Squall stood next to the gate of the ring. He looked as though he'd seen a ghost! Seifer Almasy was the last thing he would have expected to see on this sunny day. Yet there he was standing no more than ten feet away, Seifer. He was too shocked to really say anything, so he just stood there, and let Seifer do the rest.

Seifer noticed that Squall was still visibly shaken from the battle, and that he had a sort of distance to him. He tried to act casual as he approached, but he didn't seem to be succeeding. He walked slowly up to Squall, and extended his hand. "It's been a while man." He said for lack of anything better to say. Honestly many people had assumed that Squall was dead, but although, he didn't believe that, he hadn't anticipated finding his boyhood rival here of all places. But this is where his journey led him, straight to the Galbadia Coliseum to this strikingly gruesome spectacle event.

Squall still stood silently, but he seemed to have come to grips with the fact that Seifer was really there, and that he meant no harm. "Yes Seifer, it's been a long time." he finally managed to say. "You come to fight in the battles this evening?" he then asked with a laugh.

"No," Seifer began with a straight face. "I came to watch the afternoon matches which just concluded, and to take you back to garden with me." He said rather mater of factly, as though he fully expected Squalls full agreement and cooperation.

"Sorry man, I don't have time for reunions, I've got a job to do, I'm fighting again tonight." Squall told him.

"Sorry," said Seifer, "I can't let you do that. Director Trepe has sent me to get you, and I won't return until my mission is complete."

"Director Trepe," Squall thought, "since when did Seifer take orders from anyone, let alone Quistice!" He couldn't figure that one out, he really didn't even try hard. He'd been out for to long and so for all he knew Raijin could be head master.

"Sorry man, but you know that when I left, I said I wasn't coming back, and I said my good-byes, that's it. No more garden, I'm perfectly happy as where I am." He was lying about the happiness part, but he figured it didn't matter because he wasn't happy anywhere now that Rinoa was gone, and he just wanted to be left alone.

Seifer could see that he wasn't getting anywhere fast, so he decided to try a new strategy.
"Fair enough he said, but I've come a long way to find your ass, and I'll be damned if I'm going to have a five minute conversation with you, turn around and go home, so here's my proposal." Seifer began. "You look tired, so you probably need some rest and a shower. You go back to wherever you stay, and get showered, and changed, and rest up a bit, and meet me in the lounge at the Galbadia Hotel. I'll be waiting there. We can catch up on old times, and fill each other in on what's going on. Besides, I've got a room there. If I'm not in the lounge, I'm in room 261. ok?" He finished.

Squall didn't really want to, but he figured what the hell, he might as well. "Ok fine, I'll be there, but I don't know how long I'll be. I promise I'll be there." Seifer nodded, and without further talk, both men went their ways.
**********
It was later on that evening. Seifer was sitting at a booth in the lounge of the Galbadia Hotel. Some terrible act was playing, and he wanted to just tell him to shut the hell up. But then again that was Seifers way. he'd toned down a bit in 5 years, but he still had the temper of tempers. And tonight he was especially agitated. It was getting late, and Squall still wasn't there. "He's not coming." He thought to himself. "The one time I feel it's in my best interest to trust someone, and they lie to me. now I'm going to have to chase his ass down again." His anger began to overtake him and he began slamming his fist onto the table. "Damn, Damn, Damn." he yelled. Then he noticed the people in the booth in front of him looking back at him. "The Hell are you looking at?" He said angrily, and they quickly looked away.

It was now very late, and Seifer was about to give up and leave. He just couldn't take it any more. The bad act on stage, the people staring, the fact his mission wasn't over. Just when he was about to stand up and go, Squall Leonhart walked through the door, and over to the booth. "Well it's about time!" Seifer growled at him.

"I'm sorry ok, I fell asleep, and woke up late." Squall said. "I was worried that you would have already left." I'm glad I made it.

"No harm done, I don't guess any way." Seifer said, his temper subsiding. "So lets get down to business." With that, they each got a few drinks, and spoke in generalities about the past. The things that had brought them to this place. Seifer found Squalls story to be very interesting to say the least, but Squall found Seifers to be even better.

"No way!" Squall said, "You and Quistis?" Get out of here. "And she's the director of operations at Balamb? Man it's been a while. Look Seifer, I know you've come a ways, and spent a lot of time looking for me, but I've changed. I'm not the person who I used to be! I won't be able to help you all out anyway. I'm too washed up to be a SeeD any more. I'm sorry."Squall tried his hardest to just come up with a decent excuse to get out of the situation. That was the best that he could do at the time, and his act didn't convince Seifer a bit.

"Well, I'm sorry you feel that way." Seifer said. "I saw you fight out there today, you're better than ever. I mean, you're still well capable of being at the Garden. Quistice however seemed to have foreseen this response. She gave me this envelope, and said, "if he gives you any resistance show him this."

Seifer pulled the Envelope out of his trench, and slid it across the table to Squall. "Look man, I've been told to bring you back no matter what, so I hope whatever is in that envelope changes your mind, cause if it doesn't I'm going to have to resort to kicking your ass! And I'd hate to have to kick your ass in front of your fan club." He said, motioning to the group of teenagers clad in "Lion" t- shirts who had followed Squall into the room, and now sat staring at him.

Squall had half a mind to challenge Seifer to back up his Ass kicking threat, but thought the better of it. And figured "Hey, that's just good old Seifer, Besides he never had liked Seifer, and wasn't about to start. Why make things worse? So he simply proceeded to open the envelope. He pulled out the contents, and opened the letter It contained only four words. But those four words hit squall like a ton of bricks.

"Well, convinced?" asked Seifer, who had never read the letter himself. "or am I going to have to whoop your keister?" he said.
But Squall was intent on the words that were written in good clean handwriting in front of him. He stared entranced as he read them one more time to himself.

Squall, Rinoa's still alive....

Authors comments:
Well, that's all for chapter two. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it! This one's complex. It's got a lot of twists. Stay with it, I think you'll be pleased!