Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Sowing the SeeDs ❯ Chapter 19 ( Chapter 19 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Sowing the SeeDs : Part 19

a fanfic by Greenbeans <gbeans@tyrlen.org>
edited by Helen Fong <iriachan@yahoo.com>
based on the world of Final Fantasy 8
created by Square Electronic Arts L.L.C. <www.squaresoft.com>



A hard tap on the terminal's keypad was the only outward sign of Cid's
current mood. It was still early enough in the morning that the sun hadn't yet
crested the mountains outside the large windows behind Cid's desk. Master
Talasu lay stretched out along one of the couches that ran perpendicular to the
desk. His eyes were closed, giving the false appearance that he was sleeping.

"No word?" Talasu asked.

"You know how unreliable HD is. The message could have been lost
somewhere on the sea floor for all I know," the Headmaster replied, concern
touching his tone.

Talasu lifted his head up to give Cid a long look. They both knew what
the lack of communication meant.

"Want me to investigate...?"

Cid shook his head. "It's not your place. You're only an observer, after
all. I'll send one of my people."

That answer sent Talasu sitting upright. "Are you certain? I don't mind
and neither would my employer; not for this."

"I'll send Kei."

"...Not Xu?"

"Not Xu," Cid agreed. "I won't pull Xu away from the drill team's tour."

Talasu folded his legs under himself as he considered Cid's puzzling
logic. "If not for this, then what..?"

The Headmaster allowed himself a small, pensive smile. "It's not time
yet. I won't use the full force of SeeD at this early stage. Kei can
investigate and after she reports we'll plot our next move."

"I think you're so focused on the game that you don't see the units that
you're moving around the world. If the situation has taken a turn for the
worse, then Kei will be in grave danger. I would feel better if I could have a
word with her before she leaves..."

"I'm sure she would appreciate any advice you have to offer," Cid replied.
"You know it's not my intention to use the SeeDs as pawns, but, as a commander,
sometimes that's what they are."

"I know," Talasu conceded with a sigh. "That's why I would make a
terrible commander. I wouldn't be satisfied unless every unit I sent out was
able to return."

Kei received her orders that afternoon. Talasu discreetly tracked her
down once Cid was done briefing her. She'd never met the Master before, but
Cid had warned her that a man dressed in green and black would be seeking her
out. There was no mistaking the distrust she felt toward him, but she was
still willing to listen to what he had to say. Especially since Cid had given
the impression that he trusted the man.

"You're going into a deceptively hazardous situation," he told the SeeD in
all seriousness. "The physical weapon is your greatest ally, but in this
battle you may need to fight fire with fire. Please, take this Guardian Spirit
with you. Cerberus will allow you to cast spells in rapid succession. If
nothing else, it may help you rally a stronger defense towards the forces
moving against you."

She accepted the rough stone that he placed in hand. "It's only a
scouting mission. I'm more than familiar with the monsters that plague
Centra."

"If it were only monsters I wouldn't have cause for concern."

Kei was taken aback. "Are you trying to creep me out or something?"

"I'm warning you," Talasu said with a small bow. "There are countless
dangers lurking in Centra; beware of them."



SeeD Instructor Quistis Trepe brushed her long, blonde hair out of her
face as she strode purposefully towards the training room for her next class.
It was a private lesson with a student Weapons Master Pan asked her to take on.
It wasn't a role Quistis would have cast herself in. She held no illusions
that she could ever match Xu when it came to weapons instruction, but this was
a special case. Quistis was the only one in the Garden who had any experience
in mastering Blue Magic.

Quistis knew distressingly little about the student she was teaching. The
name she was given for her pupil was Rascal Jett, though Quistis doubted very
much that it was her real name. She didn't even know what Rascal's face looked
like because she always wore a scarf or mask that obscured her features.
Instructing such an enigma was a dubious proposition in Quistis' opinion. That
is, until Master Pan convinced her otherwise.

Rascal was a student of the weapons art known as Mime. Mimes trained to
be proficient in all arts, but master of none. They were mysterious in their
identity, obscured their ability, and could mimic the actions of any person
they chose. It required a lifetime of training to acquire such flexibility in
technique. Pan told Quistis that the best Mimes were ones who could mimic even
a SeeD; from magic, to summoning a GF, to performing their Limit. Copying a
fighting technique was one thing, but to mimic a Limit? Quistis wouldn't have
believed such a thing was possible if she hadn't seen it demonstrated with her
own eyes.

Rascal was still at an apprentice level in her training. She had no
single Master to answer to. When she had learned all she could from one Master
she would move along to the next. Pan was just another rung in the ladder for
her.

Not many in the Guild took the time to master the use of magic (it wasn't
their forte), but Rascal took to it like a fish to water. Because of her
ability to quickly master new techniques Pan made arrangements with Headmaster
Martine for her to receive private lessons from SeeD Instructors. Quistis had
no idea how he talked the grumpy Headmaster into that, but she wouldn't turn
away the students he assigned to her and especially not a bright one!

As far as Quistis could tell, Rascal had no true Limit of her own. The
Instructor had originally hoped to trigger that and then use it as a launching
pad into other lessons. Instead, when Quistis used the Blue Magic herself,
Rascal studied her technique intently and was able to copy it with some
success. Quistis was completely baffled by how Rascal managed it without the
pre-requisite desperation, never mind doing it at all.

When Quistis asked Pan about it, the Master's only answer was that Mimes
use their own type of magic. Rascal must have it in abundance to be so
proficient!

"We'll arrange for you to study with Mistress Xu when she visits here next
week," Pan told Rascal after their lesson. Quistis wanted to protest because
Xu wasn't going to have much free time as it was (and what little she did have
Quistis planned to monopolize).

"Why? You are a master of the sai and you've already found me a SeeD
Instructor," Rascal nodded in Quistis' direction.

Pan slapped Rascal on the back affectionately. "Because she'll teach you
something that only she can: Anshin magic!"

"Master!" Quistis protested. She didn't like it when her friend was
singled out because of her lineage. Xu's heritage wasn't the touchy subject
that it once was, but Quistis was still sensitive to it.

Pan continued without missing a beat. "Mistress Xu is one of the best
Masters -- not only in terms of skill, but of character -- that you'll have the
privilege of studying under. Isn't that right, Quistis?"

"What you say is true," Quistis agreed with a mental sigh. Pan didn't
usually practice tact and he apparently wasn't going to start any time soon.



Unnoticed by the student she was observing, Xu studied how Squall handled
his new gunblade. She'd commissioned Sean's family to construct the blades for
both Squall and Seifer. Cid had ordered her to spare no expense when it came
to the two gunblade specialists. Steven traveled all the way from Deling City
to take the boys' measurements. The weapons were more than good enough for
students who were just starting out.

Aucifer was overjoyed when the gunblades first arrived. Xu wondered if
she was going to have to order a gunblade for the Master so that he would
release the other weapons to his students.

It wouldn't be a bad idea to have an extra one in the weapons locker, but
gunblades had to be crafted to the swordsman and his style. In Seifer's case,
he liked to hold his weapon in his right hand and duel. Squall, on the other
hand, maintained a guarded stance and preferred to swing away. For that
reason, Squall's gunblade was heavier than Seifer's, so that he could take
advantage of the blade's ability to cleave.

Presently, Squall was practicing dueling with a fellow upperclassman under
Aucifer's watchful eye. Xu doubted that Squall would ever have Seifer's speed
and dexterity. It wasn't fair to compare the two students, even if they used
the same class of weapon. They came from two very different schools of thought
regarding sword technique. Not that she was half the swordsman that Aucifer
was to begin with, or that they would be when the Master was finished with
them.

Standing on the sidelines Seifer was taunting Squall. To Xu's surprise,
Aucifer didn't turn to silence the boy. She continued to watch Squall to see
if he let Seifer's words get to him. The stoic student was unaffected by the
barbs.

'He's refined his Seifer ignoring technique,' she mused. Why was it that
the best students were also the ones who attracted the troublemakers? It would
be easier to train Squall if Seifer wasn't a constant distraction. Well, she
couldn't give up on the head of the disciplinary committee despite her dislike
for him. Cid wanted Seifer to graduate as much as he wanted Squall to. It was
Xu's job to make sure that happened.

Wun touched her on the shoulder to pull her from her thoughts. She looked
at the chronometer and realized it was time for her meeting with NORG. Her
Shumi aide led the way through the training facilities. She took a deep breath
and felt comforted by the flow of energies in the room. As far as the students
could tell, the biggest difference to the training room after it was reopened
was the center mat, which had SeeD's logo emblazoned on it. Even if they
weren't aware of the magic around them, they still enjoyed its effects.

The Garden's Master was always very polite during their weekly meetings; a
facade that flew in the face of the feelings Xu got from the Shumi. She didn't
pretend to know how to read a person's heart, but she wasn't about to ignore
her gut instinct that she shouldn't turn her back. NORG hadn't performed any
sort of revenge on Sierra for the injuries Tou suffered as a result of the
training room fiasco. That seemed to be as out of character for NORG as its
generous offer to buy the drill team new uniforms for their trip. Xu simply
didn't trust NORG even if she couldn't give a reason why. She hadn't voiced
her opinion of the Garden Master to Cid, though was certain that the Headmaster
shared it.

"As always it is a pleasure to see you, Xu," NORG said from its perch high
above those who stood before it.

That was another thing that bothered Xu. She couldn't figure out the
purpose of the mechanical pods that NORG resided in. Was it some sort of life
support system for its bulbous, blubbery body? Did the terminals that surround
it hold an overriding sway on the systems that maintained the Garden? It was
all too suspicious in Xu's opinion.

"Master NORG," Xu replied with a salute.

"I have the list of people I would like you to make contact with during
the drill team tour," NORG said while gesturing for one of its aides to hand
the printout to her. "These are the people you must impress. The Garden's
financial future depends on it."

Xu kept a neutral expression on her face as she studied the list.
President Deling was near the top, as expected. There were also many Dollet
officials and ranking members of the Galbadia military.

By NORG's reasoning, it was humoring her desire to take the drill team on
tour because they could be used as a means to demonstrate SeeD's skills to
potential clients. Cid viewed this trip as an opportunity to entice potential
students to enroll. She wanted this to be a reward for all the hard work the
team had put in. There were so many different ambitions being put on the
shoulders of less than a dozen students.

When Xu returned to the sanctuary of her office she tossed the list NORG
gave her onto her desk with a hiss of disgust. She didn't like kissing up and
that's exactly what the Garden Master was ordering her to do.

"Are the contents of that page really so distasteful?" The Headmaster's
voice asked from behind her. She'd been so wrapped up on her own thoughts that
she hadn't even noticed him following her here.

"Ah..." she motioned for him to come in and close the door. "I don't like
this, not one bit. I know that SeeD isn't a charity, but we're beyond the
simple, money-grubbing, immoral mercenary!"

Cid's eyes lit up with ill-concealed amusement. "Now, now, Xu," he
chided, and then those eyes that laughed her dismay turned hard. "As much as
it pains me to admit it; we're going to need the money. NORG has given you a
heads-up on which people to impress with SeeD's talents. Follow through on
this and we'll have the means to continue SeeD's true mission."

"As you say, sir," she frowned and gave him another sideways glance.

His eyes resumed their playful glint and this time he did chuckle at her
peevishness. "Welcome to the joys of administration."



"What'cha doin'?" Zell plopped down on the cushioned bench next to Sierra,
sending the stack of books beside her tumbling to the floor. She gave him a
pointed glare before bending over to pick them up.

"I'm studying for the written exam." She didn't voice the 'leave me
alone' part, but it was there in her tone.

"Ohhhhh," Zell nodded his head with understanding and scooted a little
further down the bench to give her room.

The cabin's other occupants hadn't noticed their exchange. Red was
playing a game of cards at a small table by the window. Jordan had her nose
buried in a textbook. If Zell was smart, he would be doing the same thing.
The drill team was missing the last two weeks of the term because of the tour.
They'd be back at Balamb Garden just in time to take their end of term exams.

It was hard for him to sit still long enough to study. The swaying of the
train made him want to sway as well. He wanted to be on his feet, bouncing
around, and getting ready for the fight! Zell pushed up from the bench and
started dancing around, throwing punches at an imagined opponent. Ha! He'd
show those Galbadians what SeeD was made of!

"KNOCK IT OFF, ZELL!" Sierra thundered. He stumbled back a half step
before flopping himself back onto the bench.

"You're so grumpy today," he grumbled. "You that worried about the
written exam?"

"Worried? Me? Why ever for? Every student should be pulled away from
their studies to go show a bunch of lazy fat asses how well she can throw
punches at her mates two weeks before The Most Important Test Of Her LIFE!"
Sierra's voice reached booming levels by the end of her tirade. The Red and
Jordan stared blankly at her before resuming their tasks.

"I'm glad I'm not graduating this term," Red intoned.

The door to the cabin slid open. Xu stood in the doorway looking for what
was the cause of the uproar (the who part was never in question). Myn hovered
behind Xu, a harried look on his face. The twins were assigned to act as
chaperones on this trip. At least they were pretty cool or else Zell would
have been bummed about them tagging along.

"Sierra's studying," Zell supplied helpfully.

Xu shook her head at Myn in dismissal. "And what subject requires
yelling?" She asked mildly, closing the cabin door behind her.

Sierra hmphed and put her books on Zell's lap so that Xu could have a
place to sit. They started speaking softly about the upcoming test.

Zell knew it wasn't polite to eavesdrop on them so he started thumbing
through the stack of books Sierra had given to him. Calculus, blech, he hated
math homework. Advanced biology, fourth edition, bo-ring. Huh? What was this
notebook? He turned it to the side and then around completely, literally
trying to make heads or tails of it. Wah! He didn't even recognize what
*language* this was in, and he was supposed to know it for the written exam?!

"Gimme that!" Sierra snapped angry, taking the notebook from his hands.

"I'm never going to graduate!" He whimpered.

"You've been studying?" Xu asked.

"Is it not one of my required classes?" Sierra replied snidely. "Of
course I studied! And let me say that I think it's rather chicken shit of you
to make me go on this tour when I have the written exam to prepare for."

Everyone was mortified by Sierra taking the Instructor to task. Xu had
long ago grown accustom to the Trabian's brash comments. Xu had come a long
way towards curbing Sierra's more vocal outbursts, but there was still the
occasional relapse.

"The tour had to be moved up to accommodate President Deling's schedule.
I would have preferred to do it during the break as I originally planned.
Either way, you shouldn't complain. You're getting out of the Garden for two
weeks and then you'll have a break afterwards," Xu reasoned.

"Hmph, like things will turn out that ideally."

Xu shrugged. "Consider the exhibitions as study breaks then. As we've
discovered, it doesn't matter where you sit when you have reading to do."

Sierra glowered at the reminder. She was use to studying in the training
room, but she didn't have to like it. Xu tapped the notebook with a fingertip.
"I'll quiz you on this later."

"Fine," she said on the end of a sigh.

The students remained respectfully silent until Xu left the cabin. After
Jordan and Red had gone back to their individual tasks Zell nudged Sierra.

"Hey, what class is that notebook for?"

"Languages," Sierra grumbled before flipping it to the page she was
working on and began softly reading the page aloud. Zell was unsuccessful in
trying to pick it out. Sierra was ignoring him now. He looked out the window
and tried not to distract her from her studies.



Xu had developed two routines depending upon their audience: potential
student or potential client. The student routine was the easier of the two.
She encouraged the team members to be more open during their demonstrations,
not as though they were being inspected for any flaw they might have.

The drill team's first stop on the tour was an inner-city school in
Dollet. It was a good place to start in Xu's opinion. Going to a school in
the afternoon would allow the team to get over their jitters before they
performed in front of Dollet's elite that evening.

The student routine called for as much speaking as demonstration. She
wanted to tell the students about how good the Garden's schooling was. She
also allowed volunteers from the audience to come forward and take part in the
demonstrations. Simple things like one of the cadets disarming a student and
then Xu showing them how to cadet did it went a long way towards creating a
lasting impression.

When the time they were allotted was drawing to a close Xu allowed the
students to ask the cadets questions. She had expected them to ask questions
like "What's life like in the Garden?" not to test their knowledge of world
politics. The Dollet students were a bright lot and determined to size up
their foreign guests.

Xu couldn't express the quiet pride she felt as each of the cadets
fielding the students' questions and answered them to the students'
satisfaction. Even Zell gave the impression of a well-trained intellect when
the student who quizzed him happened to focus on the geography of the Timber
region. Xu realized it was a happy coincidence that the student had chosen
that topic. It was one that Sierra had drilled Zell on the most. There was a
gleam in his eyes at meeting the challenge. He was a SeeD cadet and proud of
it.

"You weren't ready for that, were you?" Nym teased after they left the
school.

"SeeDs are ready for anything," Xu reminded. "I just wasn't expecting
it."

