A/N: 'Ello guys! *Sigh* I'm still pretty cornered with exams… I've just finished my practice exams (working on the PC) today and as from Monday, I start my written ones… And I'm happy to say that I only failed one of them (which I knew I would…), while I did quite well on the others! Anywayz, you're not here to read how my week went, but I just wanted to tell you that the next update will probably be in a week from now…
For this chapter, I'd like to give a GREAT 'thank you' to my beta, Chris, AKA Squeakychris, with only a K. He knows what I mean… :-p Chris gave me a wonderful idea after reading the draft, which later on evolved into the very last scene of the chapter, giving it an entirely different 'air'. I've got him to thank for all the inspiration in that scene. *Gives Chris a hugzie* OK, I'll let him go now…
Last chapter summary: Seifer and his Squad arrive in the outskirts of Timber, to begin with their mission on the SeeD field exam…
~*A second chance*~
By: Sickness in Salvation
Chapter 5: The SeeD exam – Part II
A man dressed in blue uniform and a visor walked along some troops of the Galbadian forces, gathered around in the City Square of Timber. He passed by all the soldiers gathered there, approaching two officials discussing in front. He saluted one of the two, thus getting his attention. The official nodded at the soldier who spoke:
- "Peter Auf der Maur, Rank 17, sir." said the man.
- "At ease soldier." said the official.
Auf der Maur brought down his hand, which was up to now raised next to his head in a military salute. He stood less uptight, crossing his hands behind his back.
- "Lieutenant Biggs sir, I have some urgent news." he said.
- "What is it?" asked the Lieutenant.
- "We've just spotted what looks like four troops of SeeDs coming from Alcaud beach, sir." replied Auf der Maur.
- "SeeDs?" asked Biggs, raising an eyebrow.
- "Yes Lieutenant Biggs sir. Judging by their uniforms they are from Balamb Garden, but most of them seem to be still cadets. We've marked down about four or five SeeDs." said Auf der Maur.
- "Cadets, here?" said Biggs.
Auf der Maur nodded. Biggs fell deep in thought for a few seconds, then scoffed and chuckled.
- "The idiots from Balamb Garden thought that their cadets would be a match to our fully trained soldiers? Ha!" he scoffed again, grinning.
- "My guess is that they're here for their field exam, sir." said Auf der Maur "It's the time of the year in which they take the field exam for the Spring Period." he added. Biggs gave him a weird look, remained silent for a bit, then spoke again.
- "Right, right… Well you know what to do soldier," said Biggs "Send a few troops down there and get rid of them. We have much more important issues to think about than a measly group of SeeD cadets…"
- "If I may speak sir," spoke the second official for the first time "This could be a trap."
- "A trap? What are you on about Wedge?" asked Biggs sarcastically.
- "They might be sending these troops for distraction. I remember hearing something about former Lt. Bierce associating with Balamb Garden from our intelligence agents. This could be it. I've heard that Lt. Bierce is known to-" began Wedge, but was interrupted by Biggs.
- "That's pure nonsense Wedge." said Biggs, a superior look on his face "Soldier," he added, turning his gaze back to Auf der Maur "Guide the troops gathered here in the Square to the beach and teach those meddlesome fools a good lesson."
- "All the troops gathered here?!" protested Wedge "But Lieutenant-"
- "That's enough Wedge!" said Biggs sternly "As you were ordered soldier." he repeated to Auf der Maur.
- "Yes sir." said Auf der Maur.
He saluted Biggs once again and went back to gather around all the troops for attack.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The four Balamb Garden Squads stopped in their tracks only a few dozen feet away from the Gates of Timber. The first Galbadian troops could be seen in short distance, coming towards them. The SeeDs supervising each Squad stepped in front, giving the cadets last-minute advice.
- "Alright everyone, this is it." Xu said to the cadets of Squad A "Fight them off for as long as you can, until we get the signal from the team infiltrating the city from the North. Remember, the order to withdraw takes priority. Now go!"
The four young men nodded, saluted Xu and went on their way. Seifer led his Squad towards the Gates of Timber, feeling his adrenaline begin to pump up. This was it; his big chance to prove himself to everyone. He had to succeed. He sprinted down the path to the city, beckoning his three teammates to follow him. On his way there, he spotted Quistis ordering her Squad to go forth. He turned around momentarily, gave her salute accompanied by his notorious smirk and disappeared from view, wielding his gunblade in one hand. Quistis smiled, watching him gradually become nothing but a blur in the distance.
