Setting up Shop (Shade, others PM for entry.)

Shade Leonhart. Few people realized she was an Overseer for Balamb Garden.


What this meant, basically, is, if anyone had a problem, Shade had to hear about it. THIS one, however, would be one she'd WANT to hear about.

One of the security officials entered her modest office, with a cell phone open.

"Um, Miss Leonhart? You're needed at the front gate. There's a Mister..."

Looking down at the phone, presumably reading a note he'd written, he continued.

"...Simon Crowley here to see you?"


-------------------------------

Simon, still held up at the front gate of Balamb Garden, was VERY livid. He wasn't the type to scream, or draw attention. No, Simon was the scary kind of angry.

His SeeD Pass lay on the counter of the security desk, which he leaned on with his right arm. He'd grabbed an executive toy off the security desk, and had proceeded to twist the metal frame of it with his mechanical right hand.

"Listen, buddy. I don't want any trouble here. And, I'm sure, since you're unarmed, you don't want any, either. So, how about you just open the gate for me, and we forget this ever happened?"

The security officer at the desk shook, slightly. Who the heck was this guy? Why was he trying to scare him? Why hadn't he transferred to Trabia when he had the chance?

"I-i'm sorry, sir, but, your pass isn't valid. I can't let you-"

He fell silent as Simon crushed the mahogany base of the toy in his hand.

"Alright, I'll go through this again. I'm here on very, VERY important business. You keep me out of here, and people will DIE."

At that, the security guard pulled a shotgun out from under the desk, and leveled it at Simon. ...With a smirk, Simon called the Deling Jackhammer to him, the machine taking the place of his forearm. Leveling it at the guard, he smiled.

"My boomstick is bigger."

Much to Simon's disgust, the guard fainted. Chuckling, briefly, to himself, Simon moved behind the desk, to open the gate. ...Only to find he really DID need a valid card. Lifting the guard back onto his chair, Simon waited out front. SURELY, someone had alerted someone by now.

Shade had only arrived into Balamb Garden an hour before, and already swamped with issues on her desk. Once again, she was simply assumed to handle the affairs since the previous Headmasters up and abandoned their positions once they discovered there was true work involved with the title..... But Shade never wanted this. She wasn't even supposed to be here... but she wasn't about to abandon what she deemed a "dimension" of her homeworld. She would simply keep this one safe from what happened in her own until she found a way to return to where she belonged.


She was already in the middle of a conference call with the other Gardens' Headmasters when the SeeD cadet entered and began to speak. She held up her hand to pause him, but apparently he felt his report was important enough to interrupt her business and proceed.
"...Simon Crowley here to see you?"


Her mind froze up. A name she hadn't heard for nigh two years now..... from her own world, her own time.... Without a word to the other Headmaster's on the computer screen, Shade flew out of her chair and ran for the elevator with her brain now racing with questions.


By the time she reached the first floor and ran to the main entrance, the first thing she heard was, "Alright, I'll go through this again. I'm here on very, VERY important business. You keep me out of here, and people will DIE." Now with everything Shade had endured within these realms for the past two years? Shade didn't care if the individual looked or sounded like Simon Crowley.... No one threatened a SeeD. No one threatened anyone under her care, period. Her own Gryphon weapon strapped at her hip was now attached onto her right arm with the prod mechanism now charging her loading arrows with a faint turbo sound.


When she came directly behind Simon, she pressed the pointed tip right up against the back of neck with her steel hues narrowed and her voice spoke with words laced with a calm, yet threatening tone. "It's not the size that matters, falla. Wanna see what my boomstick can do?" With a twitch of her index fingers, the 5 arrows loaded into their prod slots with a resound slam to echo into his ears. "Now.... before you even think about moving, I suggest you give me some solid proof to your identity, before I haul off and press charges on you for threatening one of my SeeDs."

Now, when he felt the object pressed against his back, Simon's first instinct was to wheel around and club the assailant with the Deling Jackhammer, before blowing a bowl of spaghetti in their head.

However, then he heard his attacker speak. ...And he smiled. Typical Shade, this.

Now, he'd expected this to be a fair bit harder. Simon had, upon finding his way out of the world he'd landed in, expected to spend years searching for even one of his friends, assuming they were even alive, and in the same continuum as him. To find Shade, this quick... He was pleasantly surprised.

And, if he needed any other indication, hearing her weapon prime was enough for him. He'd tweaked the Gryphon enough over the years to know it's every facet. ...Which was enough for him.

"You need to take better care of that thing, Shade, as well-engineered as it is. There's a slight grind in the loading mechanism; what've you been doing, blocking sword blows with it?"

In a rather joking manner (being convinced that Shade wouldn't kill him. HURT him, maybe...), Simon raised his shotgun arm into the air. His other arm was busy. His hand pulled a small cigarillo from one of his pockets. Sticking the ivory plastic tip in his mouth, he then withdrew a lighter. He didn't even have to light it for the strong smell of cloves to begin permeating the air around them.

"Nice to know I'm not alone, even given the odd circs." Simon said after taking a long drag from the cigarillo, smoke rolling from his mouth as he spoke.

Hearing the comments in regards to her weapon, Shade eased a bit. There wasn't a soul within these realms that knew of it's mechanics save for herself, and his claim was true. The faint grind when it loaded proved it did indeed need some minor adjustments since her last battle with it. Then when he lit that foul smelling thing, Shade's eyes rolled, yet she was certain now he was indeed the real Simon Crowley.


Lowering her weapon, Shade slowly walked around him to face her old comrade again. Although they never fought side by side, Simon was a still a key player for those who were on the field with his creations.


Shade revealed her initial surprise to see him, as well as hope for another as she spoke. "Was there another portal made? How long have you been here?"


