The sound of gunfire was rampant in the air, as was the smell of burning debris from the repeated castings of Firaga spells. Alexander West, Seifer Almasy, and Irvine Kinneas were crouched behind a large stack of old packing crates and empty oil drums, racking their brains for a possible escape route. Yet they had no escape plan that didn’t have several snags and hang-ups in it.
     “We might as well bend over and kiss our butts good-bye,” Seifer muttered as he peered around the corner of their barrier long enough to fire off an Ultima spell, “because they’re not going to go down easily.”
     “Release the light from the darkness, deliver us from the shadows. Release the light unto the dark. Enlighten those trapped in the shadows,” Alex chanted as he held a glowing white stone aloft, “ALEXANDER!!”
     Giant angel wings unfurled from his back, wrapping around the group and blocking some of the incoming fire. The wings spread open a moment later, the holy esper known as Alexander appearing behind them. The feathers in the wings glowed seconds before a barrage of holy missiles fired from them, scattering across the battlefield to strike down some Galbaldian soldiers while making a mess of the landscape at the same time.
     “And again!” Alex shouted as Alexander fired off another barrage of holy missiles, “Eat Holy Judgment you turdsacks!!”
     “You’re overdoing it,” Irvine said, the barrel of his gun glowing before an Ultima round was fired off.
     A Galbaldian soldier came around behind them, carefully dodging all incoming fire. He put a multi - salvo rocket launcher to his shoulder, took careful aim at the esper, and fired away. The rockets struck Alexander, the angel wings losing their glow as they folded towards the ground. Alex looked up to see his esper begin to fade out, angel feathers falling to the ground before it vanished. He looked at the stone of summoning in his hand, tears welling up as the stone’s color began to dull and fade.
     A sudden charge in the air alerted Seifer and Irvine to an incoming spell of great magnitude. Alex levitated from the ground, winds blowing up around him as he spread his arms from his body and craned his neck to the sky.
     “Let the winds blow like there’s no tomorrow. Let the waters of the world surge and swell. Let the lightning split the sky and crumble the earth. By my powers to command the elements let all who oppose me be sent screaming into the afterlife. Goddess’ of the sea and skies, unite your powers now. Maelstrom!”
     Generous amounts of water poured over the battlefield, winds blowing and swirling the water up into great waterspouts, which struck anything in their path with incredible force. Lightning bolts tore through the sky, adding to the already destructive power of the spell. When the spell subsided Alex descended to the ground, dropping to a crouch to catch his breath.
     “Were we victorious?” he asked after a moment, still staring at the ground.
     “No, but we were,” an unfamiliar voice said, sending an icy chill down his back. He looked up to see that they were surrounded by Galbaldain soldiers.
     “Bloody hell,” Seifer sighed as he set down his gunblade and raised his hands to the sky.
     “Perfect way to start the day,” Irvine said as he set down his gun and also raised his hands to the sky.
     “Holy winds, wind which gently sweeps across the land,” Alex chanted under his breath, his palm pressed to the ground. A gun barrel was pressed to his temple, the sound of a trigger being cocked breaking his concentration.
     “Don’t do anything stupid,” the soldier said as two of his companions raised Alex to his feet by his armpits. “We need something living to find out Balamb’s intentions. Now, who the hell are you?”
     “West, Alexander Mathias. Rank A SeeD from Balamb.”
     “Almasy, Seifer. Rank A SeeD from Balamb.”
     “Kinneas, Irvine. Rank A SeeD, also from Balamb.”
     The soldier sighed and said, “Typical SeeDs. Only give information they were taught. Take ‘em inside.”
     The three were escorted to a flat spot on the field, from which rose an elevator. They were roughly pushed into it, with seven other soldiers cramming in before they descended to the lower levels of the buildings and compound, which was underground. When the elevator stopped they were escorted to a small holding cell and thrown in before the door was slammed shut, locking them in darkness.

     “Commander Squall, we’ve lost contact with our field ops.”
