The walk to North Corel was considerably more quiet than it had been before they stopped to rest. Uri sensing Amara's frustration, decided best to leave her alone and trotted up to the front to walk along side Arashi. Amara was playing the kiss back over and over in her mind. She wasn't sure why it bothered her so much other than it was just wrong.
That crazy blond bitch entrances Uri and then kisses Alistair? What game is she playing at? She threw a quick glance back at Alistair and suddenly felt really terrible. He looks so miserable. He couldn't be that upset about the kiss could he?
She slowed her pace enough to let Alistair catch up with her and then fell in step with him. He didn't even seem to notice.
"Hi." She said unable to think of anything wittier to say. "How's it going?"
Alistair looked up, slightly startled, to see Amara looking at him concern.
"Oh, hello," he replied calmly. He didn't want sympathy or judging or anything. He just wanted everyone to forget it ever happened, so he quickly took control of the conversation.
"Are you allowed to be back here?" he asked lightly. "I was under the impression that Uri had placed my company on the banned list."
Amara's eyes widened and her jaw went slack as Alistair spoke.
"What?" She said, her voice tinged with anger and disbelief, "That's what this thing between you two has been about?"
She looked at Uri who she knew had heard her outburst. He was looking over his shoulder at her and when their eyes met, he jerked his head forward and focused on the road. She glared at him feeling her face flush with annoyance. She knew he was only trying to protect her, but if he thought that Alistair was a real threat he would have told her outright. He meant well, but had crossed the line going behind her back and dictating who she could befriend and this infuriated her.
She was about to apologise when she realized that Uri already had. Then why would Alistair say he was under that impression? And if he was then why...
"Wait, if that's what you thought, then what was with the magic lesson?" She asked looking back at him a severe expression crossing her face. "What were you trying to do, get back at him or something?" As the words left her mouth she felt her chest tighten. That can't be right, can it? "I thought...." I had fun. "...you really wanted to help me." He wouldn't use me...would he?
She wasn't sure if she was being irrational or not, but she was too upset to stand here talking about it now. She clentched her fists and quickly walked away from him. As she passed Uri he tried to say something but she gave him a look that could have burned a hole through steel.
"I'm not talking to you." She lashed at him, making him crouch low to the ground defensively and kept going. She could not remember ever feeling as angry as she did at that moment. She needed to cool down and then she could listen to an explaination if he bothered to offer one.
How can I feel this bad so fast? She thought as tears threatened to spill from her eyes. I just wanted to make sure he was ok. If he didn't want to talk he could have just said that!
"Damn it!"
---------
Samora sat at a computer in RETABLIR's library. She was slouched against the desk, her chin resting in her hand, scrolling through old news reports about earthquakes and other bizarre disasters. She wasn't seeing any patterns, but from what she could tell the reports had started about ten years ago.
She clicked the print icon once again and collected the papers as they came pouring out from the printer. She would have to review them again when she wasn't feeling so tired.
"I guess that'll be it for now." She told Liam who had been patiently waiting the whole time. I should treat him to dinner for being so nice. "Do you wanna grab something to eat?"
"Amara, I didn't-" Alistair began, but she was already out of earshot and probably wouldn't have listened even if she wasn't.
"Damn it all!" he cursed to himself. He was making a royal mess of things today. He had to apologize, make her understand. He couldn't do it now, of course.
"The inn...that will be the best time to get her alone," he thought, trying to push away the pang of disappointment in his chest.
--------------
Liam, who was silently brooding over his next phase of plans, looked up at Samora.
"Hmm? Oh, yeah I could definitely eat," he replied, standing up. He looked over at her papers, then back at her.
"How's your search going?" he asked, genuinely curious. Sure, he was using her in a way, but that didn't mean he had any ill-will against her. She seemed nice enough anyway. In fact, she was probably the only person he'd talked to in a while that treated him normally. The thought caused a slightly uneasy feeling to surface in his stomach, but he forced it back down. He was simply doing what he needed to.
"Ok, do you know any good places?" Samora asked loading up the stack of paper into a bag one of the librians had been kind enough to give her. She reached into her pocket for her wallet to make sure she had enough gil and her hand brushed against the card Aeron had given her. She looked at it a moment and thought about calling him, but decided to wait.
"I'll let you choose since I'm new here." She said after making sure she had enough money, gave him a wink.
------
Aeron stood atop one of the buildings across from RETABLIR and waited for Samora and Liam. He had made a call to INQUINA earlier to give them his report and had been instructed to maintain his rouse. It wasn't going to be easy. He had just recieved orders from FESTANCA to make an assasination and would have to leave Edge for the night.
He watched the two exit the building and make their way into the main street, probably to find a place to eat.
He checked his phone and dialed Elia.
"Elia," He said after he heard her voice, "Progress?"
--------
Uri's shoulders were slumped as he walked. He had never seen her that irrate before and it had literally scared him.
I'll have to talk to her tonight. He thought feeling terrible over the whole situation. Hopefully she cools down by then.
Liam spied the restaurant and grabbed Samora's hand.
"Over here!" he told her and pulled her toward the entrance. This was his favorite restaurant in Edge. His mother used to take him here for special occassions. It seemed fitting to come here now that he was on the trail of avenging his mother.
"I hope you like it," he said, smiling up at the girl.
------------
"Not unless you count getting a kiss from the hot red-head," she thought dryly.
"Not really. They're in an inn in North Corel for the night. Nothing particularly unusual. How are things on your end?" she asked.
------------
Alistair opened the door to his room and looked down the hallway to see if anyone was around. It was fortunate that he did get separate rooms since no one seemed to want to talk. He treaded softly down the carpeted hall and stopped in front of Amara's room. He knocked softly on it, hoping not to get Uri's attention.
"Amara, it's me," he said quietly. He was going to ask to come in but he thought better of it. Uri thinking of the two of them in that room unsupervised would be disastrous. "I was wondering if you would go on a walk with me. I...wanted to talk to you."
"Not as good as I would like." Aeron admitted, "There is another that joined up with the girl. A boy and he seems to be very weary of me. I'll have to try to work on the girl when she is alone...no comment please. I have another assignment from FESTANCA. I'll call again as soon as I'm through with it."
He hung up the phone and watched as the two made their way to a restaurant. As soon as they went inside, he left his perch on the ledge to make his way to his next target.
