Seifer stared out at the wind ripple among the waves, and the illusion of the setting sun igniting the ocean in a fiery blaze. The sight calmed and soothed his nerves. It was something he needed at the moment. Below decks was loud and noisy. Zell and the rest were engaged in a boisterous conversation when he left. It was one he found difficult to follow, as they talked about old childhood memories. He found it difficult to remember the orphanage, but it was slowly coming back to him.

He had thought they were lying at first, but with effort the memories returned. Matron, fireworks, picking on Zell. It was strange to have forgotten. These people he had fought so many times in the recent past, were the only thing he had once upon a time. Now, things had come full circle. He was back to the beginning. The Orphanage Gang had been fully reassembled. Even the Headmaster had come along for this trip; why he had not said. The only one missing was Matron. She had stayed behind to mind the Garden in Squall and Cid's absence.

Back to the beginning. Back home. It was a thought he liked more and more as the trip progressed. It was just difficult to assimilate this all at once. It was something he hadn't anticipated when this job was taken. Therein lay the difficulty. The money wasn't important to him, it never truly had been. Why had he taken this job then? Because while on Ultimecia's leash, he had seen how close the group below had come? Because maybe some distant part of himself wanted to be included in it?

Seifer shook his head. The reasons didn't matter. He had no intention of fulfilling this contract . Becoming a SeeD was his dream, the only one he had left now. Damned if he was going to give it up, even it was for an insane amount of money. His employer could go screw himself.

"Hey."

Seifer didn't bother to turn around. He knew it was Squall. "Needed to get away?"

"Yeah, all the noise was starting to give me a headache."

Seifer sniffed in amusement. Another memory suddenly came unbidden to him. "As kids… you and me, we used to fight a lot didn't we."

Squall stared out over the ocean for a moment. "Yeah. Starting to come back to you?"

"Little by little." Seifer decided it was time to ask the question that had been bothering him. "Why did you guys let me return?"

The Commander settled his arms against the rail. "When we found out, it was pretty unbelievable to all of us, except Irvine. He was the only one who remembered. The biggest shock was when we realized you were there too. None of us are blood related, but we were raised as a family, and we're a family again. We all want to stay that way. That includes you."

The boat suddenly veered away from the ocean and towards the coastline. Seifer asked. "Why are we going to shore?"

Squall shrugged. "Three day trip to Winhill by boat. I guess everyone decided to sleep on land."

Seifer agreed with that wholeheartedly. Sleeping in the cramped quarters of the fast attack boat with seven other people wasn't his idea of a good time. "Guess we're not that close of a family huh?"

A flicker of a smile appeared on Squall's face. "We're a family that needs some space."

"Guess so. Hey Squall, about this mission…" Seifer's confession of the true nature of this expedition was short circuited by his beeper going off. He looked down and saw the number he had feared appear on the display.

Squall asked. "Who's that?"

Seifer began to speak the truth, but a lie appeared in its place. The courage to face Squall with the truth had left with the sound of the beeper. He decided it didn't matter. All he had to do was not perform his part, and no one would know any better. "It's just Raijin. Fujin probably beat him up again, and he's calling to whine about it."

"Whatever. Need some privacy?"

"Yeah, if you don't mind."

"No problem." Squall turned to go, but turned around just as he was about to step on the ladder. "Almost forgot. Could use a partner to train with. Morning sound good?"

Seifer grinned. "Works for me."

"Good. Only one thing."

"What's that?"

Squall ran a hand along his forehead, between the eyes. "No scars this time."

Seifer laughed. "Promise."

Squall stepped down the ladder, and Seifer pulled a cell phone out of his trench coat. Time to tell his employer to talk to a wall.

******************************************************************************************

"And furthermore people of Esthar, I promise that every family shall have a chicken with pot--"

Kiros interrupted. "That's a chicken in every pot! A chicken in every pot!"

