Chapter 13: Seperate Paths
By The Spy
Many paths set to the same goal,
And yet separate at the same time
The original spear-bearer,
the lover,
the Saint
Shall Guide the way to a
future without war...
Or to a world destroyed......
Or.....
Both.
-The Mysidian Prophecy, Stanzas #13-15
Kain's eyes were exactly the same. His face and his body shape were exactly
the same. His armor was very alike to Kain's if not exactly the same. He
looked at her, and his gaze was cold and empty.
"K-K-Kain....?" Kim's eyes widened, and for a moment she wondered, might she
be asleep?
The dragoon in front of her regarded her coolly, then shook his head. "No,"
he said in a cold, emotionless voice, "I am not the Dragoon."
Kim felt her heart sink. Indeed, the man in front of her looked like Kain and
had his voice. But his spirit was not there.
"Wh-why are you here?" she cried back at the Dragoon. "Are you here to mock
my pain?"
"No," the Kain Clone said again. "I am here merely to deliver a message."
======
"Spoony," Craxton murmured. His voice had dropped to a whisper. "Wh-where
are we?"
They faced each other in the cold, murky room Craxton had found himself
teleported into mere moments before. Spoony stood only meters away, his
clothing ripped and wrinkled, his overall look disheveled.
His friend looked him over momentarily before turning his head to the
floor. "Why, don't you know? We're in the prisons below the Lunarian
Fortress."
Spoony paused, then glanced back toward the corner he had appeared from.
Craxton could see, through the light of the home planet, a bearded figure,
lying under the barred window, and looking rather unhappy.
"Something's happened to FuSoYa," Spoony said. He was really worried, if the
tone of his voice was any clue. "Just two hours ago, he collapsed and has
been fading in and out of consciousness ever since. Frankly, Craxton, I
don't know if he's going to wake up... He's got a fever hot enough to
burn my hand."
======
"A message?" Kim replied slowly, trying hard to hold her conflicting emotions
inside. "From whom?"
"Read it yourself," the Kain Clone replied. "And be there."
"Be where?"
The Kain Clone didn't reply. He walked back through the door, and slammed it
behind him. Kim winced at the sound.
She looked down at the small white envelope left by her feet, and quickly
picked it up to read it.
======
The castle had floated there since He gained the power and began His own
cycle of existence. Ever since then, it had remained above the clouds,
foreboding a day that was almost here.
He didn't get many visitors. He would decide whether or not to receive those
who took the gates, and usually instead just left them to die. The ones He
did receive were in His power from the moment they arrived. But that would
all change. Today.
Below the Master's main chambers, just in front of the grand stairway, the
greenish-white portal had remained open since before the dawn of mankind,
and yet had only received a handful of guests. During the night, it was the
one light that continued to shine, save for the stars above. During the day,
it was the device the Master had used to manipulate the fates of the AGFFers
of every Usenetverse.
The shapes in the greenish-white portal were constantly shifting and
changing, like a river. This oversized lava lamp would sometimes
remain that way for centuries. This time it had only been 50 years.
The green shapes twisted around chaotically momentarily, and went against
the river-like flow that had been. The shapes fought each other for a
moment before becoming one. Then they grew to an immense size, covering
the entire portal, and after a moment the white background was completely
obliterated. Even then, the portal continued to change. The shape of a
masculine body formed in the center of the light-green circle, starting as
a mass of dark-green energy. The dark-green energy continued to become more
and more detailed, showing that the figure had short, combed hair, and wore
high-quality leather and steel armor. He also held a shield in one hand over
his stomach as if to protect himself from something, and had two twin swords
sheathed to his belt.
The dark green energy left him now, and he fell to the floor with a groan.
His hair was black, and his face, though pale, had features that looked to
be of Asian descent. His blue-green eyes shined to the point of seeming
magical. Many had called him an old soul after simply looking into his
eyes.
The man coughed and picked himself up off of the floor. His back ached, and
he felt sore in muscles he hadn't previously even known he had. Behind him,
another body was beginning to form out of darkish-green energy, and,
intelligently, the man crawled out of the way.
Moments later, one of the man's two companions, Fulgore, flew out of the
portal and hit the tiled floor with his padded elbow. Fulgore had longer,
brownish hair and had one sword sheathed into his belt. Though he was
wearing the same type of armor his companion did, his had many differences,
starting with the pentacle symbol on his shield and vest, and the dragoon-
style boots on his feet.
Fulgore looked up and groaned. "Kui...." he muttered. "Where.... are we?"
"I don't know," Kuibob replied. "But you'd better get out of the way.
Darlon's behind you."
Fulgore's eyes widened in acknowledgement and he quickly crawled out of
the way.
Immediately behind him fell Darlon Hibiki Vadrax, screaming as he fell. His
hair was as long as Fulgore's, but, unlike Fulgore, he had not taken the
time to comb it. Traces of green, purple, and white could be seen in his
hair, undoubtedly the result of failed attempts to bleach his hair. He wore
pink armor and had a dirk sheathed in his belt. He continued to scream even
after he landed.
"Darlon, for Bob's sake, shut up," Fulgore said irritably.
"Take it easy on him," replied Kuibob, crawling to his feet. "We all have
reason to be alarmed."
Above them, a large oak door opened, and a thin figure in a long, flowing
red robe stepped out. His head was completely shadowed by a long blood-red
hood. "What the hell is this?" He demanded of them.
"Ummm," Fulgore began. "My name is Fulgore, and these are my two companions
Darlon and Kuibob."
When the man didn't respond, Fulgore continued, "We hail from AGFF. We are
the MRF Beta, and we devote our lives to ridding AGFF of the Microwave."
After a continued silence on the part of the figure standing above them,
Fulgore added, "Have you seen a man named Lord Falconer? He disappeared,
and we're searching for him...."
The man said nothing, continuing to glare down at them. Finally, after
the longest moment of pure silence, He started down His carpeted stairs,
nearly as red as His robe itself. "So you're from AGFF. You're devoting
your life to ridding AGFF of the Microwave. Hold, please."
Fulgore was suddenly aware of his inability to move. Around him, his
companions stood, still as rock, and it occurred to him that they were
all now fully in this red robed man's power.
The man, meanwhile, pulled out a pocket-sized wand, on which different
colored lights flashed. The man pointed it at Fulgore.
