Esca Fantasy

Hi, here I have the second chapter of my story. And thank you so much to the people who reviewed my story, I'm glad you all like it, your reviews meant so much to me.

Young Hitomi: You were my first ever reviewer! Thank you so much!

Freelancer47: *blushes* you're way too kind, your review really made me smile J Thank you!

Love Witch: You have a husband that looks like Squall! That is so unfair, how on Earth did you find a guy that looks like him?! You lucky, lucky thing. I want a boyfriend that looks like Van! But then who here doesn't?! Thank you.

Iesu: thanx for the review, update your story soon!

Chapter Two

Preparations

Slowly, the raven-haired boy opened his eyes, as he gradually gained consciousness. When his eyes eventually adjusted to the bright lights, he looked around the room he was in and recognised it as the infirmary. He sat up from the bed and grimaced slightly as a pain shot through his head. Lifting a black gloved hand he felt the bandaged wound as he remembered the mornings previous events.

"Allen and I were fighting, he used a fire blast on me….. we're not supposed to use those kinds of attacks when training," he thought to himself, remembering the fiery blast that Allen had shot at him.

"He almost killed me…….but I got him back". His thoughts though were broken as he noticed a plump woman standing at the end of the bed. She had greying hair that was tied back in a bun and was wearing a long white coat; she was busy writing on a blue clipboard till she looked up at him.

"How are you feeling?" said Dr Kadowaki, smiling warmly.

"Ok I guess", he said groggily, holding his head as the words echoed in his mind, "My forehead hurts".

"No kidding", she said jokingly, she leaned forward to look at him "looks like your eyes are focusing, you should be fine," she said as she straightened up and looked back at the clipboard in her hand.

"Can you say your name for me?" she asked.

"Van, Van Fanel", he replied.

"Ok that's good", she said nodding her head in approval that he was Ok, "why don't you take it easy in training?" she said pointing at him, "next time you might not be so lucky".

"Tell that to Allen", Van retorted, still holding his head, Dr Kadowaki put her hand to her chin in thought.

"That Allen…….won't listen to anyone. Why don't you ignore him?" His head snapped up and he met her kind, warm gaze with cold eyes.

"I can't just run away", he said sharply.

"You wanna be cool, huh?" she said raising her arms in submission, "Well just don't get hurt in the process. Let's see", she said looking back at the clipboard "You're instructor is…….Merle! I'll call her now. Just wait a minute", she said as she walked off. Van lay back on the medical bed and rested an arm lightly across his head in an attempt to shield out the bright infirmary lights. From the next room he could hear Dr Kadowaki's voice as she spoke on the phone.

"Merle? Your student is ready, you can come and get him now", she said informatively

"Yes, yes……his injury's not serious, it'll probably leave a scar….." she continued, Van blocked out the rest as he rolled onto his side, feeling the cool breeze coming through the window behind him play across his tanned face, he closed his eyes, enjoying the cooling effect it was having on his head.

The infirmary was a quiet place, not many students ever needed to go there but if they did they could be assured that they would be well cared for by the resident doctor, Dr Kadowaki. She was a kind woman but firm as well when it came to matters of health. The welfare of the students was her number one priority at all times. The infirmary itself was very modern with everything kept clean and orderly, when you first entered you would see Dr Kadowaki's desk with papers in orderly piles and a large filing cabinet in the corner, adjoining this room were multiple patient rooms, all similar to the one Van was in. Each had a large window behind the bed with a view of the Quad's beautiful trees and fountains, and each had soft green drapes that blew gently in the breeze. There was also a small cupboard next to the beds, which contained a few medical supplies.

After a few minutes of lying there he opened his eyes, only to see a girl slightly older than himself, watching him from the other side of the glass wall. She had dark brown hair that was twisted up and was held in place with invisible pins, and light brown eyes. She wore a simple white skirt and blue top with a grass green sash wrapped around her arms. She smiled at him as she spoke softly.

"Van…..so we meet again". Van blinked his eyes to make sure he wasn't hallucinating, but when he looked back, he saw that she had disappeared, gone as quickly as she had come. He had no time to think about the strange encounter though as the silence of the infirmary was broken by the sound of sliding doors and footsteps.

Merle made her way through the infirmary looking for Van's room, at 18 she stood at 5'6" with piercing blue eyes, curly pink hair and dark tanned skin, she had an exotic kind of beauty. She was a top-notch member of SeeD since the age of 15 who served as Van's and other students' instructor. Contrary to her cool exterior, she sometimes has difficulty coping with frustration and can become depressed over trivial matters. As she reached Van's room she stopped at the foot of his bed. She rolled her eyes when she saw him lying on the medical bed.

