On ButterFly Wings
Chapter 1
Quistis Loire
*Author's Note: In this story, Laguna is 27. I like him that way, so nyah!
"Ms. Trepe!" Cid bellowed as the young instructor cowered before him, "Never, NEVER in all my years of teaching have I ever, EVER, seen such a blatant display of misbehavior in any one of the instructors at this Academy!" Cid's face was feverishly red and he spat as he spoke.
The young instructor ventured to speak, her ice blue eyes revealing the fear her face fought so hard to hide, "B-but, sir-"
"Don't 'but, sir…' me! I have given you a second chance, I'm now taking you back down to cadet level!" Cid tugged on his maroon vest and ran a hand through his short, brown hair, turning back to his desk. "You're dismissed."
"But, Headmaster! SIR!" The young instructor ventured a step forward.
"I said you were dismissed, Quistis. Leave my office, immediately."
---
Quistis sulked her way back to her dorm, slowly pulling on the Balamb Instructor Pin attached to the knot of her red tie. She bit her lip, trying to bite back the tears as she undid the red tie, watching the door to her dorm room slide open, almost as if it were giving her one last goodbye. She programmed the door to remain open, and stepped in, sliding the heavy, gold accented, black jacket off her shoulders. Gently folding it, she placed it against her bed and grabbed her old cadet uniform jacket, and the yellow bow that accompanied it, from her closet. As she carefully slipped the jacket over her arms, a flood of tears hit. One more mistake, and she knew she'd be expelled from the Academy for good. With a trembling hand, she reached into the closet once more, removing her SeeD uniform and draping it over her arm.
Footsteps resounded from down the hall, as someone walked toward the Instructor Dorms. Quistis knew who it would be. Xu, her dark haired best friend. "I've come for your uniforms, Ms. Trepe."
Quistis lifted the jacket from her bed and added it to the uniform in her arms, turning toward her friend, biting her soft, pink lip. "H-here…"
As Xu's fingers reached for the clothing, Quistis felt every dream slip slowly away, like threads of silk, falling from a young girl's favorite dress. Xu took the jacket, holding her hand out for the pin Quistis still clutched in her other hand. Remorsefully, she placed the pin in Xu's open palm. "I'm sorry, Quistis, but orders are orders… Come with me, I'm supposed to take you to your new dorm."
"J-just a second… I need to gather my things." Quistis wiped her tears away with the heel of her palm.
"I understand." Xu waited in the doorway, still holding Quistis' old uniforms.
---
Quistis sat solemnly in her new dorm, the walls cold and unfamiliar to her. She had very few belongings, her one recreational outfit, consisting of a shirt, a skirt, and a pair of pants. The shirt was a light pinkish-orange, almost peach, and was accented with a dark, almost gray, silver that lined the edges. The skirt was the same color, tight, and hung down a little passed her knees. Along the front, top edge, was a small bar of the gray- silver, and four tassels of the same color, hanging from this on either side was a small chain, reaching from front to back. She wore the skirt over a pair of black pants.
Upon the headboard of her new bed, she had placed the only reminder of her family before her five years at Matron Kramer's Orphanage. A picture of her father in a Galbadian Military uniform holding a small child Quistis knew to be herself. The picture had been taken a month before her father had been called away for war, a month before she had been abandoned at the orphanage, a month before she had lost everything her heart knew and held dear.
---
"What did she do?" A voice carried its way across the crowded Mess Hall. The voice belonged to a bubbly young girl in a SeeD uniform with short brown hair, turned up at the ends.
"Calm down, Selphie! I'll tell you." A young man leaned in closer, speaking across the table. His pale blonde hair spiked up and away from his face, almost as if he had been standing in front of a fan when he was spraying his hair, and the side of his face was dominated by a large, swirling, black tattoo.
"Tell me! Tell me, Zellie, tell me!" Selphie squealed as she clapped her hands to the small table that separated them.
"Calm down, and don't call me 'Zellie'." Zell motioned his hand for her to calm down. Selphie clapped a hand to her mouth in response. "Do you know who the president of Esthar is?" Selphie nodded vigorously, her hands still over her mouth. "Did you know he was visiting Balamb today?"
"He's here!?" Selphie removed her hands, screaming again.
"Shh!!" Zell hushed as the over-excited girl replaced her hands to her mouth. "He would have been…"
"What happened?" Selphie had settled down some, and removed the hands from over her mouth.
"Quistis happened." Zell sat back a little, smiling to himself.
***
Quistis walked the halls, her chain whip at the ready, resting lightly on her shoulder. Aside from the Junior Classman that constantly ran in circles around the elevator platform, she was the only one in the halls. The click of her boots echoed off the gold colored walls, she often wondered why her boots clicked on the carpet.
"Hello!?" A strange (male) voice drifted to Quistis' ears. She turned in the direction it had come from, the Main Gate.
"Hello, can I help you?" Quistis placed her whip against the turnstile and walked toward the owner of the voice. He was obviously taller than Quistis, who stood at a 5'6", and had black, highlighted, hair the hung to his shoulder blades. His bangs fell across the left side of his face, and those on his right were combed behind his ear. He had a friendly smile that danced all the way up to his merry green eyes.
"Hi! I was supposed to come to this facility for a visit, but I can't seem to get in…" The gentleman tried pushing on the small, swinging door, but to no avail.
"I can let you in," Quistis took a few more steps toward the gentleman trying to get in.
"Oh!? Would you? Please?" The gentleman released the door and gave a sexy, slightly dopey smile.
"Sure, I just need to see an invitation and some ID." Quistis held out her hand, waiting for something to be placed there.
"Uh… W-well… Ya see… I was invited over the Tele-Communicator…" The young gentleman seemed a tad distraught.
"Then I'm afraid I cannot let you in…" She turned to walk away, but was called back by the gentleman.
"If it matters any, I spoke with your Headmaster, Cid Kramer. I'm Laguna Loire." His green eyes pleaded the truth as Quistis searched them, more for her own reasons than to find the truth.
"…You're who?" She wasn't sure if she was supposed to know who this man was, or not.
Laguna was troubled, "I'm Laguna, Laguna Loire. L-A-G-"
"You need not spell it, I still can't let you in." Quistis sighed, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Ah! Mr. Loire, sir! It's a true honor." Quistis cringed at the voice of her Headmaster, and employer, "Has this young, asinine instructor been harassing you?"
Quistis felt her face redden in anger as she whipped around to face Cid. "'HARASSING'?! He is trying to get in here without any ID or an invitation!" Quistis jerked her hand toward the would-be visitor, nearly hitting him on the nose, which he then scratched with the tip of his finger, a puzzled look on his face.
