"Can you say your name for me?"

Squall laid flat on the cushioned bed as he regained his conciseness. Feeling still sick, he held himself up as the doctor continued on his forehead, examining and reapplying potion for the fourth time.

"Doctor, I’m fine. Your don’t have to fuss about a small scratch." Squall said, though he felt the stinging sensation as the doctor went on without stopping.

The infirmary is like its old self; white and green wall, which always make Squall think of green grass and white sky. The curtain is fluttering against the soft wind.

He’s lying in the inner room, which is where you go if you are seriously injured.

"I wouldn’t call that a scratch if I were you," he said, as he applied more potion on it. "It is quite deep. I think you should keep this one, unless you want enormous stitches across your head."

"I guess I’ll keep it." Squall groaned, still holding his forehead.

"When you’re finish resting, Quistis wants you to forget about the morning classes." The Doctor said as he went back to his desk, "Wait here. She’ll come to get you."

Another scar, representing another battle. He didn’t really mind his other scars that he got in fights. But this one, across his forehead?

Squall is in a special training program, called the Silver Lion. He has been in it when he was Thirteen. His friend, Zell, was with him all through his school years; they’ve been together through childhood, went to school together, and now is with him through Silver Lion.

Just like Zell, Squall is an orphan.

He remembered when he was just a child when his mother told stories about his father, about how he’s father courageously fought in

the battle, which he died honorably in; in the single fight against the most powerful enemy of all.

Long before, There was Sepheroth, a devilish monster inhibiting in the most powerful sorcerer of the time. He turned the whole world into a living hell. Only those with incredible fighting skill and courage dared to challenge Sepheroth’s power, and all of them had failed, of course, and slaughtered by him. Until one day, a Mercenary named Cloud and his fellow warriors dethroned Him of his power. Just before Sepheroth’s painful death, it gave life to its next generation.

After two thousand years, the egg hatched. The most evil soul has emerged. Her name was Ultimecia.

It was Ultimecia who took Squall’s father away.

When Ultimecia stuck again, she took Squall’s mother away, just like his father. Squall swore at his mother’s funeral revenge for his

parents’ death. He heeds to do that no matter what.

Ultimecia lives on the unknown part of the world. She dispatched evil spirits around the world to take control of powerful people. Five hundred years ago, one of the spirits took control of Adel; a mysterious person who controlled Esther, a continent that is hidden from the world. But that did not last long. An unknown soldier fought and took over Esther. Now, Adel is entombed in the cold surface of the Silver Moon.

Twenty-five years ago, one of the evil spirits took control of Edea, a powerful sorceress who explorers the world to perfect her magic skills, and she is also the Headmistress of Galbadia Garden, a garden for training soldiers. Ultimecia used her power to take control of Galbadia Garden, and started a worldwide invasion.

About the same time, every year, she would start invading a place. Those who have been conquered can do nothing about it. She has taken control of a part of the entire continent.

When Squall finished his schooling at thirteen, he immediately enrolled himself to Balamb Garden, where the Silver Lion took place. Balamb Garden is located on a remote island out in the ocean.

He received his weapon, the Gun Blade, when he joined the Silver Lion. The weapon has a two and a half feet blade, a razor sharp point, attached to a gun handle. Each time you pull the trigger, a shock of energy go through the blade.

Training is hard, But Squall manage to pass every grueling test. Tests like written exam isn’t really difficult to him. But, physical/mental exam, is when you have to fight off a monster, that’s what all the students are worried about.

When you graduate from Silver Lion, You become a SeeD, special military unit specialized to help restore peace around the globe.

Other than Zell, he made friends. Like Nida, who is a member of Silver Lion as well, and Quistis, his teacher, who were with Squall and Zell through the whole five years.

He made Enemies. Like Fujin and Rajin, who are member of the disciplinary team; people who punish students who fall below the military standard. And most especially, Seifer. It was him who gave Squall the scar across the face.

Squall and Seifer had been Enemies all the time they’ve been in the Silver Lion. From the time they first met as Silver Lion, and to now when they’re training for battle. Every time they threaten to start a fight, Quistis always come to stop them, as though she were wherever they were together.

There are magical creatures inhibiting this world. Some that does not harm people, though they attack as self-defense. But most of them are ferocious and dangerous. They could attack people who just walk passes by them out in the woods. But the people know one thing that will protect them, magic.

Magic is not uncommon. It is everywhere. People use magic to move objects, travel, communicate, get work done, and, at least, have fun. But for fighting, they use magic that harm the enemy and heal the allies. There is several elemental magic: Ice, Fire, Water, Thunder, Poison, Time/Gravity, Heal, Holy, and Forbidden.

Each element is different than the other. Each of the creatures has a weakness to one or some element that the people could use to scare or make them unconscious with.

Forbidden Magic is the creation of the Evil. They are so powerful, they are banned from use of anyone, anytime.

Another type of magic is summoning magic. There are thirty or so types of summoning magic. When you use a summoning magic a magical creature appears and attacks your enemy. Each summoning magic has an element that they contain. Like Ice, Fire, Thunder, and so on.

For Squall, he is only a beginner. The Silver Lion is designed to train beginning magic users, like Squall.

A knock on the door snapped Squall back to reality. At the doorway, stood Quistis, his teacher. Quistis is very young to be a teacher, at least that’s what Squall thought. She has golden orange hair, which is tied elegantly in to a loop in the back of her head. She has bright eyes, which looked incredibly intelligent. Sometimes, like today, she wore glasses. She wore the traditional, and tidy clothes of the Balamb Garden, which is high-collared outfit with gold-trimmed edges, and a black dress, or pants for guys.

"How are you doing, Squall?" Quistis asked, looking at Squall straight in the eyes.

"Fine." Squall said in a low voice, looking straight toward the ground.

Quistis sat down on a chair besides the bed, taking a sip of water she poured out from the jug on the counter.

"That was a bad wound you took from training. Did the doctor clean it out for you?" Quistis asked, still holding the cup in her hand.

"I’ve had worse." Squall answered shortly.

Quistis didn’t say anything for a while. Finally she stood up. "Have you had enough rest?"

Squall stood up too. "Yeah." Walking toward the door.

"All right. Let’s get out of here." Quistis lead Squall out the Exit

They both walked down the corridor, which is now full of people. Because the Morning classes has ended, and it’s time for break and lunch. All of them have two hours until the afternoon classes.

"How’s your study?" Quistis asked while looking straight forward.

"Same." Squall just said flatly.

Quistis suddenly stopped in front of Squall. "Listen to me. I know you’re mad at Seifer, but you cannot go looking for revenge. Not now"

Squall sighed. Quistis do this almost every time they got in a fight. Quistis sometimes is like a sister to Squall rather than a teacher. "Yeah, sure." Squall said, and resumed walking. Quistis soon started walking too.

They stopped at the edge of a flight of stairs, which leads to the to the main part of the Garden and the lunch area.

"You can go get lunch now, since you have been in the Infirmary all morning. I’ve heard they’re serving hot dogs." Quistis smiled awkwardly to Squall.

Quistis waved good-bye to Squall and walked to the elevator to return to her classroom.

Squall strolled slowly down the steps. He heard footsteps running towards him. He didn’t stop to look.

"Hey did you check out that new foreign exchange student? She is such a chick!"

Zell ran and stepped beside of him. Zell looks like someone out of a comic book. If he had gone one step further into dressing himself, he would be wearing wetsuit and a cape. But today, he is wearing a colorful tropical shirt.

Zell became a SeeD to follow his father’s footsteps to become a soldier. His father died in the same war Squall’s father died in- the fight against Ultimecia.

Zell lives in Balamb, a quiet, cozy little coast town by the ocean, which is a couple of hours drive from the garden. Many students visit there on days off. It is also a harbor, used to ferry students off the small island for vacation. For Squall, he just stays around the garden.

