Chapter 11 - 1st Mission
The sunlight hazily peaked through the blinds and rested on his face, as he slowly awoke. He heard his bedroom door open and the sound of small feet dancing into his room. Then he heard the rip of the blinds being pulled up and felt assaulted by the blinding sunlight outside.
"Goooooood morning, Squally Wally!"A high pitched voice greeted.
Squall's sleep deprived mind imagined that some deranged, overgrown, Squirrel infiltrated his room. His eyes opened to find Selphie standing in front of him.
His eyes grew wide with horror and quickly covered himself up with his blanket.
"What the hell?!" Squall exclaimed. "Haven't you heard of knocking? What manner of barn yard animal are you?! "
Selphie ignored his protests and proceeded to drag him out of bed.
"…I'm not even dressed!"
"Come on!" she said "We got our 1st mission! I'm sooo excited."
Squall wrapped his blanket around himself as he sat up in his bed.
"Yeah..I can tell." He grumbled. "Now, can you please leave and shut the door so I can have this little thing called privacy?!"
"Ok!" she acknowledged as she danced out of his room. "see you at the gate!"
Squall quickly dressed, inspected his gunblade and downed another WAKE. He was still tired from yesterday and 5 hours of sleep wasn't cutting it.
He quickly went to the front gates to find Selphie already there with the Headmaster and two Garden Faculty members.
"Waiting on one more." One of the faculty said.
"Waaaahoooooo!"
Squall turned to see Zell riding in a long board style hoverboard. He leapt off it and did a flip before he landed.
"LET'S DO THIS!" He shouted as he fist pumped the air.
Squall wanted to disappear. He wasn't sure if he could handle 2 days of Zell back to back.
The Garden Faculty converged upon Zell.
Zell looked to his left and right as the closed in on him, grinning nervously.
"S'up guys! Hehe.."
"Private Dincht. Have you forgotten that T-boads are STRICTLY PROHIBITED."
"Ah…my bad!" Zell said. "But these are pretty cool! Might come in handy on a mission …"
"We'll be the judges of that." One of the Garden Faculty said as they ripped the board from Zell's grip.
"Lock it up!" the Faculty member said as it was handed to the other one.
"Ah…man.." Zell began to protest.
The Faculty member took the moment to drive its point home.
"You are all SeeD now, but you as long as you remain on Garden property, you still must abide by all policies as you did as students...Please be a positive example to your lower classmen."
Headmaster Cid cleared his throat.
"Let's discuss the mission at hand, shall we?" He started.
Squall, Selphie, and Zell lined up before the Headmaster.
"You are to go to Timber via train. At the station, you will meet a member of a resistance faction called Forest Owls. You will be providing assistance to them. That is your mission, plain and simple."
The Headmaster continued as he handed Squall the mission brief folder that also contained their tickets for the train.
"Squall, you are the squad leader for this mission."
"Yes, sir." He replied.
"When you meet the operative, they will approach you and say "The forests of Timber sure have changed." At this time, you will reply "But the Owls still remain." You will learn more of your mission after you meet with them."
Cid paused.
"Any questions? "
"Yeah…its just us?" Zell asked.
The Garden Faculty chimed in.
"That is correct. We agreed to send only you because we are doing this job for near at cost of personnel only. Normally we don't agree to send SeeD for so little, but…"
"Thaaat'sss enough on that subject." Cid interrupted the Faculty member.
"Squall, I expect you to use your best judgment based on whatever situation you should find yourself in. Zell and Selphie will serve as your support."
"Yes, sir." Squall acknowledged.
"You are dismissed. Good luck!"
Squall saluted the Headmaster
"Thank you, sir."
The team started to leave.
"Squall!" The Headmaster called. "One more thing."
Squall turned back.
"Yes, sir?"
The Headmaster handed Squall a very small, black, tarnished lamp.
"This might come in handy for you. Word of advice, make sure you are up to a fight when you want to use it."
Squall took the object from him and gave it a curious look.
"Thank you again, sir."
The trio embarked on their journey to Balamb on foot. There, they would catch the train to Timber. Squall looked at the time on their tickets. Their train was due in 4 hours.