"Those two are so predictable", she thought to herself, "well at least he's not badly hurt". She let out a silent sigh of relief. Tucking a stray bit of pink curly hair behind her ear she moved to stand next to the bed.

"I knew it'd be either you or Allen!" she said nonchalantly. Van sat back up as she started to walk out the room, when she reached the door she turned back around. "Come on let's go", she said when he didn't follow, "Today's the field exam".

***

As they made their way through the open-air corridor that leads to the infirmary they past many students, all of which were dressed in the Balamb Garden uniform. All students had to wear a short navy blue jacket with an intricate silver design on the shoulders. The guys also wore navy blue trousers where as the girls wore a navy blue skirt with a silver trim and either knee high black boots or knee high black socks with black shoes. The girls also had to wear a large yellow ribbon that was attached to the collar of their jackets. This uniform was worn by the students who were still in training. The SeeD's uniform, like Merle's was black with gold trimming and with scarlet and navy blue features. The guys still wore black trousers while the girls wore skirts but with this uniform the guys wore knee high black boots and the girls and guys jackets were styled slightly differently to each other. But you didn't often see many people wearing this uniform as SeeD cadets were usually off on missions and doing jobs in other places.

Merle was beginning to feel awkward because of the silence that was following them as they were walking. She glanced to the right at Van and noticed that he was staring at the ground, obviously deep in thought and not feeling the tension that she did.

"Hmm, I wonder what he's thinking about". She thought to herself.

"Van is there something on your mind?" she asked tentatively.

Van, who had been lost in his own mind, was suddenly pulled back into reality when he heard Merle's voice. He looked up to see her inquisitive gaze and then returned his sight to the ground in front of him before answering simply…

"Not really", they both said at the same time. Merle stopped and put a hand over her mouth, trying to cover up a chuckle that she couldn't hold in. Van stopped a few steps ahead and turned around.

"What's so funny?" he asked with a slightly annoyed tone.

"Funny?" she said slightly confused, then realisation hit her, "Oh he must think I'm laughing because I finished his sentence".

"No, no. It's not that!" she assured him. "He probably thinks I'm a right idiot now, laughing about something as silly as that", she thought as she tried to regain her composure. "I'm just happy", she continued calmly, "I feel like I'm beginning to understand my student a little. That's all", she smiled. Van put a hand on his hip and cocked his head to the side.

"I'm more complex than you think", he said matter-of-factly.

"Then tell me", she said, in an almost pleading way, "Tell me more about yourself". His body stiffened slightly and a frown crept onto his face, he always grew uncomfortable whenever people tried to get close to him and asked him how he felt.

"Why does she need to know?" he thought as he turned away.

"It's none of your…"

"Business", she cut in. "He's so predictable". Van let out a breath of frustration and annoyance.

"What is her problem?" he thought to himself. Merle started to chuckle again before walking past him, after a few moments he followed. When they got to the end of the corridor they went through a pair of sliding doors and came out into the heart of Balamb garden. It was a large circular hall and in the centre was an elevator on a round marble platform. Stairs then led down from this platform to a large ring shaped walkway and adjoining this walkway were eight bridge walkways, each one leading to a separate facility. All of it was suspended over a pool of crystal blue water. The hall also had fountains in the shape of fish in between each bridge and lush green plants and flowers growing in flower beds that were built into the marble walls of the walkways. Each bridge had a different coloured stripe running along the floor that represented the bridge's respectable area. Balamb Garden was a beautiful place with a very serene and peaceful air. One would never be able to tell first off that this was a military academy.

Van and Merle followed the walkways through the exquisitely architectured hall, and using the elevator made their way up to the second floor classroom. Van entered the large classroom and made his way to a desk at the back of the room, Merle came in shortly afterwards and walked to her desk at the front of the class and sat down in her chair before addressing all the students that were waiting.

"Good morning, class. Let's start with today's schedule", she said going straight to the point. "There have been some rumours flying around since yesterday….." she said looking around at all the anticipating faces staring back at her, "Yes, the field exam for SeeD candidates will begin later this afternoon".

The sound of people shuffling uncomfortably in their seats could be heard as well as some excited whispering and panicky gasps. The atmosphere was full of nervousness and worry. Merle continued with her announcement.

"Those not participating and those who failed last weeks written test are to remain here in study hall. Field exam participants will have free time until the exam. Just be sure you're in top condition. Meet in the hall at 1600 hours. I'll announce the team assignments there. Any questions?" she asked, nervous faces just shook their heads. "Oh, and Allen!"

