Fan Fiction ❯ Final Fantasy VIII: Extended Quest ❯ Squall makes a friend ( Chapter 2 )

We enter to see Angelita and Squall About to enter the training center. "What level would you like to train at?" Squall considers this point. "Hmm, how many are there?" Angelita responds simply. "Well, there's quite a few. There's a different area for each element within a special quad for different levels. The first is for pre-SeeDs. The Second for new SeeDs, the third for advanced SeeDs and the fourth for S-class SeeDs." "Hmm, well I am an S-class, so lets go with that. Ohh, and before we begin, how big is this center? Eden is pretty huge."

She smiled, "Don't worry about it. It's big enough to deal with any GFs. After all, we have a GF center as well." "Let us begin then" She smiled and lead Squall to the S-class quad. She looked around and smiled at the fire and ice sector, but then turned to Squall. "Any particular elements or just random?" "Random, I have all elements covered" She nodded. "All right. Let's see what you got." ~Battle starts~

 

 

... On the surface, an evil force broods, gathering force and looking for the opportunity to strike. At its head, a shadowed figure gives orders, preparing a strike of enormous magnitude, and laughing all the time...

 

(i hate writing out FF battles...) ~they fight, battle ends.~ Angelita smiled, "That was kind easy..." Even though there were eight enemies. "And I didn't even pull out Eden, that was a good battle though." She chuckled, "Yeah. I guess it's easier when you have someone training with you." "Yep. Any other preferences? Or do you want to call it a day?" "It doesn't really matter to me. Whatever you want to do." Angelita is really trying to avoid practicing for the festival.

 

Squall has a bit of a thirst. "A battle like that leaves me really thirsty. How 'bout a drink?" Angelita agrees "All right. There's a rest area in here." She smiled and led Squall back to the rest area. "What do you want?" she asked him. "I've heard of some interesting drinks on the western continent of the planet. Had one too, and they were pretty good. Got any of those?" "Uh. I don't know. I don't get the food here." Some sweat dropped form her brow. "How about a garden specialty?" "Sure, why not. I'll try it out" Squall is not so bad that he won't try anything new. She smiled and pressed a button on the console. To the side, a sparkling light blue liquid poured into a glass. When it finished, Angelita smiled and handed it to Squall. "Here you go." "Thank you." as he drinks his glass he remembers about the others and wonders how they are doing.

 

Angelita stood there, waiting for Squall to finish his drink. She didn't really have anything to do today. "Aw, shit!" she shouted in her head, her face sort of reflecting her thoughts. As Squall finishes his drink in one long pull, he looks to her and sees a bad expression on her face "Anything wrong?" "I forgot. I'm supposed to do a couple of demonstrations today." She covered her eyes with her hand; she can't believe she forgot she had to show the second years how to catch a GF. Squall really doesn't want to disrupt her teaching. "Ahh, should I let you go then? Or would you like me to accompany you?" "Well, I could get a couple of other demonstrations done a lot easier with your help. That is, if you don't mind some one-on-one." Angelita's expression reflects a heartening mood. "That wouldn't be too bad, I'll go for it." She nods, "All right. Thank you." She smiles, "Well, let's go."

 

She lead Squall to a classroom where there where lots of 13-14 year olds chatting away. As he walks in he is reminded of his experience in {haven't checked in a while so don't butcher me if I'm wrong} Balamb, when he got this class done, or at least its equivalent. "All right, settle down!" the instructor said in a firm voice. "Today, the headmaster of our garden, Ms. Angelita, will be giving you some demonstrations. I expect you to pay attention. You will be tested on this!" He sighed as the class moaned and turned to Angelita. "They're all yours," he said and stepped to the side wall.

Angelita walked to the front of the classroom, looking professional, but also normal at the same time. "All right. I'll try to keep this entertaining as possible. First, I'm going to be showing some battle techniques with the help of my friend, Squall," she motioned to Squall, "Then I'll show you what you all want to learn; How to capture a GF." The class murmured excitedly and Angelita smiled a bit. As he stands at the door, waiting for his cue, squall remembers his class on the subject, and for the weirdest reason he remembers the safety's off on his gunblade. In a slightly noticeable move he turns it on, prompting a question from the normal teacher.

He whispers a statement into his ear. "Please keep in mind that weapons are not liked in the classroom, the kids get real jumpy around them." "Sorry 'bout that, just came from the training center, not to mention I'm a guest from outside, which means I don't have anywhere to put it." Angelita overheard the conversation and smirked a bit. "All right. You all know how to use your weapons properly and should know what to do if and when you lose your weapon at some point." The class nods. "All right. Now, each of you have a different weapon in your dorms, but do any of you know which weapon is best?" The teacher looked at Angelita confused. "Shot gun!" "Nuh uh! Fists!" "Katana!"

