Final Fantasy VIII 1. 1 - Not just a pretty face

A/N1: As usual, everything is property of Square Enix where applicable.

Inspiration for this story comes from the wonderfully talented **Ronin-Ai** [check her stories out]. This will be my second story which is in no way related to my other one - the SeeD of Chaos. I hope you enjoy this one.

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_**=Balamb Garden, Dormitory section, High rank SeeD and administrative accomodation=**_

_-BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!-_

It was 05:00 when the harsh noise of the alarm buzzed through her room. From under the plain white duvet a slender arm slipped out and wandered in the direction of the alarm clock. At first her finger seemed to run across the first button on the left which was marked "OFF" but instead it drifted to the right and hit the button next to it which was marked "SNOOZE". Her hand retreated back under the duvet and a faint voice whispered.

_"Five more minutes"_

Sadly for the girl wanting to sleep, the alarm clock could not understand human speech. If it could, it would have probably ignored her anyway because the moment the furthest right digit on the red and black LCD display changed from a zero to a one, the harsh tone of the alarm flooded the room again. This time, she knew the snooze button would not respond to her. She flung the covers across the bed and stood up in front of the alarm clock on the unit by her bedside. She hit the "OFF" button and the noise finally stopped. In the pre-dawn darkness she walked across the room towards her door and flicked a switch. The lights flickered to life and illuminated her surroundings. Her bedroom was pretty generic in appearances. It was a standard ten feet by 12 feet room with a double bed in the corner against the wall, facing the window. To the right of the window was the door to the rest of her quarters - the bathroom, living area, kitchen and storage room. Her quarters were on the north face of Balamb Garden like the rest of the staff and students there, but to her dismay, they were on the east side of the block. This meant that when the sun rose, the mountains and the fire cavern first shielded it from the rays of light which crept through her blinds at dawn, but without warning the full effects. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, and stretching, the woman, dressed in short-shorts (emphasis on short!) and a loose, baggy white t-shirt fumbled at the wall for the light switch. She turned it on and bypassed her mirror. She knew she looked like hell. Hell, she **_felt_ **like hell. Thankfully it was her day off and she planned to do some serious training today. Hangover or not, she prided herself on being the best in any and every situation. She walked through the door and opened it. The living room area of her apartment was in darkness but she could vaguely see the outline of a bottle or two and some glasses on her table. Clearly the celebrations at the ball last night were not enough, she had to continue the party back at her place.

_"I feel like hell!"_

Flicking the light switch on, she noticed her SeeD uniform sprawled across the couch by two empty bottles of wine and two empty glasses. She had guessed she wasn't drinking alone, but the identity of her companion for the night was a mystery for the time being. Not wasting anymore time, she walked towards her bathroom. She saw the door was ajar and kicked it open. The bathroom was a mess, but at least it wasn't covered in vomit. She thought she had thrown up last night due to the bitter taste in her mouth but there were no tell-tale signs of any regurgitation of bodily fluids. She glanced at her watch, it read "05:15". She stripped off, casting her clothes to the floor and stepped into her shower. She figured a quick power shower would perk her up before she went for her morning run in the training center. As the warm water ran down her naked body, she briefly wiped herself over with a wash cloth before paying attention to her hair. It was almost jet black and slicked right back due to the water. She knew she would have to be washed properly again after her training session and put back to its normal perfect state, but for now she didn't care. Stepping out of the shower, she turned it off, wrapped a towel around herself and another smaller one around her head. She glanced down at her watch again, "05:21". Hangover or not, she was right on schedule. Retreating across the room back to her bedroom she glanced at her PDA - there were no new messages or alerts on it.

_"Looks like I'm going solo this morning then"_

She pulled out a black sports bra and black slim profile underwear from her draw and slipped into them. She put on a set of ankle socks and then reached for her wardrobe door. She opened it up and scanned its contents. It was neatly arranged in a specific order. To the left were her SeeD uniforms and official function wear, in the middle were her "training clothes" - Garden official wear and her own wear, and then to the right were her civilian clothes and 'fancy' clothes. She pulled out a pair of plain black jogging pants and then a skin-tight black lycra top. As she slipped into her clothes, she looked into the mirror - on the right side of her neck she spotted a rather telling mark.

_"Why do I always get the clumsy ones?"_

She pulled the lycra top on and adjusted it so everything sat right. It was charcoal grey and black in parts top which left nothing to the imagination, it clung to every muscle and curve on her upper body. She then went to her make up drawer and pulled out some concealer and put it over the mark. She'd had too much practice with this technique over the years but there was always one person who could see through it - Quistis Trepe. Thankfully Quistis wouldn't be awake right now. The last she saw of the blonde was her trying to hide from the legion of Trepies who hounded her at every move. She remembered Zell, Ami the library girl and Nida pulling her aside through a side door to the private SeeD lounge. Thankfully there were no Trepies who were SeeDs, or at least that they knew of. Judging by the amount of alcohol they had consumed last night, she figured Quistis would be passed out still. She glanced at her watch again "05:38".

_"Time to tool up and get out there!"_

She left her bedroom and looked across her apartment once again. It was fairly large for a SeeD, but given that she was an 'A Rank' SeeD and also part of the Garden's administration team, she was given special privileges like her accommodation and exemption from Curfews. She looked over to the left corner of the room - the kitchen was the tidiest area of the room right now. All the doors were closed and there were no left over dishes or bits of food lying on the side. The washing machine was full though, she made a mental note to put it on before she headed out. She looked across the wall adjacent to the kitchen - the main windows took up most of it, below it was a radiator and one of her chairs by the desk her computer was at. To the right of that, on the wall backing onto her bedroom was her personal wall. SeeDs tried to put small personal touches on their accommodations, most usually had the odd poster or pictures of places they'd only dream of visiting if they survived into their mid-late twenties, their goals and ambitions. She was different. Her bookcase and display cabinet was filled with research texts, military dossiers, martial arts magazines. The shelves of her case were filled with trophies from combat - the helmet of a dead G-soldier from the garden battle a few weeks earlier. A knife from a Tonberry, an Inferno fang from a Ruby Dragon, A claw from a T-Rexaur, the first one she took down solo in the training center. Alongside these grizzly reminders of death and victory were her service medals and certificates. To the right of these was the most striking feature of the room - a large blast proof locker. She opened it up - it was a small personal armory in there. On the inside of the left door was her combat equipment - utility belts, grappling hooks, ropes, sheaths, holsters and limb guards and fighting gloves. On the inside of the right door were the support weapons - various combat knives, Kunai, Shurikens and more covert weaponry such as bladed fans, hairpieces which could be thrown or used in close quarters combat and even hidden wrist blades which were spring-loaded. She took a knife holster and tied it round her inner left calf and placed a standard combat knife in there. She then took her utility belt and loaded it up with some Kunai's and her grappling hook. Her attention then turned to the middle of the locker - these were the weapons she used the most.

_"What to train with today..."_

As she mused to herself, she glanced over her weaponry - A Ninjato known as the Yagyu Darkblade as its blade was as black as the night, a Tanto, a Wakazashi called Kitsune (The Fox Blade), a pair of dragon skin fighting gloves and a strange-looking hand scythe which had a chain on it which had a heavy metal ball on the end of it. The main attraction though in the war closet was a pair of Sais. They were custom-made - a combination of adamantine and curse spikes made up the main bulk of the weapon with a dragon skin wrap around the handle and a star fragment in the ornamental slot at the base of the handle. From its longest tip to the end of the handle, it measured 23 inches, 17 inches of that was just the main spike. Its tips were sharp and although in pristine condition due to what it was made of, the groves of the Sai near the join were coated in stains which would not come out, no matter how hard they were scrubbed. They were known as "Tengokutodjigoku" (Heaven and Hell). She thought for a second before picking up the sai's and placing them in their special holders on her belt - one on each hip. She then attached Kitsune to the clasp for it on the back of her customized utility belt and then put the Yagyu Darkblade in its sheath and slung that around her shoulder so it rested on her back.

She glanced at her watch again, "05:50". It was time to go. She was all geared up and ready to begin her usual two and a half hour training session in the training center. It was endurance and stealth training, her plan was simple - get through the center without being detected by anyone in there this early and tag them with a special paper tag she kept in her pouch. If they didn't remove the tag after 15 seconds, the PDA would vibrate signalling a hit and then the tag would explode into smoke, alerting the person to the fact they'd just been 'stickied'. She prided herself on her abilities. She was after all Balamb Garden's most elite operative when it came to covert ops and stealth. Nicknamed the "Diamond of Balamb" by many admirers and people who had came across her in combat in one way or another due to her beauty, toughness and rarity, she was one of the most important assets to Garden, along with Squall Leonheart, Gunblade master and newly appointed SeeD commander, Quistis Trepe the blue mage and icon to the students who was the youngest person to ever make SeeD at 15 years of age and Nida Liang, the pilot of Garden and well-respected strategist. Most people overlooked her due to the fact she seemed to be more involved in the administration of the garden these days, but the Diamond of Balamb, the only SeeD with multiple weapon disciplines mastered, the only 'Ninja' in SeeD was always ready for combat. She exited her dormitory and locked the door behind her. It was "05:52" and she had eight minutes to get into the training center to begin her routine. As the door closed behind her, a small bronze plaque was on the door. It only had a short word on it, but that word was enough - **"Xu".**

Xu Had arrived in the training centre at exactly 06:00 hours. She carefully pushed the blast door open and got into the staging area of the facility. Scanning her surroundings, she looked for any sign or activity of someone nearby. The secret area was still open and it wasn't uncommon for some loved up couples to still be there when dawn broke over the jungle. She was no stranger to the place, she had been there many times over her years in Garden but more recently, putting the recent troubles with Galbadia and Ultimecia aside, the twenty-two year old hadn't found the time to indulge in the passions of the flesh. Last night's party in the grand ballroom on the second floor of Garden must have been the first bit of male attention she had received for quite some time. She wasn't promiscuous to say the least, but she did enjoy herself and had left a trail of potential suitors in her wake. They wanted the whole nine yards - the relationship, discussions about their future, talk of weddings and children. This was something she did not want or need in her life. She was a trained mercenary who could die in battle at any given moment and the thought of leaving someone behind who was emotionally attached and dependent on her in a non-friendly or work related way made her shudder. She wasn't afraid of commitment, not in the slightest. She was more afraid of letting people in only to hurt them in the end. Unlike Squall, the lone wolf who didn't want to let anyone in or depend on anyone or have them depend on him, Xu just didn't want anyone to be romantically close to her. It was easier that way, it helped her focus.

Drawing her mind away from her love life and focusing it back on training, she pushed the second blast door open and spread her fingers out before clenching her hands into fists, pulling the dragon skin taunt, making it rougher and tougher. She spotted a lone grat, and before it even knew she was there, Xu had ghosted her way across a fallen log, vaulted up into a nearby tree and then dropped down, driving her fist into the back of the creature. It let out a scream, alerting its pack who were in the undergrowth and the surrounding trees to her presence. Its agony was shortly lived however, Xu ripped off one of the creature's arms and drove its spiked end through the creatures mouth into its chest cavity. The creature screamed again before it went limp and fell to the floor. As its body hit the floor, several more grat emerged from the trees. The Ninja wasted no time. She unsheathed the dark blade with her right arm in one quick motion and jumped towards the grat, a quick vertical slice cut it open, letting its organs slip out onto the floor. She spun the blade round effortlessly and held it so the blade pointed to her right, like it was a knife. She moved forwards, keeping low and made a sweeping blow, taking out the legs of a second grat before she re-adjusted her grip and drove her sword into its stomach, like she was elbowing the creature. She released her right hand from the sword's handle and took it in her left hand. She pulled it out and at the same time, ducked down low to avoid the flailing limbs of another one of the creatures. She reached down to her left thigh and pulled the knife out. In one quick and effortless motion, without even looking, she threw the blade at almost the exact moment it had left its sheath on her calf and heard the scream of a grat - the knife had found its mark perfectly - it pinned the creature 's fly-trap like leaves on the top of it's body to the trunk of a tree nearby. Wasting little time, she retrieved the knife, wiped it down and sheathed it again. Keeping the sword in her hand, she looked around before deciding to head to the left. Her plan was to bypass the secret area and to make things entertaining - try and rouse a T-rexaur from its slumber.

_**="06:52" Training Center, near secret area, Balamb Garden=**_

She was ahead of her planned time. It normally took her fifty-six minutes to complete her usual route this way when practicing her sword, fist and knife style. It was time for a change now though. The amount of grats she had killed this morning would have alerted the T-rexaurs to the presence of someone. The grat in the training center were specially modified and bred to give off the stench of freshly killed animals. The smell was irresistible to the T-rexaurs and it's what made this place so dangerous. Depending on who was in there or how many grats had been killed, there could be any number of T-rexaurs about the place. Given the forty dead grats in fifty minutes, Xu calculated there would be at least three T-rexaurs awake by now. She sheathed the darkblade and reached for her grappling hook. She flung it up to the metal scaffolding just outside of the secret area and climbed up the rope and took up position. She scanned the treeline for any distinctive movements - nothing. She looked out over the other visible sectors from here - she could see some cadets making their pre-class training runs. It was a known tactic to try to get injured before class, especially if it was one of Instructor Aki's classes. He was an incredible teacher, but he was extremely strict and incredibly tedious. Xu remembered falling asleep in some of his classes when she was still a cadet, she was caught and punished with detention for a week, but at the same time, it also taught her to junction sleep magic to her defenses so she wouldn't succumb to his drone. As she watched for several minutes, she saw a familiar face leaving the secret area below. It was Xavier, also known as "Club" of the CC Group - the elite triple triad players of Balamb Garden who faced only the most gifted of players. Xu was a member - she was Heart, initially ranked second to Quistis, the King, but given Squall's conquest of the group in such a short space of time she wondered if she would lose her place. She was shocked to find out he didn't want to be part of the group, but then she also realised that Squall and social matters were a lost cause, so she had kept her rank.

_"This is too easy"_

Xu smiled to herself as she pulled out one of her customized tags. She gracefully made her way down the framework and in a swift and clean move, somersaulted from a tree branch, over the head of the SeeD and placed the tag on his right shoulder-blade, mid-rotation before reaching down with her left hand and planting a second one on the small of his back almost instantly after the first one. She landed down on the ground with a soft thud in a crouched stance and quickly took cover behind a nearby boulder. The seconds seemed to last for minutes as she waited for the familiar vibration of the PDA and the telltale wisp of smoke to signal a perfect hit, but it didn't come. Xu peeked round the boulder, in the clearing, Xavier stood with his weapon - a katana drawn and in a defensive stance. On the floor in front of him was the tag.

**Xavier**: "Xu, show yourself. You can't get me that easy"

Xu smiled and instead of drawing her weapons, she held her left hand up with all her fingers and thumb outstretched. She started to bend them down into a fist, one by one

**Xu**: "Five... Four... Three... Two..."

**Xavier**: "...Shit!"

Xu smiled as a wisp of smoke trailed up behind Xavier. He had felt the first hit and tried to play along and lure the ninja out into direct battle, but the second tag wasn't felt at all. Xavier frantically wafted the smoke away with his left hand whilst his right gripped the katana firmly. He looked at Xu, his green eyes met her brown eyes and for a moment, they almost made lasting contact. That was until Xu's eyes narrowed. Her left hand flicked out from her right side and a Kunai flew towards her fellow SeeD. He almost didn't see it coming at first, but as he drew his sword up in both hands, the Kunai bounced off the blade, startling him. He looked down at the small throwing implement and cursed her.

**Xavier**: "Stop trying to kill me Xu! You've made your point already, you got me!"

**Xu**: "I'm not trying to kill you Xav, I'm just trying to keep you on your toes. You spend **_faaar_** too much time in that special place"

Xavier drew his sword up to shoulder level and leaned its flat edge along the inside of his arm, crossing his face so his eyes looked over the beautifully crafted cutting edge. He angled it slightly so the light of the sun flashed across the ninja's eyes. Xu closed them and jumped backwards. The distraction was enough to allow Xavier to close the gap. He rushed her with his sword, he made a horizontal slice, aiming for her mid-section. Xu managed to backflip out-of-the-way using her agility. Even without junctions, she was extremely agile, but with her GF, Megitsune - the spirit of a nine-tailed fox which itself was a master of deception and quick moves and attacks, she could easily evade anything thrown at her. During one on one training sessions, she would often tell Megitsune to lower her evasion to her natural abilities just to give others a fighting chance, this was one of those moments. Xu and Megitsune had a fairly strong understanding and relationship with each other, the fox would only strengthen her when she was in actual combat or in grave peril, preferring to help her mask her true strength. In this case, the fox did as xu had expected it to, she could feel herself slowing down to her normal unjunctioned levels. As she anded down in a crouched stance from the evasive back flip, she pulled the wakazashi from behind her with her left hand and blocked the katana strike. Quickly following up, she pulled out the knife from her left calf and thrust it forwards, aiming for his right thigh. Xavier saw this and brought his sword down in a diagonal motion, parrying her blow, before moving in with his rear leg, kicking out at her. Xu moved her right arm across and parried the kick, but she had to take some of the force of the impact in order to set up her follow-through move. She quickly rose up in a spiraling motion and slashed at him with her wakazashi. Xavier had to parry again with his sword as he stepped backwards. Before he even tried to make a retaliation strike, Xu stepped forwards and thrust in with her knife again, aiming for his leg once more. Having Sparred with Xu in the past, Xavier knew what was coming. The right thrust would be followed up with her bringing the wakazashi over her extended right arm and slicing across her front in a slightly diagonal movement aimed at his mid-section. This would then be followed up by her making a small rising strike with the knife, which would then be followed up with a full body rotation into an over-head swinging slice aimed for the neck. Knowing he had only a small window of time to act, he focused his magical energy to his left hand. He stepped backwards and blocked the first left-handed slice, letting his left hand move off the hilt of the sword for a moment. He then stepped backwards, leaning as far back as he could to avoid her follow-up right knife uppercut slice before he smirked.

**Xavier**: "Not this time babe"

Xu didn't even have a chance to react. As she begun to spin round, Xavier brought himself back up and held his left hand out, palm outstretched. He released his focus and a gust of wind came out of his hand. It was incredibly focused and at such a short-range, guaranteed to give him the desired result. Xu had completed her twist and brought her sword up to begin what would be her killing blow if this was a life or death situation, but when she saw him smiling, she knew he had countered her already. The highly focused aero spell smashed into her stomach, winding her and knocking her to the floor. Both her weapons clattered across the ground as she lay there stunned for a moment. Before she could even reach for a kunai or a shuriken, the tip of Xavier's katana was pointed right between her eyes - it was millimeters away from her nose. Xu closed her eyes and opened her hands - a sign of defeat. This had hurt her pride slightly, but she knew Xavier was a gifted fighter and rather unorthodox when he had to be. Probably why she loved to train with him so much - it was never the same fight twice. Xavier sheathed his katana and held his arm out. Xu took it firmly and pulled herself up. She humbly bowed to him.

**Xu**: "Impressive as always Xavier."

Xavier laughed. He picked up Xu's wakazashi and admired the detailing on the blade, especially the engraving of the fox near the hilt. He balanced it in his hand before twirling it around and passing it back to her. Xu sheathed kitsune and retrieved her combat knife. Xavier bowed to her as a sign of respect and the two of them sat down on a nearby log. It was 07:13. The fight didn't seem that long, but in the heat of battle, nothing ever did. She wiped her forehead before taking a small hip flask from her belt. She took the top off, took a swig and then passed it to Xavier who gratefully received it. As he took a small sip and passed it back, he stopped to take a moment to actually appreciate the woman sat next to him. She was five foot five and very petit in her build but she was muscular where it mattered. Her small frame helped her fight the way she did - it allowed her to be agile, flexible and deceptively strong. Her pale skin helped her jet black hair and deep brown eyes stand out. It's what gave her, her beauty many said. Such was the contrast when she was clad all in black, she made everyone's heads turn. She didn't have the fan club like Quistis, but she was just as beautiful in her own right. Her breasts were average size, B cup most probably. He'd only ever seen her dressed in her combat and training attire so he couldn't really say, but they were perfectly in proportion to the rest of her body. Nothing about her seemed out-of-place at all.

**Xu**: "You done undressing me in your head yet Xavier?"

Xavier blushed. Xu knew he had a schoolboy crush on her, but he also knew her too well to even attempt to act on it. She was gorgeous but she wasn't his type. He knew about the number of dreams she had put an end to, or the hearts she had broken. He didn't think any less of her, but he knew why she was so cold and detached when it came to intimacy. He knew she would prefer to fuck than make love. He knew she would rather spend one night in passion than a lifetime in love. He smiled at her, she returned the smile. She replaced her hip flask and pulled out her PDA. There was one alert on it - it was from Nida. She opened it and started to blush.

**Xavier**: "Damage reports from last night?"

**Xu**: "You know it. Nida, Zell and Ami had to play bodyguard for Quistis... He just sent me a very brief report of what happened when they got her to the SeeD only section."

**Xavier**: "Quistis is a fun drunk, but she gets weird sometimes, especially if she is on the liquor"

**Xu**: "Try Inferno's"

Xavier winced at the mere mention of an 'Inferno'. It was a popular shot-cocktail amongst the people of Balamb - it was a three-part drink. A coffee liqueur popular in Dollet known as "Kahlúa", a Balambian cream called "Kayleigh's" and then a tripple-sec known as 'Grand Marnier" which was then topped with another layer of dark rum before being ignited. Many people had tried the Inferno and most often burned themselves in the process, Xu did it once but as she finished drinking it through the straw, she knocked the glass over and set fire to her hand. It stung a little but it also earned her massive respect amongst the party-animals of Balamb. Xavier had only ever seen people drink it, he prefered to drink much more dignified drinks like scotch on the rocks. Both of them looked into the distance, wondering what the former Instructor would be like, drunk off an insane cocktail like that. They both laughed at the same time before Xu's PDA went once more - a picture this time came through from Nida.

**Xavier**: "Is that the aftermath then?"

Xu couldn't believe it. Her jaw literally dropped as she looked at the picture. Quistis who was usually prim and proper in her SeeD uniform had most of it unbuttoned, revealing her cleavage and was planting a kiss on Ami, the girl from the library who Zell had a thing for. Xu tried to process the image in front of her as Xavier stole her PDA from her hands. He saw the picture and smiled. His fingers moved quickly and before Xu even realized he had the PDA, his own PDA beeped.

**Xu**: "You just sent that picture to yourself didn't you?"

**Xavier**: "I had to. I will never share it outside our friend circle or card group, but this picture is like a gift from Hyne. Who would have known that Quistis Trepe was a wild child inside. I knew she let loose when drunk occasionally, but... this?"

Xu snatched her PDA back. She looked at the time - "07:35" and sighed. She enjoyed talking with Xavier, but this had taken a chunk out of her training time. She pocketed her device and then stood up. Re-adjusting her straps on her knife holster on her leg and re-positioning her belt, she glanced over her shoulder at the swordsman and spoke.

**Xu**: "Loved the chat, but I think the T-rexaurs are stirring. You up for hunting one?"

Xavier stood up. He kept his sword sheathed and his hand on the handle of it, ready. He shook his head at Xu's offer and looked at his watch.

**Xavier**: "I'd love to, but I'm on duty at 08:30. I need to clean up and get to the garage. I'm taking some of the junior cadets down to Balamb Harbour to show them the transport fleet and to do some maritime combat training."

**Xu**: "No matter how many times I ride in those things, I never get used to the fact one wrong foot and I'm in the drink. Fighting on water is so un-natural"

Xavier waved goodbye to her as he turned and headed towards the exit. Given how Xu had thinned out the grat herds significantly in those sections her comrade was headed into, he would easily be back in time to get changed and take his assignment. Xu walked towards the door of the secret area. She pressed her ear against it, hoping to hear some talking going on, but there was nothing. She wondered who Xavier had been in there with, since he left alone. Sh allowed her curiosity to take control and she walked through the door and onto the balcony. She looked around and saw an almost empty bottle of scotch on the floor near the railing alongside a picture drawn on the wall. The picture was of a broadsword and it had the words "Dian, brother in arms" wrote underneath it. Xu bowed her head for a moment in respect at the graffiti. Dian was Xavier's oldest friend in Garden. They joined at the same time, were room mates, course mates, team mates on the SeeD exam and they went on missions together. He was the closest thing Xavier had to a brother. Sadly, he died two years ago on a mission. The SeeD team had been given bad intel by their local contact. Dian and Xavier knew that something wasn't right and they scouted on ahead of the rest of their unit of cadets training for the SeeD exam when they were ambushed by bandits. Normally a single SeeD could handle an ambush by four or five unskilled, unorganized, opportunistic murderers, but when two men were set upon by twenty, its a different matter. They both fought valiantly against the men in the woods near Yaluny canyon, on the edge of Galbadia Garden's borders, but by the time the cadets had come to assist their commanding officers, Dian had succumbed to his wounds whilst protecting the injured Xavier. Xu remembered the funeral and noted how Xavier had taken it personally, blaming himself for the death of his comrade. Thankfully it was the only personal loss he had suffered, but he still talked about Dian like he was still alive. He even had Dian's broadsword smelted down and re-forged into his Katana which was called 'Dian'.

In a way, Dian was still alive and with them, but no one really talked about it. Xavier put on a good front for everyone else, but Xu knew how much he was hurting, mainly because she felt his pain too. Dian was her boyfriend once, the last man she actually called her boyfriend. They were an item when Xu was 17 and he was 15, five years ago, round the time she was preparing for her SeeD exam. She dated him for a few months and he was the guy who she lost her virginity too. She would always have a soft spot for him despite them breaking up for no clear reason and he would always see her off once she became a SeeD at 18, a year later. Xu sat down, leaning against the rail. She took the bottle and held it up - enough for one large stiff drink. Unscrewing it, she looked at the tribute to Dian and spoke, her words a mix of happiness and sorrow.

**Xu**: "Sorry I haven't been by much recently. The past few months have been insane. A sorceress took over Galbadia, iced Vinzer Deiling and recruited Seifer as her knight... Seifer, a sorceress's knight. Who'd believe that arsehole would get lucky like that? [she paused] We had a huge battle against G-garden which had been taken over by the sorceress and Seifer was promoted to commander of the G-army. We kicked their asses and then ended up traveling to something called 'time compression' where Squall, who was promoted to Garden's SeeD Commander.. Bit of a shock to everyone that was! Do you remember him? Silent, Loner, helluva swordsman... bit like you were.."

Xu trailed off, she took a mouthful from the bottle and winced. She hated the taste of scotch, but she knew she couldn't drink anything else when talking to Dian this way.

**Xu**: "Squall fought this sorceress from the future called Ultimecia, it was crazy... I don't know much of the details, but turned out his dad is president of Esthar, and his new girlfriend... yeah, he actually has a girlfriend. It broke poor Trepe's heart but she'll never tell anyone that! Anyway [Xu takes another mouthful from the bottle], Hyne this stuff tastes like arse... How did you drink it? Yeah... anyway, his girlfriend is the daughter of a Galbadian General called Caraway and she;s also a Timber-resistance faction member. I think he's going to re-deploy to Timber soon to help end the occupation, they had a contract or something. Since he's commander and will be out in the field, I think Quisty, Nida, Xavier and myself will be taking over aspects of his role until its sorted out there... Who'd have thought it, head of SeeD administration, the headmaster's right hand and the SeeD Commander's chief of operations just after my 22nd birthday"

Xu wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. She didn't cry much, but she couldn't allow herself to show weakness in such an open area like this. She lifted the bottle to her lips and drained the majority of it, before she splashed the dregs at the bottom across Dian's memorial.

**Xu**: "Have one on me pal. Keep Xav safe you hear me? Little bastard actually beat me in training today... bet that was you helping him eh?"

Xu stood up. She saluted the memorial before leaving the secret area. It was now 08:15. She had roughly 15 minutes to find a T-rexaur before she left the training area to head back to her quarters to wash off, get into her civilian clothes and find the rest of the gang to see what was happening. She left the secret area and headed right towards the bridges. She scanned the treeline but there were no disturbances which disappointed her. She really wanted a T-rexaur to fight this morning. It would keep her mind focused and stop it from drifting too much. Part of her wanted to abandon the training and find Selphie and ask her who she took to her room last night. The Trabian exchange student who was part of the gang who defeated the sorceress was the fountain of all gossip. If she didn't know it, it didn't happen, or it had happened and no one realized it had. Brushing her curiosities aside, Xu carefully walked across the bridge. Joker of the CC group loved to rig it with stage pyro explosives when the wrong board or trip wire was hit which would normally alert the nearby monsters to someone's presence. This trick only ever yielded two or three grat at best, but once, it backfired and brought out a T-rexaur which chased a cadet through the center until Quistis who was taking a combat class in the vicinity used her blue magic to blast the beast into oblivion. Xu wished for a T-rexaur to ambush her, but it didn't happen. She looked down at her sai's and apologized

**Xu**: "Heaven, Hell, Sorry. Maybe later on we can come back with a few more people and go looking for something yeah?"

**_=08:55, Dormitory wing, Xu's quarters=_**

Xu had stopped by the cafeteria on her way to the dorms. Opting for a light breakfast of toast and an apple, she ate it on the go. Not many people were in the cafeteria before 9am, so she felt no need to wait round. She opened her door and closed it behind her. She took her weapons off carefully and wiped each one down before returning each one to the locker in the precise place they had been taken out of. She then took her clothes off. They were soaked in sweat, mud and grat fluids. Putting them in her washing machine, she turned it on and then opened her blinds. It was bright outside with minimal cloud cover. Standing in the window in her underwear wasn't a problem to her. Her room was out the way enough so none of the cadets who tried to proposition her could sneak a look at her. She stripped off, walking across her living room naked towards the bedroom. Grabbing her towels from earlier, she returned to the bathroom and this time took a longer, hot shower. The water washed away every trace of filth on her body and helped her feel refreshed. She paid more attention to herself this time. Her flannel holding hand moved over every inch of her flesh. Caressing the curves of her breasts as she wiped the soap away from them. She then slid her hands down towards her crotch. For a moment she thought about taking some time for herself, but she decided against it, she would only feel frustrated later on and end up doing something foolish. Instead she simply washed the area and decided it would need attending too at some point in the next day or so before she turned the shower off. As she dried herself off again and got into a fresh set of underwear - a normal bra and matching panties, she checked her PDA. It was a message from Quistis which wasn't exactly cryptic. "Head hurts, bring water. Think I went too far again, Q x".

Xu laughed. She sent her the picture which Nida sent her and captioned it with "Don't let Irvine find out about this!". Laughing to herself again, Xu reached into her wardrobe and this time opted for something more attractive than training based. She pulled out a thigh length red skirt with golden foxes on, her just below the knee-high black boots and a white sleeveless t-shirt which had a golden fox embroided onto the back of it. She put on her red forearm length gloves and then closed the doors. She headed back to her weapons locker and removed a golden hairpin. She placed it carefully in her hair, making sure not to cut herself on its sharp edges and then took out several Kunai. She pulled out a leg strap which was designed to fit around her upper thigh, just under her skirt and out of sight. She loaded it with the small knives and then picked up her handbag. In it she placed her combat knife, her PDA, her purse which contained 400gil and a bottle of water like Quistis wanted. She tidied the room up before she left - binning the empty bottles, placing her uniform in the laundry basket and putting the glasses in the sink. After making sure she was all set, she glanced at her watch - "09:30". It took ten minutes to walk across the complex to Quistis' room. The two used to be next-door neighbors, but Quistis' room had been moved when she lost her instructors license. After much arm turning and persuasion, Cid agreed to move Quistis back to her room next to Xu by the end of the week. She was meant to move in today, but given the state she would be in, the move could wait till tomorrow she thought. Xu walked through the residential complex towards the temporary quarters of Quistis. She had just gotten near it when a voice from behind her caught her attention.

_"Hey Xu, who'd you let in to your secret lair last night?"_

Xu went red. She wondered how this person could know she had took someone back with her, but then it dawned on her. She had washed the concealer off her neck before in the shower. She turned round, with a look which was some kind of mix between anger and embarrassment to find Nida proudly standing there. His six foot frame, short black hair and plain sense of clothing - a grey t-shirt and blue denim made him very easy to ignore. He wasn't exactly the most recognizable of the SeeDs, but his ability to hide in plain sight sometimes made him a very valuable ally. He was also extremely intelligent - his tactical prowess was second to none and he was a gifted pilot and engineer. He walked towards Xu and playfully punched her on the arm and winked at her. If it was anyone else, Xu would have thrown them over her shoulder and wrapped her arms around their arm and tried to wrench it out of its socket for doing that. Instead, because it was Nida, she only quickly grabbed his wrist, pulled him in close and left her lips in front of his for a second. The tension built but before either of them could act, Xu let go and pushed him away and winked.

**Xu**: "To be honest, I don't know, but I bet you wish it was you!"

Nida held his hands up mockingly to say "Oh no, you got me!" before shaking his head.

**Nida**: "Nah, not in the state you were last night. I am a gentleman remember, I would never take advantage of you in your state"

**Xu**: "I wasn't that bad was I?"

Nida reached for his PDA. He flicked through some pictures till he found a video. He pressed play and held it up to Xu. As she watched it, she cringed. The video was of her lining up "Needles" - shots of Cactaur spirit, a form of vodka. She heard her drunken voice shout rather obnoxiously "I could do one THOUSAND of these!" before she drank five out of the eight she had lined up in quick succession. As she reached for the sixth, she lost her balance and fell against the bar, knocking the shots all over the bar much to **_everyone's_** amusement.

**Nida**: "If that is your idea of 'wasn't _**THAT**_ bad' I'd love to see what 'bad' is"

Xu wanted the ground to open up below her and swallow her. She now realized why someone must have come back with her, when she drank vodka, she lost near enough all her inhibitions.

**Xu**: "Please don't make that public... I'm already trying to work out who I let play red bat on me last night, I can't have my shot-handling abilities slandered like that too!"

Nida smiled as he put the PDA away.

**Nida**: "Promise! Anyway, I take it you're off to see Quistis right?"

**Xu**: "Yeah, I'm gonna help her sober up a little bit and then take her to Balamb for the day. Go to the spa, have a pamper day before we move her back to her old room tomorrow"

Nida took this as his queue to quickly change the subject. It was no secret he harbored deep longing for the blonde. The thought of Quistis being pampered and made to look even more refreshing and attractive than she already was, it drove him wild inside. The scenes of her drunken sexual exploration last night, passionately kissing Ami, the girl who was trying to get Zell to ask her out had caused him to have a cold shower when he got home. He knew Xu was aware of his feelings for her best friend and secretly, she wished he would act on them. Quistis needed someone who would treat her right and help her get over Squall and bring her out of her shell more and the obvious choice was the man who didn't stand out.

**Nida**: "So, you been the training center this morning?"

**Xu**: "Yeah, tried to ambush Xavier, but he beat me this time in our little weekly duels by the secret area. He's getting better and harder to predict. Soon I think he'd be able to rival Squall when it come to two-handed sword techniques"

**Nida**: "That is high praise coming from the 'Diamond of Balamb' "

Xu cast an icy glare at Nida. She hated being called that. She felt it paid more attention to her looks than her actual value in combat. Many old rich nobles tried to hire her as a personal bodyguard but she asked Cid to ensure she was never on protection details unless it was a team effort. She was not a whore and she hated the idea that money could buy a trained killer in an attempt to seduce her.

**Xu**: "I'll let you live this time Liang... But watch it, next time you're in the training centre, I will pay you back"

Nida waved to her and turned his back. He headed towards the exit of the dorm and probably towards the Quad. He was often found there on his downtime or off days. He loved to people watch and enjoy the simple things. He was a complicated man when he wanted to be, but in the end, all Nida wanted was to be recognized from time to time, and not by his friends, but by people in general. Xu waved back to him before heading towards Quistis' door. She knocked on it loudly. She knew Quistis would have a Hyne-sized hangover headache, and the tormenting she had lined up for the girl was well woth the shouting and grief the blonde would give her. A groan of pain was heard from beyond the door before it opened. Quistis was a mess. Her long blonde hair was down and all over the place. It was the worst case of 'bed head' Xu had seen since the day Zell forgot to gel his hair before a class one day. Xu slipped through the slightly open door and looked at the scene in front of her - Quistis' clothes were all over the floor. There was a small bucket which had an unpleasant smell coming from it near the top of the SeeD's bed and the bathroom door was wide open. Since moving into the smaller quarters, Quistis was at least thankful that her trips to the bathroom were only seconds long instead of longer ones when the room was across from her bedroom. Xu carefully stepped around the hungover Blonde who sat shaking on the bed. She picked up her sick bucket and took it to the bathroom where she carefully rinsed it out with the shower, taking upmost care not to spill any of it on herself. She then returned the bucket to Quistis and fumbled around in her bag - she pulled out the bottle of water and passed it to her friend. Quistis mouthed the words "Thank you" before unscrewing the top and taking a drink from it. After several seconds, she finally found the energy to talk.

**Quistis**: "Why did you bail early last night? You were meant to be helping me"

**Xu**: "Trepe, from what I have heard and seen today, you certainly helped yourself"

Quistis took another sip of water. She swallowed it and winced slightly

**Quistis**: "Why does it hurt when I swallow?"

Xu laughed

**Xu**: "Nida tells me you were on the Inferno's last night"

Quistis was pale naturally, but the mere mention of an Inferno sent her as white as her sheets. Not even the most hardened drinkers amongst the party animal SeeDs would take on an Inferno. It was just something which made them feel uncomfortable, especially when an actual inferno fang was used to light it, that gave it the extra kick. Upon hearing the news, she quickly rummaged round for something on the floor. She found a pack of cigarettes with one left in it. Xu shook her head and then opened her bag. She pulled out a packet herself and took out her lighter. Since Quistis was in no state to light a cigarette, she lit it for her. After taking the first drag of it, she passed it over to her friend.

**Xu**: "I thought we both agreed to stop the alcohol induced smoking at the SeeD graduation ball a few months back"

Quistis took a drag of her cigarette as Xu lit one for herself. The pair of them let the faint greyish smoke flow from their mouths before talking again.

**Quistis**: "I'm still drunk, whats your excuse?"

**Xu**: "I shared a drink with Dian this morning"

Quistis didn't speak. She simply placed her arm around Xu and hugged her as best as she could.

**Xu**: "I told him all about you, and how drunk you got. Little Trepe, such a Wild child!"

**Quistis**: "You doing ok hun? Its been two years now hasn't it?"

Xu exhaled, she moved her mouth slightly and blew a ring of smoke before she leaned back on her friend's bed. Despite them both being grown women, they acted like they had only just became teenagers. Such was the price of being an orphan and a trained killer - your childhood was stolen from you and you had to claim bits of it wherever you could.

**Xu**: "Yeah. I try not to think about him as much now, its easier if I only think of him on special days. Xavier though, he took it really bad. He drank nearly a whole bottle of scotch last night in the secret area. I don't know how his drunk ass managed to beat me in our weekly spa this morning!"

**Quistis**: "He beat you? You're getting sloppy girl"

Xu frowned as she took the last drag of her cigarette before putting it in the ashtray near Quistis' bed.

**Xu**: "Did you see who I left with last night?"

**Quistis**: "I don't remember much. I know I kissed someone, and they had a god feel, but thats all I know about action. Message Selphie, she should know"

Xu sighed. She didn't mind Selphie, but she was just too enthusiastic and intense at times. Her passion for life was incredible, as was her sunny disposition. Even in the face of trouble like Ultimecia, she was talking about moogles, chocobo's and guys with Rinoa like it was a slumber party.

**Xu**: "I'd rather not find out on the garden forums thank you. All I know is We didn't fuck because I didn't wake up naked"

Quistis laughed as she finished her cigarette.

**Quistis**: "I guess thats a good starting point. You managed to pick up the one guy who wouldn't take advantage of you when you were drunk... Think it might have been Nida? I've seen the way he watches you!"

**Xu**: "Believe me, it wasn't Nida. He's more tongue than teeth"

Quistis was shocked at this revelation. She didn't know Xu had kissed Nida before.

**Xu**: "Strong, Silent, passionate... He's a keeper if thats what you look for... and before you ask, we didn't fuck. I kinda got into a touchy-feely drunk at his SeeD Graduation. I tried to take him back to my room but he was such a gentleman he refused to go in with me, instead he walked me to my dorm then went back to the ball"

Quistis stood up. She was wrapped up in her duvet. Her friend had an unfortunate habit of sleeping naked when drunk. She had lost count of the number of times the naked blonde had been sprawled out across her couch in the morning. Xu simply turned her head away as the blonde dropped the duvet and walked into her bathroom and closed the door. She could hear the shower running.

**Quistis**: _(slightly drowned out by the shower)_ "So, what do you wanna do today?"

Xu walked to the door. She opened it slightly so she could hear her better

**Xu**: "Get a car, drive into Balamb, have a girl day - Spa, lunch, shopping, come back here?"

**Quistis**: "That'll do me fine. Will you get my clothes out for me?"

Xu didn't answer. She instead picked out a pair of slightly baggy jeans, a peach t-shirt and a brown jacket for her friend. She lay them on her chair and used the time she had to gather up her friend's things and tidy her room up a little. She sat down, picked up another cigarette and lit it before checking her PDA. It was a message off Irvine. Xu didn't mind Irvine. He was a good guy and a serious flirt but he had a killer weakness - Selphie. The Galbadian acted like he was a ladies man, but he only ever had attention for one girl since he met her - the Trabian exchange student and gossip queen extraordinaire. She read the message, "Hey, bumped into Nida, says you're sporting a nice mark. Got any others you'd like to show me? Love the cowboy". Xu thought about sending Irvine a picture of her underwear just to put him on the spot, but she thought against it. Instead she took a drag of her cigarette and messaged him back, "Yeah, if you tell me who marked me, I might show you the rest ;-)". She knew Irvine would never reply to this taunt so she had silenced that for now. It did present a problem though, who did she let near her last night if Irvine, Nida and Quistis didn't know? Xu took another drag of the cigarette before putting it in the ashtray. She only had two left in the packet and then she was done smoking again till the next big occasion. As she savoured her guilty pleasure, she ran her free hand along the mark on the right side of her neck. Whoever it was, they wanted her to know in the morning she thought. Whoever it was also must have respected her enough not to take full advantage of her. As she tried to run down the list of potential men on her list, the sound of Quistis leaving the shower interupted her. Xu stood up, shielded her eyes and put her cigarette out.

**Xu**: "I'm gonna head to the library. Its... _[looks at watch]_ 10:05 now, meet in the garage at 10:45?"

**Quistis**: "Yeah, I'll be ready by then. When we get to Balamb, can we eat? I think I'll be hungry then"

**Xu**: "Sure... Now get ready, we both need this weekend off. You've earned it!"

Xu left the room, closing the door behind her so no prying Trepie could sneak a peek at their idol in the flesh. She looked around before heading down the hallway towards the library. She was only going to eavesdrop in the stacks. She knew if there was any gossip about her, the library would be the best place to start.

_"Next time I get drunk, I'm going to do a Nida and photograph everyone I interact with"_

* * *

A/N2: The inferno cocktail mentioned is inspired from the cocktail the B-52... its deadly!


	2. 2 - Down time

Xu walked down the hallway from the dormitory. Her hangover was almost gone, but the buzz she still had, was probably due to her drinking scotch earlier whilst talking to her friend. It wasn't something she normally did, drink scotch that is, but given the situation it was the only thing she could do really. Like her smoking, it was a guilty pleasure which she indulged in from time to time. She loved the taste of the amber liquid on the back of her throat and how sometimes it just grabbed tight hold of her and made her feel so alive. Today however was not one of them times. Instead it made her more pensive. She didn't usually show her emotions much, Xu was known for being the original strong, silent type. She could be even colder than Squall at times, but that was partly due to her role within Garden. She tried to fake a smile but she couldn't. Something inside her was stirring and it didn't sit comfortably with her at all. Feeling slightly light-headed, she instead headed for the elevator rather than go to the library like she had originally planned. She pressed for the second floor - the classrooms and administration wing were located here. She got off the elevator and headed along the footbridge leading to the outer-ring where the classrooms and offices were, but instead of turning right towards the balcony, she turned left. She passed along several of the doors before she finally stopped at one and looked at the door. It was an old office which was originally one of the Faculty members rooms. She peered inside it. These offices had been long abandoned since the failed coup led by NORG and some of the SeeDs who seemed dissatisfied by Cid's leadership. Xu remembered the blood in the hallways, the monsters, black uniforms vs blue uniforms, friends turning on each other. It was a horrible event, one which she wished she didn't have to shed blood in. It was one thing wounding your comrades in combat training and spell training but to actually fight them in real combat. She shuddered at the thought. She continued on along the hallway, passing more of the abandoned rooms. The faculty often lived in these offices, so they were well-worn in. Some SeeDs had requested they be allowed to move into these rooms but Cid firmly shook his head. He said the new administration would decide the purpose of these rooms in due time. Xu didn't like that idea, the 'New Administration'. She was happy in the fact Squall and the others had saved the world from the brink of defeat, but part of her just felt they were being pushed well beyond their limits, even her dear friend Quistis who graduated SeeD with her. She felt that there may have been a slight theme of nepotism in the ranks at the moment, and if she noticed it, surely the dissenters would notice it too. She stopped at the door marked "Commander Squall Leonhart" and paused for a moment. He did deserve an office given his new rank, but she had a feeling the first thing he would do now the sorceress war had calmed down would be to see if he could redeploy to Timber. She knew he was bound by his contract to Rinoa, but she wondered if all of SeeD would be dragged into this war she had got them involved in. Not wanting to think anymore of it, she headed to her office which was three doors down from it and slipped in there.

Xu's office was one of the average sized ones. It didn't have any "living space" compared to the former faculty ones, but what it did have was an extremely comfortable black leather sofa which she had passed out on several times over the years. She quickly went to her workstation and pulled her PDA out of her handbag and scrolled through its options. She found the option marked "SYNC" and then looked for the relevant option on her work station. She still had twenty minutes before she had to meet Quistis in the garage so she did what she had to quickly - she unloaded her work-data onto the station so she could work on a complete report of the past weeks later on this evening. Even though she was off, Xu liked to get paper work done whenever she could. It helped her focus on what had to be done instead of more trivial things, the most current one being who she took back to her apartment last night. She couldn't shake the urge to just ring Selphie and ask her, but given how Irvine had already asked her, the chances were she didn't know either. Xu watched the "Sync in progress bar" slowly filling up and looked at the estimated time - seven minutes till completion. Seeing as anything she tried on either device would stop the transfer, she opened the bottom draw of her desk. It was filled with protein bars, energy drinks and the final thing she was looking for - a refill on her cigarettes. Quistis really did only smoke when she was drunk, but Xu was a smoker. Like Seifer used to be, she would steal away five minutes here and there to light up when no one was looking. Her office actually had its own small balcony, perfect for her to light up in peace. It was a dirty habit, she knew it was, but she didn't have time for regrets, not in her field of work anyway. SeeDs had a life expectancy of Thirty if they stayed active in the field. Most of them usually made it to twenty-five before either specializing in education, becoming instructors at the various gardens or moving into the private security businesses - setting up their own bodyguard agencies, working as guards for rich families or in some cases, becoming professional freelance contractors who used their network of contacts with Garden to expand their reach and sometimes do things Cid wasn't fond of them doing. Xu longed to be back in the field again, she was the best covert operative in Garden after all. She was also the only Ninja in SeeD too. She came to garden when she was Thirteen, just about to turn Fourteen, the same year as Quistis joined. Xu was already fully combat trained by then. Although she was an Orphan, she had the luxury of knowing her birth parents first hand - they were Trabians who lived near the Esthar border. They seemed normal to most people in their rural village, but behind closed doors, they were different. Her father and mother were both highly skilled Ninja who were highly trained in the art of several weapons, the ones which Xu had in her locker in her office. They trained her from an early age and by the time they died when she was ten, Xu was already proficient with the basic tools of a Ninja. She was a ward of the state for three years, being passed from family to family but none of them could control her. Xu was 'unruly' as a child so the decision to hand her over to Garden was a no-brainier. Xu walked to her balcony and lit a cigarette. As she took a drag on it, she reflected more on how she got to garden in the first place.

Her parents died when she was ten, the local police said it was an accidental death - a gas main had blown up under her home whilst she was at school, but Xu knew at this early age that it was no accident. Ninja's don't die by 'accident'. Her family had enemies and when Xu found out, the first thing she did was sneak back into her home and steal away what weapons of her parents she could and hid them in a place only she would know - her fathers secret mountain lodge in the mountains near their village. Xu then waited for the day she would be able to return here. Every family which adopted her didn't have the time for her. She was often neglected, so she used her training to escape or to defend herself from unwanted advances. Social Services believed she was just acting out, but one of the social workers realized who she was and quickly contacted Cid Kramer. He was more than happy to take her on, so much so he went out to Trabia to meet her himself. She remembered the first day they had met - he had more hair and was slightly leaner than he was now, but he still wore the same styled cords and waistcoat over shirt. It was hard to think he was the leader of an elite school of mercenaries, but he was. He wasn't like the other men who had talked to her either - he was interested in her and her only. He asked her what she wanted to do, what she could do already and if she had any information for him which would help him. She didn't know why, but she felt she could trust him. She took him to her father's cabin where they took the weapons she stored there, along with several documents detailing who she actually was and her lineage. Xu was the daughter of the legendary Shinobi Hanzo Hitsaguya, known also as "Lyuda" (The white death). Xu never knew her family name, she was always told people in her family only went by one name, so she kept the tradition up. It was only recently, after Garden had become mobile when Cid gave her the documents which now lay in her office detailing her fathers past and her own legacy. Xu Hitsaguya was probably the most dangerous woman on the planet. In recent weeks Xu had started to look into her families death more and more and it was revealed to have been a Galbadian hit on them as her father had killed some influential diplomat a number of years ago. Xu had hoped to seek revenge to honor her family's legacy, but Cid reminded her than the Hitsaguya clan was known for rising above retaliation like that. She should seek redemption for him on the battlefield and when the time is right, she will restore his honor.

Finishing her cigarette and casually flicking it over the balcony, Xu turned back to her office. She disconnected the PDA and locked her draw and powered down the work station. She looked round the room, in case she needed anything before leaving it. She locked the door behind her and headed back towards the elevator. She made it halfway down the corridor before she bumped into Headmaster Cid and his wife, the former sorceress Edea Kramer. She held her nerves as she greeted them both. Ever since Xu found out that Edea Kramer was the sorceress responsible for the chaos and bloodshed in Galbadia, it made her uneasy whenever they were close. Edea could sense her distrust, many in Garden felt that way. Xu couldn't treat her with the same forgiveness as Squall, Quistis and the others could, seeing how she had no bond or past with her, but she did respect her for the fact she was the mother that they never had and she did raise them well. She saluted Cid and bowed respectfully to Edea before letting them continue on. Further down the hall she bumped into Squall. Xu liked dealing with Squall. There was never any need for protracted small talk, they were both business driven people who preferred to get to the point where possible. She smiled at him.

**Xu**: "Good morning Squall. Going to see your new office?"

**Squall**: "I guess"

**Xu**: "Good. Well I hope you like it. If you need anything, just ask, I'll be right down the hall"

Squall nodded and watched Xu carry on down the hallway. He thought for a moment how could she be right down the hall when she was in her civilian clothes and obviously headed out for the day but then he just let that thought slide. He knew where her office was in-case he needed to for future reference. Squall hurried to catch up to Cid and Edea whilst Xu glanced at her watch - she had five minutes to get to the parking lot. She was never normally late, but her sly cigarette had cost her valuable time. She waited impatiently for the lift and as soon as the doors opened she slipped through and hammered the ground floor button. The doors closed and even though it only took eight seconds to make the descent, it felt like eight long minutes. Xu was never normally impatient, but given her hangover and nagging mental problems regarding her suitor last night, she was exhibiting behavior normally not associated with her. The doors opened and she flung herself through them, almost knocking a cadet over who was in her way. She didn't stop to apologize, she just waved her hand behind her head as if to say "sorry, in a rush!". She quickly made it to the entrance of the garage with a minute to spare and noticed Quistis was only just leaving the dormitory entrance - she had been mobbed by the Trepies. It was times like this where the Garden Faculty were useful - they usually kept her free from hassle, but since they all left the moment the garden had docked at Fishermans Horizon, there was more chaos than order in garden at times. Quistis was too polite to tell the Trepies to clear out the way, so Xu had to do it for her. Usually the use of magic was forbidden outside of the training centre and classrooms, but she knew something needed to be done. She knew magic could be cast without any fancy gestures, but as a Ninja, symbolism was a key part of her arsenal. She had learned the various hand seals which the Ninja used when "using" their own brand of magic - 'Jutsu'. She had learned how to combine these with her Para-magic and her guardian force, Megitsune to create very dramatic scenes. She brought her hands together and made several complicated gestures with her fingers, bending some down, extending others, rotating her hands and soon she felt a rush of energy to her fingertips in her right hand. She smiled and then quickly slammed her fist down onto the floor. A blast of wind, amplified by her Para-magic surrounded her before she released it towards the crowd. Quistis heard the roar of the wind and did the only thing she could - ducked down behind a wall. The Trepies look confused but then realised why - a miniature tornado spell had been hurled their way and before any of them could react, it cast them in all directions, clearing a path for Quistis. Everyone in the main hallways stopped and looked at Xu. Her face was stone cold with a look of danger about it. They got the hint slowly but surely - leave Quistis alone, especially whilst the Diamond was around. Quistis caught up to Xu as the pair headed down towards the garage.

**Quistis**: "Thanks Xu, you saved my ass there. I've had nothing but trouble off them all morning."

Xu simply shrugged her shoulders. Quistis knew what was coming so she simply lowered her head like a child and waited to be scolded by the older woman.

**Xu**: "You have to be more assertive. Without the faculty round now, they're getting more and more dangerous and creepier now. Sooner or later, you will find yourself in trouble and you will end up having to use force to get yourself out of trouble. You were lucky I was there, but what would happen if I wasn't? You think Squall would save you like that? No. He'd probably just stare them down and then make you feel childish like I am now"

**Quistis**: "I guess you're right... Next time I'll use my blue magic to hose them down with aqua breath or something"

**Xu**: "I was thinking more about your fire breath or maybe the bad breath attack"

**Quistis**: "No, anything but that. Every time I use it, I want to throw up!"

Xu swiped her card key at the garage door. Quistis went to swipe for the keys but Xu stopped her. Xu instead swiped for them and looked at her as if to say "Seriously? In your state?". Xu probably shouldn't have driven either but she got the keys out for the standard issue city car. She clicked "3" on the passengers and Quistis gave her a look of confusion.

**Xu**: "Nida's coming with us to Balamb. He messaged me earlier after I told him I was taking you to Balamb and he said neither of us were in any state to drive so he offered to do so. He's got business in Balamb to attend to anyway and he said he'd make his own way back to Garden, letting us drive back home."

**Quistis**: "Oh.. Ok, didn't expect that"

Xu smiled. There was a lot more Quistis didn't expect today. There was the spa they had booked, but the dinner she had booked for them was actually going to be for her and Nida. Before the mission to raid the Lunatic Pandora, Nida said to Quistis if she survived it, he would take her to dinner. Xu saw the promise being made and reminded him that he owed her lunch and not just a cafeteria date either. Xu was going to make sure Quistis had a better day than evening. This would free her up to have some down time in Balamb. She liked to sit on the docks and watch the sea, it helped her relax, and whilst her two friends would be eating and talking, hopefully finding that spark which was yet to form between them, she would be watching the dock hands working half-naked on the boats. Xu was a pervert sometimes, and for that, she was proud. The two girls waited by the car for a few minutes before Nida turned up. He was wearing light blue denim jeans, a tight, white shirt and a baseball cap with a plain black hooded jacket tied around his waist. He nodded at Xu who returned the gesture but greeted Quistis differently - he took her hand and led her to the car.

**Quistis**: "Is this a repeat of last night, Nida the brave knight rescuing me from the evil Trepies?"

**Nida**: "If that is what you want it to be. I'm just helping you to the car because you are a little unsteady on your feet right now"

Quistis almost fell over. Nida caught her in his arms as Xu burst out laughing.

**Xu**: "If you wanted him to hold you in his arms Trepe, all you needed to do was ask!"

Quistis and Nida went a deep shade of red. Xu simply turned around and looked for the car. Before she could even point to it, a voice from behind her stopped her in her tracks.

**Quistis**: "SHOTGUN"

**Xu**: "Hyne dammit!"

Xu opened the car door and then moved to the back door. She let Quistis in the passenger side first and then climbed in behind her. Nida got into the driver's seat and turned the ignition. The car's engine roared into life as he revved it several times before he drove out of the garden. Xu pulled her PDA out and played round with it, she was looking for the latest news updates going on around the world, it was mostly just talk of the fall of the sorceress and Galbadia in chaos after the war. "Nothing interesting" she thought as music suddenly kicked in on the radio. Quistis had hit play on the sound system and the sound of soft rock came through the speakers. It was a happy melody which had the three of them nodding their heads in time to the music and singing along to the lyrics. She knew the song but couldn't think who it was or what its title was. The lyrics were about some guy turning on his radio and hearing a song which reminded him about a girl he used to know which made him go down memory lane. She drummed her fingers on her thighs in time to the chorus' guitar riff, it was an iconic riff which everyone recognized and it was almost impossible not to smile when you heard it. For a moment, despite the pleasant song, Xu sighed to herself. The girl in the song, Marianne had this beautiful song dedicated to her which was heard around the world. It made her slightly jealous but at the same time she remembered that the last time someone tried to sing a song about her or to her, it didn't end well.

**Nida**: "Gil for your thoughts Xu?"

Xu shook her head, being woken up from her daydream. She mumbled something and shrugged before losing herself to her PDA again.

**Quistis**: "Xu's a terrible person to travel with. You'd get more conversation out of Squa...OW!"

Xu's boot kicked the back of Quistis' chair hard. Quistis jerked forwards and turned round to hit Xu in retaliation but the driver put an end to it.

**Nida**: "Behave children! I'll make you both walk to Balamb"

**Quistis**: "No... i don't think i could do any big walking things today... my head is killing me, I forgot my sunglasses and it's too bright outside"

**Xu**: "I'd walk, but in these boots? You must be joking!"

Quistis looked at her boots. They were different to her usual boots she wore with her SeeD uniform - they were slimmer and they actually had a defined heel on them, it was like a pair of shin-high high heels. Xu always knew how to dress to impress and despite the fact she always shot down anyone eying her up when she wasn't drunk, she enjoyed all the attention. Quistis also noticed the faint outline underneath her skirt - xu's kunai band. Quistis wanted to ask Xu if she went anywhere without a blade on her, but in her handbag, Quistis herself had her combat knife and tied around her waist, like a fashion accessory was her whip - "Save the Queen" the malboro tentacle which could resist almost all attempts to snap it. She then looked at Nida and wondered if he was armed. He must have been. All SeeDs were armed even when off duty. As she eyed his body for any abnormal marks, she couldn't help but admire his muscular figure. She wanted to look elsewhere, but she couldn't.

**Xu**: "Want me to pick your jaw up Trepe?"

Quistis and Nida both went a bright shade of red again. Xu loved to torment her friends. Most people just saw her as the right hand of Cid who simply did the office work, mission briefings and the occasional field mission, they didn't know her as the trickster, the wind up merchant and the card groups second in command.

**Xu**: "Nida, what are you packing? Quistis is eying you for any bulges"

Xu placed heavy emphasis on the bulge part of her question. Nida flashed her a cheeky grin in the mirror which was returned by the girl on the back seat.

