11 - Cast to the Winds

[Shadow Phoenix]

OoC: As we're all going off in different directions, I figured I'd start a new chapter in honor of what promises to be a very interesting saga. Waffles, we’ll pick up later. Bax and Dante will meet eventually. I'll wait a couple of days for the rest of you to do whatever you want, but I already have my next few traveling posts penned up. Hope you all had a happy 4th!

IC:

As he reached the edge of Libertas, Bax took one last look back and whispered a prayer of protection for his friends. He pressed forward.

About a mile outside the city, Bax took a deep breath and knelt down in the sands. He was far enough away now that what he was about to do would probably not arouse the occupants of the city.

“Keldira,” he spoke with his mind, “can you hear me?”
He waited with bated breath for the familiar warm voice to echo into his mind. And he waited…but nothing came.

Bax knew that he was severely weakened from the anti-materia bangle, but he had hoped that he might still be able to reach Keldira in this state. Maybe he had to fully resummon her…it hadn’t been too long, but if he could get up enough power again…

Bax remembered summoning Keldira for the first time months ago. Back then, he had been with Zack in the middle of this desert after narrowly escaping from the Senate. Zack had witnessed his ritual. Bax had to try it again…

Bax unsheathed the Diroxauralis and the Valermos and jammed both swords into the sand on either side of him. Before he was able to use only his power to summon Keldira, but now he would have to focus even more. Using his hands, he traced a series of ancient runes around him. Bax sighed and drew a lighter from his pocket. Zack had given it to him when he found out he could barely utilize his flames. Bax lit it in the palm of his hand and then caught the flame. From this, he was able to maintain it. Bax thanked Zack in his mind and plopped his new power source back in his pocket.

Bax molded the flame in his hands, filled the runes around him with shallow fire, and focused his remaining power on the swords beside him. Then, Bax put his hands in front of him, took a deep breath, and clapped his palms together. He extended his index and middle fingers on each hand, then crossed his remaining fingers and thumbs right over left. He closed his eyes and began to murmur the ritualistic prayer of summoning under his breath. As he spoke, the winds began to spin and the sands rose in a small storm. Bax’s weak head-flame grew and the swords on either side glowed as the summon-spell worked its magic.

Bax opened his eyes after a few minutes of trying and his eyes rolled back in his head. He gritted his teeth and began to pant as his heart sped rapidly. Why wasn’t it working? Sure it had taken quite a while the first time, but Bax already had a connection with Keldira. If it didn’t work soon, then…

Bax kept trying. He tried to focus his mind and his inner flames. But it seemed pointless. It wasn’t working. He screamed and the winds and flames died down. He pitched forward in the sand, gasping for breath. Keldira couldn’t hear him…

---

Bax opened his eyes and coughed out a mouthful of sand. He sputtered, spit, and looked up at the sky. He must have passed out, because the sun was high in the sky. Bax winced at the bright light and lifted a hand to cast a shadow of relief on his face. He would have to press on to Nibelheim unaided after all. It sucked, but he had to do what he had to do.

Bax dragged himself up from the ground and retrieved his swords. It was time for the journey to begin…

[Shadow Phoenix]

A couple of hours after he had set out from Nibelheim, Bax felt sharp pangs of hunger rip through his abdomen. He had been ignoring the dull signs for a while—his body wouldn’t let him do much more until he got some decent food. He had a stash of emergency supplies, but that was supposed to be for if he couldn’t get anything else. He wanted to save that as a last resort.

Of course, finding a decent meal out here in the desert could prove difficult. They didn’t call it the Desert of the Dead for nothing. Most of the animals Bax had seen in the desert before were small and gamey—barely suited for a meal or even a snack. So Bax made a mental note of his direction and shifted his focus from travel to hunting.

Since the evolution of the Phoeniyans from the Kisenians, his race had been primarily known for their warrior aspects. The Kisenians had long embraced their ancient magic, passed down from the days when Keldira’s soul had once been the mortal Vahira—millennia ago. But back in those days, the Kisenians had just recently advanced from a hunter-gatherer society. The Phoeniyans embraced this heritage fiercely while using the new technology to their fullest advantage. That was one of the sources of conflict between the two races.

Either way, Bax was more than able to find food if food existed. At least…that was the theory.

---

About an hour later, Bax’s stomach rumbled and growled angrily at him. A full hour of intent searching had revealed nothing. No animals. No plants. Just endless sand. Bax fell to his knees (he had been doing that a lot lately). He reached into his bag and rummaged around for one of the “energy bars” that Zack had raved about during his short stay at Libertas. He tore through the plastic and bit off a corner of the chewy substance.

Hmm…it was decent. Not as good as the hamburgers he had come to enjoy here on Earth, but okay. The pangs of hunger would not likely subside so easily, but this would definitely keep him alive. Bax sighed and collapsed onto his back. He took another bite and stared behind him.

Bax would have sworn that he’d be a victim of mirages any second now between his delirious hunger and the sun. For as he gazed off towards the upside down horizon, he saw a figure bounding towards him on four legs. But that couldn’t be. He had just come from that direction. Why would there be something…?

Food! Bax stuffed the partially eaten energy bar wrapper and all into his pocket and leapt to his feet in a frenzy. He unsheathed the Valermos and swung it before him as his vision cleared. Unfortunately, this food bounding towards him would not be so easily gained. It was a beast—and it too was hungry. The wolf-like creature barreled towards him with bloodlust, baring its fangs and howling. One would end up the other’s meal.

Bax was suddenly reminded of his scuffle with Lynx when he was last in Nibelheim. He wondered how the feline had been. Maybe he would run into him on this journey…

But this was no time to think of that. The beast leapt into the air and Bax stepped to the side and clipped the beast with his sword. It fell behind him yelping, and scrambled in the sand. It turned around and prepared another charge. Bax narrowed his eyes and kept light on his feet as the beast growled and went to the right. Bax leapt into action and went on the offensive, stabbing down towards the creature. It scuttled around and nipped towards Bax’s leg. Bax lifted his foot up and spun around and the creature. He spun his sword about and wrenched it into the back of the creature. It yelped again, but didn’t go down. It spun about and leapt up towards Bax. Bax ducked low and jammed the sword up through the weak underbelly of his competitor. A final yelp wrenched from the creature’s throat and it fell on the sands a few feet away. Bax let out a sigh of relief and jammed the bloodied sword into the ground to clean it off.

Bax’s senses slowly returned to normal and he sat next to the beast. It was no longer moving, so he didn’t have to finish it off. He whispered a blessing and a few words of thanks and set about preparing his meal. Skinning, preparing a fire, and finally eating…

Bax wondered if it was odd for a king to have these skills. His experience had been different everywhere. Political leaders on other plants ranged from extreme warriors to pompous and pampered little twits. Bax’s father on the other hand had insisted that his sons not simply grow comfortable with the royal life and to gain skills of survival and combat. He didn’t want them to grow complacent in case something drastic happened.

Well, this was something drastic—marooned on a planet and sucked dry of his powers. Without these skills, he would die. He wouldn’t let himself die until he had vanquished the Apocalypse and seen his family again. He had to see his wife’s face again, and raise Jax to adulthood. He just hoped it wouldn’t be too much longer.

He also hoped he could reach Nibelheim soon. With that thought in mind, he returned his focus to preparing his meal. A little sustenance would be good for the journey...

[Shadow Phoenix]

The sun was now behind Bax and well on its way to setting. Dusk was coming, and with it the end of Bax’s day of travel. He felt that his swords and the bag of supplies were growing heavy. And that wasn’t just because he had wrapped the remainder of his mid-afternoon meal up to bring with him. His strength was sapped and he couldn’t press forward like he was accustomed to doing. He hated it…

Bax looked up and saw a group of people ahead of him. He gasped in surprise and his mind began to race. Who were they, had they seen him, what did they want, where were they from? He had no place to hide, and his defense against guns was now very limited. He would probably not adequately be able to protect himself if they took the offensive.

A sudden flurry of movement and noise told Bax that he had been spotted. He raised his hands to show his peaceful intentions and recognition of them. The group of about five people, obviously drifters, raised firearms and trained them on Bax in response. Bax lowered his head and hoped that he would be okay.

“You!” came a shout from the silhouetted group. “Who are you and what are you doing out here?”
Bax bit his lip and responded in as clear a voice as he could manage. “Bax Firago. I am just traveling through. I mean you no harm.”
“Traveling where?”
Bax wasn’t sure how to respond. If he remembered correctly, the residents of Nibelheim had had issues with drifters. He didn’t want to betray them…
“Surely you know of the recent events in Midgar. I am traveling towards Zion to seek refuge.”
“By yourself?”
“Yes. Not many people made it…”
“Well I haven’t heard of anything. I don’t believe you.”
Bax sighed. “Well whether you believe it or not, Midgar has been all but destroyed. A dark force took it over.”
“Bullshit. Besides, Zion won’t take in refugees. They’re a bunch of tight-assed bastards. Where are you really going?”
Bax considered his next move carefully. “It is a town near Zion.”
“What are you talking about? There are no more towns anymore. Not since the war. Just Zion, Midgar, and the Super City.”
“Just because you do not know of them does not mean that people cannot exist outside of you drifters and the major cities.”

The drifters were silent for a moment and Bax wondered if he had said too much. He just wanted to get past these people…

“What do you want anyway?” Bax said. “I just want to keep going.”
Another drifter in the group spoke up. “We’re about out of supplies. We heard word of…our brethren gathering.”
Bax tried to register surprise. He probably wasn’t supposed to know of the existence of Libteras. “Oh?”
“Yes. We need supplies.”
“I have very little on me. A little food, some fire wood, basic medical supplies.”
“What about those swords?”
Bax’s face grew dark and he became quite defensive. “You can have everything but these.”
The drifters seemed surprised by the sudden change in Bax’s demeanor. “Oh can’t we?” one suggested. “Surely you know the rules of the desert. We rule. You step into our domain you abide by what we say.”
“I will give you everything else. But if you try to take the swords, I will have to kill you.”

The first drifter stepped forward and pointed his gun directly at Bax’s head. “Who do you think you are?”
Bax raised a hand to the Diroxauralis and grounded himself. He glared ahead. His head-flame began to grow as adrenaline coursed through his veins. He could feel his inner darkness beginning to vie for control as panic mixed with anger and desperation. His voice lowered and he spat with a tongue of acid, “A demon to those who cross me. Move on, drifter.”

Bax’s primal nature surged ahead and his mind reached out to the gathered five. Thoughts began to echo and rattle inside their minds and they all looked up in wonder and fear. Bax instinctively moved his other hand forward and their weapons wrenched from their hands and spun around to face them. Their eyes widened and they shuffled about nervously.
“If you want my food, you can have it. But get out of here.”
Bax removed his hand from the hilt of his sword and fished the hard-earned meat from his bag. He tossed it towards the closest drifter and narrowed his eyes to slits.

Bax moved briskly through the small group of now-petrified drifters and their guns clattered to the ground. Slowly, their muscles returned to functionality and they picked up the packet of meat thrown at them as…a sort of bait. They shivered at what had proven to be a very odd and chilling encounter.

As Bax got far enough away from them, he snapped back to his senses with a large shiver and exhaled strongly. What the hell had he done back there? It was as though a new side of him took over. He still felt in control, unlike when his inner darkness came out, but said and did things he normally wouldn’t. Like…he never knew he could move objects with his mind before. It frightened and excited him to think that there were yet untapped powers lying inside him.

Maybe this journey to Nibelheim wouldn’t be so tough after all…

[Shadow Phoenix]

After a mostly sleepless night and a long hot day of traveling, Bax reached the small mountain range that nestled the town of Nibelheim in its bosom. He smiled as he looked up at the rocks he was about to scale for the second time. As Bax searched around for the path that Adam and Claire had taken him on, his mind wandered. He had left Nibelheim in such a hurry…he didn’t know who had actually survived. He had met only a handful of people in his time there, but they had made a great impression. Had any of them actually survived the attack? Bax had to believe that they had driven off the invaders. Even though he had seen so many of them die right before his eyes, he knew that they were a strong and determined people. Surely they managed…

Bax found the path after a little searching and began the steep, but thankfully smooth, incline. He wondered where Lynx was and what he had been doing these last few weeks. Had he ever completed his quest? Bax felt discouraged that he had been unable to help him any more than with the very first part. Hopefully he was doing well.

At last, Bax reached the top of the range. The sun was low in the sky and visibility wasn’t fantastic, but he could still see into the valley. And what he saw both brought hope and the sting of regret. Nibelheim was still standing, and people were still moving about. But it was far from the busy town he had first laid eyes on. Just from this first glance, Bax could tell that over half the buildings had suffered damage. Some lay in crumbled ruins, while others were gutted by fire. The once small graveyard on the edge of the town was now cluttered with tombstones too numerous to count. It was an awful sight…

“Halt! Who goes there?” came a voice from Bax’s right. He smiled a little and suppressed a chuckle. They were still patrolling—that was a good sign, at least. That meant they were intent on not giving in or giving up.
Bax turned and looked to see a familiar face, but one he couldn’t put a name to. “Bax Firago,” he replied simply. “I wanted to come and see how you all were.”
The Nibelheimian stuttered, “Sh-sh-shit! It’s you! I can’t believe it!”
Bax’s nose twitched and he cocked his head to the left, “I mean you no harm. I have not been followed.”
The soldier sighed and got on his radio. “Right. Gimme a minute.”
He clicked a button and lowered his voice a little, “Commander, this is Jackson Brown, reporting in.”
A bit of static, and then a response, “Go ahead.”
“Yeah, remember the alien with the fire for hair who came right before Zion attacked? He’s back.”
A stream of curses ripped out from the handheld radio and both Bax and Jackson winced. “What do you mean he’s back?!”
Jackson sighed, “I mean he’s standing in front of me.”
“Ask him why he’s here!!”
Jackson looked at Bax and raised his brow, “Well? Why are you here?”
Bax bit his lip and replied somberly, “I came to pay my respects. May I enter?”
Jackson’s gaze softened a little. “I never figured you were a bad guy, Bax. Things just didn’t go well back then…here, let me ask the comm.”

Jackson put his radio to his mouth again and radioed in, “He wants to pay his respects to the dead. Sir, he seems legit.”
Another moment of static filled the air. Then the commander came back, “Take his weapons. Then sure. Bring him to the Town Hall. He can speak with the Elders.”
Bax removed his swords slowly, “I want these back when I leave, though. The only reason I am willing to give these up now is because I trust they will be returned.”
Jackson nodded, “I promise.”
He took the swords and led Bax down the rest of the path.

As Bax passed through the streets, he caught people looking at him. The first time, they had viewed him with apprehension. Then they had gazed on him with fear and hate. Now they stared with weak, tired eyes. They didn’t seem to care much anymore. People had their limbs in slings, had bandages all over their bodies, and maneuvered with crutches and other mobility-enhancing tools. These people had been through a great deal.

After a few twists and turns, Bax and Jackson came to the large Town Hall building. A few of the Senate’s mortars had hit the building and caused some parts to collapse, but it was still standing. A few scaffolds were positioned up around the holes and a few citizens were still working even though dusk was approaching.

“This way,” Bax’s escort said as he led him up the steps and through the doors of the building.

Once inside, Bax shook a little in apprehension. The last time he had been in this building, he was on trial—and then they were all attacked. Hopefully things would go much better this time.

A shadowy silhouette stood near a window, looking out on the reconstruction effort. Jackson saluted and called out, “Sir, I have brought the outsider as requested.”
“Thank you, Jackson. Please take his weapons to the storehouse for now. He can have them again when he leaves.”
Jackson nodded, saluted again, and walked out the door. “Good luck,” he said as he looked back over his shoulder at the Phoeniyan.

Bax took a deep breath and walked forward. “I…” he began.
“How dare you show your face here again,” barked the gruff and growling voice. The silhouette turned around and revealed the face of Elder Birmingham. “Scumbag.”
Bax didn’t recognize that last word, but he gathered that it was an insult. “Please forgive me. I only meant to—”
“I don’t give a damn what your intentions were or are or will be. You’re not welcome here.”
Bax sighed, “I am not with the Senate or the Order. They are our mutual enemies.”
The Elder sneered, “There’s an old saying I’ve heard for years—‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend.’ I always hated that line. It doesn’t matter shit that they’re hunting you down, too. You and your little cat friend screwed around and had our defenses down right as we were attacked. Whatever your intentions were, your actions nearly destroyed Nibelheim.”
Bax gulped. That didn’t seem entirely fair. It wasn’t his or Lynx’s fault that things went badly. Their battle certainly didn’t help at all, and it did cause damage, but they couldn’t be blamed for the subsequent Zionite attack.
“And furthermore,” the Elder continued, “you simply disappeared. It seems as though you took the opportunity when the Senate attacked to simply escape.”
Bax huffed and shouted back, “I fought for your cause, Elder Birmingham! I fought against the Senate soldiers and the Magi!”
“So you want us to treat you like a hero? You arrogant son of a bitch!”
Bax didn’t quite catch that last one either, but he figured out quickly that the Elder rather enjoyed insulting him. “No, you are wrong!” he replied. “I…I am sorry that things did not go well. I just want to honor the fallen. I have lost many friends in wars over the last several years…I know what it is to grieve the lives of people you wish you could have saved.”
Bax took a few steps towards the Elder and through his hands out on either side, “Please, I beg of you to forgive me! I only want the best for you and your people.”

