War Story
Chapter Five: Into the Unknown
By PasifiKStaR

Author's Note: Um...my chapter last time wasn't as boring as I thought, in retrospect. This has a pretty boring middle. I know what you all read this for - SEIFTIS fluffy romantic moments. :P Anyway, for those who know I've been stressed out lately, thanks for your comforting words. I appreciate it immensely. It's not over yet, but the support is welcomed. Thank you so much:hugs:

All Standard Disclaimers Apply: I do not own Final Fantasy.

Zell lifted up his camera and began taking pictures of the smoldering base below them as clouds of dark smoke rose into the clear evening sky. He'd never thought that he'd see what he was seeing at that moment. He could feel the heat radiating from the valley below against his pale face as he snapped pictures.

"This...can't...be...happening..." A shaking, female voice began chanting to his right and he turned around quickly. His face, which had been filled with excitement and horror, turned into complete worry as he watched Quistis lean back against the dirt sides of the tunnel.

Her blue eyes were wide and rimmed with tears as shaking, cream hands grasped in vain for something to hold her up. "Quistis?" Zell asked. He let his camera drop to hang around his neck as he rushed to his friend's side. "Quistis, what's wrong? Quistis?"

Her heart was racing as she desperately tried to calm her erratic breathing. Slowly, she turned her head towards the entry way as Zell tried to help her stand on her own power. "It's...burning..." she whispered with horror. "The whole base..."

"Quistis," a strong voice reached her ears as two hands were planted sternly on her shoulders. She turned her head and looked into Irvine's concerned face. "Don't do this, Quistis. Don't go into shock. We can't afford for you to go into shock!"

"What's happening?" Quistis asked with a ragged breath. Her hands shot up and grabbed the lapels of Irvine's leather jacket. "What's going on?" she demanded.

"Quistis!" Selphie rushed in between them and threw her arms around the taller woman. "Quistis, don't freak out! Don't! You need to keep a level head-"

"Level HEAD?" Quistis gasped. She pulled away from Selphie and shook her head. "Level head?" she nearly shrieked. She threw her arms towards the burning base below them. "How can I have a level head when we could've just DIED! The base is on fire, Selphie! Don't you see the smoke? The flames? And the others? Seifer, Squall, Rinoa, the specialists...where are they?"

"Quistis, stop it!" Irvine yelled loudly. The blond turned to face him, a shaken look on her face. "They are all trained specialists. All the buildings they were in had tunnels. They'll find us here. This is our rendezvous point."

"Quistis, don't freak out, please," Selphie pleaded. "They're not dead. They're not," Selphie insisted as she held Quistis' hands in her's. She forced Quistis to look into her eyes and saw the worry in the taller woman's face. "Seifer will be all right." she stressed.

"We've been in worse situations," Irvine assured her. "And we've all managed to get out alive. At the worst, a gash, a cut, or a few broken bones. But we survived."

"And they'll survive this," Selphie insisted. Quistis looked down at them and slowly nodded. "Take a deep breath, Quistis. I know this is new to you. We understand how you feel."

"I've never seen something like this before," Quistis whispered softly. "I've seen them in movies... but...not like this..."

Selphie reached out and hugged Quistis tightly. "This is war, Quistis," Selphie told her softly. "Be prepared...you'll see things here that you never thought you'd see..." she said as she pulled away. She looked up at Quistis and offered her a smile. "Use what you see and what you feel to write your story."

'My story...' Quistis' mind screamed. She took a deep breath as she closed her eyes. 'I forgot that is what I came for...' She opened her eyes and nodded. "I'm sorry," she said as she turned her head away, ashamed. "It's just...I've never...I'm a civilian..." she whispered.

"You're part of this team now," Irvine said as he looked at the two blondes. "Both of you. You're not civilians any more. You're soldiers. You're Diablo Squad Specialists."

"Zell, how are you doing?" Selphie asked. The tattooed blond nodded.

"I'm all right," he said. "I'm worried about Quistis..." he added softly.

Quistis smiled at him weakly. "Sorry, Zell," she said. "I'm fine now...it's just...there is this anxiety in me. This worry...it's just that everything is out of my control. I'm just not used to that."

"Quistis," Selphie said. "It'll be all right."

"Like I said before," Irvine told them. "Seifer didn't make it to Lieutenant for nothing. Squall didn't make it to Commander for nothing either."

