War Story
Chapter Seven: Declaration of Love & War
By PasifiKStaR

Author's Note: Still re-writing. It's a bit fast pace because I'm trying to get some stuff in. Thanks for being patient, everyone. Much Love!

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

Adrenaline was typically a good thing when you needed it, but when you were trying to get some rest it was so annoying, it only made you angry and frustrated. With that in consideration, Quistis sat up on her cot and tossed the flimsy blanket off of her.

She looked around the darkened barracks. All the other female soldiers were still asleep, including Selphie, who was nestled in her cot to the right of Quistis. The novice special operations officer stood up and quickly put her boots on.

Still clad in a set of old, gray cotton shorts and a white tank top, she stepped out into the dark, silent base. The air was warm and dry and she was glad that she didn't have to run back to get a jacket. Her tousled hair fell around her face as a soft breeze swept past her.

She began to walk down a familiar path, heading towards the training areas. She had passed it earlier with Zell on their search for Selphie. Squall was working out his anger, at least she hoped he was, on the equipment.

Shirt off, covered with sweat, as he seemed to do his millionth pull up on a bar. But she could still see the unadulterated frustration in his cold blue eyes. Quistis realized that he blamed himself for Rinoa's disappearance.

"It's too early for you to think about practicing. You should get back to the barracks."

Quistis whirled around quickly and frowned. Her eyes narrowed as she saw the tall blond shadow melt from darkness with a cool, easy grace. She gritted her teeth. He was the LAST person she wanted to see. "I should say the same for you." she replied haughtily as she looked away and pretended to study something in the distance.

She heard him give an indignant snort as he stepped out from beneath the shadows of a building. His hair was slicked back and he was wearing a fresh white undershirt underneath his unbuttoned drab green shirt. Lt. Almasy was embroidered over the pocket over his left breast. Black boots had the hems of loose combat worn pants tucked into them.

"I won't be the one getting in trouble if someone catches me," Seifer replied coolly as he approached her. "If one the night patrols find you wandering around-"

"I know, I know," Quistis sighed as she crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes. "I'll head back to the barracks soon. I just couldn't sleep."

"Obviously, other wise you wouldn't be here, would you?" Seifer asked. He stood right next to her, studying her in the moonlight.

"What about you?" Quistis asked. "Couldn't sleep either?"

"I was thinking."

She gave him a skeptical look. "No, really. What's the REAL reason?"

Seifer shot her a quick, half hearted glare. As she smirked, Seifer frowned. His mind quickly came up with a counter to her snide remark. "I couldn't stop thinking about you and couldn't sleep," he told her calmly. He watched with pleasure as her smirk fell and a burning blush swept over her. "I just had to see you again."

"Oh, Hyne," Quistis recoiled as she took a step back, desperately trying to get rid of the blush. "You've got to be kidding me...I think I can believe the earlier reason over that!"

He gave her a look of hurt and raised his hand to his chest. "You wound me, Quistis," he told her painfully as he took a step closer. On instinct, Quistis took another step back and let out a gasp as she felt her back press up against a cold cement wall. She looked up and saw that she had pasted herself against the wall of the storage shed. "Hmm...no where to run, Quistis?" he chuckled.

Her eyes narrowed into slits as she shot him a glare. "You're not funny."

"Of course I am, you just don't appreciate it," he answered, highly amused. He walked away from her to give her some space to pry herself from the wall. "Contrary to what you believe, I do have a lot to think about."

Quistis looked up at his back. He had turned away from her and was gazing out towards the training field. For a moment she had forgotten the severity of the situation they were in. She lowered her eyes. "Rinoa?"

Silence drifted between them. Quistis began to wonder if Seifer even heard her. As she was about to repeat her one word question, Seifer answered in a deep, contemplative voice. "It's more than just her..." Quistis raised his hand slowly and rubbed the back of his neck. His emerald eyes weren't as tense as they were earlier and he looked away. "Quistis..."

She swallowed nervously and cursed herself for being so nervous all of a sudden. She looked away and quickly cut him off, unwilling to hear what he had to say. There was something else she wanted to know. "What...what's between you two?" Quistis asked softly. As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted it. She cringed, just knowing that Seifer would now taunt her for being 'jealous'. She turned her head away, preparing herself for the torment. Instead, she heard a heavy sigh.

