Something was terribly wrong.
     Quistis bit her lip for the seventh time in the past two minutes. Seifer had been gone way too long.  Unless he'd lied and left...No, if there was one thing Seifer didn't do, that was leave a job undone. He  wouldn't have left. Again, she looked out the window and noted the darkening skies. He'd been gone for almost eight hours. Where could he be for eight hours in Timber?! The place was stuck in the Ice Age!  Well, not quite, she amended, but there wasn't much to do, especially for eight hours. Where could he be?!
     She folded her arms and looked out the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of him sitting somewhere or heading for T-Night or something. No luck. Sighing, she changed into another set of clubbing clothes, this time a tube top and short skirt. She let her hair down and pulled part of it back, and pulled on her boots. Tilting her head, she studied her whip before looping it around her waist a few times so it draped low on her hips. With a last look around the room, she headed for the door. And stopped short. Disbelievingly, she turned around and dashed to the bed, where she fell to her knees. Slowly she lifted the heavy Hyperion and stared blindly out the window. He'd left without his weapon! The imbecile! Cursing Seifer and herself, she studied the gunblade for the invisibility trigger and quickly pressed it when she located the small black button on the underside of the hilt. Rising to her feet, she set the Hyperion on the bed, and grabbed a cardigan, tucking it under her arm, before setting the invisible gunblade on top of it. She prayed it wouldn't fall and quickly left the room.
     By the time she entered T-Night, her right arm was close to giving out from carrying the heavy thing.  How, she wondered, do Seifer and Squall do it?! And with one hand? She felt like growling and was very close to giving in to her urge, when she reached the place where Seifer had set it the night before. Hoping no one was watching her, she quickly set it down, her sweater on top of it, and entered the already crowded dance floor.
     Hands on her hips, she looked around the room in search of Seifer, with no luck. Hoping that no one saw her distress, she pasted a fake saucy smile on her face and waited for someone to ask her to dance. She didn't wait long.
     "Hello again, Miss Rinoa."
     A voice close to her ear made her jump, and she spun around to look into a pair of green eyes. "Oh, Mr. Rueday!" She laughed, but it sounded phony even to her own ears. "You startled me!" He stared at her oddly, but shrugged, and held out his arm.
     "I'm glad you remember me, but please, call me Martin," he smiled down at her, as she took it.
     "Rinoa." She smiled back, this time genuinely. He was very charming...
     "Do you mind, Rinoa, if we go someplace to talk?" Martin asked her. "It isn't very private in here, and I'd like to get to know you better."
     "Private?" Quistis frowned. Why would he want to talk to her in private? Why would he want to get to know her better? Then she beamed.  It would serve Seifer right if she completely ignored his orders.  "I'd love to, but I'm kind of new around here. Where could we go?"
     "I know of a perfect place. Come, beautiful one, and stay close." He winked at her. "I don't want you to get distracted."
     "And who in here could pull me away from you?" she flirted back, but she kept close to him as they made their way to the back and out a very well-camouflaged door.
     He led her silently through the back alleys of Timber, while Quistis desperately tried to memorize the buildings and streets they passed and worried about the safety of the Hyperion. She was sure her arm was beginning to bruise from his tight grip, but she kept her mouth shut. She wasn't going to blow her cover and botch this mission simply because she was a little uncomfortable.
     They finally stopped, entering what Quistis recognized as the weapons shop.
     "Is this it?" she wanted to know, looking around at the dark stockroom.
     "Sure is." He grinned at her, white teeth flashing in the darkness, and she couldn't help but smile back.
     "Where is this?" asked Quistis, blue eyes wide with what she hoped looked like innocent curiosity.
     "My secret place," he winked, motioning her to follow behind him, as they entered another hidden doorway, revealed by shoving huge boxes off one wall. They quickly descended as Martin flipped on a light that made the stairs sparkle when there was no other light. The door closed smartly behind them.
     "It's beautiful," she breathed, following his silhouette closely. And it was. Each step, dark black and shiny as obsidian, had thousands of tiny blue lights interspersed throughout them, giving the stairwell a decidedly romantic and mystical atmosphere. "How did you do it?"
     He grinned at her over his shoulder, obviously used to the steps and the lack of light. "Do you believe in magic?"
     "Of course," she responded instantly, before digging her nails into her palm at her mistake. She really needed to watch herself around him. "It's what makes things real." That, at least, was the truth. If magic had no effect at all, then there was something terribly wrong.
     "It's a Curaga," Martin told her. "A Curaga frozen in time."