Instead of the quick snap-back response, the Elder waited for a moment, and then sighed. “You’re a persistent bastard,” he said with a tinge of softness in his growling voice. “I won’t force you to leave just yet. But the moment there’s any bullshit, I’m kicking your ass out and telling my soldiers to shoot you on sight if they ever see you here again!”
Bax sighed and nodded his head. “So may I visit a few people I know?”
The Elder turned back to the window. “Fine. I want you out of here by tomorrow evening.”
“Not a problem,” Bax responded. With that, he turned and walked back out the door.

Bax thought of the people he had met here in Nibelheim. There was that nice soldier, Gabriel. There was Dina and her boyfriend Rohit. A handful of other soldiers. And then Adam and Claire…who he knew were already dead. How was he going to find any of them? If they were still alive…

Bax wandered a bit until he found the coffee shop Dina had taken him to the morning Lynx went on his sudden rampage. He went inside and halfheartedly smiled. The barista eyed him cautiously while wiping a glass clean and acknowledged his presence.
“We’re closed,” he said in a low voice.
Bax looked around and saw that the chairs were indeed stacked on the tables. “I am sorry,” he said, “I was just looking for someone.”
That caused the barista to raise his brow a little in surprise. “Oh?” he said with a little incredulity, “Who’s that?”
“Dina…I came here with her before.”
The barista smiled, “Aahhh, I gotcha. She still comes here every morning. Loyal customer. I can give you her address, though I don’t think she’ll be there.”
Bax felt a pang of relief at knowing she was still alive, but was confused at the last part. “Why would she not be in her home?”
“She’s probably still taking care of her man.”
Another slight twinge of hope. Rohit had survived even after being attacked by Lynx!
“Then where could I find them?”
The barista thought for a moment, and then continued. “I guess I can tell you. They’re in East Hospital. They were in West, but that hospital was demolished during the attack. They’re lucky they got out alive.”
Bax breathed a staid sigh of relief. It was hard to imagine so much damage, but he had to accept it. He had seen his own city nearly destroyed on two separate occasions.

“Thank you,” Bax responded. He turned to leave, but then thought of something. “I am still not used to this planet’s directions. Does your sun set in the east or the west?”
“West,” the barista said with a lightly amused smile. “The sun rises in the east and sets in the west?”
Bax thanked him and left the coffee shop. Auralis had two suns, so they did not use it to denote cardinal directions. They had established their directions by the natural magnetism of the planetary poles. Since Bax had no compass mechanism here, he wasn’t sure what to do other than ask. He looked up and saw that the sun was still looming just over the mountains, and took off towards it. In no time, he reached the hospital.

“Can you please tell me where Dina and Rohit are?” he asked the woman at the front desk.
“Who’s asking?” she said as she looked up from the magazine in her hands. As her gaze centered on Bax, she gasped. “Uh…uh…”
Bax raised his hands, “Please, I mean no harm. They are my…friends.”
The woman was reaching for a phone, probably intending to call security. “How did you get into the city?” she asked.
“One of the soldiers brought me to Town Hall and I spoke with Elder Birmingham. He says that it is okay for me to be here.”
The woman still looked apprehensive, but she hadn’t reached any closer to the phone yet. “Why should I believe you?”
Bax sighed. This was going to get real old, real fast. “I just want to see how they are doing.”
A voice suddenly cried out excitedly from beyond the desk, “My God! Bax, is that you?”
Bax looked up and saw no one. A laugh registered and tittered towards him, “Oh, sorry, I’m on the intercom. I can see you on the camera. Look up and wave!”
Bax looked at the woman at the desk, who had relaxed a little bit but was still eyeing him nervously. Then he sheepishly looked up for a camera. When he found it, he waved a little.
“Great, it is you! It’s good to see you. Can you come up? We’re on the 4th floor. Room 417.”
Bax nodded. The woman at the desk shrugged and said, “I guess you can go up.”
He smiled and ran up the stairs.

It took him a moment to find the room, but he knocked on the door and was greeted with a cheerful “Come in!”
Bax opened the door and walked in. There was an unoccupied bed with slightly ruffled sheets half obscured by a hanging curtain. Directly to Bax’s right was a small bathroom. And in front of him, he saw Rohit sitting down at a desk with a computer in front of him. Dina stood just behind him to his left, crouched over and staring at the screen. They both seemed well! Bax smiled and Dina looked up and over from the computer screen. Bax’s heart fell a little bit at the sight that greeted him. He hadn’t noticed it before back of her long, black curly hair, but Dina had an eye patch covering her right eye. She hadn’t escaped unscathed…

Even with the injury, she had a smile on her face as she turned around. “It’s so good to see you, Bax! I wasn’t sure you had survived!”
Bax nodded, “Same with you, Dina. I did not know if you had survived.”
She shrugged, “Well, I’m alive. Not 100%, of course.” She pointed at her eye.
Bax frowned, “How did that happen?”
Dina turned back around to Rohit for a moment and punched him in the shoulder, “Hey dummy, we have a guest. Stop working and say hi!”
Rohit sighed, rolled his eyes, and turned around. He lifted his head to acknowledge Bax, “Hi.” He began to turn back around when Bax noticed that his right arm had been amputated above the elbow. Bax remembered that Rohit had been attacked by Lynx, and his arm had nearly been severed while trying to protect Dina. It looks like the doctors hadn’t been able to save it…
“I don’t suppose your cat friend is around, huh?” he said bitterly.
“Rohit!” Dina chastised. “Please be civil!”
Rohit stared at the computer screen and shook his head, “My morphine is wearing off and I’ve got a splitting headache. I’m not in the mood for guests right now.”
“Then maybe you should stop staring at the computer screen, too!” Dina retorted.
Rohit looked over his shoulder. “Dina,” he said with anguish in his eyes, “Not right now. Please, can you just…if you want to talk to him, go outside. And please have the nurse bring me some more drugs.”

Bax lowered his head. He did feel partially responsible for this. “I am sorry, Rohit,” he said.
“Just get out,” the amputee responded. “I can’t deal with you right now.”
Dina punched him in the shoulder again, lighter this time. At least she was punching him in the left shoulder and not the right. “Idiot,” she whispered. “Fine, I’ll get the nurse.”
Dina leaned down and kissed Rohit on the cheek. He lowered his head and stroked her cheek once. Then Dina drew back up and forced a smile as tears threatened to burst from her quickly reddening eyes. “Come on, Bax, let’s go outside real quick.”

They left Rohit in solitude and Dina made her way to the nurse’s desk on this floor. She made a quick exchange and then led Bax to the waiting room. They sat down at a table and were quiet for a moment.
“I’m sorry about Rohit,” she said. “He’s not usually like that. Or at least, he wasn’t before…”
A tear slipped from her remaining eye and Bax reached out and wiped it away. She closed her eye and pulled away, looking towards the wall for a moment and putting her wrist up to her face for a moment. She breathed heavily and then looked down at the table.
“After Lynx attacked, Rohit was in critical condition. I managed to escape thanks to you, and I brought him to Eastern Hospital. They were treating his wounds and were on their way to reattaching his arm when the city was attacked. The building collapsed because of the enemy bombing. I threw myself over Rohit to try and protect him. I managed to save him, but…because of the rubble there was too much dirt in his open wounds. The medical team that dug us out of the rubble was able to treat his other wounds, but they had to amputate the arm or risk serious infection.”
They had survived one awful situation only to be thrown into another. Bax raised his hand to indicate Dina’s lost eye and she nodded. “And me,” she continued, “My right eye was crushed in the building collapse. I feel fortunate that that was the only thing I lost. It could have been much worse.”
Bax nodded. At least she was trying to put a positive spin on all of this. Even so, what had happened was awful.

“I am so sorry for all that happened,” Bax said.
“I know you are…Rohit knows, too. He knows none of it was your fault. I’m sure he does. It’s just…”
Bax understood. Rohit had no one to take his anger out on…so it just simmered as he searched for anyone to blame.
“But at least something good has come out of this,” Dina said with a slightly hopeful smile. “Back in Zion, Rohit was involved with some military research. Cybernetics. He was able to hack into some old databases and retrieve some of his and his colleague’s research. He thinks he might be able to use the resources we have here to build him a working arm and me an eye. Then he may be able to help the other people who were injured. Even with one arm, he’s determined to work on it. He has a few other people who are interested, too…the only problem is that the Elders aren’t willing to sacrifice any of our resources.”
Dina gritted her teeth, “It makes me so angry! We could help everyone so much! It’ll take a lot of time and money, but…it’ll be worth it in the end!”
Bax was surprised at the information she was divulging. It certainly did sound interesting. He wished that he could help somehow.

Dina looked up at Bax with sad eyes and chuckled a little, “But listen to me going off and talking so much. What brings you back to Nibelheim, Bax? What have you been up to?”
Bax took a deep breath and explained his situation to Dina. “After I left Nibelheim, I traveled to the Super City. There was a battle there, and…the Element of Prosperity is now in the hands of the warrior known as Sephiroth X.”
Dina looked up with surprise, “X? As in the X project? The first?”
Bax was a little confused by that. “What do you mean?”
Dina’s mako green eye twinkled a little. “I think you know this already, but almost everyone here in Nibelheim underwent an experiment known as the X project. Its first successful subject before us was a man named Sephiroth. The Senate tried to replicate the results en masse with us, but…well, a lot of us died. The rest of us did get slight increases in power, but we were still considered failures.”
Bax remembered hearing something about this, but he was fuzzy on the details. “Well, what is the significance?” he asked.
Dina began to look wildly excited. “Well for starters, that means that the Senator didn’t get his hands on the Element! That bastard has been vying for it for as long as I’ve been alive, and a lot longer. And I remember hearing reports of how Sephiroth X was vehemently opposed to the Senate. Maybe he’ll be our salvation!”
Bax hadn’t thought of that at all. Still, he had reservations. After all, Bax was worried about Sephy…he had teamed up with his arch nemesis, Dark Crono! What if something went wrong and Crono turned on him? Where would they be then?

But alas, it was still fairly exciting to think about. These details were new to Bax, and they spoke of great promise for all of them.

“Maybe,” Bax said. “Hopefully.”
“So what then?” Dina asked. “Anything else exciting?”
Bax laughed at the question. “That is an understatement,” he replied. “The same Magi who attacked here in Nibelheim followed me to the Super City and attacked there. I fought them off and came to Midgar. Unfortunately, Midgar has fallen to a dark force known as Valtiel—another one of the Senate’s experiments. I escaped from Midgar and was captured by the Order because of my injuries. They attached this bangle to me, and now I am…I am unable to use my flames.”
That seemed like an overload for Dina. “Midgar fallen…holy crap. I’m sorry…it sounds like you’ve had it rough, too.”
Bax nodded, and carefully left out mention of Libertas for now. “So I reasoned to come here…I wanted to see how you all were. I am trying to find a way to get my strength back.”
Dina shook her head, “Right, right. Well, I’m glad you’re here. I dunno how much help we’ll be, but you’re welcome to stay as long as you want as far as I’m concerned.”
Bax shrugged, “And yet Elder Birmingham wants me gone by tomorrow.”
Dina frowned, “Well damn. Okay…you wanna go get that macchiato in the morning?”
Bax smiled at the memory, “Sure.”
“Great. Listen, they’re about to close down here and they won’t let me stay. Rohit has to stay because of his therapy and rehabilitation, but they consider me cured and don’t want to waste a bed on me. How about you come home with me and you can sleep in the guest room?”
The invitation seemed innocent enough, so Bax agreed.

Dina walked back over to Rohit’s room and cracked open the door. “Babe, they’re closing the hospital soon so I’ve gotta run. Do you need anything? …no? Okay. See you tomorrow.”
She turned around and the two walked across the city under the moonlight.
“How is the city doing?” Bax asked after about a block of walking.
“Fine, I guess,” Dina responded. “We’re rebuilding. It takes time, especially with so many of us injured. But everyone is doing their part.”
“What are you doing?” Bax asked.
“I’m on medical leave from my patrol outfit…especially since Adam and Claire were killed in action…actually, we just have single patrollers now. No more groups—one of the many cutbacks. But before I get back to patrolling and when I’m not helping Rohit with his therapy of his research, I’ve been helping to set up some of the shops in the commercial district. Lots of work with power tools. Very fun!”
That sounded pretty good, actually. Bax was familiar with the rebuilding process and the kinds of strength it drew out of people. But in the weeks immediately following total destruction, people did tend to act like most of the citizens here—tired and weakened. It would pass…Bax hoped.

They chatted the rest of the way to Dina’s house, and then Dina led Bax up to the guest room. “Bathroom’s down the hall, and you can feel free to raid the fridge.” She headed into her room and closed the door to change. Bax laid down on the bed and called out. “Hey, do you know the soldier Gabriel?”
“Jennings? Yeah.”
“Is he still alive?”
“Yeah, he’s alive. You wanna go see him?”
Bax was thankful that so many of the people he had met here had survived. Hopefully Gabriel was in better shape than Dina and Rohit. “Sure. How about after coffee?”
“Sounds good. You need anything right now? I’m gonna call it early night.”
“No,” Bax responded. “I think I will be okay.”
Dina came in his room with a knock. She had changed into a nightgown and let her hair down. Even with the eye patch, she was a lovely woman. She almost didn’t seem to belong here in Nibelheim.
“Okay then,” she said, “Good night. Sleep well.”
Bax bid her good night and stared up at the ceiling of the room. He lifted his wrist up and stared at the antimateria bangle.
“I will get you back, Rivel,” he whispered. “And then I will attack Valtiel…”

Bax closed his eyes and waited for sleep to come to him.

[Sephiroth X]

*In a dark, near light-less, dreary room only the echoing hum of running power could be heard. Power that was obviously not reaching this room as only a few dim red emergency lights proved to be all the illumination supplied. The air in the room had a dampness to it, a kind of muggy yet stale air with a faint odor of rotting flesh sprinkled in that would only be fathomable in the dirtiest of prisons. This was far from a conventional prison however and was more of an extension of hell itself, an extension designed to hold one prisoner only. Two chains hung from their attachments to the concrete wall as they held up the arms of that one prisoner, the chains were specifically designed to not allow their captor any slack beyond sitting at her knees never allowing her to lay down or even sit. Her clothes were tattered and she was dirty from near head to toe. This was far from the Catrina that first bravely walked into Midgar. Her muscles ached, she was feeling the effects of dehydration, and her stomach was growling like no other but yet alongside this the effects of the world around her were starting to set in; darkness was all around her, people were dying, and there she laid helpless in one of the many dens of Valtiel with seemingly no hope in sight. She had come back into Midgar to buy X and his friends the time they needed by distracting Valtiel, a task she now believed a failure. But Catrina couldn't help but question why she was still alive, why Valtiel had not just destroyed her. Could this just be a slow death as retribution for any pain Seph and his friends may have caused? Or could this be some attempt at breaking her mind and possibly finding out any more links between herself and the Element? As thoughts kept running through her mind she almost felt hell itself surround her, a dark presence wrapping it's fingers around her. Little did she know that her feelings were far more literal then she expected, flesh like limbs started to slowly grow out from the wall behind her attempting to reach and ensnare her possibly trying to absorb her quit literally into the living hell Valtiel had created. Catrina could only try to keep her mind sane at this point, all she could do was cling to what little hope was left and keep her mind from slipping into insanity and giving into what Valtiel wanted. The only hope her mind could keep wrapping around was her love, Seph. As she kept trying to keep him in her thoughts, her mind seemed to slip into a distant place that she knew she would be comfortable in...

--------------------

*On top of a Midgar rooftop an unknown amount amount of years ago, a slightly younger Sephiroth X and Catrina were sitting atop the roof watching the sun set over the horizon.

Catrina – Do you remember the first time you asked me out?

Sephiroth X – Yeah, heheh, yeah I do.

Catrina – Do you remember what you asked me to?

Sephiroth X – Yeah, dinner at one of the dinner theaters.

Catrina – Oh it wasn't exactly like that... you know that!

Sephiroth X – What do you mean?

Catrina – You stumbled over every other word! You pretty much gave a speech about why I would like going! It was like this!

*She began mimicing Seph's voice slightly*

Catrina- Well um... Dinner there is one of the best places in Midgar and that they had some of the best sea food in town, if you're into sea food y'know... yeah... And! And even if you don't like sea food they make very good drinks! Assuming you like mixed drinks! Oh! And then there's this band playing that's supposed to be very good! It'll be a very cultural experience and well, you'd probably enjoy it!

Sephiroth X – Wow... I wasn't really that bad was I?

Catrina – Yes you were! It was cute. In response I told you that if you just wanted to ask me out on a date, then do it! Because I'd more then likely say yes!

*Seph laughed a little*

Sephiroth X – I remember being a little flustered after that.

Catrina – You were so nervous, I could tell you'd been trying to word things together for a while.

Sephiroth X – It was on my mind for most of the day.

Catrina – And then you finally asked me.

Sephiroth X – And you finally said yes.

Catrina – You were so cute that day.

Sephiroth X – Hey, I still am cute.

*Catrina lightly punched his shoulder*

Catrina – And still just as modest. But... I was relieved when you finally asked me.

Sephiroth X – Relieved? Why?

Catrina – Because we were friends for so long before that and you never asked me out. Like, I could tell at times that you seemed a little interested but... I was starting to worry that you didn't want me.

Sephiroth X – Heh, far from it.

*Catrina smiled*

Catrina – As I shortly found out... Our first date was very memorable.

Sephiroth X – That it was...