Of course, Zell and Selphie still couldn't learn to travel silently.
Squall's head was starting to throb already.
"Hey, Squall!" Zell called.
"Yeah?" Squall said wearily.
"Whadaya think is up with the lamp."
"No clue.." Squall said.
"Headmaster seems to think it's something useful."
"Yep...that's what he said." Squall said flatly as he continued walking.
"Let's see what it is!" Zell exclaimed.
"We will, eventually." Squall said. "I think we should get in town 1st."
"Ah…right." Zell said disappointed.
"We'll be there soon. Just think, the less you talk, the faster you'll walk, and the sooner we'll get there." Squall mockingly encouraged.
Ugh…it was like dealing with a bunch of 5 year olds.
Are we there yet? I'm thirsty…I'm tired. Waa. Waa.
As it was, Squall was less than thrilled about being part of the "Bargain SeeD bin." He was trying to keep a positive outlook on it. It is a good way to hone his skills. He's actually the leader, on his 1st mission, no less...if they do well with limited resources, imagine what they could do with more. The possibilities were endless…that is if he knew what he truly wanted to do with those possibilities.
They arrived in Balamb an hour later. Three hours to kill before their train.
"Hey Squall!" Zell called
"Yes." Squall answered.
"There's a place behind the hotel that's pretty outta the way where we can check out that lamp."
"OK. Let's go there." Squall answered.
They went to a small niche behind the hotel that was out of the way from prying eyes. Squall's guess was the lamp had a Guardian Force attached to it. He didn't want to summon it out in the wilderness where the environment was uncontrolled and than they get more than they bargained for drawn into the fight. He also didn't want to injure any innocent bystanders.
He pulled out the lamp and focused on it. He could feel the entity inside it. A very dark entity.
"Selphie, I need you to cast protection spells on us all. Zell, you and I are going on the offense."
"Offense? On what?!"
A dark grin spread across Squall's face.
"You'll see."
Zell took two steps back.
"Not sure I like your smile there, brother."
Squall ignored Zell's misgivings and focused his mind on the item as he readied his capture device.
A purple cloud began to spew from the lamp and a dark, winged form appeared that resembled both a man and a bat. Its eyes glowed red as they moved from Selphie, to Squall, and then Zell.
It let out a deafening screech.
"Ok..who the HELL JUNCTIONS A DEMON ONTO A LAMP?!" Zell shouted.
"It's a Guardian Force, not a Demon." Squall corrected. "This is probably Diablos. It's a super strong Guardian and one we'll want on our side...but 1st we must earn its respect."
"That's Squall speak for don't be a Chicken-Wuss." Selphie said, smirking as she threw on protection spells.
"WHAT?!" Zell fumed.
"Will you two can it?!" Squall scolded.
"Zell," Squall said "Go do what you do best."
Zell did 3 forward flips to bridge the gap between him and Diablos. He upper cut it into the ribs as it floated off the ground. He then did a high kick into the same region and backed away.
Squall came running for it while Diablos was warding off Zell. He swung upwards into the beasts mid with his gunblade while triggering a charge to cause the blade to vibrate into the cut.
The beast cried out and lashed at Squall with its long, black, claws. It caught his jacket in the arm and gave it a new tear.
He looked at the new hole..just the jacket was wounded, not him. He continued to press with his attacks, dancing and spinning as he slashed away at the beast. Zell since switched to magic to stay clear of Squall's blade.
The beast countered their attacks with a powerful, dark spell. The world began to distort before their very eyes and then quake. It caught Zell flat footed and knocked him down. The beast lunged at him and wracked its claws across his back.
Squall came back with another renewed attack as he called out.
"Selphie, Zell needs a heal!"
Squall threw a lightening spell into Diablos face in hopes to blind him and get him off Zell. The beast cried out. Squall then began to slash again, twirling like a tornado, each blow more relentless than the last.
The beast now turned its attention to Squall. It grabbed for him and caught him. Squall tried to wrangle himself out of his grip, but the beast just continued to tighten. He was finding it difficult to breathe.
Zell got up and threw a fire spell into its face. It howled in renewed rage.
