Chapter 2 - From Whence He Came

Van awoke in a very medically designed room in a very medically designed bed. His head was pounding for some unknown reason as he was certain his group hadn't sought out the Temporal Phase to get smashed with it.

The Temporal Phase! He bolted upright and immediately regretted his course of action as he was rewarded for his efforts by his headache when it intensified itself.

"Easy there, darlin'," came a voice somewhere off to his left.

Van turned his head to get a view of what he was certain was his captor.

Sitting in a chair with a newspaper resting on one knee, was a man in a duster and a black cowboy hat.

"Feelin' better, are we?" the man asked. "The name's Irvine. You got one of those?"

"An Irvine?" Van asked, feeling a little cheeky and a lot more spiteful. How dare this ruggedly handsome man kidnap him and use him for his twisted medical experiments? There were laws against this, and he knew his rights.

The cowboy just laughed. "Cute, kid. But, I was more interested in yer name than in yer attempt at bein' sarcastic." Irvine leaned back, grinning from ear to ear.

"You better release me at once. My Church will be out looking for me and they aren't lenient with kidnappers and molesters!"

"Good! They damn well should be comin' down on those pricks. Why, just last week we lost 6 new recruits comin' back from a picnic in the fields outside o' here." said Irvine with a hint of amusement in his tone.

"Really? That's awful." said Van softly, shock clearly evident on his face.

"No, of course not. I'm just teasin' ya," laughed Irvine. "So, you gonna tell me yer name or not, darlin'?"

Van rolled his eyes. "It's Van. And by your rather loose efforts at having a sense of humor, I take it you haven't kidnapped me and hauled me off somewhere?"

"Of course not! You just kinda appeared in the middle of our trainin' grounds and landed on our resident martial artist, from what I heard."

"I did?" asked Van. This was clearly going to be one of those days.

"Ya did, darlin'. He came in here hootin' and hollerin' about some teleportin' boy with hair longer than he was tall. I thought my hair was long, but you got me beat." said Irvine, appraising Van's hair with a critical eye.

"Teleporting boy? But, I-"

At that precise moment, the door opened and Dr. Kadowaki strode purposefully into the room with a very bouncy Zell hot on her heels, trying to steal looks over her shoulders.

"Thank you, Irvine, that will be all. If you could inform the Commander that our patient is now awake while I examine him? And for Hyne's sake, take Zell with you!" stated the Doctor.

"Yes, ma'am." Irvine said as he put down the newspaper and stood up. "C'mon, Zell, yer boyfriend needs some time with Doctor K."

"Oh, shut up," Zell said without taking his eyes of Van. "Heya, I'm Zell. You kinda interrupted mine and Selph's training earlier. Thanks!"

Van choked back the very intense urge to laugh. This guy was HYPER and clearly didn't take his training very seriously. Which made zero sense as his body was built like a brick shit house. He assumed this was the martial artist he inadvertently dropped in on to say hello.

"Ah, yes. Well, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. My name is Van."

Zell opened his mouth to say something else when he was abruptly cut off.

"Goodbye, Mr. Dincht," the doctor said with a stern glare.

"C'mon, darlin'," the cowboy said as he grabbed Zell's arm and dragged him out the door. "Let's go tell Squall."

They left and the door closed after them. The doctor turned to look at her patient.

"Right then. I'm just going to give you a once over to determine there aren't any injuries done to you, alright?"

"Huh?" said Van, his mind snapping back into focus from the events that just took place. "Oh, no, that's alright, I can handle that myself."

The Saint closed his eyes and offered a quick word of prayer. "Goddess, bathe me in your holy light."

A pulse of white light issued from his skin leaving him feel tingly and refreshed. The doctor took on an expression that insinuated she just shit herself.

"That's weird," Van muttered. "That prayer should have been more powerful than that. These walls must have some sort of anti-magic spell built into them. Anyways, thank you very much, Doctor. I'm going to go and try to figure out where I am."

Doctor Kadowaki's mouth opened and closed a few times as she tried to force speech out of it and failed. "B-but, you...I'm supposed to..."

Van hopped out of the bed and made for the door. "Thanks again!"

And with that, he left the office, leaving the Doctor to mentally absorb what just took place.

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Selphie was walking through the corridors on her way to the library when she saw him.

"That's the floating kid," she thought. "He looks lost. I'll bet he doesn't even know who I am. Now's my chance!"

Van was currently examining the map of the Garden with a confused expression when she walked up next to him.

"Hi, are you new here?" Selphie said coyly. "I was a transfer student too, so I know this place can seem kind of confusing at first. You have really beautiful hair, by the way. Have people ever told you that? I'm sure you get that alot. Do you want me to show you around?"

Van gaped at her. "Er, I...th-that is.." he stumbled.

"It's lunch time! Let's get something to eat! I'm starving, aren't you?" she bombarded him, while taking his arm and steering him towards the Cafeteria.

