Quistis closed her eyes for a moment, trying to rid her field of vision of the tiny specks that danced before her. She took a few deep breaths and flexed some of her sore muscles. Long ago, she'd taught herself how to relax after long hours of study, and this ability proved useful once again.
After making sure she could continue, she turned to the books spread out on the table in front of her. They sat amid a pile of papers that spilled over onto the floor, consuming the majority of the available space. They comprised page after page of notes, all culled after hours of effort from the volume she'd almost finished translating.
"Okay, Trepe," she whispered to herself, "focus."
More long hours passed as Quistis continued to make careful notes in her tiny, precise hand. A growing sense of horror filled her as the text revealed its secrets, but she forced herself to press on, needing to finish the work before jumping to conclusions. She hoped Cid didn't make a trip to his library while she worked; she'd never taken this many books at once before, and he could notice their absence.
* *
Squall stepped off the Ragnarok, weary from the mission that had just ended. He'd taken a team of cadets to the mountains near Winhill to clear out a cave infested with monsters. The inhabitants proved more resilient than the initial scout of the area indicated, and Squall had to cover the retreat of the younger students while attempting to complete the mission. As he stepped off the ship, he focused his attention on taking a shower and a quick nap, not necessarily in that order.
"Squall," Cid's clipped voice called out over the din of the unloading procedure. Squall could detect the controlled anger in the Headmaster's tone, even before the older man said, "Squall, come here at once."
Squall set down the case containing Lionheart and crossed over to his superior, saluting. "Sir."
"Where are reports from Avatar? I requested them several hours ago." Cid pursed his lips and put on his "waiting for an explanation" face.
"Yes, sir," Squall said, "I'll have them on your desk in ninety minutes. I just want to..."
"Unacceptable!" Cid roared. "I want them now. Go to your office and prepare them at once!"
"You would have them right now had you not sent me on the Winhill mission," Squall's eyes blazed.
"I don't want excuses, Leonhart!" Cid's face had turned a bright shade of crimson by now. "I want those damn reports. You have twenty minutes to do your duty, or I'll find someone who can! Are we clear?" As Cid turned to stalk out of the hanger, he noticed everyone staring at his outburst. "Back to work," he screamed, "or I'll have you all thrown in the detention center!"
Squall started to salute Cid's retreating form, but realized the pointlessness of his action, and didn't bother. Instead, he picked up Lionheart and trudged toward his office.
* *
Seifer tried his hardest to keep his pulse under control. As he neared the final pages of the History, he felt himself closing in on the answers he sought. He'd followed the trail of the Almasy line all the way to his grandparent's generation – the last chroniclers in the book, and had a sensation in his gut that the next page, detailing the Sorceress War, would reveal the truth about his parents. When Seifer turned the page, he saw that his grandfather's words gave way to Cid's handwriting.
Xavier Almasy. Aid to Vinzer Deling I of Galbadia. When Galbadia's Coalition of Allied Generals imprisoned Deling, Xavier organized the propaganda movement responsible for Deling's release. Continued to serve as aid and agent through Deling's reign. Deceased, Sorceress War.
Luna Almasy, nee Merraine. Married Xavier Almasy and gave birth to two children. Deceased, Sorceress War.
Lily Almasy. Daughter of Xavier and Luna. Deceased, Sorceress War.
Seifer Almasy. Son of Xavier and Luna. Arrived at orphanage. Sent to Balamb Garden.
And there the History ended. Seifer's mind whirled as he tried to process this information: he now had names to go along with his parents. And a sister, which he'd never imagined.
A knock at the door startled Seifer. "Yeah?" he called out.
Almost at once, Quistis came bursting into the room, her hair unkempt and eyes bloodshot. She clutched a large satchel. "We need to talk," she said breathlessly, "and it needs to be somewhere safe."
"Quistis!" Seifer sang out. "I finished the book! I have a family, and it's all thanks to you."
"Look, Seifer, there's time for gratitude later. Right now, we have more urgent matters to discuss. Somewhere safe. I cannot stress that enough."
The triple chime of the intercom cut off further conversation. "First Team, please report to the briefing room. First Team to briefing room."
"Damn it!" Quistis swore. "We'll continue this later."
* *
The call to action caught everyone off guard. No one in the briefing room, Squall included, knew what mission Cid planned to throw their way. The Headmaster, when he came through the doors, still had a cigarette in his mouth and his eyes had long since gone bloodshot.
"Time is short, so let's get to it," Cid snapped. "You all know Dobe, mayor of Fisherman's Horizon. Avatar has just reported," he waved a folder, "that he's working with the Galbadian government and plotting against us. I want you to go to FH and kill him. Following that, I want you to raze the city. That is all." Cid immediately turned and began to leave the room.
