Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy X 1. Prolouge

**PROLOGUE**

NOTE: If you are reading this, I recommend that you have finished Final Fantasy X – and VIII an VII too if possible, since this contains a lot of spoilers and mixing of stories... well, let's just get started!

* * *

The evening sky was illuminated by thousands of lights as the gigantic creature exploded in light, spreading thousands of pyre- flies across the sky like fireworks. Sin was defeated and the battle was won. People all over Spira saw the spectacular light on the night-sky, and the celebrating had already begun in the city of Bevelle below. Only on the deck of the airship, hanging high in the orange coloured sky, no one was celebrating in spite of their victory. Two figures stood in contrast with the impressive lights, holding each other close without feeling the touch. Tidus never forgot the last words he heard in this world: "I love you."

_'We made it... we won...'_

Slowly, the surroundings started to fade. Like the pyre-flies, the orange sky melted into nothingness, along with the dim image of the airship upon which he stood. Slowly he looked down at his hands for the last time, watching them disappear in a blue and green light.

_'This is it. This is goodbye.'_ He didn't even feel the wind as he jumped and fell, didn't even feel that he was fading away. The only thing on his mind was the image of the one he had loved – and the ones of those who had left the spiralling world before him. Slowly he opened his eyes, waiting to be reunited with them, but suddenly realised that everything had changed around him. Cold fear arose in the body that he had expected not to feel anymore, as everything went pitch-black around him.

_'What's going on?'_ he thought desperately. _'Where am I? This is not right...'_

A bright light flashed before his eyes, blinding him. Then he remembered no more...

o o o o o o

"So I guess this is it," Rikku said, trying to sound as cheerful as possible.

Lulu turned, her black dress making the usual rattling noise of belts. "It's OK Yuna, you did well out there."

Without a word Yuna walked past both of them, leaving the door to the stadium behind her. "Thank you," she then whispered. Kimahri watched her closely, but didn't say a word. He only nodded in appreciation.

"Yeah, I really liked that speech," Rikku tried, running to Yuna's side. "And the people loved you. I'm sure they won't leave you alone for a loooong time now..."

"I think you are right," Yuna answered. "Nothing will ever be like before."

Lulu walked to her side now, pushing Rikku out of the way. Then she took Yuna by the arm, and was about to lead her out when someone burst through the door. Yuna stared at him in surprise. "Yes?"

"Lady Yuna!" he stammered. "I – I think you want to see this. Something just happened... someone has appeared on the beach, and he seems to be hurt..."

"Take me to him immediately," Yuna answered, already preparing to leave. Lulu looked as if she would disagree.

"But..." the man said, hesitating. "... He seems to have forgotten... where he is..."


	2. Victory and defeat

**CHAPTER 1: VICTORY AND DEFEAT**

Tidus slowly regained consciousness. At least he figured he was, as his head was pounding with pain. He tried opening his eyes, and to move his arms.

"Tidus?" a familiar female-voice called. "Tidus, is it you? Are you all right? Oh, Tidus! I thought you were gone!"

He rose on his arms and rubbed the back of his head, as he looked around him. He could hear the gentle sound of the ocean behind him, giving him the feeling that something was repeating itself. But there was no sign of Yuna or anyone else for that matter.

"Where am I?" he said out loud, surprised to hear his own voice.

He was lying on a beach that lead into a vast, brown landscape surrounded by cliffs and mountains in the same colour, that reminded him much of a scorched desert. "A desert?" he cried out loud. Then he looked down at himself, confused. "But... wasn't I supposed to... This is not right..."

Tired and confused he rose to his feet and started venturing into the desert, trying to find some proof that something lived here. But after walking like that in a couple of hours, seeing nothing more than the same, dry landscape continually repeating itself, he gave up and sat down by a brown cliff. The sun was on its way down, casting a red glow on the brownish ground. "Where is this?" he asked himself. "I haven't seen it before..." He touched the ground only to discover that it was hard, dry and not made of soft sand. "It can't be Sanubia Island." He sighed and closed his eyes. "I'm hungry by the way..."

"Snarrrl!"

Surprised he opened his eyes, and stared at a wolf-like creature standing in front of him. It was grey with red markings on the back, and its eyes glowed with mad hunger. Out of reflex Tidus instantly got on his feet and reached for his sword to fight this obstacle – this was an easy one he thought – only to discover that he was grabbing into thin air. His sword was gone.

"This isn't my day," he said regretfully, as he stood with his back against solid rock. The monster slowly stepped closer, and Tidus realised that more were coming from further away. Their eyes glowed even more as the sun fell silently. "Great. Now it's getting dark too… scram!"

The wolf closest to him jumped a few inches away as he waved his arm against it. Then it barked and jumped. Tidus yelled and tried to cover his face in defence, as he heard the angry snarl turn into a painful howl. Surprised he looked down at the slain wolf on the ground, which was now bleeding from a large wound in its one side.

"What?" he said, surprised.

The other wolves turned around as another one was struck dead with a loud 'BANG!'. Two ran towards the sound of the attackers, but was killed by a burst of magical fire. Tidus stared as he saw three humans walking towards him as the rest of the monsters fled.

"You all right?" one of the strangers asked, a tall man with a long brown ponytail, wearing a long jacket and a broad hat. He had a gun slung over his shoulder, and looked closely at Tidus.

"Ye – yeah, thanks," Tidus answered.

The second was a small girl with brown hair and yellow clothes. She carried a nunchaku as a weapon, and was standing by the side of the gunner. "Wow, weird clothes! Where're you from?"

"That can wait," the third one said, another woman with blond hair and blue eyes. She wore an orange jacket and skirt, and had long black boots and sleeves. She had a whip in the one hand, and was examining one of the dead monsters. She rose and turned to the others. "We have to return before nightfall." She sighed. "I wonder if the others have returned safely?"

Tidus stared at the three saviours, more confused than ever. "Eh, excuse me?"

They all turned towards Tidus and awaited his question. "Yes?" the blonde asked. He suddenly realised that they all – especially her – looked very tired and worn out.

"Can you please... tell me where I am?"

For a moment they were quiet, and then the blonde replied: "You're in Centra. I don't know how you ended up here, but it's not a safe place to wander alone." She looked at the others. "I think it's best if you come with us, if you are here alone."

Tidus let out a deep sigh. Centra. The desert was named Centra... He had never heard of it before, and he followed the three as they turned to leave. The smallest girl watched him closely. "What's your name?"

"Tidus."

"I'm Selphie." She pointed at the two others. "This is Irvine and Quistis!"

"Where are we going?"

"Back to the Garden of course," the man answered with a shrug. "We're SeeD's – you couldn't tell?"

'This is the same all over again!'Tidus thought. 'I can't believe it!' "No I'm sorry... I guess I don't know what SeeD is..."

Quistis gave him a worried glance. "Do you know how you got here? Where you're from?"

"No I'm sorry..."

"Well, I'll bring you to the infirmary as soon as we reach Garden. I'm sure Dr. Kadowaki will be able to help you."

"Eh, Garden?" The very words 'Garden' and 'seed' made him think of flowers and rosebushes. Or maybe he really was dead, and was lead to the Garden of Eden!

He had never thought of anything like this.

Selphie looked at him sceptically, but didn't say anything. '_Great,' _Tidus thought. '_How am I going to handle this?'_

It was dark when the four of them finally reached their destination, and as they had travelled he got even more assured that his three companions were tired too, as if they had been on a long journey. Tidus felt an enormous hunger as always, when the woman named Quistis stopped and looked at him. She smiled, both in joy and relief. "You don't remember Garden either, then?" she asked amused. Tidus shook his head, and she nodded. "You'll see – when we get around these cliffs." A dim light was visible around the peaks of the tall cliffs, and Tidus looked up in wonder. Then Quistis passed the last corner, and waved a hand at Tidus so that he came to her side.

"Here it is," she said. "Welcome to Balamb Garden."

Tidus took a step backwards and stared wide-eyed. He had seen many things that surprised and impressed him in Spira, but this...

... this was almost like back home in Zanarkand.

A large structure was lighting up the night-sky, a magical light pulsing from the many windows at the top. It was smooth and round, in white and blue colours, and it hovered above the ground. A swirling sound reached his ears, and he saw the huge, slowly spinning ring, carrying the structure above ground. It shone with yellow and blue lights, and had a beautiful but simple pattern. Finally Tidus recovered his ability to speak. "Wha… what IS that?"

"That," Quistis explained, "is our home. It's a large mobile base for SeeD members, and a school for SeeD candidates. I'm sure you know that, and I hoped that it could fresh up your memory a bit. It is a bit famous you know."

"Huh? Oh... yeah..."

Selphie started to loose her patience. "Come on, I'm hungry! They probably ate all our food already!"

Soon Tidus remembered that he, too, was starving. And he couldn't help feeling a bit excited about having to see the Garden from the inside. "Ehm, what does SeeD's do?"

Irvine laughed and followed Selphie back to the Garden. Quistis looked closely at Tidus, and in some way he compared her to Lulu. "We are mercenaries," she said. "Trained to fight the sorceresses... you must remember those."

"What?"

"The sorceress war! It just ended – only moments away! Gosh!" She shook her head. "I really hope that Kadowaki can help you, it seems serious."

The inside of the Garden impressed Tidus as much as the outside. Quistis lead him through a beautiful hall with circular aisles in two floors. Water poured from several statues at the outer wall, and the same water surrounded the aisles. Plants were also decorating the hall, and in the middle there was an elevator that lead to the upper floors, hanging almost freely above them. Tidus looked around in wonder, his eyes almost popping out of his head. And all the time he kept thinking: '_This is just like... my Zanarkand!'_

A sudden thought made him turn to Quistis and ask: "Where are all the people? Isn't this a school?"

She nodded. "Yes, but I am sure that they are all busy partying right now." She laughed. "Finally everyone can feel safe and free – the sorceress threat has been eliminated. Our heroes returned as victors." She laughed. "Well, I'm actually one of them."

"Really?" Tidus suddenly remembered the conquering of Sin. "What was it like? The sorceress war?"

"Hm. We were fighting a sorceress from the future – Ultimecia. She wanted to compress time and rule all generations. I wonder... maybe its not that bad that you can't remember it all..." She suddenly grew silent. She stopped at one of the many paths that lead away from the main walk. "This leads to Dr. Kadowaki's office. I'll take you there, but I'm sorry that I can't stay at your side. They may want to see me at the party, and I have to change..."

Tidus followed her through the door, and soon found himself in a white room, with the half split into two extra rooms with a bed, a table and a window each. A counter was standing near the door, with a lamp and lots of paper and other things. Glass windows where visitors could come and see the sick lying in the beds covered the opposite wall.

"Dr. Kadowaki?" Quistis called.

A chubby woman came through a door, and looked at Tidus and Quistis. "Yes... miss Trepe? Oh I'm so happy to see you again! I was so worried..." she said. Then she saw Tidus. "Who is this? I don't recall seeing him before."

"This is Tidus," Quistis explained. "We found him in the Centra desert on our way back. He seems to have serious amnesia."

Kadowaki looked sceptically at Tidus. "Amnesia? Then tell me, what is your name?"

Tired and hungry, Tidus really wasn't up to going through all of this again. He already knew that nothing could cure his "amnesia". But maybe... maybe they knew about Zanarkand. "Tidus."

"Where're you from?"

"Zanarkand."

Kadowaki lifted an eyebrow and looked at Quistis, who shrugged. "All right. How did you end up in the desert?"

"I woke up by the sea. I don't know how..."

"Hm. Quistis could we have a private talk?"

Tidus watched as Kadowaki and Quistis went into the hallway beyond the windows, and saw them talk a while. At first Kadowaki hugged Quistis, and it almost looked like she could burst into tears. Then the conversation was soon centred on him. He noticed it as they both glanced at him. Meanwhile, he looked around some more. He looked at the lamps. Like he had seen it outside the Garden, this yellow light was pulsing slightly. Every light had this strange pulse... he hadn't seen that before. With a sigh he walked around, and got more and more convinced that he once again was trapped in an unknown world. But then he eyed something at the desk. Surprised he went and took up the small figurine, and stared at it. It was a small creature with red-brown fur and long black claws and horns. It snarled with its white teeth, and fire burned in its right paw.

"Ifrit?" he said in surprise. It wasn't exactly like the Ifrit he remembered – the snout was shorter, and it was standing more upright than the Aeon... but it was definitely Ifrit. "But... how?"

"Tidus?"

He spun around with the figurine in his hand, and saw Quistis and Kadowaki coming into the room. Quistis smiled. "I'm sorry but..."

"You can leave," Kadowaki said. "I'll take care of this, and I'm sure that there are many others who would like to see you again."

No one said anything until Quistis had left the room. Then Kadowaki nodded at the figurine in Tidus' hand. "I see you like it. It's Ifrit, the Guardian of Fire. Once he was kind of the trademark of this Garden... but then we started moving around, and now nothing is quite like it was before."

'_It IS Ifrit!'_ Tidus thought. He put the figurine back on the desk. "So... you have Aeons?"

"Aeons?" She laughed. "I don't know what you're talking about. He is a Guardian Force, also known as a GF." She sat down in the chair behind the desk. "Well, time to get serious. I don't think you're lying – unless you're really good at it, cause you won't fool me. You are sure you don't remember any Sorceress War? The Pandora? Or the Lunar Cry?"

Tidus blinked. "Erh... no. I don't know any of that..."

She sighed. "We think that it may have been because of the time compression. We don't know of any side effects yet, but the possibility that it may have ruined something is open. Maybe that's what gave you this strange amnesia..."

"Time compression," Tidus said thoughtfully.

"I can't do anything for you now, and I'm sure that you could need something to eat. I suggest that you stay here in Garden so that we may find a way to help you." She smiled. "And until then, why don't you join the party upstairs? Who knows, maybe you'll remember something as soon as you meet other people and get to talk to them."

END OF CHAPTER 1


	3. Rinoa Heartlily

**CHAPTER 2: RINOA HEARTLILY**

Tidus stepped into the large hall, and stopped to look at his new surroundings. People were everywhere, wearing different uniforms. They were talking, drinking, dancing... the yellow lights illuminated the beautifully decorated dance-floor, with glass separating the hall and the starlit sky. To the right there was also a balcony, and he noticed a girl standing out there with a short, white dress, pointing at the stars with a cute smile on her face. He couldn't see what she was looking at. Then a group of young men blocked his sight, and a voice called from behind.

"Tidus!" A girls voice giggled. He turned around and saw Selphie, also dressed in a dark-blue uniform. "What are you doing here with those funny clothes!"

Tidus looked down at himself. "What?"

She walked to his side and watched him. "I never saw someone wear anything as weird as that!"

"Hey watch it!" he replied. "I can dress any way I want!"

