Balamb garden was alive with activity. People going this way and that, students talking, playing cards; and in the nearby training area some were fighting grats and the recently added caterchipillars. In the middle of the busy thrum of people stood Alex Kinnhart. Though eighteen, he wasn't particularly tall, and he seemed to be distant from the other students, as if he was far older (or younger) than them.
Walking down the main hallway, he passed a group of three students. As he carried on, he heard them splitting into laughter.
"(Where they laughing at me? Or was it a co-incidence?)" He dared not look over his shoulder to see. He shook the thought away. Of course it was co-incidence. He hated the paranoid side of him that would have him believe everyone hated and ridiculed him.
Sighing heavily, he slumped against the fountain in the center of the hallway, looking into the cafeteria across the walkway. Peering inside, he noticed a small robotic dog was being chased around the floor by a furry pink thing and a fit-looking ninja girl carrying a shuriken.
Suddenly, the sound of his name being spoken on the intercom distracted him from the scene.
"I repeat, could Alexander Kinnhart please report to Instructor Trepe in front of the Library. Thanks." The voice of Nida came.
"Oh, swell. I only just passed, and they want me for another assignment." Alex mumbled, getting to his feet. He walked around the circular fountain of the center of the Garden, looking up to see the tall female instructor glancing around.
Although Alex sometimes felt like he was the only male student at Balamb who didn't have a crush on Instructor Quistis Trepe, he nevertheless knew a beautiful woman when he saw one. Unfortunately she was twenty-two going on sixty, most of the time. Besides… tall, high-ranking girls weren't his type.
"Good morning Alex." She said plainly as he walked up to her.
"Morning Instructor Trepe." Alex said in monotone. "You asked to see me?"
Quistis smiled. "Straight to business, like a workaholic SeeD. Just like someone else I know…" She glanced away.
"Yeah… whatever. I have an assignment, so let me get on with it." Alex stated simply.
"Okay," the instructor grinned, seeing how serious he was, "I'll tell you what Cid has asked you to do."
Alex nodded as Quistis took a breath. "Just over three years ago you might recall Galbadia began a campaign of war that resulted in desolation at Dollet."
"Among other places." Alex said sourly.
Quistis shut her eyes for a brief moment upon realising what he meant. "Yes. Well, things have been quiet around Galbadia since back then. But trouble is brewing now that a dangerous Galbadian National has been elected to run things. A former Anti-Esthar Terrorist named Janson Labeck."
"What does this have to do with the desolation at Dollet?" Alex enquired.
"Well, the authorities at Dollet obviously don't want a re-run of the invasion they suffered, and have dispatched a special agent to keep watch on their neighbour. But she recently stopped sending regular updates and seems to have gone missing. We want you to go and find out what happened to her and bring her back.
In addition, Dollet are requesting we put Labeck out of the picture. We refuse to assassinate, so you'll be taking him down with poison ammunition during his speech tonight in Deling city. It will cause him to fall ill for a long time and he'll be out of politics."
"How do you expect me to take him out with poison rounds? I have a Gunblade." Alex shrugged.
"We don't. Alex, meet our firearm and explosives expert..." The instructor gestured toward a girl standing not so far away at the doorway to the Library. She stood relaxed, pistols holstered by her sides and a bright smile on her face. Quistis nodded and she walked up to them.
"Liana Heartilmitt, nice to meetcha." She beamed.
"Likewise." Alex smiled as they shook hands.
"She's possibly our best gunfighter, and you'd never know a more accurate sniper." Quistis complimented. Such words were unusual from Instructor Trepe, so when they were said they meant a lot more.
"Aww, thankyou Miss Trepe." Liana grinned.
"So where do we start looking for this agent?" Alex asked the instructor.
"You leave on the Ragnarok in half an hour, which will fly you to just outside Deling city. You must make your way into the city and start looking. She'll only respond to the code phrase 'Seventh Heaven'." Quistis explained.
"Alrighty…" Liana nodded.
