Jericho registered the sound of the Gatling turrets turning into position to fire as he moved to counter attack the lieutenant. Ah hell... As if to reassert the direness of the situation, the instructor drew a flare gun and fired the single red flare high into the air as the Galbadians retreated. "Time to get the hell out!" Grabbing the wounded red head from his position on the floor, Jericho sprints for the edge of the tower, recasting Haste on himself. "Hang on!" Leaping off the edge and letting the boy go for just the briefest of moments, he turns and charges a bolt of ice magic in his left hand. "Blizzara!" The spell slammed into the control panel directly in front of it, deep freezing the circuits and shorting them out beyond usefulness. On top of that, it shut down the beam of light being sent out, and caused Jericho to smile.

That should throw a nice wrench in their plan. Turning around again, he catches the red haired boy and casts Float, slowing down their momentum for a softer landing. Upon reaching it, he sprints away from the tower as fast as he can, throwing the boy over his shoulder and handing him the one pistol Jericho kept on his person. "Fire at any one chasing us!" He was fairly confident that there wouldn't be any Galbadian mad enough to give chase, but he wasn't one to take chances. He stayed close to the instructor, making sure to follow him. After all, Jericho had no idea where their evac point was, and for him, the beach was a long ways away.

Having fallen on top of Charlotte, Xerox groaned. The strain was quite a bit, so he couldn't get up immediately. He had expected to be on the ground, on a rough surface. However, he felt something ... soft ... He was perplexed as to where he was. An error in the teleportation? he thought at first. Only to see he was actually lying on top of Charlotte. "Shit! Sorry." He apologized, not intending to be on top of her. He tried getting up, pushing his hands on the ground, but his strength needed a moment to recover. His atomic state after the teleportation was unstable, due to the strain. His body was connected to the state and stability of how things transferred in the ESS.

On the ground, he could see a shadow, he tried twisting his head, only getting a glimpse of the Galbadian Airship. Shit! We do not have anything that's anti-air to take that down. Unable to turn further, he noticed the reflection of the red flare on the ground. "Evacuation ..." he muttered. Just as some strength began to come back, Charlotte apologized. Xerox became confused, until she pushed him, and then started to try support him. "Oi! Wait!" he tried to say, only to get instructed to hold on. "What about ..." he wanted to get Rue before leaving, but she cast Haste and started to dash off. Since he did not have a proper hold, and because he wanted to get Rue, no more than six steps after she began, he was flung, rolling along the ground. What was worse was the momentum that carried him due to his giant spanner and tool box.

With parts of his uniform torn, and his face covered in dirt and blood, the after-effects of both his limit break and the teleportation had finally worn off. Xerox started to stand, wiping some of the dirt and blood off his face. His glasses had completely come off, and were broken, beyond repair. Well, they were special glasses to use for different types of vision, another invention, only partly complete. He sighed loudly. Not knowing if Charlotte had continued to run off or not. Stretching out, he ran up to the tower. He saw that the lift was still up, so the others were surely to come down soon. Looking up, he called out, "RUE!!!!!! WE GOTTA GO!!!!!" As he called out, a group of Galbadian soldiers, were going to the tower, to head on to the airship as well. Shit. Xerox knew he was in a bad situation. He was not exactly combat ready in his current state, nor would he be able to bring out his Guardian Force to help him.

Being charged by a few of them, he swung his giant spanner, with great effort, knocking them back. Panting, breathlessly, he was not going to have a fun time, with the enemies in front of him. This would buy time for anyone up on the tower to come down. But he was not sure how long he would last.

---

With the number of shots hitting the shield decreasing, Rue peaked, to see a bear having torn through soldiers that were attacking him. Relieved from the pressure, also joined the fray, using his own claws to lay down some attacks on some soldiers. There was Eika's Guardian Force, coming as well. Rue did not like being near Visionary, it gave him goose-bumps. Avoiding it, the fight continued. Rue did not notice everything that was happening, however, he felt the change in the air. The sound of the airship. Being absorbed in the fight and survival, he did not realize the airship until it was getting fairly close.

The bear who had helped Rue, was Duncan's Guardian Force, and had disappeared. Not long after, Rue saw the instructor begin to overclock his the PDA he had thrown to him and then shoot a flare. The instructor ordered them to retreat, Rue had begun to put himself between the airship's guns and the other soldiers, believing in Xerox's invention the DS. As Rue approached, he heard Xerox call out for him. Knowing that Xerox was near, he wanted to leave as soon as possible.

Seeing that Duncan had taken Eika and the other SeeD had taken Syrus, Rue stood behind them using the shield. One of the main guns had fired once, hitting the shield head on. The shield shook, Rue flew back a few meters. The shield was still in one piece, however , the whole shield was curved into where the projectile hit it. It would not stand up against another shot. Rue was mostly okay, but the impact was scary. Once each SeeD member had taken an examinee each and jumped off the tower, Rue followed in the same manner.

