Kindred Spirits Part Three: Murder

Kai Hallen was proving to be insanely useful, Quistis thought as she watched him pilot the assault boat that Squall had assigned them for the journey to Dollet.

Combat vehicle training was an integral part of any SeeD's regimen at Garden, the theory being that a SeeD should be able to operate any vehicle in any situation, the better to survive. In practice, however, many cadets who lacked in other areas would specialize in the logistical support areas while some cadets would have their curriculum altered to focus on combat skills. Kai was the poster child for the former type, intimately familiar with the functions of every ground car and boat used by SeeD, and Quistis did not doubt that, if he chose, he could pilot the Ragnarok. The amphibious transport, the same type of vessel that had carried, ironically enough, the cadet group of Squall, Zell, and Seifer to Dollet, was normally piloted by three, an actual pilot, a navigator, and a communications tech. Currently, Kai was doing all three, although he had made it easier by wiring the commo and navigation systems into a laptop that he had connected to the pilot's station. Kai was watching his displays, humming a tune that Quistis did not recognize, and she found herself thinking about the way Kai had handled everything that had come at him during the briefing the day before. He had been at the library when Eric had found him, taking a few underclassmen to school at a game of Triple Triad, and when Quistis arrived, Kai had already, over the Garden net, had gotten the ball rolling on getting the assault boat ready. He had thrown a bit of authority around in her name at the technicians, true, but she was willing to forgive him for his initiative. During the briefing, which had not been much-she had kept it to what she knew and not getting too deep into her past with Aileen- Kai had been the one who had asked the good questions. Eric had been silent-he hid it well, but he had to be hurting from his burns-and Aiko was as unreadable as ever. Once, Quistis had assumed that Aiko had been sleeping in class-she had covered her face with a print-out-and she had decided to quiz her errant student. Aiko had answered her question perfectly, startling Quistis. Of course, she found out later that Aiko had done it to get her to assume that she was always awake, so she could sleep, and eventually Quistis had caught her. Aiko hadn't put a book over her face in the library, true, she had only spotted a good looking guy and had said "Good grief, what a hunk," during the briefing. Quistis guessed that for Aiko, that was behaving.

They had left Balamb-the town, not the Garden-at just past sunrise, Kai having dismissed the crew that Squall had assigned to the boat by saying that he would handle it. Quistis, who could handle some of the duties involved in piloting the boat, had allowed it, and the three crew members had left before anyone changed their minds. There had been an interesting moment as Kai had asked Eric and Aiko to load his computer gear-judging by the number of boxes, Kai had brought a mainframe computer with him-and while Eric had agreed, Aiko had merely yawned at him and had gotten on the boat. Eric had shaken his head, more in disbelief that Kai had asked Aiko to do something before the sun had come up than at Aiko's antics. Quistis, who had had another restless night of reliving the battle at the fire cavern, had let it go, not up to the challenge of Aiko at the moment. Squall and Rinoa had seen them off, which had been entertaining to say the least. Squall had been trying his best to get her to reconsider the mission, while Rinoa, who hadn't seen Quistis since before the attack, was full of sympathy and concern. Their departure from Balamb had been less a beginning and more an escape. She had hoped to lose herself in duty during the four-hour journey to Dollet, but Kai's skills had denied her that. So she had time to think. Too much time to think, in fact.

She found herself thinking about Aileen, not so much in terms of her death-

(and I wasn't even there, anyway.)

but rather in terms of the good. Aileen had been a good friend and a better SeeD, her only weakness a certain vanity that the lovely girl had been entitled to and would probably outgrow.

(I was there when she died, Eric.)

