***Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or its characters…***All standard disclaimers apply

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Zell kept his eyes on Seifer's movements as he walked on to the arena battle ground. The gunblade was powerful, but was slow and bulky, compared to the speed of his marital art capabilities. Zell knew that his speed would be his primary advantage but…the key to winning would lie in 'anticipating' Seifer's attacks. He didn't want to get too caught up in trying to win with speed and end up getting caught in one of Seifer's Fire Cross attacks.

Breathing deeply, in and out. Zell stared at his opponent across the way.

Three seconds till the ring of the bell to begin the fight…

Two seconds…

One second…

RINGGGG

Running in full force towards his opponent, Zell attacked in a series of punches and kicks so fluent that it looked more like a graceful dance. Seifer turned his sword and used the flat part of the blade as a shield, using it to take the blows consecutively. Then, out of nowhere, Seifer quickly swung his gunblade in a vertical thrust upward, forcing Zell to break his stance, and Seifer pulled the trigger on his gunblade... A ball of fire flashed instantly…

Zell jumped a few yards back, and landed gingerly on his feet, dodging injuries. He sighed at himself in disgrace—He should have seen that coming.

Extending his sword forward, Seifer grinned in a sardonic manner and stood in an on-guard position before he advanced with great speed that caught Zell by surprise.

With the tip of the gunblade, lunging through the air directly towards him, Zell adjusted his combat gloves to show a thick slap of metal on the knuckles with four long spikes protruding from it - he knew metal claws would come in handy for this fight... Locking his hands into fists, Zell engaged the gunblade, metal to metal.

Punches combined with the metal claws deflected Seifer attacks in endless parries. The clangs and sparks of metals hammering against one another caused the crowd around them to cheer. That was when Zell realized that if he was going to beat Seifer, let it be in front of an audience.

The clangs of metal continued more until Zell's claws and Seifer's gunblade struck so hard at one another that it threw them both back, sliding them towards the opposite ends of the arena. The crowd cheered and applauded as both he and Seifer signaled to the refs that they could continue.

As Zell regained his fighting stance, the gripping pain from his left arm was alarming. The vibrations of that blow nearly scattered it.

That was... Unexpected.

Good thing he had pulled the momentum back on that last punch when he did, or else, shards of bone would have been breaking through the skin of his arm about now. Seifer has certainly picked up some interesting moves during his absence, Zell realized. That last attack was executed so well and so fast that blocking or dodging would have been useless.

With no time to lose, Zell ran towards the other end of the arena and riposted with an aerial kick at Seifer that sent him flying back a few more yards. Taking advantage of the upper hand, Zell sent an Aero spell immediately, to keep Seifer in mid-air. Zell slid over and continued his magical onslaught with the Aero spell's razor winds.

Then in a series of moves, Zell took hold of Seifer's arm when the spell was over and slammed him into the ground...

The crowd roared.

Breathing heavily, Zell walked up to Seifer, who was still on the ground...not moving. Could it be..? Did that last move finish him off? Zell thought to himself as he reassessed the situation.

After a few moments of motionlessness from his opponent, Zell smiled and looked around at the crowd and raised his fists into the air. The crowd responded by screaming and cheering.

Getting into the hype, Zell did a back flip and raised his hands again, letting the praise from the crowd wash over him.

BANG!

A swirl of black clouded energy swept Zell off his feet and slammed him into the arena walls. The impacted knocked the wind of out his lungs, and he sluggishly stood up to see Seifer engulfed in black clouds with an image of some kind large shadow dog or wolf behind him….

The shadow beast howled and whip of energy pierced through Zell's body like a mixture of extreme burning and electrical shock at the same time.

The blood that poured from his mouth nearly drowned him...and more energy attacks began to surge around him. It took Zell a while to start breathing normally again as managed to cast a Curaga and Shell spell around him. This helped in blocking the next wave of energy attacks.

Is that a GF? Zell thought as he tried to take a good look at the strange giant animal behind Seifer. But GFs aren't allowed to be used anymore, this was the protocol after that battle with Ultimecia. Using GFs can cause memory lapses in the user.

