Final Fantasy Chronicles – Selphie

On the tiny island of Balamb, just east of Galbadia and south of Trabia, there is an installation called Garden. Within this installation, children, from the ages of five to twenty, are trained in the use of paramagic – the ability to draw magical properties from monsters and use those properties in an elemental way.

This is also the place where SEED – a special, international mercenary agency, is run from. These children, the best of these children, are selected from the crowd and placed in the ranks of glory. SEED, famous for their precision attacks, their skilful manuvours, their unabiding strength and determination.

One of the most famous SEEDS is a teenager. Barely seventeen when she asatained SEEDship, her happy-go-lucky attitude is infectious to her colleagues and misleading to her enemies. Always striving to make the world a happy place, her one dream has never been recognised…the Garden Festival.

*          *            *

She steps back and admires her work. A full month of work. Sweat. Tears. Broken nails. Silent ridicule from her peers and instructors. But she had finally finished. She had finally recognised her dream.

Leaf green eyes check the banners, the supports. A small hand is resting lazily on a hip, her yellow dress flapping gently in the mid-morning breeze. She listens to the silence, disrupted only by the melodious tinkle of her nunchaku chain, and pushed a brown lick of hair from her sight.

Her generous chest heaved slightly, the after effects of Haste ebbing slowly from her body. She had been working way before the sun came up, having to junction some borrowed Quake magic to her Strength in order to lift the heavy girders and support them whilst she drove metal spikes in with her hands, the spikes seeming to easily pierce the steel.

Amazingly, even thought she had asked so nicely, even though she had made so many favours, had been given so many promises, not one person had helped. Not one person even came to the Quad when she was working, in fear that she would ask for help.

But she never did. She never asked for help, never broke down and demanded assistance. She simply toiled on, to show the students and instructors how far determination would let you go.

And the result stood before her. The stage was large, big enough for three T-rexaurs to sit, with room for a Red Dragon.

A woman's voice spoke in the girl's head, cool and precise. "I must admit," the chilly voice said, the edges cold and icy. "It looks rather good, Selphie. An admirable achievement for a single human."

"Gee, thanks Shiva." The girl said out loud, her voice tinkling with pride and constant happiness. "That's really nice, coming from you."

The Guardian Force simply grunted.

"Well, it's the thought that's counts!" the girl said, suddenly stretching her arms out wide. "Hffffwaaaaaaaa…I'm pooped." She yawned. "I feel like I've just been through five Grat battles."

She turned away from her pride and joy and made her way wearily back to her sleeping quarters, her mind still active even though her body screamed for rest. As she palmed her door open, she rubbed a hand on her chin.

"Now that the stage is up…I'll have to decide on what music is to be played! And some plays!! Maybe even a re-enactment of the Sorcerer's Assassination!! Ooo, it's going to be so good!!"

She pulled her brown boots off as she sat on the bed, before pulling her yellow dress over her head. Tossing the articles of clothing into a corner, too tired to remove her underwear and put on her pyjamas, she simply snuggled under the sheets. Yawning once more, her brain finally slowing down, she muttered as she fell asleep slowly.

"I don't think Irvine would like that, though…"

*          *            *

The elevator door opened, spilling out several students, who made their way quickly from the exit as Selphie bounded out after them, holding a file and a touch pen. Literally jumping from foot to foot, scampering around after her students, she paused before a group of three boys. "Hey guys!" she bubbled. "Since Commander Squall has given the go-ahead for the Garden Festival, do you think you'd be able to join the Garden Festival Committee?" She cocked her head to the side, like a puppy did when it was confused. "Please?"

The three boys gulped simultaneously and looked at each other, mentally daring each other to go first. The boy to the left stepped boldly forward. "I'm sorry, Instructor Tilmitt, but I'd rather not spend my time on the Garden Festival just yet. I've got a lot of studies and training to do, as you've obviously noticed." His face was set like a rock, his eyes not even looking at the small girl, the only betraying factor the sweat pouring off his face.