---

Keeping the soldiers away, Xerox was struggling, using his giant spanner to help him stand. As the soldiers suddenly looked up, he hid behind his spanner, and also looked up. Noticing Duncan and Eika coming down, he then saw another person holding Syrus. They were all falling. And behind them was Rue, jumping down. They landed safely, before it seemed like they ran off. Perhaps they didn't notice Xerox and the soldiers. Nevertheless, Xerox caught the falling Rue, placing him on the ground. Hitting an area of his giant spanner, he was able to kick up dust, causing the Galbadian soldiers to back off. Attaching it to his back, he tried to make haste, following Rue out towards the extraction site.

However, as they ran, Rue got further ahead, and Xerox was unable to keep up. He started to fall behind. Damn it, maybe I shouldn't have been so cocky to try to finish the mission by myself, and send Charlotte to try to help the others save Duncan. Well, the primary objective was completed, and so was this secondary objective. At least they should pass ... His thoughts were fading, Xerox was out of energy, and collapsed, along the way to the extraction site, while Rue went on ahead, not realizing.

Syrus was a bit in the state of shock from the wound as it had gone deeper than he had though it had. He began casting cure, regen, and fire on the wound mentally. The wound began to close up and the bullet pushed it's way out. Falling to the ground where every they had went. Suddenly he saw Rue running out of the corner of his eye.Shit were was Xerox. The boy was annoying but he didn't deserve to get left behind. Syrus could now move his leg and had gained back all use of it. Casting parahaste on himself he let go of Jericho. "Thanks Sir!! Hold a bird for me. I seems our mechanic ran out of gas!" Syrus yelled as he took off in the other direction.

Getting over to Xerox and avoiding bullets left and right he realized that Protect was active on him. "Hmm oh yeah Duncan did something to do this. Kudos to him. Saved our asses." Xerox was laying there still breathing but exhausted it seemed. Syrus stopped in front of him and shook his head playfully. "Well time to go boy can't have you laying down on the job now can we." Syrus let a surge of energy run through him and pick Xerox and his giant spammer up. "Whoa that's heavy. I should have enough juice to get us to the birds but after that you and I are going to be spending some quality time in the infirmary." Syrus took off down the way following everyone else. There was no way he was going to catch up to them but he was gaining.

...Ah. She hadn't been able to respond appropriately in time. As the turret was activated and traced onto them, Eika only had enough time to lift her head up-

...Warmth?...

She'd been grabbed. Taken by their Instructor and out of the tower with him. The response was immediate in a way not quite seen. Her own body was quick to begin warming up, a soft exhale slipping past her lips as one of her hands balled up a part of Duncan's shirt to keep hold of him as they fell out.

"...It's...warm..."

Her eyes slowly opened, the distance between herself and Visionary eventually severing their link and causing her Guardian Force to sink back into the confines of her shadow, where she rested. The sensation of falling through the sky once again had calmed her -- whilst the presence of another human being provided the oddest, yet welcome emotion to wash over her nerves.

Calm.

She was calm again, but that wasn't just it. It was something else...

Something that she hadn't had before...? Ah...

Fire.

There was a fire dancing up her spine and through the tips of her fingers. One hand motioned downwards to the ground that the group was descending upon, and with a deep breath, her next words were a sign to Duncan that she was awake -- and that she was still going to make sure he didn't die, if she had anything to say about it.

A Blizzara spell would erupt from two of her orbs to create a cylinder of ice where they would be landing, followed by a Fira launched through the remainng two in order to create a pool that they could fall right into without any worries of gravity to fuck them over with. And that would be exactly that -- her and Duncan the first two to crash into the newly-formed water right as the Fira spells ended. The next tasks would be to send all four of her orbs through the side of this pool to let them pour out as the water continue to flood in from the remaining heat, and for Eika to crawl up to her feet the moment she could in order to rush to Duncan and cast a Cura spell on the both of them as an in-case measure.

"I know this isn't the time, and I know I'm going to fail and disappoint you, but I'm glad you're alive. I'm sorry."

Perfect time to apologize. Yup. At least she could get up and start running after him this time-

...There was another question. Where the hell was Kein?

After the cylinder appeared where they were supposed to be Syrus could see the the birds. He cast haste again and sped up in front of the of the others hauling Xerox's ass past them including Rue. Running and dodging holes and cracks while carrying dead weight was a bit uncomfortable and at any moment he could slip and severely injure them both. Syrus was just good enough to regain his balance on the small cracks but large ones would fuck him up. It was like playing a game of perpetual dodge ball except will very very tiny balls coming at you. Syrus lifted his head quickly as he approached the newly formed pool. He jumped and both of them hit the water. Coming up gasping but keeping the floating. Finally out of this hell hole and to find out the results. He almost didn't care if he got into SeeD. He might have to run anyway with the magic he used. He thought it was for the best at the time, but it looks like he was wrong again. He had done it to save the life of his team mates because of the terrible power of the GF he felt was being summoned and for the fact the Eika lost control, again so he thought. "Alight Xerox time to get off!" Syrus hoisted him up into a bird and strapped him in securely. Syrus got up himself into a bird strapped in and looked over to Xerox. "Well kid see ya in the infirmary." Syrus' head feel to the side as he lost himself in exhaustion and depletion of most of his magical energy.

In his mind memories swam around him as if Syrus was watching his life over and over again. Finally he settled into a dream.

Ace could hear the sound of the ramp retracting as the door slid shut behind them, the rattling sound of the gatling turrets springing to life soon following afterwards.

