Disclaimer: As the same with all the other chapters, I don't own anything I didn't come
up with. That belongs to Square. I do this for no profit. Blah, blah, blah.

Chapter 7: History Repeats Itself

Walking with a happy beat to her pace, Selphie made her way to the first floor lobby
where she had to meet the rest of the team she was supposed to help for the exam. Headmaster Cid
had quickly mentioned to her that her partner would be Vira, to which Selphie grinned widely. She
had been meaning to have more time to talk to Vira since she arrived, but had never gotten the
chance. She knew that if she could get through to Squall, which she sometimes did, she'd be able
to get through to Vira. Selphie's happy-go-lucky, open personality guided most of her actions,
and made her seem like an unlikely member of any type of military group. Yet, Selphie was a great
fighter and her friendliness made her quite popular with people of all ages. She was ready to be
able to spend a little time with this new girl, and hope that she'd be able to get a few words
out of her before they left for the exam. Reaching the lobby, she saw Vira had already arrived,
and in her SeeD uniform no less. Authority and prestige came from the aura of Vira, and would
have been much more noticable, if she did not look so tired.

"Hi! You ready to go help with the exam?" Selphie greeted with a large smile and her
emerald colored eyes shining as brillantly as the gems that bared that name.

Vira's chocolate eyes were clouded over with the unshakable spell of sleep. "Mmm..." She
answered.

The perky girl tilted her head and squinted slightly. "What's wrong? Not ready? I think
you look great!"

"I'm ready, Selphie." Vira mumbled out. "I'm just tired is all."

"Oh." Selphie replied, still squinting. "Bad dreams?"

Pushing back some stray tressles of blonde hair, Vira answered, "Something like that."

"That's too bad." Selphie began. "I don't have bad dreams myself. Most of mine are all
happy and stuff. They've been even better since Irvy got to stay here. He's so great, isn't he?
I bet you two had a blast coming here. He's so much fun to be with. Don't you-"

Vira's left hand shot upwards towards Selphie's face, signifing for her to stop.
"Selphie, I am really tired. I am trying to save my energy for helping the candidates in the
exam. Then when we get back, I have to attend the graduation party. I'm running on empty as is so
don't go on an on about something right now."

Selphie took a few steps back from her partner and nodded. "Yeah, I understand. Can I
ask you a question?"

"Sure." Vira replied, uninterested.

"When'd you graduate to SeeD?" Selphie adjusted a stray button on her SeeD uniform as she
asked her question.

For a second Vira thought about this, her lower lip jutting outward in a face of
contemplation. "I guess it was about...the time right before you arrived at Galbadia Garden to
pick up Irvine. At that time I was out on my first mission." She finally answered.

"Cool!" Selphie exclaimed. "So you haven't helped out in an exam before, right?"

"Right."

Selphie nearly jumped with excitement. "Neither have I! This is the first exam since I
graduated! I'm sure everyone will do great here and we don't even have to help!"

Vira watched Selphie almost burst at the seams with excitement. "...whatever." She
remarked to this display of excitement.

The quiet murmers from the students nearby stopped as Headmaster Cid stepped off of the
elevator and walked to the kiosk where everyone had gathered. His body swung back and forth to
the balls of his feet to his heels. Through his glasses, he looked over the three students that
were up for SeeDship.

"Well, after the years of training and studying you are finally here; the exam. This will
be the chance for you to become a SeeD. Remember, this is a real combat situation. Victory and
defeat are dependant on your actions. Don't worry, if you are in real trouble, one of the two
SeeD members here will help you out. They will finish the job, as they always do. That's one less
thing for you all to worry about. Don't forget, for the pride of Balamb Garden, of yourselves,
and team A, fight with all you've got. I wish you all good luck, and just do your best. Now, I
have to go talk to the other groups so if you'll excuse me..." Cid explained, making hand
gestures to accentuate certain aspects of his speech.

After he trailed off, he began walking over to team B, but not before flashing Selphie
and Vira a little wink. Selphie caught this wink, responding with a wink and a large grin. The
instructor for team A had just finished his speech to his students. He looked over to the two
SeeDs and nodded. Understanding what he meant, the two followed him to the garage and into a
Garden Car. Throughout the entire walk there, Vira kept feeling the excitement that was all
around her. Something that she couldn't share, nor participate in. Even Selphie was acting like
she was taking the test all over again. Shaking her head, Vira climbed into the car's front; not
understanding why someone would get so worked up about something they've already done.

