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Epilogue
 
Chapter One: Beginnings

Squall Leonheart pulled himself up and stretched every part of his body for the first time in six hours. It was a pleasure that ranked about an 11 on a 1-10 scale. Running Balamb Garden was a tough job. So many details to attend to… grades, tests, supplies, and a thousand and one other minute details. Plus there was the fact that he had to talk to a lot of people on a constant basis. He found early on that actually speaking to people, whether they be instructors, students, or other members of the staff, was a huge boon to morale. Ten years ago, that would have bothered him intensely, but he was getting used to it now. Still, Garden had a lot of people to keep track of, and new ones came in all the time. It was a strain on his memory, and an unwelcome one at that. He could see why Cid couldn’t always find the time. The old man had left Garden with his wife, Edea about five years ago, and retired to their home in the south. Since then, Squall had been on his own running Garden, with only his limited knowledge on the details to do it.
He slowly stepped over to the window and looked out at the picturesque beauty of the sea, and off in the distance, he could make out the bright lights of Deling City. Something slowly began to creep into his mind.
Deling City? Why are we heading toward Deling?
The Galbadian government had collapsed about a year after the Sorceress incident and found itself divided into multiple warring-states. SeeD found itself frequently called in to assist one of these factions in a battle over whatever area was disputed at the time. Despite the very real war going on, Squall honestly couldn’t care less. It got SeeD many jobs, which meant more cash. It was a good cycle for mercenaries.
Then, finally, it hit him.
Oh shit! I have to…
“SQUALL!”
The voice of Xu interrupted everything.
“What are you doing? You have to make a speech to the candidates, remember?”
Squall nodded, he just had. This had become a personal habit of his, making a speech to each group of potential SeeDs right before their field exam. The extra boost really helped them in the field. Squall took in a deep breath and ran for the elevator.

