The Blade Of A Lion
Chapter 3
"Hello. Everything ok up till now?" Quistis asked as Squall reached her outside the gate. Quistis' SeeD uniform was switched with orange skirt, orange top and a black belt diagonally wrapped around her. As always, Quistis fit perfectly into her clothes, and her battle gear was no exception. No wonder the Trepies got more and more members every day. Squall nodded at her question.
"I junctioned Shiva," he said. "And you will use Quetzacotl?"
"Yes, it's already junctioned to me," Quistis answered. Quietzacotl, the green bird of thunder was another GF that Balamb had in possession.
"You're ready to go, then. The Fire Cavern used for the test is east of here!" Quistis said. Squall memorized a map over Balamb Island. When starting at Balamb Garden, you had a real easy start, 'cause the Garden's front gate headed directly towards south.
Squall knew they had quite a long way to go. The clock was about 08:30 now, and they had to be back at Balamb Garden before 16:00. Meaning the faster way they took, the better. And, of course, the less monsters they encountered.
Monsters was not an unusual phenomenon. Monsters appeared all over the world, Balamb Island as well. The monster population around Garden would mostly be Bite Bugs, and when you encountered a monster, you either fought it, or ran off, hoping you could run away from it. If not, then poor you.
Squall and Quistis started on their road, walking fast. They followed the road for a while, going south, before turning off to east. Squall glanced out over the plains. He couldn't see any bite bugs right now, but he knew they wouldn't be far away. Bite Bugs rarely went along the road, but out on the plains, they were more brave.
"You lead on, Squall!" Quistis said. "I'll just follow!"
"Fine," Squall replied coldly. Then no more words were exchanged for a while, at least not while they were walking. The silence last until Quistis suddenly turned her head, then whirling around her upper body, her chain whip in her hand. The whip flew out at the Bite Bug that had appeared right behind Squall.
"Squall, watch out!" she shouted before the whip hit the Bite Bug, tossing it to the ground. Squall immediately whirled around with drawn gunblade, cutting the giant jaws off the bite bug.
"Here they come," Quistis said as a swarm of Bite Bugs came towards them. Squall concentrated hard on one of the Bite Bugs as it approached, searching for the traces of magic inside the monster. He found two sorts of magic, one for attack, the other for support, but their signature were both unknown. He concentrated on the attack magic, feeling his inner self reach out for it. The magic took form as blue and purple orbs that was extracted from the Bite Bug, and passed on to Squall.
Squall could now identify the magic as Fire. He had received 5 units of Fire magic.
'No more time for concentration,' he thought, and slashed out as the first Bite Bugs reached them. Wings, mouths and bodies were cut as his gunblade cut through the swarm, killing a whole bunch of Bite Bugs. Squall slashed and slashed and slashed again, with precise, coordinated swings, while Quistis, on the other hand, struck Bite Bug after Bite Bug with her whip. It was somewhat amazing that Quistis could hit the insects with her weapon. Despite the fact that they were bigger than a normal fly, they could still be hard to hit, especially with a whip, but Quistis did it with profession and lethality. The fight didn't go on for long, before a dozen Bite Bug corpses lay on the ground, the rest of the swarm flown away. At that time, Squall had drawn at all 12 units of Fire and 6 units of Scan from the insects.
Without another word, they moved on, walking.
It didn't last longer than a couple of hours before they approached the Fire Cavern. They had been bugged by a few Bite Bugs on their way, but not much damage was done. Nothing a potion couldn't fix.
Squall and Quistis stopped a hundred meters from the Cavern's entrance. "Let's junction the magic we have stocked," Quistis said. "You know how, right?"
"I know," Squall said.
"Oh, ok!" his instructor said. "I was just concerned, that's all!"
Squall closed his eyes, establishing contact with Shiva who was inside him. He told her to junction the strongest magic to his stats, making him more prepared for the forthcoming. And it was done. Squall could feel his inner strength grow, making him more fearless, giving him more courage and confidence.
"Alright, let's go," Quistis said, and they went to the entrance.
