If my computer and "It" continue to give me any more problems, something (or somebody) is going to find my machete in a very uncomfortable spot… Just a warning. J

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters in this story except three. I will release their names when the time comes. Also, the last time I checked, I owned the plot, too. Yep.

Chapter Nineteen

The five of them stepped off the Ragnarok's ramp. Squall had already disappeared into the midday crowd in the direction of the Presidential Palace. He was right. They were on their own for this one. He sure wasn't going to help question the doctor.

Selphie turned back to face the Ragnarok and saw Rinoa staring back up the ramp. Her back was to them. She seemed very interested in the interior of the ship, if that's what she was really seeing.

"Rinny!" The perky girl called to her friend. Rinoa slowly, reluctantly drew her eyes away. Selphie smiled. "Come on! We haven't got all day! We have to find Odine." She giggled as Rinoa blushed and made her way down to their level.

"Sorry. I got caught up in my thoughts there. I'm sorry." The color still rose in her pale cheeks.

The brown haired girl giggled again. "No problem. Let's get going." She headed out of the Airstation. Irvine and Zell kept their distance from each other. They were still angrier than Hell. It was a very wise decision to keep them apart.

They group of five made their way out of the station. Upon the exit, they noticed that they had two options of ways that they could go, left or right. But which way was the question.

"Umm…Guys?" Selphie queried. "Do you remember the way to Odine's laboratory? It's left, isn't it?" She pouted slightly, seeing that she didn't know the way. "It hasn't been this long since we've been here? Has it?"

Zell shrugged but said nothing. Irvine didn't even make a single move. He stood with his back turned on the others. He was the angrier of the two and wanted no association with anyone at the moment. It wouldn't be for long, however, before his cranky mood ended.

"Well, if you feel like taking the long way, then go for it. Go left." Rinoa said. She still felt a little weak. That encounter had left her drained of any energy that she had. A dizzy spell kept attacking her, causing her to stop and close her eyes and block everything out until it passed, freeing her. If she didn't rest, she would find herself face down on the ground out cold. Thankfully, her other four comrades did not see her struggles.

"The long way? Going left is the long way?" Selphie asked. She did not remember her away around this grand city. She hadn't spent much time in it, so why would she?

"Yes. Going left would be like going around Robin Hood's barn. Taking the right turn will make this a whole lot easier. But if you want to see the sights, then go left," Rinoa smiled at her friend. Selphie cocked her head to one side and stared curiously at the young sorceress. She gave her friend a look that clearly stated somewhere along the lines of How do you know? in mocked amusement.

" I spent some time here with Laguna. I thought I told you that." Rinoa moved her hands to her hips. Every little movement she made now caused her feel just a bit more weakened.

A sudden fear engulfed Rinoa. What if she had left some sort of trace of who she was when she tapped into that person's mind? What if that enemy began to target her? Then came a feeling of almost self-resentment. That would only cause more problems for the others, especially Squall. And she didn't want that. She didn't want to be a continuous burden to them. She didn't want to be the cause for all the set backs that they were probably going to be forced through. She did her best to ignore the doubts that had crowded the back of her mind.

"Oh, right!" The perky girl exclaimed. She now wore an even bigger smile than the one that she had sported before. It seemed that just living made this girl happy. It was a very rare quality, and one that would make the whole world a better place if all possessed it. It made Rinoa smile and happy to be around Selphie.

But Selphie's big smile began to fade as she stared at Irvine's back. But that flicker of sadness or doubt or whatever had caused Selphie's smile it begin to dissipate didn't hold her down for long. She just stuck her tongue out at the cowboy's backside and returned to her previous state.

"Well, what are we waiting for? We have a job to do that Mr. Leader has given us to do on our own. Let's get this done and fast!" she bubbled delightfully.

Rinoa just couldn't help but laugh. She found herself only chuckling at first, but she had suddenly found Selphie's cheery manner quite delightful. She giggled then exploded into a full-blown laugh. It caused Zell to look at her questionably, and Selphie echoed her giggle. Irvine still remained in his same position. It may be harder to get him out of this funk.

