Balfonheim, The Pirate's City

[Yuna]

The Sky Pirate's haven, located on the coast. In its history it was a place of cutthroats and bandits, but recently the town has cleaned up its act. Now, it is a peaceful paradise for members of all races, and a place filled to the brim with Sky Pirates.

[Squall]

The wooden floor of the abandoned house was dusty, in the same way that a forgotten chair gets after many years. It was one of those places that caused the birth of allergies, rather than exciting an existing condition. If someone could choose whether to be there they would obviously choose not to, but Squall didn't have a choice. He purposely kicked the dust in the room around with his feet as he waited. Perhaps he had walked into some elaborate allergenic trap, and the plan all along was for him to die sneezing his way down a flight of stairs.

Squall figured he brought this upon himself, though. He had spent his existence in this world so far moving from one shady employer to another, grabbing at any funds he could muster. The clans of Ivalice had already established a pretty hefty monopoly on everything resembling honest work. Some clans stooped as low as to gather herbs or guard houses. Squall had a goal though, so being on the wrong side of the law in an "imaginary" world was nothing of his concern.

"I have places to be," Squall whispered to himself as he slumped into the floor. Dust washed out from under him and obscured his vision. Across the room he caught a glimpse of something in motion, but was not quick enough to stop it from touching him.

"You'll get your clothes dirty, kitty," The woman had moved to Squall's side and placed a hand on his head in the time it took him to rest a hand upon his gunblade. Her touch was both there and not there, existing on the surface and just inside his skin, "Are you sure you won't let me take you home with me?"

Squall brushed the hand from his head, sensing it moved more of its accord than his, "Have you found anyone interested for that price yet, Rishina?"

"Always with business, Mister Kitty" Rishina purred as she firmly reapplied her hand to Squall's head, "You'll break a girl's heart that way."

She strode softly across the room, absent of dust and absent of physics. Her existence flickered momentarily, revealing her incorporeal nature. Rishina brushed the non-existent dust off her elegant, gold adorned dress anyway, in a manner meant to entice Squall, "No one is interested, and now that you know..."

"I owe you more money," Squall brought himself to his feet, bracing his weight on the wall as he rose. His movements were slow and purposeful, trying to retain the movement of dust to a minimum. Losing sight of her might be the last thing he did. He had done work for Rishina before, and she always showed a flimsy personality and violent whims.

"You could always pay me in other ways, Kitty," Rishina brought her dress up to reveal her tan legs, "You'll be stuck here forever anyway, why deny yourself love in this new life?"

Squall moved to draw his gunblade, twisting his fingers tightly around the grip. He took one step forward, pushing the dust along with him, but immediately stopped. His temper was rising abnormally at the thought of remaining in Ivalice, "I'll return to where I belong. No one I knew will speak of me in the past tense!"

"So feisty, Squall," Rishina drew a hand up, blazing the dust in the air with a fresh fire magic. Squall drew his gunblade just in time to block the impressively sized fireball. Loose flames danced the air and landing about the room, bringing it to flames, "You should know better than to take that tone with me. I'm only helping you because we have similar goals, Kitty."

Squall drew back, stepping swiftly but carefully toward the nearest window. It was a loss of control that had gained him his signature scar, and now it might cost him his life. The heat was already mimicking the blazing desert Kashkabald, he wouldn't be able to remain here long, "Perhaps I should take this as a reason to terminate our situation."

Rishina wore the face of a young girl, heart broken and discarded by her first love. She brushed non-existent tears from her eyes and adjusted her short blue hair, "You're just upset, you need time to think about your decision."

She raised both hands toward Squall, focusing an intense electrical storm between them. It crackled with an energy that threatened to extinguish her frail projection. Rishina smiled sweetly and horrifyingly, "Take all the time you need, and I'll see you again, Kitty"

The Thundara went off just as Squall had placed a gloved hand on the window in an attempt to open it. Barely with the time to utter a command, Squall brought up a feeble Shell magic that shattered instantly under Rishina's spell. The force pushed him out of the window, against the neighboring house, and down--two floors--into the street below. The whole way out the fire chased him as if to consume him before anyone could witness his decent.

