In Theory

  "Really? That could be handy. I got a UWS card when I came in. I bet they don't give you very much."

  "Nope. They don't."

  Quistis smiled at Zone, while holding her emotions. It was great to see him again, even if she couldn't touch him. There'll be plenty of time for that later.

  *

  A low rumbling sound told Quistis that she was hungry, the late hour told her the cafeteria would be closed. She shook her head as she wiped various bits of monster from the quarterstaff she was using.

  "Iselle, it's late, I have an early class tomorrow." Zone's voice came to her from the rock near the entrance.

  "Oh, I was just finishing up. I'll walk with you." Quistis took her keys from Zone as the two exited the training center. The hallways were empty, the shadows deep and dark. They stopped when they rounded the corner into the dormitory hallway and saw four large guys blocking their path. Great, the Seifer Almasy wanna-be crowd is here. One was even wearing a grey trench coat.

  "Out a little late, aren't we?" The coated man asked.

  "We were training, and now we're going to our dorms, if you don't mind." Quistis handed the staff to Zone. It wasn't suited for combat in hallways being just a little too long.

  "Your flunky too?" The group of four took a step toward Quistis and Zone. Quistis stood her ground, knowing this was a bad situation. His first two strikes were blocked and Quistis landed a solid punch to his chin before he could attempt a third. She landed a kick to the committee member on her right, but didn't hear Zone's shout of warning about the one behind her. The blow to the back of her head had her seeing stars and not the third punch the ringleader threw. He doubled her over with the punch to her stomach and dropped her to the floor with the knee in the chest. He threw in a solid kick to her ribs before disappearing as fast they had appeared.

  "Quis, you okay?" Zone's concerned voice brought her back. He leaned over her, one hand gently resting on her shoulder.

  "Hyne, do they have to wear the steel-toe boots when they do that?" Quistis groaned. "I'll be okay, I'm tough. What about you?"

  Zone climbed to his feet. "Just a couple of bruises, the usual. They got spooked by something this time. Damn it, I never learned hand to hand combat."

  Quistis nodded. "Help me up." Zone pulled her to her feet, catching her when she stumbled. She smiled, enjoying the near embrace, but knowing they couldn't be caught. They limped together to her room. She stepped inside after the door slid open, leaving it open for Zone. He wasn't behind her when she turned. He was still at the door, watching her.

  Quistis waved him inside. "Well, come in, don't get caught out there again by those goons." She checked the room again with the electronic listening device, finding it to be all clear.

  Zone shook his head. "I don't want to get caught in here. I hate that detention room."

  "Yeah, and I have to find my way in to that same room. Come in, sit down. I don't bite too hard." she was rewarded with an easy smile from him. He tentatively stepped inside, looking around while still hanging back near the door. Quistis walked over to touch the "door close" button on the control panel.

  "Have a seat, Zone." She sat on the bed, resting her aching back against the wall. He pulled out the desk chair and straddled it, looking very uncomfortable.

  "So, what do you know?" Quistis asked, she pulled one knee up to her chest.

  "Not enough to get us out of here yet. I've identified a few suspicious people. I've been offered a contact with ‘the group'."

  Quistis sat up. "I've heard. That's why Seifer sent me out. Is it a promising lead?"

  Zone shrugged. "I was discussing how to hack into the supply room computer with a guy today. I didn't tell him anything other than the fact I had gotten my potions for free. He said, and I quote ‘We could use you in the group.' I was about to ask him about it further when we got interrupted by the class bell and he had to go. Wants to talk to me at lunch tomorrow."

  "Zone, that's great. It's a big break for us. The trouble is going to be getting me in."

  Zone shook his head. "Something tells me it won't be that hard to get in. What'll be hard is getting them to trust you enough to let you wander around in their systems to find the evidence you need."

  Quistis leaned her head back against the wall. "Maybe that's why I'm here."

  "What?"

  "They'll be distracted by the pretty face. They'll shift their focus at the wrong moment and then, we get them." Zone's serious expression melted into the smile she remembered from what seemed a previous life. She sent him a similar smile and confessed, "It's good to see you, Z."