Fulgore attempted to speak, but found himself unable to. Panic flushed
through him and he pleaded silently to the heavens for freedom.
After a moment, the man lowered the wand, and spoke. "Ah. You're from
that AGFF. Interesting. Only one other person has ever come here from
there."
The man paced around thoughtfully before turning back toward them. "You
may speak. How did you get here?"
Fulgore's neck relaxed and he realized a portion of his freedom had returned.
Not to waste any time, he replied, "we were in alt.evil... and our friend
Lord Falconer disappeared. We came upon this portal and thought he might
have gone through here."
The man sounded confused. "Alt.evil? I've placed no portals there."
The man continued to pace. Fulgore took this moment to continue. "Who are
you?" Fulgore asked. "Your voice sounds vaguely familiar to me."
The man laughed, His voice hoarse and rough as He did so. Finally, He flipped
His hood off of His head, showing the handsome, well-built face of a man who
could've been only in his twenties, except for the omniscient aged look that
could be seen in His eyes. His hair was short and black as the night, and His
smile looked oddly evil.
Fulgore's eyes widened and he choked. "You're...." he gasped.
"Yes," the man replied, flashing Fulgore that evil grin. "I'm Murgorath."
======
"We've got to warn the others!" Cherubae exclaimed, turning to Jason. "If
they're cloning Kains already...."
"No, no, no, I'm afraid that won't be possible."
Tseng, Reno, Elena, and several dozen soldiers lined into the warehouse via
the broken door, blocking the only exit the AGFFers knew of. Jason smelled
perfume in the air.
"You won't let anyone know, actually. We have an appointment, you and I,"
Tseng said specifically to Jason. "Killing Mr. X has made life very
complicated for us. And you can't deny it, you played a major role
in it."
"I'm not going to deny it," Jason said, stepping forward to face Tseng.
"What I will tell you, however, is that Kim and I did the world a
favor."
"....Not according to my paycheck," Tseng grumbled. "Nevertheless, my
business currently is with you and only you. If the others are willing
to surrender their weapons to us, we'll let them go."
"Absolutely not," Cherubae growled. "We're not abandoning our friend."
"You said it," Atma added. "Tseng's seen my power. Haven't you, Tseng? The
reason why you're willing to let us surrender is cuz you don't want to
fight me."
"Thine ego runneth over," Reno said with a smirk. "I'll tell you what, Atma,
I'll face you myself."
"No," Elena said. "That's not part of the mission--."
"I don't care. He's been looking for someone to beat him into oblivion for a
long time now," Reno said. "Come on, Atma."
"If you're going to fight Atma, you're going to have to fight me too!" Linda
shouted.
Elena looked both directions, then looked to Jason and shrieked, "If you're
going to fight Tseng, you're going to have to fight me too!"
Unexpectedly, Cherubae added, "If you're going to fight Jason, you're going
to have to fight me too!"
Tseng sighed. "So much for the classic one-on-one duel, eh, Jason?" he
muttered. "Ah well... Let's rumble!"
Atma and Linda rushed Reno, while Tseng and Elena rushed Jason and Cherubae.
Griff charged the three or four dozen soldiers.
"Isn't anybody going to say, 'If you're going to fight Reno, you're going to
have to fight me too!?'" cried Reno as Atma and Linda jumped at him. After a
moment of fighting the two off with his bare fists, Reno added, "No, I guess
not. Well, I don't need any help!"
Elena fired a shot at Cherubae while Tseng kung fu kicked Jason. Cherubae
leaped out of the way of the gunshot and Jason counterkicked Tseng.
Griff cut three soldiers in half with one swipe of Crystalis and one soldier
fired a shot at him. The bullet hit his armor and bounced off.
Reno fired a shot point-blank at Atma and got him in the chest. Atma fell to
the floor, and Linda kung fu kicked Reno, getting him right in the teeth.
Reno cried out.
Cherubae threw her boomerang at Elena and missed by mere inches. Her boomerang
flew off into the crowd of soldiers and skidded to a halt somewhere in the
midst of it all.
"Dammit!" Cherubae cried and charged Elena.
Meanwhile, Jason had his sword out of its sheath and was circling Tseng. Tseng
fired a gunshot at Jason, but, as it was about to hit him, it flew off the
other direction.
"What the hell!?" roared Tseng.
"It's called a Memento Ring," Jason said with a grin.
Griff cut two more soldiers in half, but failed to see the third hit him in
the back of the head with Cherubae's boomerang. Griff flew forward into the
crowd of soldiers. Metal fists flew at him from all directions, and the
world became a dizzying place very quickly.
"This is very annoying," Reno growled at Linda. "And I've had it. I said I
could take on Atma, and look, I can. No one will stand by my side and yet
I have to take on two of you."
Reno looked Linda in the eyes. "Is this fair? Would it be fair if I shot you,
unprotected by the armor that allows Atma to survive several shots?"
"Course, why do I need to be fair!?" Reno cried hysterically, pointing
the gun at Linda. "You wouldn't be, to me. All's fair, I guess. Good
bye, Linda."
Seconds later, Atma heard the sound of several bullets exiting a gun.
Then he heard Linda scream and fall silent.
Atma crawled to his feet hurriedly and turned to face Reno, pushing the outer
and inner pain he felt deep into his gut. On the floor, a pool of blood was
forming around the fallen Linda. Nausea nearly overcame him, surpassed only
by the anger Atma felt for the smart-mouthed Turk.
"YOU!!!" Atma roared angrily. "YOU MURDERER!!!"
"Come, now," Reno said with a smirk. "Wouldn't you do the same to me if you
were in my place? After all, I work for someone who's attacked Linda. I'm
your enemy. And vengeance is the way you do things, isn't it?"
"I... I..." Atma looked up, and glared at Reno. The physical need to tear
Reno to shreds had been replaced by something else. "Have you ever felt
love, Reno? Maybe it's time you think about why I did those things in the
name of Linda. It wasn't just so I could defend her. It wasn't that I
didn't think she could defend herself. It was more than that. Much more
than that. I..."
"When Linda and I were together, it was like we were one person, Reno.
Throughout our days we felt each other's support. Throughout our nights,
we were one. For all of our differences, something tied us together. We
were soul mates, Reno."
