5


"How did you guys know to find us here?"

The question seemed to amuse Rinoa, who cut the last bit of gauze binding my shoulder. "One of the perks of being a sorceress," she replied, glancing at me with a grin, "is you can find lost things. Or lost people."

"Did Garden send you guys after us?"

"Of course, silly, who else? Now turn around, I need to check if this bandage will hold."

I did as I was told and managed to not flinch when she pulled it a tad too hard, abrading the arrow wound. "Sorry," she murmured, and I nodded.

"Actually, when we heard what had happened we all practically begged the headmaster for the assignment," Zell stated, coming through the door just as I was buttoning up my shirt. "He was an easy sell on the idea."

"But why are you here?" I asked Rinoa. "You're not SeeD."

"That's what I'd like to know," Squall grumbled, taking off his jacket. "She met us halfway here and won't go back to Balamb."

"He's just worried I'll get hurt," Rinoa whispered. "I swear, he'd make me stay home and tend to the home like a good girl if I didn't escape every once in a while." Instead of being put out by the realization, however, she sounded pleased as punch.

"Are you two talking about me?" Squall protested just as Irvine and Selphie entered the room.

"Of course not," I lied smoothly, then turned my attention to the two newcomers. "Any signs?"

Irvine shook his head. "None whatsoever. It's like he just disappeared."

"We found some blood leading away, but the trail came to a dead end halfway down the alley," Selphie piped up. "After that, nada."

I said nothing, just thought for a moment. "They could have been with that man who tried to buy me a drink at the bar," I mused out loud.

"Guy?" Squall asked. "What guy?"

I quickly briefed them on what happened, including what I felt when he touched me. As I talked Zell came in, but there was still no sign of Seifer. "He may have been counting on Seifer's reaction to get us thrown out of the bar like we were."

Irvine snorted. "So his being a hothead got the both of you beaten up."

I fixed him with a glare and her threw up his hands. "Alright, alright, forget I said that."

"What's up with you two?" Zell asked, looking between Irvine and I.

"Nothing," I replied just as Irvine said, "She's on a 'Save Seifer' crusade or something."

Zell looked puzzled. "Why'd you want to do that? He doesn't need any help, just a therapist." He, Selphie, and Irvine snickered at the joke while the rest just looked amused.

Irrational anger curled in my belly as I realized that just twenty-four hours prior I'd been exactly like them, cracking jokes at Seifer's expense. My hands curled into fists, I spat out, "If you'd all stop acting like jackasses, I'd like to know what's been happening."

That stopped the laughter but now everyone was staring at me strangely. Squall, bless his heart, got the hint fastest and began talking. "The raid on Galbadia Garden wasn't expected. As Irvine told you it was an inside operation, but what he didn't tell you because he himself didn't even know was that the whole garden had rebelled."

I glanced over at Irvine and realized from his anguished but unsurprised expression that he'd already been told. He quickly looked away, not meeting my eyes.

"Cid is sure, as are we, that the whole deal is somehow connected to a form of sorcery. Your original mission would have hopefully found out more about this, but the assignment came too late.

"There is also a possibility that some or all of us may be targets."

"Targets?" I questioned. "For what?"

"Contacts of Cid's have told us that someone out there wants us, preferably alive. The reasons are unknown, but Cid isn't going to take any chances on any of us being compromised."

"So," Seifer's voice wafted suddenly from the entrance, "who started the party without me." He sauntered in, leaning a hip against the table. "Oh, don't stop on my account," he drawled, waving his hand airily. "We can't have that."

Squall gave him a disgusted look but continued the narrative. "Anyway, Cid decided the best thing to do would be for us to stick together, to be able to back up one another if anything were to happen. Rinoa," he slanted her a look, to which she just beamed, "was to stay secure at Balamb but as you can see she's .. here."

"And not leaving anytime soon either," she added, giving me a wink.

"So we're going to G-Garden to determine the situation? A simple recon mission?"

"Actually," Squall hedged, "we don't exactly...have a mission. We're to go back to B-Garden and do anything we can from there, since our faces are too well known."

I opened my mouth to protest, then shut it again. I wasn't going to question the Headmaster's orders, and they did make sense. I had no idea what exactly we could do at Garden, but our faces were too popular to succeed at anything undercover.

"You mean the mission's off?" Seifer sounded surprised, and I knew he had to be pleased at the turn of events.

"I think that's what the man said," Zell muttered.

