Wow. It's been a while since I've had a chance to write anything on this. School really dropped the hammer on me this semester. Fortunately, my summer vacation is coming up in a month or so, which should hopefully mean that I'll have more time to deal with my writing and such without having to worry about classwork.
Book I, Part II: Mortal Conflict - The Zodiac Brave Story
Chapter VIII: Heart And Soul
[March 18, 2152 | Trabia Garden, First Floor, Lobby | 9:44 PM]
"Here are my enrollment application papers," I tell the front desk's receptionist, who nods, taking the papers from me and looking over them carefully with a trained eye. After a minute of examination, she nods to me, affirming everything is in order.
"Very good. The physical examination part of the entrance exam will start at 0900 hours tomorrow morning. Please be prompt."
Nodding thanks, I turn and begin to head out the door, intent on returning to the Celsius. I don't know just what time it is, but I'm definitely liking the idea of sleep right about now.
[March 18, 2152 | Celsius, Second Level, Hallway | 9:49 PM]
Soon, I'm back on the familiar ship, inside the elevator heading to the level with our rooms. The elevator slows and opens, letting me step out to find Yuna and Rikku talking outside the room of the former.
"Hey there," I call, looking over at the two girls with a small smile. "Miss me?"
"Hey," Yuna says, glancing back at me as Rikku waves. "How did you like your exam?"
"Too much paperwork..." I grunt, just shaking my head at the thought.
"No kidding," Rikku chimes in, looking back at Yuna. "There must've been twenty pages worth there!"
"At least we got them finished in time," Yuna says, which makes me stop.
"Wait, huh? You guys did applications too?"
"Of course we did! We started thinking about it, and thought it might be a good idea. They've got classes for everything here! Melee weapons, magic, guns, alchemy, you name it, really," Rikku tells me, sounding pretty excited.
"Okay...who's 'we'?" I ask, leaning against the wall.
"Me, Rikku, Paine, and Tidus," Yuna replies, before Rikku holds up a hand.
"Hey, don't forget Shuyin and Lenne!"
"You got them to join, too?"
"They weren't sure at first, but after they looked at what this place offered, they were sold!" Rikku says. It's still a mystery to me as to where she gets all of her energy from.
"Didn't those other two guys say they were going into Trabia, too?"
"Tetsuya and Yuki? Yeah, that's the reason they're here in Trabia to begin with," Yuna says, nodding.
"Thought so. Either way, I only know one thing right now. I'm going to bed," I reply, yawning slightly. "I'll see you guys in the morning."
"Okay, good night," Yuna says, as Rikku runs over and gives me a kiss before I walk inside, turning back to Yuna to continue their conversation. Quietly, I shut the door to my room, ready to get some sleep for tomorrow morning.
[March 19, 2152 | Esthar, Conrad Synthetics, Zeo Conrad's Office | 8:17 AM]
Zeo Conrad shuffled through several papers on his desk, checking carefully over some figures before beginning to do calculations. His company was doing what some might call exceptionally well, though Conrad didn't think of it as anything other than business as usual. As the leading supplier of a widespread amount of materials to construction companies, medical offices and hospitals, and some part of nearly everything essential to everyday life in some form or another, Conrad's fairly small amount of holdings had grown into a massive enterprise over a period of years, bringing several wealthy businesses into its own company holdings. His entrepreneurial empire spanned tens of millions of Gil, if not more, and Conrad was proud of his accomplishments.
"Sir, someone is here to see you. He says that his name is Will."
The speakers on Conrad's desk crackled to life with the voice of his secretary, and he quirked an eyebrow, papers momentarily forgotten.
"I don't remember scheduling any such appointment. Send him in, though. I have some time."
That was another of Conrad's strengths - his ability to negotiate. Conrad had the ability to recognize ways to come out ahead in the long run, and throughout the years he had discovered that openness will get you far in a business, be it openness to ideas or individuals.
A minute later, Will stepped through the doors of Zeo Conrad's office, nodding to the businessman. Zeo stood from his chair and walked around his desk, shaking hands with Will quietly.
