Ch 19 – Area 51

"It sure doesn't seem that way, Mr. Leonhart." Major Almasy said, crossing his arms. He had no idea how they had done it, but now the boy's voice came in, loud and clear, through the earpiece in his ear, in plain old English.

Squall nodded. "I apologise for my team-mate's sudden outburst. The lights came on without warning – we were all tense. And besides – you had cornered us. Eventually one of us would have attacked."

Seifer narrowed his eyes. "We are a peaceful race, son. We don't wish to harm you – but we will respond with force if necessary."

Zone stepped forward, his eyes wide. "Do you really think that's a wise thing to say sir? I mean, we're all a bit tense here. This is all a misunderstanding."

"Keep yer mouth shut, Zone, before I staple it shut."

Zone bit his lip and stepped back.

Rinoa smiled giggled. "Just like home."

Seifer frowned at the remark, but shrugged it off, looking at Squall once more. "Why are you here?"

Squall sighed. "It's a long story. It would be best told in less…intimidating surroundings." He gestured pointedly at the men stationed just at the opening of the hanger, their large guns pointed down – but their fingers on the triggers.

Seifer followed Squall's look, and nodded. "True. But we can't just let you walk around our base unattended. I'm going to have to give you an armed escort no matter where you go…understood?"

Squall narrowed his eyes. "I told you we come in peace."

Seifer stepped in close, getting right into Squall's face. "And I just saw you put four of my men through two inches of solid steel and drill them into concrete floors. Whatever you are, you certainly aren't from Earth. So we're going to have to take precautions. Is that alright with you, A Grade?"

Squall tried not to lash out. It was just like old times – the original tension was back, only this time neither man knew why he was being so aggressive towards the other. It was like the rivalry the Gaian Seifer had for Squall had been passed to this…Earth…Seifer. And Seifer was always good at pushing Squall's buttons. "Very well, Major," Squall found himself growling, "We are at your mercy."

Seifer pulled back from the gunblader with an air of contentment. "You're not at our mercy, boy." He said quietly. "We're just taking steps, that's all. You're welcome to roam the base as you see fit, after we find out a little about each other."

"That seems fair."

Squall turned to the others and surreptitiously switched his microphone off, speaking to the others without Seifer being able to understand. "Okay, guys. We'll follow Seifer and gather intelligence on this universe. Remember, the quicker we find the next arch and leave, the quicker we are able to reach our goal. Now grab your things and follow me."

*          *            *

"Now, let me get this straight…" Seifer muttered, leaning back in his chair dangerously, his body teetering in the edge of the balance between embarrassment and comfort. "You guys are part of a group of mercenaries trained from childhood in military conflicts?"

The SeeDs had been escorted from the hanger through a series of bland, dusty tunnels into what looked like a small mess. Currently Squall and Seifer were conferring with each other whilst the others sat in the other corner of the room, one or two Earth soldiers sitting with them. Squall nodded. "That's right, Major."

"Not only that, but you all have the ability to use…elemental magic's, ranging from the tiny to the destructive?"

"Correct."

Seifer became silent once more, like many times before. Much like the Seifer Squall knew, this Seifer seemed to be as brash and arrogant as usual – but unlike the Seifer Squall knew, this one knew a modicum of discipline – if only a modicum. Right now he was showing that discipline – by frowning, trying to process the information Squall had given him – straight faced – and not trying to dismiss it all as pure nonsense.

Seifer finally spoke up. "Can I see some of this magic?"

Squall looked down at the table he was seated at. It was your usual four-legged wooden table, nothing special about it. Placing his hand palm-down onto the top of it, he cast a brief Blizzard spell, before removing the hand.

Where his hand had been was now a tiny statue of a person leaning back in a chair.

Seifer looked at the statue for a second, before allowing the chair he sat in to fall back into position. Leaning forward to take a closer look, he picked the ice-statue up in his hand and tossed it up and down a bit thoughtfully. "Hmph…" He grunted, impressed.

Squall sat back in his chair and crossed his arms.

"So, that's all you can do? Just…make little figurines out of ice?"
"Believe me when I say, Major, that I can do a lot more then that."

Seifer narrowed his eyes. "How much more?"

Squall smiled a tiny smile. "A lot more."

Seifer bit his bottom lip, seeming to be thinking even more, before placing the ice statue down on the table and leaning back in his chair once more. "Okay. So, you're this 'SeeD'. What are you doing here?"

Squall frowned. Should I tell him…or should I lie?

He hadn't really thought of any of the reactions that might have happened thanks to what he might have said to this man. So far all he had told him was what he was allowed to give as prioritised by the mission parameters – basic information on their own universe, as well as their basic duty as a SeeD. Going into depths, however, would only confuse this man further, Squall could see. "I think…it would be best if you didn't know."

Seifer smile coolly. "Really?"

"All you need to know is that it's of the utmost importance to us, and in order for us to advance we will need to gather…some intelligence from you."

Seifer narrowed his eyes. "What kinda intelligence?"

*          *            *

Rinoa watched as Squall and Seifer bargained with each other, the two men seeming to be squabbling amongst themselves much like they did at the Garden. She smiled at the thought of Squall and Seifer muttering insults to each other as they worked along side of each other, each having to put up with the other for the sake of the Garden.

