FFVIII-The Second War-

[Heartless Angel]

"Alcohol is not permitted while SeeDs are working in an official capacity," Storm said, paraphrasing the relevant part of the regulations. "Besides, we can't afford to waste time. You should have eaten already."

"Yeah, yeah. I know the rules. I ain't some rookie.", he said, following when Storm waved them forward. As he began opening the car door, he said, "I also know I ain't supposed to buy alcohol for minors, or drive under the influence, but that's never stopped me. Never caused any problems either." He closed the door behind him, and layed across the back seats.

[DragonHeart]

Storm snorted but said nothing. Ryan saw Dante sprawl out across the back seats, hesitated, then climbed in the passenger seat beside her. She watched them both warily as she shifted the car into drive and pulled away. It was going to be a long ride.

"Why'd you become a SeeD?" she asked Ryan after a few minutes of tense silence.

"Guess I just wanted to shoot something," he replied with a noncommittal shrug. "Figured since I'm good at it, might as well do something with it."

"Medics don't usually run around shooting enemies." She stopped, waiting for a mother chocobo and her chicks to cross. The giant yellow bird warked at them as she passed in front of the car.

"Yeah, I know. The Headmaster's been pushing for a medic in every squad but my old one was a little short. You know how it goes. I had the talent for it so I got stuck with the job. I like healing people well enough but it's just not what I signed up for."

The chocobos disappeared into the woods alongside the road. They continued on.

"Well, just give it time. You'll find the right squad sooner or later."

"I'd rather be like you, ma'am. I mean, you're practically a legend. I heard this is your first squad mission since you graduated. Going off alone, taking out the enemy and getting the job done. That's what I want to do."

This was exactly what Squall had been afraid of. Maybe the WinD project hadn't been such a good idea after all, if even ultra top-secret missions weren't secrets to the SeeDs. Granted, there was no way they knew the particulars, but still. She regretted pushing him so hard.

"It's not what you think it is, Ryan."

"Then what is it?"

Storm was silent for the rest of the way.

[Heartless Angel]

"Could always try things my way, kid. I've got the technical knowledge and field experience of a medic, but I sure as hell didn't want that as a job. So I intentionally missed about half the medic questions on the written exams.", he said. Though most students would never admit it, this was actually common practice. Alot of people would purposely screw up in the mechanic and medic sections, just to get out of that profession. "How bout you Storm? I know you always act like the perfect little soldier, but I've always thought there was more to you. Am I right?", he asked.

[DragonHeart]

"Now's not the time to get into that," Storm said, casting a hard stare at Dante through the rear view mirror. She felt her magic prickling at the back of her neck, her fingertips. She closed her eyes for a long moment and focused, allowing the energy to ebb back into the air.

"Yes, there is more than what you see," she continued, "but that is on a need to know basis, and you don't need to know. Come on, the train will be here soon." She stepped out of the car, tossing the keys to one of the attendants stationed in Balamb precisely for returning the vehicle to the Garden.

It was a beautiful morning, all blue sky and cool breeze and the gentle rhythm of the tide coming in. Gulls circled overhead, wheeling in graceful, noisy patterns over the cozy harbor town. As much as she loved Balamb, all she could feel today was the carefully concealed disappointment of her lost and badly needed break. This would be the last one, she promised herself as she gazed at the horizon. She couldn't go home of course, but she could get away from the bloodshed and the darkness. For awhile, at least. There would always be another mission.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the all too familiar clatter, clank and whistle of the train pulling into the station. Vacation would have to wait. Investigations to complete, people to kill, allies to save. It would be a busy week.

"That's for us," she said, turning away from the view. "Let's get this done."

[Heartless Angel]

"Good to know there's a real person in there somewhere.", he remarked with a smirk. "Maybe one day I'll get to meet her.", he continued, as he got into the train before his teammates. He impatiently opened the door the the SeeD cabin, and layed in one of the beds, to get some last minute rest in before the fighting began.

[DragonHeart]

Before the door had even slid closed Dante had already opened the cabin and gone in. Storm leaned against the side of the train opposite the cabin door and sighed, running a hand through her hair.

"That guy..."

"He really gets to you, doesn't he." Ryan said. He stood next to her, looking ill at ease. She couldn't blame him, really. The tension in the air put her on edge more than usual.

"I'll be fine. I've dealt with his sort often enough."

The intercom beeped.

"Thank you for boarding the Transcontinental Rail. We will be departing in five minutes. Our first stop is Timber, estimated arrival time 2:00."

Storm tuned out the boarding announcement after that, her mind already working. Travel to Timber would be six hours, provided they met no delays. They wouldn't be stopping at Timber. Arc would have gone ahead to Deling City most likely, and having two SeeD squads in one place would be too suspicious. They'd need to stop at Galbadia Garden then and spend the night. If she was lucky she could requisition a car.

It was really too bad that Squall had given the Ragnarok back to Esthar; they could really use some decent air transportation. Maybe if they found President Laguna he'd let her borrow it for the return trip. It wasn't as if they used it for anything besides decoration these days.

"Storm?"

She blinked, realizing just how unfocused she'd gotten. Ryan was watching her with a bemused expression.

"Yes?"

"Are you going into the cabin?"

Storm suddenly noticed the train was in motion. She glanced at the cabin display and was surprised to see an hour had already passed. No wonder why the cadet looked so concerned.

"No, I'll stay out here for awhile. Go rest up while you can. We won't be at the Garden until nightfall, most likely."

"All right." He headed off, pausing in the doorway. "You sure you're okay?"

She smiled. He was a good kid. "I'm sure. Go relax. We won't have many chances like this to rest once we reach Galbadia. The Garden may be ours but there's still a lot of dissenters out there. We'll have to be careful, so I need you at your very best."

