Centra Crisis - Guardian Enforced

[Aleister Black]

The landing vehicles started to thrum as the engines were fired up one by one. The sound of the engines filled docks, and the few cadets and instructors that were still outside quickly entered the ships. The doors slid closed behind them. Thomas quickly sat down on the bench besides Layala to avoid losing his balance as the craft shuddered into movement. He stowed his pack under the bench for the time being and leaned his elbows on his knees. Looking at the cadets joking, boasting and challenging eachother, he could feel the excitement and the nerves among them. For many of them, this would be the final big test before graduating. Going wrong here could mean another year of training before being able to do this test again. A smile flashed across his face as he remembered Bontane and himself being just as excited as the boys they shared a ship with now. That had been a good day, and the start of a great friendship. They had both graduated soon after. Tonberry King tried to comfort him, but Thomas could feel that the Guardian Force grieved as much as he did still, even though he had lost so many of his own. My own losses do not detract from yours, nor does it prevent me from feeling the loss of something else. Thomas mentally nodded, ignoring Pandemona's annoyed sigh.

Without taking his eyes off the cadets, Thomas suddenly said to Layala, "You were travelling to Centra Garden." His tone was conversational, his eyes innocent and interested. "So why did you suddenly want to go with me to Galbadia?" Because she's madly in looooove with y- Pandemona started, but Tonberry King blocked him out. Pandemona's rants were still audible, but not the annoying racket they usually were. "It just seems strange to me that you would suddenly go in a completely different direction. Galbadia isn't exactly on the route to Centra Garden, after all." That's why I would like you to be careful around her, Tonberry cautioned Thomas. I know. But she's interesting. I mean, she has a Guardian Force! I want to know how she got it. You can't tell me she doesn't intrigue you. No, I can't. But I'm not sure if it's worth the danger. You don't know her, Thomas. There's three of us, Tonberry. We're not alone. We can handle her. Just be careful, Tonberry King pleaded. I will, dear friend. I will.

The vehicle rocked lightly as it turned north-west to commence its voyage towards the Timber shore. Thomas couldn't help but feel that this exercise was more than just that; it almost felt like a political message. As if Centra Garden wanted to say: 'we can hit the shore of Galbadia, and any continent, within hours of the start of any conflict'. The political situation had definitely become more complicated in the past few weeks. The seemingly unprovoked attack on Eshtar was still unresolved, but that hadn't been the main issue. Apparently, news had gotten out that Galbadia Garden was doing some real bad things, although exactly what had been kept from the public. This had only given rise to speculation. Gardens and countries wanted to solidify their position in the world now to improve their position on the negotiating table.

Thomas couldn't imagine what it would be like if the Gardens would fight amongst themselves. He had read the books, he'd paid attention in the history classes. He knew that, before he had been born, Balamb Garden (which was now Centra Garden) and Galbadia Garden had fought. Trabia Garden was still picking up the pieces from that battle, too. But back then it had been the Galbadian army and the Sorceress that had taken over the Garden. SeeD versus SeeD... it just sounded unnatural.

Suddenly, Thomas stood up and, steadying himself against the metal wall of the ship, he turned to Layala. "I'm going to get some fresh air. Want to come with?" He Ascended the short ladder that connected the personnel deck to the gun platform which was usually open. The cool win on his face was a welcome change to the inside of the ship, and the sound of the waves reminded him of home. Around the landing craft they were in, he could see nine other ships keeping pace in near-perfect formation. In the glass domes on the back of the vehicles, Thomas could see instructors teaching captains-to-be the ins and outs of the landing vehicles. He waved at the dome on the back of their own craft and the instructor nodded back. The inexperienced sailor of the ship was too preoocupied to notice, most likely. As he turned, Thomas could see a thin strip of land in the distance. It wouldn't be long before they'd arrive on the Galbadian continent.


---------------------


As Lucy hastened after the two SeeDs, having picked a few sweetstuffs, small pies and a cup of tea from the cafeteria, she was noticed by Tamara, who waved at her from one of the tables and pointed at a chair next to her, which she had kept free by putting her bag on it. "Lucy! Over here!" Lucy stood still, hesitating, and then, as she remembered her schedule for today, called out quietly to the two SeeDs, "Thanks so much for... for what you did." She looked doubtful for a second, and then added, "It's not fair though. You're making it impossible for me to ever repay you." With that, she smiled, and quickly turned to join her best friend.

"Sooo... what did they want?" Tamara looked very curious, and Lucy couldn't help but notice some cadets around her leaning in to catch what she said. After all, some of the girl eagerly gobbled up any bit of news they could get about Aiden. Normally, Lucy would have muttered something and changed the subject at all the attention. She felt oddly confident now though. She had never come up with a lie this fast. Admiration from Cactuar. "It was some information for the Diplomacy trip today. I can't really talk about it, it's supposed to be secret." She smiled. "I had to sign a form and everything."

Tamara nodded and said, "It's going to be so weird to have an empty seat next to me tomorrow and I don't know how long! I hope they make it quick!" Lucy wagged a finger at her friend. "Quick isn't always better!" she mock-chided Tamara. "A good compromise takes time to make." "Whatever," Tamara said laughing. "Can't they just make up and decide not to fight? Why make everything so complicated?"

Lucy sighed and bit into a sweet pie. "Because people are complicated."

***
Lucy trotted down the hallway that led to the Garden's hangars. She wasn't exactly late, but she did need to hurry. Why did she always need to hurry? Fun, Cactuar thought. Clearly, he enjoyed the increased speed at which she moved. She sighed and ran on, followed by Tamara, who would see her off.

When they arrived in the hangar, Lucy saw to her dismay that the pilots were already preparing the jet. "OK, I gotta run!" she said to Tamara, giving her a quick hug. "Hurry back!" Tamara smiled as Lucy ran to the door of the jet, her pack with books and papers and notes bouncing up and down. Most other cadets were already there. Apart from her, there were eight cadets, most of whom she knew from her Diplomacy classes. Some of them were in other classes, though, and she had seldom seen those. A few of them nodded at her, and other simply ignored her, instead having debates and discussions with other students or reading up on some background and history. Lucy then saw the headmaster and saluted to him. "Lucy Morgan, headmaster!" She didn't even cringe at her own overly enthusiastic salute. Maybe today's happenings really had changed her.

[Doaj]

"Centra Garden was just the only place to go." Layala said, not taking her eyes off of the eager cadets. "What would I do there?" The craft tilted as it turned, heading toward Timber. Layala was on something new, but she was surprised by how similar it felt to a large, real boat. 'This is a real boat.' Alexander said. Layala shrugged, not trusting herself to keep a conversation in her head.

Suddenly, Thomas stood up. Placing a hand on the wall of the ship, he turned and looked at Layala. "I'm going to get some fresh air. Want to come with?" Layala looked back up at him, and she wondered who he was. She wondered why he found her. What separated him from the hundreds, maybe a thousand students at Centra Garden. Layala found herself looking into his colorless, empty eyes. 'Lost?' She heard Alexander say. Layala stood up then.

"Sure, I could go for some fresh sea air. Too sandy at Centra." Layala smiled at Thomas and couldn't help but smile while she followed him up the stairs and onto the deck. There wasn't a lot of room, but it was fine for a few people. Thomas seemed to be looking out to the horizon, and when Layala looked closer she could see a strip of land. "Is that where we're going?" Layala asked him. She subconsciously ran a hand through her hair, feeling the small breeze against her neck, making the small hairs stand on end. The ocean spray was comforting, and Layala could see that they were making progress in the direction of the strip. It was still small in the distance, but she didn't have to focus to see it. Layala loved the sea; and somehow the nostalgia didn't make her sad, it didn't remind her of a better time. It felt like this was the time. Layala looked over at Thomas again. His eyes were colorless and bland, and yet- so nice.

[Aleister Black]

Why didn't you keep asking questions? I feel she's not telling something. I don't know. I'll find out later, Thomas had simply answered. Layala had easily sidestepped the question, and Thomas had simply nodded in agreement. Tonberry had not understood, and to be quite honest, Thomas hadn't either. Pandemona was smug but, for a change, kept quiet. And now the two of them were on the gun platform, close together due to the limited space they had. "Yes," he told Layala. "That bit of beach right over there, I think. If you look closely," he leaned closer to the girl and made her eyes follow his outstretched arm, pointing at ahead of them, "you can see they have put practise targets on the beach." On the near-white sand, some darker shapes were visible that didn't seem natural rock formations. Thomas thought that, when he squinted, he could see small figures hastening away from them as the small landing fleet approached.

In fact, the shore was getting closer fast. "I think it's starting soon, Layala," Thomas said looking back at her. A shiver went down his spine. She really did look like her brother. But somehow that didn't seem like the entire reason he felt so strange around the girl. Tonberry felt worried but said nothing. Pandemona chuckled and occasionally muttered smugly, oh, Alex will be so annoyed! Thomas gestured Layala could precede him down the ladder. As he put his feet on the personnel deck himself, he was greeted by the ship's gunner, who had just been about to come and reclaim his spot. Thomas gave him a lazy SeeD salute and said, "All yours, kid. Go give 'em hell," as he gestured up the ladder.

Well, this is boring, Pandemona complained. You had a great spot there, and now we have to miss the whole show! Thomas was inclined to agree with the GF. Sitting out the whole operation from within the personnel deck didn't sound very appealing. He looked over at Layala. Hmm. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after a-

"Hey, you two want to watch it from here?" a SeeD instructor called down fromt he captain's deck. "You can come up here if you want, see the whole thing." Thomas' face lit up as he said, "That sounds great!" He looked back to the girl, "Come, follow me," and climbed up the ladder to the captain's deck after he'd wished the SeeD cadets good luck. The glass dome gave them a good view in all directions. Both Pandemona and Tonberry King seemed to enjoy the view as well. Apparently, not even GFs (or maybe particularly GFs) didn't like to wait too long on a boring deck with no windows.


The ten landing craft, which had been sailing in a wedge formation up till now, seperated into two different formations. One group of three craftkept back and slowed down a bit, while the remaining seven accelerated and sped towards the beach. The formation of three ("That's the fire platform, Bravo team in this operation," the captain told them, one eye onthe beach and another on his student) slowly formed into a line and suddenly their cannons started firing. Thomas noticed these cannons were of a larger caliber than the ones on the formation of seven; these were explosive shells. His deduction was proven when he saw explosions on the beach they were fast approaching. Fire seemed to burst from the ground and large collumns of sand were blasted skyward. Several of the targets were hit dead on.

"Suppressive fire," he told Layala. "Anyone waiting on that beach will be too terrified to move, and any mines will probably just explode." He grinned, elated by the thundering guns and the seamless organisation involved in such an operation. "The people who will be going out will probably be preparing to land now. Cast spells and such."