Before the entrance stood two members of the Garden Faculty, guarding the entrance. Squall and Quistis stopped before them.
"Objective for Fire Cavern: To obtain a low-level GF. A SeeD member must support. Are you ready?" they said.
"I'm ready!" Squall saluted them.
"I'm his support!" Quistis said, and saluted them as well. "Instructor No. 14, Quistis Trepe!" One of the faculty members took a clock out of his pocket and looked at Squall.
"Select a time limit. Choose one suited to your abilities. Challenging yet reasonable!"
"20 minutes!" Squall said.
"Very well. Good luck!" the faculty said as they stepped aside. Loud growling could be heard from inside of the cavern entrance. Squall and Quistis proceeded, and the faculty took their places again. The faculty started the time as Squall went into the fire cavern.
The fire cavern had got its name because of an underground volcano inside of it. The lava was flowing there, but it somehow stayed in one place. It was like the lava was moving in a cycle, it poured out from the volcano, and somehow disappeared down into the ground again. It was a natural phenomenon. In this cavern, Squall and Quistis walked in. The heat was extreme, but they didn't care.
"My job is to support you in battle. Everything else is up to you!" Quistis said as they walked on the small rock road that led deeper into the cavern. Squall walked on with his natural, pale face. Quistis walked beside him, looked at him and tried to speak directly to him.
"Fine," Squall said.
"You know, the boys often choke on this test when I come with them," Quistis said, trying to catch the gunblader's attention. "I guess my charm makes them nervous," she giggled. Squall stopped and looked at her.
"Whatever" he said to himself, but the glare he gave to Quistis looked like he was annoyed.
"I'm just kidding," she said. "Trying to keep you relaxed, that's all!" Squall said nothing, but turned away, reaching for his gunblade. He turned his attention towards two Red Bats , a Bomb and a Buel who came towards them. Monsters, all of them, and they were as ugly as they were supposed to be. The Bomb was shaped like a weird head, with a laughing mouth, and two short arms. Its 'hair' were flames burning on top of the head. The Buel looked like somewhat of a weird propellor, three wings out of leather circling around a horrible, grinning face.
Squall could remember the description of a Buel monster. They weren't strong, nor very dangerous, but their hang of using magic could be irritating. But its stock of magic, was a something that could prove useful for Squall. He concentrated again on the Buel, searching for its stock of magic. And he found what he was looking for: Blizzard. The best magic to use in the Fire Cavern! He and Quistis draw themselves 8 and 5 units of Blizzard magic, before Quistis whipped the Buel to the ground.
But their next challenge expected them just behind the dead Buel. The two bombs and two Red Bats blocked their way.
"One Bomb and one Red Bat for each of us!" Squall said.
"Got it!" Quistis said. They both ran at their opponents. One of The Red Bats took a dive at Squall to take a good bite of him. Squall ducked and stepped aside, so the Red Bat met his gunblade instead. More didn't he know before he got the Bomb smack right into his face, and he fell backwards.
Quistis weren't more lucky. The other Bomb threw a Fire spell at her. She managed to duck away from it, but her Red Bat landed on her shoulder and chewed a good part of her.
Squall was immediately back on his feet, rushing towards the Bomb. Fire were glowing, both from the bomb, and in Squall's eyes, as he slashed the bomb a big wound, then blasting it off his blade. At the same time, Quistis took things in her own hand. Meaning she had a good grip around the Red Bat's throat. The bat was wheezing, but Quistis held on to it. At the same time, Squall launched himself in an attack onto the other Bomb monster. He slashed at it two times, before it fell to the ground and turned to dust.
Quistis looked impressed as they went on the last part of the road and could see the lava-pouring volcano ahead of them.
"I guess I was right. You and Seifer are in a class of your own. You both have amazing strength and potential!" She said. Squall frowned at the mention of Seifer, but he didn't say anything.
He took a look at a watch on his hand. They hadn't been here for long, about 6 minutes. Maybe 10 minutes would have been enough?
