and giving me a migraine!"
"Whoa...let's all just chill..."
Quistis sighed, and rubbed at her temples. Closing her eyes, she spoke in a soft tone of voice.
"Zell's right, we all just have to calm down. We're all annoyed by Dobe's obvious failure to cooperate and discrimination against mercenaries. But, that's just the way some people are. I still have Nathaniel Deling's wallet, we'll study it further when we get back to the hotel. There is no way Mayor Dobe can be the only person in the world who knows *anything.* We simply have to look deeper, listen harder."
"Wow. Inspirational," Seifer stated, dully. Quistis rolled her eyes.
"Um...can I stay in you guy's room tonight? My bed was kinda crappy and..."
"Aww, is wittle baby Zell afwaid to be awone in the dark?" Seifer pouted, while Zell flushed bright red. Quistis wasn't sure if it was from anger or embarrassment.
"Seifer, you have been an exceptional jerk today. You crammed a whole day full of annoying comments into five minutes, and I hope you've worn yourself out in the process. If you don't have something useful to contribute...then just...shut up."
Seifer arched a brow and looked like he was about to offer another comment...but death glares from Zell and Quistis did indeed shut him up. For once.
Zell turned and walked towards the hotel. Quistis kept an eyelock with Seifer for a moment, but then turned away as well. Seifer's face was unreadable, and the only thing she could make out in his eyes was a protective sheen. Just being around him for a few minutes was exasperating to Quistis, and wore her out more than a full day of training.
*~*~*
Back in the hotel, Quistis promptly lay on the lush, king size bed for a nap; falling asleep instantly. Seifer joined her on the bed, but made sure that he was far away from her, so she wouldn't bitch at him when she woke up. He was quite surprised that she let him share the bed with her last night, and with his "behavior problems" today, he doubted this opportunity would last much longer.
"Yo, you guys are just gonna sleep on the job?!" Zell exclaimed, outraged. Quistis responded with a contented snore. Seifer simply ignored him, turned the light off, and sunk into the pillow.
"Well, *I* want to do some work. C'mon guys, get up," Zell whined. Seifer grunted, and turned to the side facing Quistis. He pulled the blankets back a bit, and casually reached into her skirt pocket. He was gentle, so he wouldn't wake her. If she was startled awake and caught him with *his hand in her skirt* oh Hyne, would he be in for it. He finally fished out what he was looking for- Nathaniel Deling's wallet. He tossed it to Zell, who easily caught it.
"There. Now you can look and look through that little leather object for something interesting, and. Leave. Me. The. Hell. Alone."
"Cool," Zell agreed.
Seifer growled lightly in response, and felt his eyelids drooping a little. Over the bed, a window was opened a crack. A small breeze blew inside, making the few loose strands of Seifer's hair raise from his forehead; and dance around a bit. He almost sighed in contentment, but did not want Zell to hear.
"Seifer...dear child. You always get yourself in far over your head..." A voice, lighter than the breeze, whispered in his ear. Or perhaps, it was just inside his head. It sounded really familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.
He didn't want to bother trying either, right on the verge of sleep as he was.
"Ha, ha, ha...worthless fool. I hope you are awake when next we meet. I miss you so. Do you miss me too?"
"Go away..." Seifer grumbled into his pillow. Next to him, Quistis tossed fitfully, rolling around, kicking a bit. Suddenly she rolled too far, right to Seifer's side of the bed. Pressed slightly into Seifer's side, her movements stopped. Still asleep, a pale, deft hand rose and fisted itself around the collar of Seifer's vest of its own accord. She nestled her head in the crook of Seifer's neck, making him open one eye half way. No reaction registered on his face, he simply closed the eye again to drift to sleep.
But without him even realizing it, an arm wrapped itself around her waist.
The voice gave a cruel, humorless laugh, and was gone.
*~*~*
"Er...herumph. Isn't this...sweet...I guess..."
Quistis was the only one to wake from Zell's statement.
"Huh? What is it Ze- oh...oh!" Quistis realized that she and Seifer were rather suggestively pressed up against each other.
