First, to reply to the reviews.

QueenAdreena: I've played through the game so much, I've pretty much memorized the entire script (OK, not the WHOLE thing, but a lot of it). Mostly because I had a hard time with the junction system at first and spent a lot of time starting over. Though on a personal note, it blows me away that I was able to get to Adel with such poor junctioning.

ranchgirlmalon: Glad to see someone else reviewing. Thanks for the encouragement. BTW, I'm into The Legend of Zelda too, so don't be too surprized if you see something on that board from me.

I know chapter 2 was rather short, but I PROMISE that chapter 3 is better. After all, this is where we meet everyone's favorite Chicken-wuss.

CHAPTER 3: EXAM TIME

About half an hour passed before Squall and Quistis got back to Balamb Garden. There were a few more Bite Bug attacks, plus a Caterchipillar, which dropped a spider web containing Blue Magic. Blue Magic was Quistis' specialty, and allowed her to use an attack of that monster. As long as she had it, she could use a move called 'Ultra Waves' Which damaged all of her opponents and, in some cases, caused them to go berzerk.

"Well Done," Quistis said, "Now change into your uniform and meet near the directory in half an hour."

Squall headed to his room and changed into his Cadet uniform, which consisted of a dark blue jacket and matching pants with hints of silver here and there, mainly on the edges of the sleves and collar. Squall still opted to leave the jacket open. He hoped that this would be the last time he would have to wear it, and would be exchanging it for the more presteigous SeeD uniform in a matter of hours. As that half hour quickly passed, he soon found himself in the main hall.

"Squall! Over here!" A voice called, that of Quistis, who was back in her SeeD uniform. He spotted her in front of the directory, where there were also several other cadets preparing for their chance to become a SeeD.

I'll be announcing the squad assignments for the exam now." She said. "Let's see...You'll be with...Zell Dincht. Quite a lively fellow."

Squall knew who Zell Dincht was, though he only referred to him as 'That over emotional hot dog addicted karate kid.'

"Lively? He's just loud." Said Squall "Can't I switch members?"

"I'm afraid thats not possible." Said Quistis, who then turned her attention to the other cadets, spotting who she was looking for. "Over here, Zell!"

Squall couldn't help but look over and see Zell shadow boxing nearly 10 feet away. Upon hearing his name called, he did a backflip and turned around to Quistis, giving a big toothy grin and a thumbs up.

Zell was also in his Cadet uniform. He stood about three inches under Squall and had his dirty blonde hair in an unusual style. Most of it was slicked back, but his bangs were spiked up. The most distiguishable feature of this kid was the tattoo on his face, which went above his left eyebrow, then came down to his cheek bone in a somewhat tribal patern. Since Zell was a martial arts master, he didn't use a weapon, but rather just decided to pummel his oponents with his fists. Though he did wear black gloves with metal on the knuckles. Upon seeing Squall, his eyebrows shot up on surprise.

"Whoa! I'm with you?" Said Zell, who knew Squall was pretty deadly with a gunblade. Zell extended his hand to shake Squall's, though Squall just crossed his arms, refusing the gesture.

"You don't get along with Seifer, do you?" Zell asked. That was about the only thing that Squall and Zell had in common, neither of them were too fond of Seifer. "Heard he whooped you pretty bad this morning."

"We weren't fighting," said Squall, "We were training."

"I bet you he doesn't think so," Zell said, "Look, Seifers just being a pain in the ass. All you have to do is ignore him."

"Thats none of your business." Said Squall and Quistis at the same time, Quistis just predicting Squall again.

"Ahem, excuse me." Quistis said, "But that Seifer you're talking about, he's your squad leader."

"SAY WHAT?!" Zell nearly shouted. Of all the luck, Squall and Zell were stuck with a common rival as their squad leader.

"It can't be changed," Quistis said, turning her attention back to the group of students. "Seifer! Are you here?"

