Syrus wasn't all that impressed with what Eika had did. After all he was looking to kick these goons down by himself but what ever guess it was time to move on. "Kein get your ass up! Do you really want Eika to carry you with her balls!?" Syrus laughed a little to himself. "Anyway I saw the others jump out Eika but I guess they landed farther ahead. What did our great and fearless leader Xerox want us to do?" Syrus heard the soldiers screaming behind him as the burned. Yeah they weren't going to be firing anymore bullets for a long time. Well that is if...suddenly gun fire sounded in the back ground. "Well looks like your hot enough to get the to fire off rounds at each other, now that's talent." He gave Ekia a wink. Syrus always switched from joking to serious on the battlefield. It was his coping mechanism. Not that he had problems killing others but the battlefield reminded him of when he was chased by Estharian soldiers...so he had to keep him mind going constantly if he wasn't cutting his enemies down. "Eika are you ok?" HE asked her. She seemed to be in some kinda trance as she told them to head east and called them friendlies.

'Did you see those airships fly over?' A pair of soldiers were standing guard by the substation door, one chainsmoking nervously. 'Yeah, what's up with that? Dollet counter attack or somethin'? I thought we fragged all their birds.' The calmer of the two frowned, trying to dispel a sense of foreboding; if it wasn't Dollet, then who else could have been flying those airships..? A buzzing sound distracted him and he cast about in irritation, looking for it's source. 'Be right back, gonna get some Raid for that goddamn mosquito.' His compatriot nodded shakily and checked his remaining supply of cigarettes. Not nearly enough. As the soldier walked off toward the main camp, his radio begun to crackle. At first it was quiet, a gentle susurrus that grew into a static roar. Confused, he twiddled with the settings, trying to find the source of the transmission. His confusion slowly turned to horror as the familiar notes of an infamous piece begun; the music played before every major appearance of a Galbadian soldier's worst nightmare.

---

A line of explosions rocked the beachhead and a young Dollet soldier huddled in his foxhole, staring out to sea. Since they had retreated to this point, the Galbadians had attacked relentlessly. And why wouldn't they? he thought grimly. Here we are, sitting in the most open area in the entire city, with no cover and nowhere to run. Our generals are fucking geniuses. Maybe he could just... lie down and pretend he had been hit. Maybe when the Galbadians finally broke their lines he could just surrender. Out of food, ammo and morale, the remnants of Dollet's army was at the breaking point. A new sound jogged him from his fugue, a heavy reverberating beat, quickly joined by another and another. The Galbadian fire slowed, then stopped entirely. The young soldier stared, uncomprehending as a line of torpedo-like shapes pierced the seawall, spouting fire from mounted turrets; they beached themselves just behind the Dollet lines and when the hulls opened and uniformed figures spilled out, he finally released who they were. SeeD had come to liberate the city.

---

Shit, shit, shit! The Galbadian soldier ran, stumbling through the undergrowth back toward the substation tower, but the buzzing behind him grew ever louder. He had reached the command point, hoping to relay the information about SeeD but.. the officers had all been killed, as if a spear had been thrust though their throats. Whoever did it had been thorough; each body had a bullet hole in the forehead, as if to make completely certain. It had to be SeeD, no-one else could take down four experienced soldiers without making a sound! The buzzing was very close now, he could almost feel it rattling in his teeth. He had to make it back to his post, get his squad mate to help him fight off this monster. He broke into the clearing, dropping to the floor and scrabbling toward the building. His friend was there, slouching against a low wall. 'H-hey wake the hell up man! There's a fucking monster a-and SeeD man, SeeD! Wake up! But the guy didn't answer, just sat very still on his wall. The soldier stopped as he noticed the pool of blood at his buddy's feet. In the end he didn't even have time for pain as a hot lance impaled his neck, severing his spine and poking inches from his throat; no pain, only shock.

'Good lad. Now come by.' Duncan rose from behind the wall, moving as fast as he dared for fear of exposure. It took a few seconds for Vinzer to detach from the poor soldier's neck, but the bitebug soon flew over to clamp on his master's back. Duncan had taken his time so far, stealthily eliminating as many soldiers is he could. But now that the beach landings had begun in earnest, he needed to get a move on. After taking once last look around the area, he thumbed the door control and headed down into the substation to plant the explosives.

Connect a wire here, tweak a circuit there...

Ace was in her own little world as she focused on repairing the generator, a sense of calm serenity taking hold amongst the chaos of the war all around her. Of course, her senses were sharpened so that even the smallest sound would not escape her attention, but for now, it was nice just to take a moment to deal with things carefully and precisely-

"S-SIR!"

