The Beginning

Episode 1

It all started when I was 19, when I was still young and trying to find out something about myself. My name is Zack Lionheart, and I am a class GA SeeD student in Balamb Garden. Yeah sure it's tough being in an elite class when you're only a junior, but the fighting is a lot of fun (for me anyways.) Our job as a SeeD is to eliminate all opponents who will attack human civilization and go after the sorceress. I was tired, lost, bewildered, and alone in this world full of war and terror. I hated this but I was born and taught in this world to kill. That's until I meet this girl who changed my life and taught me there are more things to do besides fighting.

It was March 23, 2005 and I was in my small house just getting ready for school, which usually starts at 7 am. I was a morning kind of guy and all was going well. But the big exam was today, and passing it would either let me become a SA SeeD or fail and start all over again. I've been in the Balamb Garden for about twelve years, ever since my younger brother Eric and I had lost or parents during to Nivida War. Our dad was killed in action and our mom was missing. We never heard from them ever since, and from then one, my brother and me have been living in the Balamb Garden. We have been learning the basics like math and English, but there are also weapon training, magic class, and training. It is definitely a workout. So, I finished dressing myself up and got into my Dodge Viper RT-10. It's a sweet car you know. Then I drove to the Garden, which is only about, oh uh...a five-minute drive, I think. A short drive will be a long day.

The exam had something to do with the Nivida War that has been going on for five years, beginning in the space colony of Nivida. All the people there are rebelling against the government back here on Reach. Our mission since SeeDs are mercenaries, who will do anything for Reach, was to infiltrate the communication tower on Nivida. A simple job for a small planet like Earth. However, it was only Eric, me, and three other people in the mission, which wasn't much against 50,000 angry and dedicated soldiers. We needed that communication tower since it can released plans for Nivida that none of the intelligence back on Reach could translate, so this capture would let us hear everything and stop the destruction of Nivida. All our weapons to prepare were a long sword (Eric's), two PP7 pistols, a MK34 assault rifle, and my very own Revolver (a gunblade). My gunblade was a weapon that I found one day when I was kinda younger, so I treasured it and mastered this difficult weapon all by myself (Gunblade is one of the hardest weapons to master in the Universe, from what I heard!) All of us got into the streamline ship and soon had a briefing about the darn mission to Nivida. It was so simple, eliminate hostile enemies and secure the communication tower. It will be a piece of cake. Everyone here was about level 50, and we had perfect weapons to combat our enemies. We are SeeDs, and we never failed any missions yet.

I heard the ship crash land about an hour later. "What the hell happened?" demanded the lieutenant. I got up to the deck only to find us on the battlefield beach. Some jets flew over us and we all got out. "GO!" yelled the captain; "The core is paying us by the hour!" I got out with Eric and the rest of the SeeDs following. Bullets went whizzing passed us like super flies. Damn it! The communication was on top of that mountain, which should be 7 miles away. "A damn long walk." one of my SeeDs said. "Shut up and get behind me." I yelled back, but the sirens of ambulance rescuing injured soldiers drowned it out. We ran towards that mountain and found a pathway that led up to the communication tower. I looked up to only see enemy soldiers shooting at some of our jets. They were busy. Perfect! I ran up to one guy and slashed him almost in half. He screamed in agony as he fell off the cliff. "Bastard," whispered Eric. Then he ran by five men with his long sword sticking out, and they all held their sides and toppled over. "Damn..." said one of the SeeDs in astonishment. We were in a trouble situation though. We were finally noticed. All the enemies simultaneously changed their attention towards us and raining bullets on us. All of us dove for cover. "Now what?" yelled Eric. None of us could outlast bullets. Wait! Magic! I just learned these yesterday, but it's worth a shot. I stuck my hand out and focused my energy towards the enemies. All of a sudden, they all caught on fire! They screamed and ran all over the place. "Nice..." complimented a SeeD. "Whatever," was my answer. We all ran past the charcoaled men and headed for the tower, which was getting bigger by the second.

