Disclaimer: All Final Fantasy VIII related things are the property of Square Enix and all Resident Evil related things belong to Capcom.
It had been three years since the defeat of Sorceress Ultimecia. The world has prospired since then; everyone took advantage of the peaceful times, rebuilding what they could after the recent Sorceress War. Esthar remained isolated from the world. The wonderous city has recovered fully since Lunatic Pandora drifted over it, leaving many monsters in its wake. With a little help from SeeD mercenaries, the Estharian soldiers were able to rid the city of the monsters. The citizens of Esthar were, once again, able to walk about the city freely, without fear of getting attacked by soldiers and monsters. Two of those citizens cruised through the city on a business run, driving the standard blue Estharian vehicle. Cale, the driver, was driving his best friend, Arman, to Odine's laboratory. Both men were in their early thirties. Cale was a well-built man with short blonde hair, while Arman was a thinner man with brown, buzz cut hair. "Hey man, are sure you wanna go through with this? You know how Doctor Odine can get." Cale said.
"What other choice do I have?" Arman asked; he sat in a stooped over posture, which wasn't typical of him. "There's no cures for this damn disease and Odine's the best when it comes to science."
"That may be, but there's no guarantee that he can cure you." Cale stated. "Why don't you go see a real doctor?"
"I did. A week or so ago." Arman answered. "They're still looking into, trying to find a way to cure it."
"So, what makes you think that Odine can do something?"
"'Cause he's, like, a genius. He practically knows everything."
"I'm not so sure about that." Cale said, scratching his head in disbelief. "So, what is it that you're infected with anyway? How'd you get it?"
"They call it Chikungunya. It's some kind of new disease that's forming in bite bugs. I got bit by one on my last trip to Balamb."
"Man, that's rough. I take it you won't going back to Balamb anytime soon, right?" Cale asked, trying to lighten the mood.
"Hell no!" Arman exclaimed, rubbing a fair-sized rash on his arm.
The two of them began laughing; Arman with a labored laugh. The rest of the ride was spent in silence; the only sound being the Estharian rock music playing on the radio. Then, they reached Odine's laboratory. Cale stopped his car in front of the facility and allowed Arman to climb out. "Hey, you want me to wait out here for ya?" Cale asked.
"No, you go on." Arman said. "This might take a long time."
"All right, man. I'll see you when I see you."
"Right." With that, Arman closed the car door and began walking toward the facility, still in his stooped over posture.
Laguna Loire, lifelong President of Esthar, still looked after the wonderous city. Residing in the presidential palace and looked after by aides, he felt like a VIP and a movie star all in one. Though he didn't want to be the only one being taken care of, so at one point he asked his aides to extend the same courtesy to Ellone, who had stayed close to him ever since the Lunatic Pandora incident.
Laguna rummaged through his bedroom closet, looking for some necessity items. A small item sack sat on his bed, indicating that he was going somewhere. "Let's see... hi potions, phoenix downs, remedies..." Laguna counted to himself.
Ellone stepped into the doorway shortly after that moment, looked at the suitcase, and then at Laguna. "What're you doing?" She asked. "I thought you were just leaving for a meeting with President Caraway."
A few months after the death of Vinzer Deling, there was a major dispute all over the Galbadian continent about who should govern the continent next. Each city had their own representive in mind that they wanted to be in charge. The cities argued back and forth for weeks, when the people of Deling City brought up an important point. They pointed out that a former Galbadian General may be just what the continent needed to run it. Everyone began to agree that General Jarrod Caraway should be the next president. General Caraway refused at first, ready for early retirement. However, after some careful persuasion, the Galbadians convinced him to become the newest President.
"I am. Just gotta prepare for it." Laguna said, looking back just long enough to speak.
"Fights never break out during a meeting." Ellone stated.
"You never know."
Ellone stifled a laugh, and then left Laguna to his business. Laguna gathered what he could into his arms, walked over to the sack, and began stuffing it with all the necessary items he thought he would need. He was in the middle of straightening his light blue dress shirt, when a sudden jolt of pain shot up through his right leg. "Arrgh!" Laguna grunted. "Great... this always happens before a meeting."
At that moment, Kiros Seagill stepped through the doorway, dressed in the regal Estharian robes. "Ready to go, yet, Laguna?" He asked.
"Just a sec." Laguna said, as he limped around the room. "Why do I feel like I'm missing something?"
"Let it go. You'll probably remember what you're missing later." Kiros said with a grin.
"Yeah, maybe." Laguna said, as he scratched his head. "All right, let's go."
Laguna grabbed the item sack and followed Kiros out of the room. The two of them walked through the corridors of the palace, meeting Ward Zabac at the midway point, then the three of them headed for the exit. Outside the palace, a car sat waiting for them. Kiros and Ward climbed into the backseat of the car, while Laguna stopped and turned around to see Ellone peaking out of one of the second floor windows. "Elle! I'll be back soon!" He called, waving 'good-bye' to her.
"See you soon, Uncle Laguna!" Ellone called back, waving as well.
With that, Laguna climbed into the front seat of the car. The car sped off, heading in the direction of Esthar's airstation. "All right! We'll meet up with Caraway in FH, then we're off to the mansion!" Laguna exclaimed.
A few months prior to the meeting with President Caraway, Laguna had asked many of his aides about wanting a mansion. A president's own private getaway is what Laguna wanted; to get away from responsibilities for a while. Many of his aides agreed to it, knowing that not only will it be the president's getaway, but also there own. Laguna had always been selfless, seeing to it that everyone was treated equally. The Estharian citizens supposed that that was the reason why Laguna was the most respected president of all time.
