Chapter 1: The Return

"Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking. We're preparing to make our final approach into Twilight International Airport and we ask that at this time you fasten your seatbelts and return your tray tables to their upright positions. We hope that you have enjoyed your flight and that you enjoy your stay in this beautiful city."

"Beautiful city, my ass."

An elderly woman sitting near enough to hear the comment leaned over. "You don't like Twilight Town?"

A glance in her direction. "I grew up here and I'm not exactly thrilled to be going back; living here was...bad." Bearing in mind that bad translates to a cesspool of crime and debauchery wrapped up in an overdone PR campaign to make it look better than it actually is by corrupt officials only out to make a profit…

One weathered hand reached out and patted the arm of the young man next to her. "I'm sure it will be better than you remember it; all things change over time and things always seem worse when you're young."

A small smile. "I'm sure that you're right." …though I wouldn't bet on it…

Apparently satisfied, the white haired woman leaned back and braced herself for the impact of landing. When finally allowed to disembark the plane, the passengers inside wasted no time and soon there was a line of anxious travelers streaming out to collect their luggage. Having only a carry-on to worry about, the disgruntled male quickly moved past the gathering mass towards the exit. Blinking into the sun, he was about to look for a cab when a suited figure stepped out from beside the door and blocked his way.

"Well, well, well; aren't we all grown up?"

"Reno; what the hell are you doing here?"

The red-haired man grinned. "Haven't seen you in like six years and that's the first thing out of your mouth?" He shook his head. "What is the world coming to?"

A scowl. "Don't make me kick your ass."

"You're welcome to try." Reno replied with a laugh. "Come on, the car is this way; Tseng wants to see you."

"Already? What's going on?"

"Oh the usual: rape, murder, mayhem, general chaos…" The suited man glanced over at his companion "…and one of the larger gangs is preparing to move in on a huge cache of stolen weapons. Tonight."

The stream of curses had the red-head grinning as he slapped his companion on the back. "Just another day in paradise; welcome home, Seifer."

Life in Twilight Town was tough, as anyone that grew up there could attest; most of the time you had only three choices: become strong enough to survive, get out of town, or die trying one of the previous two options. Seifer had started with the first by forming the Twilight Disciplinary Committee with his two best friends; the other gangs had only laughed in the beginning. After all, it's pretty hard to laugh when someone is shoving their fist down your throat; repeatedly. Once his reputation had been established, the petty thugs roaming around generally left Seifer alone though there were always a few hoping to move up the food chain and he was more than happy to ensure they stayed put. By the time all three members of the Committee had graduated High School, they'd made quite the reputation and, more importantly, they'd found a way out of the crime infested town.

Selling anything they didn't absolutely need, the trio bought the first available tickets out of town and had never looked back. Or, at least, they hadn't looked much. After moving, Seifer had continued to keep in contact with members of the local detective squad, whom he'd helped whenever he could before graduating, and it was through them that he was kept informed on what was happening back in the town by the sea. The place had gotten rougher over the years and the former bully was glad he was finally in a position to do something about it; even if it wasn't going to be easy.

The blonde smirked at the thought. I never liked easy, anyway. Musing about the past had kept Seifer occupied for the entire car ride and he was almost surprised when the car pulled up in back of the local detective station. Grabbing his bag from the trunk, the scarred man entered the building and made his way up to the top floor where he was to be meeting up with Tseng, the current head of Twilight's overworked detectives. The man in question was currently waiting, arms crossed, behind his desk as Seifer entered the office proper; the rest of the office was buzzing with activity, most likely due to the expected confrontation that evening. Nodding at the stoic man, Seifer closed his office door and took a seat.

Not waiting for the other man to begin, the blonde jumped right in. "Reno says there's a pretty big weapon's deal going down tonight."

One dark eyebrow rose. "That would be correct. I know you were supposed to get a few days to settle in but we're going to need all the help we can get on this."

Seifer nodded. "Just tell me what you need me to do."

Several hours of planning later, Seifer leaned back in his chair with a stretch and a groan.

"You look like you could use some coffee."

Cracking his neck, Seifer took the offered cup with thanks to the woman who'd brought it. "Reno didn't make it, did he?"

Elena smiled as the indignant response from her fellow detective could be heard from across the room. "No, he didn't. I hadn't had a chance to ask, but how've you been, Seifer?"

The blonde shrugged. "I can't really complain; my time at the academy was fairly uneventful and Hollow Bastion is a pretty decent place."

The woman smiled knowingly. "A decent place but too tame for you? I find it hard to believe that you'd be satisfied there knowing what you grew up with."

Seifer scowled. "All that time spent trying to get out of this town and I was bored once I managed it; at least I can say I'm back on my own terms." He took a mouthful of coffee. "Maybe I can make a difference this time."

"I'm sure that you will."

The man shrugged. "I really haven't done much since I graduated; a few odd cases and some minor undercover work but that was it." Seifer set the coffee down and leaned back. "I'm more interested in what's been going on around here." He was silent as he thought. "What about Roxas and that little gang of his? I haven't heard anything about them since I left."

Reno sauntered over. "I thought you didn't care about them?"

A snort. "I don't; I just wanted to make sure they hadn't gotten themselves killed while I was gone."

