Serah hummed to herself when she emerged from the Crux. Gaia VIII looked much the same as it ever did, though the memories of her time here felt like lifetimes ago. She tapped her hand against her hip to the tune of Time as she knocked on the Headmaster's door.
Squall Leonhart answered.
"Hi," she said. "I'm looking for Rinoa?"
Squall joined her and closed the door behind him. "Who's looking?" His scrutiny of her reminded her of Lightning.
"I'm Serah. Rinoa and I have work to do."
"Where are you from?"
"Off-world. I met some of your friends when I was here last time. Selphie and Quistis?"
"Try the library."
"Thanks!" She waited until she walked some distance away before asking, "Where's the library?"
"Down two floors by the front gate."
She entered the elevator and lost herself in the seconds that ticked by. Sixteen later and she arrived on the bottom floor. Another thirty and she found Quistis in the hallway near the library, arms folded and leaning against the wall.
"Ah, one of Cater's friends?" Quistis asked quietly. "Serah, right? Walk with me."
Serah followed Quistis past students selecting books, magazines, and news articles.
"What's changed?" Quistis asked after six seconds of quiet.
"A lot of things. But don't worry, we've got it handled. Where's Rinoa?"
"Why do you need Rinoa?"
"With her help, I can fix the time problems here."
"For what purpose?"
"What do you mean?"
Quistis pursed her lips. "Simply that you're wearing checkers like those servants of Bhunivelze wear."
"It's a temporary measure. Complicated time stuff. Um, so, where's Rinoa?"
"The ballroom. You know where that is?"
"They're lying to you," Hope told her. She wished she could ease that tension out of his voice. What was there to be upset about? They were all together, and they were going to stay that way.
"I know."
"…You do?"
"Of course, I do. I'm not blind, I know they don't trust God. But I need to get my bearings. And this helps."
"If you're sure."
Serah paused and a chill overtook her. This place was sick with distortion. Quistis cast her a glance, but otherwise said nothing.
A bird flitted through the hall and landed on Serah's finger. "Cute little thing, aren't you?" Serah whispered in Etro's tongue. "Do something for me, won't you? Go find the sorceress."
It bounced with another chirp and took to the air. She avoided the cameras and made her way towards the ballroom. She missed Mog's reassuring presence, but he'd surely get better if she left him alone to recover in that outer realm.
Squall paced around his desk. Was this how the headmaster felt? All day, every day, not quite sure how to run the Garden. Cid didn't have to deal with this situation with foreign deity, though. He didn't have to worry about people coming into his Garden like it was a field trip and doing whatever they wanted. Not in the same way at least… All of it condensed into the pseudo-body sitting in the freezer. Coincidence made that Balamb's problem.
A knock on the door disrupted his reverie. Squall meant to dismiss them before a strange, armored man entered.
"That's outside protocol," Squall said. He really needed to review security for the Garden.
"You are required off planet," the man said. "I am here to take you there."
"Sounds like a threat."
"It is not." The man bowed. "I am sure you don't remember me. I am the 'Warrior of Light,' a faux imitation of those who safeguarded the first of all worlds. I now serve as an emissary of the crystals beneath the wisdoms of the Princess Sarah. You know who I am even if you do not recall."
"And where am I supposed to go?"
"First, to Eos. Then, to Gaia V."
Squall handled his gunblade. The man was tall, but not overly so. He looked battle-ready in stance, but that armor of his couldn't be like what they practiced with in the field.
"My apologies, but we do not have time to waste," the man said.
"I've got bigger problems to deal with." Squall took out his gunblade.
The intruder moved faster. He kicked Squall back and hurt his chest.
"I'd prefer not to hurt you," the man said. "Your strength is needed elsewhere."
Squall recovered himself and moved to shoot. The man blocked him with blinding light. Squall blinked stars out of his eyes. He couldn't fight like this.
"My sincerest apologies. But it seems we must do this the hard way."
Squall cut at him, but it deflected off his armor. The man took him by the wrist and dragged him toward the door.
Squall rammed the butt of his blade into the man's fingers. It didn't work. Those gauntlets were stupid effective. "You're the worst," he muttered.
"Apologies once more. But I'm afraid the fate of the universe is worth more to me than your dignity. I'm using all my energy to drag you, so this will slow down travel. Thankfully your friend blew up this world's gate, so we don't have to worry about as much interference through the dead roads."
"I have no idea what you're talking."
"Quistis is your friend, no?"
"Quistis hasn't blown anything up on my orders."
"I didn't say it was on your orders. But it's gone and that's that. The Council shall not complain for our borrowing their energy instead."
"You're mad."
"Perhaps."
Squall yanked free of him and attacked. The man rebuffed him, but Squall got around that. They struggled a while longer before the man took him again and picked him up.
"You're a lot lighter than I expected," said the man. "Perhaps I should expect such of your caliber."
Squall fought him, but the guy was strong. Despite his lean frame, it felt like wrestling with some of those Galbadian soldiers.
"Perhaps it'll be easier if you sleep." The man put a finger to his forehead and vertigo overtook him. "Remember peaceful times, friend, and perhaps we'll bring those back to our galaxy."
Serah froze at the students that met her in the ballroom. Dozens armed and ready to take her.
"You're under Garden arrest, per the order of Headmaster Squall," said one.
