A/N: Thanks, rach981 for the comment. I love hearing whatever you guys have to say, it's such a great motivator. I'm quite flattered you think my writing is that great. All I can tell you is to never think you won't be able to write as well as someone else (I'm definitely not a hypocrite, by the way, and that definitely wasn't a cheesy line). Just practice, practice, practice! I'm not new to writing; I've been experimenting for about a year and a half on my blog. It's always easier with friends, which is why I practised on a group blog. Plus, you earn feedback and you feel like you can't let them down by stopping your posts. Again, I'd have to thank them for where my writing is today. And I thank you all for reading and replying.

I'm quite excited to write the ballroom scene myself; it'll be my first time writing anything slightly romantic. I've also been dying to write the balcony scene/secret area portion ever since I started. I love Quistis. She's the deepest character, in my opinion.

"Good. We're both here in one piece. Now let's go."

Squall and Quistis walked up to the Fire Cavern entrance, where two Garden faculty members stood waiting, one on each side of the hole. The Garden faculty… Dressed in red tunics with white sleeves and a large flat hat, the men's faces were completely hidden from view. Squall often wondered how they were able to see around. The faculty was notorious at Balamb Garden for being more abrasive than steel wool. It represented the 'Garden Master', whom nobody had ever seen, and its members went out of their way to clash with the Headmaster and students. Even the instructors couldn't stand them. Perhaps that was why they hid their faces; anyone seeking revenge for unjustified punishments wouldn't be able to distinguish one from another. Squall approached wearily. He had never been in trouble with any of them before, though they annoyed him nevertheless.

An emotionless voice spoke from the right. "Fire Cavern Quest, supplementary exam number forty-six. Level: SeeD preparatory. Objective: to obtain a Bomb Core from the inner chamber of the Fire Cavern. A SeeD member must support. Are you ready?"

"Yes. Student ID number 41269, Squall Leonhart." He raised his right hand flat in front of the right edge of his face; the SeeD salute.

"I'm his support. Instructor 14, Quistis Trepe." She saluted too, though Squall doubted either supervisor could see past their feet.

"Very well. This is how the exam works. A timer will start once you enter the cave. To end the exam, you must stop it by exiting the cave or by overriding it in the inner chamber. To pass, you must have possession of the Bomb Core and you must stop the timer before it reaches zero. If you fail to retrieve the Bomb Core but you manage to exit before the timer runs out, you may choose to redo the exam with the clock reset, but you will lose marks. You may only do this once. Understood?"

"Yes."

"Select a time limit," said the faculty member on the left. "Choose one suited to your abilities. Ten, twenty, thirty, or forty minutes?"

Squall opened his mouth, then frowned. He closed it and shifted his confused glance to Instructor Trepe, who shrugged. He stared at the dark crevice between the sentinels. "But… I don't know how far the inner chamber is, or –"

"Guess, based on the objective," came his instructor's voice. Squall turned to her with an incredulous expression. "It's entirely possible for someone to finish in ten minutes. As a matter of fact, one candidate even managed to defeat the–"

"Ms. Trepe!" the man on the left called out harshly. She fell silent. "Mr. Leonhart, please select a time limit."

Instructor Trepe's outburst got Squall thinking. There's something big in there? Someone managed to defeat it? Who could it be…? And then the obvious answer came to him. Seifer… Seifer was the only student Squall could think of. When it came to combat, Seifer was the first name out of everyone's mouth. So Seifer had selected ten minutes and had managed to defeat the Bomb Core guardian along the way. Squall knew he had no other choice. He would not come second to his rival. He would pick ten and finish in nine.

"Ten minutes." Behind him, Quistis laughed softly through her nose.

"Very well. Your time starts now. Begin." Squall rushed into the darkness, followed closely by his instructor.

Stepping in was as shocking to his senses as rolling into the tree. The warmth smothered him, clogging his throat like a giant cotton ball. It filled his nostrils with a deep burning stench and the heat waves blurred his vision. The only light came from the glowing rocks and magma; he wanted to wait for his eyes to adjust, but didn't want to lose time. Running ahead rather blindly, Squall heard his instructor's footsteps behind him.

"Again, my job is to support you in battle. Everything else is up to you."

"Fine," Squall answered, exactly as he had done before. He hurried onward a couple more steps.