**Nida**: "My specialty weapon is the spear, but because its too awkward to carry round, I also use a retractable Bo staff too, specially designed to shrink down from seven-foot to two foot which makes storing it even easier."

**Xu**: "Back up weapon?"

**Nida**: "Colt .45, semi automatic, standard G-army issue. 7+1"

**Quistis**: "how good a shot with it are you?"

**Nida**: "Not Irvine sadly. I'm good with it, but its more of a last resort weapon. Irvine said he'd teach me how to use the shotgun like he does which is a bit easier to use in combat situations than a lone pistol. Somehow I doubt he'll get round to teaching me. He follows Selphie round like a lost puppy these days"

**Quistis**: "They really like each other, it's just the pair of them are too stubborn to act on it"

**Xu**: "I'll make things happen between them, leave it to me"

Nida and Quistis both shouted "No!". Xu's habit of trying to play cupid between some people often ended in disaster. She would either read the signals wrong and create an awkward date for them, or she would over-complicate things and cause a rift where the two people who liked each other would actually go off each other because of her meddling. Xu folded her arms as if to say "fine then" and looked out the window. Balamb was a nice place to live, it was a mild climate, they didn't get much snow and the scenery was pleasant, but she missed the cold of Trabia. She planned to head back there the next time she could get some leave authorized.

**Quistis**: "Thinking about 'home' ?"

**Xu**: "Yeah, right now I'd be in a snow drift six feet deep!"

**Nida**: "I don't know how you Trabians deal with the weather? You must all have Shiva in your blood!"

Xu shook her head.

**Xu**: "Shiva didn't like me, said I was too much of an Ice Queen for her!"

**Quistis**: "Its true, In the end I junctioned her and we're close, but she's also extremely close to Squall. Must be his whole loner image thing."

**Nida**: "Someone too cold for Shiva? I don't believe it. Who do you roll with now Xu?"

Xu smiled. Not many people had heard of her guardian and for good reason - it was a unique one in which it had stayed in her family's clan for generations. Xu had been junctioned to her since her childhood.

**Xu**: "Megitsune, she's a fox who likes to trick people"

**Nida**: "Just like you then... I wonder who had that personality first, her or you!"

**Quistis**: "To be honest, I've met megitsune, and they are both as bad as each other"

**Xu**: "What about you Nida?"

**Nida**: "Ramuh, one of the thunder gods. He gets on well with Quetzacotl"

**Quistis**: "I've got Leviathan so it's probably best those guys don't meet. The last time Leviathan and Quetzacotl met up in a friendly training session, all hell broke loose!"

**Nida**: "I heard about that, something like Selphie and you managed to flood the quad when doing a GF demonstration to the junior cadets"

Quistis said nothing as Xu simply laughed to herself in the back seat.

**=...=...=**

The car eventually reached Balamb. They managed to find a parking space on the edge of town which was reserved for SeeD vehicles. As they exited the vehicle, Xu messaged Nida the time and location of the restaurant. Nida nodded as he got the message and bit the girls farewell. He shook Xu's hand and then helped Quistis out of the car and hugged her. He leaned in close and said "See you later" before walking off. Quistis tried to get her head round it but she gave up as the three parted ways. Nida headed off towards the residential area, probably going to visit some friends whilst the girls headed down to the waterfront where their Spa was located. They walked along in the sun, it was warm and there was a mild breeze coming in from the ocean. The weather was perfect, better than they could have hoped for. Many of the local boys and men stopped in their tracks as the two SeeDs walked past them. They were both so natural, they made everyone's heads turn. Quistis tried to hide her face behind her hair, but Xu basked in it. She winked at one boy who must have been thirteen at the most. His legs started to tremble before he blew her a kiss. Xu smiled, playing along with him just to infuriate his friends. In Garden Xu was very critical of people eying her up unless she wanted to be, but out in Balamb, Dollet or Galbadia, she was different, she basked in the attention. Quistis often admired this trait in her friend, how she could separate her work persona from her own persona. One day she'd have to ask her how to just let go like that but she knew what her answer would be - "don't think, just do".

The women eventually reached the Spa and Xu booked them in. Xu opted to use the pool and sauna facilities, she felt she might as well get some training in before the pamper session. Before Quistis could even say what she wanted, Xu nominated her for the detox, pointing to her friend's painfully hungover expression. The girls at the spa were more than happy to oblige - they whisked Quistis away to be pampered whilst one who remained asked Xu for her measurements so they could get her a swim suit. The woman returned with a charcoal grey and black outfit, similar to her ones in her wardrobe. Xu smiled as she took it, she had been here before to use the facilities when on down time. Even though she was off, she looked to train in any way she could, wherever she could. swimming was perfect - it built stamina and worked all her muscles as well as helped her control her breathing. As she headed towards the changing room, some of the men and women at the Spa already stopped and stared. They had seen her visit before, but every time she came, she never failed to catch their imagination. Xu knew they were looking, so she played up to her adoring crowd. She flicked her hair back from the side of her head and looked over her shoulder at one of the lifeguards and winked at him. He smiled back at her and tried to mouth something but she was gone. The changing room door swung shut behind her.

_"Never gets boring"_

Xu dived into the pool. It was a full 50 meters long by 25 meters wide pool. Half of it had been sectioned off into lanes for the competitive swimmers whilst the other half was for the casual swimmers. Xu was in the furthest lane from the casual swimmers. She cut through the water and let her powerful arms and legs help her carve her way through. She planned to swim 200 meters on each dive. Her goal was a kilometer in 30 minutes with minimal cool down time between each dive, rising to try and hit 5k before she hit the sauna to cool down for a bit and to recuperate. She enjoyed being in the water - the freedom it gave her to move as she saw fit - being able to spin around whilst seemingly weightless was a bonus. It helped her time her rotations when she was using her acrobatic skills in combat. The quicker and more precise the turns, the more momentum she picked up. As she finished her first 200m in roughly 2:30 she exited the pool and sat down at the side of it, getting her breath back. When she trained like this, Megiutsune removed all her strength and stamina boosting junctions. It felt like cheating if she trained like this whilst fully junctioned. As the water dripped from her face, she looked out the window at the Balambian coastline. It was perfect. She planned to spend a night on the beach again at some point, she just didn't know who to spend it with. That was her problem - she wanted companionship, she just couldn't bring herself to face it.

_"Pretty impressive time that?"_

Xu looked up, the lifeguard she had flirted with earlier sat down next to her. He was six feet four. He was tanned and quite muscular. He wore red shorts and yellow muscle vest which left nothing to the imagination. Xu didn't like guys who were overly tall or buff much, but she couldn't help but admire his physique. He could have easily walked into a body building gym and not look out of place at all. He ran his fingers through his short blonde hair and smiled at her.

**Lifeguard**: "Name's Auron"

**Xu**: "Xu, pleasure to meet you"

Xu flashed a cheeky smile at him and ran her finger across his bicep. He didn't react, most of the women who went swimming whenever he was on duty did this to him. It was all part of the experience - have a big, athletic muscular young man to save you in-case you drown.

**Auron**: "With speed like yours, I'd assume you're a SeeD?"

Xu noted how observant he was. Granted his job was to observe people and to intervene if they were in danger, but the fact after watching her swim for just under three minutes, he had worked her out already.

**Xu**: "What gave it away?"

**Auron:** "The 2:30, 200m time was one... and the Tattoo on your upper left arm too."

Xu forgot about her SeeD tattoo most of the time. She got it done when she became a SeeD four years ago and it was just a part of her now which she paid no attention too. The faculty disproved of people getting SeeD logo tattoo's when they graduated, but the students did it anyway. Just the sight of that logo said enough about a person so if they ever left the field, they could let people know not to mess with them. The black and white interlocking hooked shapes were in the center of a golden pointed ring, similar to the ring which surrounded Balamb garden and this was set on a blue cross. Xu's tattoo was different to some of the ones he had seen though. It had four markings underneath it, the first was the letter "A", the second was the letter "X", the third was a small red heart and the fourth was the letter "V". As Auron looked at them, Xu saved him the explanation. She could feel he was paying more attention to her breasts in the very tight swimsuit than her ink.

**Xu**: "The A is my current rank and the highest one you can attain, X is the rank I graduated with, Rank 10 of 31, The heart is a secret which not many people know or will know [she winked] and the V is the number of weapons I specialize in."

**Auron**: "Five weapons?"

**Xu**: "Yeah, I shouldn't have shared that information, I am likely to have to kill you now for that, but you're pretty enough to be smart and not blab are you?"

Xu's playful tone did have a slight threatening sound about it. Auron knew SeeDs were ones not to be messed with and he didn't plan on revealing her secrets, but at the same time it gave him an insight into the black-haired woman who had now dived into the pool. She was beautiful and dangerous. Many guys would love to chase her, her looks and skills would make her the perfect catch. But not him, even though she was attractive, he didn't bother trying to play her flirting game. He knew she would only leave him wanting more and never able to get it. Watching her as she cut through the water, he admired her technique and wondered just how much she had given up to become the way she had?

**=...=...=**

**Xu**: "How was your pamper session?"

Quistis looked more alive as the two girls left the Spa at 14:30. Quistis had the full treatment - skin cleanse and scrub, hair, nails, make up, waxing. She felt more alive too. The hangover was gone, and to celebrate she rummaged round in her handbag. Xu tapped her on the shoulder and held out a cigarette and her lighter.

**Quistis**: "Lifesaver! I promise I'll stop after today!"

Xu said nothing as she lit one for herself after Quistis passed her the lighter back. As the two women smoked, Quistis looked at Xu. She was unusually quiet for a girls afternoon. Maybe Dian was weighing on her mind still.

**Quistis**: "What did you do then whilst they saved me from my hangover?"

**Xu**: "I swam 3k before giving up to set in the sauna for a bit. The big muscular lifeguard was talking to me for a while, but he didn't want to play my game. I set him up to take the bait and he just went away instead. After sulking in the sauna for a little while, I then got my hair trimmed a little and cleaned myself up a little bit"

**Quistis**: "Think he was gay?"

**Xu**: "Believe me, the way he was staring at me, he wasn't gay!"

**Quistis**: "Maybe he knows of you and your trail of broken hearts. You are infamous for that remember"

Xu shot a warning glance at Quistis which was intended to be a "Don't start with that today, not today". Quistis got the message and changed the subject quickly.

**Quistis**: "So where are we going?"

Xu pointed to the rather plain-looking building at the end of the road. It was a combination of blue and white-painted walls with simple flowers decorating it. The sign was made of driftwood collected from the beach and the docks. It said "Ifrit's Cove" on it, the paint made to look like scorch marks on the wood. Xu checked her PDA, there was a message from Nida which simply read "seated and waiting". Xu replied and put it away. She pulled another cigarette out as they neared the restaurant. Quistis looked at her with some slight annoyance

**Quistis**: "Do you have to smoke now? We have a meal to go to"

Xu waved her away

**Xu**: "Just go in and get seated, I'll be in when we're ready. The reservation is under Trepe. I've already paid in advance so pick what you want!"

Quistis hugged her friend and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

**Quistis**: "You're the best Xu!"

Xu brushed it off and watched her go in. Nida had picked the table in the window so Xu could watch her friend's reaction. Quistis froze up for a moment when she saw Nida waiting with a glass of water. She didn't know where to look apart from out the window at Xu who smiled and took a picture on her PDA of her shell-shocked friend. Nida stood up to greet her and showed her to her seat. He was awestruck at how beautiful she looked after the spa morning with her perfect make up and she was just awestruck in the fact her best friend and another friend had worked behind her back to make her go on this date. Xu checked her PDA, it was a message from Quistis which simply said _**"****YOU. ARE. DEAD!"**_. Xu simply waved to her and turned round and headed towards the docks. Nida would call her when they were done, he knew Xu wanted to be alone today so he was doing his best to help her and her friend out.

**Xu**: "Don't mess this one up Quistis, he's perfect for you..."

**...=BALAMB HARBOUR=...**

_"Xu. Its Squall. When are you available to talk? Call me when you can"_

Xu sat on the end of the pier looking at the message. She took a drag from her cigarette hit the phone icon to contact him. She hoped she wasn't interrupting anything as the phone rang. Him and Rinoa had been inseparable when work wasn't concerned recently. Although she was happy for him she was eager to get back to business. As she waited for the ringing to stop, a voice answered her.

**Squall**: "Xu?"

**Xu**: "Just got your message Squall. I'm in Balamb at the docks with Quistis and Nida. Is everything ok?"

**Squall**: "Its fine, I need to talk with you in person at some point tomorrow daytime, we need to sort out the structure of Garden"

Xu didn't even need to ask, she knew why Squall was contacting her directly.

**Xu**: "When do you leave for Timber?"

Squall: "3 days time. Myself, Zell, Selphie and Rinoa are going. I want you, Quistis, Xavier and Nida to work with Cid in my absence and keep things running. Irvine isn't a SeeD and he doesn't wish to take the SeeD exam, but treat him like we would an associate. His skills are highly useful despite his one blip"

**Xu**: "Affirmative. Can I ask you a question Commander?"

**Squall**: "If it what I think you intend to ask, please leave it till tomorrow. That is something what should be answered in person."

**Xu**: "Ok. Forward any inventory requests you may need. I'll get then dispatched to wherever you need them"

**Squall**: "We're traveling light, this is a small cell support mission, we will only need assistance if things go south"

**Xu**: "Noted. Message me in the morning, usual time. We can arrange a meeting then"

Squall replied and disconnected the call. Xu stared at the display, letting the message sink in before she took another drag of her cigarette. She looked at the sun. It was 17:00 and it was slowly starting to dip. The orange light reflected off the ocean and made the sky a mixture of colours. She always liked watching the sun on Balamb pier. It reminded her of Dian and the numerous times they came here. She reached into her bag and pulled out a small hip flask. She unscrewed the top of it and took a sip before fastening it again and placing it back into her bag.

**Xu**: "...I miss you"

**=..IFRIT'S COVE, BALAMB..=**

**Nida**: "So you don't know who Xu hooked up with either?"

**Quistis**: "No! I've asked and she doesn't know. Irvine doesn't know either which means Selphie, queen of gossip doesn't know! The only thing I can think of is one of the cadets or low rank SeeDs decided to take the plunge and make a move. Fortune favours the bold as they say"

Nida smiled. They had both finished their meals and were sat on the terrace outside the front of the restaurant waiting for Xu to show up. Both had stuck to soft drinks given the delicate state of Quistis in her post-hangover recovery period and Nida was driving so he was being responsible. They both had Balamb fish and chips, a light and easy meal for Quistis to handle with her reduced appetite and Nida enjoyed the fish from round here. They spent the afternoon just idly talking and eating. They were already friends so instead of getting to know each other for the first time like some people who went on dates like this did, they spent it talking about a subject they both had a mutual interest in - Xu.

**Nida**: "Can you remember who the last person was to enter the Fox's den and survive without being bit was?"

Quistis tried to think. Many guys had fallen for Xu's stunning looks and hard to get routine, but they all had their hopes dashed by the following morning. Only a handful had managed to come back for more over the years but her inability to want to commit to someone was legendary. It was one of her traits, like Selphie's fascination with the color yellow, Irvine's focus on anything with two legs and a pair of breasts, Zell's tendency to over react to anything and everything and of course Squall's "...whatever" routine. They both knew Xu was a lovely person, but she kept everyone at bay, only really letting her friends close.

**Nida**: "Did she ever have a thing with Seifer?"

Quistis spat her drink out on the floor in shock at the bluntness of Nida's question

**Quistis**: "I can see why you ask, they are two polar opposites with their behavior, but they are also too similar - full of pride and very focused and determined. If there ever was anything, I didn't know about it... But it does make sense, Seifer was always hostile to people he shown signs of affection for."

**Nida**: "And him and Xu always seemed to hit it off negatively whenever they were in the same room as each other"

As Nida and Quistis tried to discuss Xu's love life, her voice cut them off.

**Xu**: "No, I never fucked Seifer, wouldn't have gave him the satisfaction of knowing he'd lay naked with me! No, I never considered it, he was attractive but he had eyes for one woman only at Balamb and we all know who that was... Nida, I thought you knew better than to indulge Trepe in her little ideas, she might seem all prim and proper, but she's just as insane as Selphie sometimes!"

Nida and Quistis were speechless

**Xu**: "I've been here for about twenty minutes now, I heard everything, I just wanted to see if the story you were coming up with was almost believeable... And the last person to enter the "fox's den" as you put it Nida and didn't leave with their heart-broken was my mystery guest last night, as he bailed out on me!"

**Quistis**: "Sorry Xu... We jus.."

Xu held her hand up and simply waved it as if she was brushing the subject away

**Xu**: "C'mon, it was funny and you do know an awful lot about me anyway. If you two ever teamed up with Selphie I'd be doomed. Anyway, its nearly 18:00, we gotta head back to Garden. Selphie messaged us and asked us to meet her on the second floor near one of the old faculty offices."

**Quistis**: "Did Cid give her an office under the pretense it was for chair of the garden festival committee?"

**Nida**: "This means it'll probably be another party. You think you can handle it Quis?"

**Xu**: "She will do. Just no cocktails for her..."

**Quistis**: "Or cactaur needle shots for you. You still need to take another 995 of them to live up to your bold statement!"

Xu shot them both a warning glance before walking off towards the car.

**=20:00, Balamb Garden, Dormitory wing, Xu's Quarters=**

She sat there in her underwear on the edge of her bed. Wondering what to wear tonight. It wasn't an official SeeD function so her uniform was out of the question thankfully. She liked its feel, but sometimes, the skirt was a bit of a pain, especially when you're drunk and start showing off, it left little to the imagination sometimes. She rooted through her wardrobe and pulled out two dresses. A long sleek red one with a golden fox embroided on the floorlength skirt section of it. The top half of the dress rested on her hips perfectly and was loose enough in parts to still be comfortable and to show some skin where needed. The other dress was the classic "Little Black Dress", popular among the women in Dollet. The SeeD's take on it was to modify it slightly - she had cut the skirt section of it shorter so it rested halfway up her thighs instead of nearer to her knees. She then used the excess material she'd removed to create some frills which went on the straps which went over her shoulders. The dress was tight enough to show off her figure, but gave enough room to hide a spare weapon as and when needed. As she pondered which one to wear, a voice behind her startled her.

_"Black one Xu, you know you'd only change into it again"_

Quistis stood behind her. She was wearing a plain black dress. It wasn't too long or too short and it revealed as much skin as needed. She then wore a peach shawl around her shoulders and had her hair down. She wore her glasses to draw more attention to her face than her hair.

**Xu**: "Dressed up like that for anyone special?"

**Quistis**: "I don't know, but Ami said I looked hot last night, she wanted me to 'blow her away tonight' "

It seems Quistis had finally uncovered all of last nights escapades thanks to Nida's photographs and her only reaction to the one of her kissing Ami was "Did Zell mind?". For someone so intelligent and skilled in battle, she sure could be stupid sometimes. Xu walked over to Quistis and patted her on the head before directing her to the kitchen - if they were going to go out, they had to have a drink or two first. Quistis nodded and headed off in search of alcohol whilst Xu slipped herself into her dress. She left a training outfit out on her bed in-case she felt the need to do some late night training. After slipping into her dress, adjusting herself and putting her heels on, she quickly did her make up, just a small amount of eyeliner was needed given most of her make-up from the spa day was still on. She touched up where needed doing and then headed out to the couch where Quistis was waiting with the wine and the drinks.

**Xu**: "No shots tonight Trepe. You're a fun drunk, but when you start trying to outdo everyone, you get weird!"

**Quistis**: "You think your vampire might be there tonight?"

Xu pondered for a second, it was a small-scale function in Selphie's new office, probably to celebrate Squall getting an office too since she knew when Selphie first heard about him getting an office, a party would be suggested instantly. She then thought back to the ball last night and remembered that she did make it into the SeeD lounge but only briefly. She was missing a good hour or so of the night. She must have just headed off for a smoke first and picked up someone headed towards the secret area or something. It was the only explanation as to why she couldn't work out who was all over her. The only other option she had was to tell Selphie someone else did it and see if the guilty party stepped forwards in the face of the rumours.

**Xu**: "Nah, gave up thinking about that anyway. We gotta move soon, drink up, we'll take this bottle and another bottle from the cupboard with us. I don't know if its BYOB or not so lets be prepared!"

Taking the alcohol they wanted, the girls finished their drinks and then made their exit from Xu's room. They headed towards the second floor and in the lobby the bumped into Nida and Xavier. The two men greeted the ladies, Nida being all proper with Quistis, kissing her hand and taking her by the arm to walk her to the lift whilst Xavier and Xu simply nodded at each other. They didn't say a word, the understanding between them was enough, especially on a day like today. They looked over at Nida and Quistis who headed into the lift together and waved them on. As the lift doors closed the pair waited till their friends were gone before they hugged. Xu buried her head into Xavier's chest and held onto his waist tightly. She didn't want to stay too long as her make-up would surely run if she started crying, so instead she simply let go of Xavier and smiled.

**Xu**: "Thank you"

Xavier kissed her on the forehead

**Xavier**: "Don't mention it. Take it you talked to him?"

Xu nodded, and then motioned to the lift, the doors had opened and Quistis still waited inside. The pair simply nodded and walked towards her. As they got in the lift, none of them spoke, they simply left the lift onto the second floor hallway and made their way towards Selphie's office. Xu pulled out a cigarette from her bag and lit it. She offered one to Xavier who passed on it.

**Xavier**: "How do you smoke those and still stay in perfect shape?"

Xu simply shrugged her shoulders.

**Xu**: "I guess over-compensating in my training helps. Quistis thinks I only socially smoke though so lets keep that on the hush-hush yeah?"

Xavier nodded as Quistis continued on up ahead of them. The two SeeDs followed the card king to Selphie's office. It was fairly empty except for a large desk, a whiteboard, a plan of Garden and several chairs and couches. Music was playing on the stereo plugged into the wall and everyone had "partnered up" for the evening - Irvine sat at Selphie's desk as the SeeD was busy playing hostess, his eyes followed her every move. Squall and Rinoa sat over by the window, out of the way of everyone, the way Squall preferred to be. Nida and Quistis sat on two chairs next to each other and started to make small talk, The Diamond twins of the card club (Jasmine who always stood on the left and Pearl who always stood on the right) stood there with Jack and Joker (Steve and Chris) talking about cards as always. Zell and Ami sat on one of the couches, Ami was looking at Quistis rather nervously at first but she eventually relaxed. This just left Edea and Cid who were leaving as Xu arrived. As the party bid farewell to the husband and wife, Xu and Xavier made their hurried hello and goodbyes. Cid looked at Xu with a disproving glare as he smelt the cigarette smoke on her before waving to her. She knew he would be talking to her in the morning, but that was a different matter. With everyone present who was meant to be present, Selphie cut the music and started her typical pre-party speech. She climbed up on her table and started to reel it off.

**Selphie**: "Hello one and all, and welcome to the latest and greatest gathering. It's only a small function tonight, but that's cool, it's always cool. Just some music, some booze and some good music yeah? Anyway, this is just a very personal gathering to celebrate a few things... Firstly _**[Irvine bangs his fingers on the table as if he were performing a drum roll]**_.. thank you Irvine... Firstly.. I have a new office so lets warm it up and make many good memories in here. If you ever have an event you want planning, please come find me when I'm not on mission!"

Everyone clapped.

**Selphie**: "Secondly, this is also a chance for us all to get together without massive attention to announce some major news. As you may know, our darling commander and the lovely Rinoa are in a contractual agreement which means we do need to go back there and see out the contract we entered into. That's right... Squall, Zell, Rinoa and myself are going back into timber in three days! We're gonna haul ass and kick Galbadia outta there and make the bells ring out once more!"

Rinoa blushed as everyone passionately applauded them. Xu looked at Squall who caught her gaze and simply nodded. They still had to discuss things about Garden since he, the commander would be out in the field.

**Selphie**: "And finally, we're here to finish off from where we left off last night! But a few ground rules ok? Quistis - no kissing Zell's girlfriend, Xu, no bailing early and waking up wondering why you have a hickey, Squall - no hiding in the corner ok?"

Selphie jumped down from the table and raised both her hands in the air as if to say "Party!". The music went up and the drinks flowed. As the night went on, people posed for various pictures with each other, told stories about past experiences with the garden festival, past visits to timber when they got over there and about some of the highlights about the night before. It wasn't a crazy night, but the alcohol seemed to loosen everyone up. Even Squall seemed to be enjoying himself this time, though he and Rinoa did go earlier than everyone had thought they would. Xu envied him, she would have killed to be able to bail out and have an excuse to do so, but sadly, she couldn't, not tonight. Instead she walked over to Selphie's window and pressed down on it, it popped open and she pushed it open - Selphie had a balcony too. As she stepped out into the night, she took a deep breath and looked back in the room at everyone talking. She wanted to join in, but today, she couldn't. Xavier caught her glance and simply nodded. He stayed sat where he was whilst Xu lit up a cigarette. Selphie came out through the doors and collared Xu.

**Selphie**: "You can smoke inside you know, don't be running away now"

**Xu**: "Sorry hun, it's a great party, but I need to get home, its been a rough day and I don't wanna put a downer on everyone tonight by being like this"

Selphie threw her arms around the neck of Xu. She almost choked her as she squeezed her tight.

**Selphie**: "I know you're like Squall and you only talk when forced to... But we're all here for you Xu. Maybe its just all this downtime. I can see you're itching to get out there and kill something or someone."

**Xu**: "That easy to read huh?"

**Selphie**: "Look, stay, have another drink and see how you feel. You never know, you might enjoy it a little bit more."

Xu hugged Selphie back. Unlike Squall, Xu could empathize with people and could express her feelings at least. She glanced back into the room, Xavier had slipped out when she was distracted. She knew he wanted to be alone so she let him leave. As Selphie went back into the room. Xu took a drag from her cigarette and looked up at the moon. She pulled out her PDA and scrolled down to Xavier's contact details and started to write a message.

_"Thanks for coming, even if it was for a little bit! I know tonight has been hard on you, probably harder than it has on me...Just remember to come see me if you need to talk yeah? I'm here for you remember"_

Xu sent the message, took another drag of her cigarette before returning to the party. She knew she couldn't change the past and the present looked to be pretty dull for her, but tomorrow was the future, another day. A meeting with SeeD commander Squall awaited, the only time they would have before the mission launch so she had to make sure everything was covered. She knew roughly what she wanted to say to him, so she decided to just go and try to enjoy the rest of the night.

* * *

A/N: Guess the song on the radio!

Conversation between Xu and Squall in B-Garden hallway quoted from "The Bells of freedom" by Ronin-Ai, chapter 1

The ninja-magic (jutsu) is similar to the para-magic the SeeDs use, but it isn't as powerful and it isn't stored up in quota form like the SeeDs, it is more like Rinoa's - natural energy. Through the use of GF's, Xu can augment her own magic with that of her drawn magic supplies and make the spells stronger. The hand seals and symbols she will use over this story are more for image purposes than actually strengthening a spell.


	3. 3 - A future gained and a future lost

A new day, the same routine. The alarm went off at 5am; the hand came out from under the covers and hit the snooze button. The request for five more minutes which falls on deaf ears. The snooze alarm kicks in and the body rises from the comfort and warmth of sleep. Xu had another day off, today. She had to see the commander again at some point but she also had paperwork to do and she also had to help Quistis move her stuff into her new (old) apartment again. There was no hangover today, but there was still some confusion. She got her underwear out ready with the training gear she had prepared the night before and turned on the light. The pack of cigarettes on her desk was empty, just as well. She'd smoked too much in the past two days or so and her lungs could do with a break from her guilty pleasure. She checked her PDA - no new messages. Obviously she wasn't missed when she left the party last night, there were no veiled attacks at her in the form of texts or emails, but the ones she had sent out hadn't been replied to. Xu was concerned. It was a hard day for both her and Xavier and she knew the alcohol and people talking and playing nice about things neither of them could be completely bothered with was the last thing either of them needed. She opened her door to the living room and peered inside it. There was only one empty bottle on the table, there wasn't even a glass. She shook her head and reached round and flicked the light on - she had no guest on her couch. She'd spent the night drinking alone it seemed, when Xu found herself in that situation it never boded well for anyone. She walked to the bathroom, stripped down and washed herself off before heading back to her room to get changed into her jogging pants and lycra top combo. Picking up her PDA, she checked it again before heading to her locker. Opening it up she withdrew her usual weapons and tools - the knife holster on her left calf, the utility belt, the grappling hook were all in place. She pulled out the Yagyu Darkblade, her sai's Heaven and Hell, and this time instead of taking Kitsune out with her, she took the hand scythe and chain. She checked her PDA again for any new messages but there was nothing. She headed to her sink, refilled her water flask then turned to her cupboard. She pulled out two protein bars, pocketing one and eating the other. As she chewed on it, she looked at the bottle on her table - it was an empty bottle of Dolletian Red Wine, famed for its rich texture and fruity taste. Clearly she was in a bad way if her first reaction was to just drink from the bottle instead of pouring herself a glass. She discarded the bottle and left her room, headed towards the training centre once more. As she walked towards the training centre, she tried to organize her thoughts.

She left Selphie's party round 11pm. She managed to slip past everyone and get out the door whilst they were all distracted. The card club members were all playing random rule with their decks in friendly matches. The card game was a great way to pass the time, but you needed a clear head to play it. Xu would have probably stayed to challenge Quistis but she left her deck at home. Ever since Squall took them all down in the space of a week, the card club were not as elite as they once thought they were. People still played them, but their aura of invincibility was gone. On her way out of the room she remembered Quistis leaning into Nida, hanging on his every word. Her hands on his thigh, laughing and joking with him, even flirting a little without realising it. She was tempted to call one of them for an early morning sparring session, but if things had gone the way she hoped they would, no one would be leaving whichever room they ended up in. She remembered heading to her office first, Xavier usually hid out there if he needed some space and she didn't mind. They had always been close and she didn't mind as he was usually one of "her SeeDs", the select few who reported to the master of covert ops at B-Garden. She then proceeded to check the training center. She was severely under-armed for the late night venture into there. Her only weaponry was her bare hands and the golden hairpin she had in which could double up as a Kunai or a short range miniature knife. As she got near the centre she realised he wouldn't go back there today, he was unarmed and he never went in there without a weapon. Her only other alternative was the Quad. She made her way across the garden but as she got to the quad, she couldn't see or hear anything. Xavier was one of her covert SeeDs but she could usually spot them all with no effort required. She sat down underneath one of the trees and had a cigarette, staring up at the night sky and up towards the window on the second floor which had light shining from it - Selphie's party. Part of her wanted to go back there, but she realised it would be easier to just go home. As she finished her cigarette she headed back to her room and closed the door behind her. Sitting down on the couch after kicking off her heels she opened the bottle of wine standing on her table and just drank from it.

_"I need to get back in the field soon. The training centre and deskwork is killing me!"_

Xu shook her head, trying to physically clear her mental issues. Her plan was a little different today than yesterday. Instead of sticking to the main paths, she was going to try and get up into the canopy level of the training centre and actively seek out a T-rexaur from above. Her plan was to locate it, let it get her scent and then to try and lure it out into the open. She reached the blast doors and pushed through them. The second set of blast doors were open however. This was not a good sign at all. If the blast door system was breached, then anything could get in or out of the grounds. She reached for her PDA and sent an email to Squall and Security relaying the information. Within seconds her PDA rang - it was the head of security Andreas. A 40 year old former Balambian reservist.

**Xu:** "Andreas, can you get footage of the blast doors from 22:00 to 06:00 hours. There has been a breach of the inner blast doors in the training centre. I've notified the commander already.

**Andreas:** "Copy"

Xu pulled out a wireless headset from her kit pouch. She attached it and synced it up to her PDA before she locked it and put it in her pocket again. She pulled her hand scythe out and held the chain tightly in her left hand and the scythe handle in her right. She was on red alert. Megitsune realised this and heightened her physical junctions. Normally she would have her junctions to bare minimum in the training centre, but in this scenario, it was better to be fully prepared. She felt her guardian's strength and power flowing through her. She tensed up for a moment before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. As she opened her eyes, Andreas' voice came through her ear piece.

**Andreas:** "From the looks of it, three cadets seemed to have snuck in after lights out and wedged the door open. This was round 02:35. I'll start scanning the cameras to see where they might have got to or if they are in fact in here still."

**Xu:** "Copy. I'll make a sweep now at ground level going clockwise, and then I'll go higher and sweep counter clockwise."

**Andreas:** "If the commander makes contact?"

**Xu:** "Fill him in; tell him to join me here if the situation is worse than what it could be"

Andreas cut the audio feed on his end. Xu tapped her headset cutting the feed on her side and proceeded through the blast doors with extreme caution. She stepped into the first sector, the crossroads and headed left. As she did, all her senses were in overdrive. The slightest noise, even a twig snapping would alert her in this heightened state of awareness. Not many had seen Xu at her fully junctioned best in garden and those who had seen her in this way who weren't affiliated with Garden usually ended up dead. She hoped that this was just a childish prank, and not some of the former NORG loyalists trying to stage a second coup. Many people here, herself included were uneasy about the presence of Edea Kramer in B-Garden and even though her powers had greatly weakened, there was a distinct possibility she could become corrupt again at any given moment. Less were uneasy about the presence of Rinoa, the newest sorceress, the current heir to both Adel and Edea's powers. She was a time bomb and in all honesty, Xu felt relieved to know she would be going to Timber for the foreseeable future. Maybe combat would teach her control and allow her to hone her abilities better? She couldn't quite tell if this was realistic or wishful thinking, but it would put her mind at ease knowing she was learning some control. As Xu sweeped the second area, the glint of light from the scope of a rifle attracted her attention. She dropped down low, taking cover behind a large rock and reached for a Kunai. She focused on it for a second before it glowed with a purple hue. She tapped her wireless headset and contacted Andreas again.

**Xu:** "Sector 2, possible sighting of suspect. Caught glint from possible rifle scope on north east side, 15 feet off the floor, 5th tree up from fallen girder. Visual confirmed?"

**Andreas:** "I see it; Commander Leonhart is here with me. Transferring comms now"

**Squall:** "Xu, clear to engage, non-fatal attacks only, incapacitate and store safely till a team can back you up."

Xu didn't reply. She gestured to the camera which Squall was watching the feed from before she made her move. She crouched down behind the rock, held the kunai tightly in her right hand between her forefinger and thumb and jumped up. From a crouched position, she easily cleared the rock in a single leap thanks to the agility boost from Megitsune and without any warning; she threw the Kunai directly towards the rifle. The Kunai smashed into his scope, rendering him blind effectively. Before he could even react to what had happened, Xu had hastened herself and was almost on top of him instantly. She climbed up the tree he was hiding in and without any warning, slammed her palm into his exposed stomach. As the wind rushed out of him, she cupped his mouth with her left hand to stop him from alerting the others. She quickly climbed on top of him and slowly and carefully choked him out. As he lost consciousness, she tied her grappling hooks rope round him and gently lowered him down to the floor. Once her target had hit the floor, she dropped down and assessed the area. She couldn't leave him, nor could she take him with her. She would have to backtrack to the staging area and leave him near the blast doors in the safe zone for the time being.

**Squall:** "Status?"

**Xu:** "One down, two more presumed. I'm going to hold off the search and take this one to the staging area so you can pick him up for questioning. Care to join me for back up?"

**Squall:** "see you in 10 minutes"

Xu lifted her captive up onto her shoulders. Even with her augmented strength thanks to the GF, it was still a struggle for her to carry him back. The situation was tense now; she wouldn't be able to fight back if she was attacked without risking the life of the cadet who had obviously tried to endanger others. Wasting no time, she ran as fast as she could with the cargo on her back. The commotion she had made earlier had stirred the local grat population. They started moving from their hiding places in the trees and advancing at her rapidly. She kept her head down and kept running. She made it to the door to the staging area just in time; Squall was standing there, gunblade drawn at the ready. He was in his typical black leather jacket/pants combo with a plain white shirt and the fabled Lionheart gunblade. The Commander simply nodded and moved forwards, past her to meet the grat head on. He effortlessly cut through them as the backup security team took the prisoner from Xu. She took a sip from her water flask, composed herself and then headed back to join Squall. By the time she reached him, the grat heard had been thinned out.

**Xu:** "I have a feeling we'll find the other two in the secret area"

Squall nodded. Keeping his sword drawn and his senses on high alert, he proceeded to go low, crossing the ground whilst Xu opted to go high - in the trees. As they drew closer to the secret area, Andreas contacted them once again. His feed went through to Squall only this time though. Xu seemed annoyed at how Squall suddenly became lead on this investigation, but she saved that complaint for later. Her main problem now was tracking down the cadets who they hope had taken things too far. She managed to get ahead of Squall and made it to the secret area's entrance. As Squall slipped in behind her, the pair of them scanned the area - nothing. It was too quiet.

**Squall:** "I have a bad feeling about this. We need to use force if necessary, but non lethal is preferable."

**Xu:** "Leave that to me."

Xu threw her grappling hook up once again towards the framework of the secret area's bulkhead. Like she did yesterday morning, she climbed up the rope, but this time she pressed against the bulkhead. There was a secret panel which would allow her access to the room and give her a good vantage point. As she carefully opened the access hatch, she heard voices. They were muffled so she couldn't make out their exact words, but she knew that there were two people there. As she opened the door carefully, she slipped through the opening and took up residence on some of the scaffolding. She looked over and saw the other two cadets, both of them armed with rifles. Xu was confused; they only had a small number of firearm specialists in B-Garden.

**Xu:** "Squall, both are armed with rifles. Something tells me that these guys aren't just cadets."

**Squall:** "Flank them, drive them out to me"

**Xu:** "copy"

Xu wasted no time in launching her attack. She jumped down from ledge to ledge, closing the distance between her and the SeeDs before launching her attack. They didn't see her coming. One turned round when he heard the sound of an impact above them and as he looked in that direction, Xu's chain-scythe flew at him. She launched the weighted end at him first, knocking him down and winding him. The attack caused his companion to head out of the area, right into Squall. Within 40 minutes a security team reached them and hauled them to the detention facilities. They both breathed a sigh of relief. Dealing with a blatant sabotage attempt before 07:00 was not something either of them wanted to do. Xu sipped some of her water and passed it to Squall who gladly received it. He screwed the lid back on and passed Xu the drink back before he leaned against the railing in the secret area. Xu walked over towards him and stood by his side.

**Squall:** "Might as well say it Xu"

**Xu:** "I don't feel comfortable with Edea here. She may be your foster mother and the headmaster's wife, but after what we all went through with the missiles and the garden battle. It's a bit too much for some of us."

**Squall:** "Your concern is noted Xu. I will talk with the headmaster, but garden is the safest place for Edea to be until this all calms down"

**Xu:** "understood"

Squall looked at Xu. He could tell she was thinking about something else to ask him and wondering how to word it.

**Squall:** "Timber questions can wait till 15:00 when I hold an official briefing with the senior SeeDs and admin staff"

**Xu:** "What's the real reason why you're going back to Timber?"

**Squall:** "We have a contract to honor"

**Xu:** "So it isn't about your girlfriend trying to save face?"

**Squall:** "Rinoa's reasons are irrelevant. The terms of our hire stated that the SeeD team was in her service until Timber was liberated"

**Xu:** "Is the no replacement's clause still in effect?"

**Squall:** "Yes. Zell, Selphie, Rinoa and I will be going. Rinoa is the client; she will not be treated as a SeeD despite having magic skills on par with an 'A' rank SeeD. I understand your frustrations Xu, I know you want to get out in the field again, but I can't do that at this time. We need to get Garden in order once more - find a new faculty body to help us enforce the rules and to try and restore some order to this place."

**Xu:** "So you want me benched still?"

**Squall:** "I can't reveal anything till 15:00. All I can say is you will see action soon, but not in the immediate future, we need to get Garden running first"

**Xu:** "And what, have you run off fighting a war which is realistically speaking, impossible?"

Squall looked down at Xu, their eyes met, the blue and brown stared at each other. Xu knew if it came to blows, she could drop him before he could even lift his gunblade, but she knew that he could easily strike her before she could move. They were both fully junctioned at this point in time, settling this with violence was not an option.

**Squall:** "I'm contrac..."

**Xu:** "Fuck off with the SeeD honor bullshit Squall. You're commander, fucking act like it already. When the garden hears you're going to Timber they will all say it's because of Rinoa. You're abandoning your own soldiers to fight with amateurs; you could easily send some other SeeDs to Timber, but the commander and our tech expert and hand to hand specialist... Come on Squall. Look at it from my point of view, as someone who is on the ground, helping keep this place running. We suffered losses, we have to rebuild. We need our leader present to help us"

Squall didn't answer Xu; he simply waved his hand dismissing her. Xu didn't even look at him or even bother to salute him as she left. She knew the reasons why he was doing this and she admired him for sticking to his principles and his beliefs, but the fact he was commander should have made him realise he was needed more here than there. SeeD needed a strong leader on the front like Squall, but leading them into battle, not leading a poorly organised resistance movement. She was too furious to even resume her training. She hastily exited the training centre and headed towards her quarters. She blanked everyone who walked past her. People had learned to avoid Xu when she had an angry expression on her face. They already knew what she had done to the Trepies yesterday; no one wanted a repeat of that. She got to her room, stripped off, showered, got dried off and then put on her SeeD uniform. It was 08:00 by the time she had calmed down. She had seven hours to wait until Squall could make his big official announcement.

_"He is such an ass sometimes. I do not know what Quistis saw in him"_

**.=DETENTION FACILITY, SUB-LEVEL 1, 10:30=.**

Xu approached the detention facility. The guard let her past and she went directly to Andreas, head of security. He was a Balambian reservist who saw had saw some action since he used to freelance as a mercenary. He was six feet tall, he had long brown hair tied back into a ponytail and he was very broad. He had stubble and a goatee, a scar on his right cheek and he was also quite tanned. He looked at Xu and brought her up to speed

**Andreas:** "Two theories right now - pranksters or NORG loyalists who planned to try and make a coup given how vulnerable we are right now"

**Xu:** "Any of them spoke yet?"

**Andreas:** "No. We're thinking about sending in Doctor K soon. She is very persuasive and sometimes she has things which can help... If you know what I mean?"

**Xu:** "Sodium Pentothal should only be used if this is a confirmed terrorist attack. We are not drugging these cadets for any other reason"

Andreas saluted her and then handed her a dossier file. She opened it and scanned its contents.

_**NAME:**__ LEIGHTON, ARNOLD J._

_**WEAPON SPECIALITY:**__ SWORD_

_**OTHER NOTES:**__ WAS ONE OF THE WOUNDED TREATED BY DR. KADOWAKI DURING GARDEN CIVIL WAR. NO KNOWN AFFILIATIONS_

Xu put it down on the table and looked at him. He was the one she knocked out with her chain-scythe. He was 16; he probably hadn't even had his first kill yet. He was green; his grades were average at best. He was just a middle of the road student who would probably fail the field exam. She thought about how to approach him, but before she could even enter the room, Squall came out of the far left door where another one of the prisoners was being held.

**Squall:** "Prank gone wrong. All three are to be suspended for the remainder of the term. They will have to repeat this academic year and won't be eligible for the SeeD exam until they are 18."

Xu simply shrugged her shoulders. She took out a report from her pocket and handed it to Squall.

**Xu:** "Current inventory and what we can spare for various projects we have lined up. A transport to Trabia will be leaving in four days with supplies on to help in the restoration efforts. Trabia has requested two SeeDs accompany the shipment. It will be a three day trip all round - drop off, status update and bringing back any wounded who they can't care for adequately and it will also allow us to keep Balamb garden stationed closer to Timber in case you guys need backup"

**Squall:** "Understood. Organise the crew you wish to send after the 15:00 briefing we are holding."

**Xu:** "Request permission to go on the relief mission commander..."

**Squall:** "Request denied Xu. You are more valuable here than at Trabia at this moment in time. I know you want to get back in the field, but please be patient. All will be revealed later at the briefing."

Xu saluted Squall and left the area. She wasn't happy at all with how today was going and how the commander was acting. She knew he was going to Timber, he was getting to enjoy the thrills of battle when he should be helping restore Garden and get things running normally once again. She walked towards the elevator, opened the doors and pressed for the second floor. As the elevator arrived, Xu headed towards her office. She opened the door and closed it behind her. She sat down at her desk, checked her PDA - nothing. She put it down and sighed. She felt alone, left behind, forgotten about. Like at the party last night - Xavier had just bailed out on her with no explanation at all. She wanted to vent her frustrations but she couldn't. All she had to do was wait till 15:00 for the briefing and act on what information she got there. She sighed again and turned on her work station, she decided to check the news cables to see what was going on. Surely there was big news which could distract her from her current problems. Little did she know, there was - there was civil unrest in Deiling city, martial law was on the brink of being declared amongst the riots left in the wake of the Galbadian actions during what people called "The second sorceress war" of the modern era. Xu wondered why Squall was so adamant on not telling her anything until the afternoon, and the more news reports she had read, the more she realised why - Galbadia was a den of vipers, depending on who got control of the city would dictate the future of the world.

_"Shit is going to hit the fan"_

**=14:50 - Briefing room, Balamb Garden=**

_"Attention - All Senior SeeD and Administrative staff, please report to the briefing room. All Senior SeeD and Administrative staff, please report to the briefing room. Thank You"_

Xu stood on the stage, making sure the podium was correctly configured. She knew there would be big news today from both Squall and Cid. She expected there would be a brief mention of Timber and about the future of Garden now the sorceress threat seemed to be eliminated to the view of most people. She stood at the podium and started to direct people to their seats from the stage. The senior administration sat in the front row, along with Zell, Selphie, Irvine, Rinoa, Nida and an empty space left for her. The SeeDs followed suit by rank order, with the lower ranks at the back of the room. Once everyone was settled in, Squall and Cid, accompanied by Edea appeared at the side of the stage. Edea stayed out of view, behind the curtain but some already knew she was there. She was not part of the garden staff, but some people treated her like she was due to her wisdom. She knew there was ill will harboured against her due to her role in the crisis they had all helped to avert, but many accepted it was not her fault at all. Squall walked towards Xu, he stood to the left of her as she took to the podium. Cid walked behind her and stood to her right hand side. She exchanged an icy glance with Squall which was only noticed by those who had learned to read both her and Squall (Quistis). She tapped the microphone to ensure it was on before she spoke. The room descended into silence as her soft, yet authoritative voice rang out over the speakers.

**Xu:** "Welcome, today brings us an important announcement from both Headmaster Cid Kramer and Commander Squall Leonhart. Please rise for the first address from our headmaster, Cid Kramer"

Xu stepped away from the podium and moved to the right, occupying the spot where Cid had stood. She stood rigid, scanning the room to make sure everyone had rose. She then looked to Squall who nodded. The pair of them made the SeeD salute which prompted all the administrative staff who were not SeeD (along with Rinoa and Irvine) to bow respectfully whilst the SeeDs saluted.

**Cid:** "Thank you, and please, be seated."

Everyone sat down, the rumble of chairs shuffling as everyone got comfortable again subsided fairly quickly. Unlike when making an address to the Cadets, the SeeDs were a lot more efficient at letting the show go on the road.

**Cid:** "A lot has happened over the past few months. Some of these events, like life, have been both good and bad. We have gained new allies, new leaders and rediscovered our original purpose, but in order for the good to happen, we have had to take the bad with it - new enemies, new threats, losing old friends. We have shared in this experience like the family we are, we have shared these experiences like the unit of soldiers that we are, and we have shared these experiences like the friends we are. What I am trying to say is this _**(pauses)**_... We have to use these experiences and what we have gained from them in order to face our greatest challenge yet - moving forward into the unknown."

Cid re-adjusted his glasses and then pulled a piece of paper from his shirt pocket. He unfolded it and set it down on the podium.

**Cid:** "I have a series of announcements to make regarding Garden and our future. Please bear with me as I unfortunately have a lot to say."

There was a brief laugh amongst the audience. Cid was known for long winded speeches. Xu suppressed the urge to roll her eyes but as she caught the stare of Quistis, she let a faint smile cross her lips. She couldn't resist Quistis, she knew her too well.

**Cid:** "Firstly, I must address the garden master problem. As many of you know, NORG was our old master, he pulled the financial strings here and occasionally dabbled with the missions as he saw fit. NORG was an excellent businessman, but he was also a cruel and uncaring man who nearly tore this family apart. I offer an olive branch out to anyone who still sympathises with NORG, you are not the enemy, you never were, but please remember, Garden is our home. Do not make our home unbearable. If you are dissatisfied, please book an appointment to see me, we can air out our differences, or you may leave. The choice is yours."

There were a few nervous glances around the room, more than Xu had expected to see. She made a mental note of each person who seemed uncomfortable and planned to look into them herself. Their actions and allegiances' had almost gotten them all killed and she was one who didn't like the idea of letting something lie.

**Cid:** "Because of this, I am stepping down as Headmaster of Garden and assuming the mantle of Garden Master. From now on, we will embrace our original purpose - to stand tall in the face of evil, to defeat any sorceress who poses an immediate threat to our existence, but we will also adopt a new role - one where we are there to assist and help. SeeD have always been impartial, and we always will be. We may have alliances of strategic value, like Dollet and Balamb, or ones through family connections like Esthar and future ones, like Timber. We will always honour our allies as long as they remember our neutrality. We will be a force for good and show more discretion with our clients than we may have done in the past. With my network of clients, we can build a better future."

There was a rousing applause from the audience.

**Cid:** "The headmaster role will now be a purely academical one - Instructor Garland Aki, please come to the stage."

Instructor Aki was an older man, roughly the same age as Cid. He had short hair and a thick moustache which covered his top lip. He was a strict man; he did not hesitate to scold students for the slightest breaches of the rules. He stood in front of the podium where Cid stood. Xu walked to the right of the stage and picked up the ceremonial gunblade Cid kept in his office. She handed it to him. Cid lifted it up to his face like he was saluting the instructor who knelt down in front of him. Cid lowered the sword down and tapped him on the top of his head.

**Cid:** "I declare you, Headmaster Garland Aki. Please guide our students and SeeDs in their pursuit of knowledge. Your role will be to focus solely on their pursuit of knowledge. Help them develop to the best of their individual abilities so we, as a whole become stronger"

Headmaster Aki stood up. He bowed to Cid as the audience applauded him. Aki then turned to the crowd and bowed to another round of applause. He left the stage and returned to his seat.

**Cid:** "Headmaster Aki will be responsible now for the education programme and day to day affairs. He will play no part in the military side of this operation unless required."

Cid re-adjusted his glasses again.

**Cid:** "Would SeeDs Nida Liang, Quistis Trepe and Xu please come to the stage."

Xu looked confused as Quistis and Nida joined her on stage. They all formed a line in front of the podium and saluted the headmaster. He signalled to them to stand down which they did. The three exchanged a nervous glance as the headmaster spoke.

**Cid:** "Nida, you have been one of our most valuable assets. You have stood firm in battle alongside your comrades and been there when needed. People might not notice you, or understand what you contribute to Garden, but today, that ends. Nida Liang, I declare you head of engineering for Balamb Garden. You will be responsible for our safety as well as our transportation. You will be given your own unit of engineers and pilots to train and command. In battle, you will be our eyes; you will guide us to victory and assist us with your military genius. Nida Liang, please salute your peers."

Nida's face beamed with pride as everyone stood up. He turned to face them and saluted them. His eyes scanned across the room. Everyone was cheering for him, shouting his name. He felt embarrassed when Cid pointed out how unobvious he was, but his determination to succeed was noted and his contribution was vital. Xu looked at Quistis who was slightly overcome by this. Nida left the stage and returned to his seat, along the way, headmaster Aki shook his hand.

**Cid:** "Quistis Trepe, you were an excellent instructor who had her name stained by the vanity of NORG. You were never a failed instructor because you were too good for that role. Your heroics in battle and the ability to keep your cool and control in the most heated of battles, to control your emotions and act accordingly, to guide others in their times of need. Quistis, I declare you Lieutenant Commander of Balamb Garden. You will be the right hand of our military. You will work alongside Commander Squall in all military matters, and Headmaster Aki to help sort the military aspect of their education. Quistis, please salute your peers."

Quistis kept her cool as she turned round. Everyone let out a cheer and an applause as she left the stage in the same way Nida did. As she passed Xu, she looked at her. Xu smiled and mouthed 'Congratulations!' Xu then turned her attention to Cid who now looked at her.

**Cid:** "Xu. To many here in Garden, you are a mystery... but we all knew you as my right hand when I was headmaster. Today, that role is no more. You will still assist in the administration of Garden as you quite frankly are the best inventory specialist I have ever met, but you're skills in combat are worthy of more recognition than what they actually get. Xu, I declare you Lieutenant Commander of Garden. You too will assist in combat, but you will also assist in the running of Garden on a day to day basis, ensuring we have everything we need at our disposal. I also add that because of your expertise in special operations and matters which require covert approaches, I name you to Commander of the special ops force in Balamb Garden. You will have command of your own hand-picked unit for missions which are beyond the scope of any normal SeeD operations. Commander Squall will assist you when needed but you will be responsible for your own team. Xu, please turn and face your peers and salute them."

Xu couldn't believe it - a commission and her own command post. She looked to Squall first who briefly smiled before she turned around again to face the room. She was beaming with pride. She looked at the faces in the crowd, already looking for who could play a role in her unit, but the one she wanted the most in her unit was nowhere to be seen. She saluted the crowd and then took a step back as the garden master spoke one last time.

**Cid:** "Regarding our future, Myself and Lt. Commander Trepe will head to Galbadia Garden to offer them an invitation - any students who wish to join us, may do so, but they swear their allegiance to Garden and Garden alone. Galbadia Garden is no longer part of the Garden system after our visit. It is too involved in the Galbadian military to be truly independent and objective now. _**(Pauses)**_ We will also be sending regular shipments to Trabia Garden now, consisting of aid and man power to help with the reconstruction. Any SeeD who wishes to become an instructor or a member of my faculty must complete two 3 month tours of Trabia garden by the end of next academic year or they cannot be considered. I now hand you over to our commander."

Cid saluted the crowd and then gave them another round of applause before he stepped to the left. Squall took his place.

**Squall:** "Thank You master Kramer. [Pauses] In two days time, Garden will return to normal activities now. We will begin accepting missions once again and will carry out missions which were initially suspended due to the threat of the sorceress. All SeeDs who were on active missions should notify their commanding officers who will then sort a briefing for you with me, headmaster Aki and Master Kramer."

Squall looked at Rinoa, Zell and Selphie briefly before he glanced at Xu.

**Squall:** "Please remain vigilant. We are entering a new era which will present us with new challenges, challenges we must face head on no matter how dangerous or daunting they may appear. Together we are stronger than anyone, and with our unity we can overcome anything. Let our solidarity and skills lead us into a new world. Dismissed"

As the room emptied in an orderly fashion, Xu stayed on the stage, she was looking for someone but she couldn't find them. She felt saddened by this. Her friends were there to witness her moment of glory, but the one person she wanted to witness it wasn't there to do so. She turned round to talk to the headmaster, but as she drew closer she overheard part of the conversation he was having with Squall:

**Cid:** "My office later. We can discuss this there. _**[He looks over Squall's shoulder and catches Xu**_] This could be an issue for our new unit to handle"

Xu backed away quickly, she didn't want to pry on private conversations, but the mention of her unit had piqued her interest to dangerous levels. Seeing the new garden master looking at her with a disproving expression on his face, Xu left the room and headed towards her office. She was briefly stopped by some of the SeeDs who seemed to congratulate her for the promotion, but she knew they were actually trying to get into her good books so they could be considered for her unit. Xu simply shrugged them off and escaped down the hall. As she reached her office, she noticed it was already unlocked. Only three other people beside her had the key to her office - Quistis, Cid and Xavier. She cautiously opened the door and looked in - her office chair was facing the window. Xu shut the door behind her and waited for the chair to turn round. It was Xavier.

**Xu:** "You missed the briefing"

Xavier stood up. He walked towards the edge of the desk and sat down on it. In his usual nonchalant manner he reeled off his own version of what happened

**Xavier:** "Cid become NORG, Aki become Cid, Squall was stone faced, Nida got recognised, Quistis got a better job and you got recognition for your work, got a new title and also got your own private unit?"

**Xu:** "You were there then?"

Xavier shrugged his shoulders; he reached into his pocket and pulled out his PDA. He looked at it, clicked a button and then his entire disposition seemed to change.

**Xavier:** "I was at the back, snuck out after you got promoted and came here. We needed to talk and I knew you'd come here straight away"

Xu looked at him, trying to understand why his tone of voice and his body language seemed more defensive than normal.

**Xavier:** "I want to apologise, I bailed last night and I shouldn't have. You needed someone there who wasn't them to help you... Someone who understood what you were going through. It should have been me, but I couldn't do it. When I spoke to Dian before our session yesterday morning, I realised something... I want to live."

**Xu:** "Then live. It's not hard to do; you are doing it right now"

**Xavier:** "I'm leaving SeeD. I'm twenty three now, going on twenty four, I want to make it to twenty five and as a SeeD, I can't see that happening anytime soon. I've just accepted one last job then. Cid just confirmed it with me. After that, I'm out the door."

Xu just stood there, stunned into silence. Xavier was her closest friend in Garden. He was the only person who fully understood her. Her stomach felt like it was tied up in knots. Her hands started to twitch and she felt the colour drain from her already pale face. She didn't know where to look. She just gazed aimlessly at the window. It was like she had been hit with Doomtrain, every negative emotion and response she could have all crashed down on her at once. As Xu tried to take this in, Xavier got up, he walked right past her, stopping inches behind her, keeping his back turned.

**Xavier:** "I leave in the morning. I'll be in the secret area after midnight. If you come, don't try to talk me out of going. If you plan to talk me out of it, don't bother turning up, you'll be wasting your time."

Xavier walked out the room. He didn't look back once. As the door closed behind him, Xu suddenly realised what had happened. All at once, everything came crashing down around her. Her legs gave way as she dropped to her knees in disbelief. Tears flowed freely down her face as she just let everything out which had built up inside her. It was hard enough having to deal with the ghost of Dian recently, but Xavier leaving her too... She just couldn't understand. Xu held her hands up to her face and sobbed. She had been hurt before, physically and emotionally, but never like this. It felt like someone had died. The grief she felt was too much for her to handle. She usually handled death in a dignified manner; she kept composed and logically worked things out, like she did with the death of Dian many years ago. This though, someone leaving her life like this, it was alien to her. She wanted to call Quistis, but she couldn't. Quistis was having a rough time recently due to losing her instructors license, and now she had just been promoted to joint second in command of gardens military and education. This was what she had worked for and she had finally got what she deserved so much. She also knew Quistis was full of doubts and often second guessed every decision she made. This behaviour was often contagious and if Xu started thinking it was her fault Xavier was leaving, it would never end, she would end up in a spiral of misplaced blame, guilt and self loathing. She picked herself up and steadied herself before walking to her desk. She opened her draw, pulled out a tissue and dried her eyes before she pulled out a pack of cigarettes. She opened the window, stepped onto her balcony and lit up. As she stood there looking over the Quad and the scenery around Garden, her door opened. Squall walked in, clutching a file in his hands. He threw it down on the desk and spoke.

**Squall:** "Xavier just came by didn't he?"

Xu turned around. She took another drag of her cigarette before putting it out to have later. She stormed into her room and looked Squall in the eyes. Her pale face was stained with tears and her eyes were bright red. She looked a mess, but she was running on anger and sorrow right now.

**Xu:** "What gave it away Commander? Your observational skills are second to none!"

Squall shrugged the attempted insult off.

