Final Fantasy Chronicles – Irvine

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 he asatained SEEDship, his major was projectile weaponry. Becoming the top in his class as a sniper, his fame as a dead-shot was overcome by his luck with the women. However, his dependence on guns became his weakness, when other skills were needed…

*          *            *

There is a boy. Clothed mostly in leather, his brown coat flowing over his gun holsters and a large sheath for his big double-barrelled shotgun, he looked a lot like a cowboy. A large, wide brimmed hat covered his long brown hair, casting a cool shadow over his green eyes. His face, which could be described as nothing less as handsome, was now sweating bullets, his features like rock, his eyes lodged on one person.

The woman stood tall before the cowboy, her slim figure clothed in a figure-hugging purple dress which sent the mind into a spiralling whirl with it's long drapes and revealing nature.

The Galbadian Garden's lecture hall had seen better days, though. Great chunks of wall lay distributed all over the floor, thanks to random blasts of magic. Some carpet was still smouldering in a corner after the Firga blast, and the large flowing drapes had gone up as fast as quicksilver.

The woman raised a long-nailed hand, her beautiful face curled into a sneer.

The cowboy suddenly erupted into flame, and he fell to the floor screaming, rolling to smother the fire. The woman laughed shrilly, clutching her sides as the cowboy fought the flames desperately. Her purple robes seemed to ripple with power as she watched the poor boy overcome the flames.

The flames finally out, the leather coat now a smouldering mess, the boy suddenly erupted to his feet, his large shotgun drawn and pointed, with one hand, at the woman, who was still laughing. She seemed to miss the point where he cocked the large weapon, large hammers being drawn back into full-action.

"Matron!" The boy screamed. "This is where you stop!"

"You seem not to understand, my child." The woman replied, crossing her arms defiantly. "You are all alone. You have no real power. What do you think you will be able to do to me that you're colleagues could not?"

The cowboy faltered, looking down at the two figures lying unconscious beside him. The girl had raven black hair, and was stunningly beautiful, clothed in a blue flowing coat with tiny white wings emblazoned on the back. She lay on her belly, not moving. The boy wore a black outfit, leather and chains. A large gunblade, a sword that doubled as a gun, lay just out of his reach. His brown hair was plastered onto his face with sweat, as he looked up at the ceiling, too weak to do anything.

The cowboy looked back up at the woman. "I know I'm nowhere near as powerful as them…but that doesn't mean I can't try."

And the large gun fired, both barrels spewing buck-shot death.

*          *            *

Irvine turned to his students. "Now, in order to hit the target, you must concentrate on a section of the target. Take the bulls-eye, for example." He twirled around, his long coat flowing around him, and two handguns suddenly appeared in his hand, the fifty-yard bullseyes suddenly being blown to smithereens.

He turned back to his students, twirled the guns expertly, and let them drop back into his sleeves. "Did you see where the bullets first hit? From the top down. That way, even if you miss your intended target, you can still wound or maim, which can be a lot more easier in the long run."

A student suddenly raised his hand. Irvine pointed at him. "Yo."

"What did you aim for when you shot at the Sorceress?"

Irvine frowned. "…I aimed for the head. Which brings me to my point. The quickest kill isn't always the best kill. When I shot at the Sorceress, I aimed for the head. Unfortunately, she predicted the attack, casting Protect on herself before the bullet hit."

"Why didn't someone cast Dispell?" The boy asked.

Irvine's face grew serious. "As you all know, magic does lose most of it's potency over a long range. Only strong magic, such as the Ultima Technique, can still do the same damage over large distances. Casting Dispell would have been fruitless, as well as stupid. She would have seen our position, and what's the first rule of sniping?"

"Never give away your position!" All the students said in unison.

"Alright." Irvine said with a nod, before a beeping emitted from his wristwatch. "Ok, class dismissed." He watched as the students got up from the grass, dusting off their backsides or retrieving their weapons. "Remember, I'll be testing your quick-draw skills and reflexes next week, so practice, practise, and have fun!"

Most of the students nodded and bade their farewells, moving back toward where the Garden sat. Some moved over to the mobile firing range, picking up and studying Irvine's skill. Others strolled, either making their way to Timber or simply wandering the large field in groups or pairs.

Irvine sat down in the grass, lost in thought, his eyes fixing on no real point as they strayed to the morning sky. His face looked worried, almost panicky. That was too close. If the class hadn't ended, I might have been in a real spot…

His hand suddenly whirled up, his pistol pointed at the boy who had asked the first question. The boy looked a little shocked, and Irvine loosened his hand, the gun sliding comfortably back into it's catch, which was strapped to his wrist. "What is it, Jeheyt?" Irvine asked quietly. He hadn't even heard the kid come, yet his weapon…

"I just wanted to ask…why didn't someone cast a spell against Sorecess Edea? I mean, I would have thought that fightin fire with fire would have been the best offense…" He paused as Irvine began to chuckle out loud. "What? What is it?"

Irvine was smiling as he tipped his hat over his eyes, lounging back into the grass, his hands supporting his head. "Boy, if you had seen the power that Edea had possessed back then, you would have thought that sniping would have been the best option too."

"I've checked the records, Irvine. Both Squall and Rinoa used magic in their attacks against Edea…but you didn't. You just used your Quick Shot, or your Shotgun Blast… you didn't even cast Cure on yourself or your teammates."

