Chapter 2: 500 Years Too Late
When Seifer Almasy first heard the legend of the guardians, he was just 5 years old. His parents had taken him to see an exhibit about the end of the last Great Summoner War which had been filled with old pieces of tech, weapons and various other relics. While the entire thing had been fairly interesting to a young boy, it was the large mural at the end showing the members of what some considered to be the world's most elite squad that caught, and held, his attention. More specifically, it was the young man with honey brown eyes in the middle that he couldn't look away from. He'd stared, transfixed, while the local curator had regaled the crowd with tales of the guardians ending at their sudden disappearance at the end of the war.
"But, what happened to them?" He asked.
The curator smiled. "No one knows; that's why it's such a mystery."
Seifer had just wrinkled his brow and asked "Well, why has no one tried to find out?"
"Oh, many people have over the years…but it happened a very long time ago and things become harder as time goes by. Some people still look into it occasionally, but there isn't much to go on and they fail."
This just didn't seem right to Seifer; if someone he thought was important disappeared, he wouldn't stop looking no matter what. Staring back into the smiling eyes of the young man whose name he had just learned, the often serious little boy made up his mind. Turning to the curator who was still looking at him, he pulled his beanie a little farther down on his head and said, "Well then, I'm going to look for them… and I'm going to succeed."
20 years later
While Seifer had meant what he'd said as a child, he had to admit all these years later that he'd sure picked one hell of a self-appointed task. That first visit to the museum had only been the beginning of Seifer's interest and he had since read everything he could get his hands on that even made a remote mention of the group he hoped to find. At first, people marveled that such a young boy had such a fascination with something that had happened so long ago. After all, most children his age were more interested in playing war than in researching it. By the age of 10, Seifer was more interested in his search than in making, or maintaining, friends so his parents decided that it was perhaps time to intervene…for his own good, of course.
Finding himself packed up and sent off to Balamb Garden boarding school should have ended the near obsession in his parents' minds but only added fuel to the fire; especially when Seifer discovered the vast archives with several sections dedicated to the Summoner War and those that fought in it. I mean, really, what did they expect…Balamb Garden was a military boarding school.
Eventually, Seifer did make friends in the form of a young boy and young girl named Raijin and Fujin, respectively. It was fortunate that they'd met each other since they seemed to share a similar fascination with the group Seifer was actively searching for. In each of their cases, however, the interest was with the group's fighting prowess and the technology that they had used to such great effect (and that had subsequently been lost) rather than with the fate of any single member.
Still, the trio had become fast friends and while Seifer's family still didn't understand the obsession with knowing what happened to a small group of people 500 years in the past, they were happy he'd made friends and, as long as Seifer continued to make progress at school, they were content to let it go. If only everyone was of the same mind…which led Seifer to where he currently was; sitting in the office of Zack Fair, his current commanding officer.
Zack, being a fairly laid back kind of guy, was listening with no small amount of amusement as Seifer vented about his current, and soon to be former, History professor. It wasn't Seifer's fault the man had had all of his information incorrect about the guardians (who were actually called the Turks, if anyone actually cared to research it)…and suggesting that they'd all been espers from another planet that had 'returned home' after the war had just been ludacris. How was Seifer supposed to sit through all of that without saying something? The subsequent argument that had landed the blonde man on report and in Zack's office wasn't his fault; really.
"That man is an ASS."
Zack chuckled. "Maybe so, but he is the one with the doctorate."
Seifer looked disgusted. "In what? Bullshit?"
Zack's lips twitched. "Maaaybe."
At that, Seifer smirked a little and stood to go look out the window. In the courtyard below, he could see small groups of people being mobilized to practice battle maneuvers. He sobered. "So it really is looking like war then?"
Zack joined him at the window. "Yeah. The reports all seem to indicate things are heading in that direction." He sighed. "There seems to be a fairly large group of summoners gathering somewhere to the north and while there haven't been any large confrontations as of yet, it's only a matter of time."
Seifer grunted in frustration and turned his back to the window, crossing his arms. "All the more reason we should be looking for the old Turk bases. We don't have anything near the level of tech they did when the last summoner war was fought and look how bad that one turned out to be." He looked at his friend. "We're going to lose a hell of a lot of people without some sort of edge."
Zack moved to sit behind his desk and pulled a file from one of the lower drawers. "That same fact has finally occurred to the top brass; I'm hoping it won't be too late to completely avert disaster." He opened the file and flipped through its contents. "We know of a few areas where the Turks supposedly had either an outpost or at least a supply depot; there are research groups being dispatched to those within the next couple of days."
"What about the main base I've found mention of? That would be the best chance of salvaging something useful."
Zack grimaced. "You know that without more evidence to support it, an official research team will never be sent…"
"That is such bullshit! You know damn well that I've found several references to both the base and its location; just because some stuffy bureaucrat who's never once stepped in the field once in his life…"
Zack held up his hands. "Alright, alright!" He scratched his head. "I forget how gung-ho you are about the Turks sometimes. Maybe you should have been a historian instead of a soldier…"
Seifer huffed and looked away. "I don't mean to sound obsessive but I have been looking into the disappearance of the Turks pretty much my entire life. I can't help it if finding their main base is probably going to be my best chance at finding out what happened to Hayner."
Zack raised a single eyebrow. "Hayner?"
Seifer squirmed. "I meant the Turk summoner."
"Uh-huh." He studied the blonde man before him. "You do know that after 500 years he's dead, right?" Blue eyes glared in his direction. "Just checking."
Not up for socializing with anyone after he'd finished in Zack's office, Seifer took himself back to his rooms and flung himself on the couch. Closing his eyes, the scarred man began the process of relaxing his muscles and soon after he felt the ones in his neck unclench, he fell asleep.
