Chapter 1: To Deling

[Storyteller]

Auria~
Xu's office was as clean and neat as always. There she sat, behind her dark oak desk, clacking away at the keys on a the black laptop in front of her. Just as the first person to enter the room walked in, she made a few more clicks of the mouse and shut the laptop.

As soon as everyone file in, she began.

"So, how was the Ball?" She had an unusual grin on her face. Xu hardly ever grinned. Maybe a half smile, but grin?

[Storyteller]

Ani~
"With all due respect, Headmistress," said Stardust Infinity after she situated herself near Xu's desk. "But it was absurd and should not be paid much attention to."

/Don't speak for yourself now.../ Diwata teased.

"I say we go on and hear about the briefing," the pink-haired suggested, sounding impatient.

[Storyteller]

QuistisTrepe002~
Colum frowned. Seriously debating whether or not to tell Xu that he had fun, he bit his lip.

To tell, or not to tell..., he thought, misquoting a famous soliloquy from Hamlet.

Why are you asking me? Dove said, You had fun, tell her that.

Colum's hand went to his hair. "I had a good time, thank you, Headmistress," he said.

Dan, however, kept quiet. Slouched against the doorjam, he was wearing a slight variation on the blue suit he had on the day before.

Today he wore jeans, a short sleeved t-shirt, and his jacket was slung loosley over his shoulder.

He was tired. Tired and sore from the fight the night before.

"I didn't spend much time at the ball, Headmistress," Dan said, putting one hand carelessly in his pocket.

[Storyteller]

Lily~
Jun slunk towards a corner and rooted herself there.

"So, how was the Ball?" Xu said with a weird grin.

Jun merely grunted at her question, refusing to even think about the Ball.

What's the use of discussing what was already over? I wish she'd get on with the briefing. She thought glumly.

[Storyteller]

Ash~
Blaze was slumped down in one of the office's chairs, sitting in an unlady like position and chewing a new wad of gum.

"So, how was the Ball?" Xu asked with a grin, eyeing everyone in the room.

"It sucked." Blaze replied. Xu's nostrils flared, for it was the same answer Blaze had said about every single one of the balls in the past.

Blaze looked around the familiar office, finding every single time she had made a dent in Xu's walls.

There's one... two... three, four.. wheres the fifth? Oh yea, she had that one repaired. Blaze thought silently as she started to zone out for the mission briefing.

[Storyteller]

Auria~
Reese crossed his arms, has hat low, standing against the right wall. He sighed loudly.

Zacke stood a few feet behind the chair Blaze sat in. He looked a little distracted, or preoccupied. Daydreamy.

Xu cleared her throat loudly. "Well then, let's get on with the briefing. Today you'll be going out to Deling to meet a SeeD contact of mine. She's posing as a member of DotNA, and according to her, Adel holds her in high respect. She says she knows something about where the Emerald is, so I'm thinking she would be most helpful to you.

Now, since she's undercover, you can't just walk up to her anytime and ask her about it. She has an image to maintain. If she were to get caught, it would mean her life. So, she's arranged something. If you can meet her at exactly nine-thirty tonight, behind a store called "Something Stylish", you'll be free to talk to her until ten.

I know thirty minutes isn't much, but you have to realize this meeting is going to be harder for her than it is for you. So, if you want to get to Deling by tonight, I suggest you get an early start and leave soon."

Xu folded her hands over her desk. "Any questions?"

Reese spoke up. Even his calm, low toned voice seemed loud in the small room. "What is the woman's name?"

"Oh, I'm sorry I forgot to mention! Her name is Laice."

[Storyteller]

QuistisTrepe002~
Colum folded his arms over his chest, his attitiude suggesting hostility. "Fine," he said, non-commitingly. As long as this isn't some kind of trap, he thought.

Dan shot a deathglare at Sym.

I'll be damned if I ever let her wake me up again, he thought, amusedly. She poked me until I was awake, even with the alarm clock blaring.