"Ok, This is it. Are you ready?" Quistis asked as they reached the volcano. Squall nodded. "You seem confident enough," Quistis said, and Squall wondered if there was a tense of pride in her voice. He stopped wonder as the ground started to shake, rocks in addition to lava started to pour out, and arising from the lava came Ifrit, the ruler of flames.
The GF Ifrit was a brown creature with red hair, large horns, a musculature any bodybuilder would die to get, and his body were covered in eternal flames. The beast stood before Squall and Quistis as they took their fighting stances.
Ifrit growled at the humans before his hands glowed and burned with fire. It wasn't like the rest of his burning body, more like..
"LOOK OUT!" Only reflexes helped Squall dodge the Fire spell that burned the ground where he stood only minutes ago. Ifrit growled again and glared at the humans. A shredding voice soared through the air.
"Blizzard!" Quistis shouted and turned her palms towards Ifrit. Blue sparkles gathered over Ifrit's head, and formed a large block of ice. Ifrit saw the coming ice, and leaped out of the way just before the block could hit him full-force. The beast jumped up at the nearest cliff and roared down at Squall and Quistis, who stood their ground below, glaring back at the flaming GF.
"Impudent Humans!!" Ifrit growled, and it surprised Squall a little. Although it shouldn't have, all GF's had the ability to speak. Long time of serving humans had taught them the human language.
The surprise kept Squall from seeing Ifrit leap right at him, knocking him to the ground. Squall felt like all his ribs were to crack, but he knew they hadn't. Shiva protected him. Her force helped him be strong. But he knew he now needed her help another way. As he saw Quistis receive a Fire spell full in her chest, screaming out in pain, he roared over the growling from both the volcano and Ifrit.
"SHIVA!" Squall's voice echoed in the cavern. Quistis eyed him, stood up from the fire she had just received, and stepped away. It was wise to step away from the battlefield when a summoning came up, since the GF's force could hurt you as well. Ifrit growled as Quistis fled the battlefield, and eyed Squall. He leaped at him, giving him a blow across the face. Ifrit felt the blow hit, but not a scratch were seen on Squall from it. He stood his ground, just as Ifrit hadn't been near him at all.
"Hm. Not bad for a human!" he said. Ifrit wasn't really sure what happened.
"Diamond Dust!" Squall howled, as he fled the battlefield himself. Wise move! He had just gotten out of range as shredders of ice was raining from the sky, forming a pile of ice on the ground. The ice was glowing blue, and rumbling noises could be heard from it. One second later, a pyramid of ice arose from the pile. A figure of a woman could be seen, frozen into the giant ice block. Ifrit looked at it with surprise. He looked at the woman inside. Then he jerked back as the woman opened her own, shining, pale blue eyes and looked straight into his.
"Shiva?" he asked. A crashing sound was heard as the queen of ice broke out of the pyramid, her blue hands glowing. Shiva rose her hands, drawing in power from the air. The shimmering blue energy shot out in cascades at Ifrit, revealing him trapped in a valley of ice. He couldn't go anywhere, nor move his feet, as they had froze to the ground. Shiva looked at him with her blue eyes once more, before snapping her fingers. The reaction was immediate. The ice valley broke into shreds of ice, breaking at Ifrit as well. Ifrits body became numb as his body temperature sunk from normal to extreme cold. He did something he rarely, or never did: He chattered his teeth.
"They have Shiva!?" Ifrit roared, surprised and aggravated at the same time. He eyed Squall and Quistis. They were back on the battlefield, after Shiva had went away. He growled loudly, mobilised magic from within and aimed a Fire spell at Squall.
"Blizzard!" Ifrit never got to shoot the fireball at him. The ice block Quistis had formed over his head hit him in the head, making him see stars and moons.
This was the diversion Squall needed. He ran ahead at Ifrit and gave him a slash across the chest. Ifrit roared out in pain, sensing his body still being numb after Shiva's attack and his vision blurry after the blow to his head.
But he felt the sharp edge against his throat and the hand holding his horn.