"Shit! Dammit, Fett!" Ace whirled around angrily as she shook her hand loosely, the electric shock jolting through her and causing some her hair to stand on end. "What did I say about interruptions?"

"It's...a soldier, sir!" Fett babbled in a panic, peering over the rails of the tower as a Galbadian infantryman staggered over the rocky path, blood oozing from his neck and dripping into the craggy ground as he pushed himself towards the tower. "He looks injured!"

"Dammit...you three, stay at your post," she barked at her squad of three, before quickly operating the lift to go down. "What are you waiting for, a comrade is dying out there!" She growled at the layabout guards who appeared to be more concerned in playing Triple Triad than their actual mission. They sprung to action immediately at Ace's harsh command, Geezard and Funguar cards scattering to the floor as they bolted for the door.

Ace didn't have to wait long before the injured soldier was brought into the shelter of the tower, his arms propped around the guards' shoulders as he collapsed weakly at Ace's feet. "How severe is his wound?" She asked the medic of the squad, the soldier in question applying pressure to the wound whilst concentrating on a powerful Cura spell. After a moment, the medic shook his head with a frown creasing his lips. "I'm afraid this is only a matter of time. This looks like a Bug Bite sting.The poison's been left too long in his bloodstream."

"Shit..." Ace cursed again, watching pityingly as the soldier's breaths became more shallow and uneven, his skin turning a chalky shade of white and his eyes unfocused and bleary. There was nothing she could do.

She was powerless.

"L-Lieuten-nant..." The soldier's raspy voice brought Ace immediately to attention, her eyes opening wide as she knelt down to face the dying man. "S-Substation Lapin...m-monster there...but not just..." He stopped suddenly, a violent cough racking his lungs as blood splattered from his mouth. Ace cringed but the soldier was determined to complete his message. "A man was...was c-controlling it. Man from...SeeD."

And with his dying breath, the soldier's body slumped to the ground, eyes wide and vacant as his life slipped away.

"..." Ace rose to her feet, a dark, foreboding expression on her face as the reality of the situation sank in. So, Dollet really did find those funds to recruit the famed mercenaries from Balamb. SeeD. Renowned for their eagerness to kill...as long as the price was right.

And now they were aiming straight for the substations, the source of Galbadia's firepower and mechanical weapons. That...would be a problem.

"Sir? One of her soldiers spoke up meekly, an uncomfortable silence reigning in the tower as they awaited their commands. "What should we do?"

"..." Ace pursed her lips thoughtfully, her eyes fixed on the dead man before her. "A group of six soldiers will head straight for Substation Lapin. Your mission is to engage in combat with this SeeD, and contain him. You are then to return straight here, where we will keep him as a hostage of the Galbadian Army. Understood?"

"W-What?" The group of soldiers shared a look of disbelief at their commander's orders. "Shouldn't we be eliminating him on sight?"

"If it was any old Dollet soldier, I would say yes, but this is SeeD we're talking about," Ace answered calmly. "They are a formidable force to be reckoned with...and they are not so keen on losing members so easily. He may serve as a good bargaining chip, should the need ever arise."

This was a risky plan, and she knew it. She could very well be sacrificing half of her squad on a fool's errand, but it was a gamble worth taking.

"Branon, since I will be unable to accompany them, I ask that you lead the group to the substation." She turned her head with no hint of surprise at the defiant soldier who ha followed her despite abandoning his post, his eyes flaring up with excitement at the thought of finally engaging the enemy on the battlefield. "I can tell you're itching to get off guard duty, so this is your chance to shine."

"I-I won't let you down Lieutenant!" Branon beamed like a child with a new toy, shouldering his rifle proudly as he turned to the others. "You heard Lieutenant Fiore. To the substation!"

"Yeah!"

And with a chorus of battle cries, the soldiers ran out of the tower.

"..." Ace sighed. In truth, she was desperate to lead them herself, but it was her duty to repair the tower, and that task took the utmost priority.

After propping the deceased soldier's body against the wall, Ace stepped onto the lift and returned to her post.

She could only pray that her squad would succeed.

Charlotte didn't think she was being formal. Still, that thought was put on hold as he would lay out the plan. It seemed well thought out, though she felt slightly useless as she had nothing to offer. When he asked if she could use Thunder from a distance, she nodded, though shook her head when he would ask if she had any opinions on it. It sounded solid enough, only thing left to do was execute it--and that was always the more difficult part, of course. Xerox's little pet had detected the enemy ahead. What was it again? A Moomba? A Moogle? She knew its name was Rue...or at least, she thought it was. Either way she eyed it warily, surprised he could understand it. Either way there would be six of them ahead. She was somewhat itching for a fight, so she saw it as an opportunity.

"A fight it is, then." She commented lightly, her rapier at the ready.

