12 - Seek and Ye Shall Find

[Shadow Phoenix]

Eight Days after the Fall of Midgar

---

The purplish-red glow of the rising sun on the horizon simmered over the stretch of sandy dunes. Bax felt a little tired as he soared through the dawn-bleached sky on his stolen contraband, but the approaching morning felt comfortable. He yawned and opened his eyes wide, blinking rapidly to redistribute fluid over his dry, tired eyes. After flying through most of the witching hours of the morning, he was coming fairly close to the ocean on the southeast side of the Alpha Continent according to the map display. That might that the island of Franca wasn’t too much further off.

To stay awake, Bax had been thinking about his friends and his plans…

He wondered what Zack had been up to. Hopefully the blonde teen had kept mostly out of trouble. It would break Bax’s heart if he discovered that the young warrior had gone and got himself hurt somehow. He hoped that Jack had gotten out of Midgar and was doing well. Bax still didn’t know him well, but he felt a kinship with him over their mutual heavy losses. They hadn’t even talked about it much, actually. But people who have had the tragedy of watching their friends die before their very eyes—over and over again—they just knew.

He hadn’t even seen Prodigi or Lynx in quite a while, but he hoped they were doing well. Maybe Lynx had completed his quest by now. Bax hoped to meet up with him again. And Sephiroth X—well, Bax still worried about him, just like he had told Eve. He was intent on gaining more power, just like the rest of them. But Sephiroth X had a reckless streak to him that made Bax think that he might stop at nothing to gain his power. Bax had known a lot of people like that, and it never ended well.

And Black Spider…Bax had to keep hope that he would be okay in Zion.

Bax started looking around the ship and suddenly the wheels in his head began turning as realizations flooded over him. This was a pretty good ship. It wasn’t the fastest he had been in, but it could probably break out of the atmosphere and function in space fairly well with just a few modifications. Once he was out of the planetary gravity pull, it still wouldn’t be feasible to try to fly the ship back to Auralis. It would take years to reach his destination. But if he could get a decent signal out with the ship out in the depths of space, then…perhaps he could call for help.

The ship wasn’t fully equipped for either. Zion, even with their developments, did not have the technology to send a small ship into space or to self-strengthen communication signals to send them quickly across trillions of miles of open space. Bax could tap into a network of satellite installations with the right technology and send a message to his allies. He might be able to call in the cavalry.

Two problems existed with that. The first was that even if he was able to contact anyone, they might not be able to come. The Laws of Developmental Sanctity prohibited interference in an underdeveloped culture. It had a number of functions, but was mostly in place to prevent shock at unexpected extraterrestrial encounters (which was obviously no longer a big thing for Earth) and to protect such societies from war and enslavement by more developed antagonistic cultures. Earth was technically protected under these laws. So even if Bax got out a cry for help, the governing bodies might refuse even though he was a powerful diplomat. After all, Auralis could function without a king—the government was designed that way.

The second problem was that Bax had no clue how to make the modifications. He was fairly knowledgeable in a lot of fields, but his areas of expertise were legal, economic, and combat matters. He was not intimately familiar with the inner-workings of technology like communication or engines. He could fly a ship, use a variety of weapons, and rule a planet, but…that was why he had a bunch of advisors in the legislature.

He was sure that Midgar and Zion had no such technology. It was possible that the Super City had some way to make the modifications, but Bax had no clue where he would look or who he would ask. Besides, the last time he had been there he hadn’t exactly made the most…favorable impression. Bax knew of only one person on this planet who would probably have the technical know-how to accomplish both modifications. And he was stuck in Zion under the thumb of the sadistic psychotic soldier known as Jadus.

Bax sighed at that thought. Now he really wishes he had broken Black Spider out when he had the chance. Breaking in again without his stealth abilities would be rather difficult. But now Bax knew it had to be done.

So the plan was: get his power back, break Black Spider out of Zion, get him to soup up the ship, kill Valtiel, and then find a way home. Easier said than done…

The blue ocean stretched out before Bax and he felt a lump grow in his throat as his body remembered that this vast expanse was a veritable death trap for him. It was a very good thing that he was sealed in this ship. Bax suppressed the nervousness and rocketed on towards the island.

It didn’t take very long—maybe 30 minutes—before Bax saw the island. Sure enough, there was a large mountain in the middle of the island, resting amidst a plethora of trees. From here, Bax couldn’t see any signs of people. No ships or houses on the beach. But that was guarantee that he wouldn’t run into trouble.

Bax circled the island and fiddled with the controls, slowing down until he was hovering over a small section of the beach. He landed with a little less than grace and the ship only shuddered a little bit as it touched down in the sand. Bax tapped a button and the engine cut out completely. Another button released the hatch and Bax jumped out. The hatch slid closed behind him. Bax checked his person and made sure that he had his weapons, then looked around him to survey the situation with the map of the island in his mind.

So this was Franca. Before him loomed Mt. Beli, a dormant volcano with its top long ago blown. The raw fire materia source supposedly resided within. The documents had mentioned some cult called the Hand of Belenus. Bax wondered if he would run into them here. Bax took a deep breath and headed towards the trees. There was only one way to find out…

[Shadow Phoenix]

Thwack!

Bax sliced his Valermos through a clump of particularly thick brush, trying to push forward through the surprisingly dense forest. He grit his teeth and lifted his other hand to wipe a layer of sweat from his brow. He still wasn’t used to feeling the elements this way—being swelteringly hot was a foreign thing to him. Time was that this kind of exertion would be nothing, but now…

If what Eve had said was true, then this might be the end-game. Bax was holding hope that she was right in her theories. All he had to do was climb this mountain, find the raw fire materia, and hope for the best.

It had been a very long week.

Bax pushed aside some green vegetation and stepped around gnarled vines and knobby roots that stretched out of the ground and tried to ensnare him. He held his sword before him and tried to keep his balance, an act which was proving more difficult with each step. Still, he remained focused and forged through the forest. It would be worth it in the end. Hopefully…

After a few minutes of pushing through the thick stuff, Bax emerged into an area of relative clear. He stopped for a moment and looked around him. The trees here were tall and blocked out the most intense rays of the sun, just letting in trickles of light to illuminate the ground. There actually appeared to be a sort of rough-hewn, somewhat rocky path here. The shrubbery and other vegetation seemed mostly pushed off to the side, where it grew very well. It looked like there had indeed been people here—that Hand of Belenus cult or whatever. But the path didn’t look like it had been kept up in the best condition. Was there anyone here?

Bax looked over to his right and saw a fairly large rock with what appeared to be an emblem painted on. It was faded, but Bax could still tell what it was. It looked like an open palmed hand with the four fingers closed and the thumb extended. There was a crudely painted red flame in the center. The whole thing was very angular and painted in a base white on the otherwise gray rock. This was probably the Hand of Belenus. It looked like they had something to do with fire. Well, that would make sense considering the volcano and the raw fire materia source. This would be a good location for them. If they were still here, of course—Bax hadn’t seen any boats or other means of travel as he circled the island. It looked mostly abandoned.

Bax decided that it was okay to trust the path, and he started walking at a decent pace. The shade here brought pleasant relief. As sweat dripped from every pore and drenched his shirt, Bax felt the comfort of cool. With this heat, he was starting to feel his exhaustion more and more. He hadn’t slept for 2 days now. He left Nibelheim and traveled with Black Spider through the night and the next day. They had infiltrated Zion under the cover of night and Bax had piloted the ship until daybreak. Why did he insist on torturing himself like this? Now he was just tired.

After a good half hour of walking along this path, Bax’s mind wandered back to Auralis and his family. If things had gone off without a hitch—Hodia’s involvement—then Bax would have been back on Auralis about a month ago. It was hard to think about. He missed his wife, his son, his nephew, and all of his friends. It had been six months now since had been on his home planet with all of them. By now, they must have known that something happened to him. They probably believed him to be dead. After all, Bax was supposed to have video conferences with the legislature and private chats with his wife at least once a week. They must have known something was up when he missed his first appointment after the crash.

If that was the case, then Galandia would have been ruling in his stead. Bax had worked to give her some more authority as an executive. Both she and Photonia had taken their role as Queen very seriously and studied matters of law and economy carefully so that they could offer Bax yet another perspective. Photonia had not had much time to put her knowledge to use before tragedy struck and she was killed. But Galandia had had quite a bit of experience these last few years. She was probably doing well and working with the legislature. But Bax hoped that she and Jax were doing okay…emotionally. He missed them terribly, but they probably thought he was dead.

Bax had to get home…he just had to…

---

After a bit more traveling, Bax emerged out of the forest. The path led to a clearing that was right at the foot of the mountain. As Bax looked before him, he noticed a few things. The first was that there was a sort of path up the mountain, and it looked very steep. The second was that there were small buildings in front of him. The third was that there were people occupying them. Bax’s eyes widened as he realized he was about to have some company. He was about to put the Valermos back in it’s sheathe when the runes on it suddenly glowed. Bax looked at it strangely, and then heard the gruff voice he now associated with the blade speak to his mind.

“By the Ancients. Well now this is interesting. I did not expect this.”
Bax cocked his head to the side and said out loud, “What do you mean?”
But the runes cooled off and the blade remained silent. “Melsav,” Bax cursed at the stubborn bastard. He sheathed the Valermos and looked up to see that the people in the buildings had noticed him and started to come out.

They were dressed in cloaks like the Holy Order of the Magi, but their emblems were entirely different. Also, most of the Order dressed in cloaks of black or other dark colors. These people had earthy colors—mostly brown. They all had the symbol that Bax had seen on the rock back at the beginning of the path. They must be the Hand of Belenus. Were they hostile? Or would they welcome him?

“Belenus,” one said as he approached Bax. The man sounded wistful and had a hopeful look in his eyes. Bax looked at the oncoming group uncertainly.
“It is him,” another man said. “The one who has cleansing flames at his control.”
“The one whose head burns brightly has come to our brotherhood.”
“Belenus.”
All of them raised their voices in unison and invoked that name again, “Belenus!”

Bax’s eyes widened again. They thought he was Belenus? This could be tricky.
“Oh great one,” the first one said with a smile on his face, “You bring us honor by your presence. Please let us know your will.”
Another one excitedly chimed in, “Shall we cleanse the heathen?”
Bax raised his hands and shook his head, “My name is not Belenus. My name is Bax.”
The cult members stopped for a moment and looked at each other. They exploded into loud chatter and Bax couldn’t catch a word.

Finally, one raised his hands and quieted the others down. “Then, Bax—are you an avatar of the great Belenus?”
Bax wondered if he should go along with it or if that would bring more troubles. “I am sorry; I think you may have me confused with someone else.”
More chatter. Another member spoke up, “Perhaps his memories have been lost.”
“Or perhaps he is an impostor—a false prophet.”
“But he has the crimson flame!”
I’m standing right here, Bax thought. This was starting to get out of hand.

The chatter crescendoed and Bax winced a little. He decided to be truthful. “I am not from this planet,” he said. “I am from the planet Auralis.”
“An alien?”
“Extra-terrestrial,” someone else corrected.
“Whatever. Belenus came from the heavens as well.”
“He could still be Belenus.”
“He could still be a false prophet!”
More chatter. Bax sighed. This was going nowhere fast.

“Brothers and sisters!” one of the men cried, “Hear me. This man’s coming is a sign, whether he comes from Belenus or not. He bears the crimson flame. Belenus must have sent him to show us something. Let us hear him.”
Somehow this wisdom caused the group to shut up. Bax sighed and tried to explain himself. “I came here searching for something in Mt. Beli.”
“Do you seek the Crystal Flame?”
Crystal Flame. Could they be talking about the raw fire materia? “I believe so,” Bax said.
A few of the cult members glared at him then, and Bax wondered if he had said something wrong. “Many people have come here searching for the Crystal Flame. Are you associated with those heretics from the Holy Order of the Magi or the heathens from the Senate?”
Bax gulped and shook his head. “No, they are my enemies.”
“How can we believe you?”

Bax sighed again and shook his head, “I do not wish to harm you. I just need to enter Mt. Beli and find the ma…crystal.”
After a moment, someone spoke up. “We should test him.”
Test? That could either be very good or very bad.
“A test!” someone else exclaimed. “That’s a good idea! If he passes, then we will take him to the holy place.”
“What test?” Bax asked, wondering if he ought to turn tail and run or draw his blades and go to work.
The ‘wise one’ who had quieted the group down a few times before addressed Bax. “We will pass you through our Eternal Flame. If you are a true avatar of Belenus or a sign from him, you will not burn, for he shall protect you. If you are a false prophet, then you will be cleansed. Come with us, and may Belenus be with you.”

Normally, that wouldn’t be a problem, but Bax wasn’t sure what would happen to him now that he had the fire anti-materia bangle on him sapping his power. If the sun was bothering him, then it was entirely possible that fire would actually burn him right now. Bax was tempted to reach for his swords, but the cult quickly surrounded him and began to usher him towards their establishment. The next thing Bax knew, he was being tied up and his swords were forcefully removed from his back. It all happened so fast that he couldn’t even really protest. This was insanity…

As soon as his movement was almost completely restrained, Bax was lifted off his feet. His mind raced. What was with these people?! Then Bax saw his next destination—a great roaring pyre that burned brightly near the edge of their establishment. They were going to toss him in that? Bax felt the heat of the flames licking him from 20 yards off. The cult began murmuring a prayer and Bax writhed around, looking for some way to escape. There was none. This crazy cult was just going to burn him with nothing more said. And they might actually succeed, too…

“Fold, Hands, and praise the Blaze,” they began to chant. “Fold, Hands, and praise the Blaze. Fold, Hands, and praise the Blaze.”
Bax was lifted up towards the great pyre, and he felt his fire-susceptible clothes began to smolder. He hadn’t had the time or energy to create fire-proof clothes. Bax closed his eyes as his clothes burst into flame and the cult threw him into the blaze.