On our way there we met some of our soldiers who were injured. "Don't go up there!" he said, "There are monsters all over the place!" What! Suddenly a gigantic snake about the size of three men sneaked up behind him and pulled him into it's hiding spot. No, I wasn't going to let this thing get away with one of our people. I ran forward and pulled out my Revolver. With rage and anguish, I slashed the demon to a bloody pulp. Nothing you could tell was really a snake. "Thanks son," said the soldier who was almost dinner. "You're welcome." I said and left him for evac. We headed for the tower and now it was closer then we expected. "Man, that tower is darn huge!" exclaimed a SeeD. Man, it is huge! I look up only to see the antenna that was a large as a large passenger airplane. "God! It's humungous!" said Eric. "Damn right it is, and that's why we gotta get it!" I said. I ran ahead to see what was there. Darn, two guards guarding the entrance and one sniper on the fifth floor, not counting the ones inside. "Guys, I need you" I pointed at the SeeD with PP7s, "Sniper out that sniper." He nodded and ran to his position that he was trained to do. "Eric, I need you to take out those two guards with your sword." I barked. He ran and got into place. "And as for you two, cover me." I ordered the remaining two SeeDs. I saw the sniper fall from his window and the two guards on the floor dying in agony. I kicked one of them and told him to shut up. Then I sprinted into the tower only to find myself in front of two Nivida soldiers. "Hey!" they barked. I smirked and pulled out my Revolver. Before the two men could reach for their weapons, I cut them into two. Easy enough... Huh? More men are coming down the stairs? Damn it! I called out for more support. Eric and another guy came in ready to infiltrate the tower, but these men weren't gonna give up without a fight. "How much are they paying them?" asked Eric. "Don't know and don't care." I answered as I pounced on one of them and slaughtered him. Eric did the same while the other SeeD sprayed bullets into the Nivida soldiers. Those blue suited soldiers crumbled before us. "Thanks," I sighed. There was an elevator straight ahead. "Where does that lead to?" asked Eric stupidly. "I don't care," I said coldly, "As long as it lets us reach the top and secure the area." I looked at Eric. "Eric, you're coming with me," then I turned to the other SeeD, "Go around and make sure no one else gets inside." I ran toward the elevator with Flake following me and I pushed the up button. All of a sudden, the elevator shook and flew up to the top. Huh? Soldiers everywhere! Crap! Eric and I started sneaking but it couldn't hide us forever. "Eric, are you ready to kill them all?" I whispered. "Yeah." was his response. We got out of our sneaking spots and attacked the nearest soldiers. They shrieked as they died. The other soldiers were confused about what was going on. The next nine fell before us before the others finally knew what was going on. They turned and started firing at us. Eric and I dodged the oncoming bullets and rushed forwards towards the enemies. "DIE!" screamed Eric (which I find strange.) What the? Eric tore through almost all the men except their captain and his lieutenant. "Damn it," yelled the Captain, "You killed my men!" "Who cares," I answered in response. The captain in red had robotic arms, which were each equipped with MK83 machine guns. The lieutenant just looked like the other Nivida soldiers. They were scared though. Eric laughed in triumph and just went over to the captain and threw him off the tower (stupid idiot...) The lieutenant was freaking out now. He ran downstairs hoping to get away, but was met by one of my men. I took out my walkie-talkie and called for evac. "Mission accomplished sir." I said in a stern voice. "Good job Zack." it was Headmaster Cid! From nowhere, a pelican ship came in and hovered right in front of us. Eric and I got in with the other three SeeDs and together, we got out of the darn place.

The next day was a big day. Either being promoted or staying back were my only options. I laid in bed for a while, but I couldn't stand the wait. I got out and went to the Garden. Finally I got there within ten minutes before class, enough time to meet Headmaster Cid. I got into the elevator and went to the fourth floor. The I walked through the scarlet red, large door. There at his desk was Headmaster Cid.

"Hello Zack."

"Hello sir."

"You came to ask me something?"

"Yeah, will we know who goes on?"

"Ah, yes, you will during the finally class."

"Thank you sir."

I bowed and walked away. Darn it, I was so nervous. I didn't know how I did on that big exam.

Later, all of the SeeDs were standing in the Hallway, waiting for the announcements. Finally the bell rang and the beep sounded like a warning. "Excuse me, all SeeDs!" announced Headmaster Cid, "Here are the people who passed a 90 and up."

"Carl Bernier."

"Samantha Goody."

"Tommy Keiks."

"Eric Lionheart." Damn it.

"Emily Banks."