"You know, the boys often choke on this test when I come with them. I guess my charm makes them nervous."

Squall was so exasperated he turned right around and glared at her, though all he could see was her frame, silhouetted against the bright entrance.

His instructor laughed. "I'm just kidding! Trying to keep you relaxed, that's all."

…Whatever. They continued down the narrow, winding path, surrounded by lava. Waves of heat rose up from the glowing liquid as it bubbled and frothed. Squall was sweating heavily, his hair starting to stick to his face. He wanted to take off his jacket, but he couldn't carry it in battle, and he certainly wasn't going to leave it on the ground.

A squeak resounded around the cave walls. Squall looked up at the large, winged creature descending to greet them. Six red, triangular wings rotated in opposite directions to keep it afloat. They were attached behind its devil's face, eyes alight with an evil desire. Squall drew his sword. He didn't bother to Scan it, nor did he want to move so he casted a Thunder spell. A bolt of lightning struck down from the ceiling at one of its wings, but it didn't do much. He tried again to no avail. The monster just floated there and smiled maliciously. Resigned, he ran headlong and swung at its face. It floated backwards as his blade came down, avoiding damage. He tried again, but missed. Frustrated, Squall was tempted to throw his sword at the creature, but even that much of an effort might have left him drained. The heat was getting unbearable. Squall just wanted to leave.

Instructor Trepe jumped in. She swished her whip in the air and lashed out, tearing a jagged cut across its face. The demon growled, its fan blades spinning faster. With surprising speed, it turned sideways and rushed at them, hurling vertically through the air like a disk saw. There was no room to manoeuvre, so Squall could only duck. He brought his sword to the ready as a bladed wing streaked treacherously close, timing his retort carefully. Right before it hit him, he sliced a sheet of leathery wing to the ground, severing it roughly from the body. The foul creature's flight became unsteady and Squall's progress motivated his movements. He charged and stabbed the face, feeling a vindictive pleasure as the soft pressure at the tip broke, plunging cleanly through. He flung the speared head away, watching as it parachuted through the air, falling softly into the magma, the wings hissing and melting.

"Excellent evade and counter. You've always had trouble with those. E&C's are difficult to master, but you're getting there."

Squall nodded for a lack of a better action. He continued along, starting to get anxious. How long has it been?

They reached a fork in the path. He could either head left, right, or straight ahead. Frustration bit at him and he had an urge to ask for Instructor Trepe's help again, but he knew she would refuse. Squall looked at her and then frowned. "Why aren't you sweating?"

She smiled mischievously. Avoiding the question, she chose instead to comment. "Look a bit further up each path." Squall glanced to his left and right and blushed, his face reddening further. The dead ends in both routes were clearly visible. Wiping the sweat off his brow, he continued along the one in front of him, cursing at his shallow foresight. Twenty metres ahead, he came to another junction with three paths. This time he could not see where any of them led. He squinted at the one on his right. There was something glowing purple in the distance. A Draw Point. The trail probably didn't go any further. So it was either straight ahead or to the left. He had an urge to follow the latter, but reverse-reverse-psychology forced him directly ahead again. For a whole minute, Squall didn't meet anything. He frowned and scanned the area every few steps, sweating from both the heat and nerves.

Maybe right was the 'right' way. Or maybe I should have gone left. Then again, the Draw Point might have been there to guide me. Besides; who plans a maze where you always move straight ahead? Did I screw up? But he had no more time to think, for as they reached the opening of an antechamber, a particularly large eruption of lava caught his attention.

A solid, flaming ball emerged out of the slowly flowing magma. It was about the size of a dinner plate, with two thin, stubby arms flailing at the sides. A wide, toothy grin was set over its face, and its permanently furious, yellow eyes glared at Squall as it bobbed up and down, floating lazily. He drew his sword and lunged, completely missing as it dodged to the side. There was no way Squall's lethargic movements would be able to touch the blazing creature, so he casted a Thunder spell. It shocked the fireball, which hit the ground, but bounced up again just as lively as before. Indeed, its momentum picked up as it expanded rapidly to the size of a nightstand. Squall frowned, trying to figure out what he should do. He scanned it.

Bomb.