---------
Amara had just finished with her shower and was working at drying her hair when she heard Alistair knock at the door. She had calmed down considerably since that afternoon and decided she should probably let Alistair talk. She let out a long sigh, then opened the door.
"Alright. Where do you want to go?"
Liam took a bite of steak and chewed happily. He looked up to see if Samora was enjoying her food.
"Do you like it?" he asked after he had swallowed.
----------
Elia smirked to herself. Aeron seemed to be keeping himself entertained, and she had to admit that having corresponding missions like this was much more fun that having to team up with Vrede.
"Lucky me," she thought as she stretched out on the roof opposite the inn.
-----------
Alistair gave a relieved smile and offered his arm to her out of habit.
"Wherever you like," he said sincerely. He took her accepting his offer as a good sign at least. And the fact that Uri hadn't pounced on him yet was divine grace from the heavens. Hopefully, his luck, now that it seemed to change, would hold up for the rest of the night.
Samora beamed a smile at Liam as she chewed her food.
"It's delicious. Thank you for showing me this place." She dabbed the sides of her mouth with her napkin then took a sip of her soda. "So tomorrow, I'm probably going to be in the library again. But I would like it if you could show me around the city, being my unofficial guide and all."
---------
Amara blushed slightly at the gesture and took his arm, running her fingers through her still damp hair as she did.
"Well..." She said smiling up at him, "there's a nice garden outside."
"Sure," he replied, putting his cup of soda down and smiling. He figured it wasn't just something kids drank since she did. "It's part of the job description."
-------------------
"Sounds perfect," he whispered softly. He led her out of the inn and into the gardens, which looked beautiful at night.
"Amara," he began gingerly, "I wanted to explain about what I said earlier. I knew Uri wasn't fond of my company and I was merely surprised that he didn't jump at you for talking to me. I know he apologized but I don't think the hostility has really gone away. In any case, my...earlier predicaments left me in a somewhat tactless state before and I didn't speak carefully."
He waited a moment, then went on. "And please don't think that I offered to train you to get back at him. I genuinely wanted to help you and...I thought it could be a good way to get to know each other better. I would understand if you didn't want to continue, but I truly hope you won't judge me so hastily."
He turned his gaze, which had been resolutely ahead, toward her, waiting hopefully for her response.
Amara watched Alistair as he spoke and was convinced he was sincere and felt guilty for how she reacted earlier. He had been through a lot in the past forty-eight hours, his whole world had been turned upside down and he needed a friend.
"It's ok." She said after a brief moment. "I'm sorry about getting so mad earlier and I would be honored if you would continue to teach me." She released his arm and stepped away looking at the night sky. As she was gazing up at the stars, music started playing from the inn's resturant. She turned back to Alistair and gave him a soft smile. "Do you like to dance?"
Alistair blinked for a moment, surprised.
"Yes, I do," he replied. "Would you...like to?"
He offered a hand to her and felt a smile grace his features. At the moment any thought of repercussions were banished from his mind. It was as though they she was the only thing that mattered at the moment, and he wasn't sure why that made him feel a bit lighter.
She took his hand and stepped close to him. She knew this song and hummed along with it as they moved together in rhythm to the music. It was strange how she felt so comfortable with him even though they had not known each other very long and as the music played on, everything around them seemed to blur together until all she saw was him. She smiled gently at him and took a small step closer and noticed his eyes as they caught the light of the lanterns that lit the garden.
"You have beautiful eyes." She whispered softly almost by accident and blushed when she realised she had said it.
"You're too kind," he said, with a charming grin, loving how she blushed. He gave her a slow twirl, then pulled her back toward him.
"I would reciprocate that feeling but that would just come off as lazy," he said teasingly, as they danced back and forth.
"My mother taught me to dance to this song when I was younger. It was a given for the status to learn to dance, of course. It wasn't nearly as much fun with her though," he said, his voice lowering huskily at the end without his notice.
Amara felt her pulse quicken at the change in his tone and suddenly felt very warm. As the song neared the end and she gazed into his deep blue eyes she had a startling revelation of why the crazy woman's kiss and his comment on the road had bothered her so much. It had been painfully obvious to Uri and she should have realized it as well.
I like him.
As soon as the thought entered her mind, she fell out of step and broke away from him like shrapnel from an explosion. She quickly regained her composure, but the moment had indeed died and all she could do was smile bashfully at him.
"Sorry, I guess I'm just tired." She said weakly, almost stuttering. "Had a long day...better go and get some sleep. Thank you for the dance." Completely on impulse and without thinking she took a couple quick steps forward, stood up on her toes and softly placed a kiss on his cheek. What am I doing? "Um...heh, goodnight Alistair."
She turned on her heel while she spoke feeling her face redden in the process and made to go back inside to her room and bury her head in her pillow until morning.
Alistair watched her walk away and smiled to himself. He had thought for a moment that he did something wrong when she stepped away so suddenly, but the tingling feeling still on his cheek said otherwise. The more sensible side of his mind kicked in, chiding him for getting into dangerous waters. By the time morning rolled around he kept telling himself that it was just the thrill of the moment and that it really meant nothing on either side. This was at least comforting in one respect, since when he sat down to breakfast he could look at Uri without panicking about the previous night.
"Good morning," he said, helping himself to some food. "I hope everyone slept well."
Arashi's eyes burst open and he gasped for air, sweat pouring from his body. He had dreamt of the night of his father's death as the rotting disease took him over. Arashi panted heavily, his eyes still widened.
Alistair was about to put his fork into his mouth when he heard a loud gasp from upstairs. His eyes scanned the table.
"Arashi's not here..."
He stood up quickly and made his way up the stairs to Arashi's room where he knocked loudly.
"Arashi? Are you all right?"
Arashi gulped and wiped is face. "Y-y-yeah." he stuttered.
Alistair stood hesitantly in front of the door, not sure what to do. After a moment, he replied, "Do you want to talk? Or do you just need time alone?"
"N-no. I'm fine. Just a dream." Arashi replied, shivering slightly.
"All right..." Alistair replied hesitantly. "We're all downstairs if you want to join us for breakfast."
He stepped away from the door and wondered silently about their fourth party member. He had been sleeping a lot lately. Maybe he was experiencing something through it. He couldn't be sure unless Arashi decided to open about it. He shrugged to himself, then descended the stairs back to his breakfast.
