"Well, here we are… It's pretty obvious that you passed the fire cavern test… Be sure that you make it to the directory by 1600 hours, for your exam assignments. Until then, you have free time," Quistis Trepe informed her student. Squall nodded and started to walk away. "Oh, and Squall?" Squall stopped, but didn't turn. "Don't forget to change into your candidate uniform…" Quistis smiled as Squall snorted and strode away.

(He really is nice to look at… especially from behind…) Quistis giggled. (Oh, Quistis Trepe! You know better! He's a student and you're an instructor!) Quistis chided herself and walked back into Garden, heading toward the Infirmary.

***

Squall entered his dorm room and turned on the light. He was in a double room, meaning he was supposed to have a roommate. Squall had never had a roommate; no one seemed to want to room with him. He didn't mind, it just meant that he didn't have to argue with someone about lights out or have to listen to someone snore in the next room. Squall walked into his own little room and threw his jacket on the bed. He sat down next to it and put his face in his hands, rubbing his temple, then his eyes. He looked over his fingertips into the mirror opposite of him. It was a full-length mirror; he had always hated it. Especially when he would wake up from one of his nightmares and see himself. It always startled him. He glanced at the clock, 12:00 p.m. He still had four hours until the exam. Squall stared at himself blankly, pondering whether to rest up or not, when he remembered his forehead. He stood up and walked quickly to the mirror, pushing his hair back with a black-leather palm. He stared in the mirror at his face, where Seifer's gunblade, Hyperion, had cut his flesh. There wasn't a mark, nothing, except a pale white scratch, barely even there. Just like all the other scars Squall was supposed to have gotten, it was just a discoloured sliver of skin. He knew that in a few weeks it would disappear and no one would ever know it had been there at all.

(I guess being a sorcerer does have its perks…) he thought ruefully, lying down on the bed.

***

Cid Kramer, headmaster of Balamb Garden, watched over the bustling students with a kind of fatherly smile. He knew most of the student's names; he made it a priority of his to know at least that. He sighed.

(Another SeeD exam today… I wonder who is being considered…) Cid walked away from his office window and looked at the list on his desk.

Almasy, Seifer (B)

Amano, Tetsuya (D)

Dincht, Zell (B)

Geeson, Nida (D)

Kazeno, Raijin (C)

Kazeno, Fujin (D)

Kitase, Takechi (A)

Kobyashi, Aiko (C)

Leonhart, Squall (B)

Shibata, Koji (A)

Tilmett, Selphie (A)

Yamashita, Kumi (C)

Cid smiled. Squall, Selphie, Zell and Seifer were all being considered. Well, Seifer has been considered a number of times; Cid wasn't very surprised to see his name on the list. Selphie, she had just come from Trabia Garden.

(Little Sefie… All grown up… Zell… Well, I've always known he'd make it… Squall…) That was a name that Cid stared at for a while. It was extremely ironic that he was a SeeD candidate at all. SeeD was formed to destroy the sorceress, and well, Squall wasn't exactly a sorceress… Actually, Squall was ten times more dangerous than any sorceress was… Still…

"Headmaster Cid?" Xu cleared her throat. Cid looked up from the list.

"Yes, Xu?"

"It's time, sir…" Cid nodded and put the list down. He glanced out the window one last time before shuffling out of his office after the female SeeD.

***

"Squall! Come over here!" Quistis voiced. Squall walked toward the Instructor. Quistis looked Squall over; he wore his SeeD candidate uniform in the same style as his normal clothing, with the jacket open and his lion necklace hanging over a white T-shirt.

(Of course he couldn't forget his gloves, not even this once…) Quistis frowned. She had had many arguments with Squall about his gloves, he always argued that they helped with the grip on his gunblade. Which was possible, as Seifer always wore gloves too, Quistis had to admit, but she could tell there was something else, another reason that he wasn't saying out loud. The arguments had come to an end when Headmaster Cid declared that Squall could wear the gloves.

"I will be announcing the team assignments as soon as everyone else arrives. Squall nodded and folded his arms. Quistis glanced around, mentally checking off students as they arrived. Seifer, Fujin and Raijin were still absent, but she knew that they'd be there soon.

"Ahem…" Quistis cleared her throat, gaining the attention of the students around her. "I will address you each by name and tell you which Team you will be on. There are four teams total. Each team will have a captain assigned by me… The following will be in Team D… Tetsuya Amano! …Nida Geeson! …And… Fujin Kazeno! The team captain is Tetsuya Amano…" Two students stepped forward and accepted their assignment.

"Team C will be …Raijin Kazeno! …Kumi Yamashita! …And Aiko Kobyashi! The team captain is Kumi Yamashita…" Two more students came forward.