Squall's vision was blurred by a mixture of his own blood and loose sand from the stone street. He pushed himself hard to try and stand but could barely muster to stay on all fours. Squeezing both hands tight he grasped nothing but air. My gunblade... Squall's eyes searched frantically through the haze for the Lionheart, catching only a glimpse of its energy blade as the abandoned house crumpled in flames around it.

"Bad news, a dangerous woman, and a lost sword," Squall muttered through the urge to vomit. The aftershock of the lightning spell was playing with his nerves and forced him face down on the street, "I'm still no where closer to an answer..."

Townspeople had formed a fashion of half-circle around him and the blazing rubble as he faded in and out of consciousness. He imagined their faces, no longer able to make anything out clearly. The form of each race he could easily place a face too, multiple faces. He was beginning to remember the people of this world, no matter how insignificant.

"Just... here... I'll g... eventually," Squall tried hopelessly to dissolve the situation before authorities were involved, knowing full well someone would answer the situation out of his favor.

Maybe I should just roll over and accept my new life... Squall's last thought, before he faded out entirely.

[Squall]

"Are you going to be alright?" The man, that man, stood over him with a slight grin on his face. He was dressed in his Galbadian uniform with machine gun in tow. He offered a hand to Squall to pick him up from the street without kneeling so Squall could actually reach it.

I can't move... "I'm fine. I don't need your help." Squall rolled over onto his back, staring up at Laguna. Squall frowned past Laguna, spiting the world that surrounded him. What are you doing here? "This isn't your fight."

"Going to exclude me too then?" The tattooed face had inserted itself into Squall's vision with a large grin. Of course not... I didn't know you were...

"Of course he is, chicken-wuss," A black glove pressed itself onto Zell's forehead and forced him out of Squall's view. One obstruction replaced another as the pointed black blade of Hyperion was lowered in front of Squall's face. "This fight is between me and him. It always has been."

Always insisting on standing in front of me. "No, I have no reason." Squall turned his face away from the blade, uneasy at his predicament. He was in no condition to fight, was that really what Seifer was here for?

"I'm not reason enough anymore?" Rinoa? Is that you? I came here for you. She walked forward, placing a hand on Seifer's shoulder. It wasn't there to stop him, no--it was there to assure him. "You let time swallow you up because you weren't strong enough to move."

That isn't true. I couldn't. Squall laid his eyes, hopelessly on hers in the hopes it would grant him the strength to stand. Rinoa's eyes weren't her own though, they couldn't be. Not with the way they looked at him now.

"I needed a knight, Squall. Someone strong, not someone who was strong..." Was strong...? Rinoa turned away from him, and walked off into the empty streets of Balfonheim.

"All that tough exterior can't hide how weak you are." Zell started to walk away as well, giving a half-wave as he disappeared into the city with Rinoa.

"Don't you think there was a reason I never came for you?" Laguna's small grin faded into disappointment as he hurried after Zell. I didn't need you anyway.

"Don't worry," Seifer raised his free hand to cast fire over Squall's body. The fire began to consume Squall's clothes and boil his blood. Is this really it for me? "Rinoa has a real knight taking care of her now."

---

Squall quickly jerked up from the street and reached through Seifer's form. The moist towel from his forehead plopped into his lap and the heat startled his senses from the dream. The soft clay-colored walls came into his view, surrounding him on all sides but one. To his right was an unfamiliar wooden door, crafted simply. The house of a worker?

"It is hard to hide your burdens in your sleep," The gentle voice matched the gentle touch of woman on his arm, "You must rest, you took a lot of damage."

Squall looked over to see who had been taking care of him. Was she there a minute ago? He caught a glimpse of a simple dress, and tan skin before his vision was blocked by the application of a fresh towel. Squall tried to resist laying back down, but his strength wasn't even enough to combat this woman as she forced him back onto a semi-soft bed.

