Chapter 2- Revelations and Beginnings

The morning dawned, bright and warm as the sun's rays shone vibrantly through Squall's dorm room window, and much to his dismay, right in his face. The SeeD Commander groaned, placing his forearm over his aching eyes from the vividness of the sun.

Morning already?

He glanced over to his side to see Rinoa, still laying next to him, her head sunk into his pillow. Her lips were slightly parted and Squall could tell she was still in a deep sleep. Not wanting to disturb her slumber, he slowly sat up in bed, stood and tugged the covers up around her bare shoulders.

Her blue duster lay draped on the back of his desk chair and his own clothes were folded up neatly in the small dresser accompanying his dorm room. His SeeD uniform and Cadet uniform hung from a rack just above his bed. It was a rather bland room. Not much color, beyond the camouflage bedspread and looking out the window. A metallic, large model of Griever sat framed on his floor. It was simple and convenient. Just as Squall liked it. Unlike his fellow SeeD members who had chosen to decorate their dorms with various things such as a large, colored lettering spelling out their names on their doors, magazine clippings, posters, and photographs.

Squall glanced over at the sleeping Rinoa before slipping on a freshly laundered, white v-neck t-shirt, black leather pants, his usual belts and buckles, black leather bomber jacket with the fur collar and boots. Squall was just about to step out of the dorm room to let the sleeping girl rest more, when the familiar chimes of Balamb Garden's intercom rang across the ceiling.

"Squall, this is Headmaster Cid. Please report to the bridge as soon as you possibly can. I have new orders for you. I repeat, please report to the bridge ASAP. Thank you."

The chimes signaled the ending of the message, and Squall placed a palm on his face.

Seriously? This early in the morning?

He glanced over toward his bed to see Rinoa had stirred awake. She sat up in the bed, blearily rubbing her eyes and glanced toward the digital clock sitting on top of his desk.

"Mmm Squall?" Rinoa yawned, covering her mouth politely with her hand. "Whas goin' on? Wha time is it?" the young woman slurred, voice still drawn with sleep.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it. I just have to go and see the headmaster. Apparently, he has new orders for me," the Commander of SeeD responded.

Truth be told, he felt extremely nervous and unsettled by the idea of talking to the headmaster. As Rinoa lay sleeping in his arms that night, Squall had woken up to dreams of an end coming to SeeD, to Garden. His personal fears manifesting themselves in his consciousness took hold and jerked him from sleep. His thoughts had been racing through his mind most of the night until he finally drifted off once more.

What if Cid and Edea decide to disband SeeD? What if they decide to put an end to Garden? They wouldn't really do something like that... would they? No, they couldn't. Cid and Edea are far from heartless.

A majority of the children and students who lived at the Garden were mostly orphans and had no homes to go. Garden was their home. His home. He glanced back over toward Rinoa who's cheek was pressed up against her hand, head drooping, eyes at half-mast.

"Why don't you go back to sleep? It's most likely just a mission briefing. I'll come and get you when I'm finished, okay?"

"No no," Rinoa stretched and yawned once more, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and blinking a few times. She smiled at her knight. "I'll get up and get ready. You go do what you need to do, okay? Meet me in the cafeteria when you're finished. I'm starving!" she added, rubbing her tummy.

Squall fought back a snicker and just shook his head. "Alright, I'll see you later then." He exited the room with a wave to Rinoa, before closing the door behind him. Squall couldn't help but feel apprehension building in his chest and his heart began pounding.

Always prepare yourself for the worst. Always be ready for the worst. Anything can happen. Never let your guard down.

And Squall did just that as he made his way around the curvature of the massive hall, bringing him to the colossal, central hub that led to a set of stairs just behind the Balamb Garden Directory. He trudged his way quietly through the corridor quietly pondering what the meeting could be about, tuning out the voices of fellow Garden members around him. Many students rushing here and there, greeted him heartily with a "Hey, Squall!" or a "How's it going, Squall!" He just nodded his head silently at them, enough to show the students he at least acknowledged them. He had to admit, he was trying hard to get better at socializing with people instead of flat out ignoring them the way he used to. He had mostly Rinoa and his friends to thank for that. This morning though, he just didn't feel much like being social and friendly. There was too much on his mind.