**Squall:** "I don't care how you deal with this situation Xu. It is none of my concern."

Xu looked at him. He was such a heartless bastard at times; it made her wonder what Rinoa actually saw in him.

**Xu:** "Then why are you here?"

**Squall:** "Look, I'm not good at this ok... I need you to deal with this however you can, just make sure that your head is in the right place when I'm gone. You and Quistis will be running the show here, and I need you to be at the top of your game. You can't be like a timid cub; you have to be the fearless fox we all know you are."

Xu was confused; Squall had actually shown some compassion.

**Squall:** "I've left something on your desk. Protect it, because it shouldn't actually exist in physical form."

**Xu:** "Go on..."

Squall: "Xavier is leaving SeeD, that much is true. Cid has authorised one last mission for him. It is not a requested one, but one more about ensuring the survival of Garden. It doesn't exist on paper and it never will apart from what you have in your hands there. Xavier will no longer exist once he leaves garden also. There will be no records of him ever attending this school"

**Xu:** "Black ops?"

**Squall:** "I am letting you know because this does technically fall under your domain now. It is a highly sensitive mission which requires the ultimate sacrifice - cutting ties with everyone and everything. Xavier willingly volunteered for it. After tomorrow, he will only exist to a select few but if he fails in his mission, he will cease to exist and we will deny ALL knowledge of him."

Xu's heart raced. This explained his attitude and behaviour earlier.

**Squall:** "Even though it is under your domain, this is a mission from the Garden Master; it cannot be withdrawn or substituted. The only thing you can do is co-ordinate support as and where it is required. All communications will only happen through Cid and no messages will be relayed to him from anyone else. If he dies, there will be no plaque on the wall; there will be no memorial, no parade. There will be nothing. I know you are troubled right now Xu, but its best I tell you this now before he leaves. Once he sets foot outside Garden, he is gone and he won't be coming back. If you have any unfinished business, I suggest you attend to it before 08:00. He will leave on Cid and Quistis' transport and then from there, he will be off the grid forever."

Squall stopped talking. He carefully watched Xu as she processed all the information. He could relate to her right now, they were both emotionally distant from others and fairly self reliant, though Xu did have some close friends and was also very sociable at times. He looked at her, watching her wipe a tear away before she reached for the file. She looked at its generic beige appearance and clutched it tightly in her hands.

**Squall:** "Carpe Diem Xu. I trust you understand?"

Xu saluted Squall and watched him leave the room. The past ten minutes had greatly changed her perception of Squall. No longer was he the arrogant loner who was stubborn and cold to others. He had matured since he was given the burden of leadership and expectation. He had learned to empathise and communicate his feelings better thanks to Rinoa. He was still cold, but he did have a human side. He had shown it to her before, and he made her feel better about the situation. Xu reached for her cigarette and lit it again. She took a pull as she opened the file and read through it.

**Xu:** "Comforted by Squall, who'd have thought it".

**==Training Center, Balamb Garden, 23:45==**

Xu stood alone in the secret area. She was clad in her battle gear instead of civilian clothes or training gear. It was a traditional Ninja gi which was made from a special adaminte weave. It was stronger than carbon fibre weave and kevlar which gave it increased ballistic resistances and better protection against stabbing, but with enough force, a high calibre round or a round from short distance could still pierce it and cause damage. It was jet black with charcoal grey arm guards and leg guards. She didn't wear the mask, instead she left her face exposed and had her hair tied up into a top knot style ponytail with two golden hairpins through the tail near the bobble. These were sharpened spikes which were designed to look like ornaments but were actually hidden weapons. Underneath her left armguard was a control panel for her secret weapon - Estharian Optical Camouflage. She had acquired some of this technology when Estharian scientists visited Garden during the preparation for the raid on the Lunatic Pandora. They helped integrate it into her gi and explained to her how it was used. She could engage it when needed so she could enjoy almost total invisibility to the naked eye, but it would not help her against advanced optical sensors or other sensors like motion, temperature and sound. The optical camo would also disengage under strong magic fields, so she couldn't wear it when under full junction capacity or headed into heavy combat where magic would be used. Her right armguard housed a holo-projecting map of her local surroundings, it could be rotated and points of interest marked for her to see. It was satellite controlled and it refreshed every 15 seconds. It only shown geographical features and any tracking tags planted though, it couldn't show troop positions or where people were stood. She had all her weapons on her - Her family heirloom, the Yagyu Darkblade was across her back, and at the small of her back was the wakazashi, Kitsune. Her Tanto was in her lapel and her combat knife was in the holster in her left leg guard. Her Sai's were threaded through her belt at either side, and her grappling hook was looped around her neck and left shoulder, like a sash with the chain-scythe looped around her waist. She stood there, leaning on the railing, overlooking the training centre with the moon and floodlights providing an eerie backdrop. Her mind flashed back to the moments after Squall had left her office. She kept going over what she saw in the mission file he had left her.

_"__**NAME:**__ CORAL, XAVIER._

_**SeeD RANK:**__ 26_

_**WEAPON:**__ KATANA_

_**BACK-UP WEAPON: **__WAKAZASHI_

_**GF:**__ IFRIT_

_**SPECIALIZATION:**__ INFILTRATION, ASSASINATION, GUERILLA WARFARE_

_**MISSION DETAILS:**_

_ Infiltrate Deiling City - meet with resistance movement against military control. Co-operate with local groups to maximise political turmoil and disruption to state._

_ Ensure Military is more focused on Deiling than surrounding states [Timber, Winhill]_

_ Lethal Force usage authorised. No limits, open play_

_ General Caraway is prohibited target - must not engage, protect if necessary. Vital to future plans involving parallel operation in Timber - potential to negotiate with more likely_

_**SUB MISSION:**_

_ Locate and eliminate all familial ties to deceased president Vinzer Deiling. Ensure any would be successors to his legacy are removed before they can take power in the current vacuum."_

The more she thought about the mission, the angrier she became. It was a one-way mission. There was no retirement after this; the only way Xavier was getting out of this mission was by dying. It was a suicide mission, something SeeD very rarely ordered, and for good reason. SeeDs were trained to face death in every situation, to embrace it, not to fear it. A suicide mission though was a psychological mission along with a physical one. The operative had to be completely at ease with himself knowing he would not be returning. At first she wanted to blame Squall for it. She felt that sending one person to light a fire in Deiling to allow the Timber mission to progress easier was selfish, but then she realised that this mission was always on the cards. SeeD tried to stay out of politics, but if someone like Deiling came along, it would be in the world's best interests that he was dealt with swiftly. She then redirected her anger towards Xavier himself. His line about wanting to live to see twenty five was pointless if he was taking a mission on like this. Why had he lied to her? To make himself feel better? To give him a way out? She stood there, alone in the secret area, waiting for him. She arrived early like she always did so she could compose herself. He had wounded her in her office when he caught her off guard; she wasn't going to make the same mistake twice. Thanks to Squalls act of compassion, she was prepared for this tonight. She thought she knew what to say. She thought she knew how she was going to act. She was wrong.

She lit a cigarette and took a pull on it. As she blew a ring in the smoke, she wished midnight would hurry up so she could see him one last time. The closer it got to the hour, the more she began to doubt herself again. What would she say? Would she try to convince him otherwise? Should she just bail out and hide in her room? Should she take his place - incapacitate him and head for Deiling in the dead of night?

She had too many questions and only one person could give her the answers she needed. She wished she could change his mind, but one of Xavier's qualities was his steely determination and immovable resolve. Once he committed to something, he saw it through. She took another drag of her cigarette and tried to clear her mind of any doubts or weaknesses she had. Squall had told her "Carpe Diem" before he left her office; it's what she planned to do. As she relaxed a little bit and took another drag of her cigarette, she heard footsteps behind her. She didn't need to turn round; a glance at her wrist told her it was midnight so it could have only been one person.

Xavier.


	4. 4 - Carpe Diem

Xavier's footsteps disturbed the stillness of the night in the training center. Xu had been there for fifteen minutes already trying to prepare for it both physically and mentally. Being fully armed and dressed in her combat gear sent out a statement - she was a warrior, a killing machine, trained to deal with anything and capable of taking everything head on. She also felt secure wearing it, even though it would not protect her against emotional damage, it reassured her. It was a constant reminder of who she was, what her legacy was and what she was capable of. Surely the last surviving member of the legendary Hitsaguya clan could handle a one on one meeting with a friend who was leaving her for good?

She didn't turn round to greet him however, she stayed looking over the balcony, leaning on the rail and smoking her cigarette. His footsteps drew closer as he approached her. Seeing her back was turned he knew not to try and speak to her, instead he walked up alongside her and turned round, facing the door, leaning with his arms folded across his chest and his back against the railing. He too was clad in his battle gear, it was a dark purple set of behemoth hide covered pants and an adamantine-weave dragon skin top. His hair was covered by a red bandana and his sword, 'Dian' was at his waist. He didn't look at Xu initially, he simply stood there and assessed the situation, the silence which greeted him was deserved in her mind and he knew he couldn't say anything different to change that view. He respected her wishes and silently stood next to her, just waiting for the right moment to speak. He started to think about what she was going to ask him, how he would answer her, what would happen. It was a delicate situation and one wrong move, one wrong word, the wrong tone of voice; anything could set of an explosive reaction which would hurt them both. He was distracted when her hand appeared in front of him, holding a cigarette. He nodded before taking it from her and placing it between his lips. He pulled his lighter out and lit the cigarette. He took his first pull and slowly exhaled the smoke seconds later. As he did this, Xu broke the silence but avoided looking at him.

**Xu**: "Why would you tell me you wanted to live to see twenty-five and then sign up for a suicide mission?"

Xavier turned to look at Xu as she spoke. He could see tears in her eyes and dripping down her cheeks. The colour in her usually pale face had drained even more. He hated himself for what he was doing to her right now. He turned away from her and spoke. His voice was flat and neutral; there was no sorrow, regret or remorse in it. It was the same tone he used when he discussed work.

**Xavier**: "I didn't want to hurt you."

Xu didn't look at him as he spoke. She closed her eyes and bit the inside of her bottom lip. She knew she had shown her hand already by silently crying as he stood by her but she couldn't look at him and lose what little composure she had left.

**Xu**: "Why did you leave it to Squall then? You couldn't do it so you let that cold bastard do it? Have the Commander tell me my best friend is signing up for a one way mission in that straight to the point heartless tone of voice he uses?"

Xavier shook his head and looked up at the night sky. He clenched his fists tightly and bit his bottom lip as he tried to remind himself he had to remain neutral in all forms of communication with Xu or she would find a weakness and expose it.

**Xavier**: "I made a promise a long time ago to Dian. I promised him I wouldn't let anyone hurt you, that I wouldn't hurt you... I broke that promise and there is no way I can redeem myself after that"

Just mentioning Dian's name pulled at Xu's insides. She could feel her insides knotting up, twisting, and making her more uncomfortable than she already was. She held back the majority of her tears but some still kept coming through, slowly rolling down her face. She bit her bottom lip hard enough to taste a faint taste of blood. She shook her head and finally turned her head. She looked up at him, his face avoided her gaze.

**Xu**: "Why? Why volunteer for this?"

This was the question Xavier was dreading. He had his reasons, he didn't want to tell her them though. He took a deep breath as he tried to think of an answer. He knew he couldn't look her in the eyes because he would have to tell her the real reason behind his choice and he couldn't do that. It would hurt them both. Instead he hoped he could hold his nerve just a little while longer. He closed his eyes, slowly breathed out and kept his eyes fixed on the door

**Xavier**: "Honestly, I don't know why I volunteered to do this. I just felt compelled to. I just feel, believe that this is something I have to do"

Xu didn't speak. She turned away from him and let her head drop forwards into her arms. She hid her face as she silently cried; letting the tears she had tried to hold back freely flow. Xavier shook his head and bit his lip. He could feel the tears forming in his eyes and he could feel the pain in his chest as he lied to her. He hated deceiving Xu, but it was the only way he could do this. He let her get it out of her system, he didn't want to touch her, get closer than he already was. He was somehow holding his nerve, but it was getting trickier to keep the facade up as the minutes passed.

**Xavier**: "I wasn't going to turn up tonight you know.

**Xu**: "Why did you tell me to come then?"

**Xavier**: "I was hoping you intended to try and make me change my mind, that you were going to try and talk me out of this decision."

Xu lifted her head as he spoke. She wiped her face on her sleeve and turned to face him for the first time properly. She took a deep breath as he spoke, taking in every single word, analysing his tone of voice, looking for any physical signs which might have shown weakness, something she could work on to get more information out of but there was nothing. If he was lying or holding something back, he was doing a damn good job of it.

**Xu**: "Did you want me to try and change your mind? To talk you out of it?"

Xavier turned to face her. They were both stood away from the railing now and actually looking at each other. They avoided making direct eye contact though; each one of them focused their eyes on each other's mouths and hands, trying to spot the non verbal communication as well.

**Xavier**: "I hoped you would have tried it despite my warning. It would have made my leaving easier."

Xu couldn't believe it. She had wanted honesty and now she was getting it, she didn't know how to take it. She felt empty inside, like a shell of who she really was. Out of every battle and challenge she had faced, this was her hardest one.

**Xu**: "Is that because you wanted to get angry, storm off and make me hate you so you could leave guilt free?"

Xavier sighed as he unfolded his arms. Xu noticed the change in his posture and positioning and saw he was leaving himself wide open with this gesture and laying all his cards out on the table.

**Xavier**: "That was my initial plan and the scenario I was hoping for..."

Xu didn't even wait to process this last sentence. The moment she heard "plan" she finally shown another emotion - anger. Without any warning or change in her stance, her right arm flew towards him, her hand open and fingers fully extended and she slapped him across the left side of his face. Xavier staggered back from the impact. His face felt red raw where her hand had connected and his mouth tastes strange. He spat on the floor and noticed the red tint to the saliva. She connected well and had managed to draw blood with the blow. He put his right hand across the slap mark and opened and shut his mouth several times, checking to see if she had done any other damage to him. After shaking his head and taking a few sharp breaths he looked at her, this time he looked her in the eyes for the first time before looking at the rest of her. She was shaking with anger, he was ready to hit him again and again and he knew that she would hit him harder if given another reason to.

**Xavier**: "I deserved that"

Xu looked at him, she was shaking and angry but she couldn't hit him again, she wanted to so much but she had to hold herself back, she needed to speak to him still, just to get this night over with.

**Xu**: "When do you leave?"

**Xavier**: "08:00 hours, Quistis and Cid are flying to Galbadia Garden to issue their statement and to offer the invite of any G-students to join us. I will depart at Garden and head to meet my contacts and start my mission then whilst Cid remains at G-Garden since Quistis has to bring the Ragnarok back for the Timber mission on Monday morning"

Xu nodded. She reached for her belt and removed the flask from it. She held it tightly in her hands and unscrewed the lid. She paused for a second, losing herself to her thoughts before she slowly raised the flask to her lips. She took a long drink from it before she stopped. She cringed as the liquid went down and closed her eyes before she opened them again and passed the flask to Xavier. He simply lifted it to his lips and took a drink from it without even reacting. He wiped his mouth and passed her it back. Xu coughed and then took another long drink from it. The first one made her throat burn and her eyes water, the second one numbed her. Like with many things, the first one always hurts, the second one was always easier to take.

**Xavier**: "You never could do stiff drinks like that well."

Xu tried not to react to the words he spoke. She knew they were a veiled attempt at creating a small bond with her, trying to divert her anger and sorrow with a fact which would provoke memories which would make her smile and make her feel happier in the current situation. The more she tried to fight the urge, the harder it became to resist smiling. A faint smile briefly appeared on her face before she quickly hid it. She passed the flask back to Xavier and as he took it, she took out another cigarette from her packet. Xu brought the cigarette to her lips. As she placed it between them, she saw Xavier watching her as he took another drink. It made her feel nervous for some reason. It never usually did, she had known him for at least ten years, she was used to him watching her, looking at her, but this time, it was getting to her. She tried to keep her cool but she couldn't. Her hands shook as she pulled out her lighter and she started to get frustrated with it as she fumbled about, trying to get a spark out of it. In a sign of defeat and anger, she threw her lighter on the floor and shook her head. She wanted to cry again, but she felt she had no more tears left to shed. As she started to take the cigarette from her mouth, a flickering flame in front of her caught her attention. Xavier's lighter was lit in front of her. She grabbed his wrist to steady it and she lit her cigarette from it. As she inhaled, she thought about how she must have looked. She had lost any composure she had started this meeting with, she was a complete mess. As she exhaled, she looked over to Xavier who had now turned to face the doorway.

**Xu**: "If you walk out that door now, will I ever get the chance to see you again?"

Xavier shook his head. He took another sip from the flask and handed it back to Xu who did the same.

**Xu**: "Thought it would be like that _**[sighs]**_. Would you like me to come see you off?"

**Xavier**: "No. It would be too difficult for the both of us, and besides, you wouldn't be able to do it and neither would I"

Xu had to concede that point to him. She was a mess now and he was standing there with her. If she stood there watching him walk onto the Ragnarok, knowing he would never return she would lose any composure she had and everyone would find out just how much of a human side she had. A side she tried to hide from most, if not all of Garden. Few people had ever saw Xu in a weak state like this. The only thing Xu felt she could do right now was to simply stand there, in the secret area on the balcony with him. Time seemed to stand still as they stood back in the awkward silence which started their meeting. It was almost 01:00, an hour of tense stand offs, awkward silences and questions which only yielded vague responses had led them to this point. It was make or break now. If he chose to walk out the door, she would never see him again, if she wanted to spend that bit longer with him, she would have to do something or say something. Eventually she decided on the one thing she knew they could both agree on - the hip flask. She unscrewed the lid one last time and held it out to him.

**Xu**: "One last drink then?"

Xavier hesitated. He half reached for the flask, but he caught sight of her again and couldn't bring himself to take it. He had hoped the night would have ended half an hour ago when she slapped him. He hoped she would have hit him and just ordered him to leave. Instead she kept trying to talk to him, to just keep him in her life a little bit longer. As he held his hand half out to take the flask her voice snapped him to his senses.

**Xu**: "Don't think. Drink. Since you said you won't be back and I won't see you again, you owe me one last drink. You owe _**US**_ one last drink."

Xu gestured with her other hand towards the memorial to Dian on the pillar behind them. Xavier nodded and took the flask. He took a large drink from it, wiped his mouth and then handed it back to Xu who finished its contents off. She shook her head and sighed before stepping towards him. She turned her head side on as she leaned against his chest. She closed her eyes as the tears started to flow again and she grabbed hold of him tightly. If this was going to be the last moment they shared, she was going to hold on to it as long as she possibly could. Xavier could hear the muffled sobs, he instinctively reached up and cradled her head in one of his hands and held her body in his other arm, pulling her close, keeping her there. He tried to control his breathing, to seem more composed to her so it would help calm her but inside; he was just as much of a mess as she was. Eventually Xu pulled away from him. She avoided looking at him as she turned to the railing and leaned against it. Xavier watched her do this and nodded to himself. He knew he had to leave now, it would be the only chance he could do it without hurting her more than he already had. Taking her turning her back on him as his visible cue, he turned around to face the door and started to walk away. He must have only got two or three foot away from her when her voice caught his attention.

**Xu**: "You can't leave yet. You still haven't told me why"

Xavier stopped in his tracks. He took a deep breath and then turned around. Xu was stood there, facing him. Her face was almost white, her eyes red and watery. Tears ran down her face and the streaks they left stained her delicate skin but what stood out was the flatness of her voice when she spoke and the lack of any expression on her face. It was like something inside her had changed her personality completely. Was this Megitsune, her guardian force protecting her from harm or was this Xu suddenly finding her resolve and asking one last time, trying to give herself piece of mind? His green eyes met her dark brown eyes as he took a deep breath.

**Xavier**: "I can't explain. I just feel like I have to do this Xu. I just feel compelled to do it"

Xu shook her head; she mouthed the word "Bullshit" at him.

**Xavier**: "People do things for reasons we don't know or can't explain Xu. Not everything is a conscious decision, thought out, deliberated or pre-planned. Some things just happen because they can. Why did you come tonight Xu? What motivated you? I can tell you didn't want to come... so why?"

**Xu**: "I came for you"

Xu's defiant answer, full of confidence and certainty shocked Xavier. He started to feel like he was losing his composure. It seemed like Xu had absorbed everything he had thrown at her, handled it and was now returning it to him.

**Xu**: "I came because of you. I came because you told me to come. I came because I needed to see you before you go."

Xavier stepped forwards towards the expressionless Xu. He instinctively reached out to her, holding out his hand to her like he was trying to comfort her. Xu didn't even think about what happened next. She snatched at his hand with a firm grasp and pulled him off balance. As he stumbled forwards, she used his momentum against him - twisting and turning on his arm to pull him further in before violently jerking on it. The sudden motion caused his body to leave the floor and fly over her and land down, back first on the metal floor. The wrist-whip had caught him completely off guard and before he could even react, Xu climbed on top of him. She pinned him down and restrained his arms and looked him in the eyes. Xavier tried to avoid her gaze but he couldn't - there was a fire burning brightly in those deep brown eyes and it was getting brighter and stronger every second.

**Xavier**: "Xu, get off me, I have to go"

Xavier struggled underneath her but Xu simply ignored his pleas and movements. Xu released one of his arms and grabbed him by the neck of his armor. She clenched it tightly in her hand and dragged his head towards hers. She looked into his eyes again as their faces were merely inches apart. She breathed slowly and heavily as their gaze lingered, their eyes locked on each others.

**Xu**: "One last time. Tell me why?"

Xavier didn't answer. He wanted to shut her eyes but he couldn't. Her gaze was too strong for him. He turned his head away but her other hand released his other arm and grabbed him by the back of the head. She forcibly turned his head to face her. She wasn't going to let him go until she got the answer she wanted. Xavier closed his eyes this time; he tried to think of a way to tell her without telling her the truth behind why he chose to undertake this secret mission. As he thought of what to say, he took a deep breath, breathed out slowly and opened his eyes. He looked her directly in the eyes and tried to speak, but he couldn't say anything, the words wouldn't come out. He just opened his mouth to speak and there was nothing.

Without warning, Xu lunged forwards. She held the back of his head firmly in her hand still so he couldn't move and forced her lips against his lips. She closed her eyes and slid her tongue into his open mouth. Her other hand let go of his shirt and instead rested firmly against his chest. She felt his arms reach for her sides and they slowly made their way up her thighs, over her hips and up the side of her body, slowly feeling each curve before they looped round to her back where he dug his hands in and held her against him tightly. They were both locked together in passion, something both of them had wanted for many years but it was only now that they had realized it and fate had forced their hand. Time passed them by as they held onto each other on the floor of the secret area, locked in a kiss which had been years in the making. Eventually they broke away from each other, slowly at first, savouring the taste of each other. They opened their eyes and looked into them once more before she started to let go of him. Neither of them said anything, they simply stayed there silently processing what had happened. Xu pulled herself off Xavier and got to her feet. She held her arm out and Xavier took it as he got up off the floor. They both looked at each other before she broke the silence.

**Xu**: "We still have some time. Stay with me a little while longer"

Xavier nodded. He held her hand tightly as they both walked towards the door of the secret area. Neither of them asked where they were going, they both knew their destination without needing to say anything.

As they reached the door to her quarters Xavier looked at Xu. She seemed more calm and in control than she had been earlier on in the training center. It was like a burden had been lifted from her shoulders, she seemed to stand much taller now. He looked at her, his eyes wandered all over her body. He had wanted her the first time they met, she always was beautiful to him but because of her feelings for Dian and out of respect for their dead friend, he never acted on his emotions. He held her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze as Xu reached for her key card. He used this chance to put himself between her and the door. His plan was to give her one last chance to change her mind, to see if she was sure she was doing what she wanted and not acting due to alcohol or just being caught up in the moment.

**Xavier**: "Xu, are you sure you want to do this? Is this what you really want?"

Xu didn't answer him verbally. She pushed him against the door, pinning him against it with her left hand and with her right she moved her key-card towards the door. She pressed herself up against his body and kissed him on the lips teasingly before moving down to her neck and biting it. As he closed his eyes and took a breath to steady himself, Xu put her key-card back and pulled out a green colored stone. She slipped it into his pocket before she pulled her key-card out again and then swiped it. The flash of the light and the move of her hand had unlocked the door and almost straight away, she pushed him through it. He staggered backwards before stopping himself on her couch. Xu slipped through the door and locked it behind them. She flicked the light on and set it to dim. It was bright enough to see where everything was, but not too bright to be distracting. They both glanced at the clock - "01:45". They had at least five more hours together before he was due to go and she planned to make the most of them. She reached down and undone her belt, she carefully set it aside on an unused chair and removed all her other remaining weaponry, placing it with them. Xavier did the same, placing his on the table in the middle of the room. After making the room slightly safer, they looked at each other. Though they had both done this before with other people, this time felt a little awkward to them both. Xavier smiled as Xu started to remove her battle gear, he did the same. They both stripped down to their under-garments. Xu wore her usual black lycra top and a pair of matching lycra shorts and Xavier wore a tight white muscle vest and tight gym shorts. The pair of them stepped towards each other in the dimly lit room and thought about what was about to happen. Xu hesitated at first, was this really what she wanted? Was she just going to hurt herself more? Was this why Xavier wished she would have talked him out of taking the mission? She felt her resolve starting to break but then she remembered two words which came from a very unlikely source. In her mind she heard the cold voice of Squall say "Carpe Diem" and everything clicked. She wanted to seize the day for all that it was worth. She threw caution to the wind and decided in that moment that after today, after Xavier left her life, she would have no more regrets. She took him by the hand, pulled him close to her and kissed him on the lips once again. His hands this time slid along her lower back before one broke away and worked its way across her stomach, slipping underneath her top. His touch on her skin made the hairs stand up on the back of her neck. She let her hands run down his sides and slowly up his thighs, her nimble fingers probing the inside of his legs. As she broke away from the kiss, she looked at him and smiled. She then pointed to her bedroom door.

It was all a blur as they lay on the bed. Kissing, touching, and feeling. Both of their vest tops were on the floor, their naked torso's pressed against each other. His heavy breathing, her faint moaning. Their arms and legs were wrapped around each other, a tangled mess of passion. They kissed each other as they pressed themselves against each other, neither one wanted to break free from the others grasp. Her nails dug into the skin on his back as she slowly dragged her fingertips down the length of his spine as she lay underneath him. The sensation of her doing this made him bite on her bottom lip, causing her to arch her body towards him, lifting the small of her back off the bed and pressing herself against him. She let her head tip back and she looked up at the ceiling. She had been in control of things now, but she started to lose it. Her breath started to get faster and her breaths shorter as the excitement built up inside her. She surrendered herself completely to him as she felt his hands tugging at her shorts. She lifted herself up and let him slide the rest of her clothes off, leaving her completely naked beneath him. She reached down and pulled his shorts from him before looking him in the eyes. They didn't say anything to each other, but the look they shared seemed to suggest they were asking each other "Are you sure you want to go through with this?" The look lingered as they both thought about it for a moment, but it was quickly turned on its head as Xu grabbed hold of him by the waist and pulled him towards her.

Xavier leaned into her; he placed his head next to hers and kissed her on the neck as she repositioned herself underneath him. She let herself relax as she held onto his lower back tightly and pulled him tightly against her. She felt him touching her and teasing her. She closed her eyes and leaned further back into the bed, she arched her lower back up towards him once more as he pushed up against her again and then she winced. She bit her bottom lip as she felt him inside but any pain was momentary. As she relaxed herself, she felt him moving and the pain turned to pleasure rather quickly. As they moved together, she let go of him, she let her hands fall to the bed and she grasped at the sheets beneath her, pulling them tightly in her hands and leaning her head back. She closed her eyes and started to moan in pleasure, softly at first but as his breathing became more intense and his movement got harder and faster, her moaning got louder and louder. It was very intense for them both as Xu opened her eyes and looked up into Xavier's. It was something they had both longed for over the years and now they finally had it. Time seemed to pass them by as they were moving together, driving the other to please them more and more. Xavier pushed one last time as Xu squealed in pleasure and held him tightly against her. She let her head roll back as he kissed her on the neck. He could feel her body shaking in pleasure as they both lay there, breathing heavily.

They lay in silence after it was over; holding each other's naked bodies in each other's arms. She kissed him softly on the cheek and looked at the clock. It was 02:45. She had at least three, maybe four hours at a push left with him and she didn't want to do anything else in that time other than lie there like that with him. She pulled the sheets over them and rested her head on his chest. She listened to his heartbeat and let her breathing rhythm match his. It was a moment like this which she had craved from her previous liaisons, and none of them had made her feel this way, not since Dian. She knew this moment would come to an end soon, but whilst she could she held onto it as tight as she possibly could. She found herself slowly drifting off to sleep, she made herself comfortable and as she started to lose consciousness she wished she could say the words which were floating around in her head at that moment. She heard something which briefly disturbed her from her sleep. She opened her eyes to see what it was before she closed them again, she then let herself go and mumbled the three words she wished she could have said earlier

**_"I love you"_**

Before dawn broke, Xavier had left Xu's bed and was getting dressed again. It was 04:30, he had half an hour before Xu would usually wake up. He had already got his clothes from her floor and was putting his combat gear back on. He sat on the couch and looked at the picture on her coffee table - it was from the SeeD graduation where Xu, Dian, Quistis and himself had all graduated. He looked at the smile on her face as he had his arm around her on the picture and closed his eyes. He didn't regret what had happened between them earlier on, he had wanted to be with Xu for so long but after Dian had got with her, and then when that fell though he promised himself he wouldn't betray his friend. Even after Dian had died, he couldn't bring himself to ask her to be with him even though he knew Dian would give them his blessing. As he pulled on his combat gear, he felt something in his pocket. He pulled it out - the green stone glistened in the dim light for a second before it melted into his skin. He felt a buzz around his head before a voice spoke to him.

**Carbuncle**: "Hi! My name is Carbuncle. I've been asked by the fox lady to help you and to protect you on your journey. She said to look after you because you are important to her"

Xavier smiled. Xu had gave him her other GF, Carbuncle, the jewelled dragon nymph. He wished he could thank her, but he knew if he stepped in the room behind where she lay sleeping, he would never leave her. He sat down on her couch and took a deep breath. He pulled out a note in his pocket which had been folded over with Xu's name scribbled on the back of it. He placed it down on the table for a moment and looked at it. Shaking his head, he removed the note from the table and put it back in his pocket. He couldn't do that to her, leaving her a note. He looked around her room one last time before he sighed to himself. He stood up, re-adjusted his armor and made sure all his weapons were in place before he stepped away from the couch. He walked back to her door and gently opened it - Xu was still unconscious. He smiled and then closed his eyes before he wiped a single tear from them. He walked towards the door, silently unlocked it and slipped out before shutting the door behind him. As the door clicked to, he stood there, his back against the door and sighed. He closed his eyes again and whispered

_"Goodbye Xu"_

Xavier walked off. Taking a moment to enjoy the surroundings once more. Garden had been his home for most of his life and now that he was leaving it, he begun to appreciate it more and more. His thoughts however were interrupted by a message. He looked at his PDA and Saw Cid's name on the screen. A sense of dread started to fill him. He had made his peace with Xu and his emotions finally, and now he planned to head off on a one way mission. What could the master want? He read the message. It simply said "Ragnarok, 06:00".

**.=.RAGNAROK, 06:00.=.**

Xavier sat in the loading bay where Ragnarok was kept, alone with his thoughts. He wondered had he done the right thing? Was Xu now awake? Was it too late to come off the mission? He knew he would have doubts, but he was strong enough to overcome them. Or so he thought anyway. The moment he was summoned to Ragnarok at six in the morning had started to eat away at his resolve to take this mission. In his hand he held a letter addressed to Xu which he planned to ask the master to deliver to her as a personal favor. He had lied to Xu several times last night, the more he lied, the more he had convinced himself he was doing the right thing, the more he convinced himself what he was saying was right. He closed his eyes and held onto his sword with both hands. He took several deep breaths as he tried to compose himself and with each one he started to falter in his resolve. He opened his eyes as he heard the sound of footsteps - Garden master Cid had entered the hold.

**Cid**: "It's safe Xavier. I am the only one here"

Xavier stood up and walked towards the garden master. He stood there in his full battle gear and saluted the master who nodded for him to stand down. Cid walked towards him and held his hand out. Xavier took it firmly in his grasp and shook it before letting go.

**Cid**: "I would like to extend my personal thanks to you for taking on this most unpleasant burden. I can assure you I took no pleasure in sending this mission out and seeing someone as well liked and respected as yourself accepting it so quickly. It pains me every time I send one of you out on a mission, no matter how big or small because you are all my children and we are all a family. A father shouldn't do these things to his children."

Cid paused; he took a deep breath and wondered what to say next. For a man who loved to go on and on, he was lost for words at this moment. Xavier's voice broke his silence.

**Xavier**: "A father does what he feels he must do, in order to do right by his family. A father who trains his son to be a warrior who will protect his lands and his freedom does so, so that his son's sons will not have to take on that burden. If this mission means future SeeDs will not have to fight unless they absolutely have to, then I am more than happy to give my everything for them"

Cid smiled. The response from Xavier was well thought out and made perfect sense. Unfortunately for Xavier, such an eloquently worded response would be the very thing which Cid wanted to hear.

**Cid**: "What a brilliant way to phrase it. I always struggled in trying to convey that point, and you seem to have put it so eloquently. Would you mind if I used that phrasing next time I have to give this dreadful talk?"

Xavier smiled back

**Xavier**: "Not at all master Kramer."

**Cid**: "Before we discuss this further. Are you certain you have set all your personal affairs in order? You have no outstanding business to attend to? No one to say goodbye to?"

Xavier hesitated. He knew he hadn't said goodbye to Xu properly, told her everything he wanted to tell her. He had a note in his pocket for her, he planned to ask Cid to deliver it or get it to her at least. As he tried to keep a straight face, Cid looked at him and shook his head.

**Cid**: "Sorry, I cannot pass on a message which you must deliver. And judging by your hesitation to answer me, I feel that you are not right for this mission."

**Xavier**: "Sir, with all due respect..."

Cid peered over his glasses at Xavier.

**Cid**: "Respect? You took this mission because you were running away from something, not because you wanted to of your own free will. If you leave for this mission, you won't be able to focus on it. Your mind is distracted. How can you even think about helping a revolution when you don't have faith in your own judgement?"

Xavier couldn't answer him.

**Cid**: "Your words about fighting for the future do not speak of a man who is sacrificing everything either. Yes, you might be fighting for the future, but the tone of your voice says it is the future you wish to experience."

Cid shook his head

**Cid**: "Luckily for you this mission has been aborted anyway. General Caraway seems to have gained enough momentum to take temporary control of Galbadia; our operatives in the area have agreed to continue the mission which you were to undertake. I suggest you stand down. I am sorry to have wasted your time, but you have wasted my time as well."

**Xavier**: "Understood sir"

Cid smiled at the young man and he stood there disappointed with himself.

**Cid**: "I understood your intentions, I was a conflicted young man once, it may have been a long time ago, but I ran away from my destiny when I should have embraced it. There is still time for you to make this right, you know what you have to do right now"

Xavier saluted Cid before he turned round to head back into Garden. He sighed and reached into his pocket, slowly pulling out the letter he planned to leave Xu but he couldn't. Maybe that was his problem - he couldn't leave her when he thought he could do. He pulled out his lighter and lit the corner of the note, letting it burn away in his fingers, turning to black ash. His heart was never in the mission to begin with and Cid had saw right through that all along, providing him with an eleventh hour escape route. He knew he would have to tell her the truth, the truth about why he took the mission in the first place and he knew there was every chance she might not want to talk to him again after that conversation, but it was something he had to do. Cid had saw through his charade, now it was time to be truthful to the one person who mattered, even if he didn't believe in himself, he believed in Xu.

**.= 06:00 BALAMB GARDEN, DORMITORY WING, XU'S QUARTERS=.**

Xu felt the warmth of the sun filtering through her blinds. She was normally awake by this time, but given how hard today was going to be on her, she had turned her alarm off and hoped she could sleep past 08:00 for one reason - to make sure she didn't feel the urge to run after him and to try and stop him from leaving. She didn't need to reach out next to her to know he was gone, she knew he would have left without waking her, he never was good at saying goodbye and she had expected that from him. It was upsetting that he couldn't tell her to her face that he was going though and that would remain with her as one of her memories of him - he ran away instead of facing up to what he had to do. She lay there in the bed a little while longer, staring at the ceiling trying to push all the negative thoughts out of her head. Last night was something she wanted to cherish and remember without any negative associations, that didn't happen often to her and she wanted to keep it that way.

_"Why didn't you just tell me? Was I that intimidating?"_

Xu tried to reason with herself as to why Xavier never mentioned anything or why she could never see it.

_"Was it me? A trail of broken hearts and whirlwind flings? Did the way I acted and treated people put you off me?"_

She sighed as she pulled the duvet tighter around her naked body.

_"I always thought you didn't like me that way, that you thought of me more as a sister than as a woman. I just acted the way I felt most comfortable around you. I thought you were just my friend, not an admirer which was why I was so open and honest with you. I guess I should have looked past our friendship and saw you for who you were, someone waiting for a lost cause to not seem so lost anymore..."_

She shook her head and closed her eyes, a single tear escaped from the corner of her eye and rolled down her cheek.

_"I just wish I'd realised what everyone else realised about me. I wish I could have found it sooner than having someone push me in the right direction. I just wish I was as skilled in my emotional life as I was in my physical life... I just wish I could have seen it before it was too late. I knew you always had a thing for me, but I just thought that was innocent feelings... Not this."_

Xu got up. She discarded the duvet and left herself exposed to the morning light. She walked to her door and pulled her gown off the back of it and slipped into it. It was a thick black cotton robe which reached the floor. She pulled it tight around herself and walked out of her room into the living area. She flicked the light on and looked around it - there was no note, no memento, nothing. She wondered for a moment if it was a good thing, having something he left to hold on to but then she realized that it was probably better he didn't leave anything. She would only spend all her time obsessing over it and distracting herself too much. She headed to the bathroom and slipped out of her robe and into the shower. She thought about not showering at first, trying to preserve the memory of last night on her as much as she could, but then as the water hit her, she felt so much better. Clearly clinging to whatever she could physically from last night was borderline stalker-like behaviour and probably not sanitary either. As the water ran down her body, washing away every last bit of sweat and cleaning everywhere he touched, she started to well-up.

_"I really need to sort myself out right now"_

Xu was a mess. She hadn't felt this emotionally distressed about a man for a few years, the last time she felt this bad was when she broke up with Dian four years ago, round the time she made SeeD. Since they had broken up, she only let the men chase her and she made sure she didn't get attached to them. She had let herself get hurt once, she didn't plan on doing it again. Then last night happened. Everything went out the window, all composure, self control, reason and logic. She allowed someone in and let them see her for who she really was. Not the temptress, not the trickster, not the Ice Queen, but Xu. Xavier had saw the real her last night - her insecurities and her real feelings and emotions. She had shown him everything and shared everything with him and he just left in the night. She let the water from the shower wash away the tears as she stood there. She didn't wipe herself down or wash her hair, she just stood there letting the water run down her body as she tried to put her thoughts into some logical order. She finally turned the shower off and dried herself off. She slipped back into her robe and walked through her quarters towards her bedroom again. She opened the draws and took out her underwear, a black bra and matching plain underwear. She slipped into them and dug out another lycra vest and slipped into it before she picked up the dirty laundry off the floor. She put it to one side, remembering she had to wash it later before she walked back into the living room. She looked at the clock - 07:00.

_"I should get ready. I need to be in my office by 08:30 today so I can sort this Trabia mission out and to see if there have been any new requests"_

Xu wished she could have just fled to the training center instead so she could take out any pent up anger and negative emotions out on the monsters there, but her work came first. She looked over to the chair where she had left her weapons and her actual battle gear. She picked them up one by one and put the ones back she didn't plan on using - her chain, grappling hook and her tanto. She kept the Sai's, kunai's, swords and knives out with their relevant holsters and belts before she pulled a bag out of the locker - she stuffed her weapons into it and left it on the chair. She headed back to her bedroom, pulled her SeeD uniform out and pulled it on before taking out her training clothes and taking them back to the living room.

_"If I can finish up by six, I can get food in the canteen and then head to the center for the night run; maybe I'll find someone to train with..."_

Xu packed her bag up and made her final check of her personal belongings - PDA, access cards, cigarettes, lighter, wallet, card deck. She was ready for another typical day in Garden. Despite the massively life changing event in the early hours, it wouldn't make a difference overall, it would simply serve as a reminder to act on her emotions instead of ignoring them all the time. She picked up her belongings and turned her light off. She put her hand tentatively on the handle of the door to her quarters and took a deep breath. She couldn't show she was weak or vulnerable to anyone, she would have to put on the same face and dance the same dance she always did, even if she felt empty inside. She pulled down on the door handle and opened it slowly. As she pulled it open and stepped out of her room, she caught the eye of Quistis who was headed towards the Ragnarok. Xu tried to hide her face and pretend she hadn't seen her friend, but it was useless, Quistis was headed right for her.

**Quistis**: "Hello neighbour"

Xu swore to herself under her breath, she forgot Quistis moved back in next door to her, she probably heard some of last night's events or even caught a glance of Xavier entering or leaving her quarters.

**Xu**: "Oh, Hi... forgot you moved back yesterday... You ok?"

**Quistis**: "Yeah, I roped Irvine and Zell into helping me since you went AWOL after the briefing yesterday. Everything ok hun?"

**Xu**: "Yeah, I had some reading to do and prep-work and I just lost track of time. You know me, I get into something and next thing you know, its midnight"

Xu lied through her teeth. Everything was far from ok and she hated lying to one of her best friends, but she had no choice at the moment. If Quistis knew Xavier was leaving on Ragnarok, she wouldn't fly the airship, she'd ground it until he came and said goodbye to Xu.

**Quistis**: "Heading to the cafeteria? I'm gonna get a grab-bag before I head to the hangar, I have to take Cid to G-garden this morning and then apparently I'm off to Esthar tomorrow - monster clean up mission"

**Xu**: "So that means I'm stuck here in Garden holding down the fort?"

**Quistis**: "You, Nida, headmaster Aki and Dr K..."

Xu looked confused for a second

**Quistis**: "I'm stealing Irvine for the week. We could do with the ranged support he can provide."

**Xu**: "Great, I am alone"

Quistis playfully punched Xu in the arm

**Quistis**: "You've got Nida! He's fun"

Xu smiled. Quistis seemed to be slowly warming to Nida. The two had spent far more time together than she had expected them to since their impromptu date in Balamb the other day. Maybe there was a future for them together? It made her happy seeing that her friends might have a future with each other but at the same time it cut at her because she knew she had lost the one chance of a future she may have had before she even realised she could have had that future. Xu slowed down as the two walked towards the cafeteria and looked around. She thought she heard something but it must have been her mind playing tricks on her, or Megitsune. The fox spirit was known to be a trouble causer and she enjoyed tormenting Xu to no end whenever her host seemed upset.

**Xu**: "Quistis, think you can lend me Shiva for a moment?"

Quisits looked at her confused

**Quistis**: "I'm not junctioned with her at the moment, Zell's asked for her on the Timber mission. I've got Alexander if that is any help to you? I take it Megitsune is causing trouble?"

Xu shook her head. Alexander 'creeped' her out. She didn't know why. The giant mechanical holy weapon just seemed so lifeless. Xu had junctioned him one time and all he talked about was judgement. She knew that was the name of his attack, but literally, he talked about judgement on everything. Xu was used to being judged for her behaviour from people, but a guardian doing it to her. That was the line.

**Xu**: "I'll pass on Alexander; I don't think it likes me, my morals or my life choices. I Thought you had Leviathan anyway?"

**Quistis**: "I do, but given the mission I have coming up, Alexander would be more use to me, Leviathan is still with me too though"

Xu nodded.

**Xu**: "Megitsune... She's pissed I haven't summoned her in a while, I think I might have to tonight in the training center to let her have a run out or she'll try and get me killed just for kicks"

**Quistis**: "Shiva wouldn't solve the problem anyway. She is just like Megitsune in the whole dominant personality thing she has going on and she still hasn't gotten over the last time the two had a fight in your head"

Xu shrugged her shoulders.

**Xu**: "Fine, I'll let you out tonight if you promise not to fuck around all day?"

**Quistis**: "Actually reasoning with your GF in audible speech? Wow... You must have upset her"

Xu didn't say anything, she knew Megitsune was trying to make her feel better but she had to pass it off like she was acting up just so Quistis didn't get onto it. She silently apologized to Megitsune before they reached the cafeteria. Quistis simply grabbed a few bits once they arrived and ordered them to go before bidding Xu farewell. She had to be on the flight deck soon, taking Cid and Xavier to Galbadia.

**Quistis**: "I'll call when I get back; we'll have lunch in your office yeah?"

**Xu**: "sure. I'll get them to send something up"

Quistis waved and ran out the cafeteria as Xu picked up a few bits of fruit and a bottle of water. She didn't have much of an appetite right now but she knew she had to eat something. She paid for her food and took it to go, taking a bite out of her apple as she walked towards the elevator. It was a quiet Sunday morning and the stillness was starting to get to her. She could feel her eyes starting to water again as she walked out of the cafeteria. She shook her head and made a run for the elevator. No one was around luckily to see her moment of weakness, but she hated feeling so exposed and vulnerable outside the confines of her quarters. She hit the button on the elevator door and slipped into it. She hammered on the second floor button and waited for the doors to shut. As they closed and the elevator began to rise, she shook her head and wiped her eyes. She was only five minutes away from her office; once she got there she could break down again. She fumbled about in her pocket for her cigarettes. Smoking was prohibited in the hallways but she didn't care. It was Sunday, no one was about. She lit the cigarette and quickly walked towards her office. As she reached her door, the hairs stood up on the back of her neck.

_"Must be a draft around here... I'll get maintenance to have a look later when the smell of smoke goes away"_

Xu slipped her access key into the card reader and swiped it, not realizing that the door was already unlocked. She waited for it to click and then pushed the door handle down. She slowly opened the door and walked through it, locking it behind her. She dumped her bag on the leather couch near the entrance to her room and then looked around. Something wasn't quite right; she could feel it but couldn't quite explain it. The hairs on her arms stood on end as did the ones on the back of her neck. Was Megitsune trying to warn her that there was something about to happen?

_"You can sense it too huh?"_

Xu spoke to her GF as she slowly walked across the room. She reached into her uniform and pulled out a concealed Kunai. She wrapped her hands around its handle tightly and held it with the blade pointing down, like it was a dagger. She carefully stepped around her desk and chair before she stopped. She could feel a faint breeze coming from the direction of the balcony and the hair on her neck seemed to tingle.

_"Outside?"_

Megitsune's reaction - making the hairs on Xu's neck stand on edge seemed to answer her question. She carefully advanced on the door. She stood with her back to the right of the door handle so her left hand was touching it. She held the Kunai tightly in her right hand, ready to strike in case anything came through it when she opened it. She placed her fingertips on the door handle and flinched. Something was on the handle which filled her with a sense of trepidation. She wasn't sure what it was, but it filled her with both excitement and dread at the same time.

_"You ready?"_

Xu spoke to her guardian one last time. The hairs on her neck lowered as she managed to regain her composure. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath in through her nose and then slowly exhaled from her mouth. As she finished exhaling, she opened her eyes and pressed down on the door handle. The door moved slightly, opening away from her. She quickly pulled her arm away so she wouldn't be seen by who or whatever was on the other side of it. As the door swung open, she heard footsteps approaching it. The trap was set; whatever was out there was taking the bait. as the footsteps drew closer Xu closed her eyes again, she blocked everything out except the sound of the footsteps.

_"Here we go... 3... 2... 1..."_

Xu lashed her left hand out at neck level for the average human. She felt fabric as her fingertips made contact and almost instinctively she snatched it in her hands. Using her augmented strength and the element of surprise, she effortlessly dragged the mysterious person through the doorway. Bending at the elbow and coming from the wall, she used the momentum of the drag and her movement to rotate them both round, switching their positions so she was now in the doorway and the intruder was in front of her. She slammed them up against the window where she had hid before opening the door with her Kunai in her hand. She raised the Kunai and looked the intruder in the face and suddenly froze up. She dropped the kunai and staggered backwards, falling back onto her desk in shock.

**Xu**: "It can't be you... You're not meant to be here"

Xu closed her eyes; she took a deep breath before she opened them again. It was still the same person it was a second ago - Xavier was stood there in her office.

**Xu:** "You... You're not meant to be here..."

Her voice trailed off before she burst into tears.


	5. 5 - Second Chances

She didn't understand. Almost eight hours ago she was stood there in the training center, trying to keep her composure whilst one of the most important people in her life was telling her how he was going to walk out of it and now, after she had started to pick up the pieces again, they'd just been kicked out of her hands and all over the floor again. She wished she could explain why he was here in her office instead of leaving her life forever, but she couldn't. All she could do was cry. She sat there on her desk with her hands holding onto it tightly, trying to anchor herself to something which was real in this very surreal moment. She wanted to speak, but she couldn't even think where to start. As the tears rolled down her face and splashed onto her uniform she looked up at him, he was still there. She shook her head once more and slowly let go of her desk. She covered her face with her hands and took a very audible deep breath. She wanted to try and regain some form of composure before she even attempted to work out what was going on. As she slowly exhaled, she moved her hands from her face, he was still there. He hadn't moved once, he just stood there watching her with a sorry expression on his face. She wanted to stand up so she could walk towards him and touch him, to confirm he was still there but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She felt safe on the desk, it was the one thing holding her up at the moment and she felt that if she even tried to stand up, her legs would give way from under her. She wished she could make sense of this, but the longer the silence went on, only briefly interrupted by her sobs or her heavy breathing, the worse she felt. She wanted the floor to open up and swallow her. Hell, she'd have given anything to have that magic lamp Cid presented Squall with so she could retreat into Diablos' dimension. She wanted to be anywhere but where she was sat right now, but paralyzed by sorrow and trapped by her own mind, she couldn't move. She was stuck there, in her office with the man who up until a few seconds ago, was meant to be on a one way flight to Galbadia to help orchestrate a revolution. As time seemed to slow down round them, she finally broke her silence.

**Xu**: "I... I don't know what to say?"

Xavier stepped away from the window and approached her slowly. He knew she was wounded right now, and Xu was like a wounded animal when she was hurting, she would strike out to defend herself without even giving a warning shot. It's what made trying to deal with her so dangerous at times, she was very unpredictable in how she acted and her random bouts of violence which were usually kept in line by the training centre or sparring matches could never be predicted, especially when she was like this. He bit his bottom lip, whatever she was going to throw at him, he deserved. He had broke her heart twice in one day - by telling her he was leaving and then by sharing a very intimate moment with her, only to slip away in the middle of the night after she confessed her love to him. Whether she knew she had confessed her love was a different matter, but he knew deep down she meant what she said and it wasn't just said in the moment. Taking a moment to steady himself, Xavier reached out, opening both arms, leaving himself completely defenceless and closed the gap on Xu. He put his arms around her shoulders and cradled her head into his chest.

**Xavier**: "Don't speak. Don't think. Do what you must"

Xu closed her eyes as she rested her head against his chest. For a moment she felt at ease in his embrace. It made her think about the pleasant memories of that morning again. Even though they were fresh in her mind, his touch brought them back as if they had been buried for a long time. She gave a brief smile, even if it was for a second, she still smiled. It was genuine, something she wished she could have done when talking to Quistis or looking at herself in the mirror. She pushed Xavier away from her and wiped her eyes. He looked down at her, his face still full of remorse for hurting her, but he felt slightly more at ease to know she had at least smiled, even if it was for a second. He wanted to breathe a sigh of relief but as he looked down towards Xu he realised he had let his guard down too much. The fox was dangerous when she was hurting and right now she was out for blood. Xu quickly brought her right-hand up and slapped Xavier across the face with a backhanded strike. Xavier staggered backwards from the impact, but the black haired woman did not give up. She brought her left hand up and drove the base of her palm into his abdomen, knocking the wind out of him. As the air rushed from his lungs from the impact of the strike, he doubled over. Xu wasted no time in taking firm hold of his right arm in her left hand. Shem pulled on it and ducked under him so her right shoulder was underneath his right arm and then in one fluid motion she extender her right arm and then dropped and twisted to her left, guiding him over her shoulder and back first onto the floor with a winding shoulder throw. Xavier winced as his back hit the floor. His legs flailed out and one of them kicked her chair away whilst the other was caught underneath the gap between her desk and the floor. He expected Xu might hit him, but to hit with this much power and precision in under six seconds was a record, even for her.

Xu didn't stop there; she had Xavier exactly where she wanted him. She let her body fall across his chest as she leaned across him. She reached up for his left arm with her right arm and like a snake; she slipped her arm around his before locking his arm in place by applying pressure to his wrist with her hand. With her left hand, she tucked his right arm in-between her legs, holding it in place between her right calf and right thigh. He was completely at her mercy now as she had him pinned to the floor and with no defenses against her. Just like she had done in the training centre, her eyes burned with a fire, but this fire was different. It wasn't determination or passion; it was much, much darker. Anger. She grabbed him by the throat with her free left hand and rested the groove of her thumb and index finger on his windpipe. She could have killed him in an instant there and then. Part of her wanted to, it was only for the fact her guardian force, Megitsune had intervened he was still alive. Xu flinched and moved her hand from his neck; she shook her head as if she was having a disagreement with something before she turned her attention back to Xavier. He was in pain but he refused to show her any weakness. He had to keep a strong appearance up or Xu would never listen to him.

**Xu:** "Speak..."

**Xavier:** "I couldn't go through with the mission... I thought I could, but I couldn't. Cid knew that and kicked me off it"

Xu moved her right arm slightly, the change in position sent searing pain down Xavier's arm and into his shoulder. She was stretching his muscles more than they should have been stretched, pushing him to his physical limits and prolonging the pain.

**Xavier:** "Cid knew I couldn't do it... I couldn't even say goodbye to you, how could I say goodbye to everyone and everything I know?"

Xu this time constricted her legs, the pressure on his other arm started now, she adjusted her hips and he could feel the life draining from his hand slowly.

**Xu:** "So yesterday, last night, this morning... all one big fucking lie?"

Xavier bit down on his bottom lip as Xu re-adjusted her weight once more, this time putting pressure on his chest. He tried to control his breathing, but every breath he took hurt him. He tried to hide it, but the pained expression on his face told Xu that what she was doing was working. She wanted to make him suffer just because she could. Xu was one of the worst people to upset because her revenge was often so brutal no one ever tried to piss her off again.

**Xavier:** "Xu... Get off me... I can't breathe properly"

Xavier winced in pain and groaned as Xu kept 'twisting the knife'. He closed his eyes and banged the back of his head against the floor in frustration. He knew she wasn't going to let go of him until she felt he was suffering as much as she felt she was, but he also knew that she could get carried away and do something she regretted. He had to think fast before she seriously hurt him or did something she would later come to regret. He kicked his legs out, freeing them from the desk and the chair. Hoping Xu wouldn't notice, he began to bend his legs, slowly at first, but as he got them moving whilst dealing with the pain, he lined up his one shot at freeing himself from her hold.

**Xu:** "So what did you think would happen? Come back here, scare the living shit out of me and everything would be alright? You turned everything upside down; I'm a total mess Xavier. I haven't broken down crying the way I have done in the past day or two since Dian died. I haven't cried for nearly two fucking years... I thought I could handle anything but then you come and turn my whole world inside out!"

Xu's tone of voice was getting angrier. She applied more pressure to Xavier's arms and chest, causing him to bite his bottom lip and bang the back of his head against the floor again. He kicked his legs out and tried not to let her hear how much pain he was actually in. If he let out a shout of agony, then it was game over, he was at her total mercy and the way she was going, this could be a very violent interrogation. Knowing he only had one shot; he brought his leg up and closed his eyes.

**Xavier:** "Xu... Please, I'll explain... Just let... go..."

Xu ignored his pleas. As she leaned backwards towards his stomach, she tightened her legs around his arm. This was his only chance. He brought his leg up and drove his knee in the middle of Xu's back. The sharp jolt from the impact forced her to release her hold on Xavier. Taking advantage, he quickly pushed Xu off his body and without even needing to think about it, acting on instinct, he cast a slow spell on Xu. Xu didn't realise what had happened at first, but as she tried to move, she felt the air grow thick with resistance. She looked at Xavier who had managed to get away from her and then it clicked. She'd let her guard down and he managed to hit her with a slow spell.

**Xu:** "You cheap bastard"

**Xavier:** "You were trying to kill me"

Xu shook her head. She pushed herself up onto her knees and cast an Esuna spell on herself. As the blue light washed over her, Xavier leaned against the wall and looked. He expected her to come at him again. He knew she was only acting on emotion, but he did deserve it in a way. Xu didn't deal well with her emotions or internal issues', lashing out was generally her only effective way of dealing with things. He let his head lean back against the wall and he took a couple of deep, controlled breaths. Xu was opposite him, her face was pale, cheeks tear-stained and her hands were shaking. She looked across towards him and her eyes met his. The fire in her eyes had died down compared to last time he looked in them. The rage was still there, but it was subdued.

**Xu:** "I won't hit you again, I promise that..."

**Xavier:** "You're still going to be pissed at me though, no matter what I say though?"

**Xu:** "You dropped a massive bombshell on me like that, made me finally realise things about myself I didn't know I felt... and then left in the middle of the night without even saying goodbye. Yes, I am pissed and I will be pissed"

Xavier shook his head. He knew he'd hurt Xu, but he didn't realise how badly. She was a private person who kept her flaws and weaknesses well guarded and he'd exposed them. He wanted to reach out to her again, but he knew it was best if he left her alone. Instead he searched his mind for the right words to say. He had to tell her why he took the mission and why he lied to her so much. He was probably going to break her more than he had done already, but now, seeing how vulnerable she was. He knew he had to tell her the truth.

**Xavier:** "I lied to you yesterday, about the reasons why I took the mission. It wasn't because I felt compelled to do it..."

Xavier paused as he looked up at the ceiling. He hated himself for doing this to her, but she deserved the truth after what he had put her through in the space of twenty-four hours.

**Xavier:** "I took it because I felt trapped here. I didn't think there was anything left for me at garden anymore. Apart from the events of the past few weeks, the adrenaline, the excitement, the combat... It was always the same. A hollow existence, lying to myself. I was sick of the sight of myself and what I had let myself become."

Xu looked at him. She carefully watched his face, reading his emotions. She was trying to see if he was hiding anything, but as her eyes looked into his, she realised he wasn't. His eyes held no secrets, just regrets.

**Xavier:** "It wasn't your fault... Any of this. It was all me and how I acted. I shouldn't have just accepted things on face value; I should have fought for what I wanted... Instead I opted to concede defeat, hideaway and then run away with the promise of a clean slate. Only that slate would never be clean"

**Xu:** "What do you mean, it "Isn't my fault"?

Xavier looked to his side, deliberately avoiding the gaze of Xu. He mockingly laughed at himself.

**Xu:** "Seriously... What have I done which isn't my fault?"

Xavier looked at her. He bit his bottom lip for a moment before he looked up at the ceiling and steadied himself.