"Ma'am!" Ryan saluted and disappeared into the cabin.

~~~

The intercom clicked on again. Storm opened her eyes. She'd been half-dozing, still in the outer cabin. Even at a distance she could hear Ryan's snoring. Or perhaps it was Dante; she couldn't tell.

"We apologize for this inconvenience but there has been an incident on the track ahead. The train will be delayed indefinitely."

Storm had a bad feeling about the news. She went straight to the cabin where the others were stirring, no doubt awakened from the squealing protest of wheel on metal as the train ground to a heavy stop.

"There's been an incident with train ahead of us. Arc and his squad were assigned to that train. Ryan, with me, we need to talk to the conductor. Dante, see if you can get a look at the incident site. Signal if you find anything. Meet back here in thirty minutes."

[Magi of Worlds]

The time passed slowly for Arc in the cell after he'd been tortured. The Captain hadn't gotten a single word out of Arc other the his screams. Pissed the Captain had punched him out and given orders for him to be taken back to his cell. There was still no sign of the two Cadet's left in his squad and Arc didn't even want to think what might have happened to them. An unknown amount of time had passed between the last time he'd seen them and Arc wasn't even sure if they were alive.

A cracking of the bars brought him up from his daydreaming. It was the guard from earlier. He was bringing Arc his meal. Which turned out to be mush that was as inedible as it looked, which wasn't saying much for it eitherway. After finishing the meal Arc was taken out of his cell for exercise. They wanted to keep him alive it seemed. This went on for God only knows for how long.

Days later there was a crack on his cell bars and Arc looked up to see a familiar face, only Jay was wearing an Esthar Lieutenant's outfit.

"Well hello 'Instructor'!"

Arc tensed in thought. So this was how they knew the correct train to attack. Jay was a traitor! Arc grimaced in anger. It had to be one of his squadmate's that had to be the traitor. Of course! Just Arc's luck!

"Where's Kyle and what the hell is going on?"

Jay laughed and took his time in answering. When he finally did the answer chilled Arc to his very heart.

"Well, a new Sorceress has appeared and she has decided to 'bump' a few people off shall we say. While drugging and hiding Rinoa she has planned the assassination of President of Laguna with his own generals while effectively taking over Galbadia and Esthar respectively."

Arc stuttered in fear and understanding. A new Sorceress, especially one who turned out to be evil would change their world completely. Satisfied with the information he had supplied Jay left Arc to comprehend it.

[Heartless Angel]

Dante rubbed his eyes, only barely waking up and processing Storm's orders. "Yeah... sure thing.... Thirty minutes." he said with a loud yawn. He grabbed his weapons and jumped from the train after forcing the door open. He ran towards the damaged train ahead to investigate.

The area was quiet... too quiet. There were bodies from both sides laying lifeless around the train. He checked the bodoes that were still moslty intact, just to be sure they were all dead... there were no survivors here. At least not outside the train. All he could determine from the outside, is that this was no accident. This train had been attacked. He wanted to check inside to learn more. One of the doors had been torn off its hinges; because of the fact that it was laying outside of the train, he deduced that it must have been the enemy breaking in, not the survivors getting out. "I got a bad feeling about this...", he muttered, as he climbed into the wreckage.

The inside was much like the exterior. Full of lifeless bodies. He checked all of the compartments he could access before finally coming across a piece of evidence that sent a chill up his spine. "Arc's SeeD ID... this was HIS train...", he muttered. One other thing caught his eye. The body of an Esthar soldier. Why would an Esthar soldier be involved in a raid on a train this close to Galbadia? He went back outside, to see if he could find anything else to suggest Esthar involvement here.

Sure enough, he found more. The weapon that damaged the front of thetrain, forcing it to stop was an Esthar design... "Strange... This was clearly an ambush... but why here? Out in the open like this... They would've been detected sooner, and they lost alot of men because of that... the best option would've been after the junction a mile or so ahead...", he said to himself, trying to find some ligical reason for the choice of this location. His eyes widened when he realized why they stopped the train here... "The ambush isn't over... They needed a roadblock.", he said to himself.

"Very good, SeeD. And here I thought you mercenaries were just muscle.", said a Galbadian soldier, with a gun aimed at the back of Dante's head. "On your feet, SeeD.", he said.

Dante slowly began to stand up. He looked carefully at the ground, identifying two shadows. They likely thought themselves the victors of this fight already... but Dante was able to determine their number and position even though they'd caught him from behind. With a high speed spin, he drew his blades, and hurled them at his attackers. He ripped the weapon from the nearest soldier's chest, and sliced him across the neck just to ensure his death. He stabbed the freed sword into the other man, as he removed the other with a slicing motion. He removed the now deceased soldier from his weapon with his boot, and sheathed his weapons with a smirk. "Heh, Like a couple of misfit Galbadian soldiers had a chance against me.", he said. He turned around and saw more soldiers in the distance running towards him, open firing. "Oh shit...", he said, as he broke into a run towards the train his tea was waiting in.

[DragonHeart]

"If you have any questions you need to contact your cabin steward, miss." The conductor, who it turned out was also the engineer running the train, bustled by them. Not an easy feet in the cramped drive car, much of its space taken up with consoles and display monitors. And, Storm noted, an old radio capable of picking up the signal from Dollet's repaired radio tower. It crackled with static; the tuner wasn't even close to a broadcasting station. She frowned.

"Sir, I don't think you understand. I am the ranking SeeD officer on this train. The train in front of us was carrying another SeeD team. I need to know what happened."

"Then go ask them," the man snapped, not even sparing her a glance. "I have a train to run."

Storm grabbed his shoulder and spun him around to face her. At the same instant gunfire erupted from the ruins of the train she'd sent Dante to investigate. She looked up. A Galbadian ambush. At least one unit. The engineer grinned at her and clamped his hands on her wrists with inhuman strength. Shit, a body double.

"Ryan," she called over her shoulder. "Assist Dante. Get him back here, we'll use the train for cover."

"What about you?"

"I've got this. Just go!"

Ryan scrambled for the roof hatch, rifle slung over his shoulder. Hopefully he was as good a shot as he thought he was.

"That...waS...stupiD...I'll...kIll...yOu..."

"You can try," she replied and kicked him in the chest with her heavy-soled boot. He grunted and flew backward, his hands sliding from her arms. An oily slime from his disguise coated her wrists. Disgusting. He was already changing, his body melting and reforming into a reanimated horror. She had to act fast.

She drew her blades and sprinted down the length of the car, magic crackling in the air around her. The Gerogero was almost done shifting. Just as it stood she drove her twin blades straight into the oozing, rancid mass of its abdomen.

"WeaponS...caN't...huRt...mE..." it hissed, the putrid miasma of its breath nearly choking her.

"No, but fire can," she said. Her magic triggered and lightning crackled over her knuckles and down the swords, blades glowing blue as she concentrated the energy to the edges. She could see the tendrils of smoke as her lightning magic created heat. The console panel behind the monster was already starting to melt. Then the Gerogero shrieked and burst into flame, setting the train ablaze with it.

Storm yanked her swords out, the glow fading as she turned her focus elsewhere. Without a backward glance she left the monster to its re-death and headed for the ladder, scrambling up to see how Ryan and Dante were faring.

The crack of the rifle shot greeted her as she crouched on the roof. Ryan, using the hood of an air conditioning vent for cover, was firing down on the Galbadian soldiers. He was no Irvine Kinneas, but he was still a damn good shot, managing to hold at least some of the enemy off from Dante as he ran for the cover of the train.

"The train's on fire. Cover us as long as you can, then get to safety. I don't know how long we have until this thing blows."

"You got it," Ryan said, firing again.

"Good." Her magic surged back to life, blades glowing bright with power. Storm raced lightly along the top of the train parallel to Dante but going toward the soldiers, not away. When she reached the edge of the roof she leaped off, twisting in the air to slow her momentum. She landed on her feet, gravel crunching beneath her boots. Without breaking stride she went straight for the nearest Galbadian.

