By Ramsey Anderson
All characters in this fic are property of Squaresoft and were not created by me.
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Chapter 3
I'm reliving my journey, I thought. Somehow, me defeating Ultimecia has disrupted time which is causing me to do this all over again. It was a flimsy explanation of my situation. It didn't explain exactly how it happened, how I could have prevented it, or why I was sent back to that specific point in time. I was just trying to make some sense out of a bizarre situation.
Ellone may know something. When I woke in the infirmary, she was at my bedside. I don't remember her being there last time. She must know something. She does have the power to transfer another's consciousness into the past, after all. Maybe she needed to use my consciousness for something again. I thought that if I had any chance of getting back to my own time, Ellone was the key. If I can just talk to her, she might be able to explain what was going on. She may have a good reason for doing this.
I laid there on my bed in my dormitory, despair overwhelming me at the thought of having repeat my journey again, having to fight all the battles, go through all the physical and emotional pain that I had suffered through once before. I thought about everything that was to occur. The fight at Dollet, Seifer's shock torture, the destruction of Trabia Garden, watching Rinoa nearly die…it was a lot to endure, and I would have to do it all over again.
I was finally able to force myself out of bed, eager to get the journey over and done with. I had to meet Quistis at the Garden entrance so that I could do my field exam in the Fire Cavern. As I walked, I began to think. I was able to win the fight with Seifer earlier, so maybe I can prevent some things from occurring. Perhaps my knowledge of future events can stop some of the terrible tragedies from actually happening. When Edea launches her ice magic at me during the parade assassination attempt, maybe I can dodge it this time and we can get away, preventing my team and I from ever going to that terrible Sand Prison and I could avoid Seifer's torture. I thought about the advantages to try and fight away the despair, and it worked too. Finding good in bad was a defense mechanism I had gained throughout my journey. I began to think that this journey wouldn't be so bad after all.
When I arrived at the Garden's entrance, Quistis was waiting patiently for me, ready to supervise my field exam. I already knew everything there was to know about junctioning magic and how to use Guardian Forces, but I politely listened to her give me the tutorial before we headed off. As we journeyed accross the plains of Balamb towards the Fire Cavern, I made conversation with Quistis, asking friendly questions and making general statements. She was understandably confused at how sociable I was, but she seemed to enjoy our conversation between our battles with monsters here-and-there. I had to remember that Quistis was used to the cold and reserved Squall, not the one she was talking to at the moment. I considered telling her about my current situation, how i've seemingly traveled through time, but that might have been too much for her to handle and she might not understand, so I decided to wait and consider telling her later.
Just as before, when we arrived at the entrance to the Fire Cavern, the two Balamb guards asked us to select a time limit for obtaining the GF, Ifrit. Last time, I had chosen twenty minutes and i completed the objective with time to spare, but I was more skilled and prepared this time around, so I selected a ten minute time limit.
"Ten minutes? Are you sure? Maybe we should make it twenty" Quistis suggested.
"Don't worry, we can do it, and with time to spare, I'm sure of it." I replied confidently.
"Alright, if you know what you're doing." Quistis said with a shrug of her shoulders.
We entered the Cavern, and the dense heat hit me just as I remembered, and we encountered the same enemies that had once lived, then once died, and now lived again, only to be destroyed. The enemies were no match for me as I had fought them so many times before and I now knew their weaknesses, and made it through with only a few minor burns. Quistis seemed to walk fast, most likely trying to make up for the limited time I had set for us to get to the end.
We reached the end of the path set before us, and I looked around, waiting for Ifrit to appear so that we may defeat the fire GF and have it join us in our quest. Quistis asked if I was ready for the fight, even though she seemed like she knew I could do it after witnessing my skills on the way. Ifrit appeared before us soon after and the fight commenced. This was more difficult than the previous battles, even with my knowledge I retained, we required the use of cure spells. I realized that I was not as strong as I was when I had fought Ultimecia. It seems that only my consciousness was transferred into my body in this time period. It reminded me of Ellone's power, how similar my situation is to how her power works.
After Ifrit sustained considerable damage, he agreed to aid us in our quest whenever we required his assistance. Quistis commented, "Hey, you were right, Squall. We defeated the GF with time to spare. I don't think I've ever done this in such a small time frame, impressive…"
The cool, fresh air outside was a welcome change to the dense heat of the cavern, and I took a moment to savor the breeze, with Quistis spying me with a curious glance. We eventually arrived at Balamb Garden, where Quistis instructed me to change into my uniform then to meet her in the lobby. I made my way to my dorm and changed into my uniform, which brought back some memories. Hmph, a lot will happen while I wear this.
I met Quistis in lobby, as instructed, where I was to meet my team members for the mission. "Squall! Over here! I'll be announcing the squad assignments for the exam now. Let's see... You'll be with... Zell Dincht. Quite a lively fellow."
I know I said something mean about Zell last time, but I had gotten to know Zell and accept, and even admire, his liveliness. I had to keep in mind that Zell didn't know that I knew this. He literally flipped his way over to me and Quistis, gave us a thumbs up and exclaimed, "Whoa! I'm with you!? You don't get along with Seifer, do you? Heard you whooped him pretty bad this morning."
I was very close to laughing out loud then, seeing as I had already changed things for my benefit. Now people thought that I had defeated Seifer, not the other way around like last time. Quistis mentioned to us that Seifer was our squad leader for the next mission, which i remembered would cause a lot of trouble for us all. Seifer, Rajin, and Fujin approached, the posse still together in this time.
Quistis and Seifer exchanged words and the good instructor was added to the alleged 'The List'. I still have no idea what that 'The List' is…oh well. Seifer yelled to me and Zell, making sure to let us know how big his ego was. Headmaster Cid approached and told us the outline of the mission and how our performance would decide if we were to become SeeDs. As the team and I walked to the parking garage and assembled in the car provided to us, I began to think ahead about what becoming a SeeD will do to me. This is where everything begins, this drive would mark the beginning of a very long trip.