There was silence from the other end for a few moments while the dark haired sniper seemed to be looking at the floor. When he was about to say something else, blue eyes stared at him; their intensity nearly filling the screen. “You're a real jerk, you know that?”

A smile crossed his lips. “It's about time. I was wondering where you had gone. If my being a jerk ignited that fire inside you, then I'll be sure to act as such in the future, though to be honest I prefer a more appropriate manner.”

“What?”

“It's good to see you back. You've been in your own little world ever since I got back. I mean for you to be oblivious to Id's advances...wait, you don't know about that yet. In fact none of you do, well Wolf might, but I don't have time to explain it right now.”

“What?” she said with confusion. “Who is Id?”

“I'm rambling. Anyway, to the matter at hand. You'll be arriving in Timber shortly so I'll be brief. I spoke with Nyx in the hopes of gaining some insight to his plans. To my surprise he was fairly forthcoming. I'm still left with many questions, but at least I have an idea of what his goal is. Here is what he told me.” Kryse relayed what Nyx had told him and of the situation in Winhill; he described the events that led to his release and his plans to see his mother before he returned. “We'll discuss this in more detail when I return. I will be back; so for now concentrate your efforts on finding Zeke. I have to go now.”

Before she could respond he closed the connection and continued his walk toward the transport system.

Why did you cut her off like that?
Right about now, she's realizing I just diffused and skirted the issue of me being a jerk and leaving them in the dark. I imagine her words wont be kind when she tells the others. If my assumption is correct they'll both be mad at me, which will alleviate any worries about me and allow them to focus on the mission.
Is it worth it? You realize you are going to get it when you get back right?
You say that as if it's a bad thing. You see Diablos, a woman without fire is like a broken pencil.
What?
Pointless.

Stepping into the transport he sat down then instructed it to take him to Odine Labs, Salmance, Branch. When it was under way he decided to try Kessler's contact. Using a scrambled frequency, contact was established; audio only. “This is Zavier Lokalus, to whom am I speaking?”

“This is Kryse Salmance, Kessler gave me your contact information. Apparently you are someone I can trust. Though given how much I trust Kessler, this remains to be seen. For now I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. I see you are headed to Winhill; what are your intentions?”

Zavier was about half-way to Winhill when his cell rang. If he had to guess, it was someone back at Esthar who'd finally realized what the paladin was up to. Oh well, they couldn't stop him now. He decided to humor them and answer, who knew, maybe they still trusted him? He tapped a button on his earpiece that connected it to his phone wireless so he could speak without breaking his concentration of flying. "Lokalus." he said simply, knowing his name was enough of a greeting for whoever was trying to contact him. The voice he heard was the director's, which was kind of surprising.

"Lokalus, where the hell are you?" demanded the Director's voice, practically shouting. He didn't sound too happy.

"En route to Winhill." replied Zavier. He could have tried to lie, but there was no point, "I won't let those people be..."

"You won't." said Nyx, to which Zavier blinked in surprise.

"Sir?"

"You're going to evacuate it. The town will be destroyed, but there will be no casualties. Since you're already en route, you can do the evacuation yourself. Backup will arrive soon enough for the... demolition to commence." with that, the call was disconnected.

"Is he serious?" asked Zavier to himself. Even if the people weren't killed, they would still be captured and interrogated, and knowing his superiors, it wouldn't be a pleasant experience for the captives. Zavier sighed, not knowing what to do. He had fully been expecting to have to fight off a squad of SeeD hunters, but instead he would evacuate the town as per orders. Before he could think any further, the Interceptor's communication was hailed by an unknown frequency. It was probably Kessler, “This is Zavier Lokalus, to whom am I speaking?”

“This is Kryse Salmance, Kessler gave me your contact information. Apparently you are someone I can trust. Though given how much I trust Kessler, this remains to be seen. For now I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. I see you are headed to Winhill; what are your intentions?”

Well, this was certainly unexpected. Apparently Kessler was keeping in contact with more people than he let on. Of course, for a man in his position, secrecy was to be expected, "I was... am going to warn them about Nyx's order. I'd rather be remembered as a traitor than as a murderous dog. You might also want to know that Nyx has ordered Winhill to be evacuated before it's destruction. I don't know what the two of you talked about, but it riled him up. Of course, that means the people will be captured and interrogated, which for SCORPIA, usually means they'll be tortured for information about the SeeDs. I won't let that happen."

---

The samurai sighed with mild frustration. It had been forever since the last time he'd ridden one of these glorified chickens and now he was remembering why he never cared for it. The Dojo had a Chocobo stable from which Zeke had borrowed an overgrown bird with light blue feathers so he wouldn't have to walk the whole way. It was popular belief that Chocobos could do different things depending on their color. Supposedly, blue ones could run on the surface of water while others could fly outright. Zeke knew, however, that those were all myths, urban legends, and all the damn things were good for was traveling across open flatlands. That wasn't what made them annoying, however, oh no. They were always making those wark and kweh noises that just gets under one's skin if they have to hear it constantly. Not only that, not many people have ever had to clean up after the things... it wasn't fun.

Regardless of that, at least Zeke didn't have to walk. He was certain that Kemuri was following him somewhere, though he had to wonder how the ninja could keep up with a Chocobo without riding one himself. Zeke shrugged, assuming that Kemuri was just that good at running on his feet.

The samurai wasn't sure where he was going, though, since he had no earthly idea where the SeeDs could be hiding. He supposed his only chance was to go back to Timber and hopefully pick up their trail from there, no matter hold cold it may have gotten since a couple days ago. Besides, he needed to find that bike he was given and return it to those Owl rebels.

Elia looked away from the data pad with a scowl. After putting it away, she folded her arms in frustration and blew a loose strand of brown hair from her cheek. Standing in the background, Alex had heard the majority of the exchange between her and Kryse, and her own sentiment mirrored her friend's. At least he had bothered to give an explanation about his intentions this time. And at least he was safe.

But there were far more serious things to worry about. "I can't believe they're going to just destroy it!" Alex wailed, her eyes trying to find a balance between anger and sorrow as she closed the distance between her and Elia. "We have to go back. We have to stop it!"

Elia shook her head. "No. They're marching on Winhill because they're looking for us. If we go back we'll only be captured, and the town will be wiped out anyway. We stay with the plan. Go to Timber, look for Zeke."

Alex found it hard to accept Elia as the voice of reason now of all times, but perhaps it was just the best way she could deal with the stress and the cognitive load of the situation. And she knew Elia was right, but how could she sit by idly and let the town she had called home for the last three years be ruined?

"At least the people will be safe," Elia finished softly.

"Yeah, so they can live to despise us for the rest of our lives," Alex mumbled. The people of Winhill had been so gracious, so lenient. But they would never forgive the SeeDs for this. Everything they knew and loved was going to be razed to the ground in a matter of hours, and there was nothing they or anyone else could do about it.

"What about our base? SCORPIA's going to find it. They won't leave anything. Everything we've worked so hard for, the intel, equipment, all of it," Alex said rigidly.

"We're going back to square one," Elia affirmed weakly, staring at the floor.

Alex sighed heavily. "Let's get up to the bridge. We have to tell Wolf and Eva." Her tone could not have sounded more defeated.

---

In the corridor outside the command center, Nyx terminated the call to Lokalus and stuffed his phone back into his jacket. He glanced around suspiciously, even knowing there was no one watching. No one beyond Kessler, Lokalus, and himself would know about the evacuation plan. He was even hesitant to bring Lokalus in, but it was unavoidable. The young knight was the people of Winhill's best chance at getting out of town in time. Nyx was not going to spare any effort on their behalf.

Lokalus was never going to let him live this down. However, there was one small piece of the conversation that stuck in Nyx's mind. Even before he had made the call, Lokalus had been planning to undermine him. Nyx hadn't pressed the issue because both men were going to get what they wanted for the time being, but once this was over, Lokalus was going to have a lot to account for. Nyx wasn't sure yet how he wanted to handle it, and decided not to dwell on it for now.

Nyx stepped back into the command center. Grard was in a corner, wiping his mouth with a white cloth, while Asher stood aloof near the opposite end of the room. Everyone else had returned to their duties as though nothing had happened.

"What's the operation status?" Nyx demanded coldly.

Grard turned lethargically to face the director. "The troops are almost finished assembling on the air field. Transports are being prepped for take off."

Nyx nodded to the colonel. He managed to convey the slightest semblance of sympathy, perhaps even an apology, in the gesture, and Grard seemed to relax. Nyx was a long way from forgiving him completely, but the sucker-punch was more for show at Grard's expense than meaningful punishment. The colonel had learned his lesson, that much was for sure.

Nyx pulled out his phone again and dialed a Galbadian extention. Zanath picked up moments later. "What's your status?"

"We'll be en route to the rendezvous point in ten. I've got two Hunter squads rip-roarin' ready to go, and four platoons of infantry I'm having difficulty packing into the few transports we have."

Nyx smiled wryly. "I'll take that into consideration at the next budget meeting." Without waiting for a reply he cut the call.

