Welcome to Pet Pals. We bring the latest pet news to dog lovers.
Your dog learns a trick to damage enemies in this issue.
Your dog comes to your rescue when you are in grave danger.
It's called...
Angelo Strike!
As you dog lovers already know, walk with your dog to help him learn this trick.
Nida sighed. The magazine hadn't been especially interesting the first time he'd read it, and the second time wasn't going any better. Although he had to admit that someone had made a really smart marketing decision when they made it the only thing to read aboard a transcontinental train.
Zell and Selphie were still out cold. From what Nida could tell, they were both just asleep, only they hadn't any sign of waking up, even when he'd tried dragging Zell onto one of the beds. He was starting to worry that his first act as squad leader after arriving in Timber would have to be checking the rest of his team into a hospital, and then explaining to the employer that two-thirds of their new SeeD hires had fallen and couldn't get up.
The train's intercom beeped. "Next stop. Timber…Timber…."
Nida put down the magazine. Where was the hospital in Timber, anyway? He'd probably have to ask someone. He'd probably have to tell the train staff, too, since he couldn't carry both Zell and Selphie across town by himself. Neither option would be great for keeping a low profile.
"Next stop." The announcer decided to rub it in. "Timber…Timber…."
Just as Nida was getting up to find one of the train's attendants, Zell let out a moan. "Ughhhhh…," he groaned, clutching the back of his head and rolling over, falling right off the bed and back onto the floor. "Oh, man…."
"…What happened?" asked Selphie, who was sitting up as well.
"Are you guys okay?" Nida asked. "You were both in some kind of coma."
Zell looked shocked. "Man…! But you were okay? I was thinking maybe sleeping gas or somethin', but that would've got all of us…." He frowned, then looked at Nida suspiciously. "Unless you were helpin' these guys!"
Nida blinked. "Helping who?"
"You know! Whoever did this to us!" Zell shook his head. "Nah, that's a dumb idea. I'm sorry, man. It's just so weird…."
"Hey, nobody's hurt, right?" asked Selphie. "And all our stuff's still here, so everything's cool with me!" She was bouncing up and down on the couch as if making up for lost time. "Hee! I had such a nice dream!"
Nida wondered if the three of them might have made a better impression on their employers if Zell and Selphie hadn't woke up.
"We will be arriving in Timber shortly," announced the intercom. "For those getting off, please be sure you have all your belongings."
"But seriously!" Selphie persisted. "Sir Laguna was sooo cool!"
Zell frowned at her. "Hey, there was a Laguna in my dream, too! He's a Galbadian soldier, right?"
"Yeah!" said Selphie. "And there were these 2 other guys who were soldiers with him—"
"Kiros and Ward?"
"Exactly!"
Nida's attention had been caught a little after Zell's, but now he was frowning as well. "You both dreamed about the same 3 people?"
"Yeah..." said Zell, scratching the back of his head. "He was fightin' in the Timber forests, then he went back to Deling City to watch this lady play the piano, and…." He shook his head. "Man, it was way too real to be just a dream."
"There's no way we can understand this," said Selphie, although she looked like she was trying to anyway. "Let's just concentrate on our first mission!"
"Good idea," said Nida. "…Yeah, we can report this when we get back to Garden."
"Yeah!" Zell slammed one of his gloved hands into the other for emphasis. "Here we go…Psyche yourself up, baby!" And he strode out into the hall.
"Whew," said Selphie, hopping off the couch to follow him. "Still sleepy…."
Nida took a second to wonder if he'd made the right call. There was no guarantee that Zell or Selphie wouldn't collapse again, and what if it happened in the middle of a mission next time? Was he just going along with things because he was afraid of making a tough decision?
Then again, he didn't have a great alternative. Turning around and heading back to Garden seemed like an overreaction, plus bailing on the assignment before they even arrived wouldn't leave a great impression on the client. And how much time would have to go by before he could say the danger had passed?
Sighing, he left the room to join the others and prepare to disembark.
When the T-Rexaur came charging out through the underbrush, it was the best thing that had happened to Seifer all week.
Most students just turned and ran the other way when they saw the thing. Its mouth was almost big enough to swallow him whole, and its razor-edged teeth were each about the size of his head, while his gunblade didn't seem like it would make more than a pinprick against its tough leathery skin.
Which was what made for such a fun challenge. And Seifer had been in a nasty mood ever since the Field Exam, so he could use something to take it out on.
He circled the creature with a fencer's poise, slashing into its sides as he kept clear of its giant rows of teeth. The ancient monster's size actually worked to its disadvantage, as its lumbering gait couldn't keep up with an agile opponent and its massive body presented no shortage of targets. Each gash he cut into it whipped the monster into more of a frenzy, flattening trees and dislodging man-sized stones as its immense tail thrashed at everything except the source of its fury.
"Come on!" Seifer taunted, hovering just out of the monster's range. "Is this the best you can do?"