"Team A is composed of Selphie Tilmett, Koji Shibata, and …Takechi Kitase! The team captain is Koji Shibata!" Three people stepped forward; including the girl Squall had run into that morning. All that was left standing there was Squall.

"…What? Am I on a team by myself?" Squall asked sarcastically. Quistis suppressed a smile.

"No, you're with… Zell, Zell Dincht…" Squall groaned. "Zell is quite a 'lively' fellow…" Squall looked at her with extreme displeasure.

(He's just a big pain in the…)

"Can't I change team-mates?" Quistis shook her head.

"I'm afraid not… Look, there he is. Zell! Zell Dincht!" Squall turned and saw Zell "practising his moves." Squall could tell this exam wasn't going to be as fun as he had hoped. Zell turned at the sound of his name being called, and did a back flip, landing in front of Squall. Zell was a little surprised when he looked up from the flip. Most people took a step back when he did that. Then Zell realised whose chest he was staring at… Zell swallowed hard and took a step back. It was Squall "The Lion" Leonhart.

"I-I'm with YOU?" Zell said in shock. Squall rolled his eyes and stared at the floor. Zell rubbed his hand on his pant leg and held it out. Squall looked at Zell's hand, then at Zell, then at Quistis, and returned his gaze to the floor. Zell put his hand down awkwardly. "Um… So… You don't like Seifer much do you? I hear he kicked your ass this morning… Looks like he was exaggerating as usual though…" Squall ignored Zell. "Hey, Seifer's just a pain in the ass… All you gotta do is ignore him."

"Zell, that's none of your business… And I'm sorry, but Seifer is your team captain…" Zell took a step back, like someone had hit him in the stomach. Squall looked up sharply.

"Wh-WHAT?"

"I'm sorry, it can't be changed… That's how it was divided up…" As if cued, Seifer, Fujin, and Raijin walk into view. "Ah, and here is your illustrious leader now… Fujin, you're on Team D and Raijin you're on Team C… Seifer you're the captain of Team B… Good luck." Seifer scowled, but said nothing. Raijin had just pointed out Squall to him. "Alright, I am the Instructor in charge of Team B, and I expect co-operation among all of its members…" Quistis said eyeing Seifer.

"Hey, co-operation means staying outta my way! Team B rule! Don't forget it," Seifer ordered. Zell stepped toward Seifer with clenched fists. The only thing that stopped him from trying to take Seifer on right then and there was the voice of Headmaster Cid.

"Is everyone here, Instructor Trepe?" Quistis nodded, coming to attention. "It's been a while. How have you all been doing?" He smiled, looking around at all the faces. His gaze stopped on Squall. "This exam involves 12 members from Teams A through D... You will be on a real battlefield. Obviously it will be dangerous, life and death, victory and defeat, honour and disgrace... Each of these is a possibility... But there are only the two choices… It's either one or the other. Nine SeeDs will escort you. Should you fail, these members shall succeed where you have not. There's one less worry for you... Obey their commands and finish the mission successfully. Prove yourself worthy of becoming a member of SeeD… Good luck to you all." The students all saluted and filed out of the hallway, toward the Garage.

"Squall?" Squall turned toward the headmaster. "You know, we've yet to have any gunblade specialists in SeeD… I hope you will join us… Perhaps even Seifer will grace us with his presence one day…" Cid smiled. Squall nodded and turned, walking away.

(Poor boy… I can't imagine what he goes through…) Cid thought, staring after him.

***

The car ride to the Balamb dock went uneventfully, other than Zell whining at Squall, wanting to see his gunblade. The four passengers exited the car after if came to a halt. Seifer and Squall were the first out. Squall stood to the side as Seifer came out after him.

"So, Squall… Guess I'm you're boss…" Seifer grinned widely. Squall stared at the ground, his hair still in his face. Suddenly Squall got a wicked sparkle in his eye and raised his head slowly, level with Seifer's, giving the other boy a good look at his smooth, unscathed face. Seifer's gasp was barely audible, but it gave Squall all the satisfaction he needed.

(Today isn't such a bad day after all...) he thought, walking toward the boat, almost smiling. Quistis was last to exit the vehicle. She saw Seifer standing next to the car staring after Squall in complete shock. Quistis glanced in Squall's direction, but Squall had already boarded the vessel.

"Almasy! Get a move on!" Quistis shouted at the stationary figure. Seifer pulled himself back to reality and slowly walked toward the boat. After all four people had boarded, the hatch sealed with a soft hiss and the craft started to move. Everyone sat down in the main lounge area of the vessel. Zell was in the back corner with one leg crossed over the other, he was glaring at Seifer who was sitting near the door, the opposite corner from Zell, with his feet propped upon the table in between them. Quistis sat next to Seifer, across from Zell, facing forward, thinking about the test ahead. It wasn't only a test for SeeD candidates; it was a test for her as well, to see if she was really qualified to be an instructor. Squall sat across from Seifer, he was leaning forward, resting his arms on his knees. Seifer couldn't stop staring at him.