Meanwhile, the seven landing vehicles had formed into a smaller wedge formation and was now almost upon the beach. Everything seemed to go really fast now. From down in the personnel deck, sure enough he could hear spells like Shell and Protect being cast. Thomas almost jumped as suddenly the high-caliber machine guns on their own vessels started releasing their deadly load on the beach. Thomas now noticed moving wooden targets on rails just as one of them exploded in splinters. "Only a few seconds," the captain told them. Thomas nodded, grabbed hold of a railing and with his free hand took Layala's shoulder to steady her. "hold on," he said as he could almost count the grains of sand on the beach, "this is bumpy-"

The landing craft almost seemed to crash into the beach. In fact, even though it stopped in just two seconds, the flat bottom of the vessel made it slide up the beach. The doors opened sideways and immediately SeeD cadets spilled out, taking their formations and engaging any wooden and/or cardboard targets that were still left after the hellish barrage of the landing vessels' large guns. Beautiful, Pandemona sighed. Such a shame it's only cardboard. The other vessels had fared the same and all SeeD cadets were now on the beach and advancing on the target buildings further inland. Thomas knew from his own test five years ago that there was a small village that had been constructed solely for SeeD exercises. This exercise would take most of the day, at least. They had probably released a few monsters from the training grounds there, and people from Timber Garden would also be helping make the exercise seem as real as possible.

It won't prepare them for actual battle, Pandemona said smugly. All these kids will scream for their mommies when a real war comes. Hoping for one, Pandemona? I don't really care either way, Pandemona lied. Tonberry sighed. War is always such tragedy. Isn't there enough tragedy in the world without it? It's just something that happens, Thomas thought, as he let go of Layala's shoulder. He'd forgotten his hand had still been on her shoulder since they hit the beach.


---


"Well, this is your stop," the captain said as the vessel slowly sailed into the docks close to Timber. The landing vessels had pulled back from the beach shortly after the landing; their jobs were done until later that night. They were to refuel at Timber, and Thomas was supposed to catch a train to Deling city from there. Thomas flashed the captain a formal SeeD salute and thanked him for the ride. "Tell the guys we enjoyed the show," he added before he went down the ladder to go and stretch his legs on the Timber docks, looking back for Bontane's sister to see if she followed him.

[Mellusia]

Once the cadets began to trickle towards the hanger and onto the jet, Alaster tried to force his anxieties to the back of his head - at the very least, he would appear to be the headmaster his cadets deserved to have.

"You don't have to try so hard. I've seen it - they like you as you are," Diablos said to the tall brunet with their connection.

The sentiment to "be himself" from the gravity demon almost made the headmaster chuckle. It was surprisingly endearing. Whether it was the GF's intent of not, Alaster found himself feeling better.

So it was with an amused smile he greeted the last cadet as they hurried onto the jet. They greeted the seated headmaster with a salute.

"Lucy Morgan, headmaster!"

"Cadet," Alaster said with his own salute, although internally he was surprised to see the particular girl. He could remember the month before how she meekly peeked from under the reception desk, having come back to the garden at an incredibly bad time.

Alaster then realized that he had never really talked with Lucy after the attack on the garden. He remembered the feeling of something during the whole commotion, and seeing it come from such an unassuming girl had been surprising. Diablos had later shared his deductions that the girl indeed had a GF to the extent of fusion, which was boggling itself. He was curious and concerned about what the meaning of such things could be, but...The headmaster felt a twinge or remorse.

He had completely forgotten about the young cadet and her circumstances.

"You can hardly be blamed," Diablos said with a scoff.

"But still..." Alaster thought somewhat peevishly. Realizing, he had forgotten a lot of things in the wake of the attack and the findings about Galbadia's culpability. Lani and Aiden learning that the headmaster himself had a GF, all those requests to send SeeDs he hadn't properly looked at, ongoing misssions...How had he been so careless?

"Honestly...Do you want to be a martyr and blame everything on yourself?" Diablos asked, some annoyance colouring his thoughts.

Alaster grimaced, not at all liking the way the demon had phrased that. He looked to Lucy who was settling in the seat across from his. Alaster was about to call her name to initiate some sort of conversation with the girl, in hopes that perhaps he could salvage something after his neglect, but Diablos spoke, halting Alaster.

"Something's different..." the demon said, perplexing the headmaster.

"What do you mean?" Alaster asked

"Her GF, Cactuar...I can actually feel it more clearly. Before it was so muddled, but now...There's clearly two beings in that girl's head," Diablos finally disclosed.

"Did something happen in the last month?" the headmaster thought.

The pilot climbed onto the plane then, looking to the headmaster. "Alright, are we ready to go?" she asked, adjusting a headset microphone.

Alaster gave a quick glance to Lucy, somehow wanting to convey his apologies for post-poning a conversation the girl didn't even know the headmaster had wanted to start.

"Yes, everyone's here now," he said with a nod.

"Alright, our ETA should be 2 hours give or take on the weather," she said before going into the cockpit.

The jet suddenly hummed to life, vibrating a bit with the engine. A symbol above each passenger seating flickered, indicating every one was to buckle their seatbelts. Alaster followed the instructions, the belt clasp making a clacking sound before he secured his briefcase at a large side pocket on his seat.

The hanger door opened then, the sunlight spilling into the once dark area. Soon the jet began to move on the ramp and then took off into the sky.

Once the jet got to stable altitude Alaster unbuckled his seatbelt and stood up, going to the end of the jet where all the cadets could look to him.

"Alright guys? How are we feeling?" he asked with a smile. A few murmured "good", "alright" came his way. From what he understood, he had the star pupils of the "negotiation class" aboard. It was an important skilled Alaster had hoped would garner lots of attentions, and the consistantly full classes gave hope to the man that a peaceful future may not be such an illusion.

"So I don't expect any of you not to take this meeting we're going to attend with the utmost seriousness. Even though you'll only be observing, you're still training cadets representing Esthar Garden. You and everyone else are the shining rays of Esthar. It's all of you that make me proud of the that place we all call home, so...Don't doze off, okay?" he said with a wink, inciting some light laughter.

But Alaster did truly feel that way about his cadets. A garden was nothing without the people. The cadets would become SeeDs that would bloom into superb spectacles that would whoa the world over.

"..."

"What's up?" Alaster asked at the noticable presence from Diablos as he walked back to his seat.

"...You really care for them, don't you?"

"Of course," Alaster thought matter-of-factly. "But that shouldn't be news to you - why so shocked?"

"Nothing. Just that...you humans always surprise me," Diablos said, a rumbling chuckle punctuating the words, making Alaster snort at the repeated revelation Diablos had shared over the years.

[Aleister Black]

When the headmaster greeted her, Lucy was immediately reminded of the attack on Eshtar Garden last month. It was hard to imagine this calm and friendly man fighting with such superhuman skill and finesse as he had shown on that day. She smiled and found a seat near the table, so she would be able to read through some investigation results about last month's attacks. Even though they were not supposed to take part in the meeting, they still had to know all possible backgrounds and details. It only increased her awe of the headmaster, and anyone else taking part in such meetings. They had to know so much information and be able to lead a Garden of country at the same time! She was just fastening her seat belt for take-off when she felt Cactuar's mind brush against hers ever so slightly. When she pursued the feeling, she could hardly make sense of his messages. He felt... a kindred spirit? She wasn't sure. She glanced at the headmaster, and the feeling got stronger, before subsiding and disappearing. What do you mean? Lucy tried but Cactuar would not provide any sort of clarity, leaving Lucy puzzled. The glance the headmaster gave her didn't do anything to clear things up for her.

She filed that away for later, because the pilot had just told them they would be leaving now. She anxiously turned to one of the small windows and caught sight of Tamara jumping up and down and waving as she discerned her friend behind the window. Lucy waved back enthusiastically, mouthing 'I'll be back soon'. Tamara simply nodded, and suddenly got much smaller as the jet accelerated and left the hangar at high speed. Lucy turned back in her seat and breathed out. She was leaving for her first 'mission' outside the Garden. She'd been on training sessions before, but this was far more real than anything she'd done before. She was going to be present at an event that would shape world politics. Suddenly, the headmaster got out of his seat and said,

"Alright guys? How are we feeling?" She smiled and said "Great!" but was largely drowned out by the others' replies. "So I don't expect any of you not to take this meeting we're going to attend with the utmost seriousness. Even though you'll only be observing, you're still training cadets representing Esthar Garden. You and everyone else are the shining rays of Esthar. It's all of you that make me proud of the that place we all call home, so...Don't doze off, okay?"

This made Lucy giggle, and she promised herself she would not. She probably wouldn't be able to even if she'd try. The speech did show the headmaster's fondness of his students, and his high regard of them. She resolved she would be worth his regard. Other people might dream of stopping a war by winning a big battle, or by assassinating a nation's figurehead, but she dreamed of stopping wars even before they started, before they would cost human lives. The power of the word will beat the power of violence in the end, she thought, and could feel Cactuar nod in a sort of half-agreement. While he did not say so, she could feel that he felt that while the word may be powerful, running away would always be number one on his list. She shook her head, smiling.

She decided she had better look at some papers before it was too late, and took a thick wad of them out of her bag. While she was reading the careful formulations of the investigation on the attack and A. Kurama's allegations, noting the inconsistencies and missing information with growing dismay, she noticed that the boy next to her wasn't reading anything at all. This fact alone made him stand out like a sore thumb in the jet; all students seemed to be either engrossed in some kind of book or paper, or discussing politics or history with another cadet. The boy next to her, however, was lenaing back with his eyes closed. Lucy hesitated a second, but decided that she'd be wondering about it for two hours if she didn't ask.

"So you read everything already, then? Even Hotchkin's investigational reports that were only finished yesterday? That's so much information, I can't believe you finished that!"

The boy looked around him before answering, as if making sure she was actually talking to him. "Oh? Oh, yeah... I am a fast reader." He sat up a bit straighter, but still leaned backwards. "I thought it would be best if I got some rest before the big meeting thing. In case I doze off." He nodded to the headmaster, and Lucy giggled again. "Well... Good night then!" She hesitated, and said, "I'm Lucy, by the way." She held out her hand. The boy opened his eyes again, and shook her hand. "Xanther. Now, if you don't mind..."

"Oh, no, go ahead!" Lucy stammered, and the boy closed his eyes again. Well, she thought. cactuar stirred. Warmth. No, I'm not going to sleep, too. Hm? No, There's all this information...

About two hours later, Lucy's head was postively spinning with all the information about the attack and the investigation into Akira Kurama's accusations. Well, information... Not much was actually said in the 200-page paper. No proof was provided to base any of the allegations on, but none of the claims had actually been negated, either. Well, she thought, that's what these meetings are for, I guess... She looked outside and at first was blinded by the sun's reflection on... Yes, that was Fisherman's Horizon! As soon as that thought hit her, the pilot announced, "We're going to land at FH momentarily, be sure to buckle your seat belts!" and sure enough, the lights came on again. As she buckled her seat belt, Lucy kept looking out of the window and saw the ocean, split by a long thin line: the rail tracks that connected the Galbadia continent to the Eshtar continent. In the middle of this line was a large man-made construction. The centre of it seemed to consist of mirrors, but Lucy knew those were solar cells. She also saw several several ships, but one of them seemed larger than the rest. She craned to see, but couldn't get a clear view of it.

"Hey, wouldn't you start packing your things?" Xanther reminded her. "Oh!" Damn it. That's why she was always late! "Thanks!" She hurriedly started packing her things. Oh, Cactuar, I'm so excited! Confusion. Merriment.

[Mellusia]

As the jet landed onto a convenient ramp on FH and came to a stop, Alaster took a breath, expelling the linger thoughts of doubt and worry from his mind. For the time being, he had to be the strong headmaster of Esthar garden.

The pilot came out of the cockpit and moved to where the side door was. She pushed it open and pushed out the fold-able stairway before coming back in to give a quick thumb's up.

