Squall sighed. So far, being a SeeD was about like being a cadet,
except a lot more boring. At least then there had been things to do -
classes, tests, physical training, weapons training - the list was
endless. (As far as he was concerned, anyone who said SeeDs cheated
for their powers had no idea what they were talking about.)

"Squall Leonheart, Quistis Trepe, Selphie Tilmitt, report to the
headmaster's office," announced the intercom.

Squall stood up. Finally, something to do.

__X__

      THE LEGEND WILL NEVER DIE!!

              POKECALIBUR

  SELECT CHARACTER - SQUALL LEONHEART

     By Morgan

__X__

"The three of you have been selected for an extended mission. You will
be expected to select your equipment and depart within twenty-four
hours after this briefing."

*Come on, come on,* thought Squall. This was a standard introduction.
*What's the mission?*

Cid touched a control, causing a man's picture to appear on the
screen. "This is Kuroro Lucifer, the leader of the Phantom Brigade, a gang of
criminals that have become quite infamous these past few years. Though
their crimes are numerous, they are most known for trafficking in rare
and unusual body parts - frequently killing their previous users to
obtain them. But this time they chose the wrong set of victims."

Cid pushed another button, causing a woman's picture to appear on the
screen. "Sana Kurata, the last surviving member of the Kurata clan.
The Brigade killed her family for their eyes, which are said to glow
red when they are angry - and retain that glow if they die in that
state. Miss Kurata appears to lack that trait, and was spared. She has
vowed to have revenge upon the Phantom Brigade, and has hired SeeD to
be the means of that revenge. Conventional law enforcement has proven
ineffectual against them, but now we can act."

"The Phantom Brigade is made up of thirteen members, all half-lives of
impressive and mostly unknown powers. This one is an exception."
Another picture appeared, one which all the SeeDs recognized
instantly.

"SEIFER?" exclaimed Quistis.

"Seifer's involved with these people?" Selphie asked disbeliveingly.

*Seifer... it's been a long time,* thought Squall.

"Seifer appears to have joined the Brigade to replace a loss during
the Kurata incident - even taken from ambush and by superior numbers,
many were powerful fighters and would not have gone down easily."

"You will not be able to take on the Brigade alone. Your mission is
more limited. Track them down, observe them. Learn their methods,
their movements, their strengths and weaknesses. Pick off seperated
individuals if you can, but be certain of victory before acting, and
that you will not be revealed to the main group. When the time is
right, we can bring in a full team of SeeDs, but the risk of
attacking without proper intelligence is unacceptable.

"Are there any questions?"

"Why us?" asked Quistis. "Seifer's rivalry with Squall is practically
legendary. I was one of his teachers, Selphie one of his classmates.
If he sees one of us, won't he know something's up?"

"Actually, Squall's background with Seifer is one of the reasons he
was chosen for this team. Seifer would recognize any of the current
SeeD roster, and we don't have time to wait for a new class to
graduate. But if he sees Squall, he's likely to do something stupid
out of anger, like fighting you on his own. In fact, that would be a
highly desirable outcome... Additionally, the three of you know Seifer
better than anyone else in this Garden. If anyone could anticipate how
his membership will influence the Brigade's activities, it would be
the three of you."

"Any other questions? No? Good. Now, as stated before, you are to
prepare yourself and depart within twenty-four hours. Good luck, stay
in touch, and watch your backs."

__X__

NAME: Squall Leonheart
CLASSIFICATION: Male Esper-Boost Warrior (artificial half-life)
STATUS: Mission prep

SELECT THIS CHARACTER? (Y/N)

__X__

Disclaimer: Squall, Quistis, Selphie, Seifer, Cid, Garden, SeeD, etc.
created by Squaresoft, as part of the game Final Fantasy 8. The
Phantom Brigade created by Togashi Yoshihiro, as part of the manga
Hunter x Hunter. Sana Kurata created by whoever created Kodomo no
Omocha. The games Soulblade and Soul Calibur, which inspired this
series of stories created by Namco.

Sana Kurata's not-really-appearance inspired by having the same family
name as the character Kurapika in Hunter x Hunter. There will probably
not be any other influence from that series.

The Phantom Brigade as it will appear here has some significant
differences from the group in the original manga. Some of these are
due to plot necessity, some due just to me not remembering them
correctly when I came up with this idea. Most obvious in practical
terms is that, instead of being a lot more powerful than most of the
other main characters as in the originl manga, they're pretty much on
the same level as everyone else; one of the principles I have in
writing this story is that pretty much everyone is capable of being
very dangerous to everyone else. Their numbers obviously give them a
signifcant advantage.

If you are unfamiliar with HxH, scanslated manga can be found at
www.toriyamaworld.com . Anime is also available, though I'm not sure
where you'd have to look to find it at the moment.

This story as well as other stories by me, con report, and a variety
of other random things can be found at my website, Morgan & Antares:
http://www.angelfire.com/anime4/morganite/

At the moment, I am requesting that this story and the other stories
in the PokeCalibur series not be posted to any other website or group,
for various reasons. Linking is fine though. ^_^

-Morgan.
June 14, 2003.