The director stepped slowly through the room, then leaned forward onto the control bank overlooking the air strip, where Estharian soldiers were still lining up. A large pot-bellied transport craft rolled along the smooth plane, fueled and awaiting a load order.

When Lokalus said he wasn't going to allow anything to happen to the people of Winhill, Kryse smiled. It was good to know that there were some compassionate people in the organization. “Glad to hear it, but are you going to be alright on your own? I'll send you some back up to at least help protect the people. I liked to be there myself, but that just isn't possible. When this is over I'll buy you a drink. Meet me at the Wild Cat bar and we'll talk. Oh and don't wear your uniform, they don't take to kindly to us soldier types.”

Are you sure about this?
One man can't defend all those people, even if he might have a SGF. I'm counting on you Diablos
Very well, but what if you run into trouble here?
I promise I'll be on my best behavior.
Somehow that doesn't make me feel any better
If I could go with you I would, but we both know that it's impossible. Besides, I'm going to go see my mother, not harass SCORPIA. You'd better get going. Oh, and don't freak the people out too much, your...physical appearance and voice have a tendency to incite fear.
I will keep that in mind. I will be polite and do my best not to terrify them.
Err right. OK then, off you go.

With that, Diablos was gone. While his presence could still be felt there was a noticeable distance. Diablos' method of travel was something humans could only dream of. By traveling in between dimensional planes he could nearly negate time itself. The speed of travel however, was impossible for mere human beings. At least that was theory, if SeeD reports were to be believed it had already been done by combing the power of two Sorceress'. Of course they also said that time had been compressed into a single point. Kryse thought about that for a moment. “That must be how legends are formed. Time Compression pfft as if.”

Evangeline had underestimated how good it would feel to regain Wolf’s affection, though ‘regain’ might not be the best word for it. It would seem his affections were never directed anywhere else. She had missed his kisses and his embrace nonetheless. After pulling away from a kiss, she rested her head on his chest and just reveled in the comfort of being held in arms stronger than her own.

“...I missed this...” She admitted quietly. She felt his fingers run across her hair.

“I've missed you.” He replied. Words like that were a balm to heart.

“… I missed you, too...” She smiled, recognizing the warmth of a slight blush in her face but dismissing it. “It's funny. I didn't think I'd miss being in your arms this much...”

“I'm kinda surprised you missed me at all.” His response was a blow to her current state of near bliss. It definitely pained her to hear that, but technically that had been what she meant to do when she left him, to leave him thinking she didn’t want to see him again.

“...I didn't exactly do much to lead you otherwise...” That doesn’t mean I don’t regret it…

“You did what you thought was best. I can't hold that against you.”

“You could, but won't. I appreciate that.” She sat up a bit, looking into his smiling face. It was such a kind face. Sometimes she had trouble remembering it could even contort into an image capable of striking fear into someone’s heart. She looked down to where one of her hands still rested on his chest.

“Well, yeah, I guess I COULD. But where would the fun be in that?” Wolf joked, lifting her chin to give her another brief kiss.

“Once again with the 'fun' thing” She remarked with a smirk after pulling away, giving his chest a slight poke for emphasis.

“Would you rather I held it against you and leave us angry at each other and sitting on opposite sides of the room?”

“No,” She most definitely didn’t want that. No sooner than the thought crossed her mind did she banish it with another kiss to Wolf’s hair-framed lips. “I think I've had far too much separation.”

“I thought so.” For a moment, Eva’s head rested on his chest in a silence only broken by the steady beat of the warrior’s heart echoing into her ear. “Don't get me wrong. I didn't want to get back together just for fun.”

“I know. What, did you think I did?” She sat up to look him in the face, slightly confused as to why he’d point it out.

“No. No, I just... Never mind. We're here.” ‘Never mind’? Was he really going to try and play the secrets game, now? After all Eva had just done to end her round of it?

“Now, now. Speak up. I think I've been honest enough to warrant honesty in return.” Wolf chuckled a bit at her insistence.

“You're right. You do.” He gave a slight pause before continuing with brief smirk thrown in to lighten his words up a bit, “I just know I have a reputation regarding women…I didn't want you to think I was just looking for some action.”

That hadn’t occurred to her, even though it should have. She hadn’t worried about it since the beginnings of their relationship. Having heard about his history, she was worried about whether he’d take their relationship seriously- a worried he soon extinguished. But even though it would make sense for him to have moved on to other women after she left, a good part of her hoped he’d remained her’s…

“...Well...you haven't...been with anyone else since I left have you?”

“No.” He gave yet another a smirk, “No, I haven't been with anyone since you left.”

“Well then, I think you've proven yourself to be quite a bit more loyal than you used to be ” His continued smirk left her puzzled, though. “What's with that smirk?”

“Oh, just thinking of an offer I'd turned down. She was rather disappointed, but even if I'd never seen you again, it was probably for the best.”

“Poor girl...” she was somewhat flattered by this, though she probably shouldn’t have been.

“Good for you though” He raised an eyebrow and smiled in rather flirtatious manner, “Means I have lots of pent up energy.”

She blushed a bit, suddenly somewhat worried that Kryse might have some sort of monitoring system recording their conversation. Even so the joke made her smile a bit. “Now, now, now! We've got no time to talk about that right now...”

“You're right. But it will be a great way to celebrate surviving this mess.”

“Maybe.” Her smile blossomed into a complete smirk. She couldn’t hide that it was something she would look forward to as well. But now was a good time for a topic change. Just in case the Ragnarok really was recording this somehow. “So, how in the world did you all manage to get along without me?”

Wolf gave a shrug, partially to dismiss the previous topic, but mostly to illustrate his unsure opinion. “It was rough at first. Yukiko was really upset. She really looked up to you and didn't know how to handle it. Suddenly being the only girl in the group didn't help either. Kale seemed to take it as an insult. That you didn't think what we were doing was worth it. ...I think I only kept up with it because of the kids. I couldn't dissolve the group after everything they'd put into it, but leading the bunch of them just suddenly seemed like something I shouldn't be doing. I wasn't going to change what I was doing, personally. I just thought that leading them into this life was wrong.

“But it passed. Yukiko proved herself to be a strong fighter, Kale just became more determined, and I knew that not only was I was responsible for what they did if I did dissolve the group, but that it'd be dangerous to leave them half trained, and that there'd be no better way to get back SCORPIA than by making sure SeeD didn't end with us. ...so we got by. And things went pretty well...Ya know. Until it didn't.”

“I'll definitely have to talk to the kids when I get back…” Eva said aloud during the ensuing pause, mostly as a mental note to herself, “So, who finally turned ya'll in?”

The joy gradually left his face, giving way to a grave and somewhat angry expression, “I really don't know how they found us, but I know who led the raid on us.”

The way he looked at her when he said that gave Eva a slight sinking feeling, though she wasn’t entirely sure why. “...who?”

”Didn't get his name. But I'm sure it was the same guy who stabbed Alex.”

Her expression darkened as well, now. She knew the man, and probably knew more about him than any one of her comrades.“Asher Nemitz.”

Now somewhat curious, Wolf continued. “So that's his name? I never got it.” His tone changed to a determined one that Eva had found to be typical of Wolf. “What I do want to get is another shot at him… he had some freak imitation of a GF. It caught me off guard, He won't be so lucky next time.”

’Caught me off guard’ Though she’d never told him, she could sympathize. The wool had been pulled over her eyes by the Hunter before. Three years ago in Deling City. “If there's one thing he's good at, it's catching people off their guard.”

Taking back up his signature, self-confident smirk once more he replied, “Well, we know him now. We know they've got fake Gfs, and they have devices that can cast spells. That's two of their tricks down. And we'll be ready for more.”

“I'm kinda sad I missed out on kicking Nemitz's ass,” Eva said smiling bitterly. She couldn’t help but to think that if she had caught him three years ago, she would have saved the lives of all of those people he’d killed in the name of SCORPIA since then… She then gave a slight playful pout in Wolf’s direction, “I even missed out on you kicking his ass.”

He gave an abrupt snort of a laugh, “I missed out on kicking his ass! Someone got behind me and cracked my head!” The blonde gave him an incredulous look. She wasn’t being serious about it, though; she’d seen the mysterious samurai who’d jumped in to interrupt Wolf’s fight with Nemitz.

“… Don't look at me like that. I... had tunnel vision.” Wolf, in trying to defend his failure, admitted to a moment of one of his greater shortcomings.

“Tunnel vision, Wolf?” She inquired with a suspicious and muted irritated tone. The term alluded to an aspect of his class the dragoon wasn’t at all fond of. “You didn't...”

“...yeah...I went berserk.” Wolf admitted, somewhat ashamed of his mistake.

Evangeline gave an exasperated sigh.“...Wolf...Why?”

“I-” He stopped, thought for a moment (probably retracing his memories), then gave a sure answer, “It was Alex getting stabbed.”