     "Wow..." How strong was he?! Quistis bit her lip. That took talent, and she was pretty sure that even Squall couldn't do that. "Did you do it?"
     "No," he admitted, and the breath she'd been holding was silently released. Stepping onto a small landing, and pulling her next to him, Martin stopped and pressed his fingers against the wall. Slowly, the blue of the stairs disappeared, fading back into the blackness, and everything went pitch dark. As her eyes adjusted, she could barely make out the shape of the stairs moving away from them.
     "Wha-what's going on?!" The panic in her voice was not nearly as phony as she wished it was. "The stairs-!"
     "Shhh," he soothed. "The stairs are fine. We're moving down, though, so be careful. Hang onto me."  Gladly, she thought, and grasped his arm tightly.
     "So, who did the light thing?" she asked a few moments later.
     "My sister." If he thought her too curious, he didn't show it. "She has incredible magical powers, though she hasn't been trained all that well."
     "Like a sorceress?" The fear that colored her voice was real. Even when she was at her peak performance and level, a sorceress was a tough enemy.
     A sudden jarring beneath their feet alerted them to the end of the ride, and Martin pulled her off the platform. Immediately lights flickered on, illuminating a great room, full of computers, doors, and few men to monitor the equipment. The men didn't look up from their duties.
     Quistis entered the room that Martin indicated and was faced with a cold room, that looked suspiciously like an interrogation room. She forced herself to smile brightly at Martin and took the seat he gestured to. He sat across from her and leaned forward, resting his hands on the table.
     "If anyone knows about being a sorceress, it would be you, Rinoa," he said.
     It took a moment for what he'd actually said to register in Quistis' brain, and when she understood, she was shocked into speechlessness.
     "Am I right?" Martin almost purred.
     Recovering herself, Quistis met his green stare with her own blue one. "I'm afraid not, Martin." She smiled. "You see, it's purely coincidental. Doesn't Sorceress Rinoa have dark hair and dark eyes? And she's awfully short." Quistis resisted the urge to stand up and flaunt her tall body. But just barely. "Why do you ask?"
     His fists made the table-and Quistis-jump. "I don't like games, Rinoa."
     Blue eyes wide with genuine fear and innocence, she tilted her head at him. "I'm not playing games."
     "Nor am I," the veiled threat making her shiver. Abruptly she pushed back her seat and stood.
     "I better go," she said, and turned toward the door.
     A familiar set of mocking blue-green eyes stopped her, and she bit her tongue before she could cry out his name. However, no look of recognition crossed either well-trained SeeD's face.
     "Sit down, Rinoa.," Martin murmured dangerously.
     With a meaningful glance at Seifer, Quistis slowly did as she was told and faced Martin. Seifer was escorted to another seat, then the door slammed, and they were alone with Martin Rueday.
     "Would you care to explain?" he said softly.
     Quistis forced her fingers to unclench, and the white slowly reddened as the blood flowed back into her hands. "Explain what?"
     "Explain the relationship between you two."
     "Relationship?" Surprise evident in her voice, she shot a sidelong glance at Seifer, and one side of his mouth quirked up in an almost smirk.
     "Yes, relationship," Martin continued patiently. "Like why you two left the club together last night? Or what happened to the men who followed you out? Or maybe why your names are Rinoa and Squall, when everyone knows of the connection between the two?"
     Eyes flashing with both danger and laughter, Quistis stood up, putting her hands on her hips. "Squall?! You told me your name was Zell!" Revenge was sweet, she thought wickedly, watching Seifer's mouth curl into a scowl at the mention of the loudmouth martial artist.
     "So? It was a one night thing!" he shot back, silently acknowledging her insult with a raised eyebrow. "I told you I didn't want any commitment, just good hard sex!"
     "That's all it was!" Quistis couldn't prevent the grin from spreading across her face, so glad was she to see him. "But you could have at least had the decency to tell me your real name, so I could have called the right name out in the throes of passion! Now I feel like a fool!"
     Unable to help himself, Seifer burst into peals of laughter, and Quistis did the same, both pairs of eyes sparkling with humor. Then they noticed Rueday, his dark face unamused, and the laughter subsided.
     Seifer cleared his throat. "Sorry."
     "Charming." Martin raised an eyebrow, and gestured. "Care to continue?"
     "Zell is my cousin," Quistis lied skillfully, but grimaced inwardly.  Wow, that sounded dirty. "We traveled together to see Timber from Balamb, and left together because we wanted to discourage any unwelcome admirers. Unfortunately, those three men didn't get the hint, so we disposed of them."
