Seifer's body seized up, his muscles tensed and his jaw locked. Teeth grinding on teeth. Fuijin and Raijin sat in awe, unsure of how to react. Seifer drifted through darkness. Time and space were born around him. Stars appeared like paint flicked from the stiff bristles of a brush onto a canvas. Planets great and small appeared, then collapsed in calamitous implosions. From the darkness faces appeared, stern and serious. Eight faces in all, they drifted into two distinct groups of four with a large gap at their centre in which a golden orb appeared. The orb pulsated, dripping like a melting candle until it came to its final form. A large metal shell. A floating prison. At its core rested Adel; frozen in time, contorted and twisted with her face perpetually locked in a grimace. The procession of sorceresses had gathered – sorceresses from time past, the present and the future to come.
"You failed me," A voice came drifting through the darkness. Seifer grinned.
"You failed me. The job of a sorceresses' knight is to protect his sorceress. To be her guardian. But you failed me.." Ultimecia emerged from the swelling darkness above Adel. Seifer averted his eyes, silent. The eyes of all the sorceresses fixed on him – their gaze unbearable.
"Have you nothing to say for yourself, little boy?" She said, mockingly. Seifer took the bait, throwing Ultimecia a sharp look. "You can word it anyway you want. You can make any excuse you want, but you failed me!"
"Chicken-wuss fought dirty..." Seifer said in a low tone. Too low for Ultimecia to hear.
"I thought you had a romantic dream….. I thought you were a warrior. But you are just a boy.… You are just a boy. A silly little boy. A little boy in love with a romantic image gleaned from a movie…."
"Gimme another chance," Seifer said, still speaking in a hushed voice.
"You know nothing about being a warrior. Nothing."
"I SAID GIve ME ANOTHER CHANCE!" Seifer bellowed.
"Why?" Ultimecia questioned, drifting closer to Seifer. She reached out her claw-like hand, grabbing his lower jaw. She turned his head left, then right, inspecting him. "Do you want another chance so you can fail me again? Another chance for your friends to betray and humiliate you again? Is that it?"
"I want another chance… Because.." Seifer said, recoiling at the feel of her clammy grip.
"Because? Because!? Maybe I should give your friend a chance… I don't think he'd disappoint me.." Ultimecia loosened her grip. "What was his name…. Squall?" Seifer snarled at the mention of Squall's name.
"Because…. Because….. I have what it takes….. I know I do. I know I can do it!" Seifer answered, looking Ultimecia in the eye for the first time.
"You had better have what it takes…." Ultimecia said, drifting backwards slowly. "Because…. If you don't… I'll kill you myself!"
Seifer bolted upright, slamming against the window of the train. Feverishly shaking for several seconds. Raijin jumped to his aid. Seifer smacked him away.
"OKAY!?" Fuijin exclaimed. Seifer took his seat, straightening out his collar. He ignored didn't respond.
The three sat awkwardly as Seifer tried to regather his composure. He was happy, at the very least, that Fuijin and Raijin had not seen the humiliating talking down that he had just suffered.
"**Bing**…. Deling City…. Next stop…. Deling City. Please make sure to gather all your belongings before exiting the train."
Squall skirted carefully along the cliff face. In the valley below Galbadian soldiers were swarming along the narrow path that lead to the old radio tower. Not just soldiers, field mechanics as well – all carrying huge amounts of equipment.
"Damn, man… We are way outside of our orders," Zell whispered, tugging at Squall's collar. Earlier that morning Galbadia had launched a surprise invasion of the Duchy of Dollet. The Dollet forces hadn't stood a chance. Their defence crumbled in front of their superior enemy. The town was lost in less than an hour. Pleading for help from SeeD the remainder of Dollet's army desperately clung to the beach, struggling to keep a beachhead open for SeeD to land.
