"Oh, what an easy life it must be, just to follow orders... "
-Rinoa

COLD-BLOODED TYRANTS

Gilmahn's footsteps hit hard against the pavement as he runs full speed down the road leading into Deling City. The large gatehouse that still stands is directly in front of them. His cape flaps with each passing step as the night hovers above them. The city is well lit from the many street lamps that line the sidewalk. Lights from vehicles and house windows also brighten up the area. Behind him, Rinoa and Squall jog at a much slower pace, trying to keep up with him. They changed from their usual attire into plain brown cloaks, to hide their identities in public, around so many people.

Squall shouts ahead, "You know...for a pretty boy with a heavy cloak, you sure do run fast..."

Gilmahn stops pushing forward with his legs, letting the momentum carry his steps until he slowly comes to a complete stand a bit ahead of the other two. He turns around slowly and points a finger at Squall. "Careful," he says, jokingly, though with a straight face.

"Didn't you say we had enough time for a nice walk and boat trip here?"

Gilmahn frowns as Squall tries to use his own words against him. "Don't blame me. I wasn't the one taking a nice slow stroll checking out every single rock along the way." He turns around again and begins to speed walk down the side of the road.

"He seems grouchy," Rinoa says, giggling a little as she looks at Squall. He just nods and smiles back at her. The large crowd within the city can be heard from far away. The President was no doubt already there, and perhaps starting to speak already. They had lost track of time on their way back. Hopefully the large number of people would make it easy for them to hide amongst everyone else.

Squall moves even closer to Rinoa as the walk, whispering to her, "Don't go far from me."

"Do I ever?" She smiles back, with the usual glow she always had.

"There will probably be SeeD's here. Just don't put your hood down, and neither will I. I don't think they would do anything, but just to be safe."

"Whatever you say, Squall."

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Temoren's evening of reminiscing and drinking cheap alcohol gave way to pointless duty. As he predicted the amateurs from garden arrived a little while later. Two were positioned elsewhere while the last cadet, a guy named Bozros is standing with him. They were both on the roof of one of the taller buildings, looking down at the large crowd below them. Do they even notice us up here? Temoren keeps thinking this to himself as his gaze moves around aimlessly.

hic!

Temoren flinches a little. This cadet was completely and unmistakably trashed, that he would be of no use at all tonight. Sure, he had a drink earlier too, but this one had no class at all. Everytime he speaks, his breath reeks of liquor, and God knows what else. As he kneels on the roof, disgusted at his company he begins to get a familiar feeling. He lifts his head up quickly. He remembered it well. The same sensation he always gets when a sorceress was near. But who would show up here of all places? With all these people? He ducks down, to make himself even less visible to the people on the street, not knowing where this sorceress was, or what her purpose here was.

"Galbadia has seen a period of great growth and prosperity! The nations of the world have been at peace, and all have benefited from this! We must work together, but also work to keep Galbadia strong! And this, I plan on doing!"

The crowd cheers at the President's words. Temoren continues to peek down at the road, going from one side of the roof, to the other, to check all sides and angles. He doesn't seem to be able to figure out where this sorceress is located. He seems to fix his eyes on a certain area within the crowd, towards the back. As he does this, he stands up slowly, until he is fully standing.

"Huuurh. Whatsh up?" Bozros says, nearly stumbling as he moves.

"We have a friend here tonight. And she must be watched."

"Ohhhhh! Where!" His feet flop in every direction as he turns full circle.

"Shh! Don't be a moron." Temoren's voice finally shows a hint of impatience.

"But trouble still stalks our lands. A shadow looms among us. If it is not here by now, it is on its way. The events of years passed are still fresh in the minds of many! I vow to continue working closely with SeeD and the other towns and nations of this world to rid ourselves of the sorceress problem. These cold-blooded tyrants have caused entire nations to crumble from their schemes. They are ruthless and evil, and cannot be trusted. They are the killers of thousands."

These words also get a strong response from the crowd. Even Temoren pays no attention to that part as he keeps his gaze at a certain area of the crowd.

"Watcha lookin' at?"

"Shh. Right there." He crouches a little and points directly into the crowd. Bozros peers around, with a look of confusion, waiting for Temoren to explain further.

"Right there. Lady Rinoa. And her knight, Squall. A shame that they went through all the trouble of coming here, and disguised nonetheless. Only to have it ruined by still standing next to their advisor, who is wearing that hideous red cape that he always does. Excellent job of concealing themselves I must say." He smirks a little at their sloppiness.

"Yer gonna kill em' right?" The drunk asks, anxiously.

Temoren responds slowly and confidently. "No, I am not."

"But ya just heard what he said!" He points down at the large podium below. Temoren looks quickly where his finger points, as if he forgot there was a speech going on.

"We gotta doooo sumthin'!" Before Temoren could say anything back, the drunk begins to climb down the ladder leading from the street to the roof.