Arashi made himself decent and walked down the steps slowly. There was something haunting about the dream. he had seen another man in the dream, a dark and truly evil figure. Who was he??
Alistair looked up as Arashi entered the room. He seemed to be in a daze. Alistair waited for him to sit before he asked any questions.
"You...sure you're feeling all right?" he asked. "Maybe if you eat you'll feel better."
"Y-yeah." Arashi said softly as he sat down to eat. "Just...a nightmare."
"Before it was a dream...now it's a nightmare. Interesting."
Alistair nodded and passed Arashi a tray of biscuits. "Well, that's good. It wouldn't be very helpful to travel if you weren't in a good state of mind."
Arashi ate a few biscuits and nodded. "Yeah, it wouldn't be...." Arashi replied. He then looked around. "So where's your girlfriend?" he asked with a sly smirk.
Alistair gave Arashi a sharp kick to the shin under the table. He took a sip of his coffee and looked at Arashi innocently.
"I'm sorry, did you say something?" he asked, giving a look of death under his smile.
Arashi winced slightly. "I mean, where's Amara and Uri? I like talking to Uri. He's pretty knowledgeable." Arashi said with a smile.
I've got some dirt on u, buddy.
Alistair looked around. "They must have finished. And what's that supposed to mean anyway?"
Alistair was starting to feel slightly panicky. Amara and Uri already knew about Elia's kiss, so his tone that he was holding a secret couldn't be referring to her. Then that would mean...
He felt his face slowly draining of color as the realization dawned on him, and he took a quick swig of coffee to try to steady his nerves. This definitely wasn't good.
I got him...
"Uri was just telling me about your battle yesterday. I here you did pretty well....in more ways then one." Arashi said.
"Oh thank all the stars in the heavens," he thought with relief. He hadn't been talking about his previous night with Amara.
"Yes, well," he said, half-relieved and half-embarrassed that the previous afternoon's events were being dug up, "I think I'd better find Amara and Uri. You keep eating."
He quickly got up and casually strolled from the room, his feet blindly taking him down the hallway. He thought he heard Amara nearby. Maybe Uri wouldn't be around and they could relax together before it was time to depart.
"Oh and I heard that music last night! You might wanna try something a little lower in volume." Arashi said with a wide smile and a laugh.
"Smart-ass prick," Alistair mumbled to himself as he stalked down the hall away from Arashi, hoping he would stop shouting his most embarrassing secrets to all the inn.
9:23 p.m. Planetary Research Center - Midgar Area
Dr. Beth Powers was going over the research she had collected on the effects of geostigma again, double and triple checking her findings. Victor Cross, the director of RETABLIR, was expecting her report in the morning and she could not afford to miss any details. If her theory was correct, then the earthquakes and storms were just the beginning.
She pulled up the notations she had made for FESTANCA and frowned. As if there wasn't enough to worry about, their experimentationons with geostigma to create new SOLDIERS were now well under way. She had gotten an update from a contact she had on the inside and the news was disturbing to say the least. If RETABLIR did not move soon, then there would be a whole new threat facing them and there would be no way of dealing with it and the unnatural planetary disasters.
She quickly filed everything away in its folder and placed it securely in her briefcase. She was going to turn off her computer, but she had the feeling she had better back up the information. As an extra security measure she copied the files and sent them off to herself.
Better be safe. She thought as she clicked send. A message flashed on the monitor that the file had been sent and then everything went dark. It was impossible that this was a power outage, the facility had it's own power source and a back up generator on top of that. Someone had to have shut it down.
The hairs on the back of her neck pricked up as she clumsily tried to find her way through the dark isle to the exit. Panic rose inside of her as she bumped against desks and chairs, the noise echoing in the empty room giving away her position. Suddenly, the backup lights came up, startling her and scattering dozens of shadows around the room from the thin beams of light. When she saw that she was alone, her heart slowly started to slow its pace until she thought she saw the shadows move.
They took on forms of wraiths and reached out for her. Terror took hold of the poor woman and she froze in place until she felt one grab hold of her arm. A blood curtling scream filled the room as she tore away from the ghostly apparision and tried to flee, but they chased her down. Dark hands caught her and held her in place. She screamed and cried and flailed her arms, but felt only air surrounding her. Then suddenly they collapsed into blades and sliced through her body, silencing her pitiful screams for help. She fell to the ground dead as they retreated back into the darkness and Aeron sauntered over to her brief case and took the files she had placed inside.
He took out his phone and called Elia.
"I finished my assignment." He said casually, stepping over the doctor's body on his way out of the building.
---------
Inn at North Corel
Uri and Amara sat quietly together at the table eating their breakfast. She had run into him the night before when she was rushing back to her room and after they had talked, she had forgiven him. He had promised to be at least civil to Alistair and she hoped that they would be on friendly terms soon. Aside from her personal reasons, it was just rediculous to have any hostility toward one another since they would be traveling together.
As far as her feelings for Alistair, Amara tried to put what happened last night out of her mind. It wasn't the time or place for that sort of thing and even though they had had their "moments" she could not be totally sure if he shared her feelings or was just being polite. When he came down to breakfast, he acted as though nothing had happened, which disappointed her to a degree but she was happy that him and Uri were being nice.
When Alistair went upstairs to check on Arashi, Uri's ears twitched and he turned towards the lobby. Amara was going to ask him what was wrong when she heard a familiar voice.
"Get off yer ass already! We're gonna be late."
"Leah?" Amara said rushing out to the lobby with Uri. The loud blond girl turned around and lit up when she saw the two.
"Amara! Uri!" She exclaimed then embraced her friends. "I can't believe you're here!"
After exchanging pleasantries, they found out she and her brother had been sent from Rocket Town to repair the tramway for the Gold Saucer which had been damaged in the earthquake.
"So what are you guys doin' here?......Edge huh? Well, I have the buggy with me. I can take you to Costa del Sol if you want."
"Really?" Amara asked excitedly. "That would be great!"
"Amara?" She turned to see Ben coming down the stairs and beamed a large smile up at him. He jumped over the last few stairs, rushed over to her and threw her around like a rag doll before giving her a hug. "Hey small fry, long time no see. Hey Uri, good to see you too."
"Same to you." Uri said happily, "You've grown since the last time I saw you."
As they talked, Amara noticed Alistair and waved him over.
"Guys, this is Alistair Greyrose. Alistair, Leah and Ben Highwind. Leah says she can give us a ride to Costa del Sol."
