Chapter 6: Coming and Going

Quistis bit into a piece of toast slathered with butter and raspberry jam as she dialed the phone with one hand. The receiver was propped between her head and shoulder. In a strange way, the toast was more soothing than sleep had been. There was something simple and right about toast in the morning, something about the creamy butter and tart fruit spread that reminded her of being a little girl, safe and sound on the beach at the orphanage. She chewed thoughtfully as the phone rang, waiting for someone on the other side to answer.

"Balamb Garden, this is Xu. How may I help you?"

Quistis swallowed. "This is Quistis."

"Hey!" Xu's tone brightened. "What's up? How's the mission going?"

"It's…getting complicated. I need to talk to the headmaster. Is he available?"

"For you, yeah. Hold on, I'll put you through to him."

Quistis waited as hold music came on the line. It wasn't long before Cid picked up. "Quistis? Is something wrong?"

"Sort of," she replied.

"Edea?"

"Oh. No. She's fine."

Cid blew out a sigh of relief.

"This is about the dead body. I need to discuss what we've found out with you."

"You've delivered it to the morgue in Deling City, right?" She heard him shuffle through some papers. "I was under the impression that the autopsy was complete and that the fisherman were back in business."

"Yes. That's true."

"So, case closed," Cid said.

"Not quite. We've found out some interesting things about the way this man died, sir. We believe he was killed on an island in the southern sea by a hitherto unknown kind of a monster, a type of hybrid dragon immune to most magical attacks and poisonous."

There was a short pause before Cid said, "Interesting."

"And we've also uncovered evidence that suggests the deceased was involved with some sort of extremist group," Quistis continued, looking down at her half eaten toast and wishing that she had more solid information to pass on. "The toxins from the monster's poison were present during the autopsy. Kelly's got a sample of it being analyzed here in Deling. She says it appears to be a type of neurotoxin. So whatever this thing is, we think it packs a pretty good punch."

She heard Cid release a long breath. "And you would like clearance to go find this animal?" he asked.

"I think we have to, sir. Its high resistance to magic makes it deadly, even to SeeDs. We should know what we're dealing with before this thing shows up in Centra or Esthar."

"I agree," he announced. "I'll discuss it with the board and get back to you. For right now, stay in Deling City. Do what you can from there."

"Yes, sir."

"I've got to be honest with you though, Quistis. We're not scientists. And there isn't any money in this. I don't think they're going to let you go."

"Yes, sir," she repeated.

"I'll talk to you soon," he said and hung up.

Discouraged, Quistis finished her breakfast without any of the enjoyment she'd had earlier. The issue of the monster had been weighing on her mind. It was something unique, something that she'd never seen before despite having traveled all over the planet and even into the future. Whatever it was, she knew that it was either a catastrophe waiting to happen or a bizarre windfall for the SeeD training program. Nothing in the world could offer the same challenge this monster did. And despite herself, she was eager to pit her skills against it, even more eager to watch Seifer pit his.

The door cracked open, and his blond head peaked in. "Hey. Come downstairs and eat before all the good stuff is gone."

"I already ate," she replied.

"What? Toast?" He swung the door open the entire way and walked in. "You can't survive on that. Come on. Quit being so stuffy and get your ass down there."

She sighed and made a big show of getting up off the bed, hoping to make it as obvious as possible to Seifer that she was doing what he asked against her will. Holding onto her elbow, he guided her out of the room and down the steps to the hotel bar which at the moment was set up as buffet. The metal containers of steaming scrambled eggs, pancakes, and biscuits looked strange against the backdrop of red velvet curtains and the grand piano. Kelly was sitting at the back of a round booth finishing off a towering glass of milk.

"Well?" she asked when they approached.

Seifer threw two gil down on the table. "You were right."

"Right about what?" Quistis asked as she sat down.

"Seifer bet me that you were taking so long because you were on the phone with Carson," Kelly said.

Quistis shot an irritated glance at Seifer, who was filling up a plate at the buffet. "You were betting on me?" she said when he walked back and set the plate down in front of her.

"Seemed like a sure thing," he replied and slid into the booth next to her. "I mean, what were you doing up there all alone? Just spending quality time with your toast or something?"

"No. You were partly right, I guess. I was on the phone. But not with Carson," she said, deciding to let go of her irritation because he'd gotten her breakfast and was smiling so charmingly. "I was talking to Cid."

"What did he say?" Kelly asked, becoming serious.

"He said he'd talk to the board, but it doesn't look good," she replied.