It's over.

She turned her head towards her remaining Galbadian squad, her expression darkening as she counted the pitiful total. Five soldiers made it. Three of them were seriously injured, and at least all of them completely shell-shocked from the events at the tower.

Had she done the right thing, up there at the summit? What if she had just lay low like she was supposed to, instead of capturing that instructor? What if she had given them orders to retreat sooner, before things went so out of control?

What if...?

She bit the inside of her cheek in aggravation. No. What was done was done. She only did what she felt was in the best interests of the battle.

There was no turning back now.

Wordlessly, she left her men to recover by themselves, walking with a sense of determination in her step towards the cockpit where she intended to speak with one of her superiors. "Sir." Ace stopped short of her commanding officer; a tall, well built man with black hair and stubble shadowing his lip and jaw. He cut an intimidating figure, but Ace had seen enough behind the persona to know that he was more bark than bite. "Fiore reporting in. The Communications tower-"

"-is destroyed." The officer's reply was cold and scathing, cutting through Ace's words like a knife.

No. Ace's hand rested on her heart, her skin paling to a sickly colour as she looked through the windows desperately for confirmation. And there it was.

The light that radiated from the tower had disappeared, and the generator was glittering uncannily in the distance, almost like it was being reflected by the sunlight. It appeared as if it was...encased in ice.

Fucking SeeD. The words echoed disdainfully in her head, Ace's hands tightening into uncontrollable fists as her worst fears were confirmed.All of that...for nothing.

"Our plan was a failure." Her officer said with harsh disapproval, beady black eyes glancing back to look at Ace icily. "You had one order, Lieutenant."

"Don't." Ace's response was uncharacteristically hard and challenging, taking her superior by surprise as she met his gaze head on. "You gave me a bunch of amateurs to babysit, sir. Only a couple of them had any real combat experience. And you expected me to deal with SeeD whilst both protecting that damn tower and minimizing casualties!"

"Watch your mouth, Fiore," Her superior growled back, his eyes gleaming dangerously. "If you recall, your orders were to repair the tower, not play hero-"

"A soldier died in my arms! From the substation the damn troops were supposed to be defending!" Ace interjected angrily, throwing caution to the wind on the way she spoke to her commander now. "One lousy SeeD got through our defenses and destroyed it by himself! If you truly believe I'm at fault for that-"

"ENOUGH!" The older man bellowed, shocking Asa immediately back to her senses. "Answering back to your superior, refusing to take responsibility for your actions...", he spat. "I've heard enough. Get out of my sight, Fiore."

And with that, he ended the conversation with a swift turn of his back, his fingers reaching over to input something into the control panel. "We have a new objective now," she muttered darkly to the other soldiers in the cockpit.

"Raze Dollet to the ground. And take down those birds while you're at it."

In hindsight, perhaps he should have come up with a plan before jumping off the tower.

Duncan and Eika hung in freefall as the instructor realised with horror that he had already used his last Float spell. Time seemed to flow slowly as they fell, perhaps due to the Haste spell or simply because of the mind-breaking terror he suddenly felt; either way it gave Duncan time to reflect on the last half hour, which was apparently to be his last as well. And perhaps that wasn't such a bad thing; the thought of giving Corvo the debrief for this mission chilled him more than the the sight of earth leaping up to meet him. Just about when he was near making his peace, Eika came back to herself, demonstrating her superior magical affinity by creating their very own short-lived open air bath. Under other circumstances going diving with a young lady might have been a pleasant experience.

He lost himself for a moment, disoriented by the sudden dunking, but Eika's voice quickly dragged him back to the here and now. 'Wait, what?' For a moment Duncan tried to make sense of his student's random apology; indeed if anything, he ought to be the one prostrating himself. A minute later and Eika might have found a little less of Duncan to be saved. But unfortunately this wasn't the time for such pleasantries; the order to withdraw took priority and while he couldn't personally save everyone, he could ensure that this one student escaped in one piece. 'T-time for that later! Just follow me and bloody run!' Grabbing at her hand, he took off at a sprint toward the initial drop site. A short distance away, Kein was of the same mind. 'Way ahead of ya!', he yelled back to Charlotte, legs pumping as the gunship flew overhead. He was the first to the drop site, signalling manically to the waiting airships.

When he caught up Duncan pushed Eika aboard the first airship, hanging back to guide the others on. Once the last student had boarded, the Instructor climbed in as the gunship came into range. 'Alright boys and girls, strap in and hold on tight; there may be some chop.' The pilot's cocky tone did nothing for the mood. Kein leaned out the side of his bird, watching the gunship come into firing range. 'Oh man, we are so screwed... Oh shit, missiles!' A dozen guided missiles, long and fast moving, streaked in toward the airships. The pilot's voice suddenly lost it's cockiness. 'Shoot them things down, I don't got flares dammit!' Duncan and Kein tried their best, pelting spells as past as they could cast them; in the end it fell to to the magical specialists of the group to protect their arse.

