Disclaimer: Final Fantasy is the property of SquareSoft. If you didn't know that already, you wouldn't be here.




Chapter 18: Progression Toward A Goal
Setting: Seifer and Quistis' Apartment
The Next Evening



Quistis stood over the dining table, staring down at the faux wood finish. Across the table from her stood Seifer, watching her closely with a piercing gaze.

Quistis shook her head. "Seifer, I just don't know. I-I've never done anything like this with my powers before. Do you really think I can do this?"

"I think you can do whatever you put your mind to," Seifer replied. "You've got the power, we know. You just gotta believe in yourself."

Quistis drew in a deep breath. "All right, here goes nothing…"

She raised her hands, palms down. Her eyes rolled back into her head as she withdrew into deep concentration. Seifer watched silently, not wanting to break Quistis' focus.

Quistis drew her face in tight, as if straining against a powerful force. After a few moments, bolts of golden energy began to arc from her fingertips to the tabletop. As the beams grew more numerous, they began to curl around themselves in all directions before reaching the table. The energy began to form the barest hint of a figure on the tabletop; the shape was vaguely human, as if it were a person wrapped tightly, head to toe, with thick bandages.

Quistis suddenly let out the breath she'd been holding, and opened her eyes. The shape that had been forming instantly disappeared without a trace. Quistis, breathing heavily, hung her head forward and smacked the table's surface hard with her palm. "I can't do it."

"Hey," Seifer said, taking her hand. "You didn't give up on me this easily. C'mon, where's the Instructor Trepe that never gave up, and always stuck by her friends?"

Quistis looked up at Seifer. "This is totally different, and you know it."

Seifer shrugged. "Different how? Look, according to your own scan, Ultimecia created Griever out of thin air, using just her powers. You now have her powers, handed down from Ultimecia to Edea to Rinoa to you. No one says you have to do it right now." He tilted her head up with a finger below her chin. "You don't even have to do it, period, if you don't feel comfortable with it."

Quistis shook her head, pulling her chin off Seifer's finger. "No, Seifer. I want to do it. I have to. For me as much as for them."

Seifer stared her straight in the eye. "In that case, you've gotta be patient. Give it some time, and you'll get better at it. You didn't get so good with your whip in just a few days, did you?"

Quistis sighed, and smirked quietly. She remembered that it had taken her months before she could wield her whip against an enemy without seriously hurting herself. "I'm sorry, it's just…for some reason, these powers always seem to depress me. I don't know why. But you're right, I shouldn't give up."

Seifer nodded. "Good. Wanna take a break?"

Quistis shook her head. "No, I'll try again a few more times first. I just need practice."

Seifer lowered his voice. "You know, you could always ask Rinoa or Edea for help."

Quistis shook her head again. "Not Rinoa. I can't…I mean…she can't know we're doing this. Not yet." With that, she rubbed her palms together, raised them above the table's surface, and shut her eyes again.

*

Several weeks passed, with no real success. Although Quistis had eventually learned how to make her creations last up to a minute, she wasn't making nearly as much progress as she'd hoped. However, with Seifer's support and Zell's help, she was making some headway. She and Seifer spent most of their evenings together, making attempt after attempt, while Zell passed on any materials he could find that even remotely alluded to Sorceress powers. Including the news accounts from Edea's coup in Galbadia, Adel's war, and the Ultimecia affair, there had been little credible information available. Despite this, Zell made a point of meeting with them every few evenings to tell them all that he had found.

On one such evening, Quistis and Seifer were together in the cafeteria, having just finished their early dinners. Just as they were pushing their chairs back under the table, they heard a voice call them from the cafeteria entrance.

Rinoa walked toward them, Alexa close behind. Both seemed to be in good spirits, and were waving.

Quistis was happy to see them, since recently she had been so busy that she hadn't been able to spend much time with her friend. She suspected Rinoa was purposefully leaving her alone, because of the guilt she felt over the tension she'd helped cause in Quistis and Seifer's relationship. However, since Rinoa had trained herself to hold her "presence" in the living world without needing Quistis' help, she didn't need to keep constant contact with Quistis anymore. Needles to say, Rinoa had begun to miss her best friend.

Quistis sat slowly back down, beckoning the mother and daughter to join them. Seifer sat down also, putting on a big grin for Alexa.

"Hey, guys! Mind if we join you?" Rinoa and Alexa stood at the table.

"Sure, we haven't seen you in a while. Where's Squall?" Quistis asked.

Alexa pulled out a chair and sat down, her chin just barely above the tabletop. Rinoa stepped into the other chair and sat down on the ground. She then levitated up, to make it appear she was sitting in the chair. However, her knees poked up slightly through the table, and her arms, which were wrapped around her legs, disappeared into the tabletop.

"Oh, he's working, as always," said Rinoa. "SeeD's getting so much business lately that Squall's been burning the midnight oil a lot." Quistis could sense the slight sadness in her voice. Rinoa continued, "I try to go up and visit him when I can, but I'm too much of a distraction, I think."

Seifer and Quistis quickly glanced at each other, and Seifer then turned to Alexa and said, "So, Lexie, how are your classes going?"

