Chapter 10: Jun or the Jewel?

[junkuroki]

Braze~

Labrynn stood still and listened to Gone whine through his tangent. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Steffen struggling to maintain his composure enough to keep from blurting out again. She stood in silence, letting his question about DotNA pass under her like water under a bridge.

“Alright then there chica, if this is supposed to be a briefing why the fvck have you kidnapped a member of our team? Shot one of my teammates? And knocked out the defacto leader of our little squad? Ya know what I think? I think it’s because whatever you want we’re not gonna want to do it. So now, I’m going to try and be reasonable and co-operative, you should do the same and fvcking spell out what the hell it is you jerks want!” Gone had spat, and Labrynn sighed, her eyes narrowing at the man.

"Well that's what we'd be discussing right now if we would all sit pretty and listen to Miss Loving here, wouldn't we?" she said softly. "Miss Kuroki is in the state she is in to get your attention, and now I believe we have it, am I correct? And as for Misters Amaerick and Mercutio--" she turned and gave Andre a harsh glare--"my apologies. But now it must be evident that we do mean business."

David listened to Labrynn talk back calmly to Gone's demands and smirked. He took a seat on the armrest of the couch, rolling up his sleeves. As he did so, a dark tatoo on his left forearm became visible, looking to be a tatoo of a word, or perhaps a name. The gothic print was hidden once again though as he crossed his arms over his chest, turning to watch the SeeDs as they spouted off threats and watched their captive teammate on the screen with wary eyes.

He had never been one to interrupt and wasn't going to now. But he hoped that they would calm down enough so April could get down to business. The sooner she could, the sooner they could get what they came for and get the hell out of there.

Just as his eyes began to trail over the girl he had cornered in the kitchen, Blaze, a dull beeping sound filled his ears. David calmly reached down to his waist, pulling a sleek pager from his belt. He looked at the number before bringing his eyes back up. "It's him," he said, catching Labrynn's eye. "Probably wondering what the hell's taking so long." He watched as she nodded.

"Alright kiddies, let's continue. April? If you please?" he heard her say as he situated himself again on the couch's armrest.

[junkuroki]

Ani~

Stardust tightened her jaw. The guy named Steffen really did give it to Gone. Though whether they were DoTNA or not, the fact that they attacked them would definitely mean no cooperation from her. This group was merely another hindrance on their way to the emerald.

Soon, April began to talk to them through the small screen, saying that they were going to hold Jun as captive after they had given them the Sapphire and the Emerald.

What? Stardust's wrinkled her forehead. There was no way, they would give the Sapphire to them. Or she for this matter. The Sapphire plays an important part in killing Adel and the SeeDs would have Adel's head, not these lecherous lowlifes.

/But they got Jun, Stardust, what are we going to do?/ Diwata asked.

Stardust looked at the faces of her teammates, then turned to Labrynn. She was silent for a moment.

Jun is a SeeD...And no SeeD would want to hinder a mission because of him, I know I wouldn't.

/Stardust what--?/

"No." she simply said. "I'm not trading the gem in exchange for Jun."

[junkuroki]

Auria~

Reese's frown deepened, his gaze shiftly from the now fuzzy-screened television to Labrynn.

He winced slightly, pulling himself to a more upright position. "What do you want the gems for?" he asked, still looking Labrynn dead in the eye.

[junkuroki]

Braze~

Labrynn met Reese's gaze, the shadow of a smile evident for a mere moment as she looked him straight in the eye. But it was gone as soon as it came, as she turned to Andre and spoke, her authoritative tone coming back.

"Andre, dismiss your men, they are no longer needed," she said, turning back to the group on the couch. As the men in black lowered their guns and made their way into the kitchen, Labrynn cleared her throat. "I think...in one way or another we all want the same thing," she said, narrowing her eyes. "But I have my orders. And my boss has his. And the only way you'll know for sure is to make it to the exchange. If you can do that, Jun will return to you unharmed."