She was also pretty sure that they squabbled, not because of their primary dislike of each other, but also because of her. Although she had been with Seifer for a short while when they were kids and had been given the opportunity to return to him during the Sorceress Quest, she had stuck with Squall, and she thought that, deep down, that hurt Seifer, the stab of sadness slicing through the cool exterior he showed everyone else with surgical precision to slam deep into the heart.

She hadn't been sure of what to do in that situation, and thankfully when Seifer returned to Garden, he had avoided both Squall and Rinoa as much as humanly possible. But she still felt his gaze fall on her every now and then, the emotion so powerful she had no choice but feel it thanks to her Sorceress power – but whenever she turned to confront him he'd shield it with almost inhuman willpower, making whatever he was thinking unreadable, even when she tried.

He had learned from Edea well.

But now this one was completely different from Seifer – in some ways. Rinoa could still see the way Seifer sat in the 'don't fuck with me' way, his almost intolerable attitude towards everything, and the cold way he reacted to everything, as if nothing fazed him.

He's taking our arrival fairly well…he's seeing things he's never seen before in his entire life without batting an eyelid. That takes guts. She thought to herself.

She turned to the other men, their faces showing pleasant politeness as they asked questions and talked about trivial things, like if they had baseball in their universe, or if they drank cola. Now with their scary ski masks and most of their offensive gear removed, the men seemed like normal people, with normal smiles and normal behaviour.

But Rinoa knew better. She sensed their fear, the fear that she had sensed when she had talked to the Te-Gets and the Immortals, before they got to know each other. It seemed rational to fear what you didn't know, but Rinoa couldn't comprehend why people would assume the worst of something if they only knew what it could do.

She thought of her own situation. Back on Gaia, her kind – Sorceresses – were shunned and feared, forced to live with hidden powers that could help the world immensely. All because of one little mistake so long ago, one Sorceress with a grudge against the world, she was thought of as some kind of freak, some kind of…evil entity, when she was not.

Actually, come to think of it, I kinda am…Rinoa thought for a second, remembering the photograph of the Rinoa with the gigantic wingspan. Throughout their travels they had only received hurt from the Hearts they had come across, and the people they were affiliated with. A person who tells those warriors to kill and capture like they do must he evil…shouldn't they?

Rinoa's eyes widened a little. Unless she was like me when Ultimecia took over me! Or Edea! That might have happened to her as well!!

This revelation was more confusing then most that Rinoa had, seeing as she didn't think much. Thankfully, she was pulled form her musing by the questions of one of the Earth soldiers, who sat down in from of her, taking a small plastic chair and, turning it around, sat down to lean his chest into the backrest. "Ma'am?"

"Hmm? Yes?" She asked, looking up.

It was the one who looked like Zone. Handsome in a boyish kind of way, the man also had Zone's playful smile and go-get-em attitude. What he lacked, obviously, was Zone's chronic stomachache when faced with situations that demanded courage. "Are you alright, ma'am?" He asked, looking at her with a small smile on his face. "You seemed to be thinking pretty hard there."

Rinoa giggled a little. "I was just thinking about those two." She said, pointing over at Squall and Seifer, who were now beginning to speak in rushed tones. "Even here they can't get along."

"What do you mean, ma'am?" Zone asked, frowning in confusion.

Rinoa paused for a second, looking at the others. Julius and Veronica sat on a small couch just next to her, Veronica in Julius' arms, Emily and Trish sitting just at the foot of the couch. The SeeDs seemed to look at each other, trying to figure out wether or not to talk about the mission. Where they had been able to trust the Immortals, every other universe they had come across had already known about the Sorceress Queen. And whilst the Heart Warrior had said that this universe served no real purpose to the Queen, Rinoa still didn't know…

"We're from a different universe then yours." Emily suddenly said, her quiet voice cutting through the uneasy silence that had been building between the SeeDs and the soldier. "Your commanding officer and ours don't exactly get along in ours. Apparently not in yours, either."

Everyone stared at Emily, especially Squall, who had turned around to look at her with wide eyes.

Emily stared back, frowning. "They were going to find out sooner or later..." She muttered, crossing her arms gruffly.

Seifer turned back to Squall, seeming to appraise him differently. "So, that's why you're here. You're not aliens."

Squall looked back to Seifer. "What made you think we were aliens?!"

Seifer shrugged. "Well, you came through the Stargate, I thought you guys were either aliens or human/alien hybrids."

Squall cocked his head to the side. "Stargate? Oh, you mean the Arch…"

Seifer shrugged. "The name's got to do with a TV show that's airing currently. It's what the soldiers call it, anyways." He sighed. "Well, I don't really care where the hell you're from. All I care about is wether or not you are any threat."

Squall's face curled into a snarl. "We are not…but another group from a different universe is after ours. And we must stop that at all costs."

Seifer shook his head, fed up with the lies this person was feeding him, and slammed his fist into the table, making the little ice statue tremble with the strength of the attack. "Alright. No more bullshit. I want the truth – the entire truth – right now." He growled.