"Great!" Alexa replied excitedly. "Mommy's a really good teacher." She looked up at Rinoa, who smiled warmly.

Seifer slid his chair nearer to Alexa to engage her in conversation as Rinoa and Quistis continued theirs.

"So, what have you guys been up to these past few weeks?" Rinoa asked.

"Uh, not a whole lot," replied Quistis. "Just spending time together when we can, getting back into a routine, you know. I've been fine-tuning my control, and now it's at the point that I don't even feel stiff or sick in the morning. Plus, I've been able to stop my feet from swelling, so I can wear my favorite boots again."

Rinoa giggled. "Yeah, I remember how good it was to get rid of that. What else, though? Just working?"

Quistis shrugged. "I suppose. Since Squall reassigned Seifer to Weapons Training, he's been pretty busy most days. By the way, could you please tell him I said 'Thank you'? It's…really good, that Seifer doesn't have to go away on the dangerous missions anymore."

Rinoa smiled widely. "Seifer's one of the best SeeD fighters not already in an administrative or teaching position. Also, Squall knows how much you need him, as a husband, the father of your child, and your knight. Don't tell Seifer this, but Squall wanted to make sure nothing bad happened to him."

They both looked over at Seifer, who was still obliviously talking with Alexa. "I definitely won't tell him that last part," replied Quistis. "If he found out, he'd demand to be on the next mission, and hitch a ride with it if Squall refused."

Rinoa laughed. Quistis happened to glance at a wall clock, and her eyebrows arched. "Oh, shoot. We've gotta go. Seifer, come on. We'll be late."

Seifer looked at her, and at the clock. "Yeah, you're right. Hey, Lexie, I'll see ya later, okay?"

"Sure!"

Rinoa did nothing to hide her look of puzzlement. "Late for what?"

Quistis stammered, "N-nothing…I mean…Sorry, Rinny, we just have to…"

"We're meeting with the insurance guy," Seifer interrupted. "We're going to set up a trust fund for Tracker, in case anything every happens to us."

Quistis looked at Seifer. Thanks, good save.

"Oh, ok," said Rinoa, her smile completely gone. "Go ahead then. See you later?"

"Sure, Rinny," Quistis replied, getting up out of her seat. "Sorry to run…"

"No, it's okay, I understand," Rinoa said with a friendly grin.

Quistis smiled back as she took Seifer's hand. "Bye."

"Bye Aunt Quisty and Uncle Seifer!" Alexa called after them as they walked toward the exit.

Rinoa turned to the empty chairs and pursed her lips. Alexa, seeing her mother's look of concern, said, "Mommy, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Rinoa replied, shaking her head. Nothing except the fact that they're hiding something.

*

"Great, Quisty," said Seifer sardonically as they entered the elevator. "You've gotta learn how to lie better. I thought I was rubbing off on you."

Quistis stared daggers at him. "Well, excuse me Mister Genius of the Liars, but I've had quite a bit on my mind recently, in case you can't tell."

Seifer held his hands up in defense. "Sorry," he apologized as the lift began to rise. "But if she doesn't guess something's up, I'd be really surprised."

"As long as she doesn't try to stop us, I don't care," Quistis replied.

The lift stopped at the second level, and Quistis and Seifer exited and headed toward their apartment. Zell was already standing there, his hands on his hips.

"Jeez, guys, what took so long?" Zell admonished. Seifer rolled his eyes, inserted his keycard into the slot, and opened the door.

"We ran into Rinoa just as we were leaving," Quistis replied stepping into the apartment. Zell followed close behind, hauling a large bag of books. "It's been a while since we've seen each other, and we just…talked a bit."

"Oh," said Zell, most of the cockiness gone from his voice. "Well…sorry."

Seifer switched on the lights in the living room, and sat down on the couch next to Quistis. Zell knelt down on the floor and began to lay out books. Some of them were new paperbacks purchased from a Balamb bookshop, while others were obviously quite old and worn.

"So, whaddaya got?" Seifer asked.

"Well," said Zell, dropping a blue hardcover book on the table. "Xu pointed this one out to me. It's an old textbook they used when she was still a candidate here. This copy was pretty hard to find, but it mentions something about a Sorceress once using her powers to create an army of…what was it…" Zell scanned the page he had bookmarked, "'Phantasmal Soldiers'. Pretty creepy stuff, if you ask me."

"Let's see that," said Seifer, spinning the book around so he and Quistis could read it. The two scanned the page for a moment, and Quistis shook her head.

"What?" asked Zell.

"Zell, I'm not trying to make a mindless, soulless army here. I want to create a body suitable for Rinoa's soul to take over." Quistis slid the book back over to Zell.

"Yeah, I know," defended Zell, "but this means that Sorceresses in the past have created human beings using only their powers. So what if they could only make ones that were like robots? I mean, that was hundreds of years ago, and don't you have the powers of a lot more Sorceresses than this one did?"

"Well…yes," Quistis conceded. "But, I haven't had a whole lot of success when I've tried creating one before. They just evaporate as quickly as I can create them, and it takes all my concentration to do that."

"We need clues on how to do it," Seifer said. "We know it can be done, we just want a few hints on how to do it."