"Alright guys, single file. Make sure you have everything you brought with you. The jet's leaving as soon as we get off," Alaster explained. The cadets didn't dilly dally, grabbing what they had brought along with them before getting off the jet.

Alaster walked to the exit door, quickly exchanging words the dark haired woman. She would come back in the morning and wait until the meeting was over for them again.

"Have fun," she said with a sardonic smirk, having been a little privy to what kind of meeting was being held. Alaster gave her a bemused smile in return before going towards the safe zone to stand for when the jet would take off and where the cadets and begun to have light chit-chat with each other.

As he walked closer, a person, a middle-aged man, came into view. He had black hair going gray with the expected wrinkles and was dressed in formal attire.

"Headmaster Allvar..?" the man asked hesitantly

"Yes, that's me," Alaster replied assuredly.

The man smiled in relief. "Hello, sir. I'm Mayor Martine's assistant, Herald Gal - but you can call me Hal. He sent me to escort you and your cadets to your lodgings for the night before taking you to the meeting place. It won't start for another hour. Not all parties are here yet, sir," he explained

Alaster nodded. "Alright, Hal, lead the way," he said with a smile.

Despite FH's use of many machines, most were for repairs more than anything else. So travel around the neutral area was by foot. Luckily, efforts had been made over the years to create short cuts to other areas around town. A few turns (including a chance to stop and look at the solar pannel dome from the outside) and a a lengthy trek later, the group stood infront of their lodgings.

The hotel was a small 3 story building painted in red, but aethetics didn't appear to be a priority, since most of the paint was chipped and weather beared. Hal led the group into the building, and thankfully the interior was far better maintained. Alaster nearly chuckled at the collective sign of relief the cadets had uttered.

"Tch, all these soft humans...You spoil them too much with the garden," Diablos said with some distaste.

"Oh, hush. I just want the best for them," Alaster said in defense, although he was still a little amused. But he was sure when push came to shove, the cadets would be alright in harsher terrain.

When they came into sight, the hotel receptionist stood from behind the desk. "Ah, I guess you guys are the Esthar group for the night," she said before fishing beneath the desk and laid out a handful of access cards.

"The entire second floor has been booked for your group. We're a small place, so you'll need to pair people up, but there's two beds in each room and a bathroom. There's also an internet wifi available in the building and basic cable. Ah, let's see...Dinner service is between 8-11 p.m., and breakfast is 7-10 a.m. The hotel is open all day and night, so you can leave and come back whenever you want," she said, waving her hand vaguely.

"Alright, thank you for the help," Alaster said before turning around to face the group, "although I suspect no one has a reason to wonder around after dark," he said smirk, expecting at least one or two cadets to do it, although FH didn't have much of a night life.

[Aleister Black]

Lucy was a bit dismayed at the sight of the tumble-down hotel. Judging by its exterior, they would be 'roughing it' the following night. She snorted at how spoilt she sounded. She was training to be a SeeD, for crying out loud! A derelict hotel would be the least of their worries when in the field. Even so, she was relieved to see that the interior of the building did not turn out to match its exterior; it was well maintained and would, by the sight of it, offer all they would require this night. The cadets wasted no time in securing their access cards, and walked off in twos and threes. Lucy was vaguely jealous seeing them all pairing up so easily. There was almost no one from her year in the group, and she felt rather alone among the older students. She gingerly picked up the last access card from the desk and sought out her room. She wondered who she would be sharing the room with.

Her heart sank when she opened the door and saw Xanther quickly storing some of his things in the cupboard next to his bed. When he looked around, she meekly showed him the acces card, and managed to say, "I think we have to share the room." Her face grew red, and she hated herself for being so visibly emberrassed. How could she sleep in the same room with a boy, especially an older one? She considered asking someone to swap cards, but remembering the clicques and couples, she lost all hope of doing that. No one would swap with her. Xanther simply shrugged and continued unpacking his things. The thought that this boy didn't seem to care either way, did not make Lucy feel better at all. Self-consciously, she put down her bag and hurriedly stored a few things so she would not have to search for them when it was dark and she was going to bed. Cactuar didn't seem to understand the situation, but Lucy's anxiety worried him.

She pulled out some of her papers and print-outs and started towards the door. Xanther looked up questioningly from the magazine he was reading, but did not say anything. Lucy stood in the doorway and muttered, "I'm... um..." She pointed out of the room with her thumb and then fled the room. When she stepped out, the cool sea breeze cooled her down somewhat. She hadn't felt this ill at ease since Cactuar's mind had been seperated from hers. She quested towards him and tried to feel whether he was starting to cling to her mind again, but the Guardian Force was still there and seperated from her. Confusion. Images of various threats (such as sandstorms, rain and people) passed her mind as if Cactuar tried to ask her what it was that was scaring her. She tried to make it clear to him but found that what she said only confused the Guardian Force more. It's ok, she decided. I'm just being stupid. I'm a SeeD. Or will be. I'll be sent on missions with all kinds of people. I shouldn't be such a wuss. Warmth. Thanks.

---

She was sitting on a bench in front of the hotel when she saw another aircraft arriving. She had been sitting on the edge of the platform at first, legs dangling over the water of the ocean, but Cactuar had not felt comfortable there. Whenever a wave crashed into the platform that FH rested on deep below them, Cactuar hed panicked and urged her to run away from the water. She had given in and retreated from the edge and closer to the hotel. The aircraft that was arriving now was not a jet like Eshtar's; it was moving a lot slower. Lucy had read about the Galbadian jetpack technology and this aircraft seemed to incorporate that very same technology, albeit on a larger scale. A few Galbadian SeeDs were actually escorting the aircraft, which was now landing at the landing pad in front of the hotel, which had been too small for their jet.

Lucy held her reports and papers down tightly as the wind tore at them. "Seems like Galbadia Garden's representative is here," a voice behind her said. Lucy started and in that unguarded moment, one of her papers escaped her grasp and joyfully flew to freedom - when Xanther's hand closed around it, smoothed it and handed it back to Lucy again, who stammered, "Thank you." "Sorry if I gave you a fright," Xanther said, looking at the Galbadian aircraft which had now landed. "I-I was just deep in thought, that's all," Lucy said. Xanther shrugged. "You should relax more. You'll never become a good SeeD if you're that tensed up all the time." He still wasn't looking at her. Lucy burned with shame and anger - she didn't know which. She didn't even know whether she was angry at herself for being such... such a girl, or at him for saying what she was thinking. Who was he, anyway?

Not saying anything, she pressed her lips tightly together and looked at the people coming out of the Galbadian aircraft. She didn't know them, but she thought she recognised the headmaster of Galbadia Garden. He was a large and muscular man; he had the looks of a tough soldier, and the scars he bore only reinforced this. His face was expressionless as he started to walk down the ramp leading tot he landing pad.


----


Damien did not particularly like Fisherman's Horizon. As far as he was concerned, it was a heap of rusty trash thrown in the middle of the ocean which was of no use to anyone. They repaired old things and hardly made anything new. Their city and the train tracks leading from them to either continent blocked larger sea traffic. And they were always neutral. Damien didn't trust that. Yet here they were, on one of those inane meetings where they would all try to accuse Galbadia and its Garden for that loose cannon that escaped last month. It had cost Damien his face, but it had cost the boy his life. There was some satisfaction to be reaped from that, at least. And Akira turned out to be an even worse failure. As a matter of fact, it was good the boy had run off and died so pathetically. It turned out his connection with Eden had been feeble, and Eden's power too strong. Better to find that out before you actually need to use that power. There were teams out looking for Eden at this very moment, but Damien doubted they would find the Guardian Force anytime soon.

In the meantime, he had to endure these negotiations. If these people knew what was good for them, they would stop antagonising themselves to him. A time would come when these people would regret pointing their fingers at him. As he walked off the ramp, his eye caught sight of two young people watching them. Judging by their uniforms, they were Eshtar students. He shook his head in exasperation. Allvar and his mediation and diplomacy classes. SeeDs were for fighting, not talking. Solving wars with words would make Gardens obsolete. Allvar was digging his own grave, and that of all the other Gardens.

According to Herald Gal, they would be staying in the same hotel as the Eshtar representatives, but on the top floor. Damien was careful not to show his displeasure at seeing the shack they would be staying in. It was not the apparent lack of luxury that irked him; he had slept without tents in the wilderness. But the chipped paints and blanched wood showed that the people of Fisherman's Horizon were an unruly bunch; chaotic and undisciplined. There was hardly a more deadly sin in Damien's book.

[Mellusia]

The sound of the engine's humming on the jet wasn't any louder than it had been when it had dropped off the Esthar cadets yesterday, but in the wake of the utter silence of all passengers, it might as well have been a thunderous rumble.

The meeting with Galbadia and the other parties had...gone as Alaster expected, the man mused wearily.

He hadn't expected any resolution, but he had hoped for some more informative exchange of thoughts and ideas. Instead it had boiled down to useless bickering and finger pointing which way and that. Sighing, the headmaster rested his forehead on his hand.

Even worse, he doubted the cadets had learned anything from the experience.

"Except that adults can be childish regardless of age," he thought.

Diablos had been a silent watcher during the whole affair, and the demon hadn't offered any of his own opinions on the matter - although he doubted it strayed much from Alaster's negative opinion.

Swallowing thickly, Alaster's head fell back. Why were things so hopeless? Why did conflict have to exist in the first place? Was peace such a fragile flower that would be crushed in one uncaring step?

Alaster looked out the port window at the clouds in the sky. A small group of some sort of flying creatures flew by. Perhaps some form hyrbid of monsters from the past Lunar Cry and the planet's own bird had manifested such creatures. Watching, he realized they were chasing a smaller, but colourful bird with long, beautiful tail feathers - which unfortunately made it an eye-catching target.

The logical conclusion was to assume the pitiful creature would be struck down in the face of such advasaries, however the bird eluded it's chasers. Swirving along the winds, between the hybrids even. At last the hybrids finally flew off, exhausted from the unrewarding chase.

For some reason it made Alaster smile. Perhaps it was a message from Hyne himself not to give up so easily. The bird kept flying unwaverly, towards it goal.

Hope...Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing.

Alaster turned back towards the cabin, and rifled through his briefcase. There was still time until landing, so he might as well get ahead of the mission logs that had been neglected in the last month.

Outside the plane window, the colourful bird continued to fly at a steady pace - in time for a vulture to strike it down.

***

Anita wearily watched from her bound position as "Bee" and a few other scientists moved around busily. Since being deemed a matching subject for the "thunder bird" (which still made no sense to the SeeD) they had stopped drugging the young woman, so Anita was finally at a decent level of coherence.

"What do we do about the other three. It'll look suspicious if only 3 of the SeeD members are wondering around the city," a male assistant asked to "Bee".

The woman cocker her head in Anita's direction. "It won't matter. In a few days we'll be gone from here anyways, and they won't be able to track us after."

"Why...are you doing this?" Anita asked with some difficulty. Even with the lacking drugs, the constant barage of shocks through her form weren't minor annoyances her body could brush off.

"You'll know soon enough, dear," the lady scientist said with coy smile.

It did little to reassure the SeeD.

