Chapter 5: Anomalies

In limbo, time didn't pass, but it flowed from moment to moment. Depending on how you had lived, each moment could be an eternity or a fraction of a second. As long as Squall and the other remained here, time would be forever on their side . . . but time waits for no one. Time could pass them all up, and then they would be trapped. This is why it was so important that the operation be a success. Failure meant an eternity of nothing.

A warm, refreshing mist rose from the ground and covered those who had slept. One breath of it revitalized and awoke the sleeping warriors. Stretching their tired muscles and yawning, everybody began to make arrangements for the mission. The next day had come and the time for redemption was near. There was no need for breakfast, no need for showers . . . it was go time.

The small army gathered their items, weapons, and armor and trudged their way along a flat luminescent path. They were all decked out in their best battle garb. To an outsider they might have looked like mercenaries, but in reality it was the grandest collection of magic and power the universe had ever seen. For the most part, the heroes walked in small groups to the meeting point that had been decided on the night before, talking about past experiences and battles. Over the last couple hours, Quistis, Irvine and Zell had gotten to know Barret, Cid and Nanaki very well. Both could fully grasp the beauty of each other's separate worlds, and their individual importance. It wasn't just their world they'd be fighting for . . . it would be for all worlds.

Lagging behind his friends, Cloud attempted once more to get on good terms with his new friend, "Hey Squall," he said in a low profile voice, not wanting to get the attention of the others, "is there anything I should know about this place we are going? Anything that might prepare us for what we are going up against?"

"Weren't you paying attention to the voice's instructions yesterday?" Squall snapped. He continued to hold a vengeance for no apparent reason other than to keep up his harsh exterior. He was about to meet up with his group but turned around at the last second to walk back towards Cloud.

"Yeah, but -"

"Okay, there is some other stuff you should know," Squall said as he stepped in front of the spiky haired soldier. The brown haired SeeD commander seemed to crowd Cloud as they met eye to eye. His style and stance was more rigid and military than his counterpart's (who had picked up a more relaxed, sloppy stance over the last few months) and it showed. For a brief instant he felt superior to the person who was supposed to be his equal from another world, but that feeling soon passed when battle hardened hero reasserted himself and squared his shoulders to Squall's, "The voice said to stop Adel from passing her powers, right? Well you can prevent this all by telling me . . . I mean my other self to leave. There will be some resistance as well," it was still fresh as though it had been yesterday and Squall began to tense up. The scar trailing from above his nose to the top of his right eye seemed to become more noticeable as he thought about it. It caused him to get serious about the remainder of his briefing, "Cloud, it is imperative you free my sis, Ellone. She was kidnapped by Fujin and Raijin when we were there, and Seifer, another friend of ours, was under control of Adel and supervising the whole thing. They should be pushovers, but make sure Ellone isn't harmed . . . okay?" Squall had grabbed Cloud's arm and now squeezed it hard enough to cut off the circulation.

"Okay! I get it!" Cloud shouted as he took Squall's hand off his arm.

Squall said nothing and walked back to his group awaiting the next step in his journey. Cloud did the same and was approached by Tifa who had been watching them from afar, "What was all that about?" She asked.

"Nothing, he was just wishing us good luck," Cloud lied.

"Okay . . . " Tifa shrugged it off, "you sure everything is okay?"

"Yeah, let's get ready to go!" Cloud smiled as he stretched his arm behind his head. Tifa placed her hands on her hips and smiled back. Cloud did a few squats and twisted his back to make sure all the cricks were out of it. Seeing the urgency in Squall's eyes reminded him . . . of her. Cloud would stop at nothing to keep something that painful from happening to somebody else, even if it meant his own life.

No sooner were they all fully assembled did the voice speak in an ancient language that echoed all around them. It was gibberish to everyone but Cloud. He couldn't decipher the meaning of what was said but he could feel what it was doing. The voice had spoke in the language of the Ancients, and the powers it used seemed to have been derived from the Lifestream of his planet. As the weird feeling of déjà vu swept over Cloud, he looked over to Red and saw that he too felt that something was going on.