"Oh, ok!"

Relief washed over the boys features.

"We'll just have to go over your studies later. I'll be expecting you after class tomorrow."

The boy almost collapsed. Instructor Tilmitts classes went for six hours, was a mixture of Desk work and physical training, and weren't a walk in the park. Betraying her looks, Selphie was one hard Instructor, her motto being 'You can do sooo much better then that!!'

Selphie turned to the two other boys. "And what about you guys? You wanna join?"

The boys um-ed and ah-ed until she finally let them go, her determination not even chipped. "Ok, boys! Study hard!!"

"We will!" replied two very relieved students and one student contemplating suicide.

Selphie looked left and right when she had skipped to the bottom of the stairs and checked her clip-file. Tapping the green-screen with the pen, a small line crossed three names off the list. "That makes everybody in my class…not wanting to join." She paused for a minute, before shrugging and smiling. "Oh, well! I'll just have to hang around and ask some more people!!"

Suddenly there was a huge crash sound, then a loud explosion rocked the Garden. Selphie regained her balance as the shockwave rocked the Garden whilst in flight, but shrugged. It's probably Zell training again. He always goes overboard with his training.

She walked in the direction of the library, barely noticing the wide berth students were giving her, as if she had leprosy. Walking through the small corridor was even worse, students bumping into walls or jumping through the windows into the bushes down below, not once even looking her in the eye.

When she finally entered the library, the number of people thinned dramatically, like rats escaping from a ship. Now in a nigh-empty library, she walked over to the information desk and rang the bell twice.

No one came out from the office beyond. "That's funny." Selphie said out loud. "There's a little light in the office that goes on whenever someone rings the bell." She leaned over the desk a little, trying in vain to see into the office. "Hellooo?" she called out sweetly. "Anybody home?"

"No." Someone replied.

"Oh, come on. Someone has to be in there."

"No. No ones in here. Please leave."

"If no ones in there, then to whom am I speaking to?"

There was a mixture of voices, before the office door was opened a crack, and a person shoved out. The door closed as quickly as it was opened, and the girl who was shoved out smiled awkwardly. "How can I help you?" the Pigtailed Library Girl asked.

"Hi!" Selphie said happily, smiling her million gil smile. "How are you?"

"…I'm fine…" the Pigtailed Girl replied. "…Do you need any help?"

"Yes! Yes I do! Wow, are we, like on the same wavelength, or what?"

The Pigtailed Girl laughed nervously. "…I don't think so…" she said shyly, throwing a quick glance over her shoulder at the very shut door behind her, before walking slowly to the desk, as if approaching a snarling Torama.

"Oh, come on!!" Selphie said, genuinely disappointed. "We so are! I bet you even know what I'm going to ask you!!"

The Pigtailed Girl smiled awkwardly. "If you mean you're going to ask me about the Garden Festival, and how it's going to be so good, and how there's going to be some really great bands and things like that, and if I'd only join up with the Garden Festival Committee it's be even better…then yes, I'd say we are on the same wavelength." She shrugged as if to say 'Oops, looks like you were right anyways!'

"Oh. My. HYNE! You are SO right!" Selphie said, clapping her hands in delight. "Soooo, will you join?" She stood with her pen poised over her file, but lowered her hand slightly as she saw the girl study her shoes.

"I'm sorry, Selphie." The Pigtailed Girl said awkwardly. "I really want to help you. Really I do! It looks like it'd be so fun! But I…" She hesitated. "…I can't. The library takes up almost all my time; I can barely find time to study and train. Joining the Festival Committee would just be too much…" Her voice trailed off, her blue eyes going all watery. "…I'm so sorry…"

Selphie felt her heart sink – before waving the girl off with a smile. "Oh, come on! There's no biggy! I'll find someone to take your place! No worries!"

The girl nodded her head in thanks. "Thank you, Instructor Tilmitt."

Selphie shrugged and walked off, further into the library. Woe is me! Why won't anybody help me!? She did not want to repeat what had happened last year. It hadn't been all that fun as she had imagined.

