A/N: Hey everyone… Sorry for the cliffhanger on the last chapter, but I really had to stop it there, 'cause from this chapter I begin my re-telling of the story. Just keep in mind that the format is exactly the same, except for a small detail. Quistis' thoughts –the Quistis who is with Ellone and is watching all this- are written in plain italics, OK? From time to time, the 'narration' will be paused and you'll hear some comments from Ellone and Quistis on what they've just seen. If you don't like the format and have a suggestion on how it could be done better, feel free to let me know.
I hope you enjoy this!
Last chapter summary: Quistis shares her story with Ellone and Ellone agrees to help her remember her past…
A second chance
By: Sickness in Salvation
Chapter 4: The SeeD exam – Part I
Darkness… Only darkness… For what seemed endless hours, nothing but darkness… Then, a distant voice…
Quistis? Can you hear me?
Yes Ellone…
Good… I'm about to send you back to the days where you were Seifer's Instructor. If you need me, just call out for me. I'll be the only one to hear you…
Alright…
Quistis felt her consciousness slipping away once more. Slowly, the darkness began getting more clear and luminous…
Quistis was sitting inside a classroom behind her desk. She was resting her chin on her balled fist and was looking across the room, over to her students, who were all bent over their desks, scribbling something onto the papers in front of them. 'Test time…' The students all seemed to be around sixteen or seventeen 'All familiar faces… There's Andy Wallace, Susan Andrews, Annya Scholes, Jacob Stuart… And… Seifer…' The only pupil inside the room not wearing a SeeD cadet uniform was a tall blond boy sitting in the back. He was wearing a pair of black pants, a blue vest with a white cross in the front and a long grey trench coat with a red Fire Cross symbol emblazoned on each sleeve. He was sitting relaxed, unlike any other student inside the room, resting his elbows on the back of his seat as he looked around the room. Seifer Almasy in all his seventeen years 'Where's Squall?' At some point, the green eyes of the blond boy sparkled, a good sign that he meant trouble. He grabbed his notebook, 'Seifer is actually carrying a NOTEBOOK?!' ripped a page from inside and curled it up into a ball. He spotted a boy sitting uneasily on his chair, fidgeting around as he tried to remember the answer to the question he was on. Seifer grabbed the paper ball in one hand, stuck his tongue out while trying to aim, closed one eye and flung the ball towards the boy, hitting him square on the head. The boy let out a small yelp, jolting up from his seat startled, as Seifer and the rest of the classroom erupted into laughter.
- "Silence!" said Quistis tapping her palm on the desk "Back to your tests!"
Seifer was covering his mouth with both hands, still chuckling silently. The boy, who had received the paper ball, eyed him poisonously and then bent back down to his test.
- "Seifer, a word?" said Quistis, crossing her arms.
The fair-haired student got up from his chair grinning mischievously and approached the Instructor's desk.
- "Yes?" he said smiling broadly, once having reached Quistis.
- "Seifer, how many times have I told you not to disturb your classmates, especially when it's test time?" she asked, looking up at him.
Although she was scolding him, her face had a small grin appearing across it. She had lowered her glasses and was giving her boisterous student the look a mother would have when she was telling off her child, but tried not to upset it at the same time 'What the hell? He just pulled a joke on that boy and I'm scolding him as if I'm afraid of hurting his feelings?!'
- "OK, OK…" said Seifer grinning "Won't happen again…"
- "That's not what I want to hear…"
- "Fine…" said Seifer sighing "I'm mumble"
- "What's that? I didn't hear you…" said Quistis playfully.
- "I'm sorry!" said Seifer exasperated.
- "Tell that to your classmate, after the test. Now go on, you've missed precious time by fooling around." she said.
- "I've already finished." said Seifer smirking.
- "Finished?" asked Quistis raising an eyebrow, looking at her watch "You've still got twenty minutes left."
- "I know. But I've finished." he said, the proud smirk never leaving his face.
- "All of the questions?" she asked.
- "Yes, all…" said Seifer impatiently.
- "Have you checked your answers?"
- "Twice…"
- "Hmm… Then bring over your paper." said Quistis, eyeing him suspiciously.
