Disclaimer- I don't own any of the Final Fantasy characters in this story.

Author's notes: This chapter is a bit of an odd one. I had a long debate with myself about how I wanted to proceed in this part of the story. For a while, I wanted to keep Trevor in Alexandria during Kuja's attack, but then I realized that there was something new I could do for his character which could inadvertently affect his future. Not in a noticeable way right away, but it would still be a lot of fun to write.

I guess, in some ways, this chapter could be called filler. But then again, the point of the card tournament was to get everyone out of Alexandria, wasn't it?

Chapter 3- Crime Fighting

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Treno was not in any way a pleasant city to look at. More than half of it was made up of slums and a dirty river. What remainder of the city there was, was composed of low-end businesses and only a few mansions for the nobility. There was a hint in the air of rotting garbage and urine in the streets as we stepped into the dark Treno night. This city stank in more ways than one.

The gargant ride didn't take long, and I was glad that we didn't have to fight that giant snake-monster again. It surprised me that even a man as respected as Doctor Tot lived in such a shoddy tower. Some of the bricks of the walls were missing, exposing the spiraling stairway up to his small loft to the elements. Considering all he had done for the royal family, a guy like him should have had his own room somewhere on Alexandria Castle.

Gargant Roo exited in a trapdoor within Doctor Tot's tower. He lead the way up a rusted ladder bound to the wall and pushed open a door, letting everyone out. The good doctor's loft was a mess. Books were strewn left and right. Several scrolls were opened on his desk, as if they were left there in the middle of being read. Dust was starting to gather on a large telescope gazing up into the night sky on the far end of the room.

Amarant was the last one up the ladder. "I never know about this secret passage," he said.

"Yes," Doctor Tot said, starting to tidy up. He grabbed some books and moved them to a shelf. "I bought this tower because of this tunnel. I can study in peace here, and the tunnel makes my commute quite simple. I apologize for the lack of space."

"It's fine..." Amarant said.

"Why don't you just move to Alexandria?" I asked.

"It's too expensive, I'm afraid," Doctor Tot said. "I'm only hired to consult Alexandria's royal family part-time. I couldn't afford to live there and maintain my studies. I'm afraid that they are an expensive habit."

"Huh. Makes sense."

Eiko, who had been busy exploring the room and the horizon, ran up to Doctor Tot and tugged at his shirt. "Can we talk about Madain Sari later? I wanna go sightseeing."

"Oh, of course," Tot agreed. "There's no hurry."

Eiko turned around and glared at Vivi, who had been watching her. "What are you staring at? Let's go!"

Vivi raised an eyebrow, as best as a black mage could. "Wh-Who? Me?" he asked, pointing to himself.

"Yes, you! This is my first time in Treno. Show me around." Eiko grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him down the winding staircase and out the door at the bottom of the tower.

Freya took a breath of "fresh" air and started down the staircase as well. "Then I shall go, as well. I'll take this chance to relax."

Freya was down the stairs and out of sight in seconds.

Only Tot, Zidane, Amarant and I were left. "What about you, Amarant?" Zidane asked.

The hulking man just walked off without a word, back into his native city. I considered following him just so I could be near someone who knew the area, but he would probably kill me for that.

Zidane just shrugged. "I don't understand him."

"What's there to understand?" I asked. "He's odd and he'll fight for us. I say just let him do his thing."

Zidane crossed his arms in thought, as he often seemed to do. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

I started down the stairs as well. "I'm gonna head out. I'll see you later Zidane."

"You don't feel like watching the card tournament?" he asked.

"Nah. Cards aren't really my thing. And I get bored when I have to stand around doing nothing."

Zidane shrugged. "Alright. I guess I'll see you later then."

"See ya."

The stairway spiraled twice before I reached the door at the bottom, but it was over a wide arc that looped inside the wide walls of the tower. It really felt like an old part of a castle in this city of slums. Maybe part of the city was formerly part of a castle which was torn down for simpler housing. I don't know. It might have been something interesting to check out someday.