They were all so focused on Dante and Ryan they hadn't noticed her yet. They would. She stabbed one sword through the nearest man's chest, yanked it out and headed for the next. Ryan's shot felled him and she switched targets. The next one was more alert. He blocked her blade with the barrel of his gun. Too bad he didn't see the other sword that drove home through his back, severing his spine.

By that point she had been marked. Storm got to the cover of the first train's rear car just as two soldiers opened fire on her. Bullets ricocheted off with angry metal pings. She could hear them shouting, trying to divide their forces to take all three of them down. She wasn't going to let that happen. Hopefully Dante was as good as he thought he was, even with his injuries.

Ryan was watching her even as he lay down his withering cover fire. She held her hand up so he could clearly see her signal for a delta formation attack with Ryan as the point, Dante and herself both being in decent flanking positions. He would relay the signal. Time to counterattack.

[Heartless Angel]

The odds were definitely better now. They had a sniper on the roof, and Storm was every bit as good in close combat as he was. Dante dropped a handful of smoke bambs, and looked back with a smirk as they went off, now was his chance to strike. He slid to a stop and turned around, dashing into the smoke cloud he'd created. All that could be heard from inside was the sound of clanging swords and death wails. A tornado spell then cleared away the smoke, and threw the bodies around like ragdolls. By this time, Dante had already run for cover near Storm. "So, you got a plan?", he asked.

[DragonHeart]

Storm didn't answer at first, instead signaling for Ryan to join them and surveying the damage while they waited for the cadet to reach their position. The smoking train behind them would be a beacon to any enemies in the area. They had to move.

"Nice shooting, Ryan. I know it's easy to be caught off guard, but you need to be a little more discerning with your targets next time."

"I'll work on it," he said, looking straight ahead.

"First real firefight?"

"Yeah."

She gripped his shoulder for a moment, a reassuring gesture. "It never gets easier. Just remember, they would have killed you if given the chance."

He nodded, his expression grim.

"Good. Now, we need to get moving. Both trains are disabled so we'll be on foot until we reach Timber. Dante, you're on point. I'll take the rearguard. Ryan, watch the sides and assist if necessary. If we're fast we should make it before the rest of the Galbadians come across our trail."

[Heartless Angel]

"Understood. I'll try to save some soldiers for you two. Can't make any promises of course.", he said with a smirk as he left their hding place and began running along the tracks towards Timber. He sliced through any soldier unfortunate enough to be near his path, ignoring the fire of the others. As much as he hated retreat, his orders were clear. Two soldiers about 20 feet ahead of him kneeled down and began firing at him. "Outta my way!", Dante yelled as he flung a ball of fire in their direction. It exploded and sent the two flying in opposite directions. Though his actions didn't show it, he was pushing his body well beyond its limits right now. His injuries hadn't healed as much as Dante claimed. He was unsure how long he could keep up like this...

[DragonHeart]

Dante pushed ahead, moving much too fast and not even waiting for assistance. Ryan could barely get any shots off, leaving the SeeD without cover fire. Dante wasn't even attempting to take out any hostile forces not directly in front of him, leaving Storm to handle the worst of the enemy fire to keep herself and her cadet safe.

One Galbadian unit had ambushed them originally; a second unit attacked them along the tracks, running parallel to them and shooting, not bothering to set up any kill shots. The fire was heavy but the Galbadians were not engaging beyond that. Storm had seen this type of strategy before; they likely had the tracks ahead blocked off with humvees and a third unit. They were being driven into the killing zone.

Just as she thought it, the view ahead confirmed it. She raced forward, catching up to Ryan. He had seen the blockade as well and was slowing down, uncertain. She reached him and grabbed his shoulder, pulling him back.

"Stay behind me," she said.

"What about Dante?"

"He shouldn't have broken formation and run so far ahead."

She slowed to a stop, Ryan distracting the soldiers with his own suppressing fire to give her some breathing room. She stood in a direct line with the blockade and braced herself, raising her swords into position. The blades were crossed, one resting lightly on the other, bright and crackling with energy. The tips pointed to the sides of the rails; the center of the cross aimed directly at the enemy unit.

In an instant she pulled the swords apart, each sliding against the other in a graceful arc. They separated just as the tips of the blades came in line with the target. A massive electrical shockwave burst from them and hurtled down the line with the crack of a lightning strike. Every enemy soldier was thrown off their feet and stunned. All electrical devices shorted out, some catching on fire. There was more than one firecracker pop as gunpowder ignited in a barrel, the weapons blasting themselves apart in the soldiers' hands. The humvees were reduced to smoking wrecks, their windows blown out from the pressure. Then the shockwave was past them and continuing down the tracks, all the energy charging along the rails with magnetizing force.

There was silence for a long moment. Storm turned to Ryan to find him staring, mouth open, his hair sticking out every which way as though he'd been the one electrocuted. It took her a few minutes to get his attention.

"How did you do that?" He asked when he'd recovered enough to form words.

"I'm not called Storm for nothing," she said calmly. "Come on, let's go get Dante. He's probably stunned too but maybe next time he won't run so far ahead." She started down the tracks, Ryan following and trying to look everywhere at once. Not a single soldier so much as twitched.

"How long does this stun last?"

"Not long. Two hours, maybe three. There he is. You're the medic, go check him out."

[Heartless Angel]

Dante struggled to push himself up, his muslces were nearly paralyzed by the shock. "Damnit Storm... advance warning would be nice...", he said, trying desperately to get back to his feet, but to no avail. He fell backwards and stopped trying to move. The shock itself wasn't all that damaging, but compounded with his other injuries, he couldn't even stand. He managed to reach an X-potion he'd kept tucked in his coat pocket, and drank it immediately. After giving the medicine a moment to take effect, he managed to stand up and limp towards his team. "Next time you plan to do that, you might try lettin' me know... That hurt.", he said weakly.

[DragonHeart]

"Well if you'd followed orders, you wouldn't have been in my way," Storm said. "Cadet, give him a hand. We're out of here."

The rest of their flight to Timber passed without event or haste. Storm kept them to a slow pace, not wanting to tax Dante further. She took no satisfaction from injuring him, no matter how minor it was. It was painfully obvious that they were not going to be a cohesive unit, no matter how hard she tried. Dante was too rash, Storm herself too objective. It was a dangerous combination. Even Ryan's easygoing nature could not lift the miasma of tension between them.

Finally Timber came into view in the deepening light of late afternoon. Storm scouted ahead a bit, assessing any possible threats. She found nothing, not a hint of Galbadians anywhere. That suited her just fine. Still, she'd take no chances. She returned to the others, waiting just beyond the outskirts of the town.

"We need to find a safehouse for the night. Ryan, Dante, either of you know where we can go? I've never been here on official business."

Only unofficial. It wasn't something she liked remember. She knew she would still see it as they walked, no matter how long it had been. Blood, bodies, the searing fire of the bullet as it lodged in her body. She rubbed her shoulder reflexively, then realized what she was doing. She yanked her hand away, snapping herself back to the present.

[Heartless Angel]

Dante scratched his beard. "Well... I got a cousin and an aunt who live here... but I ain't on the best terms with my family. I'd rather just spend a little money and stay in a hotel if we can afford to.", he said. Most of his family had never forgiven him for running away long ago, not that it bothered him. He looked at the city, memories of times he spent here with his friends rushing back to him. Things he'd never given a second thought to before suddenly seemed so important now that they were gone...

He brought himself back to reality with a little effort. This was no time for daydreaming. He'd calmed down a great deal since their retreat from the battle, the heavy potion overdosing probably contributed to that a bit as well. "Hey Storm... I uh, figure I should apologize for back there. I wasn't thinkin' of the mission... just getting even.", he said. He looked at his feet for a moment, not sure if he wanted to continue. He sighed deeply. "And I ought to thank you too. If you hadn't done that when you did... I was gonna use a Limit Break. In my current condition, I probably wouldn't have survived.", he said.