The blond hurried back to his desk and grabbed the piece of paper lying on his desk. He gave a wink to a girl who looked at him dreamily as he passed by, making Quistis roll her eyes and the girl giggle like mad, and walked back to the Instructor's desk. He handed her the Test paper and stood right behind her.
- "Go back to your seat Seifer." said Quistis.
- "No way, I wanna watch." he said.
Quistis sighed and grabbed her pen, looking at the paper before her. She began scanning it… She reached the end of the questionnaire, without making any marks. She wasn't surprised though; Seifer was her best student 'What?! NO mistakes? That can't be possible…'
- "Well…?" asked Seifer cockily.
- "Well what?" asked Quistis removing her glasses, looking up at him.
- "I passed, didn't I?" he asked, certain of her response.
- "The results of the written SeeD exam will be posted sometime after class Seifer, you know that." she said.
- "Aw c'mon! Tell me!" said Seifer.
- "Back to your seat." said Quistis grinning "And no talking or teasing."
- "Tsk, fine!" he said walking back to his seat.
Quistis smiled. Seifer had passed alright… With nothing less than almost full marks…
The blonde Instructor glanced at her watch. The one hour was now officially up, marking the end of the exam.
- "Pens down everyone…" said Quistis "Time is up. Bring your papers over. Keep in mind that the results will be posted on the board outside, in about half an hour."
A mixed sound of sighs of relief, grunts, yelps and silent curses was heard. Some students stretched in their seats then slowly got up. Two dozens of kids in blue uniforms approached the desk, leaving their papers on it. Last came Seifer, walking casually, hands in his pockets. He gave Quistis a grin as he passed by her desk and then walked outside with the rest of his classmates.
Quistis gathered the scattered papers on her desk, stacked them and took out her pen to start correcting them. Sixteen passed, eight failed. Quistis turned over to her laptop on her desk and began typing into a blank workbook sheet. She typed in the results, as well as the mark for each student, saved the file and then printed it. She signed the piece of paper and walked outside the classroom to post it. Just when she reached the door and opened it, she was surprised to find Seifer waiting right outside.
- "Argh!" she yelled, startled.
- "Scared ya?" asked Seifer, smirking.
- "What are you doing standing out here?" she asked, trying to catch her breath.
- "Waiting for the results…" he said casually.
- "Right outside the door? Geez…" she said, walking out as he moved out of the way.
Quistis unfolded the piece of paper with the results on it, getting ready to pin it up. She removed a stray pin from the board and pierced it through the top of the page. She turned around and noticed Seifer was standing right behind her, towering her with his tall frame.
- "Well c'mon! Hurry up!" he said impatiently.
- "Is the almighty Almasy anxious about the results?" asked Quistis jokingly.
- "Instructor, I know I've passed…" he said cockily.
- "Have you now?" asked Quistis raising an eyebrow.
- "H-h-haven't I?" he stuttered, startled at her serious expression.
Quistis didn't respond, just turned around and pinned the results on the board. Seifer jerked his head right next to hers, scanning the paper before him.
Almasy, Seifer GRADE: 99% PASSED
Anderson, Simone GRADE: 62% FAILED
Andrews, Susan GRADE: 87% PASSED
Cornell, Max GRADE: 65% FAILED
Davis, Frederick GRADE: 95% PASSED
Donahue, Terry GRADE: 89% PASSED
Dupont, Françoise GRADE: 100% PASSED
Fisher, Anna GRADE: 97% PASSED
Fitzpatrick, Damien GRADE: 84% PASSED
Ivanova, Svetlana GRADE: 73% PASSED
Jodorowsky, Annette GRADE: 65% FAILED
Johnson, Gabriel GRADE: 79% PASSED
Keenan, Sandra GRADE: 99% PASSED
Moreno, Brian GRADE: 53% FAILED
Rogers, Steven GRADE: 67% FAILED
Schaffer, Angelina GRADE: 71% PASSED
Scholes, Annya GRADE: 68% FAILED
Silveria, Drake GRADE: 57% FAILED
Sokal, Julianne GRADE: 81% PASSED
Stuart, Jacob GRADE: 70% PASSED
Vedder, Violet GRADE: 54% FAILED
Wallace, Andy GRADE: 88% PASSED
Welch, Andrew GRADE: 91% PASSED
Yolander, Beth GRADE: 76% PASSED
- "YES!!!" shouted Seifer, jumping up in the air "I KNEW IT!!"