"Hyne...the bastard...invading my personal space..."
"Um...Quistis. Look at him."
Seifer was literally on the edge of the bed. If you simply tapped him, he would fall. Whereas Quistis was pushed against him, the area where she *should* have been sleeping completely empty.
"Oh...heh heh...my, this is humiliating... Zell, please don't tell him when he gets up. I know I will never hear the end of it," Quistis pleaded, blushing.
"Hmph. Seifer will never let you hear the end of anything anyway. But no, I won't tell."
"Thanks..." Quistis let out a breath of air, scooting away from the tall blonde just as he started to stir. She quickly stood near Zell, smoothing her wrinkled clothes and swiftly pinning her hair in its clip. As Seifer sat up, she kept her face cool and uncaring, trying to pretend that she'd been awake for hours.
"Well Seifer, finally back to the world I see."
Zell turned and raised an eyebrow in amusement.
"Yeah...whatever." (Seifer is a match for Squall freshly awake, eh?) "So Chicken-Wuss. Find anything interesting in that damn wallet?"
Zell beamed as both Quistis and Seifer focused on him. He loved attention almost as much as Seifer did.
"Well...there's not much here. Some credit cards, IDs and crap. I think the only possible leads are from a couple receipts. They're from a couple days ago."
"What cities?" Quistis asked.
"Deling, that's really no surprise. There is also Dollet, and Timber."
"What kind of shit did he buy?" Seifer questioned attractively.
"In Timber, it's from the Timber Maniacs building. Looks like he bought the latest Weapons Monthly...two Girl Next Door issues... why am I not surprised... and, some other magazine I never heard of. It's just called DDWE... weird."
"I wonder what that could be...?" Quistis said, more to herself than the boys.
"Hmm... it's probably nothing. But I guess you're gonna say 'Things aren't always what they seem! This might be interesting. Let's check it out!' " Seifer replied in a pitiful attempt at a girly voice.
"Never talk like a girl again, it's painful. Plus, I doubt I have ever showed that much enthusiasm."
"That's just 'cause the stick up your ass won't let you be enthused..."
"Hmm?"
"Nothing. So Chicken-Wuss, what did the guy get in Deling and Dollet?"
"A large amount of some product called XaTm-666nd. The hell is that?"
"Ha, ha, ha..."
"What the hell is funny, Quistis?" Seifer demanded angrily.
"Huh? I'm not laughing..."
"What? Well, you were."
"No...I really wasn't," she insisted.
"Seifer, you're losing your freaking mind. Anyway, where do you think we should go first? Dollet, Deling, or Timber?"
"I suggest Deling City, that would make most sense. We can try to find out what we can about this XaTm-666nd. Perhaps General Caraway would know something as well."
"Rinoa's dad is retired you know, so he is not a general anymore. I was in control of the Galbadians... uh... back then. Besides, her dad hates me."
"Of course, you might have hurt his precious daughter," Quistis said, rolling her eyes. "However, even though Caraway is retired, he is still respected over there. So if there is anything to be kept a secret, chances are he's tied in, in some way."
"He won't tell you a damn thing if I'm with you."
"Well that is easily solved. You won't visit."
"Hey, wait a seco-"
"Hyne, Seifer. It isn't as though you're being kicked off the mission. But if your presence will cause Caraway to withhold information, you can't be allowed to see him."
"Ugh, fine. While you're at the mansion I'll try find about that X...a...whatever the hell it is."
"Fine," Quistis agreed.
"Yo, I just had an idea!"
"Wow." Seifer said, flatly.
"What's your idea, Zell?" Quistis asked, sweetly.
"President Loire used to work for Timber Maniacs, right?! He might know something about this DDWE magazine, you know, if it's not new or anything."
"That's right... so, after Deling, Dollet, and Timber, we'll visit Esthar I suppose. Good job, Zell."
He beamed while Seifer rolled his eyes.
"This is gonna be one long goddamn mission," he complained. Ignoring him, Quistis spoke again.
"I think we should leave for Deling right away. Zell, you're the only one without rest, I suggest you take a nap. Hmm...the Ragnarok is at Balamb. I better call Squall and ask him to send it over on auto-pilot..."
