X: Rising Mercury

With the uniform of a SeeD candidate covering her nervous body, Amy stood before the Balamb Garden directory, waiting for Instructor Grate and Headmaster Cid to announce the mission and her individual partners. It was fairly late in the afternoon, so unless the field test was in the next town over, it would probably be dark by the time the SeeD candidates arrived.

Precisely on time, Instructor Grate joined Amy, dressed in the uniform of a very high-ranking Instructor. She was Balamb's top teacher, aside from Edea or Cid themselves, so of course she was decked out splendidly. A double-edged sword was resting in a sheath to her side, and her reddish-brown hair was tied up in conservative braids.

"Well, looks like you'll get points for being early," she said as she greeted Amy. The young woman saluted and gave a proper smile.

"Instructor Grate, what is our mission, may I ask?"

"Just be patient," she replied. "You'll get the full briefing on the way. All I know is that it's in Timber. Ah, here come the other commanders." Smiling tightly, Grate performed a salute as she greeted Irvine Kinneas and Quistis Trepe. Amy smiled and waved at both, and even prim Quistis returned the gesture.

"Hey, doll," greeted the cowboy. "Seems like we'll be workin' together. They discovered I wasn't actually a SeeD when I was goin' to Galbadia, so Matron and the others made it so I could finally fix that lil' problem." He snorted, and rested his rifle against his shoulder coolly. "Huh… we defeat Ultimecia and yet we're still buckin' for SeeD."

"Oh. But what about Quistis? Isn't she already a SeeD?"

"True," nodded Trepe, "but this isn't for my SeeD candidacy. This test is to determine once and for all whether I'm fit to be an instructor. If I succeed, I can get my license back, and if I don't…" She trailed off, and shrugged. "Well, I just won't get it, then."

After a few more minutes of waiting, both Irvine's team and Quistis' team joined up with the group. Amy was flattered that she was chosen as a commander, but her excellent grades and remarkable skills wouldn't allow her anything less. Because she would be bucking for valedictorian, Amy had been assigned three of the most difficult students in all of Balamb.

The students Lawrence, Jerome, and Morris were five minutes late for the initial briefing. Scurrying and scampering, they just barely missed being kicked off the mission completely. These three were the most bumbling, ridiculous, incompetent, and unreliable students that any Garden ever had. It was a miracle they had made it this far at all.

"Sorry we're late!" wheezed Lawrence. "Jerome ripped his clothes!"

"They're too small!" wailed Jerome. "They oughta make'm bigger!"

"No, you're just too fat!" sneered Morris. Jerome stuck out his tongue, which was promptly yanked by Morris. Lawrence laughed at them, but in return, he got his hair pulled by Morris, who seemed to be the boss of the group.

"All right, you knuckleheads, quit clowning around!" barked Grate. The three clowns whooped and hollered as they tried their best to stand in formation. Grate merely shook her head and let out an agitated sigh.

"(Good luck,)" she whispered to Amy eerily. Amy swallowed and realized that she would need every ounce of luck in the world. As the goofy trio received a verbal punishment from Grate, Headmaster Cid walked in, a stony look on his face. His wife Edea, halfway gazing at Amy with her golden eyes, followed close behind.

Amy listened intently to Cid's speech, which was basically a morale booster and a fair warning about the mission ahead. Edea's speech was a little less stirring and more motherly, then Instructor Grate herself gave a speech, which was somewhat flat and hard. Still, the three individual teams were stirred, and each was then assigned to report to Balamb town for the nautical escort to Timber.

With her eyes closed temporarily, Amy sat back and relaxed as the boat puttered from Balamb to Timber. Mentally, she was preparing herself for a hard task, while at the same time trying to push out other concerns. The antics of her team were almost unnoticeable in her state; she was more concerned about her own current situation.

Amy had spent time on and off of class schedule trying to find a way back home. To her reckoning, some kind of dimensional vortex had caused her to rocket from her world to this one, and if her theory was correct, it would take a similar nexus to send her back home. To her knowledge, such a thing did not exist in the world she was in--yet.