Irvine didn't move from his position – but his smile had melted away, it's replacement a whole lot more sinister. "What's your point, Jeheyt?"

The boy moved forward and lifted the hat from Irvine's eyes, smiling down with malice. "My point, Instructor, is that I know your secret."

The boy's head moved back slowly, the double-barrelled shotgun lodged under his chin forcing him to move slowly. Irvine's eyes were filled with rage as he spoke quietly. "You have no idea, boy."

"Oh, I have an idea, Irvine." The boy said slowly. "You're impotence when it comes to magic is your only flaw…apart from your attraction to pretty women." Jeheyt slowly raised a hand, pulling the gun out from his chin and moving it back towards Irvine slowly. "No one knows this secret – except for Squall, of course. Bt he won't be concerned in what I have in mind."

"And what's that?" Irvine spat, his gun pointed away – but not completely – from the boy.

"I want you to give me access to the Instructors Files."

Irvine was suddenly on top of the boy, his double-barrel mere inches away from Jeheyt's face. "You're as crazy as an Imp. You expect me to just give you access to the Instructor Files?!"

"Not if you want you're secret to be known by every student, Instructor and SEED on campus." Jeheyt said calmly. "Oh, you can shoot me, if you really want to. But there are at least ten or so more witnesses around us. And besides, how would you explain yourself?"

Irvine got right into the boy's face. "Maybe I'll tell everybody about what a spy you are. Then they'll believe me."

"Not when they read the notice I've pre-recorded into my Desk. The one that activates on my death. They one which points to you as being my murderer."

Irvine's eyes narrowed – but he said nothing. Jeheyt raised his eyebrows. "So we're in agreement?"

When there was no reply, the boy rolled out from under the gun's sights. "Good. I'll contact you soon. Just keep you're ears and eyes open." He patted Irvine's shoulder. "Don't worry. No one will know it was you who gave me the access codes. I always keep my contacts confidential."

And he strolled away in the Galbadian sunlight.

A stiff breeze flowed around Irvine, who stood rock still, his gun still pointed at the imaginary Jeheyt, lying on the floor. My secret…

A gun blast echoed around the field, causing every person in the field to turn to see who had fired – but all they saw was Irvine reloading his shotgun, moving towards Timber.

*          *            *

And the large gun fired, both barrels spewing buck-shot death.

Sorceress Edea raised her hand, a green globe forming suddenly around her. There was a sound like something rebounding off a balloon, and the globe flared briefly. She smiled defiantly. "Remind you of something?" she asked innocently.

Both barrels spent, not bothering to reload, the cowboy threw the large gun down and raised his hands quickly, the two Vincent Valentines jumping up from his sleeves into his palms, his fingers wrapping around the comfortable grips. The handguns were dark and smooth, well looked after for such an old make of gun.

Squall looked up at Irvine, his voice barely audible. "What are you waiting for?" he whispered. "Draw some magic from her…"

Irvine looked down at Squall, lying in a puddle of his own blood. "I…I…"

Edea looked at the cowboy through the green globe, before laughing out loud, peals of laughter echoing around the caverneous lecture hall. "You can't?!" she cackled, the tearing truth slashing through Irvine faster then a Grendal with Haste cast on it.

Irvine stood for a second, hesitating as his secret was revealed. He looked down at Squall, who had looked away, his eyes closed, his head turned.

For some reason, this made Irvine mad. "So? So what if I can't use magic? I still got these!!" He shouted, twirling the pistols on his fingertips. "And that's all I need to take you down, Matron!"

The Sorceress raised her hands, the air growing cold. Shards of ice formed around her, and began to fly at the cowboy, who flipped backward, guns blazing, the bullets ricocheting and rebounding off the Protect spell – which grew weaker with each bullet.

The area around him now suddenly filled with flying shards of death, the Cowboy began to really perform. Not even concentrating on one target, his guns whirled and blazed, great serrated chunks of ice blown to cubes. Two came at him from the front, which he effortlessly cut down. One swung around to attack his back, but he raised the gun over his ear, shooting blind, the bullet blowing the ice into dust. The sorceress made some more icicles, these one bigger then the first ones, and launched them at the cowboy.

Watching the ice fly towards him, he expertly ejected the empty clips from his handguns, which landed, smoking, on the ground below him. Not even stopping to pass one gun to the other hand, he grabbed two clips from his belt and threw them in the air, holding the guns beneath them, upside down. The clips slid expertly into their destinations, the slides clicking into place as soon as the clips entered the guns.

The Cowboy then began to stalk forward, the guns dancing in his hands as he flicked them, Cajun style, at the ice shards, as if the action would make the bullets travel faster. The air became filled with ice dust, as bullet after bullet reduced serrated permafrost into ice slushies.

A little perturbed, Edea raised her hands once more, the fingernails crackling with electricity…

…and watched as a Thundara rippled down from the sky, through the roof of the lecture hall, and coursing straight through Irvine, attracted by the lumps of metal he held in his hands.

The lightening coursed through him, making him jolt and jiggle, before the magic finally died down. He stood there for a second, his coat smoking even more, a small hissing noise coming from his weapons…before he doubled over.

Edea smiled, crossing her arms…but then heard the laugh.

Irvine stood easily, clutching his sides as he laughed harder. When he saw the Sorceresses expression of confusion he laughed even harder, slapping his tight and stamping his foot.