Whatever she had been thinking suddenly faded away in a burst of shock. Goose bumps rose on her arms as she realized some of the things that she had said to Eric. Two nights ago, she had told Eric that she had not been present when Aileen had died. She had said that with total certainty, and yet she had said that she had witnessed Aileen's death and could even tell Squall that it had been her second mission that she had died on. So which is it, Quistis? she asked herself. Why haven't you thought about Aileen for years, why did you think that she had died somewhere else, and how did you remember it now? A sharp pain filled her head, the same that she had felt yesterday, and it was no wonder when Kai looked up from his station and said "Are you all right, Quistis? You don't look good."

Quistis rubbed at her temples, trying to will the pain away. "I don't feel good, Kai. I'll feel better when all of this is over." She stood up, taking a second to get her sea legs under her. "I'm going downstairs. Yell if there's trouble."

" Sure thing, Quistis." Kai watched her go, partly out of concern, a bit because, well, she made that long pink skirt she liked to wear walk and talk. Once Quistis had reached the bay below, Kai turned back to his screens and sighed. I am really going to hate to do this, he thought.

The bay below was designed to hold as many as ten SeeDs and their equipment, so even with Kai's gear piled in a corner, it looked empty. Aiko was lying on the bench that ran down the left side of the bay, her long legs up on the seat. She was wearing a midnight blue version of the outfit that she had worn the day before with a leather jacket decked out in military styled braids and trim. Her current preferred weapon, a heavy combat staff, lay on the deck beside her. Unlike most SeeDs, who picked a single weapon and specialized in it, Aiko changed weapons with the whimsy that marked most of her life. She was wearing oversized sunglasses and was snoring loudly, not that Quistis believed she was really asleep. Eric sat directly opposite of Aiko, his sword on his lap; as Quistis watched, Eric lifted it and began to sharpen it with a whetstone. In all her time with SeeD, Quistis had never seen a weapon quite like Eric's sword. It was beautiful, if a weapon could be said to be that. The grip ended in a silver metal ball, from which flared the hilts, shaped like two wings that could only be those of an angel. The blade was four and a half feet long; at its base, it was a diamond, wider at the base than at the apex. The blade gradually narrowed to a width of a few inches, silver, with a black metal tip. Running down the center of the diamond were a series of letters that were almost runes, in a language that she did not recognize. Quistis decided that she would start solving the mysteries in her life by going after a simple one. She took a seat beside of Eric and remarked "It doesn't look like it can get dull."

Eric ran the whetstone down one edge with a practiced motion, nodding. Quistis saw, belatedly, that Eric wasn't wearing his uniform. This wasn't due to a spectacular lack of attention to her surroundings-under the circumstances, it would be justified-but rather due to what Eric wore. The pants he wore were cut nearly the same as the uniform, the black t-shirt he wore was Garden issue and the black jacket with yellow trim across the shoulders and down the arms sure looked like an uniform jacket. That must be his idea of casual, she mused. " I prefer not to take chances," he told her. "I've had this sword for a long time."

"Really?" Quistis decided to go for it. "Does it have a name?"

"Actually, yes. I just have good reason to keep it quiet."

"This should be good." She leaned closer to him. "Come on, don't tell a lady something like that and leave her hanging. What kind of name can a sword have that's that bad?"

Eric sighed. He laid the blade down on the deck before him and put the whetstone away in a duffle bag that was next to him on the bench. "It's not a bad name. Just an ironic one."

"An ironic name? How ironic could a sword's name be?"

Unnoticed across the bay, Aiko's violet eyes peered out from under the top of her sunglasses.

Eric wrestled with the idea of not telling Quistis-he had hidden the name of his sword since hearing the story of Squall and Rinoa's romance upon his arrival at Balamb Garden-and gave up. He knew things about Quistis that few others did, and it seemed only fair that he tell her this. "All right," he began, picking the weapon up, " I'll tell you. Its called Grieving Angel."

Quistis understood his point. "Grieving Angel," she said, knowingly. To one who knew Squall and Rinoa, that name was ironic indeed; Griever was the lion GF whose image was practically Squall's emblem, while angels had long been associated with sorcery, and as she had thought the day before, Rinoa was still a sorceress. Plus angel wings were practically a fashion motif for Rinoa. "If you don't mind me asking, what possessed you to name it that?"