She turned and walked past a stack of books – before pausing, turning, and looking down into the corridor created by the stack. A girl in a blue, flowing coat crouched low, searching the lower shelves for a book. Selphie saw that the coat has little white wings emblazoned on the back, right where the shoulder blades were.

"Rinoa!!" Selphie cried. "I didn't know you were here!"

Rinoa jumped a little, and looked up. "Oh, Selphie. You startled me." She stood, brushing a little dust off her shins. "You do know this is a library, right?" She held a finger up to her lips and smiled. "Shhh!"

Selphie, also smiling, face palmed and giggled. "Right! Sorry!" she whispered. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was looking for Squall…but he wasn't in here, and I just began looking for books." She knelt down again, pressing her hand against the spines of the novels. "There are so many books here! Way more then in the Timber library! They even have old magazines!" She held up a copy of Pet Pals, the magazine for pet lovers. "Angelo is so going to have so much fun learning these tricks!"

"Wow…" Selphie said quietly. "I never know you were a bookworm."

Rinoa giggled. "I'm not always a Sorceress! And besides, it's better then Zone's hobby! All he ever did was lock himself in his room for hours on end, looking at his disgusting girly magazines." She grimaced. "Such a dirty guy…"

Selphie giggled. "Yeah, but he's cute in a weird kind of way. And Watts would be such a hottie if he lost some weight! I can't believe with all that running that he wouldn't lose some weight…"

"Yes. He did chase that train a lot."

Selphie grew a little serious. "Um…anyways, would, you like, do me the biggest favour?"

Rinoa stood, smiling. "What do you want me to do?"

Selphie looked down at her file. She's not really a SEED…she's not even a student…but what the hell. "Would you help me with the Garden Festival?" she blurted out, looking up with desperation in her green eyes. "Please? I'm getting desperate now!"

Rinoa looked at Selphie, who couldn't read her big brown eyes, her face blank – but then she smiled. "Sure! I was going to ask you anyways!"

Selphie's heart skipped a beat. "Really?! You mean it?! You're not going to, like, skip out at the last minute, or anything like that?!"

Rinoa waved a hand at Selphie in a 'Would I do that?' kind of way. "Of course not! It's going to be so much fun, I can tell!"

Selphie jumped up and down on the spot, clapping her hand with glee. "Oh my Hyne! This is going to be so great! We're going to have so much fun, and we'll be able to make all these really cool decorations, and have late night meetings, and be able to raid the cafeteria for food for those late night meetings, and, ooo, and…" she paused suddenly, the happiness overloading her brain, euphoria getting to her. "Oh…I need to sit down for a second…"

Rinoa, with a worried look on her face, led her away to a reading seat, which Selphie sank into gratefully. Wow…I never thought that she'd actually join. And of her own free will, too!! Selphie's mind blurted. It's just unbelievable! I wont have to do everything myself this year!

Rinoa relieved Selphie of her file and touch pen, tucking them under her arm. "Tell you what. How about you go and get a drink or something from the cafeteria and I'll start going around asking people to join. How does that sound?"

Selphie beamed up at her. "That sounds good, Vice President Heartilly!"

Rinoa laughed out loud, before performing a perfect SEED salute. "I'm on the job, President Tilmitt!"

The two girls then cracked up laughing, before Rinoa said her farewells and walked off, armed with the file and pen.

Selphie sat back in her chair, letting the feeling of happiness and relief wash over her like a gentle wave at the beach, lying back and letting it lap at her feet before rushing over her body.

A voice rebounded it's way around her mind, the pitch and tone small and chirpy. "Wow! Congratulations, Selphie!!" Carbuncle said, the Guardian Force's voice reflecting it's way around her head.

"Thank you, Carbuncle. I was actually beginning to lose hope for a second…"

"Of course you weren't! You were positive that you'd get someone to join sooner or later, and it happened…and to tell you the truth, some of the other GF's thought you'd never make it."