  "Damn straight, Qi-Qi," he said softly, his tone all the caress she needed. "Damn straight."

  *

  After having attended the morning classes assigned to her, and trying her best to get assigned to detention, Quistis was hungry and deflated. It seemed the instructors knew exactly what she wanted and only gave her solitary physical assignments as punishment. I'm going to blow them off anyway, but, damn! What does someone have to do to get detention around here? She took a tray at the beginning of the cafeteria line, slammed it down on the slide, and angrily jerked food off the line onto her tray.

  A voice behind her in the cafeteria line made Quistis twitch. "I know who you are." the voice said smoothly. Quistis shifted her eyes behind her to the fully uniformed SeeD Lieutenant she'd spoken to on her first day.

  She sneered. "Really? Because I've been wondering lately."

  He bent down slightly to get eye to eye with her. "I need to speak with you, cause a disturbance and I'll take you down to my secure office." his voice was low enough for no one else to hear.

  Her eyes flashed. She did the first thing she thought of. She picked up her tray of hot soup and mashed potatoes and slammed it into the Lieutenant's chest. Fortunately for him, the cream of broccoli soup had cooled greatly before it slowly made its way down his uniform. A cheer went up from the cafeteria.

  Quistis defiantly returned his dangerous smile before he grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back. He grabbed the other one before she could get a hit in, also roughly twisting it behind her, and then guiding her from the cafeteria. The pain made her eyes water, but the instant he stepped through the door into the empty hallway, he released the pressure on her arms. They were still twisted behind her back, but no force was applied.

  "I'll let you go when we get to my office, until then we have to keep up appearances." he whispered in her ear. "Just play along."

  Quistis didn't think before turning furious eyes on the Lieutenant and putting up a good show of trying to struggle from his grasp. She wasn't sure what exactly he was going to do once they had gotten to his office, but her instinct was to trust him. She hoped she wasn't being blinded by the uniform, so few people around Deling Garden wore them.

  He opened the door before giving her a shove into the office, then slammed the door behind them. A quick flick of the wrist closed the blinds before he paced around the room looking at his hands holding a small device.

  "Ah, good we're alone. I am Lt. Jaxon Crest, and I believe you are Balamb's Head of Instruction, Quistis Trepe."

  "Why would you say that?" she asked slowly.

  He busily unbuttoned his uniform jacket and removed it, revealing a white t‑shirt underneath. "Because it's what SeeD pays me to do, see the things others don't." He pulled a new jacket out of a closet in the corner and put it on. "I knew who you were the first time I heard you say your name, or rather, your cover name. I've been watching for someone from Balamb."

  Quistis watched him move around the room. "What difference does it make to me who you think I am?"

  Jaxon sat behind his desk. "You're here to flush out the arms dealer--or dealers--as the case may be, and you might need a little help from the inside one day. I've been trying to find these guys for about three months now since we accidentally got a memo from HOS Almasy. That guy never screws up, but I guess he didn't get his coffee one morn
ing and we got a sensitive fax. It was all coded and what not, but once again, I'm paid to know what I'm looking at."

  Quistis' eyes took on a slightly wild appearance. "Is anyone else here paid to know what they're looking at?"

  "Not really. They don't have my skill." he said with a smirk.

  Quistis scoffed before leaning back in her seat. "All this skill and you're stuck here in Deling Garden?"

  "Sucks, doesn't it?" He paused to scrub his scalp with his fingers, "I was considering trying to get Almasy in trouble with that fax, but the good side of me won out, damn it." His hands fisted for a moment on the desk.

  One elegant brown eyebrow arched, "You're not a fan of the great Seifer Almasy?"

  A flash of remembered pain crossed his face. "I'm from Trabia Garden."

  "Oh, I-I'm sorry. We saw what happened."

  "Many people, SeeD and civilian, were senselessly slaughtered that day. My rational mind knows he was possessed and not in control of his actions, but still. . . ." the pencil in Jaxon's hands snapped. "You need to be able to blame somebody to ease the ache sometimes and most of us never got to see Sorceress Ultimecia."

  Quistis shuddered. "Consider yourself lucky."

