Final Fantasy VIII: An Afternoon Eulogy for the City in the Trees

"Hey, partner!" Zell plopped down, shaking the table. On each side, Raijin and Fujin stopped eating to stare.

"It's too early for your antics." Seifer didn't bother looking up from his newspaper. "Go away."

Zell picked up a muffin off the plate in the center of the table and juggled it back and forth. "Didn't you hear what I said?"

Seifer rolled his eyes. "I did, but the reality of it is too horrific for me to contemplate." Raijin and Fujin stared back and forth between them, silent, watching as Zell proved he had no table manners at all.

"Come on, give me a break." Crumbs flew to land on the table; Fujin pulled her plate closer to her. "You said they'd never pair us up last week. I should've bet you money, so I'd be a rank above you and rich."

"Fine, you've had your chance to gloat—please leave." Seifer looked back to his paper. He hoped Quistis Trepe met the business end of a T-Rexaur on her next trip through the Training Center. There was no telling what she had been thinking when she partnered he and Zell together. Or maybe that was the point.

"Uh uh, can't," Zell said. "We have a mission." He went to take another muffin; Seifer smiled behind his paper when Fujin raised an eyebrow and set Zell's hand to a fast retreat.

Seifer folded the paper up and set it down. "Well, if we're going on a mission, what is it?"

"I don't know." Zell kept eyeing the muffins and Fujin in turn. "They sent Squall to my room to tell me. We're meeting at the gate at nine hundred for briefing."

"Squall?"

"Yeah, it'll be almost like the field exam," Zell said. "Pretty cool, right?"

"Aggravating." Fujin scraped a fork across her plate.

"Man, boss, I'm sorry." Raijin had taken the paper; it rattled as he shook it as Zell, like scolding a dog. "You don't get in Seifer's way!"

Zell laughed. "When have I ever gotten in his way? It's not like anyone can get ahead of him, with his gigantic ego in—"

"Is that all?" Seifer already saw Fujin tensing and that was just what they didn't need. Their old habits would have to change with Zell a SeeD and Fujin and Raijin just cadets. "If not, this is a private meal."

Zell bounced up. "Okay, but don't be late! The briefing starts at exactly nine hundred hours!" Seifer heard Fujin exhale after Zell rounded the corner to the exit, well away from hearing her.

"Pest," she said in answer to his gaze, shrugging.

"Man, Squall and Zell." Raijin stared after Zell. "What rotten luck."

Seifer had to agree. When he had been called to see Quistis, he had expected to be partnered with one of the cadets that had only made it to rank five. When she had told Seifer he would form a team with Zell he hadn't had any words to give her, snide or otherwise. Everything in his life was unexpected these days.

Quistis being promoted above the zone was another thing. She hadn't even been an instructor that long—Seifer had been thrilled at the idea of escaping her class and now he would be answering to her. Being outranked by Dincht was another slow burn. Neither Raijin nor Fujin had mentioned it all week, which meant they knew it was pissing him off. A partnership with Zell wasn't making him feel any better and now here was their first mission, come to call.

"How come Squall's partner isn't going? I thought that was kinda the point, you know?" Raijin asked.

"He doesn't have one." Seifer stared at his half-empty plate, appetite gone. "They're apparently interviewing the last four SeeDs to find out how to match them."

"Well, funny they're sending him on a mission, right?" Raijin shrugged and stabbed at his eggs with his fork.

Seifer considered it. "If they're sending him without a partner, it must mean it's an easy mission." He sat back in his chair. "And if what I heard about Cid's speech at the ball is true, it means that—" He rolled his eyes. "For crying out loud, it means they're putting Dincht in charge."

Fujin and Raijin stared again. Fujin finally spoke after a few seconds. "Not you?"

"Highest ranked SeeD calls the shots most all missions since two terms ago." It hurt to say it because damn, that should've been him.

Raijin snorted. "You qualify for the written rank test after three missions." He grinned, wide and pleased. "We'll help you study, so you'll be able to pass him."

Seifer shrugged. "Not sure I'd stay above him long. It doesn't seem likely he'd let himself lose that bragging right."

"We'll help, anyway." No point in arguing when Raijin had that set to his shoulders. "When you get back from whatever this is."

"Hurry." Fujin pointed toward the large clock on the cafeteria wall, showing his time ticking down. He shoved away from the table, wondering if the fact that his first mission was with his two least favorite people was a bad omen for the rest of his career.

"Good luck, boss!" Raijin's voice trailed with him as he left. He didn't look back.

It didn't take long to grab his stuff, and Seifer was on his way to the gates within an hour. He had a feeling he knew what mission this was, and he couldn't decide how he felt about it. He headed out into bright sunlight, Garden all around, serene plants and flowing water and calm—Timber wouldn't be anything like this.

Seifer had timed it well with his packing; he was last to the gates. He ignored the stares from the invisible eyes as he approached. Cid was having a low conversation with one, words too muffled for him to hear, face strained.

Neither Zell or Squall looked up—Zell was batting at the air with his fists, back to everyone and Squall was staring off into the distance. It was both extremes of incompetence; caring too much and not caring enough. Seifer shoved the bitterness to the side.

"Ah, Seifer." Cid stepped into the rough circle formed by their bodies. "Everyone's here now." He paused as a faculty member handed him a packet of papers. "Welcome to your first mission." He unfolded one of the sheets. "You'll be traveling to Timber to support a resistance faction there. You'll be met at the train station by one of the members." Cid paused, frowned down. "When he speaks to you, simply reply with 'but the owls are still around' and you will be taken to their leader."

Timber. Of course.

Seifer crossed his arms. What the hell is she trying to do? "Support?"

The faculty member to Cid's left shifted, robes whispering across concrete. "Yes. Just do whatever the faction says. That is your mission."

Zell rocked on his heels. "Why just us? If it's a resistance, shouldn't we take a whole bunch of people in? I mean, this is Timber, right?"

Seifer wasn't sure how a pile of robes and funny headgear could look disapproving, but they managed it. "The resistance specifically requested a low number of SeeD operatives. Normally, we decide based on the request for assistance, but they are paying us very little money, so their request is—"

"That's no matter." Cid stepped in front of the faculty member. Seifer could only raise an eyebrow at the rebuff. He was too used to Cid getting led around by the ear—maybe he was different around SeeDs.

When Cid held the papers out to him, Seifer could only stare at them. They trembled with Cid's hand. He shot a quick look toward Zell, who only frowned, and took the papers—there weren't many. He placed them in a inner pocket of his coat. It only meant one thing, and Seifer had to resist the urge to smile.

"You are squad leader, Seifer." Tired eyes pinned him, through smudged lenses. "Use your best judgment. Squall and Zell, please do your best to support Seifer and carry out the faction's goals."

"Your train tickets will be waiting for you. Good luck." One of the faculty members watched them for a moment that went on too long, and Seifer stared back, seeing nothing but ugly fabric. He felt creeped out, as usual when faculty was anywhere near him.

The papers were awkward in his pocket. He had no idea what was going on—it should have been Zell as the squad leader, not him. He wasn't sure how he felt about being chosen over the SeeD with the higher rank, especially when he didn't know why. He couldn't ask, not now, as he watched Cid and the faculty members depart. What the hell did Rinoa tell them?

"Hey, man." Zell stepped forward, held out his hand. "Just wanted to say—"

"No need to say it. I accept your apology for getting so arrogant." Zell tugged his arm back.

Zell flushed. "What the hell, I'm not apologizing for anything! I was going to say congra—"

"Don't bother." It didn't matter to Seifer why Cid had chosen to give him command—all that mattered was it meant he didn't have to listen to Zell whine or boss him around. "If we hurry, we can get to Balamb before the last morning train leaves. Don't slow us down, Dincht."

Zell just glared at him, fist clenched. Seifer didn't bother watching him try to keep his temper—his day had suddenly started looking up.

"There's only one rule," he said. "Do whatever I say."

"Man, you can't do that." Zell kicked at a rock, and Seifer watched it bounce ahead of him. He was annoyed that outgoing teams couldn't take a car to town, but he had thought an hour ago he would be spending an unknown amount of time with Zell as his superior—nothing was going to bring him down now.

"In case you missed it, they made me the squad leader." Seifer was pleased; he would be able to rub the whole thing in Zell's face the entire mission, and the way Zell had looked before, Seifer had a feeling it'd sting for a good long while after the mission, too.

Zell grabbed his pack. "I'm going to run ahead and see my mom before we leave! I'll meet you at the train station."

"Oh, perfect," Seifer said. "Remember to pick up your feetie pajamas."

Zell flipped him off before running on, and Seifer snorted. "His mom." He crossed his arms as he and Squall headed out of the gate. "Stuck on a mission with a mama's boy and a mute. Perfect."

"We might be gone awhile."

Seifer turned his head to stare at Squall. "So he can speak. I was wondering if you were ever going to talk to me again. Guess you get kind of bashful when you stand a guy up."

Squall shrugged. "Quistis made me complete the GF exam before the field test."

"That's okay. You would've lost if we had dueled, anyway."

"It's just practice," Squall said.

Seifer marveled that Squall always sounded bored about everything. "Says the one who missed the duel; it's fine. I don't like winning by default, but I'll take what I can get."

Squall looked as if he might say something, and Seifer almost asked, but caught himself before he could. The walk to Balamb wasn't that long—he didn't need any amusement, anyway.

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

>

Balamb was crowded with tourists, but the trip to the train station was uneventful. Zell wasn't waiting for them, and Seifer wasn't going to wait around for him, either.

Seifer remembered how SeeD had been treated on the train services before Timber fell to the Galbadian army: food service, special cars, private rooms for all squad members. When Timber had fallen for good last summer it had ended—Garden hadn't wanted SeeD members to stand out anymore. Other teams complained about it; he wondered if any of the teams that did so would sing a different tune if they had been in Timber when the Owls had given in.

Seifer knew he hadn't forgotten the SeeDs he had watched murdered.