Allen, who had been sitting at the back, in the row next to Van's and had his arm resting casually on the back of the chair, looked up when Merle acknowledged him, flashing her one of his most charming smiles. "Do NOT injure your partner while training. Be careful from now on", she lectured. Allen frowned and looked across at Van who wasn't paying any attention and banged his fist on his desk in anger.

"That damn Fanel deserved to get his arse kicked", Allen thought to himself angrily, "he needs to be reminded of his place", and he felt the scar that Van had given him between his brow.

Ignoring Allen's violent act she finished, "Field exam participants. I will see you all later". Most of the students promptly got up and walked out of the classroom, while a few remained behind, revising their studies at their desks. "And Van, I need to talk to you", Merle called out.

"What does she want now?" he sighed and stood up and as he walked out of the row where he was sitting he came face to face with Allen. They stared at each other for a few moments, each one trying to over power the other. The tension in the air could have been cut with a knife. Allen snickered at him before walking away, Van just glared after him. When he had left Van made his way to the front of class.

"You haven't been to the Fire Cavern yet, have you?" Merle asked when he reached her, "you won't be able to take part in today's SeeD exam if you don't pass this prerequisite". Van folded his arms and looked down in thought.

"I was gonna go this morning, but Allen……" she broke his thoughts when he didn't answer her.

"Hm, do you have a good excuse?" she asked teasingly, knowing very well that he hadn't gone and the reason why as well.

"No, I'm not going to use Allen as a scape goat", he thought to himself, "I'm not going to whine about what happened. I'll take responsibility for not going".

"Not really", he replied honestly.

"Then let's get going", she said assertively, "If you're not too confident yet you can always review your studies at the desk panel. I'll be waiting for you at the front gate, so come down when you're ready". And with that she left the room. Before Van left he looked over his notes on magic and GF's to prepare for his trip to the Fire Cavern, to capture the GF, Ifrit, and the test later in the day.

GF was an abbreviation used for Guardian Force. Only people who used GF's had the power to wield and control magic. Most of the SeeD's and some upper class students used them. GF's were intelligent and powerful beings, they couldn't be killed, but if they were defeated in a battle, then they would allow their defeator to use their powers. GF's could be acquired a few different ways; being defeated in battle, drawing them out from other beings, such as some powerful monsters, or summoning them from special items that they were trapped inside, are just a few.

The only other people who have ever been known to be able to use magic were sorceresses, but none are known of now, they hid their powers and removed themselves from society. This was because in recent decades, all of the countries had played a role in what was called 'The Sorceress Wars' and people now feared the sorceresses because of horror stories they had been told from the 'Sorceress Wars'.

But despite the superstitious tales told about sorceresses, they were just women, specifically, who possessed the power to use magic. The difference with sorceress magic however was that they could perform this skill with out the use of a GF.

Van currently commanded two GF's, hoping later to make it three. He had Shiva, the guardian of Ice and Quezac, the guardian of lightning.

"Shiva…she'd be the most effective against Ifrit", he thought to himself.

When he had finished he got up and made his way to the door. As he was walking out he passed a group of students who were all watching him, one of them, a girl with dark brown hair and angry eyes walked up to him, Van stopped and looked at her.

"Hey you!" she said, "should anything happen to instructor Trepe, the Treppies will get you back!" she warned, then they walked out of the classroom, Van just watched them in astonishment.

"They are so weird", he thought to himself.

The Treppies were a group of students that created a fan club for Instructor Merle Trepe; they praised Merle for everything and were always seen around or near her. Merle had been quite embarrassed by this at first, but after time accepted it, although she would sometimes become depressed, wondering if they were the only ones that cared about her.

As Van walked out of the classroom door into the corridor, from somewhere near by he could hear the sound of feet running on the marble floor, and the voice of someone whining.

"I'm late, I'm LATE, I'M LATE", as Van round the corner to get to the elevator he was nearly knocked off his feet as a girl crashed into him. She had been hurrying to get to her lesson, but when Van came round the corner she didn't have time to stop and she ran straight into him. He stumbled back a bit, but remained standing, where as the girl had not been so steady on her feet. She bounced straight off of him and fell back onto the floor, landing hard on her butt. Van stared at her for a moment as she rubbed her bruised backside. Then he asked hesitantly…

"Are you Ok?"

She looked up at him, she had long wavy blond hair that was tied back with a yellow ribbon that matched the one on her jacket and bright amethyst eyes and she was wearing the girls' student uniform. She had the kind of princess like beauty that he thought only existed in fairy tales. He had never seen her at Balamb before.

