Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ As the Paths Diverged ❯ Five for Silver ( Chapter 5 )

As the Paths Diverged

WARNINGS

1) I don't own the Final Fantasy characters, series, or plotline.  I guess I own this, but if you steal it, I probably won't do anything about it.

2) Rated PG-13 for language and violence.

3) Let's place the story about a year after Ultimicia.

Five for Silver

          The going was good until it got cold.  Scratch that.  The going was good until they ran out of food.  They were between a rock and a hard place for a little while there.  The boat was two days away from Balamb and Hyne knows how far from their destination.  This plan was definitely not thought out. 

          Somehow they made it.  Too tired to get up, Seifer lied on the icy shore.  The Balamb catfish suddenly looked like a delicacy.  A bitterly cold gust of wind cut into Seifer's face.  He didn't know why he was here anymore.  Maybe Squall was right.  Maybe their best bet would have been to stay in Balamb forever. 

          "You alright man?" Raijin questioned, standing over the giant blonde.  "It's still a long walk ya know?"

          Seifer looked up hazily.  Of course Raijin was in better shape than him; Fujin and him snuck food at every possible turn.  Bastards.

          "I'm hungry Seifer," Rage whined.  "Fujin says she could go for something too."

          Seifer snarled as he got to his feet.  A very light snow had begun to fall, which added precipitation to the already freezing environment.  Brushing the snow off of his trench coat, Seifer glared at his friends.  "We need to get to shelter soon or we'll freeze."

          "FOOD!" Fujin exclaimed.

          Looking to the west, Seifer spotted three Mesmirizes grazing the snow covered grass.  "There's dinner."

(0000000000)

          Trabia Garden had progressed smoothly since its bombing last year.  Although they did not get much funding, Garden was almost functional.  A few months ago, Trabia opened its doors to the students again.  Although it had a very small population, Garden was again beginning to bring in an income and prosper. 

          Selphie was so proud of them.  Her home Garden had found its feet again.  Although Squall didn't donate nearly as much as she had hoped, Selphie thought by next year, Trabia Garden would be back to full power.  The energetic brunette constantly helped Trabia rebuild, and could be found there at least once a month.  Almost all of her fundraisers benefited Trabia Garden.  Selphie just knew they were going to pull through.  Trabia had often offered her ownership of Garden, but she always declined.  It was too much responsibility in her books. 

          So in Selphie's place, they put Alexi Theoter.  Selphie knew him to be a generally good leader, so she was content.  He was no Squall Leonhart, but wasn't terrible in any specific aspect.  If Alexi was good at anything, it was finances.  Rebuilding Garden was no small task.  In a year's work however, Alexi almost brought it back to functional.  Because of this leadership, Trabia Garden was assumed to be Balamb's quiet neighbor to the north.

          This all changed a humid Tuesday afternoon.  There were a few flurries in the morning, but everything cleared up around noonish.  This is when trouble began.  Alexi arrived in his office around eleven.  Like every other morning, he sipped his coffee and approved or declined paperwork.  Running a hand through his long black hair, Alexi looked over yet another budget form.  Then the sightings began.

          It started as strangers lost in the snow.  Trabia was more than hospitable to strangers, but then the reports became more bizarre.  One of the strangers suddenly was wearing a trench coat.  Then it was reported all the strangers were armed.  This was bad news.  Alexi began to worry, and the picture was slowly put together.  Seifer had escaped from Balamb and was coming to Trabia.

          Panic was imminent, and phone calls were soon made.

(0000000000)

          "I don't control him," Squall muttered into the phone, as he stared blankly out the window.  It was raining again.  Now that he thought about it, this week was full of rain.

          "You obviously knew he was missing," Alexi exclaimed, taking the defensive.  "A small note might have been nice."

          "Again, I'm not his guardian," the brunette snapped.  "Seifer is not required to stay in the town of Balamb."

          "Yes but we assumed he would stay there."

          "Garden is not bound to the terms of your assumptions."

          Taking a breath, Alexi wiped the sweat off of his brow and sat down.  This was a losing argument and he knew it.  "Alright, I realize it's not your fault," he admitted.  "But may we request assistance from your SeeDs to possibly oversee this complication?"

          "Not at the present moment," Squall said sharply.  A bit of anger still hung in his voice.  "Seifer has been peaceful in Balamb for almost a year.  I see no reason why he should be unruly there."

          "You're forgetting he bombed our Garden," Alexi growled, losing his temper.  "Our people will not be as welcoming as the residents of Balamb."  His breath was becoming faster as the conversation progressed.  Alexi waited for Squall's response, but an awkward silence filled the phone.  

          "If violence escalates, we'll look into it," Squall muttered after what seemed like an eternity.  He turned his back to the window and sat back down at his desk.  "SeeD will not be Seifer's babysitter."

          "That will be adequate," Alexi sighed reluctantly.  If only he was talking to Selphie, this would have gone a lot smoother.  He always had a harder time with Squall.  The man did not give any ground.

          "A small vessel was also taken from Balamb Harbor," Squall noted, running a hand through his hair.  "If you could return that expediently…"

          "Of course.  But please keep an eye on Trabia."

          "I always do," the brunette responded.  Slamming the phone down, Squall slouched back into his chair.  He'd been having a lot of rough nights recently.

(0000000000)

          "Yo!  Yo! Wake up man!"

          Ethan reluctantly rolled onto his side.  Sunlight poured in from the adjacent window, causing him to barely squint at his visitor.  Trying to wake up, Ethan said the most logical thing he could think of: "Huh…wha?"

          "Don't give me that.  It's almost noon," Zell muttered, leaning against the adjacent wall.

          "Sorry," Ethan apologized.  Sense was finally returning to him as he looked about his room.  "Usually SeeDs don't make personal visits to Dorms."

          Zell shrugged and pulled a cookie out of his pocket.  "I gotta help you move today," the blonde said, before taking a large chunk out of the cookie.  "Mmm, I love peanut butter."

          There was a sudden pause in the conversation as Ethan tried to comprehend this news.  The appropriate emotion would be shock, but he was too bushed for that.  Instead he opted for tired resignation.  "Alright, can I have a piece of that cookie?"

          "No," Zell said bluntly.  "What do you want to move first?"

          Luckily, Ethan didn't have too many personal belongings, and his entire room was out of the dorm in about a half hour.  His roommate Jostin was also slowly packing things, as he was heading home for the months before fall semester began.  Luckily the corridors weren't too crowded, as only SeeDs and failing students stayed for summer semester. 

          "You should be back to normal by fall semester," Zell said shrugging.  "We just have to quarantine you for now."

          Ethan dropped his head and followed the blonde.  His book bag was a lot heavier than he remembered it.

          "You didn't want to leave for summer anyway did you?" Zell asked suddenly.

          "No, Wait how did you…?

          "Hahaha, we have your file you know," the blonde reminded him.  "Just give us a few months and you'll be in tip-top shape."  Zell threw open a single room.  It was barren, but not a jail cell either.  "I'll be back later probably."

          Reluctantly, Ethan threw his stuff into his new room and closed the door.

---GNIMAERD---

          "Everything's a joke to you isn't  it?"

          "No…"

          "We raised you better than that.  You know that, don't you?"

          "Yes, I'm sorry."

          "No you're not.  You'll probably have a smart ass comment for us here soon."

          "No I…"

          "You should be doing better.  You should be more successful by now."

          "I know…"

          "Things better improve young man."

          "They will mom.  They will dad."

---DREAMING---

(00000000000)