"I haven't been able to find a 'Sorceress Handbook' yet," Zell retorted.

Seifer shook his head slowly. "All we've found is that things were done, not how they were done."

Zell shrugged. "I've been looking for anything actually written by a Sorceress, but nothing yet."

Quistis smirked absentmindedly. "Maybe I should be the first to write one. Wouldn't that be a joke?"

"Actually," said Seifer, "maybe that'd be a good idea. Some young woman may suddenly find herself a Sorceress, like you did, and won't know what to do with herself. And you can write a whole chapter on creating human bodies out of thin air when we're done."

Quistis elbowed him in the ribs. Seifer grabbed them, mocking pain, and coughed, "Real adult, Instructor."

Zell simply watched them. He was used to their banter, but wisely chose to stay out of it. Having one Almasy down your throat is bad enough, but two would be downright vicious.

"Ok, ok," Quistis said. "We're not getting anything accomplished here. Zell, did you find anything else that might help?"

Zell shook his head. "Not really. You know, for an academy built to train soldiers to fight the Sorceress, there sure ain't much info on them."

Seifer cleared his throat and glared at Zell. Zell shrugged. "What? Ya know what I meant!"

Quistis waved her hands in front of them. "It's okay, I understand. I guess I'm just going to have to keep experimenting until I get it right, or until we find something."

Zell nodded. "Ya know, I could give Laguna a call and see if Doctor Odine knows anything."

Quistis shuddered. That little man has always given me the creeps. And the stories Rinoa's told me… "I don't know, Zell. Does Laguna even know about Rinoa? Or even that I'm the Sorceress?"

"Uh, I don't know," Zell replied, scratching the back of his head. "Did Squall ever say anything about it to you?"

Seifer shook his head. "If he doesn't know, we shouldn't say anything to him about it. Don't want to get into a whole family thing. I bet they've got enough problems." He chuckled ironically.

Quistis tilted her head. "You're probably right."

Zell cleared his throat. "Okay, uh, so whaddaya want me to do?"

"Just keep looking," Quistis said. "Meanwhile. I'll keep at it, and maybe I'll learn how to do it on my own."

*

Squall entered the apartment and shut the door behind him quietly. He knew he was late, and he hoped Rinoa didn't have much trouble getting Alexa to put herself bed. Usually, he'd been able to make time to stop at home to help Rinoa, and then go back to work, but this night had been an endless string of meetings and performance evaluations. His exhausted eyes felt like they were about to fall out of their sockets.

"Hey there," came an angel's quiet voice. "How was your evening?"

Those weary eyes rested on Rinoa. Simply hearing her voice was enough to lift his spirits from utter collapse. Despite his exhaustion, he managed a slim smile. "Boring and long. Yours?"

Rinoa shrugged. "Class went well. I've gotten them up to the Galbadia-Timber War in History, and they're eager to start caring for the chocobo egg next week. Oh, and I finished that book you programmed into the computer."

Squall shook his head, still smiling. "I'll make sure to program a few more books in there for you. The voice interface working?"

"Yeah, that part's working great. We've gotta thank Laguna for that. And…Odine, I guess." She visibly shuddered. "Amazing that it can pick up on my voice, even though it's not actual 'vibrations in the air', like Odine said."

Squall nodded slowly, and then collapsed into a chair. Rinoa knelt down beside him. "You look horrible."

"Thanks," Squall replied dryly.

"You know, something kind of funny happened today," Rinoa said, changing the subject. She brushed some hair behind her ear.

"Good. I could use funny."

Rinoa smiled, somewhat reservedly. "Lexie and I went to dinner in the Cafeteria, and we met Seifer and Quisty there. They acted all nervous when they saw me, and they just kind of ran off after a few minutes."

Squall shrugged and yawned, "Maybe they're planning a surprise birthday party for you."

"Oh, hey…It is getting on that time, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Squall replied. "But, now that I think of it, they must be trying to keep it from me, too. I ran into Seifer to give him a quick briefing on that bodyguard mission he'll be heading to next week, and when I said something about what Quistis would be doing while he was gone, he didn't seem to want to talk about it."

"Hmmm. I wonder what's going on?"

Squall shrugged again. "I don't know, but I don't have the energy left to worry about it tonight, that's for sure. Why don't we talk about it in the morning?"

"Ok. Would you like me to see you off to bed?" Rinoa stood, hands folded behind her back, and bounced on the balls of her feet.

"I'd love that," Squall replied, slowly rising from his chair.

*

Eleven days later, Seifer strode from the elevator on Garden's second floor, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He'd just returned from his latest mission, which had lasted six days. During that time, he'd gotten a total of about twenty hours of sleep. He hated playing babysitter for a bunch of starched-shirts, and he was tired. Fortunately, since it was late at night back in Balamb, he didn't have to deal with throngs of students populating the halls between the entrance gate and his bed.

He stood before the door to his apartment and gently swiped his ID card. As he cracked open the door, he immediately heard a buzzing, combined with a low-pitched thrumming, as if lightning was leaping across the room. As he opened the door further, he was nearly blinded by the intense light that blasted out of the apartment. Even though he instinctively closed his eyes tightly, quite a bit of light still filtered in through his eyelids

Seifer was sure he knew who was at the center of the energies being released, and his pulse began to pound in his ears. He rushed inside the apartment, not bothering to close the door behind him. "Quisty?" he called.