Quistis laughed as her student went on with his excitement spree 'Damn arrogance…'
- "Well done Seifer." she said smiling broadly.
The blond boy was lost within his delight and purely out of impulse, he wrapped his arms around his Instructor's waist and lifted her up in the air. Quistis's eyes shot wide open as she found herself in her student's arms. Quickly enough, he realized his position as well and settled her back down.
- "Sorry about that…" he said grinning, rubbing the back of his hair.
- "It's OK Seifer…" said Quistis blushing, straightening out her uniform.
- "I uhh… Better go, Fuj and Raij are waiting for me by the elevator…" he said awkwardly.
- "Yes, yes…" said Quistis nodding.
Seifer sprinted down the corridor, but stopped when he reached the end of it. He turned around, gave Quistis a warm smile and disappeared towards the elevator. Quistis sighed and walked back inside the classroom, feeling her heart pound a bit faster 'Geez… Snap out of it…'
I thought that was really sweet…
Oh, please! It was just a hug…
Yeah, I guess all hugs have heart-racing as a result then…
Pause Moving on please…
Quistis was waiting right in front of the directory. Soon, a group of students approached her. She looked up from the binder she was holding in one hand and spoke to them.
- "Everyone in your uniforms? Good…" she said "I'll be now splitting you up into Squads."
Everyone stood still, waiting for Quistis's announcement.
- "Squad A will be: Seifer Almasy, Gabriel Johnson, Jacob Stuart and Andy Wallace. Squad Captain will be Seifer." said Quistis. The four boys gathered together, while Seifer tried not to burst from pride "Squad B will be: Terry Donahue, Françoise Dupont, Angelina Schaffer and Julianne Sokal. Squad Captain will be Françoise. Squad C: Anna Fisher, Damien Fitzpatrick, Svetlana Ivanova and Andrew Welch. Squad Captain is Anna. Finally, squad D: Susan Andrews, Frederick Davis, Sandra Keenan and Beth Yolander. Sandra, you're the Captain." said Quistis.
The blonde Instructor lifted her glance up from her binder and saw the students all gathered up in four groups.
- "Has everyone heard their name?" she asked. All of them nodded "Very well. Just in case you were wondering, the Squad and Captain assignments were made based on your grades on the written exam, so for any complaints, blame the Protocol." said Quistis, making the students laugh lightly "Those of you who have become Squad Captains, keep in mind that you will be the ones guiding your team, so be very careful."
Right then, Cid, Xu and two Instructors, Instructor Aki and Robinson, came to the Directory.
- "Everything in order Instructor Trepe?" asked Cid.
- "Yes sir." said Quistis saluting him "The Squads and their Captains have just been announced."
- "Excellent." said Cid, turning over to face the four groups of cadets "This is it everyone. They moment you've all been waiting for to test your skills." he began "When you go out there on the battlefield, remember to keep your mind clear. Self-composure is a key element to pass this test. Try your best and give your whole self into whatever you do. Good luck!"
All cadets saluted Headmaster Cid as he proceeded back to hisoffice on the 3rd floor. Xu came forward right after Cid left, and spoke to the cadets.
- "Good morning everyone…" said Xu "As you already know, one SeeD member is designated for each team and acts as their supervisor. Instructors Aki, Robinson and Trepe and me will be the ones accompanying you in this exam. I will be the supervisor of Squad A, Instructor Aki will take care of Squad B, Instructor Robinson will supervise Squad C and lastly Instructor Trepe will be responsible for Squad D." finished Xu. A hand flew up in the air just as she did and Xu noticed it came from a tall, blond cadet. She sighed, preparing herself for what she was about to hear and spoke "Yes, Seifer?"
