A small pile of burnt out cigarettes lay at Duncan's feet as he poured over the notes gathered the night before. It would probably have been safer to do so indoors, but he needed the fresh air after working on the prisoner. He hadn't consulted with Mei yet, but going by the standing orders given by Garden command in conjunction with those of the Faction, he already knew their next objective. The support team had been hard at work overnight, planning a suitable exfiltration plan for both elements of the team; an airship would pick the wounded up from a location along the coast, while the main team headed toward the capital. Despite his misgivings Duncan had also elected to leave a team behind in Timber; acting as both reserves in case of more casualties and a reliable source of information, it would be Yoko's first command. It'd also cut the numbers right back for the field team, which was a double-edged sword... As much as he would prefer to have the numbers, stealth was their main priority from now on. Duncan paused his thoughts, irritably flicking a strand of hair from his eyes; that had been happening all damn night... Perhaps he needed a hair cut. Come to think of it, his shoulders ached too... Probably just the strain of yesterday's battle. Flicking away the last fag-end, he headed back into the base.

Before he could key the entrance, it opened from within and he found himself face to face with an unfamiliar girl, be-speckled and rather in his strike zone... He instantly dropped into a combat stance, one hand shooting toward the combat knife at his hip. But before Duncan could call this stranger out, another one popped up behind her, prompting him to draw and prepare to throw the knife. Something stopped him... some odd sense of familiarity... As the two of them bickered back and forth, the truth slowly began to dawn on him. 'What... did you do... Xerox?' Finally Duncan's eyes dropped down to his own... breasts... He (she?) stood still for the longest moment, totally absorbed by what he found under his shirt. The knife dropped to the floor with a resounding clatter and his distrubingly slender hands soon found their way onto his chest. '... Fuck me, they're huge...' A giddy grin snaked across Duncan's freshly feminine features as he ran his hands up and down his body, excitedly exploring every nook and cranny. 'X-Xerox, you're a fucking genius!' It seemed that some of the others had avoided... whatever the Hell their resident mad scientist had done, as evidenced by the remarkable calm displayed by Jake. As expected of a Galbadia Garden student; nothing fucks him. But what of the others..? Duncan felt a sudden burning curiosity for the others in the team... What would Syrus look like, or Kein? And w-what about Eika..? He dashed into the building, an immensely girly grin on his face. If this was only temporary, he was damn well gonna make the most of it.

---

It took him some hours to get over the euphoric daze of having tits, but Duncan calmed down in time for the evening's briefing. He called everyone together and tried to maintain his usual professional air, even though he now barely fit into his shirt. 'Alright then kids, it's time to move onto the next phase of the operation.' Yoko (one of the few to avoid Xerox gender-bending spree) flicked on a projector with a map of the Galbadian continent. A dozen major and minor cities were marked, along with transport links between them. 'From here we split into three groups; the injured will evac to Balamb along with half the support team while the rest remain here under Ono's command. The rest of you, i.e. the field team plus a few replacements, will continue on to Deling City.' He smiled flatly. 'I'm sure you can all guess what we're going to do there, but keep it to yourselves. The plan will be relayed to you in situ. Our priority is getting on the right train.' At Duncan's nod, a member of the support team spoke up. 'We uh, acquired some tickets for the intercity trains. They're being checked just outside of DC though, so you'll have to get off at a service station a few miles outside the city. From there you can catch a taxi into town. Sir?' As she spoke, the information flashed up on the projector. The station was barely an hour's walk from the city limits and just outside of the recently installed security cordon. 'Deling's paranoia grows with each passing day, quite rightfully I might add. With the extra checkpoints on public transport, a cab is our best bet.'

Pausing for a moment, Duncan's thoughts were interrupted by burst of static from the team's open radio. An icy dagger pierced him; no-one was supposed to have that frequency bar top level Garden staff. It was meant for emergencies only... Steeling himself for the worst, Duncan pressed the transmit button. 'Bravo, identify yourself. ID numbers please. I wasn't informed of any additional support.' While he had good reason to be suspicious, there was at least the certainty that the line wasn't tapped. They could say what they liked without fear of giving up information.

“Bravo, identify yourself. ID numbers please. I wasn’t informed of any additional support.”

Hector sighed as he looked to Selena. "Looks like the Headmaster forgot to relay the info before they left that he planned to send us as well."

Selena smiled and shrugged, cocking her head to the side. " Yeah but you know he does have a ton on his plate right now. The fact he sent us by train instead of by airship to pick up the wounded, explains he has a lot on his mind right now."

Hector nodded, He wondered the same thing... oh well at least they made contact faster than expected. Before he answered he wrapped his right arm around Selena's waist and made his way off the train platform. Not wanting to cause suspicion just standing there. Selena went right along with it, even though she did whisper, "Don't get any ideas... Got it?" She said with a sideways glare for a millisecond before smiling.

"Hey... you brought up the idea's first." He said with a big smile, which quickly turned into a wince as she deliberately stepped on his foot...

At which she said in a sweet voice. "Oh I'm sorry dear... how clumsily of me."

Grunting to clear his throat he quickly replied to the girl over the radio. "S'cuse me miss. I hate rattling my number off to anyone... it takes to long... and quite frankly I don't have it memorized anymore. Just tell the mad bitebug scientist bastard, that Foxy Bingo and plus one are here to save his sorry ass again." He chuckled slightly. That should get his attention. Glancing over to Selena his smile vanished as she gave him the queerest look. "Long story.. heh heh."

At which he swore he heard her scoff under her breath. "Men..." as they sat down on a bench and placed their bags down. Shaddow jumped off his shoulder as he found a bug more interesting on the ground.