- "Good luck Seifer…" she said.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Seifer came to a halt, facing the first Galbadian soldiers in the way of their Squad. His jade eyes narrowed, the hint of a playful 'fire' dancing around in his eyes. He held his Hyperion firmly, then turned around to his teammates, nodding at them meaningfully, a superior expression on his face. He followed suit in taking a deep breath and lunging forward to his opponents. There were about five of them, all charging Seifer the moment he moved forward. His teammates joined in, all distracting one soldier each, leaving Seifer to deal with two of them.
The soldiers were both carrying gunblades, just like him. With one swift move, Seifer swung his Hyperion, pushing them both away momentarily. The Galbadians attacked again and three swords clattered in mid-movement. The two men threw their bodies forward and Seifer stepped back, slowly being lowered to his knees. They were two, he was one; it didn't take a genius to figure out who was stronger… Stronger? Them? Stronger than him? No, that was too much of a bruise in the blond man's already oversized pride. Taking a deep breath, he swung his left leg across one man's feet, making him trip and lose his balance. Having gotten rid one of them for the moment, he shoved his body upwards, sending the other one a few steps back. He clenched his fist and flung it on the soldier's face, almost cracking his jaw. The other one on the ground, made a move to get up, but a hard kick from Seifer on the chest threw him back down.
Looking around, Seifer saw that his Squad had fought off their first 'batch' of enemies; all of them were knocked out on the ground. The rest of the Squad had already moved on, or were sprinting past them that instant, indicating that the area was clear. Seifer motioned his team to follow him and broke into a run, deeper into the city grounds…
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Lieutenant Biggs was standing on the bridge above the train station, over viewing the city. He looked down to the city Gates visible from there, where the battle was heating up and was becoming even more intense than the one inside Timber grounds. At first, it seemed that the Garden's cadets were no match against the Galbadian soldiers, but it turned out that they were now on equal terms. The sound of footsteps woke Biggs out of his trance and he turned to his right, finding Wedge standing there, at attention.
- "Lieutenant Biggs sir, I came to inform you about the progress of the battle at the Gates." said Biggs.
- "How are we holding up Wedge?" asked Biggs.
- "Not so good, sir. The-"
- "Send more troops." interrupted Biggs.
- "But sir, we alread-" began Wedge.
- "Who's the Lieutenant here Biggs?"
- "*Sigh* You are, sir."
- "That's right. And that means that my intuition works better than yours." said Biggs matter-of-factly "After all, I did drive the Centranian forces away from Deling City with a mere five-minute strategy six years ago…"
- "But sir," spoke Wedge in a voice barely audible "The Centranian forces retreat-"
- "MORE TROOPS WEDGE!" yelled Biggs.
- "*Sigh* Yes sir…"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Quistis swung her whip across a soldier's neck, making him gag and fall down on his knees. With one graceful move she disentangled the whip from his throat and gave him a hard kick on the head, knocking him out. She took a deep breath and ran a hand through her fair locks. A droplet of sweat trickled from her forehead as she did so. She looked around and then slid her hand to the small leather case on the belt of her uniform, retrieving a black transmitter. She turned it on and spoke.
- "Grayson?" she said "Grayson, do you copy?"
- "Loud and clear Quistis. What's your status?" asked Cedric Grayson, one of the SeeDs on the team infiltrating Timber through the forests.
- "We're holding up for now, but I don't think we'll be able to stand for long. They keep on sending reinforcements. Where are you?" Quistis asked.
- "We're very close. We should be in the city in less than fifteen minutes. Think you can hold them off for this long?" asked Grayson.
- "Yes, we'll be fine. Just hurry." said Quistis worriedly.
- "Alright. Wait for our signal." said Grayson, terminating the connection.