People burning all around her, and not a care in the world to be felt. Yes, this was what she had to do, no? This was just another day that would be.

тнιѕ ωαѕ α ƒυη "gαмє".

As Syrus spoke up, a tilt of her head would concur for a moment before she moved by Kein and wrapped one of her arms underneath his to yank him upwards and begin dragging him along. A little stronger than she looked, it seemed -- or maybe the adrenaline was doing it.

"I am well enough. Now, now. We're to head to the East Entrance as I said and garner a lot of angry people to chase after us.~ Keep up, or you'll be left behind as well, Syrus."

The answer she was looking for...Would it be on this day that she'd find it? To the one question that she'd asked earlier...Ah, who knew. Who knew? All she did know was that this was what had to be done, as she held one hand up to bring all four of her orbs back to her side, the occasional soldier that popped up from the shadows or an alley or the confines of a building being lit ablaze in her wake as she continued down at a hastened pace. As for Kein? She'd damn well drag his face on the floor if he couldn't get his own footing. Hopefully the other one that was supposed to help her would drop by soon...But alas, the mission had to continue, whether they were missing someone or not.

ภ๏ฬ. ђ๏ฬ t๏ ﻮєt tђєเг คttєภtเ๏ภ?

A soft sigh brushed past her lips as she could feel them watching.

Eyes...

ѕσ мαηу єуєѕ.

All converging upon the back of her skull, expectations risen from her Guardian Force as the ideas came flooding in. ...

Lifting up one orb, she took the time to launch off a beam composed of another Fire spell from her orb -- a sort of taunt, if one would.From where she was, it would be able to be seen from anywhere within the town -- even from the towers above if one chose to look down upon the city. It was a taunt to show where she was, a taunt to bring down any and all soldiers that could fight. Her duty was to garner their attention, and what better way to do that than to call them straight out -- to dare them to come try and stop her?

"You'd best be prepared if these soldiers are worth anything.~ Let's see how many come to try and take us down. Kein, try not to get hurt, or I'll be quite upset."

It seemed like the mystic had opted to take a bit of charge in terms of luring out the enemy. Whether it was a form of craziness spawned from her placed persona, or something else of a sicker nature, she seemed ready.

Prepared for the fight, Xerox kept his eyes on Rue, fiddling a little with the scraps in his hand. Not long after, Rue started to fall back. Xerox started to dash forward, meeting on the squad head on. With the weight and momentum he brought with his giant spanner, he slammed the spanner. It had missed the soldiers, but the impact it made with the ground, left a decent hole. The soldiers were blown away from the impact, spreading them out. "I'll leave my back to you." he called out to Charlotte and Rue. Heading to the rightmost soldier, the soldier attempted to shoot, but it was in vain due to Xerox's spanner.

His spanner was large, tough and heavy. It wasn't an easy thing to swing or run around with, however, Xerox knew how to use his whole body to utilize the spanner. Reaching the soldier, he dropped the head of the spanner, landing on the soldier's foot, holding him in place. Moving on, Xerox knocked him out with a heavy punch. He heard some shots being fired. Some were definitely directed at him, with Rue jumping behind him activating the DS. "Thanks." he called out. The scraps he was holding were put away into the toolbox which he strapped to his back during battle. Using the screwdriver he had, he seemed to be fiddling with his spanner. Afterwards, he put the screwdriver away and continued on. It was only for a quick second that he fiddled with it.

Jumping aside, Xerox started heading towards two soldiers who were together. They were coordinated, letting one reload as the other fired. Putting his hand into the body of the spanner, he pulled out what seemed like a sheet. A bullet proof sheet was pulled out. He had compartmentalized his spanner, with various things. From there, he bashed into the two soldiers. Turning around, he wondered if Charlotte had finished. If not, he would assist, if so, and he kept her waiting, he would apologize for the wait. His style of fighting was definitely a slower kind, but that did not mean he was at any disadvantage in a fight with other SeeD. However, if he did not keep her waiting, he would start to continue on.

---

(After the fight)
Rue went around the soldiers, taking bits from their guns, or tying up those who were knocked out. Still on focus, there seemed to be no-one else in the near vicinity. At least none coming for them. Rue's senses were keen, and knew that some soldiers were heading to the other substation, but he did not mention it. He believed there would be nothing to worry about.

Xerox uses a specially made magnet to hold in place things he straps on his back with ease and can remove them. Taking hold of his toolbox and putting his giant spanner on his back, he started to begin making something. "Alright, let's go." he started to lead the way. The area they had dropped wasn't that far, however, with the rocky terrain, it was a bit harder to navigate. Taking a step, he retracted and started to redirect. "The footing is loose over there, so be careful." he called out. It had been a few minutes of walking that they had gone through. Xerox was almost finished with the small robot he was making.