[Aleister Black]

Only now, back on the jet bound home for Eshtar, did Lucy fully grasp the precarious situation the world was in. The distance created by reading about it and seeing it on television screens had disappeared when she had seen the emmisaries and representatives argue, coming not even an inch closer to any sort of agreement. If anything, the whole situation had become worse now that Galbadia seemed to actively accuse Eshtar of plotting against them. Headmaster Damien Mindstrong of Galbadia Garden had seemed determined to cast doubts on Eshtar's claims and proofs, and the Deling representative had been quick to follow his lead.

The night had offered little in the way of rest. She had managed to change into her pyjamas under the sheets, feeling stupid for doing so. She couldn't sleep, and lay in her bad staring at the ceiling. In the background, she could hear people chatting and laughing, sounds of construction going on (don't people in FH ever sleep?), the creaking of buildings and the constant rumbling of the sea. It must have been hours later when she suddenly heard Xanther stir in his bed and the creaking of the floor. She almost couldn't hear his footsteps, but the window slid open and she saw a dark shape climb out of it. But why? The hotel was open all night, students could go out if they wanted to, right? Why would he go through the effort of doing it secretly? Lucy lay there, hesitating, unsure what to do. After what seemed like an eternity, she threw back the sheets and put on her jacket over her pyjamas. Barefooted, she padded to the window and looked out.

Xanther wasn't anywhere in sight. Tentatively she climbed out of the window and let herself drop on the roof of the building next to the hotel. She kept looking around and strained to hear anything, but the beating of the waves covered most small noises that would otherwise give away someone's position. Why did I even go after him in the first place? she kept asking herself. He's probably seeing his sweetheart or something, and now they're probably kissing at the waterside. And I, I go after him to - what for, anyway? She sighed. She was such a dork. If she hadn't been such a girl she would have fallen asleep and then she wouldn't be standing here, in a street a way off the hotel, in her pyjamas and a jacket, looking like a jackass.

She was about to turn back when she suddenly made out two shapes near the water edge. She couldn't hear what was said but she recognised Xanther. He had gone here right out of bed; he was barechested and only wore a loose-fitting pair of jogging pants. The meeting didn't seem romantic in nature, though. He was shaking hands with a man whose face she could not quite make out. Apparently, the meeting was over; the two seperated. The unknown man disappeared swiftly into the darkness and Xanther turned around and came towards her. Lucy immediately ducked down behind a dumpster and hoped the shadows would be enough to conceal her. Xanther trotted into the alley and jumped up to catch one of the roofs, and hauled himself up in one smooth movement. His bare feet made almost no sound as he ran up the roof and climbed up further and disappeared in the direction of the hotel.


Lucy had made her way back to the hotel, a lot less smoothly than Xanther probably had. Coming out of her hiding place near the dumpster, she slipped and grazed her knee and the palms of her hands. She chided herself all the way back to the hotel, where she discovered Xanther had closed the window; she didn't dare to try and open it in case he would discover she had followed him. And of course she had forgotten her door key. She got a few looks at the reception desk, but other than a raised eyebrow from the woman there she got no comments. She meekly knocked on the door of their room, and had to wait for a while before Xanther opened it. She had to commend him for his acting abilities; he looked as if he had been fast asleep. His expression was mildly annoyed, and as she quickly entered the room with downcast eyes, he said, "wild night, huh?" She shrugged. "Better take your card key next time." He was silent for a while. When they were both in their beds again, he suddenly said, "That pyjama-jacket combination doesn't work on you."

Lucy didn't sleep all night.


---

The next day, the meeting didn't bring much news; it was basically a repeat fo the night before, and by noon, everyone left disgruntled after a date for a new meeting had been set. Lucy caught herself doubting it would ever work. Those people didn't seem to want to solve the situation at all. Lucy had almost wanted to scream sense into them. On the jet, all she did was stare out of the window. She didn't dare look at Xanther; she feared her eyes would betray her discovery of his own meeting in FH. She breathed out a sigh of relief when Eshtar came into sight. Tamara was already waiting on the landing pad, jumping up and down and waving.




---



As the landscape quickly slid past way below them, Damien sipped from a glass of wine. It had gone rather well. He could feel Eshtar's hold of the assembly, which had been so strong one month ago, slipping away. There was discord among the countries and Gardens, and the possibility of them ever agreeing on anything was more remote every single day. He almost felt sorry for Alaster.

But not quite.

[Mellusia]

The next morning Alaster found himself back in his garden office, grimacing at the accumulation of requests for Esthar Garden assistance. He sat down at his desk in a huff and put aside that pile and instead checked in on the status of on-going missions.

Only 5 missions had been ongoing before the attack on Esthar garden. 2 teams had returned since then, while 3 others were still out on assignment.

The mission logs for two of the teams was updated on a regular basis, and luckily they didn't seem to have any issues, but the last mission team...

There were no updates at all.

"What?" Alaster said out loud, perplexed at the lack of updates. Looking over at the mission statement, he realized it had been a special "order" he had approved for Ellone over in Esthar City. The team had ironically left the night before Esthar's attack, but they're had been no logs past "left Esthar Garden".

"Well this is odd," Diablos piped up unhelpfully.

"Did something happen..?" Alaster pondered out loud, a sinking feeling developing in his stomach

He quickly called up Ellone on his video phone. If the SeeDs had arrived, they would have reported to Ellone.

"Alaster, what is it?" the woman asked, stacks of documents surrounding her in her presidential office.

Alaster asked the woman if she knew about the current status of the SeeD team, but her answer confirmed Alaster's fears.

"They never came to see me," Ellone said with her own confusion.

Alaster looked to the side, frantically trying to figure out what could have possibly happened.

"Is something wrong? The kidnappings stopped, so I thought the team was just investigating before coming to me,"

Alaster blinked. "The kidnappings stopped?" Alaster parroted dumbly.

Ellone nodded. "No one from Esthar City went missing after the last victim. Not this whole month," she explained

It took a while for Alaster's brain to catch up to Ellone's words before a viable, but unattractive, solution came to light.

"Elle, I'm going to send another SeeD team to the city. Please be ready for them," Alaster said quickly

"Eh? Alright then. Have them come through the ground entrance though," Ellone said before logging off.

Alaster let out a sigh, his head falling back. The team had been sent to investigate the Esthar City kidnappings, and with no logs from the team the whole month, and the kidnappings having stopped around the same time, it was obvious the team had become the victims themselves.

"Still...that means one or more of the SeeDs had what the kidnappers had been looking for all along," he thought. No victims had been killed, but Alaster was still far too uneasy.

Something had been going on right beneath Esthar's nose the whole time. Coupled with the shaky relations all countries seemed to have developed in the last month, it only added to the man's anxiety.

"But now the question is who to send," he mused, looking over at the data log of available SeeDs.

There was a vast selection considering that regular Esthar Garden routines had resumed only a week before, however he felt his eyes drawn automatically to SeeDs Hielo and Quatro - the ones with GFs like him.

"Is that really necessary?" Diablos asked, although his tone was interested

Alaster just shrugged. He had no real reason for picking them. They were just the first ones to come to mind.

However 2 SeeDs were hardly enough for a rescue effort. 4 would be far better to have. As for who the other two would be, he wasn't sure...

[Aleister Black]

"Come on, I'm sure it can't be bad!" Tamara urged her on. Lucy's fingers trembled as she removed the official Eshtar seal from the envelope. She brushed at the paper of the letter inside it but did not dare extract the actual letter, despite Tamara's encouragements. Cactuar did not understand. Fear of people he could understand. Fear of situations, places. But not fear of little pieces of paper. Yet, Lucy's anxiety made Cactuar feel nervous, too, and the feeling of fright became even more of a constant. In her mind, she tried to rationalise it. She knew she had done her very best on all the tests she had been through. She had passed Healing and Protective Magic with flying colours, she had done well on physical tests and even did well on fighting tests, despite her dislike of actual combat.

Not to mention, she had stayed up until early in the morning, finishing a thesis on the current political situation, with an added appendix on possible solutions for the current impasse in the important negotiations, which she had started on even in the jet on the way home to Garden. Frankly, she had not expected the board to have assessed her thesis and the results of the rest of her tests so quickly; ad she had certainly not expected to wake up to find a letter addressed to her, sealed with the official Eshtar Garden seal, in her letterbox.

Panicking, she had knocked on Tamara's door. Tamara had received word that she had passed her final SeeD exams the morning Lucy had returned from the futile meeting at FH. But she didn't know what to expect, and she needed her best friend to be there, whether it be good or bad news. "But what if they expell me?!" she cried out in a high-pitched voice. "I can't just go home and leave all this," she continued, rambling nervously. Tamara shushed her and put an arm around her. "Now don't worry, Lucy," she said, trying to comfort her friend. "I have only ever known of one or two people to be expelled, and they were nothing like you. They were troublemakers. Not suited to be SeeDs." Lucy pulled out the letter a little bit, but halted in the middle of her movement. "But what if I'm not a good SeeD either? A good SeeD wouldn't be afraid to open a letter, wouldn they?"

Wordlessly, Tamara suddenly grabbed Lucy's hand that was holding the letter and pulled it up, now fully extracting the letter from its envelope. Lucy gasped and felt her eyes being drawn towards the text she so dreaded to read. Her lips moved silently as she digested the letter's contents. For a few seconds, silence reigned in Tamara's room.

---

A group of students walking down from the forms to the training area for an extra early training session, jumped as they suddenly heard screams coming from one of the rooms they just passed. Already in high gear for the dangerous training they were going to, they sprinted back tot he dorms, weapons raised. What they found, baffled them at first. One girl was punching the air and laughing, while the other danced, occasionally kissing a letter. As the students entered the room, the two girls gradually went quiet and looked at the baffled trainees. One of them, the one with the letter, walked up to them and pointed. "Get out of here, can't you see we're celebrating? This is SeeD territory now!"



---

Unheard by them at that very moment, a message appeared in the inboxes of three former students. A mission had come up.

[Mellusia]

Aiden lay slumbering in his bed. The pleasant breeze from the ceiling fan was enough to keep the SeeD asleep for longer than his norm. With no particular duties to attend to, the blond indulged in the age-old habit of sleeping in.

With the boy's mind at ease and resting, Ifrit find his own thoughts wonder about himself. The fire beast could feel his power gradually returning each day since his union with Aiden, and wondered if his form could be summoned soon and if he'd be able to exist in his own form once more.

"Would it make much difference?" Ifrit pondered

Long ago Ifrit's goal had been to regain his form and to set out to find Shiva. But before realizing she had been far closer than he had known, Ifrit become more and more fond of his host. Watching the child grow up to be a man was strangely rewarding.

Snorting, Ifrit wondered if dormant paternal yearnings had been awakened by the blond.

Suddenly a loud beeping noise sounded out in the room. Moaning, Aiden's eyes groggily opened, his vision blurry before clearing.

"Time to get up, kiddo," Ifrit chimed with a faux perk, making the blond grunt something about "being too creepy in the morning".

Yawning, the young man reached out to his pager and shut it off, letting the sender know he recieved the summons. Turning on his side, a shook the mouse of his PC, and sure enough, a pop window of a new message was flashing on his screen.

He skimmed the short message (to proceed to the Headmaster for a full mission briefing) before wiping the last remnants of sleep from his eyes and proceeded with his morning rituals.

*****

Lani chugged the last of her juice bottle before dropping it into the garbage of her dorm. She'd taken a shower and finished in time to receive a summons.

"Mission, eh?" she mused. Admittedly, the brunet had been feeling anxious for being cooped up too long at garden with not much to do. If at least Anita had been here with her, it would've been more bearable...

