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

Shade? A diplomat?

...Well, he'd never seen that coming. Shade seemed, to him, far too "direct" to be an effective diplomat. But, two years had passed, by her and Brix's account. People change. It still struck him as odd, though.


However, there were still things that bothered him. Specifically, about the Gardens.

"I understand all that, Brix. I can't scarcely believe some of it, but, if that's what is, then, that's what is. I'm still... ...I dunno, adjusting."

Standing from his chair, Simon poured himself another glass of scotch, his clove cigarillo long since forgotten, still in his metal hand.

"I mean, I nearly got myself killed within minutes of arriving in this... ...Multiverse, I guess? Because I was too slow on the uptake."

...That much was true. Simon simply figured, at first, he'd been thrown FAR too far back in time. And, when it was revealed to him what was truly going on, it never once occurred to him that the world he'd entered, originally, was different from his own.

...He'd have to be careful on this one. Sure, as Shade led him here, he'd seen your average schoolday tomfoolery. He didn't hold it against the kids. They were kids. But, the older cadets... He'd thought they ought to know better than to be goofing off.

"...I still have to remind myself this version of our world isn't in the midst of a global war. I need to get out of this militant mindset."

THAT kind of thinking didn't end well. It'd been proven, time and again. Soldiers have a hard time adapting to civilian life. Especially soldiers in truly brutal wars.

...The Fringe Invasion would certainly qualify.

Sighing heavily, he drained the glass of strong alcohol.

Simon hated not knowing things. ...And, he'd be LIVING in a state of unknowing, for a good long while.

"...Brix, how on earth did you adapt? Or, for that matter, Shade? I mean, we're all from the same place; I can't be the only one slow to adjust to peace, right?"

Brix's odd demeanor came to a settling a calm when she realized what an impact all of this seemed to have on Simon. It was rather easy to forget how such a situation was overwhelming when she had no choice to adjust and move on for the past two years and make the best of it. The only way Brix could think of to help Simon understand was to give him what run down of events she could.


She poured one more glass, but this time with some brandy, and refilled Simon's as well before leading him back to the desk with a tilt of blond curls and a wink. While sitting in one of the recycling seats, she gave a faint wave of her hand for Simon to take the one beside her. "Simon, no one said anyone of us has adjusted...." Brix's tone fell to a foreign tone of seriousness. "Fact is, we don't have a choice but to either move on or loose our sanity, but that's in no way considered adjusting...." She took a sip of her drink, rather than downing the whole glass while waiting for Simon to sit and get comfortable. "Truth is Simon, even though we were thrown in these realms two years ago? Shade just now began running things here. There were other Headmasters here at the time, and with everything that happened to us the moment we arrived.... it was like a damn roller coaster spinning out of control."


Brix lounged deep within the chair and sloppily crossed her legs as she sipped more of the drink before turning her head and meeting Simon's gaze. "Things are different now, Simon. Although there's no Fringe in this dimension, I can't say there will never be. But what there is here, is this massive connection to multiple worlds and all of the races combined. That also means every single threat those worlds have is now connected to every world within the realm...."


With a sigh, Brix was rather disgruntled that the conversation took a turn to the more pressing matters, but how else was she to get Simon to understand? "That's why this place may not look up to par to you, Simon..... there were even bigger threats we had to tend to at the time before Shade could finally settle her sites on Balamb and this world after it was abandoned by the other Headmasters."

"If the worlds are all as bizarre as the one I landed in, I think I'd rather have the Fringe, all told."

...Okay, that was an exaggeration. His tone pretty much gave away his lack of seriousness in that moment. But, just the one world he'd been to had been something of a mess.

...Wait a minute!

"That reminds me; I met Gilgamesh a while ago. He's... ...Not like the records we have on him state."

Of course, that was something he could deal with later.


Brix had certainly surprised him, here. He'd always assumed his friends to be strong beyond belief, emotionally speaking. In comparison, they'd all lost as much, or more, than him, and held up so much better. They'd, essentially, had to save him from himself, not too long ago. It was, without a doubt, the darkest time in his life. To learn they had fared no better in their own lives... ...It was both reassuring and unnerving.

"So, basically, everything we don't know is a threat. Fun. ...I suppose it's good that I came, then; odds are you'll be needing new tech."

"Simon...." Brix let out a small sigh after she took another sip of her drink and allowed her head to lazily rest against the chair to turn back toward him. "Can you honestly sit there and say ANY of us were actually adjusted back at home? Seriously?"