"Everyone just watched you there in the street. I was worried that no one would do anything, so I acted on my own," She carefully checked the status of Squall's bandages, making sure they remained tight around his torso. He hadn't even noticed they were there until he felt her tugging on them. I can't let myself get lost in nightmares like that. After all I'm not weak, I've been doing everything I can.

"Hey, are you listening, Squall?" The woman's tone sounded more familiar now that some of the caring had faded, "I wouldn't have hit you so hard if I would've known they'd just leave you in the street like that."

Her... Squall grit his teeth and went to remove the towel from his face. Rishina grabbed his wrist firm but gently. Squall quickly pulled himself from her grasp but left the towel on his face, "You didn't have to attack me at all. What were you thinking?"

"I haven't been back to this place since I was a very little girl you know. That was also the last time I can remember wearing a dress of this quality," Rishina played with the fabric, feeling it between her fingers. The glint of happy memories long past shown in her eyes for a moment, "I was laying in that very bed when someone promised me a better life. That he would never abandon me."

Is this really the time for her to be explaining all this to me? Squall turned his head in her direction, letting her continue despite his lack of interest.

"The look you have in your eye--when you fight for her--is just like the one he had, when he promised his little girl that she didn't need a mother as long as she had him," Rishina reached forward and cleared Squall's vision. He had expected her to have a sad look on her face, but mostly she seemed angry.

"You didn't have to try and escape paying me to save money. I'll always have more work for someone like you. Someone with the strong conviction of a beast that doesn't realize it is truly helpless," She placed the towel in a nearby wash bowl, which she took in both hands.

"What were you thinking when you attacked me?" Squall asked again as Rishina stood to leave the room with the bowl. She most likely had the means to heal him entirely with magic, but she chose to patch him up this way. Some kind of lesson for a disobedient dog, or did she want him bedridden so he had no choice but to listen to her story?

"I wasn't thinking," Rishina opened the door and stepped around the corner. She paused in the hallway intently, and then returned to the doorway to finish, "Perhaps I was jealous, not to have such a strong knight risking a world to return to me."

"Risking a world?" Squall asked of her back, as Rishina stepped out of view again. He could hear her moving in other parts of the house, and then the sounds of running water. She is hard to figure out. Her actions are all over the place, but she is strong. You don't get that strong without a purpose.

[Squall]

"You already know what I mean, even if you don't believe you've always known," Rishina's voice was farther than the water was and its taunting nature was being interrupted by the sounds of metal contacting.

Does she know what my plan is? Squall sat back up, leaning to get a better view out of the door. The water slowed to a pounding drip, but he couldn't see any sign of her. How long has she been watching me? He stood from the bed, checking to be sure he was wearing clothing. Rishina had dressed him in worker's pants, but it didn't ease Squall's mind of what liberties she might have taken while he was unable to resist.

"If we are to get to the bottom of your untimely appearance in Ivalice, then we have to find out what the Palace knows. Nothing they know will come forward lightly, either," Rishina came back into the room, concealing something behind her back, "Your brazen tactics may be the only thing that will secure any answers. Unless you have time to become a Judgemaster and infiltrate their knowledge base directly."

Now who is all business? Squall listened intently, Rishina was finally talking on a subject he had great interest in, "What if they don't have any answers for me either?"

"There in lies the risk, Kitty," Rishina withdrew the concealed items from behind her back. She thrust Squall's old attire--which she had patched up--into his arms, "Attacking the Palace in any way risks placing Ivalice in a state of turmoil and upheaval. You could turn my world on its head, but--"

"I don't have a choice," Squall gripped his clothes tightly, staring down at the Griever emblem lying on the top. I've got to keep moving, even if I'm going in the wrong direction. "Where do we start from here?"

"I've done the liberty of making preparations for you," Rishina motioned for Squall to follow her through her home. The two of them walked through the kitchen where the bowl of water remained unfilled, and then down a deep flight of stairs into a well lit basement.