Zell quickly looked up at the judge's panel in disbelief; why aren't they calling a penalty? GFs are not permitted here?!

The Shell around him collapse, and Zell jumped and flipped around to dodge more of Seifer's attacks while glancing at the refs who looked…Clueless.

Without much choice, Zell cast another Shell spell. Realizing the grave circumstances he was in, Zell looked onto a bulky watch-styled device that was anchored to his wrist showing how many spells were retained in his body. He then pressed a button on it, taking all the magic in his body and raised his stat chart.

I'm going to have to sacrifice most of magic casting and use it to raise my physical strength, speed and magical resistance, he thought, as he pressed a few more buttons on the large watch-like device. After that was done, he decided to made his way closer to his opponent.

Zell wasn't going to do any damage from the mile distance Seifer kept him.

As black piercing energy surrounded him in funnels that stretched all around the arena, Zell steadily dodged them and was finally able to advance for an attack. His physical attacks had a combination Blizzaga magic now, which had ice forming around his fist. He had this spell in abundance so he used all of it to get a more potent effect.

The first punch he laid, didn't touch Seifer at all…Black clouds made out of Demi, Ultima and Lightning magic surrounded and protected Seifer like a shield. The GF twisted above them and the barrier became denser, almost like a cemented wall.

Zell began to punch again and again, but the cloud barrier became stronger.

This shield can't last forever or it could have a weak spot?! There's only one way to find out! Zell's thoughts grew quiet as he began a full assault on the barrier by using his spells, kicks and punches, with all his strength.

He was gonna crack this thing even if it killed him.

That's when a surge of adrenaline filled in Zell's body. A rush of euphoric energy over powered him. He knew he reached his limit break.

A limit break was a brief stage of heighten power caused by a surge of adrenaline when the body was critically fatigued…Probably one of the most important abilities SeeD members must master. It was a reliable technique that was useful in all the major battles he had ever taken part in.

Without wasting this fleeting state, Zell began performing some of the most powerful martial arts maneuvers he had mastered. Making every hit and kick count with the power flowed through him in quick burst, and he used every bit of it to his advantage.

By the time he was nearly done; the barrier collapse under his limit break abilities, and he landed an icy punch across Seifer's face that left shards of icicles across flying the arena. As Seifer's body flew from the attack and landed with a bone breaking thud, the strange GF Shadow that was hovering above cried. Its body seemed to disappear and reappear in flashes, slowly at first then quickly.

He must be growing weak! HERE IS MY CHANCE! Zell quickly used a spare Aero spell to propel himself forward to finish Seifer off with the last of his limit break.

'ZELL!'

A small familiar voice called his name clearly, loudly.

'MY ZELL!'

The voice seemed to be coming from inside his mind. This was... different.

'MY ZELL! PLEASE MY ZELL! DON'T HURT IT ANYMORE.'

Zell instantly looked at the sidelines on Seifer's corner. There stood the rest of the red hooded members of Vánagandr. Zell had never seen this group till today and he found it kind of weird that they came all dressed in red hoods that covered their faces.

Although, there was one member that stood out.

There in the front, was a red hooded member who was shorter than the others. This person slowly raised their hands to pull back the hood from their face.

'ZELL, I LOVE YOU.'

Zell stop completely. The voice in his head was coming from that person. He knew it, he could feel it, but that voice in his head belonged to that...

As red hood fell back, Zell stared in bewilderment.

'ZELL, HAVE YOU BEEN THINKING OF ME?'

"Sheena?" Zell whispered aloud.

That voiced belonged to a girl he had met yesterday during the opening celebration festival. She was the girl he accidentally ran into …The girl he danced with…The strange and beautiful girl he kissed… The girl he was constantly thinking about all day.

A pair of deep blue eyes stared up at him. Her short purple hair framed her pale delicate oval face. Her light pink lips curved in a smile and Zell heard her voice loud and clear in his mind.

'ZELL, COME WITH ME.'

