samaqi: Okay, last chapter to set up characters and context. I promise actions will pick up in the next chapters. 3
"Find me… Come back to me…"
Seifer woke up drenched in sweat, his nightmare echoing with a slithering voice and a piercing shriek. These recurring nightmares had intensified in frequency over the past few months. Each night, the scenes of a snowy mountain consumed by lava became increasingly vivid, tempting him to forgo sleep altogether. Seifer recognized the familiar sensations he experienced when under Ultimecia's control. He had once believed that his actions were driven solely by his own choices, but now he questioned whether Edea and Ultimecia's seemingly casual touches were innocent gestures or deliberate attempts to infiltrate his mind and manipulate his thoughts. Whether the effects were reversible remained uncertain.
Something urged Seifer to seek answers, to unravel the mysteries of his lost year under Ultimecia's puppet strings. Despite the eerie calling from the mountain, he couldn't shake the feeling that it held answers rather than pure destruction. During his time with Ultimecia, he had observed her mastery of spells, her ability to extract information from the past and future, and her access to magic in places unknown to anyone but himself. He had never considered himself curious about anything, but the extended exposure to dark magic made him uneasy about simply taking things for granted.
During one of Ultimecia's wicked ceremonies, Seifer was certain he had seen Gilgamesh, even before the fucking red-cloak GF flew out of nowhere and knocked him down an abyss two years ago. That creature came from a different realm, in a different era, highlighting the uncertain and dangerous nature of time magic. Even those with inherent time manipulation abilities, like Ellone, couldn't predict when they might be devoured by its mysterious power, let alone being captured by power-hungry sorceresses seeking to exploit their abilities.
After his defeat, Edea was the first person Seifer encountered. She spoke at length, and at first, he pretended not to listen. However, eventually, he allowed her words to sink in.
"There's no way to come back."
"There's always a way. I am home again, and you will find yours."
"I don't have a home."
"That's not true, child."
Child. Not a foolish, worthless child.
"Give me an update!" Xu demanded as soon as she walked into the Garden Committee office.
"We recently observed unusual piracy activities about five days ago by one of our White Seed squads, approximately 100 miles away from Dollet. Sea monsters have been smuggled to a temporary camp near Minesta Beach. We suspect that whoever is behind this operation has also built an underground facility over an extended period of time. Our drones detected a significant source of thermal magic approximately 500 meters deep, and possibly even deeper. We need to penetrate further to gather more information," Nida, still fuzzy from the medication, updated Xu on the recent espionage findings.
Xu turned to the Garden Commander and asked, "Do we have a plan to approach this facility?"
"The severity of the situation is still unknown. We should send a spy squad to monitor their activities and assess their numbers before deciding on the next course of action," Squall replied. Without sufficient information about the terrain and the enemy, it would be futile to make detailed plans.
"I'm concerned that if the spy squad is discovered, we might lose the opportunity to capture them. Dollet is in a sensitive area, and I don't want to send our troops in multiple times," Xu expressed her worry, although she had no better alternative at the moment.
Quistis then proposed, "Is there anything suspicious about the ownership of this facility? Should we notify Galbadia about this activity? It's closer to their territory, but it would be awkward if it turned out to be one of their research facilities."
"We've tried to find any identifying symbols on their ships and tents, but we haven't seen anything. It's clear that they are deliberately hiding their identity," Nida responded.
"I'm still a bit uneasy about either secretly infiltrating or directly attacking this facility. We need to proceed with caution in case this is a trap to lure us into a conflict," Quistis explained her real concern.
"That's something Galbadia could definitely scheme for," Xu frowned.
Based on what Xu had shared with Quistis, it was evident that Martine, the former headmaster of Galbadia Garden and now Galbadia's General, had a preference for dealing with Cid Kramer, the former headmaster who held the same seniority as him. He seemed to have a dislike for conversing with Xu.
"What if we involve a neutral party like Trabia in the scouting mission?" Selphie suggested. "We can make it appear as a field practice for the Trabian students. That way, regardless of the outcome, it wouldn't reflect poorly on Balamb."
The suggestion seemed to resonate with everyone in the room.
"That sounds reasonable, Balamb is in shortage of SeeDs anyway," Xu considered this approach. "Are we all in agreement that this situation is not a P0 and suitable for less experienced SeeDs and students?"
Silent nods filled the room.
"Squall, do you think we could incorporate our new SeeD candidates into the attack plan?" Xu turned to Squall.