Squall, Selphie and Squall were to advance along the beach, clear up any Galbadian resistance in the narrow, cobbled streets of the town and then gather at the central plaza near the town's famous fountain. On arriving at the fountain the team found the area completely deserted. They'd sat for a while in silence, unsure of what to expect. After some time Squall had assured the others that something was wrong. Something was happening. He didn't know how he knew, he just knew. He decided to push on further. To exit the town.
Zell had argued at first, but he eventually gave in. Though Zell followed along he nagged and whined the whole way. Selphie remained quiet, though a worried expression hung on her face.
Selphie leaned over the cliff face, examining the activity in the valley below. "This wasn't in our briefing…." Squall threw her a reassuring nod. The radio tower... Squall had seen it before. Though he'd never been to Dollet before, he HAD seen the tower. He had been IN it. He knew that it was important. He just didn't know why it was important. His intuition had lead him this far. But his mind drew a blank.
Zell scurried up on his elbows, in the process a series of sharp chimes sounded. The noise distracted Zell - he stumbled, sending a number of rocks cascading down the cliff face. The rocks started an avalanche, sending several boulders crashing to the valley floor. The rock slide was met with a stream of gunfire, peppering the rocks beneath the trio. Zell and Selphie looked at Squall. He jumped to his feet.
"That noise," Selphie exclaimed, "That's the siren, the siren to withdraw!"
"RUN!" Squall roared, catching Zell's collar and pulling him to his feet. A deafening bang rang out from behind the party. Selphie turned in time to see a spider-like machine land on the narrow, twisting pathway. The party retraced their steps. Closely trailed by the hulking machine. Panting and sweating the trio returned to the fountain. Streets ran in all directions; the fountain was like the hub of a wheel and the streets were its many spokes.
"Which street was it!?" Zell exclaimed, gasping for air. Squall pivoted on his heels, spinning round and around frantically. Each narrow, cobbled street looked identical to the next. Selphie bounced up and down, pulling at her tunic. With a thundering bang the machine scuttled awkwardly into the plaza, smashing large chunks from a building that stood in its way. The decision had been made for them.
"This way!" Squall ordered, pointing east. A lucky guess
Other SeeD candidates abandoned their posts without resistance on first glimpse of the mammoth machine. It careened down the narrow streets, crushing cars and scraping its jagged, angular body against buildings; sparks and pieces of flying masonry were thrown in its wake. Within minutes hard-earned ground that had taken hours to win from the occupation forces was, essentially, handed back as the SeeD forces fell into a full, disorganized retreat. Selphie glimpsed the beach first. On its sandy surface the shells of ruined transports and crumpled bodies were now bobbing in the evening tide.
The SeeDs, amassed in one great cohort, flooded onto the beach running for their lives. The remaining intact transport ships and submarines opened fire on the pursuing machine, peppering its silvery hull with lead. With several of its limbs shattered or torn off the machine crumpled into an awkward heap.
Squad leaders ushered their teammates onto transports that departed the moment they were filled.
"What the hell happened?" Squall demanded. "Why was a full retreat called?"
Xu stood up, stumbling slightly as their transport ship hit a rough patch of water. "We bluffed them," Xu said, smiling. "We took the beach, the town and three of the four approaches to the town. We tricked them into thinking that we had larger numbers than we had," Xu said in a cocky tone.
"We essentially pushed them out into the countryside," Quistis joined in, "But it was just a bluff. We had the ground. But we didn't have the manpower. We were spread thin."
"If they had launched a serious counterattack," Xu butted back into the conversation, "They'd have steamrolled us. But they bought the trick. We put up a strong front and they backed down."
"What the hell are you talking about, who backed down?" Squall demanded.
"The Galbadians," Quistis responded, "They sent a representative. They yielded to us, offered us a treaty. They said they'd pull out of the city by morning and hand it back over to the control of the Duchy of Dollet and its representatives."
"Why do I feel like there's a 'but' at the end of this story?" Selphie chipped in. Standing behind Zell, she was busily examining a large bruise on his back.
"Emmmmm… Yes, about that," Xu said, "Well, there was a stipulation.."
"A stipulation?" All three said at once. Quistis stepped forward.