"Errr ..right. Sorry about that." Laguna cleared his throat and began again from the beginning. "We are entering a new age. Since the defeat of Adel, we have been in isolation. Those days are over. It is now the role of our country to lead the world in a new era of peace. The Lunar Cry and Time Compression have ended. No longer do we have to fear the specter of monsters humming at our doorstep."

Kiros threw the text of the speech up in the air. "Stop! Just stop!"

Laguna glanced at his friend in confusion. "What did I say?"

Kiros gave a long suffering sigh. "It was supposed to be howling at our doorstep."

Ward and Ellone exchanged glances, and she giggled. "How have you gotten through speeches in the past?"

Laguna scratched the back of his head. "Well, there have been some goofs."

Kiros chuckled. "Some?"

Laguna defended himself. "Hey, the TV rating for my speeches are through the roof every time."

Kiros shook his head, holding his tongue. That his speeches were classified in the ratings as a sit-com was a fact that was carefully hidden from the President. No one wished to hurt his feelings with that knowledge. Every seventh day, families would gather around the television for his half hour speech. It was the highlight of the broadcast week, and had been for years. His mangling of the language often sent people into howls of laughter. Despite his flaws with speeches, the people of Esthar held great affection for him. They put up with his speeches, and other gaffes with good grace.

There were other quirks. Laguna proclaimed occasional odd holidays; 'National Pet Your Chocobo Day' being the latest example. In every poll conducted, the Estharian people said they didn't want a President who took things TOO seriously, and Laguna certainly fit that criteria. The speeches and the quirks weren't truly important anyway. In the ways that counted, Laguna Loire had done a good job. Leading the country in the difficult period after Adel, a booming economy, and he had helped save his country from the brink of disaster. The people of Esthar recognized these qualities, and so elected him each and every time for almost 20 years now.

Kiros put these thoughts aside, and tried to coach Laguna in speech again. Laguna would give an address without errors at least once in his tenure, or Kiros would die trying. Considering it had been going on for so long, he suspected it would be the latter. "Ok Laguna, one more time, from the top."

Laguna merely sighed, and sat upon a nearby chair. "No, my heart's not in it."

"Come on…"

"I said no Kiros!"

Startled by this uncharacteristic outburst, Kiros backed up a step. Everything was silent for a moment, until Ellone came to lay a hand on his arm. "Uncle Laguna, when are you going to tell Squall?"

Laguna buried his face in his hands, and replied. "The kid thinks I'm a moron."

Ellone shook her head back and forth slowly. "He deserves to know."

"He's gotten along well enough without a father for all these years. He'll get along fine without me now."

"I'll go with you if you want. You're not a moron. Squall just doesn't know you well enough yet."

Laguna raised his head. "I'll tell him eventually. I just have to find the guts first." Without another word, the President got to his feet, and stalked from the room.

******************************************************************************************

Seifer carefully checked below him to make sure no one was listening, and dialed the number into the cell phone. It was picked up on the first ring. "You took your time Almasy."

"Doesn't matter. The deal's off. Keep your money."

"This isn't the kind of thing you can just walk away from."

"Sure it is. I'm doing it now, and there's not a damn thing you can do about it."

A sudden laugh erupted from the other end of the phone. "Sure there is Almasy. Did you think I could build up a syndicate like this without planning for every contingency? You're not untouchable you know."

Seifer's eyes narrowed, and he asked. "What the hell you mean by that?"

The sound of the phone transferring reached Seifer's ears, and he heard a most familiar voice. "Seifer, he's got us ya know."

"CAPTIVE."

"Raijin, Fujin? What the hell are you doing there?!"

The voice of his employer returned. "I just let them on to let you know I'm not bluffing. You WILL do your job Almasy. I don't think I have to lay out what'll happen if you don't."

Seifer closed his eyes in anger. "You're a bastard."

"Thanks for the compliment. There's been a change of plans. You're going to accompany them for a while. Do what you have to do, but don't let them know about it. I want you there to keep tabs on them."

"Why?"

