Chapter Two

Lost

The party of five young warriors were fast approaching Edea's orphanage, hoping that she and Cid were all right. Childhood memories of the past lingered on the walls off the orphanage as they approached it – the smell of the sea, the sound of children's laughter, the feeling of home.

Edea was the closest bet they had to explaining the effects of time compression. But that was only if she was alive.

The orphans walked onto the premises of their old home, feeling no sense of trespass, and called out for their Matron.

"She doesn't seem to be here," said Quistis, when there was no response from their shouting.

"Let's go outside," said Selphie.

As they walked to the yard where they long ago had played, Squall noticed two gravestones that protruded from the centre of the ground. He knew that they were never there before, so he examined the gravestones with interest. His eyes widened when he saw the names.

"Edea Kramer", was the first one, and "Cid Kramer" was the other.

Squall's companions quickly caught onto this.

"N-No! How can this be?" cried Selphie. "Cid and Edea are dead?"

"I can't believe it," murmured Quistis, wiping a tear from her eye.

"This is bull," said Zell. "What kind of a world is this...?"

"A world without SeeD," said Squall quietly. "It's been bothering me for a while. If Ultimecia hated SeeD so much, why did she let us live in her new world? I guess I know now ... even if she killed us, there were more SeeDs out there. SeeDs spread and they grow – into Garden. So she killed off the root of SeeD to make sure it would die forever – she killed Edea and Cid. Then the Gardens won't grow at all."

Irvine groaned. "So ... Balamb, Trabia, Galbadia Garden ... they don't exist? No SeeDs? No students?"

Squall shook his head.

"Nooo! That means we aren't SeeDs anymore!" gasped Selphie. "All that hard work...!"

"Well, at least we weren't expelled," said Zell.

Selphie glared at him.

Squall sighed. A world without SeeD ... that had to mean a world full of Sorceresses, freely exerting their power. He wondered if his colleagues at Balamb Garden had retained their memories at all. No – it couldn't have been possible that the people of the world still had their old memories, otherwise there would be no new world. Then why was it that Squall and his friends still had their memories...? It was just another mystery to add to the list that they had to solve.

"So what should we do now, Squall?" asked Quistis, blowing a strand of hair out of her face.

It was one of those rare moments where Squall didn't know what to do. Usually, a good plan could formulate itself in his head when he was faced with a problem – but this problem looked impossible to solve. How were five teenagers going to revert the world alone? How were they going to defeat an evil sorceress, or even sorceresses now, without knowing anything or anyone in this new world? They didn't even have magic anymore...

We'll have to start from square one, thought Squall.

But wait ... why do we have to fix the world? he thought again. Why does it always have to be us? Maybe we can't change it ... maybe it's impossible. Maybe we'll just have to start a new, fresh life in this world.

No, we were the ones who got into this mess, now we have to get out of it, he rethought. It's our duty to the world as SeeDs. Or whatever the hell we are now.

"Oh look, I think we have visitors," a strange, female voice said.

The party spun around instantly, their hands on their weapons, ready for combat if a threat called for it. In front of them was a young man and woman – the young woman had caramel coloured hair tied with a pink ribbon and wore a pink dress, and the man had dark spiky hair and a bluish-purplish jumpsuit.

"H-Hey, no need to get feisty!" said the man, holding his hands up.

"Who are you?" demanded Squall, his hand on the hilt of his gunblade. "How do you know this place?"

"W-Whoa, do you guys live here?" asked the man. "We're really sorry, we just..."

"Well, we're ... travellers, I guess," said the woman, "and we saw this place was empty, so we stayed here for a day or two and..."

Squall's stern expression softened. It didn't seem like they meant any harm, but he was still wary. "No. We don't live here, but we used to." His hand fell from the hilt of his weapon, and the others followed his suit.

"S-Sorry," said Selphie, "we're a bit ... jumpy."

"We know how you feel," said the man, breathing a sigh.

