Final Fantasy VIII: The Twilight Hour

Christiane understood her orders from Xu, and said to her friends, "I'm going to practice my fighting skills in the training center."

"Oh, let's us both go with you Christi!" Tina said, "I've got ammo, and I need the target practice."

"We'll all go." Luna said, crossing her arms, "I just hope you can keep up."

Christiane smiled, "Alright, I accept your challenge, just don't overdo it before the mission."

The three friends left the headmaster's office, Christi saying to Jack before leaving, "Nice mess you made." and headed for their dorms to get their weapons. Luna her several combat knives, Tina her M29 .44 Revolvers, named Talisman and Shamrock. Because Christiane would be taking her field exam in her SeeD Uniform, she would not be able to carry a staff around, instead she would bring her nunchuks. The three friends would wait for each other in the Training grounds.
 
Arukab listened carefully to the briefing. He noted what each squad was doing so that if it came to the worst of things, he knew where to find everyone. Xu spoke very professionally, and had a very easy to listen to voice. with this, he then heard her ask, "Any questions?" As a SeeD, Arukab knew he would probably not need to do much, but he also knew this was a difficult mission to complete. It was no wonder he was accepted without hesitation.

Sticking by Nida and Xu, Arukab waited for the mission to begin, and like always, waited to do as he was told.
 
Irvine went over the briefing in his head.
Seifer and co would kill everything on the way to the Garden.
Three girls were to locate the area where the monsters were coming from. 'Nice looking girls' he thought, but then he grimaced and realised they were too young for him. And besides, he was a taken man. Irvine looked over and smiled at Selphie.
Selphie, who with Rinoa was going into the Garden to help the wounded and find the Headmaster.
Then some guy had burst in, 'Trevor wasn't it? No it was Jack'.

Then any questions. Having not heard his own name or Zell's or Squall's he decided to ask a Question.

"What will we be doing.
By we I mean Zell and myself and even Squall. Our names were mentioned over the intercom but not in the briefing. Understandably I'm curious as to what my role will be in all of this."
 
Stephen listened to the briefing, noticing his name wasn't mentioned in this even thought he was called by the com, he was about to Questions why this was when Irvine piped up with the same question. Stephen looked at him with a smirk. "well Kinneas, i wasn't mentioned in the mission briefing either, but i was over the com, but I'm going to take a guess that we are to support the candidates in their missions and stop them getting themselves killed" Stephen explained, his short temper bursting throught before he looked at Xu "my apologies" he said as he lowered his gaze.

"so,when is it that we are leaving for Balamb, I guess we will be taking the boat from there Xu?" Stephen questioned with a small smirk
 
"Sorry I am late everybody, I had a little run in with a Grat in the training area." Jack said while trying to get some of the blood off.

Jack wondered if he was too late, because a few people had already left. He hoped that he could still take the exam. Jack walked to a wall and leaned against it waiting for his orders.
 
"The third team will consist of Selphie and Rinoa. Your mission is to follow behind Seifer and the moment you are able to, get into the Garden. Selphie, because you know the layout of Trabia Garden better than any of us here, you are to take Rinoa in as far as you can and help with taking care of the injured. Rinoa, once you are inside, I need you to locate the headmaster. Selphie will take you as far as she can. Get him out of there. Once the Entrance to the garden has been secured and the origin known, backup will arrive."

At this news Selphie's heart sank. Trabia garden had been slowly but surley rebuilding itself over the past three years. "I don't know if the headmaster is the same one but, I'll do my best. Is garden close to Trabia? We should get going!" said Selphie, her concern raising.

She looked over and spotted Irvine smiling at her. She smiled back, trying to comfort herself. Selphie turned to Rinoa. "As a SeeD in training, this mission will be a breeze for you! Don't be nervous I'll guide you!" Selphie told Rinoa in an effort to calm her nerves.

A nervous cadet is not a positive thing. Selphie stood in deep thought, thinking about her friends at Trabia, hoping that they were safe. She knew that the school could manage to fend for itself, but not for long...
 
Xu turned her dark hazel eyes upon Seifer, a flash of annoyance clear behind the look. "If you think this is going to be boring, then you can leave. If you don't want to participate in the Exam, you know where the door is, but believe me Seifer, it will be a long time before we give you another chance to become a SeeD." Her tone was steely, but her expression softened as she looked around at the others before finally resting on Squall.

"Tch...whatever"

She looked at each Cadet in turn. "You will be split up into three teams. The first team will consist of Seifer, Raijin and Fujin. Your mission will be to clear the way to Trabia Garden. Once you have secured the area, remain where you are." She gave Seifer another cold stare. "Do not go off on your own."

"Any questions?"