The anxiety was rising like a sickness as Squall made his way up the steps that led to the elevator. With a sigh, he stepped inside, almost reluctantly, and made his way up to the 3rd floor where Cid's office used to reside. It was now the bridge where a mobile Garden could be navigated. Finally, the elevator made it's ascent to Garden's bridge and with a ding, stopped abruptly. The doors slid open and Squall stepped out, not sure if he was ready for Cid was about to tell him. In truth, he feared what could happen and that was far more taxing than a physical battle. However, he couldn't see Cid and Edea just dumping every single child here onto the streets with nowhere to go and dropping Garden off in the ocean.

Here we go...

Squall approached the small, step-on lift that took him up to the bridge and found Nida navigating as usual and Cid chatting animatedly to the other SeeD with one hand, and a cup of steaming coffee clutched in another.

"Ah! Squall!" The Headmaster of Garden greeted the young SeeD. "Good morning! I didn't expect you to be up here so soon! I hope I didn't wake you?"

Nida gestured lazily in acknowledgment from where he stood near the navigation steering device before turning his attention back to the outside world.

Squall just waved Cid off, shaking his head as if to say 'it's fine'. "You wanted to see me, Headmaster?"

"Ah, yes! Straight to the point of course. Now, Squall. I'm sure you have many questions for me regarding what to do with SeeD and Garden now that the sorceress is gone. Am I correct?" Cid began, venturing into the territory that had been on the forefront of Squall's mind. "Yes, SeeDs are trained to fight and defeat the sorceress, which you have done," the headmaster, dressed in his signature red vest, khaki's and glasses, folded his hands in front of him in an almost formal gesture.

"Sir, if I may interrupt," Squall began, trying not to allow any of his nervousness become obvious. "What is to become of SeeD now that the Sorceress is defeated and gone?"

Cid chuckled cheerfully. "And again, straight to the point! You don't miss a beat do you, Squall? Well then, down to business I suppose. As I was saying, yes, our SeeDs are trained to fight and defeat the sorceress, however, SeeDs are needed and used for other purposes beyond fighting the sorceress. You understand, Squall, that no matter where you go, there is always going to be some sort of conflict or war and therefore many governmental agencies may want to hire SeeD to execute some of their plans or just for general help and protection. My thoughts on this matter are that SeeD doesn't always need to fight to defeat, but that SeeD can fight to save lives and protect others." Squall's gaze met the headmaster's, but he remained silent and allowed him to continue. "As you know, you are Commander of SeeD, and you will-,"

Squall groaned inwardly but remained outwardly impassive. "Headmaster, I apologize, but I thought I was only going to be Commander until the sorceress was defeated?"

He still wants me to be the commander? He still wants me to make all of these decisions? How do I know if what I'm doing is right or not?

"Of course I do, Squall. We'd never strip you of that title, even after the defeat of the sorceress. Please understand, that I am not trying to put a lot of pressure on you, and this goes without saying, but everyone in Garden looks up to you. They look up to you to lead them in the right direction, take appropriate action when necessary. They need you here for mission briefings, support, encouragement, and to help them make the right choices," Cid paused and observed the Commander of SeeD momentarily before continuing.

The older man placed his hands behind his back and began pacing back and forth in front of the SeeD mercenary. "From now on, you will be in charge of handling which teams are assigned and dispatched wherever that may be and which SeeDs will go to whoever wants to hire us, within reason. If you feel conflicted about specific orders or missions, you can feel free to discuss it with me prior to the mission. You will also be in charge of handling any reports that come in from missions and contracts with agencies and factions that may want to hire SeeD as well. Basically, you will be in charge of handling all of Garden's operations. Edea and I have to focus on the funding and finding new staff and faculty to replace the ones we lost during the Garden Master revolt. I need you for this, Squall. Can you handle all of that?"

You're not trying to put a lot of pressure on me? That's a load of crap... What if I mess up? All of Garden's operations? How in the world am I going to do all of this? I don't even know what I'm doing half the time. I just wing it or go with it as best I can. I thought this would all be all over and I could finally relax. I don't like being responsible for others. What if I end up making the wrong decision and someone gets hurt because of me... or worse...

"I see you're thinking again. Squall," the Headmaster smiled as he approached the young SeeD and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Squall stood rigid, completely unprepared for the kind gesture from Cid, but did not attempt to shake him off.

"Listen, there is a reason why you have your team, your friends, right? You don't have to handle all of this alone. I know they would all be honored to help you, and Rinoa as well if you let them." Squall nodded curtly and Cid withdrew his hand.