"What's her name?" Alex asked curiously.
"Carlie Tirol. She's using a fake name, Tifa Lockheart, though."
"Right." Alex looked outside beyond the gate, across Fisherman's Horizon to see the docked Ragnarok in the distance. "But what are you sending me for?" He suddenly thought aloud.
"Because we need someone to cover our sniper during the whole procedure. Normally snipers work in pairs, but this situation calls for things to be done differently." The instructor replied.
"I'm the next best thing?" Alex said with a hint of depression.
"No, a gunblade specialist is. And you're the best one we have got right now." She assured him.
"Well, let's get going then!" Liana said happily.
* * *
The Ragnarok went searing into the clear sky, and banked sharply to go west from Fisherman's Horizon. At the end of the continent-spanning bridge was Galbadia, and Deling city beyond that.
They'd been travelling for a while when Liana appeared inside the cockpit and began to watch the pilot, a Garden soldier.
"Can I drive?" She said bouncily.
"No." the stern man at the controls replied.
"Please."
"No."
"Go on."
"No." He answered again. "I'm the only person permitted to drive the Ragnarok."
"C'monnnn!!!" She pleaded. "Just for a second…"
"Liana?" Alex said from the doorway. "I think you'd better leave him to concentrate."
"Oh, alright." She walked over to him. "You been on this thing before?"
"Yeah…" Alex nodded.
"I ain't! It's soooo cool!" She started to shift from one foot to the other. "I mean, we're like, flying!"
"Yeah…"
"And everything is small…" She peered out of one of the windows. "Look! There's Timber coming up in the distance."
Alex looked out too. "So it is! I was born in Timber." He smiled.
"Really? I thought you were from Trabia…" Liana looked a little confused.
"Yeah, well I am. I've lived just about everywhere." He said, the smile fading as he remembered Trabia.
"Um," Liana began, trying to cheer him up by losing the subject, "are you a Treppy, by the way?"
"You mean a 'worshipper-to-all-things-Trepe'?" Alex said, and they laughed.
"I'll take it you're not. Poor Instructor Trepe though… she said they even give her a hard time, sometimes." Liana watched as they passed over Timber.
"Ooh… It must be hard being loved." Alex said. The bitterness in his voice was clear, but somehow he made it sound not too serious as to darken the conversation.
"Everybody has at least one person who loves them. You just have to remember that you won't always know who they are. At least, that's what I believe." Liana said thoughtfully.
"And you're probably right." Alex nodded with a smile.
The Ragnarok sped on until it reached the outskirts of Deling city, then proceeded to land discreetly in a forest clearing. Fortunately the Ragnarok's advanced Esthar design was able to deflect most radar.
As the craft pulled away, it left two figures and boxes behind. Alex and Liana pulled the two crates out of the clearing and into the safely concealed depths of the forest. Stopping, they looked to the supply containers.
"So what's in them?" Alex asked.
"That's items for various uses." Liana pointed to the crate she'd been dragging. "Potions, ethers, phoenix downs, eye drops and such. We even got a phoenix pinion, should we need it."
The thought of Phoenix suddenly reminded Alex. "Have you junctioned GF and magic?" He checked.
"Yep. GFs Siren and Monolithic." She affirmed, walking over to the other crate. "This one," She lifted the lid to reveal a mass of metal weapon components, "contains the parts for my rifle and other useful add-on gadgets." She took out the parts and began to snap them together. "You still have your Gunblade?"
"Yeah." Alex flipped his Gunblade up and caught it a few times, like one would with a tennis racket. "And I've junctioned GFs Ramuh and Naginata." He slid the gunblade onto a clip at his side, so his long leather coat concealed it.
"Okay, you know where we're headed."
"I do."
"Then let's rock." Liana grinned, holding up the completed sniper rifle to her eye level.
