It's been a while. I have nothing to say for myself. Won the challenge with 65991 words altogether.

Please do not kill me for this chapter. I promise another comes soon.

Seifer POV

Squall is slightly ahead of us of course, being the responsible leader he is. The light down here is faint, but it's enough to see Squall's back in front of us and the glint of light from the blade of Lionheart. Quistis won't look at me, keeping her eyes fixed dead ahead, but I can see her solemn face perfectly.

I wish she wouldn't do that. I didn't do anything wrong. I never led her to believe that she had a chance with Squall. Hell, I wasn't sure if I did… Bitterness doesn't suit her.

Squall pauses suddenly in front of us, as if he's suddenly thought of something, his shoulders suddenly stiffening. "What?" Quistis asks, trying to be quiet, but her voice is loud in the stifling silence of the tunnel.

"Something… no, it's nothing." He shakes his head slightly and moves on. Nothing. And yet it was enough to make him pause.

Quistis shares a worried glance with me for just a split second before looking away again. Damn, I am going to get so bored of this. Squall is totally mission focused, and Quistis is focused on avoiding us both as much as possible even though she's in our squad. Fucking boring.

"What sort of nothing?" I ask him, "The sort of nothing that means 'oh, crap, I forgot my gunblade polish', or the sort of 'oh, nothing, the roof is about to fall in but we can't do anything so I'll shut up'?"

I'm curious. So sue me. And I would like to know if the roof was about to fall in, of course. If that is going to happen, to hell with Quistis, I want to do a little more than kiss Squall before I die.

He doesn't answer me, simply keeps going, Lionheart in hand. "Expect trouble soon."

Quistis glances at him, her whip ready in her hand already. "You heard something when we stopped?"

"I wasn't distracted by someone asking stupid questions just now," he says, pointedly, with a glance at me.

What? I only wanted to know if the roof was about to fall in.

"Oh."

I don't even bother with a response.

Squall is right, though. Now we're all silent, I can hear the approaching footsteps, and a few steps later, we drop into ready stances.

The moment the soldiers come into view, we attack.

The battle is quick and virtually silent; all coming to the decision to kill, at least this time. Our three opponents fall easily to whip and gunblades. I drag the bodies into a sitting position against the wall, keeping them out of the way of our feet in case we need to make a hasty retreat later. Squall nods approvingly, his eyes staring through the dim passageways.

"We need to stay quiet," he says, already in motion again, leather creaking softly in the near silence.

Quistis and I follow him, obeying orders, until we reach a fork. For once, I feel no urge to disobey the authority – but then, I know that Squall will take the best possible action. He's one of the best tacticians I've ever known. He takes the left path, trusting the other group to take the right path as he told them.

"I haven't seen hide or hair of anyone since we killed those men," Quistis says quietly, almost nervously.

Squall nods, his jaw firm, carrying Lionheart easily in one hand, despite the weight of it. He doesn't wield it two handed for no reason. "I think we have a long way to go before we're anywhere near the heart of it."

"Fuck, how big can this place be?" I stare at the back of his head, already tired of this damn mission. Hate the silence, hate the almost darkness, hate the awkwardness of Quistis at our side. It'd be better if it was just Squall and me on this mission. But there's a treacherous part of me that even now is refusing to focus on the mission, is longing to press him against a wall and kiss the hell out of him. Just in case the roof is going to fall in.

Or just because I really, really want to.

Maybe I am as irresponsible and unworthy of life as they say. Still, it feels damn good from where I'm standing. He doesn't answer me anyway, but keeps walking, the only sound he makes the soft scuff of his boots and the quiet creak of his leather pants. Why the hell did he want to wear leather, anyway?

Not that I'm complaining. It makes him look fucking hot.

Quistis breaks the silence this time, sounding worried. "I feel… like there's something following us."

Squall snorts, nodding his head. "I know."

Damn smug bastard.

"You think it's the others?"

"No."

"Who, then?"

"I think the reason I wanted Seifer to wait up there is about to catch up with us," he says, softly, barely audible. "I was worried they'd go after Selphie, Irvine and Zell, who wouldn't be ready for it."

I look sharply over at him. Shit, there really was a reason to wait up there? Figures. I thought that maybe he wasn't letting me go along with him because I'd be a distraction or whatever. I guess that was just my ego talking, and I did mess up his plans.

He looks at me, eyes glinting in the dim light, and his mouth curves up into a smile. "It's okay, I suppose I should have told you the real reason. I just wasn't sure who I could trust."

"What?" Quistis spins to look at him.

He nods slightly. "I didn't know how these people were intending to get into Garden. I had to assume that I couldn't trust anyone."

"You can't."

Quistis POV

We all turn to look at the source of that voice. The new SeeD… Medea, and her team, stand there. She motions a few of them forward – the biggest, strongest of the lot, three boys… no, young men – and they lay three bodies on the ground.

It takes a moment for it to sink in. Then it dawns on us.

"Shit!" Seifer says it best, disbelief raw in his voice and the way he stands.

Selphie, Zell and Irvine.

Squall has straightened, his back stiff, his eyes narrowing. "What happened?"

"They attacked us," one of the boys says, disbelief echoed there. "They attacked us."

Medea casts him a look, straightening up to salute Squall, prim and proper. Distractedly, I think that Selphie said that she reminds her of me, but… I suppose I was like that. Probably still am.

He returns the salute, but his eyes are still narrow. "Report."

She drops her arm, standing at attention. "Sir, we were waiting to see if you would come back, but before it was time to go, these three attacked. Just… attacked. They'd been whispering among themselves, but we didn't think they were threatening. They are SeeDs, after all."

She's obviously in some shock about this, and I can't imagine what Squall is thinking. It sounds awful, impossible, but… it makes sense. He knew that treachery was probably afoot, but… Selphie? Irvine? Zell? It doesn't feel right at all.

But the proof is there, in the cuts and bruises on the cadets and the prone figures lying at their feet.

Squall nods to her. "Stand guard here. I'll discuss this… situation with Quistis and Seifer."

One of the young men speaks up, still seeming somewhat in shock. "Sir, do we have to wait here? Shouldn't we take them back outside? To the Ragnarok?"

He pauses, not hesitating, just pauses to think over his choices, and then he nods, "If you must."

The man nods in relief, bending to pick up the slim, limp body of Selphie. I turn my eyes away, unable to see her like that. She was a traitor? It doesn't seem possible.

Squall turns away, and Seifer follows him quickly, a thoughtful look on his face. I watch the SeeDs melt into the darkness beyond the few near lights, and then I turn and follow Squall as well.