"You know Selphie, he's right." Irvine walked up to Selphie's side, and Tidus noticed that he hadn't changed clothes at all. "Why don't you show him around now that he's here?"

Selphie didn't look like it fitted in very well with her original plans for the evening. "Aww Irvine. Perhaps he would like to – you know – find out himself! And we've got things to do, right Irvy?" She giggled and pushed him aside. "Sorry Tidus, I'm sure that maybe Quistis would like to..." and then they disappeared into the crowd.

Tidus soon saw Quistis. She was standing by a large pillar, surrounded by students of different ages. They all seemed to admire her a lot. "Well there's a point where she doesn't seem like Lulu at all," Tidus said to himself, and decided not to interrupt. Instead he walked over to one of the other pillars, and looked up at the stars through the glass-roof.

"Hi there."

He looked down in surprise, and found himself looking into a pair of narrow, smiling, dark eyes. It was the girl he had seen at the balcony. She had long black hair with stripes of brown, and her face was white as marble. She smiled at him, and her eyes became even narrower. "You must be new around here?"

"Eh... ye... I mean... yes I... am."

She giggled. "Well, you look lonely. No one should be alone at a party! Wanna talk?"

"Yeah, why not?"

She turned and looked out at the stars. "Hm. This reminds me of another night not so long ago… when I first met him."

"Who?" Tidus asked, confused.

She laughed again and looked at him. "Squall, of course. I'm waiting for him."

"Eh... I'm sorry. I don't know who you're talking about..."

"You serious? Squall Leonhart? Oh never mind." She looked at the stars again.

Tidus felt awkward in this silence. "No, continue. I would really like to know more about this place. You know, someone named Quistis found me in the desert and I can't remember... anything." Tidus couldn't help thinking of Yuna. Of course he remembered...

"Oh, Quistis! Yes, I saw that the Trepies had found her over there. But I'm sorry about your situation."

"Don't be. But who is this Squall? He sounds important."

"He is." Suddenly she went silent, and her face got thoughtful for a moment. "... Sorry. Suddenly I just couldn't... remember... But anyway, Squall saved us all! Together with me and some other friends we defeated the sorceress. He stopped the time compression!"

"You too?" Tidus asked, surprised. "So, you're all heroes? You, Quistis, Selphie, Irvine and this Squall."

"And Zell," she added, "You can see him over there – with the tattoo in the face, and next to the girl with a pigtail. He's probably bragging about something unimportant."

Tidus looked in the direction she had pointed out for him, and saw a young man with blond hair describing something to his listeners while moving his arms wildly, spreading some salad from the hot-dog in his one hand.

"Squall isn't here?"

The girl didn't answer at first. Then her face got worried. "No... he isn't!" Then she shook her head. "I'm sorry, Tidus. I have to go." Then she left him standing there.

Tidus looked after her as she disappeared into the crowd. Then he suddenly realised that he didn't know her name.

o o o o o o

Quistis walked along the hall, flipping through the papers in her hand. Where had she left that journal... she had finished it just this morning!

"Quisty!"

She looked up in surprise and found a young girl running towards her with a disturbingly worried face. "Rinoa? What's wrong, you look like something terrible happened."

Rinoa stopped in front of Quistis, catching her breath. "Oh Quistis I..."

Quistis stared in surprise as tears appeared in Rinoas eyes. "Oh my dear," she said and took her in her arms. "What is wrong with you? I haven't seen you like this before!"

Rinoa cried for a while, and shook her head. "Quistis, I forgot!"

She looked at Rinoa, completely confused. "But that can't be a reason to cry. What did you forget that could ever be this bad?"

"I forgot about... I don't know where Squall is! I can't remember! I don't even know where I saw him the last time!

Quistis released Rinoa and looked at her above her glasses. "Now wipe the tears away. You haven't seen Squall? Slowly, tell me what you have forgotten."

Tidus came along the walkway, staring down at the blue water when he heard Quistis' voice. Surprised he looked up and saw them further ahead. He also recognised the girl from the night before, though she didn't wear the white dress today. As he heard her words he listened curiously.

"I don't actually know. It feels like a dream when I try to think back at it. I remember you, me, Selphie, Zell and Irvine clearly, but then... I can't remember what happened the night when you made that concert. I listened to your music..."

"Don't be silly. You were with him," Quistis corrected her. "The concert was in his honour. And yours."

Rinoa shook her head. Then she left Quistis, running along the path and almost ramming into Tidus. He jumped aside, and she looked at him in surprise. Then she finally recognised him.

"You are the one who forgot, right?" she asked. "I talked to you yesterday. What if... what if what happened to you is happening to me too?" She continued down the hall, and Tidus looked at Quistis who walked up to his side.

"What had happened to her?" he asked confused. Was the same thing happening to her? That couldn't be! He had never had an amnesia. He just happened to be from another world! "You don't think that it's my fault, do you?"

Quistis watched him closely. "I don't know. But I am sure, that if that is the case, then you meant no harm by coming here." She sighed. "I never saw her like that before. And I believe her more than I would believe the words of anyone else. Maybe you should talk to her, while I go find Squall. He's got nerves scaring her like that!" Then she spun around and rushed down the path.

Tidus sighed. "I'm just as confused as you guys," he said to himself. Then he followed Rinoas direction and went into the elevator. It hummed as it lifted him to next floor. As it reached it's destination he couldn't help staring down at the first floor from the hallway, leaning against the glass. This place still surprised him with its beauty and effectiveness.

"Don't break the glass, it's a long way down."

He looked up and saw Rinoa at the end of the hall. She looked like she had cheered up a little, but was obviously still sad on the inside. Tidus smiled at her, remembering Yuna's hidden sadness and fear. She waved at him.

"If you like looking at _that_, then I've got something to show you." She turned and went around the corner. Tidus quickly followed as she passed a number of doors, some of them open and revealing classrooms behind them. Then she reached a door at the end and opened it with a push on a button. It revealed a staircase, and she smiled at him before she went up the stairs. A gentle breeze reached him through the door. "The Garden started moving yesterday when we had all returned. We'll soon reach the ocean! You just have to see that!"

He followed her upwards, and the breeze slowly got stronger with each step. Filled with his usual eagerness he hurried up the last few steps. Suddenly he found himself standing in the open, looking at the blue sky and small white clouds passing at a steady pace above. "Wow!" he said, and saw Rinoa standing at the edge of the platform, leaning her arms on the railing and her long black hair waving in the wind. He walked to her side and stared at the ground floating past them - far, far below, and underneath the huge rotating ring. "I never thought anything like this existed!"

"We didn't think so either. We discovered that it could fly when the garden was attacked, and we had to find a way to save it. This was once a bombshelter! And it's not even the only Garden that can fly. There is also Galbadia Garden. Trabia Garden didn't escape the missiles... it won't fly in a very long time."

Tidus was silent for a while. Missiles and flying bases... not like what he had seen in Spira. "So, what's your name?"

"Rinoa. Rinoa Heartlily." She sighed. "How is it like, having forgotten everything?"

Tidus didn't answer right away. _'I have to tell her the truth at some point,'_ he thought. _'It could never have come from me! I haven't forgotten anything... at all.'_ "Well, its like entering a whole new world," he said, feeling like a moron.

"Hm." She was silent for a while. Tidus saw the landscape underneath them change, as waves suddenly washed onto a golden beach. Then the beach disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, and a cool breeze flew past his head and the blue ocean was suddenly everywhere below them. _'I wonder if they play Blitzball here?'_ he thought hopefully.

"Tidus I'm scared," she said, interrupting his thoughts. "Memories disappear like clouds in my head. The things I still remember feel unreal, like dreams. But the weird thing is... it's him I am forgetting. And I don't want to."

"Well, Quistis went to fetch him for you. You'll properly meet him again shortly. And when he is not there... maybe you've got something special by your side. Something to remember him by?"

She was silent in thoughts for a while, but then she brightened up. She took hold of something hanging around her neck, and showed it to him. "This. It's his ring! The lion engraved in it is called Griever, it's a GF."

Seeing the ring and hearing the word "GF" made Tidus remember the Ifrit figurine at Kadowaki's desk. He opened his mouth to ask her about the GF's, but never managed to get a word across his lips. Something suddenly shook the Garden with an incredible force, shaking the ground that they were standing on. Tidus almost tipped over the railing, and Rinoa fell on the floor, sliding across the platform.

"Rinoa!" he cried, trying to reach her. Again the large building shook, now moving vertically for a moment, before it fell to its former position. Tidus was forced to the ground, and he saw Rinoa hitting the wall with full force. "What is going on?" he yelled. Then he managed to get up and ran to Rinoas side. She rose on one arm, rubbing her head with the other. He lifted her to her feet, and the Garden shook again, although not as violently this time.

"Something is attacking us!" she whispered in surprise. "But... that can't be."

END OF CHAPTER 2


	4. Under attack!

CHAPTER 3: UNDER ATTACK  
  
Rinoa and Tidus finally reached the quad, and found the place a battlefield. SeeD's and cadets running around everywhere, magic and other missiles flying through the air at times. "Quistis!" Rinoa called, as she saw Quistis giving instructions a few steps away. "What is going on?"  
  
Something struck the garden with full force, people screaming as the garden shook and a part of the quad collapsed into the sea. Tidus blinked to see if his eyes had failed him. What had just hit the garden was the arm of a gigantic octopus-like creature in a dark-blue and black colour. It was almost as large as the half of the garden, and eight arms were swirling around its well-armoured head. Two of the arms were larger and stronger, and had a fin at the tip. The head looked as if it was solid as rock on the upper half, and small glowing eyes stared at the SeeD's underneath the "shell".  
  
"It came out of nowhere!" Quistis cried. "And I can't find Squall anywhere - he's gone!"  
  
Rinoa looked at the battle. "But why aren't we using GF's against it?"  
  
Another women that looked a little older than Quistis with dark hair answered that question. "The GF's are gone too, Rinoa. They have been gone since. since you and the others came back yesterday evening."  
  
Again the Garden shook, and the four of them were almost pushed over. "Xu!" Quistis yelled. "We have to find a way to kill that thing!"  
  
"I have never seen anything like it, ever!" Xu answered. "I've checked the journals to try and find a way!"  
  
Tidus ignored them and looked at the monster. *The weirdest thing of all,* he thought. *Is that I have. I know what this is.* While the others were discussing the battle, Tidus eyed a sword lying on the ground a few feet from the broken edge of the quad, as its owner had fallen into the ocean. Determined he left them and ran towards it, grabbing the sword and then jumping headfirst from the edge in one smooth motion.  
  
Rinoa turned her head, her eyes wide when she saw him jumping of the Garden. "NO!" she cried, running after him. Someone grabbed her from behind, holding her back with great strength. She turned and looked at Zell.  
  
"Don't think I'm letting you fall down there again!"  
  
"But he. we have to save him!"  
  
It was a long way down from the quad, and Tidus felt the wind howl in his ears as the ocean came closer and closer. His eyes grew wide as he saw the bright ring turning with a hum further down - he hadn't thought of that! The monster attacked again, hitting the Garden with its tentacles. It shrieked as it got seriously hurt on the swirling ring, but the attack had pushed the Garden further away. Tidus flew past the ring. He closed his eyes in relief and readied himself before he shot through the surface as an arrow. Quickly he turned around, and soon saw the forest of moving tentacles that was the bottom of the octopus-Sinspawn. He got a firm grip on the handle of the sword, and swam towards the nearest tentacle, that was thicker than the thickest tree he had seen. It moved slowly through the water, and he cut into the flesh with great force - only leaving a small wound when thinking of its size. It didn't react, but suddenly a flash of light made Tidus look upwards. Something above the surface had just struck the monster with a force great enough to make it shiver in pain. Surprised Tidus swam backwards with all his strength, as the Sinspawn came down. It dived quickly, the waves pushing Tidus away. He finally regained control, and saw that the large creature was swimming underneath the Garden.  
  
It's going to turn it over! he thought in fear, and even though he was very small beside the monster, he swam after it. His experience as a Blitzball player made him catch up with the monster in no time, and he quickly swam up to the soft point of the neck, behind the large shell covering the head. He lifted the sword above his head and then brought it down with a powerful thrust. It went through the soft neck, all the way to the handle, and the monster's reaction forced Tidus to leave the sword where it was. He was thrown of the back of the monster, sailing through the water as the gigantic creature twisted and turned. He had made a wound big enough for a stream of black blood to come out of it. Angered by the injury the monster swam towards the surface, breaking it with a mad shriek. But the unsuspected attack had made it lose its course, and it jumped through the thin air instead of hitting the Garden. As it broke the surface once more, a wave struck Tidus with strength enough to create black spots behind his eyes. He saw something - small fish perhaps? - diving towards the twisting and hurting monster with swords ready to kill, before he finally blacked out. Someone grabbed him from above, pulling him toward the surface.  
  
* * *  
  
The sea looked calm and peaceful as the sunlight glittered on its surface. As if it was filled with gold. She stood on a wooden bridge, looking across the sea with a dreaming look in her eyes. Then she lifted her one hand to her mouth, whistling in a high-pitched tune. As nothing happened, she sighed and looked at the item in her hand. It was a sword - a beautiful blue sword with golden carvings. It was the ultimate sword.  
  
"You still calling for him?"  
  
Yuna turned around and looked at the tall man standing further away on the bridge. He had his armed crossed on his chest, and didn't look at her. She smiled. "You never know, right?" She walked back towards him. "Its funny - when I think of him it seems more and more like a dream I once had."  
  
"Maybe it was a dream."  
  
She laughed. "Yes, maybe you are right." She stopped and watched him. He was taller than her, dressed in black and with a white shirt underneath the jacket. The brown hair covered most of his face, as he still didn't look at her. "What about you? You remember anything?"  
  
He sighed and looked out at the ocean. "I remember everything. You know, I already told you about that."  
  
"Yes." They were silent for some time. "Everything is so very, very unusual. What you told me reminds me of something."  
  
He looked at the finely crafted sword in her hand. "Of him.?" He shook his head and walked towards the beach. She followed him with the sword hanging in her one hand.  
  
"Do you know how to use things like this?"  
  
He sniffed. "Of course. I'm a."  
  
* * *  
  
".SeeD."  
  
Tidus opened his eyes in surprise, staring into Rinoas face. Shocked he jumped up, Rinoa stepping aside so that his arms wouldn't hit her. She laughed.  
  
"Sorry, I didn't mean to shock you. I'm glad you're awake."  
  
Tidus took a deep breath, and discovered that he was sitting in a bed in a small room. There was a shelf, a table and a window together with some other stuff.  
  
"I didn't know if you could hear me, that's why I was talking to you. To wake you up."  
  
"SeeD," Tidus repeated. He thought of the dream he had just had. It had seemed so real. "What happened?"  
  