Squall looked down at the man, clad in black, his blond hair cut almost identical to his Seifer's', the scar seeming to become redder as it usually did when Seifer frowned in that angry kinda way – the way that it did when he was about to hurt someone. But Squall was used to the look – and at times had mimicked it perfectly. "Very well. I will tell you the truth, and give you proof to back it up. But – as soon as you are done with us I must demand that we are given safe passage from here and allowed open access to your world."

Seifer's angry frown turned into a smirk as he crossed his arms. "and just why should I allow you to walk about Earth freely?"

"Because…" Squall muttered, walking over to Julius and grabbing his laptop. "We might be your world's last hope."

*          *            *

Seifer sat, silently, as Squall and the rest told him of their amazing journey through the last four universes, starting from their tests at Galbadia Garden, to the attack by the Hearts in Te'Get, to the spectacular escape from Crisp, to the introduction of the Immortals, before finally winding up at Earth. As he spoke, the other SeeDs interrupted Squall with small bits and pieces of information from the worlds that they had encountered – mannerisms of the people, cultural differences, accents – and Squall showed the Major the pictures and recordings of the Arch activations and deactivations, as well as the recordings of the different race's talking habits – recorded in secret by Julius – and their varying technological advancements.

Seifer and the two soldiers who had sat with him took all this in, Seifer seeming to have a thoughtful look on his face as the SeeDs spoke. Finally, Squall finished and closed the laptop with a snap before tossing it into Julius' lap. "Well, that's about it. Are you satisfied?"

All the SeeDs watched Seifer carefully, watching him as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully, watched him as he seemed to chew the inside of his cheek in thought – before looking up. "Its an…interesting story. I could write it down, sell it as a novel and retire with more lettuce then Bill Gates."

"Who?"

"He's this geek who…never mind. Like I said, it's an interesting story, but there are a few holes here and there. I suppose my most important one is: How do you know that this…Queen Sorceress is actually a threat? Maybe she was simply trying to contact you when your Recon team went through the Stargate…sorry, Tidus…and there was a misunderstanding much like what we had here."

Seifer looked from Squall to Rinoa to Squall again. Squall seemed to be thinking about it – before Rinoa spoke. "No. We've been attacked many times by the Hearts without provocation. If they had really wanted to contact us, I'm pretty sure they would have at least tried to talk to us. Not only that…but we have suspicions that our universe has been infiltrated by spies. Spies who look, act and react like our friends or family – but who aren't."

Seifer blinked, before nodding to her with a smile, humouring the beauty. "Okaaay, fine…how about question number two: Who knows what might be in these universes? You guys have been breathing in foreign air, touching foreign surfaces, hell, you've had wounds come in contact with elements you've never seen before. Who knows what the hell you might have gotten from any one of these planets?"

Julius shook his head. "First off, I've kept a constant eye on elemental properties every time we've stepped out of the Arches into a new universe. Every time the air has been breathable and didn't seem filled with anything harmful to us. Second of all, if we did have something wrong with us, I'm pretty sure the Immortals would have fixed it."

Veronica nodded. "That's right. I've been dead for almost half a decade, and they brought me back to life. You can't say that we have anything harmful."

Seifer looked at Veronica with something that resembled mute surprise – before shaking his head and looking at Squall once more. "Okay. At least that's been cleared."

Nobody saw the look Rinoa and Emily swapped.

Seifer kept talking. "Not that it really mattered anyways. The entire facility went into lock-down as soon as you stepped into the Storage Room. We've all been quarantined as of…" He looked down, checking his watch strapped to his wrist. "Three hours ago…damn, has it been three hours already?!"

Zone blinked, suddenly looking at his superior officer. "What?! When did that…"

Seifer rolled his eyes, not bothering to look at the Sergent. "Zone, you know procedure…the Area becomes locked down until the possible threat of an extraterrestrial phenomenon."

"Yeah, but…"

Seifer turned his head to look at Zone. "But what, Sergent? You wanna call yer boyfriend? Well stiff, we can't contact anybody until the brass orders otherwise. So put up with it."

Zone sat back in his chair with a look of displease. "First night in weeks I have the night off and these guys have to show…" He muttered to himself as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"So, when will your…'Brass'…contact you?" Squall muttered, the information coming to him with little surprise. In the same situation, SeeD would have done the exact same thing.

"As a matter of fact, they should be contacting me any time now…"

Seifer suddenly jumped in his chair, blinking and reaching into his pocket to pull out what looked like a small phone. The phone was vibrating, and as he pressed a button to activate it, he surreptitiously switched the microphone off for the SeeD Walkie Talkie. "Olleh…Ris. Sey Ris, Er'ew gnitaitogen htiw meht won. On Ris, er'yeht ton sneila. On Ris…I t'nod kniht yeht esop a taerht ot Htrae."

He paused for a second, seeming to listen to the orders being given. "Yrev llew Ris, Ll'I teem uoy ta eht ecnartne fo eht esab ni…net setunim."

Seifer snapped the mobile phone shut and switched his mic back on. "Sorry about that…my superiors seem to be feeling a bit paranoid now that we've had contact from someone…outside of our world. They seem to think it's better that you don't know anything about our world until they're sure that you pose no threat."

Squall sighed audibly and crossed his arms, tired of this world's hesitance about everything. They're so paranoid… He thought to himself as he put Zone in charge before leaving the room.