*Some unknown time earlier, in a restaurant within Midgar X and Catrina both sat a dinner table together.*


Catrina – You were dressed all formal and everything, your hair was pony-tailed behind you and was all slicked up. You looked pretty good.

Sephiroth X – And you had that amazing dress on, it was a sparkling black dress with red lining on it. I have to admit, you made me feel quite under dressed.

*After eating their meals, Seph and Catrina enjoyed the music for the night with Seph eventually asking if she would care to dance with him. Catrina smiled warmly and gently placed her hand in Seph's, accepting the dance invitation and walking out with him to the dance floor. After slowly dancing for a few moments the two began a quiet conversation with each other, barely whispering above the music.

Sephiroth X – Are you enjoying everything tonight?

Catrina – I'm enjoying every moment.

Sephiroth X – Have I mentioned you look great?

Catrina – About four or five times, but it's not something I get sick of hearing. Did I mention you look handsome?

Sephiroth X – Oh... I'd say about three or four times.

*The two held each other for a few more moments, swaying to the music*

Catrina – Thank you...

Sephiroth X – For?

Catrina – Everything tonight.

Sephiroth X – This night would be meaningless if it were not for you, so I must thank you instead.

*Catrina smiled*

Catrina – I was more right then I thought I'd be...

Sephiroth X – How so?

Catrina – You're always kind of cool headed and kind of reserved... I always thought beneath that you had a soft side. I think I found a bit of a romantic within you.

Sephiroth X – Perhaps you have... do you approve of this romantic?

Catrina – Hmmm.... I think I approve.

*The two held each other a little tighter as they danced some more*

Sephiroth X – Neither of us expected the rest of the night to go how it did, huh?

*A little later the night of their first date, the two were walking down a sidewalk that ran alongside a makeshift artificial river within Midgar. The two were holding hands and just quietly conversing. After a few moments the two came to a halt and leaned over a railing looking down at the water.*

Sephiroth X – I uh, did get something for you.

Catrina – Oh? Gifts on the first date? I think I could get to like this.

Sephiroth X – Eheheh... yeah I know, gifts on the first date aren't common. But I just got it because well, it reminded me of you a little bit. I'm sorry, it's nothing very special what so ever but something about the look of it just made me think of you.

Catrina – Well don't hold me in suspense, Seph! What is it?

Sephiroth X – Close your eyes.

*Catrina closed her eyes as Seph walked up behind her and placed a small necklace around her neck. It was a fairly basic necklace with nothing too fancy, like Seph had mentioned, with the exception of one sparkling green jewel attached to it.*

Sephiroth X – Aaaaaaand you can open them.

*Catrina opened her eyes and quickly saw the reflection of her gift within the water. Her eyes lit up with surprise, a little more then even Seph had anticipated, and a smile broke out on her face.*

Sephiroth X – It's nothing fancy... I just, thought you'd like it.

Catrina – It's beautiful! I love it! It doesn't need to be super fancy or anything like that it's the thought behind it, Seph.

*Catrina quickly turned to Seph and gave him a big hug. A few moments later, the sound of approaching footsteps could be heard and the sound of a person whistling caught the attention of Seph and Catrina. As they turned towards the source of the sound they were greeted by two ruggedly dressed men, one of whom was cracking his knuckles while the second was twirling a butterfly knife in his hand.*

Mugger 1 – Well well well, look at the babe we found here.

Mugger 2 – Yeah, and look at the fancy jewelry she's got around her neck. Plus look at how she's dressed... hot damn someone's looking mighty fine tonight.

Mugger 1 – That necklace doesn't look that expensive, except for the jewel on it of course. Could get us a pretty penny with that and some of the other stuff she has on her.

*Seph quickly interrupted the two.*

Sephiroth X – I don't think she has anything for you two.

Mugger 1 – And I'm guessing he's the reason she's all prettied up. If he's any sort of good date, that means his wallet is loaded with cash right now too.

Mugger 2 – Heheh, looks like it's a good meal for us tonight ey?

Sephiroth X – I really think you two should beat it.

*Catrina grabbed his arm.

Catrina – Seph... don't anger them.

Mugger 2 – Oh, pretty boy here thinks we should beat it?

*The two muggers stepped closer to Seph, showing no signs of intimidation.*

Mugger 1 – You think you're some hard ass trying to look all tough in front of the babe? Hope her good looks haven't blinded ya cuz there's two of us and one of you.

Sephiroth X – Yeah, so get another guy or two and we'll call it an even fight.

Mugger 1 – You talk an aweful lot of shit, we were just gonna take your money but I think you need to learn a lesson or two wise guy.

*The first mugger looked towards Catrina.*

Mugger 1 – After we drop pretty boy here, wanna go on a real date?

*X promptly pushed the mugger away a few steps while the second mugger stepped a little towards Seph's side, still twirling his butterfly knife.*

Sephiroth X – Back off, you're not getting cash and she doesn't want any part of you. I don't want a confrontation here so if you guys just beat it maybe you can go fight someone on your own level and take his stuff. I think I saw a drunk hobo a few blocks back, you might be able to take him on.

Mugger 1 – Okay, that's it chump I'm shutting your mouth.

*The first mugger quickly threw a fist at Seph, whom blocked the incoming attack and grabbed the muggers arm. Just as Seph delivered a powerful right hook to the face of the first mugger, the second mugger grabbed his knife firmly and started a stabbing motion with the blade aimed directly at Seph's back.*

Catrina – Seph look out!

*Catrina quickly grabbed the arm of the second mugger, slowing the blade enough for Seph to get out of the way. The second mugger however quickly got Catrina's grasp to release by driving an elbow right into her face with his free arm, knocking Catrina unconscious and sending her over the railing and into the water. Seph quickly punched the second mugger in the gut and knocked him down with a punch straight to his temple. X quickly stood poised in case either mugger managed to get up, and watched as both muggers slowly staggered to their feet and fled in pain. Seph then drew his attention back to Catrina and quickly saw that her body had floated a few yards down stream.*

Sephiroth X – Catrina!

*X quickly bolted down the sidewalk to catch up to her before leaning over the railing himself and pulling her out of the water.*

Sephiroth X – Cat, are you okay?

*X quickly noticed that she was unconscious, and seemed like she just stopped breathing.

Sephiroth X – Oh no... no no.

*Seph promptly laid her down on the ground and began doing some basic CPR on her. He assumed she probably inhaled water after being unconscious in the water for those few minutes he was dealing with the muggers.*

Sephiroth X – C'mon Catrina wake up... You weren't in there that long... c'mon! C'mon!

*After doing some more CPR on her and performing mouth-to-mouth on her, Seph continued to see no response.*

Sephiroth X – No... Damnit it took me far too long to let this night with you happen I'm not letting it be taken away like this!

*X continued desperately trying to wake her up and began talking to her as he continued trying to save her.

Sephiroth X – Catrina I don't know if you can hear me... I just.... I hope you didn't think I waited too long before asking you out... I just... I was nervous... because... Well, even though we've been only friends for a good while, I've-

*Before he could finish his sentence, Catrina's body started to spasm a little and she began coughing. She quickly sat up a little bit and coughed out a little bit of water that had been in her lungs before taking a few very deep breaths before turning her attention back to Seph. She held onto him tightly before whispering to him, asking him to finish his sentence*

Catrina – You've.. what?

Sephiroth X – Even though we've been friends for a good time...

*The two locked eyes for a moment.*

Sephiroth X – I've loved you for a long time... I just... wanted you to know.

*Catrina's eyes kept locked on Seph's for a few very long moments before she slowly leaned up into him and gave him a soft long kiss.*

*Back on the Midgar rooftop, the two continued reminiscing.*

Catrina – And that was our first date... I remember it like it was yesterday.

Sephiroth X – So do I.

Catrina – Did you honestly think that I might not have woken up? Like... what made you not give up?

*Seph thought about it for a few seconds, analyzing his own thoughts.*

Sephiroth X – Hope... and my feelings for you.

Catrina – Hope... I like that...

--------------------

*In her dark prison of a room, a tear rolled down the side of Catrina's face and a very faint smile appeared on her face as she remembered some of her most cherished memories. The word 'hope' echoed through her mind a few times... hope was a good word, and she still liked it. Hope was all she had left to cling on to at this point.*

[Shadow Phoenix]

OoC: This post brought to you through the combined efforts of Sephiroth X and Shadow Phoenix!

IC:

A flame illuminated the room and drove the hellish arms of decay back into the wall behind Catrina. As she looked up, she saw Hodia stride into the room with flames encircling her right hand.
"Hello, Catrina," she said simply. She looked at the chains holding her up and mused at her wretched appearance for a moment. "You look like shit."

Hodia shrugged and chuckled a little. "I just wanted to come in and check on you--see how you were doing."
She looked directly into Catrina's face and saw the tear on her cheek. "And don't worry," she added, "I'm here by myself. Valtiel didn't send me."

She got right in front of Catrina and knelt down to her level. "What's on your mind, dear?" she said, faking sincerity.

Catrina's moment of happiness quickly vanished at the presence of Hodia. With a scowl Catrina responded "Why do you care?"
Hodia ran her fingers through her long head-flame and closed her eyes. "It's good for morale when prisoners and their wardens have good relations."
"I highly doubt you care for morale..."
"Oh on the contrary," Hodia responded, raising a finger and wagging it in Catrina's face. "I'm a military woman. Morale is very important."

Hodia stood up and took a step away from Catrina. "Look...I can't have you dying. I want to know how you're doing."
Catrina sighed a little and looked down at the floor, realizing challenging Hodia verbally wouldn't benefit her at all. Instead she just quietly spoke her mind, "I... miss him..."
Hodia's brow perked up and she turned her head over her shoulder. She was surprised this woman was confiding her feelings. "Sephiroth?" she asked in confirmation.
Catrina simply nodded in agreement.

"He... Valtiel... probably never told you the extent of Seph and I...did he?"
Hodia shook her head. "I supposed the two of you were lovers. But Valtiel has told me little about you or his prey."
"We... we've known each other for a long time... And have been in love with each other for lord knows how long..." Catrina never made eye contact with Hodia, constantly looking down at the dark pavement, "Seph and I were engaged, to be married if you aren't familiar with the term. But... long before Valtiel, The Element, or any of this became part of our lives, something happened..."

"Near the very end of his military service, Seph was assigned to work on an experiment with a Senate special agent. And just before that assignment, the Senate pretty much blackmailed me into spying on him to make sure things were going to plan...I was... approached by the Apprentice of the Senate himself.. he did... bad things to me to make me cooperate..."

"Something went wrong with the experiment Seph was working on... the compound they were making was tested on Seph himself, it made him go near berserk."
Catrina just sighed, reminiscing on everything, "You probably don't want to hear this whole story."

Hodia took a deep breath. She had almost told Catrina to stop several times. This was too much familiarity, even for her. She might start to feel sympathy for the woman. Fiancées...and then tragedy. But Hodia had been through enough crap of her own...little could phase her. "I see," she said after a moment. "You want to see him then. That makes sense."
Hodia turned around fully and looked at Catrina, who was still gazing down at the ground. "I miss someone, too," she said. "I would give anything...but it's impossible."
She continued with a cold huff, "We can't always have what we want, Catrina. Call it fate or whatever you want. It is my fate to serve as the right hand of the Apocalypse. And it is yours to help us."

Catrina ignored her last statement and pressed Hodia with a question, "Why do you feel it's impossible...?"
Hodia stiffened for a moment, and her breath caught in her throat. The flame on her head flickered for a moment. She looked off to the side and tried to breathe normally as she answered. "Because I killed him..."
Catrina began laughing quietly, causing curiosity from Hodia
Hodia narrowed her gaze. "What...?"
"After Seph went berserk... the other person he was working with on that Senate experiment turned out to be Dark Crono... the person Seph eventually fought for control of the Element... While trying to defend me, Seph's sword went right through me by accident... I died in his arms..." Catrina looked up, locking eyes with Hodia, "Do I look like a dead woman now?"

Hodia's eyes widened. Rebirth? In a simple human? That was impossible, wasn't it? Phoeniyans and Kisenians had practiced rebirth before, but only as phoenixes centuries after their souls wandered. If this woman had actually died, yet stood here now...no, it was impossible!
"You lie," Hodia spit. "You can't have died! The Children of the Shadows have been trying to cheat death for millennia, and none of us have ever succeeded!"
Catrina's eyes never broke away from Hodia’s, "The scar is still on my stomach. Don't ask me how it happened, because I in all honesty can not fully explain it myself... The only thing I can safely say helped bring me back was Seph, and the fact that he held on to one thing the entire time he lived without me..."

Hodia had to see the scar, or else there was no way she could believe this woman. She knelt down and ripped at the tattered fabric around Catrina's stomach. It gave way like wet paper and revealed exactly what Catrina said it would. Hodia shook her head and staggered backward. "Impossible," she stammered.

"Seph held on to hope... hope that despite the impossible he would see me again. Hope is one of the few things that can help people defy the impossible, even change our fates."

Hope...hope was something Hodia had lost almost 15 years ago. "Hope," she spit bitterly, "is just weakness...wishing for something when there's nothing you can do."
She rose to her feet and clenched her fists. "You can hold onto that weakness if you like, but it won't get you anywhere. Whatever happened to you before has nothing to do with now. We will succeed, and there's nothing you can do about it."
By this point, Hodia was fuming and her flame raged. The hellish room flickered and receded a little at this display, no longer threatening Catrina for now. "Nothing!" Hodia screamed again.

Catrina's eyes grew a little more intense, "I'm holding on to hope, knowing that Seph will come back to me... Despite what you think, I'm still doing something... and if you've given up on even hope, then I seem to be doing more about things then you are...which is odd, since I'm the one chained up."

Hodia bit her lip, and then took a step forward and kicked Catrina in the stomach where she had just revealed her wound. "I've got some news for you, Catrina. Sephiroth X tried to come back, but it wasn't to save you. It was to fight against Valtiel. And guess what--he was working with the man you so despise--Dark Crono. But Valtiel crushed them both. Even if your great hero does try to come back, we'll just beat him down again."

Catrina's eyes widened for a moment both in response to the kick and to the news, Seph was working alongside Crono? After thinking about it for a few more moments, Catrina slowly started to laugh.
Hodia kicked her in the stomach again, "Damn it, woman, you laugh too much!"
Catrina's laughing turned into a quick grunt as Hodia kicked her again, stifling her laugh and turning it into a sore giggle. "I'm not the only person who's come back from the afterlife it seems... I almost forgot about him."
Hodia shuddered for a moment. What was it about these humans? Maybe there was more to this planet than it seemed. Perhaps Apocalypse had come here by design after all...

"Fine then," she said as she spit in Catrina's face. "You seem to be forgetting that Valtiel crushed them like ants."
"....Are they still alive?"
Hodia smiled, "Barely. They were saved by another man--Azriel--just before my master slew them. I doubt they will try anything else anytime soon."
"But they will... I believe it..."
"They went up against him and lived... they know what they're up against now... that means that when they do return, it will be with more then enough to stop him"
Hodia threw her head back and let loose a cackle. "So you think," she said. "I'll let you believe that, however foolish it is."

She then turned to leave, "I was going to ask if you wanted something to eat or drink, but you seem to have your fill of hope. Snack on that for a while, Catrina."
Hodia cackled again and left the woman in her chains and tattered clothes.

Catrina promptly stood up and shouted to Hodia as she left trying to keep her attention, "Why did you give up hope?! Why do you want to end so many innocent lives like this!?" After a few moments there was no response from Hodia. Catrina stumbled back a few steps and then fell back down into her suspended stance she was in earlier, tears began rolling down her eyes as she spoke quietly in a frail voice, "He came back... but didn't come for me... he didn't come for me....."

[Shadow Phoenix]

Bax opened his eyes and felt the sunlight flooding in on his face through the window. It was warm, as opposed to the harsh heat of the desert. He swung his feet off the bed and stood up, stretching. Elsewhere in the house, Bax heard that Dina was already up and preparing for her day. Bax hopped down on the ground and went through a quick half regiment of pushups and sit-ups, then rose up and ambled down the stairs to meet up with Dina. She had on loose and baggy work clothes, complete with heavily-pocketed overalls and a bandana to cover up and tie back her curly black hair.
“Morning,” she said simply. “Ready to go?”
Bax nodded and followed Dina back to the coffee shop he had been at the night before. She waved hi to people on the way. Most of them smiled at her but looked with confusion at the alien following her. Bax tried to ignore them and tried to walk next to Dina instead of behind her.

They got to the coffee shop after a few blocks of awkward travel and went inside. The barista from last night was there again this morning.
“Morning, Dina. Um…and you.”
“Bax.”
“Right, Bax. What can I get you two?”
Dina flashed two fingers. “Two caramel macchiatoes.”
“Comin right up.”
“What do I owe you?”
“Aahhh…it’s on the house this morning, hun.”
Dina smiled, “Thanks, Barry!”
Bax also smiled, “Thank you!”
“It’s nothing,” Barry breathed as he turned to the contraption behind the counter and went off brewing their frothy drinks.

