The day before the final Slythe slept read his favorite magazine Gunblade Specialist for a while but kept getting distracted by the one question. What did BlackSwitch want with Balamb Garden? He kept pondering on the question. He finally decided that he would gain the courage and ask Headmaster Cid. Maybe he could convince Pyo. It turned out that Pyo had the same idea so they both took the elevator to the third floor. They walked into the Headmaster's office and saw him talking to two men. Judging by the long scar on one of the men he figured he was Squall Leonhart and the other man must be Zell Dincht because of the black tattoo running down his face. Wow! Two Sorceress War heroes at Balamb Garden!
As they moved closer the headmaster spotted them and called out to them.
"Hello Slythe, Pyo, thank you for stopping by. I'd like you to meet Mr. Squall Leonhart and Mr. Zell Dincht. They are the Headmasters of Timber Garden and Dollet Garden. I suppose you are here to figure out what BlackSwitch wants with Balamb Garden."
Wow, how'd you know?" inquired Pyo.
"I know my students, well I will tell you the reason why but do not go spreading it around or you might cause havoc. The information will be put out in an assembly tonight. Now I will answer your question. Many years ago a sorceress named Flemingale created six gems known as the "Energy Gems" because if brought together on a magic board they can cause an energy blast strong enough to blow up a whole mountain. Balamb Garden owns three of these gems. They were given to my wife Edea when she became a sorceress. BlackSwitch owns the other three gems and so is the magic board. The gems cannot be destroyed so I am giving one to each of the three gardens. That way it will be harder for BlackSwitch to get all three of the gems. For now the gardens will stay together in case a battle breaks out. Schedules will stay the same till further notice though."
"Wow, sounds like we have a serious problem," said Slythe as they walked out.
"Yah, oh well, we still have the written test tomorrow."
The two boys headed back to their dorm where they discussed the issue. At dinner the news was told and a light panic and excitement swept through the Garden. The next day was written test day so that also swept a bit of excitement through the garden as well. That night almost every light in the dormitory was on.
The next morning Slythe and Pyo were both up early and got ready. The test would be on a computer and they had two and a half hours to complete it. Both boys headed into the test taking room where many students were waiting. The students had ten minutes to relax or review their facts. After ten minutes the students' screens flashed on and the test began. Slythe finished his test in two hours so he walked outside the room and waited for Pyo. Pyo finished shortly afterwards and they both headed down the stairs to wait for their scores to be announced. Only the top eight scores were allowed to move on to the field exam. Headmaster Cid walked in and a great silence hung over the crowd. Headmaster Cid then began to announce the top scorers.
"Drudge Andrews, Yurma Hun, Helman Philips, Writh Row, Newman Grant, Rikku Takashiri, Pyo Sasaki, and our top scorer is Slythe Leonhart!"
Slythe and Pyo were extremely happy they passed but they were also sad their friends Dozma and Grath did not. Slythe and Pyo said goodbye to them and then they went to the small meeting between the eight qualifiers. Slythe hugged Rikku and together they walked into the meeting room. It turned out that the field exam mission had to be canceled because of the week's events. Instead the students would have to show their piloting skills by flying a ship called the Ranguroks, which were Esther ships from the Sorceress Wars. They were the only battle ships the three gardens had and they each owned one. They would now take the field exam. The task would be to fly a Rangurok in a simulation and try to shoot down electric disks that were flying around and shoot them down. If a disk hit you, you would lose power and if you lost all your power the simulation would be over and you would fail. The percent of energy you had left would be your score. Only four people could pass.
Rikku, Pyo and Slythe were on one team and they loaded onto their simulation ship, which was a miniature version of a real Rangurok. Slythe piloted while Pyo took control of the guns and Rikku took control of the engine dash. Slythe flew into the disk field and began to doge discs while Pyo blew them up. At one point a disk nearly hit Slythe's engine but Rikku put the thrusters on and the disc burned to ashes. When the simulation was over they had only been hit by one disc giving them a 97%. After everyone had completed the qualifiers were announced. Slythe, Pyo and Rikku were three of the qualifiers. They were now SeeDs! There would be an inauguration dance tonight. They headed to their new dorms witch were separate and much more spacious. They also found that their stuff had already been moved. Slythe and friends took a short rest and then changed for the dance. As they headed to the Quad the alarm sounded.
They rushed to the Bridge of the garden where Nida and Headmaster Cid were looking worried. Eighteen BlackSwitch battle planes were heading towards the garden. Timber and Dollet Gardens had already dispatched their SeeD and their Ranguroks. All of Balamb Garden's SeeDs were called onto the bridge. They were told to board the garden's ship and destroy the enemy planes. The SeeDs quickly went to the basement of the garden and boarded the Rangurok. Slythe sat in the pilot seat and flew the ship out of the garage. Pyo and some others took to the weapons while the rest worked on engine stability and defense mechanisms. The SeeDs heard a loud roar and turned to see a missile flying towards Balamb Garden.