Dimitri Radev had the devil's own luck.

This was less a humorous conjecture and more a hard fact, known to anyone who had the questionable pleasure of working with the young soldier. Kayla Starr had born witness to a number of improbable scenarios during her – thankfully short – training tenure with a team of cadets that included Dimitri in their ranks. Fortune favored the man, as it did most fools.

Kayla was at present lurking near a Zero training ground, a restless Rin at her side. The girl was nearly bouncing on her heels. She did well enough in keeping her surveillance of the passing Zero soldiers discreet, despite her eagerness. Kayla had been as thorough in her instructions of their subterfuge as she could without giving away anything that could put Rin in danger. The girl was following command commendably.

That was, until the target of their mission finally came into view.

Rin swayed forward. "That's him!" she exclaimed, only just managing to keep her voice down. "M'am – the boy up front, that's him!"

A tall, thin youth had just exited the hall. Kayla recognized him as the befuddled Zero soldier who had led her to Dimitri's cell some nights prior. She had suspected as much, given Rin's description of the boy. What was one more lucky coincidence when it came to Lightning?

"I see him," Kayla said. "Please cease pulling at my shirt."

Rin let her hand drop from where she had unconsciously grasped Kayla's uniform, cheeks flushing. She could not help darting another look at the boy. The happy smile on her lips faded.

"Why does he look like that?" the girl asked.

"As I said, Zero's training is unusual," Kayla reminded.

Rin pursed her lips. She did not press the issue, but her excitement at the prospect of meeting her friend was visibly reduced.

"You said that he may act as if he does not... recognize me," Rin said softly.

"Yes," Kayla agreed.

"I did not believe it possible," Rin admitted.

Kayla had suspected as much at the time. She had not divulged too much information on Zero, partially because the precise nature of Zero's training was not known to regular soldiers, but mostly so as not to scare the girl. Rin's doubt was warranted. "Do you believe me now?" she asked.

The boy turned in their direction. His eyes passed over Kayla and Rin without a moment of pause or any outward show of interest.

"What did they do to him?" Rin whispered, voice a quiver.

Kayla took a step forward. "Two-ten," she called, naming the boy by the code assigned to him, as customary for Zero. It was time to engage the target of their mission. The uncomfortable prickling in her chest in the face of Rin's distress did not factor in her sudden haste.

The boy's steps cut to a halt. "Captain Starr," he greeted, salute regulation-perfect. His eyes were shockingly blue and terribly vacant under a fringe of blonde hair.

"Your presence is required in the Hall of Mourning," Kayla said.

The boy did not respond. Kayla suppressed her instinctual irritation; speaking with Zero was always a trial of patience.

"The request was properly submitted and cleared by Administration. You may check with your immediate command for confirmation, but do make haste," she allowed.

The boy nodded once, turned on a heel, and went to do precisely as Kayla had suggested. Kayla let out an exasperated snort. Her word was apparently not worth much in Zero's ranks.

"Zero always pulls this kind of sh- they always act like this. Do not let it bother you," she told Rin.

Rin stared after the youth in silence. "Captain Starr, that man," she began hesitantly.

"He is not Ian."

Kayla angled her body as to block the girl from curious eyes – not that she expected such, so deep in Zero's playground. "I do hope you are not being literal, cadet," she said. They had no time to hunt down a different man.

"It is him, and not. We grew up together. I have known him since before either of us could speak. The way he behaved just now – the way he stood, his expression – it is not his own," Rin told her.

"Zero's training," Kayla began.

Rin shook her head. She did not speak; she did not need to. Kayla swallowed back her words. Her mind prickled with unease.

"Do you believe he will help us?" she asked.

"I do not know," Rin said quietly.

Kayla accepted the answer calmly. They had another plan in place in case their overtures failed to incite the desired response, but it was less elegant and significantly more dangerous. She hoped that Dimitri's luck held out.

Ian – or rather, Zero two-ten – returned. Kayla led their party out of the training hall, walking just far enough ahead as to allow her companions an illusion of privacy yet remain within earshot.