“On the house?” Bax asked Dina as they went and sat down at a table.
“Oh, right. That means free.”
“Goods for free?” Bax asked. “I am not used to that.”
“Well, we don’t deal much with money here anyway. We trade goods for services, most of the time. Barry and I are on good terms. I’m a loyal customer…guess he doesn’t wanna burden me today. He’s a nice guy.”
Such an interesting economic system…Bax wondered at the specifics of it. He had been accustomed to dealing with money all his life. He wasn’t sure how he would deal with something like this…

After a moment, Barry brought the two their drinks. Bax took a drink and his eyes lit up. “You were right!” he exclaimed. “This is good!”
Dina nodded her head and flashed a thumbs up to Barry as he returned behind the counter to serve the next customer.
“You want anything else?” she asked. “Something to eat?”
Bax put his chin in his hand and thought for a moment, “A donut, maybe?”
Barry heard Bax’s request and was already down behind the glass where he kept the baked goods. He tossed them towards Dina, who caught them both on her fingers.
“Thanks again, Barry!”
She handed one to Bax, who took it excitedly. “Yes, thank you!”
Dina and Bax chatted for a few minutes over glazed pastries and caffeinated sugar-laden drinks, and then Dina looked at her wrist. “Bout time for me to get to work,” she announced. “Gabriel is on the way. You want to see him, right?”
Bax nodded, “Yeah, I did.”
Dina downed the rest of her drink, and Bax followed suit (though it was a lot hotter than he expected it to be). “Great. Let’s go then.”

On her way out, Dina called to Barry. “You sure you don’t want anything?”
“Ahh, you’re fine!” he responded. “See you tomorrow.”
Dina smiled and exited the shop. There were already more people on the streets…but now it seemed that word was getting around about Bax. Fewer people were looking surprised by his presence. Unfortunately, that didn’t help too much because they were still showing some closeted antagonism.
“Ignore them,” Dina said. “They’re not worth it.”
Bax nodded and kept up with Dina, trying to ignore the stares.

Dina eventually stopped at a small house and knocked on the door.
“Coming,” came a voice. It sounded like Gabriel!
It took a little while, and there was a lot of what sounded like whirring and buzzing, but the door eventually opened. Bax smiled and followed Dina inside. Just inside the door, he looked around for a moment.
“Over here,” Gabriel said. “It’s a little hard for me to open the door without some help, so I deal with it how I can.”
Bax looked over and saw the young man sitting in a wheelchair next to a control panel. He smiled halfheartedly and waved. “Hi there, Gabriel.”
“Good morning, Bax,” he said. “And it’s good to see you, Dina! Do you have time to stick around?”
Dina shook her head, “Sorry, I’m working this morning. Want me to get you anything at the market?”
Gabriel wheeled towards her, “I could use some fruit…and some fuses. I blew a few last night and my brother had to run off to work before I woke up.”
“Sure thing. See you later!”
Dina left Gabriel’s home and closed the door behind her.

Gabriel wheeled himself towards a table and motioned for Bax to come and sit down. “Come on over. You look sad, man! What’s up?”
Bax sank his head, “You…you are unable walk.”
Gabriel lowered his head, “Yeah…that’s kinda tricky.”
Bax decided to sit down and he looked at Gabriel. “What happened?”
Gabriel sighed, “Well…I made it to the square where we made our last stand. You were there, too, getting beat up by one of the Magi. I saved your butt, actually…but one of the other Magi roughed me up, too. When I came to, the battle was over and I was lying in a hospital bed. The doctors told me I had been unconscious for a week…and that my spine was severed. So…yeah. Kinda sucks.”
Bax looked very sullen, so Gabriel shook his head. “Look man, don’t blame yourself. It’s war. It happens.”
Bax was surprised by this young man’s determination. If Bax remembered correctly, Gabriel was just 19. He had probably come to Nibelheim when he was still a kid. “I cannot help myself, Gabriel. I feel bad about what happened. I feel that I could have done something more to help.”
Gabriel sighed. “Hey…you fought hard, too. We all did. A lot of us died…a lot…but Nibelheim is still standing. So screw it.”
Bax nodded. “I suppose so.”

Bax explained to Gabriel what he was doing in Nibelheim and Gabriel nodded along in understanding. “Rough stuff, man. Looks like the whole world is going to hell in a handbasket.”
Once again, Bax didn’t get the last expression. But he at least caught hell, so he agreed. “I am afraid that Nibelheim may see more war, especially if Valtiel extends his reach.”
“That would suck.”
“Suck. Yes.”
“Well, with any luck the Senate will have their hands full for a while. Did you get a chance to talk to the High Council? It’d be good for them to hear this.”
“I spoke with Elder Birmingham, but he did not want to hear any of it.”
Gabriel shrugged, “Well, he’s not the best one to speak to. If you can get an audience with all of them and explain what happened, it might help. Actually, I’ll make a few calls if you want.”
“You can do that?”
Gabriel nodded, “My brother is on the Council. He was just promoted after one of the council members died in the battle. I’ll make it happen. Some time this afternoon, maybe?”
Bax smiled, “That would be great!”
It would help to have anyone on their side that they could get. And Bax felt that he owed it to all of Nibelheim to warn them of the impending danger.”

After another few minutes of catching up (and learning about each other—the two had barely even really met), Bax mentioned his intention to go to the graveyard. Gabriel nodded, “Yeah…a lot of us have been going there lately. Who did you know?”
“Adam and Claire.”
Gabriel lowered his head, “I see…you stayed with them, didn’t you? I heard they tried to defend you in front of the Council.”
“They were good people.”
“I didn’t know them very well. But they seemed pretty cool. Do you know how to get there?”
“I saw it when I got here last night. It is near the rocket, is it not?”
“Yeah. You okay, then?”
“Yes. How will I get in contact with you?”
Gabriel thought for a moment. “Just come back here after your visit.”
“Okay,” Bax said. “See you soon.”

Bax caught sight of the rocket once he got outside Gabriel’s house and maneuvered his way through the streets towards it. He avoided as many people as he could, though he knew that it would difficult. After all, it was late morning and the sun was riding high in the sky—this was always one of the busiest times of the day on Auralis (even though their days were usually much longer than Earth’s). Most of the citizens of Nibelheim were up and about now. Bax hoped that he wouldn’t run into too many people out there…he just wanted to silently honor the sacrifices of the fallen as he had done time and time again through the wars of the past decade.

As he neared the massive and slightly disorganized graveyard, Bax thought back to the battle. Right before he blacked out and lost control, he watched as Senate soldiers gunned down both Adam and Claire. He watched the light leave their eyes. He was so familiar with that look…how he hated it. When someone died, you could literally see their soul leave their bodies…

There were about a dozen people in the graveyard when Bax got there. Not as many as he expected—a manageable number. Some had flowers. Some were walking around like zombies. Some knelt in front of particular tombstones and cried. Bax began to walk through the tombstones. They were mostly makeshift—rocks that were no longer useful for building. They had been retrieved from the wreckage, jammed into the earth, and inscribed with the name and dates. Bax read names he didn’t recognize while searching for ones he did—namely Adam and Claire. His heart felt heavy as he read the names.

The tombstones closest to the edge had dates since the day of the attack, but most were still from a couple of weeks ago. They were people who had survived the initial attack but died from injuries in the ensuing days. As Bax got closer in, more and more tombstones held the date of the attack. These were overwhelming in number. There were easily a couple hundred tombstones. And when Bax thought of the hundreds of people he had seen with bad injuries while walking through the streets and the numerous others probably still in hospitals, he could barely stand it. This city had suffered so much…

Bax entered another row and looked up for a moment. There was someone in this row, gazing intently at two tombstones. And for some reason, she looked vaguely familiar. Purple hair. The clothes were nothing special. And she had mako green eyes like everyone else in this town. Bax took another step, and then gasped audibly as he recognized the face. She was not in her usual Magi garb, but it was unmistakable…

“Hello, Bax,” Eve said as she looked up from Adam and Claire’s tombstones. “Fancy seeing you here.”

[The Waffle King]

The mid-day sun beat down on Libertas and its inhabitants. A red clad figure lay slumped in a folding chair near the middle of camp. Dante arbitrarily twirled a pistol around one of his fingers, randomly pointing it at rocks, barrels, crates, or whatever other boring objects were within sight. He sighed. "Man, it sure is boring around here without those two crazy people hangin' around."

Meanwhile, Zack had been wandering through the camp, arms crossed over his chest and expression clearly displaying a state between determination and misgiving. He had let Bax go, as per his wishes, and Zack believed in him... But he also knew, deep down, that the world was not so predictable as to allow all promises to be kept. As usual, he let his feet carry him without much thought or direction, and they happened to bring him in earshot of Dante's verbal reflection. Impulsively, he popped out from behind the tent edge between them like a peeking mouse, eyes wide. "Huh? What crazy people?" Then he blinked and jumped out the rest of the way, waving his arms apologetically. "Aah! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be nosy, I was just passin' by an' I'm curious but that was rude so I'm sorryyyy!"

Dante leaned forward with a grunt and gave Zack a lazy glance. "That silver-haired angry one and the creepy cloak dude. The party just died with one gone an' the other outta commission. Are they the only ones allowed to go kick some monster butt or somethin'?" He just continued performing flashy gun tricks, never really looking at Zack or his hand.

Zack relaxed a bit, then sighed and scratched the back of his head, wandering a few steps closer before stopping. "Well... if by monster you mean Valtiel... compared to those two, most folks would probably just get in the way. They're in a class all their own." Then he raised his head and voice. "Er, I mean, you're probably really freakin' strong, but I mean, those two are like, freakishly so. An' Valtiel STILL served 'em to themselves..."

Dante stopped twirling the pistol and hopped to his feet. "Yeah, so they're preppin' for Round 2 with the big baddie. I don't see why that would stop us from takin' out the smaller ones, or pulling out survivors. Valtiel can't be everywhere at once, right? I just don't appreciate being told what to do by someone I don't even know. That place was my home, I've got every right to fight for it." He paced around, kicking up dust. Obviously not happy about not doing anything.
"I'm just sick of sitting around here!" He turned and kicked the half filled canteen sitting next to the folding chair, sending it sailing high up into the air. Without looking, he aimed and fired off a round. The canteen was obliterated, a fine mist momentarily rained down on the two.

The teen's eyebrows raised, impressed with the perfect shot and unexpected shower. He then sighed and scratched the back of his head again, gazing off to the side. "Well... I feel the same way, actually. Doin' nothin' is killin' me. I've got a friend who might be stuck in that city too, for all I know. An' really, I don't like Sephy... er, Sephiroth X goin' back in there the way he is an' the way things are. I have no idea what might happen, but... I dunno."

"So why don't we try and do some good then? Why not look for your friend? It's better than being here."
Zack looked at Dante with some surprise, then closed his slightly open mouth tightly and looked off to his right. "Maybe... But I'm worried about leaving Crono here unattended..."

Dante sighed and slumped his shoulders. "Yeah, you're right I guess. I doubt the chumps in this camp could take him on if he woke up. So I guess stayin here is the best we can do for now."

A bit torn between the options, Zack raised a finger and pointed out, "But on the other hand, you, me, an' Onikage would be like, a three-man army. There could still be people we could save if we did go in, long as we didn't go in too deep. An' worried as I am about Crono, Bax, and Sephiroth, I'm also worried about Jack..." He sighed, then chuckled, crossing his arms. "Arguin' with myself here, don't mind me..."

Dante shruged and smirked. "I'm not really the planning sorta guy, but it seems like a good idea this time around."
Zack nodded, though a bit glumly with his eyes lowered. "Yeah, you're probably right... Still, either way doesn't sit well with me. Sephy wasn't acting quite right after he got a recent power-boost. And Jack... Damn it, I just found him again then lost him again..." He sat cross-legged on the ground, running his hands through his hair. "Crap to worry about no matter what I'd do..."

Dante sighed and started pacing again, scratching his head with the side of his gun, getting more anxious by the second. Finally he stopped and threw his hands into the air. "AH! Screw this waiting! I'm at least gonna go shoot some stuff!" He stormed off toward his truck, Onikage in the back avoiding the sun. "You comin', squirt? Or do ya wanna just miss the whole damn party?"

Zack straightened, surprised and even honored that he'd be invited along by Dante. He leaped to his feet and pumped his fists. "You serious?! Sweet!" Then he hesitated, looking back toward Crono's tent. Then, he sighed and closed his eyes, muttering, "Well, his condition's still serious; I doubt he'll be up just yet. An' even then... I somehow don't think he'd harm others who aren't Sephy..." He then opened his eyes, smirking. "But if he does... I'll hit him on the head with a q-tip!"

He then ran up to the truck and swung into the passenger seat, pointing forward slickly. "Let's roll!"
Dante grinned wide. "That's more like it, kid!" He hopped up the ladder on the side and dropped down the gunner hatch. Onikage silently pulled himself into the driver seat and Dante poked his head out between the two in front. "Lets get this show on the road!" Onikage cracked a smile. "I was wondering when you were going to wise up, Dante. Waiting really isn't your style...doesn't suit me too well either." He slammed the APC into gear and tore out of the gates in the direction of Midgar.

---

For a while into the trip, Zack grinned widely, whooping with delight as the heavy vehicle leaped over bumps and rocks. With his limited experience in vehicles, this ride was especially thrilling. But after a few minutes, he forced himself to calm down, realizing he might very well be looking like an idiot to his way-cool travel mates. Scratching the back of his head yet again and blushing, he scowled down at the floor, mentally berating himself. Then he sat up straight, fists on his thighs, and looking directly at both of them in turn. "So! Uh, you guys are from Midgar?"

Dante immediately chimed in from the back through a mouthful of pizza. "Bown an waised der." He gulped. "Gotta protect my home, ya know?"
Onikage, breaking the excitement, stated, "Where I'm from doesn't matter, it's about where I'm going..."

Zack nodded to each of them, thoughtful for a moment at Onikage's cryptic comment. Not in a nosy mode, he opted not to prod for further elaboration, and offered his own origin from what he could pick through. "I'm from out here in the Desert. Been to Midgar a lot lately though, so I was gettin' to like it a lot. I worked hard to get there, had always wanted to someday... Really hope it can get fixed again." He sighed quietly, then looked at Dante again. "Hey, how'd you get those awesome shootin' skills? You still a mercenary too?"

Dante's arm poked through to the front holding the pizza box, half still left. "Yup, the both of us are. We were affiliated with The Dragon's Claws and Edos, but we mainly kept to ourselves and did our own thing. He got us started, but working under somebody just wasn't cuttin it. We'd help the fella out if he ever asked though. You did mention him before, yeah?"

The teen glanced at the pizza, and clenched his stomach muscles to stop a growl from emerging from it. How long since he had eaten? Two days or so? His instinct was always to take food when he saw it, but likewise his instinct was to be polite. So he answered the question first. "Yeah, I'm currently a Claw. Well, was before all this crap went down... I hope the other mercs are alright... I think Lee is though, he wouldn't go down easily at all I'd say. He wanted to help us out with this Valtiel situation, but I dunno how he's doin' an' how many mercs made it out--" His stomach could take it no longer and let out a high-to-low-pitched groan. Zack smiled with embarrassment and sheepishly asked, "May I have some?"

Dante shook the box a bit at him and smirked. "Ain't holdin' this for the exercise, kid. Better hurry though, I can see the city already."

"Thanks!" Zack eagerly snatched three slices, two between different fingers of one hand and the third promptly into his mouth with the other, munching blissfully for several seconds before opening his eyes and looking ahead, amazed at how quickly they were closing in. "Waugh! Grivigng igs fagst!" He closed his eyes again to enjoy the first slice which he consumed rapidly, then again looked ahead at the approaching city during the other two, trying to mentally prepare himself for what was ahead. He found it a bit hard to swallow if he thought too hard about what might happen. So within a few seconds he was back to concentrating on the pizza. It was absolutely tasty. Much nicer to focus on than a hellish city.

[Shadow Phoenix]

The unarmed Bax instinctively raised his fists up and took a defensive stance. Without weapons, he was probably screwed if Eve attacked. And this could be stirring up trouble that would get him kicked out of Nibelheim fast. This was bad—this was very bad.

“Calm down,” Eve said as she turned back to the tombstones. “I’m not here to fight. I came here for the same reason you probably did—to say hi to some old friends.”
Bax relaxed a little, but maintained his position. Eve didn’t have her Magi robes on—she looked like a civilian. And he didn’t see her whip or her katana anywhere on her person. Perhaps there was some credence to what she was saying.
“I assure you I’m not here on business,” she said. “I…I’m not even sure that I’ll return to the Order at this point.”
That surprised Bax. Was she quitting? He lowered his fists and took a couple of steps forward. “I am surprised to see you here,” he said after a moment.
“I’m surprised to see myself here. And you for that matter,” Eve responded. “It’s been three years since I last set foot in this city.”
“How did you get in?” Bax asked.
Eve chuckled a little, and then pointed to her eyes. “This town is large enough that you can’t know everyone. With the eyes, they didn’t ask questions. The kid on guard just assumed I was a citizen and let me in. I was banking on them not remembering me.”
Bax nodded. That made sense.

“Claire mentioned your name,” Bax offered. “If I remember, you and Adam were…engaged.”
Eve blinked and nodded as she remembered her life from 5 or 6 years ago before all of this happened. “You met them? Well, damn. Yes…we were. Before everything…we were in love.”
Bax realized that Eve was in fact standing at the side by side graves of Adam and Claire. He began to see that all of this went a lot deeper than he knew. He could tell she wanted to talk. “Go on.”
“I was a graduate assistant in the best research program Zion had to offer. The professor I was working with had links to the Holy Order of the Magi and recommended I seek a position in their research program. He said I was bright enough to look past the pomp and circumstance of the organization and delve into their cutting edge projects. I was particularly interested in materia research. That was what I was working on in grad school. But that was higher level research within the Order, and I wouldn’t get to do what I wanted with them for a few years. So I had to do what they wanted. While I was being inducted into the Order, I was placed as a researcher in a joint project between them and the Senate. It was called the X Project. As you may know, Sephiroth X was its first success.”