Quistis smiled slightly and nodded. She felt slightly better. "You can't kill the devil..." she said with a sad smile.

Selphie nodded. "And as long as they're down there, Rin will be all right."

"It's hard to believe this is happening..." Zell said as he looked down at the base. The fires were starting to get put out by hoses and he could hear sirens from below. Zell shook his head. "One minute we're playing fooz ball in the recreation room, the next we're here."

"Still, this is strange..." Irvine mumbled. He walked up next to Zell and surveyed the area. He narrowed his eyes at the scene. "Esthar's never pushed this far south before. We had no warning, what so ever..."

"Warning?" Quistis asked.

Selphie nodded. "Our radar towers should've picked up any enemy planes or missiles," Selphie mumbled. "But the alarms never went off."

"Do you suspect foul play?" Quistis asked, her curiosity over powering her fear.

"Yes," a voice said behind them. Quistis whirled around, hope evident in her face. "Okay?" a female voice asked.

"Fujin! Raijin!" Selphie yelped with relief as she scampered over to them and enveloped them in a hug. Quistis stood up straight and looked behind them worriedly. "Thank Hyne you're okay!"

"Did you see the others?" Irvine asked before Quistis could open her mouth.

Fujin shook her head. "Negative."

"Bombs started dropping, ya know," Raijin said as he rubbed the back of his head. "So we ran to secure some weapons before going under, ya know."

"Weapons?" Zell asked.

"There are some explosives in the bunkers," Irvine explained. "If they weren't properly secured away, they would've exploded and what you see burning would've been completely leveled."

Quistis and Zell swallowed at the statement. "Seifer? Squall? Rinoa?" Fujin asked, looking around.

"Squall was at a meeting," Selphie informed them. "Rinoa was at the medical center and Seifer stayed above ground."

"What?" Fujin gasped, her eyes scrutinizing the young woman. "WHY?"

"Don't know," Irvine said. "He gave us a direct order to leave without him. You know we can't ignore that."

Raijin and Fujin looked at each other and nodded. Fujin looked over at the two blondes. "All right?"

"Shaken," Quistis answered. She took a deep breath. "But we'll live."

Fujin's face saddened slightly as she looked over at their new squad members. Quistis turned her back to the group and leaned against the dirt wall, her eyes going back to the burning fort below. She swallowed nervously and took deep breaths.

'Idiot!' her mind cursed him. 'Why? WHY didn't you come into the tunnel with us? What were you trying to do? Play some sort of hero?' She closed her eyes tightly, silently wishing for answers.

"Who did this?" she heard Zell's voice ask behind her. Quistis didn't bother turning around.

"What do you mean, who did this?" Irvine asked, surprised. "Zell, you work for a newspaper, don't you know what war is going on?"

Zell just shrugged and smiled weakly. "I knew its between Galbadia and Esthar...but I'm not sure who the key players are. And in my defense, I just take pictures."

Selphie sighed heavily. "There is a Sorceress in power in Esthar. Her name is Ultimecia. A few years ago, there was a coup over the Estharian government . Galbadia was an ally of the new government and helped instate Ultimecia as President to continue the self government. But Ultimecia stepped over some boundaries and attacked Galbadia's northern neighbors."

"Trabia?" Zell asked. Selphie nodded.

"When they did that, President Deling felt that Esthar had become a threat and wanted to get Ultimecia out of the seat of power. Unfortunately, by then she was too powerful. Thus the war," Irvine said simply. "Ultimecia has gotten too powerful too fast."

"What do you mean?" Zell asked as he tilted his head to the side. "She's a sorceress right? Didn't the government know that?"

"She was a weak one but with a lot of political power," Selphie explained. "But she got really powerful in the last few years. So much that Galbadia saw it as a threat."

"That's all we can tell you," Irvine said truthfully. "Until Commander Leonhart gets back, we can't divulge the rest of the information."

Quistis' head perked up and she turned around, her eyes narrowed. "What information?"

Irvine shook his head. "Can't say, Quistis."

"Does it have to do with the squad? Can you at least tell me that?" she insisted. Irvine nodded his head.

"Yes, it does," Irvine said. "But that's all we can tell you."

"You guys," Selphie said as she looked back into the small shelter. "It's going to be a long night. We should get settled in."