"You lost, Ifrit!" Squall said as he held the gunblade against Ifrit's throat and held his head still with a firm grip around his right horn.
"For me to lose to a human." Ifrit growled. Squall tightened his grip around Ifrit, in case the GF would try a smart move. He didn't said anything. "Very well, I will join you," the GF exclaimed.
At the same time, it was like Ifrit went apart. His body slowly vanished from the heart and the rest of his body followed. As he was gone, Squall put his gunblade back. He then closed his eyes and searched for Ifrit in the surrounding. He found him. He called for him, imagining himself calling the ruler of fire. He could feel a warmth run through him, a warmth of strength and confidence.
-You have my help, human!- a voice inside him said. Ifrit was a part of him now.
Squall arose and nodded at Quistis. He looked at his watch. They had been in the cavern for 11 and a half minute, and the GF was obtained. Squall started to wonder if they could have made it within 10 minutes. But then he saw that they needed the time to get back to Balamb Garden in time before the exam. They went out of the cavern and went on their way back.
The clock was about 1540 when they got back to Garden. It had taken some time because when they had went through the forest between Garden and the Forest, they had to hide for a T-Rexaur that had a feast on a Caterchipillar. A fight with it would only have worn them out, and Squall wanted top condition before the exam.
"Well done!" Quistis turned to Squall as they reached the gate. Squall met her eyes. "Good, you got yourself a GF. Use it well, and don't forget you can learn many abilities from it!" Squall just nodded, but the information was tiresome. He had read the basics about GF, so he wouldn't have any problem with it at all. "It's late. Now go change into your uniform and assemble at the 1F lobby at 1600 sharp!" the SeeD instructor said before turning and walking inside. Squall ran past her, heading for the dormitory.
-----------------------------
Good, Squall got the GF, and I finally got the 3rd chapter finished. Hope you liked it, I'm not going to stop. I tried to give the Ifrit fight a little more personality and taking it a little away from the game aspect with turns and all that. I hope I made it to your satisfaction. Next chapter coming up in not long, peeps. Hang in there!
- Ric Leonhart
Chapter 3
"Hello. Everything ok up till now?" Quistis asked as Squall reached her outside the gate. Quistis' SeeD uniform was switched with orange skirt, orange top and a black belt diagonally wrapped around her. As always, Quistis fit perfectly into her clothes, and her battle gear was no exception. No wonder the Trepies got more and more members every day. Squall nodded at her question.
"I junctioned Shiva," he said. "And you will use Quetzacotl?"
"Yes, it's already junctioned to me," Quistis answered. Quietzacotl, the green bird of thunder was another GF that Balamb had in possession.
"You're ready to go, then. The Fire Cavern used for the test is east of here!" Quistis said. Squall memorized a map over Balamb Island. When starting at Balamb Garden, you had a real easy start, 'cause the Garden's front gate headed directly towards south.
Squall knew they had quite a long way to go. The clock was about 08:30 now, and they had to be back at Balamb Garden before 16:00. Meaning the faster way they took, the better. And, of course, the less monsters they encountered.
Monsters was not an unusual phenomenon. Monsters appeared all over the world, Balamb Island as well. The monster population around Garden would mostly be Bite Bugs, and when you encountered a monster, you either fought it, or ran off, hoping you could run away from it. If not, then poor you.
Squall and Quistis started on their road, walking fast. They followed the road for a while, going south, before turning off to east. Squall glanced out over the plains. He couldn't see any bite bugs right now, but he knew they wouldn't be far away. Bite Bugs rarely went along the road, but out on the plains, they were more brave.
"You lead on, Squall!" Quistis said. "I'll just follow!"
"Fine," Squall replied coldly. Then no more words were exchanged for a while, at least not while they were walking. The silence last until Quistis suddenly turned her head, then whirling around her upper body, her chain whip in her hand. The whip flew out at the Bite Bug that had appeared right behind Squall.
"Squall, watch out!" she shouted before the whip hit the Bite Bug, tossing it to the ground. Squall immediately whirled around with drawn gunblade, cutting the giant jaws off the bite bug.