She motioned for him to follow her, so they could talk more somewhere more private, since the truth of their existence was never known in this Balamb's realm. So she kept her voice hushed as she continued her questions. "And what of Vex? Tell me you have word of him..."

"Heh. Truth be told, I leapt through just after you all did. I imagine I pissed a fair few people off, but..."

Clove and tobacco smoke continued to stream from the cigarillo tip. The Deling Jackhammer dropped from his arm, as his regular hand appeared, slotting itself back into place. ...He hesitated telling her what he just did. He'd probably get smacked with that damn crossbow of hers for his trouble, but, he knew better than to lie to her.

"Knowing what you'll no doubt be doing... ...How could I not be expected to follow?"

The Fringe. Their mission had been to go back in time, and stop that disaster before it started. Each of the ones originally sent had their own personal reasons for doing this. ...Simon simply took it far, far more personally than any of them did. They all, more or less, had their sanity, and in one piece, no less.

Simon was still sane, yes, but it wouldn't be far off to describe him as more than a little cracked.

The young raven-haired man let himself be lead aside. Made sense enough. People in this time wouldn't, COULDN'T know why they were here; it'd cause a panic. He, though, only expressed mild shock, after learning of Vex having not shown up.

"I'm not surprised we were scattered. We lost containment on the gateway; I'm somewhat amazed we're even alive."

Of course Simon would know the particulars; he'd helped build the device that got the five of them here. A machine built with the Sorceress Power. ...He'd initially been against it; at best, the remnants of Time Compression would cause those sent back to be killed. At worst, it'd start Time Compression all over again. With it being their only shot, though, he'd agreed, knowing the world didn't have a whole lot left to lose, anyway. ...You'd be hard=pressed to find anyone who was more stunned than he that this saving throw of theirs had worked. Even if they were scattered. That scattering in mind, however, he theorized.

"If I had to guess, though, he's probably lost in one of the less-developed worlds; I wound up in a place still in the dark ages."

He'd been somewhat concerned about his friends and allies. But, when one is so consumed with thoughts of revenge as he, it messes with one's priorities. ...See what I mean by cracked?

Of course, now that he had at least one confirmed survivor, he had to start some recon. What stage was this world in? Were there any signs of impending invasion? That sort of thing.

"We'll find him in good time, I'm sure. What've you been able to find out? All I've succeeded in learning is that this 'multi-verse' is a total game-changer, in terms of our task."

Raven had been staying in Balamb for a while now, trying to learn more about his real home world and trying to find more of his past out at the same time. He had been working side by side with Shade over the past few weeks to try and uncover what this "Fringe" really is and why they had attacked. They hadn't really found much out, but that left him time to continue training with the SeeD academy. He had just gotten done with his morning training session when he walked past the front gate. Boy was he surprised to see Shade standing there with her gryphon pointed to the back of a man's head.

Raven rolled his eyes and walked over to them. By the time he reached them, Shade had relaxed a bit and was in a conversation with the man. As he closed in closer, he realized he was smelling something... off. It hit him in a wave of smoke. He was smelling clover scented smoke. The thought stopped him in his tracks. Who the hell smokes clover cigarilloes? Raven kept his mouth shut as he approached them and listened to what they were saying. From the conversation that he did hear, he assumed this man was from their dimension.

Raven looked to Shade with one eye raised and said, "Who's your friend shade? Raven looked the scrawny man up and down. He didn't seem like much of a fighter. Especially since he had a prostetic. Another look at that arm, though, reveal that Raven was wrong about this particular one. The arm look heavily modified to the point where it could probably crush a pipe easily.

Shade glanced back to Shade. She appeared rather annoyed by this guy. This might turn out uglier than Raven initiall thought...

He jumped in.... right after the team? Shade thought back and instantly remembered the explosion that erupted within the lab just her team was about to head off. No doubt that resulted in destabilizing the portal and causing disturbance rifts. It was what she assumed led to everyone getting split up, rather than arriving at their appointed destination all together. And Simon would've naturally been there, helping with the program to the very end. She simply continued walking and nodded in deep thought to his words, until the mention of Vex came up again.


She stopped their walk for a moment and faced him with question. "Before we talk about issues here, I need to know just how much time has passed for you since you entered the portal. Perhaps that would give us some clue as to where Vex may have wound up." She held up her hand with a stern look before he answered. "English Simon, I'm serious. Jayda's been without her twin brother for two years now. It's slowly killing her. So give me a straight forward answer that I can work with,"


And wouldn't you know it, when the topic of a brother came up, her own happened to appear out of nowhere...


Shade turned to naturally nod in greeting at Raven, knowing that curiosity of his was more so "can I kick his ass?", rather than a simple inquiry by the way she saw his gaze scan Simon over. Just as she was about to make the introductions, her words choked in her throat as her brain screamed for her to stop and think ahead. Knowing Simon, he was going to be in for quite a shock; one she didn't want the general population around them to hear.


Looking back and forth at the two of them, Shade made a swift decision. "I suggest we take this to my office, gentlemen. There's far too much to discuss that shouldn't be overheard by the students running around." Without waiting for an answer, Shade led the way to the elevator for them to take to the top floor. Once there, Shade entered and went straight for small liquor table to set out a few bottles of stiff drinks and some glasses.


She turned while pouring the first drink, which she intended for Simon, because she expected her following words would lead her old friend to dive for it. "Raven, this here is Simon Cowley..." She patted Simon's shoulder in a friendly manner as she continued. "He too is from our time in Balamb. We worked together via some missions, but Simon is more or less in the technical program of things that we used on the field."


Then she handed Simon the drink, and wisely got out of the way as stepped next to Raven to pat him on the shoulder as well with her usual straight forward expression. "Simon Crowley... meet Raven. ....My older brother." She raised her arm to give her hand a dismissive wave at his glass. "Proceed to drink."