She sat down on the table, playing with a cup in her hand. "We made it. Even though we lost some of our cadets. I almost thought you were done for! We attacked it with Thundaga after you jumped into the water, and then it went underneath the surface. I'm so relieved Zell jumped in to get you!"  
  
"Zell?" He remembered the hot-dog-eating guy from the party and wrinkled his eyebrows. "I was saved by him?"  
  
"You hurt the monster pretty bad. I must admit that you're good at fighting - especially underneath the water!"  
  
Tidus shrugged, and sat on the bed with his leg crossed. "I AM a Blitzball player after all."  
  
"Hm?" she turned her head sideways in surprise. "You remember something?"  
  
*You remember anything?* Tidus looked out of the window. Yunas voice. it had seemed so real in that dream, he could still hear it in his head. Yuna. "I had a dream," he then said, without knowing why. He felt like he could trust Rinoa, just like he had felt about trusting Yuna back then. "I dreamt about her - Yuna. She called for me. and there was this weird guy that I haven't seen before."  
  
Rinoa swung her legs back and forth underneath the table, watching him. "Maybe its an important memory, and a sign that you're remembering again. Try telling me about *Yuna*."  
  
"Nah." He jumped down from the bed, and saw something standing up against the wall. It was a long black case, with a silvery sign of a lion- like creature on it. He recognised it as the GF 'Griever' that Rinoa had shown him. "What's this?"  
  
"That's the case for a gunblade. A special one - Squall's."  
  
Tidus stared at the lion. "A gunblade?"  
  
She nodded and walked over to the case. Gently she put it on the bed and opened it, and inside Tidus saw a long blade with the same sign on it. The black handle had a trigger. "Wow, I've never seen anything like this." He took the blade and tried to swing it through the air. It felt good in his hand, and he studied it further. "So this is Squall's?"  
  
"Yeah. Quistis found it yesterday, lying in his office. I guess he would be mad at me if he knew that I had just let you take it out of the case."  
  
Tidus hurriedly put it back and closed the case. "That means that no one has seen him yet?"  
  
Rinoa looked down. "No. A search has been organised - we're going to return to Balamb, and we're not far from reaching our destination. Nida has started to contact the other Gardens for support."  
  
"Whoa, wait a minute! For how long have I slept?"  
  
"Two days. This Garden moves fast. Cid announced that we would reach Balamb later today, and he said that I could bring you with us if you had recovered at the time."  
  
"Cid?" Tidus interrupted.  
  
She nodded. "You know him? I don't recall him saying anything about you though. You sure you know Headmaster Cid?"  
  
*Headmaster. I guess not. But maybe I can meet him one day.* Tidus scratched his head in confusion. "No, just forget what I said. What's Balamb like? Is it some kind of city?"  
  
Rinoa spun around and started to explain right away. "It's the capital from which this Garden origins. You're going to love it!"  
  
END OF CHAPTER 3 


	5. The Guardian of Fire

CHAPTER 4: THE GUARDIAN OF FIRE  
  
Tidus looked curiously at the small houses as they entered the town of Balamb, walking by the side of Rinoa. In front of them Quistis, Selphie, Zell and Irvine entered the town together with Xu to start asking around.  
  
"So, what do you think?" Rinoa asked cheerfully.  
  
"It's not like anything I've seen before," Tidus admitted. Even though a lot on the Garden had reminded him of Zanarkand, this town convinced him that there was no connection, at least not in this part of the world. "So, what are we doing here, anyway?"  
  
"Hm. Actually we're looking for Squall. You know, we ended up in different places when we came back from defeating Ultimecia. Quistis, Irvine and Selphie appeared in the desert where they found you, but everyone came back that evening. Except Squall."  
  
"So all we have to do is to find the place where he 'popped' back?"  
  
She smiled. "You could call it 'pop' back if that's how you see it."  
  
They ended up on a small square with three roads leading in different directions. The others waited for them there, and Rinoa asked Tidus to wait as she ran up to meet them. He watched as she said something, and they all went down the same road towards the station. Then she returned to him and grabbed his arm. "Come on! I'll show you the harbour!"  
  
She took him along a road that lead down past a large hotel with a fish on it. They came to a small harbour with only a small fishing boat in it, and a small parking lot. Rinoa took him all the way to the water, and sat down on the edge with her legs swinging above the water. He sat down beside her. "Look!" she said. "It looks so big, doesn't it?"  
  
The gigantic structure called Garden hovered above the sea near the shore, the ring circulating slowly to keep it up. Tidus wondered how they had made machina like this.  
  
"Where did you appear?" Tidus asked, curious.  
  
She laughed. "Nowhere. You wouldn't understand.."  
  
"Tell me."  
  
For a while she was silent, and then she sighed. "On a field. A field full of flowers. it was outside the old ruins of the orphanage. It. it was a promise I had once made." She looked down at the water. "I wonder if there is a cure."  
  
Tidus knew what she was talking about - her weird amnesia. He hated the way her voice always changed when she started talking about it. It was filled with sorrow, and it told him that she felt that he understood her. Because he suffered the same. Angry Tidus threw a small rock in the harbour. It had to end! Somehow, she had to know the truth. "Rinoa," he said hesitating. "There is something I have to tell you."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
It was just all about how he should tell her. "Look, I don't have an amnesia.."  
  
"What? What are you talking about?"  
  
He wondered if she would believe him. But he couldn't have her running around thinking that he had brought her some kind of forgetfulness. It was stupid. "I haven't lost my memories - you can't be suffering by the same amnesia as me."  
  
At first she blinked, confused as if she had to repeat his words inside her head. Then she rose to her feet, staring at him. "You're saying that you lied? That you told everybody about your 'amnesia' just to."  
  
"Rinoa."  
  
"I can't believe you!"  
  
He also got up in surprise. "No, wait! It's not like that."  
  
"All the time you have been lying? Just what were you trying to do! Get into the Garden? Talking to me as if you understood me!" He reached out to calm her, but she stepped away. "Why, Tidus? Where are you from?"  
  
With a sigh Tidus turned away from her. This had not turned out the way he had planned it. If he HAD planned it at all. "I have not been lying, Rinoa. Not.. really. You have to listen! I'm from. I'm from another world."  
  
"Another world??" She shook her head. "I don't know what to believe. I know of other times - future, past and present - but other worlds? Why can't you just tell me."  
  
He sat down once again, looking away. "I thought you noticed. I don't know anything about this world. where I'm from, we had just won this great victory to 'save the world'! And I had thought that I was going to. well, I ended up in that desert."  
  
They were both silent for a while. "There's nothing that this place has in common with your place?" she asked, still confused. She rubbed her left arm with her right hand, looking into the ground with a cute expression.  
  
"Well, there's that monster. I'm sure it looked exactly like a sinspawn from my world! And then there is something else. I'm sure its nothing, but I saw this Ifrit statuette at the Garden. It looked different from the Aeon that I know, but it was almost the same."  
  
"Ifrit? Aeon?" She walked to him and grabbed his arm once again. "I know! Come with me - I'll show you something!"  
  
"But what about the others?"  
  
She smiled so that her narrow eyes were almost invisible. "It'll be quick. Come on!"  
  
He rose to his feet and let her drag him through town the way they had come. They ended up leaving it through the entrance. Tidus saw the Garden hovering above the sea outside the town, almost keeping an eye on them as guilty refugees. 'Get a grip!' he thought. 'They can't see us down here.'  
  
The 'quick' trip ended up longer than he had thought. When Rinoa finally stated that they were at their destination, the sun was on its way down, and the town was no longer in sight. Only a dim light and a glimpse of the Garden above the sea told them of their way back. Rinoa walked a few steps further, and pointed towards the cave-entrance that was located a bit further away.  
  
"What is that?"  
  
She smiled. "That is the Fire Cavern. You saw that crater on our way here? Once the Garden was located here on this continent, not far from our current position. SeeD cadets were to take an exam to become SeeD's - and they had to take a test before they could enter the exam."  
  
Tidus thought of the crater he had seen earlier. He had seen it lying far away, like something had torn a piece of the grassland of the ground. It had seemed odd and misplaced, and the crater hadn't been very old. "What's that got to do with this cave?" he asked.  
  
"The test was to enter this cave and acquire the first GF. Quistis told me all about it!"  
  
"GF? I thought you had lost all the GF's."  
  
She nodded. "Yeah, but even though its gone, I thought I would show you this anyway. Come, we're going inside!"  
  
They followed the path along the cliffs and rocks, and soon stood before the entrance. Tidus felt an unpleasant warm breeze coming from the cave, and the dark didn't comfort him either. He double-checked that his new sword was still at his side before he went inside with her. It was a sword borrowed to him from the Garden's stock, and a very simple sword used by all the cadets. It was nothing like his old weapon, but a sword nonetheless. The inside of the cave brightened up a bit, but in a red and burning colour. He discovered that the cave was filled with lava that flowed around the path of cliff leading them to the back. He planned every step carefully, not planning to drop in and get fried. Whatever would be worth visiting this place for? Some test.  
  
Suddenly Rinoa stopped, and he almost walked into her. She pointed. "Look!" The path ended here. The cliffs and stones made a circle in front of them with a hole in the middle. All around them the lava flowed. And from the hole came a mysteriously bright light.  
  
"Watch out!" Tidus yelled in surprise, and threw himself at Rinoa. They both landed on the ground. Something had just passed by at high speed, almost ramming them. Tidus looked up and saw a round burning creature laughing at them with a horrible grin.  
  
"A bomb!" Rinoa shouted and got on her feet.  
  
"Hey, I know those." Tidus said out loud in wonder. The bomb moved, shooting a ball of fire against him, and jumped on his feet and avoided it just in time. "Can you fight?" he asked Rinoa.  
  
Rinoa answered by jumping a step forward, and holding her hand against her chest. A green light surrounded her, her she made a move with her hand.  
  
"Blizzaga!"  
  
The ice-spell struck the bomb with great strength, making it disappear in a flash as it died. Tidus stared wide-eyed. "I know that one too!"  
  
Rinoa turned around to face him. "You do? But that's great!"  
  
"Rinoa."  
  
A beam of light and fire shot out from the whole in the middle of the circle, the hot wind hitting them hard. Rinoa turned around in surprise, and they both stared at the pillar of fire. A deep roar sounded, and the fire turned into burning and glowing stone. It exploded from the inside, and there a large creature appeared. It spread its furred arms and legs, and roared once again before it looked down at them with its white glowing eyes.  
  
"Ifrit?" Tidus said in confusion. "But. that can't be."  
  
Rinoa stepped back towards Tidus. "This is Ifrit! But why. why is it here?"  
  
The GF snarled and watched them both. Then it looked directly at Tidus. "So," it suddenly said with its deep and snarling voice. "The traveller has come." Then it looked at Rinoa. "And the sorceress is with him. Why?"  
  
Rinoa blinked, trying to look at the creature without getting blinded by the pillar of fire behind it. "Why are you here?" she asked. "We thought that the GF's.. had."  
  
Ifrit snorted. "We had to leave you," it said. "We were called. We had to return. We have purposes - greater purposes than the one you men gave us. To you we are known as GF's or Aeons. In reality, we are the Guardians."  
  
Suddenly Tidus stepped forward. "Hey you're Ifrit, right? Then why are you here? Why can you talk? How come I know you and all the other things I have seen in this cave?"  
  
Ifrit looked at him for a moment. "You are the traveller. I am the Guardian Ifrit. You have come from another place, realising that the worlds around you are not as different as you thought. Yet, every world has its story."  
  
"Stories?" Tidus yelled. 'This is unbelievable!' he thought. "But then. why am I here?"  
  
The creature lifted its head and closed its eyes, ad if it was searching or in deep thought. Then it shook its head. "I know very little," it roared. "You are the traveller. That is all I know. But I feel something around you. something that threatens this world."  
  
"Me?" he asked. "But why am I a threat?"  
  
"You are not supposed to be here. So was the creature that you defeated. You and that beast came here - and as you came, others travelled as well. And you may not be the only ones."  
  
"Does that mean.?" Rinoa whispered.  
  
"You do not only travel one way," Ifrit answered. "I know that you, too, have lost something in this process."  
  
She lowered her had, holding the ring around her neck in her one hand. "Then, you say that he is another world. Just as Tidus is here with us."  
  
"That is correct."  
  
"But where? How can we make everything right?"  
  
Ifrit floated a bit higher in the air, opening his arms wide. "I cannot answer your questions," he said. "I do not have the power."  
  
"Then who can?" Tidus yelled. "Where can we go to find the answers?"  
  
"The Guardians have returned to their rightful places. One of them holds the answers."  
  
"And you?" Rinoa continued. "Where are you going? Won't you help us?"  
  
"I will," it answered. "I will grant you my power, now that I have seen that the wound is too great for me to heal. And I will show you."  
  
A great ball of light formed between Ifrit's claws, and soon Tidus and Rinoa found them blinded. Tidus held his arms up before his eyes, and opened them slowly. He heard Ifrits roar, and discovered that the light no longer blinded him - but it was still all around them.  
  
"Hey, Rinoa!" he called.  
  
"I'm here," he heard her answer. He looked into the light, and soon discovered that something was moving inside of it. Rinoa came walking to his side. She walked further, holding out her hand.  
  
"Watch out!" he warned, but she shook her head. Her eyes were narrow, and a tear appeared.  
  
"Tidus." she whispered. "It's him."  
  
Tidus suddenly realised that the picture inside the light had become clear enough to watch. As if they were looking through a portal of light. And through it they saw a person in dark clothes and with brown hair. He had a scar across his face, and was looking up at something. Rinoa stretched her hand out, as if she tried to touch him. Tidus kept watching, as he saw the expression of the man change. He turned his head as if he had heard something, and another figure stepped into the picture. Then it suddenly flashed and a white and blue woman was looking down at them. Then the light disappeared, and they found themselves back in the Fire Cavern. Tidus saw Rinoa lying on her knees a few steps away, and hurried towards her to see if she was okay.  
  
"It was him," she whispered. "Suddenly, when I saw him, I remembered everything. So clearly! But now. I feel like I know even less than before. He's slipping away. I need to know where he is."  
  
"I know," Tidus answered.  
  
She looked up at him in surprise. "You do?"  
  
He remembered the other person that had walked by his side. The woman with short brown hair that he knew so well. He wondered if she was forgetting him too, like Rinoa was forgetting Squall? 'No,' he thought. 'We love each other too much. But. so does they.' He helped her up. "He's in my world. He must've switched places with me."  
  
END OF CHAPTER 4 


	6. The Hunt Begins

CHAPTER 5: THE HUNT BEGINS  
  
"You're telling us that you were looking into another world?" Quistis asked, confused. "And Ifrit told you all this?"  
  
They had all returned to the Garden as soon as Tidus and Rinoa found their way back to Quistis and the others. The few words Quistis understood by listening to Rinoa's flow of confusing sentences had convinced her that a meeting was needed. They had all gathered in this classroom to figure out what they had seen - Rinoa, Quistis, Irvine, Selphie, Zell, Xu, Headmaster Cid and Tidus.  
  