[DragonHeart]

Storm studied Dante for a long moment, taken aback by his admission. Very few SeeDs were willing to admit how deeply their own reputations affected them. Perhaps she was being too hard on him, after all. Regret was writ plain on his face, in the tone of his voice, the slouch of his shoulders. Remembering. She knew how he felt all too well.

"You need time to rest," she said. She looked away from him, toward the town. "You shouldn't be on this mission so soon after..." She let the rest remain unspoken. Ryan probably didn't know about it and it wasn't her place to air Dante's shame for him. "Sometimes the aftermath is worse than the mission itself, whether it succeeds or fails. We'll stay here for one day. Deal with whatever you need to in that time. If you can't handle the mission, leave. I can't afford to have a SeeD who can't stay focused on my team."

She pulled a small pouch from her belt and handed it to Ryan. He looked at her blankly.

"Go check in at the hotel. Don't use your real name and don't mention SeeD. I'll meet you there later."

Without further explanation, Storm turned and entered Timber alone. She knew it was a breach of normal SeeD protocol but sometimes exceptions had to be made.

[Heartless Angel]

"I'll head to the pub for a bit, and catch up with you two later on. A group of armed youths arriving together tends to lead people to believe we're SeeDs, so I'll get my own room as well.", he said before going off on his own into the city. He made his way to the pub, seeing a Galbadian Soldier of two on the way. He had a bad feeling about them...

He finally made it to the pub, and as soonas he poked his head in, he noticed a group of soldiers asking the bartender if he'd seen any SeeDs today. He left quickly and quietly. "Not good...", he thought to himself, as he ran towards the hotel, avoiding soldiers at any cost.

[DragonHeart]

Storm stood in front of what had once been the Timber Maniacs. The gray brick tenement with muted green trim hadn't changed much over the years. The wooden sign with its open book and feather quill still hung over the door, faded now from the passage of time. The magazine itself had shut down years ago, the building abandoned. Just another echo of a past most would sooner forget.

She ascended the short staircase, pausing in front of the door. The lock had been forced, wood splintered at the edges.

"Galbadians," a voice said from behind said. "They just left."

Storm turned. The Forest Fox stood at the bottom of the steps. Storm had never learned the woman's real name. Never asked. The years had grayed her hair and lined her face, but the Fox still held the fiery grace of the resistance fighter she had once been.

"What did they want?"

The Fox shrugged. "Don't know. There's nothing left in there, anyways."

"Nothing?"

"Yeah, not too long ago some Esthar soldiers came all the way down here to collect it all up. Didn't leave so much as a page behind."

Storm raised an eyebrow at that. "What would Esthar want with a bunch of old magazines?"

"I think they were looking for something." The Fox glanced around, eyes narrowed. "Not here. The Galbadians haven't left yet. Come by the house later and we'll talk."

"Thanks," Storm said. She got the feeling there were a lot of missing pieces to this puzzle. It had something to do with Laguna Loire's disappearance, of that she was sure.

The sound of boots startled them both. Storm spun to see a pair of soldiers come around the corner of the building. Shit. One glance at those blue uniforms was all she needed. Of course they'd be running patrols. Looking for people like her. SeeDs. No time to run, seconds to hide.

The Fox's house abutted the Timber Maniacs building, only two stories compared to the older, taller architecture of the old publisher. A swift leap brought her to the second floor balcony. One more and she was on the roof, crouching behind the curve of the bell-shaped roof. She looked down on the place where they'd been standing. The Fox was gone.

"Did you see something?" One soldier stopped, studying the profile of the two buildings. Storm crouched down as far as she could. She gripped the hilt of a sword with her left hand. Just in case.

"Probably a squirrel or something," his partner said, clearly unimpressed. He didn't even bother to stop. "Come on, we've got a bar waitin'."

"...Yeah, you're right," the soldier's gaze focused on the shadows where she was hidden, suspicion plain on his face. "Just squirrels," he murmured as he left, double-timing to catch up to his partner.

That was too damn close. Storm waited long after they left. The shadows lengthened as dusk advanced, the temperature dropping. She should probably check in with Ryan and Dante before they started to wonder. The promise of new information lured her, sharpening her focus on the mission. They could wait.

She stood up and stretched, barely noticing the chill. A quick glance around found nothing of interest on the street. Storm dropped directly from the roof to the ground, landing lightly as a cat. She knocked on the door three times, opened the door and slipped inside.

[Heartless Angel]

Discretion was not Dante's strong suit, at least not when he was angry. He was detected almost immediately, and was forced to engage a small group of soldiers. The battle was quick, and brutal. He removed his redenned sword from the last of them, just barely alive, and with a vicious downward cleave, severed his neck. He sheathed his weapons, breathing hard. "I can't keep this up...", he said, removing another potion bottle from his coat, guzzling its contents. He stretched his arms and legs, and began walking towards the hotel again. "I should stick to spells to avoid unnescessary strain on my body... I can't afford to keep drinking potions like this...", he mumbled.

[Acheron]

Something had gone wrong.

Even the dullest person could figure that out and since Quinn was far from dull, the questions of what possibly could have happened started to run through her mind. Too much time had passed from when she read Headmaster Trepe’s letter to this moment in time, where she sat on a couch in the briefing room she prepared for the Balamb SeeD. Times were indeed chaotic. Quinn got off the couch and looked outside from one of the room windows. Plenty of students out, some sitting at the tables out in the quad, while others walking around or watching the usual game of pick-up basketball going on. She would have loved nothing more than to laugh at all that, tell them to grow up and prepare for the next days class. But as much as she didn’t like to admit it, it was not too long ago that Quinn herself was just like them.

There was no point wasting more time waiting around. Quinn had to assume for the moment that something had happened to at least one of the teams. Maybe they were still making their way towards her Garden or to Deling City, but until she was able to confirm all that, she was in the dark. She left the briefing room and went down to the first floor. A few students ran past her; either a fight broke out on the court or it was a really good game so far. Quinn saluted to a uniformed SeeD standing in front of a door, which was unmarked but clearly important.

“Evening, Gareth.” Quinn smiled to ease some tension.

“Good Evening Quinn. Something I can do for you?”

“I understand there’s a lot going on in there right now, but I need a favor. Some SeeD from Balamb Garden were supposed to either come here or to Deling City for a mission. But too much time has passed and I’m starting to worry. Think I could borrow someone for a few minutes to scan back any possible radio chatter?”

Gareth’s posture went from tall and proud to now slightly hunched and worried.

“Ahh…I don’t know…Um….I mean they’re pretty busy….”

“Please? Just for a few minutes. I’ll say I knocked you out if they get angry.”

“Quinn…”

“Gareth, it’s me. We were squad mates for the exam. How many times did I let you copy my “Understanding GF” homework assignments?”

“Ah okay, fine. Always throwing the homework guilt out there. When you head in, go down to the first row and all the way to the end. Helen is in there right now, she’ll help you.”

Gareth stepped aside and Quinn moved closer to the door. She quickly gave him a small kiss on the cheek and watched him blush as she went through the door.

After walking down a short corridor, Quinn was now in one room that very few people in the Garden were ever allowed to see. There was no official name for it, almost making it a dirty secret, but most that knew about it or worked in it just referred to the room as the “Control Room”. In front of her were three rows with twelve people in each row, sitting at their station and doing various forms of intelligence work. In front of them, were dozens of wide screens, projecting whatever image they needed to show at any time. None of the analysts broke their attention when she walked in, but the three men who stood to her left noticed her. Each of them wore a black military uniform, but without any markings or signs of rank. Quinn knew who they were, and knew that she wasn’t supposed to know. The eldest of the three, complete with gray hair and gray goatee, quickly came over to her.