**Xavier:** "I've been in love with you since we first met. Dian was my best friend and he was like a younger brother. I couldn't bring myself to face the truth so I hid from it. I should have just been open with you and my feelings when I had the chance to instead of burying them. Maybe then we wouldn't be in this position right now"

Xu felt uneasy hearing him openly admit to being in love with her. He didn't directly say he loved her, but it was still out there, and now it was clearer than ever. He was always respectful to her, he never questioned her motives or what she did, and he always acted like she was his friend and not a woman. For a moment she felt sorry for him and how he had been a prisoner to his emotions, but then she got angry with him. Angry for letting himself get this tied up in his head that he felt the only thing he could do was to hurt her and run away.

**Xavier:** "I know it's a shitty reason, but it is the truth. I couldn't bring myself to do it, to confess how I felt and it seemed like if I did, I would be betraying Dian. You two broke up, but he still cared about you and he still came to see you off on missions. He always talked about you and I couldn't tell him how I felt because it would kill him to know I wanted you... His last words were "Take care of her for me"... Do you think he knew all along and was finally giving me the green light to be honest for once?"

Xu didn't know what to say. She didn't know where to look. Everything was falling into place in front of her but she couldn't make heads or tails of it. She loved him and didn't realise it at first, he loved her and wouldn't admit it and she never saw it either. The situation had been building for years and the past twenty-four hours, it had finally exploded, leaving a messy fallout - one broken heart and one sorrowful acceptance of the truth. She heard the words Xavier was saying, she could see how bad he felt for hurting her and she couldn't say anything. She just simply kneeled there, her hands twitching from time to time, trying to process everything.

**Xavier:** "I took the mission because I wanted to run away from everything. I wanted to leave it all behind because I felt I couldn't live this lie anymore. I wanted to be open but I didn't know how, I never knew how to be honest. When the chance of a one-way mission came my way, I figured it could be the chance to finally lay everything out on the table, put my demons to rest and move on... Only I didn't realise how hard it would be to move on once everything was out in the open"

Xu watched as Xavier placed his arms on his knee. He banged his head against the wall and kept his gaze on the ceiling.

**Xavier:** "I couldn't do it to you. I hurt you and I couldn't just walk away. Cid saw it in my eyes, he knew I wanted to live, to fight to protect those important to me, and he knew I wanted to remain with those important to me. I took the mission to make peace with myself, but to also try and give you, give everyone a better future"

Xu finally broke her silence.

**Xu:** "You're an asshole!"

Xavier looked at her. He didn't quite understand where she was coming from with that remark. He had just confessed to why he took this mission and broke her, and her only reply was to call him an asshole.

**Xu:** "Hiding behind Dian like that? Saying you promised to take care of me, not to let me get hurt and then hurt me and walk out on me... Real classy Xavier. I admit, I don't exactly do honesty with myself, but at least I admitted my feelings. I let myself get hurt just to try and help you Xavier... and you can't even be honest with yourself still?"

**Xavier:** "I told you the truth! I did it because I was running away from myself..."

**Xu:** "So what? You come back here and tell me the truth but refuse to accept it yourself?"

Xavier was stunned. He hadn't expected such a reaction. He knew she would be angry with him but to react this way - calling him out.

**Xavier:** "For fucks sake Xu. I love you... Can't you see I did all this because I love you?"

Xu looked at him. She could see the honesty in his green eyes. He was hurt and he was finally being truthful to himself now. She felt warm inside when she heard him say those three words. She was still angry with him, she probably would be for a long time after he had hurt her, but the fact he came back for her meant something. She wanted to go to him, but she couldn't bring herself to.

**Xu: **"Really?"

_'Really? Is that all you're going to do? Kneel there like an idiot and say 'Really?_'

Xu scolded herself as she saw the look on Xavier's face as he processed her one word answer to his actual declaration of love. Her tone of voice was broken and more like that of a schoolgirl than a trained assassin's. He smiled and pushed himself to his feet. Xu did the same, they didn't speak as they stood, they just looked at each other and slowly walked towards one another. Xu reached out, taking his hands in hers, she wrapped her fingers around his and pulled him closer to her. He winced as she pulled on his arm but he made nothing of it, Xu reacted the way she had to and it looked like she might have calmed down a little. His eyes studied her face, even when she was pale, red eyed and tear stained with make up running down her face, she was still beautiful.

**Xavier:** "I'm so sorry I put you through this."

**Xu:** "You're not off the hook Xavier. I will have your ass for this, just... just not today."

Xu leaned into him and softly kissed him on the cheek. She let go of his hands and slipped them around his waist. She buried her head in his shoulder and tightened her grip. She felt his arms slowly making their way up her back before one rested there. The other arm made its way to her head. He brushed the hair away from her ear and leaned in towards it. He whispered to her.

**Xavier:** "I'm sorry Xu."

Xu looked up at him, her eyes met his the same way they did last night in the training centre.

**Xu:** "Stop talking... We can sort this mess out later. Just... stay with me ok?"

Xavier nodded. He let her place her head back against his chest for a few more moments before he let go of her again. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her cigarettes and took two out. She offered one to Xavier who gladly accepted it and opened her balcony door again. The pair of them walked out onto the balcony together and looked out at the view - it was spectacular - they could see the mountains and the entrance to the fire cavern from where they stood. The mid-morning sun was warm against their skin and the breeze was pleasant. The two stood there and just looked out at the plains in front of them.

**Xavier:** "How do you concentrate on anything out here?"

**Xu:** "I don't. I come out here to smoke and to forget everything. If you weren't stood out here this morning, I would have just sat against the wall and looked at the mountains and hoped things would get easier"

**Xavier:** "What will you do now then?"

Xu took the last drag of her cigarette before she stubbed it out and then flicked it over the edge of her balcony. She looked up at Xavier and then back to the skyline.

**Xu:** "I'll probably still sit against the wall and look at the mountains, but maybe I'll have some company from time to time?"

Xu glanced at Xavier and flashed him a smile. She wasn't forgiving him yet for the past twenty-four hours, but his actions had brought about some good. He had at least let her finally admit what she had felt for a long time but never seemed to notice, and it finally helped him act on his feelings for her. She held her hand out and he took it without even thinking twice. He held her hand tightly in his and looked into her deep brown eyes. He knew nothing he could say or do would change the fact her hurt her and turned her entire world upside down in the past day, but he knew that at least he was getting a chance to make up for it.

**Xavier:** "I have a question... Think we can go back to how things were with us?"

Xu shook her head. She didn't want them to go back that way and in all honesty, they probably couldn't have. They were both aware of each other's true feelings for each other now, so they had two options - get through this together, or part ways and never look back. She squeezed his hand and spoke softly

**Xu:** "No... But I don't want them to."

**Xavier:** "Me neither. You have no idea how hard it was sometimes..."

Xu: "I don't want to have that idea today... Maybe another day you can tell me about it, but not now"

Xavier nodded. He pulled Xu closer to him and put his other arm around her shoulders as she leaned against him once more. She smiled at him and slipped her arm around his waist again. It felt so good to actually have someone to hold and talk to, even if it was the person who put her in the emotional state where she needed to be held by someone. It made little sense to her right now, everything was screaming for her to be angry and logical - push him away, take care of herself then confront him, but all she wanted to do was be irrational. She wanted him there holding her despite him messing her head up completely. She always felt empty, but for some reason, right now, she felt like there was something inside her. It might have only been a seed, but there was something in her which could grow. She sighed and shook her head. Xavier looked down at her puzzled.

**Xu:** "We have some serious issues don't we? The girl who is afraid of commitment and the guy afraid to feel..."

Xavier smirked as Xu let go of his hand. She let her hand slide up his arm and rest on his shoulder as her other hand rested on his hip. She looked up at him waiting for his response.

**Xavier:** "We've all got issues Xu; it's just maybe ours might actually be useful for a change!"

Xu smiled at him and looked out once again to the mountains. She thought about what they had talked about since they got out here, and how everything seemed to be steering them both to the same thing. She hesitated when she thought about it and what its implications could be, but when she looked at Xavier and put into context everything which had happened - his running away because he couldn't face himself anymore and then his returning because he realised, with the help from someone else that he had a future to work towards. Squall told her to seize the day, Cid told him not to make the same mistakes he did and to embrace the future.

**Xu:** "I guess this means we're in this together then?"

Xavier kissed her on the forehead and pulled her close to him.

**Xavier:** "I wouldn't have it any other way"

Xu reached up with her hand and ran her fingers through his hair. As she felt its softness underneath her fingertips, she smiled

**Xu:** "Me neither, but let's just take this as it comes... Someone out there decided to give us a chance and we both have to make the most of it"

Xu pressed her lips against his before he could answer her. She lost herself in his embrace as he held onto her tightly as he kissed her back. Her hair fluttered in the breeze as she gently caressed his tongue with hers. She ran her fingers through his hair and slowly down his back as he ran his hands up her back. The pair of them didn't want this moment to end. The breeze, the sun, the scenery. It was all perfect. Xu eventually broke away first and sighed.

**Xu:** "I wish we could just stay out here all day."

**Xavier:** "Why don't we? Go in now, tell Quistis you're busy and when she gets back she can sort the Trabia mission for you."

Xu toyed with the thought but then realised what would happen - Quistis would sort the mission, come by to check on her. She would then get Selphie and drag her back and they would find Xavier here and their minds would go into overdrive. As much as Xu wanted to blow off work and spend the day outside, she had to at least fulfil her administrative duties first.

**Xu:** "I'll sort the administrative duties now, I'll get Quistis to skip on lunch today, and I'll meet her for tea later before my training centre run. You wanna stay here for a bit? Sit on the couch and relax, get some sleep. You look like you haven't slept"

**Xavier:** "I haven't slept since Friday night..."

**Xu:** "Hyne! Get some sleep then. Today is my last "off day". I'm in charge of Garden for a while as of tomorrow morning. Things are going to be chaotic to say the least, and well... If we're gonna start trying to work our shit out, we both have to be as rested as we can"

Xavier mumbled something before he took hold of Xu's hand in both of his. He gently squeezed it before he walked into her office again and collapsed onto her couch. Xu followed him in and opened one of the cupboards; she pulled out a plain white blanket and covered him up. She smiled at him as he closed his eyes before she walked back to her desk. She picked up her PDA and messaged Quistis.

_"Hey, can't do lunch. Something's came up which requires my attention. Meet at 6 for tea before hitting the training centre? Hope the flight wasn't too bad x"_

Xu put the PDA down and looked at Xavier. She knew she would have to talk to Quistis about it soon, but that could wait till she was sure of what 'it' was. They both admitted they loved each other and agreed they had issues which they had to work through together, but they didn't know what they were exactly. Xu wondered if they actually could work, given the mistrust and the hurt they both felt. She wanted something, she knew it was now an all or nothing situation, they couldn't just let this issue lie unresolved, but at the same time they couldn't just rush in to it.

_"Between commanding this place and trying to fix my mess... The next few weeks are going to be tough"_

Xu lit a cigarette and took a pull on it before clicking her computer on.

**.= 18:00, CAFETERIA, BALAMB GARDEN=.**

Xu sat lost in thought as she idly toyed with her food whilst Quistis was sat opposite her, blabbing on about her flight to Galbadia. Xu was sure she said it was uneventful, but she couldn't concentrate enough to actually listen to what she said. She carefully watched her mouth, making sure she nodded or 'hmmed' at points where it seemed relative to the conversation whilst repeatedly twirling the same strands of spaghetti around on her fork. She eventually moved the fork up to her mouth and took a bite whilst Quistis briefly paused to take a drink.

**Quistis:** "...So piloting the Ragnarok with the Garden Master on board, a little nervy to say the least..."

Xu nodded and went back to her food again. She wrapped some more pasta around her fork and looked at her food. It was originally a slightly appealing looking meatball and pasta in a tomato and basil sauce, but due to her constant messing round with her food, she had created a mess. Clumps of sauce, strands of pasta and the odd meatball where all that could be seen on her plate now. She knew she had to eat but her appetite was lacking, especially after the past day's events. When she had a lot weighing on her mind, Xu never ate much, it was a bad habit Quistis often scolded her about, but the former instructor hadn't noticed. She was too caught up in recapping the day's events. Xu was happy for her; she was finally getting her life back on track. Losing her instructors license had been a blow to her, and she went about getting relief and sympathy in the wrong way by asking Squall on "a date". Xu wished she could have intercepted her friend before she made that mistake, but seeing her being given responsibility again and now a command commission, things were looking better and better for her. Xu took another bite of her food and looked up. Her friend had stopped talking as Xu nodded and was looking directly at her.

**Quistis:** "You didn't hear a single word I just said then did you?"

**Xu:** "I was listening... I just didn't hear everything"

**Quistis:** "You've hardly touched your food either Xu... Not like you"

Xu knew what was coming next.

**Xu:** "I have, you've just been going on and on so much, it was 'captivating'"

Quistis frowned at her friend's use of sarcasm. She then pretended to go back to having a drink but she watched the dark haired woman carefully. Xu sighed when she thought Quistis wasn't looking as she toyed with her food some more. She prodded at it, slowly twisted the pasta round and just stared at it before she took her next bite. After she swallowed it, she looked up and saw her friend's analytical gaze. She cursed under her breath

**Xu:** "Busted!"

Quistis looked around the canteen; the tables near them were empty. She moved her chair round to next to Xu.

**Quistis:** "What's up? Something is clearly bugging you by the way you're acting... And it isn't Megitsune either, so don't blame her!"

Xu shook her head. She wanted to talk about it, but not here.

**Xu:** "Can it wait till we hit the Training Center?"

**Quistis:** "No, because we won't be going there if you don't tell me what's wrong and eat your food!"

Xu ate more of her food under protest. She knew her friend was only looking out for her and acting in her best interests but part of her wished she would pay more attention to the underlying issues, not the lack of appetite which was a sign of them. Xu took another mouthful and then looked at Quistis who had backed off her slightly. She swallowed it and then took a quick drink before she spoke to the waiting blonde.

**Xu:** "I've got a few issues to deal with at the moment. It's pretty much changed everything for me"

**Quistis:** "You'll make a great commander, don't worry about it!"

**Xu:** "It's not command, it's more me"

Xu took another bite as Quistis looked at her.

**Quistis:** "If it's not work related stress..."

Quistis' eyes widened and she covered her mouth in shock. Xu could see the 'chocobo running on its wheel inside her head'. The ideas were forming and at a feverish rate. She excitedly placed both her hands down on the table and looked Xu in the eyes.

**Quistis:** "You've got a boyfriend?"

Xu snarled at her.

**Xu:** "There is no boyfriend!"

**Quistis:** "There will be soon then. There is no way anyone other than a man could do this to the mighty 'Diamond of Balamb'!"

Xu shook her head and tried to ignore her friend as she ate the last few bites of her meal.

**Quistis:** "Who is it then who has gotten under your skin and in your head? Is it the mystery man who left you hanging a few days back?"

**Xu:** "I'm not saying"

**Quistis:** "You don't have to; I can read it on you like a book. This is someone special. Normally you'd be spilling the beans on him right now, all proud of your triumphs"

Xu pushed her now empty plate aside and looked at the blonde who was starting to act like Selphie more and more by the minutes. She wouldn't be surprised if Selphie did show up now and the pair of them started to double team her.

**Quistis:** "Do I know him? Or is he someone you have kept hidden away in Balamb... Is that why you left me and Nida alone?"

**Xu:** "Let it go Trepe! If you promise to shut up about it until we are done in the training center I will fill you in on what's happened"

Quistis reluctantly agreed. As she took their plates to the disposal area, Xu checked her PDA - Xavier's name flashed up on it with a message.

_"Training Center still on? Saw you held up with Quistis in the canteen. She coming too?"_

Xu replied to him, keeping her eye out for Quistis's return.

_"Yeah, just gonna get ready now. Been getting 3rd degree. Haven't told her about what happened though she suspects I have found someone"_

Xu sent the message off and put the PDA in her pocket. She felt it vibrate again and pulled it out quickly. Still keeping her eye on Quistis. She looked at the message and went a slight shade of red when she thought of her answer.

_"Have you?"_

Xu simply replied with one word. She smiled as she hit send and then put the device back in her pocket. Quistis was coming back over to her. The blonde would notice her improved mood right away so Xu quickly stood up and picked up her kit bag.

**Xu:** "I'm going to get changed..."

**Quistis:** "Well my dorm is next to yours now so..."

**Xu:** "In my office, I forgot something"

Quistis knew Xu was trying to get away from her, so she simply played along with her game.

**Quistis:** "Ok then, you sort it out and get changed in your office. Meet you at the entrance to the centre in half an hour?"

Xu nodded and quickly made her way towards her office. She hadn't actually forgotten anything, but she needed to compose herself and avoid the questioning from her friend. She wasn't prepared to talk about it just yet, not until she'd worked off her pent up aggression from this morning. She also had to bring Megitsune out tonight too, something she wasn't completely prepared for. The last time Megitsune got loose in the training centre, a group of cadets had an unfortunate run in with the fox who led them right into joker's bridge trap which lured out a T-rexaur. Xu hoped that there wouldn't be a repeat of that tonight so she needed to talk to the fox first. As she slipped out of the elevator and towards her office, she could feel the fox stirring inside her mind. She was excited at the prospect of getting out. Xu got to her office. She opened the door and looked inside - no one was waiting in here for her this time. She closed the door behind her and locked it. Setting her gear bag down on the couch, the SeeD flicked the lights on and opened the bag. She pulled out her weapons and equipment and set them out on the desk before she begun to undo her uniform. She slipped out of the jacket and blouse and put them across the back of her office chair. She was already wearing her trademark lyrca vest underneath her uniform in preparation for this evenings run out. She pulled out her training pants and slipped them on after kicking off her work shoes. She pulled them up and then took the skirt portion of her uniform off. Folding it up along with the rest of her uniform neatly, she sat on the edge of her desk and looked at her PDA. There was no reply from Xavier yet which made her slightly disappointed, but maybe he was just as confused as she was by all of this. She scrolled to her sent-messages folder and looked at the last one she sent out. When asked by Xavier "Have you?" in response to Quistis asking her if she had found someone, Xu had only typed one word - "Possibly". She wished she could have just typed yes, but at the same time she didn't want to make them into something they might not be. They had to talk about things still and their future was the big issue they both had to deal with. Both of them wanted to be with each other but they didn't want to just rush into it.

_"I should have just said yes..."_

Xu's PDA buzzed again. She looked at the screen and smiled. Xavier had finally messaged her back. She read his message and walked outside onto her balcony. She took a cigarette out of her pocket, lit it and took the first drag from it before she read his message again to make sure she wasn't seeing it wrong.

_"I hope you have. Talk about it later? I'll be in the training centre in 15 minutes. Shall I wait with Quistis?"_

Xu hoped his wanting to talk meant he may have come to a conclusion of his own on how their future should progress. After the night they had spent together, and her being able to hold him in her arms whilst she slept, and then being able to hold him in her arms on the balcony, one of her favourite places in Garden. She had already made her mind up, she wanted him. She always had done. She never realised it at first. She hoped he too wanted to move forwards with her but she didn't want to wait till later. She sent him a message back

_"No, now, my office, 5 minutes"_

Xu hit send and finished her cigarette. She walked back into her office and sat her PDA down on the desk and took a deep breath. She noticed her hands starting to shake and she realised what she had just done - she had told Xavier to come to her office now instead of going to meet Quistis at the training center. Her stomach started to churn, not in discomfort, but with the nerves and the anticipation. A sense of nervousness came across the ninja as she started to put on her weaponry. She attached her knife holster to the inside of her left calf; she put her belt on and loaded it up with all her accessories. The only thing she didn't do was put her weapons on. She looked at them, and then looked at the door. She could put them on last once she had spoken to Xavier if she got to the point quick enough. She looked at her PDA again and then at the door. Eventually it opened. Xavier stepped through in his training gear - a similar all black get up to Xu. He went to speak but before he could even say a word, Xu flung herself towards him.

She grabbed hold of his head with both of her hands and pulled him into her. She pressed her lips firmly against his before forcing her way into his mouth with her tongue. Xavier struggled at first but his resistance was short lived as she slipped her hands down his body and pulled him tightly against her. Her hands ran down his back, teasing at his spine before they grabbed hold of his lower back. She pressed herself against him as his hands ran up and down her sides, feeling each slight curve like he did last night, if she could get away with it right now, she would have him here but she knew she couldn't. Instead she teasingly bit at his bottom lip and slipped her hand from his lower back further down, grabbing hold of his rear. She squeezed it before breaking away from her ambush on him. She didn't want to open her eyes just yet, but she knew she had to. With steady breaths, she opened her eyes and looked back up at him.

**Xavier:** "Is that how we're greeting each other now?"

**Xu:** "...Sorry, I just had to get that out the way."

Xu hid her face for a second, slightly embarrassed at how forward she was being. Usually when she was flirting with guys or taking the initiative it didn't mean much to her so she just did what she wanted, but with Xavier, it was different. She was still angry, but she was finding it harder and harder to hold it against him. Every time she thought about him she smiled.

**Xu:** "I was thinking before"

**Xavier:** "That is a worrying thought"

Xu playfully punched him on the arm.

**Xu:** "About what I said earlier... About how I don't want things to go back to how they were, and how we are in this together now, and taking it one day at a time..."

**Xavier:** "I've been thinking about that all day, even when I was out cold on your couch, all I could think about was getting things right"

Xu took him by the hands and looked into his eyes

**Xu:** "I want tomorrow to be the first day, the first day of many"

Xavier was stunned. He didn't know what to say, what to do, how to react, he was just stuck in an expression of disbelief.

**Xu:** "Fox got your tongue?"

**Xavier:** "Clearly"

**Xu:** "So, what do you say? We take this one day at a time starting now?"

**Xavier:** "Is this what you want? You don't want to think about it some more?"

Xu squeezed his hand and looked him in the eyes.

**Xu:** "I'm done thinking now, it's time to act. If we can't get past this, we can't get past anything. We might have hurt each other, but like you said, everyone has issues and people do hurt each other sometimes. I figure, if we get the hurt out of the way, it can only be good from here on out..."

Xavier hesitated

**Xu:** "You said it yourself, you're going to be benched for a few weeks, let's use this time when we're both not on mission to make a go of this."

Xavier didn't verbally answer her. Instead he pulled her back towards him and kissed her again. The kiss wasn't as intense as the one they shared before, but the feeling and sensation for them both was still the same. Xu teased at him with her tongue, trying to make him work for more, as she did, she opened her eyes for a split second and saw Quistis in the doorway behind her. Xu broke away from the kiss and went red faced. She whispered something in Xavier's ear and he turned round and looked over his shoulder.

**Quistis:** "I figured you'd be here, you were meant to meet me 5 minutes ago"

Xu stepped round past Xavier as the pair of them now faced the blonde who was in her usual battle gear.

**Xu:** "You have to at least give me ten minutes; I still haven't got my weapons ready"

Quistis glanced at the weapons on her table and then back at Xu whose hand was linked with the person next to her. Quistis eyed him up and down before she realized it was Xavier.

**Quistis:** "So that's who've let get under your skin"

Xu mumbled to herself 'In more ways than one' before she flashed a smile at Xavier.

**Xu:** "Remember that situation earlier Quis? You said there would be a boyfriend soon... You were right"

Quistis looked at Xavier who seemed slightly stunned by Xu saying he was now her boyfriend. Neither of them had actually outright asked the question of do they want a relationship. He smiled though as he held Xu's hand.

**Quistis:** "Judging by his reaction, I don't even think he expected to be your boyfriend so soon!"

Xu looked up at Xavier and mouthed_ 'sorry' _at him.

**Quistis:** "I'll just wait by the elevator... Give you guys a minute to get your weapons sorted."

Quistis turned round and walked back down the corridor towards the elevator. As she left the area, Xavier looked back at Xu

**Xavier:** "So... Us... We are a thing?"

**Xu:** "I'd like us to be..."

Xavier couldn't comprehend it at first. He knew she wasn't the type to commit, he knew that she was aware of his crush on her but now she was also aware of his actual feelings for her. He now knew of her feelings for him, her actions over the past day had shown him that. It just seemed too surreal for him to grasp, Xu wanted him, and at long last he could finally be with the girl he wanted for so long.

**Xavier:** "Me too"

Xu picked up her weapons and put them in place. She made a final check of her junctions before turning her attentions back to Xavier. He had just finished gearing up and checking his junctions. She held out her hand as she looked at him

**Xu:** "You coming?"

Xavier smiled as he held her hand. Both of them walked out of her office together, ready to meet Quistis.

**.= Training center 21:30 =.**

_"You really gotta slow down Xu, leave something for us to kill you know!"_

Quistis panted, trying to get her breath as she chased after the Ninja who had already spotted her next target. As much as she loved training with her, Quistis hated the fact Xu would hit top speed from the word go and there was no pulling her in until she had burned herself out. Resigning herself to defeat, Quistis simply stood there, hands in the air in a futile attempt to get Xu to just take five minutes. Xavier strolled up alongside her and looked as his girlfriend brought her sword up and slashed it across another Grat.

**Xavier:** "Take it you forgot how she trains in here?"

**Quistis:** "I guess so. I've been out on missions for the past few weeks so I never really got to spend time in here with her."

Xavier sat down on a broken tree trunk next to where they were stood. He kept his katana firmly grasped in his hands and looked up at the night sky.

**Xavier:** "When you went after Seifer, Xu wasn't too pleased. She wanted to head after him and to bring him back, but Cid knew she'd be bringing a body back instead of a person. Cid knew your instincts to treat Seifer like a little brother would be the best chance we had at getting him back in one piece"

**Quistis:** "Look how that turned out eh?"

Xavier laughed it off. He knew Quistis could be very critical of things which she knew she had no control over but felt responsible for.

**Xavier:** "Anyway, since then it's just been building. Xu started training harder, longer, and faster. She's even taken to ambushing the few SeeDs who can stand up to her in a controlled combat situation. She nearly got Nida when he was trying to take down a T-rexaur. He was lucky his GF alerted him to Xu preparing to strike. Since then, most people usually avoid the 05:00 to 0:730 time slots."

Quistis felt a pang of guilt for this. She knew it wasn't her fault, but as Xu's closest friend, she believed she had let her down.

**Quistis:** "I wish I could have been there to help pull her back..."

**Xavier:** "It never would have worked. We're all taking bets on when she might ambush Squall. But with him going on the Timber mission, it probably won't happen now."

**Quistis:** "I'd pay to watch that fight."

**Xavier:** "So would a lot of people."

As the two talked, Xu stopped dead in her tracks further up from their initial position. She could feel something was wrong. Even before she learned how to work side by side with Megitsune, Xu was always aware of her surroundings and had a natural talent for detecting trouble or a change in the atmosphere, mood or just the normal balance of her surroundings. She closed her eyes and placed her wakizashi back in its sheath. She clenched her fists before she suddenly opened her eyes. She jumped to the left and then back flipped up onto a large rock. In mid rotation she pulled out her sai's and adopted a defensive stance - the points of the sai's ran along the inside of her arms, ready to be flicked out at a moment's notice.

**Xu:** "It's not there?"

Xu looked confused. She was almost certain something was headed her way, even Megitsune had felt it. She looked around, carefully scanning the undergrowth for any subtle movements but there was nothing. The air was eerily still. She didn't like this. Something big was going to happen, she could feel it. She focused her mind on a fire spell and launched it up in the air as a beacon. She knew Quistis and Xavier would see it and make their way towards her; she just had to hold out until then. The problem was that she didn't know what she had to hold out against. A single T-rexaur or even a pair was do-able, but if a pack came, she would be in serious trouble, mainly because the T-rexaurs in the centre never moved in packs.

**Xu:** "Megitsune... can you feel it?"

Xu hoped her GF was more aware than she was but the fox didn't answer her. Xu was about to put her sai's back at her sides when there was a distinct low rumbling. She could see the tree's shaking to her left and to her right. She heard a loud roar from her left, then an even louder one from her right.

**Xu:** "Shit!"

Two T-rexaurs crashed out from the vegetation surrounding her. They were the most formidable monsters Balamb kept in its training centre, but since the Lunar Cry, their behaviour had became more erratic, they would actually try to attack large groups instead of smaller ones. They had also seemed to get more resilient and take more of a beating than they used to. Three cadets had already had serious injuries in the past week and Xu knew sooner or later, one of the SeeDs who did extended hours in here, like herself might get ambushed by them. It was just her luck that she happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. She cast haste on herself and prepared to fight. Megitsune re-adjusted her junctions, putting her most powerful junction magic's into her speed, evasion, strength and her vitality. She jumped off the rock, flicked her Sai's out so the points were leading and headed right for the oncoming dinosaurs.

**Xu:** "Two will be easy"

The ninja jumped high and cast a blind spell at one of the beasts. As a thick black mist covered its eyes like a film, the other beast lunged in with its powerful jaws. Xu cart wheeled out the way and lunged forwards with her sai's. She pulled them back in so they were in a defensive stance and brought her right arm up across her chest. With the point lined up to her target, she extended her arm and with a flick of her wrist, sent the Sai out and smashed it across the side of the T-rexaur's skull. The beast roared in pain as the ninja followed up with a downwards strike to the same location. With a mighty roar, it spun round and sent its tail towards her. The hulking mass of muscle and iron-like flesh sweeped towards her. Wasting no time, she jumped up and landed on the tail. Keeping her balance, she ran up the back of the beast and jumped up, with the sai's folded in, pointed down like daggers, she landed on the neck of the beast and drove the points into its flesh. The spray of blood from its wounds and the screams of the dinosaur seemed to work its blinded friend into a frenzy. Though it could not see, it could still smell.

**Xu:** "Oh shit"

The Blinded T-rexaur ran forwards, following its hunger. The beast roared and opened its massive jaws as it snapped down on the other ones neck. Xu jumped out the way, narrowly avoiding it, but as the wounded monster cried out in pain, another roar was heard, this one was higher pitched than the others. This roar was followed by another one, slightly quieter but still unsettling.

**Xu:** "There are more of them? Fuck!"

**=...=...=**

Quistis and Xavier ran towards where the ball of fire was last spotted. They knew it was Xu, they knew she was in trouble, but they didn't seem to know how much trouble. They heard the roars of the T-rexaurs and both slowed down to catch their breath and prepare.

**Quistis:** "You junctioned right for this?"

Xavier nodded

**Quistis:** "from the sounds of it, there are two of them. Given how long as passed since we saw her SOS, she's probably disabled one and is taking on the other now"

Xavier held his hand up as Quistis went to carry on talking. He unsheathed his katana and cast Haste on himself.

**Quistis:** "You alright?"

Xavier: "If what you said is right... Xu is in more trouble than you think... A pair of T-rexaurs means if one of them starts bleeding, the other will attack it... and the scent of blood will get more of them coming. "

As he finished explaining, the roar of a T-rexaur could be heard in the distance.

**Quistis:** "Shit! That must mean..."

Xavier's face turned white. His expression was one of fear for Xu and for everyone else in the centre at that point in time.

**Xavier:** "Xu has just summoned the pack that the pair seems to be travelling with"


	6. 6 - Megitsune

Xu stood there trying to assess the situation she had found herself in. She was currently alone and confronted with four T-rexaurs, one of which was currently being attacked by its pack-mate which was in a blood frenzy. She put her sai's back in their holders on her belt and drew her wakizashi. Twirling it around in her right hand, she waved her left hand across her face and surrounded herself with a pale blue aura - the protect spell. It might not be much use against the giant lizards, but it was better to attempt to minimize the damage before taking them on head-on again. She had fought against unfavourable odds in the past, it was part of her job as a SeeD operative and as an assassin too, but this time it was something even beyond her reach. She closed her eyes for a moment before she took a deep breath. She was going to need to keep her head as clear as possible if she was going to get out of this alive. Escape was no longer an option given the fact she could sense more of the beasts making their way towards her. She braced herself, exhaled and opened her eyes. Two of the T-rexaurs were sinking their teeth into the flesh of their now deceased pack mate but one of them had spotted her. It let out an ear-piercing roar and made its move. Xu clenched her fingers tightly round her sword, 'Kitsune' and charged at it. She ducked down, narrowly avoiding the gaping jaws of the beast and brought her sword up and sliced at its neck. The blade managed to slice through its skin and draw blood, but that was about it. The beast didn't flinch as she cut into it again and again with the strikes along its underside. Xu shook her head and ducked out the way as the creature's clawed feet narrowly missed her as it tried to manoeuvre into a position where it could attack her again with its teeth. Xu rolled backwards and narrowly escaped from another lunge of its mouth, but she countered this by releasing a blizzard spell at the creature, hitting it in the eyes. The monster staggered backwards and let out another roar before it spun round and slammed the ninja with its tail.

Xu's body draped over the beast's muscular tail. Her eyes rolled and her vision became blurred as the air was forced out of her lungs from the impact. The speed of the beast's swipe along with its direction sent the winded Xu back first into the tree line. Her body broke through the undergrowth before it came to a violent stop, back first into the trunk of a tree. She lay there, slumped against the tree on the floor in a world of pain. Her vision was blurry, her breathing was shallow and her ribs were killing her. The beast would have probably broken them if the full force of its tail strike had hit her, but the protect spell limited the damage to her. She reached up and felt across her chest for tender spots and after a quick mental check; she assumed at least one or two were broken. She cast a Cura spell on herself just to stop the pain for a short while and shook her head. She hadn't been hit like that in a long time and in some strange way, the impact of the blow and the damage it had done made her smile.

_"I've got what... One, maybe two broken ribs and I'm smiling? I really need to re-evaluate what could be classed as something to smile about! But this pain, the adrenaline... It's just like being out in the field... I feel so alive!"_

Xu started to pull herself up. She reached out to her right and picked up Kitsune from the floor and held it tight once more. She knew the T-rexaur would be on her soon so she prepared herself for it. Wincing slightly from the pain in her chest, the ninja readied a stronger spell - Blizzaga. She waited till the brush started to shake before she released the blast of ice. The spell cut through the undergrowth and found its mark - the T-rexaur screamed out once more whilst Xu advanced on it. This time she drew the sword from her back -the darkblade and held it tightly in her left hand. She needed to be fully armed for this. Wielding both swords, she ran forwards with them extended out and pointing down behind her. She jumped forwards, onto a broken log, before somersaulting off it towards the T-rexaur which was shaking the shards of ice embedded in its flesh off of it. As the creature looked forwards, it saw Xu coming towards it through the air. The SeeD brought both her swords up across her chest during her rotation and when her body faced the beast again; she swung the swords out, cutting it across the head with two powerful slashes. The T-rexaur staggered back as Xu followed up. She hit the floor and ran at it. Holding the wakizashi like it was an oversized dagger, its blade pointing away from her, she ducked down low and sliced across the creature's calf. As the T-rexaur flinched, Xu thrust the darkblade up into its stomach with her left hand and then violently pulled it out before slashing at the same spot with her wakizashi in her right hand. She twirled the blade round in her hands and tucked it back into its sheath across her lower back. As Kitsune clicked into place, Xu slipped out from under the beast and backed out of its range. The beast spun round, swiping its tail at her, but it met nothing but empty air. Xu re-adjusted her grip on the darkblade, holding it in both hands this time. She took a deep breath and analyzed the situation once more.

_"One down, one injured, two eating. If I can kill this one, hopefully Quistis and Xavier can make it here and we can take out the other two together. I just have to hope no more show up."_

Xu concentrated on her injuries once again. She knew if she took another hit from a T-rexaur like that, she wouldn't be able to walk out of here. She let go of the sword with her left hand and held her ribs. She cast another Cura spell on herself to try and stabilize the site of the injury but as the blue magical energy spread out across her mid-section, the T-rexaur she had wounded had regained its bearings and was headed right for her. Its roar caught her off-guard, causing her to abort the casting, leaving only minimal effects to be felt from the magic. She shuffled backwards and brought the sword in her hands up above her head before she brought it down, slicing the creature across its forehead with a powerful downward blow as it lunged in at her. The T-rexaur cried out in pain but its cries didn't last long. The ninja spun round, flicked out one of her sai's - the one she called Heaven and drove it, point first into the eye of the beast. The creature's death scream didn't last long. It was one final roar before its body fell to the floor with a resounding thud. Xu quickly removed her sai from the eye of the dinosaur and put it back in its holder. She looked over its corpse and felt her stomach turn - the two t-rexaurs had finished their meal and had managed to locate her. They were slowly advancing on her, their teeth dripping with fresh blood.

_"Shit! Shit! Shit! Quistis, Xavier, hurry up guys, I don't think I can pull this off much longer"_

Xu spun the sword round in her hand and waited for the beasts to make their move. As they closed in on her, she heard a roar from behind them - yet another monster was joining the fray. Xu couldn't believe it, five t-rexaurs all in the same location? It made no sense. The creatures rarely travelled in pairs, let alone in packs. Something was not right about the monster situation, it had gotten worse after the cry, especially in Esthar, but no one expected it to affect all the monsters around the world. Xu tried to shake off the thoughts forming in her head and directed herself to battle once more. The beasts had stopped and were carefully watching her. They were not known to be intelligent creatures as such, but they seemed to understand that she was a threat and should be approached carefully. The creature to the left, slightly smaller than its companion moved first. It let out another roar and lumbered forwards towards her. Xu watched as it built up its momentum and prepared herself. She conjured up another blizzaga spell and cast it at the beast, hitting it right in the mouth as it lunged forwards. The creature stumbled backwards from the impact of the spell, but once again, Xu was quick to act. She followed it up with a series of quick strikes before backing away. The other dinosaur was going to join the fray.

_"Shit... No blind!"_

Xu went to cast the status spell but realised she had used up her last one. She narrowly avoided a lunge from the T-rexaur she had just hit with the ice spell, but its companion had come right after here and smashed her with its tail. The blow hit Xu like a freight train. The thick, muscular tail smashed into her exposed ribs and flung her effortlessly across the ground. Xu's sword fell out of her hand as her body bounced across the floor and came to a stop near the edge of the clearing. She lay there, completely defenseless on the floor as the beasts made their way towards her. Xu tried to get up but she couldn't. The protect spell had worn off and she was pretty certain she had broken all the ribs on the left side of her body after that attack. She took a deep breath and tried to focus but she couldn't. Every muscle in her body ached right now and she could sense the danger she was in.

_"Come on, cast Curaga. You can do it, no gestures, just will it"_

Xu closed her eyes as she tried to release the Curaga spell without any gesture of sorts, but she couldn't do it. The pain and the fear were too much. She could feel the ground shake as the beasts walked towards her.

_"So this is it? The Diamond of Balamb is going to go out in a freak training centre accident? Death by Dinosaur? Typical... I finally get a boyfriend and we don't even last a few hours"_

Xu coughed as the T-rexaurs closed in on her. She felt the warm trickle of blood running down from her mouth and laughed.

_"I always thought I'd get to kill the people who murdered my parents before I died... or at least get the chance to avenge them. Megitsune, I'm sorry, I failed you"_

Xu felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She coughed again as she felt the fox stirring inside her.

_"I can't summon you... I'm too weak; I can barely breathe right now"_

Xu winced. She coughed again, but somehow managed to find the strength to press her right hand down firmly against the floor. She bit her bottom lip as she pushed herself up from her prone position to a slightly raised one. She knew this was the Guardian force in her trying to help her master in any way she could. Xu pushed herself up onto her knees and looked at the monsters headed her way. She knew she had enough strength left for one attack; she had to make it count.

_"You have helped me so much Megitsune, please... help me once more"_

**=...=...=**

Quistis and Xavier managed to reach the site of the first battle with the T-rexaurs. There were two corpses and a trail of destruction as far as the eye could see. They both knew Xu was more than capable of taking care of herself in a fight, as proved by the two corpses, but the fact they could still hear the roars of the T-rexaurs unsettled them. As they stood there, surveying the scene, another T-rexaur came from the brush and seemed to follow two which were headed north.

**Xavier:** "This is bad; I think they're chasing Xu. We need to distract them somehow... Can you summon Alexander?"

**Quistis:** "I'll try but our compatibility is low, we might need some time, time which Xu might not have"

Xavier swore under his breath. He knew Quistis was worried too, but this was getting stranger and stranger by the seconds. Why were the monsters behaving in this manner? He would report this to the headmaster and the garden master as soon as they could get Xu to safety. He racked his brain trying to think of a solution but his mind was disturbed when the air suddenly became still around them.

**Quistis:** "Did you feel that?"

**Xavier:** "Yeah... did someone cast a stop spell? Everything seems so quiet"

Quistis held her whip in her hand tightly. She had felt this sensation before and she knew it was familiar but she couldn't quite place why.

**Quistis:** "Let's go, I think we can catch up if we make a break for it now"

Xavier nodded

**=...=...=**

Xu pulled herself up onto her feet as the beasts came close. She was running on pure adrenaline now and desperation. Megitsune seemed to have helped her somehow, whether it was reminding her she had the strength to carry on and to survive or whether the fox had actually took control of her briefly she didn't know. Xu could feel a power surging through her which seemed to give her confidence and in turn, it gave her the belief that she could survive against this. Holding her sword in her left hand, she ran her right palm along it, breaking the skin and drawing blood. She then placed the sword back in its sheath on her back and went to work. She wiped the blood from her right hand onto her left palm before she joined both her hands together as if she was praying. She let all her fingers beside her index fingers collapse across her hands before she closed her eyes and focused the power flowing through her body. She felt a sudden surge of energy as she opened her eyes and without even thinking, she slammed her right hand down onto the floor - Xu had unleashed her limit - Blood magic.

Blood magic was the special ability of the Hitsaguya ninja clan. Along with the guardian force, Megitsune, it was the other thing which set Xu and her ancestors apart from many of the other ninja clans around the world. Blood magic was a dangerous limit which involved not only being pushed to a person's absolute limit. Xu hadn't fully mastered her limit attack yet which was why she only seemed to be able to call on it in circumstances where death was a very real possibility. The Hitsaguya clan had passed the technique down over the generations and with each one, it differed. Sometimes the blood magic released a state similar to the mad-rush technique which Ifrit used, granting the user augmented speed, reactions, strength and protection without the berserk state, whilst some manifested similar to those who went into a physical frenzy with a series of fast, powerful blows or one extremely powerful blow. In Xu's case, it was magical. The blood seeped out of the wound on her palm and soaked into the ground beneath where she stood. Almost instantly, the ground started to shake around her and suddenly, without warning, there was an explosion of fire from underneath the beasts. Magical energy raced from the impact of Xu's hand on the floor and they headed straight for the creatures threatening her. As soon as the energy reached its target, the ground beneath them exploded with a plume of fire.

_**"Eruption!"**_

Xu shouted the name of her limit attack as it struck the dinosaurs chasing her. The injured T-rexaur succumbed to the powerful magic attack instantly. Its flesh was burned black by the ferocious flames conjured from the blood of Xu who many said was naturally aligned to the fire element. The second t-rexaur was hurt badly by it, but it kept advancing, along with the one behind it.

_"Shit... Megitsune, any other ideas?"_

Xu staggered backwards after unleashing her limit. It took a lot out of her and she was still getting to grips with how powerful it actually was since she rarely had to use it in combat. She breathed heavily but she had no time to rest - the T-rexaurs were still coming and judging from the trees behind them, another was on its way. It was three against one again and this time she wasn't in any condition to fight them off. She closed her eyes as the hairs on the back of her neck stood on edge. Megitsune was talking to her. Xu simply nodded her head in understanding and closed her eyes again. She took a deep breath before whispering one word

_"Megitsune"_

The air around them seemed to stop. The stillness descended around the entire training centre. The T-rexaurs kept advancing, but it seemed like they were stuck on the spot, they never seemed to get any closer. There was no breeze, no rustling of leaves, no sound of footsteps, nothing. It was absolutely still, like someone had cast a stop spell on the entire facility. She started to glow, surrounded by a pale red light at first which started to get brighter and brighter. As the intensity of the light grew, Xu moved her arms out to her side, and stood there, as if she was leaving herself wide open to attack. She let her head rock backwards as she opened her eyes and looked up at the sky. Out of the light came a large golden creature - the nine tailed fox itself.

Megitsune was six feet from floor to head as she sat there in front of the beasts. Her golden fur glistened in the lights illuminating the facility and her nine tails with their dark red tips were neatly folded around each other. Her eyes were dark brown, much like Xu's and it wore a collar with the Hitsaguya clan's family crest on a pendant which was attached to it. The fox looked at the monsters in front of it and moved from its seated position to being on all fours. It fanned its nine tails out so they all stood on edge like someone opening a fan would and it snarled at the beasts. The stillness of the air suddenly faded as the fox seemed to draw the air in the training centre towards it.

**=...=...=**

_**"XAIVER... GET DOWN NOW!"**_

Quistis shouted as she felt a breeze behind her. It seemed to be headed in the direction of Xu. She recognised the stillness and realised what it meant - Xu had been forced to summon Megitsune to save herself. Xavier wasted no time in hitting the floor at the same time as Quistis did.

**Quistis:** "You're going to feel a rush of air from behind you, then nothing for a few seconds, then an intense wave of pressure and heat. Do not get up off the floor or out from any cover if you feel this again. Understand?"

Xavier nodded

**Xavier:** "What is it?"

**Quistis:** "Something Xu tries not to do unless absolutely necessary. I hope to Hyne we are the only three in here right now..."

**=...=...=**

The breeze of air seemed to come from all directions. It was almost as if the fox was drawing it into itself. The trees swayed in the direction of the breeze's flow and the T-rexaurs seemed to come to a standstill, trying to understand what was happening. The air suddenly went still again as Megitsune; the golden fox raised its head to the sky and let out a howl. As it howled, there was a sudden explosion of energy. From out of each of its nine tails shot a huge flame. All nine flames seemed to focus together as one large fireball and it kept growing in size before it finally exploded. The explosion shook the entire facility. The flames, fuelled by the wind the creature had absorbed flew out in all directions, scorching the ground, trees and the beasts. The flames were then followed by an intense wave of pressure from the explosion. The force was enough to send all three beasts into the air before they dropped down on their necks, killing them instantly.

Quistis and Xavier kept the heads down as they lay on the floor. They dug their fingers into the dirt and held on tightly as the pressure wave flew over them. Quistis felt her grip starting to slip. As her left hand suddenly came away from the floor, Xavier's right hand grabbed her and kept hold of her so she wouldn't fall away. Quistis kept her eyes closed and held her breath for several seconds until the blast had subsided. She let out a massive sigh of relief before she got to her feet. Xavier lay there, stunned, trying to work out what was going on but he was interrupted by Quistis.

**Quistis:** "hurry. We have to find Xu before any other monsters come"

**=...=...=**

Xu collapsed to the floor. She was soaked in blood and sweat. Her limbs twitched and she could barely keep her eyes open. As far as training centre sessions went, this was possibly the hardest one she had ever had. She had never used her limit in the centre before, nor had she ever summoned Megitsune inside garden, only outside where it was safe to. For a moment she felt relieved as she could just about make out the burned bodies of the T-rexaurs which had been chasing her, but then that relief turned to fear. Had the summoning hurt Xavier and Quistis too? She had summoned the fox once round Quistis in a combat situation, so she hoped her friend had realised what was coming with the stillness of the air, then the breeze heading towards a focal point.

_"I hope she remembered..."_

Megitsune stood over her. It usually retreated after using its attack, but it too was disturbed by the events of this evening. Had it not been three extremely powerful SeeDs in the facility, there would have been fatalities for certain. The fox leaned down and licked Xu's face, cleaning the blood and dirt from her cheeks. Xu faintly smiled at her companion's act of kindness but then her smile stopped. Her breathing slowed and her eyes were firmly shut - she had lost consciousness. The fox let out a howl.

**=...=...=**

**Quistis:** "That's Megitsune! We're close!"

Xavier and Quistis ran towards the sound of the howl, as they made it to the edge of the clearing they ignored the scene in front of them and ran straight towards Xu. The fox slowly moved away from the unconscious SeeD and looked at Quistis and Xavier. Quistis bowed to the fox and whispered thank you whilst Xavier just stood there, awestruck by its beauty. The fox's eyes met his eyes for a moment before it vanished, sinking into the floor next to Xu. Xavier shook his head and followed Quistis. The pair of them raced to Xu's side.

**Xavier:** "Xu! Please wake up... Please!"

Xavier held Xu's head in his hands as Quistis took her right hand. Quistis turned it over and saw the clean cut in her palm and shook her head.

**Quistis:** "Why? Why didn't you just summon Megitsune first...?"

Xavier looked at the wound on her hand and swallowed the lump which formed in his throat.

**Xavier:** "She used her limit didn't she?"

Quistis nodded. She cast a Curaga spell on her friend, hoping to try and stabilize her friend till they could get her to the infirmary. As she cast the spell, Xavier pulled out his PDA and rang for help. Quistis continued to cast curative spells on her friend whilst Xavier kept his eye out for any monsters which might come their way. He wished he had Diablos with him; it would help him out greatly in this situation. He looked over his shoulder at them both - Xu laying motionless on the floor, her chest barely moving, covered in blood and dirt. He looked at Quistis working on her with magic and physical actions, making sure she was comfortable and trying to protect her from further damage. He shook his head and looked up at the sky.

_"For Hyne's sake Xu! Why do you have to go rushing off like that? You knew that things weren't right in here, you should have retreated!"_

Xavier kicked a stone as it bounced across the floor. He looked up and actually saw the scene around them which they had bypassed initially in their rush to help their friend. The ground was burned and cracked. The trees had been uprooted from the force of the explosion and half of the vegetation surrounding the path was still smouldering from the intense heat and flames. The T-rexaurs had been burned beyond recognition. Their usually dark brown flesh was pitch black and crumbling. Their bones were scorched and their carcasses smoked. The sheer power of the beautiful golden fox which lived inside Xu was terrifying.

_"No wonder she didn't actively train with her GF at full strength. She could take out the entire facility with that attack"_

As Xavier turned back from the scene Xu created, he saw Quistis still working on Xu. He felt like he should be there, holding her hand, but at the same time he knew that Quistis was better in the field as a medic compared to him. He walked over towards the two women and crouched down beside them. He reached out and ran his fingers across Xu's face.

**Xavier:** "has this happened before?"

**Quistis:** "Not like this... She's been banged up pretty bad when she's used her limit but usually after eruption, she's killed everything around her... The problem for Xu though, is that she can only use her limit when death might actually be a possibility. Her blood magic is very unpredictable"

Xavier's skin crawled at the thought of the desperation Xu must reach before she can unleash her true power. His hand took hold of hers as he held onto it tightly. They had only officially been a couple for a few hours, and there was a very real risk of losing her.

**Xavier:** "Ironic isn't it? It has took us years to finally do something... and now we've both almost lost each other twice in one day"

**Quistis:** "Now isn't the time to think about that or like that. Xu will be ok; she just needs time to rest and heal..."

**Xavier:** "What about Megitsune? Does this always happen?"

Xavier gestured to Xu's unconscious state and then to the surrounding area and the damage caused by her battle.

**Quistis:** "Normally no, but Megitsune and Xu are very close. If the situation is dangerous, Megitsune will crank up her damage and go all out to protect Xu. Given the circumstances, what you see tonight..."

Quistis trailed off as she looked at the burned bodies of the T-rexaurs. Xavier was about to speak but they were interrupted by the sound of his PDA. He looked at the screen and put it back in his pocket again.

**Xavier:** "The team is on their way, just a couple more minutes to hold out".

**=...=...=**

"What happened? Where am I?"

Xu looked around. The last thing she clearly remembered was using her limit skill and then summoning Megitsune in the training center, but this didn't look like anywhere in Garden to her. She looked around, trying to take in as much information about her location as possible - she was outside, it was night and the visibility was poor, she couldn't make out any of the stars or even the moon. She looked down at her feet; she was stood on burned ground. Her eyes moved out from where she was stood, the ground was black and the land was full of cracks and craters. Flames danced around the debris surrounding her and thick black smoke rose into the sky like a serpent ready to strike. She looked down at her hands - they were covered in blood and dirt. She felt a pain in her right hand as she tried to clench it into a fist. She winced before she wiped it against her thigh. Looking at her palm again she could see the deep cut running across it from her thumb to her little finger. Shaking her head, she realised what had happened - she had used her limit, but this didn't look anything like Balamb garden and there were no T-rexaurs in sight. She slowly walked forwards with only the sound of the flames keeping her company. The ground was still warm underneath her; whatever happened here must have happened recently.

_"What happened here? It's like a bomb went off!"_

She coughed as the smoke started to grow thicker around her. Covering her mouth with one hand and using the other to wave away the smoke from her vision she struggled to see ahead of her. As she lowered her arms, she realised something - her ribs didn't hurt anymore. She reached down with her right hand and ran her fingers along the left side of her ribcage. She poked at them and felt nothing, just her touch. No agony from pushing the broken bones into her vital organs, no tenderness, no swelling. Nothing.

_"Am... I dead?"_

Xu wondered as she turned her attention back to her palm. She clenched her fist again, but this hurt her.

_"Why... why does my hand hurt but my side doesn't? I had all the ribs on my left side broken by those T-rexaurs... I lost a fair amount of blood... I should be dead... Is this the blood magic?"_

Xu carefully made her way to the floor. She touched it, making sure it wasn't hot, but then again, the fact she couldn't feel any pain apart from the self-inflicted limit wound put her mind at ease briefly. She sat down, taking care not to hurt her right hand by putting too much weight down on it. She shivered for a moment as a blast of cold air managed to get through the flames nearby. It sent a shiver down her spine for a moment but at the same time it made her mind click into gear. She had felt that particular chill before. As the smoke started to clear, a faint trace of golden light flickered amongst the flames. Xu didn't know what possessed her to, but she followed it. As she walked, the darkness behind the flames seemed to fade slightly, she could make out the trees and more of the sky, the moon was now barely visible and there were some dark grey clouds above, mixed with the black smoke which continued to rise from the wreckage surrounding her. As she walked through the burning landscape she suddenly stopped. Ahead of her stood a large golden fox.

_"...Megitsune?"_

The fox blinked and fanned out its tails, all nine of them. Their red tips seemed to dance like the flames behind them. It let out a soft whine before turning away from the ninja and running towards the fire. Xu followed it. She didn't know where she was, or what was going on, all she knew was that the golden fox, her guardian force was going to lead her to the answers. As she followed the trail of flames and the faint golden light it started to dawn on her. The smell of the forest and the snow managed to cut through the smell of the burning wood and fuel. In the midst of the flames she could make out the basic outline of what used to be a house. Its stone walls with wooden supports were crumbling under the heat and collapsing in on themselves. Around the house lay bodies, clad in black and face down. Pools of blood had formed underneath them and some were smouldering as if they had been set on fire and only just extinguished. Xu's hands started to shake. She had seen this place before but she couldn't quite figure out where. It was all too familiar and it chilled her.

_"Megitsune? Where are you? Where are we?"_

The golden fox appeared in front of her. Its dark brown eyes looked into Xu's before looking her up and down. It shook its head, almost as if to tell her 'You know this place, you need to remember'. Xu reached out to her, trying to run her hands through her fur, but the fox jumped backwards into the flames before it faded away. As she looked round, Xu started to see more of her surroundings - There were snowmobiles overturned and burning, the smell of petrol hung in the air. There were guns and swords scattered around the floor. Someone or something wanted to destroy this place and something very powerful had managed to drive the attack off... whether that powerful thing had also destroyed the place is another question, but whatever went down here, was big. Xu walked towards the flames near what remained of the entrance of the house. She tried to peer inside but the flames were too strong. She held out her right hand foolishly, forgetting it was the only part of her which could feel. The heat stimulated every nerve in her hand and she screwed her face up in pain before pulling it away. Clutching her hand tightly against her chest, Xu swore to herself before she opted to walk around the back of the house. Hopefully there would be another way in to the burning building. She didn't understand why, but she had to investigate it. As she reached the back of the house she saw a clearing, huddled over in the snow was a small child. She couldn't have been more than ten years old, her clothes were torn in places, her skin covered with bruises and she was crying. Xu instinctively ran forwards to try to help the child, but as she did there was a loud explosion from behind her which knocked her off her feet. As she hit the floor, she glanced over towards the girl and saw someone walking towards her with a gun in their hand.

_**"NO! SHE'S JUST A CHILD! DON'T"**_

Xu screamed and shouted but she couldn't do anything, her words didn't seem to register with the child or the gunman now standing behind her with his gun aimed at her head. As the man's finger hovered over the trigger, Xu tried to shout again but she couldn't, all she could do was scream as his finger pulled. A loud gunshot ran out and Xu screamed.

**=...=...=**

_**"DOCTOR!"**_

Doctor Kadowaki rushed to the bed. Quistis and Xavier were stood either side of the bed trying to restrain Xu who was unconscious seconds ago.

**Xu:** "DON'T SHOOT HER, SHE'S JUST A CHILD!"

Xu was screaming hysterically, completely unaware that she was now in the infirmary of Balamb garden. Quistis and Xavier held onto her arms as she flailed at them, trying to free herself from their grip. Tears rolled down Xu's bloodstained face.

**Dr. Kadowaki:** "Quistis, cast a sleep spell on her, she's delirious and hallucinating! If we don't get her out cold soon she's going to do more damage to herself"

Quistis released the sleep spell, it hit her friend and almost instantly she passed out. Her arms went limp and her head dropped forwards. Xavier leaned in to catch her as her body fell backwards and carefully laid her across the bed. He held onto her left hand tightly, not wanting to let go.

**Xavier:** "Please be ok Xu"

Quistis stepped away from the bed and looked at the scene as the doctor injected a sedative into Xu. Once the sleep spell worn off, the sedative would keep her under till they could repair the damage to her body. She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered at the thought of what happened to Xu. When they found her she was barely breathing, covered in blood and almost dead. The destruction she had brought down upon the T-rexaurs had took its toll on her but even as they worked on her, Quistis could feel that there were still more monsters ready to come at them. Something was not right with the monsters, was it the Lunar Cry like everyone had thought? She shook her head; she mentally noted this and planned to find out more about it when in Esthar tomorrow. She thought about contacting the garden master but she knew the doctor had already done that when she learned what had happened. Maybe Cid could tell her if the Galbadians had encountered any similar problems? Everything was confusing, she wanted to think about her friend, but she couldn't bring herself too. All she could do was wonder why the monsters were acting out of character. As Quistis looked at the scene whilst deep in thought, the doctor came up to her.

**Dr. Kadowaki:** "She's going to be fine Quistis."

Quistis shook her head and brought herself out of her trance. She looked towards the scene at the bed again and then to the doctor.

**Dr. Kadowaki:** "All the ribs on her left side are broken; she's lost a lot of blood too. Surprisingly the only organs which took some damage was her stomach. Your Curaga spells managed to stabilise that so I can easily fix it when we prep her for surgery. Her lungs are good, considering how much she smokes so we have little worry there; the main problem seems to be fixing the damage to her bones and muscles. What happened to her exactly?"

**Quistis:** "We were in the training center. Xu ran off ahead like she always did and she must have encountered two T-rexaurs as she sent out her distress fire spell. As we ran to catch up with her, we heard more roars and our reaction was that she had ran into a pack, something very abnormal in the controlled location"

Dr. Kadowaki nodded.

**Quistis:** "As we got closer, I heard the explosion; she must have been forced to use her limit."

The doctor's face grew pale at this news. She knew, along with a select few that because Xu hadn't managed to attain complete control over her blood magic, she could only seem to be able to use it when she was in a near-fatal scenario, it was her ace in the hole because it was so powerful but at the same time it took so much out of her, it would render her unconscious the moment the adrenaline rush worn off and the immediate danger had been neutralized.

**Dr. Kadowaki:** "And then what happened?"

Quistis shuddered. She had only experienced the summoning of Megitsune in a combat situation twice before, and both times, though not as powerful as the newest summoning, were terrifying.

**Quistis:** "Sacred Flame of Retribution"

The doctor raised her eyebrow. Quistis realised she didn't understand what that meant. Taking a deep breath, she sat down and spoke once more, this time in a very controlled voice.

