Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Paradise ❯ Harmony ( Chapter 2 )

“You're the best guy here. Dance with me? Let me guess… you'll only dance with someone you like. Okay then… look into my eyes… you're going to like me… you're going to like me… did it work?”

“… I can't dance.”

“You'll be fine.”

 

The remembrance washed away in a flash of light, and slowly, the sound of the sea filled his ears. Easily, his eyes slowly opened, and the swirls that were painted on his ceiling greeted his eyes. With a tired grunt, Squall pushed himself up with one arm, using his other hand to rub his eyes. After making sure he could keep his eyes open, he looked over to his nightstand to see a picture of him and Rinoa, arms around each others' waists. They were at the celebration party after the defeat of Ultimecia, Rinoa gleaming with a radiant smile and Squall showing no emotion whatsoever, per usual.

 

It seemed like it was just yesterday.

 

But no, yesterday was the day they all met at the front gate and said their goodbyes, and one of the greatest things to happen to Squall left with the oncoming of dusk. It felt as if a part of him had left too… Squall was still her Knight, bound by an accordance in which he was meant to guard her until the end of time. Like Seifer had been to his Sorceress. Beautiful that connection was, but Squall never found it in himself to go to the next level… perhaps he had love for her, perhaps she had love for him… but neither of them took the next step. Unfortunate, especially now that she was finally gone with the break of the new day.

 

And it had all started on that night, that night when Rinoa came to Graduation… had time really gone that fast? How much time had or should have passed during the Compression? Perhaps Squall's body clock was off… or perhaps the longing in his soul was sending him a message.

 

Good morning, Leonheart.

 

Squall jumped slightly, placing a hand on his bare chest and looking around for a split second, but then realized he must have accidentally fallen asleep with the guardian still in junction… he sure was quieter than the others.

 

Hello, Alexander.

 

You feel pain… I cannot heal.

 

Yeah… I suppose only I can.

 

Alexander hummed in the back of Squall's mind, perhaps even in agreement. It was true… only he could try and mend this wound, but it would probably be to no avail.

 

Scowling at his own weakness, Squall got out of bed and took his towel from the radiator, then headed off to the shower.

 

- - -

 

“Tired?”

 

Quistis jumped as Irvine dropped a tray of food on the table, and smirked knowingly as he took a seat. His hair was drawn back into a braid, wavy bangs falling to the sides of his face. His cowboy hat wasn't on, and he wore a white t-shirt with white pants that were held up by a white, braided belt. The Instructor looked down and saw a small puddle of drool on her papers below her; apparently she had momentarily fallen asleep on an open palm. Slightly embarrassed, she began sorting the clutter back together, putting her glasses back on and peering over them at Irvine as she usually did when she was analyzing him.

 

“Well, you're up early. Hyne be praised.”

“Oh, your words hurt me, Quisty. If I am to be a responsible role model to all the young'uns, I gotta get up with the roosters, am I right?”

“Congratulations. You're the new Role Model of the Day for your new-found ability to wake up before noon.”

 

Quistis smiled kindly and closed her folder, then finished off the last few drops of apple juice.

 

“If you actually had to go through SeeD training like the rest of us had to, you'd be much more willing to wake up early, lest you miss your lessons. I personally think you could stand to take a few courses, but that's just my opinion.”

 

Irvine mocked Quistis by mimicking her lip movements and making silly faces, Quistis squeaking in fake offense and tossing her unused plastic fork at him. The gunner simply smiled and simply used the projectile to take his first bite of eggs.

 

“Ick, seems as if someone lost their cookbook.”

“I personally never eat breakfast; juice is good enough for me.”

 

Instructor Trepe stood from the table they were sitting at and shoved in her chair, straightening her classes and looking at her watch.

 

“But anyway, it's good that you're up early. Zell is taking his Team Tactics 101 class to the Training Centre first period, and wanted someone else to come along to aid in some demonstrations. Surely, it would be a wise idea anyway, supposedly the construction project started last evening, it seems as if the construction company was anticipating our approval. Xu and other SeeDs spent a good part of the night shepherding the monsters over to the eastern divisions, so this will be the first class to head in since construction began. An extra hand couldn't hurt… Irvine, are you listening to me?!”

 

Irvine poked at his eggs curiously, head set low and observing his breakfast with an unwavering eye.

 

“Yup. Training Centre. First period. Monsters. Got it.”

 

Quistis peered down at Irvine dubiously, and without a further word strode out of the Cafeteria, her high-heels clicking as she left Irvine to his inspection.

 

- - -

 

“Identification, please.”