"They're dangerous people. Their flight will be a nice distraction for the world, while I do my real work, but I don't kid myself. I know what they're capable of. I want you there so I can know their plans."

"This won't work."

"Sure it will. You have no idea how far my reach extends. I can even take down Presidents if I want to. Which you'll find out soon enough. There's going to be someone there to meet you when you reach Winhill. She's going to give you what you need, and help however necessary. Do what she says Almasy, and everything will turn out fine for you, and your two friends." With that, the phone went dead.

Seifer stared at the phone for a moment. He had no choice. He was going to have to betray the Orphanage Gang a second time.

******************************************************************************************

There you are. After disembarking at shore, the gang had quickly set up a camp of sorts. Even Seifer had pitched in, and it was taken care of with a minimum of fuss. Somewhere in the midst of the work, Squall had disappeared. It always amazed Rinoa how sneaky he could be. He was currently sitting on a log in the midst of a clearing. Well, she could be sneaky too.

Creeping quietly, she made it within three feet of him. Her left foot fell upon a stick which snapped with an audible crunch. Squall leapt to his feet, and in one fluid motion, withdrew the Lionheart and whirled in a blur. Before she could react, the blade stopped inches from her neck. Rinoa glanced at it somewhat nervously. "Little on edge there Squall?"

Squall relaxed his posture, and put the Lionheart back in it's sheath. "You just surprised me."

"You'd think as my Knight, you'd be able to sense my presence by now."

He shrugged, and sat down upon the log again. "Edea said that would come with time."

She stepped up behind him, and placed her hands on his shoulders, and began to massage the tense muscles underneath. Rinoa thought it a great sign that he no longer tried to pull away when she attempted contact, even in public. Mr. Leonhart had been a project, but one that was turning out quite nicely. She suddenly grinned. "Guess you're still an apprentice Knight then."

"Whatever."

Squall began to relax as her finger kneaded their way across his shoulders. "Hyne, you were tense. What's wrong?" He didn't reply for a moment, and she knocked on the side of his head gently. "Hello, you promised, no zoning."

Squall sighed in irritation, but he did answer. "I don't know. Just a feeling. Something about this mission is wrong."

"How so?"

"Cid and I haven't told anyone else, but… Garden is in pretty dire financial trouble."

"Huh? I thought you had loads of money from when NORG ran the place."

"We did. Someone lifted all the gil out of the accounts by computer. We haven't been able to find out anything about who did it, or where the money is. Whoever did it, they were pros."

Rinoa frowned for a moment. That would explain the atmosphere she had sensed from the Garden hierarchy as of late. They had all seemed a little nervous and distracted. "Well, this mission will go a long ways to helping out won't it? Winhill's paying a lot of money for this."

"And where did they get the money Rin? It's not a big money town, you know that. And why did they specifically ask for us, and Seifer to come along?"

"You still don't trust Seifer, do you?"

Squall hung his head lower, and shook it back and forth. "I'm not sure, after everything that's happened…. He seems to genuinely want to become a SeeD. His attitude is completely different this time, but… I just don't know."

Rinoa thought that this had gone on long enough. Squall Leonhart worrying and thinking too much was definitely not a good thing. She asked. "Squall, do you trust me?"

"Yeah, but what's that got--"

She interrupted him. "Good, now stand up, and take two steps forward."

"Why?"

Rinoa chuckled. "Never mind why. I, your Sorceress, command it."

Squall finally rolled his shoulders forward in defeat, and stood, taking two steps forward. "Fine. I've done it, now what?"

Rinoa grinned, and jumped on his back, wrapping her arms around his neck.. "I want a piggy back ride to camp."

"Rinoa, get down."

She pouted. "It's not like you've never given me one before."

"You were in a coma then. I think you're capable of walking back yourself. Now get down."

"Nope, don't think I will."

"I'll drop you."

Rinoa took a deep breath, then launched into her best Selphie voice. "IfyoudropmethenI'llfall. I'llbreakmyankleandthenI'llcryandneverforgiveyou."

