I'm supposed to put a disclaimer, right? That I don't own Final Fantasy 8 or the characters?
Well, let it be known then. I don't own Final Fantasy 8 or the characters. I don't even own a hairbrush. I look like the lovechild of Albert Einstein and Doc Brown.
Also, this is my first story, so forgive any kind of formatting mistakes. I'm trying.
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"Hello?"
"Hello. Is this Headmaster Cid?"
"Yes, this is he, who am I speaking with?"
"I am the leader of the Coalition of Peace. We have a request we would like to put forth."
Cid nodded at the familiar words he'd heard from a thousand different groups. He scooted his chair closer to his desk and reached for pen and paper.
"Of course, if you would like to hire SeeD, I'd be happ-"
"We do not want to hire SeeD," the man interrupted. Cid put his pen down as he focused on the voice. It was low, even, and controlled. Cid had never heard it before. Or of this Coalition. He took his spectacles off, pinching the earpiece between his finger and thumb, and slowly leaned back in his chair. Something didn't feel right.
"You don't want to hire SeeD," Cid repeated. "… Then, what is your request?"
"We request that you willingly and peacefully give up the sorceress Rinoa Heartilly."
Cid took an involuntary breath. As of this night, only a few people at Garden and select people in Esthar knew about Rinoa's acceptance of Edea's powers. Talk had gone around about Edea losing her powers to some unknown teenage girl during the Battle of the Gardens but nobody knew who it was. He decided to take a stab at denial.
"Rinoa Heartilly is a client of this organization," he began slowly, focusing on the tone of his voice to make it sound genuine. "Not a sorceress."
"We have received intel that would suggest otherwise," the man went on, unabashed by Cid's lie. Cid's brows drew together in suspicion.
"Who is this?"
"We are the Coalition of Peace, and the sorceress is a direct obstacle in our righteous path toward everlasting peace, therefore she must be put to rest."
Cid's lips drew tight and his eyes narrowed as he took in the words of the man.
"Mr. Kramer, we ask that you willingly and peacefully give up the sorceress Rinoa Heartilly," the man continued. "If you don't, we will be forced to take action."
Cid's eyes flashed with anger. "Take action?" he repeated, his voice strained. "Is that a threat?"
The man on the line continued his low, calm speech. "We are a peaceful coalition. We want only the sorceress. Give her up, and no one need be hurt. Refuse, and we'll do what we must."
Cid leaned forward on the desk, finger pointing accusingly at the unseen man. "Now look here… if you think you can threaten me you'd better think again. This institution trains the most formidable and tactful soldiers from here to the Island Closest to Hell. Anyone who steps foot in my school with intentions to do any one of my students harm will wish that he were in Hell, and rest assured, I'd be happy to escort them there." Cid all but roared his last sentence, his pulse quickening with anger and breath stiffening with his tensed muscles.
"… I suppose you've made your choice then. I wish this could have turned out differently."
The line went silent. Cid slammed the phone onto its holster, sending tiny pieces of plastic upward. His head swam as he took the conversation in. Did that really just happen? It was a bluff, right? He thought back through Garden's history. Naturally, the institution held some controversy with many groups and had received such threats before, but for some reason, Cid took this one a little more personally. He sighed as his pulse gradually slowed.
The blue and white behemoth that was Garden sailed through the crisp night air toward its home on the continent of Balamb. They couldn't have been more than an hour offshore, but Cid felt unease with the situation. Being mobile gave Garden the upper hand when it came to defensive maneuvering, and if the terrorists were to carry out their threat that night, they'd be sitting ducks back in Balamb. But where could they go? Should they just keep sailing? Cid shook his head at the thought. He promised the whole of the student body that once the war was over, Garden would be stationed back in its original location, after the necessary landscaping made such an event possible. At the moment, less than half the students who attended Balamb Garden were even on board, as when the whole debacle started, many students were at home for summer vacation.
Cid looked at his watch. 10 o'clock, Balamb time, meaning 6, Esthar central time. Cid was sure Laguna would still be in his office. He dialed a number quickly, having memorized it during recent events. Four short rings and a voice spoke.
"Laguna, hello. It's Cid Kramer. I do hope I'm not disturbing you."
"Not at all. I was actually just about to send you an email. Well, you and pretty much everyone else. I'm inviting the leaders of every nation to a World Meeting this Thursday in Esthar to talk about the Second Sorceress War. I know it's short notice, but what can you do? Pressing matters, ya know," Laguna blabbed.