Bax listened intently as the details slowly trickled out. Eve continued.

“I’d had a thing for military men since I was a little girl. When you grow up in a state run by the military that kind of makes sense, I suppose. But Adam was different than some of the other guys. He was goofy. He was a total geek. But he was still strong and a great soldier. I met him in my last year as a grad student. He was taking a class at the university, and we met at a bar. He was trying to accelerate his way up the army ladder and become an officer sooner. He was drunk and with his buddies, and he asked me out. I turned him down at first, actually…”

Eve laughed at that and shook her head. “It was kind of funny, actually. He saw me later in the quad and his eyes got all wide. He stammered and kind of looked like he was trying to avoid me. But then he came up and apologized. He asked me to coffee as a way to apologize. I told him I didn’t drink coffee and he turned to go away with his tail between his legs. He seemed cute, so I told him I did like dinner, though. He got pretty excited at that. So we went out on a date. And then we went out on a bunch of dates. And after about a year, before I started working with the Order on the research, he asked me to marry him. I said yes…”

Eve smiled. “I was happy in those days…we were set to get married in about a year. He knew I was starting to work with the Order, and he wanted me to get settled before we started our life together. I didn’t know what I was going to be researching at the time, or how it would end up…I was testing some enhancing drugs using Mako. It wasn’t my forte, but I was happy to have the chance to develop my skills. Mako was something we only learned about in school—we weren’t ever able to use it. So my first trials were on animals. They went fairly well. We monitored their physiology and noted al kinds of improvements. Then one of the major players in the project jump started everything and took it upon himself to try the serum on a human. That person was Sephiroth X.”

Eve sighed, “Sephiroth X was a success. His natural abilities increased dramatically, and gave us the X projects first human success. It was a triumph. But that researcher and financier left the project and took his own data with him. The Senate pushed my team to develop our drugs to the human trial immediately. We didn’t choose the subjects—the Senate did. But…I tried to reason that we had done enough trials to ensure reasonable success. But I objected to the rush. The Senate was getting greedy. We needed more time. But they insisted we try it out on a number of soldiers. And…Adam was one of them. It was double blind, so I didn’t even know he was being subjected to the treatment. I didn’t even know he had been chosen until he asked me about it. But I had to go through with it—my career was at stake. I hadn’t joined the Order specifically for the science…it was just the next logical step. And to throw that all away…I couldn’t.”

Bax knew the next part of the story well, but he let Eve go on.

“The soldiers in the Senate’s army don’t ask questions. They just do what they’re told. So they reported in to receive the experimental treatment, and we went through with it. They all went into comas immediately after. Some of them never woke up. Those that did experienced minor physical improvements, but nothing significant. With such a high rate of failure, the Senate shut out project down and tried to shut everyone up. I was ordered not to discuss it…even with Adam…or else I would lose the ground I had gained in the Order so far. He came to me and told me he was leaving, and asked me to come with him. But I thought…if I gave up then, then weren’t his comrades’ sacrifices in vain? I had to follow through with my training. So we called the wedding off and he left. I don’t think he ever forgave me. And I don’t think I ever forgave myself.”

Eve sat down on the ground and stared ahead. “I didn’t accept any more research positions after that. My partner in research, Rivel, did. He went on to work with the materia I had been so interested in. As you’ve no doubt noticed, he’s done a lot of work.” She pointed a thumb towards Bax’s bangle and he rubbed his wrist. The area touched by the bangle always felt sore…
“Please don’t think badly of him for it. I don’t approve of his methods, but he is just trying to do research. I refuse to test things on people anymore, but he has no problem with it. I honestly didn’t know he was going to clamp that thing on you. But…well, Rivel is an asshole. He likes using people.”

Eve looked up at Bax. “Can you come sit next to me? I feel uncomfortable with you standing up like that.”
Bax shifted awkwardly, and then slowly made his way over to Eve. He sat down and looked at the tombstones that marked the final resting places of Adam and Claire.
“I just…I can’t believe Adam is dead. My fucking hero soldier died in action. It’s unreal. It just doesn’t seem possible.”
Bax nodded in understanding. He too hoped that he would wake up and that all of this would be a dream—just some feverish awful nightmare. But this was reality—there was no waking up.
“I’ve just about had it with the Order,” Eve confided. “I’m still not sure if I’ll go back. They’re still better than the dumbass sheep in the Senate, but not by much most of the time. But regardless, I…I wanted to come back to Nibelheim to see how Adam was doing. Even if it has been over 5 years since he last held me in his arms, I…I still love him. I wanted to tell him I was sorry, and make him listen to me this time. I wanted to tell him that I didn’t mean the last thing I told him 3 years ago when I saw him last.”
“What did you say?” Bax asked.
Eve huffed, “I told him that I wished he had been one of the ones who had died in the experiment.”
Bax winced. That was harsh…

“I didn’t mean it,” Eve said. “I couldn’t. So I wanted to apologize for everything and see…if he would take me back. You’ll be happy to know I wanted to kill those fucktards Kerlin, Daito, and Marco for what they did here. I got into it with Daito. I didn’t expect them to find Nibelheim and attack it. I never reported on its location. But…I figured Adam would survive.”

Eve gritted her teeth and then drove a clenched fist into Adam’s tombstone. It shifted in the ground from the force of the blow. A little blood trickled from raw spots on Eve’s knuckles.
“Godammit, Adam!” she screamed. “You were supposed to live! How could you…how could you leave me? I never expected you to disappoint, you bastard!”
Eve burst into tears as her face turned beat red in rage and sorrow. She punched the tombstone again. And then a third time. It shifted both times, nearly uprooted from its shallow spot. She screamed and seethed curses.

Bax was baffled by this display of emotion from Eve. Here they were, two enemies, and yet she was laying her emotions out bare and in the open before him. Bax wasn’t sure how to take all of this. Eve pitched down to the ground and dug her first into the earth a little with one last punch. Her tears trickled down to mix with the fresh dirt and she continued to curse under her breath.

Bax reached out and laid a hand on her shoulder. She winced and started to pull away, but then relaxed and let Bax’s hand rest. “He was a fighter to the end, Eve. I watched the dogs of the Senate gun them down. Both Adam and Claire died trying to protect this city…and me. I tried to help them, but…I could not. I am sorry.”
Claire stared down in silence for a moment, and then clenched her eyes shut. She sat back down on her haunches and shook her head. “No…I don’t blame you. I blame the Senate. Thank you for telling me that, Bax. It’s nice to know that Adam didn’t die alone…or in vain.”
Eve sneered and slammed her fist down again. “But that doesn’t let you off the hook, Adam!” she said through her tears. “You still weren’t supposed to die like this…”

Bax removed his hand from Eve’s shoulder and looked away from her tear-stained face back to the tombstones. “It was carnage here.”
Eve nodded, “It always is when the Senate is involved.”
“I hate them.”
“So do I.”
Eve chuckled. “Who would ever think that we would find anything to agree on, Bax? If I were in my right mind, I’d be capturing you right now and dragging you back to HQ.”
Bax shuddered at the thought. He had been through enough recently. He didn’t want to grapple with the thought. “I’m glad you’re not.”
Eve smiled. “Me too. I kind of feel free…for the first time in years.”
A discomfiting silence hung between the two for a moment. Bax wasn’t sure what to say. This was far too awkward for him to now how to react.

Thankfully, Eve took reins of the conversation. “And you know what’s ironic? The X Project didn’t stop with our failure. The research continued, and my team was its first real success. Me, Rivel, and Teras…we got the X serum. So now we’re like Sephiroth X. I am the product of my own research…”
Eve snickered. “But it seems as though he has plenty of new power, what with the Element and all. It’s odd…during our encounter in the desert, he…he was completely different. In all of the times we fought him before, he managed to best us, but then…he annihilated six high powered Magi. There was something different about him.”
Bax cocked his head, “What do you mean?”
Eve bit her lip in uncertainty, “I don’t know. He’s just different. I can’t explain it…but it wasn’t entirely Sephiroth X who thrashed us in the desert. It was something more.”
Bax tried to make sense of what Eve was saying and offered a tidbit of his own. “He recently teamed up with Dark Crono.”
That really got Eve’s attention. The flow of tears stopped and she looked up in surprise. “Shit. Are you serious?”
Bax nodded, “I am afraid so.”
Eve reached her hands up to her head and clenched her hair in her hands, “Shit, shit, shit. That’s bizarre. I dunno what that means.”
Bax didn’t know either, but he just reasoned to trust Sephy in whatever he was doing…even if he was worried about him. But Eve seemed distraught by the news. Bax decided not to press her further. It was her business.

Instead, Bax clung onto a little gem that Eve had mentioned earlier. “Can I ask you a question?” Bax asked.
Eve shook her head and tried to clear her mind. “Uh, yeah, sure. What?”
Bax took a deep breath and went for it. “You said that you did some research on materia, right?”
Eve nodded, “I did.”
“Then…do you know how to get this antimateria off?”
Eve looked at Bax with a surprised expression, and then furrowed her brow and crossed her arms. “Get it off, huh? Well…since he hasn’t got a hold on you to monitor your progress, you’re really no good to Rivel as a test subject. Might as well try if you can.”
Bax smiled excitedly, “So you know how?”
“Not exactly.”
Bax’s smile fell.

“But,” she continued, “I have continued my own private research on materia. I know a lot about the subject, and I have seen some of Rivel’s private data. I think I can figure out a way to help you.”
That prospect was all Bax needed. It was possible to regain his powers. He would best this situation yet!

Eve went on to explain the details that would set Bax free.
“There are a lot of theories involved with materia, and not many hard facts. It’s still a fairly new field of research. But I can tell you this much—the materia that I use and the antimateria around your wrist are not naturally occurring. My wind materia was refined from its purer form of raw materia. Raw materia has a lot of impurities and isn’t very useful all by itself, but its also incredibly dangerous. Its basically crystallized Mako—the same stuff we experimented with to make the X serum. Most of the raw materia we worked with to make the X serum was neutral—unspecialized. But there are lots of pockets of raw materia that have predisposed properties or elements.

“Anyway, we’ve come up with a lot of ways to refine the raw materia. It involves subjecting it to various treatments and combining it with other things. As a result of this process, the end product takes on particular properties and allows the user to do things they would normally be unable to do. For instance, my wind materia allows me to manipulate the particles in the air so that I can control gusts to my advantage. I’ve mastered this materia.

“However, it is still dangerous to expose oneself to the refined form of materia. The long term effects of direct contact have not been well documented, but I suspect from my observations that it screws with the cardiovascular and renal systems the most. Or—the heart, lungs, and kidneys. I don’t know if you even have those organs. Whatever. It messes you up. Either way, it is best to attach materia to a specially designed weapon or piece of armor that helps one channel the power. One of the branches in the Order specializes in developing these from ancient documents that predate our organization.”

Bax thought for a moment about Zack’s large swords, where he housed the lightning and ice materia—could they be weapons developed by the Order? Or even older…he wondered…

“Since I work with Rivel directly, I’ve seen some of his research. Antimateria is another branch in the process of refining. It’s closely related to materia refinement, but there are some key differences—I won’t bore you. It acts like an electromagnetic pulse that just kills everything in the area. It drains the power from any materia that it comes in contact with, but keeps on functioning itself. Rivel developed it based on a few theories he had—we talked about it a lot, actually. He tested the first general antimateria on a few scrap materia and found some success in weakening the materia.

“So he got a hold of some further specialized raw materia—ice. He refined it to create ice antimateria, and then decided to use his own ice materia. His materia lost its power completely. Then he figured it could probably continue draining, so he requested another ice materia and found the same results. After the third materia, the Order caught on to what he was doing and told him to stop wasting perfectly good materia—or else he wouldn’t get anymore for personal use. Its expensive stuff…so he held onto the last ice materia for himself and went onto continue developing his research in other ways.

“He theorized that he could form the antimateria in such a way that it would neutralize natural abilities. Like, if someone had taken a materia into themselves and absorbed it, it would strip them of such power. Or if someone was subjected to the X serum, they might lose the gained abilities.”
Bax made the next logical step himself, “Or if someone was naturally able to control fire…”
“Exactly,” Eve said. “The research would have lots of applications. I didn’t know he had succeeded in his efforts until he attached the bangle to your body. It’s inert enough that you can’t take it into your body—that would probably kill you—but strong enough that it saps you of your power.”

“My worry,” Eve continued, “is that you might get it off only to discover that you no longer have any powers at all. If this bangle operates the same way as the typical antimateria, then it is vampiric instead of inhibitory. It doesn’t just stop you from using fire—it absorbs your ability entirely.”
Bax’s heart skipped a beat, and then sped up as Eve mentioned that possibility. If that was true, then…
“I have two theories that could benefit you, though.”
Bax’s ears perked up and he listened attentively.
“Well, I imagine that you’ve tried to remove the bangle already, but been unable to. It’s a sturdy material that no one has managed to find a way to cut through. Rivel has a key, but I doubt he would give it to you unless you consented to letting him do some research on you. Since I doubt you will…


And here it was…
“Rivel never tested the antimateria on raw materia—only on refined materia. It drained the refined materia completely. My first theory is that the raw materia would totally counteract the antimateria and destroy it, thereby releasing your power. And if that doesn’t happen, then my second theory…is that the antimateria would be overloaded by trying to absorb the sheer force of the raw materia that it would turn into some sort of supermateria. Rivel never got far enough in his research to know what extensive absorption would do. But that’s what he and I theorize…”

Bax looked up towards the noonday sun and felt a moment of hope. The possibility existed now.

“Why are you telling me all this, Eve?” Bax asked.
Eve shook her head and shrugged. “I don’t know, really. I’m pissed at the Order right now, but I’m even more pissed at the Senate. There’s not much I can do right now. I guess I kind of figure I could give you a chance to kick ass again. We may be enemies, but…well this whole thing is bigger than us. I’m just giving you information. For all I know, you could totally fuck up when you find the raw materia and it’ll explode and kill you. It’s really dangerous, you know.”
Bax gulped at that.
“Whatever happens to you, there are three possibilities—you die trying, you fail miserably and don’t serve as a threat again, or you get your powers back. And if the last one happens…well, I feel like you might end up helping us more than hurting us.”
Bax was beginning to see that Eve’s ideals didn’t match up entirely with the Order’s…and never had.

Bax still had some questions. “Well, where can I find this raw materia?”
Eve stood up and sat on a tombstone opposite from Adam’s. “Well, you want raw fire materia. Raw neutral materia probably won’t do you much good. And to be honest…I’m not exactly sure where to find it.”
Well, that was frustrating…
“But I know where you can find out. There are teams that fly around the world and collect the raw materia for our research, and they have maps that detail where everything is. If you were to get a hold of those maps, you might be able to find out where to find what you need. The Order has some of these maps, and so does the Senate. And…well I’m not going to tell you where the Order is currently headquartered. I still have my loyalties, and I won’t betray my comrades.”
Bax shrugged. That made sense, even if it did constrain his options.
“I’ve never personally seen the maps—it was always classified information. But they were always kept in the primary Senate research building. If memory serves…they were somewhere on the 47th floor. If you can get into Zion and infiltrate the research building—it’s called the Murphy building—then you should be able to find it.”
Bax considered this information carefully. “But that sounds like a suicide mission.”
Eve looked Bax dead in the eye and said, “That’s really the only option, Bax. I have no way to access the maps in the Order—they would kill me. Either search this planet and hope you get lucky, or go to Zion.”

Bax breathed a heavy sigh. This was going to be difficult no matter what he did. Certain death seemed to wait for him at every turn. What was he going to do?
“Thank you, Eve,” he said. “I think I will try that.”
“Good luck,” she said. She sounded sincere. It was still odd for Bax to hear that from her…
“What are you going to do?” Bax asked.
Eve sighed. “I…I’m going to look for someone else. I was hoping to find Adam here, but…that didn’t turn out like I wanted. Depending on what I find…I don’t know yet if I will return to the Order. We’ll see.”
“Well then good luck to you as well.”
Eve smiled. “Thanks. You know, Bax…if we weren’t in this situation…you seem like a decent kind of guy. We might actually…”
Bax nodded. “That is one of the reasons I dislike war and politics.”
Eve laughed, “A king like you? Most of the leaders I know love war.”
“Then perhaps I am odd.”
“Sure, why not?”
Eve stood up to leave. “Good luck to you, Bax. Thank you for listening…but don’t let this lull you into a false sense of security. The next time we meet, we may have to fight. I won’t hold back.”
Bax nodded. “I understand. We are warriors, after all.”
“Right.” Eve stood there for a moment, then turned away and began waking out of the graveyard. “Goodbye,” she called.
“Bye,” Bax responded.

Bax turned back to the tombstones of Adam and Claire for a moment and knelt down. Everything that Eve had just told him was running through his head. As he struggled to make sense of the science and to piece together the history of these people, he felt a strange sense of compassion for Eve. He had always been wary of her, but now she showed a dimension of personhood that blurred the lines between the sides. It was always so easy in war to demonize the other side…but that wasn’t the right thing to do…

“Rest in peace,” Bax breathed to Adam and Claire, and by extension to all of the bodies that lay here. He stood up slowly and left the graveyard, holding their memory close in his heart.