Squall nodded. "Do we have a list of SeeD candidates from Trabia?"
"We do. Let's work out a plan together, shall we?" Selphie turned to Squall.
Quistis noticed Selphie's excitement at the idea of Trabia playing a role in resolving conflicts between the other gardens. However, she couldn't help but feel a little upset that Selphie was turning to Squall and Xu for opinions throughout the entire meeting, especially since Quistis had been the one to propose caution in this politically sensitive mission.
"Um... may I ask something?" Acma spoke up for the first time, having spent the entire hour listening.
"Shoot it quick," Xu glanced at the young SeeD.
"I want to join the mission. I have served in Trabia Garden longer than in Balamb Garden, so I think it would be easier to explain if things go south. Trabia SeeDs have less experience in this kind of mission, as far as I recall," Acma proposed.
"Agree." Selphie nodded. "Let's create a list with a mix of SeeDs, but with the majority coming from Trabia."
"Great. You all settle on the squad lists, and go pick up Trabia's SeeD candidates. I want them to be dispatched to this mission by midnight tomorrow," Xu instructed. "And you know what? Let's make this a proper SeeD exam. We'll promote some of them to SeeDs after the mission."
Confused by this sudden decision, Quistis questioned, "Isn't this scouting mission too simple to serve as a SeeD exam?"
Xu winkled her nose. "We're flooded with requests… Besides, this year's candidates are highly skilled, aren't they? We can assign them to easier missions as well. They've already had enough simulations under their belt. Any objections?"
Deep Sea Research Center.
As the whole crew had now been stationed at the Deep Sea Research Center for half a year, Cid found himself sitting in front of so many flashing screens, feeling amazed at Dr. Odine's speed when moving between devices and screens and test tubes without knocking anything off with his folded paper fan collar.
When Edea returned from her trip to Esthar, Cid was relieved in multiple ways. Firstly, he was afraid of not seeing her again, fearing every moment without her. Mornings were the most frightening time of the day, especially in a few ones when he woke up and did not see Edea right away, who was busy making breakfast. Secondly, Edea came backed with a device on her hand, something Dr. Odine claimed could sense any unusual source of power, alerting them immediately if a Sorceress were to show up near Edea. Although the device was, objectively speaking, quite sensitive, as it would alert whenever Edea passed by a T-Rex in Balamb's training center, both she and Cid felt somewhat safe with this bulky invention.
Then, one day, the device alerted out of nowhere when they were about to turn off the light and call it a day. Fortunately, they were in a dorm room adjacent to plenty of experienced SeeDs, so Cid dashed to the central microphone and made sure to wake the whole school up for this potential threat. As Squall and other highest-ranking SeeDs showed up, preparing for the possibility of all the sorceresses in history showing up, but nothing really happened. After an hour of waiting, they decided to disable the device, and sent a message to Dr. Odine, who flew immediately to Balamb in the night. He seemed to care a lot about this matter, true, but also complained nonstop about Laguna's obsession with some new communication means proposed by other Estharian scientists.
"My device isn't broken; it's certainly sensitive, but not broken. I confirmed that it stays silent whenever Edea doesn't wear it. One thing's for sure... her power has come back," Dr. Odine explained, hooking more wires to his wife. The magicometer immediately shot up a couple of rounds.
"Hyne! This portable magicometer's upper limit is too low… I can't get an exact measurement without a bigger device back in Esthar. But it's clearly that Sorceress Edea's power level had increased tremendously compared to two years ago. This is perplexing…" Dr. Odine shook his head and jumped up and down at the same time.
The words "Sorceress Edea" made Cid uneasy. He was not prepared to lose his wife again.
Edea put her hand on his, reassuring him: "Don't worry too much, we don't know what it is yet. It could be that my power is coming back, and we can just extract it away, just like the last time. Ultimecia is gone, our future is secured. That's a fact." She knew whatever happened next, they would stick together like the last time.
Cid looked at Edea's beautiful face yet filled with sadness. She had suffered a lot being a sorceress her whole life. He had to be strong for her. This was clearly not a moment to let fear overcome him.
Dr. Odine proposed to the couple that he run more experiments on Edea, given that they were not in a terrible rush to extract the power, as Ultimecia was no longer a threat. It was better to find the root cause and treat it rather than just fixing the symptom.
