* * * * * * *

6

I hit the ground hard, and immediately rolled into a protective ball. The edge was much steeper than I'd originally thought, as well as rockier; by the time I got to the bottom I had numerous cuts and bruises all over my body. I just lay there for a moment, then staggered to my feet. Grabbing my head, which felt like it had been on the receiving end of a chocobo stampede, I turned and stared down the tracks. Squinting, I could see Irvine's figure stand, collapse, then stand again, grabbing his side. There was no sign of Seifer.

Worried, I took off down the tracks at an ever-increasing jog, trying to ignore what the jarring pace was doing to my headache. Reaching Irvine, I asked, "Where's Seifer?"

He looked at me blankly for an instant, making me wonder if perhaps he had a concussion, then his eyes snapped wide. "Damn, I don't know. He got off...after me."

Moving past Irvine, I headed farther down the tracks. The foliage grew thinner as I approached the stone tunnel, then I saw the white shape lying just below the entrance. "Oh Hyne," I breathed and sprinted the rest of the way, sliding the last couple feet on my knees towards Seifer.

It was obvious, if not from his position then from the wounds, that he had slammed into the wall upon exiting the train. Afraid of what I'd find I checked for a pulse, and gave a sigh of relief when I found a strong beat. I cast two healing spells on him, but spells wouldn't be enough and I knew it; he needed a medic, or at the very least a comfortable, warm place to rest.

Very carefully I reached out and turned him over, and felt a whisper of residual magic trickle off him and out in the air. Easily identifying it, I breathed a sigh of relief and felt another spark of admiration for the unconscious man. Few people, quite possibly myself included, would have the presence of mind to cast a shield spell with events moving so quickly. The spell had saved him from being dashed to a bloody pulp against the stone face of the tunnel, but it hadn't kept him from total harm.

I could tell he'd hit the wall back-first from the tears on the back of his jacket, and the large bleeding bump on his crown. The slope here was gentler than the one Irvine and I had fallen down, but there were still a few scrapes on his hands and face.

"Holy..." Irvine came up behind me and squatted down. "How could he have survived that impact?"

"A strong shield spell at the last minute, but he's still got injuries and most likely a concussion. We need to take him somewhere safe and quiet, fast."

Irvine looked at Seifer, then the tunnel wall, then Seifer again, an agonized look on his face. I was about to ask what was the matter when the look was replaced by determination. "We gotta get out of here. Unless others got off with us, and I doubt it, they don't have enough clout to stop a civilian train and backtrack for us and they know it. Still, it's best if we moved quickly."

My thoughts exactly. "There's a town not far from here, Tinaga. It's small enough that not too many should see or recognize us, but not big enough to hide in for longer than a day or so. Still, Seifer needs help now and it's the closest bet we have."

"If you're talking about the speck to the south, I saw a few monsters that way. It won't be smooth sailing."

"So what else is new? Just junction your magics for attack, we can't afford any extra time in fights. And could you go scout out the area so we'd have a better plan on what to expect?"

Irvine nodded and took off while I pulled Seifer up to a sitting position. The movement awakened him and he opened his eyes, looking at me. A lopsided grin spread over his face as he mumbled, "I must be in heaven with such pretty angels."

I almost dropped him in shock but somehow kept him steady. "Humph, now you're going to heaven," I muttered, then made him focus on my face. "Who am I? Do you know who I am?"

His eyes, which had been wandering, focussed on me and he smiled again. "The prettiest girl in the world."

Ah damn. Even coming from a guy who was clearly delusional, being called pretty always makes a girl's stomach do flipflops. Then again, I hear it at least once a week from a Trepie and feel nothing… no use trying to figure out why Seifer is any different right now. "Flattery won't work on me wonderboy," I lied. "Can you tell me what my name is?"

"You're Quistis Almasy."

This time I did drop him, and he fell backwards with a small grunt. I was not asking any more questions, no siree.

Irvine chose that moment to reappear, and composing myself I took one arm as Irvine took the other, and we headed towards the village.

* * * * * * *

Two caterchippilars, four bite bugs, and a rather irate Buel later, we arrived in Tinaga. The sun was already settled behind the mountains but there was enough light to discern the town's only hotel. We rented two rooms joined by a common door, and I situated Seifer as best I could in the room with two beds, tucking him like I would a child. He was fast asleep even before we got him fully onto the bed so I took his boots and jacket off, laying them on the room's chair and shut off the light. Irvine and I then retreated to the adjoining room, my room, to talk.

"Okay Irvine, tell me just what is going on here and why we are getting shot at by other SeeD soldiers. Tell me all of it right now or I'll wring your neck."

"Whoa there Tiger, I'll confess I promise. Just let me get comfortable first, eh?" Testing the mattress's softness first, he hopped, feet outstretched, onto the bed in front of him then leaned back and folded his hands behind his head. With a sly smile, he patted the bed and asked, "Want to join me?"

