A/N:Well, what a long absence I've had. I'm sorry about the two-year hiatus, but a combination of school, writer's block, and difficult love life has taken its toll on me. But here I am again, bringing you another... SUPER LONG chapter of MICW. Wow, this one is long. I apologize ahead of time for any weird typos or mistakes. I wanted to get this chapter up ASAP and this site's editing system thing still pisses me off.

Disclaimers: Final Fantasy VIII and its characters belong to Square-Enix and whoever else rightfully applies. I own only the obviously non-FFVIII characters and the story. The lyrics to "You Are My Sunshine" belong to someone else; not me.

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Maybe It Could Work
by Elcyion Pitye

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X. Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are gray
You'll never know, dear, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away...

Irvine rolled over and wrapped the covers around him tightly. Ah, sleep. He was happy to be able to sleep in... it was Exam Week after all. In fact, it was the morning of THE FIELD EXAM. He reached up to scratch the back of his loose, auburn hair, only to feel a part in it that wasn't supposed to be there...

Feeling suspicious, he let his fingers slide down the side of his head... realizing that...

HE HAD BRAIDS.

Letting out a surprised cry, the cowboy immediately sat up, two brownish red braids hitting his back.

BRAIDS.

He grabbed one and stared at it, a scowl on his face. What kind of stupid ass would come into his room while he was sleeping and braid his hair? It made him angry. BRAIDS. He despised these things. The condition of his long, auburn hair had been perfect, with very slight waves... now that he had slept in braids, his hair would become too wavy. And no sir, he didn't like that. (Who did it!) He immediately eliminated his roommate Raijin, for he was gone all night, to everyone's worry. Irvine suddenly remembered something. Seifer and Zell had come over. Seifer's idea. The ex-knight thought it would be "cool" for some of the "men" of their group to sleep over at Irvine's dorm the night before the exam, for a little party or whatever. Squall, to no one's surprise, declined. The girls called it a "manly slumber party." (So, Seifer and Zell slept over... SEIFER.) Irvine hopped out of bed angrily. (That bastard! Wait 'til I git my hands on that son-of-a-bitch...).

He rushed out of his bedroom, glared at the empty couch where Seifer had crashed onto. He looked down at the ground next to the couch. Zell was still asleep there, the blanket covering him completely except for the tuft of messy blond hair at the top. Irvine deemed him innocent. The Galbadian looked toward the bathroom. It looked empty.

Looked.

Irvine turned on the light and pulled the shower curtain away, revealing emptiness. Irvine, still determined to find the culprit, moved toward the front door. It slid open easily when he got close enough. Waiting behind the door was Rinoa Heartilly, with Selphie's camera once again in her hands. He spotted the little red tally light on the front of the camera.

He was being filmed.

"Yer part of this?" Irvine cried, trying to find some way to hide his braids.

"From the look on your face, I'd say you know Seifer was in on it, too." With the camera still aimed at the cowboy, she stepped into the room. "You can take them out, you know." She giggled.

He took the long braids in his hands and stared at them dubiously. "I'm afraid of seeing what happens t'my hair... when did y'all put 'em in?"

"Um... as soon as you fell asleep," she replied almost guiltily, not lowering the camcorder. "Seifer said you fell asleep first and snuck me in."

"Damn y'all."

They knew how much Irvine cared about his precious hair being in the perfect low-set ponytail set in a perfect angle down his back with the strands framing his face in the perfect, barely noticeable waves. Sure his hair wasn't as perfect as Squall's, but his didn't matter...

Flash.

Irvine looked up in surprise, finding Seifer standing under the frame of the open door with a still-picture camera. He lowered the camera and laughed... long and loud... in an evil manner. And what do you know, Rinoa joined in. Great.

Irvine spun on his heel gloomily and padded to the bathroom to fix his hair. But all of a sudden, he heard Rinoa cry out. He turned back around in time to see Seifer wrap the same arm that was holding his camera around her waist while one-handedly catching the camcorder with his other hand just before it hit the ground.

(Smooth,) the blond applauded himself briefly.

Rinoa groaned and slowly straightened her back, holding her head in both hands. She stumbled out of Seifer's hold, a weird look on her face.

Irvine crossed his arms and examined her face closely. "What happened?"

Seifer watched her expectantly.

(That's funny,) Rinoa thought, still lost in her thoughts, (I felt like... a lot of my strength had been taken away, but I feel perfectly fine now... as if nothing happened.)

"Hey, Rinny... what's up?" Seifer pressed, handing the camera back to her.

She jumped slightly at his voice. "Uhh... nothing... I was sleepy, that's all," she lied. She braced herself, hoping she was as good a liar as she thought she was.

They both seemed to buy it. "Oh... welp..." Seifer spoke up after a moment, "I think I'll get ready for homeroom." He gave them a nod and jogged out the door.

She was about to follow suit, but the cowboy's hand clamped down on her shoulder from behind. "You're not goin' anywhere," he piped up.

"Um..." Rinoa's voice faltered.

He led her to the couch and sat her down, pushing Seifer's crumpled blankets aside. Irvine put his hair in a sloppy ponytail and seated himself at the kitchen table, careful not to trip over Zell's slumbering self. He stared at her. "Somethin' fishy's goin' on, Rin."

Rinoa looked away. (Great, he gets straight to the point.)

For once, he looked serious. "Is it your sorceress powers?"

No, it's Hecate, she wanted to say, but for some reason she was afraid of them knowing. But they'll find out sooner or later, anyway. Why not now? Rinoa cleared her throat loudly and turned to him. "I..." She didn't know what to say. She didn't want to be fussed over again. She didn't want anyone worrying again.

Irvine waited for her reply. The black-haired sorceress avoided his eyes; she had never seen him this concerned before. For no real reason at all, she absently wondered if this unusually soft side of him was partly why Selphie fell in love with him in the first place.

"Huwaaaaaa!"

The two immediately turned to sound of what they thought was a yawn. Zell turned from his side to his back and raised his arms, kicking off his blanket.

He blinked, adjusting to wake. "Mornin'."

Rinoa took this opportunity stand up quickly and saunter to the door. "Oh, I should get ready for homeroom!" She smiled uneasily.

Zell furrowed his brows. "Huh? Rinoa?"

She stopped for a second and craned her neck a bit, not quite looking at him, but then silently continued her way out.

Irvine turned to Zell after she was gone. "Is she hidin' somethin' from us?" Irvine asked him. "You know 'er more than I do..."

"Why would that make her tell me?" Zell questioned.

"She liked ya, right? And y'all are best friends, it seems... I just don't want a repeat of last year..."

"..." Zell stared at the door, frowning slightly. (Rinoa... what's wrong with you?)

---

"Squall, we need to talk."

Selphie plopped herself down in his desk chair, swinging herself around a little. Squall was looking out the window of his office, staring down at the parked Ragnarok, which was now being repaired by some mechanics. "Talk?" he repeated absently.

"Um... yeah." Not wanting the mood to be too serious, she grinned and continued brightly, "And then we can..." (... make-out? Help prepare for today's exam together in a romantic way?... Make-out?) "... Do stuff!"

"Oh."

(He's being stoic again...) she observed. "Sooo... I'll get right to it."

"..." He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "Hurry up and say what you need to say. I have work to do."

"Squall..." Her smile faded.

The commander closed his eyes and breathed out slowly. "Sorry, Sefie. I... there's a lot on my mind." He walked over to the Trabian and stood in front of her, leaning down to be more at eye level with her.

"Tell me, then. You don't tell me anything anymore..."

He avoided her curious eyes. "Is this what you wanted to talk to me about?" he put his hands on either side her of her, resting them on the chair's arm rests.

"About the lack of conversation we have? Yeah."

"Tsk. You know I'm a private person." He glared at her. "Don't mother me."

(Why are you being so cold to me now?) Selphie thought disappointedly. "But-"

"Don't try to change me," he interrupted. "Rinoa tried that-"

"I'm not Rinoa," she interjected furiously... but then she suddenly blinked and averted her gaze. She didn't want to look angry. "I... I love you the way you are. You know that, but..." she began. "Squall... you're hiding something from me..."

He shook his head. "I told you-"

"I don't care!" she argued. "Stop being difficult and talk to me!" She dipped her head further, not wanting him to see her cry. "You were so nice to me! You treated me so special! I don't know why... you..."

Squall ducked his head to look at her face and realized that she was in fact, crying. His expression changed dramatically, softening quite a bit. "Sefie..."

"Is it... someone else?" Her voice was small.

"Don't be stupid."

"Don't tell me it's nothing... I know it isn't..."

"..." He looked away slightly.

"Squall... you can have some secrets to yourself..."

"Se-"

"But not this one..."

And then commander's stomach lurched. Maybe Selphie should know, no matter how scary it would seem. Even if she might not understand, she would still try to... because she wanted to and she loved him. He wrapped his arms around his girlfriend fiercely. "Sef..." he began.

Selphie felt his lips brush against her ear. "I saw myself kill you," he whispered.

The moment seemed to freeze. She didn't know what to think then. She supposed that she should be surprised at his confession, but she didn't act like it. Or maybe she should have laughed, because it was too absurd... but with all that had happened in the previous year, she didn't know why he would say that. Why would he think that? Did someone give him these thoughts? Or were these dreams? Visions? As the words sunk into her head, she began to mentally react. How can she still be optimistic after even that? Truthfully, it scared her. What if something overtook him one day and suddenly she was lying in a pool of her own blood? What if... he thought these intentionally? There was always something dark about Squall... no, he loved her too much. She immediately erased that thought. And it won't happen. It wouldn't happen. Never ever happen. But still...

Squall let go of her slowly, searching her face carefully. "Sefie?" Her eyes had dried, but there was a dullness in them he didn't quite understand. "... Sefie?"

Selphie stood up, not saying anything. A smile crossed her face. "It's almost time for the exam, Squall! I'll see you later!" She pushed him away slightly so that she could scramble out of the chair. Without looking back, the nunchaku specialist jogged out of the room.

Squall only stared at the door after she left, an unreadable expression on his face.

---

"MAN! This sucks!" Irvine bemoaned as he met his friends Rinoa, Seifer, and Fujin in front of the directory. All the qualified candidates were supposed to meet in the lobby thirty minutes from now.

Rinoa smirked. "Yeah, you got put in another squad."

"Squad B." Irvine adjusted his hat and scowled. "What are you three again?"