"Damn." Seifer slammed his hand against the table top. "Why'd they even send us in the first place if they didn't want us to do a fucking thing about what happened? They expected us just to come out here, haul the body to Deling City, and that's that?"

Quistis shrugged. "Pretty much. Those were the parameters of the mission." She cut into a pancake on her plate, noticing that Seifer had drizzled warm blueberry syrup over it. She'd have to tell him someday that she really preferred maple, she thought. But it still tasted good.

"There's always the chance we wouldn't be able to find the island anyway," Kelly pointed out. "There's hundreds of them out there. Most of them aren't even charted. It's a needle in a haystack."

"Maybe, but I know the answer to this guy's death is out there," Seifer said. "And it's not just that he was some random guy, exploring some random island who got himself killed. There's more to it than that. I'm positive."

Quistis felt the same way. But it wasn't up to her. In the end, it was all up to a committee back at Garden. But she knew Cid would do everything that he could to convince them.

0 0 0

Cid sat at the head of a long conference table, the rest of the Garden faculty gathering around and taking their seats. As the men sat down together, they removed the hats that covered their faces. The uniforms they wore made them indistinguishable from one another and made them seem like a single organism, a hive mind. The other side of the table was filled with a select group of instructors, one from every department.

As they settled in, Cid took a drink of water and cleared his throat.

"You've all been briefed on the situation," he began. "So let's get right to it and open the floor to questions and opinions."

The faculty member in charge of the training center spoke up first. "I think it would be wise to find out as much as we can about this monster that SeeD may someday have to fight, or even bring one back to train against."

"I agree," someone seconded.

"I think we should leave it well enough alone," one of the instructors, an older man, responded. "We haven't encountered this thing up until now, and as far as we know, we're the only ones who even know it exists. What if it is some unbeatable monster? We don't want to go dragging it off its secluded island and cue in the Galbadians to the fact that it even exists. And in any case, the DNA results we got back might not even correspond to actual traits in the monster. They could be unexpressed genes."

Everyone thought that over for a moment.

"Just to be on the safe side, we should assume the intel we've received is true," the training center faculty member replied. "If we'd ignored the reports of malboros years ago, we wouldn't have done so much more research into status defenses. And where would we be now? You have to admit, there are real monsters out there a lot more bizarre than this one. And with the lunar cry during the war, we really don't know what came down."

"He's got a point," someone else said. "We've got to check this thing out for our own safety."

The same old instructor scoffed. "It's dangerous and foolish. The fact of the matter is, we don't have any idea what's out there or even where it is. You can't just send people off on a wild goose chase like that. Let's call the team back until we have more information at least."

"I think the real question here," Cid said, seeking to tone down the rising level of dissent, "is whether the benefits of such a mission would outweigh the dangers. And I'll remind you, we've sent SeeDs on much more dangerous missions than this before without batting an eye."

In fact, Garden rarely ever took danger into account when approving a mission, and he was surprised that it was coming up now. He knew the real reason the committee was balking, and the reason no one wanted to voice out loud, was money. They got paid a lot for all those dangerous missions they sent SeeDs on. But this one would require them to go into the red zone. They'd be pouring money in and might not get anything back in return. Greed had taken over Garden. Greed and business. The school wasn't the bulwark against evil he'd established it as anymore.

"Let's think for a minute what the losses could be if the Galbadians got a hold of this animal and set it loose in Balamb," an instructor said, leaning forward in his chair. "It could cripple SeeD. Only our best, people like Quistis and Seifer, could defeat it. Why don't we give them the chance to do it before it becomes a problem and costs us even more?"

Murmurs of agreement bounced from each side of the table.

"Shall we put it to a vote?" Cid asked.

Everyone nodded.

"All those in favor of sending a team to find the monster, raise your hand."

He watched as hands went up around the table, just more than half, and he felt relieved that he'd be able to deliver to Quistis the verdict that she so obviously wanted. Still, as someone who'd know both Seifer and Quistis since they were children, he felt a familiar pang of guilt sending them off into the unknown.

"All right. It's decided," he said.

0 0 0

Seifer was lying on the hotel room bed, flipping through the television channels. Galbadia had strange taste, and it was reflected in the odd variety of shows playing in the middle of the day. He stopped for a few minutes on a game show -- something that involved being dressed in a Halloween costume and boxing. Cid had already called to tell them what the board had decided, and Quistis was out getting the Ragnarok ready to return to Garden. Kelly, meanwhile, was sitting silently on the next bed, her shoulders sagging.

"You'll tell me how things turn out, right?" she said.

"Sure."

