Seifer fell to the mat, but
quickly got back up and gave Zell a cold stare. "He's enjoying this," he
thought. "Chicken-Wuss is enjoying this!"
Zell laughed. "Not bad, Seifer," he said. "All you need is about ten months' worth of training and you'll actually be able to fight without your gunblade."
Seifer glared at him. "Are
you done?" he asked. "I have another class to get to in five minutes."
Zell nodded. "Class
dismissed," he said. "Remember to practice what I've taught you today."
The class nodded and left,
leaving Zell alone with his thoughts.
"Seifer seems to be fighting
the urge to call me Chicken-Wuss," he said to himself. "Heh, I'm impressed."
"I am not."
"You wouldn't be, Bahamut,"
Zell said. "You're usually so quiet. S'up?"
"I read Seifer's mind, he
did actually call you Chicken-Wuss in his mind."
"That figures," said Zell. "I'll
just have to ignore him then, won't I?"
"Yes, you will."
The GF went silent, and Zell prepared for his next class.
The white-haired woman
appeared in the forest next to the Fire Cavern and looked around. She could
sense the presence of more monsters, yet none of them were attacking her, yet. Nonetheless,
she held the hilt of her sword, just in case she ran into trouble. She walked
toward the edge of the forest without incident and found herself looking at a
wide-open field of green grass, a few forests and a road nearby. She looked behind
her and saw the Fire Cavern.
"There is a great power
inside that cavern," she thought. "A spirit of fire…"
She made her way to the road and saw
Balamb Town nearby. "Perhaps the inhabitants of that town will know where I
can find worthy warriors."
She walked along the edge of the road, taking in the scenery as she walked. She was on an island that was lined with mountains on one side, and a beach and sea on the other. And in between the mountains and beach lay green fields with forests scattered all around. As she reached the gate of the town, she turned back. Behind her in the distance stood Balamb Garden.
"What a beautiful building," she thought. It was indeed beautiful. It's light blue paint
glistened in the sunlight, and its golden ring rotated around the top of the
building. "I wonder what they use it for."
She sighed and entered the town.
Seifer picked up the rifle and loaded it quickly. Guns had been one of his stronger points in Garden, so he knew exactly what he was doing. Irvine came up to him and grinned.
"Not bad Seifer," he said. "Now can you aim with that?"
"Of course I can aim!" Seifer said. "Just show me what to shoot!"
Irvine's grin widened. "You see that target over there?" he said. Seifer nodded. "The one to the left of it."
Seifer nodded and looked to the left. It was a picture of him!
"Hey!" he said. "I'm not about to shoot myself, Kinneas!"
Irvine chuckled. "Fine, fine… Shoot the one I showed you first then."
Seifer smirked and took aim. He didn't even hesitate before firing, and he hit the target in the chest with the first shot. Irvine pressed a button and the target came forward.
"Nice shot," he said. "Next time go for the head; that can't be protected by body armour."
Seifer glared at him.
Balamb Town
"Excuse me, but can you tell me where I can find some good fighters?"
The person whom she was asking turned to face her. "Yeah," he said. "You've seen the building near the mountains, right? Well, that's a military academy that hires out mercenaries. If you wanna get some good fighters, go there and see if there're any available."
The white-haired woman smiled and thanked him before turning and leaving.
"So it is a military academy then," she thought. "Perhaps I will be able to save this planet at least…"
Irvine emptied the clip into the target and brought it close for the entire class, including Seifer, to see properly. All of the shots hit the head or the throat, and none of them missed. Irvine turned to the class and said: "The secret to winning a fire fight against an armoured opponent is aiming for the head or throat. Those are the two areas that can't be protected with armour."
The bell rang, signalling the end of class. The students packed up and walked out, but Irvine stopped Seifer before he could leave.
"You're good with a gun, Seifer," he said. "You might be a good SeeD. Just learn to be patient, and you'll probably be a better SeeD than Squall."
Seifer smirked. "That's the plan, Kinneas," he said, and walked out. Irvine sighed and left. At least it was time for the midday break, and he could have lunch with Selphie in the cafeteria.
