Chapter 8: A Partner for the Ball

[Lawric]

"What can they do? More like they'll be coming over to kiss my feet. I'm an Adel slayer now!"

Lawric cocked an eyebrow, skeptical of Deo's logic. I guess...

His attention turned to the excited freak at Zacke's feet. He frowned as he watched the guy kowtow. Melvin had an expensive looking camara hanging around his neck that kept banging against the ground every time he kissed Zacke's shoe, and he didn't even care. Wow. It wasn't a flattering kind of obsession. It was sort of scary.

Melvin kept squealing in delight and shouting about how great Zacke and Blaze were.

Lawrich glanced over at Deo. The expression on Deo's face caused him to do a double-take. He looked really tense. Lawric looked back at Melvin, wondering what was freaking his friend out so much. Sure the kid was creepy, but...

"hah..hah" Deo's laughed. Well, it was hardly a laugh. If 'anxiety' had a noise, that laugh would probably be it.

"Umm, are you okay?" Lawric asked, looking back at Deo again. "You look sick."

Zacke and Blaze brushed by them, Zacke snapping at her about his pants. Hey, thats right--

"Err--Zacke, I have Curaga." Lawric offered helpfully. Zacke turned and released Blaze's wrist. "It'll spare you a trip to the infirmary."

"Uhh, okay." Zacke said with a nod. "Yeah, thanks." He sort of preferred that Kadowaki treat him, since she was the nurse and all, and he just met Lawric. But this way he could dodge the medical bill--which he knew Blaze would never pay. And the burns hurt like hell.

Lawric lifted an arm toward Zacke, his hand open-palmed and facing up. He stared at his fingers and concentrated on inciting the spell. It coarsed through the veins in his arm and lifted through his palm in a faintly green kind of mist. His gaze shifted to Zacke, and the Curaga cloud drifted upward and settled down around him.

[Hadrian D'arcell]

ROTFLMAO!!! Haha Ash, you know he can't avoid teh Blaze's wrath. Hadrian has to die sometimes XD *points to his avvie* I want blood!!

Hadrian: >D She wouldn't catch me even if she tried.

! >( *gives Blaze more reason to kill him* And LOL@Jaime!!
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They did it on purpose... Hadrian concluded.

He ran a hand across his face. Jaime and Vanesse ignored him--on purpose. It didn't work. He couldn't do it, afterall. He didn't want to be in that awkward situation anyway. He expected that the girls would say "we forgive you" the moment he said hi, but it didn't work out. It was time to give up. He tried so hard. More importantly...

What the heck was Jaime blurting anyway?

He mussed his hair in annoyance. "Girls..." he grumbled, not sure of where to go now.

Oh...yeah...the important stuff. That software he was working needed to be tested. Once he was done with it, installing adwares (to commercialize his blow-up doll business) to all SeeDs' homepage wouldn't be a problem. He'd been receiving paid requests from different SeeDs even before he transferred here. All classified information, of course. His benefactor and him would be a lot of happier with more publicity.

Hadrian smirked at the thought, continuing on his way. The fact that desperate hormone-charged SeeDs existed in the world allowed him to have enough finances to upgrade his equipments. He'd be conquering the world once he hit his 30s.

There was a commotion near the fountain. For one thing, the elevator looked a lot different from the last time he saw it 30 minutes ago. He walked further into the small crowd and saw some familiar faces.

"Hey, that's...." Hadrian blurted once he saw Melvin going gaga over Blaze and Zacke. He came in beside Deo (surprised to see him awake) who was looking intently at the aggravated Blaze. He didn't know how to describe Deo's reaction. Love at first, sight? He quizzically looked from Deo to Blaze.

"TAKE THAT B!TCH!!" Melvin shouted at a girl in the crowd, hopping in excitement. "I HAVE ZACKE AND BLAZE'S' MOLECULES ON ME NOW!!"