"Whoa! Wait a minute!" Laguna shouted.
The driver of the car hit the breaks hard, skidding the car to a stop. "What is it? What's wrong?" Kiros asked from behind the front passenger seat.
"Maybe we should bring Odine along. We might need his smarts." Laguna suggested.
Ward gestured around with his hands, which Kiros translated as, "You mean, 'we might need his intelligence'."
"Whatever!" Laguna said. "We're meeting to talk about setting up trade routes between Galbadia and Esthar. Who knows? We might need Odine to explain how to go about it."
"You just want him to give the speeches so you don't have to, right?" Kiros pressed.
"N-no. I'm just saying..." Laguna started, trying not to draw attention to his aching leg.
"All right. Let's go get him." Kiros sighed.
The laboratory was the same as it always was. Aides and assistants trekked through the hallways, either writing or reading something on their clipboards. The occasional Estharian stopped by and requested assistance with personal matters. Doctor Odine practically skated through the halls, making sure everyone was working. Just as Odine passed a group of three aides, an assistant approached him from the front. Odine remembered her as Shantalle, one of his most loyat assistants. She had light brown hair pulled back into a pontail, fairly pair skin, and a firm, thin body. She wore her own white lab coat with her name badge pinned on the upper left shoulder. "Doctor, there's someone here to see you." Shantalle said. "He's waiting in room one."
"Thank you." Odine appreciated her. "I am on ze way."
The assistant followed Odine, as he made his way toward room number one. They reached the room with no delay. Odine opened the door and walked in, leaving Shantalle to close the door behind her. "Doctor Odine." Arman greeted; he was seated on a chair next to Odine's desk, sitting stooped over.
"A pleasure..." Odine looked to the computer for the man's name. "Arman."
Odine took a seat at the desk and prepared to begin typing. "So, what iz ze problem today?" He asked.
"Well... this posture for one. As well as, this fever and this rash that's been bugging me." Arman explained his symptoms. "A couple friends told me that it was Chikungunya."
Odine typed it all into the computer. "Chikungunya? There iz currently no cure." Odine thought out loud. "Odine will think of something."
"That's why I'm here. You're the best." Arman flattered, but Odine wasn't affected by any flattery.
"We need ze blood samples." Odine began. "Zis will be quick."
Odine gestured to Shantalle, who in turn handed him the necessary equipment to take blood samples. Arman held his arm out, allowing Odine to do his work. Odine retrieved several samples of blood just to be sure that he had a good sample of the disease. When he finished, he grabbed the samples and took them off to observe them. Shantalle turned to Arman and said, "Please make yourself comfortable. This could be quite a while."
Arman said, "No problem. I got all day."
"If you need anything, just let us know." With that, Shantalle left the room, leaving Arman to make himself at home.
Odine wasn't too far from the room when Shantalle caught up to him. The two of them didn't get too far though when Laguna, Kiros, and Ward caught up to them. "Odine!" Laguna called. "Hold on. I gotta ask you something."
Odine kept walking, but at a slower pace. "What iz it? I'm very busy." He asked.
"Well, uh, you probably know that I'm meeting with President Caraway." Laguna began. "I, uh, might need you to work out how to set up some trade routes. Will you give us a hand in that department?"
"Odine can't. We have zis new disease to cure." Odine said.
"It's not life threatening, is it?" Laguna asked. "Can't you have someone else do it?"
"Doctor?" Shantalle spoke up. "You're doing research on that disease now, right? I can take care of that for you."
"There you go!" Laguna said.
Odine sighed. He knew he wasn't going to hear the end of it, unless he went along with Laguna. Reluctantly, he handed the blood samples to Shantalle. "Where are we going?" Odine asked Laguna.
"All right!" Laguna cheered for his victory. "We're having the meeting in my mansion. It's isolated, away from any towns or cities. It's completely safe."
Odine perked up slightly. He knew that mansion from back to front. He turned to his assistant and said, "Have ze patient moved to the other laboratory. There, you can begin ze research on Chikungunya."
"I'll get on it right away doctor." Shantalle said, and then began walking back the way they had come.
"Ready to go?" Laguna asked.
"Yes. Let us go." Odine said.
The four men hurried through the laboratory and out the exit. They piled into the waiting car outside and drove off toward the airstation.
Back inside laboratory room one, Arman roamed about the small room, looking at every little thing. He was really trying to find something to amuse himself; to keep busy. Finding nothing, he stepped out into the hallway to watch all the aides going about their business. It wasn't long after he stepped out that he spotted Odine's assistant making her way back to him. "I'm sorry, but we have to move you to another place." She said, as soon as she was within hearing range.
"Is something wrong?" Arman asked, confused.
"No, nothing's wrong." The assistant said. "There's just better technology in the other laboratory. We'll be able to get a better grasp on what we're dealing with there."
"Oh, I guess that makes sense."
Now it was Shantalle's turn to be confused. "Are you having second thoughts?" She asked.
"No, nothing like that." Arman answered. "I'm just... well... a little uneasy. I don't know what this disease will do to me."
"Try to relax. We'll do all we can to try to come up with a cure." Shantalle said with a smile, trying to make him feel comfortable.
Arman smiled back, a little more at ease. But he was still worried about his disease. "Where is this new lab? Is it far?" He asked.
"Oh, no. It's not that far. It's still on the Esthar continent, at least." Shantalle answered.
They walked onward toward the exit, engaging in small, friendly conversation along the way.