The performance for Dollet's political elite didn't involve a question and
answer session for the cadets. Instead they demonstrated more advanced skills;
up to having Red perform a weak summoning of Shiva against a watermelon. The
frozen fruit was then shattered by a round Sierra shot into it from across the
stage. Every technique was performed with a precision that would instill the
utmost confidence in SeeD's ability to get the job done.

There was a soiree afterwards that the cadets weren't invited to attend.
(Since they weren't, Nym and Myn took them out for a tour of the city instead.)
Xu would have liked for them to have the opportunity to mingle. Unfortunately
the Duke's chief of security wouldn't allow such a thing. 'Brash' cadets with
the ability to cause mayhem wouldn't be allowed near the Duke. He didn't say
that in so many words, but when it came to the coy game Dollet referred to as
'etiquette' she knew better than to balk.

NORG had done her a favor by giving her a list of the people it expected
her to hobnob with. That encouraged her to research Dollet's peerage system so
that she wouldn't inadvertently offend someone.

In her opinion the system was a terrible mess of ranks and titles that
made Galbadia's pompous air seem relaxed. The Duke was the head of state, but
not really. The Prime Minister and Parliament controlled the government, and
thus held the true power. People of noble rank were respected, but didn't seem
to have much power behind them. The lands that they used to hold were seized
when Galbadia pushed Dollet back to the eastern coast. The Barons were no
longer obligated to raise an army for the Counts, nor were the Counts
responsible to the Duke for the fall harvest.

The police maintained the domestic defense of Dollet, but the country
simply didn't have the resources to go on the offensive or to defend itself if
it were attacked again. It was that latter possibility that NORG wanted Xu to
remind them of. The world may be at peace today, but that could always change.
Xu disliked the idea of feeding their fears, but any perceptive leader would
have already saw their weakness and have options in mind should something
happen.

How peaceful Dollet was after the beating they'd taken at the hands of
Galbadia was a testament to the country's leadership. Dollet had gone from
having control of the entire northern half of the continent to being the
smallest country in the world. They could have easily turned into another
Timber (and would have every right to after what they suffered) but the Duke
wisely turned them away from that path. He rebuilt his country with what he
had and life went on.

Xu couldn't imagine every person in Dollet being content with letting
bygones be bygones. Those seeking revenge would have likely joined the Timber
resistance by now. The Duke didn't tolerate warmongering in his country, but
Timber actively sought out those who wished to menace Galbadia's army. It was
probably for the best that the Duke rid himself of the rabble-rousers
considering that Galbadia could easily eliminate Dollet if Deling set his
sights on holding the entire eastern coast.

The newslinks Xu had read while looking up Dollet's nobles had countless
rumors about the Duke cutting a deal with Galbadia so that his dukedom wouldn't
be crushed. There was no solid evidence that supported that theory, but it
would seem to make sense. Galbadia hadn't given any quarter to the monarchs
who once ruled Dollet. How could a Duke slip through Galbadia's fingers?

Such rumors were intriguing, but really had nothing to do with the tour.
What she learned she filed away for later consideration. Meeting the nobles
and politicians in person helped to put their personalities in perspective.
Some lived up to the personae that the newslinks gave them, and others were
quite different.

When she went to bed that night Xu felt satisfied with how the day had
gone. She didn't know how many potential students she'd interested into
looking at the Garden, but NORG should be pleased.



'Cid hasn't gone out of his way to make this mission any easier,' Kei
reflected as she shifted in the saddle of the Chocobo she rode.

"Go to Centra and investigate the Cape of Good Hope." That's all he told
her. He didn't indicate what she was looking for, or do more than circle on a
map where the Cape was. She wanted to arrange to have a ship take her there
directly, but he staunchly refused, citing that it was a secret location that
only a few people knew about. No, she'd have to take the weekly transport down
to the Anshin lands, borrow a Chocobo, and *ride* there.

Blech, she hadn't ridden a bird in years, not since she moved up north.
Her butt hurt to say the least.

It was her second day out and she still hadn't found any signs of what she
might be looking for. *Any* structure in this dreary landscape would stick out
like a sore thumb, she just had to keep searching.



It was a long train ride from Dollet to Deling City. Xu used the time to
tutor Sierra privately. They began with some practice in conversational Anshin
before they moved along to working in their Puzzle Stones.

A couple days ago Sierra noticed that some pools of color corresponded
with where known magic draw points were. Though they were practiced in moving
the streams of energy around, they hadn't found a way to tap it. They
practiced tracing the streams to where other draw points may be. The results
were mixed, but more often than not they found at least a shallow point where a
couple castings could be drawn from. Xu proposed that it might be possible to
relocate where a point was entirely.

Every SeeD knew that Guardian Forces were tied in with magic use. It
fascinated Xu to explore in greater depth how they were related. Junctioning
with certain GFs allowed a person to 'see' the pools of magic that they usually
weren't able to. And yet... This was nothing new to the elders of the Anshin.
They've known how to read and manipulate the streams of magic for generations.
Such knowledge would be revolutionary in the north, but they haven't come out
and shared it!

The thought of how much the two cultures could learn from each other
caused Xu to feel a pang of guilt towards Sierra. There really was no way to
make things right by her family. The most Xu could do was to encourage Sierra
to grow and reach for her dreams, not dwell on her grandfather's.



It was many of the cadets' first time in Deling City. For that reason Xu
had left time in their schedule for them to explore the city. She trusted them
to not get into trouble if they didn't go off by themselves and that they be
back to the hotel by curfew. Most of the cadets decided to explore the
shopping district. Xu tagged along since that's where Sean's family's home
was.

When Sierra dutifully followed her towards the weapons shop with Zell in
tow she turned around and said, "You don't have to stick with me today. If you
want to go off somewhere with Zell that's okay."

"Thanks," Sierra said, "I'm going to the junk shop. The trigger of my
shotaxe has been sticking lately and I hear this shop is one of the best in the
city."

"It is," Xu confirmed.

"Hey, good thinkin', Sierra! I can have the stud that came off my glove
replaced while we're there." Zell pulled his gloves out of his back pocket.

Sean's father was at the counter when the three of them entered. "Xu!
When I heard that the Balamb Garden drill squad was in town I wondered if you
were going to stop by." He came from around the counter and gave her a hug in
greeting. "Will you stay for dinner?"

She nodded before backing away politely. "I believe these cadets have
some business with you."

"Ah, yes, yes, what can I do for you?" He peered down at them. Zell
thrust his gloves forward and explained the problem. Sean's father took the
gloves and scrutinized them while humming to himself. "Hmm, yes, this won't
take long to repair. Wait here a moment," he went back behind the counter and
set to work.

Zell shuffled over to where Sierra and Xu were examining a display. "Man,
you must know everyone, 'structor, bein' invited to have dinner with a famous
Weapons Smith and all!"

"You do seem to have connections," Sierra seconded. "Did he make some
weapons for you?"

"Yes. The finest sai in the world in my extremely biased opinion," Xu
confirmed with a prideful glint in her eye.

Sierra read the look and probed deeper. "And why is your opinion
extremely biased?"

"Because she's my daughter-in-law," he rumbled from behind them. Sean's
father proved to be a very stealthy man when he had the mind to be.

He handed the gloves back to Zell. "Since you're one of her students I'll
only charge you 20 gil for the repair."

"Right on! Thanks!" Zell dug into his pocket for his wallet.

"And what can I do for you?" The Weapons Smith turned his large body
towards Sierra.

"Nothing, thanks. Let's go, Zell," she angled towards the door to leave.

"Wait, what about the trigger of your shotaxe?" Xu reminded. "Didn't you
say it was sticking?"

"It's nothing," Sierra assured testily.

"Let me take a look at it," the Master offered, putting his hand out to
receive the weapon.

Sierra shook her head and was nearly to the door when (in Anshin) Xu
ordered her to halt and hand over her weapon for inspection.

"I know you understood me," Xu growled when Sierra didn't immediately
respond to orders.

"I hate it when you do that," she complained bitterly, removing her weapon
sling and handing it over. "I hate it! Just... stop it, okay!? We use
standard in this country. *Standard*! Not some backwater language that only a
handful of people speak!"

Purposefully ignoring their 'discussion', Sean's father examined the
shotaxe. When there was a lull in the outburst he coughed loudly enough to
catch their attention. "The trigger needs to be replaced. Usually I'd ask to
keep your weapon in the shop for a couple days... But I'll try to have it done
by tonight and send it back with Xu. Is that acceptable?"

Unabashed by the scene she'd created, Sierra brushed her bangs back and
nodded. "Yeah, thank you." She gave him the 50 gil he asked for to cover the
cost of the parts. Without further incident the pair of cadets left the shop.

"Hmm, I see we'll have something to discuss at dinner tonight," the Master
commented wryly while pulling out the parts needed for the shotaxe.



Once they were outside the junk shop Zell's yammering began. "So you're
studying the Anshin language, huh? That's pretty cool; learnin' a language no
one else knows."

"I'm only learning it because Xu's forcing me to. She'll flunk me if I
don't keep up."

"Whoa, that's harsh. Why's she so bent on you learning it?"

"She thinks it'll be good for me," Sierra sneered at the thought before
shaking it off. "What'll be good for me is getting the hell out of Balamb. As
soon as I graduate I'm asking Cid to send me to the furthest posting from
Balamb that he's got."

Zell fell back a step and kicked a stone along the sidewalk. "Really? I
hope he doesn't. I'll miss you if you leave the Garden."

"Don't say such things," she scolded. "We'll all be SeeDs soon enough and
when we are we'll be scattered around the world. It's best not to get attached
to anyone, you know that."

"Yeah, I know," he said on the end of the sigh. The truth was, he
identified with Sierra and admired her. She inspired him to keep studying and
to grow stronger. He didn't know how well he'd do once she was gone. A part
of him feared that he'd begin failing his classes because she wasn't there to
kick his ass into gear.

It would probably be good for Sierra to leave. That'd force him to do it
all on his own without someone riding him. Just like Sierra didn't like Xu
forcing her to learn Anshin. He wasn't going to like Sierra being gone. Life
was full things he wouldn't like, but they'd make him stronger if he overcame
them.



"Keep me company while I work, won't you?" Sean's father said as
disassembled Sierra's shot axe on the bench.

Xu smiled and pulled up a stool. "What have you been up to lately?"

"We've been busy with an order the government placed for two hundred
daggers to be delivered as soon as possible," he gestured for Xu to examine one
of the daggers that he had in the weapons locker. Except for the design of the
grip it was identical to any grunt's general issue weapon.

"Doesn't look like a 2,000 gil dagger, does it?"

"2,000 gil!" Xu breathed. "What on earth makes it that valuable?"

"This," the Master retrieved a small slug of metal from a nearby work
surface and tossed it to her. "The dagger's blade is plated in it. Tell me,
have you ever heard of Doctor Odine of Esthar?"

"I can't say that I have," Xu admitted while examining the slug. It
looked like any other piece of metal to her.

"He's the man who discovered Guardian Forces -- for those of us in the
north, that is," he amended with a chuckle. The Anshin have known of their
existence for generations. "He's also the man who developed the para-magic
technique you make use of to cast magic."

"He sounds like an important fellow. He invented this as well?" She held
up the slug.

Sean's father gave a faint nod before focusing on jimmying the shotaxe's
firing mechanism out of the shaft. "He discovered that the metal you're
holding, with some magical reinforcement, was capable of restraining a
Sorceress's powers. What you have there is enough to restrain all but the most
powerful of magics."

"Amazing, though I wonder what the Galbadian military would need with two
hundred daggers plated in this Odine metal?"

"Ah, that's my girl," he motioned for her to toss the slug back over. "I
am but a simple junk shop owner. The raw materials and daggers were delivered
to my shop after I signed a contract to plate the weapons. I couldn't ask the
courier how the government had managed to import in quantity some of the rarest
and most expensive metal on the planet..."

Xu took the hint. Galbadia was up to something and she needed to keep her
eyes open.

Sean's father got up from his stool and went over to another cabinet. He
pulled out a small sack and a katana. "These are for you and Kei. The
weapons' sheaths will protect you from their effects until they are drawn."

Xu flushed with embarrassment as she accepted the gifts. "You give me new
weapons every time I visit you."

He returned to the bench he was working at before answering. "You're
willing to be Steven's guinea pig but not mine? I had to test the plating
process before I used it on the weapons I'm going to deliver to the client."

He paused.

"And if Galbadia has something up its sleeve I want you to have the same
advantage."

One of Sean's younger sisters, Sarah, came out to the shop to call them in
for dinner. The Smith needed a few more minutes before he would be at a good
stopping point on Sierra's weapon, so Xu went in with the girl.

Xu asked what she had been up to lately. Sarah told her about a recent
Guild workshop that she had attended. The training and weapons hadn't
interested the blooming teen as much as a cute boy who was also in attendance.
Xu asked for more details about the lad, but it was only a passing interest.
All Sarah could tell her about the young man was his physical description and
that he was currently studying at Galbadia Garden.

Xu mentioned that the Garden was the drill team's next stop after Deling
City. Sarah giggled and asked her co-conspirator to pass a message along to
the boy that he admired. It was a silly thing to do, but the SeeD agree to
pass the message along. Sarah wouldn't indulge in childlike crushes forever.
And it would give Xu a chance to meet this boy and see if he was good enough
for Sarah in her over-protective sisterly opinion.



Besides the junk shop, the shopping district didn't hold much interest for
Sierra or Zell. They tried keeping up with Jordan and Nym as they pulled poor
Myn all over the place as a box boy, but it was a futile effort.

Instead of returning to the hotel early they went to the Deling City Zoo.
For whatever reason the monsters in captivity were a large enough draw to catch
Zell's attention and hold it. Privately, Sierra thought it was a stupid idea
to have a zoo full of monsters, especially when she could go beyond the city
limits and be attacked.

"Hey, they've got some Trabian monsters here!" Zell went up to the railing
that seperated man from beast and began reading the placard.

"It's just a Snow Lion," Sierra replied. She had to give the zoo credit
for keeping one of Trabia's most powerful monsters in captivity. She wouldn't
tangle with a Snow Lion unless her life depended on it.

"Yo, check it out, it says here that SeeD helped capture the Snow Lions,"
Zell pointed to the placard excitedly.

"Tch," Sierra spat with disgust. "We're monster ranchers as well?"

"Yeah, ain't it cool? SeeD does all kinds of stuff!" He grinned and then
returned to studying the monster. "Ya know, it doesn't look that happy, does
it?"

"Would you be happy in confinement?" Sierra retorted, giving the monster a
closer examination for the first time. She wasn't any sort of expert on
monsters, but this one really did look under the weather. Its head was
drooping and Sierra doubted that it couldn't muster the energy use its Ice
Breath against someone if it wanted to.

"I wonder if they keep it sedated?" she mused aloud.

"We don't sedate any of the monsters unless they become unruly. We
provide them with an environment that is as close to their natural habitat as
possible," a tour guide who was coming through with a group answered. Zell
gave up his place by the rail so that some school children could get a better
look at the creature.

"Your Snow Lion looks sick," Zell added, trying to join in on their
conversation.

The woman frowned and glanced around to be sure that none of the children
were listening. "We've consulted with a SeeD Blue Mage and she's confirmed
that *something* isn't right with the monster, but we're not sure what. We've
tried a variety of things and none of them see to lift the monster's spirits
for long."

"Is it cold enough in there?" Sierra motioned to the pen with her chin.
"Have you tried recreating the wind chill of Bika?"

The woman nodded with a curious expression on her face. "Yes... You're
not cadets from Galbadia, are you? Your uniform are different, but similar..."

"We're from Balamb, and Sierra here is a Trabia native," Zell explained.
"She knows all about Trabia."

Sierra sighed softly and went back to the rail to watch the Snow Lion. It
really did look pitiful. Poor thing. It would almost be kinder to break
through the glass and put the Snow Lion out of its misery. The pen was large
with space for the Snow Lion to move away from the observation area, a ledge it
could hide under near the back, plenty of food, and undoubtedly fridged
temperatures. It was like the Snow Lion was caught sitting on a pile of dung
and it couldn't get away from the stench...

Sierra blinked as a sudden thought occured to her. Sitting on a pile of
dung wouldn't bother a Snow Lion, but if there were any fire elemental draw
points around here...

She tried to focus on her Puzzle Stone. Using it, she could see what the
magical layout of Snow Lion's cage was. Zell tapped her on the shoulder,
curious to know what she was doing.

"Do me a favor and let me concentrate. I have an idea," she muttered
softly as she tried again to slip into the Stone.

It had never been this hard before to slip into the Stone. Then again,
she'd never tried to do it in a room full of noisy people. This was also the
first time she'd gone in of her own choosing without having Xu or Kei there
goading her along.

