A/N: Hi guys! So I changed the rating because I realized that there is no need to give it an M rating just because of a character's death. I mean, many stories in here has character death and has a T rating. I hope it's alright that I changed the rating. I also realized that the theme is not that dark to put it in the M category. If you like my story or have noticed some points that I can improve on, I would really really appreciate a review. Thank you so much! Oh and if you're waiting for chapters that concentrate on our original orphanage gang, just keep reading and I'll post one really really really soon.
BTW I added the last part in because I feel like it belongs in this chapter and not on the next. I also deleted that part from the next chapter. :) R&R and enjoy!
Chapter 4: Spark
Quistis Almasy, the instructor in-charge of assigning students to their Squads, stood up at the headmaster's mention of her name. It was not an easy task to do. It's especially hard knowing that her son would be participating in the SeeD exam.
Quistis walked up to the microphone as Xu walked back towards the chair that was left empty by Quistis. The metallic SeeD insignia on her clipboard reflected the bright orange light of the sun.
"Good afternoon, everyone. Now, I will assign you to your respective Squads and will also announce the leaders of each squad. First off, Squad A, guided by Instructor Selphie Kinneas, will be led by Drew Fittrin. The rest of the squad: Carlos Almasy and Ariana Flowers. Squad A will meet first at the 1F lobby after this assembly and will be wearing their SeeD uniform. Selphie, please stand so that your squad members know who their instructor is."
Selphie wore the standard SeeD uniform and her brown hair was cut in chic bob that ended just above her collar bone. She stood up and displayed a big, excited smile and waved her right hand rather enthusiastically. She then sat back down.
"Next, Squad B will be guided by yours truly, Instructor Quistis Almasy. The leader: Louie Leonhart. Squad B will have two other members aside from Mr. Leonhart. Those would be Celine Branford and Elaine Faragon."
"Great. I'm with the Leonhart dude." a thought popped out from Elaine Faragon's head as she rolled her eyes. She was standing far from the stage, far from the overly enthusiastic students in the front. Elaine had short blond wavy hair with pink highlights at the tips. She was one of those people who never bother to comb in the morning, yet their hair looks perfect. There's a disheveled beauty to it.
Elaine Faragon never met Louie Leonhart yet she had an animosity towards him. Even she couldn't explain it. Maybe it was attributed to the fact that she resents popularity. Louie was popular in Balamb Garden. He is the Commander's son, after all. Elaine thinks that popular people are pretentious, self-righteous and dumb.
"Alright that's it for the assembly. Squad A will meet at the lobby at 1500 hours, they will meet and assemble for fifteen minutes, Squad B will meet at the lobby at 1515 hours and Squad C will meet at 1530 hours. We'll all see you later and we are wishing you all the best in your exam." Quistis said through the microphone. She then turned it off and watched as the SeeDs guided the students out of the Quad.
"Squad A! Yoohoo!" Selphie started calling out in front of the Garden Directory. Xu, the new headmaster stood beside her.
"Selphie calm down, there's five minutes left. I'm sure the squad is just preparing themselves physically and mentally." Xu spotted a blonde boy wearing the Garden uniform and approaching the Garden Directory. His blade was firmly attached to his belt. Aside from his Garden uniform, he was also wearing black leather gloves that helped his grip. He finally reached the directory.
"Hey Auntie Selp-"
"No, no. I am your instructor now, Carlos, please refer to me as such." Selphie cut Carlos's greeting short. "I notice you have a new blade."
"Oh yeah! My dad left it to my mom and she gave it to me right after homeroom." Carlos excitedly responded.
"It looks sooooo-"
"Ehem" Xu broke Selphie off. Selphie held herself back and seemingly changed personalities. She then looked at Carlos and gave him an "okay" hand signal, pertaining to the new gunblade.