It was at this point Simon fell out of his chair.

...No, really. Simon's something of an animated man. Had he been standing at the time, he'd've staggered back a step. Being in a chair, though, caused this move to send him to the floor.

As if he'd not had enough revelations.


"Alright, hold on. ...So, first off, your parents had a son they never mentioned, and never had even the most basic records kept for."

That much, at least, was true. Simon had done background on all potential candidates for the timetravel mission; he knew almost everything there was to know, now, about his friends. ...And Shade, if she did have a brother, had one that lacked even birth and death certificates. Which simply made no sense. Records were still kept.

...Of course, that didn't matter. Simon had to get things settled. Getting back into his chair, he started again.

"Alright. From my perception, Shade, I've been here, at most, a week, assuming time flows at the same rate between worlds. And I've seen some strange things."

He picked up the small glass of dark amber fluid. Pulling the clove smokable from his mouth, he took the entire drink in one swig. ...When things get fscked up, they get fscked up royally, it seems.

"The world I ended up on has a series of Crystals that serve to PROTECT the world. They've never even heard of the Lunar Cry."

Just saying the words was enough to make him shiver. The Lunar Cry. A mass exodus of monsters, from the moon to the earth, causing sheer destruction. ...It'd been one of his ideas, actually, to use the gardens to save humanity, and let the Lunar Cry put an end to the Fringe. Monsters never seemed to go near the Gardens.

So, he'd been as surprised as anyone in his world, to learn of a Crystal being a positive force. He'd seen, however, how protective the people got, so, at least, it must be worth guarding.

"Or,for that matter, they've not heard of ANYTHING from our world, for all that there seems to be some form of inter-diensional mass transit."


Of course, he knew what was on Shade's mind, and jumped straight to that.

"If I had to guess, Vex is in a world similar to the one I ended up in, if not the same world. And, if he's not there, he soon will be. ...Now, you wanna explain your sudden sibling?"

Raven kept quiet when Shade led them to her office. He didn't quite know what they were talking about but figured out it had something to do with their home dimension. Raven didn't know much about it, but he had some experience from diving through the time rifts across Garden. Heck that was the only time he ever actually saw his real dad. But none of that mattered right now. What mattered now was that he was learning a lot about the place from the two he was with. So he kept his mouth shut.

When Shade introduced him as her brother, though, Raven's eyes flickered with frustration for just a moment. Apparently they were in the business of telling people their secret. Raven quickly covered it up with a fake smile and a handshake. But then Simon made a comment about records and Raven's smile faded. "My parents were told I was stillborn. They replaced me with another infant and my parents buried that, thinking it was their child. The records should all have been there if you had checked. I even found them on my travels."

Simon started to talk to Shade again and Raven went back to listening. He was learning quite a bit from these conversations. Simonn asked Shade to explain Raven and he stifled a chuckle behind the man's back. He looked at Shade, waiting to hear her explanation.

Shade crossed her arms calmly and simply watched and listened to the exchange of words. Raven may have gave a forced smile when he gave his brief explanation, but Shade saw the flicker of annoyance in his eyes and his slight tension when she introduced him for who he was. Before she addressed anything else, she turned to head back to the small mini bar and spoke low for Raven to hear. "Just trust me.... I'll explain later...." She added a faint pat to his arm as she walked off to fill her own drink to relax a bit, since she was going to have to explain a whole lot. While pouring a more gentler drink, she listened to Simon and then paused when he stated his own theory about records. Without a word, or a reaction, she headed back, while setting her own glass upon the desk before facing her old friend and taking his drink out of his hand, so her other could bop him in the forhead with the palm of her hand.


"I think all this time crap has muddled your brain cells, my friend. Now think.... you weren't even born yet when it all happened, so no, you wouldn't have found any records. As for what records were left, Raven confiscated them and brought them back. Therefore, there would be nothing to find by the time you and I were born, or even old enough to know to even look for anything."


She turned and reclaimed his drink and handed it back it to him before returning for her own. "Since both of you are here, I suggest you get comfortable. There's alot to go over..." Instead of taking the seat behind the deask, she chose to remain in front of it and simply sit upon the desk and face them. After a sip of or two, she cleared her throat and got to the point of things, first looking to Raven. "You know me. I think ahead. If I hadn't of told Simon now, believe me, he would have sniffed out something within 10 minutes in your company. Especially if he caught the slightest glimpse of your weapon. And when Simon's suspicious? He's like a damn blood hound. Then he'd ask questions everywhere and lead more to be suspicious, then you kicking his ass, which is something we don't need right now."


After another drink, her head turned to face Simon with a slight scowl to his cigarette now smelling up her office. "You're a good friend, Simon. No offence, but you know I'm right. You have a one track mind when there's something to figure out, which has led you into some trouble in the past, if I remember correctly. But there will be trouble if you let this information leak out. Understand? Good. Any further questions you have about the matter, you direct to me, or Raven here will most likely wonder how well you can fly off the roof of the Garden."


There was no hint at all of amusement in her tone, or upon her face, to ensure the fact that she was dead serious. Another drink from her glass now left it half empty as she then took a deep breath before continuing. "Now... as for the rest. I'm afraid I haven't found any suspicions of a Fringe threat in this world, which is a reliefe to be sure. But on the other hand, there's no clue as to the existance of those of importance here either. From what I've learned during my time in this realm, people seem to.... either get pulled into another time rift, or simply...disappear. Hell Simon, for all I know, this may very well be Ultimecia's own doing before she was even defeated." She bit back speaking of her encounter with the younger Squall she confronted long ago, knowing it wouldn't bode well, nor did it matter since he too disappeared just as she previously explained.