     "Disposed of them?" Martin's voice was dangerously low.
     Immediately, Quistis' voice changed to a defensive tone. "They were going to rape me. We had to, or they would have kept coming back."
     "And how did you...dispose of them?"
     This time Seifer spoke up. "We both have magic training. My mother-her aunt-was trained in extensively in magic, and she passed on her knowledge to us."
     "For magic, it didn't take you very long to beat them."
     Quistis gestured to the whip belted around her waist. "Zell spent time in a military academy, but he left it. Said it was too authoritarian." She suppressed the urge to giggle at the near truth of that statement. "He learned how to handle a weapon, though, and taught me how to use a whip. I continued to study it. And I'm never without it." Realizing she hadn't answered his question, she said quickly," I broke the neck of one of them with it."
     "And you took care of the other two with magic?" Martin directed his question at Seifer. At Seifer's nod, Martin leaned back. "Your magic must be very powerful."
     "Not really," Seifer shrugged. "The men were weak."
     "Why did you tell my sister that your name was Squall?"
     Seifer frowned. "Sister?"  He’d only spoken to one person and that was…
     The door opened and closed, and a slight form with dark hair took a seat next to Martin. Her hazel eyes focused on Seifer, and she smiled. "Hello again, Squall."
     "Lila," he nodded. "And it's actually Zell."
     Her smile didn't fade, but her eyes lost a bit of the happiness they had. "Zell."
     "I told her my name was Squall, because it was a long-standing joke between me and Rinoa. I didn't think I'd see anyone here again, so it seemed harmless." Because he didn't like the fact that he'd hurt Lila, Seifer swallowed his pride. "I'm sorry, Lila."
     She shook her head, but he'd managed to bring more light back into her eyes.
     Quistis stared at the Rinoa look-alike, distaste running through every vein in her body. Who does this girl think she is?! Quistis fumed silently. And since when does Seifer apologize?! This is going to turn out exactly like Squall and Rinoa. Why is that I never get the one-She broke off her train of thought at that, stubbornly refusing to think what it could mean. She folded her arms and continued staring at the girl,  Martin's sister, who was so obviously worshipping Seifer. Wait a minute...Quistis' blue eyes widened and filled with something akin to shock. Didn't Martin say that his sister was a-
     "Sorceress?" she squeaked out.
     Lila's hazel eyes went wide, and she turned her head to look quizzically up at her brother. Martin's green eyes remained on the two blonde members in the room. "Yes," he drawled. "She's a sorceress. More powerful than Sorceress Edea. I trust you remember her."
     Quistis bit her tongue to keep back the remark that the members of SeeD had beaten Edea fairly easily.  But she nodded. "She tried to rule Galbadia, right? Didn't she kill the president?" At Martin's nod, Quistis swallowed her own dislike of the girl, and forced a smile to her lips. "The steps are beautiful."
     Lila blushed, and lowered her eyes. "Thanks," she whispered, and Quistis felt a swell of protection well up inside her, and the smile on her lips became genuine. She wasn't like Rinoa in the least, except for her coloring. Not that Quistis didn't like Rinoa. She was just...jealous.
     Slowly, like a predator, Martin leaned forward and watched the two blondes through half-lidded eyes. "You realize that you have deprived me of three of my best men?"
     Those were your best? Seifer allowed a bit of his disdain to show on his closed face. Quistis, on the other hand, frowned worriedly. Martin merely smiled crookedly at Seifer. "When one has a sorceress for a sister, and isn't lacking in magic power himself, the need for good fighters is not a necessity. However, they had their uses." Lazily, he rested his chin on his fist. "How are you going to make it up to me?"
     There was silence.
     "I have an idea," Martin finally spoke. Lila bit her lip, but said nothing. "How about you accustom yourselves to gathering information for me? Or, since you are so handy at disposing of people, taking out people who oppose me? Or, there's a third choice." His gaze never wavered. "You die. Down here. Where no one you care about will ever know what happened to you. You'll be food for the rats in the sewers. How do you like that?"
     Immediately a picture of Squall came to Quistis' mind, but she pushed it away. He certainly wouldn't care. But Selphie was like a little sister, and Zell was...Zell, the annoying younger brother. She lifted her head and met the turquoise fire of Seifer's eyes. No words were spoken, but each understood what the other was thinking, and as one, they looked at Martin Rueday.
     "What do you want us to do?" they spoke in unison.
     The smile that spread across his face looked like the cat who had caught the canary and was just toying with it.