Author's Note: Just to warn you before you read, there's some violence and gore in this chapter. I'm thinking maybe I need to up the rating for this fic up to PG-13. You guys let me know in reviews after reading it.

Chapter 3 – Are You Serious?

The vessels containing a large number of Galbadian soldiers began its journey to the Esthar colony of Fisherman's Horizon. All of the soldiers were uncomfortable because they were crammed closed together in the boats. "I dunno how much longer I can stay like this! How much longer is it to Fisherman's Horizon?" Laguna complained.

"Calm down, man. It's only been ten minutes," Kiros said.

"You had to know you'd be doing these sorta things a lot when you joined, right? Speaking of which, to me you don't seem like the kinda guy who just joins the army for service to their country. Was there any other reason why you decided to become a Galbadian soldier?" Ward inquired curiously.

"Well, to tell you guys the truth, I don't really have much of a desire to fight or anything like that," Laguna responded.

"So why are you here then?" Kiros asked.

"Well, growing up, I always wanted to travel the world and tell everyone about what I saw. I figured journalism was just the thing for me, but I never did that well in school. I did just enough to pass and get by. After I graduated, I wanted to go to some academy that could help me live out my dream through journalism, but I had no money, and my grades just plain sucked. I vowed I was gonna travel around the world one way or another. I ended up joining the army because it was my best chance of doing that. That's why I'm here," Laguna revealed.

"That's interesting, but do you think you'll be able to handle all these demands and stuff? It's pretty rough," Kiros commented.

"I'm not sure. I get so nervous under pressure, and whenever that happens, my legs cramp up really bad. I guess it's good that I'm cramped everywhere right now so I can't tell how uneasy I am. I think it's better for me to just not know. Anyway, you got my reasons for being here. Why don't you guys tell me why you're here?" Laguna suggested.

"Things got boring at home and I couldn't stand it anymore. I'm here for some excitement and I hope I get some!" Ward explained.

"I don't really know why I'm here. Just had the urge to sign up one day, so I did," Kiros simply remarked.

The three continued to talk, learning new things about one another and building a strong friendship in the process. After some time, the boats stopped abruptly. "Whoa, what's with the sudden stop?" Laguna asked.

"My guess would be that we're here," Kiros said.

That was when they heard it. There was rapid gunfire and it was aimed at their ships. "We're being shot at!" Ward exclaimed.

"We're trapped in here! What do we do?!" Laguna asked, evidently panicked.

"Wait until they stop, I guess. They shouldn't waste too much more ammunition just trying to keep us in the boats," Kiros said.

After a few more minutes, the hail of bullets had ceased. "Hurry! Let's move!" the elite soldier in charge ordered.

"Is he serious?! We'll get killed as soon as we get off the boat!" Laguna said.

"It's not our place to question orders. We just do it. Let's go," Kiros said.

A flood of blue, green, and crimson poured out of the vessel, armed and ready to face their long-time enemy. They never expected what they saw when they emerged. There were Esthar soldiers everywhere; far more than they expected, and easily outnumbering the Galbadian troops.

"I didn't expect this many of them. Why would there be so many just because President Delta stepped foot in this place?" Kiros mused.

"This is Sorceress Adel we're dealing with here. Now, enough talk and let's charge!" Ward said, hoisting his harpoon over his head.

Laguna, Kiros, and Ward ran into the fight with the rest of the soldiers. A large group of Esthar soldiers opened fire on the Galbadians packed together. Laguna dropped down and hid behind the others in fear. "What are you doing?! You gotta shoot them!" Kiros exclaimed.

Laguna cried out in pain. "The cramping's never been this bad before! I'm way too nervous. I can't do it. I guess I'll just have to lay here and die like a coward," he said.

"Get a hold of yourself, man! Pull yourself together! You came to see the world and now you're gonna give up before you even get the chance? That's insane! I say lift that weapon of yours and fire away! Live to see another day!" Ward said.

Laguna looked up at both of them and nodded. "You're right. Thanks guys." He got back up to his feet, grimacing due to the soreness felt in his still-cramped leg. He raised his machine gun and fired repeatedly. A lot of them missed, but he still hit some of the Esthar soldiers, doing damage to their numbers.

"That's the way to do it!" Kiros complimented. "Let's keep moving!"

They continued ahead with the group of Galbadian soldiers, advancing against their enemies who were trying to push them back. Laguna, Kiros, and Ward were near the back because of Laguna's mishap, but Ward rushed into the fray, eager to fight. His two comrades followed directly behind.

Ward let out a loud war cry and shoved his harpoon through the stomach of an Esthar soldier, impaling him. He pulled it back and the soldier dropped to the ground with the large hole in his body. Kiros sliced another soldier across the neck, cutting his jugular vein. He grabbed his neck as it bled profusely and quickly died.

A soldier fired at Laguna, who stepped aside and shot him in the leg. He knelt over, clutching the hole where the blood spilled from. "Allow me," Ward said, and he viciously thrusted his harpoon through the soldier's back. His body was racked with pain for a split second, causing it to convulse. Then the soldier died and was still.

Laguna nodded approvingly, then his eyes widened as he saw another Esthar soldier sneaking up from behind on Ward. "Look out!" he warned.

Almost instantly, Ward turned around and slashed the enemy across the stomach with the sharp tip of his weapon. The soldier's mouth dropped open, as if in shock, as blood began to flow out of it and the fresh incision. Ward was about to finish him when Laguna intervened.

"It's my turn now." He lifted his machine gun and said, "Say good night, pal." Then he placed a bullet in the soldier's skull, effectively putting him out of his misery.

Kiros heaved one of his Katal blades into each leg of an Esthar soldier, causing him to shriek in agony. Then Kiros quickly brought them up to his stomach, leaving a long trail of opened flesh soaked with blood. He removed his blades and the soldier dropped without another sound.

Then the three of them heard their superior speaking to them. "Hey, you three! Come with us! We're going to look for where the president is being held captive!" he ordered.

The three of them joined the group and went in search of their missing leader.

Author's Notes: So what did you think? Please let me know in a review, along with some honest constructive criticism. It'll only help me improve as a writer.