First Published: 05/12/08
Edited: 10/20/08

The First

Seifer grimaced as they hit yet another bump in the road. Really, he was starting to think that maybe they were doing this on purpose. They'd had to have driven over fifty in the past twenty minutes, at the very least.

Damn good for nothing second rate asshole, he thought angrily, holding on to the bottom of his seat with his left hand. With his right, he brushed a few stray strands of blond out of his eyes, annoyed. He grunted as the car jerked once again, messing with his adjustment of the beanie over his head.

"-not very efficient," the front passenger was saying, flicking her wrist in an irritated manner, "I mean, it's so big and bulky and I can't think of anyone who'd want to use it. Especially in combat."

The driver sighed. "But it's useful for ambushes."

"If the enemy is, like, a bazilion yards away," the passenger shot back. She reached up and adjusted her headband before continuing. "I'm just saying bazookas and rocket launchers shouldn't even be included on the inventory list if no one ever uses them." She shot a glance back at Seifer, who was scowling out the window, having given up on his beanie. "What do you think?"

He flicked his icy blue eyes towards her, not very interested in the topic. He opened his mouth anyway, for lack of anything else to do besides stare out at the riveting landscape. It was all pine trees and hills. Captivating.

"They have their uses if there's a crowd coming towards you with hostile intentions," he said, voice flat, "but it only works if they're moving slow or you have good aim."

The girl frowned. "But if there's a group and there are civies nearby or mixed?"

Seifer shrugged. "Then you're screwed and better make a run for it."

She grinned, nodding with approval. "See Zexion? There are still people out there with a conscience."

Zexion sighed again. "The mission comes first. If civies get in the way, their death is their own fault."

Seifer raised an eyebrow, having been a freelance agent long enough to recognize the tone. Zexion must have seen a lot for him to be so... unconcerned. Which was kind of odd, he didn't look like he'd even gotten out of his teens yet. But he wasn't one to judge, Seifer himself still looked eighteen, when he was actually twenty-one. Not that it made much of a difference with clients.

The girl rolled her eyes. "You're just upset that Ansem made you drive him here. I bet you're itching to get back to the labs." In what Seifer was sure was retaliation, Zexion hit another pothole, causing the girl to yelp.

"Be that as it may, grenade propellers have their uses," he said, as if the girl wasn't rubbing her head in pain and Seifer wasn't glaring holes into the back of his head.

The rest of the drive was in silence, with the girl humming a tune Seifer didn't recognize and Zexion staring grimly out of the windshield. Seifer himself didn't have much else to do, so he spent the time playing Pac Man on his cell phone.

"We're here," Zexion announced as they pulled up to the end of a long driveway.

The driveway was dirt, scattered with rocks and tufts of grass. Pines surrounded it, creating an arch-like effect. The tree line went followed the road they had been on, and now Seifer saw that while he had been busy being eaten by ghosts, they had left the major highway and had ended up on some back road. Nothing was around, so he looked up, spotting the top of the house over all of the trees in the way.

"This is it?" he asked, his hand going to the door handle.

Zexion nodded. "There's a small two-story at the end of this driveway. Rumor has it the kid's being kept there."

Seifer nodded, opening the door and stepping out. Outside of the car he saw how the afternoon light created a creepy effect, like a horror movie, almost. He shut the door and noticed how the small disturbance caused dust to rise. He sighed. These were new boots, too. He'd have to shine them when he got back to Twilight Town.

"We'd go with you, but the deal you made with Ansem was only for supplies and transportation," Zexion said, "you're on your own from here."

Seifer nodded, understanding. When the family had somehow found Seifer, they'd hired him almost immediately and had shipped him off to Destiny Islands to find their son. After a short meeting, they'd explained that he'd been missing for about a week. Apparently, he'd never come home from some friend's house, who Seifer had been interested to learn had moved away. The suspicion had been dropped, however, when he'd learned that the family had only gone to a relative's death bed.

The missing kid's name was Hayner, the son of a rather renowned scientist/ex-drill sergeant and a university professor. From what Seifer had gathered, Hayner had a history of delinquency, mostly small fist fights and a couple cases of theft. He'd also found out that he'd run away several times before, though his mother had quickly assured Seifer he'd never plan his own kidnaping just to get away.

About two days previous they'd gotten their first real lead. Apparently, someone who'd been attending a small conference in Destiny Islands had spotted suspicious activity by a convenience store. A blond teenager had been fighting with two men, kicking and hitting wildly. They'd quickly subdued the teen with a quick hit to his solar plexus and had tossed him back in to the car they were using. The man had called the police and followed the car until it had disappeared into the back roads.