*          *            *

Seifer understood where Zone was coming from. The first leave that anyone had had, almost since Roswell, and now this happens. "Well, at least I know that my tax dollars are going to good use…" He muttered to himself as he walked through the drab grey corridors of the facility – before shaking his head, disgusted with his own thought. "What the fuck am I saying?"

After what seemed like countless corridors and identical hallways, Seifer finally found what he was looking for – the officer's ready-room, the place where all the admiral and generals and majors and whoever else who was higher then 'Sergent' was allowed to go in the event of a crisis or to be debriefed on a situation.

He looked down at his attire. He was still dressed in his usual soldier's fatigues, the ninja-like garb making him seem like some kind of assassin more then an American soldier. The only thing that signified the difference was the stars 'n stripes flag embossed on his right shoulder – and half the time he wore the uniform he had it covered, in case someone spotted it during one of the…more unofficial missions his men were used to.

He decided that nobody would give a rat's ear about his uniform and pressed his palm against the small, hand-shaped panel on the side of the door, the panel flashing with a beep, signifying the door unlocking.

He opened the door and walked into the room to be appraised by three men, each one with their own emotion.

The Secretary General. A pudgy looking man, with a face that could make a stone statue curl its face in disgust. He was almost quivering in his seat, the pale complexion and sweat dripping down his face signifying it all – nothing but a politician. Seifer ignored the poor excuse of a man.

Seifer's commander, General Raijin, was a real soldier. Dressed in his dark green formal suit as usual, with the fours shining sliver stars on his broad shoulders, Raijin looked almost like a child stuffed into a suit that was three sizes too small. Seifer liked Raijin. He didn't take crap from anybody, he demanded respect from his boys, and he wasn't such a tight-ass about it like some of the other commanders Seifer had run under. Seifer saluted promptly to the General and stood to attention, Raijin returning the salute with a distracted air. He looked slightly worried – but not over-the-top like the Secretary.

The third man Seifer didn't know much about – which worried Seifer slightly. The man had wavy brown hair and was always dressed in a pitch-black suit with an eye-hurting white shirt-n-tie combo underneath the suit's coat. His handsome face was fixed with a cool demeanour, as if he had expected these people to come waltzing through the Stargate today. All Seifer knew was that his name was Mr. Wedge – that's it.

Seifer stood at attention before the men. They all sat at a giant round table, like some kind of Arthurian knight-of-the-round. Numerous seats surrounded the table, and a pitcher of water sat in the middle, if anybody was brave enough to reach for it. Using this room usually meant that the shit was going down – and you didn't want to draw attention to yourself by quenching your thirst when people look for scapegoats. You leave yourself wide open. Manila folders with CLASSIFIED embossed on the covers sat at every seat, as if there were more people expected. Seifer never saw the person who laid out the folders in his entire career, and had to stifle a smile as he envisioned some lowly private, thinking he was the big-shit being stationed at Area 51, having to print and lay out de-briefing info.

Area 51 was so overrated.

"Be seated, Major." Raijin muttered in his deep, booming voice, his left hand gesturing to the seat across from the table as his right closed the manila folder before him.

Seifer nodded and took a seat obediently, sinking into the plush leather and making a mental note to steal one of the chairs when he got the chance.

Biggs shifted in his chair slightly, his face twisted in the way it usually did before he spoke, choosing his words carefully. "Major, this development has, obviously, come as a shock to all of us. We'd like to hear your opinion on the situation, as well as any personal thoughts you'd like to share, being the only person to have actually conversed with the beings in the first place."

Seifer nodded curtly. "Yes, sir." He looked over the trio of men as he spoke, his words crisp and clear. "At exactly 1326 this afternoon the security keeping tabs on the Ancient's store-room contacted me and told me that something weird was happening to the Star…excuse me, Arch. Sever fluxuations of the magnetic, radiation and every other measuring device implanted in the room was beginning to go through the roof, and there was an obvious reaction happening to the Arch itself."

"As we are trained, I quickly assessed the situation and told my men to gear up. They were ready within three minutes, as trained, and we were ready to infiltrate the room in order to survey any damage or change within two minutes. After conversing with the recon units and giving express orders to hold fire unless forced, we entered and began to sweep the room."

"Almost immediately there were signs of intelligent life within the room. Our cameras picked up two of them trying to open the doors, and the initial entities to enter the room swept it for people with military precision. There were also signs of paranormal activity too – the beings were able to cast small fireballs around the room as a light source, as well as make protective shields around themselves to stop our bullets."

"Yes…what did happen in there?" Raijin interrupted, leaning back in his chair.

Seifer tried not to grimace, keeping his scarred face as stoic as ever. "At precisely 1340 my soldiers had made contact and flanked the beings into a corner of the room, and requested light fro upstairs to get a better look. It seemed that, as the floods came on, it startled one of them, who attacked our men."

"Any casualties?"

"No General – only a few broken bones and hurt pride."

General Raijin seemed to bite his bottom lip in thought – before gesturing with his hand for Seifer to continue.

"After the initial attack my soldiers opened fire, to no effect. The beings were simply too fast for our bullets, and when the shields came up, well, there was no point."

