A/N: Umm…err… I know it's been a while before I last updated! Sowee… anyway, please try and check out if the action scenes are okay? cuz I know action is really not my thing…heehee…

Chapter 15

The Final Inquest

When the Cadets entered the Ragnarok; Xu had them seated to explain the course of their mission.

"Good morning everyone, today, you will be having your final SeeD examination. I do hope that you'll be taking this test seriously and not mess around like you did the last time. Seifer, you'll be the squad leader once more, so don't go on making hasty decisions, you hear!?" she said as she gave Seifer a fretting look, then continued, "Your mission this time will be at Tear's Point. As soon as you get there, you are to insert the Crystal Keys, which is made of the blue crystal that you got from the Battleship Island into the core of the towering statues located at the very center of Tear's Point. You are to go behind them; there you shall see an insertion hole. Place all four keys, with that, the gates between the Moon and Earth shall close making it not possible for the lunatic monsters to enter the atmosphere. Once that is achieved all you have to do is eliminate all of the remaining monsters within the vicinity of Tear's Point, and your mission will be done. Oh, and you have to walk by foot all the way from Tear's Point back to the city. I will be waiting at Esthar's Crystal Place Hotel where I will declare your mission officially over. So now, questions anyone?"

"Umm…yeah, so you're expecting us to eliminate all monsters in the area, and how many are we expecting really?" Irvine seriously asked.

"According to the statistics, it'll range at around 300 to 700 plus."

"But why at Tear's Point? Do they plan on using it once more?" questioned Seifer.

"Well Seifer, I really don't have the ample amount of information regarding this, but just so to answer your question, yes. Dr.Odine and President Loire plan to do a research there, and so we were asked the favor of cleaning up the place for them."

"I see…" Seifer softly mumbled in reply.

"Uhh…umm…Xu?"

"Yes Rinoa?"

"Why do we have to walk the remaining distance? Will it still be a part of the field test or something? I thought you said our mission would be over the moment we finish clearing out the monsters at Tear's Point." Rinoa asked with a puzzled look.

"Actually, no…I just thought of the idea as challengingly cute!"

"XUUUUUuuuu!!! I think you'll be aware of how tired we'll be after fighting over a hundred monsters!" Rinoa angrily complained.

"Oh come on! Don't be such a wuss, it's not that far away. Besides, it'll be useful if we can snatch along some rare items." butted Seifer.

"But…"

"Seifer's right babe, don't worry, you've got not one, but two knights in shining armor to assist you all the way!" added Irvine.

"Tsk, yeah right! Oh well…might as well say this…may I rest in peace." Rinoa grumbled as she slouched on her seat.

Hence, they concluded their talk. They remained quiet all the way, and before long the Ragnarok landed at Tear's Point. As they went down, Xu wished them luck and took off on the Ragnarok leaving them on their own. They junctioned themselves with several GFs loading on their HP to reach maximum. They stocked up on their para-magic and items, then draw out their weapons before stepping on.

"So I guess this is it," Seifer uttered as soon as they neared the entrance.

"Alright guys, this ain't gonna be easy, but we can do this!" Rinoa said instilling more confidence to her two colleagues.

"Listen guys, the easiest way to do this is to run straight on from the very entrance until we reach the center. As soon as we seal the gate, we can start on killing the rest of the monsters, that way, we'll stop them from adding on as they keep on falling every minute adding on to our mishap." Seifer suggested, sweat starting to drip off his collar.

The two nodded in agreement without saying anything. The atmosphere was becoming tenser by the second. After their short walk, they finally reached the entrance of Tear's Point. They stepped on the gutter that separated the dry soil of Esthar from the walkway of Tear's Point, each eye paced around at the place. They saw hoards of monsters all over the site; growling and biting off each other's neck like cannibals. All of them breathed deeply, unable to move at least a step forward. The moment was still; time and everything that revolved around them seemed to have stopped.

