Skan's snoring broke off, and he stirred in bed, moaning. Last night was a very restless sleep, and Skan did not feel up to working at the Guild. But he was already behind in work, and could not miss another day.
Yawning, Skan sat up on his bed, and stretched his sore arms over his head. His wrists and elbows cracked, then he stood up and walked over to his desk. He had moved the alarm clock away from his bed as to not turn it off and go back to sleep, something he had done a while ago, and regretted deeply. After turning off the alarm, Skan yawned again and made his way over to the bathroom.
After a short shower, one that Skan had delayed in as long as possible, he donned a tee shirt and a pair of black pants. As he walked out the door, putting on a pair of black dress shoes, he grabbed a tan trench coat from a peg on the wall and shrugged it on. Then he reached inside, whipped out his sunglasses in a very over-elaborate fashion, and put them on.
Skan left the door, closing the door behind him. He did not remember going back to sleep after his dream, and logging it in his diary. And therefore, the black book remained on the top of Skan's desk.
* * *
Skan had three cars. One, a red Mustang that Skan himself had revived, that he did NOT drive. A blue minivan that Skan used for group car pools or something similar, and his favorite, most used car. A sleek, black car, that was nicknaed 'The Batmobile' by Skan and his friends because of a very slight similarity.
Skan hopped in the Batmobile and opened the garage door with a button on the dashboard. Then he revved up the car with his keys, relaxed a moment, and took off.
It was only a few minutes of clear highway, before Skan was in a traffic jam before he knew it. Instantly, he regretted not taking his helicopter ride, one that Takashi, a Japense man who spoke not a word of English, gave him almost every morning. Growling, Skan slammed the heel of his hand on the horn, contributing to the noise of the highway.
Finally, after a half hour, the traffic cleared up, and Skan, very relieved, followed the car in front of him. A long while passed, a normal calm drive, before the car behind him slammed into the bumper, then honked his horn.
The nerve of that bastard! Skan thought, in no good mood. Hitting ME and blaming me for it! Skan was not one to let bygones be bygones, and gave the man a very obsene hand gesture in the rear view mirror. He wasn't sure if the man got it or not, but Skan felt a bit better.
If only he could get that man back! He didn't want to cause any more damage to his car... Skan reached into his coat and began fingering the Aquarius Zodiac Stone he carried with him. It was won through a very hard battle, and the source of the dreams, he was sure. The touching of the stone was a very bad habit Skan picked up, one he did whenever stressed or upset.
With my power, that man would be dust before you!
Skan almost slammed the brakes, and pulled his hand away from the stone as if burned. The only time he had heard that voice was in dreams!
Why do you resist me, Skan? I am powerful, and together, we would be almighty!!
Skan flinched. He was high on stress, and this damned demon did not help. Shut the hell up! Skan thought, hoping Tirkul heard. Perhaps he did, perhaps not, but the demon did shut up.
The rest of the ride to the Guild was uneventfull, save for the following honking of Skan's horn.
* * *
Skan opened the double doors to the Guild, and was instantly greeted by Alexander. Alex was young, 13, and Skan's apprentice in mechanics.
"Hey, Alex!" said Skan, a bit more cheerful now. He bent down on his knees to look Alexander in the eye. "How's it going?"
"Good, Skan!" said Alex excitedly. "I fixed my landspeeder, all by myself! Nise gave me some tips, but I did it all alone!"
"Hey, good job, little buddy!" said Skan. "But... when did it break?"
Alex started kicking at the ground, a bit embarassed looking. "Umm... I was racing Bill again... and I swear, Skan, this rock came out of no where! I kinda crashed into it, and the engine of Quicksilver," that was the name of Alez's landspeeder, "needed fixing, but that's all! Only a few scratches, Skan, I swear!" Skan had warned Alex about racing with Billy, another junior Guild member. But not The Guild Leader's apprentice.
"You were wearing protective gear, right Alex?"
"Yeah, Skan, I swear!"
"Adda boy, Alex!" said Skan, standing up. He ruffled Alex's hair, and the boy grinned at him.
Alex ran off to study, or so he said, and Skan walked to where he was supposed to be, meeting up with Nisemeisho and Thom. Skan was not just a member of the Engineer's Guild, he was it's creator and it's leader. He had a lot of work to do, and was late, again. He hoped that Nise and Thom were still there!
"Are you still here!?" asked Skan, slamming open the door to the meeting room. He found Thom Seladon, the red haired man in his dream, sitting in a chair and reading a book. Skan could not help but laugh. If Thom wasn't pulling a prank, he was in a book. And instead of Nisemeisho, Kitra Rivan was in the room, gazing out a window. She, too, was in Skan's dream.
Looking back over her shoulder to see who it was, then turning around entirely, Kitra greeted Skan with, "Ho...Nisemeisho was here moments ago, but had... something to do in a rush." Kitra nodded to Thom, and Skan understood. Nisemeisho was also known as 'Hotaru', something Skan had found out a short while ago. He had a summon materia in the world, owned by some stuck up mage, Amrick. Possible, he was called away with that. "However, Thom here was something which may interest you."
Thom glanced at Kitra before placing his book on the desk he sat at, faced down as to not lose his place. "Yes. Um... yes. It seems there was an accident in the Gear hangars."
"An attack," Kitra corrected.
Thom nodded. "Yes. An attack by a small group of pirates. A small drone Gear was stolen, but we forced them back, and a small detachment of mecha's and Gears have been sent to track them down. Led by Nisemeisho, as soon as his... urgent business is complete." Thom was unaware of Nisemeisho's true identity. "And as for the stolen Gear, it will be taken back quickly."
Skan sat down on a leather chair and leaned his head back, eyes closed. "Is that all?"
Thom exchanged glances with Kitra. "I'm afraid not, Skan. Damage was done to several Gears, including Sentry."
Skan waited for Thom or Kitra to say more, but the silence that followed told him that was all their was. "That's IT? Then just fix it! Get Seth to do it, that's why he's paid, isn't it?"
"Well, it's not that simple Skan. The water gauge on Sentry's left knee was damaged beyond repair. Your Gear is model number XXXG-08T3, a top military Gear. I'm afraid that parts like that do not come very easily or cheaply. In fact, we cannot find one. A bit desperate measure may need to be taken."
Skan faced Thom. "Like what?"
Kitra answered, not Thom. "Well, Skan, this would be your choice. However, just know... well, this method of obtaining what we need is not entirely legal..."
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