OoC: A quote from Squall in Final Fantasy VIII: “Right and wrong are not what separate us and our enemies. It’s our different standpoints, our perspectives that separate us. Both sides blame one another. There’s no good or bad side. Just two sides holding different views.” Just some food for thought…

[The Waffle King]

"Pizza's awesome!'
The boy grinned up at Dante, eyes closed and letting out a little "hee!" even as they neared the foreboding border of the doomed city.

Onikage kept his eyes forward, stone faced as usual, but the usual laid back aura from the one in back turned a more serious tone, as tendrils of fog started whizzing past the truck. They were close, they knew, and the city knew too.

Zack returned his attention ahead, and his eyes narrowed and darkened to match the atmosphere. There was no way of imagining just what may have been surrounding them at that very moment, or what lay ahead. He did, however, dart his eyes to and fro hoping for, yet also hoping not to see, a glimpse of Jack. His hands clenched into fists in his lap, and he concentrated to keep his breathing slow, deep, and steady.

The wheels hit pavement as they breached the city's perimeter. The ride was smoother, even though they were swerving around abandoned vehicles. But their field of view was beginning to be crowded with buildings that progressively increased in height the deeper they traveled. Onikage broke the silence. "Keep your eyes peeled." Dante popped his head out from the back. "Yeah, anything that looks important so we can wreck it." His usual smirk back on his face.

"Yeah, but let's hope it doesn't--" Onikage couldn't finish his sentence as a manhole cover blew out in front of them and poured smog as thick as an oil fire into the street. Nearby storm drains did the same, at least what could be seen before their vision became completely impaired. Onikage griped the wheel and tried to avoid obstacles as best as possible, but that was nearly futile.

The right edge of the truck slammed into something soft as a red smear pulled itself across the passenger window. The wheels lost traction as they bumped around. The last thing anyone could see was the corner of a brick building, and a sudden stop. All passengers were flung forward into the dashboard and windshield, then, the blackness of head trauma.

---

The blond struggled to stay awake, his senses cutting out, only getting fragments of experiences. He could hear gunshots and shouting, the sound of metal on flesh, and inhuman roars. He lost consciousness again.

He awoke to silence and an empty vehicle, driver-side door wide open.

Blinking hard, he tried to clear the fog from his pounding head, sitting there listless and confused for a while. Then he jerked upright with a gasp, immediately wincing at the throbbing in his head increasing in sharpness for a few heartbeats. He held his forehead, then tried to pull the handle on his side. He wasn't quite sure how to work it properly, or perhaps it was lodged up against something outside. So he gritted his teeth and climbed over the driver-side seat, bending around the wheel and pushing his way outside, hands instinctively raising to the hilts of his swords as soon as he cleared the vehicle. In one sweep, he took in the situation.

The APC had broken through a building. The front half sticking into what looked like a living room, the back half pointing out on the sidewalk, the shattered brick wall sticking rather close to the sides of the truck, the gap too tiny to squeeze through, and the outside world too dangerous to be in alone. By the compact nature of the living space, it seemed to be an apartment building. Dust and rubble covered the ground, but on top of that were spent bullet casings and streaks of blood. It looked like something was pulled out into the hallway. No signs of life anywhere.

The Strife warily drew Fenrir, flipped a lever with his thumb, withdrew its backhand-wielding blade for possible close-quarters combat, and re-sheathed the primary weapon. He then braced himself as he called out, "Onikage? Dante?" He listened. There was no answer, only the sound of wind and strange noises in the distance.
Eyes still narrowed and intense, Zack stepped toward the hallway, moving to the wall next to it and peeking to one side to make sure it was clear. Then he swung quickly around the doorway, wielding his blade ahead of him to guard against a a possible attack.

The hall was empty, but the blood, marks and bullet casings continued down the end of the hallway. Odd footsteps could be heard on other floors, but no gunfire. A darkened figure stood at the end of the hallway about 20 yards down, holding similar weapons. What almost sounded like indistinguishable whispers floated down the hall.
Zack squinted, trying to see whether the figure was human or not. He couldn't tell from this distance. He figured that it would be best to find out now, while there was distance to react, in case it was dangerous. Though of course, finding another human would certainly be the preferred outcome. So, he shouted, "Hey! Who are you?" in a non-accusatory tone.
Nothing but echoes reported back. The figure looked blurry, but Zack couldn't tell if that was from the choking fog or a mild concussion.

There was little else the teen could do than close the distance between himself and the figure. He still felt dizzy, so he couldn't tell if perhaps he hadn't spoken up enough. So he began to walk forward cautiously, his hand-blade extended forward. His brows were still furrowed, but he let his eyes open widely enough to let in more light. "...Hello?"
The figure began a silent trek forward as the boy's voice echoed back, eerily similar gait and stance. As he moved closer the sound of china and glass smashing to the floor rumbled through the ceiling from the next floor up. Then heavy footsteps moving away.
Zack cringed a bit, raising his head instinctively toward the sound. But then his gaze returned to the figure in front of him. For a moment he thought it was gone and he was just spotting his shadow. But the lighting angle would not have worked; it was still the figure in front of him. Or was it? Had he hit his head harder than he thought? He stopped his advance and straightened up tentatively, asking "Who are you?"

The figure did as he did, but without words. Zack blinked hard, trying to repair his vision. Some more blurry details leaked through. Their clothing were similar, and he could recognize his own weapons in its hands. More colors stuck out in the lighter area, they had the same spiky blond hair. Almost too similar. The boy moved his swords in a waving manner, and the figure did the same. He turned his attention to the hall itself, a simple wooden frame ran around the walls and ceiling exactly half way between them. Even the hall was reflected. Zack was approaching a large mirror, but the reflection still seemed off.
He walked toward it, briskly at first, then slowing down more and more as he tried to gauge what was bothering him about his reflection. Having always had poor eyesight, he had only known through other peoples' words that it was thus. But now he wished he could see better without having to get so close. The insecurity prompted him to reach his blade out and allow it to touch the surface before him.
The tip of the blade contacted the surface of the mirror. It was solid, like any other mirror, but the image was still odd. The mirror was physically solid and still, but the image in it shook and blurred like it was out in a windstorm. After a closer look, there seemed to be something etched into the glass, small script or something.
Zack stepped in and leaned up close, trying to make out what was there, squinting.

He could see letters, but it was difficult to make out. As he looked, he noticed the whispers had gotten considerably louder...and angrier. The etching began to glow a deep red, highlighting every stroke. "Ye shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall set you free" Zack took a step back as the whispers turned into voices. The second half of the etching faded out, he absently looked back at his reflection, its eyes now just dark pits staring back at him.

He began to turn around, but the ceiling behind him caved in, dust billowing out into the hall. He tried to ready his blades, but something heavy slammed into him from the dust cloud, pushing him back into the mirror. It shattered. But instead of falling to the ground, he felt his feet slide over an edge as he fell backwards. The rectangle of light faded away above him as he plummeted into a dark abyss.

[Shadow Phoenix]

After leaving the graveyard, Bax went back to Gabriel’s house and was ushered back to Town Hall within an hour. There, he was able to describe the state of the world outside of Nibelheim and get the audience that such information deserved. Even Elder Birmingham listened attentively. Bax even told them that he was planning on launching a mission of infiltration on the Senate, hoping that Nibelheim might give him a little bit of support. But the Council merely gave their approval and luck. Bax accepted that and took his leave of Nibelheim. It had been a highly insightful visit. He had seen a lot of people he cared about, and gained a great deal of knowledge. And things had gone well enough, so he knew that he could return. With his weapons in tow, Bax was escorted out of Nibelheim by the same soldier who had brought him in.

It was now growing close to evening, but Bax knew that he could get a good start towards Zion if he left now. He took one last look behind him and observed the city. Twenty-four hours before, this city had looked sad and desolate with its slump-shouldered inhabitants and broken buildings. But now it had an aura of hope rising from its sun-kissed rooftops. Bax knew that nothing had changed but him, but he still couldn’t help but feel like things were looking up. He smiled and began trekking back down the other side of the mountain.

As he walked along the craggy peaks, Bax considered his next move. He had to go to Zion. He remembered the last time he was there—Sephiroth X had tried to storm the gates, and failed. Bax swooped in at the last minute and saved him. Seph had been strong then…not as strong as he was now, but still strong. If he had failed, then Bax wondered how he might be able to make it in with this incredibly weakened state. Breaking in would be next to impossible. But…could they sneak in? Surely, the Senate had cameras set up all over the place. They would easily see any approach. So what then? How could he break into the city?

Bax smiled. Shape shifting. If he could contact Black Spider, then he could team up with him and make his way to Zion. Black Spider had showcased the ability to mask the appearance of another person. Bax wasn’t sure how he did it, but it was a very useful skill. Once Bax got to the bottom of the mountain, he would contact his shape shifting friend and make his way to Zion.

Bax heard something slicing the air, and he stepped to the side. A throwing star whizzed past his ear and lodged into the rock on the other side. Bax swung around and drew his swords out as he faced the direction the weapon had come from.
“Well look what we have here,” whispered a voice in the wind.
Bax turned his head to either side, and then heard the same slicing of the wind. This time it was a sword. Bax brought up the Diroxauralis in defense and looked before him in surprise as a masked man clanged up before him with two short swords (wakizashi).
“Just my luck,” the man said. “I come here looking for Eve, and find another target.”

Bax pushed his strength forward and blew the would-be assassin back. Even with the bangle, his muscles were still built up from many years of training and extensive battle.
“Who are you?”
The man swung his blades around and put them back crosswise. “Priest Damien of the Order. At your service.”
“And you know me?” Bax asked.
“Everyone in the Order knows you,” Damien said. “And it’s not just that we’ve been hunting you for the last couple months.”
Bax shifted uncomfortably. “What?”
“Your brother. He visited Earth years ago before I was involved with the Order. We all aren’t supposed to know, but it’s one of the High Council’s many secrets that have leaked out. You’re not the first Phoeniyan that this planet has known.”
Bax froze. Hodia had told him that Drax had been a Child of the Shadows. That had been enough of a pill to swallow. But he had also had contact with the Holy Order of the Magi. What had happened? And why had Drax sunk so low…

Bax glared at this new priest. “What do I care?” he asked, masking his inner monologue.
“Ha. You’re colder than the reports say. No matter. I’ll bring you in and get the recognition I deserve.”
Bax raised his swords higher and watched as they began to glow.
“Let me ask you a question before we do this,” Damien said. “Have you seen Eve?”
Bax froze for a moment, and then lied as quickly as he could muster while trying to hide the lapse of fear in his eyes. “No.”
Damien smiled. “Interesting. Well, whatever. We’ll find her eventually. Would you mind putting those swords away? I’d rather fight you hand to hand if that’s okay.”

Bax looked at Damien in wonder and slowly sheathed his swords. He was fairly confident in his hand to hand combat abilities. The martial arts were an extensive part of his training.
“Fine,” he said. “Ready when you are.”
Damien cracked his knuckles, got low, and leapt at Bax with a fast roundhouse to the head. Bax bent his knees and caught his attacker’s leg. He continued the man’s momentum by leaning his head over and dragged him through the air and off his feet. Damien extended his other leg viciously and jabbed it towards Bax’s chest. Bax loosed one arm and caught the other attack, and then leaned forward and down to pile-drive him into the rocky path. Damien shot his hands down to the ground and turned the situation around. Bax felt his feet leave the ground, and his mind went racing as he planned his next move. He let go of his assailant and soared overhead upside down.

Unfortunately, Bax forgot that he was on a narrow path, and he pitched off the side of a cliff. Down he fell, crashing through bare tree branches and feeling the sharp edges ripping through his clothes and nicking his skin. Then Bax crashed into and through a much more solid object. He came to a sudden stop when he hit ground.

Though his vision was temporarily blurred, Bax could easily tell he was inside a small house. It was a cabin, nestled here in the mountains. There was a hole in the roof where Bax had hurtled in. The room was fairly bare. Just a closet in the corner with the door slightly open. It had been at least a couple years since anyone had been here.

Bax scrambled to his feet in a daze and took a few steps to the side. He held a hand to his head for a moment and waited for his vision to clear. His assailant would be coming through the hole in the roof at any moment, and he wanted to be ready to jump him. Bax’s eyes flashed red and he felt his muscles tense.
“Let me at this one.”[/color]
Bax shuddered. “Shut up already.
Damien landed on the floor with a flourish and Bax knew he missed his chance at a surprise attack by dealing with his darkness.

Damien swung his hands around and launched at Bax furiously. Bax raised his hands in defense and wearily fended off the first few blows. He could feel control beginning to slip away as his vision blurred.
Cut it out, he thought. You’re going to get me…us…killed.
“Not if you let go. Just this once. I’m getting bored in here.”[/color]
Bax felt his reaction time slow down and watched as Damien’s fist squeezed past Bax’s defenses and connect with his face. Bax’s cheek stung and his eyes shut as the blow rang true. His arms flailed as he wheeled backwards, and he felt control slipping away…

* * *

Bax opened his eyes again and saw the look of astonishment in Damien’s face. He smiled as he regained his balance and caught Damien’s next blow. With a sudden burst of adrenaline, he clamped down on Damien’s fist and sent a sharp spike of pain up his arm. Bax knew that by now he had fully gained control and transformed into the Shadow. Black streaks of fire rippled through his hair and his eyes were darkened as well. Bax quickly blew off Damien’s next blow and swept his leg out to knock him off his feet. He then danced a step backwards and spun around, delivering a swift kick to Damien’s chest. The Magi spiraled out towards the far wall and crashed out through a window. Bax grinned devilishly and cracked his neck as he ran towards the window and leapt through it.

Damien had just barely recovered when Bax landed and slugged him with a vicious right hook. Damien whirled around and blocked Bax’s left blow with a raised wrist.
“I read reports about this,” Damien said. “Kerlin mentioned it from his assignment to Nibelheim. We’re still not sure what it is. Care to elaborate?”
Bax snickered. “No, I don’t. You’ll be dead soon anyway.”
Bax surged forward and slammed his head into Damien’s. The unsuspecting Magi was shattered off guard by the headbutt and crumpled to his knees. Bax took no time in whirling about and savagely roundhousing Damien. The Magi thudded to the ground and a pool of blood began to seep out from his head.

Bax stopped moving for a brief instant and observed his handiwork. The Magi wasn’t moving. He could have let him live, but he got a little carried away. He was a little disappointing. But that didn’t matter.
“That was refreshing,” Bax said, stretching his arms above his head. “Thanks for that.”

* * *

Bax’s vision flashed before him and he shook his head, gazing around in momentary confusion. He quickly remembered where he was and what was going on. His Darkness had taken control of him again…he wasn’t sure how he lost control. Was it…that blow to the head?

Bax looked down and saw the Magi, Damien, lying on the ground in a pool of blood. He sighed and whispered a brief prayer over the body of his slain foe.
“I could have managed it,” he spoke aloud to himself.
“Oh I know. He was easy.”[/color]
“And I wouldn’t have killed him,” he continued.
“But this was fun.”[/color]
Bax shook his head. “I don’t need you.”
“This isn’t about need. We’re a part of each other.”[/color]
Bax wished he weren’t. But he knew there was no way around it…
“Whatever…”

Unlike the Nibelheimians, Bax was unaccustomed to burying the dead. The Phoeniyans cremated their own, often in a ceremonial rite. So Bax knelt down and took the lighter out of his pocket. Within a few clicks, he managed to get a nice even flame going, and he lifted it off the contraption and molded it with his hand. Soon he had a nice shimmering flame surrounding his hand (the one opposite the antimateria bangle). He knelt down and touched his hand to the Magi. The small flame left Bax’s hand and transferred to the dead man, catching instantly and spreading slowly. Bax then withdrew the Valermos and pointed the tip at the flame. He whispered another short prayer and the runes on the blades glowed. Tendrils of fire crept off the blade and licked at the slowly growing flame. Within moments, the body was completely lit up and Bax could hear the crackling as it turned to ash.
“Join the dust from whence you came,” he invoked in his native tongue. The flame flickered and grew a little stronger as it consumed the body.

Bax left the smoldering embers behind and scaled the cliffs back to the main path. It didn’t take long for him to reach the desert sands again. When he did, he solemnly looked out across the dunes and concentrated. The moon was beginning to climb in the sky, but now was as good a time as any to contact him.

“Black Spider,” he projected, “I’m near Nibelheim. Can you meet me? I have an idea.”
No words returned to Bax. But he did sense a strong feeling of satisfaction. He smiled—the shape shifter always liked plans…no doubt he was already on his way. Bax leaned against the rock face and closed his eyes as he waited.

[The Waffle King]

Instead of slamming into something solid, he was jolted awake. His arms burned and his back was cold as he tried to take in exactly what happened. He was in a square concrete room, there were no windows, just a solid iron door with a small, barred window on the wall to his right. Something about it resonated in his mind. He tried to relieve the pain in his shoulders, but found he was shackled to a wall by his wrists, hanging down from the middle of the wall. He wanted to pull himself up, but his feet only met with empty space. he looked down, there was no recognizable floor, just a dark pit where it should have been. He was stripped of his gear; no swords, armor, or even shoes. As he tried to pull himself up with the wall, his bare feet snagged on sharp glass edges. His only choice was to hang there.