[Shadow Phoenix]

The Valermos suddenly roared to life. It unsheathed itself from the scabbard and its carved runes glowed orange and then red before the whole blade burst into flames. It whizzed through the crowd and the cult members dodged out of the way. It swung towards the eternal fire just as Bax was thrown into the flames. The blade swung through the legs of the pyre that held the fire aloft, cutting through them like a hot knife through butter. The pyre collapsed and the fire evaporated around Bax until it was gone.

The members of the Hand of Belenus stood in various shades of disbelief as they looked ahead towards the remains of their eternal flame. The Valermos was suspended in midair, still burning bright, and Bax lay naked in the smoldering embers of the pyre looking quite bewildered. The fires had singed his clothes right off his body, but he seemed to be fine other than being covered with ashes…and naked. He looked dumbfounded at the glowing bangle around his wrist—he thought for a moment that perhaps that bangle had physically absorbed all of the fire around him. But just as soon as he had this thought, he turned his attention to the Valermos just like all of the Hands.

A stream of fire began to flow out from the floating blade. These flames first settled on the ground and then began to build their way up, forming a large creature with mildly humanoid features. The flames grew over 20 feet tall and a ram’s head of sorts crowned it. The flames solidified and formed the avatar of some sort of giant being. Bax had never seen this before in all the time that he had wielded the blade over the last 10 years. His eyes were just as wide as the humans’.

The creature turned and looked at Bax for a moment. It actually looked like it had two heads—one at the top and one at its chest. It grasped the Valermos out of midair, and the blade turned into a much larger, intricate weapon that resembled a sort of staff with a spike-axe adorning the top. He swung this before him and an arc of flames spread out before he jammed the lower end of the weapon into the ground.
“I am Belias, the Gigas!” the large creature declared. It was the same gruff voice that Bax had heard recently from the Valermos. Was this the being that he had been speaking with? It was unreal.

“Why are you trying to harm He of the Crimson Flame? Have you no faith?”
Did Valermos…Belias? Belenus? Did he know these people? Bax was so confused, and he had so many questions.
“We are sorry, oh great one!” the apparent leader of this particular group spoke up, coming forward. “We were unsure.”
Belias roared and the cult members shrank back and down, putting their hands before their faces. “Unsure!” he bellowed with a sort of sick laugh. “You are weak. You do not deserve to be called my followers.”

A chorus of no’s erupted from the group and Bax overheard one of them whisper something amusing. “He actually does exist!” Whoever said it was quickly stifled. A cult member who didn’t actually believe the tenets of his group—that was interesting.

The leader spoke up again, “Forgive us, oh Shining One. We were weak, and we were wrong. But we have carried out your will faithfully for millennia.”
“Actions are not enough, you fools.”
Laments and wails soared up and Bax tried to make sense of the situation. He wiped a swathe of ash mixed with sweat from his skin. He was going to have to find new clothes.
“What can we do, then, to prove our fealty? What is your will?”

Belias looked back at Bax again in silence for a moment before addressing the cult.
“Escort Bax the Crimson to the depths of Mt. Beli.”
The cult suddenly raised their hands and pitched to their knees, then fell prostrate before Belias. “Praise the Blaze. Praise the Blaze,” they all chanted with the foreheads touching the ground.
Belias slammed his weapon into the ground and his body went up in a column of flames. The rushing flames faded away, leaving only the sword Valermos lying on the ground. Its runes glowed orange for a few seconds before fading back to the silver gray of the rest of the blade.

Bax saw that the cult was still prostrating. He stood up and walked over to the sword. As he picked it up, he was suddenly accosted by a large back-burst of flames that engulfed him. He was surprised for a moment, but the blaze only lasted for a few seconds. When Bax opened his eyes again, he saw that not only had the flames not harmed him, but he was now fully clothed in his classic red gi.
“Trust me, Bax. I’ll explain everything.”
Bax nodded and wondered in awe at the power he had been holding for the last ten years without even knowing it. Bax further noticed that the pyre that had been destroyed was now erect again and burning with the cult’s Eternal Flame.

The cult slowly got up and sheepishly invited Bax to follow them up the mountain. Bax retrieved the Diroxauralis and sheathed the Valermos as well, placing the X scabbard on his back again. He followed the cult members up the steep sides of Mt. Beli. He was so close now…

---

Bax did not make any conversation with the members of the Hand of Belenus that escorted him up the steep slopes. They were strangely quiet and he was okay not dealing with crazy cult members. He had had it with cults. Between the Children of the Shadows on Auralis and the Holy Order of the Magi here on Earth, he had had his fill. But the absence of conversation gave Bax plenty of time to wonder about the Valermos—Belias. There had to be some kind of story there. Belias had promised to tell him, but that didn’t stop him from wondering…

About half way up the mountain, Bax felt the mountain rumble a little. He clutched tightly down by instinct, wrapping his body against the rocks. The rumbling turned into a significant quake and rocks from above began to tumble down. Bax scurried out of the way as quickly as he could while drawing the Diroxauralis from its sheath and holding it above him to defend against the falling rocks. Bax heard a cry and saw one of the cult members get struck by a particularly large rock. He flew through the air and tumbled down the steep sides of the mountain. He was history.

Bax focused and cleaved an oncoming rock in two. The pieces fell away on either side and Bax looked up to see that he was in the clear for now. He clutched down again until the quake passed. After a few seconds, the rumbling stopped and Bax lifted his head to look at the state of his escort party. What had begun as a party of six was now down to four. Apparently someone else had bit the dust in that rockslide.
“I thought that this volcano was dormant,” Bax commented, shouting over to the remaining four.
“The great Belenus is angry. He desires to test us. Our brothers must have angered him. They have been struck down.”
Bax raised his brow quizzically at that statement. He was fairly spiritual, but he never wrote anything like an earthquake off on the emotions of a deity. It was a geological phenomenon that occurred due to natural planetary shifting. Volcanoes were particularly volatile. Bax bit his tongue and continued to climb with the rest of the party.

A little further up the mountain, the slope became gentler and they eventually reached a small plateau that jutted out from the side of the rocks. The four Hands clambered up and Bax followed them. They were now staring into the mouth of a cave. Much to Bax’s surprise, a sort of dull green glow greeted them, barely lighting the entrance. Was the materia in here?

“Praise the Blaze,” the four cultists said in unison.
One of them turned to Bax and said, “Follow us. We will take you to the Crystal Flame.”

Bax followed them into the mostly dark cave. The green glow from the materia was not enough to fully see, and neither was Bax’s head flame. Each of the four members brought out a torch and lit it. They pressed ahead through the narrow cave. Bax noticed that there was no moss in this cave, nor any moisture. The dry, craggy rocks stretched ahead, illuminated by a light green shimmer. Bax had to duck his head a few times as they walked through.

Eventually, they emerged into a larger area where the ceiling arched up to form a sort of dome. The walls here seemed blackened—as though they had been touched by fire before. Lots of it. Bax reached his right hand back and ran his fingers over the pommel of the Diroxauralis. He felt like there was about to be a fight. But the Hands did not seem phased, though they had momentarily stopped. The other side of the room had another door, but this one was much larger and more accommodating.

From the green diluted shadows on the other side of the room, Bax heard heavy footsteps. A large, black furred paw stepped into the room. Behind it came first one, then two more, canine heads. Each head bore a maw of razor sharp teeth, dripping with saliva. The massive three headed black dog continued to walk into the room. Its growl rumbled the room and it looked at the other five people across the room. Much to his surprise, the beast spoke in an extremely low voice that sent chills through Bax’s body.
“Hand of Belenus. What business do you have here?”
The four cultists went down on one knee. One of them spoke up. “Cerberus, the great Belenus has ordered us to bring Bax the Crimson to the Crystal Flame.”

‘Cerberus’ laughed with all three heads. Bax shuddered a little.
“And you must be Bax the Crimson,” Cerberus said, looking at Bax. “You don’t look human. What brings you here?”
Bax stood confidently, and brought his wrist up. “I seek the materia.”
“Ah, so you know the truth. I guard the materia. Explain yourself. That thing on your wrist smells dark.”
Bax sighed, “I am a Phoeniyan of the planet Auralis. One of the priests of the Holy Order of the Magi attached this to me. It saps my power. I was told to come here to seek a way to get it off.”
“Bastards of the Order. They have often snuck in here under my nose and stolen my materia.”
That seemed to be a common theme. No one much liked the Order…

Cerberus crouched down a little and the fur on his body bristled, making him appear slightly larger.
“Well, Bax the Crimson, I don’t care who you are or why you have come. You’re going to have to prove yourself before I let you through here.”
Bax swiftly drew the Diroxauralis and the Valermos in turn and got into a defensive position. The cultists scrambled to their feet in terror and started to clamber backwards towards the entrance. Cerberus took a deep breath and expelled a large fireball from each head towards the entrance. Bax dove out of the way and watched as his four remaining escorts were incinerated. The flames converged and scorched down the tunnel that they had just come out of.

Bax cursed and turned to face Cerberus with his swords raised. He looked at the Valermos and shouted, “You cannot come out now?”
“That’s hard to do. Give me a break.”
Bax’s eyes widened incredulously and he dodged out of the way of another one of Cerberus’s fireballs. Bax still wasn’t sure if he was impervious to powerful flames or not. He might have just been lucky back at the pyre. So he wasn’t going to risk it getting hit if he could help it.

Bax clashed his two swords together, resulting in a shower of sparks before they burst into flames. He shouted as he rushed towards the three-headed beast.

[Shadow Phoenix]

Ow…

Black Spider felt the dawn of torpid wakefulness before he opened his eyes. His head was swimming and his body felt numb all over. But as consciousness oozed over him, the shape shifter felt the distinct dull, spread-out pain of bruises. He tried to open his eyes, but could only force his left eye open. His right eye had swollen shut due to an excessive number of blows. Everything was still blurry, but he tried to remember where he was and what had happened. Jadus had knocked him out after Bax escaped, imprisoned him, and sicked the guards on him to beat him senseless. And it hurt like hell to take that kind of punishment.

He had some sort of mask covering his mouth and nose, which fogged up with each exhalation. Air was being pumped into the mask from a tube. It didn’t taste like a healthy mixture of air to him. It was heavily carbon-laden. His lungs ached and his muscles burned with built-up acid. This little oxygen was almost as deadly to the Phoeniyan physiology as water. Black Spider wanted to shift, but he felt too exhausted…and he couldn’t blow his cover. Bax needed more time…right? How much time had passed anyway? He couldn’t even tell…

In addition to the already daunting bruises and air issues, Black Spider also felt himself spread apart viciously. As Black Spider’s vision slowly cleared, he looked around what was restraining him and where he was being held. His arms and legs were shackled spread apart into an X, with what appeared to be the Lumakian Ore that Jadus had used (given the bluish swirls that he noticed). Black Spider craned his neck around (painfully), and saw that these shackles led to a large metal panel behind him.

The shape shifter’s eyes next fell on a vacant chair in front of him, resting on a floor made entirely of concrete. He was enclosed in a square cell area, stretching out about…20 feet around each side from the looks of it. Lumakian bars rose up at this barrier, and another set a few feet away formed another barrier. An additional empty chair sat between these two sets of bars. Beyond the outer bars were a few security cameras and a dozen auto-cannons. Some were aimed directly at him, some aimed in various other areas of the cell. Ten armed guards with machine guns completed his guard watch, standing around him along the concrete walls of this large and complex cell.

If nothing else, Black Spider had to give Jadus this: he wasn’t taking any chances, and he knew his craft of detaining potentially dangerous people. He suppressed the instinctual fears that plagued him over the dangerous lack of oxygen coursing through his body and began to consider his options of escape as best as his weary mind would allow. Unfortunately, the aforementioned air ratio stopped much heavy thinking, and the shape shifter’s head drooped down as a brief wave of unconsciousness took him.

---

Black Spider awoke to the sudden jolting of a prolonged high-level electrical shock, arcing painfully through his Phoeniyan form and causing his muscles to jerk against their restraints. While his brain was spared the effects, the metal wall and cuffs ensured that not an inch of his outer body was spared the punishment. His initial reaction was to curse in every language he knew, but he resigned himself to rattling off a good 7 Phoeniyan curses. He shuddered and shook as the residual electric shocks caused his muscles to twitch. They got no relief as he was splayed out here.

"Good morning, sizzler," Jadus's distinct voice lilted happily from the chair inside the inner cell. He laid a controller down on a small desk beside him, where there also lay a stick of butter, two slices of toast, a cup of coffee with Red Hot sauce next to it, and a glass of water. Black Spider raised his head to look at Jadus and groaned. And now the real torture began...