**Quistis:** "Sacred Flame of Retribution is the name of Xu's guardian force, Megitsune's attack. It is devastating as you have probably seen. It starts off with a stop spell which affects everything in its immediate vicinity. The air goes still, a sense of anticipation builds up, if you are nearby this is the first warning sign. The air then starts to move, like a breeze. It heads from all directions towards Xu. This is the second warning - take cover or lie face down."

**Dr. Kadowaki:** "What happens next?"

**Quistis:** "Fire. A great explosion of fire fuelled by the wind she brought towards herself. It burns everything it touches and then the force creates a huge wave of pressure which blasts things away. If the flames don't get you, the blast will."

**Dr. Kadowaki:** "You speak from experience?"

Quistis nodded. She looked at the floor as she recounted the tale.

**Quistis:** "Xu first summoned her round me in defence when a T-rexaur attacked us whilst we were out in the forests on the way to the fire cavern to do my pre-field exam test. Xu had already done the test and another SeeD was with us, they said we should let Xu show us what she could do... Xu blacked out for three hours afterwards, she didn't realise how strong Megitsune was"

**Dr. Kadowaki:** "I remember treating her for exhaustion that day... That explains it"

**Quistis:** "The second time was in Galbadia Garden during the conflict. Xu had managed to lead off a fair few troops to an isolated side of G-garden before she was surrounded. She unleashed the fox, creating a massive diversion for us so we could sneak in. Xu managed to get back to Balamb before she collapsed that time. I didn't see it, but I could feel it, it's something you don't easily forget. I had to throw the others behind cover as soon as I felt the air change direction and told them to keep moving. They assumed it was a Mortar strike or something, not a guardian force."

The doctor nodded as she turned her glance back to Xu who was sleeping soundly, now hooked up to an IV and breathing apparatus. She sighed as Xavier, visibly hurt and distressed kept watch over her.

**Dr. Kadowaki:** "Come into the other room with me Quistis, we have to clear you before you can carry out your mission tomorrow morning. I assume you will be perfectly fine to fly Ragnarok. Just be a bit careful in combat."

As the blonde and the doctor left the room, Xavier glanced up at them and then back towards Xu. His heart sank seeing her like this, lifeless, hooked up to machines to keep her stable. Doctor Kadowaki assured him she would be fine, but he just couldn't accept it until she opened her eyes and spoke to him. He squeezed her hand, hoping for a response but there was none. It was probably just the sedative; he knew she could feel him there.

_"I've never seen you like this Xu... It's not good. You've always been so strong."_

**=...=...=**

Xavier lifted her left hand up and kissed it. He held onto it in both of his hands as he kept his eyes fixed on her. Watching her chest slowly rise and fall and the lines on her heart monitor moving in a slow, but natural rhythm. He thought back to earlier on. How they carried her lifeless body out of the training center and to the infirmary. He remembered setting her down and stepping back, allowing the doctor and her team with the help of Quistis to stabilize her further so they could check the damage properly. He was relieved when her ribs and muscles were the only serious injuries she had and that any underlying damage as a result was only minor and easily rectified.

_"I've never felt power like that before Xu... Just how powerful are you? How strong is your guardian? Did you really hold back like everyone said you did and often train with minimal or no-junctions just to give people a chance and to improve your skills?"_

He closed his eyes and sighed. Taking a deep breath he squeezed her hand gently before he exhaled and opened his eyes. They had started to water. He tried to hold the tears back, it was killing him seeing her this vulnerable.

_"What did you mean though, she is just a child? What did you see in your head? What happened?"_

Xavier wished he could make sense of this, but he was too tired. He tried to stay awake, to keep watch over the ninja, but he couldn't. His energy was slowly leaving him. As he tried to fight the tiredness he glanced at the clock on the wall. It displayed "02:55". They had been there for almost four hours now and Xu had shown little sign of improving. Hopefully she was just exhausted and would be back on her feet in a couple of days, ready to take command of Garden. Surely headmaster Aki was capable of running things until Cid returned? He pushed himself up from his seat as he let go of her hand and gently placed it on her bed. He turned round to leave the room, as he opened the door he was greeted by one of Doctor Kadowaki's assistants - a young girl in a cadet uniform called Emma approached him. She was about five foot two, she had short ginger hair styled in a single plait which rested between her shoulder blades and she had pale blue eyes.

**Emma:** "Excuse me, SeeD Xavier Coral?"

Xavier nodded

**Emma:** "The doctor has instructed me to take you for an X-ray. You seem to have been paying attention to your right shoulder several times since we got here, did you injure it at all in the incident earlier involving the assistant commander Xu?"

Xavier nodded.

**Xavier:** "Quistis lost her grip and was almost swept away by the pressure blast from the explosion but I managed to catch her arm with my right hand and keep hold of her against the force till it was safe to release her"

**Emma:** "understood. Please make your way to the x-ray room with me. It appears that you may have some muscle damage but nothing too serious. Miss Xu will be fine for the next ten minutes. If what has been said is true, her guardian force will ensure that she is safe"

Xavier looked back at Xu before he nodded. He closed the door behind him and proceeded to walk with the nurse towards the x-ray facility. As he glanced through the window one last time, he could have sworn there was a golden fox sat in the middle of the room, watching over Xu. He blinked and rubbed his eyes, but there was nothing there. Were his eyes playing tricks on him? Was he just worn out by the past two days? Everything was starting to merge together and it all felt very surreal.

**=...=...=**

Xu opened her eyes again. She was stood inside the burning building this time. The flames had destroyed most of the room but she could make out where the furniture once stood and where paintings and pictures once were. She walked towards the fireplace, one of the few things which hadn't been destroyed yet by the intense heat or the flames around them and reached out in front of her. She picked up a picture off the mantelpiece and looked at it - there were three smiling faces. A woman, a man and a child. All three had dark brown eyes. The man had a thin black moustache which joined up with his goatee which hung low in a pointed fashion. He had several scars across his face which had faded over time, but he wore a smile, something his cold brown eyes did not convey he would have been capable of. His arms were around the woman and the child. The woman had jet black hair, deep brown eyes which were filled with warmth and compassion. She was pale skinned and had an expression of joy across her face. Both of her hands rested on the child beneath them - the girl. She was about ten years old. Her short dark brown hair was neatly styled so that a pair of ornate chopsticks held the tail in place and a golden hairpin drew attention to it. Her skin was almost as pale as her mothers and her eyes were just as brown and full of life. She sported a large smile, all her teeth were visible. It was one of extreme happiness and love.

_"Is... Is this their house?"_

Xu pondered as the sound of wood breaking under the extreme heat of the flames crackled all around her. She looked up as she saw the ceiling starting to give way and quickly ran, holding the picture. She managed to get out of the main room and into the hallway. The smoke was resting along the ceiling and slowly descending down. Coughing and covering her mouth, Xu crouched down low and carefully made her way down the hall towards a thick iron door at the end of it. She tried to touch it, but it was too hot. The intense heat burned at her right palm, sealing the wound shut but also causing the SeeD to wince in agony.

_"I've got to stop doing that!"_

Xu coughed again as she heard a beam giving way. There was a loud crashing noise behind her. She wanted to know what was behind the iron door, but she knew that she'd be trapped and probably burned alive if she didn't get out quickly. Wafting the smoke away, and coughing. Xu searched for an exit - she found a window and smashed it open with her elbow. She knew she had to be quick, or the increased airflow would cause the fire to rage even greater. As she jumped out of the window, the flames roared behind her and more of the building collapsed in on itself. She picked herself up from the scorched ground and looked over her shoulder. She saw the same little girl as she did earlier, the one the man was going to shoot. As she walked over towards her, she saw another figure lying next to her. He had a golden object lodged in his throat and a gun firmly grasped in his hand. Xu quickly ran towards them.

_"Hopefully I'm not too late"_

Xu tripped. As she fell, the picture flew out of her hands and bounced along the floor. The glass frame holding it smashed and the picture slipped out of its restraint. A slight breeze whipped it up and the picture floated along before coming to a rest on the girl. Xu picked herself up and walked towards the girl. She knelt down besides her and placed her fingers to her neck - she had a pulse but it was very faint. She then looked over her for any visible wounds. The sound of the gunshot had chilled her to her core, but when she saw the bullet hole on the floor next to the girl she breathed a sigh of relief. She rolled her onto her side and looked at the picture - it was the same girl.

_"Poor thing. I hope your parents are still alive"_

Xu turned her attention to the man next to her. He was wearing a plain white mask, similar to a kabuki styled one. His lifeless blue eyes were fixed in an expression of shock and pain as they watched the sky. She turned her attention to the object in his throat. It was a golden hairpin, designed to be used as a tool in assassinations or for close range fighting when normal weapons were not available to use. As she touched it, something dawned on her. It felt familiar, it looked familiar.

_"This... This is exactly like the one I have"_

Xu stood up, her eyes fixated on the hairpin. She heard the sound of more of the house collapsing behind her. She moved her eyes away from the hairpin and looked at the girl; she looked familiar and not just from the photograph either. A gentle breeze interrupted her thoughts. She raised her head and saw Megitsune looking at her. Xu took a step forwards but the fox's eyes moved towards the girl. Xu followed the fox's instructions. She knelt down by the girl again and rolled her onto her side, making her more comfortable. As she brushed the girl's hair from her face, she froze.

_"It's... Me"_

Xu dropped the hairpin and leaned backwards away from the girl. She was shocked; she didn't know why she was seeing this, seeing her past like this. She barely remembered her childhood, there were only a few flashes from when she was being trained by her father in the ways of the Hitsaguya clan or when she spent days in the woods and by the lake and the river with her parents when they weren't training. She started to cry as she held her younger self. As she hugged her child self tightly into her, a gentle voice rang in her ears.

_"I am sorry to have to show you this. Your memories started to stir when you summoned me to save you. I knew this time would come and I have tried to shield you from it as much as I could but I can hide this no longer. It is time you learned the truth about yourself and your family Xu Hitsaguya"_

**Xu:** "Megitsune?"

Megitsune appeared by her side, but it wasn't the golden fox she was used to seeing. Instead it was a woman. She was six feet tall with jet black hair which reached down to her waist. It was secured with a red and golden banding and pulled tight to stop any lose hair from slipping out. She was clad in a plain black ninja-garb and at her waist, nine gold and red tails rested. Her face was human but it had fox-like traits in it - her face was lean and slightly narrowed in the nose and her eyes were yellow-brown.

**Megitsune:** "When you grow stronger, head to Trabia, to the mountains... To this place. I will wait for you here"

**Xu:** "I can't... I don't know where here is"

Megitsune smiled, she flashed her fang-like teeth and crouched down. A golden light surrounded her and her form changed from its human avatar to the golden fox. It looked into her eyes as it finished its transformation.

**Megitsune:** "When you are ready, I will take you there."

Xu watched the fox disappear into the night again. She looked down beside her and instead of seeing her younger self, she saw nothing. She was alone in the darkness. No light, no sound, no buildings, no fire. Just the darkness and herself. She tried to process what happened but nothing made sense to her right now. All she wanted to do was wake up and see Xavier by her side. She wanted to know that she was alive and this wasn't death.

_"Please Hyne. Let me wake up"_

**.=06:00 BALAMB GARDEN INFIRMARY=.**

Xu lay there, her chest still slowly moving, her heartbeat steady. The light of the morning sun slipped through the cracks in the blinds and crept across the room. As one of the rays of light rested on her eyes, the SeeD in the bed shifted slightly. Xavier who sat in the chair next to her, sleeping suddenly woke up. He looked at Xu's body slowly moving and reached for the button next to her bed. He pressed it and waited for the doctor or her assistant to come. They had told him he could stay if he agreed to alert them to any sign of progress in her condition. Even if the movement was just subconscious or a nerve reaction, it was a sign of recovery. There was hope yet. He reached out and held her left hand tightly in his. As he squeezed it, he felt her fingers gently squeeze him back.

**Xavier:** "Please Hyne. Let her wake up"

As Xavier said those words, unaware that Xu's mind was saying them at the exact same time, the light from the window seemed to brighten for a brief moment. As it did, there was a faint breeze before the room went still. Xavier felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up before he broke into a smile - Xu's eyes started to open. Xavier looked at her and whispered

_"You're back"_

* * *

_A/N: This chapter introduces Xu's Guardian Force, Megitsune to the story. It is a fire elemental one and is as powerful as Bahamut.  
This chapter also introduces some more of Xu's past which was briefly touched on in chapter 2. The chapter also introduces one of the other main characters in the story - Emma De-Rossi. A Cadet who is hoping to make SeeD  
_


	7. 7 - Queen Heart

Xu's eyes slowly opened as the morning light crept across her face. She was completely unaware of her surroundings, partially due to being unconscious for round eight hours and partially due to being sedated. Her head swayed slightly from side to side as she blinked slowly, trying to get her eyes to open. Everything was fuzzy, like she was looking out through a window into a foggy day whilst extremely sleep deprived. She tried to raise her hands, but the effort was too much for her, she managed to lift them up a few inches off the bed before they dropped down to her side onto the bed once again. She shook her head again and fully opened her eyes. She tried to focus on the noise next to her but she couldn't make it out. All her senses had been numbed due to the medication she had been placed on. She rolled her head to the left and caught a glimpse of a blurred figure before her eyes grew heavier. She fought to keep them open but it felt like too much.

**Xavier:** "It's ok Xu, it's just the medication. Don't strain yourself."

Xu opened her eyes once again, this time the fog obscuring her vision had lifted slightly. She managed to lift her hands a little further up, holding them in front of her face. She looked at the back of her hands with confusion. Her left hand looked fine, but her right hand was heavily bandaged up and had a cannula sticking out from it. She let her eyes follow the IV tube attached to it before she reached towards it with her left hand. Instinct told her to remove it, but as she tried to, a hand came out and snatched her left hand away from it.

**Xavier:** "Don't touch that Xu, you need it. Its the only thing keeping you level right now"

Xu shook her head and tried to speak, but she couldn't. Something was gagging her, blocking her mouth. She started to panic. She had been breathing fine up until now, but feeling the blockage in her mouth and throat, she struggled. She moved her hands towards her mouth and felt the breathing tube sticking out of it. She tried to hold on to it but Xavier's hands knocked hers away from it. As he placed both of her hands in his left hand, he reached out and hit the call button again with his right. He quickly held onto Xu's other hand and leaned over her, looking into her troubled eyes.

**Xavier:** "Xu, it's me. You're in the infirmary. You over-exerted yourself in fending off that pack of T-rexaurs and got banged up in the process"

Xu still squirmed, trying to break free from the hold on her hands, but Xavier kept his eyes on her. He kept staring into her eyes and speaking softly yet with an undertone of authority, trying his best to calm her down to the best of his ability.

**Xavier:** "Xu, relax ok? Someone will be in to remove the tube shortly. They'll have a few tests to do and then you should be fine to speak"

Xu's resistance stopped. She couldn't speak to him, but the look in her eyes said enough. They were a mix of embarrassment for being seen in this state by him, and gratitude for being there for her and helping to save her life. As he smiled, she wished she could return the gesture. She tried to out of instinct but started to choke for a split second due to the tube in the way. She tried to gesture to him, but he simply waved it off and nodded at her. He knew what she was trying to say and he was fine with how she had responded. He took her left hand in his hands once again and held it gently, running his thumb over the back of her hand in a smooth, circular motion.

**Xavier:** "Xu, before anyone gets here, I have one or two questions I need to ask. Blink once for yes, twice for no... Understand?"

Xu tried to nod but the tube made it difficult for her to make any vertical head movements. Xavier rolled his eyes at her reaction and was about to speak when Xu blinked at him. He smiled at her, thinking to himself 'stubborn as always, you can't just do things simple can you?'.

**Xavier:** "Can you remember anything from last night?"

Xu tried to focus. She could feel a slight pain in her left side and her right palm seemed to hurt. She blinked.

**Xavier:** "Can you remember anything about the T-rexaurs?"

Xu blinked. Her mind had started to speed up now, she lifted her right hand up and looked at the bandage around it. If it seemed to hurt then it must have meant she was forced to use her limit technique, 'Eruption', a form of blood magic which was a magical version of the technique Zell was known to use called 'Burning Rave'. She focused on that at first, she remembered being exhausted in a clearing but that was it.

**Xavier:** "Do you remember using your limit?"

Xu blinked. She wondered what he was trying to do. She wished she could talk to him but she couldn't because of the tube down her throat. She clenched the fingers of her left hand around his as he still held onto her hand with both of his. He smiled as she did this before he pulled one hand away and used it to move a lock of her hair from her forehead.

**Xavier:** "Sorry I'm being long winded with this, but I'm trying to work out where the blanks are. We're still waiting for the security footage of the incident and various camera angles to try and piece together exactly what happened last night. Do you want me to try and summarise what we know?"

Xu blinked. Xavier was about to speak, but she blinked again.

**Xavier:** "Thanks for the save. I'm not really sure so I don't feel comfortable doing so. From what I gather the T-rexaurs have been strange for the past month or so and that strange behaviour almost cost you your life. I don't know how, or why, but you're incredible to have survived that attack"

Xu blinked twice. Tears started to form in her eyes. She didn't feel incredible for surviving, not in the slightest given her current situation - unable to speak and chemically numbed for her convenience and everyone else's. She closed her eyes, wanting to hide, almost as if she was playing the "You can't see me, so I can't see you card". Xavier simply sighed and spoke softly again.

**Xavier:** "Xu, you were pushed to your absolute limit last night, you took out six T-rexaurs single-handedly. Not even Squall could have pulled that feat off. You're alive because you fought and didn't give up. Do not deny how incredible you are... and this is me as a friend speaking, don't make me play the soppy gushing boyfriend talk on you"

Xu blinked twice.

**Xavier:** "Thought not. You gonna be ok? I'm gonna go check and see if anyone's about, someone should have came by now"

Xu blinked as Xavier got up and left the room. She watched him close the door behind him before she closed her eyes. The tears started to roll down the sides of her face towards the pillows. She wished she could cry and let everything out but the tube prevented her, as did the medication which kept her docile enough to let the magic and the treatment settle. They had operated on her during the night once she had been sedated. They had repaired the damage to her muscles and ribs and made sure the field treatment on her other wounds was fine before they tended to her stomach again. Everything went perfectly, the magic and procedures had worked exactly as intended. She would probably be on bed rest for a week or two at least and then restricted to desk duty but given Xavier's imminent suspension over his messing around with the mission Cid tasked him with, it might not necessarily be such a bad thing.

_"I hope to Hyne they get this damn tube out of me. I'm awake, I can breathe. I'm probably going to be sore as hell, but I can breathe dammit"_

Xu closed her eyes and tried to order her thoughts. She vaguely remembered using her limit to defend herself, but after that everything was a blur until she was by that burning house. She couldn't remember much from it, but the picture of a family, a gunshot, a small child and Megitsune kept circling round in her head. Nothing seemed to make sense to her and the more she tried to hold onto it, the worse the confusion became. It was almost as if her mind was shutting itself down till she was physically capable and mentally capable of dealing with it. She gently shook her head, trying not to dislodge the tube and opened her eyes again. Doctor Kadowaki was stood next to Xavier.

**Dr. Kadowaki:** "I apologise for my punctuality Xu, I have no excuses, someone should have been here the moment Xavier first buzzed us to inform us of the change in your condition. I apologize to the best of my abilities and I will ensure such tardiness does not become common place in this facility"

**Xavier:** "I think she's fine with that. Can you get the tube out of her mouth though? She was trying to say something before and playing the blink once or twice game isn't the most effective way to communicate with someone."

The doctor nodded. She walked over to the machine and checked the vitals before noting them down on her chart. She then pulled out a set of gloves and leaned over the bed. She looked down into Xu's eyes and motioned for Xavier to sit down next to her. Xavier joined Xu and held onto her hand.

**Dr. Kadowaki:** "Xu, I won't lie to you. This is going to be uncomfortable for you. I need you to remain calm, squeeze onto Xavier's hand and most importantly, to resist the urge to bite down or swallow for the next few seconds. Can you please blink once if you understand me?"

Xu blinked. She held onto Xavier's hand as the doctor held the tube carefully in one of her hands. With her other, she gently massaged Xu's jaw, trying to relieve some of the tension and locking in the muscles. As Xu felt the tension ease in her lower jaw the doctor looked in her eyes once more.

**Dr. Kadowaki:** "Blink once if you are ready for me to remove the tube?"

Xu blinked. The moment she closed her eyes, the doctor gave a firm pull on the tube. She carefully removed it, trying not to irritate the girls' throat anymore than it already was. Xavier closed his eyes as Xu squeezed his hand tightly. The sound of her coughing and almost choking meant that the tube was out, but it was not a welcome sound. The doctor quickly discarded the tube and passed Xu an empty collection tray. Xavier helped her sit up and held the tray in front of her. Xu wretched and heaved by only managed to get out some spit. She wasn't going to throw up, but it did seem like it for a moment. The doctor rubbed Xu's back gently and smiled at her.

**Dr. Kadowaki:** "Now that the tube is out, try taking a few controlled breaths for me please. Don't try to speak yet, just concentrate on breathing without the machines helping you."

Xu nodded and took several shallow breaths. As she got used to the sensation, her breathing slowed down and returned to its normal pace. She reached up to her throat with her left hand and gently rubbed it before she lowered it and took hold of Xavier's arm. As she smiled, the doctor spoke once more.

**Dr. Kadowaki:** "Can you answer some questions for me Xu?"

Xu nodded.

**Dr. Kadowaki:** "Can you tell me your name?"

Xu coughed as she tried to speak. It felt strange not having the tube obstructing her tongue. She spat into the tray in front of her and tried to clear her throat in as gentle a way as possible. She took a deep breath, slowly exhaled and then in a raspy voice answered the doctor with only her first name, as she was always instructed to by both her parents and Cid. The doctor nodded as she marked something off on a sheet next to them.

**Dr. Kadowaki:** "How old are you?"

Xu coughed and held up two fingers on each hand before she rasped the words _"Twenty-two"._

**Dr. Kadowaki:** "What is the name of your Guardian Force?"

**Xu:** "Meg...it..Sune"

Dr Kadowaki noted something else down. She leaned down to look at Xu's eyes. She held up her finger and asked the woman to follow it which she did with no problems before she started to feel the left side of Xu's body. Xu winced in pain several times but the doctor reminded her that the discomfort was all part of the process. She was lucky to be alive, taking on six T-rexaurs before collapsing from her injuries and from exhaustion. As the doctor continued to check Xu over, Xavier reached out for his PDA. He checked the messages, there was one from Quistis.

_"Haven't told the others about Xu's accident. Made sure it stays under wraps. Can't jeopardise their mission or state of mind. I have informed Cid, I will be taking the Ragnarok to G-Garden to pick him up before returning here so he can take command in Xu's upcoming enforced absence. Depart for Esthar later. Inform Kinneas and the others who are going on the mission to see Aki for briefings. How is Xu?"_

Xavier replied to her.

_"Affirmative. Xu is conscious, just took out breathing tube, trying to get her talking again. She doesn't seem to remember much after her limit. Think the GF might have taken control and blocked out that memory temporarily to help her recover quicker. Update you later"_

Xavier put the PDA down and turned his attentions back to Xu who was sat there listening to the doctor explaining her injuries. She had broken all the ribs in the left side of her body and sustained minor damage to her stomach. All were healed, but it would take at least two to three weeks for her to be back in perfect shape. She was prohibited from training until given the all clear by the doctor, and advised not to smoke for the next twenty-four hours at least whilst her throat recovered from the minor trauma due to the tube.

**Dr. Kadowaki:** "I know how you are hooked on nicotine Xu, but you have to lay off the cigarettes for the next twenty-four hours or so. I have a trans-dermal patch delivery system here for you so you can maintain your baseline levels. It might be uncomfortable, but it will at least keep you calmer till you can smoke again. This patch is only to be worn during waking hours, 16 hours a day maximum. Any longer it will cause skin irritation and nausea."

Xu nodded.

**Dr. Kadowaki:** "I will discharge you tomorrow morning unless the garden master instructs me to do otherwise. I need to observe you and ask you more questions during the day. From all initial findings in these tests, it seems like you are going to be better in no time, just please take it easy!"

Xu smiled as the doctor cast her and Xavier a glance before leaving the room. As she did, she pulled the door tight and stood outside it for a moment. Xu turned her attention from the door towards Xavier. She spoke in a faint voice this time.

**Xu:** "Thank you..."

Xavier kissed her left hand as he looked at her.

Xavier: "It was nothing. You should be thanking Quistis more, she's the one who fixed you up in the field until the doc and her team arrived. All I did was watch her back and carry you out when you were stable enough to be moved."

**Xu:** "No... Thank you for staying"

Xu coughed. She covered her mouth with her right hand and squeezed tightly on Xavier's hand with her left. She tried to smile, but as she moved her lips, she coughed again.

**Xu:** "Sorry. I'm not in the best possible shape right now"

Xavier shook his head. He let go of Xu's hand and adjusted her pillows behind her, supporting her back better and giving her something softer to lean back on.

**Xavier:** "Don't worry. If the shape you are in right now is anything to go by, I dread to think what the training center looks like right now!"

Xu wanted to laugh but she couldn't. Her voice was already strained enough as it was, she needed to try to conserve it until she could speak again. She looked at Xavier who was almost falling asleep next to her in the chair. He had barely slept since Saturday, the day of the briefing regarding Balamb's future and from what she gathered, he had been up all night watching her, only sleeping for twenty minutes or so at a time. If anything, he had more than made up for trying to leave her and garden twenty-four hours earlier.

**Xu:** "Have you slept?"

**Xavier:** "A little. Been worried sick about you so I could barely settle down long enough to sleep. You seemed to be having a nightmare earlier on though. Something about a child being shot. You suddenly woke up in hysterics screaming that someone was just a child and begging them not to shoot her"

Xu was pale anyway, but any vague hint of color slowly drained from her face as Xavier recounted the incident. Xu vaguely remembered a gunshot during the time between her limit and waking up in the infirmary. Could it have been a nightmare or was it a suppressed memory which had re-surfaced due to trauma? She tried to put off thinking about it, but as she looked up at Xavier, she could tell her was reading her like a book. He moved to the edge of her bed and put his arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him as he cuddled her against him and spoke to her reassuringly.

**Xavier:** "It's ok Xu. Whatever it was, you don't have to talk about it or face it yet. Wait until you're doing better"

Xu placed her left hand on his thigh and squeezed it. She closed her eyes and whispered "Thank you" as she tried to get comfortable. Xavier gently ran his fingers through her hair as he looked up at the ceiling. He didn't want to say it out loud, especially around Xu so he kept his thoughts to himself.

_"Thank Hyne she's ok!"_

**=...=...=**

_"What happened?"_

Cid stood outside Xu's room. It was mid-morning by the time he had been flown back to Balamb. When he heard the news about Xu being injured in the training centre and that some of the monsters were behaving out of character, he was relieved to know that it was only Xu who had been hurt. If it had been any cadets or class men, there would have more than likely been fatalities. As he looked through the glass at the young woman resting with Xavier sat at her side, maintaining a constant presence to help her feel at ease he smiled. He was right to take Xavier off the mission, he was far more important at Garden than he was out in the field right now. He was the only thing which had been able to keep Xu grounded, that and a pack of T-rexaurs it seemed.

**Dr. Kadowaki**: "From what we can gather, Xu encountered a pair of T-rexaurs. As she fought one off, injuring it, the other went into a bloodlust and attacked its companion. The blood lured out more of them. Xu fought them off but sustained serious injuries in the process which resulted in her using her blood magic skills, and then according to Quistis and Xavier, she summoned Megitsune..."

Cid's face went white. He knew the implications of Xu's blood magic skills, how she could only seem to use it in near-death situations and the effect it had on her body as she was yet to fully control it and discover how to use it in safer circumstances. Limit training was a SeeD requirement, but because Xu was rarely pushed to her limit, she was never really forced to learn how to handle it, that and her limit was also an ancient technique which was linked to her family tree so only a member of the Hitsaguya clan could teach her how to control it safely. He was also deeply concerned because of the summoning of Megitsune. Cid had witnessed the destructive power of the fox once and he prayed he would never have to witness such carnage again.

**Cid:** "Megitsune must have took over when she sensed Xu was too close to being routed. There have been some documented cases when the GF stimulates the survival instinct of its host and it somehow seemingly takes over their bodies for a few moments, long enough to cast an extremely powerful variant of their spells in order to protect them from further harm."

**Dr. Kadowaki:** "And the trade off is extreme fatigue?"

Cid nodded.

**Dr. Kadowaki:** "I'll keep her in overnight then. I'm recommending two weeks off of all duties. She is to relax, recover and to try and enjoy herself before we put her back into work."

**Cid:** "Agreed. Xavier will be her right hand when it comes to the covert unit we have set up. He can handle that with minimal input from her. Since he has been benched for the next three weeks, I think he can help us take care of Xu and also report in on any strange goings on"

The doctor folded her arms and looked at Cid,

**Dr. Kadowaki:** "Tell me something... Why would Xu scream out spontaneously for someone not to shoot a child?"

**Cid:** "I'm unsure, it could be a suppressed memory brought to the surface due to trauma?"

Cid hated lying to the doctor but he had to. She knew of Xu's past and how her family were murdered because of their name and their abilities. He also knew Xu had managed to kill one of the assassins as he opened fire on her when she was just ten years old. Cid turned away from the doctor and headed towards the exit of the infirmary.

**Cid:** "Please call me if you find anything new out or there is a change in her condition"

**Dr. Kadowaki:** "I will."

Cid waved his hand towards her as he walked away. He left the infirmary area before he headed towards the Quad. It was a nice day, it wasn't too warm or too cold. It was just the right balance. The Garden Master took up a seat underneath a large oak tree and he leaned against the trunk. Most of the students were in lessons at this point of the day so he had the entire Quad to himself. He removed his glasses, hung them from one of the arms on the chest pocket of his waistcoat and then closed his eyes. He rubbed his forehead and screwed his face up.

_"Why would she scream out for someone not to shoot a child?"_

Cid knew the answer but he didn't tell the doctor that. It was the same reason behind why he didn't tell any of the "fated children" - Seifer, Squall, Quistis, Irvine, Selphie and Zell that they all grew up in the same orphanage together. Some people had secrets they needed to discover for themselves. It would build their character, help them grow and give them purpose in their lives. He didn't like the idea of raising orphans to become mercenaries sometimes, but at the same he wanted to make those who had lost everything, strong enough to protect people who could suffer the same fate as they had. Although he met Xu at a much later date than when he had met the other children, he treated her the same way. He pushed her to be the best she could.

_"What memories were disturbed Xu? Did you see them through your own eyes or through someone else's eyes?"_

Cid opened his eyes and put his glasses back on. He looked at the clear sky above the quad and smiled for a moment. Everything was so peaceful and still.

_"The guardians sometimes act of their own accord. They are sentient beings after all. Maybe Megitsune saw how strong Xu has gotten over the years and now she thinks it is time to take revenge on those who killed her family?"_

Cid shuddered at the memory. Arriving in Bika, one of the most populated regions in Trabia twelve years ago was a harrowing experience. The sheer cold, the devastation of the Lunatic Pandora's experimental run out years earlier had devastated the landscape, tearing it apart and making crossing it a nightmare. He remembered meeting the young Xu who had been brought from the nearby mountainous Heath peninsula region which was on the Estharian border. The Children's Services told him of how she was an unruly child who suffered a trauma - watching her parents die in a gas explosion up at their cabin, but Cid knew differently. He was friends with the man who went by the name of Hanzo Hitsaguya, a Trabian who was part of an ancient ninja clan who had moved from the clan's original base of power in North-East Esthar following the rise of Adel. He took his wife and daughter and fled the region in the dead of night so he could save their lives. Cid had built up a friendship with Hanzo and was one of the few people who realised he was actually the world famous assassin Lyuda, the white death who had struck across the continents over the years, removing people from possitions of power who abused their role. He also taught newcomers the ways of the Ninja and encouraged them to start their own guilds and clans and to keep the trait alive. Unfortunately, as great a man as he was, Lyuda had enemies because of what he did and when he saw his daughter stood there in front of him, he realised what had happened. Someone had sought retribution for Lyuda's actions and they had attained it.

_"You were so young, so innocent. You didn't deserve to see what you did. You still don't. No one deserves to see their family taken from them with such violence."_

The Garden Master put his glasses back on and stood up from his spot underneath the oak tree. He dusted himself down and turned back towards the Garden. He had to speak with Xu when she felt able to, not as her superior, but as a father. He loved all the students and SeeDs at Garden, they were the children he and his wife Edea could never naturally have. He walked towards the entrance to the main hub of the academy and looked through the doors. The students were about to start their morning break and there would no doubt be a rush to get to the quad to enjoy the sunshine. Cid smiled and walked indoors. There were some good things about this job, and seeing the children with a safe home and support was definitely up there.

**=...=...=**

Xu coughed. Xavier had been forced out of her room and sent to an unoccupied room so he could actually get some sleep before Emma and doctor Kadowaki forced him to sleep. She was alone, sat there in a hospital bed, all her magic junctions had been removed when she had been admitted, but Megitsune would not leave her partner. Doctor Kadowaki knew better than to try and coax the GF out of Xu in order to let her heal and for that, Xu was thankful. The fox was silent, but its presence there helped Xu feel at ease. She had never liked hospitals, she had spent the four months after the death of her family in and out of them. The cold atmosphere, the sterile environment, the questioning, the drugs. Xu hated everything about them. Doctor Kadowaki knew this so whenever she had to treat Xu, she always made sure she got a room which seemed more welcoming - less detached and clinical. Xu looked at the pale yellow walls and smiled for a moment. Xu closed her eyes and leaned back against the pillows behind her. She sighed as she tried to rationalise her thoughts.

_"I got ambushed by a pack of T-rexaurs, used my limit and woke up here after some strange dream I still don't understand... Do you know anything about this Megitsune?"_

The hairs on Xu's neck stood on end for a second before they relaxed. Xu shrugged her shoulders.

_"Figured you'd have something to do with it. What happened? Can you show me?"_

Xu kept her eyes closed as the fox stimulated her memories. She could see herself stood there, bleeding, sweating, struggling to breathe as the dinosaurs closed in on her. She saw the red light forming around her and realised what had happened. With the last of her energy, she called Megitsune's name and the fox responded with possibly the strongest attack she had seen before. Xu opened her eyes and tried to catch her breath. Mentally reliving the summoning was hard enough, actually performing it must have been the most physically exerting thing she had ever done. She wiped her brow with her left hand, wiping the beads of sweat which had begun to form at her hairline and she stared at the wall again. She could feel the color draining from her face and she could hear the machine monitoring her heart rate start to increase. Emma, the cadet studying under the doctor in field medicine burst through the door with a panicked expression on her face.

**Emma:** "Xu, are you ok? The machine alerted me that you were under some stress or discomfort"

Xu sank back against the pillow and slowly breathed out.

**Xu:** "Sorry, my mind was playing tricks on me it seems. I got all worked up and scared over nothing."

Emma didn't believe Xu, but she knew better than to question her. She had gone through quite a traumatic event and given what she had heard - how her parents had died in an explosion when she was ten, the attack Megitsune must have used could have pushed her over the edge and brought those memories flooding back.

**Emma:** "I understand. Is there anything I can do to help you whilst I am here?"

**Xu:** "There is actually, can I have my PDA? I need to check something."

**Emma:** "The doctor told me you are not to have anything work related, but given that Garden Master Cid is working with Headmaster Aki right now to run the day to day affairs in Garden whilst you recuperate, I see no harm in letting you bring yourself up to speed on non-Garden affairs."

Xu smiled. She liked Emma. She was straight to the point, she didn't try to please anyone with her words or actions, she simply followed the rules where she had to and when the time allowed for bending them to suit someone else, she did so in such a way that she wouldn't get in trouble for it herself or get the other person in trouble. Eventually the ginger haired girl would take over the Infirmary after more people were trained by the doctor and signed off after receiving their relevant qualifications. Xu had no doubt that she too would run the infirmary with an iron fist much like the current head of it. Emma passed Xu her PDA and was about to leave when she suddenly stopped. She turned around to look at Xu again and spoke.

**Emma:** "I also play cards by the way. When you feel up to it, let me know."

**Xu:** "What gives you the idea that I'm still a card shark? I haven't played for months"

**Emma:** "Because Prince Spade lost to me five days ago"

**Xu:** "Prince Spade?"

Emma laughed as Xu tried to brush her off with a confused tone of voice. She walked over to Xu and pointed to the heart tattooed underneath her SeeD emblem tattoo.

**Emma:** "I had a feeling it was you who was Queen Heart, Xu. I admit I used my medical background as an excuse to confirm it by being able to see your tattoo... But my challenge still stands. I challenge you to a game of triple triad when you are well enough to face me"

**Xu:** "When the good doctor says I am fine to play, I shall. My cards are in my quarters however, so I cannot accept your challenge until they are in my possession"

Doctor Kadowaki's voice cut through the conversation.

**Dr. Kadowaki:** "Actually Xu, I sent Xavier to get them for you whilst you slept. You might not be up to the challenge of playing yet, but having your cards with you might help sharpen your mind whilst the painkillers start to slowly wear off."

Xu looked at the doctor.

**Xu:** "If you say so former king"

Emma's jaw dropped. The young cadet quickly left the room in search of her card deck. Doctor Kadowaki flashed Xu a stern look. Xu simply smirked

**Xu:** "What? I had to tell her. She's a nice enough girl, but I don't want her talking cards at me all day whilst I'm coming off painkillers and probably going to be very irritable"

The doctor simply pointed to the draw on Xu's bedside table before she left the room. Xu reached over and opened the draw - her deck was sat in its red and gold carry case. She slid her fingers over the leather case before picking it up. She lifted the lid off it and looked inside the roof of it - Carbuncle's card was secured. This was her ace in the hole, the card she tried not to use where possible. Squall had won it off her a few months back, but during the time compression when the card club were on the Ragnarok, she managed to win it back off him.

_"If Emma has already defeated most of the club, chances are she is skilled enough to win Carbuncle from me. I'll have to save that card for when she proves worthy."_

**=...=...=**

Normally, Doctor Kadowaki limited the number of guests allowed in an infirmary room to just two or three at the most, but at 18:00 on a Monday night with nothing better for most people to do, she lifted her restrictions for one reason only - a card game. Stood around the edge of Xu's room stood the members of the Card Club (minus Quistis the king) - Jasmine and Pearl (the diamond princess twins), Steve (Jack), Chris (Joker) and Liam (Prince Spade) stood in full SeeD uniform watching the game intently. Doctor Kadowaki, Nida and Garden Master Cid all stood behind Emma and Xavier, also known as Club stood behind Xu. The two girls shuffled their decks whilst looking at the Triple Triad board laid out on the table which sat over the end of Xu's bed.

**Xu:** "It is customary for club members to wear SeeD or cadet attire whilst playing. Given my current condition, I apologize for the break in tradition but I am certain that the good Doctor wouldn't allow me to change my clothing"

**Emma:** "It is fine."

**Xu:** "Excellent. Then, I, Queen Heart of Balamb Garden's Card Club accept your challenge"

As the two women rested their hands on their deck, Garden Master Cid stepped towards them.

**Cid:** "What are the rules we are going to play by?"

**Xu:** "Balamb's - Open, Trading rule one?"

**Emma:** "Agreed."

As the two girls skimmed through their decks, wondering which cards to chose the audience started to murmur amongst themselves.

**Steve:** "5 gil Emma beats Xu"

**Chris:** "You're on"

**Liam:** "I can't remember the last time we were all like this, wasn't it when Squall was facing Xu?"

**Nida:** "No, that happened on the bridge, it was me, Quistis, Rinoa and Xu there when that went down"

**Cid:** "I heard about that game, it took five rounds before a winner was decided"

Xu blanked the voices out as she selected her cards. She wasn't going to take any chances as she selected a strong hand of level five to level seven cards: **Tri-point [8,5,2,8], Tiamat, [8,8,5,4], X-ATMO92 [4,8,7,3], Ruby Dragon [7,2,7,4] and Behemoth [3,6,5,7]**. Emma laid her cards out at the same time: **Ruby Dragon [7,2,7,4], Elastoid [6,2,6,7], T-Rexaur [4,6,2,7], Oilboyle [1,8,4,8] and to everyone's surprise - MiniMog [9,3,9,2].**

**Cid:** "Wow! Strong hands. I can see this being decided after one round. I will flip a coin. Heads, Xu goes first, Tails, Emma goes first."

The coin flipped in the air. As it landed down on the center slot of the board, Xu smiled. Emma got first move. She placed the Elastoid card in the middle right of the board. Xu placed her Tri-point card underneath it in the bottom right, flipping it over. Emma placed the T-rexaur card above her recently flipped Elastoid blocking it off and creating a wall effect. Xu thought about her next move. She had a plan but she needed to put a stone face on as she tried it out. She laid down her Tiamat card in the bottom left corner, opposite Tri-point.

**Emma:** "Exactly where I want you"

Emma played the Mini-Mog directly above it, flipping Tiamat over. Xu held her smile back as she looked at her opponents card's. She smiled and placed the Ruby Dragon in the central tile, flipping the GF card over. Everyone took a deep breath as Emma shook her head. Xu had lured her into a trap.

**Xu:** "Thank you for the card Emma"

Emma shook her head and realised in her short-sightedness she had lost the hand. The rest of the game played out with the final score being 6-4 to Xu. It was a close hand, but in the end, the SeeD and Queen Heart retained her place as the guard to the card king. Xu had free reign of the cards Emma had played, many of them thought she would take her GF card but instead the SeeD picked her Ruby Dragon.

**Xu:** "I'm only four away from being able to refine them into an Inferno Fang. I need one for a weapon I am trying to design"

Emma nodded and saluted Xu. She gathered her remaining cards up and placed them back in her case. Xu did the same and Cid removed the board and returned it to the doctor. As everyone started filtering out of the room, Xavier looked at Xu.

**Xu:** "I know what you are going to say, so I'll just answer you now. I didn't want to take her GF card because I have no need for it. I wasn't showing any mercy to her, I just feel that it's a weaker card than Carbuncle. It will serve as a lesson to her to be more prudent with her decision making in future matches"

**Xavier:** "She will challenge you again soon."

**Xu:** "She knows when and where to find me."

Xavier smiled. He leaned in and kissed Xu on the cheek before sitting down next to her again. She looked a lot more alive compared to earlier on. She had a smile on her face again and there was more color in her cheeks. She was still working on eating, her appetite hadn't came back but the fluids she was being given acted to correct any electrolyte imbalances she had. She picked up her glass and took a sip before she put it down. Her hand twitched and she almost dropped it but Xavier managed to catch it without it going everywhere. He placed it out of her reach and reached into his pocket and pulled out one of her protein bars.

**Xavier:** "Have a bite of this when you can sneak it. Tomorrow if you want I'll take you to the canteen after the mad rush so we can actually sit down and get you something a bit less nutritional and a bit more tasteful?"

**Xu:** "The food here comes from the canteen..."

**Xavier:** "But it has that hospital taste to it."

Xu shook her head and playfully pushed him away with her left hand before she tucked the bar underneath her pillow for later on. She sat back a bit and got herself comfortable again.

**Xu:** "I think they might be discharging me tomorrow morning provided I don't flip out again"

**Xavier: "**Want me to bring you some clothes? I promise I won't take any trophies?"

Xu swiped at him with her left hand again.

**Xu:** "You've already seen enough, you don't need a trophy, you already have me"

**Xavier:** "That I do... and I am very thankful for it"

Xavier held her hand tightly and smiled as Xu blushed. She squeezed his fingers again and pulled him closer to her. She leaned against him and rested her head on his shoulder as his other hand came up and cupped the side of her face. He gently ran his fingers across her cheek and kissed her on the forehead.

**Xavier:** "I thought we were going to lose you at first. I've never seen you so pale and devoid of energy. It was scary."

**Xu:** "Sorry. I guess Megitsune had to force me into acting, she can be very demanding when the situation arises."

**Xavier:** "Sounds a lot like someone else I know"

**Xu:** "Did you see her?"

**Xavier:** "I caught a glimpse of her. She stood guard over you until me and Quistis made it to you. She then stood guard over you again last night when Emma dragged me off to X-ray."

**Xu:** "Only a few people have ever seen her, or had her let them see her willingly. She must like you"

**Xavier:** "I'm privileged. No sarcasm there either"

Xu closed her eyes and tried to get comfortable, but Xavier moved away from her and set her back down on the bed properly.

**Xavier:** "Get some rest Xu. I've gotta go and get my ass handed to me by Cid and receive my official three week suspension from active assignments. I think he's going to put me on desk duty to ease the burden on you - help you form the special operations team and relay the information between us to Timber team and our Galbadia based operatives."

Xu nodded. As Xavier stood up, he turned back round to her and leaned in. He kissed her on the lips briefly before he left the room. Xu smiled before she sank back into her pillows again. She looked up at the ceiling before she reached out for her drink again. She managed to drink more of it this time without spilling any of it. After she set it down, she looked at her PDA. She had several get well messages from various people but the one which stood out was from Quistis.

_"Arrived in Esthar. Xavier filled me in. Hope you are doing better. Our primary mission is to clear the main areas of the city out, we will have the chance for a longer contract with Esthar once we get rid of the Enoyle's nest amongst other threats"_

Xu took a deep breath before she replied.

_"Enoyles? Don't envy you one bit. Make sure you get as many energy crystals as you can. Those things are a goldmine for refining! There's a new card shark in the ranks too - cadet named Emma, works with Dr.K. I beat her earlier but she will challenge me again till she wins. Be wary on your return"_

Xu set her PDA down and looked out the window, Dr Kadowaki was sat at her desk typing out a report. She wondered about calling the doctor in to actually get a full report off her about her injuries and the treatment she had received but instead she decided to leave her to it, no doubt tomorrow morning she would receive the post-stay care briefing including what she could and couldn't do. She knew work and training were out of the question, but given the T-rexaur incident, the training center might as well stay closed till they can establish the cause of the problem and the cause behind the erratic behaviour of the monsters. She reached for her PDA once more and looked at the message, Quistis had replied.

_"Thanks for the heads up! How are YOU feeling though. You were pretty scary last night. You had that weird dream again? I think Dr.K is going to discharge you under the condition you reign it in for the next 3 weeks. Any training you do is under her or a member of her teams supervision"_

Xu sighed. She couldn't do any heavy physical training or any combat training, but she could do light conditioning at least. She'd probably be allowed to go to Balamb too and go to the spa to help in her rehabilitation. Maybe she could see Auron again. He wasn't interested in her, she wasn't interested in him, but he was a nice enough man and he probably would train or supervise her if the doctor ordered someone to watch if she was to swim for a bit. She closed her eyes and set her head back on the pillow once more. She wasn't tired but she knew she had to sleep until Xavier got back, she couldn't have him up all night watching over her again. As she closed her eyes, he thoughts began to shift again. Quistis mentioned the dream.

_"How would Quistis know about the dream? Had I freaked out like this before when she had stayed over? I hope I didn't scare her."_

**=...=...=**

**Cid:** "I understand the position you found yourself in but at the end of the day, when we accept a mission, we do not back down from it."

**Xavier:** "Sir, you removed me from the mission, I did not back down"

**Cid:** "You were going to though, your body spoke louder than your words. I am thankful that you were there to help Xu and Quistis. You are far better utilised here at Garden than you are out in Galbadia chasing shadows. For that reason I will show leniency"

**Xavier:** "Thank you sir,"

**Cid:** "Three weeks suspended from active duty. You are re-assigned to administrative duty. You are to assist Lieutenant-commander Xu in the formation of her new unit - the special operations team. Given your new relationship status with her, I expect you to be professional in your conduct."

**Xavier:** "No need to worry sir. That will not be an issue"

Cid waved his hand to dismiss Xavier. The SeeD saluted the Garden Master and left the room. He headed back towards the dormitories first. He pulled out Xu's keycard and opened her door when he arrived there. He slipped into her room and opened the door to her room. He picked up her things and folded them neatly before he fixed her bed for her. He took one of her gym bags out and picked up some comfortable clothes - loose tracksuit bottoms, a plain white t-shirt and a light blue training jacket. He pulled out some comfortable underwear for her and put them in the bag too before he closed her wardrobe door. He stopped and looked at the picture of him, her, Dian and Quistis on her wall and smiled.

_"I'm looking after her bro. Just like I promised."_

As he left her room and locked it, he headed towards the infirmary once more. It was nearly 22:30. The cafeteria was shut so he'd have to make do with the snacks he picked up earlier - some candy bars and a bottle of water. As he walked towards the infirmary he thought about the punishment Cid had handed down to him - three weeks babysitting Xu till she was cleared for work. It could have been worse, but at the same time, he knew how bored Xu could get and how she would want her space.

_"This is going to be a tough three weeks. Luckily we have three weeks to create a shortlist for the team first. Xu can handle the interviews. She probably knows who she wants on her team."_

Xavier looked at his PDA. There was a message from Cid:

_"Please, feel free to take time out of garden with Xu over the next three weeks. Once she is fit to travel she might enjoy a change of scenery"_

Xavier smiled. He planned to take Xu to Balamb this weekend already but if she was fine to go sooner they could spend a day or two there before the weekend. He flicked up his messages and replied with a simple _'Thanks'_ to the Garden Master before he put the PDA away. By the time he reached the infirmary, Dr Kadowaki was leaving for her quarters and Emma was taking over for her shift. Xavier saluted the Doctor in the same mocking way he always did. The doctor shook her head and bid him goodnight before Emma greeted him.

**Emma:** "Good evening SeeD Xavier. Xu is asleep, she drifted off about two hours ago. Do you have your deck of cards with you? Perhaps we could play a few games with no trades and different rules?"

**Xavier:** "Sure. Let me just drop these off in Xu's room and I'll be back out with my cards."

**=...=...=**

Emma had flipped over Xavier's Catoblepas card. She just won the game 6-4. As they cleared the board and shuffled their cards before selecting five cards at random, Xavier took a sip of his water.

**Emma:** "So... How long have you known Xu?"

**Xavier:** "About ten or eleven years. I'm nearly twenty-four now, she's almost twenty-three. We pretty much grew up here together"

**Emma:** "How long have you been in love with her?"

**Xavier:** "Since we were both fifteen, sixteen... that age. She went out with my best friend for a year when she was seventeen and he was fifteen... that was five years ago now. He died two years ago shortly after he turned eighteen"

**Emma:** "I remember that. I was meant to be on that mission as a back-up cadet but I took ill before it. The faculty claimed I faked it and put a block on me taking my SeeD exams. Since the uprising though and the death of NORG, I've passed the written paper"

**Xavier:** "I think the two masters have to sort a new SeeD exam out. I'm certain you will pass it, SeeD lacks white-mage specialists and dedicated field medics like yourself."

Emma bowed her head respectfully

**Xavier:** "Forget the respect, when it's just us two. We're all equals unless missions are concerned. Anyway, I'm fairly certain that there will be a SeeD exam within the next four weeks and I'm sure you'll pass with flying colors."

**Emma:** "Thank you, but I don't think I'll be good in combat"

**Xavier:** "What makes you say that?"

**Emma:** "I'm a ranged specialist. I defeated Ifrit because I have exceptional casting abilities but my weapon skills are lacking. I have a bow and arrow, I'm great at long range, but when it gets close, the blades on my bow don't do much good sometimes, and my short sword skills are lacking"

**Xavier:** "Lucky you, I'm a samurai class fighter. I work with katana and wakizashi. I can help you train your sword skills."

**Emma:** "Would Miss Xu be able to help?"

Xavier shook his head.

**Xavier:** "Maybe when she is healthy, but she will seek you out to train with. Xu has a habit of ambushing people in the training center when they are trying to train. No one will come out and say it, but sparring with her has helped improved many people's close combat skills and helped them train their situational awareness"

**Emma:** "Why? How does Xu fight?"

**Xavier:** "You don't know? She's the only Ninja-class fighter in SeeD. Ever wonder what the V on her tattoo means?"

**Emma:** "Now that you mention it..."

**Xavier:** "She is recognised to be a master of five weapons if you use the criteria which the weapons smiths, weapons masters and other combat specialists deem to be master-rank."

Emma was awestruck. As the two idly played their random-rules card game, not really paying much attention to the board in front of them, Emma kept asking about Xu. Xavier wondered whether the girl was going to run in and wake her up at one point, but then he realised, she also had a way with words. She could easily ascertain information from her target without even trying. In the course of the hour they spent talking, she had already compiled a basic background on Xu which in conjunction with the medical records she had and her brief interactions gave her a fairly good picture of her patient.

**Emma:** "She really is an interesting woman. I'd like to know more about her past, where she grew up, her family, but from what we have discussed I don't even think she knows much about her past or her family"

**Xavier:** "Her past is a very touchy subject. If you wish to be friends with her, just assume like everyone else here, their life started when they walked through the gates of Balamb Garden. What about you?"

**Emma:** "I'm from Dollet. My mother and father were rich but they died in an accident when I was five. My guardian used half the inheritance to send me here to Garden and to set me up with a fund for when I graduated and they kept the rest of it."

**Xavier:** "I'm from Balamb, as was Dian. We both lived on the same street. He was three years younger than me, but we were inseparable. I don't know what drawn Xu to us both, but the three of us, with Quistis were a group who just couldn't be separated till we graduated."

Xavier smiled as he thought about the days when they were all cadets but he was snapped back to his senses by Emma. The two had been playing the same card game for ten minutes.

**Emma:** "Sorry to distract you. I just want to know more people here. I don't have many friends here since I am so dedicated to my studies under the doctor. Could we talk again later?"

**Xavier:** "Sure. I'll give you my PDA contact later so we can talk and arrange a training session where I can help you with your fighting skills."

Emma politely nodded and turned her attention to her computer, typing up reports. Xavier walked into Xu's room. He took out his PDA and sent a message to Cid.

_"Emma, the girl in the infirmary. I suggest her name for the next SeeD exam scheduled for four weeks time. She may need work on her short range combat, but her information gathering and handling skills are second to none."_

Xavier put the PDA aside and sat down in the chair next to Xu. He reached out and held her hand as she slept. It was meant to be her first day in command but in a way, the accident could have been the best thing for her. Xu did not do well sat behind a desk whilst everyone else was out on assignment. Given her injuries and forced time out of work, she got some time to unwind and to focus before she could finally get into the field once more. Xavier leaned over and kissed her on the cheek before he got comfortable in the chair once again and let himself drift to sleep. Tomorrow they would hopefully be out of here and Xu would be able to begin her recovery.

* * *

**A/N: For a time-frame comparison, the events in this chapter take place at the same time as those in chapter 3 of Ronin-Ai's bells of freedom ( s/7122058/3/The-Bells-of-Freedom)**

The card numbers in the brackets are going clockwise left to right, with the first number being the top number, the second is the right, the third is the bottom and the last number is the left position. Hopefully this makes it easier to visualize the game


	8. 8 - Healing

**=Infirmary, Balamb Garden=**

Xu was restless. It was 09:00 and she was still waiting for Doctor Kadowaki to come visit her. She started clenching the sheet in her hands till her knuckles were going white as she tried to control her breathing. She felt fine, she slept well with no issues through the night and she was promised if everything was good, she could get discharged today and spend the next two to three weeks recovering. As she looked through the window, there was no sign of the doctor, only Xavier and Emma who sat there at the main desk talking and joking.

_"We've been together for two days and he's already got his eyes on someone else! I swear to Hyne I will rip his throat out if he even THINKS about trying anything!"_

Xu was angry. She had already snapped at Xavier this morning when she woke up. He was there by her side holding her hand and for some reason that irritated her. She didn't know why but she felt an irritating sensation on her stomach but every time she tried to find out why it was irritating her, someone distracted her and she was getting worse. She kept going over things in her mind, reasons for why she was so angry and irritable but nothing seemed to make sense unless it was the side effects of the medicine. Xu never seemed to do well with anesthesia, whenever she had been put under for any medical exams or procedures after any training mishaps or mission problems she usually came out of it spoiling for a fight. She started to drum her fingers on her thighs.

_"I should hit the panic button right now, disturb their little card games and warn her that he is off limits!"_

As Xu continued to grow more restless and irritable in the room. Xavier looked through the window at her. He waved to her before he turned his attention back to Emma. The young ginger cadet had just laid down the card which won the match they were playing. Emma De-Rossi was a talented card player and she knew sooner or later, she would have to challenge Xu again to earn the right to face the King. She pondered going in to challenge her again but Xavier without even needing to ask her what her intentions were cut her off instantly.

**Xavier:** "Don't even think about it. Unless you want to be on the end of some verbal abuse or even an attempt on your life with the IV tubing, I would stay out of that room."

Emma looked; she could see the silent anger building up in Xu. She thought for a moment and then realised what was going through the woman's head. She laughed to herself and turned back to Xavier.

**Emma:** "Xu smokes, correct?"

Xavier nodded. He didn't see where Emma was going with this, but he allowed her to carry on. He was intrigued to see what she came up with after a quick glance at a situation.

**Emma:** "Xu has a fiery temper too some would say, yes?"

**Xavier:** "Yes..."

**Emma:** "Does she also have problems with time, like she hates to be kept waiting?"

**Xavier:** "Don't most people?"

Emma laughed. Xavier didn't see it, but because he was also used to Xu he probably wouldn't have noticed it in the first place.

**Emma: **"Xu is undergoing nicotine withdrawal. She is highly irritable, she cannot focus and she is showing classic signs of anger. Right now she probably thinks I am trying to make a move on you, which is why she is glaring at you with a look which, to use the popular saying "Could kill"."

Xavier tried to hide his smirk but he couldn't. He glanced over his shoulder at Xu who had now started to try to avoid looking at them. He thought about going in there alone, but then the verbal abuse which would make even Seifer blush which would inevitably hit him wasn't worth facing alone. He looked to the door, the doctor had finally arrived. She hung her coat up and put on her lab coat and spoke to Emma.

**Dr. Kadowaki: **"Any issues with the patient?"

Emma stood up and saluted her superior.

**Emma:** "No ma'am, physically she has recovered to a suitable level to be discharged. Mentally, she is still exhausted and would probably be best to continue her recuperation in less strenuous surroundings given her dislike of medical facilities"

**Dr. Kadowaki:** "Anything else to add?"

Emma smiled

**Emma:** "Patient Xu is displaying advanced signs of nicotine withdrawal. Her body language is both hostile and anxious and I have advised SeeD Xavier to refrain from going in alone due to the possible effects of this condition which would have negative effects on his health"

The doctor laughed. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her PDA. She selected Cid's contact and sent him a message. Cid replied almost instantly which surprised her. She turned to Emma and Xavier and spoke.

**Dr. Kadowaki:** "Emma, Xavier, come with me to Xu's room. Cid will be on his way down soon as well. We have a few things we need to get through and we also need to calm Xu down first."

**Xavier:** "Does this mean she is getting discharged?"

**Dr. Kadowaki:** "Yes. Cid has approved her discharge if I find she is well enough, which, judging from Emma's accurate reports, she is. I would suggest we try to get her off the cigarettes, but I think that would take a medical breakthrough for us to terminate her dependence on nicotine... And it would not be fair to Garden if we had to endure three to four weeks of Xu in this state"

Xavier nodded in agreement. He stood up, looked at the doctor and to Emma and nodded before leading the way to her room. As he put his hand on the door he braced himself for what was about to happen. He turned around and smiled at the ladies behind him.

**Xavier:** "Doctor, Emma, may I ask you to give me ten minutes with the patient first? I do believe what you could possibly be on the receiving end of if you enter the room is language which I am sure you are familiar with, but words which you would not wish to believe our charming friend Xu is capable of using."

