Rinoa desperately tried to reach Squall via Teleradio, her fingers trembling as she repeatedly pressed the buttons. The sleek interior of the Ragnarok aircraft pulsed with an eerie blue light, matching the anxiety coursing through her veins. This very aircraft was where they had landed after Squall saved her from space, and where she had felt safe in his arms before facing a sentence of eternal imprisonment as a sorceress. Squall had always been tough and unwavering, someone she could trust completely. But now, years later, sitting in this ship felt different. She was a powerful sorceress, worried about her boyfriend, who she had just realized was a mortal being. She couldn't imagine any force capable of taking down the formidable commander right at his base.

She pressed harder on the accelerator, urging the Ragnarok aircraft to go even faster, leaving her loyal dog Angelo scared and huddled in her seat.

A voice crackled through the airwaves, barely audible at first. "Sorceress Rinoa!"

Rinoa noticed a familiar aircraft approaching in her rearview mirror. It was a Balamb's aircraft. She turned back to establish better communication.

"Sorceress Rinoa, please land on the nearest island. Commander Leonhart is injured, and we're treating him on this ship. We need your magic, now!"

"I'm coming!" Rinoa replied without hesitation. She steered the ship towards the small island as instructed. Angelo barked with relief as the high-speed journey came to an end.

Rinoa hurriedly boarded the Balamb's aircraft as its door was open. Inside, she saw someone familiar but in a weird looking uniform. Hope mingled with anxiety as she hurried inside, her eyes scanning the surroundings for any sign of Squall.

"Where is he? Is he okay? What happened?" Rinoa rushed in, frantically searching for Squall. "You said you were treating him. Where is he?"

There was a moment's hesitation, an unspoken answer in the air, before the door behind her abruptly began to close.

SLASH!

Rinoa cried out in pain as she was struck from behind, collapsing to the ground. Confusion clouded her senses as she tried to comprehend the sudden attack. A instant later, a cold, heavy metal device was pressed against her waist, causing her muscles to freeze one by one at its touch.

"What..." Rinoa's voice trailed off, unable to articulate her thoughts.

"Woof! Woof!" Angelo lunged at Rinoa's attacker, barking fiercely, but the loyal dog was easily pushed back, colliding with a control panel.

"Angelo..." Rinoa struggled to make a sound. She managed to hit her arm on the ground and activated the Teleradio dial. This time, luck was on her side as the other end picked up.

"Rinoa? I'm okay now. We are under attack, things are getting under control, but just stay in Esthar for now, okay? Rinoa? Rinoa?"

Before she could respond, the attacker disabled her Teleradio, plunging her into silence.

At least she knew, before succumbing to the depths of unconsciousness, that Squall was alive and well.


"Rinoa? Rinoa?" Squall desperately called out, but there was no response from her. The connection was abruptly cut off, and his heart sank as he considered the possibilities. The most plausible explanation was that Rinoa had fallen into the enemy's trap upon returning to Balamb Garden.

Squall swiftly dispatched another puppet with his gunblade, the metallic clang echoing in the air. The puppets were eerie, wearing brown cloaks and clown masks, and their presence reminded him of a moment three years ago during Galbadia Garden's attack on Balamb Garden. Rinoa had been left dangling from a cliff while Squall battled to protect the lives of the staff and students. However, this time, he found himself without his close-knit team by his side. Zell had been stationed at the Deep Sea Research Center for almost a year. Irvine had become a member of the Garden Committee in Trabia Garden. Selphie hadn't returned from her mission to investigate the campsite, and Quistis was on vacation, as far as Squall knew. Nida had been taken down upstairs, and the news indicated that Xu had suffered the same fate. He cursed inwardly, realizing that he couldn't be everywhere at once to search for Rinoa.

"Commander Leonhart! I've cleared the west wing. I have some lower-ranking cadets watching over the fallen enemies. We should be safe if we stick together. What can I do to help here?" Raddie, the young and eager SeeD, approached Squall.