The room she stepped into was out of focus, very fuzzy. She watched her
feet as they sunk into the floor and were drawn back out again when she took a
step. Despite the world of the Stone being so disjointed she found what she
was looking for. There *was* a pool of magic in the pen with the Snow Lion.
She stumbled forward as she went towards it to investigate what type of magic
it was. Her fingertips brushed along the searing heat of the pool. This was
probably Firaga or Flare, two of the most powerful fire magics.

Sierra physically fell backwards when she pulled herself out of the Stone.
It took several minutes for her eyes to regain the focus her perfect vision
normally allowed.

"I know why the monster's sick," she scrubbed her face with her hands.
Damn, going in there by herself really messed with her head. "There's a magic
draw point in the pen that's poisoning the Snow Lion. They're Ice monsters to
an extreme. Fire magic of any strength will cause them discomfort."

Zell helped steady her. "You can see invisible draw points? I can't wait
until I'm a graduating cadet like you are! Let's catch up with the lady and
let her know."

Checking the monsters' cages for naturally occuring draw points hadn't
even dawned on the zoo's management. Now that they were alerted to the problem
they were going to contract SeeD to drain any magic that was adverse to the
monsters. Sierra could tell that the manager was hoping she would offer to
take care of the Snow Lion cage for now.

"I can draw the magic that's there, but the pool will probably refill over
time," she explained. She wondered if she should tell him that the pools could
sometimes be moved. If Xu were here she would jump right in and try to move
the pool so that it was at least out of the pen (if not sealed entirely).
Considering how dazed she was from only investigating Sierra didn't trust
herself to be able to move the pool without assistance.

Maybe she would suggest to Xu that they stop by here if they have some
free time tomorrow.



By the time Xu made it back, most of the drill team had already returned
to the hotel. Before she went to her room for the night she stopped by the one
Sierra and Jordan were sharing to drop off Sierra's weapon. Xu was glad that
Jordan was still out; it would give her a chance to speak with Sierra
privately.

The Weapons Master had made a number of repairs and upgrades. Besides
replacing the trigger, he'd added another firing chamber (an upgrade he
insisted had to be done because of the trigger he used). He also added another
pouch to the shotaxe harness that contained some high-grade ammo he was hoping
to raise the distribution of. ("Consider it a professional sample.")

Including all these changes he had also taken it upon himself to give the
weapon a name. 'Raging Dream' was etched faintly into the axe's pivotal head.
Xu had no idea what inspired the name, though she doubted that Sierra would be
pleased that it was written in Anshin.

"The Master will help you if you open up to him," Xu tried to advise as
Sierra examined her weapon.

"Why should I? I doubt I'll ever see him again."

Xu sat herself down on the bed across from Sierra's. "You shouldn't cut
your nose off to spite your face. He understands the ways of the clan and is
experienced in what it's like to be a foreigner among them."

"So is that how you met him? I didn't think you'd been married."

"I am an adopted daughter. His generosity extends beyond his blood family
and reaches out to those he feels kinship with. He's a good ally to have."

Sierra snorted, any feelings of goodwill she felt this afternoon towards
Xu and working together to help the zoo had dissolved. "I don't need allies, I
just need to be out from under you."

"Haven't you learned the importance of friends yet?" Xu chided. "No one
can make it on their own, not even a Sorceress. Draw strength from your
friends and allow them to make you into a better person."

Sierra turned away from Xu and examined her weapon intently. Several
minutes passed before she spoke again. "Would you consider yourself my
friend?"

Without hesitation Xu answered, "I'd like to."

The cadet was saved from having to respond when Jordan slipped into the
room with a bag in each hand. She and Nym had hit the shopping district hard
and were finally returning with their spoils.

"Oh, hey, I'm sorry. Were you studying?" Jordan asked as she placed the
bags onto a small writing table.

Xu shook her head and stood up. "No, I was just about to leave. Rest
well, both of you. Tomorrow's demonstration promises to be exciting."



This was Xu's first time back to the auditorium of the Presidential
Residence since she was a Journeywoman. Recalling how small the dressing room
was, she told everyone to get dressed at the hotel and that they'd do warm-ups
along the way. As they prepared Xu warned them of what they were likely to
encounter.

"The Galbadians want to see a demonstration of prowess and strength. Near
the end we will be doing a five-on-five endurance battle against a team of
Galbadian soldiers. The cadets who will participate will be selected at random
right before the challenge, so be ready for it!"

Xu was pleased by the crispness of the cadets' exercises during the
demonstration. It was important that they made no mistakes because there
wasn't an officer below the rank of lieutenant in attendance. The few glances
she snuck of President Deling reassured her that he was impressed with what he
saw.

Vinzer Deling wasn't the only one who leaned forward in his seat when it
came time for the endurance battle. The rules were simple enough. Each team
consisted of five members. When one member had yielded to their opponent
another team member would step forward to continue the match. Whoever
exhausted their five champions first lost. Xu opted for the fights to be
unarmed, which should make the matches more exciting. (After recalling how
poorly Biggs wielded a sword, she didn't want her cadets to finish off the
soldiers too quickly).

A drawing of names resulted in Jordan taking the first slot, Sierra the
fourth, and Zell would be the team's anchor. Xu would have preferred if Red
had been drawn instead of Zell or if Sierra was the anchor, but that's how the
lot came out. This would be Zell's chance to be a hero if the match went long
enough to get to him.

The first three bouts on each side were one-for-one eliminations. By the
time Sierra came up she was pitted against Galbadia's fourth challenger. The
match was bloody right from the start. Xu winced as the pair exchanged blows
that they would both be feeling in the morning. The match could have gone
either way when Sierra got in a lucky hit that robbed the Galbadian of his
breath. He collapsed to his knees and yielded.

Sierra only had a moment to wipe her face before the next bout began. The
determination in her eyes plainly said that she intended to finish this match
herself. From the sidelines Zell cheered her on. The final soldier had Zell
beat in every physical attribute from weight and height to strength. Sierra
had to take a sizeable chunk out of the soldier's stamina or Zell wouldn't
stand a chance.

A hard punch to the shoulder sent Sierra falling back onto the stage. She
weakly picked herself up and resumed a guarded stance. The soldier gave her a
small nod of respect for her willingness to carry on before he resumed pounding
on her.

In a moment that most people didn't realize was significant, Xu saw the
gathering of Limit energy. Her mouth hadn't even opened to call for Sierra to
pull back when the student had disengaged from the soldier. She bowed her head
for a moment and then collapsed to the ground without her opponent laying a
hand on her.

Zell was the first one to Sierra's side, a defensive reaction to protect
his friend from the person who had hurt her.

"She's asleep," he called back to Xu. Nym and Myn went out onto the stage
to carry the fallen cadet to the sidelines.

"It's just you and me, runt," the soldier chuckled before putting his
fists up.

"You're the luckiest man alive," Zell growled, brushing his thumb across
his nose, egging the Galbadian on.

"You got that right," he swung at Zell, who skillfully dodged the punch.
Their match was by far the most entertaining of the five. Most of the
spectators had given the win to the Galbadian as soon as they saw how small
Zell was, but they underestimated how much Sierra had taken out of the soldier.
It didn't hurt that Zell had the endurance of a Chocobo and could outlast just
about anyone. He made the soldier work for every hit he landed. Zell didn't
remain still for long during their high-energy match.

The auditorium erupted into cheers when the underdog managed to pull
through with a head butt that took the Galbadian by surprise. The soldier
wasn't able to quickly recover from the daze. Zell could have taken advantage
of the soldier's state, but didn't. It was that small act of mercy that
brought the challenge to a close. Zell was the winner.

"Yo, is Sierra awake?" Zell asked after swallowing down a gulp of water.
Victory didn't matter as much as making sure that his team members had pulled
through the battle.

"Yeah, and I see that you've started to use your head," Sierra drawled,
removing the compact that she had against her swelling eye. "Damn that guy hit
hard. I'd rather cut them down with my shotaxe or use magic. I don't know how
you can stand fighting unarmed."

He crouched down beside her to get a better look at the lumps she'd
suffered. All five of the cadets required the liberal use of Cure magic to get
them back on their feet. Regrettably, magic couldn't relieve all of the aches
that would plague them for the next couple days.

"I'm a simple kind of guy. Learning the sort of weapon techniques you use
is too complicated for me."

"Says he who has taken up gymnastics as a hobby," Sierra retorted lightly.
"You fought well. Thanks for covering me."

That evening there was a reception that, unlike Dollet's elite, President
Deling insisted the cadets attended. He wanted the opportunity to speak with
the students who had performed so superbly. Xu could understand why Deling was
such a powerful man. He was good at making those around him feel important.
He recalled every cadet's name without needing to be reminded. He also asked
thoughtful questions that demonstrated just how intently he was studying their
performance.

"Miss de Ling, I had a question for you if I may?" He smiled charmingly at
those who were also in the small group he joined so that he could speak with
her.

"Yes, sir?" Sierra asked politely. Xu was glad that Sierra realized now
was the time to be on her best behavior.

"At the end of your bout you collapsed. I was curious to know what the
cause was. The soldier you fought wasn't near you when it happened. Had the
fatigue of the battle taken its toll?"

Ah, Xu was wondering if the observant President had caught that or not.
Most people probably wrote it off as Sierra running out of steam and fainting,
but Xu knew better. The cadet glanced over at Xu for permission to speak
freely. Xu gave her a small nod and Sierra explained.

"I was about to Limit. To prevent that I cast a sleep spell on myself."

An expression of mild surprise crossed Deling's face. "I've witnessed the
might of SeeD Xu's Limit. Is yours just as powerful?"

"Even more so," Xu answered with all sincerity. "Miss de Ling did us a
favor when she took herself out of the match. If she had Limited she could
have brought the auditorium down on us."

Deling's eyebrows had migrated up to his thinning hairline. "Is that so?"

"I wish it weren't. I doubt you would ever invite us back if I destroyed
part of your house," Sierra responded with chagrin.



Kei finally arrived the decrepit lighthouse that stood guardian over the
Cape of Good Hope. She had spotted it from a distance and had a hunch that the
lighthouse was her final destination.

A row of crumbling pillars led up to a modest stone cottage set near the
coast. To the left of the pillars was an endless field of wild flowers. Kei
had never seen anything like it in Centra. Seeing acres of beautiful flowers
left Kei feeling unsettled when considering the arid wasteland she crossed to
get here.

It didn't appear that anyone had been here for a while judging by how the
outside look. Weeds were starting to poke up through the flagstones that led
to the front door. She went up and knocked. When she received no response she
tested the door handle and found that it was unlocked.

A thin cloud of dust kicked up when Kei swung the door wide open.
Something foul smelling tainted the air. Further investigation turned up a
half eaten meal that was rotting on a table by the window. One of the two
dining chairs was knocked to the floor. The other was backed away from the
table as though its last occupant had gotten to their feet in a hurry.

Kei followed a disheveled trail through the house, past a plant that was
knocked over and through a door that was ajar. The couple that was sharing a
meal had raced through the house for some reason. The ruckus led to the back
porch door, which was still wide open after they'd gone through it.

Judging by the signs she'd seen up to this point Kei was expecting the
worst, but that didn't prepare her for the pair of decomposing bodies she found
in the sand. The smell forced her to push her tunic sleeve up to her face as
she went closer to investigate. The deceased were two adults -- one male, one
female -- both dressed in white uniforms. It wasn't difficult to determine how
they died. Shredded tunics and long lacerations to the torso indicated that
they'd been run through with an edged weapon.

Kei felt a twinge of relief when she returned to her Chocobo for her
camera. There was no doubt in her mind that this was what Cid had sent her to
Centra to investigate. But who were those people and who or what killed them?

Alexander made his presence known in the back of her mind. Taking a few
minutes to speak with the GF would give her a chance to shake this feeling of
dread.

"You summoned me?" Kei quipped as Alexander separated himself from the
darkness surrounding them.

There was no humor in the Guardian's expression. "A grave injustice has
transpired here. You must report the SeeDs' deaths. Don't delay for even a
moment. As soon as you've performed their final rites make haste to Balamb."
He bowed respectfully and dissipated back into the darkness.

"Wait, those two were SeeDs...?"

Kei came out of her meditations with her thoughts even more troubled.
She'd have to bury the bodies after she was done documenting the scene. Then
she could hurry back to the Anshin compound. If she hauled ass she should be
able to catch the transport that will arrive in three days. With how sluggish
the repairs of the HD lines tended to be she couldn't count on them to be
available by the time she got back to the compound.

She located a shovel in the shed and quickly dug a shallow grave for the
SeeDs. When she was finished with her grisly task, she knelt to one knee and
said a brief prayer for their spirits to be guided to the Path. "I promise
that when SeeD returns here you will be given a proper burial." She moved to
the head of the gravesite and plunged her katana into the ground to serve as a
marker.

After another respectful moment she walked out front where her Chocobo was
tethered. It nosed her hand with its beak before she mounted. "Come on,
Little One, we need to hurry back."

It wasn't until she could no longer see the lighthouse that the memory
tickling her recollection came to surface. She'd heard of the Cape of Good
Hope before, but couldn't remember from where. The SeeD was sadly certain that
the abandoned residence was Quistis' Centra orphanage.



"Would it pain Martine *that much* to send a car?" Xu muttered darkly as
she led the group down the road towards Galbadia Garden. The Headmaster knew
there was going to be a group of them arriving and that they had two weeks
worth of luggage with them. It was enough to make her want to run ahead, steal
a car from the Garden, and drive back to pick up the cadets.

Sierra nodded every time Zell pointed out something that caught his eye.
Before long the outline of Galbadia Garden was in the distance. As they
approached Sierra become less enchanted with it. It lacked the billowing
curves, flowing water, and surrounding plant life of Balamb. On the other
hand, this Garden did seem to be a product of its environment with the facade
of the building complex done in shades of dusty red. A none-too-inviting
serpentine head rose above the main gates. Sierra found herself already
missing the calming blues that decorated Balamb's compound.

"Kinda ugly, ain't it?" Zell remarked.

Sierra's interest went from the Garden to a small group of monsters that
were on an intercept course with them. She couldn't even fathom the oddity of
one of them. It was like a flat pendulum swinging back and forth in the air.
Her hand subconsciously sought out her weapon. No matter the nature of the
monster, she was ready to defend herself.

And just as she had herself psyched up for a fight one of the monsters
fell to the ground inexplicably. A moment later another one fell. Sierra
(along with everyone else) was at a loss to explain what was happening.

It wasn't until they were at the perimeter gate that it finally made
sense. A jerry-rigged crow's net was set atop the wall with a marksman sitting
within. They couldn't see more of the sniper than the cowboy hat that he wore
on his head.

Sierra would have stopped to question the sniper further, but the group
kept her moving into the Garden proper.

"*This* is Galbadia Garden?" Zell asked, twisting around so that he could
take in the grandeur of the facility around him. He was the most dazzled of
the visiting cadets. Everyone else was anxious to get settled into their rooms
and rest after their tour of Deling City.

Xu wasn't opposed to the idea of resting herself. She could easily spend
the evening with a book or, more likely, chatting with Quistis. But before
that, she wanted to take the cadets down to the training room so that they
could familiarize themselves with the facilities.

Master Pan was waiting for her and her gaggle with a demonstration of his
own. He wanted to match his latest Journeywoman against Xu's drill team.

"I've never seen anything quite like it," Xu admitted while watching
Rascal Jett perfectly mimic the kata Zell had just performed. It was a routine
that no one outside of the drill team would know since it was developed
especially for them.

"Hmph," Sierra was less than impressed and left the group that was
watching Rascal. Jordan just shook her head, and soon the entire team had
dispersed to explore the Garden on their own.

Pan asked Xu to take Rascal on as a student, but the SeeD wasn't sure what
she had to offer the Journeywoman. Her skills were already on par with that of
a graduating SeeD cadet.

"Let me think on it," Xu replied. "You are my Master. In theory you've
taught your student all that you've taught me. What else is there?"

"There is what he did not teach you," Rascal answered, her intense eyes
could be seen from behind her mask. It was hard for Xu to even establish with
certainty what sort of build Rascal had because of all the obstructive clothing
she wore. The costume was so... gaudy... the scarves, and beads, and whirling
colors. Half of Xu's amazement came from Rascal being able to fight in such an
outfit at all!

Pan lowered his voice, "You know the Puzzle Stone and you know Anshin
magic."

"You can teach her the Stone," Xu replied. "In fact, it may be better to
learn it that way. I've come to understand that the Anshin method is
restrictive of the holder's creativity."

"I would like to study under you," Rascal said in a tone that was almost
pleading.

"My hands are already full..." Xu gestured to where the members of the
drill team had been.

"She may not be convinced until she knows..." Pan said in an aside to
Rascal. The young Mime nodded her head in agreement and the three of them went
to Pan's office to discuss the matter in private.

Once the door was closed and the blinds pulled, Pan began.