In the booth ahead of him, a baby was screaming, drowning out the murmurs of the other passengers. It wasn't that crowded, and Seifer and Squall had a booth to themselves. Seifer tossed his feet up on the seat across from his and leaned back to stare out the window. "He better not miss the train and make us look like fools."

Squall didn't reply.

It was like a jinx even mentioning him; he was jostled as Zell plopped down on the seat beside him, a plastic bag rattling in his fist.

Zell only gave him a look before rolling his eyes. "Shut up. It's food from Ma, so don't make any stupid cracks."

"The trip isn't that long, did she think you were going to starve before we got to Timber?"

"You really don't know how to be nice, do you, man?" Zell stuffed his food and his bag under his seat. "It's my mom."

"Oh, yes, a mommy to bake us tasty treats," Seifer said. "That's what every good SeeD needs."

"Maybe if you had one you'd be less of an ass." Zell turned away to look at Squall. "You think Timber is as bad as they say?"

Squall shrugged. "I don't know anything about Timber."

Seifer rolled his eyes, but wasn't surprised. Squall didn't seem to care about anyone but himself; the likelihood of him knowing anything outside his bubble seemed slim.

"Oh, yeah, I guess you didn't take that elective last term." Zell looked at Seifer. "You were in it, though, right?"

"Yes, but it was a joke." Seifer had run out of practical courses after he failed the SeeD exam the second time; he had picked up elective after elective so he could stay on the Disciplinary Committee. Of all the ones he had ever taken, the history course on Timber had been the worst.

"How so?"

"Xu didn't check her facts." Seifer didn't bother sharing anything more; in a few hours they'd all get to meet a little slice of history that the course had left out.

"Well, anyway, last summer the last rebel group finally fell to the Galbadian army, giving Galbadia complete control," Zell said. "A lot of people get confused because Timber's been occupied for a long time. I heard it was bad before, but it's supposed to be worse now."

Squall just stared. "Then who are we helping?"

Zell shrugged. "Don't know! Seems weird there'd be another rebel group after what happened to the last. Everything I've read said they were all gone."

"Excellent reasoning, Dincht," Seifer said. "Because they all go around advertising themselves so people can come to weekly mixers."

Zell flushed. "Well, I don't know everything about it! The last group to fall was the Owls, right, the big core group fueling all the others? I haven't been able to find much else."

Seifer didn't respond, and above their heads the intercom crackled, announcing departure. Beside him, Zell bounced.

"This is pretty damn awesome," Zell said. "This train goes underwater and everything!"

Seifer raised an eyebrow. "This train has been here for years. Are you really that hard up for excitement in your life?" He smirked. "Guess I shouldn't expect a chicken to take risks."

"Would you stop calling me that? I am not a fucking chicken!" Zell took a swipe with his fist at the air by Seifer's head. He lowered his voice when a few other passengers turned to stare at him. "Are you going to be this way the entire mission?"

Seifer didn't answer. Under him, he felt the train pulling forward, three quick jerks and then momentary vertigo as the train gained speed. Outside the windows, light was replaced with muted shadows as they entered the tunnel. Squall yawned and leaned forward and Seifer ignored Zell's constant foot tapping from beside him as best he could.

The train ride wasn't more than a few hours, but it was stretched out by a long stop in Dollet. Seifer didn't have a clue what Rinoa was paying Garden, but it couldn't be much.

The closer they got to Timber, the more curious he was. He had followed the news coming out of Timber for months. He had to be a little impressed at how Rinoa had kept the Owls together, even if he did think she had done it by waving her trust fund at them. He wondered if any of the other groups had held on after the fall, but doubted it. They were all smart enough to give up the fight. Seifer had thought a year ago that all their talk of surrendering had been the coward's way out, but he knew better now.

"There used to be more trees." Zell frowned out the window.

Seifer looked up from the magazine he had grabbed out of the rack and followed Zell's gaze out the window. Seifer had never bothered looking at pictures of how Timber used to be before the last war, trees everywhere, wilderness practically leaking into the city.

The trains slowed a few seconds later, jarring the car. Across from Zell, Squall jerked up and looked around.

"Have a nice nap, princess?" Seifer tossed the magazine down on the seat.

Squall blinked at him and Zell in turn. "Fine."

Zell stood up as soon as the train stopped, grabbing his stuff from under his seat. "All this waiting around is killing me. I want to go do something."

"Not likely," Seifer said. He grabbed his knapsack as he stood up. "There's mandatory curfew after three; unless they want to risk getting us all arrested we'll likely be down until tomorrow."

Zell darted to the right and barely missed a suitcase to the head as people pulled luggage from the overhead compartments; the couple he bumped into turned around to glare at the group. "Sorry, sorry," Zell said. "I guess it's okay, though? There'll be a briefing at least and we can talk about pounding on things."

"Why don't you talk about it a little louder, moron?" Seifer rolled his eyes and shoved past the couple blocking the way. He heard Zell behind him as he walked away, apologizing again. It was all a big adventure for Zell; Seifer knew what to expect and it wasn't much. The smell of the city was already floating through the open door down the hall, acrid air and the tang of smoke, the flavor of Timber.

When he stepped off the train and looked around, he expected to see Watts and the stupid hat he always fiddled with. He was surprised to find Zone instead, crouching on the ground playing dice with a group of kids. A few yards away, two soldiers stood framed by posters of Deling himself. They were talking—just as well. Being in a large group was taboo these days, Seifer thought, and walked forward along wet, slimy cobblestones, hoping Squall and Zell were following. He was the captain, not a babysitter.

The kids darted off before Seifer even got close. The loose soles of their shoes smacked against the stone as they headed in the opposite direction from the soldiers, giggling and pocketing money. Zone stayed crouched down, back to the passengers pouring out of the train, head bowed.

Zell appeared beside Seifer, wrinkling his nose. He kicked at a leaking bag of trash on the ground. "Hey, so where's this guy we're supposed to—hey, what the hell was that for?" He glared as Seifer pulled his elbow back.

Seifer lowered his head. "Stop running your damn mouth. The soldiers don't need much of a reason to detain anyone. Guess you failed that class if you don't remember that groups over five aren't allowed anymore." He turned away. "Don't speak. I'll tell you both when you can talk."

"You can't—"

"Captain's orders." Seifer smirked as Zell's face flushed, but he dropped back.

"Seifer?" Zone had turned around during his exchange with Zell. He stood up slowly, eyes darting between the train and Seifer, as if he couldn't believe he was there.

"I can tell you're happy to see me."

Zone shot a quick look over his shoulder; another soldier had joined the pair. Seifer kept his eyes on them even as Zone turned around. "I guess—well, you know the password."

"Yeah, and you're a fool for not changing it." Seifer looked back. "If Rinoa doesn't know any better than to throw that word around, I thought you and the other half of your brain would."

Zone rubbed his neck and looked down. He jumped at the scrape of metal on metal as the train departed, eyes flitting around the area. "You saw the kids?"

"Yeah, they went right, down the alley," Seifer said.

"You should go down that way, to the house with the blue door." Zone shifted on his feet. "Knock twice, pause, and then knock once. They'll let you in."

"You're not going?"

Zell's voice was lower, at least, but Seifer turned his head to stare at him anyway. He waited a few seconds and said, "When did I say you could talk?"

Zell kicked the ground with his foot and looked at Squall, who only shrugged and crossed his arms.

"I've gotta stay here," Zone said. "It'll be fine; it's not hard to find the place, and it'll look suspicious, anyway." He grimaced. "We think they're going to force smaller groups soon, as if five isn't enough." He shot a quick look over his shoulder "Better go now before the rest of the crowd breaks up. They'll stop you if they think you're doing anything besides asking for directions."

"Fine." Seifer didn't have any desire to be detained and not only because it was a waste of time. He hefted his stuff and headed away from the courtyard, keeping his eyes straight ahead.

Seifer remembered Timber looking rough, beaten down by time and war, but it was worse than it had been last year. Streets and buildings had hunks of stone clipped out of them, weeds grew in green and brown patches through cracks in the paved stones, and soggy trash was lying everywhere. He stared at a crisp poster on a wall as they passed, the picture of Vinzer Deling prominent. Seifer ignored the words; it was the same as any other year. Deling was no more a savior than Seifer was the commander of Garden.

"Is it always so bad here?" Zell was beside him again, looking at the houses they passed, much of the brick work stained with smoke. "I didn't think—I mean, we learned—"

"Can't get everything out of a book, genius." Seifer didn't call him on the talking; he was feeling it, too. The high-pitched squeaks of unseen rats followed them down a street that Seifer only recognized for the shape of it. The last time he had been here, the rows of flags hadn't been here, gracing every house front. He stared at more posters pinned to walls, announcing dates and times for house examinations and upcoming raises on taxes. The taxes weren't new, but some of the numbers made Seifer sick to see.

"Blue door." Zell pointed to the left.

"I know where we're going," Seifer said, "so stop ignoring my order and close your mouth."

"How do you—" Zell rolled his eyes, but shut up.

The steps up to the house were cracked, but the door was a fresh, vibrant blue. Had the sense to change their password, Seifer thought. He tapped out the code with a knuckle. There was rustling, and then laughter as the door cracked open. It hovered for a second and then spread wide.

"Seifer," Watts said.

He hadn't changed much to Seifer's eyes—he looked thinner. "Are you going to invite us in or do we just stand here until the soldiers come by?"

Watts moved out of the way. "Still a jerk, I guess."

"Oh, what, you're still going to refuse to treat me with the respect you do Zone?" Seifer wiped his shoes off on the many floor mats scattered around the entryway, and Zell and Squall followed suit, and the noise covered up Watts' reply.

"Something smells awesome," Zell said. He sniffed at the air, like a starving dog, as if he didn't have food in his bag.

"Are you always hungry?" Seifer asked. "You keep eating like that and you're going to get even slower."

"Screw you, Seifer."

Seifer laughed. "Screw you, Captain," he said, and looked at Squall. "Goes for you, too. Curse me all you want, but you better remember who's in charge."

