A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.
- Chinese Proverb

Throughout the rest of the day, Squall had been unable to concentrate on the work he knew needed to be done. Instead, his mind insisted on wondering back to the conversation he had had with the strange man, the one who claimed to be his father. These thoughts would then, co-incidentally, wonder to the number that he had received. Each time he managed to focus on the work he had set for himself to do, his mind traveled back in time and stubbornly forced him to focus his thoughts solely on that. By the time two o'clock had come around, Squall had given up hope of getting any work completed and packed his things up, preparing to call it quits for the day. The entire thing concerned him, since he had never been this shaken up since Rinoa had fallen into a coma after inheriting Matron's powers. It was turning him into a wreck.

He had become so deep in his thoughts that he hadn't even realized he had arrived at the room he was staying in until he nearly passed the door. He and Rinoa had both received separate rooms, but both had felt more than just a little comfortable in sharing his in the end. Entering the room, he hoped he hadn't woken Rinoa up until he saw her sitting up waiting for him, nursing a cold drink in her hand. She had seemed surprised that he had come in earlier and that was when he told her what had happened earlier in the day.

When he had finished, Rinoa hadn't said anything, nor had he expected her to. The expression on her face told of her shock, the same shock he had fallen into when he had first been told. Rinoa had told him what she thought then, something that he figured she would have done, but it surprised him how easily she could see each outcome. She told him that it would be wonderful if it turned out that this man was telling the truth, but she also warned him that he should be careful, just in case he was merely using him. He had thought of either outcome himself, so this wasn't new news to him.

Next, he had told the others, the ones he had grown up with for the better part of his life. They had shared his shock as well, not that he was surprised by this, but they all seemed to focus on the negative, that this man could just be using the timing to use him solely because of the accomplishments Squall had achieved on his own. Rinoa had then expressed her desire for it to be true, that everyone deserved to have a family of their own, and that those who did tended to take it for granted.

This had all taken place a few days ago, and Squall was mentally considering his options. No work had been completed since he had received the news, and he had the sneaking suspicion that he wouldn't get any work done thereafter until he had come to a decision on the subject. He was sitting inside of his office behind his desk, with a pile of reports waiting to be read on his right hand side, waiting to be filed onto the left hand side of his desk, in the sign that he had, indeed, read through them and signed them. So far, that side of his desk was bare.

Having discarded his jacket onto one of the armchairs as he had first entered the office, he now sat at his desk, his chin being propped up by his left hand while drumming the fingers on his right hand atop of his desk. Nothing was getting done, and he was obsessing with a possibility that, by all rights, could be nothing more than a cruel joke, but he just couldn't seem to help himself.

Normally, he would have made his decision on the subject by then, but due to the incidents that had taken place in the past couple of months, he was having a difficult time deciding just what that decision was. A part of him who was always weary and suspicious of any human contact outside of those he trusted argued vehemently against allowing the man any kind of acceptance, while the other part of him desperately rallied in favour of speaking to him. Whenever he made a point supporting one side of the argument, he seemed to create a counter-point to that argument, and continued to do so until he couldn't think about it anymore. He had already written out all of the pro's and con's to meeting with him as well as the pro's and con's of just ignoring what the man had to say, and so far, neither argument seemed to outweigh the other.

Having picked up his pen in the midst of thinking of another argument, he threw it down in disgust when the thought escaped him. Burying his head into his hands in mental frustration, he realized, not for the first time, that he had absolutely no idea what he should do. The fact that neither argument seemed to outweigh the other was driving him to his breaking point, and he needed to get some work done.

He needed a second opinion, this much he knew. But he didn't know who he should ask, because everyone who was close to him knew of the situation, and he had already evaluated each of their opinions on the subject, and countered them to the point where it made his head hurt. Rinoa seemed to be in the same position he was in, not knowing what to do, but being able to see two different results to the same predicament.