"On what charges?" Serah asked. "Or do you not need those on this world?"
Quistis walked around and placed herself between Serah and the students. "You stand suspected of criminal activity and planned violence against the gardens."
She remembered running from PSICOM and she halted time. Only it didn't stop.
Students and SEEDs moved as one and fired traps. They surrounded her. Quistis flipped a switch.
Serah summoned Mog as a sword and burst into a run as she sliced through the people coming her way. The sword vibrated in her hands like a shivering child and it rang through her body as a silent cry.
She snapped time again with more force. It brought them closer to a halt.
She ran and vaulted over whatever stood in her way. She made it past the crowd and took off down the hall. Doors closed to shut her in, but Serah got through one that only made it halfway before the near-freeze.
Birdsong met her ears and she followed that song toward the cafeteria. She slowed as she entered the main dining hall to find it empty save for one lady.
Rinoa rose from her spot at one of the tables. She gave Serah a strained smile, sweat beading on her forehead. "I heard you were looking for me."
"I need your help," Serah said. "This world is tangled in a web of time, and your power can help me untangle it."
Rinoa stepped around the table, clasping her hands behind her back and leaning forward. Her casual posture failed to hide the strain in her expression. "Sorceress powers don't work that simply."
"Why not?"
"You're a goddess, right? Of Time?"
"Yeah."
"It got real quiet in here just a moment ago. Sounds slowed and dimmed. I can feel it turn sluggish, and it's a whole lot of work to try to stop it."
"It was just to get past your guardians."
"Are you going to take this power from me?"
"Someday." Serah dismissed Mog and relief flooded her at the sudden calm. "The power of the sorceress is a shard of Etro. It belongs to me, even if I can't wield it yet."
"It's funny." Rinoa looked down at her hands. "I used to hate this. But now, I can see what it's worth, you know? There's so much I can do. So much I can stop from happening. So much… I can be."
"That's the corruption of power you aren't supposed to have."
Rinoa smiled and Serah's gut twisted at the sight. Serah moved—but not fast enough. Rinoa lifted from the ground and the world twisted. Time shifted.
Worlds and violence flew by in the blink of an eye. Serah saw tiny versions of herself and empty expanses. She saw worlds that looked familiar bent around ones that didn't. She saw a Cloud that wasn't Cloud fighting Sephiroth.
"This isn't right," came a new voice. A woman's voice, but not Rinoa's.
Serah fell to her knees as space settled. Quiet rain fell from above and darkened the stone plaza. Held in by a market all around her. If there was only landscape above her, she might believe herself on Cocoon.
Rinoa was nowhere to be seen. Serah rubbed at the back of her head, wondering when she hit it, before a white-haired woman exited a building. Serah knew this world wasn't quite real. So, this woman wasn't, either.
"Serah Farron?" the woman asked.
"Who are you?"
The woman placed a hand above her cravat. "My name is Enna Kros. It seems that whoever is dragging you through the fractals of the universe got you snagged on something."
"… This is a shadow world."
"It's a door to one." Enna gestured inside the building. "How does coffee sound?"
"I'd prefer to get out of here."
Enna chuckled. "You may be snagged, but your kidnapper still has a grip. She'll get you loose within… well, I'm not sure what measurement of time would be accurate here. You'd have a better idea."
The clock. It counted down to something darker.
Serah joined Enna in the café. Inside was empty, though Serah got the feeling that it wasn't always this way.
"Take a seat." Enna poured two cups and reached for the cream. "I'm not used to visitors in my realm, but I don't mind the occasional accident."
"You're the proprietor, right?"
Enna poured an obscene amount of cream before retrieving a bowl of sugar cubes. "Of this world, and many others. You and your fellow world saviors leave an imprint in the universe that someone has to smooth out."
Deep down, she understood what that meant. "I've never been to a shadow world before. How do you make them?"
"You fashion what you are given."
Serah took a sip of her coffee and found it a light and airy flavor. It brought her back to New Bodhum and Edge.
"You're both right and wrong." Enna hummed with her next sip. "Serah Farron has and has not been to a shadow world."
"You mean because this is a door to one?"
"No. There are versions of you across many shadow worlds, as there are for most World Heroes. In Grymoire, there is a lilikin Serah Farron. Materia and Spiritus have created their own Manikin Serah Farron over in Discidium. And I know little Tyro, in The Archives, has found you."
Serah's head swam as Time roiled like a storm-blown ocean.
"I'm not sure whether you've bled into the Kingdom, but your kidnapper did. As far as I understand, she died there. Granted, the Kingdom is only half-shadow, like Hydaelyn, so specifications differ. I've heard the automata have even appeared on the latter."
"Does that death have any effect on her real form?"
"Shadow worlds, and their happenings, are just as real as your reality. To answer the question, usually no. For Rinoa, things change. Time and space have failed her, so it's possible."
"None of this helps me."
"Not as you are. But remember, Goddess of Time under Almighty Bhunivelze, you may yet need a way to traverse this universe. What better way than through the shattered pieces it leaves behind?"
The Timestream ripped at her soul and Serah nodded. "If she's taking me through shadow worlds, then I might escape through shadow worlds."
Enna sipped at her drink and said nothing before Serah lost herself again to Rinoa's voyage.
