A/N: Thank you guys for your support. =D I really hope that I don't let you guys down. I'm also hoping that you like what direction I've decided to take, and that I'm staying pretty true to the characters.

Review if you want. =)

Quistis hastily wiped away her tears. She was teetering dangerously on the edge, close to losing what little control she had left.
"Did he just say 'Syracuse'?" Zell muttered, squinting at the other blonde man. "Why would he say that?"
The innocent words were enough to undo her. A quiet sob was the only prelude to the tall woman abruptly leaving the room.

Seifer looked up, watching her walking away, unable to ignore the look of complete agony on her face. He had known that this was hard for her to swallow, but why was she this upset over him? As far back as he could remember he had been the cause of most of her problems. Well, maybe not most, but a fair few of them. Point being that he couldn't recall the last time he had actually made her smile.

Despite his best efforts, he was unable to deny that he missed her presence. Even though it made things a little bit tougher on his end, he at least liked the thought of having more than just Raj and Fuu wanting him alive. Exhaling, he leaned back, allowing the man with gloved hands to strap him into the strange bed.

Quistis stared into the basin of the sink, attempting to calm herself. Taking a deep breath, she glared up into her own reflection. She had already made her decision. All that was left was actually carrying it out.

"I've got nothing left to lose, right?" Her words were brutally fierce. She had to convince herself; there could be no doubt.

Gritting her teeth, she pushed herself away from the sink, leaving the bathroom with quick and steady steps.

Her mind was already planning out every last detail, laying out a clear and nearly flawless plan. There were many things that could go wrong. That was something that she would worry about when she came to it.

The D-district prison was one of the best guarded facilities in all of Gaia. It was a damn good thing that Quistis was one of the best SeeD that existed. Never mind that she didn't have her whip or even a single spell equipped. It was a mandatory procedure to ensure that none would attempt what she was about to do.

Fortunately for her, the D-district prison, along with the rest of the world, put little store by the abilities of mages. It was probably due to the rarity of them these days.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to decide the best spell to use.

"Shockwave Pulsar or Ultra Waves?" Closing her eyes, she prepared herself to unleash her own version of hell upon the only thing separating her from her goal: one thick wall.

Seifer closed his eyes, able to hear the gloved man picking out three different vials. First, he would be given an anesthetic, quickly followed by a fluid that would paralyze him. Lastly, he would be injected with the cocktail of poisons that would send him off to Hyne. God had no need of a man such as him, but Hyne would welcome him with open arms.

His thoughts were cut short by a distant rumbling that grew stronger by the second. His eyes widened. That sound was very familiar. The men nearest the wall that separated the room from the hallway dropped to his knees, covering his ears.

"Fuck, Trepe… Tell me you didn't." he whispered at himself in complete disbelief. The machines nearest the wall started to beep erratically before fizzling out. Next, the wall crumbled violently, sending large chunks flying all over. A few of the large pieces grazed over his leg and head leaving thin trails of blood in their wake.

He grit his teeth, almost unable to comprehend what was going on. He was only vaguely aware of the thick plate of glass shattering and spraying out toward the crowd. Before he could fully grasp the level of devastation and chaos that had been so carefully caused by one little blue mage, he was being released from his restraints and tugged from the table. He hit the ground running, though he knew deep in his heart that this was all completely futile.

Behind him, he swore he could hear Squall shouting commands. It was only a matter of time before they were both gunned down. The worst part of it was that the people who would claim the life of his rescuer were her very own friends.

"Quistis, I don't know what the fuck is goin' on in that pretty lil' head of yours, but this isn't gonna end well… for either of us." His words had obviously fallen on deaf ears, because the only answer he received was her tightening her already vice-like grip on his wrist.

There was definitely shouting behind them now. She made a quick left, which nearly sent Seifer crashing into the wall.

"Watch it, you stupid bitch!" He grumbled at her.

Quistis continued to ignore him and made another quick left before slamming her fist into a button that operated the nearest elevator. Seifer slowed to a stop, thinking they were about to board the fast approaching compartment. He was dead wrong. He was rewarded for his assumption by being jerked back into an all out sprint.

Down two more hallways, a hard right, another left then they stopped at a door labeled "Maintenance" that was next to a button operated chute of some kind.

Taking a deep breath, Quistis released his arm. Yelling and running could be heard from most sides of the prison, and she knew there was very little time left for them.

"Get ready, Almasy. This isn't going to be pleasant, but it's our only way out." Pressing the button, the chute opened and emitted a sickening smell.

"We're going down the garbage chute? You gotta be shittin' me, Trepe."

Her steely gaze was enough to assure him that she was not. "I'll go first. I want you in here the second after I'm in."

He frowned heavily at her. "I don't think so, Instructor. I had a ticket to a painless death back there. I'm not fuckin' that up. I ain't gettin' gunned down like some kinda animal."

Quistis rolled her eyes before forcibly grabbing his wrist and climbing into the chute. "You're coming with me, Almasy. I didn't go through all of this just to have you bitch out at the last minute. Now get the fuck in here."
There was something about the ferocity of her voice and the look in her eyes that made it impossible for him argue. Growling resentfully, he entered the chute, effectively sending them both sliding down through all the muck and left over debris.

A few short moments after they had entered the filthy metal tubing, they were both crashing into each other and a mound of rotting garbage.