"Yeah, I'm fine", she said smiling as she gathered up a few books she had dropped and picked herself up from the ground. "Sorry, I was kinda in a hurry", she said apologetically, then she remembered her class. "Oh yeah! Hey, did you just come from that class?" she asked, gesturing towards the second floor classroom that Van had just come from. Van nodded. "Is…. registration over?", she asked tentatively, dreading the answer. He nodded again. She gasped loudly, "Woo…Oh, nooo…", she whined. "This place is sooo much bigger than my last garden". Then her face lit up as an idea struck her, "Oh, hey hey. I just transferred here. Do you think you could give me a quick tour of this garden?". She asked with her hands clasped together and a pleading look on her face.

"I don't really have the time", he said simply, walking around her, she stepped in front of him.

"Oh please", she begged. Van let out a sigh of frustration.

"Well she is new…", he thought to himself, "If I help her she'll at least then leave me alone".

"I can show you where the computer directory is. It's on my way anyway. That'll be able to help you", he offered.

"Oh wow, thanx", she said beaming. Using the lift they went down to the main hall and he took her to the computer directory that was at the bottom of the stairs.

"This is the directory", he said, "Balamb Garden is pretty big, so if you want to find out how to get somewhere, this can show you. I'll give you a quick explanation of all the various areas".

"Yes, sir!" she joked at his serious tone, Van just ignored it.

"You'll find the dormitory in the North", he said pointing to a grey area at the top of the map, "The majority of the students live in the dorms. There aren't very many students who commute".

"Yeah, I'm in the dorms, too!" she said cutting in.

"West of the north block is the cafeteria, that's the red one, there's always a big rush for hot dogs. You better get used to waiting in line".

"Got it!"

"East of the North block is the car park marked with yellow, we usually take the garden car when a mission comes up. The front gate is located to the South", then he stopped as remembered something, "That's right, I have to go meet instructor Trepe at the front gate", he thought to himself, going silent.

"Hm? What's the matter?" the girl asked.

"Nothing…" he said simply, "next", he continued, pointing to a pink area, "we have the quad, located in the west block, it's an outside area where the students can spend their free time. There's an event being planned there…."

"I know! I know! It's the Garden Festival. It's going to be great! I'm planning on being on the committee. You wanna help out too?!" She asked eagerly.

"Let's just continue", Van said awkwardly, "In lilac, South of the West block is the infirmary. This is where you get treated for your injuries, but a lot of students just come here for advice."

"Who's the doctor?"

"Doctor Kadowaki. Now the East block. This is the training centre", he pointed to a green area, "it's the only facility that stays open at night. It's used for training, and they have monsters running loose here. If you don't take it seriously, you may end up dead. Just be careful", he warned.

She gave a small gulp.

"…ok".

"South of the east block is the library, in blue. There's a lot of information you can look up here, but the terminals in the classroom are a lot more efficient, and you already know about the classroom on the second floor right?"

"Yep I remember that one".

"By the way, the headmasters office is located on the third floor, you need permission to get in though".

"What's the headmaster's name?"

"Headmaster Cid Kramer, that's about it, anything else?"

"Got it!", she said smiling, Van nodded and turned to walk to the front gate, "Heeey", she called out, he turned around, "um… are you taking today's SeeD exam?"

"Yeah".

"Then maybe I'll see you again later. I've already finished my training at my previous garden. I'm taking the SeeD exam today too, good luck to the both of us huh! Thanx a lot!" she smiled and waved as she walked away.

Then from behind him he heard someone frantically calling out his name. A member of the Garden staff came running up to Van, they were a strange bunch, they wore long red and white robes and large yellow hats that covered the whole of their head and faces and they were extremely strict. When he reached Van he spoke quickly.

"Student No. 41629 Van?"

"Yeah", Van replied

"You are supposed to be on your way to the Fire-Cavern, are you not!?"

"I'm just on my…" but the faculty member cut him off before he could finish.

"You are making Instructor Trepe WAIT!" he screamed. "Get going!" he added, before scurrying off, his yellow hat bouncing as he walked.

Van turned back and started to walk down the long open-air walkway to the front gate, hoping to avoid seeing anymore strange people. When he got there, Merle was leaning casually against a marble post. She had changed out of her SeeD uniform and was now wearing a peachy-pink zip up top that exposed her midriff, with scarlet, detached sleeves and a matching pink skirt with dark brown boots. Curled up and hanging at her side was a long metal chain whip; her weapon of expertise. She looked up when she heard him approach.

