The Perfect SeeD

A Final Fantasy 8 Fanfic

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 8, Squaresoft does.

Chapter 2: Planning


The train finally stopped at the Balamb Station, many of it's passengers tired from the long journey. After leaving Esthar unnoticed, Dr. McKenzie and Cain stopped in Fisherman's Horizon to pick up a few basic supplies, along with a few sets of clothes that would help them blend in with the "everyday folk". Once that chore was fnished, they'd hopped another train to Timber, where they then proceeded to taken another train to the small, port city of Balamb.

Cain's reaction to all these different enviroments amazed her. Unlike the human/cyborgs you'd see in movies, who acted like they were ready to decapitate or blow away someone who even looked at them the wrong way. No, instead, he just remained quiet and every now and then would actually ask her a question.

The two of them stepped off the train and silently made there way to the Balamb Hotel, where they would then check-in, and plan there next move.

Upon arrival, she paid the person up front enough Gil to cover a week's stay. She took the room key and motioned for Cain to follow her upstairs. Immediatly after the door was shut she dropped the bag containing their few possessions onto the floor, and sighed with relief. She sat down on the bed and proceeded to pull off her shoes and lay back.

She hardly noticed that Cain had sat down on the bed next to her and was pretty much doing that same as her. After a few minutes of silence, she jumped when he spoke. "Doctor...?"

She looked over at him. "Yes?"

"What do we do now?"

She had to admit, the chip that Doc Odine had placed in Cain's brain was a rather impressive tool. Little to Cain's knowledge, his brain contained the most advanced AI program known to man. That was another reason why Odine would be hell-bent on finding Cain. 'Atleast he never had a chance to install a tracking system.', she thought to herself. After waiting another minute, she finally answered. "Honestly, I have no idea. We have to change our appearances somewhat, because I know for a fact that in the next couple of days, every law enforcement agency in the world is going to know who we are."

He nodded slowly. "I see," he paused for a second, then looked up at the ceiling before looking at her again. "Thank you for taking me away from there. It looked like I wouldn't have enjoyed it there very much."

She smiled and nodded. "Your welcome. And believe me, you wouldn't have liked it there at all. But then, if I wouldn't have put a little something extra into that "brain" of yours, you wouldn't be acting like you are now."

He rolled over on to his side, so he was facing her, his expression serious, "Doctor.."

"Call me Elizabeth. I can't have you calling me that in public, it would surely blow our cover."

"Umm...okay. Elizabeth, who created me? And....why?"

She sighed, figuring this would come up. "The man who is responsible for you being here is Doctor Odine, of Esthar. After the Sorceress War 18 years ago, President Laguna Loire wanted Doc Odine to create a certain kind of..soldier..that would be more elite than the regular soldier. One that would protect his country, and it's people without question.

"That's how it started out anyway. After a few years, Doc Odine began making plans to turn you into the ultimate..weapon..I guess you could say, meaning that it would take a WEAPON itself to stop you or perhaps more than one. Year after year, he would continue his scheming. There were other adjustments to be made before you were activated also."

"What kind of...adjustments?"

"You were to have a skeleton of metal, and believe me, you would have been in pain for a very long time even after you were activated. There are a few other minor things, but that was the worst.

:"Anyway, as I was entering Odine's combat skills programs and such, I remember that, and I couldn't stand the thought of them doing that to another human being...so..well, you know the rest."

He nodded, and rolled back over onto his back, placing his hands back behind his head. "Thank you, again."

"It's no problem. Now get some sleep, we have a long day ahead of us. Goodnight, Cain." She stood up long enough to pull back the bed covers, before slipping inside and laying down on her side.

"Goodnight, Doc....I mean, Elizabeth."



He awoke to the sound of waves washing up on the beach and to the sound of laughter. Wondering what it was, he slowly slid out of bed and walked out onto the balcony. He watched children run up and down the beach, their mother chasing after them with a bottle of sunblock and screaming at the top of her lungs. "Gabe and Jessie, get your little butts back here now!"

He chuckled as the kids laughed at their mother again and kept on running. He found their behavior amusing, and at the same time, carefree. He turned away from the beach and headed back into the room, and stopped when he noticed Elizabeth wasn't there. As he started to head out the door, he noticed a piece of hotel stationary on the stand next to his bed. He slowly picked it up and began to read the message.

'Sorry, I didn't want to wake you, and I figured it'd be best if only one of us went out to get supplies......Elizabeth.'

He set the message back on the nightstand, and sat back down on his bed. After sitting there for another thirty minutes, he jerked his head up at the sound of the door being unlocked. To his surprise, he grinned when Elizabeth walked in with two large bags in her arms. Walking over he took one from her and looked to see what she'd bought. He pulled out a box of hair dye and looked at her. "What's this?"

"That..is hair dye.", she walked over to her bed and dumped the supplies on it. Among them were what appeared to be two large files, each encased in a large manilla folder. She picked one up and handed it to him. "And these files here, are our new credentials, ID's, social security numbers, etc."

"Where'd you get this?" He looked up from reading the file.

"Ah..ah, see no evil, hear no evil. Meaning, you really don't want to know."

He simply nodded. "I take you have a reason for getting these?"

"I sure do. I heard Balamb Garden is looking for a few good instructors. So I'm going to apply, using my false credentials."

"......So...what am I going to do? Apply to be an instructor also?"

He watched her shake her head. "No, you're way to young.", he raised his eyebrows at her when he saw a mischievous grin appear across her face. "You're going to enroll as a SeeD cadet."