Chapter 12

Pursuit

"Something wrong?" Squall asked curiously, noticing the intense look on Quistis's face. He didn't like to be stared at.

Quistis shook her head, keeping Squall's supposed "smile" to herself. "Oh…no. It's just that–"

There was a loud clattering noise, and all attention on the festivities was quickly diverted to the noise's source.

Squall squinted towards the darkness, his gray eyes glinting with a dangerous glow. "What was that?"

It was then that Quistis spotted something in the darkness. "Over there!" she pointed out quickly.

Squall sped through the crowd, towards a shadowy figure within the dark. Quistis ignored the danger of running with high heels and took off after Squall, forgetting to excuse herself from the puzzled crowd. Her thoughts completely focused on catching the hooded figure, Quistis didn't realize Squall stop abruptly, thus bumping into him.

"Ow! Sorry," Quistis apologized hurriedly, taking a few steps away from Squall. "What's wrong? Why did you stop?"

Squall shook his head, wiping sweat off his brow. "Whatever it was…it's gone now," he replied coolly. He stared at the alleyways and pressed a hand against a solid wall. "All we know was that he or she was wearing a cloak. I couldn't get a good look at the face."

Quistis scowled slightly, her brows creasing as she thought. "Strange. I thought that was you in the cloak. When I was looking out my window, I thought it was you sneaking out of the castle, so I went to follow," she explained in deep thought.

"How could it have been? I left right after dinner," Squall answered, feeling his palm against the walls, as if checking for secret switches or buttons.

Quistis's eyes grew wide with shock. "You mean, it wasn't you?" she inquired, taken aback. She had been so sure the hooded figure had been Squall. The thought of it being someone else never occurred to her.

Squall turned to look at Quistis, his face slightly puzzled. "No. I was here for some time. Then I saw you coming along. I didn't know there was someone else lurking around here, other than the villagers. I only saw you, no one else," he explained with a shrug.

"I see…" the princess said, chewing on her lower lip. "Could it be a spy?" she spoke aloud.

Squall gave no immediate reply. What if it had been someone sent to kill Quistis? What if that certain someone had purposely lured Quistis out of the castle, thinking that she would be unguarded from palace protection?

Suddenly, another loud sound echoed throughout the alleyways. Squall jerked away from his thoughts and moved swiftly to where the sound had occurred. Quistis quickly followed, her heels clanking against the ground.

"Watch it!" Quistis warned, spotting a swift movement wound its way towards Squall.

Squall gave no reply but unsheathed Lionhart. With a mighty swing, he slashed at the incoming enmity, sending sparks as he hit the walls.

Quistis backed away slightly, giving Squall more room to move. The alleyway was cramped. It was difficult for someone to fight with a short ranged weapon. With that in mind, Quistis drew out her whip concealed within her dress. If only there was more space for movement.

"Hand over the girl, human," a voice spat from the darkness.

Squall lunged forward, striking whatever it was before him.

There came a rasping sound. As it continued, the sound changed into angry hisses and growling noises. "Out of the way, boy! You protect something that is not worth saving!" And with that, the figure jumped over Squall and landed gracefully behind Quistis.

Quistis was ready for this. It was obvious that the figure would move or attack from above. It was the only direction to move properly. Whirling around quickly, she cracked her whip at the figure, sending it back in shock. "Back off, whatever you are!" Quistis snarled frostily. She cracked her whip against the ground once again, taking a small step forward.

"Don't be foolish, girl. You can't possibly fight me. Not with these conditions," the figure hissed. His "hands" moved inside his cloak and drew something out. It appeared to be glowing daggers. "Now, be a good girl and die."

Before Quistis could move, Squall grabbed her and swept her from the ground. He leaped back quickly, ignoring the princess's protests and jumped on top of boxes piled high to the side of the alley.

"Fool! You cannot escape!" the hooded figure cried, kicking against the walls and landing gracefully on top of the roof.

Squall placed Quistis on the roof and stretched his arm in front of her, as if shielding her from the figure. "Who are you?" he demanded, gripping his Gunblade tightly with one hand.

Quistis remained alert, her eyes focused on her attacker. The figure appeared to be tall and lanky. Apparently, the figure was flexible and had a knack for moving fast. ~He uses speed to his advantage,~ Quistis analyzed silently.

The figure moved both daggers in its hand before its hooded face, crossing them. "You won't need to know. Now move aside, boy!" it spat with such hatred. "You know not what you protect!"

"You're an assassin!" Quistis noted loudly. "It's obvious with your style. Who's your employer?"

"Address me not, witch!" the figure snarled. And with that, it flipped into the air, attempting to land behind Quistis.

Fortunately, Squall was much quicker for it and swung Lionhart against the glowing daggers aimed for Quistis.