"How long do you think it'll take the others to get here?" Zell asked as he looked over his camera.

"I honestly don't know," Selphie admitted. She sat down on the ground next to Irvine. "Don't worry. They're tough. They'll make it."

"Quistis?" a soft voice said behind her. The slender blond was sitting just at the opening of the shelter, her eyes fixated on the fort below. Her knees were brought up to her chest as a shower of black rain fell to the earth from the dark clouds above. "Are you still awake?"

Quistis nodded slightly. She heard shuffling behind her and was joined by a petite, green eyed brunette. Selphie sat down next to her, bringing her knees up to the same position. They both looked down at the base as the last of the fires were being put out.

"What's going to happen?" Quistis whispered.

"Hmm?" Selphie asked. She turned to look at the blond. Quistis continued to stare outside.

"What's going to happen now?" Quistis asked. "After the base is burnt down."

Selphie looked down at her hands. "We wait here," Selphie replied. "When they return, we'll see what happens."

Quistis closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her fingers clutched the cloth of her pants as she asked something hesitantly. "And if they don't?"

Selphie avoided eye contact. "That's not a possibility." Quistis turned her head to look at Selphie. The young woman's voice had been filled with conviction, as if it were out rightly impossible for something bad to happen to the three active members missing.

Quistis turned back to the view. "You're right," she agreed softly. "It'll take more than a few bombs to get them."

"They'll be all right, Quistis," Selphie reassured her, sounding as if she were also reassuring herself. "Irvine told me something earlier."

"What?"

"When you two were still in the stair well back there," Selphie said with a slight smile. She looked over at Quistis. "Seifer told him that he better make sure you're safe..."

Quistis tilted her head to the side and blushed slightly. "Damn well better..." she mumbled.

Selphie giggled slightly. "I've known Seifer for a while and I don't think he's ever said anything like that. He'll be back," Selphie repeated. "If only to make sure that you're all right."

"What was he thinking, Selphie?" Quistis whispered unsurely. "What did he think he'd accomplish by staying up there?"

Selphie looked down at her feet. "There are things between us in this squad that you and Zell haven't learned yet," Selphie said. "One of them is between those three."

Quistis frowned. "What's between them?"

"Seifer has obligations to Rinoa," Selphie explained. "They're not blood related..." Selphie perked up and looked at Quistis, a slight look of alarm on her face. "But they're not lovers or anything either! Don't think that!" she gasped with panic.

Quistis chuckled and nodded. "Then what are they?"

"Not sure how to explain it...really good friends?" Selphie looked up at the sky. "That's kind of an understatement..."

"So he went back for her?" Quistis asked.

Selphie nodded. "I think so...They're just really close. When Rinoa and Squall got together, Seifer went ballistic. He didn't think Squall was good enough for Rin..." Selphie reached up and touched the area between her eyes. "You've noticed the gashes here, right?"

Quistis thought for a moment. "On Squall and Seifer? Yes..."

"From an argument about Rinoa," Selphie explained. "Seifer didn't want his live long friend going out with his 'rival' and Seifer and Squall got into a fight. I don't think Rinoa has ever forgiven either of them for something so stupid."

Quistis nodded. "He's loyal."

"We all are," Selphie assured her. "Even though Seifer is a big, arrogant, self-absorbed jerk, I know I can trust him with my life."

Quistis smiled slightly. "I know the feeling..." She took a deep breath. "You know-"

"Shhh..." a warm voice whispered in her ear and she froze. Quistis' eyes went wide open as a gloved hand was placed over her mouth. Her eyes moved to the side and saw Irvine kneeling between them, his eyes narrowed beneath his hat.

He glanced over at Selphie and she nodded. She remained still and motioned for Quistis to do the same. Irvine stood up, gun in hand as he pressed himself against the wall. Quistis turned around and saw Zell curled up in the back, Fujin's hand over his mouth as Raijin backed them up, gun in hand.

Warily, Irvine walked closer to the entry of the shelter. The group waited and Quistis saw Selphie slip out a small black gun. Silently, she took it off safety and narrowed her emerald eyes. When Irvine seemed sure that they would be ready, he nodded.

Selphie and the others nodded and Quistis watched with a racing heart as Irvine held his gun up and practically flew out of the side of the shelter's entrance, gun up and ready to shoot.

