The five teenagers walked through the broken gates that once constituted the entrance to Edea's Orphanage. The place was nothing like any of them remembered it; it was rotting away, in ruins, a few of the buildings had caved in, and it looked grey, not green as it once had.

"...I feel uncomfortable seeing her," Quistis whispered and glanced around nervously. Squall only stared ahead, at the main house. He began to walk unsteadily toward it. Quistis went to help him, but was stopped by Irvine. "What-" she began; Irvine only shook his head.

"Let him do it himself."

Squall pushed the door to what he remembered as being Edea's bedroom open, and stumbled in. The rest of the group followed him quietly. Squall sat down on what was left of the bed and put a hand to his head.

"Squall, are you-" Selphie started.

"I'm fine," he snapped, cutting her short.

"...Many thanks for your hard work," came a voice behind the wall. Squall looked up and saw Headmaster Cid walk into view. He stopped and stared at the five teenagers for a moment. "Are you angry with me? ...I don't blame you. All I do is talk big, but in times of trouble, I run away," he said to them quietly. His gaze ran over them and stopped on Squall. "I was in a no-win situation... Your defeat would be the end of you. Your victory would mean losing my wife. I just couldn't bear...to face either circumstance," he continued, staring at Squall. "Thank you for what you've done. I don't expect any of you to forgive me. I don't care about myself... But please forgive Edea..."

Cid continued to stare at Squall as the others came forward.

"We forgive you, Headmaster Cid, it must've been hard for you to order us to kill your wife," Zell said, offering his hand to the older man. Cid took it and smiled sadly. He knew that no matter what Zell said, Squall would never forgive him. Squall stood up and walked past Cid, toward the beach. The others hesitated a moment and then followed him.

Edea was standing with her back to them, staring out at the restless sea. She seemed so small and helpless now, not the strong and formidable sorceress they had fought. Cid walked past them to Edea and whispered something to her. Edea turned around slowly and smiled at them.

"My children... Please forgive me... I raised you as my own, yet still, I..." she said sadly.

"It's alright Matron," Selphie said.

"We fought you, too, knowing you were our Matron," Zell continued. Edea looked around at all of them, her gaze stopping on the young sorcerer toward the back.

"You are SeeDs. You cannot back out of a battle, I know. You were magnificent… However, it is not over yet. At anytime, I may..." her voice trailed off and she turned back to the sea. Squall stayed in the back, where he could lean against a wall to support his still-weak frame. Edea drifted toward them again after a short silence. "...I have been possessed all this time. I was at the mercy of Sorceress Ultimecia," she finally said. Squall suddenly felt sick to his stomach.

(Ultimecia…?) he thought. (No, it can't be…)

"Ultimecia is a sorceress from the future; a sorceress many generations ahead of our time. Her objective is to find Ellone. She is after Ellone's power. Ultimecia is a very fearful sorceress. Her heart is filled with anger and hate. There was no way I was going to let her get a hold of Ellone. The only thing I could do was... Surrender myself to her and lose control of my mind. The result... Well, you all know…" she was quiet again for a moment, collecting her thoughts. Quistis glanced back at Squall who seemed much paler than before. She frowned at him, wanting to ask him if he was alright, but not wanting to interrupt Matron. Her attention focused on Edea again as the sorceress began to speak again.

"The sorceress that appeared in Galbadia was in fact Ultimecia... inside my body... Ultimecia has yet to achieve her goal. I don't know if she'll use my body again, since I no longer have my sorceress powers."

"You don't have them anymore?" Irvine asked, confused.

"No, when Squall resurrected me, I had already passed my powers on to someone else. I assume it was Squall…" Matron replied, looking at the SeeD Commander. Squall was not paying attention. "Squall?"

Squall looked up abruptly at the call of his name. "Yes?"

"You took my powers, correct?" Edea asked calmly. Squall glanced around the group; all eyes were on him.

"…No…" he ventured. Edea frowned.

"Then who…?"

"Maybe it was Rinoa," Quistis said.

