Chapter 2
I woke to my phone ringing off the wall. I groggily stumbled over a few things on the floor and then tripped over a table. I fell with a crash and something jabbed me in the side.
"Dammit." I muttered.
I managed to get to the phone and pick it up on its fifth ring.
"This had better be VERY important or you are dead." I growled.
"It is." My employer said over the phone. "I managed to convince my superiors to give you the additional bonus along with your regular salary. I do hope that it would be worth it. Have you gone over the file?"
"Now that I know my pay has improved, I'll get right on it. Have my regular equipment ready for me." I replied.
"You are getting to be more trouble then you are worth." He grumbled.
I shrugged and hung up, no doubt much to his annoyance. I grabbed the file off of my laundry-covered floor and threw it on my plain wood desk. I opened it and began reading. The regular crap about safety, stealth, and the importance of hitting on the first shot, blah, blah, blah. Then I turned the page and my eyes widened just slightly.
"Well.this got interesting real quick." I said to myself.
My next target was none other than Squall Leonhart, the current headmaster of Balamb Garden and the Leader of SeeD. Galbadia decided that by eliminating Mr. Leonhart they could gain control of Balamb Garden and train SeeD for their purposes, and therefore having complete Military control over any other government.
My primary objective was to kill him as he and his wife, Rinoa Leonhart as they attended this year's Garden Festival. I was to join as a guest and stay for several nights before the Festival. I would then attempt the assassination. Should for some reason the attempt fail I was to retry at the best possible moment.
Sounded simple, but I knew that it would never be half as easy as it looked on the paper. The file included some fake ID, an invitation, my down payment and about half a pound of papers for me to sign and look over. I got to work just signing the pages. I already knew what they said so I didn't bother looking over them. There would be the "Do you understand the risks", the "You can't sue us if you hurt yourself", and of course the "This is how much money you get for doing this job. The last one I double- checked and smiled that my down pay matched the one on the page. I clicked on my console and then downloaded the updated version of that page. I checked over and grunted a slight satisfaction to the updated bonus pay. I then burned the first page and signed the second and then placed it with the others.
After about an hours worth of paperwork, I got up and moved over to the kitchen. I was far to hungry to even think about picking up a pen right now. I grabbed some eggs and broke them into a pan. As they sizzled I dropped some toast and set a place for myself. I flipped the eggs and then threw on some bacon as well. Once, they were done I threw those and the eggs on my plate and grabbed the toast just as it popped up. I grabbed the butter and some thick, sweet honey and sat down for breakfast.
*************************
I stood in front of Balamb Garden, one of the few Gardens that remained during a war that was still technically going on but one that neither side really cared much about either. Frankly, I couldn't give a rat's left testicle either. I walked up to the doors and then showed them my invitation.
"Some ID, Please?" The nervous Cadet asked me.
"Sure." I smiled letting him see the fake ID that accompanied the invite.
The cadet seemed to relax. "Ok go right ahead."
I took a few steps before I heard him whisper to his colleague.
"Man, if there was to be trouble around here I thought for sure it would be from that guy." He said quietly.
It was almost as if they were expecting an assassination attempt. Some rat probably tipped them off, but no matter. I would do this job regardless of any tips given to these jokers.
*****************************
:: "The trick is to stay cool, son." My instructor said."::
:: "Yes sir." I said coolly.::
:: I checked my balance and then watched my opponent carefully. He wielded dual blades much like my own but he seemed to be superior to me in almost every way. My frustration was evident, no matter how many times I struck jumped and slashed at this guy he would just disappear and then smack me from behind.::
:: I moved in for the kill.or rather, what I hoped would be the kill. I came right for him holding back my attack. I made no move save for my running feet as I ran to avoid him from reading my attempt. I waited for what seemed like an eternity and then I saw it. He jumped up and over me and I skidded to a stop and whirled to glare at him as he landed. He seemed to fall in slow motion as I began heading for his landing point. He had hit me more time then I could count and I was tired.but I wouldn't let that deter me now. I had him; I know I had him. Oh, and how I wanted to hit him back, I wanted to make him scream in pain for everything he had done to me. ::
:: That's when it happened. As I focused my thoughts on just my opponent and remained calm right up to the point of contact, did I use my Limit Break, Slash and Shoot. I ran at him delivering several crushing blows against his armour and then I jumped into the air and delivered a final attack, Beam Shot. I loaded my custom made six-shooter with a special magically enhanced round that I immediately shot at my foe. The bullet became a beam of deadly energy that hit my target and landed him down to the ground in no time. ::
:: I landed and my instructor smiled broadly as he called over the medics to assist my partner. ::
I woke with a start. That God forsaken dream had been haunting me for the last week. It was when I first attempted the use of my limit break. I couldn't let these things be bothering me. But why would they bother me in the first place? What was the significance? Perhaps I was just devoting to much time thinking about it.
