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It's the day of the Final Exam. Squall has trained hard for this moment. Yet, he is still nervous.
He and Zell came out of their room, fully dresses in their battle uniform. It was black with yellow edged jacket. They have just worn them just once before: when they were just accepted in Balamb Garden.
"Arya ready, man?" Zell said, with a tremble in his voice.
"Whatever." Squall said silently.
Squall has a lot on his mind right now. Everything from his parents, to Xu. He just felt that he wasn't ready for this.
"Aw, com'on! Is not that you'll die or anything. The worst thing that might happen is that they drag you outta there with a chopper." Zell reassured him. "Unless you're eaten up by whatever's in there..."
"Thank you so much for telling me that." Squall sad sarcastically.
They were supposed to meet everyone in the hall, but Zell wanted to make a detour to a friend of his, which is a year behind them.
"What up, man?" Zell greeted him when they met him.
"Yo, check these stuff out!" The person said as he took something out of his pocket. It was a summoning stone. A picture of a yellow bird was engraved on it.
"This is Quesacoatl, the thunder summon. Yours for 500 Gil. Deal?"
"Why not?" Zell took out some coins, and handed them to the guy. "
Squall was really inpatient. They were supposed to meet with Xu and the other girl out in the hall five minutes ago.
"Lets go. We're late." Squall
"The word are Thunder Storm, alright? Say that when you want to use it." The guy said as he was walking away. " Recharge them whenever you can." Than, he ran.
"What does he mean `Recharge Them'?" Zell said.
"Tell you later. We gotta hurry up. we're late."
They hurried back toward the hall. Now everybody is gathering there to be briefed of their assignment.
"Over here!" Someone called to them.
"This way, man!" Zell said, pointing to where Xu and a girl were.
Xu was leaning against a pole while the other girl was waving furiously at them.
Squall and Zell ran to where they were waiting for them.
"Where were you guys. We were really worried." Xu said.
"We...uh, had a little delay. That's all." Squall said.
"No matter now that you guys made it." The other girl said.
"And you are..." Squall asked.
"Oh." Zell said "This is Selphie. Remember the exchange student I told you about? Well, here she is! Selphie, this is Squall."
"Hi!" Sephie said. "I've already met Xu. You must like her a lot, huh?"
Xu's face blushed as red as a peach.
"Right..." Squall muttered. "So, when do we leave?"
"They haven't passed out our instructions yet." Selphie said
"We are suppose to go to Fire Cavern... Which spells do you guys have?" Squall asked the group. They did this before every exam as preparation.
"I have Cure, Silence, and Protect. And The Leviathan." Xu said.
"So...You'll be in defensive mode all the way with Protect and Cure. Except with your Summon. We'll need to use that, since it's effective against fire." Squall analyzed.
"Woh, slow down, man." Zell said confusingly.
"How about you, Selphie?"
"I got Fire, Shell, and Holy." Selphie said proudly.
"You got Holy?! Damn, girl! Where the hell `d you get that?" Zell shouted out with amazement.
"In my old school, Tribia Garden." Selphie said.
"Okay... Fire will be useless in there, so don't bother using it. Shell is ok when they start casting Magic. Holy should be useful since most fire creature are demons."
"Zell, your turn." Squall said
"Thunder, Vanish, and Quesacoatl Summon."
"Both Thunder and Quesacoatl isn't that much... though Vanish will be useful if it gets too physical, since it makes you invisible."
"How `bout you, Squall?" Selphie asked.
"Oh, I got Blizzard, Cure, Demi, And Shiva Summon."
"Why do you guys all got a Summon?" Selphie said, kind of jealously.
"Well...that's because... uh... we're...really, really good students!" Zell quickly said.
"Yeah right." Squall said under his breath.
They waited for quite some time when Cid finally walked toward them from the elevator, with Quistis, Ridder, Chaine, and Norg.
"Welcome, all hopefuls of Silver Lions and Falcons. This is it!" Cid blasted out his voice from the microphone. "This is the last Exam you'll ever have for Balamb Garden!"
Everyone applauded and cheered.
"This will be a milestone for all of you, if you are able to past this test. The test will be stationed in either the Fire Cavern or Ice Cave, Depending on your ID Number. You should be acknowledged of you destination by your teachers.