"No, they haven't died." Reno thought for a minute. "Last I heard Pence and Olette were working in some big city on the other side of the country; they got scholarships to college and hightailed it out of here pretty quickly. Roxas and his family moved out of town and in with his uncle or something and Hayner's family…"

Seifer grunted in satisfaction. "They were all too soft for this place; I'm glad they all made it out in the end."

Reno glanced off to the side. "Yeah…more or less." He muttered.

Before the former bully could ask what he meant, Tseng stepped out of his office and signaled for the detectives to gather round. "Alright, we're going to head out in order to get into position; make sure you all have your ear pieces in so either myself or Elena can relay orders as necessary. I'll continue the briefing once I've been further apprised of the situation from our man on the inside."

Nods followed the dark haired man's orders and the rest of the office sprang into action. Thirty minutes later Seifer found himself hunched on a rooftop overlooking one of the many back alleys that wound themselves through Twilight Town; the rest of the detectives, including many that had already been out in the field, were scattered throughout the area in similar positions.

"Seifer, you alright up there?" Elena's voice buzzed through his earpiece.

"I'm just fine, Elena."

"Tseng just received word from our contact; there's been a change of plans."

"What's going on?"

"The gang that was originally coming to purchase the stolen weapons was outbid at the last minute by another, larger one. We aren't sure which one but from the numbers we've gotten we don't have the man power to take them down; not without heavy casualties."

Seifer swore as she continued. "For now, we're going to change the nature of the mission from a take down to information gathering. We need to know just who is doing both the buying and the selling and also if there may be additional deals between the two in the future. If, and I mean if, there is some sort of opportunity to take even a few members of either side into custody, Tseng will make the call and we'll proceed accordingly."

"Understood." Seifer growled.

Elena's voice was sympathetic. "None of us like it but maybe we'll get lucky and nail at least a few stragglers."

"Head's up." Tseng's voice this time. "We've got some activity down here; several cars with their headlights off are pulling into the area."

On alert, Seifer shifted his position and pulled out a small pair of binoculars in order to better see the dark alley below. Within a matter of minutes the space was filled with people, clearly separated into two groups by the space left in between. After some milling around, a ripple of movement could be seen moving through either group towards the clearing in the center.

Elena's voice buzzed once more in Seifer's ear. "Head's up. We'll know which gangs we're dealing with based on who comes to the table to deal."

The first person to emerge from the crowd was a man with brown hair and an angular face. "That's Lexaeus; he's second in command of the Adrammelech Gang. From the briefcase he's carrying, I'd have to say he's our buyer."

More movement from the opposite side of the lot drew Seifer's attention away from the man that had already emerged and he felt the color drain from his face as he recognized who it was that stepped forward from the other crowd. The stream of curses the blonde could hear pouring out of Reno's mouth were nothing in comparison to the ones he was holding back.

After a pause, Elena's voice came back through. "Our seller is…Hayner Marx, from the Zalera Gang."

Seifer didn't remember much of the operation after that; the deal was apparently made with the Adrammelech Gang obtaining several cases full of weapons and ammo while Hayner, the Zalera Gang, left with a briefcase full of cash. It took every ounce of willpower that the scarred man possessed for him not to charge down into the clearing after the sandy haired man in order to find out what the fuck he thought he was doing. Instead, he sat on his anger and disbelief until he was back at the office where he turned it on Reno instead.

Grabbing the red haired man by the front of his shirt, Seifer slammed him up against the nearest wall. "You said they all made it out!"

"I said more or less; you cut me off before I could say anything about Hayner, remember?"

With a growl of frustration Seifer released the detective and stalked across the room, running his hands through his hair. Coming to a window, he leaned on the sill and closed his eyes, struggling to reign in his temper. "What the hell happened?"

Reno opened his mouth but it was Tseng who answered. "Hayner's family made arrangements to leave town with Roxas' family but they were delayed. On their way out of town they got caught in the middle of a gun battle between rival gangs and Hayner's parents were both killed in the crossfire; Hayner himself was injured and spent several weeks in the hospital recovering. I went to see him after he was released but he'd already disappeared. There was no sign of him at all and then, six months later, he suddenly reappeared as a part of the Hashmal Gang. He's been moving between the various groups ever since."

Seifer stood silent for a moment before raising his head and looking at his reflection in the glass. "That's unacceptable."

Reno snorted. "What do you think you can do about it? You know how this city works, you've played the game yourself. No one who isn't part of a gang gets anywhere near him and, even if you could somehow manage it, what makes you think anything you say or do will make a difference?"

Seifer straightened and strode away from the window towards the door, grabbing his coat on the way. "I won't know until I try." Continuing out the door, Seifer paused briefly when he heard Reno call out behind him.

"You can't save them all, you know!"

Blue eyes glanced back. "I don't have to save them all; I only need to save one."

Back out on the street, the blonde set out towards the nearest bar, pulling his phone out as he went, a plan already taking shape in his head. Punching in a familiar number, he only had to wait a couple of rings before the line was picked up. "HELLO?"

"Fuu, I need a favor."

A/N- All I want for Christmas is Reviews so won't you leave me some? Aside from the other two new stories I have posted, I am working on the next chapter of Across at a good speed and hope to have an update posted shortly after Christmas. Ruin is a little slower but I am working on it. Merry Christmas!