"A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Conrad," Will said, causing Zeo to smile.
"Likewise. Will, is it?" Zeo asked, to which Will nodded in agreement.
"That's correct."
"Well then, Will, please have a seat," Zeo said, ushering Will to a chair as he returned to his position behind the desk.
"I'll only take a minute of your time," Will stated, looking at Zeo unflinchingly across the desk. "I must take possession of the Virgo Holy Stone, both for your safety and the safety of others."
Zeo's eyes narrowed to slits. How had this man known that he possessed another Holy Stone? No one in his company or personal connections knew that information - he had saved it as a trump card of sorts.
"I'd merely like to ask why you believe you can walk in here and 'take possession,' as you put it, of my personal property."
Will remained calm and collected, the Pillar of the Future unfazed by the businessman's statement.
"Because, Mr. Conrad, I have foreseen the peril that comes with the twelve Holy Stones being allowed to remain in mortal hands. If the Stones are left unchecked, it will have disastrous consequences for your realm."
Zeo scoffed at Will, holding up a hand.
"I've heard enough from you. Sec-"
Before he could finish his call for security, however, his body suddenly froze, a result of Will's subtle use of a Stop spell.
"I do not wish any harm on you. However, you may not be allowed to keep the Stone."
A moment later, the Virgo Holy Stone suddenly floated out of Zeo's pocket, rising into the air and floating towards Will, who caught the Stone deftly.
"I apologize for this, but it was necessary. Good day, Mr. Conrad."
With that said, Will stood up and turned, calmly and quietly walking out of the room, while Zeo remained frozen at his desk, seething with anger. Taking the elevator back down to the first floor, Will waved gently at the lady at the front desk, before walking out of the front door and vanishing in a small orb of white light.
Upstairs, Zeo was released from the Stop spell, and promptly slammed his hand on a button on his desk.
"Security! Find the man who was just in my office, now!" he yelled into the intercom, waiting for a confirmation.
"I'm sorry, sir, but it appears there are no traces of anyone being in your office this morning," a voice replied over the speakers. Zeo growled in frustration, turning the intercom off and slamming a fist down on his desk.
[March 19, 2152 | Trabia Garden, Knight's Hall, Training Grounds | 8:54 AM]
Morning came all too swiftly, if you ask me.
It almost took me a bit of time to get out of bed...until I remembered why I was waking up so early. Needless to say, I was ready to go very quickly after that. After a few minutes of getting directions to the training grounds at Knight's Hall, where the physical exam was to be held, I finally made my way here. Strangely enough, even though I'd imagined SeeD in general to have a large amount of trainees awaiting a chance at cadet status, there don't seem to be very many here. Maybe just over a hundred in all.
As I take the time to look around and examine the field, I see a figure striding towards us...two figures, actually. One is Katanas, that much is certain, despite the fact that he appears to be dressed in what I assume is his Trabian SeeD uniform. The other is a man about his height with dark hair, and dressed in what I can only guess is some kind of kimono, featuring a white robe or shirt of some kind under a dark black robe with golden designs along the edge of the front.
"Looks like you got a pretty nice turnout this year, Katanas," the man says, looking over at him. "Your Alchemy program might just end up bigger this year than it has ever been."
'Well, that explains a lot. These aren't all the trainees, just the ones looking at the Alchemy program,' I think to myself, turning my gaze back to the duo of men.
"Maybe," Katanas admits, looking over the group of trainees. "We'll just have to see how many actually make it in."
"True enough," the man concedes with a shrug, as Katanas steps forward.
"May I have your attention, everyone."
All talking seems to stop nearly immediately, as all eyes begin to focus on Katanas.
"Thank you. It's 0900 hours now, so I will begin. I welcome you all here to Knight's Hall, where you will shortly begin your physical assessment under my colleague, Instructor Georg. Instructor Georg is the department head for melee instruction and defensive skills here at Trabia Garden, and I hope that you all will learn from him, even today. Instructor?"
With a wave of his hand, he allows the instructor to step forward, clearing his throat.
