I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL FINAL FANTASY 8 CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(
Epilogue
A Promise is a Promise
"Lucas Warbec!"
The young teen gave a jump as his name was called out. Standing up from the seat he had taken the test in, he moved forward towards the teacher. The older man stared at him in silence for a moment before giving a smile. "Congratulations, lad. You passed." A shock of relief passed through him as a huge smile spread across his face. "You've been assigned to Mrs. Leonhart's room," He handed him some documents and a key to the dorm room he had been appointed. "Good luck."
"Thank you, sir!" Lucas took off out of the room like a kid on a candy rush. Even though he was only 13, it had been his dream to be a SeeD since the day that he had seen them in his little village. SeeDs Kieran Heartilly, his sister Rayna, and a Irvine Kinneas had visited his village about three years ago due to a bandit problem and the moment he had seen the trio in action he knew that's what he wanted. He wanted to become a SeeD to help those in need as well and had since then worked and studied to finally make it here to take the entrance exam. There was a Quistis Trepe that had passed all the classes at the age of 15 and though he only had two years, Lucas was going to try his hardest to try and best that.
"Hey kid, watch out!" Lucas was pulled out of his thoughts by a hand on his shoulder pulling him back. He only had a few seconds to realize that he had almost been hit by another kid running around the pathway.
"Ah, sorry!" Lucas grinned scratching the back of his head. "I got lost in my thoughts."
"It's all right. I do it all the time!" The man that had saved him had spiky blonde hair and a huge grin with a tribal tattoo on his face and bright eyes. "You gotta be careful around here. Some of these guys don't understand it."
"Ok."
"You, you're one of the new recruits, huh?" The man asked, giving him a small punch in the arm.
"Yeah. I just got my dorm key and everything!"
"Need some help finding your room? I got some time to kill before the party so I don't mind."
Lucas felt like he was going to explode. "Of course! That would be awesome! What party are you going to?"
"Oh, well it's the 25th anniversary of my brother-in-law and his wife. Me and a few others are taking them out for a few drinks on the city."
"Well, I hope you have fun!" Lucas grinned. He couldn't wait to make a few friends of his own.
"Yeah, I plan on it. It's been a while since ole Kieran and I punched a few out."
"K-Kieran!?" Lucas repeated him. "You don't mean Kieran Heartilly, do you?"
"Uh, yeah. I see you've heard of him." He grinned.
"Og course! And if you're married to his sister Rayna then that means…" He searched his brain. He had done research all over Kieran and his sister when they came to his village. When he had learned that they were a part of the group that had defeated the Sorceress all those years ago he had to look all of them. "You're Zell!"
"That's right. Zell Dincht, at your service!" The man grinned as they came to a stop at the dorm room. "Well, here's your stop. Room 153. Ahh, I know who you're stuck with." He chuckled. "Don't feel bad if Almasy here gives you any problems. He takes after his father more than he does his mother."
Lucas gave a grin, recognizing that last name as well. "Thanks, Mr. Dincht. I appreciate the help but, before you go…" He began. "Could I ask another favor?"
"Sure. What is it?"
"The man told me that I was to be placed in Mrs. Leonhart's class. Is she related to the Squall Leonhart that was on your team all those years ago?"
Zell continued to grin. "You're a smart little kid, aren't you? You're right. She used to go by Sirea, but she took on Squall's last name when they got married. Lucia was there with us during the fights too."
"Do you think, before you head off to your party, you could take me to meet her? I would like to introduce myself to my teacher!"
Zell crossed his arms, thinking for a moment. "I guess that's not a problem. As long as we're quick about it, though. I don't want to hear any crap from Kieran."
Lucas nodded his head excitedly. He had chosen to come to Balamb Garden because this was where most of the SeeDs that fought the Sorceress had come from, next to Alena Mythal and Irvine Kinneas, but to think that he had met one of the in the first ten minutes on being accepted,, let alone about to go and meet more of them! He knew his face was going to be sore from smiling all day.
"Hey, Lucia! I got a friend here for ya!" Zell called as the exited the dormitories.
Lucas looked ahead of them. A pair was standing there in front of the path to the Training Grounds, talking about something that seemed funny. One was a man with brown hair and a scar on his face but despite the scar, the smile on his face made him seem friendly.
The other was a woman; a beautiful woman with long light brown hair and a pair of sea-green eyes.
"Zell, you're early for the party," The woman grinned.
"Yeah, well I was going to go hang out in the cafeteria but this guy here caught my. He asked to come meet his new teacher."
"So, you're in Lucia's class, huh?" The scared man grinned. "Good luck with that."
Lucia gave a grin before punching the man in the stomach. "Ignore Squall, dear," Lucas chuckled. "It's nice to meet you. You're young too, which means you worked really hard to get here, right? I'm impressed!"
"R-really?" Lucas felt himself flushing. "I'm glad to hear that, but…"
"But what?"
"I'm never going to be as impressive as you guys. You're the SeeDs that took down the Sorceress!"
Lucia gave a small smile. "What's your name?"
"Ah, Lucas, ma'am. Lucas Warbec." At the name, he saw something flash across Lucia's face but it was gone in seconds.
"Lucas, huh? That's a nice name. I knew a man named Lucas once. He was an important figure in my life soon after finishing the SeeD program here at Balamb. He was impressive, and I'm sure that you'll be just as impressive as he was."
"Will you really?" Lucas asked her, suspicion on his face.
"Don't worry, Lucas" She ruffled his hair. "I'll take care of you."
"We all got your back, kid," Zell grinned.
"You'll be safe here," Squall told him, giving his wife a look.
~After all,~ Lucia smiled as she stared at the young boy talking to Squall. ~A promise is a promise.~
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