Lucca came running up to Chrono. "I think I have it! But I need to see the area where they first showed up to be sure…"

"You have what?"

"Well, I worked with the theory that whatever brought them here is similar to the gates we use to time travel. By altering a gate key, I should be able to open the gate that brought them here. But to be sure I need to see the area where they arrived to see if any sign of the gate remains. But I also need to make sure I don't accidentally close the gate…"

"Why?"

"Because of those warriors who vanished. There's no telling which world they'll return to… If they return at all. By leaving the gate open it will allow us to try and help them find their friends."

Chrono nodded. "Makes sense. Let's go tell them."

Chrono and Lucca found the five warriors enjoying the sights of the Millenium fair. Indeed as part of a bet, both Yuffie and Barrett had entered the foot races.

Yuffie was the undefeated champion for the fourth race in a row. And she had a sack full of tokens to prove it. "Yeah! I'm the best! I'm undefeated! No one can stop me now!"

Everyone but Barrett was laughing. "I fail to see what's so funny! This little rat just beat me again!"

Everyone began to laugh harder. Chrono walked up to Tifa. "I have some good news."

"What? You found Cloud?"

"No. But we did find a way for you to get home."

"Oh. Ok…" Tifa didn't sound so excited any more. The seven headed towards the clearing where Cloud and his companions had first arrived on this world. But the gate, which had brought nine warriors to this world, would only take five home…


CENTER* * * * */CENTER


Lucca glanced at the clearing then back at the key in her hand, and began to nod. "I think this will work. If I just alter this, turn this, reverse that, and…" Lucca hit a large red button in the center of the key, and the gate opened. "I DID IT!!!!!"

Chrono nodded. "Yeah, you opened it. But is it safe?"

He stuck a long stick through the hole, and waited to see what would happen…


CENTER* * * * */CENTER


"Now class, I'm glad to see that we still have some students left after that unfortunate occurrence a few weeks ago. I am still trying to decide how I let the registrar talk me into continuing to teach this class… Oh well." The professor pulled out some jars, chemicals, and a burner from beneath the desk he was working at. The walls still hadn't been painted over, and there were still some sword marks on them.

"Now for today's lecture I am going to show you the importance of concentration. By varying the amount of different chemicals…"

He proceeded to pour a lot of powder into a flask, then dissolved it into water. He then took a second chemical out, and pours a large amount into a second flask. He then began to heat the first flask, then slowly began to pour the contents of the second into the first. There were flashes of light, and a loud explosion. As the smoke cleared, the professor realized that most people were no longer watching him, but rather they were watching the wall. The same wall through which the mysterious figures from the visit a few weeks ago vanished through.

"Oh no. Please, not again…" The professor was too scared to turn around, fearful of what he might see. When he finally did turn around, he noticed two feet of a stick hanging out of a hole in the wall. "Why me?"

The stick vanished, and then Tifa came through, followed by Barret, Cait, Cid, and finally Yuffie. Then came Chrono, Nadia and finally Lucca. The Professor was already on the phone, and the students were leaving the room by the time the last of them came through the gate.

Lucca looked around in amazement. "This world is incredible! You never told me you came from such an advanced place!" Lucca catches sight of some of the notes on the board, and begins to read them. "That would work too… It's more effective then my current method, but what material would be needed…?"

"Great! There goes Lucca!"

Tifa shakes her head. "This isn't our world. This is the world that Dragon Shadow came from. Magic doesn't exist here. I think we should leave before trouble comes. We didn't leave on the best of terms…"

"Sounds like a good idea!" Nadia walks up to Lucca and grabs the key. She then starts to open the gate. Most of the students had left the classroom by now, and those who hadn't were in the process of doing so. As soon as the professor got off the phone, he too left the room.

Just as the gate opened, several police officers burst into the room. "HALT!"

Tifa vanished through the gate as they entered, and a couple of the officers nearly dropped their weapons in shock. The rest of Tifa and Chrono's group rushed through the gate, except for Lucca, who was still trying to solve some problem on the board, and Nadia, who was keeping the gate opened.

"Lucca! COME ON! The others are waiting!"

Lucca looked up and for the first time noticed the officers standing in the doorway. "Sorry we can't stay and chat. But we have to go. Bye!"

Lucca dashed through the gate, and Nadia followed. The gate snapped shut after her. The captain looked at his fellow officers. "Did we really see what we just thought we saw…?"

None of them answered. One of the officers looked at the area where everyone had vanished. "Do we really want to report this?"

The captain looked at the officer. "Do we have a choice…?"