As if on cue, Seifer walked up. Unlike the other students, he was dressed in his normal gear instead of his cadet uniform. Behind Seifer were his two best friends, the twin brother and sister known as Raijin and Fujin. Though it was hard to tell that they were twins. Raijin had dark skin while his sister Fujin was an albino. Raijin wore black baggy pants and an open black vest, exposing his bare chest. Fujin wore blue pants and a long sleeve shirt to match. Fujin also wore an eye patch. Because of this, many had started a rumor that Fujin had lost an eye. The twins way of speech was also different. Raijin would talk almost normal, if it werent for him throwing the words 'Ya know' after almost every sentence. Fujin on the other hand only spoke in one-worded shouts.

"Fujin and Raijin tagging along as usual," Squall thought, "Guess that makes up the whole disciplinary committee."

"You're the squad leader." Quistis said to Seifer. "Good luck to you."

"Instructor," Seifer began, "I hate it when people wish me luck. Save those words for a bad student who needs them, eh?" Raijin and Fujin gave a nod, like obidient robots.

"Ok then." Quistis said, "Good luck, Seifer." This caused Seifers cocky grin to go to a scowl.

"Add Instuctor Trepe to the list!" He commanded to Raijin and Fujin

"The list?" Squall thought, "what is it?"

"Well then, you're all assigned to Squad B." Said Quistis, "I'll be the instructor in charge. Teamwork is of the utmost importance. Let's get through this exam, everyone."

"Listen up!" Seifer said, grabbing both Squall and Zell's attention. "Teamwork means staying out of my way. It's a Squad B rule. Don't you forget it!

"Everyone here?" asked another voice. Squall, Zell, and Seifer turned their attention to the stairs leading up to the elevator, where this figure was descending, that of the Balmab Garden headmaster, Cid Kramer.

Headmaster Cid was in his early forties, and his age was showing. He had brown hair with a hint of grey here and there, and he was rather pudgy. He wore brown pants and a white shirt, which was covered by a red vest.

"It's been a while everyone. How's everyone doing," asked the Headmaster. "This exam will include 12 members from Squads A through D. You will be proceeding to a real battlefield. Obviously, the battles are for real. Life and death, victory and defeat, honor and disgrace, each of these go hand in hand. There's only one way or the other. How 'bout it? Are you still up for it? You will be accompanied by 9 SeeD members. Should you fail, these members shall get the job done, they always do. Well, thats one less worry on your mind. The pride of Balamb Garden! The elite mercinary force, SeeD! Learn from them, obey their commands, and accomplish the mission. Prove yourself worthy of becoming a member of SeeD. Best of luck."

"Could you talk any more?" Squall thought to himself. As he looked over, he saw Zell pull out his GF stones. Everone on this exam would have the same three, Quezacotl, Shiva, and Ifrit. Squall watched as Zell junctioned them one after another. After which, Quistis led the group to the parking lot, where they got into a garden vehicle. Seifer and Quistis sat on one side while Squall and Zell sat on the other, Zell bugging Squall the whole time.

"Yo Squall, Show me your gunblade, will ya?" asked Zell, to which Squall opted to stay quiet.

"C'mon, man!" Said Zell again, still no response from Squall.

"Just a peek!" Still, Squall remained silent.

"Tch, fine." Zell said, giving up, "Why you bein' so selfish?" But still, Squall said nothing.

"Say somethin' will ya?" Said Zell, "W-Whats on your mind?"

"Nothing," Squall and Quistis said together. Zell mumbled something under his breath before he stood up and started shadow boxing again, before long, he could feel a pair of eyes on him.

"Stop that, it's annoying." Said Seifer, but being Seifer, he had to throw in insult in there too, "Chicken-wuss."

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME!?" Zell shouted as Seifer started laughing silently to himself. Before it could get out of hand, Quistis stood up.

"Knock it off!" she commanded. Seifer stopped laughing as Zell plopped down back to his seat. Squall was deep in thought at the moment, when the girl he saw in the infirmary popped into his mind. she left shortly before Quistis entered, so maybe Quistis would know her.

"Instructor?" said Squall, grabbing Quistis' attention. "Who was that girl in the infirmary this morning?"