A monster powered by fire. Usually calm, but still a dangerous fiend that becomes gigantic or explodes when provoked. After growing to the size of an ape, it will use Suicide, dealing massive damage to all in its range. Absorbs fire and very weak against ice. Generally unaffected by water.

The enlarged Bomb charged at him, and he rolled to the side, avoiding its body. Just then, a second Bomb leapt out of the magma. Oh great. Instructor Trepe stepped forward. "Leave them to me. Your attacks will only provoke them."

As usual, she swept her arms around her body and pushed her palms outward. "Blizzard," she murmured. A gust of white air shot at the larger Bomb, covering it in frost for a second. The ice layer steamed away, but the light radiating from its core had diminished greatly. Squall took to distracting the second Bomb while she finished off the first with another Blizzard spell, which fell to the ground as a smouldering pile of ashes. She did the same with the second, and it was dead before it had even expanded.

"We're almost there. And in record time, too. I guess I was right; you and Seifer are in a class of your own. You both have amazing potential."

Squall remained silent. He appreciated the compliment, but was annoyed Seifer had been included as well. Hopefully, by the end of his SeeD exam, he'd be considered a category of his own. As they exited the antechamber, they found themselves in a huge room. The ceiling was too high to make out, and the path widened into a platform floating on top of molten rock. The heat and light were noticeably stronger and seemed to be radiating from a central pit surrounded by jagged rocks. Squall guessed they were in the heart of one of the mountains. They crossed to the middle of the room, and he noticed a glowing blue glyph in the wall at the very back. A shining red gem lay suspiciously visible in front of the pit. The Bomb Core?

"This is it. Are you ready?" Instructor Trepe wasn't even pretending to be impartial anymore. He knew she expected him to challenge whatever came his way. He gestured lazily behind him, not turning to look at her. He wasn't particularly worried; the only pressure nagging at him came from Seifer's success. If Seifer can do it, I can do it.

Instructor Trepe folded her arms. "You seem pretty confident. Take the Bomb Core."

Squall walked up to the red stone. He hesitated for a moment, wondering if there was anything last-second he could do to prepare. Stop worrying and just take the damn thing. Deciding he was indeed fully ready, he reached out a hand and grabbed the glittering mineral.

The ground began to shake the instant his glove touched the stone. He pocketed it and drew out his sword, holding his ground firmly in a battle stance. Instructor Trepe stood beside him, her whip uncoiled. They backed up slowly as a mass of small rocks began to shoot up from the fissure. It grew brighter and hotter, and with an explosion of lava almost blasting them off their feet, the beast appeared, somersaulting out and landing in front of the pair.

Standing three times taller than Squall, the demon's muscular, humanoid frame was covered with smooth brown skin. Patches of fiery red hair emblazoned his arms, legs, chin, and torso. A mullet ran down to his back alongside two giant, curved, black horns. He seemed to have a liking for jewellery; his long, pointed ears held two pairs of gold earrings and his wrists were encircled by matching bangles. From his neck hung a simple, white beaded necklace ending with a silver dog tag pendant. His narrow eyes glared down at the humans and he let out a great roar which echoed deafeningly around the main chamber. Squall noticed his pointy teeth, as sharp as his claws. He opened his mouth to speak, his voice growling deeply and causing the air to tremble.

I AM IFRIT, THE GUARDIAN FORCE OF FIERY HELL. WHO DARES TO STEAL MY TOKEN OF ALLEGIANCE?

So it wasn't just a monster hidden in the cave. It was an actual GF. He did not seem happy with the silence that answered his question. Rounding on the mortals, he spoke again.

WAS IT YOU TWO? THEN PREPARE FOR IMMOLATION.

An eruption of lava made Squall spin around to his left. A boulder flew out of the magma and soared towards him. It took a second before he realized he should be trying to move, and another to regain the feeling in his legs. He dropped to the ground and rolled away, narrowly avoiding the stone, which shattered against the platform. Several larger, brighter rocks had risen into the air in unison. Ifrit's hand had gone up with them, and as he brought it down, the boulders followed, commanded by their leader. Both of the humans had to jump out of the way as five rocks exploded into rubble in the centre of the walkway.

"Squall, be careful! Remember, fighting is optional!"

