AN: Martine's in for a surprise... *giggles insanely* - it's late, I've been drinking, I'm allowed to go mad :p

Rating: R (I tried to keep it lower, but it just wasn't destined to happen - unlike other things [which are responsible for the rating])

Disclaimer: SG characters are (c) MGM (thankie to Morrigan for that :p). FF8 characters are (c) Squaresoft, original characters are mine – ask nicely and I might let you play with them, s'long's you don't break them...

Warnings: SxS - Yaoi (guyxguy) later - if u don't like, don't read. Character death. Maybe angst (I do like to torture my characters sometimes :p), language (prob nothin u aint heard b4, but still...)

~Chapter Twenty-One : Phoenix in the Night~

Yarege mounted the black chocobo with a feeling of uncertainty. She knew there was 'the other' out there somewhere, knew they had forced their way into the world. In a way that was good, it meant she already had an advantage of strength, but it might also be bad. It might also mean that the other knew she was still alive and had caught Seifer trying to lure Squall away.

That would be disastrous, at least, it would be annoying. Plans would have to be re-made, actions re-thought. But she was immortal, and there was no length of time she could not wait, no extreme of patience that she could not cross to bring her one step closer to the elimination of the other. Of course, there was the fact that the game they were playing involved the lives of many mortals, and the other would try to use that against her, but she was stronger than the other thought. At least, she hoped she was.

Automatically she had turned the chocobo, heading for the sleeping Garden. She knew about the cameras, knew she would be seen, but she didn't care. Tonight would be the last night she visited the Garden's training centre to take her sustenance from the screams of T-Rexaurs reduced to writhing, bloodsoaked lumps before she finished them. The gateway had been opened, someone, something, had come through. Tomorrow she would find Seifer, find if he still lived and had been successful, or if the other had struck the first blow.

She urged the chocobo faster, revelling in the feel of wind on her face, blowing her long ebony hair out behind her. The journey ended far too soon, although the chocobo was beginning to flag. Yarege dismounted, calling a pile of food into being for the chocobo whilst she hobbled it. Then, after posing for the infra-red camera in the side of the Garden, she quickly scaled the wall.

Once inside the training centre, Yarege noted the new positions of the surveillance cameras. It didn't bother her to know that she was being watched. If they had the sense to keep away everything would be fine.

***

Considering the surveillance would only be for a few days - or so Martine hoped - he had decided to maintain a constant presence in the room where the live video feedback was being displayed. So he was one of the first to notice the woman who dismounted from a black chocobo. All attention switched to the two monitors showing the infra-red feedback. There was a collective gasp as the food materialised in front of the chocobo. Martine nodded grimly. A sorceress. They seemed determined to plague Garden and SeeD, although, given the original purpose of SeeD, maybe that wasn't such a surprise.

He sighed, not surprised that she posed for the camera. Clearly, if she was a sorceress, she would know of the cameras, either through whatever methods sorceresses managed to know things you didn't want them to, or through observation. It was entirely possible that she'd watched every move of the SeeDs that morning, probably laughing silently at their antics. He wondered though, why she was allowing herself to be seen. Maybe she was inviting them to attack her - which either meant she was far stronger than they could cope with, or over confident - or maybe she didn't care because after tonight she wasn't coming back. He sincerely hoped it was the latter.

Martine turned away, leaving the others in the room to gawp at the woman now on multiple cameras in the training centre. Suddenly a cadet rushed into the room, clutching a sealed envelope. He skidded to a halt in front of Martine and held out the envelope wordlessly. Distracted by the fact that there was a sorceress in the Garden and he appeared to be powerless to do anything, Martine took it and waved the cadet out of the room.

AN: I don't think there's too much actually happens in this chapter... *peers blurrily at text* fact, this chapter probably is a good example of why I shouldn't be writing at 3am with four empty cans of cider and a bottle of wine (also empty) behind me – and that's just the stuff after I got in... @~@

Lady Yuskreven: *grins* yup, that letter could cause trouble if it falls into the wrong hands :p And poor Laguna is still unaware that Kiros is dead ;_; not much goin on at the mo all around, cept Irvine showin a sterner side :)

Honor: thankie for the DHD :) I really should pay more attention *sighs* guess I'm just too busy sympathysin with Jack when the goin gets technical ;p glad u like the fic, hope this update was soon enough 4 u :)