She gave a slight shake of her head and with a surprising chuckle while slowly pushing up to sit at the edge of the chair. "No.... none of us can really say we were adjusted Simon. We simply had no choice but to deal and move on in order to stay sane and survive. Granted.... things are far more peaceful in this realm of things than what we lived through, but..." Brix shrugged her shoulders and took another sip. Still, seeing Simon's defeated expression did dig a bit into Brix's conscience. No matter their banter back and forth through the years, he was still her friend and close comrade.

So Brix stood up again, and set her glass back on the main desk before approaching Simon and holding out her hand with her usual flirtatious grin and a wink. "Comm'on Simon. I think a walk around the joint while we talk will do you some good. No sense in sitting there like a gloomer, right?"

"You DO realize gloom can't even exist around you, right?"

That was one of Brix's better qualities. She seemd to always be able to cheer people up. Him, at least, anyway. Setting hid drink aside, and stuffing the snubbed out cigarillo in one of his many vest pockets, Simon decided to accompany her.

As they wandered the complex, it occurred to Simon that he'd not eaten in some time. So, their little tour inevitably ended in the dining court. Balamb, being more akin to a college than a standard "school", had more, higher-quality facilities than one would initially expect. A fact especially important when you consider the Gardens are not only training centers, but headquarters for the SeeD Mercenary system. As such, most everything has to be a step up. This fact was the same between this universe, and Simon's own. It did him a lot of good to be in such a familiar environment, even if it was a bit more unruly than he was accustomed to.

Simon, who had already taken his seat at a table on the quieter end of things, was already eating one of his slices of pizza when Brix came over. ...He didn't even need to look up to know he had hot dogs.

"Y'know, it just occurred to me." Simon began, speaking in between bites.

"Shade mentioned Jayda's here, too, but, I've not seen hide or hair of her since I arrived. Where's she off to now?"

Hearing Simon's words were funny enough, but it was that tone he used.... the dramatic seriousness of his voice that Brix found more comical than his earnest intent meant to express. Her burst of wild laughter filled the office, and when she sobered, Brix gave him a wink and led the way.


Naturally, they were heading for food. Along the way, Brix waved at what students called out her name while pointing out a few to Simon who took interest in his own field. Once they reached the cafeteria, they already had Brix's usual order ready to serve once they saw her in the line. Now sitting at the table with Simon, and her stomach growling like a T-rex, Brix dived into her meal with full force and without any regard to lady like manners. When she finally swallowed and took a breath, she answered about Jayda. "Yep! She's around.... mostly cares for the little ones. She has her own day care thing going on here for the faculty and what not cuz it helps distract her mind, keep her busy, ya know.... from thinking too much about Vex and all."


She took another hearty bite of her chili cover hot dog and savoring the meal before continuing. "Right now tho... after two years of total chaos, it's kinda nice settling the roots down in this joint. I mean think about it Simon... we actually get to see Balamb they way it should be, rather than what we endured growing up in back home. And I'm finally able to dive back into some old medical projects, as well as even bigger ones, now having the knowledge of all these other worlds at my fingertips!

Almost automatically, Simon slid two feet to the left, in the event that a sausage-based catastrophe were to occur. He had no desire to wear coney sauce.

"I know what you mean about new projects. I've had something brewing in the back of my mind for a while now."

The Timetunnel had taken up all his time and energy back then; he'd had to put his other projects to the side. Which was a shame, because he had many a good idea.

Weapons, Armor, Vehicles... Simon was capable of fighting, but, his TRUE skill was in his created devices. Having a chance to restart his projects would be nice. ...Speaking of...

"I need to get back in touch with Jayda. Shade seems to think I can find Vex with some invention. It's not QUITE that simple, but, if he's still using GFs, then, I should be able to find him."

Finishing the few slices he'd gotten, Simon pried the casing from the back of his hand, and, after producing a toolkit, started fiddling with the mechanical innards of his prosthetic.

"I still don't know what possessed me to use such delicate servomotors. The damn thing needs near-constant maintenance."

While still obnoxiously devouring her food, Brix watched Simon shift his position and rolled her eyes at him with a wink. After swallowing, she let out a laugh. "When DON'T you have something brewing in the back your my mind, Simon?"

While eating again, she listened to him speak of Jayda and helping her with the Vex situation and nodded to his idea. "I think Shade meant something along the lines that coincides with that link Jayda and Vex have, being twins and all. But the GF hypothesis might help enhance the strength of that link, IF Vex has even been summoning at all. Thing is, I know Jayda hasn't. She's shied from anything battle related of late..."

Now finishing up her lunch, Brix watched on as Simon tinkered with his prosthetic as if it were an everyday occurrance to her. Those passing by, especially the younger students, gave rather curious looks since such things weren't so much the norm in this dimension.


