Welcome to Gaia! ::

Disc One
Chapter Two

Balamb Garden was quite the spectacle; the Garden itself could be compared in size to a coliseum. Its outside structure resembled that of a pigeon that was comfortably perched in its nest. It was made by, well, no one really knows who the inventor of the Garden universities was, but whoever it was must have been a genius. The outside of the mobile school had a texture ranging from blue to green to grey. Above the titan, was what seemed to be a giant sized halo, a solid gold ring that had titanium designs spawning from it, made in a full circle. Under the halo were golden rectangles which had a baby blue rim running around it much like the halo. There were white ropes tied to the spikes that stretched out from the halo, each one tied tightly to hold the Garden down. The real beauty in the Garden, was when the sun set and the moon would rise, casting night upon the lands. The Garden would give off a blue aura, one that seemed to float into the sky. The halo that hovered above the Garden shined bright, like the North Star. Even the blue rim and the golden rectangles shined bright in the starry sky. It was something so lovely, almost like a symphony conducted by the great Nobuo Uematsu. Ahem, sorry if I caught you offguard here, but, shall we get back to the story of our heroes? Davis, Zexion, and Akira walked through the main exit of the Garden which lead to the outside area of the school. An open space that resembled that of a parking lot was stretched far out before them. They walked quickly across it, leading to some stairs. This area was like a hill of stairs with trees, plants, fountains and even some draw points. Davis made sure to hit the draw point, collecting some Cures. They ran down some more stairs and finally arrived at the golden Front Gate. “Alright guys, are we ready?” Davis made sure to ask this again, he didn’t want any mistakes to happen. Both Zexion and Akira nodded in agreement. “I know I ask this a lot Zexion, but do you think it’s safe to fight without any clothing on your chest besides that trench coat? I mean, your chest is bare, that could be an open target for the fiends.”

Zexion just looked at Davis and smiled. “It’s sweet of you to care about me, but I’ll be fine.” That was Zexion, sarcastic as always.

“Trust me, it’s more tough love than me caring.” The three teenagers ran along the curved path that slowly turned straight. The cement road dissolved as they ran forward, going from a thick, grey cement road to a green, grassy sea. The area in front of them was huge. There was so much grass, it was hard to even see the ocean. Davis was able to make out Balamb Town, and even some of the forests. But he knew the forest to the left of them was the path to the Fire Cavern. It was mandatory that all students have a GF, but most students didn’t have to go to the Fire Cavern. The last person to go there for a GF, was the great Squall Lionhart. It made Davis think about why Folken picked this place, but it didn’t make him nervous to be following the foot steps of Squall. There was something eerie about the forest, it was way too quiet. By this time, they were a good distance from the Garden. Davis had been through this forest before, but he never dwelled on his past experiences like this. He had a shift of momentum in his stomach. It felt like something was kicking around. Whatever was going on, something was giving him a bad feeling, and he didn’t like when he had a bad feeling.

“Well, there are two things we could do Davis, walk, or stand here staring at some stupid trees. I prefer to walk and kill something.” Zexion liked being a smartass most of the time. But it annoyed the hell out of Davis.

“Fine. Let’s move.” Davis lead the pack into the shaded forest. There were so many trees, the forest itself hardly had any light. The leaves cast a dome-like shadow, the only light that did seep through, was from the small openings in the crowds of leaves from the trees. Davis huddled through the forest, his pure black Gunblade slung across his shoulder, laying on his back. Usually they would walk, but Davis was on a time schedule here. He knew that he couldn’t be late for his SeeD Exams. This is something he’s been waiting his whole life for and he knew if he missed this chance, he would have to wait another four years. And if he hasn’t emphasized this enough, Davis was destined for greatness. Their trial run was quickly interrupted when the ground started to rumble and the trees rustled due to a fierce wind. The three warriors stopped dead in their trails and scanned the area, each one looking for anything suspicious. Davis took his Gunblade, Blackfire, by the handle and held it in front of him. Akira got into his fighting stance, his fist placed in position. Zexion held his Gunblade, Requiem, a stainless, silver Gunblade, with a huge skull design, sprouting from the top of the handle. (The blade appears to come out of the skull. Think DMC3’s sword that Dante has at first.) It was resting on his shoulder; Zexion was basically giving off that cocky persona of his like that.

“Something smells fishy, and we ain’t by the ocean,” Zexion responded. The group took gaze as something darted under the dirt faster than a speeding bullet. When they looked around their feet, they noticed some plants, but thought nothing of it. A mistake that would haunt them, because these plants were apart of a creature. The plants poured from out the dirt, growing out into large tentacles. They wrapped around the legs of Davis, Akira, and Zexion, holding each of them upside down. The rest of the tentacles jumped out, attached to a large, plant like monster. Zexion could easily tell what it was. “Great, a Grat.” But that wasn’t all. Soon another plant monster climbed from the depths of the earth, but this one was much bigger in size. It was an Ochu. This plant monster was equipped with a large mouth full of sharkish teeth. And out from the bushes were some blue Bite Bugs, buzzing around. These insects were about the same size of Korgol’s head, and that’s pretty big seeing that Korgol is a behemoth of a man. The party was now surrounded by a array of monsters, each one more deadlier than the next. “Not to be funny or anything, but does anyone else feel a bit green?” Zexion looked at the others, a grin planted to his face.

“Well guys, should we show our friends a good time,” Davis let out, his face went from an expression of fear, to one of pure satisfaction. He used his Gunblade to cut himself loose from the Grat’s tentacles. Zexion slashed himself down and the two looked at Akira, who was swordless.

“Don’t worry guys, I got this. Get the Ochu and Bite Bugs. This ones mine,” Akira assured. Davis ran towards the Ochu and Zexion went after the Bite Bugs. Akira used the tentacles to his advantage, rocking his body back and forth until he was able to get a swinging motion going on. As he reached closer and closer to the Grat, he prepared his attack. Right as he reached the face of the monster, he used his black Devil Gloves to send an attack full of energy and fist straight into the Grat’s kisser. The Grat released it’s vine grip on Akira, letting him fall to the ground. He rushed the Grat, cutting off any of its attempts to attack him by pounded away at its belly. The Grat tried using its vines to lash out at Akira, but he easily dodged the thin tentacles, jumping through them like they were jump ropes or loops. Akira continued to flip back, but one of the vines catches his arm, causing him to almost lose balance. Luckily, he uses his other hand to catapult himself off the ground, flipping backwards once more. He lands on the ground with both feet and begins to charge up his right fist. “This is a little attack I like to call ‘Devil’s Fury’.” At that moment, Akira’s gauntlets burst into flames of green energy. He yells out and charges full speed at the Grat, punching away at it with at least ten straight combo’s full of jabs, hooks, uppercuts and body blows before launching into the air. His body now burst into green flames as he came down on the Grat, slamming his fist straight through its head, killing the Grat completely and painfully. This kind of attack is called a Limit Break, and you’ll be seeing more of those as the story progresses, so don’t forget that term. Akira stands there, looking on at the sparkles of EXP floating away from the Grat’s body. He stands there and using his gauntlets, absorbs all of the creatures EXP. Members of the Garden’s do this to make their selves stronger, faster, smarter, and more diverse in their use of magic. In a way, they level up if you will once they gain enough of this EXP.