"Thanks for the refresher, chicken-wuss," Seifer replied, but his voice lacked the mocking quality usually associated with the hated nickname. Zell seemed to notice too because the tension quickly left his stance and his good-humored look quickly reestablished itself.

"Because of the attack we're stepping up on our leaving time. We have a transport ready to go just outside the town's limits." Turning to me Squall asked, "Do you have anything in your hotel room?"

"Seifer's coat and gunblade were the only things left there," I replied and motioned towards the blond man. "He's got those now."

"Good. So if nobody has any objections, I say we get a move on now."

* * * * * * *

This had seriously been the easiest assignment of my life. Not even my SeeD instructor exam mission had been remotely as simple. It was almost ... depressing.

We were all sitting in the transport, some of us dozing, when an explosion rocked the car. Less than a second later another explosion sounded, this one lifting the passenger side and throwing us against our belts.

The third one toppled the vehicle, and the only thing that kept us from being thrown around as we rolled were the safety harnesses securing us to the sides of the transport.

We had probably only rolled once but by the time we stopped all of us were thoroughly thrashed and hanging upside down. I could feel blood running across my forehead from a gash above my eye, and my chest hurt from crashing against the belts. I saw that Irvine and Seifer had been knocked cold, but I couldn't tell the condition of Rinoa and Squall who were in the front seats.

Selphie was struggling with her belts, a similar gash to mind bleeding from high on her forehead. The seatbelt suddenly released and with a squeak she fell down to the top of the transport. Managing to land nimbly on her feet she withdrew Strange Vision and held it at battle ready.

Grabbing the seat behind me I undid the belt clasp then slowly lowered myself down. Ribs protesting, I unslung Save the Queen and glanced at Selphie. "You okay?"

"I'll live," she murmured back even as I heard someone groan behind me. I heard Irvine curse, but faint footsteps coming from outside drew my attention.

The rear doors suddenly wrenched open, and I readied Save the Queen for action. A figure stepped in and I whipped my arm back in preparation to strike... And stopped dead as I realized who it was.

"Hello again, Quistis," Headmaster Martine stated smoothly. "Surprised to see me?"

There was the very faint sound of something moving through the air then something pricked the side of my neck. I whirled around, lashing out with the whip even as I spotted the two cloaked intruders hunched over the slumped figures of Rinoa and Squall. I held back on the blow so that neither of my friends would be hurt in the backlash, but the two attackers were still blown out the window by the hit. My arm might as well have been jelly by the end of the maneuver, however, and blackness was beginning to rush in from the edges of my sight.

"Crap," I heard Selphie mutter just before I heard something collapse, and my knees gave way as I tried to turn around. The last thing I saw was the smirking face of Galbadia Garden's former Headmaster watching me from what seemed high above and the whole scene faded away.

--0--

Climbing back to consciousness wasn't nearly as easy as going under had been. I came awake, but was so groggy for a moment or two that if there had been any danger at that instant, I would have been helpless to fight it. Blurry vision, a sticky mouth, and a pain behind my eyes were my companions as I once again joined the world of the living.

Of course, having my hands and feet tied down served to bring me awake a bit faster, especially when the bonds were as tight as these were. When your arms and legs are tied down at very peculiar angles, one tends to realize much more quickly that they dreaming.

"Ah, so she awakens. Very good."

I wasn't prepared to deal with any threats at the moment - heck, I doubted I would be able to do anything even with ten minutes to recuperate, I was still so out of it - so I froze. A faint chuckle from somewhere to my right indicated that I had amused the owner of the voice and the upwelling of annoyance further served to make me more aware of my surroundings. Only...at that moment, there *were* no surroundings, at least none that I could see. It was pitch black and utterly silent, the darkness almost suffocating; I had no idea whether I was in a broom closet or a huge warehouse. A trickle of impatience flowed up my spine and I asked the darkness, "Selphie? Squall? Seifer? Zell?"

"They're not here," a sultry male voice echoed through the darkness, a note of amusement evident. Then silence again.

It's not a pleasant feeling to be helpless in the dark, alone with an enemy you can't see; your mind starts to play tricks on you, making you think you see movements where there are none. I kept my eyes focused straight ahead, determined to keep any uneasiness I might be feeling as far from the surface as possible.

Somewhere behind me the man clucked his tongue, making tsk-ing noises as if chiding a child. "My dear Quistis, there is no need to fear me. I am simply a messenger of news."