"Mimes are a special case within the Guild. When a person chooses the
life of a Mime they give up their old life -- friends, family, identity -- to
devote themselves to the study of Guild arts. They often take up foolish names
that are clearly not their own. Everything you see is a facade to disguise the
true Weapons Master within."

"So it is not without hesitation that I remove my mask," Rascal continued.
"I must know, on your word as a Master, that you will not tie the past back to
me -- that you will tell no one of who I was."

"You have my word," Xu agreed after giving the request due consideration.
She wouldn't make such a promise lightly.

Xu's eyes widened, and she nodded quickly to acknowledge that she
recognized the former West Hills student, Anya. "Why did you... switch to this
type of training?" If Xu recalled correctly, Anya was close to becoming a
Master. Another year of study under Mistress Niethe and she would have had it.
Why give that up and essentially start over?

"I was approached by the Master of the Mimes, which is a great honor.
Only those whom he considers to be the very best are selected. When I am
finished, I will be one of the greatest Weapons Mistresses in the world. Such
an opportunity is more than I could have ever hoped for," Rascal explained.

The Master of the Mimes, a Master no one knows except for those he
recruits to join him. He is the only one who can determine when his Journeymen
have completed their training. Since they spent most of their time studying
under other Masters, they didn't see him all that often.

"I can respect wanting to be the best," Xu replied with a touch of a smile
tugging at the corners of her lips. "I'm still not sure what I can teach you.
This Anshin magic Pan keeps speaking of is an enigma I have yet to unravel
entirely. I can, however, show you some interesting things I've learned while
working within my Puzzle Stone. I've discovered that they are a more useful
tool than I once thought."

With Rascal's thanks Xu left the training room to find Quistis. After a
bit more discussion, Rascal left Pan's domain as well. Pan left his office and
went to the main floor to observe the students who were currently sparring.

Five minutes passed...

Then ten...

And finally...

"How long are you going to sulk in that damn corner," Pan taunted without
directly addressing his shadow.

The student came forward. He was in his mid-teens and his body had yet to
fully make the transition from boy to man. A cowboy hat sat on his head of
roguishly curly hair. A simple band tried to keep the mane in place trailing
down his back. Already Irvine Kinneas fancied himself as a lady's man. The
thought made Pan laugh, though his assertion couldn't be entirely discounted.
He did have his group of admirers.

"I got thirteen monsters with 30 bullets," he reported with a touch of
pride.

Pan shook his head. "You call that the work of a marksman? You should be
one for one."

Irvine scowled. "Belhelmels take at least two shots. One to make them
stop swinging and another to finish the job."

"That's a weak excuse. I'm surprised that you would even offer it.
You'll go out there again tomorrow with 15 bullets. I expect the same number
of kills." Pan gave Irvine a disapproving look and left to correct the stance
of some other students.



Even though Quistis had seen Xu not long ago, Xu hadn't been in a very
social mood then. (Having one's most prized training facility turned to rubble
tends to do that). Now Xu was determined to make up for the lost opportunty
and insisted that Quistis show her around. One of the first places they went
was to Quistis' classroom. Sure, it didn't look any different than any other
Instructor's, but this realm of learning was hers to control.

"Are there any promising SeeD cadets in your class?" Xu inquired as they
meandered towards the Cafeteria for dinner.

"A few, yes," Quistis confirmed. Near the end of the term it was easy to
tell who was likely to pass the written exam and who wasn't. "One of my best
students isn't a SeeD cadet through. He's an officer cadet named Wedge. I
tried to convince him to change allegance, but he wouldn't go for it."

A slight disapproving scowl crossed Xu's features. "A SeeD Instructor is
training Galbadia cadets...?"

"Wedge is the exception to the rule, I assure you," Quistis explained
quickly. "He outstripped his Galbadian teachers a couple years ago. He's
smart, observant, thoughtful in his questions. Heh, I'm the only Instructor on
staff that is able to challenge him.

"And.." she continued more softly, "it's kind of nice to have someone to
speak with who understands what I'm saying..."

"Yes, I'm sure it is," the senior SeeD allowed with modest sympathy.
Quistis would always be in search of an intellectual equal. Xu wouldn't scold
her if she managed to find one in the uniform of a Galbadian officer.



Kei didn't let up from the gallop her Chocobo ran at until she was nearly
to the Anshin compound. She amused herself with the thought of setting a land
speed records with how quickly she raced from one end of Centra to the other.
Monsters weren't known to attack Chocobos to begin with, but if any had gotten
the idea in their heads they would have been hard pressed to catch up the bird
and its rider.

The SeeD was hot, sticky, and had a single pressing thought on her mind.

"Is the HD back up?" Kei called to the first person she saw after she
passed through the Chocobo gate.

The stableman shook his head.

"Has the weekly transport left yet?"

"They just arrived and are currently unloading cargo."

Kei led her mount towards the stables and handed him over to the waiting
keeper. "You've served me well," she stroked the Chocobo's head before setting
out to find the transport captain. He would likely be with the elders going
over the ship's manifest.

Her guess was on the mark and she approached the captain after he and the
head elder were finished with their business. "Would it be possible for you to
divert to Balamb before you go to Dollet? SeeD will pay whatever fee you
require."

The captain was caught off guard by such a request. No one had ever asked
him to divert his route before. His was a cargo ship that occasionally carried
passengers. "Normally I'd be open to the idea, but you aren't the only person
seeking passage this trip. I can't change our route for a single person."

"Captain," the head elder had overheard Kei's request and came over to
smooth the way. "If the Spirit requests to go to Balamb, then your Anshin
passengers will go to Balamb."

The captain seemed dubious that people would be so forgiving about a
change in their travel plans.

"I wouldn't make this request if the HD wasn't still down, but I must
return to Balamb as soon as possible!" Kei insisted.

The elder studied her intently. "Did you discover a dangerous monster
during your travels?"

"You could say that," Kei hedged, unwilling to disclose what little she
knew of her discovery.

"Captain, if you require payment before taking the Spirit to Balamb, we
will provide it. Please depart as soon as possible."

The captain scratched the back of his head while shaking it. "No
payment's required, elder. If everyone agrees to a detour then we'll go to
Balamb as fast as my ship will take us."



Sierra wouldn't have imagined herself in such a situation if it weren't
for Xu dragging her along wherever she went. Currently she was seated on the
floor of Galbadia's training room with its Master, the Mime, Xu, and herself in
a circle. She'd gotten used to sitting on the floor when having these little
"stone" sessions, but why did Xu have to drag so many people into it? The fact
that Sierra was even taking part of this exercise embarrassed her greatly.

"I'd like you to help lead Rascal," Xu directed. "Your training has been
unorthodox from the start. Your prompting may open the way for Rascal to
experience greater variety in how she uses the Stone."

Sierra rolled her eyes. She didn't want to have anything to do with this
and the fact that Xu was going to pull her in one way or another annoyed her.

"Just do what they say and it'll work out," Sierra advised Rascal after
being poked in the side by Xu.

The place where the four of them met within the realm of the Stone was a
mockup of Balamb's training room (since Xu was the focus during this session).
Pan took a moment to study his surroundings before giving his approval. When
it came to Guild matters, he would always examine everything Xu did with keen
interest.

With Sierra's help Xu demonstrated how to find pools of color and what
could be done with them. The Mime was extremely interested in this. She
absorbed every word that came from their lips like a sponge to water. Pan was
intrigued as well since it was an application of the Stone that he had never
seen before.

"Is this Anshin magic?" the Mime asked.

Xu shrugged. "Is it exclusive to them? Probably not, but they do
actively practice it from what I understand. The elders have always emphasized
that having a balance in ones surroundings created a balance in life. I never
understood how it worked until I saw the pools of magic that are all around us
naturally."

Once Rascal and Pan were comfortable with influencing the colors around
them, Xu released her control of their mutual reality and let Sierra influence
it. The change in setting was a surprise to them all. Sierra had meant to
take them somewhere noncommittal; like Balamb Garden's Quad. But when one was
within the Stone even a fleeting thought was enough to radically change the
surroundings.

Nothing could match the vista Summit enjoyed. The endless snow spread
out like a blanket across the valley below and made the Garden complex stick
out like a button. The cold that usually reigned didn't hold sway here and any
shivering was purely psychological.

Rascal gave a low, appreciative whistle. "The view is remarkable."

"I must admit that I've never seen anything like it," Pan concurred.
"Where are we?"

"Trabia," Xu answered when it became obvious that Sierra was lost in her
thoughts.

Wordlessly, Sierra knelt down and could *feel* the snow beneath her
fingertips. Even if this was a conjecture of her mind and magic, she very much
wished it were real. When would be the next time she could visit home and hike
up here? She closed her eyes ruefully when she realized that the next
opportunity could be *years* from now. When she graduated (she had no doubt
that she would) she would be deployed and that was that.

'This is the place that is closest to my heart,' Sierra thought wistfully
as she looked out over the horizon. There was no other place on the planet
that she would rather be.

Xu crouched down next to her and whispered, "Homesick?"

Sierra's eyes darted over to the SeeD. She stood up and smoothed her
skirt out before taking firm control of their mutual reality. "Sorry," she
said simply before changing things back to a definitionless void that was often
the starting point within the Stone.

At Xu's prompting Rascal took a turn at controlling their surroundings.
The rest of the session was lost on Sierra. Her thoughts still lingered on
Trabia even though her body was thousands of kilometers away. After their
session Xu gave the cadet leave for the rest of the evening. Obviously Sierra
wanted to be alone right now.

Xu meandered in the direction of the dormitory. It was early enough in
the evening that cadets would still be out of their rooms chatting and working
on projects in the study lounge. She hadn't expected to find anyone she
recognized, but was glad to see that Quistis was making the rounds to offer
unsolicited help.

The young Instructor had never once asked Xu for advice when it came to
handling problem students or difficult situations. Xu wondered if Quistis made
use of the same resources she had when she was earning her teaching
credentials. Even though Quistis was the same age (if not a year or two
younger) than her students, Xu could see the respect that the held for her.

Quistis had done well for herself, better than Xu realistically expected.
It's never easy to gain the respect of those who may not give it because of
rank alone. The problem was one Quistis had encountered when she first entered
Balamb Garden as a student and her classmates resented her for her sharp mind.
Xu had feared a repeat with Quistis' students resenting her for her rank.
Having defeated the demon of jealousy once before undoubtedly helped her with
this situation.

Xu sincerely believed that Quistis would be one of Balamb Garden's
greatest Instructors.



The informal demonstration Martine wanted was child's play when compared
to the more difficult exhibitions the team had given up to this point. That's
not to say that Martine wasn't as harsh of a judge, simply that the team had
gone through the routine so many times that they could perform it in their
sleep.

It was an open exhibition in the large auditorium that anyone who wished
to attend was invited to. Afterwards, under Pan and Xu's watchful eyes, the
Balamb and Galbadia cadets sparred with a sizable crowd staying behind to watch
the action. To Martine, this was the most interesting part of the
demonstration.

If one were keeping score (which Martine most certainly was) the Balamb
cadets had just taken a two-to-one win advantage over their Galbadia brothren.

"Once again Balamb Garden humiliates me with the quality of their
personnel," Martine drawled. "Master Pan, can't you do something about this?"
The Headmaster waved his hand at the students who were sparring.

"It I only had a dozen students to train who were potential Journeyman to
begin with and could drill to the point Xu has, then yes, you'd also have
cadets like these ones," Pan explained without any resentment or bitterness in
his tone. Both trainers knew that the students Xu had brought with her were
the cream of the Balamb crop. If Pan had the resources he could create a team
like hers and then it would be a true competition to see whose cadets were
better.

Martine made a disgruntled noise deep in the back of his throat. "Fine,
Balamb has the better cadets as well as Instructors. When you return, tell Cid
to throw me a bone and let me keep Trepe permanently as one of my staff. It's
the least he can do to allow me the chance to catch up!"

"I'll pass that along," Xu agreed diplomatically. She wasn't sure if
she'd be flattered or filled with dread if she were Quistis and faced with the
prospect of being stationed at Galbadia. No matter what Martine wanted, the
chance of Quistis remaining beyond her contracted time was a remote one at
best. No, Quistis was a Balamb SeeD through and through.

Martine retreated from the auditorium with a rain cloud over his head.
Once the dour man was gone the two Masters were free to discuss training
techniques as much as wanted without interruption. Pan had attented a Guild
confrence recently and she was curious to know the lastest buzz within the
Guild.

Her discussion with Pan reminded Xu that she meant to seek out Sarah's
crush while she was here. It turned out that Pan had one other Guild student
training under him currently besides Rascal Jett. With the Master's
permission, she decided to find the lad and see just what sort of man he was.



The next morning Xu went to the crow's nest Irvine was practicing from.
She didn't have much time to talk with him before the team caught the train
that would take them back to Balamb. Xu was nearly to the top of the rickety
ladder when she came to a halt. Irvine and a SeeD cadet were enjoying each
other's company instead of shooting down monsters.

Xu sighed inwardly. It wasn't her intention to interrupt them -- she now
had the answer she'd come for -- but the ladder creaked as she went down.

"Irvy!" The female gasped at discovering that they'd been caught. "Oh no!
She might go tell Instructor Sakachi!"

"Don't worry!" Irvine resettled the hat on his head and then slid down the
ladder to catch up with Xu. "Hey!" he called when he hit the ground. Xu
glanced over her shoulder but didn't stop walking. His longer legs and quicker
pace carried him over to her before she could enter the Garden proper.

"Yes?" Xu asked with a touch of annoyance in her tone when he stopped her.

"Please don't tell Instructor Sakachi. It was my fault for distracting
her," he launched into his explanation. Xu cut him off with a sharp gesture.

"It's not my place to reprimand either of you. I just hope you realize
that by neglecting your post people's lives could be at risk. Not everyone is
capable of defending themselves from monsters."

Irvine bowed his head and laughed softly. "It's not the focus of my
training to defend others. I shoot at monsters because they're ranged moving
targets, nothing more."

"It's dangerous to detach yourself from the problems of others like that,"
Xu warned, her eyebrows knitted together in vexation.

"As a sniper I'm already detached from everyone else. I have to be able
to concentrate on a level few can achieve. I can't allow anything to hold me
back from putting all of my will behind a single bullet."

"Is that so?" Xu scoffed. "Then don't let your friend distract you!"

With that Xu turned on her heel and continued into the Garden. Irvine was
left with more to say and no one to say it to. He scratched the back of his
head and then shrugged. "Everyone's got to have an outlet... Geez, and I
thought she said she wasn't going to reprimand me."

Irvine gave up on the disagreeable SeeD and returned to his post where he
sniped monsters for the rest of the morning.



The door was opened to Cid's office for Xu before she stepped inside. She
walked up to his desk, saluted, and glanced about at the room's other
occupants. Kei was seated on the couch to the right. Kadowaki was seated to
the left. A pair of displays gave presence at this meeting to Martine and
Rebecca.

Xu hadn't expected such a gathering when she came up to the Headmaster's
office to report on the drill team's tour. If she had, she wouldn't have
brought the Odine weapons that she held at her side with her. She wanted the
Headmaster's opinion on them since he was more knowledgeable in the ways of the
Sorceresses than she was.

In fact, she had expected Cid to delay her verbal report until tomorrow
since there was no urgency to it. Her assumption wasn't the case, for he'd
sent SeeDs to the station to pick up the team and shuttle them to the Garden as
quickly as possible. She wasn't given the chance to return her bags to her
room. The SeeDs assured that it would be taken care of for her.

"Welcome back, SeeD Xu, I trust that your trip was a safe and successful
one," Cid greeted formally.

"It was, sir," she responded.

"Very good, please sit," he motioned to the couch Kei was on. "Now that
we're all here, we need to make some decisions. SeeD Kei has recently returned
from an investigative mission to the Cape of Good Hope. She discovered that
the orphanage has been abandoned and, even more troubling, she found the bodies
of Edea's two aides."

The news hit Xu like a punch to the stomach. Dead..? She shot a glance
over at her cousin. Kei's face was a mask, even to Xu. The pit in her stomach
grew.

"Were you able to determine the cause or time of death, SeeD Kei?" Rebecca
asked, a thoughtful expression on her face that could easily turn to concern
depending upon Kei's answers.

"I'm not a coroner, but I would say that they had been there for a couple
weeks. The corpses had deep gashes in the body. They were impaled."

"Did you find the weapon?" Rebecca pressed.

"I didn't. There weren't any tracks either, though they could have been
removed by environmental factors."

"Sorceresses aren't known for leaving tracks," Martine said. The visual
pick up did little to dampen the grumpy look of the Galbadia Headmaster.
"Edea's always been a fan of ice lances. In Centra's heat the murder weapon
would be melted long before anyone got there to investigate."

'How could...? How could Edea...? No!' Xu's mind cut off the thought
before it finished forming. She didn't want to believe that the diminutive
woman she'd met not so long ago had murdered her closest confidants. As much
as she didn't want to believe it, that didn't mean it wasn't true...

