Chapter 3: A New Home

Storm Paladin and Black Falcon were currently standing in front of one another, talking. Storm Paladin was not certain about going with Black Falcon, since she did not know anything about S.H.I.E.L.D. and, as the leader of the vigilante group known as Final Fantasy, she was not about to risk her teammates' lives unnecessarily. Black Falcon was having a hard time swallowing Storm Paladin's story. The two were getting nowhere fast.

"I will not get on your aircraft until you tell me exactly what you want with my team and I! As the leader of Final Fantasy and a trained member of the Neo Guardian Corps of Gran Pulse, I will not order my teammates to board that craft until you tell me everything!" Storm Paladin declared, fury burning in her eyes.

"I don't have clearance to share any more information on the ground! Believe me, I would share more information right now if I could, but I don't have that clearance! It's your story that's completely insane! You're supposed to be something called a 'L'Cie'? You're supposed to be a soldier of this 'Neo Guardian Corps' on some world called 'Gran Pulse'?! What the hell are you-"

"ENOUGH!"

Everyone stared at the clearly-irritated Shadow Princess. A dark aura surrounded her, and her eyes were glowing pure crimson red. Her expression showed terrifying rage, despite the fact her face hadn't shifted all that much. Both Crimson Shadow and Black Falcon could see where the "Shadow" in "Shadow Princess" came from.

"They are trustworthy. They have no intention of harming us. They are on our side, and more than likely simply would like to unify our efforts in fighting the Pulsian Lunar Army."

Storm Paladin narrowed her eyes, before sighing and relenting.

"I expect every last one of my questions to be answered. Every. Last. One." She hissed.

"That's my line. Come on. Let's go. The Director's not known for his patience." Black Falcon said. The small vigilante team followed Strike Team Alpha on board the helicopter. Black Lancer crossed her legs and kicked back. Shadow Princess sat by herself, keeping an eye on the members of Strike Team Alpha. Starseeker sat next to Storm Paladin, sensing the elder pinkette's unease. She looked down.

"Kyu…"

Ragnarok, who was currently in a smaller form, sensed her master's unease, and nuzzled Starseeker's chest. Starseeker smiled sadly, and stroked the bizarre creature's fur. Ragnarok responded with a strange noise that was almost like a purr, but it wasn't exactly a purr. She looked up at the elder pinkette.

"If it makes you feel any better… we might get a new home out of this, Zeph…" Starseeker said quietly. It wasn't a whisper, but it wasn't normal speaking volume either. Storm Paladin cursed under her breath. Black Falcon raised an eyebrow.

"You've been operating this well without any sort of home base?" She asked.

"Yes. We can't find a base because we're not citizens of your world, and, well…" Storm Paladin trailed. Black Falcon placed a hand on Storm Paladin's shoulder.

"Hey, we've got a base like no other. At least for now, I'm sure that the Director would be nice enough to let you operate out of it." Black Falcon said reassuringly.

"Yea, if anything, it'd make him happy because he's just that damn paranoid! Ha!" Crimson Shadow snorted. Black Falcon proceeded to smack Crimson Shadow upside the back of her head. She made an awkward whimper-like noise, before sighing and hanging her head a little, smiling sadly.

"Sorry about that, boss." She apologized.

"Damn right you're sorry about that, David!" Black Falcon snapped. She walked into the cockpit, checking on the autopilot. She sighed.

"Still at least an hour out. God damn." She muttered before returning to her seat. By now, Starseeker had fallen asleep (lulled to sleep by the sound of the engines, no doubt), cuddling her strange pet. The aforementioned creature was also asleep, seemingly very happy. Storm Paladin sat next to the sleeping duo, smiling softly. Shadow Princess was still alone, reading a book in a language that was clearly alien. No way in hell was the sniper going to try to understand it. Black Lancer was anxiously tapping her foot. This made Black Falcon raise an eyebrow.

"Is something wrong with her?"

Storm Paladin chuckled a bit.

"She's just like that. She absolutely cannot sit still. She loves fighting and hunting. She spends hours off-duty hunting. I guess it can't be helped, considering her maternal lineage, but at times it's a real pain. She's got a short temper, and let's just say she thinks with her lance and not her head." She explained, crossing her legs and resting her arms on her legs. Black Flacon chuckled.

"That's an interesting problem to have. At least she's useful in situations like the one we were just in. That lust for battle isn't entirely a bad thing… wait, did you say her maternal lineage was the reason for the way she acts?!" Black Falcon said, eyes widening when the words sunk in. Storm Paladin laughed a bit.

"Her mother is a lance-wielding L'Cie huntress." She began. Her face turned a bit dark.

"One of the last two surviving citizens truly from Gran Pulse, might I add…"

Black Falcon looked Storm Paladin in the eye.

"What's wrong?"

"...The majority of the people who live on Gran Pulse now are colonists from Cocoon who survived its fall. I don't want to get into the details. It's not pretty."

Black Falcon could see the sadness and pain in Storm Paladin's eyes. She decided not to press the issue. She went to start writing her report. Crimson Shadow looked out the window, as a thought crossed her mind.

Black, I hope that you're doing well on your mission… After all, the Avengers are scattered all over the place…