Cid was eager to get relocated to a place that would make it easier for Dr. Odine to conduct his research. There was a small problem: the machines needed to run sorcery-related experiments had been taken out of the Esthar labs to make space for newer research projects, despite Dr. Odine's opposition. However, Cid could somewhat understand the decision. Communication via radio, though possible after Adel's defeat, was too unreliable, as signals had to travel through dense terrains soaked in magic. Plus, with the broadcast mechanism, the communication could be hijacked by anyone along the way if they figured out the correct radio frequency. Figuring out a way to establish a secure, long-distance communication channel, according to Laguna, was revolutionary in terms of human day-to-day life as well as military purposes.
"Cid, do you mind watching the steam pressure while Arya and I go down there?" Zell walked into the room, followed by a girl with a pigtail.
"Sure, Zell… are we close to the deepest level yet?" Cid turned to the young couple.
Arya had worked in the library back at Balamb Garden for quite a few years. She enjoyed reading books, not just the magic ones, but many other genres. She had a talent of remembering most of things she encountered. When Dr. Odine proposed converting the Deep Sea Research Center into a new research base for sorcery magic which required a few personnels, Zell first accepted with the reason to protect his Matron, but Cid doubted that the idea was his. With Arya joining the crew, it meant that they would not need to bring tons of books or digital archives from Balamb to the research center. Plus, she was famous for her excellent organizational skills made up for Zell's lack thereof. Cid couldn't ask for more.
"We hope today will be the last day," Arya replied, her hands ready with two heavy backpacks, "According to our device, we're only a few floors away from the seafloor."
"Good luck! I'll keep an eye on the steam engines and your cameras," Cid waved to the young couple, letting them go on their search.
"You don't want to go first this time?" asked Zell as they reached the furthest point they had explored last time.
"No, you first… I have a weird feeling, it's suddenly getting colder here." Arya explained, tiptoeing behind Zell, trying to get a better view ahead as her height was quite humble compared to her boyfriend's.
"Ahhh!"
"Ahhhhhh!"
Zell suddenly screamed loudly, triggering a similar response from Arya.
"What is that?" Arya looked around, terrifying. She had stepped back a couple of feet away from Zell.
"Nothing...!" Zell mischievously winked, "I thought whoever was behind would back up the one in the lead?"
"That's not funny!" Arya dashed towards Zell, hitting his rib cage with her elbow. Her fists moved with generous speed and pressure.
"Oh, stop, or I'll tell Matron…" Zell screamed and laughed at the same time, stepping down faster to dodge Arya's flying fists.
"Ahhh… Ahhh…" This time, Zell really tripped on something and tumbled down for a few rounds.
"Oh great Hyne, are you okay, Zell?" Arya hurried down to him.
"Careful, there's something on the floor!" Zell warned his girlfriend.
Arya slowed down at the rusty handle that seemed to belong to some chest buried underground.
"You're right, there's something here," she turned on another flashlight, "It looks like an old chest. Come, help me dig it up."
Zell crawled his way back to the unknown object, unsure if digging up a mysterious chest at this depth was a good idea.
"Eh… Should we check if it could contain something… alive?" Zell had read Arya's suggested Human Puppet thriller, in which a Pandora-kind of plaque was released from a stupid group of explorers, killing them one by one.
"Sure, you start digging, I'll start up the Scan."
"Cid, are you watching?" Zell asked for more support before touching this Pandora's chest.
"I'm here. Thermal images look fine, and the chest looks harmless from what I can tell from the numbers displayed on the screen," Cid replied via radio.
"No magic source detected. Go ahead, Zellyfish!" Arya asked Zell to proceed, forgetting that Cid was on the line listening to her spitting out Zell's nickname.
Zell felt a slight blush rise to his cheeks. Having Arya by his side while protecting Matron and Cid made him feel safe and proud of himself, like a strong soldier who could safeguard his family. Don't get him wrong, he missed Ma Dincht's fish terribly, for the seafood from the Centra Sea tasted like… monsters. However, Edea and Cid had been his first family for many years before he experienced amnesia. Rediscovering the memories of this loving couple warmed his heart even more, as if he had found another family who loved him unconditionally.
Zell quickly unearthed the heavy chest. It looked like a regular file cabinet that had become rusty over time.
"There's a lock. Maybe we should bring it up there before cracking it," Zell proposed, knowing that getting approval from curious Arya would be hard.
The cabinet looked big enough that Arya was afraid that without the lock, she would have to help Zell bring it up to the ground by climbing so many stairs.