* * *
Kodansha Fujal knew what had to be done. She was to follow that girl. She didn't know who the girl was or why she had to follow her. But her instructions were there for a reason, and ought to be followed even if you don't really understand the whole scheme. But that wasn't quite the point. Kodansha didn't really *care* about the greater meaning of it. So what? It was interesting just trailing people anyway.
And besides, things were rarely so simple. Somehow Kodansha had lost the trail. After training nearly all her life toward her profession, she'd lost a little girl. It couldn't really be helped though: the trail came to a dead end in the middle of the Dingo Desert, Galbadia. Not a sign, not even vehicle tracks carried on. Some kind of plane? No, it would have left marks on the sand as it took off. Simply disappeared.
Standing from her stooped position at the end of the footprints in the sand, Kodansha sighed a little. She refused to return to Galbadia Garden. She *never* returned to the Garden unless she was through. There was simply no point. And she didn't want to think she'd be letting them down.
The familiar shriek of a Buel monster sounded nearby. The desert was a dangerous place, but nothing the SeeD Ninja couldn't handle. She grinned at the thought, though the expression was hidden under her face-mask.
"(Kodansha, the untouchable. Heh hee…)" She nodded to herself.
The sound of another Buel came, this time closer. But another sound followed it: a metallic weapon striking one.
Sharpening her senses, Kodansha hurried quickly toward a rock, peering over it to see where the sound was coming from. Nothing. The desert over the rocks was empty. She cursed, and then turned to slump against the rock. Was she hearing things?
* * *
It had begun to rain heavily in Deling city as night set in. The horizon lit up with a flash, and thunder followed shortly afterward. As with any big city, there was still a bustle of activity in the streets with cars and people hurrying through the relentless downpour. Alex and Liana stood at the foot of the Gateway, a large case in Liana's hand that contained her rifle. Having hidden the two crates outside the city, it was their only luggage besides some items in Alex's long coat.
"Damn." Alex uttered.
"What?" Liana turned her head.
"You don't think Labeck is gonna make a speech in this storm, do you? We may have to wait until tomorrow." Alex brushed his wet hair back from his face. "Not that I don't like storms, though."
"Don't forget our priority. We gotta find out what happened to Carlie Tirol." She reminded him.
Alex nodded. "Yeah, but where could she be?"
"Hence the term 'missing'." Liana said smugly.
Alex couldn't help but smile. She was right, but for some reason it hadn't occurred to him until now just how hard this was gonna be. "We're looking for an undercover agent somewhere in a capital city. I can't believe we agreed to this."
"We didn't have a choice." Liana pointed out.
Alex sighed as another roll of thunder came. "Maybe she got discovered and caught."
"By who?"
"Who else? Galbadian authorities under Labeck's new control have become far more xenophobic and suspicious. But where would the authorities keep her?" Alex pondered.
Liana leant her head back, looking up to the stormy sky. "Um… if she got found out there's a chance she's in the city prison, which is close to Caraway's Mansion. But it wouldn't be a good idea to try and bust in there unless we are totally sure that's where she is."
"Pssst!" A female voice came from behind a door in the Gateway. "You two!"
Alex turned to look into the darkness beyond the slightly ajar door. "Who's there?"
"In here, quick. Don't be seen." The voice came again.
Alex and Liana looked around quickly, then disappeared into the dark doorway one at a time. Inside was quite clearly lit.
"Hmnn... nice little place you got here." Alex said almost chattily. "A kind of seventh heaven, eh?"
The young woman smiled. "You must be the SeeDs. My name's Carlie Tirol, but you'll have to call me Tifa for now." She winked.
"Pleasure to meet you, Carlie. Name's Alex." Alex nodded.
"Heya! I'm Liana." Liana added enthusiastically.
"So how come you stopped transmitting to Dollet?" Alex asked.
"A couple of days back a police patrol discovered my location in a hotel room and raided it. Fortunately they didn't find me or uncover my identity, but my radio and other equipment was trashed. I had to lay low and eventually found this maintenance room inside the Gateway." Carlie explained. She began to climb the ladder up to the top of the room, closely followed by the two SeeDs.