"Holy shit, Kinneas!" a deep voice growled.

Quistis lifted her head and heard Selphie let out a breath of relief. Outside, Irvine lowered his gun and frowned. "Where the hell were you?" he snapped as he lowered the gun.

Selphie slipped the gun back on to safety and Quistis stood up. She was about to run outside when someone walked directly through the entrance and nearly slammed into her. Quistis jerked her head up and felt a rush or relief spread through her body as a familiar arrogant smile looked back down at her.

"Miss me much?" he smirked.

Almost instantly, the relief was replaced with annoyance as Seifer put his hands on her shoulders and turned her around. He lead her back into the shelter as Irvine entered with two other people in tow.

"Rin! Squall!" Selphie shouted as she shot up from her seat and ran to the couple. She threw her arms around Rinoa and hugged her tightly. "We were so worried!"

"Nothing we couldn't handle," Seifer said proudly over his shoulder. He greeted the two weapons specialists. "Everything okay?"

"Affirmative," Fujin nodded. "You?"

"Doing okay," Seifer looked over his shoulder. "Everyone's here?"

"Yes," Selphie said. She looked over the three that just arrived. "What happened to you guys? What took you so long?"

"We had to help put the fires out," Rinoa answered as she fell back against the wall and slid down in exhaustion. "That's why we took so long."

"Fujin, Raijin, equipment status report." Squall said. Zell looked at him and wondered how the man could still be wide awake and not tired after the long, explosion and fire filled night.

The two soldiers stood up and gave him a salute. "Diablo Squad vehicle 001 and 002 are active and undamaged, Commander, ya know!" Raijin said.

"Equipment active," Fujin added. "Awaiting use!"

Squall nodded. "All right," he said as he looked around the group. "Diablo Squad, we have just received a order from Captain Strife. We are to meet with Units 54 and 50 on the southern side of Esthar City. We will receive further information there."

"Commander," Seifer said as soon as Squall finished speaking. All eyes turned to him. "Is it wise to bring in the two recruits, sir?"

Quistis raised an eyebrow in question. The man next to her was speaking quite formally. "Recruits have fulfilled their requirements for basic training," Squall stated. "Further training on special operations will continue at Base Siren. Captain Strife has approved their activity in the mission. We are to arrive there by 19:00 hours and will meet with the Commander of Unit 54. Is that understood?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" a chorus of voices boomed around her. Quistis looked around and quickly saluted Squall like the others were doing.

'Here we go...' Quistis said as Raijin and Fujin headed the group back into the tunnels. She took a deep breath and caught herself looking at Seifer. She felt her heart stop as she realized that she was making sure he was still there and not a figment of her imagination.

Immediately, she turned back around and followed the group back through the heavy door. As Zell squeezed through in front of her, a hand pulled her back. She felt a warm breath against the left side of her face and she closed her eyes.

His voice echoed in her ears as he released her. "I'm glad you're safe."

It was a ten minute walk through the tunnels before they got to a heavy metal door. It required the identification cards of either Raijin, Fujin, or Squall to enter. As soon as the light on the reader turned green, Seifer and Irvine pulled the door open and the group stepped inside.

Selphie ran in first, jumping up and down and waving her arms in the air in order to get the motion sensors to recognize movement. The room lit up and Quistis found herself looking around in wonder.

"Whoa..." Zell said. They were in an underground hanger, about three two car garages big. All along the walls were weapons and a heavy arsenal, all identification card locked, behind heavy metal and glass doors. Zell was about to lift up his camera when Irvine covered the lens with his hand.

"Sorry, Zell," Irvine said with a grin. "But this is a no photo zone."

"Aww..." Zell wrinkled his nose and Quistis smiled a bit.

In the center of the garage were two large humvees. They were all a dusty green, camouflage color and Quistis could see that they were inlaid with sturdy steel. Machine guns were mounted on the roofs of each vehicle.

"Quistis!" a voice called. Quistis turned and saw Selphie waving her over. The blond walked over and saw that Selphie had opened a metal locker with the name 'S. Tilmit' engraved on a metal tag on the side. "We need to get you packing! Okay, here is a holster...I have an extra Beretta you can use...I think Fujin might have some ammo. If not, ask Rinoa."