He nodded to acknowledge her, but definitely was not going to back out now. Waves of adrenaline and sweat flowed down his gleaming face, and he desired nothing more than an iced drink, but his goal was clear. He would not be beaten by Seifer. Running up, Squall drew his sword back, ready to strike at Ifrit's right leg. As a giant claw lashed down at him, he rolled to the side, dropping yet again as the other one swung through the air. He backed out of Ifrit's range, and then drove forward, aiming at the chest. Ifrit sidestepped the blow and kicked out with his foot. Squall had to duck so quickly he fell backwards onto the hot ground. Thrashing to avoid Ifrit's talons, he leveraged his sword to boost himself up, and then swung it in an arc, hoping to catch some part of the beast. Ifrit stepped back and jumped into the air, landing neatly in front of the chamber entrance. Hitting the GF with a sword was proving too difficult. Squall would have to rely on magic if he wanted to finish within the time limit.

Calling out to Quetzalcoatl, he summoned a bolt of energy from out of nowhere, piercing through the roof and flashing across the room. It hit Ifrit's horn, and he winced as the electricity was discharged through his body. The metal jewellery seemed to amplify its effect. Undeterred, Ifrit attempted to maul Quistis; brutally swinging both bulky arms, he forced her to duck and jump several times, dancing for her life. She struck out with her whip mid-jump, snapping at one of his long nails, and then took advantage of the recoil to strike again with twice the speed, chipping it off. She ended with another flourish, binding his wrists together, which Squall complimented with a slice to his defenseless torso.

Ifrit roared in pain and struggled against the chains. Instructor Trepe reared her weapon, turning the coils an icy shade of blue. With a tremendous tug, she lifted the handicapped Ifrit off the ground and threw him into a wall. The collision was great enough to shake the floors, but Ifrit recovered instantly.

IMPUDENT HUMANS!

The demon growled and pulled, forcing his wrists out of the binding metal. He shot up to the ceiling, flipping into darkness. Everything became still. Squall's eyes darted rapidly, his head whipping around at every hint of noise. And then with the speed of a meteor, Ifrit's somersaulting figure crashed down onto Quistis, black talons first.

"Instructor!"

Ifrit's assault was dead on. He had clawed through her body and landed deftly behind her. Squall rushed over to his bleeding teacher, who was staggering back up. Reaching into his item belt, his clammy, gloved fingers skimmed over the sharp edges of a Remedy vial and the rounded bottom of an ampoule of Eye Drops before finally gripping the circular base of a Potion. In one swift motion, he uncorked it and threw it into the air, rolling away promptly as Ifrit's claws struck down onto the rock where he had stood moments before. The contents of the Potion splashed across the ground and vaporized in a gleaming trail of azure light, spiralling around Instructor Trepe and fading. Her strength returned immediately; the traumatizing grazes and open wounds sealed themselves up, leaving only hints of previous reality. The deft instructor stood upright with her knees bent and whip ready.

As Ifrit charged again, Instructor Trepe performed her signature arm sweep, whispered a word, and sent a blast of frigid air at him. Ice crystals formed and expanded all over Ifrit's body, and he howled in pain. Squall could hear the icy wind shrieking as it flew by, almost freezing the sweat on his skin. He advanced and struck Ifrit's leg, his strength rejuvenated by the cooled air. The Guardian recoiled.

HM. NOT BAD FOR A HUMAN.

A shaken Ifrit limped recessively, bringing his right hand back. Red flames burst into life near his palm, forming a sphere. He threw the pulsating Flare Star at Squall, who misjudged the fireball's path and dove straight into it. Agony spread through his skin as the flames licked away at his face. The leather of his jacket was suddenly scorching, and he doubled over in pain, dropping his sword. Behind him, he heard Instructor Trepe's whip swing through the air. It snapped savagely at the snarling beast's skin.

"Squall! Move out of the way!"

Squall bent down and scrambled to retrieve his weapon, wincing with every move. There was a metallic exploding noise, and another magical gust of freezing air hit him, but it didn't sound like a Blizzard spell. Squall turned around.