"Ms. Trepe! That is no way to treat an honored guest!" Cid grabbed Quistis by the shoulders and spun her around to face Laguna, who was tugging on the gray shirt he wore beneath a blue jacket. "Meet Mr. Laguna Loire, president of Esthar."
"P-p-president..?!" Quistis felt her knees buckle and suddenly everything went black.
***
"She passed out!?" Selphie held her sides, laughing.
"Well, wouldn't you?" Zell wiped a tear from his eye, chuckling. The two leaned forward, hugging each other, as they broke out in uncontrollable fits if rolling laughter. Over their shoulders the students who frequented the Trepie Table had the heads hung in shame. Their idol had, once again, fallen from grace.
---
Quistis tugged on the obnoxious, yellow bow around her neck as she walked down the hall. She kept her eyes forward, ignoring the points and snickers from the other students in the hall. Suddenly thunder of footsteps came up from behind her, and she braced herself for the worst.
"Quistis! Hey, Quistis, wait up!" She knew the voice that called out to her. Seifer…
"I heard what happened…" He said softly as he came to walk beside her, "I can't believe he demoted you to Cadet Level! That's unfair." He placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently.
Seifer had been at the Garden a year less than Quistis, and was still a Cadet. His two best friends, Fujin and Raijin, had graduated to SeeD level last year, but he was still behind. He used to be the blonde-haired, blue- eyed "Hurricane of Balamb Garden", but he had matured so much in the span of two years. This time, he actually wore his black and gray Cadet Field Uniform, instead of his trademark gray trench coat with its glowing red emblem on the sleeve, and his black clothing.
"Ready for Field Exams?" Seifer asked, bursting Quistis' bubble of concentration.
"Huh? Oh! Yeah…" Quistis shook off the fog in her head and glanced at Seifer briefly before returning her eyes to the Hall. "Yeah, I guess so…"
"Sucks that they're making you take it again… I'm sure you'll do great! You always do." Seifer chuckled lightly, placing his hands behind his head, "I know I'm gonna do it this time! I can feel it, ya know?"
Quistis chuckled, Looks like Raijin's wearing off on him… "Yeah, I understand completely." She turned to him once more, smiling softly.
"I wonder who our Squad Leader is. Do you know anything, Quistis?" Seifer asked, removing his hands and shoving them in his pockets.
"I've a hunch…" The first name that came to her mind was the only other student with the same qualifications she had. Since she was the first choice, but is obviously unable to perform the appointed duties, the next in line would take over. Squall Leonhart.
---
Quistis waited in the shadow of the giant Directory as Cid explained to Squall, Seifer, and a slue of other Cadets, the mission. She drowned herself in thought, having already been given the information. They were to go to the Lunatic Excavation Site to retrieve some valuable, lost information and return to the Garden. It was fairly simple, a laugh compared to Quistis' last Field Exam.
She had to lead three Cadets, Seifer Almasy, Squall Leonhart, and Zell Dincht, to Dollet. Once there, they were to clear the city of intruding Galbadians (once the SeeD's mortal enemy). Things were going great, if you by-passed the fact that Seifer played shoot-em-up with any and every thing in sight. Or so they had thought.
Another Cadet, by the name of Selphie Tilmit, informed the Cadets that there was a crisis situation on the hill. The hill was home to a giant radio tower, a tower that hadn't been used in years, maybe even decades. The task wasn't all that hard, defeat to soldiers, Biggs and Wedge, and get out of there. As they escaped, a giant, mechanical spider, the X-ATM092, was sent after them, Squall narrowly escaped. He wouldn't have made if it weren't for Quistis and a giant, high-tech machine gun.
"Quistis?" Seifer tapped Quistis from her flash back, "Quistis, we're ready to go…"
"Alright, I'm coming." Quistis straightened her jacket and held her shoulders at a regal angle, following after the other Cadets.
---
Laguna slumped in his chair, his arms folded over his chest as he frowned at the table. "I can't believe it…"
"Believe what? That you're not the center of the universe?" A young man with chocolate-brown skin came and sat down next to him, resting his elbow in the tabletop. He had a flattop with long braids hanging a ways down in the back and two that hung from his hairline to his eyebrows. Those that hung in the back were wrapped with green string, some yellow beads dispersed here and there, whereas the ones in front were nothing fancy, and slightly curled.
"Shuddup, Kiros." Laguna almost sneered at his so-called friend; "Sometimes I wonder why I put up with you."
"With out me, you wouldn't know what Ward was saying." Kiros chuckled lightly as Laguna made a slightly perturbed face. Ward was another friend of theirs. He was heavily built, but stood at an astonishing seven-feet. He was a kind man, although a nasty scar dominated the left side of his face, running from beneath the blue bandana that always covered his hair to beneath his chin.
He'd lost his voice in a mission a few years back. It was in the Lunatic Excavation Site, after a long and grueling battle. Their only means of escape was a cliff that towered over a shallow river below. Laguna, the all knowing moron he is, threw Kiros and Ward from the cliff and called them brave for jumping.
"Seriously, what can't you believe, Laguna?" Kiros flicked his excuse for bangs from his face, only to have them fall right back into place.
"I went to Balamb today, right? You know, the Garden? Well, anyways, I couldn't get in, so I called for help. This teacher came up! At first I thought she was a student, cause she didn't look all old a wrinkly like a teacher should, but she was a teacher! A… An instructor I think she was called. I didn't catch her name. She was purdy… But anyways, she asked if she could help me. So I said I was supposed to visit that facility. I actually said 'facility' can you believe it?! Anyways, I was telling her that, and that I couldn't get in. She said she could let me in and I said 'Oh!? Would you? Please?'. And she said that she needed to see an invitation and some ID. But I told I had been invited over the Tele- Communicator. She didn't seem too happy about this…" Laguna paused, taking a sip of water form the glass that stood on the table before him, not caring that it was Kiros' water, Kiros scowled as Laguna continued hastily on. "She said she was afraid she couldn't let me in, but I told her I had spoken with her Headmaster, Cid Kramer, I even told her who I was! I guess she didn't hear me the first time, cause she asked me who I was. So I told her again, I even spelled it out! Well… sorta, I only got to 'G' before she told me I didn't need to spell it, and that she still couldn't let me in. Then her Headmaster, Mr. Kramer, came up and said it was an honor. He asked me if she was harassing me. He called her 'asinine', I don't think she was 'asinine' she was just doing her job. She seemed kinda nice, to me. And the she got all huffy, and started to shout about her not harassing me, and that I wanted to get in without ID or an invitation. And then she swung her hand at me and almost hit me in nose. She didn't do it on purpose, and I scratched my nose afterward. And then Cid told her I was president of Esthar, and she got all stuttery and passed out! I guess my awesomeness was too much for her."