- "Does the Protocol mention anything about the possibility of switching Squad supervisors?" he asked, smirking.
- "I suppose you're in Squad A?" asked Xu raising an eyebrow.
- "Uh-huh…" nodded Seifer.
- "Even if there was, no exception could be made for your case Mr. Almasy. Keeping an eye on you will be my pleasure…" said Xu, grinning back at him, sending a fit of laughter all over the gathered students "Everyone please proceed to the Parking Lot. Four SeeD vehicles will be waiting for you there."
The four groups dispersed, as a swarm of blue uniforms flowed towards the Parking Lot. Seifer stayed behind, talking with Raijin and Fujin.
- "Be careful out there, ya know?" said Raijin.
- "CAUTION." said Fujin.
- "Yeah, yeah…" said Seifer shrugging "Big deal…"
- "Mr. Almasy, didn't you hear what I just said?" shouted Xu from across the Hall.
- "I'm coming, you sadistic bitch…" Seifer mumbled.
- "What was that?" asked Xu narrowing her eyes.
- "I said I've got a bad itch." he replied smirking "Be right over…" he added, nodding Raijin and Fujin goodbye.
- "We don't have all day! Hurry up and get to the Parking Lot!" yelled Xu.
- "Excuse me…" he said loudly "…but I just wanted to talk to my Instructor, do you mind?"
- "TWO minutes Almasy!" said Xu, storming away.
- "Cunt…" said Seifer under his breath. Quistis raised an eyebrow "Can't,"corrected Seifer looking at his young Instructor "Leave without saying goodbye to my Instructor…" Quistis shook her head in disbelief.
- "Good luck out there Seifer." she said.
- "Instructor…" he said smirking "… I hate it when people wish me 'Good luck'. Save it for a bad student who needs it, eh?"
- "Alright then…" said Quistis grinning "Good luck Seifer."
Seifer raised his finger and opened his mouth to say something, but he just chuckled and moved along.
- "I'll remember that…" he said, walking down the corridor.
- "Seifer?" called Quistis, making him turn around "I believe in you. Just stick to orders and you'll do fine." she said.
Seifer raised an eyebrow. He smiled lightly, nodded and went on his way…
Why did you stop? I want to see how he did in the mission…
I can only show you your past Quisty, remember? I sent your conscience back in your body so all you'll be able to see are
the things you witnessed.
Well, can't you send me into the past of Seifer?
Alright, let me try that… I'll get as close as I can…
Seifer was slouched on the seat of a SeeD vehicle. Next to him sat one of his teammates, while across him sat Xu and the other two of his Squad. He was feeling incredibly bored and was looking outside the window, counting the trees they passed by on the road to Balamb Town. Soon he lost count, as the guy sitting next to him wouldn't stop making weird noises. Seifer turned to look at him raising an eyebrow. The boy went on making a fidgeting clicking sound, much oblivious to Seifer's staring. Seifer sighed and shook his head in disbelief.
- "Something wrong Seifer?" asked Xu sarcastically 'You mean EXCEPT for the fact that you exist on this planet?' Seifer thought.
- "Grunt No…" he said crossing his arms.
- "Hey man, you're Seifer Almasy?" asked the black-haired boy sitting across Seifer. Seifer nodded.
- "Gabriel. Gabriel Johnson." said the boy extending his arms. Seifer took it and exchanged a lukewarm handshake with him.
- "Andy Wallace." said the other boy, sitting next to Gabriel. He exchanged a handshake with Seifer as well.
- "And you are…?" asked Seifer, raising an eyebrow, looking at the last guy, sitting next to him.
- "Huh?" asked the red-haired boy, startled.
- "Your name." said Seifer.
- "Oh… J-Jacob Stuart." said the boy nervously.
Seifer nodded smirking and leaned back in his seat 'This is going to be a loooong day…' he thought, running a hand through his fair hair.
The four students making up Squad A were all gathered in a SeeD watercraft, accompanied by the SeeD in charge of them, Xu. As soon as they entered, they all sat down, waiting to be briefed for the mission. After spending a few minutes on hold, a male SeeD arrived. Xu got up from her seat and saluted him.