At the sight of the soldiers and Xerox's attack, she figured she didn't need to waste too much magic dealing with them. Once Xerox attacked and went right, Charlotte mimicked him and went left. Just like practice. She reminded herself, and as she dashed forward, she found herself just a little too eager. She slashed her rapier at the soldier's weapon, knocking it out of his hands, and remembering Xerox's request, slammed herself into him. This sent him flying, and as she charged her rapier with a Fire spell, she fired it off at the pair, sending them quite the distance into the air. A third soldier began shooting, but she had anticipated it. She ran to the side, blade low, and once she reached him she simply kicked him. He blocked it with ease, and as he was about to shoot at her again, the two soldiers she had sent flying landed on him.

The blonde couldn't help but smirk lightly, though at that point Xerox had finished as well. Continuing onwards, she watched Clue (no, Rue. No, maybe it was Blue?) gather up parts. She raised an eyebrow, though she didn't bother questioning it as they kept walking. The ground under her boots was harder to walk on, certainly for her in said boots, considering she wasn't quite used to them as she should have been. Still, she managed, half-watching her steps and half watching Xerox. It looked like he was making something. He was certainly fast, that much she had to give him credit for.

What Xerox had made was actually a small robot that did one main thing. Overdrive the circuitry and firepower of the mecha it was in. It was something he had made before for a different scenario. Having opened his toolbox again, he pulled out what looked like microchips, but then put them back, continuing on his robot. Rue continued to listen and smell for anyone ahead. Suddenly, he turned and started to make some signs. Xerox had just finished his work as he did this. "We are near the substation, and Rue says they don't seem to have anyone watching the entrance we are approaching, but there are quite a few people inside. Let's approach with caution." he informed Charlotte. It had been a little over half an hour to reach this point.

Not long after, they found the entrance. Approaching slowly, the walls were quite high, not allowing them to see the inside over the walls. All they could see were the towers of the substation and a roof for the taller building. Suddenly excited screams could be heard from inside. Xerox looked at Charlotte with wide eyes, clearly surprised and confuzzled as to what could be happening. As they reached the entrance, the people on guard seemed to have left their post. Taking a glimpse inside, he could not believe what he was seeing.

Inside the substation, were some Galbadian soldiers jumping into a pool, getting all excited over their break. Others relaxing on what appeared like a merry-go-round. Finally, the biggest shock and attraction was a closed off area with mechas fighting and crowds watching and cheering.

Taking a step back from the entrance, Xerox looked towards Charlotte, still confuzzled. Lifting his glasses a little and rubbing his eyes, he looked again to confirm what he saw and then turned back to Charlotte. "Am I really seeing what I think I am seeing? Like ... why would they do that ... at a substation?" In all honesty he was asking her. Rue started to tug on Xerox's uniform. Looking at him, Rue started to give more signs. "Well, they have some people on guard duty ... and those who are not are free to do anything ... they think the war is theirs and decided to have fun ... is apparently what Rue overheard." he had translated to Charlotte, still confuzzled.

Taking a deep breath, calming down, and forgetting about all the confusing things, he spoke to Charlotte. "It seems the other team has yet to grab their attention. But with their attention focused elsewhere, if we don't get detected we should be able to make it to the warehouse over here and get our hands hopefully on a SAM08G." he informed her. "So, do you think we should try to go in now, or wait for the others?" Xerox asked for her opinion.

Eika seemed out of it be but he didn't much care. As for being "left behind" He wouldn't actually mind that. He knew the best way to blow one of the towers close to the substation was to unleash his power on it. That wouldn't be happening right now though. Kein seemed to be MIA in his own head as Eika picked him up. As she had fired off some rounds of magic from her orbs. He looked at her strangely again. Wow she seems to be a nutter. Syrus thought he was crazy and warped but something about those orbs was changing her and he didn't know what to think. The good thing was that the orbs weren't drawing on his power right now. The seemed to be concentrating their efforts on Eika's orders of which she, as far as he could tell, never vocalized. She was a powerful kid but so was he. Well maybe since she was insane or something and Kein was still out of it he could get away with a few "tricks."

Soldiers began to close in around them as Eika's power had drawn then in. Soon they were surrounded a few mechs in the ranks. A couple of the soldiers yelled at them and Syrus gave them a smug grin as he raised his hands in surrender. "Now now everyone we give up, but just to be safe you might wanna put a few tranks into this one..." he pointed over towards Eika "...she is a bit out of it!" Most of the soldiers turned their heads to Eika and her pets. In that second Syrus twirled his hands while they were in the air and lightning bolts formed a halo above him and in a second more they all shot towards the soldiers and mechs. They were all down, bodies sparking, the mechs exploded and the air around them was silent except for the crackling fire from the mechs. "Alright Eika which way to the others since the area is clear we need to head over to them for cover fire if needed. Kein! Come on boy you are never going to make SeeD this way!" Syrus took Kein from Eika so that she could do her voodoo to either find the others or just follow her.

