I hope you didn't have to wait too long for this chap. I was a bit out of order... There will be a bit of anti Scarlett somewhere in the middle of this chapter. Not too much, but enough for me hehehe So, read it and review it. Thank you :D

*REVAMPED*

"Zhalia, are you coming?" Dante called upstairs as he carried his luggage down the big stairs and to the entrance door. He had a small travelling bag with only a few things in it because he liked to travel with light luggage. As a seeker he never knew when he would have to move quickly from one spot to another, and having light luggage was an excellent start. And while he thought like a seeker most of the time, he also counted on the "great" service the airport usually offered their passengers. Like this, even if his bag got lost on the airport it wouldn't be a big deal and nothing worthy would get lost.

"Yeah, I'll be down in a minute. I just have to get down the stairs" Zhalia replied with a strained voice, sounding like she was carrying something really heavy. After a few moments she got downstairs, carrying a bag that would have fitted more to Sophie's taste. It was stuffed with things and Zhalia was struggling with it pretty badly. The stairs weren't really helping her, either. Seeing Zhalia kicking her bag from time to time and cursing at it on Dutch, Dante couldn't help himself but burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" the raven haired woman asked with a frown and placed her hands on her hips in protest once her bag was down the stairs.

"The sight of you trying to carry a bag bigger than yourself" Dante answered honestly with a smile while wondering what she was carrying in that big bag. It wasn't like Zhalia to carry a lot of luggage with her to missions. For a moment Dante wondered if she's moving back to her apartment all the things she has left here throughout the months.

Zhalia just shook her head and headed towards the door while trying not to trip in the bag she was practically pulling after herself.

"Are you carrying a body in there or something?" Dante probed her curiously and observed the tragicomedy that was happening in front of his eyes.

"No Dante, I'm carrying some old clothes that I decided to get rid of. I don't need all these things and my apartment is also overstuffed, so I have a better plan for all these things. I was going to give them away today to those more in need, but there was no time and I already packed it, so…" Zhalia finally answered in a monotone voice and shrugged her shoulders, letting the rest of the sentence trail off.

"That is an amazing idea and a really sweet thing from you Zhaal" Dante answered delightedly and with a proud sparkle in his amber eyes.

"But if you tell anyone about this, I can always make more space in that bag for your body" she added in a threatening voice and smirked viciously at him.

"Wait, I'll help you out with it" Dante offered in a chivalrous way, ignoring her threat on purpose.

"Oh look, chivalry is not dead after all" Zhalia said with a sarcastic tone which only earned her a bright smile from Dante.

"And I'll keep silent about your good-doing. We wouldn't want anyone to know what a soft heart you've got, right?" this time he smiled at her and winked a bit. With a little laugh leaving her lips, Zhalia punched him playfully in the arm and then nudged him with her hip.

"I'll take our bags out and while I lock the door you catch a taxi. Deal?" now Dante asked as he reached to pick up their bags and nodded towards the door.

"Sure. But, do you really think you can handle two big bags all on your own? I mean, I could barely manage to carry only mine, how will you do both?" Zhalia asked him while still holding onto her bag.

Dante gave her a look she used to give him when she was going to say something juicy or cheeky. She knew that look too well and tried to hide the smile curling at her lips, but she didn't really manage to.

"Well, these are just two bags. If I can handle you in your worst mood, these bags can't be worse. Can they?" Dante gave her a mischievous grin.

She smiled back at him and nodded in agreement, knowing exactly what he was talking about. Sometimes she was in a really bad mood and felt like throwing things at people who tried to help her or simply talk to her about the problem that was bothering her, but Dante always knew how to approach her even then. Instead of being pushy and urge her to tell him everything that was bothering her, he usually sat silently in the same room with her and let her calm down before she would tell him what bothered her.

Reaching down Dante wanted to take the bag from her, but instead of the handle he managed to take Zhalia's hand. She looked at him with surprise in her eyes and she felt the blood rush into her cheeks, the urge to pull closer to him getting stronger.

