Final Fantasy:
The Power Within

Chapter 3

They hopped out, and waited for Micheal. Even though they didn't like him, he was their group leader, and they wanted to do it right.

"Everyone, get into your groups!" someone shouted, after all the buses had arrived.

"Micheal, where are you?" Carson whispered to himself. As if an answer to his question, Micheal walked up.

"What are we supposed to do, Micheal?" Xander asked.

"Listen for our instructions," Micheal responded. Because of the lack of insults, Xander understood that Micheal, too, wanted to get everything right. They waited until everyone had gotten back into their groups. An older mad stood in front of them.

"Welcome," he said. Alexander looked at him closely.

"Hey, isn't that our…" he began.

"Of course, you idiot," Micheal replied. Same old Micheal, again. "He used to be in the highest class of SeeD, known as SOLDIER."

"I didn't know that," Kelly said.

"You all would have, if you listen," Sylvia commented.

"…former member of SOLDIER, I have been asked to come here," the principal, Mr. Evans, w as saying. "I am speaking to you, not only as your principal, but as a former member of SeeD. I have watched most of you grow up. As you take this exam, do your best. Follow directions, but don't be tied down by them. Be smart and think wisely, for it is not only brute strength that sets up apart from all the rest, but intelligence also. That is what it takes to become a SeeD." As he finished up, a roar of applause bellowed up from the crowd. Normally, this wouldn't be so, but, in this case, everyone was excited, so it didn't matter. As the applause died down, one person continued to clap loudly. As everyone turned around, a murmur rushed through the crowd. Standing in front of them was a group of people who looked to be about the same age. In front was the man who'd continued clapping. Whe he was sure he had gotten everyone's attention, he stopped.

"Excellent speech, Raymond, worthy of a former member of SOLDIER," he said. He had long, dark hair that stretched down all the way to his lower back.

"Anthony…what are you doing here?" Mr. Evans had a shocked look on his face.

"Why, I'm here to help you, of course," Anthony replied, with a sly grin. "This is only the fifth SeeD exam since the beginning of the Endless Revolution. Since your group has been the last to finish every year, I thought you may need a hand.

"How thoughtful of you," Mr. Evans said sarcastically.

"Yes, I know," Anthony replied.

"We don't need your help," Mr. Evans said.

"Nonsense, Raymond." Anthony turned to face his own group of young SeeD trainees. "Team up with the Concordia Garden idiots." At these words the students walked forward, pairing up with members from the other garden. Alexander walked far behind to the bus, and leaned against it.

"Trying to look all mysterious, Xander?" Kelly inquired, obviously bored already.

"Yup, as usual," Xander replied, playing along.

"But not doing a very good job of it." A girl stood behind Kelly. She was incredibly short, and had a dark red hair, to her shoulders. She was in complete contrast to the boy standing next to her, who was tall with and lanky, with blonde hair, and blue eyes. For a second, Alexander thought he was Micheal.

"Umm…can we help you?" Sylvia asked.

"Boy, you guys must really be idiots," she said. "We're suppposed to help you."

"We don't need your help," Carson said.

"Well, then, let us join you all for a little while," the boy spoke up.

"In case you didn't know, we're all under the age of 16 here," Xander said.

"That's fine," the girl said. "We're both 15."

"And I'm Aaron," the boy said. "This is Karin. And you all are?"

"Kelly."

"Sylvia."

"Alexander."

"Carson."

"Hey, what garden are you guys from, Karin?" Sylvia asked.

"Visaria Garden," she replied.

"Hmm…I remember hearing something about that garden," Kelly commented. "It's on the West Continent, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is," Aaron replied.

"How'd you guys get here this fast?" Carson asked. "It must have taken three ships altogether, of for you you guys to leave extra early, or something."

"Not if you have an airship, like they do," Xander spoke up.

"How did you know about our airships?" Aaron asked.

"I know a lot of things about different places," Xander answered, in a low voice, looking around.

"Don't mind him, he's just trying to be mysterious, again," Sylvia commented.

"And, again, it's not working," Karin said. They walked into the forest. The roar of monsters could be heard from all parts of it. Suddenly, a roar came from an area extremely close to them.

"Man, not already!" Kelly whined.

"That does sound really close," Carson said. "Come on, let's go see if we can fight it!"

"Weren't you the one doing this only so you could get out of class?" Sylvia commented.

"So what?"

