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"Listen to me Seifer, you can't go off on a SeeD mission!" I heard Quistis say as I lumbered unceremoniously through the glass door.

"Dear Instructor, what makes you think that you can stop me?" Seifer drawled at a frowning Quistis.

Then her expression changed from hateful to concerned, "for once in your life, Seifer, listen to me. This mission has nothing to do with you, and..." She sighed and looked away from him, and I couldn't hear what she said.

Seifer watched her with an expression that looked almost sad for a second. "Quistis, I have to go. This is my chance to fulfill my dream," he whispered.

His dream? And here I thought he was just a hateful jerk from hell.

"Seifer…" Quistis said in a tone that clearly said she didn't want to hear it.

Seifer whipped a hand in the air, as if batting an invisible fly. "Dammit, Trepe! I don't give a shit about SeeD or Garden. There's bigger things happening." He paused to sneer down at Quistis before continuing, "that bastard Deling has to go down."

"What in the world are you talking about?"

Seifer let out a dry laugh, and quickly looked around before lowering his voice.

I stepped closer, but his words just sounded like a jumble of hissing sounds. Sweat beaded on my forehead as I stepped dangerously close to the two.

"…might be a sorceress."

I nearly choked. Sorceress? I stepped out from the shadows and in Seifer's line of vision, but he was leaning towards Quistis and didn't seem to see me.

Quistis took a step back from Seifer, "How did you…"

"I have my sources," Seifer spat out before turning around with a swish of his coat, and walking up to the car rental counter.

I stepped next to Quistis, and lightly tapped her on the shoulder.

She abruptly turned around and her eyes widened upon seeing me. "What are you doing here Izzy?" suspicion was written all over her face.

I grimaced before answering her, "I couldn't help but overhear. What's going on?"

She shook her head. "Izzy, go back inside. This doesn't concern you." she narrowed her eyes sternly.

My heart sank, but I wouldn't give up. I was sure Seifer had mentioned a sorceress. "I, uh, heard Seifer say something about Timber." I took a deep breath before stuttering, "w-what's going on there?"

"Listen to me Izzy," she sounded as if she was trying hard to remain calm. "You can't come with us. Cid might send you on a mission and if you're not there-"

"My family lives there!" I suddenly yelled, then felt my face flush. "Uh, yeah. So if something's happening, I'm not gonna sit around and do nothing!" Please don't know where Izzy's family lives.

Quistis exhaled slowly and opened her mouth, but was cut off.

"What do you mean there's no more non-SeeD cars?" Seifer banged a fist on the counter and the attendant took a step back. Seifer looked livid, like a kid who has nothing but a lump of coal to look forward to on Christmas morning.

Quistis sent me a concerned look before running to Seifer's side.

"W-we can't issue SeeD cars to r-regular students." the poor kid behind the counter stuttered. He looked about ready to wet his pants.

Seifer put a hand to the hilt of his sheathed weapon, leering at the attendant in a sort of sadistic way. I felt my eyes bug out of my head, but the next moment Quistis put a hand around Seifer's arm to stop him. I shuddered, wondering how far Seifer was capable of taking his anger, and was glad that I stood safely out of his line of sight.

Quistis immediately sidestepped Seifer to talk to the attendant. "I'll be the one to operate it, then," she said in a fluid voice, as if it she just wanted to go for a leisurely joy ride. Seifer smirked like a lion on prowl as he watched Quistis grab the key from the attendant. She turned around, her gaze icy cold and posture rigid as she made her way through the door that led out into the area where the cars were parked.

I ran and hurled myself through the door from which the two blonds had disappeared. I knew I should probably have turned around and headed back to the classroom, where I knew Nida was expecting me to be, but there was no way I would give up this opportunity to find the sorceress.

"Hey!" I screamed at the two blonds, running at full speed to catch up. They turned around, Quistis with an annoyed sort or look on her face, and Seifer with mild surprise.

Quistis sighed as I fell into step beside her. "Izzy…"

"No. There's nothing you can say to get me to not come with you guys!" Geez, what's the big deal?

We got into the car in silence. Other than a bored look my way, Seifer ignored me. I shrugged and strapped myself into the backseat of the car. I hope I can find her in Timber. But what exactly would I do when I confronted the sorceress? My stomach rumbled. I hadn't thought this far. If the woman was powerful enough to send me to another world, what else was she capable of? Well, in any case, she's the only one who can send me back. I settled back in my seat. Whatever was going to happen would happen, and I could worry about the sorceress when I got to her.