"A," the three of them chorused.

"And I'm leader again," Seifer remarked.

"Whoop-de-do..." Irvine looked around. "I don' even know where m'teammates are..." He scratched the back of his head. "Damn. And I'm the leader for mine, too."

"YOUR GROUP. WHO?" Fujin questioned.

"Archer Locke... he was in the pit for the festival... and I don't know who Brie Sirrr...something is..."

"The library girl with pigtails," Rinoa confirmed.

Irvine blinked. "Oh."

"Raijin got put into Squad D," Seifer piped up unenthusiastically, adjusting his trenchcoat. "Lucky for that guy, I guess."

Fujin frowned. "We need to talk to him..."

Rinoa and Irvine looked confused. "What are you talking about?" the sorceress asked. "Did something happened between you two and Raijin?"

"He yelled at us for ignoring him and for making him feel like third wheel," Seifer responded, turned his face to the directory. "And then stormed out. I don't know where he is... haven't seen the guy for a while."

Irvine rubbed his chin. "Come to think of it... I haven't seen him in the dorm, either."

"That bastard's probably avoiding the rest of the group, too," Seifer muttered, his face set in a glare. "I don't know what to do." Seifer lowered his head and added quietly, "And you can't have the posse with two people."

"SPEAK OF THE DEVIL." Fujin gestured with her head to her left.

Raijin was standing off to the side, talking with his squad. He seemed to be getting along fine with them. He didn't seem to see Seifer and the others not too far away... either that or he chose not see them.

"Why don't you two talk to him?" Rinoa asked. "Don't you want to save the original posse?" She crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah..." Irvine agreed, "how much do you guys... well, love each other?" He paused... and then laughed at how his statement came out.

Fujin glowered at him and gave him a kick in the shin. Irvine yelped in pain and scooted away from the silver-haired cadet, rubbing where she had hit him.

"H-hey, c'mon!" the cowboy continued after he recovered, "So like, ever'one knows Sei Sei lurrrrves Raijin. Look how you stare at him lustfully-"

"YOU'RE ASKING FOR IT!" Seifer seethed, attempting to whack his pony-tailed friend in the head. Luckily for Irvine, he knew this would happen and ducked accordingly.

"I'm kidding!" Irvine cried out, laughing his ass off. "Payback for my fuckin' hair!" His eyes twinkled as he looked at his almost equally tall friend. "Why do you get offended so easily by a man like me?" He grinned slowly. With the Irvine-the-Hot-Flirt grin, that is.

Seifer's face flushed a little as he looked away. Rinoa and Fujin just stared at the gunblade specialist, eyes wide. The raven-haired First Daughter pointed at Seifer, realizing something. "Why the heck did you blush?"

Seifer turned even redder. "..." How the hell was he supposed to answer that?

"Ooooh! You must have a man-crush on Irvine!" She had a wild look in her eyes that he chose to ignore.

Irvine cocked his hat, attempting to look sexy, complete with a pearly-white smile. "I knew I was too hot for Garden. Even the guys all want me..."

"Asswipe," Seifer grumbled after he regained his composure.

The Galbadian pretended to look offended. "But ya didn't deny it!"

"I do so right now!"

Before their conversation could go any further, they heard a loud whistle. Everyone in the room immediately snapped their heads in that direction. At the head of the clump of cadets were Quistis, Squall (who was holding the whistle), Instructor Aki, and a couple of other teachers our non-SeeD heroes did not recognize. The commander stepped slightly in front of the other faculty members and cleared his throat. "SeeD candidates. If you haven't done so already, please find the members of your squad. I'll give you some time to do that right now. If you still don't know who you're with, come to me and I'll tell you. If you can't find them... come to me too and we'll sort it out. Please make this as efficient as possible. There're forty-two cadets; a lot more than last year."

Seifer, Rinoa, and Fujin looked at each other and wandered away from Irvine without another word.

"Hey! That's cold!" Irvine cried.

Rinoa stuck her tongue out at him, but then hung back, beckoning Irvine over to her. Fujin and Seifer were already off in the direction of where Quistis was standing, ready to strike up conversation. "I'm going to talk to Raijin for them," she whispered to the cowboy.

The sniper's face turned vaguely serious. "... Why?"

She tilted her head, frowning a little bit. She glanced at Raijin. "I just think that Raijin wouldn't listen to them even if they apologized."

"..."

Rinoa giggled. "Stop looking so serious, Irvine. It doesn't suit you." She reached up and patted him on the shoulder. "I just want to see everyone happy, that's all."

"Well... yeah. Whatever..." He fished for another topic. "Sooo... you never answered me when I asked about you fainting this morning..."

"None of your business," she answered uncomfortably.

He raised an eyebrow. "I'll make it my business." He shrugged. "I mean, like yer my friend, too..." He looked a little awkward. Selphie was really the only person he could talk like this to. "I was... well, kinda worried. We were 'fraid to lose ya last year, ya know..." He laughed nervously, ducking his head slightly out of embarrassment.

"Right." Despite her rather indifferent response, she felt touched, oddly enough. By Irvine, the resident ladies' man, no doubt. There was a sense of guilt in her gut. Afraid to lose her? She wondered how he would react if she told him about Hecate, a huge weight that was on her shoulders. She didn't want anyone to fuss over her again. She got sick of the princess treatment: always being the damsel in distress, but now she can't be saved, no matter what. Eventually, she was going to, to put in blunt term, die, and who knows what will happen with her friends then? (What am I supposed to do?) she thought frantically. There was no way out of this...

"Rinoa," Irvine pressed, looking at her weirdly. "What's up?"

In a short fantasy running through her mind at that second, the sorceress would tell Irvine, who would tell the rest of their group... and in a miracle, much like them saving the ENTIRE WORLD... they would get her out of this dangerous mess. She knew it was impossible, but... maybe it could work. "Irvine..." Rinoa began hesitantly. "Do you remember what Dr. Odine said about the Dark Forces?"

He nodded slowly. He looked at her again, waiting for her to continue, but by the meaningful nod she was giving him... he realized what she meant. Irvine's eyes grew to the shape of saucers.

Tweeeeet!

The two didn't get a chance to finish their conversation. Instead, Rinoa gave him a long look before she ran to her group as the commander went on to explain what they were going to do. Irvine stared after her. Why was she telling him this now?

"Um... Irvine?" spoke up a shy voice.

The cowboy turned around and found that pig-tailed library girl and Archer Locke standing to his right. "Oh... hey," he said in an unusually unenthusiastic tone. (Does Zell know? They're really good friends now... what does he have to say about this? When will we lose Rinoa? What will happen when we do? Why can't this be an 'if' question? FUCK.)

"We will board the Ragnarok soon... from the front of Garden," Squall droned on, "And once we land, you will all take separate vehicles toward the D-District prison and surround it. Your group support leader will explain things further as we move in closer to the exam site. Now, as you get on the the airship, remember to find your group support person and stick with your team members... even on the Ragnarok. This is a real mission, and I don't want us to have to take time to group up again." Squall looked around. "That's all I have to say. Get on the Ragnarok immediately." He started walking in that direction. Quistis fell behind, looking at the cadets seriously.

"Let's go!" she called hastily, ushering them out. Her eyes fell on each of her friends as some of them passed her, including an anxious-looking Irvine. She noted his expression. Irvine hardly ever looked like this. "Irvine?" she called to him.

He looked at her, blinking. "Quistis..." He went over to her briefly, distressed. "... I have a bad feeling-"

"Hurry it up!" shouted Instructor Aki from the very back, looking pointedly at Quistis and Irvine.

Quistis cringed, glancing down at her watch. They were already running a little late. "Sorry, but our conversation will have to wait..."

Irvine shook his head. "It's about Rinoa... she-"

Not hearing his last bit of dialogue, she pushed him into the crowd of SeeD candidates.

---

Zell was at the foot of the ramp of the Ragnarok, watching as everyone started to herd into the aircraft. He was supposed to be spectating... to make sure everyone got on, he supposed. He didn't look very happy about it, either. Zell was a fidgety person. He was not the kind who was willing to stand patiently as a bunch of people walked passed him and he couldn't do anything about it.

Irvine jogged to the SeeD's side as the rest of his group went ahead and loaded. Zell looked at him curiously. "What's up? Second thoughts, Cowboy?" He snorted at his own remark.

The Galbadian shook his head. "Listen, Zell, ya need to talk to Rin," he muttered in a low voice. "She's been keepin' this secret from all of us this entire time."

(Rinny? Keeping secrets?) Zell wondered. He laughed nervously. "Like what, Irvine? I mean, we already know she likes me and-"

"Odine thought wrong about Hecate," Irvine interrupted, looking a little urgent.

Zell looked confused for a minute. "Hecate...?"

"You remember... her GF? She wanted to get that GF for the prereq..."

"So?"

"She... can't unjunction it, t'put it simply..."

Zell paled. "... Oh." (Why the hell didn't she say anything to me?) "Dammit... DAMMIT." Zell started shaking furiously. (I KNEW something was off during her prereq... I KNEW there was something weird about her GF. Why the hell didn't I see this coming? Why didn't I say anything?) "Dammit, if I had only listened to my INSTINCTS!" He punched the closest hard surface, which was the side of the Ragnarok. It left a dent. "I could've stopped her from obtaining it!"

Irvine backed away, gulping at his blond friend's strength.

Zell rubbed his temples, feeling more restless than ever. "Shit... are you for real?"

"She told me herself."

(What do we do?) Zell looked defeated for a second... but only for a second. (We don't have time address this right now...) "Well, get on the Ragnarok for now." He gestured to the aircraft. "We're in a hurry."

---

Irvine hated to have bad things plague his mind, but after Rinoa stopped him to unload her big secret to him, it was all he could think about. He was worried about Rinoa and he was scared. A DF? So little is known about them. (Who knows what they could do.) Something needed to be done. He knew, though, that this wasn't the time and place. It was unfortunate. (What kind of name is Dark Force, anyway?) he remarked to himself. (Couldn't they come up with a better name? Like say... Assassin Force? Now there's a name. It sounds cool and-)

Irvine stopped himself. He shouldn't be thinking about DFs in a cool way. (It's gonna kill a good friend of mine.) Those words sank into him like heavy iron weights.

"Irvy? You look nervous about something."