"Oh...okay..." Quistis nodded dumbly as she watched Selphie quickly strap the holster around her body. She followed slowly and was corrected twice by the smaller girl before she put it on correctly.

Selphie slid Quistis' weapon into the holster. "Rin!" Selphie called out over her shoulder. "Do you have any more bullets for the Beretta? Quistis needs some!"

"I have a lot!" Rinoa called from behind them. "Send her over!" Selphie nodded and Quistis turned to get her arsenal from the nurse.

She passed Raijin and Fujin, who were already wearing their gear and were packing one of the humvees. Irvine was helping Zell with the gear that they would use and saw Irvine pull out a large gun case with 'I. Kinneas - Diablo' spray painted on the side in big bold letters. Squall and Seifer were checking for bullets.

"This should last you," Rinoa said as she handed Quistis a safety box sized metal box. "Open it up." she urged.

Quistis unlatched it and opened the lid. Her eyes went wide as she saw two rows of ammunition neatly stacked against each other. "What...what about you?"

"I don't need a lot," Rinoa said. She pulled out a heavy looking back pack from her locker. "This is what I'll need."

Quistis looked it over and realized it was a medical kit. "What about a weapon?"

"I have that, too," Rinoa assured her. She lifted up her uniform jacket to reveal the gun tucked neatly in her holster. She smiled warmly at the novice. "Quistis, are you all right?"

"Yeah...everything is just going by so fast..." she mumbled. Rinoa nodded.

"Then be prepared," Rinoa told her as she put her back pack on. "It's about to get a lot faster."

Base Siren was a several hour long drive north. Within a few moments, the group had split up into two; Fujin, Raijin, Irvine, and Selphie in the car 002 and Squall, Rinoa, Seifer, Quistis, and Zell in car 001. The car was outfitted with something Raijin and Fujin had called 'Chameleon Paint'. It was the product of three years of experimentation and the end result was the car's outer layer blending in almost perfectly with it's surroundings.

The vehicles had stopped twice at two different bases on the way to Siren for gas. At the first stop, Fort Ifrit, Quistis had notice groups of other soldiers from Fort Doomtrain resting there and talking about the attack. While they were on a quick bathroom break, she over heard two soldiers discussing the planes.

"Strange, don't you think?" one said as Quistis waited by the bathrooms for Selphie and Rinoa to come out. "The sirens didn't go off at all."

"I heard that the bombs dropped had the affects of one of our standard missiles." replied the other.

"Think we have a traitor?"

"Seems like it. But in order to fly one of the planes, you have to pass all these exams. Only the best of the best are allowed. Man...whoever it is either crazy or diabolical."

Quistis leaned back against the hard seat she was sitting on in the back of the humvee. Her eyes were narrowed and looking out into space as she tried to make sense of what she had heard. Selphie and Irvine had wondered about the same thing. Something was definitely up...she just had to figure out what.

"Trepe," a deep voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she looked up. Questioning green eyes looked at hers from the seat across from her. "Are you paying attention? We don't have time for you to doze off into dreamland!" Seifer snapped.

Quistis' eyes narrowed. "I'm sorry, were you saying something? If you were, I wasn't dozing off, I was ignoring you." she quipped with an elegant wave of her hand.

From the front seat, Rinoa let out a little snicker and Seifer shot her a glare. Zell bit his lip to keep from snorting out in the seat next to Quistis. "Pay attention, back there!" Squall's voice shouted, putting order back into place. "He actually has something important to say!"

"See, even Commander Pube..." Seifer trailed off and shot another glare up at the front seats. Squall was smirking to himself. "I hate you, you know that?" Seifer hissed. He looked back at the other two blondes. "Pay attention! We're heading into combat training as soon as we arrive, got it? Once we get the orders from the personnel there, I'm going to work you two through some standard recon missions, got it?"

"Got it." Zell said.

"You will answer with a 'Sir, yes, sir'! Do I make myself clear, Dincht?" Seifer growled.

"Sir, yes, sir!" Zell said as he jumped up in his seat and saluted the taller blond. A pleased smirk graced Seifer's face.

He glanced over at Quistis. "Officer Trepe, I didn't hear you give your indication of accepting the order!" he barked.

Quistis saluted him, almost mockingly. "Affirmative, Lt. Almasy! I did not accept your order!" Quistis snapped.