"Hey, you son of a bitch! Come get THIS!"
Zell jumped up and rode onto the beasts shoulders. He pounded his fists into its head then launched himself off of it, spun around and connected into its midsection with a spin kick, knocking it down and loosening its grip on Squall.
Squall crawled away, coughing, trying to catch his breath. He got to his feet again, dragging his gunblade as he ran, raising it up to slash into Diablos while it was down.
"Enough!" It demanded.
Squall stood, holding himself up with his gunblade plunged into the ground. Sweat poured down his face as he brushed his hair from his eyes. Zell sat down cross-legged, wiping blood from his nose. The freshest looking one of the bunch was Selphie without even a strand of hair out of place.
"You would strike me when I am down?" The creature asked.
"I do what needs to be done." Squall answered sternly.
"I admire that." The creature spoke as it climbed to its 4 limbs.
"Very well, I will join you. You have earned my respect."
Squall held the electronic GF containment device. Diablos touched it and faded away into a purple mist.
Squall checked his chrono. They still had 2-1/2 hours to kill.
Zell looked at himself with disgust.
"Damn it.." He cursed. "We all look like trash! I'm not going to meet the client like this…look at my nose!"
Selphie walked up and looked at Zell.
"I don't know," she said "I think it rather suits you…its big, and red, and perfectly suited for a CLOWN!"
"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME YOU LITTLE…"
"Both of you…SHUT UP!" Squall yelled.
Zell and Selphie stopped their bickering and looked at Squall.
"Thank you." Squall quietly said.
Squall wiped sweat from his brow with his gloved hand. He looked at his hand with disgust.
"Zell is correct, we can't go meeting our client looking like this. Let's check into the hotel and freshen up. We should have enough time."
"Or we could just go to my house and get cleaned up." Zell suggested.
"You live in Balamb, Zell?" Selphie asked.
"Yeah! 1st house on the main street." Zell waved them on as he started out of the alleyway.
"You sure?" Squall stayed back. "I don't want us to impose on your family."
"Are you kidding?" Zell said. "My mom would be thrilled to see me off on my 1st mission and also meet you two. Come on."
"Ok. Thank you." Squall said.
They walked back almost to the entrance of Balamb to a 2 story house on the corner of the main street.
"This is it." Zell said as he walked in the door.
"Hey Ma!" he exclaimed. "I'm home and I brought some of my friends."
A middle aged, slightly plump, woman appeared around the corner. She took one look at Zell and gasped.
"What happened?!" She asked as she looked at Squall and then Selphie.
"Did you two get into a fight over this darling girl here?"
Zell turned as red as his nose.
"What?!" he exclaimed. "Gah..no mom!"
Squall jumped in "Mrs Dincht, rest assured that is not at all what happened. We just finished obtaining a valuable item we need for an upcoming mission and both got a little roughed up. Zell offered to allow us to come here and get freshened up before we meet our next client. Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Squall. I'm the squad lead. And this young lady is Selphie."
Squall held out his hand and Mrs Dincht shook it. She then shook Selphie's hand.
"Pleased to meet you. My apologies for my assumptions." Mrs Dincht said.
Squall laughed.
"No worries." He looked at Zell and Selphie "I can see why our appearances would give you that impression."
"You are absolutely welcome to stay and freshen up. Any friends of my boy are always welcome."
"I appreciate it. We won't impede on your hospitality for too long. Our train leaves in a couple hours." Squall said.
"Up here, guys." Zell called from the stairs.
"While you all freshen up, I'll make you all a snack before you head out."
"Thank you, ma'am." Squall said.
Squall followed Zell and Selphie upstairs.
Zell entered the 2nd door to the right.
"This is my room. Bathroom is the last door on the left. We can hang in here while the other gets cleaned up…just don't touch stuff."
Selphie entered and sat on Zell's bed.
"ugh! I said don't touch anything!" Zell complained.
"I didn't." Selphie said. "I just sat down."
"Right!" Zell protested. "So your ass is literally TOUCHING my bed."
Selphie just smiled at him. "Well, now you can claim a cute girl sat on your bed."
Zell glared at her.
"I've had quite a few cute girls sit on my bed!"