The sound of Selphie's voice caused Irvine to look up. He then realized that the entire time, he had been sitting against the wall near the elevator that took people to the cockpit. How he ended up there, he didn't know. He was just wandering around the Ragnarok during the flight and stopped to think. He felt too restless to simply sit with all of the other chattering, bubbly, excited SeeD candidates. He gazed up at the emerald-green-eyed girl before him. His smile betrayed his uneasiness. "Nervous? Surely ya jest, Sefie."

She flashed him a small grin and stood directly before him, bending down slightly to look at him. "You know, if I were any other SeeD, I'd get you in trouble for wandering the Ragnarok while it's flying. All the students are supposed to be seated."

"Even Squally-poo would?" he joked. He expected her to joke back or laugh or something, but instead, he saw her smile falter. In turn, his own dissipated. "... Somethin' happen, Sefie?"

(Yeah, my boyfriend had visions of killing me.) She shook her head, the thought of Squall saying that to her already sending a shiver up her spine. "No, I'm fine, Irvy."

He wasn't convinced. "Well, if Mr. Grumpy isn't treatin' you right, I'll stick my rifle up his grumpy ass." She didn't respond. He watched as Selphie moved, slumping down against the wall next to him. He couldn't help but silently stare at her. Despite her childish appearance, there was some well-hidden sophistication behind her eyes. It attracted him, more so than the floozies he was used to hitting on. It wasn't only that, but also her energy, her playfulness, her radiance, her happiness. She was a fun and caring person. Her attitude about life made him happy. Those factors and the cute expressions on her face was what he loved about her. It was too bad he came too late in letting her know that.

He slung his arm around her in a friendly manner. "So what's been bothering you, Sefie?" She tried not to frown, but he knew better. "C'mon, I'm yer best friend! You can tell me! I won't judge." Beat. "Well, not too much, at least."

"It's not that important," she told him lightly. "It's not like Squall hit me or anything. Nope, he would never ever ever EVER lay a finger on me like that." To confirm her statement, she beamed at him in reassurance.

Irvine knew that she was hiding something. It wasn't every day Selphie got depressed over something. Well... (Maybe I take that back,) he thought. (She's changed... more emotional, more sensitive... She's even matured a little.) "What did he do?" he pressed. "I know it has to do with him because of the way you reacted when I said his name."

"I can't say..." The expression in her eyes were unreadable.

"You can't say?" he echoed incredulously. "Sef... is he hurtin' you in anyway? I mean, really. You need to tell me these things." Of course, it'd be unusual if Squall did. He was rather gentle with Rinoa when they dated. But you couldn't be absolutely sure about things...

Selphie had half of a pout on her face. "Hm... it's... hard to explain."

"Well, you know I want you to be happy."

She stared at the ground, speechless. It got her wondering why Irvine, and even Seifer, bothered to act so normal around her when she told them flat-out that she didn't have feelings for either of them. They probably loved her, but she couldn't reciprocate. It was a weird feeling that she didn't like at all. No one ever confessed to her until this year.

She felt guilty.

Irvine had no idea what she was thinking. He was about to say something else, but in a quiet voice, she finally spoke up. "Stop it."

He was confused. "Stop what?"

She didn't reply. From the look on her face, he concluded that she was thinking of what she was going to say next. After a while, she piped up with, "Why... are you so nice to me?"

(Where the hell did that come from?) he wondered. He raised an eyebrow at her. Wasn't it obvious? "I'm your best friend," he answered, although it sounded more like a question than a statement.

She shook her head. "No, that's not what I mean-"

He sighed. "Hey, don't change the subject."

She ignored his words. "This has kinda bothering me for a while... but after I rejected you... why are you still such a good friend to me? Don't you like, have a grudge against me? You and Seifer? Because like... I did. From when I still liked you." She bowed her head, as if in shame.

She was right. Secretly, he held a grudge against her and Squall. Irvine was sure that Seifer felt the same. If he could, he would steal her from the commander, but neither boy wanted those feelings to strain their friendship with Selphie and Squall. After all, they both wanted the two of them to be happy, no matter what. He raised an eyebrow at her, his mouth pulled into a small, lopsided smile. "Why would we hold anythin' against you?"

"Because I-"

"'Coz nothin', Sefie," he cut in. "You're my best friend. My friendship with you is more important to me than unrequited feelings. Especially because they're, y'know, unrequited. You agree, right?" His arm still around her, he pulled her in for a one-armed hug.

The ends of her lips turned up a little. "Yeah..." she replied softly. (I guess everything really is back to normal... the way it should be,) she thought, her mood brightening. "Thanks." Irvine could tell that some of Selphie's energy had returned to her.

(My bestest friend ever,) the green-eyed girl gushed to herself. She definitely missed moments like this and was glad there will be many more to come, now that everything has been resolved. She leaned against him. "You'll always be my Irvy, right?"

He laughed in a relaxed manner. She didn't even have to ask. "As long as you'll always be my Sefie." The two went silent for a moment until Irvine decided to bring up Squall again. "So... about Squall..."

She cringed a little, her smile slowly disappearing. "It's a long story... and a hard one. I'll tell you later." (I don't really want to think about it right now, anyway...) she added silently. She nudged him in the side. "Besides, you have the exam to worry about."

Irvine scowled. He had nearly forgotten about the field exam, even though they were probably almost at the exam site. He also almost forgot about Rinoa's predicament. "Yeah," he replied, "there's something I wanna talk to you about later, too." (Actually, on second thought...) "Hm, maybe it's better I tell ya now."

She tilted her head up at him curiously. "About what?"

"It's about-"

"Irvine?" came a slightly surprised male voice.

The two friends stopped, whipping their heads around to face the intruder. It was Squall. He had just come down from the elevator. The commander had a somewhat wary look on his face, his eyes shifting from Irvine to Selphie. "What are you guys doing?" he asked rather suspiciously.

"Squall," Selphie spoke up, a little surprised by his sudden appearance. She pulled herself to her feet. "We were just talking. You know us."

Squall looked a little more relieved. "Oh," he said in response. He looked at Selphie, who was now standing in front of him. His heart stung a little as he remembered the way she reacted when he finally told her what he had been "dreaming" of. He hoped she put what he said earlier behind her. He hoped she only saw it as a weird, unfortunate nightmare. Nothing more. He couldn't say the same for himself, though. However, for the moment, he just wanted everything to be normal. "Hey..." he muttered, not know what else to say.

Selphie could tell he felt bad about what he told her earlier. Looking up at his hopeful expression, she couldn't stay depressed for long. Squall loved her and she loved him. No stupid vision can win over their love for each other. She was scared because of those words, but she trusted Squall. She had yet to learn about why he was having them, but they can figure it out and stop them. Together. "Hey," she replied, smiling. She reached for his hand and held it.

From behind the couple, Irvine had stood up and started walking toward them. "Hey, Squall," he piped up in a serious tone. "Good thing you're here-"

The Lion looked at him. "You should get back to your seat," Squall interrupted, wondering why he was up in the first place. "We're landing soon."

Irvine pursed his lips together. (I don't want to keep waiting to tell them...) "But Commander, this is important."

Squall sighed. Selphie looked at the cowboy quizzically.

"What is it?" the commander prompted.

Before Irvine could answer, the Ragnarok shook, the normal shaking that indicated that the airship had hit ground. Squall turned to Irvine. "Sorry, but this'll have to wait until after the exam. You need to stay with your group."

Selphie had to agree. "Yeah, with this many people taking the exam, we need everything to be organized very very quickly."

The Galbadian held in another sigh, seeing their point. (But still...) "All right," he finally said. He reluctantly turned back toward the seating area.

"Good luck, Irvy!" Selphie called happily.

Irvine stopped and craned his neck to give her a warm smile. "Thanks, Sefie." After that, he gave the two a wave good-bye and a tilt of the hat and disappeared down the hall.

---

After exiting the Ragnarok (which was parked a safe distance by a nearby wooded area), the four-person SeeD vehicles (which were familiar to everyone but Rinoa, for these were used in the previous year's exam) were driven out of the aircraft by nameless SeeD members to their assigned positions at the site. Some of the cars were supposed to curve around to the back, where the squads inside those certain vehicles were assigned to the other towers. As for Quistis and Squad A, the four of them were inside a SeeD vehicle, riding across the sands. The SeeD candidates were, of course, assigned to a task inside the building, but the instructor was assigned to wait outside their tower with the vehicle.

"Okay," Quistis began, looking at the three students sitting down before her. She clasped her hands down in front of her. She smiled.

"Okay," Seifer repeated, waiting for her to go on.

"Okay?" Rinoa echoed, looking clueless. Angelo was sleeping at her feet.

"OKAY," Fujin uttered, a little impatient.

"This task is simple," Quistis finally continued. "You are to take out REVOLUTION. If you encounter a member of a higher rank, bring him or her to us. Alive. We want information." She passed around files similar to the ones Squall, Selphie, and Firion had received on their mission months ago. "These people made it known to us that they are going to aim for the prison," Quistis informed them. "I don't know what they're going to do there, but I think since they found out where we're going to have our field exam, they've made it a mission to get us. They don't seem like the type to trick us by not showing up." She let out a breath of nervous air. "You guys... be careful. You know this mission is real. And since we are dealing with the same people who bombed the Balamb Train Station, we don't know what could happen."

Seifer let out a long sigh. "Yeah... well..."

Suddenly their vehicle halted, sending the seated candidates forward from their seats and the standing instructor to the ground. Angelo bumped into a wall, but otherwise wasn't hurt. It didn't stop her from barking like crazy, though.

"Shit!" Seifer cried from the floor. He glared at the front of the car, at the driver, but didn't allow himself to comment about it.

Once everyone had scrambled to regain their footing, Rinoa glanced at Quistis seriously, wondering if she should tell Quistis now about the troublesome thing on her mind. "Hey... Quistis?" she started slowly.

The blonde turned to look at her. "Hm?" Seifer and Fujin faced her as well, ears open.

Looking at who she was talking to, Rinoa was a little scared of these certain people's reactions. "Uh..." Maybe she should wait until after the exam... from what she heard from the SeeDs and the other administrators, they were running late as it is. "Nothing! I forgot!" She giggled nervously.

The others just stared at her funny.

"Hey! Shut up!" Rinoa cried, crossing her arms. "Meanies..." She looked to the side.

"We didn't say anything," Seifer replied. He cocked an eyebrow at her. "You're the one acting weird, Rin." (I wonder if she's okay... She hasn't been completely herself lately.)

