FFVIII – Avenir

Chapter III – Trouver

"Ouch! God damn!"

Seifer Almasy, or, Daniel Peters – the newest burger flipper at Lorneburger – wiped at a spot of grease that splashed at his cheek as he flipped burgers. His low-income job, as stupid as it was, gave him the money he needed to survive in such a hi-tech city like Esthar.

"Oy! No cussin'!" said the girl next to him.

"Oh, shut up, Xenya," grumbled Seifer.

Xenya was a fairly petite 16-year-old with a smart mouth. Her blonde pigtails that made her look so innocent contrasted with her true personality – a smart-mouthed woman with a strong will and even stronger opinions. Obviously, this didn't go so well with Seifer, who has a similar personality. Of course, their personalities clashed and they don't care for one another.

Another reason, Seifer thought, that this 'life in Esthar' thing is a complete living hell.

Seifer's boss – and his apartment's landlord – Mr. Lorne broke the tension with a clear of his gruff throat. "Well, I'm outta here. Don't y'all burn th'damn place down, a'ight?"

"Yeah, yeah," said Seifer and Xenya simultaneously.

All he could think about was keeping his cool so he didn't blow his cover. Hyne knows what Balamb would do to him… worse… what Quistis, his ex-instructor, would think of him…

"Daniel? DANIEL!"

Seifer shook his head of all the thoughts he had. He turned to face the indignant Xenya, who was shaking her head impatiently. "Didn't you hear me?" she said. "There's a customer who wants a Jumbo Lornie!"

"Bah. Whatever, my shift's up now." Seifer handed Xenya his spatula. "You do it, okay?" He put on a fake smile and left Xenya, mouth agape, to finish the job.

The grin Seifer wore didn't wear off even after he was blocks away from the Lorneburger. After turning a corner, he threw his head back and laughed out loud. A few passers-by turned and stared at this lunatic; a mother even directed his son away from him.

Xenya… what a loser! He thought, tears of laughter streaming down his cheeks. My shift wasn't over for another hour!

The ex-sorceress' knight turned a corner only to bump into someone. The person he bumped into turned around. Although his eyes were covered with a helmet, Seifer could feel his eyes burning into his own.

"Watch it, punk," he said coolly.

Seifer gave the man a death glare. "I don't take orders from you," he said just as coolly.

"Look, just leave, alright?" said the man with the helmet. "This isn't a place for punks like you."

"Whatever," Seifer turned the other way and walked until he ducked into a nearby alley. Something about the man sounded suspicious. Seifer, being Seifer, was going to find out. As soon as the man with the helmet turned back the way he came from, Seifer crept out of the alley to follow him. Honestly, he didn't know what possessed him to follow this man. It could have been because he thought this man was suspicious, or just out of sheer boredom, he didn't know.

The man didn't seem to notice that Seifer was hot on his tracks. Tracking the man down was easy, really. He was in the alley beside the one Seifer had originally came out of. Ducking inconspicuously into the alley, Seifer stuck to a wall, creeping timidly toward this mysterious man. The man with the helmet didn't seem to notice a thing. Seifer ducked behind a nearby dumpster to observe without being seen.

In front of the man now was a huge black door. It was locked. The man with the helmet tapped four times on the door in a rhythmic sort of way. The door opened slightly and a pair of eyes could be seen. Could it belong to another man with a helmet?

"Password?" said the man in the doorway.

"Screw the password, Lou."

"Oh, hey, Joe! What's up?

"Just let me in, okay?"

"Long live Galbadia!" chanted the man with the helmet as he stepped into the room.

Seifer blinked. Galbadia? So this man was a Galbadian soldier! But what are they doing here?

Even with the door closed Seifer could hear a muffled conversation. He was able to make out what they said.

"Did you get those items?" said a first voice. It sounded like the man in the doorway.

"Yeah," replied the second voice. This one was definitely the man with the helmet that Seifer followed. "I had to kill that man though. He wouldn't give up those damn items without keeping his mouth shut for one minute."

"So, he's dead, and we get all these items to ourselves?"

There was a small pause after that and Seifer assumed that the first man nodded his head yes because afterwards he said; "Now with these items, we can keep Galbadia alive, even through sorceress attacks!"