Zell and him walked toward the lunch area, and sat down.

"Are you going to devote your whole life to girls? You had, what, five girlfriends already? And you broke up with four. Are you going to treat this as a game?" Squall said as he took out his card to get lunch.

"Hey, let me say something, and I quote, ‘If you can’t live with them, you don’t have to!’" Said Zell, as though he was having a grand lecture. He too took out his student card and swiped it in to the slot. "Hot Dogs," he said to table. Some bright red letters popped up on the screen that said: SOLD OUT.

"God darn it!" Zell pounded hard on the table, "Every time!"

Pizza, though, popped out of the table in front of Squall. Squall took the lunch and started walking toward the dorm area.

"Where are you going?!" Zell grabbed his lunch and ran toward Squall. "I was going to introduce to you some new girls!" Zell yelled after him.

"Maybe some other time." Squall muttered.

Squall walked back to his dorm. Gulping on his drink, he sat down and turned on his PC.

Squall first went to his work. He dragged his cursor to Assigned Work, and clicked. There displayed a list of teachers with a little comment next to it:

Great, Squall thought, now the teachers are easing on him. He went back to the main page, and clicked on the link about the Dance.

The Graduation Ball is on its way! This is a dance only for those who graduate from Silver Lion! This dance will begin three days after the exam. Get approval from all of your teachers after the exam and come by to the Quad to register! Registration fee is 500Gil.

A school dance. One of the things Squall hated the most.

Squall closed the link, and clicked the Event link. He wants to find out more about the exam they were talking about in class yesterday.

A list of events lit up on the screen. He went through them, and clicked on the Ending Exam icon.

Final field exam date is set on the fifteenth of this month. The Silver Lions and Falcons will be having theirs are the same day. The Silver Lions are to meet that day in the lobby with their partner promptly at 0900 hours. Be prepared with your spell and summon materia. Check over with your partner please. At the lobby, you will form four people per group. Anyone who wishes to earn a materia should go to the training center after class. Good luck.

Squall only has two spell materias; Blizzard and Cure. Blizzard is the basic spell of the Ice type. Cure is the basic of the Heal type. He wishes he could have learned more of them. He wishes to learn Demi, a Time/Gravity spell, which take a quarter of the enemy’s energy and gives them to the caster. There are two teachers that teach magic. Quistis is his magic casting teacher. She is going to give him a review sometime later for the exam. Norg is his magic strategy teacher.

He hasn’t picked, or got picked on for a partner. Other people seem to pick the opposite sex. Zell will surely pick the Foreign exchange student he babbled about

Squall flinched, and blinked his eyes to make sure they are working properly.

Xu is a girl who is a member of a girl group, which is formed in the garden a year ago. They perform songs and dramas, which is held in the Garden Festival every year after the Graduation Dance. They are all members of the Silver Lion too, though they rarely speak to anyone. And he thinks they’re really spoiled and concealed within themselves. But now one of them is sending him mail? Squall’s heart thumped faster as he slowly dragged the cursor on the link, and clicked.

Hi, Squall.

Though I never spoke to you in person, before, I’m writing this letter because I want to ask you some thing. You know I’m in your classes, and you don’t really know me that well. And, I don’t know if you know or not, but I find you awfully handsome.

As you know, I think, I’m in the Garden’s performance group. And we all have a boyfriend, except me. I want you, or ask you to be my first boyfriend, and we can go out to Balamb next time we have the chance. What do you think? I know that you’re shy and quiet. But, you may not know that I am too. It took me a lot of courage to write this letter to you. Just mail me a reply, or you can just tell me.

Love /Sincerely

P.S. Think about being my partner for the exam?

Squall froze. A lot of thoughts went through his mind. Yet he doesn’t know what to do. He stood up, and walked around his dorm for a few times. He finally sat down again. He went through the tool bar, and found the print button, and he clicked. A copy of the letter came out from under the PC. He shut down it and walked out the dorm. He needs to see Zell, fast.

He walked out into the main hall. Now, it’s almost full of people. He squeezed through the crowd, and stepped inside the cafeteria. He found Zell chatting endlessly to a bunch of girls around a table. Squall walked soundlessly toward him and waited. Zell didn’t see him standing there. Squall waited.

Zell still didn’t see him. Squall tapped him softly on the shoulder. He looked up, turned back to the bunch of girls. "I’ll be back, girls. Wait here."

"What’s up?" Zell said, running his fingers through his hair, looking back at the girls.

"Look at this." Squall muttered, and shoved the paper in front of him.

"What’s this?" Zell read, while drinking some juice. Squall let him read on. When Zell’s almost finished the letter. He’s eyes widened, and he almost spat out his drink.

"You sure this is the right address?!" Zell muttered loudly, holding the letter like it’s very precious.

"Yes, and will you give me a hint what to do?"

Zell thought about it for a moment. He snapped his finger. "Yes, I know exactly what to do."

He lead Squall back to the table where the girls still is.

"What are you doing?" Squall whispered to Zell.

"Be quiet." Zell murmured back, while he sat Squall down.

Zell sat down next to Squall, and turned to a girl at the table.

"Xu, meet my friend, Squall."

Wide eyed, Squall felt his face burning as he turned to look at the girl. She though, didn’t look surprised, just nervous. She is pretty…well, pretty. She has black hair down to her shoulders; sharp, brown eyes; she has a silver necklace and a silver earring; she’s wearing a pair of black shorts, and a white logo T.

Wow. That’s all that Squall could think of at the moment.

"Hello!" Xu waved her hand in front of Squall’s face, and said.

"Oh." Then he flashed back from being dazed a minute ago. "Hey." Squall said quietly.

Xu looked around, at Zell and the other girls. "Could we have a moment?" She asked them.

Zell waved his hand at Xu. "Sure. Go ahead. We are just about to take a walk… We’ll, em… Come back a few minutes later. ‘K?" Zell motioned the girls to go with him. All of the girls quickly gathered around Zell, and they left.

"Sit with me." The girl said, quite commandingly, directing Squall to a chair next to her.

"Sure." Squall mumbled, quickly sat down.

Xu turned her chair toward him, putting her hands on her lap, turned toward Squall and said, "I guess you got my mail?"

Squall nodding his head. "Yeah."

"So?"

Squall tried to make sound with his mouth, but nothing came out. He waited a few moments. "I just came down here to speak to Zell. And I didn’t know you were here."

"Well, that didn’t go right." She said, with a tilt of her head. "Pretend that I wasn’t here. What were you saying to that…boy?"

"Well, you know, guys stuff…"

"Ohh… so… You were gotta talk about that letter in your hand?"

"Yeah…well…"

"So, yeah or no?" The girl asked again.

Again, Squall is Speechless. Yeah, Squall wants girl friend. But he’s not in to the girlfriend - boyfriend thing. But still…

Squall opened his hand in front of her, and waved them sideways. "… Uh … sure. Why not?"

"Great!" Xu said, with a smile on her face. "Now we’ll just wait for them to come back. I can’t wait to tell them the news…"

Squall buried his face in his hand, and let out a great breath. His face is burning hot. He bets that Zell will immediately talking about wedding plans when he gets back.

They waited for a few minutes for them to come back, but they didn’t. Great, he thought, maybe they forgot that we were here. Xu walked around the cafeteria to check if they came back. But, too, she came back pretty quickly.

She made a gesture with her hands, meaning that she didn’t find anything, and sat back down next to him. "Where are they?" She said quietly with a little frustration in her voice.

The people are starting to leave to prepare for their afternoon classes. Soon, half the people in the cafeteria are gone. Squall is really getting tense now.

A sudden bang came from across the hall from where they are sitting. Everyone turned his or her heads to look. Some ran toward there. Some scream pierced the muttering voices, and even more people ran toward the scene. Xu stood up, and walked quickly with the crowd. She turned and shouted at Squall. "Com-on!" Yet, Squall stood up quickly, and too ran.