"Preparations?" Squall looked around, the basement was nothing in the lines of a normal storeroom. There were all sorts of things one would expect to see in a resistance headquarters. Everything from guns, armor, and potions down to maps and communication equipment. She could start a small war if she wanted.

"Two major obstacles stand in the way of you gaining unwarranted access to the Palace," Rishina smiled a little as she placed a hand on Squall's shoulder, "One of them is the official royal forces. Judges, as well as the military if you make it to be that much of a nuisance."

"The other might be the fact I'm unarmed," Squall looked away from Rishina, to mask his remaining annoyance for their fight earlier. Or that I'm wounded terribly.

"I've already thought of that," Rishina moved forward to a map of Balfonheim on the wall. She carefully pulled it from its fastenings and placed it on the floor. Behind it was hidden a large safe which she took her time opening as she continued, "The other is the just as reputable force of people like you."

"I'm not worried about other mercenaries getting in my way," Squall watched intently as Rishina put the last combination into the safe.

"I'm talking about the clans. Particularly the ones made up of straggling people from other worlds. They seem almost intent on staying in this world," Rishina drew the safe door open and amongst the money, documents, and rare jewelry lay the Lionheart.

Squall stepped forward, gripping both hands tightly around the assault rifle handle. It has been a while since I've been this happy to see a weapon. He drew it from the safe, running his left hand along the blue blade to assure its integrity, "You aren't worried that this is all a little too much for me to handle alone?"

Rishina smiled at Squall's self doubt, but she had already taken care of that as well. She sighed softly as her game of doctor had to come to its end. She cast Renew on Squall, healing up his wounds and restoring his vitality, "We'll see very soon whether you have what it takes to take them all on."

"What are you planning?" Squall awkwardly began to dress, placing clothes with his left hand as he maintained his grip on Lionheart with his right. He was intent on being on his way as soon as possible, and began to leave the moment he was dressed, "I'm guessing you have another job for me then?"

Rishina didn't follow Squall as he left her house, but chased him with her words instead, "Perhaps you should go seek out the others like you and see for yourself the kind of people you will be up against. If your resolves holds after that, I'll come find you again."

Squall sighed internally as he pushed out of Rishina house--Lionheart in tow--back into the streets of Balfonheim. And does she expect me to just waltz into a clan hall to find people like me? Talking isn't exactly my way of knowing what someone is made of.

[Sephiroth]

He had no very clear idea of where he was, or how or why he ha dcome to be there. He had, in fact, only recently come to remember who he was: Luke Alspiess, SOLDIER Second Class.

Amazingly, for having spent nearly four weeks disoriented and stupefied in a pirate town, he still had all his gear. Maybe the townsfolk weren't keen on messing with a Newfolk with glowing eyes. Or maybe it was the fact that his gil didn't seem to have any purchasing power here.

Regardless, he was currently wondering the streets. He was being called again, as he had been before he had fallen into his coma. Sephiroth, it seemed, was in this world too. Luke had no idea what it was that connected them, but at least it was something. There was no Shinra here to order him to remain put, nobody who needed him; so, he would answer the call. Once he found Sephiroth, he would get some answers.

He did have more to go on than a direction too. He had asked around; not surprisingly, Sephiroth was already well-known and importnat in this world. He was a Judgemaster (whatever that was) and the leader of a clan. The trouble was, Luke had no means to get to Graszton.

Why he thought he would find a solution here was not clear to him either. However, he had heard of some sort of incident; perhaps it was just curiosity that drew him to the street. At any rate, he was just in time to see a long man with brown hair and scar come out of a building, holding a peculiar-looking hybrid gun-sword. Something about the man seemed ... not fmailiar, but as if he'd heard him described. So he drifted in his direction.

