Chapter 4: Twisted and Unreal

"Administrator Cypher! BJ is here to see you." The secretary said at the wooden doorway, engraved in the door were designs resembling Ravens and such. The woman shuffling all the papers on her desk swiveled around to turn to the secretary in her blue and white uniform. The Woman had black hair that reached down to her shoulder blades and cascaded around her head like a curtain of darkness. Her light blue eyes contrasted with her pale skin and black hair. She wore a pitch black long coat trimmed with white outlines. Her white skirt would run along with her legs down to her ankles.

"Send him in please," She said in a soft and melodious voice, holding her hands in front of her at waist level. At the words, the secretary opens the door, letting a averagely tall man walk in. The man in question, had small thin black bangs and short black hair. He wore a thin white coat that was decorated with navy blue. After bowing towards the woman who stood infront of the desk he quickly averted his gaze at her with his hazel eyes, with a calm expression on his face.

"Good morning administrator..."

"Morning BJ, what can I help you with?" She said, still with the soft and gentle voice, with a hint of joy.

"Well administrator...your not going to like what I have discovered..." He said, his face was grim, and his voice was almost a whisper.

"BJ?" The black haired woman raised an eyebrow.

"Remember the news about Zeal unleashing its...trump card last month?"

"Yes," A bit hesitant, she felt she didn't want to know anymore.

"Well...it just so happens that we saw it...first hand...at least...I did..."

"What is it?"

It was his turn to hesitate, he couldn't get the word he was thinking about out. A lump had formed on his throat. Before responding to the woman's question, he swallowed hard, "They've sent a Phantasm, Sara..."

"Where the hell have you been, Scion! I've been waiting an hour!" Beatrice jumped up from her chair, she hooked the right side of her golden hair behind her ear. Impatience and irritation flared inside her, ready to burst out to the man in front of her lika wild bull. A man with emerald green eyes stood in front of her. The color of his hair was the that of the snow that fell on wintery days. He wore a long sleeved jacket, the outside half was dark blue and the inside half was pure white. They stood in the tiled lobby, bright fluorescent lights illuminated the room from above and also gave life to the green plants in the corners.

"I had a bit of an errand to do for Vega." Scion scratched the back his head with a light smile on his face. "I've also recieved orders from him that we will be moving to Lakeside City as our base of operations."

"Lakeside City? But isn't that near Neo Ark?" Beatrice was a bit startled by the new mission they had recieved. Scion took notice of her sudden attitude change but merely nodded and smiled. "We're making our base of operations in the middle of a city which our enemy occupies! Are you crazy!"

"Nah! Just settle down, we're just there for extra reinforcements. So we can just kick back and relax if our main forces can take care of themselves."

"But this is Neo Ark! The place filled with Ravens who want us dead as well!" She snapped at him, the utter silence of the room was baffling.

"Oh come one now! It can't be that bad! Besides, I heard Lakeside City makes nice Capecino Mocha!" Scion said with a teeth baring grin on his face. "Come on, let's get a move on...don't want to be late right?" The captain turned around and walked towards the hallway without so much as consulting his companion. Beatrice was left standing in front of her chair, he arm extended in a crooked position as though something had slipped from her grasp. Her mouth was open but nothing came out and a baffled look was the expression that clearly defined what she was thinking.

Wait! We're risking our necks so we can have some damn coffee!

"Jayden what are you doing? You can't just dawdle around here all day! We've got work to do!" Jen yelled, only lengths away from the back of Jayden's head, while he paced around the room looking for books of all sorts.

"Yeah, I know Jen." Jayden's short brown hair swished along with the air that blew past him as he paced the room, his attention was divided. Unsatsified by the unattentive answer she just received, Jen balled her hands up into fists and placed them on her hips with a frown on her face.

"Jayden! You've got an arena match next week and you're slacking off like this! The match is against Wraith remember!" The female was quite agitated by her companion's attitude towards the arena these past few weeks.