It was the Hyperion; Seifer Almasy's infamous gunblade. Some people may consider it a dark, dangerous weapon. Carlos considers it as his father's only friend during those dark days. The dark days and his father's romantic dream were vivid stories engraved into his memory. Throughout his exploits, his rise and his fall, Seifer had Hyperion and it meant so much to Carlos that his father gave it to him. To him, Hyperion was a symbol of his father's drive, and his father's identity, not as an evil person but as a dreamer who was simply lead astray by an evil force.
A short black-haired boy walked towards the Garden directory. He was wearing the Garden uniform and had a crossbow in his belt and was holding a pack of arrows; Drew Fittrin, the leader of Squad A. A second student, a red-haired girl who was also wearing the Garden uniform and had her long straight hair tied back in a neat ponytail. There was no weapon attached to her belt but her gloves seem to be loaded with something.
"Alright, you must be the leader, Mr. Drew Fittrin?" Selphie asked.
"Yes ma'am" Drew answered.
"Alright. Your mission for today is to accompany Lady Sylphia, the daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Dollet. Obviously, she is a very important person so SeeD must make sure that she will never be harmded. She needs to be accompanied to Timber. Squad A, that is you, will be the escort team. Basically, you will take Lady Sylphia from Dollet to Timber's TV Station, where she will announce something very important to the world. This mission is not just as simple as it looks for if it were that simple, we wouldn't need ten students on it. I will explain the details on our ride to Dollet. We will all embark on the SeeD vessel that is currently parked in the town of Balamb."
"Let's move out to the town together." Selphie said as she started walking towards the exit of the Garden, leaving behind Xu. Quistis quickly took Selphie's place to relay instructions on the next squad.
There was a vividly colored holographic presentation that was displayed on the center table of the SeeD vessel. Selphie Kinneas stood, pointing to the locations at the holograph.
"There are three squads. Squad A is called the escort team and will be driving an automobile from the Duchy of Dollet, here, to the town of Timber in Galbadia. The ride from Dollet to the outskirts of Galbadia will be easy, because we are still in Dollet territory. However, once we enter Galbadian territory, G-soldiers may come for Lady Sylphia. Dollet is a very important commodity right now for Galbadia and once Galbadia takes a hold of Lady Sylphia, it is game over for Dollet." Selphie started explaining on the ride from Balamb to Dollet.
"Question." Drew raised his hand. "Isn't it illegal to take a person without a warrant? Wouldn't international committees be acting on this? What's up with this Sylphia lady?"
"I was just getting to that." Selphie closed the holographic presentation. "Galbadia has just created a law against allowing sorceresses in Galbadian lands. It is stated that once a sorceress enters Galbadian territory, she will be arrested. Making the process of arresting Lady Sylphia a legal one. Yes, Lady Sylphia is a sorceress." Selphie paused to let the children digest her last sentence.
The Queen of Cards was a citizen of Dollet and right after the second Sorceress War, she decided to live with her family in Dollet. Unbeknownst to everyone, the Queen of Cards was a sorceress. This is the main reason why she was able to get through Time Compression. Her last dying wish was to find an heir to her powers. She was famous around town and everyone was willing to help her, but no one was willing to become a sorceress just to appease her. Nobody except for one little girl. It was Lady Sylphia. Lady Sylphia, who was 8 back then, pitied the old sorceress and considered it her duty, as the heiress to the dukedom of Dollet, to end the suffering of one of the citizens. Her parents, who were reluctant at first, agreed to their daughter's wishes and let her receive the powers of the Queen of Cards.
"So we have to protect the sorceress all the way to the TV station?" Carlos asked.
"No. You only have to get through Timber's gates. Squad C will take care of guarding her inside Timber and making sure that her message is delivered."
"What if she doesn't get through Timber's gates?" Ariana asked.
"Then Squad C will have to escort her to the beach and she will be brought to Balamb Garden until we can establish another plan to bring her to Timber."
"Wouldn't that be dangerous for the Garden? G-soldeirs would be following us around." Carlos asked once more.
