Disclaimer : I don't own PRNS or FF8 or the script I am following.
Note : I also forgot to mention in the previous chapter, that 'princess' will be explained, but I'm not talking royalty. LOL There's a lot of explanation in the scripts too, so I'm sorry if someone has a long dialog, and it bores some.
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(Outside the Garden)
Leaving the Garden, we wandered a ways over to the mountains at the edge of the island. Balamb is just a small island with the Garden, a small down, and the Fire Cavern. At the mountains, we knew our best bet for finding Blizzard magic would be here, where the ice elemental monsters would be found.
It didn't take long before we encountered a couple of ice monsters. Their looks were pretty much indescribable, to say the least, but they weren't very strong. Keeping my blade on my belt, I closed my eyes and focused on their magics.
Finding the light blue thread that identified the Blizzard spells, I focused on drawing them, and managed to grab the power. It was just a weak spell, but ice magic none the less.
Tori followed my example and managed to draw some spells of her own before we attacked. Up first, Tori grabbed her whips and snapped it hard on the ground before spinning and lashing out at the monster, taking one down right away.
I quicky attacked after her, using my blade to bring the other down with one swipe.
Next, we walked around the plains, drawing wind and healing spells from giant mosquitos called Bite Bugs, and giant caterpillars called Caterchipillars. We avoided the forests, knowing about the T-Rexaurs and that we wouldn't stand a chance against them yet, and even went to the beach, where we stocked up on water and blind spells from sand sharks.
Lastly, we headed to the Fire Cavern so that I could get the GF there. That was the test. Set a time limit, make it through the Cavern and get the GF before the time limit was up. The shorter the time limit, the better your results, but I didn't want to be overconfident.
Blocking the entrance were two Garden Faculty members. When they saw us approach, they stood straight and waited for us to stop in front of them. "To obtain a low-level GF, a SeeD member must support. Are you ready?"
I nodded and stood straight, saluting them. "I'm ready." I said firmly.
"I'm his support." Tori stated, saluting beside me. "Instructor number 14, Tori Hanson."
"Select a time limit suited to your abilities. Challenging yet reasonable."
Raising an eyebrow, I decided to play it safe. The choices were, 10min, 20min, 30min, and 40min. I chose 20min.
"Very well. Good luck." the first faculty member bowed before they stepped aside and Tori and I entered the Cavern.
Already, I was sweating as I strapped the timer watch to my wrist. Looking at it, it said 19:20, meaning we hadn't been in here even a minute yet. That just goes to show you how hot it was.
Fire Cavern. Aptly named. It consisted of a narrow pathway, just wide enough to fight battles on, surrounded on one side by thick, hot, rock walls, and the other side was a bubbling lava river.
Beginning our walk along the path, we battled various monsters. Giant bats called Buels, and smaller, more viscous bats called Red Bats. We managed to steal more healing spells, fire spells and silence spells from them.
"My job is to support you in battle." Tori said as we walked up to a magic draw point. "The rest is up to you."
"Fine." I said tersely, drawing Esuna from the point.
So far, we had ice, fire, and wind magic, as well as low level Cure spells, Blind and Silence, and now Esuna.
The ice was Blizzard, low level spells which would still pack a punch against weaker fire monsters. Fire was just that, Fire, and though it was a low level spell, again it would pack a punch against weaker ice monsters, and Wind was known as Aero. It causes a small tornado to hit the monsters, working best against flying types, to knock them off balance and weaken them.
The other spells were just what they were called, except for Esuna which would heal any status magics cast on our party, like Blind, Silence, Poison, Confuse, and more.
Walking farther up the path, I was thankful for the silence, but apparently, Tori didn't care much for it and began speaking again.
"You know, the boys often choke on this test when I come with them. I guess my charm makes them nervous." she joked.
Raising an eyebrow, I gave her an unimpressed look. If they were part of your fanclub, I wouldn't be surprised. Turning away, I kept moving and she sighed.
"I'm just kidding! I'm just trying to keep you relaxed, that's all." she insisted with a grin.
Suddenly, we were ambushed by a large, living ball of fire, and jumped to the sides to avoid it. Still, I wasn't quite quick enough and suffered a burn to my arm, which I used a Cure to heal.
"Bomb... An elemental monster. Use an ice attack for these." Tori instructed calmly as she grabbed her whip.
Nodding, I put away my gunblade and concentrated on a Blizzard spell as I raised me hand, my palm facing the monster. Unleashing the spell, I watched as a giant chunk of ice pierced through the Bomb's body and killed it instantly.