"Something to eat?" Carlie asked.
"Yeah, thanks." Alex took the food Carlie offered. The three of them were quiet for a few minutes.
"So you're okay then?" Liana asked eventually.
"Yeah, I'm able to handle myself." Carlie smiled. "Nice to see the guys at Dollet made the effort to send you guys in to help me."
"Actually, we might need *your* help." Alex said. "Dollet want us to drug out Jason Labeck so he can't lead Galbadia for a while."
"I'm unarmed. What can I do?" Carlie stated.
"Watch our backs for a start." Alex stood and slid down the ladder. "Use Liana's pistols or something." He added, looking up at them as they descended the ladder.
"Yeah, I've always got Edward." Liana said to Carlie happily.
"Edward?" She replied with a frown, reaching the bottom.
"Edward the Sniper Rifle!" Liana said, holding her case up for exhibition before climbing down too.
"Your sniper ri-?" Alex's sentence trailed off as he buried his face in his palm.
"Um, thanks…" Carlie nodded, taking the pistols Liana gave to her. She still seemed unsure.
"What's wrong?" Liana asked, confused at her new friend's numb reaction.
"Let me guess… you've never used pistols before?" Alex probed.
"No, it's just that…" Carlie shrugged. "I'm not too good with them."
Alex walked over and stood beside her. "You grip the handle… a little more like this…" He held her hand and guided her fingers into place on the weapon. "See?" He looked up at her face.
"Yeah…" She nodded, looking back.
"It reduces re-coil and makes aiming a little easier if you suppress it by placing your other hand at the bottom…" Alex took her other hand and placed it as he'd described.
"That feels nice." Carlie agreed with another nod.
"I think she gets the picture." Liana stated, smiling a little.
"Um.. yeah." Alex nodded, moving away and toward the door.
"So… what's the plan?" Carlie shrugged.
Alex took a glance out of the doorway, and then turned to look at them both. "The storm has cleared. Labeck will be staging a speech before Deling city citizens tonight. We need to get Liana to a position where she can fire her poison bullet, but still have an escape opportunity."
"The speech is bound to be in front of the Gateway, so we may already have the perfect position." Carlie commented.
"Too predictable." Liana shook her head. "And it doesn't really leave us any method of escape."
"We don't have a lot of other options." Alex folded his arms.
"I can hit him from Esthar if I have to…" Liana joked.
"The Train Station might be a good spot. Or at least, on top of it." Carlie suggested.
"Yeah, we could escape by train." Alex nodded slowly. "And Liana should be able to hit him from there."
"Sure I will!!" Liana bounced. "But how will we get on a train?"
"Timing is everything." Alex smiled. "We just have to hit Labeck as a train is leaving…"
Liana's eyes went wide, wider than most would believe actually possible. "You don't mean we jump onto a train from the top of the Train Station?"
"That's exactly what I mean." Alex nodded seriously.
"You must be kidding!" Carlie shook her head.
In the distance, the sounds of a crowd grew a little louder.
"Sounds like they're already converging. We probably don't have much time." Alex's expression was anxious.
"Okay, I'm not backing out of this. I'm doing it for Dollet!" Carlie declared.
Alex gave Liana an encouraging look. "Liana?"
"Whadda ya mean? I'm in, obviously! I'm a SeeD!! Got nothing to worry about, whoo hoo, yeah." O.O
"Right…" Alex sighed as they left the Gateway toward the Train station.
* * *
Night had enveloped the Dingo Desert and Kodansha stalked the darkness in a relentless search for the mysterious young girl and where she'd gone. She'd been walking for some time and already fought countless Buels. They irritated her; they were weak, had no interesting magic and were little fun to actually fight.
Suddenly her sharp eyes caught a footprint in the sand a couple of metres away. Looking around carefully, she approached it and took a closer look. There were more around it, and small flicks taken out of the sand were also recognisable in the moonlight. Only a Buel makes flicks across the sand as its wings clip the ground. And the person who'd left the footprints had been running. Maybe she hadn't been hearing things.
