As she came to, the first thing Quistis became aware of was that she was itching like crazy. She groaned, attempting to get up and in doing so learning that all her muscles ached as well. She lay back down and, since her eyes seemed to hurt just as much when they were closed as open, took a few moments to examine her surroundings.

She was lying on her back on a metal surface with some sort of cushion beneath her head. Bare florescent lights ran along the ceiling, which was made of the same metal plating that composed everything she had seen of the DSRC. When she strained to turn her head one way or the other, she determined that there was a row of medical beds lined up alongside her, one containing a Galbadian soldier whom he didn't know while a very groggy-looking Zell sat on the other. She was still putting the pieces together when the other SeeD observed her looking at him.

"Hey!" he said. "I was getting kinda' worried about you!"

Quistis' throat felt terrible as well, so she elected not to reply.

"Oh, you're awake," came a voice from beyond her feet, and a Galbadian woman in a medical gown stepped into her field of vision. "Hold on just a moment, please."

The woman reached up to move some sort of mechanical arm with a strange-looking box over Quistis' chest, then tapping in a series of commands on a remote she took from her pocket. The device began to hum, and a moment later a bright blue-white light enveloped Quistis' body, and she felt the familiar tingling of a curative magic spell. The aura seemed to last a little longer than she would expect, but once it dissipated, Quistis felt considerably better, if not quite in peak physical condition.

"I'm sorry about the discomfort," the woman said, swinging the arm out of the way. "But we needed to wait until you regained consciousness on your own before administering the treatment. Your body should be able to recover the rest of the way on its own over the next few hours or so."

Quistis nodded, trying again to raise herself upright. This time, her body was more cooperative, and she swung her legs over the edge of the bed to face Zell.

"I'd ask what happened," she said quietly, "but I'm not sure I want to hear the answer."

"Hey, you're looking at the wrong guy anyway," Zell said. "All I remember is seen' Squall and then it all just faded out."

"You were the lucky one," Quistis said, wincing as she tried to work out a bothersome crick in her back.

"I'll inform Administrator Derrick you're awake," the doctor said. "I'm sure he'll want to meet with both of you right away."

Quistis nodded as the woman moved off to the intercom. After a few words exchanged with the person on the other end of the link, she moved off to attend to one of the other patients and left the two SeeDs to wait, apparently for the Administrator's arrival.

"Man, what was Squall doing, anyway?" Zell asked. "Was he the intruder the whole time? I mean, what d'you think could've gotten into him back there?"

Quistis didn't reply at first. She knew that her memory contained all the pieces she needed to solve the puzzle, but her mind, still dazed, refused to put them together. Only one thought finally managed to force its way to the surface.

"Rinoa," she said softly, her voice near a whisper. "Rinoa was here."

Zell stood completely frozen for a moment as he absorbed the information; then he responded in a considerably more vocal tone. "WHAT?" he demanded, shaking his head vigorously. "Wait...that person...lying on the floor when we...oh, man! Geez, those Galbadian bastards...what d'you think they were —"

"Zell!" Quistis hissed, succeeding in putting an end to his disjointed tirade as the doctor approached once again, this time with a pair of soldiers following behind.

If the woman had heard any of their exchange, her attitude didn't show it. "The Administrator would like to meet along with your entire team in the conference room on Level Three," she said. "I didn't see a problem with releasing you, so long as you don't overexert yourself. These men will show you the way."

Quistis nodded, casting a glance at Zell to warn him against doing or saying anything rash as she slid off the bed and onto her feet.

There were half a dozen soldiers standing guard outside the conference room already when Quistis and Zell arrived; however, the room itself was occupied only by the other six SeeDs. The guards showed them through the door, but also remained outside, leaving the eight of them alone for the time being.

"You guys okay?" Nida asked.

Quistis nodded. "We'll survive." Assuming any of us do, that is.

"You guys have any idea what was going on before?" Irvine asked. "Where's Squall, anyway?"

Any further conversation was cut off by the entry of Administrator Derrick, with Colonel Graize and a quartet of soldiers. "Be seated," he commanded harshly, as the soldiers spread out on either side of him at the head of the table. The eight SeeDs quickly complied. "I've been in direct communication with the office of Lord-General Naraka; and needless to say, he is very concerned about this incident. The actions of your Commander reflect very badly on all of you, and indeed the institution of Garden." He narrowed his eyes. "And given the circumstances, your loyalties are rather suspect as well."

"Hold on a second," said Irvine, holding up his hand. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Yeah!" Selphie chimed in. "And where's Squall? What did you do to him?"

Derrick gave them a very long, harsh glare. "I would warn you not to feign innocence; it will gain you nothing."

"Hey, we're not feigning anything, okay?" asserted Jeck with his typical boistrosity. "I don't know what your deal is, but why don't you tell us what's goin' on before you start with the accusations?"

The Administrator glanced at Quistis and Zell, frowning deeply. "Yes, all the evidence would indicate that you are telling the truth," he said. "But it is hardly credible that not one of you was complicit in his defection from our service and escape with a very dangerous prisoner."

Selphie was the first to recover enough to formulate a response. "Squall did WHAT?" she demanded.

"You're lying, man!" added Irvine. "No way would Squall do something like that unless you guys provoked him somehow!"

"I'll bet you guys have got him locked up downstairs right now," said Jeck, "an' you're just makin' excuses to do the same to us."

"Interesting," said Derrick, frowning. "Your belligerence is hardly becoming of one who would feign innocence, especially considering the penalty you would suffer for aiding the escape of the Sorceress, a known terrorist, from Galbadian custody."

