7: Return to Me

At first, nobody noticed what happened.

Rinoa and Irvine was pulling Zell away from Seifer—who surprisingly did not retaliate—and Selphie was whimpering while Headmaster Cid tried to calm her.

Then they all heard the voice.

"MurDeRerS! In DeAtH, mY kiNd wiLL pUt a cUrSe oN All oF YoU!" it rasped.

Rinoa gasped. "Sorceress! I sense a sorceress!"

All eyes turned to Quistis, whose head was bowed and both of her palms were on the ground.

Selphie stepped forward. She could already feel the hate waves Quistis was giving out. She was afraid this would happen. Ever since they left Trabia, she had noticed some change in her friend. Not a change in attitude or anything but Quistis would sometimes stare blankly at her and a secret smile would be forming on her mouth.

So Selphie had been observing Quistis for some time, afraid that the Sorceress had claimed Quistis' body. She was right.

"tHe VengEanCe of ThRee HundRed yEarS…" Quistis said.

"Quisty…" Selphie called softly, reaching out a hand to touch Quistis' shoulder.

"SilEncE! SeeD!" the ground began to shake and jagged pieces of earth emerged, threatening to cut the SeeDs into half if they didn't react quickly.

"Selphie! Get away from her! She's…she's possessed!" Irvine cried out. He hopped over a piece of sharp boulder protruding out of the ground and pulled Selphie away.

Quistis raised her head and began to stand up. Her icy blue eyes swept over each of the faces and finally rested on Rinoa's pale face. She raised a hand towards Rinoa and the other girl flinched.

"YoU aRe the SorCereSs thAt Is rULinG tHis tIme?"

Rinoa's eyes flew to Headmaster Cid uncertainly and said, "I am Sorceress Rinoa but I don't rule this time. Nor do any of the other Sorceresses." She added quickly.

"OtHer? THerE ArE oThEr SorCerEssEs?"

"There's one that we know of. Sorceress Edea. But she no longer wants to hold the title." Irvine said.

"SiLenCe, SeeD!" Quistis/Sorceress snapped. "I Do nOt LisTen To wOrdS of MurDerErs!"

"Who are you? What do you want with Quistis?" Rinoa asked. This time, the note of fear in her voice was gone. "And why are you calling SeeDs murderers?"

"I aM SorCeRess Millennia of The SixTh DesCenDantS oF SorCerEss Althena. I cOme FrOm The tIme 500 YeaRs FrOm Now. SorCeRess Althena, I bEliEvE, wAs tHe SorCeRess afTer YoUr tIme. shE waS tHe DauGhteR of RaiNa LeOnHarT anD ArEs AlmAsY."

"Raina Leonhart and Ares Almasy?" Rinoa repeated softly.

"Raina Leonhart was Squall Leonhart and Quistis Trepe's daughter. Ares Almasy was Seifer Almasy and Rinoa Heartilly's son." Someone suddenly said. Everyone turned to see Reyes Leads, gunblade pointed towards the Sorceress. Millennia hissed in warning at him and retreated a few steps. She seemed to be afraid of him.

 "So, evil enchantress. You've managed to trick me into bringing your real body back when you've already found another body. Doesn't it disgust you to possess a SeeD's body?"

"sHe wAs mY AncEstOr!"

"She is a SeeD, one that you detest so much!" Leads countered.

A pained expression crossed Millennia's face. She was now face to face with the future SeeD. The others were merely watching the exchange between them. None of them noticed that Headmaster Cid had slipped away to his office.

"eNouGh!" Millennia cried out. She held out her palm. "Ultima!"

Leads only smirked at her. He didn't make any attempt to dodge the spell. There was the tiniest of gasp and suddenly, Millennia was hit by her own Ultima spell. She staggered back and stared at Leads in surprise.

"Tsk, tsk. Have you forgotten what these uniforms are made of? Carbuncle essence. It reflects offensive spells." Leads said smugly.