"Nothing did. It's always been called Grieving Angel. It was called that when my father bore it and his father as well. It's been in my family for a long time, hundreds of years if my father was right."

"It's that old?" Quistis asked wonderingly.

"If you believe my father. It's supposed to be an Alfredsson family tradition that the oldest male child is the owner of Grieving Angel." Eric took the blade and placed it in the sheath, which lay on the other side of the duffle bag. "I don't know if that is true. However, I have seen old photos of my great grandfather, and if he didn't have Grieving Angel with him in those pictures, it was a sword that looked just like it."

"So why not just tell everyone the name of your sword and it's history?"

Eric had a reasonable answer for that. "I don't like to talk about my family. My father died a few years ago, and my mother was already dead when that happened. Plus who would believe it?"

Quistis had just learned more about Eric in five minutes than she had as his teacher for months. She was beginning to believe that there were more depths to the serious young warrior than she had ever imagined. She was beginning to like being around him; his calm manner was almost soothing. She decided that it was only fair to tell him the real reason why she had come down here. "Eric, I'm worried. Worried about me, about…about a lot of things."

Eric stared calmly at her. "You have quite a bit to worry about. What's the biggest problem?"

"The fact that two days ago I told you I wasn't there when Aileen died and yesterday I did."

(is this really necessary?)

(yes, doctor. The girl has great potential)

Quistis went silent. Just what I need now, she thought. More voices in my head. These, oddly enough, were soothing to her, unlike the ones that she associated with Aileen. "Eric, I don't know if what I told you about Aileen is true. I could be wrong that it's her. We could lose against her if we make any mistakes."

"Well, that's true in any case, isn't it? Quistis, we didn't really have a choice here. Whatever we fought yesterday has gone to Dollet if we can believe it. The Dollet Dukedom has one of the weakest armies in the world, and this thing would probably go through them like a hot knife through butter. We had to go."

"True. I-I just worry that I might be forgetting something that's important. Sometimes I wish I wasn't junctioning GF. It ruins your memory."

Eric had to agree with that. "Maybe. But we'd be outclassed without the GF."

"We might be with them." Quistis slid so she was sitting just beside of him. A distant part of her wondered what she was doing. "I've never seen power like hers."

Eric felt Quistis' hip against his and tried to figure out what was going on here. He found he had no idea. "We haven't lost yet," he said. "The last time she had the advantage of surprise. We have to take the advantage back."

Quistis nodded in agreement. "I think I taught you that, didn't I?" She was at a loss for why she was behaving as she was with Eric. She supposed that it was the sense of calm he brought to her. She resolved, however, to leave it at that.

Aiko, thankfully, made it a moot point. She yawned, stretching her arms over her head in such a way that any man could not help but notice, and lifted the sunglasses so she could see. Quistis had managed to put some space between her and Eric in time, which probably amused him to no good end. She was also starting to understand that Eric had a sense of humor; he just hid it well. "What did I miss?" Aiko asked.

"Not much," Quistis said, rising regally to her feet. "I'm going to check on Kai." She left the bay as quickly as she could without seeming obvious, a bit less worried about some things yet now puzzled about others.

Aiko sat up and gave Eric the widest grin that she could. "You know, I'm starting to think all those rumors about you and her are turning into self-fulfilling prophecies." Eric scowled at her and she decided that it was better to stay quiet. About that at least. "She's really messed up. Did she say all the things that she said?"

"She did. I thought there was something odd when she told me how Aileen Navarre died, I just couldn't place it. Of course, I had just been involved in a battle, so…" He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, Aiko. We're going to war here and we don't have all the facts. It's not right."