 

Zell groaned and began digging in his rather deep jeans pockets for his card while his entire class lingered behind him, now beginning to chatter amongst each other in waiting for Training Centre access. Needless to say, it took longer than expected. The young martial artist took out a variety of things including a Swiss army knife and gum wrappers. Finally, he stuffed a gloved hand into his back pocket and found his Instructor's Card, showing it proudly to the construction overseer. The man peered through thick-rimmed glasses and looked at the picture, then looked at Zell, then to the name and ID number.

 

“Very well. You're cleared. How many will be accompanying you?”

“Twenty-five cadets.”

“Plus one sniper too talented for his own good.”

 

Zell raised a brow and turned around to see Irvine approaching from the crowd, most of the girls dropping their conversations and oogling at Irvine longingly. He simply winked at them, then smiled and hooked his arm around Zell's shoulders, giving him a brief noogie before slinging his gun, Exeter, on his shoulder and looking around at the various structures that were being torn down. Zell's face slowly began to turn a light shade of pink again at the sudden, yet brief surprise, the tattoo on his face enveloped by the gentle color change.

 

“Huh, so you're here to help out?”

“Yes sir. Quisty told me how you needed a bit of extra help earlier.”

“I see… wait, you were up before noon?!”

 

Irvine snorted and rolled his eyes and began walking with Zell off towards the eastern sectors, arm still around his shoulders and the class steadily beginning to follow at a brief hand gesture by their Instructor.

 

“You know, Irvine, you can't go all `superhero gunner' mode in front of the kids, it might set a bad impression and stuff…”

“`Course not. Only would do that for the special kids.”

 

Irvine noticed a certain girl smiling and waving to him, and Zell understood what he was implying.

 

“Irvine! Have you… no that's… Irvine, it's against the rules to do anything like…”

“Shh. Secret. No tell,” said Irvine, and menially waved at the girl, then returned to talking to his friend. Zell noticed that his arm was still around him, and sighed in defeat.

 

“So, what are we up to today?” Irvine asked, ducking under an archway that led to the new section, now wearing his usual cowboy hat. Suddenly, all realized that there weren't more workers, and it began to feel like the good old Training Centre again. Zell plucked Irvine's hand off of him and shooed him off to a side for the meantime.

 

“Okay all, gather round,” he tried to say in his best mentor voice. Zell in reality was only a handful of years older than those he was teaching, and was shorter than a good portion of them, yet he commanded their attention well. Zell had become a good and well-respected teacher over the past year, able to keep his students attentive and yearning to improve themselves. Perhaps it was because that not too long, Zell was just like them, energetic and anxious, and he knew how to connect to them all too easily.

 

His class formed a half-circle around himself and Irvine, all beginning to quiet as class officially began just a little ways into the eastern division.

 

“Good morning, all. Now, for many of you this is your first time in the Training Centre, but let it be known that here, you will only encounter two monsters; one being the common Grat, dwellers of the wood and forest with long tentacles that enables them to fight from a good ways off. Another type is the T-Rex, which a truly terrible animal whose only goal is to see your blood, and taste it for themselves. But we won't go deep enough into the area to encounter them, so relax.”

 

A younger group of students all exhaled in relief, not particularly in the mood to get their insides tossed all over the place that morning.

 

“Today, we will be combining all that we have gone over for the past couple weeks, and putting it to work. Now, gather in pairs of three… there we go… okay yeah Samantha you can go over there with Troy and Zalani… okay, are we all set here? Good, so what we're going--”

“Excuse me, Instructor, but I don't have anyone to team up with…”

 

Zell flickered his glamorous blue eyes to a student not even two years younger than him, with dark hair that seemed to have tints of midnight blue, ruffled bangs falling before his eyes. He wore baggy black pants and a black sleeveless shirt that revealed well-toned arms, not matching Zell's by any means but good enough to show that he knew at least a thing or two about fighting.

 

“Hmm, was your name Aidan?”

“Yes, Instructor.”

 

Irvine turned his head, snapping out of his daydream to hear a timid voice speaking, and rested his gaze on the cadet named Aidan, who was shyly stepping out from the mass of students, who had all paired up in eight groups by now. He looked as if he was only a couple inches shorter than Irvine himself, and held a spear in his left hand, the shaft tucked under his arm and grazing his back.

 

“Well, I guess you can be in a group with Irvine and myself. That's good, we can properly give a demonstration now.”

 

Aidan nodded and glanced at a group of cadets who were watching him with a hopeful expression. Apparently, they were his friends and couldn't include him in their group. Zell patted his cadet on the shoulder and stepped forward to continue on with the class.