Selphie smiled, crossing her arms. "Oh, really? Which one?"

Carbuncles hesitation rebounded around in her mind, before he spoke again. "Well, I knew that you'd get someone…Shiva acts like she doesn't care, but I think she was hoping you would…but Doomtrain was saying that you'd never get anybody to join!"

"Well, we proved him wrong, hey Carbuncle?"

"We sure did!"

Selphie stood. "I think Rinoa is right! We ought to take a break and go celebrate!"

With that, she skipped playfully from the library. When they were sure she was gone, several students emerged from the stacks, some people climbing up from where they had thrown themselves out the windows. They all went back to doing what they were doing as if the whole conversation had never happened.

*          *            *

The girl was so tired that she slept through most of the day, the sunlight that had filtered through her shutters warming her bed pleasantly.

She snuggled deeper into the covers, her dreams warm and happy – mostly concerning trains and chocobos, some a mixture of the two. She had tried discussing them once with Zell – but he had simply given her a strange look and wolfed down another hotdog.

Suddenly a warning klaxon blared, a small red light emerging from a wall unit, blinking on and off in an urgent kind of way. The girl was awake in an instant, sitting straight up in bed, blinking the sand that the Sleep Grat placed in your eyes as you slept away.

She looked left and right, confused, before Squalls voice rang out over the intercom. "Attention all students and SEEDS. We're under attack by the Galbadian Army." His voice, as usual, sounded cool and precise, not in the least bit scared or worried.

"Galbadian Army!" the girl repeated shrilly, flinging the folds of sheets off her boy and jumping to the floor. There was more that Squall said, but Selphie zoned it out – she had a feeling that she didn't really need to know most of it.

It was at that moment that Irvine chose to bound into the room, the emergency over-ride unlocking the door for him. "Selphie, we have to oh my Hyne."

The girl looked down at her body, seeing that she was only dressed in a bra and panties. Covering herself quickly with her hands, she shrieked loudly. "GET OUT YOU PERVERT!!!"

Irvine – almost - immediately snapped out of his drooling stupor, slapping his face with his palm in a mock salute. "Yes, ma'am!" He cried, about facing and moving back out into the corridor, giggling as he went.

She quickly pulled on her yellow dress, grabbing her Flail and holding it to the ready, before moving out to the corridor.

"Selphie, I…" was all Irvine got out before he was smashed unconscious by the nunchaku. Stepping over his twitching body, Selphie made her way quickly to the main entrance, where she was intercepted by Instructor Zu.

"Instructor Zu, what's happening?!"

"Didn't Irvine tell you? Seifer's leading an all out attack on Garden!" Zu said, running past Selphie to a gaggle of junior classmen. "Get these kids to a safe area, dammit!" She yelled to a student, who nodded and herded the children towards the library.

"Seifer…" Selphie muttered. "Seifer is attacking Garden…?"

She had no time to ponder the revelation as Zell ran up behind her. "Selphie! I'm glad you're here! Come with me!"

She followed Zell around the main area, confused to where they were going. "Where are we headed?" she yelled over the sounds of gunfire and exploding magic.

Zell threw a look over his shoulder – one that Selphie didn't like. "To where all the action is!" he replied, taking a hairpin turn into the corridor leading to the Quad.

Oh no. Not the Quad! The girls mind screamed.

As they entered the main grassed area, she let out a scream of terror mixed with anger. The very first thing she saw was the mangled wreckage of the stage. The dream that she had work on for almost a full month, all by herself, put together by her own blood, sweat and toil, had been reduced to rubble in a matter of minutes.

She looked around, watching the students try vainly to beat off the trained soldiers. A boy with dual pistols threw himself into the fray, guns blazing, his bullets hitting most, if not all of his targets, his screams of rage lifting over the sounds of battle – before his guns ominously clicked empty.

He tried to reload in time, before he was beheaded by a ferocious swing of the serrated sword used by the Galbadians.

