Squall and Quistis journeyed quickly and quietly. The way to the fire cavern was short, but there were a lot of monsters in the area, and there was no assigned road leading to the Cave.
After a mile or two of wading through lush, dense greenery, and a few encounters with some unfriendly Catcherpillars and Bite Bugs, monsters that were heavily populated in the area, Squall and Quistis found the Fire Cavern - a volcanic area concealed in an underground cave. Its insides bubbled with lava and only a comparatively small strip of rocky floor led the way to the center.
The caves volcanic activity was, however, limited. "Perfectly undisturbed, yet on the edge of chaos" was how one student put it. Its last eruption was so long ago, that it had gone unrecorded. Yet it always seemed ready to explode. The cave was also filled with vicious fire monsters. They enjoyed the intense conditions inside the cave. The dry, rocky field just outside the cave gave only a slight indication of the heat and danger just within the opening.
As Squall and Quistis approached the Fire cavern area, they saw the two Garden Faculty members in the distance, cloaked in red as usual, with yellow hats pulled over their eyes. They were guarding the entrance to the Fire Cavern, making sure no mischievous children or unskilled SeeD candidates wandered in and got themselves hurt.
Squall knew that, as dangerous as it was, his training through Garden had prepared him enough for this challenge. He was more concerned about the field exam this afternoon. If all went well this morning, he would soon be working with qualified SeeDs on a real mission.
As they got closer to the entrance, Quistis spoke up.
"Okay, Squall. Do you have some magic junctioned to your gunblade yet?" she queried. "If you have any ice magic, make sure to use it rather than anything else. And you know how to use your gunblade effectively, right? It's much more powerful if you pull the trigger when you-"
"I know that," Squall cut her off, coldly. "I am a gunblade specialist."
"Well yes, I suppose," Quistis sighed, feeling embarrassed. "I was just concerned, that's all."
Really, she was really just trying to make conversation, but Quistis found it difficult, knowing what to say to her star pupil. She couldn't help sounding like she was lecturing or instructing him.
Quistis couldn't explain why, but she had always had a soft spot for Squall, even though he came across as aloof and rude.
She didn't have time to think about that now, anyway - she was going to assist Squall on a potentially dangerous test, and she needed to focus on helping him. That was what she was there to do.
The pair came up to the two Garden Faculty members at the entrance of the cave. Like a machine, the first staff member recited the instructions to Squall.
"Objective: to obtain a low-level GF. A SeeD member must support. Are you ready?" he asked, all the time his voice in the same drone.
Squall stood upright, giving a salute to the Garden staff.
"I'm ready," he said.
"I'm his support," Quistis chimed in. "Instructor No. 14. Quistis Trepe."
The Garden staff both nodded simultaneously.
"What is your selected time limit?" the one on the right asked. "Choose one suited to your abilities. Challenging, yet reasonable. Select from ten, twenty, thirty or forty minutes."
Squall thought a moment, realising that he would receive a better evaluation if he successfully completed the task in a short amount of time.
"Ten minutes," he replied, after deciding that ten minutes would be plenty of time. In, battle, get GF, out. Simple, really.
"Very well. Good luck," the Garden staff members both took a side step and Squall and Quistis entered the cave.
The hot air took a moment to get used to, but they could breathe easily after a while. The dark, burned cavern walls absorbed the light from outside quickly, but the rest of the cave was lit up with bubbling lava and flames.
Quistis, still trying to make conversation, spoke up over the sickly sound of a lava bubble popping.
"My job is to support you in battle," she said needlessly. "Everything else is up to you, Squall."
"Fine," Squall replied bluntly, wishing she would just be quiet.
Suddenly, he saw two swirling masses of flames come at him and Quistis from further down the cave. Squall drew his gunblade and Quistis pulled out her chain whip, ready for battle.
"Hmm. Bombs," Quistis said calmly, as the two chubby red spheres hovered in front of them. "These are fire monsters, so use your ice magic on them."
Squall cast two Blizzard spells, killing the huge fire beasts before they could attack.
"Very good," Quistis smiled, but Squall just carried on walking.
The temperature in the cavern got hotter and hotter as they trudged through. It was now getting difficult to breathe, and the pathway became narrower as they walked on. The heat was getting more intense with every step.
Quistis had noticed how tense the fire cave made people, even herself. So after a while, she spoke up again.
