Seifer knew it was hopeless before, but now he was sure of it. He couldn't see anything through the flashing lights and crowded bodies of T-Night. Quistis hadn't arrived yet, and he had yet to see anyone matching Rueday's description. Quite a few cute girls though, he thought to himself, a smirk spreading across his face.
     "Any sign of him?" a familiar voice asked him, almost shouting over the din of the music.
     "Nope," Seifer shook his head, careful to not show his surprise at her sudden appearance. A hand was placed on his arm.
     "Good, it looks like I'm asking you to dance," a mischievous grin crosses his partner's face. "Keep saying no. I'll see if I can find him, then I'll come back to you, okay?"
     Seifer nearly swallowed his tongue as she sauntered away.  Oh Hyne!
     She'd pulled her hair all the way up in some kind of complicated twist, a few strands hanging loose about her face. It was secured with her whip, which she'd threaded through the twist. The leather pants she was wearing looked like she had been melted and poured into them, and they hung low on her hips. The emerald green shirt hugged her breasts, and stopped right at her waist, revealing a tiny bit of flat stomach. The make-up she'd applied had been put on very skillfully. Her eyes looked bigger and much more mysterious, her lips much more pouty. She was close to his height with the high boots she was wearing.
Quistis certainly knows how to work it, Seifer thought bitterly, as he watched her make her way through the crowd. Who was it that said Quistis didn't dance at clubs? Khari? Stupid girl...
     "Tasty one, that girl," said a male voice next to him. "Did she ask you to dance?"
     Seifer nodded, silent.
     "And you said no?" The man guffawed, obviously drunk.
     "I don't like dancing," Seifer told him.
     "With that one, you don't dance. You-." What he'd been about to say was cut short by him hitting the ground in a drunken faint. Seifer stared down at him, disdainfully, then looked back at the dance floor.
     "Be careful, Quistis," he murmured, catching sight of her dancing with a tall man. Almost as if she'd heard him, she sent him a flirtatious wink and disappeared from sight.
     "Hi," a feminine voice near him said. He looked around at her. She was a pretty thing, petite, with short dark hair and hazel eyes. She reminded him of Rinoa. Her eyes were wide and hopeful. "Do you want to dance?" she asked shyly.
     "Sure," Seifer agreed and took her hand, leading her out to the floor. He guided her in and out, between groups and couples until he saw Quistis. Then he stopped and began to dance with the young girl. "Hello."
     She grinned up at him. "I'm Lila. Who are you?"
     "Me? I'm-" Seifer stopped short, as he caught sight of a man with green eyes and black hair, wearing black pants and a white shirt. He caught Quistis' eye, and gestured with his head toward the man. She nodded, and danced her way toward him. Realizing the girl still waited for an answer, he smiled at her,
 "I'm Squall." He winced inwardly. He didn't know where that had come from. Note to self, he thought. Tell Quistis.
     "Nice to meet you, Squall," Lila smiled back, dancing. "You aren't from Timber, are you?"
     "No."
     She tilted her head at him. "Where are you from?"
     "Bal-er, Dollet."
     "Dollet?" Her eyes went wide with interest. "Really? What's it like?"
     "Uh...very empty." Seeing her disappointment, he began to invent stories to amuse her. Her laughing brought him up short. The music had ended, and he dropped her hand. "Thanks for the dance, Lila."
     "No, thank you, Squall!" she grinned at him, suddenly looking much younger.
     He studied her closely. "Lila, how old are you?"
     She took a step back. "Twenty."
     "Are you sure?" Seifer raised an eyebrow. "Because you look sixteen at most."
     "I-I...Uh, I have to go." She all but ran away.
     Seifer smirked, and returned to his post on the wall. He located Quistis, and saw that she was dancing quite suggestively with the green-eyed man. She was also talking animatedly, wide-eyed and gesturing wildly, an intimate smile on her pretty face. When the dance ended, she pressed herself against the man, giving him a playful kiss on the mouth, before sauntering away. Seifer had to admit that she sauntered quite nicely. Her hips swayed very intriguingly. She appeared at his side.
     "How do you do that?" Seifer wanted to know.
     "Do what?" She tipped her head at him, giving him a sultry smile. "Keep up the acting, Seifer."