Kiros rubbed his eye sleepily, "Huh..? Oh, you're done..?"
Laguna sneered, "Yes, I'm done…" he once again crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs at the ankles.
"So why didn't you go in?" Kiros stood from his chair, taking his now empty glass to the sink.
"Cid didn't know how to open the door. How can you be the Headmaster of a school, and not know how to open a door?" Laguna gave Kiros a puzzled look.
"Well, you're president of Esthar, and you don't know how to use the elevators." Kiros smirked as he leaned his upper-body against the counter.
"Hey! But those are different!" Laguna frowned, pursing his lips together.
"Oh? How so?" Kiros seemed almost interested, almost.
"They're scary…" Laguna pressed the tips of his index fingers together and looked down them.
---
Quistis pressed her back against her seat as the sub-ship drew nearer its destination. Squall sat beside her, his neck arched back so his head could rest upon the seatback. His coffee-and-cream colored hair splaying away from his face, allowing the pink scar on his forehead into full view. Seifer had given him the scar in her second year of teaching, before Squall was even a SeeD, before Field Exams.
They had been "sparring" with their Gunblades, and Seifer had gotten a little over zealous, casting one of his powerful limit-breaks and temporarily blinded Squall. Before he went down, Squall had managed to get one good hit in, sending the tip of his Gunblade careening down Seifer's forehead.
"Squall, can I ask you something?" Quistis glanced over at him, her hands folded and pressed between her knees.
"Huh? Yeah, sure." Squall sat up, his head rolling back onto his shoulders, "Whatcha want?" His hazel-gray eyes held a hint of boredom and oncoming sleep.
"Have they… Have they…" Quistis found herself unable to finish her question.
"Let me guess. You want to know if they've offered me your instructing job. Am I right?" Squall stretched his shoulders back as he brought his left ankle to his right knee, propping his elbow in the small platform he had created.
"Y-yeah…" Quistis braced herself as she awaited his answer.
"They have, before they told me I had to take your Field Exam position. They never told me what you did, but I'm sure I'll hear about it sooner or later… Anyways, I declined the job. I feel I'm not ready, and you're my friend. It just wouldn't feel right, know what I mean?" Squall placed a hand to Quistis' shoulder and squeezed it gently. "You'll get your job back, you've done it before. Cid has more heart than that. I know it."
"…Thanks." Quistis felt oddly uncomforted.
---
Seifer leaned against the railing as he watched the small speck on the horizon slowly become their first destination. He wasn't exactly sure the place's name, cause he'd sneezed while Cid was talking about it. He'd heard that it was just a huge, long dock, and was home to the world's largest fishing society.
As he stood there, looking out upon the ocean, Seifer contemplated the things he had done in the past. He'd worked for Edea, he'd been manipulated by Adel and Ultimecia, he tried on several occasions to sacrifice his ex- girlfriend… who was know Squall's fiancée. "The world works in mysterious ways…" he muttered to himself.
"It sure does…" Seifer jumped at the sound of Quistis' voice, drifting above the gentle clap of the waves as they lapped against the side of the sub-ship. "You think you're on top of the world, and just when things are looking up, life deals you a rotten hand and suddenly you've fallen off the ladder." She sighed as she came to stand next to Seifer, resting her forearms against the protective railing and hung her head. It was a small, one-person space, and with the two standing there, it was awkward and uncomfortable.
"Yeah… Something like that." Seifer rested his back against the railing as he watched the shore grow further and further away, "Hey… Where are we going again?"
"FH… Fisherman's Horizon. I've been there once before, when we first discovered that the Garden could fly… We actually didn't land there… We sort of… crashed." Quistis lifted her head a little and glanced over her shoulder at Seifer.
"Is that so..?" Seifer chuckled, "Gee, wish I could have been there."
"Yeah, Nida was so embarrassed!" Seifer and Quistis shared a hearty laugh.
"NIDA!? Mr. I'm-so-perfect?! I can't believe it!" Seifer wiped a tear away from the corner of his left eye. "What ever happened to him?"
"I believe he transferred to Trabia Garden, to over see the restoration." Quistis moved her forearms from the railing, and placed her hands against it instead.
"Trabia? That's where Selphie's from, right?" Seifer flipped around, facing the same direction as Quistis.
"Yeah. Surprised you remembered. There's not much you remember from… that time, is there?" Quistis gave Seifer an understanding, sympathetic look.
"No… not much. So why didn't Selphie go?" Seifer was always quick to change the subject whenever the events that followed the last Field Exam he'd been on came up.
"Well… Seems that she's got a bit of a crush on a student here, er… at Balamb." Quistis smirked as she turned to the ocean once more.
"Who!? Not that Urban Cowboy!?" Seifer's excitement grew.
"Irvine? Oh no. He returned to Galbadia Garden once they finished rebuilding. He was a rather nice fellow, kind of cute, too…" Quistis sighed with a dream like sentiment.
"Then who!? Tell me, tell me!" Seifer was at the point of jumping up and down.
"Zell." Quistis turned to Seifer, awaiting his reaction.
"CHICKEN WUSS!? NO WAY!!" Seifer looked blankly out to sea, "I almost can't believe it. Almost."
---
As the sub-ship pulled into the Toll Station, Squall and Quistis climbed to the cramped top deck, awaiting the request to see their orders, and their registered pass.
Suddenly a familiar face appeared at the bridge, and to their surprise, asked a rather odd question. "Oh? There was a sub-ship scheduled today? I don't remember getting the request!"
Quistis attempted a glance at Squall before turning to the familiar face. "But we have a registered pass, signed by the proper authorities. How could you have not received the request?"
"Could I please see your request? We've already received three forgeries this morning." The familiar face smiled up at them, holding his hand out for the pass.
Squall took the pass from inside his coat, and went to hold it out. Just as the familiar face's fingers went to reach for it, he withdrew his hand. "I don't understand."
Quistis took the opportunity to chime in once more. "You should have had us on file! Please, can you check? 'Balamb Garden, Cadet Field Exam'."
"Sure! Of course I'll check, but could I please have that pass, too?" The familiar face smiled as he took the pass from Squall's once again outstretched hand.
"I just don't understand this," Quistis turned to Squall, her arms crossed over her chest to fend off the cold and her frustration, "Why wouldn't we be registered? Cid wouldn't give us the orders if we weren't cleared. We wouldn't even have the pass!"