The conversation ended with repeated chants of, "Long live Galbadia!" and hysterical laughter. Seifer gasped. That crazy doctor died saving his items?

It was time to see what the hell was going on.

The busy atmosphere of Deling City made the search for Seifer that much harder. People were moving this way and that, getting to appointments, to the subway, to their homes. It made Squall - the leader of the group - that much more irritated.

"Hyne, we've been at this all day," Selphie complained. "He's not here, okay?"

"So why the hell did we get all worked up over this for?" demanded Zell Dincht. "I didn't come over here for nothing!"

Quistis nodded. "Cid must have some sort of idea." The blonde ex-instructor ran a few of her tired fingers through her fine blond hair.

A few more steps and she would have passed out. Quistis Trepe had three things on her mind: Seifer, love, and a place to rest.

Seifer Almasy had been missing for almost two and a half months already. People saw him as a menace to society for having turned on the world to serve the sorceress. His "romantic dream," as he called it. Well, looked what happened to him now! Ultemecia didn't love him. But…

Yet Quistis couldn't get him out of her mind. She thought that she could see a different side of Seifer, a side of him that was sorry for what he did, that never wanted any of this to happen in the first place.

Quistis could hear Zell's words echo in her mind. Stop trying to defend Seifer! Was she actually trying to defend him?

She needed to be true to herself. Maybe she was trying to defend him. Maybe she didn't want to see anything happen to him. After all, they came from the same orphanage. They pretty much grew up together. Heck, maybe she hates him now, and maybe she never liked him before. But she knew she needed to be a bit more truthful than that…

"I'm beat," said sharpshooter Irvine Kinneas, "can we take a time out?"

But his question was never heard by Squall as he strode briskly through the waves of people. Irvine let out a sigh and marched onwards.

All of a sudden, something knocked sharply into his side. Out of a mixture of shock and pain, Irvine toppled to the ground uttering the word "Shit!" before looking up. He looked up into the panicky blue eyes of an average-sized brunette. Her hair flowed past her waist and fell just above her thighs. She was dressed rather casually; clad in a black t-shirt and a pair of jeans. Irvine noticed that this girl wore a red tie as well. She looked about seventeen years old.

"Oh, my goodness, I'm so sorry! Let me help you up," she extended a hand, which Irvine took and got up on his feet.

"No problem there, lass," Irvine put on his sexiest smirk before Quistis shoved him aside.

"I'm so sorry… he has a, ah, problem facing girls," she said briskly.

The girl chortled. "Eh, no worries. Hey, you guys look like you were in hurry. You looking for someone?"

Sorceress Rinoa Heartilly nodded. "As a matter of fact, yes. Have you seen Seifer Almasy anywhere?"

The girl's eyes widened. "Seifer? You mean the sorceress' knight? No, never!" She turned to face Squall. "You need any help?"

"Who are you?" Squall asked bluntly.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" The girl brushed her tie and gave Squall a thumbs-up. "My name is Ari. Ari Wilson." She took another look at Squall and added, "And I know who you are. Squall Leonhart, SeeD commander, right? I'm going to take my exam next week!"

"Really?" said Irvine. "Me too. I hope we both make it. Name's Irvine, by the way."

The others introduced themselves and Ari beamed at each one of them. "Sounds good. You don't mind if I tag along, do you?"

"Not at all," said Quistis, "but why?"

Ari blushed and said, "Well, you see, I've just started Balamb Garden, like, yesterday. I moved from a private school in Esthar where they do similar training. But when I found out about SeeD, I moved to Balamb. Anyway, I really don't know anyone around here except you guys, and you guys seem like nice people. Let's cut to the chase: mind if I become your friend?" She extended a hand to which Squall took.

Squall smiled uncharacteristically, "Welcome aboard, Ari Wilson." Rinoa wrapped an arm around his waist, making Zell gag in the corner. Rinoa shot Zell a death stare and Zell stuck his tongue out at her. Zell didn't like the fact that two of his best friends were dating. Love in general makes him squeamish.

After walking in complete silence for about an hour, Zell finally lost it. "God damn it! How the hell are we supposed to find him?"

