Chapter 12: First Mission

Cid glared at the Faculty members who stood opposite his desk. Three of them stood in a line. The outer two hadn't spoken at all during the course of the informal meeting, leaving the middle one to do all the talking.

"NORG still refuses your request," the Faculty reiterated.

"It was not a request," Cid replied. "It was an order. Seifer Almasy was to be expelled."

"You are not the owner of this Garden, Headmaster," the Faculty replied. "NORG's authority supercedes yours. And NORG believes that Seifer Almasy is too great an investment to expell before he reaches twenty."

Cid shook his head.

"Seifer Almasy is a glory hunter, not a soldier," Cid replied. "Despite his skill, he is a danger to everyone, himself included. He is a dog of war, not a warrior, and his presence on the battlefield presents a dangerous random factor. We cannot afford to have soldiers who refuse to follow their orders, especially if SeeD is to fulfill its true role."

"That role has not yet presented itself," the Faculty replied. "We have not had an inkling of that level of danger for years, not since the Sorceress War."

"Trent says otherwise."

"Trent's words are irrelavent," the Faculty said with a shake of his head. "He only says that there is a new foriegn ambassador in the Galbadian government. That region falls under Galbadia Garden's jurisdiction, not ours."

"But if what he says is true-"

"NORG will act on it," the Faculty interrupted. "NORG is in constant communication with Headmaster Martine, and he is keeping an eye on the Galbadian situation."

Cid sighed and nodded, knowing they were right. He sat back in his chair.

"Very well," Cid said, moving back the original subject. "If expulsion will not suffice for Seifer, other disciplinary actions must be taken. Perhaps detention or suspension?"

"NORG has concluded detention may be sufficent for Almasy," the Faculty said. "Three weeks detention may prove sufficent for insubordination."

Cid nodded his assent. Garden's "detention" area was more like a military brig, saved for those members of Garden that acted grossly out of line in combat situations, or for violent offenders or intruders into the Garden grounds.

"In addition, Headmaster," the Faculty added. "NORG has cut back on the number of SeeDs to be deployed on the operation tommorow."

"How many?" Cid asked, dissappointed but not surprised at NORG's cutback.

"Ordinarily we would not even reply to a request involving such a small amount of gil," the Faculty explained, "but we have opted instead to cut the SeeD unit from five to three. In addition, we are only going to deploy relatively inexperienced SeeDs to this operation."

Cid nodded, expecting every word.

"Furthermore, there will be no replacement of any SeeDs suffering from casualties on this operation."

Of course not, Cid thought. Why replace SeeDs when the offer involved all the money being paid up front? NORG had no obligation to see the mission to completion. The idea sickened Cid.

"Three of the new SeeDs will be deployed on this operation. We intend for Squall Leonhart to lead the operation with Selphie Tilmitt and Zell Dincht acting as support."

Once more, Cid nodded.

"And that is all concerning the operation."

"Do we have any more business?" Cid asked the Faculty.

"Unless it is yours, no, Headmaster. Good day." With that, the trio left the office. Cid watched them leave, and shook his head. NORG kept on interfering with everything, it seemed. First he canceled Seifer's expulsion and now he was cutting back on the squadron being deployed to Timber. It seemed the greedy bastard only cared about how deep his pockets were nowadays, as opposed to SeeD's true purpose.

Perhaps he should reconsider their business arrangement. The Headmaster was an idealist, while the Garden Master was concerned about his pocketbook. NORG had been quietly keeping the truth from getting out to the students about SeeD's purpose, something Cid had not even realized until recently. SeeD's ultimate objective was not mercanary operations, after all; it was wholly different, and the income from mercanary missions was only to sustain the Garden and provide training. But NORG had shifted that ideal towards base motives.

Cid knew he was going to have to remedy that situation.

-------------------

Squall went through his automatic routine, checking, cleaning, and reloading his gunblade, then checking it again, before sheathing his knives and securing his additional ammunition and equipment on his belts and the bandoleers running around his leg. He'd done this so many times, always before heading outside Garden's grounds or into the Training Center. But today was different. Today he wasn't just fighting monsters and practicing his skills.