"Uhh...yeah. What the hell is this!? I'm supposed to clear the way for these losers? Dont' my skills say otherwise!? I should have expected this shit. Whatever, I will follow orders, for now"

He was well aware that everyone was staring at him in the room. He could care less after the mood he entered with. He was going to retort some more when he decided to storm out of the room. Before leaving, however he turned back to say: :

"Better not mess this one up. Miracles like the Ultimecia battle don't come twice"

He then left, without another word. He was fuming. He could not believe tha he was being hung out to dry. He took out his Hyperion, a habit he realized he was addicted to, and started to slash out at non-existant enemies. A few passing students thought it best to avoid going in his direction after seeing this display.

"Maybe she might use us for something bigger as the operation goes on, ya know?"

"RIGHT"

"She better had. I am bored and I don't know what I might do if something exciting doesn't happen...."

 
Listening obediently to the meeting, Zell kept his back straight both as a habit and in respect to his superior. Listening to everyone after the meeting he was going to follow up Irvine's comment when Seifer made a scene, unlike his previous encounters he managed to hold his tongue on this one, turning his attention back to Xu. "So yeah, what are we left to do? Just play support or something?" With the briefing over Zell had relaxed himself, practicing his punching, being careful to avoid hitting anyone.
 
ELIZABETH

"This mission would be information gathering, Matron. I am not about to take my men into a land teeming with monsters without knowing exactly what lies in wait." She smiled softly. "You will have no need to evacuate the children. Not yet, at least. So long as we can keep the influxes from spreading, they will be quite safe. However, I have made arrangements to transport them to Balamb via our ship if necessary."

Elizabeth straightened her back. "I know you don't want to hear this, Edea..." Her eyes turned grave and serious. "The world does not need another war... I agree... but if there is something hiding within that shadow... we must be ready for War regardless."

----------------------------------

XU

One eyebrow arched perfectly as Jack suddenly burst into the office, covered in blood. From the looks of him, Jack had just gone a round or two with some of the unsavoury enemies lurking within the training center. That was good, it would mean he was prepared. Or so she hoped.

"Jack... You shall accompany Rinoa and Selphie into the Garden. Once Selphie has led you to the Headmaster, you are to assist her in giving aid to the injured. There might also be a few monsters in the garden. It will be your task to keep the Infirmary safe."

Xu watched Christiane and her team leave, a small smile finally lifting the anxiety that had been so evident over her face before. Chris and her team would be fine. They were more than able, Xu was sure of this.

Noticing Arukab close by, Xu gave him a small nod. "You'll have your moment. You're part of the back-up squad," she told him in a quiet voice, her eyes flickering briefly towards Nida. "Don't fail us." Her smile widened slightly as she focused solely upon Nida.

Irvine's voice snapped her out of her Nida reverie and she turned to face the ex-Galbadian student. "I had a feeling you would be the one to ask that question, Kinneas," she held out her hand, a small communication device within it. "You must be prepared for battle. The moment the Headmaster is safe, you are to head in and help the Cadets to clear the area. Due to the sheer mass of monsters, infiltration is our safest bet to begin with. Once we know that the Headmaster is secure and the entrances to the Gardens are being watched, we can make our assault upon the main force of the monsters. This is your communication device. Use it once the main battle starts should you lose sight of myself or Squall." She gave him a small incline of the head. "We'll be depending on you, Sharpshooter."

"No, Stephen. We shall be leaving from here." She smiled and turned to Nida. "Pilot Nida, please make ready to leave."

Xu walked towards Jack and rested a hand lightly on his shoulder. "You understand your orders, I assume? Typically, if a cadet is late to a briefing, they do not participate. But times are slowly darkening and the more qualified soldiers we have, the better."

Nodding her head appreciately towards Selphie, Xu stood with her hands clasped in front of her. "Thank you, Selphie."

For the time being, Xu decided to ignore Seifer's attitude. He would soon realise that he could not have everything his own way. "Prepare as best you can. Once Garden reaches Trabia, the mission begins. That includes you, Zell. Be prepared for the main assault."
 
Christiane was the first to reach the training grounds, making it at the hallway and leaning on the wall to meditate. After a couple of minutes, Luna came with her multiple knives, numbering a good 25 of them.

Christiane opened her eyes when she noticed Luna coming, "Where's Tina?"

"She should be here any minute."

"Hey wait up." Tina said as she ran forward to meet the two girls.

"So, are you ready?"

"Yup"

"Alright, follow my lead."

The trio descended into the training grounds, looking for monsters to kill. it was at the time they spotted a group of 3 Grats heading straight towards them. Pulling out their weapons, Tina started by firing .44 caliber rounds at one Grat, taking it down without a second thought. Christiane ran forward and swung her nunchuks four times at the second Grat, taking it down without much interference. Luna however, wanted to stock up on magic. Focusing on the Grat's power of sleep, she absorbed a part of it's power and used it against it, putting the oversized flytrap to sleep.