"(The young girl perhaps?)" Kodansha thought carefully. "(No, these steps look too far apart. It was more likely somebody older. But who else would be out here?)"
She stood and looked from side to side. There was somebody else in this desert, and they had also made short work of the Buels. There was a slight rumble, as the ground seemed to lurch.
"(What the hell is going on?)" Kodansha thought to herself, shaking her head.
She quickly began to make her way to a distant formation of rocks, keeping quiet so as not to attract any Fastitocalon things. They were annoying too.
As she reached the rocks the ground rumbled again, only louder this time.
"(What *is* that?)" She thought, pausing for a moment.
* * *
Alex, Liana and Carlie pushed their way through the crowd surrounding the pedestal, that Janson Labeck was due to appear on at any moment. Blue and metal uniformed Galbadian soldiers were everywhere. Moving around the back of the Train Station's main building, they began to walk down a dark alleyway.
"Halt and surrender!" A voice called out from the darkness behind them. Alex had whirled around, drawn his Gunblade and pointed it at the man's silhouette, before he'd barely finished the sentence. "Not likely." He said.
"Be warned thief. We are SeeD." Liana called out, looking around.
"Hehe, very good… I look forward to gunblade duels! They are a rare pleasure." The grinning figure stepped into a dim light. He was a tall young man, dressed in a jacket. He drew his own gunblade.
Alex braced himself and kept his eyes on the enemy. "Run. Do the mission. There's no time for us to fight him."
Without a pause Liana nodded and left quickly, climbing the ladder on the side of the building to reach the roof, with Carlie right behind her.
Alex rested his Gunblade on his shoulder, and pointed to his enemy. "So you have a Gunblade too?"
"Yes, and you probably know why." The mysterious man replied.
"I don't really care…" Alex shrugged.
"Don't you remember me Alex?…"
"What? I don't know you at all…" Alex shook his head.
"You've only forgotten…" The man tormented him.
"Who are you?!" Alex demanded.
"Let's see how good you've become…" The attacker ignored Alex's question, charging toward him.
Alex held his Gunblade up to block the attack. The blades met with a shriek of metal, and he pushed his opponent back. With a growl, the attacker struck out again and again; and although Alex blocked them, the ferocity knocked him back.
"You aren't trying…" the stranger taunted.
Alex ran toward him with a cry, throwing his strength into the Gunblade's swing and bearing down on his opponent. The blades met loudly once again as his enemy blocked the attack. Alex swung at him twice more, his opponent dodging both times. The opponent drew back his weapon to counterattack but Alex made a surprising third slash diagonally. The attacker barely managed to block it in time, and it caused both combatants to stumble backwards.
"I'll grant you, your style is good." The mystery man chuckled.
"Just shut up and hit me." Alex retorted, launching forward into another attack. Metal met metal in a series of clashes and clangs as the pair struggled for victory. The attacker swiped down, but Alex dodged and cut into his enemy's arm. At that moment, he pulled the trigger.
*THUNK-KACHANG!*
The bullet dug into the wound, and the mysterious attacker fell to his knees.
"You won't beat me next time." He cursed.
"You're not quite beaten, and there won't be a next time." Alex stated, pointing his Gunblade at the attacker.
"Foolish…" Suddenly the figure leapt away, into the shadows. Then he was gone.
Alex stepped away, watching the darkness closely, and wiped the sweat from his brow.
"Whatever." He said quietly.
* * *
Liana knelt down and took her rifle from the case. She fitted the two parts of it together and clicked the sight-scope into position. Resting the very end of the long barrel on the edge of the wall around the top of the roof, she took a glance down the scope. Carlie watched around behind to make sure she wasn't sneaked on, taking occasional glances at what Liana was up to.
"Let's get him Edward…" Liana grinned, taking sight of her target as Carlie chuckled. The central pedestal was still empty.
