Garden's defenders had known they were beaten as soon as the flare went up. Xu's half-completed plans to have the remaining SeeDs hide in the forest and flank the attackers were barely even discussed, since the scouts' reports quickly convinced her there was no point. The Galbadians had brought so much force, in both soldiers and armor, that Garden could not come close to repelling any attack.

From what Quistis could see, the Galbadians knew it too. They made a show of encircling the ruined Garden, with forces weaving their way between missile craters to spread out across the countryside. But it wasn't long before a small group of vehicles came driving straight up the road, cool as they pleased, like any other convoy on any normal day.

Unchallenged, three armored personnel carriers and two Iron Clad tanks rolled straight up to Garden's front gate, depositing two dozen troops to form ranks on the cracked pavement. A half-dozen SeeDs had taken positions behind the gates, but a few shots from the tanks' beam cannons would make short work of them.

Squall emerged from one of the vehicles, wearing the same worn black jacket and pants he'd favored through most of his last year at Garden. His gunblade was hanging from the studded belt at his side, and the scar across his nose looked fresh as the day he'd taken the bandage off. If leading an army to storm what was left of his former home had made any impact on him, it didn't seem to show.

"I'm here for Ellone," he said, eyes looking straight through the defending SeeDs. "Where is she?"

It was good that Quistis didn't need to deal with him, because her mind needed a long moment just to register what he'd said. And even then, it didn't make sense.

Xu stepped forward, so her face was framed by the bars of the Garden's main gate. She stood nearly a head shorter than Squall, and what remained of her arm was still wrapped in a cast, but even from her angle Quistis could feel her glare. "You have a lot of nerve, coming here," she said. "Do you know how many people died in the attack, Squall? Missiles don't discriminate. They take old and young alike, fighters or not. Some were just kids."

Squall glanced away, scowling, raising a hand to the scar on his nose. Retreating into his own thoughts again, Quistis knew, and she had never found the move less endearing. "There's no point discussing it," he said. "Where's Ellone?"

Xu stared at him another moment. "If you wanted her alive," she said, "you shouldn't have sent the missiles first."

"I know she survived," replied Squall. "And that SeeD has been protecting her. If you hand her over, the Sorceress will leave you alone."

"You expect us to believe that?" Xu scoffed.

"SeeD is no longer a threat to the Sorceress. Her only concern is Ellone." Squall raised a hand, motioning to the troops behind him. As one, they adjusted their weapons to a slightly more menacing angle. "If you won't cooperate, I'll be forced to use other methods."

"You can try," said Xu. "Even if I trusted the Sorceress, Ellone isn't mine to give over. And even if she were, she left after the attack. Cid knew it wasn't safe for her here."

"You're lying." Quistis knew Squall well enough to tell that it wasn't suspicion clouding his face. It actually looked closer to desperation. "Bring her out right now, or I'll destroy what's left of Garden."

"Squall, why are you doing this?" blurted Quistis. "This place was your home! Can you really be so unfeeling about what the Sorceress has done?"

He hadn't so much as looked at her so far, and barely spared her a glance now. "I just want Ellone," he said, directing the words back at Xu.

Despite making a small shake of her head, Xu never broke his gaze. "I told you," she said. "Ellone is —"

"Squall!"

Seifer came crashing out of the underbrush on the far side of the street, sending a sort of shock wave through the line of Galbadian soldiers. Even one of the tanks lurched backwards, apparently fearing some kind of flanking maneuver. As it happened, only Zell followed Seifer out onto the street. "I was hoping I'd see you again."

At least that managed to get Squall's attention for more than half a second. He turned, hand reaching for his gunblade but stopping halfway there. "Seifer," was all he said.

"I see you brought some more lackeys to do your dirty work for you?" Seifer leveled his gunblade straight at the scar between Squall's eyes, as if there weren't a dozen meters and two dozen soldiers in between them. "Why don't you take on someone who can actually fight back?"

Quistis had never known Squall not to rise to one of Seifer's challenges, so seeing him fold his arms was almost the most surreal part of the scene. "I already beat you, Seifer," he said. "There's no point in doing it again."

"What the HELL, Squall?" Just behind Seifer's left shoulder, Zell was balling his fists. "Takin' up arms with the Sorceress? How could you do this to all your friends?"

"Ask Seifer." Squall's voice remained perfectly flat. "It's like you said. I'm one step closer to my dream."

"Dream about this." Seifer charged at him.

He hadn't made it four steps before the Galbadians had him surrounded. The first clash of his gunblade against a Galbadian saber seemed to jolt Zell into action, and he leapt forward to deck the first soldier to come within range. Squall unhooked his gunblade, but didn't look in any hurry to join the fray, as the Galbadian troops closed in to surround Seifer and Zell. "Open the gate!" Quistis exclaimed, uncoiling the head of her chain whip as the other SeeDs readied their weapons. Xu was shaking her head, but stepped forward into an offensive pose as she raised her remaining good arm.