"Thank you, Commander. As he said, I welcome you here to Knight's Hall for the second part of the entrance exam. This part is exactly what the name suggests - a physical examination that will test your speed, strength, stamina, and dexterity. This may be the entrance exam for the Alchemy branch, but that doesn't mean you can sit back and let your mind do all the work. You have to be prepared for anything. If you think you're not ready for this exam, I suggest you back out now and come back when you are."
Nothing is said among the group of trainees, and no one moves to leave the area. The instructor just nods a little, smiling.
"No quitters in this bunch, I see. That's a good sign," he says, before turning to Katanas. "Well, Commander, I believe I can take things from here, if you need to leave."
"Good to hear, Instructor. You should be able to find me in my office if something comes up," he replies, before beginning to walk off the way the pair came. The Instructor just turns back to us, with somewhat of a smile on his face.
"Alright, guys and girls, listen up! This exam is now in session! We'll start with something easy and fun, then work our way up to see just what you're capable of! I want every cadet to drop and give me push-ups, two minutes!"
I can almost swear I hear some groaning from nearby cadets, before every one of us begins to hit the ground in somewhat of a wave effect, beginning to do push-ups. I can already tell that this exam will be a lot tougher than the last, and not just because it's physical work versus a bunch of writing.
Ten minutes later, my suspicions are confirmed.
Right after the first two minutes of push-ups were over, we were told to unjunction any Guardian Forces we might be using. Then the exercises really began. More push-ups, sit-ups, and a few sprints so far, with no sign of it getting any easier from here. Most everyone is showing at least some signs of fatigue, mostly just a bit of heavy breathing as they try to catch a moment's respite. I'm just thankful I made an attempt to get myself in shape a few years ago, or I'm fairly sure I'd be in bad shape at the moment.
"Okay, listen up! The next exercise will test your endurance! Two mile run, from here to the Garden's gates and back. First one back gets...well, you'll have to be the first one back to see, won't you?"
The Instructor just smiles, before taking off towards the Garden. All of us begin to follow as quickly as we can, the entire group of applicants turning into a surging mass of people heading for the gates.
Even without junctions, my strongest point has always been my speed. I've found very few people who can even keep pace with me at a full run most of the time, let alone outpace me. So, I'm not very surprised to see myself near the front of the group almost immediately, before I slow down a bit.
"This is a two-mile run...I need to pace myself," I mutter, turning my pace into a brisk jog. People begin to pass me, heading to the front of the pack with focused looks on their faces. Even then, I'm still around the middle of the group. The group is beginning to spread out even now, with some people obviously leading the rest of the group, and some people trailing somewhat behind. We've probably covered about half the distance back to the Garden already, which means we're a quarter of the way done with the exercise.
Nothing seems to be out of the ordinary as we hit the gates and turn around, which is good news for me. I'm just glad that something seems to be normal for once. Finding out that a goddess wants you dead for almost no reason is enough to make anyone stop and blink a little. Everyone seems to be picking up the pace a little now that we're on the returning end of the run, and I do so as well, thankful that I made the smart decision to conserve some of my energy early on. Some students are looking quite tired now, lagging behind several yards as they try to regain some energy to finish the run with.
This entire time, the Instructor hasn't said a word, instead just continuing to keep pace in front of us, looking back every so often to check our progress and to make sure we're keeping up. As we continue to run, however, he suddenly looks back and yells to us.
"Half-mile left! Don't you give up on me now!"
That shout seems to make everyone refocus their efforts, including myself. As I speed up, trying to get back to the front of the group from my position at roughly fifteen or twenty behind the leader, I grimace a little. The strain of the running is getting to me even more now, and I can feel my lungs aching and my right side throbbing from the exertion. Still, I keep going. I didn't come out here just to get left behind and overshadowed by a bunch of other people. I came out here to prove myself. Not just to the Instructor...but to myself as well.