Frowning at the options in his mind, he caught an idea as it was about to pass him by and then wished he had just let it do so. The idea was stupid, but was probably the only way he was going to make a decision in this case. Fishing out a coin from within his pockets, he sat it in the palm of his hand, sighing at the childishness of the solution before he closed his eyes and formed a fist around the coin.

I can't believe I'm actually chancing a decision on something so fleeting as luck, Squall thought to himself before tossing the coin into the air, hoping that it didn't land on its edge (with his luck, it was definitely a possibility). Heads, I talk to him. Tails, I don't.

He reached out to catch the small object, only to miss and watch as it bounced onto the floor, rolling to the left of where he sat before finally reaching the bookshelf nearby. It rolled underneath the object before a small clanking sound indicated that it had stopped.

Fuck.

Squall decided, at that point, Hyne hated him.

After taking five minutes of his time moving the extremely heavy bookshelf (Squall figured that it was only heavy because he wasn't junctioned ), he was finally able to fish out the coin and upon picking it up off the ground, he discovered what decision luck had made for him.

Heads.

Feeling better already now that his decision had been made, Squall returned to his desk and began to search for the phone number that the stranger had given to him, hoping that he hadn't left it somewhere it could have gotten lost. He finally located it pinned on the bulletin wall next to an assortment of dates, maps and plans sectioned off for the monster extermination team. How it had gotten there, Squall had no recollection of, and doubted that he would have left it over there in the first place. Nevertheless, he had found it, and upon retrieving it, he returned to his desk, only to stare at the phone to the left of him.

C'mon Squall, you made the agreement. The coin landed on heads, so that means you call him. If you don't, then this whole thing is going to haunt you to the point where you'll never be able to get any work done ever again.

Taking in a deep breath before letting it out slowly, he reached for the receiver and dialled the number. However, just as he finished dialling, a feeling of anxiety swept over him and he ended up slamming the receiver back onto the hook of the phone before mentally berating himself for being such a coward. Picking up the receiver again, he re-dialled the number, this time staying on the line to hear that it was, indeed ringing. The stranger hadn't lied to him about the number, that's for certain.

His nerves got the better of him after the second ring, and he hung up once more, this time allowing his forehead to rest on top of his upturned palms.

This is ridiculous. You're just making a phone call. There's nothing terrifying about that. Just take in a deep breath and get it over with.

Following the commands of his mind, Squall took in a deep breath, released it and then picked up the receiver once again, dialling the number slowly, making sure that he imputed the numbers correctly. His resolve began to waver as the phone rang, waiting to be picked up at the other end. Still, he held the receiver tightly, as though it would suddenly slip through his fingers and end up being placed back onto its hook once again. He waited for the person on the opposite end to pick up the phone.

Finally, someone did. The voice was familiar. It belonged to the man he had spoken to merely a few days prior. At least this proved one thing, he definitely hadn't lied about the number.

"Hello?" the man said on the opposite end.

Squall opened his mouth to say something, but no sound came out. He couldn't believe that he was actually choking at a time like this. He managed to stay on the phone for this long already, even after his resolve began to waver more. He tried to get his voice to work again, but his vocal cords seemed to have constricted, refusing to allow this course of action.

"Hello?" the voice sounded a bit inquisitive towards the fact that no one was responding.

The receiver found its way to the hook and Squall felt like a fool.

How the mighty have fallen, he thought to himself bitterly. He could save the world from two Sorceresses, but he couldn't even pick up the phone and talk to a man who just might be related to him. It was a disappointing thought in his mind, one that embarrassed him greatly and yet, there was nothing he could do to overcome his anxiety towards the situation.

He resolved then and there that no one was to know of this.

When he had debated choices he had in front of him relating to this situation, or flipped the coin to make the deciding decision, he had not ruled in that he would be nervous.

He considered trying one more time before calling it quits when the phone next to him began to ring. He looked at it curiously before checking the caller ID, only to realize that the man he had attempted three times to contact was calling him back. Taking in a deep breath, he figured that he should at least answer it and explain why he had continuously hung up on him. He deserved that much at the least, didn't he?