Selphie grabbed her friend's arm and she and Rinoa headed right, giggling madly while the two guys followed with a great distance between the two of them. It took them quite a few moments to calm down.

Things became quiet as they roamed their way down the streets, taking turns where they needed to. They passed quite a number of people, rushing around to fulfill their daily schedules. Not many individuals paid them any mind as they made their way to their final destination at Dr. Odine's laboratory. They were hoping to make the questioning of the doctor as quick and painless as possible.

Once she got started, Selphie pretty much knew where to go. She directed them with ease through the mass of people that rushed by. Selphie was in front of the group, like a scout for an army. Her excitement and endless energy kept them on their toes to struggle to keep up with her. Rinoa followed her, lost in a world of questions with no answers. What she had experienced on the Ragnarok was clouding her mind, making everything hazy. She relied on Selphie's voice to guide her, though the perky girl didn't know that she was Rinoa's eyes for the time being. Zell was somewhat in the group, following behind Rinoa, silent. It was amazing that the blond could remain quiet for so long. He was pretty mad, but still said nothing as he followed the two ladies. Irvine brought up the rear, walking sluggishly far from the others. He kept his head down staring at the constant movement of his boots walking forward. He tuned out the busy sounds around him, even Selphie's squeals as she gave them the directions. One might have thought that he was just pouting. But that wasn't the case. Oh, no. The cowboy was, in a sense, plotting. He was still madder than a hippo with a hernia. It would take him longer than everyone thought to calm down. His mind may have been full of ways to dislocate the martial artist's head from his shoulders, but he knew deep down, way down, that he would not harm him. Just be angry at him for a good while longer.

"Damn you, Mr. Happy-Go-Lucky-Perky-Loser-Zell." The cowboy hissed under his breath.

Suddenly, it dawned on Rinoa as she looked around. Where was Quistis? Hadn't she been with them? She had been with them at the Airstation. But what happened to her?

She didn't have much time to ponder where the Instructor had gone as they were now at the entrance to the laboratory of Dr. Odine. The sorceress pushed the worry from her mind and figured that maybe she had gone with Squall to Laguna. It was pretty unlikely. But maybe. Just maybe.

Selphie waited impatiently as Irvine took his time to approach them. When he finally did, he gave Zell one nasty glance. The young man recoiled back in fear and in shame. He busied himself with something on the horizon away from the cowboy. Rinoa frowned at the cowboy, but she wasn't the only one.

"Now, now, now! I don't want any of that while we are in there! We have to look and act like a team. Understand?" Selphie said sternly, even though a small smile played at her lips, she was pretty serious. Irvine nodded but did not say a word. Zell waved his hand in understanding.

"And furthermore…Hey!" Selphie broke off in mid-sentence. "Where's Quisty?" She looked around furiously. A light color of crimson began to appear in her cheeks. She felt slightly embarrassed as she was just now noticing the woman was gone.

"I don't know. She probably went with Squall to talk to Laguna." Rinoa voiced her own thoughts.

"Wrong," a feminine voice expressed itself from behind. There stood Quistis. It looked as if she had just come out of the laboratory.

"Quisty!" Selphie exclaimed. "Where? How..?" The girl struggled with words in her astonishment.

"Since you all took forever at the Airstation, I got sick of waiting. I came straight out here." Quistis frowned slightly at herself as she suddenly felt foolish.

"Oh," Selphie chewed on her lower lip.

"Did you talk to the doctor, then?" Rinoa asked. She didn't care that Quistis had gone ahead. Squall probably would have done the same thing. The two of them were the type of people who wanted to get a job done fast and right.

"No, he wasn't in there. One of the guards said that he hadn't been here since before he went to see Laguna about an hour ago." Quistis replied.

"You mean, he's not here!" Selphie half shrieked. She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Nope. Not here, and no one knows just where he is. Someone suggested that we try one of the old labs outside the city. He sometimes goes there for reference. It's worth a try."

