PART 1 OVERVIEW:
One year has passed since the defeat of Sorceress Ultimecia, and peace seemingly reigns once more in the sleepy island of Balamb… life within the Garden has been restored to its usual relaxed state of affairs, under the leadership of Headmaster/Commander Squall Leonhart and his level of Garden administration, including his Vice-Commander, Quistis Trepe. Balamb Garden is still called home to two recognized SeeD Elites, Selphie Tilmitt and Zell Dincht, the former going about her usual efforts to rustle up volunteers for the Garden Festival Committee (Prologue, Chapter 1) while the latter is on leave conducting a monster purge in Centra (Chapter 12).
However, it would appear that not all is well in paradise… already struggling with the prospect of sitting in an office all day instead of fulfilling the duties as a SeeD and emotionally battered by a bitter fallout with Sorceress Rinoa Heartilly who has since returned to Galbadia, Squall is confronted with an armed spectre from the past – none other than his father Laguna Loire, who turns out to be a convincingly realistic illusion. (Chapter 2). Unknown to him, Selphie also encounters ghostly illusions of her own within a storm, witnessing the last moments of three Trabia Garden SeeDs before the missile impact the year before, and then miraculously walking away from a fall down the stairs with hardly any injuries to speak of. (Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 6). The mystery deepens as Quistis fails to pick up on any traces of recognizable magic from the residue of the shattered illusion of Laguna, instead reaching a possible conclusion involving the abilities of Ellone to revisit events and people from the past – further suggestion that Ellone may be involved is given weight by the discovery that all communication lines to Esthar are down (Chapter 5).
Squall and Selphie both retire for the night, but rest cannot come easily. Squall silently berates himself for neglecting his loved ones in Esthar, especially since they now appear to be the victims of foul play, and his sense of worthlessness and incompetence is heightened by the memory of Rinoa's departure to whom he believes he failed in his duty as protector. (Chapter 7). Meanwhile, Selphie is inflicted with nightmares that recall her experience within the Time Compression of the previous year, in which she accidentally stumbled upon Trabia Garden in the minutes before it was destroyed by missiles. Before she wakes, she is briefly contacted by a mysterious speaker who hints at a significant power which she unknowingly holds in her person. Shaken, Selphie convinces herself that as a SeeD there is nothing that she can't do, and decides to spend the last hours of night working off some steam in the Training Centre, not knowing that Squall has also decided to do the same thing (Chapter 7).
Things take a nasty turn as Squall, while dispatching Grats, is suddenly seized by an invisible force who claims to be none other than Rinoa, communicating over a long distance – but her mind voice is that of Ellone's. (Chapter 8). Revealed as the instigator behind the illusions, she explains that Galbadia have successfully invaded Esthar and taken all of its citizens hostage, Ellone and Laguna included. Threatening the safety of Squall's loved ones, Rinoa states the terms that Galbadia will release the hostages on – Squall must personally escort Selphie to Esthar and not permit any harm to come of her, otherwise the consequences for all concerned will be lethal. Enraged, Squall unwittingly unleashes a Limit, but this is quickly contained by Rinoa. In another part of the Training Centre, Selphie is abruptly contacted by Ellone who pleads with Selphie to help Squall, and Selphie readily obliges. Rinoa however is prepared for this, and decides to use the opportunity as a way of testing what sort of lengths Ellone will go to in order to protect Selphie from harm – Rinoa had previously experimented with this by causing Selphie to fall down the stairs in Chapter 4, upon which Ellone somehow broke her fall. All of these events occur in Chapter 9.
Rinoa firstly conjures up another illusion, this time of Selphie, and this time, solid enough to inflict damage. After a fierce fight, Selphie defeats the illusion, but Rinoa then plays her trump card by unleashing Squall's Limit upon Selphie. Just as Rinoa suspected, Ellone mentally reaches out to Selphie with the instruction to knock Squall unconscious in order to stop the Limit. Selphie, in doing this, also unknowingly knocked Rinoa out of her connection with Squall. (Chapter 10).
Chapter 11 - Flung back into her own body, Rinoa awakens in Esthar and is greeted by her father, General Caraway. The lies and motives of Galbadia come to light – Ellone and the Esthar citizens are not hostages and in danger, but instead have been rendered immobile by Ellone herself who has transported them all into the Dreamworld where the Galbadians cannot follow. The magnitude of such an act has had a fatal effect on Ellone, who is effectively dying from the effort of maintaining the boundaries of the Dreamworld. For some not yet revealed reason, it is absolutely imperative to Galbadia that Ellone not die. Rinoa has been junctioning to Ellone in order to supply her with energy, but Ellone is instead using that energy to sustain the Dreamworld and for brief communication with the outside world, neglecting her own will to live. (Through junctioning, Rinoa has also been able to pick up on scraps of what lies within the Dreamworld and using them to boost her own powers; this is how she had been able to create tangible illusions based on the memories within the Dreamworld.) Selphie is then revealed as the 'heir' – the heir of what is unknown, but her safe delivery to Esthar has implications with Ellone's dying state, and this is yet to be revealed. Rinoa spends some time contemplating the status quo, and the chapter ends with her unusual determination that Ellone, Selphie and herself live for the sake of Galbadia's plans. Her intentions are far from honourable though…
The first half of Chapter 12 covers the events of Chapter 10 from the view point of Squall who had been frozen in a comatose state while Selphie fought to save him. He had not borne witness to this, having been swallowed by a black void of Rinoa's making, but was still able to pick up on the sensation of being touched by Selphie as she inquired as to his health, and was also able to feel his Limit being unleashed. After being nearly completely consumed by the void when Selphie delivered the stroke to his head, Ellone was able mentally connect with Squall to guide him back into reality, although he was not able to recognise her at the time. He also somehow managed to find time to feel relief that there was rescue from the intense loneliness he had felt in that dark void.
The final half of Chapter 12 sees Squall regain consciousness in his room with Quistis on hand to tend to him. He is forced to play dead however as a Galbadian general by the name of Mandagul is introduced, who will escort Squall and Selphie part of the way to Esthar along with a small band of troops. When the general leaves, Quistis and Squall are free to exchange facts via mind speech on the occurrences of the past 48 hours; Galbadian troops led by Mandagul had arrived before curfew and gained admittance to subtly infiltrate the Garden with their presence. This entrance was perfectly legitimate however; Quistis and Squall came to the conclusion that the Elite status of the sharp shooter Irvine Kinneas, enrolled under the Galbadian Garden Bill, had most probably been used to gain entry. Whether or not he had been forced or willingly complied is left to be seen. Squall then brings Quistis up to date on Galbadia's intentions, the involvement of Rinoa and being blackmailed into bringing Selphie to Esthar. Seeing no way out of it, the two decide to cooperate until further notice, and Squall prepares to meet up with Selphie who is being held in Galbadian custody.
What is so special about Selphie that so many lives must be threatened for her continued existence? How is this linked to Ellone? What sort of dangers threaten Selphie that will make Squall's protection crucial? How will he tell her that she must be bartered over to Galbadia at journey's end? Anything can happen, including unexpected feelings on affection… so begins Part 2, and the journey begins!