"Now, I'm also sure the passing of time runs along the same couse through all these worlds, as you concluded, Simon. And seeing you here and hearing your testimony of things only ensures the fact that Vex would endure the same wherever he may be. But I ask that when Jayda sees you, be careful in all you that you say. You know how fragile she is. Anymore loss of hope in finding her twin may very well do her in."


She finished what was left of the wine and quickly went through her thoughts over the rest Simon needed to be informed of. There was a call alert from her comunications monitor, but she simply leaned back and turned it off. "For now, I've been striving to unite all the Gardens alongside of Esther. That city's technology would prove a great benefit to the Gardens once negotiations are settled. They're already picking up on the manufacturing of more Ragnaroks, as well as developing a grand scale weapons department. Raven here seems to have stumbled upon the time rifts that were even littered all across our own dimension after the Sorceress War, so I'm devising a team to see if those can be located here, as they were in our time. So that's where things stand right now." Just as Shade spoke her last words, she slid off of the desk and made a beeline back to the wine bottle. She was going to need another two or three bottles to get through all of this....

...Simon's head was spinning.

Everything all at once. All this new information bounced around in his head. And none of it made sense. Walking calmly over to the small bar, Simon pulled a MUCH larger glass, and filled with with a very fine scotch. ...He was, quietly, impressed with Shade's taste

"Alright, so... ...What you're saying is, there's no point to us being here."


This... ...He could not accept this. He'd only come back for the hope of ending the Fringe. And, they didn't even EXIST in this universe? How was he to be of any use NOW? Stranded in some dimension where he was effectively powerless to stop the slaughter.

"In addition to that, most all of our potential allies are simply non-existent, and our only option for getting to where we need to be is to work with a bunch of crazies who wanna put you in a satellite?"

Making a sound of audible disgust, Simon fell back into his chair, and proceeded to drain about half of his glass, before taking another long drag off his cigarillo.

"Is there GOOD news?"

"No point? Are you serious?" She couldn't believe her ears, yet Shade had been apart from Simon for two whole years now, that maybe she was simply out practice dealing with one such as him. She followed him as he returned to his seat and slumped within in it as if his whole world crumbled all over again, while Shade reminded herself to keep calm when dealing with the tech wizard.


"Think for minute. Seriously think, Simon. What if Squall and the others are gone due to an unstable time rift? What if one of those rifts is what led the Fringe to appear in the first place? What if they still do arrive in this dimension as well? And your saying there's no point to us being here? Who else is going to protect this place?"


Shade struggled to hide her own personal frustration by his words. No, this may not be their home dimension, but that shouldn't matter at all. It was still a connection to it, a part of it. And he felt no loyalty for it?


What she didn't expect was Simon's outburst in regards to the "crazies". Her gaze flickered at Raven, then back to Simon, where she widened them slightly in warning. It was not a topic she confessed to Raven just yet, nor did she feel he was ready to hear about it when he had more pressing matters of his family on his mind. "I've already had negotiations with Esthar officials, Simon. Your concerns have no merit, so calm down."


Shade turned away and headed back for the desk while rubbing her eyes for a moment. "As for the good news..." She abandoned her glass all together and went for the entire bottle instead to drink directly out of it in order to mellow her nerves before she hit something. "I would think finding your friends still alive and in one piece would be considered good news, Simon. The fact that we still have a chance to make a change for the better in our dimension. We just have to figure out a way...."

Raven stood leaning against the doorframe leading out to the balcony. He watched the people walk by below as the other two conversed. Shade made a comment towards him about why she told Simon and he waved it off. It wasn't a big deal to him whether people knew or not. He would have liked a little heads up before it was thrown out there, though. Especially when it was thrown out to someone he had just met. He didn't care if Shade placed all of her trust in the man, Raven would decide one's character for himself.

Raven continued to listen to them bicker back and forth about their own time and what their plans should be. Raven knew so little about this he kept his mouth shut. Frankly, it wasn't any of his damned business. He would continue on the course he was and wait for Shade to tell him what she needed done. That's the whole point of him being there.

Thenn Simon made the comment about them not having a reason to be there and Raven turned around. Knowing Shade and all that she had done here so far, Raven prepared himself to have to lunge after her and stop her from beating this man to a bloody pulp. Of course his reflexes would be just a little slower than usual, allowing her to get a few good shots in... but it seemed that she didn't need him. She seemed to be able to control herself when around this man, no doubt coming from years of experience with him.

But then Raven's heart skipped a beat. Crazies... satellites... what the hell was he talking about? Raven turned around fully to face both of them at that time. He took a step towards Simon and said, "What the hell did you just say?" Raven heard Shade's half-hearted excuse and he turned towards her. "Shade, what the hell is he talking about? And don't feed me this 'I'm taking care of it' crap. I want the real answer or so help me I will turn Esthar Garden upside down searching for it."

Raven waited for the explanation but another question was brought up first. Whhat they could do to make this world safer. This was Raven's shot. "I can lead the team to go find the time rifts. They are somewhat unstable and some close and open up sporadiclly, but I think I can find them. The problem is, all except one rift dropped me off after the Fringe had begun their attack. That's no used to us, but what I did discover is that where they drop off are tied to two things. The first being the immediate area around you. Wherever you are is where yyou are gonna end up. It just may be in another version of our world or another time. As for the second thing, that is a little more complicated. It seemed like whatever my heart truly wanted effected when I wanted to go." Raven said the last part hesitantly, as he did not know if it was only himself that could control these rifts or not. The fact that he was a male sorcerer could have something to do with it.