They followed the flow of the people until they stopped because they are blocked by a big crowd gathered around the elevator entrance. Squall heard some people screaming, again.

Squall and Xu tried to squeeze through the crowd, only to find that the crowd squeezed back at them. He felt Xu pulled on his sleeve. He turned and saw Xu pointed at the top of the stairs. He shook his head, and followed her to it.

Squall got to the top of the stairs a few seconds after Xu did. He saw Xu covered her mouth wide-eyed, looks as though she might faint any time now. He turned. And he was almost about to faint too.

Over the crowd, he saw the very unlikely thing. It was Zell. The other girls were in a bunch next to him. Several feet away, to the right of him, it was a Behemoth.

Strange creatures roam freely as they would on Squall’s world. Most of them live in plains and forests, where they’re not easily disturbed. But at Balamb Garden, the teachers bring in exotic, mostly very dangerous creatures to the training center in the Garden. Some classes, like Squall’s battle class, takes place in the training center.

The Behemoth, how ever, was brought in a couple of weeks ago by Norg, the battle class professor. It was still a baby. It was two months old. But, no one is saying awws at the moment. Well, maybe awes of amazement. It was as big as an armored vehicle, with purple leather skin, two horns as long as Squalls Gun Blade. From one angle, it looks like a giant purple elephant.

Squall’s brain worked fast. He had been through this kind of situation before on class. He Knows that he needs to distract the monster long enough to have other people to rescue all the injured people out of the scene, then run for your life. But, in the small lobby you can’t really run anywhere. He’ll have to think of another way.

An idea flashed into his mind. What if he made the Behemoth tire or unconscious, just for a while and maybe the rescue team will show up eventually. It would be a miracle to make a creature that big to faint, but it was well worth a try.

But what will he use? His Gun Blade surly is good, but it’s too weak to hurt a Behemoth. Squall asked Xu. "What weapon do you have?"

Xu appears to be confused. She shook her head suddenly as Squall asked her the question. "Um…I have a Cross Bow. Why?"

"One more question." Squall asked again. "What’s the Behemoth’s weakness, if you know?"

"Yeah." She said, with a semi-proud voice. "I you don’t already know, I am a model student. Plus there are other thing I excel at, including dancing, hunting, Triple Quad…"

"Xu," Squall stopped her. "Please."

"Oh, Sorry…" Xu seems to be a little embarrassed. "It’s, um…Thunder."

"If," Squall started. "My Gun Sends Electric through out the blade when I pull the trigger. Then, it should transfer the shock to your arrow when they come in contact. And then…you’ll be able to shock the Behemoth."

Xu smiled a mysterious smile. "Cute and smart."

Squall dismissed that fairly quickly. He Xu ran back toward the crowd with their weapon in hand. Now, the crowd has stepped back a few paces to ensure their safety, but no one step up to help Zell. Secondly, the Behemoth has gathered some kind of barrier between it, Zell, the girls, and the huge crowd, Which is glowing blue.

When Squall and Xu got to the edge of the barrier, the barrier has already eaten away the floor. The ground inside the barrier is now just plain dirt. Zell, however, is seemed to be enjoying this whole thing. Dancing around the Behemoth is one way to see it.

The girls that are with Zell seams ok. All of them are still conscious. But, almost all of them are nursing small wounds. A quick look at Zell shows that he is beginning to tire out. His pace began to slow. He seems to be panting pretty fast. Squall and Xu would have to move fast.

"Let’s charge it up!" Xu nervously called out.

"Right!" Squall said back, and took out his Gun Blade. At the same time, Xu took out her Cross Bow.

"Ready?" Xu asked.

Squall shook his head in approval. He took his Gun Blade and placed it very close to the arrow.

"Turn your head." Squall said. Xu did so. Squall looked away too. He pulled the trigger.

A sudden shock ran through the handle of the Gun Blade. Than, the Handle turned warm. This is normal, though, for Squall’s Gun Blade.

When it stopped, Squall turned around. The arrow is glowing with blue energy.

"Wow." Xu said in amazement.

"Hurry!" Squall said urgently. "Shoot it! Or it’ll blow!"

Xu took aim at the Behemoth, now is raged because it was not able to catch Zell. She let the arrow fly.

The arrow flew past the barrier without even slowing down, and struck itself straight into the flesh of the Behemoth. With a clash of Lightning, the Behemoth shrieked with pain as hundreds of volts of electric rushed through its body. Finally, after a violent jerk, the Behemoth finally fell to its stomach.

A great sigh came out of Squall. He put away his Gun Blade, and walked slowly toward Zell. Xu was already with her friends, helping them up. Zell was sitting on the ground. His whole face was so sweaty that it’s like if he just came from a dive at the pool.

Squall held out a hand. "You alright?"

"I’m alright. You missed the fun!" Zell stood up.

"That’s fun? What else do you do for fun?" Squall asked, having a little laughter.

The Garden’s teachers finally showed up, with Sid, the Garden’s headmaster in the lead.

"What happened here? Who’s responsible?" Sid said just as he stopped running.

Sid is a pretty likable person. He’s more like an uncle to anyone in the Garden than a headmaster. With a little reading glass, and a pocket watch, at first glance, you might call him old-fashioned. But, he is really into simulation, and space movies, to name a few.

"It was a little accident," Zell quickly started to explain. "That I stumbled onto Professor Norg’s new pet. And it happened to chase me all around the Garden."

"And," Sid countered. "With this ‘accident’ include stumble into the underground basement, where students are not permitted?"

"Well, uh…yeah…I guess so…" Zell started to stutter.

"At least you’re honest." Sid plainly said out.

Sid is known to do this. When ever you did some thing wrong and were caught by him. He would question you. If you say something he liked to hear, he would forgive you. If not, you are in bad luck.

"Come. You gotta go to the doctor." Sid said as some people, under Norg’s surveillance, carried the Behemoth away. "You guys too, Squall, Xu."

Both of them obediently follow the girls and Zell to the Infirmary.

"Ouch! Watch it, man!"

Another yelp of complaint came from Zell inside the doctor’s office. The doc has treated the girls, and now, Zell none-stop all afternoon. Squall is beginning to think of if the doc like his job a little too much. Yet, the doc kept on going with out stopping.

"Don’t complain in front of the girls." Sid said, looking up from his magazine. "Even a cadet shouldn’t be that sissy."

The girls let out a burst of giggles.

Squall, Xu, and Sid waited outside in the guestroom. Squall was standing in the corner. Xu was sitting on the chair a few feet from Squall, deep within thoughts. Sid was pretty calm; he’s reading a Magazine called "Occult Fan Monthly", a magazine about rare phenomenon in the world.

A minute later, Zell came out with a heavily bandaged right arm.

"Ahh…" Zell exhaled. "A few days of relaxation."

"You’re lucky that Xu stopped the Behemoth, or you’ll have no arm left." Sid pointed out.

"No… it was Squall idea. He should get the credit." Xu said quietly

"Any ways, you both did a great job subduing that Behemoth." Sid Recited. He took out his notebook and wrote down something. "Let’s see…Usually, I’d pay Norg 2000Gil to take care of the monsters…and, usually…he’ll have about 2 break outs each month, and…that’ll leave 1000Gil for one…add that…divided by that…and it will leave you and Xu split from 1500Gil… Is that enough?"

Xu eyes lit up, and she broke into a smile she hadn’t had it the last hour.

"Well, when you guys are rested up, you can go back to your dorm. You are all excused from your classes today." Sid said as he got up. "I’ll be in the office if you have any problems." And he left.

They stayed in the room until Zell and the girls are rested up, they left the Infirmary. Xu asked Zell and the girls to go on, and wanted Squall to stay behind.

Squall said goodbye to Zell. The moment he turned around, Xu embraced him with a hug.