(How!? …He?! …But!? …HUH????) Seifer's thoughts were a jumble. They whirled around his head like a fog. That "hallucination" he'd had that morning, thinking he hadn't seen a mark on Squall had suddenly turned out to not be a hallucination.

(But how??? …I felt the blade hit him!!! I saw the blood!!! …There's no way he could've walked away from that without a scratch!!!) Seifer stared incredulously at his rival. Squall raised his head a little and peered at Seifer with a sort of gleeful malice in his eyes. Seifer blinked and looked away.

"Hello everyone… Hi Quistis!" Seifer turned his head to see Xu walk into the small lounge. Quistis and Zell stood up.

"Hello Xu… Well, this is Team B…" Quistis gestured at the three boys. Xu smiled, as Squall stood.

"Hello Zell… Squall… *sigh* …How many times has it been now Seifer? Four? Five?" Seifer waved his hand carelessly.

"Oh, I just love this exam…" he answered.

"Hmm… I'm sure…" Xu walked past Squall and Zell to the view screen at the opposite end of the room. "I am going to explain the situation and the mission objective… Please, be seated." Squall, Quistis and Zell sat back down. The screen behind Xu lit up with a map. "Our client for this mission is the Dollet Dukedom Parliament. A request for SeeD was made 12 hours ago… Dollet was attacked by the Galbadian Army about 48 hours ago. 35 hours into the battle, Dollet abandoned their position in the city. Currently, they have retreated into the mountains and are reorganising. That's their status at the moment. According to our reports, the Galbadian Army is polishing off the Dollet troops in the mountainous area. Our mission is to make a landing at Lapin Beach. We are to eliminate the remaining Galbadian Troops within the city and liberate it A-sap. SeeD members are to intercept any Galbadian forces trying to enter the city from the mountain region."

"What are we going to do?" Seifer asked casually. Xu eyed him menacingly.

"I was getting there, Seifer… SeeD candidates will be eliminating any Galbadian troops found within Dollet city limits…"

"Wow… That sounds pretty important…" Zell said excitedly. Seifer sighed.

"…No, it just sounds stupid… Essentially we're cleaning up after the SeeDs and the Dollet troops… BOR-ing…" Xu glared at Seifer.

"…It doesn't really need to be said, but the order to withdraw takes priority over any other, so don't ignore it…" Xu looked pointedly at Seifer. Seifer rolled his eyes with feigned boredom. "There should be some action as soon as you get off the boat, so be careful, Instructor Trepe has the orders for your particular team, so pay attention… That is all for your preliminary briefing… Good luck." Zell and Squall stood again and let Xu by. Zell bounced back down onto the couch and smiled. Squall sat down slowly.

"Wow… My first real battle… Sheesh… Man, I'm kinda nervous…" Zell said to no one in particular. Seifer scowled at him.

"Don't wet your pants." Zell clenched his fists and grit his teeth.

"What did you say?!?" Seifer snickered. "…Bastard!" Quistis shot Zell a warning glance and he slowly unclenched his fists.

"Enough talk! We'll be there soon," Quistis declared, ending the argument. Seifer turned to Squall.

"Yo! Puberty boy… Go check out what's going on outside…" Squall glared at Seifer.

"…No," he answered simply. Seifer swallowed.

"Squall, whether you like it or not, you have to listen to Seifer…" Quistis said, watching the two men. Squall snorted.

"…Fine…" Squall stood up and walked out of the lounge. He exited the room and saw a hallway, a staircase and a door. He knew that the door was the hatch leading outside of the boat, and there was no way he was gonna try to open it while they were in the middle of the ocean. He glanced down the hall and started up the staircase, finding a circular hatch at the top. He opened it up and stepped onto the deck of the small vessel. The sea breeze hit him hard in the face, stinging his eyes. Squall blinked and wiped the salt away. He looked forward as the wind whipped his hair in every direction at once. He saw the city of Dollet in front of him, lit up with explosions. He could even see a few firefights happening on the beach. They were getting very close, Squall decided that he should probably go back down, he didn't want to be up there when the boat landed.

***

Zell ducked as a shell hit the ground a few feet away. Quistis, Seifer, and Squall looked on not even a little phased. Zell sighed with exasperation, why did he have to get stuck with the invincible gunbladesmen? Seifer and Squall were like, invulnerable, everyone knew that the only thing that could kill them would be themselves. So the odds that a stray bullet meant for one of the two immortals, would hit Zell were pretty high. Zell didn't like that thought at all. He turned his attention away from the bombs landing all around him and back to Quistis who was giving out orders.