- "Xu…" said the brown-haired man, returning the salute "Nice to see you again."
- "Lieutenant Bierce." said Xu nodding. She then turned around to the four cadets "Lieutenant Andrew Bierce comes from Timber. He used to be part of the Timber army. He's here to explain your mission."
- "Thank you for the introduction Xu." said Bierce "This year's SeeD mission will take place in Timber." he began "As you all know, Timber has recently proceeded into conflict with the Galbadian army, regarding the region's independence. The cadets dispatched from your Garden for the SeeD exam, you, will be aiding the resistance factions stationed in Timber. We will disembark…" he said, flicking on an electric board behind him, showing a map of the Timber region "…right here." Bierce pointed his index finger onto a beach located near Timber city.
- "That's pretty far away…" said Gabriel Johnson.
- "A good observation." replied Bierce "Secrecy is of utmost importance in this mission, as we need to use the element of surprise on our opponents. Hence, we couldn't reach Timber through a train or through air. The beach is the closest we can get without being noticed. From there, Timber is about a fifteen-minute-walk."
- "Don't you think the Galbadians will notice a swarm of blue uniforms comin' right at them?" asked Seifer sarcastically.
- "Of course I do…" said Bierce smiling "Actually we're counting on that…" all four cadets eyed him puzzled "You see, we will first act as a distraction for the Galbadian forces, giving the SeeD forces arriving secretly through the forests, time to infiltrate Timber. This first wave should probably weaken the Galbadian units a fair amount. When all of them will have concentrated their attacks in the main battlefield, we will act as a second wave of attack, entering the city."
- "So mainly, we'll play the role of the 'bait' in this mission, right?" asked Seifer raising an eyebrow, making Xu shoot him a poisonous glare.
- "At first, yes. But right after the 'surprise' we've held in stock for the Galbadians, the real battle will begin." replied Bierce, still smiling "Any questions?"
- "How will we approach the city?" asked Andy Wallace.
- "The SeeDs in charge of every Squad will take care of that. Just follow them until you reach the city." answered Bierce "Anything else?" he asked. No-one spoke "Alright then… We should be arriving in Timber in about an hour, so don't rush. You've still got lots of time ahead. Good luck to you all." he added and left the room.
The seaborne SeeD vehicles slashed the waves on the sea surface, creating a quartet of parallel straight lines of pearly white foam as they approached the shores of Alcauld beach. The four vessels soon made hard contact with the sand and four large metal doors opened to reveal the sixteen cadets and their SeeD supervisors. Four Squads of blue uniforms emerged onto the beach preparing for the upcoming mission. Gunblades swished around the air, whips cracked, gun cocks clicked, daggers flipped on well-trained hands, all tuning in the rhythm of a battle soon to follow.
Xu walked in front of her male-infested Squad, skillfully sliding her daggers back inside their cases.
- "Let's go." she said plainly, motioning the four boys to follow her.
Seifer and his three teammates walked behind the brunette SeeD across Alcauld beach. Four squads of blue-colored uniforms strode up the sand towards the city of Timber. Leading them was the man Seifer recognized as Lt. Andrew Bierce. Once they'd reached the solid terrain on the path leading them to the city, Bierce stopped and spoke.
- "Can I have everyone's attention?" he said. All cadets and SeeDs turned to look at him "We're approaching the city in a bit, so make sure everyone is prepared for the battle. Equip your GFs, junction your magic spells and be certain to keep yourselves in top condition when we get there. Any questions?" None of them reacted "Alright, everyone follow your squad supervisors at all times and keep a clear head once in battle. Good luck!"
The crowd before Bierce all saluted him and went on following the path to the city. Seifer was beginning to feel the first traces of anxiety. He felt more than confident about himself, but either way this would be his first real battle. He eventually managed to persuade himself that the uneasy feeling in his stomach was pure anticipation for the fight and nothing more…
As he walked behind Xu through the scarce flora of the deserted path, he began getting ready. He junctioned his GF, Ifrit. He'd beaten the fire monster of the Fire Cavern only a few days ago with his Instructor, Quistis. As a reward, the GF had now become his ally in any future battle. Seifer liked Ifrit's demeanor. It reminder him of his own; rash, passionate and untamed, almost fire-like. He was always fond of the Fire element anyway. It suited him perfectly. And now that he thought of it, had he bothered to stock any offensive spells other than Fire? Had he bothered to stock any other spells at all? He laughed; luckily, he had stocked more spells. It was a lesson heard learned after the innumerable times Quistis had to scold him for such a tactic.