"I'm Squall, this is Quistis, Selphie, Irvine and Zell," said Squall, pointing. He might as well befriend these people since they didn't appear to be hostile – maybe they could learn something from them.

"Nice to meet you," said the young woman. "I'm Aerith, and this is Zack."


"Cloud's back!" chimed Denzel's voice.

Cloud smiled when he heard the sound of two sets of running footsteps thump from inside the new Seventh Heaven and two young children appeared before him before he could even step through the door. He dismounted his motorbike and Rinoa did the same, and Cloud braced himself for the hurricane of the children.

"Cloud, we missed you," said Marlene tearfully, hugging Cloud's leg. "Why did you go away for so long?"

"I made a bit of a side trip," said Cloud apologetically, patting Denzel and Marlene on the head. "But I bought back a visitor for you both. Is Tifa home?"

The two children's eyes darted to Rinoa, who awkwardly stood behind Cloud. She gave a sweet smile and waved.

"I'm Rinoa," she said happily.

"Denzel and Marlene," said Denzel, pointing at himself and Marlene. "Tifa's just inside."

"Great," said Cloud.

Cloud, Rinoa, Denzel and Tifa walked into the bar. Cloud felt relieved to be at home again after his long travels. His old companions had all parted ways to help rebuild their world, which was in severe turmoil after the Meteor fall – Yuffie was an intelligence officer at the World Regenesis Organisation, Cid was also in the WRO as the airship coordinator, Barret was in search of a new energy source for the world, and Nanaki and Vincent went their separate ways by travelling the world on unknown journeys. Tifa, however, was still by his side – she had opened a new bar in Edge and ran a delivery business with Cloud whilst taking care of Marlene and Denzel. Deep down in his heart, Cloud was very grateful for this 'family' he had – it was something he did not really have in his own childhood, and now the togetherness of the children and Tifa gave him a reason to live.

"I'm glad you're back safe," said Tifa, fiddling with something behind the bar.

"Of course," said Cloud sheepishly. "Were you expecting otherwise?"

Tifa laughed quietly. "No, I'm sorry to even suggest it." Her eyes fell on Rinoa curiously. "A friend of yours, Cloud?"

"Hi, I'm Rinoa," said Rinoa nervously. "I'm not exactly a friend of—"

"Tifa, is it all right if you call a doctor to come over?" asked Cloud.

"W-Why?" said Tifa, alarmed. "What's the matter? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," said Cloud. "For Rinoa. It's a long story."

"Really, I think Cloud is being a bit cautious," said Rinoa. "I look fine to you, don't I?"

"Rinoa, there's a bedroom upstairs," said Cloud, before Tifa could answer. "You should get some rest."

Rinoa frowned. "I ... fine." She folded her arms. "But you better remember your promise. Hey Denzel, Marlene – you guys mind giving me a tour of your place?"

"Sure!" said Marlene excitedly. "Okay, this is the guest area..."

Marlene and Denzel led Rinoa away from the bar area, chattering cheerfully, leaving Cloud and Tifa alone.

"So much for rest," mumbled Cloud.

"Hmm, what promise did you make now?" asked Tifa, poking Cloud playfully.

"I didn't promise anything," said Cloud shortly. "Well, this is what happened..."

Cloud proceeded to retell the story of what happened in the church, and how Rinoa did not seem to know anything about the world and how she went on in inane ravings about saving the world when there was nothing to save it from.

"So, I think she's been poisoned with Mako," concluded Cloud. "That, or she's just crazy."

"Right," said Tifa, nodding. "Hmm ... you were at the church again?"

Cloud looked away from her guiltily. He had just told her a story about a mysterious crazy girl and all Tifa could reply with was a guilt trip? "I ... it was just on the way..."

"Cloud ... are you all right?" asked Tifa.

"I'm sorry I went there," said Cloud quickly.

Tifa laughed weakly. "Why are you sorry? I'm not mad that you went to the church. You're such a baby, Cloud."

