He'd laid down in the infirmary for a while before they went to Trabia. A little bit of rest and he felt a lot better. Upon seeing the devastation of the Garden he felt foolish. Worrying about things in the sky is nice during peacetime, but they were at war. The graves and cries of hungry children drove that point home. He did what he could to help there and slowly forgot all about flying heads or kidnapped cows. Selphie was despondent. She needed him. They all needed him. He was the only one who held their memories, the keys to the past, and it was starting to look like that was more important than he thought. It had been nice reliving all of those memories with everyone on the basketball courts. It had been nice to be remembered. It had probably been nicest of all when, after they left, Squall had visited him to talk. Like usual, he didn't say anything, but he could tell it was about the sorceress assassination. Knowing now, that they had been trying to kill the woman who raised them, it seemed like Squall understood and had found a new respect for him. Where he should have gloated, he was instead just uncomfortable. Had his memories made things harder for the man he had chosen to follow? When Squall had left, all stiff-backed with burning eyes, he had felt guilt. Rinoa's smile from the doorway had helped things a little, but not enough. He was sitting out the next few fights. Firing a gun on a floating vessel didn't seem very intelligent to him, so he was waiting for land.

The next plan was to head to the orphanage where they grew up. It was supposed to be on one of the southern continents. He didn't remember much about it, just that it was by the ocean and had a lighthouse nearby. The commander's idea was simple. They were going to stop on the north side of the continent and traverse the beach looking for clues. The south lands had always had a problem with monsters and storms, so the house may not even be there anymore. It hadn't really mattered to him how they looked, but he did want to be there when it was finally found. Squall had looked hard at him when he requested to be one of the party to go, but a throat clearing from Rinoa had broken his gaze. He'd relented and agreed, remarking that it had been his memory allowing them to even think of it in the first place. So now was the waiting. It didn't take too long and before he was fully rested the call came over the intercom.

He was surprised when the call came just for him. He would have thought that Rinoa and Squall would need a break, but then chided himself. He should know by now that those two never separate and never take breaks. Indeed when he got to the bridge he wasn't surprised to find them waiting, clothes impeccably clean and weapons gleaming from a fresh sharpening. He had pulled his hat down low over his eyes, feeling a little insecure because he had been lying around the whole trip and was decidedly less ready, more rough. Squall had even wordlessly handed over some new refined ammo, though when he found the time was up for guessing.

They'd headed out, then. Irvine shielding his eyes from the blast of desert sun even with his cowboy hat on. As soon as the hatch was closed the Garden took off behind them. He looked at his map with the rendezvous point circled and set out to follow Squall. They trekked for what felt like miles through the great Kashkabald Desert. The Guardians in his mind took a lot more from the battles than he did, learning new skills and flooding his body with more powers. After spending half of the day walking along the edge of the beach they had headed in-land. Edea's house was not here, but the rendezvous wasn't for another 36 hours and many miles away. He wondered if Zell, Selphie, and Quistis had had more luck. That night he took last watch. When it was his turn he was awakened by both Rinoa and Squall. She was quick to lie down and start sleeping once he had fully taken up his position. Squall was slower to sleep. He pretended, but Irvine could see his grey eyes reflecting the light of the fire. After half an hour of this fakeness Irvine had enough. He'd gotten up and dragged Rinoa's sleeping bag, with her still asleep on it, over to the commander's side. The man's eyes had glared into his until Rinoa had rolled over, mumbling in her sleep, seeking out the warmth that was now close by. He'd gotten quite a kick out of seeing the lonesome Squall give in, let her cuddle, and finally begin to snore. That finished, Irvine had kicked back and watched the stars.

As the sun was rising, a flash of something in the darkness to the west caught his eye. It seemed to be glowing and heading towards him; against the wind. He was instantly on his feet, gun trained as he watched its flight. The sun crested the land behind him as it buzzed closer. When it finally came into view of his eagle eyes, he let out a gasp. One hand coming off of his rifle he scrubbed furiously at his face before looking back up. It was there again. The weird dinner plate thing and this time it was carrying a giant pyramid-y building! He'd stumbled backwards as it raced towards him. Raising his gun he fired as he continued to move back. The thing was a lot closer this time around and he swore he could hear a whistling sound. He moved faster as it got closer, panic overtaking him. Right before it passed over his head he'd gotten off one more shot before falling over the now awake and crouching Squall. The two boys lay sprawled across the sand as Rinoa sleepily rubbed her eyes. She'd stayed wrapped in her sleeping bag, but did have the presence of mind to grab her weapon.

"What was that?"

"……….."

He answered in gasps, heart still racing as the sky brightened into day.