Gently she bit the side of her lower lip and looked down at their hands touching. Dante knew that motion way too well, and so often he wished he would be the one biting her lip that way. His amber eyes travelled to their hands as well and he wished to hold her in his arms.

Zhalia wasn't completely clueless about relationships and how everything worked between couples, but she was mostly insecure. Sure, there were a few men in her life who she dated, but that was before and she didn't feel real passion towards them.

At the beginning she thought it was simply attraction she felt towards Dante, that she liked him for his good looks and smart talk. But then she started to realize that his behaviour, silly jokes, charming smile and his whole personality made her like him more and more. And then it slowly turned into something more.

Dante knew what was going on in Zhalia's head and he wanted to help her, so he decided to take action.

Not asking her if it's alright he pulled her closer to himself and hugged her around the waist. For a moment Zhalia tensed and froze in motion, slight panic creeping up her spine. But then she remembered that this was Dante, the very person who trusted her when nobody else did. He would never hurt her, physically nor emotionally.

She put her arms around Dante's neck and pulled herself closer to him, so there was no space between them. She looked into Dante's amber eyes and smiled a bit to herself. Those eyes could chain her chocolate eyes in a love stare for an eternity, and she wouldn't even mind it at all.

As they stood there in the middle of the hall, seconds looked like hours. But still none of them wanted to break this beautiful moment.

"Zhalia..." Dante was the first to break the silence. "Would you mind if I..."

"If you what, Dante?" She asked him with a gentle and silent voice.

Dante was used to her voice so sweet. From the day she moved in with him she was all sweet with him and he was the same with her (except when Lok and Sophie were around, then they acted like before).

"If I, um, take your bag" Dante said and looked down to the bag at their feet. He had something else on his mind but he didn't want to scare Zhalia away from himself.

"Oh, right, the bag. Um, go for it. I'll just…" Zhalia drew back from him pointing at the entrance door and then she went out of the house without further explanation.

She felt her face was burning as blood shot up to her cheeks. She never blushed this badly and she was grateful the teenagers weren't here to see it. Lok would surely notice and mock her about it.

Dante sighed a little bit but then took the bags and went after Zhalia.

"What's wrong with me?" he whispered to himself. He already tried many times to tell her how he felt about her, but he never said it.

He locked the door and turned to face the street to take the bags out. There was a taxi already waiting for him. He put the bags in the trunk and sat in next to Zhalia.

"You caught a taxi so quickly? Nice job" he commented with a smile.

"Thank you" Zhalia smiled back a bit and then got comfortable in her seat.

"Where shall it be?" The driver turned around and asked from Dante.

"To the airport" Dante and Zhalia answered together at the same moment.

They smiled at that for a bit, but then turned away from each other so they wouldn't look too intimate together to the driver. Even though they tried to stay in a professional relationship because they were team mates, there was always this feeling of something more between them. While the car slowly moved away from Dante's house, he unconsciously slid his hand closer to Zhalia's and they intertwined their fingers with each other.

They stood quiet for the rest of the way, holding hands and smiling to themselves.

As Dante and Zhalia hurried through the crowd of the airport Sophie and Lok spotted them from the bench they were sitting on and then joined them.

"Where have you two been? We are waiting here for at least 30 minutes!" Lok asked Dante as they went to get their tickets.

"We were... um..." Dante couldn't give them a quick answer that would sound legit.

Whatever he would tell them, he wasn't going to reveal something Zhalia didn't want him to. A few quick answers flew through his mind, but unfortunately for him none of them would have sounded logical to Sophie, nor would they sate Lok's curiosity.

While Dante was trying to think of an excuse Zhalia had similar thoughts. The team knew she was a good and honest person (as honest as an ex spy could be!), but she simply didn't feel like explaining her charitable mood to the teenagers. Many questions would come from Lok and honestly, Zhalia wasn't in the mood to speak of her past to anyone.

As he couldn't think of a good enough excuse in such a short time Dante looked at her, silently asking her to help him out with this one.

"I had some trouble packing my bag" Zhalia answered them with a shrug before Lok would ask Dante for an explanation.