"Cloud . . ."

"I know," Cloud cut him off.

"Do you think?" Nanaki half asked his friend, "Is it possible?"

"I don't know . . ." Cloud answered. As his thoughts dwelled, two massive marble arches shot out of the ground. They left pieces of white granite in their wake and dust falling in the air. The portals towered over everyone, and if their size wasn't intimidating enough, strange particles shot back and forth within the door.

One of the gateways glowed brilliantly with a pastel blue hue that changed randomly to a hot pink and then back again. A faint, blurry image could be seen through the haze and it was revealed to be the gate to the Lunatic Pandora. The other archway had more of a red-violet/dark purple glow to it. If the other was the Lunatic Pandora, then it had to be the doorway into Ultimecia's time and dimension. The portal defied all logic as it reached through to a distant future where the infallible sorceress reigned supreme with nobody to stand in her way.

Irvine was frozen in place, a nervous grin across his face, "Are we really going to do this?" He asked to his comrades waiting behind him.

"Of Course," Squall replied with a stern look, "it has to be done."

"Well then, being the chivalrous man I am . . . Ladies first!" Irvine chuckled, using his arms to gesture towards the women. Quistis huffed in disgust at Irvine. To spite him, she took the lead and walked in front of him, ready to jump into the unknown.

"Wait . . . " Squall said, stopping his former instructor in her tracks. He slowly clasped his hand around Rinoa's, "We'll all go together."

About fifty feet away, Cloud's group was in pretty much the same situation. Each group was waiting to see who would make the first move, to see who would test this magic to see if what the all powerful entity said was true.

Cloud walked cautiously towards the first gate, his footsteps causing the liquid vortex to ripple. How could something so unstable and thin possibly be safe? Cloud had no idea what was going through his mind but he reached his hand through it and pulled it back out. It felt cold and wet as he retracted it from the unknown substance. Still intrigued, he put his hand into the liquid again and let it feverishly map the uncharted territory on the other side. Cloud moved closer still until he stood mere inches away from the dimensional rip. He could see himself standing on the other side . . . or at least a reflection of himself.

He began to think, to look within himself. Cloud looked into his inner conscious, and he looked weak. He had let everyone down too many times. How had they gotten so far by his leadership? Too many mistakes . . . too many disappointments. When were they going to stop trusting him and rely on their better judgment? Perhaps this would be the moment where he would show them true courage. A leap of faith, a moment of bravery . . . in that moment, he stepped forward.

A deep, bone-chilling cold crept over his rather warm body and sent him into shock. This feeling did not agree with his anatomy and Cloud closed his eyes to try and ward off the sharp, blinding freeze. As the trip continued, he felt his body being tugged and twisted by a great force that it couldn't resist. He closed his mouth and held his breath when it started to get rough. Cloud was about to succumb to the freeze but instead opened his eyes. He took in a deep breath and landed hard on a smooth obsidian floor. There was a throbbing pain in his legs from the impact, but the chill was gone and Cloud found himself inside of a huge metallic room. The ceiling seemed to be boundless, not even marked by clouds. He looked around to get his bearings and felt insignificant as he noticed how far away each wall was from the other. Was it true that this had been made by man millennia ago? Squall's story seemed to have holes in it already. How could man have made something this big?

Barret, Red, Yuffie, Tifa, Cid, and Vincent all appeared in unison from the mysterious time warp that was now dissipating behind Cloud.

"That was cool!" Yuffie shouted as she shook the coldness away by rubbing her arms.

The others also showed their discomfort with the transition, but not as vocally as the "ninja" had. Nanaki shook his fur trying to shake it off, Tifa warmed her arms, and Cid lit up another cigarette. After a minute of warming up, it was time to move on.

"Let's hurry up and get this over with," Vincent said without a hint of emotion. He had been disturbed by what had taken place and wasn't looking forward to what WAS going to happen. The Lunatic Pandora even made him feel uncomfortable. The group pressed on towards Adel's room with utmost haste. They had no time to lose, all would be lost if they did not succeed.

