A Door Between Worlds

And so it began

Quistis had her reservations of staying in another dorm, but she was insistent about not trying to fit another person into her already cramped quarters, even temporarily. She had anticipated Squall would bunk her with one of her students, so it was with a mixture of joy and groans that she accepted the news that he had called Selphie and Irvine, and they had agreed to stay for a while. Quistis suspected the invitation had more to do with wherever they were headed, but in deference to Cid, she didn't question.

At least, not out loud

Her concern increased when the stopover to pickup the two fellow Seed's lasted the length of time it took to safely get them aboard. The Headmaster was clearly in a hurry.

"Quisty!"

Wondering how many variations of her name had been created by her friends, Quistis smiled and hugged Selphie, giving Irvine a warm, if somewhat more reserved, greeting. Time clearly was having more of an effect on Selphie, at least from a physical stand point. Quistis noted with amusement that Irvine had convinced his love to let her hair grow out, and the look suited her. She also noted that, despite her hold on him, Selphie had not convinced Irvine to shorten his own hair, and she scolded him for not taking better care of it. With his trademark, easygoing grin, Irvine reminded her yet again that haircare wasn't very high on his priorities, and he was content to keep it out of his face. This earned him a glare from Selphie, which he naturally took in stride. Then his smile fell, and he took an unusually serious look at Quistis.

"Squall said you and Rinoa are having some trouble sleepin. Somethin about bad dreams."

"I don't know if I would say bad, as much as strange. But we think there may be more to them, and they may even be taking place somewhere else, not of this world."

Selphie frowned, "So that's why Squall said you'd be bunking with me? I was hoping we were going to have some fun for a change."

Quistis smiled, despite herself, "I can't image anything keeping you from having fun, Selphie. Just so long as you don't try as hard as you can to get us into trouble."

An innocent look, "Trouble? Me?"

Quistis rolled her eyes as Rinoa and Squall came up to the group. Rinoa and Selphie immediately began catching up while Squall, Irvine and Quistis began discussing recent events. Irvine confirmed that progress on Trabia Garden was moving ahead of schedule, and recruitment was beginning to pick up. Sufficiently so, he added, that Selphie was back as the social queen, planning events at whim.

While the thought warmed Quistis' heart, she couldn't help feeling the loneliness creeping up again. Despite their apparent differences, Irvine and Selphie were seemingly the perfect complement to each other. She pulled him out of his natural laziness and lone wolf persona, and he provided an anchor to her constant racing, helping keep things in perspective, and not allowing her to succumb to her nervous fears. Perhaps it wasn't a coincidence that Squall and Rinoa had much the same effect on each other. The difference, however, was that while Rinoa's affection was apparent to all but the blind, Squall kept everyone guessing. He showed just enough interest, and willingness to change, that it would have seemed he felt equally smitten. But Rinoa still had not become accustomed to his brooding silence, or his habit of putting work before all else, often times even his health. What some took as patience from him often came off as disinterest to her, admittedly not a bastion of patience herself. While Rinoa never seemed to worry about his wandering eye landing on some other girl, she clearly had long term plans that made him uncomfortable. But perhaps Quistis was reading too much into it, as she always did. And she tried to convince herself it had nothing to do with her previous interest in him, which she still found simmering in the back of her mind. It was the loneliness talking, she thought. She just needed to find a match of her own, though the options appeared limited at present. Zell's constant reminders of the countless Trepe's wasn't helping.

Selphie pulled Quistis aside as Squall and Irvine continued talking.

"Do you know where the Garden is headed? Squall wouldn't tell us, just said it was 'priority', whatever that means."

"I am also in the dark on this one, but it is coming down from the Headmaster, and he said he would inform us when the time was appropriate."

"Doesn't seem like him keeping you in the dark. He tells you everything."

"It would seem otherwise. I am content trusting his judgment, as well as the Commander's. They have yet to lead us astray."

"Well, I suppose he was taught by the best, after all. So...", an evil grin, "How's the love life?"

Quistis could only groan again, knowing this would only get worse as they roomed together. She hoped Irvine proved a willing distraction, though she knew Selphie's persistence in matchmaking, along with it's success rate. If she had to go on one more first date of Selphie's choosing, she might give up on men altogether. Come to think of it, Xu had been winking at her a lot more lately, and she seemed disturbed by the man's voice in her dream. Quistis tried to recall a time when Xu had shown an active interest in any man, but drew a blank. Like Squall, she seemed to be married to her duties and responsibilities, even if she took a somewhat more relaxed approach to it. Quistis wondered if the thought of Xu having an attraction to her was disturbing in any way. While she had never, to her knowledge, had a conversation with Xu that could be construed as flirting, her apparent disregard for men was probably as noticeable as Xu's was, and she was more in the forefront, so to speak, as an instructor.