In the centre of the chamber where his instructor had been standing, a rough, blue sheet of ice covered the ground, born from the burst of light. A giant icicle shot up from the core. In the middle stood a frozen figure, her arms crossed over her chest. Her pale blue skin glowed inside the frozen cocoon, highlighted by the yellow fringes of her hair. Long, thick locks of turquoise hung down to her waist, each one twisted and bound together at the ends with golden discs. Her beautiful face bore a peacefully blank expression, as though she was meditating. For a split second everything was quiet except the bubbling of the magma. Then the woman opened her eyes.

The maiden shattered the ice prison, a cold glare etched on her face. Her calm fury was matched only by Ifrit's stifled fear.

TH-THEY HAVE SHIVA!

Shiva ignored his comment. She raised her hand above her head, and then plunged it down in a slicing motion. A massive chunk of ice fell from the darkness straight at Ifrit. He leapt out of the way of her Heavenly Strike, landing on one of the jagged peaks surrounding his pit. He hurled a fireball at her, but she held up her hand. A blast of air solidified it instantly. The frozen flames dropped to the ground and smashed into pieces as Shiva took a few steps forward. Again, Ifrit threw a Flare Star, but it too, shattered at her will. He roared and raised both hands, causing a surge of flaming boulders to soar out of the magma, targeting his enemy. Shiva twisted and spun like a ballerina, sending out a shockwave of frosty winter air. The rocks stopped in their tracks, suspended unnaturally. She held out a tenacious hand, and with a sharp snap of the fingers, the orbs hanging in limbo exploded. Fragments of crystal rained down into the magma, hissing as they vaporized.

A particularly large boulder flew out behind Squall and he realized it was going to smash into him. He made to jump out of the way, but it was too late. He braced himself for the impact shutting his eyes and shielding his face with an arm. But the boulder seemed to miss; it disintegrated all around his body as it hit the ground, yet he was left unscathed. Opening his eyes, he realized he was almost completely transparent. He could only just make out the outline of his arm. Another shattering of ice reminded him of the storm brewing in his wake.

Shiva had conjured another block of ice from the ceiling. Ifrit bounded away again, but wasn't as lucky this time. The frozen slab hit him in the back mid-jump, causing him to stumble forward as his feet met the ground. That was all the time Shiva needed to launch an offensive. She half-ran, half-glided over to him, raising a slender leg. Holding it up, she performed a pirouette before landing a solid crescent kick on his chest, sending him blundering back. Following with a punch to his face, she leapt away. A glowing blue ball formed in her raised hands. It grew brighter and larger as she waited, daring Ifrit to approach. He roared and began to charge his own crimson sphere, mimicking Shiva's pose.

Brighter and brighter the two orbs glowed, distorting the light around them like black holes. They stole the energy from their surroundings, burning intense shades of red and white. Ifrit was the first to release. He slammed his miniature sun into the ground straight below, glowering at Shiva. The floor began to tremble. The walls began to shake. The whole cavern shuddered as massive burning meteors shot through the magma into the air.

Ifrit reared with his head held high and back straight, crossing his arms resolutely. The ground beneath him cracked and exploded as a flaming asteroid the size of a small house slowly forced its way through. Ifrit stood magnificently as he rose into the air, glaring down over folded arms at the blue woman below. Shiva's cold eyes challenged his stare with a look of determination. She held her charge ready.

As his platform came to a stop, Ifrit jumped into the air. He arched his body back until his shoulders were aligned with his legs, stretching his smooth stomach muscles taut. He raised both hands above his head, almost touching his feet. Curling one hand into a fist, he wrapped the other around it. And then, like a giant catapult, his body reflexed and he slammed his dual fist into the massive boulder. The astral slab shot towards the ground, Hellfire bent on destruction. Shiva waited half a second and then let go of her Diamond Dust.

There was a tremendous explosion of light as the frigid white core met the simmering rock. Squall shielded his eyes, wincing from the intensity. As his vision returned, he took a look around and his jaw dropped. What had just been a cavern full of fire now looked like an ice montage. Thick layers of frozen water covered every surface, preserving them perfectly. The only sound came from the churning magma below; the only movement from the ice maiden, who lowered her hands slowly.

The frozen comet inches away from the top of her head, Shiva stood indifferently as always. Ifrit's crystalized figure floated eerily in the middle of nowhere, twenty metres above the ground. His limbs were still positioned like a diver's, awkwardly splayed through the air. It was as though Shiva had frozen time itself. The sounds and sights of the battle had been wiped clean, encased in ice.