     Squall nearly choked on the coffee he was drinking when he heard this. It took him a moment to recover, and once he did he said, “Run that by me again.”
     “I said we’ve lost contact with our field ops.”
     “Bloody unbelievable,” he sighed as he took a seat, “why did it have to be those three?”
     “They know what they’re doing,” Quistis said as she took a seat on the arm of Squall’s chair, “they underwent a lot of training for this mission, and they’ll make it out O.K..”
     “Plus they have Alex’s magic,” Rinoa said as she took a seat on the other chair arm, “so they’re not completely defenseless or offenseless.”
     “I hope you’re right,” Squall said, “I hope you’re right.”

     “Mmmm.... Seifer, you awake?”
     “Yeah, I am now. What time is it?”
     A light spell blinked into existence, temporarily blinding eyes which had been in darkness far too long. Alex slid up the sleeve of his coat and pulled down the top of his glove so he could see his watch.
     “It’s about 4 am Balamb time,” he said, yawning, “think it’s time to try to bust out of here?”
     “Hell yeah,” Seifer said as he poked Irvine, “hey cowpoke, time to rise and shine.”
     “Stand back you two. Source of all power. Wind which sweeps across sky and earth. Gather in my hand and give me strength.”
     As he chanted the incantation the door swung open, startling the spell caster to the degree that he blew the spell and nearly electrocuted himself.
     “Time for you boys to be moved to a more permanent home,” the officer said as six guards filed into the room and lifted the three to their feet before escorting them out into the hall and to another level of the outpost.
     There the three were relieved of their jackets before being handcuffed and led into a cell. There their arms were bound to a pipe across the ceiling, which left them just enough to be able to touch the ground with their toes. Their ankles were then placed in shackles, and they were left like this for a while.
     After a couple of hours, or what seemed like hours, four soldiers entered, their eyes glinting evilly in the half light from the doorway. Alex felt the hair on the back of his neck rise as they entered, and struggled against his restraints, his strength sapped from just dangling from the ceiling and from the fight before they were captured. The soldiers first went to Seifer, taunting him before delivering kicks and punches that would have killed anybody weaker than the red cross knight.
     “Just give up and tell us what we wish to know,” one of the soldiers said, kicking Seifer in the back. The sound of cracking bone filled the air as two of Seifer’s ribs were broken.
     “Leave him alone,” Irvine said as he struggled against his bonds to get his hands into a spell casting position.
     “Stay out of this,” one of the soldiers said, punching Irvine in the gut hard enough to wind him. “You’re next.”
     ‘I wish I was just a bit stronger,’ Alex thought as he struggled to free himself from the iron bonds. ‘If I could just summon a Ragna Blade or something then I could easily get us out of this mess. Even with a boost spell I’m still low on power.’
     By now the soldiers had moved onto torturing Irvine, yanking his head back by the hair, punching and kicking him in the stomach and back, their frustration over anything that was wrong in their life coming out in physical violence. Alex looked over to see Seifer dangling very quietly from the ceiling, his head pitched forward, blood dripping from the end of his nose from where they reopened the scar above his eyes.
     ‘Time to bring something into alignment,’ the young mage thought as he struggled to get his talisman bracelets to align in such a way that they glowed. His rings also glowed as they aligned, a field of wild magic forming around his hands.
     One of the soldiers perked up, the hairs on the back of his neck rising as a new energy filled the room. He turned to see Alex summoning some sort of mystical force, and reacted by performing a spin kick to the mage’s gut that caused his vision to black out for a moment as the wind left his body.
     “You’re next in line for our little form of torture,” the soldier said, grabbing Alex’s long hair and whipping his head back. The bands binding Alex's hair came loose in his hand as the young mage’s head pitched forward, a sneer forming on his lips.
     “Didn’t your mother... ever tell you... not to mess... with the mage...” Alex gasped as he fought to recover his breath.