"That's where you come in. Squads A & B will protect Vessel C until we reach Balamb waters. You will do whatever it takes for the soldiers not to reach their vessel. Take note that you are not their priority. She is. That means that if you stand in their way, they will not hesitate to destroy your vehicle, whether or not you are inside. Do NOT let this happen. Once we reach Balamb waters, we are home free." The tension inside the room suddenly rose. The complexity of the mission and the danger that comes with it is no laughing matter. Everybody was dead serious. "Are there any more questions?"
Silence
"Let me just remind all of you. This is a special mission. The order to withdraw has been stated in the contract. It states that we are to withdraw only if there is absolutely no way the sorceress will be able to get to Timber. That is, we have to exhaust all the possibilities before we withdraw."
"You have got to be kidding me! We can't withdraw unless there is absolutely no way that the princess get to Timber? It doesn't matter if we die out there as long as the princess gets through is that it?" Drew was enraged.
"Withdrawal is now upon the jurisdiction of the squad leaders. This is a test of communication and critical thinking. If you think that it's too much for you, then call a withdrawal. However, this will have an implication on your grades and your abilities as a leader." Selphie warned.
The SeeD mission was decided three months ago, way before Cid's death. Xu and Squall Leonhart decided that Cid would have wished the SeeD exam to push through. The goal of the SeeD exam was not just to accompany the high profile sorceress from Dollet to Timber but to also erase the vision of a bad sorceress in the minds of the SeeD, in line with SeeD's new mission and vision.
Squad A, the escort team, would be the team that would be with the sorceress from Dollet to Timber. Squad B, the convoy team, will follow behind Squad A and will be taking care of surprise attacks from behind the escort team and assist the escort team if conflict arises. Squad C, the inside team, will take care of bringing the sorceress to the TV station. They know that G-soldiers would never launch an overt attack within Timber's walls so Squad C will be in charge of figuring out what the covert plans of Galbadia are. If there is no way that the sorceress can get to the TV station, Squad C is in charge of delivering the sorceress to the SeeD vessels. If an escape to Balamb is going to happen, Squads A & B will also get on the Garden vessels and all of them will do what they can to reach Balamb waters safely. The Garden vessels will be parked at Mandy Beach, but hidden from sight until a call to withdraw has been made.
The sun was starting to set and the moon was shining brightly in the sky. A man's silhouette was visible on the horizon as the SeeDs parked their vessels. He welcomed Squads A and B into Dollet and led them to the Duke's mansion. The man was the Duke of Dollet himself. One can notice the abundance of gray hairs in the man's head, yet he looked well for a man his age. He was nearing 70 but he still stood straight and was still able to walk gracefully. The duke was wearing Dollet's formal military attire, as if he was welcoming dignitaries from other states.
Upon arrival at the mansion, both Squads were welcomed by the Duchess of Dollet. Her long purple dress glistened in the afternoon glow and her wavy brown hair followed her motions through the grand hall. A silver chain around her neck held a shining white pendant that had a yellowish tone from the glow of the afternoon. It was adamantine.
"Welcome to Dollet, young cadets." the Duchess greeted the students. She wore a smile that was a little bit too perfect, too rehearsed.
She must be worried about her daughter. Louie thought as he entered the grand mansion of the Duke of Dollet.
"Won't ya'll take a seat at the couch. My daughter'll be out in a jiffy." The Duchess said sweetly as she went upstairs to fetch her daughter. The mansion was exquisite. The grand hall had a grand staircase that seemed to glow in the afternoon light that bathes the room through the glass windows. It was noticeably made from a combination of adamantine and marble, one of Dollet's exports. The abundance of Adamantoise in the beach nearby made Dollet a major source of adamantine. The combination of adamantine and marble gave the staircase a warm glow that looked like gold in the sunset. The marble floors were spotless and the high ceiling had a fresco of a silver cross floating amidst clouds. From the ceiling hung an adamantine chandelier that was artificially colored yellow, the result was a chandelier that reminds one of the topaz, especially with the faint glow of the sunset coloring it. It was a paradise in the dusk.