"Rinoa? Oh, the girl in blue… That might be… Where is she?"

"She's in a coma in the infirmary," Zell answered.

"Well, then it's possible that Ultimecia may possess myself, Rinoa, or Squall, though I find it unlikely that she knows about Squall. Have you all heard of Sorceress Adel before?" Edea inquired.

"She was the ruler of Esthar during the Sorceress War. No one knows of her whereabouts... That's what I learned," Zell responded immediately. Everyone rolled their eyes.

(Know-it-all-Zell strikes again) thought Squall. Edea smiled at Zell.

"Right. The Galbadians must have thought I was the sorceress who received Sorceress Adel's powers. However, that is not the case. I received the powers of another sorceress at the age of 5."

"Where are you going with this?" Irvine asked.

"I believe Sorceress Adel is still alive. And that Ultimecia released my body in order to use the body of Sorceress Adel. Adel is the type who will not hesitate to use her powers for her own selfish desires. Should Sorceress Ultimecia bequeath her anger and hatred unto Adel, their power would be unimaginable..." Edea finished. Everyone around Squall suddenly began speaking at once. He suddenly found he had a headache.

(Ultimecia had possessed Matron? Ultimecia is from the future? Then what the HELL is she doing in my head!? How? It's not possible! I inherited her powers when I was five years old, but Matron is telling us that Ultimecia hasn't even been born yet!) Squall closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. Around him he could tell the conversations had ceased and he could hear Matron's voice again.

"Ultimecia's objective is to find Ellone."

(What about Rinoa? She's a sorceress now. It's my fault. She's going to have to deal with the same Hell I do.)

"Ellone's mysterious power... Sending one's consciousness back into the past."

"So, Ultimecia wants to use Ellone's power, right?" Came Quistis's voice.

(We argued a lot. We didn't get along very well, but I wouldn't wish this on anyone. Not even Seifer.)

"I get it. Ultimecia wants to send her consciousness from this period further into the past," Irvine said. "What's she going to do in the past?"

(Rinoa… Even though we didn't get along well in the beginning, I think things were starting to change…)

"Time compression," said Edea.

"Time compression?" Came Selphie's voice.

(When I first saw you, you smiled… It made me feel calm, tranquil.)

"It's time magic. Past, present, and future get compressed."

"What's going to happen to the world? Why do something like that?" Zell asked.

(Rinoa... Forgive me.)

"I can't even imagine a world where time is compressed!" Selphie exclaimed.

"Yo, Squall!" Zell called. "You're not even listening!"

"So basically, all we have to do is prevent Ultimecia from getting a hold of Ellone…" Squall stated, coming to life again.

"Yes, but..." Quistis began.

"We're going back to Garden. We have to let everyone know," Squall informed them, pulling himself off the wall. He walked back toward the Garden. Edea sighed and shook her head.

"Give him time, children. He's been through a lot…" she said. The others nodded and followed him. Irvine caught up first.

"Hey, we're worried about Rinoa too, y'know?" he whispered to the Commander. Squall stopped walking and turned angrily on Irvine.

"But it's not your f- …Forget it," he fumed, turning away from a shocked Irvine.

***

Edea sat down on what was left of her bed and sighed. She wished she could go into a town and get some new clothing, the black dress she was wearing smelled too much like blood. It bothered her. Cid had told her a bit of what had gone on while she was gone. She hoped that Squall would come back alone so that they could talk. Cid walked into the room and sat next to her.

"He seemed so distant Cid… What happened to him?" she asked quietly as she stared at the floating Garden nearby.

"…He's not the same little boy you knew, Edea. He's been through a lot."

"I'm sure he has."

"How did you know about his skin?"

"…I could feel it. While I was dying, he was near me and I could feel the death spell radiating off his skin. He was stressed and his body was reacting to his stress. It happened to me when I first went through puberty, but it wasn't a death spell that was stuck to me, it was a poison spell. Anyone that touched me during that short period of time would get violently ill; if I was stressed or hurt, it was worse, my survival instinct would kick in and the spell would react accordingly. It didn't last very long though, only a few months…" her voice trailed off. "How many people have died because of that spell?"