Seifer narrowed his eyes and Rinoa snickered from the front seat once again. "Do not test me, Trepe! This is a serious matter! You will stay in line and address me properly! Is that understood?"

"Affirmative, Lt. Almasy!"

"Call me sir!" Seifer demanded.

"Over my dead body!" Quistis hissed back, throwing him a challenging glare.

"Stop being so stubborn-"

"Lt. Almasy! Officer Trepe! This is a direct order from your commanding officer!" Squall shouted as he got sick of the argument that was brewing. "You will not argue over such a petty title! I don't give a damn whether she salutes you or not, Seifer! But if you two don't stop arguing, I'm splitting you two up! Is that understood?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" two loud voices boomed from behind him. Rinoa looked over her shoulder and sighed with a shake of her head as Seifer and Quistis were locked in a heated stare.

"How many hours do we have until we reach the base?" Rinoa asked.

"Three."

"Damn it."

"Run! Run! Don't pause! Keep your gun up! Watch where you're going Dincht! You left yourself wide open!" Seifer's voice was loud and furious as he stood on a platform over looking an open top practice building used for drills and target practice.

Inside the ten foot cement walls were Quistis and Zell, being lead by Selphie and Irvine, on standard procedures during indoor missions. They were learning how to enter a room without leaving themselves open, how to look around corners, and how to place themselves when they were going through the halls. It was past ten at night and they had been practicing since eight.

Despite the moonlight illuminating the camp, the practice area was darkened thanks to the shadows created by the walls. Every few feet, there were dim, flickering yellow light bulbs that were attached near the top of each wall. Seifer could just make out their bodies running through the dim cement halls.

Zell was gripping his gun for dear life as he watched Selphie and Irvine show them the procedure before making them follow. Quistis was leaning against the wall, following what Selphie had told her. She shivered suddenly and glanced up and out of the building.

For a brief moment, she could almost swear she saw Seifer smirk. The soldier was standing over them ominously as he barked out orders from the platform. 'Bastard.' Quistis thought to herself.

"Quistis! Go!" Irvine's voice ordered.

By learned reflex, she twisted her body, looked into the room and twisted her body back. "Good! Go down the hall and look around the corner!" Selphie ordered.

Quistis nodded and proceeded with the trail run, fully aware of and ignoring the green eyes that watched her from a pedestal.

Seifer nodded his head slightly. 'They're picking it up fast enough...good.'

"Seifer." a female voice called. He didn't move from where he was standing.

"What is it, Rin? Can't you see I'm working?" he stated simply as he kept his eyes on their two new members. He was careful to spot any and all mistakes.

"Squall sent me to get you guys," Rinoa said as she reached the platform he was standing on. She followed his gaze. "How are they doing?"

"They're learning fast," Seifer told her casually. "What does Puberty Boy want?"

"We received the orders," Rinoa informed him. She looked back down at the four in the training grounds. "Gather them up. Meet Squall at his tent in 23:00 hours."

Seifer nodded his head once and Rinoa headed back down the steps. The tall blond man raised his wrist and looked at his watch. "22:45..." he mumbled. He put his hand down. "Kinneas! Tilmit! Wrap it up!"

"Abort mission!" Selphie shouted. "Quistis! Zell! Maneuver Beta! Now!"

"Let's go! Let's go!" Irvine yelled.

Seifer watched them begin to file out of the building and he turned around. As he reached the ground level, the wooden door that was the entrance to the building burst open and out came the four officers.

"The training sequence was almost over," Quistis said as she slipped her gun back into her holster. "Why did you call it off?"

"The Commander got our orders. We have a squad briefing at 23:00 hours," Seifer informed them. He looked at the two blondes. "I'm impressed. Didn't screw up as much as I thought you two would."

He smirked as he turned around and headed towards the main camp area. Quistis glared at his retreating back and was about to make a comment with Selphie put her hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about it," the petite brunette said with a smile. "That's a compliment."

"That man isn't right in here." Quistis mumbled as she tapped her head.

Irvine grinned as he passed them. "Quisty, THAT is an understatement."

"Hurry up!" Seifer shouted several yards ahead of them, his tone obviously annoyed. He wasn't too far away to not have heard their little 'Seifer is nuts' comment. "We don't have all day!"

