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Seifer Almasy stood among the crowd in Deling City. The entire street was filled with people waiting for the new President of Galbadia to make his first formal speech.
"Lionheart, in position." Squall's voice floated out of the earpiece Seifer wore.
"Fire Cross, in position," Seifer informed.
"Angel Wing, in position." This from Rinoa.
"Book worm, in position." Seifer smirked slightly and spotted Cammi a few feet away in the crowd.
"WIND, IN POSITION."
"Lightning, in position ya know."
"Hot dog, in position." Seifer rolled his eyes at Zell's chosen code name.
"Strange Vision, in position," Selphie chirped.
"Sniper, in position," Irvine drawled.
"General, in position." This last check in came from General Caraway who had planned and funded the entire mission. It was simple really. When Skylar Deling came out for his speech, Irvine was to assassinate him. The others were there strictly for crowd control and making sure that everyone escaped safely. They didn't need another repeat of the botched sorceress assassination. Of course, back then Seifer had been on the other side of the operation. He looked around and realized he liked it better on this side.
Seifer scanned the crowd, noting the positions of Zell, Cammi, Fujin and Raijin. They were all scattered through the crowd. Rinoa, Squall and Selphie were back by the clock tower to make sure Irvine could get out once his job was done and also to make sure not one went up into the clock tower and discovered him. General Caraway was off to the side, hiding somewhere.
"Sniper, lock and load," General Caraway instructed.
"Roger."
The crowd suddenly erupted into loud applause as a teenage boy stepped up to the podium set up on the balcony of the Presidential House. He was flanked by two men in dark suits. Bright red hair was slicked back on his head and he smiled.
"People of Galbadia…" he began.
"I've got a shot," Irvine informed, "waiting for a go."
"No!" General Caraway shouted, "Abort! Abort! Do you hear me?"
"Why?" Rinoa demanded, obviously irritated with her father.
"That's not Skylar Deling," General Caraway told them, "They must've suspected something might happed so they used a decoy."
"Shit," Seifer breathed.
"Everyone, fall back to the mansion," Caraway ordered.
Seifer swore again and followed the others back to the mansion.
An hour later, Seifer and the others walked despondently into the Garden. They were met by a worried looking Edea near the front gate.
"I'm so glad you are back," Edea announced.
"What's going on Matron?" Squall asked.
"Quistis is gone," Edea told them.
Seifer quickly pushed up to the front of the group. "What do you mean she's gone? Where did she go?"
"To Winhill," Edea answered.
"Why did she go to Winhill?" Seifer inquired.
"She received a call yesterday afternoon from one of her friends there," Edea informed, "She came to Cid and I, asking for our help. Apparently her friend told her that Winhill had been taken over by the Galbadian Army and no one was allowed to enter or leave. Cid told her that he couldn't help unless someone paid for it, so she left. We didn't realize she was gone until this morning."
"How do you know she went to Winhill?" Rinoa questioned, "Maybe she just went into Balamb to blow off some steam."
"I checked with the train station," Edea said, "a woman registered as 'Angelica Ericson' took the 9:45 train out of Balamb into Timber. She then rented a car at about 1:00 in the morning. They found the car about an hour ago, two miles away from Winhill. It was abandoned."
"So what you're telling me is Quistis is in Winhill, which is occupied by Galbadian soldiers, by herself without any knowledge of her previous training?" Edea nodded, "How many SeeDs have you sent after her?"
"None," Edea replied, "Cid won't let anyone go after her."
"I'd like to see him try and stop me." Before anyone could react, Seifer bolted from the group and ran to the parking lot. He jumped into one of the cars and sped away before anyone could stop him.
I'm coming Quistis, Seifer thought, I just hope I'm not too late.
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Marta looked up as the door shut and Quistis entered.
"The Donaldson's are safe," Quistis informed. Marta nodded and crossed them off the list. "How many more do we have to go?"
"Not many," Marta replied, "The Lockheart's, James and I, and Lili."
"And Pete," Quistis added.
"And Pete," Marta agreed, "That's it."
"Good."
It was getting close to time for the meeting and she wanted to make sure that the entire town was evacuated by then. She didn't need the soldiers getting suspicious when there were still people in the town. She looked down at her watch. 4:31. She was going to have to hurry.