He received no answer. He worked his way blindly toward the source of the light, unable to see what was ahead of him.

Finally, after a few moments, the light subsided and the noise faded away into nothing. Seifer, now blinded by the sudden darkness of the room, stuck his hand out. It brushed against something soft, warm, and wet. He flipped his hand around to grasp it, and quickly realized it was Quistis' bare arm. Stepping forward, he blinked to try to force his eyes to adjust to the dim light. When they finally did, he gasped.

Quistis stood by him silently, staring down at the table in front of her. On that table was a human-shaped body. His eyes still correcting themselves, he squinted as he tried to focus on the figure's face. As it came into clarity, his mouth fell open.

The face was a nearly perfect image of Rinoa's. The face had eyebrows, and looked like it was asleep, waiting for life. The fact that it had no hair on top of its head was only the first hint of the body's surrealism. The body was completely motionless, bringing to his mind memories of seeing her corpse at her funeral.

My God, she did it! he thought. He scanned the length body, noticing that, although it was uncovered, it had no visible features one would expect on a naked body. It had no fingernails or toenails. Its skin was completely smooth and hairless, lacking even the miniscule "peach fuzz" hair on its arms. Its breasts were perfectly round and smooth, and had no nipples. He then glanced at the area between its legs. He was only partially surprised to see no genitalia there, only perfectly-smooth skin. It was as if Rinoa's face had been implanted onto the body of a mannequin.

"I've been trying for eight hours," Quistis said, her voice trembling. Seifer looked up at her. "And this is the best I could do." She was staring at the "body", her eyes half-open.

"But, it…she…I mean…you've done it, right? It hasn't…"

Seifer was interrupted by the bright blue light that noisily began to course across the body's skin. As the energy passed over each area, the skin began to break apart in white cracks, and lift off the body before vanishing into tiny golden sparkles. Within seconds, the entire body was consumed by these energies and it evaporated, the head being the last to vanish.

"No…" came Quistis' voice. Her chin lowered to her chest, and her knees buckled. Seifer, his fatigue instantly gone, quickly caught her and cradled her in his arms. He saw the sweat soaking her face, and heard her shallow, rapid breath.

"Quisty? Quisty, you okay?"

No answer.

"Dammit!" Seifer lifted her up into his arms and headed quickly out the door.

*

Upon arriving at the Infirmary, Seifer barked at the intern behind the desk, "Go get Doctor Kadowaki, now!"

The intern nodded quickly and flipped a button on his desk. He then shot up and rushed to the sick room across from the desk.

"Put her here," the intern said calmly. "I just paged the doctor; she'll be here soon."

Seifer carried Quistis up to the cot and laid her down gently. He stayed by her side, holding her hand.

"What happened?" asked the intern, pulling out a medical scanner from the table next to the bed.

Seifer bit his lip. "I had just gotten home and she…just collapsed."

The intern waved the scanner over Quistis' abdomen. He sighed in relief as he said, "Well, it's not anything wrong with the baby. Your son is fine."

Seifer felt a sliver of relief, but was still quite anxious. "What about Quistis?"

"Just a second," the intern said, waving the scanner over Quistis' chest and head. "I'm not detecting any injuries. She's perspired heavily. Body temperature's about a hundred. Has she been doing a lot of exercising recently?"

Seifer shook his head. "Not that I know. Why?"

The intern frowned. "Looks like she's overexerted herself, and passed out from exhaustion. I can't find any trauma, just a buildup of lactic acid in her muscles."

"What the hell does that mean?" Seifer squeezed Quistis' hand, which was quite warm and moist with her sweat.

The intern pulled another small device from the side table, and pointed it at Quistis face. A fine mist began spraying from it. "Heavy fatigue, as well as minor dehydration. I don't think anything serious is wrong, but Doctor Kadowaki should check her over to be sure."

As if on-cue, the door slid open and the doctor stepped into the infirmary. Her face was devoid of any makeup, but her eyes were sharp and alert. "What's going on?"

The intern called out to her, "Instructor Almasy in here, Doctor. Looks to me like exhaustion and minor dehydration."

Kadowaki stepped into the sick room and held out her hands. "I'll take over."

The intern handed her the scanner and misting device. She continued dispensing the mist over Quistis' face and neck, constantly watching the scanner.

"Yes, good prognosis," Kadowaki said. "Set up a fluid IV."

The intern nodded and rushed out of the room. Seifer looked at Kadowaki and said, "What? Did you say IV?"

Kadowaki nodded. "Looks like she was doing something strenuous for a long time, without replenishing her fluids. Without drinking anything," she clarified. "That's why she's dehydrated. The fluid IV will replenish her electrolytes and help her body normalize itself more quickly. She'll be just fine."

Seifer nodded and closed his eyes. Thank you, God.