Before long they were out over open water and the gunship was bearing down upon them. Once pilot opened up his comms to the other. 'One click out, prepping for dive.' Suddenly the open sides on both birds slid shut and the candidates ears popped with the sudden change in pressure. '... three, two, one, dive dive dive!' Both airships tilted up for a moment before arcing down toward the sea, picking up speed as they dropped. Behind them the gunship's controllers figured out what they were planning to do, unleashing a futile hail of chaingun fire as the two birds slid into the water with barely a ripple of disturbance. '... and we are clear. Depth, three hundred metres, speed, seventeen knots. We'll have you home in an hour candidates. Good job.' In the silence someone started to laugh. Duncan wiped a tear from his eye as he finally realised that they were safe with no casualti- Wait... I'm... missing someone... He backtracked mentally, recounting those he had waved aboard.

'W... where's Riella?'

Eika was dragged around like an object -- something she didn't quite appreciate -- but she did not complain for the sake of why he was doing it in the first place. Trying to get them out was a gist of what she could understand. As they reached the boarding area for the metal deathtraps everyone else had just gotten in before Kein began to speak of missiles.

...Why wouldn't it stop?

Standing up from seat and tugging Kein out of the way, she pulled two of her orbs out on either side of the windows and moved her hands back. With a slide of her hands across the empty air in front of her, built-up magic would begin to surface out from what she had absorbed earlier. Running through a light blue and clear, crystal-like mixture, she'd store the magic that Syrus had used on her -- a magnificent little gem that she'd have to pester him for more of later -- before pushing out lightning and ice to assist in raining hell upon hell and seeking out the missiles homed in on their transports. ...

She was really tired.

Unamusingly tired.

Dropping down in her seat next to Duncan, she looked up at the meta encasing them as she pulled the orbs in an dropped them unceremoniously on the ground next to her feet. ...She didn't quite care of what was thought of her in the moment of her next few actions. All there was to be was her arm slowly reaching over to check Duncan's throat. If it was still hurt, she'd raised hell and a half on getting it fixed up. If it was alright and everything else was accounted for-

"Possibly hiding out or...well...she's a ninja. She did ninja things?"

...Sounded legit. Even if it was only to her. ...All Eika wanted at that moment was sleep. So her actions would have to be excused as she quite literally dropped her head on Duncan's left side and rubbed her temples as her eyes slid closed and she eased in to where she was sitting. Nothing short of hell or him throwing himself out the submarine would get her moving now. Hell, she even looked like she was falling asleep as she laid there and watched with the occasional half-lidded eye for any expressions of terror or panic. None to be seen?

Right, she was going to create terrifying rumors about her and her Instructor now because to hell with not sleeping on him. He was warm and she needed something nice and warm with how soaked her uniform was between blood and ice cold water. He'd have to deal.

Running ahead, Rue suddenly thought something was wrong, seeing that Xerox was missing from behind him, he started to panic. As he started to try to head back to Xerox, he knew that suddenly Xerox was moving at fast speeds. Suddenly, he was passed by Syrus, hauling Xerox to the airships. Getting on all fours, he followed, getting on the same airship as Xerox was on. Rue did not take up a passenger's seat, due to his size.

It was odd, with Xerox strapped into the airship, with his giant spanner and toolbox strapped ... or rather magnetically attached to him. Rue took off the giant spanner and toolbox and placed them in the corner of the airship. As the moomba placed the equipment down, the pilot spoke. He could hear the other airship, where Duncan and Eika were, and the pilot said the same words as the one Rue, Xerox and Syrus were on. This was thanks to his senses being far superior to most animals and humans.

With the birds lifting off, over the radio between the two airships, connected the call about the missiles and the pilots were asking assistance. However, Rue could take no part, as he had no ability to use para-magic nor did he have anything to attack at a range with. With Xerox out of commission, Rue could not get anything from the ESS either. But the threat did not last long as the magic users had taken down the missiles targeting them. Not long after, the airships decided to dive, and became submerged underwater.

There was not much Rue could do, except sit on the ship's floor and watch Xerox. Eventually feeling tired, he started to get some shut eye.

---

Moments after Rue fell asleep, Xerox started to gain consciousness. "Ugh...." He groaned, his body weak. There was a miscalculation on the side-effects from both the use of his limit break and the teleportation device. The strain was not simply additive, but multiplicative. It was immense. It was a great strain, and he was pushing himself to fight and run earlier, just made it worse. There was no way he could move his body any time soon. Due to the side-effect coming from his own GF, he believed it was unlikely that a para-magic cure would help him at all, and that all that could be done was to rest.

Looking at his hand ... it phased for a moment. His body had gone under too much. His body was falling out of sync with the physics of the world. Most likely another side-effect of the teleportation. Xerox's body was unstable, possibly in a volatile state. Again, part of his body phased, becoming blurred and disconnected from the world. He wasn't sure anyone saw it. Taking in some deep breaths, he tried to take in his surroundings.

So .... traveling underwater .... he could tell where they were, and what was happening, but he had yet to become fully oriented. He wasn't even sure who was with him. Did we make it?
Did I get captured?
Where am I?
What's going on?
Where's Rue?
Where's everyone else?
His thoughts spiraled out of control for a moment. Once again, his body phased, his left leg phased out for a moment, almost losing all structure of it. Unable to think straight or do anything, he collapsed to sleep again.