Doctor Kadowaki nodded and motioned for Emma to stand back as Xavier went in. As he opened the door, he took a deep breath and stepped over the threshold.

**Dr. Kadowaki:** "Godspeed Xavier Carol."

**Xu:** "YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

Xu thrown the pen left at her bedside at Xavier who narrowly avoided being hit with it. Even though it had been thrown with her left hand, the force and the technique the SeeD employed ensured it stuck in the wall tip first. She took several measured deep breaths before her eyes, burning with anger and irritation finally locked onto Xavier's.

**Xu:** "You are unbelievable! You tell me you're leaving for ever, let me sleep with you, then don't leave, become my boyfriend... spend a whole day at my bedside and then YOU LEAVE ME FOR SOME CADET?"

Xavier didn't even try to reason with Xu. He simply braced himself as the lid of the pen this time was thrown at him. He wasn't quick or alert enough to dodge this as the plastic implement hit him in the cheek with enough force to cleanly break the skin.

**Xu:** "You are un-FUCKING-believable Carol. Just what in Hyne do I have to do? I fucked you because I thought I would lose you forever, I spilled my guts to you and I even saved your life... THANK YOU BY THE WAY"

**Xavier:** "Xu, calm down"

Xu was going red in the face. The last thing she needed was him telling her to calm down. Her hands started to shake as her temper reached boiling point.

**Xu:** "I will not FUCKING CALM DOWN!"

Xu looked around for something else to throw but as she let her guard down, Xavier produced a packet of cigarettes from his pocket. He whistled at Xu who turned to look at him and it suddenly dawned on her.

**Xu:** "You brought me some cigarettes? Come here! I love you so much right now!"

**Xavier:** "Sorry hun, no smoking in the infirmary... but I think in an hour you can have one"

Xu's eyes widened. Her face started to return to its normal coloration. She then felt her stomach again and found what was irritating her - the patch the doctor had put on her - it had ran out, there was no nicotine left to administer to her. She peeled it off, rubbed at the skin and then realised why she was so angry - she was having withdrawal symptoms. She started to turn red again and looked at Xavier who stood there smiling at her.

**Xu:** "I am so sorry! I have been such an ass!"

Xu pulled her hands up to her face and covered it. She couldn't look at Xavier after the way she had been acting for the past hour, let alone have him looking at her. As she started to apologise profusely, Emma and the doctor walked into her room. They both smiled as Xu started making the same kind of promises someone after a heavy night of drinking would make.

**Dr. Kadowaki:** "Xu, please don't say anything you have no intention of following up on. We all know as soon as I sign you out, you will be in the Quad with a cigarette or three in your mouth."

Xu peered out from behind her hands. She breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down on the bed properly. She looked through the window, Cid was arriving.

**Xu:** "Does Cid need to speak to us all?"

**Emma:** "No, only you, Xavier and the doctor. I will be leaving the room to finish my final rounds before I hand over completely to the doctor."

**Xu:** "Emma, thank you for looking after me. I am sorry if my behaviour has caused any problems"

**Emma:** "It is fine Miss Xu. You have had a stressful period and are clearly acting out of character. I trust our next encounter will be under more pleasant circumstances and I also hope next time you are in full uniform, you will be kneeling in defeat to me."

**Xu:** "I hope that situation does not arise, there are few who have beaten me and I intend to keep that list to a minimum."

Emma saluted Xu who saluted her back before she left the room. As she headed down the hallway she bowed to the Garden Master as he passed her on the way to Xu's room. He stopped, took a deep breath and stepped in. The doctor bowed her head, Xu and Xavier saluted him, and Cid dismissed the formalities with a wave of his hand. He looked her up and down before he spoke.

**Cid:** "Get dressed Xu. We should talk so you are ready to leave once we finish our discussion."

Xu beamed with happiness at Cid's words. He had officially given his endorsement to discharging her from the infirmary. He would be expecting a briefing and she was expecting a talking to from him but it was worth it given the fact she was finally being allowed to leave the infirmary. She eased herself out of the bed and onto her feet as Xavier closed the blinds on her window and left the room with the doctor and Cid.

**=...=...=**

Cid: "I see. The past few weeks, since the events in Esthar involving the Lunar Cry seem to have had a strange effect on the monster population across the world, not just on the silent continent. It troubles me to think that our own facilities have been compromised by this phenomenon. Perhaps we need to invest in a new facility on the edge of Garden, in the plains so it is less of a risk to the students?"

**Xu:** "It would be an avenue worth exploring, but we need the finances to do that and in order to do that, we need to get more SeeDs out on deployment."

**Cid:** "Leave that to me. Please Xu, tell me your version of events, and tell me everything you can remember about that night in the training centre. I don't need every detail, just the mechanics - what happened, what injuries did you sustain, what do you remember - was anything out of place?"

Xu took a deep breath as she sat on the edge of her bed. Cid was sat in the chair opposite her and Xavier had seated himself next to the doctor. Both were taking notes on the meeting.

**Xu:** "It was around 21:30. Quistis, Xavier and I were in the facility. I had rushed on ahead to try and set up an ambush for the other two so I could see how much Quistis had improved in combat given her experiences. It was then when Megitsune alerted me to a change in the "mood" of the immediate vicinity I was in"

**Cid:** "Mood?"

**Xu:** "It's difficult to explain... I guess it is just the general feeling. Right now, this room we are all in is fairly relaxed but there is an official undertone to it. We are keeping everything formal but at the same time, not conducting this like an inquest as such."

**Cid: **"Well observed"

**Xu:** "It just felt ominous when I was alone. I had an instinct that something was going to happen. That was when the T-rexaurs attacked me."

**Cid:** "The reports and footage showed two attacked you, but one went into a bloodlust?"

**Xu:** "It killed its pack-mate and that drawn more of them to me. It seemed like whenever one was killed, two replaced the fallen beast."

**Cid:** "I have made some calls to Esthar. Apparently this has piqued Dr Odine's interest. I conversed with one of his co-workers, Piet. Quistis had spoken to him about it and he has agreed to come to Garden as soon as possible so we can research what is going on"

**Xu:** "Anything else you need to know sir?"

**Cid:** "No, that is all... I already know about your limit problems, that is something we cannot easily address, we are still working on a solution to that though, do not fear"

Xu nodded and smiled.

**Cid:** "As for Megitsune... I know how you do not summon her unless necessary and I am thankful you did. I worry about all my children and the dangers they face. I am just glad you are all strong enough to fight for yourselves and each other."

**Xu:** "Does this mean?"

**Cid:** "Yes it does. Doctor, could you please discharge Miss Xu? Give her the relevant instructions she will need to take care of herself. I am pretty certain she will get angry again if she doesn't make it to the quad and have the cigarette she is so desperately craving!"

Cid turned to leave the room as Xu started to get embarrassed again. She knew her habit was a social problem sometimes, but she never thought that she would bear the brunt of this many jokes and attacks. Xu pulled herself to her feet. She was wearing a pair of black sneakers, black jogging bottoms, a white t-shirt and a blue tracksuit jacket. It was a far cry from her usual attire, but she felt comfortable in it and she at least looked slightly respectable. She walked across the room towards the doctor who signed the bottom of her form. Xu read over it and signed it herself. As she handed the doctor the paperwork back, she produced a note and passed it to Xavier.

**Dr. Kadowaki: **"Since I know she won't listen to me, I was hoping you, her boyfriend... congratulations by the way. I wished you two would have got together sooner. You cost me some Gil!"

Xu was gobsmacked

**Xu: **"You had a betting pool on me?"

**Xavier: **"You didn't know? All the admin and some senior SeeDs all had a pool on when you would shack up with someone you actually liked."

**Xu: **"Are you responsible for getting a cut of the prize fund?"

**Dr. Kadowaki: **"Xavier refrained from betting given his feelings for you"

**Xu: **"I see... what was the timeframe then?"

**Xavier: **"I forget, but Joker said you'd end up going out with me, he didn't state a time, just a person... He is a sharp one"

Xu playfully punched Xavier as Doctor Kadowaki resumed her post-treatment care speech.

**Dr. Kadowaki: **"No work related activities at all for the next three weeks. You are to rest, recuperate and focus. I know you have a department to run which is why Cid is waiting to speak to you in the quad. He has a plan for you to follow."

Xu nodded.

**Dr. Kadowaki: **"We are on Tuesday now... so by Thursday evening I can clear you to visit outside of Garden. I know you will want to go the gym there, stick to swimming only, it will be easier than weights"

**Xu:** "I'd rather wait a week before leaving the Garden's borders; it's going to take that long to get some answers from Megitsune!"

**Dr. Kadowaki:** "Remember, any problems, report back to me. Remember your stomach is still recovering and you might feel some fatigue when walking or partaking in prolonged physical activities. Please show some restraint."

**Xu: **"Smoking?"

**Dr. Kadowaki: **"You know I do not endorse that, but you are 'safe' to smoke... whatever that means, it is far from safe to do that!"

**=...=...=**

_**=Quad, Balamb Garden=**_

Xu walked through the Quad. Since the battle of the gardens, it had undergone some modifications. It was still a wide open space with plenty of room to move about in and it was still an open-air facility, but there were also some defenses in place. Long the top of the walls nearer to the building, there were several ornate spikes. They were painted blue and gold, the traditional colours of Balamb garden, but they served another purpose. They were anti-air defenses. When triggered, they emitted a powerful electric current which formed a thunder-magic based shielding net over the vulnerable locations they protected. They had the scientists from Esthar to thank for that invention. Xu never got to see it in action when they tested it after a rogue swarm of bite-bugs tried to invade the Quad but she had seen the footage from the cameras, it was a thing of beauty.

There were more trees in the area too. They used to only line some of the pathways and hide some of the walls, but given how open and expansive the quad used to be, and how easily the raiding motorcycles of the G-army got around the location, trees were planted in random places, almost like a maze. In some ways, it did limit the amount of open spaces, but there were still areas for classes to take place, for the stage to be set up and also for people to train when the opportunity presented itself. Xu and Xavier reached the focal point of the quad. Cid was stood there in front of the focal point of the facility. Something which had been built after the war of the gardens - three large trees and a sculpture. The trees, a large oak tree, a large white birch tree and a large beech tree stood in a triangle like formation around the memorial to the fallen - a large Centran-revivalist styled column which had a large SeeD emblem, cast from bronze on the top of it. Around its base and on a plaque in front of it, the words:

_"__Nomina __libertatem __pretio __huc __ultimum solvit__. __Sed semper in uinculis habent__"_

_(The names of those on here paid the ultimate price for our freedom. We are eternally in their debt)_

Cid spent at least ten minutes every day sat underneath the large oak tree looking at this memorial. On the black column, the names of every SeeD, cadet, junior classman and administrative staff member who had lost their lives for garden over since its inception was engraved on the column. They had stopped adding names to it after the Ultimecia incident. It was a reminder to the past and what SeeD stood for and the Garden Committee had voted to commission a new memorial to those who fell in the future, defending the principles of SeeD and protecting those who could not protect themselves. Xu stood alongside Cid and saluted the sculpture before bowing her head respectfully. She knew where Dian's name was and her eyes darted towards it before she broke her gaze away and followed Cid and Xavier to the seating area underneath the large oak. Xavier sat down next to her and pulled out a cigarette. She almost snatched it out of his hands before she took his lighter and sparked it. She took the first pull of it, and held it in for as long as she could. The taste was so sweet as she slowly breathed out. Smiling, she took a shorter pull before exhaling again and looking towards Cid. The Garden master simply smiled as Xu held her cigarette in one hand, and Xavier's hand in her other hand.

**Cid: **"It pleases me to see you have finally found some inner peace with regards to your life Xu. How you attained this peace is probably best left a mystery to most, but I encourage you not to hide this feeling. You deserve happiness, you both do"

Xu blushed as she looked at Xavier who smiled at her before turning his attention back to Cid.

**Cid:** "As you are aware, Xavier broke protocol and has since been suspended from active duties for three weeks. Since his keen mind would be wasted in just giving him three weeks off, I have decided to make him your assistant and second in command of your covert unit. He will run the day-to-day basics of the unit and you will get the final say until you are fit enough to work. Please use this time you have together to strengthen your bonds and enjoy time with each other"

**Xavier: **"yes sir"

**Xu: **"Did you want to speak about something else sir?"

**Cid: **"Yes, after you update yourself on the current affairs with the news cables and G-net facilities, I wish for you to watch the footage from the training center. I understand this might be distressing for you, but with your own experience and comparing that to the footage, maybe you can identify the moments when things changed? We cannot keep the center closed for too long so by analysing it, reporting it and working with the Esthar team, we can get to the bottom of this."

Xu was uneasy with this. It terrified her waking up in the infirmary. It terrified her knowing she could have been killed by those monsters who were acting with what appeared to be human intelligence. She finished her cigarette and tried to avoid looking at Cid for as long as she could.

**Cid:** "I understand this is uncomfortable Xu, but by facing our fears and problems with the help and support of others we can overcome any adversity which we might face"

**Xavier: **"Sir, did you get my message?"

**Cid: **"Cadet Emma De-Rossi?"

Xu looked at Xavier. She was embarrassed enough for accusing him of cheating on her with another girl when she was going through nicotine withdrawal, but the fact he had messaged the master about her...

**Xavier: **"Yes. I would like to handle her training and field exam preparation. I believe with her skills and abilities, she will be a vital asset to SeeD."

Xu looked confused at Xavier.

**Xavier: **"Emma is a white-mage who sub-specialises in long-range combat. Her magical casting abilities are almost on par with a Rank 18 SeeD and she is also an accomplished medic under the expert tutelage of the doctor. She is also an archer - her weapon is a modified longbow with blades on each end which can be used in self defence if needed. Her back up weapon is a wakizashi. She had originally asked if you could train her"

**Xu: **"An archer-mage? Interesting... Why the interest though?"

**Cid: **"Emma is also a skilled interrogator. Her rotation in the infirmary has allowed her to perfect her observational skills as well as her questioning technique. I am fairly certain she could break even you or Squall given the chance"

**Xu:** "Maybe we should use her on those cadets who were fooling round the other morning?"

Cid smiled as Xu pulled out another cigarette. She lit up once again and proceeded to enjoy her vice.

**Xavier:** "I know I am 'sidelined' but surely mentoring does not count as active duty?"

**Cid:** "I agree with you there, please assist her. She shows promise, it is just a shame we are unable to graduate her now. Hopefully in four weeks time we can schedule a mission where we can see if any of the cadets are SeeD material. I am fairly certain, given the monster problems Esthar have, the mission Quistis has undertaken will only be the first of many."

Xu blew a ring of smoke as the two men talked. She played an important role in the SeeD exams, often being the on-field assessor who relayed the instructions and kept the machine going, but given everything what had happened recently and her very vocal disdain for administrative work at the moment, Cid had left her out of the loop for this one. She lay back on the grass below the tree and looked up at the branches, tangled in each other. It was warm out, the shade was nice and the faint breeze was relaxing. She wished she could fall asleep right here, but as Cid and Xavier stopped talking, she realised what was happening - it was nearing lunch time and the peace and quiet of their location would soon be shattered. Xu pulled herself up carefully and leaned against the tree. As she placed her hand on the giant tree, Cid spoke to her.

**Cid:** "This tree has been here since we founded Garden. It was a sapling when we opened, and like many of you now, it continues to grow strong. It is an inspiration to us all. Immovable, constant, watching over us all."

**Xu:** "I always wondered if this tree had grew here or if it was brought in"

**Cid:** "The only things we bring into Garden are you, the students, but you grow and develop here so like this tree, you feel right at home."

Xavier helped Xu regain her balance. They were about to bid Cid farewell, but he had already left them. It never ceased to surprise anyone at how quick the old man was, but he had a knack for disappearing when the time was right. Xu looked up at Xavier who held her in his arms and she smiled. She leaned back against the tree trunk and pulled him towards her. She placed her hand on the back of his head, pulled it towards her face and teasingly kissed him on the lips. They let their tongues briefly caress each other before they were interrupted by Nida.

**Nida: **"Normally I would pass two lovebirds under the tree by... But Xu and Xavier? Man, Joker is going to rake in the money off this!"

Xu gave Nida a look which was intended to hurt him. His jovial attitude however meant he didn't realise this and before either her or Xavier could react, Nida snapped a picture of them. He was proud of himself for capturing the first "official" picture of what Selphie would describe as "Balamb's hottest couple".

**Nida: **"Sorry guys, I had too. I heard a rumour you both found someone, but no one put two and two together."

Xavier smirked

**Xavier: **"Well, secret's out Xu... At least you're free from the Selphie interrogation till Timber team returns"

Xu shuddered at the thought. Selphie's happy-go-lucky demeanour and her obsession with getting the details had irritated Xu a few times in the past, but she chuckled to herself.

Nida: "Something funny?"

**Xu: **"Yeah... Squall is on a covert mission, in Galbadian lands, with his girlfriend. Selphie is there, probably interrogating him every step of the way and poor Zell is trying to play damage control or blocker, giving Squall some privacy with Rinoa. I would love to see that in action!"

Xavier and Nida both nodded and made the SeeD salute before both speaking.

**Xavier and Nida: **"A silent prayer for our troubled brother"

Xu looked confused. Neither Nida nor Xavier offered to explain what just happened. She was curious, but instead of pestering them, she simply shrugged her shoulders and held onto Xavier's hand.

**Nida: **"I can see Xu wants to escape right now, so I'll leave you guys to do whatever you need to, catch me up later if you want? If you need anything too, just ask me Xu. I'm here for you"

Xu smiled and nodded, she mouthed _'thanks'_ to her friend before he left them for a quieter corner of the quad. Xu turned her attentions back to Xavier who looked at her. Xu pointed to garden like a child would and playfully teased him.

**Xu: **"I wanna go get ice cream!"

**Xavier: **"Do you plan to act like a child for the next three weeks?"

Xu playfully punched his arm again.

**Xu: **"Yes! Now come on, let us get food already!"

**=...=...=**

_**=Dormitory Wing. Xu's quarters=**_

It was early evening, round 18:00 when Xu finally sat down at the computer terminal in her quarters. She logged into her G-net account - the garden network which linked all the SeeDs and the students to the central hub and went to her email account. There was one notification. She avoided clicking on the new message icon and instead backed out of it and decided to study the various message boards. There were some mentions of an incident in the training center and how it was currently closed for repairs. Xu smiled as she scanned through them - no mention of her. She breathed a sigh of relief before backing out of the garden news forum and clicking on the one forum she hated visiting - the G-gossip forum.

Xu wouldn't admit it to anyone, but she did brose the gossip forums a lot, mainly to find out what she had done or was accused of doing, or to see who find out who was her latest admirer. She made sure Xavier wasn't in the room still before she clicked on it. As the link opened up, there was a thread pinned to the top.

_"Nida... you son of a bitch!"_

Xu's eyes were fixed on the title of the hottest thread at the moment - "Balamb's Diamond shining brightly". She wanted to kill him right now, but it would be pointless, someone else would take up his stealthy approach to photographing people in compromising situations in social functions. She clicked on the link and it was just like reading a girly-magazine or a tabloid news paper - there was a big picture of her and Xavier cuddling under the oak tree in the quad followed by a smaller one of them kissing under it as an insert. As she read the "article" for lack of a better word, Xavier snuck in behind her. He stood over her shoulder and read the first line out loud much to Xu's surprise.

**Xavier: **"Fans of the legendary heartbreaker and diamond of Balamb, Miss Xu have once again had their hopes and dreams dashed against the rocks as she has been spotted with yet another very eligible bachelor - The one and only Xavier Carol"

Xu spun round, her face was bright red and her jaw was open in an almost cartoon-like fashion. She shook her head several times before finally speaking.

**Xu: **"How... long were you behind me?"

**Xavier: **"Only a minute or so... Didn't take you for a G-goss fan though... or are you more of a lurker"

Xu scowled for a moment and tried to hit her boyfriend but he shuffled out the way and then sat down next to her, crouching on the floor. He scanned the article briefly and laughed.

**Xu: **"What's so funny?"

**Xavier: **"Nida thinks we're just hooking up for a fling, he doesn't actually know we're an actual couple... And a new reply just went up - someone saw me entering your room with wine and flowers"

**Xu: **"But you don't have wine and flowers..."

**Xavier: **"Exactly... We can have so much fun with this!"

Xu rolled her eyes. Xavier was almost as bad as Selphie and Nida when it came to the gossip and the rumour mill in Garden sometimes. Selphie was the fountain of all knowledge in its inner workings, Nida was the man who captured the evidence to prove or disprove what people were whispering about, and Xavier... He just knew how to spin the wheels in the direction which suited him best. She had been caught up in the game once more. Shaking her head, she left the forum and went to the administration forum. This was restricted to senior SeeDs and the administrative staff of Garden only. There was no news to report, mainly because all the people who helped run Garden were aware of the training center problems and had all been instructed to keep it out of the public forum or place anything relating to it within easy access of someone who could let it slip to the general population of Garden. As Xu exited the browser, she went back to her e-mails. There were two more notifications this time. One was from Quistis who was on mission in Esthar and the other was from a weapon smith in Balamb. She looked carefully at the two emails before she went for the first one - Quistis.

_"Hi!_

_How is everyone? I know it's only been twenty-four hours since we left, but I'm missing you all like crazy! I'm actually getting the chance to walk around this place now, Esthar is HUGE! Like incredibly huge._

_How are you doing? Xavier told me you got paranoid due to not being able to smoke and threatened to kill him and that lovely young cadet who is helping out in the infirmary. I should have been there; I would have kept you sane!"_

Xu mumbled _**"Yeah right!"**_ to herself as she carried on reading

_"I tried to speak with Dr. Odine but his colleague, Piet got me, I met him last time we visited Esthar. He is bringing a team to investigate at some point in the next few days. He said his initial hypothesis is that the lunar cry has changed the magnetic field which the monsters respond to and some of them might be more sensitive to it than others. After all, the training center ones are bred in captivity so their isolated state might explain the increased susceptibility._

_Anyway, I better wrap this up, we've been outfitted with some fancy Esthar uniforms, I'll try and snag one for you too, and maybe you could incorporate it into your gi, like the cloaking function._

_Take care hun and please for the love of Hyne - RELAX!_

_Love Q xx"_

Xu didn't reply in depth right off the bat. Instead she sent her a quick "Got your email, I'll send you one later" note to at least acknowledge that she had read the message. She clicked on the weapon smith message - it was just a statement saying that if an inferno fang was soaked in a fire elemental draw point and mixed with the metal Odine uses for the suppressing bangles to form a weapon, it could in theory produce a highly charged magical weapon - reversing the polarity of the metal so it augments the magical energy instead of suppressing it. The smith apologized for not wanting to risk it but if she found the materials, he would happily show her how to do what she requested and she could do it herself.

**Xu: **"Typical, I want to make a dagger which could explode when being forged... I guess with these three weeks off I could possibly try and do it with some help and permission from Cid"

**Xavier: **"magical dagger?"

Xu forgot he was crouched down next to her as she put her hand on top of his and gave it a gentle squeeze.

**Xu: **"I got the idea a few weeks back when all this sorceress nonsense was going on. If a metal could suppress powers, surely one could augment them or at least if you forged it in a certain way, it could reverse the effects... Like making a magnet"

**Xavier: **"What does he mean about the draw point though?"

**Xu: **"Basically if something is immersed in a draw point, over time it could absorb the magical properties of it and become like a portable magic store. I've already prepared three fangs this way and I only need two or three more cards to get a fourth fang. I've already acquired a sample of the metal used by the doctor too; I have enough to make three blades."

**Xavier: **"let me guess, the forging and the magic soaking is like putting water on an oil fire? It could just make everything worse?"

**Xu: **"Yes. There is a danger that the metal and the concentrated magic could react in such a way that when they are forged together it could explode into a full blown Firaga spell"

**Xavier: **"Now I see why he is so unwilling to try it... but you are going to aren't you?"

**Xu: **"Might as well, it will be a glass cannon style effect - only good for one use then it's pointless. It's based on an old Trabian myth - the mystic knights"

**Xavier: **"I vaguely remember that - mages who could imbue their swords with magical energies and strike with physical and magical damage at the same time"

**Xu: **"yeah, it's kind of like junctioning fire to your elemental attack to make a physical fire attack, but this would be a permanent fire blade - every attack would be fire-based and it would deal magical damage too with each cut."

Xavier was intrigued. Xu seemed to have found something which could be useful, but dangerous to make and very limited in its use. He stood up and moved his hand on her mouse to the only other unread email - the security footage. He clicked on the email, downloaded the attachment and looked at her. She was uncomfortable. He could see the change in her body language and he could sense how the mood around them had changed. She held his hand tightly and looked up at him, her brown eyes were pleading with him not to open the attachment.

**Xu: **"Please... Don't make me watch this"

**Xavier: **"I'm right here with you this time. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you then but I'm here now"

**Xu: **"Please... You would have been in my way"

**Xavier: **"Prove it then. I'll point out where I could have helped, and you prove me wrong by watching it"

Xu was about to argue back but she suddenly realised that Xavier had her trapped. She would have to watch it now, her pride compelled her to.

**Xu: **"You are a bastard Xavier Carol... a total, Hyne-damned bastard"

Xu hesitated before she opened the attachment and clicked play.

**=...=...=**

**Xu: **"There!"

Xavier paused the footage. It was the frame where Xu had tried and failed to cast blind. She thought it might just be an irregularity from the grainy security camera footage which had been blown up on a high-definition screen, but it distinctly looked like there was someone in the brush for a moment as the T-rexaurs bore down on her.

**Xavier: **"That looks like a person"

**Xu: **"It's either a person or a ghost... sometimes happens on the recordings, especially where high magical energy is present, like in the facility. When an investigation team is sent in, their best bet is to investigate that area first"

Xu pointed at the screen - it was the section just before the secret area. Xavier noted it in his PDA before he looked at Xu who had hit play again. She fast forwarded the footage to her limit attack and watched as the eruption of power from the ground hit the animals for massive damage despite it being a fire-based attack.

**Xavier: **"Your limit is fire based... How did it do that much damage to the T-rexaurs who are notorious for resisting fire damage?"

**Xu: **"The power of a limit... and the fact its blood magic too, something not many understand... It might look like fire and act like fire, but it could be like flare - non-elemental as such"

Xavier nodded. He then hit play as it went to the summoning. Both of them watched the footage carefully. Xu noted that the ghostly figure on the recordings had vanished shortly before the summoning had started. Xavier watched the spell, and he saw the actual devastation it caused - how the monsters were effortlessly flung in the air from the explosion.

**Xavier: **"I knew you were powerful, but I didn't know Megitsune was THAT powerful. I always thought of her as a support GF, like the Carbuncle you gave me."

**Xu: **"Yeah, she is, but she is one of the few supportive GF's who actually is offensive. She boots my strength, stamina, vitality, evasion and magic resistance, offering me advantages, but when she attacks, she has a magic stat to rival that of Bahamut when she is fully charged"

**Xavier: **"Now I really want to see that Squall versus Xu battle happen!"

Xu looked at him confused.

**Xavier: **"We have a pool going on - you are going to ambush Squall in the facility the way you do to me or Nida, but he will end up duelling you. We want to see who would come out on top"

**Xu: **"It'd have to take place on the plains outside Garden. There is no way we could actually fight each other full strength inside Garden without destroying it. We could fight un-junctioned safely, but if the two of us, with only slight junctions face off in Garden, it would be a nightmare."

**Xavier: **"Speaking of nightmare..."

**Xu: **"Tomorrow Xavier... I don't want to talk about it tonight. I just want to sleep. I'm exhausted"

Xavier glanced at his PDA - it was 20:25. He hit the ring button to fake a message coming through before he stood up and pretended to read it.

**Xavier: **"Cid wants to see me. I gotta get moving"

Xu held onto his hand tightly. She didn't want him to leave her alone tonight.

**Xavier: **"I'll be back once he's finished with me. I promise. You get to sleep now and I'll slip in when he's done. I promise you'll wake up with me in the morning"

**Xu: **"Fine, don't wake me up though. If you do, I will kill you"

Xavier nodded. He gave her a gentle kiss on the lips before guiding her to her bedroom. She pushed the door open and saw how it had been tidied up when she was in the infirmary. She smiled at Xavier and kissed his cheek before she headed to her bed. She motioned for him to join her and he wished that he could, but he had to be somewhere and he couldn't join her, not yet anyway.

**Xavier: **"I have to go! Don't worry; I plan on remaining in that bed for many nights to come!"

**Xu: **"You best. I have you now; I'm not giving you up that easily. Tell that cute little cadet who seems to have taken a shine to you. Tell her Xu's got her teeth into this one, back off!"

Xavier mockingly saluted Xu who playfully growled at him before he stepped out of her room. He walked out her quarters, closed her door tightly behind him and pulled his PDA out again. He messaged Cid.

_"Xu is in her quarters. Have Cadet De-Rossi meet me with my weapons at the Training Center; tell her to bring Diablos along with her also. I'm going to take her for her first training session and to do a preliminary investigation of the area where the Esthar team should look at"_

Cid replied to him promptly

_"Understood. She is on her way there now. Please be vigilant, she is a promising cadet and I cannot afford to lose you both"_

Xavier didn't reply, instead he re-adjusted his junctions to defense and speed, he wanted to be in and out of there with minimal fuss and hopefully no combat, provided Diablos would co-operate with them.

**=...=...=**

_**=21:00, Training Center, Balamb Garden.=**_

Xavier and Emma stood near the entrance to the training center. It had been under lockdown since the incident with Xu. Xavier had both his blades - his Katana "Dian" and his Wakizashi whilst Emma had her longbow - "Inahime" and her Wakizashi. She had a quiver with thirty-five arrows in. She passed Xavier a black stone; he accepted it and focused his mind on it. The stone 'sank' into him, like Carbuncle's one did and a sinister voice rang through his mind.

**Diablos: **"Seed Xavier... It has been a long time since you required my assistance. Why should I grant it to you?"

**Xavier: **"There was an incident involving SeeD Xu. Something has confused the monsters, making them act extremely out of character. I ask if you might help keep them away from us?"

**Diablos: **"Very well. I shall assist, but if things are strange, not even my skill can help you. Please get to the bottom of this issue, I wish to challenge SeeD Xu again one day"

Xavier looked at Emma who watched the whole interaction. There was no sound, just two minutes of silence and erratic eye movements. Unlike Xu, who verbally communicated with her GF for all to hear, Xavier kept his conversations private, especially with Diablos. He looked at Emma and nodded.

**Xavier: **"We are good to go. Diablos will assist us provided when she is better, Xu challenges him again"

**Emma:** "Diablos wants to challenge Xu again?"

**Xavier:** "It's a long story; I'll tell you it sometime"

The two of them made their way into the center. It was quiet, too quiet. Emma had her bow at the ready in her left hand pointed at the floor, and in her right hand she held a single arrow between her fingers and rested her hand on the string. She surveyed the tree line and was astonished to see no rustling or to hear no sounds from the local wildlife. Xavier led the way, his katana drawn and held tightly in his right hand. In his left hand he held a picture from the video - it was a screenshot of where they saw what they believed to be the ghostly figure. With the encounter-none ability active, the two had no problems reaching the edge of where Xu's battle took place. The corpses of the T-rexaurs were still there though much of their flesh had been stripped from the bones, more than likely by the grats who were always searching for a meal. As they got closer to where Xu spotted the figure on the footage, Emma was awestruck at the sheer damage to the location. The ground was scorched black, trees uprooted and burned, logs charred, ash. Xu had pretty much destroyed the whole area with one attack. As they neared where Xu had fallen due to exhaustion, Emma thought she heard something. She wasn't sure what it was, but it sounded like a whistle.

**Xavier:** "You ok?"

Emma placed the arrow against the string of her bow. She raised it up and pulled it tight. She scanned the tree line, looking for any sign of movement - there was none.

**Emma:** "I thought I heard a whistle just then... It came from over there"

Emma motioned with her bow. She kept the weapon ready to fire as Xavier slowly approached the trees. As he did, he could hear the sound of tree's moving about in the distance. He slowly backed away from the trees and gripped the katana firmly in his hands. Emma pulled the arrow tighter than she originally had and prepared herself. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and then opened them again. She let go of the arrow and exhaled at the same time. The arrow flew straight at high-speed, passing over Xavier's shoulder and it crashed through the trees. Suddenly, seconds later there was a loud inhuman scream.

**Xavier:** "Diablos, I thought you were keeping the monsters away!"

**Diablos:** "I am, but I cannot stop those battles which are fated to happen or forced upon you. There is one monster coming and another one nearby; they are both the same kind of lizards which harmed your friend."

Xavier shook his head. This was not good. He fell back towards Emma who readied another arrow and aimed directly ahead of Xavier into the tree-line. As he backed away the sound of heavy footsteps drew closer.

**Xavier:** "Emma, stay back and keep your eye out. Something isn't right here, and something big is coming our way!"

Emma nodded. She closed her eyes and focused her mind. A blue light formed around Xavier, forming a protective barrier around him. Xavier nodded to her in thanks and cast haste upon himself and then on her.

**Xavier:** "There's two coming this way. Stay back and focus on long range. If they can get within range to try and bite you, that means they can also hit you with their tails, and those things hit pretty hard. If you have blind, cast it, if we can limit their effectiveness we can then take them down and get the hell out of her. You have a GF with you?"

**Emma:** "Just the standard issue Shiva"

**Xavier:** "Good. As soon as they clear the trees, summon her. The ice attack should throw them long enough for me to get one attack off. Cast blind on the one I'm not attacking, and then pelt the one I'm attacking with arrows. Divide, Disable, Destroy"

Emma nodded and started to bring her focus on the icy spirit in her mind. She could feel her body temperature drop a few degrees for a moment as the summon was waiting to be unleashed. She held it as long as she could and then she released it. The cascade of ice flew across the tree line as the two beasts came crashing out of the wood. The dinosaurs screamed out in agony as the jagged ice pierced their thick hides. As they screamed, Xavier ran forwards with both his sword and his wakizashi drawn. He jumped up, brought both swords up in front of his body and sliced them out in a cross fashion. As the blades cut into the side of the beast, Emma sent a blind spell out towards the other monster. The second dinosaur howled in frustration and started to flail about with its tail. Xavier ducked under this one's attack and made a pass at the non-blinded one's legs. He dropped down low and sliced both swords in a flowing swing across the monster's calf, causing it to stumble. As its head dropped, Emma fired off an arrow which found its intended mark - the beast's right eye. It let out a howl of pain as Xavier jumped up onto its back. He stabbed the wakizashi into its side and then pulled himself up onto the beast before he drove his sword with all his strength into the nape of the beast's neck. The T-rexaur let out a final roar before its body violently crashed into the ground.

**Emma:** "LOOK OUT"

Emma screamed a warning to Xavier but he was too slow to heed it. The blinded monster flailed about and wildly lashed its tail out. Xavier was caught in the back and sent across the floor. As he rolled across the dirt, Emma fired another arrow at the beast, this one bounced off its thick hide. She fired another, aiming for its slightly softer underbelly but it bounced off its hide again. She had to act fast otherwise Xavier would get trampled by it. Thinking on her feet, she pulled her wakizashi from her belt and thrown it, still in its sheath towards Xavier who caught it.

**Xavier:** "Thanks. Summon Shiva again, I'll use that time to run in, take a slice at it before backing out to get my swords. We'll finish it and get the hell out of here then"

Emma summoned the ice queen once more. As Shiva cast her diamond dust once again, Xavier ran forwards. Narrowly missing the explosion of ice, He sliced at the creature's calf again, this time he managed to cut through a tendon, crippling it. He backed away, narrowly missing the tail swipe once more as he made his way to retrieve his weapons. The beast howled in agony again as Emma rained down arrow after arrow on it. As the projectiles stuck into the exposed calf muscle, Xavier with his own katana in hand now moved in to deliver the final blow. He focused his mind on his sword and channelled his energy into the blade. He held his blade in both hands and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath before he set forward on his run. With his sword held out to his right hand side in both his hands, he sprinted towards the beast before he jumped. He brought the sword up in a clockwise rotation so it came above his head before he shouted the name of this attack.

**"IAINUKI"**

In one swift move he moved the sword slightly to his left before he brought it crashing down diagonally to the lower right with a clean, powerful cut. The sword had a black shadow to it as it cut through the monster, slicing clean through its body, severing its head from the rest of it. As the sword cleared the body, Xavier let go of it with his left hand and let it point to the right once more as he stood with his back to the slain beast. He closed his eyes as he flicked the blood off his blade before he opened them again. It was over. He wiped the blood-grove on his sword and sheathed it again before he picked up his own wakizashi and put it back in its sheath. Emma ran towards him and took her wakizashi back off him. She was awestruck.

**Emma:** "What...was that attack?"

**Xavier:** "Iainuki... also known as 'flash' - a death-strike"

**Emma:** "Is that your limit?"

**Xavier:** "One of them. It doesn't always work though, some foes cannot be felled with such a strike, and instead it merely hurts them to the extent of a powerful attack. In those cases, I usually use a different technique"

Emma cast a Cura spell on the SeeD as he pulled out his PDA. He brought up his contact list and stopped over one name - Cid. He pressed call.

**Xavier:** "Cid. We reached the area of interest, even with Diablos we had to fight two beasts. Do not fear, we are both safe. I advise sealing the facility and keeping it under guard at all times. It seems that the grat are fearful of Diablos, but something has driven the T-rexaurs to attack us despite the warding of the shadow. Please let me know when the research team comes, they will need a full SeeD escort if they are to safely take readings"

Emma spoke as Xavier nodded and hung up on the Garden Master.

**Emma:** "We should leave soon; I feel that those two beasts were only the tip of the iceberg."

Both quickly made their way to the entrance of the facility. As they reached the gate, they were greeted by Cid and Doctor Kadowaki.

**Dr. Kadowaki:** "Injuries?"

**Xavier:** "I took a tail to the back. Didn't feel anything break though, Emma treated me on site"

**Cid:** "Emma, what did you, a fresh pair of eyes make of the situation?"

Emma took a deep breath as she ordered her thoughts before she responded.

**Emma:** "I feel that there is something causing the beasts to change their behaviour, some outside factor we cannot identify as such yet. It is entirely plausible that the recent Lunar Cry has altered the magnetic forces which seem to influence the behaviour of the monsters and maybe this has "Hard reset" them back to their blood thirsty instincts... But it could also be a technological matter. I thought I saw someone, the same place as where Xu believed she saw someone on the footage. I think we need to focus our efforts on the battleground and work out from there."

**Cid:** "How would we do that? We do not have enough people with the skills you and Xavier have to do such a detailed search"

**Xavier:** "When we send in the escort with the research team from Esthar, we add an extra four fighters to it. Those fighters are to carry flares and everyone is to go directly to the flare the moment one is set off - if they find anything in the vegetation near there which resembles a technological factor or even a controlling entity as such, we can get data and get the hell out of there."

**Dr. Kadowaki: **"Given how you handled yourself tonight Emma and how valuable your insight is as a fresh-pair of eyes, I am releasing you to Xavier's command for the duration of this matter. I have other cadets who can assist in the running of the infirmary."

**Emma:** "Thank you Ma'am"

Emma saluted the doctor and then turned to Xavier

**Xavier:** "Rest. Tomorrow, I will send you the footage of the incident. Watch it, take notes. I'll get the footage from tonight sent to you too - make a report on it, find any similarities and then on Friday when the research team gets here, present it to them with me and Xu. We can all go in with a better idea of what we are up against then"

**Cid:** "A wise plan Xavier. I too would like a copy of this report before it is presented to the research team. I wish to know what we could be dealing with and if it is something we need external help with. Dismissed, all of you"

Doctor Kadowaki bowed and Xavier and Emma saluted the Garden Master. The four of them all left towards their destinations. As they walked, Xavier stopped outside the passageway to the library. Emma looked at him confused.

**Emma:** "Are you ok Xavier?"

Xavier: "I don't know. I just get the feeling, whatever is happening now; it is definitely not a coincidence that it is happening in the absence of Squall and the others. I get the feeling there is something more to this than just the monsters."

**Emma: "**A logical conclusion."

**Xavier:** "Speak of this to no one apart from myself, Xu, the doctor and Cid"

Emma saluted before she left towards her quarters. Xavier watched her leave before he pulled out a cigarette and lit it. As he took a drag and looked back towards the training center he repeated what he said to Emma.

_"There is something more to this than just the monsters... It can't be just a coincidence that this happens when the six strongest fighters are absent from Garden"_


	9. 9 - Discovery

**_.= Xu's office, Balamb Garden =._**

It was Thursday morning. The skies above Garden were slightly overcast as the storm clouds in the distance, round the Trabian continent were slowly making their way towards the island. Xu stood on her balcony, leaning over the railing watching the scenery like she always did when she needed to think. It had been a rough week. In the past seven days they had gone from celebration - defeating the Sorceress Ultimecia, getting Garden repaired completely and back to Balamb in time for the celebratory ball they held to the events of Sunday - an emotional rollercoaster where she almost lost one of her best friends, only to get him back as more than a friend before she was injured in what seemed to be, for all intents and purposes, a freak accident in the Training Center involving a large number of T-rexaurs. The only problem was, she along with her friends and those who knew about the event did not believe in freak accidents. T-rexaurs don't just suddenly decide to hunt in packs and attack the way they did that night, and when she found out two days later, Xavier had taken the cadet Emma De-Rossi into the center with him to do an after-incident investigation and they were attacked it troubled her. Partly because he left her alone in bed for a few hours whilst he snuck off with another woman to go play detective despite it being at Cid's request, and partly because the two of them were attacked and he was hurt in the process of trying to find out what had happened to cause the beasts to attack her in the manner they did. She closed her eyes and let the wind blow her hair back from her face. There was a strong breeze today, it wasn't unusual at this time of year in this part of the world, but at the same time, given the sudden change in the weather, it didn't seem right. Nothing seemed right anymore. Had the Lunar Cry and Time Compression events disrupted their planet in more ways than first evident?

_"I need to stop thinking. I'm confusing myself here"_

Xu opened her eyes. She reached into the pocket of her plain black jacket and pulled out her cigarettes. They were in a white box with a red and gold design on the front. The particular brand that she smoked was popular in Trabia and the Northern lands and she had acquired the taste for them when she was a cadet and on a training mission up in the snowfields. The SeeDs who gave them to her said they were called "Red Fangs". They were aptly named that because of the burning sensation they sometimes gave you in the back of the throat when you smoked them. They were some of the harshest tasting cigarettes around, but given how Xu had smoked them for almost six years now, she was well accustomed to the taste. She flipped the lid on the packet and pulled one out, and placed it between her lips. She put the packet back into her pocket before she fumbled about for her lighter - it was a petrol based one with a golden fox engraved on the side of it - a present from Quistis for her twenty-first birthday. She flicked the top of it and then in a quick motion, snapped her fingers along the edge of the wheel, causing the flame to rise from it. Xu lit her cigarette with it and then snapped the lid back on it. She loved to play with the lighter when she was bored, the tricks were pointless, but there was a certain style which they gave off sometimes, especially in social gatherings. She took a pull from the cigarette and coughed slightly as she felt the burning sensation in her throat. Even as a 'seasoned smoker', she was sometimes caught off guard when that happened. She spluttered slightly as she exhaled and blinked. The 'burn' had managed to bring a tear to her eye. Something which hadn't happened for a long time when she smoked. Wiping it away, Xu looked over at the mountains once more, the grey clouds were slowly getting closer towards them.

_"Looks like there's going to be a storm tonight... I was hoping to try and get out to Balamb this weekend, but judging by the size of those clouds, I feel it might have to wait until next week!"_

As Xu pondered what to do with her weekend she came to the realization she hated enforced rest and recovery just as much as she hated being sat at a desk all the time. She did not deny her talents in the administration of Balamb and how she efficiently managed their supplies and co-ordinated the field exams and missions, but she hated being so passive. She did not dislike time off from work and her duties either, but the enforced break which meant no intense physical training or light combat training in any way could be carried out gnawed at her. She was a fighter, she thrived on the adrenaline rush and pushing herself to the limit. She wasn't satisfied with half measures, it was all or nothing with Xu and at the moment, apart from Xavier, she was at nothing. She might have been alive but the fact she was restricted from doing anything which helped her order her mind and helped to vent frustrations seemed to drag her down. She looked to her side, the empty space on the balcony next to her. Xavier should have been there with her, but she was furious with him for the excursion on Tuesday night. Not down to insecurities about his fidelity, but more down to the fact he didn't tell her about it. She took another pull of her cigarette and recalled the argument they had on Wednesday morning. She saw the bruising on his lower back and it didn't take her long to put two and two together. She wanted to scream at him but she couldn't. She knew that she would only get herself worked up even more and more. Instead she threw a cushion at him from her couch and turned her back on him. She remembered he didn't fight back, he just took it, like he was expecting this all along. That had made her feel even worse when he silently left her quarters. He hadn't tried to call her, only sending short messages asking if she needed anything bringing to her.

_"I blew it out of proportion... We've been together three days and are already avoiding talking to each other. Hyne-dammit Xu, you are such an ass"_

Xu shook her head and slammed her fist down onto the railing. That was the only problem with her "sanctuary" within the Garden complex - she thought too much when she was out there. She tried to compose herself as she finished her cigarette. As she flicked the ash from the end of it, her PDA rang. She hesitated reaching into her pocket for it, fearing it would be Xavier calling her. She flicked her cigarette butt over the rail and stepped back. The ringing had stopped. She shook her head as she reached into the pocket of her loose fitting blue jeans and pulled it out - it was a message, not a call. She was relieved at this, but when she saw the sender's name - Xavier, her heart sank.

_"Are you in your office. I need to stop by and ask you something"_

Xu hesitated as she started to walk back into her office. She sat down at her desk and looked at her inbox. There was a message from Galbadia off one of the operatives they had in place there that was monitoring the situation. It was bleak - there was a divide in the military and powers - those who had prospered under Deiling and had their own interests at mind against those who were acting more in the interests of the people such as Caraway and some other high-ranking officials. There was still street to street fighting and rioting taking place, but the fact some of the garrisons in the nearby regions had been recalled into Galbadia suggested that there could well be a full scale battle on the Great Plains. This news was pleasing at least because it meant the Timer team had a good window of time to try and accomplish their mission. The terms of their contract only stated that they were in employment of Rinoa and the Owls until Timber was liberated from Galbadian rule. Xu clicked on the message and forwarded it to Squall. She knew he probably wouldn't be able to check it for a few days, but she figured he needed all the information she could possibly get.

_"I don't agree with you going, you should be here, but I can't have you getting yourself killed Leonhart."_

Xu mused to herself as she started typing various messages to their Galbadian operatives, telling them to forward whatever information they could to her so she could condense it and send it on to Squall and his team so they had a ready-to-go briefing on current events. As she flicked to the Garden news feed, to see if there was anything there was a knock at her office door.

_"It's open, come in"_

Xu didn't look up as her door opened. She kept her head down and motioned towards the empty chair in front of her desk.

_"You still not talking to me then?"_

Xu swallowed as she heard the voice - Xavier had dropped in. He closed the door behind him as she looked up at him. He was wearing his usual attire, a pair of black jeans, a dark blue top and a black jacket. His katana hung from his waist and in his hand he held a plastic carrier bag. He walked towards Xu and laid the bag on the table.

**Xu:** "What's this?"

**Xavier:** "Peace offering"

Xavier shrugged his shoulders as he watched his girlfriend open the bag - inside it was a mixture of drinks, cigarettes, energy bars and a sealed container. She pulled the container out and carefully lifted the lid up, the steam rose out from the cracks in the seal and as she lifted the top off, she took a sniff of the aroma it released and smiled - it was beef stew with rice, one of her favourite dishes.

**Xavier:** "Look, I'm sorry I hurt you by doing what I did, I just didn't want to alarm you. I needed to see for myself what you saw and I also had to see if it would be safe for us to send a team in there... Turns out it isn't..."

Xu put the lid back on her container and placed it to one side. She took a bottle of water from the bag and opened it. Taking a large gulp, she offered it to Xavier who sat down opposite her. He accepted the gift and took a sip as Xu finally spoke to him.

**Xu:** "Why didn't you use Diablos?"

**Xavier:** "We did. That is why we went."

Xu's face started to go pale as she heard what he said. It didn't register at first but when he repeated it, it chilled her. Diablos was known for keeping near enough all but the most powerful monsters away and T-rexaurs were not in the unable to be repelled bracket.

**Xu:** "I'm so sorry"

Xu hung her head and closed her eyes. She had torn into him out of emotion and without actually getting the full rundown of what had taken place. They were attacked when Diablos was repelling everything else. This added a new factor to the strange goings on. It made her feel uneasy. She was thankful Emma and Xavier made it out alive, but at the same time, she was ashamed of herself for being harsh when there wasn't any need to be harsh. He was suffering because of this too, but all that she could do was think about how she was. Xavier stood up, he walked over towards her and placed his arms around her shoulders as he stood behind her. He gently ran his finger across her cheek and spoke softly to her. It re-assured her.

**Xavier:** "Its fine Xu. You aren't yourself right now. I know you're scared and there are things playing on your mind and that's fine. When you're ready, let me know and I'll listen to what you need to say and get out in the open."

Xu pushed his arms off of her as she stood up. She turned round, sliding her chair out the way of them and reached up and kissed him on the lips. She felt safe in his arms and she wished they could stay like this longer, pressed against each other, teasing one another with their tongues but they couldn't. She broke away from Xavier and kept her face hid as he tried to look at her. He placed his hand underneath her chin and lifted it up so he could look into her eyes - she was crying. He used the side of his finger to wipe away a tear and kissed her on the forehead.

**Xu:** "You've ruined me Xavier. I used to be an Ice Queen, A heartbreaker... now I've been turned into a big fucking girlie-girl like Selphie!"

Xavier smiled at her and brushed a lock of her hair out the way of her face.

**Xavier:** "its ok, your secret is safe with me fearful ninja"

Xu pushed him away playfully before she picked up her water. Taking another sip from it, she noticed his Katana at his waist and looked at him quizzically.

**Xavier:** "I'm training Emma in close-ranged combat. She said she needed the help and since I'm benched and you're relaxing and medically ordered not to do so, Cid has handed her over to my command until she takes the field exam we are scheduling for four weeks time"

Xu nodded and sat back down.

**Xu:** "Ok... Call by my place later on. There are a few things I need to tell you"

**=...=...=**

**_=12:30 Quad, Balamb Garden=_**

_"Relax your grip. You're not using a long-sword."_

Xavier stepped back, in his hand he held his katana idly in his right hand.

**Xavier:** "Unlike a long sword where the weight is mostly in the blade, a sword like mine and yours, all of the weight is in the handle. It makes striking with it so easy"

Xavier sheathed his katana and placed his hands on hers, re-positioning her grip. The Wakizashi could be used singlehandedly due to its size, but for more powerful strikes, two hands were essential for someone who wasn't fully familiar or confident with using the weapon.

**Xavier:** "Lead with your right hand, wear it on your left. That way when you have to draw it, you can make a strike instantly. You can hold it firmly, but remember to have some flexibility in the grip - you want to make fluid strikes, not rigid ones."

Xavier stepped back as Emma tried once more. She flicked the hilt with her left thumb and held the handle in her right hand. She stepped forwards and pulled it out in a jerked movement at first. She managed to get it out into a horizontal strike but it was clumsy in motion.

**Xavier:** "That was a slight improvement but I can see you're not completely comfortable with this. Why did you pick the wakizashi as your close range weapon?"

Emma sheathed her sword and removed it from her belt. She looked at it and sighed.

**Emma:** "I didn't want to pick this, I wanted to pick a staff or something with similar range as a back-up. My weapons instructors insisted I picked the short sword and were very aggressive about it. They said due to my height and build, it would be beneficial for me"

**Xavier:** "Do you have your bow with you... Inahime is it?"

Emma nodded. She walked over to where she had stored her gear and picked up the bow. It was dark brown and stood almost as tall as her. It was five foot long but due to the blades at the ends of the horns on the bow, it was more like six feet long. The two thick, sharp steel blades resembled the blades which you would find on a naginata - the bladed staff. Xavier admired the craftsmanship of the weapon and then pointed to the center of the space they were using. He drew his sword and pointed it at her.

**Xavier:** "Try and land a hit on me with your bow in close range fighting. If you fare well like this, I might know just the weapon for you to use and who to see about getting one"

Emma hesitated at first, but she nodded. She bowed to Xavier before she stood opposite him. She held the bow in her hands near the center of it and readied herself, in a stance like a staff user would. She stepped forwards, dropping one end of her weapon down and bringing it up in a rising strike which Xavier effortlessly parried, but she spun the bow round as the blades deflected off each other and quickly flicked it out, using the other end's blade to strike. Xavier stepped back and deflected the blow before he quickly repositioned his weapon as she struck again with another strike, this one was quicker though and almost caught him off guard. She stepped backwards, brought the bow up above her head and twisted it round in her hands before she brought it down in a vertical strike. As Xavier brought his blade up to deflect it, Emma rotated the bow away from her, bringing up the tail-end which forced a hurried block from the swordsman.

_"She's good. She is no way a sword user. Her strikes are too rigid and predictable."_

Xavier analysed her attacks. They alternated from one end to the other. In one way they were predictable, as she moved from one side to the other, but the way she delivered the blows, the flicks, the rotations, the speed and the angles was interesting. She had a rhythm which she was settled in and her style was more suited towards fighting with a staff. As he deflected a low rising strike with a flick of his wrist, he saw Nida in the quad. Nida would be the best person to ask - he would surely have a spare staff she could work with. Xavier stepped backwards, deflecting another thrust and then reading her attack, stepped forwards, bringing his sword up above his head to catch her strike. As she was ready to bring the blade down, Xavier pushed his sword against her incoming blow, knocking her off balance. As she stumbled backwards, he moved in, crossing his feet across each other, he rotated towards her, letting go of his sword with the left hand and catching the body of her bow in it. He pulled her off balance and stopped her movement with the flat side of his blade.

**Emma:** "Were you even trying?"

**Xavier:** "At first, no, but as you got settled into your rhythm, it became harder to just idly defend. You made me work but it also gave me enough time to analyse your technique."

**Emma:** "So you would prefer me to switch to the staff or pole arm?"

**Xavier:** "You have better skill with it compared to your sword, given how you have been training with one in some weird way"

**Emma:** "I see, I suppose you are right"

Xavier put his fingers to his mouth and whistled at Nida who walked towards them. As he got closer, the SeeD shouted him.

**Xavier:** "Nida... you think you could take Emma to the weapons room? She's been lumbered with the wakizashi but as you probably saw, she is more in your area of expertise"

**Nida:** "Sure, I think the Naginata would be her best bet. It can be screwed together so it can be wielded at full length and stored, or used as a very short spear"

**Emma:** "That sounds interesting. I would like that"

**Nida:** "I'll lead the way then, just let me know when you are ready to proceed"

Nida walked towards where their gear was stored as Emma leaned in towards Xavier. She whispered in his ear as she placed something from her pocket into his hand - it was a flash drive.

**Emma:** "Here is the report, the analysis and the findings. Show Xu, then the three of us, with the doctor can review it with the Garden Master before Esthar arrive"

Xavier nodded. He hugged the cadet and waved to Nida who waited for her. As the cadet and Nida walked back towards Garden, Xavier pulled his PDA out and messaged Xu.

_"You back in your room? I've got the report from Emma. I'll head back now"_

Xu replied to him almost instantly.

_"Yeah, bring it. We need to talk about things anyway"_

Xavier knew what she wanted to talk about but it wasn't easy reading that message. He put the PDA back in his pocket and picked up the rest of his belongings before he headed back into the garden.

**=...=...=**

**_.=15:00 Dormitory Wing. Xu's quarters=._**

Xu sat down with her laptop on the table in front of the couch. She could have used her workstation for it, but the laptop was more secure and it could be linked up with the big screen on her wall to make viewing easier. As she connected the cables to the back of her laptop, Xavier was attaching them to the screen. She was still wearing her blue jeans but instead of her jacket she wore a sleeveless black vest top with a red tribal design on it. Her hair was still out, like it had been for much of the past three days, she saw no need to tie it back, but she did have a hair clip in, keeping the front of her hair from dropping into her face constantly. She reached out for the glass of water in front of her and took a sip as Xavier finally hooked the cables up. The pair of them looked at each other before he walked towards the couch. He sat down next to her and emptied his pockets. Xu did the same; they placed their PDA's on the table alongside their keycards, their wallets, their cigarettes and their lighters. Xu plugged the flash drive into the port on her laptop and went to open it. Before she could, Xavier knocked her hand away from the computer. She looked at him confused but then realised what he was doing.

**Xavier: **"Before we watch... tell me what you saw in the infirmary. I've never seen you this spooked before... Not since..."

Xavier's voice trailed off as he looked towards the picture on the coffee table. They both knew what he was going to say and even though it had been two years since his death, neither of them could talk about Dian and what happened without feeling uncomfortable. Their eyes both met before Xu finished his sentence.

**Xu: **"Since Dian died... and yes... It is just like then"

Xavier held her hand tightly in his.

**Xu: **"I had the same nightmare for about a month after Dian died... It's like someone is trying to tell me something through it but I can't place what it means..."

Xavier took a drink of water and stayed silent, it was best to let Xu explain things at her own pace. He didn't want to push her more than he was doing right now. He sat there and took note as she described the setting - the trees, the snow, the burning wreckage, the burning house, the dead bodies clad in black and then the little girl and the man with the gun standing over her. She started to sweat as she spoke about it, it was troubling her giving a shortened summary, let alone going into explicit detail when pressed to. She wanted to stop, but if she didn't talk about it, she would never get to the bottom of it.

**Xavier: **"So... you woke up when the gunshot went off?"

Xu nodded. She took a sip of water and reached for her cigarettes again. She pulled two out, offered Xavier one and lit them both. As they both took their first pull, Xu let her eyes drift towards the blank screen in front of her.

**Xu:** "When you guys must have sedated me, I woke up back there again... this time inside the house. I had to fight to get out, and that's when I saw the girl had killed the gunman, his shot missed her because she stuck him in the throat with some ornate hairpin which looks a lot like mine... Megitsune said when I was ready she would explain it all to me"

Xu didn't want to tell him that the girl was her and it was her past she was witnessing. She knew she should have and she could even feel Megitsune stirring in her mind prompting her to, but Xavier let her be. He could tell she was holding back, but the fact she had at least opened up and told him about what had happened gave him some comfort. It also made her feel safe; he didn't press her any more than he needed to. He would go at her pace and let her decide when she would do things.

**Xavier:** "Ok, so now we both got that out the way... Monday, after the research team has been and done their initial data gathering and what not, I've got another training session for Emma, it is one I want you in on."

**Xu: **"Why is that?"

**Xavier: **"I want her put forwards for the covert unit. Since close range fighting is essential but a last resort in the line of work we would be doing, surely a white mage and an archer would be a vital asset to have?"

**Xu: **"I see what you mean by that, but her intelligence skills?"

**Xavier: **"let's look at the report shall we"

They loaded the file up and as they read through it they were impressed with the detail which had been put into it. Xu clicked a link in the text and it brought up camera still's from both of their excursions into the center and it had the areas where they stood circled, where the T-rexaurs came from, where the mysterious figure was stood. Xu zoomed in on the frames from Xavier's visit and the same figure was there. It was still lacking in clear detail but it seemed to be a common link between the two incidents.

**Xu:** "There"

Xu pointed at the laptop screen as Xavier looked on the big screen. There was a slight glint of light on the figure.