A group of third level Fire students drew fire magic from their opponents, blasting volley after volley at their enemy – before they realised that the soldiers shrugged the flames off, laughing at the use of pitiful magic. One ran up, throwing a kick, but was cut down before it connected. The others were blasted by Fira magic.

Zell, for all he was worth, was a whirlwind of pain, smashing a fist into the face of a soldier here, kicking the crap out of another soldier there. Bizarrely, chillingly, Zell laughed manically as he cut down another soldier, looking as if he was enjoying himself in the middle of the battle. A green soldier tried sneaking up behind Zell – but was cut down by a Thundara attack.

Selphie lowered her hand, which still crackled with the lightening magic, and drew her Flail. She spied three Galbadians moving towards her, and spun the Flail, flinging it left and right, displaying her skill to her opponents.

They laughed simply, before rushing her all at once.

Obviously, a big case of underestimation. The first got his head caved in by a Flail spin, the second kicked in the groin before being slapped to the side, and the third fried by another Thundara attack.

Spinning on her heel, Selphie suddenly blasted five Galbadians advancing on some junior classmen with a Firaga attack, the smell of cooked flesh mixing with the pungent aroma of gunpowder and blood. "Run!" she snarled uncharacteristically. "NOW!"

The kids, wetting themselves from this display of a new, deadlier version of the usually kind and gentle Selphie, ran for the doorway inside quickly.

A load of buckshot whistled past her ear, and Selphie turned to see four more Galbadians trying to rush her, these ones armed with shotguns and rifles.

A gunshot rang out – Selphie span her Flail – and a Galbadian dropped dead, the bullet bouncing off her weapon to ricochet into an advancing enemy. The soldiers paused in their advance, now seeing the little girl with green eyes and a yellow dress differently – but this only gave Selphie time to power up her next attack.

Spinning the Flail, she suddenly caught it, drew an insignia in mid air, and simply vanished in a puff of green light.

The last thing that the soldiers heard her say was 'Shiva'.

Then a large ice block suddenly appeared from the ground, sprouting like a plant from the dirt. Inside the ice block was a scantily clad woman.

Zell, instantly recognising the GF, quickly ducked, covering his head with his hands.

All the Garden Students did the same, to the bemused amusement of the Galbadian soldiers. Almost every one of them lifted their weapons up high, readying themselves for the killing blow – before they all stopped.

A cracking sound rang out over the Quad. The same sound that occurred if you leave ice in a very hot place.

Suddenly the iceblock shattered, spraying the area with icicles. The woman, her beautiful features tinged blue, waved her hand over the surroundings.

Every single Galbadian soldier suddenly became a block of solid ice, their bodies locking rigidly in place, their weapons shattering due to the immense and sudden cold. Amazingly, all the frozen soldiers could still see as the woman raised her hand…

…and snapped her fingers with an echoing 'Click!'

*          *            *

Selphie had just reached the entrance to the cafeteria when she saw Zell wandering up, bandaged up like mummy, wrapping around his head and an arm in a sling, with a crutch under his left arm supporting.

Poor thing… she wondered, quickly stepping into the cafeteria and seeing the humongous line. He'll never get his hotdogs now…

Suddenly smiling and clicking her fingers, she managed to wade through the swarm of students and managed to find the staff entrance. Subtly slipping in, she walked up to one of the cafeteria workers. "Hi, Koren!" she beamed.

Even with all the yelling and bustling students crammed up against her window. Koren turned and smiled at Selphie. "Hi, Selphie!" she replied in turn, a little flustered. "What can I do for you?"

"I might want to talk to you about food arrangements for the Garden Festival later on, but for now could I borrow three hotdogs? I'll pay, of course."

"Not at all, dear, go right ahead and take them. I owe you more then just a few hotdogs, that's for sure."

Selphie removed three hotdogs from the oven and sprayed them liberally with tomato sauce and mustard. "You don't owe me anything, Koren." She said quietly.

"Yes I do, dear…yes I do."

