It was just before dawn, and the wind was picking up dust and blowing across the landscape in the distance. There was only a brownish transition where the sky met the ground on the horizon. Fujin was an emblem of iron self-control as she watched the Hermes Rail Line approach from the distance, driving dust before it. It was Upper Centra's pride and joy--the fastest transcontinental railroad in the world. It was probably the one modern wonder Centra could boast of, and the rest of the world didn't care.

Moving in a wide curve from Port Ruin to Point Ferry on the lower edge of the continent, it was really two tracks running parallel. It took almost of three days to make it there. The departure times were staggered so that the two trains lest within a day of each other--originally three rail lines had been planned, so that one could leave each day for three days, but the developing firm had given up with only a few kilometers of track on the third. Soon the disused track had been cannibalized for some other Centran endeavor, and only the two complete tracks were ever used.

Fujin didn't particularly like the wait, but she had to admit that it was worth it. Any other mode of transportation readily available here might take weeks to get her where she needed to go--a day of waiting to take a three-day trip on the Hermes was by far the better option.

Raijin had disappeared--probably still smarting over the soup ordeal and not particularly interested in finding out what further erratic behaviour Fujin had up her sleeve. Fujin didn't mind terribly--as long as he wasn't bothering her, she didn't really care if he thought she was losing her mind.

Her recently-purchased radio was by her side, tuned to the local news broadcasts which seemed to be becoming less helpful by the moment. She didn't fidget because she knew it wouldn't help, and if it didn't help there was no point in wasting energy on it. Not listening to the news, not bother to move a muscle, all she could really do was think.

She had been doing a lot of thinking over the last few days.

For the moment, however, she wasn't thinking about where she was going, or where she had been. She was thinking about why the hell she was out there, chasing after shadows--and how, against all odds, there was a possibility (which she had tried to ignore) that Raijin might be right.

She hated it when Raijin was right.

Fujin prided herself on a number of things. One of them was that she wasn't given to flights of fancy--that she didn't hope more than she reasoned. She didn't react to things, not like other people did--she had gone through defections, revolutions, and a Lunar Cry without batting an eyelid. And yet....

And yet, one vague news report had sent her into a fainting spell. A few words of description had rousted her out of Balamb, away from the Posse, and was taking her halfway across the globe. She couldn't help but feel that it was being very, very silly of her.

And yet, she couldn't seem to be ashamed.

She recognized what Raijin had been trying to point out to her--she knew that this was a bad idea, and likely to end in her being disappointed. But she didn't care. She didn't even hesitate to counter that with some other piece of logic, some explanation, something--she was defending her actions to herself, going against the years of self-imposed discipline that defined who she was.

For a moment, she wondered if this was how Seifer had felt, chasing after his dream.

She held that thought until the Hermes came rolling in.

-


Boarding was an orderly process. Raijin somehow managed not to be late, securing a seat between Fujin and the window. He seemed more subdued than usual, staring out the window at Port Ruin as a ferry slowly docked on the other side of town. He didn't even try to make conversation.

Which was fine with Fujin. She still had a lot of puzzling things out to do, and only three days in which to do it. The longer Raijin kept quiet, the less time she would have to spend fending off his inquiries and concerned suggestions.

It was rare that a Hermes was ever packed full, or so she had heard. And today it seemed abnormally empty, with a sparse scattering of people in the cushioned seats. Maybe it was just another indications that they were fast approaching the heart of nowhere.

The Hermes had finished boarding its few passengers, and was rumbling to life when Raijin hurriedly opened the window, stuck his head out, and began hollering and waving at the top of his lungs. Fujin jumped, catapulted into sudden annoyance by the unexpected outburst. The station was beginning to slide away, and her view of the outside was considerably hampered by Raijin's bulk. The rhythmic pounding of the engine grew faster and faster as they picked up speed, and soon any opportunity for he to figure out what was going on had past.

At last Raijin pulled himself back inside the cabin, grinning excitedly. "WHAT?" Fujin demanded, coming perilously close to a snarl.

"You wouldn't believe this!" he exclaimed, gesticulating wildly. "That was Seifer and Squall back there, ya know?"

-


Seifer was livid when the Hermes slid out of Port Ruin, speeding away at a rate no car or chocobo could match. He stood frozen in the main train station, eyes fixed on the offending vehicle as it retreated swiftly. He looked as though he were about to conjure up a Limit Break by sheer force of rage.

Nida and Squall decided it was the wisest course of action for the moment not to say a thing.

Seifer spun on his heel, facing the board that held departure and arrival times for the train network. After a cursory inspection he identified what train it had been and when the next one was coming, and snarled a bit to himself. Turning, he singled out Squall as the nearest person he could snap at.

"Tomorrow," he snapped. "We're getting on that damn Hermes thing, and we're going wherever the hell they go," he said. "We are catching up to them, Garden be damned."

Having said his piece, he stormed off.

The last leg of the chase had begun.