Now.... Shade wanted to strangle Simon...... Even though it was random comment thrown about with no details involved, Raven caught it. Her seething glare slowly slid back to Simon, as if silently promising him they would have a personal 'conversation' about this later. For now, Shade spoke up first to keep Simon from saying anymore about the issue. While returning to the desk, this time to the other side to keep something in between herself and Simon, she replied to Raven's demand for an answer with a rather flat tone while shuffling through the paperwork as if trying to find something. "I'm not giving you an "I'll take care of it" answer, Raven, because I already did take care of it. Simon here is simply tossing paranoia around where there isn't any here."


She slapped a few files to the side of the desk and continued keeping her hands busy, as well as her own annoyance distracted. "As you leading the research team, it's a sound idea..." But then the thought came to an abrupt halt when she recalled the information in the confiscated files Raven showed her. Her hands slowed for a moment as a few issues came to mind over the matter, but she kept them to herself for the time being. If Simon were to catch wind as the real reason of Raven's disappearance from their time, the worst panic attack in history would ensue. Her gaze returned to Raven for a brief a moment and she gave him a nod. "Something we'll definitely discuss once we tend to more pressing matters first."


Damnit, now Simon had her mind heading in a direction that she didn't plan on, or want. Raven helping the research team locate what time rifts may be out there wasn't the problem. Anyone with a connection to their world could claim such a feat if their existence were in both, or more dimensions. But if Raven did have any sort of control to the rifts themselves, then suspicions might arise as to why. Thus leading to possible scenarios Shade didn't even want to think about. She needed to side track the conversation....


"Since delegations have already started amongst the Gardens and the major cities, there's not much more I can do to get the ball rolling, be it the research departments or the world defense negotiations. So I would like to try to center more attention on locating Vex. Simon, you're proof enough that he must have landed somewhere within these realms. We simply have to find out where, but we have an advantage. You recall the connection those twins have? I think you and Brix can use your personal expertise together in developing a way to find him by using her."

...Now, she had his attention.

"Wait, 'friends'? As in, plural? As in, you've found the others?"

Simon had been needing a solid dose of good news; this would do.

Now, still thinking (Simon never was very affected by alcohol...), he had to figure out what came next. Shade was right; if they were gonna do much of anything, it was best to get the whole crew back together. All together, the five of them were pretty well one of the best teams of SeeDs assembled since... ...Well, since Squall's crew, frankly. Simon wasn't called to fight often, but, he was more than able to defend himself. It was the tech he made, and how the rest used it, as well as his crazy-good recon, that made him more valuable.

...He'd caught Shade's glare. And returned it. The Esthar issue wasn't over, not by a long shot. He'd read the reports on those incidents; where Sorceresses were involved, Esthar could not be trusted. Ever. Of course, Simon had ways around them. Had them ever since they tried to take Shade the first time. If push came to shove, he could be a terror in Esthar to rival Adel. ...Sans gender ambiguity and Sorceress Power, of course.

"Raven, all you need to do is manage to draw out the power of those rifts. I can reproduce the control mechanisms we used. ...How we managed to flip into a different dimension is beyond me, at the moment, but, it will, at least, be a step in the right direction."

There wasn't much Simon couldn't do with machines, once he set his mind to it. All he needed to do was figure out what had done it in the first place. Which would be a major leap forward. FOr now, though, he needed to focus on the things he could do right now.

"Right, then, about Vex. The impression I got is that there's thirteen known worlds in this 'multiverse'. Assuming that Vex is not on an unknown world? The period of his absence, in concurrence with my arrival, would seem to suggest that he is in one of the 'Classical Worlds', as they're called. ...Of course, that doesn't help us much; it only cuts our search down by a handful of worlds. I can, likely, use Jayda to figure out where he is, but, don't get any illusions about this. We're a long ways off, just in terms of time, from finding Vex."

Already taken care of it? No, that wasn't going to fly. From what he had gathered from his research on this world, Esthar was not a very good place for people like Shade and himself. His jaw clenched in frustration. He wasn't going to leave it at that. Raven was going to figure it out on his own if he had too. He was going to have to make a trip to Esthar by himself and start digging around.

But he couldn't do that right now without making it obvious. So instead, he continued to listen to the conversation between the two. When the idea of him bringing out the timerifts came up from Simon, he stepped in. "Like I said, I can't actually draw them out. I have no clue how to make them appear or where they would appear. All I know is they appear for some reason near me sometimes. And I don't think you can control these ones at all. They seem to be extremely unstable. Heck I was almost trapped in the other world for a time because of that."

Raven walked over to where Shade was standing and leaned close to her, whispering, [i]How much are we letting him know? Because you are obviously keeping things from both of us. You know me, I don't like that one bit." He looked her in the eye to drive the point home and waited for her response.

After he got it, he walked back out onto the balcony. He laid the rifle case down on the ground and opened it up. Drawing out the long rifle, the Grievance, he placed six bullets in the revolver and checked the dope on his scope. Hey lay down with the barrel aiming off in the distance. He roamed the sight around until he found what he was looking for. He zoomed in on the SeeD shooting range. If he was going to be trapped at a meeting, he might as well work on his training. He acounted for wind, humidity, distance, and angle in his head in the time it took for Simon to explain his theory about Vex. He aimed at the target and slowed his breathing. He was timing his breathes with the beat of his heart.

Breathe in, thud thud thud.

Breathe out, thud thud [i]CRACK![i] thud

The bullet raced downward towards the open range. It struck the target just below where the heart would be. The shot would be fatal, but he had missed his mark by at least two inches. Unacceptable. Raven readjusted and fired again. This time landing the bullet maybe half an inch from where he intended. Better.

Shade slowly nodded as she listened to Simon's suggestions and opinions regarding a search for Vex while meshing her own thoughts into the mix until Raven suddenly appeared beside her with that look she knew all too well. After they spoke, he turned abruptly and charged for the balcony, leaving Shade to clench her jaw shut as her own heated glare bore into his back. Could he not give her just a few minutes to wrap things up so she could explain things further at a better time when there wasn't someone else in the room?