  Jaxon grunted and Quistis saw the distinct look of bitter loss in his expression. He shook it off and lifted his piercingly blue eyes to hers once again. "Have they assigned you a training partner yet?"

  "Yes, but he's inadequate. I'm not getting much challenge from the kid."

  "I'm surprised, the Head Instructor of Balamb Garden doesn't see the challenge in no challenge at all." he leaned forward. "You want to mess around a little?"

  Quistis narrowed her eyes at him, If he's coming on to me, I'll strangle him with my whip.

  Jaxon held up his hands. "My point is that I offer my services as a training partner. It's general knowledge that several of the SeeD staff members make themselves available on the weekends to advanced students. It's an easy way for you to contact me should you need anything. I'd say someone with your disciplinary record has a lot of steam to let off."

  "I have a perfectly clean disciplinary record." Quistis retorted.

  "Sure, you do, but your cover name, Iselle Hark, she's quite the little hot head. I'm surprised the disciplinary committee hasn't gotten their hands on you."

  "Oh they did, once. I've still got the bruises. They know better than to hit your face."

  Quistis watched as Jaxon clenched his jaw. "They hit you?" his voice was low and dangerous.

  The note of anger in her voice was unmistakable. "Yes, they hit me, they hit Zone, they hit anyone they can get their paws on. I'm surprised you guys down here don't know about it."

  "Me, too. I'll see if there is any way to get these guys taken care of."

  Quistis shook her head "Just don't blow my cover, I don't need that."

  "Of course you don't, I hope you get the chance to stop by the training center this weekend. It'll be the grudge match of the week, Iselle Hark versus SeeD Scum Jaxon Crest."

  Quistis' eyes sparkled with excitement at the prospect of a worthy opponent. "I think I might, what's your weapon?"

  "The Landesknechte, but with a flamberge blade."

  "Flashy, Lieutenant, very flashy. Isn't that sword six feet long and 20 pounds?"

  "That's what I tell all my dates." he commented dryly. He shifted in his chair, resting his chin on a fist. "The blade is five feet long, the grip adds another foot. The weight actually comes in at sixteen pounds." he hurriedly wrote something on a piece of paper. "Unfortunately, to make it look like I brought you in here for disciplinary measures, I have to give you some time in detention for messing up the uniform. You can put the time to good use though. There are a couple of regulars in there I've been trying to track. They may very well be your ticket in to the group."

  "Thank Hyne, I've been trying to get detention all day." Quistis smiled regarding him for a moment. She knew she liked him, and could trust him, maybe once this was all over they could be friends. "So, as I leave should I make rude gestures?"

  He waved a hand at the door. "Sure, that's always entertaining. It'll give them something new to talk about out there in the main office."

  Quistis stood up and moved to the door. She reset her mind to the angry misguided persona of Iselle, slammed the door open, and stalked out into the office pausing long enough to turn and give him the finger before heading upstairs to the detention hall.

  Seven

  Unsung Heroes

  Beep. Beep. Beep. Then the sound of Quistis' hand slapping the alarm off. It was five AM on Saturday. A day on which Quistis traditionally slept a little later. She got up and dressed in black leggings and a black tank top. After slipping her brown contact lenses in and checking her hair to make sure the dye job was still convincing, Quistis took her quarterstaff from its place near the door.

  Upon her arrival in the training center, Quistis placed the staff in a rack specifically reserved for the weapon and took to the jogging track. The track, elevated as it was from the floor, was safe from monster attack, allowing Quistis to drop a little of her guard and just enjoy the unrestricted movement the early hour allowed her. Fifteen minutes later she slowed to a walking pace and noted the single person standing on the track a few feet away from her. Her guard went immediately back into place when she recognized the "Disciplinary Committee" member. He blocked her access to the lower floor and her weapon. In his hand were a pair of dangerous looking nunchaku.

  She could defend herself against the weapon, but the likelihood of her escaping without injury was small at best. Her eyes shifted to the edge of the track, gauging just how long the drop was. On the other end near the ramp, Zone appeared. Quistis let out a breath, at least if she was injured she wouldn't be left to bleed to death, alone. She flinched as her opponent's first attack came dangerously close to her face.