She felt a pang of guilt deep within herself. She'd questioned Jerrick's
loyalty to the Sorceress... He and Jessica stood by her even though they knew
it would cost them their lives.

"This all confirms what we suspected. Edea has finally gone mad," Martine
leaned closer to the display. "What are you going to do about it, Cid?"

The Balamb Headmaster held up a hand to belay Martine's upcoming outburst.
"We knew that this would happen and planned accordingly. Edea has mentioned on
several occasions how fractured the powers of the Sorceress are. Lacking
rational thought, I would assume that the desire to consolidate that power
would be a driving force in her actions.

"Edea confirmed this possibility before losing herself. We drafted a list
of people we know contain at least some power. It's not a complete list, but
it gives us a place to start. I propose that we deploy SeeDs to protect these
potential targets."

"How many people are we looking at?" Rebecca asked.

"More than two dozen," Cid tapped a few keys on his terminal and sent the
list of identified targets to the two Headmasters.

Rebecca pursed her lips, not liking the potential deployments that her
mind was producing. "Things are going to be tight if we wanted to guard them
all for an unspecified amount of time on the possibility that Edea might attack
them. If we sent our usual squads of three we couldn't cover them all and
maintain our other obligations. And you say that there are more out there that
you haven't identified yet? I'd feel better having some SeeDs in reserve if
that's the case..."

"As usual, you're quick to assess the situation," Cid gave an approving
smile before becoming serious again. "A majority of the these people are
Galbadia nationals. I would like to ask for help from the Galbadian government
in protecting its citizens."

"Sir," Xu politely interrupted the Headmaster. Her voice was hollow, she
was still feeling shaken because of the deaths of the White SeeDs. "I believe
that Galbadia is already gearing up for a conflict against the Sorceress." She
pulled out the sword she brought with her, removed it from its scabbard, and
displayed it to those assembled.

"Galbadia has commissioned the creation of two hundred daggers plated in
the metal Doctor Odine created to contain the Sorceresses. This sword was one
of the prototype weapons the Smith created to test the process," she explained.
"The name for the new class of weapon is 'Mage Masher'."

Cid silently digested this news while examining the sword in her hands.
"Very well. Thank you, Xu," he said after a long pause. "For those who are
under possible threat and are willing, we can temporarily relocate them to the
Gardens."

"And have civilians running around our Gardens?!" Martine protested.

"Martine, every preventative action that could have been taken has been.
This is the next step. If you won't welcome Galbadians into your Garden, then
the citizens of Balamb will!" Kadowaki retorted, speaking for the first time
since the meeting began.

"It might be safer for them at Balamb or Trabia any way," Rebecca added.
"Trabia is the Garden of magic, we have the defenses to give a Sorceress a run
for her money. Balamb has more SeeDs on hand at any time, even after all of
the deployable ones are sent out. Do you have any recommendations on specific
assignments?"

"Hum..." Cid leaned back in his chair to consider the question. "First,
do either of you need reinforcements from Balamb? Protecting the Gardens has
to be our top priority."

"Trabia can take care of herself," Rebecca assured.

"We're fine," Martine seconded.

Cid scanned the list looking for assignments that he could give out now.
"Two of the people are residents of Balamb town. Doctor Kadowaki, would you
please act as the Garden's envoy and convince them that here is a safer place
to be for the time being?"

The Doctor accepted her assignment with a nod.

"Kei, you're returning to Centra," the Headmaster looked up from the list
to meet her eyes. "Your father is the one you'll be protecting. I'm certain
that the rest of the elders would make attractive targets as well. Charter a
vessel and leave as soon as possible.

"The rest of these I'll have to think on. I also need to contact
President Deling. I'll send a message to you both as soon as I have something
more solid."

"We await your directions, Cid," Rebecca spoke for both her and Martine
before the link was cut.

"I'll go to Balamb now and invite our guests here," Kadowaki said after
accepting a print out from Cid.

"I'm going as well," Kei stood up and gave Xu a quick hug. "Sorry I
didn't get to see you longer before running off."

Xu didn't need to tell Kei to protect their families and clansmen. The
look on Kei's face told her that nothing short of Kei's death would allow harm
to come to them. "Be well." She pressed the sheathed sword into Kei's hands
and her cousin bowed her head solemnly.

Cid and Xu remained in the Headmaster's office to figure out how to best
use SeeD's resources. President Deling was more than co-operative when it came
to releasing supplemental forces for SeeD to deploy. His prompt willingness
left Xu feeling ill at ease. Deling wasn't so generous if there wasn't
something in it for him. It was a concern Xu shared after Cid had closed the
com link.

"I agree," he said, reflecting upon his conversation with the President.
"If I had to hazard a guess I would say that he's hoping to make contact with
Edea before we do."

"Why would he want to?" By her reasoning, it wasn't a good idea to seek
out a person whose sanity was highly in doubt.

The Headmaster shrugged. "I can only speculate. Maybe he thinks that
Edea can help him increase his holdings as Adel once did."

"But Adel didn't actively help him," Xu protested. Even if half the world
saw Vinzer Deling as an evil man, he still held some small measure of respect
with most people. Respect that would dissolve quickly if they believed that he
was on the side of a woman who *was* evil to the core.

"They didn't have a signed alliance, no, though it was because of the
opportunities she created that he was able to make the most of the situation.
Who knows for sure? We will be keeping a close eye on him."

It was well past dinner by the time Cid was satisfied with the
assignments. During that time Kadowaki had returned to report her progress.
Both of the Balamb women would be moved into the Garden in the morning. The
Doctor then chided them for not eating and had meals sent up from the
Cafeteria.

Cid placed a hand over Xu's and gave it a firm squeeze. "You're the SeeD
I place in charge of Balamb Garden's protection. I have the utmost confidence
in your ability to assure our safety."

Xu silently bowed her head in acknowledgement. She didn't need to (nor
could she, if she had to) put into words the stirring in her soul at the
responsibility Cid had given her. Carbuncle made its presence known, agreeing
that together they would protect the Garden.

"The written exam is in a couple days. As soon as Sierra de Ling has
graduated I want her sent to Winhill."

Xu didn't correct the Headmaster in assuming that Sierra would graduate.
The cadet was as much of a shoe-in as Xu herself had been. "There aren't any
targets in Winhill. Why send Sierra there when she could join the party going
to Timber?"

"Winhill has suffered greatly at the whims of the Sorceresses. I want the
people there to know that SeeD has not forgotten about them -- especially if
this turns into another Sorceress War."



[Question 1.12]

A man is found laying face down on the ground. What do you do?

A. Go to him and see if he is still alive.
B. Search the immediate surroundings.
C. Ignore him and continue on your way.


'Hmm, a trick question,' Sierra thought as she considered her answer.
They were testing to see what her priorities were. All three answers were
technically correct for different reasons. The humanitarian in her should go
help the man if he's injured. The cautious part of her would want to search
the surroundings to see if whatever caused the man to fall was still around to
do the same to her. And, strictly speaking, if she were to adhere to the
letter of SeeD's contract she would ignore the man since it made no mention of
assisting others along the way. Compassion, prudence, or strict adherence.
Which was the attribute that would score her the most points on this
question..?

The correct answer was B, she decided. Cid was a compassionate man, he
would be disappointed if she turned her back entirely on a bad situation when
she could have easily made a difference. Though, she should make sure the area
was secure (in case of traps or monsters), then see if the man was alive.

She hit the submit key and the next question popped up. She'd been in the
test for under an hour and already it felt like an eternity.



Rascal Jett stood on the platform of the Far East Station waiting for the
train to Deling City to arrive. A few travelers from the Garden milled around
as they also waited. The peacefulness of the morning invited her to lull
herself into quietly reflecting upon what she had learned at Galbadia Garden.
Master Pan was truly an exceptional teacher. She was extremely grateful that
he had been willing to take her on as a student, but now it was time for her to
move on.

Her next stop was a little village along Mandy beach called Paradise. She
had never been there before, but already the name had set her standards high
for the place. Even if Paradise didn't live up to its name she would be happy
if the throwing darts Mistress who lived there consented to training her.

The train pulled into the station and settled to a halt. Arriving
passengers streamed out before the departing ones were allowed to board.
Rascal found herself sitting alone in a passenger car when the train was ready
to disembark. She expected the conductor to soon come through and nudge her to
join her fellow passengers in another car, so she savored the privacy she had
now before that happened.

The door between cars behind her slid open and shut again. Rascal bowed
her head and hoped the conductor would let her be if he thought she was asleep.

"Anya..." A woman's voice said from beside her seat. The Mime ignored the
woman by refusing to look up at her. Anya wasn't a name she answered to any
longer.

"Do you know why you are a Mime?" The woman persisted. A chill drove down
Rascal's spine and her eyes flicked over at the woman standing in the aisle.
She was a slender wisp in a long gown that followed the curves of her body.
The headgear she wore was just as outlandish as any Mime's.

"Who are-?"

The woman put a grotesquely long finger up to her purple colored lips to
silence her.

"Did you know that Mimes are chosen because they hold within themselves a
fragment of a Sorceress's powers? That wonderful ability of yours to
effortlessly mimic anyone's skills does not belong to you, my dear." The woman
reached out her frightful hand to stroke along Rascal's cheek. "It belongs to
me!"

The woman's eyes lit up with the finality of her intentions as a shard of
ice pierced Rascal's chest. The stunned Mime's eyes went wide as the deathblow
securely fastened her to her seat. A faint aura was released from the still
warm body. Sorceress Edea held her hand out to draw the power to her.

This was one of the more powerful Mimes she had located thus far, but
still barely worth the effort. No matter. Purging the world of the false
Sorceresses with only a tenuous claim to her proud heritage was the important
part. Once the power had been consolidated, then she could carry out the next
part of her plan.

Edea turned away from the dead Mime and walked down the aisle into a
portal of her own creation. When the conductor came through 15 minutes later
to collect tickets he had a grisly surprise in store.



[Question 6.15]

Which of the following magic / items can be used to refine Curaga magic?


Sierra worked through the test with little thought going into her answers.
The correct responses were drilled into her to the point of reflex. Question.
Answer. Cause. Effect. It was so systematic. She could be out of her mind
and still know what to do. It was like it was a part of her, hard wired into
her brain.


[Question 7.4]

What factors contribute towards speeding up the time it takes for a
Guardian Force to reply to a summons?


Why was she here? To answer questions?


[Question 7.7]

What magics are available for drawing from the monsters that populate
Mandy Beach?


Didn't she enter the SeeD program so that she could see the world? How
could she do that if she died fighting a monster on Mandy Beach?


[Question 7.10]

Which monsters would you seek out if you were looking for Magic Stones?


She'd never meant to cross paths with an Anshin, but she had, and the
meeting allowed her the chance to air the injustice her family suffered.
Wasn't that enough?


[Question 7.13]

Why would you not cast a Reflect spell while battling a Ruby Dragon?


So why was she still here..? Both Xu and the Headmaster said that they
wouldn't let her leave until she had decided what to do with her life. She
still didn't know for sure, but she had a fairly good idea of what she *didn't*
want to do with it.


[Question 8.3]

Which spell and Guardian Force combination is most effective if you want
to make yourself immune to Bio, Darkness, and Silence?


She tapped the answers in without even seeing them. Instinctively knowing
what she was expected to say.

This was ridiculous.

She put her hands on the edge of the terminal and pushed herself up. The
other cadets taking the exam didn't even notice her as she walked towards the
front of the room. The Shumi proctor shook its robes in a disapproving manner.
She hadn't signaled that she was finished with her test, thus she shouldn't
have left her seat. Without pausing to explain herself she brushed past it and
out the door.

The junior classmen outside tried to stop her to ask what her score was,
but she shoved by them as well. They looked around, confused as to what they
should mark her down as. Zell ran up to her. He wanted to hear that Sierra
had passed, but was prepared to offer condolences if she hadn't.

What a silly game they all played.

"Sierra? What's wrong?" Zell kept pace with her as she strode towards the
lift.

"Xu's the Assistant Headmaster, right?"

Zell paused, caught off guard by the question. "Well, yeah, but she's
just Xu, right?"

"Right," Sierra pressed the close door button before Zell could get in.

Never before had things felt so right. There was almost a spring in her
step as she made her way to Xu's office. Finally... Finally she understood
what her grandfather wanted for. It was a type of freedom she couldn't
appreciate until she found it within herself.

The door to Xu's office was open with the Instructor studying her
terminal's display. Sierra knocked on the doorframe to announce her arrival.
Xu glanced up and waved her in before she put the finishing touches on her
handiwork.

"What can I do for you?"

"Assistant Headmaster," she snapped a textbook salute before releasing it.

That caught Xu's attention. She motioned for Sierra to close the door
behind her before continuing.

"I've come to tender my resignation from the SeeD program." Sierra never
took her eyes away from the ones that matched her own. Both of Xu's eyebrows
arched up as surprise registered across her features.

"You took your written exam today, didn't you?" Xu turned to her terminal
and pulled up the real time results from the test. "Even if you did fail, we
can work out a tutoring program that will cover the areas that you're weak..."
Her voice trailed off when she saw Sierra's scored test. "You didn't finish,
but you still passed."

"Yes, I know."

"Then why..?"

"While taking the test I realized how blind I've been. I joined the SeeD
program in Trabia because it seemed to be the next step. That's what all the
junior classmen were doing. And when I transferred here, it's because that was
where the SeeD program led. The entire time I've let the current carry me
without putting any efforts into setting my own course.

"This isn't what I want. Sure, I can make it as a SeeD, but that doesn't
mean that I should be one. There are other things I want to do with my life
that I may not be able to if I go as I have been. Being killed or disabled
could bring a quick end to many of my dreams.

"So, I quit. I resign. I'll go pack my bags and get out of your hair.
You've put up with me for far longer and with more patience than any person
should."

Xu rubbed the bridge of her nose briefly. "I'm sorry to hear you say
that. Not only would you have made a fine SeeD; I'm going to miss your
company."

Sierra's expression didn't change at that admission. After all the
fighting and yelling, they shared a bond that would be missed by both.

"You'll need to speak with the Headmaster before your resignation is
official," Xu continued.

"Can't you make it official? You're the next in line after all." Sierra
didn't want to face the Headmaster with this. Telling Xu was hard enough.

Xu nodded her head slowly. "I can, but I don't want to accept it."

"You have to step on my tail one more time, eh?" Sierra's mouth quirked
into a half-smile.

"I want you to have the chance to think about this before going through
with it. I think you should take the field exam before you reach a decision.
You've come a long way to give up when you're so close to the finish line."

"Fine, I'll take the field exam, but I'm not going to change my mind,"
Sierra folded her arms across her chest in defiance.

Xu chuckled at Sierra's resolve. "Far be it from me to change a stubborn
Anshin's mind," she teased.

Sierra's expression twisted, but remained silent. Not so long ago she
would have replied tartly to such ribbing. The subtle change in Sierra's
language and actions hadn't been lost on Xu.

She smiled inwardly. She doubted that Sierra's brusque manner would ever
be completely softened, but definite progress had been made. No longer did Xu
look on with dread when Sierra was taking part in a social gathering. She had
learned when to curb her tongue. The drill team's evening with President
Deling was the test that proved it.

"Since you're leaving I don't need to watch over you any more. Go find
your friends and let them know of your decision," Xu waved her off.

"Xu..?"

"Go on, I have other work to do," Xu smiled to take any sting there may
have been out of her words. "If you need anything you know where to find me."

"Yeah, see ya," Sierra left the office. On the way out she paused to
watch the other students as they practiced their kata. Aucifer marched along
the sides of the mats, barking instructions to his students as they went along.

What was she *doing*? She felt relieved that she would soon be leaving
the Garden and at the same time was sad. She wanted to get angry at the part
of her that would miss this place, but couldn't. Sure, she'd had a rough time
of it, especially with regards to Xu, but she could let it be. At some point
she'd grown attached to this place and she was going to miss it.

"Hey, why'd you run off like that?" Zell placed a hand on her shoulder and
huffed. "The Faculty said you passed the test. Let's go celebrate!"

Sierra's lips tightened. "I going to withdraw from the Garden. I don't
want to be a SeeD."

"The field exam's got ya that nervous already?" Zell gave her another slap
on the shoulder and laughed, mistaking what she said. "There's nothing to
worry about. I'm sure you'll do fine! C'mon, let's see if 'structor Xu's
ready for dinner."

Sierra winced, but not because of the thumping Zell was giving her
shoulder. "She's released me from her charge. I don't have to be underfoot
anymore."

"Really? That's great! I knew it wouldn't take her long to see what a
great person ya are!" He bounced towards the door. "Today is definitely a day
to celebrate!"

"Yeah..." Sierra drawled with a final backwards glance at Xu's office.