She did remember seeing Alex’s wound when her Elia and Kai came to pick them up. And Wolf was fighting with ‘tunnel vision’ at Nemitz… she felt she was about to have yet another reason to hate that man. “Don’t tell me Nemitz did that,”

”Came right up behind her and back stabbed her.”Wolf nodded and she looked away irately, then back at him, and repeated this. Closing her eyes, she a deep breath to dissipate her own irritation at this development.

“...As much as I hate it when you do that. I'll not bother you about it...this time.” But only because I really can’t blame you. Nemitz kinda had it coming for trying to kill Alex…

Wolf gave a smile, the kind that very nearly mollified her, “Thank you.” He wrapped his arms about her and placed a kiss on her forehead, “but I can't promise that if someone takes you out I won't rip their head off.” She eased up on the anger; it was hard to stay irritated when he was being cute like that.

“While I appreciate the sentiment, will you at least try to refrain from doing so?”

“Of course I will. Do you have any idea how messy ripping someone's head off is?” The joke she hoped was sarcasm amused her somewhat, and she replied with her own semi-sarcastic reply.

“Your deterrent is the mess?” Wolf just grinned and replied.

“What do you think?” At the moment, she wasn’t sure what to think. In fact, she was fairly sure she was over analyzing the whole thing.

With an observant eye, she entered the technological marvel that was Esthar. Three times she'd been here before and never had she seen in this city what he saw. Upon her first visit, her reaction was one of awe, but that soon faded to the norm. It was a fact that it was the most advanced city in the world, a fact that even tourists took for granted.

Closing her eyes she did as he suggested. It didn't take long. The ethereal flow around her was all to familiar and then there was the harmony of the people around her as they discussed things like metallurgic reactions, chemical compositions, pharmacology and energy theory. As she continued to listen the conversations began to fade into the background and she started to feel a subtle vibration that resonated with her entire being. With a gasp she opened her eyes. Esthar wasn't the antithesis to magic... it was a city infused with it! But, Esthar, was a tech city...how did he say it was powered again? “we use crystals which resonate with a Great Crystal beneath the city to generate energy in many of it's forms.” Maybe he was right, Esthar was proof that magic and tech go hand and hand. “Have you never heard the term, advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic? It's true; in ancient times Esthar would have been a city of gods.”

Wishing she had more time to just take it all in, she quickly made her way to the transportation device. Later she would spend more time getting to know this city. For now, it was off to meet the woman that brought Kryse into the world.

>><><<
“Dr. Salmance will be with you shortly.”

“Thank you,” she said as she sat in the rather comfortable chair. It was a sterile white and the walls of the office were a luminescent blue giving off a soothing atmosphere. An atmosphere that was shattered when Rebecca Salmance entered the room. The auburn haired woman was beautiful and every bit as imposing as he'd described. There was fire in her eyes and she spoke in a very matter of fact manner. It didn't take much to imagine the temper of this woman; it was no doubt fearsome, perhaps even more so then his. Getting up to greet her, she offered her hand, “Dr. Salmance, My name is...”

“I don't care what your name is. If you are one of our clients, kindly direct yourself to the PR Department. My lab is not the place for idle chit chat.”

Undeterred, Chloe calmly responded. “I know you are busy, but this is much more important than whatever you happen to be working on. It concerns...”

Rebecca crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. “You presume much, but alright I'll humor you. Continue.”

Chloe let out a sigh, “You're a difficult woman so I'll get to the point. How long have you known your son is a sorcerer?”

It was brief, but for that fleeting moment the Doctor's eyes were filled with worry. With the stern demeanor back in place, the woman's voice was like ice. “Who are you?”

“I'm a...friend of your son. My name is Chloe and I...”

“I see. Chloe, was it? Perhaps we should continue this conversation in my office.”

>><<
The PtP device arrived at the lab and for moment a chill ran down his spine. His mother wasn't going to be happy. Why should she be? Who did he visit when he returned? Kessler, not her. As her son, he really should have at least let her know he was alive in a more personal manner. Instead he stole the family airship. This was a reunion he wasn't looking forward to. “It's now or never, I suppose.” Upon entering the building he could feel the tension in the air, something was up. Tiffany, his mother's assistant was staring at the office door' when she turned to face him, she gave him a weak smile then turned back to the door. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

“I did what I had to!”

“You damned his soul!”

“How dare you! I gave my son a normal life!”

“A normal life? To you maybe!”

The outburst on the other side of the door came from all too familiar voices. The chill in his spine was now the icy fingers of death. Perhaps coming home wasn't a good idea after all. Yes, being with friends on their possible suicide mission was much safer then here. The voices were now muffled and it was impossible to make out what was being said, but the feeling in the air told him it would be best to leave. “Perhaps I'll come...”

“The blood on his hands is on yours as well!”

“Get out!”

The door slammed open and a firebrand he recognized as Chloe stormed out. Without a word she walked past him and left. His mother appeared in the doorway, "Tiffany, if anymore guests wish to disturb me today, send them away...Kryse?” A torrent of emotions were displayed on her face before she collapsed to the floor in tears.

Without a second thought he rushed over to her. Never in his life had he seen his mother cry. Placing a hand on her shoulder he spoke softly. “It's okay mom, I'm alright.”

A trembling hand laid upon his. “Kryse, I'm sorry...I'm so sorry. It's all my fault.”

Though she realized she was thinking too much about it, something did occur to Evangeline. It was somewhat insignificant, but it was definitely a new indicator of Nemitz's skill. “So...how come Nemitz looked practically untouched if you went berserk?”

The thought of it brought irritation to Wolf's voice, and for a moment Eva thought it was directed at her for bringing the topic up. It soon became clear that it was more towards their adversary. “Well, aside from being unarmed at the times, he's a slippery little snake and I'm not exactly hard to dodge when the only thing going through my head is attack attack attack.”

“But most people don't get away with hardly a scratch on them, Wolf.” He didn't seem to get her point.

“Well, like I said, we were interrupted.” Wolf defended himself. Eva had a feeling that Wolf saw the whole thing as an insult to his fighting ability, and was making an excuse to defend it. Eva gave a sigh and explained a bit more clearly.

“I was just thinking out loud, I guess... We have to keep details like this in mind in case we have to fight him again.” Now he seemed to get it, and he even gave it a bit of thought.

“You could ask Yukiko for more info. She was there.” He offered. Eva gave a slight smile, as it was a good idea.

“I suppose I could. I do need to talk to her later.” There was a pause before either of them spoke again.

“I'm gonna need to have a talk with Zeke.” Wolf's comment struck Eva as a little random and uncalled for. Raising an eyebrow out of skepticism, she replied with a somewhat incredulous tone.

“I'm sure we'd all like a word or two with him...” She wanted him to explain his thought process a bit more thoroughly.

“I'm sure. I just want to know if this is going to be a 'catch and release' thing, or if he's going to stick with us.” Wolf stated his motive with a smirk.

“...That's not something we can know for sure, Wolf.”

“Well, that's why I'm going to talk to him.” The warrior grinned his signature grin. He didn't seem to grasp that his conversation might have more consequences than expected. Asking something like that could be really insulting.

“Oh sure, just go up and ask him, 'Hey, I was just wondering if you were gonna disappear again. Can we count on you sticking around this time?'” Eva spoke with heavy sarcasm, trying to convey how bad of an idea she thought this was. Wolf still wasn't buying it.

“Well, you know I've always favored the direct approach” He continued his grin.

“You're going to scare him off.” Eva couldn't lie, his straightforwardness was one of the many things she liked about him. But, in cases like this, she sometimes felt like it would only lead to conflict.

“I doubt it. I'm just gonna sit him down and have a little chat with him. About what he wants to do.” Wolf shrugged. What gave him the right, what gave either of them the right to question Zeke's loyalty to the group? They both chose to leave... Eva gave yet another sigh.

“Y'know, you were absent from the group for almost as long as he was, Do I need to talk to you about whether you're gonna stick around?” She said with an almost chiding tone. Wolf just looked at her with a slightly amused expression, smirking with onev eyebrow raised.

“Wolf, what is that supposed to mean?” Eva's expression was one of confusion and bemusement. She needed him to answer her seriously. Wolf laughed slightly to himself before replying.

"Nothing. Nothing at all." The gravity of the conversation finally became evident in his expression. "When we split from the rest of the group, it was because we disagreed on what we should do. Right now we're in the same boat. But if our objectives go in different directions I probably would leave, depending on how important I thought it was. Doesn't mean I wouldn't come back if the rest needed me.”

That hadn't ocurred to the blonde. He would ...leave? The idea of his absence suddenly scared her. She understood his thinking, but... Looking away somewhat sadly she spoke.

“...I guess I'm not one to talk because I just left you guys, so you do have a point, but...” She looked back to Wolf, the worry evident in her eyes. “I think it's important that we try and stick together as much as possible.”

Wolf smiled to comfort her. “Hey, I never said I had plans to leave. Just that I wasn't going to deny it as a possibility.”