The little Secretary spoke up, his voice surprisingly calm. "And that's when you…made contact?"

Seifer shot a glance at him, before looking back at Raijin. "Correct, sir. After a bit of linguistic difficulties were we able to communicate using a piece of their hardware."

Reaching into his pocket he pulled out the ear-wig and tossed it into the middle of the table, the plastic device making a small clack as it bounced over to Raijin, who caught it in one hand and lifted it to inspect it a little better. "A hearing device…" Raijin muttered.

"Yes. I speak to them through this wristlet, and they're able to translate it using some kind of program in a laptop-device they have."

Raijin looked it over a little more, grunting in interest as he saw the SeeD insignia etched into the back, before placing it onto the table again. Mr. Wedge, who had been silent so far, reached over and grabbed the ear-wig, inspecting it himself. General Raijin continued. "So, what have you found out, now you've talked to them. You said they're not extraterrestrials…so what are they?"

Seifer sighed. "Well, sir…it's hard to explain…"

"Do your best." Wedge suddenly said, his voice deep and throaty, like he had smoked since he was still a baby.

The tone made Seifer's blood boil – but he indulged the man in black. "After speaking with their leader, Squall, it was made evident that they are not alien, at least, not in the usual sense. The appear human in every aspect, and I'm pretty sure that, given x-rays and ultrasounds, we'd see the same physical make-up which makes a human."

Raijin watched as Seifer's voice trailed off, and smiled. "Do feel a but coming on, Major?"

Seifer sighed. "…But they've done things no human could ever do. One of the woman, a scrawny little thing, drove three of my men through sheer concrete and metal like it was pastry. And…the leader made me this." He reached into a pocket and pulled out the little ice figurine of a person leaning back in his chair and slid it over to the General, who accepted it with obvious surprise on his face.

"Is this ice?" The General asked, his voice amazed as he picked the item up and turned it around in his hands, feeling the smooth slick coldness of the statue. "It's a good likeness."

Seifer smiled. "Thank you sir. The leader says he created it using magic. Elemental magic."

The fat Secretary snorted. "You make them sound like some kind of fantasy characters…next you'll be telling us they can summon monsters…"

Seifer simply stared at him, not bothering to say the words.

The Secretary slowly realised the look that the scary military man gave him and sat back in his seat, blowing his breath out of his lungs in one long, lengthy blow.

"So, are they friends or foes?" Raijin said, placing the statue down and looking at Seifer.

"They say that they don't wanna keep us, they just wanna find their next Arch and move on."

"You mean find another Arch like the one we have here in the outside world?" Mr. Wedge suddenly said in his throaty voice, still turning the ear-wig in his hands over and over in thought. "That is the only device in the entire world. That's why we have it."

Seifer frowned. "Excuse me, sir? How do you know that?"

Wedge looked at Seifer contemptuously and smiled. "It'd classified."

Seifer rolled his eyes. "Jeez, we're in Area 51, what's not classified?"

"What can we do with them?" Raijin asked. "Do they wish to trade?"

"I think it's safe to assume that anything they have is way more advanced then anything we've got, and that they're intelligent enough to know that they would not profit from any trade, sir." Seifer said succinctly.

Raijin leaned back in his chair, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Well, we can't just let them run loose in the world…and we can't have them just sit there."

Wedge smiled a crooked smile. "We could always…study them."

Raijin looked at Wedge with a look that could make God himself tremble. "They ripped my men apart in the blink of an eye, and you want to cut them open?"

"Your men were unprepared and incompetent. I already have a fully equipped team en-route…"

"You stop right there. Nobody's going to cut anyone open." The Secretary muttered. "Who gave you authority on this kind of procedure anyways?"

Wedge smiled his lop-sided grin again. "Classified." He said simply.

Seifer simply sat in silence. The men and women he had talked to hadn't seemed to be threatening in any way, and yet these men were already discussing the possibility of dissecting them like insects and stealing their technology. There was only one word for that – murder. He looked at Wedge, sitting smugly in his black suit, and tried to think of just where he came from. Even General Raijin was hesitant about speaking to him, and the throaty stranger hadn't batted an eyelid when Seifer had debriefed them on what had happened. Seifer narrowed his eyes, remembering something the prettiest one out of the girls, Rinoa, had told him. "There might be a possibility that our own universe may have been infiltrated by spies, spies who looked, acted and reacted much like our friends or family."

It suddenly occurred to Seifer that the Arch and all the stuff in the Ancient's store room had been moved into that area around the same time as Squall had said the primary Arch in his universe had been found – about three months ago. Not only that, but the room had been under constant, round-the-clock supervision the entire time.

Strange for a room full of rocks.

Not only that, but the only person who had been assigned to the supervision had been a new recruit who had showed around the same time as the artefacts. Biggs had been assigned only days ago – the new guy had gotten ill after eating one of the cafeteria's chilli-dogs.

Everything fit into place too snugly for Seifer to think it was all a mere coincidence.

They had plants within Area 51. Plants from the Heart Army.

*          *            *

Seifer had no idea how he knew, but as he looked up his eyes latched onto Wedge's – and the man in black's face seemed to go from a smug affirmation to a deadly stare, almost as if the man read his mind.

