Chapter 2


The flames were still leaping high into the night sky, colouring it a strange blood red. Squall Leonheart stood, arms folded, staring into the wreckage from a walkway high above the devastation. He watched the fire cast a surreal dance on the plexi-glass in front of him, and tried to come to terms with the oddity of the day's events. Since the defeat of Ultimecia over a year ago, Squall had almost been living in a dream world. Though he and his group were hailed as legendary heroes, Squall had tried to stay away from the spotlight and bury himself in his duties. They had spent a great deal of their time after the war in Esthar. There had still been a lot of monsters present after the lunar cry, and it'd been a good place to get away from the rest of the world and its new hunger for information. When the fighting was over, they had found it peaceful and quiet.

Peace is forgotten quickly, he thought, as the remains of the garden burned below him. It was like looking into a nightmare version of the future. Squall had always feared that this was how they would end up, crashed and burning - dead in a forgotten shell. Now his nightmare was sitting right before his eyes and at the moment nobody could tell him why. Doctor Odine had positively come to life when he heard that a strange phenomenon had disgorged a duplicate of Balamb Garden onto an Esthar freeway. He seemed mildly disappointed that the Garden had been destroyed in the process, but insisted on being rushed to the site where the portal had opened so he could take readings. President Loire had immediately called for Squall and as many other SeeD members as could be spared. It was certainly an unusual situation.

He could see the various alien looking vehicles of Esthar's emergency services as they milled about the wreckage of the garden. They were trying to get the fires out so that SeeD teams could enter the wreckage and see if there were any survivors. Squall's head swam with possibilities. If Balamb Garden was duplicated somehow, what about us? he mused. Will we find ourselves inside? The remains of the garden were barely recognisable though, and Squall doubted that anything inside was left alive. Regardless, he was to lead the investigation team, which would more then likely consist of SeeDs he'd never worked with before. Selphie, Irvine and Zell were at work in Trabia and Quistis was stationed more or less permanently at Balamb. Rinoa had remained onboard Galbadia Garden, which was en route to Esthar but couldn't hope to keep up with the much faster Ragnarok. Hopefully, the advanced research equipment they'd recently installed in G-Garden would be able to tell them exactly what had happened here. Headmaster Cid had given Squall full authority over the investigation, which Squall was mildly annoyed about. He'd gladly stepped down as Balamb Garden's commander after the war, but quickly found himself called to other positions of responsibility. People seemed to want to follow him. His legend preceded his own persona as if the latter no longer mattered. Sometimes, he just wanted to get away from it all.

As if confirming this would never be possible, the Comm-set on his wrist let out a beep. He reached down and tapped it. "Squall here," he said flatly.

"Squall, it's Laguna."

"President?"

"I thought I'd better contact you myself. We've received a priority message from Balamb Garden. Apparently they're under attack. A number of SeeDs are being held hostage, including Quistis."

Squall was caught for a moment, the image of the broken and twisted garden below him was a mirror to the thoughts that flashed through his head. Shaking himself out of it, he turned and began jogging back down the corridor. He spoke into the mouthpiece as he ran. "I'm on my way there now. I'll notify an officer to take temporary charge of this operation. Did the message say who was attacking them?"

"Yes..." Laguna seemed to hesitate for a moment. "...it's Seifer."

Squall found himself stumble to a halt. "What?" he spat.

"I know. I don't understand it either. I mean... none of us talked to him that much but Edea said he was... you know..."

"Cured?" said Squall, half to himself. He hadn't seen Seifer at all since then end of the war. He figured that there wasn't really much to say to one another, and Seifer had shown no inclination to come back to SeeD. Cid and Edea seemed to think it important that he was left alone. They quietly supported him, secured him and his 'posse' a couple of houses in Balamb. Edea went to visit him once or twice, ostensibly to find out the state of his mind. When asked, she'd smiled softly and said that he was nothing to worry about. Everybody trusted Matron, thought Squall. Looks like she was wrong. So, Seifer, are we going to fight again? He broke back into a run. "Thanks President. I'll be in touch."

"Be careful."

Squall switched the pad to another channel.

"Ragnarok?" came the pilot's voice.

"This is Squall. Prepare the ship for takeoff. Our destination is Balamb. I'll brief you all on the way there."

"Roger that, sir."

Squall's head span. It was like the beginning of the war all over again. The world seemed to have been plunged into madness.

In a matter of minutes, Squall arrived at Esthar's Airport, and the Ragnarok was underway.

* * * *


Seifer charged up the main street of Balamb, Raijin and Fujin in tow. The portal opening on the plains just outside the town shimmered and swirled almost invitingly as they approached. The raging storm was slowly dissipating, being replaced with an eerie calm. Slowing down, Seifer signalled for his posse to do the same, and they took cover near the gas station. Raijin lent forward on his staff. "Do you think anything's gonna come out of this one?" he asked.

Seifer shrugged. Moving forward, gun outstretched, he approached the town limits and the portal itself. He turned back and appeared to relax. "It's shrinking in on itself already, looks like we're..."