"Sir?" Squall asked after him. Cid whirled, throwing the folder at the wall behind Squall's head.
"Did you fail to understand your orders, Squall, or is this more of your insubordination? Because, I warn you, you're on dangerously thin ice, and I can think of a few other SeeDs who might be deserving of a promotion. So get to the ship. Now!" Cid punctuated his last order by slamming his fist onto the table. This done, he left.
"What the hell...?" Seifer whispered.
"Not here," Squall cut him off. "Board the ship." Squall stepped out of the room, not looking back, and heading in the direction of the dormitory wing.
"What is going on here?" Zell asked aloud, voicing the question on everyone's mind.
As the team discussed the interchange between Cid and Squall, Quistis knelt on the floor, picking up the scattered sheets of paper from where Cid had thrown them. The folder contained blank contract forms and expense accounts for school supplies. But not a single intelligence report.
* *
Squall boarded the Ragnarok last, Lionheart in tow and Rinoa following at his heels. She had an overnight bag with her, and her Shooting Star strapped to her arm.
"Why is...?" Quistis started to ask, but Squall cut her off, holding one finger to his lips.
Squall pointed to a seat and Rinoa sat down, looking highly worried. Everyone else just looked confused. From Rinoa's bag, Squall produced a small white board and a marker to go with it. He moved to the front of the cabin and, on it, he wrote, "Act normal. But Rinoa is not here." He underlined the word "not" three times. After making sure everyone saw this first message and understood it, he erased it, and wrote a new one in its place: "We will not be going to FH. We will be going to Esthar." This done, he left for the cockpit.
* *
"Hi everyone," Laguna said as they left the Ragnarok. "Is everything okay, Squall?"
"No. I need two more favors, Laguna."
"Whatever I can do to help," he replied, face creased with concern. As they spoke, one of Laguna's security teams moved in to clean the ship of any bugging devices.
"Get Rinoa to somewhere safe. Somewhere that isn't with us."
"Squall," Rinoa protested, "I want to stay with you guys. I want to help."
"No," Squall said. "It's not safe with us, and I'm not putting you in danger. Second, we need a place to talk, one where no one will listen in on us."
"Use my office," Laguna answered, "it gets swept for bugs daily."
"Thanks," Squall said, extending a hand to his father.
* *
When the group hit Laguna's office, Selphie immediately ran towards the desk and hopped in Laguna's chair. Somehow, thanks to the gravity of the situation, she managed to contain her impulse to spin in it.
"Okay," she said when everyone had entered the room, "will someone finally explain what's going on?"
"Good question, Sephie," Irvine said, walking to the massive windows behind the desk. "You wanna enlighten us, Squall?"
Squall took a long, slow look around the room. "This conversation puts you in danger. Now's the time to leave."
A minute passed, and no one moved.
"We're all with you, Squall," Quistis said. "What's going on?"
"Cid's irrational and paranoid."
"Just a little," Seifer muttered from his seat on the couch.
"And this mission is the proof of it. Dobe is no threat to us."
"What do you mean?" Xu asked. "What do you know?"
"Nothing," Squall shot back, "and that's exactly the point. I have full access to SeeD's intelligence network, and if Dobe were up to something, I'd know about it. That, and there's just no way he's working with Galbadia. He's a pacifist. He wouldn't conspire with them. I'm sure of it."
"I have to agree," Nida added. "I've known Mayor Dobe all my life, and he'd never collaborate with Galbadia."
"None of my agents in FH have said anything either," Selphie supplied.
"So what do we do?" said Zell.
"We wait," Squall replied, "we defy his orders and go back to Garden, claiming we failed this mission."
"Squall had me broadcast an emergency message before we changed course," Nida explained. "As far as Garden knows, we've put in here for repairs on the Ragnarok."
"And while we're here," Squall continued, "Mayor Dobe catches wind of our presence and escapes, leaving him beyond our reach. We return to Garden for further orders."
"But Squall," Selphie said, "Cid's getting pretty close to firing you. He said it himself."
"No way!" Irvine exclaimed. "If Cid moves against Squall, there'll be an uprising. Cid knows that."
Squall nodded. "I'm just hoping he's not too far gone."
Seifer stood up and started to pace. After a moment, he said, "But what happens after that? We go back to Garden, failures, and Cid yells at you for a while. What's the next step?"
Squall took another long look around the room. "This is the point of no return. From here on out, we're traitors."
Quistis cut in without hesitating. "Squall, we all stand behind you. Talk."
"We go back to Garden and prepare to bring Cid down."