She actually didn't lie about it. Except the fact that she had trouble packing a huge bag with clothing she didn't need anymore, she really had trouble packing her bag for the trip as well.

Even though she was from the Netherlands she didn't have many clothes for winter lately because Italian winters were pretty pleasant. Instead of bothering with digging out her winter coat from the depths of the wardrobe, Zhalia took a few thicker sweaters and an autumn coat.

"Zhalia, is that possible? Are you becoming like Sophie?" Lok asked her through laughter, snapping her out of her musings. Zhalia and Sophie were still sometimes at war with each other, but now not as much as before.

"Are you asking me if I'm becoming shallow, cheap and annoying? If that's what you're asking, the answer is no" Zhalia answered in a mean way. Her mean and sarcastic side was often the cause of their arguments and fights, even though Dante always gave his best to calm the two women.

"Hey! He asked you if you are becoming like me, not like Scarlett!" Sophie protested and took the opportunity to bash the one woman they both hated.

At this the girls looked at each other and burst out laughing. At that Dante came back with the tickets only to see the two of them laughing at something together.

"Lok, what's up with these two?" he asked from his protégé who was obviously angry and sending the two girls killing looks. The two of them were now sitting on their bags and laughing at what they said, making Dante wonder if he's hallucinating.

Lately they seemed to get along just fine, although there were still some outbursts from both of them from time to time. Like last week when they had an argument about who ate the last pop-tart that was in the kitchen. The argument ended with both of them storming away to their separate rooms without ever finding out who did it, luckily for Dante who was the one who actually ate the pop-tart.

"I really don't get it! Why do these two hate Scarlett so much?" Lok asked in an annoyed voice and sent yet another killing look at the female part of the team. He liked Scarlett a lot ever since he was a young boy and he disliked that the others made fun of her so often.

"Look at this from the bright side. As long as they are gossiping and making fun of Scarlett and other female seekers, they aren't trying to bite each other's head off" Dante told him with a little smile on his face. He knew why the girls hated Scarlett, but he wouldn't be the one telling his protégé that. He would have to work it out on his own.

"The plane to Helsinki-Finland has arrived on gate C. All passengers to Helsinki-Finland please go to gate C. Thank you" A woman's voice said through the loud speakers and some passengers started moving towards the mentioned gate to board the plane.

"That's ours. Let's go team!" Dante exclaimed and nodded towards the plane which they could see through the big windows of the airport.

In a few moments they arrived to the boarding space and left their luggage to be transported to the plane with the rest of the bags, hoping they won't get lost. Again.

After going through various security checkups they were allowed to finally board the plane. Sophie and Lok agreed on sitting together while they were waiting for the older seekers, so Zhalia sat next to Dante and got comfortable in her seat.

"When are we arriving in Helsinki?" Lok suddenly asked Zhalia who was sitting in front of him.

He could have asked Sophie as well, but she was too busy taking out her study books and talking about preparing for the upcoming exam. Lok waited for a moment for Zhalia to answer him, but she seemed to not hear him at all.

Zhalia was in deep thoughts and she really couldn't hear him as she was concentrating on a feeling that was nagging her once again. She had that weird feeling that was warning her of something. Only this time it was stronger and it was almost making her sick. Her stomach seemed to turn on itself, cramping with worry and nervousness. She had the feeling that something will go wrong during the mission. She felt it overwhelming her and couldn't get rid of it at all.

Her face became paler with every passing second and even a frown appeared on her face. Dante saw that and he moved to hold her hand with his, when Zhalia suddenly jumped in her seat and made a surprised squeaking sound.

"Lambert to Moon, Lambert to Moon. Moon, do you copy?" Lok said and made a little 'ksh' sound, imitating the sound he heard in astronaut movies.

"Lok! You poke my side like that one more time and I'll..."

"What happened?" Dante asked after seeing Zhalia jumping in her seat and turning backwards only to threaten to Lok. As Lok poked her side, her face changed from scared pale to angry red. Of course, Dante didn't see the discreet poking Lok started between the seats.