"The GF's haven't disappeared," Rinoa explained. "They just returned to the places they were before we took them."  
  
It was the first time Tidus saw the headmaster, but he soon realised that he was quite a boring person. Not like the tough Al-bhed he knew in Spira, just a normal brown-haired man with glasses, who looked like he spent all his day reading the newspaper in front of a warm chimney. The meeting was just as boring. It had been a long day, and questions had shrouded his mind since the encounter with the fiery Aeon. He had felt just as eager as Rinoa to tell everyone what they had discovered. He would never have realised how boring it could possibly be!  
  
Instead of listening to what they all had to say, he leaned back on his chair, looking up at the roof and the windows covering the wall behind them. His eyes were slowly closing as he forgot what happened around him, and he almost fell down from the chair when someone mentioned his name. Surprised he blinked and looked at all the faces that stared back at him.  
  
"Hm wha?" he stammered. Rinoa punched him in the side with her elbow. "Did anyone say something? I. guess I wasn't quite listening."  
  
Cid smiled. "It's all right. You have all had a hard day, I presume. Xu, you may continue."  
  
The dark-haired instructor gave Tidus an insulting glare and cleared her throat. "You told us that you knew Ifrit?" she repeated.  
  
"Oh. yeah." Tidus held back a sigh - he felt like he had repeated this over and over. "He's called an Aeon where I'm from. He didn't look exactly like I remember, but."  
  
"It was the Ifrit you know?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Other worlds. parallel worlds.."  
  
The voice surprised them all, as if they hadn't noticed her presence. Tidus realised that he hadn't, not until he heard this voice. It was both beautiful and enchanting - and still it made him move uncomfortably in his chair. He glanced at the others and saw that they all held great respects towards the woman with the long black hair and skin as white as marble. She lifted her head and looked at them with her golden eyes.  
  
"The Guardian was right. Something has gone wrong. Something that happened not too long ago destroyed the balance and brought the worlds together."  
  
"You are saying that there has been different worlds lying around all the time?" Irvine asked. He was sitting laid-back in his chair with one foot placed on the edge of the table. With a gesture he moved the hat on his head further back. "Doesn't sound reliable."  
  
"No," she said. She almost whispered her words, but still everyone could hear them clearly. "They were all apart, there were no different parallel worlds. No world has existed on a parallel basis. Not until now - now that something has brought them together."  
  
"How do you know, Matron?" Zell asked.  
  
She was silent and had her eyes closed for a while. "You all know my past," she then said, and looked directly at Tidus, who knew nothing about her. "I am still. I feel the presence of things that were not before. Different worlds if that it what you prefer to call them." She turned her head to look at Rinoa. "But I am not the only one."  
  
Tidus looked at Rinoa in surprise, and saw that she had lowered her head to avoid looking into Matron's eyes. He wondered what they had meant. "You can feel that too?"  
  
She shook her head and changed the subject. "Ifrit told us that he did not have the power to tell us the truth. That we have to find the GF who can."  
  
"Yes," Xu acknowledged. "Ifrit is far from the most powerful GF. There are many GF's, a lot of them not even catalogued. It would be impossible to find the one with the answers by checking them all - the ones we could find!"  
  
Tidus jumped from his seat, almost knocking the chair over. "Hey, I think I know," he said. Everyone looked at him once again. The mysterious woman did so, too. "Shiva," he explained. "I know her as well. We saw Shiva when Ifrit gave us the ability to look into my world!"  
  
They looked at each other. "But we don't know where to find Shiva," Quistis then said. "She was a part of the Gardens supplies to new Cadets. No one knows where she originally comes from."  
  
"What about Trabia?" This time it was Selphie who talked. "It's cold and snowy in Trabia, and I remember reading some stuff about Shiva in the books we used in the Summoning Theory lessons."  
  
Cid looked at Quistis who shrugged. "It's a good place to start."  
  
"Unfortunately most of the books and other materials got lost when Trabia Garden got blasted," Selphie said with a deep sigh. "But maybe someone else knows."  
  
Xu rose from her seat. "To Trabia it is, then. I will inform Nida."  
  
"Wait a minute," Cid interrupted. He didn't bother rising from the chair. "We still have a problem. Since Sq. the Commander disappeared we need someone to take over his position temporarily. Who would be fit for a position like that?"  
  
They all looked at each other and decided to vote for it. Tidus soon lost interest once again, since he had nothing to contribute in this discussion. He slept until Rinoa waked him up and told him that they were about to depart - Xu had been elected new Commander, which had disappointed Zell a whole lot.  
  
* * *  
  
"This place is so weird."  
  
The boy looked at her. "You think so?" he said in surprise. "Well, I've always lived here."  
  
The girl who stood in the middle of the square shrugged. She was a couple of years older than the young boy. "I guess you have." She went to the railing and giggled as a train passed by, standing so close to the railing that the speed of the train almost knocked her over. "How fast do these run anyway?"  
  
"Trains don't run." the boy said irritated.  
  
"I know that!" she answered without turning around. "I've tried them." The she sighed and went to sit on a bench. "Trains or not, this place is boring."  
  
The boy slowly walked closer, watching her as he pondered if he was going to tell her this. "I know how to stop being bored," he said. "But its daaaangerous."  
  
"I don't care if its daaaangerous," she answered quickly, swinging her legs above the pavement. "I believe you're tricking me!"  
  
"No I'm not!"  
  
She smiled. "Then tell me."  
  
The boy went to her side, looking around as if someone were listening. "The soldiers," he said. "They're all over town, even now the witch is dead."  
  
"Soldiers?" The girl seemed disappointed. "What's fun about soldiers? Not that I know what kind of soldiers walk around in a place like this."  
  
"They think they're the best!" the boy continued. "That's what they always say. 'Stay calm or we'll take you down'. 'Go home or we'll take you along'. They think they rule this place."  
  
Suddenly a dangerous glimpse came to the girl's dark, purple eyes, and she stopped swinging her legs back and forth. "Do they," she said, more to her than to the boy. She smiled. "Well, I'll have to see if they're right about that!"  
  
* * *  
  
'Trabia. Figure it's a cold place.' Tidus walked along the hall of the Garden, trying to find something to do while he was waiting. He couldn't wait 'till they found Shiva. The sooner he got back to Spira, the better. He couldn't help thinking if Yuna was forgetting him. What if she had forgotten him completely when re returned? It didn't seem that the disappearing of the commander bothered the SeeD's much, though. They never even mentioned his disappearing anymore. 'Guess they forgot him quicker than any of the others', he tought. 'Or maybe they don't care.'  
  
"Hey, Tidus!"  
  
He looked up from his deep thoughts and saw Zell coming his way. He couldn't help feeling irritated about that. "Hi. what's up?"  
  
Zell smiled. "I was wondering if you wanted to go to the training centre? You know, so that we could check out our strengths and stuff."  
  
'Hah! I could beat you anytime!' "Sure. I haven't got a sword, though."  
  
"No prob, I'll get you one!"  
  
Zell led Tidus to the green hallway, and through a smaller door. The room they entered had only one purpose - storing weapons. Most of them weren't of the best though, and it was obvious that they were mostly used for training and nothing else.  
  
"That's all?" Tidus said in disappointment. He looked at the swords. "Were do you keep the real weapons?"  
  
He shrugged. "Maybe Quistis can get you one - but until now you have to do with this." He smiled. "A lot of the cadets and SeeD's have acquired their weapons themselves. Most cadets use these, though."  
  
With a deep sigh Tidus grabbed one of the plain and simple swords. "All right then. Let's go."  
  
They continued into the training centre. It was a large hall, filled with fences and vegetation, imitating a real jungle. From the deepest parts they could hear the living creatures roam. Zell mentioned something about something that sounded like a dinosaur, a so-called T-Rexaur, and they ventured into the wilderness. They walked across some freely flowing water and Tidus stopped, looking down into it. Zell laughed.  
  
"Going for another dive?"  
  
Tidus remembered what Rinoa had told him about the fight against the sinspawn. It had been Zell who had dragged him out of the water that day - after he had wounded the spawn seriously.  
  
"Give it up," Tidus answered. "I'm better than anyone when it goes to underwater fighting!"  
  
Zell leaned towards a concrete wall. "Yeah, we saw that."  
  
Tidus was about to give it back, when he suddenly saw a large shadow towering up behind Zell. "Hey! Look out!"  
  
He thought he was about to see Zell being ripped apart and swallowed by the large predator behind him, as the reptilian mouth opened to reveal hundreds of razor-sharp teeth. But instead Zell reacted surprisingly fast, ducking before he gave the roaring monster a forceful punch in the cheek. The large dinosaur staggered, surprised by the powerful attack, but soon regained its senses. It snapped out towards Zell, the tail ready to strike as soon as it got the chance. Zell was forced to jump back, and Tidus saw his chance. He was going to show that Zell!  
  
"Take this," he said to himself, gathering power within. Then he ran forward, leaping towards the predator. It turned towards him, ready to strike, but he only hit its hind leg with his feet, jumping further up into the air. Here he lifted the sword as it was filled with yellow and blue energy, and swung it in a wide arc in the air. Beams of energy shot down towards the roaring monster, plunging into the ground like water. Then the ground exploded underneath the T-Rexaur, throwing it aside.  
  
Tidus landed a few metres away, watching as the reptilian creature crushed the concrete wall as it landed. For a moment it lay on the ground without moving, and then it disappeared in a red flash. Zell turned towards Tidus.  
  
"Pretty good."  
  
Tidus smiled. "Yeah. I think so too."  
  
Zell went over to stand by Tidus, scratching his neck. "You know, actually it was Rinoa who asked me to bring you here."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I mean, so that we could know each other better and so on."  
  
"Oh." Tidus thought of Rinoa. He had noticed that she seemed fond of Zell, and he knew that he was one of them - one of the heroes. "I'm sorry I haven't thanked you."  
  
"For what?" Zell said in surprise. "Oh, you mean the water-thing. Yeah, you were pretty smashed back then. Everyone thought you were crazy, said you would get crushed on the ring."  
  
He laughed. "Yeah, a close one too. You know what? I owe you."  
  
END OF CHAPTER 5 


	7. Ice and Darkness

CHAPTER 6: ICE AND DARKNESS  
  
WRITER'S NOTE: I know it's been forever since I last updated this story with new chapters, and I'm really sorry about that. But there are different reasons for that: 1st: I thought that I had already uploaded this chapter. Found out I hadn't. 2nd: and the actual reason. I haven't had the time for writing on WWC since I have been finishing my real 'important' project, which means my book. The last two months I have been preparing it before I am trying to get it published now, and hey - I thought that it was just a bit more important than this.  
  
And I have more bad news. This and chapter 7 will be the last update for some time since the summer vacation is up, and I won't have the chance to get to a proper Internet-connection until I get to school again.  
  
Sorry! Sorry! But don't worry - be patient, I *will* finish this fanfic!  
  
~Vatina  
  
* * *  
  
The dark figure stepped out onto the snow, reaching out his hands as he watched the snowflakes land on his leather-gloves. He smiled as he clenched his fist around the white substance, and looked out at the great view from the mountains where he stood. More snowflakes softly landed on his face, cold and beautiful.  
  
I am alive! he thought. Alive and breathing. but where am I?  
  
He looked down upon the forests far below, and eyed the scars in the white ground. As if gigantic claws had ripped holes in the earth. And not far from these wounds he saw it coming - a flying structure, held up by the slowly turning ring underneath it, lights illuminating the upcoming darkness around it from the many windows. And from this ship, far below, he could feel her.  
  
* * *  
  
"There it is."  
  
Tidus walked over to Quistis' side, looking down at the snowy ground.  
  
"That's Trabia Garden??" he said in shock. "But its." He stopped as he saw Selphie's expression. When he had heard the others talk about Trabia, he had noticed that it had been mentioned with respect and care towards Selphie. He guessed it would be best not to continue the sentence.  
  
Selphie seemed to have accepted it, though. "Yeah," she said. "It's blasted. Destroyed by missiles."  
  
"Well, this is where we stop," Nida interrupted. "We can't go any further because of the mountains. Good luck!"  
  
Quistis nodded. "Come on, we're going in to find some information."  
  
It didn't look better from the inside. Trabia Garden was totally destroyed, no wall stood complete. And still they were everywhere - the former students and instructors. They were trying to fix what was still to save, and rebuild what they had lost. Selphie led them to a place near the centre of the mayhem, where parts of a wall still stood. Some computers here still seemed to work, while others were completely crushed. Several students were nearby, fixing the monitors and computers. She pointed at a monitor that looked as if it was on, and talked to someone standing nearby. Then she turned towards them.  
  
"This still works. At times. Maybe we can find something."  
  
Quistis nodded. "I will go and try to find information elsewhere. I suggest we split up."  
  
They agreed. Selphie and Irvine decided to take a look on the computer, while Zell and Rinoa would follow Quistis and talk to the survivors. Tidus looked around helplessly.  
  
"I.. Think I'll just take a look around too," he then said. "Over there."  
  
Rinoa smiled, and Selphie answered: "Right! We'll meet up at the basketball court!"  
  
Tidus, feeling unneeded, went to the basketball court right away. Walking through the Garden he tried realising how it had looked, from what he knew of Balamb Garden. Most of the places were already cleared, as the people here tried to erase the traces of the bombing. He finally found what must have been the basketball court - the pavement was cracked and broken up several places, and the ball was stuck in a deep gap. Here he decided to sit on a piece of the broken pavement, and wait. His thoughts fell on Yuna and Spira. This place had reminded him of Kilicka and the first sending he had ever seen her do. He thought of her beauty, her kindness. Her face still stood so clear in his memory.  
  
"Rinoa." he murmured. For some reason his thoughts had drifted to her. He shook his head and stood up. Again the painful thought struck him: what if Yuna was forgetting him too? And the others. Wakka, Rikku, Lulu, Kimahri. Rinoa didn't talk much about Squall anymore, he had noticed. And she wasn't as sad now as she had been before. Soon, he knew, she wouldn't know of him anymore. She would be alone, but she would also believe that it had been like that forever. What if it couldn't be cured? What if he returned to find that Yuna had forgotten him, and that she would never again remember what they had experienced together?  
  
Here they all were, looking for the missing GF's so that they could once again restore the balance, send him back to where he belonged. But if everyone forgot. did it really matter? Did he then really wish to go back?  
  
"I don't believe it," he said aloud.  
  
At that time both Selphie and Irvine came into the basketball court.  
  
"The others ain't here yet?" Selphie asked.  
  
"Uh-uh," he answered, shaking his head.  
  
"We found out about Shiva," Irvine said. "It was Trabia Garden which acquired it in the first place. The records say that it was found up there." He pointed at the snowy peaks of the mountains. "We just have to tell the others now."  
  