Atma staggered and fell onto his knees once again. "I fought to protect
her because she was part of me, and I part of her. After we met, neither
of us could live without the other. It was an unspoken truth of our love
that kept us together every waking moment we could be together. Don't you
understand that, Reno? Or have you never felt love?"
Reno winced, and his face softened as he looked at the broken man in front
of him. What was he feeling? Could it be... guilt?
"I'll make it quick, Atma," Reno said simply.
Atma nodded.
Reno walked over to him, pressed the gun to Atma's forehead, turned to
look away, and fired a shot into Atma's head. Then, his head lowered,
he rushed away from the entire battlefield.
"Reno!" cried Tseng as Reno ran by. Reno did not reply. He kicked the
door open, and slammed it shut behind him.
_I wonder what his problem is?_ Tseng wondered. _Didn't he just do
something to be proud of by dispatching two opposing AGFFers?_
Meanwhile, Cherubae leapt on Elena, grabbed her gun, and threw it aside.
She and Elena fell to the floor and they immediately began to wrestle.
"I'll take you down!" roared Cherubae.
"No, I'll take YOU down!" roared Elena. "I have something to look
forward to tonight, and I won't let you take it from me!"
Tseng fired another shot at Jason, and it simply flew out of the way
again. And another shot. And another. And another.
Jason did the equivalent of an Omnislash on Tseng with his sword several
times, giving the Turk some very severe wounds and ripping his suit.
Elena's statement proved somewhat true. Elena fought harder than she
ever had before somehow and hit Cherubae three times for every hit
Cherubae landed on her. Cherubae was getting dizzy, and quick.
Tseng fired another shot at Jason, and again, it flew out of the way.
"This is getting very tiresome," Tseng said inbetween shots. "I was not
expecting this. We've stalled you enough anyway. You won't be able to
stop it."
"Stop what?" Jason replied, sounding very concerned.
Now it was Tseng's turn to smile. He turned and walked off.
"Hey, wait!" cried Jason, rushing the Turk from behind. "Stop whaaaat?"
Tseng turned around as Jason approached and kicked him hard in the
face. The unsuspecting Jason groaned and flew backwards.
"Guess your Memento Ring doesn't protect you from that, eh?" Tseng said
with a sneer. "Come, Elena!"
"...an' that... an' that... an' that...." Elena cried, continuing to pummel
Cherubae into unconsciousness.
"Elena!" Tseng tried again. This time Elena turned.
"What?" she cried back.
"We're leaving!"
"Oh, okay," Elena said, picking herself up off of the floor. She looked
back down at the unconscious Cherubae. "And there's more of that where
that came from!"
"Elena!"
"Okay, okay..." With that, Elena rushed toward Tseng.
"Now, let's get going. We've stirred up enough chaos to keep them busy,
and we've got an appointment elsewhere."
Elena blushed. "Oh yeah! How could I forget that?"
Tseng just stared coldly at her. "Shall we go, then?"
"Y-yeah."
The two walked off out the door, somehow awkwardly missing the Turk
dignity that they had held before.
After what must have been the 200th hit in the face, the bleeding Griff
stumbled away from the soldiers and collapsed facefirst onto the floor.
Jason leapt to his feet and looked around. He was the only one left. This
was not good.
======
Dearest Kim:
We have Kain. He is still alive and well, and we would like you to
have him back. Come to Waterside Bridge to the right of the 25th Pier in
this town, and bring Kain's Lance. We'll happily do an exchange.
In case you didn't know, this town is on the edge of the desert and
on the edge of the Tihecs Ocean. Simply go to the opposite end of the town
from which you entered, and you'll find the Piers. From there, you'll easily
be able to find the Bridge. We'll give you until 10:00. No later.
Be there or he dies.
Sincerely,
Rude of the Turks
======
Normally, Dave would have enjoyed having a Celes lying on top of him.
However, he would have preferred a different method of knocking him
down, and a different reason.
Just seconds before, the Celes clone had stiffened very suddenly as if
listening for something, and then, without warning, rushed and tackled
Dave, knocking him into the sands, forcing sand down his nose and into
his eyes. Seconds later, a small grey rocket flew past them and hit a
nearby sand dune. The sand dune exploded and more sand flew into their
collective noses and eyes.
"What the heck!?" cried Eyeglazer, leaping to the ground and hugging the
desert floor.
The Celes clone turned around and screamed out a series of high level
spells, starting with Ice 3, continuing with Bolt 3, and finally ending
with Fire 3. All three spells hit the surprised Quake Marine full force,
and sent him reeling into the sands.
A moment passed. The Quake Marine did not move.
"All right," Celes said, picking herself up off of Dave. "I believe it's
safe again."
Seconds later, the Quake Marine picked himself up off of the desert floor,
and turned to face them, holding his Rocket Launcher in front of him.
Immediately, Celes leaped back onto Dave.
"Hey," Dave growled, trying not to enjoy this. "Wait a sec--."
Grabbing Celes by the waist, Dave leaped away. Seconds later, the second
rocket hit the sand where Dave and Celes had lain just seconds before.
"Are you crazy!?" Dave cried at Celes as he fired several shots from his
Colt at the Quake Marine. "He was aiming for us already! Leaping onto me
again nearly killed us!"
The Quake Marine fired a rocket at Eyeglazer, and the rocket hit the
sand mere inches from him. The force of it sent him in an upside down
somersault into more sand.
"Yiiiiiiieeeee!" cried Eyeglazer as this occurred.
"Apparently, I got my approximations wrong---," Celes began to reply.
Already, however, the Quake Marine had fired another rocket at the
two.
"MOVE!" Dave cried, interrupting Celes by throwing her out of the way. At
the last moment, he leaped the other direction. The grey rocket hit and
sent sand flying at both Dave and Celes.
Dave fired several more shots at the Quake Marine while Celes began
chanting for a higher power spell.
Eyeglazer stood up and threw a wave of boredom at the Quake Marine. It hit
straight on, but proved ineffectual.
"Vanish!" cried Celes and the Quake Marine vanished.
"What're you..." Dave began.
"X-Zone!!!" cried Celes.
"@1111133333331!1!" were the Quake Marine's final words.
A portable computer appeared in his place, several feet in the air, and
fell into the sand.
"Good thinking," Dave said. "But you should let me know about such plans
before you play them out. I was about to shoot you as a traitor."
Without responding, Celes started over to the computer while Dave started
over to help the fallen Eyeglazer up. She sat down, picked it up, and
started typing.
