13 - The Desert of the Dead

[ZaCloud]

Zack groaned as he slowly regained consciousness. The first thing he noticed was that his face and head hurt. He remembered the Senator’s words to Sephiroth:

“Just hurt them… a lot.”<br>
“Noooo…” he whined, eyes still closed, “I just got fixed uuuuup… I don’t wanna be all hurt agaaaaain. Don’t they know how embarrassing that is?”<br>
Then he realized not much else hurt, save the tolerable ache of his side and the dull feel of healing bruises. He opened his eyes, then blinked rapidly when several grains of sand found contact with them. He rolled onto his back and sat up, carefully using a finger to remove the stinging sand grains. Touching his throbbing cheek and tasting a small bit of blood, he was relieved to find no other significant injuries from the encounter with Sephiroth X.

He looked around, and soon found Bax lying a small distance off, at the end of a swept depression in the sand. He stood up quickly, fell back down from dizziness and tripping on a dirt clump, then stood again more slowly. By the time he had reached Bax, however, the Phoenian was already beginning to stir, muttering something unintelligible, foreign, or both.

Zack sat down nearby. “Are you alright, Bax? Ok, don’t answer that ‘till you find out…” He looked down, quickly caught a large beetle walking by, and tossed it into his mouth. (This wouldn’t surprise Bax at this time; he had seen the practice plenty of times before this. Out here, you eat what you can.)

Bax checked himself over and began fully recovering his senses. “…Sore. But I am alright.”<br>
“Obviously; you said that perfectly,” Zack said with a lopsided grin. Then he observed, “Eep, smiling hurts. Now doesn’t that suck?” His face fell accordingly, then his tone followed. “Not that I should smile right now anyway… I thought Sephiroth was dead after all that time… knew we wouldn’t have found him in time after I got shot… But instead he’s on the Senate’s side now…” That somehow felt worse.

Bax slowly sat up, brushing some sand from his gi. “Sena-tor say ‘willing’… I think he lies.”<br>
Zack nodded slowly. “Me too… I may not have known him much, but I do know that someone like Sephiroth would never call someone else ‘Master.’” His gaze grew dark and distant as he continued. “Those Senate… They have ways of getting anything they want, even from the strongest resistors. It’s been said they’ve made men into monsters, and that they really do have a grip on the world that people don’t realize is there. It’s very possible they transformed him, or broke him…”

His fists had clenched tightly during that time. At that point, the pain of where his fingernails had earlier dug in seemed to snap him out of his current train of thought. That, and it was just an unpleasant concept he spoke of. He looked more hopeful and sounded more eager now as he continued, “But he’s not all gone, Bax! Remember how the Senator said for him to hurt us a whole bunch? Well compare our conditions now to when we were their houseguests… He barely hurt us at all, really, compared to what he’s capable of.”<br>
Bax nodded slowly, surprised when he thought that over.

“So even from before, he can’t be all evil. There’s definitely good in him, for him to have resisted as much as he has. Even though he barely knew us, he still held back… Heck, even when you an’ him fought before, neither of you seemed to be goin’ for the kill. The Senate may have him… but something in his spirit remains free.” Zack smiled again, despite the pain in his cheek. “I always knew he was extraordinary somehow…”

Zack closed his eyes and began brushing sand out of his hair. Meanwhile, Bax tried to piece together what was going on, and find out what he himself felt about all this.

After a bit, Zack sighed and said, “Well, I don’t wanna drag you into anything big, Bax… If it were just me, I’d probably try tracking down Sephiroth and seeing if he can be snapped outta this crap. Then maybe… Maybe stop the Senate…” He shook his head and laughed. “Man, am I crazy or somethin’? How the heck could anyone stop the Senate? I mean, they’re wrong, but there’s no way even a buncha people could stop ‘em… But they can’t get a hold of that special-whatever they keep mentioning… I feel like I’m supposed to try, really, to stop them… but…” His voice faltered slowly, and he fell silent.

Despite his confusion, Bax remembered something and for some reason it came out of his mouth as soon as it came to mind; it was too odd to ignore. “I did hear Sephiroth say, ask to you where you did find Valley of Promised…”

Zack looked for a moment as if Bax had not said a word. Then, he shook his head silently. Then, he looked startled and bolted to his feet. “He said that?? Well the Senate sure fed his head! How would I know something like that?! I don’t know anything about that stuff! Anything at all! That’s why it wasn’t even an interrogation! Wait… wait…” He took a few steps back, his expression now becoming confused and a bit frightened. “I have to try, don’t I? Try to remember? But I can’t… The door is locked. And the sword protects me, because it’s only a dream. If a dream hurts, I shouldn’t remember it, or I might die…”

The boy sank down to his knees, shaking his head slowly. “It might be our only chance, but I can’t… But what can I do? It already hurts, they’re scratching on the door, I have to stop now!” He collapsed into a ball for a moment, the top of his head in the sand.