Jericho woke up the next day still on the roof, his pistol fully reassembled and in it's holster. Yawning, he sits up and debates on going back in the bunker but decides against it for the time being, enjoying the silence and peace that solitude brought with it. Laying back down, he counted all the things they could have done better on the mission, to try and prevent the casualties from being so high next time around. He didn't have enough fingers by his estimate.

As he lay there, he heard the door to the Ops center open and the sound of a cigarette being lite shortly after. Probably Duncan. Only guy here who would smoke this early in the morning. With a dismissive sigh, he returns to his fix counting for the next mission. It was then that he heard the door open again and an unfamiliar male voice threatening Xerox. Reacting entirely on instinct, he rolled off the roof and landed nearly silently, bringing his pistol up and...freezing in place. Before him stood people identical to Xeros, Gracelyn, and Duncan, except of the opposite gender. And the Duncan look alike was happily exploring herself. After a couple more seconds, Jericho silently and calmly holstered his pistol, walked up to Gracelyn, rested a hand on her(his?) shoulder, and said, "Well, at least you can skip worrying about fending off the monthly." And with that, he ran, laughing like a loon with a vengeful male Gracelyn close behind.



A few hours later and after many jokes made to the ire of all the genderbent, Jericho sat in his seat for the briefing. "Alright then kids, it's time to move onto the next phase of the operation." Jericho sat forward, more attentive than normal. Jericho shifted his attention slightly as Yoko hit the map projector and a dozen major and minor cities popped up with marks, along with transport links between them. "From here we split into three groups; the injured will evac to Balamb along with half the support team while the rest remain here under Ono's command. The rest of you, i.e. the field team plus a few replacements, will continue on to Deling City." Shecun, as Jericho was calling him for the time being, smiled flatly. "I'm sure you can all guess what we're going to do there, but keep it to yourselves. The plan will be relayed to you in situ. Our priority is getting on the right train." Shecun nodded at a member of the support team and they spoke up.

"We uh, acquired some tickets for the intercity trains. They're being checked just outside of DC though, so you'll have to get off at a service station a few miles outside the city. From there you can catch a taxi into town. Sir?" As she spoke, the information flashed up on the projector. The station was barely an hour's walk from the city limits and just outside of the recently installed security cordon, which was a pity, cause Jericho had looked forward to taking out some more Galbadians sooner rather than later.

"Deling's paranoia grows with each passing day, quite rightfully I might add. With the extra checkpoints on public transport, a cab is our best bet." So that was the plan. Split up into groups, get the wounded home, and go finish the job. This was something Jericho found himself able to get behind. But as he went to get more in-depth info, the radio crackled to life.

"Come in Duncan team, This is Support team Bravo. What's your Twenty?" Based on Shecun's face, that shouldn't have happened. And that suddenly and unexplainably had the scythe wielder very nervous.

"Bravo, identify yourself. ID numbers please. I wasn’t informed of any additional support.” The response that came back was hopefully going to be a standard code. But that was hoping for too much.

"S'cuse me miss. I hate rattling my number off to anyone... it takes to long... and quite frankly I don't have it memorized anymore. Just tell the mad bitebug scientist bastard, that Foxy Bingo and plus one are here to save his sorry ass again." And Jericho almost died of laughter again, because that was almost ridiculous enough to be obvious. Of course, he did a much better job of containing his laughter than he had this morning.

"Uh, sir, since when are you a mad scientist?"

Zereph was up in the arly morning , training with his weapon as he would usually be found doing in the morning. He was whispering a tune under his breath as he did so.

A subtle grin was on his lips as he attacked the dummy he had placed that was reinforced , otherwise it would have broken and been useless long ago.

His training session was cut short when he heard screaming and bickering from inside the base. A questionable expression formed on his face as he wiped his brow with his wrist , wiping off some of the sweat as he sheathed his weapon on his back and walked inside.

He was rather late to the whole ordeal but made it in time for briefing. He entered the room a little after the beginning and looked around. He only blinked twice before he turned around and promptly walked out. "Not even going to ask.." he murmured as he walked out. "Nope." He says as he heads to the barracks.

"Too much training for one day." He says heading to his bed and promptly laying down and pulling his covers over his head. "Nope." He said once more before closing his eyes and attempting to go to sleep in hopes of when he wakes up everything will go back to normal.

As the day progressed Jake spent his time overlooking the other members of the team coming to grips with their change of circumstance. Although that was merely a side note of his self-given duty. Jake remained in the base tuning and retuning his radio's frequency checking the common and emergency channels trying to locate the armies communications. The purpose was simple, monitoring the changeover of guards and shift patterns the events of the day before would dictate that these would differ from usual. Most of the day was soldiers taking status checks and arrest checks as they searched for witnesses or suspects, making short hand notes of changeovers and anything he felt could come in handy for future reference, after all they eventually needed to get out of the city and running into the army whilst doing so would not be beneficial for Jake or the others.

As the time passed no suspects were found, nor arrests made in connection with the attack. Some supposed witnesses had been reported but whether they were faking or not would take longer to establish then it would for the team to get out of Timber. There was the occasional quiet patch that would envelope as soldiers passed through the warehouse district, expanding their patrols to the less desirable areas such as the one they were hiding in. Though their searches were only to try and catch people running about the outside as they seemed to fail at entering any of the warehouses, clever enough to not risk walking in on a team that had the previous day wiped out an entire outpost with seeming ease.

