"Just some Relativity, Mental, and Wave wattiez symbiosis that I developed a bit before you left, but don't tell anyone, especially your parents, wattiez that combines affinities can be a bit volatile and can have unintentional side effects, like that scaring on your body. It's intending affect was to give you a heads up if someone wanted to hurt you."
"So, wait… did you put a tracker on me?!" Krista accused, "Grand Auntie, I get that you want to make sure that I'm safe and all, but a tracker, really. That has got to be an extreme invasion of privacy."
Cassandra had done a lot of things that Krista would have considered to be a bit crazy, that bit of wattiez she used on her included, but Krista though that Cassandra always had faith in her. Especially, in regard to, Krista's ability to take care of herself, but she didn't know why now had been any different.
"No, no, no it's not a tracker, definitely not," Cassandra responded, "I'd much rather have plausible deniability anytime your parents would ask me where you were. No, it's more like a sensor… of malicious intent. It should have only gone off if someone close to you wanted to seriously hurt, and I mean close to kill, someone nearby. If it activated, then you would have felt a small bit of pain, a stinging or maybe in your case, a burning sensation."
Thinking back, Krista could easily recall many times where she had felt something exactly like what Cassandra was describing, including when they were in the war room, "I always thought it was just my intuition, but what does that mean for us? You said it was a spy from Shining Twilight, but how could you know?"
"An educated guess, really," Cassandra continued, "I had used the same wattiez on my own body, so I could feel it in the room alongside you, somewhere being there with malicious intent. What was important was when the affect activated, precisely when the boy revealed himself to be Damien."
"Then that animosity would have been directed towards him," Krista realized, "That also means that level of malice would have had to come from someone who knew him, specifically someone in Stellar and not Journey, Someone-"
"Just like a member of Shining Twilight," finished Amelia.
"Alright Grand Auntie, you want something from me, what is it?" Krista asked.
"Astute as always my little grandniece," Cassandra retorted, "Apparently some people, who have claimed to be high ranking members of Shining Twilight, have been seen in New Dawn's guilds and in several of her territories. Though lately, it seems that they've asked a few of the Guild Masters to offer up some personnel to potentially join their ranks. Tough information to come by, considering how tight-lipped guild members are about profitable operations."
"So, if I'm understanding you correctly, you want Krista and Damien to use that recommendation to try and get hired by these people?!" Amelia exclaimed, "Leaving alone just how dangerous that would be, wouldn't the princess of New Dawn and the prince of a country who engaged in war with them be a bit conspicuous, or even more importantly, why wouldn't you send someone else?"
"I will be perfectly honest with you, as an official of S.C.O.W, I'm technically barred from interfering with the political goings of Stellar. Even so, I have 'persuaded' several other groups over the course of the last year to spy on, investigate, and even confront them Shining Twilight. Most if not all of the first two groups ended up defecting to their side and the last group came back, but well…"
Cassandra didn't finish her statement, leaving it up to the girl's imagination to the ultimate fate of the people who crossed Shining Twilight. Rather it was Krista who spoke without a hint of hesitation, "Fine, we'll do it."
"I thought you might," Cassandra replied.
"This is asinine, not to mention completely insane, Krista," Amelia said, "Grand Auntie Cassandra, you still haven't told us why it has to be Krista, surely there are people who are better suited for this?"
"Amelia, now I need you to answer me honestly," Cassandra responded, "Let's say I didn't come here to talk with Krista about Shining Twilight and left you three to your own devices. How long would it take until that Damien boy caught wind of Shining Twilights activities? Would he wait and observe them, or would he directly confront them?"
Amelia was hesitant to answer, especially because she was starting to see Cassandra's point, "Either way, I'm sure Krista would be there right beside him."
"Naturally," Krista responded.
"Which is why I'd rather she'd go with my blessing rather than disappearing once again. I'll at least have updated knowledge on where she'll be at, and I can have her leave prepared, which is where I need you, Amelia."
"Me?! She exclaimed, "What could I do?"
"Leaving alone years of experience working with my most intelligent and talented niece," smirked Cassandra, "Your synthesis would be of great service."
"Disguises?" Krista pondered, "That's not a bad idea, actually, it's a great idea."
"Remember, this will just be a recon mission," Cassandra elaborated, "If I'm to persuade the Stellar Commission of Wattiez to act, I need more information about their affairs. Specifically regarding… well, for now it's just a rumor, but, allegedly, Eclain was torn down."
"A Grand Tree!" Amelia cried, "That… that's simply impossible… Sacrilege! They're invincible not to mention dozens if not hundreds of feet wide and thousands of feet tall. How could the fall of Eclain just be a rumor, would the Stellar Commission of Wattiez send agents to clear those rumors?"
"That's what I'm doing now," Cassandra answered, "You may or may not have heard, but Soaring Sun has recently had a regime change, so their borders have been strictly closed, and every agent already there have remained loyal to their nation. With that and the harsh, sandstorm filled environment, S.C.O.W has been unable to confirm my worries. Rather I need you two, or rather three, to do this. It may be dangerous, but I know you can handle it."
Cassandra's words hung in the air; Krista was more than willing to go, danger and travel were two of her favorite things, but Amelia still wasn't convinced, "I can't do it. I won't do it."
"Amelia, they'll need you!" Cassandra argued, "Without you there to watch over and help those two will surely get into trouble."
"I hate to admit it but Grand Auntie is probably right," conceded Krista.
"Did you not forget what just happened today?!" Amelia cried, "Let me remind you that I was just accepted into my dream University and classes start in a month! Let's say those two somehow managed to convinced the Shining Twilight members to take them along, tell me, how long is the journey from New Dawn to Soaring Sun?"
"A straight journey would take nearly three months," answered Cassandra reluctantly.
"Then it wouldn't make sense for me to go along," Amelia continued, "I would help, I really would, but I have my own dreams, my own self to work on. I'm sorry."
For Krista, she'd been around Amelia for so long, that her being around became a fact rather than a circumstance. Losing Amelia now would be like losing and arm, no more like her head because Krista felt like she almost couldn't function without her friend, yet she knew holding onto her here would only cause a rift between.
Even so it was still hard to let go, a sentiment physically displayed when Krista held tightly to her friend, "That's just fine, I understand that you have a life outside of my own, and I want to see you do great things. Just remember I'll always be somewhere rooting for you."
"And I for you, Krista." Amelia responded as she returned the embrace, "If only I had some more time before classes started. Just remember to keep the fighting to a minimum, for me, okay? I won't be there to heal you."
In between this beautiful moment the two girls were having, Cassandra decided to chime in, "Test, you mentioned that before, do you mean the University of New Dawn's admission test… of course you meant that! Why didn't I… Amelia, the reason you won't join them is because classes start in a short time, correct?"
"I, well yes," replied Amelia unsure of where the conversation was heading."
"That's actually perfect, one of the professors there owes me a favor, I could have her mentor you while you're gone," Cassandra offered, "This might actually work in our favor, giving you a sense of legitimacy. I'll just need to think of a way to explain why you would be traveling with her, but it should be possible!"
Amelia sighed, it was impossible to tell if it was a sigh of relief or frustration, but she finally said, "Guess Grand Auntie is going to come through for us again."