"Alright, Squad A please stand up and introduce yourselves." the Duke of Dollet stood from the stair. The wonder in the eyes of the children was quickly replaced by the sternness that is required of them in the mission. At once, the perfect mansion was shaken out of their minds. Carlos, Drew and Ariana stood up and walked towards the Duke.
"Drew Fittrin, sir, the leader of the squad. Fire Platoon 2, Crossbow specialist."
"Carlos Almasy, Saber 4, Gunblade Specialist."
"Ariana Flowers, Medic 2, Martial Arts Specialist."
"Did I hear it correctly? You are Carlos Almasy? The Carlos Almasy, son of Seifer Almasy, the knight of the evil sorceress?" the Duke exclaimed. Louie was sitting at the couch. His ear buzzed at the tone of the sentence. The boy looked up.
"My father would prefer the title of Galbadia Garden Commander, sir." Carlos replied. His fist was starting to curl up into a ball.
"What he means to say is, yes, he is the son of Seifer Almasy, however, his father's reputation will not affect how he will be behaving tonight." Ariana Flowers tried to save the conversation.
"Well, I sure hope so, young man. I must say I am deeply concerned about this particular mission and hearing the name of the person that insinuated the second Sorceress War has put me on edge." the Duke replied.
"It's not his-"
Ariana touched Carlos's shoulders to stop him from doing anything stupid and spoke "He will do the best he can, sir, much like all of us."
"Daddy, are those the cadets from Garden?" a voice from above was heard throughout the large hall. It was Lady Sylphia. Her eyes were of a pearl gray color and her heart-shaped face was a face of sweetness and innocence. Somehow, Carlos pictured her as someone older, like late 20s. It turns out that she was just their age, 17. The sorceress wore an olive green shirt and a black skirt. Black leather hugged her hands and feet as she walked down the stairs. She was ready for battle. The most interesting feature of the sorceress was her hair. She had long wavy hair that extended up to the middle of her back. Her hair was white. It wasn't ugly, just... different. The white hair made her look ethereal, almost like an angel.
The angel slowly descended upon the golden staircase and came to her father. Carlos was speechless. She was beautiful and he knew it.
"This is my daughter. Now I understand that this squad will be her main escorts. I have only one rule: Please take care of my daughter. Dollet will not hold back once she is hurt. Do you understand?" the duke spoke.
"We understand, sir." Drew said.
"Alright, please stand aside, while I speak to the second squad." The duke spoke again. Squad A moved aside and Squad B took their place. "Introduce"
"Louie Leonhart,leader, Attack Magic Operative 4, Saber 1, Gunblade Specialist."
"Celine Branford. Medic 2, Firearm specialist."
"Elaine Faragon, Indirect Magic Operative 3, Dagger Specialist."
"Leonhart. As in Squall Leonhart? As in THE Squall Leonhart. You-"
"May I interrupt, sir?" Louie quickly cut him off as he was starting to get irritated. Celine's eyes widened at the abrupt change in Louie's voice. Carlos gulped.
"Sir. Yes I am Louie Leonhart, son of the Commander of Balamb Garden, Squall Leonhart. However, we implore you to please not judge us by the way our parents acted in the past. My father may have saved the universe from time compression and his father may have caused the commotion in the first place, but we are different people. I and Mr. Carlos Almasy are different from our fathers. If you have a problem or a compliment to give to our parents, please address them directly for we are not them. Now, we are under code and we are on a mission. I assure you, that we, both of us, and all of us, will do our best in this mission, to protect your daughter and deliver the message that she wants the whole world to know, not because I have a family name to keep and he has a family name to redeem but because we are students of Garden and students of Garden, SeeDs, are under oath and we will not do anything to break that oath. Thank you for listening."
