Chapter 7

"This world does not want me
This world does not care
And I am a product of this world
Confused, I'd say that's fair
This pain will never leave me
It's scared upon my brain
Destroying everything that brought this
Just to keep me, just to keep me sane"

- Machine Head, The Rage To Overcome


Headmaster Cid carefully placed his glasses on the briefing table and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. "All right Seifer, let's start from the very beginning."

"The beginning of what?"

"You mentioned that there had been some incidents in Balamb before you arrived at Garden," elaborated Cid. "And Squall has given us a report which states that much of Balamb has been heavily damaged. What exactly occurred?"

Seifer sighed and shook his head, his eyes floating over to one of the windows that looked out onto the seemingly infinite stretch of ocean surrounding the Garden. "It all started just before nightfall this-evening," sighed Seifer. "A portal similar to the one that opened over Esthar appeared near Balamb's main gate. Raijin, Fujin and I went to investigate. At that point Odin emerged from the portal."

Squall raised his eyebrows. "Odin?"

Seifer nodded. "Yeah, I... I got a few flashbacks when I saw him... I'm not all that clear on what happened back in Lunatic Pandora..."

Squall looked to Quistis, who nodded. She then turned to Seifer. "I don't know how much you remember from your classes about Guardian Force theory Seifer," she said, her voice warm, not condescending like Seifer remembered. "Odin was, or is, a particularly odd GF. After we found him in some ruins in Centra, he refused to be Junctioned and so none of us could summon him. He would only appear in battle when he wished to." She leaned back on her chair, folding her arms lightly as she continued. "When we faced you on Lunatic Pandora, Odin arrived at the battle before we could do anything... but you seemed to turn his power against him and defeated him."

Seifer raised his eyebrows slightly but still refused to meet her gaze.

"Not only that," chipped in Squall, "but after Odin's death his sword was collected by a GF none of us had ever seen before named Gilgamesh. It seems that he doesn't belong in this world, because he mentioned something about a 'dimensional interval'. Communicating with him has been almost impossible since, but we are working on it."

"All this forms the pieces of a very interesting but very problematic puzzle," nodded the Headmaster. "So, Seifer, we'd like to hear what happened to you, and then maybe we can work towards fixing this mess."

Seifer nodded, his eyes now moving to over the assembled group as he began to speak. "Odin attacked us right after his appearance, and ended up destroying the gas station. He disappeared right after that. Just as we were recovering, Fujin and I noticed that the portal had left one more thing before it closed..." he spread his arms, his lips twisiting into an ironic grin. "Me."

Silence descended momentarily over the room as they all contemplated this. Squall then nodded. "It makes sense," he said. "You and Odin were close at the time, so I guess you'd be taken through together, particularly if you were just about to kill him."

"The question is," said Nida, "Taken through from where?"

"A good question," replied Cid, "but not one we can dwell on right now. Please continue Seifer."

"There's not much else to tell," sighed Seifer, rocking back in his chair and looking at the headmaster levelly. "The other me took off on a bike heading for Garden and I followed him here. You know the rest."

"Not exactly," said Squall. "I'd still like to hear your version of what happened in the engine room after my communication got cut off."

Seifer stole a glance at Quistis, but her eyes were cast down towards the table and her expression was again unreadable. "All right," he said, sighing in resignation. "While you and the past-me were talking, Quistis gave me a sign that she was getting ready to try something. When she did I charged forward and tried to overpower my double, but things didn't go too well. He disarmed me and, to cut a long, we ended up playing hide and seek in the east section of the engine room."

"That's the area with the pressure valves and check points for the Gardens various pipe fed systems," explained Quistis.

"Yeah," said Seifer. His lips had curled up into an irritated snarl at the memory, but now his expression softened. "Meanwhile, it seems that Matron... Edea... she'd gone and retrieved my gunblade from the armoury. She tried to return it to me but he - my past-self - he got to her before I could..." he frowned and stared fixedly at the veneered table in front of him before he continued. "I went to help Matron, but my split persona had other ideas."

He was going to kill you both, thought Quistis. I saw the look in his eyes. She said nothing as Seifer continued to speak.

"That's when she," he said pointing to Quistis, "ordered the other SeeDs to stay back and then jumped in." He said the last remarks with a dry kind of sarcasm that was reminiscent of his days in class, but he was loath to admit to himself that there was also a tinge of respect in there as well. "She used the Hyperion that Matron had brought, and she battled Seifer number two until he was forced to withdraw, then she helped me take care of Matron." He opened his arms in frustration. "There, does that 'report' match up enough for you?"

"Yes Seifer it does," replied Cid. "Thank you."