Another beautiful day was upon Balamb. Sunshine pleasantly shone down with radiant
glory. The lush green grass spanned around the car, except for where the road and beach were.
Tall, full trees were sometimes lining the road to Balamb. Outside of the Garden Car, birds sung
a happy tune to themselves, giving the overall appearance of another wonderful day. Vira did not
care about the beauty of the day. When business was at hand, she concentrated on it. Except if
she had been more awake, her concentration would have been amplified considerably. As it was,
Vira could only half concentrate on anything. Beside her, Selphie was beginning to tell another
story about either something she did with the Garden Festival or Irvine. Even if Vira had wanted
to, she would not have been able to concentrate on this long and undending story. She had never
been so tired in her life. This was more than regular fatigue that came from lack of sleep. This
was something worse. Something Vira had never experienced before. Vira leaned over to look out
the window, delicate strands of soft hair falling in her face. Brushing them away gently, Vira
continued to gaze out the window. As Selphie's one sided conversation continued on, Vira began
to feel as if she was being watched, by someone, or something. Evil eyes; the ones that she had
seen in the Infirmary. They were back, staring at her, leering at her through the window's clear
glass. Sinister urges and cruel actions oozed from the eyes in rapid fashion. A flowing river
of hate and destruction rushing towards Vira. The deluge of evil hit her hard, the cat-like
transparent eyes disappearing the moment it hit. Vira's body uncontrollably flew back into
Selphie, interupting her sentence. Vira's eyes wide as a rabbit being hunted in the forest.

"Vira!" exclaimed Selphie surprised. "What is it?"

Vira breathed out, apprehensively moving back to her seat. Luckily, the two hadn't hit
the driver so there was no immediate danger to the car. Sitting back in her seat, Vira stared at
the spot where the eyes had been. Deep goldenrod color...feline pupils...such deep hatred behind
them. Vira shook the shackles of this terrible vision from her. "Nothing." She replied quietly.
"Nothing at all..."

Inside another Garden Car sat Seifer, with Rinoa and the other SeeD candidate. Up front
Squall and Irvine sat with the driver. Seifer could not believe he was on team B yet again, and
was almost outraged at Rinoa being named captain of his team. How would she be able to lead
anyone? He remembered how much she hated battling, how pointless it all seemed to her. Rinoa's
motives for this were muddled and confusing to Seifer at best. Rather than dwelling on that,
Seifer was more outraged at her being his superior in this situation. He never believed that she
could do something like that, and was damned if he would follows the orders of some girl who
did not know what she was doing.

-No. You can't think like that. You keep thinking like that and you'll fail the test.
Then where will you be smart-ass? Huh? Broke and no where. You gotta pull it together and just
stop thinking like that until after you graduate.-

"What's wrong, Seifer?" asked Rinoa, noticing his inner turmoil. "You seem upset about
something."

Seifer's emerald eyes now looked more dark like a forest green. He gazed over to Rinoa,
seeing her caring expression. "Nothing, Rinoa. Just thinking about the exam."

"I'm sure you'll pass this time. I always knew you were a great fighter." She assured
him.

"Thanks, Rinoa." Seifer replied. Inside, he knew half of her was just being nice. After
all that he had done to her, it was surprising Rinoa even attempted to forgive him. Such a large,
kind heart. Seifer felt bad for once. Slowly, piece by piece, he was realizing that what he had
done to everyone was wrong. How he had treated everyone, what he had done, he had let someone
control him just as a puppet would be treated. Seifer was beginning to understand what Vira had
meant by, 'the only battle in Dollet is what you bring with you.' He was in a battle with
himself. Who he had been, who he thought he was, and even who he dreamt he could be. Junction was
right. He knew, finally, that if he kept acting the way he had been, he would end up in another
situation where he would be hurting everyone he knew. How would anyone, even Fujin and Raijin,
forgive him after following the dark path again? Without speaking, Seifer knew the answer to
that. They would not forgive him; could not. Not after another lapse into the darkness. At long
last, it was time for Seifer to stand up and become the man that he had always wanted to be. The
real hero; not a villain in a hero's guise. Seifer knew, it was time for him to change for the
better. "....Rinoa?"