"Rachel Viola."

"Henry Foria."

"And Zack Lionheart."

Everyone cheered and applauded for us. We knew that we would go on and soon become Elites.

"Oh, and tonight we are having a party in the Quad, so everyone dress in you uniforms or formal clothes, see you all then." ended Headmaster Cid.

A party! Weird, Headmaster never held a party in the Garden every since the first time it began in 1989. Now everyone was going around looking for dates or friends to go along with. Darn it. Everyone is taken. Oh well, just getting ready for the party is all I can about worry now.

It was 8 pm and everyone had just arrived to the stinking party. I was walking around the place, bored and all. The only fun thing to watch was watching the people dance with their dates. The waitress came over and offered me a lemonade drink. "Whatever, I'll take one." I said. I took a sip, and it actually wasn't that bad or too sour. Eric ran over and asked, "Hey, where's your date?" Gee, you don't know? "I don't have one." I told him. "Oh, ok," he said, "I'll be with my friends and eat some great hot dogs." Whatever. This was so boring... I hate dances since I can't dance and there is no one to dance with at all anyways. Why did I have to come anyways? I don't really like my uniform anyways (too many anyways.)

For a long time, I was staring at the stars (wish I could get out of here) in the window ceiling. What a nice night... Then a shooting star whizzed past like a speeding bullet. I finally looked down after the falling star. Huh? All of a sudden, all the lights were facing this hot girl with black hair (with a little brown strips on the bangs) in a white short dress. She was quite pale too. What the? She looked at me and pointed up. What the heck is that suppose to mean? I just shrugged, letting her know that I wasn't interested. She rolled her eyes as if I didn't get the message (of course). Finally, she walked over. "Hi there!" she said (such a beautiful, soft, lovely voice.) "What do you want?" I asked her quite rudely. I wasn't in the mood to dance. "You're the handsomest guy here." she smiled. I shrugged. "Was that suppose to be a compliment?" I asked in a curious voice. She shook her head. "Come on, let's dance!" What? I chuckled. "What's so funny?" she sounded serious now. I looked into her eyes. "I can't dance." Hopefully, she'll understand. "Oh?" she looked at me a little closely, "Fine, I'll help you." Huh? All of a sudden, she dragged me out of my spot, towards the center of the dance floor. She put my right hand around her waist and she put her hand on my shoulder. Her touch was so fragile. What the heck am I doing with her? She pulled my left hand out and started moving. I tried to keep up, but my feet and legs wouldn't listen to my brain sending commands. I accidentally stepped on her foot! Shoot! "Sor..." I was about to say, but she just continued and smiled. I was definitely not that graceful if you were watching. I started moving again, but this time, I bumped into another couple. They looked at us, expecting an apology. But this girl, she only poked out her tongue at them. Whoa! That was a new thing that I've seen. She finally turned and looked at me. Those dark brown eyes were trying to say something about my dance. Slowly but surely, I was dancing. My body moved along with the music and kept up with her. We were dancing simultaneously. It was great, I moved along with her. It felt like I actually danced before (even though I never had.) Actually, I liked dancing (a bit.) Her motions were like the wind and her hair was swaying like water. Finally the music faded with the fireworks, which just came. Headmaster Cid really put up a show! Huh? She let go of me and left. Of course she waved before she went, but she was to only person I ever danced with! All I could do was only watch her go...

Later, I went to the balcony to look for her, but she must of left. Man...

"That was great dancing coming from a person who never danced before."

I turned around, only to find one of my teachers, Leo Lead.

"Yeah..."

"That was really a pretty girl you know."

"So what..."

"Well, do you know her?"

"Nope."

"Well, you are a lucky man, Zack."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you danced with the young, hot princess."

"You're kidding right?" What the hell was he talking about?

"You'd think I am kidding about girls?"

"You never did..."

"Yup, well, do you know her?"

"I don't really know." I think I've seen the face before though.

"Ha, she is Nicole Heartilly."

"What!" I never knew that the princess would be inside this Garden.

"You heard right my man." he smiled.

"But, what the heck is she doing here?"

"Uh, she's a new student!"

What the heck! A new student? Here? What?

Leo could tell that I was confused, so he tried to explain that Nicole was actually (and really) coming over, and I was suppose to help her. My new mission? God, why did this have to happen so fast already!

