~Squall~

Stepping off the elevator, I scan the big glass windows surrounding the palace entrance, spotting the issue Laguna was just speaking of outside. "How long has this been going on?" Quistis asks, seeing the same thing I am seeing. Kiros is standing between a few men just past the doorway, waving off Zell and Irvine to go on without him as they struggle to keep the doctor in the back of an unmarked van. Laguna shakes his head slightly at the scene and exhales before he answers.

"Talks of them organizing have been whispered about for months, but actually witnessing their growing numbers and voices has only been recently." I watch one of the men Kiros is facing grow more irate at him, the adviser placing his hand on the man's chest to hold him back. Shooting Quistis a glance we both nod at one another.

"Selphie, Rinoa, you two get to the lab and keep an eye on Ellone. Looks like Seifer was left behind for the same reason." Both girls nod and head around the edge of the growing crowds to get to Laguna's driver, yelling directions at the man as he hurries around the front of the car to get into the driver's seat. Quistis and I look at one another again before bolting out the door towards Kiros.

"You have no proof!"

"Why should we believe you?"

"You can't stop us!"

"We're all allowed to stand up and fight to protect ourselves!"

Faceless voices are shouting around the growing tension of the situation between Kiros and the unknown man. The two of us stand on either side of Kiros, gripping our weapon handles in preparation as Laguna's voice soars over them all. "What is the meaning of this?" he questions the crowd, holding his hands up to silence their yells. A few more voices ring out, screaming that he knows what they are there for and what is going on, but the president continues to stare between Kiros and the agitator.

"Mr. President, you've heard of our pleas from your useless minions before, and yet you continue to ignore us. We felt," he throws his arms outward, gesturing to the crowd at his back, "maybe you'd hear us better if we came to your door."

"You have our attention, and to ensure there are no miscommunications between us please say what it is you seek?" Laguna asks, folding his hands in front of him buried beneath the oversized sleeves. Kiros steps back to Laguna's side and waits for the man's explanation. The agitator's eyes roam over the two then shift over to Quistis and me, pausing when our eyes meet. A sneer begins to spread across his face as he takes in a deep breath and starts to pace in front of us.

"According to you, Mr. President, and all the other leaders of the lands, the sorceresses that endangered the lives of every one of us standing here today," he points a finger out to the groups of people that came with him. He holds his eyes on us as he continues, "were killed in a final battle, never to be seen or heard from again." I keep my eyes from rolling, knowing exactly where this is going. He points his finger at the president now when he turns and begins walking back the way he came.

"You, sir, claim the final battle took place in a far off land, in a far off time etcetera etcetera," his hands are rolling as his tone drips with sarcasm, a few people from the group chuckling and laughing at his words. "But none of the leaders of the lands offer us any proof! Something, anything, to show the people around the world that the sorceresses are, in fact, dead and gone forevermore!" His voice grows into a shout as he hits his key points, his followers starting to participate by shouting out their agreements. His pacing stops, standing directly in front of me and locking his eyes on mine while shifting his arms up in a shrug. "All we want is to be sure what happened before doesn't happen again, is that so wrong of us? So since none of the world leaders can produce a scrap of proof of their demise, we are banding together. Drawing strength in our numbers and our solidarity against the sorceresses! Should they return, we shall be ready and able to fight them off ourselves!"

The growing crowd in front of the palace throws their fists and arms up, erupting in cheers. My eyes shift around their faces briefly as I try to recall hearing the same whispers around Balamb or Garden. Is this what is coming, I wonder? When the crowds' screams finally die back down, Laguna takes a step toward the man in charge, standing centered behind Quistis and myself. Placing a hand on each of our shoulders, partially to keep us from pushing the man backwards, he begins his rebuttal.

"Here are two of the SeeD members that fought and won against the sorceresses," The nameless man's eyes widen momentarily at the two of us before he regains his composure. "Fighting against not one, but two of the most powerfully deadly forces ever to be written in our histories or our futures. Barely returning to us intact after having traveled in ways nobody else in our time ever has, to places nobody else in our world has ever been." Laguna drops his hands from our shoulders and takes another step towards the man, staring deeply into his eyes.

"Would you ask them to bring back some proof of death when it may alter their return? Some trinket to show they had perished when that very same object could be the exact thing the sorceresses transferred their powers into in order to continue their survival?" The leader sneers at the words, noting the deafening silence behind him as the group of people start second-guessing their ideals. His eyes drop down to my hand, gripping the handle of my gunblade Lionheart, then he glances over to Quistis' hand on her whip Save the Queen. He brushes past Laguna, taking the couple of steps to reach where Quistis and I stand. I tense when his finger taps against our hands on the handles before he raises his fingers upwards.

"And were these the weapons used to kill them? Might these be trinkets they would transfer their power into?" The backs of his hands briskly trail down our cheeks, "or did they just transfer their power into these two, since they've been known to do that before?" he mentions before we both shift our faces away from his touch. The man chuckles at each of us before gazing back at Laguna.

"All we are saying, Mr. President is we have no way of knowing they are truly gone, and no way of knowing they are truly staying gone." He turns from us and begins to walk into the crowd, flicking his hands at the people who start to turn away as well.

"All we are doing is uniting the men before the return of Adel. You have heard us today, which is all we asked. Please consider our words." A few agreeing yells ring out as the people once gathered in front of us disperse.

"Uniting the men before the return of Adel? What about Ultimecia?" Laguna wonders out loud after releasing a tense breath. Quistis crosses an arm over her stomach and rests her index finger against the corner of her glasses, waiting for me to process everything that was said. I place my hand on my hip and pinch the bridge of my nose, stress and worry about any whispers back home now weighing down on me.

