~Seifer~

Listening to Ellone and Squall explain what they went through in the dream world is quite interesting, to say the least. I try and imagine being able to see and hear another time and another place that you've never been to. To interact with strangers, witness an unusual culture and just to see anything before anyone else you know has ever seen. Fascinating is the simplest way to put it. But the entire time the two explain to us what happened, my eyes are locked on Squall's. I know there's more to what he saw then he's admitting, which makes me wonder if he saw that Prompto guy again. His eyes look bloodshot, like he might've been crying or something. That makes me even more concerned, since I've never seen Squall cry, other than when we were all kids and Ellone was taken from us at the orphanage.

"What happened with you guys today?" Ellone asks, turning in her seat to face us with her hands resting in her lap. The exhaustion in her body was evident, the girl barely able to keep her eyes open but still insisting on being present while we discuss everything as a group. Squall takes his own seat near Laguna's desk, clearly wiped out after going over so many details with us. It is still nothing compared to Ellone's exhaustion. I look around my group, waiting to see if anyone had anything interesting to say about what we did. Nothing really happened, other than Irvine deciding to come with Zell and me instead of being latched onto Selphie like he usually is. Made my trip out in the city with Zell a little less fun than I had been planning, but I learned to deal with it.

"Groups of people are gathering sporadically all over Esthar, anywhere from five to fifty people in each of them," I decide to chime in since Selphie and Rinoa are giggling together and Irvine and Zell are staring off into space. Squall nods as he stares at the ground in front of his seat. Laguna stands from his desk and walks around to the front of it, leaning back against it as he faces us with his arms crossed over his chest. "If I were to estimate how many we came across today, I'd say somewhere around two hundred. Not sure how many the girls came across, or if the groups they saw were the same as the ones we saw but regardless, the numbers are definitely growing from what we originally saw when this all started a few months ago," I finish, glancing back at the guys who only nod in agreement with me.

"We saw quite a few as well, numbers ranging the same, five to fifty. Everything was pretty much the same as Seifer said, but we actually stood with a group of about thirty and listened to what they were talking about," Rinoa mentioned as Selphie stares at Irvine. We all wait for her to elaborate, but Rinoa is also staring at Irvine who is keeping his focus in front of him, avoiding their gaze.

"Mostly they discussed how they have the right to defend themselves, and there is nothing wrong with learning how to do so. It's never too late to learn how to fight and the more people that stand together, the better odds everyone have at defeating the sorceresses when they return, not if," Selphie states, returning her eyes towards Squall and Laguna.

"Oh! They also kept chanting 'unite the men before the return of Adel!' but that's about all we got." Rinoa and Selphie chant out the phrase together, giggling at the end of it. Squall stands from his seat, turning to face us by leaning against the desk next to Laguna.

"So, we have at least two hundred people joining together and learning how to fight to defeat sorceresses that no longer exist. So they're only stirring up panic among themselves for no reason other than to potentially fight against the palace for not offering any proof of their demise. Does that basically sum it up?" Squall questions the man beside him. The president slowly nods, pressing his fist against his mouth with a scowl.

"How are we supposed to fight against people that want proof we can't give them?" I ask, frustrated at the lack of information we collected today, Squall and Ellone as well as the rest of us. All we ended up with was more questions than answers.

"Maybe we need to create proof?" Irvine suggests, catching our attention. I watch him pinch the rim of his hat and tug it downwards, hiding his face from the rest of us.

"Create proof? What do you mean?" Laguna asks, leaning forward a bit to hear the cowboy better. Irvine shrugs, pushing the hat back up to show his eyes.

"Just what I said: create proof. Maybe we need to fabricate something to give to them as evidence towards the sorceresses' deaths. Something that will show them they aren't coming back. Higher ups do that all the time to calm oncoming storms, right?" Squall frowns, dropping his eyes to the floor once more as he thinks over Irvine's words. Should we do that? What if they find out we're lying to them? Won't that just add fuel to the fire?

"Can we do that?" Selphie finally asks, an uncomfortable look crosses her face at the thought of lying to people. What other choice did we have, really? Either deal with the eventual revolt against the palace here, and other places that housed the people in charge around the world or lie to chill everyone out. Both options leave a bad taste in my mouth.

"Might be something to consider," Squall mumbles, glancing over to Laguna and Kiros. Both men look shocked at his consideration of the idea, but quickly understand his reasoning. There are a handful of us against at least two hundred others, and that's only here in Esthar. How does it look everywhere else?

"Let's put a pin in that idea for now, I'd like to get out there and gather a bit more information before taking that route. As it stands, they are only interested in gathering forces to stand against a daunting threat that passed through our world not that long ago. Nothing suggests a necessary need for us to stop their grouping as of now. But we may find more evidence of it in the coming days," Squall informs the rest of us, nodding while we all agree with him. The phone on Laguna's desk begins to ring, alerting Kiros to answer it. After a few moments, he holds the phone against his shoulder and mumbles something to Laguna. The president's face scrunches up in confusion before he snatches the phone out of Kiros' hand.

"What? What are you saying?" he blurts into the receiver, eyeing Kiros as he listens to the reply on the other end. Slowly his eyes widen with each passing word, his gaze flicking between Kiros and Squall before he silently replaces the phone to its cradle. Heaving a sigh, Laguna leans against his fists on the desk, attempting to hold in his frustrations.