"At any rate, we need to get back to business," Quistis reminded them. "We're here already."

The candidates obediently began to file out of the car. As soon as Seifer was outside, he stared up at the D-District Prison, his expression a little serious. Seeing the place again reminded him what happened oh-so-many months ago. It felt like another lifetime. He was a different person back then. He didn't like remembering his past as a knight, but it was at D-District Prison where he had imprisoned and tortured his friends, confessed to and retold the entire ordeal afterward to soldiers, stayed in jail for a while, and apologized to the world for his time with the former sorceress. Those things would always stay with him.

He didn't hear Quistis come up beside him until she greeted him softly. "You look pretty somber, Seifer," she commented humorously. "Intimidated by the exam?"

He turned to her, pulling his lips into a smile. "Naw, you're mistaken, Quisty. I was just admiring the architecture."

She nodded slowly, but he was obviously lying. She knew he was a little awkward about being at the prison. A lot for him had happened there. Not only him, but the rest of their friends as well.

Rinoa and Fujin (and Angelo) were the last to unload the car. They too came up beside Seifer, ready to go. "Well, what are we waiting for?" Rinoa wondered, looking from Quistis to Seifer. "I'm ready to kick some ass!" She pumped a fist into the air.

"CHEESY," Fujin remarked, smirking at her roommate.

"Hey!" Rinoa protested indignantly. "I can't help being excited, you know!"

"WHATEVER."

"Okay, Squall!"

Seifer rolled his eyes, his gunblade resting against his shoulder. "Well, if you women are finished, I say we get a fucking move on."

Quistis looked down at her watch and then at the cadets. "He's right. We're getting short on time. Hurry up and go!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Rinoa answered enthusiastically. She gave Angelo a quick pat on the head and started for the door of the prison, which was a few feet away from where their car was parked. Fujin gave the blonde woman a short nod and followed after the raven-haired sorceress.

"Remember that I'll be waiting here with the car!" Quistis called after them. "And call me on the radio when you're done!" She had given the squadmates radios when they were still inside the SeeD vehicle. Cell phones were not allowed at field exams, so the only form of communication were walkie-talkie radios. "Good luck, Rinoa! Good luck, Fujin!" Quistis continued as they disappeared behind the door.

Seifer smirked at the door where they had gone through and glanced at his instructor again. He was going to do it right this time and become SeeD for sure. His excitement for the exam was evident on his face. He loved a challenge. "See ya, Quisty!" he exclaimed with gusto. "And don't wish me luck! Ya know I hate it!" He began jogging off.

"Good luck, Sei Sei!" she replied to him, laughing.

Just as he was going to enter, he turned back to Quistis and simply smiled at her. It was a cocky smile, one she had seen countless times this year and last, but this time, something about it made her heart flutter. It made her happy. He made her happy, and she couldn't help but smile back.

---

Bethe gulped in anticipation. She held her flail close to her, along with the machine gun that REVOLUTION had supplied her with. Although she had put up a front of being tough and bossy, she didn't do too well in missions where she acted by herself. Especially since she felt so confused at the moment.

(Stupid fucking Ciel... she's really outdone herself...)

She checked her watch. It was almost time for the field exam. As the redhead hid herself behind the banister next to the fourth floor stairs, awaiting any SeeD candidates who would run by, she thought back to their briefing...

"... The kids coming here are SeeD candidates," Jarek spoke up, looking at the group of fifty before him, including Ciel and Bethe herself. They had managed to take out the first level personnel and prisoners without anything more than scratches and bruises. "If we take them all out, we take any future SeeDs out. Our strategy here is simple. We all split up into designated areas and make them bleed." He watched his subordinates very carefully. "And," he continued in a warning tone, "do NOT under ANY circumstances go against my orders NOR are you allowed to do any of your own plans. It's possible that it could mess us up." Suddenly, his head perked up slightly, noticing a movement in the otherwise still and attentive audience.

"Ciel?" he called, narrowing his eyes, noticing her and the machine gun she held in her hands. Her eyes were as evil as ever, glaring at him in a mocking intent. Everyone started stirring, finding the blonde in the center of the group. Wordlessly, she aimed her gun at Jarek. All of the other REVOLUTION members gasped in surprise. Jarek continued to look down at her defiantly. He wouldn't admit to himself that her eyes still troubled him greatly. "What are you doing?" he voiced quietly. "Put that down-"

Ciel fired before he could finish. Holes suddenly adorned his chest. He looked down in numb shock, teetering back slightly. "Bitch," he hissed, looking back at her. "I knew you went crazy..." He grunted and doubled over, holding his wounds. "But I... didn't think you'd go this far-"

She shot him again. She kept on firing until she couldn't anymore. When his body hit the ground, she started laughing maniacally. She threw the machine gun down and cast her eyes on the blood-splattered tile floors and the blood-splattered REVOLUTION members who had happened to be standing a little closer to the now-dead Jarek. Everyone in the closely-knit crowd parted, creating a pathway for Ciel as she began her walk toward his corpse. When she reached him, he kneeled down beside him in triumph. After putting her hand in the pool of blood around Jarek, she stood up again and faced the faction. Her dirty hand was at her side, dripping with the red substance.

"What are you waiting for?" Ciel asked, her voice boldly echoing throughout the room. Stunning everyone once more, she moved her bloody hand up to her face and let it slide down her cheek, creating a heavy red handmark on her otherwise unblemished face. "Kill them."

For a while, no one moved. They were all unsure of what to do now that Ciel had taken out their leader. But finally, after what felt like forever, the group moved at once, dismissing themselves as Ciel looked on silently.

Were they supposed to do things as planned? Were they supposed to kill the prisoners too? What does Ciel want? The other members of the faction decided to go with Jarek's original plans, and went off to their previously assigned areas.

Bethe shoved the image of Jarek's death and the "new" Ciel out of her head and pressed her back closer to the wall behind the banister, hoping to blend in. She forced herself to concentrate, for the sake of completing the mission.

---

Squall sat atop the Ragnarok, drinking from a water bottle as he watched all of the cars raced to the prison. They were too far from D-District to simply walk or run there, but he still had a good view. The Ragnarok was landed on a spacious but low hill at a safe distance, surrounded by scarce forests. He and some remaining SeeDs, including Selphie and Zell, were left behind there as backup. Several others, like Quistis and some other professors, were to stay at closer distances, a quota of them actually joining the candidates inside to closely monitor the students' performances.

He heard the click of familiar boots behind him. "Sefie?" he called.

"Hey Squally," came the reply. Selphie moved to sit beside him and stared out at the Desert Prison. "I talked to Raijin today, on the Ragnarok," she said with a pout. "He didn't seem to really want to speak to me. He was... a little aloof, you know?"

Squall shrugged. "Aloof? Doesn't sound like him..."

"I know, right? So then I asked Sei Sei about it... and then he said that it was because Raijin didn't want to be friends with the Posse OR us! Can you believe that? Raijin supposedly said that he felt left out and so left us, Squall. He felt left out because of us."

Squall turned to her. Her voice had quivered and it could only mean she was crying, or about to. "Sef... why are you...? This isn't something to be crying over." He hastily wiped a falling tear from her face, letting his own face inch closer, inspecting her expression. "You're not a crier... you're a noisy ray of sunshine." He grinned at her slightly, aiming to make her feel at least a little better.

She shrugged. "I always thought... that all eight of us were like... super good friends or something..."

"... Really?" Squall didn't think that any of them were that close... but that was just him.

"Yeah. That we were this group of friends... and we had this strong bond, you know, all of us liked each other and could depend on rely each other... and we could all be happy together." Her pout deepened. "And then one of us breaks away and... acted like he didn't even care. It feels as thought I didn't matter to him... that I didn't mean anything to him. I felt as though I wasn't... a good friend to him... We made him feel that way. I should've been a better-"

"Okay, Sefie, now you're just rambling," Squall interrupted. He put his arm around her, pulling the Trabian closer. "Don't take it too hard. This will blow over."

"But..." Selphie stared down at her boots, lightly kicking her dangling legs against the aircraft's surface. "What if he doesn't want to be part of us again? What if the rest of us falls apart like that?"

He stared at her. What the hell was she talking about? "...?"

"I never thought about it before..." she continued avoiding looking at him. "But... what if our group of friends start slipping away too? It happened with Raijin, who I wasn't even close with in the first place... but I felt I should've done something to strengthen our friendship..."

"Hold on," Squall broke in, "why are you getting so worked up over-"

"I... lost most of my friends in Trabia," she continued softly, her voice so small that Squall, being right next to her, barely heard her. "And I've lost contact with the single friend I had left there."

Squall sighed quietly. "Sefie, you're not going to lose any of us-"

"But Squall! What if..."

"Squall! Remember me! Don't... kill me..."

Squall gritted his teeth at the vision. It can't seem to leave him alone. (Shut up!)

"I love you..."

A river of blood, a magnificent gunblade suddenly coated with red... his own gloved hands pushing the weapon into Selphie's stomach...

His cold, steel eyes traveling to the betrayal in those sad eyes...

(I said shut up!)

"Squall...?"

(Shut up!) "Selphie," he said firmly, his expression clearly irritated. He didn't mean for his anger to be taken out on her, but the visions were really getting on his last nerve. "Everything is fine. We're fine, Irvine's fine, Seifer's fine, Quistis is fine... we're all fine. No one is going to leave you. Now stop wallowing in self-pity and stop being a baby."

Selphie paused awkwardly for a little bit and then forced a laugh, trying to hide the fact that she was about to cry again. (Funny. The Squall I knew was a lot nicer and showed he cared about me...) She hated that she was crying more this year than the rest of her lifetime. "Yeah... that was... dumb of me, huh?"

He stood up and turned his back on her, facing the desert landscape nearby. "Look, I know you love me and all of your friends..." he said in a more tamed tone, "but we want to be left alone sometimes, okay?" Before she could say anything, he walked away without a good-bye, leaving Selphie to wonder about him. She reasoned that he had those visions about her again. She came to that conclusion from the dark, faraway look he had in his eyes when she was in the middle of talking. She supposed those visions could be a valid excuse. Since Squall didn't like them, they provoked him to the point that his anger was taken out on her. She still hated it all, though.

What she still didn't understand was why he would have them in the first place. It kind of reminded her of the times when Ellone would send them back into the past, but Selphie knew their Sis didn't have that kind of power nor did she have the incentive to torture the commander or even Selphie herself like that.