The city opened itself up to me as I started down the cobblestone bridge. The entire city was cloaked in twilight. I looked over the river and even though it was dark out, I could see some shapes in the river below. I just hoped they weren't bodies.

I passed several people on the street as I wandered through town. Each looked at me with hungry eyes, noticing my expensive swords. I hid my money pouch inside my pocket. I didn't trust a single person in this city. The nobles were greedy and the poor were thieves. What was there to trust?

I had more than a few people try to approach me, probably so they could "accidentally" bump into me to steal my wallet. I kept my hands inside my pockets and my arms pressed against the hilts of my swords. It was bad enough that they were sticking out of the too-small sheaths.

As I walked, I somehow accidentally found my way into the red light district. I couldn't tell one street from another. The place was as bad as I thought it would be. Prostitutes strutted up and down the street, showing off their "goods" and giving me a few winks. I did my best to ignore them. They were annoying, more than anything else.

I wandered in no particular direction, just doing what I could to occupy my time. I tried to look out for some specialty store. Maybe there was a new piece of armor I could buy. I knew I was probably going to need it for some of the upcoming fights.

"Hey there," a voice called out. I looked up and saw a Burmecian leaning against a wall, dressed in silks which barely covered her chest. Great, I thought. Another hooker.

"You look bored," the Burmecian said. "Maybe I can give you something to do."

"No thanks," I said flatly and moved on.

However, the Burmecian was persistent. She grabbed my shirt by its sleeve and turned me around in place.

"C'mon, what's a little fun now and then?" she hinted, leaning in as if to kiss me.

I supposed she was attractive, by Burmecian standards, but the city left me in a bad mood, and I really didn't feel like catching any diseases from a prostitute. I just pushed her away. "No offense, but if I didn't hire any of the humans before, why would I hire you?"

"Please?" she asked, getting desperate. She had a sad look in her eye, as if she was being genuine. "I really need to get paid."

"I said no." I twisted my arm around her wrist and pulled myself free. I walked away, muttering to myself about how wretched this entire city was. I barely made it ten feet before I felt a long blade press against my neck. I glanced back and saw the prostitute holding a polearm against me.

"I am sorry to do this," the Burmecian said. "But this is a robbery. I really need your money."

I glared back at her. "You must be really desperate if you're going to these lengths. What's the matter? Is your pimp in a bad mood today?"

"Very few Burmecians travel to Treno," she said. "And most of the humans here try to avoid me. I don't like picking fights, but I'll do whatever I have to in order to protect—" She stopped mid-sentence. "Never mind. Just give me your wallet."

"A hooker whoring herself out to protect something?" I asked. "That sounds suspect."

She let me have it with a strike from the polearm onto my shoulder. She moved so quickly, I didn't have time to react. If I didn't have my armor on, she would have really cut deep.

Fortunately, the armor did enough to distract her. "Huh? Why are you wearing that?"

I sighed. "At least I have something to do now."

In a flash, I ripped a short sword from its sheath and deflected her weapon. I faced her, drawing the second blade and adopting a defensive fighting stance. I knew from practice matches that using swords against a polearm gave me a distinct disadvantage in range. All she had to do was stay light on her feet and she would win. Of course, all I had to do was get inside her range once, then I would win.

I wished it was that easy. I took a breath to calm myself.

"I don't like fighting like this," the Burmecian said. "Just give up now and you can walk away unharmed."

"I could tell you the same," I said.

The Burmecian sighed and lowered her weapon. For a moment, it looked like she was giving up.

"Forgive me," she said, just before she lunged.

The first strike was low, aimed at my ankles. I had to jump to avoid it, but she still nicked the heel of my shoe. It was enough to twist me off balance. I fell onto my back, just in time to see her blade coming down at my face. I crossed my swords in front of myself, catching her attack at the last possible second.

She forced the polearm down on me with surprising strength. I knew I had to get her off of me before she decided to simply skewer me and be done with it. I concentrated for a moment and charged up an Explosion. The Burmecian saw the growing energy and backed off before I could destroy her weapon.