"How cruel. Have you forgotten me, kitten?" Shiva said, Lani able to pick up on the pout the goddess was conveying

"How could I ever forget you?" Lani replied with a snort, changing into her uniform.

"That's good," Shiva purred with contentment, charging a small amount of air with her cold power right behind the girl's neck, giving the effect she was kissing Lani.

"Shiva!" the blue-eyes girl cried out in surprise, automatically covering the now tingling flesh.

The goddess' silvery laughter echoed in Lani's mind, leaving the girl scowling and blushing.

Shaking her head, she smoothed down her uniform before making her way to the elevator and up the office.

Once in, she spotted Aiden's leaning form, surprise to see the man again. It seemed more and more the two were running into each other, like some cheap plot device in a story (OOC: lulz).

"Ah, I'm glad you got here so quickly. We're still waiting on the rest of the team mates, so just take seat," Alaster offered with a smile.

Not feeling too humble, the young woman settled into a one-seater, crossing her long legs and waited.

*****

The headmaster glanced at the two SeeDs currently in the office. They were decently experienced and he had faith in their abilities.

His concern was more for the newer members he had decided to bring on. Experience was definitely best acquired on the field, but he worried that sending new members into a very murky situation wasn't a smart move either.

"Stop worrying so much," Diablos muttered with a huff to his host

Alaster chewed his bottom lip in indecision, but finally relaxed. The others were surely already on their way up. It would do no good to arbitrarily tell them to "forget about it" once they arrived.

The door opened again, welcoming the third member of the mission team.

[Aleister Black]

"Yes, yes I'm coming!" Lucy shouted as she quickly gathered her things, dropping about half of them in the process. Tamara had been knocking on her door for the past ten minutes, and this did little to comfort Lucy. "I'm leaving without you!" Tamara's voice said from behind the door, and sure enough, the knocking stopped. Lucy froze, and quickly ptied her shoelaces. Hopping on one foot, tying the laces on the other, she made her way to the door and through it, then ran down the corridor to catch up with her friend. "You can hurry, if you just really want to," Tamara said, grinning. Lucy groaned. "Our first real SeeD mission and we're going to be late!" Tamara looked at her and said, "They have known you for almost ten years now, I'm sure you being late will not surprise them."

"Ha, ha," Lucy said as the two ran up the stairs and to the elevator. "Can't it go any faster?!" Lucy groaned, and Tamara pushed the call-down button a few dozen times. One could never be certain enough, after all. As they stepped into the Headmaster's office, Lucy recognised the two SeeDs who had helped her earlier. She shot the two a smile before presenting herself to the Headmaster, who told her and Tamara to find a seat. Tamara leaned over to Lani's chair and whispered, "I never got a chance to thank you for healing me back then." She grinned. "So, thanks!"

It was only a few minutes later that the *ping!* of the elevator arriving on this floor that the fifth and final member of the team was to be revealed. Lucy's heart sunk as she recognised the lanky, dark-haired young man from the trip to FH. Xanther himself did not so much as bat an eyelid at her, but instead formally presented himself to the Headmaster before taking a seat. Lucy glanced at him inconspicuously. She didn't trust him. She still didn't know what he had been doing outside that night, and she suspected he knew that she had followed him. When his icy blue eyes suddenly met hers, she looked away quickly. Cactuar stirred inside her. Danger? it probed, trying to discern a cause for her unease. No, it's safe, she assured him, not believing her own words.

Then, the briefing required her full attention.

[Mellusia]

The large vehicle sped across the xenophobic desert, bumping several times on the unpaved road. If not for the seat belts holding the SeeDs and driver down, there would be several headaches resounding in the small enclosed space.

Aiden skimmed the official mission statement in his hand, but he had already absorbed the information the first time when the headmaster had explained what the mission entailed hours before. The only reason he read it was to occupy his mind from wondering too much. The man took missions quite seriously and tried to focus as much as he could on them.

The same couldn't be said for Lani though. Aiden glanced over to the young woman, her hands balled into tight fists as she stared down, not really looking at anything.

"Well, I can't blame her," he thought. Finding out what the mission entailed was surprising to say the least.

[Flashback]

Lani looked outside one of the many windows of the headmaster's office office. The sky was a clear blue with picture perfect clouds scattered across the sky. The weather around garden was cooler than most places, but was rarely cloudy unless it was about to rain. The brunet wasn't too sure if there were any physics involved with it, but couldn't complain about the continent's climate.

The door opened and two of the other team members walked in. Lani raised her eyebrows to see Lucy and her friend of all people.

Aiden quirked how own eyebrow.

"I thought Lucy was still a cadet?" the man pondered, but otherwise shrugged internally, nodding back and smiling when Lucy smiled at him and Lani. He made a note to congradulate the younger girl at a more appropriate time.

"Hello again. Please have a seat while we wait for the last member," Alaster instructed politely

Lani gave a polite nod to the girls when they sat down. She blinked when Tamara leaned over, the girl thanking her for treating her wounds from a month ago.

"Don't mention it," the blue-eyed girl said with a smile.

The door opened yet again, this time allowing a dark haired teen in. He was formal, addressing himself as Xanther. Lani and Aiden both nodded to the boy.

"Alright, everyone's here now, so I guess we'll just get right down to this," Alaster said.

He applauded himself for sounding calm.

"Your mission is to retrieve four missing members of Esthar Garden's SeeD Force," Alaster said, passing out manila folders to each person in the office.

Anyone shocked to be handed such a precarious mission uttered inadvertent noises of surprise, but otherwise paid close heed to Alaster.

Lani quickly glanced through the images of the first three SeeD profile pictures before laying her eyes on the fourth person.

Anita.

"What?!" she exclaimed in her mind, her eyes visibly widening in shock, a gesture that was more prominent than any vocal thing she could have done.

"Calm down," Shiva said, trying to sooth the suddenly agitated girl. The goddess herself was surprised as well, but focused more on calming Lani down. It had been a long time since the girl had gotten so emotional so quickly.

Alaster noticed Lani's expression, wondering if the young woman was familiar with any of the missing SeeDs, but continued on.

"These four were originally assigned to mission a month before to deal with missing cases reported over in Esthar City. There's an attachment of that mission details and subsequent findings for you to look at later if you wish," Alaster explained

"It was a special request I authorized, so they left during the night instead of waiting 'til the next morning. The four were to report to Esthar Police Division and the President, however it appears they never did. Mission logs haven't been updated since they left the garden grounds either."

Alaster paused before continuing again. Diablos' presence was more apparent to the headmaster than usual, but somehow the man was able to deduce it was the GF trying to offer his own form of support. Giving a quick word of thanks, Alaster continued.

"It's quite possible that these four became victims themselves of the culprits behind the Esthar City kidnappings. Furthermore, it appears whatever the kidnappers had been seeking in the past victims, they found in one or all the missing SeeDs since the city kidnappings have stopped. With that in mind, it's a very good chance that they're all still alive as well, however time is of the essence," Alaster finished at last.

Lani forced herself not to blanch at the backhanded assurance that the missing SeeDs were still alive. That Anita could be dead...

The brunet couldn't remember the last time she had felt physically ill with words alone. If only through pure physical training did she manage to compose herself and not become ill right there in the office.

"There's a car waiting for you guys right now. Grab whatever you need and set off. Esthar officials are aware that you are on your way, so there shouldn't be any obstructions in your progress. The president has arranged for lodging at the presidential palace, so check in with her. SeeD Quatro," Alaster said, looking to Aiden.

"I'm appointing you the squad leader for this mission."

Aiden straightened from his leaning pose and saluted. "Sir," he replied in his deep voice.

Alaster had already known that he didn't want to put too much pressure onto the newer SeeD members with the stress of being a leader, and Aiden had a decent track record as a leader in the past. "The rest of you, please listen to your leader's commands and follow through with your best judgment. Any questions?"

Anything asked was answered quickly and the group made their way out together.

When they reached the main floor, Aiden spoke up.

"If you guys need to get anything from your quarters, grab 'em now. We'll meet in the garage in 15 minutes. Got it?" he said. A part of him knew that he was probably coming off far more bossy than his usual demeanor, however the man knew authority was necessary during missions. And if there were issues, it was better to let them out now lest they effect the mission. Last thing he needed was for a hothead to run off and prove themselves worthy and such.

When the group split up, Lani hesitated, half wanting to dart off right away to the garage, the other half contemplating picking up essentials left in her room.

She eventually turned towards the direction of her quarters, but her arm was caught in a grip. She spun around, seeing Aiden's unexpectedly serious expression.

"Hey, are you alright? Do I need to leave you behind?" Aiden asked

Lani gaped at the prospect of not being able to help Anita before pursing her lips tightly. "I'm fine," she insisted, jerking her arm out of the man's grip.

"I don't believe you," the blond replied, but didn't move to grab the shorter woman again.

Scowling, Lani looked to the side. "Fine. You know I'm not exactly impartial to this mission since Anita's involved, but I'm not going to rush blindly in," she said moving to look her leader back in the eyes.

Aiden pursed his lips before sighing "Alright, fair enough," Aiden said, turning to head his own way. It wasn't like he didn't have faith in the woman's ability, but as a SeeD, he couldn't just turn a blond eye to potential hindrances just because the person happened to be someone he was particularly fond of.

"Are you sure you're alright? If you want to help Anita, do it with a clearer head," Shiva said to the young woman.

"I know, I know," Lani assured, walking her own way.

[End Flashback]

The five had met back together in the garage as planned, greeted the driver, before setting off. It had been 2 hours since then.

The driver spoke up. "Just another 10 minutes or so, guys," they said.

"Thanks," Aiden said, looking out the car window. It was somewhat amusing to see feared monsters in the distance somehow not able to detect the presence of the moving car. The technology used for wilderness travel was astounding at times.

At last the car pulled up to the ground entrance. People were free to come and go as they pleased, to the city but still had to go through a security gate. The guard waved them in, commenting that the Madam President was waiting for their arrival. The driver dropped them off at the entrance, waving goodbye before taking off.

The city was as whimsical and high-tech as always, if not more so. There were several hover seat pathways ready for people to sit upon.

"Well, shall we?" Aiden said to his team.

[Aleister Black]

Lucy and Tamara exchanged glances. SeeDs, disappeared? All SeeDs in the room, experienced or not, seemed baffled at best and shocked at worst. They knew what it meant: the team had either been incapacitated, kidnapped or killed. A SeeD would always report to the nearest Garden. The fact that this team hadn't, meant bad news. Lucy occasionally glanced up from the mission notes and saw each SeeD she would be sent on this mission with. Lani and Aiden, who had helped her so much throughout the past month or two. They had saved her best friend, and they had helped her gain insight in herself and her condition. Cactuar stirred. An inquisitive tone was in his thoughts. Immediately, Lucy amended her thought. Not a condition, she emphasised. A blessing. Cactuar seemed pleased with the genuine feelings that went with her words. And she did mean it. Now that Cactuar was a seperate entity within herself instead of that frightful part of her that she hated, she had not only learned to live with it but also to accept it and ultimately love it. Cactuar was a part of her, and she wouldn't see it any other way.

