THRICE

9 -- Perspectives

Monisha called a task force meeting in the common room that morning. Roran pointed out through a yawn that Azarel was the one who usually did that, but Monisha only said, "She's not coming," and collapsed into an armchair.

"Comin' where?" Inigo asked, curiosity piqued.

Monisha blinked and rubbed her eyes, fighting off tiredness. "I got into his messages," she said, setting the laptop down on the edge of the coffee table and tapping it just past its balance point when it started to tip off. She opened the message about Owhi and they all crowded around to read it.

Roran leaned over Monisha's lap and stared at the screen, rereading its contents to be sure he wasn't seeing things. "Woah, Dark stuff?" he gasped.

Tatiana said softly, "If the police are hiding it, it's probably not small, either."

"Exactly," Monisha said, closing the laptop halfway. "So, we're going to find out what it is. And find Squall, hopefully."

Roran wrinkled his nose as the laptop's lid brushed it. "On our own?" he hesitated. "Isn't this a job for th' Dark division, anyway?"

"If they hear about it, yes," Monisha said with a sigh. She glanced at Tatiana and twirled a curl around her finger, unsure how much to say.

"Nisha wrote a spell that could fix Squall's psychopathy," Tatiana said simply.

Monisha smiled briefly at the nickname. "Right," she nodded, "and if CAMIO gets in on this, they'll want Ana to use their spell. The one that takes away his Gift entirely."

"How's that bad, exactly?" Inigo asked, raising an eyebrow. He'd moved to his usual position on the back of the armchair.

"Because his Gift could be the key to all sorts of new discoveries about magic!" Monisha said, something like hope entering her voice. "It'll be easier to study it while he still has it. If we can bring him back to normal, he'll be able to come back to CAMIO and everything will be so much simpler."

The twins exchanged glances. "Okay," Roran wavered. "What's th' plan for gettin' all th' way t' Owhi, then?"

Monisha pressed her lips together and said, "I'm just praying Jaden will take our side."

Jaden McCullough had only just sat down with his morning coffee when Monisha knocked on his apartment door. He groaned and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Who is it?" he called.

"Monisha," she replied in a high tone, as if she wasn't willing to believe she was at his door either. "And some friends," she added as a bit of an afterthought.

Jaden hummed tiredly and got up with a grunt, opening the door and squinting at each of them. He was a short, heavyset man, and instead of his usual flight jacket, he was wearing a fluffy, light blue robe with matching slippers. "What right do you kids have to be up this early?" he asked, scratching his short, uneven beard.

"We need a ride to Owhi," Monisha said with a charming smile.

"What for?"

"Oh, you know. Owhi things."

"No, really, tell me," Jaden said, standing aside so they could come in. "I'm curious now."

Monisha led them inside and sat at the dining table across from the unattended coffee mug. Jaden plodded back in after them. "First, you have to promise to not call anyone about this," Monisha told him. "Especially Max."

He sat again and took a long, slow drink before responding. "My radio's across the room, so you're probably safe for now," he smirked. As Monisha explained the situation, his smile slowly fell. "You want me to sneak you out?" he said, suppressing an untimely yawn. "To hunt for Squall? Forget about Max and CAMIO, Aza will kill me for putting you kids in danger like that. There's a reason she doesn't let you on the ground with him. He's unpredictable. A real wild card."