Squall rolled his eyes, and muttered. "What did I do to deserve this?"

Rinoa laughed. "No complaining!" She pantomimed cracking a whip over his shoulder, complete with sound effects. "Now back to camp. Mush, Leonhart, mush!"

*****************************************************************************************

Several days later, the group finally arrived at Winhill. Seifer had become even more withdrawn , and Squall couldn't even begin to guess why. The last hill had been reached, and they received their first view of the sleepy little town. Only it wasn't so sleepy. There were Galbadian troops situated around the town, and fiddling with equipment on the outskirts. Glancing at it, he saw the equipment was most likely gas canisters of some sort, complete with large fan systems. This hadn't been what any of them had expected at all. He turned to the Headmaster. "Did anything about the mission request mention something like this?"

Cid adjusted his glasses, and looked at the activity, mystified. "No, it did not."

Zell burst forth. "I'm not working with any damned Galbadian!"

Irvine patted the Exeter at his side, and gazed at Zell pointedly. "You forgetting that I'm a Galbadian, Zell? And Rinoa too?"

Zell suddenly looked uncomfortable. "You know what I mean. I'm not going to work with any Galbadian troops. We've fought em too many times."

Quistis sighed, and moved to the front. "You'll do what you're told Zell. We're professionals, and will do our jobs, even if we don't like it."

She them began walking towards the town, Selphie, Irvine, and Rinoa following. Zell slammed his fist into the ground. "Damnit!"

Squall merely shook his head. "She's right Zell, let's just get it over with."

Seifer and the Headmaster followed, and they reached the area where the soldiers were setting up the equipment. The one who seemed to be the leader of the Galbadians looked at them. "You the SeeD's?"

Squall nodded. "Yeah."

"Good. Ready for your briefing?"

Cid shook his head, and stood forward. "Squall, I'm going into town to talk to the mayor. I'm going to get to the bottom of this. Contact me via cell phone if need be."

The Commander nodded. Cid headed to the direction of the town, and Squall pointed to the canisters. "What are these?"

"It's a type of experimental, monster repellent. Completely harmless to people, but monsters can't stand the smell. Something about their noses being far more sensitive than ours. Don't understand it all myself."

Squall absently rubbed between his eyes. Yet another thing that didn't make sense. "If this is supposed to keep monsters away, why are we here? The contract stated we're supposed to clear them all out of this area."

"Yeah, it was decided a two pronged plan was best. As good as you SeeD's may be, you can't get all of em. You can certainly thin the population though."

Squall crossed his arms, and thought for a moment. There were certainly a lot of questions that still needed to be answered; like what Galbadians were doing in Winhill, but Cid would likely find out more from the Mayor. He decided it could wait. "We'll do just that. Anything more to add?"

"Yeah, we got another two or three stations placed around the town." He withdrew a package and handed a set of walkie talkies to Squall. "We'll keep in contact with each other, let you know what's going on. We'll take care of the town. You take care of the monsters outside. Clear em out."

Squall turned away, and led his team away from the soldiers. He handed each of them a communications device. "Alright, you heard our orders. We've got a lot of ground to cover, so we're each going to be on our own."

Selphie glanced at him quizzically. "You sure that's a good idea? Wouldn't teams be better?"

"No, there's nothing around here that could even begin to threaten us. Caterchipillars and Bite Bugs aren't exactly strong." He tapped his radio. "Keep in constant contact though. Someone will likely be near you if you get in trouble. Zell and Selphie, cover the left quadrants. Quistis and Seifer, the right. Rinoa and I will cover the center. Irvine, hold yourself back. If someone gets in trouble, I want you to come running. And stay away from that gas or whatever it is."

Irvine tipped his hat in agreement, and the rest scattered to their assignments. Rinoa walked beside Squall as they walked to their assigned area. "Are you sure about letting me fight alone?"