"Not like you'll ever let us forget." Zell said it to the floor as Watts stepped out of the foyer and into the hallway behind.

"Come on, we've been waiting. We try not to stay in the house much." As he walked through the hall he closed the doors that were open, and tossed back an apologetic look. "No offense, or anything, but it'll be better if no one sees you. Safer for them. Guess you saw how Timber looks now."

"I saw enough." They followed Watts down the hallway and through the kitchen. The ceiling was low and the wood floor scarred, but it was clean. A woman was working at the stove and looked up as Watts stopped. It took Seifer a minute to recognize her, but he was finally able to put a name to the face. She looked ten years older than she had the last time he had seen her, and her hair had been darker then, he thought.

"Those your secret weapons?" She continued to press her knife against the vegetables in front of her.

Watts grinned. "Yeah."

"Guess if Rinoa thinks it'll work, might as well try." She shrugged and dumped some bright orange chunks of carrots into the pot. "Name's Rosa. Former chief of the Timber Wolves."

"That's original," Seifer said.

She stopped and turned fully to stare at him. "I know you." She rested her elbow on her hip, knife flashing in the light. "Finally decided to show your face again, have you? Got that fancy title you were after and come back around to clean up your mess?"

"Rosa, not now." Watts shuffled his feet. "It's not important. They're SeeD!"

Rosa shrugged and turned her back on them. Watts sighed and then continued through a door that led to the pantry. Their feet traveled from wood to stone as they followed Watts in. Watts crouched over a large slab and hit it four times, and then stood back. "Can't get in from up here," he said. "You have to knock, and then they'll lift the rocks out of the way."

"Don't they do searches?" Squall asked. Seifer was surprised he even cared.

"Yeah, but they don't know about this yet." Watts jumped as the rock he had tapped jumped once, and then was shoved up completely. Seifer backed away, shoving Zell as he went and ignored his complaints.

"Hey!" A man Seifer didn't recognize popped his head up. "Wow, so it's SeeD. Thank the stars, I thought the Princess was going to talk my ear off."

"I heard that!" Rinoa's voice was small, and coming from a distance. Watts motioned them toward the hole.

"There's a ladder a few feet down," Watts said.

Seifer stared at the hole. "Dincht, you first."

Zell gaped at him. "What! Why me?"

"You're so clumsy, I don't want you falling on me trying to follow. You wouldn't want to be responsible for injuring your captain, would you?"

"I so would!" Zell plopped down on the floor and slid into the hole, annoyance making him jerky in his movements. "In fact, I hope I get a chance really soon, you asshole!" He dropped, and Seifer smiled as Zell cursed his way to the bottom.

Seifer followed after Squall; the ladder wasn't sturdy and the wet smell of soil hit him as he dropped through the hole and passed down, crossing the threshold of the ceiling. He was glad to see the bottom when it approached.

"Seifer!"

Seifer let go of the rungs just in time to get jumped, Rinoa's scrawny arms wrapping around him. She smelled like dirt and vanilla, and after a few seconds he pushed her back by the shoulders. "A week isn't that long, Princess."

She laughed. "Shut up with the name."

Rinoa backed away into the room, letting Seifer get a good look at it. Pipes ran zigzag across the ceiling, curving around support columns that dominated the middle of the room. The stone walls were plastered with old newspapers, but it was clean enough, and it didn't smell like a garbage can, so Seifer figured as a hideout, it didn't completely suck.

But there were only four people here, five counting Zone. Eight with SeeD—what was Rinoa thinking? The Owls Seifer remembered were like roaches, always multiplying, people leaking in from other factions to be next to the leaders that would carry them to Timber's freedom. Seifer rocked on his feet on the uneven floor. He supposed watching one leader murdered as a spectacle killed the rebel spirit.

Rinoa was all cheer, maybe too much. "You're later than I thought you'd be. We were starting to get worried."

"You didn't give Garden enough money to buy us first class tickets," Seifer said. "You know the rest of the team already."

"Yeah! Hi." She held out her hand to Zell and Squall in turn. She grinned at Squall, cozy and familiar—like old friends. It was almost laughable to imagine Squall with friends. But it wasn't a surprise. Squall would be someone Rinoa would like, just another project, another person to fix. "I'm sorry to say we won't need your dance skills any time soon."

Squall shrugged. "I'll do whatever you tell me to do."

Rinoa motioned them into the room. "Come on, we'll catch you up; we have a whole lot of work to do tomorrow."

Seifer stepped around boxes littering the floor as he followed her. "Has Timber been this bad for long?"

Rinoa led them to the center of the room, the wide area between two support columns holding a scarred table. She pointed them toward chairs and brought out a box from the floor. "Yeah, pretty much. Things didn't really improve after you left."

"What's with the password you gave Cid?" Seifer watched Rinoa unload the contents, fancy electronics forming a pile. "Didn't think you would still be using that word after what happened."

"Watts and Zone don't want to." Rinoa moved the empty box back to the floor. "We can't let Deling and his cronies take away our identities, too."

"Smarter than getting killed."

Rinoa frowned. "You used to think we could do anything. What happened?"

"Did you miss the part where I got shot? You watched it happen, even gave me the intelligence." Seifer flipped the chair out and sat down. "Oh, wait, that was Watts, wasn't it?"

Rinoa flushed, but the look she gave Seifer was cold. "We didn't mean for it to happen. It was in the butt, anyway. At least you didn't get shot in the head."

The room fell quiet but for the tap of Zell's chair on the stones, and even that faded as he realized the Owls were staring at them. Zell looked around and then back toward Seifer. "What are they even talking about?"

"He was here, sir. Last summer." Watts spoke up from his table in one of the corner. He smirked at the other team member, who only shook his head. "Funny, I thought he would've bragged about it. Guess getting shot in the ass changes a man."

"When did you grow balls?" Seifer asked. "I don't remember you being much more than Zone's plaything the last time I was here."

Watts only turned back to his console, swiveling around in his chair to put his back to them.

Seifer shrugged and looked back to Rinoa. "If you wanted me here so bad, why the sudden interrogation? I tried to help you, got myself shot, and decided it wasn't worth the trouble if you couldn't even get proper intelligence."

Zell laughed, a sharp sound in the silence, and grinned across the table. "You really got shot in the ass? Are you kidding me?"

Seifer tried to ignore the looks, and nodded toward the electronics spread across the table. "What are those?"

Rinoa picked up a clear rectangular case—Seifer could see the wiring inside—and handed him it to him. "They're alarms. We just got them. Basically, we're going to use them for look out, because one person can watch and if something goes wrong, activate all the others by flipping the switch on the bottom. They vibrate pretty quietly, too. You should keep them close while you're here."

Seifer turned it over in his hands. "Fancy. This from your shady contact?"

Rinoa handed more to Squall and Zell. "It's fine, Watts picked them up himself—no one ever came to Timber. He doesn't even know what Watts wanted them for, and probably doesn't care. He got his money."

"So why do you need alarms?" Zell pocketed his and leaned forward to poke at the rest of the pile. "We gonna go mess some people up while you guys keep watch or something?"

Rinoa smiled. "Something like that." She pulled a gray case forward and flipped the latches with her thumbs. "This is the biggest thing. It's a scanner. You put stuff on this side and it saves it." She opened it and spun it around, pointing at the screen. "They haven't started making all of us wear tags yet, so we should be able to move around easily."

"Wear what?" Zell gaped. "What the hell kind of thing is going on in this city?"

Rinoa bit her lip. "Like dog tags, except with information—birthday, some medical stuff, arrest record numbers and stuff like that." She snorted. "By arrest, I mean even being detained—they spend so much money making new tags because they take people off the street randomly, for stupid stuff. When they find a better system, it'll be widespread."

Seifer turned the plastic disc in his hand. "Still feel like you learned something in Xu's class, or do you think she's full of shit yet?"

"Shut up, you had an unfair advantage." Zell slid his alarm into his jacket and Squall did the same.

Timber had changed in ways Seifer never thought it would. He wondered if this was just a preview of what was going to happen to the rest of Galbadia in the next few years with no one to oppose Deling.

"What exactly are we going to be doing?" Squall crossed his arms.

Zell leaned forward. "Yeah, we don't want to sit around and do nothing."

Rinoa nodded and pointed to the far wall where they had hung a copy of the city layout. "We're going to be going into the political district. That's the heart of the Galbadian occupation—it's red on the map. We need to get to the library, which is right next to the city hall."

"What the hell kinds of guys are we going to fight in a library?" Zell slouched down in his chair.

"Hopefully no one. We want to get some information that's there, but it's guarded at night and sometimes during the day," Rinoa said. "With SeeD, we'll be able to sneak in, take out the guards so we can move back and forth and get the information we need. Then—"

"What kind of information?" Seifer didn't like that Rinoa was being vague; it just meant she was hiding something.

Rinoa lifted a shoulder. "Just some things that Deling and his government want to keep secret. It's probably safer for you if you don't know. We're also after copies of Timber Maniacs. The library had a subscription, and we need their copies."

Seifer frowned. "Can't you just go to their office and get back issues?"

Rinoa's hair flew around her face. "No way. After Anarchist Monthly fell, Timber Maniacs wasn't too far behind. The army has some sort of base in the offices now." Rinoa closed her eyes, lashes dark against skin pale from more than lack of sun. "Over the winter holidays, troops stormed in and killed all the staff and burned their bodies in the city square."

"Damn," Zell said, his the only voice in the silence that followed. "So you're after whatever they were printing?"

"Timber Manaics was the only magazine brave enough to print anything opposing Deling and his scoundrel government, sir," Watts said from the corner. "They were brave, and then they got cocky."

They'll never come out and say what really happened, Seifer thought. Figures. "That's an understatement."

"Shut up, Seifer." Watts' voice was mild. Seifer ignored all of the looks aimed at him. There was no point making people cry over dead parents—at least not right now.