Through the corner of his eye, he searched for his Instructor. He saw her only a few feet away to his right, leading her Squad towards Timber. As always, she was dead serious 'Tight-assed…' he thought, and distant. A real 'Ice Queen', living up to that certain nickname, awarded to her by the entire student population of Garden during her time there. Ironically enough, the GF she always chose to junction was Shiva, the spirit of Ice. And now that Seifer pondered on that certain matter, she had shown particular 'impartiality' towards the Ice element herself in the past. He scoffed 'Maybe we're not as different as you always seem to think we are Trepe…'
He didn't know why, but he always had that feeling of strange familiarity towards her. Something about her bossy behavior, her mother-like interest to everyone, reminded him of a thing he couldn't quite put his finger upon. He would have sworn that even her face seemed familiar, like a distant memory from a dream. Then again, Quistis Trepe wasn't the type of person he usually chose to befriend. But come to think of it, who was? The only people he came close to calling 'friends' were Fujin and Raijin. Nevertheless, he couldn't remember a time were he felt that way around his posse. And the strangest thing of them all, was that he'd found himself sensing that 'aura' around two more people in Garden. Two kids he liked to mess around a lot with…
His pointless day-dreaming didn't go farther though, as the voice of Xu snapped him back to reality.
- "Where the hell do you think you're going, Almasy?! We're over this way!" she yelled.
Seifer stopped walking for a moment and realized that lost within his thoughts he'd taken the wrong path to the city. Slapping himself mentally, he turned around and walked back to his Squad, muttering something pretty nasty about his much disliked SeeD supervisor…
What Andrew Bierce had described as a 'fifteen-minute-walk', turned out to be more of a 'half-an-hour-straining-striding'. All cadets had begun to feel bored and a bit tired, as all they kept hearing for the past ten minutes was that they're 'getting there'. A very pissed off Seifer walked up to Xu, thinking he'd had enough.
- "Hey, Miss supervisor…" he said in a mocking tone.
Xu turned around to face him, raising an eyebrow at his remark.
- "Any chance of reaching the damned city in less than a year?" Seifer asked.
- "As we've told you before…" Xu began, feeling annoyed.
- "Yeah, yeah… 'We're getting there'." said Seifer, mimicking Bierce's voice "We've been hearing that for the past fifteen minutes!"
- "Yes Miss Chang…" said a tired-looking Andy Wallace "…we're exhausted already!"
- "Sigh I know you're all incredibly bored, but this is part of our plan. We have to walk our way to the city. And honestly, we are drawing close, see?" replied Xu, pointing at the TV station tower of Timber, now visible from the path they were walking upon.
The four boys all sighed and went on following her. They kept on walking and eventually, after about five minutes they were able to reach the city outskirts. The sound of bombs exploding, gunfire being shot as well as panicked calls for help could be heard from the distance. The SeeD supervisors once again reminded the cadets to be fully equipped and ready against the enemy, as they drew near the battlefield.
Seifer cracked his knuckles, tilted his head from side to side trying to relax and pulled out his weapon, the impressive Hyperion gunblade. Next to him, his teammates drew out their weapons too. Gabriel Johnson was carrying a pair of nunchaks, Andy Wallace was using a shotgun and Jacob Stuart's weapon was a pole. The quartet, along with their fellow cadets of the SeeD exam got prepared, as the first wave of the attack from the Galbadian party made its appearance on the city Gates…
A/N: OK, that's it for today… How do you like it so far?
ON THE NEXT CHAPTER OF 'A SECOND CHANCE':
Seifer's SeeD exam in full detail.
And introducing another character (not an original one of mine). I'll give ya a hint: It's a 'she'…