"Squall Leonhart, do you hereby accept your position as Commander of SeeD and Director of Garden Operations?" Squall snapped into a stiff stance of respect and saluted the Garden's Headmaster.

"Right then, at ease." Cid nodded.

Squall's stance relaxed, but the tension was still evident in his neck and shoulders.

"Now that this is out of the way, onto the mission briefing. We received word from Esthar only a few hours ago. The city is still being attacked by monsters from the Lunar Cry that took place recently. Lunatic Pandora is still floating nearby and Ragnarok is still stuck on the side of it. The President of Esthar is directly requesting that a group of SeeD members be dispatched into the city to help with the extermination of the monsters."

President of Esthar... Laguna? Oh man... is he serious? He used to be a soldier and he needs SeeD to help wipe out some monsters?

"Galbadian soldiers are also there helping clean up the mess since they are partially responsible for it. General Caraway made sure of this," Cid added as Squall's light, blue eyes widened ever so slightly at this news.

General Caraway, huh? Rinoa's going to love hearing about that... So is Galbadia wanting to atone?

"The President is requesting that you help exterminate the monsters, move Lunatic Pandora so they can begin restoration of the city and Lunar Gate and extract Ragnarok from the Lunatic Pandora. What order he wants these done in, I do not know, but he is requesting a personal audience with you, Squall. Upon arrival, the President will meet with you at 1600 hours and take you to the Presidential Palace. Please make sure you're there on time. You may choose who you would like to take with you. Including yourself, the President of Esthar is requesting six members of SeeD be dispatched."

You've got to be kidding me... we're not monster hunters or a cleaning crew. We're elite soldiers trained for real war and combat. We're not trained to play tag with monsters and clean up a messy city...

"Headmaster, I don't mean to sound presumptuous, but it sounds to me as though the only reason Esthar wants to hire us is to clean up their mess, granted it's not a mess by their own fault, but still. If Galbadia is already there helping, what is the point in SeeD coming out there? Surely they have enough soldiers to exterminate the monsters and keep the remaining people of Esthar safe?" Squall inquired, fighting back to urge to smash his face against his palm.

Was he really that bothered by the fact that they had to go to Esthar and fight some monsters? Or was it something else that bothered him about all of this? Squall wasn't sure, but he could feel his irritation with the whole thing rising. However, he was a SeeD and SeeDs do as they are told.

"Yes, I see that you do have a point, but we need to keep jobs going for our members of SeeD. There's no war currently broken out and this gives you a chance to... learn some things," Cid replied, as though trying to hide something.

Squall eyed him suspiciously, while Cid's head was turned from his, but then snapped back to attention as Cid rose his eyes hidden behind thick spectacles once more to survey Squall. "The order didn't come from just the President, but also from Ellone. She's in Esthar with the President and she's requesting you be there."

Sis? Why does she want me there? Maybe something is wrong?

Squall sighed inwardly and nodded his head toward Cid. "Whatever the contract says, we'll abide by it. I'll form a team today and prepare to leave. Nida, set sail to Fisherman's Horizon. Send word we're heading that way to Mayor Dobe." Nida nodded in response while Squall saluted the headmaster once more.

"Alright, dismissed!" Cid responded enthusiastically. Squall gave a short nod before turning on his heel and making his way back down to the elevator. The Headmaster had just finished putting a lot on his shoulders... a lot.

How in the hell am I going to handle the operations at Garden? Dispatch qualified SeeDs to whatever destination, handling reports and loads of paperwork, contracts, and all this crap. I never asked to do all of this. How am I even going to do all of this? And now all of a sudden, SeeD is being hired to kill some monsters and clean up the city? What are we, slaves?

Squall could feel himself growing frustrated, and the scowl must have been evident on his face as he strode down Garden's hall, because people were clearly avoiding him this time around. He was heading toward the Cafeteria to meet up with Rinoa when he nearly ran headlong into Zell coming out of the Cafeteria.

"Whoa! Squall! Damn! I didn't see you there! Hey man, you're lookin' a little ticked off. Someone piss in your Wheaties this morning?" the martial artist attempted to make a lighthearted joke, but Squall just glared at him.

"Whatever..."

"Hey, man. Just kidding! Haha, even after we knocked off the sorceress you're still the same ole, Squall. Listen, man, Rinoa's in the cafeteria, but you might want to go in there and make sure she's alright," Zell stated, lowering his voice a bit.

