The Heart of Darkness
You know the drill. Original Characters mine, yada yada yada, don't copy!!!.
Steam hisses and electronic noises could be heard from the battered ruins of the bridge of Balamb Garden. Pieces of metal and blood littered the floor; signs of a massacre. Students lay dying as a lone SeeD stood staring at the door, with his gunblade in hand. He knew that he should be helping the wounded, but if he lost focus for one second, he would be on the floor with them. He had to get away from the absurdity of this. As if on cue, three Galbadian Guards stormed the room. The lone soldier raised his sword to block, and after a few dodges slashed the first soldier with ease. However, the second and third soldier used the time gained to surround him. The SeeD, understanding that his time was up, dropped his sword and put his hands behind his head.
"And that ladies and gentlemen, is not how you win a battle!" Selphie Tilmitt said, giggling uncontrollably. She, along with the large audience she was talking to, had been looking at the scene on a large projection screen connected to a futuristic pod looking contraption.
"Now it's time to get him out of this thing!!" she said as she pushed a large red button next to the pod. Steam hissed, and the pod opened, revealing a sleeping Squall with a helmet on. Suddenly Squall's body jerked awake, and he quickly snatched the helmet off of his head. He could hear the cheering of the crowd, praising the most famous person in Gaia.
"Whoa… that was amazing" Squall said sheepishly, feeling bad about having lost in front of so many people. He quickly shoved the thought out of his head, however, as Selphie started speaking again.
"This is it ladies and gentlemen. The future of Balamb Garden's training program is here and these pods!! In the three years since the Second Sorceress War, we have made many strides toward preparing our defense. This just may be the most important one, in training the younger students who cannot be sent into live missions. We would like to thank Commander Leonhart over here for volunteering to do this first run……."
Squall had stopped listening, because he knew that he absolutely did not volunteer for this. Rinoa made him do it for the Garden Festival kick-off. "It's not going to kill you, she said, with that beautiful smile on her face……." Squall bemused. That was three months before they had broken up. Although they were still friends, there was still an awkward feeling when they were together; a realization that everything that they had been through together didn't make their relationship any stronger. Squall, still in deep thought, didn't realize that Selphie had stopped talking to the audience and was now talking to him.
"……and so you're going to be doing a little tour. for the SeeD transfers in the main hall, ok?..........ok?..............Squall!!!!!?"
"Huh?" Squall awoke from his bemusement, looking for a way out of what he knew was coming. Seeing no way, he gave a defeated sigh and nodded.
"Great, thank you so much Squall. Don't worry, you'll be there with Zell, Irvine and Quistis. Rinoa will be with me and Xu in the upstairs classrooms doing presentations for the junior classmen. Just wait in front of the information thingy and wait for the rest of the group." Selphie said as she ran off out of the Quad. Squall shook his head and walked out behind her into the Main Hall.
Squall stood in front of the information kiosk in the Main Hall. He looked up at the streamers hanging from the ceiling. There were 6 of them, each with a picture of one of the so-called "Fated Children" he had led. There were all of them up there, with smiling faces and weapons drawn. As his first act as Commander of All Gardens was to make pictures, signs, books, and even movies about the Second Sorceress' War, in an attempt to curb the forgetfulness brought on by GFs. He wanted people to never forget what had happened, and to learn from it. So far, it seemed so. Galbadia was in better shape, forming a united government with Dollet, Timber, and Winhill, making The Federation of Meade. Esthar had finally opened its doors to the West, and President Laguna Loire was currently in the precess of building an Esthar Garden. Before Squall could think more on world events Zell, Irvine, Quistis, and a large group of other people in SeeD uniforms walked up to him.
"Hey Squall" Irvine was the first to speak. He still had that hat and the trench coat. Quistis spoke next, with a dreamy look in her eyes. Zell mumbled a few words about the cafeteria hotdogs before shaking Squalls hand.
"Ok everyone; this is the man that I'm sure you're waiting to see. Commander Leonhart, would you like to say something." Quistis spoke, turning to stand next to Squall. He hated when Quistis put him on the spot like this. Since the three years since he had been appointed commander of SeeD by Headmaster Cid, he had made about 20 speeches and messed up on all of them. As his second in command, Quistis should have been the one doing this quick tour, but he was stuck with it anyway. He tried to focus on the entire audience, but one girl kept his attention. He noticed that she look exactly like Edea, except she couldn't have been a day over twenty. She wore a baggy pair of red pants, with a white tank top. He eyes, flaming red, stared into Squall's, making Squall nervous.
"Well…….um…….this is the main hall of Balamb Garden" Squall spoke, tripping over his words. "As you can see, the hall is circular; all connected to walkways that go the 6 parts of the first floor of Gar….."
"Excuse me; when do we get to see the virtual reality pods?" the girl spoke excitedly, causing Squall to lose his train of thought. He tried to speak, but those dark eyes made him freeze in his tracks. He began to feel dizzy, and before you know it, he was on the floor, trying hard not to close his eyes. He closed them, and quickely opened them. What he saw was not the Main Hall, but rather a void similar to the place where he and his friends fought Diablos. He tried to stand up, but was only able to manage sitting up. He sat there for a few minutes until he heard a booming, earthly voice speak out at him.
"Are you ready to complete your Quest?" the voice spoke, shaking Squall to his very core.
"Who are you?" Squall shot back, trying to hide his obvious fear.
"Do not be afraid of me Squall." The voice boomed. "I am the one you mortals call Hyne"
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