"On this exam," Cid said. "You will not, I repeat, will not be having our assistance in combat. If the worst of the worst situation comes, One of you team members will radio us, the teachers, which will be stationed on either location's entrance, will provide rescue efforts. You will also radio us every, every ten minutes that you are in there, or points will be deducted from your whole team. So remember that."
Cid walked over to Ridder, and took a small case from him.
"This will be your medical case. One will be passed out to every team. It contains a radio, five Potions, two Hi-Potions, two Phoenix Downs. Potions cure you members of injuries. Just inject them into your necks, like this." Cid put the tube-like thing against his neck.
"Phoenix Downs will be able to revive your team mates. You'll have to put these tablets into their mouth, and tilt their head back in order to let them swallow."
"When you run out of Phoenix Downs, and a person faints, radio us to called for a rescue team, and we will take that person out of the exam. When there are less than three people on you team at any moment, you will return to the entrance, and you are to form teams again with other two-person group, is that clear?"
The crowd murmured in agreement.
"And of course, the last thing..."
"Try not to get killed." All of them continued dully.
"Precisely. Now, please line up outside and wait to board your transport. Further detail will be debriefed as you approach your destination. Good Luck."
They went inside their transport, which is more like a floating sub. The deck was made of steel plank. A small door was placed on the side of the ship. They went into the cabin, and found their place in there, and sat down.
"That's it! The last debrief we'll ever hear from him again." Zell sighed."
"Hey!" Xu said as she walked around in the cabin. "Don't be insulting him. Sid's a nice man."
"Oh that little..." Zell garbled silently.
"What'd you say?" Xu said sharply.
"What?"
Selphie leaned over to Squall and whispered, "You know what? Maybe they should be the perfect couple."
"Unhuh." Squall said mindlessly. He was nervous, really nervous. He was shivering, though the warm ocean wind was blowing in his face.
He looked down, and saw his silver chain. He held it in his hand. The smooth surface was cold and sparkled under the light. I have to do this, he thought, my parents are counting on me.
"Atten hut!" The pilot said as he spring up from his seat. "Captain on deck!"
Everyone scrambled to their position. Squall moved from his spot, and stood behind Xu.
Quistis walked slowly walked up to the deck. She stopped at the projector on the far side of the cabin.
"At ease." She said. "Sit down, please."
Everyone took their seat, and looked at Quistis.
"Everybody, this mission is different from what you guys did before. You're goal for this mission is to retrieve a stone from inside the Fire Cavern. It's very simple. You will follow a trail to deep inside the cave, until you see a platform, which the stones will be placed upon. You may encounter monsters while you're in there, so you better got your spells and weapon ready. There are one, two, three, four, five, five teams. The mission will take two and a half hours to complete for the all of us, which means your whole team will complete the task within half an hour. You will not leave anybody in the cave by themselves. You will radio me when anybody faints and you are unable to revive him or her. That is not a request; that is an order! Understand?"
"Yes, ma'am!" Everyone answered in unison.
"Alright...Take her away, captain."
"Yes ma'am." The pilot said, and retreated to the pilot seat.
"Ladies and gents!" Pilot blasted through the loudspeaker. "Remain in your seats until we past the sonic boom!"
Quistis sat down into a seat next to Squall, which made Squall fell a bit more nervous.
Squall felt the ship slowly took air and he saw Balamb Garden became smaller and smaller. They accelerated until they cleared the small island. Squall held tight on the handle.
"Sonic speed in three! Two! One!"
Squall was pushed deep into his seat as he took in the G-force. He took a scan around the cabin. Xu and Selphie were sitting together. They were squinting their eyes, holding onto their seat, careful not to open their mouth, or else, they would stay open until they surpass the speed of sound. Zell was next to him. He is very used to this. He was making faces with he mouth open, looking like an idiot.
The next second, it was over. The shield has taken effect, and they were clear of the barrier of sound.
Squall loved this. There was silence except for the low hum of the engine. Everything was so peaceful, and quiet. This was the perfect moment for them to psyche themselves up. Every one took a corner of the cabin, closed their eyes, and concentrated. Quistis taught them this. It was pretty effective for Squall, since he had passed every test he had ever taken.