After realizing no one listened to him (actually, no one cared), he shouted at the top of his lungs:

"MOTHERF…" (You can finish the rest)

He swore loud enough to make mothers cover their small children's ears and fathers shoot menacingly stares at him. Not that Zell cared, anyway.

"Look, man," Irvine began. "Chill. We're not going to find him if you keep freaking out like this." He turned toward Squall. He opened his mouth to say, "Are we?" but faltered, instead looking at something past Squall. "What the hell?" he said instead.

Squall's face clouded. "Excuse me?"

"No, look!" Irvine pointed to something in the distance and began running to it.

A shack. In a busy town like Deling? It was a small, rundown, black shack with a grey roof. Many, if not most of the shingles were either chipped of completely broken off. The door was ajar, and sticking out of the door, Irvine noticed, was a small, slightly burnt label.

Property of Doctor Odine.

"You guys..." Irvine trailed off, but Squall knew what he was going to say.

"I think we need to pay a little visit to Esthar," he finished for Irvine. "What would Galbadia want with all the items?"

Quistis nodded. "There is a Sorceress threat, yes, but I never imagined it would be that bad."

"Alright then!" Ari exclaimed. "Let's get the hell outta here!" Her red tie flew up in the air as she jumped.

Laguna's POV

Sheesh. Being President of Esthar is much harder than it looks.

I imagined the position to be filled with many leisure times and lazy hours. I thought I could let Esthar do whatever they wanted and I could sit all day and play ping-pong with Kiros. He'd let me win. I thought I could sit and play Extreme Tiddlywinks with Ward. He'd let me win.

I wanted to start the day by getting up at 7:48 a.m. (on the minute!) and go to my office, greeted by my sexy secretary and pulling up at my desk, ready to start the day. Heck, I'd sign a few papers, pass a bill or two, and maybe jack up taxes in a couple of regions. Then I'd have the rest of the day to win at ping-pong or Extreme Tiddlywinks. My assistants and great friends – Kiros and Ward – wouldn't have to do a thing.

Ha. Yeah right. There goes my dream job.

I get up at 5:13 a.m. to drag my butt into my rather large, but boring office every day. My fat, frumpy (sorry, Bertha) secretary greets me in a drawl and a sneer. I'd be lucky to have to sign just one paper. And, darn it, who knew that money could be so complicated? And the games, Hyne, don't forget about the games. My personal favourite: Survivor. How do you play? First person to survive the day without lunch or a potty break is the winner. How fun. Kiros and Ward are a busy as I am, and I can't blame them. Oh, man!

That's why I cherished today. It's my day off. Ward – Hyne bless his soul – is filling in for me today, while Kiros and I enjoy a nice one-day vacation. I felt bad for him at first, but Ward explained to me (through, uh, sign language?) that he needed the extra money. Things aren't going well for him at home.

All of a sudden, I sat up; bumping my head in the process out of shock after the phone rang. I rubbed my sore head while Kiros answered the phone. Kiros gave me a "what's the matter with you, Laguna?" look and began talking to whoever was on the other line.

"Hello? Ah, how are you? I'm alright. That's good. Hmm. Yes, yes, no, um, I'll see if Laguna can… but, Headmaster," (Ha! It was Cid on the other line. I knew he couldn't leave me alone for one day!) "Laguna's on his day off… It's urgent, you say? Hyne, no. Yes, Headmaster Kramer, I'll get him to call you… Um, I'd prefer not to call you 'Cid,' Mr. Headmaster, uh, sir. Goodbye." Kiros hung up the phone and turned to me. "Um, Laguna, that was…"

"Cid, right."

"Yeah. He, ah, wants you to call him back. He says it's urgent."

I groaned. This wasn't the first time Cid's called me on a day off. Heck, he's even called me on his days off.

Ever since I found my son, Squall – ever since Cid found out Squall's my son – Cid has harassed me. "Oh, Squall's a model student. You don't know what you've missed in the past 17 years, Laguna. You're the president of Esthar? Good job! Squall's a SeeD commander! He's such an inspiration! I love having Squall around. Oh, Raine died? Aww… too bad. Yes, Ellone's doing fine. How are Kiros and Ward? Can Ward talk yet? No? Too bad. Your family is simply splendid! An inspiration! Am I rambling? Ah, well, I'll call you tomorrow."