"Now you can say that you've had a lot of cute girls sit on your bed and one not so cute one." Squall said as he gestured to Selphie.
Selphie's jaw dropped to the floor. Zell turned beet red and started laughing.
"Ooooh, damn Squall!" Zell laughed. "Score 1 for the guys."
Zell had his hand raised for a high five and Squall made no motion to high five him back. Instead, Squall stood dead silent waiting for Selphie to scoop her jaw off the floor and Zell to realize they were not "Bros".
Squall began.
"Now that I have your attention…when we leave here, you will both treat each other and me, with respect. No more little nursery school games, calling each other names like a couple 4 yr olds. If it happens again, I will show you sarcasm in its true mastery and make you wish you never challenged me."
Squall looked at them both sharply.
"Understood?"
Both stood and looked at him blankly.
"We are now SeeD. The reputation of the very organization we serve and that's served us rides on our actions. If neither of you can act accordingly, please leave. I'll handle the paperwork with Garden."
Both muttered yes sir.
"OK." Squall said, visibly relaxing. "Zell, come over here for a second and I'll fix up your nose."
Zell stood in front of Squall. Squall closed his eyes, touched Zell's nose with one hand and slightly raised the other hand.
"Heal."
Zell's nose began to correct itself and return to its normal color.
"How do you feel?"
"ok." Zell answered.
"Good. Now let's get cleaned up before we miss our train."
The clock read 7am.
Seifer climbed out of bed and quickly threw on his clothes. He was due at Disciplinary court at 8am where they decide how long to lock him away.
He looked at his messages and found there were about 5 already from a certain girl he knew. He knew she felt bad about last night, judging all the messages that asked if he was ok and the pleas to call her or that she'll call him when she could. He wasn't going to respond right away…best to let her stew. He bent over backwards for her, and his thanks was to get to watch her dance with Leonhart as Garden watched.
Leonhart was already a sore subject…he made it to SeeD, yet he went and disobeyed orders right along with him. But hey, that's the difference of being the Teacher's Pet and not. And Teacher was oh so hot for him.
A deep sadness crossed him at that thought. Something he couldn't quite place or understand. He and Quistis used to butt heads a lot…especially when it came to the Golden boy, Leonhart, who could do no wrong. If he and Squall got into it, Quistis was the 1st to take Squall's side. Always…
Maybe he was just tired of trying and it never being good enough, while everything Squall touched turned to Gold.
The dance was the last insult.
He left his dorm and made his way to the 3rd floor, his persecutors Quistis and Xu already licking their chops waiting for him.
Headmaster Cid stood behind his desk and gestured at Seifer to take a seat.
"Mr Almasy." The Headmaster spoke. "You are one of our brightest and strongest students here at Balamb and have so much potential to do great things. We've even given you some additional responsibilities by serving on the Disciplinary committee, in hopes to help you reach your full potential."
The Headmaster paused and made eye contact with Seifer. He held up an envelope and continued. "This report pains me to read. From the accounts of Cadets Dincht, Leonhart, and Tilmit, you repeatedly abandoned your team as you charged ahead of them and then insisted they disobey orders along with you. Prior to that, Instructor Trepe and Mission Lead Long , witnessed you outright hurling insults at your team mates. You also took off with the Garden Transport and left everyone stranded in Balamb."
"I'm willing to overlook your decision to disobey orders to further investigate what Galbadia was doing at the communication tower. As I said before, I really don't want you to just blindly follow orders, because truthfully, it's unrealistic. I do want you to use good judgment as to when to act on your own accord, and I'm afraid you failed to do that here, Mr Almasy. Furthermore, your complete lack of respect going into, during, and after mission towards your superiors and peers is absolutely unacceptable."
Cid shook his head and sternly looked at Seifer as he laid down the report.
"Is there anything you would like to say for yourself?"
Seifer looked down.
"I apologize for my actions towards my superiors and peers. I will try to do better next time." Seifer muttered.
Cid looked at Seifer with sympathy.
"My son, you are almost running out of next times."
"Sir?" Seifer inquired.
"Garden Faculty has decided that after this, you can have one more attempt for the field exam. If you fail to follow orders and your morale does not improve, we have no choice but to expel you."