Today was the day of his first mission as a member of SeeD.

Four days. That was how long he'd had between the inaguration and his first assignment. Most SeeDs usually had a week or two before being launched out into the world, but Squall was deploying after only four days.

Selphie, with her typical exuberence, had delivered the news. And inferring from her words, it was likely that both Squall and Selphie were deploying together. Squall wouldn't be surprised if Zell was also deployed with them too. Somehow, it seemed only fitting that the three would work together.

Squall, his inspection completed, stepped out of his room and headed out of the dorms.

In the four days between the inaguration and today, little had changed. Squall had much more free time on hand, since he no longer had to attend classes. However, he did keep up with practice and training, often going up against SeeDs or the better cadets in the training dojos on the second floor, and also by spending a good deal of time whacking Grats in the Training Center or roaming the plains and honing his skills on the monsters in the wilds.

As a SeeD, he did have access to most areas of Garden even after lights-out, and he had spent the nights in the dark, peaceful quiet of the Quad, often practicing with his gunblade there as well.

Yet Squall still had to abide by the Garden's rules, and he definately did not have rank over the cadets. By Garden's measure, Squall was still the same as a cadet in almost all respects, except he was deployed on missions and recieved a sizable monthly salary. The only thing he could possibly do within Garden would be to override the Disciplinary Committee if they got out of hand.

Not that the Committee was causing any trouble now. Seifer had been sent to the "disciplinary room," located in the Garden's basement. The area was little more than a brig, in reality. And without their leader, the remainder of the Committee was nowhere near as effective. Fujin had usually deferred to Seifer when it came to decisions (and abuses), and Raijin, well, no one could expect much of anything from the muscle-bound pussycat.

As Squall rounded Garden's central walkay encircling the elevators, he did spot that same giant kitten, standing around looking bored.

"Hey, Squall," Raijin called as the SeeD passed him. Squall paused to look his way. "Man, you better keep outta Fujin's way, ya know!" Raijin warned, bending down and rubbing his shin. "She's real mad, ya know! Ever since Seifer got locked up she's been glaring and hissing and kicking me! So watch yourself, ya know."

Squall nodded in aknowledgement to Raijin's warning, even as the subject of their conversation rounded the opposite side of the walkway, from the direction of the elevators. Fujin sent a glare Squall's way before walking up to Raijin.

"IFRIT," she commanded him harshly.

"Wha?" Raijin asked, sounding confused. "Ifrit?" Fujin, not a patient one, responded by kicking her dim-witted brother in the shin, right where he'd been rubbing moments before. "Oow! Oohhh . . . ahh . . ." Raijin whined as he hopped around on one leg, clutching his brutalized limb.

"IFRIT," Fujin commanded again. "STONE."

"Whaddya want my Ifrit for?" Raijin asked, still hopping. "You've got one too, don't you?"

"ROOM. FORGOT. GIVE," Fujin explained.

"You can just go get your own, ya kno-ow!" Raijin was hopping once more, this time clutching his other leg, courtesy of Fujin's next kick. "Lighten up, will ya!" Raijin complained. After a few more hops Raijin managed to stop long enough to fish out his red Ifrit stone and toss it to Fujin.

"What the hell you need my Ifrit stone for, anyway?" Raijin demanded while rubbing his legs.

"PRACTICE," Fujin replied as she turned back and headed back towards the front of Garden.

"Man, what a pain, ya know," Raijin said, turning back to Squall, who had watched the whole scene, which was typical of Fujin and Raijin's sibling relationship. He shrugged at Raijin's remark as he walked in the same direction Fujin had taken.

"Hey, man, just be careful!" Raijin warned from behind him. "Fujin kicks real hard, ya know!"

Squall passed out of view then, and Raijin paused to scratch his head, considering soemthing.

"Waitaminute," he mused, "didn't Fuu get her Ifrit stone this morning? I thought I saw her getting it . . . Man, its not like her to forget stuff like that, ya know . . . ."