Zexion has other things to worry about, as he swats away at the Bite Bugs. One of them fires off a huge poisonous needle from its tail at Zexion, but he barely dodges it. Rolling across the dirt, he tries to regain his position, but the insects stampede him, cutting off his chances for an offensive attack. He continues to swat them away until he remembers he doesn’t need his sword at this moment. Zexion uses his magic powers to cast Blind, a bright light flashes from his hands, stunning and blinding each bug. “Ha, they always fall for it.” Zexion then takes his blade and slashes the trio of Bite Bugs in half, absorbing their EXP through Requiem. “Oh come on, are you telling me that’s all they got? I wonder how Davis is doing…” Davis had his fight cut out for him, as the Ochu was swinging his tentacles around wildly and was vomiting acid from its wide mouth. The Ochu tries swatting Davis into the ground, but he misses the target. Davis continues to roll around, but is stopped when the Ochu takes his legs from underneath him, causing Davis to fall face first on the ground. The monster lines up Davis and then spits out its puddle of acid at his body, but Akira comes to the rescue, pushing Davis out the way from serious harm. He looks at him and Davis just brushes the dirt from his black vest.

“Thanks Akira. But if you’ll excuse me, I got some a** to kick.” Davis kipped up off the dirt and charged at the Ochu, zig-zagging as he led his attack towards him. The monster used all four of it’s tentacles to crush Davis in like two walls, but he flipped over it, bringing his Gunblade down into it’s squishy skin, cutting the Ochu right down the middle and in half. Davis finished it by absorbing its EXP into Blackfire, feeling a rush of new power coursing through his body. He looked at the others and they all celebrated, but got back to the task at hand. They walked to the end of the forest and could finally start to see some light. “Here it is guys, the exit to the forest.” Davis was proud to have made it through because he was one step closer to reaching the Fire Cavern, and from getting his GF. As they exited the forest they could see a valley made of rocks and dirt. They came across this valley, the sun beating down on their teenage bodies, heating them up as they grew closer to the cavern. But maybe it wasn’t the sun that was causing the heat, maybe it was the cavern. The valley came to an end as it connected into a mountain, but there was an entrance to this mountain. Years ago, two men in wardrobe would guard this opening, but it was said that a Hellfire demon killed them, removing any and all guards that trespassed. This was the entrance to the Fire Cavern and by the looks of it; man hasn’t been there in years. The dirt was still fresh; you could barely make out any old footprints. There was a sign however, and it read “NO HUMANS ALLOWED BEYOND THIS LINE”. Davis looked down and was surprised to see a line…made of blood. Whoever put this sign up was serious about what they said. Davis started to think about whose blood that could be. What if it was human blood? And if it was, what happened to them?

“Alright, we need to be on our feet, something doesn’t seem right about this place,” Davis sweated.

“Don’t tell me you’re scared Mustang?” Zexion knew something was eating at Davis and liked exposing it.

“Zexion, I’m not scared, but this could be human blood. Which means something took the time to draw a line with human blood. Which means something could be in this Cavern and would like to kill us before we get the GF. So it would be nice to be on your guard, since I don’t want to save your a**.” Zexion looked at Davis from the corner of his eye, giving him a pretty nasty look.

“Whatever. No one saves my a**, but me. And don’t you forget that.” Zexion pushed past Davis and Akira walking straight into the cavern.

“Great, let’s catch up before he takes me damn GF.” Davis and Akira ran after Zexion. As soon as they entered, the light that was once shining down on them disappeared. The cavern was dark, but when they moved on, light slowly started to show. But it wasn’t sun light; it was a red light, which came from the lava that rest calmly on the sides of the black road. They came across a Bomb monster, a creature that resembled ball of flames. It had eyes and a mouth, but it wasn’t doing anything. It didn’t attack them, or even acknowledge them, it just mind its own business. Unfortunately, Zexion had to be a p***k and kick the damn thing, angering it in the process. Instead of fighting it though, it flew off, disappearing into the real dark spots of the cavern. “Now what the hell did you have to do that for?” Davis snapped at Zexion, but he just laughed it off.

“Look, you’re the one who wants a GF, but that doesn’t mean the rest of us can’t have fun.” Davis walked past Zexion this time, marching along the path, and what a path it was. At average, it was about the length of a football field. Davis didn’t want to run for he feared falling into the lava, but Zexion didn’t care. He was walking along the edge of the path, just barely losing his footing as he took each step. Davis wanted to tell him to stop, but he knew how Zexion was. They long marathon came to an end as the path ended at a giant hole. Davis thought that this is where Ifrit would come out, but there was no sign of the GF. He looked down the hole and didn’t see much, well, except for pure darkness.

“Alright, we’re going in.”

Akira shot Davis that “are you crazy” look. “Dude, I don’t think that’s such a good idea. I mean, we don’t know what’s down there.”

“Stop being such a p***y Akira. I think Davis is finally growing his balls back eh,” Zexion replied. <******** off Zexion. Look Akira, if we don’t do this, I might not get a GF, and I can’t take that risk. I have to take part in the SeeD Exams today. Are you with me,” Davis pleaded. Akira didn’t know if this was the right thing to do, but knew how much Davis had his heart set on the SeeD Exams.

“Okay, let’s rock.” They party jumped down the hole, but could not be prepared for what they would see next. It was a large village, but the village was occupied by something Davis and the others though they would never see: The Hellfire race. There weren’t that many though, maybe only a few hundred. They were walking around, sparring, eating, they even had a damn pub down there. The ground was pretty stable, but it made Davis wonder how they could live under lava. He looked down the straight path past the village and could see a large ocean, but this ocean was made of lava. It was the complete opposite of Balamb. Dark, hot, moist, and there was barely any other life forms besides the Hellfire, the Red bats, the Bombs and the Buel’s. Davis walked forward, stepping into the boundaries of the village. Immediately they were welcomed with gasps and growling; whispers spreading fast. They seemed to be the first humans to walk down here ever. A large Hellfire demon noticed their weapons and quickly sent out a thunderous roar, one load enough to shake the confines of the cavern. At this point, a lone Hellfire demon that was Davis’ size walked past his people, parting the small crowd like the Red Sea. The Hellfire were a furry race, having features that were close to that of a lion. This one had brown, furry skin, with long, red hair growing from the top of his head. He wore a read headband across his forehead, resting tightly on his furry red eyebrows. His large ears stuck out from his hair, the guy had whiskers, a lion’s nose and mouth. His mouth was partly opened, his small fangs showing through. He wore a long red vest, with a black belt tied around his waist. His pants were baggy and for some odd reason connected right to his boots as one big pants/boots combination. His large hands were covered by white gloves, each glove having a weird symbol that Davis couldn’t make out, but it was on the back of both gloves. His tail swaggered from side to side, like a dog when it’s excited. But Davis was taken by the Hellfire’s eyes. They stood out above all else, those bright, red eyes. They stared back at Davis’ soul, sending the chills throughout his entire body. This was an emotion that Davis had never felt before.

“You dare trespass Hellfire property? Either you’re looking to die or you’re all some fools. We don’t take too kindly to your kind walking around down here. As a matter of fact, your kind shouldn’t be down here at all.” The Hellfire spoke with meaning, but with a certain power behind his voice.

“Look, we don’t want any trouble. I was sent here to seek out the GF Ifrit,” Davis responded, trying to sway the Hellfire’s obvious feelings of anger.