  "Would you just leave me alone?" she asked calmly, dodging the flying nunchucks.

  "If you aren't looking for a fight, Hark, what are you doing here?" he asked just as calmly.

  "I'm looking for a fair fight, you ass." she shot back, beginning to see a pattern to his attack.

  "Fights are rarely fair, that's how one side wins and one side loses. One or the other has to get the upper hand." Again, he attacked to the right. His next attack will be to the left.

  "You're so philosophical." Quistis yelled as she shot out a hand and grabbed his flying weapon. Her hand stung when she connected with the stick, but she pulled the weapon away from him, turning it against him. Quistis immediately sent the weapon into his temple to send him crumpling to the floor.

  She dropped the nunchaku and cradled her hand to her chest. Fortunately the hand wasn't broken, but it hurt quite a bit.

  "Qu... Iselle, are you okay, did he hurt you?" Zone asked running up to her.

  "I'm okay, Zone. He's all flash and no skill. Typical for a bully."

  "But your hand, it's kind of purple."

  Quistis nodded and looked down as she flexed her fingers. "But not broken." She lifted her eyes to his, smiling softly. "I'm okay, really." Her voice lowered. "I came down here to get a challenge from some of the staff members. SeeD trained fighters are the best."

  "I know." Zone held her gaze. "I'm glad you're not hurt."

  "What happened up here?" a gruff voice asked. Zone jumped a foot away from her.

  "The guy on the ground attacked me. Zone witnessed it." Quistis said as she pointed to the still unconscious man on the floor. Instructor Rold knelt next to the reviving bully, a vicious smile played across the Instructor's lips.

  "So you like to attack other students?" Instructor Rold asked as he yanked the confused boy off the floor. "Let's go." The Instructor pushed the kid along in front of him, disappearing from sight down the ramp. Quistis allowed her shoulders to relax and continued to flex her hand. It was sore, but she could still fight with it. She walked down the ramp with Zone and retrieved her weapon from the wall.
r />   "Miss Hark!" Quistis placed her best smirk on her lips before turning to the now familiar voice of Jaxon Crest.

  "Lieutenant Loser, you want me to kick your ass today?" Quistis was rewarded with a hearty chuckle from Jaxon.

  "You sound awfully self-assured Miss Hark. Ever fought against someone skilled with one of these?" He easily flicked the heavy sword up between them. Quistis had no choice but to be impressed. The weapon was just as he had described it to her, the blade alone was five feet long. What made it unique was the wave that had been forged into it.

  Quistis scoffed "You know they say SeeD's begin to look like their weapons over time.... Do you have any other equipment that looks like that?"

  Lieutenant Crest rolled his eyes. "Oh, come now, Miss Hark. It's not like I haven't heard that one before. Be original. I know you have it in you." He stretched an arm out behind him, indicating an area specially designed for sparring. "May I have this dance?"

  "Lock and Load, Lt. Loser." Quistis brushed past him toward the sparring deck.

  Jaxon's voice came from behind her. "Wonderful use of alliteration, been writing poetry lately?"

  Zone matched her stride, speaking quietly. "But your hand, can you fight someone like him with it?"

  "He knows, Zone, he knows everything." Zone's shocked expression made Quistis laugh, "It's okay, and I'm okay." She raised her voice, "A couple of cracks upside the head and he'll be crawling home to his Mommy." Quistis pulled a pair of leather gloves from her belt and slipped them on. Her knuckles on the injured hand popped a couple of times as she continued to flex her fingers. She winced.

  "Are you alright, Miss Hark?" Jaxon's voice called to her across the deck.

  "Just fine. Let's get to it." Quistis actually hadn't been so unsure of herself in a long time. She was going up against another SeeD with a weapon she didn't use too often. She truly hoped she didn't make a fool of herself or her alter ego. Quistis hefted the staff in one hand, finding its center balance point as she stepped up to the line on her side. She watched Jaxon approach his line dressed in black Garden issue sweats and a black t-shirt, the dark clothes making his curiously bright eyes stand out even more.

  "I assume you know the rules? We go on the green lights and stop on the buzzer." he asked from his start position.