He released the breath before picking up the receiver once again and holding it against his ear. "…Hello?"

"Hello." The voice on the other end greeted him. "You called?"

Squall could tell that his face was burning up in embarrassment, but he somehow managed to keep his voice neutral. "Yes, I did."

"I see," The man stated. "If it hadn't been you, I would have been worried, since you're the only one who has this number."

Note to self. When hanging up on someone you need to talk to, don't. Especially if they know you're the only one with the number to begin with.

His face heating up even more, Squall considered burying his head into the multitudes of undone paperwork and forgetting that this whole thing had ever happened.

"But I understand the reasons behind it," The man continued, even as Squall was berating himself for acting like an idiot. "I would be nervous too if my father just showed up and told him to call him if he wanted to… even if it was only for answers."

There was silence between the two for a moment as Squall thought about what he could ask this man. There were so many unanswered questions floating around in his mind, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out which one to ask first.

Without warning, Squall's body decided that it was going to ask a question on its own. "Why?"

The man sounded a little surprised by the sudden question. "Why what?"

"Why now?" Squall asked and realized that the question itself sounded vague.

The man sighed on the other end, however, having understood the meaning behind those two simple words, and also seeming to have expected the response. "Because I only heard your name on the news a week ago, and I only arrived in town a couple of days before I told you the truth."

"But how did you know my name exactly?" The more he thought about it, the more impossible it sounded to him. "You said that you and my mother lost contact with each other before I was even born."

"Because one of my associates remained in constant contact with your mother and told me what she had called you when you were born. We lost contact shortly afterwards, which is why I never knew she was dead until I was released from prison."

The man on the other end sighed once more after a moment of silence. "I don't expect you to believe me, but I am telling you the truth. I could probably tell you a load of reasons why things happened the way they did, but they wouldn't matter because what is done is done. All we can possibly do now is reflect on the past."

Squall nodded to himself in response, despite the fact that the person he was speaking to couldn't possibly see him. It was exactly what Ellone had discovered after attempting to go back into the past through him. You can't change the past. It was the person who was witnessing the events that changed in the end.

"So…" the man said, when Squall hadn't answered him. "Do you have any more questions?"

Squall took in another deep breath before letting it out slowly. There were a lot of things he wanted to know about; so many things he didn't understand. "…What was she like?"

When the man didn't answer right away, Squall mentally slapped himself. Of course he wouldn't want to talk about her; she was the whole reason this whole mess had ever occurred. He remembered when he had asked Laguna about Raine before time compression and the response he had received; he should've known better. It was a personal question; one he had no business asking. Shaking his head, he quickly added onto his question. "Never mind. Don't worry about it. It was a stupid question…"

"You want to know about your mother?"

This stopped the SeeD before he could say anything else. He didn't say anything in response. He didn't know what to say in response to the question. He hadn't even known why he had even asked in the first place. He had been told that she had been happy before the sudden change. Asking him about her made it look as though he hadn't been listening, and it was definitely not a good start.

"Squall?" the man asked on the other end. "Are you still there? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Squall responded automatically.

"If you want to know about your mother, that's quite alright. I'll tell you about her if you'd like."

"You said she was happy."

"Indeed she was. We were both happy. She was definitely a strong spirit."

"What do you mean?"

The man chuckled. "She refused help whenever it was offered to her. She was always independent that way. The rest of her family had disappeared before we got married, and taking care of herself was something she had to cope with for a very long time. She even refused help while she was pregnant, even when the doctors were constantly warning her not to be on her feet all of the time. Excluding her stubborn tendencies, nevertheless we got along just fine. Even if she didn't want my help, I managed to assist her in some of her daily activities, especially during the pregnancy. She was small, but she was beautiful, and had a big heart. I see a lot of her in you actually."

"You do?"

"Of course I do. The only thing you received from me were my eyes, but I wouldn't complain. Actually, I think I would have complained had you inherited anything else from me. You're perfect the way you are. But as much as I'd like to tell you more aspects about yourself you probably don't even realize you have, and even if I haven't been there I know these things, you wanted to know about your mother. If she was alive, she'd be very proud of you, you do know this right?"