Wiping a tear from his eye, he looked at her with humour in his eyes. "You…you think that just because I don't know magic I don't have defenses for them?" He stamped his foot once more. "Rubber soles." He lifted his coat. "Lined with rubber…and fireproof." His good nature turned slowly into a glare. "I'm not stupid, you know."

And then he was in front of the woman, pointing his guns at her head, the barrels of both weapons pressed against the Protect bubble. The woman took an uneasy step back, confusion and distress creeping into her features, destroying her confidence.

The cowboy smiled, his hands rigid, his guns at the ready – before blasting away, the bullets blowing the Protect spell back, the magic holding the spell together barely stable. His face now twisted in determination, his guns flaring in spectacular repetitions, he flipped backwards as they clicked to empty.

Quickly whipping out two more clips, he slammed them into the guns before blasting the bubble once more, the bullets slamming deeper and deeper, making more and more dents, until it looked like the bubble would pop. Shells tinkled as they hit the ground like raindrops, the smell of gunpowder and blood mixing and assaulting the senses.

There was the sound of an almighty pop, and the Protect spell exploded, throwing the Sorceress back, and Irvine was suddenly on top of her, his smoking pistols aimed straight at her face –

As they clicked empty.

The Sorceress smiled haughtily as he dropped the weapons defiantly, taking his coat off and stepping back as she regained her footing. "Finished now, boy?" She asked, her voice regaining most of it's former egotism as she stood, her hands starting to crackle with dark energy.

"I'm nowhere near finished, Matron." The Cowboy muttered, reaching behind him to pull out a Dincht Mark Five, the lever action rifle levelling at the woman. Flicking the lever over, he reached into a pouch attached to his belt, removing ten shells, which smoked with dark energy. In the space of three seconds, he had loaded them, snapping the lever action closed, before flicking the large weapon down over his hand, chambering a round.

"Fight fire with fire…" he muttered as he raised the custom-made gun with the blessed Dark Shot to his shoulder…

*          *            *

Irvine spent most of the morning walking aimlessly around Timber, looking at this, examining that, and simply trying not to think at all. Unfortunately, it didn't work, so he made his way back to Garden.

When he entered the main entrance, he saw Jeheyt standing, talking to the doorman – then wave to Irvine, as if they were buddys.

Irvine felt like throwing up. Why the hell does he want to tinker about in the Instructor Files anyways? Is he trying to cheat to get himself better grades? He walked past the blackmailer, trying not to look him in the eye. Or is he some kind of spy? Some kind of Galbadian spy? Esthar spy?

Moving through the Garden quickly and quietly, he went to his room, palming the access button. The door sliding open for him, he walked in and sat down heavily on the bed, sighing for all he was worth. "Why does this kind of thing happen to me?" he asked himself. "What the hell is wrong with me?"

He had always told himself, throughout his life, as soon as he found out that he was an expert shot, that the life of a gun fighter was a lonely one. Gun fighters on Gaia were marginally smaller compared to the rest of the weapon wielding population, who preferred to use other, more traditional weapons – knives, swords, nunchaku, whips, fists and feet. The only people who used projectile weapons were, in most cases, considered cowards, compensating for their weakness in strength with nigh-defensive guns.

However, guns were usually contradicted by magic. A good Protect spell was all you needed to walked through an entire room full of gun wielding maniacs, and come out with little or few injuries. A gunfighter who knew magic, therefore, was considered an unstoppable force.

However, a gunfighter who didn't know magic, especially a crack SEED, was considered a person who could run before he could crawl.

No matter how hard he tried, no matter how much practise he put in, no matter how much he poured over the notes and texts, or sat through even the most basic magic classes, he couldn't cast any magic. Not even the small ones, like Fire, or Blizzard.

He was, as Jeheyt put it, magically impotent. The name was actually a textbook referral – 'a person who simply doesn't have the ability to use or Draw magic.'

It was the nice way of saying that you were one rung down the evolutionary ladder.

He removed his hat and sat back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. What's so good about magic anyways? In a lot of ways it's like using a gun…you store ammunition, then you use it. He sighed once more and pulled himself to his feet, sick of the defeatist attitude the morning had bestowed on him.

He needed to think! And out of the two things that he did that helped him think, he had already done one today. And he didn't want to waste any more ammunition. It was expensive!

Which left scoring with chicks.

Hefting his shotgun to his shoulder, he opened the door to his room and walked out, trying to figure out who he should ask out today. At least it would keep his head clear about the incident.

Who first? He thought to himself as he entered the main corridor. Maybe I should ask one of the twins near the Directory…or maybe one of the Library girls! Yeah, that Angel girl is a pretty good catch…but maybe a bit too brainy.

He leant against a wall suddenly, pulling his hat over his eyes as he thought it over. I haven't spoken to Selphie in a good while…ever since we took care of the Sorceress she's been pretty distant… He rubbed his smooth chin, the Vincent Valentine hidden in his coat sleeve knocking against his chest. "Maybe it was the Galbadian incident…" he muttered out loud. "Yeah, she's probably still a bit ticked off about me barging in like that…" He shrugged. Chicks are like that. You wouldn't see me screaming and yelling at some girl to get out if they barged in on me when I'm half dressed…but she must be over it by now…hopefully.

