Sorry for the long wait! As you know, I don't own anything but my own characters so any true FF8 characters are not mine.
Xaria groaned and wiped the sweat off of her face as stood over the young man she had just knocked unconscious.
"Xaria! Over here!" Moss, the captain of C Squad called out to her. Xaria nodded and sprinted up the stairs of the TV station after the two other members of her squad. At the top of the steps she paused once more to look at the fuzzy TV screen, and then at the smoldering city below. Smoke rose from fires in nearly every building. She could see the flash of steel as the Galbaldian troops loyal to the Regent struck their swords out at anyone who chanced upon their path. Xaria shook her head at the destruction.
"Horrible, isn't it?" Asked Moss in a somewhat restrained voice. Xaria shook her head.
"I don't understand why they can't just let it go," said Xaria. Timber should have been freed a long time ago. It doesn't have any valuable resources or anything, does it?" Moss shook his head,
"No, but it's simply a sticking point for the Galbaldian government. It can't be free because they say so. It's theirs and they own it, or so they think."
"So what about this guy, Regent?" asked Xaria. Moss shrugged,
"He calls himself, 'the Regent' and he claims to be liberating Timber, but all her really wants to do is take over the city. As for why…" Moss shrugged, "I dunno. I guess it's just a simple power struggle, similar to why Galbaldia won't let go of Timber itself."
"Hey! I could use some help over here!!" a shrill voice called out. Moss and Xaria turned away from the city and found themselves staring into the blank face of a Galbaldian soldier. The soldier tottered and fell as Xaria sidestepped just enough to avoid him falling on top of her. A shiny black boot with a deadly metal spur attached to the heel stepped on the dead man's chest and Xaria looked up to see a grinning blonde-haired girl with short, spiky hair.
"There's more where that come from!" she yelled, fiercely arrogant. Xaria sighed. The third member of her party, Kaori, was just a bit too cocky for Xaria's liking. However, she had to admit that the tall blonde girl did know how to fight, and that she was glad to have such a good fighter on her team. No sooner had she thought this then Kaori whirled around to kick another Galbadian soldier loyal to the Regent in the face. She made a flourish and a victory sign to Moss, who simply sighed and dragged out his axe to face an oncoming attacker. Xaria's mouth spread into a slight smirk as she lit her fists into the same soldier. It would seem that Moss shared her distaste for arrogance. She whirled around and landed a punch square in the jaw of the soldier, knocking him to the ground. She watched him fall and then heard a large scream. Two Galbaldian soldiers had cornered Kaori against the railing on the platform that they were supposed to hold. She looked over at Moss, who was preoccupied and nodded. As Xaria stepped forward to help Kaori she felt a bullet pierce her shoulder. Wincing in pain, she turned around to glare into the cold, glittering eyes of a soldier. She squinted into his eyes and saw his confidence momentarily falter. Xaria inwardly sighed, her conscious briefly getting the better of her. Human qualities in her enemies made what she had to do all the more harder. She clenched her fists and felt her resolve return. She could not fail. Unleashing a barrage of punches at the soldier, she noticed the blur of a black uniform rush by her to aid Kaori. Relief washed over her. She didn't like Kaori very much but she certainly didn't want her to die. She watched her enemy stumble to the ground. Breathing heavily, she grabbed her hurt shoulder and turned to face Kaori. To her surprise, Xaria was greeted by the smiling face of her roommate.
"Need some help?" asked Ainsley, sweeping her strawberry-blonde hair off of her face, where it had matted itself in with the dirt and sweat. Xaria smiled as she felt the familiar tingling sensation of a Cure spell wash over her body.
"They just keep coming," Xaria said exhaustingly as she rose into a straighter standing position.
"That's what our squad is here to tell you. The assassination attempt was a success. We're pulling out. All squads are to meet back at the trains. Xaria nodded, along with Kaori.
"Okay, you heard her, Squad C! Let's move out!" Kaori commanded. Ainsley shot Xaria a look, and Xaria shrugged in reply. Kaori wasn't really that bad of a person, she was just arrogant.
"Shall we?" the deep voice of Moss chimed in at her shoulder.
"Let's go," Xaria said. They ran down the steps and into the chaos in the streets of Timber. All of the soldiers loyal to the Regent were unleashing a full assault on the city to regain control of it. The four cadets slowly fought their way to the Timber Maniacs building.
"Fricking hell!" Moss swore, "don't they know that their leader was assassinated?" he yelled over the clash of weaponry and the shrieks of the dying.
"That's what they're fighting for," Xaria yelled back as she sank her fist directly into the solar plexus of her opponent, "They want control of the city…" she trailed off and the yelled to Ainsley, who was slowly inching her way forward, slashing her rapier in front of her to ward off her attackers.
"Hey Ains, who gets control of the city?" she yelled. A flicker of concern flashed across Ainsley's face and was quickly replaced with determination.
"I don't know" Ainsley replied, "I guess it's whoever ends up with it after this battle." Xaria nodded and lit into another soldier.
"We have to get to the train station!" Moss yelled, "They're going to leave without us."
"Enough!" Kaori yelled and stepped back, summoning Shiva. Shiva blasted the entire area around them, leaving the four bloodstained and weary cadets in the middle of a clear area. Ainsley, Xaria, and Moss began to run for the train station, but Kaori collapsed to the ground, exhausted. Xaria turned around and ran back after her. It was then that she saw three Galbaldian soldiers gathered around a fallen comrade. Xaria pulled the unconscious Kaori off of the ground and handed her to Moss, walking over to the soldiers.
"Xaria! We don't have time for this!" Moss yelled angrily. Xaria pointed at the Galbaldian's uniforms, devoid of the white armband that distinguished the Regent's troops from the ordinary Galbaldian soldier.
"So what!?" yelled Moss, "They can take care of themselves!" He threw up his arms in frustration, nearly dropping Kaori. Xaria waved back dismissively and approached the soldiers. She didn't know why, but their situation struck her as sad, and she wanted to try and right something in the chaotic city.
"Do you need help?" Xaria asked the smallest Galbaldian.
"Can you help us to the train to Balamb?" a woman's muffled voice came from behind the helmet. She motioned to the figure lying on the ground. Xaria nodded and helped the three soldiers pick up the fourth, who was very heavy and large. Even with the four of them, Xaria stumbled under the weight of the fallen soldier. The made their way to where Moss was carrying Kaori and Ainsley was fending off the dwindling attackers with her bloodied rapier.
"Let's go," Ainsley said simply, and the group made their way to the train.
As the doors slid shut behind them, Xaria and the three Galbaldian soldiers deposited the other soldier into a chair, which he sort of slumped over in, and really took up the space of three chairs. Moss set Kaori down in a chair as well, then grabbed Xaria and dragged her into a corner.
"What the hell did you think you were doing!?" Moss hissed at her softly, "You probably just cost us the whole freaking exam!" He reached up to grab her uniform and then sighed, disgusted, sitting down in a chair.
"Well I couldn't just leave them there!" Xaria forcefully whispered back.
"I'm just glad it's over," Ainsley said, slumping into a chair next to Xaria. Something in Moss's eyes softened and he looked at all of their tattered and bloodstained uniforms.
"Yeah, that was some fight hunh?" he said. Xaria giggled and Moss looked up from the floor to see why. Ainsley had already fallen fast asleep in her chair. She slept all the way back to Balamb.