Rinoa nodded. "So we want those back issues, so we can put them someplace safe. They have all sorts of interviews and names of people—it'll help protect a lot of citizens, too."

"You can't arrest people for talking, can you?" Zell asked. "I mean, most of that stuff is old. They're not going to kill—" He paled at Rinoa's look. "Okay, fine, I get it. The Galbadian government is full of assholes who kill people for no reason. Would everyone stop looking at me like that! Man!"

"So we're going to be bodyguards," Seifer said. "This is your grand plan? Bring us here to baby-sit?"

Rinoa kicked his leg under the table. "One of you will be a lookout, one of you will be helping Zone and Watts with the old magazines and the other will stick with me. We're not trained like you, to fight—I don't care what you say, Seifer, we're just not, and we know that now. So yeah, if you want to call it baby-sitting, fine, but it'll help us get things done. We have other stuff planned, too."

"Like what?" Zell asked. "Hopefully more interesting than hanging out in the library, right?"

Rinoa waved a hand. "It all hinges on getting into the library, and we won't be able to talk strategy until tomorrow, because they rotate the guards on all the buildings in the political district randomly. We'll have to wait and see." She stood. "So tonight I guess you just hang out here." She checked the clock hanging sideways on the wall. "Zone and I have something to prepare for tomorrow, so I'll have to go. Rosa usually feeds us around eight, though, so we'll be back by then."

Seifer didn't bother asking where she was going, because he knew she would've told them if she wanted them to know. He was torn between wanting to know more about what they were planning and not even wanting a hint so he wouldn't spend the next few hours thinking over every way their plans sucked. There had been a reason he hadn't wanted to be involved in the Owls and their dreams of independence—they were just too small to fight against Deling's war machine. He had no idea how she thought the addition of three SeeDs was going to help anything.

"This is boring." Zell kicked the leg of the table, making it quiver. "We have to wait until tomorrow to do anything, and until then we're stuck here."

"Could be worse," Seifer said. "You could be trapped in a tiny room with two of the most pathetic SeeDs—oh wait."

Zell gave him a nasty look. "Whatever, man. Hey, dudes!"

Watts looked up. "Sir?"

"What are you two doing over there? Anything at all you need help with?" Zell sounded desperate and Seifer was relieved when Watts nodded and Zell shot out of his seat and over to the piles of spare parts, chair rocking in his wake.

"Hurry up and wait," Seifer muttered. Behind him, Zell and Watts were talking—laughing—and it almost annoyed Seifer enough to tell them to shut up, but he didn't want to bother with Watts anymore than he had to, the little backbiter. He was surprised at the change, but maybe it was to be expected.

Squall shrugged, and he seemed content to sit in the uncomfortable wooden chair forever. "That's part of it, right? Learning to be patient and wait?"

Seifer pulled his gunblade out and laid it across the table so he could get comfortable. "You're just as ready as Zell is to get out there and kick some ass, aren't you? You can admit it to me; I won't mock you much for being a rookie."

"Funny who you call a rookie." Squall smirked. "They really shot you in the—"

"Shut up, and that's an order." He refused to meet Squall's gaze.

A nightmare. This whole mission is going to be a nightmare.

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

"I don't like this."

Rinoa frowned over her shoulder at him, lips pursed. Seifer wanted to smack the look off her face. He squeezed the handle of his gunblade.

The sun was out somewhere above their heads; it had been cloudy all morning, the smog black and ugly against the white sky. It hurt to breathe, the metallic taste made him want to spit every time he exhaled. Seifer could only guess what he was sucking in. Behind him, Zell shifted, arms cutting through the air and raising the hair on Seifer's neck.

"They don't guard all the time during the day, you know." Rinoa went back to staring at the rough circle of buildings ahead, the square in front of them almost deserted. Every few minutes someone would walk by, shoulders hunched and eyes downcast, clothes worn and old—Seifer could tell even from a distance.

They gave Seifer and the others a wide berth as they shuffled by. They had enough trouble; Seifer didn't blame them for not wanting to walk into more.

"You know, this tune is starting to sound kind of familiar." Nothing was going as expected; Seifer was annoyed at Rinoa—Squall had gone off with Watts an hour earlier, without Seifer's knowledge. Seifer didn't know why Squall needed extra time—his job was easier. Seifer and Zell had been in a briefing with Rinoa and Zone on getting into the political district and then the library itself, which no longer had a back entrance. Of all the buildings for her to want to get in, it had to be the one where we have to walk in through the front door.

Seifer didn't feel comfortable with the lack of guards—it was like a ghost town in the square. They had only seen a few groups of soldiers when leaving the base earlier.

Nothing was ever this easy.

"You could just trust me, you know." Rinoa stood up. "Okay, I just don't think anyone is coming. If we keep waiting, we'll never get in."

"You mean we're just going to walk up like it's not shut down?" Zell sounded just as doubtful as Seifer felt. "That doesn't seem too smart. Like, what was your plan if it was guarded?"

Rinoa hauled her case up. Her smile was uneasy. "Well, you guys are SeeD, right? You would have figured it out."

Zell shot Seifer a look. "Well, whatever! Let's just go, it smells like something died out here."

Rinoa wanted to cut a wide path around the square and hug close to buildings. Seifer was amazed him how much skill she had for making herself a target. He made them walk straight across. It was disconcerting being out in the open, their feet the only noise on worn stones. Zell walked in front, turning in circles to look out in different directions.

He bounced up the four crumbling stairs to the library landing, and peered through dirty windows. When he turned back to look at them, his forehead was plastered with dirt. "It looks normal."

"They just shut it down, sir, they didn't trash it."

Seifer and Zell were on guard in seconds, surrounding Rinoa. Seifer's blade was steady in his hand, while Zell's fists shook in front of him a second before he dropped his arms. "Don't sneak up on SeeD! You'll get hurt."

Watts and Zone hauled themselves up on the landing from the side of the building. It wasn't that large, and they all stood out like a beacon for anyone walking by. He turned back to Rinoa and dropped his blade. "Lock picking skills get a little rusty?"

"Shut up." The words were followed by a pop. "See!" She gave him a smug look. "You're not the only one with spy skills, mister big bad SeeD."

It was quick work getting in and shutting the door behind them. Seifer flipped the lock, silenced the noisy bell with his hand and watched out the frosted window of the door at the square outside. He expected to see soldiers, pouring toward them now that they were in the building, trapped like animals with no escape. With just himself and Zell, it would be hard to get out if something happened—he hoped Squall was on the roof with his eyes open, since that was where Rinoa said she had put him.

Everyone was missing when Seifer turned back around, though he could see Rinoa's head bobbing back and forth on the second level, a wraparound wooden structure that left the corners of the first floor in shadows. Might have been nice to sit under the overhang by one of the dusty lamps and read, but now all the low, overstuffed chairs were covered in layers of dust. Carts with books still on them sat still, as if the librarians had left in the middle of work. Maybe they had, or maybe they hadn't left at all.

The thought made his skin crawl.

Seifer headed up the stairs to the second level. They opened on an archway, leading back to more shelves of books. Just inside, a door stood ajar. Beside it, Zone was opening up zippered bags. Seifer could hear Zell and Watts inside the closet, laughing over something. He rolled his eyes and moved on.

Rinoa was already in the middle of whatever project she had. Seifer had to admit, the computer was top of the line. It buzzed in the silence, the only noise except for the rustling of turning pages and the sound of idiot laughter. He walked over to the railing, brushed dust off with a finger and watched it sink in clumps to the first floor.

Outside, everything was still empty. Seifer's hands itched to do something, anything but watch for the ambush that he expected any time—this was all too easy.

Rinoa was flying through whatever she was doing when Seifer turned back to see a new book on the scanner. Seifer stared at the title. He lost it when the back of the case blocked his vision. He looked, met Rinoa's gaze, cool and too casual.

Why the hell is she scanning birth records? Secrets on top of secrets. Well, if she wanted to play that game, Seifer was happy to oblige. His boots echoed as he made his way back to the top of the stairs, eyes on the entrance. Maybe it was stupid to worry, maybe no one knew they were here, maybe they were waiting for them to try to leave to corner them—so many unknowns.

"Seifer, come here."

Seifer turned to look over his shoulder at Zell, who was hanging out of the storage closet. He was covered in dust and a wariness that set Seifer's nerves on edge. "I'm not doing your job."

"My job is done; there's no boxes left." His eyes shot toward Zone and Watts a few feet away, who were packing magazines into bookbags. Bookbags. These people were kidding themselves. "Come here."

Seifer didn't like the way Zell was looking at the other two, and he was willing to put up with a lot of crap from Rinoa, but having her people misuse his team wasn't one of them. Or maybe Zell was just being an ass about being made paperboy. He checked on Rinoa, who was still focused on scanning, and then headed over.

"This better be go—" He stumbled as Zell dragged him inside the room and shouldered the door closed. "What the hell, Dincht?"

"Lower your voice!" Zell let him go and motioned toward the vent in the floor, black grating covered with more dust. Zell headed over and squatted down beside it, falling to a whisper. "I heard them, but Watts and Zone were in here talking." Zell gave him a worried look. "They know we're here."

Seifer's ran his palms down his coat, wiping them dry. "Are you sure you're not imaging things?"

Zell cocked his head. "They're being quiet now. But I'm not fucking hearing things, Seifer!"

Seifer didn't want to risk it; he went over to join Zell by the vent, going close to the floor. Cool air was flowing up, but other than that, he didn't hear anything besides clanking from an old air system. It wouldn't surprise him if Zell had mistaken it for voices—the whole damn mission was anti-climatic. He was doing plenty of imagining, himself. He rolled his eyes and went to stand, but was interrupted when Zell put a hand on his shoulder and frowned down.

"...do you?"

Seifer cocked his head. He wondered if they could just be hearing Zone and Watts outside, but it was the wrong direction. Zell gave him a smug look he ignored, and he lowered his head again, cold air sweeping over his face and neck.