Twisting the wedding band on his left hand, he was lost in thought.

Aly, I wish you were here, he thought.

Colum was irritated.

[Storyteller]

Ani~
Laice.

Focusing all of her attention to Xu, Stardust listened to every bit of information the headmistress had given. It was Deling this time. Another one of those diplomacy missions that she always found very boring. But it didn't matter. The information that they would be getting would be very necessary.

"Headmistress," Stardust quickly barged in before Xu could ever acknowledge the senseless question of the married man. "Do you have any pictures or some indications at all for us to determine what this SeeD contact looks like? Just in case something went wrong."

[Storyteller]

Seiferfetish~
Gaiea spoke up from her corner of the room. "No offense meant, Headmistress, but how do we know this contact can be trusted? Sorceress Adel has many powers, and for all we know, Laice could have fallen under one of her spells. And I, for one, do not want to be caught in another trap."

She tightened the rope belt around her waist and lay a hand on Uncontrol's hilt, just for the comfort of knowing it was there. "DotNA was waiting for us last time, and even if Laice is loyal to us, there's no guarantee she won't be found out. And since DotNA knew where we were, who we were, and exactly how we were going to get there, that means information was leaked. No one knows the information SeeD gets except SeeD."

I'm sure there's a mole...And I'm not going to let them win. Gaiea's eyes narrowed to slits as they moved around the room.

/Paranoid?/

No, not paranoid, Ki. I'm certain. There's no other explanation. Taking the GF's silence as agreement, Gaiea looked back at Xu. "I know there's nothing sure in this business, but I want as close to certain as we can get."

[Storyteller]

Ash~
Blaze's eyes moved towards Daniel, twisting the ring on his finger.

I hope that ring cuts off the circulation of blood to his hand and his finger falls off. Her eyes returned to Xu who was speaking; Blaze could see Xu's lips moving but she couldn't percieve any sound coming from them. it was a habit for her to never listen to a mission briefing.

"headmistress,do you have any pictures or some indications at all for us to determine what this SeeD contact looks like? Just in case something went wrong." Stardust suddenly interrupted.

Blaze fell silent. seeD contact? Maybe I should learn to listen to the mission briefings from now on.

[Storyteller]

Auria~
"Yes, I have a picture. One second." Xu opened her laptop and clicked a few times. The printer started making noises. "I'm printing the picture from her SeeD profile."

Xu then turned to Gaiea. "I understand where you're coming from, Ms. Walker, but we really have no other choice. Marrenfield left no clue for the Emerald.

Xu turned her head to address the room. "Laice has been in SeeD since age fifteen. If I had to choose one student from Garden to place this kind of trust in, she would be one of my first choices. I know this doesn't apply to any of you, you probably don't even know her, but you'll have to trust me in trusting her.

"Also, remember, Deling is under Garden control. I doubt there are even Estharian soldiers inside the city. A few days ago we chased the last known DotNA crew out of there, and as far as Laice knows, no one has returned."


Reese lifted his hat somewhat, so high you could actually both of his eyes, and listened to Xu intently.

"I think this is our best bet at the Emerald. It's either take the chance of a trap, or search the world. Of course the latter is physically impossible, it would take years." he glanced around the room.

She will pay dearly.


A piece of paper slid out of the printer and it stopped making noise. Xu grabbed it and handed it over her desk, to Blaze.

The woman on the picture had chin-length, light blonde--almost white looking hair, grey eyes, and a pale complexion. The age on her profile said twenty-three.

[Storyteller]

Spiffy Goddess of Death~
Sym, sitting cross-legged on the floor, could feel Dan's eyes boring into the back of her head as he spoke and she smiled to herself. Her cousin was a very heavy sleeper, a fact that had been proven when she'd tried to rouse him from slumber this morning. For being such a good fighter and having quick reflexes, he hadn't even budged at her poking or the cacaphony of the alarm. Goddess, he was definately not a morning person.