"Yes?" She answered, confused slightly.

"...I-I'm...sorry." Seifer finally managed to half whisper out.

Rinoa became more confused by the second by that remark. "What do you mean?" She
inquired. "What are you sorry about?"

"I'm sorry about everything that I've done to you and Squall and your friends. I don't
think I was ever able to apologize for that." He explained.

"...oh..." Rinoa breathed out. Her face softened with such compassion and forgiveness.
She looked Seifer straight in the eye with those dark, enchanting eyes that she had. "I forgive
you, Seifer. I think we all do."

The corner of Seifer's mouth curved upward into a small smile. Not the normal cocky smile
that he would brandish around the Garden, but a real true smile. A smile of brief happiness.
As quickly as the genuine smile came, it disappeared, Seifer covering up his moment of softness
with a characteristic smirk. "Don't think I'm goin' soft or anything, though. I just...thought it
was the right thing to do. That's all. Gotta go into battle clear-headed and all. I'm ready to
kick some ass today."

Silently knowing that Seifer needed to still keep some of his own personality, Rinoa
said, "Yeah, I know."

Before too long, several ships sped from Balamb Harbor towards the town of Dollet.
Cutting through the water like a knife, the ships moved through the blue-green ocean water.
Inside, Xu walked into a small cabin, carrying team B towards Dollet. Once inside the small room,
she looked at who she would be briefing. There was Seifer yet again, except that for once he was
in his uniform and looking more humble than he ever had in his entire life. Across from him was
Rinoa. And in the back sat a boy with his bright red hair slicked back. The instructor got up to
greet Xu, shaking her hand.

"Xu, it's been a while." The instructor said.

Xu nodded in a friendly manner. "Yes, it has Vernis."

Vernis smiled a little and turned to his students. "This is team B."

Xu smirked at Seifer. "So, you already trying again?"

"You know how much I love this exam, Xu. But I don't plan on taking it again after this."
Seifer answered.

"I'll believe it when I see it." Remarked Xu.

To break the tension between the two, Vernis coughed lightly and turned Xu's attention
to Rinoa. "This is Rinoa."

"Hi, Rinoa. I didn't know you were trying to become a SeeD." said Xu.

Rinoa smiled. "Well, I figured it was time for me to make it official."

"Ah," Xu replied. "Good luck then."

"Thanks." answered Rinoa.

Vernis turned to the last silent student sitting in the back and introduced him. "This is
Bertaniz."

The boy rose from his seat and bowed his head slightly. "Pleased to meet you."

"Likewise." Xu returned. "Now, the situation is this; about 17 hours ago we recived a
call from the Dollet Dukeom Parliment that Galbadia has been harrassing them about the
Communications Tower. Soon they forced the Dollet soldiers out of the mountains and tower,
claiming it for an unknown reason. Last time we were here, the G-Army was attacking the city
when their real objective was to make the tower operational again. After the broadcast from
Timber was made to announced former Sorceress Edea as ambassador, the tower fell back into the
hands of Dollet and it was shut down. Now, the G-Army has taken the tower by force, claiming
ownership to it and demanding that it be made an official part of Galbadia. Dollet refuses to
sign the contract making that official so the two groups are fighting. We tried to reach the
ruler of Galbadia, General Caraway, who is ruling in Vinzer Deling's stead until an election can
be held, but he was unable to be called upon. So, our only course of action is to take the
tower back again by force. We will land at Lapin Beach as we did last time we were here and run
to the tower, defeating all G-Army if they stand in our way. We must also rid the mountains of
the threat of the G-Army. Team B will first head towards the mountains and dispatch all G-Army
soldiers from that area. Once you are given the signal, head for the Communications Tower. Once
at the tower, if the G-Army does not surrender, we will battle and win back the tower. Any
questions?"

No one raised their hand for a question. Satisfied, Xu looked from person to person.
Bertaniz was just staring at the floor nervously while Rinoa sat patiently for the ship to land.
Seifer had his feet up on the table, as he had the last time. "Remember Seifer," Xu warned. "Do
not deviate from the mission like you did last time."

Waving his hand dismissively Seifer replied, "Yeah, yeah. I hear ya, Xu."