"She really is beautiful..." he found himself thinking as he looked at her. He realized she was talking to him and he quickly shook the thought away. Since the two strangers were looking at him expectingly, he figured Amara had been introducing them.
"It's a pleasure," he said, incling his head politely. He had managed to pick up one thing, and it slowly dawned on him.
"Did you say ride?" he asked, a smile breaking over his face. Oh joyous day. They wouldn't have to walk again. Lord knows that hadn't been working very well for them. His mind was starting to break through his giddiness, however, and he was beginning to realize other details.
"So...you are the children of Cid Highwind? Interesting. I would hope that would mean we were in capable hands. But, how do you know Amara and Uri?"
---------------
Commander Adray Lasbard finished speaking to one of the investigors, then gave a curt nod and strolled down the hallway.
"Poor Beth..." he thought, shaking his head. "Cross should have at least let me give her some kind of protection. These are dangerous times we are living in."
Now Dr. Powers research data, which Cross had informed him was incredibly important, was likely in FESTANCA's hands. That could have disastrous repercussions. He quickly left the research center and got into his vehicle.
"Headquarters is going to be a mess," he thought as he took off toward Edge.
"We've known Uri pretty much our whole lives." Leah told Alistair, "We met Miss Amara here almost, what? Ten years ago?" She slinked her arm around Amara's shoulders and gave a little squeeze and a wink. "How did you guys meet?"
"We met a couple days ago." Uri said to the siblings, "Alistair was kind enough to give us shelter from the storm and then the earthquake destroyed his home and we were attacked by FESTANCA agents."
"Wow," Leah said impressed, "real bonding expiriences. Sorry 'bout your house." She turned to her brother and frowned. "Better get to the tram, if we don't get it fixed by tomorrow dad'll be pissed."
"What do ya mean 'we'?" Ben asked frowning but decided to avoid a fight and waved goodbye, "Fine. Good seeing you Amara...Uri. Alistair it was nice meeting you."
"Likewise," Alistair replied as the siblings left the room. He watched them leave, then turned to Amara.
"So, when are we leaving then?" he asked.
-------------
Liam walked on ahead of Samora up the stairs toward the entrance of RETABLIR's headquarters.
"Something's up," he thought as he noticed people ducking in and out and whispering among themselves. He reached the entrance and saw a security guard scrutinizing everyone that entered and checking for identification.
"Uh oh," he thought. He wondered if they were going to be able to get in as easily today as they did the day before. He was going to let Samora take the lead but the guard had spotted him and demanded his business and identification.
"We came to look through the data banks," he said, looking at Samora to see if he was saying the right things.
"The database is closed until further notice except to personnel," the guard replied. "Let me see some i.d."
"I don't have any. As you can see, I'm a little young for identification," he replied snidely. The guard looked annoyed. Suddenly a young man in a black military outfit who couldn't be older than 30 approached them.
"Commander Lasbard," he replied, snapping to attention. Adray nodded and looked at the boy and young woman that he was giving trouble to.
"Is there something you two need?" he asked.
"As soon as we're ready." Uri said nodding to Amara, "I'll let Arashi know."
"Yeah, Leah's not what you'd call mechanically savvy." Amara told Alistair as Uri left them, "She's probably getting the buggy ready for us right now."
"I see," Alistair replied with a slight chuckle. He suddenly realized that they were alone and felt his stomach stir slightly with apprehension. He didn't want to really call attention to what had happened the previous night, but he didn't want to just pretend like it didn't happen at all. He hoped this wasn't going to cause awkwardness between them. He certainly didn't want that.
"Well, I guess no walking means no magic lesson," he said, smiling slightly. "I hope you're not too disappointed."
"Well, it's just to Costa del Sol." Amara said smiling and twirling her hair around her finger. When she realised she was fidgeting she pulled her hands behind her back and forced herself to stand still. "When we get to Junon we're going to have to walk again. I'm sure we'll get a chance to pick up the lessons at some point then." Her smile broadened as she added, "I hope you're looking forward to camping out. I'm going to start loading up, I'll be out with Leah when you're ready to go."
"All right," he replied, then smiled until she left the room. He scratched his neck and sighed. Well, there wasn't much else for him to do at he moment. He certainly wasn't in the mood to spend time with Arashi, and he still didn't know if Uri was safe territory.
"Maybe I'll see what Ben is doing," he thought as he walked out of the room.
Samora looked at the man and laid her hand on Liam's shoulder then pulled him a little closer to her protectively.
"My brother and I were here yesterday doing some research." She said gently tightening her grip on Liam's shoulder as she lied about him being her brother, "We were hoping to pick back up where we left off. Here's my ID." She handed her identification to the security guard and smiled to match her picture.
-------
"The gears are shot." Ben said to a technician as he poked his head around the mechinary waving his flashlight to and fro. "It'll take some work to replace them...ah crap, the motor looks damaged too." He pulled his head back and wiped off the grime that had fallen on his face. "You'll need to tell Dio the Saucer will be out of commision a few more days at least unless he can get me the parts I need."
He caught sight of Alistair coming his way and waved. "Hey, what are you up to?"
Liam looked up at the man as he took Samora's ID, hoping that he woulld believe her ruse.
Adray's eyes scanned the identification and read to himself, "Samora Opar." He looked at the two of them, then frowned slightly as he looked at Liam.
"It's not that they couldn't pass as siblings, but...he has something in his eyes that she doesn't. He lost someone very close to him."
Adray knew that look well. He'd been staring at it in the mirror for more years than he'd care to count. He sighed slightly.
"Poor boy, losing someone that important at such a young age."
Well, he could hardly tell people that they weren't allowed in because one of them was feeling loss and the other wasn't. He handed Samora her ID back.
"You can come in with me," he said, holding up a hand before the guard could protest. "Just try to keep your heads down. We're not really taking in any civilians at the moment."
He smiled slightly, a bit of a foreign motion to him, then motioned for them to follow him.
-----------------
Alistair shrugged and replied, "Nothing much. I was bored so I thought I'd see how you do your work."
He looked at the dirt and grime on Ben's face and thought wryly, "After all, I'm certainly never going to try to find out first hand."
"So why did Cid send you to fix the tram?" Amara asked setting her things on the ground next to the buggy as Leah unloaded bags packed with tools.