-------------------

Selphie had said they were to meet at the front gate for the briefing, and so that was where Squall was headed. Soon enough he was outside the gate, where he spotted Selphie, along with the Headmaster and a couple of members of the Faculty, standing off to the side. Once more, Squall got the impression the Faculty were there to keep Cid from talking too much.

"Ah, good," Cid said as he spotted Squall. "Everyone's almost here."

Squall looked around at the other four individuals present. Only five people were present for the briefing? Even though Squall was just a new SeeD, he'd been with Garden for a long, long time, and he knew it was only in rare, and often exceptional, circumstances that so few SeeDs were to be deployed on a mission.

Squall walked over beside Selphie and waited. He noted Selphie was clad in a short yellow dress featuring a belt with item pouches and other equipment. She wore her oversized nunchakus strapped across her back.

"First mission!" she remarked to Squall as he waited for the others to arrive. "I'm excited!"

Squall shrugged. He was a bit anxious, but overall he wasn't anywhere near as excited as the tiny SeeD beside him.

The quintet waited for some time. Squall noticed that Cid had a folder containing some papers, and curiously, a small object of some kind wrapped in cloth sitting at his feet. Both the Headmaster and the Faculty kept glancing at their watches.

"One more minute," one of the Faculty remarked after a while. "Then we begin the briefing without him."

"Him?"

"Dincht," the Faculty said, irritation in his one. "We may have to lower his rank if he insists on being this late to all breifings." Squall was a bit surprised at the fact that Zell was the only other squadmate joining in this operation. Indeed, this did seem to be an exceptional circumstance.

Squall thought he saw movement to his left, from the direction of Garden's entrance, and glanced that way in time to see Zell Dincht rapidly approaching.

Only Zell was approaching not on foot, but on a long, hovering board that looked like a cross between a surfboard and skateboard. The device was known as a T-board, and used small thrusters in conjunction with antigravity technology to allow the rider to "surf the air" or whatever was said on the advertisements.

Zell leaned back a bit on the board, causing its thrusters to point downwards and shooting the device up into the air. He came down expertly, turning the board sharply to the left on landing, then zig-zagging back and forth over the pavement before pulling a sharp U-turn back towards the group. He weaved the device between Squall and the Headmaster and stopped it right in front of the Faculty. Another tap of his foot turned the thing off, and he lifted the device up, holding it like a surfer with his board beside him. The martial artist flashed a grin at all assembled.

"S'up?" he said, shooting off a thumbs-up. "Made it!" The martial artist wore a pair of casual baggy blue shorts, a black muscle shirt, and a heavy but short jacket. The jacket had a red chest and back, but featured short dark blue sleeves with a lighter blue flame running up their length. Zell also wore a pair of dark red sneakers.

"T-boards are prohibited within Garden," the Faculty stated coldly. "Have you forgotten?"

"Oops, sorry!" Zell said, with an abashed look on his face. But then he smiled again, gesturing to his board. "But this is really cool. It migth come in handy on a SeeD mission, someday."

"We'll be the judges of that," the Faculty replied. He made a gesture, and without warning the other Faculty member approached and grabbed the T-Board from Zell's hands. "Confiscate it," the first faculty ordered, and the second nodded and walked past them towards Garden. The first Faculty looked back at Zell.

"All of you are members of SeeD, but," the Faculty explained. "You are still students at this Garden. Furthermore, as SeeDs, you must set an example to all the others and abide by Garden's rules. Understood?" Without waiting for reply, the Faculty walked to the side, standing behind Cid. Once more, Squall got the impression the Faculty was acting like a minder over Cid's actions.

The Headmaster stepped forward and addressed the trio of SeeDs.

"Well, about your first mission," he began. "This is a covert operation. You are to go to Timber. There, you are to support a resistance faction against the Galbadian occupation. That's the gist of what you'll be doing. You'll be under their command for the operation. So, in other words, you'll be attached to their forces for this mission. Obey their commands, offer advice, and support them in their objectives. A member of the faction will contact you at Timber Station, where the Balamb train connects at Timber."