The room was silent but thoughts were noisy.
"I knew it! This guy would lose it if this old coop mentions his father. I should've stopped him. But what will I do? I can't just run there and cover his mouth. (sigh) I guess the SeeD exam will see you next year, Louie" Carlos thought "He sure gave him a lesson, though. "
"Wow. This guy's got guts. Impressive." Elaine thought.
"Sir, if... there won't be anything else, we would like to begin our mission please." Celine Branford finally broke the defeaning silence. With that the duke snapped back to reality.
"Alright. I believe this squad will be the convoy team. You will be following the automobile assigned to Squad A to Timber. If all goes well, you will all be safely in Timber by 6:00 pm tonight, if it doesn't my daughter will be in Balamb until things return to a calm state. The automobiles are waiting for all of you in the parking lot. Please be careful." the Duke said as he kissed his daughter goodbye. Lady Sylphia went directly to Squad A while Squad B followed behind. Drew was driving for A while Louie was driving for B. They exited Dollet.
Drew was driving slowly while they were all watching the sunset. They had just passed the limits of Dollet and was in Galbadia lands. They had to be careful now. Drew and Ariana were in the front seat while Carlos sat beside Lady Sylphia.
"Start Junctioning, we just passed Dollet's limits." said Drew. Carlos junctioned his GF, Cerberus. Cerberus, aside from giving him extra strength, also gave him extra speed. Cerberus was Seifer's GF and he summoned it in G-Garden for Squall and the others to battle. After his defeat, the gang gave him back Cerberus and as a gift for entering Garden, Seifer gave Cerberus to Carlos.
The car suddenly stopped.
"Dude why the hell did you stop?" Carlos asked Drew.
"We have a flat tire." Drew replied.
"What? I'll go check it out." Carlos started opening the door when Ariana stopped him.
"No! This might be a trap. To get us to go outside." Ariana said.
"What do we do?" Carlos closed the doors and locked it.
"We contact Squad B. They move out. We get to stay in the car until they can't handle it anymore." Drew said as he pressed the button in the car for communication.
"Squad B. Squad B, this is Squad A do you copy?" Drew said through the microphone.
"Yes, we copy. This is Squad B. What is your situation? Over"
"We have a flat tire. We suspect it might be a trap. Over."
"How are you sure that this is indeed a trap?"
"Just get on here, Louie!"
"If it's not a trap, then we're just wasting our time! You can change your own tires, right?"
"And if it is a trap, we'd be putting the princess in more danger if we got out."
"Fine, we'll check up on you. But you'll be paying if this isn't a trap" Louie said through the microphone.
"Alright everybody junction up, we're checking their tires." Louie announced in the car.
"What? Can't they check it on their own?" Celine exclaimed.
"This might be a trap." Louie answered.
"Alright let's move out." Elaine said as she opened the doors and readied her daggers. Elaine held a pair of daggers, which she calls Gladius. They have a jade handle and with a silver dragon engraved on it. Celine loaded her guns. She held two silver guns with dragon skin handles and loaded with fire ammo. Louie stepped out of the car and brought the communication device with him. He immediately saw two G-soldiers behind the Escort Car. The two G-army soldiers don't realize that the car behind the escort car is also a SeeD car. Louie pressed the button on the communication pad.
"Uhmm. Squad A. It is definitely a trap we are looking at two G-soldiers behind your car. I can't believe you can't see them through your rear-view mirror. We cannot get through because we know there are many G-soldiers hiding. We will take care of these two G-soldiers behind you. What is your plan of action? Over."
"Let's just wing it." Drew said through the communicator as he opened the doors. He didn't know that as soon as his doors opened, a gun was pointed right at him.
"Step away from the car." the G-soldier said. Drew froze. Just then, two gunshots was heard through Roshfall Forest.
Silence.