Selphie nodded and kicked a rock into another crack. "I'll bet the Garden can't get up there."  
  
"So Selphie. what is this place?" Tidus couldn't hold back the question anymore. He had to know more about it.  
  
She sighed. "This was Trabia Garden, I graduated my written tests here before I was transferred to Balamb. It was quite different from Balamb, but I liked it. But then. the sorceress decided to eliminate the SeeD's. Therefor she sent missiles towards Balamb and Trabia Garden."  
  
"Balamb too?" Tidus said in surprise. "But."  
  
"They hit Trabia first," Irvine continued. "That's when we discovered that the Garden could fly. I was told afterwards that it was once an old bombshelter. It was activated seconds before the missiles hit."  
  
"Who told you that?"  
  
Both Selphie and Irvine were silent for a time. Then Selphie laughed. "The commander, who else? He was the one who activated it after all."  
  
*The commander!* Tidus thought. *But that's Squall. It's just what Cid called him too. so that's what it has come to now. He's nothing more to them than the commander now. I wonder what I am to those in Spira?*  
  
"Hi guys!"  
  
They all turned to see Rinoa and the rest of the group coming. Quistis shook her head.  
  
"All we heard was that we might find something in the journals."  
  
"Yup," Irvine said. "And there's where we looked. We found out where she is."  
  
"Really?" she said in relief. "All right then. Shall we get going?"  
  
* * *  
  
"Into the mountains?" Nida looked at the group as if they had grown long noses and wings. "The *Garden*??"  
  
And so they all decided to go by foot, since no-one in the destroyed Garden could give them any vehicle that was suitable for climbing snowy mountains, and as Tidus pointed out - it wouldn't be for the first time for any of them.  
  
"I love snow!" Selphie repeated as they had climbed for hours, knee-deep in snow. She quickly grabbed a handful and threw it against Irvines neck, so that his hat fell down on the white ground.  
  
"Hey!" he yelled accusingly, replacing the hat on his head. "Never touch my hat, okay?"  
  
Tidus sighed, both his hands behind his head as he stared up at the clear, blue sky. "How long 'till we're there?"  
  
Rinoa giggled and Quistis glared. It was obvious that she thought he acted like a kid. "We don't know. There were no exact directions, but it should be around here somewhere."  
  
"Hey you!" Zell yelled as Selphie and Irvine raced by, hitting him in the face with a stray snowball. "Cut it out or I'll smack your sorry asses!"  
  
"Please, everyone!" Quistis said. There was no reaction. Instead Rinoa followed their example and threw a snowball at Tidus. He jumped aside and kicked more snow at her. She laughed and shielded her face with her hands. "Children!" Quistis noted while shaking her head.  
  
Zell was scraping together a huge ball of hard snow to throw at Selphie, when he suddenly eyed something higher up on the cliff-side. "Hey, look up there!"  
  
"Yeah, like I'm gonna fall for that!" Selphie taunted. She turned as Irvine padded her on the shoulder. "Huh? Hey, that's a Blue Dragon!"  
  
After hearing that statement everyone turned towards the large blue creature standing above them on the cliff-side. It looked like a mutated dragon with too many arms and claws, and it roared down at them. "Everyone, gather!" Quistis commanded. "It looks like it's going to attack. Don't worry, theses are normally dangerous, but we should be able to handle without any difficulties."  
  
The creature jumped off the cliff and landed heavily in the snow. The ground shook and Tidus staggered. He looked at the ground surprised, as he was sure that it had given an unnatural sound as the gigantic beast had landed. He was about to tell the others as the dragon struck towards him with a large claw, forcing him to step back and draw his sword. He looked for Rinoa.  
  
In spite of Quistis warning the attacking creature had spread the group. Tidus found him standing alone near the cliff-side, Quistis, Zell and Irvine standing near him on the other side of the raging claws. Rinoa stood on the opposite side, trying to avoid the swinging tail. Irvine loaded his gun, pointing at the creature. As he fired, Tidus saw the snow on the cliff- side move. "Hey," he yelled. "Watch out with that thing!" The dragon lunged out again, and Tidus decided to kill the damn creature. He swung his sword in a wide arc, disappointed to see the creature avoid it, only receiving a small scratch. It didn't see Zell coming in from the other side though, as he jumped forward giving it a forceful blow in the side. The dragon was thrown aside, blasting into the cliff-side. Snow buried it as a ravine started, loads of snow rolling down towards the group.  
  
"Get away! Jump!"  
  
Tidus heard Quistis' shout, and tried to jump. In that moment a piece of the cliff hit the ground together with the snow, and the ground shook underneath him. He lost his footing, surprised to see the earth crackle and fall underneath his feet. Desperately he grabbed out, holding on as the gap widened. He saw the snow falling to his right, his companions jumping for their lives. He then saw Rinoa trapped on the other side of the falling snow, her scared eyes searching for her friends' aid.  
  
"Rinoa!" he shouted, and she turned his head towards him. Then the ravine struck, and he could no longer see his friends as the snow fell away below him, and he fell together with it.  
  
* * *  
  
It was cold. Tidus shivered and reached up a hand to his aching head. He looked up, and felt the snow falling from his back. As he remembered he gazed even higher - far above he could see the hole through which he had fallen all this way. But now the ravine covered it, and only small and frail beams of light shone down upon him. With a moan he rose to his feet, sweeping snow off of his aching body. Then he looked around to find out where he had ended up, and more important: how he could out of there.  
  
It was a large cave. Everywhere around him he could see the white and blue walls, made of pure ice and snow. Even though only small rays of sunlight came in, it was reflected in the glittering ice all around him, lighting the cave with a bright blue light. Only one end was mostly shrouded in dark though, while the other part. Tidus gasped in awe. He walked a couple of steps closer, staring at what he saw before him. The wall in this end was made of nothing but blue ice, most of it so clear that he could see through it. And in the middle of the wall the ice created a pillar with a raw surface. And through it he saw her, like a cold statue. He was sure of it - someone was in there. Trapped in the ice with her slender hands crossed across the chest, and her head bowed so that he could not see her face. He was about to take a step closer to investigate, as she heard a growling sound. Startled he spun around, looking into the dark at the other end of the cave.  
  
The blue dragon. It had fallen down here with him, and it was still alive. He saw it rise from snow, turning its head and staring at him with gold-gleaming eyes. It snarled full of hate. Surprised he grabbed for his sword, only to realise that he had lost it in the fall. He was unarmed.  
  
"Typical," he said to himself, thinking that it was probably stuck in the snow from which the dragon had risen. He had no chance to regain it. The dragon now roared, dragging the rest of its body free before it turned to face Tidus. 'One jump and its upon me,' he thought grimly. 'What can I do?'  
  
The dragon roared again, leaping up in the air. Tidus yelled, covering his face as the monster jumped towards him. This was it! He had failed! He expected to feel the dragon's claws and teeth ripping through his body, but instead he heard a sound that he could only define as glass breaking - followed by the painful roar of the dragon as hundreds of sharp glass- pieces penetrated its body. Tidus opened his eyes and looked up, seeing the dragon being thrown back. But it was not penetrated by glass, but by large spikes made of blue ice. It fell on the ground, dead. He turned around in surprise, and his eyes grew wide.  
  
Before him stood the woman who had been trapped in the ice-pillar. Now the front of the pillar was broken and shattered, and she stood in the open with one hand held up as if she had given an order. Her whole body was icy- blue, glittering like the walls around her. Her cold, blue eyes turned to look at him, and the blue and yellow 'hair' hung down from her head. She was different, but he still knew that it was her: Shiva, the guardian of ice.  
  
For some time she just watched him without moving, and he slowly took at step closer. "Um. hi. I mean. thank you," he stammered. "I mean. you're Shiva, right?"  
  
She finally lowered her arm, still watching him closely. "I am Shiva," she said. He blinked as he realised that her mouth didn't move - her voice could be heard all around him in the cave, clear and beautiful as crystal, and at the same time unreal. "You are the traveller. So he has finally come to me."  
  
Tidus scratched his head. "Well, yeah. You were quite hard to find. I mean, Ifrit told me to look for you. I guess you know why, then."  
  
Her expression didn't change, and Tidus started to feel uncomfortable under her stare. "I need no explanations," he heard her voice say. "I know what is happening to the world. I know who you are."  
  
"Then tell me! How do I change all this?" he yelled. "How do I go back?"  
  
Her eyes narrowed. "You want everything to go back to what they were?" she asked. Her voice sounded cold and not caring. "You have thought of the consequences, I would mean?"  
  
He looked down. "Yeah. yeah I have. I know what you mean. That they may never recognise me, right? That Rinoa may never forget me. That I may never forget her or anyone else here.. But don't you see?" He looked up at her again. "That is why we have to hurry! There is no time to loose!"  
  
She lifted her head a bit, as if in deep thought. "You wish to save the worlds," she said. "Like you once saved yours. I see that you are determined. But be aware, that you cannot turn back. When you have returned, you and no-one else, the compression will reverse. The sent will return to their original worlds, creatures return to their caves. The worlds will be taken from one another, never to see each other again. You will not be able to return when you re-enter Spira."  
  
"Me?" he said in confusion. "But. why me?"  
  
"Things happened simultaneously in the parallel worlds," she explained patiently. "The time compression in this world was unnatural, it disturbed the balance. And then it was cancelled, so close to its completion. In the same time another large amount of energy was freed. The energy of souls."  
  
"Sin." Tidus said to himself. "That's when we killed Sin."  
  
"And you," she continued. "You were not supposed to be there. When the energy was freed you were supposed to return to your plane. But it was too late. The time compression had opened the doors - and you entered the wrong plane." She looked sharply at him. "You are not alive, yet you can die. You are not of substance, yet you are here. You are misplaced. You are unreal."  
  
Tidus didn't answer. He felt like someone dropping a large rock upon his heart. "I am dead," he whispered. "No, I was never alive. And I was a fool to think that I was now." His thoughts fell on Rinoa. The least he could do was to help her. To put everything into order, and to get Squall back to her side. "I now know the consequences, and why." He once again looked up at Shiva. "Now tell me how."  
  
* * *  
  
"Tidus! Anyone!"  
  
Rinoa narrowed her eyes and tried to see something through the white masses in front of her. Only minutes ago they had been there - Tidus, Quistis, Zell. Selphie and Irvine. What had happened to them? Were they safe? Maybe Quistis and the others were, but she had seen Tidus fall through the earth. She was afraid of what had happened to him.  
  
"It's of no use," she said to herself. She couldn't get past the wall of snow without falling down the side of the mountain, breaking her neck in the process. "I have to act like a SeeD," she said to herself, looking down at the ring hanging around her neck. Without knowing exactly why, she felt calm and safe when looking at the ring. As if someone was looking out for her. She smiled at the warmth inside her chest, knowing that it meant something. Yes, she had to be courageous. "What would a SeeD do?" she said out loud. "Regroup and wait." She turned and looked up along the snowy path that led further up the mountain. "They will find me. I just have to find somewhere safe to wait."  
  
Just as she had spoken the words, a chill wind blew past her, almost dragging her up the path. She shivered at the sudden unpleasant wind, but went up the path. The wind took on in strength, blowing up snow all around her. She decided to walk nearer the mountainside to avoid falling over the edge, as visibility dropped almost completely. She slowed down and hesitated. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea anyway. She tried to look back but realised that she couldn't see the ravine anymore. She was lost with nothing more than snow around her.  
  
Afraid Rinoa turned around and around. She didn't know what to do. But just as she was about to give up, a voice reached her. It was a soft voice, both cold and deep, calling her nearer as it rode the wind. Relieved to hear another living being she followed the voice up the path. For some time that felt like seconds to her she followed the voice, and soon found herself standing near the edge of a high but plain cliff. Here the wind slowed a bit, but it was still hard to see all her surroundings clearly. But she saw him standing at the edge of the cliff, looking at the scenery below. He was like a shadow in all the white around them, and she knew right away that the voice had belonged to him.  
  
"Come."  
  
Rinoa walked closer, soon standing only few steps away from the edge and the mysterious figure. She looked closely at him. He was clad in a long black coat, and his long hair had the same colour as white silver. He didn't turn his head, but she could still see his cold, icy-blue eyes. She couldn't take her own from them. Something moved slightly on his back, but she didn't try to find out what it was.  
  
"Who. are you?" she asked in wonder and awe.  
  
"Me?" he said with his mysterious voice, both soothing and dangerous. He seemed to think about for a while. "I am. destiny." He smiled at his own words, and Rinoa heard the sound of rustling feathers. He turned his head and looked into her dark eyes with his own blue. She stood paralysed, trapped by his cold eyes. "Look at this," he said, motioning towards the scenery with his one leather-gloved hand. "Isn't it beautiful?"  
  
Rinoa couldn't take her eyes away from his, but knew what he meant: at the foot of the mountains were the snowy woods, the large crater, and the remnants of the destroyed Garden. Still she couldn't get a word of her lips.  
  
He looked away from her and gazed at the horizon. "This place. this world. so beautiful. Don't you think so?" Rinoa again heard the sound of feathers as he shifted his weight. "I know you love it much. But I also know what you really are."  
  
Rinoa once again found herself trapped by his eyes. A part of her told her to run and hide, but at the same time she was filled with awe. She wanted to know more about him. To find out whom he was and how he knew about her. She almost didn't hear her name being called out by another familiar voice further down the mountainside.  
  
He reached out his hand, and she saw him as a black silhouette against the mountain. He smiled. "Come with me," he said as if he had read her mind. "Come with me, and I will show you."  
  
"Rinoa!"  
  
This time the other voice had come nearer, and Rinoa felt how she was suddenly filled with doubt. She looked at his outstretched hand, tempted to put hers in his and let him lead her. But then she heard Tidus running up towards them.  
  
"Rinoa, get away from there!"  
  
He had a sword in his hands. The tall person in front of her looked down at him with a look of irritation and disgust, and turned around. Rinoa tried to follow him, but couldn't move. She heard Tidus call out once again, and turned her head against him. When she once again turned back to get a last glimpse of the mysterious person, he was gone. Tidus came to her side, panting.  
  
"Rinoa, you're fast!" he said. "But please get away from the ledge! I thought you were gonna fall!"  
  
Surprised she looked down and realised that she stood with her feet at the very edge of the cliff. One more step and she would have fallen into death. She shivered, but her mind was still on the stranger. "Tidus. did you see him?"  
  
"Wha?" Tidus said, confused. "Who?"  
  
She shook her head. "Nothing. Come on, we have to find the others.  
  
"Yeah," he said and nodded. "I've got something to tell you too. I found Shiva. I know how to return the worlds to normal."  
  
END OF CHAPTER 6 


	8. OneWinged Angel

CHAPTER 7: ONE-WINGED ANGEL  
  
"So all we have to do is create a 'door'?" Quistis asked.  
  
