Squall looked over to the half opened door in the remains of Edea's stone house by the ocean... his old home. Out near the garden full of beautiful yellow flowers was Sharon, sitting gazing out at the sight without blinking, like she wasn't really all there. She hadn't said a word after they got Gina to the infirmary where Dr. Kadowaki was watching over her. She's still in shock...
Headmaster Cid walked over and placed a reassuring hand on Squall's shoulder. "Still not talking?"
Squall sighed and shook his head. "She won't be okay until she knows Gina is, and not before." And neither will I.
"I see." Cid moved back over to where his wife was sitting. Edea still donned the black dress, but she managed to take off the elaborate headdress. Her long, brown hair flowed straight down her back like a waterfall, and her eyes no longer held the eerie glow they once had in Deling and in Galbadia Garden. Looking up at her husband, Cid cleared his throat bashfully.
"Well... thank you all for your hard work." He laughed nervously, even though he was in the company with those he'd known for most of his life. "I... hope you're not too angry with me, for not being around when the battle of the century was happening." He scratched his head and studied the floor. "As your Headmaster, I should have done something besides bail out like a coward. I just... couldn't sit still to see the consequences. It was a lose-lose situation. Your defeat meant your demise. Your victory meant that I lost my wife. But what I do ask... is that you don't remain angry at Edea."
"Headmaster, we never were angry at either of you," Quistis spoke up, placing a hand over her heart. "Too much has been going on... we were confused, frightened at times... but we knew what we had to do. Emotions played no part in our duty."
Edea smiled gratefully, but her eyes still held the same hint of fear as they did during Galbadia. "My children... you forgive me, and I'm grateful for that. But I fear it will be awhile until I'm able to forgive myself, especially if it happens again."
Selphie leaned forward. "What happens?"
Taking a deep breath, the Matron of the group of SeeDs standing around in the battered kitchen explained. "I have been possessed all of this time. A powerful sorceress from the future, named Ultimecia, had... has a goal. She is after Ellone's mysterious power."
Zell stood up. "What? The power to send people to the past? What is she gonna do with that?"
The woman in black shrugged. "Ultimecia is a very fearful sorceress. Her heart is filled with anger, and hate. I didn't want her to get a hold of Ellone, but her will is powerful - I ended up surrendering my soul to Ultimecia and eventually lost control of my mind. I supposed in a way, it helped keep Ellone safe for a little longer, but the end result..." She looked away.
Irvine stepped forward and knelt down in front of Edea, putting a hand over hers that were folded in her lap. "Listen, we knew it wasn't really you doing those horrible things. Our Matron would never do that. We don't want you blaming yourself for something you couldn't control."
"But Ultimecia has yet to achieve her goal!" Edea cut him off gently, her eyes wavering. "She may use my body again. I plan to make a stand this time, but if I fall prey to her conscious again... then I'll have to face you in battle again!" She bowed her head, trying to will the tears that threatened to escape back into her eyes.
"You won't have to worry about Ultimecia taking over your body or your mind anymore."
Everyone turned to the voice to see a figure shadowing the open doorway to the outside. When the clouds moved overhead, the light shone to reveal that the person was Gina. Despite the fact that she was deep in a coma last time they carried her into the infirmary, she looked and sounded fine.
Cid let out a relieved breath. "Regina! You're all right!"
Gina nodded and gave a half smile, then turned her attention back to Edea. She smiled warmly at her, but her eyes held a tinge of sadness as she did so. "Ultimecia is no longer a concern of yours. She only possesses the bodies of sorceresses."
Zell scratched the back of his head. "Okay, wait. I'm confused. Matron was a sorceress before Ultimecia possessed her? And she won't bother Matron anymore because...?"
"She's no longer a sorceress," Sharon piped in, leaning against the opposite doorway to the garden. The breeze picked up then, carrying the fragrant aroma of the flowers swirling through the kitchen. She looked at her best friend. "Gina's a sorceress, now."
Everyone sat for a moment, letting what both girls said soak into their minds for a minute. "So, the white flash... was that when..." Selphie broke the silence.
"Yeah. That was Edea transferring her powers over to me," Gina said flatly.