Shiva held out her hand, and gave a solid snap of the fingers. The echo was drowned out as the cave walls came crashing down. It was as though several tons of explosives had just gone off. The glazed walls burst. The chilled floor burst. The coated boulders burst. All of the ice shattered into a billion shards, flying up in the air. They rained down unanimously along with Ifrit who thudded heavily into the ground.

Shiva faded away, and Instructor Trepe reappeared in her place. Squall noticed his body was back to normal, and gripped his sword tightly.

"Squall, finish him now!"

He obliged. Running across the chamber, he drew both hands back. As Ifrit struggled into a standing position, Squall plunged the tip into Ifrit's chest, feeling the slight pressure ease as the blade pierced through his hide. Ifrit roared excruciatingly, louder than ever before. He struggled violently, almost throwing off the cadet's grip. Squall fingered the trigger, wondering whether he should pull it, but then Ifrit was still, drained of life.

"That's enough." Quistis had run up behind him.

Squall placed his foot on Ifrit's body, pulling to extract his blade. The blood running down it ignited the moment it contacted the air, causing his sword to burn like a torch.

UGH, I UNDERESTIMATED SHIVA.

Ifrit looked at Squall, then at Instructor Trepe.

FOR ME TO LOSE TO HUMANS… VERY WELL, I WILL JOIN YOU.

Using the very last of his strength, Ifrit flipped into the air with surprising force. He landed on a rock at the very back, and pressed his hand onto the blue glyph Squall had noticed earlier. It flickered and turned green.

"You did it!" Squall turned to a beaming instructor. "You finished within the time limit. Congratulations!"

They watched as the glyph expanded into the air, numbers flashing onto it.

0:08

"Eight seconds later and you would have failed. Outstanding judgement." Instructor Trepe put a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, let's go back, then. Oh, right. You have to collect your prize." Squall watched for a moment as Ifrit pushed himself away from the wall he had been leaning on. He limped forward a step, and then jumped half the chamber, vanishing into the hole from which he had arisen. He reappeared a few seconds later, holding a curved, black tooth.

THIS IS AN INFERNO FANG. YOU KNOW HOW TO USE IT, I PRESUME?

Squall nodded. "Yes."

VERY WELL, THEN.

Ifrit gave it to him, still bleeding liquid fire, then walked back to his pit and dived in.

"So, you've gotten yourself a new GF. Unfortunately, you won't be able to equip him now. I'll have to take that from you so I can get him registered under your ID. Garden policy, as you know."

Rather reluctantly, Squall put the fang into Instructor Trepe's outstretched hand. Together they exited the alcove, returning to the main path. Squall noticed the heat hit him again, and his exhausted body almost collapsed under the weight of it. He retrieved another Potion from his item belt, unstoppering it with his teeth. Drinking greedily, Squall ignored the bitter, fermented taste. As he gulped the blue fluid, his burns slowly faded away. The blisters shrank and melded together, and his half-cooked skin gave way to a new layer.

He looked over at Instructor Trepe, and noticed for the second time she still hadn't broken a sweat. Now he understood; she had been manipulating Shiva's powers to keep herself cool. Quistis took Squall's glance as an invitation to speak.

"You did really well. Nobody else has ever finished with such a close time. Most people either just plain fail, or they have around ten minutes left after selecting forty. Of course, most don't go for the Inferno Fang." She made it sound like a good thing, the fact that he had nearly run out of time. "I suppose I can tell you now, since you're the last one. This exam tested your judgement. You scored points based on how much time you had left. The closer you were to zero, the higher your mark would have been. A time under ten seconds will give you a perfect score, which you definitely received."

Perfect score? Fine, but how did Seifer do? Squall had an urge to ask, but knew even if she was being threatened with her life, she would never talk.

"Oh, and the time limit you picked was irrelevant. So you could have chosen forty minutes, ended with nine seconds, and still gotten perfect. And of course, defeating Ifrit will net you a big bonus. But don't let that go to your head. The final SeeD exam is extremely easy to fail. One wrong move and you'll be penalized heavily."

"…Since when did I ever let things go to my head?"

Instructor Trepe laughed. "True, but doesn't Seifer?"

Squall didn't reply. He knew she was right, but did not want to admit it, not even to himself. His instructor took the hint and steered the conversation away.