"I made a promise a long time ago," Seifer answered instead. The female blond turned her head back to look at him. She watched as he slowly turned to look at her, a sad thoughtful smile on his usually arrogant face. "My parents died a long time ago...I didn't have any family left. Rinoa's mom took me in and treated me like her own son."

"You're her brother?" Quistis asked. Seifer shook his head and looked down.

"We're as close to siblings as we could get."

"You made a promise to Rinoa?"

"Close," Seifer told her. He still had the thoughtful smile on his face and Quistis stared at him, admiring the peaceful look on his face. "I made a promise to Rinoa's mom. She knew that Rinoa was...special," he paused and looked away briefly. "She was worried that Rinoa would get hurt and ask me to watch over Rinoa when she was gone."

"Gone?" Quistis piped, her eyebrows furrowing.

"She died when Rinoa was a kid," Seifer informed her. "I promised her that I would take care of Rinoa...I don't want to admit it, but...I love her."

Quistis' eyes widened as her arms fell limply at her sides. Her head lowered slightly and she closed her eyes. So that's how he felt about Rinoa. Why did she sudden feel so...hurt?

"Then what are we going to do?" Quistis asked. She took a deep breath, getting her voice under control as she lifted her head to meet his.

"What do you mean, what are WE going to do?" Seifer asked with a raised eyebrow. "WE are not going to do anything."

Quistis narrowed her eyes once again and took a step forward. "You can't possibly tell me that you're just accepting the fact that she was kidnapped, are you?" she asked furiously. "You said you love her! How can you just leave her like that?"

Seifer frowned at her disapprovingly, but Quistis held her ground. A few quick steps and he was in front of her, just inches from her body, as his hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. A strong tug pulled her against him and he forced her to look up at his face.

"WE are not doing anything," he stated strongly. "You are to stay here in the base where it's safe."

Slowly, Quistis' face began to go from shock to confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Seifer looked down at her and watched the emotions fly through his deep emerald eyes. "Stay here," he instructed in a low voice. "I want you to be safe."

Panic rose in her chest as her eyes widened. "Seifer, where are you going?" she asked, her voice shaking.

"Don't worry about that," he told her, a slight smile on his face as he held her gaze. "I'll be back before you know it."

Her heart was racing now, this wasn't good. Here she was, blushing at the hands of a man who just moments earlier told her he loved another woman. "Seifer-"

His hand reached up and crushed her head against his chest. His other hand dropped her wrist and wrapped around her shoulders. Quistis' eyes were still wide open as she felt him lower his head and rest it against the side of hers. "There are some missions that don't require everyone."

Her hands quickly rose and grabbed on to the rough material of shirt. Slender, pale fingers dug into the cloth as she held on to him tightly. "Where are you going?" she pleaded.

Seifer pulled away slightly and pressed his forehead against hers. "Don't worry about that," he assured her once again. "Everything will be fine."

"You're going after Rinoa, aren't you?" Quistis stammered. "By yourself? Are you insane-"

"Shh..." A callused finger gently pressed against her soft, full lips. Quistis was instantly silenced and looked up at him with worried eyes. "The way you're talking, it would sound like you'd miss me."

Quistis tried to glare at him, but failed. She felt the pressure from his finger lift from her lips and trail down her chin and neck, sending shivers down her body. "Who is going to make me angry when you're not there?" she offered weakly.

Seifer smiled his usual smile, but Quistis saw the warm glint in his eyes. "I made a promise a long time ago," he reminded her. "I don't like breaking my promises."

Quistis swallowed and nodded. "Save her for me, too."

Seifer nodded. He let her go and Quistis reluctantly let go of his shirt. As he took a step back and the sound of rustling chains and clinking metal stopped him. He smirked as he raised his hands and untangled their dog tags from each other's.

Quistis lowered her head as she heard the sounds of his footsteps leave her.

The foot steps came to a stop a few feet away. Quistis lifted her head, just as Seifer turned around and walked back towards her. With a swift move, he grasped her shoulders and pressed his lips against hers. Her eyes widened briefly before slowly closing as a familiar heat spread through her body. All worries that she was getting in between the relationship of aother vanished in an instant.