"Um, hello," Rin began.

The youth did not answer. Kayla winced internally on Rin's behalf.

As Musser had so aptly pointed out, Rin was not one to give up without a fight. The girl tried various methods of making her companion talk, from innocuous comments about the weather to more pointed questions. By the time they reached the Hall of Mourning, she succeeded in eliciting a few grunts in response. It was quite the accomplishment when it came to interactions with Zero. Still, Kayla was certain that the sorry attempt at conversation was a far cry from the reunion Rin desired.

Kayla hailed the soldier on duty, a woman with gray in her hair and a shrewd look in her one working eye. She was one of Musser's friends. A codded tap of her fingers over the desk told Kayla that the false corpse was prepared. What remained was up to Kayla and her motley crew of three.

"We are early," Kayla announced. "Zero two-ten, cadet, if you would lend me a hand in preparing the body."

Rin broke her one-sided staring contest with the Zero youth to respond as befitting of her rank. The task was a ploy, of course – preparing a body for burning was hardly within their duties, and Kayla would not think to ask such a thing of a cadet.

"What will that entail?"

The question came from Zero two-ten, startling in its inelegance. It marked the first time the boy had spoken on his own volition in their company. Kayla managed to hide her surprise behind an unimpressed frown.

"Is there a problem, soldier?" she asked.

The youth visibly hesitated. "No, M'am," he said at last.

"After me, then," Kayla bid. She caught Rin's eyes and nodded subtly. Rin's small face hardened with determination.

They entered a small room adjacent to the crematorium. It was cool and windowless, its walls and floor unadorned. Dimitri Radev was laid out on a stone platform at the room's center. Kayla almost paused her steps when she caught sight of the man; his face was ashen, his chest unmoving around the crystal blade. She forced herself to continue forward.

Her younger companions were more obviously affected. Rin avoided looking at the body, cheeks pale. She was not aware that Dimitri was alive. Her role was limited to gaining Zero's cooperation.

"M'am, I will try something, do not be startled," Rin warned softly.

Kayla nodded. The Zero youth stood at Dimitri's side, studying Dimitri's bloodless face without any outward show of emotion. Kayla had instructed him to move the body to a prepared stretcher. The youth appeared uncertain as how to proceed.

Rin watched him intently. When the Zero soldier swayed ever so slightly forward, hand raised as if to touch the sword thrust through Dimitri's chest, she opened her mouth and shouted:

"Ian, quick! Aunty's coming!"

The Zero youth dropped his hand as if burned. He whirled around, eyes wide and frantic in their search of the room.

"Rin?" the youth gasped.

Rin's face dimpled with her smile. She took a step toward her friend, only to pause when Ian flinched back.

"You cannot be here," Ian said, voice trembling. "You have to go. Please, you have to go."

Rin raised her hands in a placating gesture. She sought Kayla's eyes, her own heavy with worry and fear.

"Soldier," Kayla began.

The Zero youth startled. Kayla grasped for the dagger hidden at her thigh by instinct, not liking the cold glint in those blue eyes. She was proven correct when a blade thrust toward her not a moment later. The parry was awkward, as the attack came at the side of her severed arm. Zero never did care about courtesies during fights.

"Rin, fall back!" Kayla snapped, exchanging half a dozen strikes with the feral Zero as she spoke. Irritation bubbled hot in her chest. They did not have time for this.

Rin did not listen. Her habit of disobeying commands was most troubling; Kayla would consider discipline, if not for the girl's propensity of doing the exactly right thing despite command to do otherwise. Rather than retreating, she moved so she was in the Zero's direct line of sight, hands at her hips.

"Stop that right this instant!" she said.

Miraculously, the Zero soldier did.

Kayla stayed her own hand with some difficulty. Zero moved quickly, whether in attacking or retreating. She did not sheathe her weapon.

"Are you with us?" Rin asked.

The Zero youth nodded once. His face was flushed, almost feverish. "You have to go," he pleaded.

"Ian, I – I am well," Rin said. Her voice cracked but she pushed on, remembering her purpose despite her emotional turmoil. "Listen, we need your help. And you, I think you need ours."