Hadrian knew that overexcited person. That small dude was named Melvin Crehzydriem. He was one of his avid customers, this Melvin fellow. He already ordered him a Gemma and Blaze blow-up dolls, and his latest order was a Polaris blow up doll, bondage edition. He wanted to get a Zacke blow-up doll, but Hadrian declined since he didn't do guys and didn't know him at the time.

"AHHH!! IT'S MR. D'ARCELL!" Melvin screamed from his post. "THANK YOU FOR THE BLOW-UP DOLLS YOU SOLD ME!" He toned down. "The Blaze was a little deformed, but the Gemma one was perfect! I couldn't sleep without them now." He wiped his bloody nose with his shirt. "Too bad you didn't do guys, huh?! I would've wanted a Jax Ridean one this time since I already have a piece of Zacke in me!"

Hadrian laughed. "I don't know what you're...talking abou---"

Melvin ran towards him and Deo and whispered. "I already invested 100 gils in advanced for the Polaris one!"

"Oh? Thanks for the business!" Hadrian proudly said, scratching the back of his head.

[vanesse]

Vanesse got out of the restroom looking better. It was probably psychosomatic, but she couldn't help it. She had the worst luck to drink some of that "fishie poo infested fountain."

"Thank you for waiting, Jaime," she said, feeling a little embarassed with the emergency scene a while back. Her gaze wondered over to table the SeeDs were sitting a while back. It looked like different people were sitting there now--different people as in Rayden, Jax, and Gemma.

Which reminds me... She never finished her food and just left it at the table. Maybe someone already ate it.

She took a deep breath, staring at their three SeeD-teammates eating happily. Rayden looked exceptionally happy.

"Jaime..." Vanesse started. "Do you want to go back and finish our food at the table?" She grinned slightly. "I'm still...kind of hungry...and I didn't finish...the food...when...you know...."

/That's because you're such a drama queen./ Paridge yawned.

I'm not, she replied sternly.

"Did someone eat our lunch?! We're still not done with them!" Vanesse hollered at Jax, Gemma, and Rayden, dragging Jaime with her to the table. Fortunately, their food was still sitting there. They were kind enough to watch over it. She sat on her usual seat and munched on her plate. "So..." She swallowed. "What are you guys talking about?"

Vanesse had confirmed it. Rain or shine, she loved to socialize.

[Reese]

"So before this nosy parker leaves the two of you alone, is there anything you would like me to do for you, courageous one? Anything at all, as long as it's within my abilities."

Reese's immediate reaction was to turn her down. What could he rightfully ask of her? He had no place asking anyone for favors right now. He opened his mouth to thank her and politely decline, but the words caught in his throat before he said them.

He did have something to ask of her.

As annoying as she was, he didn't feel right without his little Guardian bouncing around in his head. And remembering who she'd been with last, he felt a deep and urgent concern for her. There was no telling what she'd been through. Waverly... Those thoughts fanned his flame of hatred for the woman. If Waverly was imprisoned, they likely had already taken Perish from her. Still... Perish is feisty, but she's so small...

Obnoxious little Perish had always been with him, thick and thin. When he joined DotNA, when he abandoned DotNA--all the changes he had endured, and she was always loyal. He found that he desperately wanted that small piece of familiarity and companionship back; he wanted her back. But there was no way they were going to give him his Guardian back. Not right now--maybe not ever. A sinking feeling dropped through his chest.

His gaze lifted to Jun. "Can you take care of Perish for me?"

[stardust]

EDIT: DKLHFA;L! Didn't see the post x.x Another episode of stupid turtle poster Ric--Stardust! XD

Stardust: STOP BLAMING OTHER PEOPLE!!
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Stardust listened silently, her frown getting deeper at the gruesome things DoTNA had been doing to their members. To Reese. It all added up; however, at the back of her mind, a persistent thought kept nagging. He had only been with them no longer than a week, but why would he feel the need to betray his organization. Was it pity?

The same could be said for her. Why would she trust Reese this much? Was it because he didn't hesitate to save her life knowing she was an enemy? Now that she had thought about it, she had been owing her life over and over again to this person. But what exactly had she done for him?

