Stealth
'Missions can be accomplished through stealth as well as brute force, and determining which approach is better suited is the difference between a normal person and a SeeD.'
-Advisor Cid Kramer, In Memory
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Slums, Deling City, Galbadia
It was the hour when evil stirred, when chaos reigned, and when law failed to be established. It was in the darkest hour, and in the darkest of moods that Zell Dincht walked down a dirty, stinky, foul alleyway. He knew that it was not their fault that the poor were as they were, but he could not shake a feeling of trepidation. The whole area reeked of crime and death, and the stench was so great that he almost would have rather faced a Marlboro and its Bad Breath. Almost.
"(Hey, what're ya afraid of, Zell!? No one here is capable of harming the guy who whopped the Sorceresses! Get a grip, man!)"
The alley he turned into was surrounded by tall buildings which marked the financial quarters of Deling City, yet were scrawled with graffiti. These buildings all had five metre tall walls that kept out any would-be-intruders and all doors that led past the walls into the luxurious compounds beyond were made of thick reinforced steel that even Irvine would have a hard time denting with his bullets.
He was supposed to meet a secret contact here who reportedly had information regarding a plot to shatter the armistice between Galbadia and Esthar. Needlessly spoken, a war between the two giant nations would be disastrous, but Galbadia was in the hands of capable Supreme General Nikolai and Esthar in Laguna's. Zell shrugged off his gut feeling and strode into a grimy room which read J'Z in a broken neon signboard above the rotting wooden door.
The interior was vastly different, consisting of a posh bar where several well-dressed men sat. Dressed in a trenchcoat against the fog outside, Zell sat down bemusedly and ordered a flute of champagne. As he waited for his drink, he realized that it was probably an executive club hidden in the shadows of the slums to prevent Deling city police from stumbling upon it. Pornography was vigorously persecuted in Deling, and from the looks of the stairwell hidden in a corner and the multitude of scantily clad girls that waited in a corner, Zell had second thoughts about this mission.
"(Bet they don't even have good hotdogs here.)"
Shifting in his chair rather uncomfortably, he was on the verge of getting out when a man covered with a large coat turned to him.
"Mr. Dincht?"
Relieved, Zell stood up and offered his hand, and immediately found five men all in black surrounding him. Even as his mind screamed danger, every single patron in the bar drew some manner of weapon and faced him. The scantily clad prostitutes suddenly looked a lot less inviting as they unsheathed daggers from beneath the tables.
"Frickin' hell."
Their leader, presumably the man who spoke to him, took off his coat, revealing a ninja outfit. "We do not like SeeD. Prepare to be exterminated, Mr. Dincht."
Zell moved backwards and bumped up against the table, silently cursing for ending up in such a strait. He tried to call upon Ifrit, but the area had a magic shield on it. Damn it; Guess I'll have to use Junctions only. Silently grumbling about his opponents' lack of conversation, he tried to draw their attention away from him by chucking his glass across the room. "Hey, do you want to clean that up? Oh, okay, guess not."
So saying, while the men neared him, he slid a hundred Haste spells into the Junction slot for Speed, and another hundred Ultima spells to his strength. Instantly, a power coursed through him, and he saw the world through enhanced reflexes. This would not be easy, and they outnumbered him by more than ten men.
Even so, the first few men lunged at him, and Zell somersaulted behind a table and used it to block a hail of 9mm bullets that peppered the wood. He propped the table upright, and kicked it forwards, driving the wind out of two gunmen and sending them down to the floor. Even as several others dashed towards him with lethal blades and other ninja implements, Zell made a hasty exit out of the bar, into the filthy alley which, despite all its faults, did not have a magic suppressor field.
The two fools who followed him were soon blasted into the air by Ifrit while Zell prepared several magic spells. Adding to his formidable might, two Firaga spells ensured that another three men went down. He kicked off against a wall, executing a textbook flying kick into a nearby ninja. So intent was he, that he failed to notice the shimmer of curative and revival magics as they sparkled into existence.
Zell grabbed one of his opponents and knocked him out cold with a Booya even as another fell to his Mach Kick. Bounding towards another, he whipped around and felled him with a solid punch to the jaw, his trenchcoat whipping him in the face for good measure. The bullet-proof material was guaranteed to leave a lasting impression, and he used that coat to shield himself from another hail of bullets that ripped through the cloth in his place.
Gathering enough energy, he leapt skywards and sent pure magics into the Ehrgeiz gloves that he wore before slamming them full-force into the ground, sending out a shockwave that felled many close enough to him. Whirling around even before the Meteor Barret was complete; he was just about to slam his fist into a skull when several hundred thousand volts of energy coursed through him.