As the boat sailed and her team joked around, Amy tried to think of ways she could return home. For the time being, she would walk down the path that had been thrust at her, the path of the SeeD. She did need a boost in physical and strategic capabilities, and should she return home, these would doubtless be helpful.

Before Amy could brood more, a door opened and a young lady entered into the cramped room. Lifting her eyelids, Amy sat straight and paid attention to the young woman. Her teammates had to be snapped to attention by Instructor Grate; Amy recognized the young lady to be Raijin's girlfriend, Xu.

"At ease," said Xu, and the clownish trio slouched. A monitor behind Xu flickered to life, showing a sketchy map of Timber. "We're almost there," began Xu, "so I'll make this brief."

"Balamb Garden received an urgent distress call from Timber at 0900 this morning. The details are sketchy, but it seems that, in the confusion and vacuum left from former President Deling's untimely demise and the chaotic state Galbadia was left in after the death of Adel, a new figurehead has emerged to take control over these two areas. Galbadia Garden has already been given the task of spearheading their part of the world, so it is up to us to take this path.

"A man called Don Christopher Richter has taken position in Deling's absence, and has stationed himself in Timber. The path to his estate is littered with opposition, but all civilians should be inside their homes by the time you land, so don't be afraid to use force." The monitor flashed to a more intricate map of Timber, this time concentrating on a very well-defended manor.

"This is the residence of Don Richter," pointed Xu. "Our main objective is to penetrate the Don's defenses and infiltrate this manor. The Don will be well-guarded, and the element of surprise may not be with us, so be wary. Team A," (and here she pointed to Irvine's group) "your task is to penetrate the outer defenses of the manor and secure the area."

"Roger," saluted Irvine. Smiling, he gave Quistis a nudge. "Heh… next to bustin' y'all outta prison, or goin' face-to-fang with Adel, this'll be like chewin' gum." She made no comment.

"Team B," continued Xu, pointing to Quistis, "your job is to storm into the manor itself along with Team C. Once Team A has everything under control, you should be able to get inside without much hassle. From then on, everything's up to you. Get inside and capture Don Richter, preferably alive."

"Understood," replied Quistis. Xu made a light smile and pointed to Instructor Grate.

"Miss Grate and her units will spread out accordingly. If none of the teams get the job done, leave it up to her. If necessary, retreat. There is no shame in backing out of a fight if you cannot avoid it, and we don't want casualties."

"I'm sure we won't fail," assured Grate. "Mr. Kinneas is right. Compared to what the Savage Six was doing back in the old days, this will be like swatting flies. I'm sure everyone will do their part." Smiling politely, Xu folded her hands behind her back and made sure that everyone was clear on the matter. Amy, who was commander for Team C, would probably have the burdensome job of storming into the manor and taking the Don with her. It wouldn't be easy, and with her team, it would prove next to impossible.

She smiled.

"Go, go, go!!" Xu ushered the teams out frantically. Logically, since this would be a large-scale operation, there were considerably more teams than just A, B, and C. The fact of the matter was that many of these teams would be the support for Irvine, and others still would sneak into the manor using more subtle methods. These three teams, consisting of the most promising students (and three goofballs), would be doing the brunt of the work.

Irvine and his large party of five scattered first, their weapons ready. Light opposition was already waiting for them at the beaches of Timber, but were all mowed down by the sniper and his crew. Other teams spread apart to take down several pockets of resistance, and a few remained behind to secure the beaches.

Following Quistis and Irvine, Amy scrambled up the slope that led to Timber. Both Quistis and Irvine seemed to shake off the opposition without even flinching; Amy's cronies were having trouble just staying organized.

"Lawrence! Cover me! Jerome, Morris, you two stick to my flank! Keep a tight formation!" Amy barked out orders, but the poor stooges could only run around and bump into each other (literally). Sighing, Amy decided it was best to hold the entrance of the town until her crew was more organized. This might take a very long time, she grumbled to herself.