"…Three."

"Who? Did I know them?"

"Remember his best friend, Lily?"

"Yes."

"She was the first. Then Instructor Shinomori, and finally a boy in the infirmary that was trying to help Squall while he was in shock."

"Oh my… No wonder he wears gloves all the time."

"Yes. He's very scared that he'll kill someone else on accident."

Edea sighed. "It's all my fault you know, if I had taken the power-"

"You didn't know, Edea. You had no idea she'd show up there and then," Cid assured her, looking into her doe-brown eyes. He smiled for a moment and then his eyes widened. "Your eyes," he almost whispered.

"Cid, this is no time to be romantic."

"No… Your eyes… They're not gold anymore. They're brown again…"

"My eyes were gold?"

"Yes, while you were Ultimecia, your eyes were gold."

"Oh. Well that will help us identify whoever Ultimecia takes next," she concluded. Cid just stared at her solemnly. "What now?"

"…I've seen Squall's eyes turn gold before… When he was angry."

"What!?" Edea gasped, standing up. Cid recited what had happened when he had made Squall the Commander of SeeD. Edea sat back down and listened carefully. When Cid was finished, she was quiet for a moment.

"Someone needs to watch him closely… If Ultimecia has discovered his presence in this world already, we could be in very serious trouble…"

***

"Why am I the one who has to do this again?" Laguna asked uncertainly as Kiros finished strapping him into some armour. Kiros stood up and looked him over.

"Cause we have no money," he replied. Ward nodded in agreement.

"I'm sorry already!!! Yeah, so it's my fault that we stayed at the hotel so often… But I'm not cut out to be an actor!" Laguna complained. Kiros grinned at him and shook his head.

"So you say, but we know you're really quite excited..."

"Ok everyone! Places!" called a voice to their left.

"Man, I can't believe this director... Making a movie with me... an amateur... The heck am I supposed to do?" Laguna wondered nervously.

"..." Ward raised an eyebrow. Laguna glared at the taller man.

"'Stand there and look pretty' is not exactly what I was looking for. Alright, alright... So we were lucky I got the job. As long as we make some money, right...?"

Laguna walked down the path to the film site mumbling obscenities under his breath.

(Laguna? What am I doing here? I thought I was visiting Rinoa?)

Laguna looked around the clearing. No one was paying attention to him. (Faeries?) he wondered. The director finally noticed him and smiled.

"Hey, look at you. Not bad. This is your co-star, playing the part of the sorceress," the director introduced a pretty young woman.

(Hey… She looks familiar…)

"Hi, nice to meet you!" the co-star said, smiling sweetly at Laguna, whose leg was beginning to cramp up.

"All we need now is someone to play the dragon..." the director stated, looking around. Kiros and Ward entered the scene and glance around. The director looks at them and a grin spreads across his face. "Oh...! Perfect. Hey, you two back there!"

"Yes?" Kiros asked suspiciously.

"I'm kinda in a squeeze here... The guy playing the dragon is sick... Do you think you could put on the dragon costume and kinda just...walk down here? I'll pay ya..."

"I... guess so," Kiros replied and shooed Ward back toward the costumes.

"Ok, just be on standby over there. Ok people, here we go. Scene 12, 'Death of the Sorceress'. Ready...... ACTION!!!"

"Oh, Sir Knight... Save me from the wicked dragon...!" the co-star said dramatically.

(What a bad actress…)

"Hmm...? Oh… Ok... I... I'll s-save you from the dragon..." Laguna stuttered, pulling out a gunblade.

(...Damn it. I'm getting nervous. And what's with this gunblade? Haven't used one of these since training. Kinda like this?) he thinks, swinging the old blade around.

"Ok! Bring on the dragon!!! …Hey! Come on, guys! The dragon!" to the right, a large red dragon wanders onto the scene. "Alright! Here we go! Just like the real thing...! Excellent work, Kiros!!!" The director continued filming as Laguna swung the gunblade experimentally at the "dragon". "Wait a minute... Was the costume THAT big...?"

