13 - The Desert of the Dead

[Shadow Phoenix]

OoC: Just to give an idea of the time period, Bax’s birthday is circa February 26 (the planetary calendar is about the same, just so I can avoid confusion).

IC:

“Drax…Drax, when is dad gonna come home?”<br>Bax sat on the grandiose lookout of the royal palace of Auralis with his brother as they both looked out as the two suns of the planet seemed to converge to form one celestial body, a phenomenon that was said to occur, on average, once every 1,000 years, creating the most gorgeous sunset that could be seen anywhere. Below, in the streets of the royal city, onlookers oohed and aahed as they carried on their festivities in honor of the strange event. As the ruckus carried on below, the two brothers sat forlornly silent in their place, unwilling to join in the festivities.
“I’m not sure, Bax,” Drax said after a few minutes.
Bax tucked his head between his legs and wrapped his arms around them, rocking back and forth slowly as he continued watching the suns join together. “I hope he gets back on my birthday…at least. I’ll be turning 10 in a few weeks.”<br>
Phoeniyan tradition held the 10th birthday as one of the most important days in a Phoeniyan’s life. It was sort of a coming of age, and was greatly celebrated. Bax had been looking forward to it when the war had broken out on Kisenia, Auralis’s sister planet. Naturally, his father had gone to Kisenia to boost the morale of the troops supplied by the Phoeniyan army and to fight himself. All of the Phoeniyan royalty for ages past saw it fit to fight in the same battles that they sent their armies into, and their current king was no different. He was past his prime, but that hardly mattered to him as he was still one of the strongest warriors of the age. So he was on Kisenia trying to quell the civil war that was tearing the planet apart.

Drax turned to his little brother and ruffled his hands through the boy’s hair, exciting a hopeful smile from the young Phoeniyan. “I’m sure we’ll hear from him soon, so don’t you worry. Let’s just enjoy this festival okay?”<br>It was obvious to both brothers that this optimism was faked and that they were each feeling as though they would never see their father again, but despite that they both flashed a small smile and departed from the lookout to join their people in the festival.


* * *


The weeks passed quickly and Bax grew more eager and anxious and less hopeful by the day. Drax continued to try to cheer him up, as did their mother, but there had been no word from Kisenia for a full month. Things certainly did not look good, and the Phoeniyan population was beginning to grow restless. Even the part of the army that had been left on Auralis had found that there was growing talk of sending more troops to Kisenia to investigate what the hold-up had been. Rumors spoke that radio signals from Kisenia had been blocked by a number of phenomena, from a prolonged eclipse to the alignment of Star’s two suns. No one knew for sure, however. Finally, Bax’s 10th birthday rolled around.

A vast celebration erupted in the streets of the royal city, with parades, ancient performances, and spectacular feats of talent – all in honor of Bax. Bax sat on the parade float, waving at people as was the custom for royalty and feigning a smile. No one could see the tears welling up in his eyes. As the parade ended, Bax ran to the lookout again for some privacy from the people who were celebrating. He hardly understood why such a big deal was being made out of this day and why everyone was celebrating. It certainly was nice, but Bax was looking at the big picture and finding himself insignificant. It was suddenly so strange that these people looked at him with beaming smiles, bowing and showering him with tokens of their gratitude. Were they fake, too? Were they all fake?

“Bax,” a feminine voice called from behind him.
Bax turned and saw his mother standing there. He looked away sheepishly, “Hi, mom.”<br>“I thought I’d find you here,” she persisted as she walked towards Bax.
An awkward moment of silence pierced the air between the mother and her son, until Queen Atara finally broke the silence.
“Bax, I know you’re depressed your father isn’t here. You’re not the only one, believe me. I miss my husband as well. Drax misses him. Uncle Relois misses him. His close friends miss him. The people of this planet miss him, and I don’t mean just the Phoeniyans. All of the people of Auralis look to us as the strongest race and have consented over the years to our rule. Your father, the King, is the leader of all of the people of this planet. We all wish for his safe return.”<br>Bax cast his eyes downward. He’d never really thought of his father that way – he always just saw him as ‘dad.’ “But I’m scared…he might not come back.”<br>Queen Atara frowned, “We all are, Bax. That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy this special day. Everyone else is. Why, even your stubborn old Uncle Relois is out there cavorting and having a great time. Granted, he’s probably drunk of his ass, but-”<br>“Mother!” Bax gasped, his eyes widening and a smile creeping onto his face. He let out a little laugh involuntarily and looked his mother in the eye. She smiled back, knowing that she had succeeded in cheering him up.
“Now, what do you say? How about we go out and enjoy ourselves? I know Drax is worried sick about you; he’s been looking for you for the better part of the hour. So, let’s go, okay?”<br>Bax gave a warm grin to his mother and leapt at her to embrace her, tears streaming down his face. “Thanks, mom. Thanks a lot.”<br>

[Shadow Phoenix]

Bax went back to the festivities and genuinely enjoyed himself after that. He played games with his friends, spoke politely with his elders, and did everything else he was supposed to do. When he and his family were summoned to receive a message from the king late that night, they all eagerly rushed into the screening room. No one had seen the message yet because it was encrypted with special pass codes that had only been given to the members of the royal family. As they put their respective codes into the machine, the king’s face popped up on the screen.
“Dad!” Bax screamed in elation, rushing at the image of his father. His father’s face turned side to side and he coughed, unable to hear or see his family. Bax realized then that this was only a recording and sat back down in his seat, squirming a little.

“To my dear, beloved family,” the king began. “If you have received this message, it is because something terrible has happened to me.”<br>Bax’s heart skipped a beat and he slowly covered his mouth with his hands. His mother and brother looked on, dazed and confused.
“The war here on Kisenia has been a difficult one so far, and we’ve been trying to call for more troops constantly. We finally assumed that our radio signals were being blocked somehow and I decided to record this message should anything happen to me. Apparently, the worst has occurred and as you hear this message, I have been killed somehow.”<br>Bax began shaking and murmuring ‘no’ over and over again.
“To me beloved wife: please take care of our sons and remember that I will always love you. Don’t stay too attached to me; remember what we always talked about. The people will need you now more than ever. Please don’t let me down.”<br>Bax looked to his mother and saw tears slowly rolling down her cheeks. She looked like she was about to lose it.
“Drax,” the king continued, “my firstborn – you are now the Prince of Auralis. On your 18th birthday, you will ascend to the throne as the official King. Take care of your mother and of Bax. I’ve taught you everything that you need to know about ruling the planet. I trust that it will be in good hands.”<br>Drax gulped down his cries and tried to remain stoic and calm, but it was obvious that he could hardly hold back his tears.
“And last, to my youngest son, Bax – I’m so sorry I had to leave you like this. I wish I could have been there for your 10th birthday to celebrate with you. Happy birthday, my son. Do all that you can for your mother and brother, and don’t be afraid to accept the responsibilities that will now befall you. I’m proud of the strong young man you’re growing up to be.”<br>Bax buried his head into his mother’s chest and didn’t even try to withhold his tears anymore.
“I love you all. Be strong for my sake, and for that of all of the people of Auralis. Goodbye, my family.”<br>Drax cursed under his breath and stood up, walking out of the room. Queen Atara immediately stood up and started running after him, “Wait, Drax!”<br>“Just shut up, mom! He promised he’d come home! He promised!”<br>With that, Drax was gone and his mother was hot on his heels. Bax simply sat there and watched as the message faded into the Phoeniyan army’s logo, and then into static snow.


* * *


Bax’s eyes slowly opened to the blinding rays of this planet’s sun, the first time he’d seen real light in days; weeks, maybe. It was hard to tell. He instantly shielded his eyes with his arm and sat up. Sand poured off of him and he began brushing it all off. He rubbed the bump that was swelling on the back of his head and winced. He no longer felt cold – that was a good sign. Perhaps it was simply because he’d been lying in the desert sun, but he couldn’t know either way. Bax stood up completely and looked around. All he could see for miles either way were endless patterns of dunes dotting the desert wasteland.
“I wonder if Zack and Sephiroth were both dumped here as well,” Bax thought to himself. The soldiers had carried Sephiroth past the cell and he seemed to be in very poor condition from the fleeting glance that Bax had taken. The Senator had told him and Zack that they were both free to go, and then they had both been knocked out. Perhaps they were somewhere close together.

Bax looked around his direct vicinity and saw two swords buried there in the sand. He yanked them both up simultaneously and flicked the sand off of them. Sure enough, they were the Star Fighter and the Valermos. ‘Diroxauralis’ and ‘Valermos – Vestabla sa Draco’ were written on them respectively, along with their sacred inscriptions. Bax smiled. At least his two most precious possessions had survived and were given back to him. He reached inside his red gi and pulled out the frame with the two photographs in it that he had picked up when he was crazy enough to go back to his room. He looked at the pictures taken of him, Galandia, and his son, Jax and smiled. Then, he looked up into the sky.
“I will come back. I promise.”<br>As if to seal the promise, Bax raised his hand slowly into the sky and a small fire formed in his hand, taking the form of a Phoenix. He let it go and it flew up into the sky, arcing across the bright blueness of the cloudless day. Satisfied, he began walking off to find his companions.

[ZaCloud]

“Uugghh… Ow.”<br>
Zack sat up slowly, rubbing his sore head. Once more he had been knocked out. Then he looked around, startled. Back in the desert?! Oh yeah, those weirdos decided to let them go, so this must have been their idea of the best place to put them.

He sighed, giving his head one more soft pat. “They didn’t have to do that, sheesh… Anymore head-hitting and I just might go insane.”<br>
He looked around more slowly this time, his eyes blinking until they adjusted to the bright, hot air around him. He couldn’t see any sign of the other two. Though he did see Fjalar sticking partially out of the sand nearby. He sighed, and instead of grabbing the sword and getting up, he lay back down slowly. He was pretty darn sore, and the sand was soft and warm compared to the awful, cold floor of the cell. It felt nice.

Zack watched a few sparse clouds float by. One of them looked a little like a butterfly. He smiled. Cloud-gazing had always been one of his favorite pastimes when he hadn’t been busy scrounging for food or dodging bullies.