But it wasn't like Squall could help that he had the visions or nightmares or whatever, right? He wasn't able to predict when they came, right?

He wouldn't really kill her, right?

She wanted to talk to him again, but she didn't want to bring those up; it was a disturbing subject for her, and she could imagine it might be for her boyfriend, too. She wanted to help him. It was just a matter of how. (Squall... help me understand. Let me help you...) Selphie bit back tears. (No... I have to concentrate on other things. The field exam's counted as a SeeD mission.) She turned from her position on top of the aircraft and headed inside.

---

"S-So..." Brie began, charging up the stairs after Irvine (the squad leader) and Archer. "We're supposed to go to the control room at the top and deactivate... what?"

"There's a bomb up there," Irvine explained quickly. "Archer here's s'pposed to be good at hacking into that kinda thing-"

"Yeah," Archer spoke up, panting as they continued their way up. "Apparently, it's intricately connected to the system. So we have to be extra careful not to press anything on the panel and just concentrate on the controls on some little box."

Brie nodded, understanding the situation. "But then..." she wondered, "... then... Squall planned for there to be a bomb?"

"What?" Irvine exclaimed, almost laughing. "Hell naw! He'd never! He gave me and Archer 'mergency instructions (you were in the bathroom) t'go immediately to the control room 'stead of the third floor."

"Apparently," Archer said, "there were already SeeDs dispatched over there before we arrived, making sure everything at the exam site was in check. They discovered there was a bomb at the top. I don't know how they did it, but... they did."

"Oh."

"And we have," Irvine peeked down at his watch. "two and a half hours before we die." He snickered.

His two squadmates gulped.

---

"This is so lame!" Seifer wailed on the fourth floor, where he and his squad were supposed to be stationed at. "Where is everybody?" He scowled. "Can't believe we didn't fight anyone yet! Maaan!"

"SHUT UP," Fujin said irritatedly. She kicked him in the shin. Unfortunately, that made Seifer whine even more.

"When did you become such a baby?" Rinoa exclaimed. She didn't know whether to laugh at him or to be mad. She did neither. Instead, she shook her head and turned around. They should be scouting the entire area, not stand in one single place on their floor. Just their luck, a red-haired young woman crawled out of her hiding place (which didn't really hide her at all from Rinoa's point of view) and started walking to them slowly.

Rinoa smirked. Another REVOLUTION member. She could tell from the chains. She had a feeling that this one was somehow... special. Like she carried something important. She knew her teammates felt the same way. A leader? "Waiting for us?" the sorceress asked aiming her projectile weapon at her. Seifer and Fujin both flanked her, readying their own weapons.

The woman smirked right back. She recognized the blue-clad girl as both the sorceress and the daughter of the newly inaugurated president of Galbadia. "You could say that. I was waiting for the right time." She looked behind Rinoa at her teammates. She instantly recognized them. "Oh, look..." she said with feigned shock.

Seifer narrowed his eyes at her. "You're that chick from before... from when the Balamb Train Station exploded..."

"No shit," the redhead snapped. "And my name is Bethe. Don't call me 'chick' again." She took a practice swing with her flail and put herself in a defensive position. "Now come at me... I dare you. And don't misjudge."

Fujin glared. "MISJUDGE WHAT?"

Instead of answering, Bethe jumped high into the air at an unusually fast speed. Seifer was stricken. She wasn't this fast back in the hotel room. But then again, there wasn't much room there for them to even move around... Bethe landed behind Fujin, who wasn't quick enough to turn around before the anarchist swung the flail at the other's back. Fujin flew forward, landing facedown on the tile floor. The back of her jacket was now stained with blood.

"Fujin!" Seifer cried, shooting a look at her.

"I'm fine..." Fujin said rather weakly, pulling herself up. She swayed slightly, but she was still able to fight. She just needed to hold off for a little bit.

Rinoa immediately reacted by throwing a projectile at her. Bethe batted it away easily with her weapon. The projectile hit a wall, thrusting into the metal of it. Seifer wasn't so successful at laying damage on her, either. As soon as Rinoa's attack backfired, he swung his gunblade at her, only to have the chain of the flail wrap around the blade of his weapon. The ex-knight growled and gritted his teeth, pulling at his weapon before it flew out of his hands. (Didn't this happen before?) he wondered. He pulled harder. Bethe was surprisingly strong.

Just then, an unusually strong Water spell blasted the REVOLUTION member away from Seifer, who fell back and landed on his back. Thankfully, he still had his grip on the gunblade. Seifer looked behind him and found Rinoa glaring at their enemy, her hands in front of her as if she had finished a spell. (No way,) Seifer thought in disbelief. (That Water spell was... amazing... how can she pull something like that? Do her sorceress powers enable her to be strong like that?)

Bethe crashed into a wall far across from the SeeD candidates. She slumped against it, falling fast to the ground. Was she unconscious? Rinoa took a few steps forward, searching for the answer.

"Heh," the redhead coughed, evidently weak from the spell's attack. She struggled to get up on her shaky feet. "I'm not done with you stupid shits."

Rinoa scowled and wordlessly slammed an Ultima into her. Bethe let out a defeated cry and slumped back to the floor. "I wasn't done, either," she sneered, a look on her face that was unfamiliar to her teammates.

Fujin winced, sensing a change in the girl's aura. Rinoa was going overboard. "RINOA. ENOUGH."

Seifer nodded, raising an eyebrow at the sorceress' sudden aggression. "Yeah... she might be a vital resource for like, information and stuff." He walked up to his teammate and grabbed her arm. "So don't kill 'er."

"Hm?" Rinoa turned around, an innocent expression gracing her face. She looked slightly confused. This in turn made Seifer confused too. "Hey, what's that look for?" he cried. He tsked and proceeded to pick up the now unconscious Bethe. He kicked away the previously abandoned flail and started walking away from Rinoa.

Rinoa scratched her head, honestly not knowing what was going on. "Why'd you yell at me?" she asked Seifer.

He stopped and shook his head. "Woman, don't play dumb with me!"

Fujin withdrew her weapon. "RINOA. NOT YOURSELF."

Rinoa still didn't understand. "... What?"

Her silver-haired teammate sighed. "For the last few minutes, you were acting oddly... assertive. It was like you went berserk, only you didn't." She then took out a walkie-talkie and went off to the corner to contact Quistis.

The black-haired girl shook her head and laughed at them. "Oh, come on, I bet she had some Berserk stocks on her or something and cast them on me."

"Rinoa..." Seifer said. "We're not fucking around-"

"Well, whatever, we need to go," she interrupted. "Let's get her to base before she wakes up."

Fujin nodded. "I contacted Quistis about it already. She knows that we're on our way."

Seifer glared at the two of them. "Fine, then, try and ignore me while I'm talking." He started leading them back out. "I'm not done with you, Rin. You're pissing me off."

Rinoa looked almost hurt. "Hey now! What's your problem?" When Seifer didn't reply, she turned to Fujin for an answer. Fujin just patted her on the shoulder and followed Seifer out of the area.

---

Zell was too preoccupied with his thoughts to think about the exam. Rinoa, what happened on his mission at Balamb... it weighed so much in his head. Maybe too much. He readjusted himsef in one of the pilot seats in the cockpit, trying to get comfortable. He was going to be there a while.

(Rinoa... how did... why didn't I catch it? Why didn't I listen to my instincts? Why didn't I say anything while Hecate permanently junctioned herself to Rinoa?) He balled his hands into fists. He had always used those very fists to solve problems. Saving the world? No big deal. Just call on Zell Dincht and he can beat up the enemies to a pulp. But now… what could he do? These forces they were dealing with now were poorly researched. Zell didn't like to feel useless, but there he was, doing nothing but think. (I should block this out of my system for now. Wait until after the exam to say anything to Squall and Quistis,) he thought rationally. So he turned his thoughts to Brie, out of all people. Earlier, as the students were loading and before Irvine unloaded that important piece of information to him…

Zell watched student after student enter the Ragnarok, starting to get bored. What kind of idiot would assign a hyperactive SeeD soldier to stand and make sure the others behaved? The martial artist sighed in exasperation.

After a while, he noticed a particular student, someone he was hoping he wouldn't run into or even see from a distance. (Brie,) he acknowledged hesitantly. He looked at her, suddenly feeling tight in the chest. This was probably guilt. (No,) he corrected himself, (This is definitely guilt.) Zell realized that he overreacted to her feelings for him. He had never had anyone confess to him before, so he didn't know how to act. He realized a long time afterward that he handled it very badly. (We could have been friends, at least,) he thought, unaware that his eyes were still boring into her. (Maybe she'd like that.) Zell blinked, surprising himself with his thoughts. He tore his gaze away from her and pretended to find the ground fascinating. It was rare of him to think maturely like that.

Brie started to pass him silently, keeping her eyes facing forward. She couldn't afford to look at him. Not this jerk who rejected her with anger and annoyance. She could feel his eyes on her. It made her a lot more self-conscious. What did he want? What kind of look was he giving her? She didn't recognize the expression on his face; it was usually full of life and determination, but now he looked... unhappy. Was he upset? Maybe the very thought of seeing her again in person after a long time made his blood boil. (Does he want a piece of my mind? I'll gladly give it to him,) she thought sourly. It was clear that she was still bitter about the whole ordeal.

The library girl stopped in her tracks, making sure she wasn't in the way of any other SeeD candidates trying to get on the Ragnarok. She turned to look at Zell, who she saw wasn't looking at her anymore. "Hey," she called cautiously, her voice tough and unfriendly. "Zell."

He looked up slowly, his eyes meeting hers. "Hey," he replied simply. He had no clue as to why she was speaking to him. Inwardly, he felt a little nervous around her, wondering if she was going to slap him again. Even if he could easily dodge and block hits aimed at him, a girl's slap was always unpredictable to him. And those things hurt like hell.

Brie was at a loss for words. She had the nerve to greet him... now what? After taking a moment to gather her thoughts, she finally spoke up again. "When I get back... I'll make sure I'll become SeeD... and then I'll surpass you in prowess."

Zell finally cracked a smile, amused. Prowess? What kind of teenager used the word 'prowess' in spoken language? He sure didn't.

Brie glared at the grin he gave her, thinking it was a mocking one. "I'll do it, Zell Dincht. I'll... I'll make sure you're no longer as high as you are now." She tried to sound mean, but Zell, of course, has heard a lot meaner.