Sighing exasperatedly, Xu turned and left the room. Now it was all just a matter of
minutes before the battle began. Rinoa still looked very calm for someone in her position.
Seifer was beginning to think she might not be such a bad leader after all.

The battle was fierce. Searing heat came from the blasting of weapons, sweat and blood
tainted the clean air. From all sides came screams of pain and agony, the clashing of metal
against metal. It all was part of the battlefield itself; the essence of war. The ships landed
on the blood stained sandy beach, the insides of the ships opening with swift speed. All the
passengers within rushed out to the beach, taking in all the sights and senses of the battle in
motion. Xu ran from the boat yelling for everyone to move out. They all did. Miraculously,
through all the noise and commotion from the fight, everyone heard and moved out swiftly. Squall
looked at Rinoa once as she commanded Seifer and Bertaniz to move through the Dollet town square.
Inside, he wanted to run beside her, protect her, keep her safe from everything. However, he knew
that he could not stand in her way. Not this time. Silently, he wished her luck and turned to
Irvine.

"Let's go." He commanded.

Irvine nodded. "Okay, okay. I'm coming."

The two rushed off to follow team B into the town square. Right beside them was Selphie
and Vira, following team A to the mountains. They would have to follow team B through the town
square to get to the mountains, as did team C and D. Irvine ran beside Selphie, tipping his hat
in a gentlemanly manner.

"Fancy meeting you under such circumstances." He remarked.

Selphie grinned widely. Even in battle, Irvine was still charming to her. "Yeah, but
you'd better keep you eyes on what's in front of you."

"Why?" Irvine did not even need to ask. When he looked in front of him, a Galbadian
soldier attacked. Quickly he dispatched the offender with a blast from his shotgun. The soldier
fell down to the cobblestone street, clutching his stomach in bloody agony. "I see your point."
He added afterwards.

In front of the two, one member of team A was struggling with a Galbadian soldier's
attacks. Fearing he would lose the fight, the candidate tried his best to punch the soldier in
the stomach, but to no avail. Selphie ran to help the candidate out of his situation, but Vira
reached him first. She first pulled the soldier off the boy with rough force and proceeded to
punch the Galbadian soldier in his face. Blood spewed and flowed from the soldier's mouth, but
he refused to give up. Aiming his machine gun, he let out a few rounds of screaming bullets in
Vira's direction. While she was able to miss most of them, one stray bullet connected with her
leg, making Vira wince with pain. Quickly, she casted Curaga on herself, bright beautiful light
washing over her like a cool shower. Magically, the wound in her leg sealed and the blood stopped
flowing. Vira's face turned determined as she reached for her holdstered kamagunblades. Taking
one in each hand, Vira charged the soldier, readying to slice him with one hand, and shoot him
with the other. Both hits proved to be fatal, the soldier collapsing onto the ground in pain.
Vira looked at the soldier's face, ready to leave, but instead of seeing a Galbadian soldier in
pain, she saw the face of Xana. The sorceress' face sneered at her, grinning with those shining
obsidian colored lips. And those eyes...they were the eyes of evil! The ones that had been
haunting her for the past day. Anger raged inside of Vira, her emotions taking control of her
body. She wanted to be rid of this frightening, haunting apparition once and for all. And there
it was, grinning straight back at her. Vira wasn't going to take this. Not Vira Eronwil. She
raised her kamagunblades high, striking both of them down with extreme force, severing the man's
arms from his shoulders. Dropping the kamagunblades, Vira began punching the man, each punch a
testament to her hatred towards the apparition. Such violent ferocity emerged from within Vira's
very soul, that everyone around her began to take notice to her savage beating. Vira's face
started twisting and contorting to an angry mask of hate and fury. Selphie and Irvine ran to her,
using all the force they had to pull her from the mangled corpse of the former Galbadian soldier.

"Leave me alone!" She demanded of the corpse. "Stop haunting me! What the hell do you
want from me?!"

Struggling to calm Vira down, Irvine and Selphie exchanged worried looks with each other.
Both had no clue to what Vira had meant by that statement and with the constant shrieking she
was making towards the corpse; the two figured they'd have to wait a while to figure out what
she meant. Irvine looked at Selphie, very worried. Around them battles were still raging on,
and cadets were there that might need their help.

"Go with team A. They might need you. I'll try to bring Vira back. When she can, she'll
meet you at the Communication Tower." Irvine ordered.