Ultimecia's Castle

After Cloud had taken the first steps with his team, Squall had followed suit with his own group into the unknown. The scene played out almost exactly the same as Cloud's, except when they came out of the time-hole, their setting was all too familiar. The murky steps of Ultimecia's castle seemed to tell all that had no confidence to turn back at once. Even the usually cheery Selphie found no reason rejoice from the insane thrill ride she had just traveled on. The dark, foreboding sky lit up with lightning every couple seconds or so and outlined the menacing terrace that surround the witch on each side.

"I wish we didn't have to go through the castle again," Rinoa said, sounding worried. As strong as they all were now, she knew that a trip through there was no walk in the park. There were some very nasty monsters lying in wait, trying to ambush them. The fact there was a time restraint didn't help too much either.

"Yeah," Squall responded, "me too. But it's the only way. We didn't go through all that training for nothing now, did we?" he tried to joke. Seeing everybody's serious expression put Squall right back into leader mode, "We'll be splitting into two groups to get done faster. Stay together, fight hard, and above all else . . . watch each others backs. We'll rendezvous in front of Ultimecia's door as soon as we get through, understood?" Everybody nodded.

"Don't sweat it Squall, we'll get done on time. I drew a few Apocalypse spells from Ultimecia when we fought her last. All you guys have to do is get me close to her and I'll take care of the rest." Irvine confided as he planted his lone-barreled Exeter over his shoulder. They all knew there would be difficult battles ahead and that they would have to fight just as hard as last time. Squall knew they could handle themselves and get through this, but what scared him was what would happen if they failed their task. Without hesitation, Squall journeyed up the heavily trodden stone steps and kicked down the door.

Lunatic Pandora

Cloud's group was slowly making their way to the destination that Squall had told them about the night before. It wasn't too easy considering the shear size of the place. The monsters weren't proving to be too difficult, which was a relief, but their progress continued to be hindered by dead ends and wrong turns. Cloud, Red, and Vincent had to memorize the map in a few hours and it had to be done in parts as well in order to not forget any important detail. Their communication skills were severely lacking and confusion was now the word of the hour. One false step could send them in continuous circles that would shatter any hopes they might have of saving their world.

Yuffie led the way through a new door and their surroundings suddenly changed from a metallic looking room to a place that glistened like a pearl. It was hard to distinguish one color from the next and where the floor ended and where the wall began. Cloud was about to lead everybody back when the ground shook violently from a near impact and caused Yuffie to lose her balance.

"What the hell was that!" Barret exclaimed as he went to Yuffie's side to help her up. One jerk with his solid grip sent the little shinobi flying to her feet. She pat Barret on the shoulder and dusted her khaki shorts off before moving back with the group.

Cloud and the others ran up ahead expecting to battle, but instead saw Rinoa, Squall, and Zell taking on a ferocious Behemoth. Its horns pierced the air with great fury but were unable to connect with Zell who had just finished casting Quake. The earth around the monster pumped like pistons and threw the Behemoth upwards before settling down.

"What?" Cid said, bewildered, "how, why-"

"It's a paradox," Nanaki reassured Cid, "Our friends were here before they went to limbo. If this problem of ours were to keep happening, they would keep appearing here time after time."

"Huh?" Cid questioned again. He was always kind of slow with anything other than machines.

"Nevermind," Nanaki said defeated.

A small gleam of light shone from Zell's gloves as he readied himself to attack one last time. He pushed his body off the ground with all his strength and hovered for a couple seconds in the air, all the while gathering a greenish energy in his fists. Using Meteo Barret, he fell from the skies like a comet and bore down on his opponent. Zell focused all the energy into one point of attack and ripped through the demon. The body fell in two and a glowing green residue dripped through the gaping wound. As quickly as it had started, the battle was over.