 

“Anyway, there are hundreds of formations out there, but with a trio, the options are more limited. If in your group you have…”

 

Zell's voice droned on, and Irvine yawned casually, ineffectively inspecting his gun. It was always properly cleaned, loaded and assembled, but he had nothing better to do.

 

The boy seems troubled.

 

Irvine blinked at the sudden commentary by Siren in his mind, and turned to see Aidan kicking a rock pensively, his spear stuck in the ground and his hands stuffed in his pockets.

 

Looks like you're right. Any idea why?

 

I am your protector, Sniper. His mind is not mine to plunder.

 

Irvine blinked at the beauty's choice of verb, but didn't question it and instead leaned in to the student, talking quietly as to not interrupt the lengthy lecture Zell was just getting into.

 

“Hey, kid. Why so blue?”

 

The spear handler glanced at Irvine, a bit startled. He sighed and let his frosty blue eyes travel over to his group of friends.

 

“See that brunette over there with the knife?”

“Why yes, I do,” said Irvine. Not a bad caboose, either.

 

Concentrate, Sniper.

 

Irvine made a face at Siren although it looked as if he was scowling at the back of Zell's head.

 

“Well, we… broke up at breakfast this morning. Said I didn't pay enough attention to her.”

“That's a shame. Is she right?”

“Yeah… I guess. A while back, my best friend got a girlfriend and neglected all his friends and I knew how that made me feel, and I didn't want to do the same to my friends, especially with how many good friends I have that might feel hurt, you know?”

 

Irvine nodded, but inwardly marveled at the fact that this kid actually had a large group of friends. Seemed as if he was an outcast, but maybe he was just upset.

 

“Well, there's always next time. The thing is, women need constant attention to their needs, and plenty of ice cream. I learned that the hard way.” Irvine simply smirked at late nights he had with Selphie, simply eating ice cream and watching old movies, just because.

 

“She's lactose intolerant.”

“Okay, well, most need plenty of ice cream.”

 

Aidan chuckled and even managed to half-smile a bit, revealing a row of perfectly aligned and glimmering teeth.

 

“So, I'm Irvine Kinneas. Nice to meet you.”

 

Irvine extended a hand, and the cadet took a moment before shaking it and nodding in a friendly manner.

 

“Aidan Clearwater, likewise.”

“Clearwater? I've heard that before…”

“My father's a general in the Galbadian Army.”

“… oh.” Irvine replied wearily, not particularly caring for Galbadia after all that had happened. Yet, it was still home. “General Geoffrey Clearwater, I assume. Quite… the guy.”

“Yeah, he's not the greatest person in the world. My mother and I moved to Balamb after my parents got through with a divorce, and so I enrolled here when I was old enough.”

 

Irvine nodded solemnly, now pondering who was worse; Clearwater or Martine. Oh, how Galbadia had changed over the years…

 

“So, you're good with the spear?”

“I guess,” replied Aidan with a shrug. “I started out with the bow, but decided that close-range would be more exciting for me… I've only been doing it for a little less than a year.”

“Heh, good for you, kid.”

“Aidan.”

“Oh, right.”

“Are you two done here, or can we start the lesson?” came a new voice.

 

The two looked over to Zell, who had his arms crossed and was smirking, the rest of the class behind him and observing the two, some giggling and/or whispering to each other.

 

Irvine cocked his treasured Exeter and motioned a hand to the expanse of the Centre, stepping aside regally.

 

“After you, Instructor.”

 

- - -

 

“And that is why I believe that a division of SeeDs should be re--”

“No.”

“Commander, I didn't even make the proposal yet.”

 

Squall sighed and waved his hand while rubbing the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, lightly feeling the edge of his scar while doing so.

 

“And that is why I believe that a division of SeeDs should be relocated to the primary division of Galbadia to serve as top advisors to the headmistress as well as being able to aid in the new training regiment that Martine has established. Also, they could help take care of the growing number of missions that only continue to stack due to our lack of high-ranking personnel. We have tried to bring in lower-ranking officers to take them on, but it somewhat backfired… so if this were to take place, the transfer would have to be done within the next month.”

“No.”

 

The envoy stared blankly for a split second then allowed her slacking jaw to close as she responded.

 

“No to what?”

“No to everything.”

 

Squall noticed the confused expression he was receiving, and before she got to get in another word, he continued.

 

“This relocation would sap us of the strongest and brightest we have, and once word gets out of the transfer, it would only bring the high-paying missions that keep us afloat over to Galbadia, and we will just be in the boat you are now. Balamb has trained and educated our students brilliantly, and I will not allow for Galbadia to reap the benefits of our long strains of work. If Martine and the Lady Headmistress are so strapped for talent, then tell them that we can always take those difficult jobs out of their hands. Hyne knows we could use the extra money.”