Seifer had called Ansem for supplies and information on any places the kid might have been taken. Several key weapons and body gear later, Ansem had called back and informed him of a house that was out in the middle of nowhere, the only place the car could have gone. Seifer had quickly packed whatever he felt he would need and set out to find the damn kid.

He'd been on retrieval missions before, Seifer mused as he made his way towards the house, hearing Zexion drive away, but never for an actual person. Assassination, sure, treasure hunting, fine, guard duty, all of that he had no problem with, but an actual rescue mission baffled him. It also made him slightly nervous. He was used to being on his own, the only problem being whether or not his target managed to live, the assurance that whatever he was handling was in good condition, his charge living to the day he was let go - he was a one-man operation. Rescue missions demanded a little cooperation and that was something he lacked.

Oh, he could get along, if he had to, but having a bratty little seventeen year old depending on him to keep him alive until they got back to Twilight Town was almost frightening.

Seifer stopped at the edge of the tree line, feeling his mouth turn down into a frown. The house looked abandoned. It had a rusted fence that was about waist high, the gate hanging off of its hinges. The paint was cracked and peeling in places, a few of the windows cracked or busted out completely. And it was dark.

Sighing, he adjusted his beanie and slowly made his way towards the house. He'd learned that the best way to get a mission done was to simply charge in and get what he was after, blasting whatever got in the way. It was a little gung-ho and impractical, but it worked for Seifer.

The nine millimeter that he kept in the holster at his belt was in hand as he pushed open the door. The inside was just as dilapidated at the outside, the wallpaper faded and peeling, no furniture. Frowning again, Seifer stepped inside, glancing around at the empty living room. It was painfully obvious; no one was home.

Gritting his teeth with annoyance, he stomped to where the kitchen was, to the left, only finding moldy dishes and flies hovering around something he'd rather not know the name of. A glance to the side revealed a staircase.

Not hesitating, he took it two at a time, stopping at the top of the landing. There were only three doors, one of them ajar. He opened the first on his left, finding an empty closet. He quickly went on to check the other two, a bedroom and a bathroom. Neither of them held anything besides a dresser and bed, toilet and tub.

Damn it! He cursed loudly and kicked the bed. A thump echoed around the room.

Curious, Seifer holstered his weapon and got on his knees, pushing aside the ratty blanket and looking at was underneath. A small box that had been lodged somewhere in the springs had fallen on its side, the only thing that didn't look trashed.

He reached out and grabbed it, setting it in his lap when he was straight again. It was nothing special, made of wood and decorated with a small, square flower.

Not worried about being discovered, Seifer opened the lid, blinking in slight surprise at what he found. It was a ring. Small and silver, with a matching necklace. He peered at them closely, picking up the necklace and studying the crescent moon. Something clicked in his mind and he fumbled in his pockets.

Hayner was wearing the same necklace in the picture he'd been given.

Feeling lucky at this sign (Hayner had to have been there at some point), Seifer pocketed the ring and put on the necklace, not wanting the chain to get tangled while he traveled. As he was about to put the box back, he noticed a small piece of paper sticking out of the velvet that the jewelry had been resting on.

He plucked it out, unfolding it. His mouth dropped open a little when he read it. It was a memo of some sort.

Subject: Transfer

To: Board Members; Tens

From: Dr. X

Subject is prone to rage and random outbursts. He is a danger to my employees and will be moved to a more secure location. The facility two miles west of here will be his designated home. Subject will not be harmed while on the journey and will be sedated. Transfer date is 05/15.

Testing will resume two days after transfer.

It was signed by the doctor in spidery writing.

Seifer eyed the memo dubiously. He didn't trust it, at all, but else did he have to go on? Absolutely nothing. Wasn't like he was getting anything done by sticking around anyway.

He got to his feet, stuffing the memo into his pocket. Well, two miles wasn't all that bad and a 'facility' couldn't be hard to miss. He just had to get going and hope that 'testing' hadn't resumed yet. It was only the sixteenth, after all. Seifer groaned mentally when he realized he'd missed his chance by a freakin' day.

As he was exiting the bedroom he froze, his hand still on the handle. After a moment of listening carefully, he cursed and ducked back into the bedroom, shutting the door. He crawled along the floor to the window that overlooked the front yard, his heart pounding. A quick peek had him cursing again.

Someone had pulled up the driveway.

I changed this so that it would have more of a Kingdom Hearts feel. Setting it in our world wouldn't have worked very neatly, because the "it's fanfiction" excuse doesn't cut it for me. Putting the characters into environments they knew just felt more comfortable. So that's what I did. You'll find that that's the only thing I really changed. Grammar and spelling was overlooked, so if you catch something, let me know.

-Slaughter