"Yeah." Tidus nodded. "And only the key guardians can do that. Like you said, there are many Aeons all over - it would take forever to find them. But Shiva said that we only needed the strongest, the five guardians. I know three of them, but the last two I never heard about."  
  
"And we already have two?"  
  
He nodded again. "Yeah. The five guardians are: Ifrit, Shiva, Carbuncle and Odin. And then the king, the mightiest of the five: Bahamut. That's the only one I know except for Ifrit and Shiva."  
  
Quistis was silent for a moment. "We know where to find Odin," Rinoa said. "In Centra, where we found Tidus. But what about Carbuncle?"  
  
"I wonder if Xu could find anything about that in her journals," Quistis said, thoughtfully. "Carbuncle is one of the more ordinary GF's, but not many uses it, as they prefer offensive power. I think we have something about that written somewhere. I'll go ask her, until then you can relax."  
  
"All right!" Tidus said. "Sounds like we're getting there!"  
  
Quistis left them, and soon only Tidus and Rinoa stood there, together. "So, what now?" he asked.  
  
She shrugged. "I don't know. The Garden's moving again - I guess we are above the ocean soon."  
  
"You wanna go look?"  
  
She smiled. "Yeah!"  
  
Tidus already knew the Garden pretty well by now, and the route up the stairs and out into the free air was the one he knew best. He had noticed that Rinoa liked it as well, standing at the ledge, as she looked down at the passing scenery far, far below. She ran to the ledge right away. "Hey, come look!"  
  
He went to her side and peered down, seeing the snowy fields pass by. "We're not at the ocean yet."  
  
"Isn't it beautiful?" she asked and sighed. "I like living in the Garden. You get to see so many places! I never thought my life would be like this back in Timber!"  
  
"Timber?" he asked curiously. "You from there? What's it like?"  
  
"Well, once Timber was surrounded by deep forests, living in peace for themselves. But then Galbadia occupied it 18 years ago. I was leading a resistance group there. It's funny, 'cause I'm originally from Galbadia myself."  
  
"Then why did you do it?" He watched her as she leaned towards the ledge, her long black hair flowing with the wind. She was beautiful, he thought. He had never met a girl like her before.  
  
"Well," she said with a shrug. "It was wrong. Timber had never done anything wrong! And then Galbadia came, destroying the forests and ruining the inhabitant's lives! Galbadia's president was wrong. and so I ended up running away from home, defying my father who was the general of Galbadia's armies. But now the president is dead, and so is the sorceress. I wonder what it looks like now? Galbadia must be in chaos."  
  
*She ended up fighting her own father in a resistance faction?* he thought. *Looks like there is more to her than I thought.* He couldn't help laughing, shaking his head at the irony.  
  
"What?" she asked accusingly. "What are you laughing at?"  
  
"It's nothing," he said. "What you told me, it just reminds me of something."  
  
"Come on!" she cried. "Tell me! Tell me about you. I don't know anything about you at all!"  
  
Tidus hesitated. There was really nothing to say. Nothing except that he had never really been alive, that he had killed his own father. That he could never see Yuna again, even if he succeeded in returning the worlds to normal. He looked her, seeing her smiling, pale face. Her narrow eyes watched him closely, teasingly, and he sighed. "Well, my world is called Spira. It's nothing like place. There are the Aeons, monster and magic, but besides that. there are very little mechanics since law forbids it. A thing like this Garden would be heresy!"  
  
"Oh, really?" She looked down at the large ring hovering below them. "But you don't seem too impressed. You must not have cared much about that law, you scoundrel!"  
  
"Hey, I've flown before!" he said with a bragging voice. "Anyway, we realised that the laws and teachings were only covering up a corrupted church. It meant nothing, all that they had told the people over thousands of years were really lies."  
  
"Tell me about Sin."  
  
He looked down as the cold, blue ocean replaced the snowy ground. A cool breeze struck him. "It was a gigantic fiend, spreading death and chaos all over Spira. Nothing could kill it, only the summoners. But every time it died, it was reborn, only to create more suffering."  
  
"Why couldn't the summoners just kill it again?"  
  
He thought of Yuna and her determination. How she sacrificed everything to bring happiness to Spira. "The summoners had to call the final Aeon to beat Sin, an Aeon with incredible strength. But in doing so, the summoners themselves died."  
  
She was silent for a while. "The final Aeon. was it Eden? That's the strongest GF I know."  
  
"I never saw the original Aeon. It had been used for so many times that it was no more. The summoners had to sacrifice someone dear to them to call another Final Aeon, and thus they both died."  
  
"That's cruel!" Rinoa cried. "But you. you must have been with a summoner. What happened? Is Sin reborn in your world now?"  
  
"I was with Yuna, a young summoner. I was her guardian. And together we went inside Sin and defeated its creator. That way Sin will never return, and Yuna didn't have to sacrifice herself." He shook his head. "We had just defeated it when it happened."  
  
Rinoa watched him closely. "You miss her, don't you?" She nudged him in the side. "Don't worry, when we find the last GF's, you'll see her again."  
  
He looked back at her. "What about you?" he said. "You don't remember him anymore, do you? Aren't you afraid of what's gonna happen when he returns?"  
  
"You know what?" She looked away, out at the horizon. "You're right, I don't remember him anymore. I can't remember his name, how he looks, what we did together. It's like it never happened. But then when I do this." She took the ring in her hand, closing her eyes. "Then I feel him, close to me. And even though I don't remember him I know it's worth waiting for. Even though I may never regain what we had together."  
  
Tidus was silent and watched her calm face as she talked. She was brave. And suddenly he thought of something else - if he succeeded, if the worlds went back to normal. they would never meet again. And the thought hurt him, deep inside, as the thought of never seeing Yuna again hurt. Things were getting complicated, he realised.  
  
* * *  
  
Tidus strolled along the railing looking at the train that was stationed there. He stopped and gazed through one of the windows. "What did you call this?" he asked in wonder.  
  
"A train," Quistis giggled.  
  
"How fast does it go?"  
  
"Really fast," she replied. "They are used as transport. SeeD's use them a lot."  
  
Tidus stepped back and looked all the way down the long train. "And I thought Chocobos were strange!" he said.  
  
"You have Chocobos?" Rinoa asked. "So do we. They are used as messengers mostly. But a few people use them these days. I guess it's easier to rent a car."  
  
"'Car'," Tidus repeated and made a face. "Don't even try to tell me! Show me!"  
  
Rinoa giggled and turned towards Quistis. "May I? I could show him around!"  
  
Quistis sighed. "Go on. We won't need you two until we have found Carbuncle anyway - I guess you would want to meet some acquaintances as well, Rinoa?" She nodded at Selphie. "Come on. We have things to do. If we split up we'll be noticed less."  
  
As the two of them turned around to leave, Selphie turned around and giggled at Rinoa. She had a naughty look in her eyes, and Rinoa made a face back at her. Then she turned towards Tidus.  
  
"All right. There are some cars in this town. come on. But keep down the town is still occupied. That is why we had to leave the Garden so early."  
  
They left the station and headed into the city. It didn't take long before Tidus found something that interested him. "Hey, what's that?"  
  
She turned her head towards the large window, showing off different types of swords and guns. "That is a weapon-shop. Who knows, maybe you can get yourself a decent weapon."  
  
He was about to go take a look when a sudden commotion caught their attention. Rinoa sighed. "There's some of them," she said. "Galbadian soldiers." He looked down the street and saw some men in blue uniforms together with their superior in a red. He recalled having seen some like them at the train station. It looked like the two soldiers had a hard time holding on to something - something with arms and legs kicking in every direction. The man in the red uniform was yelling at his men while holding on to an aching knee. Seemed like the captive had fought bravely, kicking him in the right places.  
  
"Shouldn't we do anything?" he asked.  
  
Rinoa was already on her way and Tidus hurried after her. They soon realised that the captive was a young girl with short, black hair held with a headband, and purple eyes. She was fighting bravely, shouting every possible kind of curses at the soldiers.  
  
"What are you doing?" Rinoa asked. The officer looked at her, surprised. Then he sighed irritably and let go of his knee.  
  
"You better go back home," he snarled. "This is none of your business."  
  
"I think that it is! Why are you doing that to her?"  
  
The girl that had looked suspiciously at Rinoa and Tidus at first now saw a chance for escape. "Yeah, you're so MEAN! I haven't done ANYTHING!"  
  
"You just shut up!" one of the soldier said.  
  
"Release me or you'll regret it!" she screamed.  
  
"That's none of your business," the officer repeated. "That brat had some 'fun' with our soldiers. She is going to learn what it means to mess with the army!"  
  
"Hey!" Tidus interrupted and stepped forward. "Just leave her."  
  
The soldiers glared at him, and the officer stepped forward. "You just said?"  
  
This was the chance that the girl had been waiting for. Quickly she kicked the one soldiers leg away, and buried her teeth in the other ones arm. He yelled in pain as the other slipped, and she did a backwards jump away from them. The officer spun around in surprise.  
  
"Get her you complete. mo. morons!" he roared.  
  
The girl giggled. Quickly her hand went to her pockets, and with a smooth movement she sent three deadly stars flying through the air. The one guard yelled once again as he was nailed to the wall behind him, while the other tripped and fell head long in his wild pursuit. The officer raged and lifted his gun to fire at her. But she was fast and sent another star close to cutting his hand off.  
  
"That's what you get when playing around with the master ninja Yuffie!" she cried, and then she was gone. The soldiers tried to get themselves together and hunt her down.  
  
"Come on Rinoa!" Tidus said in excitement. "We can't let her get away!"  
  
"Tidus!" Rinoa called. "Wait for me!" They ran round a corner and down some stairs, ending up standing on several railroads running below a bridge. Few steps away they saw Yuffie.  
  
"Hey stop!" Rinoa called and ran towards her with Tidus behind her. Then she slowed down and stopped not far away from the girl, watching her face with a puzzled expression. Yuffie stood paralysed, her eyes wide and her mouth gaping open. And she was staring at something behind them. Rinoa spun around and saw him again, standing where they had just passed underneath the bridge. He lifted his head and looked at her, smiling. Tidus also turned around, wrinkling his eyebrows as he saw the stranger.  
  
"Who is *he*?"  
  
Yuffie took a step backwards. "No." she gasped. "Sephi. Sephiroth."  
  
"Sephiroth?" Rinoa repeated.  
  
He laughed coldly. "Yes Rinoa."  
  
"Hey!" Tidus shouted. "How do you know her?"  
  
His eyes passed to Tidus, giving him a cold glance. "I see. the Traveller. I had suspected him to be more. heroic."  
  
With an angry roar Tidus ran forward with his sword and with an incredible speed - but without anyone realising what actually happened, Sephiroth had drawn his long katana, and Tidus was thrown back with a powerful parry and the sound of clashing steel. He rolled across the rails a couple of times before he stopped.  
  
"No!" Rinoa cried. "Stop! Why are you doing this?"  
  
He sheathed the katana once again. "Don't you see?" he asked. "Because of this." As he said the words a wing made of long, soft feathers unfolded on his right shoulder, rustling gently. He motioned towards it with his hand, smiling. "Does this remind you of something? I have the black - as you have the white. That is why I found you - that is why I need you and your. abilities."  
  
Rinoa shook her head, stepping backwards. Sephiroth made a short laugh before he turned around and walked towards the broad red laser-beams shutting off the railroad. But instead of getting roasted he went through - and disappeared in the shadows in the tunnel on the other side. Rinoa felt her heart beating wildly, and reached up for the ring in fear. Behind her she heard Tidus moan.  
  
He lifted his head, rubbing it with one hand. "What. happened?"  
  
Yuffie glanced down at him without even thinking of helping him up. "It was Sephiroth," she said. "I thought that. he should be dead!"  
  
Rinoa turned around and faced them, her pale face en whiter than usual, but as she talked, she hid the fear in her voice. "He's not," she said, and then she rushed to Tidus' side, kneeling down beside him. "Are you hurt?"  
  
"Not badly," he answered, leaning on his hands. "Oh man! I really though I had him! I don't understand what happened. I mean, I never miss like that!" He looked at Yuffie. "How did you know him? A friend of yours?" The last words were said with a sarcastic tone.  
  
The young girl hesitated. "Not really," she then said. Rinoa saw how she was trying to avoid the conversation, and apparently was slowly stepping closer to the stairs leading away from the rails.  
  
"Hey Yuffie, I think the guards may still be up there. We can help you - you will be safe onboard the Garden."  
  
"Garden?" she repeated with a doubtful voice. It was obvious that she, like Tidus, didn't know anything about the Garden. But she knew Sephiroth - and she appeared to have 'travelled' like Tidus. And that could only mean that Sephiroth had done so as well. Rinoa had to get a chance to talk to her some more.  
  
"Yeah," she said. "You will find no safer place. It never stays on one spot. We're looking for Carbuncle."  
  
"Carbuncle?" Yuffie shouted. "Oh! I mean, that sounds nice. Yeah, I would like to be in a safe place. I would love to go with you!"  
  
At first Rinoa was surprised how Yuffie's mood had suddenly changed, but then she said to herself that at least she would follow them back, and then she could ask her about that later. She looked down at Tidus again. "Can you walk?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine." He rose to his feet, still a bit beaten. "Let's hurry back. I don't think we will be able to find Carbuncle here anyway."  
  
Rinoa smiled. "Oh too bad. Then I didn't get to show you a car."  
  
"Don't even mention it!" he moaned. "I'll see one another day, okay? I just. need to lie down, I think."  
  
"Crybaby!" Rinoa teased as they walked towards the stairs.  
  
Yuffie looked after them for a while, thinking. They were apparently looking for Carbuncle, that she remembered was a summon. Why they would hunt down such a worthless summon she couldn't think of, but at least that could mean that they had more materia, maybe even summon materia. Why else would Sephiroth be interested in them? She took a deep sigh, thinking of he consequences regarding Sephiroth. Then she told herself that she would be long gone with the materia when it came to that - Sephiroth had never been her problem anyway.  
  
And with these thoughts she yelled for them to wait and ran after her new acquaintances.  
  
END OF CHAPTER 7 


	9. Almasy

CHAPTER 8: ALMASY  
  
NOTE: Summer Vacation is over, and I can finally get back to posting new chapters! :D We have now reached chapter 8 as the plot slowly thickens. comments, feedback or any other stuff you might have to say/ask about, are welcome!  
  
Pinkachu@ofir.dk  
  
~ Vatina ;)  
  
* * *  
  
Peaceful.. He could feel the soft sand underneath him and hear the ocean only a few steps away. The cool breeze touched his face. He was lying with his eyes closed, enjoying the stillness. He felt a hand stroking his hair gently.  
  
"Tidus." a loving female voice whispered softly.  
  