The four chuckled and began to run after him. They jogged to Squall's tent in the make shift barrack area of the base. They slipped inside the large tent and found Squall sitting at a fold out table looking over the contents of an folder. There were several envelopes in a pile next to it.

"Lt. Almasy and company reporting, sir!" Seifer saluted proudly as they entered.

"At ease," Squall told them. He looked up, icy blue eyes looking over all of them as they filed into the room. He stood up and fixed the papers in the folder. "We'll be heading into Esthar City in two days."

"Two days?" Selphie gasped in surprise.

"That hardly leaves time for training, Squall," Irvine added. "Quistis and Zell don't know all the procedures yet-"

Squall waved his hand to silence them. "We don't have a choice," Squall stated. "Train them as much as you can tomorrow."

Irvine and Selphie nodded. "So what's the mission?" Seifer interjected impatiently. "Recon? Retrieval? What?" Squall slid the folder across the table and Seifer caught it effortless. He lifted it up and opened it to read it's contents.

"We have a retrieval mission," Squall told them calmly. "Hard copy documents regarding Galbadia's pilotless aircraft have gone missing and they are believed to be kept in one of Esthar City's buildings. Our job is to gain access into that building, find the documents and dispose of them."

"What if they've been scanned and in soft copy format?" Zell asked.

Seifer lifted up a CD from the folder. "We just slip this baby in and we're set."

"Oh...smart." Selphie nodded.

"Here are the copies of the floor plans to the building," Squall said as he handed each of them an envelope. "I've marked out the entrance and exit points. Irvine, you'll be situated on an adjacent building to cover us while we're inside."

"Gotcha." Irvine said as he tipped his hat at the brunette.

"Selphie, I've marked the location of the building's servers," Squall informed her. "We'll secure the entrance for you. Then you, Zell, and I will go inside and load the CD. We can't leave the CD, so we have to load it and get out."

"Understood, Commander!"

"Seifer, Quistis, you'll keep watch in the halls. Be sure to stay close," Squall informed them. "With only Irvine covering us from the outside, we can't afford to split up. He won't be able to cover two separate groups."

"What about the equipment?" Seifer asked.

"I've already got Fujin and Raijin on it," Squall answered. "We'll be dropped off in the north side of the city and have to make our way to the center on foot. We'll need to keep it light and simple. Selphie, no bazookas."

"Aww..."

"Zell, you can't bring your camera with us."

"What? Why not?" Zell gasped.

"Liability issue, chicken-wuss," Seifer snapped. "We can't afford to have you snapping pictures and distracted."

"There is also a chance it might get lost," Selphie told Zell. "It's best to leave it here." Zell thought for a moment and nodded.

"I guess you're right." he mumbled.

"What does the CD do?" Quistis asked.

"It's a simple virus Nida came up with. It'll melt a good portion of the digital information Esthar has before they even realize what it is," Squall told them. "Which is why we can't leave the CD there. They might use the virus against us."

"And Rinoa?" Zell asked. "Will she be going with us?"

"She's to wait with our escort in the north side of the city," Squall said, eyes avoiding Zell's. "Until she gets her medic certificates, she can't go on an actual mission with us. She can only come with us part way."

"Good news is if someone is injured, we'll have medical help near-by." Selphie smiled.

"After we've disposed of the hard copies and loaded the virus, I want Irvine to cover us until we're out of the building. We'll rendezvous at the point indicated on the map," Squall looked at the members of his squad. "Tomorrow, follow the floor plans here and practice maneuver Phi. Irvine, you take my place. I have to meet with our escort for further instructions."

"We have a time chart with the floor plans and maps," Seifer said to the others. "Be sure to keep this in mind. We only have a limited time window to get in, do our job, and get out."

"That is all," Squall said. He straightened up and saluted them. "Dismissed!"

The group saluted him and left the tent. "Get some rest," Seifer told them. "We'll be up at six in the morning for practice!"

Zell let out a groan of disappointment. He trudged off to the male sleeping quarters, which were a series of large tents to one side. Irvine and Selphie bid each other goodnight and parted ways for the night. Selphie headed for the female sleeping quarters.

Seifer turned to head for his tent. As a higher ranking officer in a special operations unit, he had private quarters. It was smaller than Squall's, but at least he didn't have to share with anyone.

"Lt. Almasy," A female voice called out behind him. "May I speak to you?"