"Gaahh!"
Two ninjas strode out, simultaneously having cast twin Thundagas at Zell, now watching as another four more took turns pouring the magics into him. Zell's mind was screaming again, but this time, he felt a slight tinge of fear as he realized that the ninjas were using magic. Paramagic was only used by a select few G-soldiers, Esthar soldiers and SeeDs with GFs. That these people were using magic meant that they were some form of military.
His vision wavering, Zell slumped to the ground under the terrible onslaught of lightning, and he just managed to see a pair of Galbadian military issue boots striding into view before his soul succumbed to the darkness that felt rather warm and soothing, from the cold, rainy street he was in.
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Commander's Office
Squall stood in front of the fifteen SeeD that had passed the Examinations. One part of his office that he particularly enjoyed was the fact that he could get a breathtaking view of whatever landscape Garden was above from the massive bay windows set into the wall.
Another fact was that the cadets had to pass through the High Command and be thoroughly intimidated by SeeD before they got to him.
He gave them a salute; they responded in kind. That was Garden doctrine, always about respect and total obedience, more so than any other school in the world, save perhaps certain military academies. Garden was not unknown to the average person, even if only as an institution with the capability to fight and vanquish Sorceresses.
Or mercenaries loyal to money.
Squall had gotten a lot of that lately, but he refused to let it bother him in his trademark Squall style. Resting his gaze which would have matched Shiva's for the cold, indomitable look within it on each of the students, he finally instructed them to enter parade rest stance. His command was followed by the sound of fifteen pairs of feet moving as one, and their hands shifting to their back, all together in one fluid movement. Quistis, standing beside him, remained quiet but Squall could sense, rather than see, a smile forming on her lips.
Such simplistic terms tired him, yet there was no changing that. What they could do, however, was to continue serving as best they could. "All fifteen of you have proven yourselves worthy to be a part of SeeD, and I congratulate you for that."
There was a visible relaxation in their manner, but Squall was not to let them off the hook so easily. "However, your success in future missions will also determine your aptitude as a SeeD. A perfect score here means nothing if you do not survive the first mission," said he, placing an emphasis on the word 'survive'. Following up, he took out a thick folder and rifled through it.
"Here are your examination results. Your salary will be given out based upon your aptitude and your level, which of course you can improve on by taking more tests, although it remains to be seen if you pass or fail them." The tension in the room heightened as every cadet there waited for his or her result, their hearts in their throats. Even though they had passed the first hurdle, students with too low a SeeD level faced the risk of running the gauntlet once more.
"Squad A, captain, Mikhail Kawaii, your results. Acceptable conduct, and admirable devotion to your duty has earned you the passing rank of SeeD level 7. Very well done."
And so he went on, reciting names according to their Squads. For some reason, Squad B went unannounced until all of the cadets had left, now SeeD. Squall saw the consternation on their faces, each of them wondering whether this delay bode well or ill.
At length, he nodded at Quistis and turned to them.
"Squad B, your lives were nearly sacrificed for the greater good of SeeD. You were prepared to stay there in order that others may evacuate. Such devotion is admirable and much needed in this line of duty, especially as a SeeD. I am proud to present each of you with your scores, and a SeeD rank of 13, higher than any other cadet who has succeeded in the history of SeeD, and with good reason as you all have proven yourselves more than worthy of the SeeD emblems. A job well done."
The team leader whooped and leapt in the air, all restraint gone. His colleagues grinned to each and gave a round of high-fives to each other. Quistis smiled, and Squall nodded curtly.
"You are dismissed, and your room numbers are listed on the top of your results, along with your ID. SeeD will expect much from you, and your first mission will be given to you tomorrow."
Watching the trio exit, Squall returned to his seat, and felt Quistis' arm on his shoulder. "They certainly have potential. Very much potential."
"I know. I am planning to assign them to the Operations Team, and they shall be given jobs of the same calibre as higher level SeeDs."
Quistis looked out of the corner of her eyes at Squall. "You do not think it slightly hasty?"
Squall's eyes were locked on the door as he replied.
"Nothing is too hasty now. We must assemble our forces before the witches rise again. I am interested in a certain characteristic that the quiet boy displays, that one which he lapsed into after being cornered by those monsters."
"Very interested indeed."
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A/N: Thank you to Etherealist and Karla3!!! You really made my day, and now I feel that this thing is worth continuing after all! Thank you very much, hope you love this one!