After fifteen minutes, the cabin was filled with short, quiet conversations. Nobody was joking around. Except when Zell told himself a joke and laughed himself silly. Squall hit him in the ribs, and he stopped, with a pained look on his face.
"You know what?" Zell said after five minutes of silence. "To hell with this mission! Why don't we just jump out right now?"
"You're joking, right?"
All of them looked up, and saw Quistis looking down at them.
"Uh... That depends..." Zell said quietly.
"Don't be nervous." Quistis sat down at where they huddled.
"Why shouldn't we be?" Selphie mumbled suddenly. "I mean, come-on. This mission determines our futures as SeeDs here!"
"Why should you be? I haven't been a teacher that long. I started teaching a year before you guys first came in. I been here all the time before that." Quistis closed her eyes, as if trying to recall her memory. "But I don't remember much of me at the Garden..."
"You know what, I don't remember anything about when I first came in neither." Xu said. "It's like, just before Sid mentioned anything about the finals, my memory started blacking out..."
They stayed silenced again. Quistis stood up after a few minutes.
"Alright, we are almost there. I'll be in the cockpit."
Another shiver went through Squall's spine. He closed his eyes, and focused again. He has to stay concentrated. Or else, he'll be no good to the team.
"Ok, everybody!" The pilot said again through the speaker. "Get off yo butts! Approaching target!"
-----------------------
"Move! Move! Move!" The senior SeeD yelled at them when the shuttle opened the door out. "Hustle! You guys are the weakest bunch of sissies I've ever seen! Damn it, move!.
All of them thrust themselves out of the door.
"Line up in your team order, now!"
Quistis walked slowly out the door.
"Hey! Quis! How are you doing?" The guy that screamed in their face said calmly to Quistis.
"Not too bad, Bruce." Quistis answered. "How's the island been treating you?"
"Quis? Who does the guy think he is?" Zell whispered.
"You boy!" The guy turned and yelled, and walked quickly into Zell's face. "What'd you say?!"
"N-n-nothing!." Zell stammered.
"Oh really?! Let me tell you boy! While I'm conducting business, you don't give ifs of buts about it. Its that clear?"
"Yes..." Zell answered miserably.
"IS THAT CLEAR!?!"
"Yes, sir!"
"My name is Sargent Tro! And on this island, I am God! Is that clear!?"
"Yes sir!" Everyone answered in unison.
"You should know your mission! Now all of you, get your butts down that road. Now march!"
The island is bare with red sand and it looks uninhabited. The only evidence of life is a little cabin on the far side of the island. There is barely any vegetation on the Island. The only greens you can find are cactus that scatters around in the red sand.
The trail lead them further into the island and stopped at the side of a mountain. The most of the people collapsed the minute the stopped. Squall and Zell were bending down, trying to catch their breath. Selphie and Xu were on one knee, both breathing very hard.
"Get up straight, you wimps!" The Sargent ordered. "If that tires you out, you shouldn't even be here! Get up! All of you!"
"Alright Bruce. Give them a break." Quistis said.
Squall stood up straight, and took a quick scan of the place. They've stopped in front of a huge brown rock, which seemed to stick out of the sand like it was thrown there. A small crack yielded the entrance to the cave.
"Ok," Quistis said. "Gather `round!"
Slowly, every crowded around Quistis and a display board. Some kneeling in the front, some standing in the back.
"Look closely! This is the blue print of the cave!" Bruce said. "You gotta get from point A to point B. clear and simple! That's the easy part! The monsters in this hellhole are fire-based! Hope you brought protection! The one you got to watch out is Ifrit. He's the lord of the cave! You can not escape from him! Hold him off while you call for backup! Got that?!"
"Question! Sir!" Xu raised his hand.
"Granted!"
"How will we know if it's Ifrit, Sir?"
Sargent Tro laughed. "You'll know when you see him!"
"Alright, soldiers! Heaven will be outside when you're done with hell! Quistis, I'm done for now!"
"Guy's, the order of you people going in is randomly selected. First, Cadet Larco's team. Second, Cadet Wilson's team. Third, Cadet Taylor's. Lastly, Squall's team. Go get them, guys!"
© Copyright Omega 2000-2002. All text is the property of Authors Tao Li and Jeanie Owen. All rights reserved.