I rolled out of the bed that a SeeD instructor had shown me in the dormitory and looked at my clock. 5:58 AM. There wasn't much time to go back to sleep, so I just decided to get up. I dressed up and then walked along the ring around 1st Floor of Balamb Garden. Most of the Facilities were still closed, until I cam to one that sparked my interest.
"The training Center." I smiled. "Why not?"
I jogged back to my room and dug around in my large suitcase and pulled out my weapons of choice. A custom made six shot revolver and Scimitar. I, of course, named them after powerful creatures of Mythology. The Scimitar was called Aries and my Revolver was called Titan.
I jogged back to the training center and then slowed down to a walk. I strolled down a long hallway until I cam to a grassy jungle area that was obviously penned off. I took a left and went through one of the large steel doors. The Area was large enough and I breathed in deeply before searching for my first victim. This was gonna be fun.
I jumped up onto a log and then looked around. There! Over to my right about 100 meters away was a small company of Grats. The Pitcher shaped plant monsters were busy swaying and catching insects and things for food. There were three of them. No problem. I closed my eyes and cast Haste on myself, and then I ran towards them with frightening speed. Once I had come into range I fired off two shoots into one of the Grats and then slashed it with my scimitar. It split like a banana and fell into two pieces. The other Grats became very aware of my presence at this point and released some sleeping gas. I held my breath and then Cast Firaga on the Grat closest to me. The deadly flames enveloped the Grat and burnt it to a crisp.
"This is too easy." I smiled.
The Grat replied by spewing acidic juices at me from its mouth. I jumped and dodged to avoid the attack but I few drops still hit me. I slapped the drops away from my arm and then Focused on the Grat. I cast a Stop spell onto the Grat and it Froze. I strolled Casually up to the Grat and then Slashed it into Three separate pieces.
I yawned. "They call this a training center? For old Grandmas maybe?"
"Perhaps you would like a more interesting challenge, then?" A voice said from behind me.
I turned around and my eyes widened significantly. There, standing before me in his double belt, short coat and gunblade was my target, Squall Leonhart. This was my lucky day; I could kill Leonhart and be home in time to watch the morning's cartoons.
"Why not?" I smiled raising Aries slightly.
He responded by raising his Gunblade. I took the offensive immediately coming down with a swift strike from Aries. That should finish him off easily enough.
CLANG!
Huh? He blocked it?
"Not bad." Squall grunted.
He threw up my guard and thrust the flat of his blade into my stomach. I felt all the air forced from my lungs and I dropped to the ground. Amazing, he had incredible speed. This man was more than just some politician and headmaster. He was a warrior.
:: "Now remember, Jared. When they send you out to kill people you must remember this. Never insult a warrior by sniping him from a distance. Fight him face to face or not at all. If there comes a time that you are defeated then I order you to release yourself from the control of the Galbadian Government." My instructor said. ::
:: "Sir?" I asked questioningly. ::
:: "I trained you to be a warrior. Not the killer that the Government expects. They would use you as a tool to get whatever they want. The moment someone defeats you in battle. You are dead. You are dead to them to yourself and to everyone. You will no longer be a hired assassin. You will become Jared Hunter, A fighter and proud Warrior. Remember that as my final order. ::
But that's only if he can defeat me. I jumped up and fired a shot off from Titan. Squall blocked it with my blade and countered by casting a fira spell at me. Normally a spell like that wouldn't have bothered me. But, Leonhart seemed to have far more magic potency then I had ever known. The spell threw me back a good 10 feet. And his abilities as a swordsman were equal with his magic power.
I tried getting up but found that I couldn't. I looked up and there was Squall, the tip of his Gunblade at my throat and his foot on my chest. I just stared up at him completely clueless as to how I was so overpowered by this man.
"You have plenty of power. But you lack proper technique." Squall told me.
He stepped back and then helped me up. I stared at him for a while before leaning over and brushing myself off. After a thorough brushing I stood back up and looked at Squall again.
"You.beat me." I managed.
"You're surprised?" Squall asked.
"I must thank you." I replied immediately.
"What? You're thanking me for defeating you? Why?" Squall asked confused.
"We have much to talk about. But first let me give you my name and purpose. I am Jared Hunter, A Galbadian Assassin whose job was to kill you." I told him.