Realizing that Selphie was still looking up at her, the grin still in place, Quistis knew she wanted an answer.

"It's...not where I would like it to be, admittedly. But I don't have much time to dwell on it."

Selphie's grin melted into a sigh. "Are you at least, ya know, getting any?"

From anyone else, including friends present, the question would hav been out of place, and, frankly, rather rude. But Quistis knew Selphie's intention were good, even if her timing usually wasn't, For example...

"Any what?", this from Squall, who had clearly only caught the end of the question, and had missed it's aim.

Quickly recovering, Quistis turned to Squall and Irvine, "Any sleep. Selphie is concerned about me and Rinoa getting enough rest."

"Uh, huh", the smile on Irvine's face told her how much he believed the remark, and how well he knew his girlfriend.

Squall, looking a bit confused, added, "In any case, we need to get these two settled. Quistis, I'm having you and Selphie stay in her old dorm room, as it's a double, and Irvine will stay with Zell for the time being."

Selphie elbowed Quistis. "We'll talk later.", and, smiling up at Squall, headed from memory toward her old pad, Irvine and Squall close behind.

Quistis let out a sigh and started to head after them when she heard a voice from behind. Every hair on her body stood up as she stood, frozen in place.

It was his voice, she knew it.

"Come back"

So she had heard correctly the first time. But come back to where?

Finding the strength to turn her head, and then her body, Quistis turned around slowly and felt her breathing stop.

He was standing behind her

Between the headband and the cloak wrapped around him, she couldn't make out his facial features. The hair was still black, almost as long as Irvine's, but not in his ponytail. What wasn't hidden was the eyes. She was again stunned by their color and intensity. As though a beast was raging below the calm surface. None of the student's passing by the Garden's grand entrance seemed to notice the stranger. He couldn't have been more than a body length away, and she was rapidly getting lost in his gaze. Not entirely sure how she summoned the words, Quistis heard herself say, almost a whisper, "Come back? To where?" Still he looked on, silent, and she wondered if the voice had even been his. And then...

"Quistis!"

Quistis felt Rinoa's hands on her shoulders, shaking he softly. She looked around and realized she must have drifted off to sleep. 'Strange', she thought, 'I do not recall being tired'. She looked at Rinoa and noticed a concerned look on her face.

"How long have I been standing here?"

Rinoa took a relieved breath, "Since I've been here? Almost ten minutes. You had this glassy look in your eyes, like you were on drugs or something. I called several times from over there", pointing to the path leading up to the entrance, "but you didn't answer. I even slapped your face a couple of times. Didn't make a dent. Then, just now, your eyes came back into focus suddenly, like you were..."

"...awakening from a dream.", Quistis finished, shaking her head. She turned around to the place he had been standing, but he was gone. Turning back, she looked at Rinoa again, "I saw him."

"Who?"

"The man, the voice from my dream. The voice called from behind me, saying 'come back'. When I turned around, he was standing behind me."

Rinoa turned pale, "You weren't in the cave again? He was here, in this world?"

Quistis again slowly shook her head to clear it. "It would appear so. We need to gather everyone. Things are progressing."

Toward what, she couldn't imagine.

-----

"The Forgotten City?"

Yuffie had anticipated that learning where they had gone would not go over well with Cloud. To the rest of them, Aerith's final resting place was special, but to him, it was hallowed ground, not to be tread upon.

Ever

Even so, it still hurt her to see how his reaction played out in Tifa's eyes. After all this time, he still spent his days chasing her ghost, leaving Tifa to make the best of what time he did 'graciously' bestow upon her.

'Okay, so maybe that's a bit much', Yuffie thought to herself, waiting for Cloud to start yelling at them. He did seem to be trying a little harder lately, which made the timing of this that much harder to fathom. But the planet didn't go out of it's way to accommodate anyone's schedule, did it?

"Yes."

'Way to pull a punch, Vinny'. But then, he had always been brutally honest, and this 'mission' of his was for Lucrecia, her memory no less important to him than Aerith's was to Cloud. He would lock horn's with anyone on this one, she had no doubt.

"Cloud, it's not as if they chose for it to be there."

'Count on Tifa to try reasoning with him when she knows it's not gonna happen.'

With that thought, Yuffie looked over at the only other member of their little band who was present. Cid had never really been as close to Aerith as the rest of them had been, in her mind. He wasn't a loner like Vincent, he just wasn't a people person either. Even now, he sat smoking those bloody cigarettes of his, and she couldn't tell from his expression what he was thinking. Not that knowing it at the moment mattered all that much to her.

Strangely enough, Cloud didn't yell. When Yuffie looked back at him, she was surprised to see his shoulders slump, as though he was tired.

Finally he asked, "What happened?"

Vincent looked over at Yuffie, and she nodded at him to continue the narrative.

"We paid our respects, and heard Lucrecia's voice, just as we had in the cavern."