"Lok scared Zhalia by poking her side. You're afraid of Lok!" Sophie explained to Dante and instantly turned towards Zhalia to tease her in the same moment.

"No, I'm not afraid of him. I was just thinking about something and I didn't hear him. What is it Lok?"

"You copy me now Moon?" Lok asked Zhalia while still insisting on the astronaut noise. Zhalia couldn't help but laugh a bit at this. It was hard to stay angry at Lok when he was such a child.

"I copy you Lambert. Talk." Zhalia now smiled back at Lok and paid him full attention.

"I asked when are we arriving in Helsinki?" he repeated his question and looked as innocent as he could with his big blue puppy eyes.

"Around 6 p.m. Anything else?"

"Thank you. No, nothing for now. If I need you I'll poke your side again" Lok said with a devilish grin this time.

"You can only try" Zhalia told him in a poisonously sweet voice, letting him know that she will definitely hurt him if he pokes her again.

Giving her a sheepish smile, Lok got comfortable in his seat and decided to approach Zhalia more nicely next time, and possibly without scaring her. After all, he knew from first hand that when startled she usually punched first and THEN asked questions.

With a smile he realized how much Zhalia actually changed after coming back to their team and after the defeat of the Professor. She even became friends with Sophie, which should have been counted into the 7 wonders. They still had some fights and arguments from time to time, but those would soon end and they would together tease Lok. She even made friends with other Huntik seekers who didn't know her that well, but were willing to give her the chance to show who she really was.

The rest of the flight was peaceful without Lok poking at Zhalia's side and without Zhalia having to smack Lok for it.

They have arrived around 6 p.m. on the big airport in Helsinki, just like Zhalia foretold. After they got off the plane and retrieved their luggage, Sophie and Zhalia caught a taxi while Dante and Lok carried the bags.

This time only one of Sophie's bags got lost and even that one was found after a brief search. The waiting took about half an hour from them, but it didn't really matter to Dante's plan at the moment. He first wanted to check out the terrain and make a plan before actually trying to retrieve the amulet.

"To Hotel Helsinki, please", Dante told to the driver once they were all inside the car and all their luggage was safely in the trunk.

It was a smooth ride and Sophie started to talk about the past of the great city, just like she always did when they were on missions. Zhalia wasn't interested in what she had to say because she already knew all about Helsinki that she needed to know for this mission. This wasn't her first time here and she wasn't really interested in unnecessary information that was useless for her.

She was looking out the window while they were passing through the city. The ground was covered with perfectly white and glittery snow that she felt both amusement and hatred towards. As a child she has suffered a lot of nights in the cold snow and it always reminded her of her past. While trying to escape that thought, Zhalia decided to rather concentrate on the buildings that were surrounding them.

It was spring in Helsinki at the moment, but the transition from winter to spring here lasted much longer than in Venice and was also much colder. Zhalia was used to the weather of Venice and she felt pretty cold at the moment. She prepared for the cold weather that would greet them in the country, but the huge difference in temperature shocked her slightly.

Dante saw her shivering lightly so without second thoughts he decided to warm her up a bit. First he wanted to make sure that Sophie couldn't see what he's doing, so he glanced towards the teenage girl sitting in her seat.

Sophie was sitting beside the driver in front of them all, so she couldn't see anything that was going on in the backseat, which made Dante grateful for her seating choice.

Lok was sitting right beside Dante, but the boy already knew how Dante felt for Zhalia and he never mocked them for it. 'Lok is more mature about some things than about others', Dante decided a long time ago.

Now that he was sure about his plan, Dante put his right arm around Zhalia's waist and pulled her closer to himself. Lok saw the movement beside him and looked at them for a moment. Zhalia blushed as she saw Lok staring at them, but Dante just put his finger on his lips to shush his apprentice. Lok nodded his head and kept on talking to Sophie, ignoring what Dante and Zhalia were doing beside him.

Zhalia wanted to pull herself away from Dante before Sophie would turn and notice them like this, but when she felt the warmth of Dante's body radiating through his coat she pulled herself even closer. Dante hugged her with his arms, caressing her back with his free hand.