"Girls, I suggest we draw from this Grat, get what we need for on the road."

Both Christi and Tina nodded and they began drawing Sleeps and Silences from the now asleep Grat.
 
One eyebrow arched perfectly as Jack suddenly burst into the office, covered in blood. From the looks of him, Jack had just gone a round or two with some of the unsavoury enemies lurking within the training center. That was good, it would mean he was prepared. Or so she hoped.

"Jack... You shall accompany Rinoa and Selphie into the Garden. Once Selphie has led you to the Headmaster, you are to assist her in giving aid to the injured. There might also be a few monsters in the garden. It will be your task to keep the Infirmary safe."

"Yes sir, I mean ma'am, I mean I understand" Jack said as he saluted Xu.

She went over and talked to a few of the other Cadets, and to Irvine Kinneas. Xu seemed always to know what to say because once she was done talking everybody seemed to have a better attitude. Then she came over and put her hand on Jack's shoulder.

Xu walked towards Jack and rested a hand lightly on his shoulder. "You understand your orders, I assume? Typically, if a cadet is late to a briefing, they do not participate. But times are slowly darkening and the more qualified soldiers we have, the better."

"I understand ma'am, I thank you for the chance. I will not let you down." Jack said as he looked over at Rinoa and Selphie and thought to himself with a little bit of pride that he was going to be working with the Rinoa and the Selphie.

He quickly disregarded that thought because he needed to be focused and thinking that they were some sort of celebrities instead teammates would not help the situation. He needed to treat them as equals because that is what they are.

Noticing that several Cadets had taken there leave, he decide that it would be best he went and got cleaned up before the mission started. So Jack went down the elevator and headed to his dorm. His roommate wasn't in so he quickly undressed took a quick shower and got into a clean uniform. Jack plopped down on his bed and shut his eyes for a moment. He thought about the battle ahead and hoped that he would succeed. Scratch that he hoped he would survive.
 
Squall stood silently at the side of the room watching as SeeD candidates began to file out in groups or by themselves, the one who had turned up last leaving almost as soon as Xu had worked away from him. He also noted the Christiane and her two friends had left.

He looked across the room at where Rinoa was leaning on the wall. He knew that Selphie was an able SeeD, more than capable of giving Rinoa any help she may need, but this was Trabia, where Selphie grew up, perhaps... He caught Rinoa's eye and gave her a confident nod before looking round at the people remaining in the office.

He knew that Zell and Irvine would be happy to leave and get back to what they were doing, as would Arukab. As the oldest currently serving SeeD member from Balamb he might be pleased of the mission, even if he was only backup, as he would probably want to get as much action as possible before he was asked to retire.

He looked across at Nida. Xu had asked him to start piloting the garden, so Squall would head up to see Nida later, and speak to him regarding getting out of the area afterwards, especially if things went wrong, they would need several back up plans available. He and Xu would consult Nida about that he decided.

He leant back against his wall, still in silence, waiting for the rest of the SeeDs and candidates to leave the room, as he knew Xu would want to speak to him seperately, as usual, as some of what she may have to say may not be necessary for students taking part in a field exam to hear...
 
"This had better not be boring, Xu. I had to put up with a lot of shit before coming here...." Seifer said.

Nida rolled his eyes at Seifer's remark. Typical of him to pretend he was the only person in the world who mattered. He hadn't changed at all in three years.

Xu turned her dark hazel eyes upon Seifer, a flash of annoyance clear behind the look. "If you think this is going to be boring, then you can leave. If you don't want to participate in the Exam, you know where the door is, but believe me Seifer, it will be a long time before we give you another chance to become a SeeD."

Nida smiled. Seifer may have some of the students intimidated but Xu wouldn't stand for his crap, nor anyone else's for that matter. He listened as she ran through the briefing, outlining tasks each team of cadets would perform. Once she had finished, a few of the Cadets filed out of the room.

Then the questions started pouring in, particularly from Seifer and Irvine. Nida rolled his eyes again at Seifer's little outburst. When would he realize that the world did not revolve around him? As much as he liked to think he had all the answers, he was completely clueless.

Once Jack had been assigned a duty and everyone's questions had been answered, he approached Xu. He put his hands on her shoulders and rubbed them.

"Try and relax a bit. Everything will be fine."

He kissed her forehead lightly and headed to the elevator, taking it back up to the bridge. The engineers appeared to be finished checking the controls.

"Everything's still works, I'm assuming?"

"Yes, sir," they said in unison.

Nida stepped up to the controls and began pressing the buttons swiftly and methodically. He looked through the clear glass as the garden lifted off the ground. He picked up the communication device that linked him to Xu.

"We're on our way," he said as he steered the garden in the direction of Trabia.
 