     "Squall." He saw her eyes go wide, before she nodded. "Disappear, then reappear right next to me. Is that a skill Quistis has?"
     "No, it's a skill Rinoa has," she brushed a hair off her face. She inclined her head at his surprise, and grinned at the irony. "I just seemed to develop it when the need for secrecy came up. It's best not to be noticeable all the time. Even when that's your aim."
     "Ah," was all he could say, as she was playing her fingers across his bare arm. She raised up onto her toes to get close to his face. Her breath was light against his skin. "Play along. We're going to leave together. I have the feeling something is going to happen."
     "What happened with that guy? Was he our man?" Seifer whispered, lowering his face to hers.
     "I'll tell you when we get to the hotel in one piece," she lowered her voice.
     "You don't think we'll get there without a fight?"
     "Just a hunch," Quistis pressed up against him. She rested her head against his shoulder. "You see the three men on the wall to my right? They've been eyeing me all night, and I think they're going to cause some trouble. But if I leave with a big strong male," her hand drifted down to rest on his thigh," they might be discouraged."
     Seifer swallowed, unused to this side of Quistis...or any woman, for that matter.  He’d always been too dangerous to approach.  "You're a great actress, Rinoa."
     "Comes with the territory," her voice was breathy now. "One can't survive if one can't pretend."
     "I'll keep that in mind."
     "Where's the Hyperion?"
     "Next to the door on the way out. There's an invisibility on it."
     "Resourceful. Ready to go?"
     "Yep."
     "Let's move," she nodded, smiling up at him, before slipping her arm through his. They headed for the exit. Seifer reached down and scooped up the Hyperion, still invisible in his hand. The last thing he saw before they were outside was Lila's hazel eyes on him. Quistis' arm tightened on his. "3...2...1..." she whispered.
     "Hey! You!" A rough hand gripped Seifer's shoulder, and turned him forcefully around.
     Seifer pretended to stumble. He looked into the faces of the three men Quistis had pointed out earlier.  "Can I help you, gentlemen?"
     One snickered. "Yeah, you can help us. You can leave."
     "Why would I do that?" Seifer's brows furrowed.
     "So you can keep on living," another one sneered. "Your chick is going to have some fun."
     Quistis' grip on Seifer's arm got tighter. "I don't think so."
     "You got something to say, girlie?"
     "I said 'I don't think so'," she smiled at him sweetly.
     "Who's going to stop us?" the third one asked.
     "Why, my big strong boyfriend!" The smile stayed plastered to her face.
     "Three on two." The second one cracked his knuckles. "Pretty soon it will be three on TOP of one."  With a leering grin at Quistis, he dove for Seifer.
     Seifer dodged easily, and shifted his grip on the Hyperion. The gunblade became visible in his hand, and he sideswiped the one who dove, pulling the trigger on impact as he'd been taught. He turned to face the second one too late, and caught a fist to the jaw. The cracking sound of a whip brought his eyes up, and the one who'd been attacking him was still, a whip around his neck, holding him back. The attacker's eyes bugged, face slowly turning blue.
     "Quistis!" Seifer shouted, as the third guy went after Quistis. She noted it, too, but not before she was knocked to the ground, backhanded in the face. Her grip on the whip didn't falter, though, even as she got to her knees. She glared up at the attacker, tossing her now free blonde hair off her face, and jerked hard on the whip. The neck of the second one broke easily. The whip came whistling back to her hand, but it wasn't in time to prevent a kick to the ribs. And a second one. Breathing hard, she curled up into a ball as another kick headed for her. There was a scream of anguish. She looked up at the last one. He was covered in flames, and he fell to the ground writhing. Then he was still, quite dead. Slowly, she got to her feet, holding her ribcage.
     "Well, that was fun," she tried to smile, but winced instead.  Forgot to junction.  The whip felt heavy in her hand, and it fell to the ground in a heap. She fell to her knees, trying to breathe deeply. Wrapping her arms around her middle, she twisted into a fetal position. She felt bruised and battered. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to move. "Tired." Her blue eyes fluttered closed. Then she was floating.
     "Quistis!"
     No, not floating. Seifer was holding her, his strong arms wrapped around her, holding her close. She smiled at him. "Ouch." Her head fell back, unconscious.
