A bright, sunny afternoon was gracing the large city of Esthar, and many the occupant was filing in one of the amphitheaters near the center of the city. Two weeks had passed since the group had returned to Balamb Garden and filled in Headmaster Cid of the incredible chain of events that had transpired during their absence. To say he was shocked would have been the grandest understatement of the century, and put forward the necessary actions to care for both Quistis and Rinoa while declaring that he would be taking an impromptu vacation to his wife's abode and was not to be bothered under any circumstances. The gang was worried about how Cid was taking everything, for as much of a shock as it was, but there wasn't much left to do besides taking care of things they could do... and taking part in much needed rest.
Squall, unfortunately, didn't get much rest. Due to Cid's abrupt and total withdrawal from Garden, his position as commander left him on duty managing things almost entirely on his own. In that period of time, Gina saw the old Squall resurface, mechanically confining himself to his office and keeping things running efficiently. Making up her mind, Gina sucked it up and made it her duty from then on out to make sure that Squall got food, sleep, and at least a good couple of hours away from work whether he was in the middle of something or not. She was afraid that he'd refuse to budge, but she was pleasantly surprised when he always greeted her with a smile (even if it was a tired smile, more often than not) and obediently followed her suggestions.
Irvine, in the meantime, was happily becoming re-acclimated to Sharon's ridiculously ornery and borderline insufferable behavior whenever it came to him. Sharon, much to her dismay, was discovering that she was running out of things to throw at him, both verbally and physically. Selphie and Zell humored themselves by taking bets on how much longer it would take before Sharon finally cracked, but thankfully not within earshot.
On a much more somber note, it was found that Rinoa had lapsed into a coma since having her sorceress powers stripped from her, and was being carefully attended by Dr. Odine and a select number of assistants with a plethora of high tech equipment to stabilize her condition. As curious and inexplicably baffled by the apparent nullification of the Sorceress Gene that had been a large part of his life's work, Odine actually approached the situation sensibly and dedicated himself and his crew to ensure Rinoa's recovery for non-experimental purposes. It could be said that a major motivation in Odine's change of mad-scientist behavior was due to the President of Esthar threatening to permanently shut down Odine Labs if he did anything that could be considered "fishy", but all in all it was the first priority to increase the probability of Rinoa awakening from her coma with the least amount of side effects as possible.
Quistis was a sticky situation in and of itself. While she had the luck to not be thrown into a coma due to all of the trauma she herself had endured for months on end at the hands of an unexpected enemy, her mental state was in the slow and careful process of being rebuilt to the person she was before all of the events occurred... and while doctors have said that all of her injuries would heal cleanly, the best psychologists weren't too optimistic about a full mental recovery. There would be a long process of having Quistis feel secure enough to be able to either talk about or otherwise be able to document all of the things that happened to her in order for the acceptance process to begin, and then even more time to get her re-acclimated to her surroundings and her life in general. As for the people in it, thus far only Zell and Selphie were allowed to see her, and that was only once per individual. Depending on how well her progress went, Irvine would be admitted after a couple of weeks, since the doctors did not want her being overwhelmed with too much at once. Sharon and Gina would be an even longer wait, seeing as though Quistis might not be able to mentally handle the surprise of seeing two people that were supposed to be long gone reappearing back in her life again, and any little shock at this point in time might mistakenly send her into a relapse. The doctors couldn't predict far enough into the future to even give an approximate time frame for when it would be appropriate for Squall to finally see her, obviously because of the intricacies involved in their relationship and how it attributed largely to the strain prior to the tremendously traumatizing events. Despite the heavy news, the group took everything in stride and simply sent forth their most positive energy and held a continuously optimistic mind frame for her, since it was the most they could do on that front.