Seifer rose from the table slowly, breaking the stare between him and Wedge with slight difficulty, turning to Raijin. "Sir, if it's alright with you, I'd better get back to them. There's still a lot to get out of them."

Raijin nodded. "Of course, Major. You have my permission. We'll remain here and decide the beings' fate."

Seifer knew the look on the General's face, however. Defeat. The Secretary would never allow the SeeDs to walk on American soil, and the impersonator Wedge would almost undoubtedly kill the SeeDs the first change he got. The General outnumbered two-to-one – and he knew it.

Seifer turned to Wedge and held his hand out. "The device, please."

Wedge, still staring at the Major, almost snarled as he spoke. "I'd rather hold onto it."

"If I return without the ear-wig, they'll know something's going wrong. You'll get it back – don't worry."

Seifer smiled with the last words spoken, like he was telling a child that his favourite toy would be returned after he'd eaten his dinner. It obviously infuriated the stoic Wedge, who thrust the ear-wig into Seifer's waiting palm and looked away, barely containing his anger.

Seifer saluted to the General, before turning and exiting the ready-room, closing the door softly behind him – before bolting down the corridor, running as fast as he could.

He needed to get the SeeDs out. Their lives were in danger.

*          *            *

Zone had run out questions to ask of their home-universe, so he had begun to answer some of their questions, answering them to the best of his abilities. Soon all pretence of classifications became null and void as he described his home ranch in Texas to the one with golden blond hair and her cold, pale girlfriend, both listening intently as he told them about the horses he had brushed every morning.

Trish was having a ball. Not only was this man cute, but he was also a very good storyteller. She gripped Emily's hand tightly and squealed in delight as Zone talked about his first driving lesson, describing in detail the carnage that ensued including three smashed mailboxes, two crushed parking meters, and to make a grand finale, slingshot the car rear first into his local girl's locker-rooms at the school where he was driving. "Suffice to say, they didn't let me drive again until I enlisted!" Zone guffawed, cracking up along with Trish and Veronica, who had been listening intently beside Julius.

Julius hadn't been listening to the story. His sight was focused entirely on his laptop screen, his finger typing furiously as he worked on something that he wouldn't show anybody, screens, gauges and pictures popping up and away as his fingers flashed over the keyboard, programming and working out equations at the same time.

Rinoa and Squall were chuckling along with the others when there was a shrill beep emitted from Julius' computer, and he jumped up onto his feet, pumping his fists into the air. "Yes!! I am a golden god!"

The SeeDs and the USMC soldiers frowned at Julius as he suddenly looked down at them and sheepishly sat back down. "What is it?" Veronica asked, looking over Julius' shoulder and at the screen.

"I've been compiling all the paramagical data on the Tidus' since we entered the first one back on Gaia, and I found an anomaly."

"What kind of anomaly?" Squall asked, getting up and moving over to Julius to look down at the screen.

"Well, I've been recording the passages to the alternate universes the entire time, right, each time we've moved through an Arch. Once from Gaia to Te'Get, from Te'Get to Crisp, then from the Immortal world to Earth. I missed the one from Crisp to the Immortal World cause…we were all so fucked up then."

"Yeah, and?" Trish asked.

"Well, that means I should have the addresses of only three universes, given that I missed the one to the Immortals. But, when I was checking the databases in my laptop, the results came back with four addresses."

Squall frowned. "Wait a minute. Four. What does it mean?"

"It means that I was able to record the address that Azel came through when he confronted us. I had set the program up and everything, Rinoa simply hadn't had the time to cast her portal magic's to open the Arch, so the computer recorded the address anyways."

Squall narrowed his eyes, a small smile slowly spreading on his lips. "This is it. This is the break we've been waiting for." He looked over at Zone. "We need to leave. Now."

*          *            *
Zone blinked, not comprehending a word that the blond man had said about his Arches and his universal addresses – before the door to the rec-room busted open, revealing a very agitated-looking Seifer. Zone stood instantly, saluting his superior before moving forward. "Sir, they say they wanna leave now! What do we do…"

His voice was cut off suddenly as he stared down the barrel of Seifer's Sig-Saucer, the handgun slipping out of Seifer's hip-holster and jammed into Zone's face quicker then anything that Zeon had seen. "I'm sorry, Zone, but I can't trust anybody right now." He muttered, pushing Zeon back and pressing his head against the wall with his gun. He shot a look to the other two soldiers, each one looking more shocked then anything else. "You two, drop yer guns and lie down flat on the floor, now."

Squall watched Seifer order Zone to the ground in his strange language, before linking his comrade's hands and feet together with wire from the soldier's webbing. Tightly bound and out o the picture for now, Seifer walked over to Squall, speaking quickly. "No emoc, ew t'nod evah emit ot etsaw!!" He said in English urgently.

Squall frowned and shook his head before gesturing to his wristlet and his ear-wig.

Seifer slammed his palm into his face before pulling his ear-piece out of his pocket and jammed it into his ear, flicking his wrist-mic on too. "We've got to get going, we gotta get you through the Arch and outta here!!"

"Why?" Squall muttered, not having to say the word as the rest of the SeeDs began to gather their things and prepared to move out.

"Lets just say I've got a hunch that you're not the only ones with Heart problems."