Quistis crouched quickly, leaning her hands firmly against the roof. With inhuman speed, she whipped her foot under the figure's legs and knocked the figure out of balance. She had learned the trick from Seifer when she had dueled with him.

Squall immediately took advantage of the situation and pummeled his Gunblade's handle against the figure's head, sending it sprawling against the roof. He quickly retrieved the glowing daggers from Quistis's assailant and handed them to Quistis.

"Curse you! Curse you human! You have spelled the doom for us all!" the figure rasped angrily as Lionhart inched its way towards its throat.

Quistis lifted the hood of the figure and found herself staring face to face with a scrawny, young boy. "Who are you? You're nothing but a child!" she demanded, gazing upon the shivering, pale face.

"A child?!" spat the pale boy in an outrage. His voice did not suit him. It sounded like it belonged to a strange creature; the hissing of a snake. "You have doomed us all, human! You are blinded!" And with that, the boy writhed about, as if in pain.

Squall and Quistis watched in silence as the boy disappeared, leaving only the cloak to fall limply onto the roof. A snake then slithered out of the cloak and rose into the air, wings protruding from its back.

Quistis gasped as she watched the snake-like creature fly away. "An amphiptere! He – it was an amphiptere!"

Squall lifted the cloak the creature left behind with the tip of his Gunblade, studying it carefully. "Aren't those the snakes with the wings? I thought they were timid creatures? It's rare enough to find one wandering about in the barren wastelands let alone find it in an occupied area."

"Yes, that's true," Quistis agreed with a nod. "Amphipteres are shy creatures. They always stay away from villagers. But this one…well this one was quite odd…"

*

"Let me get this straight, the two of you decide to prance around in the middle of the night without permission and then you come across some flying snake…thing…out to kill you?"

Zell was pacing around the room at a furious rate, his gaze moving vehemently at Quistis and Squall.

Squall gave a shrug, apparently unperturbed by Zell's hostile behavior. "To put it in stupid terms, yes. That's the idea."

Quistis fought the urge to roll her eyes. She ignored Selphie's uncomfortable shifts next to her and gave a sigh. "Zell, don't exaggerate. You make it sound as if we wanted to be attack." She retorted coolly, meeting Zell's hot glare.

Zell's voice rose slightly. "Well it clearly seems it!"

Quistis scowled, and the tension in the room increased. "Don't give me that tone, brother. You know as well as I do that I wasn't looking for any trouble," she snapped. "I'm not a child. I can take care of myself, and I think I can handle on my own."

Everyone in the room shifted uncomfortably, except for Quistis and Zell. No one wanted to witness an intense argument between the two siblings.

Zell ceased his pacing. He ignored the uncomfortable movements around him and glared at his sister. "Oh now look who's exaggerating! You make it sound like someone out to kill you is a child's game. Face reality, Quistis, you can't handle something like this. I've been to war!" he snapped back.

"Well I've grown up!" Quistis retorted, raising her voice as well. "So stop playing 'the Hero,' Zell."

Zell quickly fell silent, and looked away from Quistis. He sank onto a chair propped up against a small table and reached for a bottle of wine. Silently, he poured himself a glass of wine and took a large swig from his glass.

Seifer cleared his throat loudly, trying to break the tension. "Perhaps there's a link…" He paused for a moment, waiting to receive everyone's full attention. "There were two attacks on the same day. Coincidence? Maybe…But what if these attacks are linked somehow?"

Hearing this, Quistis looked troubled. From the corner of her eyes, she caught sight of Fujin fidgeting slightly. "Two attacks?" she asked, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Selphie looked grim, completely opposite of her usual optimism. "We weren't sure how to tell you…" she began slowly. "Around the time after dinner, a spirit creature in Seifer's room attacked him. It wasn't a perfect summoning, but it was still sufficient enough to almost finish the job."

"A spirit creature? Here?" Quistis demanded, looking slightly shaken.

Seifer couldn't resist as chuckle. "You're starting to sound like Matron. Not even she could believe such an illegal summoning could be performed in Balamb."

"But a spirit creature," Quistis mused briskly. "The palace is protected by magic. Surely someone would have detected illegal summoning, unless…"

"Unless whoever summoned the creature was away from the palace," Zell interjected, placing his glass onto the table. "Only the palace is protected. Leave its walls, and the barrier is gone."

Raijin looked slightly confused. "But if the there's a barrier in the palace, how can someone send a summoning into it, ya know?" he asked curiously.

"Well, technically speaking," Selphie answered, "the barrier only works against monsters attacking from the outside. Anything already summoned inside won't be affected."

