Time Corp. About 100 years after FFVIII's main event.
"Captain Trepe-Sebastsky!"
A group of ten new SeeD candidates, around 12 years of age each, greeted their young captain.
The blonde captain nodded lightly, then asked the group to follow her into a small meeting room painted bright white. In the center was a large oval table, leaving just enough space for a dozen white chairs.
"Take your seats," she commanded the group. The young cadets glanced at each other nervously without making a move.
"Quickly, I don't have all day!" Captain Trepe-Sebastsky quirked her head towards the empty seats, her tone remaining assertive.
The new recruits quickly took the nearest seats as their commander turned on the hologram device in the middle of the table.
"You," the commander looked at a young boy with grey hair who had shown the most courage by taking the seat next to her, "Ace, right?"
The boy swallowed, then answered shyly, "Yes, Captain."
"Nice to meet you, Ace," she said with a quick smile, then turned towards the door. "Could you turn off the lights for us, please?"
Ace hastily stood up and reached the light switch. As the brightness faded, the holographic projection became more clearly visible.
"Hyne! Is that the Ultimecia's castle?" One of the recruits exclaimed.
A gloomy castle materialized in the center of the room, its giant clock towers and turrets glowing under the pale moonlight.
"Yes, it is. But that's quite a heavy lesson for the first day," she said, her voice tinged with a subtle weariness. The captain tapped the touchscreen in front of her one more time, and the gloomy castle hologram dissolved, replaced by the shimmering, radiant image of a towering white building.
"Welcome to Time Corp," the captain announced, gesturing toward the awe-inspiring hologram. "My name is Luluna Trepe-Sebastsky. I assume your recruiters have already told you about me and Time Corp's history?"
Luluna received a few nervous nods from a handful of students. The rest did not dare to move or speak.
"I've also reviewed your profiles many times before reaching out to you all. We can skip the introductions. Starting today, you are part of the Black SeeDs organization, one of many within Time Corp. Our organization's main goal is to defeat Ultimecia and her subordinates in different Time Threads. We work closely with the White SeeDs organization, whose primary objective is to protect the Hyne descendants from being captured by Ultimecia. There are ten Garden units under Black SeeDs, and each unit has six color-coded pods. Our pod is Blue. I know this is a lot to take in on your second day in the future. I'll send our organizational structure to your mailbox. Let's use this time for Q and A. So… do you have any questions?"
The captain swept her gaze across the silent room. No one spoke a word, most staring blankly at the empty space or the hologram of Time Corp moving in midair.
"Really? Am I that scary?" Luluna said, putting on a smile.
She paused, allowing her words to sink in before continuing, "You all are about to undergo the most grueling training in the universe, fight against the most dangerous sorceress, and there's no way to return home. Yet, no questions?"
"Um..." A brunette shyly raised her hand.
"Go ahead, Gina."
"Why us?" Gina frowned. "We're just... kids."
"Yes, that's a very good question," Luluna nodded. "Although, Gina, you're no normal kid, you knew that. But admittedly, I had the exact same question when I first came here. The captain I reported to at the time told me..."
Her words were cut off as she glanced at a familiar figure just outside the meeting room through the window.
"Speaking of the devil," she smiled and nodded at the black-haired man.
He stood briefly in the doorway, a striking figure with dark skin and a muscular build. A black mask covered the lower half of his face, revealing only his sharp, piercing eyes that scanned the group intently. Two gleaming katanas were sheathed on his back, their hilts protruding over his broad shoulders. The man waved at the whole group and then walked away. The captain watched him go, her expression one of respect and amusement, though more of the latter.
"That's Colonel Napen Cohen. He commands our Garden unit. Please say hi to him when you have a chance. He and I are usually on missions. We don't stick around the headquarter too long."
She paused, then continued, "Anyway, back to your question, Gina. Our pod color is Blue because it stands for Blue Mages. That's the thing all of us in this room have in common. I hope by now, you all have realized that you're no ordinary children. Especially you, Gina. You grew up in the same Galbadian research camp with the Hyne Messenger, am I right?" she asked.
"Um..." Gina looked confused, glancing at the other kids for help. "Who's the Hyne Messenger?"
"Oh, my apologies. I haven't had my coffee yet," Luluna said, putting a hand to her head. "The Hyne Messenger returned magic to Earth a couple of years after your time. You are the only ones we've recruited prior to that event, I believe."
Sensing Gina's confusion, she asked for a volunteer.
"Anyone witnessed that event?"
No one answered.
"Come on, don't be shy. You're all smart. You should know by now that I was born after all of you," Luluna revealed, "I may have to call some of you uncles and aunts. I didn't witness any of these events. Tell me and Gina. Please."