Aucifer frowned as the pair of cadets left the training room. He'd
overheard their conversation and was curious. He mulled the possibilities
until he had a chance to speak with Xu about them.

"Yes, Sierra submitted her resignation this afternoon. It hasn't been
accepted yet," Xu confirmed without looking up from the display she was
studying.

"Dammit," Aucifer slammed the palm of his hand against the doorframe to
her office. Xu gave him a quizzical look. "How can you just let her leave
after everything you've done for her? She's gotten one of the finest
educations in the world from this Garden. She owes SeeD at least a couple
years of service if she's qualified!"

Xu laughed and shook her head. "No... She's from Trabia. That Garden
*is* their educational system, they're not required to apply for the SeeD
program if they don't want to. Besides, military service is not compulsory.
We won't force anyone into battle if they won't go willingly."

"But!" Aucifer was at a loss to express the frustration he felt. "You
fought so hard for her to remain a student here. Doesn't it disappoint you
that she'll just leave? You've given her every opportunity to make something
of herself and she's throwing it back in your face."

The SeeD shook her head again. "The only obligation I held myself to was
to try to right a wrong committed two generations ago. If all she wants out of
the deal is an education then I've gotten off easy."

It was Aucifer's turn to be confused.

"It's a private matter, but I'm content if Sierra decides to leave. The
only thing I asked was that she takes the field exam. After that, she's free
to make her own way through life."

"I honestly don't understand you. Every time I think I finally have you
figured out you go and do something that's completely contradictory. Is that
an Anshin trait or what?" Aucifer asked ruefully.

"No, it's called being a woman."

Aucifer's face screwed up, unsure if she was joking or not. He left her
office still confused on the matter, but not willing to pursue the issue.

Alone once again, Xu turned to her Stone so that she could speak with
Carbuncle. She's felt an overwhelming sense of dread earlier in the day. At
the time, Xu had firmly swallowed the feeling down despite her knuckles
whitening due to the grip she had on her desk. Something horrible had
happened. Maybe Carbuncle could provide some insight...



It was nearly midnight when the call came in from Pan. Rascal Jett was
murdered on the train going to Deling City. There were no suspects in the case
and the conditions of the crime were baffling.

Baffling, but not unfamiliar.

She didn't tell the Master that. As much as she would have liked to
return to Deling City for Rascal's funeral, she knew that it wouldn't be
possible. The field exam was soon in coming and there was a Sorceress on the
loose...



The field exam was everything Sierra expected it to be. The mission was
real with SeeD to cover them if they failed. The adrenaline that rushed
through her veins was like a drug, pushing her to new, spectacular heights.
During the test she kept asking herself if she could give this up.

Failing the test was easy -- over three quarters of the Garden's students
did it every term. A few minor mistakes and there would be no more dilemma.
She wouldn't be a SeeD and could resign with a clear conscience.

Except that it was against her nature to shirk any task given to her.
Like... Xu's stupid story journals. Once she knew that Xu was serious about
it, she studied them faithfully every night even though they pissed her off.
It was with that sort of persistent dedication that she approached the test.
She wouldn't shame herself by failing because she hadn't tried her best to
succeed.

All of the testing cadets waited for the announcement of those who passed.
When her name was read off she shook her head ruefully and entered the lift to
the Headmaster's office. Two of her classmates were already standing at
attention before him. She stepped into place at the end of the line and
waited. No other cadets followed her up.

He moved down the line, shaking the first graduate's hand and offering him
his diploma. The second cadet's induction into SeeD went the same as the
first. Finally it was her turn. The Headmaster offered her his hand after she
saluted him. With his other hand he offered her a diploma, but she did not
take it from his hand. As he did with all graduates, he leaned over to whisper
a few words into her ear.

"I don't want this, sir," she whispered before he could speak.

"You've earned it, it's yours," he offered the sleeve to her again.

"I don't want to be a SeeD, sir."

"I know," his breath tickled her ear as he pushed the diploma into her
hand.

He stood back from her and addressed the three graduates. "This Garden
only graduates the very best and you three have met that lofty goal. To
celebrate your achievements there will be a ball in your honor tonight. Enjoy
yourselves and get acquainted with your peers. Tomorrow I will be issuing your
assignments. Dismissed."

The other two SeeDs exited the Headmaster's office. Sierra remained where
she was. "Sir..."

"You're dismissed," Cid repeated kindly.

"But I want to talk with you."

"You'll have your chance tomorrow when I give out assignments."

Mentally, Sierra's shoulders sagged in defeat. "Yes, sir."

Zell was waiting at the bottom of the lift for her to come out. He was
whooping and cheering like the fool that he was. Were she in better spirits
she would have been flattered by his antics, but now wasn't the time.

"C'mon Sierra, I want to see you in your uniform!" Zell took hold of her
hand and dragged her towards the dorms.

"I really don't feel like it, Zell..."

"But, ya gotta! You've got the ball to go to right? Why not change into
it early?"

She scowled and gave him a disapproving look. She'd already answered why
she didn't want to change right now.

"The drill team wants to congratulate you," Jaylee said from behind them.
She'd also come out to greet the newest SeeD. "They're waiting for you in the
training room and sent Zell to go get you."

Sierra was dubious. She glanced from the still-too-wound-up Zell and to
the more stoic Jaylee.

"Fine, if it'll make you feel better."

The transformation from cadet into SeeD was a near magical one. With the
change of uniform came a change in persona. She was above the petty conflicts
she and Seifer engaged in not so long ago. No longer was she on the receiving
end of everyone's scorn. The SeeDs who had once seemed unreachable were now
her peers. With a slight smirk she tugged on the red tie around her neck
before leaving her room to present herself to Zell and Jaylee.

Zell took in her new look from head to toe without saying a word, then
stuffed his hands into his pockets and flushed. Jaylee noticed this and gave
him a gentle ribbing. "Whatcha think, Zell?"

He shuffled a bit more and kicked at an imaginary rock. "She's really
hot," he muttered, the tips of his ears turning red from his blush.

"Well, there you have it," Jaylee grinned, enjoying Zell's discomfort.
"And all it took was a change of uniform."

By now Sierra was flushing as well. "I'll go change back then."

"Don't!" Zell put out a hand to stop her and then realized that Sierra was
joking about changing. He already felt an inch tall, there was no way he could
feel any smaller.

An awkward moment passed before Sierra shook off her discomfort. "You
said everyone was waiting, right?"

"Uh, yeah, let's go!" Zell latched onto the out Sierra threw him like a
drowning man to a life preserver. He skip-bounced the entire way to the
Training Center, careful not to steal too many sideways glances at Sierra as
they went.

As soon as they were in the door Zell cupped his hands around his mouth
and yelled. "Hey, everyone! Let me introduce to you the drill team's first
SeeD graduate, Sierra de Ling!"

Everyone in the training room stopped their exercises. All eyes snapped
to Sierra. For the second time in less than five minutes she felt herself
turning flush with embarrassment.

"Give us a speech," Aucifer called from the sideline. "You've got to have
some advice since you've made it!"

"Advice..?" Sierra scratched the back of her head and looked around the
room. The drill team members were grinning at her like fools. They were all
proud of her achievements. Seifer and Squall were there. Seifer had a
belittling smirk on his face that she'd love to wipe off. Squall was ignoring
him.

As she looked around the room she met all of their eyes. In them she
found their hopes and dreams. All of them aspired to be a SeeD. She didn't
deserve the uniform she wore now. And even if she told them how she felt, they
wouldn't take the uniform from her. They wanted her to be one of them.

Xu entered from the weight room while everyone gave their attention to
Sierra. The young SeeD's eyes fell upon her Instructor and nemesis, and she
finally knew what advice she could give her fellow classmates.

"My advice to you would be; don't let the bastards get you down. They're
going to do everything they can to make your life hell, and it's going to hurt
like hell. After it's over, you'll find that all their pecking has make you
into a stronger person. Master Aucifer may kick your ass today... But you'll
be thanking him for it tomorrow."

That earned laughs from around the room.

The drill team gave Sierra their kudos for a job well done. This was her
time to soak in the praises of her teammates. Perhaps she even smiled a time
or two as they joked about what the future held for them.

Sierra didn't have any desire to go to the ball tonight, but Jaylee
wouldn't allow one of the guests of honor to skip out. While the occasion was
a festive one, there was a tension in the air as the revelers forced themselves
to forget their concerns for the evening and enjoy the party. Even still,
there were quiet whispers of mass deployments and Sorceresses.

The Headmaster didn't call for SeeD Sierra de Ling until early afternoon
the next day. She was beginning to wonder if he'd forgotten about her, but
knew he hadn't. She stood before his desk and saluted before he invited her to
sit.

Explaining to him why she didn't want to be a SeeD was the hardest thing
she had ever done in her life. Meeting his eyes was difficult enough, and then
to see the concerned understanding in them. It was enough to make her want to
crawl back to her room and tell him to forget that she'd ever come up here.
But she couldn't do that and remain true to herself. She could run away from
Cid, but she couldn't run away from her conscience. It was her conscience that
told her this was the right thing to do.

"If that is how you feel, then I won't stop you from leaving," Cid replied
after hearing her out. "Know that you will always have a place within SeeD
should you choose to return."

"Thank you, sir."

"If I may ask, what are you going to do now?" The Headmaster gave her a
disarming smile as he typed some things into his terminal, likely noting her
discharge.

"I want to explore the world," she answered immediately. Cid's eyebrow
arched at the speed of her response, prompting her explain her plans further.
"I want to see the world like my grandfather did. It may be a silly dream, but
I hope to climb every mountain on the planet."

He folded his arms across his chest and bowed his head before smiling to
himself. "I remember when I was young enough to believe that nothing could
hold me back... I don't mean to discourage you, but you can't earn much money
while climbing mountains for a living," he shrugged slightly.

Sierra acknowledged his point. "I've thought on that. I can get a lot of
what I need to survive from off the land. What money I need I should be able
to earn from farmers who want their land cleared of monsters. Where ever
there's a monster, there's someone willing to pay to be rid of it, after all."

"You have thought on this," Cid gave her a fond look because of her
cleverness; as if he wouldn't have expected any less of her. "Then, as an...
ah... freelance agent, would you accept an easy job that pays well?"

Sierra's eyes narrowed. "You still want me to do the assignment you had
in mind for me as a SeeD, don't you?"

"You've called my bluff," he admitted. "I want to send someone who I can
trust to Winhill to protect them from any potential Sorceress attacks. We're
not anticipating the Sorceress to go to such a secluded community, but the
villagers are understandably nervous after Adel attacked them relentlessly.
Your presence alone should be enough to lay their fears to rest."

Her lips pursed together, considering whether she wanted to do this one
thing on his behalf or not.

"The Winhill Heights are nearby. You could start your mountaineering
adventures there."

"All right," she agreed. What he wanted wouldn't inconvenience her that
much and he would persist until she gave in to his request. "But as soon as
I'm finished at Winhill I'm going on my way."

"Of course," the Headmaster agreed.

With a considerable weight off her shoulders Sierra went down to the
training room to tell Xu that she would be leaving tonight. There was no way
she could leave the Garden without saying good-bye to the Instructor who had
been her mentor.

"I wish the best for you in your life, whatever you decide to do with it,"
Xu said.

Sierra snerked. "No reprimands for giving up?"

"No reprimands," Xu confirmed. "You learned everything I hoped you would;
including the Stone and our language."

"My grandfather would thank you if he were still alive..." she admitted.
"And I thank you as well."

Xu bowed politely. "Go now, explore the world. Let me know if you find
anything interesting. A tropical hideaway with few monsters and plenty of
sunshine would be nice."



"You've redecorated..." The man complimented his host. Recent events had
prompted them to meet under unusual circumstances. Privately, the man had
doubted that such a meeting would even be possible, but his companion had
assured him that it would work if he put enough effort into getting here.

The woman he had traveled so far to see shook her head in dismissal. He
recognized the stiffness of her posture. Now wasn't the time to be fooling
around.

"What is it that you need?" he asked, abruptly turning to business.

"I wanted to warn you, and to ask your help," she replied.

He attentively listened to the woman. Only a fool wouldn't give her their
undivided attention if she went to this much trouble to speak with them. She
wasn't one to lend herself to fanatical prophesies about the end of the world,
but recent events had left him wondering...

He was reluctant to get mixed up in such affairs again. He would have
outright refused her request if it weren't for the running commentary of his
silent companion. There was no way he could ignore the pain he felt when...

"I'm too close to evening up an old score to drop it now," he said softly,
hoping that she would accept the regret he felt at having to deny her plea for
help at this time. "When I'm finished with this, maybe then..."

She bowed her head. "I understand that you have your own affairs to
attend to. Look me up when you're between jobs."



Quistis' dark thoughts wouldn't leave her despite her best efforts to
stifle them. The field exam had come and gone, and the results still rankled
in her mind. No one, not one single cadet under her tutelage had met the
challenge SeeD presented.

She tried to mollify her stun pride by telling herself that what SeeD
asked was no easy task. That was true, but her cadets had managed to fail in
spectacular fashion. In fact, one of them was up for court-martial because he
knowingly attacked an innocent during the field exam. Their lackluster
performance would have embarrassed even the most flamboyant of Instructors.
Martine rightfully expressed his extreme displeasure at their antics.

It was no small surprise to Quistis when the Headmaster gave her even
*more* students to teach this term. What she would have usually taken as a
vote of confidence only served to weigh heavier upon her.

'There is an influx of new students signing up for the Academy; both for
SeeD and the Army. We need to expedite the training of the ones we already
have and take on more new recruits,' Martine told Galbadia's staff. And there
were so many new faces this term. The already bustling Garden was near
unbearable with all people that occupied the hallways nowadays.

She didn't receive any of the fresh-faced students when Martine shifted
their classloads around; she was a finishing Instructor, one who put the polish
on a cadet before sending them off. She instead picked up two of Jennifer's
students and three Galbadian cadets that transferred to the SeeD program. That
was unusual in and of itself; cadets tended to go into the officer program if
they couldn't cut it as a SeeD.

Quistis knew the reason for the abnormality: Xu had done her job all too
well. When the army cadets saw what SeeD could do they concluded that their
future careers would be filled with mundane postings. It was an assumption
Quistis couldn't debunk. SeeD wasn't an army, it was a special operations
force. They filled a different niche that probably was more exciting than the
life of the average army grunt.

Then there were the rumors of a Sorceress on the loose, which were blown
out of proportion by the over-zealous rumormill. Galbadia's government
controlled press carefully avoided the issue. The underground newslinks were
abuzz with supposed sightings and ways to avoid the Sorceress's notice.

The Sorceress threat explained the influx of new people coming to the
Garden. They were prompted by their own desire to stave off another Sorceress
War or sent by their families for training.

All this should have pleased Quistis at least a little bit. She now had
more candidates for SeeD, and increased her own chances of graduating. But it
was hard to shake off the misery that was the last field exam. There was
plenty of time left to reach the goal Martine set out for her when she came to
Galbadia Garden. At least, that's what she was going to keep telling herself.



Sierra watched the scenery flow by as the road she traveled on jostled her
and her companion along. Winhill wasn't the most accessible of places. A
train from Balamb to Timber carried her through the first leg of her trip, a
truck took her the rest of the way. The SeeD who drove the vehicle had
precious little to say, a quality Sierra was thankful for. She had a lot on
her mind and didn't want to have her musings interrupted by chitchat.

When she left the Garden it was with a single hiker's backpack and the
contents within; a couple changes of clothing, camping supplies, rope, the best
compact sleeping bag money could buy, and a pop tent. Cid insisted on sending
her out with everything she needed to be a first class adventurer. When she
politely declined he said it was part of the Garden's obligation to the Trabian
people. Headmaster Rebecca would be furious with him if he didn't take care of
one of her charges and he didn't want that.

Most of her things had been boxed up and would be sent to her father back
home. The only maps she brought with her were in the world atlas that had led
her true many times previous. As a parting gift she gave Zell the maps that
she had drilled him with when she was tutoring him in geography. Maybe it was
a stupid gift, but nothing else seemed appropriate.

Even though she didn't want to think about Zell her mind insisted on
dwelling there. It was a bit belated to be feeling guilty for being as mean to
him as she was at times. She tried to apologize to him for that but he
wouldn't hear it. They were pals after all. Some pal she was.

"We're almost there," the SeeD said. Sierra shifted in her seat and tried
to look livelier than she was feeling.

She was uncomfortable with the idea of a SeeD taking her into town and
then introducing her to the mayor. He might get the wrong impression that she
was really a SeeD representative even though she didn't wear the uniform. When
she expressed those concerns to Brandon he told her not to worry. The mayor
had previously hired non-graduate SeeD cadets to keep down the monster
population. She then asked how he knew so much about Winhill's interactions
with SeeDs and non-SeeDs and he admitted to having family in the remote
village.

No wonder he volunteered for the long and boring job of driving her out
here. The drive, including stops at hole-in-the-wall villages to get fuel for
both themselves and the truck, had taken roughly eight hours.