It was from Celine's barrel. The two G-army soldiers behind the Escort Car fell. The gunshots triggered some sort of alarm and hidden G-soldiers came out of the woods. The students ran with the sorceress.
"You'll have to thank me, babe. I saved your life." Celine said as she ran towards the Escort Car.
"Later, Celine. I'm working."
"So Drew is Celine's boyfriend. Go figure." Louie thought. A bunch of G-soldiers were now running after them.
"Is everybody junctioned?" Carlos asked while they ran. "Okay. Cerberus."
The three headed dog did not appear. Instead blue diamonds circled around everyone.
"Thanks, Carlos!" Louie responded. Just then, a bunch of G-soldiers started barricading their way.
"Squad A, you take the front, Squad B takes the back!" Louie exclaimed.
"Surround Lady Sylphia!" ordered Drew
Louie cast a massive fire spell that engulfed the first half of the G-soldiers behind them. Celine started firing mercilessly, just like they were trained to do. Her bullets were starting to run out.
"Hey Louie. Can you cast a gravity spell for me?" Elaine asked. "Pull a G-soldier my way."
Louie did what he was told A G-soldier flew to Elaine's face.
"Say bye bye" Elaine said as she slashed his throat.
In the front line, Lady Sylphia cast a strong Tornado spell, the G-soldiers were blown away, literally. Carlos was slashing his way through countless G-soldiers while Ariana punched her way out.
"The gates!" Drew shouted as he spotted the iron gates of Timber. They were closed.
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
Three loud beeps were heard throughout the battlefield. A barrage of soldiers and three Iron Clads barricaded the gates. It was starting to get hopeless.
"Louie, are you ready?" Carlos said.
"What are you talking about?" Louie answered with a question, bringing out the Revolver.
"I'm calling Squad C." Drew said.
"Not yet. I'm ready." Louie said. "We have one last chance. Celine and Drew target the Iron Clads. Ariana and Elaine, protect the sorceress. We take care of the soldiers."
"It's time to surrender or we're all gonna die!" shouted Drew.
"I'm going to cast a massive thunder spell for the Iron Clads. Make sure your bullets and your arrows get through the thunder storm, alright?" Louie said.
"Are you crazy!?"
"Someone shut this guy up!" Louie shouted. "Just tell Squad C that we're having a difficult time and prepare for both possible outcomes."
Louie cast three thundagas at the same time. It was tiring, yet he had to do it. Celine and Drew started shooting and the Iron Clads took massive damage. Louie then prepped a massive Stop spell. He wasn't good with Time Magic, yet he had to try. He cast three Stop spells on all the soldiers.
"Go!" Louie exclaimed as him and Carlos started slashing their way through the unmoving sea of Soldiers. They were fighting. And they were winning. Sylphia cast another Tornado spell. Ariana and Elaine started slashing and punching their way through the soldiers. It seems like they had a chance.
One by one, the soldiers started moving, started attacking back. It was getting harder and harder to fight as the sun set completely and the dark of the night was upon them. It was getting hopeless and Hyne knows that it'll be worse with the sun gone.
"Call Squad C now. Tell them we need back-up and we are heading for Mandy Beach. We cannot get to Timber." Louie shouted to Drew. Celine cast a Protect, Shell and Reflect spell upon him as he made his call. The students started heading for the beach. Slowly, the horizon became the sea and the vessels were visible in the twilight sky. Squad C was also taking out some soldiers.
"Sylphia. Squad C will take you now. Please stay inside the vessel, alright?" Drew talked to Sylphia as Squad C was getting closer.
"No. our best hope is if Sylphia can create a wave for the Soldiers not to follow." Carlos talked back.
"Are you crazy? She might get hurt."
"I can do it." Sylphia says as the leader of Squad C grabs her hand and ran towards the beach.
The vessels opened and the students all ran towards them. The instructors were positioned in the machine gun that was attached to the vessel, ready to fire at any moment. Squad A reached the vessels first, then Squad B, then Squad C, with Sylphia. The Iron Clads started following and floating in water. It started to speed after them.