While Zell gathered his breath, he looked around and noticed the other visitors watching him. He jumped back and got into a ready stance for another battle. This caused the other combatants to become startled and they did the same, "Who are you?" Zell yelled with frustration and adrenaline coursing through his veins. He seemed somewhat determined to turn this into a fight.

"Whoa whoa whoa!! Wait! We are your friends! Well, sort of. Please hear us out," Cid told them.

"Squall, Rinoa . . ." Cloud began.

"How do you know our names?" Squall yelled, placing his hand over the hilt of his Lionheart.

"Let me explain," Tifa said as she walked towards Squall and backed him down.

Tifa explained everything to them in full detail from the beginning up to a couple minutes ago. She told them that she and her friends were from another dimension and that they were on a mission of dire importance, and that another set of 'them' were also on a similar mission.

"So you know you have to leave for us to succeed, " Cloud inferred," If you guys were to stay here, the whole thing could happen all over again. Then all would be lost! We can't risk that. There are too many different variables now that could jeopardize the whole thing."

"You just want us to leave, to abandon our only chance of saving our world?" Squall screamed defiantly at Cloud as he shook his head, "I don't buy it. How do we know we can trust you?"

"Squall," Cloud said, almost whispering, "Do this for Ellone . . . and for Rinoa."

His words struck deep. He could visibly see Squall reacting to the words, "Well I guess we don't seem to have a choice in this matter, do we?" Squall responded. He saw the tall man in a dark red cape shake his head no, "Okay, we'll leave right now. Good luck to you guys. Don't let us down," They had almost reached the elevator to take them back to where the Ragnarok was docked when Squall spun around and shouted to Cloud to get his attention, "I trust you are going to save sis and get her to safety, right?"

"Umm," Cloud realized his error. He hadn't counted on something as complex as a rescue mission. Vincent mentally smacked his own forehead. He was annoyed . . .

Squall ran to Cloud and told him, "We're not gonna leave till we save Ellone. That's the whole reason we came here."

"What does she look like?" Tifa asked.

"She's got dark chestnut colored, shoulder-length hair and a snowy complexion. Seifer has her-"

"Don't worry, you can count on spikey-ass here to save her. You guys just be waiting for her with your transport. We'll send a signal when we have her," Barret consoled the worried Squall. Squall was a little concerned about it by the way the big guy talked, but he got over it. He ran back into the elevator and it zoomed back down below. This time they went on their separate paths for sure.

The group continued to push deeper into the Lunatic Pandora. There was no sign of either Adel, or this Ellone girl. There was a feeling that they might have to pass on saving this girl. Cloud and the others climbed up ladder after ladder and many a stair but finally reached their destination, Adel's doorstep. With incredible dumb luck, Cloud and the others had also stumbled onto Seifer and Ellone.

As Cloud led the group closer, the brazen young man in specialized gray SeeD fatigues and a dirty, white trench coat confronted them all. At his side were two tough looking warriors. Raijin swung his dumbbell shaped staff above his head and at his sides. He tried to look menacing, but a woman about half his size pushed him in the back and knocked him off balance. Her name was Fujin and her razor sharp discus shone with power as she wound up for an attack.

Seifer clutched Ellone by the shoulder and shoved her into Raijin's arms, "Where did Squall and Chickenwuss go?" Seifer jumped forward, his sword drawn "Who the hell are you!" He had been expecting Squall, Rinoa and the others to fight him, not a small army. The Sorceress Knight was outnumbered and out gunned.

"There is no need to tell you," Vincent declared.

Seifer was very angry. How dare they speak to him like that! The muscles in his neck bulged and he gritted his teeth as he readied himself to strike, "I think you'll be more inclined to talk after I'm done with you!" Seifer sliced the air with his Hyperion blade, signaling both of his cronies to attack.

"We'll see how ya fight now, ya?" Raijin said as he dashed forward and swung his pole hard at Vincent. Using his robotic arm Vincent grabbed the end of the staff and stopped it dead. Every muscle in Raijin's chest and arm strained as he tried to connect with his foe.