Squall looked at Raddie, his stormy eyes filled with a mix of concern and determination. "Raddie... Take this tracking device. Use it to locate Sorceress Rinoa using an aircraft's detection panel. I believe she's in danger. I'm counting on you. Please bring her back safely." Squall was surprised at his own composed demeanor regarding Rinoa's well-being. He had the lives of many others to safeguard in this critical moment, and he didn't want to frighten the young SeeD on his first real mission. "Once you reach her, use her Teleradio to establish a direct connection with me. Do you copy?"

"Yes, sir! I'll do my best!" Raddie promptly accepted the order and hurried towards the transport center to secure an aircraft.

"Receiving another high priority order from Commander Leonhart… What a day!" He thought to himself.

As Raddie entered the transport center, he heard a familiar voice cry out for help.

"Help! Help!"

"Keannu!"

"Raddie! Help!"

Keannu desperately evaded the relentless magical attacks of a puppet lurking in the tunnel. Raddie swiftly joined the fray, his heart pounding as he rushed towards the exhausted puppet. With a few well-placed strikes, he disabled it, the clown mask falling to the ground.

Breathing heavily, Raddie sat beside his friend, who was visibly shaken. "Are you alright?"

"It hurts... But I'll survive." Keannu whispered weakly, his voice filled with pain. "Thanks, man."

Raddie cast a healing spell, his hands glowing with a soft light as he watched Keannu's burnt wounds slowly mend. He may not have been a skilled healer, but if they managed to survive this ambush, Keannu's dream of opening a martial arts school could still become a reality. "Save your strength. Let me call for reinforcements. Head to the basement as soon as you can. We've secured that area."

"Thank you. I'm fine. Go and do your heroic thing, man." Keannu urged Raddie to leave.

"It's alright. I'll stay until help arrives. Now's not the time to be polite."

"These monsters... this is exactly what I feared… Teaching it is, no more unexpected fighting." Keannu chuckled through the pain.

"Alright, alright. Save your breath. Garneet is on her way. She'll take care of you, okay? Damn, I'm a terrible healer. Barely managed to restore 100 HP in five minutes!"

"Where is Shrew?"

"I don't know. I hope she's safe. Can you find her once you recover? I have to fly out soon."

"You've got this. Don't worry. Last I saw her leaving the infirmary with Timeth. She's tough, even with one arm." Keannu reassured Raddie, who reluctantly nodded.

"Raddie, I'm here! Go, leave Keannu for me." Garneet arrived and took over Raddie's place, prompting him to swiftly board an aircraft to begin his search for Rinoa.

Raddie nodded gratefully. Though torn between his duty to find Rinoa and his concern for Keannu, he knew he had to prioritize his mission. Raddie hopped onto the only aircraft that remained in the station and quickly made his way towards the cockpit.

Huh? The engine key is still in. Bah, someone must have left it there after the last training session. Raddie mumbled to himself as he noticed the key in the ignition.

He started the engine and enabled location tracking; he had full admin access using Squall's junction. As the aircraft lifted off, Raddie couldn't help but steal a glance back at the garden, hoping that his friends would remain safe.

Shrewdya. Timeth. Keannu... And Acma, you'd better have a good explanation for all of this.


"What the hell was that, Quistis?" Seifer's mouth dropped open as he struggled to comprehend the devastation before his eyes. The once majestic Trabia mountain, covered in a pristine blanket of snow and adorned with towering pipe trees, had been transformed into a desolate wasteland. The trees were now reduced to smoldering stumps, and the mountain itself had been shattered into a jagged landscape of debris and rubble where tribe members lay scattered like panicked ants.

"Did I... do that?" Quistis couldn't believe what she had just witnessed. Her heart pounded in her chest, and her hands trembled as she struggled to comprehend the magnitude of the destruction. It had been a long time since she had used her Limit Break Blue Magic, but Missile was only a medium-level spell. The destruction she saw far exceeded the power of of her highest level Shockwave Pulsar. Fortunately, the magic didn't affect humans, but the landscape had been drastically altered, leaving the injured tribesmen crying out in pain.