The next day, I was standing against the doorway in front of the Garden, waiting for Nicole. Man, it's going to be a busy day. As other students came in, the bell rang out loud. Darn it, Nicole, you'd better hurry up or you'll miss the SeeDs. Ten minutes later, I was getting fed up that she wasn't coming. "Zack, you'd better get inside, classes just started." It was my brother Eric. "Yeah..." I was disappointed that Nicole didn't come at all. I began to turn around, but then I heard a familiar female voice. "Wait up!" It was a nice voice too. I turned to find this girl in some blue dress, except it wasn't an ordinary dress at all.

"Are you Nicole?" I asked.

"Yup, and are you the guy I danced with last night?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess."
"Cool, so could you show me around?"

"But, we have classes going on!"

"No matter, just show me some of the cool places."

"Ok then."

First things first, I had to show her since it was my mission. First was the dormitory (Wow, really tidy,), which no one ever uses. Second, the training center (Is this your idea of introducing me to the Garden?) where monsters roam around freely and if you aren't careful, you could get killed here. Third, there was the parking lot (That looks nice,) that had a lot of cars. Fourth was the Library (Cool!), which holds about 2,400 books. As soon as I got into the library and introduced it, Nicole just ran in there and looked all over the place for books (a book worm huh...) "Um, Nicole, we better get going." I said. "Oh, but can I come here anytime later?" she asked. "Fine, but let us keep moving."

Fifth was the infirmary (Whoa! Who's the doctor?) where Dr. T works, I can't pronounce her name... Sixth was the Quad (Isn't that where we danced?) where most of the parties take place. Finally, there is the Cafeteria (What do they have here?), which my brother likes eating hot dogs.

"Any questions?" I finally asked.

"Uh, didn't you listen?"

"Nope."

"Never mind." she rolled her eyes.

"Now, what classes do you have?"

"Oh! Here." she handed me a dark yellow-brownish color paper, which is the new student's schedule.

"Hmm, well, you got you first class upstairs."

"Well, thank you." and she gave me a little kiss on the cheek and ran off. How nice...Yuck!

Ever since yesterday, I could never stop thinking about Nicole. She's good looking and all, but she is also smart (from what I can tell.) On the first day, she got all A's (What my brother said), and she was very interactive. The next day, everyone was talking about the new girl. Guys were saying how hot she looked, and the girls were talking about her and how great she is. Soon, Nicole had many friends, but I hope it didn't include me. She isn't my type anyways... Then one of Eric's friends, named Mike, came up to me and asked, "Did you really dance with that girl?" He pointed at Nicole.

"Yeah, and..."

"You lucky bastard."

"Why, it was only one dance."
"Well, there are rumors that she likes you, but she is too shy to say it." he laughed.

"What!?!"

"Yeah, but it's only a rumor."

"Get out of my face then." I turned away and headed home quickly.

What a day, people spreading rumors and... Huh? Rumbling? I looked outside my crystal clear window only to find a small construction in the vacant lot that was abandoned twenty years ago. Couldn't they be any quieter? I doubt it. All of a sudden, an ear-piercing ring came throughout my large living room. My doorbell! I got up from the sofa and ran towards the door. As I opened it, a medium size brown head poked through below me. Huh? What is that? Finally, I opened the door and there she was, the happy-go-lucky girl...

"Hi again." she said after my long stare.

"Huh? Oh, it's you..." I tried to sound not surprised.

"Aren't you happy to see me?"

"Not really."

"Oh, come on."

"Ok, I'm happy to see you."

"Gee, thanks."

"What was that brown head sticking in my door?"

"Oh, that was my dog, Angelo."

"Cool..." I wasn't interested.

"So, can I come in?"

"Sure, as long as your dog doesn't cause any trouble."

"Don't worry about it." she smiled. I better hope not.

As soon as she came in, her dog (surprising to me,) didn't run around. It actually walked side by side with her. "You trained your dog?" I asked aloud. "Yup, all by myself." she skipped right into my kitchen. "Nice place you have here." she finally complimented, "Is it really yours?" "Yeah, it is mine..." I replied. "Cool, you know what?" she asked.

"What?"

"I'm moving in next door," she laughed.

"Right, so what?"

"Well since it won't be done for seven months."