The martial artist shrugged. Hey, it wasn't a great restart of a friendship, but it was better than nothing at all. "You've got a deal, Brie." He smirked. "I can't wait to see what you're made of..."

She then left in a huff. Zell returned to watching students board the airship, immediately spotting Irvine coming up to him in an unusually serious expression. At the corner of his eye, he swore he saw Brie turn back on the ramp and look at him. Not in an angry way, but maybe in a hopeful one.

Zell could at least hope for that one burden to be finally lifted. His gloved hands clenched into fists in frustrated helplessness. He wish he could say the same about everything else bothering him.

---

About an hour later, Squall, who returned to sitting on the head of the Ragnarok in a perfectly balanced position, noticed, through his very expensive binoculars, that a few groups were coming out. He could spot Seifer, Rinoa, and Fujin, racing through the doors and into the sands (where Quistis was waiting outside for them), to their truck, and on their way to the airship. He had expected them to be one of the first groups to finish. He was surprised, though, that Seifer was carrying an unconscious person over his shoulder. A female with red hair. Clearly a member of REVOLUTION. He recognized a set of chains worn by the redhead. The commander came to suspect that the person in the group's hands was someone special, a leader or a higher ranked person in the anarchist organization. He was anxious to get to talk to that person once she comes to back in secure facilities at Garden. If he got her to talk, then they would be able to have all the information to resolve this issue and the world would be safe again.

"Good job, Squad A," he whispered. He spied on them a little more as the three of them loaded the girl into the back of the truck they had used to get to the prison. He shifted his magnified gaze over to a few of the groups with people he didn't personally know. Everyone seemed to be in relatively good shape. Squall wondered why if those anarchists were easier to beat than Seifer, Irvine, and Fujin, let on or if there weren't that many members to begin with. Even with that, how can they cause so much destruction? Were they just packed with weapons of mass destruction? Did they have impeccable strategies? He wasn't sure, but he guessed that he would find out through the unconscious anarchist now in Balamb Garden's hands.

Squall panned the scene once more with his binoculars, in time to see Raijin's squad make it safely. He supposed that most, if not all, of REVOLUTION had been taken out or is close to being so, judging from the students who had eventually made it to near the airship via the trucks. However, he didn't see Irvine's squad among the other candidates. He calculated that maybe three or four squads at the most were still inside. His jaw tightened nervously. He briefly glanced down at his watch before going back to the scene. The cowboy, Brie, and Archer didn't have a lot of time until the bomb in the D-Prison supposedly explodes, destroying the entire facility. There were thirty minutes left. He picked up his radio (also very expensive) from his belt and contacted Instructor Aki, who was supposed to be inside the exam site.

"Aki here," the the instructor answered.

"Check the squads still inside the buildings," the commander ordered in a tight voice. "Time's cutting too close. Get them out of there."

"Yes, Commander," came the static-y response. "Instructor Doloron and I will go."

End conversation. Squall then tried to radio Irvine's group (since he was technically in charge of them), but he got no response. Frustrated after many attempts, he put his radio away.

"There's a lotta students by the Ragnarok. Is it over?"

It was Selphie again. Squall turned to her slightly, lowering his binoculars. "Almost," he replied in an indifferent manner. He stood up and carefully moved away from the head of the Ragnarok to somewhere that gave him more secure footing, and ended up standing directly in front of her.

She avoided his gaze, even though she tried to act normal. He noticed from her body language that she was actually starting to shy away from him. Something painful tugged at Squall's heart as watched her. He stepped in, as if to bring her into his arms, but he didn't let himself hold the girl to reassure her. He was afraid that those weird visions would come back and cause even more strain between the two of them. "... Squad B's not out yet," he told her.

"That's Irvy's squad."

"Yeah." He paused slightly. "I told you, right? About changing his group's objective?"

"The... bomb thing." After the words left Selphie's mouth, the couple faced a period of awkward silence. Her voice told Squall that she was extremely worried about her best childhood friend. The commander himself couldn't help but be anxious as well. Time was too close for comfort.

Selphie spoke up again, giggling. Her laughter sounded nervous to both of their ears. "Hah... I bet Irvy's taking so long to be dramatic. They probably got it deactivated a while back and are on their way down as I speak."

"There's a possibility that they might still be working on it. Or even if they destroyed the bomb a while back, they might've encountered problems... like REVOLUTION members," Squall countered quietly. "Plus, I couldn't contact his group. I received no response on the radio." He could imagine Selphie frowning at his response, a little pout that Squall thought was cute. "But..." she started, her voice drifting off. She paused and then said. "You should've let the cadets use their cell phones. It would've made things easier."

He shook his head. "It would, but rules are rules."

(The most retarded rules I've heard of...) "But..." she started again. She didn't say anything else after that. What could she say?

"I trust that his group will get out in time," he went on. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have chosen Squad B to go to the control room. Don't worry about them."

"Squall, I can't just-"

"It's fine, Selphie. They'll be fine." Not only was he convincing her, but he was convincing himself as well.

His overconfidence was making her angry, but she did not address this fact to him. Instead, she scowled at his back and whispered, her voice unusually chilly, "You better be right..."

He turned his head slightly, taking in her words. However, he didn't reply as he heard her scurry away. When her footsteps were out of hearing range, he looked toward the direction she left, the slightest bit of hurt expressed on his face. He wondered if that was what he sounded like to her... that cold tone she used on him just now. He didn't know if she's spent enough time with him to "get it down," but he didn't like the way she talked to him at all. Some part of him was mad, sure, but the ache in his heart was stronger. (There's no time for this, though,) he reprimanded himself. (I need to concentrate on the task at hand.) He narrowed his eyes at the prison. (Squad B better come out safely.)

---

"Whew! I'm still pumped!" Irvine proclaimed, laughing as he defeated a REVOLUTION member trying to make his way to the top. All that sorceress hunting the year before definitely did wonders for his increasing strength.

Brie slipped out a small smile, putting away an extra stock of Curaga she drew from their last enemy. "Y-you're pretty strong, Irvine," she answered. "I wouldn't have been able to defeat them on my own." The library girl turned to the last member of their squad, who was working out the very last kinks of the bomb deactivation. She and Irvine were doing all the fighting, leaving Archer, who was the expert in this sort of thing, to do the deactivation itself. "How are you doing, Archer?"

From the control panel, Archer turned around and gave them a reassuring look. "Apparently, I just finished." He moved aside to let his squadmates take a look at the large mess of circuits and cords that have either been cut or switched with others. "Just in time, too."

(I wonder if he knows he uses the word 'apparently' a lot...) Irvine wondered.

"Even so, that was faster than I thought..." Brie commented thoughtfully.

"Well," Irvine drawled, drawing out the word slowly. He cocked his hat down a little, in a smooth and collected fashion. It was the trademark Irvine Hat Tilt, guaranteed to make the girls swoon at his feet. Even Brie was blushing. "I guess we're done here, y'all."

"And we can take our time," Archer added cheerfully.

Irvine, the squad leader, looked at his teammates proudly. Working with them wasn't so bad at all. Hell, give the three of them a little more time together and they could even be friends. His eyes shifted from Archer to Brie, who was beaming triumphantly. Her smile at the moment sort of reminded him of Selphie.

However, before the three of them could turn around, a feminine voice resounded throughout the room. "You aren't going anywhere."

Irvine was the first to spot a gorgeous, but clearly dangerous blonde woman standing at the doorway. He recognized her. She was in Balamb that one time when he was with Fujin and Seifer. With his rifle over his shoulder, he smiled darkly, waiting for the right time to cock his weapon and fire at her. "Who says?" he challenged. "Those are some big words fer a pretty li'l lady like you."

He heard Archer and Brie come up on either side of him, preparing themselves for a battle as well.

The blonde, Ciel, snickered as she gracefully stepped in closer. "Cut the smooth talk." She seemed to have finally recognized Irvine. At this, she let out another small laugh. "Cowboy. Isn't it nice that we meet again? Your little hat clashes with the rest of your uniform."

Brie and Archer both stared at him in disbelief.

"Kazeno, Almasy, and I encountered her back in Balamb," Irvine muttered in response to their unspoken question, not taking his eyes off of their enemy. "The day the train station collapsed." His flashed the terrorist a sneer. That event alone made him want to strangle the terrorist. "Isn't that right, Blondie?"

"What an unoriginal nickname," she scoffed.

"Maybe you should tell us your real name, then," he countered in a snappish manner.

Her violet eyes scanned the three of them. Irvine couldn't tell whether or not the expression on her face was amusement or of a sinister nature; it could even be both. She smiled rather maliciously at them. "Why would my identity matter? I'm just here... to get rid of the SeeDs."

The sniper smirked. "That's what they all wanna do. Get rid'a SeeD. You're no different."

"Hm, I guess that's true," replied the woman, taking a few more steps forward. Up close, Irvine noticed something very dark and dangerous about her. He didn't think it was present when he was in Balamb with his fellow cadets. "I'll just have to let my weapon do the talking." She took out her bow gun and aimed it at the squad leader. In turn, Irvine lifted his rifle, the newly upgraded Blood Shark, and aimed it at her forehead. Brie, with her sai, and Archer, with his quarterstaff (the same weapon as Raijin's), both put themselves in battle positions, ready to attack if necessary. The four of them froze in their spots, wondering who would make the first move.

"Hey, Archer," Irvine whispered out of the corner of his mouth.

"What?" the other cadet whispered back.

"Protect the control panel." It was most likely that the REVOLUTION member knew about the bomb. And if she knew how to reactivate it (if there was a way, at least), he wanted to make sure it didn't under any circumstances.

"Right." Archer fell back from the group, backing up slowly until he stood protectively in front of the control panel.

Ciel caught on to this move immediately and smirked, but she didn't say anything.

"Well?" Irvine spoke up tauntingly, narrowing his eyes at the blonde. "Are ya gonna make your move?"

Instead of snapping back at him, her bowgun's aim on Irvine shifted swiftly from him to the timid Brie. She fired, sending three arrows at her at once. The three SeeD candidates didn't see this coming, and were alarmed when the arrows hit her right in the stomach. The pigtailed girl dropped to the ground, hunched over on her knees. Blood spilled out of her body and to the ground. She gave a short cry but shakily pulled herself to her feet, not about to be beaten by one attack. "I'm o-okay!" she shouted weakly to her teammates.