"Because Adel was here with us in our timeline, unlike Ultimecia who was in the future," I reply after a few moments. Turning my attention back to Kiros, I ask what happened with Ellone and Odine.

"He did wake Ellone up. We were headed back to lock him up when we passed the growing crowds. I insisted on stopping. The others wanted to help but I told them to go on and get him behind bars." I frown at the man before turning my head towards the lift.

"Was Seifer left with her then?" I ask, already sure of the answer. When Kiros nods at me, I mention Selphie and Rinoa are on their way to the lab as well before turning to the strawberry blonde. "Quistis, call Selphie or Rin and tell them to bring Ellone back to the palace. Seifer as well so we can figure out what is happening." We remain at the entrance, watching the majority of the people scatter back to their normal routines before we return inside the palace and await the others.

~Seifer~

"Give it a few minutes and she'll be awake, but this is a mis..." Dr. Odine ceases his arguments when Irvine smacks the back of his head, bouncing his pathetic ponytail in the process. The doctor attempts to face him head on, but Zell and I tighten our grip on his arms, keeping him firmly in place.

"Give it up Odine. Nobody's interested in your lies anymore, let's go." Irvine instructs as he turns to lead back out through the doors. Kiros nods at us as we hold the doctor, agreeing we should get him to the cells. As Zell and I shuffle Odine away from Ellone's side, a hand suddenly tugs on my shirt. Looking down at the cause, I see Ellone's wide eyes staring into mine, refusing to release the fabric if it means my leaving. She's terrified, I notice, knowing the two of us have grown closer in our time together here in Esthar, but not close enough to warrant such a reaction out of her.

"Wait," I halt the others, turning back to the doorway and waving Irvine back to us. Zell notices the look in her eyes and glances at me, already agreeing with what I am thinking.

"Irvine, take Seifer's place. He's going to stay with her until we're done locking him up." Zell smiles at me before reaching his free hand over to Ellone's hand in my shirt. Zell's envelopes the brunette's petite fingers easily and gives them a gentle squeeze as a welcome back. Irvine grips the doctor's armpit and lifts, releasing my hold while keeping the doctor in the air so he can't attempt to escape. I nod to them all while I lift my hand up under Ellone's fingers, untwisting them from the fabric so she may grip my hand instead.

"We'll be back once he's locked up, Seifer." Kiros reaffirms the plans before they all take a hasty leave, carrying an angry doctor with them. Glancing around me, I notice a stool not too far from where I am standing. Stretching my foot out, I hook one of the legs and drag it towards me until it is within my reach. Gripping it with my free hand, I adjust it closer to Ellone's side and take a seat, looking into her eyes.

"Welcome back, " I murmur, noticing a hint of fear still present in her gaze. Her eyes snap across her surroundings for a minute before coming back to mine. I take this as a hint to explain what has happened, from the beginning when she fell unconscious in our meeting. I explain to her how she never woke but Squall had, and finally telling her how long she had been kept asleep.

"He's getting locked up this time, Ell, don't worry," I attempt to comfort her when I see her squint at the length of time she lost to sleep. The girl shakes her head at me, keeping her eyes locked on mine.

"That's not what I'm upset about. Something is coming," Ellone mentions, but our eyes both shift to the sound of footsteps approaching outside the lab.

"Hey guys!" Selphie chirps, bouncing over to the other side of Ellone. Rinoa makes her way into the room as well, her phone against her ear. I stare between the two, wondering why they came instead of Kiros and the others.

"Something's going down at the palace, Squall told us to come here," Selphie quickly explains while gently grabbing Ellone's free hand between the two of hers.

"Rin's on the phone with Quistis right now." She finishes her explanation with a grin to ease the worry on Ellone's face. Before I can ask what was going on back at the palace, Rinoa presses a button on her phone and slides it back into her pocket.

"Right, Ellone, how are you feeling? Think you can walk?" I watch the girl look at each of us before swallowing. She slowly shifts over to my side of the table, swinging her legs off the edge.

"Even if she can't I can carry her, why what's up?" I ask, biting my tongue at how little an explanation we are receiving. Ellone has just woken up after being asleep for six days, and now is immediately being told to move? Rin jabs a finger against her phone in her pocket.

"Squall wants us all to get to the palace so we can figure out what's going on and what to do." Selphie is eyeing me as I bend down to support Ellone's movements, noting my irritation.

"All we know is there was a crowd of people yelling outside the palace, but Squall told us to get here instead of engage. He and Quistis stayed behind with Kiros and Laguna to figure it out."

"He said everything's quieted down for now, that's why he wants us to get there as quickly as possible. Selphie, get a hold of Irvine and tell them to meet us at the palace as soon as Odine's locked up. We gotta go." Selphie nods, pulling her hands away from Ellone to call Irvine. I keep my hand on Ellone's lower back for support, waiting for her to try and stand. She smiles at me before placing her feet against the tiles. When she begins to stand, she falters and leans back on the table.

"I'd be too slow even if I can walk," she mumbles with a huff. Rinoa quickly steps in front of me and reaches behind the girl's makeshift bed, grabbing her shoes and placing them on the ground in front of her.

"Give it a try, Ell," she encourages the girl with a smile. Ellone grabs onto my hand and steps into her shoes, her feet sliding into them with ease. Keeping my arm behind her, she slowly releases my hand and stands on her own triumphantly. The poor thing has always been a bit on the weaker side, but whatever is happening with her lately seems to be taking even more out of her. That, or this all could be due to only recently waking up; I quietly hope for the latter.

"Irvine and Zell are on their way, Odine's locked up," Selphie informs us as she comes up on Ellone's other side. She slides her fingers down the girl's arm and raises it, offering to let her lean on her if she needs. Rinoa smiles at us all before turning to the doorway.