Jericho sat in the other bird from the instructor, relaxing and enjoying the relative quiet with the exception of the engines running as the airships turned submarines returned to Balamb Garden. The his comlink went off and upon answering it, got an ear full of James' angry voice. {You stupid fuck! They're turning those gunships on Dollet! What in the hell did you do up there?!} He went on and on for several minutes before Jericho attempted to get a word in edge wise, his voice sharp and taking on a coldness he usually reserved for people who just really pissed him off. Of course, pissed him off is exactly what James had just done.

{Shut up a moment and listen to me then. We got there, one of the examinee's had already made a mess of the Galbadian forces guarding the tower. She went up first. I arrived behind another examinee who had encased the first in some kind of crystal, and ha-} James then started cussing Jericho out for saying that some examinee had performed high level paramagic, only increasing Jericho's annoyance. {SHUT THE FUCK UP, YOU BIGOTED TWIT! I don't know what happened exactly, this is an educated guess. I got there and attacked the Galbadians, killing one before their Lieutenant attempted to use the instructor as leverage to get us to leave. It backfired and turned into another blood bath. By the time it was all said and done, I'd exchanged a few blows with the lieutenant and then the gunships showed up.

We ran, and as we ran, I deep froze the circuitry for the tower making sure that whatever the Galbadians have planned won't work. Now that I've said that, I've decided to inform you before I do it that I'm requesting a transfer to a new squad when we get back to the Garden. Now leave me the hell alone!} Shutting the comlink off, Jericho looks up and realizes that all the examinees are looking at him. "What?"

For Duncan, the rest of the trip back to Garden passed like a slow molasses, every second a balance between the pain of losing a student, guilt over the fate of Dollet and the disconcertingly pleasant feeling of Eika asleep against him. He wished he could summon the will to check on his students, but with all that had happened Duncan just wanted to get home and hit the bottle. But first he had responsibilities... The airships surfaced near the town of Balamb, rising gently into the air as they veered toward the Garden. Within minutes they were setting down by the main entrance, where a small crowd had gathered. Medics, engineers and a couple of grim looking suits, the sort of welcoming party you would expect. As the doors swung open, Duncan gently shook the girl attached to his arm, trying to disengage himself before any of the brass got the wrong idea... One he had extricated himself from Eika's embrace, the instructor dismounted to help the wounded and unconscious to their stretchers. It was distressing to watch Xerox and Syrus being wheeled off to the infirmary, but not quite so much as the cold glint in Head Instructor Corvo's eyes as he swept over. The old man stopped inches short of Duncan's face, gaze drilling into his eyes. '... Come debrief me in five, Lerwick.', he whispered in an almost sympathetic tone, quite in contrast to his stormy expression, before sweeping back off toward the main building.

The hell was that..? Duncan's confusion would have to wait though and he turned to his remaining students with a grim sigh. 'I, we... Ah hell, where do I begin...' He sparked up a cigarette, trying to get his thoughts in order. '... Bad things happened today, but you all responded as you were trained to. Nothing that happened was your fault; we cannot dictate the actions of our enemies, especially not one so powerful as the Galbadian Army. Dollet will survive, though it will not be easy. And either Riella will be rescued or she... she will be remembered.' He found himself choking on his words; even though he had known the girl barely an hour, the loss was keenly felt. 'For now... you are dismissed. Get some food, have a bath. Sleep. The Field Test results will be announced at 0930 tomorrow in my classroom. Please don't be late. And you, Jericho? Thank you for your assistance today. You know who you're supposed to report to.' He stood up straighter and gave them all a slow salute, before walking slowly toward Corvo's office. He wasn't looking forward to reliving the last few hours...

The rest of the day would be theirs to spend as they pleased. Or so was the informal way of putting it. The truth of the matter was that the mission had been a complete mess. Charlotte had gotten on the second vehicle, and thus was spared having to deal with anyone's worries or concerns but her own. She wanted to think about the test some more, but the only thing she kept thinking about was how much of a disaster it had turned out to be. Once they were back in Garden she dismounted in time to see both Xerox and Syrus carted off to the infirmary. Instructor Duncan would then give a very brief and grim rundown where he pretty much stated her thoughts. The test results would be announced tomorrow. Was anyone even thinking of that right now? Maybe she was.

Yes, she was. Despite how things had went and didn't go, she felt odd. Perhaps it had been because of what happened, she actually found it...thrilling. What kind of thought was that? It was weird, right? She should be afraid, or worried, or something, but she actually found herself hoping for the results. Then again, maybe she failed; she hadn't been there when Duncan had gotten captured and played no part in his retrieval. Indeed, she found herself more distant from everyone. She hadn't gone through what they did.

And so Charlotte found herself heading back to her room, alone.

Rue woke moments before reaching Balamb. But he could not do anything for Xerox. All he could do was wait to get back.

Moments after arriving back, the medics had taken Xerox. Rue picked up the toolbox and the giant spanner, walking with the two overhead, looking slightly depressed. Many of the students had started to gather around him. Although the two items he carried were on the heavy side, he had ran to the dorm room, placing Xerox's things where they were normally kept. Taking off the DS that had been smashed and put it in the corner. It was probably beyond repair, considering it can no-longer retract.