BAMMM

Without realizing, Seifer arose and hit Zell with a swarm of dark energy which sent him soaring backwards. His face scraped along the area floor and his body sank to the ground.

He tasted the mix of blood and dirt on his lips….

'ZELL, COME WITH ME! IF YOU WANT THAT POWER! COME WITH ME IF YOU WANT TO HAVE THE POWER OF THE VANAGANDR!'

---

Zell awoke startled. Little beads of sweat dripped from his forehead and sat up in an infirmary bed dressed in a hospital gown. His eyes took a few minutes to adjust to the sunlight that was beaming through the windows and he felt his head...It throbbed like hell…

He was reliving the fight with Seifer in his dream.

Shaking his head a little he tried to move some more but his legs were numb, no doubt from the medicine.

How long have I been here unconscious? What happen to Seifer? And the Soldiers of Vánagandr... why was Sheena able to…

"Zell?!"

"Zell, you're awake!"

Both Quistis and Selphie walked into his room and ran to his bedside.

With his eyes sensitive to the light, Zell squinted at them, "How long have I been here?"

"Two days!" Selphie held up two fingers and nodded, "I was afraid you slipped in some kind of coma."

Quistis took a seat on a nearby stool. Her posture was impeccable as always and her long blond hair was somewhat disheveled in a misshaped bun. She wore a simple blue Esthar sweat suit that was given to the participants of the Battle Arena. Her sky-blue eyes were red under her small framed glasses.

This wasn't like Quistis at all. Selphie also looked exhausted.

"What happened after I passed out?" Zell asked.

The two girls looked at one other, then Quistis explained how Squall engaged Seifer and how the Vánagandr was ask to leave by Kiros.

Listening intensely, Zell fell back on the bed very agitated with Quistis' story.

"So, Squall had to come to my defense in the end?" Zell asked after Quistis finished up the summary of the past two days.

Kneeling down beside his bed Selphie smiled and placed her hand on his forehead, "Maybe at the end. He wanted to make sure you were being tended to without Seifer interfering, but, honesty….You performed fantastically in the beginning!"

Quistis nodded, with a reassuring smile, "Indeed! That was some of the best fighting throughout the tournament! You should be proud."

Zell sighed at their words...

Quistis and Selphie both say I did so well, although, Squall had to rescue me! What kind of bullshit was that?! Am I a loser the way Seifer painted me? Can I do nothing on my own?! Win on my own?! Can I be the f'ing hero for once?! Dammit! This doesn't make any sense! Seifer and I should be at around the same level, skill wise, so what the hell happened?!

Then he remembered that shadow GF thing Seifer had equipped on himself. It hovered above made out of black clouds of energy. What the hell was that? In all his time as a SeeD member, Zell had seen some crazy shit before—things ordinary people couldn't imagine— but this GF had to be in the top ten, downright strangest things he had even seen. That whole experience was peculiar, even for Seifer, who had always been involved in strange crap in the past. Zell recalled the time when Seifer joined up with the crazy Sorceress from the future, Ultimecia, living out his romantic dream of being a knight or whatever.

Seifer had always been, somewhat, delusional.

Thinking about the fight, Zell thought about the mysterious GF in great detail. That creature was different. Was it even a GF? It seemed like one but more powerful... But in any case, why didn't the referees call out a penalty?! GF or not, things like that weren't allowed in that tournament.

Then there was Sheena. Was she actually a member of the Soldiers of Vánagandr? When he met her the day before the tournament, something drew him to her, something he couldn't explain. She seemed so frail and innocent. Could she be really be another one of Seifer's lackeys? And why didn't she say anything about being a member of the Vánagandr?!

It would have been nice if she mentioned that little detail!

All these questions left his head pounding. The sharp pains stabbed at the crown of his head.

Quistis examined Zell slowly, "You seem a little out of it. "

"Out of it, is putting it lightly."

"Maybe we should call the doc?" Selphie walked to the phone that was perched up to the wall next to the door. But Zell just raised his hand up to stop her.