"This person will approach you and say 'The forests of Timber sure have changed,'" the Faculty stated from behind Cid. "At this time, you must reply 'But the owls are still around.' That is the password."

"Again, just follow the faction's orders," Cid reiterated.

"Uhhh . . ." Zell said suddenly, looking around at the group. "Just us three?"

"Correct," the Faculty stated. Squall thought he saw the Faculty's head turn towards Cid as he spoke the next words, almost as if he were glaring at the Headmaster. "We have agreed to do this mission for very little money. Ordinarily, we would never accept such requests, but . . ."

"Enough talk about that," Cid interrupted. He turned towards Squall. "Well, Squall, you're assigned to be the squad leader. Use your best judgement based on the situation. Zell and Selphie, you are to support Squall and give your all to carry out the faction's plans."

Squall nodded at the orders.

"Well, then, Cid said. "Make sure you take the train scheduled to leave at 2000 hours. The trip will take approxmately twelve hours to cross the ocean between Balamb and Timber. You should arrive at 0800 hours tommorow morning, where the contact will be waiting. You have free time until then. Dismissed." The trio of SeeDs nodded and began to return to Garden. "Except for you, Squall," Cid added.

Squall glanced over at Cid in annoyance as the Headmaster gestured for him to step closer. As he did so, the Headmaster bent down and retrieved the small object by his side.

"This is for you, Squall," Cid explained. "One is given to the top graduate of every SeeD class. Its a lamp, containing a powerful Guardian Force by the name of Diablos. Rub it to bring him forth."

Squall took the lamp gingerly, as if afraid to touch it, even within its protective cloth. Cid chuckled at Squall's hesitation.

"It is a good idea to be cautious," the Headmaster advised. "Diablos is rather . . . fiesty. You should be well prepared before taking him on. You won't have to worry about accidentally summoning him while that cloth is over the lamp, however."

"Thank you," Squall said to the Headmaster, tucking the lamp under his arm and saluting Cid. "My squad will be ready to leave tonight."

"Good. Dismissed."

-------------------

"RAGE!" Fujin hissed as she paced back and forth in front of Seifer's cell. Seifer himself sat back on his bed, with an air of indifference about him, as if the cell and his detention were trivial.

"They just don't appreciate me," Seifer said with a chuckle. "What a shame too, the best in all of Garden sitting down here. Hardly a way to treat a hero."

Fujin continued her angry pacing, occasionally shooting a glare the way of the SeeD guard, who ignored her.

The detention area was located in the Garden's basement. It was small, since it had never been intended to house many people at once, and featured a quartet of steel barred cells, each with a pair of bunk beds and a toliet. All four cells were within sight of the guard station, a large desk with monitors for the cells' security cameras. Seifer's cell was the closest to the station, which sat directly between the cells and the exit. A single SeeD sat at the guard station, and to the left of the desk was a series of metal lockers, for holding the valuables of those interned in the brig. Only one was locked right now, the one holding Seifer's gunblade, ammunition, and GF stones.

"You're hardly a hero," a voice called from the door, and all three teenagers looked up to see Quistis, dressed in her SeeD uniform, approach. She nodded at the guard, who replied, and then to Fujin, who did not. The former Instructor stepped in front of the bars and crossed her arms over her chest, giving Seifer a stern look.

"Aw, my dear Instructor," Seifer said with a grin, putting emphasis on the word "instructor." Quistis's gaze hardened at Seifer's deliberate poking of a very sore nerve. "You insist on mistreating me while I'm already wrongfully incarcerated? How cruel."

"'Wrongfully'?" Quistis echoed, shaking her head. "You disobeyed a direct order, Seifer. In Galbadia you'd be taking twenty lashes and spending months in jail for that kind of insubordination."

"I did what I had to do," Seifer shot back. "You expect me to leave the Galbadians alone when they pass right through the area I'm guarding? Especially when they're acting suspicious and leaving a known battlezone? I couldn't contact the remainder of SeeD force, so I did what I had to do to find out what they were up to."