"It's not our concern right now." It was a woman, voice like a whip on stone. Beside him, Zell shifted to lay flat on the floor, but Seifer wasn't that desperate to go rolling in the dirt.

"But what about the kids?" Subordinate by tone, easy enough to tell. No man answered a woman like that otherwise.

"They're not important; if Caraway thinks that the documents will somehow help her, she should be allowed to think so. Leave them alone; they'll be handled soon enough."

Beside him, Zell's eyes darted toward the closed door.

Zell didn't know about Rinoa; or at least Seifer didn't think he had—before. Maybe he had been wrong since Zell was such a know-it-all. He turned his attention back to the vent as more garbled conversation floated up; there was someone new speaking too fast for Seifer to follow. A sharp sound followed—a door, maybe—and then laughter.

"Sent him away fast. Still hurting over being rejected by your beau?"

"If you would like to explain to the president why both your arms are broken when we see him in a few hours, feel free to keep speaking."

Zell jerked and bumped Seifer, but at least he remembered to whisper when he said, "Does that mean the president is coming here? Today?" His face had gone pale, and Seifer cursed. He had no clue how the Owls had been collecting information, but even after a year it still sucked. He kept listening, but the voices faded away on distance and gusts of air.

Someone knew they were in the building, but who? Seifer didn't like unknowns and they were piling up like rocks for him to trip over. He shoved up as Zell scrambled to his feet and brushed dust from his pants.

"What did you hear before you called me in here?"

Zell rubbed at his shorts. "They were talking about some person named Donovan and the guy said something about closing some building down. That's when I left to get you, so I don't know." Zell's look was mean, and Seifer was surprised with the severity of it. "You know, it would be nice if you'd trust my word. I don't make shit up."

Seifer would've had a cutting remark about that, how trusting Zell was at the bottom of his list right under making friends with Squall, but the door opened, squeaky and loud. Zone poked his head in and stared for a few seconds before he and Watts both tumbled in. Watts had a gleam in his eyes—Seifer knew exactly what was on his mind.

"Funny you guys are in here alone." Watts had been loud and blustering and awkward when Seifer had met him a year before, but all that was gone. He still deferred to Zone in big ways, but he was changed. Seifer hadn't expected it, but he also didn't know what having a parent felt like, much less watching one of them get shot in the head. "Something you want to share, Seifer?"

"We were lis—" Zell's word cut short when Seifer shoved him, forcing Zone and Watts to catch him so he didn't tumble them over.

"I'm sorry; are we in your way?" Seifer smirked. "We had some SeeD business to discuss. We're done, so the room is all yours if you want to have inappropriate mid-mission sex."

Zone still flushed, but Watts stood his ground. "You can run your mouth about us as much as you want now—it doesn't matter." He reminded Seifer of new SeeD cadets, how they would put their shoulders up but still give everything away with their eyes.

Zell rubbed his shoulder and then knocked the string to the light out of his face. "What the hell are you all talking about?"

Seifer wasn't convinced; the flush on Watts' neck was too telling. "So how come everyone still uses the nickname if you've told them all you're both so deep in love and fucking like rabbits?"

Zell made some noise Seifer didn't have a name for—choked and hoarse. Watts didn't bother with more words as he stormed out, and Zone turned the doorknob back and forth, pressing the lock in and out. "It was a good idea," he said, and shrugged. "Sometimes Rinoa needs to be reminded. But you don't care who anyone else sleeps with, anyway. You just want to feel like you can control people."

Zell nodded, and only grinned when Seifer glared at him. "Bet your parents wouldn't be too thrilled with it," Seifer said. "I'm pretty sure his father made his opinions pretty clear up until the day he died. Wonder how he'd feel knowing you were fu—"

Zone stepped forward, raised his arm, but didn't follow through. "You're a piece of work." Zone's cheeks were red, but he just looked mad, not embarrassed. "Doesn't it bother you at all that we saw his dad die right there in front of everything? But you're still an asshole over it." He pressed a hand to his stomach, and shook his head. "Zell, we're gonna take the magazines to the base. Rinoa says you've got to be with us." He left the door open behind him, the lack of acknowledgment to Seifer a sting.

Last words were stupid, anyway.

"You—" Zell's look was unreadable. "What's wrong with you?"

Seifer shrugged. "Their fathers were just as bad as Deling was."

Zell gaped at him, then turned away. "I know you're a totally bastard, Almasy, but that's low, even for you."

Seifer said, "You don't know the whole story. Don't act high and mighty." Zell just threw up his hands. "Also, keep your mouth shut about what we heard. I don't want Rinoa to panic."

Zell paused halfway out the door. "We have to tell them."

"No, we don't. We're going to go out, hurry them along and then get the hell out of here. We're not going to tell them someone knows we're here and freak them out." He kept his voice firm, because he didn't trust Zell's fat mouth. "Orders are orders. Follow them."

Zell didn't comment before he disappeared out of sight, and Seifer figured that was the best he could do. He eyed the vent again, but listening any more was just obsessive. He turned off the light and shut the door when he left, wondering who the people had been. Seifer had no clue what to do with the information. He needed to get the Owls back to their base before he told them, and hole up. If Deling was coming to town, security would explode once he was within limits. It made sense to Seifer now why guard duty had been so slack—everything was being diverted to Deling's arrival.

Rinoa was flipping through file folders when he returned; the others were gone, along with the bags of magazines. It was too quiet in the space, the only sound the buzz of Rinoa's scanner.

"Almost done?"

Rinoa looked up and swept her hair out of her eyes. "Yeah, I'm on the last book."

Seifer looked at the bent, blank spine lying on the scanner, but didn't touch it. "What are you scanning? An entire mission for records?"

Rinoa toyed with the edge of the folder in her hands and leaned against the table. "It's just...stuff, certificates, city records." She stuck her tongue out at Seifer. "Yeah, I know. I haven't even told the other Owls everything, because I don't want them to know things that might get them killed. So it's better if I don't tell you, either." The machine beeped, and Rinoa pulled the book off to return it to the shelf. "Anyway, Zone and Watts have the really important stuff."

"What's with that, then? Or is it top secret, too?"

Rinoa's head fell down, back curving. "Well, you know most of it. They're killing writers, and this is the most common thread. We figured that keeping these people safe is important, especially the writers who contributed to Anarchist Monthly." She moved quickly now, shutting down the computer and closing the case. "The people who wrote for it were Timber, before Deling came along—its history." The malice that crept into her voice was like nothing Seifer had ever heard from her. "You know, we've heard rumors they take them to prisons and—" She turned away, squeezed the handle of her case, like it could comfort her. "Horrible things—the stories we hear out of Deling City would make you sick."

Seifer doubted that, but didn't disagree with her. He leaned against the rail. "How are you hearing them?" Rinoa frowned, and shifted on her feet—itching to tell. Probably meant that Zone and Watts had cornered her and asked her to keep her mouth closed. "Is it just rumors, or do you really have a source?"

Rinoa said, "Zone's dad, he—after last summer, he fixed himself up as a Deling City citizen and went into the army. He couldn't really do anything else. The money for Anarchist Monthly had stopped coming from his source after so many people were killed." She swallowed; the sound was audible—wet regret. "You think you know how horrible a government can be and then you find out you don't know anything, right?" She was crying now, tears hitting the table under her. "He's in it for Timber, but I'm pretty sure if we ever get what we're after, he won't last much longer than that."

"Make their soldiers do bad things? Welcome to the Galbadian army." Seifer tried to imagine what could break a grown man—murder, rape—things they had studied in specialized classes, but had never been encouraged to use, although he knew it was expected if it came down to it. Seifer wasn't afraid of hard measures, but then, not everyone was made for SeeD.

"I try to believe the world is a good place." Rinoa wiped her eyes, pulled the case off the table. "It's hard some days, though."

Seifer didn't know what to say to Rinoa's optimism, because her brand got people like him shot in the ass. He didn't get a chance, though, before his pocket vibrated, a tickle against his hip.

"My alarm—" Rinoa had pulled her disc out to look at it, as if it was going to tell her who flipped the switch. Seifer didn't have to guess and hadn't even bothered taking his out—through the windows of the front of the library, he could see a group of people moving toward the entrance. The red uniforms were unmistakable.

"Well, fuck." Seifer looked around. "You're sure there's no back exit?"

"What? No, I—they brick—" The case clattered to the floor and Seifer wanted to backhand her as she squealed. "Seifer, Seifer, look."

"I see them, I'm not blind." He and Rinoa were on the top landing—they wouldn't be seen from the outside, he guessed, but on this side the shelves were too sparse to hide in. He picked up the case from the floor and shoved it into Rinoa's arms. "Those racks of books, on the other side there—let's go." He gripped her arm and pulled her around the landing. As they crossed in front of the stairs that were a straight shot to the door, he saw a suit now as well—what the hell were they doing?

"We didn't—there was no news about a visit from Donovan!" Rinoa was moving faster than him now, but Seifer faltered before darting with her into the stacks, heavy bookcases of dark wood packed with books.

"Who did you say?"

"Samiel Donovon. That's Deling's vice-president!" They slotted themselves in the last row, up against the wall. Rinoa sat her case down to peer around. "I—I don't know how we could've missed this."

Seifer debated telling her about Deling, but figured it was too late as it was. "I don't remember Deling having a vice-president."

"Well, he's not—" Rinoa came back, flipped and pressed her back against the shelves. "Just last month we got a flyer with all these people listed—a Senate. Donovan was one of them. A week later, he came and spoke to the city." She grimaced. "He was all gungho about that citizen tagging system and how it would keep us safe."

"So he's the one tracking you like animals. Sounds like a big winner."

"I'm totally not going to trust anyone Deling picks to be a minion, and anyway—" She paused. "They're coming in!"

The bell jangled below. From their area, they could look straight down on the entrance and the beginning of the stairs if they moved up to the shelf closest to the railing, but Seifer didn't want to risk that with Rinoa there. All he heard was the stomp of feet and muffled conversation.