Quistis revved the engine, and we burst through the large metal garage door. She sped off down the driveway and merged into the main road, which was labeled, 'Central Balamb Way.' Jeesh, if I had known what a psycho driver she is, I would have offered to drive. Not that it would have made a difference. Instead of focusing on the speed of Quistis's driving, I turned my attention to her and Seifer's fast-paced conversation.

"…think that Leonhart will be able to help her? Three rookie SeeDs… what were they thinking?" Seifer finished.

"They're fully trained, what makes you think you can do a better job?" Quistis spat with an exasperated frown.

Seifer glared at her as she turned her attention back on the road.

"Because Rin- I'm better for the job!"

Quistis whipped her head towards Seifer, "Rinoa? I should have known she would factor into this." She shook her head and turned her attention back to the road.

"Imagine her disappointment when she gets Puberty boy and chicken-wuss instead of me…"

Quistis remained silent, and through the rearview mirror I could see that her mouth was set in a tight straight line, as if she indeed had something to say, but she just wouldn't say it.

Seifer diverted his gaze ahead of him. "Still can't believe why they sent that chicken-wuss though…" he muttered to himself.

Quistis sighed with annoyance, and silence fell over the car. The tension was thick enough that I could probably slice it with a knife, and even then it wouldn't go away.

"Who's Rinoa?" I blurted out of genuine curiosity.

Seifer grunted, most likely out of annoyance.

Quistis met my gaze in the rearview mirror. She bit her lip, and sent Seifer a fleeting glance before answering, "She's Seifer's girl-"

Bang! Seifer brought a fist down into the dashboard.

Quistis shook her head again, sighed, and went back to glaring in front of her.

Seifer's girlfriend? Wait a minute, "So why was she dancing with Squall afterward?" I hadn't really directed the question at him, but the next moment Seifer turned to face me, looking absolutely livid.

"What the hell do you know about it?" he barked.

I sent him a bored look and waved a hand in the air. "Nothing, but if you ask me, dancing with some guy her boyfriend dislikes is pretty crappy girlfriend behaviour."

Seifer smirked and hissed, "Not that you'd know anything about girlfriend behaviour, prude." He turned around, and from where I sat, I couldn't see his expression.

I stared at the back of his head in surprise, not exactly knowing how to react to that. From what I had read in Izzy's diary, she didn't seem like a prude. She secretly went out with a teacher for goodness sakes! I shrugged, did I really need to care about what Seifer thought of Izzy? Nope.

Soon enough, we reached the quaint little arched entryway of Balamb town. Quistis drove through the arch and turned the car towards the right, into the fairly empty indoor parking lot. Before she could properly park the car, Seifer hurtled out his seat and slammed the door behind him.

Quistis quickly turned the car off, shoved the key in her pocket, and stepped out the same time I did. "Well, let's go," she said to me.

I nodded and followed her as she jogged off after Seifer. I wondered why we were stopping in Balamb. Wasn't Seifer in a hurry to get to that Timber place? Whatever, they know where they're going.

We jogged through the town, and ten minutes later, caught up to Seifer. He was just walking up to a kiosk that said 'Tickets' over the top in blocky letters. He barely acknowledged us as we stepped up beside him and faced the short, pretty woman standing in the kiosk.

"Hi!" she greeted.

"Can I get three tickets to Timber?" Quistis asked kindly. She handed the girl her Balamb ID, which I noticed was said 'instructor' instead of 'student.'

The ticket girl smiled, and handed Quistis her card back, along with three train tickets. No money? "The train will arrive in about an hour," she said, and waved as Quistis hastily stepped away from the booth.

"Sweet! Instructors get free train tickets?" I beamed at Quistis.

She nodded curtly, and looked down rather guiltily. "Just one of the perks," she whispered before shoving one of the tickets in my hand.

Weird. I shrugged and slipped the ticket in my pocket.

We made our way up the stairs that led into the train station. We crossed the turnstiles and stepped onto the single train platform. Odd, I thought, shouldn't there be more than one track? But then, Balamb was a pretty small town, and I didn't think many trains passed by it. The lone, napping security guard was proof enough.

"Let's wait over there," Quistis gestured to a bench that sat against the opposite wall. I nodded at her before we headed to the bench. Quistis sat down first and leaned back. She looked exhausted, and it was only still morning. I sat down beside her on the hard surface, just now realizing that I had followed the two teenagers because of a single mention of the word sorceress. How did I even know that Seifer had been telling the truth? What did he even say about her? I suddenly felt a chill overtake me. What exactly was I getting myself into?