"So before this nosy parker leaves the two of you alone, is there anything you would like me to do for you, courageous one? Anything at all, as long as it's within my abilities." Jun said, flashing an assured smile at Reese.

His gaze lifted to Jun. "Can you take care of Perish for me?"

Perish? She remembered her. What happened to her?

"Perish, you say?" Stardust stood up in level of Jun. "Count me in," she told her, coming to her side. Like Jun, she was going to back Reese up as well. "I've decided. We won't let Garden treat you the same way they do with DoTNAs," she stated. "What happened to Perish? "

/Now, all he needs is a third one and you can call him Charlie./ Diwata added.

[ST]

AHAH Diwata XD


ebil ST time >D *rubs hands together*

---

Stardust stood and came up beside Jun, firmly announcing her support. A slight smile twitched its way across Reese's lips when he heard her declare that she wouldn't let them treat him like the rest of the DotNA members.

"What happened to her?"

Reese opened his mouth to speak, but the words died in his throat when he heard the sound of a man's voice just outside the cubicle.

"This one?"

"Yes sir," Kadowaki replied.

Two men wearing dark SeeD uniforms came into the room, both wearing the badge on their breast that signified that they were representative of the B-Garden Board of Defense.

"Excuse us, ladies," the first man said, brushing past Jun and Stardust and coming to Reese's bedside. His partner followed. "You're coherent. Good." The man cleared his throat. "Reese Amaerick, DotNA Operative Rank 4. You will be taking part in an interview this afternoon regarding your involvement in Mission Trinity." He spoke in a very distant and official tone. "For the time being, do not speak unless spoken to. Please save any and all confessions or explanations for the interview. We are merely escorts--we are not handling your case and have no business knowing details."

The second man stepped up and brandished a bundle of white clothing and a black bowler he held in his arms. "The clothes you were discovered in were not reasonably salvageable. You may wear these scrubs until you find something more suited to your tastes. The hat is yours."

Reese was already mutely complying to their wishes. He moved aside the sheets and slipped from the hospital bed.

"Ladies," One of the men turned to Stardust and Jun. "With all due respect, there must be no further communication between either of you and Mr. Amaerick. Not until Leonhart or Dincht give the go-ahead. This man is in Board of Defense custody now."

As he said this to the girls, his partner was fitting Reese into a pair of handcuffs. "We will stop at the infirmary restroom first, where we will remove these in order for you to change. Be aware that everything must be supervised."

Reese stared at the ground.

"Ms. Infinity, Ms. Kuroki," the first man gave them a curt nod each, before brushing past them and leaving the room. His partner followed, ushering Reese along from behind.

Reese's eyes locked with Stardust's for a brief moment before he was guided through the threshold and out of sight.

---

Note: They mentioned Zell because I just made him Head of the Board of Defense. I hope nobody minds haha. Just so ya know.

[junkuroki]

Jun's gaze followed Reese as he was being escorted by the SeeD officials. She knew they would take him for interrogation sooner or later, and she was glad she got to talk to him before he had been taken away.

"Don't worry." She said, turning back to look at Stardust. "They won't use abuse to coerce a confession out of him. Our leaders have always been fair. Unlike Dotna..." She paused. Was she being too presumptious in trying to comfort Stardust? But maybe she was trying to convince herself too.

There's nothing we can do with regards to the interview...unless they call upon us for witness accounts or something. She glanced at the creased bedcovers, still deep in thought. I just hope they wouldn't intimidate him so much that he can't give a proper account of what happened.

"Let's concentrate on...finding Perish for him." She spoke up again, breaking the contemplative silence that had settled between them. "I have no freakin' idea where to start though. Any ideas?"

[Diego Stanton]

"Umm, are you okay?" Lawric asked Deo, looking concerned. "You look sick."