As the evening drew near Jake changed the frequency of his radio once more. "7961, Jake Firesong... Overwatch report in how's traffic?"
"rein-... -rrived.. rea-.... -lay." Jake shook the hand radio as he sighed
'piece of crap electronics' "Bad feed, code number?" Jake kept his message short although they'd received his first message clear enough there was no telling when it could drop bad again. "Ove-... -firms... -andby... -de... 151.. -peat... -num... 151."
"Code 151? Confirm if different." Jake waited a few moments but no further communication was made in response. Good news at least. something to pass on when the time was right.

Jake spent what little time there then was before the next brief waiting on frequency for his orders to withdraw. Overwatch would receive the word before he would, Galbadia Gardens comm tech carried such a heavy delay that it made relaying via radio quicker. However the order didn't come, no matter surely it'd be made mention of during the brief of the main teams next objectives... though when that time came that information was not spoke of. The mercenary felt a small build up of stress as he came to realise he'd been had by the higher ups, this was no small incursion they had sent him on. Jake reluctantly listened to the talk that was given before it was interrupted by 'Support team Bravo', "Just how many people is Balamb going to throw at this mission?" Jake muttered to himself careful to ensure he wasn't overheard. Although another addition would make up for part of the losses, to some, like the higher ups, it really just a matter of numbers.

Syrus wasn't sure what had been going on nor was he sure where he was but he had heard voices. Wait how did he get here? What was here? Darkness was all around him. This had happened before when he was experimented on. He had slipped into a coma days after the final experiments were done. Now it seemed that it had happened again. But why? He couldn't remember where he was when it happened or where he was now. Whoosh!! A flame lit in front of him.

Finally I see that you are beginning to awaken. I was worried about you and have been working for quit some time to restore you. It seems that I have finally made a breakthrough.

Syrus' face lit up under the red flame and he smiled at it. "Well thank you very much phoenix. Have you been able to determine what happened to me?" Syrus asked.

The flame changed to a blue color. "Sadly the only answer I can come up with is that your power is overloading your mind. You need to release more of it when you can. I know you need to hid who you are but maybe these people can be trusted more than you think? The build up of energy in your body and your emotions are more than likely what is causing this so to avoid this you need to find something." The flame turned red again and before Syrus had time to respond Phoenix turned white and blazed up. "Now get your ass in gear and wake the fuck up!!" She yelled and the white flame twirled around him fast and encased him.

Bolting up right Syrus gasped for air and yelled. "OK!!" Syrus collapsed back down still weak but now awake. "Hello? Is anyone there? Where are we? What's going on?" Syrus was a bit dizzy and his head throbbed. He was wondering who might be around if anyone or was he going to have to crawl around to find someone.

'Alright, just hold still 'lil buddy...' Far removed from the surreal gender confusion that had overtaken the others, Kein stood over one of the wounded in their adhoc sick bay. The unconscious Freya had taken a pretty serious hit the night before, breaking both of her precious arms. Flesh could be stitched up and blood replaced, but broken bone required a more... holistic approach. His paramagic drive began to whirr insistently as Kein delved deep into himself, communing with his taciturn Guardian Force. Sachiel was less... social than other GFs, in so far as any GF was social, barely making her presence known to her host unless called upon and even then she outright refused to be help in battle. Instead she only manifested at times like these, to share her healing light. After a few long moments of concentration, he gave up control and Sachiel's power began to flow though him like a conduit. A pair of ephemeral wings unfurled themselves from his back, wrapping around to embrace the mangled girl and bathe her in light. It was all over in a few seconds and only a scattered handful of feathers marked the Archangel's passing. After shaking the last of his fugue off (summoning her always left him exhausted), Kein absent-mindedly poked his patient's freshly healed arms. She would still have to take some time off to convalesce, but Freya was passed the worst of it now.

But that was more than he could say for his other wards... The Faction contact was in bad shape; without a GF to serve as an intermediary, his body had difficulty accepting the regular doses of healing magic Kein had applied. Tyler needed hospital care and quite urgently. Suppressing a weary sigh with difficulty, Kein headed over to the other occupied bed. Syrus was a weird one for sure. Since being brought back, his body temperature had spiked dramatically and almost to the point that Kein thought he was having an attack of some sort. And yet the SeeD's wounds had rapidly healed over without needing care; either Syrus had prepared some kind of slow-release Regen magic, or his GF was working its magical ass off to rebuilt his body. Even then, it would take weeks for him to- Crack.

Whatever hit him, it had come completely out of left field, impacting bang in the face as Kein leant down to check Syrus's pulse. Before he could start guessing, a confused voice cut in. 'W-what the fu..? Is that you, man?' Biting down a sudden headache, Kein pulled himself to his feet to stare in dumbfounded confusion at Syrus' miraculous revival. 'Jesus man, I thought you'd be out for the count...' As much as he was taken by surprise, Kein suspected that Syrus was the more confused of the two; after all, likely the last thing he remembered was Wigg's fist flying toward him... 'Alright bud, just take it easy. The mission was a success, we took down the Major. The Instructor's done his thing with him and now they're planning the next stage of the mission.' For his part Kein knew nothing of Xerox's gender-bending rampage, having spent much of the night spirited away by an oddly extra-clingy Yoko. 'You ain't the only one that got hit; Freya's in a coma, same as that contact, the guy? We uh... lost two from the support team too.' He put on a pained smile, unsure if Syrus knew any of the other SeeDs assigned as support. '... But hey, it ain't all doom and gloom. Eika turned up, God knows how. Helped finish Wiggs, then helped herself to be a bit of Duncan pie, if you know what I mean.'