Walking out of their room, Rue walked, dejectedly. Guys and girls had come to talk to the Moomba, since he was without Xerox. They tried to pat the guy. Normally he would swat them away, but he just tried to hurry through. All he could do was be worried about Xerox. The two had spent most of their lives together, He was feeling down inside, eventually escaping the hoard. Stumbling upon an empty space with a bench, Rue sat down on the bench, wondering, hoping there was something he could do.

---

Xerox stayed asleep the whole time, his body, still unstable.

Thundering footsteps clanged against the grated floors, causing the injured soldiers to stir from their state of half-consciousness as they eyed the ceiling warily. "What do you think that is?" One of the soldiers murmured, nursing an injured leg gingerly as the sound started to travel further and further away. "Sounds like someone's royally pissed."

"Reckon it's probably Lieutenant Fiore...", one of the others piped up with a shudder. "You should have seen his face when we got on board. We're really in deep shit now..."

"Yeah, well. We deserve it." The soldier known as Branon spoke plainly, taking the others by surprise. This was the soldier who ached for the thrill of battle, whose arrogance was parallelled to none. And here he was, sounding so...defeated. "We were a mess up there. The Lieutenant was really trying hard to protect us...and we let him down." His hands trembled into tight fists. "I thought I understood what it meant to fight in a real battle. I really thought I was ready. But when I saw that SeeD girl summoning that thing..." His voice shook slightly in disgust. "I was a coward. It felt like the battle was bigger than I was, and I held back. Because...I wanted to survive."

A stony silence reigned over Ace's battered squad, looks of sympathy and understanding shared between the small group. "But hey, who knew Fett had it in him, eh?" The soldier with the bad leg let out a hearty laugh. "I always thought that he'd get knocked over by a chicobo, but there he was, taking on that SeeD like a pro. What a guy."

"Yeah." They all agreed in warm unison, the memory of their comrade close to their hearts as they shared a bittersweet moment of silence.

The moment didn't last.

A loud muffled bang interrupted their remembrance, Branon springing to his feet quickly in alarm before clutching his side with a wince. "Oww...that damn bear's claws were sharp. What the hell was that?"

---

She didn't know why she did it. Actually, thinking about it after the fact, as sharp searing jolts of pain raced up her arm, Asa thought it was pretty damn stupid.

Gritting her teeth, she withdrew her arm from the dented wall, blood seeping through her glove from where the ridges of her knuckles were. Slowly, she flexed her fingers, biting hard on her lip to keep herself from groaning as pain burned through her hand. Carefully, she slid off the bloodied glove, studying her bruised knuckles carefully for any signs of a fracture. She wasn't exactly a medical expert, but she couldn't see any bones jutting out of place, so that was something.

She allowed her back to rest against the wall before sinking slowly to her knees, the calm of the storm finally settling in as her anger ebbed away into a feeling of complete emptiness. She had bottled up so much pain, so much anger and defeat, that she had to let something out. And the wall had been the perfect candidate for that.

"I should have a Cure spell stocked...", she murmured quietly to herself as she pressed her free hand on her paramagic drive, drawing out the healing spell that she needed for a quick fix. Ace was hardly an adept healer by any means, so whilst the spell got the job done in the way of closing up wounds and ceasing any more bleeding, it did little in the way of analgesia. "Tch..." She shook her head slightly before sliding the glove back on. It would have to do.

Slowly, her thoughts wandered back to what her commanding officer had said. Raze Dollet to the ground.

That wasn't the plan. That had never been the plan. The orders were to infiltrate and restore Dollet's communications tower, and to occupy the city if they were met with resistance. But destroying an entire duchy on a whim? Just because they lost?

Asa's stomach churned as she thought of the families and businesses that would perish to the Galbadian missiles. These people had done nothing wrong. They were innocents caught up in the political storm between Galbadia and their pursuit for ultimate domination in the West. They would die....and she would be a part of it.

Wait. What was she thinking? Ace shook her head quickly as if to shake the troubling thoughts out of their head before they lead to something more dangerous. This was the reality of war. Dollet was an empire that had been doomed for decades anyway. It was only a matter of time before something like this happened.

She was a soldier, and that was all she needed to be.

"Sir?" Branon's tentative voice crept through the crack of the door, alerting Ace to the sound as she immediately hid her bloodied hand. "I heard a banging noise. Is...is everything alright sir?"

Ace let out a reluctant sigh. "...Yes. Everything's fine. We should be back in Deling City by nightfall, right?" At Branon's agreeable nod, Ace continued. "Dollet will be razed by the Galbadian Army. Make sure the others know."

"What?" Branon sounded genuinely startled, but Ace was no longer in the mood for questions as she headed to her bunker.

"This is what war is really like, Branon. Get used to it."

Screaming.

All she heard was a terrible screaming. Fire all around. The scorched bodies of her family lying in their home and surrendering to the all-consuming heat that surrounded her. Only the saving embrace of Visionary kept her body safe as eyeballs provided her sight all around. Family mementos, portraits, small trinkets, handwritten books providing knowledge of this lifestyle and belief...all of the things she loved and cherished consumed in the all-eating red.

She nearly screamed by the time she woke up, eyes glistening with unshed tears as Duncan shook her awake. ...It...should just be a dream.

That was the pretty lie she told herself.