Throughout the entire account Quistis had remained impassive, but now she looked up slightly and caught Seifer's gaze. Another questioning look flickered briefly over her features as she tried to read him. He looked away. He had been unable, even, to protect Matron. My Sorceress, corrected an unbidden voice in his mind. He shooed it away, knowing that it was only a shard of a broken dream.

His mind was also filled with thoughts of Quistis, and how she had fought so competently and so... he struggled for the words... savagely? Perhaps. The fury of her attack had certainly caught his past-self off guard, and the grace and skill with which she wielded the gunblade was nothing short of breathtaking. Particularly given the fact that she was doing all this in nothing but a night dress. It was true she was no slouch with the gunblade before, her position as instructor had demanded that she be proficient with most weapons, but she had clearly been devoting more time to developing her skills.

The room was filled with silence again as each of the occupants lost themselves in their thoughts. After a while, Cid cleared his throat. "The truth is," he said, spreading his hands, "That I'm not entirely sure how we should proceed in this matter. What's the status with the other Garden officials?" he asked, turning to Squall.

"Headmaster Coleridge on Galbadia Garden has been notified and they're on their way out here to help us repair the engines sufficiently to return to Balamb. They're leaving a situation team in Esthar to deal with things there, but from what I've heard the wreckage of the duplicate Garden is still too dangerous to enter, even with robotic equipment. It'll be a while before we get any answers there," he folded his arms as he continued to speak. "I asked Zell, Selphie and Irvine to remain where they are in Trabia until we know more."

"I can't imagine that's an easy thing for them to do," nodded Cid. "But I think you're right to ask them to stay. With things the way they are we need good people watching all the Gardens."

"Can I make a suggestion?" said Nida, cutting in. "I think our biggest priority right now is to find this impostor-Seifer before he causes any more chaos, but we can't do anything until G-Garden arrives. We need to get the Ragnarok back in the air," he said. "Right now she's going to be our most powerful tool for searching him out and re-capturing him."

"Agreed," replied Cid. "We'll send a team out in one of the remaining sea vessels with repair equipment. They can dock at Balamb and get the ship in the air. Quistis, if you're feeling well enough you'll lead that team."

A mildly shocked look crossed her features and her gaze flitted to Squall and back again before Quistis nodded carefully. "Yes sir, I'm fine. I'll assemble a team and leave right away with your permission."

"We'll notify you via comm if anything else comes up," nodded Cid. "Dismissed."

Quistis gathered her report documents together and slid out of her chair. When she reached the door she realised that Seifer had also risen and was following her. She turned to look at him.

"Where are you going, Seifer?" asked Cid, his voice a mixture of amusment and concern.

"I'm going with her," replied Seifer, not even bothering to turn around but instead catching Quistis' concerned gaze.

"Sir, I don't.." began Nida, but Seifer held up his hand and turned to face them.

"I'm not sitting around in Garden for the rest of the show," he replied, another hand gesture ensured he remained uninterrupted. "Now if you don't trust me out on a mission you might as well put me back in that brig."

"Do I trust you Seifer?" The Headmaster said, leaning back in his chair. "Seifer, if you think the answer to that question is anything other then no, then you're being a little naive."

"Glad to see we understand each other," retorted Seifer with a small grin, "But if Quistis is the first to go after my double, then she'll need me around to help with the hunt."

Cid shrugged, his hands clasping the arms of the leather chair. "I'm aware of that. I am also aware that your reckless actions last night show your attitudes to procedure and authority haven't changed. That may turn into a problem."

You have no idea what's changed, thought Seifer, bitterly - but the mask of indifference remained.

"However," continued Cid, "I am willing to let Quistis make the call on this one."

All eyes in the room turned to the slim figure at the doorway. For her part, Quistis seemed un-phased. She looked over at Seifer. For a few long moments there was silence in the room as she appeared to consider her options.

Seifer finally broke it. "So? Think you can handle me inst..." he stopped himself instantly as her eyes hardened. He raised a hand as if he was going to correct himself but no sound came from his mouth and the hand fell to his hip, redundant. Quistis turned, her hand reaching out and switching the release for the door. Seifer watched as she set off down the corridor, her loose hair sliding over her shoulder as she glanced down at the repair work going on below. Nice one, he thought to himself. She's just been freed from the constant taunting of your chronologically impaired self, and you jump right in there. How many more chances are you going to blow? Just as Seifer was about to turn back into the still silent briefing room, Quistis glanced over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow - a twinkle in her eye betraying a certain amount of mirth. "We're leaving immediately, Seifer. Get a move on." Her lips curved almost imperceptibly into a smile before she turned and continued on her way.

Seifer blinked a few times. He turned back into the briefing room but only Headmaster Cid met his gaze. The older man shrugged. "You heard the Commander, Seifer," he said.