“...if you wanted to leave...I don't know if I could choose who to stay with...” Evangeline said quietly, worried and torn, averting her eyes to stare at the ship's metal flooring.

Sadness crept it's way into Wolf's smile, though Eva couldn't see it. “I didn't really think you'd run with me” He pulled her close to him and lifted her chin, though her dark eyes were still reluctant to meet his. Brushing aside her long blonde hair he laid a kiss on her forehead. “Besides, if it was something big enough that it overshadowed taking down SCORPIA, it'd probably be something I'd want to take care of myself. and having you to get back to would just be extra incentive to come back in one piece.”

Eva was only somewhat comforted by this. The initial scare at the concept of him leaving was now gone at least, and she could bring herself to look up into his smirking face.

“If it was something that important, then we might care enough to help...” She pointed out,“...Besides, you running off by yourself could be dangerous to your health. You don't always make the best decisions.”

“Well, if something comes up and you think it is important enough I'd be glad to have you," After a beat, he continued playfully, “and I make great decisions. I don't know what you're talking about."

“Oh, sure, when those decisions are regarding others.” He really did tend to disregard his own well-being so long as it benefitted others.

“What bad decisions have I made then?” He challenged her.

She looked upward as if it would help her recall specific instances and spoke without much pause. “Well, to start, I recall you participating in one particular drinking game a couple months before I left, then here was that time period where you tried to learn free running, and that time when you crashed one of Ramone's bikes in a race of all things, you're lucky he forgave you for that one, and don't think I've forgotten about the hexadragon” She looked back at Wolf, daring him to dispute any of it.

“Okay, maybe you have a point. But I still don't hold a candle to Kryse. HE suggested a threesome with Alex and Elia.” He what?!

“Is that why she punched him?” Eva replied obviously shocked.

“Yes, yes it is. Honestly I'm surprised Elia didn't stab him. She must really like him.” That particular idea made the blonde want to laugh.

“That's certainly a thought. Well... I suppose Kryse may have his moments, but you're definitely more reckless in general.” Eva felt her statement was true. For the most part, Kryse was a more logical person than Wolf, but neither was he immune to moments of stupidity.

Wolf narrowed his eyes and gave one short argument, “The Alpha Giant.”

The dragoon sighed and rolled her eyes. “All I'm saying is that while Kryse has some random bouts of dramatic idiocy, you tend to be somewhat reckless all of the time.”

Wolf opened his mouth as is to debate this fact but finally succumbed to the truth of the matter. “Well, okay. Fine. But it's why I was classed as a berserker. ...Well, that and the fact that I do go berserk on occasion.”

“And thus I prove my point.” The blonde smiled.

“Okay fine. I'll be more careful” It was Wolf's turn to roll his eyes.

“Easier said than done. Which is why I can't abide you traipsing off on your own.”

“Alright, fine. Not like I'd really have any objection to you coming along anyway.” Eva smiled and leaned back against his chest once more.

“So, what stupid things did you do while I was away? Before things went sour.” There was a pause while Wolf thought.

“Don't know about before, but when they came down on us I told everyone to run while I held them off..” He sighed, "the ones that got caught were the ones that stayed to fight anyway.”

“They're loyal. Besides, it doesn't matter that they stayed because you all are safe now.” She snuggled against him, thankful for those who stayed to fight by his side in her stead.

“I tried to wear out the battery in my shock collar." There was a slight laugh in his voice, "Yukiko told me to stop since they'd just come in and replace it while I was knocked out.”

Eva had to stifle a laugh. “Remind me to thank Yukiko for being the voice of reason for me.”

“Well how else were we going to escape?” Wolf responded indignantly.

“Not by getting yourself knocked unconscious, that's for sure. But like I said before, it doesn't matter now because we rescued you all.”

“Whatever happened to the girl that actually got us out? I haven't seen her since I woke up in the medical bay of this ship.” What was with a question like this all of a sudden? Eva leaned back to explain a little better.

“Starlit? The rescue was her first field op. I believe that after going through it, she opted to stay out of the field and focus on being more of a medic. She's helping to take care of the SeeD recruits we left in Winhill.”

“Hmm. Probably a good idea. She didn't handle it well.” The concern was a little random, but he had always had a slight paternal streak.

“I admire her for that choice. She might actually end up saving more lives than she takes.” Eva thought aloud. Peaceful people like Starlit were rare in the fight they were all entangled in.

“Well, if she's just going to be a medic, I hope she won't end up taking any lives” Wolf smiled then went silent for a beat. “Do you regret becoming a SeeD?”

Eva had to think about that for a moment. With all of the blood she had on her hands, all of the loved ones she would never see again, all of the destruction, the hate... it would make perfect sense for her to regret her choice. But then she thought about those she'd trained with, those she'd grown up with, every face that begged her to protect them, the members of her team, Wolf... There were other ways she could have protected the public but there was no other way she could have met her comrades and there was too much red tape involved with police departments and armies to uphold the ideals Headmaster Leonhart tried to uphold. She would die to uphold those ideals and to prove the innocence of her fellow SeeD.

“Sometimes, when despair takes me, I regret... but I'm proud of who I am, really. I share SeeD's legacy, regardless of what SCORPIA tries to make it.”

“I've never regretted it for a second. I truly believe this is what I was meant to be doing.” Wolf didn't need to say it for her to know that he felt that way. She couldn't imagine him doing anything else.

“You seem to be so sure of yourself all of the time.” That was another thing she liked about him. He was constant and reliable, even if he was somewhat predictable and reckless as well. Evangeline was a little jealous of it sometimes.

Wolf smiled again. “Well, you kinda have to be. You don't survive long in this line of work if you don't have confidence in your own abilities. Going into a mission doubting your ability to pull it off is going to get you nowhere." He shrugged, "Of course, there is such a thing as suicidal over confidence. 'Know your enemy and know yourself', isn't that what they'd say at Garden? Well, I know I'm awesome.” He grinned and Eva had to laugh at that last comment.

“That's not exactly what I meant.” Pensively, she clarified her previous statement, “I meant you never seem to second guess yourself. It's always 'full speed ahead' and 'no looking back' with you.”

"Actually, it's kind of the same thing. I don't like to act unless I'm sure of my choice. Ya know? I admit other people don't always agree with me on what's the best, but I always act on the best I've got. And maybe I've just been lucky I've just got good instincts, but I've gotten by pretty well so far.” Wolf's response was thoughtful, and he ended it with a smile. Once again he was just so confident. A loving smile appeared on Eva's face.

“Y'know things like luck and instinct are unreliable. And since you don't seem to have much of one...” She leaned forward to give him another kiss,“I will be your voice of reason.”

“Well, if anyone is going to act as my voice of reason," He held her tighter and smiled, "it'd be hard to do better than you.”

“...and along the way you can keep me from being a stick in the mud.” Eva adds with a smile, her hands resting on his chest. From here she felt him place his hands on her hips and travel down her legs, resulting a in a chill going down her spine.

“You've been pretty good about that all on your own.” By now, his lips were a mere couple of inches away from her own and she could feel his breath on her skin.

“Heh” She leaned back to grab his wrists and wrap his arms around her waist. Her arms wrapped around his neck, bringing her nose up to touch his. She gave a slight smirk and spoke quietly, “I suppose it's from spending too much time with an adrenaline junkie” She closed the small gap between his lips and her own.

Wolf somehow managed to pull away long enough to give a reply: “So maybe you'll luck out and your common sense will rub off on me.”

And their lips met again. This might have continued for quite some time, had the approach of their comrades not coincided with the timing of their make-out. Evangeline didn't notice the sounds of their approach until it was too late.

"Wolf, Eva-" Eva could hear one of them start a sentence as they quickly entered the room. Startled, the blonde forcefully pushed herself away from Wolf with enough force that she nearly fell to the floor below. She stood up, straightening out any places where her clothing had bunched up as heat flooded her face. She looked back to Wolf who only offered their comrades a minimally embarassed grin in response before acting as if he'd turn his attention back to the controls.

"So, uh, you were saying?" Eva tried to encourage them to continue their previous line of thought in hopes of evading an explanation of what had just happened.

Timber, Zeke never thought he'd back here so soon. The Ninja-in-Training was standing in an alleyway next to his instructor away from the people. Timber was still buzzing about the SeeD activity that had taken place nearly a week ago, but with Nyx no longer in town, there weren't as many crowds and the security was much lighter. Zeke's wardrobe had changed considerably in the few days it took to travel back to the city. He was no longer sporting the long coat he had kept for so long. Instead, he wore a completely white coat with a hood drawn up over his head. Under that, he wore a tight, black shirt with no sleeves and a set of weighted shoulder pads on his torso that must have weighed a good hundred pounds easy. He wore heavy-duty leather gloves on his hands, while his wrists sported specialized bracers that were also quite heavy, easily weighing around 20 pounds or more each. He sported fatigues on his legs and boots modified to be weighted. The weights on Zeke's feet were easily the heaviest. weighing around 150 pounds each, bringing is total extra weight to just under 450 pounds. Finally, Zeke sported a mask over his mouth that was the same kind that Kemuri wore, making it impossible to ID his face.

