A/N: One week left to go… And then those stupid exams will be over! Actually I'll have another two weeks for any classes I might fail and need to re-take, but the rough stuff are over… So in a week the update frequency will return back to normal… hopefully :-)
Mmmmkay, a bit of a slow chapter this time, not any action going on yet, but you'll get the main idea behind Zenton Deling's conspiracy against Seifer.
Enjoy, my dearies!
Last chapter summary: Having a bounty on his head, Seifer temporarily hid in Winhill to his ex-posse's 'quarters'. Fujin and Raijin are here to stay and are willing to help Seifer prove his innocence…
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Futurama or any of its characters. But I wish I did! That show kicked major ass! ^_^
~*The Beginning, is the End, is the Beginning*~
A sequel to 'Love Conquers All'
By: Sickness in Salvation
Chapter 6: One mistake to haunt you forever…
Quistis couldn't sleep; she'd tried to for quite some time, but her mind was far too pre-occupied with thoughts to rest. She turned around in bed and found Seifer sleeping peacefully. She smiled and wondered how on earth he could stay so calm… If there was only one of them who should be worried, that ought to be him… She ran a hand through his soft hair and gave him a kiss on the forehead. She turned back around and slowly got up from bed, trying not to wake him up. The moment she removed the covers off her, a cold shiver ran through her naked body. She looked around on the floor and grabbed Seifer's Fire Cross T-shirt, wearing it. She picked up her underwear and wore them too, getting up.
She walked over to the window right next to the big double bed of the room Raijin and Fujin had kindly provided them with. She pulled the curtain away a bit and looked at the clear night sky outside. There were no clouds that night and the stars glimmered like gold-dust up in the sky's black-blue veil. The moon was just beginning to wane; its silvery rays fell brightly, piercing the darkness. Quistis sighed deeply. She remembered a night she'd spent with Seifer on the beach, looking at stars. He told her that some people believed stars were the souls of beloved ones who had passed away and were looking down upon you, protecting you. He also said that every shooting star was that soul's way of telling you that its job was done and that now you would be able to make it on your own…
She could have sworn that he stole that 'line' from a movie, a book or something, as it was one of the corniest things she'd ever heard in her life. When she told him that, he laughed and replied that it was indeed stolen, but it always worked. She smiled as she realized he was right… Lost within her thoughts, she barely heard the sound of footsteps, as Seifer, now dressed in his boxers, approached her and hugged her waist from behind.
- "Some people believe that stars are the souls of beloved ones who have passed away and are now looking down on you, protecting you…" he whispered in her ear.
- "…and every shooting star…" she added "…is the way of that certain soul telling you that its job is done and that now you can make it on your own…"
Seifer chuckled and kissed her shoulder.
- "I was just thinking about that…" said Quistis softly.
- "Why aren't you sleeping kitten?" he asked.
- "Why aren't you?" she asked back.
- "I was, but someone woke me up by getting off the bed…" he said grinning.
- "Sorry…" said Quistis "I was just… thinking about stuff…"
- "'Stuff?" he said.
- "*Sigh* Yeah… About what's held in store for us now…" she replied.
- "You worry too much…" he said.
- "Well, someone has to…" she said grinning, turning to look at him.
- "Everything will turn out OK Quistis… I promise…" he said, meeting her gaze.
Quistis smiled weakly at him and caressed his cheek with one hand.
- "You're right…" she said turning back to look outside the window "I should be more optimistic…"
- "That's my girl…" he said, giving her a kiss on the cheek "Come on, let's go back to sleep…" he added, pulling her to the bed.
Seifer lied back down on bed on the right side, rising up the covers for Quistis. She crawled right next to him and scooted closer. He covered her up with the warm blanket and put his arms around her. Quistis nuzzled her head in his chest and felt the warmth of his bare skin against hers. Once again, she tried to sleep, but her mind just didn't seem to be willing to go into rest…
- "Seifer?" she asked.
- "Mmm?"
- "Love you…" she said quietly.
As a response, Seifer lowered his head down to look at her and smiled. He kissed her softly on the lips and hugged her tighter.
- "Love you too kitten…"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The next morning…
Zell lazily walked down the stairs towards the kitchen. On his way there, he heard the humming of muffled voices and a TV set from behind the living room doors. Raising an eyebrow, he walked to the doorway and walked inside. He found almost everyone gathered inside, sitting on the couches, eating breakfast and chatting while glancing to the TV screen from time to time. Zuka was the first to notice Zell standing under the doorframe.