Them held on to each other for some time. Squall was very stiff when she let go.

"Don’t waste your money." Xu said. "You’ll need it for our date." Then, she ran off toward the dorms.

^^^

A few days have past. There is five days left until the Final Exam. The team has been made. The Zell asked the someone the day he is able to take off the bandages on his arm. Squall and Xu is a team, and they will join Zell’s team the day of the exam.

All is well. They have no classes until the day before the exam. Right now, they are just enjoying the last days that they will be students. After the exam, and if they pass, they will become a full-fledge SeeD member. After that, he will be able to get revenge for his parents.

His date with Xu is today. He has been getting ready since he woke up at six in the morning. He has been getting help from Zell. They have been in the library all morning. Not to study. Zell recited every tip that he knows about dating. From how to open a door, to how to compliment the lady. Squall listened to all of the stuff he said. Until every detail is memorized, it’s almost noon, the time of the date.

They are going to Balamb, just like in the letter Xu wrote. Xu said that she got the details, you just be yourself, and wear something causal. Squall didn’t know what he got is causal. So he just went in a denim jacket and black khaki.

When he arrive at Xu’s door, Squall was trembling from head to toe. But, he has to do this. He knocked on the door three times, and waited.

The door opened, and Xu stood there. She wasn’t dressed that casual. She was in an elegant lavender color dress. Her features were, to squall, perfect.

"Hello." Squall said. "You look… bewitching today." This was a line Zell taught him.

"Thank you..." Xu said. Her face blushed to a shade of pink.

She stepped out of the doorway, and walked slowly toward the main hall. Squall followed beside her.

"So," Squall asked her. "What thing do you have planned for us today?"

"Well…" Xu stretched her word. "You’ll see when we get there. But I’ll bet you will love it."

"I’m loving it right now." Another line came to Squall’s mind.

Xu blushed a bit. But she didn’t say anything.

They walked together, and stopped at the main gate, where a car is waiting. At the Garden, you can rent a car for just 100Gil, pretty inexpensive for a student.

He opened the door for Xu. She smiled, and got in. Squall got into the driver’s seat. Xu was looking at a little piece of paper. When She saw Squall get in, she quickly stuffed it into her purse.

Squall didn’t ask what it is. He drove the car out the gate, and into the green meadow.

The road to Balamb was pretty long, though, the security was really heavy. About once every half an hour there was a checkpoint. The Garden had to take extreme caution of bring to the Garden illegal stuff, and stop anyone from smuggling valuable creatures from the Garden.

But, Xu and Squall made the trip. Squall’s driving isn’t very good, with the fact that he practiced at the simulation room in the Garden for about a couple of hours. In his luck, There isn’t a lot of traffic that day. Or else, he would been crashed a couple of times already.

Other than the fact that animals keep crossing the road in front of them, the ride was pretty smooth. They enjoyed the scenery. There are a lot of waterfalls, which Squall and Xu stopped to rest at one. They had to go into some canyons on the trip. One of them is so deep, that they couldn’t even see the light at the top. There were bridges that were so high, that they were as though driving on cloud. There were tunnels to pass through that were so long, one of them lasted a good twenty minutes.

They talked almost all the way through the trip. They talked about their friends, their classes, their hobbies, and their favorite memories. At one time, Xu was so sleepy, that she fell asleep right there on the front seat. Squall stopped at the side of the road and took a little rest too. He was really nervous that he said something that shouldn’t be said. But, Xu seemed really relaxed talking to him and all.

After a three-hour trip, they finally saw the ocean. Both of them let out a big sigh at the same time. They curiously looked at each other, and laughed.

Balamb was within their sights. Squall tried again to squeeze out what they are going to do.

"So, what are we gonna do on this …beautiful day?"

"You’ll find out when we get there… Well, it has something to do with the Final Exam." Xu replied.

"Really?…" Squall stretch the word. "Like what?" He tried again.

"Like I said," Xu laughed. "You’ll see."

Finally, they are back in civilization again. Squall has been in Balamb before. It was with Zell last time they were permitted to go. They visited Zell’s mother at his house. Balamb is really comfortable compared to the Garden. It has everything a big city need. It has a harbor, a shopping center, grand hotel, train station, and an airport. But, Balamb is small. It is almost as big as Balamb Garden.

Xu directed Squall, who is driving the car, to drive past the shopping center, past the train station and airport, and they stopped at a fancy and old looking one-story building. She told him to park the car at the side of the road.

"Well," Xu said with a sigh. "We’re here.’

Squall got out of the car, and quickly got to the other side. He opened the door, and extended out his right hand.

"Thank you." Xu said as she took his hand and, got out of the car. "This," She started saying. "Is the house of the Master Materia. She is said to have nearly every magic Materia there is."

"Really? I wonder if he’ll give me some of his Materia."

Xu smiled. "That’s what we are here for." She walked toward the door of the house.

"You know this guy?" Squall asked, quickly following her.

"She’s not a guy. And yes, I know her." Xu replied. "I have my connections."

"Ohh…" Squall said.

The house was decorated with ancient looking statues of mystical creatures, and hieroglyphics that looked oddly like animals. The front door was really tall. It is about as tall as the Behemoth they fought.

When they walked in, the stuff inside was totally different, and from way different centuries. There are monitors all along the walls of the house. A high captain chair in the middle of the room, which is surrounded by mazes of switches and buttons. Each monitor projected a different monster, all of them seemed to be in their own habitat.

"Wow." Squall gasped with amazement.

"Yeah," Xu said. "I did the exactly same thing the first time I came here."

Xu sat down on a chair near the entrance. "You better sit here too. She doesn’t like to be disturbed while mediating."

As Xu said, he sat down next to her. He turned toward Xu. "How come I’ve never heard of… What’s her name?"

"Her name is Julia." Xu said. "You don’t know her because she is suppose to stay in this house, and nobody is suppose to know about her. But, you know, secrets always leak out. Year after year, there are visitors come here to look at her Materia, and sometime tried steal them. But, Julia always manages to stop them somehow.

"She’s been here for thirty years, and she’s getting old. She needs to let someone else to keep her Materias. So, she sent a letter to Sid, asking him to send top students to come here to receive Materias. So he sent me and some other students here to receive one. And, here’s mine."

She took out a blue stone from her pocket. It was inscribed with hieroglyphics, much like the ones outside the door. Squall recognized the symbol.

"Isn’t that Leviathan?! The summoning Materia!?" Squall gasped with excitement. And he cleared his throat "I saw it once in a magazine."

He knows that there’s a lot of summoning Materias. But he has never seen one real life. They are supposed to be very rare and they are difficult to get.

"Yup." Xu said proudly. "And you’re here to get your own."

"But, the bad thing is, that you gotta take this back here to regenerate every two and a half week." Xu said with a little disappointment. "Which totally messed up my last dress rehearsal…"

They waited there for about half an hour. Xu walked around the room for a bit, looking at the monitors. Finally, a clang in the back door broke the silence that hang in the air.

A woman in her eighties appeared from behind the door. She is dressed really old-fashioned. It’s like that she was from fifty years ago.

"Hello, Miss Julia." Xu said respectively.

Squall stood up, and walked to the side of Xu.

"Ahh… Xu is it? How is it, my child?" The old lady said in a scratchy voice.

"I’m good, Miss Julia."

Julia walked in front of Squall, and scanned him up and down.

"And who is this young man?"

"This is a friend of mine. His name is Squall." Xu introduced.

"Unless my eyes deceives me." The old lady said. "He is a very well dressed young man. Don’t see them every often"

"Yeah," Xu said. Her face blushing "I guess."

Julia circled Squall and Xu once, and stopped in front of them again.

"You must be here to regenerate Leviathan, Is it?"

"Yes."

"And you," She said to Squall. "Must be here to get a Materia, is that right?"

"Yeah." Squall answered causally.