Jadus's left arm hung in a sling. Bandages were visible on the corresponding shoulder, as well as his chest, underneath his gray tanktop. He had several gauze pads taped to his arms and one on his right cheek and left eyebrow, as well as wrappings on his left fingertips. But he was none the worse for wear, looking energetic and confident. Yet, always with an underlying sinister foundation.

He idly sipped the water with his right hand, then set it down and crossed his legs, propping his elbow on the table. "Well, let's see... There should always be some sort of formality in a discussion, yes? So let's do some give-for-take. My name as you already heard is Colonel Jadus Krieg. What's yours again?"
Though his voice was muffled by the mask, Black Spider steeled himself, maintained his gaze, and answered Jadus. "My name is Bax Firago," he said simply.

Jadus cocked his head slightly, and then his grin grew a bit. "Bax. Excellent. Yes, then you are the one who was here before... supposedly." The last word was edged with a dark smirk for a moment. But then he quickly continued. "A Phoeniyan, so say the reports. What planet are you Phoeniyans from?"
Black Spider knew that Jadus would not so easily just accept that he was Bax, but if he maintained these airs for a bit longer, then perhaps Bax would be okay. He just had to suppress any tell-tale signs of lying, control his brain patterns, and keep going. He saw no problem with answering these basic questions. "Auralis," he responded.

"Mm hmm," Jadus mused, turning his head and moving his arm to pick up a pen behind the coffee cup and obviously start taking notes. "And you've been involved quite a bit with the Order of Magi lately. Would you happen to know where they are and what they're up to lately?"
Ah, so this was his game. Bax had explained a little to him, but even the Phoeniyan didn't know too much. Black Spider could play this for a little. "I do not know where they are," he began, his words a little stilted as he was still groggy from the continuous carbon dioxide that was pumped into his airways. "They captured me and tried to take me back to their headquarters. But a few of them started to fight each other and got distracted. I was rescued by F...Black Spider and Sephiroth X."

Jadus's bandaged brow rose slightly as he wrote. "Hmmm...Interesting. Would this Black Spider happen to be that... well, black spider I had that fun little dance with? Actually, don't answer that." He grinned directly at his prisoner as his eyes narrowed. "As for Sephiroth X, where is he and what is he up to?"
Black Spider would have expected his captor to do something like splash the hot sauce in his eyes by now, but he had done nothing of the sort. With his guard still up and expecting it, he responded to the last question, keeping his answers appropriately groggy and off-kilter vague. "Sephiroth X is the Warrior of Prosperity...he went to Midgar. It did not work..."

"Hmmm, interesting." The pencil moved. Then he reached for the Red Hot, tucking it between his knees and twisting the cap. "And finally... why were you and your companion here in Zion? Surely we didn't have a welcome mat of any sort out, eh?" His tone was level, not accusatory.

Now Black Spider had to be careful. The previous questions had no real danger (as the hot sauce might too, now). This question one might. Black Spider had no earthly clue where Bax had flown off to, but he had a good idea that the ship was nigh undetectable by radar wherever he had gone. So he made up a feasible explanation. The emotion was fake, but the delivery was convincingly sincere.
"I am far from my home," he began. "I was looking for a way to go home. Black Spider also wants to leave. When my ship crashed, I was left with no way to leave. All I want is to go home."

"Aaah," he sighed, setting the mug back down. "Hot, black, and with hot sauce. I like my coffee to bite back, you see." Then he rested his arm casually on the tabletop again.
"Well, your goal is innocent enough, certainly. But sneaking into someone's private secure area? Tsk tsk. Not sure what Auralis manners are supposed to be, but around here, it's a crime and wrongdoing."
"I would repay you any damages once I was home. I could not think of any other way to acquire a ship. You people do not seem to like me very much."

Jadus sipped his coffee again as the bound prisoner spoke. Then he again set down the cup. "Well, it's one word against another here. Ultimately, it's the Senator who decides what goes on here. And he decided you could help us retrieve the Element. If we were to, let's say, promise you a ship, would you lead us to Sephiroth X who currently has it?"
"I do not know where Sephiroth X," the shape shifter said. And that was true for both him and Bax. "He is difficult to find..."
"True, but it is known that you associate with him again and again. So surely he'd find his way back to you at some point."
Black Spider wondered if he should agree on Bax's behalf, knowing that he would soon break out and negate the agreement. Instead of going for that measure, he went for another one to worm his way through the issue. "Do you even have another ship that could take me a few light-years away quickly?"

Jadus's eyes slowly widened, as did his grin. Then while the former narrowed into dangerous slits, the latter remained a dangerous slit. "So..." he hissed, "You would betray your supposed friend for a deal with the devil? Is that... the kind of man you are?"
Black Spider narrowed his eyes to match his opponent's. Bax would respond very negatively to such an implication. But Jadus did not know this. So Black Spider continued to toy with him. "Sephiroth X has made it clear that he does not consider me a friend. Though I do not believe I could find him, my priority is to return to my family. Nothing holds me to this planet. And you did not answer my question."

Jadus continued smirking, and stood up, unsheathing a combat knife from his hip. He walked slowly, deliberately toward Black Spider, while he wove verbal silk. "Those eyes... they hold little sacred. Little at all." He continued to draw closer, stopping two feet away, his gold eyes locked firmly on his prisoner's. "I study many things, very closely. Especially, eyes. Every set is different. ...Even yours." He seemed to be implying something, but did not say what.
Black Spider maintained this harsh Bax persona--a bridge towards what he imagined the dark Firago within him might do. He simply glared back Jadus wordlessly, though his eyes drooped with exhaustion from the air now and then.

From behind Jadus, another form stepped into view. A buzz-cut man with a Chief Warrant Officer insignia. "Colonel? You are here... Look, with all due respect, this isn't your jurisdiction anymore, you know..."
Jadus slowly turned his head and looked at the man. Just looked at him. Not glared. Looked. After a few moments, the Warrant Officer looked lost, then a bit frightened. Then he nodded and said, "Carry on, sir," and he walked back out of sight. Then Jadus turned back toward his prisoner and jammed his knife straight through the Phoeniyan's right hand.

[Shadow Phoenix]

Bax ducked swiftly under a fireball, almost tripping more than dodging, and leapt towards Cerberus to attack him. The large dog simply lifted its paw and swatted Bax down onto the hard floor of the cave. The Phoeniyan felt paralyzed under its full weight, and his mind raced as he tried to figure out what to do. Then the blades flared up and Cerberus lifted its paw just enough to allow Bax to wriggle out. He scampered to the other end of the room and took a deep breath. A direct attack wouldn’t work…

Bax ran to the side as three fireballs scorched the path behind him. Under most circumstances, he would rely on his flames. Not only could he not use his flames, but they would probably be mostly anti-productive. How could he fell this beast?

He made a mad dash around to the thing’s side, aiming to nip at its ankles with his blades. But Cerberus turned around and swiped at Bax, following up with a stream of fire. Bax leapt out of the way and cursed his bad luck. The cave was perfectly smooth—there was nothing jutting out which Bax might be able to knock Cerberus into or bring down on him. And there was no way that he could just run out through either door. Cerberus would toast him or follow him easily. He had no real range attacks without fire at his disposal. And his close range attacks failed because the beast was surprisingly agile.

And then Bax got an idea. There was a good reason that he had meditated intensely for the last 15 years. It was not just so that he could increase the potency of his flames and the speed of his regenerative capabilities. It was also so that he could hone his telepathic and telekinetic abilities. He had knocked bullets away a few times during his time on Earth, most recently in Zion. That was pretty new. And by extension, he could probably so more.

If he couldn’t move fast enough to attack Cerberus, why not just launch himself in the same manner he had done with the bullets. He could alter the space around him on a molecular level and go faster!

Bax took a deep breath and started messing with the air behind him. Cerberus breathed a fireball towards him, and Bax ducked. The flames hit and caused a minor explosion. Bax slammed his psychic energies back as a shield to protect him from the explosion and propel him forward. He launched through the air at an insane velocity and Cerberus raised his three heads as Bax soared up and landed on his back. Without a second thought, Bax stabbed his blades down into the beast’s muscular back.

The beast howled painfully and started bucking from side to side in an attempt to throw Bax off. But Bax clutched onto his swords and dug into Cerberus, holding on for dear life. It ran around the room for a bit and Bax lifted one sword up and plunged it in a little further down. He was climbing up the beast’s back and going for its three heads.

“Get off, you bastard!” the thing screamed. Bax ignored it and kept climbing. Just as he was about to plunge the Diroxauralis into the right head, Cerberus reared up on his hind legs and smashed Bax into the ceiling.

Bax’s blade met its aim and severed the spinal cord in the right neck, but he was also knocked into a daze. The right head fell limp and dead, and Bax felt like he was about to succumb to that last crushing blow. He held on with every bit of strength to the blades. But Cerberus tossed him off as it came down to the floor. The Diroxauralis, lodged in the right head, stayed there. But Bax was thrown clear with the Valermos.

The beast howled again, partially in pain and partially in what sounded like tearful and anguished misery. Bax lay sore on the ground in his daze, wondering what was coming next as he struggled to get up. Cerberus lumbered up to him, anger apparent in its four open and living eyes. It snarled, dripping saliva from its maw.
“Bastard,” it seethed from the central head. It opened its jaws and clamped them down around Bax’s body on the ground, smashing its nose deliberately into the ground and digging its teeth all around. Bax limply jammed the Valermos up, forcing it through the roof of the beast’s mouth and into its brain.

The jaw fell slack and Bax fell out of the mouth as the beast reared back. It took the blade with it, leaving Bax defenseless. He cringed at the feel of Cerberus’ oral juices covering him. It was far from pleasant. He lifted to his feet and watched as Cerberus thrashed around. The left head was all that remained. It looked across the room at Bax with intense rage. Flames began to build up in its mouth and Bax sighed. He scrambled to his feet and prepared to dodge out of the way.

“I do not want to kill you!” he said. “I just want to get to the materia!”
“I cannot allow that!” the remaining head called.
“Why?”
“It is my responsibility to protect it.”
“Is it worth dying for?” Bax tried to reason.
“My duty is all that I have.”
The beast may have been intelligent, but it seemed to have no free will. Reason would not work here. The beast simply wouldn’t listen and wouldn’t be moved. Bax regretted it, but he had to slay this beast somehow if he wanted to move on.

Cerberus took in a deep breath and expelled a huge fireball from its mouth. Bax erected a shield before him and then blasted his psychic energy behind him as he turned around and used the force of the ensuing explosion to propel himself up the wall. He ran up the wall, temporarily defying gravity. His feet touched the ceiling and he ran over to where Cerberus was. The beast raised its head and unleashed another torrent of flame above. Bax dodged out of the way and watched as the blast cracked the ceiling and rained tons of heavy rock onto the beast’s head.

Bax touched down and waited for a few moments to see if the creature would move. When it did not, he took a deep breath and walked over to retrieve his swords from the rubble. Sure enough, the creature wasn’t moving. He sheathed the blades and left the beast behind him as he walked towards the green glow at the other end of the cave.

[Shadow Phoenix]

Black Spider's anguished scream bounced off the concrete and soared down the halls for a good long distance before fading off. Everyone heard the blood-curdling scream. Between the muscular exhaustion and carbon flooding, Black Spider's Phoeniyan nerves were especially sensitive, and the knife hurt like hell. He angrily began to snarl at Jadus in Phoeniyan before panting and taking a few sharp, deep breaths. "You talk about my eyes and then go for my hand. You are insane."
Jadus grinned toothily, leaning forward until his nose pressed against the suffocating mask, hissing "It's the best way to be," and he twisted the blade.

Black Spider groaned in pain as the knife twisted muscle and flesh about, ripping and tearing. Blood was seeping out of the enlarging wound. To Black Spider's mild shock, the blade did not sizzle as a conventional weapon might. He closed his eyes for a moment. He took a deep breath that made him woozy, shook it off, then opened his eyes wide and slammed his head into Jadus's. Jadus had seen the motion coming and started to move back, but he still caught a glancing blow to the nose and chin. He stepped back a bit, flexing his tongue behind his closed lips to feel where the flesh had been clipped. A little blood came from his nose. And he laughed heartily. Black Spider's eyes remained fixed angrily and his weakened head flame raged a bit higher. He still had plenty of fight in him.

"Just like my coffee," he said, his teeth pink from the wound in his mouth, "I like when they bite back." Then he again dug the knife into flesh, this time zigzagging in diagonal lines up and down the prisoner's forearm. Then skipping the shackled elbow, his upper arm. A howl of pain erupted from Black Spider's mouth again, the muffled noise breaching the mask as he thrashed around. Despite the restraints and the carbon overload, his aura exploded in a brief flash of fire. Jadus stepped back quickly, though looking only more satisfied, and he quickly dashed to the table to press a button on the remote. The carbon dioxide level was raised. Just as eagerly, he stepped back up, waiting for the aura to subside, licking the blood from his nose.

Black Spider's head swooned and he dipped below the level of consciousness for a moment. The flames had sealed up his wounds, preventing unnecessary blood loss. He came back around within a few seconds and glanced at the remote back on the table. If it wouldn't screw him over even more, he would destroy that remote...and he could, too.