As for the state of SeeD in general, it was like a fog was slowly beginning to lift from everyone's minds. It was gradual; so gradual that no one outside of those who knew the truth would be able to discern that anything out of the ordinary had happened. The knowledge of Rinoa even being a sorceress was confined only to those directly involved with the overall mission to begin with, as Headmaster Cid found no reason to create yet another panic over a barely missed Sorceress War that was arguably much more intricate and personal than the last. The only thing that was publicly noticeable was that there had been no outbreaks of SeeD battles since Rinoa had been quelled, but it would be a while until everything was completely settled. While the gang was glad, they found themselves wondering where exactly to go from here on out.
And that's when Cid had come out of his hibernation to publicly announce that he would be delivering an important address, and that every SeeD was required to attend. President Laguna opened up the gates of Esthar for the occasion at the Headmaster's request, since no other place would be large enough to hold the massive amount of people that were expected to be in attendance. The entire speech was to be broadcast to radios and televisions for the citizens that could not make it all the way out to Esthar to witness the proceeds. And outside of Cid, nobody knew what in the hell to expect.
"So, uh... you think we should be scared, or anything?" Sharon rhetorically asked, examining her fingernails. The group of them had managed to secure seats right at the front before most of the crowds had filed in, and were now waiting around for whatever announcement Cid had in store for the masses. "Because for all we know, Cid could have herded us all here just to drop an atom bomb on our asses while cackling maniacally, or something."
"Sharii-chan... Cid wouldn't do that, and you know it," Gina sighed, sitting in her seat and trying to relax. She was anxious to know what awaited them all, and all of the nervous or uncertain energy that was coming in from everyone else wondering the same thing was getting to her. Absently reaching down and scratching the tuft of orange fur that belonged to Ravi the Moomba, she tried desperately to distract herself from what her nerves were telling her was "incoming doom", she turned towards Squall who was seated beside her. "Where's Selphie, again?"
The brunet blinked and looked around, rising slightly out of his chair in order to get a better look. "She and Irvine went to go find Yaten, I think."
Zell folded his arms and examined the hordes of SeeDs that were pouring in. "Man, you can already tell that they're splitting up into factions. Even those who didn't show up in uniform for once have made it perfectly clear who they are affiliated with... I really hope nothing is going to jump off here of all places."
Sharon shook her head. "I really think that if nothing has happened since the past two weeks, then nothing is going to happen randomly now. Folks are tense as hell, that's pretty obvious... but no one is going to make a move. Besides," she nodded her head towards a select number of people creating a perimeter around the area. "Seifer's got this ish on lockdown just in case."
Squall automatically found himself looking around for his old rival, but couldn't see him amongst all of the people that were milling around. Or maybe he just isn't here. Not like I'd blame him. Not only would Squall himself not look forward to being a single neutralizing force against three borderline hostile ones if in Seifer's position, he also wouldn't know what to do or say if they bumped into each other. Not only had four years worth of time gone by, the past was somewhat in consideration, and he didn't know how much had changed when it came to Seifer. Squall was still in the midst of dealing with his own changes, and most of those had been spurned on by the catalyst that was the final battle with Rinoa. Even with all of the concerns at hand, he also knew he felt a bit of disappointment that Seifer wasn't around. I guess this means I miss him more than I've been realizing, too.
"Hey! Save us some seats?" Selphie appeared in the middle of Squall's vision at that moment, attached to the arm of a handsome and very happy looking young man that Gina and Sharon automatically recognized to be Yaten. "I got him away before Martine would notice. You guys don't mind if he sits with us, do you?"
"Of course not! Besides, we have front row seats!" Zell said, moving over a few to make room. "And I don't think anybody wants to sit over in that suffocating bunch. I don't know how you survived in that hole so long."
The silver-haired male shrugged good-naturedly and sat down in his seat, where Selphie immediately took hers perched on his lap. "Well, Irvine and I made it a worthwhile experience. If nothing else, we took the blame together. And if it weren't for this girl right here, then I'd be missing out on a lot in life." He wrapped his arms around Selphie's waist and grinned before turning to Sharon and Gina. "So... where's my boat?"