"huh... oh y-yeah." Deo replied, looking absolutely bewildered. He didn't know what else to say to his friend. Lawric, as well as Jaime and Vanesse knew that Deo used to have a kid sister who had been killed by a malboro but he rarely mentioned her so none of them knew her name. Come to think of it, his friends didn't really know anything about his past. They didn't know that his last name used to be Sanaku too. Briefly, he wondered why Blaze had kept it when she left home. Maybe if she didn't he wouldn't be in this mess.

When Melvin ran towards Deo and whispered. "I already invested 100 gils in advanced for the Polaris one!" Deo grabbed him roughly by the collar and dragged him out of hearing range from the others.

"hey.. hey! Calm down, there's plenty of regular non-bondage Polaris ones you can have!" Melvin gagged, trying to stop himself from choking.

"Did you say that Blaze's last name is Sanaku?" Deo demanded, ignoring Melvin. Melvin grew wide-eyed with fear and began trembling and lolling his head as if he was having a seizure. Apparently Deo wasn't on his list of people to worship and therefore physical harm and threats seemed to be working.

"y...yes!" he squeaked, attempting to escape by blending into a nearby shadow. Deo's grip was too strong though.

"How old is she? How long has she been at this Garden?" he shook Melvin.

"Nineteen--- since she was eleve-- waaaaaait a second." Melvin abruptly stopped seizuring and began bouncing from one foot to the other. "I know what this is about!"

Deo felt dread washing over him again. Melvin knew?? How could he possibly-

"YOU want to take Miss Sanaku to the seeD ball!!!!" he shrilled.

Instead of feeling relieved, Deo's dread intensified. "What?! No.. No I-"

"BLAAAAAAAZEEEEEE!" Melvin shrieked, ripping himself from Deo and running over to her, "this man wants to take you to the seeD ball!!"

Deo rushed after Melvin, trying to stop him but it was too late. His face started to flush as he realized that Zacke, Lawric, Hadrian and Blaze had all heard. This was so wrong.

"No.. No I really don't.. I mean I REALLY don't. It's gross even thinking about it-" Deo said, still looking bewildered.

"Are you saying you find me gross!?!" Blaze snapped.

"No! N-Not at all.. I just, I really don't want to take you to the ball." Deo finished lamely.

[Blaze Sanaku]

LMFAO "i have accidents too XDXD" omg Lex you're so right. I can only look foward to the freaks of the future they'll get to encounter HAHA

---

BLOW UP DOLLS?!?!?!? was all Blaze was thinking while Lawric was curing Zacke's butt. She watched while Deo dragged Melvin away and was mildly impressed by the way Deo was choking and shaking him and causing him to foam at the mouth and tremble. She couldn't hear what they were saying though. A moment later, Melvin hopped his way back to her with news she had not been expecting.

Deo wanted to take her to the ball?!?! No, he looked serious when he said he really didn't want to. What the heck had they been talking about over there?

"Good, because I would have said no!" Blaze retorted to Deo, then merely ignored him and began shouting at Melvin instead.

"YOU NASTY PERVERT! YOU HAVE A BLOW UP DOLL OF ME?!?" she shot toward him and aimed a well directed kick at Melvin's crotch. She smirked, waiting to watch her work unfold. Her face froze when she noticed that the disturbing smile had not been wiped off of Melvin's face. In fact, he seemed to be totally unaffected by the kick. Blaze recoiled in horror. This thing was not normal.

Pretending that she had not been disturbed by this incident, Blaze then whipped around to deal with Hadrian. The moment he had come into view, all the flashbacks of Killer and how the dead fish had come to life and attacked her came flooding into her mind.

"And YOU! DON'T YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY TO ME?!" Blaze barked, pointing a finger at Hadrian.

[Hadrian D'arcell]

OMG her memories of Killer XD BLaze cracks me up so hard XD Awww, blood will not flow?? j/k
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Hadrian stared at Deo when Melvin announced that he wanted to take Blaze out to the ball. His face lit up. He was right. He knew Deo had a secret crush on Blaze. He would never mistake the expression Deo had on earlier. He could deny it all he wants, but that was love. He was an expert when it came to that. He almost chuckled at the thought. This was so ridiculous it was amusing. He gazed at Blaze who was busy screaming at Melvin with the blow up dolls. Maybe Deo wanted a Blaze blow-up doll too. If so, business will thrive.