"Heh, you certainly are a fiery one," Jadus hissed. The knife came forward again, but this time was cutting through the fabric of Black Spider's gi. It took considerable effort due to the material, and after a moment of struggle, Jadus gave up on resting his left arm and lifted it with a slight grit of his teeth, using it to pull against the fabric and complete the removal. Then he promptly dropped it, shaking his hands. "Heh, even your sweat." He returned to the table to pour a bit of water over his hands.

Black Spider noticed the water and his mind began racing as it sizzled on Jadus's hand, reacting strongly with the fiery blood and sweat. Did he know that water might harm or even kill Bax, especially with his oxygen count so low to begin with? Should he begin altering his physiology? He hid the panic from his eyes and watched Jadus closely.

But Jadus set the glass back down on the table, and returned, hovering his hand over the knife blade. "Hmmm, just as I thought... not enough yet." And he dug the blade in yet again, on Black Spider's left pectoral. Then across to the right, and back, then down the ribcage, across, down. Not deep enough to puncture organs, but enough to rend skin and fat and some muscle.
"You're pretty privileged," he remarked casually, though loudly enough to make himself heard above the cries of agony, "You're experiencing the near-flawless Lumakian Ore all around you. It's not very common at all. I had to pull some strings to appropriate all this for use over time. This knife is one of only fifty on our shore. The rest goes to armor, or swords. Two hundred suits and components, two hundred swords. Two being mine."
Black Spider was surprised at the savage and sudden methods Jadus was using so calmly. The pain seared horribly and Black Spider shouted and seethed as Jadus continued to speak. If only he knew the consistency of the ore, he might be able to do something about it. But he couldn't even focus on it. His chest heaved, seeping blood and he weakly murmured, "Lucky me..."
And then the blade continued to go lower, skirting slightly over the navel, then under, then grating against the tips of the hip bones. Then, it sliced straight down, through cloth and flesh alike, getting dangerously close...

Black Spider cringed. He held his breath and tried to lower his body. He actually managed to bend the Lumakian bars down a few inches. Though Black Spider's regenerative capabilities were quite incredible, he didn't want to deal with the anticipated pain on top of everything else.

Jadus chuckled slightly at the defensive move. Then he slightly withdrew the blade, wiping most of the blood off on the now loosely-hanging pants and straightening, hand hovering over the blade again. He grinned. "Ahhh... Perfect." He then walked toward the table, sitting down in the chair and cutting very easily through the butter which set on a plate. "You see," he said in a conversational tone, "Some co-worker thought it would be funny to put my butter in the freezer. And the microwave in the lounge is broken. So, I needed something to heat my knife."
He cut the multiple squares thinly so they'd thaw on the blade, and spread them over one of the pieces of toast. Some of it sizzled, and there were a few red streaks in it as some of the Phoeniyan blood still remained, though diluted. Once the slice was covered, the soldier settled back against the chair and took a contented bite, mingling with the blood still remaining from his nose. "Mmmmmm... Spicy. I love breakfast," he said, taking another several bites.

The bars bent back into shape as Black Spider's muscles gave out and he went up in relief. He passed again for a few seconds, but he instinctively woke back up. If he passed out for too long, there was no telling what this sick fuck would do. But the carbon dioxide and the blood loss were getting to him quickly. Black Spider thought for a moment that it was a good thing he was in this situation. Bax, as strong as he was, would never have been able to take this. Black Spider felt his stomach churn suddenly and his eyes widened as he vomited up thick blood. Some splattered on the mask, while some trickled down the tube of carbon dioxide. It was enough to make him sick again, but Black Spider resisted.

Jadus seemed not to notice. He did, however, rub his hand over his chest and belly a bit. "Ooooh. Woo! Wow, just that little bit was better than hot sauce." He guzzled down half of the water, exhaling hard a few times, though of course grinning through it, his teeth now white again.

"You know," he said, beginning to prepare a second slice, "You're an interesting case. I realize that a different measure was used to keep... you... manageable last time you were here. An altered form of a chemical known as The Bite. It was specially formulated with you in mind though. It was something I thought up originally, and the chemists managed to create it, and then are able to adjust it according to what species it's used on. Nicknamed yours Frost Bite... But I figured, good old carbon dioxide should hold anyone just as universally, no matter what they are. Keeps them drowning in air, too weak to do anything... fancy." He then picked up the toast and smirked at the supposed Bax. "But who knows, maybe I'll bring that green liquid back out eventually, eh?"
Black Spider had no idea what Jadus was babbling about. Bax had never mentioned the circumstances of his previous Senate capture. But he found something that sounded odd--Frost Bite, green? That just didn't sound right at all. He scrunched his eyes in a confused and quizzical look. Wouldn't something with frost be blue or white? That just didn't quite compute.

Jadus gauged his reaction for a bit. Then cocked his head a bit, pursing his lips slightly. Then he chuckled and shook his head. "This is fun," he said simply, finishing the second slice of toast.
"You have a strange idea of fun," Black Spider murmured, his lips now hidden from view by the blood on the mask.
"Strange? Why, my fun is also practical. The majority of people's fun is unproductive and shallow. Mine, it gathers valuable data... studies various psychologies... even prepares breakfast."

Then, the Colonel picked up an egg, which had apparently been behind the butter. He brought it along with a plate and a fork toward his prisoner. "That was a nice appetizer... Now for the main course. Let's have you fry this for me." He held the plate and fork with his slung left hand and with his right tapped the egg just hard enough to crack it on his prisoner's forehead. Meanwhile, unseen to the vicious colonel, Black Spider began to change his molecular makeup. He had an idea…

The soldier skillfully pulled the halves apart with one hand and let the liquid ooze over the front half of the Phoeniyan-appearance's head, drawing back quickly in case of a flare-up. Black Spider raised his brow and grabbed hold of the egg with his mind. A quick flare up followed, singing the egg through to a semi-scrambled state. He then launched it telekinetically and with great velocity towards Jadus's face.

Since his hand was already fairly near the plate in his off-hand, Jadus quickly grasped the edge as soon as he'd seen the egg float, and he swung it upward with his right hand, blocking a large amount of the splatter. Much of it still landed against his chest and in his hair... but the main bulk missed his face. Jadus lowered the plate to reveal his amused grin. "Fast food delivery, eh?" he chuckled. And he switched hands, taking up the fork and starting to eat.

Black Spider smirked a little, huffed, and extended his mind out towards the plate. It splintered into several pieces before shattering. Jadus managed to shield his face from the shards, his hand still holding his fork, as the dish pieces fell to the floor along with splattering pieces of egg. He looked at his prisoner, not with the surprise any of this would warrant, but with a bit of disappointment.
"Now that's a waste of perfectly good food," he said, though taking a few steps sensibly back to increase range of a possible attempt at manipulating something else.

Black Spider's head drooped for a few seconds this time while Jadus frowned about his egg. He had to be careful about his power expenditure. The lack of oxygen flow to the brain made even small psychic outbursts like those last two taxing.

In the time the prisoner was out, Jadus returned to the table, and increased the CO2 flow yet again. "Looks like we'll need a little further precaution," he mused, approaching yet again with the fork extended, "especially since this might manage to keep you awake regardless."

[Shadow Phoenix]

Sure enough, the materia wasn’t much further. Bax walked through the large opening, took a handful of mild turns, and emerged into the room that represented the endpoint in this leg of the journey. He had actually imagined that the glow from the materia might be overwhelming in here, but he felt comfortable as the light green sheen washed over him. This room was a little larger than the one he had fought Cerberus in, but not by much. It actually felt a little cool in here. Not chilly, but as though there were a light breeze running from an unseen opening and filling the room.

There were a few green-turquoise pools of liquid in rocky formations. They had a similar shade to the Mako green Bax now associated with Sephiroth X, Nibelheim, and a few of the Magi. Some of the liquidy Mako spilled out in little rivulets that ran all over the room through tiny cracks and crags, resonating with a living glow. Jagged crystals sprung up all around the room, forming a small, still forest. Though the crystals had the same green luminescence as the Mako pools, they also had a shard of red seeping about in them. Raw fire materia.

Before he walked forward to apply the anti-materia to the raw, Bax wanted answered. He stabbed the Valermos and the Diroxauralis down into the rock on either side of him and took a deep breath. He looked over at the Valermos and began to speak to it in Phoeniyan.

“Nevermind that you nearly got me killed back there. Care to explain?” Bax said. “Who are you?”
The Valermos glowed orange and Belias spoke from within it. “As I told you before, I am Belias, the Gigas.”
“That doesn’t tell me much,” Bax said. “What’s your story? Why do I call you Valermos and they call you Belenus, but you call yourself Belias?”
“Etymology, oh mortal Phoeniyan. Over time and through different cultures, names and words change. Haven’t you been listening to the names? They should sound similar.”
Bax wasn’t really familiar with the concept of transient naming. In both the Phoeniyan and Kisenian languages (which were more dialects of each other anyway), there were a number of words and names that sounded similar, but meant completely different things. The poetry of their respective cultures never used such coincidences as metaphorical devices like the humans did. But Bax thought about it for a moment, running the names through his head. He guessed they did sound a little alike.

“So what? You have a few names. Who are you really?”
The sword flickered and a deep laugh rang out from it. “My true form is the one that I showed you and the Hand of Belenus earlier. That is how I looked about…how long has it been? 4000 years ago.”
Bax nearly fell over at that number. 4000 years? To his knowledge, Apocalypse had come to Auralis about 2000 years ago or so, and he thought that was a long time. “What happened 4000 years ago?”
“Ah,” Belias said. “I crossed the Ancients. They were always more powerful than I was, but I was content with my place in this universe. I set myself up as a god on a number of planets. Gaia, or Earth as they call it now, was one of them. I commanded them to cleanse the heathen, to heal with fire. It resulted in a few great, bloody wars. But the Ancients weren’t too happy about that. If I had so much power, they told me, I ought to use it in a better way. So they sealed me away in a sword and cast me on a planet in your Jerredis system. They told me to think about my abuse of power for a few thousand years, and that they would eventually release me. Eventually your grandfather Kentari’s friend, Ichida Veramonde, found me on the planet, Delseiran. He read the runes as you do—Valermos. But that’s okay, everyone makes mistakes. Ichida used me in several battles before passing me on to his son, Kashi, who gave it to you. And you, my friend, have been quite the bloodthirsty bastard. Lots of fighting—it’s just like the good old days with you.”

Bax sneered a little at the last comment, but found the rest of the story intriguing. He knew the Ancients. He had communicated with them firsthand. And if they had the power to control a being like Belias who could traverse the stars millennia ago, then…why had they not intervened with Apocalypse? Belias and Apocalypse sounded like fairly similar beings.
“Are you related to Apocalypse, Belias?”
The sword was silent for a moment. “I’m not familiar with the name,” Belias said. “But are you by any chance talking about the presence inside the Valtiel person?”
Bax nodded, “That’s the one.”
“Ah, he’s a young’n! Only a couple thousand years old. Pretty strong, though.”
That was an understatement. “So are you two similar in any way?”
Belias laughed, “Sort of. We are both what you would call demigods. We are powerful beings who can achieve a semblance of immortality by performing certain actions. So sort of like your phoenixes, I suppose. They live a long time and then undergo self-immolation to be reborn. I myself thrive off of war. I knew one guy about 10,000 years ago who would find women, court them, and have a child with them. But he would crumble away afterward, only to be reborn again, retaining all of his memories. I heard of another guy who had some sort of special painting made of him, and that painting aged instead of him. We get great powers, but we’re stuck in this cycle of necessity if we want to keep them.”

Bax wondered aloud, “Do you know what Apocalypse has to do?”
“Not a clue and I can’t guess. He seems to like war, though. I did sense that in him. I feed off of the rage and bloodlust of battle. As long as there is a battle going on, I can harvest power from it and the emotions it produces. Back when, I tended to stay on the winning side most of the time. I’ll admit I helped when I could. But unlike some of compatriots, I never messed with the souls of the deceased. I wouldn’t go there. Its possible Apocalypse has some designs towards soul absorption. But I don’t know for sure.”

If that was true, it could spell disaster. But it also meant that he had an Achilles heel.
“Thanks, Belias,” Bax said.
“Sure thing. Keep fighting, will ya? Who knows what’ll happen to me if you die.”
Bax chuckled, “Sure.” After a moment, he turned to face the raw materia. “I’m gonna try this now.”
“Good luck.”

Bax took a deep breath and stepped forward with his wrist extended out. The crystals were densest near the back of the cave, in between two pools that cascaded out in rivulets. Bax walked back towards them and his breath became shallow and rapid.

What if Eve’s fears had been right and this would cause a massive explosion. Bax could die if this didn’t go well. Was that worth it? Maybe there was another way. He could still go back to Rivel and ask him to take it off. Right?

No. Bax had come too far to stop here. Black Spider had sacrificed himself and allowed himself to be captured. He couldn’t give up and make that sacrifice and those of the cultists in vain. That was the coward’s way out. And Bax was determined that he wouldn’t be a coward. Not today. Not ever.

The crystals radiated warmth from their red and green luminescence, contrasting with the otherwise cool room. Bax took a deep breath and whispered a quick prayer asking for protection. Then he reached forward and plunged his hand into the depths of the crystals.

The room shook almost right away and Bax looked up in surprise. The crystals growing from the ceiling threatened to fall down on him and impale him. The wonder of stopping and running flashed through Bax’s mind again, but he shook his head and waited to see what would happen next.