Ever since the SFA Grand Championship, I've had a nagging feeling inside of me, some feeling that's been making me doubt myself. That feeling of doubt hasn't gone away; if anything, it's gotten stronger since coming to Gaia. I hate feeling like I'm the weakest link, but I haven't been able to do anything to make myself feel better about it. Now, being out here in Trabia and training to get into one of the most elite groups on the planet...the doubt only seems to have gotten stronger. If I can't do it, if I can't get into SeeD and prove that I'm more than just what everyone takes me for at first glance, then I'll feel like my decision to come here was all a big waste. Not to mention the obvious question - if I can't run two miles, how am I supposed to be able to defend myself against Fayt?
I don't intend to let myself down like that.
Even as we approach the last few hundred yards back to the training grounds, I'm still moving up towards the front. I'm somewhere inside the top ten now, but I don't care about that right now. All I care about is getting to the front of the group and making it the last bit of the way. The Instructor is almost to the grounds now, and appears to have stopped to watch us as we approach. Putting all of my effort into keeping myself going, I look ahead to see two other people in front of me, just as we near the Instructor's position. The Instructor glances at a watch, then signals to the person in front, who finally slows to a stop, breathing heavily and kneeling to take a rest. As I slow down as well, stopping just after the first two people, I sigh a little, also kneeling to catch my breath. I may not have come out the leader, but third place is good enough for me.
The rest of the group gradually falls in behind us, some running past the "finish line," some merely walking and trying to catch their breath. The Instructor stands still, pulling out a small pad and beginning to note down the times that we arrived in. Despite my legs feeling like jelly, my chest aching from the exertion, and my side cramping from lack of oxygen...I actually feel pretty good about everything.
"Not bad, not bad," the Instructor comments, looking over our group, most of whom are still trying to catch their breath. "I'll give all of you two or three minutes to recover before we go on to the next part."
'Finally...long-distance running is definitely not my thing...but I made it. I am so glad that's over with...then again, the next part is probably even worse than this one.'
[Ethereal Plane, Destine's Domain]
"Sis, are you sure you're not doing anything other than wasting my time? I've got things to deal with, you know," Fayt muttered, looking over at the figure of her "sister," Destine.
"You really need to learn patience," Destine retorted, glancing over at Fayt with mild annoyance tinging her features.
"You proposed this little truce of ours, you wanted me to come talk to you, so the least you can do is get on with it!" grumbles Fayt, folding her arms.
'Brat,' Destine thought to herself, turning away from Fayt.
"I just wanted to know how your plan is progressing. Have you managed to get rid of that kid yet, or those DeValle brothers?"
"...Not yet," Fayt replied, shrugging. "That annoying Ethereal Magus and her boyfriend showed up and spoiled my fun." Destine just gave a loud sigh - relying on others wasn't something she enjoyed.
"Can't you do anything right?"
"Hey, I'm the one doing all the work! You're just sitting back and watching all of this, you know! You could at least give me a little bit of help!" Fayt replied indignantly, glaring at Destine.
"You're right, Fayt. I should give you some help."
Turning back to Fayt, Destine's hand began to glow a slight shade of blue. Fayt quirked an eyebrow...just in time to see Destine grab her arm with her now-glowing hand. Immediately, Fayt and Destine both became covered in blue light, the sensation causing Fayt to hiss.
"What...what are you trying to pull, sis?!" she spat, looking at Destine with rage boiling in her eyes.
"Simple. Since you seem to be inept at getting your half of this deal done with, I'm going to do it for you. All that power of yours? That's about to be mine."
Fayt just growled before blasting a spell into Destine with her free hand - she hadn't cared what spell, just anything to keep her 'sister' from taking her energy. Surprised, Destine let go, watching as Fayt stumbled back a step. The exchange, brief though it was, had drained her, and all Fayt could do now was glare at her "sister."
"You witch...I can't believe you! Do you know how long it took me to get that much extra energy?!"
"Of course I do. That's why I took it. Congratulations, you just advanced my plans by a large margin."
Destine smiled at Fayt, then disappeared, leaving Fayt alone to scream and rage at the empty Ethereal domain.
I had an incredibly difficult time trying to decide what I wanted to do with this chapter. The ending part with Fayt and Destine was my favorite part of this whole chapter. As always, please read and review.