“Is this negation not a violation of the bicameral alliance, Commander?”

“Violation? Violation?!”

 

Quistis and Xu, who were standing behind Squall at his desk began to get a bit of a scare in their watchful eyes, looking to each other for a moment before looking back to the diplomat, who was now looking a bit more terrified than before. Apparently, Squall's stubbornness and temper were widely known.

 

“Our alliance is strictly a military pact. Should Galbadia be threatened by war, we will send our troops over to aid them in the defense, and vice versa. Should Galbadia go to war against an enemy of the peace, then we will send our troops over to aid them in the offense, and vice versa. This agreement we made only six months ago says nothing about mercenary trade, so my refusal doesn't jeopardize our amicable friendship at all. So, is there anything else you would like for me to say no to, or have you had enough?”

 

The visitor's expression was now solemn, slowly nodding and returning to a more monotonous tone, the customary courtier way.

 

“That is all. I thank you for your time, and Hyne be with Balamb.”

 

And with that, she slipped on her sunglasses and turned to stride out of the office, attendants escorting her to the elevator, and thankfully out of the sight of Squall, whose face was now slightly red, but he showed no sign of anger. But perhaps some discontent.

 

“Another request under the rug,” remarked Xu, rubbing her chin thoughtfully and sighing as she began to gather folders off of Squall's desk.

 

“I think you were a bit hard on her, Squall,” Quistis commented directly after Xu broke the lingering silence. “She looked as if she was a bit new at the job, so she might take things the wrong way and twist what actually happened when reporting to the Garden. We can't afford to get Martine all peeved again, Squall.”

 

“They have to learn that they can't rely on Balamb for everything, especially when a good chunk of our income is being saved for the Trabia rebuilding project. We have enough things to get done around here anyway to spare our high-class SeeDs, and I don't want us to take steps backwards after we have come so far since Cid's resignation.”

 

“Can't even spare Irvine, can't you?” jeered Xu, licking one of her incisor teeth and crossing her arms stoutly.

 

“Afraid not. I wasn't joking when I told her that they could send some missions to us, though… as long as Balamb doesn't get involved in any more drama, our new SeeDs could really benefit from the field experience and like I said, the gil would do us good.”

 

“Well, I've almost finished sorting out the first batch of assignments,” Quistis said with a bit of relief to her words. “We've got some interesting ones, too. They should be on your desk by tomorrow morning.”

 

“Good,” said Squall, although he wasn't too keen on working out assignments. Always gave him a migraine to think of team dynamics and who would be better at what.

“Should be easier now that the disciplinary committee doesn't influence the calls anymore, am I right?” chimed in Xu happily.

“I doubt you would've let them do that anyway, Headmistress.”

“Don't call me that.”

 

Squall raised and eyebrow, and Xu simply turned on her heel with a flicker of a smile and began strutting out of the office, her heeled boots muffled with each step.

 

“By the way Squall, I already took the liberty of sorting through the office messages, and Laguna wants you to get a hold of him sometime soon, didn't sound too urgent as usual, but I think it would be nice to have a little chat with your father.”

“Sounds like something Quistis would say.”

 

Xu chuckled and left by means of the elevator as well, leaving just Squall and Quistis alone. A daily occurrence, but Squall didn't mind. Of course, Quistis was one of his best friends, but he thought of her more as an advisor and right-hand woman more than anything. She had managed to completely re-organize many aspects of the Garden, continue doing extra management work, do missions here and there, and keep up with her continuing job as an Instructor. Made him wonder how she did it.

 

“So, how are your classes so far?”

“They're alright, I suppose,” Quistis said. Who am I kidding, I still don't even know most of my students' names… so much to remember nowadays, let alone every detail of the daily lesson plans.

“Keeping up alright?”

Mind reader. “Of course. In fact, I've already booked a session in the Training Centre in a couple days for the Guardian Forces 201 class. I'm eager to see how things are with half the area closed off, should make for an interesting lesson.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, we did just double the population density for the monsters there, cutting the available space in half, you know. No worries though, we probably didn't cause any major dilemma in their world, the fiends will just have to be more keen to sharing their space for a while.”

“Oh.” Shit, didn't think of that.

 

“Now I'm kind of excited… oh, it's good to be teaching again!”

“Good. Great. Lets just make sure no one loses any limbs.”

 

- - -

 

“No, no, no, no, no!”