"Stop!" At first the voice barely carried over the clashes of battle, but something about it caught in Quistis' mind. Xu reacted, too, motioning for the SeeDs to hold their ground.

Then the voice called out again, and Squall took notice. "Stand down," he ordered, and the Galbadians obeyed, retreating back toward the tanks. Seifer and Zell stood frozen for a moment, exchanging a confused look.

A young woman ran through the line of SeeDs, coming to a stop just under the arch where the gate had started to swing apart. It took Quistis a moment to place her as the strange visitor who had appeared in the infirmary on the night she'd lost her Instructor's license, asking after Squall. And when she looked at Squall, Quistis found another surprise: As quiet as he was, during all his time at Garden she could tell that some thought was always on his mind. This was the first time he truly looked speechless.

"Hello, Squall," the woman said, after they stared at each other for a moment. "Do you remember me?"

Squall took half a step forward, then stopped, straightened, and that lost look in his eyes disappeared behind his new cold mask. "It's been a long time," he said.

The woman sighed, making a small nod. "Yes, it has." Her voice sounded sad. "You've changed."

"You left." The ice had returned to Squall's voice.

"Ellone…" Xu began, her eyes not leaving the Galbadian troops.

"I'll go." The woman was speaking directly to Squall. "I don't want any more bloodshed on my behalf. But you have to give me your word that nobody here will be harmed."

"That's up to the Sorceress," Squall replied.

"No, Squall. It's your decision." Ellone's voice had hardened, too. She folded her arms. "Because I won't go anywhere with you unless your army leaves first."

They looked at each other for another long moment. A breeze gusted in from the coast, blowing Squall's hair in front of his face and obscuring his eyes. Quistis caught herself holding her breath.

Finally, Squall looked away, hand reaching for his forehead again. "I'll be waiting at the beach," he said, looking back up at Xu. "If Ellone isn't there within the hour, the lives of everyone here will be forfeit." With that, he turned and walked back to the transport.

"That's it?" demanded Seifer, still separated from Squall by a squad of Galbadian soldiers. "Go ahead, run all you want. There's nowhere you can hide!"

When Squall hesitated, Quistis remembered every time Squall had almost walked away from before Seifer goaded him into a fight. And when he turned to look back at Ellone, standing in the gate, that same determination was in his eyes. "Squall, no!" she shouted, because she always had to try. And because he never listened, it didn't make a difference.

Squall spun around, threw out his arm, and a blast of magic hit Seifer so hard that he flew back off his feet. By the time he hit the ground, the energy had frozen to leave him half-encased in ice. Then, Squall turned away and nodded at his soldiers as though nothing had just happened. "Move out," he said.

By the time Seifer had struggled to his feet and shaken off the last of the magic, the transport vehicles were retreating down the road. The entire Galbadian force had halted its advance, and had begun to retrace its path toward the beach.

"Ellone," Xu was saying, "I appreciate what you're doing. But we have no idea what the Sorceress has in store for you."

The woman smiled. "You were right. I should have left sooner, when I had the chance. I just hoped…" She shook her head. "Well, it doesn't matter now."

"We can't just let Squall get away with this!" Zell had run up to join them. "Coming back here and threatening everyone? The guy's totally lost it!"

"I'm not sure about that," said Quistis. "He's done things I would never have thought him capable of, but…somehow, it is still him. I think he'll keep to his word."

Xu shook her head. "As serious as this is, Squall isn't my main concern. He said himself, Sorceress Edea is calling the shots."

"I know," said Ellone. "And that's why I need to go." She looked at Seifer, then Zell, then Quistis, and there was that strange sense of familiarity that Quistis' mind didn't know how to explain. "I need to be sure."

Xu sighed, shaking her head. "We should inform Headmaster Cid about the situation."

As it became clear the Galbadians were making good on their withdrawal, the SeeDs began to disperse. Xu and Ellone returned to Garden; Seifer stormed off a moment later, glaring at the ground. Zell walked down to the road, where he could watch the Galbadian forces. And Quistis spotted Nida, hovering by the gate, where he'd been standing with the rest of the defensive team throughout the incident.

"That…didn't go the way I expected," said Nida, when she walked over to join him.

"Well, at least there wasn't a battle." Another gust of cool evening wind caught her from behind, sending a chill through her clothes and up the back of her neck. "But why does it feel like we've already lost?"

The last time Nida had been in one of SeeD's armored personnel carriers, he'd been on his way to Balamb harbor for his field exam. Now, he was sitting next to Quistis while the vehicle jolted its way over the countryside towards the beach, where the Galbadian army was waiting. Ellone sat opposite them, not making eye contact.

None of them had spoken since climbing into the vehicle, when Xu had instructed them to make sure Ellone reached the Galbadians without incident. Nida caught himself wishing someone would start a conversation about hockey, or movies, or any one of the pointless topics his fellow students had used to take their minds off the field exam during that last trip. But he wasn't about to start one himself.

