Alyssa looked at Mio and frowned. “The trail just stops cold here. No one knows where Lorelai went after she left. There were rumors of two men trying to get through the gates, with an unconscious woman. That might have been Lorelai, but how can we track her?” The woman pushed her hair back and returned to her drink.

“It’s not like we can even leave town without attracting attention… Say Alyssa? Do you see that old guy over there at the table?” Mio frowned slightly. How far was she going to get dragged across the world on this pointless vendetta of Alyssa’s?

Alyssa looked up and saw the man. White hair, and a white jacket to match. And he had a look about him that just screamed pervert. He needed to be taught a lesson. “Mio, come with me.”

Giovanni watched as the two women walked across the tavern. He could now take a better look at them, and the reason they looked familiar slapped him in the face. They were dressed just like Lorelai… He spat the name out. Useless wench. She had been nothing but trouble since day one. The taller, older one had a crimson red cape, with a pink and brown outfit, that was an odd mish-mash of cloth and leather. Her face had a hint of playfulness in it, and her hair was of such a red hue, Giovanni truly thought the fires of hell would pale next to it.

The other girl was a little younger and walked more stiffly. Her face seemed devoid of any emotion except constant worry, which was odd for someone her age. Her hair was blonde, and she was obviously fit. She bore a passing resemblance to Mina… She could possibly pass as her in dancer’s attire. One problem though, the two were obviously not happy.

“What’s with the staring old man?” Alyssa put her hand on the table and leaned in close to the geezer. His face turned as red as a beet, and he just laughed nervously. My god what an idiot, she thought. “We’re not causing you any…” She paused to lick her lips. “discomfort are we?” The guy tried to stammer out something, but Alyssa’s patience was wearing thin. “Mio, be a dear and break this man’s face. It’ll teach him not to stare.” Without a word and in a flash, the blonde was on the table. One hand was around Giovanni’s throat, and the other was rocketing towards his face.

“Stop!” Giovanni winced, waiting for the impact. But it never came. He opened his eyes to see a very angry blonde, crouched on the table like a cat. “I actually have a proposal for you two!”

Alyssa rolled her eyes. A proposal? “You couldn’t handle us old man. Mio, just kill him.”

“Wait!” Again Giovanni was spared. “Not THAT kind of proposal! I need you to help me… retrieve someone.” Giovanni’s face returned to a normal tone. He then gave a rather sardonic smile.

“And what do we get if we do help you? And what are you smiling at?”

Giovanni’s reply was quick and abrupt. “150,000 potch.”

“That’s nothing! That is less than nothing! That’s an insult!” Alyssa then grabbed her pouch, as a sense of horror came over her.

Giovanni smiled again. “Okay, it’s actually only 500 potch. The rest was yours to begin with.”

Alyssa turned as red as her hair. “Deal…” She managed to stammer out.

Sheena sat in front of the White Deer Inn, pondering the situation. Hilda and Alex were still asleep, and Yori was gone. He couldn’t stay here forever, but it would be in extremely poor taste to leave, just so he could go on a date. He then thought about Charlie, and smiled. It was a good reason, but it would still be in poor taste. He looked at the note that Yori had left.

Dear Hilda and Alex.

I fear I cannot stay here and do nothing while Lorelai tries to find Pete. Hopefully I will soon return with your son and Lorelai.

Yori

Sheena laughed. He knew Yori was committing suicide by going against Lorelai’s wishes, but there was nothing he could do now. He thought about what to do next and remembered to check his itinerary and update it.

1. Go out with Charlotte Friday.
2. Go to Rockaxe and see if he could find a Red Knight’s uniform.
3. Score using the Matilda Knight angle.
4. Return to Coronet and pick up Charlotte for the concert.
5. Trip to Harmonia with Charlotte. Score.
6. Go to Whitney Lance concert with Charlotte.
7. Score with Whitney.

Sheena looked at the list in his hand. This was not going to work. He couldn’t very well expect anything to happen with Whitney if he brought a date to the concert. And he couldn’t expect anything to happen with Charlotte if he didn’t take her out. Sheena frowned. Was this one of those moral dilemmas his father had always warned him about?

“Hello Sheena…” The voice was smooth and sensuous, and all thoughts of moral dilemmas left Sheena’s mind and he looked past the list. The voice had seemed familiar. He saw a young blonde wearing a blue skirt slit up to her thigh. She had two fans, one that was covering the lower half of her face. She was also wearing a rather low-cut white blouse. Realization sunk in. “Mina!”