The crystals right before him suddenly began to flush with red. The tiny slivers within them seeped throughout the green, overtaking them instantly. The shaking of the room increased and Bax’s eyes flitted all around. All over the room, the green crystals were turning red. One of the ones far away exploded in a fiery flash. The flames began to swirl through the room. More crystals exploded closer and closer. The flames swirled about, growing larger and larger. Bax’s entire body began to quake as the bangle about his wrist shook with excitement.

Bax’s wrist suddenly wrenched out of the reach of the crystals and threw him backwards towards the growing flames. He screamed as he lost control of his body and flew through the air, and reached his left hand up to try and forcefully take control of his right. But it was to no avail. Bax brushed through the sphere of the flames and watched as the sphere broke apart and formed a 5-foot diameter spinning ring in midair with his wrist in the center. His feet were dangling just above the ground, and he looked up in amazement and horror at what was happening. The ring of fire began to spiral inwards until it finally met the bangle in the center. The reddish object around Bax’s wrist suddenly glowed as it began to absorb the flames. It became hotter with every bit of fire that it took in and Bax felt his skin burning underneath it.

As the ring was nearly almost all absorbed, all of the crystals in the room along with the liquid Mako all around the room burst into flames and created a blazing inferno that took over the room. Bax felt the searing heat and shut his eyes tight. Even if this did work, would he survive?!

The room was completely covered in flames, annihilating the shadows that had dominated it before. The anti-materia bangle continued to absorb the massive amounts of pure fire that stretched forth from the room and continued to pour out from every wall. It seemed never ending, and the heat was unimaginable. Bax looked up and saw a tiny crack form in the bangle. His eyes widened and he smiled a little. It was working!

But Bax then realized something else—the shaking in the room hadn’t stopped. And a quake around a volcano usually meant that it was about to erupt. Fear washed over Bax as he realized what was about to happen. The inferno cascaded over him and the quake rent cracks throughout the room. Parts of the room began to fall down around him and Bax screamed as Mt. Beli blew its top with him trapped inside.

[Shadow Phoenix]

The Colonel had been alternating between talkative, and misgivingly quiet. But even lulls in dealt pain never meant lulls in tension. Through oxygen-deprived panic-attacks, he had watched gleefully, and through screams, he had only remained at least firm, at most content.

Yet Black Spider refused to give in. His vision was dimming and the usual sharpness of Phoeniyan eyes was being clouded by the effects of the gas. His hearing, too, made it hard for him to catch every word that Jadus said. But he took the torture defiantly, probably giving Bax a greater constitution than he would have had in such a situation. The Colonel had cleared the blood from the mask at one point when Black Spider began to mumble, since it was obscuring his lips. So that was no longer a problem. But Jadus kept coming.

A young man's voice came rather suddenly from behind the room beyond the bars, speaking in a hurried, headlong manner. Not out of desperation, but the typical speech patterns of a still rookie officer trying too hard to sound professional. "Colonel! First Lieutenant Jenkins reporting for the Hound Squad of the Dead-Eye Sniper Platoon, Delta Company. We completed the nav rounds and still have not located the escaped alien or craft. Awaiting further orders on advisory of--"

Black Spider suppressed the smirk that threatened to creep to his face. Bax was doing just fine it seemed. He wondered how long it had been. His internal clock was all thrown off by this torture. He sighed and sneered. "That bastard..."

Jadus's expression had grown acidic as the words tumbled out. By the time he turned toward the young officer, his glare seemed to burn hotter than the Phoeniyan's hair ever could. He wordlessly strode in fast, long steps to the cell door. All the guards moved their right arms slightly, out of view, and the door unlocked. Jadus strode through it, then stopped at the second gate. "Come here, Lieutenant," he said in a commanding tone. The young man looked surprised, then complied, stepping closer to the bars.
The Colonel stood a bit to the side, almost pointedly so the prisoner could see what was going on. He stood looking at the Lieutenant for a moment. "You," he said in an even tone, "just broke protocol."
The young man swallowed hard, all color leaving his face. "S-s... I'm sorry, sir," he said, trying to hide the desperation in his tone but unsuccessful. Suddenly, Jadus's right hand flew forward between the bars, claw-gripping the young man's face. His left again broke sling-rules and grabbed the bottle of Red Hot, flipping the half-placed cap off with his thumb, and he began emptying it into the Lieutenant's eyes.

Jadus continued speaking, his tone firm so he could be heard as he dug his hand cruelly, keeping the eyelids pried open, and the young man emitted high-pitched, choked cries. "When reporting to your superior officer, you are to wait until you are told to 'go ahead', before you give your report."
"AAAHH!!!!... A-A-AAAAAH!!... S-Sir... AaaaaaAAH!" The young man clung helplessly to the bars, fighting all instinct to try pushing Jadus away at risk of even worse.
"You could very well have compromised my mission, boy." Jadus hissed, digging his fingernails into the Lieutenant's face and raising the scream's pitch. "I'll have to report you to the General." He then let go and the young man stumbled back, sinking down and curling up, sobbing pitifully, ears and neck red from sauce, pain, and humiliation, wiping rapidly yet futilely at his eyes with his sleeves. Four of the guards looked shaken and pale. Three were laughing at and taunting the Lieutenant. The others seemed unaffected.

Black Spider was amazed at this man's utter cruelty to his subordinates. Abusing his power this way...it was as though Jadus had no soul. He legitimately felt sorry for the assaulted officer.

Then, a well-built black man rounded the corner and chuckled, looking disdainfully at the punished officer. He himself was wearing the same rank, but was with Alpha Company. "Heh, knew Jenkins wasn't ready to shed his butter-bars yet." Then he saluted and stood at attention. "Colonel, I have a report from HQ."
Jadus waited a moment, then nodded. "And that's how you're SUPPOSED to do it. Go ahead, Lieutenant."
"Due to your performance and capture of the prisoner," the Lieutenant rattled off, "a recommendation has gone in to request that you be promoted to the rank of Brigadier General. Confirmation should be within a day or two."

A military that awarded such cruel acts. Black Spider had had numerous run-ins with the Senate military over these last couple years on Earth, but he was still surprised at the depravity they were willing to accept. What ever happened to honor?
"Congratulations," the prisoner said disdainfully, his eyes dark and narrow.

The reporting Lieutenant looked pleased. And so did Jadus. His smirk widened, and darkened. "Thank you, Lieutenant... Well... I suppose I no longer have to report Jenkins to anyone now, do I?"

Several of the guards chuckled, as did the other standing officer. "Lieutenant Cethin, Corporal Hallbjorn, take Jenkins to one of the empty cells."
"Yes sir!" they replied in unison. One of the guards who had insulted the downed man, a muscular blond man with a thick beard and metal-lined teeth, now grabbed the new prisoner's arm, while Cethin took his other, and they efficiently dragged him down the hall. The young man tried to drag his legs, tried to brace them and struggle, but he was still having trouble moving. "Wait... Wait, please!" he cried shakily, "I learned my lesson! I won't do it again! You can demote me! Just please, please, oh God please..."
His imploring voice became only a distant echo as he was taken further away.

Jadus watched with satisfaction. "Demotion's a bitch, eh El-tee?" Then he turned back toward his current charge. He looked quite content and thoughtful, yet slightly disappointed as well. "Well," he said with a sigh, "I guess the cat's edging its way out of the bag." He stepped closer again, crossing his good arm with the one in the sling. "Yes, thanks to that leaky faucet, now you know. We are actively searching for that stolen ship and your little temporary twin. You being here has not stopped that whatsoever."
"I did not expect that it would," Black Spider said.

Jadus then shrugged with his good shoulder dismissively. "Heh, yeah, it's not as if we wouldn't find both of you intriguing. After all, both of you DID break in. And supposing he was the shape-shifter, we'd of course want to study him as well... right?" He winked, a loaded gesture.
"Undeveloped cultures have always had a fascination with extra-terrestrials."

Jadus nodded, and arms still crossed, began pacing slowly back and forth about halfway across the cell. "Despite your status as such, and of course the fact that you seem to hold little sacred... I still know protective behavior when I see it. I have studied it very... VERY... carefully. I know all the nuances. The different details. Between friends, lovers, siblings, strangers, even enemies over time changing. I have seen all the tricks, all the lying, the comforting, the sacrifices. Or in this case, one defending the... other."

Black Spider sensed that his internal metabolic changes had just about been completed. His drowsiness was beginning to abate, but he maintained the appearance of exhaustion and decreased the melatonin in his skin to continue the flushed appearance. He also suppressed the new factors just slightly so that his head-flame maintained its consistency. This was a dangerous balance of chemical equilibrium, but he could hold it.
"A monster like you would take the time to observe that," he said, slurring his words just slightly.

"It's a fascinating science experiment, and can be very useful to all of humanity," Jadus answered, seeming to take it as a compliment. Then he stopped pacing.
"But here's the especially big question... So big that we would call it a forest. And most would not see it for the trees. But fortunately, I'm one for both fine details and the big picture..." He grinned sinisterly. "Why would the shape-shifter specifically change to resemble Bax Firago in the first place?"

"And not just emulating species, but down to the smallest..." He stepped backwards one step, arms still crossed. "Little..." He moved back again. "Details..." The grin looked as if it could split his face as he stood between the table and the gate.
"I have known Black Spider for over a decade," he answered falsely, sensing where Jadus was taking this but trying to buy just a little more time, "and even I do not know why he does what he does."
Jadus threw his head back with a hearty laugh, and then sneered at the prisoner.
"Pitiful."
He withdrew his right hand from where it was tucked into the sling, pulling out the remote and both turning up the CO2 and activating the electrical shock, as the guards unlocked the first gate and he edged his way out. The guards raised their guns cautiously.

Black Spider knew this would be the eventual outcome. Jadus had probably deduced almost perfectly who he really was. But he was fairly certain that he would not expect what was to come next. The carbon dioxide gas passed into Black Spider's body and he breathed it deep. The electricity caused his body to convulse as synapses fired everywhere. His heart beat rapidly and his brain went wild. But he maintained his newly altered physiology though the pain and allowed it to go to work.

The shape shifter had long stored bits of plant genetics within small vacuoles of his body, just in case he ever wanted to take advantage of their unique properties. He had only utilized their genetic abilities a few times, but now he was very glad that he had kept them around instead of expelling them for something a little more seemingly useful. All of his cells now contained chloroplasts that greedily took in the carbon dioxide and began a process of photosynthesis. He had also introduced sufficient concentrations of carbonic anhydrase to take up what CO2 he couldn't absorb. He had taken great risk to himself by performing even more metabolic reactions that allowed more water to flow through his system.

The carbon dioxide outside of the chloroplasts was quickly broken down into bicarbonate and high concentrations of protons. Inside the chloroplasts, photosynthesis proceeded rapidly as the cells absorbed water and used the electron donor to catalyze the carbon dioxide into complex carbohydrates and oxygen. The shape shifter had been sucking up light waves from all across the visible spectrum in this room and was now using the photons to complete the cycle. The electric shocks almost sped up the process. Pure oxygen flooded throughout Black Spider's body, bringing stinging relief to his muscles and his lungs. The byproducts of all of these processes were absorbed and metabolized in the continuing cycle.

Black Spider felt crucial parts of his bones lacking in zinc from the creation of the carbonic anhydrase metalloenzyme, but he could make due for a little bit longer. With the carbon dioxide now acting in his favor and the electric shocks helping the process more than hindering it, Black Spider focused on his next goal of escape. A great deal of hydrogen gas was building up from the water splitting that he was actively undergoing to keep it from overtoxicifying his still mostly Phoeniyan blood. He expelled it from the pores in his body, aiming it away from his volatile head flame.

"I may be pitiful," he managed to yell out from behind the mask, "And I may be nothing more than a sick experiment to you. But I have a question for you, Jadus--do you know what happens when hydrogen gas exceeds 4% concentration in the air and is exposed to fire?"
Jadus's eyes widened, and he quickly backed out of the second gate as he deactivated the voltage and gas with the remote. "Kaboom," he answered, even now grinning insanely before covering his head with his arms and starting to run, a few of the guards scrambling to follow him a moment later, a few others still frozen in confusion.

[Shadow Phoenix]

OoC: Bwahaha, leaving you in the dark about Bax and continuing on with the other part of this arc. Cuz I felt like it. And I really wanted to post today ^_^ Enjoy!

---

Black Spider's Phoeniyan aura exploded into flames and the room full of hydrogen gas erupted in a catastrophic explosion that carried the flames far beyond the confines of the cell. The concrete buckled and cracked and the Lumakian Ore bars gave way as the explosion concussively destroyed everything in the area. The soldiers who had not had the good sense to follow their leader were consumed by the sudden flames.

In the floor above, the man at the security screens and his three guards stared, wondering why Jadus was leaving the cell in the manner he was. He had told the worker before to activate the guns the moment anything looked that suspicious... but being only human, he hesitated. Then one of the guards, a woman, yelled, "Hit the damn switch!" and started to dive for the turret activation. But they were stopped in mid-action as the metal support beams below the floor groaned loudly, and the concrete crumbled, and hot tendrils of flame burst through the floor, engulfing the electrical equipment and the people among it with screams of emotional shock, electrical shock, and burning agony. The ammo in the guards' guns also exploded, finishing off any sparks of life which may have remained. The metal and rubble rained down against the edges of the cell where Black Spider was, an epicenter of relative clearness around him due to the force of the explosion.

