Anything is always unexpected....

Shade wasn't planning on a visit to Esthar city. It was far too grand in size, far too busy, and too loud for her taste of residency, or a place to visit. But there was some intel she needed from their databanks, and some useful technology she wanted to hopefully incorperate into the Gardens as well.


As she walked down one of the many grand staircases outside among the levels of the city, the foriegn sound of an airship's engine caught her attention. She was mostly familiar to the sounds of Ragnorok's of the world, and this particular ship had a higher pitch sound to it. Odd.... she was never notified about any outworld visits today, regardless if it was Balamb or any other world location.


Simply out of her protective nature, Shade quickened her pace toward the airship docks and hangers to the city to inquire about the unexpected visit.

As the Skibladner glided into the docks, Crucent grinned when she saw Shade come walking to find out if the unknown airship meant trouble or not.

Jumping down onto the docks as her crew moored her airship down she smiled and said " Hi Shade. Long time no see, How have you been?"

Looking around however she got a little surprised as this clearly wasn't the right World either. Damn. Well... perhaps her little trip would upset Shade then.

"I'd love to say this is purely a social call, but..." raising her eyebrows a little "then I'd be lying." Seeing Shades puzzled look, she gestured for the dark-haired woman to follow Crucent onto her own ship again now that the walkway was down.

Heading to a room next to her own quarters, she opened the door a little, there on the bed was a girl around 9 years old, sound asleep. Speaking quietly so as not to wake the girl, she looked at Shade again "She iis why I'm here. For some reason, this girl was spotted wandering the wild outside a town on my homeworld. She either can't or wont speak, and all she had was a note saying she would serve the Aeons well, whatever that is. I have nowhere else to turn to, can you help me? what are Aeons? do they even exist?"

The high-pitched whine didn't come from any airship, but rather Micheal's own motorcycle. He wondered just how it could be heard over the low drone of most of the common airships, but he simply assumed it stuck out because of the difference in frequency. What he was doing was riding toward what was supposed to be his next job. Someone had told him that a package would be available forn pickup if he went to Dock 23 at Esthar Airport. It took alot of scouting around to find out what that meant, and imagine his surprise when he found out it was on a completely different world. Once again, it had taken him awhie to figure out to get here to Gaia, but now that was a moot point.

He just had to find Dock 23 and get his package. He slowed down some so he could easily weave through the groups of people here and there. Eventually he found the dock he was looking for, but there was an airship docked at it. He slowed to a stop near Dock 23, killed the engine on his bike, took off his helmet, and looked around for anything that might look like a package to deliver.

Shade was indeed surprised by seeing Crucent, but none to surprised that the unannounced visit was the Elvaan woman herself. Crucent was spontanious in nature and simply did what needed to be done without having to announce or report to anyone. With just a nod in greeting, Shade followed her to the hanger to now look suspiciously at the young girl sleeping while taking in Crucent's explanation.


"Yeah, Aeons exist alright. From what research and traveling I've done, they are the versions of Guardian Forces of this world. Also known as Eidelons in other worlds. They're known as Aeons on a planet not too far from this one...."


Shade was going through her thoughts for a plan to help out the Elvaan when her attention was distracted by that familiar noise again. What she first thought was an airship as the source, now revealed itself to be a motorcycle of sorts, somewhat similair to her own hover cycle. She raised her hand a bit to motion to Crucent to pause their discussion when she watched the rider approach them, then park the bike.


What triggered Shade's suspicions was that he was obviously a foreigner to these parts and showed up right soon after Crucent. Hopefully the two incidents were connected, and Shade was about to find out. Walking toward the stranger, she spoke and thumbed her finger in Crucent's direction as she spoke to him. "Hey, you know anything about some kid being brought here and needing taken to Spira?"

Michael raised an eyebrow. What the hell was Spira? He'd never heard of it. "Can't say I do, though I doubt it has anything to do with me picking up a package at Dock 23," he commented, looking over at the strange pointy-eared woman and the little girl. "I'm assuming that she isn't that package?" He pointed at the girl. He'd never had the pleasure--misfortune, actually--of having to deliver a human package. Much less a child. Not that he hated kids, it's just that they tended to be less than friendly business partners and travelling acquaintances. He'd much rather ride alone than with a passenger anyways.

Then there was the question of the pointy-eared woman. As far as he'd seen, nobody in Midgar had that particular feature. Then again, that woman probably wasn't from anywhere near Midgar to begin with. So many questions requiring so many answers, beginning with WHY was Michael sent clear to Dock 23 to pick up a passage with no customer? It didn't make sense. He'd heard of divine intervention, sometims, but this was just plain reidiculous.

And another thing. "Spira". What, who, or where was "Spira"? Michael was pretty new to this multiverse thing. He'd only learned the name of this planet by asking around, and even then he wasn't certain he had it right. Shoot, for all he knew, THIS could be Spira, although when studying the way the woman in front of him had mentioned the place, it probably wasn't. All in all, though, it was about ten seconds before he asked "For that matter, where or what is 'Spira'?"