“Heh, that one looks like a puppy, if you ignore the extra ear… And that one looks like an old wizard with a big beard. And that one looks like a… flaming bird?!?!”<br>
He scrambled to his feet, keeping his head upward, as he watched the small, bright avian of embers fly heavenward. He remained in awe for a bit, then smiled. “That’s gotta be Bax!” he said. “Good, we are near each other.”<br>
He then remembered Sephiroth’s horrible condition when he had been dragged past their cell. His eyebrows lowered and his face grew instantly serious. “Well, I’ll catch up to Bax then since I know where he is… Then we gotta find Sephiroth.” He picked up Fjalar, twirled it once in the air to cleanse it of sand, then put it away on his back. How polite of the Senate, to resupply him so. But he would ponder more on that later. For now, he took off at a dead-run in the direction the phoenix apparition had come from. He had always had very high endurance, thanks to living out here most of his entire life, though it was a bit hindered for some reason other than his soreness.

Like I haven’t been able to do much runnin’ for a long time. Real weird.

As he briskly covered the distance, he remembered his last conversation with Bax.

***

Bax slowly blinked his eyes into focus. He was lying on the floor of the cell once more, staring at the ceiling. The horrible memory of the intense, overwhelming cold came back to him in a shudder, but he soon relaxed with the knowledge that it was over, and his temperature felt normal again. He then realized that his upper half was covered, and looked down in puzzlement at the jacket draped over him.

“Oh! You’re finally awake! Man I was more worried than ever,” Zack said from his left.

Bax sat up, looking in Zack’s direction… and just stared, his eyes wide and mouth dropping slightly open. There sat Zack, now without his shirt, his young expression happy and relieved… and his body absolutely mangled with scars. His arms had looked bad, certainly, but to see even worse on his actual body, and at such a young age… with still that innocent, childlike smile above it all…<br>
Zack cocked his head. "Yeah, it's me. Not one o' those Senate weirdos."

The Phoenian realized he had been staring, and quickly looked down. "I'm... sorry," he said. He had hoped he wouldn't need that obviously common Earth sentence much. "Sorry."

The boy looked puzzled. "Sorry? You didn't do anything." Then he looked a bit worried. "Ohh... did they make you feel that bad? Don't let them bust your self-esteem. Cheer up, Bax; they should leave you alone for at least the rest of the day."

Bax realized Zack didn't even seem to notice the stare... or rather, that he purposely avoided acknowledging why anyone would stare at him. Bax felt he just might understand that, but would think more about that later. He looked down at the jacket, which he now had in his hands. He held it out to Zack with a somewhat questioning look.

“Oh, I guess you feel fine now,” Zack said, accepting the jacket, “But I had you covered ‘cuz you were really freezing. Er, you were very cold. I knew that since you have lots of fire qualities, that it wasn’t good for you. And I put my shirt on the floor, because the floor was cold too.” He pointed to where Bax’s upper body had been resting, and Bax saw what he meant. He handed the shirt back as well, which Zack promptly put back on.

“Ahh, that’s better,” the boy said with relief, “I thought I was gonna freeze in a minute.” As he wrapped the jacket sleeves around his waist once more, he continued his usual prattling on, forgetting to speak concisely and thus making Bax feel a bit lost once more. But things looked different to the Phoenian, anyway, so the words did not matter much; once he knew that this kid had obviously been through some huge degree of trauma, even the happiest gesture and expression had a new sadness attached to it.

“—So I figured maybe those Senate people are just a club for evil, crazy people. But oh well, I guess we’ll never understand them, but can hate their guts anyway. Oh yeah! We were talking about our favorite colors before you left!” Zack took on a thoughtful pose. “I figured yours was red; you sure are wearing plenty, and have that whole fire-thing goin’ on. Me… I don’t know if I can give you just one answer. I love all color! All but brown, cuz I see it everywhere and am kinda tired of it. But I grew up in the Desert, so seeing any other colors was something really special. I guess… I guess I’m kinda partial to green, cuz that means there’s grass and water, and lots of other life…” His manner then shifted to fairly dark. “And red is a good tough color too, like blood.” Then he seemed cheerfully rebellious as he continued, “But black is badass and elegant, goes with anything, and even the ugliest car looks pretty good if it’s nice, shiny black!” He then sighed and threw his hands up in defeat. “I really don’t know… I just like so many things about so many of ‘em!”<br>
Bax couldn’t help but be impressed by such broad optimism. Indeed, it was a good philosophy to be easily pleased; it helped one through hard times. He knew that much personally… “It good… to like much things,” he acknowledged.

Zack nodded, then rested his chin and arms on his knees once again, eyes closing halfway. “Thanks for not thinking I’m stupid for that… Most people would think I just can’t make up my mind, or that I’m too dumb to stick with a choice… You’re nice to me, Bax.” His expression seemed to match his scars better at this point; here was a look of low self-esteem and tentative hope. “That… really means a lot to me… But I’m really not a good person to get along with, so you don’t have to like me or be my friend if you don’t want to, I would understand.”<br>
Bax had been about to answer, but that was when the Senate soldiers had come in.

***

Now that he was alone, even for just a while, Zack wanted to know what Bax’s answer would have been. Even if he didn’t deserve the answer he hoped for. Being alone was just too difficult for him to stand for long. Even though he instinctively feared and mistrusted people, he knew he just could not live in isolation. Something in him craved acceptance, and this overrode even his substantial self-loathing.

Soon enough, he saw a reddish spot with a slight glow in the distance. “BAX?!?!” he shouted excitedly, waving his arms like a hyper fool as he kept running. “BAX, IT’S ZACK! I’M COMING!” He saw Bax had stopped his current direction, and was now approaching him as well, though in a far less exuberant fashion.

Finally they met up, with Zack folding his hands behind his head and emitting a big “Phew!” He was smiling his big, goofy smile as usual. “Man I’m glad to see you! Why the heck did they drop us out in this big sandbox? Oh well, at least you’re not all by yourself. And I’m not either. And I wanna know—“ He stopped, lowering his arms and growing grim. “But we gotta find Sephiroth quick, he looked awful, and I don’t know what direction he might be in. We’ll try… this way.”<br>
He began walking, and started calling between his hands, “Sephiroth?! SEPHIROTH X!!! YO X-MAN! DUDE-WITH-THE-LONG-FREAKIN’-SWORD! DEBONAIR SILVER-HAIR SWORDSMAN! WHERE ARE YOUUU?!?!”

[Shadow Phoenix]

As strange as Zack was, Bax was relieved to have him around. He'd obviously been through a number of extremely traumatic experiences, most of which he seemed not to remember to only remember partially. He was, at times, very schizophrenic, so Bax never quite knew what to expect. But he still enjoyed the company of the young boy. He could definitely call him a friend. Zack had stood up for Bax when Bax had needed it and helped him when he was down. He didn't have to do any of that. He was a very kind soul who Bax knew he could trust and respect. All his life, Bax had been used to just receiving everything, taking life for granted. He knew that what he needed now more than ever was a companion and friend to fight alongside and help each other out. Zack was filling that role and more.

Bax watched as Zack ran out in front of him, noisily waving his arms and calling for Sephiroth in as many strange ways as the boy could think of.
"HEY BIG TALL SILVER-HAIRED GUY WITH THE CLOAK! MR. SUAVE WITH THE SWORD! WHERE ARE YA?"
Bax continued on with his pace, chuckling to himself. Sure, the kid was off his rocker, but that didn't stop him from being likable as hell.

Bax decided to give out a shout for Sephiroth as well. He still wasn't sure how the powerful sword-wielding master of a warrior felt about him, but that didn't mean he couldn't help give Zack's voice a break. The boy would shout himself hoarse sooner or later.
"Sephiroth X!" Bax called out in his extra-thick accent. "Helloo, Sephiroth X, where aare youuu?"
Bax suddenly felt very foolish and laughed at himself. Zack's personality was beginning to catch on. It felt...nice. It felt nice to be able to let go even in the most trying times.

"Baby steps...Baby steps until I can finally reach that level...of responsibility..."

A smile spread across Bax's face and he jogged up to meet with Zack. The two continued to call out for Sephiroth X loudly and foolishly, not caring if there were any drifters about. After several long minutes of calling out for Sephiroth (Zack still did most of the calling), Bax remembered something that Zack had said. The two jogged along, but Bax stopped calling for Sephiroth long enough to interrupt Zack.
"Zack...before I no answer question. I do like you and want be friends. You are nice person, and help me much."
Zack smiled back at Bax and the two continued jogging along for a moment before a feminine voice called out to the both of them.

"Halt! Who goes there?"
Bax quickly stopped and looked out over the desert sands to see the woman standing there silhouetted in the bright sun. She came forward a bit and Bax saw her distinctly. The most telling feature about her was the bright red curls that blew around in the wind, about the same shade as the majority of the flame atop Bax's head.

Zack stepped forward and his eyes lit up. "Liz! Fancy seeing you here!"
'Liz' stopped where she was, her eyes widening past what seemed like a normal limit and her jaw dropping horribly. "C...Claude?" She looked almost like she was seeing a ghost.
"Zack, do you know this woman?" Bax asked the happy-go-lucky boy approaching this newcomer.
Zack somewhat seemed not to hear Bax's comment, "Liz, it's me, Zack!"
Liz took a step back and shook her head in a very daunting fashion. "Oh my God...no way..."
Zack stopped for a moment and cocked his head to the side. "What's wrong, Liz?"
Liz looked like she was about to crack. Bax's eyes widened and he tensed his muscles, ready to explode into action at a moment's notice.
Liz's lip quivered and she began pulling her gun from its holster. "You sick monster! Why do you keep tormenting me?"

Bax launched towards Zack at full speed, pushing him out of the way just as Liz pulled her gun free. She took aim, her arms shaking but her hands fixed to the gun. The look on her face told volumes - something was awry with this whole situation. Her fingers closed on the trigger just as Zack hit the ground a few feet to the side and Bax was in the line of fire.

Bang!

[ZaCloud]

Not again!

It was just like the dream… The dream that Zack knew he’d had, that always made him feel horrible and upset, the dream he would always make himself forget. A different face… But it was the same, all over again.