“It’s been years since an outsider searched for Ifrit. The only person to win him over was a true hero among our people. Squall Leonhart. He is the only outsider respected among my people, as he gave Ifrit back to us. What makes you think you deserve him?” The demon shot Davis’ attempt down, wanting more than just a “we don’t want trouble”.

“I need him. It’s a matter of-” The demon cut Davis right off.

“If you want Ifrit, you’ll have to prove yourself to me and my people. And let me tell you now, I will kill you. I am Ryuko of the Flames, and you best beware my fury, or you’ll end up like the rest of the outsiders: burnt to ashes.” Ryuko lashed out at Davis, using no weapons at all, but trying to fight him with his fists. Davis ducks and dodges each blow, but his face is just graced with each attack. Ryuko switches his barrage up by using his tail to sweep Davis off his feet. He pounces on top of Davis, clawing away at his face, but Davis connects with Ryuko’s jaw, knocking him off of him with a hard right hand. Ryuko isn’t too worried about this, as he uses his cat-like agility to curl his body up in mid-air and land perfectly on his feet, using them to launch himself back at Davis like a torpedo. Davis was still laying on the ground, but waited till Ryuko reached his body before kipping up and using his legs to kick the demon in the jaw, but Ryuko grabbed on to his feet and flipped off of them, stomping his feet down, almost smashing them into Davis face. Davis rolls out the way just in the nick of time, his face going on to see another day. He takes Blackfire and starts to swing away at Ryuko uncontrollably, but Ryuko’s speed is unmatched. Suddenly, the symbols on his gloves begin to glow red. Ryuko smiles at Davis, like he just allowed him to walk straight into a trap. He snaps his fingers and a huge ball of flames smashes into Davis’ gut, throwing the teenager straight into a mountain wall. This was Ryuko’s ace, he was a Fira user, and actually, he was a Fira Alchemist. Something that the party has never came across. Alchemist were rare these days, they were a dying class some would say. But this Hellfire demon was an alchemist, and a damn good one. Akira tried to attack Ryuko, but he didn’t even need to look back to stop him. He just snapped his fingers and a wall of flames pushed him back, slightly burning his clothes. Ryuko waited patiently for Davis to get back to his feet. Ryuko let out another laugh and then snapped his fingers, forming an army of fireballs around his body. There were at least thirty of them and he grinned, throwing each and every one Davis’ way. Davis, moving on instinct, fended the balls off with his Gunblade, blocking each one that came his way. He took this time to bat them back at Ryuko, turning the fireballs on him. But Ryuko was too smart for that, he simply put up a fire wall, blocking all the balls that Davis knocked back. He continued his onslaught, but this time he threw the balls in a curve. Some were coming at Davis straight, while a new batch were coming at him curved. Davis dipped, dived, dodged, and blocked, but during all this time of him running away, Ryuko was able to creep up on him and send out a strategize attack. Ryuko formed a spear made of fire and hurled it at Davis’ chest.

“Davis, look out!” Akira brought the spear to Davis’ attention. He turned his head and could see the spear right in front of him, but it was too late to move away completely, so he jumped far enough, so the spear just pierced the side on his shoulder. It cut straight through his vest, leaving a large gash on his arm. Davis kneeled down, holding his arm in pain. Ryuko was ready to pounce him again, but then Zexion attacked, slashing Ryuko on his stomach and sending a roundhouse kick to his face, knocking the Hellfire back. Davis looked up to see his savior staring down on him. Zexion didn’t look to happy with saving Davis, but knew he couldn’t let his best friend get killed. Ryuko was infuriated by Zexion’s interference and made this visible. He charged at both Zexion and Davis, ready to burn them both alive when a huge eruption from the lava occurred. The people of the village went into frenzy, and some miner Hellfire’s came running away from the lava screaming out in terror.

“Ryuko! Ryuko! The Bomb’s are attacking and this time they have a huge army!” Ryuko’s attention went from his fight with the party to patch of lava that was near the end of their village.

“This fight will have to wait, my people need my assistance.” With that, Ryuko ran off near the sea of lava, ready to fight off the Bomb army. Davis looked at Akira and Zexion and they already knew the deal. Without saying a word the party chased after Ryuko, wanting to help him in any way. Well, Zexion wasn’t there for help; he just wanted the EXP and a good fight. They came up behind Ryuko, struck with awe at the amount of Bombs that had showed up. Then it was clear, Davis knew why they were attacking. It was because of Zexion’s earlier actions towards that nice Bomb. He didn’t say anything though, cause he knew it would only make the Hellfire’s hate them more. “I didn’t ask for any of your help,” Ryuko shouted.

“Who said we were helping you? Besides, you can’t take on all these Bombs by yourself. And I know what your thinking, blowing them all up with your Fira, but incase you didn’t notice, you’ve got a small village behind you, which means you would destroy the whole thing.” Davis looked at Ryuko, hoping he would use his senses. Ryuko didn’t answer him; he just turned to face the Bombs, his way of telling the party they could help him. The Bombs didn’t attack just yet though, no, something was wrong about this picture. It was then that each of party and Ryuko would see what the Bombs were truly up to. They started to fuse with their fellow Bombs, until all of them formed into one huge Bomb monster, one that was the size of building. The giant monster made of complete fire had two large horns that hung on the side of the monsters head.

“Listen up, I’ve never seen the Bomb’s do something like this, but you are to follow my lead.” Ryuko then led the party of four rushing forward at the giant Bomb. The Bomb used its large hand to crush the party like pancakes, but each of them was able to dive out the way. They prepared a synchronized attack. Ryuko knew he was screwed however, since if he used his Fira, it would only make the monster more powerful. He would have to rely on the others to defeat the monster. Davis and Zexion attacked the legs of the monster, slashing and slicing away at them. Akira and Ryuko would have to resort to their fists to take out its arms. Akira’s Devil Gloves dealt out a huge amount of damage, Ryuko would punch away at one hand while Akira would charge up his fists and use his combo’s to attack it. Ryuko and Akira teamed together, combining their forces to hit a double combo on the left arm, Akira would punch and Ryuko would kick. They did this in repetition until they switched it up and Akira grabbed Ryuko by the legs, swinging him around, throwing his body at the left arm. Ryuko placed his arms ahead of his body, smacking right into the Bomb’s arm. He used his legs to bounce off of him, back at Akira. He came back, and landed on his knees, Akira ran off his back and with one swift blow, they took out the Bomb’s left arm completely. Zexion and Davis weren’t having too much progress with the monsters legs. This angered the Bomb, so it used its other arm to crush Akira right into the ground. Davis was worried, but Ryuko dived at the Bomb’s face, and he was so close to reaching it, but the monster hammered him into a wall made of rocks. Davis and Zexion were confused at this point, Ryuko was the only one who knew how to defeat this thing, but that didn’t stop them. Then it hit Davis. His Gunblade was able to shoot bullets specially coated with blue flames, a flame that was pretty powerful against red flames. Davis positioned his self in front of the Bomb, allowing Zexion to distract him so he could get a clear shot. Once the target was acquired, he pulled the trigger, the impact throwing Davis back. The bullet took at straight path for the Bomb’s head, and connected, the Bomb’s head exploding into the air. Now headless, it still was moving around. Zexion’s body glowed, signaling he was performing his Limit Break. He called his the “Sword Symphony”. Hundreds of Gunblades formed of energy surrounded his body and launched off at the Bomb’s body, each one piercing its flame layer. Zexion then finished the attack off with, his body moving at the speed of light, plowing past the Bomb, leaving a blinding light from the contact. He sheathed his Gunblade, and the creature fell into two halves. The EXP was absorbed by both Davis and Zexion, as Ryuko and Akira were knocked out. They walked over to Akira and Ryuko, helping both of them to their feet. Ryuko was taken back by this, and couldn’t hide his pride. As they helped him back to the village, he stopped them, making sure to get this out.