David nodded turning to them. "And you will be supervised," he interjected, "so on one hand you won't be able to sneak away and do your own thing and try to be heroes--no it won't work like that. But on the other hand, it can be assured that as long as you're working for us no harm will come to any of you, and that goes for Jun as well."
He paused, looking down at the uncoscious Zacke and the mortally wounded Reese. "...with a few acceptions obviously," he muttered with a roll of his eyes. "But nothing that can't be mended?" He turned to Labrynn.

She nodded, smiling lightly as she turned to Reese. The familiar happy glow that was witnessed on the train returned to her eyes, as if she would be truely delighted to mend his wound. She straightened, closing her eyes, a light blue aura beginning to surround her. She held out her hand and with a short wave of her fingers, the powerful Curaga spell reached out gently and began to heal Reese's wound.

Before it could completely engulf him, she stopped it abruptly. His wound was now not mortal and he was bleeding signifcantly less, but it was still serious.

"When you agree...both of your men will be completely revived," she said seriously. "But only when you agree."

[junkuroki]

Ani~

Stardust listened to them explain their terms and condition after Reese had inquired them about it. This was no joke. They really were in a pinch. Actually, Stardust was really starting to see the error of her ways. If she said no, what could she do? Would they still be able to move forward if they refused to cooperate? Indeed, it was pointless to resist. It was just that, she didn't want to hand over the gems. Not to them.

She withdrew her hands from Reese when she saw Labrynn approach him, and, heal his wound with curaga. The woman even did a much better job suppressing his blood than her. She would never trust these new guys. What if they decided to get rid of them afterall after they had done the dirty work? There were so many possibilities. She was sick and tired of being used.

"When you agree...both of your men will be completely revived," she said seriously. "But only when you agree."

Well, this looked like she was going to be a part of minority again. These teammates of her would probably want to cooperate.

"Damn you all," Stardust hissed, shaking her head. She refused to say anything afterwards. If they were going to accept their terms, it wouldn't come from her.

[junkuroki]

Ash~

Blaze let out a harsh laugh. "You think that we will give up our mission to save Jun? We killed one of our own. What makes you think we will forfeit everything for a mere human life? I don't care what you do to her, I will take death over ultimate failure."

However, Jun is more valuable to us than the load of shit Xu left behind.

Blaze stared ahead into nothingness."But seeing as how I am not the team, I cannot make our decision. But I have casted my vote." She remained silent.

[junkuroki]

GC~

Gone ran an agitated hand through his hair as he listened to their demands. Just his luck that only people here to cast a vote were the very ones who wouldn’t want to save their teammates, their friends. Of course he could understand their position, it was what they were trained to do, the proper military procedure. They should let Jun die, and Reese and Zacke too because getting the gems was far more important than three lives. But even though it was the right thing to do, it wasn’t. And he was confusing himself. In the end the lives of people you knew, always counted far more than those of people you don’t know.

“I say we do it.” Gone stated firmly. “We can’t let them die, they’re our friends.” He glanced at Reese, “Mostly anyway. And besides that Blaze, Stardust, the three of us wouldn’t get anything done as a team without them. We need them. Without ‘em, I’d chase after every skirt I saw, Stardust you’d stand around and scowl about us being lowlifes without really doing anything, and Blaze would kill everything in sight. We might not be much of team, but we’re way worse off cut in half.” Gone explained his reasoning to Blaze and Stardust, feeling like he had to do explain himself to them.

[junkuroki]

Auria~

Reese frowned, his mind working on what he would say as he simultaneously mentally digested what Gone had said.

Giving up the gems would throw them off completely. They would lose everything they had worked so hard for. All the time they'd spent thus far would be wasted. They would be back at the very start. There would no longer be a mission.

"Kuroki isn't a major asset to this team. We can get along okay without her." He spoke up after Gone had finished, his voice quiet but firm. "She isn't necessary in completing this mission, and her life may be taken, but the gems may not."

Of course, he had never expected anything like this to happen. It was actually something of a nice surprise for him, behind the veil of a bad thing.

If he played his cards right, maybe this entire situation could work in his advantage.

He glanced around for a brief second.

"I still don't see any of those reasons as good ones to just leave her to die." he glanced from Stardust to Blaze. "I don't believe Jun wouldn't turn her back on any of us. Don't you think it's wrong of you to do that to her?"