Chapter Four
It's the day of the Final Exam. Squall has trained hard for this moment. Yet, he is still nervous.
He and Zell came out of their room, fully dresses in their battle uniform. It was black with yellow edged jacket. They have just worn them just once before: when they were just accepted in Balamb Garden.
"Arya ready, man?" Zell said, with a tremble in his voice.
"Whatever." Squall said silently.
Squall has a lot on his mind right now. Everything from his parents, to Xu. He just felt that he wasn't ready for this.
"Aw, com'on! Is not that you'll die or anything. The worst thing that might happen is that they drag you outta there with a chopper." Zell reassured him. "Unless you're eaten up by whatever's in there..."
"Thank you so much for telling me that." Squall sad sarcastically.
They were supposed to meet everyone in the hall, but Zell wanted to make a detour to a friend of his, which is a year behind them.
"What up, man?" Zell greeted him when they met him.
"Yo, check these stuff out!" The person said as he took something out of his pocket. It was a summoning stone. A picture of a yellow bird was engraved on it.
"This is Quesacoatl, the thunder summon. Yours for 500 Gil. Deal?"
"Why not?" Zell took out some coins, and handed them to the guy. "
Squall was really inpatient. They were supposed to meet with Xu and the other girl out in the hall five minutes ago.
"Lets go. We're late." Squall
"The word are Thunder Storm, alright? Say that when you want to use it." The guy said as he was walking away. " Recharge them whenever you can." Than, he ran.
"What does he mean `Recharge Them'?" Zell said.
"Tell you later. We gotta hurry up. we're late."
They hurried back toward the hall. Now everybody is gathering there to be briefed of their assignment.
"Over here!" Someone called to them.
"This way, man!" Zell said, pointing to where Xu and a girl were.
Xu was leaning against a pole while the other girl was waving furiously at them.
Squall and Zell ran to where they were waiting for them.
"Where were you guys. We were really worried." Xu said.
"We...uh, had a little delay. That's all." Squall said.
"No matter now that you guys made it." The other girl said.
"And you are..." Squall asked.
"Oh." Zell said "This is Selphie. Remember the exchange student I told you about? Well, here she is! Selphie, this is Squall."
"Hi!" Sephie said. "I've already met Xu. You must like her a lot, huh?"
Xu's face blushed as red as a peach.
"Right..." Squall muttered. "So, when do we leave?"
"They haven't passed out our instructions yet." Selphie said
"We are suppose to go to Fire Cavern... Which spells do you guys have?" Squall asked the group. They did this before every exam as preparation.
"I have Cure, Silence, and Protect. And The Leviathan." Xu said.
"So...You'll be in defensive mode all the way with Protect and Cure. Except with your Summon. We'll need to use that, since it's effective against fire." Squall analyzed.
"Woh, slow down, man." Zell said confusingly.
"How about you, Selphie?"
"I got Fire, Shell, and Holy." Selphie said proudly.
"You got Holy?! Damn, girl! Where the hell `d you get that?" Zell shouted out with amazement.
"In my old school, Tribia Garden." Selphie said.
"Okay... Fire will be useless in there, so don't bother using it. Shell is ok when they start casting Magic. Holy should be useful since most fire creature are demons."
"Zell, your turn." Squall said
"Thunder, Vanish, and Quesacoatl Summon."
"Both Thunder and Quesacoatl isn't that much... though Vanish will be useful if it gets too physical, since it makes you invisible."
"How `bout you, Squall?" Selphie asked.
"Oh, I got Blizzard, Cure, Demi, And Shiva Summon."
"Why do you guys all got a Summon?" Selphie said, kind of jealously.
"Well...that's because... uh... we're...really, really good students!" Zell quickly said.
"Yeah right." Squall said under his breath.
They waited for quite some time when Cid finally walked toward them from the elevator, with Quistis, Ridder, Chaine, and Norg.
"Welcome, all hopefuls of Silver Lions and Falcons. This is it!" Cid blasted out his voice from the microphone. "This is the last Exam you'll ever have for Balamb Garden!"
Everyone applauded and cheered.
"This will be a milestone for all of you, if you are able to past this test. The test will be stationed in either the Fire Cavern or Ice Cave, Depending on your ID Number. You should be acknowledged of you destination by your teachers.