'Natasha,' Siren suddenly piped up.

I drew in a shaking breath, ready for an extreme tongue-lashing. After all, I had been ignoring her throughout the car ride. 'Hey, Siren.'

She sighed in a tired sort of way. 'Well I'm glad you're not ignoring me anymore.'

I smiled sheepishly. 'Sorry.'

There was a silence, during which I hoped that she wasn't too angry.

'Do you have any idea what you're up against, trying to go after a sorceress?'

My stomach knotted. 'No, Siren, I don't.'

Suddenly, I heard Ifrit let out an exasperated growl. 'Foolish mortal. Sorceresses are power-hungry and merciless. You don't stand a chance against them.'

My heart sank. What was I doing? A shiver ran down my spine at the thought of never being able to get home, but not because I couldn't find a way, but because of getting killed.

'Give it a rest, Ifrit.' Siren scolded. 'You're terrifying her.'

'I'm just telling her what she needs to hear,' he answered.

'Look, I have to try. Unlike you guys, I didn't choose to leave my world.' I was angry with Siren. It was bad enough I felt helpless, but she could at least have been a little supportive.

'Hey, I want you to get home as much as you do. I just hope you understand that it will be dangerous to go head to head against a sorceress.' She paused, thinking hard about what to say. 'But you should also know that we'll be with you along the way.'

Ifrit grunted, and I supposed that meant he agreed, albeit a little apprehensively. Regardless, I felt a surge of hope. Then something else occurred to me. Someone else had been willing to help me. I groaned, remembering that I was supposed to meet Nida in the library.

"Hey, Quistis."

She turned to me and blinked, as if she had just snapped out of a daze. "Yes?"

"Would you know all the new SeeDs' weekly schedules by any chance?"

She scrutinized me for a few painful seconds, and then replied, "No, new schedules are posted at the beginning of every week. Why?" Her eyes were full of suspicion and confusion.

I nodded. "I just thought since you're an instructor..." I grinned, hoping that she would believe me.

She shook her head. "I'm no longer an instructor, I'm a regular SeeD now." She kept her gaze in front of her.

"Oh..."

Quistis turned to me, "Who's schedule do you want to know?"

"Um, Nida's," I reluctantly met her gaze and continued, "I sort of promised him I would meet him after his class, but well, uh…" I scratched the back of my head.

"You followed us instead," she finished for me. Her eyes suddenly turned cold. "So what's the real reason you did?"

My breath caught in my throat and I looked away from her burning gaze. "Because-" I squeaked.

"I know your family is Galbadian, Izzy, so what are you hiding?" her voice was calm and collected, but there was a commanding tone behind it, which clearly meant I better tell the truth.

I sighed before answering flatly, "I heard Seifer mention something." I looked her straight in the eyes before continuing, "Sorceress. I had to find out more."

She sucked in a sharp breath.

"Does he know about a sorceress?"

She stared at me, her expression becoming less cold. "I honestly don't know," she whispered with a shake of her head.

I sighed and leaned back in my seat, still feeling Quistis's eyes on me.

"But you had heard about a sorceress before that." It wasn't a question. I met her gaze, sure that mine showed shock. Man, how the hell does she know everything?

I muttered the first thing that came to my head, "my parents mentioned that there was a sorceress in, um, Timber." I invented, watching her carefully. "But that's about it, and when I heard Seifer mention what he did, I had to find out for myself." I held her gaze, my heart hammering in my chest, and hoped that I didn't sound ludicrous.

Finally, after a full, agonizing minute, Quistis took her eyes off me. She leaned back into the bench, and I let out the breath I had been holding.

"It figures," she whispered. "Your father is in President Deling's circle. He wouldn't have any trouble finding these things out."

Huh, so Izzy's parents are some big shots. I wondered why Nida hadn't given me information such as this. I mean, it was important for me to know things like these, and all Nida had told me just showed me that he missed Izzy. I shook my head. No. It's not his fault he likes his friend and wants to talk about how great she is.

Besides that, it seemed that the sorceress was up to bigger things than sending me to this world and back. Then why did she send me here? Had she even meant to? Most importantly, did she even know what exactly she had done, switching my body with someone else's?

I shakily grabbed a lock of my hair and started tugging on it. My heart clenched with dread. If she was going around in public, that probably meant she had goonies or something with her, messing things up and causing trouble. This was going to be so much more difficult than I had originally anticipated. What the hell am I going to do without Nida?