And he called her the impatient one....


After a brief rub to her eyes, Shade was about to broach the previous subject with Simon again when the elevator interrupted the silence with a 'bing'. Before a single step emerged from the elevator, a voice rang out that naturally caused Shade to cringe. "Hey Shadey! What's this beef about restrictions to travel expenses!?!?" Shade reluctantly directed her gaze to the source to see Brix Dincht in all her usual wild flare come sauntering out with her attention directed solely on the papers in her hands. "I got billed for a dinner and a room in Deling city when I was there on conference with that security general!!" She failed to mention it was a social call that ended in a one night stand where a meeting was NEVER scheduled in the first place. All in which Shade was well aware of.


But Shade simply crossed her arms and awaited for the next outburst to come once Brix stopped complaining about paying for her own personal affairs and noticed who else was in the office with them. When the obnoxious blond finally looked up, her stark blue eyes flew wide open and she blinked rapidly a few times before reality sunk in. The next moment consisted of those papers flying up through the air discarded and Brix charging straight for Simon with her high pitched yelling filling the room. "HOLYFUKKNUTSINABUN!! SIMON CROWLEY!?!?" Good thing he was sitting too, or she very well may have power drived him to the floor in all her overabundance of shock and excitement. Instead, Brix literally leapt up in the air to then fall directly on Simon's lap with her arm casually flung around his shoulder and appearing like she just saw him yesterday. "So!! What's the little techno-gooroo-nOOb up to, eh? Are you the search party come to fetch us back? Or did you just miss me so damn much, you just had to make your own little portal to come and see my beautiful face!!" Her flashy teeth smiled wide as she winked, while crossing her legs just to swing one back and forth and back and forth.


Meanwhile, Shade took the opportunity to slide away quietly, leaving Brix to occupy Simon's attention for a bit so she speak to Raven before his temper boiled too far for her to cool off. As she approached from behind, Shade kept silent to allow him to aim and fire off his frustrations. What led her to pause was when Shade saw herself for a mere moment in those eyes boring through the scope and on their target. She knew that sense of fierce focus and knew that self discipline for perfection for what it was. And already knowing his morals were much like her own, Shade wouldn't want her brother holding any secrets from her either. When he fired off another shot, Shade didn't even glance to see if he hit his mark. She did though, however, keep her voice calm and level in hopes he would hear the rare sincerity Shade hardly ever expressed. "Raven.... I planned on discussing the matter further with you, but not with Simon present. Although he means well, he may very well fill your ears with more exaggeration than facts. I just wanted you to get the facts from me directly before deciding on what all you should be involved in...." An eruption of Brix's laughter interrupted Shade as she glanced back to be sure Simon was still distracted. She wanted to say more... she wanted Raven to believe her.... she just.... wanted to keep him safe.

...Brix Dincht.

Oh, yes. Simon had wondered when she'd turn up.

...Now, don't get her attitude twisted. Simon had worked with Brix before. And not just on the field of battle. The girl, for all her social fixations, and apparent persona, the woman was a medical genius. She'd been the one to fix Shade's problem with the Enzymatic Guardian Force System, and, where his research needed it, Simon had called on her expertise time and again.

His own right arm was as much a testament of her medical prowess as is mechanical genius.

...That fact about her is why he was more afraid of Brix than Shade, if they were to ever come to blows. Besides a doctor, she was also a martial artist. And, doctors are the worst opponents to face. To save lives, you need to learn what can take them, as well.

She was much more than she appeared. But, that appearance is a strong one.

"Oh, come now, Brix. Did you really think I was gonna let you run off anywhere without me?"

Simon matched her grin with his own. Brix, while sweet, was less-than-sincere, at times. Not that she didn't care, but, monogamy was a word she didn't know the meaning of. She'd play this sort of game with most anyone. Most people simply gave in. Some ignored.

Simon was one of the rare few who played right back.

"What I'm wondering, though, is where all this excitement came from all of a sudden. This is a fair bit more than a 'friendly' greeting."

Simon brought up one of his hands, brushing some of her wild hair away from her face, letting his fingertips run across her skin as he did so.

Oh, yes. This was a game they'd played for years, now. Ever since he'd started to return to normal after... ...The Event. She'd always played her games with him. He decided, though, the least frustrating response was to join in. And he'd become somewhat good at it. ...However, Brix had been stepping up her game. And if this "conference" was what he thought it was, she'd become even MORE outgoing in the intervening gap of time.

...He'd either have to call her bluff, or back off.

...And Simon was, if anything, an audacious man.

"Maybe there's more here than I thought...?"

Oh, yes. This was gonna be a fun time.

Raven gave a small frowwn to Shade's explanation. It wasn't that he was getting mad or upset, he was just getting frustrated with all this tiptoeing around. Raven knew information was key to making right decisions and the fact that Shade was refusing that information because of another's incompetance drove Raven up the wall. That was part of the reason he stepped outside. He needed a way to cool off or he was going to do something drastic in there. The weird stares he kept receiving from Simon weren't helping. The man looked at him like he was studying him. Raven didn't like that one bit. That was the same stare Dr. Odine gave to him when he met him in the time rift. It sent chills down his spine and made him want to knock each and every one of his teeth down his throat.

But Raven knew he was a friend of Shade and an action like that would probably just cause more problems than he or she needed. So Raven had excused himself to cool off. He pulled out his cigar and contemplated setting it a flame. He glanced at Shade for a split second, remembering she didn't like smoking in her office and chose to just chew on it for the time being. He placed the cigar in his mouth and brought the scope back up to his face. He heard Brix's laughter come from the room as he scanned for a new target. "It seems he is distracted now... it may be the only couple of moments we'll have for a while for you to tell me, so you might as well."

