Chapter One
The New Mission
The time was 4:40 in the afternoon when the door to Cid's office slid open with a quiet whoosh. Squall and Rinoa stood together and Squall took the chance to see who else was going to be on the mission. He had heard people arrive and sit down on other chairs outside Cid's office but he was too deep in thought to bother looking up.
He saw Irvine stand in front of him and pull Selphie close to him as she stood. Selphie staggered to her feet awkwardly and then giggled as Irvine wrapped one of his arms around her waist and pulled her towards the open door.
To his right Squall saw Quistis stand and stretch her arms out in front of her. A folder similar to the one that he had received was in her hand. She walked calmly into Cid's office and greeted him with a small bow as she entered.
In Cid's office there were a collection of chairs arranged in a crooked line against one wall. Cid signalled for them to take a seat as they entered and then looked at his watch. He looked up as he heard the ping of the lift arriving and sighed as Zell ran into the office.
"Whew, almost late!" he said to no-one in particular as he noticed that everyone was just sitting down.
"Right," Cid said, standing in front of them, "I trust you've all read your files. The main target is Mayor Gilbert but this mission will not involve a direct attack. I'll let Xu explain the rest."
Cid turned and went to his desk as Xu, who had been standing beside the desk as they came in, walked to the wall opposite them and pulled down two maps, one of Timber and the area around it, and the other of the forest and cliffs north of Dollet.
"The new mayor of Timber," Xu started, "had close ties with president Deling and we have suspected for a long time that they were working in alliance with Sorceress Adel."
some muttering from the seated people caused Xu to pause for a moment.
"We suspect this happened when time compression occurred. The Sorceress had the same idea of going into the past to control the future as Ultimecia did but during time compression that would have been impossible.
"Adel knew about the item, the Phoenix Wing, and so he formed an alliance with Mayor Deling and Mayor Gilbert. He gave them the Phoenix Wing and told them to hide it until they had captured Ellone.
"They were to bind Ellone's consciousness with a spell stone that he gave them, so that they could use the Phoenix Wing to bend time and allow Adel to pass through without Ellone using her powers to interfere.
Then Adel could gain the power of the sorceresses in another time and use it to destroy or control whatever he chooses.
"Your mission is to find the Phoenix Wing and destroy it. There is only one of it's kind so you won't have to worry about a second one. You must also protect Ellone at all costs. She is the only other alternative for the Mayor's to use if the Phoenix Wing is destroyed. The White SeeD ship is bringing her here as we speak, and when she arrives, half of you will guide her to the Safe House where she will remain until Mayor Gilbert is in custody. The other half of you will search for the Phoenix Wing and destroy it."
"To aid your search," Cid interrupted when Xu paused, "We will use Ellone's powers to send one of you back to the time when Mayor Deling hid the Phoenix Wing so you will know where to search."
"Unfortunately, I can only send you back into the mind of someone you already know." a soft voice said from the doorway. Ellone stood there with a White SeeD on either side of her.
The meeting had a brief pause as Ellone greeted everyone. When she turned to Squall he greeted her with a warm embrace.
"I was just thinking about when I'd see you again." he whispered in her ear and she smiled, squeezing him as tight as she could.
The meeting resumed again, this time the chairs were moved around into a circle and another one was added for Ellone. The SeeD's who had accompanied her stood behind her chair.
"Where were we?" Cid started, "Oh, yes. Ellone's absolutely right. You can't be sent back into the mind of someone who you don't know which is why I have volunteered to allow someone to go back into my mind. I worked with the new Mayor for a while about four months ago.
"Squall, as the leader of this mission, you can choose who will go." Cid looked at him, waiting for an answer.
Squall stared back blankly. Why do they ask me? He thought, they're all expecting me to go so why don't they just ask me?
"I'll go." he replied.
"Good," Cid said, "We will begin tomorrow morning. You should also decide how the group will be split, who will escort Ellone and who will search for the Phoenix Wing. We will meet here tomorrow at 0900 hours. Don't be late."
With the last sentence cid swung his gaze to Zell's seat. Zell grinned back at him and turned a bit red.
The meeting broke up and everyone went their own ways. Quistis headed over to the class rooms to prepare for a tutorial she was giving to some new students. Selphie headed for the library with Irvine following her, joking and teasing her. Zell looked as if he was heading to the dorms but looked like he changed his mind as he turned down a corridor leading to the Canteen.
Squall stood at the bottom of the elevator and looked at Rinoa. She watched his face as he thought about what to do.
"Do you want to get some food?" she suggested.
He shrugged and followed her as she made her way to the Canteen.
His mind was thinking about how the group should split up when he realised that he had lost sight of Rinoa in the crowded Canteen. He looked around and then decided that he wasn't hungry. As he made his way through the crowd to the exit he felt a pull on his jacket. He turned around to see Ellone smiling back at him.