Then Zack sat up, and just looked innocently curious as if nothing had happened at all, as he once more shook sand and dust from his spiky bangs. “I dunno, Bax, I’d like to help Sephiroth, and keep that Element of Prosperity out of Senate hands… But I have no idea if any of that is even possible. What do you think? Should we at least do some vacationing in Midgar to recharge before makin’ our choice? Or should we try tracking Sephiroth now, chancing heat? Or just forget about the whole thing? I kinda feel like closing my eyes and following my feet; that usually gets me somewhere important.”<br>
Zack managed to smile big once more as he said, “I may know the desert, but you’re a king… I think you should be the brains o’ this outfit. So, what’ll it be?”

[ForeverZeroUltima]

After he saw the big flaming bird and the two riders, Lynx put away his scythe and thought, Maybe another time...I have confidence in my battling skills, but three on one may be too much. Besides, I want to save my power for later use...
With that, Lynx called the shadows to conceal him as the phoenix flew past him. Lynx thought, Hrm they sure know where they're going...maybe i should follow closely... While concealed, he ran after them stealthily, taking care not to go over the quicksand dune again...the phoenix outflew him, of course, but he knew which direction they were heading...

A few hours (or days) later...

It sure is good to get out of the desert, Lynx thought as he took out a bottle filled with the water from the oasis. He let the fluid trickle down his throat, then realized that the place he was in was...in fact, extremely...quiet. Earlier he had heard noises from a distance away, and now it was silent. Something must have happened just now, he realized.
He summoned his scythe, just in case, and walked closer...
He blinked at the sight. Two men were on the ground. One was wearing fiery red clothing, and the other was wearing clothing to make him look like a soldier. Both were sitting up, and they both had looks of confusion and deep thought on their faces. There can't possibly be any danger here as of now...those two look like they were the victims of whatever was here, he thought. He slowly walked in.

The soldier-looking guy turned around, wide-eyed. "Oh no...who're you?!" He got up and braced himself.
Lynx blinked. "Wait a sec...you two were the ones riding the phoenix earlier, right?"
The red one got up at that. "You saw Kadira? Who are you?"
Lynx sighed and muttered, "I was going to ask you...nevermind then...but..what happened here?" He looked around. There were obvious signs of a battle here.
the soldier replied, "eh...there was a fight. and you still haven't answered my other question."
Lynx twitched his whiskers. A fight? He sighed, unsummoned his scythe, and said, "You can call me Lynx."
"I'm Zack."
"...Bax."
Lynx: "Ok, now what exactly did happen?"

Zack and Bax explain what happened.

Lynx turned his head. Could the Senator that visited them be the same one that he had met in the giant building?
Zack: "Ok, your turn."

Lynx explained everything that happened to him, omitting the part about meeting the Apprentace and the bug on his shoulder.

"...and when i saw you two riding the phoenix, i thought you two would know where some civilization is, so i followed." He paused. "You two look...faint. Perhaps you would need some...water?"
Zack's eyes brightened. "Water?!?"
Lynx put on a mysterious grin as he pulled two bottles out. He watched as the two practically inhaled the water.
After drinking, Bax asked, "So you're looking for the Element too?"
Lynx hesitated, then answered, "Yes. But I'm still not sure of what it is, or what it does. There's plenty of Elements where I came from...but I must find out what this one does."
Zack looked down. "Sephiroth...he said something about us knowing where the Element is."
Lynx glanced at him. "I must see this Sephiroth person...whoever he is. Perhaps he could answer my questions."
Zack: "no! He's under the Senate's control now! If you mess with him, he'll kill you!"
Lynx chuckled. "I doubt that...besides..." He stopped and placed his hand on his shoulder, remembering the last thing the Senators said to him. "Nevermind. So, where are you two headed now?"