Without a word, Quistis left the house and began sneaking towards the Lockheart's house. She was crouched in a bush, waiting for a soldier to pass when she heard a noise in the bush next to her. She caught some movement and a glimpse of gray before she panicked and tossed a Silence Powder in the direction of the disturbance. She crawled around the bush with a Sleep Powder ready but her eyes widened when she saw who she had attacked.
"Seifer?!" she whispered, "What are you doing here?"
He opened his mouth but no sound came out. She remembered the Silence Powder and quickly pulled out an Echo Screen and gave it to him. He drank it and then glared at her.
"Hyne woman!" he hissed, "What is your problem?"
"Excuse me!" Quistis said quietly, "I didn't expect it to be you in the bush! What are you doing here?"
"I came to rescue you," he told her.
"Rescue me?" Quistis repeated, "Why?"
"Because I thought you were in trouble," Seifer informed, "I was really worried about you."
"Cid let you come?" She practically spat out the name.
"No," Seifer replied, "I just left. It doesn't matter though. Come on, let's get out of here."
"No!" she whispered fiercely, "not until everyone is safe!"
"Quistis, we don't have time for this!" Seifer insisted, "we've gotta get out of here now!"
"I'm not leaving," Quistis stated firmly, "If you want to go, fine, but I'm not."
"Quistis…"
"I'm not leaving," she repeated.
Seifer sighed in exasperation. "How many more people are left?"
"Eight," Quistis informed, "two are hurt, one badly. We need to get them all out of here before 5:00?"
"Because there is a mandatory meeting for the residents at 5:00 and when they don't show up, the soldiers are going to know something is going on," Quistis explained.
"Okay, let's get a move on," Seifer ordered. They waited for the guard to pass by again and sprinted all the way to the Lockheart's house. They entered and found Analise and the children waiting anxiously by the door. Dr. Lockheart was with Pete and Lili.
"Are you ready?" Quistis asked.
"Yes," Analise nodded.
"Who's he?" Jessen pointed to Seifer.
"Duh," Tifa scoffed, "that's her boyfriend."
"Did SeeD finally decide to come?" Analise questioned.
"No," Seifer answered, "I snuck in by myself too."
"Don't worry," Quistis reassured when she saw the look on Analise's face. "We're going to get you out of here. Listen carefully; the guard outside does his rounds quickly so there is only a limited amount of time before he spots us. We're going to have to run. Seifer, you carry Tifa. Analise, can you get Jessen or do you want me to get him?"
"I've got him." Analise picked up her son and held on to him tightly.
Quistis peered out the window. "Okay, he's going by the house. As soon as he passes the other way, we'll go. Everybody ready?"
They nodded and Seifer picked up Tifa. The little girl wrapped her arms around the blonde man's neck and held on tightly. Quistis caught her eye and smiled knowingly. Tifa smiled back but the smile faded as they rushed out the door and ran across the road to the cover of the bushes.
"We're almost there," Quistis told the Lockheart's, "now all we have to do is get down to the beach. Once we're there, you guys are on your own okay?" Analise nodded. "All right. Let's go."
Still crouching, the five of them hurried down to the beach. Once they reached the sandy shore, they stopped running.
"Okay," Quistis began, "from here, head along the edge of the shore. Go as quickly and quietly as possible. Don't stop until you meet up with the others. They were supposed to take shelter in a cave a few miles out. Once you get far enough that you can't see the town, cross over and follow the mountains. Someone will be out there to let you know where to go. Can you do that?"
"Yes," Analise assured, "we'll be okay."
"What about Dad?" Tifa asked worriedly.
"He's going to be coming with Mr. Pete," Analise answered.
"Go," Quistis urged, "it's getting close to 5:00. Once everyone's out, I'll stall the soldiers as long as I can but I don't' know how long that'll be."
"Will you be okay here?" Analise inquired.
"We'll be fine," Seifer told her. Analise nodded and the three Lockheart's hurried off down the beach. Quistis turned to Seifer.
"This is where things get dangerous," Quistis told him, "We've got five people left to get out in…" she looked down at her watch, "…fifteen minutes."
"No problem," Seifer said.
"There is a problem," Quistis informed, "like I told you, two of those five people are injured. One has a broken ankle and the other is in a coma."
"That is a problem," Seifer admitted, "well, we better get moving then, we don't have much time." The two blondes hurried up the path from the beach and slipped into the Ericson's house.