"The Iron Clads are faster in the water!" shouted Quistis as she held her machine gun. While the students were safe inside, Quistis, Selphie and Instructor Aki, the instructor in charge of Squad C, manned the machine guns. Louie decided to step out of the vessel and so did Sylphia. Louie looked at Sylphia cast a huge water spell and a wave raced towards the shore of Mandy Beach. Louie decided to call out Leviathan, his GF. A sea dragon appeared in the middle of the ocean and caused a giant whirlpool to appear, trapping two of the three Iron Clads.
"There's one more. I'm gonna have to use my magic." Louie thought. He can't use thunder magic because it may affect the vessels. Water and Blizzard magic may work. Louie decided to cast a Blizzaga. Louie froze an entire section of the ocean and froze the Iron Clad with it, leaving it floating in an iceberg.
Just in time, Carlos came out of the vessel of Squad A. He saw Sylphia who was standing beside Instructor Aki, and smiling. Carlos looked at Sylphia and as she caught glimpse of the young Almasy, Carlos waved. Sylphia waved back happily. They entered Balamb waters after another two seconds and were now home free. Louie saw the two make eye contact and smiled as he saw that the sorceress was safe.
"We're okay." Louie thought as he went back to his Squad.
The sun had completely set when they reached Balamb. The instructors parked the vessels in Balamb waters, gave some final instructions to the candidates and headed out.
The waiting was agonizing. Louie Leonhart sat on the floor of the 2F hallway, anxious about how he did on the SeeD exam. His head was down and his hands were supporting his head. In front of him, pacing back and forth, was Carlos Almasy. He was holding his gunblade and dragging it on the floor. This made a sound that was unbearable to most of the students who are waiting. Add this to the fact that they've been waiting for four hours and the cafeteria is closed.
Louie lifted his head, the noise was starting to get intolerable. "Dude can you stop walking around? You're making me more anxious."
"What the hell's you're problem?!" Carlos answered, rather bitterly.
"Dude, calm down." Louie stood up and walked towards Carlos. "You are going to pass, I'm sure of it."
"It's not the passing that I'm worried about."
"Well, whatever it is you're worried about, could you at least stop dragging your blade on the floor? It makes this screechy sound that no one likes."
"Oh Hyne! Was I doing it again?" Carlos lifted his blade and put it back to its sleeve.
"Yup. Don't worry, bro. I'm sure Lady Sylphia's alright." Louie patted his friend's back two times and went back to his original spot on the floor.
When the SeeDs and the students arrived in Balamb with Lady Sylphia, resident SeeDs and other instructors immediately took the princess away from the team. Not one student or SeeD has seen her ever since. Some say that she was lead to the 3rd floor, to the bridge. Others say that she was brought to the basement, where NORG's cocoon is. Still, others say that the SeeDs hid her in the MD level and there are select SeeDs that could come down there with her.
The blue glass elevator suddenly made a whirring sound, the elevator is finally descending. After a while, a high-pitched chime sound was heard from the elevator and the lift stopped right in front of the two. The other students on the floor seem to have heard the sound too for they came rushing to the hallway as soon as the doors opened. Instructor Aki came out from the elevator, holding a clipboard and a pen.
"Are all SeeD candidates here?" Aki started. "Well, if you're not here you probably didn't pass anyway."
"Dude, you think we passed?" Carlos whispered to Louie.
"I don't know about you but I have a feeling I'll be doing this test again next term." Louie whispered back.
"What? Come on, because of that Duke incident? Look, du-"
"Would the two people in front like to shut up?!" Aki was hearing everything they were saying. "As I was saying, only five out of the ten candidates passed."
"Flowers, Ariana Flowers."
"Faragon, Elaine Faragon."
"Branford, Celine Branford."
"Almasy, Carlos Almasy."
"and..."