I woke to my phone ringing off the wall. I groggily stumbled over a few things on the floor and then tripped over a table. I fell with a crash and something jabbed me in the side.
"Dammit." I muttered.
I managed to get to the phone and pick it up on its fifth ring.
"This had better be VERY important or you are dead." I growled.
"It is." My employer said over the phone. "I managed to convince my superiors to give you the additional bonus along with your regular salary. I do hope that it would be worth it. Have you gone over the file?"
"Now that I know my pay has improved, I'll get right on it. Have my regular equipment ready for me." I replied.
"You are getting to be more trouble then you are worth." He grumbled.
I shrugged and hung up, no doubt much to his annoyance. I grabbed the file off of my laundry-covered floor and threw it on my plain wood desk. I opened it and began reading. The regular crap about safety, stealth, and the importance of hitting on the first shot, blah, blah, blah. Then I turned the page and my eyes widened just slightly.
"Well.this got interesting real quick." I said to myself.
My next target was none other than Squall Leonhart, the current headmaster of Balamb Garden and the Leader of SeeD. Galbadia decided that by eliminating Mr. Leonhart they could gain control of Balamb Garden and train SeeD for their purposes, and therefore having complete Military control over any other government.
My primary objective was to kill him as he and his wife, Rinoa Leonhart as they attended this year's Garden Festival. I was to join as a guest and stay for several nights before the Festival. I would then attempt the assassination. Should for some reason the attempt fail I was to retry at the best possible moment.
Sounded simple, but I knew that it would never be half as easy as it looked on the paper. The file included some fake ID, an invitation, my down payment and about half a pound of papers for me to sign and look over. I got to work just signing the pages. I already knew what they said so I didn't bother looking over them. There would be the "Do you understand the risks", the "You can't sue us if you hurt yourself", and of course the "This is how much money you get for doing this job. The last one I double- checked and smiled that my down pay matched the one on the page. I clicked on my console and then downloaded the updated version of that page. I checked over and grunted a slight satisfaction to the updated bonus pay. I then burned the first page and signed the second and then placed it with the others.
After about an hours worth of paperwork, I got up and moved over to the kitchen. I was far to hungry to even think about picking up a pen right now. I grabbed some eggs and broke them into a pan. As they sizzled I dropped some toast and set a place for myself. I flipped the eggs and then threw on some bacon as well. Once, they were done I threw those and the eggs on my plate and grabbed the toast just as it popped up. I grabbed the butter and some thick, sweet honey and sat down for breakfast.
*************************
I stood in front of Balamb Garden, one of the few Gardens that remained during a war that was still technically going on but one that neither side really cared much about either. Frankly, I couldn't give a rat's left testicle either. I walked up to the doors and then showed them my invitation.
"Some ID, Please?" The nervous Cadet asked me.
"Sure." I smiled letting him see the fake ID that accompanied the invite.
The cadet seemed to relax. "Ok go right ahead."
I took a few steps before I heard him whisper to his colleague.
"Man, if there was to be trouble around here I thought for sure it would be from that guy." He said quietly.
It was almost as if they were expecting an assassination attempt. Some rat probably tipped them off, but no matter. I would do this job regardless of any tips given to these jokers.
*****************************
:: "The trick is to stay cool, son." My instructor said."::
:: "Yes sir." I said coolly.::
:: I checked my balance and then watched my opponent carefully. He wielded dual blades much like my own but he seemed to be superior to me in almost every way. My frustration was evident, no matter how many times I struck jumped and slashed at this guy he would just disappear and then smack me from behind.::
:: I moved in for the kill.or rather, what I hoped would be the kill. I came right for him holding back my attack. I made no move save for my running feet as I ran to avoid him from reading my attempt. I waited for what seemed like an eternity and then I saw it. He jumped up and over me and I skidded to a stop and whirled to glare at him as he landed. He seemed to fall in slow motion as I began heading for his landing point. He had hit me more time then I could count and I was tired.but I wouldn't let that deter me now. I had him; I know I had him. Oh, and how I wanted to hit him back, I wanted to make him scream in pain for everything he had done to me. ::
:: That's when it happened. As I focused my thoughts on just my opponent and remained calm right up to the point of contact, did I use my Limit Break, Slash and Shoot. I ran at him delivering several crushing blows against his armour and then I jumped into the air and delivered a final attack, Beam Shot. I loaded my custom made six-shooter with a special magically enhanced round that I immediately shot at my foe. The bullet became a beam of deadly energy that hit my target and landed him down to the ground in no time. ::
:: I landed and my instructor smiled broadly as he called over the medics to assist my partner. ::
I woke with a start. That God forsaken dream had been haunting me for the last week. It was when I first attempted the use of my limit break. I couldn't let these things be bothering me. But why would they bother me in the first place? What was the significance? Perhaps I was just devoting to much time thinking about it.