"Heh... well... this is interesting," he forced out with a strained chuckle. "Not exactly looking like Midgar. Just how hard did I hit my head?" He then grew a bit more edgy, his eyes floating around the visible surfaces as he mumbled, "...And why's this feel so damn normal?"
All was quiet as he looked around, and down into the hole beneath him. Something shuffled above him. As he looked up, two feet planted themselves beside his head on the wall. An emaciated figure stood horizontally above him, the single light on the ceiling only making the silhouette visible
What is that, how's it doing that, and OH JEEZ!
It breathed heavily as it raised a large blade above its head.
Zack's eyes widened. "Holy crap! Wait, wait, whoah! Don-don-don't!" He squeezed his eyes shut and tightened up, expecting at least pain and at worst death.
He could hear the blade cut through the air as it swung down, and the pressure on his face and chest.

He felt sick as he bounced face first onto a carpeted floor. He was sprawled out on the ground.
Zack blinked unseeing several times, then gasped and pushed himself partway into a semi-sitting position, hands still planted on the floor, trying to get his bearings. It was difficult to see straight with his pulse racing hard enough to make his head spin.
His first senses were of himself; he had his equipment back...most of it. He felt his shoulder armor was still there, and his clothing and boots too. But upon reaching back for a weapon, he only found his empty sheaths.
He looked around with blurry eyes. From the long desk in front of him and the sets of doors behind him, he assumed it was some sort of lobby or waiting area. Chairs and random magazines spread out on tables sat around him. The large oak reception desk had double doors on either side of it, leading into the rest of the building. And above it all, a contemporary looking sign. "Gentech"

The teen blinked, then rose slowly to his feet. "Geen... Tetch?" he murmured, no wiser to its meaning than he was to its pronunciation. He looked around once again, then seeing nowhere else to go, stepped up to the double doors and reached out to push them open. The chain-less shackle cuffs on his wrists clanked against the hard surface, and he paused in his effort, looking at them.
...That wasn't a dream? But... how do I keep getting in these weird places then? If this is real... what else might happen?
He swallowed, difficult with how tight his throat and dry his mouth had gotten. But he narrowed his eyes once more, switching to a more defensive facet as he again put effort into opening the doors.

The door creaked open to reveal a hallway jutting off to his right and a set of glass double doors in front of him. He heard muffled crying and small footsteps fading off behind them, something stuck between the two doors. The hall to the right was carpeted and lined with wooden doors, name plaques beside each. Behind the glass doors were concrete and tiles, much more sterile looking.
Zack looked at each direction. The way to his right seemed less oppressive, more natural. But he knew he'd heard someone in distress ahead, so he forced himself toward the glass doors, pushing to see if he could open them.
Indeed, they swung open easily, not even a squeak. That rendered useless as a metal object clattered to the floor at his feet. He looked down to see what it was.
Shining up at him was a rather large combat knife, still in pristine condition. The wooden handle had the emblem of Zion's army printed on it, a deep slash crossing it out. Near the hilt on the blade, scratched in with something sharp, the letters I.B.
Zack knelt and picked up the knife, looking at its features with intrigue, and some sense of familiarity. Then he looked around. "Um, hello? Are you ok? I heard you in here and... I'm worried for you." It was the truth; anyone in distress warranted his concern. He waited for a reply as he looked for signs of where the being might have gone to.

Down at the end of the tiled hallway, just as it turned to the left 5 doors over, a shaft of light shrunk and disappeared, leaving the hall relatively dark except for one functioning overhead light. Carts and odd bits of medical equipment littered the hallway. An open binder sat on a cart of books under the single light.
The teen felt his heart jump at the sight of the medical odds and ends. He found himself stepping further around them than he really needed to, as he headed to the pool of light. He paused to look at the binder, his curiosity still high as he tried to work out what was around him even in his hurry.
It was a big chart, a lot of names with numbers and abbreviations after them. The last column at least had words in it. "Failed....Failed...Partial Success...Failed..." The whole binder was full of names, all of them with the last name Strife.
"Whoah... something didn't work out for Strifes here..." That didn't make him feel any better about the area, so he hurried ahead to find the door that had closed, so he could open it again.

The hall way darkened as he headed further in, but not too dark to see. As he rounded the corner, he found a set of smooth metal doors with a button pad next to it, an elevator. The only lit button showed an arrow pointing down.
The teen froze for a moment, staring at it. "Yeah..." he muttered nervously, "Button... Elevator. I've never been in one... And the way things are goin'... what if it breaks an' falls?" He started to force himself to reach forward, then stopped, his hand shaking. He then clenched it into a fist for a few seconds, glaring still at the button.
He was being led. He knew. Everything was like a trail of breadcrumbs and here he was just blindly following like an obedient puppy. What if he just ignored the signals, tried to go somewhere else? Then again, would he want to be lost in such a limbo? Was it better to keep being drug through random horrors and curiosities just for the sake of progressing?

"I keep living through... so..."
He swallowed, his mind sifting through each of his modes, trying to find the best one to take the uncertainties of his situation. Finally, he settled on the one that made him stand tall and confident, and put on a shaky smirk. "Eh, oh well, let's just see what happens!"
And he pushed the button.

A muffled machine hummed to life as the motor pulled the elevator car back up. It continued on for quite some time. He was on the first floor, right? How much further could it have gone down? The elevator reached the lobby level with a shrill ding indicating its return, the door slowly slid open, screeching as its ungreased tracks tried to halt it. The inside was carpeted and had hand rails along the sides, another button panel stuck to the wall. All of the buttons looked dead and unlit, but below the panel was a square door hanging open. It had a key hole on it, but was never shut again. A single button inside glowed dimly.
For a bit, Zack considered pushing one of the less attractive buttons. But, he certainly would not do well to go up into an unfamiliar building, lest he become trapped. Though, he probably wouldn't do well to keep following the white rabbit either. But just as Alice had found it prudent enough to go down the hole, so did Zack, and he pressed his finger to the glowing button.
The doors slid shut in the same fashion as they had opened, and the car began a slow decent downward. There were no indicators as to how far he was traveling, or how fast, but he could tell it was fairly deep as the air got damper and mustier.

The elevator came to a sudden stop, no bell or light to tell him he arrived. The door creaked open to a very different place. Everything was rough concrete and covered in grime. Where doors should have been in a facility like this were iron bars like a prison cell. The only light bleeding through the whole hallway ahead of him was from an open cell all the way at the end, he could see a small figure crouched down near the floor, whimpering echoing off the walls.
Zack backed up against the elevator wall behind him, heart racing at the surroundings. Without knowing why, he found the hallways even worse than the cell earlier. It was bad to be outside the cell. Bad to be in it, but more bad to be outside. But then why did he always try to go outside?
The thoughts made no sense to him, and he forced them back, getting himself to focus on the figure in the distance. He had to move forward, go out there, see who it was and help them. He pushed off of the wall and moved quickly toward the cell, arms folded in near him rather than pumping with his motions, in a constant state of cringe as if expecting the very air around him to bite.
He hurried down the bleak hallway, only giving passing glances through the bars beside him. Still figures chained to walls or sprawled out on the cold floor, tables with heaps of something lying on top, oozing around the edges. For how clean the surfaces was, the inner workings were horrendous.

He slowed when he neared the door, and knelt down to look less threatening, and to get a closer look. "Hey... What's wrong? Don't cry, I won't hurt you..."
The small child sniffled and turned to face Zack. His blue eyes met with a paler pair of the same color. He shakily turned and sat facing Zack. The child's hair was a puffy golden blond, clumping together in soft points. He looked tired, like he hadn't slept in days. He wore a baggy t-shirt and shorts. His arms had what looked like a few light scars, already healed up. But over that he had yellowed bruises and scrapes, needle marks around his upper arms and wrists. He pouted at Zack as he sat in front of a deep hole in the floor, hands fidgeting around and shaky.

The sight tugged at Zack's heartstrings, double-hard considering it felt almost as if he were looking into a mirror again for a moment. He managed a small smile, trying to ease the child's fear a bit. "Hey," he intoned soothingly, "You're a mini-me, huh?" Then he more openly displayed his sympathy and concern. "You poor thing... This is no place for you. Maybe we can find a way out together?" He started his arm into a position to reach out, but did not yet even start the motion itself, figuring the child would be afraid of such a gesture at first.

The child shook his head. "No, not you!" He pointed to the back wall; a wooden frame was mounted there behind the hole, broken shards of mirror littering the floor. "That's you..." He looked down around him, eventually finding a sizable piece of mirror. He held it up with both hands in front of him, peeking over the top, showing Zack his own shattered reflection. "...this is me." He looked down again, picking up another chunk of glass. "And this is him!" He made a big grin, a change from his previous saddened state.

It was sadly, creepily absurd. And yet, Zack felt like he somewhat understood. But he felt a mental push not to understand. He had a question. He knew the answer, but not the word. So he asked, "Who?"
The child set down the glass, and started looking around again. "My dolly, I lost 'em down here. I don't like not having him, he keeps me safe." He shuffled around, scanning the small cell everywhere. Finally he looked down into the hole, and he lit up with excitement. "There you are! I gotta tell you, I found him!" there was a pause of silence. "Yeah, him! Come up and meet 'em!"

A low gurgle echoed out of the hole as scratching got closer and closer. A clawed hand poked out from the hole, then a second, both large enough to pick up a whole person. Twitching arms pulled out an equally patched together torso, narrow like a stick. The creature that arose was easily up to the ceiling even as it was hunched over. It's body resembling bones wrapped in sticky bandages and cloth. It wore poor fabric facsimiles of Zack's armor, right down to cardboard swords on its back. It's face was a twitching burlap sack, fake spiky hair sticking out on top and blue X-shaped eyes stitched in. A slit where the mouth should be quivered a little.

One of the hands wrapped itself around the child and lifted him up, smile still pasted on his face. The puppet immediately cranked its head in direction the little one was looking. He pointed. "There he is, dolly! See how broken he is? We gotta fix 'em up! Go get 'em!" The puppet turned toward Zack, its face contorting into some semblance of rage as it coddled the child. The mouth split open further than a mouth should, revealing long needle-like teeth as it screamed out at him. The child just giggled as he stared Zack down.

Zack was frozen in utter shock at the giant deformed doll's looming presence. It had been maybe 1% of what he had expected. The rest was out of his league of comprehension. He was terrified. And not just because of this giant thing, or the laughter of the kid in this situation, though those were certainly nearly enough to drain his bladder. The words, the words had almost as much impact. Something about them struck him even when the creature had not yet done so.
"No! I don't need fixed! I DON'T NEED FIXED!!!" He scrabbled and scrambled over himself and the floor, trying to get turned around, to run down the hall, maybe get back to the elevator.

The child looked up at the beast, then back at the fleeing Zack, then back up at it scowling. He slapped at the hand holding him and pointed again. "GO!!!" The puppet jolted and tore down the hall. It caught up with him halfway there and reached out its free arm. It wrapped its fingers around his legs and yanked back. Zack was pulled backward on his stomach back down the hallway. The puppet turned and released him, sending him skidding back toward the lit cell, putting itself between him and the elevator. It roared, but was cut short with a choke of pain. The child pushed at the bony fingers around him, wincing. "..too tight.." The beast immediately loosened its grip and pulled him in close to cradle him for a second.
They both looked back out at Zack and started closing the distance between them.

Zack rose to his hands and knees with a cough and a snarl. He looked up desperately at his impending doom. It would definitely be doom, right? Being crushed or torn apart or even "fixed" all seemed like a bad fate to him. He glanced at the hole in the floor, trying to figure if he'd best take his chances going down there. But that thing came from down there...

Then Zack remembered the knife he had picked up. He quickly pulled it out of his pocket and got to his feet as the creature bore down upon him.
The creature reached forward with its huge claw and made a grab at Zack, but it only met with the cold blade in his hand. The knife sliced through the twiggy fingers of the puppet like they weren't even there, and their claws flopped around on its hand uselessly. It roared out in pain, only barely overpowering the child's own as he held the same bleeding hand as his carrier.
He looked back out at Zack, rage and pain filling his eyes. All he could do was yell as the puppet clumsily tried to snap at him with its jaws, trying to use its injured hand for support.

Zack stepped back against the wall, breathing fast, shock and sorrow competing with his fear. "I'm sorry! I didn't wanna hurt you! Just leave me alone! Leave me alone and I won't fight back!" He kept the knife forward to guard against the nearby jaws as they clashed in front of him.
They didn't answer back, they just kept on pressing him backwards. The puppet forced its arm through the door of the lit cell and tried to fit the rest of itself through, snapping at Zack, but barely falling short as it tried to negotiate the opening at and odd angle.

It's stump slid around on the broken glass as it tried to gain some footing, but it couldn't find it. It snapped closer and Zack pressed himself against the wall even tighter. Finally, its arm slid too far and slipped into the hole, plunging downward up to its shoulder, only stopping when the side of its head collided with the concrete edge of the hole.
There was a crunch, a twitch, and everything went quiet. It went limp and collapsed to the floor, sinking a little further into the pit. The child lay still in the palm of its hand on the floor outside the cell. The world got painfully still. Zack froze up at the scene he had just witnessed, and more at what happened after. The bodies of his two assailants darkened and began flaking away, burning to a powdery ash as if being consumed by an invisible flame. Everything burned, until there were only piles of soot.

The teen slowly slid down the wall behind him into a sitting position, knees slightly curled up, staring at the soot piles, dwelling just as long on both of them. If he felt any relief, it was overrun by the remorse and emptiness he felt. His breath grew uneven as his core began the reflexes of sobs, and his eyes stung. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to resist, but several tears still escaped, and a couple strained sounds.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."
Why does it feel like part of it is to myself? I don't deserve any apology...
The space around him replied. The bits and shards of glass on the floor began to rattle and move. Sliding toward the frame on the back wall. They quickly found their respective spots and pieced themselves back together, the cracks between them smoothing over into a shiny surface. The fuller the mirror became, the fuzzier Zack's senses became. He began to wobble back and fourth, head dipping down into his chest. As the final fragment fit itself back into place, he tipped over and fell into the pit below.

[ArchangelZero]

It was the dogs that woke him. It was the smell that made him open his eyes.

Sleeping on his feet, wrapped in tattered wings, Azriel had regained a measure of strength. There was something here, some dark river in the ether of this place that sent an electric current up his spine and into his fingertips. His ears prickled, and the hair on the back of his neck stood alert.

Down the hall, three pairs of eyes turned the corner and started toward him. The almost-animals shambled over broken glass and scattered gravel, tongues dragging between their paws. They yiffed, hissed, the guttural croaks of things not quiet dead.

They sense me.

The light filtered down, a strobe through bare, rusted ductwork. A fan spun high overhead, rusted blades chopping at the yellow orange glow. Strange, organic shadows played over the walls beyond his sheltering corner. They moved and weaved with a pulse all their own, dancing in the devil's darkness.

One of the dogs had swallowed something luminous. A dim red glow lit its progress, heaving in time to its shuffling strides. The light revealed the monster's footprints, wet and halting in the haze.

The closest of the three retracted its tongue. It slithered up and into the cavernous maw with a wet, sickening snap. The thing leveled its eyes on Azriel and wrenched its massive head from side to side.

The dog immediately behind raised its eyes and coughed, wretched like an old man in the throes of pain. Something flew from its gaping throat, striking the filthy floor and bouncing toward Azriel. A worm, he thought, before the object came to rest at his feet.

No. A finger.

The child's ring must have been too much for the beast to swallow. The monster heaved, baring its teeth as the trio made their way toward Azriel's corner.

Twenty feet. Now ten. The dogs halted, drew back on their haunches, ready to lunge. The remaining two snapped in their tongues, dropping their jaws to reveal rows of black, jagged teeth.

Azriel did not smile. He did not lift a finger. He pulled his wings back, and let the silent current move behind his eyes.

A hard, basso thrum rose from the floor. Stones chattered against the concrete.

The first beast sprang, propelling itself toward him in a killing leap.

Through its gaping mouth, Azriel saw the fire start somewhere in its gullet.

The monster blossomed, an explosion of blackened gore and greasy smoke. Its entrails splattered the ceiling and flew back toward the other two. They blinked, growled, sprinted toward the intruder.

They flared like tallow candles, flickered and were gone. The spatter rained down from the ceiling, and Azriel turned down the hall. Into the darkness - deeper, descending from the light, an angel scaling the ladder of hell.

This place has a power. We Fallen have much to do.

[The Waffle King]

OoC: Sowwee SP, I got impatient I'll be sure to wait a bit more next time, I realize I've been immediately burying your posts.

IC:

Zack felt the air rushing past him slow and stagnate, still unable to make sense of up or down. In the darkness he felt cold concrete press up against his back and a strain on his arms. He slowly opened his heavy eyelids. He was back in the cell, but this time the pit below him was smaller. The mirrored floor's corners were beginning to fill in, but his feet still dangled in the dark.
He looked around, trying to focus, both looking and feeling the worse for wear. He took a shuddering sigh. "Ok... this again... It's a pattern... Survived this before, can survive it again... Feels scary though... Familiar is scary..." He closed his eyes for a bit, trying to calm himself, but finding himself largely unsuccessful.

He then remembered something, or more like felt something. Like a memory which whispered rather than spoke. You're a full Strife now, you know. Not like before. Before? Not a lot of sense, but then again, the world always was confusing anyway. He looked up at his shackles, and tried to give the right one as hard a pull as he could, seeing if his Strife-level strength could pull it apart. He scraped around the metal restraint against the wall, pulling on the chain and twisting the cuff, probing for a weak link. He tugged and scraped until his wrists burned, but all he managed to do was put some gouges into the wall and listen to the scratching sound echoing around the room.