"You three are to secure the main square! When that is done, you are to remain on standby until further instructions! Go!" Quistis shouted at Team B over the excessive noise around her. Seifer nodded and ran down the beach toward the entrance into Dollet. Squall and Zell ran after him. They reached the staircase and saw Team A waiting at the bottom. Seifer glared at the three members of Team A.

"Wusses!" he shouted running up the stairs. Squall and Zell stopped at the bottom of the stairwell, and shrugged at Team A, then sprinted to the top of the staircase. Seifer was waiting at the entrance for them. "Come on!" he said impatiently, and turned. There were two Galbadian soldiers sliding to a halt in front of him.

"Y-You're Dollet's reinforcements?" The two soldiers glanced at each other. Seifer pulled Hyperion out of its sheath and pointed it at the two Galbadians. Squall drew his gunblade too, and Zell tugged at his gloves, making sure they were all the way on and punched the air a few times. The soldiers laughed.

"Ha ha ha ha ha! Two ancient weapons and a pair of gloves?!? …HAAAAAA!" Seifer shrugged and sliced the first soldier across the chest, killing him instantly. The other soldier stopped laughing and took a step back. Squall thrust his gunblade forward and gutted the other soldier. He had only time to look at Squall in surprise before he died.

"Not bad…" Seifer said. He glanced back at Squall and then ran into the city. Squall stared at the man he'd just killed. The soldier just seemed to lie there like he was sleeping. The only thing clueing Squall in that he was actually dead, was the growing puddle of blood underneath the soldier. It wasn't the first person he'd ever killed. No, it wasn't the first, it was, however, the only that he'd ever killed willingly.

***

"There might be more…" Seifer ventured, glancing at Squall and Zell as he pulled his gunblade from the body of another Galbadian soldier. "Go check it out…" The two other men nodded and circled the square, checking every shadow. They only found one soldier, and Zell had expertly snapped his neck. They came back around the circle to Seifer, who was thinking. A dog had appeared and was sniffing at Seifer's leg, and nibbling on the edge of his coat. "Get away!" Seifer waved his gunblade, making the dog run away, whimpering. Seifer stared into the distance, listening.

"It's starting…" Squall whispered. Seifer nodded. The three boys paced around the square, bored out of their skulls for at least a half an hour. Seifer stopped and waved his gunblade.

"This is so boring! …Man! I wanna go do something!" As if in answer to his prayers, the dog ran to the other side of the square and howled. Squall turned his head and saw about ten Galbadians heading into the square.

"Shit!" he choked and ducked behind the fountain in the centre of the square. Seifer and Zell did the same. They watched silently as the soldiers cautiously jogged through the square, down another street. After they had all gone, Seifer stood up.

"I wonder where they think they're going?" Seifer said thoughtfully. Zell pointed upward.

"What's that?" Squall and Seifer looked up at the building Zell was pointing at. It looked like a giant satellite.

"Our next stop…" Seifer said, grinning.

"Huh? What are you talking about? …We're supposed to wait here until further orders!" Zell exclaimed. Seifer glowered at Zell.

"Hey, aren't you bored outta your skull too?" Seifer argued. Zell shrugged. Seifer grabbed his shirt and pushed him away. Zell turned angrily, and looked at Squall.

"Are you just gonna go along with him?!" Zell asked, looking at Squall. Squall walked a few steps away and stared at the ground.

"I'm gonna follow the captain's orders…" he answered quietly. Seifer advanced upon Squall and grabbed his shoulder.

"You wanna wreak some havoc, don'tcha?" Squall pulled his shoulder out of Seifer's grip and turned on him.

"It's a good chance to test out training… Anyway, thanks to you… I feel like I could take on the whole Galbadian Army by myself, even if all of them fight dirty like you…" Squall retorted. Seifer turned red.

"Hey! Who gave who a scar here?!?" Seifer growled. Squall got in Seifer's face.

"Yeah? Well, who cast a fire spell when magick was against the rules?!" Zell pushed the two men apart.

"Hey! Break it up you two! …So what are we gonna do?" Squall stared at the ground and folded his arms.

"We're going to follow the enemy to that facility, and sabotage whatever they're doing…" Seifer ordered without taking his eyes from Squall. Zell looked at Squall desperately.

"…Yes… Captain…" Squall stated softly.

***

Author's Note: More updating. ^_^ It's kinda nice to go back and re-read through all of this. Anyway, R&R… And enjoy!

-Rhyein