"Nah, I'm fine now."

"You're sure?" She asked, not looking convinced.

"Yeah I'm cool, though, I'm pissed as hell." Zell's hand balled up in to a fist as he hit the mattress, "Damn that Seifer! And why didn't the refs call out a penalty for that GF thing Seifer had on him! I thought those things weren't authorized in the tournament!"

Selphie and Quistis looked at one another as if there was something they weren't telling him. Zell had known the two girls for a long while, especially Quistis since she was an instructor. Both were acting odd—eyeing each other as though they were silently debating amongst themselves. Quistis turned to Zell when she was done with the staring contest.

"About that...We didn't see any GF."

"WHAT?" Zell jumped up in his bed, "ARE YOU KIDDING?! THE THING WAS HUGE! THERE WAS NO WAY YOU COULD'VE MISSED IT."

Gently Quistis stroked his hand, "Trust me, we believe you. However—here let me show you."

Reaching for a remote on the nightstand, Quistis turned on the television. Zell slouched back. He watched the screen and saw himself as he was fighting Seifer.

"Nearly every official had been watching this footage, including our group." Quistis explained as she fast forwarded the video, "See here? Was this when you encountered that GF?"

Looking at the video, Zell could see himself casting Shell on himself in defense, "Yeah! I was protecting myself against from weird energy attacks. That shit could have killed me if I did nothing— wait a minute –- what the hell?! "

Now he could see what Quistis was talking about. The video captured him and Seifer but nothing of that GF. Zell's jaw dropped as he saw himself attacking the shield that protected Seifer, however the video didn't show that black clouded barrier. As a matter of fact, it looked like he was attacking thin air several feet away from Seifer.

"What kind of bullshit is this?! I was trying to break Seifer's defenses! He had some kind of barrier around him powered by the GF. Surely you guys saw something of it?!"

"Zell, no one saw it. It looked like you were striking at nothing towards the end there..." Selphie whispered watching the video, "But it was obvious to us experienced fighters that you were encountering something... We just couldn't see what it was. I mean, at first it looked like Seifer was using some kind of weird telekinesis. What about you Quisty? "

"Yes..."

Zell grabbed the remote from Quistis, slamming the rewind button to the parts he had, for sure, seen the GF. "What the hell is going on? It was right there!"

His head was swimming at this point. Not only did he lose to Seifer, but no one saw him facing that hellish demonic looking GF?! No one saw the funnels of dark energy he dodged that nearly smashed him to bits! No one saw him breaking down that monster barrier filled with concentrated clouds of Ultima and Demi magic and was super charged up with lightning!

Are you kidding me?! Zell thought to himself in disbelief.

He couldn't believe it! He probably performed some of the best techniques used in hand combat SeeD history during that encounter! And the only thing people saw, was him, casting magic for no reason! Jumping here and there and attacking an empty space like some kind of moron!

There was a knock at the door and Squall walked in carrying a large leather-bound book.

"Squall, Zell seems to be okay now." Quistis told him as he walked to the bed, "I showed him the video of the fight. He says that it was a GF Seifer was using against him."

Quickly Squall opened the book he had in his hands and showed Zell the first page that had a pencil sketch drawing on it.

"Was this the 'GF' you saw?" Squall inquired simply. "I started to draw this after the match. I've been adding whatever details of what I can remember these last few days."

Zell's eyes followed the lines and shades of the creature Squall illustrated. This was definitely it. "Yes! So you did see it while I was fighting Seifer?!"

"Not exactly" Squall sighed and sat down on a chair near the window, "I didn't see it in combat during your match, but I did notice it when I was facing Seifer while the medics were tending to you. He seemed to draw it out of himself like a GF, but this is no ordinary Guardian Force. It seemed really unstable; the energy around it was erratic. I guess it can hide itself from spectators but not to its opponent."

"It reveals itself to its target only?" Quistis ventured. "Could that be its weakness?"

"I would say so, if it's supposed to be invisible." Selphie answered, "Maybe it needs some growing to do before everyone can admire its ..." Selphie skipped to the window and looked down at the drawing Squall had in his hands, "...Hellish beauty? Squall, what say you?"