"Are you okay?" Dave asked Eyeglazer, as he helped the shaken man to his
feet.
"Yeah... I'm fine," Eyeglazer answered hesitantly. "Wha-what happened
there? My Boredom Wave has never failed me before...."
"Think about it this way," Dave said. "That Quake Marine has had nothing
to do but scour a relatively empty and very hot desert, with only little
non-dangerous desert animals to shoot. He probably peaked his highest
level of boredom possible quite a while ago."
"Yeah, you're probably right...."
Celes looked up at Dave, and she looked intrigued.
"Provided that Quake Marine has anything to do with the Organization,"
she said simply, "we've just found a map to their main base."
"What....?" Dave began, walking toward her. Eyeglazer followed.
Celes stood up and gave the portable computer to Dave, pointing at the
monitor. "See? The map shows us where we are in relation to the base. If
we walk in a straight line to the east from here, we can probably reach
it within the hour."
"That's a great start," Dave said. "But there's one problem. We have no
compass, and thus no way to know which direction is east."
"Just a second," the Celes Clone said, pulling a small compass from her
pocket. "East is.... that way."
She pointed the direction the Quake Marine had approached from.
"You have everything, don't you?" Dave said with a wicked grin.
"Pretty much, yes," Celes said, failing to recognize the GFS behind
the statement.
"Well, shall we be off then?" Dave continued, already starting off to
the east.
"Certainly," Celes said, rushing to catch up with Dave. Eyeglazer
stumbled knowingly along behind them, without a word.
======
The Lunarian Fortress Council Chambers.
The Lunarian Fortress Council Chambers, usually quiet as a tomb, had
erupted. The orderly piles of paper detailing strategies, plans for
extension, and current events were no more; now paper lay all over
the grand rectangular table, the empty office seats, and the floor.
The neatly typed documents showed sign of coffee being spilled on
them from the blurred typing, and over the now disregarded typed
documents were scrawled Lunarian handwriting and shorthand. FuSoYa's
seat at the head of the table remained empty.
"It's over! It's all over!" roared Guainne, head of the Economics
department. "We failed!"
Guianne's normally calm pale face was now red with panic, and dripping
with sweat. He swept the sweat off of his forehead over to the top of
his now greying and balding head.
"No, we haven't! It's---!" cried Antoine, leader of the Democratic
political party. She would have been described as beautiful in her
younger years, but now her hair had whitened from age and her face
had wrinkled away the personality that once had been easily
distinguishable. She looked frail, weak, and, especially now,
defeated.
"We haven't!? FuSoYa's dead! He was the one keeping this place together!"
roared Nuuk, one of the youngblood of the Council. His face, covered
by a long red beard, seemed almost as red as his beard now.
"But that doesn't mean his dream's dead!" cried Leon of the Lunarian
Republican party. His usually pale face also was reddened and his
large round head seemed about to burst in anger. "He invested in
us and in our dream to free ourselves from the Invaders! They
still haven't taken us! We can still win!"
"How? We're outmatched, Leon," replied Lehgraia calmly, whose snow white
hair matched her pale face. She still looked very young and beautiful,
and her hair had not become white out of age. Unlike the others, her
face had not changed from its usual color.
"If they attacked, they still---!" cried Leon.
"No, we can still take the---" argued Zenfandil, an old, chubby Lunarian
with a long white beard. His face was red with anger.
"Sirs!"
The last voice was of one of the guards. Moments before, he had rushed
through the doors to the Council Chambers. His face was as pale as
sheets.
"The Invaders..." he continued. "They're attacking."
======
Armed soldiers wielding guns and blades charged at the Fortress walls,
followed by the "cavalry" - driving slower moving vehicles equipped
with laser guns. The drivers wielded guns as well, and many of them
carried grenades and other bombs in hand.
Behind the vehicles, powerful Gears and Omnigears followed in a slow,
steady march, and behind them the atmospheric warships.
The palace guards were already lining up right inside the front gates
to the Fortress and preparing their weapons. The palace guns were
firing at the charging Invaders, but only managing to hit a handful of
them.
Erik, with long silvery hair and a face pale enough to match Lehgraia's,
stepped forward. His silverish-white armor hit his Dragoon Boots with a
quiet clinking sound and he quietly continued to watch the battle take
place from a window several floors above ground level.
When FueySoYa was alive, he had been FueySoYa's second in command. He
knew he was partly to blame for the massacre that was about to happen.
He had known about the invasion long before it happened, and he knew
about where the real FuSoYa was being kept. Hell, he had been a major
player in the capturing of FuSoYa. And because of that, the Lunarians
had always remained disorganized. Everything had led up to this day.
Erik always thought he lacked a conscience. Only now did he wonder. He
had always forced the thought that what he was doing might be wrong
from his mind. Now, in what he knew to be his last hours, and only
now, he wondered.
_Don't be ridiculous,_ he thought to himself. _The death of one race is
a necessary sacrifice if I hope to save all races..._
Still, something in him told him he had very little time to do what was
right. But he had to do it. No matter the risk, he had to.
Below, the palace guns continued to fire and armed Lunarians charged out
to face the better equipped Invaders. They were only about three hundred
feet apart. Two hundred. One hundred.
From inside the Fortress walls, several Gears exited and began to march
forward. The Lunarians did, after all, have everything the Invaders did.
Just not such an unlimited supply of it.
======
Craxton and Spoony looked over the unconscious FuSoYa. He trembled and
muttered inaudibly. He shook, and his face was covered with sweat.
"Think this was triggered by the death of Relm?" Spoony inquired.
"Maybe..." Craxton said. "But didn't you say it happened only two hours
ago? Relm died several days ago."
"Maybe it just took a while to settle in...?" Spoony murmured.
FuSoYa's face contorted with fear, though his eyes remained closed.
"No...." he whispered. "No.... it can't...."
"Fu?" Spoony inquired. "FuSoYa, wake up! What's wrong?"
"It... it can't... be.... ... ... ...He's coming...."
"I've got a bad feeling about this," Craxton said quietly.
======
The soldiers clashed. Shouts resonated all around and people on both
sides fell whether it be via stabbing or gunshot or something else
altogether. Lasers from the Fortress and the Invaders' camp shot out
around them, hitting random people - quite often the people they were
attempting to defend.