Selphie quickly looked at Vira then back at Irvine, nodding. "Right." She said before
sprinting off to the mountains.

"Aw, man. I can't believe I got separated from my team because of one stupid G-Army
soldier!" Zell angrily exclaimed as he ran to the town square.

All the sounds of the battle in progress seemed to be coming more from the mountains
and Communications Tower at this point. The sounds of screaming, blasting, and magic casting all
seemed to be coming from the mountain area.

-This is just great. You come here to help your team and you can't even be there to do
it. At least Quistis is there to help them. I just better get my ass over there pronto. What the?
Where is that shrieking coming from?-

As Zell ran to the town square, the shrieking became louder and louder until he realized
where the source of this shriek was coming from. Zell could barely make out the jumbled words
that Vira was screaming at the corpse of an armless Galbadian soldier. Struggling to get free
from Irvine's grip, Vira kicked writhed against him. Shocked by what was going on, Zell ran
beside Irvine, looking at him with questioning eyes.

"What the hell happened here?! What is wrong with Vira, Irvine?! Did you do something to
her?!" Zell demanded shrilly.

"As if I'd ever do anything to a lady. Vira was helping a cadet on her team when she
freaked out. It was like she saw something that wasn't there in the guy and went berzerk. And
not the spell berzerk. This is true blinding rage. The cut the guy's arms off and was beating
his corpse. All she's been doing since then is scream at the corpse, telling it to leave her
alone. I don't know how to calm her down. Usually I'm so good with women, too." Irvine explained,
still struggling with the screaming Vira.

Zell stared at Vira, concerned with what was wrong with her. The young woman's eyes were
clouded over, her mind being in another place completely. He had never seen such emotion on her
face, nor in her voice. The jumbled incoherent words spat out of her mouth, but seemed like they
did not belong there. Her beautiful face was contorted into a hideous mask of sheer hatred, her
soft flowing chocolate hair flying in every direction. It seemed as if her hair did not even want
to stick around for her tantrum. Zell hurt inside to see Vira with such a loss of her sanity.
What could have happened to cause her to revert to this primitive state? Zell shook his head
and turned back to Irvine. "You should go to your team. Mine already knows I was caught behind
by a fight. Quistis is more than capable of handling my team until I get there. We need to snap
her out of this quickly. I can do it. You go on ahead."

Reluctantly, Irvine pushed Vira into Zell. "All right. I'll let 'em know you're dealing
with a special situation. When you bring her out of...whatever it is she's got, tell her to go
to the Communication Tower." After telling Zell that, Irvine ran off to join his team, hoping
that Zell would bring Vira out of her rage, and fast.

Looking into Vira's clouded dark eyes, Zell yelled, "VIRA! SNAP OUT OF IT!" When that
did not work, he started shaking her violently, still yelling her name. Without thinking, Zell
hit Vira in her stomach. Finally, her shrieking stopped, being forced to by the pain she felt.
Doubling over onto herself, Vira breathed in uneven heavy breaths. It seemed that what Zell had
done was working.

Vira finally looked up at Zell, looking aware of where she was. "...Zell? What are you
doing here?" She asked.

"Helping you get out of your blinding rage is all. Man, you went berzerk! What the hell
happened to you!?" He demanded, helping Vira to her feet.

"I...don't want to talk about it." Vira answered, hesitantly.

"What do you mean you don't wanna talk about it?! You go postal, and you won't even tell
anyone what it is about?!" Zell waved his arms violently in protest to Vira's response.

She looked back at Zell and then to the mangled corpse on the ground. Vira knew that what
had happened to him was her fault. She had lost it. For once in her life she had no control over
herself. And what had triggered that scared her. If she could lose it that easily, what was to
keep her from losing it again? Vira did not even know why she did what she had, what logical
reason was behind it. Either way, she was a bad example for the students taking their exam. SeeDs
are not supposed to "lose it" on the battlefield. They needed to be calm and collected at all
times. She sighed, this would prove to be a bad thing for her. Headmaster Cid would probably ask
her to leave, or take some time off. Some sort of punishment for such reckless behavior. "I can't
tell you because I don't know. It happened, I snapped, this is the result. I don't understand
why it happened and I'd appreciate it if anyone who saw this would not let it get around. It
could cost me a lot."

"Maybe you need some time off..." commented Zell, softly.