"Yeah and..."

"I was wondering since I know you quite a bit..."

"And..." I urged her to answer.

"Um... Can I stay in your house for a while?" she finally asked.

"Huh? No way."

"Oh come on."

"No."

"It will only be four months."

"Too long for me to baby-sit you."

"Please!"

"Nope."

"Meanie." she said and turned her back towards me crossing her arms.

"Good acting." I laughed.

"Oh, shut up."

But she never left; instead she only stood there (I bet to get my attention.) I just ignored her and went into the kitchen to make myself snack. When I came back, she was sitting there on the floor. "Would you mind?" I told her. She wouldn't budge though. I sighed, "Please go home, I have no time for you." Then she put her head down. What now... I went over a sat right next to her. I gestured if she wanted some Cheetos. But, she never looked up. "Are you ok? I asked. She shook her head. "Well, what do you want?" She didn't answer, but I heard some sobbing. It wasn't something I wanted to hear. "Do you want to live here?" I asked politely. She nodded a bit. "Fine, but only for three months." She looked up at me with happy yet wet eyes and grinned. "Don't get use to it though." I warned her. She smiled and gave me a big tight hug. Even her dog, start licking my face! "Ok guys, stop it." I cried. Too much for me. I hate being mushy and all. We both laughed and eventually two hours later, Nicole finally brought in her stuff. Huh? "What's this?" I asked. It was a circular sharp object with a weird launcher. "Oh, that's my Blaster Edge." she smiled. Huh? "What does it do?" "What do you think?" she asked, "It hurts enemies!" (Well, no duh...) A weird weapon. "How does it work then?" "Fine, I'll show you," she put it onto her left arm and fired it into the air. Amazingly, it returned to her like a boomerang. "Cool," I complimented. "Thanks, it's a weapon I found." she explained. After the demonstration, we put all of her stuff into the vacant room next to mine. We both sat down in her new room and started chatting about our lives. She was a princess who didn't like being known as princess as much.

"So, why retreat from it?" I asked.

"Well, I don't really like it and I am sort of like being a tomboy." she answered

"But you're not."

She laughed, "Why? You think I act different?"

"Yeah, a bit."

"Well, I don't like it that way."

"Why?"

"I kind of look up to my brother, and he's an okay guy."

"Who is he?"
"He's Tiny, my only older brother."

"Anyone else?"

"Nope, just my parents, Tiny, and me."

"That's nice."

"What about you?"

"Um, my brother Eric and I are the only ones left."
"What about your parents?"

"Dad's dead in the Nivida War, and mom is missing for twenty years."

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

"No problem, I had to tell someone."

"How old are you then?"

"19, you?"

"I'm 16 now, so weird moving here though."

"Who are you moving with?"
"My brother."

"Oh, you have so much potential, why go to the Garden?"

"I don't really like being at regular schools, and I like being different." she smiled.

"Ok then, we better get back to work." She still had twenty more bags to go. Man, this will be a long day.

Weeks have past and I was getting use to the new color of my place. It use to be regular white and red, but Nicole changed it to real white, I mean snow white with baby blue color in some rooms. She was quite creative, even though she insisted that it would be baby blue since that was one of her favorite colors besides white. Soon, she had a party at my house, which now was quite a weird place for me. It was like a reunion party with a swimming pool, balcony, and big front yard. Yup, Nicole invited everyone in the Garden to come over. The only people who couldn't come were the staff and Headmaster. Man, what a day this will be. Nicole, she said that she couldn't swim that well, so I should take care of the party back there. Great. Nicole would be inside the house, and who knows what she would do in there. Then there's Eric, my brother, who will be on patrol. What a party this will be.