After doing the above, Quistis wished sweet dreams to Zell, and exited the hotel room. The younger man climbed into bed, while Seifer followed Quistis into the hallway.
"Where are you going?" He demanded, surprising her.
"Ahh! My, please don't do that. I thought I'd go out for a bite to eat and wait for the Ragnarok to arrive. Not that it is any of your business..." she trailed off, turning around and walking away. Seifer suddenly remembered something and smirked.
"You know, you weren't so cold last night. I seem to remember a certain blonde instructor snuggling against another certain strong, handsome... no, gorgeous, blonde male..." he called out, enjoying himself. He saw her back tense, and she slowly turned around, eyes narrowed.
"One is *not* responsible for one's actions while asleep."
"Oh, I can only *imagine* what you were dreaming about," he responded, winking. "I feel so violated."
"Oooh! You are so conceited!" she scowled, now walking away at a brisk pace. Seifer grinned, and yelled after her, loud enough for the entire hotel to hear.
"Hey honey! For what it's worth, I loved it too!!!"
She ignored him and disappeared into the elevator. The last thing he saw was her flushed, angry face. Satisfied that he got the last punch in, Seifer whistled and waltzed back into the hotel room.
"Ha, ha, ha... Oh, Seifer. Your arrogance has always been refreshing."
"Thank you!" Seifer said, thinking nothing of the voice.
But for whatever reason, he was inclined to lock the hotel door behind him.
Three very pissed off blondes stalked out of the mayor's house.
"Honestly, is there anyone in the world who has less of an open mind?!" Quistis complained.
"Tch, every time I see that bastard I hate him even more!" Zell joined in.
"Man, and that shirt. Total fashion no-no," Seifer said in a high-pitched, sarcastic voice.
"Well, at least we got a little bit of information out of him..." Quistis tried to say cheerfully.
"You call 'I don't know anything, now get out of my house...' information?!" Seifer bellowed at her.
"Well...anyway. If we want to learn more from Dobe, we may have to hire someone, a resident here that he would trust. But I'm not sure I want anyone else involved in this because it might go all wrong, and plus he really may not know anything at all... I wonder where we should go from here..."
"You know, if you're gonna ramble to yourself, can you at least do it inside your head...?" Seifer suggested helpfully.
"Yo man, it's not like you're helping with your dumbass sarcastic comments."
"Yo man, it's not like *you're* helping with your dumbass ghetto accent!" Seifer mimicked, perfectly.
"And it's not like *either* of you are helping by fighting and giving me a migraine!"
"Whoa...let's all just chill..."
Quistis sighed, and rubbed at her temples. Closing her eyes, she spoke in a soft tone of voice.
"Zell's right, we all just have to calm down. We're all annoyed by Dobe's obvious failure to cooperate and discrimination against mercenaries. But, that's just the way some people are. I still have Nathaniel Deling's wallet, we'll study it further when we get back to the hotel. There is no way Mayor Dobe can be the only person in the world who knows *anything.* We simply have to look deeper, listen harder."
"Wow. Inspirational," Seifer stated, dully. Quistis rolled her eyes.
"Um...can I stay in you guy's room tonight? My bed was kinda crappy and..."
"Aww, is wittle baby Zell afwaid to be awone in the dark?" Seifer pouted, while Zell flushed bright red. Quistis wasn't sure if it was from anger or embarrassment.
"Seifer, you have been an exceptional jerk today. You crammed a whole day full of annoying comments into five minutes, and I hope you've worn yourself out in the process. If you don't have something useful to contribute...then just...shut up."
Seifer arched a brow and looked like he was about to offer another comment...but death glares from Zell and Quistis did indeed shut him up. For once.
Zell turned and walked towards the hotel. Quistis kept an eyelock with Seifer for a moment, but then turned away as well. Seifer's face was unreadable, and the only thing she could make out in his eyes was a protective sheen. Just being around him for a few minutes was exasperating to Quistis, and wore her out more than a full day of training.