"I know, I know. Calm down, I'm sure everything will turn out all right. It was probably a huge misunderstanding. Hey! Here he comes." Squall nodded his chin toward the familiar face.
---
The sub-ship was well on it's way again, but the contents inside were shaken, and stirred.
"I don't get it. We weren't on file?" Seifer leaned forward; trying to speak to Quistis through the little space that separated the book from her nose.
"No. She's checking the records now." Squall replied placidly as he laid his back against seat adjacent to Seifer's, staring him blankly in the face. It was plain to see that the once boiling rivalry was still on a warm simmer.
"If the records were stripped, then why would we get the orders?" Seifer turned to face Squall quickly.
"I don't know. I don't have all the answers." Squall turned his attention to the other Cadets, snapping at one of the females when she began to groom herself. "This isn't a cruise ship! Leave that for off-time at the Garden!"
"Well… I've found the records. It hasn't been stripped. It says our FH pass was cleared three days ago. I wonder, what could have happened?" Quistis looked up and Squall turned his attention back.
"This doesn't feel right. FH has one of the most reliable computer services I've ever come across. How could they lose a record like that? That guy seemed a bit surprised when our pass was legit. Was it just me, or did he seem familiar to you?" Squall sat back a little, resting his arm on the back of the seat, watching Seifer as he folded his hands between his knees and hung his head in thought.
"They all look familiar, it's just that community." Quistis snapped the record book shut and slipped it back into Squall's satchel. The boat slid to a halt as she slid the satchel back beneath her seat.
"Why have we stopped?" Seifer's head shot up and he raced to his feet, Quistis and Squall following suit.
"I dunno. Let's go check it out." Squall raced up the small flight of stairs and burst through the trap-door that lead to the top deck.
"What's going on?" Seifer wormed his way next to Squall as he looked around; "We're not there already, are we?"
Squall blinked as raindrops began to pelt him in the face, landing in his cloudy, hazel eyes and clinging to his soft hair. "I don't know. I don't see anything. The shore's too far off."
Seifer pulled himself next to Squall, squashed, shoulder-to-shoulder. "Then… why?"
Squall and Seifer lunged forward as the sub-ship started off again, nearly sending the both over the railing. They looked at each other, each as bewildered as the next.
---
They reached the Lunatic Excavation Site two hours later; the sun at half passed three. The mere shower that had pelted them in the face when they stopped earlier, was now a raging squall, and the Cadets were leery about leaving the hatch opening in the back of the sub-ship. Squall and Quistis pushed their way through the mass of Cadets and came to stand next to Seifer.
"This just doesn't feel right…" Seifer looked about the ruins, his chest heaving with fear and exhaustion.
Squall squeaked his disapproval as his hazel eyes darted back and forth. Flashes of light, bouncing off metal, smoke and flames danced across the ominous horizon. Quistis' head whipped back and forth, her eyes showing the fear her face could not. "What's happened here?" She quickly turned back toward the Sub-Ship, trying to force her way through the line of Cadets. "Move, Cadet! I need to get through!"
One of the male Cadets sneered, turning to his peers, his lime green eyes laughing, "D'you hear that? A Cadet ordered us to move!" This brought a roar of laughter from the others.
Quistis stood her ground. "MOVE! For the love of God, MOVE!"
"No, you move, Cadet!" The Cadet reached out his hand, and with a semi- forceful shove, he sent her to the ground.
Quistis sat there in the mud, biting her lip and keeping her eyes to the ground. It was Squall who came to her aid. "Now listen up! You listen to Quistis here! She may be a Cadet now, but she has more qualifications to be Headmaster than any of you will ever see in your entire lifetimes! As long as you're in my squad, you listen to her! Now move, DAMMIT!"
Several Cadets gulped and parted, leaving a path open to the interior of the Sub-Ship. Seifer helped Quistis out of the mud and attempted to wipe off the back of her skirt, getting a warning snuff from Squall. Running through the Cadets, Quistis rummaged under Squall's seat for his satchel. "Where is it… where is it…"
Her fingers darted this way and that until they brushed against the cold, polished leather of the satchel. Pressing her cheek against the cool tile of the floor, she stretched her fingers out, wiggling them in hopes of another centimeter, unable to grab the handle of the satchel.
"I got it." Seifer flopped down beside Quistis, and without any extra effort, snatched the satchel from beneath the seat. He jumped to his feet quickly, offering a hand down to Quistis, only to have his chivalry go ignored.
The moment Quistis had leapt to her feet, she had the satchel from Seifer's hand and was rummaging through it madly. "Ah ha! Here! I found it!"
---
"Headmaster, I've an uneasy feeling about the Cadets you sent out on the Field Exam…" Selphie entered Cid's off meekly, treading softly along the carpet.
"Yes, Ms. Tilmit? What troubles you?" Cid spun around in his leather chair, tucking a pencil behind his right ear.
"Well, I heard on the news today that all out war had been declared, and the battle site is none other than the Lunatic Excavation Site…" Selphie was wringing her sleeves nervously.
"I'm sure the Cadets can handle themselves, Miss Tilmit." Cid began to spin back around, ready to dismiss Selphie.
"Yes, I'm sure, especially with Quistis, Squall, and Seifer… but I heard that the ButterFlieZ were involved!"
"THE ButterFlieZ!?!?!" Cid nearly fell out of his chair.
---
"A sabotage?!" Seifer stared blankly at Quistis as she sat numb, staring at the record book. Squall had found a slight crease on the paper and had slowly peeled it off to reveal the actual record for the day. The exam was supposed to have been rescheduled and at a different location.
"What do we do, sir?" A young female cadet with soft brown hair and eyes that matched ventured a step in the rain, bending slightly to speak to the seated, sopping Squall.
He looked up, his hair clinging to his face, "Give me a minute." After some thought, Squall stood up, water trickling off his clothing and face and addressed the Cadets. "Listen up! I don't want any of you to move from this spot… No, better still, I want you all to get back into the sub-ship. Natalia!" he turned to the girl who had spoken to him before, "I want you to program the ship back to Balamb. To the Garden. Tell Cid something's gone wrong, and his three most capable prodigies are trying to figure it out. Tell him to send Raijin, Fujin, Zell, Selphie, Rinoa, and get Irvine on the phone! We need the best damn SeeDs we can get! GO! NOW!"
Within moments, Squall, Seifer, and Quistis were watching the sub-ship speed away. Each stood there, holding their weapon of choice; Squall and Seifer had very little ammunition between them.
"We're doomed aren't we, guys…" Quistis wasn't really asking, and she really didn't want an answer, the thought of the Garden right now was furthest from her mind.