Quistis put the transmitter back in her case and coiled her whip in one hand, running towards Xu who seemed like she could use some help.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Seifer was pinned down to the ground by a Galbadian soldier. The man held his gunblade mere inches away from Seifer's throat and was getting dangerously closer. Seifer had gripped his arm and was trying to push him away. His Hyperion was laying only a couple of feet away from him on the ground. Seifer released one hand and tried to get to his gunblade, but his palm couldn't reach long enough. Meanwhile, the Galbadian was gaining on him. Both men were breathing heavily and were drenched in sweat.
Thinking quickly, Seifer slid his leg up to the soldier's chest and pressed his knee against it, throwing him backwards. Seizing the chance, he rolled on the ground, grabbed his Hyperion and aided himself up with his balled fist. He twirled around, facing the soldier who was now on his feet, and gave him a hard elbowing on the nose, sending him to the ground. He sighed and threw his head backwards, flinging one of his short bangs that always fell on his face back in place. He smirked and turned around to his Squad, when he saw Andy Wallace's face adopt a sort of panicked expression.
- "Seifer, duck!" he yelled and pulled out his shotgun.
Seifer needn't be told twice; he ducked and heard the banging sound of the bullet coming out of Andy's weapon. He shut his eyes momentarily and when he opened them again, he saw Andy raking a hand through his hair, sighing in relief. Smoke was coming out of the barrels of his shotgun, as it hung on his side, firmly held by his right hand. Seifer slowly got up and turned around. He found the man he had been battling with earlier, lying on the ground, the large round wound of a bullet apparent right between his eyes. Seifer's eyes widened and he turned around to face his team.
- "Nice shot…" he said to Andy breathlessly.
Andy Wallace grinned and rested his weapon on his shoulder, shrugging modestly.
- "Thanks… for that…" said Seifer, rubbing the back of his head.
- "Don't mention it." said Andy.
The members of Squad A looked around, trying to spot any more potential threats. Right then, they made out the figure of Xu, running towards them from the beach.
- "We got our signal!" she yelled "Proceed as planned!" she added and sprinted back to the beach to inform the rest.
Seifer swung his Hyperion around in one hand in a showy manner and held it tightly in one hand.
- "You heard the bit-… err… woman! Let's go!" he said, pointing at the path leading to the Square of the city with his gunblade.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Wedge was walking –or rather, running- towards the bridge above the train station. He was biting his lips nervously and once he reached his destination, he stopped in his tracks. Lieutenant Biggs was standing there, as expected. Wedge swallowed hard and approached his superior.
- "*Ahem* Lieutenant Biggs, sir…" he said hesitantly "I'm afraid I've got s-"
- "I TOLD you it was a set-up Wedge!" yelled Biggs angrily "But noooo, you didn't listen to me and now look where this led us!"
- "But sir, I never-" protested Wedge.
- "Silence!" shouted Biggs "Now order out troops to move back to the square of the city!"
- "Yes sir…" mumbled Wedge, trying to leave.
- "And we'll talk about your punishment later!" yelled Biggs behind him.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A young girl clad in a long blue duster and a pair of black shorts, ran towards a small green train wagon. Her raven hair flew in the wind as she sprinted up the stairs. She opened the door and rushed inside, an excited expression on her face. As soon as she walked inside, many pairs of male eyes rested upon her quizzically. She panted, the thrilled look never leaving her cute features.
- "We've got back-up! SeeDs are here!" she squealed in delight.
An uproar of joyful shouts followed her words and all the young men inside the wagon ran to their quarters to pick up their weapons. All of them ran outside, eagerly merging with the heated battle in the city square.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Seifer was sparring with two gunblade-wielding soldiers. As he checked from the corner of his eye, many more were approaching. Soon they'd be cornered; they had to figure something out… No sooner had he made that thought, than about a dozen of what looked like civilians came to their aid. All of them were young men, about his age, except for the person which appeared to be leading them. A girl. A girl dressed in blue, with raven locks falling on her shoulders, brandishing a weapon Seifer recognized as a Pinwheel.
- "Go 'Forest Owls'!" she yelled, pointing her weapon towards the square.
All three of Seifer and the two opponents he had been fighting with, stopped momentarily and stared dumbfound at the young kids who seemed to be beyond plain inexperienced, yet they rushed fearlessly into the battlefield.
- "What the-?" said the two Galbadians in unison, puzzled.