"Seifer!" shouted Raijin, his eyes widening as something burst from the portal behind his friend. Seifer whirled around just in time to dodge the sweep of a deadly blade, and he was then thrown aside as a massive horse flew past, crackling with residual energy from the portal. Raijin and Fujin took up guard stances as the figure rode unsteadily into the gas station lot. "Odin?" whispered Seifer.

Suddenly his head was filled with flashing images. His rival before him... the words of a magic spell. He knew what was coming, instinct took over. Hyperion stretched out before him... Odin cut in two by Seifer's own skill and power... 'Hah, I won't go down that easy. Show me what you got, Squall! Let me add another scar for ya!' Seifer shook his head and reached up, his hand running over his own scar.

His attention was suddenly snapped back to the present by another shout from Raijin. He looked up to see Odin's horse rear up and then level itself for a charge. Seifer brought up his machinegun and squeezed the trigger, spraying the ancient Guardian Force with bullets. Odin's sword swished this way and that, the bullets bouncing harmlessly away as he spurred his horse into a charge that would take him into Balamb itself. Except Raijin was in the way. Seifer began to run forward, trying to signal for both of his posse to get out of the way as the horse thundered towards them. Fujin took the hint and back peddled to some cover on the right. Raijin hesitated, then dived towards the gas station as Odin bore down on him. Seifer realised what was going to happen a split second before it did. Raijin had run behind one of the gas pumps, and Odin altered his course to catch up with him, readying his blade for a downward strike. Seifer turned to run as the sword came down, Raijin deftly jumping aside to avoid its swing. It passed effortlessly through the pump, splitting it in two, and Raijin had just enough time to cover himself before a massive explosion ripped the place to pieces.

Seifer dived out Balamb's main gate and behind the cover of a wall as a roaring fireball rolled out of the gate after him. Heedless of the risk of further explosions, he immediately headed back in towards the flaming ruins, arriving to find that Fujin had got there first. She appeared to be unhurt, but Raijin looked bad. His broken and charred body lay at odd angles on the torn pavement. Though he was still breathing he drew air in ragged irregular bursts. Odin was nowhere to be seen. Fujin seemed torn between tears and outright indignation. "Stupid!", she shouted, checking over Raijin to see if it was safe to move him. Seifer knelt down and fumbled in his jacket for a Hi-Potion. "Lean his head forward," he instructed. Opening the small flask, he poured the liquid into Raijins mouth and watched the familiar glow as it seeped through his body, knitting at some of his more grievous wounds. "What was that about?" asked Fujin. Seifer knew that his expression was hard to read at the best of times, but Fujin had learned what to look out for and could obviously tell that Seifer knew something.

"That was on old GF named Odin," he said, trying not to be drawn into a conversation he didn't want to have.

"I know that," replied Fujin, irritably. "We studied him briefly back at Garden. Why is he here all of a sudden?"

"'Got me."

Fujin stood up suddenly. "No, Seifer! I saw the look on your face when Odin appeared. What's going on?"

"I have no idea why it was here. As far as I know, Odin is dead."

"What?"

Seifer felt himself snarling and stopped just short of telling Fujin to be quiet. "That's one of the things that Edea wanted to see me about." He busied himself with reloading his gun while he continued. "Apparently, Squall discovered and harnessed Odin's power during his travels, but in our last battle, I managed to destroy him."

Fujin's eyes widened. "Killed a GF?" she seemed genuinely shocked and Seifer thought he could even see a hint of admiration in her expression.

"Yeah. Edea said they had a whole team of experts trying to work out what the consequences might be. Apparently I may have caused some kind of imbalance or something like that." He paused for a moment and felt Fujin's gaze on him. He shrugged. "Hey, don't look at me like that. I don't even remember doing it." He trailed off, staring over Fujin's shoulder into the ruins of the gas station. "Or at least I didn't until a couple of minutes ago..."

"We'd better get away from here," stated Fujin, kneeling down to help her injured comrade. "And we have to tell Garden about what happened. We should visit tommorow"

"No. There's no need."

"What?"

"Odin's left. He made his attack, but without anyone to summon him he's more then likely gone back to wherever the hell he came from. It's no longer a problem."

"Seifer..."

"Look Fujin, I've been hired to protect this town, and I'm not going to run to Garden for help every time something nastier then a Bite-Bug turns up."

"Someone's going to report this," said Fujin, indicating the decimated gas station. "Whether you do or not."

Seifer ignored her. "Let's just get Raijin out of here before the place immolates itself again." He placed his hands under Raijins feet and went to lift, but noticed that Fujin wasn't moving. He looked up with a questioning look in his eyes and found her staring wide-eyed past him and towards Balamb gate. He frowned. "What is it?"

"Se...Sei..." she mumbled, and pointed a shaking finger towards the gate.

Spinning round to see what had left his friend speechless, Seifer was greeted with a sight that left him in a similar condition.