"We've been over this. You're more than strong enough now."

Rinoa looked down. "Yeah, but…"

Squall looked over at her, and gave one of his rare smiles. "You'll be fine. If not, just call. I'll be there before you know it."

******************************************************************************************

Another Bite Bug fell before Seifer's attack, and he finally admitted it to himself. He was bored. There was no challenge in this, for any of them. This should have been a field exam for students. He was surprised that none of the rest of the gang had figured out that there was something fishy about the whole thing, Seifer could have told them all too well. He wanted to tell them, but then Raijin and Fujin were dead,. His employer wanted him to stay with them after this was over, but he didn't know how he would face them. Not after this.

A voice from the side alerted him to another presence. She was standing by a truck that had several canisters identical to the ones that contained monster repellent. Unlike normal, she was dressed in civilian clothes, complete with a trench coat. "About time you showed up Seifer. Been waiting for you for hours."

Seifer tapped Hyperion against his shoulder in irritated fashion. Of all the people he could have worked with, it had to be her, "You my contact Xu?"

"Wow, what a lucky guess. Of course I am."

"Thought you were a good little SeeD. And what are Galbadians doing here? This isn't their jurisdiction."

"It is now. You'd be surprised how far our employer's reach extends. The other stuff isn't any of your business. Now give me a hand here. These canisters aren't light."

Seifer reluctantly hefted two of the canisters, and set the on the ground beside him. "What is this shit anyway?"

"Chemical agent, courtesy of Esthar. Dr. Odine made it about five years ago. One of his crazy experiments I guess."

He rolled his eyes. "Oh great, let's infect the whole world."

Xu chuckled. "It won't infect the world dimwit. It's a nerve gas, not a germ. It dissipates itself in a few hours. Whoever's exposed to it dies quickly. No one survives this."

Seifer ran a hand through his hair. "Xu…Cid's in that town."

"And your point?" Seifer glared at her, and she laughed. "Don't matter a bit to me. He's the one who picked that punk Leonhart as Commander. That should have been my job. Now let's get to work. I scouted the area. Irvine's within view of the first Galbadian team. How do we get rid of him? Kill him?"

Seifer closed his eyes, he was committed now, no going back; but he could at least make sure Irvine lived. "No, I can take care of it." He depressed the button on his walkie talkie and spoke. "Irvine, I need some help here!"

"From Bite Bugs? You losing it Seifer?"

"Not Bite Bugs! It's--!" He let go of the button.

Xu raised an eyebrow. "Nice. Let them think you're being attacked by someone. That's how you plan on staying with them."

"Yeah, I'll just tell them I was knocked unconscious, and didn't get a good look at 'em."

Irvine's voice came over the radio. "Seifer? What the hell happened?!"

Squall interrupted. "Get over there Irvine, you too Quistis."

Xu grinned, and picked up her canister. "Let's get this show on the road. You take care of the soldiers, I'll take care of the rest."

******************************************************************************************

"I must say, I sense something not quite above board about this."

The mayor, a man named Hiram, glanced at Cid oddly. "You're being paid. What does it matter?"

The Headmaster hated being confrontational. He wasn't good at it, but there were things he had to know. "And how did you pay such an enormous sum? I know it didn't come from here."

Hiram assumed a somewhat abashed expression. "There was a benefactor…"

"Tell me." The mayor was suddenly close mouthed, and Cid said. "With one phone call I can cancel this mission. Don't think I won't do it."

Hiram sighed, and went to the desk, pulling out several letters, handing them to Cid. "It was rather a surprise, but President Loire of Esthar contacted me sometime ago. He lived here once. The letters state that he would help us out financially. It was a rather large amount. He also worked out a diplomatic deal whereby we could place ourselves under Galbadian protection."

Cid began shuffling through the letters. "Why would you need Galbadian protection?"

"We have been in trouble financially for some time. We have been unable to hire monster hunters for almost a year now. The creatures have caused quite a bit of damage."