Trembling slightly, her hands rested on his board chest. Timidly, she leaned against him, urging him to continue with another kiss before finally parting. "I love her like a sister," ge whispered softly, a mere milimeters from her lips. Quistis felt her face flush as she heard his voice. Her fingers tightened on the cloth over his chest as her knees began to buckle. "Stay here." he repeated in a more stern voice. She closed her eyes as a gentle kiss was placed on her forehead. "Quistis..."

His name reached her ears, filled with warmth. Just as quickly as she was pulled against him, she was pushed away. She stumbled back and looked up with hurt eyes as Seifer disappeared into the darkness.

The tall blond male rounded the corner and headed into one of the garages where another familiar figure was finishing loading equipment into a car.

"Are you done?" Squall asked, annoyed that Seifer had left him to pack everything.

Seifer smirked. "Pretty much," he shrugged. He grabbed his gunblade case that was waiting for him. "Let's go, Commander Puberty."

"Shit!" Quistis' eyes flew open as the sound of a voice swearing cut through her senses. "This can't be happening!"

Still laying in bed, Quistis' eyes darted around and tried to remember how she got back into the barracks. She remembered getting up, walking, Seifer, kiss from Seifer...then everything else seemed to be a meaningless blur. She resisted groaning as she buried her face in the pillow.

"Irvine, shh!" Selphie's voice said. "Quistis is still sleeping!"

"Then wake her up! This is important!" Irvine insisted.

'How did Irvine get into the women's barracks?' Quistis thought to herself as she pretended to continue sleeping. 'Selphie said he was banned from within ten feet of the barracks, let alone coming inside.'

"She was having trouble sleeping last night! And after what happened yesterday, she needs to rest!" Selphie insisted.

"Oh, come on! I already woke up, Zell! She's part of our unit now and we all need to talk!" Irvine countered.

Selphie let out a sigh. "Fine..." she relented. "You better get out of here before someone sees you!"

"I'm not INSIDE the barracks-"

"But you're still breaking that ten feet away rule!" Selphie reminded him.

Quistis heard Irvine scoff. "Selphie, no worries. Who is going to report me-"

"Kinneas!" a booming female voice shouted. Quistis smirked to herself, visualizing Irvine's face paling. "What are you doing? What did we tell you about coming near the women's barracks again?"

"Co...Commander Lockhart!" Irvine whimpered. "I was just passing by!"

Selphie sighed and shook her head as she looked back down at Quistis. "Quistis-"

"I'm awake, Selphie," the blond said as she opened her eyes and stretched in bed. "What is it?"

"I have some bad news," Selphie said as she sat on the edge of her cot. Quistis sat up and looked around. The barracks were now empty and it seemed that Irvine and Selphie had been talking through one of the barrack windows between her and Selphie's cots. "It's about Seifer and Squall."

"Seifer AND Squall?" Quistis asked. She frowned and looked down at her hands.

"Irvine went to talk to Squall this morning to ask about what we were going to do and he wasn't in his tent. Seifer wasn't in his either and we can't find them anywhere. Captain Strife can't tell us where they went so-"

"They must've been assigned on a mission..." Quistis mumbled.

Selphie nodded. "Yeah."

"Can they do that?" Quistis asked, turning to Selphie. "I mean...I thought special operations units are supposed to always go as a team."

"Unfortunately, commanding officers can sometimes be called to go on smaller missions. Usually recon work," Selphie admitted. "But this is the first time that they didn't tell us."

"It's probably because of me and Zell," Quistis frowned. "Did they go to get Rinoa?"

"No one is giving us any information," Selphie answered as she fell back on the cot. "I still can't believe that they'd leave without telling any of us."

Quistis felt the heat rise up to her face and she bit her lower lip. "Actually..."

Squall read the quick flashing messages on the small hand held screen. The message was brief and to the point. They were orders he had received sometime in the middle of the night. The Commander of one of the medical units arrived at his tent with the message.

At first, Squall wanted nothing more than to throw the thing on the floor. He couldn't believe they were sending him on another mission after what was happening! He was still finishing up his plans on trying to figure out how to find Rinoa.

Under direct orders of General Caraway, General of the Galbadian Military, Commander Squall Leonhart and Lt. Seifer Almasy are to proceed with utmost priority to regain custody of Miss Rinoa Heartilly Caraway.