"Ready to go?" she asked, Van nodded, "is there anything you would like me to go over with you before we leave?" she added.

"No, I'm ready", he said, Merle nodded and walked out of the front gate, Van following behind.

It was a fair distance to get to the fire cavern, that took them through green open country. Along the way they met a few monsters, mainly bite bugs and catcherpillars; monsters that were very common in this area, but they were easily defeated by Van and Merle. Eventually they came to a dusty path which lead them to the mouth of the Fire Cavern, a large cave that was set into the side of a cliff, guarding the entrance to the cave were two Balamb Garden faculty members.

"You are about to enter the Fire Cavern, you need to be prepared", one said when they arrived. Van nodded and put his feet together, standing up straight and tall with his left arm by his side and his right hand held up a few inches from his chest; the Balamb Garden salute.

"I'm ready", he said with a confident and determined tone.

"I'm his support", said Merle who was standing next to him, she then saluted also, "Instructor No.14, Merle Trepe", she said clearly and formally.

"You may enter the Fire Cavern", said the other, and they parted, allowing Van and Merle entrance to the cave.

As they walked in it became dark and they were met with hot dry air, as they walked through the dark tunnel they could see a faint yellow light ahead and they soon came to a large chamber, filled with boiling lava that had a narrow path twisting through it. They followed the path through the chamber. After about five minutes of walking in silence Merle spoke up.

"My job is to support you in battle. Everything else is up to you", she informed him.

"Fine", he said bluntly.

"You know, the boys often choke on this test when I come with them. I guess my charm makes them nervous".

"Whatever", he thought as he rolled his eyes, annoyed by her continuous attempts at conversation.

"I'm just kidding!" she said when she noticed his unimpressed expression, "I'm just trying to keep you relaxed, that's all".

As the continued walking in partial silence they were soon met by a monster that resided in the Fire Cavern, it was a large, jagged, ball shaped creature, of a bright orange colour with an evil face. It was blocking their path.

"That's Bomb, a fire element monster", Merle stated, "we'll have to fight it, it won't move otherwise, you can use an ice attack against these", she informed him.

Van wanted to save Shiva's energy for Ifrit, so he used his own magic for this fight. Raising his palm he gathered a bright blue light into his hand, and then released it, send it straight into the Bomb. From the point of contact, ice began to creep its way over the Bomb's body, freezing it completely. Losing its energy the Bomb fell back into the lava. With the path now clear, Merle and Van continued along it. They didn't encounter any more monsters along the way so it didn't take them long to reach their destination. They stopped a few metres short of a deep pit that was dug into the rocky ground in the centre of a small chamber, surrounded by sharp, jagged rocks that jutted out of the ground, making the chamber appear almost like a cage for some wild creature.

"I guess I was right. You and Allen are in a class of your own. You both have amazing strength and potential", Merle commented. Ignoring her compliment, Van walked past her to the edge of the pit, she sighed, "Ok this is it, are you ready?" she called out, He raised his hand in reply, not bothering to turn around. "Well you seem confident enough," she said quietly, more to herself than to him.

After a few seconds of waiting a dry wind started to blow up from the pit, lifting small pieces of rock and rubble, followed immediately by a large column of fire shooting out from the ground, and from this fire came Ifrit, the Guardian Force of flame. He was a true beast GF, he had a large muscled body, covered in brown hair with a blazing red mane down his back like a streak of fire, razor sharp claws coming out his hands and large black horns protruding from his head. With his lips curled up in a snarl and dark eyes burning with rage, he looked truly menacing.

Van watched the intimidating display before him and taking a deep breath got into his fighting stance with his gunblade held out before him.

"Here goes".

I know I left it on a cliff hanger, I'm so evil aren't I, you'll just have to come back and find out what happens now (unless if you've played the game) I decided to have Merle playing Quistis and Millerna playing Selphie. I don't know whether or not you guys agree with that or not, but I can't tell you the reasons yet, with out revealing stuff about later, so you'll just have to trust me I'm afraid. I know this chapter wasn't particularly interesting or action packed, but the next one will be, I just had to get all this out the way first. So please R+R, it really helps motivate me to write more, I spent about 6 hours today doing just half of this! I think I deserve it *puts on puppy dog face* I really wanna hear what you guys think. Oh and don't expect my next chapter to be out as quick as this one was as I haven't started that one yet, but I'll do it asap! Oh and in my last chapter I got something wrong, the story, A country's hope, is by Jounouchi, not Jounichou, I didn't realise my mistake till after I posted it. So anyway till next time. Thanx for reading!

Natalie xXx