The steel blade of Jericho's scythe flashed through the air as it passed through another Galbadian soldier's midriff, his friends in full retreat towards the other side of the town. The troopers, ignoring the many places to take cover among the alleyways, buildings and other positions on the streets they ran, kept moving and occasionally looked back, taking pot shots back towards the team of SeeDs that had pushed them back from the beach all the way to the main square. Taking cover to avoid getting hit, Jericho drew his pistol and returned fire, watching the Galbadian's retreat until they were no longer in sight. Sighing, he stood up and watched the other SeeDs all sweep and clear the main square, securing it before getting ready to move on. Their orders had been simple enough, get through the sea wall, land and push the Galbadians back into the city. Sitting down, he looks up as another SeeD, Lana if he remembered correctly, walked over to him. She had a smile on her face, as if she was happy they'd won when the victory was only symbolic. There was still an entire city to cover. "Hey, Jericho, good job! You're pretty good with that scythe of yours."

Looking at her, Jericho shrugs, spinning the weapon a couple of times before placing it on his back. "I spent long enough training with the thing, getting good enough to be useful in battle." He took a drink of water from his canteen before looking back at Lana. "Now then, what was the real reason you came over here?" Lana's smile faltered a moment, as she was taken aback by the tone of voice he'd used.

"To wish a good job, honest." Jericho snorts and heads for the next street.

"Thanks. Now let's get back to work." Lana finally let the frown win and watched Jericho's retreating form, turning to go back to the rest of their group when the team leader's radio goes off. Jericho pauses and looks back at the man, James he thought was his name. After a moment of listening, James called the team, including a grumbling Jericho.

"That was the Head Instructor, Corvo. He wants me to send one person to the north power substations to back up the examinees. It seems that Galbadia defended that better than we thought." He appraises the group, considering all their strengths and weaknesses before settling his gaze on Jericho. His attitude alone made him a good choice, since he didn't like being around the others. Couple that with how fast he was and good with his scythe, no one fit the bill better. "Jericho, you're going."

Jericho raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to argue the point but stopped. Now isn't the time or place to be rebellious. Much fun as it would be. Instead he saluted and gave a curt "Yes, sir" before heading northward, quickly vanishing into the cityscape.

...Ah. How rude. Calling her insane -- but, it got the job done, she supposed. Stepping over some of the slain soldiers, she's nonchalantly place Kein's prone body on her fourth orb whilst the other three moved to her left, her right, and above her in the form of a triangle. The next step as Syrus spoke to her was to lean herself back until her eyes saw straight to the sky above, and to promptly cover them with her hands. The moment her own eyes vanished, a single optic appeared in each of the three available ones, irises rapidly moving around as they sought something to focus in on. For a single minute it continued on, combing through the city with Visionary's gaze until all three eyes stopped and focused in the center of her orbs. Eika's body jolted forward and a step forward broke the vision that she'd been looking through, attention finally turning to Syrus as she pointed in the direction straight ahead.

"That way. ..Something doesn't feel right. We should go find our Instructor."

The Mystic girl promptly began running right by, poor Kein dragged along with her as she jumped over body after body to get to the clear side of the road to take off running down the street, lightning crackling between the other three orbs and shooting out at any hostiles that happened to be unfortunate enough to open the door and walk out near her. For a girl that wasn't good at melee or close-range to a traditional sense, she was pretty damn good at taking off and damn near disappearing when she ran. Off and away she went to go and try and shake off this godforsaken feeling she was having. Time for them all to meet up, yes?

Syrus gave a sigh of relief as she didn't seem to notice the real magic that he had just conjured up. With out word he followed after her but staying behind the orb that was effectively dragging Kein. What had Eika felt or seen in those strange orbs that made her want to go find the instructor. She had seemed rather fond of him...wait...was interested in him? Syrus shook his head away from those thoughts and continued on making himself focus on the mission at hand. He then yelled ahead to Eika. "So the instructor took off on his own, the others don't seem to be in any trouble, and Kein is about as useful as a corpse. What a rag tag team we make." He hoped that she actually knew where she was going but her strange abilities seemed to be working out just fine so far so for now he would trust and follow her. "When we get there lets hide Kein in the bushes. He will just be a distraction in the complex if we run into enemy fire!" Syrus wasn't sure if the boy was just out of it or faking it at this point. He was still alive because Syrus could feel his life force as he could most people's thanks to his connection to Phoenix. For the most part this mission so far was well crazy. It was the first time he had seen Eika in action and he never figured that the occupation of Dollet would be this extreme but it seemed they wanted something. This wasn't some simple take over... this was that plus a hidden agenda. He had seen this before with the scientists in Esthar.