"The who?" Paige exclaimed, before theatrically clapping her hand over her mouth as if her outburst somehow set her apart from her equally stunned companions.

"...Sorceress?" asked Jeck, for once too surprised to make any attempt at wit.

"Woah!" said Irvine. "You mean you guys...you had...she was...the Sorceress is —"

"Be silent!" Graize commanded; but the Administrator's frown had deepened considerably.

"Very interesting," he observed. "You're either very clever or very foolish; and though I still have a good idea which —"

The door to the conference room opened to admit a young man in an administrative uniform similar to Derrick's. "Sir, there's an urgent message from the office of the President," he said.

Derrick nodded. "Very well. I'll take it right away." He then turned and led the Galbadian entourage out of the room, leaving the SeeDs alone again.

After glancing around the room to search for any sort of surveillance device, Nida became the first to break the silence and say something intelligible. "...So I'm guessing 'the Sorceress' is Rinoa, then."

Quistis nodded. "Squall was...Zell and I ran across him trying to escape the facility. Rinoa was with him; and she looked in terrible shape. I didn't know what was going on, and before I could understand, Squall attacked us."

"He WHAT?" Selphie exclaimed. "Why would Squall ever do something like that?"

Nida was frowning.

"This doesn't make sense," said Irvine. "I mean, if I'd known Rinoa was here, I'd...but why do it like this? Why'd he leave us out, and turn on you guys instead of letting us help him?"

Jeck shook his head. "...Man. Guys, you remember all the stories, right? About how Sorceresses bewitch people into turning on old friends and family at the drop of a hat? It's seriously happening. This is unreal."

"Rinoa wouldn't do that!" Selphie protested.

"I think the evidence kind of speaks for itself," said Jeck.

"He wanted me to fight him..." Quistis recalled, her own mind not functioning quite properly when she thought of the event. "He tried to knock us out with Death spells, but when my junctions protected me...he kept telling me to fight back."

"What are we going to do about the Galbadians?" Paige asked. "I mean, what are they going to do with us now?"

"Yeah," added Selphie. "How are we going to get out of here and help Squall and Rinoa?"

"...Help 'em?" asked Jeck. He probably would have said more, but the doors slid open to admit Derrick and his entourage once into the room once again. The Administrator regarded them coldly for a moment, as the SeeDs wrestled with a number of different emotions that were hanging over them.

"The president wishes to retrieve the Sorceress with all due haste," he announced. "He also requires me to assess your loyalties and complicity in this operation, again with haste."

Nida raised his hand. "Uh, question?"

Derrick frowned at him.

"If we were in on Squall's actions, why would we still be here awaiting judgment? Wouldn't we have been trying to make sure his action succeeded, and then ran off ourselves?"

"Perhaps you wish to deflect the responsibility from your Garden by attempting to convince us that this was an independent action," said Graize.

"An independent action by the leader of our SeeD force?" Nida asked. "No one would believe that, right?" He shrugged. "Which is kind of ironic, really, because it's actually the truth. See, Squall has...a personal connection to the Sorceress, and really it's been compromising his judgment for a while now."

Quistis, along with many of the other SeeDs, gave Nida quite a surprised look.

"I know we're not supposed to speak out against our Commander," he continued, "but now he's put Garden's reputation on the line." He gave Graize a very solemn look. "SeeD doesn't turn on its employers. And to prove it...we'll help you track down the Sorceress. And Squall."

"What?" Selphie demanded.

"Man, are you kidding?" concurred Irvine.

Quistis, however, was struck by an insight. "...He's right," she said, nodding to Nida. "SeeD will fulfill its contractual obligations, regardless of circumstances. Squall has gone rogue, and it's our job to track him down and subject him to disciplinary action."

The others now looked at her with similar expressions of disbelief, but she rewarded them with a very harsh keep-quiet glare.

"Administrator," Graize hissed, giving a very distrustful look to the SeeDs. Derrick turned to the man, and the two exchanged a muted conversation that Quistis could not quite make out.

It wasn't long before Irvine took to a similar vocalization. "Hey, what's going on with you two?" he whispered. "If these guys had Rinoa here — and Hyne knows what they were doing to her — we should be out there helping Squall, not tracking him down for these bastards!"

"There's only one good explanation for why Squall didn't tell anyone what he was going to do," said Nida in an equally hushed tone. "...well, maybe two; but the way I see it is, he wanted to make sure we would all escape the blame. The best thing we can do is play along."

"As long as we're on this facility, we're at the Galbadians' mercy," Quistis said. "Squall might have caught them off guard once, but we'd be better off pretending to work with them until we find our way someplace where we can escape more easily."

Irvine shook his head slowly. "...I still don't like this," he muttered.

"Challenging them here won't get us anything," Quistis reminded him. "Please, just go with us on this."

Derrick turned back to face the SeeDs, fixing them with another harsh gaze. "There is significant cause to doubt your sincerity," he said, "considering the circumstances. However, I am under imperative from Deling City to recover the Sorceress as quickly as possible, through whatever means at my disposal. That includes you. Therefore, you will prepare to depart this facility and pursue Commander Leonhart with the intent to apprehend him and the Sorceress, so that she may be returned to us and he prosecuted for this outrage." His tone became harsher. "Your actions will be observed. One hint of betrayal, and I will classify you all as enemies of the state of Galbadia and recommend that you be killed on sight."

Quistis nodded curtly. "When do we leave?"

"Colonel Graize will coordinate your activities." Derrick turned and left without any further ceremony.