“Mina” simply said “Shh” and began to dance. She spun in circle after circle, waving her fans through the air. She just kept moving, never lighting in one place. She stumbled a little, but never broke stride.

Alyssa looked at Giovanni. They were well covered by the wooded area around them, and could only be seen if they were sought out. “Are you sure this will work old man? One good look and he’s going to see right through this.”

Giovanni smiled. “You’re assuming he’s going to look at her face.” He looked at Sheena, who was still obviously enthralled by the dancer in front of him.

“Ah I see your point. He’s obviously a perv like you.” Alyssa smirked.

“I am not a pervert. I was simply looking for someone who could help me.”

“You were looking for someone you could take advantage of. That makes you a pervert. And why do you need us anyway. Couldn’t you just run out there and grab him?” Alyssa smiled at the blonde boy, still glassy eyed and drooling at the spectacle Mio was making of her self.

“Cause if I ran out there, He’d run away.” Giovanni looked back at the unfolding scene. “Mina” was almost through with her dance. The girl got within arms reach of Sheena, and stopped suddenly as he put his arm around her waist.

“You’re not Mina, but you’ll do.” Sheena then gave the girl a kiss on the lips, and then let her fall to the ground, where she unceremoniously landed on her rear. The girl simply stared back up in shock and disbelief. Sheena then turned to see a red-haired amazon storming out of the woods. She slowed her pace considerably upon notice, and stalked her way over to him.

“How… How… How…” The girl on the ground just blabbered on.

“Easy.” Sheena smiled, and attempted to help the girl up. He was answered by his hand being slapped away. “You’re cute. And you are a talented dancer. But you are no Mina. Now why would you impersonate her? Hmm?”

Alyssa, having reached the two, grabbed the boy by the back of the neck. “How dare you….”

Sheena “Whoa!” Sheena backed away from the woman, but found her grip to be like a vise. “You know, with that smoke rolling out of your nostrils, you remind me of Lorelai.”

Alyssa’s grip loosened considerably. “Lorelai?” Her voice dropped to a low purr. “What do you know about Lorelai?” She eased up to Sheena, getting so close you couldn’t have slid a piece of paper between the two.

Sheena smiled. “Like I’m telling you. I’m the one asking questions here…”

“Please.” Alyssa let her lip pout a little. “I could give you anything you want…”

“Anything?”

Alyssa smiled. “And you could give me anything you want…”

Sheena blushed slightly. “I know she went north of here…” He was cut off by the ground impacting on the back of his skull. In a lightning quick maneuver, she had wrapped her arm around the boy’s arm and neck, and slammed him to the ground. Picking herself up and dusting herself off, she turned and looked at Giovanni.

“There you go old man. He’s all yours.”

Giovanni simply nodded and sit down next to the now unconscious Sheena. He decided it was best to just let this woman go. Anyway, whatever reason she was stalking Lorelai for, he was sure Lorelai deserved it.

Alyssa helped Mio to her feet and walked away from the inn. Once they were out of eyesight she turned to Mio. “I can’t believe…”

Mio dropped to her knees. “Please Alyssa! It was an accident! I swear! It’ll never happen again!”

“You let yourself get outsmarted, and outclassed. You were placed into an ineffective position. And you let yourself be kissed… by a MAN. Do you know how shameful that is? No Faleenan soldier would ever let that happen! They’d rather die! Failure is one thing, and is acceptable. But the fact that you were beaten by a man…” Alyssa turned her back to Mio. “You have failed your country, and you have failed me. Get out of my sight.”

“But…” Mio grabbed at Alyssa’s ankle tentatively. Then Alyssa simply broke the grip and took a few steps forward. Mio started to cry, and as she did some rain started to fall.

“It looks like rain. I hope you have the sense to find some shelter.” Alyssa shot a scornful glance back at the weeping girl. “But then again you were outsmarted by a man so I doubt it.” She then walked away, leaving Mio to her own devices.

Back at the inn and a few hours later, Giovanni sat inside writing in his journal. Sheena was still out, but it didn’t look like any harm was done. He had his chair sitting on top of the boy, so that the chair legs came down on both sides of him. He heard the boy stir slightly, and turned around in the seat, and propped his arms on the back of it. “You awake finally Master Sheena?”

Sheena looked up. “Oh crap…”

“It would seem you have made very little progress in your journey.” Giovanni smiled smugly. “So Lepant has decided to send me to oversee you until you are… mature enough to care for yourself.”

Great, Sheena thought. Guess Friday’s ruined now.