Seifer looked at them out of the corner of his eye and seized the opportunity given to him. He grabbed both their heads and banged them hard against each other, knocking them both out. Frustrated out of his mind that amateurs were meddling with his exam, he held his gunblade tightly, marching towards the girl who was fighting a Galbadian. He approached them nonchalantly, never loosing his cool. Once there, he clenched his left fist and hammered roughly onto the soldier's face, sending him lying onto the ground.
- "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" he spat out to the girl angrily, resting his fist on his hip.
The girl looked from the fallen Galbadian to the young blond before her, bewildered from the scene that had just occurred in fast forward before her.
- "Excuse me?" she said puzzled.
- "I said: What the hell do you think you're doing?!" repeated Seifer "Civilians are supposed to stay out of the conflict!" he added.
- "We're not civilians! We're a rebel group, the 'Forest Owls'." replied the girl matter-of-factly.
- "I couldn't give less of a flying fuck." said Seifer smirking "Now get the hell outta here and leave this to professionals!"
The raven-haired girl creased her forehead and was left with her mouth gaping open 'Who does he think he is?! And to think I found him cute at first…' she thought.
- "Yo lady," said Seifer, snapping his fingers in front of her face; she seemed to have zoned out for a moment there "Snap out of it! Did you hear what I just said?" he asked. The girl's chocolate brown eyes suddenly widened in horror.
- "Behind y-!" she began, motioning to the soldier creeping up behind Seifer.
Without even turning around to look, Seifer elbowed the man at his back, getting him square on the nose. The blue-clad girl arched her eyebrows and was left staring at the soldier now lying unconscious with his back on the ground.
- "HEY!" yelled Seifer, making her jolt up startled "You didn't answer my question!"
- "Yeah I heard you!" replied the girl eventually, feeling incredibly indignant with Seifer's behavior "And we're not leaving! We're here to fight!"
- "*Scoff* You've gotta be shitting me…" said Seifer cockily.
- "Don't take that tone with me!" retorted the girl, resting her palms on her hips "Just who do you think you are?!"
- "I'm a SeeD cadet missy and I'm here to do my job." Seifer said, thrusting a finger onto his chest "I'm not the one out of place!"
- "Well neither are we! We have every right to fight and by Hyne, we will!" spat the girl and turned her heel.
Seifer was left staring at the girl, making her way to aid a friend of hers who was fighting two soldiers at the same time 'Fiery little thing…' he thought, rubbing his chin 'And annoying… Cute like hell, but annoying…' He shook himself mentally and recalled his duty there, sprinting back to his Squad.
- "Looks like we've got company." he said once having approached them "Just try and keep them out of our way…"
- "Who were you talking to?" asked Gabriel Johnson.
- "I dunno," said Seifer shrugging "Some girl… I didn't catch her name. But she's one of them inept fools. Anyway, let's get back to business!"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
OK, OK… Hold it… I thought Seifer was with me in this world…
Of course he is. Why are you asking?
Well… I presumed that he hadn't met Rinoa… Did they date after that?
*Sigh* I could just as easily narrate what happened Quisty. You were the one who insisted in seeing all this.
I wanted to see Seifer's SeeD exam, not how he met Rinoa!
Well, this is his SeeD exam. And it just happened that they met there.
OK, so then what?
Do you want to see this, or not?
Fine, go right ahead…
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A Galbadian soldier was speedily bringing his gunblade down, towards Xu's chest. Xu brought her trident daggers forward and entangled the blade of the sword in between them. She gave him a kick in the groin, making him bend over, doubled up in pain. With the back of her fist, she punched him hard on the face, throwing him on the ground. She glanced around her and saw Quistis approaching her.
- "How does it look?" she asked her blonde friend.
- "Not that good." replied Quistis, shaking her head "We're handling them just fine, but I heard they're bringing more reinforcements. I contacted Cid and he said we should withdraw."
- "Alright. We need to inform the Squads. Where is yours?" asked Xu.
- "They're close by. I've already told them and they're heading back to the vessels on the beach." replied the blonde.
- "What about the others?" asked the brunette.
- "Aki has found hers and Robinson is on his way to inform his. Where's your Squad?" asked Quistis.
- "Back at the Square, I'll go get them." replied Xu, trying to leave.