"How do you know who I am?" I asked, my voice neutral.

"Who does not know of the great Quistis Trepe?" he replied grandly, his voice moving around to my left. I could hear the very faint sound of clothing, and concentrated on that. "You and your friends are, suffice to say, very famous nowadays."

"What have you done with them?" I asked coldly, testing my bonds yet again. They were tied securely yet not so tight as to cut off circulation, and seemed to be made of a soft fabric. The more I moved the less they felt like rope or wire, but that didn't make it any less sturdy.

"You needn't worry about your friends, Ms. Trepe," he replied smoothly. "They are safe and sound far from here. To be quite honest, it was you who I was wanting to catch up with."

Instead of asking why, I remained silent. It wasn't very difficult to tell that he was baiting me, waiting for me to ask him for the reason we had been taken. I refused to allow him any upper hand; having me tied and, Hyne help me, helpless would be all I'd give him. In addition to that... I wasn't sure I could keep my words as composed as I had before; there was something very strange about his voice that gave me butterflies in my stomach.

The minutes stretched by as neither of us spoke, then I heard him chuckle to my left again. "I admire your stubbornness, my dear, but our time grows short. I must tell you something that will be of great importance to you later..."

"Then why attack us if you had only a message?" I interrupted, a little anger unwillingly leaking into my voice. I cursed inwardly, struggling to gain back control over myself. Something about the voice was ... was ... I don't know how to describe it, but my mouth had gotten suddenly dry, my brain felt like it was fogging over, my breathing was beginning to come in short pants...

"It wasn't I who attacked you." A bit of consternation had leaked into his voice as well, but somehow I knew it wasn't directed at me. "They are who you should be fearing, not myself. That they got past my guard so easily..." Clothing rustled loudly and footsteps could now be heard, albeit faintly, moving around my front and up to my right. Another rustle, and I knew that he had kneeled beside me. I couldn't see him, couldn't hear him, but I knew he was right there not three feet away from me; my heart wouldn't stop hammering. Him speaking seconds later confirmed it.

"For what is coming, you will need to be strong." His voice sounded as though it were mere inches away from my ear, yet I didn't feel any breath.

"W..what are you d-doing to me?" I murmured, my voice breathy and a great deal less forceful than I'd have liked. Ah Hyne, his coming closer had amplified the sensation, and swallowing hard I grit my teeth to keep from moaning.

He himself drew in a shaky breath and I had a sudden suspicion that, in spite of his own calm voice, he was being affected as well. Whether his being affected was less than mine or he had more self control than I did was unknown, but again clothes rustled as he drew away. The effect was that the sensations lessened but didn't leave, not by a longshot.

"It's an unfortunate side affect of who we are," he explained, his voice oddly strained. "Although I had not thought it would be like this so soon..."

"What do you mean, what we are?" The distance allowed me a moment to collect myself and my voice no longer shook, although it sounded strained to my ears.

Silence reigned, then my unseen captor let out a sigh. "I made a mistake in seeking you out so soon when I myself was not ready for this."

I had no idea what he was talking about, and repeated my question, "What did you mean by that, what we *are*?"

"All in due time, my dear Quistis," he murmured, his voice farther away now. "This meeting was premature, yet I don't regret meeting you. I should have waited though, I only sought to warn you..." His voice trailed off, then he began to murmured something in a language I didn't know. As I knew all the languages of this world as well as a few dead ones, this bothered me.

"I must wipe away this memory," he muttered, the sultry tone to his voice gone as he concentrated. "I only wished... Quistis, you must be careful in the coming days. Something is after you, and will stop at nothing to get to you and what you represent."

"Wha..." He had said the last bit very quickly, almost immediately beginning to chant. "You're not just a messenger are you? Wait, why do you... Don't--"

A burst of energy filled my chest as one of my junctioned Guardian Forces burst forth, called by the man before me. I was helpless to stop it; once a GF is released no force on this earth could stop it.

Quezacotle filled the room, his unearthly screech filling the space. The darkness was rent immediately by the GF's lightening, momentarily blinding me.

"If nothing else, remember to beware the coming danger," my captor's voice whispered behind me. "We cannot finish this if you are lost."

"What do you mean --" Any words I might have said stuttered to a halt as a gloved hand cupped the side of my face. Flames, both hot and cold, raced through my body and blanked my mind as my back arched out of the chair. I heard Quezacotle's answering roar, then nothing as everything once again went black.