I took a few long, shaky breaths to calm myself down. There was no way I was giving up. I had to get home, and if that meant getting hurt along the way, so be it. I absently watched Seifer pacing next to the empty track, his hand resting gently on the hilt of his sword. It was a little amusing to see how worked up he was. I supposed I would be too if I was in his situation.

"So what's the deal with Seifer, Rinoa, and Squall?" I asked Quistis suddenly, trying to lighten the mood.

She turned to me in surprise, as if I just shook her from her thoughts. A smile broke over her face as she realized what I had just asked her. "Rinoa is Seifer's girlfriend. Squall doesn't know her," her smile faltered slightly, "but she kind of dragged him on the dance floor at the party."

"Ah." I giggled. "No wonder Seifer was all bunched up when he talked about Squall going to help her instead of him."

She frowned, "It's not really to help her that he went. Headmaster Cid sent them on a SeeD mission that just happens to include Rinoa."

The look on her face made me wipe the smile off my face. It was a sad, faraway kind of look, identical to the one she wore when Squall had blown her off last night. I'm obviously missing something.

"Well, that explains why Seifer was so pissed this morning."

Quistis looked like she wanted to say something, but a loud beeping sound cut her off. "THE TRAIN TO TIMBER WILL BE ARRIVING SHORTLY. PLEASE HAVE YOUR TICKETS READY. I REPEAT, THE TRAIN TO TIMBER WILL BE ARRIVING SHORTLY. THANK YOU." Beep.

We both got up off the bench and walked up to the platform, where a blue electrical engine was just pulling in. Seifer extended his hand at Quistis and she handed him his ticket.

"Wha-" the guard was shaken awake by the grinding sound of the train coming to a full stop. He looked at the three of us tiredly before his eyes went wide with realization. "Oh! May I see your tickets?" He extended a hand. Seifer was the first to hand over his ticket. The guard stamped it and handed it back to Seifer, with a monotonous "have a good trip."

After our tickets had been stamped, I followed Quistis up the set of metal steps and into the train. The train car was spacious and wide, without seats or even poles to hold on to.

"Er, shouldn't there be seats or belts or something?" I asked.

Quistis turned to me with a warm smile. "We're not going to ride in here." she walked over to the door to the right side of the one we had entered, and held up her SeeD ID card to a little reader by it. With a beep and a click, the door slid open. "This is the first time either of you are entering the SeeD car, isn't it?"

Ok, I was excited by the way she grinned, and I pretty much skipped to the door. I followed Quistis as she walked through yet another door on our right, with Seifer right behind me.

"Oooh!" I squealed. I couldn't help it. The SeeD cabin was beautiful. There was a full-sized bunk bed on the far right corner, covered in expensive-looking down comforters. Next to the bed sat a plush-looking leather sofa that curved around to cover an entire corner. Two blinds-covered windows were on the walls above the couch, surrounded by royal coloured walls that matched the grand rug, which was strategically placed smack dab in the center of the room. I walked over to the other end of the room, where a mini-fridge sat near a small table with a microwave on it. Beside it was a narrow door with a bathroom sign on it. I'd never seen a train this nice.

Grinning, I turned to Quistis. She now stood in the middle of the room, her hands crossed gently in front of her chest. "This is what I call luxury!" I turned back and opened the fridge. It was packed with soft drinks, fruit, and snacks. I grabbed a bright red can and crossed the room to perch myself on the bed. A hiss was heard as I sat down on the soft mattress.

"Simple things amuse simple minds," drifted Seifer's voice from the other end of the room.

I ignored him, put my feet up and leaned back onto a mound of feather-soft pillows.

"Try to relax a little, we're going to be here for a while," said Quistis. I turned my face toward her and nodded. She was now sitting on the other side of the couch, trying her best to ignore Seifer's angry face. He probably didn't want to wait too long. Whatever.

I shrugged and popped open my can of 'Balamb Delight', and brought it to my lips. Hmm. The drink was cool and sweet and tasted like an extremely carbonated version of Pepsi. "Man, I could live on this stuff!" I chugged another humongous sip and turned towards the other two, propping my head on my elbow. "So what's with the Squall-hate?"

Seifer turned to me, looking slightly surprised, "What would you know about it?" he sneered.

I rolled my eyes and fake-yawned. "Oh please, you can drop the asshole act," I said nonchalantly, and then muttered, "Jeez, it was only a question."

He stared at me with a conflicted sort of expression, like he wanted to punch me, but was amused at the same time. I figured he wasn't used to people standing up to him. Whatever. I had spent a good portion of my youth being teased and bullied because I had been an overweight kid; so learning to ignore jerks wasn't something new to me.