**Xavier:** "Looks like a reflection"

Xu strained her eyes.

**Xavier:** "It's a small reflection off something metal. That gleam..."

Xu compared the two pictures once more before she scrolled further down the report. She read over Emma's comments.

_"I examined the footage from the initial incident involving SeeD Xu and picked up on two main things. One - The monsters were organised. This is not normally a trait which can be applied to T-rexaurs, even in the wild; they rarely travel in packs due to their bloodthirsty nature. They prefer to work alone or in a pair if they are mated with each other._

_Two - The monsters seemed to be focused solely on the SeeD. In the first incident there was only Seed Xu, but in the second, with two people present, SeeD Carol posed the immediate threat but whenever Cadet De-Rossi attacked, the beasts ignored her._

_In conclusion, this behaviour and targeting might suggest some form of training or taming of these beasts or even some kind of technological manipulation. Without further evidence it would be impossible to rule out any naturally occurring phenomena such as the Lunar Cry or the mysterious Time Compression event."_

Xu nodded to herself in agreement with what Emma had noted. There was something seemingly behind the T-rexaur's actions which made no sense and the mysterious figure and the glint of a reflection seemed to point in that direction too. Only with Esthar's help they could get a straight answer to what was going on - was it the planet or was something more sinister afoot?

**=...=...=**

**_.=19:00, Garden Master Cid's office=._**

Although it was not an official SeeD meeting as such, Xu and Xavier were dressed in their SeeD uniforms. They were joined by Emma in her Cadet uniform and the doctor who wore her usual attire. They sat inside the main room of Cid's office with various files in their hands. They all waited as Cid made his way through the door. He greeted them all and then sat down at his desk. He hit a button which dimmed the lights and locked the door.

**Cid:** "Sorry for the cautiousness, but this meeting is strictly need to know. We cannot let whatever is said have a chance of leaving this room and leaked to the general population of Garden until absolutely necessary."

The four sat opposite him nodded in agreement.

**Cid:** "Having read your report Emma, I have come to some conclusions of my own. I am also certain Xu and Xavier made some discoveries from what you have compiled and I believe the doctor has some insight too. So let us begin."

Cid motioned to Xu. Xu nodded, she cleared her throat and opened the file in her hands - it contained the pictures of the ghostly figure and the reflection glint they had found.

**Xu:** "Both incidents report a ghostly figure in the video images. This could be camera trickery, but it could also be sign that this is not a natural phenomenon of sorts. The glint in the images comes across as a reflection of light, similar to using a mirror to signal a message using light and hand signals."

**Xavier:** "Xu suggested when we lead the team from Esthar in, three or four more SeeDs are tagged along to it, and they head towards the location circled in the pictures to investigate closer. They will be briefed to use a red distress flare if under attack from T-rexaurs, and a Blue distress flare if they find something. All on the mission will be briefed on the importance of responding right away to the signals."

**Cid: **"An excellent suggestion. Doctor?"

Doctor Kadowaki opened her report file.

**Dr. Kadowaki: **"When the rescue team went in to retrieve Xu, I had one of them take samples from each deceased T-rexaur so I could analyse their blood and DNA - see if there were any mutations as such which could possibly have been caused by radiation or irregularities in the time-space flow. It is a farfetched theory, but all of them seem to be within normal measurements. There is always some slight mutation in DNA from two identical species and there were only the expected results. Nothing seems to point out that this is a natural event"

**Emma: **"Perhaps we should ask Esthar to analyse the samples you have and see if they can independently verify your readings?"

**Dr. Kadowaki: **"That is the first plan. The second one is for them to take a sample of blood from both Xavier and Xu along with the three cadets who were injured the other week. Maybe the five of you have come into contact with something our equipment cannot detect?"

Xu shuddered at the thought of carrying something which made her a beacon to monsters.

**Emma: **"You all know my conclusions already; I am of the firm belief that there is an external, non-natural factor influencing these results provided we call the Lunar Cry and Time Compression Event natural. The organisation of the beasts reminds me of stories of the fabled tamers - those who could speak with the monsters and influence them and use them in battle for their own needs"

Cid rubbed his hands together. He looked at Xu and Xavier, then to Emma, then to the doctor.

**Cid: **"The team from Esthar should be arriving tomorrow. The storm system from Trabia is closing in and it should be on us in the next few hours, so Esthar will need to use Ragnarok more than likely to reach us. This will be beneficial as it will allow us more time to get the team set up and the mission underway."

**Xu:** "Request to be in on the mission control side? I am unable to participate directly in the field due to medical restrictions, but I may be of use watching a delayed feed which can be paused and re-wound to capture any images which can then be transmitted in case anything is missed?"

Cid looked at the doctor who simply nodded.

**Cid:** "Agreed. I would suggest Emma works with you in the data handling. Emma can handle the scientific data, you can handle the images."

Xavier put his hand up. Cid looked to him and nodded.

**Xavier:** "Permission to bring Nida Liang into the loop sir."

Cid pressed his fingertips together and looked at Xavier. He was waiting to see why Xavier was asking to bring someone into the matter which they wished could stay as hidden as possible.

**Xavier: **"Nida is the chief strategist for Garden. Surely with his input and thinking, he might be able to plan a route for us to work and possible scenarios so we know how to react? Xu can liaise with him as this is also, essentially a covert operation"

Cid clapped his hands together.

**Cid:** "I never thought about that! Nida would be perfect for this, he is also intelligent enough to know that if Esthar are investigating our facility, then there is something amiss which he would keep silent. Would you brief him on what you deem necessary Xavier?"

Xavier nodded.

**Dr. Kadowaki: **"I too would like to be present in the control base for this mission. I can assist Emma in monitoring the data."

**Cid: **"It is set then, Xavier and Nida will lead the ground team, Nida will stay with the Esthar contingent, and Xavier will diverge towards the suspect area and try to find concrete evidence of our phantoms or metallic glints. Xu, Emma and the good doctor will monitor the data and keep you all informed of current events. With any luck we can get everything we need in one expedition. I would have to have to conduct multiple trips as we cannot assure our own of safety in there, never mind Esthar's brightest minds."

As Cid finished speaking, everyone stood up and went to leave.

**Cid: **"Xu, a moment if you will please."

Xu looked at the others and nodded. They walked out of the room, Xavier leaving last after looking at Xu to see if she was ok. Xu nodded to him and then looked back at Cid who motioned for her to sit down.

**Cid: **"I understand you have issued some of our Galbadian agents to feed information to you which may be useful to Squall?"

**Xu: **"Yes. I feel that he might require better structured information instead of fragmented reports filtered through to him."

**Cid: **"Excellent Idea. He might not have access to the internet systems for a while, if reports from Timber since the Seifer incident are true, Galbadia had clamped down on the town significantly - silencing the last remaining publications - Timber Maniacs. The offices are still intact but they are sealed. In there is probably the only secure line Squall might have to Garden and to access information relevant to their surroundings."

**Xu: **"I assume Squall has told you of my concerns?"

Cid sighed and leaned back in his chair; he took his glasses off and pinched the bridge of his nose, like he was anticipating a headache before he put the glasses back on. He took a drink of water before addressing Xu.

**Cid: **"Yes, he has and to be honest, it is no less than I had expected. You are the only one to actually voice a concern I see in the eyes of everyone in this Garden. I cannot excuse my wife's actions, even if they were not totally of her own accord, she is still being considered responsible for her actions by Galbadia and Esthar."

**Xu: **"I assume Esthar are not as eager to sabre-rattle over the situation with your wife?"

**Cid: **"Correct, she did not directly attack them, Esthar are more concerned regarding the whereabouts of Seifer as it was his actions which brought them into the warpath of Ultimecia"

**Xu: **"I see... What is the situation regarding Seifer?"

Cid sighed. Seifer was one of the orphans he had raised since he was five years old. He brought him through Garden and gave him every chance he could to excel and in the end, fate had other plans for him. Cid was distressed by Seifer and what would become of the young blonde man. His bloody rampage had cut across the continents and he did not seem to care what happened or who he had alienated

**Cid: **"That is a matter which myself and the Commander must discuss."

**Xu: **"Permission to speak freely sir?"

Cid chuckled to himself. The Trabian woman had always spoken freely whether she was allowed to or not. The idea of Xu being subtle or restrained concerning anything was laughable sometimes, discretion was not her strong point and she was often spared from meeting the dignitaries who were easily offended or were not aware of her fiery personality.

**Cid: **"Nothing usually stops you Xu"

Xu smirked.

**Xu: **"I feel your paternal bias towards Seifer is partially what caused this mess. If you had been more firm with him, especially in the escape incident where Quistis was sent to bring him back instead of me, this could have played out differently."

**Cid: **"If I would have sent you, Seifer would have been cut down in front of a live audience of the entire world."

**Xu: **"It would have saved us this current predicament"

Cid hated to agree with her cold logic, but she was right. If Xu had been dispatched instead of Quistis, Seifer would have been taken care of, and the half-baked attempt to assassinate Edea in Deiling would have probably been carried out by Galbadia Garden and this whole affair could have happened entirely differently.

**Cid: **"But at the same time, that intervention could have been our undoing. It is hard to say exactly what could happen or could have happened, but things happened the way they did."

Xu: "So, to my point - I feel that your bias to Seifer would just result in more damage than good, and we all know Squall would simply want to hunt him personally and duel him one on one to the death with his gunblade"

**Cid:** "This is true. I do believe Squall may issue that order once this Timber business is all concluded."

**Xu:** "Then it is settled, my unit shall track Seifer whenever there is a reported sighting of him. They will not engage, but will report his whereabouts so we can monitor him and see where he is based. That way, if Squall issues the order to find him, we aren't acting in the dark"

Cid nodded, he liked Xu's forward thinking, but he also knew the woman had an ulterior motive for this.

**Cid:** "I will approve the resources but there is one condition Xu - you are not to pursue him unless specifically instructed to do so. Seifer is mine and Squall's problem, not yours"

Xu stood up; she stared at the Garden Master with a fire in her eyes which unsettled him momentarily.

**Xu:** "Any problem of the SeeD Commander or the Garden Master is a problem for Garden and SeeD as a whole. You cannot skirt around this issue forever, sooner or later decisive action will be required."

Cid nodded and motioned for Xu to sit down again.

**Cid:** "As for Edea and Rinoa. Yes, SeeD's purpose is to defeat the sorceress and because Ultimecia has been defeated in her time, it does not mean she is defeated in our time. She is destined to happen, we cannot change that fact, what we can do is prepare better so in the future, the results are not as harsh as what you all saw"

Xu cringed as she remembered the bodies of the future SeeDs lying dead on the shoreline. Their white uniforms torn and coated in blood, their eyes lifeless, their faces twisted by the horrific pain they were put through.

**Cid:** "Galbadia want Edea's head for what she did to them. It is therefore the safer for her to be kept here than anywhere else. She cannot return to her isolation in Centra, she would be found easily. She cannot hide in Esthar as it would potentially cause a new war"

**Xu:** "Trabia... Not their garden or the major towns, but remote Trabia. Like Centra, it would be isolated, it would be a different climate to deal with, but it would also be safer. Many people live in the wilderness of the harsh north and it might appear to be inhospitable but it is also far from the public eye"

**Cid:** "That is a good suggestion, but for the time being, as uncomfortable as it is too many due to what has happened, we keep Edea here. If the worst comes to worse, I will not stand in your way. Her powers may have been suppressed to the point where she has the same magical aptitude as a mid-ranked SeeD, rank 15-24, so she is still dangerous, but would pose no threat unless possessed."

**Xu:** "What of Rinoa?"

**Cid:** "That is for Squall and Squall alone to deal with. If she becomes a threat to Garden or the world and Squall cannot save her, then he will have to either turn on her, or side with her and go against us."

**Xu:** "Understood."

Xu stood up once more, she was ready to leave. Before she could ask to be dismissed, Cid asked her something.

**Cid:** "You do not have to answer me if you wish, but I have one question for you Xu."

**Xu:** "Go on..."

**Cid:** "How are you faring given what happened? Doctor Kadowaki has conducted a psych-evaluation on you, as has Cadet De-Rossi. Both have came to the same conclusion - you are hiding the effects of this incident well, but it is showing through the cracks"

**Xu: **"I am fine. If anything I am more distressed by not being able to train."

**Cid: **"Then train your mind Xu. When your body is weakened or compromised, your mind is the best weapon you have. If you have an iron will, your body will resist everything thrown at it until it is impossible for it to carry on."

**Xu: **"I do not need to train my mind for battle"

**Cid: **"Not for battle Xu, for life. I am aware you have things playing on your mind and I am willing to make an educated guess that you are troubled by something which has recently surfaced in your mind. You need to confront that because if it arises during battle, you might be compromised or the enemy may learn of it and use it against you"

Xu didn't answer Cid. She instead saluted him, ending their discussion before he could offer some guidance she didn't want to hear. She turned her back and walked towards the door. As she placed her hand on the handle, Cid spoke one last time.

**Cid: **"The girl in your dream... It was you wasn't it? You don't have to answer, just listen."

Xu's hand hovered slightly above the handle. As Cid spoke, she didn't turn round; she just kept her back to him.

**Cid:** "If your guardian is releasing a memory it suppressed it might be wise to experience this memory again. Megitsune has been the protector of your family for generations. I think maybe, you should consult her when you feel ready, but do so soon. Like this storm rolling in, things which are not expected have a way of occurring and changing everything."

Xu placed her hand on the door handle and opened it. She walked through the door and closed it behind her tightly. As the door clicked, Xu leaned against the door. Her back pressed against it. She shook her head and swore under her breath before she fumbled in her pockets for her lighter and cigarettes. She pulled one out of her pack and was about to light it before she spotted the others waiting for her further down the hall. She kept the cigarette in her hand and walked towards them.

**Xavier:** "You look like hell. Are you alright?"

Xu looked in the window. It was dark outside so she was able to see her reflection, her face was pale and her eyes were distant. She didn't feel bad inside Cid's office after their talk, but when she got out and closed the door, the anxiety must have hit her. She slowly nodded.

**Emma:** "Do you wish to talk or would you rather head to your office?"

**Xu:** "Office please. I'd like a few minutes to myself."

Doctor Kadowaki respectfully bowed and walked away from them. Emma and Xavier looked at each other before they stood either side of Xu.

**Xavier:** "We'll take you to your office... If you aren't out in an hour, we'll come by and forcibly escort you to your quarters"

Xu tried to protest but Emma stepped in.

**Emma:** "As a member of the medical team, I can pull rank on you even though I am a cadet - I can have you confined to your quarters if need be. I am certain Doctor Kadowaki would sign off on this order"

Xu was stunned. She knew Emma was cunning and calculating but to be this blunt and to play her trump card right off the bat. It was almost if they were playing a game of cards, and this time, Xu was losing.

**Xu:** "Fine. I'll call you when I'm ready to go back to my room then."

Xavier and Emma nodded and walked Xu to the lift. They hit the button for the second floor.

**=...=...=**

**_.= 21:40, Xu's office, Balamb Garden =._**

Like at the start of the day, Xu stood on her balcony. The storm clouds she spied on the horizon, slowly creeping on the mountains and the fire cavern had finally made landfall. With them came the strong, chilling Trabian winds which sent most residents of Balamb indoors and sent those who were brave enough to venture out, decked out in their winter wear. Xu however didn't mind it. She was born in the northern lands and the cold always made her feel more comfortable. As the cold wind started to wrap its chilly embrace around Garden, she saw flashes of lightning in the distance. The faint rumble of thunder followed it almost a minute later. The storm was far out, but it could still hit Garden. As she watched the yellow and blue bolts of electricity snake across the thick grey skies, she heard a distant roaring sound. It wasn't thunder but it was familiar. As she looked over the mountains she saw a small object. It was red and travelling at speed towards them. Out of instinct, Xu started to form a spell in her mind. She cast the scan spell but it failed to register anything. The object was too far away. She reached for her PDA and thumbed to her contacts - Nida. She knew it was his watch on Thursday nights so he would be the best bet to notify of this. As the phone rang, it felt like an eternity as she waited for him to pick up.

**Nida:** "Xu? Are you ok?"

**Xu:** "I'm good, don't worry... There's an unidentified object approaching from the mountains, it is coming in with the storm. Can you get an ID on it?"

**Nida:** "That must be the Ragnarok. They said due to the bad weather due to hit us they would be heading in a few hours ahead of schedule. We hadn't even picked them up on our sensors."

**Xu:** "They probably changed the signal to match the electrical signature of the storm... they wanted to arrive out of the blue and make an entrance. Hail them. I'll inform the Garden Master."

**Nida:** "understood".

Xu messaged Cid. She didn't feel like speaking to him, but she knew he would wish to be made aware of the current developments.

_"Ragnarok approaching. Hiding signal in storm. Believe they wanted to arrive undetected. Instructed Nida to hail them and ruin their plan"_

Xu hit send and put her PDA away. She lit a cigarette and took a pull of it as the Ragnarok came closer. Its majestic dragon-like appearance cut an intimidating figure against the storm and the mountains, almost like it was bringing the apocalypse with it.

_"Esthar, Always about the dramatics and the image"_

The airship, over one-hundred meters long, nearly eighty meters wide at its widest point and roughly sixty meters high slowed down its approach and started to lower down over the forest at the foot of the mountains. It drew closer to Garden before it made its final descent into the open plains just outside of Garden, directly opposite Xu's window. The SeeD watched as the huge ship came to a rest on the ground. The landing ramp lowered and people filtered out of it. She couldn't make out their clothing, but there were eight people. More than likely this would mean the mission leader, his two aides and five soldiers to provide back up. She took another pull of her cigarette and exhaled slowly as the Balamb Garden welcoming party went out to meet them. She would have went down to greet them as one of the highest ranked officers, but given how she was off of active duty she instead left that to someone else.

_"Nida probably went down, He didn't get much of a chance to talk to the Estharians last time we encountered them."_

Xu finished her cigarette. She flicked the butt over the edge and looked out across the mountains once again. She thought back to what Cid had said about communicating with Megitsune and considered it. She felt the fox stirring in her mind once again but the spirit did not want to talk.

_"You can sense something can't you?"_

The hairs on Xu's neck tingled.

_"I have a feeling this visit won't be as routine as everyone hopes it will be."_

Xu reached for her PDA and scrolled down to Xavier. She typed out a quick message and sent it. As she waited for the reply, her office door opened and Xavier walked in.

**Xu:** "I thought you were going to call?"

**Xavier:** "I was, but Nida was rounding up people to form a welcoming party for Esthar, he is technically the highest ranked officer at the moment with you out of action. If I had stopped to call you to check, I would have been down there in the cold welcoming a bunch of recluses."

Xu smirked at the comment about the temperature.

**Xavier:** "Quit the smiling, not everyone is as accustomed to the cold as you are"

Xavier held his hand out towards Xu. She accepted it and left the room with him. As they walked down the hall, they came to the walkway overlooking the central hub of Garden. Cid stood at the entrance to the parking lot where the Estharians were making their way from. Xu spotted the leader of the mission - Piet; he was in his mid-thirties with blonde hair. He wore the traditional Estharian robes, but with a white lab coat over them. He shook Cid's hand and the two men spoke for several minutes as Xu and Xavier watched them from the balcony.

**Xu:** "So Piet came then... Interesting"

**Xavier:** "Why is that?"

**Xu: **"He's the guy I acquired the optical gear from and the map thing too"

**Xavier:** "Was he willing to part with it?"

**Xu:** "Not at first, but because of the role SeeD played in helping out in the Pandora problem and with Ultimecia, Laguna offered us payment. Cid only let some of us take our pick of what the president was offering. Most of the gifts were just financial donations and supplies and upgraded technology along with the signing of a contract over the Ragnarok - they do the maintenance on it, we get to use it most of the time and Laguna asks for it when needed."

**Xavier:** "I wish I could have picked something"

**Xu:** "You would have only picked the money, and then you would have probably put it in your savings instead of living a little"

**Xavier:** "Point taken"

Xu pulled him closer to her as he slipped his arm around her shoulders. She leaned her head against his chest as they watched the party head towards the dormitory section. Cid had cleared the use of several empty rooms for the Esthar teams to stay in for the duration of their visit. Given the long flight and the late hour, the briefing on the mission would probably take place tomorrow afternoon at the earliest. This gave Xu the chance of another lie in and a chance to get ready. She looked up at Xavier, who was busy watching the welcoming committee disperse and elbowed him in the ribs to get his attention.

**Xavier:** "What was that for?"

**Xu:** "You gonna take me home then or what?"

Xavier let go of Xu and mockingly saluted her before she grabbed his hand and led him towards the elevator with a look of mischief in her eyes.

**=...=...=**

**_.=23:00, Xu's Quarters, Balamb Garden =._**

Xu looked up and down the corridor, making sure no one was about before she looked at Xavier again. Her brown eyes were fixated on him as she looked up at him with her head tilted to the right and slightly hung low. She bit her bottom lip and leaned back against her door. Her arms were tucked behind her back like she was hiding something and she had her right leg bent up with her foot resting flat on the door. She shifted her head slightly so part of her hair fell across her left cheek and almost hid her left eye. She flashed him a smile and watched him. He was carefully assessing the situation, trying to work out what she was up to. This morning she wasn't talking to him, now she was like a schoolgirl, toying with him, trying to lure him into some elaborate trap she had laid. As his eyes ran up and down her, taking in how in her SeeD uniform, with the tight-fitting jacket, the calf-high boots and the short skirt, she certainly looked the part which she was portraying to him. He glanced down the hall like Xu did before, making sure they were alone before he turned his attention back to her. Whilst he looked away, she had undone her jacket. It hung loosely, revealing the tight black lycra cropped vest she wore underneath it which left nothing to the imagination. She looked up at him, her eyes met his and she smiled at him.

**Xu:** "Shall we?"

Xavier didn't verbally answer her. Instead he pulled on the waistline of her skirt with his right hand, pulling her from her seductive posing against her door and with his left arm, he held her around the waist. He slid his hand up her stomach, over her cropped vest top and rested it on her left shoulder as she ran her hands up his back and looped her arms around his neck. She pulled his head towards hers and closed her eyes as their lips made contact. As they kissed each other, their tongues teasing and exploring each other's mouths once again, Xavier's hand tightened round Xu's shoulder. He slipped it underneath the shoulder of her jacket and pushed it off her shoulders, causing it to drop slightly. Xu let go of his neck and as she lowered her arms behind her again, the black and gold jacket slipped to the floor. Wearing just her boots, her skirt and the very skimpy and tight cropped vest top she pulled away from the kiss and placed her hand on the door handle. She pushed down on it, opening it behind them and she effortlessly flicked her jacket over the threshold of her room with the heel of her boot. Looking up at her boyfriend once more, she moved to the side of his head and pressed the side of her face against his so her mouth was right by his ear. She looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was watching them again and then she taunted him more, biting him on the top of his ear whilst digging her hands into his back. Xavier flinched as she worked her tricks on him. He pulled her tightly against him, taking care not to hurt her stomach or her ribs. As she gasped with surprise from the sudden movement, Xavier tightened his grip around her waist and picked her up. Xu mockingly pretended to be the damsel in distress as he carried her into her quarters and closed the door behind them.

Xu fell backwards onto the couch as Xavier released her, making sure she didn't hit her head on the arm of it or hurt her ribs and stomach as she landed. As he leaned over her, Xu lifted her legs up so they were out by his sides before she bent them and closed them in around his waist. She tightened her grip on him and pulled him down towards her as she reached up with her arms and looped them around his neck once again. She had him right where she wanted him and she didn't intend to let him go. The two of them kissed once more. Xu tightened her grip around him with her legs and pulled his body against her so he was pressed up against her. She broke away from the kiss and let her head tilt back slightly, closing her eyes as she did. Xavier moved his head towards her neck and gently kissed her on the side of it, just below her jaw. He slowly worked his way down her neck, gently kissing it at random intervals as he ran his hands up her sides before coming up onto her front, sliding them over her breasts before he slipped his hands underneath the arms of the lyrca vest top she wore. He teasingly pulled at the fabric before letting it snap back into place against her skin. Xu flashed him a suggestive smile before she pushed him up off her, sliding her hands up underneath the jacket of his SeeD uniform. Xavier moved his hands away from her shoulders, teasingly running them over her breasts once again, this time, deliberately taking his time as he ran his fingers over her curves before he moved them to his jacket. He slowly undid the buttons, one by one as Xu lay beneath him, pushing herself against him. He discarded his jacket, revealing a plain grey t-shirt underneath it which he pulled off almost instantly, not even giving Xu a chance to drop the hint that it should have been removed quicker. He leaned over her once again, holding his muscular body up over her in a press-up styled position. He looked into her eyes and spoke to her softly but assertively

**Xavier:** "Shall we take this to the bedroom?"

This time, Xu didn't answer him with words. Instead she pressed one of her hands against his chest and teasingly dug her nails into his skin. He closed his eyes as she raked them along his flesh before he moved into her once more, this time; he kissed her on the neck. He pressed his lips firmly against her skin and teasingly bit her, causing her to let out a soft moan. As he worked his way up her neck this time, Xu slipped her hands around his sides and up to his back. She ran her fingertips down his spine, causing him to lean into her, rubbing up against her. As he went in again for another kiss, Xu dug her fingertips into his back. She clawed at him enough to break his attention to her neck and re-establish where she wanted him to focus - her face. He leaned in again, this time his lips finding hers. As he slid his tongue into her mouth once more, he pressed his lower body against hers, rhythmically moving with her. She squirmed underneath him as she slipped her hands to the bottom of her vest top. She lifted it up as he felt what she was doing and moved away from her. His hands met hers on the black cropped piece of clothing as they lifted it up over her head. They were both topless now, lying on her couch. She looked up at him as his hands slipped down her sides and stopped at her breasts. He teasingly squeezed them, pressing them firmly together before he let his fingers catch her nipples. He tenderly pinched them, causing her to take a deep breath for a moment. As she slowly breathed out, both of their eyes met. They lay there on the couch, staring into each other's eyes in silence for several seconds before the silence was finally broken.

**Xu:** "I love you Xavier"

* * *

A/N: Dialogue between Xu and Cid refers to later events and possible future story ideas


	10. 10 - Preparation is everything

**_.= 09:30 Cafeteria, Balamb Garden =._**

Xu and Xavier sat alone in the cafeteria. Most of the students were in their morning classes now, only the SeeDs and administrative staff and cadets who were in the advanced classes had this time in the morning free. Xu leaned against Xavier, resting her head on his shoulder and smiling to herself as she pushed away her plate. It had the remains of three slices of toast and an apple on it. She reached for her glass of water. Xavier looked out the corner of his eyes at her and smiled to himself again. She was beautiful, always had been but when she was being herself, it was a sight to behold. She wore her black jogging pants, a grey t-shirt and her blue tracksuit jacket. Her hair was held back by her golden hairpin which doubled up as a throwing weapon or concealed knife on the right side, exposing that side of her face more whilst her left side hung naturally. Her brown eyes glistened in the morning light as she looked up to him and smiled. If they were alone right now he probably would have pulled her into him and kissed her before trying to have his way with her again like they did last night on her couch but instead, in the presence of others, he simply kissed her on the forehead. It was starting to become common knowledge now that Xu had a boyfriend but many of her male admirers never usually hounded her or bothered her due to her reputation and her fiery temper, unlike the Trepies. Instead, the pair of them received a few curious glances as they shared their morning meal. Xu took a sip from her glass of water before pulling her PDA out of her pocket. She glanced at the screen and sighed. It was Friday, she had hoped to head to Balamb this weekend at some point so she could get some fresh air and to collect some items and parts she had ordered for her weapons re-modelling project but the visit of Esthar a day ahead of schedule had put any prior engagements on hold till at least Monday.

**Xavier:** "You ok?"

**Xu:** "Yeah, just thinking that's all"

**Xavier:** "That's kinda dangerous, especially in a room full of people"

Xu punched him in the arm. It was intended to be playful, but she actually put some force behind it. As Xavier held his arm and muffled out a slight shout of pain he shot her a glance which said more than he ever could with words. Xu shrank back slightly and mouthed **_'Sorry!'_** at him before she fluttered her eyes at him. It seemed to do the trick as his slightly angry body language was quickly defused by her brown eyes.

**Xavier:** "Next time you plan to hit me, at least try not to deliberately hurt me. I do have a mission to prepare for remember!"

**Xu:** "I said sorry, what more can I do?"

Xavier laughed. He shook his head and brushed the incident off as he took a drink of his juice before he reached for his PDA - It was a message off Nida. He opened it and sighed.

**Xavier:** "Nida wants me to brief him on the plans for this mission tomorrow in the training center. He already has a copy of Emma's reports and she has filled him in on it whilst during their first training session... Why does he need me to tell him the exact same thing?"

**Xu:** "You know Nida, he is very thorough, and he likes to see everything in place before it plays out so he can react in the most appropriate way"

**Xavier:** "I guess so... But still, I could have done without a briefing today, I have better things to do"

Xavier flashed Xu a cheeky grin. Xu blushed a little before she leaned into him and kissed him on the cheek.

**Xu:** "Don't get me wrong, I love you and I loved last night quite a lot but don't think that this is going to be a daily occurrence at the moment"

Xavier looked disheartened and confused as Xu looked into his eyes.

**Xu:** "I've got to take it easy remember, my stomach and my ribs are killing me at the moment! Do you want to be the one who has to tell the doctor **_why_** I've been rushed back into the infirmary?"

**Xavier:** "You do have a point"

Xu placed her hand on his thigh and gave it a squeeze.

**Xu:** "Let's take this slow for now ok? There's a lot going on right now and plenty of things we don't understand... Besides, if we get through to Monday with relatively few issues, we could be able to get a few days away in Balamb."

**Xavier:** "I'd like that"

**Xu:** "Then it's a deal - next week, we'll pick up where we left off last night?"

Xavier kissed Xu on the lips this time much to the surprise of several onlookers. They had seen the picture of them under the oak tree in the quad which Nida had snapped but those who were dedicated followers to the G-Goss section of the Garden forums had just assumed this was another short lived fling and another heart broken by Xu... Not the real deal. As Xu broke away from the kiss, she nodded at him.

**Xu:** "Go find Nida, get that out the way. We will more than likely be spending most of the afternoon and evening going over things with the Estharian team and then we'll be up at the crack of dawn to gear up and make the first pass at the center."

As Xavier left the table, Xu sighed. She scrolled through her e-mails on her PDA and found the one for her goods which she had ordered. She opened it up and read through it once more - Her order for two unmodified sai's, two inferno fangs and one adamantine ore had arrived but they needed collecting by Saturday lunch or a 500gil charge would be placed on top of the order and collection fee which stood at 2500gil already. She clicked reply and started to type:

_"I am sorry to have to ask this, but due to work related issues, I cannot collect the delivery until Monday at the earliest opportunity. Would it be possible to send someone with the money to collect it for me?"_

Xu waited for a reply. As she waited she saw Emma walk into the cafeteria. She waved to her. Emma quickly grabbed a bowl of cereal and headed over to Xu. Sitting down opposite her, Emma looked Xu up and down for a moment. She had only ever seen Xu in the infirmary or in her SeeD uniform, seeing her in her civilian clothes shown a whole new side to the impressionable cadet. She was like Quistis, naturally beautiful. She wore little make up and managed to turn the heads of near enough everyone in the room, but because she wasn't Quistis was probably why she didn't get as much attention. Xu had her fans, but they were more the foolish boys and men who believed they could 'tame' her or handle her, and there were those who admired her for being so strong - in battle, as a person and as a role model. Emma was in the latter of the two. She looked up to Xu - she was strong and attractive and the fact Xu was calling her over to her was a big deal. She tried to hide her smile as she sat down but Xu saw right through the facade.

**Xu:** "You can smile Emma; I know this is a big thing for you right now"

Xu winked at her before leaning back. Emma blushed slightly, smiled and then returned to her business as normal routine.

**Emma:** "Good morning Xu, how are you?"

**Xu:** "To be honest, I'm looking for a favor. I can't get out of Garden till Monday and I need some stuff picking up from Balamb. If someone doesn't get it, I'll get charged even more than what they're charging me already"

**Emma:** "And here was me thinking you wanted some company?"

Emma's sarcasm almost came across as hurt feelings but Xu could read her face well.

**Xu:** "Well Xavier just left me, so I am lonely... and if you do it, I'll help with your training when possible in my current state..."

**Emma:** "I get your gear; you help train me for my field exam? I think that's fair"

**Xu:** "There's also 1000gil in it for you."

Emma was stunned. 1000gil was nothing to an A rank SeeD, but that 1000gil would be vital for her - she could buy new supplies and even re-model the basic staff Nida had gave her. Emma considered the offer as Xu checked her PDA.

**Emma:** "The initial briefing with the Estharians is at 14:00. Then the serious talking begins at 15:30... I can be out and back by noon."

**Xu:** "Good. The shop said you can collect my stuff, just present the invoice and tell them to call me when needed"

Emma nodded as Xu handed her an envelope out of her pocket - it was the delivery invoice and 4000gil.

**Xu:** "should be 2500gil for the order, take 1000 for yourself and then with that 500, buy a few cartons of red fangs for me, there's a shop near the junk shop which sells them, tell the owner you are here for Xu's order"

Emma nodded. She put the envelope in her pocket and looked back to Xu.

**Emma:** "Xu... Are you ok?"

**Xu:** "Yeah, just a little distracted"

**Emma:** "I don't know if it provides much comfort... but as someone who is part of the medical staff at Garden, if you need to talk, everything can be done in privacy and your confidence will be respected... It might seem a little therapy-like and I am only an apprentice of sorts, but just remember, I'm here if you need to talk"

Emma didn't wait for Xu to reply, she simply finished her cereal and left the table, leaving the Trabian more confused than she was before. As she walked away from Xu, the ginger cadet smiled. She got out of the cafeteria and ran straight to the vehicle bay. She couldn't let Xu down; she had to be back with her things by noon.

**=...=...=**

**_.= 11:30 Xu's Quarters, Balamb Garden=._**

A loud knocking on the door startled Xu from hey daydreaming on the couch. She pulled herself from the piece of furniture and shook her head. The knocking on the door re-focused her attention enough for her to hit the pause button on her laptop which she was using as a music player. The repetitive droning distorted guitar sounds with chanted style vocals stopped as the Trabian stumbled towards her door. She opened it and didn't even look at Emma who stood on the other side of the door with the delivery she had picked up. Xu was in auto-pilot mode as she made her way back towards the couch and slumped back down.

Emma stepped through the doorway holding the box she collected for Xu. She looked around the SeeD's quarters briefly and the first thing which stood out to her was the level of organized chaos. She always thought Xu was perfect, much like Quistis - everything would be perfect and neat, but it wasn't. There were clothes across the floor, dirty dishes in the sink and even though her books and trophies seemed to have a place, there was no real order or presentation to them. The more she observed Xu and interacted with her, she actually started to see how she was far from perfect - she was just human like everyone else. Emma closed the door behind her and sat the parcel down on her table. Xu leaned forwards and lowered the volume on her laptop before hitting play again. Emma dismissed the music being played in the background and looked at Xu who was taking a drink of water from a bottle which seemed to have been there for at least a day or two.

**Emma:** "I got your things. Thought I'd bring them to you here instead of holding them for you till noon."

**Xu:** "Thanks, I owe you one... and please, ignore the mess... I haven't bothered to do much recently; it's been a rough week!"

Emma nodded, it had been a rough week for everyone, but given Xu's circumstances, she accepted some had indeed had it rougher than most. She sat on the couch next to the SeeD who reached for a cigarette. She lit it and took the first pull before she offered Emma one. The cadet respectfully declined the offer which was greeted with a simple shrug of Xu's shoulders. As Xu sank back into the couch again, blowing a ring of smoke from her mouth, Emma noticed her SeeD uniform scattered across the floor. The underwear and skirt lying underneath the table caught her attention the most.

**Emma:** "Busy night?"

**Xu:** "You could say that... "

Xu smirked as Emma blushed. She turned side on so she could see Emma, watch how she was reacting to this. Seeing that the poor girl was nearly in sensory overload, she hit pause on her music once again.

**Xu:** "Emma, do me a favor..."

**Emma:** "S...Sure?"

**Xu: "RELAX!"**

Emma was startled as Xu shouted at her before she burst out laughing at her. Emma didn't know where to look; she went bright red before she reached out and took the cigarette from Xu's hand. She had never smoked before, she didn't know why she was doing it now, but she took a deep pull on the cigarette and spluttered everywhere. Xu took the cigarette back off her and patted the young girl on the back.

**Xu:** "When I said relax, I meant just sit back and calm down, not copy me!"

Emma reached out for Xu's bottle of water. She took a big gulp from it before she finally cleared her throat.

**Emma:** "I'm sorry, it's just..."

**Xu:** "It's ok, I get it... I've seen this before with Quistis"

**Emma:** "How so?"

**Xu:** "Best friend, I watched the birth of the Trepies, I've seen how they react when in the same room as her."

**Emma:** "I'm not a Trepie..."

**Xu:** "But you look up to me, and right now this is freaking you out. First you see me unconscious in the infirmary, debunking the whole strong and invincible image people have of me... Now you've seen my room and are trying very hard not to notice the underwear right by your feet"

Emma glanced down as Xu brought her attention towards them yet again. Xu smirked as Emma looked away almost instantly.

**Emma:** "So what is the meaning of this?"

**Xu:** "You sound so much like Quistis sometimes you know... So prim, proper, efficient... You're the type of person I should aim to be"

Emma was startled by this revelation.

**Xu:** "I mean, I am professional, I like who I am and what I can do... but what makes me, who I am, it gets in the way of my work sometimes. How can I be assistant commander of Garden when my outspoken nature and inability to play nice around people who believe their titles or money offers them protection when all it would take was one well placed punch to make everything meaningless?"

Emma stayed silent as Xu continued to speak

**Xu:** "I wish sometimes I could be the perfect person you see me as in your mind, but I'm not, I'm just a normal person who is good at what she does"

Xu finished her cigarette. She put the butt in the ashtray in front of her and then looked to Emma.

**Emma:** "Why are you telling me this?"

**Xu:** "There will come a day when you might end up on mission with me, and I need you to have your head in the game, not up my ass trying to impress me like a Trepie... I'm not just nicknamed **_'heartbreaker' _**for the trail of men I've left in my wake. I don't cope with the hero worship well and it's backfired before when I took a cadet out to the fire cavern. He was so hell bent on trying to impress me, Ifrit decided to give him an all expenses paid trip to the infirmary"

**Emma:** "I remember that happening"

**Xu:** "Believe me, it was even better being there to see it."

**Emma:** "So what are you saying, I shouldn't look up to you?"

Xu stood up; she walked over to her fridge and pulled out two bottles of water. She turned around and tossed one to Emma before she opened her own. She took a long drink from the bottle and then paused for a moment before she answered the cadet.

**Xu:** "No, if you see me as a role model or someone to look up to then that is great. All I am saying is I'm far from perfect and you need to learn that soon. Getting caught up in someone else can be dangerous... part of the reason why SeeDs usually don't marry or have relationships - you can get distracted and lose your edge"

**Emma:** "What about Xavier?"

**Xu:** "It's something we have both subconsciously wanted for some time and now that we are together after we finally realized it, we are trying to set some boundaries... as you can see, the physical ones pose no problems"

Xu flashed Emma a cheeky grin. Emma blushed again.

**Xu:** "But you saw it yourself - I'm distracted."

**Emma:** "Is that why you were hurt in the center?"

Xu shook her head

**Xu:** "When it comes to combat, I am focused on what I have to do. It's when I'm not out there, doing something, my mind starts to wander."

**Emma:** "So how are you going to handle this?"

**Xu:** "Sooner I can be given the green light to start physical training again, even light training; the sooner I can get my mind back on track. I can't just sit there and meditate to clear my thoughts; I have to be doing something which requires concentration"

**Emma:** "Would you mind if I joined you in some of your training? I'm nowhere near the level that you are physically, but it might be nice to have someone with you and it might help me 'get over you' as you might put it"

Xu nodded.

**Xu:** "Find out off the doctor when I can start then, it'd be great to be able to get back out there and at least run and exercise a little. I need to get out of my head and actually get outside and just be worry free for an hour or so... standing on my balcony watching the world might be calming, but it does nothing to stop you wondering how insignificant all your problems actually are compared to the rest of the world"

Emma smiled. She'd always dreamed of getting to know Xu and now, here she was sat in her quarters with her, having for lack of a better term - a heart to heart. She thought about what Xu had said. She looked up to her, she always would, but she was right too - she couldn't worry about impressing Xu or watching her because mistakes would be made, and in their line of work, mistakes are often fatal.

**Emma:** "Xu... Do you have a role model?"

Xu didn't answer. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her role models were dead, taken a long time ago by fire on a cold night in Trabia. She had only recently learned why they died, but it was still something she didn't talk about. Her family was a touchy issue and even if Emma assured full confidentiality, she couldn't talk about it with her; she hadn't even talked properly about it with Cid. She opened her eyes and looked at Emma with an expressionless face.

**Xu:** "My role models are dead. They died when I was young. I only know a little bit about them, but from what I have been told, they were great people."

**Emma:** "I see. I can see this is hard for you, so I won't press for further information."

**Xu:** "Thank you... Anyway... I see you got the package."

Emma nodded.

**Emma:** "If I may ask... What is it?"

Xu opened the package - she pulled out the two plain sai's and set them down on the table. She then pulled out two flameproof bags about twelve inches long and set them down before pulling out a large chunk of metal. It was a pale bluish gray colour which had silver striations running through it.

**Emma:** "Adamantine?"

Xu nodded.

**Emma:** "Is it really as tough as they say?"

**Xu:** "You ever saw someone try to take a chunk out of Squall's gunblade Lionheart?"

**Emma:** "I've seen the footage people filmed of him cleaving it through a G-cycle in Esthar during the Lunatic Pandora event there"

**Xu:** "There are two known things which can break an adamantine blade - Adamantine, and something on a god-like scale - a GF's summoned form, one of the legendary "Weapons"..."

**Emma:** "Weapons?"

Xu smiled.

**Xu:** "You don't know the story of 'weapon'?"

Emma shook her head. Xu reached for a cigarette. She lit it as Emma reached for her water.

**Xu:** "No one knows the origin of 'weapon'... all we know is that it is one seriously powerful, pissed off monster. There have been many rumoured sightings of it, but no one has ever actually encountered it as such."

**Emma:** "So it is all just a fable, a wild dream?"

**Xu:** "To me, No. I have some things which I believe to be proof of its existence or at least that it had existed at one point. Squall found Bahamut at the Deep Sea Research Facility. They explored lower into the ruins, into the deposit beneath, but because they were smart and actually found steam units in reserve, they managed to get all the way to the bottom with little fuss. Seeing nothing there, detecting nothing, they left the facility and headed back to the surface. They were apparently unaware of an extraction unit down at the bottom of the deposit they could have used to explore the excavation site further"

**Emma:** "And you think, because Bahamut was there, it was guarding something bigger?"

**Xu:** "Seems logical. I mean, why have one of the strongest guardian forces seeming to be guarding something which seems inconsequential?"

Emma nodded in agreement. She knew that there were some things which logic and reason could not explain and how some things would just be accepted without any evidence being provided for their existence or why they actually were, what they were. Weapon seemed to be one of those things.

**Xu:** "Maybe it's a guardian force which could be junctioned if it was defeated... or maybe it has its own guardian force? Which is why it is so strong?"

**Emma:** "There is that distinct possibility. Squall and the others found Eden inside Tiamat, the fallen dragon after all... And Tiamat is a Guardian Force if I am not mistaken"

**Xu:** "Anyway, That is adamantine. When refined it is one of the strongest materials you can make a weapon out of which isn't too unwieldy. You can hold a weapon made from it without any junctions or physical augmentation; it is why all the best weapon smiths recommend it and why most SeeDs who have mastered their weapon tend to use it. In a no-magic situation, it is essential to be able to still fight"

**Emma:** "How many of your weapons are made from that material?"

**Xu:** "Just the one - my Sai's"

Emma nodded. She picked up one of the Sai's and was taken aback by its weight. She held it in both her hands, admiring the detailing and the construction of it. It was solid stainless steel and it had no visible joints or marks.

**Xu:** "I have a contact that forges weapons, he batch produces simplistic base weapons in moulds so they are easier to modify. Like my Sai's. I have the core structure here, all I need to do is forge it myself in the workshop - cut down the inferno fangs to the size and shapes which I want them to be, then I can get the right ratio of Adamantine to Steel and smelt it all down and re-forge it myself - cast the main spike first, then the prongs and then join it together."

**Emma:** "Is it hard making your own weapons?"

**Xu:** "It takes time, patience and a willingness to learn. I'm a ninja, we have to be resourceful. Some of my past weapons and modifications which took weeks to make have been discarded after one initial use or sold to a weapons dealer because they weren't suitable for me in the end"

**Emma:** "Could you teach me how to forge weapons?"

**Xu:** "You'd have to speak to the Garden Master about it first, and then speak to the smith in Balamb. He trains you. He's tough, expects nothing but the best from everyone. I still have to send him samples of my work for him to judge. If he feels they are lacking in overall quality, he would prevent me getting the supplies I needed to remodel things myself"

**Emma:** "What are you going to make then?"

**Xu:** "The Sai's are for spare parts in case I have to remodel anything or repair anything. The materials though are for a weapon idea which I have been working on. Instead of junctioning elemental or status magic to the weapon, I am trying to imbue the weapon with the magic so it is always active - a fire-based weapon which will always deal fire elemental damage as well as the usual physical damage and so on"

**Emma:** "It would work under anti-magic field conditions then?"

**Xu:** "That is the intended plan. I now have enough base materials to make four basic knives from it, that way if it is successful, I can produce a better quality one and show the smith who can see if it is a good idea. If it is, he can roll out production of them and make them readily available to SeeDs"

**Emma:** "But what if you come across someone already junctioned to fire as their elemental defense, surely the weapon would be ineffective?"

**Xu:** "That is the problem I am trying to work round... Anyway, enough of me, what about you? Did you get the other order and find anything for yourself?"

Emma nodded. She pulled a bag out from the side of the couch they sat on and passed it to Xu. The SeeD opened it up and smiled, the five 200-pack cigarette cartons were neatly arranged.

**Emma:** "Do you seriously smoke 1000 cigarettes a month?"

Xu shook her head.

**Xu:** "No, more like 10-15 a day, but I give 200 to Quistis, so the other 800 are mine, I usually smoke 300-400 a month on average, not healthy I know, but everyone has a vice. If they don't, it's because they haven't found it yet"

**Emma:** "I also found this"

Emma pulled out the schematics for an upgrade on her bow - "Inahime". Xu looked at the name and sighed. It was the same name as her mother who was once a respected bow maiden herself, though her specialty was the sai. She shook her head, dispelling the thoughts and focused on the schematics for the longbow. It was the same length as her current bow but it seemed to be more futuristic in its design - It was carbon-fibre with adamantine weave, re-enforcing its structure and giving it more flexibility without compromising its strength and durability. It was strung with malboro tentacle strands to increase both durability and elasticity and the blades on the ends of the bows were made of the similar carbon-fibre/adamantine weave the rest of the bow was.

**Xu:** "Looks interesting, I assume you ordered it?"

**Emma:** "Yes, It cost 1750gil to order, I put the first 1000 down today out of the money you gave me, and the rest I have in my savings. It was going to be used to buy a new wakizashi, but since I have switched from sword to staff as a secondary weapon, upgrading the bow is now my priority. It should be ready by next week; it will be handed over to me once I pay the remainder."

As the two girls continued to talk, getting to know each other, Xavier casually walked into Xu's quarters. Neither girl paid him much attention as he waved to them and announced his presence. Seeing that as a sign that the pair seemed to be getting along better than he thought they would, he sat down in his SeeD uniform opposite Xu and Emma.

**Xavier:** "Just a heads up, its 13:20... Briefing is in 40 minutes. We are all expected to be there for the full duration, 14:00-22:00"

**Xu:** "Ah shit! I hate these long meetings. Why did I volunteer to be visual image handler again?"

**Xavier:** "Because you'd rather do that than sit here listening to doom-metal music and thinking?"

**Xu:** "You have a point there... You guys go on ahead, meet you in twenty minutes by the elevator"

**=...=...=**

**_.= 17:00 Briefing Room, 2F Balamb Garden=._**

Xu covered her mouth as she yawned. She hated how long winded mission briefings could be, especially when they were co-hosted by two parties. Usually SeeD tried to keep their briefings short, her preference was under twenty minutes - more information would be supplied when contacts were met or if anyone wanted to find out more they would ask their handler or commanding officer. This wasn't the case sadly, Esthar seemed to be engrossed in every little detail and they seemed to be probing the Garden Master for every single byte of information they could garner out of him.

_"If only they would just read the damn report, they would get all the information they needed"_

Xu looked across the room to Emma. Her findings were now being dissected by Piet and his team. Piet was impressed by the presentation of the data and the very neutral and open to interpretation results and findings but his desire to question everything was starting to grate on Xu's nerves. It was more like he was critiquing the girl's work instead of asking her what this could mean and how they could help her with the findings. Xu flashed Emma a smile and nodded in support of her as Cid shot down yet another unnecessary question from the scientist.

**Cid:** "If anyone has anything actually relevant to the content of the report or our initial findings and hypothesis, please feel free to ask or contribute before we take a 60 minute recess."

Cid scanned the room, ignoring the Estharian's hand rising yet again. Xu looked over at him and simply shook her head. She could fix the problem of him raising his hand right now if she wished to - all she had to do was pull out one of her hair pins and throw it at just the right moment and it would pin his fancy sleeve to the arm of his chair or the wall... or at the right angle and she could impale his hand, pinning it to the wall. She reached up for one of the pins but Xavier's hand squeezing her thigh snapped her back to reality. He gave her a look which clearly expressed his disdain for the childishness she was showing. Xu responded by pulling tongues at him and watching Cid.

**Cid:** "Ok, it is settled, we resume the discussion at 18:00 hours. If you wish to get some fresh air, I have authorised access to the balcony deck for the next hour, just head out this room and head left. It is just past the classroom."

Xu watched as the Estharian team filed out the room, only Piet stayed behind. He stood up and walked towards Cid who watched the SeeDs leave the room, with the exception of Emma and Doctor Kadowaki. Xu stayed in her seat for a moment, wanting to watch the discussion in front of her unfold.

**Cid:** "I do appreciate your assistance with this matter Piet, but I have to ask, why do you critique the presentation and the style of the report? The girl who wrote it, Miss Emma De-Rossi is only a Cadet, one of our brightest prospects, but still just a cadet."

Piet ran his fingers through his hair, he looked Emma up and down before he turned his attention back to Cid.

**Piet:** "It is of a low standard, even an eight year old in Esthar could present this"

Emma kept her face expressionless as she stood by the Garden Master but everyone could see Piet's over the top criticisms were wearing her down bit by bit. Xu clenched her fists as she watched his arrogance. He was a brilliant scientist, but his dislike of garden was famous, especially given how the last visitors to the lunar facility were SeeDs and that resulted in the destruction of his hi-tech laboratory orbiting the earth.

**Cid:** "Need I remind you, that we here at Garden are not scientists, nor are we researchers, we are an elite fighting unit who happen to have found a strange phenomenon for you to explore and study. Would you rather we offered this to Doctor Odine and insisted he came?"

**Piet:** "Please, that odious little man wouldn't come out here to investigate monsters gone insane"

**Cid:** "But I am sure he would have a lot to say about how you were overly critical of a military cadet's work which presented all the data you insisted on asking about. What is that old saying... There are no stupid questions..."

Xu shouted from the back of the room

**Xu:** "Only stupid people... and for a scientist, you are pretty stupid. I thought all of you lab coats could read"

Cid shook his head as Xu walked down from her seat and stood in front of Piet. He was taller than her by at least six inches and his look of disgust at her was extremely obvious.

**Piet:** "So you're the one who was set upon by these beasts which suddenly got smarter... or are SeeDs getting stupider?"

Xu pulled out one of her hairpins, letting the right side of her hair which had been neatly held up fall down into place. She brushed it behind her ear and looked at Xavier, Cid, Emma and the doctor and nodded at them. They all took a step back and started to talk amongst themselves, mostly focusing on Emma and re-assuring her that there was nothing wrong with her report. Piet noticed this and smiled to himself. The same arrogant smile he pulled the last time he met Xu.

**Piet:** "I remember you now... the one who took some of our optical camouflage to help her on missions... Why didn't you wear it when you were chased by the dinosaurs?"

**Xu:** "Now you are really being stupid. You are the one who reminded me that in a high-magic environment or an area where there is a large spike in the magnetic field of sorts, the cloaking mechanism would fail to work... Would an area where SeeD cadets and SeeDs themselves train, using GF and magic be classed as an area of high magic or a large magnetic field spike?"

**Piet:** "I see you paid some attention, but why do you come down here now to run your mouth? Upset your friend did I?"

Xu twirled the hairpin in her fingers, taking care to conceal the hidden point and blade in it with subtle movements of her fingers.

**Xu:** "All I see is some middle-aged scientist who is pissed because his lab got trashed in a freak natural phenomenon. You only hate us here because you associate us with the Lunar Cry. Something which we had nothing to do with whatsoever. Your station was headed into its path all along, even if we hadn't have gone to space with you, it still would have been destroyed."

**Piet:** "But that lovesick teenager and his witch girlfriend didn't help matters"

**Xu:** "You mean Squall Leonhart, commander of SeeD and the son of Laguna, President of Esthar?"

Piet was shocked by this revelation. He had heard rumors and talk of Laguna having a child but he dismissed them as he felt that he was above such trivial things.

**Xu:** "Silence? Wow, something the super smart researcher didn't know or couldn't figure out!"

Piet shook his head, he was starting to lose his cool. How dare this mercenary talk down to him, a world renowned scientist, like this.

**Piet:** "Do you actually have anything else to offer, something which might be relevant to this expedition? Or are you just going to try and insult me with trivial information?"

Xu turned her back on Piet. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her cigarettes. She put one in her mouth before she looked over her shoulder at him. He was getting angrier and angrier by the second. Xu smiled to herself and thought:

_"Any minute now..."_

**Piet:** "Turn around and face me woman! I am the leader of this expedition and research team, I will be treated with respect, not contempt by some un-informed mercenary from the backwoods like you"

Xu, without warning turned around and removed her other hairpin, with both of them in hand, she threw them both at Piet, both pins snagging the arms of his robes and pinning them to the wall. Before he even realized he had been restrained by ornamental jewellery, Xu had her left hand around his throat, and in her right she held a Kunai which she held less than an inch away from his jugular.

**Xu:** "In Esthar, you might be the big shot, but here, you play by our rules. This altercation and your attitude have already been reported to Presidential Aide Kiros who had already warned us about your attitude problems. Have you noticed why none of your escorts have come to help you? They were told to let you dig a hole and to let you fall in it of your own accord."

Piet swallowed the lump forming in his throat as Xu carefully pressed the tip of the Kunai against his flesh.

**Xu:** "If you even dare speak to me like that again, or belittle anyone else, I will make sure the next thing which is thrown at you is not just a warning shot"

Xu let go of Piet's neck and pulled her hairpieces out of his robes and the wall. He slumped back against the wall and down into his chair. As he sat there, visibly shaken, Xu put the hairpieces in her pockets and picked up the cigarette she dropped on the floor. She looked at Cid who shook his head at her before she left the room. Emma followed her out almost instantly. Waiting for the woman to leave the room, Piet stood up and approached Cid.

**Piet:** "I want that woman away from me at all times. If I have to work with her, I walk"

**Cid:** "I can assure you she will not be anywhere near the expedition. Might I remind you however, conduct like what you have displayed since you arrived will not be tolerated. I am more diplomatic than some of the operatives here, but if word reaches me you have offended any of my agents, or made similar statements like the ones you made to Miss Xu just then, I will not go out of my way to ensure your safety."

Piet begrudgingly acknowledged the Master's warning.

**Cid**: "I also suggest before the mission tomorrow, you best apologize to SeeD Xu and Cadet De-Rossi. Kiros is already aware of your outburst just then, I feel any further misconduct might result in your lab losing all funding and you being forced back under Dr Odine again"

Piet shook his head before he headed out towards the balcony.

**=...=...=**

Emma stood there, her eyes were red and her cheeks tear stained. She had held it in so long but now she was outside, out of sight of her peers apart from Xu she had lost it. Her calm, composed exterior had been shattered showing how vulnerable she actually was. She reminded her of Quistis in some ways, professional but when it came to criticism and things directed her way, she couldn't easily deflect it or brush it off. Xu put her arm round the cadet and let her bury her head into her shoulder.

**Xu:** "He's an ass hun, he always has been. He's just pissed Squall destroyed his lab and now he hates SeeD and everything to do with it"

**Emma:** "But my report..."

**Xu:** "Did you see anyone else questioning it? Everyone else followed the report, found the information they needed and were in praise of it. It was only that ass who wasn't. He is just one person. He might be smart, but he's also terrified of me now... and he's hopefully learned to behave round us otherwise Esthar might end up missing a scientist at the end of this"

Emma smiled as Xu lit her cigarette and pushed the girl away from her so she didn't blow smoke in her face. They only had around half an hour left of the recess before they had to be back for the proposed plan of action talk from Nida and Xavier. Xu leaned on the railing and took another pull of her cigarette. As she slowly exhaled she heard another set of footsteps. Without even needing to look behind her, she flicked out the Kunai she had just threatened Piet with earlier and spoke.

**Xu:** "I trust you are here to be civil scientist..."

Piet glared at the back of Xu. He wished he was like the SeeDs - able to kill without hesitation. Right now he knew exactly what he would do. Shaking the murderous thoughts from his mind, Piet finally spoke.

**Piet:** "I have come to apologize to Cadet De-Rossi for my inappropriate behavior. I understand you are not a research organization, however I do feel that some extra steps should have been taken to tailor the information to the standards Esthar expects"

Xu turned around, she held the Kunai in her hand and looked at Piet.

**Xu:** "We submitted the report to you before you came. You had time to familiarize yourself with it. It is also laid out in the internationally agreed format which the last time I checked, Esthar adhered to. Do you have any more of our time to waste or should I just kill you now?"

Piet remembered Cid's warning and realized it was actually about Xu.

**Piet:** "No... I have no more time to waste, I apologize if I have wasted your time Miss De-Rossi"

Emma was about to accept his apology but Xu shook her head.

**Emma:** "I do not believe that what you propose is actually sincere or even half-meant. Please do not waste my time or Garden's time. Please head back to the briefing room now. If you wish to not be a burden on this assignment, or end up being shipped back to Esthar in a body bag, you will leave your fragile ego at the door and conduct your work with some small amount of dignity and listen to the people who are more knowledgeable than you are"

Emma walked right past Piet without even letting him reply to her. As she walked through the door back into the hallway, Xu finished her cigarette. She walked towards Piet who was visibly shaken from his earlier encounter with Xu and then his run in with Emma. He looked at Xu and shook his head.

**Piet:** "I have no time for any more of your pointless games"

Xu took his hand, she placed the Kunai in it and wrapped his fingers around it.

**Xu:** "This isn't a pointless game Piet. This is reality. It isn't your lab, or your space station. It isn't an experiment where you control the variables. This is reality, and it's harsh. You either learn the rules and how to play by them or manipulate them, or you die... and right now, it's looking like someone might die. If these monsters can get the drop on one of the best agents in SeeD, ones kept in captivity and carefully monitored... who is to say what those running round your city can do if they suddenly snap and get worse than they are already?"

