A/N: Schools almost over, so I promise a lot more updates. yes i know its short and theres the bare minimum of action so it might seem boring, but i promise there will be a lot more later on. Trust me, when i have time to write this story will take a turn for the better, I swear.

Three days later, the very air of Balamb Garden seemed to spark with an unspoken, electrified anxiety. This was it. This was the second to last test, and it would either make or break their SeeD careers. So after a good night's sleep and a hearty breakfast the soon-to-be SeeDs walked toward their designated classrooms. Quistis greeted her class with an encouraging smile and handed out the test materials. She read the directions aloud and at exactly eight o'clock she bade them good luck and started the three hour written exam.

Sitting down at her desk, she looked out toward her students. All of them were focused so hard they looked like they would burst. Even Seifer looked like he was a little serious. She turned around to write the allotted times for breaks on the board. Without even looking back, she said instinctively, "Seifer, keep your eyes on your own paper. Jeremy and Chester, both of you move two seats away from Seifer. And if I catch you again, I'll take away your exam."

Fuck. How did she know without even looking back at me? Seifer thought, surprised. Time for plan B.

"I need to go to the bathroom, Instructor Trepe," he said in his most innocent voice.

"Very well, but I'll have to go with you."

Damn it! Time for Plan C.

"Actually, now that I think about it I don't need to go."

"Are you sure? It's a three hour exam."

"No, I'm really fine. Thanks for your concern. Now turn back around and continue writing whatever you were."

Quistis turned her back. Stealthily, Seifer lifted his right ankle on top of his left knee, into what looked like an innocent sitting position. He lifted his jeans a little and looked at the LCD of a personal palm pilot strapped to his leg. He smirked and thought Look at those idiots who actually studied. It was a great idea to type up my notes on this thing. (Actually he had bullied this really smart freshman into doing it, then threatened to kick his ass if he told.) Seifer was too caught up in his giddy joy to notice Quistis walking up behind. He let out a shout as Quistis swiftly grabbed the palm pilot and ripped it off, leg hairs and all.

"I have to admit, your recent attempts are quite ingenious. I would never have come up with such devious plans. But Seifer, please be serious; the outcome of this test determines your assessment in society. So I won't take it away from you like I said, but please, at least try not to cheat through this one."

"Bitch!" he hissed at her as she left. I wish I thought of a plan D.

-o-

Three Hours Later . . .

"Alright class! Time's up, so pencils down." With a collectivized sign of relief the class relinquished their writing utensils.

"Pass them forward, please. And Seifer, when I said pencils down, I meant now." And after collecting all the test papers, she said, "You can talk about it later, on the way to the field exam. For now go to your dorms and collect your things. The time is now 1100, assemble in the Quad by 1300 to be split into your groups for the field exam. Go get lunch, and if you haven't visited the Fire Cavern, now would be the ideal time to do so. For the last time, Seifer please hand in your test or I won't collect it." Reluctantly he gave it to her and walked out.

-o-

"Quistis, I've got some bad news."

"What is it now, Xu?"

They were sitting with the other instructors dividing up the students into three man groups. It wasn't an easy job, since they had to look at each student's strengths and weaknesses and put them with people who would function perfectly together. (It was particularly difficult with Seifer.)

"We had forty-four people taking the field exam, and we had a team of two, right? With Terrance and Jasper? Well, Dr. Kodawasaki just told me that he broke his leg."

"Oh, great. How did that happen?"

"Apparently some juniors were playing a prank on him, but they took it too far."

"Now what do we do? We can send him out alone. And we can't put him with another team since it makes it more difficult."

"Then I'll be with him," stated Quistis. "And since Selphie also coming with us, she can be on our team."

"Doesn't that give him an unfair advantage?"

"We'll make him the leader, and we won't do anything an average SeeD candidate wouldn't be able to do. Is that fair? No objections to this?"

The other instructor pondered the matter but found no objections, so they agreed.

"It's almost time. If we're all done then let's head out to the Quad."

-o-

The students gathered at the Quad like a mass of electrified anxiety. Some were in bandages after a trip to the Fire Cavern. They were eagerly chatting amongst themselves about the correct answer to this and that. Then they all snapped to attention as Xu took the podium.

"Good morning, or rather, afternoon. I hope you are all ready for your final exam. For your field exam we will be going north to the Trabian Continent. The Trabia Garden is currently under attack from a neighboring country; this country has recently sprung up after the Sorceress' War, located west of the Trabian Mountains. Not much is known about them except that the capital is called Promisia, and they possess a formidable army rivaling that of Galbadia. We won't be doing any direct fighting; professional SeeDs have been dispatched beforehand to take care of the dangerous battles. You will be assisting the Trabian SeeDs expel some of the Promisians who have managed to infiltrate the Garden. You will be left to judge which battles to fight and which to avoid, but please don't be rash and try to do something you can't do. On your way out we will tell you the teams you will be split into. Join your teams and proceed to the parking lot where you will be escorted to Balamb Port. We will then depart for Trabia there. Good luck!"

The student body moved out. As they headed toward the exits, the instructors divided them up. Quistis moved in quickly and snagged Terrance out from the crowd.

"What?" he seemed surprised.

"You'll be with me and Selphie for the exam. Your partner injured himself."

He nodded and followed her out.

-o-

At the Balamb port, they assembled and got into their separate boats. All the other boats began to leave, but Quistis and Terrance were still waiting.

"If I may ask, why aren't we leaving yet?"

"We're waiting for Selphie."

A shout and a squeal of tires came from the road. A Balamb resident narrowly jumped out of the way of a bright yellow car that came zooming through the winding streets at a hundred miles per hour. The car skidded to a stop a few feet from Quistis and Terrance. And lo and behold, Selphie popped out in her skimpy yellow mini-dress bearing her Strange Vision.

"Selphie, you're not supposed to park here…" Quistis stated.

"I know, I know, but I'm sorry I'm late," stammered Selphie, "C'mon let's get a move on it. Hey! Who are you?"

"This is Terrance. He's a SeeD candidate and he will be the leader."

"Ok. Is it ok if I call you Terry?"

"Uhm…sure," he replied.

So the trio boarded their ship and left the port. Unspoken thoughts went through Terry's head. (A/N: I'm getting tired of typing out "Terrance" too many letters :P) The possibility of death, the chance of failure, the prospect of capture, the risk of defeat, all these were the normal worries of a warrior off to battle. Off to face a powerful and unknown enemy, who wouldn't think such things?