The intern arrived with a plastic IV bag, filled with a clear liquid. He handed it to Kadowaki, who connected a tube to it. She inserted a small needle into Quistis' forearm, and inserted the other end of the tube into the needle. Kadowaki flicked the tip of the bag to start the fluid drip, and then turned to the intern. "Good work, Uston. Go back and man the desk. I want to speak to Mister Almasy alone for a minute."

The intern nodded and quickly stepped out of the room. He closed the door behind him.

Kadowaki turned her intelligent gaze to Seifer. "What was she doing?"

"I don't…I don't know," Seifer stammered.

"You do know, Seifer. You can't lie to me, I know better. I need to know so I can help your wife and your baby. What was she doing?"

Seifer sighed. Dammit. If I don't tell her, she's probably gonna go straight to Cid, and then the whole thing'll be out of the bag. "All right," he said. "Just don't tell anyone else, all right?"

"Doctor-patient confidentiality," Kadowaki replied, her tone softer.

Seifer started describing to her about their plan; that they intended to create a new body for Rinoa, using Quistis' powers. He told her they'd been experimenting for a couple weeks, and were starting to have some success. He summarized as best he could, culminating with how Quistis mentioned she'd been working at it for eight hours this evening before passing out.

After absorbing all that information, Kadowaki raised her eyebrow. "Interesting. And you really think it can be done?"

"We don't see why not. If Ultimecia could create a GF using her powers, I can't see why Quistis can't create a human." Seifer stroked Quistis' brow with his free hand.

"Well," replied Kadowaki, hesitating. "First I'd suggest Quistis not try pushing herself so hard. I know she can suppress her discomfort using her powers, but the stress pregnancy puts on her body still remains. She needs to rest and make sure she keeps getting fluids." Kadowaki switched off the scanner and put it away.

Seifer nodded, and looked down at Quistis. "One more thing." continued Kadowaki. "I'd really like to help."

Seifer looked back up at her. "You would?"

"What you are trying to do, well, to my knowledge, it's never been done. But to create a human body, I'd want a doctor there, wouldn't you think? At least to help you figure out how one works."

Seifer nodded. She had a point.

"And besides," Kadowaki continued, "if Quistis insists on pushing herself this much, she should be monitored to make sure she keeps her health. And..."

Just then, Quistis moaned. Both looked down at her, and Seifer squeezed her hand. Quistis slowly opened her eyes and looked straight at Seifer. "Wha…what…happened?"

"It's okay, Quisty. Doctor Kadowaki said you collapsed from exhaustion." Seifer's voice was low and smooth, as soothing as he could muster.

Quistis shifted her tired gaze to Kadowaki. "Doctor? Where…am I?"

"The Infirmary, dear," Kadowaki said. "Seifer told me about what you're trying to do for Rinoa. I want to help, if I can."

Quistis looked at Seifer again, her brows knitted. Seifer defended, "I had to tell her. No choice."

Quistis slowly nodded, fending off a wave of dizziness. "Okay. You can help, if you want."

"Good," replied Kadowaki. "First thing I'm going to do is have you stay here overnight, so we can make sure you're ok. And no classes tomorrow." She held up her hand to ward of Quistis' attempt to argue. "Just to be safe, Quistis. You've always pushed yourself too hard, as long as I've known you. And about your…experiments, just let me know when you want to try again, and we can do it here, instead of your apartment. Under my care, and with my assistance. What do you say?"

Quistis nodded again. "Sounds good, Doctor."

*

Quistis lowered her hands as the energy flowing from her fingertips faded. There, on the examination table, was another body created for Rinoa. Like the one before, it had a nearly perfect face, now with a full head of hair, but the body was still featureless, like that of a life-sized doll.

Kadowaki scanned the body up and down, recording and processing the results. She shook her head. "It's quite unusual. It's like the body's in some kind of stasis. No indications of life, but no cellular breakdown of the type that occurs during death. None that I'm familiar with, anyway. It almost looks like some kind of template…"

As she spoke, bright blue beams began dancing around the body, and as they did so, the body dematerialized right before their eyes. Quistis sighed heavily and slapped her hand on the table.

Kadowaki tilted her head. "Spontaneous dematerialization. Almost like it can't survive on its own for more than a handful of seconds."

"So what do we do?" asked Quistis, catching her breath. "I can't constantly keep pouring energy into it. I just can't."

"I don't know, dear," Kadowaki said. "There is the possibility that that may be what is required. We don't have enough data from your battle with Ultimecia to ascertain exactly how she created and supported that creature."

Quistis sighed. "Maybe I'm just not powerful enough."

"Or maybe you just haven't had enough time to learn how to use your powers," Seifer replied.

Quistis shook her head. "Rinoa was able to use great power very shortly after she got them. You never saw it, Seifer, but in battle, she had the ability to fly, and to cast endless strings of magic, even if it wasn't in her stock. I haven't done anything nearly that powerful, and it's been months longer than that."

Seifer sighed. "Quisty, I…"

"Doctor?"

All heads turned to the door to see Squall sticking his head in, looking at all three of them. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but your assistant said I could come right in. I wanted to set up Lexie's physical."

Kadowaki grimaced, silently vowing to have harsh words with her assistant. "I'm actually tied up right now, Squall. Can you come back later?"