"You'll do just fine, hotshot. In fact, my combat plan is to just throw up a Protect or Shell spell and stand behind you." Aiko actually was not that bad in combat-the only training battles that she had lost were to Eric and to Quistis-and most cadets had learned to respect her hand to hand skills. Still, she knew when she was outclassed, and where Eric was concerned, she was."It's not going to be that bad, is it?" she asked. Eric did not answer, lost in thought. "It is that bad. So I'm probably not going to get a chance to try the beaches of Dollet, then? Too bad, 'cause I packed a wicked bikini."

Eric knew better than to ask if Aiko was joking. His eyes followed the path that Quistis had taken to leave the bay, a pleasant confusion filling him. I've known her for months and she hasn't gotten anymore beautiful than she already was, he thought. What is wrong with me?

Aiko plopped down beside of him in a sprawl of arms and legs. She elbowed him in the ribs hard enough to make him wince. "And what's this with telling Quistis about Grieving Angel? You hid that for a lot more reasons than the stupid ones you gave her."

Eric's eyes were distant now, contemplative. Aiko had a good idea of what was on his mind. "I'm a little sick of hiding things, Aiko. That's all." Aiko found that she could not argue with that.

The wind blew through Quistis' hair, sea water splashing against the sloped hull of the transport's deck gun turret. She laid a hand against the grips of the double-barreled cannon, remembering the mission to Dollet that had seen Squall, Selphie, and Zell become SeeDs. She had manned the deck gun against a mechanical monster that the Galbadian Army had sent after them, pumping hundreds of high-explosive armor piercing rounds into the X-ATM092's hull until it had finally exploded. Saved Squall's life, she thought. All in the name of duty. She looked towards the horizon, the barest hint that land was there just becoming apparent. She had by-passed the bridge and had chosen the solitude of the deck to try to order her thoughts. It wasn't proving easy. Why couldn't I remember how Aileen died until she came back? she thought. In fact, until that night at the Nest, at the secret place, she hadn't thought of Aileen for years. What happened to me?

(Quistis! She's down! Do something!)

(Aileen! Clear us a path!)

Quistis was becoming so used to hearing voices in her head that she barely reacted anymore. She recognized the first voice as being Aileen's, the second hers. There had been a battle…no, an ambush…and…

(I promise that it won't hurt anymore. I promise, Quistis.)

…and she had given Aileen an order while she had…

(the subject's will is a considerable obstacle, yet it can be overcome.)

A wave splashed over the hull, probably caused by a larger swell, and Quistis barely managed to avoid being drenched by it. The last thing that she needed after yesterday was to be soaked again. It would be terribly ironic if she missed her date with destiny due to having a cold. As she counted her blessings, the intercom in the turret beeped for her attention. She touched the button that activated it and said "Yes?"

"Kai here. We’ve already been contacted by the Dollet harbormaster. Seems that Squall called ahead to inform local authorities of our arrival, and the Dollet Royal Military Police are expecting a word with the commanding officer."

Quistis almost laughed at the pretentiousness of that. While it was true that Dollet was a dukedom, and in theory could claim to use the title "royal" in front of a police force, the fact of the matter remained that the RMP was not exactly an elite organization. Had Quistis had her way, they would not have been informed of her presence, but non-contracted SeeDs floating around a foreign country tended to make that country a bit nervous. It was SOP for Garden, since the end of the Third Sorceress War, to notify a sovereign government of the activities of SeeD within their borders. If her luck was bad, the RMP would insist on complete oversight of her mission. "Anything else?" she asked.

"Yes. They’ve requested that we berth in the military docks. It was the kind of request that was really an order. You’ll meet with an RMP representative then. Someone named Commander Allin Fullar."

"That’s just lovely," Quistis groaned.

"Just don’t kill the messenger for the bad news. Kai out."

I really don’t need this right now, she thought. Someone else trying to nose into my business. Too many people are already in harm’s way. She took one last look to the horizon and retreated to the deck below.