"I feel it's too premature for speculation. Zell will need to write up a report on the abilities and magic it uses and we can make theories from there. What I want to know is...How Seifer got his hands on something like that? And did he plan to use it to win a simple tournament...?"

"Or maybe he planned to attack Esthar from the inside?" Zell added.

"I thought that at first but the Vánagandr left Esthar's boarders so compliantly, almost like, they didn't want to start any trouble... Well in any case, Dr. Odine is curious about creature after I explained what I saw to him. So now, it has been decided that the Esthar government is going to apply some pressure on the Vánagandr when the Esthar Festival is officially over next week. They want to get some answers on what it is."

"What about us?" Zell asked with a hint on anger in his voice, "Balamb SeeDs? Aren't we going to be involved in the integrations? I don't know about you guys, but, I want some answers from Seifer myself."

Quistis shook her head. "Negative. We are needed back at Balamb as soon as you are well enough to travel. Headmaster's orders." she said a matter-of-factly, "This situation falls under Esthar jurisdiction, per Laguna. Any information they get will be reported to us. In the meantime, get some more rest. Trust me you're going to need it."

Zell glared at her suspiciously, "Why?"

"The Garden Alliance Administration Board is trying to suspend you and revoke your SeeD license." Squall said, crossing his arms in a relaxing manner, "As of right now, I'm issuing you a summons to report to the Balamb Garden Administration office two days from now at 0800."

"ON WHAT GROUNDS?!" Zell shouted, completely blindsided.

Selphie stamped her feet on the floor, "Squall! Couldn't you have waited until he has fully recovered before hitting him with that?!"

"They want to suspend you for violations of CF-00014527." Quistis explained.

"WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN?!"

"Improper use of your abilities during your last match," slowly Quistis removed her glasses and rubbed her forehead with frustration, "I've been reviewing the videos of your match with Seifer for two days straight...Damn... If I could only find a glimpse of that GF, I could organize a failsafe defense to show the Galbadia chair members that you weren't using your abilities uncontrollably."

It didn't take long for Zell to add up what Quistis was saying. It all began to make some sense.

The tournament was televised globally, so everyone saw it. The Galbadia chair members pretty much think I'm inept!

The thought almost made him burst out laughing but Zell was sensible enough not to. He was completely aware of the seriousness of the situation.

Inept... No matter how absurd that sounds, I did appear like an incompetent ass using my best moves against something no one could see. Now they think I'm incapable...or nuts.

"Quistis," Squall said while looking out the window at Esthar City. "It doesn't matter if you come up with a fantastic defense...You know as well as I do that since the Galbadia government claimed control over the old Galbadia Garden, they've been trying to discredit Balamb Garden for months! They still feel raw about the day we kicked their asses. You remember? When Ultimecia had Galbadia declared war on the Gardens and sent in those soldiers to attack us?"

"Well, what were we supposed to do? Turn ourselves in? Be like 'Here, takes us!''' Selphie laughed.

"The students did wonderfully that day." Quistis had a look of nostalgia in her eyes. "Even the young cadets—I'm sorry Squall please continue."

"Well, now they're calling us a walking time bomb; saying that no private organization should have as much power as we do and claiming that we're hiding top secret information for Esthar—blah, blah, blah, blah." Squall leaned back in his chair and shrugged, "Truth is, our cadets and SeeD members in the Balamb Garden make Galbadia Military look like low ranking security guards."

He then looked at them. A grave expression washed over his face. "The new Galbadia leader aims to have all the other Gardens in his control, and Balamb is next on the list. This is what Headmaster Cid thinks. And this was why, he and Matron, created the Garden Alliance Administration Board. Cid wants to prove to all the leaders of the continents that Balamb Garden is not threat, and also, we have nothing to hide from anybody! That's why he invited all the leaders - including Galbadia's - to send envoys to participate in Balamb Garden affairs as chair members. It was supposed to be a friendly diplomatic solution. Usually, Cid and Edea stay politically neutral; however, Galbadia was making everyone think that we were trying to take over the world or something. It couldn't be helped."