Chapter 1
Quistis Loire
*Author's Note: In this story, Laguna is 27. I like him that way, so nyah!
"Ms. Trepe!" Cid bellowed as the young instructor cowered before him, "Never, NEVER in all my years of teaching have I ever, EVER, seen such a blatant display of misbehavior in any one of the instructors at this Academy!" Cid's face was feverishly red and he spat as he spoke.
The young instructor ventured to speak, her ice blue eyes revealing the fear her face fought so hard to hide, "B-but, sir-"
"Don't 'but, sir…' me! I have given you a second chance, I'm now taking you back down to cadet level!" Cid tugged on his maroon vest and ran a hand through his short, brown hair, turning back to his desk. "You're dismissed."
"But, Headmaster! SIR!" The young instructor ventured a step forward.
"I said you were dismissed, Quistis. Leave my office, immediately."
---
Quistis sulked her way back to her dorm, slowly pulling on the Balamb Instructor Pin attached to the knot of her red tie. She bit her lip, trying to bite back the tears as she undid the red tie, watching the door to her dorm room slide open, almost as if it were giving her one last goodbye. She programmed the door to remain open, and stepped in, sliding the heavy, gold accented, black jacket off her shoulders. Gently folding it, she placed it against her bed and grabbed her old cadet uniform jacket, and the yellow bow that accompanied it, from her closet. As she carefully slipped the jacket over her arms, a flood of tears hit. One more mistake, and she knew she'd be expelled from the Academy for good. With a trembling hand, she reached into the closet once more, removing her SeeD uniform and draping it over her arm.
Footsteps resounded from down the hall, as someone walked toward the Instructor Dorms. Quistis knew who it would be. Xu, her dark haired best friend. "I've come for your uniforms, Ms. Trepe."
Quistis lifted the jacket from her bed and added it to the uniform in her arms, turning toward her friend, biting her soft, pink lip. "H-here…"
As Xu's fingers reached for the clothing, Quistis felt every dream slip slowly away, like threads of silk, falling from a young girl's favorite dress. Xu took the jacket, holding her hand out for the pin Quistis still clutched in her other hand. Remorsefully, she placed the pin in Xu's open palm. "I'm sorry, Quistis, but orders are orders… Come with me, I'm supposed to take you to your new dorm."
"J-just a second… I need to gather my things." Quistis wiped her tears away with the heel of her palm.
"I understand." Xu waited in the doorway, still holding Quistis' old uniforms.
---
Quistis sat solemnly in her new dorm, the walls cold and unfamiliar to her. She had very few belongings, her one recreational outfit, consisting of a shirt, a skirt, and a pair of pants. The shirt was a light pinkish-orange, almost peach, and was accented with a dark, almost gray, silver that lined the edges. The skirt was the same color, tight, and hung down a little passed her knees. Along the front, top edge, was a small bar of the gray- silver, and four tassels of the same color, hanging from this on either side was a small chain, reaching from front to back. She wore the skirt over a pair of black pants.
Upon the headboard of her new bed, she had placed the only reminder of her family before her five years at Matron Kramer's Orphanage. A picture of her father in a Galbadian Military uniform holding a small child Quistis knew to be herself. The picture had been taken a month before her father had been called away for war, a month before she had been abandoned at the orphanage, a month before she had lost everything her heart knew and held dear.
---
"What did she do?" A voice carried its way across the crowded Mess Hall. The voice belonged to a bubbly young girl in a SeeD uniform with short brown hair, turned up at the ends.
"Calm down, Selphie! I'll tell you." A young man leaned in closer, speaking across the table. His pale blonde hair spiked up and away from his face, almost as if he had been standing in front of a fan when he was spraying his hair, and the side of his face was dominated by a large, swirling, black tattoo.
"Tell me! Tell me, Zellie, tell me!" Selphie squealed as she clapped her hands to the small table that separated them.
"Calm down, and don't call me 'Zellie'." Zell motioned his hand for her to calm down. Selphie clapped a hand to her mouth in response. "Do you know who the president of Esthar is?" Selphie nodded vigorously, her hands still over her mouth. "Did you know he was visiting Balamb today?"
"He's here!?" Selphie removed her hands, screaming again.
"Shh!!" Zell hushed as the over-excited girl replaced her hands to her mouth. "He would have been…"
"What happened?" Selphie had settled down some, and removed the hands from over her mouth.
"Quistis happened." Zell sat back a little, smiling to himself.
***
Quistis walked the halls, her chain whip at the ready, resting lightly on her shoulder. Aside from the Junior Classman that constantly ran in circles around the elevator platform, she was the only one in the halls. The click of her boots echoed off the gold colored walls, she often wondered why her boots clicked on the carpet.
"Hello!?" A strange (male) voice drifted to Quistis' ears. She turned in the direction it had come from, the Main Gate.
"Hello, can I help you?" Quistis placed her whip against the turnstile and walked toward the owner of the voice. He was obviously taller than Quistis, who stood at a 5'6", and had black, highlighted, hair the hung to his shoulder blades. His bangs fell across the left side of his face, and those on his right were combed behind his ear. He had a friendly smile that danced all the way up to his merry green eyes.
"Hi! I was supposed to come to this facility for a visit, but I can't seem to get in…" The gentleman tried pushing on the small, swinging door, but to no avail.
"I can let you in," Quistis took a few more steps toward the gentleman trying to get in.
"Oh!? Would you? Please?" The gentleman released the door and gave a sexy, slightly dopey smile.
"Sure, I just need to see an invitation and some ID." Quistis held out her hand, waiting for something to be placed there.
"Uh… W-well… Ya see… I was invited over the Tele-Communicator…" The young gentleman seemed a tad distraught.
"Then I'm afraid I cannot let you in…" She turned to walk away, but was called back by the gentleman.
"If it matters any, I spoke with your Headmaster, Cid Kramer. I'm Laguna Loire." His green eyes pleaded the truth as Quistis searched them, more for her own reasons than to find the truth.
"…You're who?" She wasn't sure if she was supposed to know who this man was, or not.
Laguna was troubled, "I'm Laguna, Laguna Loire. L-A-G-"
"You need not spell it, I still can't let you in." Quistis sighed, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Ah! Mr. Loire, sir! It's a true honor." Quistis cringed at the voice of her Headmaster, and employer, "Has this young, asinine instructor been harassing you?"
Quistis felt her face redden in anger as she whipped around to face Cid. "'HARASSING'?! He is trying to get in here without any ID or an invitation!" Quistis jerked her hand toward the would-be visitor, nearly hitting him on the nose, which he then scratched with the tip of his finger, a puzzled look on his face.
