Ah. This is another chapter where I had to deal with Rialle and Kairi trying to royally screw me over. So it's shorter than usual due to lots of deletion. Sorry.

"I hate to say it, but you and Daath is a disaster waiting to happen, regardless of how little time you spend here." –Cantabile

"Assuming I don't use Kairi's own frying pan to remind Reighn exactly why that's a horrible idea in the first place." – Cantabile

Chapter 9.2 – Back on Track
Part 79

"Ah, Daath."

"Can we please avoid a disaster for once?" Sync asked. I snickered.

"I don't do it on purpose."

I got a lot of annoyed looks for that one, and I rolled my eyes and pulled out my bag. "Okay, how about this. I go in and get the flightstone by myself, while you guys stay out here and be prepared to run if everything does go to hell."

Asch crossed his arms. "You sure you're gonna be able to find it?"

I nodded.

"Fine. Just be careful."

"Um, Asch? Is that really such a good idea?" Tear asked as I pulled out my Intelligence Division uniform and headed back to change. I heard Asch sigh.

"She'll be able to move a lot faster on her own. Besides, it's not like it's going to be hard for her to find it. It's Dist. She basically just has to follow the really obvious breadcrumbs."

I rolled my eyes. Yeah. Pretty much. Because Dist is a bit of an idiot.

Okay. A lot of an idiot.

Once dressed, I warned the others I was leaving and then, quite simply, left.

I knew where Reiner would be. I knew how they got the flightstone in the game. And, if all went well, this really wouldn't take long.

Meandering through the crowds was easy. I got lucky. Didn't have to deal with Dist's paper-airplane letter with his damn laughter included.

I headed straight down into headquarters and wondered just why no one had bothered to remind the guards that no, I am not actually an Oracle Knight. Oh well.

"What are you doing down here?"

I blinked and looked over my shoulder. "Oh, hey Cantabile."

She gave me a look, glanced around, then sighed and stalked after me. "I hope whatever you're doing isn't going to get us in trouble," she said. I shrugged.

"Maybe a little, if he wakes back up before I'm gone."

"He, who?"

"Reiner."

"Dist's retainer?"

"Yep."

"Why him?"

"He's got the flightstone."

"You need it that badly?"

"Yep."

"Fine. I outrank Dist. Retainer or not, he'd have to give it up if I ordered him to. Does that simplify things?"

I paused a moment and nodded. "Yeah. Major simplification. So, how much of a mess did we leave behind last time?"

"Not much. Nowhere near as bad as the mess before that, where half of you got arrested."

I nodded. "I try not to cause problems. It just... happens. You know?"

"And Ion wants you as a God-General."

"Reighn did. Ion just happened to agree."

Cantabile was quiet for a few moments. "Reighn's a good guy, but sometimes I really have to wonder what he's thinking."

"You mean ditching us for Aerith because of something to do with Clans that no one's heard about in millennia?"

"That... takes the cake."

"Oh, we didn't tell you about that one?"

"No." Cantabile didn't sound amused. "That's right up there with wanting you as a God-General. I mean, you've got the brains for it, and the skill. But you and Daath..." She sighed. "I hate to say it, but you and Daath is a disaster waiting to happen, regardless of how little time you spend here."

"As I keep reminding people, I don't do it on purpose."

"I'm not sure that makes it any better."

"Locrian General Cantabile!"

The two of us paused as Rialle ran up to us. "Yes, Rialle?"

"Grand Maestro Mohs is back, and he doesn't look at all happy."

I snorted. "I'd imagine. He's been effectively kicked out of Baticul, permanently, because of Dark."

Rialle glanced over at me and then smiled. "Oh. Hi, Kairi!"

Cantabile crossed her arms. "I'll deal with Mohs later. We're on something of a mission right now."

The brunette nodded, and the stepped into line next to me. I raised an eyebrow, and she rolled her eyes. "What? Mohs is mad. I kinda don't want to go deal with him alone."

I nodded. That made sense. I wouldn't want to have anything to do with a pissed-off Mohs either. Okay, I wouldn't want to have anything to do with Mohs, period, but that's beside the point.

Rialle grinned. "So... I heard something about you coming here someday as a God-General?"

"Assuming I don't use Kairi's own frying pan to remind Reighn exactly why that's a horrible idea in the first place," Cantabile muttered. Rialle and I just giggled.