The two women looked at each other for a few seconds, a silent exchange happening across the kitchen floor, before Koren nodded to her and turned back to the annoyed mob of students.

Selphie walked out of the kitchen carrying the hotdogs on a plate, lost in thought. She set the plate down on a table before she heard a terrific thump. She whirled around to see that Zell had fallen to the ground, on his face. He wasn't moving.

"Zell!" Selphie cried, concerned for her friend. She ran to him and rolled him over to see a bored and pained expression on his face. "What are you doing on the floor?" she joked.

"Nothing, Selph. I'm…"He looked left and right, before grabbing his crutch. "I'm…I'm just looking for…my crutch! Yeah, that'll do…"

"Oh, ok!" She figured that he was returning the joke, and sprang to her feet, glad he was alright. "Do you want a hand?"

"Yeah, if that's alright…"

She helped him up, his medium build and size misleading his weight. They had actually weighed each other once, as a joke, and Zell had come close to Selphie's weight. He had looked down at the scales and simply shrugged. 'I suppose this explains why I can move as fast as I can!' he had said with a laugh.

She dragged him over to their table and sat him down. "Here, I saved a seat for you!" she said gleefully, not wanting to wait to see the look on his face.

At first it was one of ungratefulness. "Thanks…" he muttered, before spying the plate of freshly cooked, steaming, swimming in sauce hotdogs. Then he was all tears, looking up at Selphie as if she was a goddess.

"You don't have to say anything…" she said as he choked on air, then launching himself into the delicacy, as if he hadn't eaten in days.

Her good deed done for the day, with Zell now looking like he could take on the world, she turned and moved through the crowd once more, looking for the drink dispenser. Finally finding it, pressing the button for banana sundae, she turned to see Seifer standing in behind her, waiting his turn.

She looked up at him, and he looked back down. He was, in search of a better word, huge. His physical mass wasn't very big – but his attitude and the way that he demanded authority seemed to make him expand so much more. His voice was as cold as Squalls – but with just a hint of malice. "Have you seen Dincht?"

It sounded like someone scratching a rusty nail over a rock, but Selphie only flinched a little. "He's hurt. Leave him alone."

Seifer pushed past her and grabbed her drink from the dispenser. "That's what I want to talk to him about." She feared that he would toss it down the disposal chute, but he simply passed it to her and knuckled the button 'coffee'. "He was training yesterday, and got into a spot of trouble. He had to use a Limit Break." He threw a look over his shoulder, which chilled her to the bone. "My Final Heaven."

The name of the Limit Break chilled her to the bone. She had seen Zell use it on three separate occasions, two whilst on the Sorceress quest, and one after, and all times it wasn't pretty…but she brushed the thoughts aside like a chocobo feather. "And?" she said defiantly, sipping her sundae.

A loud gunshot rang out over the cafeteria, all the students ducking, screams of panic rising from the crowds. Selphie turned to see Squall relieve Irvine of his shotgun, pressing the eject stud and catching the empty, smoking shells as they flew out. She turned back to see Seifer looking as well, his eyes narrowing as Irvine walked out in a dazed state, before turning to see that his drink was finished.

His coffee cup now filled with the steaming bitter liquid, he removed it and turned to face her. "And he destroyed two walls in the Training Centre, not to mention several properties around the world." He sipped the hot beverage. "The Garden Security committee got a call today from Esthar saying that they saw him travelling at speeds somewhere around Mach eight and higher passing over Galbaida and Esthar. They even got pictures taken from space." He took a sip of the hot coffee.

"Owowowo…" Seplhie murmured. "That's not good."

"No. No it's not." Sip.

"So what are you going to do?"

Sefier shrugged. "I'm going to have a talk to him." A 'talk' with Seifer usually took anywhere between three to ten hours. Selphie knew that in his current state, Zell wouldn't last very long, no matter how strong he was. He sipped the coffee again.

She grabbed Seifer by his shirtfront, almost making him spill his beverage. "Pleaseeee don't talk to him! I'm sure that he didn't know what he was doing!" Her eyes filled with tears at the thought of Zell being put away for defending himself. "Please?"