Millennia's eyes filled with rage. She pointed at Leads angrily, her hands shaking. "mUrDerErs! yOu haVe murDeRed a GF! coLd-bLoOdEd ScUm!"

Seifer, Irvine, Zell, Selphie and Rinoa stared at Leads in disbelief. They couldn't believe what they have heard. The future SeeD killed GFs to make uniforms?

"I have defeated countless sorceresses in our time. It was worth the sacrifice." Leads replied.

"Hey, wait a minute—"Irvine's protest was cut short as Sorceress Millennia flew at Leads, hands extended as if to strangle him. Leads evaded and brought down his gunblade on the Sorceress' back.

Millennia turned her face downwards and gave a back kick right at his stomach. He winced as Quistis' combat boots connected with his abdomen. He stared at Millennia, astonished.

"Didn't expect you to be a martial artist, Sorceress." He sneered.

"Me NeiTher. But ThiS bOdy I oCcuPy, iT is wEll-tRaiNed fOr phYsiCal cOmbAt. I aM aBle to eXtrAct thIs skiLl fRom Her mInd And eXecUte iT wIth hEr boDy." Millennia replied coolly. She casted Reflect on herself and then Break. It reflected on her and hit Leads. Instantly, he was Petrified, turned to stone.

Sorceress Millennia turned to the others. "mY reAsoN fOr esCapIng tO tHis TiMeLine is beCauSe I wAnt to rId oF aLl SeeDs! thErefOre, I sHaLl dEsTroY tHe fIrsT gEneRatIon of SeeD! Ultima!"

They all screamed in agony as they were hit by the gravitational spell. After three more Ultimas, the only ones still left standing were Seifer and Selphie. Seifer was propping himself up with Hyperion while Selphie tried desperately to revive her friends and at the same time use her Full Cure on herself and Seifer.

"Why—do you—hate—SeeD—so—much?" Seifer asked, gasping for breath. His grey trench coat was torn and his hair was matted down with blood.

"FoR ManY GenEraTionS, SeeD haS sPiLt cOunTleSs of sOrCerEsS bLooD! wE haVe dOnE nO wRonG aNd yEt, we WerE hUntEd dOwN LikE AniMaLs!" Millennia spat out.

"But Sorceresses are evil! They tried to destroy humankind!" Selphie burst out. She held out a palm and yelled, "Holy!"

She forgot that Millennia had Reflect casted on. It bounced off the Sorceress and was recasted on Selphie. She screamed as bright white lights pierced her skin. Millennia was laughing in glee and then casted Meteor. Unable to take it anymore, Selphie finally fell unconscious.

Millennia laughed again and Seifer saw this chance to attack. He rushed forward and made a clean swipe with Hyperion, pulling the trigger at the precise time. A deep gash appeared on Quistis' body from her right shoulder right to her left waist.

The Sorceress screamed in agony. Furiously, she waved her hands in Seifer's direction and a gust of cold wind blew him backwards. Sharp-edged icicles then followed the wind and tore at his body, making him writhe in pain.

"Seifer…how could you…hurt me…" came Quistis' voice. It made Seifer looked at her in shock. He stared as her blue eyes gazed hurtfully at him.

"Instructor, I…I didn't mean—"he was sprawled on the ground with an icicle sticking out of his left shoulder but he barely registered the pain. The knowledge that he'd hurt Quistis was more painful than the mortal wounds he was suffering from.

I…don't…care. He thought feverishly. He really didn't.

But dammit, why do I feel so horrible?

"Do you…hate me, Seifie?" she asked innocently.

Seifer grappled uselessly at her. Her reference to his childhood nickname was like a knife through his heart. He closed his eyes and saw the seven-year-old Quistis crying in his arms, wet cerulean eyes gazing back sorrowfully at him. She'd cried because Squall was gone. And he'd comforted her even though he hated Squall. He didn't know why he did it. It just felt…right. And she'd cried so much, he was afraid she'd die from grief. So he held on to her, making sure that she would stay.

Even now, he still didn't understand. And that scared him. And then, fear turned to hatred. He'd hated her. Hated her because she never made him understand.