After being attacked by a few annoying insect-type monsters, the white-haired woman finally stood at the main gate of Balamb Garden. She knew that it was Balamb Garden because it had a huge sign saying 'Balamb Garden' at the top.
"This is truly a magnificent building," she said quietly. "I hope that I can find some worthy warriors for the battle that is to come…"
She walked up to the main desk and looked at the old man that greeted her. "Do you know where I can find the person in charge of this building?" she asked. The old man nodded.
"Up the stairs and on the third floor," he said. "Any particular reason you want to see the Commander?"
"Commander?" she thought. "I want to talk to him about hiring some of his soldiers."
The old man nodded. "All right then," he said. "Just don't cause any trouble while you're inside."
The woman nodded. "I won't."
She walked inside and was stopped in her tracks by the beauty of the building. The hall was filled with teenagers in casual clothes, some kind of black, blue and red uniform and a light blue military uniform. An indoor river circled the elevator platform and ran alongside the plants that lined the halls as the sunlight filtered in through the roof.
"What a beautiful building!" she thought. "But…why are they all teenagers? Where are the
adults…?"
She walked towards the stairs and stepped into the elevator. She pressed the button for the third floor and waited patiently to arrive at her destination. She did, and the doors opened and she stepped out. There was a girl in a light blue cape at the desk outside the doors with dark hair and a lovely face. She looked up and smiled.
"Can I help you?" she asked.
"I want to see the Commander. Is he available?"
The blue-caped girl nodded. "He's in his office, right through those doors," she said, standing up. "I'll tell him you want to see him, miss…"
"Sarah Phoenix."
The blue-caped girl nodded and knocked on the door. "Squall, there's somebody here to see you. Her name is Sarah Phoenix."
Squall sighed and nodded his head. "Send her in Rinoa," he said. Rinoa nodded and stepped aside. Sarah nodded and looked at the 'Commander' in surprise. He couldn't have been more than seventeen! How did somebody his age become the Commander of a military academy? Sarah walked over to his desk and shook his hand.
"Please, have a seat, Miss Phoenix," Squall said. Sarah sat down.
"Please, call me Sarah," she said. Squall sat down as well.
"Why do you want to talk to me?" he
asked. Sarah sighed.
"I wonder if he'll believe me?" she thought. "I'm here to warn you about a group of powerful demons called the 'Shadow Claw'. They seek out worlds like this one, kill the inhabitants and suck the world dry of all of its resources before they leave it to die. I'm looking for strong fighters to help me defend this world when the Shadow Claw eventually reaches this planet."
Squall raised an eyebrow. "Are you serious?" he asked.
"Deadly serious."
Squall sighed. "As if having to fight a Sorceress wasn't enough," he said under his breath.
"What was that?" Sarah asked. "A Sorceress?"
Squall looked at her. "Yes," he said. "It happened two months ago. You see; this Garden trains SeeDs, a group of elite mercenaries whose task is to defeat any Sorceress that becomes a major threat. It's a long story, but simply put: we had to travel through time and defeat a powerful Sorceress named Ultimecia."
Sarah froze at the mention of that name. "U-Ultimecia? She asked. "Tell me, did she transform into a grotesque faceless creature?"
Squall nodded. "Yes, why?"
"Ultimecia is one of the most powerful demons in Shadow Claw. Her ability to mimic human form and use magic makes her highly dangerous. But she disappeared years ago, and hasn't been seen since. So, she came to this worlds' future as a Sorceress…"
Squall was suddenly worried. "Are you saying that there are more creatures like Ultimecia coming here?" he asked. Sarah nodded.
"And the other demons are much, much more powerful. Normal humans cannot defeat them easily, as it requires incredible physical strength and skill in magic to harm them even slightly," she said.
Squall pressed a button on his desk. "Will Zell, Irvine, Quistis and Selphie report to my office immediately," he said. He pressed another button. "Rinoa, get in here too."
Squall looked at Sarah. "I hope you're wrong, Sarah," he said.
"So do I," she replied. "So do I…"
Author's Notes: I enjoyed writing this
chapter, so I hope you enjoyed reading it!