"Quisty? Seifer? Is everything all right?" Squall, ignoring Kadowaki, stepped further into the room.

"Fine," said Seifer quickly.

"Yes, everything's fine, Squall. Are you worried or something?" Quistis tried to keep her voice casual.

Squall blew some air from his lips. "I think you guys are keeping something from me."

Seifer and Quistis shook their heads "no". Squall put a hand to his forehead. They're pretty bad liars. "Can I have a word with you guys later?"

"Uh, sure, okay," said Seifer. Quistis shot him a look, but he shrugged.

"Okay. Come see me when you have a minute." Squall, again eyeing them all suspiciously, backed out of the room and closed the door.

"'Sure?'" Quistis chided Seifer.

"He's already suspicious," Seifer replied. "He'd be more suspicious if we said 'no'."

Quistis groaned. "Just how are we going to keep him from finding out?"

"Maybe you should tell him," Kadowaki interjected. Quistis and Seifer both looked at her quizzically. Kadowaki shrugged. "You can't keep him and Rinoa in the dark forever, especially since what you're doing will have such a great impact on their lives. Maybe it's time you told him. Maybe he can help."

Quistis looked at Seifer, who raised his eyebrows and tilted his head. She sighed heavily. "I guess we'll tell him. Doesn't look like we have a choice anymore."

*

Squall took another sip of his coffee as he read through one of several request dockets. SeeD was becoming quite popular again after Galbadia's President Caraway had made an official call granting clemency SeeD for its role in the deaths of Galbadian soldiers during the Second Sorceress War. It had been a bold step for Caraway, but the Galbadian people had grown tired of their being ostracized by the world for their past imperialism. And from what Squall knew of the man, Caraway was a slave to the polls.

The only condition to the clemency was that Galbadia Garden must stay within the Western Continent at all times, as a first line of defense for Galbadia. Cid and the other Headmasters had reluctantly accepted the condition; it was a privately revealed condition of the agreement that they must accept it to continue operating in Galbadia. They had been careful to remind Caraway that SeeD had no national allegiances, but did not desire to give up the strategically important Galbadia site.

Emboldened by what he felt was a personal victory, Caraway had begun to hire SeeD often, to act as backup to his personal guard. Despite Caraway's public attempts to polish his nation's image, he was still in the crosshairs of many reactionary extremists from around the world. He also knew that, compared to SeeD, his military was nothing short of an inexperienced rabble.

The one docket Squall happened to be perusing was, in fact, a direct request from "The Office of the President of Galbadia". Squall skimmed the paper, passing over the standard contract material, and came to a separate line, typed in bold text, that read, "No gunblade experts desired." Squall frowned and tossed the paper back onto his desk. That line had been in every single request SeeD had received from Caraway. It had always been on its own separate line, printed darker than most of the rest of the docket.

Squall rubbed the bridge of his nose. Caraway obviously still hates me. He probably will until the day he dies. And from what Rinoa tells me, he's not too fond of Seifer either, after their little "fling" all those years ago. He chortled. Kill two birds with one sentence. Damned political…

His intercom beeped, interrupting his internal diatribe. Squall frowned more deeply and thumbed the button. "Yes?"

"Hey, Squall, let us in," came back Zell's voice. Squall arched his eyebrows. Zell never lets Bowler announce him. He usually just…wait…"us"?

"Are Seifer and Quistis with you?"

He received no response, except for his office door opening slightly. Squall rolled his eyes. Why the hell'd he bother asking?

"Yo, Squall, we gotta talk to you!" Zell poked his head in like a child who knew he'd interrupted his father at work.

"We who?"

The door opened the rest of the way, admitting Zell, Seifer, and Quistis. Squall had all but forgotten that he'd asked to speak with Quistis and Seifer. He stood up and said, "I said I wanted to talk to you, but…why do I get the feeling I'm about to be ambushed?"

"Relax, Squall," said Seifer, pulling up a chair for Quistis. "We've got something important to discuss. It can't wait any longer."

Before Squall could reply, Quistis sat down, saying, "It's something about you and Rinoa."

Squall stared at her as his heart sank. What is it this time? Is something wrong? Again?

Once Zell closed the door, he bounded back over to Squall's desk and flopped down into a chair. Seifer rolled his eyes at him as he pulled up his own chair.

Squall looked back and forth at his friends. Their silence only served to intensify the burning he felt in the pit of his stomach. Finally, he raised his hands and said, "Well? What about me and Rinoa?"

Seifer finally spoke up. "We think we have a way to give Rinoa a body."

Squall snapped his gaze toward Seifer. "W-what?"

Zell piped up, "I thought of it! Ya see, it's like this…"

"Squall," Quistis interrupted, "do you remember what we discovered during our battle with Ultimecia?"

"I'm not following."

Zell started again, "Well, ya see…"

Quistis interjected, "She created the false GF, Griever, to battle us. Do you remember that?"

Squall closed his mouth. Memories of how his own fantasy had been used against him and his friends, almost to their demise, still haunted him. "She read it from my mind. Isn't that what you said when you scanned the creature?"