"Ugh, I'm not here to fix anything." Leah said groaning and rolled her eyes, "I've been grounded, literally. No air travel whatsoever until further notice. God, blow up one god damned turbine and it's the end of the world. Oh, go ahead and load that up Amara. Anyway, I'm just here to transport the equipment." She lifted the gear and motioned for Amara to follow her to where Ben was working. "So is it just you guys and Alistair?"
"No, one more. His name is Arashi."
"Arashi huh? Is he cute?"
-------
Samora smiled at Liam as the man led them back into the library. She kept her head low as she walked but listened carefully to conversations as they passed by. It was hard to know exactly what had happened, but from what she gathered someone was hurt or killed and something important had been taken.
"Did you see anything?" She whispered to Liam once they were alone in the library. She had noticed him looking around and hoped he was able to pick up more than she had.
Arashi stepped out of the house and upon mention of his name and cute in the same sentence, walked over to Amara and the girl next to her. "Hey Amara and who might you be?" Arashi asked with a smile.
-----------------
Vrede smiled as he rammed his car into the ribs of a pedestrian crossing the road. He was on his way to Edge to handle some "business" with a supposed RETABLIR supporter. He was elated at the thought because Elia wasn't with him.
Alistair leaned closer to look inside at the machinery.
"So, how much study does it take to really understand how these things work?" he asked Ben. There was a loud clunking noise and he staggered back coughing. Whatever had happened inside, it had sent up a cloud of black dirt, which was now covering his face. He wiped it with the back of his glove, which only served to smudge it in streaks on his face. He sighed to himself.
"Just my luck."
---------------
"Well, I heard some snatches of conversation. Something about missing files. When we passed by that group by the stairs I saw a report in the one guy's hand. Only thing I could make out was a name: Dr. Beth Powers. Whatever this commotion is about must have something to do with her."
---------------
Elia played with her hair as she layed on the roof.
"Boring..." she thought with a sigh. The group hadn't managed to do anything exciting, and she couldn't really make any moves on Alistair. She pouted, wondering if Aeron and Vrede were doing anything more exciting.
"Probably getting to kill people," she thought enviously. "Bastards."
"Arashi, this is Leah." Amara introduced the two a smile playing on her face. "She's our ride to Costa del Sol."
"Nice to meet ya." Leah said flipping her hair to the side so she could look at him better. "Yep, cute. It's good to know that when I check the rearview mirror, I'll have something nice to look at." She gave him a wink before continuing on.
"Charming as always." Amara said sacastically and giggled.
"Might as well get it out of the way right?"
-------
"Dr. Powers?" Samora repeated thinking about the papers she had looked over. "She did a lot of research on geostigma and planet movements. Did you hear anything about how she died?"
-------
"Ugh, sorry." Ben said hopping out of the machine. He grabbed up a clean cloth and threw it at Alistair. "Here, always a good idea to carry one. I don't know how much study persay, I've been working around machines my whole life so it kinda comes naturally I guess." He scratched the back of his head thoughtfully then asked as he jumped back inside with the gears, "So why you heading to Edge?"
Liam shook his head. "It wasn't natural though. That much is obvious. If I'm putting pieces together right, then she was probably assassinated to get her research. But why?"
He had been staring at his lap in concentration, but then looked up at Samora.
"What do you make of all of this?"
-------------
Alistair wiped his face, then looked at the cloth, feeling satisfied to see that most of it had come off his face. He'd probably need to wash it properly later to get the last traces off.
"To Edge? Well, we were planning to visit RETABLIR headquarters to see if we could help them in any way with the restoration of the planet. At least, that's my end goal. I'm not sure what the others plan to do after we get there."
He thought of Amara and wondered if they'd be parting company after that.
"I wonder if she'll remember me," he thought.
Arashi smiled. "Heehee, I get that alot." he replied. "So what're are you girls doin'?" he asked.
Uri caught sight of Amara, Arashi and Leah and ran out to meet them. As he came closer he heard Leah tell Arashi he was cute and rolled his eyes. He came up behind Amara and nudged her.
"Hey, where have you been?" She asked him giving him a friendly pat on the head.
"Some kids were petting me." He replied with a grin making Amara laugh.
"I'm taking this stuff to my brother." Leah said to Arashi. "I need to make sure he has everything he needs before I can take you guys anywhere."
------
Samora thought for a moment about Liam's question.
"I'm not sure." She said finally. "In her papers she seemed like she was making a connection between geostigma and the disasters that have been happening for the last ten years. Maybe she discovered exactly what the connection was. But who would want to kill her for that?"
------
Aeron flipped through Dr. Power's papers and smirked to himself.
She was brilliant. Pity.
Liam shrugged and replied, "Who knows. Unless there's people who don't want that connection to be made."
He leaned forward in his chair and whispered in a lower voice, "Do you think we should try to find out? RETABLIR is on edge so we'd have to be careful."
---------------
Elia dialed Aeron and smirked.
"I hear you got to kill some RETABLIR scientist. Some people get all the fun. Even if she was a woman, at least it's killing someone. I've been stuck up here waiting for these brats to do something."
"Well, it's why I came here." Samora said determined, "I want answers. Let's see if we can find anything that will give us a clue to who killed her and hopefully that will tell us what they're trying to hide."
--------
"I'm sorry to hear that." Aeron said as sympathetically as he could. "If it makes you feel any better, that assignment has made it more difficult with Samora. I haven't been in contact with her at all today. I'm open to any suggestions."
--------
Ben threw out the damaged gears then jumped out into the fresh air. He was already starting to get a little sweaty and wiped his face again. When he saw the grime on the cloth he looked at Alistair and laughed at the expression on his face.
"It's a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it." He said smiling broadly. "To tell you the truth, I don't know what I'd do if I wasn't covered in grease."
"All right," Liam replied while nodding. "But what did you have in mind. Do you want to try spying around the facility or trying to see what we can dig up through the system? The former is probably pretty risky but the latter isn't likely to reveal too much."
--------------
"Missing your girlfriend already?" she said teasingly. "Well if she's back at RETABLIR then I would stay away. You know they're on high alert after your bit of quick work over at Midgard. I'd wait for her to call, or if you really want to talk to her then spy around the entrance to see when they leave. I guess it's your choice."
---------------
Alistair titled his head and looked at Ben with interest, like he was a new species.
"So...you like being dirty?" he asked, trying to understand the mindset of the younger man. How interesting.