"You did what you 'had to do' because you were bored," Quistis shot back. "We were listening in on the whole conversation. You were bugged before you even left the vessel. You went up the mountian because it offered more potential for fighting than the Square did."

Seifer said nothing in the face of Quistis's mostly true accusations. He just leaned back and stared up at the ceiling, as if ignoring her. Undaunted, Quistis continued.

"Your actions put people at risk. Xu and her squad could have been killed. Dollet soldiers were killed because Xu had to divert her squad to stopping an attack coming from the direction of the Square, an attack which you could have prevented. Because you disobeyed orders, people died, Seifer. How does that feel, to know their blood is on your hands?"

At that, Seifer did look back down, his eyes meeting Quistis's.

"Yeah? Well how many more would have died if we hadn't found out about the Tower? How many more soldiers would have been killed if Dollet didn't have that tower as a barganing chip? I took the best course of action I could think of in our situation. No Galbadians had presented themselves, and it looked like our area wasn't going to experiance an assault anytime soon. Dollet reinforcements were supposed to be inbound, so I figured the Square would be safe if we went off to investigate. I did my job as a squad leader, dammit!"

"That wasn't your decision to make, Seifer," Quistis responded to his surprising outburst. "You were a field captian, not a commander. It was not your job to make that kind of strategic decision."

"Dammit, what else do you expect out of me when my orders conflict with my gut?" Seifer shot back. "Which one do you think I trust more, orders from some lazy armchair dick or my own instincts? I knew something was up, and orders be damned, I was going to find out what!"

After that, no one spoke for some time. Quistis looked down at the floor, considering Seifer's words. Up until now, she had thought Seifer had just been out for glory and excitement, which she still thought he was. But at the same time, there was some other motivativation for his disobediance.

Seifer's next words jolted Quistis out of her thoughts.

"Did it go through?"

"What?"

"The request," Seier said, looking at Quistis again. "Was her request approved?" Quistis nodded, somewhat surprised by Seifer's change in subject.

"Yes, the Timber operation was approved," Quistis answered, to which Seifer nodded and went silent for a moment.

"Who's going?" he asked a second later.

"Squall, Zell Dincht, and Selphie Tilmitt," Quistis answered, to which Seifer snapped his head back towards Quistis.

"That's it?" he demanded, sounding simultaniously shocked and angry. "Three rookie SeeDs?" Quistis nodded.

"The Timber Owls offered so little money, and we normally ignore requests below six digits in gil-"

"Dammit!" Seifer suddenly roared, standing up. "They could be going up against the entire Galbadian army! And they send three rookies? Hyne damn it! Let me outta here!"

"Seifer-" Quistis said, off-guard by Seifer's sudden rage. Her eyes widened as he grabbed the steel bars, and if he'd had a GF junctioned those bars might have even bent in his grasp.

"Let me out! I'm going to Timber, damn it!" Seifer shouted as the guard came around the desk, hands dropping to the sword at his belt. He glanced at Quistis, who waved her hand, indicating he should stay back.

"SEIFER!" Fujin shouted, reaching through the bars and grabbing his sleeve. Her grasp had a sudden effect on the cadet, instantly calming him down. He looked over to her, and then nodded. Seifer let go of the bars, pausing only long enough for Fujin to grasp his hand for a moment.

"Sorry," Seifer said, again surprising Quistis. When was the last time she had heard him apologize? "I just . . . Sorry." He sat down on his bed, shaking his head.

"That operation's just so important to me. If Squall screws it up, I'll have his head." With that, Seifer leaned back on the bed, saying no more. Quistis watched him, then sighed and turned back to the door. After she'd left, the SeeD guard returned to his station. Fujin stood by the bars, watching Seifer intently.

"Seifer," she said quietly, an odd tone for Fujin.

"Its alright," Seifer replied, equally quietly. "Thanks for sticking with me. I'll see you later." Then, he grinned wickedly. "Don't know how well I'll be welcomed when we do, though."

Fujin stood by his cell a little longer, then nodded.

"LUCK," she said, and then left.