Irvine cursed under his breath and wasted no time retaliating. He pulled the trigger of Blood Shark, firing a few good shots with Demolition ammo. Unluckily for him, not only did Ciel try to dodge by moving to the side, but his bullets were also deflected by her Aura spell. It was a weird thing to the squadmates, though, because the three of them noticed that the Aura spell seemed very strong. A regular one would have given her at least a little damage, but the terrorist didn't seem to be affected at all. Either that or she had a lot of luck. From behind the sniper, Archer frowned as he thought about that. "She apparently received no damage," he said to Irvine cautiously.

"Yeah, no shit," the ponytailed cadet murmured grimly. The conversation was immediately cut short as Ciel fired again, once again, the arrows coming at them three at a time. It must've been a setting she put on the gun. Irvine let out a "Whoa!" as he ducked to avoid the arrows. Archer wasn't as fast as his squadmate. He was able to barely avoid two, which hit the TV monitors next to him, but the third managed to hit his shoulder. Archer grimaced and rushed forth with his staff. He wouldn't dare stall because of an injury.

But before he could swing at her, a Fire spell shot past his vision and hit the terrorist from the side. Archer turned his gaze to the direction it came from. It was Brie who used the spell (a weak one, but she was still a newbie at magic). She seemed to have used Cure on herself. The arrows were pulled out of her and she less ill and more energized. Unfortunately for this spellcaster, the Fire barely affected the blonde woman. Ciel turned to Brie and flashed a smug smile at her as she lifted her bowgun in her direction.

At the same time, Irvine, who was still on the floor, aimed his sniper at her whilst in a crouching position, setting his sights on the woman's legs. He figured that her barrier would be fading away by now. He fired a few shots at her, but to his bewilderment, Ciel barely moved, but it was enough to distract her from shooting at Brie again. "Shit!" he hissed, seeing that the Aura was still going strong. (But how?) he wondered. Irvine has used Aura so much that he knew perfectly how long one stock of it would last. But the anarchist's Aura was surprisingly quite strong, and the auburn-haired cadet had no idea... unless...

Irvine's thoughts were interrupted as a Break spell came at him. He dodge successfully, sliding to his right. He could hear, from somewhere behind him, Archer called for a Dispel. The cowboy silently applauded his teammate for having stocks of those. He himself sure wasn't smart enough to think that he might need them.

But returning to his thoughts... he finally came to the conclusion that this REVOLUTION member carried a DF, after remembering what Odine had said the time he and the gang visited his lab. In fact, after thinking it through some more, he was certain of it, although he didn't know which one she could have. But it was no wonder the vibes she gave off were so eerie.

As Irvine went to paying attention to the fight, he found that Archer's Dispel had actually pulled through. The cowboy was impressed, but Ciel seemed startled. She didn't expect her Aura to be knocked off by another magic spell. She gritted her teeth, pondering her next move. Brie, on the other hand, used this opportunity to bring out the big guns: the GF she received for her prerequisite, Nine-Tails.

A part of Irvine panicked. If his teammates brought out their GFs, then it was possible that the blonde would counter by bringing out her DF. And after his first experience with Reaper, he was afraid of what kind of power his enemy's summon would unleash. Very, very afraid. But nevertheless, he had to stay strong and triumph.

Nine-Tails, a golden, majestic fox with (obviously) nine fluffy tails, appeared before the three SeeD candidates. Irvine, Brie, and Archer backed up a bit to give the fire-based GF room for battle. Nine-Tails' pulled her teeth back into a sneer, growling. It was a scary thing to have a Guardian Force look at you like that, but Ciel seemed unafraid.

"Brie Sirea," Nine-Tails said in her soft, brassy voice. "Your command. Shall I attack?"

"Yes," the pig-tailed girl whispered. "Give it all you got."

Without a word, Nine-Tails charged, jumping forward and at the last minute, twirling so that her flaming tails slapped at Ciel. The attack sent the terrorist flying into the wall behind her, smoke rising from her. Ciel hit it soundly, but she didn't fall. She recovered rather quickly, weakened but definitely still able to fight. She turned and faced her opponents again, her face and body imprinted with Nine-Tail's scorching damage. She smiled, and that signaled to Irvine that she had something else up her sleeve.

"I sense something odd about this enemy," Nine-Tails commented quietly, her dark, slanted eyes boring into Ciel. "Something odd and dangerous. We must be careful." With that, the GF lowered herself on her front legs, ready to pounce.

"Odd?" Brie repeated, perplexed.

Making a few choice hand gestures, Ciel summoned her Dark Force. Black mist shot out of her hands. A hunched over figure in a black hood slowly made its appearance. (Fuck!) he yelled to himself with dread. (This woman has Reaper! But I thought it was that guy with spiky black hair who had him...) His heart racing, Irvine immediately turned to his teammates. "Guys," he started urgently, "when that thing lifts its head, cover your eyes. Whatever ya do, don't fuckin' lay your eyes on it!" Brie and Archer looked confused, but they quietly agreed to follow the cowboy's words.

Like Irvine expected, the world around them went mutedly silent as Reaper reared his head in what looked like slow-motion. And like he expected, his teammates bowed their heads to avoid eye contact with the DF. Irvine did the same. However, Nine-Tails snarled and, without Brie's consent, leaped forward. With his peripheral vision, the gunman watched as Brie (while trying to keep her eyes away from Reaper's sight) give Nine-Tails a wide-eyed stare. "Nine-Tails!" she hissed.

"What is it?" Irvine queried, giving her a worried look.

"She's already going for her special attack; I can feel it..."

Archer chose to chime in with, "Apparently, she doesn't seem that affected by this attack we're allegedly hiding from."

"Meaning we can look up as long as my GF is blocking our view," Brie concluded softly. At her words, the cadets carefully peered up from their bowed positions. Nine-Tails was bigger than Reaper, and although the latter floated in mid-air and should have been at a higher position than the grounded fox GF, Nine-Tails was tall enough to guard the three of them safely.

Narrowing her eyes because of the lack of activity in the current battle, Ciel's voice suddenly rang out snobbishly. "You think you can hide from Reaper forever? Get a load of this, then!" She turned to her DF. "Reaper, cancel your normal attack. Do Grotesque Mosaic, now!"

There was a thoughtful silence on Reaper's part. No one (except for Ciel, probably) expected him to actually answer (does that DF even talk?), but a cold, raspy voice that sent shivers down our heroes' spines spoke up slowly with, "Very well. I will triumph."

(Grotesque Mosaic?) Irvine repeated in his head. (Wasn't Terror Kaleidoscope the name of the attack he got us with in Balamb?)

"You will never win," Nine-Tails uttered dangerously while still in mid-air. "As long as I am here, you will be defeated." In routine of the GF's Limit Break, her body ignited, gold flames surrounding her as she stopped to hover a good distance over her enemy. She grew brighter and brighter, as if she was charging shortly before the ultimate hit. "Golden Comet," Brie whispered, fascinated. She had only used Nine-Tails a couple of times before, but she had never gotten to the point where the GF had to use a Limit Break, especially when in regular battles, it took a longer time for a GF to gain enough power to do one. (She must really see that other one as a real threat,) the library girl guessed.

Nine-Tails, in the middle of the roar of the frightful fires on her body, let even more flames engulf her as she dove at Reaper, her speed fast and her strength at its maximum. It seemed, in the cadets' eyes, that she had succeeded. A fireball - or to go along the lines of the attack name, a comet - seemed to have taken the GF's place, hiding her within the flaming depths. A gigantic crash resounded throughout the room, maybe even throughout the world.

But it was not as it seemed, as the three cadets discovered disdainfully. The crash didn't come from Nine-Tails' attack, but from Reaper himself. Grotesque Mosaic was unlike Terror Kaleidoscope in that there were practically no problems with looking upon Reaper and immediately collapsing to the ground in trauma. For the current attack, the DF seemed to have built some sort of magical barrier around itself, encasing its body within what looked like a sphere. It was no ordinary barrier, though. Swimming across the barrier's surface were innumerous faces, bodies, and dismembered body parts of ghostly figures. In front of the sphere were a couple of these ghostly figures sticking out. One was a long-haired woman with a broken neck, sticking her hands out as if to grab whoever dared to come near. Another resembled a bald male man with a cloth blindfold over his eyes and sharp teeth in his mouth. His hands were also reaching out for its enemies.

As for Nine-Tails herself, her comet failed. Upon contact with the barrier, her fireball exploded all around her, reflecting from the Grotesque Mosaic to her body. Nine-Tails let out a long howl and fell back, landing with her back legs on the ground, her head bowed wearily, and her front legs we unsteadily holding her up. The flames around her were gone. A few seconds later, small pinpoints of light began appearing, and the KO'ed GF began to disappear, as those of her kind always do when they couldn't battle anymore.

"Oh, Hyne..." Brie gasped shakily.

"Shit," Irvine cursed in a low voice as soon as Nine-Tails was gone. He took his aim at Ciel, who was standing somewhere to the side of Reaper, with his gun. He expected her to glare at him or to snap at him, but she smiled instead. It was a dark smile, an evil one that caught even him, a seasoned fighter, off-guard. It was a frightful smile, and he didn't understand why it disturbed him. It delayed his pulling the trigger. He even lowered the barrel.

"Reaper. Return," she barked, her light purple eyes still on him.

"I am not finished," came the chilly reply. With that, the DF, with his barrier still intact, used one of the apparitions attached to it to lash out at the person closest to it: Archer. Unable to react fast enough, Archer let out a startled cry as the blindfolded ghostly figure raced to him at a blinding speed. The ghost easily slipped his hands into Archer's body. Neither Brie nor Irvine knew what it did, but it caused Archer's body to convulse for a few seconds until he collapsed to the ground, unmoving. The ghost returned from whence it came after that.

"Archer!" Brie cried, momentarily stunned. She ran to him, rapidly taking out a Phoenix Down.

While she was doing that, Irvine chose to summon his own GF for the fight, using the one he got from his prerequisite. (C'mon, Byakko, let's fight this piece of shit,) he said silently, watching the terrorist with cautious eyes. On his command, a large white tiger with fur that seemed to glow in the dimly lit control room, promptly appeared before the cadets. Not wasting any time, Byakko silently began to fight, his teeth pulled back in a snarl. Byakko cast Break on the DF. It had no effect on Reaper. A little confused, the tiger took a step back, contemplating his next move.