"I don't hate the guy," Seifer suddenly said. "I just keep proving that I'm better than him."

I nearly choked on my drink. Wow, he's actually serious. Instead, I asked, "Why?" I propped myself up so that I could meet his eyes better. "Wouldn't it just be easier if you guys were friends? You know, engage in some healthy friendly competition?" I hadn't meant to delve into the matter, but it just sounded so exhausting that he was always competing with Squall.

Seifer watched me for a few seconds with an unreadable expression before replying, "Because then I wouldn't have a rival to show up to," he said in a matter-of-fact way.

"And wouldn't life be so much simpler for all of us if that were the case?" Quistis spoke for the first time. She had been watching us converse with amusement, and a knowing sort of glint in her eyes.

I covered up a yawn with my hand. "Yeah, no wonder the kid walks around with a stick up his ass. He has Seifer harassing him at every corner."

Seifer's reaction was absolutely hilarious. He gaped at me, his mouth opened in shock. Beside him, Quistis shook her head, but she had a smile on her face.

I smiled sheepishly. "Heh, I just mean that he's unnaturally uptight." I scratched the back of my head, wondering if Izzy ever spoke so crudely. Judging from Seifer's smirking face, probably not.

"He just needs to get laid!" Seifer waved a hand in the air, and then leaned back into the couch with his hands behind his head. Quistis looked shocked. I wanted to agree, but what did I know about Squall's dating habits?

No more was said on the topic, thankfully. I chugged the last of my drink and set it down on the bedside table. Leaning back further into the pillows, I could feel my body start to relax. I'm so tired. I wasn't used to waking up at the crack of dawn, or living off three hours of sleep for that matter. I yawned and closed my eyes. What would I say to the sorceress when I had to confront her? I turned over and faced the wall. Would she actually be able to send me back home? What about Izzy? I took in a deep breath. Can I worry about that later? The bed was extremely comfortable, and I was so sleepy…

At first, the dream was as nonsensical and convoluted as the plot of that soap opera my mom used to watch, Passions or something.

A playground. I watched Squall and Seifer fist fight from my place on top of the monkey bars. They seemed to be fighting over Rinoa, who looked like Quistis with black hair. She sat on a swing, occasionally yawning at the two overly aggressive guys. I shook my head. Boys were ridiculous.

Then everything blacked out; darkness, oppressive and menacing, overtook my senses. I blinked, but smell returned first, bringing the stench of burning machinery. I coughed. Where am I? Something warm and sticky was pasted on my cheeks and wrapped around my neck, and I impatiently brushed it away, only to realize that it was my sweat-soaked hair. My head throbbed and my vision was nothing more than a dark blur. What happened to my glasses? There was something white and large in front of me that obstructed my movement and vision. I groaned and tried to push it away. Airbag?

My heart hammering, I looked around frantically as I deflated the airbag. Something tight and rough was strapped over my shoulder; with shaking hands, I unbuckled the seatbelt.

Sitting next to me was a blurry shadow. My heart stopped as I realized that it wasn't moving. "Noah!" I flung the seatbelt off of me and grabbed his shoulders. "Noah!" I sobbed out, shaking him with more force than was necessary.

With a weak groan that sent shivers down my spine, Noah stirred. "Nata?" he whispered. His voice was thin and scratchy sounding.

"We need to get out of here!" I screamed, and his head snapped up. I squinted my eyes, but my vision was blurry and my head felt like it would explode.

I heard Noah unbuckle his seatbelt. "What happened?" his voice was still hoarse, and he suddenly groaned. "Oww, my head," he muttered.

I let out a shaky breath as I remembered. "We fell off the side of the highway," I answered flatly. "A truck – a truck hit us and I didn't swerve in time." I moaned and banged my head on the air bag covered steering wheel.

Noah patted my shoulder. "There, there sis, not everyone can be a driver." He sounded like he was smirking.

I turned on him. "The truck hit us from behind, you idiot! I had no time to spin away from the curb!" How could he joke around at a time like this?

Through the darkness, I could see him put his hands up defensively. "Okay, okay," he muttered something else about 'that time of the month,' but I ignored him.

"We need to get out of here." I unlocked my door with some difficulty, but no matter how much I pushed on it, it didn't budge. I groaned loudly, feeling tears of frustration well up in my eyes.

"What's the matter?" Noah called from outside his open door.

"My door won't budge." I tentatively lifted myself up and reached around the car in order to clear a way for myself. "I'm gonna get out from your door. Man, I can't see a thing."

There was no response. "Noah?" I called out.