Cid nodded absently, and immediately noticed something strange about the letters. He had seen Laguna Loire's handwriting. The President had sent several letters to him in the past. Laguna's script was cramped, and difficult to read. This handwriting was clear, and rather neat. These letters were written by another hand. "Have you had any contact with Mr. Loire other than letters?"

"No, other than a message from a bank stating that the gil had been placed in the town's account."

Cid adjusted his glasses, and attempted to keep his irritation in. There was something very wrong here, and he was going to get to the bottom of it.

*****************************************************************************************

Seifer pasted a smile on his face, and walked towards the Galbadian soldiers. There were only two at each station, so this would be easy. One of the soldiers turned his way. "Hey, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be--" His sentence was never finished, Seifer drew Hyperion in a blur, and was among them. He cut both of them down before either could draw a weapon.

Xu came into view then, carrying one of the deadly cylinders. "Alright. Won't be long now."

"How are we not going to be caught in this?"

She shrugged. "Canister's rigged for a time release. We have a half hour. We'll get a safe distance away, and watch. Let the agents hit the fans. The wind will take care of the rest." Seifer wet a finger, and held it up in the breeze. Xu laughed, "Don't worry Almasy. The wind always blows towards the town here."

Xu detached the monster repellent canister, and attached her own to the hose. "Done. Two more stations to go. Then we're finished."

******************************************************************************************

"And why the need for my best SeeD's? Students could have taken care of this."

The mayor was obviously flustered by Cid's constant round of questions. "It was suggested by Mr. Loire in his letters. He gave them the highest recommendation."

Cid rubbed the back of his neck, and exploded in frustration. "These letters were not written by Laguna Loire! What possible reason could there be for him to send so much money here?!"

The mayor shrank back into his chair, and responded weakly. "He was once a resident here…"

Cid banged his hands on the desk, and sighed. He might actually believe that, if it weren't for the handwriting. The Headmaster turned away, and began to think, trying to put all the pieces in place. The disappearance of the funds from Garden's account, money from an unknown source, fake letters from Laguna Loire, he could almost put his finger on it, but not quite. There was still a piece of the puzzle missing. He was so deep in thought, he didn't notice the graying of the atmosphere. It was the funny smell, and a sudden dizziness that alerted him.

The mayor asked. "What in Hyne's name?"

Cid swayed back and forth, trying to keep on his feet. He reached inside his pocket, and withdrew his cell phone. A pain swept through his body, and the phone dropped. Cid crashed to the ground. His last thoughts before falling were that this was the last piece of the puzzle. His children and Laguna were being set up to take the fall for this. The Headmaster knew that he was already dead. He just hadn't stopped breathing yet.

Time passed, and Cid's body was wracked by excruciating agony. In between waves, he would strain and reach for the phone. It lay tantalizingly out of reach, almost as if it were teasing him.

***************************************************************************************

Squall pressed the button on his radio. "Irvine, Quistis, anything?"

Quistis answered. "Nothing. There's lots of Bite Bug and Caterchipillar corpses around here. No signs of Seifer anywhere."

Squall sighed, and talked into the radio again. "Keep looking. Everyone else, status report."

Selphie and Zell both reported as doing well. There was no answer from Rinoa for a moment. Squall held his breath in worry, until she finally answered. "Sorry. Was fighting a couple bite bugs. Everything fine here"

Squall let a flicker if a smile play across his lips. "See? You can fight alone."

He could detect a bit of amusement in her answer. "I'm a mushing Squall."

Zell's voice interrupted their little repartee. "Uh, Squall, have you heard anything from the soldier's stations?"

Squall rubbed his forehead absently in puzzlement. As matter of fact, they hadn't. They had said they would keep in constant contact. "No. I'm going to go check it out now."

Walking towards the outskirts of the town, Squall withdrew a cloth from his jacket and began wiping the Lionheart. His thoughts drifted a he walked to what was happening with Cid, wondering if he had gotten any answers from the townsfolk. Seifer's disappearance was a worry in his mind, but Quistis and Irvine were on it. He could trust them to take care of it.