As much as I look up to Cid (on his good days), he is – and I know I'll regret calling him this later – a real prick. I decided to pick up my journal and begin writing. Cid will just have to wait.

Date: May 6

Oh, finally! A day off!

Hah. Yeah right.

If only Headmaster Cid Kramer were dead; then it would truly be a day off. And I know it's a rather harsh thing to say, but, heck, if you were in my shoes, you'd probably say the same thing. I really don't wish him to be dead, rather, not living… at the moment. I could go on and on calling that prick, I mean, Headmaster Cid, all kinds of names, but it wouldn't do me any good. It wouldn't do anything.

Oh man… now I almost feel bad writing this. I suppose I'll finish this entry when I can get my thoughts straight.

So many thoughts flooded my head; so many, that I couldn't write it all down on paper. But there was one thought, one thought that I know I'd never forget… my wife, Raine. Not my ex-wife. My wife. I don't like to think of her as deceased. And I don't like to think of her as I thought of Julia Heartilly. I never loved Julia as much as I love – not loved – Raine. I decided to put my pen back down on my paper:

Okay, maybe I'll take back that statement about me having a true day off if Cid were dead. I don't want to think about death right now. Sure, it's been a long time since… Raine died, but it still haunts me. I mean… I wasn't even there.

I want to see her again… I miss her. But, I don't want to die. There's so much in my life I need to do before I pass on. I still love her… but I must move on.

There. A satisfying conclusion. I even decided to pick up the phone and call Cid back, just because I felt a little bit better.

"Change of heart, Laguna?" said Kiros.

"Yeah…" I trailed off, but I managed to come back on track to answer's Cid's "Hello?"

"Hey, Cid!" I said in a tired, fake happy tone. But I tried, I really did.

"Laguna! Just the man I needed. Do you think I could come and see you in an hour?"

"What for?" I was confused. Cid hardly ever comes over here.

"Ever heard of Seifer Almasy?"

I paused. "Kinda…"

The Esthar lift stopped right in front of Dr. Odine's lab. It was time to see what the deal was with Galbadia's large stack of Odine items.

Squall knocked on the door. No answer. He knocked again. Still, nothing.

Zell was furious. "Open it up, old man!" He kicked the door with such excessive force that the door swung open and almost came off its hinges. Zell beamed. "See? Look… oh, my God!"

The sights they saw as they entered the lab! All over the ground in the lab was a mixture of Professor Odine's creations and bullets, many of them bloody at the tip.

And in the middle of the room was a pool of blood and a bloodier heap. It made Selphie gag and Rinoa shudder. Squall strode up to where the man lay dead. He had a mixed look of shock and triumph on his face, the shock being from being shot, but the triumph…

"I-I wonder if the Professor knows about this…" said Quistis.

Squall nodded. "Yeah, he knows. But I don't think he can tell us anything…"

He pointed to the bloody corpse. Everyone gasped.

"This wasn't supposed to happen," muttered Ari in disbelief.

No, nobody thought for a second that the professor would be dead.

Not even Squall. But his thoughts were rattled when someone bumped into his side, causing him to knock over.

It was a man, a brunette wearing a cap and a uniform that looked like it was from a burger joint. Underneath the cap was a black headband that covered his forehead. It bore the Esthar logo.

"Oh, sorry…" the man began. He looked up at Squall's apprehensive face. Oh, damn.

"S'alright," Squall muttered. "Who are you? Do you know the professor?"

"Kinda," replied the man. "Oh, and the name's Dan. Short for Daniel. Daniel Peters."

Aka's Note: Ooh, do I smell a Seiftis? Hellz yeah! After all these months of doing squat, I still love a good Seiftis when I see one! Plus Sephiroth x Aerith (Sephirith?) is also just as sexy. xP

I write all my Avenir ideas in a small notebook. One day, it fell out of my bag at school and a group of kids in my class found it and read it. Embarrassed, I took it back. They must think I'm a freak! Oh, well, screw them, I do my own thing! Lol. :P

Oh, yeah, sorry for being away so long. I rewrote this part twice before I could get something I liked. And I really like this. Watch out for the next part, I haven't got a title for it yet, but it'll be good:D