 

A stream of fire came from behind the trio of students who were currently fighting, and Zell rushed onto the scene, a grat disintegrating under the immense heat. Immediately, he took a knee beside a student who was sitting on the ground, another kneeling next to him with a panicked look on his face.

 

“Have you forgotten everything? Those at the forefront in combat do not take on the responsibility of support magic unless their enemy is stopped or immensely injured. Those in close-quarter combat must concentrate on the enemy while long-range attackers or magicians keep an eye on negative afflictions. It's a basic.”

 

“Sorry, I panicked, it's not too often things like this--”

“—Well get used to it cadet, it's gonna happen a lot when you're out there in real fights. Keeping your allies healthy and your enemies off-guard and guessing is an essential to victory.”

 

Before Zell could get started on more pointers, the student who was sitting flat on the ground began jabbing Zell angrily in the shoulder with his pointer finger. Zell stuttered and stopped to give the student an odd look before realizing what was going on. By this time, the other student who had been fighting came over, wiping some grat blood off of his forearm with a handkerchief.

 

“Oh! Sorry, just a moment… Esuna.”

 

In a bright and sparkling flash, the seated student exploded in a fit of heavy breathing, as if he couldn't breathe the entire time.

 

“Thank Hyne above! I thought I wouldn't be able to talk ever again!”

 

Eyes still watering, Zell and the other kneeling cadet helped the gasping teen up, and the now un-silenced student was brushing off his dirty wardrobe.

 

“Well, you three have had enough. I don't think you guys should try and embarrass yourself even more, although I do suggest you study up before the next outing? Studying in increments like that will also help on the SeeD Final Exam because instead of needing to st--”

“Zell, you're boring them again.”

 

Zell blinked and looked at the rather apathetic looks on his students' faces and rubbed the back of his head with his hand, his blonde locks shifting slightly.

 

“Okay, okay… Lania, Cameron, Malik, come on up.”

 

A group of three rather inattentive-looking students stepped forward from the congregation students. The one called Cameron wielded a sword that resembled a katana, while Malik held a large amount of throwing knives in a belt that hung at an angle over his slender hips. The only female, Lania, held no weapon in her hands, and instead used her free hands to run her hair through her long, brown hair. Aidan flinched slightly and looked in a different direction, looking off towards a patch of dry bushes.

 

“Hey, that's your ex, right?” asked pensive Irvine, awaking from his daydreaming once more off towards the side from the demonstration.

“Uh… oh… yeah.” He replied in a jumble, folding his arms and looking at his boots just so he had a place to put his eyes.

 

“Take your formations and advance twenty paces,” Zell instructed the trio, completely oblivious to the conversation between Irvine and Aidan a ways off.

 

Cameron held his katana before him, the blade perfectly centered, tip stretching above his head, leading the triangle of students, Lania and Malik taking their positions in the back. Slowly they advanced, all keeping a weary eye, suddenly aroused by the thought of the approaching battle.

 

“Scan,” murmured Lania, whose hands were now glowing easily as the room filled with a faint blue light. “Two grats approaching!” she called out, and in an instant two grats screeched and stormed out from the vegetation. Cameron immediately surged forward with his blade and began making mincemeat of one of the fiends while the other two began setting their sights on the other.

 

“Cover me!”

“A please would do, Marik,” she responded with a playful giggle, then began chanting a spell as Marik flipped out two knives in each hand, holding them by their sharp tips. At an internal signal, he suddenly hurled the knives at the approaching grat while Lania charged them with fire magic, the knives hissing red thunder as they plunged into the tough skin of the plant. In the blink of an eye, Marik was hurtling more at the grat that was struggling to approach as the duo easily made work of it. By the time they had finished it off, Cameron had split his opponent in half, flicking green blood off the tip of his sword and setting it on his shoulder in apparent victory as he turned to face his other comrades, a cocky grin on his face.

 

“Easy enough, anything we did wrong, Instructor?”

“Lania,” Zell began, grabbing the attention of the yawning beauty from a distance. “While you are aiding Marik, it's important that you keep a constant eye on the other member of your party. Concentrating solely on offense while neglecting your other teammate could result in annihilation. Believe it or not, monsters have strategy as well, and they're not to be underrated. Understood?”

“Yup yup,” said Lania, who cracked her fingers.

 

Irvine murmured in approval of the team tactics, glancing at Aidan for a moment who seemed to be sniffling, but was casually playing it off as if he had a slight cold. Poor thing.

 

“Good, go again. Cameron, when you're charging in, make sure you're not falling too deep into the enemy formation, so they can't pincer you or anything like that.”

 

Cameron nodded and went to his fighting stance without another word, waiting save his bragging until later.