“…Not again,” he whimpered, still in the half-sitting, half-lying position he had frozen in, looking at Bax’s fallen form with wide, vacant eyes. “No, not again. Not the dream, not again… It can’t… it, you, I… can’t… no. No! NO! NO! NOOO!!!!”<br>
By then he was on his feet, howling the words of denial to the sky, fists clenched nearly to bone-snapping, shaking as if he were about to fall apart. Liz was completely freaked out by then, the combination of seeing this dead boy, with the name of his dead brother, and then seeing this display of unfathomable torment and rage. Unquenchable rage she knew would target her.

“Stay back!” she screamed, herself shaking severely as she trained the gun on the breaking-down blonde, “You’re dead anyway! Stop screaming! You’re already DEAD!”<br>
Zack’s eyes snapped open and locked onto her. Her very breath was knocked out just by the power of the deep blue glare. Unbridled hatred seeped from his soul.

“You killed Zack,” he said in a low, dangerous tone. “You killed him. You murderer. I won’t let you take another life, ever again.” He reached back, and drew Fjalar.

Liz screamed and squeezed off several shots. Many were inaccurate, but many more would have hit their mark. But Zack turned the flat of the sword toward her, and the bullets ricocheted away. The blade hit Zack on the face from the impacts, but he did not even flinch, beginning to run toward the enemy.

She lost her nerve and began to run. Zack swung his sword into combat position, teeth bared in a snarl, as he closed the distance. He swung the blade diagonally across her back, causing her to fall to the ground with a long, deep flesh wound across her frame.

“Face me!” Zack cried out, taking a few steps back, sword ready for another attack, “I’m giving you the chance you never gave us!”<br>
With the resolve of desperation, and the pain of her wound making her momentarily focused once more, she swung to her feet and shot several more times. Zack leaned left of one bullet, swung another away, but then was stricken at the edge of his right side. The bullet flew all the way through, and he stumbled a few steps back with a pained yell. But he regained focus almost immediately, and held his sword out in front of him, closing his eyes. Wind seemed to come out of nowhere, and stirred the dust around him, his hair waving like a sea of gold. A slightly blue glow emanated from his body, then channeled into his sword, which now glowed with the pale blue light of his eyes. These snapped open, and he charged forward.

*Sluice*

Liz stared at Zack, who stood right in front of her with his sword lowered. She tentatively smirked. “You really are a ghost,” she sneered, “that went right through me and didn’t even—“

Then she made an odd choking sound, and her eyes grew vacant. A red line formed down the length of her body, then both halves of her fell to the ground, spilling red on the sand.

Zack backed away, panting, then began to stagger toward where Bax had fallen. He looked pale, and his pace grew more and more dragging and uneven. He was dizzy from the attack he had performed. Was feeling the pain of the wound in his side. And was completely overwhelmed by the monsters of memory that had danced in his mind, and still lingered with their sharp claws.

“…She… she killed him… had them all shoot him… didn’t even have a chance. He died saving me. Saving ME… Why me? Why for me?” He fell to his knees several yards away, staring at the ground, once more quivering harshly. “It’s the same… Was it real? Is this a dream again?... No… no it’s… he’s…” He wrapped his arms around himself and doubled over with a horrible, wrenching sob tearing from his throat.

“My brother!” he keened, moving his hands up to grip his head as he wailed and cried. The cries of a heart and spirit torn to pieces.

[Shadow Phoenix]

Bax groaned and stirred ever-so-slightly. He ached all over, like he had been hit with an out of control Phoeniyan hover car. Slowly, his eyes flickered open and he realized that his consciousness had been suddenly taken from him and that he'd fallen in the most awkward of positions. His legs lay flat on the desert sands, knees facing towards the waning sun, but his torso was flat on the sand. His head was curled under his chest and his right arm was wrapped around it. His left arm lay sprawled out on the sand, possessing a terribly nasty bruise from the palm to about halfway to the elbow. Bax tried hard to remember what had transpired to leave him in such a terrible plight.

Zack!

Bax ripped the tangled mess of his body back into normality tried to leap up, only managing to move about halfway before his injured body forcefully reminded him of his wounds. Bax shot back down to the ground with a cry and slammed his fists and knees into the sand. Sweat beaded on his forehead and dripped down onto the sand. It probably would have formed a good-sized puddle had the sand not greedily absorbed it…and had it not been like liquid fire. Bax was breathing heavily now, his chest heaving up and down like a powerful piston.
“Trying this again,” Bax said to himself, out loud, in his own natural tongue.
Bax spat onto the sand and slowly, methodically pushed himself up off of the dusty floor. He wobbled a bit as he regained his balance, swooned as the blood rushed to his head, and staggered around for a moment while trying to retake his senses. It was a slightly daunting task, but now he could look for Zack.

Bax had leapt in the way of the bullet for Zack, he remembered that much. Bax carefully checked himself, looking for any bullet holes all around his clothing. He knew that he should be able to feel the horrid wound if it was there, but he had known warriors who were so in shock after a battle that they walked around with gaping wounds and acted completely normal as if they had not been even slightly injured. That was before they collapsed dead from mass blood loss of course – something that Bax did not intend to do here. Bax checked his enter fighting gi for any entry points, and then looked for the parts of him that were not covered by the red outfit – his head, forearms, and such other exposed parts. He couldn’t find a single bullet wound! He did have the rather nasty bruise on his left arm, however.

Slowly, it all came flooding back to Bax – all that had happened in those few short seconds from the time that he launched from his place slightly behind Zack to where he had been robbed of consciousness and fallen into the desert sands. Bax remembered it very clearly actually. His mind had suddenly become quite clear again, like right before he fought against Sephiroth – an awakening of sorts. An aura just began exuding itself from Bax’s body, pushing outward from every pore. Time just seemed to slow down and Bax saw the bullet approaching him as soon as it left the muzzle of the gun. His left hand encased in a flame, he dug his feet into the ground and began matching velocity with the bullet to allow some give with it. His left hand struck out, cupped the bullet and hurled it to the side with every ounce that Bax had in him – of course the bullet hit quite hard before being deflected away and Bax launched to the side in a combination of all of the forces and lost consciousness.

How the hell had he managed to do that?

Bax shook his head and looked at his left arm once again. He had knocked a bullet away…at near point-blank range. There was definitely something wrong with that. He had never done anything of the sort before in his entire life. Was it simply instinct? Bax couldn’t tell. So, instead of thinking about it, he pushed all of those thoughts to the side and looked around for Zack.

Spotting the spiky blonde-haired kid wasn’t too difficult of a task. Bax found him curled up in the sand only a few feet away from a bloody mess that the vultures had already picked most things off of. Zack looked exhausted – he must have spent all his energy on, Bax guessed, killing Liz. And from the looks of the skeleton, it was a bit of overkill. Bax looked at the calmly sleeping boy and smiled. There was a fierce power locked inside of the boy and Bax had been out cold through the entire display. Whatever had happened, it overwhelmed Zack and he probably wouldn’t wake up for hours.

Bax saw the sun beginning to disappear behind the mountains along the distant horizon. He knew from various campaigns in the desert that the weather would soon become an icy chill. Bax would most assuredly be able to keep himself warm no matter what, but Zack needed more than the thin coat that he had protected Bax with before. He would surely freeze to death if he slept out in the open of the desert with absolutely no protection. Bax knelt down and scooped the young an up in his arms. Zack wasn’t necessarily short, but Bax was almost like a giant compared to him. He practically fell limp in Bax’s arms and his head rolled around a bit before Bax cradled it completely. Walking a few steps, Bax noticed the Fjalar in the sand as well. With both of his hands completely full, Bax realized that he would either have to leave the boy’s only defense and keepsake behind or camp here for the night until the boy came to.

Bax knelt down and placed Zack on the already cooling desert floor. Bax removed his fighting gi and placed it over the boy. He needed it more than Bax did at that moment. Satisfied with his work, Bax decided to address the next problem: where to find something to burn. Bax frowned and jogged off for a bit to find something, anything, that he could burn. He didn’t want to risk falling asleep and leaving Zack to freeze to death when Bax’s open flame went out.

Eventually, Bax came across a small oasis with a few trees – dead of course. Bax knelt by the water and took a sip. He spat it out immediately, as it was extremely putrid. Bax looked at the trees, and upon deciding that they were better than nothing, proceeded to rip them from their dead roots. Surprisingly, Bax had no problem finding where he had left Zack and was soon piling the firewood into a heap between the two of them. Pointing his hand at the pile, he let out a small flame to ignite it and basked in its warmth. That would hopefully keep Zack warm. Bax looked at the boy resting there and couldn’t help but smile again. As strange as it was, he looked so peaceful and calm lying there through all that they had been through since meeting. He was so strong despite it all, and consistently optimistic. Bax had to admire that. He wanted to have that same kind of spirit for himself so that he could help others out in the correct fashion. Bax sat down and put his hands out to the fire to warm them from the frigid air. It was going to be a long night making sure that nothing happened, but he was ready.

Bax intended to repay the kindness that Zack had showed him in full. He wanted to help the young man out in his time of need. After all, what else were friends for?

[ZaCloud]

“Let me fight him alone, Zack!”<br>
“No way, shrimp! I’m not gonna let you get beat to a pulp again!”<br>
“You don’t understand!” the blonde boy burst in frustration. He was about eight years old, well-muscled but thin, slightly tanned but still pale, with a short pony-tail and dressed in shabby, salvaged clothing. And he was fairly upset.

“I understand perfectly, Claude,” Zack answered, twelve years old yet far taller, and emanating gentle firmness. “You don’t wanna look like a wuss by havin’ your big bro help you all the time. But Pat’s a big guy, and you don’t stand a chance without me. I don’t want you ending up like last time.”<br>
Claude lowered his head and clenched his little fists, drawing his lips inward. Zack was right; he hated being beaten up, but it happened almost every time he spent time away from his brother. But he hated seeming so dependant.

Zack’s face softened, and he rested his hand on Claude’s shoulder. The little boy looked up, and was met by Zack’s trademark smile. Bright, goofy, and above all, full of hope. At first he felt irritated; how could Zack smile at a time like this?