But at last, Irvine finally got a hold of himself and said to them, "That's it! We won't get the job done, not unless we start with it! Rinoa, hold this bag, in it are the four crystals, if it breaks, we're done for, so hold it as if your life depended on it. Seifer, we'll stick with your plan, so stay beside Rinoa so that we can protect her and the crystals at both sides."

Rinoa rigidly took hold of the bag while the other two tightly grasped their weapons.

"Rinoa, we'll start on your cue." Irvine said as he looked sternly up front.

"Okay…all set?" The two nodded "Steady…steady…ready…RUN!" she exclaimed. When she motioned to start, both guys ran so quickly with their gapping step that Rinoa got left behind shuddering, trembling with fear as she tightly held close to her breasts the bag. It was a good thing the two men noticed their left baggage and returned to the site just in time before she dropped stiff dead on the ground. The two almost guffawed at the terrible site, but took hold of their composure for they knew Rinoa too well when in rage. So this time, they made sure that they were running the same step and distance.

They quickly ran down towards the statue with the two slashing and hacking every monster that came close to them.

"You alright Rinoa?" Irvine asked busy reloading his Exeter.

"Yeah, and may I say you guys are doing great!" Rinoa replied, clasping the crystals closer to her chest.

"Hahahaha!!! Fun, isn't it?" Seifer added giving them the thumbs up.

"You said it! Now come on, let's get through with this one and go home as SeeDs!" Irvine exclaimed, adding motivation to the two. With that, they hastened their speed and before they knew it; they hadreached the statues.

They were in luck, not a single monster was found in the area, for it was said that those statues have great energy and that the only possible monsters that could enter are really those of the strong ones, like the GFs.

Rinoa slowly walked her way towards the center. There she found some ancient symbols. It was frescoed with weird caricatures and right at the very center where the graffiti surround was a crescent moon inside a round orb. The orb had three holes, one shaped as a star, the other the sun, and another was of a planet. Rinoa each inserted the hole with the crystal that corresponds to its shape. When she did that, a thin transparent glass that seemed to protect the moon shattered into pieces. Rinoa looked back at the boys that stood behind her as if asking for a sign of approval that nothing would go wrong if she continued.

"Go on Rinoa, we'll be right here," affirmed Seifer in assurance.

Silently, Rinoa stepped before the emblem, with the last remaining piece that she held; she inserted the key to its place then right away reunited with her friends.

All of the crystals brightened up in unison causing a very bright light to appear before them. The light turned into a ray, gushing up into the heavens, straight onto the moon. As the light began to wane, monsters stopped falling. At that very instant and the sky's gloominess little by little turned back to light as the clouds parted to once again show the rays of the magnificent sun. Silence filled the air as they gazed and smiled at the scenic site.

This time, Rinoa got a hold of herself first and slapped the two at the back, hard. "Heeheehee…that's what you get for letting me do everything!"

"Owww! Damn you babe, you hit hard!" Irvine complained rubbing his back.

"Hmph, I guess we're done with part one, now for the hard part, part two; which is… KILL ALL DOOMED MONSTERS!!!" Seifer exclaimed in excitement as he ran out of the protected area and started slicing off the heads of the poor ill-fated beasts.

The two went out to join him after a short while. At first they had fun putting the monsters into eternal slumber and gaining experience points, ability points and items from them, but at the 70th consecutive fight, their energy began to dwindle as their items and para-magic quickly diminished as well.

"Huff-huff-huff…That's it you guys, I can't go on any further." Rinoa complained as she stepped back and squatted on the ground releasing her Shooting Star letting it lay on the floor.

"Yeah, we can't go on like this. They're getting stronger by the second and there's still a multitude of them left. So, got any idea Seifer?" Irvine asked as he began to slow down his pace from shooting.

Seifer remained silent as he thought of a plan. Even a tough guy like him had limits. They already hadrun out of Aura and cannot risk on having a low HP just so they could use their Limit Breaks. Seifer felt a sudden weakening on his knees as he hacked off his last enemy. Then, a new hope aroused within him as he saw the wings on Rinoa's back. Thoughts of their preparation mission came over him as he kept on looking at her wings. Then he remembered the Hell's Judgement that she hadcast which saved them on that faithful day.