Raven found his target. There was a regular guard at the front gate who decided it was a better idea to take a smoke break than to keep watch. The man was a good 700 meters away and Raven could just make out what he was smoking through his scope. Another damned cigarillo! Had this whole damned place gone mad? He checked for all the elements again and slowed his breathing.

Breathe in, thud thud thud

Breath out, thud thud crack thud.

It took a moment for the bullet to reach the target, the whole time Raven watching him through the scope. The bullet struck halfway up the cigarillo and blew it clean out of the man's hand. The man jumped in fear and dropped to the ground. Raven smirked as he lunged for his desk, trying to look like he was doing his job the whole time.

"Run off without you? Bah!" Brix stuck out her tongue and laughed. "I don't need no damn babysitter, Simon!" Brix knew that little dig would strike a cord by brushing off his insinuation as nothing more than platonic. "As for me? While you've been off traipsing about Hyne knows where, it's been one crazy ride in these parts for past two years, Simon. It's made me more aware of just how short life really is! And I'm bound determined to enjoy every damn day I got!"


After allowing him a moment of charm by moving her hair, Brix gave a sly smile before shooting off of his lap and act all nonchalant towards Shade's desk to nib through some of the scattered forms spread across the table. Hearing Simon's last words led her to bust out laughing and turn about to hoist herself up and sit upon the edge of the desk. She leaned forward, which led her already abundant chest to swell even more as a snicker escaped her. "Oh there's a LOT more to me now, sugar..." She continued chuckling as she straightened herself and so happened to shift her leather halter bra as if her chest needed readjusted. Her usual sly grin remained as she looked to her old friend again. "You have much to learn, now that you're back, Simon. But maybe I haven't decided whether to be your teacher or not..."


Ironic how the game of pride and tease immediately picked up between them in a matter of seconds, even after years without contact, or knowing if the other still existed or not. And it pretty much picked up where it left off. They never took the tension any further than words, but not for the sake of being undesirable. There seemed to be an unspoken realization between the two from the very start. If ever either one of them gave in to the taunting? The game would be over.... Now how was that any fun? "What about you, smartypants? There more to you, since I seen you last?" Her own insinuation was left to his imagination.


While out upon the balcony, Shade could care less if those two took it to a closet by this point. After she scowled in the direction of her office, her expression lightened again when turning back to Raven. She could see the irritation growing across his features as well as in his voice. Where in the hell was she to begin with an issue such as this, and with so little time the moment gave her to try? With a frustrating sigh, Shade ran her hand roughly through her obnoxious hair while struggling for words. "You already know what a risk Esthar is, Raven. You already know that's where Odine originated from. And that city is what has the most research on time rifts, as well as those who are craving to get their claws on such a power to serve their own means...." She paused for calm while allowing her gaze to drift down in the direction Raven was now aiming. "I simply can't risk them learning that you have any connection to these things."


She didn't even flinch when he fired another shot, but Shade was inwardly beaming of pride when she saw Raven hit his mark on the lazy sot's cigarette before she continued speaking in a hushed tone. "What you said earlier to Simon? About how the rifts seemed to react to what your heart truly wanted? Stars, Raven.... if they learned of that alone, those scientists would rage another war simply to get at you. I will not risk them trying to do you what they nearly did to me when I was a child."

Raven chuckled softly at Shade's explanation as he put the rifle down and turned around to face her. "You're right Shade, I do already know what they are capable of. That's the exact reason why I am shocked that you'll entertain them. You are seriously going to sit there and let them continue after what you've seen them do to others? After what they did to the both of us? I don't think you would if it wasn't for all this pollitical bull crap that makes you run around this place kissing ass all the time." Raven pulled the remaining three bullets out of the revolver. He forced the bullets back in their place along the stock of the rifle before placing the rifle back in its case. He shouldered the bag and started towards the door leading back into the office.

Before he opened the door to go inside, though, he paused. While trying to keep his voice calm, he spoke his next words with more acid than intended. "This isn't you Shade. This isn't how you get things done. I'm not going to stand by and let you be made a puppet for these monsters. I need to get a way for a bit. I need to clear my head. I'll be back when I am ready to talk about this further." With that, Raven opened the door and stepped inside with the others.

He glanced at Simon and Brix and placed a big smile on his face. Raven raised his eyebrow to Brix for a moment when he saw her leaning just a tad too forward onto the desk. Typical Brix, but Raven wondered how the lab rat would take it. He chuckled softly as he walked towards the elevator. Scratching at the stubble along his jaw he said, "I uhh... am sorry I can't stay longer but I have a busy day ahead of me. It was nice meeting you, Mr. Crowly."

He slipped into the elevator quickly and turned to Brix. "Miss Dincht, it was a pleasure as usual." Raven snuck a wink to her in just as the doors closed. And as soon as those chrome doors were shut, Raven's smile faded and he was back to him old self. He was going to go to Esthar. He was going to find the man behind all of their pain. He was going to end his life. And then maybe, just maybe all of the pain will go away.

More to him... ...Oh, she had no idea.

"Trust me, Brix. You could have a decade to pick me apart, and still not know everything about me."

This one was pretty well true. Simon, while friendly enough, simply didn't share some things. With anyone. There was quite a bit he'd had on his mind, for ages, that had gone unnoticed. Just as he'd have it. ...There was one thing, though, he was willing to reveal.

"I'd not get ahead of myself, were I you, Brix. You would be surprised what a bunch of eggheads can get up to after a few all-nighters."