     “This one’s pretty much out of it,” one of the other soldiers said as the remaining three moved away from Irvine, who was bleeding from a gash in his cheek, his long hair streaming freely now that the band holding his hair back was broken. The four then moved in to surround Alex, who snarled at them as his talismans came back into alignment, a magical glow surrounding his body as his necklace also came into alignment with his other talismans. A magical bubble formed around his body, shielding him from all attacks as he passed out due to lack of energy.

     In his unconscious state he was still aware of everything around him, thanks to mental links forged through the intimacy which he, Seifer, and Irvine shared. At the moment his links were being stretched to their limits, since he could not only see and hear what the others saw and heard, but he could feel what they felt as well.
     Looking through Irvine’s eyes he saw one of the soldiers gently stroking Seifer’s cheek before leaning up to forcefully kiss him on the lips. The sound of tearing cloth filled the air as his shirt was ripped away. He could hear Seifer’s mental screaming: Get away, get away! Don’t touch me you damned perverts!
     ‘I need to help them somehow,’ his conscious mind said as he watched the soldiers tearing Seifer’s pants away. Seifer was suspended, naked, in the room a moment later, the soldiers probing and poking him in ways which could not be comfortable.
     After they finished their fun with Seifer they left him dangling before moving onto Irvine to repeat what they had just done to the red cross knight. This he felt more than anything since he was watching through Irvine’s eyes the entire time, Seifer being unconscious and wishing for death.
     ‘They shouldn’t be suffering like this,’ he said mentally, ‘It’s because of me that we are in this mess, and I’m going to find some way to get us out of this mess, even if it means sacrificing my talismans to do so.’

     By now the soldiers had Irvine stripped completely naked, his clothes laying in tatters around him, and they were about to begin their probes of him, only to feel a more powerful energy fill the room. They turned to see the bubble around Alex vanish, the mage’s eyes snapping open, a fiery glow in them. The energy in the room increased in magnitude as the bonds around Alex’s feet shattered, as did the ones around his wrists. He landed in a crouch, a magical wind streaming his hair out behind him. The talisman bracelets, rings, and necklace all glowed a shade of crimson more red than flowing blood as an arcane incantation was spoken.
     “Lords of darkness of these four worlds, I call upon thee. As my word as thy bond, grant me all the power which you possess. Darkness beyond blackest pitch, deeper than the deepest night. One glowing golden lord floating endlessly upon a sea of chaos. I call upon thee and I swear myself to thee. Let the fools who stand before us be destroyed by the power you and I possess!”
     Dark energy crackled through the air as the spell was cast, black thunderbolts snapping through the small cell, breaking Seifer’s and Irvine’s bonds so that they dropped to the floor. The soldiers took a moment to calculate their losses if they stayed, and upon finding out it would be better to turn tail and run, exited stage left and retreated, slamming and locking the door behind them.
     Once the soldiers were out of the room Alex ceased his casting, the drain of trying to maintain a boosted spell of that magnitude too great for him. He managed to crawl over to Irvine, who was barely conscious after the beating he had received. Alex pressed his hand to Irvine’s cheek, a white glow surrounding his hand as a healing spell was cast.
     “Irvine... c’mon guy, speak to me,” he said as the spell ran its course, “I don’t know how you’re doing mentally or emotionally, but physically you should be glad I stopped ‘em when I did.”
     “Cold.... so... so.... oh so cold,” Irvine said as he curled up on the cold concrete to try to stay warm.
     ‘Oh man, this rots on so many levels,’ ran through Alex’s mind as he picked up what remained of Irvine’s clothing, ‘the repair work is going to take forever, and will be painfully slow, especially in my condition.’
     “How’s the cowboy doing?” Seifer asked as he sat up, casting a healing spell of his own on his cuts and bruises.
     “I think he was the worst hit out of all of us,” Alex replied as he set to work piecing Irvine’s pants back together with a long string of cantrip spells. Seifer picked up the remains of his own clothing and set about piecing his own pants back together, his work going a littler faster than Alex’s due to his higher reserve of magical power following the battles.
     As they worked Alex began to hum a song which always made him feel better.

     The following morning he awoke to feel something cold and heavy being clamped around his forearms. A swift kick to the gut followed, and his eyes opened to see the steel toed boots belonging to a Galbaldian soldier.