"On this exam," Cid said. "You will not, I repeat, will not be having our assistance in combat. If the worst of the worst situation comes, One of you team members will radio us, the teachers, which will be stationed on either location's entrance, will provide rescue efforts. You will also radio us every, every ten minutes that you are in there, or points will be deducted from your whole team. So remember that."
Cid walked over to Ridder, and took a small case from him.
"This will be your medical case. One will be passed out to every team. It contains a radio, five Potions, two Hi-Potions, two Phoenix Downs. Potions cure you members of injuries. Just inject them into your necks, like this." Cid put the tube-like thing against his neck.
"Phoenix Downs will be able to revive your team mates. You'll have to put these tablets into their mouth, and tilt their head back in order to let them swallow."
"When you run out of Phoenix Downs, and a person faints, radio us to called for a rescue team, and we will take that person out of the exam. When there are less than three people on you team at any moment, you will return to the entrance, and you are to form teams again with other two-person group, is that clear?"
The crowd murmured in agreement.
"And of course, the last thing..."
"Try not to get killed." All of them continued dully.
"Precisely. Now, please line up outside and wait to board your transport. Further detail will be debriefed as you approach your destination. Good Luck."
They went inside their transport, which is more like a floating sub. The deck was made of steel plank. A small door was placed on the side of the ship. They went into the cabin, and found their place in there, and sat down.
"That's it! The last debrief we'll ever hear from him again." Zell sighed."
"Hey!" Xu said as she walked around in the cabin. "Don't be insulting him. Sid's a nice man."
"Oh that little..." Zell garbled silently.
"What'd you say?" Xu said sharply.
"What?"
Selphie leaned over to Squall and whispered, "You know what? Maybe they should be the perfect couple."
"Unhuh." Squall said mindlessly. He was nervous, really nervous. He was shivering, though the warm ocean wind was blowing in his face.
He looked down, and saw his silver chain. He held it in his hand. The smooth surface was cold and sparkled under the light. I have to do this, he thought, my parents are counting on me.
"Atten hut!" The pilot said as he spring up from his seat. "Captain on deck!"
Everyone scrambled to their position. Squall moved from his spot, and stood behind Xu.
Quistis walked slowly walked up to the deck. She stopped at the projector on the far side of the cabin.
"At ease." She said. "Sit down, please."
Everyone took their seat, and looked at Quistis.
"Everybody, this mission is different from what you guys did before. You're goal for this mission is to retrieve a stone from inside the Fire Cavern. It's very simple. You will follow a trail to deep inside the cave, until you see a platform, which the stones will be placed upon. You may encounter monsters while you're in there, so you better got your spells and weapon ready. There are one, two, three, four, five, five teams. The mission will take two and a half hours to complete for the all of us, which means your whole team will complete the task within half an hour. You will not leave anybody in the cave by themselves. You will radio me when anybody faints and you are unable to revive him or her. That is not a request; that is an order! Understand?"
"Yes, ma'am!" Everyone answered in unison.
"Alright...Take her away, captain."
"Yes ma'am." The pilot said, and retreated to the pilot seat.
"Ladies and gents!" Pilot blasted through the loudspeaker. "Remain in your seats until we past the sonic boom!"
Quistis sat down into a seat next to Squall, which made Squall fell a bit more nervous.
Squall felt the ship slowly took air and he saw Balamb Garden became smaller and smaller. They accelerated until they cleared the small island. Squall held tight on the handle.
"Sonic speed in three! Two! One!"
Squall was pushed deep into his seat as he took in the G-force. He took a scan around the cabin. Xu and Selphie were sitting together. They were squinting their eyes, holding onto their seat, careful not to open their mouth, or else, they would stay open until they surpass the speed of sound. Zell was next to him. He is very used to this. He was making faces with he mouth open, looking like an idiot.
The next second, it was over. The shield has taken effect, and they were clear of the barrier of sound.
Squall loved this. There was silence except for the low hum of the engine. Everything was so peaceful, and quiet. This was the perfect moment for them to psyche themselves up. Every one took a corner of the cabin, closed their eyes, and concentrated. Quistis taught them this. It was pretty effective for Squall, since he had passed every test he had ever taken.