From the first structure he pointed out to her as a general store to the
village's main plaza it was a couple of kilometers. The fields along either
side of the road were pocked with intermittent structures, most of those barns
and farmhouses. She thought she even spotted a wild Chocobo though it was gone
too quickly for her to be sure.

The mayor's residence was near the plaza and was one of the better looking
places in town. He surprised her by declaring that she was the closest thing
the village had to a sheriff. While he was the judge and executioner, she was
the one responsible for keeping the peace. He also laid out his expectations
for her keeping the monster population to a minimum.

This wasn't a "loaf around and climb mountains" assignment at all.

Wordlessly she cursed Cid, but not too harshly. Winhill would make for an
interesting beginning to her adventures. Brandon offered to drive her back
down the road to the inn she would be staying at. The outwardly battered
building was a deceptive facade to the polished wood surfaces and classical
beauty contained within. It was as though this interior had been caught in
time, it's decor harkening back to a time when no one worried about more than
the occasional monster.

Brandon stayed in Winhill for a few days visiting his family. During that
time he offered to go on Sierra's monster patrols with her. It turns out that
it wasn't her imagination playing tricks on her, she really had spotted a
Chocobo. They were common enough that some mindful villager had posted a
Chocobo crossing sign along the road to warn unsuspecting motorists. The area
was populated by the Caterchipillers and Bite Bugs that every Balamb resident
was familiar with. Clearing these weakling monsters was an easy task for
someone of Sierra's skill.

After Brandon left she made a conscientious effort to go around and get to
know the neighbors. She spoke with the mayor on a near daily basis because he
always wanted to know how many monsters she had gotten rid of the previous day.
The other residents were a mixed bag. There was an old woman with all these
flowers. She was more than a bit batty in Sierra's opinion; it was best to
avoid her. Down a trail from the batty old woman's house was a middle-aged
woman who lived alone on her coastal property. Sierra had no idea what she did
for a living since she rarely left her residence.

The day that she followed the Chocobo tracks she nearly had her head shot
off by an overzealous farmer who mistook her for a monster. Except for almost
killing her, he was a pretty nice fellow. He had three children ranging in age
from seven to thirteen and his wife was a real fine cook. Sierra was at a loss
for words the afternoon that she returned from her rounds and the lady who ran
the inn told her that the farmer had dropped off a plate of baked goodies that
his wife had prepared.

That was when Sierra realized that the villagers had accepted her as a
member of their community. Her feelings regarding that were torn. She was
grateful that they had welcomed her into their lives, but she also didn't want
to stay here forever. Well, she didn't think any of them expected her to.
From speaking with the innkeeper she got the impression that their 'sheriffs'
tended to last a year or two before moving along. When they did the mayor
would contact Cid to see if he had anyone else who could fill the role.

Sierra mentally snorted at calling herself a sheriff, even if the people
did on occasion. The most authoritative thing she had done thus far was to
tell some kids not to throw rocks at the passing Chocobos. If that was the
worst of Winhill's problems then they were a fortunate community indeed.

Though... One thing still bothered her and she hadn't figured out a polite
way to ask about it yet. Off on the western end of the plaza stood two
buildings that were abandoned. When she approached them to investigate a
passing man told her to stay away. She wanted very much to enter them and see
what was within, but felt that she would somehow be violating an unspoken taboo
if she did.



"Are you ready?"

"Xu, please, I've been ready for months now," Seifer stroked back his
short crop blonde hair and gave her that arrogant sneer that had angered more
than one person.

"I'd recommend keeping your hubris in check, cadet. This is the Fire
Cavern test and if you screw up you'll get burned." 'Literally,' she added
silently.

Seifer waved off her warning. In his mind he was more than ready to march
into the cave and challenge Ifrit. Were Xu fairly assessing his ability, she
would have to agree. Though Squall and Seifer had started gunblade training at
the same time, Seifer had excelled beyond his mate. Cid made it clear that she
was to push both of them through the program as quickly as possible. At this
point, Seifer was nearly ready to be a SeeD based on his skill, but Xu didn't
agree with his attitude at all.

It took more to be a SeeD than the ability to fight and wield para-magic.
There was a certain temperament to it as well. Xu sighed inwardly. Yes,
Seifer was a powerful teenager, but he had yet to mature beyond his years. He
hadn't learned tact! The only people in the Garden who actually *got along*
with him were Fujin and Raijin, and Xu wasn't sure why.

She suspected that they followed him because they were people of the
'follower' mentality, though, that didn't add up either. During drills in
which they were put in charge they'd always carried out their assignments to
satisfaction. Especially Fujin. She had the makings of a natural born leader
and the cunning to devise clever strategies. (Which was one of the reasons Xu
encouraged Fujin's advisor to get her enrolled in more a strategy-based
curriculum. Good thinkers shouldn't be wasted!)

And then there was Squall. She felt bad for him most of all. He was
often the focus of Seifer's aggressions. No matter how many times Aucifer
assured her that it was just 'male bonding' she wouldn't stop seeing Seifer's
treatment of Squall as bullying. To add insult to injury, Seifer had shot past
Squall in terms of height and physical build. Squall looked like a runt
compared to his fellow gunblade user. It was Aucifer's opinion that Squall
would catch up; Seifer just had an early run. Xu wasn't so sure. She didn't
think Squall would ever match Seifer's stature, but she could hope that she was
wrong.

They were at the entrance of the Fire Cavern and the pair of Shumi guards
challenged them. Xu let Seifer select his time. Of course he went for the 10
minutes limit. Drawing his blade he gave her another cocky smirk and dashed
into the cavern. He may have been larger, but Xu had no problem keeping up
with the pace he set. Instead of engaging every monster they came across he
rushed passed them. A good idea if he was going to beat the time limit.

"Come on out! I, Seifer Almasy, challenge you!" Seifer announced as soon
as he stepped foot into Ifrit's sanctum. The only response he received was the
burbling of the molten rock at the center of the room.

"You demon coward! Show yourself!"

Ifrit rose from the pool. Its corkscrewed head was bent, its fiery orange
eyes locked on the boy standing before it. Xu wasn't privy to Ifrit's thoughts
as she was to Carbuncle's, but she could make an educated guess as to what the
Guardian Force was thinking.

And none of those thoughts were very charitable.

It was probably the first time in the Garden's history that the Instructor
was cheering the Guardian Force on.

"Ifrit isn't a demon," Xu belatedly corrected. Its appearance was
frightening, but it wasn't a demon like Diablos was.

The Guardian Force made no motion to engage Seifer in battle, instead
staring the cadet down. Seifer glanced at his watch with annoyance. "Would
you mind hurrying this up? I have less than three minutes left."

Xu would have strangled Seifer and tossed his body into the lava if
Ifrit's voice hadn't rattled both of them. "You call me a coward, boy..?" Its
eyes narrowed and it purposefully flicked its talon-like claws. "You have no
right to challenge me. Return when you have learned your place!"

A mighty gust of wind blew through the cavern. Xu knelt to the ground,
trying to maintain her position. It was a futile effort. The winds persisted
until they were both expelled from Ifrit's chamber. Seifer was quick to regain
his footing and try to re-enter the chamber but a magical barrier held him at
bay.

"This is just *great*. You chicken shit coward!" He yelled at Ifrit
through the barrier. "Won't you fight me or are you afraid?"

"Enough, Seifer, we're returning to the Garden," Xu got to her feet,
brushing dirt off her skirt as she stood.

"Do you always give up so easily, Instructor?" He sneered the title to
make it into an insult.

"When rebuked by a Guardian Force, yes. Ifrit will only battle those who
are ready. Obviously you aren't." Xu reached within herself and changed her
junctions so that Diablos would repel any monsters that might attack them.
Working off some of her frustration would be nice, but not right now. She
wanted to get Seifer back to the Garden and then figure out what to do. She'd
never heard of Ifrit pushing someone out of its chamber. This was an
unprecedented action and she wasn't sure how to respond.

There was a soft echo in her mind. It felt much like the pulse of
emotions that Carbuncle expressed itself with. She couldn't make out words
from the echo, but she still understood the message. If the boastful Seifer
was as strong as he thought he was, he didn't need Ifrit's assistance. Let
Seifer learn to ask for help and then Ifrit would reconsider its position.

Xu endured listening to Seifer bad mouth the Guardian Force the entire way
back to the Garden. On the steps of the main gate she told him to come to her
office in the morning. Hopefully by then she would have an idea of what to do
next. Some people flat out had rotten compatibilities with certain GFs (like
Kei and Diablos), but Seifer *needed* Ifrit on his side or he wouldn't
graduate.

'Damn Seifer and his ego,' she thought darkly as she made her way into the
Garden proper.



It was the buzz of the village when a visitor checked into the inn.
Without saying so outright, the villagers expected Sierra to get the scoop on
the mysterious man so that they could properly gossip about him.

He was a tall man with a solid, but wiry, build and coppery hair that was
tied back into a neat tail that trailed between his shoulder blades. Even when
indoors he always wore a pair of small round sunglasses over his visibly
baby-blue eyes. The man was only a few years her senior and judging by his
manner of dress he was a city slicker that decided to vacation in the boonies.

He was in the habit of waking up at an insanely early hour. Sierra really
had to motivate herself to get up and follow him (on the pretense that she was
doing an early morning monster sweep). When he entered the plaza he ducked
into a shack by the small dock. It was tough to find enough monsters in the
immediate area for her to justify not moving along on her route. Finally he
came out with a tackle box in his left hand and a fishing pole resting against
his right shoulder. Sierra groaned. He came all this way just to *fish*?

She followed him down the short flight of steps to the rickety dock where
an equally questionable rowboat was moored.

"Good morning," she greeted, taking the initiative.

"Ah, good morning to you as well," he replied before leaning over to place
his tackle box and pole in the boat. There was no way he couldn't have noticed
her following him. She would cut the crap and get to the point then.

"Well, this explains why you get up so early. You came all this way just
to fish?" She placed her hands on her hips and awaited his answer.

The man flashed her a broad grin and tilted his head to let his shades
slid down his nose slightly. "I hear it's good fishing off of the southern
coast. I could have gone to one of the resort towns, but I doubt it would have
been as relaxing. Is there a problem with me relieving the inlet here of a few
fish?"

Sierra snorted and crossed her arms. "That wouldn't be wise."

"Oh?" His eyebrows rose.

"Yeah, you didn't bring a cooler with you to carry the fish back in. I
see that there's a net and stringer in the boat, so you're not completely
unprepared. You won't want to walk all the way to the inn with the fish
hanging off of the stringer, not with the heat we've had."

He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I'm embarrassed that I hadn't thought
of that."

"I'll find a cooler for you and leave it here on the dock. You can keep
your fish on the stringer in the water until then, but don't expect me to help
you carry the cooler back," she waggled a finger at him.

"I'm sure I'll find a way to manage," he gave her another one of his
smiles.

Sierra remained on the dock, watching him until he was a speck in the
distance. She still didn't feel as ease with him, but didn't have more than a
gut feeling to work from. She stepped back up to the road and went to fulfill
her promise of a cooler on the dock.

When the man lazily rowed back to the dock in the early evening Sierra was
sitting on the cooler waiting for him. She rose from her seat and caught the
rope he tossed her to secure the boat.

"I'm honored that you were waiting for me," he commented lightly.

"I'm hoping that you haven't wasted my time," she nodded her head towards
the cooler. "Did you catch anything? The innkeeper says we're having baked
fish for dinner..."

The man grinned and pulled the stringer out of the water. Four modest
sized fish were on it. "We'll be eating tonight if that's your question."

"Good man," she held the cooler open for him to deposit the fish in. She
helped him carry his gear to the fisherman's shack, then they returned to the
inn. The innkeeper accepted his catch and set to work on preparing dinner.
While she did that he excused himself to go to his room and clean up.

This was the first meal the three of them shared together. Sierra had
eaten with the innkeeper plenty of times, but the man's schedule was so unusual
that he was gone by the time breakfast was prepared.

"If I had known that you were going out to fish I would have packed you a
lunch to take on the boat with you," the innkeeper said. "Let me know if you
go out again."

"That I will," he smiled. Sierra tore her eyes from that grin and poked
at the fish on her plate with her fork. There was something about this guy
that just wasn't right...

"I'm sorry if I missed it, but I still don't know your name. I'm Sierra
de Ling," she introduced.

That charming smile of his grew larger and he put his hand out to her.
"My apologies, I'm Arjun Detanna."

Sierra reluctantly accepted it. He noticed her hesitation and gave her a
questioning look. "You smile an awful lot, Mr. Detanna."

He laughed. "Yes, I suppose I do! It's a hard habit to get out of when
you're so used to it. As my agent says, 'No matter what angle the paparazzi
picture is at, I need to be smiling in it!'"

"You're famous?"

"Hard to believe, isn't it?"

"Smells fishy to me."

The innkeeper couldn't contain her giggles any longer and burst out
laughing at Sierra and Arjun's verbal jousting.

And that's how many of their conversations went during the days that
followed. Sierra just couldn't shake the feeling that she shouldn't turn her
back on this man. Outwardly he was pleasant enough, infallibly polite, and
well groomed. He dressed in a style Sierra would call simplistically chic;
long sleeved turtle necks and khakis, casual without being too informal. It
stuck out like a sore thumb around here.

It annoyed her when he decided that he wanted to walk with her as she
cleared monsters. This wasn't some afternoon stroll! He somehow managed to
always keep out of harm's way as she went about her business. When she was
finished with the messy work he would resume walking.



"Are you ready?"

"I was ready the last time," Seifer reminded Xu testilly.

There wasn't much left to be said that hadn't been already. Cid invited
Seifer up to his office for a talk about the reasons the cadet could have
failed the Fire Cavern test (even if it wasn't scored against him as a
failure). In his student file the test was recorded as Pending. It was a
distinction usually reserved for students who had something extraordinary
happen during the test; like the cadet who had broken his arm after slipping on
some loose rocks.

However Cid wished to record it, Xu knew the truth. The GF had found a
flaw (the same one Xu had?) in Seifer and wouldn't budge until something was
done about it. Xu doubted that an intervention by Cid would correct the
fundamental problem. Seifer didn't respect others until they had proven
themselves to him. Within a military organization an attitude like that didn't
cut it. There was a chain of command and he had to adhere to it without
challenging everyone he met who was of higher rank.

She knew that he sometimes portrayed himself as the misunderstood student.
The one they wanted to hammer down because he had the gall to point out their
weaknesses. It infuriated Xu the way he played himself as the victim of their
bias while attacking others because they were weaker.

She had long ago come to the conclusion that they had an irreconcilable
difference in outlook. From his point of view she was an overbearing matriarch
(or so Nym the rumormonger had informed her). He was arrogant, she was a hard
ass, they weren't going to like each other.

But if he wanted to actually pass this test he needed to do things her
way. That was the message Cid was going to try to impress upon Seifer during
their meeting. How successful the Headmaster was would be proven shortly.

The student and teacher once again stood before the Shumi guards. This
time around Seifer selected 20 minutes for his test time. That was a good
sign. There really was no reason to rush. The time limit was there for the
students to challenge themselves. It didn't affect their score unless they
dawdled, though, the Instructors didn't tell the students that.

Seifer's pace was more relaxed than the run he went at during his first
time through. When he entered Ifrit's chamber he said nothing. Xu prepared
herself to back Seifer up. This shouldn't be a difficult battle, not with the
skills Aucifer had taught him.

The burbling lava gave way to the fiery Ifrit. It watched Seifer
carefully, waiting for the cadet to do anything that might anger it and give it
cause to expel him again. When Seifer did nothing but raise his gunblade into
a waiting stance, Ifrit was satisfied and roared its battlecry.

During past battles Xu had noticed that Ifrit usually tempered its attacks
to some degree, but today it was no holds bar against Seifer. If Seifer
expected the Guardian Force to answer his summons he was going to have to earn
the privilege.

Wordlessly the cadet met the challenge. He really was an amazing
swordsman for his youth, Xu had to admit. Aucifer had done fine work when it
came to crafting Seifer into the gunblade specialist Cid was hoping for.

It was just as well that Seifer had the situation under control. Xu was
limited in what manner of support she could offer. She couldn't summon any GFs
that Seifer didn't already have in his possession. The same went for magic and
items. This battle was to test Seifer's mettle with Xu there to pull him out
if he was in over his head.

The battle was over before Xu realized it. Ifrit conceded to Seifer and
gave the cadet his reward. Seifer pocketed the stone without a second glance.

Xu politely offered her congratulations.

"Save it," he interrupted. "I don't need the praises of someone like you
to know that I'm the future of SeeD." He balanced his gunblade on his shoulder
and sauntered out of the cavern, leaving Xu behind.