Bombs flew through the air and explosions rocked the moon's surface. The
small vehicles crashed and fell, generating more explosions.
Back inside, Lehgraia approached Erik. As Erik heard the footsteps, he
turned around to face her. She recognized the look on his face.
"Erik?" she said quietly. "I think it is time to do what we discussed."
Erik nodded.
======
"NO! He's coming!"
FuSoYa's mutterings became screams. Worriedly, Spoony and Craxton looked
at each other.
"Say,.. ... ...do you hear something?" Craxton asked. "It sounded like
gun shots."
Though FuSoYa continued to scream at the top of his lungs, it was true.
They could hear something. Not only gunshots, but screams. And lasers.
And explosions.
"Could be," observed Spoony, "could the Invaders be attacking?"
Craxton had no response but silence. A loud explosion followed.
======
The ground erupted in flame under the feet of the soldiers of both sides.
Before either side could move, the entire ground exploded in a ball of
fire.
======
"NOOOOO!" wailed FuSoYa. His eyes opened, and he leapt to his feet. "He's...
coming."
======
The entire area exploded in flames and chaos. The center of the
battlefield peeled back both directions, and a fiery entity
appeared in the center of it all. All of the gears, soldiers,
and vehicles nearby were atomized within the flames.
"I am the God of Sun,
the Father of Ifrit,
the voice
of all dead
Lunarians...."
His voice boomed. For a moment all was silent. The entity regarded the
Invaders' camp silently. Several grenades and bombs from the Invaders'
camp hit His feet and legs, and He hardly seemed to notice.
"I am not here for you who would take the Moon...." the entity continued.
"I am here to find those who have kept me in my prison for millennia...."
With that, the entity turned around to face the Lunarian Fortress, which
He regarded silently for a moment.
"Among you are my enemies," He said as if talking to the entire Lunarian
Fortress. "I must take my revenge."
Three Invaders' Gears approached the Sun God from behind. One of them
fired a powerful laser beam at the Sun God's back. The Sun God turned
to face them again.
"Hey, you," said the man inside the largest of the three gears. "Get out
of here, now. This is our battle, not yours. In short, get lost." The
man was surprisingly coherent for an Invader.
"You wish to battle me,
the God of Sun,
the Father of Ifrit?"
boomed the Sun God.
"No, we just want you to get out of here. It is our right to take the
fortress, and we won't have you interfering! Biggs, Wedge, continue
your charge while I deal with Sunny here."
"R19h+, D3\/\/d," Biggs' voice replied over the intercom. "|<0/\/\3 0n,
\/\/3d93."
Biggs' gear and Wedge's gear continued their march while the Sun God
simply stared at the remaining gear coldly.
"You.... would defy me?" the Sun God bellowed. "I SAID I WILL NOT ALLOW
YOU TO TAKE THIS FORTRESS!"
With a sweep of one fiery hand, a gigantic wave of flame flew from the
Sun God's outstretched fingertips, hit the remaining gear, and atomized
it in a second. The wave of fire continued to destroy most of the rest
of the battlefield until it got to the camp of the Invaders, at which
point it must have hit gas or something along those lines, for it
exploded in a giant ball of fire, destroying their entire camp, and
atomizing a lot of it.
"Uh-0h," were Biggs' final words as the Sun God turned and angrily threw
a giant ball of fire at him and Wedge. The gears blew up upon contact,
and random pieces of the destroyed machinery flew in all directions
over the battlefield.
"Now," boomed the Sun God, "I have business to settle."
With that, the Sun God flew at the Fortress. The Fortress continued to
fire its massive lasers at the Sun God, doing very little to Him. The
Sun God, in turn, ripped them from the very Fortress itself, like
it was ripping petals from a rose. It tossed them into space.
The Sun God closed His eyes and began to concentrate. To the surprise
of everyone watching, the Sun God rapidly shrank to the size of a
moderately large Giant. Then, the Sun God marched at the gates of the
Fortress, shooting waves of Flame at any who stepped in His way.
"WHERE ARE THEY!?" the Sun God demanded of a frightened soldier as He
grabbed him by the neck and held him several feet in the air.
"Wh-Where are who?" the frightened soldier replied.
The Sun God threw the soldier the same direction He had thrown the
Fortress guns before him.
"This is....." growled the Sun God, shutting His eyes and concentrating.
The entire gates in front of Him shattered. Inside, the Fortress Guard,
consisting of about twenty armed men, began to fire at the Sun God.
".....useless....." continued the Sun God as flames leapt up from the
ground the Fortress Guard stood on, licking first at their legs, then
at the rest of their bodies. Each of the men screamed at once as the
fire (???) leaped and overcame. They ceased to fire their weapons,
overwhelmed instead with the unknown enemy's fire, and instead ran in
different directions, or in circles, screaming in pain. Several tried
to roll on the ground and put the fire out. Because the flame was on
the ground they stood, this failed miserably.
======
Dave and Celes walked side by side in the desert of alt.flame, every once
in a while consulting the compass to make sure they were still heading
eastwards. They had walked for about 20 minutes, and Dave found himself
getting bored even without interference from Eyeglazer.
"You clones aren't much for small talk, are you?" he asked.
"Huh? No, we tend to focus only on the job at hand. We have no need to
waste time talking about nothing."
"But don't you ever get bored just focusing on specific tasks? I mean,
don't you have any need whatsoever for human companionship?"
"No, Dave. I think you fail to understand something. Clones do not have
human emotions. Clones do not have instinct. Clones think in terms of
logic, not emotion."
"I see."
They continued along quietly for a while, until yet again, Dave broke the
silence. "Then how did you know that rocket was heading toward us in time
to shove me out of the way? It wasn't making any specific noise, so I
assumed you were using womanly instinct..."
"I detected a shift in the air and realized something must have been
coming straight toward us - specifically, toward you."
"If you could tell by logic that something was coming straight toward me
before, why, then, did you leap on me when the rocket was flying straight
at me?"
"Is it important?"
"Yes."
"If you must know, it was a miscalculation on my part."
"I see. And that's all."
"That's all."
Yet again, the conversation drifted off into silence.
======
"What?" Craxton demanded of FuSoYa. "Who's coming?"
"I... I...." FuSoYa sounded very disoriented. "I don't know."