*~*~*
Back in the hotel, Quistis promptly lay on the lush, king size bed for a nap; falling asleep instantly. Seifer joined her on the bed, but made sure that he was far away from her, so she wouldn't bitch at him when she woke up. He was quite surprised that she let him share the bed with her last night, and with his "behavior problems" today, he doubted this opportunity would last much longer.
"Yo, you guys are just gonna sleep on the job?!" Zell exclaimed, outraged. Quistis responded with a contented snore. Seifer simply ignored him, turned the light off, and sunk into the pillow.
"Well, *I* want to do some work. C'mon guys, get up," Zell whined. Seifer grunted, and turned to the side facing Quistis. He pulled the blankets back a bit, and casually reached into her skirt pocket. He was gentle, so he wouldn't wake her. If she was startled awake and caught him with *his hand in her skirt* oh Hyne, would he be in for it. He finally fished out what he was looking for- Nathaniel Deling's wallet. He tossed it to Zell, who easily caught it.
"There. Now you can look and look through that little leather object for something interesting, and. Leave. Me. The. Hell. Alone."
"Cool," Zell agreed.
Seifer growled lightly in response, and felt his eyelids drooping a little. Over the bed, a window was opened a crack. A small breeze blew inside, making the few loose strands of Seifer's hair raise from his forehead; and dance around a bit. He almost sighed in contentment, but did not want Zell to hear.
"Seifer...dear child. You always get yourself in far over your head..." A voice, lighter than the breeze, whispered in his ear. Or perhaps, it was just inside his head. It sounded really familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.
He didn't want to bother trying either, right on the verge of sleep as he was.
"Ha, ha, ha...worthless fool. I hope you are awake when next we meet. I miss you so. Do you miss me too?"
"Go away..." Seifer grumbled into his pillow. Next to him, Quistis tossed fitfully, rolling around, kicking a bit. Suddenly she rolled too far, right to Seifer's side of the bed. Pressed slightly into Seifer's side, her movements stopped. Still asleep, a pale, deft hand rose and fisted itself around the collar of Seifer's vest of its own accord. She nestled her head in the crook of Seifer's neck, making him open one eye half way. No reaction registered on his face, he simply closed the eye again to drift to sleep.
But without him even realizing it, an arm wrapped itself around her waist.
The voice gave a cruel, humorless laugh, and was gone.
*~*~*
"Er...herumph. Isn't this...sweet...I guess..."
Quistis was the only one to wake from Zell's statement.
"Huh? What is it Ze- oh...oh!" Quistis realized that she and Seifer were rather suggestively pressed up against each other.
"Hyne...the bastard...invading my personal space..."
"Um...Quistis. Look at him."
Seifer was literally on the edge of the bed. If you simply tapped him, he would fall. Whereas Quistis was pushed against him, the area where she *should* have been sleeping completely empty.
"Oh...heh heh...my, this is humiliating... Zell, please don't tell him when he gets up. I know I will never hear the end of it," Quistis pleaded, blushing.
"Hmph. Seifer will never let you hear the end of anything anyway. But no, I won't tell."
"Thanks..." Quistis let out a breath of air, scooting away from the tall blonde just as he started to stir. She quickly stood near Zell, smoothing her wrinkled clothes and swiftly pinning her hair in its clip. As Seifer sat up, she kept her face cool and uncaring, trying to pretend that she'd been awake for hours.
"Well Seifer, finally back to the world I see."
Zell turned and raised an eyebrow in amusement.
"Yeah...whatever." (Seifer is a match for Squall freshly awake, eh?) "So Chicken-Wuss. Find anything interesting in that damn wallet?"
Zell beamed as both Quistis and Seifer focused on him. He loved attention almost as much as Seifer did.
"Well...there's not much here. Some credit cards, IDs and crap. I think the only possible leads are from a couple receipts. They're from a couple days ago."
"What cities?" Quistis asked.
"Deling, that's really no surprise. There is also Dollet, and Timber."
"What kind of shit did he buy?" Seifer questioned attractively.