"I thought we had until our 20th birthday? Shock filled Seifer's face and voice.
Cid held up his hand.
"Seifer, given your previous history at Garden with your inability to respect authoritarian figures, they felt they could no longer extend that option. I had to speak on your behalf to not have you expelled now."
Seifer looked down again.
"I see, sir."
"But this time, you'll put your best foot forward and do better."
Seifer looked up, but was still subdued.
"Yes, sir."
"Good, my son!" Cid said with a chipper smile.
"Now," Cid began "Today will begin your time in the Disciplinary room. You will report to the Disciplinary room at 7 am each morning where they give you your assignments for the day. You are also required to speak with Dr Kadowaki to find placement in anger management counseling. Sentence will be for 2 weeks. Counseling will be on going until your therapist discharges you. You will also not be able to participate in the next field exam unless your counselor signs off on it."
As Cid spoke, the more Seifer's heart sank. He knew they were going to throw the book at him over it, but this was far more severe than he's ever heard of any student being punished. He guessed now that Squall was SeeD, they didn't have use for him, even though he was also a rare gunblade specialist. He should have known better.
"Do you understand and accept these terms, Mr Almasy?"
There was no other choice…right?
Where else did he have to go?
It's not like he had any loving family to return to.
"I accept, sir." Seifer said as he looked up.
"Good man." Cid said. "You are dismissed."
Seifer didn't turn to leave.
Cid gave him a puzzled look.
"Something else, young man? "
"Yes." Seifer said. He looked to Quistis and Xu. "Permission to speak privately?"
Cid looked at Xu and Quistis and nodded. Both women got up from their seats and left Cid's office.
"Just wanted to see if you were able to reach an agreement with my friend last night."
Cid frowned as he thought for a second, then realization crossed his face.
"oh, the nice young lady you introduced me to last night." He smiled as he remembered.
"Yes, her." Seifer confirmed.
"The answer is yes! In fact, the team I sent should be arriving to meet her team in a couple hours."
"OK. Who did you send?" Seifer asked.
"Unfortunately I cannot give you that information. You are not SeeD and are under probation as a student currently."
Seifer looked down. He should have guessed as much.
"Understood." He answered.
Cid gave Seifer a sympathetic look.
"Seifer, if you apply yourself to the current plan and learn to master your heart and mind, I am 100 percent certain you will become one of our top operatives."
He walked over and clapped Seifer's shoulder.
"I have faith in you, my dear son."
"Thank you, sir." Seifer said.
"I will check in with you in a couple days to see how you are doing."
"I appreciate that, sir."
"You are dismissed."
Seifer left the Headmasters office more conflicted than ever. He often wondered who was really in charge here…Cid or the Garden Faculty. The Faculty was always whisking him off here, there, and sometimes outright barking orders at him.
Cid was the closest thing Seifer had to a Father. Out of all the students that went to Garden, Cid always made it to his fencing competitions, he always made time for him when he needed advice. Even when he got in trouble, Cid was willing to take Seifer's side of things in consideration.
Not today…
It stung to hear him side with Quistis, Xu, and the golden boy. He wished Cid would have listened to his side of the story…like he used to. Maybe then he would understand and get whoever he's answering to, to calm down a tad.
It stung even more that he wouldn't tell him which SeeD's were sent to Timber. Seifer knew it wouldn't be a very big party because of the money...but he was seeing more familiar faces at the Garden now than he thought he would.
Guess I'll have to find out for myself, Seifer thought as he stepped inside the Disciplinary Room.
He turned to the person at the desk just inside the door.
"Student 092002 checking in."
"The clerk typed in his information to the terminal at the desk."
"Seifer Almasy, you are checked in. Please have a seat at terminal 15. Login and find your assignments. "
Seifer sat at his assigned terminal and powered it on. However, he did not use his login to check his assignments. He used a former SeeD login to see who was sent to Timber.
He navigated to the active missions list. Seifer's blood began to boil when he read who was sent.
A measly party of three…three recent grads.
They're all going to die and a bigger war will start. There's no way they'll pull this off.