Then we stepped down into the training area, and Cantabile stepped right over to Reiner. Within moments, she left the poor man standing there looking baffled, and I had the flightstone in my hand.

Couldn't I have just given Noelle the one from Northern Rugnica?

Yes.

Was I going to give it up when it just made sense to get the original flightstone back?

No.

Hence, the reason why I left the cathedral with not one, but two flightstones in my possession.

Once the flightstone was put back into place, we were back in the air... Well, in the air, period, so far as I was concerned. I'd never gotten to fly in the Albiore yet.

"Do you all mind if I talk to you for a moment?" Ion asked. I glanced back at him from where I was standing next to Asch's seat.

"What is it?" Tear asked.

"I was just thinking. Chesedonia is an autonomous state, and they've been in the Qliphoth for some time already. I know it's not really proper, but shouldn't we at least allow Astor to be present at the peace conference?" he asked. I nodded. I remembered this, barely. Damn. My memory of events was getting worse and worse... Not that it would really matter, soon. The way things were going, nothing was going to be familiar by the time we faced Van at the Absorption Gate.

I still wasn't sure if that would be a good thing, or a bad thing.

"Ion's got a point. Besides, Astor's the one who arranged the temporary truce between the two militaries when the land fell," Asch said. Noelle looked over her shoulder at us.

"Should I drop you all in Chesedonia to tell him while I go get the king and emperor?"

"That would likely be best. We'll stay at an inn in Chesedonia for the night. It'll also give us a chance to recuperate from all of this running around," I agreed. Asch snorted.

"You're the only one that did any running in Daath. Tell me, how much chaos were we lucky enough to not have to witness?"

"None, no thanks to Cantabile. And here I thought she was a fellow lover of chaos."

Sync groaned and proceeded to bang his head off the wall.

"You shouldn't do that. You'll hurt yourself," Ion said. He sounded genuinely worried, too. Which of course, just made Sync keeping doing it.

Asch and I at least got a few snickers out of it. "Let him give himself a concussion if he wants. Not like there aren't a bunch of healers around. Besides, maybe he'll knock himself unconscious so we don't have to listen to him complaining of boredom during the peace conference."

Ion gave me a look. "You're cruel."

Sync let his head fall against the wall one last time before he spoke. "Mom's worse. Her idea of teaching me how to swim involved throwing me into the middle of an ice-cold pool and yelling at me from the edge of it."

I nodded, as if lost deep in thought. "That sounds like Cantabile."

"Her attempts at stealth training were pretty amusing though... when Sync wasn't stupid enough to pick me as a target." I looked over at Asch and raised an eyebrow.

"Pranks?" I guessed. He nodded.

"Yeah. The one with Arietta and the orange feathers was... inspiring."

"I had a lot more fun with the one with Legretta and blue paint," Sync commented.

Anise was giving both of them incredulous looks. "Whoa! You mean all those pranks on the upper level members of the Order of Lorelei a couple years ago were..."

Sync shot her a smirk. One of those 'I'm awesome and I know it' smirks that I'd actually started fearing, because the last time he'd done that, he'd dropped a large amount of snow down my back. So, yes. Fear the smirk.

"I'm pretty sure I got Ion too."

"You mean... that was you?!"

I busted a gut laughing at the indignant look on Ion's face. Oh, I'd seen Sync wearing that expression many times before. But Ion?

So of course, we spent the entire trip to Chesedonia discussing Sync's pranks. Tear had even loosened up and started laughing after a bit.

Once we landed in Chesedonia, Ion took the lead... once again dressed up as the Fon Master. Better to be safely official, we'd agreed.

Well, Ion headed to Astor's mansion. Sync went with him. So did Anise, and Tear, and Guy. The rest of us headed for the inn and started sorting out room assignments. And Asch, being the irritating, noble gentleman he is...

"Kairi's staying with Flick tonight. For propriety's sake."

Which, of course, clued Flick and Selenia in on the fact that yes, we were officially 'a thing', finally, and they decided a few hours of 'girl talk' was necessary. If Asch wasn't sure what my frantic fist-shaking was when the two of them pulled me off to the room I'd be sharing with Flick, he'd be finding out in the morning.

Early in the morning.

Try five o'clock in the morning.