"What kind of magic is that?" she asked.

"Mine and mine alone," I said. I smashed the tip of the blade into a nearby wall. It exploded on contact, sending smoke and chunks of bricks into the air. "Still want to fight?"

She didn't speak. Her only answer was to charge forward again and attack in a staccato assault. Her blade swished through the air with amazing grace and speed. It was all I could do to keep up with her, deflecting only at the last second. Her silk dress flickered and danced like a ballerina's dress. This woman had training, and lots of it. Her attacks were so rapid and precise that I didn't even have time to charge up any Chi attacks. I could have kicked myself for not powering up some Demon Sabers when I had the chance.

I had to get away, to give myself a chance to power up or to make her trip up somehow. If only I could be so lucky.

I took a step back, still giving the rest of my attention to the barrage in front of me. The Burmecian stepped with me. I slowly backed away, but the Burmecian matched my pace. Every move was calculated to give me just enough room to retreat, but not enough to counter.

My energy was beginning to run low after a minute of this. I nearly gave up hope until I noticed the Burmecian was running low as well. Suddenly, I had an idea. I took another step back, but this time it was longer than the last few. As I had hoped, the Burmecian tried to match the step.

In a desperate bout, I created an opening. I swung my short sword wide and to the side, just as she came in to attack. My parry knocked her off guard, giving me the chance I had hoped for. I leaned in, breaking through her guard and getting in close enough that she couldn't use her polearm to defend herself.

"Dragon pommel!" the Burmecian yelled.

She flicked the butt end of her polearm at me. It wasn't enough to hurt me, but I was hit by a wave of energy. It shaped into a dragon briefly, then exploded in my face. I was so surprised, and the attack hit me so fast, that I was knocked off my feet and hurled backwards. I landed hard and most of the air was knocked out of my lungs.

When I was aware enough of my surroundings again, I opened my eyes to see the Burmecian standing over me with her polearm only inches away from my face.

"That attack…" I thought for a moment. The gears started to turn as I analyzed what had just happened. A Burmecian, armed with a spear, had just launched a wave at me in the shape of a dragon. My eyes opened wide. "You're just like Freya! You're a dragon knight!"

The Burmecian backed off at once. She blinked in confusion, as he polearm dropped harmlessly to her side.

"How… How do you know Freya?" she asked.

"She's a friend of mine," I said. I got up cautiously. She could still try to kill me at any second. "She uses techniques just like the one you did."

"Freya's your friend?" the Burmecian asked. She tugged at the cloth around her chest. It had slipped a little in our battle. I was surprised she was good enough not to let such brittle material fall off during heavy fighting like that. I was lucky that I wasn't dead.

"I haven't seen Freya in so long…" the Burmecian said. "How's she doing? Is she alright? Is she still looking for Sir Fratley?"

"Easy," I said. "One question at a time."

"Sorry. I guess I've been on my own for too long. Hearing about an old friend got me a little excited." She picked up her polearm and rested it on her back. "So how do you know Freya?"

I picked up my short swords and sheathed them as I answered. "Through a mutual friend at the Festival of the Hunt in Lindblum. We entered together. Once it was over, we heard about the attacks on Burmecia, we headed out to help. …We were too late though."

"Oh, I see." The Burmecian sat against the wall, saddened by the news. "I remember that day. So many people died. I did what I could against those… horrid monsters, but it wasn't enough. In the end, I couldn't save that many people. We were overwhelmed."

"I'm sorry to hear that," I said. I walked over and offered her a hand up. She just looked at me.

"You would forgive me after I attacked you?" she asked.

"You're a friend of a friend," I said. "Besides, you seem like a good person. You wouldn't attack me unless you had good reason to."

The Burmecian shook her head at me. "You're a confusing one," she said, grabbing my hand.

I helped her back to her feet. "By the way, my name's Trevor. Nice to meet you."

The Burmecian shook the hand she was still holding. "Likewise. My name's Seki."