Rinoa elbowed him in the side, and before Seifer could stop her she was slipping from their location. He made a grab for her sweater, but it brushed his fingers before he could get a grip. Perfect. An easy mission was going to turn into the mission where his client got herself killed because she was too nosy.

He left the case where it was—picking it up would create too much noise—and followed Rinoa around. She had gone right where Seifer had thought of, and was peering through the bookshelves to the first level. The conversation was growing louder, and there were three officers all talking to each other at once—Donovan was walking around one of the seating areas. Seifer looked around and spotted another soldier by the door, only a lieutenant by his blues.

"Gentlemen, please, be quiet." The silence was so sudden, like someone had flipped a switch. Donovan walked back to the men, arms crossed. "This building will be fine."

"There are more suitable buildings on the other side of the square—you don't want to be shoved up against the business district." One of the officers spoke, and Seifer could see him shaking even from a distance. "There's no back exit to this building."

Donovan didn't even honor him with a glance. "I said it will do. Are all these books simply fiction and reference?"

"City records are stored here, as well, sir." Another Commander, much more relaxed. "They're stored on the second level."

"We'll want to retain those and ship them to the city; the books can be given to the people or burned." Rinoa tensed beside him, and Seifer hoped she wasn't going to attempt anything stupid. Donovan wanted the building, but for what? "Meanwhile, this place needs to be cleaned—I'll hold the office in city hall until it can be managed."

"I'll get a crew on it right way, sir!" He saluted and then he was out the door in a second, bell ringing out the haste of his quick departure. Seifer thought it was funny to see the commanders so subservient.

"Erikson, why is your staff so jumpy today?" Donovan asked, sounding amused. "It's been planned for weeks, surely they've had time to be prepared."

Seifer guessed Erikson must be familiar with Donovan, because he only shrugged. "I arrived this morning and everyone was acting strange—I can do an inquiry, if you like."

"No, there's no need." Donovan waved a hand. "But—who is this?"

Seifer had shifted to where he could see the door. When he saw the hair, he moved back and was just in time to keep Rinoa from darting out of their place when the bell rang, a high tingle.

"What—" Zell's voice went from confused to scared in seconds. "Where's Sei—"

Seifer wished he could knock Zell unconscious. He was thankful when Zell didn't continue. Rinoa was shaking in his grip. "God, that moron," Seifer said. Below, the other two Commanders started shouting at Zell. "That idiot, why did he ignore the alarm?"

Rinoa kept her voice low. "It—he was probably too far away! They don't work when they're very far apart."

Seifer resisted the urge to yell at her. "You didn't think to mention this? Those aren't fake guns, Rinoa!" She finally tugged out of his grasp, and a quick glance through the shelves showed the soldiers had Zell up against the wall and were going through his pockets. "What will they do to him? Be upfront with me."

"Trespassing?" Rinoa wiped her face. "Oh god, he's—I don't know. I just don't know. We've got to help him!"

Seifer grabbed her wrist and had to strain to keep his voice down. "If we go down there, we're all done for. I'm not risking it."

Rinoa looked down, craning her neck. "But—he's your team member."

"And he's probably dead." Seifer let go of her. "But I don't help anyone getting us caught and killed." Seifer turned back to Donovan, who hadn't been speaking over the soldiers. He was just standing there watching the lieutenant waving the alarm around in the air—damning evidence, probably, if they knew what it was.

"He's not a Timber civilian or he's not carrying his tags—that's illegal." Erikson stepped back. "No identification, just that alarm."

Donovan sighed. "I was so convinced the unit here had these rebels under control. Now there will have to be an inquiry." He rubbed a hand down his face. "Unless—"

"Sir?"

"Those alarms." Donovan's voice had gone nasty. "We've seen that technology before, haven't we, Major Biggs?"

The other Commander came to attention. "Yes, sir! Forest Owls, to be specific."

Donovan waved a hand. "If he's an Owl, I'm disinclined to suffer through a huge political mess with Vinzer if he learns of it. Don't leave bullets that can be traced to your guns, please."

"Sir, are you—"

It was like a different man when Donovan spoke again, and Seifer had never heard anyone sound so mean. "Please don't make me repeat myself. I'll leave; you'll take care of it. We'll arrange for the movers to find the body." He stepped toward the door, but paused beside Zell—he made Zell look like a little kid with his height. He didn't speak to him even as they stood staring at once another, but instead to the men behind him. "These rebels are a dying breed. Maybe this loss will help drive home the point." Then he pushed through the door, the bell a happy sound in the air as he left.

"Do it; you know how to keep it from being traced." Erikson's voice was sharp. "Then both of you leave and wait for further orders at city hall." He followed Donovan out, and Seifer wanted to rip the damn bell down and shove it down his throat. Every higher up in the entire government was a coward.

Rinoa squeaked beside him and ducked her head into Seifer's chest, but Seifer couldn't look away—Zell looked terrified and angry all at the same time, but his mouth was closed. Seifer didn't know what he expected—Zell to ramble out everything, give them away, maybe—but he didn't expect the silence.

"Seifer, we can't—" Rinoa heaved into his shirt, crying silent and hard. Seifer pressed her head down.

He expected gunfire, not the brilliant flash of light, silent but still shaking the shelves around them. He closed his eyes against it and pressed his head down. He opened them as a crackle went though the air.

Someone retched; followed by the splatter of vomit.

"Get up, Wedge, and let's get out of here." Biggs' voice this time.

Seifer looked through the shelf again, but he couldn't see anyone—not even Zell's body. Seifer didn't know what the hell that spell had been—or how the army was using magic like that at all—but it had singed something; the char in the air was unmistakeable. Seifer felt ill at the thought, and he couldn't block out the images. Rinoa was still shaking against him and jumped when the bell sounded one last time, and the library was quiet again.

Seifer shoved Rinoa back by the shoulders. Her hair was stuck to her face and she had slobbered all over him. He shook her once. "What's wrong with you? You've been here before, it happens, pull yourself together."

Rinoa wiped her eyes. "We did nothing. He's—"

"Fact of life. He's SeeD, he knew the risks." Seifer wanted to punch something. "Damnit, Rinoa, your intelligence—where the hell are you getting it? It's just my luck I lose a team member on my first fucking mission because your friends can't get anything reliable. Someone's dead, do you realize that? This isn't a game, and now I'm on the line for it."

Rinoa pulled away from him, pressed her hair back. Her face was a canvas of red splotches, snot running down her lip. "Why—why do you care more about the fact you'll be in trouble than that he's dead? He's—" She turned from him then, darted past and toward the stairs.

Seifer didn't want her to go down there, didn't know why she wanted to cry over dead bodies, but would never understand Rinoa, anyway. He followed.

They found him against the wall, under the landing they had been standing in, chairs and shelves that had been there before knocked back by the force of whatever the spell had been. Books and woods were smoking, but not on fire. Whatever spell it was, it left marks like Thunder, which anyone could use.

Seifer's imagination had been overactive; Zell looked banged up, there was a cut across his cheek and it seemed like he had a sunburn, but otherwise it just seemed like he was sleeping. Rinoa dropped to her knees and grabbed his neck.

"Seifer, Seifer, he's still alive."

"What?" He didn't believe her until he dropped down beside her and found the pulse himself in a limp wrist. Zell was almost too hot to touch—Seifer really wanted to know what they had cast. "I don't know how the hell he survives these things. His pulse is weak, though." It was quick work for the Phoenix Down, but even though the bump under Seifer's fingers improved, Zell didn't stir.

"Do you have any—" Rinoa scrambled around to Zell's other side. "Cure?"

"Yeah, here—" He put his hand on Zell's chest, hot to the touch, but his skin cooled as the magic moved and the heartbeat under his hand got stronger. Seifer waited a few seconds, and wondered what his other options were if Zell didn't wake up—carrying him out was asking to get caught, with no way to fight because his arms were full of moron. Seifer cursed and cast again.

Zell sprang up so fast, hair falling into his face, that Rinoa screamed and fell back, hitting her head on a fallen shelf. Zell sucked in air as he ripped Seifer's hand off his chest so hard Seifer lost his balance and end up on his back, spine grating on the wood of the floor. "That fucking hurts!"

"Yeah, well, it'll hurt worse if you don't be still and let me do it again," Seifer said, moving back. He didn't touch Zell this time, and the magic was finally making a difference—Zell didn't look so red anymore. The cut on his face was still there, but Seifer wasn't exactly working with powerful magic. "That was level three magic, or something. Your heart almost stopped, so yeah, it's going to hurt."

Zell cupped his forehead in his hands. "Level—what? I thought that was the military?" He seemed okay, so Seifer moved back.

Rinoa, on the other hand, looked stricken. She moved fast to throw her arms around Zell's neck, who gave Seifer a confused look over her shoulder.

"Uh, hey, I'm good. Thanks." He pushed her back and then climbed to his feet, wobbling a little. "That was probably the most shitty thing to ever happen to me. Who the hell was that? Why were they here? What the fuck did they throw at me, because that shit hurt. How come no one set off the alarm?"

"Well, at least we know your mouth isn't damaged." Seifer had cast too many spells at once; his head spun when he stood straight. "Save the questions for later—where the hell are Zone and Watts?"

Zell shook his head. "I don't know. We stored the magazines at the base and while we were coming back, there were all these soldiers. They took off running, I lost them, and then came back here." He adjusted his gloves, tested the air. "Why'd they want SeeD if they were just going to up and vanish, anyway?"

Seifer only stared at Rinoa, who didn't answer. Zell caught the look and then shook his head. "Man, whatever, it doesn't matter. There's other things to worry about now. Like the fact that the city is crawling with military." Zell touched his cheek, then wiped the blood that was pouring down his skin towards his neck. "What's the plan?"

"Figure a way out." Seifer looked toward the door. "Now we know nothing about the military movements out there; did you see anything when you left?"