Seifer pushed her away gently, before straightening out his shirt. He seemed to be thinking about something, his face blank as he sipped his coffee. He then turned to her. "Fine."

She beamed at his back as she watched him walk away. "Thank you!!!" she cried, waving happily.

He simply waved his hand at her in a dismissive fashion, as if to say 'I didn't really want to waste my time with the Chicken Wuss anyways'.

Smiling and sipping her banana sundae, she moved back through the crowd to see Rinoa walking away with Squall in tow. Squall had a look of panic over his usually passive face, whilst Rinoa had a look of determination. "Hey Rinoa!" Selphie cried out, running after them.

Rinoa turned and smiled. "Hey Selphie!" Squall seemed to be holding his breathe, looking from girl to girl.

"I thought you were going to get some people for the Garden Committee?" Selphie said scoldingly.

Rinoa suddenly put a hand to her mouth. "Oops! I forgot about that!"

"Oh, Rinoa…" Selphie said, disappointed.

"But don't worry!!" Rinoa said quickly. "I managed to get some people! Eight, in fact!!"

Both Squall and Selphie looked at Rinoa in dumbfounded confusion. "Really?!" they said simultaneously, before Squall suddenly seemed to remember who he was in company with and shut his mouth.

"But…but how?" Selphie asked, bewildered. She got eight already, and I've been asking for ages!!

"I simply said that their contribution will be put on their permanent record, which will be helpful later in life. I also promised a few that they could perform if they wanted." She smiled cheekily. "I've also made a few favours, like helping them with their homework and things. If you want people to work for your cause, you gotta know what their weak points are." She drew herself to full height. "Trust me. I'm the leader of a resistance faction, you know."

Selphie smiled and giggled. "Wow! Cheeky! But who did you ask?"

Rinoa placed a finger on her bottom lip, thinking. "Ummm…I asked Irvine, and he seemed happy to accept...then I got those three girls who always hang out around the Garden Directory…one of the library girls…and some other people, I'm not sure who. I just marked their names down on the file, and put it in your room."

Selphie shrugged. "Ok. I'll gather that up and see you later."

"Ok!" Rinoa pulled Squall away, who had been subtly trying to walk away. "Come on, you! You're going to defeat two T-rexuars by the end of the day! No, Three!!"

"Aiyaaa!" Squall cried. "Help, Selphie!!"

Selphie smiled. "Only if you join the Garden Festival Committee." She said cheekily, taking a leaf from Rinoa's book.

Squalls face paled, before turning to look at Rinoa, who was still tugging at his sleeve. His mind deliberated between physical pain and a little hard labour, and he turned to Selphie, dragging Rinoa after him.

"What do you want me to do?" He asked, his voice neutral once more – but with a hint of reluctance.

Selphie smiled and jumped from foot to foot, clapping her hands with glee as Rinoa looked a little downcast. "Hey! It does work!!!"

*          *            *

Selphie suddenly reappeared in a puff of green light, a few feet off the ground. She dropped to the ground gently, landing on her feet, her face still grim.

Shiva turned to her, bowed, and disappeared in a blast of cold air.

Selphie looked around her, slightly disorientated. All the SEED students were picking themselves up fro the ground, some brushing ice from their bodies, others running to wounded comrades. She looked down at a large chunk of ice lying on the ground before her and rolled it over with her boot.

A Galbadian face looked up at her, the shattered remains frozen in terror.

She kicked it away, shock and horror cascading into her mind, wiping away the destructive force that had momentarily overcome her.

Zell ran up to her, catching her as she collapsed, her slim body seeming to float into his arms. She looked up at him with wide eyes. "What did I do, Zell?" she asked desperately, her voice quiet yet shrill.

"What you had to, Selphie…" Zell said, as serious as a bullet in the face. "What you had to."

A woman ran, screaming, into the Quad. "Someone help me! Help me!!" she cried, tears streaming down her face.