Yuffie wondered why he left out hearing the laugh, but guessed he had his reasons.

"What did she say?"

"Protect Quistis, She is the key. The time has almost come."

"Who is Quistis"

"That would be the next part of our journey. To find out."

"Our journey?"

Yuffie stepped forward, "Yea, Spike, our journey. Aerith wants this too."

At the mention of her name, Cloud recoiled as though he had been hit. "How can you know that, Yuffie."

She looked at Vincent, and his look in return suggested that she shouldn't say more than he had. "We just know, Cloud."

"Is this about saving the planet again?"

"We won't know until we find Quistis, I guess."

Cloud looked up at Vincent, and seemed to surrender the point. "Alright, then. Where do you suggest we look."

Yuffie felt the need to speak up before Vincent got going again. "Hey, we're not looking for anyone 'till I get some sleep. We've been in the saddle for almost the entire day."

Vincent smiled. "It is of no consequence. I feel that we will know where to find her when the time is right. And Yuffie is correct, we will need to be well rested when the time comes."

Cloud slowly nodded his head, but he still seemed to be lost in thought."Did you...Was it..."

"It was as we left it. Nothing has changed."

Still nodding, Cloud made his way back to camp. So much had changed that day, it was difficult for Yuffie to remember why they were even out camping. Something about Cid wanting to get away from Shera for a while. 'Maybe the old goat does miss us', she thought. She still wasn't sure why Cloud had decided someone needed to check up on Vincent, but the timing of it had been perfect. Or so it seemed on the surface. But Yuffie couldn't help but wonder if the voice would still have spoken if someone else had drawn the short straw, or if it had just been Vincent in the cavern. If Aerith really was a part of this, why not have Cloud do it? But then again, Cloud would never have let either of them go into the city. Tifa would have been afraid of how Cloud would react, and Cid wouldn't understand. So it had been her. Yuffie wasn't a big fan of the concept of fate, but the group that had saved the planet had been an odd assortment, seemingly thrown together. Each had their own reason for risking everything then, and somehow it had been enough.

"Hey, kid."

'Speaking of odd.'

"What do you want, old man?"

Cid tossed his cigarette butt down to join the pile already on the ground, "You seem aw'fly quiet. Ain't you s'pposed ta be sleepin the day off somewhere?"

Right about then, Yuffie realized just how exhausted she was. Not that she was going to give him the satisfaction of knowing it.

"I'll get to it. You just want me to leave so you can fantasize about me some more."

"I'll never be that drunk, kid", and with that, he headed off. With Tifa having also headed back, that left her and Vincent.

Yuffie wasn't sure what to say, not after the day they had been through. It was hard to imagine that things had been so different when she woke up that morning. She had seen a side of Vincent that she had not believed was in him. Even now, despite her barely being able to stay awake, she didn't want to leave. Whereas before, she found him dark and brooding, now he seemed calm and...well...brooding. She wondered if she would still be able to tease him like she always did, of if she would even want to. Somehow she knew she had grown up in his eyes today, and she wasn't sure she liked the idea of going back. Finally the pull of her eyes was more than she could handle. Falling asleep standing there wasn't likely to impress him, as he would have to be the one to carry her back to camp. As appealing as that thought was...

Vincent watched Yuffie slowly stumble her way back toward the camp, seeming almost to sleep walk. He allowed himself a smile, knowing he was alone, and unlikely to require any sleep. If Lucrecia's voice returned, he would be ready. And yet, it wasn't her he was thinking about just now. 'Why Yuffie', he wondered. It wasn't that he would necessarily have chosen someone else. He tried to picture anyone else in the group having been there in the Forgotten City, or, for that matter, even offering to come with him in the first place. Yuffie always did the first thing, and said the first thing, that popped into her head. Everyone else, himself included, was more methodical, more hesitant, more afraid.

Above all, one thought troubled him, one he had not been able to rid himself of the entire trip back. All these years, he had been waiting for Lucrecia to tell him what his penance was, how to clean away the blood that stained his soul as the stain on that stone. He had been the only one who had not pushed Cloud to move on after Aerith died, feeling it would be hypocritical. Yet he had always wondered how Cloud couldn't see that Aerith had left Cloud with someone to care for him, for him to love in her place. He envied him for that. If Lucrecia had ever loved him, her love of science had been stronger, and she had not concerned herself with who, if anyone, would take her place in his heart. He thought back on that moment, putting his cloak around Yuffie. He hadn't done it thinking she was cold, so why had he? It was spontaneous, unplanned, something Yuffie would do. And it was the right thing to do. Vincent didn't want to concern himself with anything but the path he had been set on, but the thought was still there.

Was Yuffie the one Lucrecia was belatedly leaving to fill her place.

Was she his penance?

-----

I've been doing my best to spell check, apologies for what I miss.