Galen sat down on one of the benches in the Quad and allowed himself a moment to rest. Even at the young age of twelve, the life of a SeeD cadet granted little in the way of free time. On this particular day, he didn't have a break as such. However, Instructor Dincht announced that he'd give an impromptu lecture in the Quad, on fighting an armed assailant barehanded, and, owing to Zell's popularity, a number of Instructors consented to release their students into his charge for the afternoon.

So he sat, waiting and watching the assembling crowd, when he heard a menacing voice from behind him.

"Well… what have we here?" Galen whirled around to find Instructor Petrosian towering over him. Petrosian stood nearly two meters tall, had jet-black hair, and one thick eyebrow that joined in the center of his forehead. In his hands, the Instructor held Galen's two-bladed sword.

"All cadets, fall in!" Petrosian barked, and everyone scrambled to comply. After the cadets hastily assembled before him, he eyed them for a moment. As the only student currently not holding a weapon, Galen felt very out of place.

"Can anyone tell me whose weapon this is?" Petrosian asked, holding out the sword.

"It belongs to me, sir." Galen said, stepping forward.

"That can't be right," the Instructor replied, turning the sword over and examining it closely. "Because it certainly wasn't within arm's reach, was it, cadet?"

"No sir," Galen said, bowing his head slightly in shame.

"You'll look at me when I'm addressing you, cadet," Petrosian yelled, stepping closer to Galen. "I'll tell you when you can look away. Now, what's the rule on placement of weapons?"

"If your weapon is drawn, it must remain within arm's reach," all the cadets answered in unison.

"That's right, cadets," Petrosian said, "but I think it's time to teach you all a lesson. Place your weapons at two arm's distances. When I give the signal, go for your weapons. I'll be moving down the line. First cadet to deliver a hit on me with their weapon wins."

The cadets did as Petrosian instructed. He took a step back from Galen, and looked the young man right in the eye.

"Go!" he bellowed.

Instantly, all the cadets dove for their weapons. Petrosian's arm lashed out and smashed Galen in the stomach, doubling the boy over in pain. Continuing his motion, he whirled around and struck the next cadet in the nose. He continued down the line, pummeling one cadet after another, until the eighth student in line managed to protect himself with his quarterstaff.

"Good." Petrosian said. "Have you all learned your lesson?"

"Yes, sir!" the cadets responded, some of them through blood-filled mouths.

"You know, kids," he sneered, "I'm just not convinced. Same drill."

Once again, the students placed their weapons out of reach. Petrosian started at the other end of the line, attacking each cadet with brutal force. The second time, he only made it as far as the sixth student before he stopped.

"Again!" he screamed. This time, he began in the middle of the line. He repeated this drill until the cadets were little more than a bloodstained mass. As he worked his way down the line again, a voice cut through the crowd.

"Petrosian: stop!"

He halted in the middle of his attack, and turned to face the interloper. The cadets, all fearing the Instructor's wrath, stood at rigid attention, not even facing the newcomer.

"Dincht," Petrosian snarled. "Is there something you want, or may I resume my lesson?"

"This isn't a lesson. You're just beating them up." Zell and Selphie stood on the stairs, taking in the scene. Her face registered deep concern for the students, but Zell locked his gaze on Petrosian, anger visible in his eyes.

"I'm proving a point, Dincht," Petrosian said, speaking slowly, "a point about leaving their weapons too far away."

"What you're proving is that you're a sadistic asshole who gets his jollies by picking on junior cadets because he can't find a date on Saturday night."

Some of the cadets snickered at this, despite trying to contain their laughter. Petrosian immediately reddened at this humiliation. He reached behind him and pulled a pair of butterfly knives from their sheaths. As he twirled them, he hissed at Zell. "You'd better hope Dr. Kadowaki knows a good plastic surgeon, runt, because I'm going to ruin that pretty face of yours."

Petrosian towered over Zell, standing nearly a foot taller than the blond man did. Zell smiled and turned to Selphie. He carefully unzipped his jacket and handed it to her, exposing his well-defined muscles and the intricate network of tattoos lining his back. Bare-chested now, he bounced on the balls of his feet a few times and punched the air experimentally.

Turning back to Petrosian, he grinned, taking up his fighting stance. "Ready when you are."

The two men circled each other, Petrosian deadly serious, Zell with a perpetual grin on his face. When the larger man lunged forward, Zell grabbed his arm, smashing his fist directly into the Instructor's nose. Using Petrosian's momentum against him, Zell pulled his assailant forward, spinning around once the man cleared him and punching the Instructor firmly in his right kidney. Petrosian crumpled to the ground.

By this point, the students had gathered into a circle, all spectators eager to see their tormentor receive his punishment. Selphie stood to one side, ready to intervene if she felt the situation escalated beyond Zell's control.

Zell walked over to where Petrosian lay on the ground, and extended a hand to the fallen man, graciously offering to help him up. Petrosian reached for the hand, seeming to accept the offer, but instead brought one of his knives around, slicing Zell's palm open. The assembled crowd reacted with surprise - fights at Garden took place on occasion, but the unspoken prohibition against deliberately wounding your partner occupied a nearly sacred position among the students. Petrosian had crossed the line, and he knew it. His eyes burned with a wild fire. As Zell observed the mania on the other man's face, his smile just widened.