But then Zack said, “We’re a dynamic duo, bro. There’s no reason for you to beat a path outta the nest. You’re not depending on me; you’re a member of a two-man team. Me an’ you. Peanut butter and jelly. We’ll stick together no matter what. To hell with what the world thinks.”<br>
Claude found himself completely relaxed, his own optimism returning slowly. “Really?” he asked, “You’ll really never throw me away like Mom an’ Dad did?” His mood sank with the memories. “ Like the whole clan did?”<br>
Zack’s face grew more serious, and he knelt down to the youngster’s level, both hands on Claude’s shoulders and looking at him with sincerity in his amethyst eyes. “None of ‘em even count as family or friends anymore, Claude. We’re better than them. An’ I promise you, I’ll never ever leave you willingly. You’re my family, an’ I’m yours.”<br>
Claude smiled sadly, feeling reassured. “Thank you,” he said, “And you’re right… I don’t want to be alone anyway.”<br>
***

Then the pain. Flashes of forever, a forever of unending pain and fear. Dark. Cold. Dragged screaming and kicking to the room with dried blood on the floor and leering faces. Burning, shocking, punching, cutting. Broken ribs, blackened eyes, bruised internal organs making eating impossible for days, blood leaking from the mouth. Slashed wrists, watching the life-blood pour out, dizzy and sick, afraid because of dying yet hoping death would come sooner. Then cauterized and sewn, brought back from the brink and forced to live this hell again within days. Weak, tired, terrified. Promises they made to Jadus, skin bared with a stoic face but absolute fear. Vomiting, shuddering, crying, screaming, every day, every night. Can’t sleep, it all comes back. Can’t wake, the pain returns.

Only one thing: Zack. He turns down the horrible volume. Cleans the wounds, warms the cold, rekindles the dwindling fire of spirit. The only kind voice, the only contact that doesn’t bring agony, the only good thing in the world.

Then the gunshots.

Gone.

Then the image fades into a large, muscular man in red, with a flame for hair and pointed ears. His body replaces Zack’s on the bloody ground, lifeless. Claude screams.

“Bax! Wake up! Wake up, Zack! Please… Wake up!”<br>
***

“Wake up!”<br>
Zack’s eyes shot open with a slight gasp. His breath was rapid, and he looked around in bewilderment, a fear and pain in his wide blue eyes.

Bax was looking down at him. “You have nightmare,” he said with reassurance and concern. “Was sound sad.”<br>
Zack stared at him in disbelief. He blinked hard several times. “…Bax…” he stammered. His voice was raw and quiet, “You’re… you’re alive?? You’re alive!?”<br>
The Phoenian realized that Zack had not been able to check on him after the battle with Liz. Well, it was too late to break the news to him easily, not that such could be done in this case anyway. He nodded, smiling slightly. “Yes. Alive.”<br>
The boy looked about to burst, his shaking hands raising to his own face. “Oh! Jeez I really thought… I couldn’t even… I can’t believe it… Bax, are you wounded? We gotta fix you up! Where’d you get sh—“ He had started to sit up, but his face tightened into a grimace of pain and he sank back down slowly.

Bax looked puzzled, then realized that Zack’s dark clothing may have effectively hidden any wounds he could have gotten during his fight. He removed the makeshift blanket, and saw Zack’s hands go to his right side. He pulled up enough of the shirt to see the entrance wound of a bullet, heavily scabbed but starting to bleed again from Zack’s movement.

“I’m sorry,” Bax said, frowning, “Did not see…”

“But I don’t matter!” Zack said, looking desperate, “It’s nothing! You took a shot for me, Bax, we have to make sure you’re ok first!”<br>
“I am,” Bax answered, raising his arm to show his bruise. “I make bullet stop… Not know how. But did.”<br>
Zack blinked in shock. “Whoah…” Then he relaxed, his eyes sliding closed for a bit. “I’m glad,” he rasped quietly, “I’m so glad… You’re my only friend, Bax… I didn’t want to lose you like that… Right after you said you’re my friend…”

Bax was looking at the various clothing articles in their vicinity, trying to ponder which would make the best bandage for this strange human blood. “Will fix wound,” he said, trying to at least let Zack know he wasn’t just sitting there as he pondered.

“It won’t do any good,” Zack softly intoned, eyes still closed, “The bullet went through… I think I’m alright. Just lost some blood, it’ll stop by itself in a while.”<br>
Bax did not want that to be the case, but Zack was mostly right; having no clean water around, there was no way to clean the wound, so letting it bleed out was the only option to prevent infection for now. Reluctantly, he put the lower edge of the shirt back down, then covered Zack back up.

The blonde opened his eyes once again, looking mildly surprised. “Oh… Thanks… It’s night, isn’t it? And there’s a fire… It’s warm.” He sighed, watching the flames flicker for a while, then looked back at Bax. “Are you gonna be ok like that? If you’re tired I can stand watch if you want.” He was clearly still exhausted, and still too shaken for guard duty.

Bax shook his head. “Me.. I watch awake. I.. am alright. You need sleep more.” He then turned his head and slightly mouthed “more sleep” to correct himself. At least through hearing all Zack’s talking, he was slowly learning the structure and patterns of the language now.

He was startled to hear a whimper. He looked quickly back at Zack, who had his eyes tightly closed, clearly trying to hold back a sudden onset of tears. Bax felt confused, wondering if he had done something wrong.

“You could have died because of me…” Zack said with a slight quiver, “It’s not fair… I’m not worth all this trouble. And now you want me to just sleep while you sit there awake an’ cold…” The tears had fought their way to the surface and ran from the edges of his eyes.

[Shadow Phoenix]

The way that Zack had acted during his nightmare had disturbed Bax plenty, but the near-breakdown that followed the episode was far worse. It was even worse than the horrible sight of Zack's strange crimson life's blood flowing openly from him. Bax had wanted to do anything to help, but Zack assured him that there was nothing that he could do. And then, the exhausted Zack, shaken to the core by whatever he had seen in his dreams, wanted to give Bax a chance to rest. Bax was more and more amazed by this boy every day. But all of these events led to the near-breakdown that truly frightened Bax. He had never seen Zack express such a pain in the entire time that he had known him. He had always been so carefree and able to stick it through anything and make a wisecrack to lighten the mood. Where was that Zack now, when the walls of his mind seemed to be crumbling down on top of him? Bax looked at his friend and frowned lightly, trying to understand it all. It frightened him, saddened him, and made him quite unsure of what to do. Had he done something wrong? Bax was definitely lost and had no idea how he could help the poor boy with tears streaming down his cheeks.

“You could have died because of me…It’s not fair…I’m not worth all this trouble. And now you want me to just sleep while you sit there awake an’ cold…”
A single tear dredged its way to the surface of Bax's own eye and traced a hot line down his own cheek. He wanted to explain to Zack that he wasn't cold...and moreover that he was worth all of the trouble that Bax had been through. But he simply couldn't find the words. Bax looked at Zack, trying to hold back the tears, and the sight reminded him of himself at a younger age, trying to bite back the tears of loss. Zack was such a strong person in Bax's eyes that this emotional, nerve-wracking Zack didn't seem natural.

“Zack, I…” Bax stopped and tried to form the words in his mind. “Zack, I no…am not cold. I create…created the fire.” Sweat was beading on Bax’s forehead and he closed his eyes in the effort that he was expending, trying to remember all that he had struggled to learn since he had crashed on this planet.
“I no…do not need to sleep. You have…had a nightmare. I want…to…stand guard.”<br>Bax took a deep breath and tried to continue.
“Zack, you…are…a good friend. Do not…beat self up. Yourself. Agh…you are worth it. Know that.”<br>Bax opened his eyes and stopped breathing so heavily. He had hardly even noticed that his concentration had begun to take a toll on his body, and wiped away the layer of sweat that now haunted his brow.
“Go to sleep,” Bax said simply and quietly. Bax looked up at the moon that was now high in the sky and sighed deeply. It actually brought back a happy memory…<br>

* * *


Bax sat on a small bench that overlooked a small stream that ran down further to drift under a small bridge. He was on the edge of a town that neighbored the royal city, having left his friend, Hodia in temporary charge of things in case anything happened. Of course, nothing ever did, but it was just one of those precautionary measures that one must take simply because of procedure. Bax didn’t really mind it that much, and Hodia gladly accepted the temporary office as Bax’s friend. Of course, Hodia would do anything to help Bax out – especially after Bax told her of his plans. She had smiled and given him a playful punch before he slipped out of the palace. She knew exactly what he was up to and what he had been doing for a few months, and approved of what he was doing completely.

It was a few weeks to Bax’s 18th birthday and he had been seeing this girl for a couple months. Her name was Photonia, and she just did something to Bax that no one else had been able to his entire life. Whenever he was with her, it was like he was under a spell. He looked into her eyes and felt like everything would be all right. He held her hand and felt like he could truly be strong. He had been a gentleman and not kissed her (other than light pecks), either. They had only been out a few times because of how busy Bax was, but they had enjoyed themselves each time. Their relationship was slowly budding, and so Bax had asked her to come out to meet him on this simple bridge.

As he sat there, nervously awaiting her arrival, he looked up to see the biggest, most beautiful full moon that he could ever remember. The ironic thing was that Photonia’s name meant moon in Phoeniyan. She had been aptly named. She glowed like the moon, always with a warm smile on her face. Bax sat there, smiling as he thought of her and gazing at the moon.
“Bax, is that you?” a voice called.
Bax looked up suddenly, and saw Photonia’s silhouette standing there to the side. He stood up and they both ran to meet each other.
“I’m sorry I’m late. I had to try to sneak out,” she began apologizing immediately.
“No, no, you’re fine. You’re right on time.”<br>She smiled compassionately and the two of them stood there with their hands entwined, looking into each other’s eyes in silence for a moment.
“Here, come sit down,” Bax offered, leading her to the bench.