     "Quistis," he murmured, then picked up her whip, strapping it next to his Hyperion, and holding her with his other arm. "C'mon, you have to make it." Slowly, very slowly, he headed for the hotel.
                                *                              *                              *

     She was warm. Very warm. It blocked out the coldness on the inside. She burrowed deeper into the warmness, letting out a satisfied sigh. It made her feel safe and secure, this heat, as if nothing would ever harm her. She smiled as her eyes fluttered open.
     It was black. Frowning, she blinked a few times, but it remained black. Slowly, reluctantly, she drew back from the warmth. Skin. That was golden. Then there was red skin. A scar. The heat was someone holding her, strong arms binding her against him. Hmmm. She tried to think. Black outfit, gold skin, scar. Squall. She vaguely wondered why Squall was holding her, before she drifted back to sleep, a smile on her face.
     "Quistis!" She frowned and tried to block out the voice. Couldn't it tell that she was tired? "Quistis!"  Leave me alone, she thought and attempted to pull the covers over her head. Why won't my arms move?  "Quistis!" Much to her frustration, she opened her blue eyes and stared directly into another pair of deep blue eyes. Concerned deep blue eyes. Her eyes closed again. Squall was taking care of her. "Quistis!"
     "What?!" she snapped and immediately regretted it. Her head spun, and her ribs ached. She could feel the bruises inside, and it was painful. As if to stop it, she curled up into a ball.
     "Quistis, you have to stay awake for me," the voice pressed. "I can't Cure you, I don't have any of those spells drawn. Can you Cure yourself?"
     "Do you want a Shockwave Pulsar up the kazoo?" she muttered, a scowl crossing her features. "Of course I can Cure myself." She reached inside her, but the pain was too much, and she let out an agonized cry. "No, I can't." Quistis scrunched her eyes up. "It hurts."
     "I know it does. But I can't help you without one." A loud curse. Quistis flinched as the noise level made her head hurt even more. "Quistis, stay with me! I need you to face the pain and transfer a Cure to me. Can you do that?"
     Whimpering, Quistis shook her head slowly.
     "This isn't like you, Quistis. Since when do you give up without trying?" The voice was mocking.
     "Since I can feel my ribs against my back," she grumbled. "All right, I'll try." Bracing herself, she dove inside looking for a Cure, and biting her lip against the pain, pictured Squall. The Cure left, and she resurfaced. "There," the statement came out as more of a plea.
     "I didn't get it, Quistis." The voice was bewildered. "I don't have it. Are you sure that it transferred?"
     "It left me, Squall. I don't have it anymore," her voice was small. There was a long silence.
     "It isn't Squall." The voice was hurt, and Quistis frowned.
     "Of course it is. I woke up in Squall's arms. A man wearing black, a scar. He would be the one taking care of me," she pointed out. No answer. "Squall?" she whispered.
     "You're right of course." The voice was cold now. "But Quistis, I need you to transfer a Curaga to Seifer. He's out of them, and needs one to heal someone who means a great deal to him. Do you have a Curaga he could have?"
     "Who's important to Seifer?" she inquired cattily. "All right, I'll try." Again she delved inside her body and found a few Curagas, much deeper and much more painful than the Cures. She hung on tightly, and concentrated on Seifer's face. Slowly, seemingly forever to Quistis who was locked inside her pain, they disappeared and she came back into herself with a bone-shattering crash. Unable to keep a hold on her tears anymore, she wrapped her arms around herself and let the tears come.
     "Shh, Quistis, it's all right," the voice soothed. "I got them." There was a pause and then blue slowly surrounded her body, blue lights that made a tinkling sound as they entered her body. The pain eased and she began to breathe. The blue lights appeared again, taking away all the pain in her ribs and face, and she let out a contented sigh.
     "Thank you," she whispered, and fell back asleep.
     "Sure," Seifer stared down at her closed eyes. He sat down on the edge of the bed and placed his head in his hands. He'd been so scared. Luckily, Quistis was strong. Who knew the three guys could have been so powerful? What if she hadn't been able to get her Curagas transferred? What then? He took a deep breath and lay back beside her, gently pulling her to him. It didn't matter. She was okay.