"Yes…. They promised to pull all of their forces out if we pulled all of our forces out. They also asked to remain in control of the old radio tower. But just the radio tower – nothing else."
"A good deal," Xu said, "The radio tower hasn't worked in years. It has no strategic advantage at all."
Quistis studied Squall's face, she could tell that there was something on his mind.
"You have something to say, Squall?" Quistis questioned.
"Soldiers….." Squall said. "Lots of them. We saw them."
"Where!?" Xu demanded.
"We….. Emmm… We went a little out of bounds," Zell confessed, a sullen expression on his face.
"Emmm…. What he means is we got lost," Selphie said, pointing the index finger of her right hand in the air, "The fog of war…..and all that, heh," Selphie chuckled awkwardly.
"There were a lot of soldiers…." Squall continued. "Lots of them. In the valley, south of the radio tower. Enough soldiers to easily recapture the town. But they didn't. They didn't recapture the town. They were there, guarding that valley."
"What are you trying to say?" Xu demanded.
"They were guarding something," Zell answered, "They had equipment, lots of equipment!" He continued, "They were doing something, something with the tower. The soldiers were guarding it. Guarding it with everything that they had."
"The machine," Selphie said, taking a seat, "The machine… They sent it after us, to stop us. I know they did. They sent that machine after us to stop us for telling anyone what we saw."
"Woah, wait now," Xu said, dismissive, "This is all speculation.
"You guys did a great job today," Quistis rejoined the conversation. "Let's leave it at that. We won, the Galbadian forces have given up the town. You guys deserve some rest."
The candidates gathered at their respective classrooms. Some eagerly pacing, some anxiously chatting. Zell, Squall, and Selphie gathered in the hallway outside their classroom on the second floor. Zell was a bundle of nerves; stooped over he was muttering to himself. Selphie was worried as well, Squall could tell. But she hid it well. Selphie caught Squall's glance and responded with a warm smile.
Two Garden representatives came. A hush fell over the group.
"The following candidates have been selected, due to their actions in today's live exam, for entry into the ranks of SeeD. Good luck, everyone." A Garden member said in a stern tone, finishing her talk with a bow.
"Jett. Jett Reed…." Jett erupted in joy, jumping up and down he dismissed himself and ran for the elevator. "Nida… Nida Tacet." Nida stumbled forward, awkward and shy. He tried to talk but couldn't form a coherent sentence. "Zell…. Zell Dincht…. Selphie…. Selphie Tilmit… Squall… Squall Leonhart… That is all. Dismissed"
Headmaster Cid awarded all of the SeeDs personally. He always did. Squall stood to attention, chest puffed out, hands behind his back awaiting his turn. Thirty SeeDs lines the stage in the quad. In the audience, hundreds of students stood in complete silence. Junior classmen looked on in awe, dreaming of the day when they could win their title. Those who had failed the exam, or failed the field test looked on longingly.
"Your strength is your optimism, your passion and your energy. Never let anyone extinguish it," Headmaster Cid said, pinning a badge to Selphie's chest, she couldn't help but blush.
"You are strong. You are brave. Think with your head, not your fists. Protect those that cannot protect themselves, and always fight for what is right," Cid whispered in Zell's ear as he pinned a badge to his trembling chest.
"You are determined. You are smart. You are strong and you are hardworking. You'll make a good leader someday… Oh, good to finally have a gunblade master make it to the rank of SeeD," Cid whispered into Squall's ear.
Cid wheeled around to face the crowd.
"Today we awarded brave warriors. Today there are thirty more SeeDs in our Garden. I ask of you that you look at them, remember their faces. Learn from them. Strive to be like them. I ask of them that they look at you. That they strive to always help you. To never turn a shoulder to you when you need help, and to aid you in your dream of becoming SeeDs," Cid said, walking up and down the stage. "You've all studied hard, some of you have fought hard. So tonight," he continued, using the index finger of his right hand to straighten his glasses, "Tonight….. We celebrate!"