Zeke had pretty much been wearing the weights nearly 24/7 since Kemuri decided that it would be the fastest and most effective way to build up Zeke's speed and agility to the level of a ninja, especially given the limited time they had to complete his training. It was a pretty extreme method, but by the time they had reached Timber, Zeke had already grown accustomed to the extra weight, which was a sign of the progress he had made in his training. The first part of training was for Zeke to be able to move at all with the weights on. Once he could, Kemuri began sparring with him until his skill with the sword became about as good as it was before the weights. After that, Kemuri began sparring Zeke without weapons, explaining that there would be times that his weapons would not be available to him and so he must turn his own hands and feet into deadly weapons for such occasions. The final part of the training came when they passed by the narrow canyon that separated Timber from the Galbadia region. Within that area, Zeke was instructed in how to scale walls without ropes, ladders, and the like. He was also taught how to get the absolute most distance from his jumps, effectively turning Zeke into a skilled free-runner all while still wearing the weights.

"This will be the final test to see how far you've come in the ways of the ninja." said Kemuri, gesturing to the roof of the building they were standing next to, "You're going to follow me up this wall and keep up with me as we make our way across town on the rooftops, all while maintaining invisibility from the public, and while still wearing the weights. Do this, and you will require no more training."

"Sounds easy enough." said a confident Zeke.

"Did I mention that you are absolutely forbidden from even so much as touching a single ladder or staircase? If you do, you automatically fail and you will still need more training before I allow you to remove the weights."

Zeke swallowed. That would make things considerably more difficult, "Piece of cake." he replied.

"Now we see how much that training has paid off."
"Yeah, and you can bet he's not gonna make it the least bit easy for me, either."

"Very well." said Kemuri before he suddenly jumped up and landed on the railing of the fire escape, "Follow me, if you can." and thus began the test.

Instead of using Kemuri's route, Zeke instead made a dash toward the corner of the building a ran a couple steps up the wall before grabbing the edges of the corner bricks and using them as his way up the side of the building. The weights may have slowed him down back at the canyon, but by now he was able to scale the wall without much trouble at all. He reached the top and pulled himself up. Kemuri didn't give him time to rest and was already dashing toward the edge of the roof before making a leap to the next one, landing on the edge masterfully. Zeke followed suit, but the weights prevented him getting as much distance from his jump, but only slightly as he was able to nimbly grab the edge and pull himself up with no difficulty. It wasn't always that easy getting to the next roof. Sometimes they would be too far to jump and force the ninjas to improvise, such using trees and at one point even construction rafters to make it from one roof to the other. It was a dangerous way to get around, since one wrong step would essentially send you falling to your death, but it was a surprisingly fast way to traverse the city, especially if you knew all the best routes. Heck, sometimes it was actually downright fun to free-run through the city, almost felt like one was flying as they defied gravity and death itself to get from point A to point B. Soon, though, to two found themselves actually scaling the broadcast tower of all things. It was a lot easier than one would thing to climb it without using any of the stairs or ladders. After all, it had plenty railings and catwalks were like highways to people like Zeke and Kemuri. Before long, they had reached the top and were sitting just under the dish, even relaxing by leaving back against it.

"Impressive running." said Kemuri to Zeke, "You've learned well. Your training is over."

Zeke nodded and then looked out to the city below them and beyond it, "So now the question is where do we find them?" he asked, sighing somewhat. That thought had been on his mind since they left the dojo. Neither one of them had any idea where to start looking for the SeeDs.

"After your performance on television," said Kemuri, "I'm certain they will come looking for you. In that regard, it's best to stay in one place so that they find you more easily."

"I guess you're right. I'm not a hundred percent sure, but they may also have an airship. It would make the most sense for them to have had one waiting for a quick escape from the city."

"Then we'd best look to the clouds."

The lift door peeled back into the wall with its characteristic hiss. At first, Alex was staring at the floor, the gravity of her conversation with Elia still taking its toll. It was a different feeling, knowing that your home was about to be destroyed forever. The sorrow of having Garden taken away from her still lingered in the back of her mind and the pit of her stomach, but it was the kind of hurt brought on by having something suddenly taken away. This was different. Winhill was there now, but in a few hours it wouldn't be, and Alex guessed that the knowledge that she could do nothing about it, that she was going to have to stand in the background and watch it happen, was much, much worse. It was a new sort of hopelessness. The fact that the people of the little rural town would escape unharmed was little comfort in the face of that hopelessness. Taking one step onto the bridge, Alex started, gravely, "Wolf, Eva--"

Her eyes locked onto the scene in the small aerial compartment. Eva looked like a small child caught with her hand in the cookie jar, while Wolf turned away completely, probably with a pleased smirk on his face. Alex glanced to the sniper on her right, and saw the amused grin she sported.

"Please," Elia started sarcastically, "don't quit snogging on our account." She crossed her arms and stared through the bridge at her embarrassed comrades.

In spite of the circumstances, Alex had to share her friend's jocosity. It had honestly struck Alex when Eva had rejoined the dwindling SeeD group without Wolf. Those two parting ways was something she never thought she would see. Now that they had rescued Wolf and the berserker had once again allied himself with the girls, Alex knew it was only a matter of time before the two rekindled their relationship. She was just surprised it had taken this long.

It was nice. She was happy for them. There was so much in this new world that didn't make sense, that was unjust, and terrible. It was nice that two people could find what was missing from the world in each other.

Alex sort of shrank back, crossing one arm over her chest to clasp the elbow of the other. It was nice, but it made her feel that much more alone. There was a time, years ago, when she had been the one in Eva's place, when she had felt what Eva felt now. Alex and Wolf... it was never meant to work, right from the start, and there was no part of Alex that wished things had been different, but still... she couldn't deny that she envied Eva in some ways.

Suddenly, she wondered what Elia was thinking. She watched the twinkle in Elia's icy eyes as the sniper enjoyed her short-lived position of power over Eva and Wolf, the kind of feeling a mother has who knows her children know they've been caught red-handed. Alex would admit there was some joy in that, and when all this was over the four of them would joke about this moment.

But masks only work for so long before the people around you begin to see through them. Having been around Elia longer than anyone else on the ship, Alex was starting to see the transparencies, like moth-eaten holes in a cotton sweater that had gone unworn for too long. Through the mask, Alex could see at least a thread of similar feelings in the other girl.

And that was what frightened Alex. She wished she didn't know Elia as well as she did, that she couldn't see beyond Elia's surface emotions.

When the time comes, I shall fight on thy behalf, Odin whispered in the recesses of her mind, responding to her raw thoughts.

Idiot! I'm not going to actually fight Elia over something like that.

I responded merely to thine unspoken desires. Wilt thou simply yield to her and forego thine own feelings?

Alex was silent for a mental moment.

I did not think so.

In the end, it's not up to me.

Keep telling yourself that.

Alex decided to shut her guardians up by continuing the conversation in the real world. "Yeah, sorry to spoil the moment, but there's some bad news."

Alex took a breath, wondering what her friends' reactions were going to be. What was left of the Wolf Pack was still in Winhill, completely unaware of what was going to happen. Knowing that Wolf had trained them, Alex wouldn't be surprised if they outright refused to leave town and tried to take on SCORPIA.

She exhaled, something between a sigh and a huff. "They found us. Our hideout in Winhill. I dunno how, but it doesn't matter. An army is on its way from Esthar to raze Winhill to the ground." Before the pair could reply, Alex cut back in. "Don't worry about the people." She looked specifically at Wolf. "Kryse says they're going to be evacuated before SCORPIA gets there. But we still don't have anywhere to return to after this."

While Alex spoke, Elia moved from the back of the bridge over to the port-side secondary command seat. She was peering out into the sky beyond, pointedly avoiding looking at the others inside. "That's why... well... Alex and I were talking about that. We made a decision, but we can't do it without you guys, so wee need your support on this." She spun around and locked eyes with both Eva and Wolf in turn. "We're going to take back Trabia Garden."

Elia paused for a moment, allowing icy determination to take over all her features. "When SCORPIA sank Balamb to the bottom of the ocean, they destroyed my home. I can never get that back. But I still want to fight for what's ours. I'm still a SeeD--we all are. Garden is where we belong, and I want to hit those bastards where it hurts."

Alex nodded. She gazed out through the windscreen and watched Timber, now fully in view from their lofty heights, inch closer with every passing moment. "We're going to need all the help we can get, though. We need to find Zeke first."

After his mother had time to compose herself, the two of them sat down and had a long talk. As she spoke her eyes were the reflection of regret; regret for what had become of her desperation, regret for daring to play god with her own flesh in blood. “Science is a wonderful field that offers us unlimited possibilities;” she began, “but despite this limitlessness there are some grounds we should never tread upon. We call these grounds Taboo and though there is no law to prevent us from using forbidden science, there are some lines we just don't cross. Playing god often has unforeseen consequences, but at the time I didn't care about consequences.”