"Oh shit… I don't think you should see this, Natasha!" his voice sounded like it was coming from the other side of the car.

"Is it that bad?" I squeaked out. Great, I just got my license and look what happens. I inched my way across the seats, which was rather difficult to do with my legs wedged between the steering wheel and driver's seat. I managed to break free and crawled out, landing softly on the grass. I stood up nimbly, trying not to hurt myself. "Noah?" I called again.

No answer. "Hey, how bad is it?" I yelled, coughing as the smell of burnt rubber invaded my nostrils.

Suddenly, the air became frigid with a wind that appeared out of nowhere. It's the middle of July, for goodness sakes! I limped forward. Why wasn't he answering me? "Noah, I swear to God…"

A loud groan shut me up.

I stumbled blindly towards where I had heard the sound. He didn't answer.

"Silence!" a velvety voice, belonging to a woman whose outline I could faintly see not far from where Noah stood.

"Noah?" my voice trembled with fear as I blindly stepped toward the shadows.

Another groan, and I could see Noah struggle and gesture wildly.

A white light, then silence.

My hands were tightly clasped onto something soft and fleshy. I ripped my eyes open and jerked myself up with such force that a few pillows went tumbling to the ground and landed in a heap. Sweat-soaked hair was pasted to my face and I was desperately sucking in air through my constricted throat.

"Izzy!" I looked up into a pair of pale blue eyes that were narrowed in pain. What the…? I immediately unclasped my hand from around Seifer's wrist, and he roughly stood up. I watched him with wide eyes, not quite able to register what was going on. Tears were running down my face, and I frantically looked around the room. I was in the SeeD cabin on the train to Timber.

"What's wrong with you?" The voice was sharp.

I looked up. Seifer was watching me intently, clearly freaked out as he rubbed his wrist. It was covered in bright pink fingernail marks.

I stood up abruptly and wiped the tears from my face. "What happened?" I choked out.

"You were screaming and kicking in your sleep," Seifer answered flatly, "it looked pretty shitty so I tried to wake you up, but you grabbed onto my wrist really tightly." He still looked creeped out, and stepped back to sit down heavily on the couch, still rubbing his wrist.

Quistis was nowhere to be seen.

I watched him numbly, feeling a lump forming in my throat. "Sorry," I whispered as I turned around and shoved myself into the bathroom. Without turning on the light, I leaned over the sink and took several deep breaths.

The tap spit out a generous amount of water before it slowed into a steady stream. I watched it blankly for a few seconds before cupping my hands under it and shoving the water into my mouth. Next I slapped a handful on my face, and carefully turned the faucet off.

I looked up into the mirror, only mildly surprised to see Izzy's face. Her ice-blue eyes stared back at me, red rimmed and bruised-looking. Her skin was ghost pale and I stared. How long have I kept that memory buried? It had been two years since the accident, and during those two years I had successfully shoved the accident in the dark corners of my mind, not once thinking about it. A shudder passed through me.

I stared at Izzy's beautiful blue eyes as they watered and finally spilled over. My arms buckled on the sink as the tears ran silently down my face. Noah… why didn't you run away?

I couldn't take it anymore. Sobs burst from my mouth as tears spilled freely from my eyes. My heart clenched, and I suddenly felt ice cold. I wrapped my arms around myself and sank to the floor against the closed door.

Noah didn't deserve to be remembered this way, all cold and dead. For two years, two fucking years, I had not once thought about the accident. He would have been twenty-two this year… I shook my head so violently that my hair whipped the side of my neck. No. I wouldn't think about what would and should be. Instead, my mind wandered to the scene I had just witnessed. I thought I forgot about the accident… My memory was fuzzy, but all I remembered was a crash, and then waking up in the hospital. My stomach clenched and unclenched, so what the hell was this dream all about? The shadows, and a silvery voice...

I suddenly sat upright, feeling all the blood drain from my face. The sorceress! I was sure of it. The cold, velvety voice, the air around her ice-cold, and all of a sudden something fit into place; she knew me because she had seen me before… when she killed my brother! More shivers overtook me as anger reached around my heart and squeezed it in an icy grip. Was this just a dream or a memory? It felt so real… as if I was experiencing it over again. I squeezed my eyes shut, blocking off the fresh tears that lingered within them. Was the dream just a dream? Or was I remembering something? I squeezed my eyes tighter and tried to remember that night, to look part the blurs in my memory.