I should go and talk to Deo. He started to discreetly walk over Deo when...

"And YOU!" Hadrian stopped. "DON'T YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY TO ME?!" Blaze barked, pointing a finger at him.

Huh? Hadrian gave her a blank look. What was she talking about? And then it hit him. The blow up doll, huh? He realized that even blood-thirsty maniac like Blaze still felt embarrassed of the thought that guys fantasize about her. Nah, that wasn't it. That was a sign of flattery. She wouldn't get mad at him for that.

He remembered Deo, and his blank face turned indignant.

"Oh...Damn right, I do." He faced her. "Listen here, patootie. You're too cold to Deo. Is that how you treat someone who's in love with you?" He wanted to puke at the things he was saying, but there was a chance Deo would want to do business with him if he helped. "You should be happy someone even asked you to the Ball. You'll probably tear your date sooner than you can tear your dress to pieces!" He pointed to Deo. "Undertand a man's heart, why don't you?" he ended, sounding exaggerated through his acting.

Blaze in a stunning dress? He couldn't even imagine.

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KILLER?! REMEMBER KILLER YOU STUPID HACKER X.XXXXXX

[Diego Stanton]

ROTFLMAO this is like a day time soap opera *sings!!*

---

Things were going from bad to worse for Deo.

"You should be happy someone even asked you to the Ball!" Hadrian was rambling on dramatically.

"I DIDN'T ASK HER TO THE BALL!" Deo roared at the same time Blaze shrieked, "HE DIDN'T ASK ME!"

Deo had no idea why the hacker guy was so intent on them going together. When did Hadrian become such a romantic sap? There was only one way to solve what Deo had gotten into- fast thinking.

"Don't try to turn the tables on me, Hadrian," Deo said haughtily. He turned to Blaze with what he hopes was an apologetic look on his face. "Hadrian wanted me to find out more about you so he could ask you to the ball. Since Melvin seemed to know so much about you, I pulled him aside and tried to see if you'd be interested in going with Hadrian. Melvin got the wrong idea and thought it was ME trying to ask you. haha! What an idiotic kid.

And now things have gotten all messed up and Hadrian's all embarassed at how wrong things went, so I have no choice but to reveal everything. So Hadrian... why don't you just get it over with and ask her formally instead of making me be your lapdog and try to nab you the date?"

Deo smirked victoriously. His IQ wasn't 145 for nothing.

[Zacke]

"So Hadrian... why don't you just get it over with and ask her formally instead of making me be your lapdog and try to nab you the date?"

Zacke cocked an eyebrow, looking from Deo to Hadrian, and finally to Blaze. It probably doesn't matter who's asking her, he thought. The unlucky guy was bound to get shot down. It was hard enough imagining Blaze clawless and in a dress. Imagining her with a date? Damn near impossible.

I should probably go change my pants...

"Hey, thanks again." Zacke nodded at Lawric, before turning for the dorms.

[Lawric]

"No problem," Lawric mumbled distractedly, finding it hard to tear his attention away from the altercation Deo had currently gotten himself into with Hadrian and Blaze. Whoever this chick was, Deo did NOT want to go with her. Lawric didn't miss the look on Hadrian's face though, either--which said that he didn't necessarily want to go with her either, and the two of them were having some sort of battle of wits over who was going to get pinned... ?

All this talk of dates for the dance got him thinking about who he was going to attend with. He didn't have to think much before he came to a very obvious conclusion. Deo and he, Jaime and Van... They could make things way easy for themselves and just pair up.

Just then, an idea landed on his head like a big rock. For a second he considered staying out of things. But then he remembered how Hadrian had swiped off a piece of his chocolate cake, and Lawric decided that when it came to this guy, he didn't really mind returning the favor of being a nuisance.