Alone in his cell, Seifer stared at the ceiling. His left hand sat behind his head on the pillow, while his right was on his chest, absently rolling an object around in it. After a few seconds, Seifer inclined his head to look at the object in his fingers.

Ifrit's red Guardian Force stone glowed faintly in his hand, placed there by Fujin.

"Thanks, Fuu," he whispered, clutching the stone tightly.

Soon, he thought. Very soon.

-------------------

"Ow . . ." Zell complained, stretching his shoulder, and coincidentally stretching the gashes running across it, as he walked towards the parking lot behind Squall and Selphie. He'd had to change jackets, considering the beating he had taken along with Selphie and Squall a couple of hours ago.

A couple of hours ago that almost made the SeeDs unfit for their mission, mostly due to Zell's curiosity. The martial artist had noticed Squall's Diablos lamp and had inquired about it. As soon as he began asking, Selphie got into it too, and Squall had told them about the Headmaster's warning about Diablos and the GF's power.

But, Squall found soon enough, neither Zell nor Selphie held the word "caution" in their vocabulary. Both SeeDs were confident that if the three of them worked together, they could defeat Diablos, and somehow they had convinced Squall to agree with them.

So, the trio went outside the Garden grounds, a good distance away, and had rubbed the lamp. Before they knew what had happened, they had ended up in some form of extradimensional space, immediately locked in battle with an irritable and violent Diablos. The demonic GF was like an entity of darkness incarnate, a red and black fiend that weilded shadow just as Ifrit had weilded flame.

Diablos had then proceeded to assault the SeeD trio and, despite their best efforts, had soundly defeated them, spitting them back out of its extradimensional home. The trio had come out pretty badly hurt, with Selphie taking the brunt of Diablos's shadow magic and Zell and Squall recieving equal attention from his fists, feet, and clawed fingers and toes.

Thankfully, none of the damage they'd taken from the Guardian Force was permanant, and Squall figured that like all other GFs, Diablos preffered to defeat its foes rather than killing or maiming them.

"Maybe we should try again later," Selphie suggested, not looking too bad despite the powerful shadow spells that had knocked her out of the battle early on.

"Yeah," Zell agreed. "After we get our hands on a howitzer." Selphie giggled at that as the trio of SeeDs entered the parking lot. Another SeeD, their driver, waited for them there. The trio quickly boarded the Garden car and set out for Balamb.

Nighttime had descended over Balamb by the time Squall, Zell, and Selphie had made their way to the town. Their driver was supposed to take them all the way, but Selphie had commandeered the steering wheel through her uncanny ability to get people to do what she wanted. A combination of her puppy-dog eyes and a sincere "Please?" had made the SeeD aquiesce the driver's seat, which everyone soon regretted when Selphie took the car up well in excess of seventy miles per hour down the road.

She'd handled the car remarkably well, despite Zell's protests that they'd all crash and die. At Zell's words, Selphie had just shouted for him to junction GFs if he was going to be such a wimp.

Despite her "suicidal death wish," as Zell called it, Selphie had reached Balamb with everyone on board in one piece. They stopped on the outskirts of the city, where their driver took over and drove the vehicle back to Balamb after the SeeD trio had disembarked.

"Are you crazy?" Zell muttered as Squall led the way across town to the train station.

"No," Selphie replied, giggling at Zell's attitude. "I just like going fast!"

"Do you like crashing too?" Zell replied, shaking his head. "One slip- up and we'd have been splatted on the road!"

"Not with me driving!" Selphie said. "Best driver in Trabia Garden!" she proclaimed, pointing to her chest. "Expert with any vehicle, anytime! Cars, trucks, motorcycles, vans, SUVs . . . ."

"Fine, fine . . ." Zell muttered.

"I'm even certified to run buses and armored cars! And tanks too!"

"They teach you how to drive tanks in Trabia?" Zell asked, surprised.

"Not really, but I know the basics," Selphie explained. "I even know how to fire the cannons!"