(Whoa! Kiros n' Ward are takin' this seriously. Man, looks like the real thing...) The dragon roars and snaps at Laguna. (G-Geez...! Take is easy, Kiros...)

(I think it's the real thing…)

"...What the...? Is this thing real!???" Laguna yelped, retreating a few steps.

"WHAT!!! No wonder...!!! W-What am I doin' here!? I'm getting' outta here!" the director exclaimed and began retreating. "W-Well, Sir Knight... It's all yours!" he calls back to Laguna and then bolts.

"S-S-Sir Knight... I must bid you farewell!!!" the co-star stammered and then ran after the director.

"H-HEY! Don't just leave me here!!!" Laguna tried to get around the dragon, but it only snapped at him and backed him further into the rocky wall of the mountain. "Tch! It's not gonna let me go. Hmm...The gunblade..."

Laguna swung the gunblade at the dragon's head. It connected with the ruby dragon's eye and the dragon roared loudly and retreated a bit, obviously in pain. Laguna runs down the mountain side, tearing off armour as he goes. He slides to a halt near a small pass where he finds Kiros and Ward hiding behind a group of rocks as another large dragon blocks their escape.

"Shiiiiiiiit… Hi guys… So… uh… Any plans for getting out?"

"Sure, you cast Ultima like you did that one time and we'll be great," Kiros replied sarcastically as he handed Laguna his machine gun.

"I don't ever want to do that again…" Laguna whispered, too quietly for Kiros or Ward to hear. He closed his eyes and breathed slowly, even a year later, his body can't handle the memory of the pain he had gone through.

(Just don't get into a situation where you might get killed and you won't do it again…)

"What?"

"Huh?" Kiros wondered, giving Laguna an odd look. Laguna shook his head.

"Faeries."

Squall watched as the scene around him slowly began to fade; in the distance to his left, he noticed a tall floating object, it looked vaguely familiar.

"...I can't disconnect."

(What...?)

"Squall?"

(Yes...)

"'Connect' is just what I call it. It's when I use my special power. Oh... I must be asleep. That's why I can't control it. I'm sorry, Squall. Just let me use your spirit for a little longer."

(Let me go back.)

The scene began to fade back again and Squall found himself looking at Edea. It was raining and he was on the steps of the orphanage.

"She ain't here either?" Laguna asked.

"If I may ask, what happened to this Ellone?" Edea said, cocking her head curiously at the man in front of her.

"She was kidnapped by Esthar soldiers. I've been travelling, tryin' all I can to get inside Esthar but..." his voice faded off.

"They were looking for a successor to the Esthar sorceress, Adel?"

"Yeah, yeah! Exactly it!" Laguna replied animatedly, hoping this woman knew something.

"Is she your daughter?"

"No... but she's just so cute! Oh, I wish I could hear her voice!" Laguna said in frustration.

(I want to hear Rinoa's voice.)

Laguna flinched and glanced around him. Edea followed his movements. "Is something the matter?" she wondered.

"No... just the faeries..." he told her.

(I don't care if it's in the past or what. I want to hear Rinoa. I want to see Rinoa. That way, there might be a chance to save her.)

"You can't change the past. I just found that out. When I was kidnapped, Uncle Laguna went on a journey to find me... But because he did, Uncle Laguna wasn't able to be by Raine's side when she died. Raine wanted to show Laguna her new born baby... Raine kept calling out for Laguna. So no matter what, I wanted Laguna to stay in the village... But it didn't work. I can no longer make it back to that moment... And also... I can only send you inside someone I've met before. I'm sorry, Squall. I'm about to disconnect. I'll try again to speak to you this way," Ellone explained. She sounded tired.

(Sis! Ellone! Wait...)

Squall opened his eyes slowly and found himself lying in the infirmary next to Rinoa's bed. He stood up quickly, he knew what he needed to do.

"I'll save you Rinoa…" he whispered to her. "We're going to find the White SeeD ship… Edea... Matron would know where it is."