"Why are you so 'gung ho' now?"

"How about we kill the monster, then discuss this?" Kelly asked. "Alright with you guys?" she added, turning to Karin.

"I don't care," Karin mumbled.

"I live for this," Aaron almost yelled.

Well then, let's go!" Kelly shouted, rushing forward. Everyone else followed. Suddenly, an ear-piercing scream made all of them stop dead in there tracks.

"This is more serious than we thought," Alexander said. "Let's hurry!" Again they moved forward, still with Kelly in the lead. As they moved forward, they saw a body in the snow. Whoever it was, they weren't moving.

"Kelly, take Carson, Aaron, and Karin, and go find Micheal," Sylvia said, bending over the unmoving body. "Xander and I will stay here."

"Sure," Kelly replied. She began to move, but was cut off by a strong rustle in the trees. Kelly watched as the rustle moved into the open, revealing a T-Rexaur who was chasing after someone. The person was fighting it off, but to hardly any avail. Kelly saw who it was, and said, "Well, I've found Micheal…"

"Kelly, help him!" Xander yelled.

"Why?" Kelly retorted.

"Kelly!"

"Why am I the one being bossed around here? I see four other people who are qualified to be bossed around."

"Kelly, if we lose Micheal, we may not be able to become SeeDs, okay?" Sylvia said.

"Okay." She sprang forward, followed by Aaron and Karin, with Carson bringing up the rear.

"Micheal, we're coming!" Kelly said.

"I don't need your help," Micheal retorted, getting up off the ground on wobbly legs. He fell back onto the ground.

"Try saying that again," Karin said. Micheal made a sound, but stayed on the ground. They jumped in front of him, and began fighting the T-Rexaur.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Is he alive?" Xander asked.

"I…can't tell, but he's not breathing," Sylvia replied. She looked at Xander, and saw he had a look of confusion on his face. The look immediately turned to fear.

"Sylvia, let's get the others and get out of here, now!" Alexander whispered.

"But what about…?" She began.

"I'll carry him. Now let's go!" Alexander picked up the limp body and started walking fast behind Sylvia. Sylvia suddenly stopped.

"I forgot something, I'll be along in a minute," she said, and ran back to the place where her first-aid kit was still lying. She started gathering the first-aid materials. Xander watched her. Something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He looked over and saw a rustle in the trees. It started to move forward, and Xander's mind snapped to realization.

"They do hunt in packs," he yelled. He began to run towards Sylvia, shouting, "Sylvia, run!" She didn't hear him, which seemed impossible because he was yelling as loud as he could. A head splitting-roar made her look up. The rustling stopped abruptly, and she looked towards Xander, who she could hear saying, "Sylvia, run!" Without question, she got up with what she had and started to run. A huge figure jumped from the trees, and Xander pushed Sylvia out of the way as it landed, crushing Xander's own legs. His scream of pain made everyone turn to him, including the other T-Rexaur fighting Micheal and the others. It quickly knocked them all down with a swipe of it's tail and jumped high into the air, landing beside it's partner.

"Xander!" Carson shouted. They began an all-out sprint towards him. Xander screamed in pain again. Sylvia grabbed one of Xander's sword and smashed it on of the T-Rexaur's tail, cutting it off. The T-Rexaur roared in pain, and knocked her into a tree. She fell to the bottom.

"Xander, no…" The beasts were now concentrating fully on Xander. He was unconscious.

"NO!!!!!!!" Sylvia's GF orb began glowing in her pocket.. She got up and the pendant began glowing as well.

::her mind has evaporated, leaving only her will. The GF orb and the pendant float out of her pocket. The sky darkens a little, grabbing everyone's attention. The red orb dissipates, forming a red aura around her. Her hair changes color from blonde to a fiery red. Her body becomes light as she floats in the air. The T-Rexaurs stop what they are doing to ponder at this newcomer.::

"I won't let you hurt Alexander!"

::She puts her hands together::
Touch, Taste, Smell, Sight
From the darkness that opposes the light
Flames of Hell rise to meet my desire
I cast upon the thee Ifrit's HellFire!

::her aura gets bigger and she lifts her hands up. By this time everyone is watching her. Out of her hands come two huge beams of blue flames, the hottest fire. In an instant, both T-Rexaurs are burnt to a crisp, and are nothing but ashes. Her aura fades and she drops to the ground.::

"Sylvia!"