The seven stood on the bluffs surrounding Winhill, watching dejectedly as the putrid gas began to dissipate. The telling silence hung heavily in the air as they watched the town from above, the usual hustle and bustle hauntingly absent. A brief moment of hope as a youth staggered toward the town limits, only to collapse, his last choking breath spent on his vain attempt to escape. No one from the town had survived; bodies lay strewn on the cobbled paths where they had attempted to flee their fate. From the vantagepoint of the seven, they looked like ants. It made it all the more horrifying to realise those ants were people they had conversed with mere hours before.

Selphie gripped the radio tightly, as if by holding on to that physical object the situation would disappear and the dead would rise, laughing at them, telling them it was a joke. Tears ran unfettered as she whispered Cid's name futilely into the communication device. "Headmaster? Please respond. Cid?"

Squall bit his lip, gently prying the radio from her white knuckled hands. "He's gone. They're all gone."

She shook her head defiantly. "No."

"Yes." Quistis interrupted softly. "We need to leave, we need to get away from here now. I've got a bad feeling about this. We'll report to Galbadia Garden."

"I don't think it's safe." Squall began hesitantly. "I think we've been set up to take the fall for this."

"We saved the world! People don't forget about things like that when it comes to pointing fingers." Irvine flailed his arms wildly, panicked at the emerging situation.

Seifer nodded sagely. "They do. Especially when you've got a Sorceress and Ultimecia's lapdog in your numbers. I hate to say it, but Squall's right. We find a place to lay low until we can contact Garden and find out the situation. We act then and only then."

Squall turned to Rinoa and Zell; both stood frozen as they observed the terrible stillness of Winhill. "Rin? Zell? What do you think?"

"We need to get away. Something's coming." Rinoa replied dully, her eyes glazed.

Zell tore his eyes from the town, offering what he could. "Where do we go? We don't even have the ship. They'll be looking for us in the cities."

Seifer winced as he gave the suggestion. "Fisherman's Horizon. Everyone keeps themselves to themselves. We should be able to keep our anonymity there for a few days at least. Hopefully, that's all we'll need."

"Agreed. Move out and stay in clusters of two or three. Harder to spot that way." Squall sighed, resigning himself to the reality of the predicament. Cid had warned him, he had to take that warning seriously. Cid… He shook the thought away. Now was not the time for sentiment, emotion was a weakness they could not afford. The time for grief would come soon enough.

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Edea paced worriedly. In all their years of marriage, Cid had never once failed to call her of an evening. Day was now breaking and still no word had been heard from Winhill. She picked up the phone before replacing the receiver in a rash of indecision. A tentative knock at the door startled her from her thoughts and she was shocked to hear how weak her voice was as she permitted entry. A junior classman entered nervously, handing over a notice before scuttling away hastily. She called her thanks, relief flooding over her as she tore the envelope open. A thousand thoughts raced through her mind, the phone lines must have been down, he was stuck in a meeting and it was too late to call. At least he'd sent her a telegram.

She settled down in the chair to read, her eyes widening in horror and her hand flying to her mouth to muffle the scream that escaped her lungs.

Winhill has been attacked. Stop. Everyone is lost. Stop. Recovery process underway. Stop. Cid's body will be returned today. Stop. The SeeD's sent are the suspects. Stop. My thoughts are with you. Stop.

Martine.

Edea clutched the telegram to her chest, crumpling it into a ball as she stared unseeing at the picture Cid kept on his desk of the two of them on their wedding day. Reality began to dawn on her; she'd never see him again. The former Sorceress began to weep.

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Seifer's eyes flicked over to Quistis, his brow creasing at her resolute stare toward the horizon and her steady pace. All her thoughts, feelings poured into each step, pounding the emotion out of her body. He recognised the look; she was tranquil enough to the untrained eye, beneath the calm surface lay disarray. The former knight placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to keep his own emotions in check as her body stiffened at his touch. "Quistis? I miss him too."

It was true. He didn't want this; he didn't care about the money, the power. He'd give it all up for Raijin and Fujin to be by his side, Cid at Garden, this whole sorry affair to be nothing more than a bad dream. He'd lost the only man he could ever have thought of as a father and it was his fault. The guilt was gnawing at his heart, his stomach turned and lurched with every step they took that brought them closer to Fisherman's Horizon. He watched as her blue eyes flashed briefly, the only hint of anger she'd allow herself to display to him. "There's something we're missing. It runs deeper than we think."

He was amazed by her astuteness before mentally rebuking himself. Of course she's sharp, she's a Hynedamn Instructor!