Having recieved his orders, Zell took a light bow as he left the room and headed inside the elevator. He didn't have the most fun or objectives but battles weren't meant to be fun. He had to focus and prepare for the battle that lay ahead. This was a serious mission. Thinking back, Zell decided it best if he stuck with Squall, if the two were to work together they had to keep nearby to ensure that there was no confusion later. After leaving the elevator he stood to it's right and waited for Squall to arrive.
 
Rinoa listened quietly to Xu, nodding when Xu turned to her and explained her part in all of this. It sounded like, basically, she had to follow Selphie into the Garden and find the headmaster. Shouldn't be too difficult, really.

A new addition rushed into the meeting, looking a bit of a mess, and spoke. Rinoa watched Xu for her response, and wasn't quite sure how she felt upon hearing that this late arrival would be accompanying Selphie and herself on their part of the mission.

"As a SeeD in training, this mission will be a breeze for you! Don't be nervous I'll guide you!"

Rinoa looked over at Selphie with a small grateful smile, the reassurance doing more than she was showing for her nerves. Squall nodded at her and she turned her smile on him instead, refusing to show that she was shaken up.

Xu seemed to be done with her, and quite a few people had already walked out, so Rinoa straightened up and stretched her arms over her head, nervous energy building up. She didn't want to sit here and wait around, plus Xu probably wanted a break as well. The doors were still open from the last person to go out, and Rinoa went over and quickly caught them before they swung shut, holding them for Selphie as she left too. Maybe she could hang out with Selphie until they arrived in Trabia... it wouldn't hurt to talk a bit beforehand.
 
Arukab had figured that he would be a back-up. In his lifetime he had seen plenty of failed SeeD exams, and this one was a potential failure. It was nice to be able to be part of this mission, since he had planned on retiring as SeeD in the next one to four years, depending on how things played out for him.

Behind all the talking heard, Arukab figured staying in the office would do no good for anyone, so to kill time he would walk off to the Library and find a good read. It was not often he would go to the library at all, but it was a good way to silently kill time. He had made a good friendly relationship with some of the staff in the area, and so it would be nice to visit them in working hours.

Arukab headed out the door with a gentle smile.
 
Selphie watched the students leaving, being last in line. She slipped through the doors Rinoa held smiling with a cheery "Thanks" hoping that her facade wouldn't reveal her worry.

Selphie stood to address her team. "Well Jack, Rinoa, we should be in Trabia soon. I hope you guys are prepared!" She started. "Although after taking down Ultimicia I'm already aware of a SeeDs full potential. Lets save Trabia!"

At that she motioned for her team to follow her into the elevator. "Do you guys have any GFs?" she asked out of curiosity. "It may come in handy. You guys can get prepared if you have any last minute preparations to fufil. I'll be waiting at the entrance."

 
"Thanks Steve and thank you too Xu", Irvine waved and left the office.
As he did, the elevator just returned to the top, what excellent timing he thought. He stepped in and took the elevator down to the first floor. As he exited the elevator he saw Zell standing just to the right of it.

"Hey Zell, it'll be nice to fight with you again, it's been too long. Are you looking forward to all the fighting that's going to happen when we directly assualt the monsters? I must admit I'm slightly nervous."

After Zell had replied said, "I'll see you later Zell, I've got to go and get ready".

Irvine walked off to his room. Once there, he reached under his bed and grabbed his shotgun and placed it on top of his bed. Then he opened a cupboard and pulled out his lightest sniper rifle. It had a folding stock so it was easy to carry with him. He placed that in a pocket inside his jacket. He picked up his shotgun and wandered off, looking for a place to wait until the mission began.
 
Stephen nodded at what XU said and then took his leave of the headmaster's office, he was one of the last to leave, and he headed down to the training area to Draw some magic before the mission, Granted Stephen never really stocked magic, he just cast it straight from drawing it. As the elevator reached the ground floor Stephen headed throught the Garden and towards the Training centre.

After a short walk, Stephen had arrived and was face straight away by a grat, Stephen smiled and cast one of the Grat's silence spells against it using his draw ability, and then after a sword Strike he used his Card ability and turned the Grat into a Triple triad Card, Smirking Stephen picked up the card and slid it into his pocket. "that was to easy" he muttered to himself before looking around for either more creatures or one of the many SeeD Candidates from the briefing.
 
Seifer separated from Fuu and Rai for a bit to prepare for the mission. He was still angry for getting the "short end of the stick" in his opinion, but that wouldn't deter him. He was going to remind everyone who he was and the level of skill he possessed. He reloaded his bullets into his Hyperion and took along a few cartridges of ammo and put them in a pocket in his jacket. He then stepped out of the room and went to meet back up with Fuu and Rai, determined to show what power and ability he had to all the others taking part in the mission.
 
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