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At
an Arm's Length
A Final Fantasy VIII Story
by
Aligator
Chapter 24 - Forward March
"The simple plans are often the ones that work best."
Award another point to my dear Instructor, Seifer thought as he approached the Centra Ruins, illuminated by the early morning sun. I'm more than halfway there.
Of course, I wasn't counting on
being eaten alive by insects. He wiped sweat
from his brow and trudged on. This'll
teach me to get so out of shape.
*****
Quistis could barely contain a deep scowl as she, Selphie and Irvine flopped down on the soft leather couch just outside Cid's office.
Her expression didn't go unnoticed by the cowboy, who squeezed his girlfriend's hand and looked over to his best friend. "Hey. What's with you?"
The blonde just rolled her eyes in exasperation. "I'm sorry … that you two got dragged into this —"
"Quistis," Selphie interrupted in a loud, but cheerful voice. She continued softly, "What do you mean you 'got us dragged into this'? We've been in this since we were dropped off at the orphanage."
Irvine concurred with a less graceful, "Yup." Just then, the door opened, and the three jumped to attention.
"The Headmaster will see you now."
They nodded in unison and entered the office to face a stern-looking Cid. "At ease." And they took their seats.
"Miss Trepe, what is this I hear about you junctioning?"
She rose to respond. "Sir, it was the most expedient way to halt the suspect without civilian casualties. I do, however, apologize for the strength of my GF attack. It's been a while since I've junctioned a Guardian Force, and I'm a little rusty, sir."
"That will be enough, Miss Trepe. Please be seated."
Quistis looked at her supervisor/father figure coolly, trying to anticipate his next move, as she stiffly returned to her chair.
"Mr. Kinneas?"
"Yes, sir?" Irvine rose.
"No hats indoors."
"Um, sorry, sir." He brushed back his bangs, as he removed his headwear and returned to attention.
"Don't make me remind you again," the older man said testily. "What did you see?"
"Sir, I was more than 250 feet behind Miss Trepe when she reported to me, via her comlink, that they were heading toward the dead end. I enabled my night vision and deactivated my long-range sights as I approached her position. That was where I was blinded by the light of her GF's attack. For the record, sir, it was Shiva."
Cid frowned again, as he looked at the paperwork in his file folder. "That certainly seems to line up with the forensic evidence."
"Yes, sir."
"You may be seated. Miss Tilmitt?"
"Yes, sir," Selphie answered cheerfully.
"Just why is it you are here?"
"Miss Trepe is my friend and commanding officer, and Mr. Kinneas is my fiancé. I have a vested interest in the situation."
Cid's eyebrow rose. Engaged? This is the first I've heard of it. "That will be all, Miss Tilmitt. SeeDs, you are dismissed," he finished quietly.
After the door had shut firmly behind his charges, Edea peeked in from the adjoining room, where she had been listening to the entire exchange. "They're sticking to their story like I thought they would."
"Damn it," her husband cursed, removing his trusty, wire-rimmed frames and rubbing his temple. "It's frustrating that they're this good at lying through their teeth."
She chuckled softly and moved to sit in the chair nearest him. "We taught them that."
"Don't remind me," he groaned. "I just wish I knew why they're doing this."
Edea sighed heavily. "Well, considering the debacle regarding Quistis' memories of Seifer, they don't exactly trust me like they once did. And there's no real reason for them to trust you … " Her voice trailed off thoughtfully, and her fingers softly tapped Cid's leather address book.
"What?"
"I'm beginning to think there is someone else involved in this. I can't believe we didn't see it before!" Edea jumped from her seat, a huge smile gracing her features, as Cid looked at her in confusion. "I knew there was a reason Laguna was taking such a personal interest in obtaining Seifer's pardon!"
"So what should we do in the meantime?" He asked reaching for her hand before her almost-jig took her just out of his grasp.
"Nothing," she grinned happily. "I just feel better that they're not totally alone on this one."
*****
"Geez, I've never been grilled so thoroughly about a mission before," Irvine groaned as he followed Selphie into Quistis' room.
Quistis regarded him before pointedly replying, "That shows how short a time you've been a SeeD. Anyway … " She flopped down on her desk chair, and sighed, "I'm glad that's over."
Selphie giggled. "I didn't think you got nervous about things like this, Q."
"I don't … normally. Because normally, I'm not filing false reports," Quistis frowned to herself.
"You don't think they believed you?" Selphie's eyes widened.
"Nope."
"Sephie, they wouldn't have called us in if they believed us in the first place," Irvine drawled, placing an arm around her shoulder.
"So what's next?"
Quistis sat up. "You, Irvine and I find out what the hell is going on and what it has to do with Seifer. Selphie, you saw the recording: First he was there, then he wasn't —"
"And his warning prevented you from getting clocked!"
"Thanks for reminding me, Selphie," Quistis finished sullenly.
"It's just that, Quistis, this reminds me of the stories I used to read as a kid, fairy tales, really —"
"Fairy tales?" the blonde echoed softly. "Fairy tales!"
"Q, I'm not making light of it!"
"No, Selphie! You just reminded me of something!" Quistis hopped up and ran across the small room to fetch her phone. "The library, please," she said into the receiver and then cupped her hand over it. "The night … that night … Hello? Is Tara working tonight? She is? No, no message. Thank you." She hung up the phone and pivoted around, with a flourish, to face the couple sitting side-by-side on her bed.
"The night I found the photo, I was in your room, Selphie, because I wanted to ask you a question about a book I found," she reported breathlessly. "It was an old book of fairy tales … Anyway, Tara has been trying to figure out its origin, since there seems to be no information about it in the library's system."
Irvine rose, pulling Selphie up with him. "Well, what are we waiting for? To the library!"
*****
I *could* have stopped when I reached the shore, but *no,* that wasn't good enough. I just *had* to cross the channel and get from there to here in one day, Seifer chastised himself as he hurried down the overgrown paths that led to the orphanage. The sun's dying rays only hastened his pace, and by the time he reached the last bend, he had almost broken into a full-blown run.
Closer. Closer. He turned the corner and saw his destination — the place where he spent a sunny childhood playing along the shore. It was now a dilapidated and ruined ghost whose best days were long behind her.
His blue-green eyes filled with tears, and for once, he didn't feel the need to hide them.
I'm home.
To be continued. . .
Next week: Chapter 25 — Fire Cross
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AN ARM'S LENGTH © 2002-2004 A.L. Roberts.
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