I just stared at him. I was tired, cranky, dirty, and didn't have a change of clothes as we'd left our luggage on board. I'd been shot at by people I should have been able to trust then forced off a moving train -- a very fast moving train. The mood I was in was reminiscent of some of my worse monthlies.

Either Irvine sensed this (and if he did I had to give him credit for being more perceptive than I thought), or he just got tired of the BS too because he started talking. "You know Galbadia Garden was destroyed when it crashed after the sorceress gained control. By the time I got back to Galbadia, the Garden had regrouped and was looking for a location for a new base - preferably someplace more secluded, if that's possible.

"I won't bore you with the moving details; classes and training still went on for the youngers, while us older students helped with the planning."

"Gods, I still cannot believe you were denied becoming a full-fledged SeeD!" Irvine had come home to the realization that, because he failed in his mission to kill Sorceress Edea, he was denied rank. The decision had been made prior to our completing our mission, but red-faced commanders had stood by it. Cid chewing them out had only made them more adamant about the choice too. Balamb's headmaster had offered to commission Irvine himself, but Irvine had said he would finish at Galbadia, wacky bureaucracy and all.

Irvine just shrugged. "It all worked out, I didn't mind. It got me better grades though; after all, who wants to fail one of the saviors of the world."

I rolled my eyes and stared at the sharpshooter, who simply grinned back and continued his story. "Anyway, things were starting to get back to normal, or as normal as they could be considering the circumstances. A week ago they started getting mission requests again, and I of course was bumped up to the top.

"The original mission, as I would brief you, was a spying mission to military officials suspected of being loyal to the memory of the Sorceress. That's why Seifer was brought on, as an intermediary to starting contact."

He took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "But, the problem at Galbadia Garden had changed that. Apparently we had…traitors among us, also loyal to the memory of the Sorceress. They murdered the headmaster and took over Galbadia Garden, including the students. The little ones got away thanks to some of the teachers, but…Quistis, they have G-Garden!"

I didn't know what to say about the agonizing look he gave me except, "I'm sorry." It sounded lame even to my ears and I cursed the fact that I wasn't more like Rinoa or Selphie. I was an ice queen to the core, no matter how much I hated it.

Irvine shook his head and turned serious again, no more amusement lurking in the corners. "I'd already left on the mission, and I heard about it at the train station. It must have happened just as I left. There was a message waiting for me with the stationmaster that gave me my new orders, and here I am."

"Here you are," I echoed, slowly sitting down on the edge of the bed. I let that sink in for a few seconds then asked, "So, what's our new mission?"

"I'm to find you, then somehow save Galbadia Garden." Taking off his cowboy hat and raking his fingers through his hair, he gave a hollow laugh. "No pressure, eh?"

I didn't answer him, just sat on the bed thinking. There was no way we could do this mission without help, and that was the honest truth. Missions like this required whole gardens; three operatives could do an infiltration operation, but not the full assault probably necessary. My first thought was that we needed to get ahold of Balamb Garden with the information, see what our orders from that corner were. They were most likely abreast of the situation, and might have more info than we did. But there was the problem of getting there in a timely fashion without transportation, as well as trained assassins dogging our heels…

"Quistis?"

Pulled out of my thoughts, I focussed back on Irvine. "One thing at a time," I finally replied. "Right now we have Seifer to worry about. We'll leave early tomorrow if he's good to go, and if he isn't we'll deal with it then. Get some rest, we'll be needing it come tomorrow."

Irvine nodded and rolled off the bed, starting toward the door.

I remembered something. "Irvine, I've got a question." When he paused and turned around I asked, "Back at the tracks, what happened when you two got off the train?"

He stared down at the floor for the longest time. "I chickened out when I saw you rolling down the hill. Seifer was waiting for me to go, and when he saw I couldn't do it he tossed me out just before the tunnel, then went himself."

"So you were the reason he was hurt?" The minute I said it I realized how harsh it sounded. I hadn't meant it that way, to make him feel worse about it than he already did, but I saw him stiffen. Still, I couldn't bring myself to apologize; I'd only said the truth.

"Goodnight, Instructor Trepe," he said, walking out of the room through the common door and shutting it behind him.

Great, now I was back to being called ‘Instructor’ again. I guess I deserved it though. Pulling back the covers, I kicked off my shoes and climbed into the bed fully clothed in case of emergency. It occurred to me that I really should have apologized for what I said; after all, I myself had very nearly chickened out when faced with that jump, and I couldn’t expect everyone to make the same decision….

Think tomorrow: right now, sleep beckoned and I was only too happy to oblige.

“SHIT!”

I jackknifed upright at the sound of Irvine’s voice, noticing it was still pitch black all around me. Abandoning the bed, I ran across the room toward the door. It swung open suddenly and I barely kept myself from being hit by it as Irvine rushed into the room.

"Seifer's gone."