But then he heard something. Subtle at first, then growing in strength, metal scratches and creaks wafting down from the ceiling. Zack looked up as a huge metal amalgamation was lowered down, its scraps and pieces writhing around in no way metal should. The shrieking mass split in the middle and pulled apart, revealing its core. A giant human head with clammy pale skin, blindfolded eyes, and absolutely no expression. It hovered in front of Zack, motionless and speechless. Zack, breathing fast and with his heart pounding, stammered out, "AAH! Oh! Big! Um, uh, ah, hello?"

The face replied with action; countless spidery rusted appendages crept out from behind it, tipped with every painful object imaginable. Hooks, blades, needles, saws, drills; all forms of torture were accounted for. They reached forward toward the boy, darting in close but just barely stopping short. Steel and sparks flashed past his face, he flinched, squeezing his eyes shut. As Zack forced them open, he saw the face still hanging in front of him, this time with its features twisted up into a demented grin. A spinning drill positioned itself just a few inches away from the blond's forehead. "Shit! SHIT! NO! NOOOOOO!!!!" he wailed, trying to crane his neck away with no success, panicking, his voice rising higher in pitch until he was screaming.

The face breathed a massive, humid sigh. "Ahhh, just like old times again..." Zack felt the drill slam into the side of his skull, eyes closed in momentary pain. He felt himself stumble backwards, falling flat on his back. He shot up in a panic, looking around frantically. He stood in the middle of a dirty sidewalk, in a city very much resembling the Super City... but run-down. The streets were filled with empty cars, lined up like they had been abandoned on the fly. There was no sound or even wind in the dark sky above him. He quickly checked his head, finding it only contained the holes he was born with. But in his hand, he still gripped the knife from before.

He knew that he should have felt relieved, to some degree, to be out of the previous situation, even if now it seemed Valtiel's sphere of influence may have grown to the next continent. A relief that could only exist after where he had been. But even that did not comfort him at first. His eyes were distant in-between focused blinks, his arms crossed over his chest, tipped in fists, his entire body and breath trembling. That had been terrifying, it had been so vivid, and it felt like it was drawing something out from deep inside of him still. Like an endless supply in the back of his mind, drawing out a continuation of that very same terror despite the event being over. He tried, tried, to focus on now, but was finding it very, very difficult. "It's over... it's over," he told himself, but it wasn't. But it was, right? He walked a few small, shaky steps, looking around with his wide eyes, trying to force them to focus on the objects around him. Walked up to a car and slowly reached out with his right hand to touch it, to give himself something tangible to anchor to.

The instant that Zack's hand came in contact with the car, its theft alarm started blasting out at him. Piercing and loud, it jolted him back a few steps. He quickly looked around nervously, seeing if there was anyone else to hear it. Moments later, he felt the ground start to vibrate, and he could barely make out the sound of hundreds of footsteps over the alarm. Suddenly, all at once, a multitude of people started streaming out from every doorway, alley, and street. They didn't run, but rather walked like they had somewhere important to be. They crowded around and past the boy, like a living river flowing around a rock. He couldn't tell what was going on. He looked onward as they pushed by, picking out one similarity between them all: they lacked any facial features.

An entire city of faceless, hairless things scurrying about, unlife imitating life.

Were these perhaps just more of Valtiel's invading creatures? Or... was he still in the constantly-shifting nightmare? Zack now had no idea. It felt as if he should follow them, see where they were going; if he didn't follow the natural progressions, he might be stuck here forever. But, playing into the hands of he who controlled these things was only leading to more horrible things. He tried to fight his way past the beings, trying to go in a direction perpendicular to their travels, trying to get the hell OUT of this cursed city while it was still recognizable as that. They wouldn't let him past them, flowing so closely together in all directions, arms occasionally pushing him back into his place. He swore he could hear voices coming from the teeming crowd. Curses and insults being spat at him, cultural slurs about the Strife lineage.
“...walking cactus...”
“It's a stray, someone call the dog pound.”
“Whoring yourself out?”
The frequency of pushes increased, slowly changing into full out shoves, and soon slaps and punches.
“Quit looking cheeky!”
“Get outta here!”
“Eyes DOWN!”
“We outnumber you, monster!”

He began to curl up, protecting his head as various blows buffeted all over him. But amidst it all, he felt a single hand land gently on his shoulder and brush off. He opened his eyes just in time to see a being kneeling down to Zack's height about a yard ahead of him, being consumed by the crowd. In the few seconds he was still visible, the boy caught only fragments. Stringy dark hair, glasses, and a crossed out Zion military insignia. There was no thinking, only reacting. Zack reached toward the man's already-obscured form and his mouth cried out, "Barrn!" Then he blinked, puzzled at knowing the person's name. But he had no more time to think about it, as he was again pushed along with the crowd, and forced to keep his head down in an attempt to avoid further abuse from those around him.

The attacks worsened, the strikes became more aggressive, the voices louder.
“Did I give you permission to look up?!”
“On your fucking knees, Strife!”
“Fuckin' animal!”
He watched a glass bottle shatter on the ground near him. If he didn't do something soon, he might not make it out in one piece.
He could not block anywhere near enough of the blows. He had always been expected to take this sort of treatment, and it would eventually go away. It was instinct. Yet somehow it was feeling more and more like memory. And was certainly happening. He was not supposed to fight back; his strength was unfair, and using it would only justify their assertion that he was a monster, a freak.

And yet... Barrn... Seeing him opened up blurred images and voices. Assertions that it was wrong of these people to do such things. That they should be punished...
These aren't real people, right? Zack thought, Just Valtiel's dolls, right? But...

“Your kind should just be wiped out!”
“If it weren't for the law...”
“Screw the damn law, it's a fucking STRIFE!”
The stronger side of himself had had enough. It had been hanging back, trying to recover from all the other ordeals, but now it came to the front of the boy's awareness, and he screamed, "LEAVE ME ALONE!!!" and swung the knife in a 360-degree arc at upper-leg level of the beings surrounding him, slashing their thighs or hands or arms shallowly.

Five of the creatures around him dropped to the ground. Muffled, unearthly cries emanated from within them as they bled on the sidewalk. Everything stopped. The pushing, hitting, moving, it all came to a grinding halt. Every single being in the city had turned toward Zack, starting without eyes. He could feel them all, millions of them watching him in silence.

For a while, they just looked. But, the creature closest to him twitched. Its head muscles twisted up and its hands clenched into fists. Its face tore itself open at an odd angle into a wide mouth that spanned the entire front half of its head. The lips curled into a snarl, revealing mangled teeth and dripping spit. It took in a deep breath and screamed out at Zack in a pure primal rage. Like an infection, the other's faces began splitting, all in different orientations and shapes, but all bursting fourth in the most hateful, bloody cry conceivable. Rushing him, they piled on top of Zack, pressing him into the concrete, hands grabbing and pulling. He felt himself being pulled along at an amazing rate by hundreds of angry arms. Twisted faces whizzed by in a blur. He turned corners, changed direction, until finally he was thrown into something hard.

Zack reoriented himself and got a hold of his surroundings. He was surrounded by steel bars, in fact, they were akin to the walls of a prison cell. Broken glass was mixed in with the litter covering the ground, and an empty wooden frame hung from the ceiling by a rope. Screaming beings crowded around his cell at the end of a long alleyway. The door was locked shut, no way in or out. He turned his head around, scanning for a way out. That's when he noticed his cell-mate.
A curled up figure sat limp in the back corner, its entire body wrapped in bandages and chains, constrained like an ancient mummy. His head hung low, face obscured by faded blond hair, spikes drooping and ragged. A quiet whimpering crept out of his trembling body.

After the initial disorientation and still semi-panicked relief, the teen took in the figure, and a lump rose in Zack's throat. Half of him felt like he belonged in place of that person, and half as if he belonged where he was now, near him and trying to help. This conflicting perception made him feel dizzy for a moment. He took the latter option, as it made more sense. He walked closer, then knelt. "...Hey... it'll be ok..." He managed some degree of conviction in those words, as if he could make it so by sheer force of will. That was normal for him. Except it felt more disconnected than it used to. Despite that troubling realization, he slowly reached toward the eerily similar-looking person's face.

Zack physically had to lift it's chin. A gaunt, emaciated face of himself revealed before him. The doppelganger's eyes hung low, avoiding eye contact with Zack. His face was worn and stressed, eyes set deep and dark. He choked and whimpered quietly, his tears having run out long ago. "....everyone...everyone hates me.................I didn't do anything..."

Zack's mouth opened slightly, brow furrowed in pity, and yet he was frozen in place for several moments. Those words resonated so strongly with himself. It was as if he were looking into a mirror he had been trying so desperately to avoid, a self he had been trying not to see. Something was wrong in him. He had figured that, but now he knew. He was supposed to be on the other side of himself... but he wasn't, and he couldn't be. There was no way he could allow himself to end up like that. And yet, it felt so poignantly familiar to him... With or without that, it was a pitiful sight. And he had to continue on the side he was now on of it.
"I know... it's not fair... It's not fair at all... But I don't hate you, Claude..."
...What? Claude? What did I say?[/color]
...Shut up.[/color]
"I'll help you any way I can."

The recluse curled up into a tighter ball, hiding his face in his knees. ".....stop......the screaming....i just want them...to stop...........just stop........please............" Zack leaned in, trying to comfort the poor soul, but before he could even give him a comforting pat, a rock flew through the bars of the cage and bounced off of the copy's temple. It flinched, then started trembling even more. "....no more.........i don't want this......no more........." The chains wrapped around him started to unravel. He looked up, face twisted in the same rage as the faceless ones. "I SAID LEAVE ME ALONE!" Barbed hooks flicked out at the ends of the chains as they shot through the cell bars like striking snakes. They tore through the crowd, leaving nothing outside alive. The screaming from the alley got quieter and quieter as every single one in sight was dispatched. Zack could only watch as it rose up on its chain limbs, reaching through and committing the unspeakable. When it couldn't reach anything else to slaughter, it turned its head toward Zack, face still the very picture of pent-up rage. "JUST GO AWAY!!" It threw itself at him, completely lost in anger.

Zack, shocked at the bloodbath and then the lunge, jumped back as far as the cell would let him, both arms and a leg raised in an attempt to block, yelling, "I'm not one of them!"
Most of the chains missed, others caught mid-swing on the bars of the confining cell, but one grazed Zack's shoulder.. "YOU'RE ALL THE SAME!" It yelled while trying to untangle itself after the blinded and unskilled attack. Cringing, Zack held his shoulder, for a moment stuck on what to do. He knew there was no escape. He would probably have to do what he's had to do over and over by now... harm or kill a being he absolutely would feel sick to. This was Valtiel's doing. This was yet another figment of his nightmares, a fake being. And yet, it was so personal to him. Each destruction only led him to more, and more and more... Surely he could change that pattern. Surely he could reach through to something and resolve this without being a slave to the cruel puppet-master.

So he quickly began grabbing several of the chains around him, zig-zagging to grab most of the others, as he closed the gap between himself and the central figure. In the last few feet, he leaped forward, swinging the chains against their active resistance. They wrapped around the boy-like figure, his arms, and several of the other chain "limbs", confining most of them close-in like a cocoon. He kept his momentum going and pushed the entire bundled being against the corner, the weight of his arms and chest holding the figure firmly against the wall. He then looked firmly into the being's eyes with determination and sympathy. "Shhhh. Calm down. I'm not like them. You can't be alone forever. I won't let you. Being alone is hell, Claude, it's HELL. And I won't let you go through it." He did not know what guided his words, but there was a disconnected conviction that made them sincere.

It struggled, yelling and spitting, trying to break free, but it couldn't. Harsh breaths through clenched teeth turned to sobs as he struggled less and less. Both him and the chains fell limp like before as fresh tears streamed down his face.

He looked up at Zack, then out at the bloodbath he had created. "...maybe.......maybe I am a monster........"

Zack shook his head, patting the figure on the shoulder. "No... You've just been hurt for too long... It can be too hard sometimes, to be in the shoes of the Foolish Traveler when you're losing everything..." His own eyes closed, swallowing the lump rising in his throat as so many feelings were coming back to him. "We can start over... We can repent for things we've done wrong by better actions, do more good to others than just punishing ourselves for our mistakes..."

The figure looked up at Zack again, weary and shaken. "......y..yeah, I think you're right....I was just being exactly what they wanted me to be....but they're wrong..." Zack felt the mass inside the chains and bandages shifting, a gray dust began trickling out from between his fingers. The doppelganger put on a weak, but still resolute smile and he looked back at the much stronger original. "...thank you......" And with those words, he crumbled to dust, the monster within defeated. Zack looked down at the pile of dust, cloth and chain. An old looking key sat on top of it all, the word "penance" carved into the shaft.

Zack, having sunk to a kneel as the other being dissolved, looked down at the dusty remains, arms still extended, now only holding bits of the bandages and links. He remained thus for quite some time. He felt relieved, yet sad, his face reflecting both, along with growing weariness that kept him from shedding more tears. The being's end had been inevitable... but at least this time, peaceful. Something within himself felt settled. And yet, still more uncertain. Sighing and frowning, he gingerly picked up the key, making out the word slowly and connecting to its meaning. Was it something he'd been trying to do all along? Was it simply what kept him going? Was it something he was seeking? He was too overwhelmed and confused to know for the moment.

He stood and slowly walked to the door, using the key to unlock it. But before stepping out, he turned and looked at the hanging mirror, the cracks melting closed as the pieces fused together. He saw himself staring back at him, but it was fragmented. The mirror was whole, but his reflection was missing pieces. Would it ever be whole again? This is all his tired mind could process before crumpling to the ground and passing out.

[Shadow Phoenix]

As Bax and Black Spider approached Zion on foot the next night, he remembered their brief conversation when they met outside of Nibelheim the day before.

“So you wanna go to Zion and break in, huh?”
“That is the idea.”
“You wanna go in guns blazing?”
“No…we would not succeed that way.”
“I guess not. Sneak in?”
“No…I am too visible.”
“What then?”
“Could you…disguise us?”
“…that could work.”

And so they walked towards the massive looming structure that was Zion. Bax still wasn’t sure exactly what he looked like—he still felt like himself. But as he looked down, holding what he felt as the blade of the Valermos, he instead saw hands that were not his own cradling a submachine gun. His bare hands and sleeveless arms appeared to be covered with gloves and sleeves that he could not feel rubbing against his skin. As he looked down beyond the barrel of the gun, he saw a golden Zion emblem staring at him upside down. In fact, Bax could just imagine that he looked a little bit like Zack, who had always worn a stolen Zion uniform. But he still felt extremely conspicuous as he walked along because he didn’t feel any different.

“Explain this to me again,” he spoke to Black Spider as he looked up and saw the intimidating rows of guns sticking out of the fortress walls.
“We’re combining our abilities to bend light around you and make you appear like a Zion soldier.”
“And this is not like your shape shifting?”
“No. Mine is a lot more complicated. Example—my voice is different because I completely changed my anatomical structure to that of a human’s, including the vocal folds. Yours is not. Can you drop the accent?”
Bax’s eyes widened. Drop the accent? “Can you fix that for me?”
“No. Look, its taking enough of my concentration to focus your telepathy to bend the light in this way. It’s a hell of a lot harder to bend the air to affect sound.”
Bax bit his lip and took a deep breath. He lowered his voice and tried to speak very slowly. “Well…I can try…”
Black Spider shrugged. “Better. Not great, but better.”

A roving spotlight neared them, and Bax felt his muscles tense. “And what is the plan again?”
“We resemble soldiers who are missing in action from Operation Nibelheim. One of them is and has always been me. Yours actually died, which is convenient. Just let me do the talking.”
The spotlight passed over them and Bax gulped. It paused, and a voice barked out from a loudspeaker. “You two! Halt and raise your faces for identification!”
Black Spider closed his eyes and refocused his attentions on making sure that the ID camera didn’t see anything funny. After a moment, he was satisfied and raised his head as ordered. “Go ahead, Bax,” he whispered to Bax’s mind. Bax lifted his head and the two waited for an agonizing moment as thousands of powerful guns were trained on them.

“Sergeant Major Flynn and Private Gibbs. We have you both listed as MIA from Operation Nibelheim. It has been weeks since the operation. Where have you been? Why did you not contact us?”
Black Spider, or Sergeant Major Flynn, spoke up. “Your records are wrong. Several small teams were assigned to do reconnaissance work around Midgar. We are just returning from that duty. The rest of my team was killed. Only the higher ups knew about our mission, which they sent us on directly after Operation Nibelheim without returning to base. We would have radioed in, but our communication devices were destroyed. We were unable to get in contact with any of the other deployed teams, so we came back to base as quickly as we could, according to procedure.”
Another moment of silence. Bax looked over at Black Spider through his periphery and hoped that the story was good. If Black Spider was as good of a mercenary and spy as he said he was, then he had probably studied Senate procedures for a long time, and had hacked into the mainframe to keep things consistent.

“You check out, Sergeant Major. Welcome back. Please report to Lieutenant Collins ASAP.”
Black Spider stifled a smile and saluted. Bax quickly followed suit, albeit a little more awkwardly. Before them, an enormous steel door slowly began to rise and the two walked through the desert sand towards it.
“We are walking through the front door of hell,” Bax said.
“It’s not that bad. I’ve been here a few times,” his companion responded.
Bax raised his brow. “You are insane.”
The shape shifter smiled. “Thanks.”