Cloud felt his face flush but tried to hide it from Tifa. "I ... sorry."

"It's just ... you always go without me," said Tifa. "I thought I told you to take me next time you go."

"I know," said Cloud. He couldn't help but remember the time when he had found Denzel at Aerith's church. Maybe Aerith led Rinoa to Cloud and Tifa as well.

"Well, I'll call a doctor then," said Tifa.


"So, where are you from?" asked Quistis curiously. "How long have you been travelling?"

Zack and Aerith exchanged nervous glances.

I have no clue, Zack thought to himself, wondering how he was going to get out of this. I thought we were supposed to be dead. Is this how we've returned to the Planet? Jeez, it sure has changed. This system sure is annoying that no one tells us how life is supposed to be like so we can be normal!

"We're from, uh, the north," said Zack, nodding. "We've been travelling for a day or two now."

"The north?" asked Zell. "You mean like, still the Centra area or up further north?"

I don't want to sound like we're from too far away, otherwise we can't have travelled here in a day or two, thought Zack.

"Um, yeah ... the first one..." said Zack nervously, scratching the back of his head with a laugh.

"Sorry, we haven't had much rest," said Aerith quickly, "we're really tired."

"Right," said Irvine slowly. "Well ... we'll be ... um, going now then."

The awkwardness between them intensified.

"FREEZE!"

Oh no, more visitors, thought Zack.

A young man with bright red hair had intruded on them, wearing black and gold clothes and holding a rapier pointing directly at the party. His eyes were narrowed down disapprovingly.

"He's wearing a SeeD uniform," Selphie whispered to Squall.

"What did you say, little girl?" demanded the newcomer.

"Nothing!" said Selphie quickly, but she was clearly fuming about something.

"What are you doing here?" the stranger asked. "This is a forbidden zone. Explain yourselves."

Great, thought Zack, Hopefully these other guys have a good reason that we can steal.

"Forbidden?" said Zell. "What's so forbidden about it?"

Yeah ... just great, thought Zack hopelessly.

"This is the property of her Highness Ultimecia," said the stranger. "Lay people aren't supposed to be here. Only knights and sorceresses are authorised to enter this area. Not humans."

"Knights and sorceresses," murmured Quistis.

"So, you haven't a good reason?" said the redhead sternly.

"Hey, aren't you human too?" said Irvine. "Why are you here then?"

"Is that a joke?" said the young man, glaring at Irvine.

"Um ... y-yeah, of course it was," said Irvine with a nervous laugh. "Ha ha, I'm so funny right?"

The stranger's eyes sharpened. "That's it, under the code of the Sorceress Knights, you're all under arrest. Do not resist or I'll have to use brute force."

And I'm a criminal already, thought Zack sadly.


"Well, there doesn't seem to be any traces of Mako in her," said Doctor Cray after examining Rinoa thoroughly. "So it's not Mako poisoning."

"I told you," said Rinoa, glaring at Cloud.

"But I did find something else very strange," said Doctor Cray. "She appears to have a significant amount of Jenova cells in her system."

"What cells?" said Rinoa, confused.

"The Lifestream was contaminated with Jenova cells after Meteor fall – a lot of people have them," said Cloud.

"Yes, but her body has shown no sign of ever having suffered Geostigma," said Doctor Cray. "Meaning, the cells aren't there as a result of contact with the contaminated Lifestream."

"What are you talking about?" asked Rinoa.

"You mean, she was infused with Jenova cells before the Geostigma epidemic, like I was?" asked Cloud.

"That seems to be the most likely possibility," said Doctor Cray. "Or ... even worse yet ... she was born with the cells."

"Like Sephiroth," murmured Tifa.

"W-What?" said Rinoa, sounding scared. "I ... I don't know what this is all about, I swear."

"She might be an experiment from Shinra or the WRO," said Tifa.