I thought for a moment. The name Seki sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. After a moment, I decided it was irrelevant and ignored the feeling.

"You know, Freya's in town as well," I said. "If you want, I can help you look for her. I'll bet she'd be glad to see you again."

"No, I couldn't," Seki said. She turned away and faced the wall. "I can't let her see me like this. I used to be among the best of the Dragon Knights. Now I'm just a common whore."

I felt bad for Seki, but I could understand why she felt the way she did. "Alright, we don't have to. I just though she might want to see you."

Seki shook her head. "Maybe later. I just don't have any other clothes. After Burmecia was destroyed, I—"

Seki was interrupted by her growling stomach. She patted it to quiet it down, but it didn't do much.

I felt for my money pouch, still in my pocket. "How about we get some food? There has to be something around here, right?"

Seki shook her head again. "Thanks for the offer, but I don't have enough money for food."

"My treat then. You sound like you need it."

Seki's stomach growled again. "I suppose that fight took more out of me than I thought. I guess I don't have any choice."

"Very good," I said with a genuine smile. "Why don't you choose the place? I don't know anything around here."

"There's a small place I know of down the street," Seki said. She picked up her spear and led the way. "Come on."

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Seki's choice of restaurant was a small shack just along the river. There wasn't much to it. There was one small room with only a few seats. There was no front door, or even a front wall. The place didn't look very clean, but then again, what did in this city? There was a sign on the wall that said the fish was caught fresh from the river every morning. I immediately decided on the soup. Seki had a burnt steak, a salad on the side, and some wine. I quickly regretted treating her.

"And after we rescued the princess, Freya said she would stay behind to fend off any more Alexandrians," I said, regaling Seki of some of my adventures. Of course, she was only interested in the ones about Alexandria or Freya. "She must have caused a huge mess. I bet they're still cleaning the blood off the walls."

Seki laughed. It looked like she hadn't done so in the longest time. It was good to see.

"That sounds like the Freya I knew," she said. "She always said she would die fighting in some big battle. 'To be forgotten is worse than death.' She always used to say that when we were training in the barracks."

"Is that why she became a Dragon Knight? So people would remember her?"

"No, I think that was just a saying she learned from her parents. She signed up to be closer to Sir Fratley."

"And what about you? Why did you sign up?"

Seki smiled. "Partly to help people. Partly for the same reason as Freya."

"I see. And is he still around?"

"I don't know, and I don't care." Seki took a sudden sip of her wine. "I went to surprise him one day. Instead, he surprised me. In bed. With some army bitch that I didn't know."

"Ah. Sorry to hear that."

"You should have seen him afterwards. I was so mad that I twisted his… well, it's probably not proper dinner conversation. Last I heard though, he still couldn't walk straight."

"I… see."

I crossed my legs protectively.

"So, if you don't mind my asking, what happened after Burmecia?" I asked. "How did you wind up in Treno?"

Seki took another bite of her steak. She was starting to slow down, but she wasn't even halfway through her meal. She grabbed a passing waiter by the sleeve. "Can I get another one of these?"

The waiter looked curiously at her, then at me.

"It's alright," I said. "I can cover it."

"Very well," the waiter said. "But next time to need to lure in a girl, please don't use our restaurant."

I looked at him for a moment, then my eyes narrowed. "I am NOT a pimp!"

"Whatever you say." The waited walked off into the kitchen.

"I hate people," I muttered.

"Sorry about that," Seki said, taking another bite. "I haven't had a meal this good since Burmecia."

"Right," I said. "You still didn't answer my question."

"Which was?"

"How did you wind up in Treno?"

Seki sighed and set her fork down. "It was the only place to go. Gizamaluke's Grotto was full of those monsters. The magic users that Alexandria used."

"The black mages."

"Yeah, those. Well, Lindblum was out, so we had to turn around and head towards the North Gate and find refuge in Alexandria. There were a few guards, but they were easy enough to dispatch."

"And Treno was the best place for refuge?"