"Here they come," Quistis said as a swarm of Bite Bugs came towards them. Squall concentrated hard on one of the Bite Bugs as it approached, searching for the traces of magic inside the monster. He found two sorts of magic, one for attack, the other for support, but their signature were both unknown. He concentrated on the attack magic, feeling his inner self reach out for it. The magic took form as blue and purple orbs that was extracted from the Bite Bug, and passed on to Squall.
Squall could now identify the magic as Fire. He had received 5 units of Fire magic.
'No more time for concentration,' he thought, and slashed out as the first Bite Bugs reached them. Wings, mouths and bodies were cut as his gunblade cut through the swarm, killing a whole bunch of Bite Bugs. Squall slashed and slashed and slashed again, with precise, coordinated swings, while Quistis, on the other hand, struck Bite Bug after Bite Bug with her whip. It was somewhat amazing that Quistis could hit the insects with her weapon. Despite the fact that they were bigger than a normal fly, they could still be hard to hit, especially with a whip, but Quistis did it with profession and lethality. The fight didn't go on for long, before a dozen Bite Bug corpses lay on the ground, the rest of the swarm flown away. At that time, Squall had drawn at all 12 units of Fire and 6 units of Scan from the insects.
Without another word, they moved on, walking.
It didn't last longer than a couple of hours before they approached the Fire Cavern. They had been bugged by a few Bite Bugs on their way, but not much damage was done. Nothing a potion couldn't fix.
Squall and Quistis stopped a hundred meters from the Cavern's entrance. "Let's junction the magic we have stocked," Quistis said. "You know how, right?"
"I know," Squall said.
"Oh, ok!" his instructor said. "I was just concerned, that's all!"
Squall closed his eyes, establishing contact with Shiva who was inside him. He told her to junction the strongest magic to his stats, making him more prepared for the forthcoming. And it was done. Squall could feel his inner strength grow, making him more fearless, giving him more courage and confidence.
"Alright, let's go," Quistis said, and they went to the entrance.
Before the entrance stood two members of the Garden Faculty, guarding the entrance. Squall and Quistis stopped before them.
"Objective for Fire Cavern: To obtain a low-level GF. A SeeD member must support. Are you ready?" they said.
"I'm ready!" Squall saluted them.
"I'm his support!" Quistis said, and saluted them as well. "Instructor No. 14, Quistis Trepe!" One of the faculty members took a clock out of his pocket and looked at Squall.
"Select a time limit. Choose one suited to your abilities. Challenging yet reasonable!"
"20 minutes!" Squall said.
"Very well. Good luck!" the faculty said as they stepped aside. Loud growling could be heard from inside of the cavern entrance. Squall and Quistis proceeded, and the faculty took their places again. The faculty started the time as Squall went into the fire cavern.
The fire cavern had got its name because of an underground volcano inside of it. The lava was flowing there, but it somehow stayed in one place. It was like the lava was moving in a cycle, it poured out from the volcano, and somehow disappeared down into the ground again. It was a natural phenomenon. In this cavern, Squall and Quistis walked in. The heat was extreme, but they didn't care.
"My job is to support you in battle. Everything else is up to you!" Quistis said as they walked on the small rock road that led deeper into the cavern. Squall walked on with his natural, pale face. Quistis walked beside him, looked at him and tried to speak directly to him.
"Fine," Squall said.
"You know, the boys often choke on this test when I come with them," Quistis said, trying to catch the gunblader's attention. "I guess my charm makes them nervous," she giggled. Squall stopped and looked at her.
"Whatever" he said to himself, but the glare he gave to Quistis looked like he was annoyed.
"I'm just kidding," she said. "Trying to keep you relaxed, that's all!" Squall said nothing, but turned away, reaching for his gunblade. He turned his attention towards two Red Bats , a Bomb and a Buel who came towards them. Monsters, all of them, and they were as ugly as they were supposed to be. The Bomb was shaped like a weird head, with a laughing mouth, and two short arms. Its 'hair' were flames burning on top of the head. The Buel looked like somewhat of a weird propellor, three wings out of leather circling around a horrible, grinning face.