"Umm... on the coast of the Great Salt Lake somewhere?" Gina flinched, expecting retribution. "No one ever goes around there, so I'm sure it's not stolen or anything. And we didn't break it, either! But... we'll go looking for it with the Ragnarok!" She hurriedly covered, biting her lip.
Yaten laughed. "Hey, it's cool. It served its purpose, didn't it? That's the most important thing." He looked up as Irvine came over to the row and smoothly slid in the seat next to Sharon. "Did you run into Martine?"
Irvine snorted. "No. I saw him, though. And I'm sure if he has any lackeys, they know where I'm seated."
Sharon rolled her eyes and snarled. "Tell that crotchety mother fucker to bring it, then. I got something for him."
"A foot up the ass?" Zell suggested, based on some of the colorful girl's frequently stated solutions.
"You can stick your foot up there to make room for the staff that will be coming up next. Sideways."
Irvine smiled and stretched, putting his arm around Sharon's shoulders. "Ah. I love it when you're overprotective." He winked at Yaten. "Told you she has the hots for me."
Sharon twitched and shrugged his arm off. "You're a conceited ass twat that needs to go die in a fire."
Yaten barely held back a smirk as his eyebrows rose. "I can see that."
Sharon peered over the top of her glasses at Yaten. "You know, I like you Yaten. I really do. And I know you feel somewhat obligated to be on your friend's side. But don't make me kill you."
Before Selphie could rise to the defense of her boyfriend, Squall cut her off. "Okay, you guys. It's starting."
Everyone redirected their attentions to the front, where a stage had been situated in the direct center of the seats that circulated outwards. It was there that Cid approached the podium, and Headmasters Martine and Ela from Galbadia and Trabia Gardens followed, taking two seats just behind him. It was the first time that Sharon and Gina saw the elusive Headmaster of Trabia Garden, and took in her slim figure primly outfitted in the grays and whites that the particular Garden ascribed to, her almost-white blond hair cut short and slightly spiked, giving her face and especially her emerald eyes emphasis.
The crowd that surrounded them diminished their murmurs to whispers, before finally fading out to silence as everyone watched the Headmaster of Balamb Garden adjust the mic that had been placed there for his use.
"Greetings, everyone. You'll have to forgive me for organizing something so hastily, but as you can probably guess, these epiphanies of mine are far and few in between." He adjusted his glasses before continuing. "Thank you all for coming. What I'm about to say has been carefully considered over the course of a couple of weeks, and has also been discussed in confidentiality with my fellow Headmasters, and we all have agreed that it is the best course of action in the light of things." Cid took another pause. "From this day forth, SeeD is terminated."
A few more moments passed while his words sunk in before the masses erupted in a tumultuous chatter, emotions ranging from disbelief to confusion, and dismay.
Sharon blinked. "... he did just say what I thought I heard him say, right?"
Gina nodded, still looking towards the front. "Yep. He dropped the bomb quick enough. But I guess he's really that serious."
Cid waited patiently while the worst of the noise rode out, and then cleared his throat into the microphone to silence the remaining bits of it. "I'm sure now that a lot of you are wondering why this decision has been made, and so unexpectedly on top of things. But in all honesty, it is something that should have been done long before now... before we've all had to learn the hard way."
Seagulls soared overhead, sounding their far-off calls amongst the clouds as they flew innocently over what had to be the biggest and most important gathering in SeeDs history. "To the people of the world, we that were SeeD sincerely apologize from the depths of our hearts for failing you. It was not fair that those you have been conditioned to look up to, to reach a hand to for help, have been so blind as to forget the one thing that has been taught in our establishments from the moment the newest cadet enrolls. 'Protect the Innocent'.
"Some of you might be experiencing feelings of guilt. Others might feel justified in their previous actions. Still more might be confused and wonder how everything had turned out so horribly wrong. But rest assured, this is not your undoing. It is mine." He placed a hand to his comfortable red blazer, directly above his heart. "Had I not been blind to what had been staring me in the face since the defeat of the last sorceress that has threatened our way of living, all of this might have been avoided. With the banishing of the sorceress Ultimecia, so should have SeeD been disbanded. SeeD has suffered too much at the hands of greed and ignorance, and so those we have been charged to protect have fallen with us. So, I ask you; what can we do to rectify our error? To win ourselves back into the hearts of those we have betrayed?"