"And what about Squall? What if he comes here looking for us and we've buggered off somewhere else?" Selphie demanded.

It was Rinoa's turn to frown in thought. "I don't think that he'll come out here looking for us, but it is a possibility."

"He might get mad if we're not where we said we'd be," Irvine finally spoke. He kept the brim of his hat covered over his eyes still.

"Good point. He probably would get mad," Selphie nodded.

"So just what are we supposed to do? Wait here for the doctor to return? Who knows how long that's going to take! It could be hours!" Zell exclaimed. He had turned around when Quistis showed up.

"Well, then let's put the doctor on hold for a while and go find Squall and Sir Laguna," Selphie suggested. Her excitement level had increased a few bars in the past twenty seconds.

No one spoke but there were nods and a shrug.

"They're both at the Presidential Palace, correct?" Quistis asked. She smoothed her hair down with her hand.

"Actually, we just happen to be right here." The sound of Laguna's voice filled their ears. The two men had appeared behind them during the later part of their conversation.

"Oh! Sir Laguna!" Selphie fought back a giggle in her surprise to see him there.

Laguna was actually dressed in a pretty formal fashion. He had on a turquoise green dress shirt and black slacks. With his hair back in a lose ponytail and a couple of strands that fell around his face, he and Squall bore a striking resemblance, especially through their smiles.

"Hello! I hope you all haven't spoken with Dr. Odine yet," the President greeted them.

"No, apparently he hasn't been here since before he came to see you earlier," Quistis replied.

"Good."

"Why?" Rinoa wondered. She noticed how Squall would not make eye contact with her. He kept his gaze away from her.

"Because Squall and I have come up with an idea." Laguna answered. He smiled at Rinoa. He loved that girl like a daughter and had a high hope that she would become one.

"An idea? What kind of an idea?" Selphie hopped over to the two men expressing her curiosity.

"It would be a bad move to talk about that out here in the open," Squall stated firmly.

"Oh, that kind of idea," Selphie nodded, eyes wide.

"Yep," Laguna chuckled. He gently took Selphie by the arm and began to lead her away from the lab's entrance. "Why don't we all head back to the palace? I would prefer to tell you all both sets of news behind closed doors where the walls won't speak."

They followed him in silence. This time, it was Squall and Rinoa who brought up the rear. Rinoa was back there in hopes to speak with him, to ask him what was wrong, but he said nothing. When she averted her attention away from him, he gave her a slight loving glance. She didn't see, though, and he was partially glad.

The now larger group headed back to the palace. Like in most cities, there were guards hidden everywhere, watching the every move that the President made with the young people. They took Laguna's private lift back to the palace where Kiros and Ward waited for them all.

A/N: I'm sorry that my updates lately have taken so long. I am rewriting about four chapters that I will not stand to see posted somewhere for who knows how many people to see. That would drive me crazy. (More crazy than I am presently.) I do not like the original form of those chapters. I am still hoping to keep up my goal to have all these chapters that I presently have posted for you all to enjoy or hate (whatever you choose). I think it's been knocked down to 45. I can't remember. I think I combined two chapters again. I can't remember. I am starting to believe that I maybe have Short-term memory loss. Oh, well. But hey, in a sense, it may be fun to have that. That way, when mom says, "I thought I told you to clean your room." I can say, "I don't remember you saying anything about cleaning my room…" Hey, that would be the truth, partly. Hahaha! I'm gonna get started on the next chapter before I make a bigger fool of myself. Read and Review guys! Thanks! Later Days! (Or hours, whichever comes first!)

E/N: You can't remember a lot of things. Then again, neither can I... Eek you've infected me! AHH! I can feel my brain rotting away! Gah, I feel so mentally violated now...

A/N: Wait! You had a brain? Wow. You learn something new everyday...

E/N: Keep in mind I'M the one who can SPELL. -aherm-

A/N: Oh, yeah! You learn something new everyday, and you forget something old everyday.