"In Timber, it's from the Timber Maniacs building. Looks like he bought the latest Weapons Monthly...two Girl Next Door issues... why am I not surprised... and, some other magazine I never heard of. It's just called DDWE... weird."
"I wonder what that could be...?" Quistis said, more to herself than the boys.
"Hmm... it's probably nothing. But I guess you're gonna say 'Things aren't always what they seem! This might be interesting. Let's check it out!' " Seifer replied in a pitiful attempt at a girly voice.
"Never talk like a girl again, it's painful. Plus, I doubt I have ever showed that much enthusiasm."
"That's just 'cause the stick up your ass won't let you be enthused..."
"Hmm?"
"Nothing. So Chicken-Wuss, what did the guy get in Deling and Dollet?"
"A large amount of some product called XaTm-666nd. The hell is that?"
"Ha, ha, ha..."
"What the hell is funny, Quistis?" Seifer demanded angrily.
"Huh? I'm not laughing..."
"What? Well, you were."
"No...I really wasn't," she insisted.
"Seifer, you're losing your freaking mind. Anyway, where do you think we should go first? Dollet, Deling, or Timber?"
"I suggest Deling City, that would make most sense. We can try to find out what we can about this XaTm-666nd. Perhaps General Caraway would know something as well."
"Rinoa's dad is retired you know, so he is not a general anymore. I was in control of the Galbadians... uh... back then. Besides, her dad hates me."
"Of course, you might have hurt his precious daughter," Quistis said, rolling her eyes. "However, even though Caraway is retired, he is still respected over there. So if there is anything to be kept a secret, chances are he's tied in, in some way."
"He won't tell you a damn thing if I'm with you."
"Well that is easily solved. You won't visit."
"Hey, wait a seco-"
"Hyne, Seifer. It isn't as though you're being kicked off the mission. But if your presence will cause Caraway to withhold information, you can't be allowed to see him."
"Ugh, fine. While you're at the mansion I'll try find about that X...a...whatever the hell it is."
"Fine," Quistis agreed.
"Yo, I just had an idea!"
"Wow." Seifer said, flatly.
"What's your idea, Zell?" Quistis asked, sweetly.
"President Loire used to work for Timber Maniacs, right?! He might know something about this DDWE magazine, you know, if it's not new or anything."
"That's right... so, after Deling, Dollet, and Timber, we'll visit Esthar I suppose. Good job, Zell."
He beamed while Seifer rolled his eyes.
"This is gonna be one long goddamn mission," he complained. Ignoring him, Quistis spoke again.
"I think we should leave for Deling right away. Zell, you're the only one without rest, I suggest you take a nap. Hmm...the Ragnarok is at Balamb. I better call Squall and ask him to send it over on auto-pilot..."
After doing the above, Quistis wished sweet dreams to Zell, and exited the hotel room. The younger man climbed into bed, while Seifer followed Quistis into the hallway.
"Where are you going?" He demanded, surprising her.
"Ahh! My, please don't do that. I thought I'd go out for a bite to eat and wait for the Ragnarok to arrive. Not that it is any of your business..." she trailed off, turning around and walking away. Seifer suddenly remembered something and smirked.
"You know, you weren't so cold last night. I seem to remember a certain blonde instructor snuggling against another certain strong, handsome... no, gorgeous, blonde male..." he called out, enjoying himself. He saw her back tense, and she slowly turned around, eyes narrowed.
"One is *not* responsible for one's actions while asleep."
"Oh, I can only *imagine* what you were dreaming about," he responded, winking. "I feel so violated."
"Oooh! You are so conceited!" she scowled, now walking away at a brisk pace. Seifer grinned, and yelled after her, loud enough for the entire hotel to hear.
"Hey honey! For what it's worth, I loved it too!!!"
She ignored him and disappeared into the elevator. The last thing he saw was her flushed, angry face. Satisfied that he got the last punch in, Seifer whistled and waltzed back into the hotel room.
"Ha, ha, ha... Oh, Seifer. Your arrogance has always been refreshing."
"Thank you!" Seifer said, thinking nothing of the voice.
But for whatever reason, he was inclined to lock the hotel door behind him.