"Mmm," he answered, not opening his eyes. He could feel her, sitting with his head in her lap. He had been here all of the time. How could he have been so stupid? He had only been dreaming.  
  
"Tidus.?" Yuna whispered. "Why don't you love me anymore?" He soft, low voice suddenly became painful and accusing. He could feel her moving away, rising to her feet. "Why have you left me?"  
  
He opened his eyes in surprise, looking up at her. She looked just like he remembered her. Wearing the same soft clothing, looking down at him with her sad blue and green eyes, the short, brown hair flowing gently around her cute face. But she seemed so far away as she stood there with that look in her eyes. He lifted himself up on his arms, looking back at her.  
  
"What?" he asked, confused.  
  
"You don't love me anymore!" she repeated, taking another step backwards. She was now holding her summoners staff tightly in both hands, as if desperately clinging to what she knew and understood in this world. "You thought of leaving me when you were there! With her!"  
  
He stood up, still not sure what to say. Thoughts whirled in his mind. Rinoa. It hadn't been a dream. but how? Why was he here? What had happened to Rinoa? And how. how did Yuna know? "Wait! Yuna I. I still."  
  
"Then prove it to me!" she demanded. "Come to me, Tidus! Come to my side. Let me know that. that you'll never leave me alone again!"  
  
He took a deep breath and raised his foot to take the step towards her, when another voice suddenly called out behind him.  
  
"Tidus! Where are you?"  
  
Rinoa. He turned around and saw her. She came along the beach, turning her head from side to side, looking for him. Her hand went up and touched the ring hanging around her neck. "Why aren't you here? Tidus, I'm scared! Come back to me! It's coming. I'm scared!"  
  
Torn in two Tidus once again turned to look at Yuna. Her arms were now hanging along her sides, and she had dropped the staff on the ground. There were tears in her eyes, and the sunset lit her face in orange colours, just like the last time he had seen her. "I love you." The voice was low and almost non-existent, and still he heard the words clearly in his mind.  
  
"No! Yuna, don't go!" He took a step towards Yuna, but couldn't go any further as he heard Rinoa scream in fear behind him. Yuna looked at him one last time, and then she turned around and walked away, her staff lying in the sand. When she was gone he turned to help Rinoa, but found no one. It was too late; he hadn't been able to save any of the two. He had been to slow.  
  
"You cannot run away," a dark female voice said in a soft tone, "from your own imagination."  
  
With a scream Tidus jumped up, and looked from side to side. He soon recognised his surroundings, and realised that he was still in the Garden, lying in his bed in the dormitory room he had been given. With a deep sigh he sat down on the edge of the bed and ran his fingers through his hair, closing his eyes. A dream. He had always been haunted by dreams since he had been a child, and this time it had seemed so real. As if he had really been back in Yuna's arms. the thought scared him as he remembered her words. He had to see her. He had to find out what had happened while he had been gone, if she was safe. And to tell her that he loved her.  
  
There was a knock on the door. "Tidus?"  
  
It was Rinoa. He sighed at the irony. "Yeah. come in."  
  
She slowly entered and looked around as she closed the door behind her. Then she looked at him. "You all right? I heard something. I was just on my way to visit you, but if you're still sleeping."  
  
"No, not at all." The thought of going back to sleep didn't seem attractive at a time like this. He rose to his feet. "Are we going back to Timber to continue the search?"  
  
She smiled. "No, That's what I came to tell you. Quistis found something. She wants to talk to all of us."  
  
* * *  
  
"We have been all wrong!" Quistis said while shaking her head. "All the trouble we could have avoided. Carbuncle can not be found in Timber."  
  
"What?" Zell moaned. "Oh man! Where then?"  
  
"Deling City," she continued. "That is where Carbuncle is. True enough Carbuncle once resided in Timbers forestlands, but after Galbadia invaded it was moved."  
  
"You can *move* a GF?" Irvine asked sceptically.  
  
"Yes," Xu answered. "It is possible if you have the right resources and technology. Why Carbuncle was moved we do not know yet, but the main issue here is that we have been looking in the wrong place."  
  
"To Deling City then!" Selphie said. "But are you sure that it would be clever to travel directly into Galbadia's capital? After what we did I don't think that we're very popular there."  
  
Quistis smiled. "Yes. look at this as a real SeeD mission. We can't enter the city all of us, and therefore you will be divided into two different teams. You have to enter the city without drawing to much attention towards yourselves."  
  
"What's with all the 'you' Quistis?" Zell asked. "You're coming, right?"  
  
She smiled proudly as Xu went to her side. "I'm sorry Zell, but I'm not joining you this time. I have been given my old position as an Instructor back."  
  
"Yes," Xu continued. "Instead of joining you, she will from now on be your contact and instructor, and responsible for this whole mission."  
  
"The 'Save the Worlds' mission?" Selphie asked. "Wow! Congrats Quisty!"  
  
Quistis now turned her head and looked at another person at the meeting. Behind Selphie and Tidus a young girl was sitting on a table, her legs swinging back and forth as she was looking down at the floor. "Yuffie?" Quistis asked and caught her attention. "I presume that you are staying here in the Garden until the others have returned from Deling City."  
  
"Yeah," she answered with a 'what do I care?' tone in her voice.  
  
"All right. Then we have to decide for the teams."  
  
"I'm going in," Tidus said. "I think that I have to, anyway."  
  
"Me too!" Rinoa jumped to his side, looking at Quistis. "I have to as well, you know Quistis. Remember what 'he' said."  
  
The Instructor's expression darkened. "Yes. Sephiroth. (Yuffie raised her head in sudden interest.) That is a serious matter that we have to take care of later. That makes two. then we only need one."  
  
"What will the other team do?" Zell asked.  
  
"Stay outside of Deling City, ready to enter and come to the Alpha teams aid. The sign will be a flash of light in the sky - you can take care of that Rinoa. We cannot enter all of us."  
  
She nodded. Then Yuffie suddenly jumped down from the table. "I wanna go with them!"  
  
Quistis and the others looked at her surprised. "But maybe you should. I mean, you're not a SeeD Yuffie."  
  
She glared at Quistis. "So what? I can take care of myself."  
  
"You have to stay here where it's safe," Quistis said sternly. Then she looked at Zell. "You will be accompanying them."  
  
Zell eagerly went to Tidus' and Rinoas side, and Irvine and Selphie were left. "Right!" Quistis said, satisfied. "Let's get going. And remember - we are only taking this risk to get Carbuncle. I want no trouble in there!"  
  
"Hey, remember who you're talking to! Of course!" Zell said proudly, and he, Tidus and Rinoa stood in front of Quistis with the most disturbing innocent expressions.  
  
"Yes. I know," she answered and shook her head with worry.  
  
* * *  
  
"What do we know about Deling City?" Zell asked with his 'know-it-all' voice. "It is Galbadia's Capitol, the place from where Deling controlled Galbadia."  
  
"But Deling is dead," Rinoa said.  
  
"And so is the Sorceress."  
  
They went silent. Everyone's gaze went to the looming city on the horizon, the city-lights illuminating the starlit sky. "Then who is in charge?"  
  
"You may expect Galbadia to be in turmoil these days," Irvine said. "They were only staying in Timber because they had to do *something* to keep the peace. The country is without a leader right now, they have just realised that. The residents demand democracy, but of course there are those who would like to walk in Delings footsteps and become the new dictator."  
  
"Big trouble," Selphie continued. "Xu digged this information up. You might want to consider that before entering!"  
  
"So, who's in charge?" Tidus repeated, confused. He wasn't used to be thinking about politics. It was usually very simple - it was either good or bad, and if it was bad, you could always storm in and think later.  
  
Irvine shrugged. "It's not official, but everyone can figure out that the military's in charge. They are the ones setting out patrols, keeping peace in this struggle. They are holding the real power."  
  
"The military." Rinoa once again looked at the big city. "That means."  
  
"General Caraway," Zell said, finishing her sentence. "Your father, huh?"  
  
"I just want to get this over with, without anyone noticing. So that we can leave before he finds out?"  
  
Zell nodded. "You can count on that! This is an easy mission, right?"  
  
* * *  
  
Yuffie sat on a cliff, watching the group part far away. It had been easy to escape from the Garden - it was obvious that they didn't expect her to go anywhere. As if she wanted to stay in that boring place while they were out to obtain the great price? Like she was letting them get Carbuncle all for themselves! Even though she had started to wonder why she hadn't seen the tiniest bit - or even heard the mentioning of - materia. Seemed like they weren't concerned about this at all.  
  
*That must mean they have a lot,* she thought. *Then they won't feel sorry when I'm gone with some of it. Either that, or they're really stupid.* And then there was Sephiroth. she hadn't expected him to show up. He was supposed to be dead! And it was obvious that these 'SeeDs' weren't the least worried about that. Yeah, they were stupid indeed. *Who knows, they may end up dead anyway.*  
  
The group of three was now entering the city - this was her chance! She jumped off the cliff and followed them silently.  
  
* * *  
  
"We're in!" Zell said. "That was surprisingly easy!"  
  
"I don't know." Tidus looked over his shoulder at the exit. "I think I saw someone follow us."  
  
"You think so?" Rinoa asked with worry. "From the outside?"  
  
Zell boxed out into the air. "Don't worry Rinoa, if its that Sephi- something-guy I'll punch him right out of his misery!"  
  
Rinoa giggled. "You're right. After all that we have been through, why should he be any worse?" They turned to leave, when something caught their attention. A small white ball of light flew up in the dark sky, flashing for a couple of moments before it winked out.  
  
"That was." Zell shook his head. "It's from those on the desert! Irvine and Selphie!"  
  
"The signal?" Rinoa asked in worry. "Already? Something must be wrong. What do we do Tidus?"  
  
They, the Alpha Team, had been supposed to use that signal. Since their rescue team used it themselves, something had to be wrong. But what about Carbuncle? "We have to help them in some way."  
  
"But we can't back out now, this may be out last chance!" Rinoa cried. She turned towards Zell. "We have to split up. You go help them, Zell. Tidus and I will hurry back as soon as possible - this shouldn't take long."  
  
Zell hesitated. But then they saw another white Flare illumminate the sky, and he nodded. "Yeah, you can take care of this yourselves. I'll see you then!" He turned around and ran out of the city.  
  
"I hope they'll make it."  
  
"Don't worry," Tidus said padding her on the shoulder. "They will. Anyway, this will be over with in no time! Then we can go back and help them."  
  
"You're right." They turned away from the exit and hurried along the street. No one knew when guards would be crowding all over the place - it had already been far easier to enter the city than anyone had thought possible. Not a guard had been in sight, only this silence, as if the city itself was asleep.  
  
And as they hurried along the street a dark figure observed them from the top of a roof, moving swiftly and without a sound as it slipped in between the shadows to follow its prey.  
  
They had reached a corner when Rinoa suddenly stopped. Tidus looked at her in surprise. "What is it?" he asked. "You have to show me the way!"  
  
"Wait," she whispered. "I heard something. someone. A scream I think."  
  
Tidus stood still, listening. "I don't hear any - !"  
  
The sound was the same as steel slicing its tip towards a hard surface in high speed. It was low, but he had been sure that it was nearby. The city wasn't dead - but someone was killing.  
  
"Come on."  
  
"What?" Rinoa asked, startled.  
  
"We have to find out what is going on! Maybe someone is in trouble!"  
  
She hesitated. "But what if it's the soldiers? *We* can't get into trouble."  
  
"We won't, I'll make sure. Come on!"  
  
They went around the corner and followed the direction of the sound along a row of bushes and trees. It didn't take long before Tidus was sure he heard footsteps and stopped. Slowly he pushed the bushes aside and left the road.  
  
They were now at a small path of bricks running along a beautiful lake that reflected the city's lights. But the ground was covered with the bodies of four soldiers, one of them dropping to the ground just as Tidus and Rinoa stopped in front of the scenery. This was the reason why no soldiers had stopped them on their way into the city. Tidus gasped.  
  
In front him was the silhouette of a tall person standing with his back turned against them, and a gunblade resting on his shoulder.  
  
A Gunblade. Tidus stared. "Squall.?"  
  
END OF CHAPTER 8 


	10. Spheres

CHAPTER 9: SPHERES  
  
*So this is what it has come to. I never wanted to die. to become someone else's memory,* he thought in irony. *Instead there are no memories of me at all.*  
  
.Rinoa.  
  
"There you are!"  
  
Squall looked up and saw Rikku running towards him. She stopped at the foot of the cliff he was sitting on, huffing and puffing after the long run. "You don't have any manners, do you?"  
  
*Whatever.*  
  
He jumped down on the ground and saw Yuna coming from the same direction as Rikku.  
  
"You sure are something," Rikku continued. "I've never seen anyone fight like that!"  
  
"How far do we have to go?" Squall asked Yuna, ignoring Rikku.  
  
Yuna smiled. "There," she said, pointing up along the rocky path. "It is Djose Temple. We can rest there."  
  
*Temple,* Squall thought. How many of those had they encountered on their journey so far? He had noticed something happening to Yuna every time they stayed at a temple. As if she was thinking of something, having this melancholic look in her eyes. The temples had meant something to her. *The Aeons,* he thought. *She mentioned something about Aeons.*  
  
"All right," he said out loud. "Let's get moving. It'll be dark soon."  
  
Rikku put her arms in the sides and watched him as he continued up the path. "Why did you bring him along anyway?" she asked Yuna.  
  
"You know why," Yuna answered. "Because he is the only one who can help us figure out what is wrong." She followed him upwards.  
  
Rikku watched them leave. "Yeah, the mysterious sightings and disappearings. But I know that they aren't the only reasons." She peeked over her shoulder impatiently. "Are you coming, Kimahri?"  
  
* * *  
  
Yuna opened the temple door, looking out into the night. There she saw him, just as she had expected when she found his bed empty, sitting on a ledge looking at the stars. As silently as possible she closed the door behind her and went out to stand beside him.  
  
"What is bothering you?" she asked softly.  
  
Squall closed his eyes. *Everything,* he thought. *How all this happened. If everyone is OK. If I can go back. Nothing that you would understand.*  
  
"Nothing."  
  
She sat down beside him, and looked at the stars above the mountains. "You never tell me about the place you're from. I would like to know."  
  
"It's nothing like this place."  
  
She giggled. "I can imagine that after having met you!" Surprised she stopped. "Why are you angry?"  
  
Irritated he rose to his feet and turned his back against her. "You wouldn't understand! Just don't think about it. I'm going to bed."  
  
She looked away. "You know, I was like that once. Or maybe not exactly like that, but still. I realised that I shouldn't have kept everything to myself. I knew I was going to die. I had accepted it. And only when I freed my mind, told everyone about it, I realised that I didn't have to accept that. It could be changed."  
  