Dollet was not well known for the size of it's navy-in fact, the few ships that it had were better equipped to serve as a coast guard rather than a full-fledged fleet-so Quistis was not terribly impressed by the docks that the harbormaster directed them to. They were not all that much bigger than the ones back at Balamb, and the assortment of vessels there did not exactly send a tremble of fear up her spine. In fact, the most impressive one was a twenty-year old Galbadian design, a destroyer that the Galbadians had sold to Dollet just before the start of the War. The berth that the harbormaster had designated for them was adjacent to the destroyer's, and Quistis somehow doubted that was an accident. She watched the dock come closer through a screen showing a view from a hull mounted camera and noticed a man in the grey and red uniform of the RMP standing amidst the dock workers who were preparing to tie the boat up. She called for a close-up on him; he was blond haired, blue-eyed, and had the kind of pinched, nervous features that made Quistis wonder why he had chosen law enforcement as a profession. If that isn't Fullar, she thought, then I'm not Head Instructor. "Kai. Once you get us docked, pull up Aileen's records. I need the address of any of her relatives still in Dollet, starting with her parents."

Kai held up a sheet of paper. "Already done. Your radios are set to SeeD frequency 103-did that last night-down in the combat bay."

Quistis took the sheet from him as she passed by, going down to the bay. "You never cease to amaze me, Kai."

"Wish I heard that from women more often," he lamented. He had been granted access to Aileen Navarre's school records by Quistis during the briefing last night. Curiously, she had not wanted to read them, nor did he have the exact circumstances of her death. Yet, he corrected himself. There was a lot of data that he intended to acquire, as soon as Quistis was not paying attention. A man does not survive without information, Kai thought. Eric and Aiko stood by the access hatch, both already wearing the earbead radios that were now standard issue for SeeDs. They picked up subvocal vibrations through bone induction and the frequencies were changed by voice code, and were, not surprisingly, from Esthar. Eric had a clear plastic box that contained hers, which he gave to her. Aiko gave her an odd little look and said " You know, I call this little baby, uh, Bloodwhacker." She raised her staff.

Quistis, who understood the point that Aiko was trying to make, favored her with a disarming smile. "Did you just make that up?"

"Of course I did. Just getting into the spirit of things. Confession and all that."

Quistis inserted the earbead into her left ear, activating it by her body heat. "Commo check. Kai, you reading me?"

"Five by five." One function of the earbead was that no matter what volume that the speaker used, Quistis heard it in a quiet, level tone. Esthar was so far ahead of the rest of the world that at times it was frightening. "We're at the dock. I'll pop the hatch when the boat's tied down."

"Over." She turned to Eric. "Once we deal with the RMP, we're heading to Aileen's parents. They live here-Aileen's, her benefits are still being sent here." Kai had told her that last night to confirm that the Navarres still lived in Dollet. She hadn't wanted to look at Aileen's files. Had not dared to, in fact. "I hope that she won't use them, but why else would she bring me here?"

"She could be leading you by the nose," Aiko said. "Making you think she's in her hometown for a certain reason when there's really another one." Quistis regarded Aiko with a slight species of amazement. Aiko grinned and said "Eric isn't the only thinker around here."

" You have a point," Quistis admitted reluctantly. "Still, we don't have much to go on. We have to play the hand that we're dealt." The boat rocked, gently, signaling that the journey had ended. As he had promised, Kai opened the hatch, calling "You kids take care."

The man in the RMP uniform practically teleported into the path at the end of the extendible gangway, standing in their way as if his mere presence was a barrier to their power. Quistis prepared to address him when he faced Eric and said "Mr. Alfredsson, is it not? I was notified of the arrival of your unit by the Balamb Garden Combat Master. Might I have a moment of your time?"

Eric looked terribly puzzled, caught off guard by what he had heard. For her part, though, Quistis knew what Squall was doing. Telling the RMP that Eric was in command was Squall's way of letting her know that he knew what she was trying to do, of how she had manipulated events. Eric quickly recovered and replied. "Certainly, ah….and you are?"