“Those of you who know about this room and what’s done here certainly like to abuse the privilege. We are conducting very important work in here little girl and…”

“Sir, I mean no disrespect or have any intention of interfering with whatever you’re doing in here. I was given orders by Headmaster Trepe earlier and the only way of confirming those orders is by borrowing an analyst for a few minutes.” She spoke at a tone only above a whisper.

“I don’t care about your orders. Leave here…”

“It’s quite alright Barry.” One of the other men, this one middle aged, came over to the side of the elder man and placed a hand on his shoulder. “We can spare one body for a little while, it’s no big deal. This one is a good one; she’s not like the rest.”

“Hmpf. If you say so. Go ahead kid, make it quick.”

Quinn nodded. “Thank you sir, sorry again.” She wanted to say something to the other man, maybe a quick thank you, but she knew it wasn’t needed. He looked older now, not as old as his associate but old enough. Or maybe “worn” was the better way to describe it. Time was starting to take its toll on him. She wished that maybe someday she’d get to see him smile again. But he hadn’t smiled since before the funeral, and his son had been dead for some time now.

Not one to risk the old man’s fury, Quinn made her way to the end of the first row and over to Helen. Helen was the same age as Quinn, a bit shorter, a little chubby and not one for field work. However, she was brilliant with intelligence work and easily one of the brightest SeeD members in the entire Garden. She usually looked worried and tonight was no different; Quinn figured the poor girl was running on little sleep and too much coffee.

“Helen, I’m really sorry to bother you but I need your help.”

“It’s okay, nothing too important going on right now anyway. They make you think something is to feel guilty about coming in here, but it’s no bother. What can I do for you?”

“Earlier in the day, Headmaster Trepe informed me that Balamb Garden started a mission to investigate what has happened to President Loire. They designated different assignments to different units and one of those units was supposed to be in this area. I haven’t heard a word from anyone. Even if they went ahead to Deling City, my contacts would have told me. I’m starting to think something happened to one, if not all of the units, however many there might be.”

“Okay, easy enough. Let’s start a few hours back in Balamb, how does that sound?”

“Fine by me.”

Helen pecked away at her keyboard and immediately video started to show up on the screen in front of the two ladies. After zooming in a little bit, the video showed a group of people getting onto the train in Balamb. From the way they looked, it was clear they were from the Garden. Helen didn’t change the feed yet though, as it looped through the next few hours and showed another group headed on the next train.

“So that’s two units so far, traveling by train. Let’s see if there’s any radio chatter around this time frame?”

Helen grabbed an earpiece from the console in front of her. The video from the Balamb Train Station was gone from the screen, replaced with images of wavelengths from different radio frequencies.

“Monitoring frequencies from both G-Army and Esthar forces.”

Quinn didn’t dare make a sound as Helen did her work. Mostly out of respect for her friend, but also partly because she could feel the old man staring her down. That could have been for many reasons though. After a few minutes of listening to radio, watching video of a firefight near the train and identifying some people, Quinn had the answers she needed. However, she let Helen break it all down for her.

“Seems like the first unit on the first train ran into some Esthar forces and while I wasn’t able to decipher all of their code, I think they took the first unit away somewhere. I’ve identified the leader of the first unit, his name is Arc Noman. My gut tells me there in Esthar, so I hope you’re not supposed to meet with him. As for the second force, it looks like they ran into some trouble with the G-Army. You saw yourself from the video; they got out of that trouble with a very strong attack. I’ve identified the members of that unit: Storm Zephyre, Dante Valentine and Kyle Bane. Valentine and Bane seem to be pretty clean; their files don’t show too much. Zephyre however, has a reputation for being “ruthless”, at least that’s what her file says. Seems like the three of them went off in the direction of Timber. If you take a Comm-Link, I can update you in real time if you’re headed out.”

“Helen, I can’t thank you enough. You’re the best.”

“Find me a cute date for the next Garden Festival and we’ll call it even, okay?”
__________________________________________________ ___

An hour later, Quinn was ready to go. Getting to Timber wouldn’t be an issue and even walking the streets wouldn’t be too bad either. The perks of having friends or contacts in various positions in life were starting to help her out quite a bit. There was one more perk that she had though, and this one would make her trip to Timber very short. Quinn stood out in the Quad, which was now deserted, looking up at the stars. She added a black scarf to her outfit and the light breeze made it wave a bit as the night went on. Quinn closed her eyes and her right hand started to glow white.

“Alexander...”

She took a deep breath and when she opened her eyes, Quinn stood in front of the Timber Maniacs building. It had been some time since she used that technique, long enough that she needed to sit on the steps to recollect her composure.

[Heartless Angel]

A gloved hand covered Quinn's mouth, as a man in a Galbadian soldier attire pulled her into an alley behind the Timber Maniacs building. "That was a GF you used, isn't it? You must be a SeeD then! Seems our intel was wrong, they said there were only three, but you're not any of the ones we've been looking for.", the soldier said, as he reached for a knife, he began rasing it towards her throat, but stopped just short, and dropped the knife, and loosened his grip on Quinn, eventually pulled off of her by what seemed to be another Galbadian soldier.

"Hey, you alright?", he asked, as he removed the helmet, revealing himself as Dante Valentine. He sighed, as he removed the sword from the now deceased would-be assassin's back. "You're lucky I was close by. These guys have orders to kill. Least I'm pretty sure they do. If they don't, the ones I've encoutnered so far have even less self control than I do.", he said, as he leaned up against the wall of the building, clearly exhausted. "I've been dealing with em' alone for a while now... So I really hope you're here to back us up.", he said.

[Acheron]

She was only seated on the front steps for a few moments before the gloved hand covered her mouth and she felt herself lifted from the steps. There was little time to react; she was still in shock from the technique she used to get herself into Timber. Her staff was on the steps, she wasn’t able to reach her knife tucked into her right boot and didn’t have the energy to put up a decent fight at the moment. Headmaster Trepe always made a point to tell the students that nothing good can happen without a good nights rest. Now, Quinn was starting to see the message.

Quinn figured she’d elbow him in the midsection, turn around and blast him with a spell but her plan wasn’t needed. The knife hit the ground and caused an echo, as well as causing the Galbadian soldier to permanently release his grip on Quinn. She stumbled forward a little bit and quickly reached for the knife in her boot. Once she turned around, she saw it wasn’t needed. Quinn put the knife away and adjusted her scarf. Before the young man could talk, she went back out front and grabbed her staff. She returned in a few moments.

"Hey, you alright?", he asked, as he removed the helmet, revealing himself as Dante Valentine.

“I’ve had better moments. Nothing serious. Thanks for the help. My name is Quinn Lockridge-Price, but ah, you can just call me Quinn.”

Quinn took a knee and examined the dead body of the soldier. Her focus was his idendity and after peaking under his helmet, she got confirmation that it wasn’t her friend stationed here in Timber. She let out a sigh of relief.

"You're lucky I was close by. These guys have orders to kill. Least I'm pretty sure they do. If they don't, the ones I've encountered so far have even less self control than I do.", he said, as he leaned up against the wall of the building, clearly exhausted.

“I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, because I really appreciate your help….but next time, could you possibly just stun him? A trail of bodies is not exactly what’s needed right now. But, thank you again for your help.” Quinn placed her staff on her back and rose to both feet.

"I've been dealing with em' alone for a while now... So I really hope you're here to back us up.", he said.

“From what Headmaster Trepe told me, SeeD from your Garden were placed into different units for this assignment. I am to assist the unit headed for Deling City, which I assume is yours. So yes, I’m here to back you up and might be able to calm down the G-Army here with a few words. Have you set up a base or rendezvous point with your other team members here?”