"Sorceress!"

"Sorceress! Run!

The men screamed and fled from the blond couple.

"That wasn't me..." Quistis reached out to the terrified men.

"Quistis..." Seifer called out, his vision blurring due to a head injury.

"Seifer, are you okay?" Quistis rushed to Seifer's side as he stumbled and caught him before he fell. "Oh, Hyne, you're bleeding heavily. Let me use Cure..." Quistis channeled her healing magic to stem Seifer's bleeding. He immediately felt rejuvenated, though Cure couldn't heal his internal injuries.

"Even your Cure was lightning fast... What was that?" Seifer mumbled.

"I don't know, haven't used magic for a while. Save your breath. We need to get you to Shumi; they can provide better care there."

"It's okay, stay... We won't make it there anyway."

"Don't say that, Seifer. It looks like you have internal damage, but we can still try to hurry." Quistis panicked, feeling guilty that Seifer was suffering like this because of her.

"Say you're sorry..." Seifer made an unusual request.

"What?" Quistis was taken aback. "Seifer, this is no time for jokes. Let me search for something here."

She emptied her backpack, desperately searching for a miracle cure that might have slipped her mind. But she found nothing.

"I'm sorry, Seifer. I'm sorry. I should have never turned my back. I'm such a fool. Please don't..." Quistis screamed in panic. She never imagined Seifer could leave this world so easily. He had been defeated multiple times while assisting Ultimecia, survived blows from Gilgamesh, and returned from Time Compression. He had turned to the dark side because Quistis couldn't bring him back, and she never wanted to be the reason for his death.

"Apology accepted. You're indeed a fucking idiot. Now..." Seifer opened his eyes and locked gazes with Quistis, "Do as I say... Keep your Cure going and keep me awake. I'm going to try something here. It's no use if I lose consciousness, so talk to me, pinch me, do whatever it takes. Just keep me awake the whole time, okay?"

Quistis was confused but nodded nonetheless. In this moment, Seifer could ask her to do anything, no matter how strange.

"Keep talking now, something positive, don't let me sleep," Seifer urged.

"Okay... Let's see. What are you going to do? Why should I keep talking?" Quistis couldn't think of anything else to say.

Seifer narrowed his eyes, displaying his frustration, and shook his head slightly, indicating that he wouldn't answer.

"Alright... I'll do the talking. Do you remember the day we met in Fisherman's Horizon? You tricked me into paying for the entire bar. You just left me there, you jerk, and I didn't have enough cash," Quistis began, her voice overflowing with frustration. "They made me wash the dishes, can you believe it? Me, scrubbing dishes in a filthy bar. They even forced me to put on the apron. Luckily, one of my former students, who now owns an antique shop in Fisherman's Horizon, happened to walk in and rescue me. I wonder if that's why Balamb Garden's forum was buzzing that weekend."

"Tch…"

Quistis noticed a sudden glimmer of dark orange in Seifer's eyes, which were on the verge of closing. Knight Aura?

Seifer's body trembled as he summoned the cursed spell, a surge of dark orange energy enveloping him. His eyes, usually a piercing blue, now glowed with an intense orange light. Heat radiated from his body, causing the air around him to shimmer. His trembling body betrayed the toll it was taking on him, and Quistis could sense the struggle he faced to maintain his composure. The power of the Knight Aura drained his strength, threatening to plunge him into an eternal sleep if he succumbed to unconsciousness.

"Hey, hey... don't fall asleep," she lightly tapped his shoulder, relieved when Seifer opened his eyes and nodded slightly. "Is the spell working? Okay, okay... let's find an interesting story. Oh, right. This is quite embarrassing, but do you remember Zell's birthday? I mean, it doesn't really make sense for any of us to have legitimate birthdays, but that's what I remember that day as. You ended up hitting Squall in the face with a piece of Zell's birthday cake, and he ran off and smacked into a wall. Then I had the brilliant idea of pushing you down the stairs, but somehow, you managed to grab my hand before you fell, and we ended up tumbling down together. I ended up on top of your face, and you were frozen for a good minute... I was quite another troublemaker, huh?"