He cleared his throat, stepping forward and deftly sliding into the conversation. "Deo, don't you already have a date anyway?"

Deo was smart. He'd catch on.

[Hadrian D'arcell]

HAHAH hours later, I'm still laughing XD Serves you right Hadrian for stealing cakes!
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Blinking several times, Hadrian couldn't believe what he was hearing from Deo. The idea of dating a girl who liked to have fresh meat on her mouth, that was his impression of her anyway, never even touched his mind. Sure, Blaze was kind of amusing sometimes, but didn't "Deo" want to ask her for the ball?

Just then, Lawric started to barge into the conversation and said, "Deo, don't you already have a date anyway?"

Another bizarre look colored his face once again. Hadrian was genuinely confused now. He should be the one confusing people, not the other way around. What the heck was that look on Deo's face a while ago then? If it wasn't love then what was it? It was kind of hard to ignore it now that it got him curious. Especially if it was about this guy whom he knew nothing about except for the fact that he loved to sleep. Something fishy was going on here.

Fishy.

The crowd was slowly dispersing now. He noticed that Melvin was attentively watching the scene and had cupped his hands around his mouth like something scandalous was happening.

Hadrian smirked. He knew Deo would want to see his flustered face for being misunderstood. Well, he wouldn't give him that pleasure. Besides, he found something more interesting than the blow-up doll business here.

/Caution: Corpora Quadrigemina detects an irrelevance in your behaviour pattern./ He heard CQ announce. /Such behavior might prove hazardous to your health. I repeat--/

Thanks, I love you too, he shut her up.

"Haha..." Hadrian laughed, looking a bit embarassed. "You got me, Deo. How did you know I wanted to ask her out?" He smiled at Blaze and quirked his eyebrows.

"OMH! Does this mean---?" Melvin pointed to them.

"Yeah, you heard me, Balamb Garden!" Hadrian shouted at the crowd. Blaze definitely didn't want anything to do with him, but he would make her ride with him. "I'm crazy about Blaze Sanaku here! She's crazy about me too, so crazy she wants to rip me apart!" He looked at her. She would hurt him. He knew it was coming. "Damn she's hot and blazing right now!" He continued, shooting a glance at the guys. "And I'm asking her to the Ball btw. I'm HER date so stay away from her, you wolves!" He grabbed Blaze's wrists and dragged her as far as he could from the crowd.

Once they were in a less crowded hallway, he said, "Now, everyone knows you're going with me." He turned to Blaze. "Wait, don't hurt me just yet. If you go with me, I'll buy you anything you want and get you a new gold fish." Apparently, he just had to blurt those out instinctively since he was sensing some murderous intent around him. If he didn't, he would have never said those terms. His self-preservation was still running strong. "And...I'll tell you something good." He pointed out, his eyes smiled.

Inside, he wondered, would he really be able to find something good out of this?

What the hell, I might as well kill some time playing Sherlock.... Thanks to Carmi and the Opps girls, he couldn't boycott the ball anymore.


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Ewww what a long post x.x hahaha XD Oh yeah, and OMH = OMG as in Oh My Hyne LOL XD

[stardust]

I feel sorry for Reese DKLHFA;HA
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Reese was still in no condition to walk around yet. They were pushing him to his limits. Stardust was ready to appeal to the SeeD officials when Jun verbally restrained her. Just then, she realized Jun was right. There was no need to go off the bat now. The commotion would just harm Reese more than it should.

She grunted, looking at Jun.

"Let's concentrate on...finding Perish for him." Stardust watched Reese get ushered out of the infirmary. She clicked her tongue in annoyance. "I have no freakin' idea where to start though. Any ideas?"

"The DoTNAs that are being held down the basement," Stardust responded. "We can start with them."

/Oh? And do you think you are authorized to see them?/ her GF piped in.

"We're the ones who caught those lowlifes. We should be able to see them." Stardust grumbled. "And if we still can't," her voice lowered. "....we'll just have to sneak during the Ball."