Ben laughed at Alistair's response. He was beginning to like him.
"No, that's not it." He clarified. "I'm just used to it, that's all." Leah and the rest approached the two and she set down all the equipment. "Hey, how's it going? I'm Ben." He took off his glove and extended his hand to Arashi as he introduced himself.
"Wow!" Amara exclaimed with a chuckle, "You've been here ten minutes and you're already filthy."
"I was just telling Alistair here it's all part of the job." He replied rumaging through his his tools. When he found what he wanted, he went back to work.
"You too?" She asked referring to the dirt on Alistair's face. She held out her hand for the cloth he was holding. "Here, let me get it."
Alistair handed it to her hesitantly, hoping that when his face appeared red afterward that everyone would attribute it to the friction from wiping.
"Of course," he replied, placing it in her hand and chiding himself. There was nothing to be embarrassed about. She was being polite and doing him a favor like any good-natured person would do. Feeling much more at ease, he smiled slightly at her.
After Aeron hung up with Elia, he went to his usual post outside the RETABLIR building. After thinking about it, he decided to let Samora contact him first, but he would still have to observe her since INQUINA still needed his regular updates as to her movements.
------
Samora had chosen to start with the data banks first, since poking around RETABLIR in its current state would probably have them ending up in a detention facility. After the man that met them at the entrance had let them back in, it didn't seem like a good idea to push their luck. At least, not right away.
------
Amara returned Alistair's smile and left her hand on his a moment before taking the cloth from him. Uri frowned as he watched her gently wipe the dirt off of Alistair's face. She had told him about what happened between them the night before and how she thought she felt about him and he was left with mixed feelings about the whole thing. Still wary about Alistair, happy that Amara confided in him, but more than anything he was worried. He promised he would be nice and he would be, but that didn't mean he had to like it.
"Hey!" Leah called to her brother, "You got everything you need?"
"Uh, yeah." He pulled himself out and dumped more broken parts on the ground. "Dio should be getting me all the parts I need. Hopefully I'll finish everything by tomorrow."
"Alright then!" Leah slapped her hands together and turned to the others. "If ya'll are ready, we can leave. And I'm letting you know right now I don't like backseat drivers. You don't like my driving, you can walk."
"Um, hey Amara?" Ben said quietly as the others were leaving. She turned and gave him an inquisitive look. He quickly wiped his hand and placed it gently on her shoulder. "Let me know when you find out anything ok?"
"Sure." She said giving him a small friendly smile, "You take care."
Ben watched her go frowning deeply. He rubbed the back of his neck before taking up a giant wrench and getting back to work.
Liam, however, was not as patient as Samora. Really, it was quite a feat that he had been able to wait this long to find his mother's killer. He sat next to her, arms crossed, chafing at the delay. His mind wandered to the man that had let them in earlier. What had his name been? He heard someone mention it in passing.
"Lasbard," he remembered. "They called him Commander Lasbard."
Liam thought of the look in Commander Lasbard's face, that great sadness that lingered behind his eyes.
"I wonder...did he lose someone too?" he thought. Now suddenly something occurred to him. Commander Lasbard would surely have access to all files on the computers, but Liam doubted he would get it for them. They could access the data as him, but they would need a password. He had a hunch at what it might be.
"So, having any luck?" he asked Samora.
--------------
After bidding Ben farewell, Alistair followed Amara and Leah to their ship.
"I wonder what that was all about," he thought as he watched Amara walk. "What is Ben expecting her to find out?"
Knowing that he probably wasn't going to find out by guessing and that it would be rude to ask, he silently conceded to let the matter drop. Maybe she would tell him in time.
Samora chewed on her lower lip as she looked at the computer screen.
"Actually...yeah." Samora replied turning the monitor so Liam could see what she found. "It's by some tabloid conspiracy nut, but he makes a lot of references to Dr. Powers' work. Somewhere...ah, here it is. 'with the current state of planetary movement, it is safe to assume that there may be some organizations that will try to profit from or exploit the deterioration. As to how that may come about is yet to be determined.' I think I heard about one of the organizations he's talking about. I can't remember what's it's called though."
--------
"Alright, load up everyone!" Leah called jumping into the driver seat.
"I call shot gun!" Amara cried excitedly rushing to the passenger side and Uri took the opportunity to talk to Alistair.
"She told me about last night." He said calmly. Seeing the look on Alistair's face he made a shrugging motion. "After getting so mad for keeping things from her, she thought not telling me would just be hypocritical. It's not like anything happened though, right?" He turned and looked at Alistair expectantly.
Liam nodded. He had already thought as much. After all, his mother's killer was a part of one of these organizations.
"Well, I think we can find out. Can you bring up any personal files about Commander Lasbard's history? I have a hunch we can find his password in there and use it to get full access to the databanks."
------------
"No...of course not," Alistair replied, feeling a lead weight hit his stomach. Well, this was just peachy. Now everyone knew about his moment with Amara. How embarrassing. However, that feeling was immediately washed over by the annoyance that she was discussing his personal matters.
"I know Uri's her best friend," he thought. "But still...it was private. She could have at least asked me first."
"Good." Uri said nodding his head then sighed and added. "I won't lie, I really don't like this whole thing, but...I'm not the one you need to worry about. I think she actually trusts you, which is a big deal for her. I just hope you don't let her down." His voice carried no animosity or aggression, just a hint of worry and he took his turn to jump in the buggy taking up a seat next to a window and stuck his head out.
-------
"Personnel files, no. But..." She said giving Liam a sly smile, "I did find an article in the database if you want to take a look."
Alistair sighed and stared at the floor. He couldn't make heads or tails out of this situation. She had seemed really...interested in him that night. Now she was acting completely nonchalant about it like it really hadn't been anything important. But now Uri was implying that he had some kind of duty to look out for her feelings.
"What do these people expect from me?" he thought with a groan.
----------
"An article?" Liam asked, scooting his chair closer to look at the screen. "What is it?"
Samora pulled up the article of Cynthia Norr and the Commander's engagement and then clicked over to her obituary. She showed Liam and frowned sadly.
"You know how he feels huh?" She asked grief coming up into her voice. "Me too. But I think it won't be too hard to figure out what his password could be."
