It was not chaos when the Guardian Forces were released, free to wander the decks of Garden for a day, instead of watching the world only through the eyes and memories of their hosts. But if it was not chaos, it was something close. Garden had always been lush, but it was fundamentally a military academy, which departed to every inch of the premises a modicum of order, of austerity, and clean functionality. ---- Nida found his way to the Headmaster's office, where he had his desk. Putting it there had been his idea, so that he could be able to steer at the helm of Garden and yet not fall behind on his work. It wasn't really necessary, of course, since Garden didn't really move all that much; merely convenient, since he wouldn't have to keep moving up and down, and more comfortable. Squall hadn't objected, and so he had made the plush reception area just outside the Headmaster's office proper his own. They had been sharing office space for almost a month, now, but Nida hadn't actually seen much of him, outside the times where they planned the course of Garden, or during staff meetings. The Headmaster, it seemed, liked to spend whatever time he wasn't spending on teaching, either in his room on the dormitory wing, or in the training areas, wreaking havoc on the ecosystem Garden's original planners had instituted there. He was hardly ever in his office- and that was if he spent time in Garden at all; with a sleek spaceship that ran on nothing but air and water at his disposal, Squall could jet across the world in less than half the time it took him to move Garden from one continent to another. That was what they were essentially doing now, making a slow, grand tour of the world. Part of it was a victory parade, giving everybody and his dog a chance to lay eyes on the great heroes of the Sorceress war. At every city they stopped at there would be a parade where SeeD and the better students could show off their martial prowess, dressed smartly in their braided uniforms, sometimes even a marine show by the white SeeDs who had joined them, if they were near the sea. The parking lot, instead of cars, now held an entire flotilla of boats. Today's GF festival was another part of ongoing events. Although Garden was anchored in hte middle of a bay, some distance from the nearest city, it was almost completely flooded by civilians who had hired boats or taken the white SeeD ship just to visit it. There were undoubtedly some military spies sprinkled among the visitors. Just thinking about the number of disasters just waiting to happen with such a crowd and most of the GFs loose made Nida want to squirm in his seat from sheer unease. But from the window he could see the Ragnarok hovering over Garden, manned by one of the six, ready to take measures should anything untoward happen. Nida swallowed his reservations. Whatever measures that could have been taken, had probably been taken. Everything was out of his hands, anyway. With any luck, potential trouble makers would be too awed by the presence of the GFs. That was the true purpose of the tour, to impress enough people that they would have a healthy recruitment for the years to come. Garden, Quistis had said, played an integral part in the future, and it would need more students to thrive. Trabia Garden had been all but destroyed, although they were beginning to pick up the pieces; Galbadia Garden forcibly taken over and the cadets driven away. There lingered still an aversion to it, because of its use as Galbadia's headquarters during the attack on Balamb Garden.. no one really wanted to see it restored yet. Balamb would have to take up the slack, at least for now. There would be no lack of jobs, with Galbadia's impending disarmament, and monsters from the Lunar Cry still scattered over Esthar. They would need to recall some of the field operatives back to teaching, at least part time. And SeeD had never been very large to start with.. Nida was shaken out of his reverie by the sound of the platform beginning to descend, which he hadn't expected; he had thought that everyone who could possibly be there would have other places to be, this day. His surprise woke Argus, slumbering in his mind, who gave a rather sleepy squawk by way of greeting. Morning, he thought, tone laced with amusement. How're we going to take over the world if you can't manage to wake up in time, then? Argus snapped at him, still sleepy, and he gave a mental chuckle. GFs needed rest, just as their mortal hosts did, although they needed less of it. Argus just seemed to like sleeping, and lately, feeling safe and relaxed, Nida had let him. Better sleep than trapped in the cold confines of the Garden's electronic systems, after all. But it was high past time for the peacock to awake.