"Yeah," said Seifer, shaking his head and striding through the doors. They swished closed behind him. His eyes locked on Quistis' rapidly disappearing form.

"Hey," he shouted after her. "You're going to give me my stuff back, right?"

She turned the corner to the elevator corridor, momentarily catching his gaze before she slipped from view.

"...right?"

* * * *

Balamb Garden's newly installed sea vessel module was bustling with activity when Seifer finally entered. The module was designed so that when the Garden was partially submerged in the ocean, the main hanger doors would open at sea level and this was indeed the case. The eastern light of a climbing sun shone through the yawning gap of the doors and glittered - fragmenting into beautiful swirling patterns of light on the walls and railings of the unsurprisingly immaculate room. Suspended by a complex system of cranes were the high-speed vessels themselves. The module had a compliment of five such craft. The one that his past-self had stolen had since been replaced with the damaged vessel that Squall had arrived in from Balamb. Various personnel were hard at work, either repairing the crippled vessel, or preparing the expedition's vessel for launch.

As he made his way to the boarding gantry Seifer was not surprised to find that he was drawing a great deal of attention from the occupants in the room. He was getting used to the stares and the whispering, which, if anything, were much worse in the Garden then they had been on his travels six months earlier. Though he couldn't hear the murmurs of disapproval over the noise of machinery he knew they were passing back and forth. Normally he would catch the gaze of a few of his 'admirers' and see how long they would hold his eyes as he walked past, but he was in no mood for that now and kept his gaze fixed on the vessel in front of him. Evidently, the engineers had decided to raise the craft above water level for some last minute adjustments, as they were scrambling about on the crane that permitted them access to the underside of the craft.

Seifer had been delayed by the tedious procedure of removing a more advanced firearm from the Garden armoury - a process that required non-SeeDs to fill in vast amounts of paperwork. The weapon was now slung easily over his shoulder, however, and he was glad to have the extra stopping power at his disposal. He had refused to take up a gunblade, despite the fact that Garden had recently received an 'Aceracies' - an upgraded version of the Hyperion. Seifer had claimed this was because he was out of practice with the notoriously difficult weapons and didn't have time to re-train himself. But there's a part of you that longs to feel a gunblade in your hands again isn't there? he mused, the clang of his steel boots on the metal below beating out a rhythm for his thoughts. A part of you that you must never feed...

The vessel was lowered into position as Seifer reached the end of the walkway and he watched as the sleek black form eased into the calm water below. He looked over to the front of the ship as the hatch to the gun turret opened and Quistis climbed out, pausing momentarily to enjoy the sunlight before beginning checks on the gun itself. She hadn't noticed him and he watched her for a few seconds as the targeting display lit up in front of her, bathing her in an orange glow. She appeared to pause for a few seconds, and though Seifer couldn't see her face he knew she was troubled by something. Suddenly, as if a switch had been flipped, she returned to her normal posture and clicked the display off.

"Expecting trouble?" called Seifer, his deep, clear voice ringing out across the module.

Quistis turned around and caught sight of him on the gantry. "Ah, Seifer, glad you've finally decided to join us," she said, clapping her hands on the railing of the gun turret.

Seifer shrugged.

Quistis shook her head. "Get on board," she said. "I'll meet you inside and introduce you to the rest of the team." With that, she disappeared down the hatch, and the door in front of Seifer slowly folded open to admit him into the craft. He took one last look around the module before ducking inside.

* * * *

Mist rolled in from an eerily quiet sea. The swirling vapour was so thick that the sunlight of the dawn could barely penetrate it. Dollet was a town of cold silence. The sounds that did penetrate the mist moved through it in strange ways, distorting the normal hum of the docks into a strained series of surreal cries. The few fishermen working the breakers didn't wonder too much at the strange, almost guttural, engine noises that wailed intermittently from the seas surrounding them, beliving that they were the distorted sound of the various fishing vessels that trawled Dollet's waters.

The noises soon cut out and were forgotten, but the deadly shape of the stolen Sea Vessel cut through the mist like a blade, it's movement a grim parody of the landing on Dollet beach a year ago. The past-Seifer had aimed the boat at a secluded part of the shingle, and it slid into position undetected, the stern deployment hatch yawning open as it did so. Striding out unchallenged into the biting tendrils of the mist came that tall figure. He was clothed in the heavy form of a Garden issue all-terrain great cloak, the vast garment draped over and concealing his arms, the hood drawn up to cast an impenetrable shadow over his face.

Not this time would he rush carelessly to battle over the sandy beach. As the sea vessel's autopilot took over and it banked away, coasting out to sea once more, the figure beat a steady pace through the gloom.