"I can talk about it," Ace raised his hand. "We've learned about this topic in school for two years. It all started with the Inner Fire leaking uncontrollably from the Earth's core. All Hyne descendants absorbed the leaking magic and became very powerful. It took two long years to settle the bloodshed among the Hyne descendants, particularly involving Sorceress Elutia. However, the risk of the Inner Fire burning the Earth was still present, unless we returned the excessive magic to Hyne. Esthar scientists planned to use Elutia's body, or so they thought, to house all Hyne descendants' magical cores, which act like magnets to channel Earth's magic back to Hyne..."
Luluna waved her index finger at Ace, signaling him to pause, then asked Gina.
"Does the name Elutia ring a bell?"
"I've heard of her," Gina nodded repeatedly. "She was born with the highest concentration of Hyne's mythical core. No wonder..."
"Uh uh," Luluna shook her head lightly. "It wasn't Sorceress Elutia who was sent to space. It was her twin sister who became the Hyne Messenger. It's unclear whether she was forced to take Elutia's place, right?" Luluna addressed Ace, who nodded.
"There are all kinds of rumors," Ace continued. "The Hyne Messenger is very controversial. Schools have stopped teaching us about her, and newspapers and books about her were destroyed. Did she really go mad?"
Luluna shook her head. "Unknown. It could be true in some timelines, and in others, it could be that it was all part of her revenge plan."
"Revenge? Who did she want to revenge?" Ace asked.
Luluna paused momentarily before giving everyone a shocking answer.
"Me," she said, slightly tilting her head downward.
"But..." Ace stuttered, "you were born after the magic return ritual, right? How could she know about your existence?"
"And that's a good intro into how complicated time travel and the mingling of timelines can be," she replied. "All of our actions during time travel have consequences. There are a lot of unknowns despite the technology that allows us to travel between eras. That's why we train the best warriors here, not just because of your physical and magical abilities, but also your wit. You will learn how to avoid creating loops or singularities during your travels. Any other questions?"
Gina raised her hand again, now looking more certain. "I still don't understand, why us? Why do you need to go all the way back 100 years and bring us here? Why don't you just train the kids in your own time?"
"There are many reasons making you the best warriors," Luluna looked around the room. "Brienne, you were born ten years after the magic return ritual. What happened then?"
"From what I've heard..." Brienne recounted, "as magic was gone, children born had no Hyne's core, and most cannot wield magic."
"Correct. And there's another reason," Luluna continued. "Not only do we have to attack Ultimecia, but we also need to defend against her attack. She also possesses the ability to go back in time. There's a caveat though - if she goes to a place without magic, it's harder to get back. Hence the decade after the Hyne magic return event is the best time to recruit soldiers, as we assume Ultimecia will be less likely to go back then."
"Um, I'm sorry to be this slow to understand," Gina raised her hand again. "Is the Hyne Messenger and Ultimecia the same person?"
"Mostly, no," the captain answered. "And I know this vague answer would sound crazy, but I want to be extremely technically correct on this. Like I said, there are many time threads, each spawned from a pivotal event. And also, don't think of Ultimecia as a single person in which we could just go back time and kill baby Ultimecia. I learned that lesson the hard way. Rather, Ultimecia is a role - the role of Hyne's last sorceress in each time thread. We Black SeeDs have defeated a number of Ultimecia's. The battle is long, but I reassure you, it is finite. One day, we will defeat the last last Sorceress."
"So..." Ace interrupted, "what happens after we defeat the last Ultimecia?"
"I honestly don't know," Luluna turned off the screen, and the hologram disappeared. "But I hope we can find that out soon in our lifetime."
She glanced through the window and saw Napen again.
"Class dismissed. Please follow your training instructors back to your dorm. Train hard, and you may join us in real missions soon. Good luck!"
After watching the young recruits being picked up by their instructors, Napen leaned in and whispered to his report.
"Lu, fancy a drink?"
Her eyes lit up, but she quickly regained her composure. "What ya got?"
"Your favorite," he said, a brief smile crossing his face.
"Balamb hotdogs?"
"Original flavor," he nodded.
"Your room or mine?"
"Yours."
"Oh, come on!" she winced. "Why can't we use your room for once?"
Napen immediately defended. "Hey, it's not my fault! It's your pod that takes my place to host Triple Triad tournament every week."
"Oh, please!" she nagged. "All you have to do is take back your room key from Kierhyn. You just want to overload my room with your stuff, don't you? You've had oozing, unwashed laundry in my closet since your last mission. Even Pumpkin refuses to sleep there."
Napen laughed amusingly. "Come on, sis. Aren't you the one who complains about being lonely in your childhood? Learn to share, maybe you'd make more friends. Alright, I'll grab the food. Be there in 15!"
"Unbelievable!" Luluna sighed as Napen ran away.