- "No wait. We need you back at the beach to keep the area clear. I'll send someone from my Squad." said the Instructor and run off.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Andy Wallace and Gabriel Johnson were fighting side by side, their backs touching one another, so as to avoid any attacks from behind. Four soldiers had rounded them and seemed to be gaining on them. Jacob Stuart could be seen in the distance, fighting off a single soldier. Seifer was sparing with another Galbadian and after beating him, was on his way to help Andy and Gabriel. Just then, a brunette clad in a SeeD cadet uniform ran towards them.
- "Sandra?" said Gabriel puzzled.
He fought off the soldier in front of him and ran towards her, letting Seifer and Andy deal with the remaining two.
- "Why are you here? Why aren't you with your Squad?" he asked her, once having gotten close to her.
- "They've sent me to tell you we must evacuate the Square. More troops are coming and Cid ordered withdrawal." replied Sandra.
- "OK, wait right here, I'll go get the others." said Gabriel, running back to his teammates.
Seifer and Andy had managed to pry off their opponents and were waiting for Gabriel.
- "We've been ordered to withdraw." said Gabriel once approaching them "Let's go!"
- "You go with Sandra." said Andy "I'll go get Jacob with Seifer and we'll follow suit."
- "Alright, hurry." said Gabriel, running back to Sandra.
The two of them soon disappeared from sight down the path leading back to the City Gates, and from there to the beach. Seifer and Andy ran back to Jacob, helping him relieve himself from his opponent. Right when they were about to leave, Seifer heard a panicked yell.
- "Princess!" shouted a brown-haired boy with a spiky do, dressed in a pair of short pants.
The girl Seifer had spoken to before, had been cornered by not one, but two soldiers. The young boy who had shouted ran to her aid, but was knocked out cold by another soldier, now advancing on the girl as well. Seifer let out a grunt and turned back to Jacob and Andy.
- "Go. I'll be right behind you." he said and sprinted towards the girl.
- "Seifer!" yelled Andy, but the tall blond didn't turn back.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The raven-haired girl had fallen backwards and was resting her back on a wall, squirming around the corner she'd been stuck to. She had no weapon anymore and was beyond any help. She swallowed hard as looked up at the three soldiers, eyeing her, smirking. One of them put down his weapon and walked smugly towards her, rubbing his chin. The girl's eyes widened in terror and she prepared herself mentally for the worst.
- "I wouldn't do that if I were you."
All three soldiers turned around to see who had spoken. The girl tilted her head to the side, trying to watch as well. She was more than surprised to see the guy she had spoken to before, standing before them, his gunblade extended towards them. One of the soldiers scoffed.
- "And what exactly do you think you'll be doing with that puny little gunblade of yours boy?" he asked sarcastically "We're three and you're one."
- "More fun for me then…" said Seifer smirking.
Without any further ado, the tall blond laid a hard high kick on the middle soldier's head. The other two retaliated fast, lunging forward with their gunblades. Seifer swung his Hyperion across them, jerking away both blades. The soldier he had kicked before ran right behind him and grabbed his arms. One of the two others clenched his fist and punched Seifer right on the face. Down on the ground, the raven-haired girl winced and gasped. The other soldier brought his knee forcefully on Seifer's stomach, making the latter cough and the girl bite her bottom lip in anxiety. The two soldiers stood before Seifer, leering down on him, cracking their knuckles, getting ready for another attack. Seifer was bent over, still being held tightly by the third counterpart of his opponents. He narrowed his eyes as the familiar 'dangerous' glint appeared on them 'Wanna play hard? We'll see who'll be the one sneering in the end then…'
The young blond suddenly stood back up, throwing his body upwards. He raised his legs and landed two hard kicks on the soldiers' chests, making them fall back. Once back on his feet, he ducked and pushed his body forwards this time, sending the man behind him flying into mid-air, falling hard onto his colleagues on the ground. The man quickly got back up on his feet, giving Seifer enough time to prepare himself though. As the soldier lunged forward, Seifer grabbed the dull edge of his Hyperion with one hand and the handle with the other, abruptly bringing it upwards to make hard contact with the man's chin and nose. He grasped the Hyperion handle with his right hand, bringing it down, while laying a hard punch on the Galbadian's face with his left fist. The latter fell hard on the floor, knocked out. One down, two more to go and the clock was ticking mercilessly…
Out of the two soldiers remaining on their feet, one of them hastily jumped on top of Seifer, pinning him down on the ground. Seifer's weapon left his grasp once more, falling down away from his reach in a clatter. The Galbadian now sprawled on Seifer's chest, armless as he was, made a move to grab Hyperion. Seifer retaliated quickly, by grabbing his wrists, fighting for the weapon himself. Suddenly, a high-pitched shriek made him jolt up startled. Before him, he saw the other soldier, going for the girl, seizing her menacingly with his gunblade. He brought it down to her speedily, but she managed to dodge it. She was now back on her feet and was engaged in a vicious 'cat and mouse' game, desperately trying to prevent herself from getting slaughtered by a gunblade.