He stood straight, his mind set. Right! I'll go find Selphie. Hell, maybe she'd be able to help me…

He suddenly did a double take, quickly going over what he had heard about Selphie in the past few days. She'd still be looking for people to join in for the Garden Festival…oh well. Sacrifices have to be made in the pursuit for love. He smiled. Pursuit for love…

Moving through the Garden quickly, he checked the Library, Infirmary, and Training Center. Moving through the Center cautiously, his Valintines at the ready, he stopped to look over the destruction. SEEDs cordoning off the two gigantic holes in the walls to stop the monsters escaping, Irvine felt safe enough to holster his weapons, and walked up to one of them.

Tapping the girl on the shoulder, he smiled as he saw who it was. "Instructor Xu! How are you this lovely mid-morning?"

Xu smiled and batted her eyelashes. "I've been good, Instructor Irvine."

They both giggled, sharing the joke. Xu had been an Instructor way before Irvine ever thought of staying at Balamb Garden. Irvine had just recently asatained Instructorship, and amazingly had been doing a good job with it, warming to the almost constant companionship that comes with teaching. At first they had been at loggerheads with each other – Xu's disciplined approach, chiding tardiness and pushing her students to their physical and metaphysical limits, versus Irvine's relaxed approach, not bothering to keep a roll and letting the students take their time. After time, however, they had learned to tolerate each other – then began to talk a little – then bagan to have luinch together…

…There had also been a rumour going around that Xu and Irvine had had a quiet fling together…

"So…you haven't been returning the messages I send to your Desk." Xu said, half serious, half joking. "You dumping me already?"

Irvine scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment, a bad habit he had gotten off Zell. "Hey, baby, you know I'd never do that!" he said quickly, seeing the disbelief in her face as she crossed her arms. He instantly lowered his arm. It was an obvious show of embarrassment.

"Yeah, yeah…" she said, dropping the subject, to Irvines relief. "…So what are you doing here?" she asked, uncrossing her arms and running a finger down his yellowed leather coat.

Irvine smiled. "I'm looking for Selphie. Have you seen her?"

The look that took over Xu's face was a look that Irvine had seen many times before – intrigue mixed with jealousy. It made the lower half of the face go deadpan, whilst the rest of the face mix into a frown. "Why?" she asked in a slightly haughty tone, her hand dropping to her side.

"I just need to talk to her about stuff…you know, about the students, and things."

Xu's look made it obvious that Irvine was looking for no such thing…but answered him anyways, crossing her arms once more. "She's been walking around all day, looking for some people to join the Garden Festival Committee. She's supposed to have a class right now, but it ought to finish any minute…"

Cool! I'll be able to find her easily then! She usually goes straight to the cafeteria after a class! "Thanks!" Irvine said out loud.

"Don't mention it…" Xu replied, turning her back to him and waving her hand over her shoulder in a dismissive way.

Irvine stood around for a minute longer, before craning his head over her shoulder to look at her. "Sooo…aren't you going to tell me what happened here?"

Xu rolled her eyes, not bothering to turn around. "Zell took out two T-rexaurs yesterday." She said it as if it happened every day.

"Two!?" Irvine exclaimed, wide-eyed, his jaw dropping to the floor.

"All by himself too. Esthar called Squall today, saying that they've had complaints from all over the world filed in today and yesterday. Things like massive property damage, that sort of thing. The same kind of phenomena also happens when Zell uses My Final Heaven. Esthar actually had some astronauts take some pictures from space."

"Really…" Irvine said, surprised. Zell always goes all out when he trains, but to take out two T-rexaurs all by himself is a bit extreme…and to be forced to use My Final Heaven…" He shook his head. "Thanks, Xu. I'll see you around, ok?"

Xu didn't answer as he left the Training Centre.

Making his way to the Cafeteria, he spied Jeheyt walking from the Dorms. Bile rose in his throat as they moved closer, and his grip tightened around his shotgun, but he swallowed and tried to keep his eyes on the ground.

Until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Spinning instantly, he smashed the shotgun butt into Jeheyt's face, spinning the student to the ground. Irvine was on top of the boy in an instant, the twin gun barrels lodged directly in the left eye socket of the little blackmailer.

Irvine took a little smugness from the sheer terror that was shown briefly in the boys face – before he looked up at all the people watching.

Irvine slowly removed his gun from the students face and offered a hand. Jeheyt looked up at Jeheyt with malice, before taking the hand.

"That's why you never sneak up on a SEED." Irvine said, loud enough for everybody to hear. "You never know what we might do." People around them tittered with laughter, before moving about their daily lives.

Jeheyt looked at Irvine with unconceiled hatred. "You'd better thank yourself that you didn't follow through with that little stunt." He muttered through clenched teeth, his whole body seeming to shake with rage.

"Let me just remind you…" Irvine said, tipping his hat down. "I don't like doing this. I've got a reputation to uphold. So you'd better give me some slack to play with, or I will throw caution to the wind."

"Whatever happened to a sniper not revealing his position?"

Irvine remained slient.

Jeheyt wiped a little dust off his butt and knuckled his eye socket. "I'll contact you tonight. Just make sure you are around…or else everyone will know."

"What happens when I give you the codes?"

"That's not for you to know."

"How do I know that you'll use me, then expose me all the same?"

Jeheyt smiled maliciously. "That's not for you to know." He moved past Irvine and began to walk down the corridor, before stopping suddenly, something poking him in the small of his back.