"If that's true... then you must have already been a sorceress to receive my powers," Edea said, looking up at Gina. At that, everyone in the room did a double take, including Sharon. The part about the white flash and the transfer of powers made some sense, but Gina being a sorceress beforehand? When and how in the hell did that happen? Squall tried to rewind time to find out what he was missing in this puzzle that was quickly becoming greater than him.
Gina nodded and shrugged, a movement that seemed too casual for the weight of the discussion. "You're right. I read a book on random when I was wandering around Balamb Garden one day, and even though I didn't get that far into the book, some stuff clicked." She moved and sat down at the kitchen table, folding her arms in front of her. "Not all sorceresses display their power like Edea or Ultimecia. In fact, most people go through their lives not being aware of what they are. Their powers are dormant. Which is good, because the public probably wouldn't feel too comfortable having someone walk around with the power to destroy cities in a snap of the finger."
Sharon stood up straight as if she just got an epiphany. "Oh! Those things you did in Deling! Were those your powers coming out?"
"Yep. I also read that in rare occasions, a dormant sorceress under extreme mental stress will have these bursts where their power temporarily becomes full-fledged. Terrible things can happen at this point in time, since the sorceress loses all control of her body and will 'wake up' later not knowing what happened between the time that she blacked out and the time she returned to full consciousness." Gina once again looked at Edea. "When dormant sorceresses come in contact with a more powerful or full fledged sorceress and acknowledges their power, that's when the transfer occurs. That power is kind of like the theory of energy; it cannot be created or destroyed, just passed on or transferred."
"So... you knew this, yet you still did what you did." Squall pushed himself away from the wall he was leaning against. "You knew what you were doing when you touched Matron. From what I understand, this exchange has to be voluntary. Why?"
Gina looked at him for a second, then looked away. "I couldn't stand there and watch you fight your Matron. Even all of the mental prepping wouldn't have helped you if you had gone and killed her. You think everything is messed up now; you would have completed your mission, but it would have left you with a sour taste in your mouth that would never go away, no matter how many years passed and how often you tried to distract yourself from what you would have done." She gave a small smile.
Squall continued to stare incredulously at Gina. But what does that solve? Did you think it would be easier for us to fight you rather than fight Matron? What did you hope to accomplish by accepting her powers? If Ultimecia possesses you, then Sharon will be forced to fight, too. How is that any easier? Why am I so upset? I can't... He closed his mind like a door to keep his thoughts inside. "Ultimecia wants Ellone because she has the power to send people's consciousness to the past. Ultimecia is already in the future, and Matron... well, I guess more appropriately it would be Gina... would be her link to the present, our time. I think I get it."
"Time compression," Sharon said surely. "Past, present, and future are one. Ultimecia, Gina, and Ellone are like chess pieces... but she's missing one right now and she's trying to get her hands on it to make her plan work."
"Whaddya mean, she has two? She has one, and that's her own damn self!" Zell fumed, punching a fist into his palm. "And it's gonna stay that way. I'm not gonna let Gina fall into her hands like Matron was."
"And how do you suppose we do that?" Quistis inquired. Zell looked frustrated with himself for a moment. "Well, I dunno! Maybe we should go looking to find out!"
Selphie bit her lip. "Maybe we should be trying to figure out just what this time compression business is all about. I really don't see what Ultimecia is trying to accomplish by squishing time together in one place like that. If we find out what the big deal is with time compression, then maybe we can-"
"Wait, wait wait. I hate to seem like the devil's advocate here, since I care about Gina's well-being too... but shouldn't our first priority be to find Ellone and keep her safe?" Irvine brought up, standing to his feet before his knees got sore from kneeling on the wood floor. "Think about it. It won't matter what Ultimecia does if Ellone is always out of her grasp. We'd save everyone, then."
Sharon furrowed a brow, then shook her head. "Well actually, not quite. Technically, everyone would be saved. But in reality, you would be condemning two people to fates that make them martyrs. Gina would be under lock and key and constant surveillance to make sure Ultimecia doesn't pull some shit, while Ellone would be ushered from place to place, never being allowed to settle anywhere because there would still be a risk that Ultimecia could snatch her up. Both of them would live the rest of their lives in fear. It'd be a sacrifice, but is it worth screwing over two people for the sake of the world? Would you feel comfortable doing that?"
