V. Mission prelude

  While Adrian had been and went through a lot of difficult situations, he always managed to find a way out with his wits and reflexes. He certainly wasn't expecting, however, one of the greatest crises he had endured to be someone breaking into his room and waking him up in the most obnoxious way ever known to mankind.

  "Rise and shine, sweethearts!" 

  The teen groaned slightly, deciding to burrow further into his covers instead of waking, trying to shut out the noise with his pillows, only for them to be snatched away with renewed strength. "Ten more minutes, hyung..."

  "I would sympathise with you on another day, to be honest. But unfortunately for you, today is not one of them." Peeling his eyelids back wearily, Adrian was met with the view of a certain Shin Hyunwook hanging over him, and shut them instantly. "Look, kid, I don't want to do this either, but if you don't wake up, I'll freeze your bed to hell and back." A contemplative pause which Adrian desperately willed him to go away. "Wait, that actually is a pretty good idea. I recently learnt a new skill, maybe I should - " 

  "Alright, fine!" At the boy waking up instantly to his threats, Hyunwook grinned widely and patted Adrian on the back. "That's the spirit. I'll see you in the cafeteria after fifteen minutes then." 

  As soon as the older left the room, shutting the door with a click behind him, the wolf collapsed back onto the bed in his temporary apartment, the sheets still fresh with the smell of laundry. 

  It's going to be a long day today.

  Having thrown on a short-sleeved shirt and sweatpants quickly and running a comb through his hair - which for the last time did not obey him - Adrian made his way down the winding corridors of the Headquarters of CARDS. Though the infrastructure resembled that of Corazones', HQ had noticeably more rooms and more floors. He supposed that would make sense, since that was, after all, the central office, and everyone important would've been called back for likely twice a week. Or more. Who knows. 

  Though they really could've made done with a fricking map. 

  And when he finally found one, the words started swimming in front of him, because blame his dyslexia. Seriously. The people walking around and behind him just made it worse, and Adrian could start feeling the irritation creeping up his fingers when someone came up behind him and asked, "Do you need help?" 

  At that, the boy jumped about a foot into the air, before turning around to see who it was. The features of the man standing behind him were vaguely familiar; he remembered seeing the other at the meeting the other night, though couldn't place his name.

  "Um, yes. I'm actually kind of lost..."

  "Where are you going?" 

  "The...cafeteria?" Adrian tried, and the other gave a slight smile. "What a coincidence. I'm heading towards there too. Come on." 

   "You look kind of familiar." As the pair made their way between the increasing crowds - which would be the equivalent of rush hour in Diamantes, the boy supposed - he tried to make conversation with the man next to him. 

   "I suppose I would," The older gave a chuckle. "We met in that stuffy meeting room the other day. Though," He added as he expertly dodged an agitated scientist wheeling a trolley down the corridor, with Adrian following suit and narrowly missing the steel ramming into his hip. "I'm guessing you were focusing on Carroll instead of the rest of us. Not that I blame you. I'm Jung Daehyun." 

   "Oh! Nice to meet you, Daehyun...ssi?" Though he was Korean, Adrian honestly hadn't set foot in that place ever since the first few years of his birth, and he dug desperately within the depths of his mind for any recollection regarding the honorific system. 

   "Just call me hyung." 

   "Alright, then. Hyung." The boy was thankful for the progress they were continuously making, speeding down the corridor; otherwise he would've found himself awkward and tongue-tied. Like he usually was.

  "Have you met the others?" Daehyun prompted, steering them to another side corridor that he swore wasn't there a minute ago.  

   "Well Hyunwook hyung barged into my room this morning - " Adrian started, before being met with a sigh from the older. 

   "That idiot." 

   "You know him?"

   "He's my - " Just before the General could finish his sentence though, they arrived at the cafeteria, where the man himself was leaning against the doorway, obviously annoyed at their late arrival.