"Yup," Seki said with a nod. "It was out of the mist, but large enough for us to hide in. The army never comes out this far, so they wouldn't come looking for us. As dangerous as this city is, it was the safest place to hide."

I had to carefully dance around my next question. "And… that led to you doing… this, because…?"

"Becoming a prostitute?" she said, completing my question. She glanced off into town, then back at me. "Once that second steak gets here, there's something I have to show you."

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Seki never finished dinner. Instead, she bagged the one and a half steaks and the rest of her salad as we took off from the restaurant. My first guess was that she just wanted to save some of it for future meals, but since the refrigerator hadn't been invented in Gaia yet, I wasn't sure what she hoped to accomplish.

"It's not much further," Seki said as she led me down the streets, deeper into the slums than I would have liked.

"Where are we going?" I asked for the fourth time that night. Seki, once again, ignored me.

"It's around this corner," she said. She was quiet. I almost didn't hear her.

We rounded the corner, passing a man eating out of a trashcan and a haggard old woman shivering under a blanket, possibly from drugs. The street ended at a bleak, grey door that was barely hanging on its hinges. There was a small light coming from under the door. Seki carefully knocked on the door three times, then once, then two times. It was a code. After several seconds, the door creaked open.

A young Burmecian kid was standing in the doorway, still holding the handle.

"Seki?" he asked. "I'm hungry."

"Sorry Wenzlo," Seki said. "I didn't mean to be so late."

The kid, Wenzlo, looked to the side and saw me. He yelped, then backed behind the door, trying to shut it closed.

"Hey, hey!" Seki said, forcing the door open. "It's ok."

"But he's an Alexandrian!"

"No, no he's not. He's an old friend of mine from Lindblum."

"Lindblum?" Wenzlo stopped pushing on the door and stood back. He looked me up and down, stopping to look at my short swords. "Are you really from Lindblum?"

Seki gave me a look, telling me I better say yes. She didn't even have to.

"Yeah, I am," I said. I held out my hand. "It's nice to meet you."

Wenzlo took my hand apprehensively. We shook briefly.

"Are you here to help us?" he asked.

"Us?" I asked. "There's more of you?"

"Wenzlo," Seki interrupted. She handed him the bag of food. It was still warm. "Take this to the others. Share with them before it gets cold."

"Food!" Wenzlo shouted happily. "Guys, food!" He grabbed the bag and rushed deeper into the apartment. I could hear a few other children cheering in joy. Wenzlo looked thin. Feeding all these kids must have been a challenge.

"There were eight of us," Seki said sadly. She took a step inside and grabbed a robe from the wall. She wrapped it around herself to cover herself up. "Myself, another soldier named Grex, and six kids."

"So you keep all of the kids here?" I guessed.

Seki folded her arms tightly. She looked away, trying to avoid the question.

"What about Grex? Where's he?"

"He didn't make it," Seki said quickly. She sighed and leaned against the wall. "Grex was an old friend of mine. When we decided to evacuate Burmecia, I gathered everyone that I could. Between the two of us, Grex and I found a good number of survivors. However, as we were leaving, these two small jesters got in our way. We realized too late that they were leading the black mages. Grex tried to get everyone out while I fought them off, but there were too many. By the time the chaos had died down, we lost everyone, except the six children. Grex and I led the kids with everything we had. Through the North Gate and through the mist, we fought with everything we had to keep them safe."

I stayed silent as Seki told her story. I could tell the bad part was coming up.

Seki took a deep breath and continued. "We didn't have much trouble until we neared Treno. We only had to put up with a few monsters up until then, and there were only a few guards at the North Gate. However, we were so tired when we got to Treno, and so relieved when we saw the lights of the city that we didn't notice the giant spiders until it was too late."

"Giant spiders?" I asked. I hated bugs enough as it was. Just imagining a swarm of giant spiders made my skin crawl.