Rin looked to Kayla. Kayla nodded once, even as she lamented inside. She had thought her days of heroism behind her and yet here they were, jumping from one mad rescue into another.

Ian was listening, at least. He allowed Kayla to speak with him in private once Rin's knowledge of the operation was depleted, although he angled his body in such a way as to keep the girl in sight at all times.

Kayla did not waste time. "My Spark allows me to communicate through touch. May I show you what we need of you?" she asked.

Ian nodded hesitantly. Kayla offered her hand; the youth accepted, blue eyes darting over Kayla's shoulder every few seconds.

"She will not disappear," Kayla could not help but say.

The Zero's gaze focused on her. "She should not be here," he said, the accusation plain in his voice.

Kayla kept from rolling her eyes somehow. They needed the boy, she reminded herself. Antagonizing the fool would serve very little purpose, tempting as it was.

"You will not be able to speak of this encounter," she said in the boy's mind. "Whether you decide to aid us or not, the memory of what is to transpire will be locked away. Do you understand?"

Ian's jaw tightened. "I promised Rin that I would help. Speak quickly – I do not have much time left."

Kayla was taken aback. "You... are you under duress?" she could not help but ask.

Ian shook his head. "There is no time," he repeated. The sound of him was nearly desperate.

Kayla almost reached for the boy's mind. His secrets were ugly, jagged things; she could feel the pain they caused, and wished to know their cause. Of course, this was hardly the time and place.

It seemed that Rin would have her wish fulfilled. Kayla would not be able to leave the Zero youth to his misery now, not even if it were the wiser course of action.

She told the boy of Dimitri's true state. The Zero kept from gawking at the dead body that was not so dead after all, which Kayla appreciated. Neither of them wanted Rin to become suspicious and get herself further involved in what was rapidly turning into one of Kayla's messiest missions to date.

"We need you to get him to a safehouse, and return here. That is all," she said. The exact location of the safehouse passed from her mind to the boy's in a series of coordinates and images.

The Zero soldier frowned. "That may be too far. My Spark is... not as it once was. The initiation ceremony-"

A wave of pain passed over the boy's mind. Kayla ground her teeth, shielding against the corrosive echo of something awful.

"My apologies," the boy said, his mental projection severely weakened. "I will need to perform the journey in two parts. Is there a safe place between the capital and the final location that can serve as a jumping point?"

Kayla thought of their options, resolutely ignoring her mounting concern over the youth's state. She provided a second location that would suit the need for temporary shelter.

"Return as quickly as you can," she bid in parting.

The boy nodded. He turned away from both Kayla and Rin, facing Dimitri's prone body instead. His eyes were pained.

"Come, cadet," Kayla bid.

Rin was visibly unhappy, but she followed Kayla out of the room without protest. "What is wrong with him?" she asked as soon as the door closed behind them.

Kayla ignored the question. "We need to stall for time. Are you available to assist, cadet?"

Rin agreed instantly, but without her usual enthusiasm. She kept stealing glances at the closed door as they made their way into the crematorium proper.

The soldier who had greeted them in the front hall was in attendance. There was no one else – hardly a proper send-off for a soldier of Dimitri's rank. Then again, it was a miracle that Lightning was allowed a proper burial at all. It suited their purposes, in any case.

"All ready?" the woman asked.

"We are. Two in attendance," Kayla said.

"Two in attendance," the woman confirmed, and made the appropriate note in her report. She did not appear at all bothered by the fact that the Zero soldier who was to accompany Captain Starr on paper had somehow transformed into a rosy-cheeked cadet.

"We almost had three," the woman said blandly. "Lord Barton planned a surprise visit."

Kayla did not allow her expression to change. "It would have been an honor," she said.

"Indeed. Unfortunately, a Message Man brought urgent news from the Red City. The Court is now thoroughly occupied," the woman said.

"Truly regrettable," Kayla agreed.

The devil's own luck, Dimitri had.

His current state as a possessed pin-cushion aside.