"What do you mean by 'alright', Zell?" Squall questioned, observing the blond-haired hyperactive boy in front of him. "Did something happen?" His thoughts quickly switched to concern for Rinoa. After all, she was never a student at Garden. She didn't understand the fundamentals of how things worked here.

"W-well no... not exactly, but uh. She could really use you right now and I've gotta meet someone in the Library!" Zell glanced at his watch. "Oh shit! I'm late! I'm sorry, Squall! I gotta go! I'll catch you later!"

"Don't go too far. I need to talk with you and everyone else a little later," Squall called to Zell's back sternly, while the blond boy with a tattooed face half skipped, half marched off a little strangely toward the Library. "We'll meet at the Quad shortly." Zell waved his hand back toward Squall, indicating he got the message but did not turn back. Squall just shook his head. Even after all this time, he didn't think he'd ever understood Zell's curious antics.

Thoughts filled with the jobs that Cid has now ordered him to do, he made his way into the cafeteria, but his muddled thoughts were interrupted when he saw Rinoa sitting at a table toward the back of the cafeteria all by herself. There were groups of students clad in cadet uniforms, huddled together at tables whispering anxiously to one another. They cast continuous glances toward her way and then would go back to whispering once more. It almost seemed as though they were trying to stay as far away as they could get from her.

Feeling a twinge of sympathy for Rinoa, Squall ran a gloved hand down his face and worked his way across the cafeteria to take a seat next to Rinoa. The groups of students fell silent as Squall walked past them, only inclining his head slightly while glancing disapprovingly at them. He finally reached Rinoa's table and took a seat next to her.

"Oh, hey Squall," Rinoa tried to force a smile, but her voice sounded somewhat shaken. She lowered her head and cast her eyes down onto her tray of untouched food.

Squall sighed and put his hand on top of her wrist. "Rinoa," he began but was quickly interrupted.

"I knew it... I knew they would all be afraid of me. Look at them. As soon as I came into the cafeteria, they all decided to get up and move to tables as far away from me as they could. They keep staring at me, and whispering... and it's because I'm a," she paused and picked up her orange juice to take a sip and turned her head away from Squall's.

Squall squeezed Rinoa's wrist, trying to offer some form of comfort, but he could think of nothing to say. There was already too much on his mind. As much as he loved Rinoa, this was just one more thing to rest on his already burdened shoulders.

I don't even know what to do about this, let alone handle all of Garden... How am I going to make it easier for Rinoa and make people understand she's nothing to be feared while at the same time, dealing with decision making for Garden, for SeeD, for everything? I'm just one person... and Cid is expecting all of this out of me. Rinoa needs me to take care of her, and I'm not even sure how to fix it.

For a moment, Squall felt he might collapse under the weight of the pressure being placed on him. It was like a giant anvil was doing all it could to bring him to his knees.

"Rinoa, listen," he began, searching for words he could say to help encourage the sorceress. "They just don't understand you, and they don't know you like I do. We just have to give them time and show them that you have no intentions of harming anyone."

Squall paused and shook his head as he lapsed back into silence. Even his words sounded hollow. His shoulders slumped and Rinoa glanced up at him, realizing the tension in his face, how his brows were drawn inward, his eyes somewhere else, and she instantly noted his distress.

"Squall, what is it?" Rinoa asked, knowing that more than likely it would be in vain, for Squall was never one to openly express his feelings. "Listen, it's okay. Don't worry about me. You're right. They just need time to get to know me. That's not important right now. What's important is what's going on with you? What did Cid tell you?"

"Cid is sending us on a mission to Esthar. We're to leave as soon as possible and meet with the President. He wants us to aid him in exterminating the monsters that fell from the moon. I guess the city is still being attacked and he needs extra help," Squall replied, his voice monotone as if reading from a textbook.

"Well, that's a good thing, isn't it? It means that SeeD is still definitely needed in the world, right?" Rinoa studied Squall's features, but they had become like stone. Not a trace of emotion on his face, but she could see a flicker of something brewing in his eyes. "There's something else, isn't there? Squall, if you don't tell me what you're thinking then I can't help you."

Squall turned his head from Rinoa and waved a hand at her. "It's not your problem. It's mine. I'll deal with it the best I can."