"Was someone there?" she asked. "I didn't notice anybody. Is there a problem?"

"No...not really." Squall said, his mind going back to his train of thought.

"This is great." mumbled Seifer. "I have a Chicken-wuss and a guy who just reached puberty in my squad."

Shortly after the verbal scuffle in the garden vehicle, it made its way into the town of Balamb, Passing the hotel and the train station until it reached the docks. As Squall stepped out of the car, he noticed the vessel. Apperantly, they were going to have to travel by sea to reach their destination.

"So thats the vessel...?" asked Squall to no one.

"'Aint no turning back, now." Seifer said.

"Hey, you guys are the last," said a SeeD standing by the docks. "Hurry up and get in!"

"Don't dissappoint me now," Seifer said to Squall and Zell. Seifer was the first one in the vessel, followed by Zell, then Squall, and finally Quistis. As they found themselves comfortable, another SeeD entered the cabin.

"Hi, Quistis," she said.

"Hi Xu, These are the members of Squad B." she said, introducing them.

"Nice to meet ya." Zell said.

"Pleased to meet you." said Squall, following suit. Xu shook Squall and Zells hands, then her eyes shifted to the squad leader, head in his hand and his feet resting on the table in the center of the room.

"Seifer, how many times has it been now?" Xu asked.

"Oh, I just love these exams," Seifer said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. This was the third time Seifer was taking the SeeD exam. He failed twice before for not following orders.

"I'll explain the current situation and the mission," Xu said. "Our client for this mission is the Dollet Dukedom Parlament. A request for SeeD was made 18 hours ago. Dollet has been under attack by the Galbadian army since about 72 hours ago. 49 hours into the battle, Dollet abandoned their postition in the inner city. Currently, they have retreated into the nearby mountains and are reorganizing their troops. Thats the current status, now onto the mission objective." Squall and Zell leaned in for this part.

"According to our reports, the Galbadian Army is mopping up the Dollet troops in the mountain region." Said Xu, "We're to make a landing at Lapin Beach. We're to eliminate the remaining Galbadian troops within the city and liberate it A.S.A.P. Afterwards, SeeD members will intercept any Galbadian Army forces trying to make their way into the city from the mountain region."

"So what are WE supposed to do?" asked Seifer.

"SeeD candidates are to eliminate the Galbadian army within the city." said Xu.

"Sounds important," said Zell

"Sounds boring," Seifer threw in, "So what you're saying is that we do all the little dirty work?"

Xu knew what Seifer was getting at here, so she quickly changed the subject. "Oh, it hardly needs to be said, but The order to withdraw takes priority. Don't forget. We're almost there, we anticipate a battle as soon as we disembark. Thats all. Any questions, talk to Quistis." Xu left on that note. Squall had an eyebrow raised. Quistis knew this as something Squall didn't understand something.

"What is it, Squall?" She asked him.

"Explain that again." He said.

"Here's a quick explaination," she started, "The goal for this mission is to eliminate the Galbadian forces that have entered Dollet. The order to withdraw takes priority, so be sure to make your way back to base when you recieve this order. Did that clear it up at all?"

"A little..." Squal said. Seifer decided to speak up here, making it perfectly clear, well, in his eyes anyway.

"Listen up!" Seifer said, demanding attention. "Our goal for this mission is to mop up the Galbadian Soldiers in Dollet. All you have to do is take orders from me, the captain."

"My first real battle," Mumbled Zell. "I'm gettin' pretty nervous."

"Better not piss in your pants," Seifer said.

"Huh? You talkin' to me?" Zell said. Seifer was laughing silently to himself. "Bastard."

"OK, enough talk." Quistis said. "We'll be landing soon, so get ready."

"Well then," Seifer said. "Squall, go see what's going on outside." At this moment, Squall wanted to say 'do it yourself you lazy prick.' But that would be disobeying orders. So Squall had to reply with a simple ".......Ok."

"Good," Said Seifer, "'Cause it's MY order."