"No, this place was just as deserted as when we came in. They're mostly in the residential areas. Seriously, how are we—" Zell shook on his feet as the building trembled, books rattling in their place around them. The sound was muted when it followed, a series of hair-raising cracks that reminded Seifer of Thundaga spells—slow noise, coming after all the destruction was already done. Seifer stared at the bell on the door, rattling out staccato songs. He spread his feet as Rinoa and Zell grabbed things to hold onto.

"That was a bomb." Seifer stared at the window. He saw what he expected, soldiers running—to the west. "Who the hell would set off a bomb?"

"It's not the first one."

Seifer turned and was shocked to see Squall on the top of the stairs, looking worse for the wear, dirty and fist bloody where he gripped his gunblade. He was favoring his left leg, too, as he stepped down, stopping halfway to the bottom to lean on the rail.

"What the hell happened to you?"

Squall only looked at Rinoa. "You know there's an exit?"

Rinoa shook her head. "It's bricked up, we checked—"

"Not that one." Squall finally gave up and sat down on the steps. "A group of people came through a ladder to the roof, then went down the escape on the side."

"Anyone see you?" Seifer hoped not; he wanted something to go right.

"No. They went into one of the buildings across the street." He adjusted his boot. "What happened in here?"

"Accident with some interesting magic." Seifer didn't bother elaborating; right now he wanted to get them out and back to base. "Rinoa, go get your case." She darted up the stairs without hesitating. He watched Squall flex his leg, and it would figure that one of them would act macho, although he didn't understand why Squall looked so rough from his time on the roof—it was the roof. "Do something about your ankle, don't just stare at it. Did you fall down the ladder?"

Squall looked up after casting the magic. "Something like that."

Rinoa didn't come down the stairs. "Can we go out the same way that group did, without getting caught?"

Squall nodded. "Yeah, they went down the same way I came up."

"You lead us out, then." Seifer was glad Squall could follow orders, at least, without saying anything.

"Hey, you were on the roof—did you see anything out there?" Zell sounded tired, and his face was still bleeding, but he didn't seem like he was going to pass out any time soon. Seifer was grateful for small favors, because he didn't want to have to carry anyone out.

Squall paused and looked down. "No." He turned to head up the stairs. He almost bumped into Rinoa, who was staring at him.

Squall took them to the third floor of the library, down a hall and into a closet with the ladder, flaking rust and just wobbly enough to make Seifer nervous. He sent Squall up, then Rinoa. He watched her go up as Zell held the ladder still, wondering what the hell had gone wrong and what he was going to do if he couldn't get Rinoa somewhere safe.

He hated this damn city.

"The people Squall saw leave—you don't think..." Zell looked up, shadows dancing across his face as the wind caught Rinoa's sweater. "Could it be?"

Seifer holstered his gunblade. "I do think. Proves they're with the government, so we need to get the hell out of here. Stop talking and go."

Zell hesitated and frowned at him, but finally went up the ladder. Seifer's head hurt—he didn't know what to do. When the ladder stopped shaking and Zell called down, he started up—the higher he went the more the last time he had been in Timber came back. Flakes of rust stabbed at his palms as he climbed, ladder tapping at the wall. It was like he was reliving it all over again, the whole mess, complete with Forest Owl fuck-ups.

Seifer saw the smoke from the explosion when he pushed out of the chute, rising like thunderheads into the sky. The roof was littered with boxes and crates and garbage; it had been lucky for Squall he had had things to hide behind—it wasn't that large.

"Wow, what'd they blow up?" Zell shielded his eyes from the meager sunlight coming through the smog. The plume of smoke was spreading over the horizon—it had come from the opposite side of the city. Seifer didn't even see the point.

"The question is who, but we don't have time. Stop staring and let's go." Seifer frowned at the column of smoke and let the others go ahead of him. He didn't believe for a minute that the army would attack itself, even for decoy.

The fire escape wasn't perfect—it was noisy as hell and looked just as rusted and worn out as the ladder. Rinoa stepped on and grimaced at the rattle.

"Nothing to do about it—go." He eyed Zell. "And don't bounce."

Zell's gesture was rude, but he at least tried. The noise was like rapid gunfire to Seifer's ears, just asking for someone to come investigate.

They were halfway down when Rinoa cried out at someone standing below. Seifer's gunblade was free from his holster in second, but Rinoa was already disregarding his order and jumping down steps three at a time to reach the bottom, where Zone looked up at them. Seifer thought he had probably seen better days.

"Holy shit." Zell leaned over the railing to stare down. "What the hell happened to him?"

"Let's get off the stairs before we have heartfelt reunions. Move, Dincht." Seifer agreed, though; he knew that type of bruising and recognized the cut pattern.

"What happened to you?" Rinoa wiped at Zone's face with her hands, blood from the cuts and the ice shards still melting from them running down her wrists. "Where—where's Watts? What's going on?"

"We didn't know Donovan was coming." Zone spat onto the ground, red over the wet, gray stones. "He brought—there's so many extra troops." He met Seifer's gaze as he and Squall stepped into the alley, crowded with trash and crates. "We didn't know."

"You don't know a lot of things," Seifer said, disgusted. "We need to get back to base."

Zone wiped at his eyes. "There is no base."

Seifer wondered how many more ways this day could go wrong. "Don't just stand there and stare at me like a dumbass. Elaborate."

Rinoa was crying again, bent down on the ground. Seifer didn't bother to chastise her, although Zell patted her shoulder, looking uncomfortable. Zone looked up. "I don't know where Watts is; we got separated."

"Hey, you ran away from me, remember, so do—"

"Shut the fuck up and let him talk." Seifer's headache was getting worse, he was thirsty and tired and from the sound of it, they were fucked. Zell didn't say anything else.

"We saw some soldiers go past—Commanders, way more than Timber even has. So we followed them. Then another group caught us and attacked. I ran one way and Watts took another route; we got separated. I don't know where he is."

"The base?" Seifer already knew, though. There'd be no going back; someone knew who the Owls were and what they were doing.

Zone didn't look at him; he looked down at Rinoa. "No one was there. The rock wasn't up but the place trashed, but the magazines are safe, I checked, I—" He swallowed. "There was blood everywhere. Rinoa, Rosa and the kids, they were just gone, just like Ello—" He squeezed his hands together and looked down—Seifer had never met a bigger bunch of crybabies. "I don't know what happened—"

Rinoa waved a hand but didn't look up. Seifer weighed the options. Getting out of the city would be hard, but— "We need to leave."

"I know." Zone looked resigned as he pulled out a card. "After last time and all—we planned for it." He checked his watch, rubbing at the face. "They're shutting down the station after the last train leaves in a half hour. It's going to East Academy only, though, they canceled any train out of Galbadia." He bent down to shove the card into Rinoa's hand. "You go with them, Rin. There's four passes."

The angry twist of her expression was severe. "Run away safe? Like a good girl? This—this is mine, too! It's not just yours!"

"Rinoa." Zone cupped her face. "I can't leave without Watts, and you can't stay. If they see you—if Donovan sees you—you know what will happen."

"B-but the Owls and the—" Rinoa choked, squeezed her eyes shut. "This isn't how it was supposed to go!"

"You did everything right," Zone said. "The names are safe—but the Owls are—" He clenched his jaw. "You—you got what you needed. Take it. Find him." Seifer rolled his eyes when they pulled each other into a hug. It just figured. He had no clue what they were talking about, but what else was new? It was a game of riddles and secrets with these people.

Zell stood up from the crouch he had fallen into. "If we're going, now'd be a good time?"

Zone pushed Rinoa away. "We'll find you, I promise. You know the back way to the station, Seifer." He stared at Seifer hard. "You take care of her." He didn't wait for Seifer to answer, turning back down the alley in the direction of the square. Seifer watched him go—odds were he was dead. Seifer didn't think for a minute Zone or Watts could handle themselves against trained military.

Zell was crouched down with his hand on Rinoa's shoulder. "You okay?"

Rinoa shook her head and wiped at her face, smearing red streaks across her cheek. She looked angry instead of sad now, to Seifer's eye. There was something going on here Seifer didn't like, something serious; Rinoa had lived here for too long to break down so easily.

"Let's go. I'll lead, Squall, watch our six, Dincht—" He frowned. "Try not to get fried again. I'm not carting your ass out of here."

"Yeah, thanks for the concern, Capta—."

The crates next to Seifer exploded with a electric crack, sending shards of wood and metal and dust shooting into the air. Seifer tossed his arm up at the debris, shielding his face. Through the cloud of dirt he could see Zell tugging Rinoa through the cloudy air, Squall following. Someone had shitty aim.

"Someone's shooting at us!" Zell pushed Rinoa forward as a cold blast of air hit them, flowing down the alley, the shatter of bits of ice hitting the stones where they had just been standing. They had also cut off the safest route to the train station. They'd have to go the short way now—the more dangerous way.

"Yeah, genius, I figured that out. We have to move." Rats were scurrying back and forth, running from the magic. Seifer stepped on a few as he broke into a jog, in the opposite direction and around a corner. The others panted behind him, footsteps loud on the stones, but no more spells broke over them. Seifer disliked the easy escape more than the attack itself—who the hell had it been?

"We can go down that way." Rinoa pointed to a wide alley, which Seifer knew led straight to the abandoned buildings on the edge of the train station out of town—the building they needed to get through to make it out. He considered it—going around would take longer, and the alley took them through one of the squares, but maybe—

"No way." Zell shook his head and pulled chunks of wood from his hair. "That's the area where all the military was walking around—going through there would be like a death sentence."

"You don't know they're still there. There was an explosion, remember? Maybe they all went to investigate." She stepped forward. "It wouldn't hurt to check!" Seifer didn't expect her to go shooting off, away from all of them, dodging past garbage cans and piles of trash that shifted well after she had gone by.

Seifer swore and looked around. "Squall, go around this building—all these alleys open to that square. Keep on us in case something happens." Rinoa was so stupid. For a split-second it was like he was back in the dark and wet, listening to her scream and do the exact opposite of what he said. "If you have to, unload everything you've got."