"Squall, please tell me these resistance faction guys aren't gonna try to steal a tank . . ." Zell pleaded to his squad leader. "I think if Selphie gets to dive it we may blow up more of Timber than we can save."

"Agreed," Squall added over his shoulder. "Selphie, you are under official orders not to operate any armed vehicle on this mission, due to the danger such an action might present to our clients." The seriousness and official sound of his tone only made the mounting joke funnier.

"Aw, bummer," Selphie said, with mock dejection.

Soon, the three SeeDs had arrived at the train station. This time of night, very few people were out, and the train station was relatively empty, save for a couple of civilian passengers and some train staff standing on the platform next to the sleek vehicle. Squall approached the ticket booth and told them they were with Garden and needed to use this train. That was all it took; Garden had already arranged the train tickets and paid the fare. Squall took the trio of tickets and handed them to the conductor standing guard outside. A moment later, with the conductor's approval, the trio of teenagers boarded the train for Timber.

The Timber rail lines featured trains that loaded from the last car, and the passengers advanced towards the front. The closest cars to the boarding car were the first class cabins. Unsurprisingly, SeeD and Garden had their own private car for transit across the western continent, and this car was positioned directly in front of the boarding car. Of course, no civilians knew about the private car; only the train staff did, and anyone attempting to reserve that car was told that, unfortunately, that car was already reserved . . . which was technically true, after all.

"Wow! Selphie said as she boarded. "This train is awesome!"

"A transcontinental railroad, baby!" Zell added as he boarded. "It even runs on an underwater tunnel to reach Timber! Pretty cool, huh?" Zell had never actually used a train, and Selphie had rarely rode on trains inside Trabia. It was also Squall's first train ride as well, though he didn't show as much enthusiasm as his squad.

"Sure is . . ." he commented halfheartedly.

"Guess you're not interested," Zell remarked with a knowing smile. "By the way, you have to use the ticket to open the door. Extra security, you know." Squall shrugged and nodded, and ran his ticket across a laser scanner located next to the door. With a cheery beep, the door slid open. Before Squall could move, however, Selphie burst past him, grinning like a kid in a candy store.

"I'm gonna go check out the front!" she declared, and ran down the hallway leading past the private SeeD cabin and towards the next car.

"Fine, as long as she doesn't derail the train," Zell muttered, following Squall into the hallway. He stopped in front of the door leading into the SeeD only cabin, which also happened to be the only cabin in this car.

"Check it out!" Zell said, opening the door. "So this is our private SeeD cabin . . ." Zell started to take a step through the door but stopped, taking a step back in surprise. "Whoa!" he shouted, stepping inside. "OHHH YEAHHH! AWESOME!"

Squall followed Zell into the plush and luxurious SeeD cabin. The martial artist, unsurprisingly, was literally bouncing up and down on a thick and huge couch along the back wall and curved to cover part of the left wall as well. The entire room was paneled with expensive looking wood, and featured two very comfortable looking bunk beds. A nearby wall terminal allowed for the occupants to call the dining car or for any other services the train staff could provide.

"Oh, man, this is so cool!" Zell said, still bouncing on the couch.

"I'm glad you're excited," Squall remarked as he sat down on the couch. He had to admit, though, that this couch was indeed very comfy.

"This is pretty damn amazing," Zell added. "This kinda cabin is better'n first class! It pays to be a member of SeeD!" Zell leaned back, relaxing on the couch, while Squall leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he considered the coming operation.

He'd studied Timber in history and geography classes. In fact, that nation had been covered rather extensively, due to the fact that Galbadian occupation of the country stood a good chance of yeilding a signifigant amount of income through SeeD operations there.

"Hey, Squall," Zell remarked, catching Squall's attention. "Y'know anything about Timber?"

Squall shrugged. He hadn't specialized in history, though maybe Zell had taken a few more classes on geography and history than Squall had. Any information his fellow SeeD knew might prove useful.