"Ow!" I put my hands up to my temples, messaging the shooting pain that started there. It hurt to try and remember. So what was up with the dream? I let out a shaking breath and stood up. Was that a memory, or just something I imagined because I was thinking about the sorceress? Worse yet, was someone or something messing with my mind?

'Natasha…' Siren's voice came steady and clear through the stray thoughts.

I looked up into the mirror again and started fixing Izzy's hair. 'I'm not going to break down, Siren,' I answered stiffly.

'Oh, sweetie.' My heart clenched at her words, and I instantly felt my eyes prickle. She sounded just like my mother. I was suddenly overtaken by a wave of nausea, but my stomach was empty and nothing came out. I leaned into the sink and sobbed, letting tears run down my face again. I missed home and I missed my friends. Hell, a part of me even missed school.

'Who'd have thought I would miss writing exams and essays?' I grinned weakly. And suddenly, miraculously, a warm feeling spread through my body. It started as just a spark, but I felt it grow and engulf my entire body in its warmth. Siren and Ifrit remained quiet, but I could feel their presence. I reached a shaking hand to my forehead. Are they mentally hugging me?

When they didn't answer, I wiped the tears away and splashed another handful of cold water on my face. There's only one thing I have to focus on. My head spun with questions, but I pushed them aside. I took one more look into the mirror, screwed up my face so that it looked relatively calm, then stepped out of the cramped bathroom.

"Oh good, you're ready," Quistis greeted me. "We'll be reaching Timber soon." She started to smile, but it turned into a frown of concern. "Are you okay?"

I smiled at her in strained sort of way. "Yup."

She nodded, her face still masked in concern, but didn't say anything else. I made my way over to the couch next to Seifer. He was watching me with from the corner of his eye, and as I sat down, he turned his face towards mine.

"What happened to you?"

Despite myself, I grinned, "Wow, how nice of you to care Seifer."

He rolled his eyes. "I was just asking." Well, he did look more curious than concerned.

I sighed and leaned back into the couch with a hiss of leather. "It was just a bad dream. I get nightmares sometimes," I looked up to see him watching me with an expression I couldn't read. "Sorry about nearly lacerating your arm, by the way."

He watched me with that same expression before waving a hand in the air dismissively (with a gulp I noticed that it was bruised with fingernail marks.) "It's nothing. I've just never seen someone that fucked up while sleeping."

"Izzy, you should probably talk to Dr. Kadowski about your nightmares," said Quistis.

I looked up at her and smiled again. "Thanks, I'll do that." Goodness my head hurts.

Beep. "WE ARE NOW ARRIVING AT TIMBER. THANK YOU." Beeeep!

"Finally!" roared Seifer, and abruptly got up and zoomed out the door, his large coat flapping around him.

I looked at Quistis who was watching the boy with an exasperated frown.

"Shall we go?"

She nodded and stepped out of the door. When the train came to a complete stop and the doors hissed open, Seifer was the first one to go bounding down the steps. Instead of stopping at the bottom like a nice gentleman, he took off down the street.

"Seifer!" yelled Quistis as she charged after him.

I groaned loudly and followed them. And here I wanted to take a look around.

We jogged through the town, whipping past shocked and annoyed people. I sent apologies flying behind me as I followed the two down a cobblestone alley. We crossed a bridge that hung over some train tracks, and kept running towards a street lined with various business buildings.

Seifer suddenly stopped in his tracks in front of a building labeled 'Timber Maniacs.' I bent over to catch my breath. It felt like my lungs were on fire, and a stitch at my side caused me to buckle. "What the hell!" I yelled, but Seifer ignored me. He was looking around the town square, muttering to himself.

"That way!" he screamed, and ran off down the street. I was starting to believe he had gone crazy.

Without a word, Quistis and I followed him through the square. We finally reached a set of cobblestone stairs, where Seifer had already descended. The stairs led down to a run down building with a giant neon sign that said 'PUB' in glaring scarlet letters. Quistis and I followed Seifer into the noisy, smelly pub and stopped.

"Where did he go?" I asked Quistis. We looked around to catch a sight of a white trench coat, but didn't see Seifer anywhere. Of course, it didn't help that it was dark and noisy, mostly because of a big screen television that hung on one of the walls.

"There's a door at the other end. Lets go!" She pointed to the door for a second before crossing the bar and shoving herself through it. I followed her out into yet another alley (complete with passed out drunk.)

We soon reached a set of thin metal stairs that led up to what must have been a TV station. There was a ginormous television screen propped up on the outer wall of the building. I gaped at the blank screen for what must have been too long, because the next moment Quistis was clambering her the stairs with a clunk clunk at every step.