"I said, there is no need," Vincent replied. The mechanisms in his fist closed and his metallic claw shattered the wooden prod into thousands of pieces. Raijin looked up at his broken weapon, then at Vincent.

"Vincent! Over here!" Nanaki screamed from across the room. The ancient had used a Remove spell and had created a temporary portal in the center of the room. Vincent capitalized on this and knocked Raijin off his feet and into the vortex. As Raijin sunk into the green pool of time energy, Fujin took her chances and launched her disk along the ground towards the main group of fighters. Sparks flew up as her Rising Sun tore through the ground.

"I got it!" Barret yelled as he took aim and blasted the projectile with a few well placed rounds. The serrated disc went off course and embedded itself in the wall before it could be retrieved.

"Haiiii YA!" Yuffie came out of nowhere and jumped kicked Fujin in the face. The force knocked her into the air and right into the closing portal. Two down, one to go.



Plains of Esthar



"HUMILIATION," Fujin shot a wicked glance at Raijin as she rubbed her jaw. Without giving it much thought she kicked Raijin in the shin.

"What was that for, ya?" Raijin snapped, as he jumped up and down on one foot, "It wasn't my fault!"



Lunatic Pandora



Seifer was boiling. His face was red and his actions were becoming erratic. He was still waiting to attack, but his technique was everywhere. He slashed wildly in the air as he realized that defeat was inevitable. During the excitement of the battle he had lost track of Ellone and Tifa was able to get her away from the battle.

Cloud walked over to her as Seifer continued to stare them down, "You Ellone?"

"Yes . . . How did you know?" Ellone asked him.

Cloud was about to answer her when a great burst of air blew and engines roared from above them and displaced years of dust. It caused everyone to shield their eyes and mouth. The crimson colored Ragnarok was lowering its ramp onto the outdoor platform in front of Adel's door, which was now only guarded by a lonely Seifer. On one side Squall held on to the hydraulic pipes that lowered the ramp, on the other it was Zell.

"C'mon Ellone!" Rinoa yelled over the engines from inside the ramp on the ship. She cupped her hands and screamed again, moving closer to the edge to get her friend to hurry up.

"Thank you all for helping me, I don't know how to repay you," Ellone stated.

"Just get on that ship and get away from here," Cloud shouted over the deafening roar. She turned to Cloud and the others and said "thanks" once more before running to the arms of her rescuers.

Back towards the door to Adel's throne room, Seifer stood silently. He had been brooding, planning . . . watching his whole future go down the drain, "I will not let some puny SeeD . . . some weak fool and his friends defeat me . . . NEVER!" Awakening some type of hidden power inside of his body, Seifer charged the Ragnarok as Ellone was being lifted onto the ramp and to safety. He struck the ground under the ship as it was gaining some altitude and a dozen whirlwinds of flame rocked it back and forth. Unable to secure herself, Rinoa was tossed from the ship and fell down to the platform. Seifer quickly picked up her unconscious body and moved back towards Adel's door.

"RINOA!!!" Squall cried out from the top of his lungs, "Selphie put us down!"

"I can't! He damaged the ramp and landing claws with that last attack!"

"Then I'll just jump!" Squall prepared to jump and watched for an opportunity to do so. He was about to jump when the floor hanging outside the Lunatic Pandora ruptured and cracked open. The huge piece of metal ripped like paper and took off down the side of the monolith sound like nails on a chalkboard, "Shit!"

"Stay there! We'll get her back!" Cloud screamed to Squall as more dust swirled around the broken platform.

By the time Cloud had got his bearings, Seifer had already dragged Rinoa's limp body into Adel's domain. The mission was dangerously close to failing. Cloud and Vincent were the first ones to arrive at the doorway, the others soon followed. What they heard unnerved them . . . it was somebody laughing. Not just any type of laughter . . . but the laughter of a madman. A creepy yellow tint seeped from the cracks in the door and spilled outside. Things definitely weren't happening as Squall had said.