*          *            *

The SeeDs and Seifer moved through the corridors of Area 51 quickly and methodically, the SeeDs doing a basic facility-sweep as they did like they were trained, Seifer impressed by the almost surgical precision of their manoeuvres as they swept through the facility.

Any military or personnel found along the way were instantly dealt with, either frozen to the spot or knocked unconscious, Seifer stating to Squall that he didn't want anybody killed. Seifer still wanted his job after the SeeDs were gone – although how he was going to explain it to General Raijin was beginning to bug him a little.

He looked back at the SeeDs as they ran, calling over his shoulder as he led the way. "Hey, any of you have any kind of mind manipulation powers?"

"I do." Emily muttered.

Seifer smiled and nodded. "Goody."

*          *            *

Seifer was beginning to get anxious as they were nearing the entrance to the storage room. Wedge had had enough time to try something in the time it had taken for Seifer to run to the rec-room, tie up Zone and the others, and run to the Ancient's Store. What he would do, however, Seifer couldn't think of.

"It's just around this corner –" Seifer shouted, skidding around the corner – to be blasted off his feet by a powerful Fira, the flames blowing straight through him and making his back explode all over the grey walls bloodily.

"No!!" Rinoa cried, running over to him and crouching beside him as the others all turned the corner –

To see Wedge stand just before the entrance of the store room, blocking the doors with his body. He floated just a few feet off the ground, his eyes glowing a bright blue as he looked over the SeeDs and smirked smugly. "I'm afraid you cannot leave yet."

*          *            *

Squall snarled, ripping his LionHeart from his belt and activating it in a heartbeat, running forward – to be pushed back violently by a pulse of Blue energy, the pulse blowing Squall right off his feet to skid past the other SeeDs and slam into the wall next to Seifer.

Julius and Veronica began to advance – before someone stepped in front of them.

"Stay back." Emily muttered, watching Wedge closely. "He's using Blue magic. You wont be able to defeat him without Blue defences."

"She's right." Squall muttered, regaining his footing and picking up his gunblade from where he'd dropped it. "We're going to have to play smart with this one."

Wedge watched them, his smug smile not wavering one inch as the SeeDs seemed to huddle, whispering amongst themselves in a short brainstorm session.

The Heart warrior rolled his eyes and drew his hands back, the palms filling with blue energy as he spoke. "you'll have to do better then be smart, SeeDs!!" He cried, flinging the blue energy at the huddle.

The SeeDs broke apart almost instantly, bodies flying everywhere as the Blue energy-blast slashed through where they'd been just moments ago – to be arrested by Rinoa, one hand up and holding the magic back with her psychic powers whilst her other waved over Seifer's chest slowly, the Full Life ebbing into him at only half the power now. "I wont be able to hold this for long, guys!" Rinoa cried. "Hurry up and do something!!"

Squall watched Emily and Trish nod – before Emily picked herself up from where she threw herself and blast forward, her eyes flashing blue as she barrelled head-on towards Wedge. Trish quickly ran to Squall and grabbed his hand – before simply disappeared in a flash of smoke, teleporting somewhere out of sight.

Emily rocketed forward, her feet barely even touching the floor as she screamed down the corridor – to hammer into Wedge's Blue Barrier, her hands pushing into the bubble of Blue paramagic, static sparks slashing out as she began to push into it, groaning with the effort.

"Stupid woman!!" Wedge yelled, throwing his hand out – to cast a Blizaga, the shards of ice slashing through the air – to slam into Emily's body, several of them jutting straight through the Goth's chest and stomach, making her vomit blood over the Barrier, the invisible wall becoming splattered in blood.

Emily continued to push against the wall, however, gritting her bloody teeth as the shards of ice were pushed out of her torso by an unseen force, her eyes beginning to blaze a vivid Blue as she began to use several at once – one to give her strength, another to Dispel the Barrier, and another to Regen her wounded body.

Wedge shook his head, smiling broadly as he watched Emily fight against the Barrier with all her might. "Why fight it, Emily? Just give up. Two of your comrades have already abandoned you. What makes you think only you can make a difference?"

Something suddenly snapped within Emily's mind, her eyes smoking with blue energy as she pushed against the Barrier – and, mustering all her energy, let loose her Limit Break.

Her palms held flat against the Barrier, the paramagical wall shrieking and flashing, Emily slammed her feet into the ground in a runner's positions, one foot bent forward as a spring whilst the other stood slightly bent for balance and extra push. "Ready!"

Looking up, her eyes still smoking the blue energy that boiled within her brain, she made her body as streamline as possible, sliding her hands down the sparking Barrier so that they were level with her shoulders. "Set!"

Suddenly the ground around her blasted out, gigantic craters appearing in the walls surrounding her as he energy levels peaked, the concrete shattering along with the ground beneath her feet as she muttered the final word. "Go!!"

It was like someone was pushing the world backward, Emily's feet digging into the ground as her body suddenly burst into fiery blue flame, the Barrier created by Wedge being literally pushed back, Wedge having to float along with it – to slam his back into the giant metal doors, his body beginning to be crushed as he tried desperately to stop his own magic shield from squashing him.