[Squall]

'I'll take you all on!' No... That doesn't sound right. 'Step forward if you plan to stand in my way!' That isn't any good either. Squall rubbed his face, aggressively moving such ridiculous ideas from his mind. Perhaps I could join up and manipulate them from the inside, but I'm not sure how I feel about building bridges out of paper.

Squall released his face from any further mind-altering treatment just in time to stop himself from running into a young man. Standing just inches in front of this glowing-eyed youth, Squall sized him up before taking a step back. He has the same wandering look in his eye that they all have. That I have about this world. So this is how I'll know them from everyone else...

"My apologies," Squall raised his hand in offering of a handshake, quelling thoughts of drawing this young man into combat. There was no reason for Squall to battle someone who may hold his outlook on this world.

"Squall Leonhart, Mercenary," Squall retracted his hand slightly, but kept it there for the taking, "Interesting eyes you have there."

[Sephiroth]

Luke stepped back before running into the man, who seemed about as distracted as he was. he reciprocated in looking him over; now that he was up close he had ... absolutely no idea where he ha dheard him described. So he shrugged it off as probably being a fragment of his dreams, and took the offered hand.

"Luke Alspiess," he replied, "SOLDIER Second Class ... only I don't believe that has any meaning in this world." He sighed. "And it's all right."

He paused, wodnering if he should say anything more. He was nott the out-going type, and his last friendship with a mercenary had ended rathe rhorribly. However, he was guessing this man was also not of this world, and was still unattached.

Might as well at least explain the eyes ... "All SOLDIERs have glowing eyes as a result of Mako exposure," he explained, then shook his head, realising that the man probably had no idea what either "SOLDIER" or "Mako" were. "... SOLDIER being a group of magically enhanced warriors employed by the rulers of my world. Mako is magical energy."

He stopped talking. The probably did not care, and would now nod and walk off to find someone mor enormal to hang out with.

[Squall]

Glowing eyes because of mako exposure? So if I see any more eyes like that, I know they are from this 'soldier'... Squall listened carefully in case Luke ever became his enemy in the near future, "I was a SeeD before I came here. Still basically a mercenary, so I guess it doesn't hold as much meaning as being a soldier."

Squall wasn't sure where to take the conversation at that point. This wasn't his strong point in any way, "I'm looking for the strongest people from other worlds. I--"

Squall chose his next words carefully, "I want to know who holds the most stake in this world's fate."

[Sephiroth]

Luke stared at the mercenary. His words were like an open invitation. The SOLDIER could not pass them up.

"I may be able to tell you," he began, restraining his hero worship as best he could. He did manage to keep his voice controlled and almost-normal, but he could not stop a certain amount of reverence from overspreading his features. "The greatest member of SOLDIER, far superior even to the others in First Class: Sephiroth. He is here in Ivalice as well. Nobody from my world would contest that he was the strongest, and possibly the most intelligent. And ... even here, he is already important. They say the Queen appoitned him Judgemaster, and he leads one of the ... Clans?"

He did not mention the rumours that Sephiroth had gone mad, the orders from President Rufus to capture or kill Sephiroth if he was seen. That had to be some malicious scheme of Shinra; this world's ruler wouldn't just give a madman a position of pwoer, would she? No need to trouble Squall with lies.

"I know where he is. But I cannot afford an airship to Graszton, or the supplies to walk there."

[Squall]

The judgemaster is from another world as well, and the most powerful person from Luke's world? To accept such a position makes this Sephiroth someone who certainly wants to stay here, for whatever this world can give him. This also makes him possibly my largest hurdle in my goals. I can go to him, and defeat him to free myself from this fantasy.

Squall's grip tightened exponentially as his resolve and his nerves built up in equal measures. Now all he had to do was decide whether this tip was worth a couple of airship tickets worth of gil, "How can you be so certain of where he is?"

Squall turned and hoisted Lionheart onto his shoulder, "If you can guarantee me we will find him, I can pay for a one-way trip."

If not, I'll just have to draw the attention of all the clans and this Sephiroth will surely come.