There was a town meeting in the main plaza tonight. Sierra took extra
care to be sure that there were no monsters around to interrupt. Someone had
set out long tables beforehand and by the time the meeting was underway the
surfaces were covered in a wide array of dishes. Apparently this was as much a
town meeting as a potluck. Nearly everyone was in attendance, from crying
babies to the reclusive middle-aged woman who didn't leave her house. Even
Arjun came because it was the only way he was getting dinner.

So it was in front of a hundred witnesses that a Sorceress appeared out of
nowhere and approached the reclusive woman. The woman screamed with terror as
the villagers scattered. She turned and ran between two buildings, hoping to
escape the Sorceress that was stalking her.

Sierra foolishly hadn't brought her weapon with her. Who would have
expected a Sorceress to show up for dinner? The only weapons she had available
were a butter knife and the magic she always kept within herself. Without any
further thought going towards her actions Sierra charged at the Sorceress with
the dull knife in one hand and the gathering of a magical attack occurring in
the other. She threw the Fira spell she had gathered first, only to have it
bounce off the Sorceress's Reflect spell and knock Sierra to the ground. While
she was down she caught a brief glimpse of Arjun helping the mayor guide the
villagers to safety.

'Damn Reflect spells!' she silently cursed. 'Whoever invented them needs
to die,' she continued while arranging for her next casting to be a Reflect
spell of her own. She could then bounce the magic off of herself and onto the
Sorceress.

She lunged after the Sorceress with the knife this time. The edge didn't
matter if she put enough force behind the blow. The Sorceress tossed her back
with a gesture.

Satisfied that Sierra was nothing more than a pest, the Sorceress returned
her focus on the woman. She raised her right hand above her head, where
several shards of ice formed. With a flick the projectiles were sent rocketing
towards the woman. They perforated her body in a way that no Life spell could
remedy.

Outraged, Sierra resumed beating against the spells that kept her at bay.
She wouldn't let anyone get away with murder when it was her job to the keep
peace. The Sorceress's lips twisted into a smile that was somewhere between
sinister and pleased before she created another portal and slipped away.

Sierra sank to her knees in defeat and hit the cobble stoned ground
repeatedly with her balled up fists. She failed in her mission and she'd never
felt more ashamed in her life. If she could have curled up and died right
there she would have. At least then she wouldn't have to answer for the
dishonor she brought on the Garden as a product of their training.

Arjun put a comforting hand on her shoulder. She angrily batted it away.
The plaza was empty except for the two of them and the woman's mutilated body.
She stalked around, the adrenaline still rushing through her veins. The battle
couldn't end like this!

"Why don't you go on a sweep?" He suggested mildly. "I'm sure we can take
care of this," he vaguely gestured towards the corpse.

A growl came from deep within her throat and realized that he was right.
She needed to work off her anger before she could think clearly again. She
gave him a brisk nod and then ran down the road while berating herself for
being too thorough this afternoon. The first monster she encountered she threw
herself at. There was no way she's let another fight end unless she had the
final blow.

That had to be the Sorceress Cid warned her about, but how did a Sorceress
appear out of nowhere? And didn't Cid say that there wasn't anyone of interest
in Winhill? He sure as hell was wrong on that point!

Sierra kicked the Caterchipillar she was fighting with all her might. It
let out a satisfying wheeze as blood began to flow from its large mouth. Three
more punches and the monster went limp.

She kept moving along the road, though no longer at the full run that she
had started out in. She winced when she punched a Bite Bug, slamming it
against a tree and watching it die. That's how she felt when the Sorceress was
completely undeterred by Sierra's efforts to stop her. She was nothing more
than a Bite Bug buzzing around her head, begging to be swatted down.

"Like fucking hell!" She yelled. She *turned down* a career with SeeD,
but that didn't mean she wasn't qualified for it. In theory she was one of the
best special forces operatives in the world and it meant *nothing* against a
Sorceress. NOTHING! What the fuck?!

It occurred to her that she'd never knowingly encountered a Sorceress
before. How exactly would one go about picking a Sorceress out of a crowd.
Were they all as oddly dressed and disgustingly deformed as the woman who
attacked tonight?

A couple hours worth of venting released her pent up frustration and
anger. But before she could return to the inn she needed to clean up. Few
things would aggravate the innkeeper more than tracking monster blood onto the
floor. Still fully clothed, she dove into the cove behind the inn. A swim
would loosen her muscles and wash off the worst of the mess from fighting the
unfortunate monsters who had mistakenly crossed her path. She didn't like
going on rampages like tonight, but damn it felt good to work off some steam.

Her eyes glanced up at the moon; the mother of monsters. There hadn't
been a Lunar Cry in nearly a century. Most of the monsters that roamed the
planet nowadays were native, but that didn't make them any better. As she
floated on her back her mind played with the idea that if there was never
another Lunar Cry, would it be possible to rid the world of monsters? In a
fluid motion she flipped over and dove back under the water. When she surfaced
near the dock she saw a silhouetted person sitting there. The figure gave off
an eerie glow that made Sierra wonder if it was a ghost (not that she believed
in such things, but still...)

"There was no way you could have saved Deana Frost," Arjun's voice said
somberly as she pulled herself out of the water. He tossed her a towel that he
had the foresight to bring with him. The naked skin of his forearms reflected
the moonlight and gave off a silvery shimmer. "This was her night to die."

"And why do you say that?" Sierra asked, no longer caring *who* this man
was.

"Do remember the Dollet child smuggling ring that was broken up a couple
years ago? The woman who was responsible for leading the Balamb arm of the
operation had slipped through SeeD's fingers during the crackdown. That woman
was Deana Frost. The Dukedom of Dollet is offering a 100,000 gil bounty to
anyone who brings her in dead or alive. I doubt the Sorceress will claim it,
and by the looks of it this town could use a few paved roads...

"If the Sorceress hadn't arrived tonight I would have done the deed
myself. I've been tracking her ever since I left Balamb and I owed it to Cid
to see this one through."

Sierra snorted. "I noticed that her house was on coastal property. Is
that what you were doing the day you were supposedly fishing, casing her
place?"

"Ah... how did you know?"

"I spoke with the lad who sold you the fish. He said you offered him 300
gil for the stringer he had."

"And I gave him another 100 gil on top of that to keep his mouth shut.
Little brat. I think I want my money back," he grumbled good-naturedly. He
had no intention of tracking down the boy for his gil.

They sat on the dock and talked as the moon slowly crept by on its nightly
rounds. They shared some things in common, but not a lot. He'd had his life
turned on its ear by Xu, just as she had. Both of them held Puzzle Stones
because of her. Sierra jokingly suggested that they start a club for those who
were 'influenced' by the Balamb Instructor.

She couldn't answer many of his questions about the legendary Quistis
Trepe. She'd only briefly met the woman that the Trepies adored, but there
were plenty of other stories to tell about the Trepies' antics. He was glad to
hear that Myn was still in charge of the club.

"I'd heard through the grapevine that the Sorceress was hunting down
people that had the power of the Sorceress within them. I'm pretty sure Frost
doesn't fit that category..." Arjun commented thoughtfully.

Sierra shrugged and voiced the question she asked herself earlier. "How
would we be able to tell who has the power of a Sorceress?"

"Trust me, I know every time she gets one of them," he said with a
grimace. It felt like being stabbed with a knife when one of them died. For
some reason Diablos had made him attuned to their deaths. Perhaps it was the
GF's cruel way to motivate him to quickly put an end to her actions.

"Then why go after Frost?"

"I don't know for sure, and only a fool would cross a Sorceress," he said.
He rocked back and forth slightly as he thought about his next words. "That
*monster* is out there. We can't just sit around here while she runs free to
do as she pleases."

"SeeD is already deployed to protect the people who are most likely to be
attacked." 'Well, except for this one,' she amended silently. She didn't know
how much she should tell Arjun about SeeD's deployments as she knew them before
leaving. Was it betraying their secrets? She suspected that when it came to
secrets the man sitting next to her was the master.

Arjun rubbed his chin. "Give me a night to think on this. We'll meet out
here tomorrow and come to a decision."

Sierra stood up and briskly folded the borrowed towel before handing it
back to him. "You make it sound like we're allies or something."

"Of course we are!" And this time the broad smile that he gave her was
genuine. "We're both pseudo-SeeDs who work outside of the organization."

"Yeah, whatever," Sierra waved it off and started down the flagstone path
that led to the inn's back door. Her pillow was the only thing she was
interested in speaking with right now. She didn't know how she was going to
handle tomorrow and facing the villagers after her failure.



In the world of his own creation the man stood with his silent companion
at his side. Now that his ends had been met he was prepared to accept the
woman's proposal, but not without some answers first. The most pressing
question was why. Why did a Sorceress kill a fellow monster?

Revenge, the woman explained, was a powerful emotion; one that was often
the harbinger of insanity. But in this case the murder was not the result of
insanity, but of cold, rational pre-meditation. And that frightened the woman
more than any of the other acts of violence. The pattern was broken and no
longer could they assume that they knew what was going through the Sorceress's
mind.

The man shared the woman's sense of panic, but didn't understand that
sadness in her eyes. She refused to explain why the Sorceress was so riveted
upon the fate of the children, though it was a horrific enough crime to outrage
anyone. It wasn't unheard of in prisons for inmates to kill off the worst of
their lot. Let the monsters turn on each other, just so long as they didn't
take any innocents with them.

The woman provided the man with the information he needed to plan his next
moves. They no longer could be certain of the Sorceress's actions, but some
things were still safe bets. That's where they would pool their resources.



It was deceptively quiet when Sierra came down from her room the following
morning. The innkeeper had set out a basket of freshly baked bread on the
table, but was no where to be found. Arjun had also taken off before she got
up. With a sigh she strapped on her shotaxe harness. Never again would she be
caught unarmed unless a weapon was within reaching distance.

The road was deserted when she stepped outside to begin her rounds. She
encountered too few monsters to get her blood pumping by the time she entered
the main plaza. It was cleaned up as though nothing out of the ordinary had
taken place the previous evening; be it a town meeting, potluck, or a Sorceress
attack.

Sierra knocked lightly on the door to the mayor's residence and was
quickly ushered in by his wife. The mayor himself was out attending to some
other business and would return shortly. Waiting for him to return with only
his wife as company was enough to put Sierra on edge. The woman was trying too
hard to be polite. It didn't come naturally anymore. Sierra rose to her feet
when the mayor stepped into the small office where she had been waiting for
him. His eyes wouldn't meet hers.

"I'm sorry Miss de Ling, your services up to last night had been
spectacular, but I'm still going to have to dismiss you. Your presence here
would only serve as a reminder to the villagers of the recent Sorceress
attack."

"I understand," Sierra accepted. And she did to some degree. These
people lived in the middle of nowhere. The violence of last night was shocking
and the mayor wished to sweep the matter under the rug as quickly as possible.

He was clearly thankful that this was going easier than he envisioned.
From a drawer he withdrew two envelopes and handed both to her. One contained
3,000 gil in severance pay and the other was a letter of recommendation.

"The mayor of Vaylar is always looking for good people to keep the peace
between the Galbadian army and the Timber ruffians. You passed through Vaylar
on your way here so you should have no trouble finding it."

After leaving the mayor's home Sierra found herself wandering towards the
dock behind the inn where she met Arjun late night. She didn't know what he
had in mind, but it wouldn't hurt to listen. It's not like she had anywhere
pressing to be at the moment.

He was already there waiting for her.

"Told you to leave, didn't he?" Arjun said by way of greeting. "What are
you going to do now?"

She shrugged. "I dunno, what did you have in mind?"

He smiled and patted the ground next to him in invitation for her to sit.
"I consulted with my sources last night and they informed me that SeeD can't
handle what they've gotten into by themselves."

"Is that so..?" She asked dryly.

He nodded, ignoring the note of sarcasm in her voice. "We're in the
unique position of being able to back them up. There are countless places
where we could help, so I've narrowed it down to where we would be able to make
the most difference. For myself, I'll go north to Galbadia Garden and meet up
with Quistis to-"

Sierra stood up abruptly and gathered her things to leave.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"You've got to be kidding me," Sierra chided, putting her hands on her
hips. "It's damn obvious that you have a crush on her and you're going to
deploy yourself to protect her? What a load of shit! This isn't some bad
Sorceress movie in which her Knight shows up at the climax of the battle to
defend her!"

Arjun's easy-going persona quickly changed to completely serious, "I'll
have you know that I'm her boyfriend."

"Oh really? Then what the hell are you doing out here?"

"I told you already," he nearly growled, "I was doing Cid a favor."

"A favor? What kind of favor could *YOU* do for Cid? I doubt that SeeD
has many uses for actors or whatever the hell you're passing yourself off to
be!"

Arjun stood up, seething because of Sierra's waspish comments. "Don't
*even* start with me," he growled darkly.

"Or what are you going to do? You say you need me, so it's not like you
can just kill me if I don't agree with you!"

"I haven't killed anyone for three and a half months. Don't tempt me," he
said. There was enough ice in his tone to warn the Trabian to back off.
Instead she laughed at his threat.

"You haven't got it in you!"

His eyebrows creased together tightly. "Not now," he whispered harshly,
only half-paying attention to Sierra. "I can handle this myself."

"Are you sure?" Sierra mistakenly took the comment as being directed at
her. "C'mon boy, show me what you've got!" She eased back into a ready stance
and waited for him to take up her challenge.

He smirked, a downright evil look clouding his baby-blue eyes. It was
much too late when it occurred to Sierra that fighting was what this man lived
for. Arjun advanced with a feint and then followed up with a punch.

Likewise Sierra smirked. He may not have realized it, but fighting was
what she lived for as well. They sparred on the dock that suddenly seemed to
be too narrow for the activity they had elected to perform on it. During their
bout they had nearly driven the each other off the edge and into the water.

"You were definitely trained by Mistress Xu," he commented after Sierra
performed a series of moves that was stolen straight out Xu's playbook.

"I'd say you were as well," she replied after ducking away from a punch.
He wasn't as heavily influenced as she was, but Xu's touch was there.

They continued exchanging jabs -- both verbal and physical -- until Arjun
put his hands up to call an end to their bout. "Although I'm thoroughly
enjoying myself, we're wasting time by doing this."

"Fine," Sierra agreed and plopped back down onto the dock. "So what did
you have in mind for me to do while you're playing the role of overprotective
boyfriend?"

"My source is adamant that the Sorceress will attack the Anshin clan in
Centra in the near future. Having visited there once myself, I can assure you
that the Sorceress attacking them is a certainty. There is a lot of magical
energy around their compound that would be like a beacon to a Sorceress bent on
gathering power. I've learned that Cid has sent only one SeeD to protect them;
Kei. While she is one of the few people on this planet who could kick my ass I
don't think she's up to the task of battling a Sorceress on her own."

Sierra shook her head slowly. "Can't we trade assignments? I'll protect
your girl and you protect *them*."

"Perhaps you missed the 'kicked my ass' part? Kei and I don't exactly get
along. She'd be too distracted by me to properly protect the Anshin from the
Sorceress." With that admission he picked up a stone and cast it into the
water. He wouldn't mind going there and protecting them, but he really would
be a distraction.

Sierra returned to her feet and sighed. "I'm sorry, I can't do it. So
the world will be less a few Anshin, it's no loss."

"I remember thinking that exact same thing once," he murmured to himself.

"Besides, I had my ass handed to me in strips last night. I doubt I could
help Kei when I couldn't even touch the Sorceress."

Arjun's head tilted slightly as though he were straining to listen to the
waters lapping against the nearby shore. "You're not as powerless as you lead
yourself to believe," his baby-blue eyes locked onto hers. "You have an
outrageously powerful Limit, don't you? When the Sorceress arrives unleash it
on her and let someone else pick up the pieces after you're done having your
way with her."

"How did you know-?"

"I have good sources," Arjun grinned, fishing a few magic beads from a
shirt pocket. "I don't have much use for magic myself, but I have it on good
authority that these babies will push you right into your Limit." He deposited
four beads into her hand.

Glancing down she identified them as the rare Aura spell. They were hard
to come by even for the most seasoned of SeeD. (Mainly because acquiring them
involved fighting very dangerous monsters to draw them or exploring areas that
were home to the aforementioned monsters). How the hell did he get some to
begin with?

"I still don't want to go," she said firmly, offering the beads back to
him.

"I can't force you and I don't have enough money to bribe you so let me
appeal to your sense of revenge. Don't you think it'd be nice to shove a rock
where the Sorceress would never find it again?" he paused for a moment before
continuing. "Hmm... You have some outstanding issues with the Anshin... Well,
who doesn't? Wouldn't it feel good to prove them wrong if *you* were the one
to save them from the Sorceress!"

"How the fuck do you know that?!" She exclaimed angrily.

A crypt smile touched his lips. "As I said, I have good sources. I hate
evasive answers, but I don't know of a way to explain. When you get there tell
them that Silence sent you. That should get you in the door at least."

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