The New Mission
The time was 4:40 in the afternoon when the door to Cid's office slid open with a quiet whoosh. Squall and Rinoa stood together and Squall took the chance to see who else was going to be on the mission. He had heard people arrive and sit down on other chairs outside Cid's office but he was too deep in thought to bother looking up.
He saw Irvine stand in front of him and pull Selphie close to him as she stood. Selphie staggered to her feet awkwardly and then giggled as Irvine wrapped one of his arms around her waist and pulled her towards the open door.
To his right Squall saw Quistis stand and stretch her arms out in front of her. A folder similar to the one that he had received was in her hand. She walked calmly into Cid's office and greeted him with a small bow as she entered.
In Cid's office there were a collection of chairs arranged in a crooked line against one wall. Cid signalled for them to take a seat as they entered and then looked at his watch. He looked up as he heard the ping of the lift arriving and sighed as Zell ran into the office.
"Whew, almost late!" he said to no-one in particular as he noticed that everyone was just sitting down.
"Right," Cid said, standing in front of them, "I trust you've all read your files. The main target is Mayor Gilbert but this mission will not involve a direct attack. I'll let Xu explain the rest."
Cid turned and went to his desk as Xu, who had been standing beside the desk as they came in, walked to the wall opposite them and pulled down two maps, one of Timber and the area around it, and the other of the forest and cliffs north of Dollet.
"The new mayor of Timber," Xu started, "had close ties with president Deling and we have suspected for a long time that they were working in alliance with Sorceress Adel."
some muttering from the seated people caused Xu to pause for a moment.
"We suspect this happened when time compression occurred. The Sorceress had the same idea of going into the past to control the future as Ultimecia did but during time compression that would have been impossible.
"Adel knew about the item, the Phoenix Wing, and so he formed an alliance with Mayor Deling and Mayor Gilbert. He gave them the Phoenix Wing and told them to hide it until they had captured Ellone.
"They were to bind Ellone's consciousness with a spell stone that he gave them, so that they could use the Phoenix Wing to bend time and allow Adel to pass through without Ellone using her powers to interfere.
Then Adel could gain the power of the sorceresses in another time and use it to destroy or control whatever he chooses.
"Your mission is to find the Phoenix Wing and destroy it. There is only one of it's kind so you won't have to worry about a second one. You must also protect Ellone at all costs. She is the only other alternative for the Mayor's to use if the Phoenix Wing is destroyed. The White SeeD ship is bringing her here as we speak, and when she arrives, half of you will guide her to the Safe House where she will remain until Mayor Gilbert is in custody. The other half of you will search for the Phoenix Wing and destroy it."
"To aid your search," Cid interrupted when Xu paused, "We will use Ellone's powers to send one of you back to the time when Mayor Deling hid the Phoenix Wing so you will know where to search."
"Unfortunately, I can only send you back into the mind of someone you already know." a soft voice said from the doorway. Ellone stood there with a White SeeD on either side of her.
The meeting had a brief pause as Ellone greeted everyone. When she turned to Squall he greeted her with a warm embrace.
"I was just thinking about when I'd see you again." he whispered in her ear and she smiled, squeezing him as tight as she could.
The meeting resumed again, this time the chairs were moved around into a circle and another one was added for Ellone. The SeeD's who had accompanied her stood behind her chair.
"Where were we?" Cid started, "Oh, yes. Ellone's absolutely right. You can't be sent back into the mind of someone who you don't know which is why I have volunteered to allow someone to go back into my mind. I worked with the new Mayor for a while about four months ago.
"Squall, as the leader of this mission, you can choose who will go." Cid looked at him, waiting for an answer.
Squall stared back blankly. Why do they ask me? He thought, they're all expecting me to go so why don't they just ask me?
"I'll go." he replied.
"Good," Cid said, "We will begin tomorrow morning. You should also decide how the group will be split, who will escort Ellone and who will search for the Phoenix Wing. We will meet here tomorrow at 0900 hours. Don't be late."
With the last sentence cid swung his gaze to Zell's seat. Zell grinned back at him and turned a bit red.
The meeting broke up and everyone went their own ways. Quistis headed over to the class rooms to prepare for a tutorial she was giving to some new students. Selphie headed for the library with Irvine following her, joking and teasing her. Zell looked as if he was heading to the dorms but looked like he changed his mind as he turned down a corridor leading to the Canteen.
Squall stood at the bottom of the elevator and looked at Rinoa. She watched his face as he thought about what to do.
"Do you want to get some food?" she suggested.
He shrugged and followed her as she made her way to the Canteen.
His mind was thinking about how the group should split up when he realised that he had lost sight of Rinoa in the crowded Canteen. He looked around and then decided that he wasn't hungry. As he made his way through the crowd to the exit he felt a pull on his jacket. He turned around to see Ellone smiling back at him.