*I don't care,* Squall thought. *I just want to go back.*  
  
"I was a mercenary, I already told you that. A SeeD supposed to kill the sorceress."  
  
"Did you succeed?"  
  
*I think so. Didn't I? But then why am I here?*  
  
"Yeah. We succeeded."  
  
She stood up and went to him. "And then you ended up here."  
  
"I don't know why it happened! Everything was supposed to go back to normal. Everyone should have been all right. but now I don't know what happened to them."  
  
"I'm sure they are all right. Some day we are going to figure out how to get you back!" She shook her head. "I just don't know how yet. all we know that about the same time that you were found, strange things started to happen."  
  
"The unknown monsters." Squall placed his forehead in his hand. Those *unknown* monsters. one of them had been a purple Propegator. He had killed it himself. "It makes no use thinking about that know. Come on, let's."  
  
A scream sounded in the midnight air, and a young woman came running up towards them. One of the believers in the temple.  
  
"Fiend!" she yelled in panic, and right after they heard the powerful roar of the monster that chased her. She ran past them, and as a reflex Squall drew the sword that he used in this world - the large blue sword with the silver edges and golden patterns. He hated using such a flashy sword, but he had to admit that he could find none of better quality and strength.  
  
The monster came from around the corner, crushing the cliffs blocking the path to his prey. The woman ran through the temple doors, hiding the best way she could. Rikku and Kimahri came the same way out to join Squall and Yuna.  
  
"Catoblepas," Squall acknowledged as he recognised the large creatures shape and the red fur with the black stripes. The giant behemoth turned its horned head and narrowed its eyes in the dark. Another roar escaped its throat as it eyed the four tiny people standing on the ledge near the temple.  
  
"What's going on?" Rikku asked in confusion. "I thought we just killed a huge hungry monster. You're not saying that we have to do it again?!?"  
  
Squall didn't answer. He watched the impressive creature, and soon eyed a weak glow surroundings its deadly, black claws. The same weak glow lit its eyes, making it easier to see it in the darkness. "No time to wonder. Let's get it."  
  
"Righto," Rikku mumbled. "Seems like *you* never get tired."  
  
The behemoth planted its forelegs on the ground with an enormous force, shaking the ground. It scratched the ground like a bull preparing for the attack, before throwing itself forwards against its opponents. It headed directly against Yuna, the most visible prey at the time.  
  
Swiftly Yuna jumped aside and left the creatures vision. In anger it rose to its hindlegs, roaring in a terrifying rage.  
  
*What's wrong with it?* Squall thought as he avoided the madly swinging tail. *It's gone mad!*  
  
Desperately the monster swung its head from side to side, it's blue- glowing eyes scanning the area for something to crush.  
  
"It can't see us," Squall realised. "Be quiet!" he instructed the others. "I don't know why, but it obviously can't see very well. Keep moving!"  
  
Catoblepas heard Squalls voice and turned rapidly to follow it. The strong tail hit the hard cliffside behind it, causing rubble and boulders to fall down around them. Kimahri took the chance and ran up behind it, slicing his powerful spear through the behemoths hindleg. It roared in pain and staggered as blood poured from its wound. The rage slowly changed into fear and panic as it realised that it stood no chance with the handicap it suffered. Then it saw him - standing alone with his back against the cliff. Crushing this puny human would be so easy. anything to get rid of what had struck him. Even if it meant killing all the humans or creatures he could find.  
  
Squall looked back at the monster that towered before him on its hindlegs. Was the Catoblepas he knew really this big? The glowing eyes stared wildly at him as it raised its paw to crush him. *Just try.* he thought.  
  
"Holy!"  
  
White spheres of holy energy appeared around the surprised monster, and impaled it in a sharp flash. The monster roared in pain and despair, and staggered for a moment before it fell on the ground with all its weight and power. The ground shook and even more boulders fell. The four humans went to its side.  
  
"It's done for," Rikku stated. "Nice job Yuna."  
  
"Look!" Yuna stepped back as they watched the faint glow in the eyes winked out before the behemoth took its last breath and the yellow eyes closed.  
  
"I kinda feel sorry for him." Rikku shrugged. "I wonder what made him freak out like that?"  
  
Squall went to the large creatures head and bent down to watch it closely. Yes, something had been wrong. A Catoblepas this size would normally have been a real challenge to defeat - especially with its strong magic. And they didn't have any trouble seeing in the dark. This was what crossed his mind when suddenly the blue glow returned, this time stronger and surrounding the creatures whole body. He rose to his feet in surprise, watching as the glow - as some kind of fog made by blue light - rose from the behemoth and swirled in the air like water. Then they could see it.  
  
"What. what is that?" Yuna gasped.  
  
Squall stepped forward staring into the substance in front of them. He narrowed his eyes and looked into its swirling deep. and found out that something was looking out at him.  
  
There were two persons looking back at him, just as surprised as he was. The surroundings became visible, and he realised that he knew the place he was looking at. The long dark road leading to the centre of Galbadia stretched out behind the two figures.  
  
"Rinoa," he whispered as he saw the face of the dark-haired girl in blue. She looked back at him, and he felt his heart sink as he met her wondering eyes. Surprised by his stare she stepped back and grasped the hand of the boy at her side, a boy who was busy looking at something behind Squall. Yuna stepped up beside him.  
  
"They can see us," she said with a low and soft voice.  
  
Squall was about to step forward to try if he could pass through the misty substance, when he stopped. Someone raised behind Rinoa and her companion, a young man leaning to his gunblade and looked back at him through the 'window' with a shocked stare - Squall blinked just as he realised whom it was, and then the picture disappeared. The misty substance changed its shape before it dissolved as well.  
  
"What in Yevons name was that?" Rikku yelled.  
  
He clenched his fist. She had been there he had seen her. She was alive. But his worst fears had been confirmed, as he had seen in her eyes that she did not recognise him. *I don't care,* he thought. *I'm going back anyway. Even if you can't remember me, Rinoa. I want to hear you voice. After all, I went through all this to hear your voice once again.*  
  
"It looked like. a sphere." Yuna shook her head. "Maybe we were right! Maybe we really do have to seek the power of the spheres."  
  
Squall turned to face his companions. All this time he had been helping them hunt down these spheres, without ever really trusting what they could accomplish with them. And now he knew that he had been right. "Call it what you want," he said. "I'm going to find whatever caused this - and I'm going to use it to get back home. You can help me or you can stay here."  
  
"We want to help," Yuna said softly. "We want to figure out what's going on as well. And. I want to figure out who. *he* was."  
  
*That guy,* he thought. The one Rinoa had been with. so he was the one who had taken his place. He remembered having seen him before. Back then in that temple. Yuna had told him that it was the temple of the fire Aeon Ifrit. But she hadn't seen it - it had disappeared just as she had come, and he had decided not to tell her. And then the person he had seen just before the vision closed. He closed his eyes in anger.  
  
"Are there any Aeons left?"  
  
"Um, no. They kinda disappeared together with Sin," Rikku explained. "Why?"  
  
"I have to find Carbuncle," he replied. "The shape the mist took before it dissolved - It was Carbuncle who opened the window."  
  
END OF CHAPTER 9 


	11. AngelWings

CHAPTER 10: ANGEL WINGS  
  
"Squall?"  
  
The person in the long coat turned around and stared back at Rinoa and Tidus.  
  
"You!" Rinoa cried. "Why."  
  
He grinned. "So. who's that wimp you're following around now, Rinoa? The grand hero got tired of you?"  
  
"Hold on a moment!" Tidus said. "You're not Squall?"  
  
The stranger laughed. "Me? Now that's a new one - it's the first time someone compared me to that weakling."  
  
"Seifer, stop it!" she cried and looked at the dead soldiers with horror. "What are you doing?"  
  
It came as a complete shock to Tidus. Not the dead soldiers, or the fact that this person wasn't Squall at all, but the answer he had received. "You know Squall?"  
  
Seifer ignored Tidus. "I never thought I would run into you here," he said to Rinoa. "Now what? Chasing down followers of the dark this time? And where's your pet, Squall?"  
  
"Stop it Seifer," she repeated. "Why we're here is none of you business."  
  
"Hey answer my question!" Tidus yelled.  
  
Irritated Seifer turned his head and glared at Tidus. "You just don't know when to shut up, do you? What I am doing is nothing for *you* to stick your little nose in!"  
  
"Just leave us alone." Rinoa looked at Tidus. "Come on, Tidus. We have to hurry."  
  
"Wait a minute. You have to be here of some reason."  
  
They both stopped and Seifer stepped closer. "You noticed it as well, didn't you? You're figuring out why everything has changed. I want to know what you have found out."  
  
"Why would you bother? Come on, Tidus!"  
  
Tidus hesitated. It seemed like Seifer still remembered Squall - but how? He gave him another quick glance before he followed Rinoa out on the street.  
  
"You won't make it anyway," he heard Seifer say. "There is something out there."  
  
"There," Rinoa said and pointed. Tidus followed her direction, and saw the building marking the centre of the city - an arch standing above the crosspoints of the main roads of Deling City, with lights casting shadows on the gargoyles portraying the walls.  
  
"We find Carbuncle there?" Tidus asked, surprised.  
  
"Yeah. Now I think of it, we originally received Carbuncle from one of the gargoyles."  
  
"There."  
  
Tidus almost jumped up in surprise as Seifer stepped up beside him and pointed with his gunblade. "See? That gargoyle up there is Iguion, and there you will find your Carbuncle."  
  
Rinoa lowered her head. "Why are you here, Seifer?"  
  
He didn't turn his head to look at her or Tidus, as he once again leaned the blade on this shoulder. "I'm looking for someone."  
  
"Well then we just have to find out how we can get Carbuncle out of there," Tidus said and started to take a step forward. "Until now that hasn't been a problem. I'm sure it'll solve itself this time as we-"  
  
A strong wind blew past the three of them and Tidus stopped to cover his face against the blown up debris with his arms. The sound of something slicing through the air could be heard.  
  
"Watch out!"  
  
The high clash of metal hitting metal sounded in the still night, and Tidus stepped back in surprise as sparks from the collisions flew in front of his eyes. Not far away stood Yuffie with another throwing star ready in her hand, as they saw what had attacked them. A dark figure jumped back and landed on a small ledge between the gargoyles far up, a long lone wing stretching out from his right shoulder as he sheathed his long blade. A familiar laugh reached their ears.  
  
"Now who's this?" Seifer asked, irritated.  
  
"I see you have gathered quite a party," Sephiroth said to Rinoa, looking at Yuffie and Seifer. "But it doesn't matter. No one here has the power to stop me."  
  
"Please!" Rinoa cried. "What is it that you want? Leave us alone!"  
  
Sephiroth stretched out his arms, looking down at them with a triumphant smile on his lips. "What I want is something not one of you would be able to understand nor realise! I have died twice yet to live on in this place! I have received one more chance to fulfil my destiny, and this time I will not let you acquire the power to ruin it!"  
  
At some point Tidus felt like Sephiroth talked about him. He opened his mouth to object, as he himself never had been aware that he was in the way of someone's destiny, but was soon forced back by another strong gust, blowing up leaves and debris. Sephiroth drew his blade.  
  
"This ends here."  
  
Without a sound he leaped from his place on the ledge and down towards Tidus. Mid-air he lifted his katana, everything happening to fast for Tidus to grab his sword before it was too late. But right before the long blade sliced horizontally through Tidus body, he was once again saved by the clinging sound of clashing metal. Seifer threw himself in between the two, his gunblade parrying the swing easily. Sephiroth flipped backwards, his boots hitting the street silently not far from Seifer. The long, black coat settled behind him as he narrowed his glowing eyes.  
  
"You. You are meddling in affairs not yours," he said to Seifer with a dangerous, low tone in his voice.  
  
Seifer swung his gunblade to get a better grip on its handle, and glared back at Sephiroth. "Hmpf. I meddle in what I see fit," he answered. "Try me."  
  
"Seifer, no!" Rinoa cried in fear.  
  
Sephiroth leaped off the ground once again, as if he was attacking Seifer. Trying to counterattack, Seifer lunged out with his own sword, failing as Sephiroth flipped backwards before darting forward again. He struck Seifer with great force, throwing him through the air, rolling a couple of metres as he hit the ground, and then lay completely still. Sephiroth regained his posture and turned his head to look at Tidus and Rinoa with a triumphant smile.  
  
Tidus drew his sword and positioned himself ready for the encounter. "You asked for it!"  
  
The dark cloaked warrior shook his head. Then, without warning, he came forward with an incredible speed, slashing his blade towards Tidus. Surprised he parried the attack, again and again. Almost barely able to parry all the attacks Tidus was forced backwards with no chance for himself to attack his enemy, who moved so fast that he wasn't sure we he was. One last slash from below threw him another step backwards and shoved his sword aside, opening up for the final attack. Sephiroth jumped up, his blade singing through the air as it went down towards Tidus' unprotected chest.  
  
"Holy!"  
  
Suddenly a white light blinded them both, and Tidus held his arms up before his face as he heard Sephiroth yell in pain and surprise. He was trapped in the middle of his attack, and through the white light Tidus saw the white spheres of pure energy shoot towards his body. Then the white light flashed up and disappeared. Sephiroth was gone, but white light still shone from behind Tidus. He spun around, just in time to see the white substance, which seemed to sprout from Rinoas shoulders, fade out as she landed on the ground. She staggered and removed the locks of black hair that had fallen into her face.  
  
"Tidus?" she whispered.  
  
"What was-"  
  
The light suddenly returned. Tidus turned once again to face the giant arch. Green and light energy glowed and pulsated in the air just before the building, flowing in and out of itself like water. And then he saw it - the portal. A window to another world. his world.  
  
He saw them look back at him, Yuna and Squall. *They. they can see me,* he thought. His eyes met Yunas. So close and yet he couldn't touch her! Rinoa gasped and stepped to his side. He felt her hand in his. Then it was over, just as quickly as it had begun. The picture winked out, and the energy flowed down towards the ground. It swirled into the form of a small creature, like a little rabbit with large, dark eyes, and a ruby sparkling on its head.  
  
Tidus stared down at the small creature. "Carbuncle?" he asked.  
  
The creature looked at him curiously and turned its head as it investigated both of them. Then it chirped, and the Ruby flashed up in a bright light. Carbuncle was gone.  
  
"We found it." Rinoa sounded exhausted and weak.  
  
"Yeah." He turned and placed his hands on her shoulders to hold her upright. "We found the one with the key to open the portal."  
  
Yuffie finally came out of the shadows and looked around them. "That was Carbuncle?" she cried. "Are you two singing *mad*?"  
  
Rinoa turned her head and looked around on the dark road. "Where. where is Seifer?"  
  
He looked in the direction where he expected to find him, lying lifeless. But there was no-one there. "I don't know. Come on, let's get back."  
  
END OF CHAPTER 10 


End file.

Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy X, Fantasy