- "Morning sunshine…" she said grinning "Come and grab a bite…" she added, patting on the empty spot next to her on the couch.
- "Why are you guys sitting here instead of the kitchen?" Zell asked, rubbing the back of his hair, walking towards Shizuka.
- "'Cause Selphie and Irvine insisted on watching cartoons. Rinoa was in for it too, so we all decided to eat here." replied Fujin.
- "'Where are Seifer and Quistis?" asked Zell, now sitting on the couch next to his girlfriend "Still sleeping?"
- "They're in the kitchen." replied Rinoa "They went in to prepare something and come join us, but I don't think they're planning on coming back…"
- "I see… Any cereal around here by any chance?" asked Zell, looking around the contents of the coffee table.
- "Nope." replied Irvine.
- "Aw, dammit…" mumbled Zell indignantly.
- "There is some in the kitchen, ya know…" informed Raijin.
- "But you'd have to actually go in there…" added Zuka.
- "Think it's… 'safe'?" asked Zell hesitantly. Irvine shrugged.
- "Dunno man… It's your call to make…" he said.
- "*Grunt* I'll go…" said Zell getting up "Anyone want anything since I'm going inside?" he asked.
Everyone shook their heads in negation, except for Irvine and Selphie who were laughing their asses off with 'Futurama' and didn't even seem to have heard Zell's question. Zell left the living room and made his way to the kitchen. Once outside the double doors, he hesitated a bit and pressed hi ear against the wooden doors. He heard a muffled sound of what sounded like a conversation and the sizzling of a frying pan 'Sounds safe…' he thought, and pushed the doors open. He poked his head inside first, hoping he wouldn't run into any too awkward scenes.
He was relieved to see Seifer and Quistis standing up by the cooker. Quistis was wearing a long -for her- white T-shirt with the red Fire Cross in front and was poking whatever was inside the frying pan with a fork. Seifer was right behind her, dressed in a pair of black sweatpants, holding her from the waist. He had his chin resting on her shoulder and was whispering something that made her chuckle to her ear. They seemed to totally ignore Zell's presence in the room. They only turned their attention away from each other the moment Zell cleared his throat loudly.
- "*Ahem*" said Zell, crossing his arms.
Quistis turned her head sharply towards his side, while Seifer looked up arching his eyebrows, his lips touching the skin on Quistis' neck. Quistis smiled at Zell and blushed a bit.
- "Morning Zell." she said and went back to frying two eggs. Seifer simply nodded.
- "Morning…" said Zell walking towards the cupboards "You wouldn't happen to know where the cereal is?" he asked.
- "Second cupboard on your right." replied Seifer immediately, wanting to get rid of him.
- "K…" mumbled Zell, opening the cupboard, looking around.
- "What are you, blind?!" asked Seifer exasperated "It's right over there!" he said, pointing at the top shelf inside the cupboard "Oh… Want me to reach it for you?" he asked smirking.
- "Got it." replied Zell through gritted teeth, closing the cupboard.
- "Here." said Quistis, handing him a bowl and a spoon.
- "Thanks… Have fun…" said Zell, walking to the door.
- "We were until you came in…" mumbled Seifer, just loud enough so that Zell would hear him.
As soon as the door closed behind a muttering Zell, Seifer sighed and gave Quistis a kiss on the shoulder.
- "Done?" he asked.
- "Yup… All set." replied Quistis, taking the pan off the hot plate.
The couple walked over to the table where a plate half-filled with pieces of toast and two glasses of orange juice stood. Quistis emptied the eggs onto the plate, left it in the sink and then walked back to the table, were she sat on Seifer's lap. Seifer cut a piece of toast and fed it to her, giving her a peck right afterwards. Quistis grinned and wrapped her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. Seifer pulled her even closer from the waist and lifted one hand up to hold her nape. Just then, Selphie rushed inside the kitchens panting, looking panicked.
- "Seify! Quisty!" she yelled, making them break part immediately.
- "Is the sole purpose of you all in life to disturb us?" Seifer asked indignantly.
- "Sorry, but it's reeeeally important!" said Selphie fidgeting around in anxiety.
- "Selphie, what's wrong?" asked Quistis worriedly.
- "It's all over the news!" began the miniscule fighter "We were watching 'Futurama' and just when Fry was about to sleep with his grandma-"
- "First of all, to the point if you please! Second… what kind of sick-ass cartoons do you watch?!" asked Seifer, repulsed.