“I won’t normally do this, but you guys helped me protect my village, when I couldn’t. Maybe you outsiders aren’t so bad, but then again, I can’t trust you day walkers. But you did earn my people’s respect and for that, I will award you with Ifrit.” Ryuko handed a small stone over to Davis and with that, Davis absorbed all the energy from it. By doing this, he took in Ifrit, and would be able to call him out at any time. And this also meant that when he got EXP, so would Ifrit, making both of them better. The party was proud; Davis could now enter his SeeD Exam and possibly become the one thing he’s been longing for: A SeeD. Though the party was preoccupied with the Hellfire’s, someone was lurking in the Fire Cavern. Someone was watching them above from that hole. Someone with different motives. Someone who had set up more than just a plan. They had set up the destruction of SeeD.

Disc One
Chapter Three: Part Two

The scene was set for the students who were ready to become SeeD’s, but something about their team captain was unsettling for Davis. He had heard about Zigan from different people and didn’t like anything he had heard. Most of everyone he talked to said that Zigan was very uptight due to his strict, “follow every rule in the book” ways. Some said he was a pain in the a** because he thought he was superior to everyone under him. It was said he acted like that due to the fact that he came from a family of aristocrats, his father owning a large part of the casinos that were now in Deling City. Whatever it was, Davis already didn’t like the vibe that was set and was going to make sure Zigan understood that. As Instructor Folken signaled for the team to follow him, Davis pushed past Zigan, purposely bumping shoulders with him. Zigan merely grinned, as he also had heard some stories about the fiery Davis Mustang. In this situation however, he knew that he was the leader, and he knew that would get under Davis’ skin. This would be an interesting day indeed. The group made their way to the unused parking lot, boarding one of the larger red cars. The inside looked more like a bus than a car, as there were seats on either sides of the car, almost like a barracks truck. There was no interaction between the team. Everyone took this time to pray to whoever they believed in. Davis held the necklace with the same flame emblem on his gunblade that belonged to his father. It wasn’t so much of a good luck charm then it was something Davis wore proudly in order to remember his father.

Leaving the Garden and driving down the straight shot path that leads to Balamb, the team made way through the peace and tranquility that is Balamb, making their way towards the docks that were past the hotel. The scenery was quite splendid that day, the clouds drifting about like white marshmallows in the sky. The docks weren’t used that much by the people of Balamb, as they enjoyed their life exactly where it was. So SeeD made sure to take full use of the large docks near the massive ocean that surrounded all of the land on the world. As each party member exits the car, Swank and Korgol bring the group over to the stationary submarine like ship that is awaiting the party. Davis looks off into the waves of the ocean, the reflection of his smile glistening as the sun hits the exact spot. Korgol stood tall like a statue, with Headmaster Swank, Instructor Folken, and Mizuki all at his side. “Gentlemen, this will be the ship that will take you to your destination. I bid ye all farewell mates.” Akira, Zexion, Zigan and Davis started to board the ship, Davis patting Korgol on the shoulder as the behemoth nodded with his approval.

“Good luck Davis.” Korgol wished on. A man of few words, he and Davis had almost a father-son relationship. After Davis’ father died, Korgol was the one who made sure to take care of him. If there was anyone Davis looked up to besides his father, it was definitely Korgol. The opening hatch of the ship closed shut and the party was seated around a luxurious table with a widescreen monitor with a large map displayed on it. It was being projected from a holographic machine. Mizuki and Instructor Folken stood on both sides of the monitor. Mizuki held a quirky smile that made the others feel at ease, while Folken stood tall and stiff, glaring at the party. Folken pointed at the map, waiting for the others to direct their attention towards their briefing.

“Here is everything you need to know. As you can see, this is a map, but more importantly, you can see Timber is on this map. That is where your party is heading. We received a call from Timber’s president, informing us that they were under attack by what seems to be soldiers. We have yet to confirm if these soldiers are Galbadian, but we do know they are a threat and that they are trying to seize control of Timber’s government. Your mission is to make your way to the clock tower, where it is said their central unit is stationed. In order to make your way to this clock tower, you will have to go through small waves of their infantry, but this should be a walk in the park for you thanks to all of your training. All the other units are receiving their orders from this central unit, so you will have to destroy the head of that unit. Timber has their men stationed all throughout the area, but they haven’t been able to do much against these soldiers. Right now it is beginning to look as if you will have no help what-so-ever from Timber’s army. We already have different SeeD members placed in certain areas of Timber just in case you need potions or whatever. Mizuki will lead your party to the starting point. That is all, but do you have any questions?”

Everyone took a moment to take all this in. This was the beginning of war, that’s all Davis could grasp. He knew right then and there that this wouldn’t be an easy task. Davis used his eyes to scale the room, looking at his three best friends, and then over at Zigan, who at the moment, was shining up his large dual revolvers, Sin and Yuna. “Yeah, I got a question, why is this guy our party leader? Headmaster doesn’t think I could handle a mission like this?” Zigan’s attention was caught by the comment as he retorted.

“With all due respect, no he didn’t. Everyone knows how cocky, stubborn, and disrespectful you are. Sure, to the Headmaster you may be one of Balamb’s best students, but your attitude is the thing that holds you back from being trusted with anything big. Not to mention that both of your ‘buds’ have the exact same attitude as you. Zexion has no respect for authority and Akira doesn’t have the…balls to be a leader.”

“What the hell did you just say?” Akira shouted.

“That’s funny pretty boy, because as I see it, at least his balls have dropped.” Zexion muttered. Zigan eyed the careless enigma that was Zexion, laughing off to the side.

“You would know about something like that, wouldn’t you Zexion? I mean, you have the biggest balls out of everyone in this ship, yet you have never done anything amazing. You’re simply amazing because you hang out with Davis. If it wasn’t for Davis, the Headmaster would’ve thrown you out by now with the fiends, which is where you belong. An animal deserves to be in the wild.”

“That’s not true you a*****e and you know it! The Headmaster doesn’t treat Zexion different just because he hangs out with Davis.” Akira argued, trying to defend Zexion.

“Sit down pipsqueak. I don’t need you to fight my battles.” Akira plopped back down on the couch, sending an intimidating look Zigan’s way. “It’s great to see that a smartass like you can call me an animal. If you want me to be an animal preppy boy, then I’ll be an animal. Let’s face facts, an animal like me could take out a softy like you with my gunblade taped to my a**.” Davis and Akira mocked Zigan with their loud laughter.

“Keep laughing while you can Davis, because I’m the one who gets to laugh last as I’m still the leader of this party. YOUR leader, which means who have to listen to ME. And you wouldn’t want to fail because of failure to obey orders would you?” The laughter was quickly silenced and the mood was completely killed. Davis lunged forward, ripping Zigan away from the couch by the collar of his trench coat.

“You listen here, just because you’re my leader, doesn’t me s**t to me. Once were out there on the battlefield, I’m gonna show that I’m twice the better leader you could ever be. And you’re lucky I don’t beat you where you stand.”