“Mother, what did you do?”

Rebecca took a deep breath and for a moment hesitated, it was time for the truth to come out, but could she really risk loosing her son... a second time? “When you were born it was the happiest day of my life. You were a brilliant child and the rate you picked things up was extra-ordinary. You displayed other gifts however; dangerous gifts. Your father and I did our best to teach you about the dangers of your power, but you reveled in it and there was a hunger for more. Eventually word got out about your ability. Odine, was especially interested; that man certainly liked to play with fire. We told everyone that they were just rumors, but we knew it was only a matter of time before they came for you.”

“Kryse, you have to understand that I was young and scared. I was around your age in fact. Your father, I loved him very much, but there were times when I despised him for the same reasons I loved him. The man was a born hero; a knight in shining armor in the truest sense. When I needed him most, he was needed elsewhere. Before he left he told me that I was worrying over nothing, that times had changed and if worse came to worse, we could always leave. His words calmed me down for a day or two, but then Odine himself made a visit to our home.”

“I'm guessing that didn't go over well.”

“I knew he was interested in you, but back then I was blind to his intentions. Odine came to our house to personally congratulate me on my progress as his assistant and to offer me the opportunity of a lifetime. A new wing was being built onto Odine Labs; he said he wanted me to lead the projects and that the the new wing would be called the Salmance Branch. How could I possibly refuse? We discussed some of the future projects over some tea and for the time, I was overjoyed, but before he left he asked to see you. I couldn't say no, not after the promotion he'd given me; so I called you out. I watched as that impish, little man walked over to you and knelt down, looked into your eyes then stood up and said, 'your mother is a remarkable women. When you are older, you will take care if her yes?' You nodded then he turned to me, 'Rebecca, I would like you to bring young Kryse here to the lab in two days. I would very much like to gauge his ability. I believe your son has a very bright future at Odine Labs.' After he left I fell to the floor; any elation I had, had was gone; shattered by his words.”

As he listened to Alex's plan, a sudden though struck him. He turned it over and around in his head as she finished speaking then said, "That sounds like a terrible idea."

He could feel everyone's eyes on him after that, and he could imagine an amused, if confused, smile on Eva's face after their early talk about caution.

"Not tracking down Zeke of course, I'm all for that. Or taking Garden from scorpia's controll, sounds like a great idea really. But staying there? Yeah, that sounds like a really bad idea. After we take it, I doubt scorpia will expect us to stay, so once they find out it's not under their control anymore they'll probably come running to take it back or see what's left of it, and if we stay after that then they'll know where we are. We'd be sitting ducks even if we took it into the air."

Alex glowered at him, but her expression softened half a moment later. It wasn't outright refusal or blatant contradiction; Wolf brought up a valid point. It wasn't as though Alex hadn't thought about those possibilities while coming up with the idea--more like she and Elia had pointedly avoided it, trying to salvage what little hope was left for the destitute SeeDs. Her souring mood was because Wolf was right, not because he was wrong.

She was silent for a few moments, stealing a glance over at Elia now and again, trying to gauge the other girl’s reaction. Elia didn’t look like she was harboring any easy counters to Wolf’s criticisms.

At length, Alex huffed a little sigh. “Well... let’s just play it by year. After we get our team together, first we have to find Trabia. If we can do that, and beat SCORPIA, then we can figure out what to do with Garden.”

She offered a playful shrug, somewhat out of place on her otherwise sullen exterior. “Hey, if nothing else, we can always blow it to smithereens, right? If we can’t have it, no one can.” Her grin was quite obviously forced, and did little to comfort even herself.

This lecture was boring. The dim light of the stuffy classroom and perpetual stream of warm air billowing out from the not-so-well-placed vents only served to instill a sickness in Alexandra Raines. It wasn’t a stomach-sickness, that horrible feeling in your gut you get after a sour meal, and obviously not a viral sickness; rather, it was an overwhelming feeling of utter exhaustion, completely unreasonable given her actual level of arousal.

Alex was unenthusiastic about most of her studies, but it was worst in winter, when the mountain air outside was the coldest and the faculty compensated by overheating the Garden’s interior. Alex hated the heat. It wasn’t that she had grown completely accustomed to the Trabia continent’s climate, even though she had been here nine years, and it wasn’t because Esthar, where she had spent every year prior, was fairly cool for most of the year. There was just something about the frigid air she enjoyed, something she couldn’t quite explain. It comforted her. Perhaps an element of the philosophy of the cold entered into the equation: no matter how cold it is, you can always keep putting more clothes on; but no matter how hot it is, there comes a point where you cannot take any more off.

The heat was making her uncomfortable, and the lecture on some of the basic intricacies of paramagic was doing little to keep her mind occupied. The finer points of junctioning were relevant, but beyond storing and manipulating stocks of magic, Alex could care less. What was more, she didn’t even have a Guardian Force yet. All of these book-lessons were to prep the lower-division students for acquisition of their first GF, and thus initiate the final stages of their training.

Alex thought it an incredibly inefficient way of teaching. Tell all of these students exactly what to do with magic, but don’t let them actually have any. The reality was this method was necessary; there weren’t unlimited GFs in the world, and Trabia Garden obviously did not possess all of them. They had to be given out discriminately. Alex did not bother understanding that point. At least the instructors didn’t skimp on her combat training.

“Care to explain the difference, Raines?”

The shrill voice of the instructor brought Alex back to reality. She realized she had been staring intently at her study panel for a long time, paying little to no attention to what the instructor had been saying and instead focusing on how much she did not want to be here. Winter in the Garden did that to her. She just wanted to be outside. She looked up, pointedly aware of a dozen pairs of eyes focusing on her small form, growing smaller by the second. She started to panic. What had the instructor just been talking about? Had it had something to do with the distinction between different levels of magic?

“Um... well... essentially Fire and Firaga consist of the same magic energy... but the difference is in the concentration... uh... the density of the energy expelled.” The end of her statement lilted upward, making it more of question, as she stared guiltily at the instructor.

He gave her a reproachful stare in return. “Normally, yes, when we’re talking about actual magic. But with paramagic, the GF stores different concentrations of magic energy as separate spells. So a full stock of Fire does not preclude a full stock of Firaga. Also, we’ve been using thunder magic as our example today.”

Someone on the other side of the room tried and failed to suppress a low chuckle, earning himself an equally abrasive stare from the instructor. Thankfully, the shrill-voiced man left things at that and returned to his lecture, apparently satisfied with the social damage he had caused Alex thus far.

---

When the lecture was over, Alex got up and set her sights on the door to the hallway, thankful for the upcoming free period. Her friends would be waiting near the tree downstairs, and the three of them could grab a bite and relax for a while on the terrace. Alex was more than mildly disheartened when the instructor called her over just as she was nearing the exit, her freedom.

“Raines, can I speak with you for a moment?” he asked. The reproach was gone from his voice, totally mellowed out.

Hesitantly, Alex put on a friendly smile. “Of course, Mr. Tan.” She stepped daintily over to his desk, achingly distant from the door.

The older man laced his fingers and seemed to watch over Alex’s shoulders as the other students continued to file out into the hallway. Alex’s heart sank as she realized he was waiting for privacy to tell her whatever it is he had to tell her. She was in trouble this time.

When the last student had left the classroom, he started, the silence between them only having just begun to grow awkward. “Miss Raines, I couldn’t help but notice your increased restlessness as of late. I imagine I would be correct in attributing your recent inattentiveness to that. That, and unless I am mistaken, you will be seventeen next year.”

He was right, of course. Once she was seventeen, she would be eligible to participate in a SeeD exam. If she passed the written test. Which she couldn’t take before completing her upper division training. That alone would take a year. Alex figured she was perfectly justified in being restless at this point, but felt defensive at her instructor’s accusation.

She nodded quickly and started to respond, but he held up a hand to stop her. “I know it’s not your fault. You’re an excellent student in many regards; that much is clear from your physical exams. I just want you to know that this stuff--” he made an expansive gesture encompassing the classroom, “--is important, too. Understanding these concepts is essential to any SeeD operative’s success in the field. Understand?”

She nodded again, more assuredly this time. She didn’t really agree with him, but saying so was not an option. Not in this particular conversation.

“I’m going to have a talk with the headmaster,” he said a moment later, his eyes wandering away from hers to whatever was on his desk.

Oh, no...

“Personally, I think you’re ready to advance to upper division,” he continued coolly. “If, after the headmaster reviews your files, he agrees, you’ll be set up with an appointment to tackle The Course.”

Alex’s heart skipped a beat at that. The Course was the short name for the Lower Division Exit Examination Obstacle Course, a harsh and difficult training system built into the face of the mountainside near Trabia Garden. It was designed to test both the physical fitness and mental aptitude of any student hoping to receive a GF and advance to the final stages of training. It was identical to Balamb Garden’s Fire Cavern, except instead of falling in a pit of boiling magma you could tumble a thousand feet and splatter yourself over razor-sharp ice. If she completed it, she would receive a GF and join the Garden’s upper division ranks.