He quickly approached her, asking, "Rinoa! You're a sorceress right? Why don't you go cast Hell's Judgement in order to reduce all the monster's HP down to 1?"

"That would be nice, but I have no control over it yet. When that happened, I was close to being dead. I think I really have to be angry and weak for it to be possible." Rinoa explained. As she was done with those words, she only saw Seifer's evil grin and the words "Irvine, grab her!" before falling into oblivion.

Seifer knocked her out with the handle of his Hyperion causing her HP to fall down rapidly. Sure, that made Seifer the bad guy, but if it was the only way for them to survive, heck why not? He just had to pass this test for his sake…and Quistis'. This made Rinoa so furious that she cast all the spells she could think of at that time. And it would surely help if she cast it on the monsters and not all to the poor Seifer. Seifer hid himself from her sight in fear of her rage. Good thing he was a smart-ass and was able to formulate a new idea before meeting his doom. He ran around behind the statues shouting and creating an echo causing Rinoa to cast spells everywhere and hitting several monsters in the process. Seifer kept on taunting her, and in the end caused her to cut a nerve and succeeding with his plan on casting Hell's Judgement.

When she did that, Seifer right away healed himself and Irvine. And since the spell was cast, they easily killed off the monsters with a single hit. They just had to do it quick while avoiding Rinoa who could easily knock them off their feet. They did their job quick with the help of the GFs that they were able to eliminate all monsters with a little over an hour. When the job was finished, Rinoa returned back to her normal self; fainting on Irvine's arms since Seifer refused touch her just yet.

"Sorry Rinoa, had no other option…I promise I'll make it up to you once we return to Balamb." Seifer apologized as soon as Rinoa opened her eyes.

"You better, you damn jerk!" Rinoa retorted in anger tone.

"Ouch…" he said smirking at her in consent.

They were able to take rest before they heard a menacing roar. They looked at the statues from afar where the noise seemed to emanate. And to their shock and dismay saw a huge creature that leaped out from behind the statues causing the ground to quake. Their eyes narrowed as they took sight of the monster that caused the tremble. It was a gigantic creature that looked like Catoplebas. Its red skin that was similar to that of a dragon's scale glittered as he moved around the place. His huge claws that were attached to its enormous paws made the earth shake and sound as he stomped his way around. Long white hair ran from his forehead and through its back, reaching to the end of its tail. Its fangs, which seemed to be specially made to tear flesh and bones apart, could clearly be seen from its partially opened jaws. Itlooked big enough for a whole man to fit into. It took its stance so as to overtop the tallest trees gazing around as if searching for something to slaughter and feast upon.

As the three fighters were still relieving themselves from exhaustion, another clamor came, and they neither knew whether to fight the terror that appeared right before them or leave and return for its carnage on another day.

"This is too much, I can't go on…we'll die if we fight that thing." Irvine said with a big disappointing look at them.

"You're telling me! I'm dying even just by looking at that thing!" added Rinoa as she hugged her knees and curled herself in withdrawal.

Seifer remained silent for a while before he spoke his opinion. "No…that's not possible…maybe for you it is…but for me, this is my last chance to become a SeeD… if I stop now, there won't be a next time. You may do as you please, but let me tell you this: we've gone much too far for us to give up now! And if I have to fight this thing in order to pass…I'll do it…even if it means fighting on my own."

Seifer took hold of his gunblade and slowly got up from his seat. It already took him much effort to stand up, and he couldn't imagine himself fighting that colossal creature which seemed to have escaped loose from the abyss on his own. As his friends looked at him in astonishment, he slowly walked using his Hyperion as a cane to support his feeble legs. As he walked, he gathered his strength on his right arm where he held his weapon. He hid behind the statues and when the right opportunity came; he jumped out from the shadows, stabbing the creature from behind, causing 7986 damage to the monster. The beast groaned and stroked its back knocking Seifer to the ground. As he fell, he quickly stood up and cast Scan on the monster.