Letting go of him as the doors opened, all four orbs responded to her reawakening as she willed them upwards and around her in a slow orbit, listening to his words and staring forward.

...She hadn't done it right. He didn't deserve to be yelled at alone for her actions in the slightest.

Standing up as the rest of them left, Eika got off of the death trap and crouched down to let Nom-Nom get to chasing after Duncan. A soft murmur of words would have the PuPu do trying it's best to not fall over as she herself began walking to the student dorms to wash off the blood that remained soaked in her uniform.

Tragedy.

The voice echoed in her head as she bit her lip, rubbing at her shoulder as Visionary's many voices began to whisper the same thing over and over again. ...What tragedy could come of it?... She would have to hope that it was something that she would be able to stop one should it come. Her task at hand followed of throwing her door open to her room, taking up her casual outfit that had been left folded on her bed, and walking to the closest shower to rinse off the crimson essence that she's torn from the bodies of others.

She hadn't even thought about their lives.

Only...saving one of the people she cared about. She hadn't even stopped to think about any family or friends they had...only...to make sure the one that had cared for them all was safe.

Monster.

That was the word for one that lacked a conscious, correct? Her lips parted, breathing in hot steam that would rise from the shower's water by the time she had walked in. Fingers traversed through her hair to rid it of any remnants of the red that stained her, a soft sigh falling from her lips as she finally turned off the water to watch it all spiral down the drain.

...He had asked her to think on what this mission was all about. So she should go tell him what she'd conjured from it.

And thus, Eika got herself dressed once the heat from a fire spell dried out her hair and walk right out of her room to go do the one thing she could to ensure that she would catch Duncan.

She stepped into the elevator, brought her orbs in behind her, and took a seat with them at her sides.

She would wait all day if she had to. He had to get on here sometime.

"And you, Jericho? Thank you for your assistance today. You know who you're supposed to report to." Jericho look towards the instructor and gave an acknowledging nod before he heads off away from the students towards his own room in another part of the Garden. He'd made his report on the way back, and only needed to request a transfer from his current unit. Good riddance for me. Someone was always getting in the way. Deciding to instead get the transfer request filed, Jericho instead headed for the nearest office to find out where he'd need to go. Six people and an hour and a half later, the request was filed and Jericho back in his own room.

Removing the scythe from it's position on his back, it's placed in the weapons rack before Jericho turns on some music and gets into the shower. He stands in it for twenty minutes, going over how things had gone in the mission and the near total destruction that Dollet now faced. Had he done the right thing, destroying the com tower? Guess that's one of those things that only time will tell. Getting out and drying off, he changed into more casual clothes, khakis, a white muscle shirt under a black t-shirt and completed with a slightly tattered cloak that fit with the rest of the ensemble. Grabbing his combat boots and putting them back on, he lounged in his bed and flicked on the TV, only half listening to the shows he rapidly clicked through.

Syrus felt his body being jostled around as the sound of the birds landed. They had strapped him in to transport bed and rolled him quickly to the infirmary. There they laid him in a bed and began surgery on his leg.

After about an hour of pain he remembered hearing someone shouting in the room. Sounded like Corvo. No doubt he wanted in to tell Syrus what an idiot he had been. But where was the headmaster? Why was Corvo calling the shots on everything lately.

Another hour passed by as he had passed out from earlier and finally he awoke fully. He sat up in bed in the white room. Sighing he knew he was going to have to move. Ge cast cure on himself and hoped out of the bed. Checking just outside the door nobody was there excpet Xerox in another bed. He frown but gave him a wave goodbye. He then went outside the infirmary. It was oddly quite snd no one was around. Maybe it was lunch time? Oh well less hassle for him.

He made it to his room and got his stuff together. Just what he could carry and left the room heading to the front gate.

Five minutes, he said... In Corvo's language, five minutes meant five minutes to the second but Duncan wasn't one for good timekeeping. Rather than head straight to what was undoubtedly a royal dressing down, he took the time to finish the cigarette at his own leisure. It was always a surreal experience, returning to the peaceful campus after a mission. Part of him was still switched on, scanning for silhouettes against the horizon, eyes darting to any unexpected movement; the soldier's sense of awareness that, once gained, was never lost. It was also a pain in the arse for which nicotine was his only relief, so he sparked up another fag as he slowly made his way toward the main building.

Deciding not to head straight up to his superior, Duncan instead wandered toward the infirmary where Xerox, Syrus and Vinzer were being cared for. The lads would likely be off their heads on morphine, but his pet bug only needed a bit of homebrew medicine, something that he could do himself. 'Evening Doc.' The resident physician, Dr Kadowaki, gave him a non-committal grunt in reply, hunched over Syrus' leg. By the number of tools she was going through and the occasional fountain of blood, Duncan surmised that his student had taken a bullet when he wasn't looking. Nothing new there of course; he himself had been shot a few times before, only to be saved any lasting injury by the genius of Garden's very own Head Physician. The lad wouldn't even have a scar. 'I'm just going to fix my bug, won't be five minutes.' After receiving only a vague wave in reply, Duncan set about applying his own brand of rudimentary first aid to Vinzer's cracked carapace, applying duct tape and superglue liberally as well as a few doses of Cure to seal up any serious wounds. It would take a few days for it to recover fully, but at least Vinzer would be functional. A scratch under the chin and the bitebug was hissing contentedly away. Right then... no more excuses- Just as he was turning to leave the infirmary, an angry voice was broadcast over the local tannoy. 'Lerwick, I know where you are. I said five minutes, not fifteen. Move or so help me God, you will be licking shit off my boots for a month!' The doctor paused in the ensuring silence, before injecting in a matter of fact tone. 'He's serious you know. I'd run.' He ran.