Then there was Tamara; her best friend throughout all the years they had been at Eshtar Garden. Tamara had always been more forward than Lucy, and this did not only show in social events but also in the direction they had taken in the SeeD curriculum. While Lucy had excelled at supportive magic like healing and protective spells, and done extraordinarily well at diplomacy classes, Tamara had been a star student in physical fighting classes and was the pride of many a martial arts teacher. Tamara's weapon of choice was a thin gunblade. In fact, she was the first girl at Eshtar Garden to ever specialise and major in the gunblade. Tamara was taller than Lucy, and had dark brown hair and eyes, that always glinted with either determination or joy. Lucy looked back at the briefing and knew that if Tamara ever were to be captured, however unlikely that was with a temperament such as Tamara's, she would go through fire and ice to get her back.

And Xanther. Luxy didn't dare look at him. Every second, she suspected his icy blue eyes on her. The lanky youth with the dark hair that, if not bound back, reached to his cheekbones, made her feel uncomfortable. At times, she found herself wishing she had never spoken to him in the jet ont he way to FH. She hadn't really known the young man before then. He had gone to other classes than she did, or followed them at different times. The Garden was big, after all, and it was impossible to know everyone even if they did happen to major in the same subjects. And since the events at FH, no matter how trivial they might eventually turn out to be, had made her distrust him to a degree. She trusted his skill in battle, like she would every SeeD; she had no grounds to distrust him of anything, but she did not like mysteries, and the enigma of his departure int he middle of the night had never been solved.

----Later---

Even Lucy had been in the garage and waiting before the 15 minutes were up. She had quickly packed all she thought she would need: some personal belongings, casual clothes, and a rectangular box with her weapon. Her lance could be dissembled and assembled on the fly, which made it really easy to travel with. Tamara was less lucky; her gunblade took up quite some space, and Today wasn't the first time Tamara had muttered, "one day I'll just ditch this thing". But Tamara had it easy compared to Xanther, as it turned out. On his back was a large canvas back, and he was carrying an additional bag, and an ammunitions case in his other hand. Tamara budged Lucy and whispered, "what do you think he's compensating for?" Lucy blushed and kept silent while Tamara laughed merrily. Xanther seemed to ignore the both of them as he loaded his pack onto the car. To Lucy's horror, Tamara stepped forward and nudged Xanther in the back. "here," she said, "I wonder how you're going to go undercover with that thing." Xanther just looked at her and turned away while mumbling something about "never knowing when you might need it". Tamara looked back at Lucy, mouthing 'what a weirdo!' while Lucy tried to gesture for Tamara to stop.

---Later---

They had entered Eshtar City, and were now standing in front of one of the hover seats. Lucy and Tamara had been in Eshtar City often whenever they had a chance. The shopping lanes here were incredibly well-stocked, and the girls spent countless hours just ambling down the walkways of the City, checking out new wares and looking at much too expensive things. They would be looking for very different things now. But first they would have to get settled in their Operation HQ (which in reality was just a hotel room) and come up with some plan. And they would have to go and speak to President Ellone. Lucy already was nervous about that. The President! Oh dear.

"Well, shall we?" Aiden said. "Don't mind if we do," Tamara replied and pulled Lucy with her on to the hoverseat.




-----Thomas-----



He had long since stopped shouting her name. The night on the plains was cold. He wrapped his coat around him to shield himself against the worst of it but it didn't seem to help much. He cursed under his breath. He tried to tell himself that it wasn't much of a loss. In fact, Pandemona had been saying that from the very moment he'd lost her. Pandemona had been laughing his mental arse off first, after which he had continued to tell Thomas that Layala's disappearance, whether she be dead or simply missing, was of the utmost triviality. Tonberry King, on the other hand, felt Thomas' mind much better than Pandemona could; after all, the GF had been with the boy from a very young age. While Tonberry didn't quite understand why Thomas felt like this, he did know he wanted to console his host, his brother. While Pandemona was cheerfuly announcing that she'd probably been eaten by that big Worm, Tonberry King tried to assure Thomas that Layala had probably found her way back to Timber by now, and would either continue her own way or follow him later. She's a smart girl, Thomas. And she has a GF, don't forget that!

They had walked. He had only received enough money for one person to make the trip; his funds simply could not supply for Layala. Not unless they would walk to Deling City instead of going by train. They had walked for a day almost when an Abyss Worm had suddenly cloven the ground between them and shot up into the sky, rearing into its highest position. It hissed and spat as it thought it had found animals wandering into its trap. If indeed Thomas and Layala had been mere animals, the Abyss Worm would have had more than his fill of meat tonight and would not have appeared for several months, being too busy digesting its lovely meal. It had not counted on encountering a SeeD, much less one who could draw upon the power of no less than two Guardian Forces. Its heavy upper body slammed into the earth, causing cracks to appear in the rocky surface. As its body crashing downwards, though, Pandemona breathed power into Thomas, and his hair began to move as if swept this way and that by a storm, even though the wind speeds were almost zero on this hot day. Just as the ground shook from the creature's heavy crash into the ground, Thomas' feet left the earth, as if propelled upwards by a gust of wind. His eyes had taken on an amber sheen; Tonberry King had come to the forefront of Thomas' mind.

Desperately, the creature tried to defend itself. In the end, it tried to burrow back into the soil, bleeding from many wound. But Thomas, urged on by Pandemona's encouragements and a strange desire to protect Layala, had jumped after the creature and given it a coup de grace; his rapier had found its way down the creature's spine and via its nerve system into its brain. The Worm shuddered and went limp. As Thomas caught his breath and the Guardian Forces both drew back into his mind, he had this strange sensation something was missing.

It took him a minute to figure out what, exactly. Layala! he thought, looking around for any trace of the girl. Maybe it ate her before it died? Pandemona suggested. Little did Thomas know then that Pandemona would enjoy himself with this theory for most of the following night. Tonberry King frowned at Pandemona and said, she probably ran back to Timber. A strong Abyss Worm can be scary, and maybe she decided just not to walk all the way to Deling through the wilderness.

---Later---

Thomas poked at a small fire with a stick he had picked up before. He hadn't found her yet. He refused to think of it now. He had a mission to do. It had been stupid to take her with him anyway; the mission was supposed to be a secret. "Well," he said into the night sky, "only two more days to go; one if we hurry up tomorrow. If we're lucky, not taking the train won't set us too far back." Good to see you're taking this well, Tonberry said. Taking what well? Thomas asked defiantly, as if challenging Tonberry to mention Layala. The GF wisely kept his mouth shut. Pandemona, too, felt that it should not speak at this very moment, although Thomas coul feel the GF's smirking satisfaction at the disappearance of the girl.

Silently, the three passed the rest of the night, taking turns keeping watch. Thomas knew that even though his body would still be tired, it still payed to give his mind some rest. He trusted Tonberry King to stay vigilant when Pandemona took watch. He did not realy trust his old friend's GF yet; he doubted he ever would. He would have stayed awake himself if he hadn't been enormously tired of the day's events. Watch for me, he whispered to Tonberry. He took delight in Pandemona's annoyance as the GF could not pick upt he nature of the message to Tonberry. That was something he had discovered lately; he could converse with both GFs at the same time, but he could also converse with only one of them, effectively blocking out the other. It had been a relief finding that out; he had been afraid he would never be able to be truly 'alone' with Tonberry King now that Pandemona had joined them. This meant that he could still block Pandemona out when he only really needed his only true friend in the world.

Tonberry smiled and its memories went back to the old Centra castle, and the guard towers and the little tonberries.

He would stay vigilant.

[Mellusia]

Aiden moved to sit on the next available hover seat, moving over enough to allow another member to sit with them if they chose. Lani just went to the next one over, not trusting to be too close to the blond in a dark, enclosed space.

The chairs slowly rose a few inches off the ground, before whirring away down the tunnel. There were several twists and turns made in these hover tunnels, and even tubes for direct ways for more popular areas like the shopping district, entertainment, and of course the Presidential Palace.

Lani gripped the handle bar of the chair, surprised how such a fast transport system managed to maintain a steady support for the passengers.

However her thoughts continued to dwell on what could have exactly happened to her best friend. Thinking back on it, the brunet had wondered how Anita could have been gone so long to just the next city over. She had concerns, but had dismissed them so readily just the same.

"If I had noticed, than maybe..." Lani thought, biting her lip

"Lani, stop it. I understand that you're worried, but there's no reason to try to take any blame in this. You're here now, so focus on helping Anita and not on something that's not your fault," Shiva said, a slightly stern tone colouring her words. The goddess didn't like these negative feelings of guilt her kitten had decided to feel all of sudden.

Lani straightened then. "I'm sorry. I know, I just...feel like I should have done something more than kill time this last month," she replied.

Shiva let out a mental huff. "If Anita saw you now, she'd be quite disappointed," the goddess said, her voice fading away. Normally Shiva would be much more supportive and caring to her precious girl, but Lani's circular logic wouldn't budge. All the goddess could do was aid the young woman in battle.

Lani flinched at the uncharacteristically cold attitude Shiva showed her. The brunet did know on some level that feeling guilty was useless, and not even necessary, but it was hard to just happily do the mission like it was any other.

The chairs finally stopped at the landing port near the presidential office. The trip itself only took all of 5 minutes. Walking on foot would've ate up a good amount of time the SeeDs wouldn't want to afford to waste.

The group headed towards the the large building entrance. Two customary guards were at the entry way. One moved forward to greet the group.

Aiden recalled on earlier version of the Esthar uniform from over 10 years ago, but over the years the ensemble had changed a bit. For the most part, it had lighter armour and the helmet was no longer mandatory unless in battle. Instead the guard force had simple headsets.

"Sorry, no unauthorized visitors are allowed in," came the voice a tall red haired woman. Her cliche tall male counter-part straightened in alert, but held back at his post.

"We're the Esthar SeeD team. The president is expecting us," Aiden replied, offering a letter of permission the president had faxed over to the headmaster, who had then slipped to him when the team had left the mission briefing.

The guard scanned the letter, looking at the hidden parts that proved it was legit before nodding.

"Alright, looks good. Just take the elevator up to the 4th floor, go over the sky walk, and announce yourself to the Madam President," she explained

Aiden nodded, looking back at his team. "Alright, let's move," he said.

Soon enough the group was at the office doors of the president. Two guards were yet again waiting in wake, although they had more casual attire.

"The SeeD group, right?" one asked

Aiden nodded, assuming the closer people were to the President, the more privy they were to information on guests and the like in the palace.

The large doors were opened and the group went into the large office. The room was set up with all the essentials one could expect in a leader's office, but designed with a quality of sophistication. But even then, a warm undertone was still felt.

President Ellone Loire managed to look at each SeeD, however she find herself blinking rapidly when her eyes lay on Lani.

"Whaa...She looks like Squall! But why...Did he have a child..? No, that can't be. He was faithful to Rinoa...But still..." she thought, suddenly finding the urge to run up the the SeeD woman. However she stayed put. The resemblance could just be a major...major coincidence, and she knew the SeeD's purpose here today was more important than her curiosity.

Composing herself, Ellone nodded to the group.

"Welcome to Esthar City. I apologize for keeping this short, but your headmaster has already filled me in with the details," she said walking up to the group.

She passed Aiden a set of card keys. "We had these specially made for your group and this mission. They'll give you unlimited access to pretty much anywhere in the city including the palace. Once your done with the mission, they'll be considered invalid and will be subsequently useless. On the third floor, we have quarters set-up for you to use. Please come to me if you need anymore assistance with your mission," the woman said sincerely

"Well, that covers it for now. Thank you, ma'am," Aiden said with a bow. The other members bid their own farewell, and just as quickly they were out of the office and headed towards the quarters.