"Hmm…" Julia turned, and walked toward the back door. Xu followed, and so did Squall.

The back yard is full of life. Exotic plants were growing everywhere. Occasionally, creature which Squall never seen before pop out from behind bushes.

"This is my home, as you know." Julia said. "This is also where I keep all my Materias."

Squall frowned a bit. When Summoning Magic is not in use, they are supposed to be far away, not staying with its owner. Squall turned to look at Xu, but she is listening attentively.

"The Materias I own, mostly Summoning Materias, are embedded in this fountain." Julia pointed to a Fountain in the center of the small garden. It’s just like a regular fountain. But, inside, It’s full of Materia stones.

"Sid told me about the break out at the Garden. It was an unfortunate accident. But, thank goodness, you two were there."

Xu tilted down her head, and smiled.

"And," Julia said. "He sent me a letter telling me all about it. He’s saying that you," She pointed at Squall. "Are good enough to earn one of my Materia."

"Yeah, sure." Squall answered.

She turned around, and froze.

"Miss Julia? Are you all-"

But before Xu could finish, Julia, though an old lady, swung a bamboo stick that was in her hand heavily at Squall.

Squall, for being a quick hand, drew out his Gun Blade, and blocked the stick on the side of the blade. He didn’t want to hurt the old lady if he had cut the bamboo stick.

Julia relaxed the grip of her hand, and let the stick drop down to her waist.

"When you fight, you shouldn’t be soft on your opponent. Even if… she is an old lady." Julia said.

Xu laughed a bit when she said that.

"Well," She turned to Squall. "It’s your pick."

Squall walked slowly toward the fountain, and knelt down to get a better look at them. He did know much Materias, so he just closed his eyes, rambled through the stone, and picked one.

"Ah…" Julia quickly took the stone from his hand. "This is one of my favorites."

She walked quickly back into the house. Squall got up, and walked after Xu into it to.

They went back into the house. The old lady was placing the stone in a kind of examining machine. She pressed on a button on the machine. The machine began to make strange kind of noise, and the stone began to glow icy-blue. Then, the machine whirled to a stop.

"Meet Shiva, the Ice elemental Summoning Materia." Julia said.

All the screens on the walls blinked to the same picture. A human figured creature rotated on the spot. It is much like a woman, but with ice-blue colored skin, her eyes are piercing blue. Instead of hair, she has thin sheets of ice hanging down to her knee.

"This is an very good Materia." Julia said, looking at it. "It has very little experience. But, its attack, Diamond Dust, is really powerful."

She took the stone out of the machine, and gave it to Squall. Xu was at his side, looking at it with great excitement.

"When you want to use it, put the words "Diamond Dust" in your mind." Julia said.

"Thank You." Squall said. The stone felt very cold, as though it just came out of a freezer. He quickly put it into his pocket.

They waited for Xu’s Leviathan to be regenerated. They looked at the different Materias that Julia has. Julia generously opened her most treasured belongings. They stopped on a collection of different amulets.

"Wow!" Xu exclaimed. "This is beautiful!" She picked up a small, silver ring.

"Oh, man. Look at this." Squall picked up a silver chain, with a pendant hanging on to it.

"These are some of my collections of Griever relics." Julia explained.

"Griever?" Xu said curiously.

"The Griever is the ultimate Summoning Materia. It is also called the Silver Lion. That what you people get your name."

"Really?…" Xu said.

Julia picked up a bracelet, and chuckled. "I used to collect these stuff when I was young. Now, they’re just precious metal. People like you who come here always smuggle one of them out."

"That’s awful." Xu said disapprovingly.

"It doesn’t really matter." Julia said with a wave of her hand. "I was just about to ask you guys if you want one."

"Really!?" Xu asked. "Oh, oh, can I have this one?" She pointed at the ring.

"Yeah. Sure. Take anything ." Julia said. "I’m going to give them away anyway."

"I guess I’ll have this one." Squall said , holding the chain.

Xu, though, kept going. "I’ll have this one , this one. Oh, and I gotta have this…"

Squall walked toward the screens where they kept flashing with pictures. One of them caught Squall’s eyes. It also, looked human, like Squall’s Shiva. Its whole body is cover with the colors black and red. It has huge, black wings, and its face is barely visible because it was covered with some kind of mask. It kind of reminds Squall of a bat.

"Miss Julia." Squall called out.

Julia walked slowly toward him. "Yes?"

"What’s that?" Squall pointed to the creature, now flying away.

"That’s Diablos, a Summoning Materia." Julia said, kind of painful. "It took me five months to get that one. It’s very hard to control it."

"Wow." Squall said. "How many Summoning Materia do you have?"

"Now, about twenty-seven. I am missing four of them. I think Cactuar, Buhamut, ,Eden, and of course, Griever"

"It must be a really hard job." Squall said, while looking at the monitors.

"No. Not really if you put your mind into it."

Xu is finally done picking out her accessories.

"Need a bag." Said Squall, with a smile.

"No, thanks." Xu said, while smiling. "I’ve got my bag." She took out her hand bag, and poured a handful of rings, bracelets, and necklaces into her bag.

Xu’s Ifrit is finally done recharging. Julia gave it back to her.

They left through the front door.

"Visit often." Julia said.

"We will." Squall answered.

They finally got back into their car. Xu took out the ring she first got, and put it on her finger.

"Put on yours, Squall." She said.

Squall took out the chain from his pocket, and put it around his neck. The pendent was a picture of Griever’s head. It’s pretty heavy, so Squall guessed it is must made of silver

Squall started the car. Xu, this time directed Squall to a restaurant. A guy valet parked their car, and Squall, looking strangely formal, walked Xu in.

Dinner went on smoothly, they talked about the Exam, about what they think is going to be, about what they might face, and what they do to finish the job. They had mostly sea food. Squall really liked the food there. Xu seemed to like it to, though it’s very expensive.

"So, how do you like her?" Xu asked.

"She’s alright." Squall answered.

"I know some where we could go tomorrow. It’s a little beach around here. It has the most beautiful lagoons you’ve ever seen!"

Squall shook his hand. "How about after the exam. I have my head stuck in it way too deep to be doing something else."

"Ok. How ‘bout the second day after?"

"That’ll be fine."

They finished the dinner at about 7 at night. Xu was very sleepy, she sat in the back and rested. Squall on the other hand, wasn’t. He drove all the way back without yawning.

When they stopped at the Garden’s garage, Squall woke Xu up, and walked her back to her dorm. They said good night. With a long hug, Xu closed the door.

Squall sighed, and walked slowly backed to his dorm, half asleep.

It’s the day of the Final Exam. Squall has trained hard for this moment. Yet, he is still nervous.

He and Zell came out of their room, fully dresses in their battle uniform. It was black with yellow edged jacket. They have just worn them just once before: when they were just accepted in Balamb Garden.

"Arya ready, man?" Zell said, with a tremble in his voice.

"Whatever." Squall said silently.

Squall has a lot on his mind right now. Everything from his parents, to Xu. He just felt that he wasn’t ready for this.

"Aw, com’on! Is not that you’ll die or anything. The worst thing that might happen is that they drag you outta there with a chopper." Zell reassured him. "Unless you’re eaten up by whatever’s in there…"

"Thank you so much for telling me that." Squall sad sarcastically.

They were supposed to meet everyone in the hall, but Zell wanted to make a detour to a friend of his, which is a year behind them.

"What up, man?" Zell greeted him when they met him.

"Yo, check these stuff out!" The person said as he took something out of his pocket. It was a summoning stone. A picture of a yellow bird was engraved on it.

"This is Quesacoatl, the thunder summon. Yours for 500 Gil. Deal?"

"Why not?" Zell took out some coins, and handed them to the guy. "

Squall was really inpatient. They were supposed to meet with Xu and the other girl out in the hall five minutes ago.