As they sat down, Photonia brushed a fiery curl from her forehead and asked, “So why did you want to see me tonight?”<br>“I just…I just couldn’t wait much longer. I don’t get to see you often enough.”<br>Photonia smiled again, “I know. I have definitely missed you.”<br>Bax’s heart began beating faster in his chest and he looked at the moon, then back at Photonia. “You look beautiful tonight, Photonia.” She was dressed in a pearly white dress that flowed down her figure beautifully, showing off her elegance while not coming anywhere close to the line of indecency. She was wearing beautiful pearl earrings that were encased in an intricate gold setting, and had a beautiful blue gem on a necklace around her neck. And she glowed, more than ever. She blushed a little bit and looked away as Bax complimented her.
“Thank you, Bax…”

Before she could continue, Bax pressed on. “Photonia, the past few weeks have been so much more than I thought they could ever be. Having you in my life has comforted me and I’ve hardly thought once about the rougher times of my past. I look at you and I just can’t help but feel…know that no matter what happens, everything is going to be all right.”<br>Bax took Photonia’s hands in his own and continued looking at her soft, slender face. She almost seemed to be crying.
“When I’m with you, I feel so strong, unlike I’ve felt before in the past. You are that strength. And when I can’t be with you, you’re just about all that I can think about. You have me spellbound, Photonia, and I can’t help how I’m feeling.”<br>
Photonia’s lip quivered lightly, “What are you trying to say, Bax?”<br>A tear dripped from Bax’s eye and Photonia reached up to wipe it away. As her hand touched Bax’s face, he closed his eyes, smiling and reaching his hand to take her wrist lightly. She cupped her hand over his cheek and caressed it lovingly. Bax opened his eyes and whispered.
“I love you, Photonia.”<br>Slowly, they both leaned in and their lips met as they shared their first true kiss.


* * *


As Bax looked at this moon here on Earth, he smiled and yet another tear ran down his cheek. That had been one of the happiest moments in his life. It was comforting to think back on it now.

[ZaCloud]

As Bax spoke, Zack choked back his tears so he could listen, opening his bloodshot-blue eyes to give his friend full attention. It was clearly very difficult for Bax to say what he meant to in this situation.

“Zack, you…are…a good friend. Do not…beat self up. Yourself. Agh…you are worth it. Know that.”<br>
At those words, Zack’s inferiority complex became defeated by his strong need for acceptance. It was clear that Bax had freely chosen to watch over him, and protesting anymore might seem like rejecting a gift. Bax had even shed a tear for him… That was a real sign of true friendship.

“Go to sleep,” Bax concluded gently, turning his gaze to the moon above. Zack breathed deeply and slowly a few times, closing his eyes and doing his best to completely stop crying. There was no reason to now… the danger was over, Bax was alive, and somehow the fiery king believed that Zack was worthy of kindness… Something he was not used to receiving.

He sighed quietly, trying to convince himself that he was worth it too. When he finally let it sink in, he felt calmed and even happy. It was so nice to be cared about. This was the first friend he ever remembered making. He knew someone had cared for him once, though he could not remember who or how. Hopefully, he would not mess this up.

He opened his eyes again, raising a hand to dry his face as he looked at Bax once more. The Phoenian king looked to be thinking about something that made him very happy. Probably a memory of the home he missed. Zack felt some extra respect; Bax had probably been through quite a bit, yet he was still able to smile, and be a kind person.

Zack tried to speak, but his voice didn’t want to kick in. His throat hurt like he’d screamed himself raw. “…ax?”<br>
The man of fire blinked, coming out of his thoughts, and looked at Zack. He felt relieved to see the boy feeling better. “Yes?”<br>
Zack had a few false starts before he was finally able to say, “I… I know you’ve had a bad time on this planet… But I’m glad I met you.” He managed a small smile. A little hollow compared to his usual, but it was sincere. “Once we figure out what’s going on an’ stuff… I’ll help you find a way back home. I promise.”<br>
Bax did not know what to say for a moment. He had not been completely sure whether to even hope to get back home. But now, words had been spoken to tempt such hope. He was not sure how likely that would be… But to be back in the arms of the woman he loved… to watch the young life he had created grow and look up to him…<br>
He smiled softly, lowering his head for a bit, then raising it again. “Thank you… Can try at least…” It would be too draining to find words for more, so he left it at that.

Zack moved a bit to get more comfortable, his eyes closing halfway. He was recovering quickly, for he already wished to talk a substantial amount once more. “You are a king, after all… I’m sure your people love you. And you probably have friends an’ family waiting for you too. It must be nice… to know people might miss you when you’re gone. Maybe someday I’ll know what that’s like… to have a home, and be missed. Maybe… Would it be alright to consider taking me there too? I don’t have anything here…”

“…Really nothing? Nobody?” Bax asked quietly.

Zack thought for a bit, then answered, “That’s right… Nothing and nobody. I don’t remember much, but I know you’re the first friend I’ve ever made. And I lived here in the desert without parents. Maybe someone was there, but…” He shook his head. “But it doesn’t matter… I have a friend now… and that makes me happy.” His voice was drifting quieter, and at those last words his eyes slid shut and his head sank to the side. His breathing evened as sleep found him.

Bax sighed. After having seen Zack’s pain, and learning more about his life, he wondered how the kid ever managed to be as happy as he usually was. No friends at all… It took a crash-landing alien to bring a friend to a boy on a planet-full of people, in his entire lifetime. Was it because he seemed mentally unstable? Or was that part of why he had become that way? It had to be a combination of factors. The scars, and whatever caused the nightmares… Bax hoped that was not typical of this planet, and regardless found himself wanting to leave it behind more than ever.

He watched Zack for a while, making sure the boy’s breathing remained steady. At least the wound was clearly nonfatal, somehow having missed vital organs. Zack’s face looked peaceful once more, and that was a relief. Bax himself felt pretty tired at that point; things had been stressful enough without the Senate’s involvement… But he had already set himself to stand guard, and was never a man to go back on his word.

He’d let nothing more happen to his new friend if he could help it.

***

It was growing warm enough that the fire was no longer needed. The sun was up, and the temperature rising rapidly. Bax yawned, tired but satisfied with having stayed up the entire night. He took off his gloves, then leaned forward and began washing his hands and face in the campfire to make use of it before putting it out.

“Whoah! I figured you could do that but still…”

Bax looked over at Zack, who looked back with a broad smile. He was propped up a tiny bit on one elbow. His voice was still pretty gritty. “That’s really neat… if I tried to do that, I’d be all burned up.” Then, he cocked his head and queried, “Uh, would it burn my hand if I gave you a noogie?” He demonstrated the gesture on his own head.

Bax didn’t answer for a moment, smiling at the fact that Zack seemed to be his old self once more, then he said, “If I want burn to you, yes… But other time, no.” Then his smile widened and his brows lowered in a mock-warning. “No give me noogie.”<br>
Zack chuckled, his hand scratching the back of his head as it often did. “Heheheh… Don’t worry, I was just curious.” He spread his limbs and stretched with a big loud yawn, which slowly turned into a strained growl of pain when his wound protested to the movement. “Owie owie ow!” He sighed and lay flat, arms and legs still spread. “Man, forgot about the fact that I’m now a human donut.”<br>
Bax cocked his head, unable to fully comprehend what a fried snack cake had to do with anything. But then Zack pushed himself into a sitting position quickly, before he could be offered any help. He groaned through and after the quick process, but did his best not to worry his friend too much by keeping his signs of pain minimal. He then held out Bax’s gi, grinning as well as he could.

“Thanks a lot, Bax. That helped a lot. At least the jacket layer kept blood off of it, I think. I hope.” ^_^;;

The Phoenian took back his gi. A few small spots had managed to get through onto it, but Bax chose not to comment on it. Zack tied his jacket around his waist once more, muttering about the bloodstains ruining the nice dark-blue color. He put it lower so at least less blood would get on it should his movement aggravate the injury again. “Well,” he then said, “one thing we gotta do is find water. I feel like there’s some not too far off, just not sure if it’s drinkable or not. Don’t worry, I’m pretty good at finding something drinkable. Too bad I don’t have my old pans anymore; I used to use one to boil yucky water, after filtering it with a cloth, an’ the other to catch what evaporated. That’d help make almost anything drinkable. But noooo, ain’t got no pans now.”<br>
He tried his best to look at his wound again, but the shirt was now sticking to it. “Heh, it was just a tiny bit too high. Any lower and this spiffy belt-thing would’ve caught it.” He slowly rolled forward until he was kneeling, preparing to push up and stand. The exit wound in the back was substantially larger.

Bax stood and extended his hand. “I help.”<br>
Zack looked up, and his pained expression shouldered a grin. “Thanks,” he said, accepting the much larger hand which helped pull him to his feet. He stood awkwardly, eyes squeezed shut, but forced himself to straighten and relax as well as he could. “Man,” he grunted, “Wonder why such a tiny little hole can hurt so much.”<br>
“‘Tiny little hole’ can kill,” Bax pointed out. “You will be ok?”<br>
Zack forced another grin and nodded. “Yeah, I will. It hurts like hell... but I’ll be striking sexy poses before ya know it. Gotta practice for da lay-deez!” He winked, chuckled, and began walking toward where he felt the water might be.

Yes, Zack was definitely going to be ok.

[Shadow Phoenix]

Zack and Bax walked along quite contentedly, ignoring their respective wounds and just enjoying each other’s company. They were learning more about each other all of the time and every new action revealed something else. For example, the way that Bax bathed in the fire. Or, how Zack spoke of himself as a donut. Certainly, neither party truly understood all that the other did or said yet, but could that really be expected of two people from opposite sides of the universe who were still having a difficult time understanding each other? Bax had gained quite a good grasp on the language in these few short weeks, and while he could spit out decent phrases now, he was still having a horrible time understanding every nuance of the language of these humans. He wouldn’t speak such to them, for asking them to repeat everything that they said would have most assuredly gotten old by now – Bax didn’t want this. So, he just tried to understand what he could, and when or if he finally understood a phrase said long before, he would remember it for the next time and respond accordingly. It was slightly complex, but Bax was sure that it would work. It had to.

“Zack, you say you know where water is?”<br>Zack traversed along nonchalantly and nodded his head, “I’m pretty sure.”<br>Bax smiled to himself, “If is bad, I can purify. Fire, no?”<br>Zack broke into a light run, “There it is!” Bax matched pace and followed Zack to the small oasis. It was definitely getting hot and Bax knew enough of human physiology by now to know that if Zack didn’t get some water soon he would be in serious danger. He didn’t know quite how much, but it was safe to assume that water was a necessity for these humans. They were drinking almost nonstop, as if they hadn’t had the stuff a day in their lives. It was very strange to Bax, who only needed a little bit of water to survive. Just more of the strange differences between the two races.