"Won't the Galbadians realise Labeck was hit by a sniper and trace the origin of the bullet or something?" Carlie whispered.
"No, these are special bullets. I have three poison dart rounds; each one is barely noticeable when it enters the skin. And once it's in, it's almost un-detectable as the projectile dissolves in biological fluids like blood or whatever." Liana explained, her eyes still on the target area. "Only the poison capsule remains, which squirts out venom every couple of days. Labeck will keep falling ill for a few weeks."
"Pretty sick, really…" Carlie shook her head.
"Ya." Liana nodded a little.
Carlie paused. "Um… That just surprises me. I mean, you seem so happy-go-lucky and everything. Just seems very odd for a sniper."
"Well, I'm a gunfighter really, but I do lots of everything. But a lot of people tell me that."
"Does Alex think that?" Carlie reminded herself to keep her voice low mid-sentence.
"Dunno. Probably." Liana was still watching the pedestal. "I get the impression he's not the sort of person who expresses himself often."
"Hang on, somebody's coming!" Carlie held the pistol she was carrying at a shifting shadow at the top of the ladder.
"It's me guys, Alex."
"Oh, phew. You had me kinda jumpy." Carlie gave a short sigh.
"Labeck's speech begins at eight o'clock. The only train for another hour leaves at eight o'clock. This could be really tricky." Alex said quietly as he reached them.
"Hang on… he's coming up behind the stage…" Liana muttered.
The whistle of the Train echoed slightly in the background.
"Come on. We'll have to start running." Carlie said. "Hurry."
"Shushhh!" Liana hissed. The hum of a staring engine sounded from beneath them.
"Carlie, let's stand at the other end of the roof to jump on the train, Liana can follow." Alex said, running with her.
Liana closed in on Labeck, the complex display in the sight giving her all the information she needed, including a countdown to eight o'clock. Thirty-nine seconds left. She just had to hit Labeck from backstage.
Alex and Carlie came to a stop at the other end of the roof. Alex looked at his watch. He hoped the Trains in Galbadia were as late as everywhere else. Alas, the hiss of released air brakes came from beneath as a long dark shape began to move away very slowly.
Twenty seconds left. Liana had Janson in her sight, and wasn't going to get a better shot. With a deep breath, she pulled the trigger. A hundredth of a second later she saw her target wince a little. The bullet was in and Labeck was out.
Ten seconds left on her sight-scope display. She stood, trying to run while desperately folding the rifle back into its case. Slamming the case shut, she set her sights for the far end of the Train station roof.
Alex watched the dark shape of the train gather speed a little as it started to pass beneath them. Five seconds. Carlie slid off the roof and landed onto the train in a roll. She looked up with bright, anxious eyes as Alex did the same. As soon as he'd landed, he began to run down the carriages to the end of the train. His watch made a beep to signify eight o'clock. The train accelerated more as Liana appeared at the edge and threw herself toward it. Reaching the back, Alex held his hands out and caught Liana's arms as the end of the train pulled away. Alex pulled her up onto the roof before they were seen. Dazed, relaxed as Carlie came running down the carriage.
"You guys alright?" She asked.
Both Alex and Liana seemed exhausted, but a smile slowly appeared on Liana's face. "Yeah… we're SeeDs… nuthin' to worry about."
"Absolutely." Alex ran his hand through his hair before standing and taking his serious tone again. "Looks like we got away with it, Labeck is taken care of and Carlie's safe."
"So who's gonna keep watch on Deling now?" Liana pointed out.
"Without Labeck's leadership that shouldn't be necessary." Carlie assured. "I'm sure the people who sent me will sort that out in any case. Where's this train headed?"
"The station near Dollet." Alex told them. "We're meeting up with the Garden there."
Carlie nodded and sat down. Liana moved over slightly to make space.
"Ouch!" she shifted herself slightly. "I sat on a rivet." O.O
"I can see this is gonna be a rough ride home…" Alex grinned.
"Yeah, I just hope there ain't any real low bridges…" Carlie added.