"Leonhart, Louie Leonhart."
Louie's eyes widened. He didn't think he would pass after talking back to the Duke of Dollet. He walked towards the elevator with the other four new SeeDs, including Carlos Almasy, still looked worried about Lady Sylphia. They all entered the elevator with Instructor Aki.
"What's Carlos's problem?" Celine asked Louie in a whisper.
"Oh he's worried about Lady Sylphia" Louie answered, then was hit in the ribs by Carlos's elbow.
"Oh my gosh! You like the sorceress?" Celine exclaimed, rather too loudly.
"Quiet in the elevator, please." said Instructor Aki. Silence followed as they continued to rise to the bridge. Grins spread wide across their faces. The doors opened after a while and they were all lead to the office of the Headmaster. On the bridge were Headmaster Xu, Commander Squall Leonhart, and Instructors Quistis Almasy and Selphie Kinneas. Quistis had a huge smile on her face that she is obviously trying to hide. Squall's face was at its usual state.
"First of all, congratulations. Welcome to Garden's elite mercenary force, SeeD. I know you all have worked extremely hard to reach this point in your lives and now you have realized that all the bruises and scars from all the battles, the memory loss from all the junctioning and the headaches from all the homeworks are all worth it. However, it does not end here. On the contrary, this is only the beginning. Now that you are all SeeDs, you are entitled with the secrets of the SeeDs."
"Yes. SeeDs have secrets. These secrets will lead the Garden to its ultimate and final battle - the battle against the existence of Ultimecia. Like I have said in the speech this afternoon, the new goal of SeeD is to ensure that the world is safe from the tyrant that is Ultimecia." Xu takes the envelopes that are neatly arranged on her desk.
As she hands Selphie the envelopes, she said "All the information you need to know about SeeD is in this envelope. I recommend you read it by tomorrow. Selphie, please."
Selphie starts handing out the envelopes to the new students. After which, they were dismissed. Louie and Carlos stayed.
"So... Dad... I passed?" Louie asked as the last new SeeD headed out.
"Yes. Don't look too surprised you were good." Squall said
"Really? Did you contact the Duke yet?"
"Yes and despite the fact that you totally expressed your hatred towards him, we here admired the courage it took for you to say those things and the eloquence you had while speaking your mind." Xu answered Louie.
"Really?" Louie once again asked.
"Dude could you stop doubting yourself? You were awesome." Carlos answered this time.
"Carlos why are you here?" Quistis asked.
"Aren't you gonna congratulate me, mom?"
"No really. Why are you here?"
"Well I...uh... I..."
Louie sighed. "He wants to know where the sorceress is."
Quistis smiled. "Well, if you must know, Lady Sylphia is fine, but that's all the information I can give you. Are there any more questions?"
"Yeah. Carlos here is wondering if he could take Lady Sylphia as his date for the SeeD inauguration part-" before Louie could finish his sentence, another one of his ribs were hit by Carlos's elbow.
"Don't get any ideas, Almasy. The sorceress is off-limits." Squall was quick to warn Carlos. Louie laughed.
"Alright if you don't have anything else to ask us, you may leave the bridge." commanded Xu. "This conversation is leading us nowhere."
"Wait a minute." Selphie stopped the children from walking out. "We will be leaving tonight for Centra so you must leave the party by 10 PM alright?"
"Okay." Both boys replied as they headed back to the elevator. They saw that the elevator door was still open and the other new SeeDs were still waiting for them.
"We didn't want you to miss the applause." said Ariana, who was smiling at both Louie and Carlos "Well, get in."
Louie and Carlos smiled and ran towards the elevator.
"So, Carlos, Lady Sylphia, huh?" Ariana spoke once more as she pressed the button for the elevator doors to close. The elevator doors closed.
Louie held back a laugh and Carlos bowed his head in embarassment. Everyone in the elevator teasingly grinned at the young Almasy as the elevator fell to the second floor.