Zhalia put her head down on his chest and closed her eyes. Dante's heartbeat was steady and loud, making her calm and sleepy all at once. The nervousness from the flight and the bad feeling were chased away, leaving Zhalia thankful for Dante's closeness.

"Thank you" she whispered with a grateful voice so only Dante could hear her.

"You're welcome" he answered in a low voice and rested his chin on her head.

Zhalia slowly got lost in the moment and completely relaxed in Dante's arms. She enjoyed this moment as much as she could. Dante's heartbeat, his warmth, his hand around her waist, his other hand caressing her back; it all made her feel that she was in the right place. With her eyes closed and all the warmth that was surrounding her, she soon fell asleep.

Dante enjoyed this very moment as much as Zhalia did. To hold her, to hear her breathing, to feel her body so close to his, to feel her hands around him; it made him feel like he was in Heaven. At the moment nothing could take this happiness away from him and he smiled happily.

"Sir, we are almost there. I think you might want to wake up your wife" the driver proposed to Dante after a good 20 minutes of driving. As Dante glanced outside the window he saw that they were driving close to the hotel.

"What?" Sophie asked with surprise in her voice at the mention of Dante's "wife". She quickly turned around only to see Dante holding Zhalia around her waist and caressing her, while she had her arms around him and her head down on his chest. Sophie smiled in an evil way at this.

"Someone is going to get teased for this for a steady week" she said and grinned at her mentor and then looked at Lok. Lok was also sure he would take part of the teasing until Zhalia would have enough of it and throw a spell at him.

"Sophie, if you..." Dante started to say something but got cut off by Sophie

"Oh, don't worry. I won't. At least not for now" she smirked once more and then turned back in her seat as if nothing happened.

Dante looked at his apprentice sitting next to him as if asking for help or at least an explanation. Instead of giving one, Lok made the most innocent smile he could and shrugged his shoulders.

With that the car stopped on the parking lot of the hotel and the driver helped Sophie out of the car and started unloading their luggage from the trunk.

"Zhalia, wake up. We have arrived." Dante softly woke up Zhalia as he playfully caressed her face with a strand of her hair.

"Hmm?" she asked and then looked up at him with sleepy eyes.

"We've arrived to the hotel" Dante smiled at her and Zhalia nodded, getting up from her place and then got out of the car with Dante's help.

Once Dante paid and thanked the driver they took their bags and went into the big hotel that was right in front of them.

As Dante went to the reception to take their room keys that were reserved for them by the Foundation, Lok stepped near Zhalia and started to tease her.

"You had a nice place in the taxi? I hope it wasn't too warm, or hard or uncomfortable" Lok smiled devilish at Zhalia who was still looking pretty sleepy.

She looked down at the floor for a moment with some embarrassment, but then answered with a little smile: "No, it wasn't. It was nice warm, soft and really comfortable."

Lok opened his mouth to tease Zhalia about her sleeping habits on Dante and about her drooling during sleep, but then Dante reappeared and discreetly gave him a warning look, cutting off his words.

"Here you go guys, the keys" the team leader handed everyone their room keys while eyeing Sophie and her smirk.

She was probably going to tease Zhalia too, but luckily he was fast enough to return in time. The rooms were conveniently all on the same floor, one beside the other. This would make matters easier for them as they could meet in either of the rooms and could cover for each other in case there was any danger.

Some other people arrived in the hotel and checked in, but the team didn't give it a second thought. They were obviously not Organization agents and neither were they seekers, so they meant nothing for the team. Once the hall way empty and no one was around, Dante explained to the team his plan of getting to know the grounds first and only then acting.

"For now you all have some free time for sightseeing, but be very careful and don't drop your guard at any time. I'll stay in the hotel and do the research we need to be done with this. Be ready tonight at 9 p.m. here in the hall. We are going to get the mission done"

That's it for now. I hope you won't kill me (you who read it know what I'm talking about). I hope you enjoyed it. I want some reviews :) Thank you!