"Ms. Trepe! That is no way to treat an honored guest!" Cid grabbed Quistis by the shoulders and spun her around to face Laguna, who was tugging on the gray shirt he wore beneath a blue jacket. "Meet Mr. Laguna Loire, president of Esthar."
"P-p-president..?!" Quistis felt her knees buckle and suddenly everything went black.
***
"She passed out!?" Selphie held her sides, laughing.
"Well, wouldn't you?" Zell wiped a tear from his eye, chuckling. The two leaned forward, hugging each other, as they broke out in uncontrollable fits if rolling laughter. Over their shoulders the students who frequented the Trepie Table had the heads hung in shame. Their idol had, once again, fallen from grace.
---
Quistis tugged on the obnoxious, yellow bow around her neck as she walked down the hall. She kept her eyes forward, ignoring the points and snickers from the other students in the hall. Suddenly thunder of footsteps came up from behind her, and she braced herself for the worst.
"Quistis! Hey, Quistis, wait up!" She knew the voice that called out to her. Seifer…
"I heard what happened…" He said softly as he came to walk beside her, "I can't believe he demoted you to Cadet Level! That's unfair." He placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently.
Seifer had been at the Garden a year less than Quistis, and was still a Cadet. His two best friends, Fujin and Raijin, had graduated to SeeD level last year, but he was still behind. He used to be the blonde-haired, blue- eyed "Hurricane of Balamb Garden", but he had matured so much in the span of two years. This time, he actually wore his black and gray Cadet Field Uniform, instead of his trademark gray trench coat with its glowing red emblem on the sleeve, and his black clothing.
"Ready for Field Exams?" Seifer asked, bursting Quistis' bubble of concentration.
"Huh? Oh! Yeah…" Quistis shook off the fog in her head and glanced at Seifer briefly before returning her eyes to the Hall. "Yeah, I guess so…"
"Sucks that they're making you take it again… I'm sure you'll do great! You always do." Seifer chuckled lightly, placing his hands behind his head, "I know I'm gonna do it this time! I can feel it, ya know?"
Quistis chuckled, Looks like Raijin's wearing off on him… "Yeah, I understand completely." She turned to him once more, smiling softly.
"I wonder who our Squad Leader is. Do you know anything, Quistis?" Seifer asked, removing his hands and shoving them in his pockets.
"I've a hunch…" The first name that came to her mind was the only other student with the same qualifications she had. Since she was the first choice, but is obviously unable to perform the appointed duties, the next in line would take over. Squall Leonhart.
---
Quistis waited in the shadow of the giant Directory as Cid explained to Squall, Seifer, and a slue of other Cadets, the mission. She drowned herself in thought, having already been given the information. They were to go to the Lunatic Excavation Site to retrieve some valuable, lost information and return to the Garden. It was fairly simple, a laugh compared to Quistis' last Field Exam.
She had to lead three Cadets, Seifer Almasy, Squall Leonhart, and Zell Dincht, to Dollet. Once there, they were to clear the city of intruding Galbadians (once the SeeD's mortal enemy). Things were going great, if you by-passed the fact that Seifer played shoot-em-up with any and every thing in sight. Or so they had thought.
Another Cadet, by the name of Selphie Tilmit, informed the Cadets that there was a crisis situation on the hill. The hill was home to a giant radio tower, a tower that hadn't been used in years, maybe even decades. The task wasn't all that hard, defeat to soldiers, Biggs and Wedge, and get out of there. As they escaped, a giant, mechanical spider, the X-ATM092, was sent after them, Squall narrowly escaped. He wouldn't have made if it weren't for Quistis and a giant, high-tech machine gun.
"Quistis?" Seifer tapped Quistis from her flash back, "Quistis, we're ready to go…"
"Alright, I'm coming." Quistis straightened her jacket and held her shoulders at a regal angle, following after the other Cadets.
---
Laguna slumped in his chair, his arms folded over his chest as he frowned at the table. "I can't believe it…"
"Believe what? That you're not the center of the universe?" A young man with chocolate-brown skin came and sat down next to him, resting his elbow in the tabletop. He had a flattop with long braids hanging a ways down in the back and two that hung from his hairline to his eyebrows. Those that hung in the back were wrapped with green string, some yellow beads dispersed here and there, whereas the ones in front were nothing fancy, and slightly curled.
"Shuddup, Kiros." Laguna almost sneered at his so-called friend; "Sometimes I wonder why I put up with you."
"With out me, you wouldn't know what Ward was saying." Kiros chuckled lightly as Laguna made a slightly perturbed face. Ward was another friend of theirs. He was heavily built, but stood at an astonishing seven-feet. He was a kind man, although a nasty scar dominated the left side of his face, running from beneath the blue bandana that always covered his hair to beneath his chin.
He'd lost his voice in a mission a few years back. It was in the Lunatic Excavation Site, after a long and grueling battle. Their only means of escape was a cliff that towered over a shallow river below. Laguna, the all knowing moron he is, threw Kiros and Ward from the cliff and called them brave for jumping.
"Seriously, what can't you believe, Laguna?" Kiros flicked his excuse for bangs from his face, only to have them fall right back into place.
"I went to Balamb today, right? You know, the Garden? Well, anyways, I couldn't get in, so I called for help. This teacher came up! At first I thought she was a student, cause she didn't look all old a wrinkly like a teacher should, but she was a teacher! A… An instructor I think she was called. I didn't catch her name. She was purdy… But anyways, she asked if she could help me. So I said I was supposed to visit that facility. I actually said 'facility' can you believe it?! Anyways, I was telling her that, and that I couldn't get in. She said she could let me in and I said 'Oh!? Would you? Please?'. And she said that she needed to see an invitation and some ID. But I told I had been invited over the Tele- Communicator. She didn't seem too happy about this…" Laguna paused, taking a sip of water form the glass that stood on the table before him, not caring that it was Kiros' water, Kiros scowled as Laguna continued hastily on. "She said she was afraid she couldn't let me in, but I told her I had spoken with her Headmaster, Cid Kramer, I even told her who I was! I guess she didn't hear me the first time, cause she asked me who I was. So I told her again, I even spelled it out! Well… sorta, I only got to 'G' before she told me I didn't need to spell it, and that she still couldn't let me in. Then her Headmaster, Mr. Kramer, came up and said it was an honor. He asked me if she was harassing me. He called her 'asinine', I don't think she was 'asinine' she was just doing her job. She seemed kinda nice, to me. And the she got all huffy, and started to shout about her not harassing me, and that I wanted to get in without ID or an invitation. And then she swung her hand at me and almost hit me in nose. She didn't do it on purpose, and I scratched my nose afterward. And then Cid told her I was president of Esthar, and she got all stuttery and passed out! I guess my awesomeness was too much for her."