Yes. I did drag Asch out of bed, just to beat him up for leaving me to the mercy of not two, but four girls when Tear and Anise had returned.

Needless to say, I got a solemn promise to assign me to either Jade's or Sync's rooms in the future.

Although I also ended up giving Sync a few bruises to remember after he'd started laughing his head off at me for having to deal with Asch's poor planning skills.

So, yes. It was a set of very abashed and bruised teens that met Jade when he came to inform us that Noelle had landed and Natalia and Dark were waiting on us.

"What exactly have you two been up to this morning?" he asked. Flick ducked her head and started laughing, earning her a knock upside the head.

"Not so much what they did this morning as what the idiots did last night."

Asch chuckled nervously. And no wonder. Jade was my older brother, Asch could very well get himself skinned.

"Asch and Kairi are official!" Sync said quickly before ducking behind Asch. Jade gave them both a bemused look, then rolled his eyes.

"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me. Come on, let's go. Everyone else has already been taken to Yulia City," he said.

The rest of us followed him out to the Albiore, where Natalia (still dressed up in her pretty dress) and Dark (who was actually wearing a uniform) greeted us. Asch gave them both odd looks, as did Seth. Dark rolled his eyes and pointed at Natalia.

"She threatened to shoot somewhere painful if I didn't wear it for once," he said. Natalia at least had the decency to look a little bashful. "So, yes, I'm wearing a uniform. I want no comments, please."

Sync snickered behind me, and at a dull glance from Dark, I reached back and smacked the green-haired teen.

"Thank you..."

"Now, now, let's not be fighting," Jade said. "It'll only take us a couple hours to get to Yulia City. The peace conference is set to begin in four hours. It's bad enough Asch and Sync are all bruised up. I don't think it'll look any better if all of us have bruises."

Mumbled agreements went around, and all of us settled in to wait impatiently.

"So, assuming everything goes the way we want it to and King Ingobert and Emperor Peony agree to the peace treaty, what're we going to do?" Dark asked. "I know we have to stop the core's vibration and lower the land, but..."

I took a deep breath. "We'll start with the core operation in Sheridan. Once that's done... I'd like to make a stop in Belkend..."

I got a lot of worried looks for that one, and I pulled the bottle of morphine out of my bag. There was a little bit left, but... "If I'm going to have to operate one of the Gates, I want to have a little more..." I admitted. "Anyway... Aston and Tamara are planning on building a second...er... third Albiore, so we should try to go borrow that when we've got time, because it may be best if we split up for the Gates. Jade's fonslots are coming along again. Given a few more days, I should have them opened back up completely."

"And with his current status as a seventh fonist, that means the only person that really needs to be there to actually operate the passage ring is him," Asch muttered. I nodded.

"So we'll probably send Jade and Tear to the Absorption Gate, while my group goes to the Radiation Gate. But I want to stop in Keterburg before we split up. It's a shorter distance to the Absorption Gate than the Radiation Gate, but..." I trailed off and looked at Luke.

"Van said he wanted to try and catch us at the Absorption Gate. By the time we fight past him, and possibly Zion, the second group will have probably made it to the Radiation Gate," he said.

The others nodded, and planning started.

Fun Fact: I wish you guys could see some of the comments Tea makes on my writing. I'll use three from this chapter just to give you an idea. For the first two, the quote from the chapter is underlined, Tea's comment is surrounded with these~, and any comments I make are added in parentheses. (The last one... well, you'll understand.)

"I don't do it on purpose!" ~The rules of AERO are formed mostly by two sentences: 'It sounded like a good idea at the time' and 'I didn't do it on purpose'.~ (For context, AERO is a secret organization of mutants in the Avengers universe in one of my stories that will probably not go anywhere any time soon. This line is actually spoken by Clint Barton/Hawkeye before Molly (an OC) brings to everyone's attention the fact that most of the former (the 'It sounded like a good idea at the time') were his fault. Does that mean Kairi is responsible for the majority of the latter? ...Probably.)

One of those, 'I'm awesome and I know it' smirks... ~FEAR THE SMIRK!~ (Which, given the Sync in her Boundaries stories... Yes. Definitely fear the smirk.)

(The last three paragraphs of this chapter...) ~I love how none of this actually happens like this.~ (In my defense, there was roughly a year between this chapter being written and the Lowering the Outer Lands Operation arc being written.)