Quistis nodded. "Yes and no. At the time, I didn't go into detail, because we were in a dire situation and were fighting for our lives. But my scan showed that Griever wasn't just an illusion. It was a living, breathing monster. As if it had been spawned on the moon like any other monster."

"So, what you're saying is that Ultimecia had the ability to create a living creature? I find that kind of hard to believe." Squall crossed his arms and leaned forward in his chair.

"It was what I observed, and what I put in my report. I'd just forgotten, I guess for the same reason we all forgot our common childhood." Quistis rubbed her hands over her stomach, unconsciously soothing her nerves.

Squall squinted at her. "What's your point? Ultimecia's dead; I was there when she died."

"Yes, she is dead. When she died, she passed her powers onto Matron. Matron passed those powers onto Rinoa. Rinoa passed them onto me. I have those powers now." Quistis leaned forward, staring Squall in the eye.

Squall replied, "So, you're saying you can create a monster for Rinoa to exist inside?"

Seifer sighed loudly. "Squall, stop taking things so damn literally for once, okay?"

"Squall, I can create a new body for Rinoa. One that's identical to the one she lost months ago. She can be alive again."

"Look, Rinoa and I…"

"'Are as happy as can be', we know," Quistis stated. "Yes, we can see just how happy you two are to gave each other and that everything is just hunky-dory. But what you don't know is that we see you and Rinny, Squall. You both ache so much to hold each other that pain practically radiates out from you. We know you need to be together. Really together. We're going to do everything we can to make it happen."

Squall leaned back in his chair, his arms falling limp in his lap. "Why didn't you guys tell us about this before?"

"Because we knew you'd say no." Seifer leaned forward and stared right into Squall's eyes. "Like you just tried to."

Squall refused to back down from Seifer's piercing gaze, but conceded the argument. "I can't stop you, can I?"

"Squall, we all can see how much you and Rinoa need to be together. Not just in spirit. In reality." Quistis stroked her stomach. "We're going to keep trying, because we know that, deep down, it's what you both want. You're not very good at hiding it."

Squall sighed and closed his eyes. They're right. I guess we have been showing how alone we feel. But…can they really do it? And would something like this somehow hurt Rinoa? I can't bear to put her through any more pain. Still… After a moment's hesitation, "Okay, I'll talk to Rinoa, and see what she says about it."

"Good," Seifer replied. "We've gone to all this trouble, you'd damn well better accept it."

Squall raised an eyebrow. "Yes, sir," he retorted.

*

"I…I just can't believe this," Rinoa said.

"I know," Squall replied, turning the corner toward the Infirmary.

"Squall, does she really think she can do it?"

"She thinks she can," Squall said. "What do you think?"

Rinoa shook her head. "I never tried anything this extensive. I…guess she has the power, but…I just don't know. And I'm trying to imagine what Lexie will think about all this, when we tell her."

If we tell her, Squall thought. "They want to do it for all three of us." The Infirmary door opened automatically, and Squall stepped inside. The door closed on Rinoa, but she just continued walking through it. "Actually, they insist."

"I guess I'll have to get used to actually using doors again, if it works." She smiled.

Kadowaki turned around. She was standing at the back of the Infirmary, near the door to the back rooms. "Good, I'm glad you came. Maybe you can help, Rinoa. You had these powers longer than Quistis has."

Rinoa shook her head. "I never tried anything like this. Edea, Adel, Ultimecia…they all did spectacular things because they had decades of experience. I know. I still have some of their memories." She pointed to her temple. "But I can't think of anything in here that can help."

The three of them entered the back hall and walked to the examination room, where Quistis, Seifer, Zell, and Edea were waiting around an examination table.

"Edea?" Rinoa said. "You were in on this too?"

Edea smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "I am now. They just told me yesterday, and I came here posthaste. I suppose they figured I could be of some help."

"Hey, Rinoa!" waved Zell. "Ready for some fireworks?"

Seifer, who was standing next to Zell, smacked him in the back of the head. "Can't you take this a little more seriously?"

Zell spun around and shifted to a fighting stance. "Frickin' hell! Ya wanna piece of me? I still outrank ya, you know!" Seifer rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

Quistis, who had been standing silently with her eyes closed, cleared her throat. "If you two children are done fighting, I think I'm ready to go."

"Okay," replied Rinoa. "What do you need me to do?"

*

The blue light faded away, allowing everyone to uncover their eyes. On the table, as before, lay a mannequin-looking body with Rinoa's head.

Quistis, breathing heavily, nodded at Rinoa. Quickly, Rinoa stuck a hand into the body and closed her eyes. Her ghostly form began to fade and sputter, and her brows knitted in concentration.

Squall put a finger to his temple and squinted his eyes. Zell, noticing his abrupt movement, looked over at him and said, "Hey, you okay?" Squall waved him off and tried to watch.

Seconds went by, but nothing more happened. Everyone's breath caught in their throats. Only the sound of Kadowaki's scanner broke the eerie silence.

Suddenly, the body's arm jumped. Everyone except for Quistis and Rinoa started.

"Is…is it working?" asked Zell. No one answered his question; all were too mesmerized by the sheer magnitude of what they were accomplishing.