I rolled out of the bed that a SeeD instructor had shown me in the dormitory and looked at my clock. 5:58 AM. There wasn't much time to go back to sleep, so I just decided to get up. I dressed up and then walked along the ring around 1st Floor of Balamb Garden. Most of the Facilities were still closed, until I cam to one that sparked my interest.
"The training Center." I smiled. "Why not?"
I jogged back to my room and dug around in my large suitcase and pulled out my weapons of choice. A custom made six shot revolver and Scimitar. I, of course, named them after powerful creatures of Mythology. The Scimitar was called Aries and my Revolver was called Titan.
I jogged back to the training center and then slowed down to a walk. I strolled down a long hallway until I cam to a grassy jungle area that was obviously penned off. I took a left and went through one of the large steel doors. The Area was large enough and I breathed in deeply before searching for my first victim. This was gonna be fun.
I jumped up onto a log and then looked around. There! Over to my right about 100 meters away was a small company of Grats. The Pitcher shaped plant monsters were busy swaying and catching insects and things for food. There were three of them. No problem. I closed my eyes and cast Haste on myself, and then I ran towards them with frightening speed. Once I had come into range I fired off two shoots into one of the Grats and then slashed it with my scimitar. It split like a banana and fell into two pieces. The other Grats became very aware of my presence at this point and released some sleeping gas. I held my breath and then Cast Firaga on the Grat closest to me. The deadly flames enveloped the Grat and burnt it to a crisp.
"This is too easy." I smiled.
The Grat replied by spewing acidic juices at me from its mouth. I jumped and dodged to avoid the attack but I few drops still hit me. I slapped the drops away from my arm and then Focused on the Grat. I cast a Stop spell onto the Grat and it Froze. I strolled Casually up to the Grat and then Slashed it into Three separate pieces.
I yawned. "They call this a training center? For old Grandmas maybe?"
"Perhaps you would like a more interesting challenge, then?" A voice said from behind me.
I turned around and my eyes widened significantly. There, standing before me in his double belt, short coat and gunblade was my target, Squall Leonhart. This was my lucky day; I could kill Leonhart and be home in time to watch the morning's cartoons.
"Why not?" I smiled raising Aries slightly.
He responded by raising his Gunblade. I took the offensive immediately coming down with a swift strike from Aries. That should finish him off easily enough.
CLANG!
Huh? He blocked it?
"Not bad." Squall grunted.
He threw up my guard and thrust the flat of his blade into my stomach. I felt all the air forced from my lungs and I dropped to the ground. Amazing, he had incredible speed. This man was more than just some politician and headmaster. He was a warrior.
:: "Now remember, Jared. When they send you out to kill people you must remember this. Never insult a warrior by sniping him from a distance. Fight him face to face or not at all. If there comes a time that you are defeated then I order you to release yourself from the control of the Galbadian Government." My instructor said. ::
:: "Sir?" I asked questioningly. ::
:: "I trained you to be a warrior. Not the killer that the Government expects. They would use you as a tool to get whatever they want. The moment someone defeats you in battle. You are dead. You are dead to them to yourself and to everyone. You will no longer be a hired assassin. You will become Jared Hunter, A fighter and proud Warrior. Remember that as my final order. ::
But that's only if he can defeat me. I jumped up and fired a shot off from Titan. Squall blocked it with my blade and countered by casting a fira spell at me. Normally a spell like that wouldn't have bothered me. But, Leonhart seemed to have far more magic potency then I had ever known. The spell threw me back a good 10 feet. And his abilities as a swordsman were equal with his magic power.
I tried getting up but found that I couldn't. I looked up and there was Squall, the tip of his Gunblade at my throat and his foot on my chest. I just stared up at him completely clueless as to how I was so overpowered by this man.
"You have plenty of power. But you lack proper technique." Squall told me.
He stepped back and then helped me up. I stared at him for a while before leaning over and brushing myself off. After a thorough brushing I stood back up and looked at Squall again.
"You.beat me." I managed.
"You're surprised?" Squall asked.
"I must thank you." I replied immediately.
"What? You're thanking me for defeating you? Why?" Squall asked confused.
"We have much to talk about. But first let me give you my name and purpose. I am Jared Hunter, A Galbadian Assassin whose job was to kill you." I told him.