Seifer chuckled at Quistis' version of the story.

"Damn. I told you to keep me awake, not to make me lose focus," he thought inwardly, secretly hoping Quistis would continue with more embarrassing memories.

"...Okay, that story seemed to be working. Anyway, I apologize for being so violent towards you when we were younger. I should have said this earlier, it's just… my memory completely wiped once I came back to Balamb. Would things have been different if we hadn't lost our memories? Would I have tried harder to persuade you when you escaped from the disciplinary room that day and ran off to Timber, threatening to kill Vinzer Deling? Would you have listened to your longtime childhood friend instead of a strict instructor?"

"Quistis..." Seifer interrupted her, and Quistis noticed his eyes had returned to their usual blue color. "You're overthinking things again. You had nothing to do with the choices I made in my life. I chose to become a Sorceress' Knight, and that's why I ended up where I did. I made my own choices, and they had nothing to do with you, cocky Quisty."

Quistis didn't feel saddened by his remark. Instead, she found hope in the fact that he addressed her as "Quisty," as if his rude comment was a facade to protect her from feeling guilty about his downward spiral.

"Thank you, Seifer." Quistis smiled, making Seifer uneasy that she had read his intentions of alleviating her guilt. "Did your Knight Aura work?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah…"

"That's… the magic heals you quickly but comes with a certain curse?" Quistis inquired.

Seifer remained silent, but his lack of response confirmed Quistis' assumption.

"I won't be able to drive until fully recovered though. Mind driving?" He also changed the subject.

"Not at all! Here, let me help!" Quistis extending her arm to help Seifer stand up.

"For the record," Seifer said as he leaned on Quistis, "when you fell off the stairs, your ass landed right on my face, and you were wearing a dress with a blue underwear," and he burst into laughter.

Quistis was taken aback and dropped her jaw in disbelief.

"You made that up," she said, regaining her composure.

"I wish I did. Don't be embarrassed, though. You've got no ass. Not back then, not now. Nothing," he chuckled even more.

"GFs messed up your mind. I didn't land on your... Stop laughing!" Quistis snapped.

"Don't you notice? I almost never junctioned GFs," Seifer stopped laughing, his tone carrying more weight.

Quistis halted and stared at him, but he kept his gaze straight ahead, avoiding eye contact.

"So, all this time... you knew about us? And you never told... you never told me? Why?" Quistis's voice trembled with a mix of hurt and confusion. She would have felt better if all of them were in the dark. Instead, Seifer seemed to suffer as he realized none of his friends was remembering him.

Seifer didn't answer. He didn't want her to know how much it had hurt him that she didn't recognize him. He was used to Squall's obliviousness and constant talk about "Sis," but it was Quistis' cold shoulder that stung the most. Yet, his inflated ego prevented him from ever revealing his anger towards her and admitting how important she was to his few happy memories at the orphanage. Seeing her in class every day was painful, as the once vibrant figure now seemed lifeless, moving from one class to another. Picking fights with Squall was his way of getting her attention, even if it only resulted in more punches and no smiles from the young Quistis. But that was enough for Seifer; listening to her scolding and engaging in staring contests in the disciplinary room.

"Your foster parents… They hurt you?" Seifer asked, his voice tried to be cold, but deep down filled with genuine concern.

Quistis was taken aback by his unexpected care. She dropped her chin in agreement, acknowledging the painful memories.

"I'm okay now... but yeah, sometimes I wish I never had to leave the lighthouse," she replied, turning to Seifer with a quick, pained smile.

Seifer felt a rush of pain in his heart, unable to fully process his emotions. He wanted to scream at his foolish 10-year-old self for not understanding the consequences of GF use or gather the courage to confront his old friend about her cold treatment. Things could have turned out differently between them.

"Can you hop on?" Quistis asked Seifer as they reached the motorcycle.

Seifer nodded, and Quistis helped him sit at the back. It was a caring gesture, and the atmosphere felt unusually tender for the two who constantly threw dirt at each other.