"...maybe, but I can't think about this now. I have to get back to my team." Vira looked
off towards the Communications Tower.

"Irvine told me to tell you that you should go to the Communication Tower." Zell said.

Her gaze was still fixed on the tower. So far it had looked like no fight had begun there
yet. Maybe they were waiting for her or something. "Okay. You'd better get back to your team
too."

"Yeah..." Zell started, "What if...what if this happens to you again today?"

Clenching her fists tightly, Vira answered coldly, "It won't."

"But how do you-?" started Zell again.

"It will not happen again. Ever." Vira interupted. Without saying another word, Vira ran
off to the mountains, leaving Zell worried and confused to what was going on.

After spending a great amount of time clearing the mountains from the G-Army, team B had
finally won their last battle there. Early on it had been appearant that this team was in no
need of the SeeDs assistance, so reluctantly Squall headed out to the other teams, looking for
anyone who needed his help. Any other G-Army soldiers that might have been in the mountains, ran
off in fright of what had happened to their comrades. Seifer's gunblade was menacing; glinting in
the sunlight with a look of sharp edge to it. When the rest of the G-Army there had seen what
Seifer did to some of their comrades, they turned tail and ran as fast as they could back to
Galbadia. Seifer's yelling and mocking words following them all the way home. He had become
increasingly satisfied with himself, defeating any enemy that dared to cross his path. So far he
had faithfully followed Rinoa's orders to dispatch all G-Army soldiers in the mountain area, but
since they had run out of soldiers Seifer was beginning to get bored. Like he had at the last
exam. He never sat well with waiting for a signal to move out. To him, if the coast was clear of
enemies, then it was time to move on. But, Rinoa remained at her post, patiently awaiting the
signal to move out. With each passing second, Seifer's patience was running out.

"Rinoa, c'mon, there aren't any more Galbadian soldiers here. I think it's time we headed
over to the Communications Tower and showed them what we're made out of!" Seifer exclaimed.

Turning around to face Seifer, Rinoa replied with authority in her voice. "We haven't
gotten the signal to move out yet. We can't just leave without the signal. Something could go
wrong."

Seifer crossed his arms indignantly, tapping the gunblade on his pant leg impatiently.
"But, this is the worst, just sitting here. We'll never become heroes this way."

"And you won't pass the test if you ignore my orders, Seifer." Rinoa commented.

"I...uhh..." Seifer started. Rinoa was right. If he ignored her orders, and ran off to the
tower himself, he would fail the test. For good. There would be no other chance to become SeeD;
no more chances to prove to himself that he was a hero, deep down underneath it all. He had to
stop thinking the way he always had. It was incredibly difficult, he could not go against his
own nature so naturally, but it had to be done. He was not going to screw up his last chance at
becoming a SeeD. "You're right." Seifer then said, "We'll just wait here until the signal
comes."

Rinoa nodded her head approvingly. "I'm glad you see my point, Seifer." She added. "I'm
sure it'll come soon. They can't make us wait forever."

"Sure, Rinoa." Seifer absent mindedly agreed, looking for a place to lean against until
the order came. He knew that the next minutes of waiting would be some of the longest minutes
in his life.

Teams A, C, and D had all gathered at the outskirts of the Communcations Tower. Farther
behind the teams stood the SeeDs, waiting until they were needed. Selphie and Irvine had since
related what had happened to Vira in the town square Quistis and Squall, both looking shocked
to hear such a thing. Squall recovered from this shock quickly, stating, "It's just something
she has to deal with herself. If she needs help, she'll get it. There's no use making a big
deal out of something until she tells us about it herself. If it's a real problem, she'll
tell us."

"She's not as open to expressing herself as you've become, Squall." Quistis reminded. "She
still needs to find a reason to open up. Though, you're still not the most open person I've ever
met."

"I'm sure she'll be fine." Squall answered, ignoring the rest of Quistis' comments.

Irvine rubbed his neck, nervously. "I dunno...she was, like, really freakin' out. I just
hope Zell got her out of it."

Selphie gazed to the hill nearby, spotting a figure emerging from the other side. She
squinted her eyes to see who it was, finally recognizing Vira's jacket. Excitedly, Selphie
jumped up and down, pointing towards the hill. "Guys! Guys!" She exclaimed.