Their quarters were more or less a condo within the palace. It had it's own kitchen, bathrooms, and 3 rooms for sleeping. It was a safe assumption it was also equipped with cable and wi-fi.

Important mission or not, it was hard not to be impressed with such luxurious accommodations.

Aiden looked to his group, calling for attention.

"Alright, I think we should divide ourselves into two investigative teams. I say one group will go out and talk to people and do the standard ground search, and the other will scan surveillance and other intel. So - where do you think your best suited for?" Aiden asked, looking at the four expectantly

"...It's scary how different you get on missions," Ifrit remarked to his host

[Aleister Black]

Before Lucy could truly get used to the idea of being in one room with the President, they were already out and on their way to the rooms they had been appointed to use during their operation. Overall, Lucy had been relieved. Somehow she had pictured the President as a stern woman, perhaps because she subconsciously felt that leaders were stern and strict people. Lucy's anxiety had washed right off her as the President addressed them. Maybe you just needed to see someone in person to realise even people like Presidents, Headmasters and monarchs were just people. Lucy hadn't realised Cactuar had tensed up in response to her own anxiety, until he relaxed when the situation turned out to be harmless. Lucy knew she should keep her feelings in check; if not for herself, then at least for Cactuar, lest the both of them affect eachother negatively and turn in a vicious cycle.

Before they knew it, the SeeD team were out of the Presidential quarters and on their way to their own temporary Eshtar City HQ. The rooms they had been allotted were beyond what Lucy and Tamara had been expecting. Both of them looked around the room grinning, even though they were well aware they would not be able to enjoy the luxury of the rooms much. After all, they had a mission to do, which would keep them out and about for most of the time. And with the disappearance of the other SeeD team, the mission seemed to have taken on a grim edge; as if it had become personal. And if Lucy was any judge, it was definitely personal for Lani. Though Lucy did not know the older SeeD well, she had noticed that she was rather quiet since the briefing.

When Aiden asked who would be up for what task, Lucy and Tamara immediately volunteered for the ground work. "We come in Eshtar City quite often anyway," Lucy pointed out, and Tamara added, "and we know most of the vendors. Someone may have sold 'second-hand' SeeD equipment." Lucy nodded. "People tend to remember that sort of thing, you don't see if often after all. And if something like that happened, we'll find out." When they had finished talking, Xanther slowly raised his hand. With a soft but clear voice he stated, "Survaillance and intel are mine. I can find needles in haystacks if you give me a screen and a keyboard." He smiled one of his rare smiles, barely raising the edges of his mouth. "Not to toot my own horn, sir, but if there is anything to be found in Eshtar's software or database, I'll find it."

Tamara coughed, and Lucy was quite sure she heard the word 'cocky' somewhere int here. She knew better than to let it on though. She quickly looked away from Xanther when his gaze swung towards her, pretending to be busy retying her shoelaces. Tamara tapped her n the back as she stood up from the bench the two of them had sat down on. "Come on, Lucy! Let's go get undercover!"

"Can you believe that guy?" Tamara whispered as she turned in front of the mirror, checking if everything was in order and making some last adjustments. "He's so full of himself!" Lucy shrugged, and said, "Well... I don't know. I mean, I don't know how good he is, do I? If he is as good as he says-" Tamara turned around and ruffled Lucy's hair, who tried to avoid her friend's hands. "You said yourself that he is weird! Hmm..." Tamara suddenly put on a mock-pondering expression. "You like him, don't you? The strange, distant man..." Lucy immediately rose from the edge of the bed. "Of course not! Don't be rediculous," she denied. She hoped Tamara would stop; Xanther might just get the wrong impression and she was not in the mood to have his mocking gaze on her the following weeks.

The duo walked out of the room, dressed in civilian garbs now. Lucy wore lots of greens; lightly coloured boots with green laces were on her feet, and she wore a dark green skirt with a brighter green short trench coat hat came to her hips. In her blonde hair she had playfully put a green-and-gold flower. Tamara often went for darker colours, combining various shades of red, gold and some black. She wore a longer coat of red, with golden buttons on the front and the cuffs and pockets. She had tight-fitting black trousers and black boots with red laces. In her auburn hair was a frail golden filligrain pin that Lucy knew had belonged to the girl's grandmother, and to her grandmother before that. Both Tamara and Lucy had their weapons on them in case they would have to resort to violence. Ideally, though, they would not have to. "We're ready to go," Tamara announced and Lucy nodded. Cactuar seemed to be happy about something. Lucy tried to suppress a smile. She knew that, like herself, Cactuar's favourite colour was green. He had just caught a glimpse of them in a tall mirror. A wave of warmth spready through Lucy, and she happily returned the feeling.

"I'm ready as well," Xanther announced, coming out of his room. Lucy couldn't tell if he watched her in particular as he ambled to the centre of the room. If he had heard Tamara's joking, he might have gotten the wrong ideas. No time to worry about that now, though, Lucy thought. Xanther was not going to be mingling with the people in Eshtar City. Instead, he would go to the security hub of Eshtar and try to find any sort of clue pataining to the SeeDs' disappearance. Yet just in case he would have to quickly be deployed in the City itself, he had put on some casual clothes as well. His jacket resembled the Eshtar Garden cadet uniform but seemed to be of a looser fit, and there were no Garden insignia. It was a dark shade of blue, with silver buttons and lining, much like the old Balamb cadet uniform. Lucy had seen it sold in shops in Eshtar City; Garden apparel seemed to be very much the rage nowadays, especially among youths. Xanther's hair was mostly contained by a black woolen hat, only a few strands escaped out from under it.

All former cadets were now looking at their team leader to issue the start of the mission in earnest.



---Thomas---


He had been so cold, the past night. The fire had gone out just after midnight due to a lack of fuel, so he just curled up and wrapped his coat around him. He had cursed himself for not simply taking the train. The end result would have been more or less the same if not better. He still felt vaguely guilty about not searching for Layala but he did have a mission to complete. The girl had a GF; she could take care of herself. He had probably only been interested in her because she had a GF in the first place. After all, how often did one run into someone else who had been fused with a GF? It had felt good meeting someone with a comparable background - and of course there was the fact that she was Bontane's sister. His best friend's features had so clearly shown on her face that he had felt a touch of pain when he first saw her in full daylight. It was unsettling but familiar at the same time; a paradox he could not decide whether he was glad or sad to be rid of.

Thomas had closed his eyes, and Tonberry King had opened them. Inside of him, he knew Thomas was taking a mental rest; even if his body was still fully awake. Tonberry inhaled deeply, taking a tiny bit control over Thomas' body to shift his weight so he could look at the stars. The stars had changed over the course of centuries. He wasn't even sure if he was looking at the same ones. Yet the terrible sadness that had consumed him for years upon years had vanished; a feeling of belonging and friendshop had come in its place, a feeling he hadn't felt since the glory days of the Centra state, too long ago for people to remember. When Thomas had stepped into his world, he had been ready to let go of his very existence. There was no more need for a Tonberry King; all he had originally protected lay in ruin. But when that little lost boy had waded through the mist, Tonberry suddenly had something to take care of and to protect. At their mutual agreement, the two had joined, joined further than any GF and its host had ever done. This was no mere junction, no affinity to be measured by mere numbers. In a sense, the GF and the boy had become one, for all intents and purposes one entity - with two seperately thinking minds. It had not taken Tonberry long to grow to love the child, and the man that grew from him. He would watch over the boy, forever.

Pandemona was restless. It had been a month, and instead of growing apart, the boy and Tonberry seemed to grow even closer to eachother. A few times now, they had locked him out of conversations, reminding him of the cold, dark days locked in the recesses of Bontane's mine, biding his time for a moment to escape and take control, if only for a little while. To feel the wind on his face was a blessing, a treat. To be locked away from it in someone's mind was utter torture. Maybe Tonberry could stand it; Pandemona couldn't. He was glad that they had lost the girl. She knew more about her brother and him than he liked for Thomas to know, and eventually she would have told him. He had been trying to think of ways to seperate the two, but it had been sheer luck that they had happened across an Abyss Worm trap. A slight change in wind, some grinding grains of sand across the animal's senstive skin, and it had sprung its trap when it otherwise might not have. Of course, after that he had helped the boy defeat the Worm. After all, the boy was his host and Pandemona knew that he was too weak to take his own form without being crippled beyond recognition if the boy were to die. Now it was time to look to the future. Get on with this mission and give that filthy Raydune what he asked for... And never see him again. 'Fetching' the Brothers - it was going to be a hell of a job, but Pandemona was looking forward to it. He always had a weak spot for those big, retarded cows; and they certainly had a weak spot for him to exploit.


Tomorow we'll be in Deling, Thomas thought sleepily. Stay the night, then make a bound for those ruins that they are said to be laid to rest in. He had no idea what to do when he got there, but it was not yet time to think about that. Let's first just get some rest, he thought as he sunk deeper into sleep. Good night, Tonberry whispered.

[Mellusia]

When the other three SeeDs admitted their preferences, Aiden nodded. It would make sense to have more people out on the field.

"Alright. Lani, you'll act as leader for the field team. Xanther and I will start out here with Esthar security," Aiden ordered, looking at each person.

The group split up to change into more casual attire. Lani helped herself to one of the bedrooms rooms, dropping her small satchel onto the large bed.

She shrugged out of her uniform before changing into her chosen outfit. The brunet walked to the vanity mirror, looking up and down to make everything was in place.

Lani didn't have a particular opinion on outfits she wore. She liked things that allowed her to breath and to move without issue. She had picked a simple white collar shirt without sleeves that had an adjustable zipper down the front. On top of that, Lani pulled on a black sleeveless tunic that she closed with a dark red belt and reached to her mid thighs. The short black shorts she had put on were covered by the tunic, which also managed to hide her two sai blades she had attached to her thighs. The woman kept on the standard issued black knee-high boots from Esthar Garden. Lani had spent months breaking them in and knew they were the best footwear she had anyways.

Finally, the young woman pulled on deceivingly simple sleeve pieces (OOC: I dunno what you call 'em D=). They covered from her wrist to her elbow. It was actually a suggestion Anita had given to Lani a while ago, claiming the brunet was leaving her arms wide open from slashes and bites from monsters and potential enemies. The material was just strong leather, but had proven quite helpful. And they were innocuous enough to be explained away as fashion.

Letting out a deep breath, Lani stepped out of the room in time to see Lucy and Tamara waiting. She nodded in greeting to them.

Xanther came out before being followed by Aiden from the same room. The tall blonde had put on a gray shirt with a black leather vest and baggy, dark green cargo pants that only reached just further than his knees. Finishing off were black sneakers. For being the leader of the group, his outfit was...rather ordinary.

Lani almost asked where the blond was keeping his blade, but didn't want to leave it open for a dirty joke.

Aiden looked around at the group, a little bemused at how a change of clothes could change his perception of the SeeDs. Lucy's earthy vibrancy, Tamara's up-town sophistication, Xanther modern and hip, and Lani subtle but lovely all the same.

"Alright, as I said, we'll divide into two teams. Each group will have a walkie-talkie to keep in touch. It's a secure line for just these two devices and should be able to connect within the city," Aiden explained, handing one device to Tamara, the other to Xanther.