Because she had no field combat training, Kelly had been recalled to Garden, and they were going to be assigned a new team member to accompany them to the island. It didn't really make any difference to Seifer who went with them, but he understood how bad Kelly must have felt at being left behind.

"Hey." She turned to face him. "You be careful out there, okay. This thing is really dangerous, and I know you're Seifer Almasy and everything, but..."

Seifer sat up, planting his feet on the floor. "I'll be fine."

"I hope so." She smiled, her teeth tucking into her bottom lip in a coy, school-girl way. Seifer knew that smile and knew what it meant. She was a nice girl, a little too nice for someone like him, and he couldn't imagine returning her affection.

She shook her head and looked down at the floor.

"Sorry, that wasn't fair of me. I know you don't--"

"Ready to go?" Quistis breezed into the room, interrupting what Kelly had been about to say. "The Ragnarok's all set to go, and the train with our new man on it is arriving in ten minutes."

Collecting herself, Kelly said, "Sure. I'm ready."

Turning off the TV and trailing behind the two women out of the hotel, Seifer was glad that Quistis had interrupted. He liked the idea of letting Kelly fly off into the sunset without having to come clean and tell her that he didn't feel anything for her. They caught a bus to the train station and sat squished together in one bench seat, the only one available in the vehicle that was otherwise filled to the brim with old people.

"I'm really sorry that you can't come with us," Quistis said as they rattled toward the train station. "We could probably use your expertise down there."

"It's okay. I'd just be in the way," Kelly insisted and laughed. "Call me once the monster is dead -- then I can help."

The train was steaming to a stop a few minutes ahead of schedule as they got off the bus. Seifer didn't know who they were looking for and hadn't thought much about who Garden might send to help them track down the island and the monster, but he was more than just a little surprised when Squall Leonhart stepped off the train.

"Puberty Boy," he said with a grin and clapped the other man on the back. "You're coming with us? Hyne. I haven't been on a mission with you since Dollet."

"I'm just the escort," Squall replied and gestured to the man who'd gotten off behind him. But Seifer's attention wasn't grabbed by the SeeD, who he recognized from a few classes they'd taken together once upon a time. Instead, he looked past him to the flushed, nauseating face of Carson Brecht. He was in uniform, as usual, but it was wrinkled and pulled up high around his ankles and wrists from the long train ride. Pushing past Squall and Seifer, he grabbed Quistis, pulled her close, and planted a noisy kiss on her lips.

Seifer gagged.

"Carson!" Quistis gasped once he let her go. "What are you doing here?" She looked embarrassed.

"I had some free time, so I came along to say hey." The way he was grinning made Seifer's blood boil, but he couldn't bring himself to look away. It was like a car accident. Horrifying. Terrible. But riveting.

"It's nice to see you," Quistis said sweetly, extracting herself from his grasp. "Sorry I haven't called. We've been busy."

"That's okay. I understand."

Seifer leaned in close to Squall and whispered between clenched teeth, "Please tell me he's going back to Garden with you." Having overheard him, Kelly's head whipped around and she pinned him with her smart, suspicious gaze.

"That's the plan," Squall replied.

Thank, Hyne, Seifer thought. The only plus to having Brecht accompany them was the possibility the monster might manage to kill him. Past that, Seifer thought a few of hours of watching the man canoodle with Quistis might drive him to do the job himself. The Ragnarok was just outside the city, close to the train station, so they didn't have to walk long to get there. It was resting in a thick patch of dark meadow grass, its dragon's talons dug deep into the earth.

"We contacted Galbadia Garden about loaning us a ship," Squall said to Quistis as she punched in the combination to open the Ragnarok's hangar door.

"Yeah. It arrived this morning. Thank you."

"Cid was explicit," Squall continued. "The ship should be loaded with all our latest maps and it's equipped with everything you need for emergency triage. But past that, you're not going to be getting any other resources from Garden. No air support. No backup. So don't get yourself in any trouble down there."

"Understood."

"You're all junctioned properly?" Brecht asked, slipping into instructor mode.

"We can handle anything that might come up," Quistis assured him.

One more hug, another kiss, and Carson Brecht was finally climbing into the belly of the Ragnarok. For a moment, Kelly lagged behind, stopping to wave and smile sadly before kindly telling the new guy that he was going to love being part of Quistis and Seifer's team.

"Be careful," Squall admonished one more time before following her up into the ship.

Like they really needed to hear that one more time. It was almost like everyone else knew something they didn't. Or maybe the unease, the sense that something big was about to happen, was spreading like a contagion. At least they were finally about to see some action. They were hot on the trail. And Seifer couldn't wait to leave.