"Lets go. We’re late." Squall

"The word are Thunder Storm, alright? Say that when you want to use it." The guy said as he was walking away. " Recharge them whenever you can." Than, he ran.

"What does he mean ‘Recharge Them’?" Zell said.

"Tell you later. We gotta hurry up. we’re late."

They hurried back toward the hall. Now everybody is gathering there to be briefed of their assignment.

"Over here!" Someone called to them.

"This way, man!" Zell said, pointing to where Xu and a girl were.

Xu was leaning against a pole while the other girl was waving furiously at them.

Squall and Zell ran to where they were waiting for them.

"Where were you guys. We were really worried." Xu said.

"We…uh, had a little delay. That’s all." Squall said.

"No matter now that you guys made it." The other girl said.

"And you are…" Squall asked.

"Oh." Zell said "This is Selphie. Remember the exchange student I told you about? Well, here she is! Selphie, this is Squall."

"Hi!" Sephie said. "I’ve already met Xu. You must like her a lot, huh?"

Xu’s face blushed as red as a peach.

"Right…" Squall muttered. "So, when do we leave?"

"They haven’t passed out our instructions yet." Selphie said

"We are suppose to go to Fire Cavern… Which spells do you guys have?" Squall asked the group. They did this before every exam as preparation.

"I have Cure, Silence, and Protect. And The Leviathan." Xu said.

"So…You’ll be in defensive mode all the way with Protect and Cure. Except with your Summon. We’ll need to use that, since it’s effective against fire." Squall analyzed.

"Woh, slow down, man." Zell said confusingly.

"How about you, Selphie?"

"I got Fire, Shell, and Holy." Selphie said proudly.

"You got Holy?! Damn, girl! Where the hell ‘d you get that?" Zell shouted out with amazement.

"In my old school, Tribia Garden." Selphie said.

"Okay… Fire will be useless in there, so don’t bother using it. Shell is ok when they start casting Magic. Holy should be useful since most fire creature are demons."

"Zell, your turn." Squall said

"Thunder, Vanish, and Quesacoatl Summon."

"Both Thunder and Quesacoatl isn’t that much… though Vanish will be useful if it gets too physical, since it makes you invisible."

"How ‘bout you, Squall?" Selphie asked.

"Oh, I got Blizzard, Cure, Demi, And Shiva Summon."

"Why do you guys all got a Summon?" Selphie said, kind of jealously.

"Well…that’s because… uh… we’re…really, really good students!" Zell quickly said.

"Yeah right." Squall said under his breath.

They waited for quite some time when Cid finally walked toward them from the elevator, with Quistis, Ridder, Chaine, and Norg.

"Welcome, all hopefuls of Silver Lions and Falcons. This is it!" Cid blasted out his voice from the microphone. "This is the last Exam you’ll ever have for Balamb Garden!"

Everyone applauded and cheered.

"This will be a milestone for all of you, if you are able to past this test. The test will be stationed in either the Fire Cavern or Ice Cave, Depending on your ID Number. You should be acknowledged of you destination by your teachers.

"On this exam," Cid said. "You will not, I repeat, will not be having our assistance in combat. If the worst of the worst situation comes, One of you team members will radio us, the teachers, which will be stationed on either location’s entrance, will provide rescue efforts. You will also radio us every, every ten minutes that you are in there, or points will be deducted from your whole team. So remember that."

Cid walked over to Ridder, and took a small case from him.

"This will be your medical case. One will be passed out to every team. It contains a radio, five Potions, two Hi-Potions, two Phoenix Downs. Potions cure you members of injuries. Just inject them into your necks, like this." Cid put the tube-like thing against his neck.

"Phoenix Downs will be able to revive your team mates. You’ll have to put these tablets into their mouth, and tilt their head back in order to let them swallow."

"When you run out of Phoenix Downs, and a person faints, radio us to called for a rescue team, and we will take that person out of the exam. When there are less than three people on you team at any moment, you will return to the entrance, and you are to form teams again with other two-person group, is that clear?"

The crowd murmured in agreement.

"And of course, the last thing…"

"Try not to get killed." All of them continued dully.

"Precisely. Now, please line up outside and wait to board your transport. Further detail will be debriefed as you approach your destination. Good Luck."

They went inside their transport, which is more like a floating sub. The deck was made of steel plank. A small door was placed on the side of the ship. They went into the cabin, and found their place in there, and sat down.

"That’s it! The last debrief we’ll ever hear from him again." Zell sighed."

"Hey!" Xu said as she walked around in the cabin. "Don’t be insulting him. Sid’s a nice man."

"Oh that little…" Zell garbled silently.

"What’d you say?" Xu said sharply.

"What?"

Selphie leaned over to Squall and whispered, "You know what? Maybe they should be the perfect couple."

"Unhuh." Squall said mindlessly. He was nervous, really nervous. He was shivering, though the warm ocean wind was blowing in his face.

He looked down, and saw his silver chain. He held it in his hand. The smooth surface was cold and sparkled under the light. I have to do this, he thought, my parents are counting on me.

"Atten hut!" The pilot said as he spring up from his seat. "Captain on deck!"

Everyone scrambled to their position. Squall moved from his spot, and stood behind Xu.

Quistis walked slowly walked up to the deck. She stopped at the projector on the far side of the cabin.

"At ease." She said. "Sit down, please."

Everyone took their seat, and looked at Quistis.

"Everybody, this mission is different from what you guys did before. You’re goal for this mission is to retrieve a stone from inside the Fire Cavern. It’s very simple. You will follow a trail to deep inside the cave, until you see a platform, which the stones will be placed upon. You may encounter monsters while you’re in there, so you better got your spells and weapon ready. There are one, two, three, four, five, five teams. The mission will take two and a half hours to complete for the all of us, which means your whole team will complete the task within half an hour. You will not leave anybody in the cave by themselves. You will radio me when anybody faints and you are unable to revive him or her. That is not a request; that is an order! Understand?"

"Yes, ma’am!" Everyone answered in unison.

"Alright…Take her away, captain."

"Yes ma’am." The pilot said, and retreated to the pilot seat.

"Ladies and gents!" Pilot blasted through the loudspeaker. "Remain in your seats until we past the sonic boom!"

Quistis sat down into a seat next to Squall, which made Squall fell a bit more nervous.

Squall felt the ship slowly took air and he saw Balamb Garden became smaller and smaller. They accelerated until they cleared the small island. Squall held tight on the handle.

"Sonic speed in three! Two! One!"

Squall was pushed deep into his seat as he took in the G-force. He took a scan around the cabin. Xu and Selphie were sitting together. They were squinting their eyes, holding onto their seat, careful not to open their mouth, or else, they would stay open until they surpass the speed of sound. Zell was next to him. He is very used to this. He was making faces with he mouth open, looking like an idiot.

The next second, it was over. The shield has taken effect, and they were clear of the barrier of sound.

Squall loved this. There was silence except for the low hum of the engine. Everything was so peaceful, and quiet. This was the perfect moment for them to psyche themselves up. Every one took a corner of the cabin, closed their eyes, and concentrated. Quistis taught them this. It was pretty effective for Squall, since he had passed every test he had ever taken.

After fifteen minutes, the cabin was filled with short, quiet conversations. Nobody was joking around. Except when Zell told himself a joke and laughed himself silly. Squall hit him in the ribs, and he stopped, with a pained look on his face.

"You know what?" Zell said after five minutes of silence. "To hell with this mission! Why don’t we just jump out right now?"

"You’re joking, right?"

All of them looked up, and saw Quistis looking down at them.

"Uh… That depends…" Zell said quietly.

"Don’t be nervous." Quistis sat down at where they huddled.

"Why shouldn’t we be?" Selphie mumbled suddenly. "I mean, come-on. This mission determines our futures as SeeDs here!"