"You fought brilliantly back there."

"I barely did anything."

"You struck the finishing blow. And you started off well, though you probably should have Scanned him first. You had a good offence, trying both swordplay and magic. I usually would have recommended for you to be on the defensive side, but since you were timed, the way you fought was fine. You didn't panic when he got me, and you recovered me immediately. As a student, the most important rule during combat is that you follow standard models and procedures, which you did."

"But then you Summoned Shiva and it was basically over." The question burned in his mind, whether she didn't think he would have been capable of taking Ifrit on.

Instructor Trepe smiled at him. "Save your strength for later. You'll have countless opportunities to prove your strength during the final when it'll really count."

Disgruntled, Squall led the way past the intersection he had almost lost himself at.

"Oh, and for your information, Garden code article eight, line seven states 'In the event that returning to the assigned Garden is not possible, report to the nearest Garden.' You'd do well to remember that."

Squall raised an eyebrow at his instructor, then remembered the questions posed in the forest. "Thanks a lot," replied his cynical voice.

"No need. There was supposed to be a Red Bat swarm at this point, but since you've already finished, they won't have been told to come out."

Squall was glad of it, partly because he didn't think he could stand yet another fight in the sweltering heat.

"Oh! That reminds me. The Garden faculty is going to be so angry…" Instructor Trepe's voice shook with mirth. "The Fire Cavern Quest was designated the prerequisite three years ago. Nobody had perfected it, until this year. As a matter of fact, we've seen two of you do it, which means they have to switch the task now. Mark my words, the faculty members will do anything they can to try and fail you. Those slobs are so ego-centric, they think they can just walk around and get paid."

"Who else completed it?" Squall hoped he could catch his instructor off guard, deluding the answer out of her.

"That's none of your business." Damn. Instructor Trepe smiled at him in an annoyingly satisfied way. Squall knew she could tell he was thinking about Seifer. "Anyways, they make the tasks harder every time. They're rigged, so getting a perfect score is almost impossible. See; no winners, no need for a new exam. You know how unfair that was; a load of garbage about 'judgment'. In my year, all we had to do was go up into the mountains and find Shiva. Once we got there, she'd give a clue about where to find her token. Optional, but a requirement for a perfect score. I was the second to discover it."

A jet of magma sprung up out of the corner of Squall's eye and he reached instinctively for his sword. Instructor Trepe looked round, too. They quickly realized it was not a sinister movement and continued walking.

"So," Instructor Trepe continued, "they cancelled the Gaulg Mountain Search and created the Fire Cavern Quest. But I can tell you, they were absolutely furious. A fifteen year old girl mastering the pre-exam on her first try? Impossible. They tried to fail me by saying I lacked the combat skills necessary even though we weren't being marked on them. And when the headmaster wouldn't accept their excuse, they turned pretty ugly. They said I shouldn't have been allowed to participate, even in the absence of an age restriction, and demanded I redo the exam with a different task.

"I'm so grateful Cid is Headmaster. He fought for my right to pass, and they finally gave up. The exams had to be put on hold until they could come up with a new one. It took so long the semester ended before a new task was designated. Which means only about fifteen people in my year had been able to do the pre-testing. Out of those, six took part in the final practical, and Instructor Xu and I were the only ones to graduate that year. I heard the committee members were disciplined by the Garden Master for failing to have a backup. And that," she finished lightly, "is why the faculty hates me to this day."

By now, they had reached the cave mouth. Light streamed in from the meadows ahead, and Squall had to squint in the dazzling brightness. A welcoming gust of fresh air splashed over him as he stepped out, and he inhaled deeply. It was like diving into a pool on a hot summer's day. The wind soothed his skin, vaporizing the sweat clinging to his hair and filling his nostrils with the pleasant scent of grasses and flowers.

The two faculty members stood in the same positions Squall had left them in, their hats shading their faces from the sun. He often wondered whether they were really human, or some experimental robot species created by the Garden Master. They made no gesture to show they could see him, so he turned to face the one on the right and coughed loudly.

"Student 41269, Squall Leonhart," spoke the man. "Have you the Bomb Core?"

Squall had completely forgotten about it. He stood still for a moment, and then remembered it was in his pocket. Withdrawing it hastily, he held it out, though he doubted either of them could see his hand.