The group fell into silence again as their brains worked to find a solution that could truly save everyone. Gina was itching to say something, but she decided to remain silent and let the story play out as it did. She already sort of did her part to keep the storyline as even as it was. She didn't need to spoon-feed it to them.
Cid cleared his throat and turned to Squall. "Squall, you're the commander. Everything has been in your hands up until this point, and you've proven to be a capable problem solver. It's a tough call, but you have to make the next decision. What are we going to do?"
Squall resisted the impulse to reach up and pull his mop of chestnut hair right off of his head. Hyne, this is the one thing I don't want to do! Nothing makes sense, and so much is at stake... I don't want to have to make a decision that condemns anybody to anything! But I'm not even sure if that can be done. "I guess our first task at hand is to find Ellone," he said slowly, his eyes never leaving Gina. "I believe she's on the White SeeD ship. Once we have her, then we can look into getting help for Gina. Hopefully that includes finding out what's so special about time compression."
Gina stood up. "Ellone is not on the White SeeD ship anymore."
Cid looked at her with a raised eyebrow, and Selphie jumped up. "Oooh! I recognize that tone of voice! It's Gina's psychic voice!" Quistis stifled a giggle at the absurdity of it all, but she couldn't dispute the fact that Gina's hunches were usually right on the money. She could save them some time if she eliminated places where Ellone wasn't held.
"Where would she be, then?" Cid asked. "Unless the White SeeD ship was ambushed, then I'm almost positive she'd be there, where I left her."
Gina turned and looked absentmindedly out of the front door. "She's in the city of Esthar."
Quistis was quiet for a moment. "Esthar... it's rumored that nobody truly knows whether it exists or not. How are we supposed to go looking for a city that may or may not be real?"
"It's real," Edea said, her voice vague as if she were struggling to unearth a memory. She reached out and touched Gina's hand. "You must go find Esthar. There is a doctor there by the name of Odine."
Zell's eyes got wide. "The guy who makes the famous Odine brand?"
Edea nodded, then continued. "He might be able to save you, or at least protect yourself from Ultimecia's clutches. If you do this, you can save both Ellone and yourself from harsh futures. Maybe even find a way to rid yourself of the sorceress powers."
Irvine grinned. "Now that's an idea. Always could count on Matron to have the solution to everything."
Cid nodded. "Well, it seems like a plan has been made. Squall, you might be feeling like this is a personal event concerning just those who stand here now, but everyone at Balamb Garden is counting on you, and they are in the dark about what to do next. Since they fought, they need reassurance from their leader in what they should do, or at least go, next."
Squall heaved a big sigh and made his exit, his mind now working out the best way to explain the slew of events that seemed to turn his life upside down so quickly. Everyone else followed him out, but Sharon tagged behind, sticking close to her best friend.
After awhile of walking, Gina spoke. "Odine won't get rid of this power, you know."
Sharon snorted. "You're sounding like Raijin, ya know? But yes, I already figured that. But what I really want to know is the real reason you did all of this? If you keep involving yourself deeper with their lives, then you know it'll be even harder for us to..."
"I know, I know." Gina sighed. "But remember when I told you I had an idea?"
"How could I forget?"
"Well... I know it seems like a far off shot, but I had to go for it. That misty cloud Edea liked to use to get around the world so fast... it was like a transport, opening a window so she could pass through effortlessly. I was thinking... if I had that power, then I could find a way to make my own portal. Only this one would..."
"... take us back home," Sharon finished, in awe. "Wow... I never thought of it that way. But wait, would that work? Cause isn't that like time travel? You'd need to do what Ultimecia wants to do to pull something like that off, wouldn't you?"
"Not exactly. I would be making a portal to another place, not another time. The power of time that Ultimecia wants, and will eventually get, is not absolute. Meaning it does not affect what happens in other worlds, like our own. So it would be worthless for me to even do something like Time Compression to get us back home."
"I see... but will the power you have be enough to make that rip in space to take us back to GVSU?"
Gina looked to the sky and studied the light wisps of clouds dancing across its surface. "I don't know, Sharii-chan. I really don't know."