Rinoa sighed and shook her head as she reached a hand to place tenderly against his face, she pulled his face back to look at her own, and locked eyes with her knight.

"Squall, listen. You don't have to face all of your problems alone. I want to help. We want to help," the dark haired girl encouraged.

He couldn't help but notice how pretty she was, especially when she offered him her support. But then again, she was always pretty. Rinoa rubbed her thumb softly across his cheek, and Squall closed his eyes and sighed, leaning slightly into her hand.

"Cid has permanently and officially made me Commander of SeeD. On top of that now though, he's given me a new position. I'm the Director of Garden Operations," He mumbled into her hand, eyes still remaining shut.

Rinoa could sense the stress and pressure that these new revelations must be putting on Squall, but she couldn't help that her heart was filling with pride for her knight.

"Squall, I think that's wonderful. Do you understand what this means?" Rinoa mused.

It means that I have even more responsibility for people than I've ever had before... And I don't know if I'm ready to accept that kind of commitment.

Almost seemingly reading his thoughts, the corners of Rinoa's lips turned upward. "It means Cid trusts you. He trusts you to take care of everyone here, and he's not wrong in doing so. Squall, you have to believe in yourself a little more. Have faith in yourself. Like I do. I have faith in you. Everything is going to be alright, and you're not alone in this." Squall opened his eyes and looked at Rinoa once more, carefully pondering what she had just said.

I suppose she's right. I'm not alone in this, but I can't just lay all of these responsibilities on everyone else... what kind of impression would that make on the Headmaster, on all of Garden? What would people think of me then? 'Squall just wants to abandon his duties. He has no sense of responsibility.' That's probably exactly what they would think... I won't have that...

Straightening up, Squall stood up from his seat and pulled Rinoa up with him. "C'mon. Let's go. I have to inform everyone that we're leaving." Rinoa nodded, following suit and she and Squall left the cafeteria.

"Quistis Trepe, Irvine Kinneas, Zell Dincht and Selphie Tilmitt, this is Squall. Please report to the Quad immediately for a mission briefing. We have new orders."

Squall and Rinoa stood waiting in the Quad as the first to arrive was Quistis. Shortly after, Selphie and Irvine, followed by a very flushed, out of breath Zell arrived.

"Sorry, was in the Library, then went to the Training Center out to the secret area and yeah," the martial artist leaned over, hands clasped over his knees to catch his breath.

Quistis cleared her throat and brushed back her blond hair, folding her arms over her chest. "Squall. You said we have new orders?"

"New orders!? We goin' somewhere!? Woo baby! I'm goin' crazy just sitting around here doing nothing!" Zell thrust his fist into the air.

"The Library and secret area, Zell? Doesn't sound like you were doing nothing to meee!" Selphie taunted as she elbowed the martial artist in his side.

Squall turned toward the hyper blond man, a hand on his hip. "Zell, Selphie" was all he had to say to get the man to calm down for a moment and bring both of them back to attention. "I'll make this short. We're to head to Esthar. The President has requested SeeD's help for killing monsters in the city that fell from the moon during the Lunar Cry. He is also hiring us to help in the restoration of Esthar. We're sailing to Fisherman's Horizon. From there, we will take a car and drive to Esthar. We're to meet with the president at 1600 hours once we get there. He will take us to the Presidential Palace and give us our further orders there."

Rinoa couldn't help but notice that once again, Squall sounded like he was speaking from a textbook, but she said nothing while the rest of the SeeD's nodded their heads in agreement.

"The President of Esthar!? That means we get to see Sir Laguna again!" Selphie squealed in excitement, doing her signature dance on one foot. "I can't wait! Sir Laguna is just so cool!" Squall just rolled his eyes.

...more like an impudent moron if you ask me.

"Anyway," Squall interrupted Selphie's moment of glee, sounding somewhat exasperated. "Prepare for the mission as soon as possible. We leave as soon as we dock at Fisherman's Horizon."

Squall watched as his friends left the Quad. He couldn't help but feel a sense of dread billowing up inside of him. He wasn't sure if it was just nerves at these new beginnings that would be coming for him now that Cid had appointed him practically the leader of the entire Garden, or if something else unexpected was going to happen. Trying to brush the uncomfortable, unsettling sensation rising in him aside, he turned toward Rinoa. "Let's go." She nodded and the two left the Quad, following the rest of the team to prepare for their next mission, and where that would take them, Squall just didn't know.