"Supplementary exam number forty-six, Fire Cavern Quest completion status for student 41269: failed."

"What?" Squall stared, wide-eyed, at his instructor. His heart sank and his body went numb.

"Request the exam break-down," Instructor Trepe responded casually, with an I-told-you-so kind of look.

Squall turned back to the stoic men and, still stunned from his predicament, asked to review his exam.

"The student chose a time limit of ten minutes. The party dispatched all enemies on the field, arriving in the inner chamber and obtaining the Bomb Core. They fought and defeated the Garden GF number 12, Ifrit. The timer was stopped at 0:06. The student received the Inferno Fang. The Red Bat swarm was bypassed. The party exited the cave. The exam was failed by reason of instructor interference."

"Excuse me?" Instructor Trepe glared at the guard, her stare almost penetrating through his hat.

"Ms. Trepe," said the man on the left. "The whole point of this exam was to evaluate the student's judgement. By interfering at the beginning, you altered the boy's choice of a time limit."

"How do you know he wasn't already planning to choose ten minutes? He's my best student. Naturally he wouldn't have gone with anything lower…"

"That is not for you to decide. The student has failed the exam."

"No, he hasn't," she muttered under her breath. "Very well. May we have the transcript, please?"

The man on the left produced a folded sheet of paper from inside his robes. He handed it to Instructor Trepe, who snatched it away. She turned around and stalked off. Squall followed, stunned and horrified. He didn't know what to think. How could he return to the Garden, knowing he had messed up? He could not blame his teacher; he knew she had done nothing wrong.

"Don't worry," Instructor Trepe began once out of earshot. "Cid will have this cleared up in no time. You definitely won't be failed." She unfolded the paper and glanced over it. "See? A perfect score, plus a bonus. The Garden faculty," she breathed vehemently. "When we get back, you are to prepare yourself for the final, got it?"

Squall nodded mechanically. They continued to speed walk, arriving back at the gate fifteen minutes later.

"Alright. I'll go straight to the Headmaster and hopefully this will be down before the exam starts. You remember where to meet, right?"

"Yes."

"And the time?"

"Yes," he responded, a little more forcefully this time.

"Good. You should probably get some rest. I have a lot of preparing to do. See you at 15:30." With that, she ran off along the path, leaving Squall to follow at a slower pace.

Rafael still had his eyes glued to the shabby monitor as Squall approached, a frown exposed on his elderly face. Only when he heard the gate click did the old man look up.

"Squall! 'Ow'd it go?" His serious expression had broken into a generous grin. "You give 'em monsters a good whoopin'?" He punched the air with his left hand.

"I might have failed," Squall said flatly, trying hard not to believe himself.

"Say what?" Rafael leapt up in shock. "Squall, the cream of the crop, failin'? Rubbish," he proclaimed, bashing a fist on the desk. "Yer jus' pullin' me leg, aren' ya?"

Squall shrugged. "That's what the Garden faculty said."

"Yeah, well the Garden faculty's made've a bunch o' meddlin' gits, ain' it? Wha' was their excuse?"

"They said I received too much help from my instructor."

"An' what'd she say?"

"…That they're a bunch of meddling gits, basically."

"Exactly. Don' listen to 'em. Instructor Trepe'll have it sorted out 'n no time." He turned back to his game, leaving Squall on his own.

What if I do end up failing? Squall imagined walking past the squadrons of future SeeDs lined up in the lobby, all clad in their uniforms, pumped for the exam. He envisioned himself prowling behind the potted plants, sulking as Headmaster Cid called the students to attention. And in the middle of the crowd, a blond head would turn to look at him. He could see him clearly, his haughty expression smirking madly, a delirious fire burning in his cruel, blue eyes.

This had better work, Instructor.

A/N: Hm, I barely remember writing that fight scene. It went a lot better than the Seifer/Squall fight, but I still didn't find it very enjoyable.

Yes, this is where my story starts to derail a bit. It's the perfect example of what happens when the characters come alive. I was so into my writing, I had no idea that the plot was headed this way until it did. All I can tell you is that the characters took over and worked their magic. And no, this is not an AU novelization, so don't worry about what's happening. Treat it as an extension.