He turned around looked over his shoulder. Quistis stood there, still covered in dirt and sweat from the events of the last twenty four hours. Despite the grime on her face and the unruly mess that was her hair, Seifer thought that she still looked beautiful in the moonlight.

"What is it, Trepe?" he asked, his voice sounding more impatient than he actually was. Quistis opened her mouth to speak and found that nothing would come out. "Well?" Seifer asked, an annoyed frown on his face. "I don't have all night."

Quistis took a sharp breath and stiffened. Her blue eyes narrowed. "Never mind, Lt. Almasy," she replied in a harsh voice. "I forgot what I was going to say."

Seifer nodded. His eyes still kept themselves on her. "Go take a shower, Trepe. You look like crap. Yet again."

"Hmph...you don't look like a million gil either, Lieutenant." she snapped back defensively.

He smirked, seeing the fires light up in her eyes again. "If you remember what you were going to say, drop by my tent. Just because you choose to stay dirty doesn't mean I do as well."

With that he turned around and left her standing there alone. Grumbling about how infuriating he was, she stomped over to the women's bathing facilities to give herself a good hot shower. Unfortunately, she found that all the hot water had been used up and was left shiver as barely unfrozen droplets rained down on her.

Shivering with her hair still up a towel turban, she headed back to her assigned sleeping area. As she walked down one of the pathways, she found herself standing in front of Seifer's tent. From the shuffling she could hear inside, he was all done with his shower and getting ready for bed. Mentally, she debated on the pros and cons of entering 'forbidden' territory.

"If you stand there all night, you're going to get cold, Trepe." a voice called from within.

The blond female stiffened. She narrowed her eyes and yanked back the entrance cover flap violently. She looked into the dimly lit room and saw Seifer sitting in front of a mirror, shaving.

"How the hell did you know it was me?" she demanded a she stepped into the small room.

"I heard you mumbling," Seifer replied absent mindedly as he ran a razor along the side of his face. "Remember what you were going to tell me?" he asked, all too sweetly.

A low grumble escaped her throat. "What are you doing?" she asked with disdain. "Normally, people shave in the morning."

"Oh, really? Is that when you shave?"

"I'm not going to dignify that with an answer," she snorted. She took a step closer. "What exactly are you shaving, anyway?" For the life of her, she couldn't remember the blond man having any stubble. She certainly didn't FEEL any the other night.

"You can't see it because I'm blond and you're too far away." Seifer replied. He put the razor down and began to clean up.

Quistis frowned. "I was positive I didn't feel any at the lake." she replied. Seifer paused in the middle of wiping his freshly rinsed face.

He turned to her, a smirk on his face once again. "So THAT is why you came by," he laughed. He tossed his face towel on the table he had his things on and crossed his arms over his broad chest. "Couldn't get me off your mind, could you?"

Quistis' eyes widened. "You arrogant man!" she gasped, all too aware of her face heating up under his cool gaze. "Don't think so highly of yourself-"

"I bet I stayed on your mind ALL last night..." Seifer said suggestively. Quistis paled. "I did, didn't I? I knew you missed me."

The challenge in her face melted away as her eyes narrowed. "I didn't miss you," Quistis told him in a sharp, quiet voice. "I was worried about you."

Seifer's arrogant smirk slowly fell and was replaced by an unreadable expression. "Worried...?"

"Why didn't you come into the tunnel with us?" Quistis asked, her voice starting to shake. "All I could hear were bombs outside. And then when we got the rendezvous point and saw the fires...I thought you were..." She bit her lip and took a deep breath. She didn't want to say it. She didn't want to say I thought you were dead.

"Holy shit..." Seifer mumbled. A disturbed frown was on his face as he took a cautious step towards her. "Quistis, did you think that I-"

"I just wanted to say that I'm glad you're safe, too," Quistis gushed out quickly, cutting him off. She stiffened and lifted her chin to salute him. "Good night, Lt. Almasy!"

Before Seifer could get another word in, Quistis practically vanished from his tent, leaving him standing open mouthed and alone. Seifer frowned and stared at the spot where Quistis had been standing. He closed his eyes tightly. He tilted his head back and ran a hand down his face before shove his chair under the desk and falling into his cot.

It would be yet another long, restless night filled with dreams of a beautiful blond woman. Who apparently cared enough to worry.