"You know, the boys often choke on this test when I come with them. I guess my charm makes them nervous," she joked with a grin.
"...Whatever," Squall thought, glaring at her.
"I'm just kidding!" Quistis explained. "Trying to keep you relaxed, that's all."
"Then just don't say anything," Squall said bitterly to himself in his mind.
Perhaps, Quistis realised, her feelings towards Squall had originated from when they had been students together. She had tried to be friends with him, with little luck. She even admitted, only to herself of course, that she had developed romantic feelings for Squall.
But now, as his instructor, the situation was very awkward. Quistis tried to earn his respect, but Squall still kept to himself, like he always had. He hated having others involved in his affairs, and he seemed just as content to stay out of everyone else's.
Quistis followed Squall carefully, keeping watch of how well he was doing. Though Quistis was slightly bothered by Squall's attitude, she kept her concentration on how well he conducted himself in battle. It was her job to evaluate him.
As they went deeper into the cave, another pair of Bombs attacked the two fighters.
Squall could feel the extreme heat emitting from the fire beasts, even from a distance. He quickly finished them off, however, with two more blizzard spells.
Squall was very focused on the assignment. Despite Quistis' attempts to 'relax' him, he remained on guard the entire time.
"I guess I was right," Quistis spoke up again. "You and Seifer are in a class of your own. You both have amazing strength and potential."
Though Seifer was definitely a gifted fighter, he lacked discipline and respect for any authority. Squall, on the other hand, followed directions to the letter, even if he did it begrudgingly at times.
Squall remained silent. There were only about five minutes left, and they were just now getting to what he realised was the Guardian Forces' lair – a huge, rocky opening in the ground. Hot air puffed out of it, and he wiped the sweat from his brow.
"Okay, this is it," Quistis said, as the ground beneath them began to rumble. "Are you ready?"
Squall just shot his hand up, as if to quiet her, then drew out his gunblade.
"Well, you seem confident enough," Quistis concluded, looking at him through half-closed eyes.
Suddenly, out shot a huge beast from the ground. Flames spat out from the opening of the cave floor and with a large boom and violent shaking, he spoke.
"WHO DARES DISTURB ME?!" Ifrit, the fire GF, yelled angrily. He looked at the two small humans before him and chuckled. It echoed all around the cave, and Squall wouldn't have been surprised if the ceiling gave way and fell on him.
Ifrit howled in fury as Squall took a swipe at him with his gunblade.
"Impudent humans!" Ifrit roared, opening out his fists to reveal lethal, 8-inch long claws.
He attacked Squall and Quistis with fire spells immediately. Squall winced, but quickly fought back, casting Blizzard on Ifrit. The energy from the ice attack jolted him significantly. At the same time, Quistis cast some cure on herself to recover from Ifrit's assault.
"UGH! Not bad for a human..." the GF winced. "But you are still no match for me!"
Squall looked on at Ifrit's huge body. He was right. Squall could never defeat Ifrit alone. His torso was almost like a human, only much larger, and he had the face of an animal. Ifrit's intimidating horns gave him an dangerously evil appearance.
But he was just like any other GF. He had his weak spots.
Squall focused, and summoned his equipped GF, Shiva.
Quistis watched on, ready to attack if needed, but it looked as if Squall was handling everything well. She simply cast a cure spell on him, just to be safe.
Then, the ground shook, and Shiva appeared, inside a huge stalactite, blasting upwards from the ground. Shiva was a beautiful ice maiden, her skin a cold shade of blue and he hair long, white and flowing. She was encased, sleeping, in the pillar of ice. Her eyes opened, and she shattered her cold surrounding with ease.
"They have SHIVA?!" Ifrit cried, in surprise and anger.
He was almost tempted to run back into his lair, but it was too late. Shiva cast her magic on Ifrit, and ice surrounded him. He was injured badly by the attack, and could no longer fight. Shiva disappeared with a flash, and Ifrit stumbled.
"For me to loose to a human," he gasped, lowering his head in exhaustion. "Very well. I will join you."
With seconds to spare, Squall had beaten Ifrit. As Squall resisted an urge to show any emotion, the Guardian Force disappeared, and Quistis spoke.
"Well done," she congratulated him, proud of her student. "Now let's get back to Garden. You'll need to prepare before the field exam."
Squall agreed. They left the Fire Cavern, returning to Garden. For an even larger challenge awaited Squall today.