Kiros rubbed his eye sleepily, "Huh..? Oh, you're done..?"
Laguna sneered, "Yes, I'm done…" he once again crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs at the ankles.
"So why didn't you go in?" Kiros stood from his chair, taking his now empty glass to the sink.
"Cid didn't know how to open the door. How can you be the Headmaster of a school, and not know how to open a door?" Laguna gave Kiros a puzzled look.
"Well, you're president of Esthar, and you don't know how to use the elevators." Kiros smirked as he leaned his upper-body against the counter.
"Hey! But those are different!" Laguna frowned, pursing his lips together.
"Oh? How so?" Kiros seemed almost interested, almost.
"They're scary…" Laguna pressed the tips of his index fingers together and looked down them.
---
Quistis pressed her back against her seat as the sub-ship drew nearer its destination. Squall sat beside her, his neck arched back so his head could rest upon the seatback. His coffee-and-cream colored hair splaying away from his face, allowing the pink scar on his forehead into full view. Seifer had given him the scar in her second year of teaching, before Squall was even a SeeD, before Field Exams.
They had been "sparring" with their Gunblades, and Seifer had gotten a little over zealous, casting one of his powerful limit-breaks and temporarily blinded Squall. Before he went down, Squall had managed to get one good hit in, sending the tip of his Gunblade careening down Seifer's forehead.
"Squall, can I ask you something?" Quistis glanced over at him, her hands folded and pressed between her knees.
"Huh? Yeah, sure." Squall sat up, his head rolling back onto his shoulders, "Whatcha want?" His hazel-gray eyes held a hint of boredom and oncoming sleep.
"Have they… Have they…" Quistis found herself unable to finish her question.
"Let me guess. You want to know if they've offered me your instructing job. Am I right?" Squall stretched his shoulders back as he brought his left ankle to his right knee, propping his elbow in the small platform he had created.
"Y-yeah…" Quistis braced herself as she awaited his answer.
"They have, before they told me I had to take your Field Exam position. They never told me what you did, but I'm sure I'll hear about it sooner or later… Anyways, I declined the job. I feel I'm not ready, and you're my friend. It just wouldn't feel right, know what I mean?" Squall placed a hand to Quistis' shoulder and squeezed it gently. "You'll get your job back, you've done it before. Cid has more heart than that. I know it."
"…Thanks." Quistis felt oddly uncomforted.
---
Seifer leaned against the railing as he watched the small speck on the horizon slowly become their first destination. He wasn't exactly sure the place's name, cause he'd sneezed while Cid was talking about it. He'd heard that it was just a huge, long dock, and was home to the world's largest fishing society.
As he stood there, looking out upon the ocean, Seifer contemplated the things he had done in the past. He'd worked for Edea, he'd been manipulated by Adel and Ultimecia, he tried on several occasions to sacrifice his ex- girlfriend… who was know Squall's fiancée. "The world works in mysterious ways…" he muttered to himself.
"It sure does…" Seifer jumped at the sound of Quistis' voice, drifting above the gentle clap of the waves as they lapped against the side of the sub-ship. "You think you're on top of the world, and just when things are looking up, life deals you a rotten hand and suddenly you've fallen off the ladder." She sighed as she came to stand next to Seifer, resting her forearms against the protective railing and hung her head. It was a small, one-person space, and with the two standing there, it was awkward and uncomfortable.
"Yeah… Something like that." Seifer rested his back against the railing as he watched the shore grow further and further away, "Hey… Where are we going again?"
"FH… Fisherman's Horizon. I've been there once before, when we first discovered that the Garden could fly… We actually didn't land there… We sort of… crashed." Quistis lifted her head a little and glanced over her shoulder at Seifer.
"Is that so..?" Seifer chuckled, "Gee, wish I could have been there."
"Yeah, Nida was so embarrassed!" Seifer and Quistis shared a hearty laugh.
"NIDA!? Mr. I'm-so-perfect?! I can't believe it!" Seifer wiped a tear away from the corner of his left eye. "What ever happened to him?"
"I believe he transferred to Trabia Garden, to over see the restoration." Quistis moved her forearms from the railing, and placed her hands against it instead.
"Trabia? That's where Selphie's from, right?" Seifer flipped around, facing the same direction as Quistis.
"Yeah. Surprised you remembered. There's not much you remember from… that time, is there?" Quistis gave Seifer an understanding, sympathetic look.
"No… not much. So why didn't Selphie go?" Seifer was always quick to change the subject whenever the events that followed the last Field Exam he'd been on came up.
"Well… Seems that she's got a bit of a crush on a student here, er… at Balamb." Quistis smirked as she turned to the ocean once more.
"Who!? Not that Urban Cowboy!?" Seifer's excitement grew.
"Irvine? Oh no. He returned to Galbadia Garden once they finished rebuilding. He was a rather nice fellow, kind of cute, too…" Quistis sighed with a dream like sentiment.
"Then who!? Tell me, tell me!" Seifer was at the point of jumping up and down.
"Zell." Quistis turned to Seifer, awaiting his reaction.
"CHICKEN WUSS!? NO WAY!!" Seifer looked blankly out to sea, "I almost can't believe it. Almost."
---
As the sub-ship pulled into the Toll Station, Squall and Quistis climbed to the cramped top deck, awaiting the request to see their orders, and their registered pass.
Suddenly a familiar face appeared at the bridge, and to their surprise, asked a rather odd question. "Oh? There was a sub-ship scheduled today? I don't remember getting the request!"
Quistis attempted a glance at Squall before turning to the familiar face. "But we have a registered pass, signed by the proper authorities. How could you have not received the request?"
"Could I please see your request? We've already received three forgeries this morning." The familiar face smiled up at them, holding his hand out for the pass.
Squall took the pass from inside his coat, and went to hold it out. Just as the familiar face's fingers went to reach for it, he withdrew his hand. "I don't understand."
Quistis took the opportunity to chime in once more. "You should have had us on file! Please, can you check? 'Balamb Garden, Cadet Field Exam'."
"Sure! Of course I'll check, but could I please have that pass, too?" The familiar face smiled as he took the pass from Squall's once again outstretched hand.
"I just don't understand this," Quistis turned to Squall, her arms crossed over her chest to fend off the cold and her frustration, "Why wouldn't we be registered? Cid wouldn't give us the orders if we weren't cleared. We wouldn't even have the pass!"