---

Duncan bristled at being called 'miss', but in the circumstances he could forgive the confusion. 'Foxy fucking Bingo... Right, should have known.' He shot a weary glare at Jericho, thought in his current form it came out more of a pout. He had worked with Hector a few times and knew his proclivities well; the two of them shared an appreciation for efficiency and a streamlined work ethic. Others might call it laziness, but Duncan knew otherwise. He keyed the radio again. 'Alright Hector, welcome aboard.' He didn't bother correcting Hector's mistake. 'We're just about to exfil from Timber anyway, so you picked a good time. Get on the 1545 to DC and wait in Car C, we'll find you. There are a ton of guards around and we don't have any spare tickets, so you may need to acquire some. Just... don't mug any old ladies, alright? Alpha team out.' He replaced the handset and after a moment of thought, turned the radio off. Foxy was an experienced SeeD and wouldn't need their help getting on the train, so instead of trading witticisms with the Bantersaurus Rex, Duncan had to focus on getting his team out of the city. He turned to the others, watching in silence for a long moment. '... Well, what are you waiting for? Go pack.'

As the adhoc briefing broke up, Duncan waved Yoko and the SeeD in charge of evaccing the wounded over. 'You guys are squared away, right? Know where your going?' The question was aimed at the support SeeD, a grizzled old veteran. 'Down the sewers, through the waypoints and out to LZ Three. Sure boss, I remember.' Duncan gave him a grateful tap on the arm and sent him off to organise his team with a flick of the head. 'Mr Lerwick... I know what I'm meant to do, but... Are you sure I have the manpower?' Yoko was considerably less confident and with good reason. Her team would be working off the grid in Timber for the duration of the mission, gathering data and sabotaging Galbadian supply lines; it was a pretty rough assignment for a first time commander. But Duncan could see the hidden motive in her words. '... You want Kein, huh?' She blanched, but held her ground. 'Under any other circumstances I'd let you have him, but we need a qualified medic and no-one else has the right GF for it. Don't worry, you'll have him back before long.' He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder but Yoko's feelings on the matter could be clearly seen in her expression. Unfortunately he didn't have the time to allay her concerns and sent her off with another flick of the head. As the last of the team emptied from the room, Duncan checked his watch. Roughly three hours til the train left.

---

In hindsight, Xerox's antics had been a blessing in disguise. The various checkpoints throughout the city had some CCTV recordings of last night's attack, including shots of some of their faces. Consequently the guards were looking for people fitting certain profiles. In Duncan's case, he was able to breeze through with the right words and the odd cheeky grin; no-one was after a somewhat flirtatious girl from Balamb, even if she was carrying a duffle bag. He sniggered inwardly as an officer shooed him away from the last barricade before the station; even on high alert, these guys were grossly incompetent. The others would be arriving around the same time as he, having split up to avoid suspicion. Before long he stood in the entrance area to Car C, smoking out the trackside window. Whether or nor Hector would recognise him was irrelevant; Foxy ought to remember the smell of his very special and completely legal tobacco.

Jericho was a man known for many things, bad Death puns, Death and Reaper references, lone wolf antics, and the occasional peeking into the women's locker room at just the right moment, but laughing as much as he had today? That was both rare and considered out of character for the heavy handed scythe wielder. However, when Shecun tried to give him a glare that backfired horribly with her female face, he couldn't help himself. He laughed good and hard and was only barely able to avoid the cup thrown his way by Miss Yoko to try and shut him up. "S-sorry, sir. It's just...just that with your face the way it is right now..." He couldn't even finish his sentence and he was already getting glared at by all the genderbent members of the team. He kept laughing through the exchange between Shecun and this Foxy Bingo, though he had it more under control and by the time they were dismissed, he was mostly under control. With a nod to Shecun, Jericho left the room to pack up for the train.



Jericho silently thanked the fact that he and Gracelyn had been given the forest exfil for around the thirtieth time as he moved through the checkpoints. The Galbadians hadn't been any kind of surveillance in the woods and so it took no time at all to get through the checkpoints. He did give a silent good luck to those he saw detained though, for looking too similar to the people who'd not been so fortunate as to get an essentially unwatched exfil route. Poor sods. And it's our fault too. Well, Shecun's more, but we carried out the orders. Thanking the last officer for getting him through quickly, Jericho headed for Car C, his ticket in hand.

As he walked, he kept an eye on the guards patrolling the area. He found it a bit overkill to put up checkpoints and then also have patrols inside the station, but that didn't matter to him that much. They wouldn't congregate again until they were all on the train. As a result, he avoided where Shecun was and instead pulled out his datapad and began reading the news. Anything mission sensitive was encrypted, password locked, and hidden from obvious sight. He laughed as one of the soldiers interviewed described everything in horribly inaccurate fashion, but was also thankful for it. It made the group appear more incompetent than they actually were, which would mean the other soldiers would be ill prepared.

"That 'old lady' had it coming and you know she did as well!" He blurted out as he turned off his com and looked to Selena who asked.

"Ummmm ok that was weird. Is there something I should know?"

He shrugged. "It's a long story. But short version? Beat up and stole tickets from an old lady.... Who was really a man dressed in drag trying smuggle out some classified Intel on undercover SeeD's every where in the world. "

Selena let out a breath of Releif. "Good, i thought I was gunna have to kick you in the groin to protect myself for a second there."

Shaking his head he looked at his watch to see how much time he had. Still a good amount, but still he was annoyed that he had to get on ANOTHER train.

He then said," Come on, we still have to meet up with the Timber SeeD joining on the mission as well."

At which Selena Said as they started walking and Shaddow jumped into her arms. "You did forget to mention that to Duncan by the way."

Hector slapped his forhead "oh. Yeah. Oh well we can use all the help we can get im sure he will be fine with it."