"I-I suppose I am a bit-"

"Great!"

Selphie directed (or rather, drove) him to the Cafeteria, put him in line, ordered both their foods, and plopped him down at a table to eat.

"It's just so great meeting new people! I can already tell we're gonna be great friends. I have a knack for knowing these things. What about you? Have you met anyone else here yet?" Selphie asked, putting on an air of innocence.

Van was having a hard time taking this girl in. She just plowed through conversation after conversation without so much as stopping for air. He began to suspect this girl was, in fact, a cyborg. And nobody could be this cheerful.

"Well, I did meet your physician. And a man in a cowboy hat-" Van started.

"Oh, you met Irvy? He's my ex. We're just friends now. I caught him in bed with another man. Have you ever done that to someone?" Selphie beamed as she took another sip of her pink lemonade.

"Caught someone in bed with another man? No, I don't think so." Van said carefully. Was this girl trying to trip him up by talking so quickly?

"Hrm, gonna have to switch tactics, I see." she thought, the smile never leaving her face. "Well, it's awkward, let me tell you! But, there is just something so hot about seeing two men going at it. I honestly had a hard time deciding whether to blow up or get out my cell phone and start taking pictures!"

Van smiled. "You have a very unique perception of the world around you."

'That's me! So, have you met anyone else?"

"There was another guy. Zell, I think his name was-"

"You met Zell! Oh, he's so much fun. And he's downright gorgeous. He's been a little off for a while though. I think he's either coming down with something or he's depressed over something. He won't tell me what it is though. Don't you think he's good looking? I love his tattoos," she said in another of her whirls.

"This girl is definitely up to something," thought Van. "Two can play at this game."

"Really? He didn't seem depressed to me at all. In fact, he seemed really happy. He mentioned just being relieved to have ditched Selphie and her annoying chattiness. "

"He said what!" Selphie shrieked. "That asshole! I am not annoying-er, wait..."

Van smiled pleasantly. "Oops. Busted, dear."

"Oh, you're good," she admitted.

"So, what is all this about? Why didn't you just tell me who you were in the first place?"

"Well, I thought-."

What she thought, however, was interrupted by the sounds of purposeful striding of boots and heels approaching their table. Selphie turned her head towards the sound and immediately changed her tone.

"Hey Squall! What's up?" she asked cheerfully.

The Commander looked less than cheerful back at her. Quistis spared a second to meet Selphie's eyes before turning them back on their guest.

Van was more than a little impressed. This man was tall, dark, reserved, and so young. He must have some incredible ability to be a commander at his age. He also vaguely wondered how he got that scar. Surely he could have gotten it healed?

"You'll have to come with us," Squall stated before turning and began walking away. "Oh, and Selphie? We'll talk about this later."

Selphie sank down in her seat. "Yes, Commander..."

Quistis allowed herself a tiny smile before attempting to smooth over her leader's brashness. "Van, I take it? If we could have a moment of your time? There's some things we would like to discuss with you in Squall's office."

"Oh, certainly," Van replied, standing up and tossing his hair back over his shoulder. "It was nice to meet you Selphie."

"You too. Let's hang out again after I get out of whatever punishment Squall's gonna give me."

Van smiled and turned to Quistis. "Ready." She nodded and led him out of the Cafeteria. They walked in silence through the corridor until reaching the stairs. "His office is on the third floor." They walked up to the elevator and stepped in. Quistis reached and pressed the button marked "3".

A short elevator ride later, they stepped out and down the hallway, past reception and arrived at a closed door. Quistis knocked, opened it, and then stepped inside.

Van followed her into a large room, evidently an office, complete with desk, comfortable looking chairs, and him. The Commander.

Van realized this was much like being back in the office of the Holy Maiden in his Church...well, before he attained the title of Heavenly Saint and outranked even her.

"Explain," Squall said shortly.

Van wasn't sure what he was referring to, when another voice started talking from behind him. Van whirled around and saw Zell standing by the door. He didn't even see him when he walked in.

"It's like I said, Squall. He just appeared in the training grounds."

"People don't just appear, Zell. They have to come from somewhere." Squall checked a piece of paper on his desk. "Van, was it? Who are you? Where did you come from? Who sent you?"

Van was stunned. Sure, he had expected some questions. Hell, he had questions, but, this guy almost sounded like he was blaming him for ending up here. "I...um..." he tried to say.

"WHOA, Squall, stop man. You're attacking him!" Zell piped up as he came over to Van's side and put his hand on his shoulder. "It's alright, Van. He's just a little over worked."

"I don't even know where I am!" Van blurted out. He was right. This is one of those days!

"This is Balamb Garden," said Quistis, also placing a hand on Van's other shoulder. "Do you remember anything before waking up here?"

"Well...I was fighting a Temporal Phase."

"A what?" the three said in unison.

Van sighed. "This is what happened...,"

If he was going to be here, he might as well not be treated like a spy.