"Galbadia wants to get as much dirt on us as possible..." Zell thought aloud, "This way they could convince the board members that all the Gardens will be best handled if it was regulated with the 'new and improved' Galbadia government...And now, my last match just gave them reason to question Balamb SeeD combatants...Dammit!"

"Zell, they are looking for any little thing in hopes to discredit us, so it's not your fault." Selphie said reassuringly, "Heck, if one of us was to slip on a banana peel, they would try to suspend us on grounds of incompetence! You did what you had to in order to survive. That GF thing could have killed you. Yes, it did look a little strange, because we couldn't see it; but I'm sure we can prove that you aren't crazy! You're one of Balamb's best SeeD members."

Zell sighed, "Seifer and the Vánagandr are up to something with this new GF and now we have the New Galbadia government to worry about! They're watching our every move! Making reports of any slip-ups."

"We're all living under microscopes" Quistis looked around at everyone, "And fighting will be difficult. We can no longer use our old GFs. They have been banned from use because of the side effects that cause us to lose memories." She looked down at the large bulky black watch-like device that was implanted on her wrist, "We have these things that Odine has made for us...this Artificial Junction System—the AJS. So we can still draw, junction magic to increase our physical abilities and cast magic spells like before, but they're so...New...They could have defects."

Squall nodded and began examining AJS device on his wrist." I don't trust this thing. I rather have the old GFs and the old Junction System."

"It's only temporary Squall, until Odine can find another way for use to GFs without affecting our memories" Selphie frowned at him. "I'm sure you don't want to lose your memories with Rinoa! So don't go running off with a GF when we're not looking."

Squall smiled at her, "Of course I won't. There is a lot going on around us, so now is not the time for reckless behavior. In any case, let's get back to Balamb as soon as Zell is well enough too."

"Oh, I'm ready!" Zell raised his hand, "I want to get out of this infirmary as soon as possible!"

"Very well," Squall signaled to Quistis and Selphie, "Can you two make travel arrangement and inform the Headmaster that we are on our way? I want to talk to Laguna about something. Let's all meet at the Esthar City boarder in two hours."

Everyone nodded.

As soon as Squall and the others left his room, Zell contacted the doctors for releases papers.

Squall's right. There are a lot of things happen all around...We all have to work together...But Sheena? What to do about her? Should I tell the others about her? I mean, she was talking telepathically into my mind during the match! She's probably a sorceress...A sorceress and a Solider of Vánagandr.

The mix left a sour taste in his mouth...

He sat back in his bed waiting for the doctors and he thought about her. A great debate warred in his mind whether or not he should mention her to the others; though, he already knew the answer. He wanted to handle this matter on his own.

After all, he was fond of Sheena. He couldn't deny that he had felt something when he met her—what it was, he could not say—But when her voice echoed in his head the words: I love you, he couldn't help but feel a stir upon his heart. He only spent a day with her in Esthar City—the day before the tournament... She was unique. They had ran into each other that morning and they spent the whole day together. At first he didn't know why he was so drawn to her...In all honesty, she wasn't his type, but he found himself following her, flattering her, praising her and he didn't even know her.

Could it be love at first sight? Well if it was, he wouldn't know. He as much as he wanted to, he didn't exactly believe in that kind of stuff happening to him in real-life! He didn't have that kind of luck.

But. Maybe. If he was able to speak with her... He could get some more information on the Vánagandr and convince her to come to Balamb. It was hard for him to believe that such a girl would be involved in a group like that, voluntarily...She could be in some kind of trouble...

Balamb Garden will keep her safe. However, her tone was more set on my joining up with her. He found himself trying to concentrate on the things she told him, telepathically.

"She asked me to go with her..." He said aloud to himself, "If I wanted the power of the Vánagandr..."

Zell stared up at the white tiled celling. Alone. With all his thoughts.

"What does that mean...?"

.