“That is enough Mr. Mustang.” Instructor Folken demanded. “If you haven’t noticed, you just proved why you weren’t selected as the leader of this party.” Davis released his iron grip on Zigan, allowing Zigan to straighten his collar back out. Davis reluctantly sat back down, but kept his eyes locked on Zigan.

Akira lowered his head, shaking it in disapproval. “This is gonna be a great party. The three of us can’t even get along with our jackass leader.”

Mizuki giggled, patting her brother on his head. “Little bro, you guys are going to have to do something about this if you want to pass the exam. You can’t let your feelings for your leader get in the way of passing. Just shut your mouth and deal with it. Don’t screw this up.”

“Easy for you to say sis, you’re already a member of SeeD. But as for as advice goes, anytime I’ve listened to you, I’ve gotten screwed over.” Just like the others, Akira didn’t like Zigan, but his sister was right. They would have to disregard their feelings for Zigan at this point in time. With the briefing out the way and all this tension still in the air, Folken gave the group some rest time before they arrived at Timber. Davis, Zexion, and Akira waited in the cockpit of the ship, getting a good look at the ocean and the sun sitting high in the sky. It was then that something had come over the three teenagers. Each of them suddenly started to feel sleepy, but don’t recall being tire at all. Before they knew, the three of them had passed out cold right then and there. When they opened their eyes, they were no longer in their world. It was if they were watching a movie, but were the only ones there to witness it. There were three soldiers, all wearing the signature SeeD Uniform. They were in a ship that closely resembled the ship they were riding in. Davis immediately noticed that these three men looked awfully familiar. One of them was staggering giant, cleaning off his dirty GunHal. He had a thick mustache over his top lip that was a shade of brown. Because of his size, the sleeves of the SeeD uniform had to be ripped off for it to fit the man right. Davis noticed that the man was cleaning the Kobatsu, which was Korgol’s GunHal. The two smaller men sitting next to him weren’t as busy cleaning their weapons, but rather, doing other things. One of the smaller men had shaggy brown hair, donning an eyepatch that only the Headmaster would wear. He was sipping on some brew that he had just poured. The last man, had short, spikey black hair, with two pieces of his bangs hanging over his face. He was the spitting image of Davis, but actually it was the other way around. He wore the exact same necklace with the flame emblem that Davis wore to this day. He had his gunblade laying at his side and was staring at a picture of a beautiful women, who was pregnant in the picture.

That’s when it hit the three teenagers. Somehow they were looking into the past, because these three men were none other than Lt. Korgol, Headmaster Swank, and Davis’ father himself, Aries Mustang. “Holy s**t guys, that’s Korgol, Swank and my father. But how? How in the world are we able to see them?” Davis asked, pondering the effects of this surreal vision.

“Maybe this is the doing of someone else? Somehow all three of us are locked inside this vision. Why would someone want to show us the past?” Zexion replied just as confused as Davis.

Swank peeped at Aries’ photograph, nudging Korgol that very second. “Who’s the babe Aries?”

Aries answered, “The wife.”

Swank laughed loudly, “She could steal my booty any day mate! How bout that Korgol?” Korgol laughed as well, not really wanting to agree since he knew how it got under Aries skin.

Aries grabbed Swank by his hair, pulling him into a tight headlock, grabbing his eyepatch and stretching it, then releasing it so it would slap Swank right on his eye. “You always got jokes, huh Swank? You keep playing around and I’ll give you a reason to wear that eyepatch.” Korgol laughed again, followed by Swank catching him.

“You think that’s funny Frankenstein?” Swank yelled.

“As a matter of fact, I do Igor.” Korgol responded with that deep, loud voice of the Gods. The three got quiet, then burst out into another session of laughter. These three were always laughing and having a good time with each other, as they were best friends every since childhood. A voice from one of the speakers crept out, “We have arrived at Timber. Prepare for dispatch in five minutes.” The group exited the ship, walking away from Timber’s docks and into its large city. During their time, Timber was still trying to rebuild from the missiles that had hit so many years ago. It was a long and strenuous process, but the people united together to get the job done and have the place back on its feet. Aries, Korgol, and Swank were sent there due to a call the Headmaster received about some disturbing activity and so he sent them to check it out, as they were best of SeeD. Balamb hadn’t seen a gunblade master as good as Aries since the legendary Squall Leonhart. The three managed to scope the entire perimeter of Timber with no evidence of anything threatening. It was then when they decided to inform the Headmaster of Timber Garden. Compared to Balamb Garden, Timber Garden wasn’t as big. It was a small Garden, its color being neon green. It had more of a coliseum shape to it, as it was more circular. It was vibrant with an array of different colors emitting from the Garden itself. The three stopped one of the students, telling the student to bring their Headmaster so they could speak with him. The student politely obliged, retreating back into the Garden.

“This guy better give us a fresh meal, I’m starving after that false alarm. Timber really needs to catch up when it comes to their ‘technology’.” Aries said sarcastically.

“Ah, so I see Cid did receive my message.” A voice rang from the hallway that led to the entrance. All three of the soldier’s jaws dropped when they saw a woman standing in front of them, a pretty one at that.

“Wait a second, YOU’RE the Headmaster?” Swank boldly asked. The woman nodded firmly. She appeared to be in her late 30’s perhaps, but she looked young for her age. Her hair was rich with brown, and so were her eyes. She was a petite girl, surprising for a Headmaster. She wore a official Instructor uniform, but instead of the pants, she gladly wore a skirt.

“Yes, I, a woman, am the Headmaster here at Timber Garden. Didn’t Cid tell you?” Aries and Korgol shook their heads, while Swank still rudely stared away. “You know, it’s pretty rude to stare. I’m guessing that’s how you lost the first eye?” She cracked. Swank jerked back, while the others laughed. This woman was a firecracker, no doubt. “Come now, you three must be starving after a long day of searching for nothing. By the way, my name is Brianna Trepe.” As the three soldiers followed Ms. Trepe, the vision slowly started to blur away, and the three teens regained conscious, Davis in particular could hear the annoying voice of his favorite instructor.

“Uhhhh…..”

“MR. MUSTANG!!!! GET YOUR LAZY BUM UP RIGHT THIS SECOND!!!”

“Instructor Folken…? INSTRUCTOR FOLKEN!” Davis darted up off the couch, looking around while the Zexion and Akira came to. “What the hell happened?”

Folken folded his arms, beaming red with frustration. “You three have been asleep for nearly an hour. We are just about to arrive at Timber! I hope you three prepared yourselves while you were off dreaming. There’s no hope for you Mustang. No hope.” Folken stormed off, his patience for Davis wearing thin. Timber was no longer above the horizon; it was standing idly by, waiting for its peace to be restored. The ship slowly crept towards the coastline, but instead of stopping, the ship suddenly made a sharp turn, crashing violently into the continent’s docks. The gang continued the chain reaction, each person being thrown every which direction. Davis looked up cautiously, grooming his head, and making sure everyone was alright.

“Not to panic or anything, but what the hell was that!?” Davis shouted.

Folken sarcastically replied, “Oh I dunno Davis, we just hit all the soldiers.”

“Cool, does that mean we pass the SeeD Exam?” Davis retorted.