[Sephiroth]

"Oh, because I have this overpowering urge to go to him, accompanied by singing in my brain!" No, Luke thought, trying to keep a straight face, that's not the best answer to give.

"I happened to hear his name," Luke replied vaguely, but his voice quickly became definite, "so I asked around. The man ... was a hero to me, and to our whole world; he was something familiar ... you know? I asked several different people, and they all told me the same thing; he leads Clan Seraph in Graszton, and resides in Imperial Hall. Believe me. I've made certain of this."

Technically all he found out where the names of the locations, but it was still true that he had done some research. He hoped that would satisfy the mercenary.

[Squall]

That clan? "...How troublesome," Squall sighed as he started off in the direction of the ports. This wasn't the level of certainty he would like to have in a mission, but it couldn't be any worse than working for the Timber Rebellion. Squall paused on that thought, taking a glancing look at Luke while he continued walking.

I know which side Luke will be on if I have to fight Sephiroth. I didn't want to risk using Guardian Forces in this world but I might have to. Squall turned his gaze back toward his destination. Graszton was as good as enemy territory with Sephiroth's clan in the area. There was a lot of planning to be done on the way there.

"Be sure to keep up, or I might have to make the trip alone."

[Sephiroth]

"Troublesome"? Luke failed to see anything "troublesome" about the situation. Squall did not volunteer any further information, either; since he didn't reject the idea, Luke was happy not to press any further.

"No fear," Luke muttered in response to the alst comment. There was no way he was missing this opportunity. He strode after the ... SeeD? It was a strange name, but then, it was at least more imaginative than "SOLDIER". He made a note to ask more about ti later.

[Squall]

"It is a relief that you won't be dead weight for me," Squall reminded Luke of the situation that one last time before they were upon the airships. Squall wasn't going to be waiting around for Luke in any way, or probably sticking his neck out either. It was very likely, whether Luke knew it or not, they would be enemies soon. It would actually be advantageous if Squall could lose the kid before then.

I think I'd feel bad though. Squall bought them both a ticket with the remainder of his gil. He had spent a while working as a mercenary, but the majority of his gil was spent on information. For a moment Squall kind of wanted to take it back--he probably wouldn't see any income for a while--but something told him this was important.

"Here we go," Squall handed Luke his ticket and boarded the airship, "Let's hope he is welcoming guests."

[Squall + Luke ----> Graszton]

[Squall]

Even a day or so after the building had burned to the ground, the smell of char was still fresh within the air. He brought it in his nose with a certain enjoyment of the flavor, and breathed it out from his helmet. The knight stepped forward, clanking his boots upon the stone streets, and knelt just upon the edge of the rubble. His prey had been here not that long ago, but there were not many traces to go on. This prey had brought destruction and disappeared without so much as a trace of his possible locations.

Garland picked up a weakened piece of wood from the remains of the house and stood back up. He looked down upon it, filled with an uncontainable excitement, and crushed it swiftly in his gauntlet. This Squall Leonhart would certainly be one worth chasing if he could cause all this as swiftly as the street stories told. Despite knowing a little thing about over-expressed greatness, Garland chose to believe the city's tales to build upon his own restlessness. He almost needed to believe there was a man of that level to battle. Garland might even begin to withdrawal without such a conflict to tide him over in this world.

In the time the chaos knight had spent here in Ivalice - after being ripped from his fated battle with the Light Warriors - he had no chance to partake in any particularly pleasurable battles. With the worst of conflicts being petty criminals, monsters, and politics Garland almost felt too out of place in this world. What force, divine or malicious, would bring him to a world endowed with so much peace? Still, he stood there at the end of his prey's trail and had a certain thankfulness to whatever force had brought him there. Even in peace chaos could exist.

"If I am not brought to conflict, I will simply bring conflict upon myself," Garland mused to himself, and tossed the fragments of wood remaining in his glove back upon the house's corpse. Calmly he headed to gather information from the source.

[Garland ---> Balfonheim Weapon Store. Which I will create sometime in the near future.]