"I know, I know. Calm down, I'm sure everything will turn out all right. It was probably a huge misunderstanding. Hey! Here he comes." Squall nodded his chin toward the familiar face.
---
The sub-ship was well on it's way again, but the contents inside were shaken, and stirred.
"I don't get it. We weren't on file?" Seifer leaned forward; trying to speak to Quistis through the little space that separated the book from her nose.
"No. She's checking the records now." Squall replied placidly as he laid his back against seat adjacent to Seifer's, staring him blankly in the face. It was plain to see that the once boiling rivalry was still on a warm simmer.
"If the records were stripped, then why would we get the orders?" Seifer turned to face Squall quickly.
"I don't know. I don't have all the answers." Squall turned his attention to the other Cadets, snapping at one of the females when she began to groom herself. "This isn't a cruise ship! Leave that for off-time at the Garden!"
"Well… I've found the records. It hasn't been stripped. It says our FH pass was cleared three days ago. I wonder, what could have happened?" Quistis looked up and Squall turned his attention back.
"This doesn't feel right. FH has one of the most reliable computer services I've ever come across. How could they lose a record like that? That guy seemed a bit surprised when our pass was legit. Was it just me, or did he seem familiar to you?" Squall sat back a little, resting his arm on the back of the seat, watching Seifer as he folded his hands between his knees and hung his head in thought.
"They all look familiar, it's just that community." Quistis snapped the record book shut and slipped it back into Squall's satchel. The boat slid to a halt as she slid the satchel back beneath her seat.
"Why have we stopped?" Seifer's head shot up and he raced to his feet, Quistis and Squall following suit.
"I dunno. Let's go check it out." Squall raced up the small flight of stairs and burst through the trap-door that lead to the top deck.
"What's going on?" Seifer wormed his way next to Squall as he looked around; "We're not there already, are we?"
Squall blinked as raindrops began to pelt him in the face, landing in his cloudy, hazel eyes and clinging to his soft hair. "I don't know. I don't see anything. The shore's too far off."
Seifer pulled himself next to Squall, squashed, shoulder-to-shoulder. "Then… why?"
Squall and Seifer lunged forward as the sub-ship started off again, nearly sending the both over the railing. They looked at each other, each as bewildered as the next.
---
They reached the Lunatic Excavation Site two hours later; the sun at half passed three. The mere shower that had pelted them in the face when they stopped earlier, was now a raging squall, and the Cadets were leery about leaving the hatch opening in the back of the sub-ship. Squall and Quistis pushed their way through the mass of Cadets and came to stand next to Seifer.
"This just doesn't feel right…" Seifer looked about the ruins, his chest heaving with fear and exhaustion.
Squall squeaked his disapproval as his hazel eyes darted back and forth. Flashes of light, bouncing off metal, smoke and flames danced across the ominous horizon. Quistis' head whipped back and forth, her eyes showing the fear her face could not. "What's happened here?" She quickly turned back toward the Sub-Ship, trying to force her way through the line of Cadets. "Move, Cadet! I need to get through!"
One of the male Cadets sneered, turning to his peers, his lime green eyes laughing, "D'you hear that? A Cadet ordered us to move!" This brought a roar of laughter from the others.
Quistis stood her ground. "MOVE! For the love of God, MOVE!"
"No, you move, Cadet!" The Cadet reached out his hand, and with a semi- forceful shove, he sent her to the ground.
Quistis sat there in the mud, biting her lip and keeping her eyes to the ground. It was Squall who came to her aid. "Now listen up! You listen to Quistis here! She may be a Cadet now, but she has more qualifications to be Headmaster than any of you will ever see in your entire lifetimes! As long as you're in my squad, you listen to her! Now move, DAMMIT!"
Several Cadets gulped and parted, leaving a path open to the interior of the Sub-Ship. Seifer helped Quistis out of the mud and attempted to wipe off the back of her skirt, getting a warning snuff from Squall. Running through the Cadets, Quistis rummaged under Squall's seat for his satchel. "Where is it… where is it…"
Her fingers darted this way and that until they brushed against the cold, polished leather of the satchel. Pressing her cheek against the cool tile of the floor, she stretched her fingers out, wiggling them in hopes of another centimeter, unable to grab the handle of the satchel.
"I got it." Seifer flopped down beside Quistis, and without any extra effort, snatched the satchel from beneath the seat. He jumped to his feet quickly, offering a hand down to Quistis, only to have his chivalry go ignored.
The moment Quistis had leapt to her feet, she had the satchel from Seifer's hand and was rummaging through it madly. "Ah ha! Here! I found it!"
---
"Headmaster, I've an uneasy feeling about the Cadets you sent out on the Field Exam…" Selphie entered Cid's off meekly, treading softly along the carpet.
"Yes, Ms. Tilmit? What troubles you?" Cid spun around in his leather chair, tucking a pencil behind his right ear.
"Well, I heard on the news today that all out war had been declared, and the battle site is none other than the Lunatic Excavation Site…" Selphie was wringing her sleeves nervously.
"I'm sure the Cadets can handle themselves, Miss Tilmit." Cid began to spin back around, ready to dismiss Selphie.
"Yes, I'm sure, especially with Quistis, Squall, and Seifer… but I heard that the ButterFlieZ were involved!"
"THE ButterFlieZ!?!?!" Cid nearly fell out of his chair.
---
"A sabotage?!" Seifer stared blankly at Quistis as she sat numb, staring at the record book. Squall had found a slight crease on the paper and had slowly peeled it off to reveal the actual record for the day. The exam was supposed to have been rescheduled and at a different location.
"What do we do, sir?" A young female cadet with soft brown hair and eyes that matched ventured a step in the rain, bending slightly to speak to the seated, sopping Squall.
He looked up, his hair clinging to his face, "Give me a minute." After some thought, Squall stood up, water trickling off his clothing and face and addressed the Cadets. "Listen up! I don't want any of you to move from this spot… No, better still, I want you all to get back into the sub-ship. Natalia!" he turned to the girl who had spoken to him before, "I want you to program the ship back to Balamb. To the Garden. Tell Cid something's gone wrong, and his three most capable prodigies are trying to figure it out. Tell him to send Raijin, Fujin, Zell, Selphie, Rinoa, and get Irvine on the phone! We need the best damn SeeDs we can get! GO! NOW!"
Within moments, Squall, Seifer, and Quistis were watching the sub-ship speed away. Each stood there, holding their weapon of choice; Squall and Seifer had very little ammunition between them.
"We're doomed aren't we, guys…" Quistis wasn't really asking, and she really didn't want an answer, the thought of the Garden right now was furthest from her mind.