The room fell silent, and Rinoa scowled, as if a thought struck her. "Wait a minute…that means that whoever had anything to do with the summoning couldn't be in the palace walls at the time being," she pointed out. "But that would mean…" She turned to look at Squall, an uneasy look rising to her face.

"Hold on, are you trying to pin this one me?" Squall interrupted, noticing Rinoa's uneasy stare.

Irvine shook his head. Instantly, he blurted, "No! Of course not! You're not capable–"

"He's still a suspect, Kinneas," Seifer interrupted with a smug look on his face. He made no effort to hide his glee. "We have no proof of his innocence."

Quistis stood up abruptly. "And you obviously don't have any proof of his guilt either, Seifer! As you recall, Squall was with me on the second attack," she argued in exasperation.

Squall rose from his seat as well. "I don't need to be defended. I can take care of myself," he said coolly, leaving the room.

*

Quistis was one of the last people to leave the room. Sighing to herself, she rummaged through her pockets and found the little village girl's doll. Quistis remembered she had promised to repair the doll, and thus stood from her seat once again to leave the room.

"Let me guess, you take comfort in that thing whenever you're distressed."

It was a mocking tone, and Quistis was well aware to whom the voice belonged to. "I thought you left, Seifer," she replied coolly, her back turned to her fiancé. Giving a sigh, she looked away from the doll and placed it back in her pocket. "No, this is not one of my possessions. I don't own such things. I am simply repairing this for a little girl I encountered."

Seifer chuckled. "Awe, now isn't that sweet?"

"Why are you still here, Seifer?" Quistis grumbled, slightly irked.

Seifer gave an elaborate gesture of a mock bow, while wearing his sly grin. "Accompanying you to your room, of course. We wouldn't want you attacked, now do we?"

Quistis rolled her eyes and walked away, not bothering to see if Seifer was trailing behind her. "Oh yes, why of course I'm delighted to have an overgrown oaf as an escort. That way, I know I'll be completely safe from the clutches of the dastardly Prince of Esthar," she answered sarcastically as she walked down the halls.

"Your sarcasm's amusing," Seifer replied, easily following Quistis. "But you read my mind."

"Squall is innocent, Seifer. Keeping him as a prisoner and on constant watch is a ridiculous thing to do," Quistis snapped.

"Maybe," Seifer answered with a shrug. "But if it keeps you out of trouble, it's worth it."

"You're out of your league."

Seifer caught Quistis's arm and pulled her back to him. "Am I?" he asked, losing the smirk on his face. "Twice you've been attacked while in Squall's company. While it may appear that he's trying to guard you, we don't know for sure if he's egging the creatures on. What if he's only set these situations up in order to win your trust?" he explained seriously. "You don't know what Squall's capable of. You don't know him."

Quistis released her arm away from Seifer's grip. "Oh, and I suppose you do?"

"As of a matter of fact, yes." Seifer gazed intently into Quistis's azure blue eyes. "I went to war with him. Squall, your brother, Irvine, and I were in the same squad. I've seen the way he is."

"Well you're not exactly a saint yourself, Seifer," Quistis retorted, opening the door to her room. "Goodnight," she added briskly and slammed the door closed before Seifer could say another word.

*

"Squall…Squall…"

The Prince of Esthar felt himself being shaken awake, and so jolted up from his bed. Sleepily, he peered at the figure before him.

Irvine was pacing back and forth nervously on the floor before Squall's bed. His eyes were wide open and bloodshot. Every second he grew paler, and soon he became as insipid as Fujin.

"What is it?" Squall grumbled, rubbing his weary eyes. He was never going to get any sleep if more monsters were going to attack.

"It's terrible…it's terrible…" Irvine muttered under his breath as he continued to pace faster.

Squall scowled, fighting back a yawn. "What's terrible?" he demanded in irritation.

There was a strange sound, apparently coming from outside. It sounded like the humming of a motor and raised voices. One voice sounded familiar, all too familiar for comfort.

Irvine jumped as he heard the sound, and scampered towards the window. He gave a small whimper as he stared out the window and immediately ducked out of sight.

Squall was ready to throw Irvine out of the window. Not only was he losing sleep, Irvine wasn't going to explain the situation to him either. "What is your problem? If this is some prank you're playing, I want no part in it," he growled, throwing the covers over his head and moving back to sleep.

Irvine dived under Squall's bed and whimpered again. "He's seen me! I know it! He's coming! He knows I've been doing a terrible job watching you!" he blurted nervously. "He's going to behead me! I know it!"

Hearing this, Squall immediately jolted awake from his bed and rushed to the window. Irvine's fear could only mean to one thing. And apparently, his nightmare had come true.

DUM DUM DUM!!!!! WHAT COULD HAVE POSSIBLY HAPPENED?! GASP! THE SUSPENCE!!!