He halted his speech while his eyes scanned the crowd that didn't know whether or not they should start supplying answers, or if it was a rhetorical question. "Nothing," he gave a weary smile. "It serves not one man to spend his life lamenting the past as penance for the future. The only thing that we must do is move forward, and to each individual make decisions wiser than the last. As a world full of people of all shapes and sizes, we should each be aware of the whole we encompass. It is natural for humans to forget that it is not our differences that are the focus, but instead it is our similarities that should bond us into the closest possible embodiment of unity.
"Unity... it's not a word that we give enough thought, much less in the instances in which it is important to do so. Yet, it is what holds us together, keeps us alight in the face of the toughest adversities. Thankfully, I have not been so quick to forget this, and as such, have taken the steps to prepare what might certainly be my last great idea to you all." His blue eyes seemed to twinkle as his gaze shifted to the front row, where he knew Squall and the others were seated.
Zell shifted. "Dude... what's he planning?" he whispered.
"While SeeD itself shall cease to exist after today, the Gardens of Balamb, Galbadia, and Trabia are not to fall entirely defunct. For one, I am sure that all of you have come to see your individual bases as your homes, and it is not my intention to single-handedly uproot you from the only place you might have. I understand your situation, and for those who must, may feel free to continue to reside in your established dormitories for the duration of the transitioning period. If you find yourself troubled by the inactivity that will endure for an uncertain amount of time, then there is also the choice to continue your military exploits in the Galbadian Army. Since having their name tainted from the events that have transpired four years ago, enrollment has been scarce and its members are mediocre at best. Protecting the innocent is not just a lesson learned by the SeeD, but it should be and is a practice instilled within the Army... and once one takes away the specific purpose of SeeD, the Army's practices are intrinsically the same. At any rate, we must support and rebuild our Army through our own exploits and morals, as it cannot be done in any other fashion." Cid explained. "After however long it takes for things to be re-calibrated and prepared to my liking, the Gardens shall be reinstated once more under a completely different task, one that might be foreign to many but beneficial to all. For these Gardens will serve as an educational hub, opening their doors to teach both the young and old willing to expand their limited knowledge of the world around them and beyond. Education outside of what has been deemed by most as 'necessary' for survival has been sorely neglected, perhaps save for what lies behind the advanced and mighty borders of this city of Esthar. Perhaps if our minds were trained to be open as our bodies are trained to be able, we might be able to make better decisions and shape our own future. When they come to light, they are never again to be accompanied by the suffix 'Garden'. Instead, they are to be called... a 'University'."
Gina's mouth dropped open, and she didn't have to look to her friends on either side of her to know that they were all in the same state of shock. Ravi turned and looked puzzled at everyone's expressions, not understanding why his owners were struck with varying degrees of the "deer caught in headlights" look. Murmurs started to buzz again, only this time a lot less frantic and disconcerted as the ones that came before. Most seemed to be at least curious at the new idea of this University, and wondered what kind of things they would be exploring outside of what they were usually exposed to during their training.
Cid scratched his reddish-brown hair for a moment, then held up a hand as he prepared to speak more. "Oh, yes! I've almost forgotten something equally as important." He searched the crowd, his head turning this way and that as he tried to find a specific person. "Headmaster Seifer Almasy, would you be so kind as to come forward to the stage, please?"
Squall couldn't help but flinch at the audible gasps of those in the crowd that undoubtedly recognized his name as the antagonist that set a lot of past events that were distinctly unfavorable to the world in general, and watched as Seifer's tall figure emerged from the back of the amphitheater to walk towards the front, his head high and his eyes forward. As he took his place on the podium a couple of paces away from old Headmaster, Squall looked upon his wary figure as he examined Cid with a mixture of emotions, obviously uncomfortable for what was probably the first time in his life at being in the spotlight.