* * *
The ground rumbled again. Kodansha still couldn't tell what it was, and she wasn't sure which direction she was going anymore. The clouds had made navigation by stars hopeless and the twisting patterns of sand and rock all looked the same. But then, she'd never been out in a desert before. There was nobody better at concealment in cities and that, but when it came to a desert there wasn't a lot of opportunity for surprise. You could spot a Geezard in time to boil a kettle, make a coffee and read a book before it reached you. It was just a load of… flat. With some rocks.
Kodansha grew tired. The whole day and half the night of searching, yet she still had nothing. Was she tracking a sorceress perhaps, with the ability of teleportation? No, why would she walk out into the desert to teleport somewhere…?
"(Maybe she's just some kinda phantom.)" Kodansha thought. "(No, that's just being stupid.)"
A sudden sound of rock grinding against rock alerted the SeeD to a disturbance behind her. Looking up the pile of boulders she had passed, she saw some small stones tumbling to the bottom.
"(They are trying to sneak up on me, perhaps?)" Kodansha suggested to herself. She turned around again upon hearing a growl and came face to face with a huge worm like creature that had burst out of the ground.
Leaping back and drawing her small sword, she eyed the odd creature.
"What are you?" She said rhetorically.
"Giant Desertworm." A female voice came as a young woman slightly older-looking than Kodansha ran up beside her.
"Who the hell are you?" Kodansha didn't even look round.
"My name is Juri-shai Kisatine," the young woman replied, holding her weapon in an attacking stance and watching the creature, "But you can call me Juri."
Kodansha didn't reply, she drew up her hand and cast 'blizzard', and moments later a ball of ice smashed into the Desertworm.
Juri grinned and leapt forward, her 'Oniyari' cutting a harsh blow into the creature. Suddenly, it fell dead.
Kodansha eyed Juri curiously. "How did you do that?"
The mysterious woman held up her spear-like weapon. "This is an Oniyari, or 'ghost spear'. It has the essence of dead spirits encased within it, and can sometimes steal the soul of what it hits, inflicting instant death."
"Effective." Kodansha commented simply.
"I like it." Juri nodded with a smile.
Kodansha was silent again.
"So…" Juri began. "You seemed lost. Who are you, and what are you doing wandering Dingo Desert?"
"None of your business." Kodansha began to walk away.
"That was the way you came." Juri remarked.
Kodansha turned around. "I don't do deserts. Let me stumble on my own, thank you very frickin' much."
"You may need my help." Juri suggested.
"No, I won't." Kodansha continued to walk.
Juri hurried along to walk beside her. "That Desertworm could've been a problem. I wonder if you'd ha-"
"Quit following me." Kodansha snapped.
"I'm not following you, I'm conversing and you're walking away." Juri explained.
"Then shut up."
"Foolish girl." Juri commented. "I have information you might find useful, too."
Kodansha stopped and exhaled deeply. "Okay, what?" she sounded fed up.
"You're looking for a young girl, aren't you?" Juri asked.
"So what if I am?"
"I know where she went, if you'll just come along." Juri sounded a little tired too.
"Okay…" Kodansha nodded as they began to walk.
"She actually left in some kind of Esthar hover vehicle." Juri elaborated.
"That would explain why it left no trail." The SeeD ninja nodded.
"Her name is Annie Tilgari. A magic bandit, she steals by drawing magic from people, and that skimmer is her escape method. She's good; I've been watching her for some time. Unfortunately I can never get to her in time to stop her."
"That's what you do?" Kodansha frowned.
"I'm a Shadow Hunter. I search for and destroy the monsters that infested the world after the last Lunar Tear, and I'm currently working for Winhill. I try and help people if I can." Juri replied honestly.
"I'm a ninja from SeeD. Name's Kodansha."
"Right." Juri nodded with a grin.
"Have you any idea where she was headed?" Kodansha asked.
"Well, with her skimmer, she might be going for the Centra continent…" Juri mused.