"They grabbed two of the children first," Seki said. The way she spoke, I thought she was going to be sick. "I tried to protect the remaining kids and get them away while Grex rushed to save the two that had been taken. But it was a trap. The spiders came from everywhere… The bushes, the trees, and they swarmed all over him. He must have taken out a dozen of them before they finally wore him down. All I could hear was him screaming for me to get the kids out of there… so I ran. We never stopped running until we were inside the city."

"That's terrible," was all I could say at first. "But it's amazing that you were able to save the kids. You should be proud of that."

"Yeah," Seki scoffed. "But imagine my surprise when I found out that Treno was an even worse city than I imagined. Children need food, so I had to get a job here. I had hoped that I could join the army here, or maybe become a noble's bodyguard, but since Treno is a part of Alexandria, they all had prejudices against Burmecians. It wasn't until I found a man named Jonathan Bigsley. He offered us a place to stay, and offered me pay."

"As long as you became his prostitute, right?"

Seki nodded.

It was a horrible story. One that Seki was still recovering from. She shouldn't have to lead this kind of life. So many problems went into this that it wasn't even funny. I took a moment to try to find a lighter side to this. I don't know why I thought there would be, but after a moment, I realized something.

"Wait," I said. "The Alexandrian War is over! You can go home back to Burmecia any time you want."

Seki just glanced up at me. "Assuming that I could," she began. "Assuming that I had a safe way to transport these kids, and that we would be able to survive in Burmecia, I can't."

"Why not?" I asked. "If it's about money, I might be able to help. I know the Regent of Lindbulm, and the Queen of Alexandria is a good friend of mine. I'm sure at least one of them could spare an airship to help you."

"You don't get it!" Seki shouted. "Even if I wanted to leave, I can't!"

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Why the hell not? What could possibly keep you here?"

Seki sank back into the wall, then slowly slid to the floor. "When Bigsley 'employed' me, he took one of the children, a girl named Bri. He said that he would look after her and give her extra special care, but it was really to keep me in the city and to stop me from escaping. If I try to leave or fight him, he'll kill her. I've seen too many children die already."

I heard her say her words in a defeated desperation, but I was more confident. I smiled as I stretched my arms back. "Alright, then we'll just have to rescue her, right?"

Seki looked at me like I was a madman, preaching about the end of the world. "Didn't you just hear me? Bigsley will kill her if I try to save Bri!"

"Then we'll kill him first," I said. "He won't be expecting someone like me, will he?" I twirled a short sword to emphasize my point. "Or, did you forget our little fight earlier?"

Seki was silent, as if she were judging my idea and how to act on it. She finally shook her head. "No, it won't work. I've only met the guy once, and I don't know where his hideout is. He always sent his minions out to find me and collect what money I earned."

"Middlemen," I said. "Perfect. We'll beat the information out of him and run a surprise attack on his little fort. It's as close to a perfect plan as we can get!"

Seki looked at me again, unsure of what to really think. "Do you really think we can pull this off?"

"Sure," I said. "What's a handful of thugs compared to a Dragon Knight and an insane college student?"

Seki shook her head. "So, this is what I've been reduced to? Fighting a pimp so I can redeem myself?"

"Better to die on your feet than live on your knees," I told her.

Seki chuckled before she stood. "Damn it all. I would rather see these kids grow up proudly in Burmecia, rather than in squalor in Treno."

"So, are you in?" I asked.

Seki nodded as she grabbed her spear. "Let's do it."

XXXXXXXX

Sometimes, it's the oddest chapters that become the most fun to write. Maybe I'm just becoming adept at creating new characters, but Seki was a lot of fun. I'm sure many of you remember her original reference, even though it was such a long time ago. This chapter ended up being much longer than I thought it would be. I had to eventually cut it into two parts. But, oh well. You know the next chapter's going to be fun as hell, like so many others. XD

Also, there is a deleted scene too graphic to show that I had to pull from this chapter. However, I really liked it and the emotion that went into making it, so I didn't simply get rid of it. It's on the facebook page for the people who signed up. Look for it under the notes section.

Until then, I'll see you guys next month. :D