Archer, who has recovered a little after a Phoenix Down and a Hi-Potion thanks to Brie, spoke up quietly so that only his teammates can hear. "Fighting this is impossible..."

Irvine didn't want to correct him by saying that Reaper wasn't exactly a Guardian Force, but there was no time to explain those things. "I don't wanna assume it's impossible," the cowboy replied. (Even though it really seems that way at the moment,) he added to himself.

Byakko was about to go in to physically attack Reaper, but before he could move, both apparitions in Reaper's barrier shot out, moaning in anguish as they disappeared inside of the tiger. Byakko let out an painful roar and stumbled around, not knowing how to get them out.

"Well, damn!" Irvine couldn't help shouting in annoyance. "How many diff'rent fuckin' attacks does th'fucker have?" He was frustrated. How were they supposed to beat Ciel with this practically invincible Dark Force?

Byakko finally dropped to the ground, his heavy body toppling over to the side. The barrier ghosts left the GF and returned to their base. Irvine could only watch, scowling, as his GF began to disappear.

"Will you return now?" Ciel uttered impatiently, glowering at her DF's back. "I want to finish them off."

"Why must I go back?" Reaper replied calmly. "It is far too entertaining to take out these imbeciles one by one." It was obvious that Reaper and Ciel didn't get along very well; the DF was not too keen on listening to her. Irvine couldn't figure out if it was a DF thing or they just weren't compatible.

"Listen. To. Me," the terrorist said forcefully, enunciating each word threateningly.

"No."

"That's it," she whispered angrily. She shifted the black strap she was wearing so that she was able to hold her machine gun. In an odd turn of events, she sprayed Reaper with a shower of bullets into his back, the REVOLUTION chains she wore rattling as the gun vibrated. Reaper froze in place, the barrier around him shattering. Letting out a raspy cry, he disappeared, KO'ed from her attack. No one could rejoice at its disappearance, however, as another cry, an agonizing by familiar-sounding one, abruptly followed it. Irvine and Brie whipped their heads to their left, finding that the bullets that had pierced Reaper had gone through him and hit Archer as well. The quarterstaff specialist slid to the ground, his chest full of holes.

What just happened? Irvine had no idea how he and his squadmates weren't able to injure Reaper but that terrorist could. Shouldn't it be the other way around? (It must be another DF thing...)

The next part of the battle went by too quickly for the SeeD candidates' liking. Irvine raised his Blood Shark again, but never got the chance to shoot, for he heard the rattle of the machine gun again. Irvine fell backwards, his back landing on the cold, hard floor. His hat left his head and his rifle landed somewhere near him, but he didn't know their exact locations. The pain on his chest and stomach was excruciating. He groaned, trying desperately to pull himself up. He felt like his body was burning. The sensations should have been familiar to him, because of the soldiers he had fought during the sorceress thing, but he never got used to the pain. Especially since Ciel shot more at him than a bunch of those soldiers put together. (Shit... SHIT,) Irvine thought as he struggled slowly to drag himself to his gun. (I can barely move!) His body was adamant in not responding to him properly as he extended his hand feebly for his gun. Whilst doing so, he heard a feminine yelp and more chaka-chaka sounds next to him. He didn't need to turn his head to know that Brie had gotten shot by the machine gun.

Irvine felt a jolt of pain shoot up his body and suppressed another groan. His vision was starting to show dark spots; he was on the verge of fainting. (Fuckin' hell... I need to heal. Dammit. Heal heal heal.) Irvine haphazardly reached into his pocket for a Hi-Potion, but reflexively froze when he saw a pair of black boots in front of his face. He could only react as one boot suddenly came at him, hitting his cheek, nose and his upper lip. Irvine tasted blood as he felt his body hit the side of the control panel. He hated that woman even more for touching his face.

(Hah, what a thing to be thinkin' 'bout at a time like this.)

He pulled himself off with all the strength he could muster, pushing himself up onto all fours. The cowboy could hear machine gun making its rounds again, shooting at the already injured Archer and Brie. Archer let out a cry. Irvine lifted his head enough to see Archer lying face up, his chest barely moving but was still alive. Technically, he was knocked out and needed a Phoenix Down fast or else he was a goner. "Shit..." Irvine managed to mumble through his injuries as a tiny drop of blood oozed out of the side of his lips. He pulled his eyes away from him and to his other teammate. Brie was slumped in a sitting position against the side of the control panel, right under where the bomb had been deactivated. She wasn't KO'ed, but was pretty damn close to it. Unluckily for her, Irvine didn't think she had enough strength to even attempt at attacking or even healing herself nor Archer. Irvine couldn't reach either of them, but he also needed to do something for himself in order to even consider helping the others. He reached for his Hi-Potion again and took a long swig of it, every last drop. He felt a little better. He no longer felt faint, but that didn't stop the pain coming from his wounds.

As for Ciel, she lowered the machine gun slightly, looking down at her handiwork. She seemed satisfied at Archer's condition and smirked at him. She walked forward, toward the control panel, staring at it with a look Irvine couldn't recognize on her face. She strongly kicked Brie to the side with her foot. She was in her way. The cadet was pushed off the ground for a second or two and then back on the ground, her head hitting the ground. KO. The terrorist laughed softly under her breath.

(The bomb!) Irvine screamed in his mind, realizing what she was going to do. He needed to act quickly before she did anything. He had a strong feeling that she was really going to reactivate it. So he crawled, trying not to grimace at the burning feelings in his body, toward his abandoned rifle. He grabbed it with a shaky hand and then whirled around to aim the barrel at her head.

Ciel stole a glance at him. She was able to hear him shuffling about in the otherwise silent room. She turned back toward the panel and grinned darkly. She wasn't scared of the gun aimed at her. In fact, she seemed to welcome it. Irvine didn't understand this, but no matter. He pulled the trigger... and missed. Rare of him to do so.

Irvine realized that he was a lot shakier than he originally thought. Missing was his own fault. He pulled up his other hand to steady the grip, but it wasn't that much better. It didn't help that he was still very much hurt and weak.

Ciel took out some kind of cartridge and held it up for Irvine to see. He was the only one conscious by now. "I took this from my leader's body," she explained quietly. She held it above a certain area of the control panel, next to where the wiring for the bomb was.

Irvine watched her warily, his gun still aimed at her. "So?" he replied angrily, his voice hoarse.

"I killed him," she continued casually.

(Why would she do that?)

"He showed this thing to us earlier, saying that it self-destructs this building of the prison in case anything happens. I don't know where he got it from. It was a little too late to ask, if you know what I mean."

"..." Irvine wondered why she was telling him this.

The anarchist let out a long laugh. A maniacal one that truly frightened the cowboy. "It doesn't matter... it does its job." She looked at him again. Irvine stared back, bothered by the look in her eyes. If he could describe that expression in one word, he would label it as KILL.

He frantically reached in his pocket for more ammunition for his gun.

Ciel shoved the cartridge into the control panel.

Irvine realized that his pockets, his jacket, his everything did not contain ammo. He must have used it all while fighting the other REVOLUTION members. He probably had only a few bullets left in his gun. He gritted his teeth and realized what a perilous situation he was in, especially when he saw that the TV monitors lit up, all showing something identical.

10...

A countdown.

9...

"No," Irvine murmured. He had to hurry! He pulled himself into a sitting position, one leg with a knee on the ground and the other leg pulled up so that his foot was on the ground, supporting him.

8...

Ciel faced him full-on, waiting for him to shoot her. She still held her gun firmly in her hands, ready to take him on. Her look said, I dare you to shoot. There's no point now.

7...

It's too late.

6...

Irvine pulled the trigger, only to have his eyes widen. The gun was empty. Shocked, he dropped it. The gun made a loud CLANG! as it hit the ground. However, he refused to give up on taking her down. Irvine made a few choice hand gestures with his bloody hands, signalling that he was going to do some kind of magical spell.

Ciel's lavender eyes blinked as she watched him. Bringing the machine gun back up, she quickly took aim and fired.

5...

That all-too-familiar rattling pummeled through the cowboy torso point-blank. His magic spell abandoned, he fell onto his back, the torturous sensation of the bullets piecing his flesh and into the inside of his body taking its toll on him. Irvine tried to breathe, but he found every action, even something so simple as breathing, extremely hard to do.

4...

Irvine rolled over slowly to his side, pushing himself up with his hands. He could feel and think about nothing but the horrible pain coming from the bullet wounds on his torso. He let himself slip out a loud grunt as he twisted open the cap of a Hi-Potion with his teeth.

3...

(There has to be a way. There HAS t'be... I can't let this happen! I won't let myself die here!) Irvine took a swig of the healing liquid and tossed the empty bottle nearby. He had to get to the control panel. With slippery hands, he grabbed onto the edge of the control panel to pull himself up.

2...

"Death is waiting for us, Cowboy."

Those were the last words Irvine heard from her. After that, Ciel fired the last of her bullets into his back. He latched onto the panel, refusing to sink to the ground again to give in to the throbbing pain. (Hyne, just give me more time! I can do this!)

1...

Too late.

0...

SELF-DESTRUCTION, the monitors said.

Irvine's eyes went wide.

(No!)

It was all going by so fast. Way too fast for him to think straight, if he could think at all. When he heard the thunderous boom all around him, the last thing - the only thing - he thought of was his and Selphie's conversation back on the Ragnarok.

"You'll always be my Irvy, right?"

"As long as you'll always be my Sefie."

Everything went white.

---

A/N:Yeah... sorry. Nothing against Irvine. I love the guy, too. And sorry if my writing was confusing at all. This chapter spanned like, what? Two years? Holy shit.

Anywho, I've been thinking. I usually listen to music while I type up stories, and there are certain songs (for some reason or none) that remind me of the stories and/or its character(s). So I thought... hey, soundtrack. I'll probably think up a soundtrack and make some mp3 rotation-type entry on my LJ. Not my personal one, but the one I have specifically for fanfics, stories, and poetry. The link to it is on my author profile, if you've never been to it.

And speaking of music, the songs I've been putting on repeat for this chapter? "Angel Eyes" and "White Fox" by M.O.V.E. Along with "Move Along" by The All-American Rejects and "Hana Chou Fuusetsu" by BYAKKO (a boss song from Beatmania IIDX: DistorteD). Yeah... I'll post about the music thing later.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Bye!