-------
The drive was far better than walking, but it seemed really quiet. Arashi was sleeping, Uri was happy with his head out the window and Leah seemed content to just be getting out of North Corel. Amara had very little else to do but reflect on her dance with Alistair and every time she thought about it, her stomach t urned in knots. Several times, she caught herself sneaking looks at him and Leah eventually noticed.
"What are you doing?" Leah mouthed to her.
"Nothing." Amara mouthed back. Leah checked her mirror and arched an eyebrow at her.
"Do you like him?" She asked and Amara's eyes widened and she blushed as she turned her head away from her friend. Oh, poor Ben. "So Alistair, is this your first time to Costa del Sol?"
"My thoughts exactly," Liam replied. He had felt his heart turn to ice when Samora mentioned how he felt, but he that immediately changed to curiosity. The sadness in her voice was obvious. Had he somehow missed it? Had she lost someone too?
"Let's-" his voice faltered a moment, but he quickly regained it. "Let's see what we can find then."
------------
Alistair heard his name and looked up to see Leah glancing at him through the mirror. He gave a friendly smile.
"Yes, it is. I've been past this way to Edge when I was younger but we never stopped there. I hear it's quite a place."
"Yeah it's great." Leah grinned back at him, "I actually have a key to a villa there. If there isn't a ship to Junon right away, we can hang out there if you want."
"Cid gave you a key?" Amara asked dubiously.
"More or less." She beamed at Amara who rolled her eyes in return.
Alistair chuckled to himself at Leah's ingenuity and secretly hoped that there wouldn't be a ship there when they arrived.
"Relaxing at Costa del Sol would be nice," he thought with a contented smile as he closed his eyes to relax.
--------------
"FESTANCA..." Liam said as he read off the screen. "So they're the organization that assassinated Dr. Powers. Is the name ringing any bells then?" he asked Samora.
After two and a half hours driving, they arrived at Costa del Sol. They stopped at the harbor first to find out when the next ship was leaving for Junon. Apparently the earthquake had damaged the dock back in Junon and it was shut down, though they estimated that ships would be running again by tomorrow.
After hearing that, Leah drove them up to the villa.
"Well, first things first." She said hopping out of the buggy and unlocking the door. She stepped inside and looked around. "Hmm, everything looks fine. Try not to make a mess while you're here or my dad will kill me. Uri, there's air conditioning inside you should probably hang out here until dark."
"Oh thank god." Uri said already panting from the humidity. He made his way inside then collapsed in front of the air conditioner.
"Alright, make yourselves at home." Leah said plopping down onto the nearest sofa.
Amara walked out on the deck and looked out to the ocean. She watched the waves roll up on the shore, took a deep breath of the sea air and felt wonderfully relaxed and at peace. Too bad Uri isn't able to enjoy it. She looked back to see him passed out in front of the cool air and shook her head. Slowly her eyes drifted over to Alistair and she smiled to herself. Well, maybe we can get some time alone again.
------
Samora stared at the name FESTANCA on the monitor and nodded to Liam.
"Yeah." She said to him, her eyebrows creased in a deep frown. "I've only heard rumors, but what I know for sure is that they're openly against RETABLIR."
Alistair couldn't help but smirk slightly at Uri's expense, thought that was short lived when he started to realize his own hatred of intense heat. He rolled up the sleeves of his shirt to try to feel more relaxed when he saw Amara look back at him from the deck. It caught him by surprise, but he was even more surprised to find himself smiling automatically.
"Strange...how she can make me do that," he thought.
-----------------
Liam sighed to himself. He was going to take a pretty big step here, and he hoped that it wouldn't ruin things, but really, he couldn't let that man hurt Samora after she had been so nice to him.
"Samora," he started hesitantly, "how much do you trust Aeron?"
"Hey I have an idea!" Leah said jumping up from the sofa. "Let's get something to eat then we can go down to the beach."
"I didn't pack a swimsuit." Amara replied coming back inside from the deck.
"This is Costa del Sol, hun. We can buy some. Actually..." She looked at the present company and shook her head, "you guys should probably get some too, you'll be way more comfortable in them here."
"Hmm," Amara said looking over at Uri, "Will you be ok?"
"Uh-huh." Uri said weakly, "Just get me something to eat, please."
"That's settled then." Leah linked her arm around Amara's and drug her out the door then called back behind her, "Hey, Arashi. Ever gone surfing before?"
--------
Aeron. I almost forgot about him. Samora thought taken aback by Liam's question.
"I don't really know." She said then frowned. There was something in his tone that she didn't like. "Why do you ask?"
"Excuse me," Said a lady coming up to them, "I'm sorry, but the facility is temporarily off limits to the public. I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave."
"Oh!" Samora quickly closed out of everything she had been looking at and erased the history. Not like that'll help much if they actually start looking. "Yeah, we'll leave right now, thanks."
She got up piled all her printouts into her bag and steered Liam to the exit. As she was walking by security guards a thought occured to her. Oh god, they saw my ID.
"Actually, I think I'm going to stay here with Uri," Alistair called after them, hardly believing his own words. Of course, Amara had already caught him bathing but he still didn't find the idea of swimming together...well, proper. Maybe this would gain some points in Uri's eyes too since he had inadvertently declined to seeing her in a bathing suit. Besides, he could always visit the beach at night.
----------
"What's wrong?" Liam whispered harshly, seeing the frantic look on her face. It couldn't have been that she left something behind. And he didn't think anyone had noticed their accessing of the system. At least not yet. But it's not like they would know...Wait. No. No no no.
"Samora, that ID. It...it wasn't real, was it?" he asked, his own mind becoming frantic.
Samora felt the blood drain from her face, but kept herself steady.
"Unfortunately yes." She whispered, her voice shaking slightly. Images of interogation rooms and detention cells filled her mind "I didn't really plan on hacking into the company database at the time."
Probably the worst posible time ever! I just get into town, a reknowned scientist is murdered, her research stolen and I'm using someone else's security clearance to find out more about it. She shuddered. I'm screwed.
She looked at Liam and frowned. At least they still didn't know who he was. After they were some distance away from the building, she took him to a side alley to talk.
"Look, I...I think it's better if you go your own way for now." She told him seriously. "You should probably take this though." She passed him the bag with the reports she had printed out. "If they actually do try to track me down maybe I can convince them I was just curious about what was happening. Harder to do when I have all this in my possession, but I don't want to destroy it just yet."
She gave him a weak smile and shrugged. "Who knows, maybe nothing will happen. Be careful, ok? Hopefully, I'll be able to find you later."