Behind them, the prison door opened. From outside of the door came the
prison guard. A sword had been stabbed through his back, and he was
very obviously dead.
"Wha...?" began Spoony.
The dead prison guard was followed by two paleskinned Lunarians. One of them,
a male with long silver hair, pulled the blade from the dead guard's back and
placed it back in its sheath on his belt. The other one, a beautiful, clear-
faced woman, turned to face the three surprised prisoners.
"IT'S YOU!" roared FuSoYa angrily. "You're the ones who put me here in the
first place!"
"Stop it," said the man. "We're here to help you now."
"After all of this time, you want to help me, Erik? Why?" growled FuSoYa.
"How do I know it's not a trick?"
"Look," replied Erik. "I wish I had time to explain. But I don't. If I don't
get you out of here now, you will die. Come with me, I can lead you to
safety."
"You know I never lie," added Lehgraia, the woman. "FuSoYa, if we don't get
you out right now, we never will. Please. All of you, come with us."
FuSoYa glowered at them one more moment, then nodded and got to his feet.
"Fine," FuSoYa said. "Craxton, Spoony, let's go."
======
Slipgate returned to the hotel room to find the door wide open and the
room empty.
"Kim?" he asked. "Kim, are you there?"
His eyes focused on an envelope lying on the floor.
======
The ground around the Sun God was strewn with burnt corpses. In the center
of it, the Sun God stood, holding a terrified soldier five feet in the air
by the scruff of his neck.
"WHERE ARE THEY!?" the Sun God boomed.
"Where are who!?" the soldier finally blurted.
"The Moon...." the Sun God boomed. "The Wind.... They've been here, with
you, all along!! NOW, WHERE ARE THEY!?!?"
"I don't know! I don't even know who you're talking about!"
"You.... lie," the Sun God growled hatefully. "You shall serve as an
example."
In a moment, flames ran up the arm of the Sun God and enfolded the trapped
soldier, covering him from the crown of his head to the heel of his foot.
The soldier screamed in pain for what must have seemed to him an eternity.
Finally, the soldier ceased to scream - his entire body melted. Still, the
Sun God did not drop him. Soon, all that was left of him was a charred
skeleton. The remains of his skull fell forward and broke upon the floor.
Then, finally, the Sun God threw the soldier mercilessly to the floor.
"I will find you, Moon.... and you too, Wind...." the Sun God rasped
hatefully.
======
Dave walked alongside Celes. They had just spent fifteen minutes finding
their position on the map and checking the compass after they found that
they had accidentally changed course. The entire journey had taken about
fifty long minutes now, and complete and utter boredom loomed on the
horizon for Dave. One of the things that usually happened to Dave when
he was getting close to complete and utter boredom was that he would
become very inquisitive. Now was no exception.
"So, if you have no emotions, and you have no instincts, why did you care
whether or not I killed you earlier? And why did you want to help me?
Frankly, Celes, this makes no sense to me."
"I... want--- chose to help you because it seemed most logical at the
time... that's all."
"How? How was it logical? Cuz, frankly, it makes no sense to me. Explain
the logic in helping me."
"You looked like you needed help."
"And? People help each other out because it makes them feel like they've
done something nice, and gives them a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. You had
nothing to gain from helping me."
"Maybe it was a quality the original Celes had. Look, what are you trying
to prove!?"
Celes looked to be angry now, something that seemed fairly interesting to
Dave.
"I'm trying to prove that you came along with us because you LIKE me. That
your miscalculation earlier came because you wanted to be close to me."
"Is that what it is!?" cried Celes. "You're trying to prove that I like you
so you can fulfill your own sexual desires!?"
"No, I'm trying to prove that you like me so you can stop denying it and
begin acting a bit more like a human being."
"Ergh!" Celes cried, her face reddening with rage. A moment passed. Then,
finally, she stepped forward, grabbed Dave by the neck, and gave him a
long, passionate kiss on the mouth. Then she shoved him away.
"There!" she growled. "There's what you were looking for. Now, can you stop
this pointless interrogation?"
"Now you're acting on anger and lust. And you're getting defensive. Isn't
that a survival instinct, the act of an ego?"
"AAAARGH!" Celes roared and punched Dave in the face, knocking him to the
ground. Then she stomped away.
"Uh... Celes..." Dave called after her.
"WHAT!?"
"You're heading the wrong direction to get to the Organization's base. Aren't
you supposed to be focusing on the quest at hand, being the LOGICAL and
UNEMOTIONAL person that you are?"
"Fuck the quest at hand!" she cried. "That would require a survival instinct!"
At that, she threw the compass at Dave, missing his face by mere inches. She
stomped out of view.
Eyeglazer walked over to Dave and looked down at him. "That was unusual.
Usually, in the fantasy setting romance story, the heroine kisses the
hero in an act of lust AFTER she punches him, not before."
"Eyeglazer...."
"Yes?"
"Shut the fuck up."
"..."
======
"This is great, Tseng..... really," Elena said with a smile at the
nervous man sitting across the table from her.
The two were sitting at a small table across from each other at a fancy
Italian restaurant Daron had recommended to them. It was fairly silent,
and their waiter had set a lit candle between them. They had just minutes
before ordered meals and now were simply awaiting them. Neither, however,
had much of an appetite.
"Th-Thanks," Tseng said. "Uh... well, things are... yeah."
"Yeah..." Elena agreed. "Th-they are."
They sat in silence for another long moment.
"So...." Elena said. "How was your... um...."
"My... day?"
"Yeah," Elena shifted nervously on her seat. "Your day."
"Oh, uh, it went fine. An-and you?"
"S-same here."
They sat in silence for a moment longer.
"Errrr.... I-I-I-I I need to use the men's room," Tseng said with a
gulp. "M-my tie's too tight."
"O-okay," replied Elena. "I... I'll wait."
Tseng got up and practically ran toward the men's room on the other
corner. Elena fell back in her seat in temporary relaxation.
_How am I ever going to make it through this night?_ she asked herself.
====
Erik led the way to the Gear Hangar, a gigantic, metallic-grey room where
five unique, very powerful Gears awaited them.
The first Gear, an Omnigear, was simply immense. Its size dwarfed that
of the other Gears, save for the two other Omnigears nearest the wall.
It was bluish-grey and had much of its bulk packed around two powerful
arms. In its left clawlike hand, a gigantic real sword could be seen.