"I'm back," Quistis announced, "Analise and the kids are on their way out."
"Who's he?" James was now sitting in the living room and was pointing at Seifer.
"James, don't be rude!" Marta scolded, "He's An…Quistis' fiancé. Mr. Almasy, isn't it?"
Seifer nodded. "Call me Seifer."
"What are you doing here?" James asked him suspiciously.
"I came to help liberate your little town," Seifer answered, mildly annoyed by the older man's tone.
Quistis sensed the tension between the two and spoke up. "It's your turn to leave. Are you going to try it on foot or are you going to take a boat?"
"I think we'll take a boat," James answered, "I don't think I'd make it on foot."
"All right," Quistis nodded, "there are no guards from here to the beach so you should be safe. Go quickly and quietly."
James and Marta stood. James was supported by a pair of crutches and Marta was clutching Tank's leash.
"Thank you," Marta said, "be careful."
"We will," Quistis promised. She hugged each one of them.
The two couples left the house and went their separate ways. Quistis and Seifer crept across the plaza to the bar and entered from the second story window. Lili and Dr. Lockheart were waiting for them downstairs with Pete like Quistis had asked them to.
"We've got to be quick," Quistis said, "it's almost 5:00. Lili, is the coast clear?"
Lili walked over to the bar window and looked out. "No. There's a bunch of soldiers in the plaza."
"What?" Quistis hurried over to the window and peered out. Sure enough, about five soldiers had joined the two already in the plaza. Quistis cursed quietly. "They must be gathering for the meeting already."
"What're we gonna do?" Lili asked, her eyes wide with fear.
"Continue with the plan," Seifer instructed, "I'll deal with the soldiers."
"What?" Quistis questioned but Seifer was already out the door. "Seifer no! Wait!" She watched out the window as Seifer walked right up to the soldiers and began firing spells at them. She turned back to Lili and Dr. Lockheart. "Let's go! NOW!"
The two women grabbed one end of Pete's stretcher and Dr. Lockheart grabbed the other. They opened the door and ran as fast as they could towards the beach. As they went, Quistis kept glancing over to where Seifer was fighting with the soldiers. They seemed to be pouring out of every hiding spot in Winhill and Quistis knew he couldn't hold them off for long.
"Hurry!" she shouted, "We've got to go faster!" The three of them hurried down the path towards the beach as fast as humanly possible. Quistis kept thinking they were going to drop the stretcher or one of them would stumble and fall but miraculously they made it to the beach without any mishaps.
Quistis practically dropped the stretcher into the boat as they were lowering it and she was heading up the path again before they could stop her. She figured they could launch the boat by themselves. She reached the plaza in mere seconds and wasted no time throwing herself into the fray to aid Seifer.
By the time she reached him, he had already taken out about a dozen soldiers but more were still standing. Quistis tossed a Sleep Powder into a group of them, knocking out three of them. The fourth started to charge her but was taken out by a Flare spell before he got the chance. Quistis smiled in thanks at Seifer and started after another soldier.
After what seemed like ages, all of the soldiers had either fallen to magic, Hyperion or her Save the Queen. Quistis stared at the bodies strewn around her and instead of feeling remorse, she felt a sense of accomplishment. I guess I really am a soldier, she thought.
"I think that's all of them," Seifer commented. He rested Hyperion on his shoulder and smirked. "Regular soldiers are no match for Seifer Almasy."
The sudden sound of clapping interrupted the silence of the small town. Seifer and Quistis turned and saw a teenage boy with brown hair walk out of the Denton's mansion, followed by about twenty more soldiers.
"Well done," the boy applauded, "You managed to evacuate the town and defeat my soldiers. You must be SeeDs."
"Who the Hell are you?" Seifer demanded.
"Haven't you figured it out?" the boy chuckled, "I'm Skylar Deling, Galbadia's new President."
"So this is where you were hiding," Seifer commented, "you had an appointment with a bullet this morning in Deling City. Too bad you missed it. Fortunately for you, my Hyperion would like to meet with you right now."
Skylar laughed. "What makes you think you're man enough to kill me?"
"Listen kid," Seifer snarled, "I killed your brother. I can sure as Hell kill you."