Rinoa groaned again in frustration for what seemed like the millionth time since she arrived at this place. "I'm not an experiment."

"We'll have to call Reeve or Rufus to see what they make of this," said Cloud.

Rinoa plopped herself on the bed, sulking. They're treating me like some kind of alien, she thought, missing her friends dearly. She wasn't entirely used to being an outcast yet, but it was this kind of treatment that she had always feared that she would face if the world was to find out she was a sorceress.

"Don't worry, we're just trying to help you," said Tifa, sitting beside Rinoa.

Rinoa looked up at the woman, who was only a little older than she was. Tifa smiled gently, compassion in her eyes. It made Rinoa relax a little, and her sulkiness disappeared – she should have been grateful that someone was kind enough to want to help. After all, Cloud could have easily left her for dead back in the church...

"Thanks," said Rinoa, weakly smiling back. "I appreciate it."


Seifer strutted out of the castle, twisting the ring of his keys to his vehicle around his index finger and listening to the merry, yet annoying jingling sound it made. The sun shone brightly in a clear blue sky – it was the perfect day to reprimand criminals.

"I won't warn you again, be quiet!" said an approaching voice. "Yeesh, most people uphold their right to remain silent."

"Hey, you can't tell me what to do!" said a girl's voice angrily.

Seifer looked up curiously to see a Rank C Sorceress Knight enter the castle grounds, followed by a group of handcuffed young people.

"What's happened with these guys?" asked Seifer as the redhead came closer to him.

"They were caught trespassing at the graveyard house," said one of the Knights.

"Seifer?" exclaimed one of the detainees, a teenager with blonde hair and a tattoo on one side of his face.

Seifer cocked his head, not recognising the youth. "How do you know my name?" he asked suspiciously. He might have been a Rank A Sorceress Knight, but he wasn't very famous outside of the Knights themselves.

"You don't remember me?" the tattoo-faced teenager said, aghast. "You don't remember any of us?"

Seifer looked at the bunch, and couldn't hear any bells ringing. "Have I arrested you before or something?"

"W-What? What the hell are you talking about!" said the tattoo-faced youth, firing up.

"These guys are real weird," said the redheaded Rank C.

Seifer scanned across the group, and his eyes fell on one member with chestnut-brown hair and blue eyes. He backtracked when he saw the scar running down his face – it was almost a mirror of Seifer's own scar. Something about him bugged Seifer, but he wasn't sure what it was...

"They seem a bit suspicious to me," said Seifer. "Let me take it from here."

The Rank C complied and left Seifer to deal with the group. He wasn't going to let them off easy – there was something unsettling about their presence, and it caused a strange feeling inside of him that he had never felt before.

hr

"Zack, what've we gotten ourselves into?" whispered Aerith. "How are going to get out of this?"

"Don't worry, Aerith," said Zack in a low voice, "if worse comes to worse – I'll go kung fu and we can bust outta this place."

"All right, I'll start off with your names," said Seifer.

Squall instinctively stepped to the front, ascertaining his position as leader subconsciously. He was certain that Zack's proposition of getting into a fight with Seifer or any of these knights could only lead to more trouble. He was just going to have to try to talk and reason his way out of this.

Reason with Seifer? I think I've gone insane, thought Squall.

"You really don't remember us?" said Selphie. "We were in Gard — ouch! Squall!"

"Don't say anything about the old world," muttered Squall, elbowing Selphie in the rib cage. "He won't remember. We'll just have to go with this and figure it out from there."

"I asked you a question," said Seifer sternly, "and you'll do well to answer."

"I'm Squall Leonhart," said Squall finally. "And that's..."

As he went through the introductions, Seifer nodded slowly.

"Right, well I definitely don't know you guys," said Seifer, "so don't think you can try to worm your way out of this."

"Listen, Seifer, I think there's been a misunderstanding," said Squall.