- Just come and see for yourselves! There's urgent news cast on the air right now!" said Selphie and ran out of the room.
Quistis and Seifer looked at each other puzzled, then shrugged and got up.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The couple walked inside the living room and found everyone's eyes plastered onto the screen. Seifer raised an eyebrow and was about to ask what the hell was going on, when a name the news caster mentioned made him jerk his head towards the TV screen as well.
- "…from D-District prison, where right now, Zenton Deling and the rest of his comrades imprisoned last September, are being set free. Aeris Gainsborough, over to you." said the news caster, to a journalist now visible on screen.
- "Thank you Helena. As you can see, Zenton Deling, son of former and deceased President Vinzer Deling, is now exiting the prison. We'll try and take a closer look." said that Gainsborough woman, as she trotted closer towards the ex-convict.
A small crowd of journalists had rushed over to Deling and his troop, going into a frenzy of questions. Deling raised his palms up in an attempt to silence them all. The uproar died down a bit and then the sound of a journalist's voice was heard.
- "Mr. Deling, what do you have to say about the charges once inflicted on you that are now pressing Seifer Almasy, former Knight of Sorceress Edea?" asked the man.
Silence overtook the ten teenagers inside the room, as well as the crowd gathered around Deling. The young, around his mid-twenties, man approached the microphone now jerked in front of him and spoke.
- "Last September, when my comrades and I were arrested for false charges, I clearly stated who the real culprit behind the whole conspiracy was. Seifer Almasy had had this planned quite some time ago and my team tried to stop him by luring him into a bogus plan to assassinate the now late Sirius Connelly. Unfortunately, we underestimated the way this man's devious mind works and found ourselves trapped in his own scheme. We spent all these months imprisoned for a deed we never planned to commit. However, justice prevailed once more in Galbadia and the truth was revealed. I do not resent my country for the days I had to spend in prison despite my innocence. However, I am deeply distressed that a fine man like Sirius Connelly had to be sacrificed in order for the truth to surface. I shall now accept my somewhat poignant duty in taking charge of the Presidency of Galbadia. Rest assured that I will take any action possible in order to capture the man who dared to infiltrate and wreck our country's peace for yet another time. Wherever Seifer Almasy is, we will find him. Thank you…" said Deling.
The journalists flooded the new President with innumerable questions as he tried to leave, but he politely ignored them all and made his way to one of the black limos stationed outside the D-District prison.
Inside the living room of Raijin and Fujin's mansion, the atmosphere was beyond plain 'heavy'. No-one dared to speak and all eyes were stuck upon Seifer, who stared at the screen infuriated. He was squeezing Quistis' hand so hard, that she felt as if it was going to break to shards.
- "This had been his plan all along…" mumbled Seifer at some point, breaking the overbearing silence "He wanted to murder Connelly to take his place and blame it all on me."
- "Did he mention that when he tried to hire you last September?" asked Squall. Seifer shook his head in response.
- "*Scoff* And that fucking snake Robinson tagging along as always…" growled Seifer, still staring at the screen.
All heads turned back on the TV, to the man Seifer had just mentioned. A man in his mid-thirties, with his brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, was following Deling. Anton Robinson, Deling's right-hand man.
- "Who's that woman with him?" Zuka asked.
A blonde woman was visible right now. She seemed quite tall, was dressed in a long deep red coat and wore black shades. Her head was mostly covered by a black scarf which then coiled around her neck. She had squeezed her way through the hoards of journalists who tried to hold her back to answer a few questions, and was now hugging Robinson. The latter held her hand and entered the limo Deling had walked inside.
- "I dunno…" answered Squall "She seems to be someone close to Robinson. Maybe a relative or a girlfriend or something…"
Back on TV, once all three of Deling, Robinson and that woman had entered the limo, the vehicle took off. The screen switched back to the channel's studio, where certain political personas were gathered in separate 'windows' to talk about the instatement of Deling as President.
- "Mr. Trafford," the newscaster addressed the Secretary of Domestic Affairs, Cedric Trafford "Many politicians, such as yourself, have opposed to the election of Zenton Deling as the new Galbadian President, claiming –and I'm taking this statement of yours from the 'Galbadia Daily' newspaper- that 'such an action takes us back to times of obscurantism'. I would like to ask you to elaborate on that."