As if in response, the T-Rexaur lunged forward with a roar and gnashed its teeth in a move that would have easily snapped Seifer in half. He ducked out of the way at the last instant, but then the monster showed some brains, swinging its head sideways to ram Seifer and send him flying into the brush.
"Not bad," he said, picking himself up. "You're tougher than those Galbadian wimps."
The T-Rexaur growled, standing directly over him now, with teeth bared for the kill.
Seifer was ready to finish this, too. He held out his free hand, and a burst of flame erupted about the monster. It recoiled, and Seifer felt the surge of energy that came with his favorite kind of magic.
"Game's over now." He swung his gunblade in a rapid circular flourish that seemed to energize the air as it passed through. "No mercy."
The arc of energy shot out from his gunblade to connect with the monster, burning straight through it with a flash. The creature crashed to the ground with a satisfying thud.
Seifer smiled with satisfaction as he cleaned off his weapon and holstered the blade. Those wimps who turned tail whenever they ran into the beast just couldn't handle the pressure. All you needed was one little Blind spell, and taking it down was almost a joke.
As he turned around to search for another victim, the sounds of another battle caught his ear. What caught his attention first was the gurgle of a monster he couldn't immediately identify, but what convinced him to investigate was the distinctive report of a gunblade firing.
The action was taking place near the heavy stone doors that kept the Training Center's monsters sealed away from the rest of Garden. The monster, which looked like some gigantic spindly insect, hovered just above a small, round, heavily armored creature, neither of which Seifer had ever seen before.
He definitely knew who they were fighting, though.
Squall ran at the insect monster, smashing his gunblade at it with his usual two-handed swing. Watching him fight was infuriating, Seifer thought. The gunblade was a weapon with a long and noble history, going back to the knights of the Holy Dollet Empire. It should be wielded with finesse and precision. And here was this guy, swinging it around like an oversized cleaver.
But still, Squall's approach was annoyingly effective as usual, and the insect monster recoiled as the weapon sliced across its midsection. Its tail lashed out, but not at Squall; instead, it sent the small armored creature flying at him. Squall ducked out of the way in time to avoid being bowled over—and that left the creature careening straight for Seifer.
Well, he had been looking for another fight. Seifer had his gunblade out just in time for the monster to reach him, and swung right at the thing's armored back. With practiced precision, he could probably deliver more force with one hand than Squall could with both, and he pulled the trigger at the perfect fraction of a second before impact so that the blast added even more force to the strike. The monster was sent rolling off at an angle, harmlessly away from Seifer. As soon as it stopped rolling, Seifer rewarded it with a Fire spell, from which it didn't get up.
A few moments later, Squall managed to give the same fate to the insect monster by delivering a much less impressive series of blows. Then, as the creature collapsed to the ground, he turned to face Seifer for the first time.
"What are you doing here, Seifer?" he asked. He had his gunblade at his side, still almost at the ready.
"Training," Seifer replied. "What do most people do in the Training Center, you figure?" It was hard not to stare at the scar that ran across Squall's face, from his forehead all the way down to his cheek. "You sure you're not getting yourself too worked up, Squall? You didn't show your face all morning; maybe you better just go back to the Infirmary and sleep for a couple more days."
Squall's gaze was smoldering, but he kept it tightly under control. He'd become good at that, Seifer thought. "Haven't you had enough, Seifer?" he asked.
"Oh yeah?" Seifer had a few ideas what Squall meant, and he wondered if the other boy would actually dare to say it outright. Normally he'd press the issue and try to find out, but it turned out he didn't feel like revisiting his own memories of the previous day either. "Well, what about you, Squall? You ready to sit back and kill Grats all summer? Or would you want to go after something bigger?"
Squall frowned at him. "What are you talking about?"
"I've got plans." Seifer swung his gunblade through the air for effect. "I don't need this Garden, and I'm not getting stuck here while events pass me by. You still think SeeD is the best you can do? You've got to learn it's just one way to get closer to your dream."
"…Your dream?" Squall probably just wanted to know what Seifer was talking about; but either way, he was hooked now.
Seifer shrugged. "You have one, don't you?"
Squall narrowed his eyes. "What's it to you?"
"It's about what you've got to do to make your dreams come true, Squall," Seifer went on. "Nothing's gonna happen if you just sit around here waiting. You've gotta take action!" He punctuated the declaration with another sweep of his gunblade. "I can help you with that. I'll let you in on my plan. We can chase our dreams together. You think you're up to it?"
The room was silent for a moment, except for the sound of monsters rustling in the distance. Squall looked away, and his forehead disappeared behind his free left hand. Seifer could wait; his dream wouldn't leave before the noontime train at Balamb station, so he could spare a few moments for Squall to figure out if Seifer's offer was one he could refuse.
Seifer didn't need to figure anything out. He knew Squall would never refuse a challenge, and Seifer had just thrown down the gauntlet. They would both be in Timber by the end of the day.