He seemed young to Quinn and his admittance of lacking self-control certainly didn’t make her happy, but he was clearly skilled with a blade and knew how to look out for his team members. Even ones who appeared without notice.

[Heartless Angel]

“I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, because I really appreciate your help….but next time, could you possibly just stun him? A trail of bodies is not exactly what’s needed right now. But, thank you again for your help.” Quinn placed her staff on her back and rose to both feet.

He rolled his eyes, and stayed quiet. Mercy wasn't something he could afford in his physical condition, nor was it something he was willing to give in his emotional state. Not to the Galbadians at least.

“From what Headmaster Trepe told me, SeeD from your Garden were placed into different units for this assignment. I am to assist the unit headed for Deling City, which I assume is yours. So yes, I’m here to back you up and might be able to calm down the G-Army here with a few words. Have you set up a base or rendezvous point with your other team members here?”


He slid down the wall into a sitting position, as he wiped the sweat and small ammounts of enemy blood from his face. "Well, that's good to hear. In my current condition, I won't last much longer alone.", he said, reaching into his jacket for another potion. He finished drinking the medicine, and calmed himself to catch his breath before answering he question. "We'd originally agreed to meet up at the hotel... then we split up to avoid drawing attention. Three armed youths travelling together tends to scream 'Look at us, we're SeeD!', know what I mean?", he said, as he let out a weak laugh. He coughed up a bit of blood in the attempt, but wiped it off of his hand as soon as he realized what it was, not wanting Quinn, or anybody else to see it and know the seriousness of his injuries. "...Anyways, it wasn't until AFTER we went our seperate ways that we... or at least I... realized Galbadian soldiers were here looking for us. I haven't seen or heard from my teammates since, so I don't know if they're aware of the situation. If they know about the Galbadians, meeting at the Hotel might be a no go.", he said. He took a small pill bottle from his coat, and took two of the tablets. "Just give me a sec to rest here, and I'll be ready to get moving again.", he said as he swallowed them.

[Acheron]

Well, at least she wouldn’t be on her own for a little bit now.

She listened to Dante as he said what he needed to say while he sat on the ground. His breathing was rather labored and Quinn was now starting to realize that his condition was something a little more serious than exhausted.

"Well, that's good to hear. In my current condition, I won't last much longer alone.", he said, reaching into his jacket for another potion. He finished drinking the medicine, and calmed himself to catch his breath before answering he question. "We'd originally agreed to meet up at the hotel... then we split up to avoid drawing attention. Three armed youths traveling together tends to scream 'Look at us, we're SeeD!', know what I mean?", he said, as he let out a weak laugh. He coughed up a bit of blood in the attempt, but wiped it off of his hand as soon as he realized what it was, not wanting Quinn, or anybody else to see it and know the seriousness of his injuries. "...Anyways, it wasn't until AFTER we went our separate ways that we... or at least I... realized Galbadian soldiers were here looking for us. I haven't seen or heard from my teammates since, so I don't know if they're aware of the situation. If they know about the Galbadians, meeting at the Hotel might be a no go.", he said. He took a small pill bottle from his coat, and took two of the tablets. "Just give me a sec to rest here, and I'll be ready to get moving again.", he said as he swallowed them.

Quinn let his eye-roll from her stun comment pass for the moment. As angry as she wanted to be with him, he was young and more importantly, he was from Balamb. Galbadia meant different things to each Garden. Both Balamb and Trabia had their issues with Galbadia and given the history, it was hard to argue with those issues. But the Galbadian Garden students were from Galbadia or nearby areas. They grew up with people who joined the G-Army or worked for the country in some capacity. Everything she believed in was probably the opposite of what Dante believed. He seemed like a dedicated member of SeeD. She was starting to seriously question if she’d even finish this mission.

“Well, first thing is first.” She had been leaning against the wall across from Dante and took a few steps forward. Quinn held out her right hand and said softly, “Curaga.” The spell took effect and she hoped that would ease things up for him a bit. “Might not cure everything, but hopefully will make travel a little easier. Really sounds like you’ve had a rough time on your own Dante, glad you’re still in one piece!”

Quinn walked over to the entrance of the alleyway, peaking her head out a bit to survey the square in front of her. The lack of patrols didn’t bother her too much; G-Army forces were notorious for being lax within Timber, unless they saw young members of SeeD. She kept looking around for a few moments and then returned the other way but walked past Dante. Quinn instead stopped in front of a garbage dumpster, looking for something she could use. Not finding anything, she returned to Dante and stood against the wall across from him.

“Hmm, well….I think we’ve got a few options. The first is rather simple: we walk to the Hotel. If you wear this guy’s uniform...” She pointed to the dead soldier, “Then I don’t think we’ll have an issue if you let me do the talking. The second option is we could hold up here in the Timber Maniacs building. But that’s not where your friends are expecting you and we might find ourselves pinned down. The third is a bit more obtuse. I know there used to be a vigilant terrorist…I mean, resistance movement in Timber…we could attempt to locate a sympathetic home. Maybe not the best of options in the world, but I think those could work out pretty well. What do you think? Any alternate ideas?”

[Heartless Angel]

“Well, first thing is first.” She had been leaning against the wall across from Dante and took a few steps forward. Quinn held out her right hand and said softly, “Curaga.” The spell took effect and she hoped that would ease things up for him a bit. “Might not cure everything, but hopefully will make travel a little easier. Really sounds like you’ve had a rough time on your own Dante, glad you’re still in one piece!”

The healing spell was far more potent than the potions he'd been going through like water. With this, he'd be in a suitable condition to continue the mission in what he could at least make look like full capacity. "Thanks...", he said, as he got to his feet. "Wasn't fighting here that did this to me though, I'm affraid. I was pretty beat up before this mission even began... I was under the impression that there was a rather low chance of combat beng involved, so I sorta faked a recovery so I could get assigned to this mission, just to get out of that damned hospital, and find some leads on who was responsible for...", he began explaining the situation without thinking. He didn't particularly care if she knew he'd taken a beating on his last mission, lied to Squall about his recovery, and vioalted rules and taken a mission he knew he wasn't in good enough condition to handle, but he absolutely did not want anybody else to know that he had alterior motives for wanting this mission. "...Well, it isn't important.", he said, as he watched Quinn wandering aroud the alley.

Quinn walked over to the entrance of the alleyway, peaking her head out a bit to survey the square in front of her. The lack of patrols didn’t bother her too much; G-Army forces were notorious for being lax within Timber, unless they saw young members of SeeD. She kept looking around for a few moments and then returned the other way but walked past Dante. Quinn instead stopped in front of a garbage dumpster, looking for something she could use. Not finding anything, she returned to Dante and stood against the wall across from him.

“Hmm, well….I think we’ve got a few options. The first is rather simple: we walk to the Hotel. If you wear this guy’s uniform...” She pointed to the dead soldier, “Then I don’t think we’ll have an issue if you let me do the talking. The second option is we could hold up here in the Timber Maniacs building. But that’s not where your friends are expecting you and we might find ourselves pinned down. The third is a bit more obtuse. I know there used to be a vigilant terrorist…I mean, resistance movement in Timber…we could attempt to locate a sympathetic home. Maybe not the best of options in the world, but I think those could work out pretty well..."

He looked at the Galbadian uniform he was already wearing, covered in blood, and torn up from when Dante had killed its original owner. "Yeah... this one might draw a bit more attention than we really want...", he mumbled, as he began to undress in front of her, listening to the rest of her words. He struggled with the zipper on the pants that were much too small for him. "Damnit, wouldn't ya know it'd be the scrawniest damn platoon in the entire G-army that tries to kill us?", he said, finally negotiating the small uniform. He let out a sigh of relief when the struggle was over, and thought momentarily on Quinn's question.