Keeping distance from Gracelyn, Xerox could hear Duncan/Shecan behind him/her call out "X-Xerox, you're a fucking genius!". He/she replied back, "Thanks!". Running, he/she noticed a bald chick come out of the toilet. Most likely Ramses. For a while, Xerox was avoiding many people.

---

During the briefing, there were a number of people shooting daggers at Xerox, who attempted to laugh it off. Rue was thrown off at first, before recognizing his scent. Shaking his head, Rue asked why he would do this and let it go this far. Xerox had no way to answer. Duncan/Shecan then started to debrief the mission. Three teams, and Xerox was heading to Deling City. So, time for the big guy, huh.

It appeared that across that the radio crackled to life, and that there was another group who was going to come and support them. Quite a lot of people on this mission now. Xerox remarked in his mind, Rue made the same remark, not that the others could understand him. There was one thing that was said though, that Xerox would not really allow to slide. He/she would have to ask Duncan/Shecan about it later. Why was he/she the mad scientist and not Xerox? It really made no sense to him. Being told to pack, there was nothing that Xerox needed to pack. He loved the ability his GF gave him, makes traveling so much easier.

---

Casually walking in the city, Xerox and Rue took in some of the sights. It was different from what he was used to, since he never went to any cities. The start of his life was in Shumi Village, and most of his life was in Garden. So it was an interesting experience. Before having left, he had made repairs and upgrades to his spanner. Upon noticing, the CCTV broadcast, Xerox noticed many familiar faces, as well as his original face and his labcoat. Hm.... A number of them got hit with my latest invention, the Transex beam, so they should be safe. Oh, my labcoat, I guess I should put it away for now. It was difficult to think of a good name for it, it was subjected to be changed in future. Taking off the lab coat, he dropped it, and let it vanish. Really, it was just being stored away, in his ESS.

Rue made mention of it, that Xerox could not do that before. He used to need to reach within to grab and put things into the space. He need a direct connection. It seemed the space at which he could unload and load things from and into the space was expanding.

The guards were quite incompetent, hell, they even tried to flirt with him. Saying he had a cute Moomba, and everything. Xerox decided to use it to his advantage, asking for help, and looking a little helpless. After having them buy a whole lot of new equipment for him, and guiding him to the station. Thanking the incompetent fools, he waited for them to leave before storing his new equipment away. Sweet, new tools, and some interesting parts. Can't believe they believed someone fragile could be a mechanic. Although, I had all the knowledge, so that probably helped.

As he was about to enter Car C, Xerox noticed Duncan, smoking at the entrance. "Hey, I have a question. What was all that about you being a mad scientist?" The higher pitch of female Xerox was still uncomfortable for Xerox. It just didn't feel right when speaking. Nonetheless, he was getting a little used to it. Looking along Duncan's new body, he noticed, that Duncan had a fairly large rack. Looking at his own, he guessed, maybe average? He wondered what caused the disparity. What factors were involved. He didn't really care for size, he was interested in the science, and the reasons. He didn't let his mind wander though, they still needed to be on alert for now. Rue was covering his nose, annoyed at the smell of the tobacco.

Jake was pretty much prepared to move out from the base before the briefing had begun, so once it ended with the order to get ready he went and retrieved his things. The main focus was getting to the train the message from Overwatch could wait until then at least. Once Jake had his pack on he turns the transmit for his radio back on whilst heading for the warehouse exit. "Overwatch, if you're reading this we're leaving Timber by train on a 1545 service. Keep me tracked if I get stopped at any point I may need your assistance." Jake flicked of the transmit switch of his radio as he left the base clipping it back onto his belt as he switched it for his Garden PDA. "Still nothing eh?..." Jake sighed before dropping the PDA back into place, no updates from Galbadia for his orders he'd have to check again once he got on the train.

Jake's route to the station wasn't the most direct. The information he'd gathered for likely patrol routes and relief times had him walking the back streets finding the bypasses of the Military checkpoints. He was confident that he could likely Waltz straight pass one if he wanted to, though he wanted to avoid that theory unless it was absolutely necessary. As he got closer to the station the choices became more difficult as the number of viable routes got less and less until. "Jake Firesong!" Jake stopped in his tracks as he calmly moved his left hand down towards his sheathed dagger. "What are you doing in Timber?" The soldiers intent became clear as he got closer and Jake moved his hand away.
"I'm on assignment."
"With that sized pack? What you doing sleeping on the streets?"
"No one said it was an assignment to Timber, I'm just passing through."
"uh... for a moment there I thought you might of been Garden's assistance for investigation."
"Good luck with that" Jake scoffed. "Garden and the Army aren't exactly on the best of terms, as you should well know. I've just came here following damage assessment in Dollet... now you'll have to excuse me I've a train to catch." The SeeD proceeded on ignoring any further comments the soldier made as he headed down the last few streets to the trainstation.

Between him and the station, one final checkpoint. 'This should be simple enough' Jake thought to himself as he approached, making his way through the dense layers of civilians waiting to pass through. On the other side he could see the crowds of people dispersing between the checkpoint and the station with the steady stream of civilians heading into it. The sorry excuse for a checkpoint comprised of a line up of low ranking military personal across the stretch of the street, one night was clearly not enough time to get set up as some people blatantly slipped through un-noticed. The SeeD shook his head with a soft chuckle as he moved to follow suit with those that'd slipped through, but just like before "Jake, Jake Firesong?" He'd walked straight up to one of the soldiers without even realising. "Lets not create a scene here Jake, I won't call you aside. Mind telling me what your face is doing plastered over towns yesterday CCTV when you're 'just passing through'"
"Certainly." Jake commented. "You see what it is..." Jake stopped as he motions his head downward. The solider looked to see the dagger held at his gut. "As I told your friend I'm just passing through on my way for population control. I've been in town gathering supplies the past few days." A terrible excuse maybe but he wasn't trying to convince the man only keep the civilians in earshot from catching on to what was happening. "Hey..." Jake continued "Don't I know you? Hate to have to pay you a visit on my way back."
"H-Have a nice day sir." The soldiers cowardice prevailed as he let Jake pass, his mediocre pay grade was nowhere near enough to risk his life on a hunch.