Something much like the barrel of a gun…

"Bang." Irvine whispered in Jeheyt's ear, removing his finger from the student's back.

Jeheyt paused for a second, Irvine not able to see his face – before moving on, disappearing into the crowd.

Irvine smiled, blowing imaginary smoke from his index finger. He had called the little punk's bluff, and had come out with little more then a threat and an evil glare. It had  been a dare – but it had shown that the kid had the will and stomach of a Galear – fleeting and light.

He obviously knows that I wouldn't shoot him – not unless I had a really good reason. He also knows that I walked a very thin line just then – getting right in his face like that.

I'm going to have to keep treading lightly. I can't push him anymore – unless his threat might just become reality.

Shrugging and trying to put the incident behind him, he concentrated on the task at hand. Forget about the Jeheyt incident. I'll burn that bridge when I get to it.

Moving into the Cafeteria, he looked around for the familiar brown hair and yellow dress, but there were too many people crammed into the cafeteria to see anything of value. "Aiyaaa, I'll never find her in this crowd…" he muttered depressingly.

He picked his way through the massing bulge of students, most of which were crammed against each other like canned sardines. Picking his way through, finding tiny blank spots to gather breath, he was finally flung out into the seating area. Looking around for her, he spotted Zell, bandaged like a mummy and trying to wolf down one of his favourite hotdogs with only one, unbound hand.

He walked up behind the fighter and slapped him heartily in one of the places without bandages on his back. "Zell!! How are ya?!" he yelled over the crowd, dumping himself into the seat next to the damaged warrior. He placed his shotgun on the table and leaned closer. "Hey, have you seen Selphie? I've been looking for her all day, but so far no luck."

Zell muttered something through a full mouth, spraying the area liberally with crumbs and half-chewed sausage. "Dude, that's disgusting. Chew and swallow, hey?" Irvine said, wiping the crumbs off his face.

He watched as the fractured fist fighter chewed and swallowed enough hotdog so that he could talk. "Yeah, I saw her." He muttered, gesturing over his shoulder with half a dog. "She went off just a little while ago."

Dammit! Irvine cursed in his head. She could be anywhere by now… He tried not to show his concern in front of Zell, who would have been too busy burying himself in food to notice. Who else would be able to help me? Rinoa? No, she's with Squall…I know! Quistis! After Rinoa she's the strongest when it comes to magic! She'll be able to help me.

"Oh…ok…" he said out loud, deftly squashing the awkward silence in the conversation. "…Well, have you seen Quistis?"

Zell paused to swallow a huge lump down his throat and wipe some sauce off his mouth with a gloved fist. "I think she's marking reports in her room. If I was you, I wouldn't disturb her."

Irvine stood then, dragging his large gun and nestling it on his shoulder. Gotta keep an alibi going…mustn't let him suspect the truth…Zells not as blunt as he seems. "Oh, come on." He said out loud, really laying it on. "I'll just walk in there, acting all serene and things, and say 'Hey baby, put away the books and have some fun for a change'". He span on the spot, imagining her swooning into his arms. "Then I'll whisk her away for a day of fun and a night of foolin' around!"

Suddenly, shockingly, he felt a firm grasp on his shoulder. His finger jerked on the shotgun trigger, blowing both barrels and creating a tidy hole in the roof. It also sent his eardrums scuttling around inside his head. The crowded cafeteria was suddenly muffled, as if someone had stuffed cotton buds into his ears.

He dropped the large weapon and clutched his ears, trying to keep his brains from leaking out of his ear holes. He absently realised that someone had opened the breech of the gun, handing him the weapon as well as the empty shells, and gently pushed him in the general direction of the exit.

He gratefully staggered away, clutching his head and trying not to return the empty and angry stares that almost everybody bestowed upon him. Moving out into the corridor, he slumped onto a bench, placing the shotgun beside him and placing the empty shells in his pocket. Breathing in deep, his held his nose, closed his mouth and blew as hard as he could, popping his ears, his hearing returning – not as good as before, but it was better then cotton hearing.

Shaking his head, his mind finally clearing from the shock, his heart slowing, he instinctively reached into his pocket and reloaded the shotgun, before standing slowly. He had the sudden urge to go have a lie down, and was moving down the corridor when a hand was placed on his shoulder once more.

He had half turned before his world was turned upside down, slamming his back onto the ground, his gun rising – before he realised he was looking down the barrel of a gunblade.

Looking past the razor sharp tip, past the gun-barrel just above the tip, he saw a shock of blond hair, cut to almost military regulations. Seifer looked down at him, his face blank. "You know the regulations on weapons in the cafeteria and classrooms?" he growled, his voice like serrated ice mixed with sheet iron.

"Yeah…" Irvine muttered defiantly. He realised that the two of them were in a stalemate – his shotgun was pointed at the head of security's groin, whilst Seifer's gunblade was a mere inch away from Irvines scalp.

"I've been getting a few reports here and there about it. Make sure it doesn't happen anymore…" He withdrew slowly, before spinning the large weapon expertly and sheathing it in a hip holster. "…Or else you'll spend a few nights in the discipline ward." With that, he turned on a heel and moved away, stalking through a pack of junior classmen, brushing past them as if they were long grass. The kids gave him a wide berth, and hurled silent insults at his back when he was gone from earshot.