- "Certainly, Miss Perez." Trafford replied to the newscaster "As part of the late Sirius Connelly's governmental team, I was able to view first-hand what progress is all about. After one and a half decade of a tyrannical status quo, we were able to see for the shortest of periods the first ray of light in the era of 'obscurantism' as I've stated before. Zenton Deling was only elected due to his blood relation with former President Vinzer Deling. It is my firm belief that he has no further qualities whatsoever to become a successful descendant for the Presidency of Galbadia."
- "If I may interrupt Miss Perez…" intervened Serj Aldian, Secretary of Justice "Mr. Trafford. First of all, it's common knowledge that Sirius Connelly wasn't actually what one would call a 'saint'. And on a second issue, I really can't see how you can judge someone without giving him a chance to prove his worth…"
- "Mr. Aldian, will all due respect, the last person who should be given an opportunity in this position is Zenton Deling. We have all heard of the accusations inflicted on him for the conspiracy against President Connelly last September…" retorted Trafford.
- "And we all know as well that these accusations were falsely directed, as it came out that the culprit behind all this was Seifer Almasy." piped in the former Secretary of Civilization, from Vinzer Deling's time.
- "This was never really confirmed, since Mr. Aldian here, failed to bring the aforementioned 'culprit' into custody one week ag-" began Trafford, in a sarcastic tone.
- "Seifer Almasy is a dangerous man, capable of things we cannot imagine." Aldian defended himself "Do not speak about things you have no experience of Mr. Trafford!"
- "He's a nineteen-year-old boy, for Hyne's sake!" said Trafford exasperated.
- "He's a nineteen-year-old mass murderer!" insisted Aldian, banging his fist on his desk.
At that point, Seifer turned around and banged his fist hard on the wall. He ran his other hand through his hair and sighed deeply. Quistis put her hand on his shoulder and turned around to the others.
- "Could we turn that off?" she asked "I don't think it's worth watching anymore…"
Squall nodded and switched the TV off with the remote. Everyone remained silent once again. Seifer sighed again loudly and spoke.
- "One stupid fucking mistake one year ago and now it'll haunt me forever…" he said.
- "Don't talk like that…" said Quistis "We'll figure this out…"
- "How?" asked Seifer.
None of them spoke. What was there to say anyway? Seifer was right; how where they going to get him out of this?
- "Well, don't just give up like that!" piped in Selphie "We'll get started with a plan and see how it goes!" she suggested.
- "She's right Seifer." said Fujin "It's the best you can do for now."
- "I dunno…" mumbled Seifer "What good will it do?" he asked shrugging.
- "Please Sei…" Quistis pleaded, holding his hand "For me…"
Seifer turned and looked at her, giving her a weak smile. He held her from the nape and gave her a kiss on the forehead. He turned around and walked with her over to an empty spot in one of the couches, next to Zell and Zuka, sitting down.
- "OK then… Let's hear it? What did you have in mind?" he asked.
- "First of all, we gotta specify which sectors we'll be working on. Then, we'll assign one field to everyone, or we could work in small groups." Selphie began, pulling out a notebook she had right next to her "I was thinking that we should cover more or less these fields: The President's holiday mansion outside of Deling," she said, indicating 'one' with her index finger "We need to take a good look at the crime scene first. Then, we should go on and question the supposed 'witnesses' in Deling. Maybe someone threatened them to say they saw Seifer that night. Third, we should try to find the President's autopsy report at the city's morgue. Hyne knows how often these tend to get 'tampered' with to cover up evidence. Fourth, I think that it would be good if we did some PC research on Zenton Deling. See if we can dig out any 'dirt' on him that can help us with this case. It would also be good if we looked around for info on the other faction members, like Robinson. Finally, Xu talked about the autopsy back in Garden. She said that the cuts on the body were identified as ones belonging to a gunblade and that the bullet came from a Hyperion model. We should conduct a small research on all Hyperion owners and check where the bullets get manufactured, just in case we find that there was any weird 'shipping' lately…" she finished drawing a deep breath "That's about it for a start. What do you guys think?"
Selphie stopped talking and looked around her friends. None of them was speaking and they were all looking at her wide-eyed.
- "What?" asked Selphie innocently.
- "You're good, ya know…?" said Raijin, impressed.
- "Honestly Selphie… That was very… professional…" said Squall. All of them nodded.
- "Thanks you guys…" said Selphie giggling and blushing.
- "No really… That was good…" said Zell.
- "Heh, heh… My pooh-bear is a genius…" said Irvine proudly, hugging Selphie tightly.
- "Thank you Irvy-Kinne-poo!" squealed his girlfriend, giving him a peck on the lips.