Bax wanted to leave this planet and all of its strange people and customs behind and get back to his people, but he had taken a liking, or at least an interest, to many of these humans. Not to mention that he had no idea how long it would be until he could commandeer a spaceworthy ship and get back to Auralis, but that was beside the point. He had no idea if more would occur in the coming days, weeks, or months…years, perhaps. Bax shuddered – he didn’t want to think of his stay here on Earth in years. Months at the most. If he stayed longer…no, he wouldn’t think of it.

Sure enough, the small oasis, like the one that Bax had found before, was horribly polluted. Bax knew very little of the war that had decimated this planet, but he knew that this place was called “The Desert of the Dead” and that the worst battles were fought here. He had seen the shells of bombed-out buildings as well as the half-buried skeletons littering the landscape. It was somewhat unnerving, but Bax just had to shut the images of war from his mind. They brought back far too many painful memories.

Zack knelt down at the water’s edge and put his hand through it.
“Is dirty,” Bax called, more in a statement than a question.
“Uh hunh.”<br>Bax strode forward and knelt down by Zack and likewise ran his hand through the water. He was about to say something when his hand knocked against something in the murky water. His eyes widened as it passed over it. Somewhat frantically, he began moving his hand in the water at an even faster rate, trying to find it again. After a few moments, he found it again and latched his grip on it.
“Zack,” he cried, “I find something!”<br>Bax wrenched the object from its partially buried grave and held it up in the sunlight. It was a pan. Bax smiled and looked at Zack who was also smiling – though less so. It appeared as if the boy was dehydrated and would probably pass out at any moment. He had not been his usual chipper self for quite a while now, growing quieter by the minute. Bax now understood this change in behavior and frowned.
“You feel okay, Zack? You do not look well.”<br>Zack moaned a bit and his eyes flickered. His throat was definitely parched. “You found a pan,” he said.
“You delirious, lie down.”<br>Bax felt Zack’s forehead and noted that it was burning up. He felt even worse than a Phoeniyan, which Bax knew was very bad for humans. Pushing the boy down on the ground, Bax took his own sash and ripped a piece of it off. He had seen this done while he had been in Midgar to a man who looked very much like Zack did now. He dipped this small cloth in the water – it wasn’t healthy to drink, but it was still cool and would relieve Zack’s fever. Bax only hoped hat he was doing this right.

Bax squeezed the excess water from the cloth so that it wouldn’t run into Zack’s eyes and placed it on his forehead. Zack moaned again and Bax quickly filled the pan with water from the sullied oasis. He still wasn’t sure how he was going to remove all of the impurities and still retain the water, but he knew that he had to act quickly. Zack had said before that he had used two pans and a filtering cloth. Looking at his and Zack’s clothes, it appeared that both were improper for the job of filtering for different reasons. He also only had one plan. This was going to be difficult…<br>“Um, Zack? You know how do this?”

[ZaCloud]

Zack had tried his best not to complain about how hot and thirsty he had been getting. His tolerance for lack of water was quite high, thanks to spending most of his life in the desert. But after all the stress of the past few weeks, as well as quite a bit of blood-loss, there was only so much he could take. Now, there he was near quite a bit of water, but any amount he would attempt swallowing would definitely come back up, with how tainted it was.

But oh yeah… Bax has a pan. Cool.

“Well…” he said, feeling rather sluggish and sleepy, “Can’t do as well as usual… Only got one an’… an’ stuff…”

Bax waited for him to continue. Then prompted, “Stay wake. Need tell how fix.”<br>
“Oh… Oh, yeah…” Zack forced his eyes open. He was far more dehydrated than he had thought; he had not even been able to sweat anymore for quite some time. “Gotta improvise… Won’t turn out too good… Just boil that water. Use Fjalar to cover the top, so the steam doesn’t get out.”<br>
Bax quickly moved to do as instructed, partially lifting Zack and unsheathing the great sword from his back. Fjalar was heavy, as he had thought, but actually far lighter than he had expected. Whoever had crafted it must have had great knowledge of metals. It took him a while to figure out how to do this; holding the sword right over the pan was awkward, let alone while trying to create a flame at the bottom of the pan. Finally, he settled on resting the blade on his upcurled knees, holding the pan in his left hand, and igniting his right.

As the process occurred, Zack kept his weak rambles going. “Might still get kinda sick… but it’ll kill most o’ the germs at least… High heat does that, so if nothing else, it helps… You don’t need much water, do you?... You’re lucky… This is embarrassing, hehehe.”<br>
“No worry,” Bax said. He checked on the water every now and then, until it was finally at the boiling point. He let it remain there for a bit, and then extinguished the flame and set the pan on the ground. Now he knew the problem was waiting for it to cool.

“…Put the bottom half… in the pool,” Zack suggested, with a weak hand pointing at the rest of the water. At least his brain wasn’t completely fried yet.

As they waited, Bax sat nearby so his shadow could partially shade Zack’s upper half. He occasionally re-wet the cloth to cool it again, replacing it on the boy’s forehead. Zack’s throat showed a rapid but weak pulse, and his eyes were a bit glazed and distant. But he continued to seem unworried about his bad situation… only worried about the impression he was making.

“…Only got this bad a couple times before…” he quietly slurred, “Usually was more prepared… Stupid Senate. Made me look like such a drag…”

“No wo… You not worry about it,” Bax insisted again, sticking a finger in the water to see if it was cool enough yet. It had quite a ways to go, if he was not mistaken. He sighed, feeling quite worried by now.

Then, Zack let out a big groan, then a chuckle. Bax looked at him curiously. Had he become completely delirious now?

“I’m so stupid,” the boy muttered, shaking his head a few times. “Well maybe not, but… Well I don’t know the risks…” He pointed toward Fjalar. “…Those stones in the sword… Hehe, ‘Stone in the Sword’…” (Bax didn’t get it) “One of ‘em can cast Ice… Didn’t really remember, but now I do… But I haven’t tried it before… Might have to; I’m gonna try… at least a small one.” He reached a hand out, still along the ground. Bax knew he wanted the sword, so he moved it closer.

Zack gripped the simple handle, and adjusted it a bit so the tip of the blade pointed to the pan in the shallow water’s edge. Bax moved away prudently; he knew such a casting would not be too pleasant if he caught any edge of it. Zack then closed his eyes, and concentrated on the bottom stone, trying to keep his focus on the need to just quickly cool the water. Soon, a sharp bluish-white glow emanated from the stone, traveled down the blade, and in a flash, the pot was cocooned in a small case of ice.

“Heh… You can melt that…” Zack said with a small, dizzy chuckle. Then his eyes closed and he went limp.

Bax was concerned to the point of anger as he once again applied a bit of fire, at least needing very little this time. Maybe that casting drained some of Zack’s life force… And there really wasn’t enough left for that kind of risk. Maybe he would have been better off just waiting it out. I’ll bet that was a bad gamble…<br>
His work done and the water now nice and cold, with some cleaner bits added from the melted ice, he lifted Zack’s limp upper-half and slowly poured some of the water down the boy’s throat. There was no reaction for a while, then Zack coughed a little and swallowed a few times. Relieved, and his well-meaning anger evaporating quickly, Bax helped him drink his fill, until Zack closed his mouth and turned his head away.

[ZaCloud]

“Can’t drink too much yet,” he said, still not sounding good yet, “Too fast’ll make me sick.”<br>
Bax nodded, then with a small smirk poured some of the water over Zack’s head. Both to help cool him better, and as a reprimand for Bax’s worry.

Zack opened his eyes, blinking a few times, then he laughed as well as he could manage. Bax laughed too. The crisis wasn’t over, but the danger was. Surviving through one more hardship was an accomplishment worthy of unbridled relief.

***

It would take a while for Zack to recuperate to the point of being able to travel again; the water had to get into his system, and even then the heat he had endured left some damage that would require rest to heal. So they stayed at the murky oasis for a while, treating several pans of water over time for drinking and cooling purposes. They awaited another pan-full’s cooling to finally clean Zack’s gunshot wound.

“I’ll just use Ice again,” Zack insisted for at least the third time. At least his intention was insisting; his voice was still pretty weak.

“Again, no,” Bax answered with a sigh. He had felt quite humbled for most of his time on this planet, a feeling he was not used to. But he felt authority was in order when it came to the well-being of his friend, and he was certainly good at dealing that out.

Zack’s small smile widened for a bit; it was pleasant to have someone concerned about him, even if it was in the form of expressed annoyance. “Thanks for all your help, Bax. You saved my life, definitely. At least twice now. I’ll never forget that.”<br>
“Well… You help me much, too,” Bax answered, “Is appreciate.”<br>
“…Can I correct you?” Zack asked, “So you can learn better?”<br>
Bax thought, then nodded. Already he knew that Zack would not do so to seem superior. And he could use all the help he could get.

“You can either say it like: ‘I appreciate it.’” He paused to let it sink in. “Or, to be more fancy and formal, can say, ‘It is appreciated.’ I think the first kind’s better though, lots easier.”<br>
Bax nodded in agreement. “Thank you,” he said, “I appreciate it.”<br>
“There ya go!” Zack said happily, “Man you learn fast. I’m surprised you can already talk— I mean, speak, as well as you do. Hehe, even the natives here don’t always speak this language perfectly anyway!” ^_^

They passed some sentences back and forth, Bax trying out an expression and Zack returning it properly. More and more of the patterns were becoming clear to Bax; it would not be long before he could fill in many blanks on his own.

Finally, Bax checked the water. He had let it get as cold as possible, since Zack had said cold would help slow the bleeding that would certainly ensue. “It is ready,” Bax said, feeling pretty good about his correct phrasing.

“Good job,” Zack congratulated, “And thanks.” He accepted the pan, and removed his shirt so it would be out of the way until he was done. “This won’t be too fun at all, but there’s a buncha sand and who-knows-what lodged in here.” He started on the entry wound, using the sleeve of his jacket to scrub away the dried blood and grit. The water made the returning bloodflow look worse than it really was, which was already pretty wrenching to look at. Zack had to clean deeply since it went all the way through.

Bax found it too hard to watch; a young man more scarred than an old war veteran, face full of severe pain, yet humming a little song like a patient child trying to brave out the removal of a splinter. But then the humming grew too strained to continue as Zack tried his best to clean the exit wound on his back. It was painful for him to twist that far, and he couldn’t see or reach it very well.

Bax felt he had no choice. He swallowed and said, “I h.. will help.” He moved closer and knelt behind Zack.

