Author's Notes: I do not own the content within. All copyrights belong to SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD.
Chapter IV: Fire Cavern
The walk to the Fire Cavern was short and uneventful. Neither Squall nor Quistis spoke as they followed the trail through the forest. As the emerged, the Fire Cavern loomed over them. As they approached the entrance, two Balamb Garden Guardians stood outside. One of them addressed them.
"Objective: To obtain a low-level GF. A SeeD member must support. Are you ready?"
Squall saluted the Guardians and responded, "I am."
Quistis added, "I'm his support. Instructor number 14, Quistis Trepe."
The guardians nodded. One of them said, "Select a time limit. Choose one suitable to your abilities. Challenging yet reasonable."
Without hesitation, Squall said, "10 minutes."
The Guardians respond, "Very well. Good luck." Then they parted to allow Squall and Quistis access to the Cavern. After Squall and Quistis entered, they resumed their positions outside.
Once inside, Quistis said, "My job is to support you in battle. Everything else is up to you."
Squall nodded. "Fine by me."
As they started to move into the Fire Cavern, a small, raised stone path cut through lava pits. The heat was so incredible that Squall could already feel sweat trickling down his back. The feeling gave him a small shiver.
Behind him, Quistis chuckled. "You know, the boys often choke on this test when I come with them," she said, teasingly. Then she added, "I guess my charm makes them nervous."
Squall stopped and turned around to give her a bemused look. Whatever… he thought to himself. Quistis chuckled. "I'm just kidding! Trying to keep you relaxed, that's all." Squall highly doubted that.
They continued down the winding path, leading deeper into the Fire Cavern. As they moved deeper into this cave, the heat continued to rise. Squall wished he hadn't worn his jacket for this exam. Behind him, Quistis was sweating as well and was reminded why she hated running the exam. She sighed heavily and drew in another sulfur-smelling breath. The thickness of the air made it hard to breathe, and the smell made it even less desirable. The path narrowed as they neared the end of the test. Quistis was breathing heavily already and Squall seemed to be taking pained breaths.
Quistis finally spoke again. She said, "I guess I was right. You and Seifer are in a class of your own. You both have amazing strength and potential." Squall scoffed when she said that. He viewed Seifer as being a lazy, rule-breaking oaf. He considered himself much better than Seifer.
They came to the end of the test, a large stone chamber with a hole to the lava inside it. "Okay, this is it. Are you ready?" Quistis asked, drawing her whip. Squall nodded and drew his gunblade from its hilt. She chuckled. "You seem confident enough."
In a hail of flying rocks and lava, the Fire Cavern's master Ifrit the Fire Daemon emerged from the whole in the center. The large beast had two humongous horns emerging from his head and a large red mane that stretched down his back. He stood much taller than the two humans did, but they did not seem frightened. Quistis cracked her whip and Squall swung his blade, preparing for battle. Quistis attacked the beast first, striking it with a Blizzard spell. A large ball of ice formed above the creature's head and fell down onto it, striking with icy force. Focusing his energy, Squall brought into existence a Guardian Force, also known as GF. The ice Goddess Shiva was summoned into existence to deliver a powerful ice attack at Ifrit.
The beast roared and loudly proclaimed, "YOU HAVE SHIVA?" Angered, he leaped forward and swung his massive paw towards Squall, who caught the attack with his sword. He sustained little damage from the beast.
Quistis summoned another ball of ice, using another Blizzard spell, to attack Ifrit. The great beast responded with a Fire spell, hurtling a fireball at her. While the beast was distracted, Squall struck the beast with his gunblade; the monster shrieked with pain. Quistis hit the beast with her whip, the resounding CRACK echoing through the cavern. Squall once again conjured Shiva, who delivered a powerful ice attack. Ifrit held his side after her attack and scoffed.
"Ugh! I underestimated SHIVA!" he roared. He launched a massive Fire spell at Squall, who expertly dodged the blast. Quistis struck the beast again with her whip and gave Squall the opportunity to charge at him, which he took. Squall raced forward and leaped at the beast. In mid air, he unleashed his powerful attack, Renzokuken, in which he strikes several times. Each strike dealt the beast great pain. Squall landed, feeling slightly winded and glanced up at the beast now looming over him. Ifrit roared loudly.
"VERY WELL HUMAN! I WILL JOIN YOU!"
Quistis wiped sweat from her brow and Squall swung his sword, tossing the creature's blood from it, celebrating his victory. Though winded and slightly burnt, both Squall and Quistis were unharmed. With Ifrit's GF added to his repertoire, all Squall had to do was reach the exit before his time limit ran out. Quistis turned to face him.
"There will be a lot of Fire monsters here now, so we should be using Ice magic against them. You'll have an easier time with Fire elemental enemies."
They turned and began to hurry back along the path towards the entrance. Squall could see the angered denizens of the Fire Cavern heading towards them and hoped they would get out before the monsters reached them. Along the path, they were ambushed by a Fire Bomb, a monster comprised mainly of fire with a menacing face. Squall quickly drew his gunblade and attacked the creature head on. Quistis held back and summoned a Blizzard spell to attack the creature with. The creature roared and doubled in size, preparing to explode. Squall jumped back and casted a Blizzard spell at the creature, followed immediately by Quistis casting the same spell. With a shriek, the creature fell to the ground and dissipated. Squall nodded and motioned to Quistis for them to hurry. Moments later, the rush of fresh, cool air was upon them as they emerged from the Cavern. They hurried back to the school, taking the path through the woods again. As they approached the front gate, Quistis stopped.
"Well done," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Let's see… I thought there was something else I needed to go over with you before you take the SeeD exam… Oh well. Now change into your uniform and assemble in the First Floor Lobby." With that, Quistis began to walk away, while Squall headed for his dorm room.