"I have heard from the President that you have done a remarkable job at maintaining the integrity of SeeD while the rest of us dissolved into discord from within the walls of Esthar, as I'm sure everyone can definitely see the results of today." Cid nodded to the organized formation White SeeD had taken around the perimeters. "As such, it's been decided that the Garden of Esthar shall be the only remainder of SeeD, as testament to those who haven't faltered during the hardest times that SeeD has faced arguably since its creation. Your hard work is to be commended, and the President himself has formally requested that White SeeD stay intact as Esthar's personal police unit, as it unofficially has been since you have taken the oath of Headmaster. And... I feel obligated to say, that as your previous Headmaster, I am very proud of you for what you have managed to contribute to society." He patted Seifer's arm with a smile, as Seifer himself stood stock still and blinked down at Cid as if he was trying to figure out if everything was one big joke.
"This is a new era for all of us. It is our responsibility, our right, to make of life what we may. With Hyne as our witness, we shall carry our society, our world, into the future. We have nothing to fear from the unknown, and have nothing to lose by following our aspirations to the next level. Whatever we might accomplish, whatever we might face... we shall do so together. And with that, I'm adjourning my speech. Thank you." Cid stepped back to stand with the other headmasters, leaving Seifer standing near the front of the stage, still trying to absorb everything that had transpired.
A couple of handclaps speckled in odd places throughout the crowd, and soon applause that started off either uncertainly or enthusiastically, as it was the case for Zell and Sharon, who immediately jumped to their feet and started a chorus of whoops and cheers that startled Ravi and would have had Squall placing a hand to his forehead in exasperation if he already wasn't adding to the applause in a more civilized manner. Cid turned and looked at Martine and Ela, who were also standing and nodding their approval, and gave a sheepish smile and a shrug that was all too familiar to the now ex-Headmaster of Balamb Garden.
"So," Sharon said, looking at Gina.
Her best friend shrugged and quirked her lips up into a smile. "I guess Balamb is going to be the next Grand Valley State University."
Sharon wrinkled her nose. "Man, I would hope it would be more interesting than GV. Even though Balamb is a small town in the middle of nowhere." She turned to Squall and nudged his arm. "Hey, make sure there's actual school activities and shit."
He lifted an eyebrow. "What makes you think I'm going to do anything? I'm a commander of a now defunct Garden. So that gives me what authority, exactly?"
Sharon folded her arms. "Oh, come on, you mean to tell me you're not going to have a hand in making sure Balamb University reaches acclaim?"
Squall shook his head and smiled a bit. "I need a break."
"Not only that, but think of it this way; we're a thing of the past, now," Irvine said. "I think it's about time that we leave the future up to the young'uns. I daresay we've done enough overtime."
Selphie tilted her head thoughtfully. "And we didn't even get paid."
At that, everyone turned and blinked at her, then dissolved into laughter, leaving the bubbly girl confused at what exactly she said that was so funny. Yaten shook his head at his girlfriend's naiveté, and gave her a kiss on the cheek that automatically distracted her happily, while before Irvine could even look to do anything got cut off by a death glare from Sharon. Gina muffled a snort and looked shyly over at Squall, who smiled softly and took her hand discreetly, causing her heart to flutter giddily. I've got to stop being such a dork.
"Puberty Boy." Squall looked up and over automatically at the name, and came face to face with Seifer, who had managed to dodge the milling people and crowding that had started directly after Cid adjourned his speech. The entire group paused, bringing forth the habit of waiting with baited breath between the two men who were as different as night and day. For a moment, both of them just sized each other up, before Seifer broke the silence. "I see you got out of whatever mess you last got yourself into," he stated plainly.
Squall nodded. "I'm just glad it's finally over."
Seifer raised an eyebrow. "That bad?"
"You could say that."
The blond snorted and crossed his arms. "You're going to have to fill me in on things one of these days."