“Thanks,” Zack said quietly, relaxing. “I hate to be such a bother, but if this got infected I’d really be in trouble… Just clean out everything you can. Don’t be afraid of hurting me; it has to be done.”<br>
That was easier said than done; Bax couldn’t help but feel a tiny bit squeamish about putting his hands in this odd blood, when it belonged to his friend. And making Zack cringe and bite back cries of pain still made him feel bad. But soon enough the wound looked as clean as it was going to get, and bleeding profusely.

“Now what?” Bax asked, feeling pretty tired from the disheartening activity.

Zack was quiet for a while, sweating and exhausted from the pain, then he said in a strained voice, “Let me take a little breather… Then I’m gonna bite down on the clean jacket sleeve… And you can cauterize the wound.”<br>
Bax sputtered out something in his native tongue. Although he should have seen this coming, the thought of bringing that much more pain had tried to creep away from his mind. But it really was the only choice; bandaging would not stop all that internal bleeding, and there were still some germs left in the water that needed to be neutralized with heat.

Finally he sighed. “You is— are brave. To ask for pain that is needed.”<br>
Zack wiped off his forehead and looked back at Bax with a weak smile. “Thanks, Bax. But it’s either this or worse later. So, not much choice there.” He swabbed his forehead again with the sleeve, took a few deep breaths, then jammed some of it in his mouth so he could avoid hurting his teeth and jaws. He prepared as well as he could, then gave a nod.

[Sephiroth X]

*After all Bax and Zack had gone through they decided to call it a night and sleep once more. The next morning Bax got up and looked up at the sun, he figured it was about 9AM... it was comforting for Bax understanding the 24 hour routine on Earth already.. he was adapting.

Zack got up and looked around the horizon, looking for anything and anybody. Still no sign of Sephiroth. Zack was getting worried, he remembered how X looked when he was dragged across their cell. So for all he knew, X could be out there some where in the desert dying and he and Bax didnt even truly look for him. Zack then looked over to Bax and Bax spoke.

Bax - "We should... move out... find some water or city."

*The two then regathered their gear and continued to march on through the desert. Hoping civilization wasnt too far away.

They walked for just over an hour, and the land around them looked just the same as it did an hour ago... and the day before... Zack hoped they were going in the right direction, hopefully towards Midgar and not back to Zion. Heck maybe they'd get lucky and reach the continents border and be able to drink in the ocean. It was a while since Zack saw the planet's massive oceans, and he figured Bax would like to see them for the first time... obviously if he didnt have to get too close to them.

As the continued to walk onward, Bax suddenly stopped and motioned for Zack to stop as well.

Zack - "What is it?"

*Bax went down onto one knee and put the palm of his hand down on the ground.

Bax - "Ground is shaking, something coming."

*Bax stood up and both he and Zack could hear the roar of something coming from behind them. They both turned around and looked into the sky. A small speck was in the air, coming towards them, getting larger and larger every moment. Eventually Zack and Bax could identify the vehicle, it was a helicopter... a Senate helicopter...

Zack - "The Senate... not good..."

*Zack then noticed that the helicopter came from behind them.

Zack - "Well if that chopper came from Zion, that means we at least arent moving towards Zion again... hopefully Midgar is dead ahead."

*Then the chopper came extremely close, it was haulin' major hind-end as it flew over them. The chopper did a bank turn and flew right to them again. The chopper then hovered momentarily and landed, apparently cutting off Bax and Zack from whatever they were walking to. The Senate's helicopter's engines slowly came to a halt and there was momentary silence as the sand settled around the aircraft. The main side door slid open and a voice was then heard.

Voice - "It is nice to see you two still alive, my friends."

*The Senator slowly walked out from the helicopter. Zack and Bax instinctively reached for their weapons.

Bax - "Not good..."

The Senator - "No no no do not worry, I will not kill you here."

*Those words didn't bring any comfort to either of them.

Zack - "Where did you drop off Sephy X at?!"

The Senator - "Heh... X ?"

*Bax seemed to block out what Zack said.. he kept his hand clinched to the Star Fighter and his eyes fixed on The Senator.*

Bax - "Id rather fight here... I want rid of you."

*The Senator midly laughed.

The Senator - "Believe me Bax, if I had the motivation or urge to kill you right now... I would. BUT... I'm guessing this means that you two wont help me find The Valley of the Promised then? Well then... that's okay... I've found somebody who will for me... "

*Chills ran down Zack and Bax's spines.

The Senator - "AND... hahaha... this man does have the motivation right now to kill you both right now."

*The Senator looked over his right shoulder back into the darkness of the helicopters interior.*

The Senator - "Isnt that right, my friend?"

*A voice came from within the aircraft.

Voice - "Yes, my Master..."

*The Senator took a step to his left to clear the path from the helicopter door down to the ground. From the interior of the aircraft a figure moved closer... As he walked from the shadows the light slowly hit him... black boots... black cape... silver shoulder guards... silver hair... The Masamune... Sephiroth X...

Zack *in shock* - "...No... No!..."

*Bax didnt speak, but his face couldnt believe what he was seeing. Sephiroth X looked slightly pale, like he was kept indoors for a day or two.. obviously he wasnt in the desert with them... The Senate broke his mind...

Zack - "Sephiroth... no... snap out of it!..."

The Senator - "Ha! My poor boy he is working with The Senate now... willingly... we just gave him proper 'motivation'."

*Sephiroth X stood next to The Senator and looked at both Bax and Zack.

Sephiroth X - *Calmly* "Should I kill them, Master?"

The Senator - "Well... since they're so close to Midgar already... na... just hurt them... alot. And after that begin your search."

*The engines of the helicopter roared to life again and The Senator walked back up to the doorway of the helicopter as it began to lift off. The wind and sand blew heavily making Zack and Bax have to cover their eyes, Sephiroth X didnt move an inch... he kept his focus with an almost emotionless expression on him.

The Senator - "Bon voyage! Have fun with my newest apprentace!"

*The helicopter then flew away*

*Bax tried to keep in a battle-ready sense.. he didnt want to fight Sephiroth. But knew he could beat him, they basically fought to a near stalemate in Midgar... he could do it again.

Zack - "We gotta stop him Bax... but dont kill him! He's gotta be under their control! Plus we're close to Midgar apparently, so after you and me take him down we gotta take him to some place and get him fixed up."

*Sephiroth X slowly laughed.

Sephiroth X - "You didn't see the extent of my power in Midgar... I only tapped my full potential... and The Senate gave me a few new tricks too..."

*Bax quickly pulled out the Star Fighter hoping to get a jump on Sephiroth X. But just as he pulled out his trusty blade, Sephiroth X looked at him and his body seemed to blur. A blurry trail of X flew right at Bax and before Bax could even ignite his sword, Sephiroth X connected with a heavy fist to Bax's gut... knocking the wind out of him and sending him to the ground. Zack saw X's amazing new speed and quickly drew his Buster Sword and raised it for attack. X again blurred and quickly appeared again behind Zack, and immediately soccer-style kicked the back of Zack's knees sending him to his knee's on the ground. X once again blurred quickly and re-focused in front of Zack, and as he re-focused he was already in the motion of a spin-kick directly at Zack's face. Zack couldnt even prepare for the impact, the kick already connected and Zack fell to the ground. Then Sephiroth X grabbed Zack by his shirt and lifted him up into the air.

Sephiroth X - "Where did you find the Valley of the Promised? WHERE!?"

*Zack couldnt even speak, he gave off a small grunt of pain and passed out unconcious. X didnt bother to ask again, he just let go of him and Zack fell face first onto the ground again.

*Suddenly Sephiroth X spun around and his green eyes glowed a brighter green momentarily. He turned and saw Bax staggering back to his feet and as his eyes turned a brighter green the sand seemed to part in the path between X and Bax. And a mighty invisible energy wave slammed into Bax sending him flying backwards to the ground.

*X looked at the two lying unconcious and then observed his surroundings. He determined which way was to Midgar and which was to Zion. He even remembered where Bax's ship crashed... Then X remembered something... the motorcycle tracks from the drifters... He remembered being at the small lake next to the dead tree, right before Bax's ship crashed... If X could get back to that spot, and the tracks were still there it could be some link to the Valley.

*Sephiroth X looked down at Bax and Zack again... and shook his head... He turned away from them, and walked away towards the desert's horizon... his quest for the Element of Prosperity had begun.*

[Shadow Phoenix]

OoC: This takes place before Sephy's post. Durn child posted before me...grr...*is extremely tired*

IC:

Bax grimaced and wiped the thin layer of sweat that had accumulated on his forehead away. The entire process of caring for Zack in his awful condition had been nerve wracking and tiring, and now Bax had to purposefully hurt his friend even further so that he could help him. The sun was still beating down harshly and was continually making this harder and harder.
“Varsad,” Bax murmured in his own tongue once again. “Adi varsaldo disht...Vesqui da kyri…”
Zack turned his head to face Bax and tried to say something through the cloth and Bax looked at him with a slight frown. This half-delirious Zack had been running a rough edge on his nerves and Bax had to admit that it had gotten the slightest bit annoying. “I curse in Phoeniyan. Do not worry.”<br>Zack turned his face and seemed to be talking to himself still. Bax assumed that he was trying to allow his mind to wander so he didn’t know when it came. Bax winced a bit and slowly worked up a small flame in his hand. He just hoped that he was doing this correctly, or else he would most certainly hurt Zack a great deal.

Concentrating the flames to his front two fingers, Bax stuck them into Zack’s wound. He promptly grimaced and shut his eyes tightly. The muffled screams did not come yet, but Bax assumed that they would. Bax worked his way around the wound, sealing off the blood vessels and burning away the dead tissue. As he continued, he could hear Zack trying as hard as he could to stifle the screams of pain. Bax couldn’t blame the poor boy – he was being made to deal with a great deal of pain. Bax felt like closing his eyes and letting the tears stream down his cheeks as Zack screamed into the cloth and clenched his fists tightly, but knew that he would just hurt Zack more if he couldn’t see. So, logic and common sense told him to force his eyes to stay open, no matter how much his tears stung them. He felt sorry for Zack.