***

The students were assembled by the directory, patiently awaiting the arrival of Squall. There were only three of them this time, an amazingly small number, but recently, more and more people were just too involved in conflicts at home and settling things there to do it professionally. Fighting had become more of a hobby than a career. Finally, the elevator beeped, and Squall walked out, a minor scowl on his face. It quickly disappeared when he walked over to everyone. There was a solid ten seconds before anyone said anything. Then, finally, Squall spoke up.
“Hey everyone. How you doing?”
There were a few nods, but the atmosphere remained silent.
“Well… today is the day. This isn’t a simulation, this isn’t training, this is the real thing. You’re going out there in a real battle. Actual SeeDs will accompany you on this mission. Should you fail, they will succeed. I haven’t seen them fail yet. You’ll be in three groups of three, one student to each.”
Someone handed him a small sheet of paper.
“Group one will be Quistis, Nida and Lee. Group two is Xu, Selphie and Jasmine. Finally, group three is Zell, Irvine and Miles. Quistis, Xu, and… Zell will lead their individual squads. Mission specifications will be given to you upon arrival. I know this is an unusual setup, as we usually try to put more of you in lone groups, but there just aren’t enough for this mission. Xu is in operational control”
Squall admired himself. He just came up with all of that on the spot. He walked over to Lee Reist, a feisty young kid, taking this test for the second time. Lee reminded Squall a lot of Seifer, and that scared him, but the kid was a talented one, utilizing his fists. Squall spoke softly, so that no one else would hear.
“Just keep focused and do as instructed. You’ve got the talent, I know you’ll pass.”
Lee smiled faintly as Squall moved on to Jasmine Farway. Jasmine was an intelligent and funny person. It was actually a rare combination in the area, someone with the analytical mind, who also could make a joke that brightened everyone up. Squall liked her as a person, but wasn’t too sure about her combat skills. She used a pair of powerful revolvers. Although she used the guns well, she wasn’t exactly the type totally willing to take another life.
“Jasmine, just use that mind of yours. You can think your way out of any situation.”
Finally, Squall came to Miles Animus. Miles was the only gunblade specialist to come to garden since Squall and Seifer, and had showed up about four years ago. Squall saw part of himself in the kid. Then again, that was only combat. Outside of war, Miles was as personable as the next guy, always ready to talk and have fun. Squall never quite knew what to think of him. The kid, although good at combat, was also a relative braggart, and it could get him into trouble one day. Squall suppressed a laugh thinking about Zell in his younger days, and Irvine even today.
“Control your temper, and just handle that thing carefully.”
Miles nodded, and Squall stepped back, surveying the group.
“Godspeed.”
The three nodded, and headed toward the parking area. Garden would be landing a long distance away from the city, so they’d use one of the cars to get to Deling itself.
Irvine, Selphie, Zell and Quistis came up behind Squall, all prepared to go out into battle. Selphie, Zell and Quistis were true SeeDs; they’d proven that over and over again. Irvine himself had been granted an honorary SeeDship after his assistance in what was now dubbed “the Second Sorceress War”.
“You all know your mission?”
Quistis sighed, “Scout the city and meet our contact with the group, once we do, we assist them with the battle for the city. Not hard, Squall.”
“No, it’s not, just keep an open eye. There are only nine of you going in.”
Irvine smiled that cocky little smile that had become famous in Garden, “Hey, nine is more than enough.”
Nida silently walked away, and Zell did a quick back flip in the direction of the parking lot then ran at full speed. Selphie and Irvine walked together, hand in hand. Squall often wondered about them, they had never actually gone out on any sort of date, they both had relationships with others in the past, and yet they both flirted shamelessly, or at least, Irvine did. Quistis nodded and began a steady walk. Which left Xu, who most definitely had something to say.
“What is it Xu?”
“Squall, do we know who our contact is on this mission?”
“Xu, you know as well as I that the call came in as an emergency broadcast, and we have no information other than the password.”
“I know, I just have a… feeling. Yeah, a BAD feeling.”
Squall had heard this before, “look, it’s nothing Xu, I’m sure. Go.”
Xu nodded and ran after the others.
Squall watched for a few minutes, then felt two arms wrap around him, and a head slowly rest on his shoulder from behind. He grinned and softly held the hands at his waist, prying himself from the grip then turned and pressed his lips to the woman’s forehead.
Rinoa hadn’t changed too much over the past ten years. At twenty-seven she was still the energetic, cheerful woman she was at seventeen. Squall could remember the day they had married, eight years ago. She grinned at him.
“That was a great speech captain.”
They began a rapid succession of kisses, Squall speaking in between each.
“If only… …I… …was that good… …at everything.”
A sly smile crept across Rinoa’s face.
“Oh, but you are!”
“I know, but I’ve been out of practice today… maybe I should get refreshed?”
She grabbed his hands and pulled him to the elevators, pressing the button for the third floor, hoping that they made it that far.