"You're all wrong," she said, cutting off the students before it got into an all out argument. "The answer is your weapon. There really is no statistic advantage with weapons. It all depends on the person wielding the weapon." She turned to Squall and signaled for him to come over. As he strides over, he loosens the straps to the sheath. "For myself, this gunblade is the perfect weapon." He takes it out of sheath. The teacher is somewhat surprised. "Isn't your weapon a gunblade as well, Ms. Angelita?"

"Yes it is. I prefer it, but for this exercise, I'll be using a different weapon, to prove my point." She went into her back pocket and pulled out a pair of metal gloves. (Think Zell's weapon.) Squall is amazed at how much she knows over him, yet they are both of the same age. "Multi-weaponed are we?" She shrugged, "It comes in handy when something happens to my gunblade." She turned her attention back to the class, "Now, Squall and I will engage in a mach battle. We won't use any magic; just our weapons and we'll go slower than we would in the field so you can catch our actions." She turned to Squall and signaled that she was ready. Before the battle begins, Squall dumps his ammo cartridge so that a weapons discharge wont be lethal.

 

To start, he starts with a smooth downward chop, aimed towards the gloves for minimal real damage. Angelita held her hands up, using the metal backing on her gloves to block Squall's attack. She pushed up on the gunblade and flowed with a backwards flip and kicked the gunblade away from her so Squall couldn't attack her as she flipped away from him. Melee attacks continue for about five minutes going slow enough so that the class gets the feel for watching the battle. They quicken the pace, until the attacks come back to back. Squall is thankful for dumping his clip, because his finger has stroked the trigger many times now. He becomes weary, growing more exhausted by the second. Angelita noticed how many times Squall has pulled the trigger on his gunblade and was thankful he emptied his clip. Angelita's moves where more fluid than Squall's due the fact she was lighter and slightly smaller. She noticed Squall was getting tired; his breathing was getting heavier. Hers was too, mind you, but she was capable of drawing out this battle. But due to class schedules, she thought it would be better to end this quickly. After dodging one of Squall's attacks, she slid to the side then dashed toward Squall, using an uppercut to knock his gunblade out of his hands.

"Ms. Angelita wins," The teacher said, acting like a referee. The class stared in amazement. They all thought Squall would win due to he had a blade compared to Angelita's gloves. Angelita stood up, breathing a bit heavily. "As you can see, you shouldn't judge an opponent on their weapon." Breathing heavily, Squall compliments Angelita. "That was a good match. I'd hate to be on the other end of your gunblade." She smiled at Squall then looked to the class. "After lunch, I'll take you to the GF Center." The class got excited then left for lunch.

The Teacher is also impressed. "That was an excellent match Ms. Angelita, Mr. Squall." He bowed slightly then went to lunch as well. "Think we should head there too? I'll bet you the others will be there and I want to check up on Zell, make sure nothing's broken." She nodded. "Yeah. I guess we should go. I just hope we don't run into Tyler," she sighed. "He seems to annoy you. Other than the fact that he appears lonely and wants your attention, what's wrong with him?" "That's just it. I can't stand him being around me all the time. I'm a loner by nature, ever since I was a kid. I can't remember why, but I was always against having friends," she said with a sigh, "And a boyfriend when I don't even want friends? He's pushing it, don't you think?" Squall considers this. "Well, when you put it that way, it makes sense." She sighed. "I just... I mean he has been my best friend since I came here. I don't want to be a total bitch like I am to everyone else who asks me out." Squall is now lost in this topic. "Well, then, I don't know. Never had this problem." "Lucky for you." Angelita yells out.

 

"Yeah. Well, not to get off topic, but we've arrived." She shrugged. "I kind of didn't like the topic anyway," she said as she glanced around the cafeteria. Squall looked around, and sure enough, Zell was here, chowing down. "I'm gonna go see about everyone else, make sure there ok." She nodded, "All right." She walked over to the bar and ordered some lunch; just something light. As Squall walked forward, he noticed another person in their midst, Tyler. He wondered if they had been getting along, and if so should they be avoided. To be safe, he chose a table halfway across the room and waited for Angelita's return.

