A Door Between Worlds

"Well, Rinoa IS a sorceress, is she not?"

And then uncomfortable silence.

They were all together again, talking about what had happened with Quistis, and it's possible implications. This time, it wasn't just the committee. Seated, or standing, around the table were Cid, Xu, Squall, Rinoa, and Quistis, having been joined by Irvine, Selphie, Zell, President Laguana with Kiros, and even Edea. It had been Edea, in fact, having recently learned what was going on, that had broached the subject.

Rinoa seemed to try to shrink away from the reminder. While she was well aware of all that had happened with Edea, and ultimately with Ultimecia, years ago, she had tried to put aside any reminder of who she now was. Despite Cid's suggestions that she better learn her powers in order to better harness them when needed, Rinoa had always seen taking on the mantle as a curse, something to quietly endure. She had seen the power of the sorceress, and it didn't tempt her. But even more, she had seen the hold Edea had established over her 'knight', Seifer. When the control had been removed, he had been a shadow of his former self, like a marionette with cut strings. In the end, Seifer had left with Raijin and Fujin, and last anyone had heard, he had even left them to walk the path of an exile, hated wherever he went. It saddened Rinoa to think that he would likely never find peace in this life, and she still argued at times with Squall over just how responsible Seifer was for his actions. She shuddered to imagine ever having such a hold on Squall. Edea had told her that the powers of a sorceress would bend to the will of whoever had them, adapting to their unique personality and characteristics. But Rinoa was hesitant to tempt fate, fearing not only for herself, but a world already worn down from battling that power.

Selphie finally spoke up. "Yea, but Quistis isn't, right? So why would she be having the dreams too?"

Edea shrugged, "I'm simply positing a theory, a possibility. When I had the power, I would hear whisperings of greater planes, other states on consciousness. I heard tell of a plane that served as a doorway, a bridge, as it were, between worlds. Perhaps someone is trying to open that door."

"But if it has to do with the power of the sorceress, Rinoa's the only one left, isn't she?"

"That we know of."

This last statement seemed to confuse even Cid. "If there were other sorceresses, would we not have found signs of them by now?"

"Not if their powers lie dormant. The passing of power from one to another was not always done with the latter's knowledge or consent. At times, neither knew that it was being done. Ultimecia knew she had to pass on her powers in order to find peace, but not every sorceress finds someone to pass it on to, or has the ability to do so."

"What becomes of those who do not, my dear?"

"I do not rightly know. There is a possibility that they travel to this bridge, a plane between the worlds, trapped to await something."

Squall looked over at Rinoa, "How many sorceresses were there?"

"Many. Again we have to keep in perspective that we are talking about numberless worlds being connected. If one of these sorceresses had somehow found a means of passing between them at will, it stands to reason that they could take others with them. There could have been battles between Sorceresses, wars even, with the victor driving the loser from this plane, this world. Perhaps one of these have been calling to Rinoa through her dreams, pulling her from one world to another."

"But", Selphie again, "What about Quistis. She's not a sorceress."

"To that, I have no answer, only another question. Do we know that to be the truth? Is it possible that a sorceress has passed her powers on to Quistis, and they have simply laid dormant until this call came?"

This brought everyone to look at Quistis, who somehow managed to keep her composure.

"The voice told me to come back. Could he mean to this plane you speak of?"

Edea sighed, "Again, I'm only positing theories. The power and possibilities of the sorceresses is unimaginable. Even Ultimecia was limited in what she could do by what she knew of her power. If one of the ancients had been in her place, one who had a fuller grasp on the power she held, I fear all of our efforts would have amounted to nothing in the end."

After a moment of silence, it was Rinoa who spoke up. "If this doorway exists, how do we close it?"

"I am not at all certain that any one person can. If it does, in fact, exist, it has existed for eternities beyond our reckoning, as old as time itself. It may very well be the place all beings travel to when they die."

Laguana nervously laughed, "I think my brain is starting to hurt."

"The finite mind cannot comprehend the infinite. In the grand scale of things, we are grains of sand on an innumerably large beach."

"So what do we do then?", Quistis asked no one.

Edea looked over at Cid, "We have to find Seifer."

The shock wave this sent could be felt by everyone present.

Squall, naturally, was the first to speak, "Why him?"

"He was my knight when I held the sorceresses power. To a degree beyond his understanding, he shared a portion of that power with me. It is unlikely you would have been able to defeat him if he knew how to make use of it. When I passed the powers on, I lost whatever connection I had to all that had been."

"Wouldn't he have lost it too?"

"Yes. But it is possible he can recall parts of the puzzle that I cannot. I have heard from Raijin that he went off to find out more about the sorceresses, hoping to find a way to regain what was taken from him. It's possible he has discovered something we need to know."

"We wouldn't even know where to start."