Folken rolled his eyes, “it was sarcasm smartass.” Akira and Zexion accompanied Davis as Folken took the group under his wings along with Zigan, removing them from the ship. The outside was desolate, but the air was thick with smoke. “Perhaps we were too late…” Davis solemnly thought to himself. Davis was scarred once he saw the various, lifeless bodies lying near the train station that was pass the docks. Some of them fatally wounded, others died due to bleeding death. Some bodies charred the blackest of black, while others were dismembered. Timber at this point resembled that of a graveyard. This was something that all the training in the world could prepare Davis for what he was about to experience. Their emotionless faces stuck to his mind like chewing gum to the bottom of a table. Is this what his father went through? Is this what war was all about? Senseless killing that is how Davis saw it. He kept his composure, sealing his thoughts and emotions from his party members, but deep inside, the idea that he was actually going out to do what was done to those before him, didn’t fit well with him. Folken looked back at Davis, seeing how confused he looked, and easily sensing the fear deep within Davis.

“What’s the matter Mr. Mustang? Have you not seen a dead corpse before?” The word “corpse” struck a cord within Davis. How could Instructor Folken call these people corpses? They were more than that. They were men and women who gave their lives for Timber and yet the Instructor regarded them with the utmost disrespect. Davis didn’t know what Zexion and Akira were thinking, part of him was hoping they weren’t seeing the same things he was. Part of him was hoping they were, so that he wouldn’t be alone. As they reached the train station, the slaughter worsened. Davis caught a glimpse of something so horrifying; it made him want to rip the heart out of the person who committed the action. It was the body of a child, spread mercifully across the pavement, a tear still fresh on her cold body. His stomach churned, but his rage built up. He grabbed his black gunblade from behind his back, holding it proudly, bearing in mind that what he was about to do was morally correct. Wasn’t it? These soldiers showed no mercy in who their victims were, killing anyone from seniors, to even innocent children. They deserved to die. And at this point, Davis was in a killing mood. Akira caught on as he saw his sister, Mizuki, standing on top of a bridge, where the Instructor pointed the part.

“There, once you past Mizuki on that bridge, your mission will begin and I will no longer be able to follow you. As you cross the bridge, you were notice the clock tower in the central of the city. As you can see, that’s where all the trains are going to and coming from. We have a unit patrolled here that will stop any of the soldiers that return, but it is in your best interest that you get to that clock tower and stop the train system. This will stop any of their soldiers from gaining access to any trains that leave out of Timber. If you fail, Timber will simply be the first out of many places taken over by these terrorists. Mr. Mustang, don’t screw this up. You remember, Zigan is the party leader, not you. So you will listen to any order he gives, and that goes for all of you. Now go, you’re exam starts here.” The party took heeded the Instructor’s instructions, walking along the blue brick road that served as the surface for the bridge. Akira counted the steps leading to his sister with full anticipation, looking at his sister for maybe the last time. He walked over to her, and for once, they threw away their sibling rivalries to hug each other, Mizuki turning her head to Akira’s ear.

“Good luck baby bro.” Mizuki whispered.

Akira was never so happy to hear that come from his sister. They let go of each other and Akira moved on with the rest of the party as they all waved goodbye to Mizuki. They followed the path that the bridge made for them all the way into the city, where they would truly be tested. The city was a warzone, rubble and fallen pieces of what use to be buildings, houses, and stores cluttered the entire area. There were thick clouds of smoke everywhere, forming giant mushroom clouds all the way into the sky. There was no way for them to tell if there were any survivors. “Stay close everyone, in order to survive this we are going to have to stick together.” Zigan made sure to keep the group together, and their attention on what was in front of them and around them.

“Hey, shouldn’t we look for survivors?” Davis asked.

“No, that will only stray us away from our mission. We have to get to that tower. No time to worry about survivors.” Zigan snapped. Davis could see a family of three hiding under the destruction of their house, not too sure if the party was the enemy or not.

“Wait, I see someone!” Davis shouted as he ran over to the rubble, rummaging through to pull the family free from their prison. It was a man, a woman, and a young child, most likely close to the age of 13. Davis help them get free and made sure they were all physically and emotionally fine.

“Mustang! What the hell are you thinking? I told you stay close! I’ll make sure to remember that when telling the instructors my report.”

Davis walked over to Zigan, getting right in his face, and glaring into his eyes. “I don’t give a damn what you tell them. It’s not right to just leave people behind. What if they died Zigan? That would be on your conscience simply because you knew you could’ve done something. If helping a family live is against the rules, then I don’t give a s**t about passing this exam.” Davis tensely added.

Zigan blinked, bringing his face away from Davis’ as he stood fully straight. “A soldier doesn’t carry the weight of war on his shoulders Mustang. That’s how you create demons deep inside you. Demon’s that tend to not go away and usually end up with you going insane or harming others. Now this is my party, and you’ll do what I say. If not, you can turn back, fail, and let your father down.” Zigan turned away sharply, moving forward with both Zexion and Akira. Davis couldn’t stand Zigan’s ideals or morals, but he wanted this dream to become a SeeD to come true, so he sucked regretfully sucked it up, and continued on. As Davis caught up with the group, something didn’t feel right. He turned around only to catch a glimpse of the family, but as he moved his eyes to the side, he could see a band of soldiers, running up behind the family. His dark, thunderous scream echoed out in an attempt to warn them, but it was too late. Davis sprinted as fast as he could towards the family, his shouting catching the attention of the party and forcing them to follow after him. He pushed and pushed, trying to make it to the family in time, but as he came closer, one of the soldiers placed a gun to the man’s head, pulling the trigger and blowing his brains across the concrete. Another soldier grabbed the wife by her head, before slowly slitting her throat and throwing her violently to the ground. The boy tried to run but was immediately impaled by the soldier’s now crimson sword. He snatched the sword from the child’s stomach, his insides being pulled from his body as they were entangled by the sword’s blade. Davis fell to his knees in front of the boy, the child lying on the side of his face in a pile of his parents and his own blood.

It was during this moment of witnessing the families gruesome deaths that he let go of all his emotions and only let the rage consume his heart. No one deserved to die like this. They did nothing to anybody, yet they were taken from this world simply because of a fool’s greed. Davis looked up at the soldiers, who were all dressed in slick, silver armored suits. They appeared to look more like androids than actual humans in suits. Their identities were hidden due to the full metal mask protecting their heads. The mask had two eerie yellow eyes that were both crisp and thin. The suit had shoulder parts on both arms, with a trim of black. The center piece that covered the torso had a collar, with a center piece that was filled with an orb of some type. Each soldier carried their own black, broad sword. The three men felt no remorse for their actions, and sensed the anger swelling up inside of Davis. “This area has been dimmed Valcentrian land. Anyone opposing King Seigfried will be annihilated.” The three men happen to all be the same slim person, none of them were different then the either. Davis didn’t know how this King was, but he didn’t care. He drew his pure black gunblade, Blackfire, erasing the grim expression from his face. His eyebrows arched down, his eyes shortened, locking on to his three targets. Before any of the soldiers could even think about attacking, Davis had already torn one of the men completely in half. His blood spurted from his severed torso as he crawled helplessly around the ground, ultimately bleeding to death. The other two began to strike, but Davis blocked the first hit, kicking the other soldier away and taking this time to force the attacking soldier back, moving with fierce swiftness and stabbing the man in his chest. Davis viciously kicked the dead body off his gunblade, yanking it from his chest. The last remaining soldier charged forward, while Davis leaped into the air, bringing his blade down in a slashing motion, dividing the solder’s mask into two pieces. His body fell to the ground just like the others, the red liquid pouring from his wound.