"The Sorceress' Memorial is two more hours away, commander," Seifer said formally as he drove. "As Nida forwarded you the floor plans yet?"

"Negative," Squall said in a cold voice. "If we are unable to gain the floor plans by 00 hours tonight, proceed with standard maneuver theta."

Seifer nodded his head. "Affirmative. Maneuver Theta: Search and rescue under extreme hostage situations."

"I don't understand," Quistis mulled over as she sat in the back of the jeep with Selphie. "Why would Esthar kidnap Rinoa? She's a nurse!"

"She's still a special operations officer," Selphie reminded her. "Rinoa knows all of our codes, formations, operation information. She has to if she wants to keep up."

"But other than that, she's not carrying any valuable information with her, is she?" Quistis asked. "I mean, why would they take her? As a hostage?"

"I don't think they'd take her just to be a hostage," Irvine said calmly. He was driving the jeep with Zell in the passenger's seat next to him. "If that were the case, they could've taken anyone else who had done special ops missions in Esthar City."

"Are you saying that specifically targeted, Rin?" Zell asked. "But even if they did, how could they find her so fast and know exactly when we weren't there? What's so special about Rinoa?"

"Sorceress," Selphie whispered. Her eyes widened as she gripped the hems of her yellow dress. "Hyne, they know!"

"Know what?" Quistis asked. "Selphie, what are you talking about?"

Selphie looked hesitant to tell them and looked over at Irvine. "Just tell them," Irvine said as he looked at Selphie's reflection in the rear view mirror. "They have to know if they're going to go through this with us."

Selphie took a deep breath and nodded. "Rinoa isn't just a nurse," Selphie admitted. "She was born with special powers. They're still really underdeveloped and Rin's never really thought about developing them. Most of the time, it's like she doesn't have any powers at all. But they're there."

"But how do they know?" Quistis asked. "Has Rinoa shown any sign of it? Has she ever fought?"

"She doesn't need to," Irvine answered from the front seat. "Anyone else with fully trained magic abilities can easily pick her out of a city."

"What are they going to do to her?" Quistis gasped worriedly. "Rinoa hasn't done anything! She's not a threat!"

"I heard a rumor," Zell said quietly. "A few months ago when we were up in Balamb doing that story on Shumis. They're saying that the Estharian Sorceress is looking for an heir."

Quistis narrowed her eyes and thought for a moment. "An heir...?" She frowned. "The Centran Post published an a few weeks ago. Several girls have been kidnapped all over the world and haven't been found. They're saying it's because they've got special abilities."

"You think Rinoa was kidnapped so she could be turned into an heir?" Selphie asked.

"Anything is possible at this point," Irvine replied. "But if that's the case, we're lucky. They wouldn't harm, let alone kill her, if they're prepping her to be heir."

"Irvine's got a point," Selphie agreed. "At least we know that for now, Rinoa is safe."

"So when we get to the Sorceress' Memorial, what are we going to do?" Zell asked.

"The scans Nida sent us of the area show that it's decently guarded. Maybe more so if Rinoa's in there. Our best bet is to stay low and then enter at any sign of trouble," Irvine suggested. "If we barge in there, we all could be killed."

The group sat there in silence as the heavy price was set. Selphie fidgeted in her seat nervously before turning to Quistis.

"Now that you know that," Selphie said carefully as she looked at Quistis with pleading eyes. "Are you still going to help us?"

Quistis stared down at the brunette in disbelief. "It's too late to turn back," Quistis told her seriously. "Besides, we can't leave one of our own, Right?"

Selphie's eyes widened and quickly moistened as she threw her arms around Quistis. "RIGHT!"

Rinoa opened her eyes tiredly. As she slowly regained consciousness, her mind was met with a pounding feeling and she winced as she curled up tightly into a ball while gasping her head. Gently she rubbed her head as she lifted it up once more and looked around.

The room was small and foreign to her. Lights of bright colors lined the walls, ceiling and floor and seemed to pulsate with each passing second. Rinoa looked around, careful not to make herself dizzy or provoke her head ache even more as she did so.

Her eyes squinted as she looked up and saw a blinding white light raining down on her. She groaned and turned her head away. There didn't seem to be any doors or windows anywhere.

"Where am I?" she mumbled to herself.

She sat back down on the glowing floor, trying to remember what had happened.