"Wait!" I screamed, and stepped on the stairs. But she didn't hear me and kept running up. With a groan I followed her.

The stairs ended to merge into a metal walkway that led around the building. Without hesitation, I followed Quistis as she disappeared through the farther door at the end of the walkway. I hurled myself through the door.

The room itself looked like a studio of some sort, with television equipment scattered haphazardly on the floor. It was rather cramped, with a flight of stairs leading up to a an area blocked off by heavy curtains, like a stage or something. I couldn't help but get a bad gut feeling about it, like something horrible was waiting to pounce behind there. The room was suspiciously empty, but I could hear faint sounds coming from the hallway that led off to another, unseen room.

"They've started," Seifer declared.

"Seifer, this is by far the stupidest thing you're doing!" Quistis was staring at him with tired exasperation, as if she was used to trying to stop him from stirring trouble.

He ignored her and sauntered closer to the hallway, one hand on the hilt of his gunblade, ready for whoever would stumble upon us. I shuddered suddenly, sure that Seifer wouldn't hold back hurting someone so we wouldn't get caught… or even killing them.

Quistis sent me a look that plainly said, "we shouldn't be here." I tried to grin nonchalantly, but was pretty sure it looked more like a grimace. The truth was, this room had an unexplainable chill to it, like in horror movies where you know a character is walking to their death.. I couldn't shake the dread that was settling itself in my chest. Why was the studio empty? Something didn't add up.

'This was a bad idea…' Siren said softly, and to my surprise, Ifrit grunted with approval. I gulped and ignored the GFs, even though I agreed with them. We walked the length of the hallway silently, as voices carried over from the other room.

"...trifling problems standing between Galbadia and the rest of the world, and they must be resolved."

I leaned over to get a better look. From where I stood, I could see an aged man in a power suit standing in front of a dark wooden podium. He spoke into about a million microphones. Around him stood a few guards in blue uniforms. I leaned in closer to listen to his speech.

"Allow me to introduce the ambassador who will be my representative..."

"Bastard!" Seifer screamed, and before either Quistis or I could react, Seifer unsheathed his sword and lumbered towards the man.

There was no time to react, and I watched with horror as a uniformed soldier tried to grab Seifer. But before the soldier had gotten too close, Seifer raised his sword and swiped. I put a hand on my mouth, holding back a scream, as the soldier buckled. Only his mouth was visible beneath the helmet that covered most of his face, and it was ripped open in a silent scream. It was like I was watching a slow-motion scene in a slasher movie, and I couldn't make a movement as the soldier put his hands on his chest, trying desperately to stop the flow of blood that seeped through his uniform. His body shook, and I felt a sudden urge to stand next to him and tell him that he was going to a better place as he died in a horrible, blood-filled way.

The next moment, however, all thoughts of the soldier were gone, as an unnatural chill overtook me. I shuddered as a feeling of dread crawled up my body. Someone or something sighed from behind me. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on edge and I abruptly turned around. It's nothing.

'Something's terribly wrong,' said Ifrit in a voice that showed only a hint of fear. I shuddered again, because if Ifrit had an ounce of fear, it meant I should be terrified.

I looked up at the curtain suspiciously, sure that I heard something from behind it. My stomach knotted with fear, but I ignored it and stepped closer to the curtain.

The edge of the curtain parted momentarily. I put a hand over my mouth. Was that the sorceress? I climbed up the stairs, my heart hammering in my chest, as if protesting against me with all its might.

'Natasha… don't.'

I ignored Siren's warning, along with the fact that both GFs were now preparing my junctions, as if for battle.

Raising deft fingers to the velvet, I opened the curtain just enough to be able to peek inside with one eye. She stood facing in my direction, but her eyes were on a piece of paper in her pointy-gloved hands. She looked different, but she emanated the same chill, the same power. Her face showed no emotion. She wore a tight black dress with a plunging, fur rimmed neckline, and had she not been frightening, I would have thought she was beautiful.

My breath stopped. She looked up from the piece of paper in her hands and her eyes met mine. They were just as cold and vacant as I remembered, only worse, because she was physically present, not shifting as a ghost.

I dropped the curtain back in place and stumbled backwards, hoping against hope that she wouldn't come out of her place. Shivers racked my body. What was I thinking going after her?

Several voices snapped me out of my daze. I turned around, but the room was empty; I could hear Seifer's voice from the other room. Without hesitation, I ran toward the hallway. Screw getting caught. I wanted to put a hell's amount of distance between the sorceress and myself.

A/N: Please review!