After fifteen minutes, the cabin was filled with short, quiet conversations. Nobody was joking around. Except when Zell told himself a joke and laughed himself silly. Squall hit him in the ribs, and he stopped, with a pained look on his face.
"You know what?" Zell said after five minutes of silence. "To hell with this mission! Why don't we just jump out right now?"
"You're joking, right?"
All of them looked up, and saw Quistis looking down at them.
"Uh... That depends..." Zell said quietly.
"Don't be nervous." Quistis sat down at where they huddled.
"Why shouldn't we be?" Selphie mumbled suddenly. "I mean, come-on. This mission determines our futures as SeeDs here!"
"Why should you be? I haven't been a teacher that long. I started teaching a year before you guys first came in. I been here all the time before that." Quistis closed her eyes, as if trying to recall her memory. "But I don't remember much of me at the Garden..."
"You know what, I don't remember anything about when I first came in neither." Xu said. "It's like, just before Sid mentioned anything about the finals, my memory started blacking out..."
They stayed silenced again. Quistis stood up after a few minutes.
"Alright, we are almost there. I'll be in the cockpit."
Another shiver went through Squall's spine. He closed his eyes, and focused again. He has to stay concentrated. Or else, he'll be no good to the team.
"Ok, everybody!" The pilot said again through the speaker. "Get off yo butts! Approaching target!"
-----------------------
"Move! Move! Move!" The senior SeeD yelled at them when the shuttle opened the door out. "Hustle! You guys are the weakest bunch of sissies I've ever seen! Damn it, move!.
All of them thrust themselves out of the door.
"Line up in your team order, now!"
Quistis walked slowly out the door.
"Hey! Quis! How are you doing?" The guy that screamed in their face said calmly to Quistis.
"Not too bad, Bruce." Quistis answered. "How's the island been treating you?"
"Quis? Who does the guy think he is?" Zell whispered.
"You boy!" The guy turned and yelled, and walked quickly into Zell's face. "What'd you say?!"
"N-n-nothing!." Zell stammered.
"Oh really?! Let me tell you boy! While I'm conducting business, you don't give ifs of buts about it. Its that clear?"
"Yes..." Zell answered miserably.
"IS THAT CLEAR!?!"
"Yes, sir!"
"My name is Sargent Tro! And on this island, I am God! Is that clear!?"
"Yes sir!" Everyone answered in unison.
"You should know your mission! Now all of you, get your butts down that road. Now march!"
The island is bare with red sand and it looks uninhabited. The only evidence of life is a little cabin on the far side of the island. There is barely any vegetation on the Island. The only greens you can find are cactus that scatters around in the red sand.
The trail lead them further into the island and stopped at the side of a mountain. The most of the people collapsed the minute the stopped. Squall and Zell were bending down, trying to catch their breath. Selphie and Xu were on one knee, both breathing very hard.
"Get up straight, you wimps!" The Sargent ordered. "If that tires you out, you shouldn't even be here! Get up! All of you!"
"Alright Bruce. Give them a break." Quistis said.
Squall stood up straight, and took a quick scan of the place. They've stopped in front of a huge brown rock, which seemed to stick out of the sand like it was thrown there. A small crack yielded the entrance to the cave.
"Ok," Quistis said. "Gather `round!"
Slowly, every crowded around Quistis and a display board. Some kneeling in the front, some standing in the back.
"Look closely! This is the blue print of the cave!" Bruce said. "You gotta get from point A to point B. clear and simple! That's the easy part! The monsters in this hellhole are fire-based! Hope you brought protection! The one you got to watch out is Ifrit. He's the lord of the cave! You can not escape from him! Hold him off while you call for backup! Got that?!"
"Question! Sir!" Xu raised his hand.
"Granted!"
"How will we know if it's Ifrit, Sir?"
Sargent Tro laughed. "You'll know when you see him!"
"Alright, soldiers! Heaven will be outside when you're done with hell! Quistis, I'm done for now!"
"Guy's, the order of you people going in is randomly selected. First, Cadet Larco's team. Second, Cadet Wilson's team. Third, Cadet Taylor's. Lastly, Squall's team. Go get them, guys!"
© Copyright Omega 2000-2002. All text is the property of Authors Tao Li and Jeanie Owen. All rights reserved.
Chapter Four