She and the driver, Chappu, had dropped off the other members of her squad at the designated point. Then they had decided to drive around a bit, but as they drove down a lone road, Chappu saw something up ahead.

Rinoa squeezed into the passenger's seat to get a better look and saw a small child wandering down the road. She quickly ordered Chappu to stop, although he had argued against it. Rinoa yelled at him to make him stop. The child looked sick and weak to her and she was worried about her.

Reluctantly, the driver pulled over and Rinoa rushed out of the van, holding her medical bag as she ran after the child. She barely heard Chappu's grunt before she turned around and felt a cloth shoved against her face. Her eyes widened as she unconsciously inhaled the fumes embedded in the cloth before falling limp into the arms of an Estharian guard.

Rinoa stiffened and looked around wildly. "Oh my Hyne..." she gasped as the horrible realization of her situation hit her. She had been kidnapped.

Her heart began to race wildly in her chest as she looked around once more. She couldn't make out any sort of exit. "Hello?" she screamed loudly. "HELLO?" She stood up and look up at the ceiling. Her eyes tried to make out some sort of camera. They had to be watching her somehow.

"I know you can see me!" she screamed. "I know you know I'm HERE! Where are you? Why am I here?"

There was no answer. Rinoa let out a growl and ran over to the nearest wall and kicked it. There was a heavy thump and she frowned. A thick plexi-glass was over the pulsating lights. 'Great, I can't even turn off the lights...' She groaned as she leaned back against the wall and slid down to the ground. She clutched her head once again. 'And it's not helping my headache...'

Rinoa didn't know how long she was sitting there, her knees brought up to her chest with her face buried in them. She was taking deep breaths to try to calm herself. She had gotten kidnapped. But she was a soldier. She knew the possibilities and dangers that came with being in the military.

The sound of a door sliding open caught her attention and she lifted her head up slightly. White light flooded the room just as much as the light in the ceiling did as a door suddenly opened directly in front of her. Rinoa narrowed her eyes and buried her face in her knees again.

A shadow fell over her body. "Miss Rinoa Caraway?"

She lifted up her head and shot guard a deadly look. "Nurse Rinoa HEARTILLY."

"Changing your alias won't change what you are," the guard said. He stepped back and raised his hands. Behind him, two lower ranking guards appeared and went on either side of Rinoa. "You can't hide that you're a sorceress from us."

Rinoa's head shot up once more as she looked at the head guard with wide brown eyes. "How did you know?" she demanded. Strong hands grabbed her upper arms and she gave a yelp as she was pulled to her feet. "Ow! What are you doing? Let me go!"

She tried to pull away, but their hold on her only grew tighter with each attempt to get away. "Stop making it difficult!" one guard growled as he squeezed her upper arm tightly.

Rinoa winced and suppressed the cry that came to her lips as he bruised her arm. "Take her to the main room."

"What's going on?" Rinoa shouted. She glared at the guards on either side of her, but they didn't give her a second glance. She continued to yell and kick and scream, but they didn't so much as loosen their hold.

Finally, Rinoa shut up and walked in glowering silence as she was lead to the main room. She went through a set of large sliding doors and looked up to see a woman seated on a long chair in the middle of a dark room.

"Rinoa...I'm glad I was able to finally meet you." the woman said in a soft, calm voice. Rinoa hardly felt the guards let her go and she stumbled before the woman.

Brown eyes narrowed. "Who are you? Why did you bring me here? Where's the driver?" Rinoa added. She hadn't seen Chappu anywhere and was worried.

"Your driver is left in the Estharian Desert by my men," the woman informed her coolly. "My name isn't important. But you, my dear are," she smiled at Rinoa and the military nurse took a cautious step back. "After searching long and hard, I've finally found you...you're PERFECT."

She stood up and walked towards Rinoa in a slow, controlled stalk. Rinoa felt her heart racing in her chest, but was unable to move, let alone calm herself as she locked eyes with the sorceress. "What do you want with me...?" she whispered.

The woman cupped Rinoa's face in her pale hands. "You will be my heir."

Squall let out an annoyed growl, but said nothing as he rushed down the stairs. It hadn't taken them long or given them much trouble to infiltrate the building. It had been easier than expected, making them both be on edge. Before long, they had reached the ground level and were faced with a key card lock to open the door. Handing his gun to Seifer, Squall reached into one of the pockets on his chest and pulled out a metal card connected to a hand held device.