The three other SeeDs turned to their friend. "What is it, Sefie?" Irvine asked.

Pointing with one hand repeatedly, Selphie yelled, "It's Vira! Here she comes! Zell did
it! This is great!"

Within a matter of seconds, Vira had reached the rest of the group, now Zell appearing
over the top of the hill. Selphie noticed him as well. "Hey! Look, it's Zell! Hi, Zell!" She
waved her hand feverently.

"Are you all right, Vira?" inquired Quistis.

Looking straight towards the Communication Tower, Vira quickly answered. "Yes. I am now."

"What happened?" asked Squall.

Vira paused before answering, not exactly sure what to say. Hesitantly, she replied,
"I don't know. It's not something we should be worrying about right now. We have to keep our
concentration on the mission. It was probably fatigue. What happened to me is not important
right now. What is, is helping the cadets."

"Yeah, that's true. You want to tell us sometime, that's fine. It's your problem. I'm not
going to bother telling it around." Squall commented.

"Thanks." Vira said.

Sighing, Zell looked at his friends. "So, what is going on?"

"Well, the teams are waiting for the messanger from team A to return here with team B.
Once they get back, they all try to negociate with the G-Army guys in the tower. If they can't,
they force themselves in and fight!" explained Selphie.

"How long ago did the messanger from team A leave?" questioned Vira.

"About ten minutes ago." answered Irvine.

"Then they should be arriving any minute now." Vira remarked. "Wait, isn't that your
team?" She then added.

Irvine nodded in reply. "Yeah, but Squall decided there might be other groups that need
our help more than them. They were, like, doing pretty damn good when we left. They really didn't
need us at all. So, we're here."

From over the horizon team B finally came. Seifer running at top speed down the path, with
Rinoa and Bertaniz close behind. On Seifer's face was an expression of extreme relief, like the
most terrible part of the test was over for him. The messanger from team A ran back to her team,
while team B took their position near the other teams. Xu was nearby, checking to see if
everyone was there. When she was satisfied, she turned to address the entire group of candidates.

"All right, everyone! We're going to try to negociate with the G-Army now! If it doesn't
work, attack the tower on my signal! SeeDs, help those who need it in battle, regardless of
what team you were originally assigned to! Okay, I'm off!" Xu shouted loudly enough for everyone
to hear. She then quickly turned and headed down the stone path to the Communications Tower.
Tension was wrapped around everyone in a noose of unbearable waiting while Xu tried to talk to
the Galbadian soldier at the door. About a minute after she had started the conversation, she
turned to the group of candidates and shouted, "NOW!"

The trigger had been pulled, setting off a barage of charging SeeD candiates, all ready
to pass their exam with flying colors. From within the Communications Tower came a deluge of
soldiers, outnumbering the cadets and SeeDs. A fierce battle ensued, everyone having to fight
one or two soldiers at a time. Like ants, they kept coming. The tall Communications Tower had
seemed to become their ant hill, with legions of ant soldiers attacking to defend it. Screams of
pain resinated throughout the air, with the sounds of clashing weapons. The scent of blood hung
heavy, just as it had on Lapin Beach. Crackling and zapping noises suddenly cut through the
battle, halting everyone in their place. Looking up, they saw the dish on the Communications
Tower open twice the size it had normally been, coming to life with electric light. A bright
white beam shot from the tip of the dish, heading into an unknown destination. Seeing this,
Squall grabbed the soldier he had been fighting with by the collar roughly. Shaking the man
violently, Squall demanded, "What are you doing with the tower?"

"We only needed to open it up and upgrade it. The Dollet parilment wouldn't do it, they
said there was no more need for it to be operational. We were sent in. I don't know what they're
going to do with it! I'm just supposed to protect it from being shut down! I swear!" The man
shakily answered.

"If Dollet says they will keep it in perfect working condition, will you all leave? Now?"
negociated Squall.

"Probably!" the soldier agreed, "I'll run to tell my commander!"

Reluctantly letting the man go, Squall released his vice grip on the collar. The soldier
scrambled to the Communications Tower to speak with his commander. Everyone was still gazing up
at the dish with wonder. Even the G-Army didn't know what it all meant.

A second later, the soldier came from inside the tower, shouting as he came out, "Okay!
As long as two of our troops can stay here, we'll leave! We'll leave!"