"I do."

Squall looked over at Rinoa, stunned. "How?"

"He...sent me a message a few weeks back, asking for me to forgive him, saying he had found something and didn't know if he would survive what he had to do. He sounded...hopeful, almost relieved."

"It would stand to reason he has discovered something indeed. It is imperative that we find him as soon as possible."

Quistis suddenly looked up, "That's why the Garden was moved? We're looking for Seifer?"

Cid gave a short smile, "I suppose the cat is out of the bag. We have gone to his last known location, based on the information Rinoa provided. I apologize, Squall, as Rinoa asked me not to provide the source of the information."

A hardened look came over Squall's face, "You also failed to mention just who the 'V.I.P.' we were meeting was."

"And had you known?"

"I would have voiced my disapproval. But it is your call, sir.", looking at Irvine, he continued, "Irvine, when we get there, you will take Selphie and Zell with you. I'll take Quistis and Rinoa. If he hasn't gone and gotten himself killed, we'll find him.", then, looking back at Cid, "I hope you're right on this one."

"As do I."

-----

Vincent couldn't recall having fallen asleep. He had not been tired, despite the journey the previous day. But now he stood beside the camp fire, a deep scowl across his face.

Yuffie approached, looking pale.

"Vincent?"

He looked up at her

"I had a dream. About Lucrecia."

It was several moments before he spoke. "As did I. What did you see?"

"I was in the...lab. Under the mansion. I saw her writing something in some books. She looked really excited, like she had discovered something. Then Hojo came in and asked if she had found the key, and she said she had. She said the key was..."

"Chaos."

"So you saw it too?"

"No. But from what I saw, it answers some questions. Lucrecia told me a bit about her research when I was escorting her through town. She wouldn't tell me what it was about, but now, I think I know."

"What was it?"

Getting up, Vincent noticed Cloud and Tifa approaching the fire.

"Cloud, we have to go to Nibelheim."

Tifa turned pale as a ghost. "Why, Vincent?"

"Lucrecia was doing some research right before the end. I think she left records of that research in the library beneath the mansion. We need to find it. It holds the key to what must come next."

Cloud's face took on a dark look. "Vincent, I'm sorry, but I have to question your motives. I understand what Lucrecia means to you, but whatever madness is in those records, I don't want to know about them. That place should have been burned with the rest of the town. Whatever answers Sephiroth found there drove him to madness. I can't risk the same thing happening again, especially with all that Hojo did to you."

"Then I will go alone."

Yuffie jumped in front of Vincent, "The hell you will.", then, turning to Cloud, she added, "I had a dream about the mansion last night. I think Lucrecia had something to do with Hojo injecting Vincent with Chaos."

"All the more reason to avoid it."

"But why would she? She said it was the key to her research, to all her work. She had to know what it would do to him, what it would make him into. And she wasn't a monster like Hojo, so she had to have another reason, something only he could do that made all the hell worth it. I think...She was preparing him."

"For what?"

"We won't know until we read those records. Yes, it's crazy. But if it was you, you'd do it. And Tifa would to."

Yuffie realized, to late, that she had tipped her hand. Her including Tifa in the conversation gave the idea that she was comparing her following Vincent into his own hell with Tifa following Cloud into his. It didn't take a lot of brain cells to read into what she was saying.

Yuffie looked back at Vincent, who was looking directly at her, with what passed for a curious look on his face.

'Well, buggered that one up pretty good'

"Look, Cloud.", she said, turning back toward him, "More eyes will make the reading go faster. One way or another, there are answers down there. And some of them might even have to do with...Aerith, and the other ancients" She knew it was kind of a cheap shot to use Aerith in this, but it wasn't like she was lying to him. There probably was something about her. She just wondered if it was something that wouldn't drive Cloud to insanity. But for Vincent, she had to take that chance.

'For Vincent', she thought, 'or for Aerith?' Yuffie wasn't the type to go weak at the knees for a guy. At least, she never had been before. And if all of this proved anything, it was that Lucrecia's hold on Vincent was as strong as ever. Yuffie didn't know if she could have the strength that Tifa did to give her heart to someone who wouldn't, or couldn't, give theirs in return. But she knew she had to this see this through, for whatever reasons. And one of those reasons had to do with the word she thought she had heard Lucrecia use in the dream to describe what she had found the key to, a word she had heard Cloud use once, which had a meaning she could only guess at. If it meant what she thought it did, than Cloud had just as much interest in what those books held as anyone else ever could.

"Please Cloud. Help him. Help Us."

"Help you what?"

No one had seen Cid come up, with that vintage Cid 'just rolled out of bed' look.

Cloud looked at Yuffie, then Vincent, seeming to battle in his mind. Finally, he turned to Cid.