"YOU?!" Skylar exclaimed, the calm and cocky façade crumbling, "You killed my brother? You will pay!" Skylar drew a long sword from the scabbard at his side. He turned to the soldiers. "Take care of the woman. He is mine!"
The soldiers rushed towards Quistis. Half of them were stopped by a Meteor spell and the rest were drastically weekend. Quistis had no trouble finishing them even though she was outnumbered ten to one. Once the last soldier had fallen, she turned back to where Seifer and Skylar were fighting near the mansion. Both of them had determined looks on their faces and their brows were covered in sweat.
As she watched, Quistis noticed that Skylar was exceptionally well trained with the sword. He blocked and struck at Seifer, who did the same with his gunblade. She watched as both men began to get tired from the exertion and wondered who it would be that made the mistake that would probably cost them their life. Please don't let it be Seifer, Quistis prayed, Please!
A few moments later, her prayers were answered. Skylar lunged at Seifer and missed completely, sending him off balance. Seifer took advantage of his opponent's momentary lack of attention and slammed the hilt of Hyperion into the teenager's head. The boy crumpled to the ground and didn't move. Once Seifer was satisfied that Skylar was unconscious, he turned back to Quistis, a weary smile on his face.
"You think those Deling's would learn not to mess with me," Seifer grinned.
Quistis laughed lightly and started towards Seifer. She suddenly stopped and her eyes went wide. "Seifer look out!"
Seifer stared at her for a moment, his eyebrows raised in confusion. A second later his eyes went wide as Skylar Deling's sword was rammed straight through him.
"Seifer!" Quistis screamed.
Skylar pulled his sword out of the tall blonde and watched with a smile as he fell to the ground. He then turned his brown eyes to Quistis.
"Looks like I win," he grinned evilly.
Quistis was frozen to the spot. All she could do was watch as a crimson pool of blood began to form under Seifer. Suddenly, Skylar's words pierced through her shock and she glared at the boy. Without a word, she rushed forward and before he knew what was happening, she snapped Save the Queen across his neck. The young man's smile faded as blood began to seep from the wound. His hands went up to his throat as he fell not far from where Seifer lay.
Quistis stood for a second longer and then rushed to Seifer's side. "Seifer!" she called and cradled his head in her lap. "Seifer, please answer me!" He didn't move and she lost focus of the things around her. She leaned down and wrapped her arms around Seifer's still form and rocked him back and forth. She heard a loud roaring that sounded like an engine of some sort but she didn't look up to see what it was. All she could do was stare down at Seifer's pale face and call to him, hoping he would wake up.
The next thing she knew, there were people all around her. Her first thought was that they were more soldiers and she waited patiently for the blow that would end her life. It never came. Instead, the people began to call her name. She finally looked up and found herself staring up at Selphie and Rinoa, or at least she thought it was them. She couldn't really tell because her vision was blurry. She didn't know it at the time but it was tears that were keeping her from seeing.
She heard the two blurry figures call to her and then yell something about Seifer to an unseen person behind her. A second later, a stretcher was laid next to him and Squall and Irvine began to pull Seifer away form her. Not wanting to let go, she held on to him tighter. She heard Irvine tell her she had to let go but the words didn't register. No, she couldn't let go; he'd die if she did. She felt strong arms go around her and she was pulled away from Seifer. An awful wailing filled the air and it took her a few seconds to realize that the terrible sound was coming from her.
Quistis began to fight as she was dragged away from Seifer. She managed to twist around enough to see it was Raijin who held her. She heard herself scream for him to let her go and she kicked him hard. He still held on tight and drug her away. She saw Squall and Irvine pick up the stretcher, which now held Seifer, and start to follow them. Fujin hurried along side them, calling to Seifer. That should be me by his side, Quistis thought absently as she fought with Raijin, I should be the one calling to him.
Raijin dragged her, still kicking and screaming, into the cargo hold of a large, red airship. The others followed and put Seifer down on the ground. Rinoa and Cammi bent down next to him while Selphie and Zell hurried to the cockpit. Fujin, Squall and Irvine stood close by and watched as the girls tried to stop the bleeding. Quistis continued to scream and fight with Raijin until Squall said something to Rinoa that Quistis didn't hear. The sorceress stood up and walked over to Quistis. She whispered something and before she knew what had happened, Quistis had fallen into a deep, unnatural sleep.