"There's no misunderstanding," said Seifer sharply. "Being charged by a knight isn't an invitation to protest in any way. You're all going into custody, so why don't you just make things easier for all of us and come along with me quietly? You don't want to make me hurt you now."

Squall grimaced. Same old Seifer, up there on his high horse when put into any position of authority.

"I think we're entitled to a trial," said Squall defiantly.

"A trial?" said Seifer with a smirk. "Jeez pretty boy, you sure have some crazy ideas. I'm going to ask you one more time to come along with me, or I'll have to resort to force."

"Damn you Seifer—!" It had been obvious that Zell was raging more and more with every word that came out of Seifer's mouth. He raised his fists menacingly and punched his fist into the air fiercely, stopping short of actually getting anywhere near hitting Seifer.

"I'll take that as violent resistance to lawful arrest!" said Seifer, furrowing his brow and drawing his gunblade quickly.

"Wha—?" Before Zell could finish his exclamation, Seifer had sliced his blade through the air in Zell's direction sharply, as if to give a warning of what was in store for them if they continued to resist arrest. Zell quickly dodged, the blade barely missing him by inches.

"Hey, what's the deal? You could've killed me!" shouted Zell angrily.

"Your point?" said Seifer with a smirk. "C'mon, you really don't want to know what I can do."

"Why I oughtta...!" Zell was quick to raise his fists and rushed towards Seifer, throwing a punch towards his face in a blind rage.

Seifer, anticipating the attack, dodged the blow which caused Zell to stammer and lose his balance. Seifer was quick to take advantage of the situation, thrusting his blade mercilessly at Zell in what would have been a lethal blow into his back. Luckily for Zell, Squall swiftly unsheathed his gunblade and rushed to Zell's side, blocking the attack with his own blade. The loud clang of metal against metal seemed to echo across the grounds.

"Zell, don't be so reckless," Squall scolded as Zell regained his balance, rubbing the back of his head embarrassedly. He had no idea how close he was to being a messy heap on the ground. I knew Seifer was violent but I never thought he wouldn't hesitate to kill. "Seifer, stop this. This doesn't need to be hostile."

"Man, you really have some nerve to tell me what to do," snarled Seifer.

Squall kept forgetting that Seifer didn't know who he was. It was just a reflex for him to argue with his rival...

"I warned you – things would turn ugly if you wouldn't come along quietly with me," said Seifer. "And I'm not afraid to kill any of you either – in fact, it'll make my job much easier."

"What the hell?" hissed Selphie angrily.

"Maybe we should do as he says," said Zack uneasily.

Squall's stomach churned. If Seifer really was working for sorceresses and they were captured, there was no way that they would be able to get out ... they wouldn't be able to finish their mission. But what options did they have? Stay quietly and get captured with the possibility of meeting Ultimecia prematurely, or eliminate Seifer and become fugitives anyway? Both routes were not viable. Squall had to think of something else, and he had to think fast...

"You should listen to your friend," sneered Seifer. "I'm giving you one last chance."

Would Seifer believe us if we told him the truth? Squall asked himself. Would he even help us? I have faith that he's essentially a good person, if not a bit messed up, but...

"Squall, we can't just give up," whispered Irvine.

There are seven of us and one of him and we're trained in combat ... we could easily take him out...

"No way!" said Selphie. "We have a mission!"

...And why is it my decision again...?

"Seifer, I'm sure we can reach some kind of agreement—" Squall began.

"Wrong answer!" said Seifer, and without warning he lunged at Squall fiercely, the tip of his gunblade coming right towards abdomen.

Squall parried the attack and raised his own blade automatically in a defensive position. He really didn't want it to come to this...

"Hey, we don't need to fight—"

Seifer rushed up to Squall and dunked his blade in a heavy downwards motion over Squall, to which Squall responded by lifting his blade over the top of his head and defending against the attack. Squall quickly manoeuvred to the side and had no intention of striking, but Seifer took advantage of this and swung his sword across at his foe. Squall ducked, the blade missing him by a hair, and whilst still in a bent position, gripped the ground with his free hand and propelled his right foot forcefully at Seifer's shins. The young blonde fell to the ground. Squall quickly stood up and pointed the tip of his gunblade at Seifer's throat while he was down.