"Commander Allin Fullar, Dollet Royal Military Police. I have been informed that your presence in Dollet is non-contractual."

"It is. We have reason to believe that there is a threat against SeeD that has made it's way to Dollet. "

Fullar's eyebrows rose expressively. "A threat against SeeD? Perhaps this matter is best investigated in a cooperative manner."

"SeeD has jurisdiction," Quistis interjected. Fullar turned to her, a bit taken aback. "Under the Accords that ended the Third Sorceress War, SeeD has the authority to deal with any abnormal threat to the security of the world. That language was introduced to the accords in order to grant SeeD the exclusive authority to deal with sorcery, but it definitely applies here."

Fullar gathered his thoughts before mounting a counteroffensive. "I only have your word that there is a threat that qualifies under the extra-normal threat clause of the Accords. Until such information is supplied, the RMP can not see SeeDs operating in Dollet."

"I respect your professionalism, Commander Fullar." Quistis played her hole card. "However, there is a credible, legitimate threat to Dollet, and if we-if Mr. Alfredsson's squad-are delayed in the investigation of the threat, I assure you that the RMP will be held responsible by SeeD, and by Esthar." The last was something of a bluff; Laguna was President of Esthar, true, however, he was not the only force in the government. SeeD had his support, not the entire country. Quistis could tell that it was working, if the expression on Fullar's face was any indication. He looked as if he was trying to work out an extremely complicated physics problem with a pencil, his lower lip practically twitching. Quistis chose to be diplomatic. "Our mission here is largely diplomatic, Commander Fullar. Rest assured that we will call on you if need be."

That seemed to do Fullar in; his shoulders slumped in a sign of defeat. He looked to Eric and, in a sad tone, said "Do you always let your subordinates handle all your matters, Mr. Alfredsson?" Eric did not reply. Fullar began to walk away from the boat. "Follow me. Your Combat Master arranged a vehicle for you, and there's a reservation in Mr. Alfredsson's name at the Dollet Inn in the event this mission goes long."

Aiko clapped her hands with mock glee. "A reservation! Oh, please, Mr. Alfredsson, let's go straight to the Inn!" Eric stared daggers at her, which silenced her. To Quistis, he said "Nice bit of politics, if I do say so myself."

"Thank you. Kai, this is Quistis. We're moving out. Keep an eye on our signal-if someone listens in, let me know."

"You got it, Quistis." Aboard the boat, Kai watched as the trio followed Fullar out of the dock area on the hull cameras. Once they were out of sight, Kai turned back to his screens, thinking dark thoughts as the file on Aileen Navarre appeared on one of the monitors. He paged through the report until he found the same contract number that Squall had read the day before. He accessed the Garden database via the boat's combat internet and got to work on the task that he had been assigned, by Squall himself, after the briefing the night before. Kai was not fond of hiding things from his friends, and if that was part of being a SeeD, the thought of resignation was sorely tempting.

Quistis was not terribly surprised to find that the vehicle that Fullar had given them was a rather basic automobile, one that screamed "government car" from every inch of its bland lines. Aiko gave it an once-over before saying "Bet it doesn't have air conditioning." True to form, she walked over to it and kicked the tires. Fullar's defeated face fell even further. "What kind of gas mileage does it get?"