"Jen...listen..." Jayden turned around with a stern look, slamming the open book he had in his hands. The sound of the book closing echoed throughout the room. "I didn't join the fold just to live life like you guys, I came to look for something...something important to me."

"I know Jayden! And I want to help as much as I can!" She snapped back.

"And I appreciate the help Jen..." He ran his rough hand through his thick brown hair. The thin strands of hair clumped together would sway like wind blowing against grass. An injured look washed over his face, "I told you about how I'm looking for my father. My mother told me about what a great Raven he was. Ever since my childhood, I've envied other children for having both mother and father." The expression on his face suddenly changed from a depressed and injured mood to his usual stern and confident look, "That's why, I became a Raven, to look for my father. If he was as good as the stories, then he shouldn't have been so easily defeated."

"Right, I can see how you feel Jayden! And I want to help in any way I can!"

"But how does winning arena matches and taking random missions help?" He asked with a furrowed eyebrow.

"We need info, and info means money, and we need money right?" A mischeivous smile played across Jens face.

"...good point..."

"Don't worry, you'll be fine!" She touched Jayden on the arms, a gesture of reassurance that had worked over the months they had known eachother.

"Yeah, mom said I can't use that machine I just brought in. And it was my best card yet!"

"Then don't use that machine, use your skills!" Jen said, smiling slightly, amused by the reaction she recieved.

"W-what? Skills! Jen, you know as well as I do that I have next to no skills when piloting an AC! I was beaten by Cup...twice! And he was the hundred and fifty seventh ranker! How sad can that be!"

"Don't worry! It'll all work out!" Somehow, her words didn't reassure him, and he knew they weren't supposed to. After all, she did love seeing him writhe in agony. The statement was undoubtfully just to make sure he goes out into battle to make a fool out of himself. A question suddenly popped into his mind, though he already knew the answer to it already.

"You're enjoying this aren't you?" He pointed with a crooked finger and a displeased expression. She, on the other hand, merely smiled, a child like light played on her face. It was like she had been playing with him, she was good at that. Of course, to Jayden, it would prove no use to just wander around and search for something without any information. For now, this would be the method he would have to go with. Furthermore, the machine that he had recently brought in, still plagued his mind. Questions like "What it really was?" or "How it operated?" would always hammer at his thoughts. But, he would have to take his mind off of the machine for now. Right now...he had more important things to worry about.

"By the way, I found two tickets to the arena match coming up next week that's being held in Neo Ark." Scion held up two slips of thin blue and white papers, almost the size of two thumbs, in his pale hands. Beatrice and Scion were seated next to eachother on the plane that was designated to arrive in Lakeside City. The nice fuzzy fur that covered the light blue seats would tickle Beatrice's bare skin once and awhile when she wriggled in the seats.

"An arena match? Why do we have to watch that?" She asked, discomforted by the news.

"It's a good study guide. Look at how others fight." Scion handed one of the slips to Beatrice, whom sat with her shining sun-gold hair sprawled across the seat head. Out of habit, she read the slip of paper when it fell between her thumb and her index finger. Words which didn't seem to surprise her read, "FREE COFFEE AND FOOD". After reading the words, she turned her head sideways to look at her captain. A bland look across her face denoted the fact that she was a bit awed by the way her tutor took advantage of the situation.

"You're just doing this for the coffee aren't you?" Scion merely smiled and nodded with closed eyes. "How did I get stuck with you? You're like the worst tutor in the elites! How did you even become captain! I can't believe a slacker like you..." To Scion, her words would fade out, like an echoe that slowly would eventually become inaudible. He looked out at the window of the plane, seeing the complex of the airport and its roads lit up by neon lights. They would slowly move along with the roads as the plane itself was preparing for a liftoff of the solid ground itself. At this moment, Scion's thoughts were concentrated on one thing and on thing only. That which was most concerning to him.

Soon...the answers I seek shall be revealed to me! No longer will I wander through the light and darkness. I shall become both intertwined, I shall become chaos itself! He smiled gently, at the world that lay just outside the transparent barrier of the plane.