"Well, let me fill you in," Zell said in response to Squall's shrug. "Timber used to be this big country surrounded by deep forests. Actually, it was more like a bunch of small countries all working together, with Timber being the biggest. But anyway, eighteen years ago, Galbadia invaded, saying they wanted to fortify the Horizon Bridge against Estharian attack. 'Course, that was a big lie, Deling was just on a land grab. Timber fell pretty easily to Galbadia, since they weren't unified, so now its under Galbadian occupation. But the people of Timber wouldn't take that sitting down, so they formed a bunch of resistance factions, some big, some small. Its mostly an annoyance to Galbadia, except when they do something big, like that oil pipeline bombing two years back. Galbadia's got a big garrison there, keeping order."

Squall waited for Zell to continue, but he didn't.

". . . and?" Squall asked, wondering if Zell was going to say anything he hadn't heard before.

"Nope, that's it," Zell replied. Squall was silent for a moment. Zell had just basically spat back out a condensed version of what was taught in required history classes.

"Thank you, Mr. Know-It-All Zell," Squall finally said in a sarcastic tone.

"Hey, no prob!" Zell replied, oblivious.

The door into the cabin slid open, and both SeeDs looked up to see Selphie walking in, her eyelids drooping. She was walking slightly off- balance, as if terribly drowsy. Her posture immediately put Squall on alert. She hadn't been that way a few minutes ago . . . .

"Hey, guys," she said, her voice sounding tired. "I'm not feeling well . . . ."

"You should get some rest if you're tired," Squall advised, standing up. "We've got twelve hours until arrival." He wasn't sure if something was wrong, but Squall's warrior instincts were lighting up. His left hand dropped inconspiciously to the gunblade on his belt.

"I'm . . . really sleepy," Selphie added, with a profound yawn. She began to sway back and forth, as if nodding off while standing. She stumbled forward, towards the couch.

"You okay?" Squall asked, slightly more urgently as his fingers tightened around the Revolver's handle. He stepped across the room, watching for something out of the ordinary. As he and Zell watched Selphie walking towards the couch, Squall spotted Zell's own eyes begin to droop.

"Zell!" Squall shouted, snapping the martial artist's eyes open as Selphie lay down on the couch, immediately falling asleep.

"Hey!" Zell protested, shaking his head, even as his eyes began to droop again. "Huh! What the . . ." Zell stood up quickly, looking around through half-closed eyes. "Something's wrong with me too . . . I . . . feel . . . sleep . . ." Zell yawned as he fell backwards, slumping on the couch and snoring before his body had even settled on the furniture.

The Revolver was out of its sheath in an instant as Squall surveyed the room for a possible attacker.

"What's going on!" he asked to no one in particular, and then he immediately moved towards the door as his own eyes began to droop. Squall shook his head, fighting off the drowsiness. There might be an enemy outside, waiting for him to succumb too, and if not, Squall needed to alert the train staff quickly.

He didn't even make it halfway before he felt his fingers loosening around his gunblade. Squall began stumbling as a profound tiredness took him. Suddenly, all he wanted was to sleep.

"Ugh?!" Squall muttered, yawning. "What? What is this . . ." A profound darkness began to take him as soon as his eyes closed. Squall was concious of the fact that his gunblade was no longer in his hands, making a dull sound as its metal met the carpet at his feet. He felt himself going down to his knees, and managed to open his eyes for an instant, long enough to see he was falling forward onto the floor. The carpet rushed up to meet Squall, but he felt no impact, only blackness.

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Gasp! Squall made a joke?! Yes, he did! The way I see it, Squall's not alien to the concept of humor, as he does launch the occasional deadpan comment from time to time, most noteably in the infirmiry with Rinoa. Squall's not the type to use one-liners or make wisecrack comments, but the occasional joke in times of peace can be heard from him.

Good news, folks! At signifigant urging from various peoples, among them the esteemed Ashbear herself nearly dies from that honor Foreshadow may, MAY, be brought back pending a review of the story by me. If so, expect The Gunblade Saga to slow down considerably in response. Also, Matrix-oriented fics may begin to crawl out of the woodwork of my silly head, as will an occasional Resident Evil fic. I might even crank out something related to Halo or 24, you never know!