Quistis pulled herself shakily to her feet, glancing over at him.
"Good news, Almasy. That wasn't the worst part of this. This is the part where we sit in piles of refuse and wait for most of the security to exit the tower."

Seifer gawked at her in disbelief. "And what the fuck makes you so sure they won't come lookin' for us here?" He was quickly moving from disbelief to anger. Quistis turned away from him, slowly making her way to the center of the vast room. If she remembered correctly, in her copy of 'A Look into D District Prison', they were supposed to empty the garbage storage daily. When that happened, they would have their chance.

Seifer reached out, gripping her shoulder roughly. "I've had about enough of you ignoring me you stupid Ice bitch."

Quistis rolled her eyes. "Really? Well I have had enough of you calling me stupid." Jerking away from his grasp, she crossed her arms over her chest. "For one, the garbage chutes are only supposed to be authorized to accept refuse at certain times in the day. Lucky for us, they weren't supposed to be opening for another hour. That one was obviously malfunctioning. I was going to go through the maintenance room and disable the power. It was a less desirable choice, considering anybody could have turned the power back on. It would have bought us time, but I can't be sure how much." She glanced around the room, forcing herself, not for the first time that day, to breathe through her mouth. "Another up side to this option is that they don't have a reason to have any camera's in this room. I'm mostly sure that my ultra waves knocked most every electrical thing in the prison out of working order. It won't last, but it's bought us enough time to have avoided being recorded in the hallways."
Seifer frowned. "You think it was your wave things that fucked up the garbage thing?" Quistis looked up at him in slight surprise.

"The thought had crossed my mind, but I can't be sure." She chewed at her lower lip, looking up at him. "There's only one thing I'm worried about. It was a factor I thought about before making my decision. I'm really hoping I guessed right…"

"What the hell are you goin' on about now?" he grumbled, sitting down on a mostly filthy waded up sheet.

"Rinoa. If she wanted to, she could find us. She knows enough about her powers to use minor telepathy. It's still weak, according to Matron, but if she had a strong enough connection to the people she's trying to communicate with, it's possible. If she can link with our minds, she had a pretty good chance of finding us." She refused to make eye contact with Seifer as she continued. "I'm banking on her kind nature. Even though what I did was wrong, she won't want us harmed."

Seifer was unsure how he was supposed to deal with that. "You're hoping, fucking hoping, that she won't kill us just because she and I had some summer thing a while back? She sure as fuck wouldn't have a reason to care about your life. Nah, I bet she considers you competition. Doubt she wants to lose Commander Puberty to a golden haired Amazon like you."
Quistis rolled her eyes. "Fuck you, Almasy. I don't want him like that. Not anymore, at least." The last bit was tacked on when she caught the disbelief that was clearly present on his face. "I think I did when we were younger. Despite your thoughts otherwise, I'm no fool. I wouldn't swoon over some boy that obviously had no interest in me."

Seifer chuckled darkly. "If you say so."

"I've seriously had enough of your bullshit, Seifer! What I have or haven't felt for somebody is my business. Now shut the fuck up and focus whatever energy you have left on our escape. We're going to need to run. You'll need every last ounce of whatever fight you have left."

She could feel his eyes on her, almost positive that she could actually feel waves of contempt emanating from where he stood.

"So what's the deal with the heels? And it's gonna be pretty hard to blend in anywhere with that SeeD outfit. I get you had to wear it while representing Garden and all that, but if you were just planning on bustin' me out, it was a poor wardrobe choice."

Quistis laughed bitterly. "It was a last minute decision that I'm starting to regret." She was seriously hoping to avoid this line of questioning. If he kept on this path, they would eventually arrive at a question she would not be able to answer. He was fidgeting atop his mound of filth; she could hear him.

"Why did you come? I mean, really." His tone was steady and lacked all cockyness.

"I guess I just wanted you to know that not everybody in that room wanted you gone." Shrugging, she reached down to her ankle, tugging at the buckle on her annoying, but attractive strappy heels. Seifer's words had reminded her of the idiotic things. After today, she would have no use for them. He sat in silence, watching her carefully as she tossed them in among the rest of the garbage.

"But why do you even want me around?" He wanted to ask why she had bothered shedding tears over him, but couldn't find a way to ask it without sounding melodramatic. Quistis visibly stiffened at his question.

"Because, I know that it wasn't your choice. You can be a real jerk, but you were never a murderer." Clutching her fists, she nearly re-opened her wounds from earlier, she whispered, "And... you're like me. You're the only one I can relate to. We're different, but we're also the same. Neither of us are very good at dealing with people. We can't stand to be wrong. Far as I can tell, neither of us have made great strides in the romance department." Sighing, she sat down, still facing away from him. "When we were little, we were both big mouthed, bossy daydreamers. We've always been the most alike." She glanced back at him. "And the most different."

Folding his hands over his knees, Seifer stared her down. "You're nothing like me, Trepe. You were always better. Though I'd like to argue that I've at least lost my virginity. Got you beat there." He grinned widely when he caught sight of her sapphire eyes widening in shock. "Don't act so surpised, Trepe. You're gonna hurt my feelings." He could hear her snort as she turned her back on him once more.

"I'm not better than you, by the way. I just tried harder. You were just as capable."

Seifer couldn't stand anymore of this seriousness. "So, you not gonna dispute the whole, 'Ice Queen Trepe is a virgin' theory?"

His answer came in the form of a quickly recovered high heeled shoe.