Jumping up the steps three at a time, Duncan wondered what he had done to deserve this. True, he had never exactly applied himself to his work but if anything that should have got him fired, not made him the Head Instructor's goddamn whipping boy. Not for the first time did he regret not taking a permanent posting abroad... Sure it'd be dangerous, but at least there would be no Corvo to shit on him. He stumbled into the elevator and hammered away at the controls, willing them to go at a reasonable speed for once. To his tired surprise, he noted that he wasn't alone. It took him a few seconds to decide on what to say; what does one say to someone who may have just lost their entire family? 'I'm sorry' wouldn't cut it, 'Cheer up' was thoughtless in the extreme... In the end he avoided the subject altogether. '... Wish I could have a wash.' Come to think of it he was still in his full uniform, still had his rifle even. Duncan cast an eye over himself, noticing the grime and bloodstains for the first time. 'You know what... I fucking hate fieldwork.'

A jingling sound could be heard amongst the chattering of students and the screeching of wheels on tarmac as a young girl approached the front gates of Balamb Garden with an apprehensive look on her face. She stood out quite dramatically from the students that passed; unlike the standard navy uniform they wore, she was clad in a pale pink chiffon minidress that accentuated her trim figure, and light brown boots that looked like they'd seen better days. She brushed a strand of brown hair from her face as her bracelets clinked against each other, her pale blue eyes gauging the towering Garden nervously.

"Umm, excuse me-" She tried to engage one of the male students in conversation with a flattering smile, but a female student was quick to fix her with an icy glare before ushering the male away from view. "Ohhh..." She let out a frustrated sigh before resolving to find someone, anyone for a little guidance on what to do.

A vivid shade of red caught her attention as her eyes drew to a tall male wearing a black trenchcoat, a stark difference to the other students in the standard uniform. He also appeared to be carrying a fairly heavy bag over his shoulder. Was he perhaps a student? Or a member of the Garden faculty?

The girl decided that it wouldn't hurt to find out as she quickly stepped into his path, catching the male by surprise as they nearly collided into each other. "Oh! Sorry to bother you, Mister!" She said sheepishly, a nervous smile adorning her face as she looked up at him hopefully. "I know you must be busy, but I really need someone to help me. My name is Mei Song." She held out her hand as a friendly gesture. "You're a student here, right?"

She'd been waiting so long that people had come and go, a few stopping to try and speak to her in vain. The dead light in her eyes would spark a bit of intelligence to keep away, thus leaving her alone time and time again until the aggravations taken out on the elevator controls signaled her to someone that she should actually turn her attention up towards. With her lips parting, she let a soft exhale fall between the parting opened.

He was here.

One of the orbs began to orbit around her at a slow pace as she heard him speak of his hatred for field work. With her thoughts a jumble and her lips in a frown, she ended up taking a deep breath before speaking up in retaliation to his random topic.

"...I saw you die."

Oh, here went the explanation.

"...It's one of the things that I took pride in. This little fortune tidbit. Seeing things that I can fix. My Guardian Force helps with it too. ...She showed me a version of what would have happened. A version where you died. And that's why I came running. Came through senselessly, killed everyone on the first level that got in my way..."

Monster. She had become a monster.

"...I disregarded the lives of other human beings to save yours because you meant something to me. And right now, I'm thinking myself of something akin to a monster for it. And that's my answer right now to your question from before. We become monsters for causes -- whether it's money or for someone else."

...Another moment of silence. And her body shot up to grab hold of the sleeve of his left arm. A fleeting grasp. One that could always be escaped from. Nothing that would keep him staying with what must have been the ramblings of a mad child at this point.
"...I saw my family while I was asleep on that ship on our way back. My mother in her velvet chair. My father holding my brother in his arms on the couch...Screaming and burning. Wasting away while I stood there in the middle of the fire. Not being hurt, yet unable to stop them from turning into little more than charred skeletons."

He wouldn't believe her. Why did she even bother trying to explain what she saw? It wouldn't matter to anyone else...it never had when it mattered. All she could do was drop the rest of what was on her mind while she was spouting out those random words of hers.

"...I acted unaccordingly. I don't regret what I did, nor will I apologize for it, but I should be there to apologize for disobeying orders."

And finally, the last thing that could come out of her mouth opted to spill out despite her desire to actually think out what was trying to calculate in her head. Instead?
"...Please keep taking care of me if my family does die. I don't want to be alone and...you'd be all I had left if they were gone."

That wasn't supposed to come out...damnit. Now her face was ablaze and her orbs were showing for it with sparks of fire that danced inside of them to signify her embarrassment.
"...Anyways. Now that I'm done blurting out every single thought in my head. I don't suppose I can come see the Headmaster with you, so I'll wait in here again if I have to. I'm sorry, Instructor.