Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Again, I don't own anything!!! Oh, wait…I do own Matthias, Xavier, and Andrica. They are mine, I tell you! MINE!!

Chapter 2

The Mission

The Ragnarok landed on the Centra continent right on schedule. Quistis lead the candidates outside, where a young brunette soldier dressed in white stood. Instructor Trepe and the commander of the White SeeDs, Quentin, saluted each other. "At ease, Instructor." He then turned to the group of young soldiers. "You have all be informed of your duties, I'm assuming. And, as you all may know, we are looking for a covet of witches who may be trying to resurrect Sorceress Adel. We must not let this happen. Hyne only knows what that evil sorceress could do this world if she were brought back. Alright, divide into your squads and get into your positions. Make sure all of you have the proper equipment on, so that we can hear everything that goes on. If ever you or we think that you might need our assistance, we'll step in to get the job done. With that said, good luck to you all." He ended his speech with a salute.

"Wow, looks like we're in for some fun boys and girls." Marcus smirked. He had the inner style and strength of Seifer Almasy, the looks of Irvine Kinneas. "As your leader, I order you to move out!"

Andrica leaned over to Matthias and muttered, "This is going to be fun." Marcus ran ahead into the desert-like area, scouting out for possible enemies. The sound of gunshot was heard everywhere. Andrica, Xavier, and Matthias followed Marcus close by, trying to stay fully aware of what surrounded them.

"Oh!" Andrica gasped and pointed. The three boys all turned their heads at once. Up on a small cliff above them stood a woman dressed in purple.

"You'll never understand the powers of sorcery!!" She yelled to them, jumping off the cliff. She seemed to glide down easily, landing soft on the ground near them. "Fira!"

"Ugh!" Xavier tried to dodge the ball of fire, but failed. He grabbed his arm, which was now slightly wounded. "You're not going to get away with this! Surrender to SeeD!!"

"Cure!" Andrica placed her arms out in front of her as if she was praying. Her hands lifted high into the air, and came back down to point at Xavier. "There, feel better?"

"Thanks."

As Andrica was taking care of Xavier's wound, Matthias stepped in, slicing the witch with his gunblade. "You may have won this time, but you are nothing compared to Elusiva," she said as she fell to the ground.

"C'mon!! Let's go!" Marcus called to them, waving his hands for them to come in his direction. He ran ahead of them once again, then slowed down so they were able to catch up.

"Sure, we do all the work, and he'll get all the credit." Matthias spoke, out of breath. He looked up and saw a Squad B member looking at him. "Hey look. Squad B is clearing the way for us. We have to get moving."

"Indeed. Let's move!" Andrica stated, as she helped Xavier up off the ground.

It was quite hot in the desert-like area. Matthias' mouth was drying up, overtaken by his adrenaline. Carefully, yet quickly, the adolescent group of four scoured the area. As they neared a patch of bushes, Squad B stopped ahead of them, and motioned for them to move ahead.

"There's the signal. We must be close to what's-her-name." Xavier whispered.

"Right. Elusiva. She must be the one who organized this whole thing." Marcus mentioned. He turned his head in the direction of his followers.

"Did you think of that all by yourself, Marcus?" Andrica scowled, giving him a dirty look.

Matthias interrupted, "No time for games, you two. We should get going. Who knows what lies ahead?"

Marcus, still trying to stare his female opponent down, replied, "Yes, I do believe we should go. Don't you, Andrica?"

"Whatever. Let's go." Xavier sighed.

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"I can't fucking believe him. I was trying to trust him. Hoping that maybe, just maybe, he was a changed man. You'd think that after all that has happened, he'd be decent. But no, not Seifer Almasy. Never." Rinoa sat on a bench in an alley way behind Timber Maniacs. Nobody was there to listen to her, but she sure was talking. "To make matters worse, Squall's on a mission right now to find new SeeD members. He knows damn well that they know that being a SeeD means killing a descendent of Hyne. Fuck!"