But maybe, if he just peeled off all the layers of hatred and pain created over the years, he'd have find out that he actually cared about her. Cared not for Instructor Trepe or Quistis Trepe, the honorary SeeD. But cared for the crying seven-year-old Quisty.

Too late.

He tried to reach for her but he was immobile. It seemed that every bone in his body was broken. He could barely even sit up properly. "Quisty, I'm—I'm sorry. I didn't mean—to hurt you."

Quistis' eyes filled with tears. "You hate me? But you were the one who killed Squall. Squall, he loved me. He would never hate me. And I love him. But now he's gone. So I don't love anymore. I just hate. NOw I HatE You!" she threw back her head and laughed hysterically. "SeeD! hOw sTuPid! hOw paTheTic! I didn't know that you cared, Seifie."

Seifer let out growl. His eyes flashed with fury. "You—how dare you use her voice! You tricked me!"

The Sorceress laughed even harder. "oH, iT wAs fUn sEeiNg yOu so pItiFullY eMotIonAl, SeeD!" she taunted.

"I'm not a SeeD! And you're DEAD!" with his remaining strength, he raised Hyperion and pulled the secret catch that released the blade. It flew directly at the Sorceress. It caught her off guard. She barely had time to dodge and the blade sunk into her left shoulder.

She screamed and quickly pulled the blade out. She casted triple Curaga and watched as the wound stopped bleeding. The cut was still open, however. She glared at Seifer with contempt.

"Rot in hell." Seifer sneered before finally slumping on the ground.

Millennia stared at all the bodies scattered on the ground before her. he smiled in satisfaction. Then she remembered Leads. Her smile faltered and she turned to him. He would stay petrified unless someone cast Esuna on him. She debated whether to leave him or throw him away somewhere.

Then she felt the girl inside her stirred. She was trying to say something. Millennia concentrated and tried to listen to the trapped soul.

Destroy…the one…that caused…all this.

My ChiLd…whO dO yOu mEaN?

But the girl was lost again. Millennia smiled again. She already felt the hatred. And she knew who it was aimed at. She began to walk away.

I wIlL taKe cAre oF iT. as pAymEnt fOr yOuR bOdy.

She headed towards Balamb City.

~@~~@~~@~

Inside the Headmaster's office, Cid was desperately trying to make an international call. After twenty minutes of going through every department there is in Esthar, he finally reached Laguna's office.

The still youthful president of Esthar answered cheerfully. "This is Laguna. Is that you, Cid?"

"Laguna! Get me Squall! Quick!" Cid gasped urgently. There was silence on the other line. He could almost see Laguna frowning.

"What's the matter? You know you shouldn't mention him on the phone! Someone could've intercepted—"

"The Sorceress—Quistis—everyone—Garden—in danger—" Cid stammered. Then he heard some muffled sounds on the other line and immediately, Squall's voice came on.

"What happened?" he asked sharply.

"Squall, it's Quistis…she was possessed by the Sorceress! She's killing the other SeeDs!"

"Hang on. I'm coming right away." The line went dead.

~@~~@~~@~

"Are you crazy? You cannot return! They'll have your head! I didn't rescue you so you could go back there and have them capture you again! The trouble I went through just to get you away from there! Feeding the computer with a fake tape, sending my best army officer, smuggling you into the airport…!" Laguna chased after his son, raging on endlessly, trying to stop Squall from leaving Esthar.

"I'm crazy? I'm crazy? In case you didn't hear, there's a Sorceress on the loose at Balamb! And—and Quistis is in trouble! I can't abandon her! And my friends!" Squall yelled angrily. He reached the hangar and stormed inside the nearest airship.

The door closed right in Laguna's face and he watched, astonished, as the airship roared to life. In a few seconds, it had already flown away at full speed.

Hang on, Quisty. Squall thought desperately. I'm coming for you. I'll return to you.

AN: Sorry for the late update. I've been busy and the lack of review didn't help either (hint hint) ^_^.

So anyway, here's the next part. R & R.