- "To the point if you please!" protested Quistis.
- "Yeah, sorry…" said Selphie grinning, running the back of her hair "So anyway… Any other ideas guys?" she asked.
- "I think you've covered just about anything for the time being…" said Seifer.
- "Yeah, I think we should start assigning duties." said Rinoa.
- "OK!" said Selphie excitedly "I was thinking that me and Z-"
- "Whoa, whoa…" Seifer interrupted her "If anyone's doing all that, it'll be me. I'm the one involved in this story, not you."
- "Seifer, you know you can't step a toe out in the open. Someone has to do field work." said Zuka.
- "Listen…" he replied "I really appreciate it, but I don't-"
- "No 'buts' straw-head!" said Selphie, putting her hands on her hips "I'm the mastermind behind the plan and I say that we will participate, whether you like it or not!"
Seifer stared at Selphie wide-eyed.
- "Yes ma'am…" he said in a voice barely audible.
- "Thought so…" said Selphie, a smug expression on her face.
- "She can be damn fuckin' scary…" Seifer whispered into Quistis' ear.
- "Tell me about it…" said Quistis grinning.
- "So… Where should we start from?" asked Rinoa.
- "I think we need to visit the crime scene first. See where we can get started…" suggested Quistis.
- "Alrighty…" said Selphie, noting it down on her notebook "And we need to get access to a really good on-line library to get as mush info as we can on anything we might need. I say Esthar's, without a doubt…"
- "Yeah, definitely…" agreed Zell.
- "Y'know," piped in Shizuka "All we'll need is a password to be able to access it from any computer connected with the Internet. If you can get me that password, I'll be able to search for info through the PC in Garden's Library and we won't have to go to Esthar and back each time we need to look something up."
- "Booyaka!" exclaimed Selphie "I didn't know you could do that! So Squall, you'll pay Laguna a visit about this, won't you?"
- "Can't I just call him?" asked Squall almost pleadingly.
- "No you can't!" protested Rinoa "He'll be really happy to see you in person Squall! You're going!"
- "Irvy can go with you…" suggested Selphie.
- "Huh?" said Irvine startled, having zoned out for a second "Yeah, sure I can…"
- "And who'll be going to Deling to the mansion then?" asked Zell.
- "We could go together." offered Selphie. Zell shrugged.
- "So what will the rest of us do?" asked Quistis.
- "You and Seify are going to Centra to Matron for the time being." replied Selphie "You could work on any research we might need, since you have to be undercover. Me and Zell will leave for Deling City and the rest will go back to Garden until further notice."
- "Hey, we wanna help too, ya know?" protested Raijin. Next to him, Fujin nodded.
- "Guys," said Seifer "I've already put you through too much trouble. 'Sides, the Galbadians will suspect you if you disappear for some time."
- "Then let us come to Centra for a little while." suggested Fujin.
- "Sure…" said Seifer, smiling at her weakly.
- "So… Are we all set? We gotta leave tonight." said Selphie.
- "There's just one thing; how are we going to Centra?" asked Quistis, pointing at herself, Seifer and Fujin with Raijin.
- "We'll request another SeeD aircraft to come. One will return us to Garden, the other will take you four to Edea's." replied Rinoa.
- "I'm not sure if that's such a good idea…" said Seifer frowning "We should keep Garden out of this as much as possible. It's bad enough that they think all of you helped me escape."
- "We'll be discreet, don't worry." Selphie reassured him.
- "We've decided then? We all leave tonight?" asked Irvine for reassurance.
- "Yes." replied Selphie "I'll go make the calls for two aircrafts sent tonight. One for Quisty, Seifer, Fujin and Raijin to get to Centra and another one for us. We'll report to Cid and as of tomorrow, the investigation is under way…"
A/N: So Deling got his greedy paws on what he wanted; the presidency of Galbadia. It may seem weird to many of you that he got the position simply because of the fact that he was related by blood to the deceased Vinzer Deling, right? I got this idea from the way things worked in ancient Greece, where the succession to the throne was always a family issue; the first born son of the family was always the heir to the throne, despite his possible lack of leadership qualities. Such tactics were, of course, followed in tyrannical governments, before Democracy was born and flourished, but I found it quite suitable as in the game, we're informed that Vinzer Deling's government was a dictatorship.
ON THE NEXT CHAPTER OF 'THE BEGINNING, IS THE END, IS THE BEGINNING':
I'll just quote what Selphie said in the ending of the chapter: '…as of tomorrow, the investigation is under way…'