Cid is a damned fool.
He slammed both fists down on his terminal.
"SON OF A BITCH!" He shouted.
Everyone in the Disciplinary room looked at Seifer with shocked expressions.
"Mr Almasy, is there…" the Disciplinary room custodian began as he walked over.
Seifer saw red. He overturned his terminal, which narrowly missed a young girl. The room custodian turned his walk into a run toward Seifer.
"Call the Faculty!" He directed
The room custodian grabbed at Seifer's arm and was thrown across the room, hitting one of the other terminals.
Three other room custodians moved to block Seifer's entrance. He grabbed the 1st one by the shirt collar and headbutt him, then brought his knee into his midsection. He cast him off into the next guy coming at them, and they both went tumbling to the floor. The third to Seifer's right he back handed, then grabbed him by the jaw and hurled him into the wall. He then punched him in the face, obliterating his nose. The 3rd Room Custodian cried out, grabbing his face where his nose used to be.
Seifer raced into the hall and headed for the stairwell. Quistis came running towards him.
"SEIFER! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"
"HES A DAMN FOOL, QUISTIS! HE SENT 3 ROOKIES..THEY'RE GOING TO BRING THE WHOLE DAMN GALBADIAN ARMY ON THEM AND US. I NEED TO STOP IT!"
Quistis continued to run.
"SEIFER! Wait! What are you saying?!"
Seifer ran into the stairwell and jumped the switch back to get some distance between him and Quistis. He ran down to 1F, and exited the stairwell, jumping over the fountain as he ran for the parking garage. Quistis was just exiting the stairwell as he reached the parking garage.
"STOP HIM!" She shouted at the Faculty standing near the Garage. Only one could reach Seifer, but they were thrown off like a failed fighter that met the bull's horns.
Seifer continued to full out run into the garage, seeking a vehicle. He found one of the all terrain treks and jumped in. He powered it on and lurched it into drive, almost pulling a burn out just before the traction control kicked in and distributed the power evenly on all 4 wheels.
Quistis made it into the garage just as she saw Seifer steal one of the vehicles. She climbed into one of the other all terrains and chased after Seifer. She could see him just up ahead, driving off the road and making a straight cut for Balamb. She floored the vehicle and eventually started to close the gap.
As she could see her front bumper parallel to his rear wheel, she sharply turned her wheel into him and began nudging his vehicle.
Seifer felt the bump as Quistis's vehicle started ramming his.
"What's this crazy ass bitch doing?!" He shouted. He turned his wheel into her, nudging her back and shoving them both onto the road.
Quistis growled and yanked the wheel into him again. They traded a few more bumps, Seifer becoming more aggressive each time in futile attempts to shake her, making her vehicle sustain substantial damage. Quistis was starting to lose control of her steering with all the damage done. She gunned the motor and yanked the wheel one more time, this time the damaged fender caught under the side of Seifer's vehicle and lifted it. She kept on the gas, keeping their new trajectory into the wooded area outside Balamb. She braced herself as she pushed herself and Seifer down a small berm going into the woods.
Seifer saw land, sky, land, sky as his vehicle started to tumble along with Quistis's. He slammed into a large tree and seconds later, felt Quistis's vehicle slam into his. Seifer cut thru the crash webbing and began kicking at the windscreen as his vehicle started to fill with smoke. Three good solid kicks and Seifer was free, crawling through the broken windscreen.
Seifer turned as he saw a flash of flames begin to engulf his vehicle. He started to run..then stopped.
Are you really just going to leave her in there to burn?
"Arggghhhh!" Seifer shouted as he ran back towards the vehicles. The flames were starting to consume both vehicles. He broke open the driver side glass and was assaulted by the smoke that escaped. Quistis sat limp in her seat, unconscious or dead, he wasn't sure. Seifer took his knife and quickly cut her from the restraints, then pulled her from the wreck, laying her at the bottom of another tree as both vehicles were completely engulfed. He checked for signs of life…breathing and a pulse. It would have to do.
"I'm sorry." He said as he brushed her pale hair from her face. "I really didn't want this…"
Seifer turned and began to sprint toward Balamb leaving Quistis beside the tree.