About 5:00 p.m. when people started pouring into my house. By 6:30 p.m. everyone, we expected, came inside. People started talking and some even went swimming just as they came. Soon, many were actually partying. "Hey Zack," it was Tommy Keiks. "Oh, hi..." "What a party you have here," he said, "You were the least likely person who would start parties." "It was Nicole's idea." I replied. Since I had nothing to do, I had to become the lifeguard (roll eyes.) God darn it, couldn't I get something else to do? For hours, I just sat there watching people have fun. "Zack!" I turned, only to find Nicole running towards me. "NICOLE! Don't run!" But, it was too late to yell. I saw her slip and fall into the water. I heard an ear-piercing scream from her. Damn it, Nicole. Why now? I jumped off the lifeguard post and ran towards the pool as fast as lighting. Nicole was gulping for air and struggling to stay above the water. "Nicole!" I heard my brother yell. I had to think fast. What should I do? Jump in and save her or call for help (idiotic things.) That's stupid. Instead, I did my first choice, jump in and save the darn girl in distress. I jumped into the warm, deep, dark water. I free styled towards her and grabbed onto her, who was gulping in quite a bit of water. She held onto me in desperation and gasping for air. She was soaking wet and heavy. The water must weighed her down and made me on bottom. I was getting tired quickly and drinking a lot of chlorine water (yuck.) Finally, almost at the edge, I was blacking out. So...tired... I felt Nicole push off, and I began to sink deeper into the water... So...Dark...

I don't know what the time is, or where I am, but I'm in a bed. There was Eric and Nicole, standing in front of me. "What the heck happened?" I was still delirious. "You kind of drowned." answered Eric. Wow, such a great, specific answer. "What happened to me?" I asked stupidly. "The doctor said you are suffering some water inside your brain," Eric said, "And it may have flushed out some of your memories." "What!" I almost yelled. Now I understand, I can't really remember much of anything anyways, but I don't remember how my parents were in the past, and how I was when I was young. The good times were escaping me! "So, are you gonna ask me to move out?" It was Nicole with a guilty face, knowing what she did wrong. "Nah, but you owe me one." I smiled. It sucks though; I can't remember anything in my childhood or adolescent years. Those were kind of important to me. But, now, I can only fear the future. We all gave a good, hearty laugh.

The next day, Nicole and I went to the Cicno Beach, where almost everyone goes for a romantic time in the evening (Even though I never did really like it.) However this time, no one was basically here, which was a very good thing for me. Nicole sat down and I stood against a bench watching the sun go down over the grayish, blue sea with the sun glowing on the surface. "You know what?" I finally spoke, "I haven't been here for ages." Nicole turned and looked at me. "Yeah, I don't think you have, the look in your eyes say that you haven't been here for a while at all," she said. I chuckled, "You're an eye reader now?" She laughed. "I might not remember my past, but it's not important now." I said. "Don't say that," she responded, "The past is very important, without it, we would never be here." She has a point. "Well Nicole," I turned around, "I think I can start something new." "What?" she asked. "Well, lets just be friends." "Friends?" she looked confused. "Yeah, just friends, because friends will always be together," I turned to look at the sun one last time, "And friends will help each other, right?" Nicole smiled, "You're right!" "Lets get out of here though, it's getting dark." I said and walked towards my car, which was waiting for us in the parking lot.

It's three months later, and she's now packing up. Darn it, and we only got to be friends. "Nicole," I yelled at her before she got into the common yellow taxi. "What?" she yelled back, but the horn of the taxi made it a whisper. "Can't you stay for another day?" I was getting tired of screaming. Then Nicole smiled and giggled a bit. "What's so funny?" I demanded. "I never knew you even liked me to stay even longer." was her answer. Oh brother, my emotions took over too much...

Later that day, Nicole and I went to a carnation field. "You know what Zack?" she finally said something after staring at the crimson red carnations for a long time. "What?" I asked (sounding a bit concerned.) "Last night, I was lost," she said, "I yelled out your name, but you never came, and I was alone in pitch black." "Well then, can we make a promise?" She looked at me. "A promise?" she repeated. "Yeah," I stared forward at the carnation, "When you're lost again, you'll find me here." "Why..." she started. "Because I'll be waiting for you, right here." I pointed towards the ground. "You will!" she exclaimed. "Yes, and that's a promise I intend to keep." She jumped for joy and a hugged me real tight. But, I didn't struggle against it even though I kind of dislike hugs. Then she put her hands in mine and shook them. "Friends?" she asked. "Friends..." I repeated. Then I heard a quiet bark from Angelo, who was watching. Who knew that this gesture would make us closer than friends? And start a new adventure with new friends and cause many tragedies as well? All I could remember was this from then on. And one day, it will be the Final Day and see what will happen between our friends and us. Nicole is a nice girl and all, but I never knew that we would get this far then ever before. Zack

End