Eric diverted attention away from Aiko's performance by saying to Fullar " Does it have a radio? We'll need to contact you in the event that we need your assistance." Grateful to have a semblance of normalcy, Fullar leaned into the car and explained the functions of a radio that Eric had mastered in the same courses that had taught Kai how to pilot most vehicles. Once he was done, Eric thanked him politely and told Quistis, staying in character as "commander" of the squad, to drive. She saluted him with a trace of sarcasm and got into the car. Aiko called out "I'm riding shotgun!" and took the front passenger seat before Eric could move. Fullar did not speak, for which Eric was grateful. He managed to get into the back seat of the car without too much difficulty, and Quistis drove away. "What are your orders, sir?" Quistis called. Eric did not answer. Operating under standing operating procedure, she sent out a sub-vocal message over the earbeads. "Let's assume this car is bugged. Subvocal commo on the mission only." SeeD did not have enemies per se, but as a mercenary organization had earned the distrust of most of the world at one time or another. Putting surveillance on them was not out of the question. "Aiko, this car has a map system built in." She handed Aiko the print out with the addresses on it. "Get me a route to the primary address."

Aiko booted up the somewhat obsolete mapping system on the dashboard and typed in the first address. A holographic map of Dollet appeared over the windshield, and a red line ran through it, going from the docks, through the center of town, and towards the base of the hills that overlooked Dollet. "Hmm. That's a pretty swank neighborhood. Was Aileen rich?" Aiko wondered.

"Her family was. They were opposed to her becoming a SeeD, thought it was beneath her." Quistis turned the car onto the main cobble stone street that ran through downtown Dollet, seeing only a few signs of the damage caused during the rampage of the X-ATM092 during the Galbadian invasion of Dollet. "She told me that her father was a doctor with a fair amount of prestige here, and he hated the idea of his daughter becoming a soldier for hire."

"Morals for sale," Eric said distantly. He had removed Grieving Angel from it's place over his back and held it across his knees. Quistis gave him an odd look in the rear view mirror, expecting him to say more. He did not. I wonder what's that's all about, she thought. Unexpected depths, indeed.

They drove through Dollet, surprisingly not being followed by anyone, until they reached a neighborhood of townhouses, each of a similar design. Quistis had been expecting Fullar to dispatch someone to track them, to keep an eye on non-contract SeeDs, and she could not help but wonder why he hadn't done so. Her heart was uncharacteristically pounding in her chest as the numbers of the addresses grew closer to that of Aileen's parents' home. Eric had not spoken since his comment on Aileen's father, and even the exuberant Aiko had quieted. We all feel it in the air, she thought. Something is going to happen. She spotted the appropriate address on a sign on a wrought-iron fence and slowed to a stop. The townhouse was three stories tall, the front a brick façade, matching the color of the cobblestones of the road. As a disquieting start, the gate was open, swinging in a light breeze. Quistis turned off the car's engine and called Kai. "We're at the Navarres. Stand by."

"I've got your back, Quistis."

The group got out of the car, trying to be as unobtrusive as you could be armed in the middle of a high-income neighborhood. "All right," Quistis said. "Before we go in, check your junctions. I know you two should only have access to Ifrit, Shiva, and Quezacotl, but don't underestimate what they can do for you." She checked her junctions, making certain that her abilities were maximized for the coming battle. Once certain, she stepped into the courtyard in front of the Navarre residence, her hand on Save the Queen. Eric and Aiko followed, both of them quartering the area, searching for signs of an ambush. Down the street, they heard the sound of a dog barking, which seemed somewhat surreal given the tension in the air. They reached the front door, and Quistis was not shocked to see that the door was open a crack. Your play book is filled with clichés, Aileen. "Hello?" she called, "is anyone there?" No answer, just silence. Eric drew his sword and subvocalized "She's here. I can feel it." Quistis nodded and shouldered the door open. The entrance hall was empty, brightly lit by lamps that were mounted in the wall. Eric entered, his sword held at the ready. Quistis took the right side, leaving Aiko the rear. A set of stairs stood to the left, but Quistis was not quite ready to go upstairs yet. There was a room to the right that seemed to be a sitting room of some sort, and Quistis tried that. There was no one there, although on a table Aiko found a newspaper dated that day, the morning edition. She held it up and said "Wonder if I won the lottery?"