Finally, after several long minutes, Quistis spoke up. "…Have you been at Garden ever since the field exam?" she asked.

Ellone nodded. "Cid asked me to come. Edea had disappeared, and he was worried about her." A sad smile crossed her face. "It seems he was right."

That answer just made Quistis' frown deepen. "You and Squall know each other. He never socialized much while he was in Garden, and I don't think he ever left Balamb. Was it from before he was enrolled here?"

"You still don't remember?" Ellone seemed to slump a little as she asked the question. Quistis blinked, straightening a little, and Ellone looked down at her knees.

Nida waited another uncomfortable moment before he found himself speaking up. "Squall brought an entire army to Garden," he said. "But all he wanted was you. I mean…what makes you so important?"

Ellone smiled at that. "I wonder, sometimes. It feels like I've spent half my life running or hiding. Since long before I understood this wasn't how most people live. And I've been trying to understand what it's all been for."

The vehicle lurched again, and then the floor dropped into the sort of muffled friction that signaled they had reached the Rinaul coast. The Galbadian landing craft wouldn't be much farther now.

"It all started so long ago now," Ellone said, half to herself. "It's so strange to remember that. Especially since…" She shook her head again, looking back up at Quistis. "People say you can't change the past. But even still, if there's a possibility, it's worth a try, right?" After another quiet moment and getting another confused look, she sighed and leaned back against her seat. "We make so many mistakes in our lives, because we don't know what's happening around us. If we could go back, with that knowledge, and try again…we could put an end to so much grief."

"Go back to the past…" Quistis was frowning. "Those dreams we've been having. Laguna, Kiros and Ward. Was that you? Have you been doing this to us?"

That seemed like a leap to Nida, until he saw the look on Ellone's face. "…How's that even possible?" he asked. "There's no magic I know that can send you back in time."

"No one's ever been able to explain it to me, either." Ellone shrugged. "Well, a few people tried, but…it didn't really make much sense."

Nida's mind was trying to work out how any of this could make sense. Even the most powerful time magic could only stop a clock, not reverse it. The idea that time never moved backward was as close to an inviolable law of the universe as anything that he knew.

Quistis, apparently, had a more practical thought. "This is why the Sorceress is after you. She's after your ability. But why?" Then an even worse thought struck her. "If she could manage to control this power…"

The vehicle came to a halt. A second later, the door to the driver's compartment slid open and Zell stepped through. "Guys, we're here."

Ellone nodded, standing up. "I guess we're out of time."

"Ellone, wait." Quistis caught the woman's arm as she took her first step away from the vehicle. "If the Sorceress…"

"I know." Ellone made a reassuring smile that looked very well practiced. "It'll be okay, Quistis. Don't worry about me."

Nida stepped out first. The last traces of twilight had disappeared; he stood under a moonless sky, the stars drowned out by floodlights that glared down on him from the Galbadian transport craft. A host of soldiers had ringed the vehicle, weapons aimed at them. He made sure not to make any sudden moves, and that his GF was equipped.

Quistis stepped out next, then Ellone, then Zell. Squall stepped out from the line of Galbadian soldiers, staring at them silently across the stretch of sand. With a nod at him, Ellone turned back to Quistis. "Be safe," she said, with a different, warmer smile. "Take care of the others."

They looked at each other another moment. "I know you too, don't I?" asked Quistis. "How? Who are you? And why don't I remember?"

"I wish I knew." Ellone hugged her, and Nida caught her whisper something in Quistis' ear just before they pulled apart. When they did, Quistis looked almost in tears. Then Ellone rested a hand on Zell's shoulder — he looked just as confused — turned, and started to walk away.

"—Hold on a second." Nida almost took a step after her, then glanced at the mass of Galbadian troops and thought better of it. "This business with Laguna, Kiros and Ward. You started doing it right after you came to Garden. When you were worried about the Sorceress. If you're trying to fix the past…how are they connected to all this?"

Ellone looked at him the way people always looked when they noticed him after he'd been standing there a while. Then she shook her head. "For a long time, I thought it was all because of me. Now, I'm not so sure."

With that, she walked away. When she reached Squall, he turned and led her past the Galbadian soldiers and out of the patch of sand illuminated by floodlights, both of them melting into the dark. The troops followed, dark shapes converging into the vehicles; then the floodlights snapped off, the ships' engines rumbled to life and and the craft slid back out to sea.

The three SeeDs watched as the Galbadian assault force shrunk into a line of running lights and the stars faded back into their vision. Finally, Nida broke the silence. "…What did she say?" he asked, glancing at Quistis. A vertical streak on her face glistening in the light from the Garden Car's interior lamps and, it took him a moment to tell it was a tear.

Quistis kept staring out to sea, for long enough that Nida wondered if she'd heard him. Then she turned back toward the transport, wiped her eyes, and turned back to look at him. "She said, 'You're my only hope.'"

None of them spoke again for the whole drive back to Garden