Two pairs of feet pounded through the forest east of Balamb Garden, marking the path with shallow footprints. The continuous crash moving before them lured them onwards, leaving a trail of broken branches and crushed leaves. Only glimpses of brown flashed through the melee of twigs and foliage that separated the two parties, but it was enough to give a suggestion of something large.

"Do you know where it's heading, SeeD?" yelled Sierra. Zell drew in a quick breath, trying to focus on not ramming into the greenery around him as he answered.

"Sych Vale," he called, batting a branch away from his face.

"Name everything unusual about the Vale. Now!"

Zell thought for a moment. He hadn't exactly bothered to study up--a bad oversight, if he considered that he was supposed to convince Sierra that he was good Instructor material. "Fira draw point," he called. "Low monster concentration."

"Area monsters?"

"Caterchipillars, Bite Bugs."

"Dangerous flora! Fauna!"

"None."

"Mission orders!"

"Engage and defeat unidentified Guardian Force. Reports say GF will take a stand in the Sych Vale."

"Why?"

That tripped him up. "Uh... why?"

"Make an inference! It will make a stand in the Vale. Why? Interpret its tactics and use them against it!"

Zell thought for a moment. The best answer he could come up with was It likes it there. "I don't know. Sir."

"What do you know about the Vale, SeeD? Make the connection!"

The gears in Zell's brain worked for a moment, distracting him as he vaulted over a felled and rotting tree. He landed awkwardly, recovering hastily and hoping that Sierra hadn't seen him stumble. Then, something clicked. "Oh! Fire elemental."

"Orders?"

"Junction your highest Fire magic to Element Defense. Ice to Element Attack."

"Too slow."

The thundering ahead of them peaked, then stopped. Zell's hands clenched as he redoubled his speed, clearing the last few meters between himself and the small clearing.

Sierra produced a long warhammer from somewhere, pulling up short as she entered the glade. Her eyes skipped over the beast in front of them, appraising it. "I'm under your orders," she snapped at Zell. "What are we doing?"

Zell glanced over the GF for himself. It was a huge bull, with an abundance of sheer muscle left about a foot of clearance between the thick keelbone and the ground. Pupilless yellow eyes stared at him as a heavy hoof furrowed the dirt, and steam billowed from the nostrils and rose from the hide. Zell really saw nothing to plan out. "Attack!"

Sierra rolled her eyes back to her target, and charged at it. The bull reared, bringing its hooves down with all the force of a Quake attack Zell charged in from the side, scoring a quick succession of hits on its flank. It turned towards him, allowing Sierra time to swing the point of the warhammer into the muscle of the foreleg. It snorted, swinging its head to bring its horns into play. Sierra ducked and rolled, coming to her feet a few meters away.

Zell scored three hits on its chin as it turned, but was caught offguard as it sidled and rammed its shoulder into his chest. He flew backwards, his flight being stopped abruptly by a nearby bush. Shaking his head to clear it, he saw the GF become engulfed in a pillar of lightning. It shook itself, then glanced between its opponents as if deciding who to attack.

"Wha--hey!" Zell scrambled up, attracting the thing's attention. "Use Ice magic!"

"That wasn't me, SeeD," Sierra called back, circling. "It cast that on itself."

"But I thought it was a Fire elemental!"

"You thought wrong, apparently."

The bull's gaze shifted to Sierra. It turned, pointing muscled haunches toward Zell. "But you said--"

"I told you to make a connection. I never said it'd be the right one."

"So what element is it?"

"What makes you think I know?" The bull was still turning, keeping its eye on Sierra. It didn't seem too keen on making the next move.

"But--"

"Orders, SeeD?"

Zell shook his head. "In three seconds, Scan it!"

He rushed forward, spiked knuckles digging into the hindlegs of the creature. It wheeled and roared, charging at him with horns lowered. Zell threw himself out of the way, rolling to one side as it thundered past.

"Oh, ho ho. You're not going to believe this."

"What?" Zell yelled, scrambling to his feet just in time to be bowled over and nearly trampled by the bull. Throwing up his arms to shield his face, he tried to wriggle his way away from the thing.

"Tetra Elemental," Sierra called gleefully. "Earth, Fire, Ice, Thunder. Aren't we lucky?"

Lucky?! Zell raised both hands, planting them on the bull's chest. "Tornado," he whispered, feelign the magic encircle his target and lift it high into the air. Pulling himself away from the spot, he shuddered as the bull's landing created a tremor that threw him off his feet.

"Aero!" Sierra let loose a spell of her own, knocking the bull back. The yellow eyes blinked, then focused on Zell.

Words rudely intruded upon his brain. You're next.

The bull splayed its front legs, quivering. The Fira draw point glowed suddenly, becoming visible even through the ambient light of the region. Zell had a bad feeling about this, for some reason.

Tetra disaster!

The glade erupted in magic. A pillar of ice coalesced in front of the bull, meeting with a long, continuous lightningstrike from the heavens. Earth jumped up around it, forming it into a column of muddy lightning.

The bull surged forward, trapping the column between his horns and throwing it into the Fira point. The thing erupted in flames, beginning to topple. Zell glanced up, trying to make himself dodge the attack. The magic engulfed him as it fell, knocking him to the ground and knocking him out just for good measure.

He didn't so much feel the Phoenix Down as recognize that he was awake again. The cool glow of a Cure spell surrounded him, and he attempted to get to his feet. The bull snorted loudly.

"That was lucky, SeeD," Sierra called. "That could have killed you. Orders?"

Zell shook his head, trying to regain some semblance of clear thought. "What GF do you have?"

"Ramuh. Lightning Mid-Level."

"No good," Zell said. "We'll--"

The bull reared, bringing down its forelegs and causing a tremor again. It wheeled, taking off at a gallop and and knocking over three young trees before it dispersed and returned to wherever it was GFs went.

Zell stared at the place it had been. "Does this mean... I failed?" he asked.

Sierra shrugged, wiping her warhammer. "I'm not sure," she admitted. "That was unusual. I'll take it up with the Committee."

"Did you know about that thing?"

Sierra gave him a look that said he shouldn't ask questions. "Who cares?"

Zell was about to respond that he did, but thought better of it. "What was with that Tetra Disaster thingy?"

"Tetra Disaster?" Sierra shrugged. "Four elemental attacks at once. One of the most powerful GF attacks I've seen to date. Rank it up with Mega Flare and the big-leaguers, I'd advise."

Zell grimaced. He would not want to go through that again. Turning, he began to make his way back towards Balamb Garden.

He was stopped only a few steps into the woods by a pair of familiar yellow eyes, hanging in the air in front of him like the creation of some demented Cheshire Bull. They blinked, narrowed, and faded away. However, two words did stay long enough to drift into his mind.

You're next.