"Ok, bring it up then," she accepted his suggestion this time.
Zell and Arya made their way back to the lab. Cid was now joined by Dr. Odine and Edea, who had just finished their experiments.
Together, they opened the chest, revealing a collection of weathered research logs within. Dr. Odine picked up a few files, turning some pages, his eyes narrowing as he took in the sight of the research logs.
"What is that, Dr. Odine?" Everyone asked the mad scientist for updates every now and then, but he ignored every question, seemingly engrossed by the boring pile of research logs.
For the next couple of hours, Dr. Odine meticulously analyzed a few sealed test tubes, his brow furrowing while muttering 'it's alive', 'inconceivable',... The room was filled with a tense silence, broken only by the sound of turning pages and the occasional murmurs of realization. People came and went, unable to simply sit and watch as the scientist immersed himself in his own world.
Finally, Dr. Odine shouted at Cid who almost dozed off into his nap. "Inconceivable!" He began, his voice tinged with gravity. "They were experimenting with the extraction of monster DNA and its combination with human DNA. And they succeeded! Multiple times! The result was the creation of these human-monster babies through in vitro fertilization. Why hadn't they published! This is revolutionary! What a crime for not publishing these procedures!"
Zell and Arya exchanged glances, their minds racing with the implications of such experiments. They did not want to look at Cid and Edea's reaction. Research in children for military purposes had always been a sensitive topic. One could consider Edea's orphanage itself to be a dehumanizing experience, as it recruited only children without guardians who were exposed too early on violence and military weaponry and magic.
"When did this happen?" Cid asked, his voice filled with suspicion.
"Based on the logs, it happened at least 25 years ago, with the last entry dating back 15 years ago," Dr. Odine replied.
"Oh Hyne!" Cid covered his mouth, surprised and terrified by the timeline he least expected to hear.
"Rinoa, I'm going to stop the experiment." Bruno announced through his microphone, and Ellone helped carry Rinoa out of the experiment chamber.
"Rinoa, you don't seem too well…" Ellone wiped away Rinoa's sweat on her forehead.
Rinoa, her breaths ragged and her voice strained, managed to respond, "I'm... okay. I... I just didn't expect... Ellone, how do you withstand all these?"
Ellone nodded with a smile, not directly answering Rinoa's question.
"I'm sorry, I should have powered through. It looks like we waste another day of work…" Rinoa looked at Bruno.
"No one could have predicted this, Rinoa. We're in uncharted territory here. We'll take a step back, give you time to recover, and then we'll reassess how we proceed." Bruno suggested, his expression filled with empathy.
Rinoa weakly nodded, appreciating his understanding on the unknown path they were embarking on. However, she also recognized that by unraveling her connection to Hyne's empty shell, they could discover ways to completely extinguish her power and eliminate the threat of future sorceresses resurfacing.
Ellone helped Rinoa to a nearby chair, offering her a glass of water to help soothe her parched throat.
"You can rest some more, Rinoa. I have gathered enough data for today to run some pattern matching. It's very likely that I'd need to adjust Ellone's time magic injected to your brain."
Rinoa took a sip of water, her hands trembling slightly. When discussing with Squall about this trip, she faced unexpected objection from him. He did not explain why, but she remember he had briefly mentioned the image of her face being broken behind a lab glass shield show up when he was trapped in time compression. Squall was uncertain if that was an illusion created by Ultimecia to mess his mind one last time, or something coming from the future.
"That mystic scenery… I have a better view this time. There was a vast temple, with towering pillars and intricate carvings. The symbols... they seemed ancient, I couldn't see them clearly. Maybe we should stop there and decipher the script. I also saw a serpent intertwined with a crescent moon, and there was a symbol that resembled a key. But it's hard to piece it all together."
"That's ok, no need to try too hard. A dream fades away almost instantly when seeing it the first two times. I'm sure you'll get almost everything by tomorrow." Bruno smiled warmly.
"I think locking into the script is a good idea though. With a name, we can look it up from the record. As long as I know someone from that period of time, I can send a time traveler there." Ellone suggested.
"I'll learn ancient languages in my free time, I may catch a few characters by chance," Rinoa suggested.
"Sounds like a plan, Rinoa. Now rest," Ellone said with a warm smile.
With those reassuring words lingering in the air, Rinoa closed her eyes, allowing the exhaustion and pain to wash over her, and drifting off to sleep.