...What most people don't know about science, especially the kind of magitek he specialized in, is that much of it was a waiting game. As such, he and his collaborators had to find something to occupy the time. Luckily, Cid had, at the time, had a fixation with destroying gender roles, so, the gender ratio in his lab crew was roughly 1:1. He certainly didn't have as many partners as Brix, but, in a high-stress, high-downtime job like he had, certain timekillers that would elsewise be reprehensible become acceptable. Especially when said job decimates your social life. Simon could probably match her for number of encounters, though.

Simon was, likely, not quite as skilled as Brix. But, he could definitely give her a run for her money, if it came down to it.

As Raven left, Simon got... ...An odd feeling. His smile seemed plastic.

...Something was wrong. And he recalled Raven's threat to turn Esthar upside down.

"Shade... ...Other than protectiveness of you, what grievances might Raven have with Esthar?"

Raven's words struck so incredibly painful, Shade actually couldn't breath for several moments after he abandoned her on the balcony. To purposely stab straight through her heart in such a way when her sole purpose here was to simply keep this dimension sound when she failed to do so in her own. This wasn't even her dimension to make any forms of decisions, but with those of impeccable presence being missing, what choice did Shade have? Walk away from it? Let the world fall into shambles as did her own? When she finally heard the elevator door slide closed, the pent up breath finally escaped her at such a rush, it was as if someone punched her with betrayal square in the chest. It took several moments for Shade to regain her composure after that, then she slowly made her way back inside.


She said nothing, nor looked to Brix or Simon. She left Simon's questioned unanswered. For now, she was momentarily numb and wasn't about to acknowledge anyone's presence. Instead, she entered the elevator upon it's return without word as to where she was going.


Meanwhile, Brix could sense the tension the second Raven stepped back into the office. It didn't matter if he forced a smile or a wink at her, Brix knew men. And all types as well. So much so, she could predict pretty much the future of any relationship at the start just by their unique dispositions. But she returned Raven's playful wink none the less to continue whatever ruse was going on. Before Shade ventured through, she stuck out a teasing tongue at Simon, then rolled her eyes. "Still braggin' about yourself, eh Simon?" With a playful shrug, she left the table's edge to walk around the desk "Guess you techies have to compensate somehow, don't 'cha!" Brix expected the bantering to continue until she saw Shade venture back into the office with an expression she rarely ever saw on her friend's face.. She bit her tongue to keep quiet, but then Simon spoke. As expected, Shade completely ignored them both and left the two to her office alone.


Brix took a moment to mull over the situation. True, her wild reputation and obnoxious flare proceeded her, but Brix knew the severity of Simon's question far more than he himself realized. Question was.... what all to reveal to him. With a sniff of her nose to break the silence, Brix's hands rested on her slanted hips. "Well now... that was rather rude, dont'cha think? But eh... when is Shade not rude..." Her head jerked back to Simon with brilliant blue eyes staring back at him and a beaming smile out of nowhere. "Seems like I'm assigned to fill you in! Now where to start?"

...Now, that was odd.

Shade wasn't ever really personable. But, her utter silence, combined with the expression she wore...

...Something was off. Something was definitely off. Since he could, at least, LOOK official, he'd have to get out of here, and have the security detail keep a close eye on Raven. He didn't understand the situation, but, Shade seemed to want to keep peaceful relations with Esthar. Judging by Raven's severity... ...That was the last thing he wanted.

Of course, that was for later. For now, he needed to get his bearings. And this was, definitely, not the Balamb he was used to. ...Had he pulled his earlier stunt back home, he'd probably be dead. Whereas the poor kid at the front gate looked like he could hardly hold, much less fire, the shotgun he'd been given.

"Start with home. The Gardens. Brix, what the hell happened here?"

Standing from his seat, Simon moved around and sat at the desk in the room, pulling the computer's keyboard to him.

"From what I've seen so far, Balamb, at least, is in such disarray, I'd not even LET these kids take the qualification exams. And that's with what Shade's been doing, already."

His mechanical hand ghosted over the keyboard, the rapid clatter of the keys giving away Simon's task. In a moment, he was in the Garden mainframe, and into the security cameras. He was hoping to find an example. Unfortunately, there was no such misconduct he could find, at the moment. Putting the keyboard back, after logging himself out of the system and erasing his tracks, he leaned back in the chair, and gave a disgusted sigh.

"How can a few people going missing screw things up so much?"

Brix saw those wheels spinning in Simon's head without him saying a word. Simon craved answers for just about anything, and if he knew those answers were obtainable, the guy had a driven persistence that nearly got him plowed across the face a time or two in the past. With a smirk, Brix was about to inform him the current status of the Gardens, when he abruptly took it upon himself to go snooping through Shade's computer. For the moment, Brix simply crossed her arms, which practically doubled the size of her abundant chest while rolling her bright blue hues and shaking her head. Some things just never changed.


When Simon found nothing appealing, he left the computer to sulk back in the chair, but not before Brix quickly slapped his real hand, with a resounding SMACK! and a smirk spread across her glossy lips. "You better not dare let Shade catch you do that, Simon. Things are a bit different now..." She reached over and shut off the monitors before leaning against the desk with her hip. "Seems not many we know of are around. But we've learned that this version of our world is some years before we were ever born, so mums the word on who we really are, Simon."


She pushed away from the desk and sauntered away with a heavy sway to her gait to be sure she had his full attention. When she reached the mini bar to help herself, Brix continued. "As for the Gardens.... Shade's running Balamb for now. The other two Headmasters pretty much served as puppets to whatever Esthar City wanted until Shade arrived and stepped in. Thus far, she's handling negotiations between the lot of them, and the President of Deling in order to concentrate more efforts of a proper planetary defense"

With her momentary bout of serious demeanor, Brix spun about on her heel and lifted a tumbler glass of rum high to the air with a flashy smile "CHEERS!" She guzzled the whole glass before slamming back down on the minibar. With a loud satisfying sigh, she piped up again. "What's next!!"