Tori looked at me with a clearly impressed look as we continued on silently, soon making it to the Fire Pit at the back, with 11min left to spare. Not bad in my opinion.
"I guess I was right." Tori mused to herself. "You and Blake are in a class of your own. You both have amazing strength and potential."
Only Blake likes to use his strength to boss prople around. I thought darkly. I wouldn't admit it, but her praise meant a lot to me.
"Ok, this is it. Ready?"
I nodded and drew my blade.
She grinned and grabbed her whip. "You seem confident enough."
There was a loud roar, and the ground shook as a giant monster shot out of a lava pit and flew up into the air, landing in front of us before roaring loudly. This was the GF we were after, Ifrit, the fire Guardian.
Beginning the attack, I ran forward and sliced Ifrit with my blade, running back as Tori lashed out with her whip, followed quickly by a Blizzard.
"Impudent humans!" Ifrit growled as he lashed out and ast a fire spell on us both.
I staggered back, winded and feeling a little dizzy from the attack before shaking my head and casting my own Blizzard spell.
Tori gasped as she was struck and fell to her knees before getting back up and staring at the GF. "We might need a little help." she said with a raised eyebrow.
Taking the hint, I closed my eyes and concentrated on my GFs, chosing Shiva and summoning her.
The ground froze over as an icy wind blew by, and a woman appeared out of nowhere. She had long bue and green hair, and wore an ice bikini over her body. Raising her hand, a light blue mist formed at her finger tips, blowing large, sharp chunks of ice out and hitting Ifrit, who fell back from the blast.
Once she was done, Shiva disappeared again and we moved forward, ready to continue the battle.
"They have Shiva?!" Ifrit roared incredulously as he stood back up. Shooting a ball of fire at me, I wasn't able to dodge and was knocked into a nearby pillar, sitting there as I tried to fight the dizziness.
A warmth ran through me, and I focused my eyes, noticing that Tori cast a Cure on me before counterattacking with her whip and then a Blizzard spell. Chancing a quick glance that the watch on my wrist, I noticed I had 2 min left and frowned. Time to end this.
Standing up, I ran forard and slashed Ifrit multiple times with my blade before jumping back and hitting him with a Blizzard.
He fell to the ground and glared at us, as he couldn't get back up again. "Hmm, not bad for a human." he reluctantly admitted. "For me to lose to a human... Very well. I shall join you." He dissipated into mist and entered my body, and I shook my head as I sighed in relief.
(Balamb Garden)
Heading back to the Garden, Tori and I split up and I went to the dorm to change into my student uniform. Basically it was navy blue and consisted of pants and a long sleeved shirt with a white tie and white trim around the collar and arm cuffs. I didn't care for it, but it was a necessity at the exam.
Once I was done, I made my way back to the front lobby where Tori stood with Blake and his 'groupies' the other members of the 'Disciplinary Squad'. Pretty much, it was just a group of three that liked to throw their strength around, 'arresting' students for any tiny thing, like running in the halls and such.
The group consisted of Blake, the leader, Taylor, a usually silent blonde woman that when she did actually speak, she yelled, and Eric, a pretty muscleheaded guy. Not bad, but not the smartest. He usually got beaten up by Taylor if he didn't watch what he said.
"Shane, over here!" Tori called, waving slightly as she held a clipboard to her chest. She too, was dressed in her SeeD uniform. Once I approached, she nodded. "I'll be announcing the squad assignments for the exam now." Looking at her clipboard, she bit her lip. "Let's see... You'll be with... Dustin Brooks." She raised an eyebrow. "Quite a...lively fellow."
"Lively? He's just loud." I groaned, shaking my head. "Can't I switch squads?"
She laughed a little and shook her head. "I'm afraid that's not possible." Looking around, she spotted a brunette jumping around and practicing his martial arts in the hallway. He had curly black hair, fair skin and drown eyes, and was also wearing a student uniform. "Over here, Dustin!" she called.
Looking over at us, he grinned and did several backflips before waving at us and walking over. Looking at me, his jaw dropped and his eyes widened. "Woah! I'm with you?!" he cried with an awed grin. Rubbing his hand on his pants, he held it forward for me to shake.
Unfortunately for me. I thought darkly, refusing to shake his hand and watching silently as he retracted it.
"You don't get along with Blake, do you?" he asked curiously.
Does anyone? I thought, noticing that he'd moved off to the side and was talking to his friends. It was obvious he couldn't hear us, or of course, he'd have to add his two cents.
"Heard he whooped you pretty good this morning." he continued.
'Cause he cheated. "We weren't fighting. We were training."
Dustin grinned and shrugged. "Bet you he doesn't think so."