Jadus and the surviving guards were stumbling down the hall, some of them vomiting and being dragged along by their comrades, all suffering from various degrees of burns. The high levels of hydrogen they had inhaled had rendered them all ill and dizzy. And even still, the Colonel-about-to-be-General chuckled breathlessly as he rounded the corner ahead of the others, able to fight his pain enough to keep in moderate motion. His sling had burned off, as had his tank top and a leg of his pants, and he had several blisters among the red rawness over much of his skin.
"What a fantastic day!" he rattled raspily.

At the center of the destruction, Black Spider felt the Lumakian Ore around him giving way under his normal weight. The flames had subsided by now and he was breathing heavily. He tugged at the right shackle, which surprisingly broke. He smiled a little--hydrogen embrittlement worked on this fantastic metal after all. That was a relief. He would hate to be futilely stuck in here after that display. He pitched to his knees as he yanked the left one loose. He ripped his mask off and broke free of the rest of the restraints.
The shape shifter noticed now that was alone--the cameras were broken and the turrets that had been trained on him were likewise out of commission. Normally, enacting his previous actions wouldn't have taken much out of him, but he had just been through a few hours of torture by a psychotic menace. Black Spider swayed for a moment, and then tried to gauge where he ought to go next.

Though he felt noxious, the shape shifter managed to keep his cookies down this time and he jumped up to the floor above through the hole that had been created by the explosion. He emerged in a room full of bodies pitched in various states of disarray around crackling computer panels. He came to edge of the utterly destroyed room and noticed a "you are here" display map on a panel by the door. From the looks of the map, he was in some sort of underground facility, now on the second sub-level. So he couldn't just blast out a wall and jump out. He would have to climb up three floors before he could get out. And he would have to be quick about it, too. The explosion would draw attention quickly.

"He's not here!" came a shout from downstairs. A group of soldiers had braved certain death and come back into the room. Black Spider skirted around the edge of the hole and avoided detection. He picked up the first body he came to. It was a woman, and her face was not too badly damaged. Black Spider took note of her facial features and general stature. He touched her throat and tried to discern a probable voice for her in case he had to speak. Then he picked her up in his arms and turned her to ash. Jadus still thought that he had Black Spider, but he had to erase signs of his shape shifting just to keep him guessing.

The flame-hair solidified and swept into a short blonde pixie cut. A Zion guard's uniform replaced Bax's gi and Black Spider filled out his proportions to resemble the woman's. Thankfully, her clothes covered his still-healing scars. He would stop to fully heal later.

With his new identity, Black Spider disheveled his appearance and stumbled out of the door coughing. There was no one around, but Black Spider kept up appearances and rushed through the halls looking disoriented but purposeful. He passed a few soldiers who looked at him/her and nodded as they rushed to join the rest of the search party.

Within a few minutes, Black Spider emerged on the top floor. He passed through what looked like janitorial storage, then a shower area and a locker room. A few more dusty storage areas, and Black Spider came out into the open air of Zion. He examined the building he had just emerged from. It only looked like it had one floor (which was uncommon for Zion), but was fairly nondescript. Around him, Black Spider noticed other higher buildings, some warehouses, and a few short nondescript ones like this. It was night again, and the moon was high in the sky. It had probably been about...18 hours since his capture then.
"I hope I gave you enough time, Bax," he said, surprised for a moment at his feminine voice before he remembered who he was impersonating. He identified the road and the closest way out and took off running towards it. If he could just get a vehicle, he might be able to get out...

[Shadow Phoenix]

Bax opened his eyes and gazed up at an ash-cloud laden sky. His first thought was that he was alive—somehow. He had survived the volcanic eruption and was…somewhere?

With vigor and clarity that surprised him, Bax lifted his torso up and sat comfortably. He no longer felt the searing heat that had tortured him this last week. Had it really only been that long? It felt like much longer…if that was how it felt to be human, he felt sorry for his friends.

It appeared that Bax was lying on a sloped bed of igneous rock. Warm Black sludge gathered all around Bax, having tumbled over itself to form new craggy layers for the volcano. Bax looked up and had this confirmed. The pointy topped Mt. Beli now had a large irregular crater as its crown. A quick look around the area told Bax that the island had been completely decimated by the eruption. The cult at the bottom of the volcano had been wiped out, as had the thick forests encircling the island. And with Bax’s look, the Senate ship had probably been destroyed, too. Had he caused this? It had been quaking before Bax combined the anti-materia and the raw materia, so maybe it was just a matter of time.

The anti-materia! Bax’s eyes widened and he lifted his wrist to examine it. A large smile spread across his face and he shouted joyously at the success of his operation! He threw his fists up in the air, unencumbered by the bangle or anything else, and then fell back on the igneous sludge laughing.
“The Ancients be praised!” he shouted. “It worked!”
Bax held his wrist up in the face of the sun that peeked through the ash cloud and examined the scar that now took the place of the bangle. It was shaped like the bangle, but had the look of a tattoo, with fire-like designs swirling and intertwining all around his wrist. A reminder…

Bax closed his eyes and smiled as he flopped down for a moment. Power coursed through him once again. And it felt so good. Normal. Healthy. He was able to tap into the ubiquitous flames of his ancestors again.

After a few minutes of laughing and basking in the comfortable radiance of the sun, Bax stood up and stretched his arms high into the air. He took a deep breath and smelled the acrid sulfur ash of the eruption. It wasn’t a pleasant smell by itself, but it felt strangely comfortable. He had survived a lot to come this far, and he wasn’t about to let a malodorous breeze ruin his mood.

The rejuvenated Phoeniyan stretched his arms out to either side and summoned his blades. “Valermos. Diroxauralis—come to me.”
Bax heard sudden shifting, and then the swords ripped from their places buried underneath the cooling rocks. They glowed with the superheat of the volcano as they whistled through the air, sucking up oxygen and singing air molecules. Bax smiled and curled his fingers in. The blades came to him and he gripped them. The heat didn’t bother him—it just felt good.
“Good—you survived. I was starting to feel lonely below the rocks.”
Bax smiled at the light joking and looked at the Diroxauralis, which glowed and pulsed. He felt strength and approval flowing from the ancient blade that his forefathers had wielded. He was complete again.

Bax sheathed the blades in their fireproof X sheath on his back and started walking down the volcano. The eruption had made the volcano a lot simpler to climb—the slopes were nice and easy now.

At the bottom of the mountain, Bax looked around for the ship. Unless its fantastic alloys were fireproof (and lavaproof) in addition to being bulletproof, it was lost. He had to figure out some way to get back to the continent. He could call Keldira, but…he was feeling really good about himself right then. He wanted to try something.

Bax closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and searched this world for a sign of Zack. Out here, far away from Midgar, he could sense something other than Midgar. He turned in the direction that he felt Zack coming from, adjusted for the curvature of the planet and walked to the edge of the water. Unless Zack had moved off of the Alpha Continent in these last five days, Bax knew that the continent was in this direction.

It was a long shot, but Bax wanted to test Eve’s other theory. She said that the anti-materia would have one of two reactions to exposure by extensive amounts of materia or raw materia. Either the anti-materia would become overladen with power and explode, relasing his power, or it would turn into a super-materia. She had said something about absorbing materia, too. Bax had seen the bangle crack just before the eruption, but that was no guarantee of anything. If he had created a supermateria with all of that exposure and then somehow absorbed that into himself, then…

Bax took a deep breath and knelt down at the waters. He raised his hands before him and then clapped them together. For the first time in a while, Bax felt flames seeping from his pores and covering his hands. He began to murmur a prayer and then drew a series of symbols in front of him to concentrate his power into a focal point. The power that he felt racing through his body felt incredible, but he couldn’t tell if this was more than it had been or if it was just this good to be back to normal.

After a moment of focus, Bax felt that he had gathered enough energy and his breath caught. His eyes flashed red, then black, then white. He extended his hands before him and intoned the execution of the spell.
“Draca Roglia!”

A massive red column of fire and destruction exploded from Bax’s hands and his eyes widened as it impacted the water with approximately the force of the volcano. Bax fought to keep control over the flames that were suddenly engulfing him and stretching out towards the continent. His heart beat fast and his breathing sped up with it. He had never created an attack of this magnitude before. It was incredible!

Bax stopped the furious attack after about a minute and stood there dumbfounded as the flaming aura wisped him. His hands were smoking and the igneous rock about his feet was glowing again and threatening to melt back to the lava that had constituted it hours before. Bax’s chest heaved back and forth and his muscular back rippled with each breath. Steam clouded Bax’s vision for a moment, and he waited for it to clear with bated breath.

As the steam dissipated, Bax laughed out loud again. Before him stretched a large trench through the water for as far as he could see. It was easily 100 feet across and stretched all the way down to the ocean floor. The walls of the water were still held back by the concussion of the blast, splashing up and cascading against an invisible wall. A thin layer of mist covered Bax’s new path at the bottom of this fire trench. He chuckled and nearly danced his way into the trench, feeling uninhibited by the watery walls of death that rose up for hundreds of feet on either side of him. He took off in a brisk run towards the Alpha Continent, enjoying the feeling of the squishy half-baked ocean mud beneath his feet and the fine salty spray that kissed his face. He could hardly wait to tell Zack!

The lost has been found...

[ZaCloud]

OOC: Half by me, half by SP. We needed this... and so do you! Enjoy!)

---

Elend Strife was not a happy man in general.

He was one of a rare few Strifes who had actually snapped at the treatment his kind received, having killed several people in retaliation for their barbs. Having been on the run for a while, he was granted amnesty in Zion four years ago, and was welcomed into their ranks. His temper remained hot, and most soldiers gave him a wide berth. None of them dared joke with him, lest he take it the wrong way.

He was a bitter loner, but knew not to become too aggressive lest he be demoted. As it was, he was stuck in the Specialist rank, a step below Corporal. Frankly, he suspected that the higher-ups were afraid of what he would do with authority. However, they gave him E-6 level pay, two levels above his rank. It kept him placated, and nobody dared complain.

But things had not been going well for the man, and so the berth around him had widened several times. The first event happened about two or three months ago. He had just finished a shower in the public facility and discovered that the Buster Sword and Materia he had received, procured several months previous from some Strife prisoners, was gone. He smashed in his locker door.
"FUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!"

After having his broken knuckles treated at the attached mini-med facility, he exited the building and attempted to return to his sleek, red Equinox Firefly, a sexy car he was making final payments on, only to find it no longer in the lot. After asking around, the gate guard had expressed surprise at seeing him so soon, claiming he could have sworn Elend had just recently drove off in it with "some blond chick" in the passenger seat. "She even had her hair spiked up kinda like a Strife," he'd chuckled, "Cute, eh?"

The guard had barely moved back in time as the Strife's fist put a crack in the glass window.
"FUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!"
After having his other broken knuckles treated, Elend was unapproachable for nearly a week.

Time had passed, and he'd been saving up his pay for a new car. And HQ had cheered him up with news that the Weapons department was developing a new Buster Sword variant for him. This would supposedly be a multi-part weapon which he very much looked forward to receiving.

But then as it was almost ready for mass-production, the only prototype was mysteriously stolen.
"FUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!"

One cracked wall and a broken toe later, Elend vowed to not get his hopes up too high, and expect the inevitable luck of a Strife to keep pissing him off. So, he attempted to go about his business with little ambition.

But one can only keep that up for so long... and when he had enough money for a down-payment on a new car, he fell in love with the latest Equinox Firefly model. Candy-apple red, it looked good enough to eat, curved like the ideal woman. He loved how it cruised, and put forth the money.

That had been two days ago. Now, he was again in the public shower house, shampooing his close-cut hair. It was a pain in the ass to keep trimmed; scissors pulled so much before each snip that it hurt the nerves directly under the follicles, and razors slid right past each strand. He had been excused from a crew-cut due to the difficulties, but still had to keep it short. So he used a serrated knife to slice it whenever new strands got too long. Strife Hair only grows a genetically-dictated length then stops, with old whiskers eventually falling out and new ones growing in. So he only had to endure the unpleasant sensations of trimming once a year. He felt several whiskers starting to surpass their chopped brethren, though, so he knew the time was close.
"...Fuuuck," he muttered with a sigh, starting to rinse off the shampoo.

Suddenly, he felt vibrations through the floor in his feet, and the water quit.
"FUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!" He started squeezing his hands through his hair, trying to get rid of as many suds as possible. He heard commotion outside, the footfalls of boots and the loading of weapons. Thin suds stung his eyes and he squeezed them shut.
"Fuuuuuuck," he muttered, continuing to dab the towel over his face as he jogged into the locker room; he knew well enough to navigate blindly to his locker (which had a green door as opposed to the brown doors of others; it had been a hurried repair). He pulled on his pants and boots, grabbed his Smasher Sword, and also his keys. If something were going on, and required the range he could not provide, then, he wanted to get his new baby out of the way.

He jogged outside, dabbing at his face one more time, most of the suds gone though his violet eyes were still a bit bloodshot, sword in one hand and keys in the other, too distracted to pocket them as he tried to figure out what happening. He didn't see any more soldiers in the general area for the moment, except one.
"What the FUCK is going on?" he asked.