   "You're fifteen minutes late," Hyunwook stated bluntly, crossing his arms, which made Adrian shy away. Though he did talk back to his senior that morning, it was due to the heat of the moment and the fact that he was half awake. Now that the Unseelie was actually standing in front of him, he suddenly felt more inferior, especially when a General-class fighter was on the other side of him.

  "Ten, I would think." Daehyun gave a small smile, looking down at a pocket watch sitting on his palm that Adrian could've sworn wasn't there a minute ago. "You forget I carry time on my hand, didn't you?" 

   "And here I thought I was the literature major." With a snort, the trio walked into the busy cafeteria, where just about any type of person was seated there. Adrian looked around in wonder; while the dining room in Carozones was big, it certainly didn't seem to be able to fit around two thousand people, all of whom were chatting and eating at the same time. Though the noise level was incredible, everyone somehow seemed to be able to eat comfortably.

  "Right." As soon as they were halfway in the huge dining room, Hyunwook suddenly turned around with a somewhat dramatic spin. "Grab an apple and coffee and let's go."

   "W-what?" 

   At that, Daehyun gave an audible sigh and wrapped a protective arm around the younger's shoulders. "Ignore him. Hyunwook is known for having unhealthy living habits and killing himself in the progress." 

   "'Unhealthy living habits' is an understatement, Daehie." Daehie? The Unseelie stopped in front of a line, which seemed to stretch forever. "Some people I've met told me I'm actively fuc - " 

   "Alright, alright, that's enough." Adrian could see the older about to go on a rant, and was thankful that Daehyun put a stop to it. "Let's just grab breakfast and go, Hyunnie." Hyunnie??? Seeing the bewildered expression on his face, Daehyun leaned down and whispered to him, "Don't mind him. Hyunwook is an to everyone, you'll have to get used to it, unfortunately."

   "I heard that!" Hyunwook yelled back, and the younger boy decided to himself right there and then that sticking with Daehyun would be the safest option available to him.  

  Alexander nearly tripped over yet another robot whirling around in the chrome corridors, but it was to be expected. No one could stay on their feet long enough after staying up for - what? - nearly one week, lest of all a human.

  But he was not human. He reminded himself silently, skidding to a halt long enough just to press a button and side-step into the lift, before it started its rapid descent again. He wasn't even...one of them. The half-bloods. 

  Shaking his daily existential crisis out of his head, the doctor allowed himself a sip from the thermos balancing dangerously on top of his laptop before dashing out, hurrying along yet another chrome corridor that seemed indistinguisable from the rest. 

  Normally, Alexander wouldn't allow himself to be this frazzled, but there were important issues to tend to that would make his need for sleep seem insignificant. For one thing, there was the matter of Carroll's missions to look into. Not only did he need to bear the brunt of researching those specific items - and in the span of three days, no less - with Yongguk, he also needed to plan out the details of the missions and assign the specific members to those places, as well as report back to Carroll. For another, there was the cure for faery pox to continue to work on.

  All in all, he was up to his neck with work.

  But he supposed it was all worth it, because the job in CARDS allowed him the three things he wanted the most; information, the element of surprise, and best of all, entertainment. So Alexander, despite his best interests not completely aligning with that of CARDS', allowed himself to live off chamomile tea for a consecutive three nights, researching the key pieces within enormous chessboard, also known as the so-called 'war' between Wonderland and Gemini. 

  Avoiding another panic-stricken scientist dashing by him, nearly running him over with his cart without an apology, and the warlock found his mind wandering to somewhere else. Namely, the 'true' nature of the soon-to-be battle waging between these two organizations. There was something he stumbled across the other day that didn't sit right with him...

  "...don't worry, kid." The sounds of his co-workers' - teammates, he reminded himself - chatter reached his ears, and Alexander quickened his brisk stride to the room where the portals were usually set up, this time a specific one set aside for their personal use. He was grateful; the doctor needn't jostle around in the usually noisy and nervous atmosphere in the other widely used portal rooms. "You'll do fine."