Rolling my eyes, I had to agree. Blake liked to use any chance he got to try and prove he was better than me. Why? I don't know, but it's been like that for as long as I could remember.
"Look, Blake's just being a pain in the ass. All you have to do, is ignore him."
Why does everyone keep saying that?? "It's none of your business." I stated coldly, frowning when I heard Tori saying the exact same thing in sync with me and sighing.
"Ahem..." She cleared her throat and gave us both a slight warning look. "Excuse me, but... That Blake you're talking about... He's your squad leader."
You've GOT to be kidding me!
"SAY WHAT?" Dustin yelled, raising his hands and staring at her in shock.
"It can't be changed." she repeated herself from earlier, shrugging a little. Looking around, she seemed to frown when she noticed Blake was out of sight. "Blake, are you here?" she called, jumping a little when he appeared from the other side of the directory with a mock pleasant look on his face.
Of course, Taylor and Eric were still with him. They're there as usual. Guess that makes up the whole Disciplinary Commitee.
"You're squad leader. Good luck to you." she said with a raised eyebrow.
Raising his hands, Blake shook his head and grinned. "Instructor... I hate it when people wish me luck. Save those words for a bad student that needs them."
Her eyebrow raised even further and she nodded seriously. "Ok then." Smirking, she turned her face more towards him and nodded her head again. "Good luck, Blake."
Frowning, he gestured in Eric's direction blindly, glaring at her. "Add Instructor Hanson to the list." he instructed flippiantly.
The list? Raising my own eyebrow, I regarded him quietly. What's that?
Ignoring him, Tori turned to the rest of us to finish our instructions. "Well then... You're all assigned to squad B. I'll be the instructor in charge. Teamwork is of the utmost importance. Let's get through this exam everyone!"
Rolling his eyes, Blake held up a hand and turned to us. "Alright, listen up! Teamwork means staying out of my way. It's the squad B rule, got it?"
Glaring at him, Dustin raised a fist and was about to attack him when a new voice cut in, stopping him cold.
"Everyone here?"
We all turned to find Headmaster Kanoi walking down the stairs from the elevator, one of the Garden faculty following him as usual. Walking over to us, he smiled pleasantly and nodded. Kanoi was an older man who could rarely be strict, but otherwise was very kind to everyone.
"It's been a while, everyone. How's everyone doing?" he asked pleasantly. "This exam will involve 12 members from Squads A through D. You will be proceeding to a real battlefield, obviously, the battles are 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 about it? Still up for it?"
I noticed Dustin frown thoughtfully before nodding and Blake rolling his eyes. Taylor and Eric were silent but like Blake, obviously were disregarding Headmaster Kanoi's words. Tori on the other hand, was listening carefully.
"You will be accompanied by 9 SeeD members. Should you fail, these members will get the job done. They always do."
Tori seemed a little nervous at the praise he was bestowing upon her as well as the other members, but he continued anyways.
"Well, that's one less worry on your mind."
So you think. I was willing to bet that for some, the worry actually grew.
"The pride of Balamb Garden, the elite mercenary force, SeeD! Learn from them. Obey their commands and accomplish the mission! Prove yourselves worthy of becoming a part of SeeD. Best of luck." Bowing his head, he signaled that we were dismissed and Blake, Taylor, Eric and Dustin headed to the Car Park to board the Garden car to Balamb.
"Let's get a move on!" Tori called to me, indicating for me to follow the others.
Kanoi seemed to regard me for a moment, smiling kindly. "We've yet to have a gunblade specialist in SeeD."
It wasn't surprising. Gunblades could be very tricky to wield expertly, and many couldn't use them. Those that could were few and far between. So far, other than me, Blake was the only person I knew who could use a gunblade with any real talent. And something told me that with his attitude, he wasn't going to pass this exam.
"That is why I am hoping you and Blake will join us. Now go."
Nodding my head, I turned and made my way to the Car Park, boarding the car a moment before Tori. Sitting at the back, I was stuck sitting beside Dustin who decided to spend the trip driving me nuts.
"Yo Shane. Show me your gunblade, will ya?" he asked excitedly as the car pulled out of the Garden.
I remained silent and spared a brief glance at him before looking at the ground, loosing myself in thought.
That girl... The one in the infirmary. She called my name. She said "So we meet again.", but I don't remember her. Something about her...
"C'mon man!" Dustin pleaded.
She seemed somehow...familiar. Did we meet before?
"Just a peek!"
We must have if we were meeting 'again'. So...who was she?
"Tch, fine... Yeah, yeah. Why you being so selfish?! Scrooge." he grumbled, finally snapping me out of my thoughts. "Say something, will ya?! W-What's on your mind?"