Laughing silently to herself, Sym shifted her weight to her other side and turned to look back at Dan, flashing him a smile once she faced him. Her feet still stung a bit, but through both her cousin and Terry's help she could walk and even run on them without complaint. Standing, though, was another issue, which is why she sat on the floor, taking whatever weight she could off of them. Fighting wouldn't be a problem, so long as she kept moving. And since moving was essential in a fight, she'd be perfectly alright.

Rising to her feet, Sym stretched her legs and sat herself down beside Terry, crossing her legs once again. She smiled her usual smile and put a hand on his shoulder, her eyes on his face, "So, how are you?"

~~~ Another perspective ~~~

Xarin glowered at the room from his dark corner, his mind in a state of confusion over the dreams he'd had last night. She'd died again in the dream, refusing his help as before. If only he'd been able to stop her from firing the missile, been able to get her out of the way. . . then she'd be with him, safe in his arms, not dead and lost. That day he'd cried, and long into the night his eyes still gave up the tears. They would have stayed together had nothing happened, they would have been so happy. . .

Unconsciously a tear slid down his cheek, landing softly to stain his shirt below. It was his fault that she was gone, his fault for not being quick enough to her side. Xarin balled up his fist in anger, his words coming out in a whisper, "Damnit Kat, why'd you have to go?"

[Storyteller]

Darkbluehated~
Terry listened attentively to everything that Xu had mentioned. Alright, so Deling, meet contact Laice.... must make it behind a certain shop. Shop name..

"So, how are you?" Sym's voice broke him out of his thought.

"I'm ffine, thankk Hyne yyou werre there... orrr I'd be late forr this meetin' asslo." Terry whispered back as Xu seemed to be looking around. Seemingly amused.

Suddenly Terry leapt to his feet when the meeting seemed effectively over with the facts part. Terry went up to a familiar looking girl and clasped her hand instantly realizing it was the girl, Jun from the Ball last night.

[Hi I'm Wildwish.] Terry's little notepad said.

Terry went to the next unfamiliar person in the room.

[It'll be great working with you.] Terry's held notepad said as he shook hands with Reese, smiling along the way.

[Hello, Dan, it's good to see you again.] Terry ignoring the fact they just met minutes ago.

As Terry continued to introduce himself and telling the new teammates how wonderful it would to work with them. The back of his mind was shaking it's head thinking how hopeless it would to break Terry out of his happy-go-luckiness.

[Storyteller]

Auria~
"If there are no more questions, you are dismissed." Xu said.

Zacke sighed loudly. He glanced around the room. "Well we should probably get going, guys..." He gave another glance around the room, this time catching Tomoe's eye. He quickly looked down and headed for the door.

Reese looked down at Terry's hand for a few seconds, then reached up and pulled his hat down to its regular crooked perch. He turned and headed for the door, completely ignoring Terry and his hand-shake. He was already in a bad mood, he didn't need this smiley git in his face.

He opened the door, but paused at the threshold and motioned out with his free hand. "Ladies first." he said quietly.

[Storyteller]

Lily~
Jun glanced down in surprise, followed by concealed disgust as someone grabbed her hand. Turning her head to look at him, she found him vaguely familiar.

Ah, the Ball. That guy with the scratchy voice.

He held out a little notepad.
[Hi I'm Wildwish].

Before she could respond, he had flitted to the next person.

Good riddance. I'm in no mood for cheery intros.

{My, my. Someone's more than a little grumpy today.} Sapph taunted her with an annoying snigger.

Try sleeping overnight on a keyboard, and I'm sure you'll be just as chirpy. She replied dryly.

{Can't say I'll ever have the chance to experience that. Heh.}

Xu made another announcement then, effectively cutting off her retort.

"If there are no more questions, you are dismissed."

Jun went up immediately to the girl sitting sloppily in the office chair.

"Hey, could I take a look at the picture of the contact please?" She asked politely, shoving her moodniness down her throat.

When the girl turned around, she saw it was the same one who had fought with Stardust.

Uh oh...