With a swift move, he slid the card through he scanner and returned the equipment back to their pockets just as the light turned green. The door slid open and the two men entered darkened room. As soon as they stepped in, the lights turned on, one by one, flooding the wide expanse with white light.

Seifer and Squall both shielded their eyes as the lights went on, illuminating the cold, dark room. They blinked and looked around. Squall's blood froze as he looked around. Seifer's eyes widened as they stopped in their tracks.

"What the hell is this..." Squall whispered as his blue eyes went around the room.

The walls were lined with machinery, tubes, and wires. All of that was intricately connected to a web of glass and metal cases. The cases were smooth and rounded and laid at forty-five degree angle from the ground.

Seifer frowned and walked up to the nearest case and hesitantly touched it. Even though his gloves, he could feel that they were cold to the touch and jerked his hand back. He looked down at his glove and saw the faint traces of melting frost.

His green eyes widened as he raised his other hand and wiped at the glass at the top of the case with one swift movement.

Seifer jerked his head back as two eyes stared back at him from behind the frozen glass. "Squall!" Seifer shouted.

The Commander rushed over and looked inside. His eyes widened as well as he walked to another case and wiped the glass. He frowned when he didn't see anything and continued to run his hand down the length of the frosted glass until he found a face. "There's a little girl in this one!"

"Don't tell me..." Seifer mumbled as he moved on to the next row and wiped the glass again, only to find yet another set of hauntingly empty eyes staring back at him. "They're frozen..."

Squall narrowed his eyes and looked around at the room. There were rows and rows of cases, each one possibly holding a frozen girl. "What is this?" he asked disgustedly behind gritted teeth.

"This is a refrigerator of sorts," a casual female voice said behind them. The two men quickly turned around, gunblades lifted in the air in preparation for an attack. "You see, the no matter how much magic I possess, they'll always be that little problem of physical deterioration and of course - mortality."

Squall lowered his gunblade slightly as his eyes locked on hardened brown ones. "Rinoa?" The woman at the door way tossed her head back as she laughed. Her dark hair was tied back in tight bun as a long, body hugging black dress cascaded down her petite figure.

"Not any more," the woman in all black smirked. "She has the pleasure of being the first in what will be the key to my immortal reign!"

"Oh my Hyne," Seifer spat out as he realized what was going on. His grip tightened around his gunblade as he narrowed his eyes angrily. "You're POSSESSING her?"

"She was the perfect age. She was healthy - at the peak of her life!" Squall stared at the body of the woman he had just a few days ago kissed goodnight as she walked closer to them. The sound of her heels echoed against the walls, almost drowned out by the sound of the machinery. "And when this body has aged and past her prime, I will move on," A slender hand tapering into long, sharp nails caressed the side of one of the cases as she sauntered past it. "And on..." She smirked proudly. "And on..."

"You bitch," Seifer growled. He lifted his gun up quickly and pointed it at the encroaching sorceress. "Get the hell out of my sister."

Rinoa's lips curled upwards into a vindictive smile as she stopped. "Can you really do it?" she asked, innocently. Without warning, she tossed her head back and laughed arrogantly. Seifer tightened his hand against the gun. "You can't shoot me! I'm still your precious little Rinoa's body!"

She heard another gun cock and snapped her head in the direction of Squall. The Commander stood there silently, his bangs falling over his face, shielding his darkened eyes from her view as a gunblade was pointed directly at her. "Get out of her. NOW."

The sorceress raised an eyebrow. She let out another cruel laugh, sending shivers through the two men's bodies. "And precisely WHO is going to make me?"

Suddenly, the lights began to flash as a loud alarm echoed off the high ceiling walls. Seifer and Squall barely flinched in surprise as the Sorceress narrowed her eyes and frowned. "Looks like we are, lady." Seifer smirked.

Her eyes narrowed into brown slits as she let out a shrill shriek, making the two men nearly wince. "What the hell is that?" she screamed.

Irvine whirled around and glared at Zell as the short blond stood with wide blue eyes and a pale face. The hallway lights were flashing as yellow and red bulbs pulsed above them. A wailing siren echoed off the walls as Selphie and Quistis turned around from where they were walking.