"Go get Odine and bring him to his labs," he informs Kiros who nods once and takes off out of the office, pointing to Zell and me on his way out to follow him. We quickly fall in behind him, as Laguna explains to everyone else in his office why the man was being retrieved.

"We need to question him on why he has a damn vampire in his lab! No, not just a vampire, an awakened vampire that I was unaware of!"

~Vincent~

Sucking down the last of the rodents' blood, I feel the life of them hitting my veins and transferring into my body, every motion more flowing now instead of jerky and useless. I hate awakening after a long sleep. According to this assistant that keeps fetching more blood for me, the time between when I last walked this earth and now isn't as long as I expected, but still enough to cause my body to wilt over its length. With each passing lab rat, my arm grows more and more irritated, burning just under the surface. I have wrapped my cloak around it to shield the light it emits, but this should only work for so long until the orb burns through the fabric. I need to find out why we are here and why I have risen now.

"Ah, Mr. Valentine," a new voice calls from the doorway to my room, arms stretched wide as he shuffles over to me. A tiny man, with an unusual accent and an even more unusual outfit, followed by three larger men of varying levels of strength enters the room. There are two blondes that appear to be strong with a darker fellow that is slimmer but still carries his own power. Interesting, I think as I watch the smallest man with the odd hairstyle approach me. His shorter legs finally carry him to my side, where he places his hand on the agitated wrist. I quickly snap it out of his grasp and stand, towering over him. In an instant, the three that followed this man here are at his side, shifting him backwards away from me and eyeing me cautiously, as they should be.

"Forgive my forwardness, Mr. Valentine, I feel more familiar with you since I'm the one that has maintained you over the years, awaiting your return." He clasps his hands in front of him while scowling at the men gripping his arms. They eventually release him so he may approach me once again, all their eyes burning into mine.

"You are Odine then?" I question, seeking the assistant out in the room for guidance on who this was. She stifles a giggle, but nods her head towards me.

"Yes, I am doctor Odine. These are my laboratories in Esthar. Did my assistant already fill you in on the wheres and whens you are in?" The man asks, staring me up and down. I nod, watching the others behind him. They all release some varying levels of unease, directed towards me mostly but also towards this tiny doctor. I wonder why.

"Why is he here, Odine," the dark one asks, crossing his arms in front of his chest without resting them atop one another. What appears to be saw blades are grasped within his hands, stretching the length of the back of his forearms and ready for whatever may come. This man was a fighter, I confirm before glancing to the others. The taller one hid something beneath his long coat, only showing the tip of a handle clutched within his hand. It appears to be a gun of some kind. The other blonde with the spiky hair grips a fist within the other, both covered in some specially designed gloves that should add protection to his knuckles. So, he must be the scrapper.

"Because I knew something like this was coming, as I often do," the short scientist reaffirms before sliding on an uneasy smile. He holds his fingers out and silently asks if he may approach. I don't confirm or deny, just watch him as he does. His fingers slowly reach my arm and begin unwrapping it from my cloak. I sneer but not at the man, but at the burning that has only intensified. The men behind the doctor tense up, but Odine stills their movements with his other hand.

"I knew one day this would be needed," he announces as he finally releases my arm. The orb's light is blinding at this point, making me clutch at my skin to ease it somehow. The men stare at my arm before returning their attention back to me.

"The time I lived last, we carried power within orbs. These orbs can become a part of you by pressing it into your flesh, as I did," I explain, holding my wrist up to them.

"The power I hold is not a typical kind, as it is a man instead of an ability. I hold him within me to contain him until he is needed. He must be needed soon, otherwise I would not have risen." The bigger blonde steps towards me, his eyes narrowing as he glances down at my wrist before looking back up at me.

"You're saying that is a man? What kind of a man turns into a ball and goes into someone else's arm?" I sigh at the simplistic take, but before I can explain any further, the doctor wraps my arm in some sort of material that instantly eases the orb.

"This is only going to get stronger when you meet him," Odine mumbles to me quietly before turning to the others. "He needs to speak with everyone. This is the next part of our journey!" The three men glance confusedly between each other before the spiky blonde punches his other hand.

"What journey, Odine?" he asks, frowning at him in disbelief before he even utters a word. The doctor stomps his feet a few times, throwing his arms up into the air above him.

"The journey we are on now, idiot! We need him to meet Squall! That is the next part of this journey!" My eyes narrow at the mention of a name. A name that sounds familiar finally.

"Did you say Squall? As in, Squall Leonhart?" I ask, watching the others' reaction to my question. Seeing them glance between one another again is all the response I need. So, we've finally made it, I whisper internally, gripping the fabric over the orb. Given the type of 'person' I am, I have been privileged to witness certain events which are to come throughout history. Some being mere potential outcomes, should certain events actually take place while others are more concrete. This event, the event that includes a Squall Leonhart is an outcome I witnessed after I foolishly insisted on my comrade becoming a junctioning materia orb, making him needed to aid in the destruction of evil which would destroy every sign of man from history. Before I am lost in my own thoughts, the doctor's face splits into a grin, having watched my own reaction to the name and confirming his own theories. He turns to the others, the grin falling from his face.

"This man is crucial to the continued survival of mankind," he points a finger towards me, then towards my arm, "he holds the man that will aid in the survival of our race." Dropping his finger down to his side, he sneers at the others and releases a somewhat terrifying laugh. "The sorceress wars are not finished!"