Squall could remember the description of a Buel monster. They weren't strong, nor very dangerous, but their hang of using magic could be irritating. But its stock of magic, was a something that could prove useful for Squall. He concentrated again on the Buel, searching for its stock of magic. And he found what he was looking for: Blizzard. The best magic to use in the Fire Cavern! He and Quistis draw themselves 8 and 5 units of Blizzard magic, before Quistis whipped the Buel to the ground.
But their next challenge expected them just behind the dead Buel. The two bombs and two Red Bats blocked their way.
"One Bomb and one Red Bat for each of us!" Squall said.
"Got it!" Quistis said. They both ran at their opponents. One of The Red Bats took a dive at Squall to take a good bite of him. Squall ducked and stepped aside, so the Red Bat met his gunblade instead. More didn't he know before he got the Bomb smack right into his face, and he fell backwards.
Quistis weren't more lucky. The other Bomb threw a Fire spell at her. She managed to duck away from it, but her Red Bat landed on her shoulder and chewed a good part of her.
Squall was immediately back on his feet, rushing towards the Bomb. Fire were glowing, both from the bomb, and in Squall's eyes, as he slashed the bomb a big wound, then blasting it off his blade. At the same time, Quistis took things in her own hand. Meaning she had a good grip around the Red Bat's throat. The bat was wheezing, but Quistis held on to it. At the same time, Squall launched himself in an attack onto the other Bomb monster. He slashed at it two times, before it fell to the ground and turned to dust.
Quistis looked impressed as they went on the last part of the road and could see the lava-pouring volcano ahead of them.
"I guess I was right. You and Seifer are in a class of your own. You both have amazing strength and potential!" She said. Squall frowned at the mention of Seifer, but he didn't say anything.
He took a look at a watch on his hand. They hadn't been here for long, about 6 minutes. Maybe 10 minutes would have been enough?
"Ok, This is it. Are you ready?" Quistis asked as they reached the volcano. Squall nodded. "You seem confident enough," Quistis said, and Squall wondered if there was a tense of pride in her voice. He stopped wonder as the ground started to shake, rocks in addition to lava started to pour out, and arising from the lava came Ifrit, the ruler of flames.
The GF Ifrit was a brown creature with red hair, large horns, a musculature any bodybuilder would die to get, and his body were covered in eternal flames. The beast stood before Squall and Quistis as they took their fighting stances.
Ifrit growled at the humans before his hands glowed and burned with fire. It wasn't like the rest of his burning body, more like..
"LOOK OUT!" Only reflexes helped Squall dodge the Fire spell that burned the ground where he stood only minutes ago. Ifrit growled again and glared at the humans. A shredding voice soared through the air.
"Blizzard!" Quistis shouted and turned her palms towards Ifrit. Blue sparkles gathered over Ifrit's head, and formed a large block of ice. Ifrit saw the coming ice, and leaped out of the way just before the block could hit him full-force. The beast jumped up at the nearest cliff and roared down at Squall and Quistis, who stood their ground below, glaring back at the flaming GF.
"Impudent Humans!!" Ifrit growled, and it surprised Squall a little. Although it shouldn't have, all GF's had the ability to speak. Long time of serving humans had taught them the human language.
The surprise kept Squall from seeing Ifrit leap right at him, knocking him to the ground. Squall felt like all his ribs were to crack, but he knew they hadn't. Shiva protected him. Her force helped him be strong. But he knew he now needed her help another way. As he saw Quistis receive a Fire spell full in her chest, screaming out in pain, he roared over the growling from both the volcano and Ifrit.
"SHIVA!" Squall's voice echoed in the cavern. Quistis eyed him, stood up from the fire she had just received, and stepped away. It was wise to step away from the battlefield when a summoning came up, since the GF's force could hurt you as well. Ifrit growled as Quistis fled the battlefield, and eyed Squall. He leaped at him, giving him a blow across the face. Ifrit felt the blow hit, but not a scratch were seen on Squall from it. He stood his ground, just as Ifrit hadn't been near him at all.