"Likewise... Headmaster."
Seifer let out another snort and turned to look back at the stage. "Never thought I'd see the day."
Squall quirked his head. "SeeD disbanding?"
"No... Cid Kramer finally growing balls at age 45."
Sharon bit the inside of her lip almost to the point of self-injury to keep from howling with laughter that would have certainly attracted tons of unwanted attention, and Gina patted her on the shoulder as Cid finally approached them all with a smile. "So... I suppose you can garner a guess as to where I drew my inspiration?" he rhetorically asked, his eyes sparkling.
"DOES THIS MEAN WE GET EINSTIEN BAGEL DOGS ON CAMPUS?!" Zell blurted out, then clapped his hand over his mouth at his over-excited tone. Seifer rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath that sounded awfully like "chicken wuss", but didn't exactly feel obligated to go into detail.
"It means a lot more than that. There are many preparations that must be put into action, and all very soon to ensure that all goes well. It might not be for a year at the very least for the kinks to get ironed out of this. However, thanks to Xu, I've been looking through this pamphlet that she managed to hold onto..." He took out a Grand Valley State University booklet and leafed through it as he continued. "And it shouldn't be terribly hard to incorporate a similar structure in our world. It will be small in the beginning, no doubt about that. But as long as the foundations are set, time should take care of the rest."
Yaten stepped over and peered down at the pictures that were scattered throughout blocks of texts explaining the different classes and roles that students and faculty played. "Hmm, Irvine was right; it is a beautiful campus."
"And boring," Gina, Sharon, and Seifer all said in unison, and Zell gaped at them. "Dude, it wasn't that bad. There's a mall-"
"That you can't even take the bus to anymore," Sharon interjected.
"-and it had an awesome arcade-"
"Kahunaville went under a year after you left."
"-and then the Renaissance Festival-"
"If it wasn't for the spectacle that Seifer and Squall caused, then it would have been just as stale as all the ones before and after it."
"-you could go from dorm building to dorm building to visit people-"
"Now they've updated their locks and you can't do that anymore due to ghey security issues."
"-Einstein Brothers Bagels makes the most awesome hot dogs-"
"But they discontinued their Broccoli Cheddar soup two years ago, and I've been on strike over eating there since."
"What?" Squall finally made a comment, causing everyone to look at him oddly. He met their gazes evenly and shrugged. "That's a shame. I really liked that soup."
Irvine furrowed his brows and looked at Gina and Sharon. "So, exactly how much changed since we left?"
Gina shrugged. "Both a lot and not at all at the exact same time. For one, Sharii-chan and I live on the complete opposite side of campus now, past Kirkoff. There wasn't anything over there but cornfields four years ago, but all that's been cleared away to make for upperclassmen housing."
"No way! I can't even picture it... there's something actually beyond Kirkoff Center?"
Selphie finally huffed and crossed her arms, pouting. "Okay you guys, this is totally not fair. I'm getting so jealous just listening to you all talk about this place that I didn't even know existed until after Ultimecia was done and over with."
Cid stepped back and looked at them all, much like a father would look at his children proudly yet nostalgically. "Well. I have one last mission for you all, if you choose to accept it. There is no pressure, of course. But I do have a feeling that this might be one mission most of you would not want to miss."
Seifer examined his old Headmaster skeptically, wondering if he was too quick to be even remotely impressed with the progress that had been made that day if Cid was so quick to come up with what was most probably going to be another needless, ill fated command. Selphie and Zell leaned forward eagerly, their eyes equally as wide, anticipating what they both hoped would be what they were thinking it was. Poor Yaten looked entirely confused and looked as though he walked in on one very large inside joke, while Irvine smiled knowingly as he looked upon Cid. Sharon and Gina exchanged a glance that was both anxious and excited at the same time. Squall simply addressed Cid via the protocol that was ingrained in him for as long as he could remember.
"Sir?"
The ex-Headmaster of Balamb Garden clasped his hands behind his back... and smiled.