"Why should you be? I haven’t been a teacher that long. I started teaching a year before you guys first came in. I been here all the time before that." Quistis closed her eyes, as if trying to recall her memory. "But I don’t remember much of me at the Garden…"

"You know what, I don’t remember anything about when I first came in neither." Xu said. "It’s like, just before Sid mentioned anything about the finals, my memory started blacking out…"

They stayed silenced again. Quistis stood up after a few minutes.

"Alright, we are almost there. I’ll be in the cockpit."

Another shiver went through Squall’s spine. He closed his eyes, and focused again. He has to stay concentrated. Or else, he’ll be no good to the team.

"Ok, everybody!" The pilot said again through the speaker. "Get off yo butts! Approaching target!"

^^^

"Move! Move! Move!" The senior SeeD yelled at them when the shuttle opened the door out. "Hustle! You guys are the weakest bunch of sissies I’ve ever seen! Damn it, move!.

All of them thrust themselves out of the door.

"Line up in your team order, now!"

Quistis walked slowly out the door.

"Hey! Quis! How are you doing?" The guy that screamed in their face said calmly to Quistis.

"Not too bad, Bruce." Quistis answered. "How’s the island been treating you?"

"Quis? Who does the guy think he is?" Zell whispered.

"You boy!" The guy turned and yelled, and walked quickly into Zell’s face. "What’d you say?!"

"N-n-nothing!." Zell stammered.

"Oh really?! Let me tell you boy! While I’m conducting business, you don’t give ifs of buts about it. Its that clear?"

"Yes…" Zell answered miserably.

"IS THAT CLEAR!?!"

"Yes, sir!"

"My name is Sargent Tro! And on this island, I am God! Is that clear!?"

"Yes sir!" Everyone answered in unison.

"You should know your mission! Now all of you, get your butts down that road. Now march!"

The island is bare with red sand and it looks uninhabited. The only evidence of life is a little cabin on the far side of the island. There is barely any vegetation on the Island. The only greens you can find are cactus that scatters around in the red sand.

The trail lead them further into the island and stopped at the side of a mountain. The most of the people collapsed the minute the stopped. Squall and Zell were bending down, trying to catch their breath. Selphie and Xu were on one knee, both breathing very hard.

"Get up straight, you wimps!" The Sargent ordered. "If that tires you out, you shouldn’t even be here! Get up! All of you!"

"Alright Bruce. Give them a break." Quistis said.

Squall stood up straight, and took a quick scan of the place. They’ve stopped in front of a huge brown rock, which seemed to stick out of the sand like it was thrown there. A small crack yielded the entrance to the cave.

"Ok," Quistis said. "Gather ‘round!"

Slowly, every crowded around Quistis and a display board. Some kneeling in the front, some standing in the back.

"Look closely! This is the blue print of the cave!" Bruce said. "You gotta get from point A to point B. clear and simple! That’s the easy part! The monsters in this hellhole are fire-based! Hope you brought protection! The one you got to watch out is Ifrit. He’s the lord of the cave! You can not escape from him! Hold him off while you call for backup! Got that?!"

"Question! Sir!" Xu raised his hand.

"Granted!"

"How will we know if it’s Ifrit, Sir?"

Sargent Tro laughed. "You’ll know when you see him!"

"Alright, soldiers! Heaven will be outside when you’re done with hell! Quistis, I’m done for now!"

"Guy’s, the order of you people going in is randomly selected. First, Cadet Larco’s team. Second, Cadet Wilson’s team. Third, Cadet Taylor’s. Lastly, Squall’s team. Go get them, guys!"

The dead air followed the first team’s disappearance into the cave. Everyone didn’t feel like talking at all. Squall’s team was quieter than ever. Even Zell wasn’t joking around any more. They were all sitting on the ground with their heads on their knees. Selphie closed her eyes, and leaned onto Zell’s shoulder. Xu’s face was pale white. She had her hand wrapped around her lower leg, staring straight at him.

Squall sighed, pity of how nervous Xu looked. He walked slowly toward Xu, and kneeled down next to her.

"How are you doing?" Squall asked.

Xu slowly turned toward him. Her brown eyes were touched with wet tears. She stayed silent.

Squall looked at her straight in the eyes. They reflected with fear and nervousness.

He put a hand on her shoulder. "Everyone’s nervous right now. I know this is probably the most important moment in your life…" Squall didn’t know how to finish the sentence.

Xu looked away. "You don’t know what I’ve been through to get to this moment…You’ve never been to where I’ve been…What I did…"

"Maybe not…" Squall said. "But I’ve been through some stuff that I wish I’d forget too."

She nodded, and fell into his shoulder. A single drop of tear slithered down her cheek.

A yell from Quistis interrupted their conversation. "Team Larco?! Come in, team Larco!"

Everyone quickly gathered around her. Squall helped Xu up while Zell and Selphie got up too.

"Team Larco!" Quistis yelled again toward the radio.

"What happened?" Squall asked.

"Their transmission was disconnected." Quistis replied.

"What did they say before they lost communication?" A girl from team Taylor asked.

"…Something about a talking monster with horns." Quistis said while tuning the receiver.

Xu gasped. "A Summon."

"What?!" Zell said.

"Only Summons can talk." Xu said quietly.

"Where’s Sargent Tro?" A guy asked.

Quistis looked around. "Probably back at the cabin… Darn it!"

"We’ll go in there." Squall said suddenly.

"Are you nuts?! It’s not even our turn yet!" Zell objected.

"Damn it, Zell! If someone don’t go in there, they’ll die!" Selphie said to Zell.

"She’s right." Quistis said. "I’ll go in with you guys." She turned around to the other people. "Stay here. If Bruce comes back, tell him we are in the cave."

"Come on!" Selphie, in the lead, ran into the cave.

^^^

The Fire Cavern was even creepier than Squall ever imagined. The air was filled with smells of decayed animals. Sometimes, a strange howl came from deep inside. The ground was littered with loose rock pebbles, which made walking uneasy.

"Ok…Now this some scary looking cave." Selphie said, while clutching on to Zell’s arm.

Quistis took the radio and said. "Base. Do you copy? Over."

"Copy, away team." A female voice replied.

"Just testing. We will radio you every five minutes, Copy?" Quistis instructed.

"Copy, Quistis." A scratchy male voice replied.

"Bruce? Where the hell were you?!" Quistis said angrily.

"The ladies room." Bruce replied. "I was briefed with the situation. It’s not good. That talking monster is Ifrit. He won’t give up until all opponents are eliminated. You may proceed, but only with extreme caution!"

"Copy that." Quistis said, then tucking the radio through her belt. "You heard what he said. Everybody keep your guard up! It might appear at any time. Plus, we need to find team Larco. They might be anywhere in this cave."

Quistis pointed to a winding trail that went deep inside the fiery cavern. "This will take us through the cave and out again. Best chance that they’ll be on this trail somewhere. Let’s move!"

They half jogged, half fast walked through the cave. As they went deeper, the temperature raised dramatically. The hot and stuffy air was blowing at them from all directions. Squall’s forehead was dotted with drops of sweat. He quickly wiped them of with his sleeve.

The lava that is on the either side of the slim trail was splashing against them. The trail closed in as they walk, to a point where they had to hop from a dry spot to another.

The crew was exhausted after the long walking, running, and hopping. Finally, they reached a circular platform with a lava pit in the middle.

"Let’s do that again!" Selphie exclaimed. "I love hopscotch!"

"No!" Zell said, while checking the burn marks on his battle boots. "This is when-you-make-a-mistake-you-fry hopscotch."

"Alright!" Quistis announced. This is the half point! I’m surprised that we haven’t been attacked yet. You see there." She pointed at a rock that is stuck onto the wall of the cave. "That is your mission objective."

Zell ran up, and snatched the stone. "That was way too easy."

Suddenly, an expected shake in the ground knocked all of them off their feet.