"What do you think? Any alternate ideas?”

"Well, the army is likely to be looking at the hotel, that'd be the most obvious place we'd go after arriving here. However, if we go anywhere else, Storm and that kid... whatshisface... Karl or whatever... won't know where to meet us...", he said, as he walked towards the dumpster, opening the lid, and moving aside a layer of garbage, revealing a large stash of the soldiers he'd encountered so far. "I suggest, we do a little recon, and see if the soldiers have located either of them, while trying to find them ourselves of course", he began taking bodies out of the dumpster. "Should be one your size that hasn't been totally destroyed... I only wish I was so lucky, of all these guys only one was even close to my size, and that thing's trashed now as I'm sure you noticed. Bunch of damn midgets those Galbadians.", he continued removing nearly a dozen corpses from the large dumpster before finding one. "Aha! This should be pretty close, it's in good condition even!", he said, as he began putting the other bodies back inside. "Go ahead and change, I won't look.", he began, turning and facing the end of the alley. "Unless you think another plan would work better.", he said.

[Acheron]

Once the Curaga spell had taken effect, Dante seemed to be in a little better shape. This made Quinn pretty happy, as she was hoping not to have to baby-sit like she usually did on missions involving a group. She listened as he thanked her for the healing spell, then detailed what he had been through both in Timber and before. None of it made her happy. So not only was he attempting to mow through the G-Army himself, but he had faked his condition to get onto this mission. Yet he slipped when he spoke, almost letting out something he didn’t want to, “responsible for…” So maybe there was more to the guy than she thought. Headmaster Trepe was right: some organizations like to hide their secrets, but SeeD has them full out in display. After she laid out her plans for the two of them, she listened to what he had to say.

"Well, the army is likely to be looking at the hotel, that'd be the most obvious place we'd go after arriving here. However, if we go anywhere else, Storm and that kid... whatshisface... Karl or whatever... won't know where to meet us...” he said, as he walked towards the dumpster, opening the lid, and moving aside a layer of garbage, revealing a large stash of the soldiers he'd encountered so far. "I suggest, we do a little recon, and see if the soldiers have located either of them, while trying to find them ourselves of course", he began taking bodies out of the dumpster. "Should be one your size that hasn't been totally destroyed... I only wish I was so lucky, of all these guys only one was even close to my size and that thing's trashed now as I'm sure you noticed. Bunch of damn midgets those Galbadians.” he continued removing nearly twenty corpses from the large dumpster before finding one. "Aha! This should be pretty close, it's in good condition even!", he said, as he began putting the other bodies back inside. "Go ahead and change, I won't look.” he began, turning and facing the end of the alley. "Unless you think another plan would work better.” he said.

She had previously turned her head and covered her eyes when he changed but now wanted to do so even more when she saw all the bodies he had stashed away. Anger was the first thing she felt, despair followed second and worry was a very close third. There was a reason she didn’t like to work with SeeD from Balamb and that reason was becoming stronger and stronger. The way Dante spoke about them, it was as if they were nothing more than obstacles in his way. Last she checked, Galbadia was not at war with anyone currently. Yet the wounds of the past never seemed to heal. After watching him pull the bodies out, pick one that looked her size and then put them all back, Quinn finally got off the wall and took some action. She picked up the dead soldier and returned him to the dumpster, putting some more trash on top to hide the body with the other. It wasn’t how she wanted to leave all them but options were limited right now. She’d inform Helen of it later.

“I agree. Recon would be a good idea at this point. But I don’t need a uniform. Remember when I said I could smooth things out with a few words to the G-Army? I wasn’t kidding. The only reason that soldier attacked me is because I was sitting and my back was facing him. From behind, I imagine I did look like a SeeD: young girl with a weapon and no military uniform, I’d make the same assumption. But if he had given me a moment to identify myself, then that probably wouldn’t have happened and he would still have his life. Enough about that though. Once we’re out in the street and once we’re stopped, make up whatever name you want when soldiers question us. Say you’re fresh out of boot or a new transfer. Sorry, you’ve had espionage training, you know all this already. ”

Quinn slowly started to walk to the alleyway entrance. With each step she took, she debated how much information she would reveal to Dante. She had a sneaking suspicion that from his momentary slip, there was more to him than he was letting on. Maybe it had something to do with the mission, someone within it or something else entirely. Either way, Quinn figured that both of them hiding information from each other wasn’t going to do much in the way of trust and with a lack of trust, would come a load of problems. She instead figured she’d give him just enough information about herself for the time being; full disclosure could come at another point, if they made it that far. Once Quinn reached the end of the alley, where the square opened up, she looked back to Dante and waited for him.

“As for myself, I’ll be fine. It will only take them a few seconds to verify that I’m a member of the Galbadian Military.”

She could explain in detail later, but for now…it was time to move along.

[Heartless Angel]

“I agree. Recon would be a good idea at this point. But I don’t need a uniform. Remember when I said I could smooth things out with a few words to the G-Army? I wasn’t kidding. The only reason that soldier attacked me is because I was sitting and my back was facing him. From behind, I imagine I did look like a SeeD: young girl with a weapon and no military uniform, I’d make the same assumption. But if he had given me a moment to identify myself, then that probably wouldn’t have happened and he would still have his life. Enough about that though. Once we’re out in the street and once we’re stopped, make up whatever name you want when soldiers question us. Say you’re fresh out of boot or a new transfer. Sorry, you’ve had espionage training, you know all this already.”

He clenched his fist, and it was shaking with anger. "So then, the Galbadian don't give fake missions to lure and gun down their own SeeDs then? How fortunate you are.", he said, in an oddly calm voice given his obvious feelings. "I've actually had very extensive espionage training. Specialized in it in fact. Well, I guess I'm ready. Corporal William Steele, at your service.", he said, accurately mimicking the voice of the man he'd killed, reading the name from a small diary he'd found in one of the pockets of his uniform. He skimmed the more recent entries, to get an idea of the role he'd need to play. "Well, that's nice, apparently I'm being considered for a promotion." he said. He'd finished checking the dates he was most interested in. Though he was already aware the odds were slim, he'd confirmed that this man wasn't involved in the attack on his squadron, and wasn't aware of anything related to it. Or at least that he hadn't written about it if he was. "And I'm not very good at spelling it seems. I spelled Sergeant with a J.", he said, as he put the diary back into the uniform's inner pocket. "Alright... as long as I don't talk too much, I should be able to convince any of the soldiers around here that I'm really this Steele guy. Unless they break out the biometrics, we'll be fine... all the same, I'll leave the talking to you when possible. Getting to know your enemy on a personal level can only lead to hesitation when them time comes to do my job.", he said, shouldering the soldier's rifle.

[Acheron]

His anger towards Galbadia took Quinn by surprise. Generally, students from Balamb had a dislike for people from Galbadia but this was something much deeper. Did he lose someone years ago due to Edea? No, he was the same age as her, probably not that long ago. But it was impossible to deny that there was some personal connection between Dante and Galbadia. Quinn wasn’t one to purposely throw more flame onto a fire, but she also wasn’t going to compromise her beliefs so he could get even.

He clenched his fist, and it was shaking with anger. "So then, the Galbadian don't give fake missions to lure and gun down their own SeeDs then? How fortunate you are.” he said, in an oddly calm voice given his obvious feelings.

She could have responded to that in many ways but decided not to, only keeping her eyes locked on him when he said it. Her mission was not to solve his issues. If she could help him some day down the line get even with whoever wronged him, maybe she would. But for now, she wasn’t going to let his bloodlust claim any more lives than it needed to.