Its statistics were of the following:

REX PYROLEBAS

HP: 181,767/189,753

Defense: 218/255

Attacks: Inferno Blast, Poison Frost

Weakness: Gravity, Holy

No Effect: Poison, Thunder

Absorption: Fire

This gigantic creature is an ancestor of the dreaded Catoplebas. They often fall down from the moon every time its gates are either opened or closed. Watch out for its attacks, it can prove fatal in just two turns.

Seifer thought of the worse possible things. His HP was as low as 5,345 and he had to take down a monster having more than 180,000 HP.

The monster stroke its rear hitting Seifer with its tail taking out another 2,278 of his HP. With a low remaining HP he was able to activate his Limit Break: Zantetsuken Reverse since all his other limits involved fire-elemental damage. He tightly took hold of his gunblade and concentrated on summoning his strength towards his arms. When he was done so, he jumped high up in the air enforcing the wind to gather around him, which added up to his strength. As he hurled himself up, hitting the Rex Pyrolebas three times, slashing through its flesh causing a damage of 29,997 as a total of 9,999 damage per gash.

The monster roared in fury. It readied itself for its devastating Inferno Blast. Just as he was about to blow inferno, Seifer junction Flare to his elemental defense and Firaga to his absorption stat. He was also quick enough to cast Triple and Regen to himself as well as summon Carbuncle adding to his defenses Shell and Protect. When the blast was executed, he had enough defenses to avoid himself from dying. The hit only took 1,356 damage, which gave him enough time to use his Zantetsuken Reverse once more and heal himself with Triple-Curaga.

As he was about to cast Demi to the monster, he was struck with its Poison Frost inflicting Pain, Sleep, Confuse, Zombie, and Break on Seifer which petrified him. The Rex Pyrolebas was about to shatter him into pieces when sudden pains on his behind caused him to turn back instead of giving the attack. It was Irvine, shooting several Plus Ammo at the beast. As it turned its attention to Irvine, Rinoa cured Seifer with Esuna and Potion-X reviving him back to his vigor.

"Thanks for the backup…" Seifer said in frail words.

"Hey, what are friends for?" Rinoa replied with a smile.

"Guys, quit it with the chitchat because I can't take this appalling giant alone!!!!" Irvine screamed from a distance, continuously pummeling his Plus Ammo on the foe.

Seifer and Rinoa hurried to help him. Rinoa was the one in charge of healing, while the two others took care of the offenses. With all three of them in union, it wasn't long before the enemy lost all its strength to fight back. And with that, Seifer gave his finishing blow to the neck of giant causing it to fall down in agony. Bloody foam covered its jaws, and the breathing from its nostrils soon subdued its coming. The monster was found dead, leaving along tons of AP and experience for the party, as well as a dozen ofuseful items.

"Huuh-haah-haah…I guess…huff-huff…it's over…" Seifer said falling flat on the ground from fatigue.

"Huff…yup…it's over." Rinoa replied kneeling down from exhaustion as well.

"Hmph, what do you mean over? We still have to return back to Esthar! We still have a whole lot of damn monsters to face on our way!" Irvine butted in.

"When I get my hands on that Xu, I'll—AAARRRGGHHH!!!" Rinoa exclaimed in anger.

"Don't worry, I got Diablos, let's just junction its Enc-none ability." Seifer suggested.

And so they journeyed on back to Esthar where Xu happily welcomed them. And yes, Rinoa did strangle Xu; luckily, a lot of people were there to release her from Xu's unfortunate neck. From here, Seifer instilled much more confidence to himself knowing that he did his job right this time and the chances of passing are high. He smiled, as he looked upon the sky and said: "You'll be proud of me Quis…"

A/N: And that's pretty much it! So, do along with the REVIEW and tell me what you think of my action scene this time. Oh! And have I got a treat for you next Chapter! Hold on to your seats cause you'll have a blast at Selphie's turn…