Storming past the entrance of Timber, Irvine's team rushed past blockades of soldiers and made it as far as the walls of the manor. Awaiting them were at least a hundred followers of Richter, some armed with more than two weapons.

"Teams D through G, cut through the very heart of their forces! Straight through! I'll support you!" he shouted. The four groups understood and broke through the gate; some scaled the walls with grappling hooks. Quistis, knowing there were soldiers by the bushel on the other side, threw a canister of tear gas over the side of the wall. Gas masks were applied and more SeeD candidates passed through the blockade.

As for the former instructor, she designated a few other teams to create a pincer attack by climbing over the east and west sides of the walls. Using her own whip as a grappling hook, Quistis scaled the wall and plummeted to the inner courtyard, a gas mask hiding her face.

Meanwhile, Amy's team plowed through the remainder of the outer defenses--somehow. When they finally reached the manor itself, one SeeD candidate had been kind enough to blast the gate open with dynamite, so the entrance was open for all. Inside, a fog of tear gas seeped through, forcing Amy's team to wear gas masks.

All around the inner courtyard, soldiers were coughing and wheezing, most of them too occupied to fire their guns. Several deft punches and kicks from Amy knocked them down for the time, and even the bumbling trio of Lawrence, Jerome, and Morris managed to knock a few down (mostly by accident).

Amy hurriedly passed by Irvine and a few other teams on her way inside the manor. He gave her the thumbs-up, assuring her that everything was running smoothly. She grinned and ran past the cowboy's team, hoping that they could keep the outer courtyard safe as she and Quistis stormed into the dreaded manor itself.

A small force of soldiers bearing nightsticks came forth and engaged in horrible combat. Not wanting to kill unless she was forced to, Amy instead sliced away at their sticks, preferring to give each one a kick to the guts. Smiling halfway, Amy's pulse quickened as she sent many soldiers to the floor. She had not even let her fingers brush up against her transformation pen! She was doing so well without ever using her powers!

With the clownish ones occupying the soldiers, Amy ran up the long and winding staircase that led to the next floor. After each stop, she had to either fight her way through or else avoid the crowd entirely. Quistis and her team were stuck already on one floor, but the blonde woman gave Amy the go-ahead to find Richter himself. Biting her lip, she knew that it was going to come to this.

Rushing up the stairs feverishly, Amy kept her knives hidden in their sheaths until a threat emerged. So far, the path up the winding steps yielded nothing more deadly than a few paintings. Eventually, she made it up to the top floor, and the hallway that led to Richter's office. Slowly, carefully, Amy walked down the long path, the décor distracting her slightly as she scanned for clues of the Don's whereabouts.

Finally, she found what she thought would be his door. Taking a few steps back, Amy rushed towards the door and gave it a fierce kick. It broke open easily, though as Amy stormed in with her Katals at her hands, she found four machine guns aimed right at her head.

A slow clicking sound, made from a disgusted tongue, interrupted the frozen silence. From out of a chair on the opposite side of the door stood a healthy-looking man in his mid-forties. He was balding slightly, though a few proud strands clung to his scalp. He had a nice dress suit on, and a tie, but his face gave off no emotion, and neither did his voice.

"Another failed assassination attempt," he said, clicking his tongue. "This is, what, the fourth one? This is really getting old. I'm bound to be setting a few records here and there." Slowly, the man paced towards Amy, gazing hard at her face. "And who are you?" Knowing that it would be foolish to disclose the name of Balamb, Amy replied as wisely as she knew how.

"A candidate for SeeD." The Don's mouth moved in what might have been a smile, and he sighed.

"SeeD," he sighed. "Why am I not surprised? Well, I expected you guys to come get me sooner or later. Hence the bodyguards." The man, who Amy assumed to be the Don, took a deep breath and slowly began pacing around the floor.