"Alright... as long as I don't talk too much, I should be able to convince any of the soldiers around here that I'm really this Steele guy. Unless they break out the biometrics, we'll be fine... all the same; I'll leave the talking to you when possible. Getting to know your enemy on a personal level can only lead to hesitation when them time comes to do my job.” he said, shouldering the soldier's rifle.

Quinn didn’t want to move just yet, she much rather would have preferred staying there and screaming at him for a few hours. She was mortified by his lack of respect for the dead. How he just rummaged through this soldiers life, casually speaking as if the man were nothing more than an ant crushed under his boot. But she didn’t lash out. Not because it was the opposite of what she usually would do, but because she just didn’t know Dante enough. Maybe, just maybe, everything he was doing was right. Maybe he did have a legitimate reason to slaughter Galbadian soldiers. It was possible that what he was doing was nothing in comparison to what had been done to him. Yet standing in an alley, mulling these thoughts over, was not going to get the mission done.

She saw that he was ready behind her and she took a few steps out into the square. Since they agreed to gather some intelligence, heading to the Hotel right away was not going to happen. Instead, Quinn took a quick left out of the alley and walked in the direction of the train yard. With Dante behind her, she took the stairs down to the area that had both the Item shop and bar. There were four Galbadian soldiers outside of the bar: three enlisted soldiers and one Captain. Unfortunately for the pair, it looked like the soldiers had biometric equipment with them. Quinn crossed her fingers for a few moments as she walked up to the soldiers, hoping that at least some luck was on her side tonight. As both she and Dante got closer to them, the soldiers all took notice and stood firm.

“Hi, I hate to bother you all tonight but…I’m looking for some friends of mine…”

Two of the enlisted soldiers looked confused, as if they were dreaming. Both of them started to go for their weapons, but stopped when they realized their colleagues were not doing the same. In fact, the other two soldiers had already taken off their helmets and were smiling. Quinn returned the smile; it was hard not to, seeing how she hadn’t seen either Cpl. Keio Swan or Capt. Mick Pahlsen in almost a year.

“Quinn!” Keio was quick to lose his composure. He went over and gave her a big hug, which took her by surprise. He then released her to take a few steps back and regain himself. “Sorry, it’s just been a long time.”

“No worries Keio, clearly I’m not complaining at all.” Quinn then saluted to Pahlsen, remembering he was always more formal, and rarely had all that much to say. “Good to see you as well Captain.”

“You look to be fully healed…That’s good. What can we do for you Quinn?”

“You’re all on duty here, so I don’t want to bother you too much, but I’ve been sent on a mission here to round up some SeeD from Balamb Garden. Apparently they have something to do with what happened to the President. Cpl. Steele here was nice enough to come with me from G-Garden to here as backup.”

Captain Pahlsen saluted to the man he believed to be Steele. “We haven’t heard exactly that, but we were informed to detain any SeeD we come across. Orders were pretty vague. A lot of confusion coming out of Deling City right now.”

“I understand. And everything is going well around here?”

The Captain tried not to show any emotion, but his face clearly looked a little worn from that question. “A few of my guys haven’t reported in for some time. We got a bunch of newbies today though, hardly know their names, so who knows.”

Quinn nodded. “Alrighty. Well, it was good to see the two of you again. Corporal Steele and I will be staying at the Hotel, so if anything comes up about the SeeD, please let us know?”

Keio spoke up. “Actually, there’s that issue about the Timber Ma….”

“Quinn.” The Captain took a few steps forward, “It would be best if you, Keio and I spoke in private. Would that be okay?”

“Sure, but not at this moment. Corporal Steele and I still have rounds to do about Timber. I know it’s late, but how about we meet up here a little before daybreak?”

Both soldiers nodded, and then went into the bar with the two others. Quinn wanted to let out a sigh of relief, maybe celebrate the charade they just pulled but she knew better. More importantly, she thought that both of her friends knew better and were just going through the motions. Once the coast was clear, she turned back to Dante with a smile on her face.

“Well, maybe not terribly productive, but could have gone worse, right? Sorry I didn’t find more openings for info or to get you in there. They might open up when I speak to them alone. Daybreak is only in a few hours anyway.”

Quinn started back up the steps and sat down on a bench. She didn’t realize it before but from the moment the Captain had mentioned her previous wounds, tears had started to form. Those tears had been falling since the soldiers went into the bar; she was entirely unaware. She wiped them away with her sleeve and hoped that Dante either wouldn’t notice, or didn’t care to ask.

[Heartless Angel]

As he began to loosen his clenched fist, and calm himself, he could almost feel the gaze of his new companion. It felt like a knife being twisted in his chest. She was clearly upset by his actions and emotions, or lack thereof. If they were going to function as a team, he couldn't have that. For now, he'd just have to surpess all visible signs of his emotions. This was unusually easy for Dante, who'd gone under rigorous physical and psychological conditioning when trained in espionage and assassination. There would come an appropriate time and place for feelings, but this wasn't it. He could feel the sting of her eyes fading away. Was she doing the same thing he was, hiding her emotions? Or was she perhaps beginning to understand him? It wasn't important, his objective here wasn't to make a friend, he quickly purged the thought from his mind, and focused on filling the role of the young corporal.

The pair left the alley, and headed left towards the trainyard before finally encountering a group of four soldiers. Dante's first thoughts were how to neutralize them should they see through his ruse... his new partner seemed to resent the use of deadly force, and maybe even him for resorting to it... so if possible, he'd take them alive. His muslces tensed when he recognized the biometric device one of them carried. What did they have that for, it shouldn't have been nescessary unless they already suspected that someone here wasn't who they claimed to be. Two of the soldiers began reaching for weapons as soon as Quinn spoke... perhaps she was wrong about her own safety from these soldiers, or perhaps they simply knew Steele well enough to know he wasn't him. He could feel it... they knew. He began to reach for a weapon, but noticed them relaxing, and no longer going for their own... he'd been ready to strike them down for nothing... was this really who he was? Rationalizing attacking these people without provoction? Until Quinn showed up, he hadn't given such things a second thought... but since he saw how she felt about what he'd been doing... he began to doubt his own actions. They were looking at the hand he'd been going for a weapon with... he scratched his side, in an attempt to make his motions look more natural, he couldn't shake the feeling that they were on to him, and wanted to do anything to throw that suspicion off of him.

The tension in the air was thick enough to choke a man, until Quinn indicated that she knew two of these men. Once two of them began acting friendly, the two in front relaxed even further, and Dante was able to do the same. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief and listened intently to what each of them said.

“Well, maybe not terribly productive, but could have gone worse, right? Sorry I didn’t find more openings for info or to get you in there. They might open up when I speak to them alone. Daybreak is only in a few hours anyway.”

Quinn started back up the steps and sat down on a bench. She didn’t realize it before but from the moment the Captain had mentioned her previous wounds, tears had started to form. Those tears had been falling since the soldiers went into the bar; she was entirely unaware. She wiped them away with her sleeve and hoped that Dante either wouldn’t notice, or didn’t care to ask.

He followed her, and stood at attention near the bench. After all, a soldier trying to win a promotion would want to look sharp, right? He spoke softly, and quietly to avoid being overheard. "You didn't get anything out of that? That one who knew you, Keio... he knew something. The look on his face when you asked that question, and he mentioned Timber Maniacs. Somebody saw them there. They must've.", he said. His training let him gain just as much information from what was not said as what was.

He noticed her wiping away a tear... bu he hadn't noticed when it formed, he couldn't even hazard a guess as to what caused it, and he thought better not to ask, since he figured there was a fair chance it was in some way, his fault.