[Shadow Phoenix]

Bax looked at both his companion, Zack, and this strange newcomer, Lynx, and then he lowered his head to look at the ground. Zack was asking him to lead this impromptu operation and Lynx had entered the picture with a mysterious interest in the both of them. Bax wanted to call Keldira again and have them fly off, but he was much too tired to pull that trick again. That was probably why Sephiroth had beaten him down so easily – Bax had been completely exhausted at the time of the fight. If he continued losing his strength every time he was close to recovering, he would never make it back up to full strength. Bax was definitely in a rut, and it was uncomfortable. A big decision had been placed into his hands, and the weight of that burden was very heavy. Bax knew that instinctively. Whatever he said, Zack would probably do. And Lynx would likely follow them as well, regardless of everything. Bax still didn’t understand everything about this strange “Element.” He needed answers and knew of no safe way to gain them. This was a situation he didn’t like. He was now playing with his own life, Zack’s, and possibly Lynx’s. And those were the lives he knew of. How many countless others might be affected by his decision?

Should they try to follow Sephiroth to wherever he had gone to find the Element? It was true: Sephiroth was not truly gone. He had basically only aimed to render Bax and Zack unconscious during their meeting. There was still a chance that he might not kill both of them on sight and that he could still be brought back over to their side. But was that a risk Bax was willing to take? Bax didn’t know the full measure of Sephiroth’s power. Then again, Bax also didn’t know the full measure of his own power or that of Zack and Lynx for that matter.

They could go back to Midgar to regroup and recover, perhaps pick up some more help along the way. But by then, Sephiroth’s trail would definitely be cold. More innocent people could die. On the other hand, having some time to get back up to full strength, getting some proper equipment and information, and forming a proper strategy might make things easier.

Then there was always the option of total abandonment. That, Bax decided, was not an option at all. They had come too far and done far too much to give up now. Besides, Bax had promised that he would come home. He would not break that promise. He didn’t care how difficult it would be, he would find a way back home. If Bax abandoned this cause, it would likely be impossible to complete that mission. He had to see this through somehow, no matter what the cost.

Bax turned from the two, shoved his hands back behind his head and clasped his fingers together. He walked a few paces away and turned his head toward the sky, gazing up at the sun. He sighed deeply and closed his eyes, allowing the warmth of the sun’s rays to flit over his face and bask him in its gloriousness. His face however, was turned down in a frown, and he seemed almost to be in pain.
“Father…brother…what would you do?”<br>Bax stood there for a moment as if waiting for an answer to his half-prayed call into the heavens. It had been so difficult not having either of them around for so long. He had so often trusted them and looked up to them. But without their guidance…without Hodia’s logic and ideas, without the support of all those who had guided him during his reign…again, Bax felt helpless. He knew he was overanalyzing this decision, making it into more than what it was. He knew that deep down. But he also knew that so much rested on this decision. He just wanted to make the right choice.

Bax dropped his hands and turned his face from the sun. “We go to Midgar,” he called out, turning to face Lynx and Zack. “We go to Midgar – recover and…” Bax was stuck on the word, searching his knowledge of the language for the word. “Lavester. What is word for ‘lavester?’ I do not remember…” Bax twisted his face into a slight grimace and cursed himself again. He was learning, but he was still far from perfection.
“Whatever. Midgar. You come, Lynx?”

[ZaCloud]

Zack smiled and perked up. The choice had been made, so now there was no need to worry about “what-if”s or anything; he easily found the good of any given choice or situation.

“I dunno all the places you’ve been, Mr. Lynx,” he said, “But I think you’ll like Midgar compared to the desert or Zion at least. I was only there for a little while, but not everyone hated me in Midgar, so it must be pretty good. And if you get money somehow, there’s probably lotsa cool stuff you could do, and good food to eat.” He then giggled and blushed, scratching the back of his head. “Of course, the trick is getting that money… I haven’t been very successful yet.”<br>
He then looked between both of them. “But don’t worry, I’ll do my best to get some kinda quick job so you guys can eat decently, maybe have a real roof over your heads. I’m not totally sure how all that works, but I’ll think o’ something.”

[ForeverZeroUltima]

Lynx blinked. He had not eaten a thing in a looooooong time...a couple of days, was it? or sometime during the last decade?
WEll, it didn't matter now. He was still a bit confused at the sudden hospitality (as he had not seen any in 14 years), so he silently nodded.
He slowly spoke, "I can probably pick up a job as an assassin..."
Zack and Bax blinked.
"Did i say something?"
"oh, no...um...yeah."
"okay..." Lynx studied their faces. there seemed to be the tiniest hint of doubt that stood out. He shook his head and said, "Okay...let's get going, shall we?"

In his mind, he was thinking, "I wonder how it has come to this...how am i teamed up with these two? i have never worked alongside anyone before...why am i doing this? Oh well, if it can get me somewhere and closer to my goal...whatever it is."