He paused for a second. "I don't care what you guys want to do. I'm with Vacc." his gaze shifted to Labrynn. "What do we have to do?"

[junkuroki]

Ani~

Stardust's face remained gloomy, trying to look unaffected by the things that were said in front of her. Eventhough she knew, that she was not in the right side.

/It's two on two/ Diwata said to her. /What are you and Blaze going to say for yourselves?/

Stardust looked at Reese. She couldn't believe he sided with Jun. So they would really give the sapphire and the emerald to these commoners. She turned to Zacke and stared at his unconscious stature. She bet Zacke would be willing to do that too if he wasn't out. She didn't have anything to say for herself. What would she say? As if these guys would listen.

"This is bull," she said under her breath, and leaned her back on the couch, marking her surrender.

/Stardust!/

Eyeing Labrynn distastefully, she waited for whatever it was she was going to say.

[junkuroki]

Braze~

David raised an eyebrow at Blaze's statement, letting the words mull over in his head as the others stated their opinions. He caught Steffen's eye while they spoke, nodding his head at the girl in question as if to say Is she for real? Steffen's deep scowl and reddening ears was enough to answer that the man was thoroughly angered by Blaze's comment as well. David took that as his cue to speak up.

"Well, aren't you ladies just little balls of sunshine?" he said, leaning back against the wall. "Your fear of failure just goes to show how mentally unstable you are. Miss Infinity at least has the demure to know when it's appropriate to speak outright against the well-being of a teammate but you--" he turned to Blaze "congratulations on being a total flop in the trust-worthy department."

"David--" Labrynn started, a warning tone in her voice.

"Killed one of your own you say? And you're proud? What kind of sick freak feels proud about killing someone who probably considered them a friend?"

"David!" Labrynn's tone was harsh and authoritative this time, causing David to turn away, red-faced. She looked at him, her eyes sad. She shook her head as she turned to the group on the couch. "Lucky for Jun to have such wonderful friends. I see loyalty in this group stands highly above all other morals. I'm glad to see you gentlemen have some sense about you, and from the way Mr. Mercutio treated us on the train, I'm sure he would have agreed with you in a heartbeat." She sighed, shaking her head.

"Hurray for the crack team that managed to worm away the Sapphire, how-ever did you do it?" David muttered under his breath. "Nag your enemies to death? Bore them with your bickering? You guys deserve a flag."

"David..." This time it was Andre who spoke. David shut up then, standing up and reaching for his cell-phone.

"I'll call Trav and tell him their decision," he said, flipping it open and making his way to the kitchen out of sight.

Labrynn sighed. "Well, now that we've pretty much got that settled, I'm sure Jun will be appreciative deep down that you just saved her life," she started.

"Anyway," Andre cut in, stepping forward. "No one lied to you when they told you there was a lead to the Emerald. We know where to start looking. You'll help us get it, simple as that. And Jun's our collateral."

[junkuroki]

Auria~

"Well that's all fine and dandy," Reese said shortly. "Now can we please finish the healing thing we had going on? Watching others suffer might be some kind of sick pleasure for you people but it's not much fun for me..."

He adjusted again, his hand still laid over the area where the wound had been.

[junkuroki]

GC~

Gone stared at Reese in amazement. Maybe he’s not such a bad guy after all… Then he turned to the others.

“I have a question for you. Since you obviously think we aren’t hot stuff, and that you’re all better than us. Knowing how to work together and all, better intel since you actually have a lead. Why have us get the emerald for you?” Gone asked.

[junkuroki]

Ani~

Listening to David bite their heads off definitely insulted Stardust. Even though most of it were directed to Blaze, it still managed to hit one of her nerves. Maybe because of the fact that she was guilty on some parts.

She watched the man take out his cell, to phone someone named Travis, then left for the kitchen. Frankly, Stardust really couldn't do anything but just sit here and...glower at these bunch of people who were forcing them to give up the gems in exchange for something that would not really benefit the SeeD mission. After they had given them the gems, these people would tell them to get lost and mind their own business, then go out there and slay Adel themselves after they had obtained Rhirawen.