Zell brought his wounded hand behind him, tucked it into the small of his back, and resumed his fighting stance. Petrosian struck again, and Zell neatly sidestepped the blow, moving closer to his attacker. He kneed Petrosian in the groin, doubling the man over and causing him to drop one of his knives. Zell followed up with a roundhouse to the stomach and a high kick to the face that probably broke Petrosian's jaw. This sent Petrosian sprawling to the ground. Zell closed with him and Petrosian, from his prone position, made one last effort to slash at Zell. He kicked the knife out of Petrosian's grasp and brought his foot down on the Instructor's hand. The audible crunch, combined with Petrosian's strangled scream, testified to his now-broken hand.

Without removing his foot from Petrosian's hand, Zell placed his other foot onto Petrosian's throat.

"Who can tell me what I'm about to do?" Zell asked the assembled students.

"You're about to stomp on his throat!" one exclaimed.

"Why?"

"To make his trachea expand so he won't be able to breathe," chimed in another.

"Right. And why did I break his hand?"

"Because he deserved it!" The students laughed aloud at this answer. Petrosian started struggling again, causing Zell to grind his foot down on the already broken hand.

"Why else?" he asked, "Which of the principles of combat am I illustrating?"

"Number 14: if an opponent has a material advantage, use whatever means are necessary to equalize the fight."

"That's the one," Zell said, nodding. "Now, if Instructor Petrosian here promises to behave, maybe I won't kill him. Whaddya say, Petro?"

At this point, the combined pain from his broken hand and jaw took the fight out of Petrosian. He nodded and Zell allowed him to stand up, not extending a hand to him this time. Petrosian had to use both hands to push himself off the ground, and he screamed at the pain.

"Okay, everyone," called Zell, looking at the bloodied but grinning cadets, "I think that's enough for today. Now, if my lovely assistant," here he indicated Selphie, who performed a small curtsey, "would be so kind as to escort you all to the infirmary, Dr. Kadowaki will see to your wounds while I pursue the necessary disciplinary measures."

"Instructor Dincht?" one student asked. "What about Instructor Petrosian? He's wounded too."

Zell grinned back at the student. "I'm sure he knows where the Infirmary is. Perhaps Dr. Kadowaki can recommend a good plastic surgeon."


"We're here to discuss is this business with Instructors Petrosian and Dincht. Xu, can you provide us with a brief overview of the situation?" For once, Headmaster Cid spoke quickly and concisely.

Xu stood up and scanned the meeting room. Squall, Cid, Dr. Kadowaki, and several other staff members had gathered to address the incident. News of the fight spread rapidly, and, true to his word, Zell submitted a claim seeking disciplinary action against Petrosian. Xu punched a few buttons on her handlink, bringing up the profiles of the men on the panels in front of each person. She gave a quick synopsis of the incident and sat back down.

"Thank you, Xu. Is that what you believe happened?"

"It is," she replied. "I spoke to both Selphie and Zell, and their narratives match."

"And Petrosian? What does he have to say?"

"Well, Headmaster," Dr. Kadowaki said, chiming in for Xu, "he's not really in a position to say much of anything. We had to wire his jaw shut, and even with curative magic, it'll take a while before he can speak."

"From what we were able to discern, though" Xu said, "he was harmlessly teaching the students in the Quad when Zell came in looking a fight."

"I treated those students," Kadowaki said. "He wasn't teaching them. It's a good thing Zell stepped in when he did."

"I see," said the Headmaster. "Dr. Kadowaki, what's your assessment of Petrosian, psychologically? Can he continue as an Instructor?"

"He's gone off the deep end. He's always been hungry for violence, but it seems to have escalated recently. Additionally, I think he's showing signs of borderline personality disorder. He's only going to get worse from here on in. To let him continue to work with the students would be courting disaster, especially after today."

Cid nodded. "Squall?"

Squall sat with his gloved hands linked in front of him. He detested these meetings, and more than once thought of resigning his command in order to escape them. "He's due for retirement," Squall said, voicing the inevitable.

"You're certain about this?"

"His mission history shows a continual deterioration in his skills. As of today, he's rendered himself unfit for duty. I have no further use for him."

"Does anyone see a reason to dispute Commander Leonhart's decision?" Cid asked, looking around the room. No one raised a hand. "It's settled, then. Xu, send word along that Instructor Petrosian is to be retired. Don't bother trying to conceal it - he'll make a fine example."

Xu nodded, punching the order into her handlink.

"Next item of business," Cid began, "with the retirement of Petrosian, we need a new Instructor. Suggestions, anyone?"

"How about Selphie?" said Kadowaki. "She did a great job with the students in the infirmary today, and it's obvious they all love her."

"The other day, she mentioned that she'd been thinking of testing for an Instructor's license. This works out perfectly," added Xu.

"Opposed?" Cid asked. Again, no one moved. "Excellent. Inform Selphie, and schedule her to take an exam. Finally," Cid took a deep breath here, and everyone knew the issue he intended to touch upon, "there's the question of what to do with Seifer. Squall, where do we currently stand?"

"The Ragnarok is en route to Esthar to pick him up. He'll be here by the end of the day."

"Good. Well, everyone, let me tell you what I'm thinking. I think we need to deal with him in a Tribunal."

Time seemed to stop. A Tribunal constituted SeeD's most extensive disciplinary measure, a trial conducted in the presence of everyone at Garden. It required the complete cessation of all Garden's other activities.

"We won't be able to begin a Tribunal for another two weeks," Xu said. "We still have contracts we need to close out."

"I know," Cid replied. "This is necessary. We have to show that SeeD will not tolerate betrayal. Does anyone disagree with my assessment?"

Once again, no one spoke against Cid.

"Good. We're done here."

And with that, Cid dismissed them.