"I'm not the package, but I think the child might be'"

Looking at the man, Crucent couldn't help but wonder and asked "Excuse me, but how did you know there would be anything to pick up here? who sent you?"

Something very strange was apparently going on here, and Crucent was damned if she'd just let some random man come along and take the gir to wherever, even if she was quite a handful most of the time, when she was awake at least.
She wanted answers, and she *was*going to get them.

When Shade heard the stranger's replies, her expression scowled for a moment. Perhaps she jumped the gun assuming this young man was here to meet Crucent, yet his appearance and attire didn't seem to fit in within this world.

As she glanced back at the slumbering girl, Shade heard Crucent take the lead in questioning, which was no surprise from someone who had to handle the delegations of nation rulers within Vana Diel. But Crucent was right on to start questioning from the very beginning to get some answers around here.

As Shade turned back to look at both of them, her own thoughts pondered over the situation before she addressed the stranger again. "This is Dock 23, my friend. And I mentioned the world of Spira due to the lady's explanation of the child being connected to Aeons. Such summoning creatures are reknown in that particular world. Now if this girl isn't the package you're supposed to be picking up, what is your assigned package, and maybe I can locate it for you."

Michael sighed and fingered his scythe necklace--which, actually, was Faux Arme in a miniaturized state--in a bored and irritated fashion. "First off, I have no idea who either of you are," he began. "Second off, I've got no clue sa to what the package is. All I know is someone sent me a note saying to pick one up here at Dock 23." A twinkle developed in his eye as he saw an opportunity for business. "Although for a price, I can take her wherever she needs taking," he offered, seeing lots of money in his future if this deal went through. He needed it, since the rent on his apartment was running late.

Then he remembered something that he should have thought of before talking to them. He could sense magic, and right now, there was plenty emanating form the girl. He was DEFINITELY going to charge maximum rates for this, plus hazard pay and an additional babysitting fee since he was delivering a kid somwhere. However, he figured he shouldn't be too forceful with the fee, as the two women--they could hardly be called proper ladies--in front of him also had powerful magic to contend with.

Looking at Shade Crucent replied "as for delivery, where are you planning on taking her? I'd like to know a little more before we decide what to do, I mean, she may not be my responsibility as such, but she is just a little girl, I'd still like to know that she'll be safe... "

Well, this guy was awfully quick to take charge over the child....

Shade crossed her arms, but her fingers were twitchy. Apparently the stranger wasn't interested in her offer to ensure if the child was his pick-up, or if it was another package all together. "Fine... as I said, this is Dock 23. Crucent here is the only one here with a package at Dock 23, whether someone sent her here or not."

After glancing back at the child, Shade then responded to Crucent's question, "I still think Spira is where the girl needs to be delivered, if Aeons are a connection to her." Then her sight returned to their company as she backed up Crucent's concerns. "But my friend is right about the girl's well being. And since I'm temporarily in charge of what goes on around here, I too must be concerned about the girl's welfare. How can we be sure you will truly deliver the girl to Spira, rather than just dumping her off somewhere, or selling her off if she is indeed a summoner?"

Michael walked back towards his motorcycle. "Under normal circumstances, you probably couldn't," he said, grabbing his helmet. "But considering the fact that I'm probably gonna get a hefty sum from this job, I think you can trust me to get the kid from point A to point B." He sat down on the bike and held his helmet in front of him for a moment before placing it back on the handlebars. "Besides that, I used to work for Strife Deliveries. I think you've heard of them?"



He started running prices through his head. His usual price was 5,000 Gil, but this was a special case. The package in question was a person, so that boosted the price dramatically. Added up to about ten times the normal price. 50,000 Gil. Add on an extra ten or twenty thousand for the kid's magical capabilities, and you had roughly 70,000. Add about 10,000 for hazard pay, and you had 80,000. Finally, 20,000 for inter-world transportation and Michael ended up with a whopping 100,000 Gil price tag. With that much money on the line, of course Michael would do everything in his power to get her to Spira.

"Sorry, but I haven't heard of them."

Pinching the bridge of her nose Crucent grumbled inwardly. She still wasn't entirely sure about just handing the girl over to Micheal like some kind of parsel but it's not like she really had alot of other options to choose from.

"Shade, have you heard of this firm? are they reliable and safe?
Looking over at the dark-haired woman she really needed to hear her confirm it was a good and legit firm at least before she would just give him the child. Turing her light-brown eyes back to the young man and really looked at him for the first time. He seemed trust-worthy enough, capable of handling even the temper-tantrums the girl had displayed when she was awake.

" What will all of this delivery cost by the way? I assume you'll want payment first"

Damn small world.... or universe for that matter, Shade thought when she heard the name of the delivery service. She met Cloud only once, and a very long time ago, for that matter, but she knew Tifa very well to know the delivery service was a real deal. "Yeah, I know of it..." she replied to Crucent as she retrieved her PDA device from her side pocket and activated the information browser.