Surprised, Xu looked to Squall, who nodded at the soldier's statment. Commandingly, Xu
then shouted, "All right! SeeDs, return to your ships on the double! Mission accomplished! I
will stay here to negociate with the Dollet Dukeom and the G-Army commander! Squall is in charge
now! Follow him to the beach! That is all!"

Loud cheering from the cadets rang through the heavy air, all of them immediately turning
to run back to the beach. Seifer grinned wider than he ever had before. It was over, he had
done it. There was no way for them to fail him now. Over the cheering he heard Squall yell for
them all to follow him, all of the cadets doing so happily. Finally, Seifer would be equal to
his rival. Now he was the hero. Seifer breathed in the sweet air of accomplishment and victory,
happy at his self control. Hurrying, he followed the rest to the beach.

Vira wasn't sure what to make of all of this. During the battle she had not seen Xana
again and began to think that it was just lack of sleep that led her to her blind rage. Beside
her, Zell looked at her worried. Feeling his eyes on her, Vira looked at the blonde young man.

"What is it?" She demanded.

"Nothing. I was just wondering if you are okay. It didn't seem to happen again." Zell
remarked.

Vira looked back to the path in front of her. "No, it didn't happen again. I was just
tired is all."

"Being tired happens to everyone." Squall interjected. "You are allowed to slip every
once in a while. Just try not to let it happen again."

"I won't let it happen again, Squall." Vira assured. "I can't let that happen."

"What did you see?" Squall asked.

"...I...don't know. Nothing, I guess. Nothing." She replied.

"It had to have been something to warrant such a reaction." commented Quistis.

"Then it's nothing that I can explain right now." Vira answered. "I would just appreciate
it if you all try to keep this under wraps until I get to the bottom of it. I think I'm just
way too overtired. After a good night's sleep, I'll be fine. It's not something to make a big
deal out of."

"If you say so." Irvine shrugged.

Selphie smiled pleasantly, "Well, to take your mind off it, would you like to join the
Garden Festival committee? We're planning on doing another one now!"

"I'll get back to you on that, Selphie." Vira replied.

"After the graduation, there's still a bigger task at hand." reminded Squall.

Zell questioning looked at his friend. "What's that?"

"What Galbadia wants with the tower this time, and why they made it even larger than it
already is. I have a feeling we'll be heading to the Timber TV station again." Squall explained.

"History sure has a way of repeating itself." Selphie announced.

"True, but this time they might not be using the Timber TV station. They built a new one
in Deling City recently." Quistis commented.

"Let's just deal with one thing at a time." Vira suggested.

"Right. For now, we have to head back to Garden." Squall agreed.

"All right!" Selphie yelled. "Time to paaaaar-taaaay!"

Zell, Irvine and Quistis chuckled at Selphie's proclimation while Squall just shook his
head. Ignoring it completely, Vira continued to run back to Lapin Beach. She knew that it wasn't
right for her to be lying to everyone, but she had to. This wasn't something she wanted anyone
to know. Being haunted by some ghost of a sorceress they never proved was actually evil was a
ridiculous story. No one would believe her even if she told them. She had to keep it to herself
for now and hope that this incident would never repeat itself. Vira watched Dollet's Lapin Beach
slowly become farther and farther from her when she had boarded the ship. Watching the calm
water around her as the door closed gave her a sense of peace. Once they had shut tightly, she
tiredly collapsed to the ground and slept the rest of the way to Balamb. Her dreams filled with
the dark navy blue room again and the woman who contined to claim she was only a mistake. Such
nightmares kept her sleep back to Balamb an unpleasant one, those around her wondering if it
really was just being overtired that had caused Vira's loss of control.

Author's comments: Phew! That was a really long one, eh? Yep, I had to push back the
graduation dance to the next chapter. I figured this one was long enough as is. What did you
all think? Please, R&R to let me know and any suggestions you might have. :) It always helps me
know that I'm on the right track. Chapter 8 will feature the graduation, with a bit of comedy
in there for good measure, and most likely the introduction to their next mission. Why did
Galbadia really want with the Communications Tower? Will the broadcast be from Timber or the new
Deling City TV station? And what will the broadcast consist of? Well, I guess you will all just
have to stay tuned to find out. Same FF time, same FF channel. :) Yep, I'm still stuck on that.