Squall still found that hard to believe. Not so long ago, trust had been a foreign concept to him. Now, he had found people he could rely on. Friends, family. It was a whole new world to him, one he was glad to experience at long last. Topping the last hill, he saw the something quite unexpected. The first station was in view, and he could see the soldiers lying on the ground, pools of blood congealing from them. That wasn't what frightened him though. Rising from the canisters, and being blown toward town by the fan system was a foreboding gray cloud. He took a few steps towards it, but an instinct told him to stop. Whatever it was, it wasn't anything that boded well. A sudden urgency struck as a thought occurred to him. He drew the cell phone from his pocket, and hit the speed button dial for the Headmaster.

It rang six times with no answer. "Come on! Come on!" Finally, a soft click indicated it had been picked up. Squall wasted no time. "Headmaster, get the hell out of there! Now!"

A barely audible chuckle occurred, and the Headmaster's voice could barely be heard. "I'm..afraid it's a… little late for that. Some… kind of chemical I think."

Squall's fist tightened about his weapon. "Sir, where are you?! I'll come in and get you!"

"You…will do no such thing. I'm… already dead Squall. Everyone… in this town is. We… just haven't stopped breathing yet."

Squall closed his eyes, and began to shake with emotion. Cid was the only father figure he had ever known. "Sir, I'll find a way! I'm not--"

"Squall, you…must listen to me. Mission…a sham. Meant to get you here…set you…you and President Loire…will be blamed for this."

The Commander spoke quietly into the phone. "Sir…"

Another chuckle occurred, and the Headmaster's voice rose, as if he were gathering the last of his strength to speak. "You've never been…one to speak with words. There's no need to tell me. You know what you… have to do."

"Yeah."

"Run Squall. Run like hell. The day will…come when you revenge this… but that day is not today. Promise me… something."

"Anything."

"All you have…is each other now. Take care of them son. You're.. the children Edea.. . and I never had. I leave them …in your hands."

Squall's voice choked with emotion, and he spoke words that he had never said to anyone, even Rinoa. "Sir…I love you."

He could never say why, but he knew that Cid was smiling as he replied. "Love you… too son. Tell Edea I… you know."

"I will."

There was an unbearable screech of pain, and then all was silent at the other end. Squall knew at that moment that the Headmaster was dead. He threw the phone down in a fit of rage, but quickly calmed himself. Mourning could come later, right now he had a promise to fulfill.

He clicked his radio. "Everyone, go to Seifer's previous position. Find him. Then meet back at the boat."

Irvine answered. "We're not done with the mission yet."

Squall screamed into the speaker. "No questions! Just fucking do it!"

******************************************************************************************

Xu filmed the scene of the mist, and then panned to the sight of Squall Leonhart some distance away on the hill, holding his gunblade. Seifer stood beside her, and exclaimed. "Goddamnit! Why are you making a movie out of this?!"

Xu grinned. "Just putting the nail in the coffin. The news shows should find this little scene interesting."

Seifer ground his teeth in frustration. He knew part of the plan was to make a computer and paper trail that led right to the Orphanage Gang's doorstep. The one thing he didn't know was who else the fake evidence would lead to. This filming was overkill. His employer's computer people were top notch. Everything would appear genuine, and nobody would be able to say it wasn't real.

She interrupted his thoughts. "Time to get going Almasy. They're looking for you." It took everything he had not to kill Xu at this point. Her next statement only made it worse. "Don't even think about telling them Seifer. You know what will happen to your two friends if you do."

He didn't trust himself to not stuff Hyperion into her belly, so he did the only thing he could. Seifer walked away, at almost a run. He quickly ran his cover story through his mind. Got jumped from behind, knocked unconscious. After a few moments, Seifer couldn't concentrate on that. He had betrayed the Orphanage Gang, his family, again. Did it ever end?