After that Jake had a clear route to the train station with no further interruptions. Once onto the platform he walked to the far end before stepping onto the correct train, weaving between people whilst on route under the potential pretence that he might of been being tailed. He doubled back down the train carriages until he was in Car C. The SeeD whistled to himself before sliding down in a seat across the walkway from Duncan and Xerox. "hah... no one else here yet?" He asked the pair turning to face them as he put his feet up on the chair next to his. "Oh, and before I forget." Jake glanced down the carriage, it was relatively empty, no doubt chosen because it was so. "Galbadia Garden Overwatch has informed me of what you'd probably guess. The main forces are stalling the sending of reinforcements, for now at least it would seem" Jake kept his voice down to avoid any other passengers from potentially hearing him. "Must be working wonders for Timber personnel, they think they're expendable and then it's proven to them."

[center]Collab between Caits and Aerandir

Fenros and Selena made their way to the rally point to meet the Trabia SeeD to accompany them on this mission, another relation building exercise that yet again Hector was apart of. He had lost count on how many of these missions he had been on, including the one he JUST got back from. He was like the unofficial diplomat with Trabia.

Selena looked to him and asked. " I forgot to ask when we were back in Trabia, how is it that all of the instructors knew you by name? I mean every one was hoping that you " helped" her students. " she finished with a 'You better not be up to no good' glare.

Hector chuckled and scratched the back of his neck. "What are you insinuating? Just because four of the six instructors were female you think it was something else than just help?"

He gave a dashing smile and straightened his posture arching back slightly as if he was peacocking. "Perhaps it 's only because I'm devilishly handsome. A fox among men. " Smiling more smug now it quickly turned into a fake pained expression. "A curse that sadly I must carry."

Selena laughed and shoved him lightly into a light pole they were passing. "As if! " after a second of thinking "Does this have anything to do with the name Foxy Bingo?"

Shrugging he said casually " I can neither confirm nor deny if it does." Glancing back at her as they made it to their destination, the alley to the right of the timber news building.

Heloise was not happy about this mission. Whenever she had to work with others like this, particularly in a relation building exercise, it more often then not fell apart, simply because she didn't particularly care for others. She sighed heavily, waiting for whoever she was meant to meet to show up, leaning against a wall in the shadows, her eyes closed.

As she recognised a familiar voice, she opened one eye, looking about, and listening to the discussion between the two. Hector? Despite herself, she found herself smiling, as she waited for them to come nearer to where she was.

"With you, Hector, it always is just more then 'Help'" Heloise stepped out from the shadows, her tone slightly amused. Maybe this mission won't be so annoying then She thought to herself, as she watched Hector, of course she didn't know if he was here for the mission, of it was just a coincidence, sso she waited before saying anything else, just in case.

Still, it was nice to see an old friend

When he heard someone say with a hint of amusement in their voice "With you Hector, it always is just more than ' help'. He turned around to see Heloise stepping into the light. It took him a second to realize it was her. Never expecting it would be her to join them on the mission. Smiling he then said. " It's true! I just am at Trabia so much I made many more friends!"

"...who happen to be girls." Selena gave him a 'youre pathetic' smirk. At which Hector sighed and gave up then decided to introduce the two. "Selena this is Heloise, a SeeD from Trabia and also a friend." He looked to Heloise and then said "Heloise, This is Selena a fellow SeeD and friend from Balamb."

"I think she got that with out explanation Foxy Bingo. " she giggled and offered a hand to shake her hand. After which Hector said "So glad you were the one they sent to help, I havent seen you in for ever." He paused and then asked "you are here for the joint mission right? "

"He makes friends with girls cause guys find him annoying" Heloise said to Selena's comment, giving a nod as Hector introduced them taking Selena's hand only because it would have been rude not to. She looked over to Hector with amusement, "If I weren't, you just told me about it. It does seems like it's been forever since I saw you last"

She looked back to Selena, "Foxy bingo? What's that? Oh, lord, Hector, are you doing some sort of sick Bingo of scores with girls?" She said, raising an inquisitive eyebrow, waiting for his answer, forgetting about the mission for now, wanting that answer. She figured that was something that Hector would do, and it didn't really concern her, but she figured she had to play along with what seemed like good natured fooling around

She shook her head, deliberately letting her hair fall over her eyes, as a barrier, to allow her to watch Selena without seeing rude, as well as simply allow herself to feel some sort of security. Heloise didn't like to meet new people, and thus, it was a mixed blessing having Hector along for the mission. Still, Selena seemed to be an okay person, so far.

""He makes friends with girls because guys find him annoying." Heloise said to Selena which caused her to giggle. At which she mentioned the mission and how long they seemed to be apart.

"You know me though, I don't believe in councidences. " he said with a smile which quickly went away when she asked about his nickname Foxy bingo. Shaking his head he quickly answerd "no no no, nothing like that. I'm not not that sick...not sick at all actually mind you. "

Not wanting to answer he quickly changed the subject. "Anyways we got to get some tickets for the 1545 train. Which we might have to "liberate" some for it might be full already." He glanced up at Shaddow as he hopped on his shoulder. He apparently thought he was a bird and liked to sit on Hectors shoulder.