It took some time to find and and rig the substation supports to blow, especially while dodging the soldiers on patrol. Aside from the silent bloodbath it had taken for Duncan to infiltrate the facility, he was satisfied with his progress so far; he hadn't taken a bullet, for one. It would have been preferable to get in without bloodshed but not because he shied away from killing; he just hated the extra hassle. Regardless after checking the last detonator, he was finally ready to leave and backtracked through the substation to the previously guarded entrance. Elsewhere in the city SeeD would be pushing toward the outer districts by now and the candidates must have been close to taking down the other set of towers. While no order of withdrawal had been given thus far, Duncan thought it must have been fairly so- Shit..! All it took was a moment of inattention and he walked straight into a fresh patrol. The soldiers were prepared, their rifles and swords already tracking the SeeD as he dove for cover. The fight was short but decisive; one soldier fell, impaled upon Duncan's bayonet, yet they were too many. The Instructor was pummelled to the ground, battered into unconsciousness and jabbed with a stun stick - just to be sure. As the patrol dragged him off toward the cliffs with their injured comrade in tow, a forlorn buzz could be heard in the scrub. Vinzer took off as fast as it could, toward the other substation and the others. It had to warm them.

---

Colours and lights swam in the air... Yoko was doing that thing with her eyebrows... and something hard was hitting him in the gut.

Full conciousness came back like a bucket of cold water and Kein slid off the orb with a whimper. 'Argh... Feels like New Years...' He managed to pull himself together enough to take a stock of the situation; it was just Eika, Syrus and himself. Behind them lay the bodies of a large number of soldiers, before them was... the substation? D-did the others..? Is it my fault? Shitshitshit, I fucked up bad... It wasn't easy, but he managed to still his quivering lower lip long enough to ask the others a question. 'I... I remember falling out of the airship and... D... Did the others.. Fuck, are they all dead!?' But before they could answer, Kein spotted movement from the corner of his eye; a stream of missiles inbound on Syrus. He leapt forward into a spinning pirouette, his knocking the first few missiles off-course with his nagitnata. As the destroyed missiles rained down around him, Kein cast an Aero at those remaining, scattering their flight paths. He landed with a feline grace, completely at odds with his bumbling idiocy earlier on, identifying the attacker as a GIM52A. Calm of mind for the first time today, Kein kicked off hard from the ground, using another Aero to boost him toward the mech. His naginata slashed clean through the target, tearing its fuselage in two. He landed, took a few seconds to scan the area for more hostiles... and promptly keeled over, clutching his calf frantically. 'Crap, fuck, shit-! Cramp!' The tears in his eyes were from broth the pain and the shame of it all...

Syrus stopped as Kein preformed very well to his own amazement only to get a cramp in his leg afterwards..."Soo was your plan to look like a total bad ass then fall victim to a leg cramp? Cause if it was then you did it buddy A plus for you." Syrus said his voice dripping with sarcasm while his face was that of the how could you really have a leg cramp variety. "Come on we don't have a moment to loose Eika has gone blood hound and is tracking the instructor down. He may be in trouble!" Syrus bent down quickly and cast cure on his leg and grabbed him by the shoulder and jerked him up. Syrus propped Kein against himself and put his arm over him. "Alright boy you better move." Syrus began to run with Kein around him towards where Eika was heading.

Ace's brow furrowed as her hands worked deftly on the dysfunctional generator. No matter how hard she tried to concentrate on the task at hand, her mind kept drawing back to her squad at the substation. She had formulated a dangerous and risky plan; a group of reckless, inexperienced soldiers attempting to capture a seasoned SeeD that was hellbent on causing as much chaos and bloodshed as possible. They wouldn't survive. Their deaths would be for naught, and she would have to accept that for the rest of her service.

"Goddammit..." She cursed low under her breath so that the others couldn't hear the insecurity in her voice. She had to pull it together. Her men looked up to her as a Lieutenant, and be damned, she was going to lead them to victory in this battle.

Driven by her newly found resolve, Ace returned to fine-tuning the piece of crap Dollet called a generator, praying that her high Tech grade in Garden would pull off for her now...

"S-Sir!"

"Interruptions, Fett!"

"No, wait! It's them! They made it!"

