Convergence of Destiny
Chapter 3: The Mission
"Will Squall, Rinoa, Quistis, Selphie, Zell, Irvine and Seifer please report t the Headmaster's Office at once?
As one the gang looked up from their various meals to stare at the speaker in the ceiling.
"All of us?" Quistis said quietly.
"Mfff eifrr?" Zell said.
"Zell, don't talk with your mouth full," Selphie giggled.
Zell swallowed the mouthful (several mouthfuls) of hotdog and took a breath. "And Seifer?" he said again, slightly more coherently.
"Zell, when are you going to learn to forgive and forget?" Rinoa asked tiredly.
"When he stops calling me chicken-wuss would be a good start," Zell muttered.
Selphie slapped him on the back. "Look on the bright side, he no longer wants to kill you," she said cheerfully.
"Selphie, he's trying to forget about all that. The least we can do is try as well," Quistis said gently.
Selphie looked embarrassed. "Yeah, sorry Quisty,"
"We'd better go see what Cid wants," Squall said. Slowly the group got up and walked from the canteen, Zell taking the opportunity to grab a few hot dogs before he left.
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Seifer walked through the Training Centre towards the lift to Cid's office. Students virtually ran part him, or hugged against the walls, for fear he would suddenly draw the infamous Gunblade; Hyperion, and slice them to ribbons right there. It was getting tiring.
He kicked a loose rock on the way out, and it hit a tree with a dull thud and stuck there. He was still angry with them.
"You're lying."
Quistis sighed. She had known this would be difficult. "No, we're not. Search your memories, where the GFs are!"
"This is bullshit…"
Squall stepped forward. "Why would we lie?"
And that was that. There was absolutely no reason why Squall would screw with his head that this. None. Although they had done it anyway. It infuriated him. He had prided himself on being unaffected by the GFs. Now they were saying they had all grew up together, and he didn't remember!
Seifer walked past the lone SeeD standing guard outside the Training Centre and ignored him, heading straight for Cid. Why all of them? He wasn't even a SeeD yet, and his practical exam was at the same time as the others: Not Right Now.
As he stood waiting for the lift, he heard footsteps behind him, and turned to see the others coming up the steps behind him. Squall looked up, saw him, and nodded, barely. It was the entire greeting he gave. Irvine just waved, not having known him before the way. Selphie, ever the optimist, waved cheerfully. Quistis smiled, slightly more warmly than the others.
"Any idea what this is about?" Seifer asked as the lift descended, the doors slid open, and they all piled in. Good job they had installed a bigger one at FH.
Rinoa shook her head. "Nah, they just called us up in the middle of dinner."
"I can tell," Seifer said wryly, as Zell crammed his last 'borrowed' hot dog into his mouth. Zell glared at him, but said nothing, because Quistis was glaring at him.
The rest of the ride went in silence, no-one knowing what to say. It was with relief that they stepped out of the elevator a few seconds later. Cid, unusually enough, looked worried when they entered.
He turned to face them, looking around the entire group. "I'm glad you could come. Something has come up."
He turned back to his desk and sorted through the piles of paperwork until he found single sheet of paper. He turned back. "Winhill has requested the assistance of SeeD. Apparently they have a severe monster problem, and they are unable to solve it themselves.
Seifer and Zell both suppressed a snort. The entire military of Winhill consisted of one old man with a pistol and as many boys with slingshots as the village had.
Cid continued. "They want us to go to Winhill, clear all the monsters from the area, and… wait, that's it." He looked puzzled, and read through the document again. "That really is it," he said.
"What's wrong sir?" Quistis asked.
Cid looked back up. "Oh, my apologies. They didn't actually request SeeD per se, but asked specifically for you seven t go. And I have no idea why. Current estimates of the number of monsters and their species around Winhill suggest a student could go and clean the mess up, yet they asked for you, and I quote:
The town of Winhill asks that these SeeDs, and these alone, be sent to our town to dispose of the monsters that plague our living space:
Squall Leonhart
Rinoa Heartilly
Quistis Trepe
Zeel Dincht
Selphie Tilmitt
Irvine Kinneas
Seifer Almasy
Please find enclosed the account number from which you may draw your payment in advance, for the sum of…
"Whoa," Selphie said when the amount was read out. Irvine just whistled.
"Hey, they spelt my name wrong!" Zell said.
"So, what seems to be wrong?" Squall asked formally.
"Winhill can't have that much money to throw around," Rinoa whispered. She had visited once, with Caraway, and it was hardly bigger than a town square and a few houses.
Cid sighed "And that is just it, they do. The account number they gave me has the gil to hire half of SeeD if they wanted to, and easily meets our requirements for a mission of this size, even if they weren't offering the vast sum that they are. It just doesn't seem possible that Winhill has become this rich without the rest of the world knowing," he said. He sighed. "It seems that I will be sending you." Zell opened his mouth, but Cid beat him to it. "I am totally aware that Mr Almasy is not yet a full SeeD, but under the circumstances I see no alternative but to send him. Frankly, Garden could really use the extra funds. Quistis?"
"Sir?" Quistis said.
"Judge cadet Almasy for this trip. If something is up, and I seriously expect it, then this may be his chance to enter Seed ahead of our previously agreed training program."
Seifer smiled. Never mind that they talked about him like he wasn't here, he was going to be a SeeD.
And this time, he wasn't going to screw it up.
"When do we leave?" asked Squall.
"Right now."
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Seifer sat and spun the Gunblade on its point as the car made its way down through Balamb Town to the harbour. He could hear Squall and Rinoa whispering silently in the corner. Selphie was laid in Irvine's lap, and Zell and Quistis were staring out the windows.
Seifer flicked his fingers again and the Hyperion spun around, sunlight glinting from it's polished edges.
"Hey, quit it," Zell said, as the reflections blinded him.
Seifer smirked. "Sorry Chick… Zell," he said.
Zell blinked when he heard his actual name coming from Seifer's actual lips.
Seifer put the Hyperion back into the case and laid back into the headrest. "So, Instruct… Quistis (Damn! I'm really going to have to learn do say their names…), this may be my actual field exam eh?" Although he wouldn't admit it, he was excited. SeeD had been his dream before becoming a Knight had ever crossed his mind. Even after everything, he still relished the thought of putting on that uniform.
Quistis broke away from her reverie at the window and turned to look at him. "I assume so. Cid said to judge on you this assignment, Hyne knows why, but he may be considering early graduation. After everything that happened, you certainly don't need to prove your marital ability," she said.
Seifer resisted the urge to smile at Squall and say; See? Somebody believes in me. He looked across at him anyway. What the hell…
Quistis didn't even turn her head. "Don't."
Seifer shut his mouth.
The car pulled up to the dock and one by one the group disembarked. Seifer remembered the last time he had been on a SeeD assault Boat, on the way to Dollet on the last 'normal' mission he and the others had eve taken. Things had gone spectacularly paranormal after that.
Seifer was second-to-last into the boat, followed closely by Zell. He had a feeling. It wasn't politeness as he sat down for the long trip to the smaller town. It felt a funny tingling in his fingers, and massaged them carefully. If Cid was right and something was up, then he would be ready for it, whatever happened. He could handle it.
He didn't know how wrong he was.