"I said we don't need to fight," Squall repeated.

"Yeah! Go Squall!" said Selphie, jumping up and down.

"Where'd you get that gunblade anyway?" asked Seifer. "Only the most trained Knights can wield one."

"I'll answer your questions if we can talk like civil people," said Squall shortly.

"I'm not in the mood for talking," said Seifer lazily.

The blonde knight smoothly knocked Squall's gunblade back with his own within a split second by effortlessly swinging his sword in his knocked-down position across his body. In that bare moment that Squall's blade was knocked away from his throat, Seifer jumped to his feet without even having to put his hands on the ground.

"Fine, have it your way," mumbled Squall, taking on an offensive stance. He had fought Seifer numerous times at Garden before and was familiar with Seifer's technique and strategy. Squall had the advantage here because Seifer knew nothing about him.

It'll be just like old times, thought Squall.

Squall and Seifer were a fair distance away, so when Squall saw Seifer charging at him, Squall built up his own steam by charging back. Seifer was the first to execute an attack of which Squall blocked against easily, causing them to go into a momentary deadlock of swords. Squall withdrew his blade and made a strike for Seifer's unguarded body, but the blonde had moved, causing Squall to miss entirely.

As Squall regained his composure and turned around, Seifer held out his hand and beckoned Squall to come at him with a confident smirk.

Clash. Clang. Clash.

The sound of metal against metal rang repetitively, the two fighters going at each other with facial expressions that barely suggested any effort was being put into the battle. The spectators were getting restless, as it didn't even look like anybody was going to win.

Feeling a slight sense of déjà vu, Squall could predict how Seifer would act next. Luckily for Squall, Seifer couldn't play dirty this time by using magic, seeing as how magic was non-existent in this world. Acting accordingly, Squall made a move for Seifer's slight opening in his stance.

"Ugh," cried Seifer, as Squall slashed through the shoulder of his jacket, causing a shallow flesh wound. His white trench coat slowly began to soak in crimson blood, but Seifer tried to take no note of it.

Squall could have easily completely amputated Seifer's entire arm but there was something in Squall that was making him hold back – he didn't really want to hurt Seifer too badly, he just wanted to make a point.

But the blonde fighter stood firm in position and showed no sign of backing down. He suddenly jumped high into the air. Seifer was momentarily airborne as he concentrated his form on his gunblade, wielding it into a cross shape in the air. Squall, unsure of what to expect, suddenly felt the earth move as flames appeared on the ground in the cross shape that Seifer had drawn in the air. Before he could react, the flames had run up to the middle of the cross where Squall was standing, and an intense light suddenly radiated from Seifer's gunblade to the ground.

He's quick to use his Limit, thought Squall fleetingly, before the flames engulfed him and the light pierced his body. It was almost as if the ground shattered beneath his feet, and Squall felt a searing pain rip across his body in combination with a nauseating feeling of falling rapidly.

The light and flames disappeared, and Squall was in a slight daze. He tried to regain momentum, but as soon as his vision was fixed, Seifer was dashing right at him with his gunblade pointed in such a way that he was going to deliver the finishing blow.

Squall quickly raised his gunblade to defend, but he was still dazed from Seifer's overwhelming attack. That, and the fact that he had not regained his strength from the miserable battle against Ultimecia, made his feet falter. His defence was rendered useless as Seifer struck—

Pain.

Squall staggered, and he felt his gunblade fall out of his hands helplessly and onto the ground loudly. His eyes widened at the impact and he looked down at his chest with whatever little strength he had left, only to see Seifer's blade completely impaling him through the chest. The pain was inconceivable, a pain he had never once felt before, as his shirt reddened and he could almost feel the blood throbbing in his veins, only to leak out of his body uncontrollably.