The sword struck FuSoYa as deeply resembling the Lunarian Blade he
himself carried.
The second Gear was big... but not too big. Certainly not the size of
the first. It seemed fairly heavy, but mobile. Its legs were big in
terms of width while short and stubby in length like those of a frog.
Its arms, just as wide, were also fairly long. It had two simply
humungous claws. Neither claw held a weapon, due to the sheer damage
that a single swipe of one of those claws could undoubtedly do to
any foe.
The third Gear was tall - for a non-Omnigear. It had two moderately
long arms, at the end of which were gigantic gun barrels instead of
claws. The color of this Gear was brownish-black and its gigantic
face, oddly enough, seemed stuck in a permanent sneer.
The remaining two Omnigears, mere meters from the wall, were
undescribably beautiful. While one of them had a glint of silver
shining off of its very reflective surface and a silver sword in
one clawlike hand, the other's entire form consisted of constantly
shifting and changing clouds of foggy white covering the surface of
the Omnigear. The second Omnigear held in its hands an odd ball of
foggy white such as that covering its armor.
"Okay, the one on the left is called the Survivor. It is an Omnigear,
which means the user can control it with his mind. The user will be
you, FuSoYa. You are the last of your kind, and this one was made
specifically for you before even I was of age," Erik explained.
"What are you talking about, the last of my kind? How am I the last of
my kind?" replied a confused FuSoYa.
"Like I said, if I had time to explain, I would," answered Erik. "In any
case, you are the only person who can drive the Survivor. To the rest of
you, I'm afraid you'll have to settle for Gears that were not made
specifically for you. You'll have to work them via controls."
"That's... fine," said Craxton, not too sure what a Gear was even
supposed to be.
"The Overlord is a heavier, more powerful Gear. It is slower than the
smaller, more agile ones, of course, but it'll do the trick. One of
you two will have to ride it."
"I'll ride it," Craxton volunteered.
"Fine. That leaves the Defiler Gear for you, Spoony."
"The DEFILER!?" Spoony was sputtering.
"Yes, it was specifically made for Defilers of the Last Inno--- Relm, in
case a fullscale war between the Defenders and the Defilers ever broke
out. I'd give you the Defender, but it was destroyed in the attack."
"You expect me, the Leader of the Defenders on AGFF in place of FuSoYa,
to ride a Gear called the Defiler!?"
"Well, you can always stay here," Craxton said, as he climbed into the
Overlord.
"This isn't fair! This simply isn't fair!" retorted Spoony. Spoony did,
however, march toward the Defiler Gear and get in, grumbling all the
way.
"Lehgraia and I'll lead you to the back way," Erik said, leaping into the
silverish Omnigear with amazing grace. "But then Lehgraia and I have an
appointment with an old enemy. You'll have to go on your own from there,
because we probably won't ever be coming back."
Lehgraia leaped into the foggy white Omnigear and their Omnigears started
forward. "This way," Lehgraia said through the intercom, leading the other
four through an opened gate. They rushed down a long winding hall after
Lehgraia.
"I feel like a Mighty Morphin Power Ranger...." grumbled Craxton over the
intercom.
Behind them, the hangar walls exploded and they heard an inhuman roar.
"Damn," Erik's voice said over the intercom. The silver Omnigear stopped
and turned around. "I'll keep him back. Take them to the exit, Lehgraia."
"But--."
"Do it!"
Somewhat hesitantly, Lehgraia's foggy white Omnigear continued onward.
As the other Gears led by Lehgraia disappeared into the shadows ahead
of him, Erik turned to face the angry Sun God.
"So it finally has come to this....." Erik muttered darkly upon sight
of the giant, angry creature.
"Moon....." roared the Sun God. "You should never have intervened. If
only your death shall set me free, so be it...."
======
Tseng returned to the table feeling relaxed, comfortable, and, best (or
worst) of all, honest.
As he sat down at the table, Elena began a nervous stutter. Calmly, the
Turk grabbed her hands and held them softly in his own. "Hello, Elena,"
he said with a smile.
"H-H-Hello," quickly replied the tense female Turk.
"I just wanted to tell you, Elena, how much I appreciate your company,"
Tseng went on. "Throughout my years of being a Turk, your presence has
made it all worth it. I awoke every morning, seeing your smiling face
in my mind. The only way I managed to survive everything I did was
because of you."
"Th-th-thank you."
"Truthfully, Elena, I feel something for you I've never felt for any other
woman. So I guess I'll be open about it right now. Elena, I lo...."
"E-e-e-excuse me... I n-need to use the ladies' room!" said Elena hastily,
leaping up from her seat and rushing away from the table.
Dejectedly, Tseng sighed and sat back.
======
The Sun God flew forward at Erik and Erik raised his arms in front of him
to block the charge. A wave of fire flew from the Sun God's outstretched
arms and hit Erik full-on. Erik flew backwards, despite his defensive
strategy.
Erik's eyes widened. He had known the Sun God outmatched his Avatar or his
Omnigear, but the Sun God was even more powerful than he thought. Erik's
defensive strategy had never failed him before. With his arm-motion, he
had been able to block fireballs, laser beams, Omnigears more gigantic
than the entire Lunarian Fortress... but the Sun God....
Erik forced such thoughts from his head, and held his gigantic Silver Sword
above the Sun God, menacingly. Then he charged the Sun God and did a downward
thrust on Him. The Sun God cried out as the silver sword hit His shoulder,
and let loose a fiery counterpunch, again knocking Erik back several meters.
_This is bad,_ thought Erik. _My most powerful sword-technique barely fazed
him!_
======
Elena returned to the table looking more relaxed and Tseng smiled up at
her. He was already beginning to feel his tension rising again, but he
still could communicate without stuttering.
"Hello, Tseng," Elena said with a smile.
"Hello, Elena," Tseng responded. "Those damn waiters still haven't delivered
our food."
"It doesn't matter," Elena said without nervousness. "What matters is that
I'm with you."
Tseng tensed up immediately in all areas of his body. He quickly attempted
to relax it, but with no success.
"Wh-why, thank you, Elena, m-my fair lady," Tseng replied. "I-I'm honored."
"Have you done any thinking as to why we are doing this?" Elena asked Tseng,
looking intensely into his eyes. "Why you aren't going out with just any
Turk? Why you're going out with me specifically?"