"Zell!" Quistis paled and nearly screamed. "What the hell did you do?"

"I'll tell you what he did!" Irvine told them before Zell could defend himself. "I told him not to touch anything and what did he do? He TOUCHED something!"

"I just leaned against the wall!" Zell yelled defensively as he pointed accusingly at the wall.

"Yeah, and leaned against one of the hall sensors!" Selphie exclaimed as she pointed to the spot that Zell had leaned on. Sure enough, there was a sensor.

"Way to go, Zell!" Quistis groaned. "Now the entire place knows we're here!"

"It's a big place!" Zell offered. "It'll take them a while to find us in this maze! We'll probably even have time to find Seifer, Squall, and Rinoa before they even figure out where we are!"

"Hey!" a voice shouted down the hall way. All four members of the team looked up and paled as Estharian soldiers skidded to a stop at the top of the hallway.

"Oh shit." Irvine mumbled as one soldier yelled for others to join him.

"RUN!" Selphie screamed. She grabbed Quistis and Zell's hands and whirled around, dragging them behind her.

"Hey! Stop right there!" the soldiers ordered behind them.

"Psh...fat chance!" Irvine shouted over his shoulder. He glanced back and saw two rows of soldiers forming and guns being raised. "Guns!"

"Turn!" Selphie shouted. Her eyes zeroed in on an up coming corner. "Make a right, people!" she ordered as they reached it. Like a school of fish, the group of four made a sharp right, running into the wall in their haste.

Quistis pushed herself from the wall as soon as Selphie let go of their hands. Just as they turned, a series of gun shots echoed and Qusitis cringed. Irvine was barely missed as he rounded the corner just in time. Bullets sparked off the wall and imbedded themselves in it.

"There's got to be plenty of places to hide!" Zell said as he looked back to make sure Irvine was still right behind him. He turned and looked straight ahead. "Oh, you've got to be kidding..." he groaned.

"Zell!" Selphie shouted as they ran down the empty corridor. "I'd REALLY appreciate it if you'd stop talking now!"

"I second that motion!" Irvine added.

"There they are!" a voice shouted behind him. Irvine looked over his shoulder and swore.

"Move it, people!" he shouted as the familiar sounds of guns being loaded sounded behind him. "Whoa!" A bullet flew by his head and embedded itself in the wall.

"Are we being shot at?" Zell gasped.

Quistis screamed. "Shut up, Zell! Just RUN! We have to get out of here! Hyne, I don't know how to get back out!"

"We'll figure out something!" Selphie added. "Oh...! Why didn't we study those outlines we got from Nida!"

"Dead end!" Irvine yelled as they saw the upcoming wall. "Oh, Hyne!" From the connecting hall in front of them, soldiers skidded to a stop as they caught sight of them.

Quistis' eyes went wide as her heart nearly stopped in her chest. They were being shot at from behind and they were about to be shot out from the front. 'This is it...' She felt her body go numb as a several shots rang out. Then the unexpected happened. The soldiers in front of them fell limply like dolls in front of them. "What the hell?"

Seifer and Squall ran through the halls. "Ah! Damn it!" Seifer swore as grabbed his upper left arm with his right hand. The walls were closing in on them. Or rather, crystals of glowing aqua colors began to protrude from the cement walls. They began to jut out, exploding from the walls and sending little sharp shards into the air.

Minor cuts caused by the shards and the blade sharp crystals decorated their bodies and shreded their clothes as they made there way up the stair well and burst out into the hall way. Squall looked over his shoulder and locked eyes with an empty brown gaze. "Rinoa!"

"She's not Rinoa anymore, damn it!" Seifer growled as he grabbed Squall's arm and tugged him forward before letting him go. "We have to get out of here! If we don't leave now, she'll kill us!"

"I can't leave her..." Squall mumbled as he looked back down the hall. "Seifer..."

The tall blond slowed to a stop and narrowed his eyes. "No fucking way, Leonhart! The others are here and we have to go! NOW!" He growled as he grabbed Squall's jacket as the sound of gun fire sounded further down the hall.

The brunette quickly pulled away from the other man's hold. "Get out of here." Squall hissed behind darkened eyes.