 

She sighed; she knew Tyler was there. "God, just leave me alone today," she mumbled and grabbed her lunch. She saw Squall and walked over to him, setting the tray down on the table before she sat down. "I'm guessing you noticed." She nodded. "Yeah. Well, Tyler's showing some of the first years the basic fighting things, ya know; how to draw magic, etc." "Ah, well you know you had to run into him somewhere." She nods. "We're the only high-ranking SeeD members from this Garden; of course we're going to run into each other." "Wait, your teachers aren't high-level SeeD's?" She shook her head. "No. They're just certified teachers who give the basics of everything. They give the students all the information then either Tyler or myself give demonstrations." Squall understands it now. "Ah. So should we confront, or stay separate?" "He's with a class right now," she said, glancing over to him. "He's going to be taking them to the surface in a bit." "Ah. So for now lets just enjoy some lunch." "Yeah," she said. She smiled at Squall; she found him to be good company.

...In a large hall, we see a force of thousands, gathered in their separate platoons, all-prepping for boarding of their separate assault ships. We see a shadowed figure in the foreground, mulling over battle plans. He receives a communication on a terminal near him...

He has a dark, evil tone of voice. <Think James Earl Jones(original Darth Vader)>"All is proceeding as planned. Our assault has been moved back, but that is only a minor inconvenience."

"Yes, my master."…

 

As lunch came to an end, Angelita seemed a bit distracted. Her thoughts where racing and she seemed kind of solemn. Squall wants to break the silence. "So where should we go now. Only half the day is done, and I'm not used to only doing things for half the day." "Well, I still have to demonstrate how to capture a GF. Wanna tag along?" Squall concedes. "Sure, why not. This should be easy enough." She chuckled. "That depends what method you're used to." Squall stands. "Well, then let us proceed, and see if I learn anything new." She smiled and nodded. She rose from her seat and headed for the GF center where the class would meet up with her. As Squall followed, he took in the scenery that was implanted here. There where plenty of plant life in the center. It was just like it was on the surface in a giant garden type setting; there where even little forest animals running around.

Angelita stopped at one particular area; there was a statue of a man in his late twenties holding a gunblade in a business like pose. Squall asks, "Who is this man?" She looked up at the statue and smiled slightly. "The man who founded this Garden; my grandfather." "Very interesting. So is your gunblade a pass down from him? Or is it your own make?" She smirked. "No, Gramps was buried with his gunblade. Mine's similar, but only because I used his blueprints with a few of my own modifications." "Ahh, I see." She turned around when she heard the class coming up behind them. They where excited and very chatty. She walked over to them and tried to get them to quiet down.

 

Following her, he remembers when he was in a class similar to this, though he wasn't one for rowdiness. After she got the class's attention, she went about explaining on what she was going to do. "All right. As you all know, GF's run free in here. Most of them are low levels, especially in this area. Here is where you'll get your first GF's unless I have personally assisted you in here. Now, I'll demonstrate on how to capture GF's without Drawing them from another monster." Tuning out the din of the class and the lecture of Angelita, he remembers when he first got his GF's. All that while ago.

 

... We see a main ship high above several dozen craft, flying over an ocean. On the bridge of the main ship, one man stands alone on the main deck, but still shrouded in shadow. "Our destination is nearing Captain, I suggest you move our force into assault formation." "Yes sir!"…

 

"All right. Now, I'll demonstrate, then you each can go around the area and collect your own GF's. No more than two can be captured at this time. If you wish to capture more, come see me sometime tomorrow. Any questions before I begin?" The class was silent. "Okay. Watch carefully." She turned to Squall. "You too." The class snickered a bit but quieted down as a large lion type GF stepped forward at Angelita. She smirked and unsheathed her gunblade. She sliced at the GF and then when it was weak enough, she pulled out a talisman and threw it at the beast. The beast quickly fused with the talisman and turned into a GF card that could be junctioned.

She turned to the class. "Now, you all won't be able to capture one that fast, and you won't get any as high leveled as that one. The level GF that you encounter depends on your level as well as the level of your GF's that you have all ready acquired. Now since most of you don't have any, you'll attract level one GF's. If the GF is not level one and is out of your league, I expect you to contact your teacher, myself, or even Squall." The class nodded and went off to find a GF in an excited sprint.

 

...We see the assailant again, but now revealed in the glow of light from a readout display, showing one half of his face, and a molten red eye. "Bring us in on vector 2-4. All Scouts open fire at range. Main fleet, prepare for landing!" An officer steps up. "Sir, intelligence reports city defenses are out of function. This May be easier than we thought." "Excellent. I shall then lead the main group myself. Lieutenant!" "Yes sir!" "Ready my assault shuttle. NOW!" "Yes sir!" "Soon all shall know the name…Haruto! Let the games begin." He starts laughing uncontrollably, and proceeds to his shuttle...