Ace's eyes widened at Fett's euphoric words, clambering quickly to her feet and leaning her head over the railing as she spotted her squad returning from the mountains, one soldier injured and propped against the shoulder of his comrade, and another supporting what appeared to be-

"They did it! By god, they actually did it!" Fett pumped his fist in the air with a boyish laugh as Ace stared on in numb shock. Her plan...worked?

Her squad of inadequate, foolish, bumbling soldiers actually captured the SeeD? And survived?

A chorus of cheers and whistles echoed through the tower as the Galbadian soldiers congratulated one another, a sense of victory sweeping through the squad as Branon and his team of soldiers marched towards the lift, their chests puffed out with pride.

"Lieutenant Fiore sir!" Branon's voice was deep and boastful as he emerged from the lift with a shit-eating grin, pushing the bound semi-conscious SeeD to the floor as he regarded his superior with a cocky glint in his eye. "The operation went as planned, sir. This bastard wasn't easy to take down, but we got 'im. We've already confiscated his weapon. Oh, and we deactivated his junction drive too. Not bad, huh?"

"And the wounded?" Ace's response was calm and focused, refusing to be swept by the tide of her squad's rising enthusiasm. She was pleased beyond words that the plan had worked, but her priorities were, and always would be, on the welfare of her men.

"Healing 'em up as we speak," Branon reported proudly. "Doc's said that the wounds are treatable. He'll be out of action for the rest of this mission, but he'll live."

"Good." Ace couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and incredulity. Could she have asked for a better result than this?

She stepped towards the beaten SeeD, cool brown eyes gauging his appearance carefully as she assessed her enemy mentally. His hair was dark grey and matted with blood; likely his or a Galbadian solder blood, but she didn't know nor care to find out. Glasses hung precariously on the bridge of his nose from the scuffle, and his blue eyes were glazed and unfocused from the pain he was obviously suffering from.

This was a SeeD? But he looked so...bookish. Asa scoffed inwardly at the observation, her hand laying over the paramagic drive on her wrist. "Scan."

Duncan Lerwick
Age: 22
Elemental Affinity: None
Occupation: SeeD Instructor

Statistical probabilities and numbers followed the man's basic information, Ace choosing to ignore it for now as she cast away the spell and chose to kneel before the so-called Instructor. Well, that would certainly explain the bookish appearance. "Hey, wake up." Ace, never being one for gentle coaxing, slapped him sharply across the cheek with the back of her leather glove, her eyes betraying a harsh glare despite the controlled manner in which she spoke. "You've been causing quite some trouble for us, haven't you?"

Jericho sighed as he emerged on from the city in sight of the substations, noting that there was a severe lack of both fighting and explosions. Frowning, he drew his scythe and continued on towards the nearest substation to his position, each step slow and deliberate. He didn't mind slicing up more Galbadian soldiers, that was the mission after all, but it wasn't exactly on his to do list to get overwhelmed and killed either. Of course, I've always got Glaciem with me if the need arises. He hadn't used any spells the entire time he'd been fighting, the enclosed quarters of the streets and buildings giving him a natural edge over the majority of the Galbadians. Those using swords were simply too slow to keep up with him, finding themselves cut down while still drawing their weapons.

"Examinee back up...at least I don't have to worry about others yet." As he entered the brush, he found himself immediately proven wrong when he heard two male voices conversing and one telling the other that they better be able to move. Might be some of the examinees. Better play it safe. Stepping out behind them, the scythe whistles through the air, but stops mid swing as he recognizes their uniforms. Pulling it back to a more relaxed, but ready position, he addressed the trio. "SeeD Jericho Joranis. I'm your back up. Who are all of you?"

Jericho would have stopped her if he hadn't been impressed with her attitude towards saving their instructor. Hell, her attitude over all. Still, their objective wasn't to save their instructor, and going away from her orders would hurt her score in the end. Shaking his head, he turned to the other two, one of which, the red haired one, seemed to be supporting the other, muttering to himself. "Eika, huh? Hope I'm not supposed to grade these kids myself, I'm not an instructor." Shaking himself from the reverie of sorts, he appraises the pair before sighing. "Saving your instructor doesn't do us much good if the Galbadians can still charge their mechs." Looking around, Jericho frowns when he realizes he only saw three of the examinees.

He didn't know how many there were supposed to be, but he knew it was more than three. Could the others have died? Were they captured too? What the hell was going on? "And while you've giving me names, how about what happened to the rest of you. There were supposed to be more than three."

Before getting any answer from Charlotte, Rue tugged on Xerox's pants. "What is it, Rue?" The Moomba made some signals, pointing North West, and then South West. "Sh!t!" he swore, not too loudly to grab the enemies' attention. Closing his eyes, he thought for a moment. "Well that's what happens if he goes completely alone I guess." He sighed. I guess I will have to do that ... It's gonna really be taxing.