"Get a hold of Nanaki and Barret on the PHS. Tell them we will pick them up on the way."

"On the way to where?"

"Nibelheim."

-----

Rinoa hadn't expected Raijin and Fujin to respond so quickly, but they were tagging along with Squall's group at the moment, asking around the fishing town for news of Seifer. She couldn't recall seeing Fujin so worried before, and even Raijin's natural bounce was gone. Seifer has always been the leader of their little band, the brains of all the trouble they got into. But he was also the one who kept them together through it all. It just wasn't like him to leave them behind with no explanation, with them being the only one's left in the world, as far as Rinoa could see it, that didn't hate him. There were only two possibilities. He found something he wanted to keep for himself, or he was trying to protect them from whatever he was about to do. Neither possibility made Rinoa very comfortable.

They confirmed from the less-than-helpful fishermen that Seifer had indeed been through as recently as a week past. No one noted anything unusual about him, but then, none of them had reason to care. Truth be told, they were happy he was gone.

"Laguana said there was no sign of him in Esther. And the investigations we had the other Garden's do turned up with nothing."

Squall seemed unconcerned at the lack of progress, and Quistis had to hold back a scolding remark after his report. She didn't have any great desire to find her old student, either, but she knew it was important that they do so, though she wasn't entirely certain why. Just then, Fujin came running up, Raijin close behind, sucking in air.

"CLUES", she shouted. They waited for Raijin to get his breath to translate.

"...Someone...said they...saw Seifer...yesterday....headed toward....Esther."

"Esther is a big place. Any idea where in Esther?"

Raijin finally seemed to be breathing normally, "They said something about a cave, south of the capital. Something about an old wives tale about sorceresses gathering there."

"Aria's cave", Rinoa said, looking at Squall.

"What do you know about it?"

"Not much. Like he said, it's an old wives tale. I wouldn't know where to look for it."

"Laguana was on his way in the Ragnarok. We can ask him about it." No sooner had Squall said it, than they heard they sound of the engines over the horizon.

"Let's get back to the Garden. We can ask him there."

They arrived at about they same time Laguana and Kiros did, and found them talking with Cid.

"Laguana, do you know of any cave's South of the capital?"

Laguana rolled his eyes, "Not Aria's cave again? I've had so many people go looking for that, I should charge a fee."

"What if it is South of the old capital."

Laguana turned to Kiros, who had thrown in this this last bit.

"The old capital? What are you talking about?"

"The capital of Esther has been there a long time, as long as anyone can remember. But it wasn't the only capital they have ever had."

"So where is the old one?"

"Don't know. I just read about it somewhere."

Squall looked back at Laguana, "Mr. President, we need to go to Esther and find whatever we can about it. We think Seifer is headed to that cave, for Hyne only knows what purpose."

"Well, we came here to rendezvous with you guys, so if you want to head back to Esther, we'll get refueled and on our way."

Before they had even arrived in Esther, Laguana's people had found records of the old capital,and it's probable location. But they found no record on any of the maps of their being caves anywhere to the south.

Squall shrugged his shoulders at the report, "If it's all the same to you, President, we'd like to take the ship and go looking."

"Be my guest. I have some work to get done anyway."

As they headed toward the spot where they hoped the old capital to be, Rinoa looked over at Squall as he piloted them along. She knew he was upset at what they were trying to do, as his opinion of Seifer hadn't improved in the intervening years. Then she looked over at Quisits, and was shocked to see her eyes with the glassy, out of it look again. Before she could point it out to Squall, Quistis spoke in a voice that definitely wasn't hers.

"Head South."

Squall, not recognizing the voice, looked back at Quistis.

"Who, or what, are you."

"The answers you seek will come in time. Your friend is in danger."

"We're not to the capital yet."

"Head South now. You will find what you seek." And just like that, Her eyes focused, and it was Quistis again.

"Squall, I saw the cave. And Seifer. We have to hurry."

Squall turned the ship due South, and after a few miles, saw a pattern of caves come upon them.

"Which one is it?"

'"The entrance to the cave has a giant door. It's opened now."

Seeing what he assumed was the cave, Squall set them down. They ran out of the hold, all five with weapons at the ready, and arrived at the giant doorway just as they heard a blood curdling scream. Rushing inside, they found what looked like a place of meeting, with several large stone chairs set in a circle, a giant stone table in the middle of the room. But all eyes were on the body being dangled above the table, his face contorted in pain.

Fujin screamed, "SEIFER!", and ran toward him. Just as she reached the table, she was thrown backward into the wall behind them, and landed with a sickening thud. Raijin looked from his one friend laying slumped against the wall, back to his other, still hanging in the air.

"DO SOMETHING!"

Squall stood frozen, unsure of what action to take. And then Quistis heard the voice again. His voice.

"Go to him. He needs you."