There were so many things Seifer could have said to follow up with Quistis. He could have apologized for not telling her about their childhood when she lost her memories. He could have shown genuine interest in her time with her foster parents. He could have talked about a future where they could be friends rather than maintaining this antagonistic student-instructor dynamic. But none of these thoughts made their way to his lips.

"Great, now I have to stare at your nonexistent ass all the way to Shumi!" Seifer blurted out, unable to resist his teasing nature.

Quistis turned back, shooting him a glare with her laser-like eyes, and hit her elbows behind her.

"Hyne! Watch the rib!" Seifer screamed, almost fell backwards as Quistis hit the gas pedal with force.

She made sure to hit every pothole on their way.


Raddie activated the aircraft's autopilot mode and instructed it to track Rinoa's location using her tracking device's code. As a sorceress, Rinoa's whereabouts needed to be constantly updated and relayed to various military units. Despite being an educational institution, Balamb Garden housed some of the most powerful individuals in the world of magic. This fact had instilled fear in politicians globally, as they worried that the school staff could exploit Rinoa's unique powers to alter the political landscape. Little did they know that the Garden was facing severe financial troubles due to the departure of SeeDs from the institution, resulting in a loss of mercenary income, coupled with reduced funding from Master NORG.

"Hmm... Is that a Ragnarok?" Raddie furrowed his brow at the sight of the massive airship from Esthar, docking near Balamb's aircraft. It was unclear who owned the vessel, and Raddie was surprised that someone had managed to escape Balamb Garden with it before Acma liberated the SeeDs to fight against the magic puppets. The only person capable of piloting the aircraft could be Acma herself, disguised in the enemy's costume and able to escape the enemy's watch.

"Acma, are you in there?" Raddie utilized the communication channel in his aircraft to send signals to the other aircraft.

No response.

"I'm coming!" Raddie intentionally landed his aircraft in front of Acma's, blocking her potential escape route, sensing that something suspicious was happening with his instructor.

Approaching Acma's aircraft, which remained motionless, Raddie drew his sword, prepared for a confrontation. He used his tablet to initiate an override command, opening Acma's aircraft.

"Good Hyne! What happened?"

The gruesome scene before him made him uneasy, but he quickly surveyed the area to assess the situation. On the ground, Sorceress Rinoa and Acma lay amidst a pool of blood. Angelo, Rinoa's loyal dog, whimpered softly, unable to move. In the corner, there was another strange body wearing the enemy's uniform. The interior of the aircraft indicated a fierce struggle had taken place.

"Raddie... help Rinoa..." Acma's weak voice reached his ears.

"Acma, what happened?" Raddie rushed towards her, realizing she was using Curaga on Rinoa, but Acma lost consciousness and the Curaga spell disconnected. "Acma!"

Suddenly, a loud engine noise reverberated from outside, and through the aircraft window, Raddie witnessed the Ragnarok taking off.

"Damn it." He cursed. Their attackers had escaped. He should have blocked the Ragnarok instead.

Remembering Squall's instructions to keep him informed, Raddie dialed through Rinoa's Teleradio.

"Commander Leonhart?"

"Talk to me Raddie!"

"Sorceress Rinoa... and Acma... they were attacked. I see a lot of blood. There's another enemy, but I think the real attackers just escaped."

"Location?"

"Isawa Island, 40 kilometers away from Trabia Garden. May I have permission to bring them there? We need to get them medical help as soon as possible."

"Permission granted. Things are chaotic here in Balamb. Inform Irvine and Selphie to do everything it takes to treat Rinoa."

"Understood."

"I'm counting on you. Keep me updated." Squall's voice carried tension, but Raddie could sense his relief that Rinoa had been located and wasn't in critical condition.

"Thank you. I will!"

Raddie ended the call and immediately contacted Irvine to prepare for their arrival. He couldn't fathom the events that had unfolded, but he knew that time was of the essence. Saving Sorceress Rinoa and unraveling the truth behind the attack became his top priority.