"...Nothing." I said quietly, giving in to his pleads. God, this guy could be annoying!
"...Nothing." Tori echoed me before giggling quietly and shaking her head.
Shaking his head, Dustin got up from his seat and balanced himself before beginning a volley of punches to the air, battling an invisible foe.
It seemed that, that was all it took to make Blake speak up, giving orders and insulting people...as usual. "Stop that...it's annoying... Chicken."
Glaring at him, Dustin stopped but raised a fist menacingly. "WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!"
Tori shot up from her seat and glared at them both. "Knock it off!" she ordered sternly, watching as Blake turned away with boredom and Dustin sat back down.
Who was she?
"...Instructor... Who was that girl in the infirmary this morning?" I asked, my curiosity getting the best of me.
She frowned thoughtfully as she tried to remember. "Was there a girl there? I didn't notice anyone. Why? Is there a problem?"
I shook my head, already feeling stupid for asking. "No. Nothing."
"This is great." Blake groaned sarcastically. "I have a Chucken Wuss and a guy that just reached puberty on my team."
Shaking my head, I remained silent as Dustin began yelling at Blake, who only laughed, until Tori got up again and ordered them to shut the hell up. I knew I shouldn't have said anything. I thought to myself.
It didn't take long before the car reached Balamb docks and we exited, making our way to the boat we'd be taking. I already knew that Headmaster's son, Cam, would be on board to brief us. Cam was also a SeeD.
"So that's the vessel?" I questioned myself as the others boarded.
"Ain't no turning back now." Blake said from beside me. Raising an eyebrow, he turned to me. "What? You scared, too?" Hearing that we were being called, he smirked. "Better not disappoint me." he said lightly as he walked towards the boat.
I knew the challenge and walked towards the boat as well, climbing on board and sitting, once again, beside Dustin. I guess Tori knew better than to sit him beside Blake. Good move on her part. At least he and I could tolerate each other...for a while. He just yaps at me and I just tone him out.
Pretty simple.
Cam nodded and smiled politely at us. "Hi, Tori." he greeted warmly.
"Well, these are the members of squad B." our instructor said reluctantly.
"Nice to meet ya." Dusti nsaid as he shook Cam's hand.
I also shook his hand. "Pleased to meet you." I stated in my indifferent tone.
Turning to Blake, Cam sighed. "Blake. How many times is this?"
Rolling his eyes, he sighed. "Oh, I just love these exams." he said sarcastically as he reclined in a seat.
Sighing, Cam shook his head. "I'll explain the mission. Be seated!" he ordered as we all sat down. "Our client for this mission is the Dollet Dukedom Parliament. A request for SeeD was made 18 hours ago. Dollet has been under attack by the G-army since about 72 hours go."
G-army stood for Galbadian army. They were often making trouble for people, attacking neutral villages and taking on the strangest missions. No one knew what they were up to, but it was clear they would attack innocent people just to accomplish their missions.
"Our mission is to eliminate the remaining G-army troops in Dollet city and liberate it A.S.A.P. Afterwards, SeeD members will intercept remaining G-army forces if they try to enter the city."
Rolling his eyes, Blake turned towards Cam. "So what are we supposed to do?"
"SeeD candidates are to eliminate the G-army inside the city." Tori informed us.
Dustin puffed up with pride. "Sounds important."
"Sounds boring." Blake returned with a sigh. "So what you're saying is, we do all the dirty work..."
Cam spared him a dirty look for that. "... Oh, it hardly needs to be said, but... The order to withdraw takes priority. Do not forget." Checking a map he held, he nodded as he checked his watch. "We're almost there. We anticipate battle as soon as we land. Be prepared. That's all. Any questions, speak to Tori." he said as he left the cabin.
"Well then, Shane..." Blake turned to me with a smirk. "Go see what's going on outside."
Raising my eyebrow, I figured it would be a good chance to get away from then, so I nodded and stood up. "...Ok."
Sneering, Blake chuckled. "Good, because it's my order."
Yeah, yeah. Walking up to the small deck, I took a map of Dollet docks with me and frowned as I stood alone, the breeze ruffling my hair a little.
Holding up the map, I looked at it closely, before lowering it and seeing the difference in the approaching landscape. Themap was of a calm looking city dock, but the real thing... You could see pillars of fire, and hear the explosions and screams.
Narrowing my eyes, I shook my head slowly. What are they up to?
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Hope you like it.
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"Hey! All you Galbadian cowards out there! Come out 'n show your faces! Don't leave me hangin' now!"
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R+R please.
Thank you.
Tenshi