The Galbadian atop Seifer, seized the opportunity of the latter's distraction and reached for the gunblade again. Seifer's usually quick reflexes got awakened the last minute this time. He brought his knee up rapidly, squashing the man's groin. The soldier was immobilized at once, now wincing in pain. The blond cadet raised his torso abruptly, crushing the man's nose with his forehead. It was one of the moves a SeeD cadet learned on the very first lessons, because it could easily render an enemy defenseless momentarily, as it made them lose balance. Seifer was now more than glad that he'd paid attention to that certain lesson… It was now his own turn to seize the opportunity of his enemy's helpless state and he reached for his Hyperion. The Galbadian, who had been holding his bleeding nose with both palms so far, saw Seifer's left hand fingers encase the handle of the gunblade. He hastily dove down to stop him, but Seifer proved to be faster. He brought the cold steel blade before his chest in defense and then, it happened…
Emerald green eyes went wide in terror. A small droplet of warm, red liquid made contact with the skin on his face, burning it like acid. Then another one… And another one… The world seemed to have gone mute around Seifer and the sound of the crimson fluid beads made a deafening –to his ears- sound as they fell on his cheekbones. The young blond stood frozen in spot. He was clutching the grip of his gunblade so tightly, that his knuckles had turned a pale shade, almost white. The blade of Hyperion stood out in an almost ninety degree angle from his chest. And plunged in between the handle and the tip, lay the soldier's body. Hyperion had ripped right through his stomach, staining the clothed area around the fatal wound in a dark scarlet shade. Blood dripped from the Galbadian's broken nose and the corner of his mouth. A horror-stricken expression was plastered on his face; eyes saucer-like, mouth gaping open. He was dead.
Seifer's momentarily blank page of a mind was instantly bombarded with a salvo of words; slaughter, massacre, assassination, killing, carnage, bloodbath, murder… He had murdered another person… In all his years of training as a mercenary, he'd fully realized he'd have to commit more than one 'extermination' of another human being and he thought he'd gotten in terms with it. It even sounded kind of exhilarating in some sort of twisted way. But then again, his mind was frequently known of working in twisted manners… Either way, nothing could have prepared him for the moment that had now unexpectedly come. His very first victim had just been slain
'Pull it together Almasy…' his mind screamed at him 'You're a damned mercenary. Stop acting like a fucking pussy and get up!'
Another shriek from the girl, ultimately captured by the last remaining standing soldier, brought him out of his dreadful trance. He'd grabbed her from the back of her hair and was holding his gunblade dangerously close to her throat.
'I'm not a coward… I'm a warrior.' he bellowed at himself 'Time to prove it then…' his conscience spat back.
Disorientated from contrasting emotions, he pushed the slowly stiffening carcass off his gunblade, emitting a slithery, gut-perturbing sound as he did so, and got up on his feet. Not fully aware of what he was about to do, he followed his instincts, as well as the surge of power now emerging from his interior, pent up from all the suppressed feelings inside him. As he saw the girl squirm in agony in the soldier's hands, more anger and hurt welled up inside him. He didn't know why; maybe he was just looking for an excuse to vent out his pent up apprehension. And he had just found it…
Decisively, he raised his left arm in the air, palm spreading out. His mind pulled aside any disturbing thoughts for just an instant, as he concentrated hard. His jade eyes glimmered and even seemed to slightly glow for an instant.
- "Fire Cross…" he said gruffly, as a Fire spell came surging out of his outstretched hand.