Excitement bubbled over the surface of Alex’s calm exterior and she grinned girlishly at her instructor. He continued to scan and mark papers on his desk, perhaps purposefully avoiding meeting her childish stare. After a moment, Alex composed herself, wiping away her stupid smile and bringing her heels in to stand at attention. She brought up her right arm into a salute. “Thank you, sir,” she said flatly.

He looked up and gave her a tired smile. “That is all, Miss Raines. You are free to go.”

Alex lowered her arm and stepped briskly from the classroom, eager to find her way to the quad and share the news.

---

Headmaster Keats sat with his elbows on his desk, looking remarkably irritated as he stared through his office at the three young men lined up before him. All three stood at attention, waiting on the headmaster to say something.

These three had scored just high enough on the recent SeeD exam to graduate. However, Keats was hesitant to say they passed. The exam had been a joint operation between Trabia and Galbadia Gardens, involving a smuggling ring based out of Fisherman’s Horizon. In the end, the smugglers had been put out of business, their leaders paraded off to a Galbadian prison, and scores of illicit merchandise found and seized.

The Trabia team had also managed to sink two unarmed ships off the coast of FH and put a boorish but innocent man in the hospital. The written report submitted by the exam administrator insisted that the team’s actions were legitimately prompted, but Keats was disinclined to believe that, and in the end Garden was stuck with the remunerations.

Keats traced his gaze over the three students before him. They had been standing stock-still and straight as sticks for close to seven minutes now. The one on the left was on the verge of sweating; Keats heated stare likely was not helping the lad. His eyes drifted to the one on the right, and his lids narrowed.

Keats thought the boy couldn’t look more pleased with himself if he’d just been elected Emperor of the Universe. His name was like an acid slowly seeping into the crevices of Keats’ brain.

Andrew Khevan.

Keats was willing to bet every last gil to his name that Khevan had been the mastermind behind every mishap during the exam. He was already behind every one at the school; why should the rest of the world get special treatment?

It killed him to think that under Khevan’s leadership the Trabia team had far surpassed Garden’s expectations in completing the mission. Even Galbadia’s administrator had praised the Trabia team’s effectiveness. Keats would never admit to anyone--especially not Khevan himself--that SeeD needed a man like that in their ranks.

At length, Keats pushed up from his broad desk, the throne-like chair sliding soundlessly away behind him. He gathered three leaves of paper from the center of his desk and rounded it to stand in front of the students.

He handed each student his respective report, then heaved an exaggerated sigh. “It is with the absolute most grudging admiration that I present to you your exam results.” A brief pause, as though Keats were seriously weighing the ramifications of what he was about to say. “Welcome to SeeD, gentlemen. Dismissed.”

The three of them turned toward the door, but Keats laid a firm hand on Andrew Khevan’s shoulder, stopping the young man cold. When they were alone, Keats backpedaled a step, then wheeled around and crossed to the other side of his desk. Khevan’s gaze was perplexed and curious.

When Keats spoke, his voice came out a little more gravelly and malevolent than he’d intended. “I’ll be watching you.”

Khevan shot him a devilish smirk. “Good. I wouldn’t want you to miss anything.” He was out the door before the headmaster could even blink in disbelief.

---

Keats jolted at the sharp knock on his door. He quickly checked the digital clock on his desk, but realised he had no appointments scheduled. He had actually been looking forward to a long stretch of solitude to catch up on some sleep. He resigned himself to the folly of that line of thinking.

“Come,” he said.

The door creaked open and a small but sturdy man nearing the end of middle age inched his way inside. He moved about in a lethargic fashion that belied his age.

“Ah, Boris,” Keats said, making an invitational gesture.

Boris Tan shut the door and shuffled across the office, carrying a small portfolio. “Edgar,” he replied cordially with a small smile. “Good afternoon.”

“What can I do for you?” Keats asked, offering Tan a seat across from him.

Tan set himself gently in one of the chairs before the desk and laid the portfolio halfway between himself and Keats. “I’ve a couple students to recommend for advancement.” He slid the manila folder closer to the headmaster.

Keats reached forward and picked up the folder. He leafed through the handful of documents inside, gathering a cursory idea of which students he would be examining, then began to read each file more carefully.

“Are there any personal notes you wish to add?” Keats asked in an official tone.

Tan shook his head. “Each of their records should speak for itself.”

Keats nodded slowly as he finished reviewing the first file. “Indeed.” He looked up to Tan and smiled. “I will take these under consideration. Thanks for bringing them by.” The friendly tone had crept back into his voice, reflecting the many years the two men had worked together.

Tan stood. “Well, I’d better get to class.”

“See you, Boris.”

After Tan was gone, Keats continued to examine the papers Tan had brought him. Each of the four students seemed to be reasonable candidates for advancement to the upper division. The next step was to schedule each of them for a trial on the LDEEOC, which meant having to find a handful of SeeDs with enough free time to act as support operatives, an assignment they tended to resent. Nobody liked babysitting.

It was then that Keats was struck with the most brilliantly malicious idea, and he could not, for all his strength, contain the evil grin that sprouted across his face at that moment.

Wolf grinned, "Okay, now that's a plan I can get behind. Not that I want to see the old place go, but it's certainly better than sitting there daring them to come after us." He looked back to the console and took the controls, "Okay, we want to find Zeke fist, right? Anybody know whre to start looking?"

Elia crossed to the forefront of the bridge and stared out at the horizon, crossing her arms and watching Timber grow ever-closer. "I'm guessing SCORPIA still has a presence in the area. Kryse's plan to draw them off was good, but they aren't idiots. I'll bet we won't find him strutting around the streets."

Alex glanced up at the rest of them. "He was fighting Asher... right? He might be injured. We should check the hospital, or any place that might've taken him in."

Elia spun. "It's not like we can strut around, either, you know. Whatever is left of SCORPIA is going to get a little curious when they see this baby touch down. Might even radio headquarters, and then Nyx will be on his way back here before you can say 'We're screwed.'" She shook her head. "We're going to have to move fast. Let him know where we are, and hopefully he'll get to us before SCORPIA does. Then we high-tail it out of there."

"On crippled engines," Alex pointed out. The ragnarok wasn't exactly rocketing through the skies in its current condition. If SCORPIA didn't do it first, Kryse was going to kill Wolf when he got back.

Elia shrugged. "We have to work with what we've got. I say that's our best chance."

Alex conceded. It was a solid strategy, probably the best shot they had. Any mucking about in Timber was asking for trouble, and they really could not afford any more trouble right now. They needed to regroup, put some distance between them and SCORPIA. "Well, if there's one thing we're good at, it's making a scene."

Elia suppressed a half-grin. As their plan was coming together, the mood in the small bridge was tangibly lightening. "With any luck, Zeke will see us land and we won't need to."

The pink-haired thief gave her partner a playful wink. "Where's the fun in that?" Wolf would be proud.

---

The silence in the communication tower had settled, thickened, leaving the atmosphere uncomfortably heavy--at least for Lieutenant-Colonel Grard. The tension he felt between himself and Nyx had subsided dramatically, however, and the crippling fear Grard had felt not long ago was replaced almost completely by anger, a silent, seething rage that Grard did not doubt Nyx could feel from all the way across the room. Of course, Grard knew better than to raise an issue with the director, or confront him in any manner. That was just begging for another beating. But the colonel was confident that, if he bided his time long enough, the time would come where all his pent-up rage would come to bear on Nyx in the most destructive way imaginable. Strength in battle was not the only way to take down a tyrant.

Wiping his exterior clear of emotion, Grard approached the director and cleared his throat. Nyx turned gently, acknowledging the officer's presence but offering little more than that. Grard didn't hesitate. "Preparations are complete, sir. Galbadia is ready to launch at your order."

Nyx pondered a moment, still recounting the day's events, obsessing over Kryse Salmance's words, disbelieving his own orders to Lokalus. He was going to annihilate the SeeDs' home base, but in the process he was letting them slip through his fingers once again.

"Baby steps," he mused.

"Sir?" Grard remained stiff.

Nyx shot him a cold glance, but the ice in his stare wasn't directed at the colonel. "I don't want to chance any mistakes. I'll be accompanying the team to Winhill." Nyx pushed past Grard and headed for the lift. "You're in charge, Colonel."

"Yessir."

Nyx gathered what was left of his retinue, then boarded one of the heavily-laden transport craft. He sat in silence, head bowed low as the jet, Winhill's fast-approaching destruction, took to the air. There was a good reason Nyx was heading out with his army. He was legitimately curious about just what the mercenaries had been up to these last three years.

---

Alex gave Elia a light tap on the shoulder. The sniper turned quickly. "Hey, um, can I borrow the tablet Kryse gave you?"

"Oh, yeah." Elia brought it out and offered it to Alex. She took it gently and nodded thanks.

"I'll be right back," she practically whispered.

Outside the bridge and down the lift, Alex started a video recording.