Atleast they were going to have a lead on the emerald. Moreover, even get their hands on it. Stardust couldn't help but think of something to make out of it. Her thoughts really wasn't organized, but as long as she was concerned, she wasn't going to be set aside from hunting Adel.

Stardust's small world of reverie popped when she heard Gone's voice from across her. She eyed him.

"....Knowing how to work together and all, better intel since you actually have a lead. Why have us get the emerald for you?” Gone asked.

That question made Stardust smirk.

"Obviously....It's basically because this good-for-nothing group of theirs still isn't good enough to get the emerald," she spat, eyeing Labrynn, Andre, and Steffen with dislike.

/Watch your tongue/ Diwata said. /You don't want to piss them./

I'll say what I want to say, why do they need us for the emerald anyway...

[junkuroki]

Braze~

Labrynn nodded to Reese and went straight to work healing his wound.

Steffen scoffed at Stardust's comment. "Yeah," he said with a roll of his eyes as he crossed his arms. "We're actually very incapable of doing anything on our own, that's why we kidnap SeeDs and blackmail their teammates into doing our dirty work. Yes, that is precisely it." The sarcasm dripped from his voice, his tone mocking every word that had just come from Stardust's mouth. Labrynn shook her head as she cast the first Curaga spell, her shoulders shaking with silent laughter as the blue light surrounded both her an Reese.

"Maybe you're not getting the point," Steffen continued, "we're not hiring you for some odd job and we're not leaving you on your own to muck it up like woah. Cuz...heh...we all know you will." He turned to Andre, sharing a look with the black man before turning back. "Fact is, we know you're looking for the Emerald. And if we know where you are at all times while we work to get our hands on it, then there won't be any room for you to claim it afterwards. So we'll all work together for the Emerald."

"The Sapphire, however, is a different case," Andre said softly. "We know that you've already retrieved it thanks to our sources, and we know it's at Garden. Before the exchange, you will surrender any information you have about the exact location of the Sapphire, and after the exchange you will be escorted back to Balamb Garden where you'll aid us in retrieving it."

"And before you ask us why we think you'd help us get the Sapphire afterwards, don't question it," Steffen cut in, his eyes gleaming with a sense of foreboding. "You just will."

Labrynn cleared her throat after Steffen made his comment. "Tada!" she beamed, pointing to Reese's now completely healed bullet wound. She smiled back at Steffen and Andre. "Now for the other one."

She came closer to Zacke, holding out her hand and letting the Curaga do the work as it lifted him a bit, mending the wound to his head. He still layed unconscious though, causing Labrynn's brow to furrow. "Andre, no more playing with guns for you," she muttered under her breath, a new purplish light beaming from her fingertips. She allowed the Esuna to engulf the blonde man, breathing consciousness slowly back into him.

She carefully came up beside him, pushing him gently to a comfortable seated position as she watched his eyes struggle to reopen.

[junkuroki]

Auria~

Reese passed Labrynn an irritated sort of frown at her 'Tada!'. He sat up straight, moving his hand away from the wound area. There was a hole in his white shirt, blood dying the shirt all around where the wound had been.

He looked at his hand--covered with dried blood--and frowned, looking away. He moved his hand over and wiped it across the arm of the nice cream couch, then glanced over absently as Labrynn began healing Zacke.

Zacke slowly felt himself being ripped away from something dark. In his mind he protested. It was safe and comfortable. A crack of light invaded his eyes as his eyelids started to part. He became more aware. Thoughts began to flood his mind.

Where am I?! He tried to open his mind but it didn't seem he could remember how.

/You've been unconcious for the past thirty minutes or so./ Iris replied calmly, her voice a source of instant comfort for him.

Iris...

/Open your eyes, your team needs you./ she cut him off, her voice softly urging him.

The light of the room stung slightly at first. Whoever was in front of him was out of focus. It was a woman. Suddenly he was aware of the people surrounding. He tensed immediately, one of his arms moving out between him and the dark haired woman, his back pushing into the table he was propped against.

He twisted his head around and recognized his teammates on the couch. His heart skipped a beat. He turned back to face the woman, a frown etched into his features. "What the hell is going on?!"