"NON-SENSE." Fujin shouted, her voice louder than usual, trying to convince Seifer in as few words as possible to stay in Galbadia instead of venturing out into the wild again.
"It will be like a vacay, no? Winter break is near. I want to see real magic, where it comes from. Ultimecia is gone, what to be afraid ya know?" Raijin tried to reassure Fujin, talking her out of her worries.
"NEGATIVE." Fujin's lone eye winced.
"Whatever, I'll find that shrine on my own, whether you two come along or not. Hyne it's so boring here. There must be something fishy about that dream, even if I'm staying here I'd soon become crazy." Seifer laid back on his chair, stretching his arms and lanced over the snowy window of Galdot. "Better get going and see what it tries to show us."
"YOU. NO US." Fujin screamed once more. The memory of her shouting at him in Lunatic Pandora, after their friend's final defeat, came rushing back. She vividly remembered the pathetic look on his face as he returned from that shameful battle. She would rather see him go fishing for eternity than witness him experience that shame again.
"I don't know, man. Yeah, it's a bit strange, but things are pretty good here. Why change?"
Indecisive Raijin swung back to Fujin's side again.
Just because it's heaven for you doesn't mean it's not hell for me. No change is hell. By the time I'm 30 or 40, I'll regret not figuring out what this talking mountain is trying to show me... He thought to himself. Seifer gave up on trying to persuade them, he made up his mind and there is no return.
"Fine, go back to your cozy shelter under Martine's perfumed jackets. I'll find the answers on my own. Nobody in history has come this far, having encounters with multiple sorceresses and being reached out to by supernatural forces like this. I may accept death, but I refuse a boring life."
Seifer finished his speech and grabbed his Hyperion, ready to jump on his motorcycle.
Raijin's feet yearned to follow, but he held back, waiting for Fujin's signal. With a sigh, she reluctantly gave in, thinking that it would only be a few days before Seifer realized the foolishness of his idea and returned. She figured she could tolerate babysitting him for just a few days.
"FINE. VACAY THEN OUT."
Quistis sat at her desk in her room, feeling a sense of restlessness. The events of the afternoon, particularly the actions in the Fire Cavern, had left her mind in turmoil. During the performance, she had junctioned Shiva again, and now that the device was turned off, memories from her past flooded back.
Was she feeling depressed? All the symptoms seemed to match. As a scientist, she was well aware of the signs. But how could she be depressed about something that happened many years ago? She knew that most people would think the same way, and if she were to discuss her depression with her cheerful friends, they would likely offer advice and explanations. They would probably suggest dating as a solution once again.
But would that really be a solution? It might work for some, but not for her.
Not for her problem.
To occupy her mind and pass the time while waiting for her depression pills to take effect, Quistis began browsing through the Balamb intranet. The IT department had recently announced the implementation of a data retention policy due to the increasing cost of storing all historical records. Balamb Garden had been in operation for almost twenty years, resulting in a significant rise in storage expenses. Quistis had a tendency to hold onto meaningful objects—notebooks, photos, anything she deemed worth keeping. She found herself drawn to threads and discussions that dated back to her early days at Balamb Garden.
The past.
As she clicked on the Music forum, hoping to discover some forgotten masterpieces from the old days, she stumbled upon an old song whose thumbnail seemed familiar. Someone had introduced this song to her, but she couldn't quite recall who it was.
Hurt. By Nine Inch Nails. [samaqi: I discovered this song when reading altol's Fire and Ice - another Seiftis fan fiction - it's really good!]
I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that's real
The needle tears a hole
The old familiar sting
Try to kill it all away
But I remember everything
What have I become
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end
Beneath the stains of time
The feelings disappear
You are someone else
I am still right here
What have I become
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end
And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt
If I could start again
A million miles away
I will keep myself
I would find a way
She hummed along to the lyrics, hoping that it would trigger her memories.
As she scrolled through the comments section, one particular comment caught her attention:
"Whenever I'm feeling depressed, I listen to this song to get even more depressed."
Quistis couldn't help but burst into laughter, finding the comment strangely amusing against the backdrop of the melancholic music.
Poor guy.
Once she regained her composure, she focused on finding the author of the comment.
disciplinary_committee_#1
"Seifer?" she gasped, a mixture of emotions flooding her mind as she contemplated the lyrics and made a painful realization.
Quistis clicked on the archive button, ensuring that she saved the entire thread to her disk. The memories she forever wanted to keep.