"What the heck was that?!" Selphie cried out, while brushing dirt off her mini-skirt.

"Earthquake?" Xu said in a hushed voice.

"No. It’s to quick and short to be one." Squall scanned around him, searching for something odd. "Maybe some volcanic activity?"

The second after, Squall wished that he guessed wrong.

Molten lava spit itself out from the pit in the middle. Then, it formed a lava spring over ten feet tall.

"Stand back!" Quistis said. But everyone was already with their back against the wall.

A roar blasted itself from somewhere. The pole of lava slowly lowered itself to the teams shoulder level. On top, an evil, fiery filled figure emerged.

The creature was as twice as tall as Squall. Its horns on its head curved down to the monster’s feet. Its yellow eyes were filled with evil and darkness. It bared its long canine fangs to show its ferociousness, then it closed it. Thick, red skin covered the body.

"How dare you…" It spoke. "How dare you invade my terrain!"

Zell said quietly to Quistis. "Are we suppose to answer it?"

Quistis didn’t reply. "We are looking for some friends of ours that might be trapped in here."

It roared again. "That will not be tolerated!"

"Have you seen them?" Quistis asked again.

"They are my prisoner now. Now, leave here!"

"Why!?" Xu broke away from her usual self. "What do you think you’re doing with my friends!?"

"Hmm." It snorted. "What are you going to do about it, human?"

"Screw this!" Zell jumped. "Let’s kill this piece of crud!" He punched air with his metal-plated fighting glove.

The rest took out their weapon too.

Squall swung out his Gun Blade, and slashed around him, and stopping in battle position. Quistis’s Chain Whip was withdrawn. Its sharpened tip glistened against the burning lava around them. Xu took the Crossbow that swung at her side, and took aim. Sephie drew an uneasy weapon; a Nachaku, two large metal club, linked by a chain.

"Stupid humans…"

"If you’re calling us stupid," Selphie said, while swinging her weapon. "Why don’t you try us and find out!"

Ifrit thrust it’s head upward, and breathed a jet of scorching inferno. "…I will."

It charged at them full speed.

"Watch out!" Squall yelled. But, it was too late.

The monster’s horn contacted with Xu’s mid-section. She flew backwards, and hit the ground with a thud.

"Quistis! Mighty Guard!" Squall signaled Quistis for her spell.

She crossed her arms on her chest, closed her eyes, and muttered something under her breath, and spread out her arms. A bright sphere lifted from in front of her, and ascended high above. It exploded into a thin covering of glowing material. It covered itself around the team.

"Xu!" Squall said while crouched next to her, his hand holding her head up.

Blood stained her uniform at the waist into a dark crimson shade. Her eyes barely open. "…Sorry… I have…failed you…" Her eyes closed.

"No!!" Squall screamed.

"It’s alright. She just fainted." Quistis said.

"Quistis. Get Xu out of here…We’ll take care of this beast."

She nodded. Whisper of a float spell, Xu’s motionless body levitated off the ground. With a point of finger, she gently floated away.

"…Good luck." Quistis said, and ran after the gliding body.

The spell Mighty Guard has expired. Squall straightened up, and pointed his Gun Blade at Ifrit "You will pay for hurting Xu!"

"Yeah!" Zell boasted. "You will pay for hurting Squall’s girlfriend!"

Ifrit shook his head. "You just don’t know when to give up…Give me your best shoot!"

^^^

"Bastard!" Zell yelled as he retreated from an unsuccessful attack.

"Ifrit!" Selphie said with rage. "Why don’t you give up while you have the chance!"

"You humans don’t understand anything!" It roared. "I haven’t even show you my true powers!"

Following that, It rose higher into the air. Blasting streams of fire everywhere, scorching everyone with fire and molten lava.

"Ahhh…" Selphie screamed. And collapsed onto the ground, face first.

"Selphie!" Zell cried, rushing to her side.

Squall, while backing away, murmured a Blizzard spell. A huge Iceberg materialized on top of Ifrit. With full force, slammed itself down toward the creature. It staggered a bit, but it regained it’s footing.

"Why won’t you puny humans listen!"

"…Because we know better than give up to you." Squall answered with a grin.

"You will pay for disturbing me!" Ifrit said. It rose high and preparing to strike again.

Zell got up from Selphie’s unanimated body. Trembling from anger, he pointed a finger at the floating enemy. "No… You will pay."

Before it got the chance to response, Zell was running right toward it. Ifrit shot a Fire spell. A ball of flame ejected it self from its hand.

Zell was quick to counter. His left arms extended , bolts of yellow launched from the hand. It contacted the scorching lava and deflects it from its course, and on to the wall of the cave.

Zell didn’t decelerate his pace, still at full speed for the devilish monster.

He had reached Ifrit’s last line of defense. A Reflect shield. That didn’t stop Zell from his assault. Powered by rage and hungry for revenge, he threw punch after punch, haymaker after haymaker. But, the shield just didn’t penetrate.

Squall stood off ground of the action. Watching he friend pounding the shield, he wanted to help. Suddenly, the Behemoth trouble at the Garden gave him an idea.

He remembered how the arrow was charged with thunder energy, and the shield that was around the Behemoth gave away.

He set Selphie at a safe distance away, and rushed toward Zell.

"Retreat." Squall said shortly.

Zell didn’t. Still pounding away as if he did not hear him.

"I have a plan, now retreat!" He said again.

Backing away, Zell rubbed his knuckles. "Damn that frigging shield!"

Squall swung his Gun Blade, as if readying to attack again. "Give me your Thunder Materia. I’ve got a plan."

Zell removed a little stone from his waist, and threw it to Squall.

The weapons made by Balamb used in battle are designed to charge elemental properties. The handle of Squall’s Gun Blade was encrusted with a gap for placing Materia stones.

Squall slammed the stone in place. "Stand fast." He said to Zell.

Pointing the tip at Ifrit he hissed, "You’re about to taste my Gun Blade, Ifrit!"

He advanced toward it. First walking, than paced to a run. The shield closed in as he moved toward it. Squall brought the blade over his shoulder, and brought it down hard, slamming the shield. It contacted the barrier with force, stopping in mid-air.

He pulled the trigger.

Shockwaves of thunder emitted from the contacting point, surging until it swallowed the whole reflect shield.

"Nice!" Zell exclaimed. "Now he’s trapped!"

Squall backed away to where Selphie was. Zell quickly followed.

She’s now awaked, but still out of energy. They both crouched down next to her.

Selphie turned her head toward Zell. "Is it gone?"

Squall grinned. "Do you want to land the final blow?"

"What are you saying…"

She finally understood.

Standing up with Zell’s help, Nachaku in hand, She stared the beast straight in its eyes.

"This is for Xu, and me." She took something out of her clothes, and threw it up in the air. Closing her eyes, she pointed at Ifrit.

The white stone glowed milky white, and slowly glided toward the globe of electric energy. It stopped at the edge of it.

Meanwhile, Ifrit was trying to break through the barrier. But each time it rammed it with it’s sharp horns, the shield shocked the monster with volts of static. It was helpless.

The sphere of white remained still. Selphie raise the Nachaku over head, and twirled it like a baton. The orb took the shape of a rod, and spun itself until it was blurred to resemble a circle. She suddenly halted the spinning and thrust the weapon into the air.

Instantly, the white rod became separated into many small balls, and they surrounded Ifrit. The beast looked around him. Seeing the attack that was about to take place, realizing his fate, finally said, "I was wrong! You are superior! But please, I beg for forgiveness.!"

Selphie did nothing.

Squall looked on as the spheres closed in on Ifrit at breakneck speed. He closed his eyes.

The white orbs mashed together into a huge globe. Squall can hear the painful howl of the beast.

"You’ve proved you’re worthy." A voice, not Ifrit’s, said.

"Who’s there?! Answer me!" Zell questioned.

The globe of thunder turned red, and exploded.