She waved good bye to him and started on her way back to her hotel room.
----------
"You don't want to go out too?" Uri asked lifting his head to look at Alistair.
---------
"How about this one?" Amara asked holding up a cute one piece suit against her. Leah gave it one look and frowned.
"Amara, I love you but I refuse to be seen with you if you wear that." She snatched the suit away from her and put it back on the rack. After taking a moment to look, she pulled down a hot pink set with low rise boy shorts and a string bikini top and handed it to her. "Here, this is super cute."
"Then why don't you get it?" She asked eyeing the suit doubtfully.
"Two reasons." Leah said as she rummaged for a suit for herself. "One, pink looks better on you than me and two, your boobs are bigger than mine and that's the only size the top comes in."
"Wow." Amara blushed feeling suddenly very embarrassed.
"Oh I like this one." Leah took a blue bikini from the rack and pulled Amara to the registor. "I'm buying it for you so you have to wear it and that's that."
Liam stared down at the bag, unable to move.
"Now what?" he thought. If she got thrown in a detention center then he'd probably never get to find her again. There would go his would revenge plan. Besides, he didn't want to see her get put away for his idea.
"What can I do?" he thought miserably.
--------------
Alistair smiled at the wolf-lion.
"The beach scene really isn't my thing," he said as he pulled out a book from his pack and opened it. He gave a slight shrug.
"I might stroll down there later to to sit on the beach and read. We'll see."
Uri laid his head back and partially closed his eyes so he could watch Alistair. He's an interesting man. Uri thought to himself. I wonder how many books he took with him?
"What are you reading?" Uri asked after a long silence.
------
This is depressing. Samora thought as she walked back to her hotel. I just hope Liam will be alright.
Clouds started rolling in over head, making things seem dark and dreary. While she was walking she passed by a phone booth and thought about Aeron again. She stopped and looked at the booth and thought about what Liam had said.
I wonder what he was getting at. She pulled the card out of her pocket and looked at Aeron's handwriting. It was quick and percise, surprisingly neat for a man. Suddenly, she had the urge to talk to someone and she didn't want to go back and risk finding Liam just yet. Slowly she walked over to the phone and dialed his number.
"Hello?" Came his smooth icy voice.
"Hi Aeron? This is Samora...."
"History of the Cetras," he replied without looking up. "They were a fascinating people. It's a tragedy that they all died out."
He silently thought of Amara and her mysterious reaction to the disturbance in the Lifestream.
"I know she can't be a Cetra, but I wonder what her connection to the Planet is," he thought.
------------
Liam's feet dragged him down the path toward his house automatically. His mind was working so furiously about his predicament that he was giving little thought to all else.
"What am I going to do?" he thought, tugging at his hair. He suddenly stopped in the street, his mind suddenly put on hold.
"Samora...I never got to warn her about Aeron! She's probably going to turn to him. I've got to do something!"
At hearing his reply, Uri got to his feet and padded over to where Alistair sat.
"Yes, it is tragic." Uri agreed sadly. "Our people worked to cultivate the planet together, at one time."
"Is that so?" Alistair replied, tilting his book down enough to meet the wolf-lion's eyes. "I was unaware of your peoples' connection. It must have been fascinating to meet them."
His eyes drifted down to the pages as he silently pondered the Cetra.
"I wonder...do the Cetra still influence the Planet even now, even after their extinction?"
--------------
"They what?!" Elia screeched into the phone. A FESTANCA informer in the village had just called to tell her that the group had left on a ship.
"Damn it all!" she swore, resisting the urge to smash her phone. She was going to have to think.
"All right...I know they left with some blond girl...and I saw some blond cowboy bitch (lol) and her twin walking into the inn before. So he must still be around here somewhere."
She hurried from her lookout spot to try to find Ben. She snatched a sweater and skirt off a clothes line and threw them on over her close to appear more conspicuous and began her search. After about fifteen minutes she spotted a blond teenager working on some kind of machine. She drew up close and tapped him on the shoulder, smiling cutely at him when he turned around.
"Hi there," she said shyly.
It was midday and had gotten really warm and Ben decided to take a break. He had taken off his shirt and poured water over his head to cool down when the blond woman tapped him. She was about his age and very attractive, but there was something in her eyes that seemed off.
"Um hi." He said giving her a faint smile feeling uncertain about her, "Can I help you miss?"
-------
Samora sat on the curb staring down at her boots. Hmm. I wonder if this is a good idea.
As the thought entered her mind a sleek black car pulled up beside her and Aeron stepped out. She smiled up at him and he helped her stand.
"I'm glad you called." He said his tone as steady as ever. "Is there something wrong?"
"Um...no, I just wanted some company."
"Alright. Where do you want to go?"
"Surprise me." She smiled brightly as she stepped into the car.
"Very well then." Aeron replied with a smirk. He got in the car and they drove away.
"Yes," she said, blushing innocently. "I was wondering what you were doing in there, getting all sweaty and dirty in there."
She rubbed a smudge of dirt on the end of his nose with the tip of her finger and giggled.
-----------
Liam's feet pounded up the pavement until her saw what he thought was Samora getting into a black car.
"No!"
He hurried but the car pealed away and he stopped short in the street.
"What do I do? He's probably going to kill her, just like he did my mother," he whispered. He pulled his Sylph Blades from his blazer and gripped them in his hands.
"Then I'll just have to get to him first."
Ben wrinkled his nose after she touched it and smiled awkwardly.
"Yeah, it gets pretty hot inside." He said rubbing the back of his neck then remembering his manners added. "I'm Ben by the way. What's your name?"
-------
Uri walked to the door leading out to the deck and looked out towards the ocean.
"This will be my first time leaving the continent." He said thougthfully, "I want to be able to find my place out there, to help the planet like my ancestors and the Cetra." He turned and looked back at Alistair bowing his head slightly. "I guess we have a lot in common when I think about it."
"My name's Illya," she replied, not wanting to use her real on the off-chance that the pack of brats had mentioned it. She held her hands behind her back and shuffled her feet shyly.
"So...are you out here all by yourself?" she asked. She blushed and looked away quickly. Damn, she was getting at this. Good thing too. She needed to find out where they went.
-------------
Alistair gave a genuine smile.
"You're right," he replied quietly. "I guess that's what brought us together in the first place."