"Then we may need something to follow her with." Kodansha thought aloud.
The pair remained silent as they continued to walk southeast…
* * *
Alex, Carlie and Liana walked along the path to Dollet, having left the train when it reached the nearby station. They had almost reached the towns edge when Liana remembered the crates in the forest.
"That's some valuable equipment." She nodded.
"Yeah, Garden got a soldier in to retrieve it. I think his name's Tim." Alex said neutrally, keeping his eyes down and ahead.
"Oh, I know Tim." Liana nodded. "What are you going to do when you get home then?" she asked Carlie, who walked between them.
"Get some rest, and see if Dollet still need me for anything. I think they said something about sending aid to Winhill." The agent replied thoughtfully.
"What's happened at Winhill?" Alex queried.
"Haven't you heard?" Liana sounded surprised. "There's been some big monsters around there. More of these weird things that have made their way across from Esthar over the past couple of years."
"Winhill has requested SeeD, Dollet Independent Army, Esthar… they're in bad shape." Carlie added with a mournful nod.
"They've grown a bit these past years though…" Alex said, thinking aloud as he often did.
"Not quite enough to fight Esthar monsters." Liana shook her head.
"At least Esthar should be able to deal with them." Carlie smiled brightly.
"Yeah!! And we can go kick butt too after this, eh Alex?"
"Um, that depends on what Balamb Garden say." Alex told Liana, and then paused as he thought. "Hang on, what do mean by 'we'?"
Liana chuckled. "I mean WE! You don't have to keep doing things on your own!"
"It's no big deal, just how I always work." Alex replied with a dark face.
"You're no fun." Liana pouted jokingly.
Alex sighed, a smile beginning to creep across his face. "Alright. I'll stick around."
"Good." Liana smiled as they reached the gates into Dollet. The huge shape of Balamb Garden docked at the port seemed to fill the harbour and dwarf the moored ships alongside it. They walked down the road to the waterfront and reached the turning between the town center and the harbour.
"Well… this is where I say my goodbyes." Carlie turned to them, trying to smile happily.
"We'll miss you sooo much! Come back and see us!!" Liana was bouncing, but a tear was beginning to form in her eyes.
"Now don't you worry. I'll write." Carlie replied.
"Take care of yourself, Carlie." Alex said trying to smile.
"You too. It was so nice to meet you both, and I won't forget you. Not in a thousand years."
"I don't like saying goodbye!" Liana's eyes were watery.
"We'll be thinking of you too Carlie." Alex said sadly.
Carlie nodded. "Goodbye…" She turned and walked up the road toward Dollet's Intelligence Headquarters.
"Byaa!" Liana called after her, sniffing.
"C'mon, let's get back to the Garden." Alex said as they slowly began to walk toward the docks.
* * *
Open flat countryside and fields of flowers went on as far as Carlie could see around her. For some reason there were oddly clothed people running past her, all in the same direction. Then without warning, the ground began to shudder as a thunderous roar grew louder, and Carlie could barely stand up with all the vibrations. She turned around to the noise, and was greeted with the sight of at least a dozen huge machines floating across the sky effortlessly. Each of them was a little different from the other, but they all looked a bit like Balamb Garden and were roughly the same size. They were all going somewhere.
She held her hands over her ears with the deafening thrum, and turned to watch them as they passed over her. It was as if she was an ant watching human soldiers march to war. Suddenly, a beam seemed to lance from the very far horizon, cutting into one of the flying Garden-like machines, sending it drifting toward the ground in flames. Straight where Carlie was standing. She began to run but the shadow was already upon her and many of the screaming crowd. Closing her eyes, she curled up and waited for what was coming…
Carlie opened her eyes and sat bolt upright in her bed. Her breathing was heavy and irregular, and sweat ran off her forehead. She looked at the time, her clock flashed up 2:40 a.m.
"(What an awfully weird dream. I'll have to tell Liana and Alex…)" She thought, before lying down and slowly drifting back to sleep.