Xu walked back into the room, leaving Piet holding the Kunai in his hand. He looked down at it and shuddered. Maybe he had been out of order with his behaviour. His pride would never allow him to admit that, but this wasn't Esthar, and these people were mercenaries, they solve problems, they don't do diplomacy. He put the kunai in his robe and turned back round to head in for the briefing once again.

**=...=...=**

**_.= 21:00 Briefing Room, 2F Balamb Garden=._**

**Nida:** "And so, as a final summary of what we have discussed, Tomorrows mission will proceed as planned"

Nida pointed to the display behind him, it was an overhead view of the Training Center with two arrows, one red and one yellow overlapping on each other. Xu yawned again, she had helped devise the plan but she had to be present as she was key to the operation - she would be over watch.

**Nida:** "Both units will proceed as planned to the specified location - Point Alpha. Once at Point Alpha, Red team which will consist of the scientists and the SeeD detail led by myself will secure the area so Piet and his associates can gather all the required data they need."

Nida motioned to the display as the Red arrow turned into a red outline of the area where Xu had fought the T-rexaurs and where Emma and Xavier had been ambushed.

**Nida:** "Yellow team - Xavier's squad will proceed into the vegetation at points Beta, Gamma and Delta. They will sweep out to see if there is any further signs of disturbance or unusual activity which could have caused the incidents to have occurred"

The yellow arrow split into three smaller arrows and fanned out in the area which had been outlined in blue.

**Nida:** "If at any point there is an attack, a red distress flare will be set off and Over-watch will co-ordinate the defense response. Red flares take priority, everyone falls back to the open spaces and works as a unit. A blue flare is a discovery of sorts which requires attention. If this cannot be investigated immediately, the finder will tag the location so it can be investigated later."

Xu stood up from her seat and walked towards the front of the room. Nida handed the podium over to her. She scanned the room, her eyes met everyone else's in there, even including Piet who avoided looking too long.

**Xu:** "It has been stated several times before, but teamwork is paramount. No one is to play the hero tomorrow - the mission is to get in, get samples, and get more insight and to get out alive. I took out at least five single handedly, look what that did to me... I will be the role of Over-watch, I will be watching all of your backs"

Xu paused, she looked to Xavier, then Nida and then finally Cid. All of them nodded - they had nothing left to add.

**Xu:** "Red and Yellow teams rendezvous at 09:00 in the entrance to the facility. Over-watch, data analysts and MC will meet in the rooms we have set up on this floor near the training centre - the offices X-3,X-4 and X-5 at 08:00."

Xu saluted the room

**Xu:** "Rest up, we have a big day tomorrow, all of us need to be fresh to make this happen"

With the end of the briefing, everyone slowly filtered out the room except for Xu, Xavier, Emma and Cid. The Garden Master slowly approached Xu with a disproving look on his face. Emma and Xavier both stepped back to give them some room. They knew what was coming, as did Xu but instead of trying to pry in on another Xu against a figure of authority clash, the two spoke.

**Xavier:** "You feel better for seeing Piet humiliated like that?"

**Emma:** "It was satisfying, but it didn't bring any relief as such"

**Xavier:** "It's alright, Xu has never liked him anyway, Piet is a gifted scientist, he has an incredible mind, but as a human, he is worthless - his attitude and beliefs completely contradict the whole approach Esthar is trying to take - spread out into the world. I think they sent him because he would get the job done, and they know someone here would put the fear of Hyne into him"

**Emma:** "Xu gave him a Kunai you know... the same one she threatened him with, I saw him toying with it during the briefing"

Xavier smiled

**Xavier:** "Xu always was one for the dramatics and symbolism, guess it comes with being a Ninja. I'm surprised she didn't tie it round his neck"

Emma laughed, she looked across to Xu who stood there as Cid scolded her. She didn't even react.

**Emma:** "Why did she give him that Kunai though"

**Xavier:** "You'd probably have to ask her that... I might have known her for years, but I don't know how she thinks. Not even Quistis understands Xu that way."

Emma slowly walked towards Xu and Cid where she caught the tail end of what was being said.

**Cid:** "I understand you are acting in Garden's best interests and I do agree with you, he is a nasty piece of work, but unfortunately we need his help. You can't threaten the people sent to help us Xu, no matter how obnoxious they are or what their history is with you."

**Xu:** "I understand sir, but I still defend my actions - He needed to be put in place in front of his team so they understand that we are running this and they have been sent to us and instructed to support us in every way possible. If Kiros is unhappy with my conduct towards his employees, I will personally apologise myself"

**Cid:** "Ensure that you do anyway. We need to maintain good relations with Esthar now. The next few months are a worrying time and I fear sooner or later, someone might move against Garden again. Just because the sorceress has been defeated, it doesn't mean the threat has been dealt with, there is still someone or something just as evil waiting out there to strike"

**Xu:** "There wouldn't be if I wasn't always in an office..."

Cid rolled his eyes. He waved his hand to dismiss Xu who saluted him before she turned round and left the room. Emma followed her out but Cid's voice calling to her stopped him in her tracks.

**Cid:** "I see you are feeling a bit better after the incidents earlier?"

**Emma:** "A little, I am still hurt by his words and his attitude towards us, but I understand not everyone likes SeeD. I am thankful for what Xu did for me."

**Cid:** "Yes. Although it was unorthodox, much like Xu's approach to diplomacy amongst other things, she does know how to get her point across and how to resolve a situation."

**Emma:** "Will she be in trouble because of this? Will it be because of me?"

Cid shook his head

**Cid:** "No child, Xu will be reminded to act more professional when matters are not solely Garden's. I do feel her approach has worked though, Piet should be less hostile to us now that he has Xu watching his every move."

Emma looked out the hallway, she could see Piet walking away with the Estharian contingent and then looked back to Xu who was talking to Xavier and the doctor.

**Cid:** "It isn't a bad thing to strive to be like someone strong Emma. But never lose sight of who you are as you aspire to better yourself. You are one of the brightest cadets we have, please stay true to who you are and learn from people instead of trying to be other people"

**=...=...=**

**_.=23:45, Dormitory wing, Balamb Garden=._**

**Xavier:** "You know you didn't have to threaten to kill him"

Xavier walked Xu towards her quarters. It was approaching midnight by the time they had finished up after the briefing and went over any final plans they had to. Further ahead of them were Nida and Emma who seemed to be getting along well too.

**Xu:** "Sometimes, the very real threat of death usually gets the best responses out of people"

Xavier shook his head. He knew there was little point in trying to reason with Xu and her methods. Despite how outlandish or extreme they could be, she got the results she desired from them. She stopped near the corridor which lead to her quarter's and looked at Xavier.

**Xavier:** "So, tomorrow..."

**Xu:** "Yeah, I think we both need to get some sleep... As much fun as last night was, and believe me, it was fun... I think we need to clear our heads. Tomorrow is a big day, we can't screw up our first mission together"

Xavier nodded. He stepped closer to Xu and placed his hand on her cheek. He gently ran his fingers across her soft pale skin before he leaned in and kissed her on the forehead. Xu smiled, she slipped both her arms around his waist and rested her head against his chest.

**Xu:** "Please be careful out there tomorrow... "

Xavier brought his hand up, he ran his fingers through her hair.

**Xavier:** "I'm always careful, especially now that I have a reason to be"

**Xu:** "And what would that reason be?"

**Xavier:** "About five foot five with black hair and a perfect body"

Xu smiled as she looked up at Xavier and kissed him on the cheek.

**Xavier:** "I promise, I will be careful. I will also be ok. We have some of the SeeD candidates with us too, as a training exercise, to see if they're cut out for this stuff. Along with the Estharians and the SeeDs, we can easily get through this, even if there is a massive attack... there will be more than enough GF's present and more than enough trained fighters to hold off whatever happens"

**Xu:** "I just wish I could be down there with you tomorrow"

**Xavier:** "Me too. Everyone would feel safer with you around... Well apart from Piet, but that's another story"

**Xu:** "If there is an attack, save his life by all means, but I don't know... maybe just remind him who saved his ass and that we're not all bad"

**Xavier:** "I'll try... Get yourself to sleep anyway. Your job tomorrow is just as tough as mine is.."

**Xu:** "Emma and the doc are there to help me though"

**Xavier:** "But you need to watch closely, you're the eyes in the back of our head, we need you on your game Xu"

Xu kissed Xavier on the cheek and pushed herself away from him. As they let go of each other, Xu turned her back and headed down the hall towards her room. She reached her door and swiped her card granting herself access. As she flicked on her light, she took off her SeeD jacket and put it over the back of her chair.

_"God that thing is clingy sometimes... eight hours in a briefing room... eurgh! It's a good job Xavier didn't come back here, I'm disgusting"_

Xu slipped out of her boots and skirt leaving herself in just her underwear and a black vest. She sat down on her couch and picked up the bottle of water she had left on the table. Unscrewing the top, she leaned back and took a gulp from it before placing it back down. Reaching for her cigarettes and lighter once again, she lit up and took the first pull again,

_"I hate being stuck away from the action... But at least Cid has let me take part in this mission... I'll still take a weapon with me in case things go south and we need an all hands on deck extraction. If I mess up, I should be the one to fix it"_

Xu finished her cigarette and looked at the clock, it was nearly "00:20". She had six hours before she had to get up and prepared for her mission. She shook her head and picked up her uniform. She shook it out and hung the jacket up on the back of her door before putting the skirt in her laundry basket. Retiring to her bedroom, she removed her vest and slipped off her bra. She dropped the piece of underwear on the floor and then put the vest back on. She hadn't done much all day and the lack of effort expended had taken its toll on her. As she slipped under the duvet, she set the alarm on her PDA for "06:30" before laying her head on the pillow. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to relax herself. As she felt herself drift off to sleep the hairs on her neck tingled.

**=...=...=**

_"Where am I?"_

Xu stood in the middle of a darkened area. It was almost like the recurring dream she had which involved the death of her parents and the destruction of her home. She looked down at herself - she was clad in her SeeD uniform. Her hands were covered in blood, her skirt was ripped and her boots were scuffed. She looked up, the darkness started to recede and she saw the familiar tropical styled over-growth which filled the Training Center. She heard shouting in the distance but couldn't quite make out who it was. She coughed - there was a thick black smoke hanging just over the tree-line and it was slowly sinking towards the ground. She ducked down and looked ahead and was shocked at what she saw - dead Estharian soldiers and dead cadets.

_"What is this... a nightmare?"_

Xu shook her head as she crawled forwards along the ground, trying to stay below the smoke. She eventually reached the body of the cadet - their face was mangled, their uniform torn to shreds, but the ginger hair and small stature of the cadet told her everything she needed to know - it was Emma, lying there dead.

_"Please be a nightmare, please"_

Xu shook her head and pounded her fist against the floor. She felt nothing.

_"Ok, it's just a dream... I can wake up can't I?"_

Xu wished she could, but for some reason, the dream had her locked in her mind. It was almost like her subconscious wanted to be heard, like it wanted what it was feeling and what it had suspected to be let out into the open so she could confront it and deal with it. As she moved away from Emma's body, she saw the glimmer of gold ahead of her - Megitsune. She pushed herself to her feet and walked forwards to follow the fox. As she eventually caught up to her, they stood in a clearing about 100 yards away from the area where the research team were meant to be stationed. As she looked around, the Fox sat there and watched her.

**Xu:** "Is this a vision then Megitsune, or are you showing me something you might think we need to look at?"

Megitsune lowered her head.

**Megitsune:** "I cannot see the future Xu, Princess of the Hitsaguya clan. I can only help you unlock what is buried in your mind."

**Xu:** "So, I think something bad is going to happen tomorrow?"

**Megitsune:** "You are always prepared for the worst..."

**Xu:** "So, why bring me here?"

**Megitsune:** "You were obsessing about this place during the briefing when the arrows moved out... this clearing. It is special to you isn't it?"

Xu looked around. She couldn't place it at first, but her eyes were drawn towards a tree trunk. There was an old, rusted kunai sticking out of the wood. She approached it and smiled as she ran her hands across it's handle.

**Xu:** "I... I used to train here... I always felt safe here... but at the same time, like someone or something was watching me"

**Megitsune:** "Maybe you need to watch instead of being watched Princess..."

**=...=...=**

The alarm went off. Xu bolted upright out of bed, covered in sweat. She hadn't slept comfortably. Her mind was racing, especially with the last part of the nightmare. She shuddered at the memory of seeing Emma's mangled corpse in the Training Center. She pushed the thoughts out of her head as she picked out her clothes for the day and set them out on the bed. She had half an hour to get washed, dressed, geared up and food in her before the mission.

_"I hope to Hyne that today is uneventful"_


	11. 11 - The Expedition

**_.=09:30, Training Center, Balamb garden=._**

Nida wasn't used to the pressure which came with command. He was always used to being the silent one - often unnoticed in the group on missions, there to make up the numbers. He was only ever consulted for strategy or a well thought out opinion on the situation his team had found themselves in. He always tried to downplay his role in whatever missions his unit had been assigned to afterwards, but as the results kept coming in, and his unit kept performing to a high standard people started to notice him more and more. This attention was brought to light during what people referred to as "The Battle of the Gardens", a pivotal moment in the most recent "Sorceress war". During the battle, Nida co-ordinated the garden's defenses with Squall, Quistis and Xu and when the raiding party left to invade G-garden, Nida and Xu took charge of the remaining forces. Xu led from the front, fighting off wave after wave of G-army attack whilst Nida moved the Garden forces to flank, surround the majority of the G-army and keep them at bay, enabling the battle outside the Gardens to come to an end sooner than expected. It was because of this, he was ultimately promoted to head strategist and also placed in charge of the engineering of Garden, keeping it running as smooth as possible. Since then, he didn't have much to do in the way of battling, he had spent more time trying to keep Garden in top working condition whilst they attempted to learn more about the ancient Centran technology which they called home.

_"Its game time Liang. Everyone is watching you on this one, this is a big mission, and we can't blow it"_

Nida mentally re-assured himself as he held the spear in his right hand even tighter than before, the bulk of its frame resting across his right shoulder, angled at about 45 degrees for the safety of those walking behind him. It was a practical way to carry the weapon, but being in a combat-ready sense, it seemed far from it as the weapon which was slightly taller than its silent wielder looked far heavier than it was. The Estharians and the cadets with them on the mission were pre-occupied with this. They exchanged whispers wondering how he could do it, effortlessly carry something which looked so heavy, especially with its solid adamantine tip and gold and red finished decorum joining the tip to the staff. Xavier glanced at him and motioned with his head in the direction of the cadets who were pre-occupied with this and smiled. Nida nodded and closed his eyes for a moment. He heard a faint rustling from the undergrowth ahead of them. Even though they had Diablos with them, they were still on their guard, especially after what had happened to Emma and Xavier a few nights ago. Nida lowered his spear to the floor, resting the end of it on the dirt below them and held his left-hand up, bringing the procession to a halt. As he did, the SeeDs with them all stepped to the sides of the column and took up defensive positions. Nida kept his hand in the air and kept his eyes closed.

**Piet: **"What is he doing?"

Xavier stayed inside the group of people compared to the other SeeDs who formed the protective ring around them. He leaned in towards the scientist and spoke in a hushed voice.

**Xavier:** "He is conversing with his guardian forces, Ramuh and Diablos"

**Piet: **"I thought you used Diablos?"

**Xavier:** "All those who become SeeDs have Diablos to call on, but the demon is very particular. He will help everyone but he has few favourites. Nida is one of them, but he rarely uses him due to the extreme mental strain the demon takes on its user"

**Piet:** "Strain?"

**Xavier: **"The guardians have their own personalities and these sometimes come through in their hosts. Diablos is cold, calculating and very withdrawn but he can also be fearsome and aggressive. He and Nida have an agreement where he allows Diablos to come through from time to time, but only when things are secure. Diablos is known for not carrying passengers, he has taken offence to your presence already"

**Piet:** "Was that Diablos showing last night when that woman threatened me?"

Xavier laughed as Piet spat the words out about his ordeal.

**Xavier:** "No. Xu doesn't get along with Diablos. Last time they were junctioned, he would not aid her in time so she actually summoned him to fight him... Did you happen to notice the "scar" in the forest near where you landed?"

Piet nodded, his face started to turn pale as he started putting things together in his head.

**Xavier:** "That was caused when Xu fought Diablos. It almost got out of hand, but somehow when the demon could have finished her off, it stopped actually recognised her strength. It hit her with its Dark Messenger attack which left her completely open to being finished off, as well as ruining a large portion of the forest they fought in. Since then, Diablos has agreed to fight alongside Xu on the condition she fights him again at some point"

The hair on the back of Piet's neck stood on edge as he learned more and more about Xu. She was such a frighteningly strong woman despite her feminine appearance. She scared him more than the icy glare of Squall, the son of his country's president. She scared him more than the Lunar Cry which almost killed him. How could someone so small and so pretty be so dangerous. He understood that every SeeD was dangerous, but it seemed that Xu was possibly the most dangerous of them all.

**Piet:** "So... What is Xu's guardian then?"

**Xavier:** "No one knows. She did have Carbuncle, the dragon-nymph who was a passive type - he didn't attack, he only ever augmented the summoner and their allies, but she loaned him to me. I don't think she uses one anymore now. She doesn't see the need for it"

Xavier lied. Megitsune was a well kept secret which Garden kept under wraps due to its uniqueness in how it would only respond to Xu and how she came to Garden with her. Since the events of the most recent sorceress war, there had been an unhealthy interest in GF studies with scientific companies lobbying Garden to allow them to study its students.

**Piet:** "So she fights un-aided? Just her and her skills?"

**Xavier:** "Yeah. What is the point of fighting with augmented skill if you encounter a situation where those augmented skills are repressed due to an anti-magic field or the augmentation covers a flaw in your fighting style and without it, you are exposed and easily defeated?"

Piet shuddered once again. He had made many mistakes in his past due to his tactless nature, but making an enemy out of Xu seemed to be the biggest one he could have made. As he went to speak again, Xavier put his finger to his lips as if to say 'silence' before he pointed towards Nida who had lowered his hands. Still facing forwards, watching the vegetation, he spoke.

**Nida:** "There are fewer monsters around than expected. Diablos said he can keep them at bay, but be weary. If they come at us in a similar manner to the past two incidents, he won't be able to contain it as well as he can."

Xavier nodded and signalled to his team to fall back into their usual positions. Nida did the same and they carried on through the eerily silent facility. As they slowly proceeded towards the investigation site, they were all unaware that they were being watched by something else.

**=...=...=**

_"This is SO DULL"_

Xu hated surveillance duty on any assignment, even on the SeeD exams where she acted as an invigilator from time to time, assessing the cadets and their conduct, watching their every move. She did possess a keen, analytical mind and could strategise with the best of them. Her card skills were amongst the best in Balamb and even internationally she was a name not many wished to draw when tournaments were held in Dollet every year. She could ready body language well, think three moves ahead in a game of chess, only being beaten by the likes of Cid and Nida who were both considered masters in Garden. She could also spot something out of the ordinary in unfamiliar surroundings, that trait was partly down to Megitsune's particular skills but also partly down to her own abilities as a Ninja. She reached for the bottle of water next to the station she was monitoring. She had just watched Nida signal the group to halt whilst he checked the surroundings with Diablos and noticed how he kept facing forwards. Even when he verbally addressed the team, he kept his eyes directly ahead of everyone else.

_"What do you see Nida?"_

Xu was tempted to use the headset to radio the leader of the mission but decided against it as she saw Piet walking alongside Xavier. For a moment she considered hacking into his microphone to eavesdrop on their conversation, but then she realised how angry he would make her. Piet was a pain in her ass, their brief encounter in Esthar shortly after the Time Compression event was fairly eventful as she managed to acquire his prototype optical camouflage technology with Laguna's blessing and then to add insult to injury, she demonstrated how to use it effectively in a combat simulation against some of Esthar's most gifted special op's troops. The five man team was no match for the lone SeeD and Laguna even considered hiring her from Garden to train his own special forces. Xu thought about that role for a moment but waved it away much like she had done initially. She was a Ninja, she could train people how to be better at the covert style of fighting, but only very few possessed the natural ability to handle the rigors of the Ninja-way. As she continued to watch the feed and tried her best not to let her mind wander she heard Emma and Doctor Kadowaki talking behind her.

**Emma:** "Is everything set for when the data comes through?"

**Dr. K: **"Yes, I will handle the data streams, for now, please assist Xu and Andreas on surveillance."

Emma nodded. As she prepared to approach Xu and prepared to ask her where she could sit, the SeeD had already found her a headset and held it up in the air behind her.

**Xu:** "Put this on, tune in to band 3. You will be monitoring the audio feed from Nida's team. Andreas has band 1 which is the general chatter, I have band 2 which is Xavier's team. Take the station next to Andreas and keep your cameras focused on the tree-line and vegetation. Anything so much as rustles, notify Nida and state the direction from his position. He's got the yellow signal pulse on his person so it is easier to use him as reference... Provided you are looking in colour mode. If you use BW imaging, it will be a white light pulsing at a rate of once every three seconds."

Emma saluted Xu before she took the headset and proceeded to her station. As she sat down, plugged in and brought up the screen. As it loaded, she glanced across towards Xu who was blanking everything out except for what was directly in front of her. She could see her mumbling to herself as her eyes rapidly moved across the screen. She was onto something, but she couldn't be for certain. Taking the control panel for the cameras in front of her, she brought Nida into view on the black and white feed once she found the three second interval pulses. She watched him carefully proceed forwards with his spear in hand. As she watched him walk she scanned the trees. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but for some reason Nida kept looking directly ahead of himself, he didn't pay any attention to the sides, even when a SeeD moved ahead of him to check on Xu's instructions or Andreas' instructions, he always kept looking forwards. Taking a deep breath, she hit the comms button and spoke into the headset.

**Emma:** "Nida, this is De-Rossi. Do you need any visual support in your area?"

Emma waited and watched as Nida received her transmission. He raised his wrist to his face and spoke into the communicator on his arm.

**Nida:** "search due north of my location, it should be near the turning to the incident area. From there, move 100 yards up towards the bulkhead. Ramuh says he feels a strange presence there but since it is not in our designated search area, he feels it best if we do an overhead sweep first before making any alterations."

**Emma:** "Copy. Will report with findings ASAP"

Emma followed Nida's instructions. She flicked through the camera's till she found the track-cam and slowly edged it forwards. She found the intersection which lead towards the incident site and switched the feed from black and white to thermal imaging. Even though Diablos was keeping monsters at bay, she had the feeling that Nida's mention of a presence was something which was actually a message he didn't want to air to everyone. As she scrolled up towards the bulkhead she saw a flash of heat for a moment before it faded. She noted the time stamp and exported the footage to a save-file for analysis later.

**Emma:** "Nida, Its De-Rossi. I scanned the area. Do not alter the plan. Your flash of inspiration was just that. Ramuh might be detecting a monster or interference from something... I'll keep a camera on that area if we can spare one."

**Nida:** "Copy. Relay that information to Xu"

**Xu:** "It's ok Nida, I got it. I've noted the co-ordinates. When we do a follow-up we can investigate it ourselves."

Emma looked at Xu who nodded at her before they cut the feed. She pushed back on her chair and stood up. Walking towards her, Emma took a deep breath as Xu glanced up at her.

**Xu:** "Speak. Not the best time to get shell-shocked hun"

**Emma:** "It was a clear flash of heat which vanished the moment I got a clear visual of it. I've exported the footage but I believe that it was a humanoid shape."

**Xu:** "Emma, do you know the range in which Diablos works?"

**Emma:** "Kind of. It's not a GF I have had experience with as such given my Cadet status."

**Xu:** "When it is safe, ask Nida to lower Diablos long enough for the Grats to surface. Once they do, put it back up. Freeze frame the images and you will get a reference distance to use for the exclusion zone."

**Emma:** "Are humanoids excluded?"

**Xu:** "Humans aren't affected by it. Humanoid monsters like the iron giants are however... log wherever you see the humanoid flashes as you put it. We can investigate them separately. I have a feeling there is something bigger than just the monsters going haywire"

**Emma:** "Do we tell them?"

**Xu:** "Negative. We keep the ground team in the dark until Esthar leave. Esthar already suspect this isn't going to be worth any of their time so we should avoid giving them a reason to leave early."

Emma saluted Xu as she headed back to her station to continue her support role until the data started to come in. As Emma sat down, Xu shook her head and sent a message to Nida's PDA.

_"Nida. Emma saw something. Do not let anyone else besides Xavier know. Emma is going to ask you to let Diablos allow monsters to surface before repelling them again. We need to set up the exclusion zone in case anything does surface again and also in case you are needed for back up to Xavier. Keep this information under wraps"_

Xu closed her eyes as she hit send before she took a drink of water and resumed her watch duties.

**=...=...=**

Nida felt his PDA vibrate as they approached the incident site. Using his wrist unit he displayed the message and nodded.

**Nida:** "Xavier, you got a minute?"

Xavier moved away from Piet and headed towards the mission leader's side. Nida displayed the message on his wrist unit.

**Xavier:** "I'll station my guys next to yours when we set up the perimeter. That way if anything does get close and they freak out we can say Diablos has to reset his repelling so we can get a clear field to operate in."

**Nida:** "I just hope Xu knows what she's doing up there"

**Xavier:** "She's watching my back when we branch out further. She's gave me three locations to check personally without any back up. Two should fall in the exclusion zone, one doesn't. If anything, be prepared for the red flare when I get there"

Nida looked worried. The fact Xavier was admitting he would probably have to use the red distress flare in the third location wasn't confidence filling, but if Xu was watching him, she could direct him better and at least prepare him.

**Nida:** "What happens if you get swarmed?"

**Xavier:** "I've got some Aura spells stocked. I'll be able to use my limit to thin out some numbers until you guys get to me"

**Nida:** "You think you'll have to use Iainuki?"

**Xavier:** "I had to when I got ambushed with Emma... At least with Iainuki, I can create more space to move in. My sword art is fairly destructive to the surroundings too, so if worse comes to worse, I can cleave a way through the trees. That coupled with the flare should give you all a damn good indication of where I am"

**Nida:** "Where is that?"

**Xavier:** "There's a clearing about 100 yards away from where the research site is. It's a secluded clearing where Xu used to train. She can't see anything in there with the camera, she needs some on the ground eyes."

**Nida:** "I know the place... I've been there with her once when we were evading the T-rexaur which nearly killed me after Joker's prank and her ambush went wrong"

Xavier nodded and fell back in formation again as Nida led the way once again.

**=...=...=**

_"Hyne this anticipation is killing me. When will they reach the damn incident site?"_

Xu sat back in her chair and watched the feed more, this time her frustration was growing visibly to everyone in the room with them. Andreas the security manager shook his head and laughed as Xu drained her bottle of water and started to look around agitated.

**Andreas: **"If you need a smoke, just go out into the hallway. I don't care, not many use this wing remember"

**Xu: **"You sure?"

**Andreas: **"Yeah, Doctor K will watch Xavier for you. The rate they're going, it'll take at least another 15 minutes before they all reach the incident site and start setting up. Go out and calm down. You're no good to anyone when you're on edge"

Xu nodded and got up. As she headed towards the door, she noticed Emma's bow next to the door and for a moment wondered why the cadet had brought a weapon to the data gathering side of a mission. Shaking her head, thinking nothing of it, she walked out the door and lit her cigarette. Inside the room, Andreas turned to the Doctor.

**Andreas: **"Doc... You've been awfully quiet. Something bugging you?"

Doctor Kadowaki finally spoke.

**Dr. K: **"The more I think about this mission, and how things just don't add up, the worse I feel... Something big is going to go down in there. Is the med-team on standby?"

**Emma: **"Yes doctor"

**Dr. K:** "You are also armed, correct?"

**Emma: **"Yes, I've got a quiver of 30 here and there is a second quiver of 30 with the medical team. My bow is strung and ready. The moment a red-flare goes off, I will be in there to lead the med-team."

**Andreas:** "Does Xu know about this?"

**Dr. K: **"No. She'd want to lead the rescue mission. We can't risk her going in there as she still hasn't fully recovered. If she over-exerts herself, I'd have to sedate her for a week or two"

**Andreas:** "Thing is... if shit hits the fan and Emma goes running in... Who's gonna be left to stop Xu from following her?"

**Dr. K:** "That is why I'm worried. Xu will stop at nothing when she has an idea in her head... And if she lets her emotions get the better of her logic, she'll be in there at the first sign of any trouble involving Xavier."

**=...=...=**

Nida stood in the center of the group. The Cadets and SeeDs all formed a defensive line around the incident area - the scorched black earth below their feet, the mutilated carcasses of the T-rexaurs and the damage to the vegetation around them struck a note of concern and admiration in everyone. Piet looked at the damage and was awestruck. He knew how powerful SeeDs were, but all this damage from that small woman?

**Piet:** "Remarkable! One person did all this?"

Nida ignored the scientist, letting one of the cadets who was being tasked with assisting in escorting the scientists around to gather data pander to his sweeping statements instead. The scientist started barking out orders to the other researchers and some of the Cadets whilst his eyes were fixed on the corpse of the T-rexaur. Its flesh had been burned black in parts and in some places it had even been burned right to the bone.

**Piet:** "Such power... Take samples from every corpse, especially the heads if they aren't too damaged. We need plenty of brain tissue from each beast. If we can capture a live specimen or observe one, it would be most helpful too".

Nida walked towards Piet and placed his hand on the scientist's shoulder.

**Nida:** "We do not go after a live specimen. If I let just one monster near, this whole operation could be damaged beyond salvaging. If you wish to have a live specimen, we might be able to sanction a raid later tonight to retrieve one"

Piet shook his head and walked away from Nida. Presumably he headed towards his equipment, but the SeeD paid no attention to him. He instead brought up his map of the area and noted the positions of the SeeDs and cadets. They had formed the perimeter and were now starting to carry out the tasks they had been assigned - observe the research mission, probe the vegetation and keep watch.

**Xavier:** "Nida. You all in position?"

Nida spoke into his comms unit as Xavier's voice trailed off.

**Nida:** Affirmative. Proceed as planned. Diablos has been lowered and raised once more to establish the exclusion zone. I am guessing at best, it's a 35 yard radius from my position. After that, you guys are on your own... be wary and be prepared"

Xavier: "Copy. I'm at the second incident site - the one where I was ambushed, just further up. I instructed my team to proceed as planned. I will rejoin them. There is something I have to check first"

**Nida:** "Affirmative. Please be careful. Xu will have my head if anything happens."

Xavier didn't respond with words, instead he simply laughed. Nida shook his head and then turned his attention back to the defenses. Even with Diablos keeping the monsters at bay, the fact Ramuh sensed something earlier, a presence watching them set him on edge. He could still recall the rustling in the trees as they approached the area. He could have got them there quicker than he already had done, but given his cautious nature, and the fact he had to ensure everyone was in the right frame of mind, he had to take his time. Nida pulled a Dictaphone from his utility belt and spoke into it.

_"SeeD Nida Liang. Mission Commander reporting in. Time is 10:45 and primary mission is underway - Esthar team are starting to take samples and following the instruction of Dr. Piet. Defense team are in place as lead by me, Nida Liang. Xavier Coral's exploration and strike team has set off as planned. Guard changes are scheduled every 30 minutes."_

Nida clicked the tape off. He sat down on one of the broken tree trunks and rested his spear next to him. Closing his eyes for a moment, he cleared his thoughts and tried to focus on the mission at hand - they were there to protect, nothing more. Only attack if needed. He looked up towards the cameras and nodded before he spoke.

_"Emma. Please keep your camera on Piet and his team unless told by myself or you see red or blue smoke. Also, could you please let Doctor Kadowaki know that the data streams should be starting any minute now."_

**=...=...=**

Xavier moved slowly along the edge of the undergrowth. His katana was out in his right hand and his left hand cautiously pulled and pushed various hanging branches and vines out of his way. As he crept along the undergrowth, he checked his position on his tracking map. He was near his destination - the "spirit" site. In the surveillance videos, it appeared as if there was a ghostly figure stood there watching the fighting during both incidents. This time, he hoped with the larger group further back, he would be able to slip past undetected. Diablos could repel the monsters but it also acted as a large black beacon, drawing everything towards it.

_"Almost there"_

Xavier stopped in his tracks. He pressed himself, back first against the trunk of the tree he was stood near as the hairs on his neck tingled. Carbuncle, the GF Xu had loaned him wasn't normally known for its abilities in alerting people to an attack, but given that Xu had been junctioned to the nymph, it came as no surprise that it knew different tricks to what it would usually expect to know or be able to do.

_"Can you tell what it is?"_

The hairs on Xavier's neck tingled again before they relaxed.

_"You're sure? I thought there wasn't anyone else in her apart from us..."_

Xavier held his breath. His face changed from a neutral expression to a worried one. He was thankful the cameras couldn't see his face otherwise Xu would be in a state of shock. Carbuncle was playful, but it was also serious when it had to be, and what it had sensed and relayed to Xavier chilled him - there was someone else in the facility with them. Reaching for his comm's unit, he spoke softly to Xu.

**Xavier: **"Carbuncle just worried me"

**Xu:** "What did he say?"

**Xavier:** "There is someone else in here. Ramuh felt it also... Two GF can't be wrong can they?"

**Xu:** "Fuck!"

**Xavier:** "I'm getting closer to the 'spirit' spot. I'll sweep there before I double back and head up towards your old training clearing."

**Xu:** "Keep me posted"

Xavier slowly crept forwards. His heart was racing and the adrenaline running round in his system was making it difficult for him to focus on what he had to. He had to focus on getting towards his marker but instead all he could think about was combat - jumping out with his katana held high and cutting a path of destruction through the facility. His fingers tensed on the handle as he looked around before taking a deep breath to steady himself. He could hear something moving in the bushes near him and given how he had moved away from everyone else, he knew this had to be a monster or the mysterious person who was in there with him. Holding the sword tightly in his hands, he brought it up and spun out from round the tree and sliced through the undergrowth. As he cut a path open, the rustling in the bushes started to get further away from him. It was a trap. He knew following it alone could be fatal, but at the same time, he was left with little alternative.

**Xavier: **"Xu, keep the camera on me, but adjust so you can monitor 10 yards ahead of me at all times. I think I'm onto something here"

**Xu:** "Be careful. I can see the 'spirit' section now... There's nothing in that spot. Investigate that first, see if you can lure our stalker out"

Xavier moved forwards. He stepped out from the undergrowth and into the main path. Waiting for a moment, he looked towards the location of the "ghost" on the footage and moved in slowly. There was nothing visible on camera according to Xu, and in person he could see nothing. As he closed in on the space in the vegetation he stopped. He saw some signs of recent disturbance, but little else. Taking a photograph with his PDA, he sent it to Xu. As the message sent, he put his PDA away and turned his attention back to the trees. Something wasn't right. It was quiet, too quiet.

_"Carbuncle, Ifrit... You feeling anything?"_

There was no response from either GF. Xavier shook his head and tightened his hold on the handle of his katana. As he scanned the trees for anything out of the ordinary he saw the rustling once again. He was definitely being watched, but by what? Flicking his comm unit to the private line which mission control and Nida were keyed in to at all times along with their team lines, Xavier spoke.

_"I've searched the 'spirit' area. There is nothing there in person or on camera... But I'm being followed. I think whatever you saw on camera and whatever Ramuh sensed is trying to lure me into a trap. I'm going to take the bait and follow it. My GPS is on full broadcast, everyone has my location. If it suddenly goes off, it means I've been compromised. Xu, keep watch, Nida, radio my team and tell them to cut right in an ordered fashion towards the point we mentioned earlier"_

Xavier took a deep breath before he stepped forwards. Whatever was stalking them, he planned to find it, or at least some trace of it.

**=...=...=**

**Dr. K: **"Nothing useful on the data feeds. It is just the same readings which we usually get when we do a sweep of the facility. The only spikes seem to be around the corpses, probably due to the residual energy from your summon attack being left over"

Doctor Kadowaki looked at Xu as she spoke. She carefully watched the agitated SeeD tracking Xavier's movements through the undergrowth, chasing the rustling and noises which they had encountered earlier. Her body language was conveying more than words could - her irritation was clear for everyone to see. Even with regular cigarette breaks, she could see Xu was ready to explode. Emma looked at Xu and then to the Doctor who simply nodded. She stood up and walked towards the agitated SeeD.

**Emma: **"Xu, take 5. I know this is tough for you, but you need to calm down. I won't pretend to understand what you are going through right now, but whatever it is, it's affecting your game."

Xu turned round to face Emma. She didn't know whether to be impressed with the cadet's boldness or take it as a veiled insult.

**Xu: **"Look. I know I'm being unbearable in here, but just level with me. Since we watched them enter this place, even with Diablos, things haven't seemed right. The demon keeps monsters away for a certain distance, but Xavier must be well over 100 yards away or so, and he's encountered nothing. The data is coming up empty..."

**Andreas: **"You're thinking an ambush aren't you?"

**Xu:** "Exactly. Either the monsters are getting more intelligent day by day..."

**Dr. K:** "Or something or someone is controlling them"

Emma backed away from Xu and looked over to her bow. She had a feeling she would be needed down there sooner, rather than later given the conclusion they had collectively reached. She closed her eyes and checked her junctions. Shiva had helped set her up for what would best be described as a "blitz attack" - in and out. Junctioning everything to attack and throwing caution to the wind. As a long distance fighter, she could afford to take this cavalier approach, but given how dangerous the situation in the facility was slowly becoming with every passing minute, she wondered if some defense might be a good idea. Her thoughts were interrupted however by Xu slamming her hand down on the table she was sat at.

**Xu: **"BLUE FLARE! WE GOT SOMETHING!"

**=...=...=**

Xavier released the blue flare as he stood in the middle of what many cadets and SeeDs had come to know as "Xu's clearing". The pyro shot up above the trees and the noise it generated and blue smoke was a beacon to everything, friendly or not that there was someone there. As the smoke at the ground-level cleared, Xavier looked at the scene in front of him. Whatever urged Xu to check here must have known or suspected something. There was a trail of small blood droplets moving across the clearing towards the tree with the kunai embedded in it. Xavier took his PDA out and started to take pictures. As he did his comm's unit kicked in again.

**Xavier:** "Xu, I've put my PDA on live feed. Do you have visuals on me from above and from the feed?"

**Xu:** "Affirmative, Doctor K is monitoring the live feed as we speak."

**Xavier: **"Good. We've got blood. It leaves the vegetation and goes across the clearing till it hits the tree with your old kunai in it. There are footprints too. They look like a human's."

Xavier stepped closer to the footprints and let the doctor take stills from the live feed so she could analyse them later. As he followed them, carefully watching the area around him, Nida's voice came over his comm unit.

**Nida: **"I saw the blue flare... Do you need another pair of eyes?"

**Xavier: **"No. Inform Piet I'm sending a live feed and taking samples myself over here. This place is too far away for anyone who isn't of our skill levels to safely reach."

**Nida: **"Did you encounter any trouble?"

**Xavier: **"No... I don't know why but I don't like it. I get the feeling something big is going to go down. Be on guard. I'll call my team to fall back to you. I can make it out on my own, but those guys would be better sticking with you now"

Xavier switched his line back to Xu.

**Xavier: **"Xu, issue the command to my unit to fall back. I have a feeling this is a huge trap."

**Xu:** "I've got the same feeling. My camera is on you now, but something isn't right."

Xavier knelt down, taking some samples of the blood. He was about to leave the area when he saw a piece of torn burgundy fabric on the floor near the Kunai tree. He knelt down and took it in his hand. It looked familiar but he couldn't place it for some reason. As he stood up and pocketed it, he heard a shrill whistle. Looking round, he drew his katana and readied himself. He saw shaking in the trees. Something was coming for him and fast.

**Xavier: **"Shit!"

**=...=...=**

**Nida:** "RED FLARE!"

It all happened so fast. The blue flare had shot up in the distance which alerted everyone to a discovery but the moment Xavier radioed through that he didn't need cover, a single red flare in the vegetation shot up. One of the advance team members was under attack. Moments later, a second red flare had shot up a few yards from the first, then a third did soon after. A thick red smoke was starting to settle on top of the trees. Nida looked in the direction of the trees and took a deep breath - the three under attack were close enough to support each other but at the same time they could be under attack from large numbers. Nida pointed to two Cadets and a SeeD and motioned for them to head towards the flares. As they set off, he heard an ear-piercing noise behind him. He turned around but couldn't pinpoint exactly where it had came from.

**Nida:** "That sounds familiar..."

He held his spear tightly in a battle stance and readied himself. The undergrowth started to shake and he feared the worst was coming, but instead of one of the normal monsters which inhabited the facility, a Grendel burst out of the undergrowth.

**Nida:** "FUCK!"

The small, muscular beast with razor-like claws and a massive blade on its tail came charging right at him. Thinking fast, the strategist let go of his spear with his left hand, allowing it to fall to a horizontal position before he stepped forwards to meet it, twisting his hips as he thrust his arm forwards, sending the tip of the weapon into the oncoming beast's shoulder. The Grendel let out a scream of pain as Nida pulled the spear back out of the monster. He pulled the spear out as he stepped backwards and placed his left hand over the top of the spear. Twisting his upper body, he stepped towards the beast again, this time striking it with the butt of the spear as he rotated 360 degrees with a diagonal rising strike from the lower right to his left shoulder. As he came back to his original starting position, he dropped his shoulders and charged forwards, keeping both hands on the spear, this time driving the weapon straight through the creature's open mouth. It let out a pained shriek of terror before Nida twisted the spear and made the final thrust, forcing the tip through the back of its throat and severing its spinal cord. He forcibly removed the spear, letting the beast slump to the floor.

**Nida:** "Xu, Emma, Doc... It's an ambush. There's red smoke everywhere and non-native monsters are attacking us!"

Nida looked to the sky, even more red flares were rising from below the trees. He flicked the channel on his comm's unit again and hailed Xavier.

**Nida:** "Xavier Its an ambush... someone is controlling these things and it wants us dead. Get to safety ASAP!"

**=...=...=**

Xu slammed her fist down on the table. Her worst fears had been confirmed as the smoke started to fill the screen. The heat from the pyro meant even the thermal imaging was useless. She shook her head and looked round the room.

**Xu:** "It's a fucking trap! Whatever it was, it was waiting for us!"

Xu shook her head. She only had her hairpins and her tanto on her, she was not armed enough to lead a rescue mission and even then, she was in no state to do so either. She was still recovering from the incident at the start of the week and if she over-exerted herself, she might end up far worse than she was already. As she looked over to see what the others in the room were doing, Emma looked at the doctor who simply nodded. Emma saluted her and ran towards the door. She picked up her bow and quiver and ran as fast as she could.

**Xu:** "Andreas.. Report?"

Andreas: "Transmissions are mostly distorted, but there is talk of non-native monsters attacking - Bombs, Grendels and Buels seem to be the order of things"

**Dr. K:** "Grendels? Hyne! This is not good. We need to scramble the med-team stat!"

Xu looked around the room.

**Xu:** "Where's Emma?"

**Dr. K:** "She's gone to lead the recovery team. She's the strongest cadet so she was briefed to be battle ready as a contingency plan."

**Xu: "**Fuck! She'll get slaughtered in there if Grendels are there... They're too fast for ranged combat once they get their sights on someone. I'm going in!"

**Dr. K:** "No you are not Xu. We need you to co-ordinate from up here. Keep track of Xavier, he's isolated. Guide him back, that way Nida and him can hold the line whilst the others retreat"

**Xu:** "If things get worse, I'm going in. Fuck what happens to me, my friends are in trouble, I can't let them die"

**=...=...=**

Xavier staggered backwards. He brought his sword up and lunged forwards in a horizontal slicing motion. As his blade cut through the flesh of the Grendel which had charged out the trees at him, he crossed his left foot in front of his right, pivoted on the spot and brought his katana up before thrusting it backwards into the oncoming beast. He pulled the sword out of the beast, flicked the blood from the blade and looked to the sky - a haze of red smoke was settling above him.

**Xavier:** "This is not a natural phenomenon! I gotta get back to the others!"

**=...=...=**

**Nida:** "Report?"

**SeeD #1:** "Xavier's team is back safely, no major casualties, just a few deep cuts and bruises. Xavier is unaccounted for however"

Nida cursed under his breath as he checked his gun. He didn't like using it, but given that Buels were swooping in and casting spells at random, creating havoc whilst the Grendels and Bombs cut through the ranks of the team, he had no choice. Pulling the slide back, disengaging the safety and raising the gun, he took aim and pulled the trigger twice in quick succession. The bullets tore through the beast's wings, dropping it to the floor. As the airborne foe hit the ground, a Cadet finished it off with his sword.

**Nida:** "Issue the fall-back command. Make sure the scientists and cadets get out. I'll act as the rear-guard till Xavier gets back"

**SeeD #1:** "Sir, we can't leave you"

**Nida:** "That's an order! Issue the retreat. We need to get out of this alive"

The SeeD saluted before running back towards the rest of the team who were fending off the bombs. Nida cursed under his breath as he took aim again and shot down another Buel. One of the SeeDs near him took it out with his sword before he fell back towards Nida's position. He cast a protect spell on Nida who thanked him before he cast one on himself.

**SeeD #2:** "Sir, we're getting over-run. We need a distraction"

Nida took a deep breath. It was all happening so fast. It was almost like the monsters had waited for Xavier to distance himself before they struck. Taking aim and shooting down a third Buel and then a fourth one which had just turned its attention to them he smiled.

**Nida:** "Launch the rest of the flares. Let's light this place up. If there are any more monsters lying about, they'll be drawn out. When they come out, I'll call on Diablos to severely weaken them, giving us all some time to get out"

**SeeD #2:** "Sir!"

The SeeD ran back towards the others, shouting for them to release their flares. As the jets of red smoke and pyro cut through the air, Nida closed his eyes as he reloaded his pistol.

_"Diablos... I need your strength. When the monsters rush towards the red fire, hit them with the darkness. We need to finish this quickly"_

The hairs on Nida's neck tingled as he felt the demon in his mind stirring. It would take some time for the dark messenger to deliver his powerful attack and even though he was protected whilst calling for him, he had to concentrate. Diablos didn't like it when people called on him but did other things at the same time. As the monsters started charging towards the retreating team, Nida smiled. His plan was working for the time being. He just hoped Xavier didn't get caught in the middle of it.

**=...=...=**

_"We should be there in less than 10 minutes. Keep up the pace. If you have haste, cast it now! Time is of the essence!"_

Emma ran, her bow was held tightly in her left hand and she had an arrow in her right hand ready. Behind her, the medical team and some of the security personnel who were more combat seasoned than the others ran with her, armed with standard issue MP5 styled sub-machine guns. They could hear the shouting and see the red smoke in the distance. It looked like a warzone out there.

_"I hope I'm not too late"_

Emma kept running. It was the only thing she could do right now.

**=...=...=**

Xavier ducked under the low tree-branches. He could hear the roar in the distance behind him - a T-rexaur had somehow gotten onto his scent. He held his wakizashi tightly in his left hand as he cut through the thin branches and vines which blocked his way. In the cramped undergrowth, the short sword was his best option as it didn't need much room to be swung.

_"Just a few more yards..."_

Xavier kept running, it was his only chance at survival right now. The T-rexaur was slow in the undergrowth, but at the same time, if it got close enough, it was still dangerous despite its limited mobility. Trying to keep his mind focused on finding the most optimal escape route, Xavier almost tripped over one of the roots of the trees he was dodging between. As he stumbled and hit his shoulder as he crashed into a tree, the hairs on his neck tingled.

**Xavier:** "What is it Carbuncle?"

The Guardian's voice echoed in his head

**Carbuncle:** "Diablos is coming. Don't go forwards, run sideways"

**Xavier:** "That means Nida must be in trouble... especially if he's calling on him!"

Xavier stopped. He took a deep breath and sheathed his Wakizashi. It was pointless keeping it out, he was fleeing from everything he encountered right now and if Diablos was about to rear its ugly presence, he had to make sure he could get out the way as quick as he could. Listening for the roar behind him, he looked to the right and saw a clearing.

_"Cross the clearing, then head south, I should be out of the range of Diablos then. If I launch my flare, Xu can guide me"_

Xavier ran towards the clearing. With the flare held in his hand and his fingers on the trigger to release it, he held it up above his head as he made his way into the open space.

**=...=...=**

Xu looked at the screen. The single red flare which just shot up in the sky set her mind at ease for a moment - Xavier was the only one left in the trees and she knew his flare was a message to her. He needed guiding towards safety and quickly by the looks of it. The Ninja put her headset on and flicked it to the secure line.

**Xu: **"Xavier. Come in."

**Xavier:** "I read you Xu."

**Xu: **"Thank Hyne you're alright!"

**Xavier: **"Not for long. Nida's calling Diablos in on the mass of red smoke near their location. I need directing away from it, but out onto the main path"

Xu took a deep breath as she scanned the area with the camera. She saw the rustling of the tree's behind him and started to shake.

**Xu: **"I have visual on you now, turn to the left so you're facing south, and then head south east. That should bring you out behind Nida if you haste yourself."

**Xavier: **"Ok... Is the T-rexaur still following me?"

**Xu: **"It's getting closer."

Xu watched Xavier cast the haste spell on himself before he ran towards the trees once again. As she flipped to the thermal imaging feed to keep her eye on his progress through the undergrowth, she saw several small bright red circles start to close in on his position.

**Xu: **"Xavier, Bomb's are closing in on you."

**Xavier: **"Fuck! How many monsters are there?"

**Xu: **"Too many"

Before she could say anything else, the feed started to flicker. She hit the monitor, trying to get it to work, but the image started to get distorted before it broke into static interference.

**Xu: **"I've lost visual, do you read Xavier?"

Nothing. There was just static.

**Xu: **"Fuck!"

Xu slammed her fist into the table again. Doctor Kadowaki and Andreas swore at the same time - they had lost all visuals. Xu shook her head. She stood up, clenched her fists and took a deep breath.

**Xu: **"Doctor... I'm going in. We need someone with enough juice to drop a magical bomb if they have to, and I'm the only person in garden with that much power right now."

**Dr. K: **"But you'll injure yourself even more. You're recovery could be set back months"

**Xu:** "Fuck my recovery. I said before if shit hits the fan, I'm going in. Its official now. Shit has hit the fan"

**=...=...=**

Nida's eyes opened. As they did, a wave of energy erupted from him. It was a surge bigger than normal and it seemed to attract the attention of everyone and everything in the training center at that moment in time. The monsters gathered round the incident site turned their attentions towards Nida as the sky around them darkened. He held his spear out, pointing it at the monsters before he smiled. Spinning it around, he slammed the butt of it into the floor and raised his left arm above his head. His fingers were stretched open as he shouted at the top of his voice.

_"COME... DIABLOS"_

The demon accepted his invitation. Thousands of bats suddenly flew out of the trees towards a single focal point. At first it seemed like they were disappearing, but as each one reached its destination, they merged together, forming a black sphere which towered above the trees. It was at least twenty feet across and pitch black. Its surface rippled as the last of the bats flew into it. For a moment it seemed like the great mass of darkness was going to descend onto the ground, but instead the base of it rippled. As parts of the sphere dripped away like droplets of water, a dark figure dropped out of it. It was at least fifteen feet tall. Its skin was dark black in places, red in others. It had giant black wings folded across its front, and large clawed hands and a tail which flicked about with a sense of anticipation. It was the dark messenger himself Diablos. It let its wings expand to their full span of twenty feet across from tip to tip as it raised its hand up towards the mass above its head. Dark red bolts of energy shot out from its hand as it made contact with the ball. The beast roared before it dragged the mass down from above it, sending it into the floor below. The impact generated a huge explosion as arcane symbols formed around the floor and on the black mass itself before it exploded in a purple light. The monsters underneath were smothered in the darkness as the winged demon curled itself up once more and disappeared into the sky.

_"Thank you Diablos"_

Nida thanked the demon. He knew it wouldn't acknowledge him, but as he looked out at the destruction it had caused, he knew he had bought his team some time to at least get to safety. What he didn't count on however, was the presence of monsters behind him. He heard a hissing sound. As he slowly turned around, with spear in hand, he felt an intense heat forming behind him. It was a bomb and it was ready to blow.

**"Fuck!"**

**=...=...=**

Xavier burst through the trees. As he did, he pulled out his katana and made a bold run forwards. Even though Diablos' attack had done enough damage, there were still plenty of monsters about. It was like they just kept coming. Using his enhanced speed and reflexes, he ducked underneath a low-flying Buel and then side-stepped an oncoming Grendel. Spinning round to face it, he brought his sword up and thrust it forwards into the beast's side. As it screamed in pain, he heard the roar of the T-rexaur and quickly pulled his sword back.

_"I've got no time for this!"_

Xavier charged a spell - a black energy formed at his fingertips and he quickly released it in the direction of the wounded monster. The black mass he cast took the shape of a reaper, holding a scythe in its hands. As the Grendel looked up at this new foe, the reaper simply swung its scythe and cut through the monster. Although there was no apparent physical damage from the spell, the casting of death was successful as the monster simply slumped to the ground. Nida quickly turned round and ran again as the T-rexaur which had been pursuing him crashed through the tree-line. What he didn't realise was as the first one came through, a second one followed it.

**=...=...=**

_"I hope I'm not too late"_

Emma ran as fast as she could under the effects of the haste spell. As she moved through the facility, ignoring everything around her, she came across Piet and his Estharian soldier escort, closely followed by some injured Cadets. The soldiers and Piet stopped just in front of Emma who signalled the medical team to stop behind her.

**Piet: **"Turn back! The SeeDs are outnumbered! The monsters just keep coming"

**Emma:** "Where are they?"

**Piet: **"Nida is alone, furthest out. Xavier nowhere to be seen. The other SeeDs are holding the line behind us, trying to buy us time to get out"

Emma nodded.

**Piet: **"Escape whilst you can. Its hell back there!"

Emma looked at the med-team behind her. She pointed at two of them and then motioned for them to follow her. The rest nodded as they formed up around the Cadets and Estharians.

**Emma:** "We move out. You guys get the SeeDs out, I'll carry on and get to Nida and Xavier"

As the team continued to run forwards, Emma readied an arrow in her bow. She saw the SeeDs fending off the Buels which were attacking them and then looked past them - She could see a lone figure with something drawing closer to it. Taking a deep breath, she lifted her bow up and released the arrow.

**=...=...=**

Nida knew what was going to happen next. He had studied Bombs before in classes and he had fought them. He knew if they were wounded, they would increase their size before they would explode, usually killing both themselves and their enemies. He knew as a SeeD that he would inevitably meet his fate on the battlefield, but he didn't expect it so soon. He closed his eyes and instinctively brought his hands up to cover his face to protect it as much as he could from the searing heat which would hail the imminent explosion but instead of the expected death, he felt a rush of air pass his face. He opened his eyes and looked in front of him - the Super-sized bomb was lying on the floor with an arrow sticking out of it.

**Nida:** "Emma!"

Emma lowered her bow and saluted him. Nida returned the salute and made his way towards her. As he drew closer to her, there was a sudden roar behind him. Emma ran towards Nida with an arrow readied once again. The pair of them lined up and readied their weapons again.

**Emma: **"Its Xavier!"

The pair looked on as Xavier ran towards them. Behind him stood two T-rexaurs. Both of them let out a massive roar before they continued their pursuit. Emma raised her bow and released the arrow, hitting one of the beasts in the eye. As it staggered from the impact, Nida released a Blizzaga spell which smashed into the other beast, slowing it down. As Xavier drew closer, there was another roar in the distance.

**Nida:** "Shit! More of them?"

**=...=...=**

Piet collapsed in the staging area of the facility. He was healthy, but he was not physically active. The near constant running had worn him down. He could barely breathe and every muscle in his body ached. As the medical team started to tend to the injured, he looked up - Xu was stood in front of him.

**Piet:** "What.. **_[gasps]_** What are you doing here?"

**Xu:** "Making sure you all don't die on me"

Piet sarcastically laughed.

**Piet:** "You're in no state to fight!"

**Xu:** "That may be true, but I can't let anyone die here because of what happened to me!"

Piet coughed as one of the SeeDs helped him to his feet.

**Piet:** "Just be careful. Its hell out there"

Xu nodded. As the team moved the injured away from her, she closed her eyes and focused her thoughts.

_"Megitsune... I need your help again"_

As she finished speaking, the air in the facility grew still once again. There was a faint breeze which started to rush through the area.

**=...=...=**

Xavier stopped as the three SeeDs made their way back towards the exit. They were trying their best to escape the T-rexaurs, but the beasts kept coming, more and more of them joined the fray with every minute passing. He felt the air suddenly come to a standstill and realised what was going on.

**Xavier:** "Nida, Emma, get to cover **_NOW!_**"

**Nida: **"Why?"

**Xavier:** "Trust me... get to cover"

The three of them ducked down behind a boulder and pressed themselves against it.

**Emma:** "Do you feel that? I didn't know the training center had breezes"

**Xavier:** "It doesn't."

Nida and Emma looked at him confused.

**Xavier:** "Stay pressed against this rock, close your eyes and take a deep breath. If you move, you're dead. Trust me on this. You do not want to get out from behind this rock."

Before either Nida or Emma could even ask why, a golden nine-tailed fox jumped out of the trees and over them. It landed on the floor and let out a howl as the breeze suddenly stopped.

**Xavier:** "Carbuncle - help us, quickly!"

As Megitsune started to build up her power, ready for the magical attack she was about to unleash, the small green nymph appeared out of nowhere and cast reflect on the three of them huddled behind the rock. It quickly vanished once again as a bright red light started to engulf the area.

**Xavier:** "Close your eyes. Press against the rock, and whatever you do - do not move!"

Nida and Emma nodded as Megitsune howled once more and released its sacred flames of retribution. The fiery explosion and pressure wave cut across the facility and crashed into the oncoming pack of dinosaurs, killing them instantly, like it did earlier that week. As the intense heat and pressure reflected off the three of them hid behind the rock, Xavier opened his eyes. He saw the golden fox look at them before it vanished again.

**Nida:** "What... was... that?"

**Xavier:** "I take it you haven't seen Xu's GF before?"

**=...=...=**

Xu collapsed. She had pushed herself beyond her limits once again by rushing down to summon Megitsune and projecting her onto Xavier's location. It was an effort to simply summon a GF, but to project them elsewhere when summoning them took a considerable amount of energy and focus. Xu lay face down on the floor, struggling to catch her breath as Piet turned round after hearing her fall. He pushed the medical personnel away from him and rushed to her side. He didn't like the woman much, but he knew she had saved them all ultimately with her selfless act. Rolling her onto her side, he cradled her head in his hands as the medical team turned their attentions to her.

_"I felt that explosion and pressure wave from here. That must have been the same energy and attack which caused so much damage where we were stood before. Such power... SeeD truly are fearsome"_

Piet looked down at Xu whose eyes were closed. Her breathing was slow and laboured and she had a weak pulse. It had taken a lot out of her summoning her GF and after feeling the destructive power it possessed, he understood why she didn't play an active field role in this mission. Physically, Xu was fine to resume light duties, but energy wise, she was running on empty.

_"I might not like you, but what you did there saved everyone of us..."_

Piet let Xu's head gently rest on the floor as the medical team cast weak curative spells on her in a bit to stabilise her condition. As they worked on her, Nida, Emma and Xavier appeared. The three of them saw Xu on the floor and ran towards her. Xavier reached her first. He dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms around her unconscious body.

**Xavier:** "Hyne-Dammit Xu. I know you saved our asses, but you were told to take it easy!"

* * *

A/N: That chapter was interesting to write. The whole back and forth thing from one perspective to another was difficult at times, but I feel it helped heighten the sense of anticipation somewhat.


End file.