Irvine picked himself up from the floor, dusting himself off. Lucky he finds me a worthy opponent…otherwise he would have chucked me in there anyways.

Irvine had been the one who had defeated Seifer at the Garden battle, blasting his gunblade to pieces before knocking him to the ground with the butt of his shotgun. Seifer had considered it a worthy fight, and had always looked at Irvine with a reluctant honour. He never usually showed it – unless something like that happened, preferring to knock him around then actually do anything to him that would be a permanent mark on his record. After all, Irvine had spared his life – it was the least Seifer could do for the gunslinger.

Irvine, his hearing and balance beginning to return to him, made his way to Quisitis's room slowly, moving through the dorms with care, not wanting to run into Jeheyt again. The kid had the brains of a Blobra – but he did have the power to ruin Irvine.

Coming to Quistis's door, he looked down at a sign placed on the front, for all to see.

Busy. Please return later.

Irvine read the sign, then shrugged. Knocking twice with a knuckle, he waited for someone to answer.

He heard some shuffling inside the room, but no-one answered the knock.

He knocked again. "Quistis? Are you in there?"

More shuffling.

"Quistis, I can hear you moving in there. Open up! I got to talk to you."

Someone muttered something, and suddenly the door opened. Quistis stood in the doorway, holding onto the doorframe and the door's edge, blocking the way into her room. With her blonde hair pulled back into a bun, dressed in an orange dress with thigh-high black boots and dreamy-blue eyes, she was extraordinarily beautiful.  "What do you want?" she asked, the brutality of the question slightly shocking Irvine.

Of course, she had always been a little rougher around him – she didn't really like him that much. Plus, with Squall and Rinoa working out as well as they were…she had been eating herself up inside…and whenever he had tried to help her, she simply pushed him away.

Irvine, feeling slightly cowed, pushed his hand into his coat pocket and began to play with the extra shells hidden in there. His other gripping the shotgun a little more tightly. He bowed his head. "I…I need…to talk to you about something…"

She smirked. "I'm busy. Come back later."

She began to close the door – but his riding boot quickly stabbed into the opening. He removed his hand from his pocket and put it on the doorframe. "Please!" he pleaded. "I need to talk to you!!"

"Oh, come on!" she spat. "You've tried every other way to get me into bed, but pulling a desperate plea is a little too much, don't you think? Isn't that a little too undignifying, even to you?!"

She opened the door a little more – then swung it hard, crushing his foot with the door and the doorframe.

He grimaced a little – but the pain was marginal compared to what he had experienced. He grunted and looked into her eyes. "Please…" he pleaded pitfully.

She looked at him with a mixture of confusion and intrigue. "You…you really just want to talk…?" she asked slowly, still holding the door with one hand and the frame with the other.

"Yes…" Irvine said, letting out a long breath. "I just want to talk."

She looked at him suspiciously – then opened the door fully, waving him in.

He smiled at her gratefully, and walked in, setting the gun down next to the door. She closed the door and walked over to the Desk, moving a stack of papers from the extra chair that she used when she tutored students to the table, and gestured for him to sit.

He did so gratefully, spinning the chair around and straddling it. She moved to the bed and sat down there. "Ok. I've just put off marking some very important papers, all just so I can talk to you." She looked at him with muted anger. "So you'd better make this good."

Irvine nodded sadly. "Oh, it's going to be good. I'm sure you're going to get a real kick out of what I've got to tell you…"

*          *            *

"Fight fire with fire…" he muttered as he raised the custom-made gun with the blessed Dark Shot to his shoulder…

The Sorceress, realising what he was up to, quickly flung her hand up, fingers splayed, her jaw tightening as she drew on the unlimited well of power inside her. Her Protect spell destroyed, she quickly screamed a word, a red bubble springing around her.

Irvine hesitated suddenly, grimacing as the Reflect spell grew quickly around her.

He tried to get some shots past her before the spell took hold. Placing the gun to his shoulder, he fired round after round, the Dark shot blasting off the bubble and destroying walls and tables with explosions of Forbidden Magic.

She began to chuckle manically as the light reflected off the bubble ever so slightly. "You forget, boy! Even with you're blessed bullets, I have a counter for every one! Magic cannot pass through this Reflect spell, and you're ordinary bullets will not be able to peretrate it either!"

She pointed at him defiantly, cackling some more. "Now, put down you're weapons, and I'll allow you to die quickly."

Irvine frowned. Why did she want him to drop his weapons? Why didn't she just blast him to smithereens with some of her own magic?

Because if she used magic, the spell would be Reflected on her!

"Of course…" Irvine muttered to himself. "The Reflect spell has always been a double edged sword. I wonder if…"

"I said, drop you're weapons!" She screamed.

Irvine smiled, mischief in his eyes. "Make me."

Disbelief and awe mixed with confusion and a deep-seated rage mixed on Sorceress Edea's face. Irvine found it delightfully amusing. "What did you say?" she grinded through gritted teeth.

Irvine did a small bow, and placed the gun on his shoulder, resting the butt in his hand. "I said, make me…if you can."

The mighty magicker was now seething in rage. "I could crush you in an instant, just like I did your friends. You are all nothing more then bugs to me!"

"Then show me you're mighty power. Squash me like a common bug. I dare you." Irvine grinned like a schoolboy, and did a little dance. "Go on! I'm right here! Kill me! Take me out! You got me dead bang!!"