"I agree. We'll figure it out. It'll be ok."

She stopped, her sapphire eyes burning into his own ones of jade. "Do you really believe that?"

He nodded. "I do. Trust me, Quisty. We'll find a way."

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"Are you ok? You're quiet, quieter than usual and that's scary."

He allowed himself a little smile as Rinoa squeezed his hand. "I'm fine. I'm just thinking."

"What about?"

He remembered the time Cid had taught him to tie his shoes, ride a bike. The times he'd sat up with him and let him cry into his sweater, never saying a word, just being there for him. Long forgotten memories that had only recently began to resurface with a councillor's help. He turned to face Rinoa, let her understand him that little bit more. "Cid." He said truthfully.

"I miss him too. Poor Edea, she must be beside herself. He was such a nice man." She sighed wistfully.

Squall's face tightened involuntarily. "She's probably been told that it was us that killed them all."

"Oh Hyne…" She breathed. "What do we do?"

"There's nothing we can do right now. We get to FH, we find out where we stand and we act accordingly. We'll get through this, we've been through worse."

Rinoa played with her hair as she fretted. "Back then it was only a evil Sorceress hell bent on the destruction of worlds past, present and future. Now we may have the whole world as our enemy."

He disentangled his fingers from hers and wrapped an arm around her waist. "I told you before, even if the world is your enemy, I'll still be your Knight."

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"Hey, these bonds are really tight, ya know?"

"AFFIRMATIVE."

The man shook his head and smiled, revealing a broad expanse of teeth. "Tsk tsk. Do you really expect me to fall for that, little SeeD's? I'm not your precious Headmaster, I don't care if you're in pain."

Raijin narrowed his eyes, muttering under his breath. "Seifer's gonna kick your ass, ya know?"

"I'd like to see him try." Xu brushed by him with a grin, pushing up Fujin's chin to force her to look her in the eye. "Want to see how ol' Fujin here would manage with one less eye? Hey, can you even speak in sentences, moron?"

Fujin smiled coldly. "Fuck you, Xu. Get the hell out of my face, bitch."

Xu stepped backwards in surprise. "Wow, it speaks." She turned to her master. "What do you want done with them?"

"Nothing yet. They still have a purpose to serve. Get them food and water and get someone down here to watch them."

She saluted smartly. "Consider it done."

"What did I ever do to deserve you?"

Xu smiled wickedly. "It must've been something very, very good indeed."

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"President Laguna, Sir, if you'd just look at this proposal - "

Rarely did Laguna get angry, but when he did if was a magnificent sight to behold. "I'm not looking at any damn proposal! I've said it before; there's not a snowball's hope in hell that I'll ever endorse this. Get it out of my sight!"

The aide muttered something under his breath and Laguna spun on his heel, grabbing the man by his lapels and pushing his face very close to the other mans. "What did you say?"

"I said 'on your head be it.'"

"What's that meant to mean?" Laguna growled.

The man pulled himself free of Laguna's grip and grinned at him, it was a cold, calculating smile. "You'll find out soon enough. Enjoy what's left of your term."

He sauntered out the door, leaving Laguna to ponder his words. He leant out the door after a moment, calling after the retreating figure; "I've got a lifelong term! Ha!" He brushed off his hands triumphantly and grinned at Kiros. "Man, what an ass."

"I don't think you appreciate that that was a thinly veiled threat." Kiros commented.

"Course I do!" Laguna looked confused, before asking in a small voice. "Don't I?"

Ward looked at him despairingly as Kiros snorted. "Of course. Come, there's breaking news about Winhill, I think you should hear it."

"What? Why?"

"The population of the towns been murdered, Cid Kramer and some dignitaries that were present are also amongst the fallen."

Laguna slumped in a chair. "Damn shame. Send Edea my condolences, find out when the funeral is, I want to attend, show the kids some support, y'know? Do they know who's behind it?"

Kiros and Ward exchanged a worried glance, a look that Laguna picked up on. "There's something you're not telling me." He stated accusingly.

Kiros cleared his throat. "There is more. The prime suspects are…"

"Who?"

"Look for yourself."

He buried his hands in his hair, letting the scrap of paper fall to the ground; the names burned into his mind. Squall Leonhart, Rinoa Heartilly, Zell Dincht, Quistis Trepe, Seifer Almasy, Irvine Kinneas, Selphie Tilmitt. The Seven. The hunted.

A/N: Apologies for the unacceptably long delay. Shoot me.