Not understanding, she ran forward past the shouts of her comrades and jumped onto the table, grabbing Seifer in both arms. With the sound of a rush of wind, he collapsed into her arms, and she set him down on the table. They heard a groan coming from the direction where Raijin had gone over to Fujin. Quistis sighed in relief, as Fujin was alive at least. Then she looked down into the face of Seifer, looking back up into hers.

"I knew you'd come."

And then he collapsed again.

-----

The trip to Nibelheim was a grim one, with little joy in meeting with Nanaki and Barret along the way. Barret had a hard time grasping why they were returning, but Nanaki seemed to understand almost immediately. He admitted he would be of little practical use in reading, until Cid offered to turn the pages for him, figuring Nanaki would be more likely to understand what the pages contained than he would, and he would be able to read them much faster, in any case. Cid didn't mind his lack of book learning, as he piloted Highwind in toward the town. He was content to read the signs that the machines he worked on gave him, seeming to know in an almost magical way what needed to be repaired before it broke. He had not been with the group when they had found Vincent, and to the best of his knowledge, he had never set foot in the town or the mansion. He was tempted to stay with the ship, as he wasn't the curious type, but knew he would be needed.

As the ship landed a short ways from the mansion, Yuffie looked at Vincent for a reaction, but got none. His face remained passive, and any thoughts he had on coming back were his alone.

They made their way to the mansion, and were surprised to find it, except for the dust everywhere, deserted. Not a monster was to be found inside, even as they headed downstairs. The lab had been thoroughly ransacked by Sepheroth, and Cloud wondered how they would find anything of use in the pages, many torn from their books and scattered about the floor. Even if they found a page that helped, they would be unlikely to find the book it came from.

Seeming to anticipate the question, Vincent spoke up. "We know that whatever we are looking for was written by Lucrecia. Most of this work will be in Hojo's handwriting, large and sloppy. Hers was quite small, and very refined.You should recognize it fairly easily."

With that, they spread out and began searching. Every few minutes, someone would find something in her writing, but it would always be notes she kept that Hojo dictated of experiments he was performing. Most of it made the reader ill. They had spent hours in the basement, and Vincent was beginning to lose hope, when Nanaki called him over.

"I do not believe this to be what we are searching for, but it is curious nonetheless. It would seem Lucrecia had a better knowledge of the ancients than we gave her credit for. She also makes several references to the Lifestream, saying it was 'where it had to happen' . Most of this is rather scattered, but it would seem she believed that a body that was claimed by the Lifestream would be repaired by it, almost...preserved."

Vincent began reading through the pages Nanaki had found, several pages loosely bound together. "We need to find the rest of this book. It is likely a journal of her research."

"There is more in those pages, Vincent. You may...find it difficult to read."

"Difficult? In what....", and then he saw it, the proof he had been afraid to find.

Lucrecia spoke of the demon Chaos, and how he could be contained and placed within a human body. As Yuffie had said, it mentioned how Chaos was 'the key to making it all possible'. Although there was no reference to Chaos being inserted into Vincent, if it hadn't been her idea outright, she had certainly known about it.

"Vincent."

He turned to Yuffie, looking pale and drawn. Her call to him had come out almost as a squeak, and he could see she was reading something. But even from where he stood, it was obviously in Hojo's broken writing.

"What have you found, Yuffie?"

She looked up at him, more afraid than he had ever seen her.

"It was her. She told him to do it. He didn't know why, but she all but begged him. He told her he needed a subject for his experiments, and she said it had to be you, starting with Chaos."

Vincent stood frozen, shaken to his core. It had been her. She had chosen him to go through the hell Hojo inflicted on him. His claw, the demons, not simply Chaos, but all of them, it had all been her will. She had done this to him, Hojo had simply been the tool. Did she know what he would do? Did she care, as long as he injected Chaos, and proved her theory?

Why?

Somewhere in his numbness, he looked down and saw it.

The book, or what was left of it.

Her Journal.

Slowly picking it up, he found that about half of the pages had been removed. Sepheroth had not seemed to show any interest in this book, probably dismissing it because it was not in Hojo's hand. As the others looked on in horrified silence, her turned a page, and found the answer.

Why he had been injected.

What she had been researching.

Why he was the one. The only one.

"We have to go back to the Forgotten City."

Cloud blinked, "Why?"

"To resurrect Aerith."

-----

The phrase Edea used, "The finite mind cannot comprehend the infinite." is a quote generally attributed to Mormon founder Joseph Smith, although I believe the quote to be much older.

I should note at this point that it has been years since I played either game, and my knowledge of the lore involved with both is shaky, at best. Those who are walking encyclopedias of all that is FF7 or FF8, please don't flood me with every point I got wrong. Just sit in self content that you know so much more on the subject than I ever will, or care to.