Squall nodded and took off, and Seifer tore down the alleyway after Rinoa—he could see her bobbing toward the exit, sweater like a beacon in Timber's monochrome skin. Behind him, Zell was muttering, and Seifer didn't blame him. Seifer wasn't inclined to believe Zell would make their escape harder if he didn't have to.

He stopped short when they had almost reached her, almost close enough to reach out and touch—and just close enough to hear the laughter of someone she stared at, spine straight and face terrified. Seifer pressed his back against the brick, scraping along it, Zell against his side, hot again, and shaking too. He leaned his head back.

"—we'd gotten rid of you."

Rinoa didn't move.

Seifer recognized the voice. Beside him, Zell tensed as more voices broke out. They were silenced as fast as they had started.

"Miss Caraway, you seem to always end up at the strangest locations in possession of contraband."

"This is mine. I'm going home." Seifer watched her step backwards, feet sliding across stone. "I'm just on my way home so I don't get caught in the fighting."

"What would your father think, I wonder. Although it will be interesting to see him change his tune when he finds out you were murdered by your own rebels in their desperate attempt to flee the city." A chuckle followed, and pairs of feet Seifer couldn't see shifted—it sounded like there were four other people with Donovan.

Zell moved almost too fast for Seifer to catch, but he got a grip on Zell's jacket and slammed him into the brick before he could run out after Rinoa. It was too loud, the huff of Zell's breath when he met brick and the scrape of his shoes on the cracked stone.

Rinoa pulled the case to her chest and backed up, but she didn't look toward them. Seifer wanted to scream. Her or all of us, trying to get her away. What a fucking joke.

Zell was trying to wiggle out of his jacket so he could get away. Seifer watched Rinoa shake her head, felt Zell under his fist, too-hot, adrenaline warmth, straining away to get to Rinoa, like he was desperate to die.

What's more important? However stupid she was, whatever the hell she had in the case, it was their mission, and if she died, he failed.

Seifer pushed Zell with him as he moved forward, catching Zell off guard. At the edge of the alley, Seifer saw the surprise on Donovan's face as he crossed into his line of vision. He shoved Zell torward them, putting his weight behind it and grabbed Rinoa's arm in the same movement.

He heard the soldiers and Zell both yell as Donovan stumbled into them, a tangle of limbs, but Seifer didn't bother to watch. He pulled Rinoa into the alley and knocked over cans of garbage as he went, cutting the soldiers scrambling around the alley entrance off, and the Fire spell caught the trash in seconds, sending flames up into the air.

"Seifer, Seifer, what—" Rinoa thrashed and tugged at his grip as they jogged. "You just—you can't leave him! You can't leave him, they'll kill—" He ignored her, and concentrated on covering their tracks. He heard the snap of Thunder as they went, the crackle of it sending up more shouts from the soldiers, but Seifer didn't look back, just pulled Rinoa along and lit anything he could.

He didn't slow down as they left the burning alley behind, and Rinoa had stopped fighting him. She kept in step as they went forward, past open alleyways the soldiers could come down if they wanted to—it wasn't safe anywhere. Seifer kept his eyes on the end of alleys as they crossed, but more of them were starting to curve—making it impossible to see the end or anyone coming.

"W-where are we going?" Rinoa tugged her arm out of Seifer's grip. She rubbed it as they walked, trash under their feet crackling. The smell of the sewer was getting stronger. "How is there a way out?"

"There's not a direct path," Seifer said. He stopped as he heard a sound behind them, and his blade came up as Squall came jogging out one of the alleyways. He lowered his arm.

Rinoa stepped forward. "Squall! Where's Zell?"

Squall only leveled a look at Seifer, like ice, sharp and cool. "I tried to hit them with Thunder so he would have a chance to get out. But I had to get out of there—someone was throwing magic I've never even seen before."

Rinoa didn't say anything.

"Are we being followed?" Seifer didn't trust this at all, so many narrow escapes. "Or are they waiting for us to give up?"

"They didn't follow me, and they could have." Squall shrugged. "Maybe they got Zell and are holding him in case we try for rescue."

Rinoa rounded on Seifer. "You're not going to, are you? You're just going to leave him!" Her face spelled fury, and she pushed at his shoulder, unexpected and rough, making him step back to keep from falling. "You—you killed him."

"You and your imbecile friends almost did it earlier—don't lecture me." Seifer turned away. "You're the mission and you're the idiot who went even when Dincht said not to. If you want to commit suicide, do it on your own time." He was met with silence, and that was fine by him.

The buildings they had to pass through were old warehouses, empty but for signs of the homeless—burn barrels and food wrappers. They climbed through a cracked window; the padlock on the door was a joke.

The familiarity with the path through the building didn't make Seifer feel any better, and when they made it out the back, noises from the station just made it worse. Or rather the lack of noise. There were plenty of people to see as they rounded the corner, but it was too calm. Straight ahead, the bridge was up, the train open for boarding. It was all too pat for Seifer's taste after the explosion in the city. There were no guards anywhere—where had they gone?

Seifer stopped a few yards from the train, next to a bench. "We're going to go one at a time. Rinoa, you're second—calm down so you don't look suspicious." She glared at him, but relaxed, looking away to smooth out her clothes as Squall left the group without waiting for an order; Seifer watched him go. It was annoying, but he didn't have time to screw around.

Rinoa followed when Squall was halfway to the train. The relief was a surprise; Seifer hadn't realized how tense he was. He would feel a lot better once they were out of the city, even if it was in the opposite direction of where they needed to be going. He watched Rinoa dodge other people, side-stepping and darting around. It was hard to keep a track on her.

There was no warning for the tremor that shook the ground, sending Seifer to his knees, his blade slicing along the concrete in an angry shriek. He went to his hands when another explosion rocked the station, and through the fall of bodies he could see the train rocking back and forth on its track like a toy. Rinoa wasn't visible anymore and the noise of the people was like a roar. His vision went black. When he opened his eyes, he was on the ground, looking up at gray, blank sky.

The screaming of all the people had drowned out the second explosion. Seifer rolled to his side and found the handle of his gunblade. His head was pounding and he couldn't see straight—everything was at angles. He blinked a few times, trying to clear his vision.

He rocked forward again as the ground trembled under him, and this time hit his head hard on the concrete platform. He rolled out of the way of a falling stone from the retaining wall, swore and fought the pain back as he scrambled away from the falling rocks. There was blood in his eyes, pouring down his face, but he couldn't feel the wound.

This is not how I die. Not here.

He was startled and struck out when someone grabbed his arm and hauled him up. He tried to bring his blade up, but couldn't see a damn thing; he was more likely to stab a bunch of innocent people than whoever had their hands on him.

"Would you stop fucking fighting me, you ass!"

Seifer stopped as Zell hauled him off the ground; it made him feel sick to jostle. He ripped his arm out of Zell's grasp to wipe at his face. "You—" Zell wasn't supposed to be here, was dead, or did he just never die, like a cat with too many lives—

"The train is going to leave, let's go." Seifer still couldn't see well, stumbled forward into the crowd. He faltered and his head spun, and then Zell was behind him, pushing him forward. "Damnit, Seifer, move. You can lay around and bleed on the fucking train! Rinoa—Rinoa is standing up ahead, just fucking standing there! What the hell are you guys doing?"

They were being jostled by the people, a huge surge flowing around them. Seifer reached Rinoa within seconds, who stood staring up at the sky, gaping up with a blank expression. Seifer reached out and grabbed her arm, her case, held slack, hitting him in the knee. Whatever is on there better be worth it.

She fought as Zell shoved him forward, getting bounced by the crowd. Rinoa's neck arched, her eyes on the sky even as Seifer pulled her along. "—can't believe it, he did it, he did it—" Rinoa's voice broke, then her mumbling was lost in the noise from the people around them.

Zell shouted something from behind him, as another explosion came, rocking people to concrete again. Seifer only stayed up because of Zell's hands on his hips. He and Rinoa went over the metal ramp to the train in a huge rush of people, through the door as another bomb went off—closer this time. The train rattled and Seifer lost his grip on Rinoa as the train jerked forward, the hiss of the hydraulics dim in the noise all around him.

Seifer stumbled and slammed against the train wall, face mashed hard to the glass. The train was picking up speed—through the window Seifer could see buildings moving past, people running away from and with the train, waving at it. He closed his eyes.

"Seifer!"

It was an effort to turn, but he braced himself against the wall and rolled around. Zell's fist met his jaw before he could focus, quick and sharp. He slammed back against the wall from the force, blinked hard and then slid down. He would've fallen if Zell hadn't grabbed him as he went, lowering him to the floor. Seifer stared at him—he felt like he should say something, but he didn't have words.

Zell looked at him when he was on the floor, propped up. Zell's hair was flat, and he was burned—blisters all along the right side of his face and neck, his eye red with blood.

"Dincht—" He was going to be sick all over the train, he knew it. The pain was catching up.

Zell reached forward, Seifer sucked in a breath at the stab in his arm; he stared when Zell came back with a sharp piece of wood, dark with dripping blood. He threw it aside. "You're the worst fucking captain ever, Captain."

Seifer just blinked when Zell flopped down over his legs, the heavy weight of unconsciousness. Noise from across the train made Seifer look up, but it was strangely distant. He watched Squall pulling the door to the train shut, closing it on the rolling green and rushing air beyond. The area was empty now—it was just them in the space, quiet and alone. The entrance to the cabins was halfway open, held by a fallen bag. Above the door, the warning light flickered as the door tried to shut.

Rinoa bent down in front of Seifer, touched Zell's shoulder. "They need help."

Seifer licked blood off his lip—Zell had busted it, maybe, or he had done it during his fall. He watched Squall bend down beside Rinoa and say something, but couldn't hear him. The magic aimed at Zell was warm, making his legs tingle—or maybe that was just Zell's weight. He didn't know anymore; everything hurt like hell.

"I hate this fucking city," Seifer muttered, and let his gunblade fall to the floor beside him.

• read story notes
• read comments
• add a comment
• hop to the top