He actually did it ... he didn't hesitate to kill me...

Seifer pulled out his blade, the movement making Squall want to roar in agony. But the snide look of triumph on Seifer's face was enough for Squall's pride to overtake his pain, and he made barely any sound as he clutched at his chest before helplessly falling to the ground.

"SQUALL!" shouted all his companions at once.

He could barely hear them, but the ground reverberated with their fast approaching footsteps. All Squall wanted to do was close his eyes and sleep ... sleep forever ... and maybe the pain would stop...

Seifer turned around menacingly at the other group members. "Who's next?" he roared with a laugh.

"You BASTARD!" shouted Zell angrily, rushing up towards Seifer with his fists held high. "He didn't even want to fight you! He was holding back! And you wanna know why? Because we were all childhood friends and he has a conscience, you fu—"

"Zell, stop it!" said Quistis warningly, as she and Irvine pulled Zell back away from Seifer.

"Childhood friends?" said Seifer with a smirk of disbelief. "You guys just don't get it. I don't know you. He wasn't holding back, he was just weak. Now, are you all going to take me on or can we save some sweat here?"

"Are you kidding, we're not leaving Squall here to die!" shouted Selphie, who was bent over Squall. She was rummaging through her pockets but it seemed that she had run out of healing items. "Oh Squall, what are we going to do?" Tears began to well up in her eyes. "We ... we have to take you to a doctor!"

"There's no way we'd make it in time," said Zack, shaking his head.

"There's not a doctor around here who'll help you criminals," said Seifer spitefully. "So take it like a man and die quietly."

"I didn't think you'd go this far, Seifer!" shouted Zell furiously, "I knew you were low but—"

"Zell, stop," scolded Quistis. "Fighting with Seifer isn't going to help Squall..."

"It's only if we take this bastard down that we'll be able to get out of here and find help!" said Zell, raising his fists. "Or are we just going to let Squall die?"

"Oh, another challenger?" said Seifer, raising his gunblade keenly.

Zell charged up to Seifer without hesitation, concentrating so much energy into his fist that it began to glow...

Everyone's voices began growing dim in Squall's ears as he began to drift out of consciousness. Typical Seifer ... only he could cause an argument big enough for everyone to fight while I'm here bleeding to death...

"Squall, are you okay?"

I could have sworn that was Rinoa talking...

"Not really," mumbled Squall.

The outline of Aerith's face lingered over his own. He wondered how she could remain so calm compared to the others, as not even a phoenix down could bring him back if he was lost now...

"Did you know this was how I died?" whispered Aerith.

"W-What...?" said Squall, wondering if he was hearing correctly.

"I said you aren't going to die," said Aerith, slightly louder.

Aerith clasped her hands together with her eyes closed, as if she were praying for Squall's soul.


The doctor had left the bar and Cloud was out preparing for the trip to the WRO headquarters, where Rinoa was told she would meet someone who could 'help' her. After numerous protests from Rinoa of which were dismissed entirely by Cloud, she finally agreed to come along. Perhaps these authoritative figures knew something about what had happened to the world, and could help her piece the puzzle together of where and when she was. If she was lucky, she might meet her friends somewhere...

Rinoa was helping Tifa wash the dirty dishes that the customers of the bar had left that day. As much as she hated chores, she couldn't help but feel lucky to run into people who took her in and were willing to help her ... perhaps it was fate...

"So how long have you been married to Cloud for, Tifa?" asked Rinoa.

Tifa blushed slightly, but continued to wash the dishes as if the question wasn't a big deal. "Oh, we aren't married."

"Huh?" said Rinoa. "Really? So whose kids are Denzel and Marlene?"

Tifa laughed the question off. "Oh come on, do I really look that old?"

Rinoa blushed. "Oh, that's not what I meant..."