The portal now appeared to have closed completely, but while Seifer and Fujin had been talking, another occupant had been thrown from it. A figure was pulling itself to its feet in the remains of Balamb gate. It's back was turned to the town, but Seifer realised who he was looking at with gradual dawning horror. The tatters of a white trench coat hung from broad, strong shoulders, the head lifting to reveal a short crop of blonde hair. The blade that hung loosely from the man's right hand completed the image, and as he turned slowly to face into the town, Seifer's suspicions were confirmed. He was looking at himself. "What the..." he murmured. He felt Fujin stand up beside him. Time froze. The new Seifer looked uncertainly about him, seeming to be as confused as his counterpart was. Then his eyes rose upwards, and his gaze fell upon his future self. The two stared at each other for a long moment. Past and present regarded each other in a moment that streched to eternity. Then, suddenly, the past-Seifer grinned, and began to stride towards his double. He laughed as he walked, a humourless, hollow sound. "Another dream, Mistress?" he said, addressing the heavens. "Aren't you giving me a chance to..." he cut the air with Hyperion as he spoke the words, "Finish this?". The present Seifer raised a hand indicating Fujin to back off. He was looking into his own eyes, and he saw murder there. He raised his gun. "Back off," he snarled, images swirling through his mind. Looking into his past, he could see in his own eyes a deadly reminder of the madness that had seemed a part of his soul. He knew this Seifer was capable of anything, even hurting his own friends. True enough, past-Seifer continued his purposeful stride.

"Another step and I'm shooting," promised Seifer. He didn't hesitate on pulling the trigger when his order was disobeyed. No damage. He groaned inwardly as the bullets bounced harmlessly off the blue disc of a Protect spell. He ran forward to bring the butt of his gun into his counterparts face, but a swift slash of Hyperion had the gun flying from his hands to land, ureachable, many meteres away. Before he could react, a gloved hand closed around his throat and he found himself carried off his feet and shoved bodily into the wall behind him. Struggling, he dimly realised that he had been neglecting his training since the end of the war. His younger self was at the peak of phsical fitness, and had no trouble keeping him pinned in place. Looking down, he saw a look of disgust in his assalants face. Fujin seemed paralised, unsure what to do. The past Seifer turned to her. "Fujin," he said, his voice powerful and confident. "Go ahead and tell me what's going on." He increased his grip on his victim, who began to cough and splutter. "And who is this pathetic impostor wearing my face?"

"It...it's you, Seifer."

"Not good enough," he snapped back, his vice-like grip closing further. Fujin reached for a throwing star but realised too late that she was in range of Hyperion, and quickly felt its cold steel at her throat. "I don't think so, Fujin," he said, not taking his gaze off his struggling doppel-ganger. "What I do think, is that if you don't tell me what's going on, whoever this is is going to find themselves running out of air."

Fujin swallowed desperately. "We're not sure ourselves. I think you're from the past."

This caused him to turn his head and stare down Hyperions blade at her. He scowled, the signs of disbelief lining his face. "Go on."

"What's the last thing you remember?"

He snarled and pressed Hyperion further at her neck, as if to enforce his 'I'm asking the questions' status, but he did reply. "Lunatic Pandora. I was just having a little chat with my buddy Squall. Then he decided to summon a GF on me. Now I'm here."

Fujin nodded, panicking as she remembered the things she and Raijin had said to Seifer just before that fight. "It's over a year since then," she said.

"Better not be lying," warned Seifer, Hyperion dissapearing from her throat as quickly as it had arrived. He looked over at his counterpart and relaxed his grip, letting him drop to crumple in a heap on the floor, gasping for air. Leaning down, he ripped a watch from present-Seifer's wrist and regarded it critically. "Date checks out," he sighed, before tossing the watch towards the flaming gas station. "Alright, I'll play along for now, Fujin." He looked down at his future self. "You haven't aged well, Seifer." He turned back to Fujin, and indicated the crumpled Seifer with the tip of Hyperion. "Is this what I'm to become? A miserable, groveling nothing?"

"You lost," came a choked voice from the floor. Dragging himself to his feet, the present Seifer faced off with his past. "That fight you've just been whisked away from... you... you were supposed to loose it. Squall and the others went on to defeat Ultimecia. They won, Seifer."

They stared at one another for a moment, then the past-Seifer spoke up. "And this is what I'm reduced to? Hunting monsters in a nowhere village with a nowhere future?" He grinned at the surprise on his counterpart's face. "Yeah I heard your little conversation before hand. What about your destiny!" he shouted. "Guess you've given that up. You've become what I hate the most." He began to back away, the grin turning into a scowl of pure hatred. "You mean nothing. Stay in this little town." He cast a gaze towards Fujin. "With your friends who don't give a damn about you." He darted away, heading for a motorcycle that was on display in a damaged show-room. Before the two could stop him, he had started the thing and took off out of Balamb gate at high speed. "Where's he going?" asked an exhausted Fujin.

"If I know him," said Seifer wryly, "he'll be heading to where he can cause the most havoc. He probably didn't believe what you said about this being the future. Most likely, he thinks this is all a dream or a test."

"Balamb Garden," stated Fujin.

"I'm going to stop him. No protests. You stay with Raijin and make sure he lives." After retreaving his gun, Seifer climbed onto a second motor-cycle and started it up.

"Be careful," called Fujin, as Seifer sped off in pursuit of himself.