The others returned for Davis, staring at the enemy that he had slaughtered. Davis didn’t say a word. He just turned around and started walking towards the Clock Tower. Davis turned his head to the side, coming to a halt. “So Zigan, how does it feel to know that we could’ve saved those people, if only we had brought them to shelter? You think you got the SeeD wit, but you can take that wit and shove it up your a**. Now let’s finish this. Some of us have an exam to pass.” Just as Davis finished his sentence, a loud roaring sound echoed throughout the empty city, causing the ground to rumble, and the bigger skyscrapers to crumple piece by piece. One of the buildings by the party was going through this severe disaster, the first floor giving in and the rest of the building followed after, falling into the ground like pieces of a priceless clay vase breaking when it hits a hard surface. The large bodies of black smoke swirled and coiled up into the blood red sky. The blue roads cracked and split, the ground beginning to break down. The party took warning to this, running away from the immediate danger. As they looked back, two large cannons sprung forth from two pods that were inserted into the earth, almost like a plant branching off into other plants. The cannons were the cause of this entire ruckus and then fired off two large bombs, each of which was soaring through the air at phenomenal speeds, aiming right for the area that the party was in. “Holy s**t guys! Those are…BOMBS! RUN!!!!!” The party hustled a** to the Watch Tower now, every muscle in their legs and abdominals were pushed to the limit to ensure their survival. However, amongst the chaos, Akira lost his footing, falling fast first on the ground. The bombs hit the already devastated area, destroying everything in an enormous explosion of fire, which was right on their tails. Davis looked back, noticing that Akira was no longer in front of him. “Wait, we left Akira behind!” Davis yelled loudly.

Zigan looked back, seeing that the explosion was extremely close to Akira’s fallen body. “We have to leave him!” Davis wasn’t going to leave one of his best friends behind, even if it meant risking his own life. He bolted back at an incredible speed, lunging out at Akira’s already extended hand, but it was too late, the fire and smoke stalked them like a lion, consuming both cadets…BURSTING out the typhoon of red and orange flames was Davis and Akira, scampering away from the fire and seeing another bridge up ahead. Akira and Davis leaped through the air, jumping over the bridge and falling a few feet down, where they landed abruptly on their feet. When they looked up, they saw both Zexion and Zigan standing there, assuming the worst. “Akira, I’m sorry, but I couldn’t take any chances. At that point, you were dead weight, going back for you would’ve risked the entire mission.” Akira walked silently towards Zigan, getting right up in his face. There were no qualms or even traces of revenge in Akira’s demeanor. He raised his fist to Zigan’s face.

“This isn’t just a mission Zigan. That was my life.” He responded tensely. Davis tried calming down after his brink with death, content because it all paid off. They were at the Watch Tower now. All they had to do was finish off the enemy and secure the train system by locking the controls and shutting it down. They covered ground by sprinting over to the large, narrow tower, with three different openings stemming three railroads. The tower itself was of a blue color, with silver lining any part that was metal, since it was comprised of both bricks and metal. The streets were empty; Timber had become what no one thought it ever would, a ghost town. It wasn’t known if the entire population of Timber had been wiped out or not, but the party prayed that it hadn’t. The party stood idly in front of the entrance to the tower, Zigan looking at the three.

“Listen and listen carefully. There was another reason why I was made the team leader and added to this group. I’m the only one who knows how to hack complicated computer systems. While I’m trying to shut it down, I need you three to cover me. Which means attack any and every enemy soldier that comes near here. Judging by the door being opened and the eerie silence the enemy knows we’re here, which means they’ll be attacking any second now. If you guys screw this up, you fail the exam, lose your lives, and I fail the mission. And sadly gentlemen, I don’t fail.” Zigan made sure that the party was convinced. Without saying a word, he crept into the obvious opening and made his way to the top floor of the tower, where the computer that controlled the train system was installed.

“Great guys. We finally get to do what I came here for, to kick some a**.” Zexion snapped. The gang just agreed silently, both Davis and Akira ready to get this thing over with. The three humbly waited for any soldiers to come but there was nothing. And there, there was the marching. Marching so loud it made the ground shake and burdened the sky, forcing it to cry its cold, lifeless tears. The marching continued, echoing from the valley from which the party waited. Since the town was so quiet, these footsteps could be heard quite clear. In was in full unison, and the marching was coming their way. STEP. STEP. STEP. STEP. Until finally they could see a mass of soldiers following one man. As they came closer, marching down the bridge and continuing on to the tower, the group got a good look at them all. There were at least a hundred soldiers. The same soldiers that Davis had killed earlier, each one looking like a clone of the other, in their silver, chic suits. The leader commanded his men to stop, taking liberty in approaching the group alone.

“So, we still have some survivors I see. We’ll take care of that in a few moments. But this time, I’d rather know who I’m about to kill so I can relish this moment before I watch my soldiers savagely slaughter you, and then offer me your blood as a sacrifice to my royal name.” The brash leader crisply proclaimed. The man was had an appearance that none of the teens had ever seen. He looked like something right out a movie. He was elegantly dressed; wearing a green long vest, looking like something a pirate would wear, or even a vampire. The collar of said vest was up to his ears in height, with a white ruffled dickie under this vest, the ruffled part coming out of the top of the vest. His sleeves were rolled up in the front because of their length, but still covered his entire arm, the outside of the sleeve having a trim of gold and even gold designs embedded. There was a piece of brown armor combined with the torso part of the vest, most of it seeming to protect his chest, but mostly his abdomen. He wore a brown strap for a belt, with green pants that had the same gold trimmings as his sleeves. The brown and gold shoes he wore shined brighter than the sun that was covered by the black smoke. All of this was topped off with a cape attached to the bottom of his collar, the outside being green, whereas the inside was red. His skin was a pale white, almost as if there was no life in this being. His eyes were a crimson red, with a deviant glare that said not to defy him. His hair is a pure white, tied nicely into a high ponytail, with his hair coming to the bottom of his neck while tied up. The most striking feature was the weapon attached to his right hand. It had four long, titanium claws, with a curving slant at the tip of the claws.

“Okay, somebody tell Dracula that Halloween isn’t until a couple of months.” Davis responded jokingly. The leader grinned deviously, staring down the three teenagers.

“You know, for a peasant, you sure have a mouth on you. No one disrespects Prince Setsuna, and lives to tell of it. Men, kill these fools. They’re beginning to bore me. Please, make me feel better by severing their heads and displaying them to me like my delicate paintings sitting at home.” The soldiers abided by their prince’s order, marching at the party with their swords drawn high above their heads.

“About damn time they started this party, I was beginning to think I’d have to search for some a** to kick!” Zexion exclaimed, charging at the enemy soldiers with his silver, skull handle gunblade, Requiem. Davis and Akira followed after; Davis having a thirst about fighting that was just as intense as Zexion’s. Setsuna perched himself down on a dismantled golden statue, feasting his eyes on the battle that was pursuing ahead of him. The three friends decided it was best to just take on one whole crowd of the soldiers, instead of fighting together for now. Zexion took no mercy on the fully clad silver soldiers, slicing and dicing his way through his side of the crowd. A group tried surrounding him and attacking, but Zexion slashed through the enemies behind him, leaving them with large gashes in their armor for the blood to ooze out. Before the front men could hit him, he dived into the air, flipping and striking downward, cutting one of them down their chest. While this was quite an acrobatic maneuver, this left him open for attack by the remaining soldiers, but Zexion was no rookie. He decisively turned around, crushing the men with a well timed Blizzara spell, the giant block of ice folding the soldiers in half like an accordion. “I probably could’ve done a cleaner job, but I tend to get carried away.” Zexion stated out loud.