"Despite wanting to know so badly how he got his nickname he is right lets go find some. " Selena added before making her way into the street."

She glanced at Heloise" any embarrassing stories I should know along the way?" Smiling as they walked and Hector groaning with his head down.

Heloise nodded, and she picked up her pack, and shook her head at the comment to 'liberate' some tickets. "We don't have to do anything so crude. I expected there to be a group, so I had some tickets put aside. We just have to go pay and collect the ones we want" she said, shrugging her pack over one shoulder.

She followed after them, her slight size forcing her to move quickly in order to do so. She had noticed that Hector had quickly changed the subject about the nickname. It seemed an odd reaction, but Heloise didn't push. She would find out eventually, she figured. For now, she was happy to let hector think he had successfully diverted her attention from the nickname.

She glanced about as they walked, merely from habit, but as Selena spoke to her, Hellose looked over. It seemed that Selena wanted to try and interaxt with her, as if they were friends. Heloise wasn't too sure what to do about that, and she looked away, seeming not to answer the question, until she sighed

"That depends on what you already know of Hector. And if he doesn't mind if I tell any embarrassing stories" she said softly, looking ahead, and as they reached the train station, she quickly grabbed the tickets

Hector was a little bummed, he wanted to steal some sad galbadian soldiers ticket or something. A great mastermind plan. But when hEloise said she pre paid he felt that it was just too easy. Oh well. "Smart thinking. I personally like doing things the harder way. Just makes things more fun ."

Selena waited for after the tickets were bought and then said "oh you don't need his permission, that's what their for! To embarrass the person of course they dont want them told. "

Hector didn't say anything he really didn't care, he walked silently scratching the bottom of shadows neck who after all this exchange had laid down around his neck. His other hand rested on the grip of his gunblade. Though he did slow down for Heloise she she didn't have to work as much to keep up.

"Yeah, yeah, you just want fun. Honestly, I'm going to be doomed to pick up after you forever if you keep doing "Fun" things. Just like the hot sauce incident. Had to haul your butt our of that tavern fast, didn't I?"Heloise shook her head, looking over to Selena.

"I don't....like embarrassing people." I don't particularly like people she added in her head, giving a shrug, "I find my personality if often enough to get people to dislike me, so why given them more reason to?" She said, without meaning to. It actually come out without her even thinking about it, and she blinked at herself.

She did smile at Hector as he slowed down for her. Despite all his faults, he was a considerate person. Perhaps because of them. "Beyond everything else, I don't really wish to spend time explaining why you were caught stealing tickets" She said to him, as if nothing had happened.

Mei Song

"You're not going."

Again, Mei would hear the same words leave her father's mouth as she headed for the door, the expressions on her parents' face both defiant and grim. After being comforted by Duncan and Eika, Mei had made the decision to leave the abandoned facility and return to her home, to deliver news of her brother's condition.

It was received as well as she expected.

"After telling us what happened to Tyler, how it could take weeks for him t-to...you honestly think we'll let you go now?" Her mother was the next to speak, her eyes brimming with tears. "We told the both of you not to join that god-forsaken faction! And now look what happened!"

"Mum...please." Mei's words were raw and strained, daring not to look into her mother's eyes as her hand rested on the doorknob. "We both knew how dangerous it could be. And he's recovering! Tyler's strong, you'll see."

"No means no." Mr Song was a man of few words, but when he did speak, everyone paid attention. "I don't care what you say those mercenaries can do, Tyler's only a boy. And I most certainly won't risk losing you too over the same foolish notion. Know your place and keep your nose out."

Her father's harsh words were followed by her mother's hoarse sobs, spelling the end of any further argument. Her father had been a part of one of Timber's many resistance factions, and one particular uprising had caused him to see the violent deaths of some of his closest friends. The man barely smiled these days, haunted by his failures, and Mei knew that discovering Tyler's condition would wound him deeper than he would dare to show.

"...Fine." Mei turned away from the door, a weak smile on her lips as her mother's expression warped to that of relief. "I'll stay here."

It wasn't until the morning that they woke with a piece of paper to find that she wasn't.

---

By the time Mei had consulted with her contacts and returned to the abandoned facility, she was quick to discover that she had missed the next mission's briefing, to her ire. They probably moved on without her, considering her too traumatized from the condition of her brother. But Mei knew one thing, and that was that Tyler would not want her to give up on the Faction's objective. There was a job to be done, and she would gladly do it in his stead.

Upon hearing of the group's intentions for boarding the train, Mei decided on making a mad dash there, in the slim hopes of catching them before they left for Deling City. Before doing so however, she heard an audible crash where the infirmary had been allocated followed by a male shriek. Without a moment of hesitation, she and a few other SeeDs headed for the room, apprehension consuming them as they bust the door open.

"What on earth-?"

"Syrus? Mei stumbled over his name in disbelief as the male that Duncan had claimed to be unconscious for at least weeks, was there, next to Kein and looking around completely wild like a caged animal. It wasn't possible, was it...?

"How-" Mei's mouth hung open uselessly, looking from Kein back to the red haired enigma with a look that either portrayed her wanting to hug him or slap him. "You're okay!"