Seifer shook his head. "Sorry, Commander, can't do that-"

"Seifer, take the others and get the hell out of here!" Squall growled furiously as he send a cold, yet pleading look to Seifer. "That is an order!" He pressed on.

Seifer met Squall's gaze with a demanding one. "Don't be stupid! That's not OUR Rinoa down there! That's just some monster-"

"IN RINOA'S BODY!" Squall cut him off. He shook his head and took a step back. "I can't leave her here alone," He insisted behind gritted teeth. "I'm her knight."

"Squall, don't do this-" Seifer said, shaking his head as the sounds of crystals popping from the walls echoed with the distant gunshots.

"I'll try to stop her attacking you guys while you leave," Squall told Seifer, ignoring the Lieutenant's arguments as he began to head back down the hall. "Take the others and get out of here! That is your FINAL order!"

Seifer's eyes widened as his blood froze in his veins. He stared at his commanding officer and narrowed his eyes. "We'll be back for the both of you." he stated blandly.

Squall merely nodded. "You're in charge now." Suddenly, a crystal exploded from the wall, wedging itselve between the two men. Squall lifted a bruised and bloody arm and saluted Seifer stiffly. Seifer barely raised his arm when Squall turned and headed back up the hall.

Seifer shook his head. "Idiot..." he mumbled beneath his breath as he turned back and ran in the opposite direction.

"There they are!" a voice shouted ahead of him. Seifer narrowed his eyes as he caught sight of the soldiers posed to shoot whoever was running in the hall in front of them. Without a second thought, he reached back and pulled out his gunblade.

"I don't think so..." Seifer mumbled and squeezed the trigger.

"What the hell?" a female voice shouted. Seifer narrowed his eyes and swore. He ran into the hall way just as the group of four entered. "SEIFER?"

"We have to get out of here!" Seifer shouted. "Squall ordered an evacuation! Follow me!" He looked over his shoulder as he shot several rounds into the group of soldiers chasing them.

"Where is Squall?" Selphie shouted as they followed the man down the hall way. She turned around as she ran and shot back at the soldiers. She heard a grunt as she got one.

"It's a long story! I'll tell you later!" Seifer shouted. "Hurry up! The exit is up this way!" He shouted as bullets flew by them. "Watch yourselves people!"

"Seifer, you're bleeding!" Quistis shrieked as she noticed the blood running down his arms and staining his shredded shirt. "What happened to your clothes? Seifer-!"

"Trepe!" Seifer growled as he ran along side of her. "What the hell are you doing here? I told you to stay at the base!"

Quistis snorted as she lifted her gun and shot at the soldiers briefly before turning her attention back to him. "Excuse me, SIR! But I don't recall it being an ORDER!"

"Damn it, woman! Next time LISTEN!" Seifer yelled, a hint of amusement in his voice. "You'll get yourself killed at this rate!" They continued to run. "Turn left! The door's at the end of the hall!" he barked.

"I'd rather get killed then see one of my teammates killed and not do anything about it!" Quistis retorted proudly as they rounded the last corner amongst the shower of bullets and flashing lights..

"Careful, Trepe! You sound like you actually care about us!" Seifer smirked to himself as they ran. Quistis smiled brilliantly, keeping her eyes straight ahead of her.

"That's because I do care about you!" Quistis shouted as she ran. "Seifer!"

"WHAT?" he yelled back. Her heart was racing as sweat glistened on her skin. Part of her was shaking, yet she felt unnaturally calm. She had no idea what she was about to say, but she smiled even more and turned to look at him briefly. He looked so concentrated as he ran in perfect motion beside her. Quistis felt her breath cut off briefly. "Well?" he demanded. "It better be GOOD! We're being SHOT at!"

'Oh, it will be,' Part of her thought. Quistis looked up ahead of her at the doors that were just a few steps away. With all the courage she had while riding on her adrenaline wave, she spoke out. "Seifer!" she shouted. "I love you!"

For a moment the world came to a crashing halt as her words reached his ears. A million reasons ran through his head as to why she had said it, but nothing made sense in the haze. Without realizing it, he slowed down and stared at her, shock written all over his usually smug face.

"Seifer! Watch out!" Irvine yelled.

His eyes widened as a searing hot pace shot through his body from his arm. His eyes immediately looked over to Quistis as her sapphire eyes widened and her soft, sweat drenched face paled. "SEIFER!"