The Sorceress, now almost insane with anger, raised her hands, screaming a death cry as power welled in her hands. Irvine slowly stopped dancing as he recognised the makings of the Flare Techinique, a magic ranking with Ultima and Quake.

Amazingly, Edea's Reflect shield was still holding, even as she sucked the very essence of her body to annihilate the boy before her, who had spurned her power. The red globe reflected the light perfectly, even as the massive energy grew in her hands, the ball of intense power glowing like an ember from hell.

Irvine blinked. Will she lower the Reflect? Or will she throw it anyways?? He thought to himself, taking his Dincht Mark and levering the action, pushing the last bullet out of the breech. Got to make this one count. Reaching subtly behind him, he opened a small ammo pouch and removed a bullet which was so powerful, he only ever carried one with him.

He had found it when he had broken Squall and the others out of the Sand Prison. Moving through one of the rooms, he had seen it lying on the floor – glinting in the poor lighting, shaking and trembling on the cold metal floor as the immense power of Ultima flowed through it.

Placing the Pulse Ammo into the breech of the gun, he cocked it, flipping the gun over his hand, spinning the lever on his finger, catching the rifle as it flipped back perfectly. He felt the weapon in his hands tremble as the single bullet sat in the chamber. Readying himself, pushing his feet back to get the best friction as possible, he rasied the gun up to his shoulder.

Edea's Flare magic had been successfully formed, and with a look more brutal then the cold stare that usually occupied her eyes, cast it, holding her arms out as the power pulsed through them into one gigantic beam.

She had lowered the Reflect! Looking up at the massive wave of energy bearing down on him, he sighted Edea quickly and pulled the trigger.

The power of the bullet smashed him back, flinging him backwards like a rag doll as it blasted itself from the barrel like a bat out of hell. The Dincht Mark literally went to pieces, shattering in his grip as he bounced past Squall and skidded to a stop somewhere near Rinoa's unconscious form.

The bullet, filled with the ferocity of Ultima, beared the brunt of the Flare Techiniuqe, pushing through the blast like a rocket returning to Gaia. Sparks flew, flames erupted as Edea upped the power, but the bullet continued to carve a deadly path through the beam, to smash into her body – and explode in a dark energy wave!

Edea's screams of agony were muffled by the multitudes of sonic booms, which went off as the Ultima released overlapped them all. Unlike the Ultima magic when cast, which could target specific people, the Pulse ammunition was a wild card, blowing everything from it's path like a Iron-Giant ploughing through a forest.

When the rubble finally settled, Irvine managed to pull himself from a pile of rocks, badly bruised and beaten, but alive none-the-less.

Looking through the rubble for his comrades, flinging rocks and beams to the sides as he desperately searched for life, he finally found the gloved hand of Squall. Pulling him out, seeing that he was barely breathing, he popped a potion bottle from one of his ammo pounches and poured it down his throat.

As Squall began to recover – the potion would only heal a minority of his wounds, but it was a start – when Irvine suddenly heard a noise.

Whirling around, he saw Sorceress Edea pick herself up from the rubble!!!

Not one for physical violence, Irvine looked around for a weapon – to see his Vincent Valentines lying a way away.

Diving for the weapons, ejecting the spent clips and slamming in fresh ones, he walked slowly towards where the Sorceress stood, on trembling feet. He was amazed that she had managed to survive an Ultima blast to the face.

He moved right up to her and placed his gun barrels on her temples, his face grim. The action made her stumble backwards, falling to her knees, head bowed. Irvine moved forward once more and replaced the guns where they were before, this time nestled in the jet-black hair, long and flowing.

"I'm sorry, Matron…" he muttered, his fingers squeezing the triggers, his head turniung away as he predicted the blood and brains splattering over his body…

"Ir…Irvine…?"

Irvine paused. "What…what did you say?" he whispered.

"Irvine…" the woman looked up – and the deathly murder that had occupied the eyes staring up at him before were now filled with tears of confusion and terror. "What are you doing, Irvine?"

The guns slipped through his fingers to clatter on the rocky ground, and Irvine wrapped the woman in a hug that he had never performed to another woman since he was only six years old. His mother figure. "Matron…"

He did not see Rinoa pick herself up from the rubble, and stalk towards a figure dressed in an off-white coat lying amongst the debris…

*          *            *

"…And that's the whole story." Irvine sagged a little onto the backrest of the chair, resting his chin on his arms. "I've never been able to draw or cast magic. Ever."

Quistis frowned. "But…but I've seen you! On numerous times! You've used Blizzard, Fire, Demi…"

Irvine waved his hand. "Haven't you been listening?! It's all the bullets! I buy them from weapon stores!!" He lowered his head to his arms again. "And they aren't cheap, I can tell you…"

"I always wondered why you fired your guns when you cast magic…" Quistis said, rubbing her chin, before frowning again. "So, why tell me? How am I supposed to help you with this Jeheyt kid?"

Irvine shrugged. "I dunno…aside from Rinoa, you're the best magic caster in all the Gardens…"

"What's that got to do with anything? You expect me to help you fight this guy?" she smirked. "You did pretty well against Edea. This kid ought to be npo problem for the likes of you…"

"That's the thing!" Irvine said, throwing his arms up in dispair. "He's got his Desk rigged so that if he dies, a message will be spread across the Board saying that I had a vendetta on him because he knew my secret…not that I want to kill him or anything. If I defy him, he'll expose me, and if I do what he wants me to do, Hyne knows what he might do!!!" He shook his head. "I might be a womaniser to you – but I do have a reputation as a SEED to uphold."