She removed a cigarette from the pack she had bought at the bar on her way out and lit it with a shaking hand. She didn't smoke, but this was an exception. "What did he think he'd gain by all of this, anyway? Why would he want to be my knight? Could he have good intentions?" She thought for a moment, bit her lip gently, and exhaled a cloud of smoke. "No, there is more to this than meets the eye. And I must find out what it is."

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Twelve youthful women were on their knees forming a circle. They were all dressed in purple, their uniforms made of thin see-through fabric. They all plunged their bodies forward, their arms raised above their heads, as if they were worshipping the centerpiece. "Enter, my darlings. Don't be afraid." The woman in the core of the circle invited Marcus and his crew in.

Marcus led the way in, holding his arm out so that the rest of Squad B's members wouldn't excel. "We know what you're trying to do. Surrender to us or…"

Her voice was somewhat soothing yet stern. "Or what, my dear? You'll kill me? I'll pay? What?"

Marcus froze in shock. Of all the training he had been through at Garden, he had never been this afraid. He tried to mutter out a reply, but his lips would not do what his mind wanted them to.

"That's what I thought. Now, what is the meaning of this gathering?" she hissed.

"That is what we'd like to know." Andrica butted in. "Why are you here, and with all these nasty looking witches?"

"Witches is the wrong term, little girl. You've got us all wrong. We're merely trying to help this planet."

Matthias looked at the woman's face, and could see some sort of sincerity in her. Maybe he could use that to get something out of her. "What exactly is going on lady?"

"Elusiva, you may call me Elusiva. And it is not your right to know what is going on. You will all see soon enough. Now, get out of here. You're ruining my peace of mind."

"Not just yet, Elusiva. What are you hiding?"

"Dear boy, what is your name? You have…what's the word I am looking for? Oh, yes, flare." Elusiva laughed hysterically. "Let's see if you can use that flare for matters other than conversation." She rose out of her straw woven chair, and prepared herself for battle in a proper stance.

"Oh shit, here we go." Xavier's muscles tightened up, as emotions of fright ran through his veins.

Elusiva sprang forward at Andrica, clawing at her face. "Death Claw!" she screamed. Andrica tried to block her attack, but when Elusiva switched to clawing her arms, her defense mechanisms weren't working too great. Blood ran down from her shoulders to her forearms, then dripping on the ground.

"Ow!! Matthias!! Get her for me!!" the bleeding teenager screamed. She crouched down on the sandy surface, putting pressure on her left arm, for it was pouring out the most blood. In a rage, Matthias

pointed his blade up, rushing his opponent. While he did so, Xavier stayed close to Andrica, trying to heal her wounds.

"It's my turn to take care of you. Cura!" The spell helped a little, clearing out most of the thick, crimson liquid. Seeing she was still in pain, he tried again. This time more successful.

Matthias swung at Elusiva, but she quickly moved, almost dodging the attack. The blade sliced above her wrist, amputating the limb. He stood back, expecting a counterattack. Elusiva appeared as if she was in pain, but soon her cry turned into a laugh. Ligaments started to form where her hand had been cut off, and molded into a new one, looking like nothing had been done to it. Matthias stood back even more now, fearful of what she might do.

"Oh, fuck! What are we going to do now?" Xavier yelled. Just then a woman in tan clothing jumped in, grabbed Elusiva's wrists, and tied them behind her back. Squall walked up to the witch, put his gunblade up to her neck, and said, "You're coming with us to answer some things. No tricks, no games." He turned to the four candidates, "You've all done a good job. Report to the Ragnarok immediately." Andrica and Xavier stood up to form a line with the two boys already standing. They saluted their headmaster, and went on their way. Squall put his focus on Elusiva once more, staring her dead in the eye. "Now, what do I do with you?"

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"You promised, Almasy."

"I know, I'm sorry. But, I'm still working on it. I'll get her to agree, I swear." He was asleep again. And dreams like this were coming more and more often. "Dear Hyne, I do not intend to turn my back on you. You have giving me strength, courage, everything. And I will keep my promise to stay the current sorceress' knight until the dreadful event of my death."

"That's exactly what I wanted to hear. Now go, dear boy. Do not fail me once again."

"Thank you, my lord." Seifer loved the attention of such a god. "Thank you."