 

“Class, follow us. We'll be crossing the bridge into Sector B2.”

 

And with that, the three cadets led the entire class across the bridge to the next area, Irvine needing to nudge Aidan to snap back to reality to trail behind languidly.

 

- - -

 

“Bollocks, this is annoying.”

 

Quistis sighed and took a sip of her coffee, looking into the computer screen with unwavering attention. So many names… so many jobs… so many things to take into consideration. But thankfully, talking aloud to herself helped, now that there was no one there to listen or distract her. She took a moment to pull her hair back into a messy bun, and leaned back onto her desk, peering into the mechanical device like she was aggressively infatuated with it.

 

“Lets see, lets see… Naln Jenkins… Rory Torian… Quistis Trepe.”

 

What? She hadn't assigned herself a job yet?

 

“That's no good, I think I gave away all of the interesting jobs already… but really, when's the last time I went on a mission anyway…”

 

The stressed Instructor sighed heavily and scrolled the list, then finally saw a particular mission that she must have passed over before, the title in red… that's odd, she thought it would stick out before… in anxious curiosity, she lightly clicked on the title.

 

“Galbadia: To The Forest… sent today… Professor Charkins needs a certain medicinal root that grows only in the Galbadian Forest that's needed for a new vaccination for Balamb, seasoned adventurers needed… huh, so Galbadia is too lazy to drive over to their own damn forest, eh?”

 

Quistis snorted and took another sip of her highly sugared beverage.

 

“Fine, I've been wanting to go over there anyway. Now to find a couple teammates… seems as if everyone else has other things… lets go with Marian Zimmerman and Zachariah Akinson. I doubt it should be all too difficult, anyway. Need some fresh air, that you do old girl.”

 

With another sip of her drink, the teacher checked off the names and sighed in content.

 

“There we go, that should be good. Now to find out who can take over my classes…”

 

Quistis thought for a moment in silence, and with a loud and tired groan, opened up her program again and began scanning the entirety of the list another suitable candidate to serve as a substitute in her absence.

 

- - -

 

“How many grats is that in a row, now?”

“I do believe that we are on number sixteen, Marik!”

“Oh, how exciting.”

 

The class remained silent as the trio easily plowed through the plethora of grats, and as they waited for more to come, the entire wood scenery went quiet. The crickets that were once filling in the breaks of battle with incessant chirping were now silenced, not even a breeze to fill in the empty void for they were still indoors. Zell bit his gloved finger anxiously, then finally stepped forward and clapping to congratulate the valorous cadets.

 

“Hah, I don't think I did much better back when I was your age! A very good demonstration, I think y'all got better as you went on, but remember to--”

 

Suddenly, Marik yawned and slumped to the ground, landing with a resounding thud. Cameron and Lania both turned around dramatically and began to run over to their friend when they saw a grat come out of the bushes. Without a further thought, Cameron charged forth and began slicing away at the plant before it got a chance to take advantage of the recumbent Marik while Lania went to her knees to inspect him.

 

“Oh, he's fallen asleep! Damn grats, they're so pointless and ugly, I mean really why can't be fight something a bit more attractive!”

 

Cameron impaled the critter on his sword and grunted with finality, turning on his heel to go wake up his friend, but he stopped dead in his tracks as he looked past Lania to a dark section of the Training Centre. Not moving an inch, he spoke through thin lips to his partner.

 

“Lania… shut up… stand up slowly.”

“What? What's wrong with you?”

“There is… something behind you.”

 

Lania brushed her bangs out of her eyes and slowly turned her head with a terrified look on her face to see gleaming teeth protruding from the darkness followed by a goliath of an animal. Short arms, powerful hind legs, dark orbs of eyes that leered ominously in the approaching light.

 

“T… T… T-Rex!”

 

The class immediately began panicking, but Zell did not take action. Off a ways, Irvine woke up from his reclining position to find the dinosaur approaching the pair from the darkness, and immediately grabbed his gun, but Aidan outstretched his hand to stop him from advancing.

 

“Wait, Sir. I think the Instructor wants to see how they handle this.”

“That's Irvine.”

“Oh, right.”

 

Cameron pushed off his foot and with a valiant battle cry flew at the scaled beast, sword trailing behind him as he held it in both hands. The dinosaur immediately turned and swept at the cadet with his tail, but Cameron quickly jumped and swiped at it, drawing only a couple drops of blood.

 

“Ah… oh… ah… Protect!” cried Lania, and a protective magical shield appeared momentarily around her friend, and she immediately began smacking Marik now, who was showing no signs of waking anytime soon.