"According to the investigation done by the missing SeeD team, the civilians reappeared after their disappearances around the Shopping District, so that might be worth checking out first," Aiden offered.

Lani nodded. "Alright, we'll head that way first then," she said. Lani looked to Tamara and Lucy. "Got everything?"

[Aleister Black]

Lucy and Tamara effortlessly slipped into a superficial 'shopping mode', chatting away like they usually did when they were in the City, but now they went in with a purpose; their senses seemed more alert to anything that could lead them to clues about the missing SeeDs' whereabouts. People who knew them would not look askance at Lani's presence; they were often with more friends, either classmates or one of Tamara's visiting sisters. Instead of going to the main shopping market, they sought out the smaller shops, pretending to be on the hunt for bargains and hidden treasures in the pawn shops. Rifling through hand-me-downs under the pretence of finding that jewel of a dress, they had their eyes peeled for anything with a Garden emblem on it. But their focus was mostly on junk shops and weapon stores. SeeD weapons were easily recognisable; even the cadet weapons were of a better make than most privately owned and sold weapons. SeeD weapons often yielded good prices; if the SeeDs had been robbed or kidnapped, the money to be made from selling the weapons would most likely be too attractive for the perpetrator to ignore.

Xanther sat down at the desk, flexing his fingers and feeling the smooth keys under his fingertips. Around him, looking rather disgruntled, were a team of security officers. "So what could you find that we haven't found in months of research?" one of them asked in disdain. Xanther's expression did not move as his fingers slid across the keyboard and the touchscreen monitor, pushing images aside, zooming in and out and comparing videos. "I believe you have been thorough, gentlemen. But I think you might just not have been thorough enough." One of the security officers chuckled. "We've been in the business for years! I think we know how this works a little better than you do, son."

Xanther turned in his seat and unpacked the smaller of his bags; from it, he extracted a box that he plugged into the computer and server of the security hub. Several lights turned on and flickered on and off, indicating the hardware was busy already. "And that is exactly the problem. New developments have made your years of experience obsolete. Now that the disruption frequency has been removed, new media have taken flight. You, gentlemen, are dinosaurs - forgive me the expression." One of the security employees in particular exploded. "Dinosaurs?! What can change about watching a security camera?! We have the latest in security technology, you upstart!"

Xanther did not look away from the screen. Next to the videos, pictures appeared and followed eachother in rapid succession. "You people still think only in terms of security cameras and sound recorders and radio transmitters," he mumbled, eyes locked on the screen. "You found clues, but they did not add up because you lacked media." He turned, his eyes bright. "The world has become smaller, gentlemen! Now that Eshtar is no longer a secret from the world, people come to visit. There are tourists! And tourists take pictures!" A thin smile appeared on his face as he continued, "and people store this pictures and videos online. This increases the amount of available data by a hundredfold; and the chance to find clues about the missing people increases exponentionally!"

Of course, they were not convinced. But Xanther had already turned to the screen once again, crossreferencing, comparing pictures and videos, finding any sort of continuity that could point in the direction of the perpetrators.




---Thomas---

Deling was a large city. The light lit up the sky for miles around, even deep at night. Thomas needed no map or compass to find his way to the city; the vague yellow light reflecting on the dark clouds were like a beacon. He had walked for a day, and when night fell he had decided to push on and keep going until he would come to the city. He was now regretting that decision. His feet hurt and the city was still further away than he thought it had been. We could just spend the night here if you are tired, Tonberry offered. What are you, a pussy? Pandemona retorted. Thomas just grunted, heaved his bag higher on his shoulder, and went on. Stopping now would be like admitting to himself that he made a wrong judgement call and that he couldn't take a bit of physical exertion. The 'sleep' of the night before had not done him that much good. Yes, his mind had had some rest, but his body was still suffering from lack of sleep: he was in a bad mood, had trouble keeping his eyes open and a headache was starting to develop.

It was one and a half hours later before he reached the outskirts of Deling City. Simply being in the city offered him some relief; the lights around him, and the activity even so late at night made him feel more awake than he had for two days. Buses and taxis and cars sped through the streets, and people were still ambling along the boulevards. Some of them were loitering outside of cafe's and dance halls, having a smoke or a beverage while enjoying the cool night air. Thomas decided he needed to find a hotel. He had saved the money for train tickets, so he would be able to pick one of the better hotels in town; something which he felt he deserved after almost two full days of walking. His knees almost went wobbly at the thought of a warm feather bed and a hot bath. Sounds like you were well-prepared for the hardships of being a SeeD, Pandemona mocked. Being a SeeD does not mean I have to shun the pleasures of life, Thomas immediately replied.

Big, warm yellow neon letters spelled GALBADIA HOTEL on the façade of the building. Thomas had heard about the hotel; who hadn't? He quickly stepped in, only then realising he must look quite the bum with his muddy shoes and ditto coat. The receptionist didn't show it, but Thomas was sure the man looked askance at his haggard appearance. "Excuse me," Thomas began, retrieving the credit card from his bag, "I would like a room for tonight, and a hot bath drawn for me." After seeing that Thomas packed more money than his ragged clothed suggested, the receptionist suddenly acted a whole lot more accommodating towards him. "Certainly, sir. Does sir wish to go up to his room immediately, or does sir wish to enjoy some music and a beverage first, while the bath is drawn?" The thought of a cool drink and some soothing music in a relaxed atmosphere sounded quite appealing. It was an offer Thomas simply could not refuse.

Sweet tones carassed his ears as he sat back in a comfprtable chair, a cold beer in front of him. He breathed in deeply and looked up at the opposing wall to see an old poster of that one singer. 'Julia', it said in curly letters. Even now, radio stations and dance halls still played the song. It was one of those songs that would never really fade away into history; it always seemed to find its way into a romantic dance hall or a late night radio show. In fact, the first notes of that faithful song started playing right now. Thomas closed his eyes and let the music wash over him. Once, someone had written that song, before he had even been born. It was odd to think that this song and some posters were probably all that remained of the one who had written and played this song. It is a memory, Tonberry suddenly said thoughtfully. A memory is better than nothing. Pandemona snorted. You go be a memory if you want. I'd rather be real and tangible. Thomas kept silent and listened to the song as images of a girl with Bontane's features flashed in front of his eyes.

[Mellusia]

Aiden stood back to allow Xanther to work his magic with the security systems, although he winced at the abrasive tone the younger man took. Granted the particular security members hadn't been totally gracious with help and their own opinions, but it would've been better to just humour the veterans.

Hoping to distract the guards from starting an argument, Aiden posed a few questions to them.

"We know that all the victims safely reappeared 2 days after they're disappearance, but was there any particular time for when they showed up again?"

A middle-aged man with salt and pepper beard and hair spoke up, flipping though a paper notebook. Aiden was glad Xanther couldn't see the item - he'd probably propose it was a relic.

"There doesn't seem to be a real common hour per se, but it appears all the victims were seen wondering around the city after 8 p.m."

Another man, a short, round fellow that didn't appear to be on field duty, spoke up. "It's possible that the culprits might have thought that less people would be around for when they dropped off the victims at that time. The city is open 24 hours for entry and exit, but most of the shopping districts close at 9 p.m., and in general, most people finish their errands before it gets too late."

The rest of the guard force grunted, hmmmed and nodded in agreement to the assessment. Aiden nodded before looking to the side. If this had been a month earlier, the blond would've suggested more guards be put in the particular area, but with no further kidnappings reported, the trail was irritatingly cold.

"What about the victims whereabouts before disappearing? The statements show there isn't a particular spot, but can there be anything in common?" Aiden asked, curious about the guards' opinions

More shuffling through notebooks as they refreshed their memories and more silence resounded before one guard spoke up.

"Hey guys, weren't these areas near the old city exits?"

"Old city exits?" Aiden parroted, confused.

"Yeah, after Sorceress Rinoa trashed the city the second time, city planners kind of changed up the entry ways of the city when they added more routes for the hover transport."

Surprised, Aiden couldn't remember any such demolition going on in the city when he was younger, but he had been picked up by Esthar Garden only a few days after the city had been attacked.

"Are they still accessible?"

One guard snorted "Of course not. The gates are essentially locked up walls," the tall, balding man said

"'Essentially' meaning what?" Aiden asked with a raised eyebrow

The bald man scoffed before explaining "Look, the active entry ways to get in and out of the city have power running to them. These old exits have no power running through, so they won't open automatically."

"..." Aiden blinked rapidly, stifling the urge to sigh in annoyance. In all honestly, he could understand no one really thinking of bringing to attention these old, "powerless" exits, but the man spoke out the first thing he had thought of after hearing the statement from the guard.

"So what you're saying is that these old exits have no power running through them, but what if someone were able to open the gates manually?"

*****

Lani had tried a few times to throw in some faux comments to Lucy and Tamara while the duo played out their parts as eager shoppers, but she couldn't project genuine enough emotion into her voice.

However the brunet was able to rifle through the various knick-knacks of the pawn shop like any other person, so she managed to remain unobtrusive to keen eyes, if any.

She took the time to look in closely at a display case of jewelry before her eyes took a gander at a weapons display case next to it.

Impressive swords and other blades were lined up, side by side, high up on the wall, showing off their beautiful handles and shining reflection against the blade. Below the swords were other items like kunais, nunchuks, and even sai blades similar to what Lani wielded.

Next to it were several pairs of gloves. Large blue boxing gloves for training, gloved with jagged spikes, and more simpler gloves with metal plating on the knuckles...

...

Shaking, whether in fear or rage, the blue-eyed SeeD wasn't too sure, Lani reached out to examine the simpler leather gloves with the steel plating across the knuckles. The gloves looked rather worn and well broken in and the metal plating was dull and scratched, but clearly a decent grade of metal material.

Plain but very versatile, the gloves probably wouldn't fetch much of a price compared to some higher end weapon upgrade, but would add some decent change in one's pocket.

However the thing Lani noticed that confirmed that these gloves were in fact the pair Anita used had been their scent. She had always teased Anita for having her mind on her food, and her gloves proved that, giving off a subtle, but distinct scent of marinara sauce. The pungent scent of that meat sauce could make anyone hungry, but right now they were making the brunet see red.

The clerk, noticing Lani prolonged interest in the gloves, piped up. "Oh, I see you're taking a liking to those gloves. They might be too big for your hands, miss, but with the right amount of stitching and - hey!"

The clerk shouted in surprise when Lani suddenly stomped up to him and grasped his tie, nearly dragging his body behind the counter.

"Tell me, who brought these gloves in?"

"Whaa...I don't have to tell you that!" the man exclaimed, probably startled to be manhandled so roughly by a unassuming young woman.

Sneering, Lani grabbed the man's tie even more, partially choking him and grasped a sai blade from her thigh, stabbing the fabric to the wooden surface, keeping the man in a painfully bowing position.

"I'll ask you again - who brought these in?"

"I-I dunno his name! He comes once in a while with a few random items, but he's a dumby, always asking for less than half what the stuff is worth."

"Probably didn't want you to notice that they were stolen goods while you counted the gil in your head," Lani said with scoff

"Fine, what does he look like? Age, height, hair? C'mon, speak up," Lani demanded

The man, perhaps likely going into frozen shock, stammered gibberish to the angry SeeD. Scowling, Lani grasped the second sai blade at her thigh, poised it, ready to strike.