"Well, I can't let you escape, Miss SeeD," he said. "I've got to make sure that you never see the light of day again, and you never speak of this meeting with anyone else. I was thinking of gouging your eyes out and cutting your tongue off, but then I considered the fact that that was too merciful." Several of the bodyguards, their guns still squared at Amy, laughed cruelly. Amy merely glared back at the man.

"Do what you will with me," she snarled. "You'll get nothing from me. I may only be a candidate, but I won't bend to your whims. Killing me will get you nothing except a death." The Don snorted again, and approached Amy. Smiling wickedly, he held the girl's chin in his hand and squeezed her mouth.

"Who ever said that I would kill you?" he hissed. "No, I'd much rather--"

"Hey, you guys!!!" A sudden squealing sound erupted from outside, and the Don growled as an interruption stopped him from exacting his cruelty.

"Get him!!" he blurted, and three of his bodyguards rushed outside to confront the menace. Amy was so happy to hear Jerome's voice that she could have kissed him if she had the opportunity. The last guard, unconcerned with the clumsy candidate, aimed his gun and prepared to blast Amy to pieces. She only gave him a glare in return.

"Hey! Quistis!" Wheezing out of control, Lawrence scrambled down the stairs to retrieve the former instructor. Babbling nonsensically, he only got a few phrases out before the wind returned from him.

"Care to repeat that?"

"I said that Amy's in trouble!" he wheezed. "Jerome's distracting them, and Morris is all tied up, so I came down to getcha as fast as I could!"

"Hold on a minute!" snapped Quistis. "What do you mean? Distracting who?"

"Come on, we found the Don!" blurted Lawrence, more or less taking her by the hand. He groaned out in horror as he stared at the spiraling case before him, yet bit the bullet to guide Quistis upstairs. The two of them halted briefly so Lawrence could catch his breath, but he assured her that he would be fine, so Quistis went on ahead by herself.

Hearing the unmistakable whooping sound of Jerome in a panic, she smiled lightly and dashed towards where most of the commotion was coming from. Smelling confusion, Quistis happened upon an open door and paled as she saw a man with a machine gun pointed at Amy's head. With a flick of her whip, she yanked the gun out of the man's grasp before he could even touch the trigger.

Amy jerked around and saw her savior, and was never more happier to see such a face. Both women smiled brightly before duty fell upon them, and together they tackled the Don and his disabled flunky. Quistis snapped her whip at the bodyguard, who got his eye slashed apart from the impact. His fate was to find the floor in a screaming, bloody panic.

Amy, meanwhile, armed herself with her Katals again and dashed towards the Don. A feeble attempt to grab a weapon ended up with a disabled Richter grasping half of a useless gun, the other half having been neatly cut off by Amy. She grinned as he pulled the trigger to the harmless weapon, and a deft kick to the stomach sent him wheezing to the floor.

"Not bad," complimented Quistis. "Who knows, you may make a better instructor than I was!" Amy smiled brightly, and lifted Richter up by his arm. Holding him steady, she guided him out of his room, and Quistis gave the order for all teams to fall back. Slowly, as his men realized that their boss was caught, the enemy surrendered and allowed themselves to be taken into custody.

Of the enemy number, fifty-two were killed and one-hundred eleven were injured.

Of the SeeD candidates, only two were killed, while forty-eight were wounded.

"Ah, good work, team!" called Instructor Grate. She was currently in the process of leading a large company of disabled employees of the Don into a police escort vehicle; other teams were either mending the wounded or taking care of the enemy. The two candidates that were killed were being attended to by SeeDs, and other than this tragedy, the day had been a success and victory was well-earned.

"Well, another successful mission," sighed Xu. "Percy, will you be kind enough to take the Don to the proper authorities?"

"Yes, ma'am!" saluted a young gentleman. He and several others took the Don away, and Amy, Irvine, and Quistis were soon covered by cheering people.

"Seems you all did well," sighed Grate. "But we'll see how well once the full report comes in. Until that time, we'll return to the Garden and rest. Hyne knows that we've all earned it."