The woman turned around and looked at the Strife with a bit of surprise. She looked a little disheveled, with ash and soot covering her face. "A high profile prisoner just escaped. Our communication went down so I came looking for help."
"The prisoner interrupted my FUCKING shower!" the angry Strife yelled. "Fuck, I need to move my car."
The woman walked up towards Elend with a devilish glint in her eye. "I know that it might not be the best time, but...I've always had a thing for Strifes. With cars. And big...swords..."
She placed a finger on Elend's bare chest, and his eyes widened. Best time or not, he hadn't gotten any action in a long time. And this woman was coming on somethin strong! He smiled and ran a finger through his still slightly sudsy hair. "I could take you for a ride. It's right over there--the candy-apple red Equinox Firefly."
The woman turned and looked. "Wow," she said. "I like it." She touched the Strife's face and looked deep in his eyes, drawing close to him.

Elend was getting excited and his breathing started to get more rapid. He smiled and leaned in to kiss the woman.
"Not without a date," she said. Elend opened his eyes just in time to see the woman’s foot connect with his head. The powerful blow knocked him out cold.

---

About an hour later, Elend came to with a few soldiers staring down at him. As his eyes opened, they all took a few steps back. He got to his feet, grimaced and held his hand to his swelled temple.
"What…the fuck…" he murmured through the throbbing migraine.
"Uh," one of the soldiers said, "You passed out."
"NO!" he shouted, "some fucking broad kicked me!" Elend looked around him and noticed that his keys and his sword were no longer around him. "And where the FUCK are my sword and my car?!" he demanded.

Another soldier sheepishly looked at Elend and murmured something.
"Speak up!" the Strife yelled.
"The guy at the gate said someone drove through about an hour go. Looked like you and had your sword."

Elend's face turned bright red and his brow twitched for a moment. The other soldiers backed up as though he was about to physically explode.
"FFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!"

[Shadow Phoenix]

OoC: Picking up from around Seph's post in Ch. 13...didn't know whether I should post here or in that chapter. But this is my merger into that chapter.

---

The exposed cliffs at the edge of the Alpha Continent slowly came into Bax’s vision as he ran along the still muddy ground of the trench in the ocean. With his renewed vigor, he had run long and hard and was nearly back from the island of Franca. He still had a great smile on his face, feeling confident with this new power. The sun was close to setting—a sight that looked quite odd from below sea level.

As he drew closer to land, Bax felt a foreboding air stretching out towards him. At the edge of his trench, he saw four distinct figures standing and waiting for him. It was odd for him to be able to sense them like this after having his sixth sense shut down for the last week. Their energies jumped out at him and he almost tripped from the sudden feeling. But he kept running…somehow, he knew this reverie wouldn’t last long.

Just a little bit further out, Bax recognized three of the energy signatures. Magi—Kerlin, Daito, and Marco were waiting for him. But there was someone else here, too. Bax didn’t recognize the energy, but it felt strong. Who could it be?

Bax leapt out of the trench and propelled himself in easy flight the rest of the way. He landed before the Magi warily and narrowed his eyes. Kerlin waved hello to Bax with his left arm, revealing an arm guard that had two green materia on it. The one with a blue sliver in it glowed and Bax heard the sea crash behind him as the trench gave way. Bax shuddered for a moment—it seemed Kerlin had a water materia at his control now. He probably could have collapsed the trench while Bax was still out there, and there would have been nothing the Phoeniyan could have done. Kerlin was toying with him.
“Greetings, Phoeniyan,” Marco said, leveling his warhammer in his hands. “Long time no see.”
Bax glared at him and his fingers twitched. It was tempting to roast all four of these Magi where they stood, but he held out for a moment.

“I know the three of you bastards,” Bax offered, “but I do not think that we have met before.” Bax nodded his head at the fourth Magi standing slightly behind Kerlin, Daito, and Marco. The figure removed its hood and revealed a dark-complexioned female with stunning golden-almond eyes and long black hair that dropped out of sight in her cloak. She carried a large trident that was slung across her shoulder. She smiled and strode forward to get a better look at Bax.
“Forgive me, Bax. I know a lot about you, but I guess you don’t know me. I am the High Priestess Mira of the Intelligence Division of the Magi.”
Intel…they must have searched for Bax. The volcanic eruption and sudden trench in the ocean probably made it fairly easy to spot him.

“What do you want?” Bax asked after a deep breath. He clenched his fists and kept his eye on all of them.
“What do we always want, Bax?” Daito asked in his cold voice.
“It’s a wonder you keep asking questions,” Kerlin remarked. “Just come with us and we won’t have to take your limbs to do it.” The red-haired Magi grinned devilishly and ran his free hand over the blade of his scythe.
Bax sighed. Why did these people keep on bothering him? Surely he couldn’t do them much good. And he certainly didn’t want to be a party to their sick experiments.

Mira raised her hand and the three other Magi took note and stepped back for a moment, bowing their heads. Bax wondered at the display—if she commanded their attention so simply, Bax could only imagine what her strengths might be. If it came to fighting, this could end up being a tough battle.
“Bax Firago, Phoeniyan King of Auralis, brother of Drax Firago and son of Adi Firago and Atara Virka. Auralis is about 3.5 light-years away from us here on Earth, and our planet is currently listed under the Laws of Developmental Sanctity thanks to your brother. We know that we are just one of many races in the universe and are considered weak and underdeveloped. We know this because of your brother, who visited us despite the laws. He cooperated with us—so why can’t you?”
Bax felt a chill run down his spine. He knew that Drax had come to Earth, but he didn’t know that he had interacted so strongly with the Magi. Bax had a feeling that this information was just the tip of the iceberg. Why had he told them so much? It violated so much protocol, which was just…the opposite of the brother Bax thought he knew.

“My brother…was a good man who made some bad decisions. I will not make the same choices and violate my conscience. Your organization resurrected the ancient evil of my people and unleashed it on this world.”
Mira smiled, “Valtiel has exceeded all expectations, and our labors with the Fallen Phoenix are now bearing fruit through him. But he is dangerous and unpredictable. We fear that we will not be able to control him or work with him. So we need your help.”
That last part surprised Bax a little. “My help?”
Mira continued. “Our reports indicate that you have been able to fight with Valtiel before, and were able to inflict some damage due to, we believe, your racial heritage.”
She was talking about when Bax transcended as a result of his inhabitation by Keldira. But things were much different now…
“That was nearly a month ago. He has gained significant power since then.”
“So have you,” Marco replied. “Don’t think we haven’t noticed.”
Bax closed his eyes. What was he going to do?

“The symbiont within Valtiel is dangerous, but it has not exerted control over him. Valtiel remains a chaotic vessel, but we believe that you may also be a suitable vessel. If you can take in Necrostiana, we could extract her and…well, we have our goals.”
Bax shook his head. “I cannot allow that to happen. You do not know how dangerous Necrostiana is.”
Kerlin swung his scythe out and pointed it at Bax. “Wrong answer.” The materia on his arm guard flashed again and a large torrent of water leapt out from the ocean and headed straight for him. Bax’s eyes widened and he leapt out of the way, vaulting over the heads of the Magi.

Daito’s body seemed to blur as he rocketed up towards Bax and intercepted him during his arc. He jabbed the sheathed katana into Bax’s stomach, knocking the wind out of the Phoeniyan and causing his vision to go haywire for a moment. The vampire was a lot faster than the last time Bax had fought him. Daito flipped over with another sharp, blurred movement and landed on Bax’s back. He accelerated into a ferocious spin and slammed his leg into Bax with vicious momentum. The Phoeniyan plummeted back towards the sands and felt a heavy foot pin him to the ground. A warhammer crackling with electricity was poised by his face, while Kerlin’s scythe slipped around the other side of his neck and Daito’s katana poked into his back.

Bax lifted his head and saw Mira walk towards him. “Do you really want this to get ugly, Bax?” she asked.
Bax glared at her and his aura exploded in a flash, sending all four of them flying. It wasn’t a hot flame—just something to get them off of him. Bax scrambled to his feet and looked around him, drawing his swords. He just wanted to get back to Libertas and not have to worry about fighting these people.

Mira raised her trident and crouched into an offensive position, ready to leap at Bax. He tensed up and turned his attention to her.
“I do not want to fight you,” Bax said as he clutched his blades. He was surrounded and at a disadvantage, but he wasn’t ready to give in.

And then Mira looked off to the side and raised a hand to her ear.
“What?” she said quizzically. The other three Magi remained poised for battle, but looked at the high priestess for orders. “Shit. I knew I shouldn’t have come out. You all are incompetent without me.”
Mira looked at Bax and sighed. “Yes, I found Bax. But this takes priority. I will find him. Don’t worry.”
Mira cursed again and looked at the other Magi. “We’re pulling back to HQ. And I have something to do. So take care of my body. If anything happens to me, I will kill you all.”
Mira laid her trident on the ground and looked straight into Bax’s eyes. “We will meet again, Bax Firago.”
Her body shook and then she collapsed to the ground. Marco walked over to her and picked her limp body up. Daito grabbed her trident and slung it across his shoulders after he sheathed his katana.
“You’re lucky, Bax,” Kerlin said. “Next time won’t be so easy.”

Daito waved his hand in the air and the four Magi disappeared in a purple flash, leaving Bax standing there baffled. What had just happened? Bax slowly sheathed his blades and shook his head. He would have to hurry to Libertas. If something had happened that got the Magi riled up, then Bax had reason to worry…

[The Waffle King]

A pale man slipped silently through the fuzzy shadows of Midgar. He quietly cursed at the suffocating fog. It was getting late in the day, which would usually make for long, dark shadows to hide in. But the heavy mist diffused the sunlight so much that it was impossible to even approximate the time. The day had comprised of seemingly endless hours of the same dim ambient light until it faded to a pitch black night, which he didn't want to stick around for. But he made do, moving from cover to cover, stopping to listen for any tell tale sounds of his detection. Only one functional arm didn't help matters much, his entire left arm wrapped against his body by a makeshift bandage from the bottom of his gi's tunic, wet with blood, but not seeping. He hoped that family got to safety with Dante and Zack, he made a mental note about how sharp those bone spikes were on these things, and not to try blocking again. Sneaking past soulless mutants was both easier and more difficult than dealing with wily humans. One one hand, they were stupid and couldn't work in groups, he had actually witnessed a few rip each other apart over some poor bastard's leftover leg to chew on. But on the other, their senses seemed to be in overdrive, charging toward any hint at life. He wondered if they would ever stop looking for prey, considering half of them didn't have mouths to feed with.

Onikage checked his corners, clear, then darted out across the empty street, taking refuge behind a pile of trashcans. He made a quick check of his tight sling, glaring at the fresh blood. Even he could smell the iron in it. Scanning his newer surroundings, he noticed the shredded remains of an old corpse, most picked clean. It was rank, but it seemed as though normal life such like maggots were wiped out in the transformation. Instead of grimacing at the stench, he smiled, nothing was garbage in his eyes. He halfway unwrapped his wounded arm, picking up one of the corpses severed hands, and wrapping into his bandage. Now not only was the scent of his blood covered, but it was pungent enough to help mask any sweat he might build up. He took a moment to consider what kind of infection he might get with a chunk of disgusting meat pressed up against an open wound, but the choice was simple, stay clean or stay alive. And staying alive meant picking up the pace if he wanted to be gone before nightfall. He knew he was near the weaker edge of the city, so he dropped the constant hiding and jogged, weaving around any noise making debris, sticking to the edges of buildings and structures.

[The Waffle King]

The hospital was damp and quiet, fog rolling in through broken windows and cracked doors. Only a few lights flickered on as dusk set in, the automatic timers still allowed to do their duty for the time being. Valtiel and Hodia idled in one of the examination rooms. The creature sat lazily on a stretcher, as the fire-haired woman looked a little anxious. Pacing around the room, picking at her fingernails, brushing off her clothing as they gathered grime. She hadn't received any new orders from her master in days and was beginning to worry. After capturing X's love interest, Valtiel seemed perfectly happy to make idle chit chat and pass the time, but ran out of topics a day earlier. The electrical current made its way through the building, making a single recessed light buzz to life over Valtiel. Almost like an alarm clock in the morning, he hopped off the rolling bed and stretched the stiffness from the limbs, having on oddly chipper tone to his voice.

Valtiel – “Hey! Lets go for a walk.”

Hodia looked excited and confused.

Hodia - “Oh! W-where will we be going?”

Valtiel walked briskly towards the exit, motioning for his companion to follow.

Valtiel - “To watch the sunset, the view will be breathtaking once we're out of the fog.”

She hurried after him, still confused, but somewhat pleased to see that he had some sort of human side to him. But she sensed this wasn't a simple stroll.

- - -

Onikage pressed on, listening to the growing restlessness of the city as the light faded. He had only encountered a few of Valtiel's minions in the relatively long distance he was covering, easily outrunning the dimwitted monstrosities, but he knew that would change soon if he didn't reach the edge in time, and time was short. Slowly, more and more creatures crept out of alley ways and buildings, their ferociousness intensifying with each passing minute. He bit his lip and increased his gait, this was not good. The guttural sounds behind him grew louder and angrier, they all knew he was there. Windows rattled in their frames, doors clattered against their locks, he was not used to having a worlds worth of eyes upon him. His mind raced just as fast as his feet, the growing chaos crescendoing as a garage door exploded off of its track beside him.