 

Cameron was now more intent on harming the beast, slashing wildly as he tried his hardest to avoid the gnashing teeth and powerful tail of his opponent, although he wasn't doing a particularly good job, often getting the wind knocked out of him, now starting to bleed from the mouth.

 

“Lania!” he cried between gasping breaths. “Back me up here!”

“What about Marik!” she called back, fighting back tears as her pitiful ignorance began taking the best of her.

“He's not gonna get up; it looks as if he got hit by a pretty hard Sleep spell! Just cover me!”

 

Lania nodded and stumbled up to her feet, her hands brimming with dark magic as she aimed for Cameron's sword. “Blind!” she called, and jets of black lights streamed from her hands and slipped into the katana, and as soon as Cameron felt the power that was Lania's magic, he began hacking away once more, but it looked as if the extra magic wasn't helping any. Regardless, he kept plowing away dramatically, fighting at the forefront alone.

 

Lania quickly began drawing magic from the T-Rex, feeling the power of a higher-level fire magic fill her veins and immediately she began calling this new power, orbs of fire hovering around her as if she was in some sort of ritual. “Fira!” she cried instinctively, and the orbs flew at the T-Rex, exploding dramatically as smoke filled the area from the intense blows, the dinosaur falling back some. Suddenly, the dinosaur cried out in distress, and after a brief moment trembling was felt under the feet of the fighters.

 

“Remember students, keep your eyes peeled!” cried out Zell, who was still staying back, although was now much more concerned than he was before.

 

Without further ado, two more T-Rexs surged out of the forestry, emitting a harsh cry that rocked the entire eastern division tremendously. Cameron went wide-eyed, felt his heart pick up, and his blood drain from his body. “I… I'm not giving up!” he cried, and plunged back into the heat of battle, the dark magic slowly fading from his now dull blade.

 

“No!” called out Aidan, who was now running into the heat of battle, plucking his spear from the dried out earth as the class began screaming and backing up although they were at a far enough vantage point for the tyrannical reptiles.

 

“Oh shit,” said Zell, now seeing this period going to shreds. “Come on Irvine, this is going to get ugly if we don't step in.” But Irvine was well ahead of the blonde fighter, chasing after Aidan with his rifle slung on his shoulder, hat secure on his head and partially shielding the hot look of determination which bore into the T-Rexs that now had the initial trio surrounded and hanging on for their very lives.

 

Aidan sprung into the fray and raised his spear, blocking the gnashing bite of one of the bigger beasts from seizing the terrified Lania, who was now going to her knees and covering her ears, not paying attention to the fact that the situation she was in was too dangerous for her own good. With a shout, Aidan reclaimed his spear and began running under the dinosaur, stabbing his undersides at random spots and darting from place to place. The dinosaur had a hard time keeping track of the light-footed warrior, but by the time Aidan got to the rear end of T-Rex, he was met by a giant tail, which sent him flying into the shrubbery, spear sailing with him in hand.

 

Zell dove into battle, promptly landing hard punches and definitive kicks to the jaw of the T-Rex Aidan had been working on, and the dinosaur began strafing to the side, howling in pain as Irvine began shooting from afar, aiming for the vitals as he worked with his usual refined finesse. Without any signal, a pack of grats swarmed the field, apparently drawn to the field by the hostilities that were already underway.

 

Cameron felt as if he was just an empty body, some other being pulling the strings as he fought with no restraint. By this time, Lania had recovered from her scare thanks to the confidence she got from seeing the pure beauty of Zell's efforts in battle. Stumbling and nearly falling flat on her face on several occasions, she scuttled over to Cameron, tears streaming down her cheeks as if this was some sort of war movie, where the damsel and soldier die arm and arm in the ending.

 

“Cameron! I'm here, stay strong!” she cried out to him, hoping a mere voice would help keep him concentrated. “Cure,” she quickly called, and sparkling and revitalizing magic found its way through the raging battle, closing wounds and giving her friend a new jolt of energy. The class looked on in silence, wide-eyed. Some were sobbing, not able to withstand the sight, and earlier a couple of students had run off to inform others of what was happening before things got out of control.

 

But obviously, that point was far behind them.

 

More grats filled the scene and Zell cried out in aggravation.

 

“Damnit! Irvine, take care of the grats while I get rid of these damned lizards!” he shouted to his ally, and the sniper nodded and redirected his focus to the screeching plants. However, before he began shooting, he remembered that he had other ammunition, and quickly and flawlessly opened his dear rifle's chambers, taking out what ammo there was left then filled it with new ammo, taking a few steps closer to the battle. Snapping his chambers shut, he raised Exeter to his eye and felt his finger tapping the trigger while he took his time to aim.