Gritting his teeth, Wedge threw his hands out, the Aero blowing from his hands and at Emily, who was digging a trench in the concrete as her Limit Break was stopped by Wedge's Barrier, Emily simply pushing into dead weight now as the Aero blew against her – to finally blew her back, the blue flame surrounding her body dissipating as her hands left the Barrier's flashing wall, her body flailing through the strong winds towards Rinoa.

"Squall!! Now!!" Emily screamed into her wrist-mic – before her body slammed into the Blue energy blast that Rinoa had arrested in mid air, the explosion rocking the facility and causing the lights in the corridors to flicker on and off.

Wedge frowned as Emily's screamed words reached his ears – before his eyes widened in realisation.

Suddenly, without any warning, the upper half of a shimmering blue blade slashed through the metal of the storerooms doors, slashing through Wedge's body as it was pressed against the steel. There were four slashes in all, each one executed a nano-second after the other – before Wedge's body simply fell apart in a spraying bloody mess, flailing limbs and guts falling to the floor in front of the door, Wedge's horrified expression etched onto his face.

The doors of the storeroom opened slowly, revealing Squall and Trish. Trish had teleported the two of them into the storeroom, before Squall had cut straight through the door, killing Wedge instantly.

Squall and Trish ran forward into the smoke – to find Julius and Veronica kneeling over Emily, her robes burnt almost black by the explosion – but her body no worse for wear. The SeeDs watched as the burns on her back and arms healed slowly – before she opened her eyes. "did you get him?" She asked Squall instantly.

"Yes. That was a good plan." Squall said, offering her a hand up.

Emily waved the hand away and stood under her own strength. "Whatever…" She muttered, watching Rinoa move in through the dust kicked up by the massive energy fluxes created by them all just moments ago.

"Sefier'll be fine, but he told us to go on ahead without him. He said there'd be more coming soon."

"Then we'd better get moving." Squall muttered, gesturing for all of them to run into the storeroom.

*          *            *

As Rinoa ran to the Arch she pulled Veronica to the side. "Get Julius and find that tablet that I felt earlier. I want you two to get pictures of it."

Veronica nodded and grabbed Julius as Rinoa's wings blew out of her back and she began to cast the magic's that Julius had told her to cast.

Julius wanted to record the entrance into the Heart World – but was pulled along meekly as Veronica looked through the various tablets that were all piled along the walls. "Dammit, where is it?!" Veronica cursed, urgently trying to find the tablet as Rinoa finally cast the magic's needed, the Arch exploding into life as the portal was activated.

She began to shift through them all, running up to the closest one and examining it like she had done with Rinoa before realising it was the wrong one, and running to the next, cursing more and more as she began to run out of time and tablets.

Any time now, honey… Veronica heard Rinoa pulse out – before finally finding the right tablet.

"Here! Here!" Veronica shouted excitedly, grabbing Julius and thrusting him forward. "We need a photo of this tablet! Make sure you can read it!"

"'Kay babe." Julius muttered, flipping his laptop open and aiming the camera at the tablet. Three quick flashes later, he slapped it closed and grabbed Veronica's hand, pulling her away as he slipped the laptop into his pack with practise. "Done, gotta go!!"

*          *            *

General Raijin stepped into the room with Zone, the Sergent now armed with his P-90 and sweeping the gun across the floor methodically.

Both men could see the waving blue light from the Arch, and as they bran for it another person emerged from the smoking doors – Seifer, minus the front and back of his fatigues, but alive none-the-less.

All three men ran to the Arch to watch the last of the SeeDs disappear into the rippling blue mass – and watch as an angel, her smoking white eyes turning to latch onto them, blew them a kiss. It's been fun… a tinkling voice, more beautiful then anything they had ever heard, entered their minds – before Rinoa dashed into the Arch, disappearing into the portal with almost no resistance.

The three Earthlings seemed dumbfounded, unable to speak – before Seifer ran forward, dashing toward the Arch and leaping – into the wall as the portal disintegrated, Seifer slamming into the wall and sliding down with little grace.

Picking himself up and dusting himself off, Seifer watched as Zone and Raijin walked up to him. "Not alien, hmmm?" Raijin muttered with a smile. "Well, I guess you were right about that…"

*          *            *

Rinoa bundled out of the Arch, the portal closing behind her as her wings retracted into her back, and looked up – to see her friends standing stock still, seemingly unable to move. "Hey guys, what's wrong?" She asked – before seeing them.

About twenty Heart Warriors, all clad in the shining Orihalcon armour, surrounded them all, some holding weapons, others with their hand filled with some kind of elemental force.

Ah shit…Rinoa thought to herself.

One of the Warriors walked forward slowly, pressing a button on the side of his helmet. The shining metal retracted into his neck, surrounding the throat like a cravat – to reveal Seifer's scarred face, his cold blue eyes locking onto Squall and Rinoa.

"It's the Queen and her Knight!" Seifer suddenly bellowed. "Destroy them!"

*          *            *

Well!! How will the SeeDs get outta this one? Wouldn't you like to know? Well, you're not going to know, at least not for the next few chapters!!

Oh, and BTW – thanks for all the people who review my stuff!! Remember I do have other works out there, and it would be tremendous if you read them, FictionPress and FanFic both!