Disclaimer: The characters portrayed in this story do not belong to me, and are instead the property of Square Enix. I do not make a profit off of this story, and if they ever ask me to remove it, then I will.
Inhale
Exhale
Good. Slow, steady breaths. Don't gasp, because that would show weakness, and that is the one thing that you can never afford to show to the enemy. Once you do that, it's all over for you. You're as good as dead, and you and I both know that you can't die yet. After all, you are the Sorceress' Knight, and these wretched fools are little more than common trash.
Keep your eyes moving. Remember, there are three of them, and only one of you. A minor inconvenience, to be sure, but still an inconvenience. They may be dogs, but even dogs have claws and fangs. The fact that they have made it this far has proven that fact very clearly.
Inhale
Exhale
Keep calm. After all, She is with you. You can feel Her in that dark, heavy place in the back of your mind, an ethereal witness to every event that befalls her favoured. It is an honour, to be sure, and one that you have worked very hard to obtain, but still... there is something about Her presence that fills you with a sense of foreboding. It is like being in the middle of a storm, a cacophony of rumbling sounds and blinding lights; exhilarating, wondrous, terrifying. To feel that energy all around you, cutting into the very air itself, and knowing that it could turn against you in a heartbeat, could tear you apart and leave you for dead without a second thought.
Careful, careful. You almost got your teeth kicked in by Chickenwuss. I don't know about you, but I don't think that Garden would be all that terrified by an enemy (even if it was you) who was missing his two front teeth like some pathetic country bumpkin. Not that anyone could ever mistake you for one of those, of course, but let's try to avoid creating any parallels, shall we?
Inhale
Exhale
Remember to keep the sneer firmly on your lips. Let them think that you know something that they don't. The psychological aspect of combat is half the battle. Let them get nervous, agitated, fearful... the second they do, you can pounce on them. Though it is odd that none of them have taken the bait yet. Leonheart has always been a cold fish, shoving his emotions behind a blank face and monotone voice, but the dear Instructor is usually a lot more receptive to your button-pushing. And the fact that Chickenwuss, of all people, isn't losing his cool is a bit worrisome... not a whole lot, since these guys could barely fight their way out of a wet paper bag, but just a bit...
Weave to the right now, away from the Instructor's flamethrower. Strange... she didn't know that last time you fought, did she? It seems you can teach an old dog new tricks. Hmm... you might want to say something to that effect. If the sneer isn't working, then maybe it is time to resort to the tried and true method... Ah, there we go. There's the cold-eyed, resentful, insecure Instructor that you know and love.
Inhale
Exhale
Fuck! How the hell did Leonheart manage to get inside your guard? Back away; get out of his gunblade's range. Check your side, just to be sure. It might not be all that painful, but that doesn't mean that you can't bleed your life away from it. Shit! You are better than this, and Leonheart shouldn't be this good! So why the fuck is it that whenever you face the bastard, you always come away with another scar?
Keep Hyperion up. They know that you are wounded; the fact that you are bleeding all over your favourite white trenchcoat has probably tipped them off. They are watching you carefully now, looking to exploit your injury in any way that they can. You can see that in Chickenwuss's toothy grin, in the Instructor's grim smile; even Leonheart is smirking. Typical. This is human nature, the true face of mankind that they keep hidden away beneath the veneer of dignity and sophistication, buried so deep that half the time not even they know it is there.
Inhale
Exhale
But you know. You've always known; ever since you were a little kid. You may have forgotten, the memories and lessons buried under years of GF's and training, but the knowledge was always there, just waiting to be unearthed. Just as you have been waiting; unappreciated, undervalued, held back while lesser bastards were promoted to SeeD. You thought you were waiting for someone to recognize your potential, and someone did. It just wasn't who you thought it would be...
In the end, She was the one who saw the truth, who forced you to see the truth. The truth about SeeD, the truth about the world, the truth about you. She was the one that recognized the need for a general, for a warrior who would lead Her armies in a war to end all wars, one that would bring the world under the control of one who would not be afraid to rein in humanity's inner beast; to soothe it, to control it, to crush it. And She was the one who recognized your potential, and realized that you were the one who could take up this much needed mantle.
Inhale
Exhale
You alone were worthy. Not just because of your skills, your strength, but because you also recognized the need for control. You have lived among the beast for your entire life, seeing the evil that is always present, always lurking in the darker corners of the human soul. You saw what others refused to recognize, a fact that often caused you to be punished, to be shunned and hated. You recognized and acknowledged the monster inside of you, using it to make you stronger, tapping into its strength and ferocity in order to survive in a world that would very much like to see you dead.
In the end, it doesn't matter, though. Because She saw it, too. She also recognized the fact that left to its own devices, the human animal would eventually destroy itself. Despite all their talk of 'inner goodness' and 'divine spark', mankind was slowly being overwhelmed by its darker side, reducing itself to a snarling, snapping monster that would devour any that came too close.
Inhale
Exhale
That is why you are needed. That is why your dream is needed. Humanity needs a butcher, someone who is unafraid to lead them into a conflict beyond anything they have ever known, to show them the true horror of that wretched darkness within their souls. They needed to confront that darkness, to be shown just how terrible it truly is.
You know that this cannot come to pass without sacrifice. In order for the rest of the world to be shocked away from the self-destructive path they have set themselves upon, a portion must be sacrificed. And who better than SeeD, who have dedicated themselves to Her murder, the murder of the one person who is not like the rest of humanity, the one person who is capable of saving this world from total annihilation. SeeD, who represents the absolute worst in humanity, an organization that would kill each and every Sorceress from now until the end of all time, and do so with a smile on their lips and a song in their hearts.
Inhale
Exhale
Keep your eyes up. You know the justice of your cause, the... rightness of it. You are the Sorceress' Knight, and you have a sacred duty to perform. Regardless of your common past, you have nothing in common with these... dogs before you, these mercenaries who fight only for the gil that is placed into their pockets.
That's right. Stare each and every one of them in the eye. Let them see the determination in your eyes, and let them see no weakness, no pity, for you must show them none. If humanity can be saved, then first sacrifices must be made. If such sacrifices include the deaths of your former friends and colleagues, then so be it. You are the Sorceress' Knight, and you have a duty to save the world...