Quistis stood suddenly, her arms rigid by her sidesd in fury. "Will you stop thinking about yourself for one second and think about what might happen if this guy does get into the Instructor Files!? He might mess up our entire scoring system, he might plant a virus of some kind – he might even be a spy for Galbadia!! He might draw some really powerful magic – he might even be able to draw Eden!!"

At the mention of the most powerful GF in the world, Irvine looked up with horror. That's right. Squall locked Eden down after the Sorceress Quest – the power was too much, even for him! "If he got Eden…" he muttered.

"Now you're thinking with your head instead of your…"

"You're right! I don't know what I was thinking!!" Irvine stood suddenly, knocking the chair over. "I was such an idiot! A reputation can be rebuilt! I'm a SEED,, for crying out loud!!!"

He bolted from the room, gathering his shotgun as he flashed through the door.

Moving through the Dorms, he finally arrived at his room. I suppose this will be the best area to wait…maybe I can catch him off guard, in my own environment.

Palming the door open, he jumped in surprise.

Jeheyt was sitting at his Desk, typing furiously.

"What in Hyne are you doing?" Irvine suddenly yelled, making the student jump. "How'd you get into my room?! How'd you activate my Desk?!"

He was seething with anger, which was fed by Jeheyt's confident gaze as he turned to face Irvine. "Come on…" The boy said, rolling his eyes. "It was as easy as gathering the information needed to exploit you." He turned back to the Desk, and beckoned for Irvine to come forward. "Come on. Just do this, and you can walk out, free of any guilt whatsoever. You can forget about this whole thing – nothing will come of any harm."

The boy suddenly felt the double-barrels of a shotgun pressed against the back of his head. He smiled at the reflection of Irvine in the Desk's screen. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Something I should have done as soon as you began to talk to me." Irvine said, his voice dull and flat.

He could tell the seed of doubt had been woven into the boys mind, as a hesitant reply came forth. "You…you can't be serious."

"I'm serious, boy." He said, pulling the hammers for the shotgun back with a satifying 'click-click'. "Deadly serious."

The boy moved his finger over to a button on the Desk, and Irvine saw a smile of triumph in the reflection of the Desk's screen. "Put the gun down – all of them – or else everybody will know you're secret. All I have to do is push this button, and everybody – everybody, I'm talking all three Gardens – will know."

Irvine smiled as a memory came floating back.

"I said, drop your weapons!!" She screamed.

"Make me." Irvine whispered.

Jeheyt paused for a second – then pressed the button. Instantly the emergency klaxon to his room came on, and the emergency screen newly installed after the Galbadian battle, showing emergency routes, emerged from his roof. However, emergency routes were not on the screen. Instead, Jeheyt's image was on screen.

"Hello, my fellow Garden students. I apologise if I have interrupted you're daily workings, but I fear that some information regarding one of the Sorceress Hero's has come to my attention."

Irvine felt his sanity gurgling out of his ears as he turned from the screen to Jeheyt, who was looking smug. "Shut it off!!" He screamed, pointing the weapon at Jeheyt once more.

"I can't. It'll keep broadcasting until someone can figure out how to shut it off – which wont be that hard. But by the time someone has gotten their act together, it'll be too late."

"This particular Hero has hailed from not one, but two Gardens. I'm not talking aobut Selphie Tilmett – I'm talking about the Sorceress slayer himself. The one and only Irvine Kinnes."

"Why!? Why would you do this to me!?"

Jeheyt shrugged. "It's not as if I hate you or anything. It's just that you served my purpose to the T. A person so wrapped up with themselves that they held a secret so terrible to themselves, they'd do almost anything to keep it to themselves."

"It seems, my dear Instructors and students, that Irvine Kinnes has been struck down by a most debilitating handicap. You see, Irvine is, in all manner of the words Magically Impotent. No magic can be cast from this man. He cannot junction. He cannot Draw. He cannot even cast the simplest of magic's, such as Fire, or Cure. He is so retarded, he has to use special ammunition in order to defeat his foes. This is the truth. You can ask him yourself."

Irvine suddenly grabbed Jeheyt from the chair, roughly pulling him down to the ground and shoving the shotgun to his temple. Jeheyt looked up at the cowboy in sheer terror as he saw the look in Irvine's eyes. "Before I blow your brains to hell and back," Irvine growled through gritted teeth, "You will tell me what you were searching for!"

Jeheyt remained tight lipped, sweat pouring down his face.

Irvine grabbed the boy by his shirt-front, pulled him from the ground…then slammed him down again, making the boy cry out in pain as his spine hit the floor with the pull force and brutal strength of a SEED. "Tell me!" Irvine screamed. "Before I splatter your brains!!"

"Eden…" Jeheyt yelled shrilly. "I'm on the Galbadian payroll! They wanted Eden!!"

Irvine moved close, getting right into the boy's face. "So, you are a stinking, filthy spy! You don't even deserve my mercy!!"

Pulling back to stand, he pointed the weapon at the spy. He didn't even need to watch for spray. He didn't care anymore.

His door opened and Squall ran in just as he pulled the trigger.