"Hey Kryse. We're coming up on Timber, now. We're going to bring Zeke back on board, then fall off SCORPIA's radar for a while. We've got a plan for our next move, and I'm pretty sure it's just crazy enough to appeal to you, which is good, because we're going to need your help. Like, really need it." Alex took a deep breath. "We're going to take back Trabia Garden. We don't know what we're gonna do with it, but we figure just kicking SCORPIA out of it is a pretty good start. Maybe, wherever you are, you can track down its location, get us started. Let us know when we can rendezvous with you." She hesitated, looking away from the screen briefly. "I miss you. Come back soon."

Send.

“So you were paranoid and acted on the irrational side; what exactly did you do?”

Rebecca took a deep breath. “Are you familiar with the neurological procedure TMS?”

Kryse thought about it a moment; his mind going through all the text books he'd read. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation: A highly controversial procedure involving the manipulation of neuro-wavelengths and pathways, increased production of active mitochondria and pineal stimulation. “I don't get it. How does that have anything to do with what's been going on with me? The procedure was designed to create a super soldier, but it was scrapped due to unforeseen consequences. You weren’t trying to make me into a walking weapon. What could you possibly...unless, you just used it to change my neurological flow,” he looked at his mother in disbelief. “You turned it off; you turned a positive into negative. That's why I had adverse effects to Para-Magic. Still, it doesn't explain everything, how is this connected to anything I've done? ...Unforeseen consequences! No wonder the procedure was abandoned, the side effects are hell.”

There were tears in Rebecca's eyes when she reached out for him. “Kryse I'm sorry; I really am. If there was someway to undo what I did...I would gladly do it.”

Kryse laughed at that, “undo it? You needn't worry about that. All it took to undo the damage you caused, was my death. You see? I'm right as rain.” Standing up he turned his back and started to leave, but stopped at the door. “I understand why you did it. Fear, no matter how irrational makes people do stupid things. I can't blame you though, god knows I want to, but I can't. We'll talk after this is over; right now I need a drink.”

“Kryse wait!” Rebecca pleaded, but her cry fell on deaf ears; her son was gone.

Zeke and Kemuri had spent an hour on the top of the broadcast tower, their eyes glued to the skies for any manner of sign. During this time, they were both silent, content with keeping their private thoughts to themselves. Even the GFs remained quiet for the most part and made little conversation within the Samurai's head. By this point, Zeke was considering giving up on Timber. If the SeeDs had an airship, then surely it would have gotten them here by now, right?

That was when both men suddenly looked to the southwest, focused on an object coming toward Timber from that direction, "An airship..." said Zeke, wondering if perhaps this was what he had been waiting for. He couldn't be sure, however, and simply watched the craft close in on Timber. It soon became recognizable as a Ragnorak, like the kind he had seen in Esthar a couple of years ago.

"It seems our wait is over." said the Ninja, noting the ship's apparent flight path. It was heading for the center of town!

"It has to be them!" said Zeke, starting toward the edge of the platform and dropping down it, swiftly grabbing a support pillar and sliding down it like a fireman. Zeke wasn't looking to see if the ninja was following, and when he touched the ground, he made a break toward the center of town. Behind him, he heard Kemuri's voice.

"This will draw quite a bit of unwanted attention. I shall divert as much of that attention to myself as possible." he said before disappearing into the crowd, Zeke had no idea what he was planning.

Moments later, as Zeke closed in on the town square, he stopped dead in his tracks when he heard people shouting, "It's the SeeD from a few days ago!" this had the Samurai startled. Impossible! Zeke's face was well hidden, how could anyone possibly...? Zeke looked around and suddenly saw what appeared to be himself being attacked by Galbadian-dressed soldiers. It had to be Kemuri, but the samurai had no earthly idea how the ninja was able to make himself look like Zeke. It was a trick Zeke decided he would have to learn himself one day.

Now safely knowing his cover wasn't blown, Zeke reached the town square as the Ragnorak flew very low to the ground, its hatch opening up. Zeke ran toward a parked car and ran up its hood and leaped from its roof to get the height he needed to slip into the closing hatch of the Ragnorak. The jump itself seemed to be happening in slow motion as Zeke managed to get a look at Kemuri's efforts. The ninja appeared wounded and the last the samurai saw of him, he used a smoke ball to somehow disappear, leaving the soldiers in confusion before they joined the ones who were trying futilely to catch the airship.

Zeke actually slid down the closing hatch into the ship's interior, his weighted self hitting the metallic floor with a clang as he tumbled forward with a somersault before springing to his feet. At this point, Zeke could only hope that this airship was indeed the SeeDs, or he would be in a whole lot of trouble.

Kryse stopped after his third cocktail, and asked for water. While he didn't feel a buzz yet, the idea of what alcohol was capable of doing to his brain, wasn't at all appealing. The idea that futher consumption could lead to loss of his mental faculties and reason, terrified him. To lose control of ones self was to enter into chaos, and that was unacceptable.

“Had enough already?”

The voice of the young woman was immediately recognizable. After spending nearly two years with her it be nearly impossible to mistake it for another. “Hello Chloe,” he said as he glanced at her over his shoulder. “If drinking with Wolf taught me anything, it was that drinking too much is a bad idea.”

Chloe sat down on the stool next to him. “Ooh, sounds like a story, care to tell?”

“There's not much to tell. I had a bit too much to drink and made a fool of myself...end of story.”

“What, that's it? You made a fool of your self? Kryse, everyone is entitled to be a fool sometimes,” she said while shoving his shoulder.

“I know, it's just... it's not that simple; He showed up.”

Chloe dropped her playful attitude, her features taking on a more serious look. “I see. Did anything happen?”

“Not really, nothing major anyway. It's just...I don't like not being in control of my own faculties, hell, my own body.”

“I can understand that,” she said as she placed a hand on his shoulder. “Damn your mother.”

“Hey...” The glare in his eyes was enough to make her remove her hand from his shoulder.

“I'm...I'm sorry Kryse, it's just...”

“I understand. Just don't talk about her like that,” he said with a hint of ice in his tone.

“How can you be so forgiving?”

“She's my mother.”

Chloe crossed her arms. “Well she's not my mother.”

Setting his glass down, he let out a sigh. “Fair enough. Don't do it around me.”

“How about a change of subject?”

“Yes, that sounds like a wonderful idea,” he said in all seriousness. “Let's start with... why are you here; you know, besides to berate my mother?”

“Your mother was a bonus, but I digress. I'm here because you need me.”

The dark knight couldn't help but smirk. “Oh yeah? Did the cards tell you that?”

“Actually, they did; but I'm not here because of the cards. I'm here because you're my friend.” Standing up from the stool she placed a hand his shoulder again then leaned in close and whispered. “Would it interest you to know that the cards also said that you and I would spend the night together.” With that tingling in his ear she started to walk away.

“I'm listening... wait, where are you going?” After paying for the drinks he went after her; when he caught up to her he continued. “You can't just walk away after saying something like that. What exactly did you...hold on I have a message.” Bringing up his data pad he read through the message. “They're insane, they've lost their damn minds.”

“What's wrong?”

“They want to take back Trabia. I mean it's not like it can't be done, it's just so...unexpected; which is probably the point. Hmm...”

“I know that look . Already cooking something up huh?”

First I'll need to make repairs to the ship and a few modifications while I'm at it. The problem is where? They can't exactly pick me up here or anywhere near Esthar. I'll worry about that in a minute. Right now I need components. I'll have to...

Chloe waved her hand in front of Kryse's face, but it was a superfluous effort. “And I've lost him. Well desperate times as they say.” Placing her hands on the sides of his face she pulled him in to a long and deep kiss. Her mind went blank for a moment before breaking away. “Oh my, I can't believe I waited two years before trying that.”

“Huh?” The confusion on his face was plain to see. “What just happened?”

“You were lost in thought so I kissed you to snap you out of it. Now as I was saying...”

“OK, that's what I thought happened, just... making sure. Wait, wasn't I the one talking?”

“You were, but now it's my turn dear. Now as I was saying, I'm here to take you back to Centra.”

Snapping out of his confusion, he went over everything that had just happened. “Take me back to Centra? ...Chloe, that's brilliant! ...and that's what you meant by us spending the night together.”

“Of course, what did you think I meant?”

“I'm a guy! What do you think went through my head? It's simple math. A beautiful woman plus the words spend the night together equals...”

“Two friends spending some time together over some tea... like we used to;” she said, crossing her arms. “Kryse you're a good man. You and I both know that you would never betray her.”

Letting out a sigh, he resigned himself. “You're right. You're always right. I hate that.”

“It's because I'm smarter than you dear,” she said as a matter of fact.

“I don't doubt it for a moment.” Scratching his head, he brought the data pad back up and composed a message. 'Glad to hear everyone is OK. I'll get to work on it right away. I have new coarse and heading for you.' The message went on to detail the coordinates to the old castle and a good landing point for Ragnarok and concluded with, 'I've missed you too. I'll be home soon.'