Squall closed his eyes at the sound of the compliment. He didn't believe there was very much she would've been proud of. From what this man had told him, she had lived in a peaceful village, away from soldiers, away from the conflicts of the rest of the world, away from violence and destruction. He doubted that the knowledge of her son becoming a part of all that would do anything aside from disappoint her. They seemed to come from two different worlds, probably believing in two different things and possessing two different perspectives. He doubted that they would have ever gotten along in the first place.

Thinking on it for a moment, Squall realized for the first time in his entire life exactly what it was he wanted from it. It wasn't fame or fortune, and it sure as hell wasn't recognition. It was something he had been denied while he had been growing up and, although there were people to fill that void for him, it wasn't the same and couldn't compare in the end.

He wanted a family.

He had already made up his mind the moment he had picked up the phone, when he had dialled the number to this man claiming to be his biological father, and he knew that there was no turning back.

"Squall? Are you still there?"

Squall shook himself of his mental musings to answer back. "Yeah, sorry; just thinking."

"You tend to do that quite a bit."

"So I've been told."

He knew it'd be a long shot, but he was willing to give this relationship a try.

The people of Esthar City were of a strenuous nature, always running around trying to get everything done at the exact same time, talking on cellular telephones, working on laptops, searching through files while speaking to clients or colleagues or any other person of value to their business. The age of technology was supposed to bring humans a means of which to make their lives easier. Unfortunately for the citizens of the world's most productive country, it only made things far more difficult.

Most people tended to work throughout their free time, in order to ensure that everything was managed and finished before the date of the accursed deadlines of which would come to haunt them all. Once they were done, rather than rest and relax, they proceeded onto the next project, keeping themselves busy and further raising their stress levels.

Due to the level of stress that was running rampant within the world's businessmen and women, people were becoming more and more susceptible to viral infection. The flu, the common cold, or any other form of illness that would attack the immune system and attempt to rend it to shreds. The notice of such forms of virus' of which threatened people's health was so common based that when a new one was discovered and appeared on the news or on radio stations, most people tended to ignore the warning.

And so the only means of warning for the newest epidemic onslaught fell upon deaf ears.

"...In health related news, a new form of virus has taken hold of the citizens of Esthar, spreading about like wild fire. Many people have suddenly collapsed, feeling nauseous and weak before suddenly, and altogether fainting. Many have been rushed to nearby hospitals, but doctors and other medical physicians are stumped as to the cause of such an outbreak…"

"…The symptoms for this strange new infection is the sudden paling of skin and feelings of nausea and fatigue. People who suffer from these symptoms as well as light-headedness, lack of appetite and lethargic tendencies should report this information to their doctors immediately in order to solve this problem…"

"What began merely a few days ago has suddenly become a wide spread epidemic. People are encouraged to remain in their homes and to wear breathing masks or anything else of the sort in order to prevent this widespread virus from infecting any other civilian…"

"This new epidemic has suddenly risen to a higher level of alarm as thousands of people are slowly dying from this silent killer. Officials have blockaded what they believe to be the epicentre from the remainder of the city, in order to contain this sudden outbreak and to prevent as many deaths as possible…"

"People are suddenly walking again, but in a horrifying turn of events they are preying on the lives of other people around them, including loved ones. Biting, scratching and sometimes eating each other for sustenance, the citizens of Esthar wonder just exactly how it is that these current events have come to transpire…"

"Sources blame the onslaught of murders that have begun to take place on the epidemic that was discovered less than a week ago. Officials tried to contain the sudden outbreak, but medical experts fear that action was not taken as swiftly as it could have been…"

"Oh my god! It's horrible! People are shuffling down the street and no form of physical attacks on their wellbeing is stopping their movements. They don't even appear to register the pain that has fallen upon their bodies."

"Get it away! Get them away from me!"

"It's horrible! How can people do this?"

"Where did this thing come from? Why are people doing this?"

…Static.