Akira on the other hand wasn’t having his way so easily, as he had to rely on his fists and feet, but he never used that as an excuse regardless of the predicament. Akira jumped into the air, delivering a swift spinning kick, rotating in a full circle, and connecting with each of the soldier’s heads that were surrounding him. One of the soldiers tried a cheap shot from behind, but Akira used his footwork to dodge to the side, driving his elbow back into the man’s gut. Akira pulls the soldier over by his head, flipping him, and easily snapping his neck. Using his dead body as a rag doll, Akira spins him around almost forming his own human tornado, hurling the body into an ensuing crowd of the soldiers, breaking them down like a bowling ball to a set of pins. The ones that were still alive were taken off guard by Akira’s style of offense, but raged on aimlessly anyway, preparing to attack Akira again. Akira held out his arms, his Devil Gloves glowing a dark and chaotic green. He took in a deep breath crouching down some, taking a new stance. “BANDIT BREAKER,” he yelled, his gloves still glowing as he bum rushed the crowd, his first punch smashed into the face of one of the soldier’s, breaking the entire helmet and caving in his blank face. Akira turned around, smoothly backhanding another soldier across the face, leaving him dead with the same result as the last person. Akira switched over to his left side, delivering a spectacular roundhouse kick to one of the soldier’s neck, breaking it instantly. This was one of his Limit Breaks, the Bandit Breaker. By charging up his gloves, it allowed him enough power to break any surface with any part of his body in one blow, and the best thing about the attack is that he could charge it up into a melee of attacks, or one big explosion of energy, leaving a large crater, and breaking the bone of everyone his radius. And thanks to Akira’s practice with his move, he could actually choose who the explosion would affect.

With Akira killing off the leftovers on his side, Davis was making child’s play out of his group. Thanks to his incredible speed, he was able to slice through each enemy cleanly in a straight line, due to the fact that he was sprinting forward in a straightforward position. After he had sliced through a certain line of the men, he turned around, pulling back on the trigger of his Blackfire, unleashing a large mass of blue flames at the soldiers, incinerating each and every one of them down to the bone, leaving nothing but tiny piles of ashes. He tackled his way through the remaining enemies, trying to keep himself moving as much as possible so they would be able to completely surround him. He spun around on his heel, swinging with enough force to severe the heads of the two soldiers closest to him. Blood spurt from their open necks like a fountain. He charged forward like a raging bull, instead of killing the rest of the soldiers, he severed their arms and legs with precise craft. Davis took relative ease in filleting the rest of the soldier’s, sparing their lives, as he didn’t feel like they were worth killing at this point. After all the bloodshed, there were only three standing, Zexion, Akira, and Davis. The recently deceased and luckily undead covered the ground just like the black ashes that were still falling from the black clouds. Setsuna wasn’t impressed by the very least. In fact, he seemed to be glowing with more confidence then before. One of the soldiers who were still battling death crawled over to Setsuna, reaching for his feet, his hands covered in his own blood, one of the hands covering his wound near his stomach, as he was trying to hold his intestines from falling out. Setsuna merely glanced at him, paying him no attention as he wasn’t important to Setsuna. The blood stained hand soon grabbed his foot, causing Setsuna into an uproar. “How DARE you touch my shoe and stain it with your common blood! You need help? Here, let me assist you.” Setsuna reached down, grasping the soldier’s crimson hand, and then impaling him through his skull with his four pronged claw, killing him excruciatingly, and instantly. He slowly inched the claws from his limp skull, averting his attention back to Davis, Akira, and Zexion. They were in complete awe at the fact that he would kill one of his fellow soldiers like they were a mere gutter rat.

Davis gritted his teeth, “Looks like you’re all alone scumbag”, he muttered in a firm tone. Setsuna didn’t change his posture one bit however; pointing behind him was enough to explain his words. The marching began again. This time it was even louder than before, the thumping and thrashing of their cold steel boots stomping the ground. There were hundreds of the soldiers this time, so many that even Zexion and Davis were overwhelmed.

“What was that monkey about me being all alone?” Setsuna scoffed. The hordes of silver were undeniable. The three teens took their stances, wondering where was back-up when they needed it. Instead of waiting on the group to attack, the soldiers marched on, ready to attack the party in full collaboration. Akira knew the best thing to do to rid them of the first wave. He gathered enough speed, meeting the army head on, leaping into the air, screaming, “BANDIT BUSTER!” His fist collided with the concrete, causing a ripple effect that pushed the ground back like a wave of water, giving the hordes of soldiers the same effect. The ones closest to him however, who blinded and broken by the huge aftereffect explosion. Though it seemed they had one-upped the enemy, a second and third wave of enemy soldiers replaced the fallen members. Davis couldn’t help but notice that this wasn’t Galbadian soldiers they were dealing with. This was a new threat, one that appeared to have more men then expected. Davis and Zexion assisted Akira in fighting off the hordes of silver, but they could only slice and strike down so many before they were fully surrounded by hundreds of Setsuna’s men. When all seemed lost, a gleam of hope came in the form of a large silver GunHal, swooping down and chopping one entire side of the enemy. This modified version boomeranged back to its rightful owner, a giant fully clothed in his black General SeeD uniform. A man that towered over every other man in the battlefield because of his sheer height and muscle. This man pulled back his already hooded cloak and the savior was revealed to be none other than the Chief of Defense himself: Lt. Korgol “Sinslayer” Deathhand. The three teenagers were never as relieved to see his face. He stormed down, ravaging through the soldiers like they were rag dolls. His GunHal, Kobatsu alone was flinging their bodies left and right high into the air. He slashed through the body of silver vigorously, showing no emotion at all. He aimed his Kobatsu, propelling a rocket from its barrel under the blade, quickly exterminating any and all enemies in the area he blasted.

This unexpected turn of events caused Setsuna to rethink his strategy. Korgol slayed his way through the enemy, leaving any bodies that crossed his path completely chopped in half from the torso, some where able to see their legs twitch before their eyes as they slowly died. He brought his blade high over his head, and slammed it down into the ground, creating a massive earthquake just from the absolute power he held. The quake knocked back and even killed remaining crowds of the soldiers. A thick cloud of dirt spread out through the air and the sound of rock debris raining to the ground left the entire scene in utter silence. One thing was visible though. It was one black figure walking through the fog of dust, and it was Korgol. He took his time pacing towards the teens and Setsuna, stopping in front of them and turning his bloodbath towards Setsuna’s direction. “It appears it’s time for me to take my leave. If you’re expecting a fight with me, you’re a complete full. A gentleman with such class as I wouldn’t dare waste my time fighting peasants like you. I bid you adieu.” In an instance, Setsuna was gone, vanishing into thin air so to say. Korgol looked down at the three, seeing that they were restless from their brink with death. He patted them on the shoulders mumbling, “Good job”, under his breath. Zigan finally came down from the tower, taken off balance at the amount of bodies that lay before his eyes. The three teens looked back at him unforgivably, outraged that he was now just finishing the hacking. Davis sighed, but decided to leave it alone for now. All he wanted was to get back to the place he called home, Balamb.