There was something about trains that had always fascinated Duncan... He kept it to himself generally, mildly paranoid that his interest was a bit too geeky for a hardened mercenary. Still, Timber was a great place for train enthusiasts; just sitting here and hanging out the window, he had a great view of the station and track system. He found himself reading the serial numbers on parked engines, comparing them to others passing through. Just as he was starting to get into his new-found interest of train-spotting, a feminine voice called out from behind; Xerox, still in his adorable female form. 'Oh, on the radio?' Duncan sighed painfully. Hector's banter had a way of confusing the uninitiated... 'Long story short, he's confused. He thinks there was some Dr Evil BS involved when I wiped Vinzer's mind. Admittedly there was a small degree of genetic manipulation involved, what with calculating the right vector chemicals and isolating phenomes etc etc, but it was pretty basic stuff.' Admittedly, his idea of basic might have been a tad unusual. 'But the irony is that the most Frankenstein shit I pulled was completely by accident... You know that geriatric old cat that used to live on campus? Well...' Xerox was thankfully spared the details by Jake's arrival. 'Not yet, at least.' He nodded slightly at the information. Sounded just like Galbadia; all guns blazing when things went well, but as soon as they encounter any significant resistance, the excuses start coming... It worked in SeeD's favour of course, but it still hurt his native Galbadian pride a little. 'Not surprised... Of course, that does mean that there'll be more security in the capital. Might be an issue.'

Who are you?...
What are you?...
What is your name?..
What is going on?..
What happened?...
Why are you here?...
Why are you doing that?..

Questions..Where were these questions coming from?.. That voice... Why was it so...Familiar?

He heard crying in the distance...

"Whaaaaa! Whaaaa!" A child?... Who is that?...

His vision became oh so clear after some moments. He was standing in a room by himself, surrounded in white. He began to look around, silent.

"Where am I?" He said to himself.

Suddenly he felt a presence behind him. He instantly drew his weapon, turning himself at the same time. His eyes widened and his hand started shaking.

What stood there was himself, crying, no more than seven. His heart rate began to pick up. suddenly the room was no longer white.

Instead it was outside of a house... His house.

"What am I doing here?... No... It cant be.." he thought to himself. It was that day.

He then suddenly began running , he saw him and his parents enter a car and drive.

"Dont go!" He tried to call out, but nothing escaped his throat.

Suddenly the landscape changed again, he was standing in front of a car crash.

He stood there , infront of himself once more, watching his smaller self. This time , instead of standing there silent, the child was crying , crying like mad.

Slobbering and crying with all his heart the child stood there in front of the tragedy. He dropped his weapon he slowly, and hesitantly began to walk to his child self. He collapsed onto his knee's and held his child self, silently crying with him.

"It's okay.. Be strong.. For them.." He whispered to his younger self.

Suddenly everything faded away and he found himself sitting on the train in a dark corner, tightly holding his weapon to his chest , tears on the surface of the blade. He was silent and only looked at his reflection.. How odd it was to see himself crying, after so long of having been unable to.

Instead of wiping them he just let them fall on their own , he cried silently, for his long , un-mourned loss. Maybe he was finally letting go?...

Maybe...

While Xerox spoke to Duncan, Rue walked on into the carriage. He looked around for where to sit, before noticing that someone was in the corner. Tears rolling down their face. Rue walked up to him. Before Rue reached him, he woke up, continuing to cry, silently. Rue ruffled his fur, searching for the pen and paper he sometimes had. Reaching him, Rue tugged his clothes. Writing down on the paper, "Are you alright? What's wrong?"

---

Listening to Duncan, Xerox nodded a few times. Oh ... just things like that. s/he thought. Duncan made a strange comment about basic stuff. Genetic manipulation, vector chemicals and isolation of pheromones? That's not exactly "basic" by most standards. Well s/he smiled at the idea that those were basic. S/He knew what they all were. Then, Jake interrupted the story, and Duncan started to talk to him, since it was mission related. "Well, I'll talk to you later than Duncan" Xerox said, walking away.

Looking around, Xerox spotted a bald chick. "Yo Ramses" His/Her effeminate voice came out, casually. "Seems like you got promoted from support team to main team, ey?" Xerox then sat down, sitting near Ramses. S/He then casually dropped a toolbox into his/her lap from his/her ESS which seemed like things appeared from nothingness. Sitting down, near by, s/he then dropped his giant spanner. There were more adjustments s/he needed to make. Alongside, another item dropped, it looked like the hilt of a sword, but that's all. It was just a hilt, by itself, or so it would seem to others. It clipped onto a belt s/he was wearing with the woman's clothes s/he had on.

Syrus flung his arms around Kein. "Holy crap man I didn't think I would say that I would be glad to see you but I truly am. I'm sorry to hear about the others. If I wasn't incapacitated I could have saved them." He said it out loud but meant to have thought it because Kein didn't know about his power. "I mean I could have been there to help. I am glad that you guys managed to get out of this successful." Syrus shifted in bed as he heard a a girl's voice. "You're okay!" He turned his head to see Mei Song standing there and she looked like she didn't know what to do to him. "I umm yeah...I'm ok. I guess I must have scared you then huh?" He asked her, a bit knowingly that he had caused her worry by the look on her face. He wasn't sure what to say from there so he turned his head to Kein. "I umm would like to report to Duncan or Yoko as soon as possible. I know that since the mission was a success that we can't be staying here much longer so I assume we will be moving." He kept his gaze at kein for a second then sheepishly looked back over at Mei.

He hadn't noticed before , but he finally saw that someone was standing above him. It took him a moment to register who it was before he rubbed his eyes removing the tears from his face. "I am indeed fine.. Thanks for asking.." He calmly said, not much to say in the way of a conversation he remained silent afterwards. He stood and sheathed his weapon on his back , a loud 'clink' sound being heard by the action, the weapon was much heavier than it looked , but only he knew that as he allowed no-one to even touch the weapon. He'd sigh and stretch as he looked to the man once more. " So... What's going to happen now?" He'd ask watching him seriously.