"Maybe what you need is to dive right into things, Simon... so you're not so like.... going nuts or loosing your mind around here. It's pretty much how Shade and me have dealt with shyt since we're powerless to do anything about whats happened at home, or even getting back home anytime soon, for that matter." She brought up the suggestion as casually as talking about the weather while relaxing her head with her cheek resting in the palm of her hand with her elbow propped on the table. Meanwhile, her other hand reached out and gave a quick grope against the ass of an Instructor walking by with his tray of food in his hands. Nearly dropping his lunch from the startling pinch, the young man turned and glared until he saw who was responsible. His flirting grin was all he gave as a response before walking away.

Simon almost groaned audibly at Brix's shameless flirting.

...Not because it was unexpected, no. Because all three of them could've very well ended up wearing that man's lunch.

"Try to be more careful? I have no desire to play at being a soup bowl, thanks." He said, his tone rather teasing.

Still focusing on his hand, not even bothering to look up, Simon continued.

"Strengthening the link isn't what I had in mind, Brix. She can find Vex just fine, as long as they're on the same world. Plus, with the way the Enzymatic GF System works, as long as he's still using para-magic of a kind, his GFs should make him stand out. If I can find the world he's in, Jayda can do the rest."

Even as he spoke, his eyes stayed turned down, his movements not disturbed in the least. That was a talent Simon had been putting to use for ages; his ability to multitask was absolutely incredible Satisfied with his work, he slammed shut the casing on his hand.

"As far as keeping sane, I had about that idea myself. Hell, since this universe seems calm enough, I was even thinking of getting into the mercenary game that SeeD apparently do when there's no omnicidal maniacs about."

...What with all the world-saving efforts, people seemed to have forgotten, but, the main method for the Gardens to make money is by hiring out their SeeDs as mercenaries. In Simon's time, this simply didn't happen; there were more important things to do.

"...They still do that, right?"

Brix winked and chuckled at Simon's words, but chose to let the playful bantering go since the conversation took a turn to a more important matter. "Just remember, Simon.... the link they have has its limits. Jayda's been to nearly every world and felt nothing. Distance plays a huge part as to how strong the link is or not..."

She took a drink of her soda and pondered her next words, not wanting to ignite a panic in Simon, but all the possibilities had to be laid out on the table if they were to successfully find Vex. So with a frustrated sigh, Brix mentioned another matter over the search. "The other thing is, Simon.... there's a possibility something may have happened to Vex... and no! I'm not saying he may be dead! But Shade's concern was.... with Jayda unable to sense him anywhere, Vex very well may be in a condition where he's unable to use any form of para-magic. Hence no signal at all for any System to pick up.... So we've relied solely on the twin's link, but it's impossible to cover all the grounds of every damn planet in the realm."


Feeling agitated over their failures in the past to finding their lost comrade and friend, Brix tried to distract herself by Simon's next question and nodded. "Yeah... they still do that here.... Nothing too out of the ordinary since that PMS bitch got defeated, tho...." Then she found herself leaning way back in her seat, so far back that the chair was now only on two legs as her foot wrapped around the leg of the table to keep from falling backwards to the floor. Yet another form of eye candy was walking across the room, a Summons Instructor she knew fairly well already. He must have caught her heated stare, since he looked over from across the room with a sly grin and a quick wink with a faint nod. The front of her chair slammed back down as she gave a sharp laugh and a clap. "Ha! Got me another patient!"

"Can you restrain your libido for five minutes? ...Oh, wait, nevermind." Simon corrected himself, remembering just WHO he was talking to.

As much as he gave her a hard time, he truly did care about Brix. It's why her hookup artist ways worried him a bit, truth be told. The consequences were bound to catch up to her, sooner or later.

Her doubt in his abilities, though, he found a touch disquieting.

"Well, we do have one thing going for us. If I'm right, the less-developed the world, the more likely it is Vex is there. Considering that no other officials have reported a missing person that matches Vex's description, it's likely he's on a world that has yet to develop a means to keep track of people, or even the drive to."

Taking a quick sip, Simon didn't acknowledge the other, more likely possibility.

Vex was string beyond belief. There was no way in hell he was dead.

...A whim struck him at that exact moment, and he got up from the table.

"I'm starting to feel a little pent-up. Meet me at the front gate in an hour or so, alright?" And, before she could answer, he was already gone, headed for... ...Wherever he was going.

Of course, as Brix was deciding what to do, Simon had a plan in mind, already. It was high time he had a reunion with his friends. Shade wouldn't've joined in with what he had in mind, anyway, so, that just left one other.

Jayda Kinneas.