***

Miles held his gunblade down to the floor during the ride, twirling it occasionally. His model was a rather unique design, the Dual Hyperion. An extremely custom built weapon, it contained two blades, rather than one, and was modeled after the Hyperion weapon. The added weight made the weapon harder to control, but it was a skill that he had mastered. The small gap between blades made a route for the bullet to pass through when he shot. He grinned as he remembered the original sessions with it. He was clumsy and awkward, often losing control of his weapon, and dropping it, or swinging in the wrong direction. When he looked back on it, he was amazingly lucky he didn’t kill himself or chop off something valuable.
He felt a small hand run down the small of his back, and he looked to his right and grinned, placing his hand gently on Jasmine’s thigh. They remained in that position for a while, then realized where they were when Quistis coughed discreetly, and they got right back to professionalism. Xu stood up and began the brief.
“Okay everyone, here’s the deal. For the past three days, Deling City has become the focal point of the Galbadian War. The current force ruling the City has been significantly weakened by an ever-consistent set of victories. In the meantime, another force used the advantage to enter the city and attempt a takeover. They’ve been warring in the city since then. Now, a request for assistance was received from the attackers 12 hours ago. SeeD is to assist them in the take over of the city. The only problem is, that the message was brief, only consisting of a request, a price offer, and a code to meet with. Then it got cut off, presumably by the surrounding battle. So, we’re the advance team. Our mission is to get into the city and meet with our contact if we can find him. Once we do, we’ll make contact with Garden, who will send in a larger SeeD force within three hours of our call. Then we help with the actual takeover.”
Lee looked up, a bit frustrated with so much background, “So what do WE do?”
Xu sighed, “Okay, Quistis has group A, I have group B, and Zell has group C. Group A is to scout out the area around the shopping arcades. Group B will check the train station, and Group C will look by the hotel. Supposedly our contact will know us when we get there, so this shouldn’t be hard. Once you’ve made contact, call in the other two groups with your current position and then we contact Garden once we’re all together. Questions?”
Miles looked up, “What if no one finds ‘em?”
“Good question, should that occur, we are to rendezvous at the Presidential Residence. If, for some reason, that is not possible, we meet outside the city. Anything else?”
There was nothing. Xu nodded and sat back down, “We’ll be there in five minutes.”
Miles and Jasmine held hands for the ride. However, five minutes passed by all too quickly.
Xu got up, “We’re entering the city, now, everyone, let’s GO!”
Miles jumped up and ran his hand down Jasmine’s face, whispering softly, “Be careful.”
“You too.”
They smiled, then the car door burst open, and Miles threw himself out, gunblade at the ready, seeing… nothing, absolutely nothing.
“What the hell?”
Zell walked next to him, “Peace zone, it happens. Probably a lot of civilians in that building.”
Zell motioned to a car rental place.
Miles nodded and got up, holstering the gunblade. The other groups began moving quickly, and Zell followed suit.
“C’mon! I know the way. Stay close and don’t act conspicuous, it draws fire.”
Miles felt his tensions begin to melt away as the adrenaline surged through him. Off in the distance, gunshots could be heard. The battle was definitely intense. His first surprise hit him as he realized just how big Deling City really was. He had heard it was huge, but… wow. The city confused him at first, but Zell seemed to know exactly where to go, and the rumors were that Irvine had worked for Galbadia at one point, so he was definitely going in the right direction.
The main battle was currently concentrated by the Presidential Palace and Gateway, so Zell took a roundabout way through the city, finally arriving at the hotel, to find that it was another “peace zone”. Civilians were in every room. After checking every room, they finally walked downstairs to the bar, where there was nothing to note. Zell spent a few moments on stage, staring at the piano, as if remembering something long ago. Then, finally, “Alright, there’s nothing here.”
His radio crackled, “Teams A and C?”
Zell grabbed it, “C here.”
“We’ve made contact, meet at Caraway’s Mansion, ASAP.”
“Say what?”
“You heard me, Caraway’s Mansion on the double.”
Zell grimaced, then motioned, “Let’s go!”

***
Caraway’s Mansion was a long run across the city. The Mansion had been abandoned years ago when Caraway retired from the military and moved out to Winhill. Although they had little trouble getting there, Miles was still anxious. There was a battle going on in this city, and they hadn’t encountered a deal of fighting yet. Something was obviously wrong here, he just didn’t know what.
Caraway’s Mansion was unguarded, and rather in a state of disrepair. Miles, Zell, and Irvine all came running through the front gate at top speed, and right there, Zell’s eyes widened, and he quickly became enraged.
“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?”
His fists balled up and he stepped forward towards the group, which was gathered around the contact. Miles looked at Irvine for an explanation.
“Long story kid, some other time.”
Irvine ran and grabbed Zell by the shoulders.
“Now hold on there, partner, don’t do something you’ll regret.”
“I’d never regret this.”
Another voice spoke, “Zell, honestly, I’d expect a better reaction from an old friend.”
“You are not my friend!”
Slowly, a figure stepped out of the crowd, his blond hair, and silver coat easily distinguishing him. It took Miles a minute, but he recognized the figure. He’d seen pictures of him before, when they talked about the second war.
Seifer Almasy.