  Ah. He have had an intuition that the youngest member of their team had ADHD or something or another, but now, having seen the way the boy's fingers were frantically fidgeting with the hem of his shirt, the fidget cube he had taken with him, attempting to clutch at the reassuring hand on his shoulder, and the way his eyes darted around him nervously, unable to concentrate on the pile of protective gear that probably needed to be strapped on, Alexander could say that he was about 90% sure about his guess. It could, of course, be due to other reasons such as nerves, so he wouldn't be so quick about placing his finger down, but still.

  Out of the corner of his eye, the doctor could see one of the few women in their team - who also happened to be one of the most patronizing and racist he had ever met, but again, first impressions shouldn't be all that was used to judge one's character - looking at Adrian, but not with the judging glare she had swept them with on their first meeting. Rather, she seemed almost concerned for his behavior, but apparently decided to restrain herself from congregating amongst them. Strange. 

  "Oh, hello there, Alex." Daehyun was the first one to notice him; Hyunwook was still calming down the youngest, who seemed ready to burst into a thousand pieces with his nervous energy. "Something you need us for?" 

  "Yes." Alexander turned to the General standing in front of him, in full denim gear as he always was. "It would've been sent to your device, but I thought it better to tell you in person." He waited as the man pulled the phone-like device from his back pocket, fiddling with it until he saw the message and the confusion in his brow began to clear, before carrying on. "One of the items Carroll told us about earlier had its origins apparently in Egypt, rather than Japan." He waited for that to sink in. "So you're re-routing to Egypt with Hel - Minjung, to Clubes." 

  "Ah." That was the only reply Daehyun gave him, before he turned to Minjung to give her the news, only to find her standing there in front of him. Well, that was convenient.

  "Are we going to investigate the same...item together?" She asked, brows furrowed. Alexander thought he could detect a note of irritation from her tone. "No. But you two would be starting together. And Minjung," He called just as she was about to head off to God-knows-where again. "A word, please?" 

  As soon as Daehyun was out of earshot and she was standing right in front of him, arms crossed and seemingly impatient, he slipped a hand into the white coat he was wearing, and handed her a piece of parchment with a list of specific ingredients he had spent another many moons looking up and doing painstaking research for. "I've looked into the...condition you've described to me about, and there's a medicine that might help. However, there are certain ingredients, or components, that could only be retrieved from Egypt. Specifically Cairo. So if you don't mind, here it is." 

  For a second, she stared at him, as if dubious, but then extended a hand and took it, before putting it into her own trench coat pocket. "Thank you." 

  "Don't be thanking me too soon," Alexander replied dryly. "God knows whether this works or not. I hope it does, of course, but then...well, frankly there isn't much research into that particular area." 

  At that, Minjung's face darkened, though not without reason; he supposed it was reasonable. After all, recieving news from someone whose origins you didn't necessarily trust about a matter of utmost importance regarding possibly the most important and precious person to you that what could save them might not work wasn't exactly the best moment of a person's day. But that was life for you. And Alexander trusted that she understood that; despite being downright unpleasant, Minjung was one of the more realistic people he'd met. And so, as predicted, she pocketed the scroll, swallowed her disappointment, gave him a curt nod and walked back to the people who were bustling around making last-minute preparations for the portal ready to whisk one group to Cairo and another to Canada. 

  And he thought to himself, what a wonderful job he had. 

HEY GUYS YOUR FAVOURITE AUTHOR IS BACK

Okay no that was a joke I was being overly dramatic but yes hi I'm back :) 

So here's...another chapter?? I suppose? I did write Adrian's part like three months ago so if my writing style kinda changed yes I apologize

But yea agan hope y'all enjoyed it!! And have a very Merry Christmas in case I decided to disappear for another three months and not update :) 

(and yes guess who doesn't know how to title chapters for - )