Quistis continued out of the sitting room, finding herself in a den. Sitting on the couch directly opposite of the door were two people, a man and a woman, dressed in clothes recognizable as Dollet high fashion. She supposed they were Aileen's parents-the hair seemed to match the pictures that Aileen had shown her-but the fact that their faces were missing allowed her to have some margin of error. "Don't think we won the lottery, Aiko," she replied. She could not believe that Aileen had done this, had murdered her parents. "We have to find her. Eric, you take the second floor, I'll take the third. Aiko, finish the first. If you find her, feel free to yell for help." Aiko, who could not take her eyes off the Navarres, nodded dully. Eric left like a shadow, slipping back out the door they'd entered. Quistis turned to follow him to the stairs when she saw that Aiko wasn't moving. "You all right, Aiko?"

Aiko had to tear her eyes away from the carnage. "No. Not really." She raised her staff." Your friend is really messed up." She made her way around the couch for a door on the far side of the room. Remembering the first time she had seen someone who had died a violent death, Quistis could only be sympathetic. SeeD expects so much of people who are still growing up, she mused. She turned and left the den behind, certain that she would carry some small part of it

(like her like you carried Aileen hidden inside you)

for the rest of her life.

Aiko leaned against the jamb of the door that she had exited through, breathing deeply. In all her life, she had never been so fundamentally violated, for lack of a better term, by something that she had seen. Death in battle was something that every SeeD accepted as a possibility, and only the most idealistic believed that only warriors died in war. This was not a case of civilians dying because war had overrun their homes; this was something darker, more evil. More personal. She tried to put it behind her and went down the carpeted hall she was in, hoping for the best. The hallway led her to a kitchen, one that would rival that of the cafeteria back at Balamb Garden. She looked around, her senses screaming danger, and she was not satisfied when she saw nothing. She went to the refrigerator and opened it, half expecting to find a severed head or limb, and a giggle escaped her as she saw nothing but food. "You're losing it, Aiko." she whispered. She closed the door, and felt more than sensed a blur of motion behind her. She whirled to find herself eye to eye with a bloody face, eyes wide in death. She back pedalled away, running into the refrigerator. Somehow, someone had hung the corpse of a woman dressed in a maid's uniform by her ankles to a light fixture above. Aiko slid down the refrigerator until she sat on the floor, trying to comprehend what could have left such a gruesome calling card behind without her seeing it. What are we up against? she thought.

On the second floor, Eric was following a series of bloody hand prints that were at roughly shoulder height. He should have been scared, or at least nervous; most seventeen year old fighters would have some jitters. Instead, he felt a supreme sense of calm as he went down the hall, Grieving Angel in front of him. He knew that Aileen was here-the same cold feeling that he'd had in his very soul back at Balamb Garden before she had made her appearance was back-and for some reason, that cold focused him, gave him purpose. The hand prints spelled outa language of murder, leading him to a window that looked out over the courtyard. The last hand print was on the window sill, and Eric touched it with the tip of his sword. As he did, a shape, a black shadow, blurred by, heading upstairs. "Quistis!" he yelled, spinning to run back down the hall, "something's coming your way!"

Quistis had reached the third floor, which was filled with bedrooms, when Eric called. As much of her that she had focused on the mission, part of her was remembering the stories that Aileen had told her of her childhood. Not the stories of her difficulties with her parents, but the silly ones, of girlish games played in the lap of luxury, of her first kiss when she was ten. How could you do that to your parents, Aileen? she thought. "Quistis! Do you read me!" Eric yelled. Quistis did, yet for some reason, she could not answer. She found herself standing in front of a door, one with a brass doorknob. Lost in a sudden flood of memory, lost in something that she could not put a word on, Quistis reached out and opened the door.

Aileen stood there, wearing a knee-length blue dress that Quistis recognized from a photograph of Aileen's. She held a hand up at arm's length, and a ball of energy appeared there. "Goodbye, Quistis," she said, unleashing her power at the young woman who stood only three feet away from her….