Upon looking up Strife deliveries, she searched through their employment archives. She couldn't be more grateful for the upgrades Kaleb installed into the device as she was now. She may not have a name to this guy yet, but there were small ID photos to each employee Cloud hired simply for security purposes for customers to know who to expect at their door, rather than some serial killer claiming they worked for him. Sure enough, this guy's pic was still there. "Michael Paladin.... he's legit."


She slapped the device off and shoved it back into her pocket while addressing the next issue at hand. "Whatever the fee, the Garden's will cove it. They handle any and every orphan coverage. But to ensure you have full payment, you'll have me tagging along to be sure this kid is placed in proper and safe hands in Spira." The terms were laid out for this Micheal. The ball was in his court now.

Michael nodded, resisting the urge to say "Toldya." Instead, he walked over to the girl to look her over. "Normally, I only charge 5,000 gil, including hazard pay. Seeing as this is a particularly special case, though, the price got boosted. To about twenty times the original." He locked his red eyes onto an amulet around the girl's neck. He picked it up and examined it without breaking the string it was on. It was shaped like a pentacle, set inside an octagram. "Standard magic circle for summoning," he muttered softly as he turned the amulet over. "Looks a little like it's been used several times before."



Michael didn't have a chance to finish his inspection, as the girl, now awake, grabbed his arm, reached her head up to it, and bit down. Hard. The scythe-wielding courier didn't scream, but he did grimace and groan, and even curse a little under his breath. After about a minute of being bitten by the kid she finally released him and shouted "Hands off my amulet!!!!" before hopping down from where she'd been laying and trying to make a run for it.



"Oh no you don't!," said Michael, catching her by the shirt collar. "You're going to Spira, whether you like it or not." He wsa getting 100,000 Gil to take this girl to Spira. Worlds be damned if he did any different.

As the young girl suddenly woke then chomped down on Michael's arm, Crucent's jaw dropped in surprise! Having already had her share of the girls biting and kicking on the trip to Balamb, she couldn't help but giggle, quickly turning it into a cough as she felt a little ashamed of herself as she remembered he was a delivery man, not a chew-toy.


She then said "a hundred thousand! seems a bit steep for just a little girl. Shade if you want i'll split the cost with you. After all, I brought her here and dumped her on you and him."

Shade's serene expression never changed by the child's outburst. She grew up with Brix Dincht of all people, who acted far worse than that, and she was an adult. So while she witnessed the poor guy get bit, then snatch the kid right back up when she tried to flee, Shade knew right then and there this guy could handle her just fine.


She was rather surprised by Crucent's offer, turning her head quickly with a raised brow. "I won't lie, Crucent, that would be a huge help. I greatly appreciate the offer."


She turned back to Michael and gave him a nod, not even trying to hold back the slight smirk at the corner of her lips as he stood there holding the fighting girl up from the ground by the back of shirt as if she were a mere fighting kitten. "Well sir, it seems we have an agreement. We're ready to depart whenever you are...."

Michael raised an eyebrow then calmly set the girl down on the back seat of his motorcycle, almost chuckling when she just crossed her arms with a huff. "I'm ready, but I'll need a guide. It took me four hours just to find the right portal last time, and I'd like to get this kid to wherever as fast as i can." It was pretty obvious he didn't want to deal with kicking and screaming and the like. He sat down on his bike and started up the engine, feeling small arms wrap around his stomach. Apparently, the kid wasn't used to motorcycles, especially ones that whined instead of roared.



"Unless you've got a different plan?" he asked before slipping his helmet on over his white hair. "I'm all ears." While he waited for a response, Michael made a mental note never to accept any inter-world jobs until he got a map telling him where the portals where. Not to mention which portals led where. It was damned confusing trying to figure it out without one.

Seeing that Michael decided to slap the kid on his bike and resume responsibility of her at the start, Shade gave a nod and turned to her side to press a finger against a small device strapped to her belt at her waist. Where she previously parked her own motorcycle, it now followed the tracking beacon to her device and hovered to her current location without a single sound of its engine.


With just a motion of her head, Shade signaled for Cru to follow and swung her leg over to put her own helmet on while handing its twin to her Elvaan passenger. When she pulled alongside Michael's bike, she pointed in the direction the would be going. "After the docks, we go through the city square.... just be careful! This city doesn't have road traffic, so we're going to be swerving around alot of pedestrians till we reach the outskirts of the city to the nearest portal." With that, she slapped the visor down and headed off to take the lead.


True to her claim, their roadway was nothing more than wide sidewalks and a few stairs here and there, but nothing their motorcycles couldn't handle. Shade kept her own in hover mode for a more smoother ride for Crucent, unknowing if her companion had ever ridden on one of these before. After several turned directions throughout the city, all was clear, leaving them with a clear pathway to the glowing portal ahead. Since all of them were connected to the multiplex, it a detour Shade didn't want to bother wasting time with. So she stopped alongside the control panel to punch in the access code in order for them to shoot straight to their destination. Once done, it was a clear path straight to Spira.


((if you wanna start a new thread in Spira from here, feel free))