"Hm. Not bad for a human!" he said. Ifrit wasn't really sure what happened.
"Diamond Dust!" Squall howled, as he fled the battlefield himself. Wise move! He had just gotten out of range as shredders of ice was raining from the sky, forming a pile of ice on the ground. The ice was glowing blue, and rumbling noises could be heard from it. One second later, a pyramid of ice arose from the pile. A figure of a woman could be seen, frozen into the giant ice block. Ifrit looked at it with surprise. He looked at the woman inside. Then he jerked back as the woman opened her own, shining, pale blue eyes and looked straight into his.
"Shiva?" he asked. A crashing sound was heard as the queen of ice broke out of the pyramid, her blue hands glowing. Shiva rose her hands, drawing in power from the air. The shimmering blue energy shot out in cascades at Ifrit, revealing him trapped in a valley of ice. He couldn't go anywhere, nor move his feet, as they had froze to the ground. Shiva looked at him with her blue eyes once more, before snapping her fingers. The reaction was immediate. The ice valley broke into shreds of ice, breaking at Ifrit as well. Ifrits body became numb as his body temperature sunk from normal to extreme cold. He did something he rarely, or never did: He chattered his teeth.
"They have Shiva!?" Ifrit roared, surprised and aggravated at the same time. He eyed Squall and Quistis. They were back on the battlefield, after Shiva had went away. He growled loudly, mobilised magic from within and aimed a Fire spell at Squall.
"Blizzard!" Ifrit never got to shoot the fireball at him. The ice block Quistis had formed over his head hit him in the head, making him see stars and moons.
This was the diversion Squall needed. He ran ahead at Ifrit and gave him a slash across the chest. Ifrit roared out in pain, sensing his body still being numb after Shiva's attack and his vision blurry after the blow to his head.
But he felt the sharp edge against his throat and the hand holding his horn.
"You lost, Ifrit!" Squall said as he held the gunblade against Ifrit's throat and held his head still with a firm grip around his right horn.
"For me to lose to a human." Ifrit growled. Squall tightened his grip around Ifrit, in case the GF would try a smart move. He didn't said anything. "Very well, I will join you," the GF exclaimed.
At the same time, it was like Ifrit went apart. His body slowly vanished from the heart and the rest of his body followed. As he was gone, Squall put his gunblade back. He then closed his eyes and searched for Ifrit in the surrounding. He found him. He called for him, imagining himself calling the ruler of fire. He could feel a warmth run through him, a warmth of strength and confidence.
-You have my help, human!- a voice inside him said. Ifrit was a part of him now.
Squall arose and nodded at Quistis. He looked at his watch. They had been in the cavern for 11 and a half minute, and the GF was obtained. Squall started to wonder if they could have made it within 10 minutes. But then he saw that they needed the time to get back to Balamb Garden in time before the exam. They went out of the cavern and went on their way back.
The clock was about 1540 when they got back to Garden. It had taken some time because when they had went through the forest between Garden and the Forest, they had to hide for a T-Rexaur that had a feast on a Caterchipillar. A fight with it would only have worn them out, and Squall wanted top condition before the exam.
"Well done!" Quistis turned to Squall as they reached the gate. Squall met her eyes. "Good, you got yourself a GF. Use it well, and don't forget you can learn many abilities from it!" Squall just nodded, but the information was tiresome. He had read the basics about GF, so he wouldn't have any problem with it at all. "It's late. Now go change into your uniform and assemble at the 1F lobby at 1600 sharp!" the SeeD instructor said before turning and walking inside. Squall ran past her, heading for the dormitory.
-----------------------------
Good, Squall got the GF, and I finally got the 3rd chapter finished. Hope you liked it, I'm not going to stop. I tried to give the Ifrit fight a little more personality and taking it a little away from the game aspect with turns and all that. I hope I made it to your satisfaction. Next chapter coming up in not long, peeps. Hang in there!
- Ric Leonhart