A massive, four legged beast trotted out of the structure, pounding on the pavement furiously with its club like front limbs, immediately taking off in pursuit of the fleeting intruder. Onikage's heart nearly stopped, he had no idea that something that strong could be molded out of a human. He broke into an all out sprint, his life now in serious danger. The beast galloped after him, hoards of smaller but nimble mutants joining the chase as they burst out of doors and windows along the way. His only escape was the desert, hoping they wouldn't follow him out of their own sanctuary.

- - -

The pair walked eastward toward the eastern edge of Midgar, Hodia smiling eagerly, knowing Valtiel was always more than he appeared. They were already exiting the fog, their visibility growing with each step as the building stopped and the roads grew rough. Minutes later, the view ahead of them was clear, the dunes rolling endlessly into the distance. The red sun partially covered by the horizon, throwing a multitude of colors across the sky. Hodia marveled at the sight, she had never seen a sunset like this before. Valtiel put his hands on his hips and took a deep breath.

Valtiel - “I've taken an entire city, and put the population of an entire planet into a state of panic. I've blotted out the sky and twisted this world's inhabitants into my own personal army, completely loyal and intent on wiping out every beating heart that exists. But no matter what I do, even with the power of an ancient god at my disposal, I can't change this, I can't...stop this event from happening. It's cycled every day since the earth's crust cooled after forming from galactic dust. I can't...and I won't, not the beauty of uncorrupted natural serenity, untouched by the fires of industry and war.”

Hodia stood in amazement, both at the sight and her master's words. This backwoods planet held its own gems, unobstructed by orbital stations or trans galactic war fleets.

- - -

Onikage's legs began to burn, running full force across flat ground like this was not the focus of his training, but his endurance was keeping him alive. His hopes slowly rising as the fog thinned out, he checked his six, the hoard was still on his tail, but it had grown smaller. He was going to make it. The chocking shroud began to drop off sharply, creatures slowly giving up the chase as the view became clearer. He pressed on with a renewed energy as he made his way to safety, the beast slowing and stopping, roaring after him in disgust. His confidence soared having literally gone to hell and back, there wasn't anything he couldn't survive. The fog lifted and he was alone, the road dropping off into the desert sands of the south west boundary. He hobbled to a stop, falling to his knees to catch his breath, finally out of danger. After this, crossing the desert on foot seemed far less imposing.

- - -

Hodia was lost in the view, in awe of the hidden beauty of this new planet. Suddenly, she was jerked back to reality, being pulled to the side into something soft. She looked up, Valtiel had his arm wrapped around her shoulder, holding her closely to himself. Her face turned the same color as the sun, her brain boiling over with impossible thoughts, she had no idea how to react. Her master stayed calm, still enjoying the view with the stammering girl next to him. Eventually, she composed herself, opening her mouth to say something, but was immediately cut off, Valtiel leaning and pointing out toward the sunset.

Valtiel - “There's a moment, just as the sun sinks below the horizon, that held a particular amount of significance to humans all throughout history. Almost like like a final push, there's a flash as the last rays of light are covered by the sand. Some cultures even though it was supernatural, that at that moment, there was an opening between the world of the living and the land of the dead...that even souls could be called back from beyond...”

Hodia looked onward, there's no way the refraction of light had anything to do with the souls of living creatures. She could see primitive cultures finding something supernatural in a sight they didn't understand, but there couldn't be any truth behind it.

The sun sank low, just a sliver of red on top of the dunes. It sunk lower and lower, and as the top of the glowing orb reached to crest of the dune, a green flash shot upward into the atmosphere, it was an impressive display of bending light. But this was accompanied by a low rumble and a gently push of frigid air from behind, from the center of Midgar. Everything was silent, like the world had given its last breath. Slowly, a gentle vibration in the ground signaled that it was not over. In the darkness, she could hear sand moving, being pushed around, and low groans...breathless noises in the night. Hovering red embers began to dot the dunes, wobbling about as they struggled upwards, multiplying with each passing moment. Her eyes adjusted to the moonlight, and her mouth fell open. Dried, mummified figures pulled themselves free of the sand. Their empty sockets holding glowing points of light where eyes should be. There were hundreds...thousands...the casualties of the 200 Year War rose, disturbed from their eternal sleep.

- - -

Onikage's mouth hung wider than Hodia's as countless corpses rose from their graves.

Onikage - “.............no fucking way...”

[puddingdisease]

Kali had been walking for 3 hours since her last nap. She was getting excited to be so close to Midgar. But she also knew one of naps might be coming soon and she wondered if she would dream of a monster that takes a child away from its mother again or the young man that had said his good byes to his family. Kali had those two specific dreams alot. It always made her curious because the monster was not scary...it seemed almost kind. It didn't snatch the child away and attack the mother. It simply held out its arms to take the child and then the mother died. The young man she dreamed of she hoped was real and that it was her brother. Kali shrugged to herself "monsters are not real" She thought. Kali then looked up and realised she was within a mile or two of Midgar. Kali became very excited and then noticed something else....A injured man fighting what looked like bandits.

Kali kept getting closer but tried to be quiet and stay as hidden as she could be. If these were bandits there sure were alot of them. "Hmm" she began to think "Maybe if I could distract the bandits the man could get away" Kali then searched through her bag she had something that might work. She finally found what she was looking for a watch that had bright lights and was very loud *she had bought it along time ago hoping she could wake herself up from one of her naps but it never seemed to work. Kali set the watch and gave it a good toss away from the injured man. The majority of the undead went toward the watch and when they got close start attacking each other trying to get closer to the source of noise and light. Kali watched and when she thought it was safe she jumped up and down trying to get the injured mans attention untill he finally noticed her. The man began working his way through the undead surrounding him towards the weird girl that was trying to save him. He noticed something peculiar then, she stopped suddenly and her arms dropped to her side and her head druped. What the hell he thought and he noticed that some of the undead had noticed her and were heading towards her too and they were much closer then he was. "Shit" Onikage said. One of the undead had gotten close enough to Kali and stretched out its arm to grab her when out of nowhere a spear came from the ground and went straight through the zombie.

"What the hell was that?" Onikage said in slightly hysterical tone. Shin rose up from Kali's shadow "Jeez this girl is always getting into messes." Shin sighed and looked around and sensed the shadows around him. "Well that is a shame all these poor shadows have rotted with there bodies. I guess I won't get any new shades for my realm out of these poor shades." Shin thought. At that moment another zombie went to grab Shin and fell through. Onikage watched on and finally said "what the hell is going on?" Shin looked down at Onikage while bending down and reaching into the fallen undeads shadow "You human what is your name?" Shin pulled a knife out of the shadow and then thrushed it into the skull of the fallen undead that was now trying to get up. Onikage raised an eyebrow and said "Onikage...a mercenary." He turned around and decapitated a zombie that was behind him. Shin looked on "Well Onikage my name is Shin. I have another question. Do you mean harm towards my charge?" "No infact she tried to help me escape" Onikage responded. Shin flicked his wrist and threw the knife into a zombies face "Well if you mean no harm to her I will protect you to if you make sure no harm comes to her". Onikage wondered if he was making a deal with a demon like valitiel but realised in his conditioned he wouldn't last long and this thing was with the girl that tried to help him. When Onikage got closer he noticed Shin was the girls shadow and she no longer cast one of her own and that she was asleep. Onikage tried to talk but Shin cut him off "If you want to know about my charge I will let you know after we have escaped."


Shin looked at the undead that were now heading towards them "I wonder how rusty I am" Shin thought. Shin pulled the shadow together and towards him. Shin then reached down and pulled out a scythe from the huge shadow. "Onikage would you like to know a secret about shadows?" Shin questioned. Onikage gave a confused look and said "What would this secret be?" Shin smiled and said "Well everything cast a shadow right?" "Yes" Onikage responded even more confused. "Well did you know that if you take the shadow away from its source body they both rot? And that if you destroy one the other takes on boths life and strength?" Onikage trying to make sense said "So if you don't destroy those undead creatures then the scythe will slowly rot and die? But if you destroy them it will become stronger?" Shin smiled again "Correct" he said. Onikage looked at Shin "So you are gonna make that short range scythe strong by killing them?" Shin gave what looked like confused look then smiled. "Short range?" Shin pushed a small button on shaft and the blade dropped to the ground attached to the shaft still by a black chain. "I guess this is no longer short range" Shin said while smiling then flicked his wrist and brought the blade into the air and flicked his wrist again to make the blade fly through the air and several undead. "I guess I haven't gotten to shabby" Shin thought.

Shin surveyed the situation. "We need to get out of here." Shin thought. Shin then pulled in more shadows of the undead and it formed into a wagon with a small steering wheel. "Onikage take Kali and get on the wagon" Shin said. Onikage grabbed Kali and put her on the wagon so that she was leaning into him from behind. Shin slashed through the owners of the shadows, then turned around and put his foot on back end of the wagon and gave it a good shove so that it began sliding down the hill. "I will catch up soon" Shin yelled to Onikage. Shin turned around and swung the scythe through the skulls of two zombies that had gotten close to him. "Well I guess its time to see if I truly am rusty" Shin thought. And then took off in a sprint towards the zombies. Shin swung vertically into the head of a undead and as soon as he stepped on its shadow he fell through pulling the scythe through the zombies body cutting it into two. The undead looked around confused as to what had just happened. Then a click was heard and the scythe swung up through one the undeads shadows and took out three of the undead that were in front of it. The scythe then disapeared back into the shadow of the original zombie. Shin then jumped out of the shadow of another zombie and ran forward and with a verticle slash took out 5 of the undead cutting there heads in half. Shin then dove into the shadow of another undead and jumped out of anothers shadow and flicked his wrist sending the blade through several more undead. Shin looked around. "Well thats alittle bit of a dent and atleast there facing opposite direction of where Kali is" Shin thought. "Ugh this blade isn't going to last forever" Shin said out loud to no one but himself.

Shin slid into another shadow and worked his way to the back of the crowd. When he was at the back of the crowd close to where he started he looked up at the undead through there shadows. "Hmm I need a distraction" Shin thought then smiled and began pulling in the shadows of near by undead. Shin then began sculpting the shadows as if it was a huge ball of clay. Slowly the ball became a figure that slowly began looking like himself. Shin then put his hand on the figures forehead and it began to move its arms. "You are a golem my friend" Shin began and then continued "I have given you life for a reason. I am going to put you on the other side of the undead as a distraction." The golem shook its head and with that Shin sent it to the other side of the undead battle field. Once on the other side the golem jumped out of the shadow of a unfortunate zombie that received a upper cut that enough force to break its neck as the head bent backwards and the zombie was sent into the air. This attracted the other undead and they began swarming to the golem. Shin stepped up silently through the shadow of one of the undead looked towards the golem and whispered "I am sorry my friend for your brief life" and with that Shin turned and began running towards where Kali and Onikage were heading on the wagon. The golem threw a punch into the face of a zombie shattering its jaw and watched as his master disapeared in the distance. The golem then spun around and grabbed the arm of a zombie that had reached out for him and threw it over himself into a group of undead. "Thank you master for this life no matter how brief it has been" the golem said right before a zombie grabbed its shoulder. The golem tried to turn and punch the zombie but another grabbed hold of his other arm. The undead swarmed and began tearing at the golem. A zombie bit into the golems neck and he shattered into pieces of what looked like black glass on the desert floor.

At that moment already a mile away Shin stopped running turned around and looked back in the direction of the undead. Shin could feel that the golem had been destroyed. Shin frowned and said to himself "Life is such a fragile little thing." Shin then turned and began to run again following tracks Onikage had made dragging the wagon with Kali in it. "With the condition he was in I doubt they made it much further" Shin thought.

Less then a mile away Onikage sat on the ground with his back against the wagon with Kali in it. He looked out toward the shadow tearing apart the army of undead, then behind him at the sleeping girl. he sighed, "Crap, why couldn't I have just run into someone with a jeep..."

Shin made it to the top of dune and saw Onikage and Kali at the bottom. "Found you" Shin said out loud. Onikage turned his head and looked up at Shin. Shin walked down the dune till he reached them, Shin then bent down next to Kali. Onikage looked at Shin and then said "I want two things answered." Shin looked at him. Onikage began "Who...er what are you? And what is the girl to you?" Shin looked at Onikage then stood up right "I am Shin and the easiest way to describe what I am is to say I am a god of shadows." Shin answered. "And with your other question. The girl is my charge. I accepted to take care of the child from her dieing mother who had taken shelter in the cave I was hiding in." Shin paused then began again "That is the short version of the story. I have no time for the long version as the girl will awaken soon and I will once again become her shadow and sleep. I ask that you do not let her know about me or what really happened back there please" Shin said. Onikage looked at Shin taking in everything that had just happened and been said. Onikage thought for a moment and then said "Okay I will make something up to tell her when she awakens." "Thank you Onikage, but be swift with your thoughts as she stirs now and will be awake any minute" Shin said and then bent down and put his hand on Kali's leg and began to become her shadow once more. The girl slowly came to, Onikage looking at her impatiently. "You really shouldn't pass out in the middle of the desert like this, it's dangerous." She blinked at him, confused. "Nevermind, lets just go. We need to get to shelter before it gets too dark."