     “Time to rise and shine sleeping beauty,” the soldier snarled as he grabbed Alex by the collar and yanked him into a sitting position. As Alex’s eyes came into focus he saw that Seifer and Irvine also wore similar manacles around their wrists and ankles. The soldier grinned evilly and said, “These manacles are specially designed to inhibit all use of junctioned magic. We’ve also taken the liberty of relieving each of you of any items of summoning or magical amplification.”
     As he said the last part he tossed a fairly hefty ring into the air before catching. Alex instantly recognized it as his warrior ring which contained his star crystal. After a few taunts and kicks the soldiers left the three SeeDs to themselves, promising they would be back later.
     “So now what do we do?" Alex asked as he struggled to break free from the manacles. He sighed and gave up after his wrists began to chafe from the rubbing of metal against skin.
     “Well, there’s always hope from an outside source,” came from Irvine’s earring. It took a moment for the three of them to realize that the voice belonged to Quistis Trepe.
     “Quistis, since when can you communicate with us in this manner?” Seifer asked, nearly blowing Irvine’s ear out with his abrupt exclamation.
     “Since we installed a transmitter in Irvine’s earrings,” Squall’s voice said, “he didn’t even realize it until recently that he could be useful to you guys in case of emergency.”
     “They have my star crystal and all of our summoning stuff,” Alex said in a softer tone of voice than Seifer had used.
     “Well, we found your transformation pen,” Rinoa’s voice said, “We’ll send it your way in a moment. Right now, how are you guys doing?”
     “We’d be doing better if we had some heavy duty firepower,” Seifer sighed, feeling the drain from the spells he had cast the prior night, “if we could get these manacles off we could do some serious damage thanks to the spells we learned during Alex’s sickness a little while ago.”
     Alex flushed red with indignation. “You read my spell book without letting me know first?! Do you have any idea how dangerous some of those spells can be if not used properly?!”
     “We’ll discuss this later,” Squall’s voice said, “Right now I need Alex to raise his hands above his head. That’s where the wand will materialize and I don’t want you guys to lose your chance out of there.”
     “Whatever the bossman says,” Alex commented as he held his shackled hands above his head. A small flash of light formed, and from that dropped his transformation pen, the symbol for Saturn glowing a faint purple. He felt an instant energy boost, which he used in order to shatter his shackles. He then hoisted the pen to the sky and shouted, “Saturn Star Power... TRANSFORM!”

     “Commander Brandon, the SeeDs have broken out of their cell and are working their way through the base!”
     “What?! How in the hell could they do that?! We have their magical equipment right here!!”
     A very large and quite muscular man sat in a command chair, half of his face hidden in shadow. What could be seen was a square and well chiseled jaw with a black goatee, sitting atop a thick and muscle bound neck. He wore army fatigues with thick metal shoulder guards, thick metal bracers, and thick metal shin guards. Around his neck dangled Alex’s talismans and Seifer’s necklace. In his hand sat Alex’s bracelets, rings, and the two pieces of materia which allowed him to summon the espers Ridley and Alexander, the white one for the latter a pale hue of what it normally was.
     “Commander Brandon, they’re approaching fast,” a green haired woman said in a musical voice from a nearby command console. “What should we do?”
     “What do we have left for defenses between them and here?” Brandon asked, gritting his teeth in anticipation.
     “We have several heavy duty mage units, the inhibitor field, and a full set of combat duty robo armor,” the first person, a young man, said from Brandon’s left.
     “Are all of them set for combat situations?”
     “Yes sir,” the young man and young woman said in unison.
     “Good. Dispatch them and have them take care of those thorns in my side. The SeeDs aren’t going to claim my missile base as one of their own. Not as long as I’m here to stop them!”
     He then proceeded to laugh maniacally, his laughter echoing through all of the corridors of the missile base, and even outside of the base, where a small old woman slid into a makeshift shrine in the middle of a nearby town to pray for the laughter to stop.