 

“Time to take some names, you ugly sons of--”

 

Before he had got to finish his sentence, a pack of grats that was heading towards Zell turned and stampeded towards Irvine. Smiling thinly, the Galbadian gunner let the bullets fly as without any delay, he cocked his gone and fired it with ultimate efficiency. With every shot came a vast spray of bullets, his Scatter Shot technique taking the field by storm handily.

 

“Good old Irvine,” Zell thought to himself, taking gratification that Irvine was an unreckoned force on the field, far different than his usual laid back disposition as he was any other time. However, the danger on the field was still ever present, and Zell couldn't help but feel that this wouldn't end well if they kept up fighting like this. Knowing that this was the Team Tactics 101 class, Zell felt obligated to make sure this conflagration of teams fought efficiently although under immense pressure, for many frightened eyes rested on them, now.

 

“Lania, make sure Cameron is protected! Cameron, aim your blade for the beast's neck; his vital veins and glands are there! Irvine, take care of the grats then cover me!” he ordered, now taking on two T-Rexs, dodging and flipping out of the way skillfully, yet still suffering his own injuries. Never had he been ambushed in the Training Centre like this before.

 

Before anyone knew it, a glowing spear flew threw the air and lodged itself through the side of the head of the T-Rex that Zell was working on, and in a flash of light Aidan surged from the side of the area and jumped onto the beast easily, taking out his weapon and plunging the bloody tip through the top of the head of the beast. Finally defeated, the animal crashed to the ground, the spearman taking out his weapon and jumping off before he could go down with the great beast.

 

Aidan glanced at Zell for a moment before taking off and surging to the rescue of his ex and Cameron. However, more grats came out of the bushes and the two T-Rexs that remained looked stronger than ever.

 

Fighter, allow us to reduce them to dust.

 

Zell watched as the other larger T-Rex became disinterested in the sturdy and fit fighter, stomping over to the three cadets at the sight of fresher and harder-to-obtain meat.

 

Go Minotaur, and make me proud.

 

Feeling the unity with his duo Guardian Force, Zell closed his eyes and outstretched his arm, feeling the area darken and the ground tremble a familiar tremble as translucent figures of the two Brothers came from the darkness and stood by Zell's side. Zell's eyes opened, glowing a deep pupil-less brown that showed with it the strength and beauty of the Earth.

 

Sacred… Minotaur… “the time is now!” Zell cried, and the two brothers flew at the enemy with surprising speed. They cris-crossed paths and as they sped into the center of the battle, the smaller brother Sacred stopped and allowed Minotaur to jump on his shoulders. With a powerful roar, Sacred shoved his brother into the air, Minotaur roaring as well as he went out of sight. The T-Rexs and grats circled around Sacred and the teenagers, the tree now huddled together and watching with dirtied and bloodied faces. It looked as if they were all on their last leg, with only the security of the very earth they stood on to make them feel protected.

 

Sacred began punching the ground, causing the earth to crack and tear apart, sending ripples at the various enemies. With another definitive roar, the earth began jutting up in random places, sending grats flying and pillars of earth into the stomachs and jaws of the T-Rexs. The topography of the Centre changed dramatically, rising and falling like the tumultuous waves of the sea.

 

Do not worry children, you will be safe. All I need is hope.

 

Sacred looked directly at Aidan, a familiarity of peace shown through the rough-looking exterior. Aidan nodded resolutely and felt his own spirits lift as Sacred used the earth to send the area into a frenzy. Finally, Sacred faded away back into obscurity as the sound of Minotaur returning filled their ears. It was if a comet was about to land, and it sure felt like it as Minotaur crashed into the ground, sending a quake of economic proportions outwards, yet none of the Garden inhabitants felt its terrifying hurt as the earth howled with unwavering intensity.

 

When the area lightened up slightly, Aidan looked around as he saw the tyrannosaurus-rexes fall on their sides and be consumed by the bowels of the earth, the grats disappearing altogether into the tranquility of the after-battle. Silence once again filled the area, yet Aidan could hear a certain thumping… like the thumping a child would hear as they laid their head on their mother's chest, like everything was suddenly in the past… when things were right… when everything was much more simple.

 

Aidan blinked and watched as Zell and Irvine ran over to the fallen cadets, his eyes blurring in and out as he struggled to stay conscious. Black and midnight blue strands of hair fell before his eyes, and the cries of the entire class only reverberated weakly in his eardrums. And slowly… slowly, he faded from reality.

 

In this new world, all that he felt was the reassuring, pulsating heart of the earth.