"Pressing matters, indeed. That's actually the reason I called you. Have you heard of a group called the Coalition of Peace?"
"Coalition of Peace?" Laguna repeated. "Hmm no… no I don't think so. Why? Who are they?"
"I just received a phone call from them. Asking me to give up the sorceress... or suffer the consequences."
"Really?" Laguna asked slowly.
Cid nodded though the Esthar president couldn't see him. "They identified her by name," he went on gravely.
"Wow." Cid heard Laguna sigh and the soft sound of him leaning back in his chair in the country across the world. After a pause, he spoke again, "How is that possible?"
"Well, that's what I wanted to ask you. As far as I know, the list of people in the know is relatively short. Aside from myself the small group who were involved in the fight against Ultimecia, it should be just the people from your lunar base… sorceress memorial… and some of the members in the palace. Is that correct?"
"Yeah, that's right. Man… do you think someone outside of Esthar or Garden could have found out?" Cid felt slightly guilty at the possibly accusatory tone he had taken. He could understand the president's reluctance to believe that anyone in his own city would make any threats against Garden.
"The only other possibility is someone from Galbadia Garden. But I don't think it's very likely. There weren't many Galbadians in the Garden that day." Cid thought back on the Battle of the Gardens when Edea's powers transferred to Rinoa. Even then, nobody knew that that's what had happened. He hated to admit it, but it was most likely that this coalition was in Esthar.
"Yeah, you're right," Laguna concurred. Cid was relieved he didn't need to say more about his suspicions. "In that case, I'll talk to Kiros and Ward… have them make up a list of all the people in Esthar who know. And I'll make sure to keep an eye out for this Coalition of Peace thingy."
"Thank you, Laguna. I greatly appreciate it."
"Of course, of course," Laguna batted away his thanks. "Well, the conference is in four days. Why don't you guys just lie low in the meantime? I'm sure you can find a discreet place somewhere in this whole wide world."
"Yes, that might be the best plan. I don't want to risk any students getting hurt, not after all they've been through."
"Right, right... So you'll be attending then? The meeting?"
"I believe I will."
"Great. And if she doesn't mind, it'd probably by helpful if Edea came, too. Odine can explain that she lost her powers and she can tell what happened from her point of view. I'm sure that'll inspire sympathy."
"I'll run it by her, but I'm sure she'll come."
"Excellent. No need to respond to the email, then, I'll just mark you now. Oh, hey, how's uh… how are the kids doing?"
Cid smiled, his heart lightening from the dark phone call he had earlier. "They're well. They're very well. They got back yesterday afternoon, slept until this afternoon. They're now engaged in the celebration festivities."
Laguna laughed happily. "Good, that's- that's real good... Just how kids should be. Well, I better run. I've got dinner waiting for me. I'll be in touch."
"Take care," Cid replied. His brief conversation with Laguna surprisingly eased his mind a bit. At least now he knew what to expect in the next few days. Cid stood and walked to the open window. Shouts and laughter drifted upward from the ballroom. Balamb was just visible on the dark horizon. He sighed and lowered his head. They'd go to Trabia. The cold continent, although also containing a similar military school, was generally neutral and sparsely populated. Garden could slip into one of the crevices easily and wait out the next four days.
"… Darling, are you ready to go down to the party?" A delicate, dulcet voice called from the doorway. Cid turned and smiled at his wife.
"Yes, dear. Let me just make a small shift in our destination."
. . . . . . . .
"And how did he respond?" a smooth feminine voice called from behind the man. Select strands of his salt and pepper hair glistened with the light from outside.
"Not in our favor," the man spoke slowly as he breathed a sigh through his nose. He stood at the window, looking out onto his city, one eyebrow cocked in slight annoyance.
"What did he say?"
"He has no intention of giving up the witch."
The woman nodded slightly at this. They had anticipated this might happen.
"… you've prepared the boy then?"
"Boys," the man corrected, "and girl, yes. I'm confident they'll be more than capable of apprehending the sorceress."
The woman looked on the man intently, searching for any sign of emotion.
"They'll need an Odine item," she pointed out.
"We don't have any," he said sharply.
"What will they do then? They can't take down a sorceress on their own. She could wipe them out in a second."
"Our people are working on it."
"… We can't bring her into the city." The woman didn't shy away from pointing out any possible flaws in the plan. That's what made her so useful to the man.
"I know. I've already found a location that will be quite suited to the sorceress. She'll be buried with the other monstrous evil things that ravage this world."
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