"Don't do that! You'll fall you damned fool!" He rushes over to the ladder and pushes his hand out to try and grab the cadet, but he is too late, and Bozros is already halfway down to the street.

"Damnit."

------------------------

Rinoa can only watch in shock as the stiff words of the President reach her ears. How could someone say such horrible things? But perhaps he is right. She begins to think about Adel...and Ultimecia, and so many others. And now she was one of them. But he was wrong. Sorceresses did not have to be like that. She wasn't like that. She didn't even want to be like that. She also began to get an odd feeling in her stomach. An uncomfortable feeling. Perhaps it was part of this sensation that she thought she had heard this speech before...somewhere.

"We shouldn't stay long." Gilmahn says, whispering to Squall.

"Just a bit longer, what could happen?"

Even though Squall wasn't usually the social type, Rinoa can tell that he misses being able to walk into towns often. So much of his freedom has been taken away...because of her. She did not like to think about it, but it seems so obvious sometimes, she thinks to herself.

"SeeD's on the roof coming down here, that's what."

Squall looks around, trying to figure out what he is talking about, then spots two SeeD members coming down a ladder. One the way down one of them falls off the ladder and onto the pavement. Luckily for him, he was only a few steps from the ground anyways. He rebounds quickly and begins to move into the crowd. Squall becomes alarmed at this, as he is coming directly in their direction. "Alright."

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"Bozros!" He saw the drunk push into the crowd, but loses him shortly after that. "Don't go over there!"

Temoren sighs heavily, and then pushes in the same way that the other one had. "Excuse me..." He bounces against one person, to the next. He passes the spot where lady Rinoa had been standing. He figures that they spotted them, or Bozros had chased them off already. He pulls out his gun and holds it firmly in his hands, trying to make sure it doesn't go off while he rushes through the crowd.

He looks helplessly from one side of the street, to the other. There are so many alleys and roads, he thinks to himself, completely unsure of which one his drunken friend ran down.

"Why me?"

-------------------

Gilmahn pants loudly as he stops his run from the main road down a small alley. The other two are directly behind them, and also stop to catch their breath. Rinoa frowns at the situation, and Squall just looks completely disgusted.

"Did we lose them?" She asks, looking at the two men.

"I guess...do they have to be so annoying?" Gilmahn tugs a little at his cloak nervously.

"Well, I guess the party is over, we should get back out of here." Squall rolls his neck, and it cracks a little.

"Damned witch!" The shout comes from out of a nearby shadow. A SeeD cadet comes charging out with his sword drawn, holding it straight in front of him. He holds the sword like a fool, but dangerously nonetheless. Squall reaches for the handle of his own blade, but realizes it is too late and he throws himself between the SeeD cadet and Rinoa. The sword hits Squall. It doesn't penetrate his midsection, but it takes a chunk of flesh off of his side, right below the ribs. He winces from the pain and falls to his knees, and then to the ground.

Rinoa gasps as she looks in shock at what has happened. Gilmahn takes advantage of the situation and holds onto the cadets shoulders and throws him backwards. His impact with Squall and his drunken state makes him fall quickly, his balance in poor shape. Gilmahn then moves swiftly over to the fallen cadet and he slams his foot against his chest, holding him down. He draws his scimitar from his side and points it down at the intruder. "Don't."

The cadet ignores the warning and reaches out for his sword, which fell to the ground a few feet away, while trying to push Gilmahn's leg off at the same time. Annoyed by this, Gilmahn sweeps the blade down at the cadet. He stops moving and struggling instantly. Gilmahn looks down at his bloody sword, completely surprised by his own behavior. He moves his leg from the cadets chest and turns around, still with the same look on his face. Rinoa stops her attention to Squall, also looking up at her friend in shock. Eventually he returns back to his serious expression, and says bitterly, "That's why we don't linger."

They both turn their attention down to Squall. He is bleeding from the large gash that ripped into his flesh, but is still breathing, and his eyes are open, moving around slowly. Gilmahn kneels down to the fallen knight and looks at the wound briefly. "Not life threatening as long as we get it cleaned and bandaged. Which is not the thing to do right here next to a dead body."

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Temoren hears a scream down one of the alleyways. Was it Rinoa? It did not matter, that was his only clue to where they might have gone. He keeps his pistol held out, a little more enthusiastically now since he is away from most of the crowd. He begins to jog quietly down the alleyway. It would be a bad idea to alarm them further by running with his boots on. He looks down the alley to see a body on the ground, barely visible due to the lack of lighting there. He moves quickly and begins to see more clearly, a man with a SeeD uniform.

He angrily mouths words to himself as he looks upon the sight, tightly closing his eyes. What the hell did they just do? Both Bozros and whoever slew him. Did Squall do this?

Things got too crazy, but he was too late to put his foot down.