However, within seconds of Zell's question, waves of blue and gold energy reappeared over the body's surface, and began to vaporize it. Squall shot toward it and Rinoa, but Seifer stepped into path, grabbing his shoulders. "No, don't!"

"Rinoa!" Squall shouted, the pain in his head worsening. He reached his hand out to the fading ghost. "Rinoa, get out of there!" He twisted to get around Seifer, but the larger man had Squall in a firm grip.

"Don't touch it, Squall! That's hot enough to burn you!" Seifer held him tightly.

Suddenly, they heard a sharp cry, and then silence as the body was finally consumed by its own energies.

Squall stared dumfounded at the now-empty metal table. Rinoa had completely vanished. He stretched out his mind, listening for even the tiniest whimper. He felt nothing. "No…she's…"

Just as he said that, there was heavy breathing from up above. Everyone turned their attention toward the ceiling, just in time to see a human silhouette materialize. Rinoa floated face down in mid-air, gasping for her metaphysical breath.

"Rin! Are you okay?" shouted Squall.

"That…that was…amazing…" Rinoa managed.

"What?" asked Squall. "But I felt…pain…"

Rinoa turned her head up toward Squall. "I…I could feel. For a second, I could feel the world. The cool air on my skin. I felt my fingers move. Squall, I was alive!" Slowly, she twisted into an upright standing position and floated down so that her feet appeared to be flat on the floor. Her image began to fade briefly, but then re-solidified.

"Are you okay?" Squall repeated.

Rinoa nodded. "I'm fine. Just a little winded, I guess. I couldn't hold on for more than a few seconds, but it was just so…wonderful."

Quistis sighed as she fell into Seifer's arms. "I've never been able to make it last for more than a few seconds. How can I make you a permanent body if I can't get this to work?"

"Well, I don't know how to describe this, but when I was getting inside the body, I felt something pushing me out." Rinoa put her hands to her hips. "I didn't resist it, because I didn't expect it. It was kind of like getting punched in the stomach when you don't know it's coming."

"But Rinny, who knows what would have happened to you if…" Quistis trailed off.

"Quisty, I didn't know what to expect. Now I do, and I think that if I steel myself when I first go in, I might be able to hold it together longer."

"Um, guys," interrupted Zell, "I don't know if you guys noticed, but the body, it didn't have any…you know…" He cupped his hands over his chest, mimicking breasts. "It was missing stuff."

Seifer looked ready to smack Zell in the head again. Quistis blocked his hand and shook her head. "First of all, I don't know what her body looked like underneath her clothes. Second, it's all I can do just to make her head look like it did."

"Look, if the cost of my being alive again is losing some…body parts, I'll gladly accept it." Rinoa looked at Squall. She had difficulty reading his expression, but could guess his feelings. She shared them. We may never be able to make love again, she thought to him. Not in the same way. That'd be one thing I will truly miss.

Squall remained silent. He would be overjoyed to have Rinoa alive, and solid, again. However, he worried for her, more than her missing body parts related to pleasure, but that some she needed to function would be missing as well. "Are there any other body parts that were missing?" He looked at Kadowaki.

Kadowaki shrugged. "I couldn't do that thorough an examination in such a short time. I can't say for sure."

"What's to say the body could even survive?" Squall asked.

"It wouldn't be a 'body' in the traditional sense, Squall," said Edea. "It would be solid, but held together by Quistis' powers. Because Rinoa's presence in this world is based on those powers, she should be able to not just control it, but take full possession of it, as if it were her own body. It would be a 'vessel', if you will, that would be a new home for her soul, and allow her to permanently relocate herself to this world."

Squall crossed his arms. "And you know this for sure?"

Edea shook her head. "I do not. However, it's the best theory we have, and I believe it had a chance of working."

"Squall," Rinoa said gently. "Please, Matron knows better than any of us just what is possible with Quisty's powers."

Squall looked away, a mixture of shame, frustration, and worry coiling itself around his intestines. "I didn't mean it to sound like that."

Edea tilted her head. "Squall, it's all right. You worry for not only Rinoa's future, but your daughter's, as well as your own. Although I have never heard of such an undertaking, I believe it can be done."

Squall nodded. "I'm sorry, Matron."

Edea smiled gently. "You are all my children. If I could have carried children in my womb, I would have wished that my birth children would be exactly like all of you. That includes you, Rinoa. You have all enriched my life."

Squall and Seifer both looked away shyly, the compliment being so unexpected. Zell, Quistis, and Rinoa all wore big, grateful smiles.

"Now," Edea continued, "let's not give up! My Garden hasn't trained you to surrender when things don't work. We will keep working at this, and we will do everything within our abilities to make it possible."

Rinoa nodded emphatically, followed by Quistis. Zell shot a triumphant fist into the air, and Seifer smirked confidently.

They all then looked at Squall, who had one hand on his hip, and his head turned to the side.

"Squall?" Rinoa stepped into his line of sight.

Squall took in a deep breath, and said, "Are you sure you won't get hurt in case it doesn't work next time?"

Rinoa nodded emphatically. "Definitely." At least, I think not, she thought to herself. But I have to try, don't I?

"Okay," Squall conceded. "Then let's get you a new body."