Seifer knew he had to be dreaming when he opened his eyes to a fog covered landscape surrounded in darkness. Feeling as though he wasn't alone, he turned and noticed a lone figure standing about ten feet away, staring out into the inky black of the surrounding area. He'd seen the profile currently presented to him too many times to mistake the young man for anyone but the Turk summoner, Hayner. Before Seifer could take a step towards him, however, Hayner raised his head slightly and opened his mouth to speak.
"Are you trapped here, too?"
Seifer blinked in surprise; this certainly wasn't the first time he'd dreamt of Hayner over the years but it was definitely the first time he'd ever spoken. "Trapped?"
He hummed. "Not physically, but mentally." The summoner looked around. "It seems like every time I close my eyes lately, this is where I end up." He glanced over at Seifer for the first time since he'd spoken. "Although, I don't usually have company here; you'd think that if I were to have company, it would at least be someone I'm familiar with."
Seifer smiled slightly and moved towards the younger male. "You may not be familiar with me, but I am with you." He stopped less than an arm's length away from the young Turk. "I've been looking for you a long time, Hayner."
Hayner gave the man next to him an appraising look and then, tipping his head back to gaze up at a starless sky, he smiled. "There aren't many people that would search out a summoner; usually they're too busy running in the other direction."
"I'm not like most people."
The smile got bigger. "No, I can see that you're not."
"You don't wonder why I've been looking for you?"
Hayner brought his face back down and swiveled to look straight into the blue eyes next to him. "I think a better question would be what you plan on doing if you find me."
Seifer opened his mouth to reply as the fog began to swirl around him and he suddenly awoke with a start, the image of honey brown eyes lingering in his memory. Shaking his head a little to clear it, a knock sounded from his door and he called for whoever it was to enter. Fuujin entered followed closely by her boyfriend, Raijin.
"BUSY?"
Giving his head one more shake, Seifer replied in the negative and stood with a stretch. "What's going on?"
"MEETING."
Rai crossed his arms. "It's about the summoners that are gathering; it's optional but we thought you'd want to go, ya know?"
Seifer nodded. "Yeah, thanks. This is going to be too big for us to stay out of it for long."
Fuu and Rai each nodded before following their friend to where the other members of Balamb Garden's military force were gathering to discuss the threat in the north. Squeezing into the crowded auditorium, Seifer spotted space near the front and got settled only moments before some of the top commanders filed in and took their places on the front dais. Silence descended on those assembled as the first of Balamb's top brass stood and cleared his throat.
"As you are all no doubt aware, we have been tracking the migration of large groups of summoners to the north for some time now. The purpose of this meeting will be to give you whatever information we have as well as to address any questions or concerns." He turned to look behind him. "Commander Saix, if you would?"
The blue haired man stood and took the front podium. "Alright, here's what we know. Approximately six months ago, small groups of summoners began leaving the major cities and surrounding areas, heading north. At first, this wasn't cause for concern as it is a known fact that life is difficult for summoners, especially in highly populated areas, and there is a need for workers in that area of the north. As time has progressed, however, the groups of summoners migrating have become much larger and, even more disturbing, is that they all seem to arrive at one particular location and then vanish." He paused and took a sip of water before continuing.
"There has also been a rise in violent incidents involving summoners in other areas; so far, there haven't been any serious injuries but at the rate things are progressing, it won't be long before that changes and even includes fatalities." He looked around the room. "I'm sure I don't need to tell you all the concerns we have regarding such a large gathering of summoners; the last such gathering resulted in the worst war anyone has ever seen before or since." No one spoke as the gravity of the situation began to sink in and then a single hand rose somewhere in the back. Saix nodded his acknowledgment and a student Seifer didn't recognize stood.
"During the last Summoner War we had the Turks and their technology fighting on our side; how can we expect to win this time without either?"
"Good question, I'll leave that for the head of our research and development department; Xemnas?"
Seifer leaned forward with his elbows on his knees as the silver haired researcher stood and moved forward. He'd known the other information; this is what he wanted to hear about.
Xemnas cleared his throat. "As some of you may be aware, several groups of researchers are currently being prepped to go out into the field and search for various Turk outposts that we have identified while searching through old records and reports. The purpose of these expeditions will be to locate and salvage anything that may be of use to us if war does indeed break out; technology will be of the highest priority. "
Seifer sat up straight. "And if you don't find what you hope to find? What then? Will you look into the less solid leads?"
Xemnas turned his gaze to the scarred soldier. "I find it highly doubtful that we won't find anything useful so I see no reason to waste time and resources chasing after legends and hearsay."
Seifer snorted and sat back, crossing his arms. Nothing else being said was new to the blonde so he excused himself and headed back to his rooms. After a quick bite to eat he stripped down and stepped into the shower. Standing with the hot water pouring down over his head and shoulders, Seifer fully acknowledged to himself that things were not looking good and that he'd soon have to look at preparing both himself and his equipment for battle. Things were certainly going to be busy for a while. Seifer finished his shower and, wrapping a towel around his waist, stood and stared at his own reflection in the mirror. Standing there, after everything he'd learned and knowing everything he would have to do, he couldn't help but wonder why, with things looking so grim, did all his thoughts continually seem to circle back to fog filled dreams and a lost summoner stuck in the darkness?
A/N- I'm fairly happy with this chapter even though I completely re-wrote half of it today. -.- I am already working on chapter 3 but am going to flip over and work on the next chapter of Ruin and Redemption so those of you following that story won't have to worry about it falling behind. I'm not sure which one will update next after this but I am working on both. Hope you enjoy!