Tifa smiled, shaking her head forgivingly. "No, I was kidding. I get it a lot. Those kids are orphans, and Cloud and I look after them. So, we're kind of like a family – but not really."

Rinoa nodded understandingly. "I know what you mean. My friends are all orphans, but they're just like a big family."

"What about you?" asked Tifa.

"Hmm," said Rinoa vacantly, "my mother was killed in a car accident. And my father ... well ... I'm not on very good terms with him." She sighed. "But ... either way, I don't know where he is. And it doesn't seem like I'll be able to see him any time soon..."

"What do you mean?"

Rinoa sighed heftily. "If I told you, you wouldn't believe me."

"Ah, don't worry, Cloud's already told me," said Tifa.

Rinoa frowned. "Oh, that sucks ... I didn't even get a chance to look like a lunatic in front of you."

Tifa laughed nervously. "I don't think you're a lunatic. I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation for everything."

"I already know the explanation," said Rinoa. "An evil sorceress compressed time and created a new world. I'm either lost in time, or this is the new world she's created and I'm the only one who seems to remember."

Tifa didn't reply and continued to wash the dishes.

"See, I knew it," said Rinoa, blowing a strand of hair out of her face. "I wouldn't believe me either if I was you. But if I really am crazy ... can I stay with you guys until I meet someone who recognises me? I know it's a lot to ask but I'll work for you and everything ... I'll kind of be like the third orphan you took in. A bit of a big orphan..."

Tifa giggled. "Oh Rinoa, you're not that crazy. Don't say things as if it's the end. Cloud said he would help you find your friends, didn't he? He must have a good reason for helping you. If he's helping you, I'll do my best too."

Rinoa smiled. "Thanks, Tifa."

But I don't know if it will be enough, thought Rinoa.


Seifer saw Zell's attack coming and estimated that he would not be able to attack in time, so he quickly raised his gunblade up to defend. The great glowing punch was more powerful than he expected, and even though Zell had punched his sword, Seifer still staggered a bit from the forceful impact. Seifer recouped as quickly as he could, but was instead met with a series of kicks to his abdominal area.

"You little..." Seifer was able to dodge the final kick, and taking advantage of Zell's opening, he raised his gunblade to strike his opponent down.

"...Healing wind..."

Before Seifer could bring his blade down, he noticed Aerith kneeling over Squall, not too far away from where Seifer and Zell were fighting. Her eyes were closed and her hands were clasped together, but a strange gust of wind that seemed only to be present where she was kneeling swept around her, wisping her hair gently. Sparkling blue light emanated from between her clasped hands and fell onto Squall's body.

Seifer, confused, lowered his blade and walked away from Zell to investigate what was going on.

"Hey! You can't just walk away from a fight like that!" growled Zell, staring after him.

Squall, who had previously been in a state of bordering death, gasped for breath suddenly and shot up from his lying-down position. His hands ran over his abdomen in surprise, before pulling up his blood-soaked shirt to examine his bare muscular chest. To Seifer's astonishment, the wound where Seifer had stabbed him was completely healed, barely even leaving a scar.

"Aerith ... you healed me," said Squall, sighing a deep sigh of relief. "Th-thank you..."

"Oh, Squall!" cried Selphie, "I thought you were a goner!" She flung her arms around Squall's neck tearfully, to which Squall could only bear a nervous smiling-like expression before pulling the girl off of him.

"Aerith saves the day again," said Zack with a laugh, putting his arm on Aerith's shoulder.

"You ... you did magic," said Seifer, his smooth control over the English language suddenly waning. This changed everything...

"Magic," murmured Squall, his relieved expression gradually clouding.

Seifer quickly bent down on one knee before Aerith, burying his forehead into his forearm, his other hand bearing his lowered gunblade.

"Forgive me!" said Seifer loudly. "I had no idea you were a sorceress ... Lady Aerith."

All eyes were on Aerith at that very moment, whose face was so delicate that the only expression that could have been drawn was confusion.