Part two of the SeeD field exam chapters!!! Thanks for all the nice reviews and please keep reviewing so I can add your ideas to the story. Once again, the characters from the game are being borrowed and my characters should not be used without permission from me. Thanks!
"Timber…Timber..." the name rang out in Ainsley's head repeatedly and wouldn't stop. Ainsley closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
'I'll never come back to Timber again!' Ainsley saw her own, childish, tear-stained face screaming at her bewildered father. 'Someday you'll see me and I'll be more powerful than you'll ever be. And then you'll wish you had wanted me, but it will be too late and I'll just turn you away!' Ainsley could feel the words rushing out in a torrent and the anger that her younger self was expressing. In reality she curled up in the fetal position in her seat on the train and cringed. She then felt a warm hand on her shoulder and looked up into a pair of bright blue eyes.
"Are you okay?" the young man with blond hair asked her kindly. Ainsley nodded her head and he pointed to Nida, who had just finished briefing them.
"Well?" Nida asked. Ainsley nodded her head. Nida smiled and nodded, "I knew you would agree to it," he told them, his voice filling with a little bit of pride, "and she'll be the youngest leader on a field exam ever." Ainsley continued nodding and then turned to the older boy who had snapped her out of her reverie.
"What did I just agree to?" she whispered under her breath.
"You're going to lead B squad in out mission," he responded.
"Oh…" she started, "Well, what is the mission?" The boy gave her a bizarre look.
"Are you serious? You're the leader, weren't you paying attention?" he said as worry crept into her voice. Ainsley shrunk back a little bit. The boy sighed and held out his hand.
"I'm sorry, I'm Tibor, and you are..?" Ainsley smiled as she recognized the name.
"I think we have a friend in common, Xaria Soucie?" she asked, still smiling. He smiled and Ainsley could swear that she could see a slight blush creep into his face,
"Oh yeah, I forgot she was roommates with you. Sometimes I forget these things. Especially when I'm nervous. But I mean, you must be more nervous than me. You're pretty much the captain of B squad." Ainsley shook her head,
"Please don't start calling me captain," she said shuddering, "I didn't even consciously agree to be in charge. Anyway, what are we doing on this mission. I know we're going to Timber…" her voice trailed off at the mention of the small city. Tibor waved his hand in front of her eyes,
"Hey are you not okay about going there? I mean, 'cause if you are we might want to find a new leader." Ainsley jumped and then shook her head as she braced herself.
"No I'm fine," she answered. "So we're going to Timber to help a government resistance faction?" she guessed. Tibor shook his head slowly,
"Well…sort of. You know how, to appease the factions, Galbaldia pulled their army out of Timber?" he asked. Ainsley nodded and Tibor continued, "Well then you must know that Galbaldia still hasn't given the people of Timber true freedom and they have set up a puppet government to control the city?" Ainsley nodded again. "Well, the puppet government had finally had enough of higher ups in the Galbaldian government telling him what to do. He has decided to take control of the government, promising them independence." Ainsley slowly nodded,
"Well that's good then…isn't it?" she asked. Tibor shook his head vigorously,
"It should be, but it isn't. The Regent, that's what he calls himself, is taking the city by any means necessary. This meaning he's running around with Galbaldian resources killing everyone in sight. So our assignment is to assassinate the Regent." Ainsley sighed,
"I'm not sure if I like receiving a mission from the Galbaldian government. I don't particularly like the way that they run things, especially in Timber," she told him. Tibor shrugged.
"You don't really have much of a choice now do you? I mean, SeeDs don't really get to choose their own missions, the missions are always chosen for them." Ainsley made a face. She didn't like the idea of a person who could switch sides at the drop of a hat. That had been her only reservation when she was received at the Garden, and she had told herself that she would do all that she could to only accept missions that she truly believed in. Now it didn't really look like she had much of a choice.
"Don't worry about it," Tibor tried to assure her. "I'm sure Headmaster Cid wouldn't accept a mission at random. You have to trust that there's a reason to all of this." Ainsley nodded and then jerked back in her seat as the brakes began to slow the train down. Ainsley looked out the window and was shocked at what she could see. Smoking buildings were everywhere and there was rioting in almost every street that she could see. She heard a loud thump as a grenade hit the side of the train and exploded. Her car jolted back and she could hear other passengers on the train, cadets and non-SeeD personnel alike, screaming. A tall woman with short brown hair quickly ran to her side.
"I'm Christie, the captain of A squad. Our assignment is to get off of the train first and set up a safety net so your squad can get through. You, along with C and D squads must secure the TV station, where the Regent is planning a broadcast very soon. SeeDs will take care of the actual assassination. Got it?" the woman was gone before a breathless Ainsley could nod her reply. Ainsley took a deep breath and looked around at her squad. Calder hadn't said anything, but was staring outside at the destruction with an odd look on his face, Tibor was eager and waiting for any instruction at all. Ainsley nodded.
"Well then," she began, somewhat regally as she pulled out her rapier from it's sheath, "Let's move out!" She noted the confidence in her own voice as she led her squad, running, down the train car. She could hear a small voice in the back of her mind.
'Welcome home…"