Finally, the cauterization was done and Bax removed his fingers from the wound.
“All done,” he noted, standing up and walking over to face Zack. “You are brave, I repeat.”<br>Zack slowly unclenched his fists and removed the cloth from his mouth, wiping the tears away. Bax noticed that Zack had gripped so tightly that he had drawn blood, but he decided not to mention it. It wasn’t the right time to do so. Zack’s chest heaved in and out and he shuddered a couple times. Through a number of rasped breaths, Bax caught ‘thank you’ somewhere.
“You are welcome,” he responded simply, patting Zack on the shoulder lightly. “I hope I do…did well.”<br>Zack grimaced again and nodded twice. After a few minutes of sitting in silence, save for Zack’s deep, sharp breaths, the blonde boy seemed to be fine. Bax stood up and reached his hand out to help Zack up. Zack grasped the hand eagerly and was hoisted up lightly, but firmly.

“You feel fine now?” Bax questioned with a serious look on his face. “You scared me.”<br>Zack looked up into the fiery king’s face and smiled lightly, “I’m feeling fine now.”<br>“Good.”<br>Zack closed his eyes, lifted his head to the sky, and sighed. His fighting, optimistic spirit had definitely taken a bit of a beating through the entire experience. Bax assumed that he would be back to his chipper old self in no time, but he could tell that the ordeal had been traumatizing. Hell, Bax was still a bit freaked out by the entire thing. Between trying to keep Zack awake to cleaning his wound, and then finally cauterizing it, Bax had hardly had a moment’s rest. He felt exhausted as well. Neither he nor Zack were really in the condition to travel. Bax couldn’t say that they had wasted the day, but staying almost in one spot for the entirety of the day was not helping their chances of getting out of this infernal desert at all. They were at least a day behind “schedule” and moving on foot was most assuredly a bad idea. The only way that they could even hope to get to where they were probably supposed to be at this point, and thus have any hope of getting out of the desert alive, would be to fly.

Fly! Of course!

Bax looked back at Zack and grinned.
“Zack, do you know legend of Phoenix?”<br>“Uh, sorta I guess. Could ya explain it to me?”<br>Bax smiled. Zack was already starting to feel better from the sound of things.
“Sure. Long time ago, bird lived in ancient garden with many other things. Was called phoenix. One day, phoenix catch fire and burn to death. Out of ashes rise new phoenix. Is short version.”<br>Zack nodded his head, “Oh, yeah. Very cool. What about it?”<br>“Would you like see phoenix?”<br>Zack’s eyes widened, “But that’s only a legend!”<br>“Have faith in legends, Zack. Have faith.”<br>Zack scratched the back of his head in his classic pose, “Wow, that oughta be cool.”<br>
Bax nodded and took a few steps the other way, kneeling down in the sand and sitting back on his heels. Drawing both of his swords from his back, Bax jammed one on either side of him, slightly in front of where he was sitting. Then, Bax put his hands together, extending his index and middle fingers on each hand, laying his right ring finger and pinky over the left and crossing his thumbs right over left. Slowly, his normally calm mane of crimson fire began growing. It was not raging yet, but it was evident that a great deal of power was beginning to come off of the Phoeniyan king. Zack could hear Bax murmuring something, though he couldn’t quite tell what. Several minutes passed and with each passing moment, Bax’s hair whipped about more and more, crackling in the sudden strong winds. He was in deep concentration and couldn’t hear anything if he wanted to, save for the sound of his own voice. His prayer was reaching into the very core of the planet, seeking out the phoenix that he knew must be there. It was somewhere, and it could hear him. It was only a matter of time.

About 15 minutes into the ritual, things in the area began to take a turn for the strange and unpredictable. Small sandstorms would appear and die down instantly, popping up everywhere. The entire desert around Bax and Zack seemed to come alive, moving against the natural wind that blew and ripping a new face there. Sand would leap up, spraying everywhere unexpectedly. The wind began howling quite loudly and Bax raised his voice so that his prayerful monologue could still be heard. His mind was too far-gone to realize that it was his yet untapped telekinesis that was causing these strange movements. They were moving so fast and with such force that they were growing to near the point of dangerous.

Suddenly, a cry akin to that of a great eagle’s cry rang out far in the distance and the growing storm stopped abruptly. Bax raised his head and looked out at the horizon. Yes, there was the Phoenix, flying towards him. Zack stood up from where he had been sitting during the ritual and stared on in awe and amazement. He was firmly entranced and seemed to have forgotten about all of his pain. Bax stood up and grabbed his swords, sliding them back into their rightful places. Then, he looked back towards the phoenix.

The phoenix cried out once again and Bax could distinctly see its shape instead of viewing a simple dot far off in the distance. The phoenix traced large, lazy circles in the sky, leaving behind a slight vapor trail as it flew. It’s glorious, magnificent shades of red, orange and yellow reflected off of the clouds and caused the phoenix to shimmer in absolute beauty. It was a sight for sore eyes to Bax, having not seen a phoenix for nearly a year now. Bax sighed and watched as the bird’s magnificent figure flew effortlessly through the near-cloudless blue sky. It flapped its wings and slowly began to descend towards Zack and Bax. As the phoenix landed, Bax walked over to it and nuzzled its great beak with his hands, praising it in its own tongue. Bax put his head to the bird’s head and pet it comfortingly. They were bonding already.

Bax looked at Zack, “She was a stubborn one. Took me least 10 times to call her out when I found her.”<br>Zack looked on in wonder, “It’s a she? She’s beautiful!”<br>Bax smiled. Zack was right, this glorious creature was beautiful. “She is only phoenix on your planet. She is 400 years old. She goes by Keldira.”<br>Zack walked up to the phoenix and bent over to bring his head down to her level, “Well hello there, Keldira. I’m Zack, nice ta meetcha!”<br>Keldira yelped and Bax smiled, “She likes you.”<br>Zack reached behind his head again and laughed. After a moment, he looked at Bax with wide eyes, “My gosh, this is so cool, Bax! I’ve never seen a phoenix before in my whole life. This is amazing.”<br>“You want ride her?”<br>“Ride? Absolutely! I mean, that would be out of this world! I can’t believe we can ride her.” Zack continued jabbering for a few moments, then stopped suddenly, looked at Keldira and cocked his head to the side. In a very serious tone, Zack questioned, “Will it burn my butt?”<br>Bax burst out into laughter, having to clutch his sides for fear that they might split.
“No, no, riding is fine. If phoenix likes you, she no burn. She likes you, so you are fine.”<br>Zack smiled, “Great! How do I get on?”<br>Bax lifted Zack up into Keldira’s back, who immediately let out a screech.
“What did she say?” Zack asked.
Bax leapt onto Keldira and patted her on the head. “She said that she hasn’t been ridden since the days of the war, so to go easy on her.”<br>“Great!” Zack said, beaming. He was obviously excited, and just began jabbering on. Bax leaned down and whispered directions into Keldira’s ear, who immediately took off. Soon, the two young men were flying on the back of the magnificent creature over the sands of the Desert of the Dead. Bax leaned forward on Keldira and smiled, closing his eyes. That moment, right then, was perfect.

[ForeverZeroUltima]

Lynx kept trudging across the wasteland. It had been 3 days since he had been ported to the Alpha continent. He suddenly stood upright and blinked. He thought he saw a small pool of water in the distance. He blinked again - and the oasis disappeared.
He sighed. this had been the fifth rest spot to disappear. He began to sway back and forth on the shifting sand, and finally gave way and fainted.

Why are you here?
Lynx blinked. He didn't know where the voice was coming from.
Answer my question.
Um...I fainted?
Yes, you did.
How can that be? I remember being perfectly fine, and...
You're lying. You were weak and empty, and you had been searching for water for days.
*hesitates* well...
it's the truth, isn't it?
Yes. You're right. But how did you know? Can you read minds?
Of Course not. I know only what i know.
Come again?
What you need to do now...get up. go to the east and you will find something...but you may also find three things more than you asked for.
What are these three things? and what am i looking for in the first place?
Get up...now!

Lynx opened his eyes. He groaned and tried to stand up. He was somewhere else. He glanced around and saw the spot where he had fainted.
His eyes widened in shock. If he had been carried that far, then...
He looked around him. He was in a giant sand dune that curved downward and ended in a pit in the middle of three hills of sand. But he couldn't have been dragged down there unless...
He looked down in alarm. He was right...quicksand!
He tried to move away but the sand clung to him like glue. He tried again and broke off one strand of sand, but three more clung to him. Aggravated, he summoned his scythe and swung at the sand. The sand nimbly ducked and latched to him.
"This sand...can it actually think?!"
Snarling in fury, he extended his left arm and tried to blast the sand away. Unfortunately, the blast was meant for ranged attacks and he ended up blasting himself. When he opened his eyes again, the sand was STILL latched to him.
In the split second that it happened, he realized: If i cannot force this sand to get off me, I should get it to get itself off me! But how do i do that? He then realized that he was sinking lower and lower into the sand.
It suddenly occurred to him. If the sand can think and move, then it obviously has a life force, right?
Lynx's eyes gleamed as a new idea sprung in his head. He aimed both arms at the sand and began draining its energy. Dark particles of energy began to seepe out of the sand and into Lynx's hands. The sand began to quiver and shake, then it suddenly unlatched and collapsed.
Lynx got out and shook himself to get the sand off. He hated sand. It always clung to his hands and face. He looked up at one of the three hills and saw something at the top.
Is that east? He decided to find out. He focused his energy and a shadow concealed him, then he felt himself disappear and reappear nearer the top of the hill.
His eyes widened. It was an oasis! A real one! He began to think that the voice that had spoke to him had summoned this oasis, but he didn't bother to think of it now. He leaned down and began to drink. The cool, refreshing liquid filled his mouth and stomach, and he felt relaxed.

After relaxing there for a few hours, he took out a few containers and filled them with water. He felt he would need them - the desert seemed to stretch on for who knows how long. He kept trudging eastward, then blinked. He thought he saw something in the distance. He saw three figures coming to his direction. One seemed to be a blur of fire, the other two looked strangely humanoid and they were...on top of the fire? He blinked again. No...that's two humans riding on top of a...phoenix? He thought again. I thought Phoenixes only existed in legend! How could there be one here?
He summoned his scythe and held it behind his back, just in case...for he knew not what danger would be brought to him next...