The scorching mass of flames burned the skin of the Galbadian's face, making him release the girl. A loud howl and a low hiss were heard as both the man and the girl were affected by the spell; however, the girl was only faintly injured. She grasped her stinging right arm with her good one and crawled up in the corner, staying out of the way. The soldier took of his now burning visor, throwing it on the ground. Even with the protection of the latter, his skin had still burned to the core; this was certainly no ordinary Fire spell.
Seifer held his Hyperion in his right hand, swinging it severely, with ease as such the soldier had never seen before. He finally brought it to a halt, holding it in a straight line with his unbent arm, like a genuine extension of it.
- "…No Mercy." the tall blond mouthed, narrowing his eyes.
Suddenly, the middle part of Hyperion's blade began to glow. Slowly, the glowing gained volume, gradually evolving into an emerald green sphere of energy. The blond's jade eyes glowed in an unearthly manner, coming close to matching the radiance of the sphere, seemingly attached to the weapon. He then broke into a run, dashing towards the already badly wounded soldier, his Hyperion giving the impression of leaving a jade trail of lightning behind. When he came close to his opponent, the young blond brought the cutting edge of the blade upwards, tearing the flesh of the man's abdomen and chest in a mere slash. A faint, choking sound was all that escaped the Galbadian's lips and then no sound was heard at all, as Hyperion found its way downwards again, across the ill-fated soldier's face. The latter fell down on his knees, then lifeless down on the ground, doomed to lie in a pool of his own blood, until found but his comrades.
Not hesitating for a second, Seifer made a run for the girl, who was staring at him in awe. He was quite certain that if he spent the tiniest bit of time to contemplate on what had just happened, he would go crazy. He grabbed the girl's wrist, pulled her up and broke into a run, away from the Square.
- "Wait! My team!" she said breathlessly while running "I can't leave them here!"
- "You all have to go. Reinforcements are coming and we were ordered to withdraw." he told her, then turned his head backwards "Oy you lot! Follow your Princess!" he yelled at the girl's team behind.
The couple made their way hastily to the city Gates, closely followed by the members of the rebel group. The girl noticed that the blond was still clutching her wrist tightly as they ran. She took a moment to look at him. His short fair spikes of hair were now soaring backwards as he ran, however a couple of bangs refused to follow suit of the others. His jade eyes were sparkling, as his adrenaline had hit red. His strict facial features gave him a raw sort of charm, coming in disparity with his boyish hair. That guy was obviously full of contrasts; rude beyond imagination, yet noble enough to help her in a moment of trouble. Manly, yet boyish.
But what stayed with her the most, had been the image of his slaying a man before her very eyes. And as they passed by the other two fallen counterparts of the group of her attackers before, she couldn't help but notice yet another one of them motionless and soaked in crimson blood. She hated violence herself, but for some reason, she had not been completely appalled by the murder she had just witnessed. Perhaps because it had been committed in purpose of saving her. Or perhaps because she hadn't committed it herself…
- "Sorry for burning you before," he said suddenly, never breaking eye contact with the path ahead "I had no other choice."
- "I-I-It's alright… I understand…" stammered the girl.
They came to a halt once on the Gates, not phrasing another single word on the way. The girl slapped a palm on her chest, panting, trying to catch her breath. The rest of her team arrived second later, all of them exhausted. Seifer was breathing kind of heavily as well. He ran a hand through his blond hair and slipped his Hyperion back in its case, suspending from his uniform belt. He turned around and faced the girl, smirking –or was it smiling?- weakly at her. He performed an overly-dramatic bow and looked at her brown eyes.
- "This is where I have to abandon my services to you, Princess. I have to run. Stay out of trouble." he said somewhat sternly, breaking into a run down the path, towards the beach.
- "Wait!" yelled the girl, but he had already gone.
She was left staring at him, as his tall, brawny silhouette became more and more blurry in the distance, until it wasn't visible anymore.
- "I didn't get to thank you…" she mumbled "I didn't even get your name…"
A/N: *Sigh* Poor Seify… First time killing anyone… He might seem a bit OOC for reacting that way, but I really do think that no person can take his/her first killing easily…
ON THE NEXT CHAPTER OF 'A SECOND CHANCE':
Has Seifer passed his exam?
Will he see that girl he met in Timber again?