"Charlotte, Instructor Duncan has been caught by the Galbadian Army. His been taken to a tower North West of here. His already destroyed the other substation. It seems Eika, Syrus and Kein are heading there. If they were able to capture Instructor Duncan, they must have some serious skill or numbers. I want you to go help with the rescue. There seems to be a SeeD member with them. Since, he is a SeeD and not a candidate like us, he should lead the group for the rescue. Tell him, I will finish this off. Don't worry, I can handle this, I'll have to do that though." Xerox informed and instructed Charlotte, trailing off at the very end. Rue started to look worried.

Shoving his hand into empty space, his arm disappeared into his ESS. He managed to pull out a device. It was in a disk like shape. Xerox passed it to Charlotte. "Take this with you, and in one and a half hours time, pump it with a lot of paramagic. Something like 30 spells. Now, go, if you head North West, you should intercept the others when they reach the tower." he told Charlotte, pointing North West. "Also, remember that it's a Search and Rescue. Do not fight longer than necessary. Securing Instructor Duncan and leaving should be a priority."

Crouching down to Rue, he told Rue, "I want you to get Vinzer and take it back to Duncan. You will help with the rescue. Remember to use the shield in danger." Rue was still worried. "I'll be fine. Now go!" Rue nodded, heading North. Vinzer appeared to have been just North of them. Xerox waited for Charlotte to leave, before getting ready for battle.

---

About five minutes later, Rue found Vinzer. Making a high pitched noise, to grab Vinzer's attention. Rue could understand Vinzer, but not sure if the bite bug could understand him. A few more animal noises could be heard from Rue. (Translated)"Hey, I am here to help. We need to go West. The others seemed to know your master is in trouble." Rue waited for a reply, hoping the bug bite understood.

The slap jarred Duncan from his semi-concious state and he grimaced through the pain while searching for the offender. So... he had been captured. His fault of course, never should have let his guard down. Still, it was embarrassing for an experienced SeeD to be taken by a handful of grunts... not to mention that Galbadia had something of a reputation for treating prisoners badly. He would know; his father had always bragged about the number of Timber soldiers he had executed during the invasion. Doesn't leave much hope for me... shit. Refocusing his gaze, he looked up at the soldier before him. An officer probably, wearing that textbook I Have You Now glare... Fuck my life... '... I guess I have. Then again, I'm sure you've caused your share of trouble for the good people of Dollet, hm?' He tried to put on a tough front but for all his training, without his junctions Duncan was just a normal man; he wouldn't last long if they brought out the thumb screws. SeeD generally had a good track record for recovering lost agents, but this time around he had gone off-mission to an area not covered by Garden intelligence... he doubted that anyone even knew he was missing. A series of muffled explosions in the distance brought him some measure of satisfaction at least. 'Ooh... hear that? That'd be those towers coming down. Right on top of what's left of your friends at the substation. What with the others clearing the city and wiping out the rest of you vermin, it's a pretty bad day to be a Galbadian soldier.' Duncan gave a bloody grin, determined to give a good show if nothing else.

---

'Yeah... I suck so hard man...' At least he was functional, though Kein was still terrified that he might have gotten the rest of the candidates killed through his incompetence. 'Wait, Duncan's alive? How do you know?' He vaguely remembered Eika being some kind of clairvoyant but he didn't put much stock in such things. Surely they weren't going off-mission purely on a whim..? The number of questions was rapidly outpacing answers and Kein felt powerless to resist the peer pressure. We're gonna fail. We're so gonna fail. He staggered along with Syrus' assistance as the pain faded, determined to catch up with Eika before she did something rash. The sudden appearance of another figure almost caught him off-guard, but Kein was able to recover into a combat stance and... and it was a false alarm. Heaving an anxious sigh, he jogged up to the SeeD and saluted. 'Kein Marx, class F-2. I uh... I've been unconscious for a while so I don't know where the others are.' He nodded after a rapidly disappearing Eika. 'I don't know where she's going but, the others a-and the instructor... Aw, you know what? Fuck it! Fuck it all, I'm goin' with her. I don't care anymore.' Throwing his arms up in surrender, Kein gave up thinking and charged off after Eika; they had all failed this test anyway... might as well go hilt deep and shaft some Galbadians.

---

When Rue found Vinzer, it was lying by the side of the road, its wings pockmarked with bullet holes. The bitebug had scuttled as far as it could on legs not built for the weight but its strength had given out. Whether or not it understood the moomba was unclear, but it waved a limb in tired acquiescence. Summoning up the last of its energy, Vinzer climbed up Rue's furry arm to nestle in his mane; until it got treatment for its wings, the bug was pretty much dead weight.