Zell lowered Selphie to the ground and ran over to the woman. "What? What's wrong?"

"They've taken over the cafeteria! They've taken all the junior classmen hostage, and said that if they aren't allowed to leave soon, they'll start killing them off one by one!" She began to cry more. "My son's in there! You've got to help them!!"

Selphie managed to pull herself from the ground, and staggered over to where she had dropped her Flail. Turning around, she saw Zell walk up. "You're too weak, Selphie…" He said quietly, placing a hand on her shoulder, forcing her to sit. "The Shiva Summoning took too much out of you. Rest here. I'll sort this out."

"They have guns…" Selphie muttered. "Even if you cast Haste, you'll never be able to dodge or deflect a bullet." She pushed herself to her feet. "I can feel the energy flowing within me, Zell. I'm almost at my Limit…but I need help to get to the Cafeteria."

Zell paused, thinking – then looked over at the cafeteria lady. He then turned to Selphie and nodded, placing an arm under her legs and hefting her easily.

She began to feel light headed, the effects of too much energy build up at one time. She needed to release some pressure…looking down at Zell, she realised that he was injured, a knife gash on his shoulder, and two bullet wounds that had ripped through his ribs. He was sweating heavily, droplets running channels down his face.

She placed a hand on his brow, and whispered a word. The Curaga spell worked almost instantly, the flux of energy flowing through her body reducing the effort to draw and pinpoint magic to nanoseconds. She watched as his wounds healed almost instantly, his face drying, his features becoming a little rosier. He smiled at her and nodded his thanks.

They arrived at the Cafeteria entrance, where she asked him to put her down. Standing on wobbly feet, she staggered through the entrance, coming to rest at on of the little niches just on the outside of the doors leading in.

"Shut up, you little brats!" someone yelled over the sound of crying children, a shotgun blast ringing out over the children's screams of terror.

Selphie, her vision going red, suddenly stood a little straighter. Holding her hand out in front of her, she cast Haste, the Time magic making her reaction times, muscle speed and reflexes almost triple.

She moved as a blur, the door not seeming to open as she quickly passed through it. There were about fifty soldiers – as well as a General soldier, a Galbadian dressed in red. The General saw her immediately, holding his gun-hand up, spinning the barrels attached to his wrist.

Bullets spewed forth, ricocheting around Selphie as she moved to a wall, bouncing off it to gain some more momentum. Her Flail whirred out before her, creating an impenetrable shield, the Generals bullets simply bouncing off the spinning metal.

She was amongst them now, her head bursting with energy, her body starting to glow a bright yellow. The soldiers all drew their projectile weapons, and Selphie ducked and span as the air around her became riddled with bullets. Suddenly, with a flick of her hand, all the guns simply melted, the Fira spell cast within them making them turn to molten metal.

Spinning the metallic sticks of death, she smashed in the head of the first soldier, jumping up and off his body to ram her knee into the soldier standing behind him. Landing on the balls of her feet, she flicked the Flail to her left and right, cutting down soldiers to her east and west. "Do over!" she screamed suddenly, the light around her abruptly glowing more brightly. She smiled.

Selphie suddenly back flipped away from her position, which instantly turned to swiss-cheese as whirring wrist barrels spewed ammunition. She flicked around, snarling as the General twisted his body to follow her movements – but to realise that she had disappeared.

Stopping his onslaught, he looked left and right trying to find where she had disappeared.  The remaining soilders began to over turn tables, whiklst some others looked behind the cafeteria bench. The General sighed and began to walk forward to help with the search - until he felt a tap on his shoulder.

He turned slowly – to see her drop down from a hole in the ceiling, yellow light glowing around her. She casually wiped some shotgun pellets off her shoulder, before smiling.

She raised her hands, her Flail hanging limply from her wrists, and traced a pattern in the air, the insignia carved out of the yellow light around her, before her and all the children vanished.

The Generals face turned pale under his helmet as his mind processed the last word he heard her say.

"Ultima, times two."