"Yes, Elena," Tseng said bravely. "E-Elena, it's b-because I-I-I... I...
l-lo... l-lo... It's because I... It's... ahhh.. I have to use the men's
room. Excuse me."
Tseng leaped up and rushed toward the men's room. Elena sighed. _I probably
should go to the ladies' room again right now, too, otherwise we'll be stuck
in this pattern all evening._
======
"Moon Energy!" cried Erik, holding his arms in the air. "Come to my
aid... help me in my battle, help me in my defense!"
He had been hoping to do this later in the battle, but the Sun God was far
more powerful than he had believed, even in his limited state. He needed
to stall the Sun God as long as possible, and without the Moon Energy, he
was just about dead just about now.
From the ground rose up energy the same silverish color of Erik's hair and
his Omnigear, covering his Omnigear from top to bottom and even covering
him so as to make his Avatar more powerful. He felt stronger again,
confident, but knew deep inside that this was practically just an
adrenalin rush, and would end quickly.
"Moon Energy!" Erik cried as the Sun God charged him. "Defend me!"
A shield of silver arose around Erik as the Sun God charged and hit the
silver shield full on. The Sun God flew backwards in a daze, His fires
temporarily put out, and Erik grinned to himself, allowing himself to
enjoy the temporary victory.
======
When Elena returned from the ladies' room, Tseng already was back in his
seat, looking almost as relaxed as he had after his first trip to the
men's room. Though Elena hadn't needed relaxation at that moment, it
had been somewhat helpful and she knew now they might get some real
conversation going.
Elena sat back down, and looked at Tseng. Tseng looked at her. Eyes
met. She smiled.
"The food sure is taking a lot of time," Tseng complained, while keeping
a broad smile on his face. "But, with you around, I hardly notice."
"Oh, Tseng," Elena replied with a chuckle.
"Oh, Elena," Tseng sent back. His smile had turned into an almost
ridiculous grin.
======
The Sun God sent a wave of fire flying at Erik. Erik saw it coming and
leaped out of the way of the flames, though just barely in time. With a
loud shout of power, Erik sent a wave of Moon Energy flying back at the
Sun God. It hit the Sun God and the Sun God winced slightly.
"You, Moon," roared the Sun God. "What is wrong? You are weak."
"I'm... reserving my energy," Erik lied. In truth, he had used his most
powerful attacks and was running low on MP. "So I can crush you later
on."
The Sun God laughed. "And yet," the Sun God boomed. "My weakest attacks
send you reeling. It is clear to me which of us is the most powerful,
and which of us is weak."
Erik had no reply. He shut off communications and focused another beam
of Moon Energy on the Sun God's eyes. The Sun God roared in response
and charged him.
======
"All of these years, we've never really spoken of where we stand with each
other," Elena said to Tseng. "Now is our opportunity."
"Yes," Tseng said with a nod. "Elena, more than I have loved any other woman
in my entire life, I love you."
"I love you too, Tseng. With all of my heart."
The two looked each other in the eyes and leaned forward to kiss. As their
lips were about to touch, however,...
"Your macaroni and cheese, sir," the waiter said in an ignorant businesslike
voice. "And miss, your eggplant parmesan."
Elena nodded thanks to the waiter as he set both plates down on the table. As
soon as the waiter had left, she looked back at Tseng.
Tseng looked back at her. Neither were willing to allow any number of
interruptions to destroy what they were building here.
"Elena...." Tseng said softly.
They leaned forward again, and this time there was no interruption to stop
them. Their lips touched. Tseng's tie fell into his macaroni and cheese.
Neither Turk noticed.
======
The Sun God grabbed Erik's Omnigear by the head, and before Erik had time
to react, he threw it sideways to the floor.
Erik braced himself for the fall, but he knew nothing could protect him
from the Sun God's wrath now. As his Omnigear hit the ground, he heard a
loud crack and from his broken viewer saw the Omnigear's right arm fly
off its socket and across the floor.
As for Erik himself, the fall had significantly hurt him. He had lost hold
of his Moon Energy and now was just another mortal man yet again. Both of
his knees had hit the metal inside of the Gear pretty hard and, while both
were extremely bloody, he couldn't even feel anything in his left leg
anymore. His left hand had cracked against the glass, and he was pretty
sure his middle finger was broken, which meant he had lost yet another
form of attack.
Blood flowed freely from wounds on Erik's face and his now broken nose,
and his left eye was in deep, throbbing pain - so much so that he had
slammed it shut.
In short, Erik didn't have anything left. He knew he was defeated before
the Sun God grabbed his broken Omnigear by the back and threw him
unprotected into a nearby wall. He knew he was dead long before his
broken viewer slammed into the wall and his heart ceased to beat.
======
I, the Moon God,
admit I have failed my people.
The exile I put upon the Sun God so many millennia ago
exists no longer.
With my death, there is but one hope remaining.
The Last of the original Lunarians still lives, even
if the Last Innocent has fallen.
The Last of the original Lunarians may be my final Avatar.
Though he knows not his legacy.
If the Last does not understand, the moon shield will break
off in about one full turn, one month in human terms, of the
Usenet planet. When that happens, there will be no hope for
the Lunarians yet to be born or the people of Usenet.
The Last MUST understand.... I can only hope the Sir of
Fate will see it fit to do what I would will, and bring the
Power to the Last.
Otherwise, none of the last few millennia will have any
purpose remaining. And the worst still will come.
======
A wide expanse of grey greeted the three tired Defenders of Relm and
their guide at the back entrance of the Lunarian Fortress. Surrounding
them all across the horizon was flat empty desert sands filled with
moon rock and odd Lunar plants. FuSoYa felt his heart sink at the
empty sight.
"Look in the distance," Lehgraia commanded. "You see the mountains?"
FuSoYa squinted. Indeed, far in the distance ahead of them, he could make
out familiar mountainous shapes.
"Yeah....." Craxton and Spoony said in unison. "I see them," Craxton
continued.
"Those mountains hold some of the oldest spaceports on the moon. There are
exactly 114 different cave entrances in those mountains, and only 12 of
them lead into the old spaceports," Lehgraia began. "There, you may find
some old abandoned space shuttles. There should be something still intact
enough to take you away from here back to your homeworld, where you can
find and do whatever you must.
"One thing, though," Lehgraia stated darkly. "Do not access the computers.
The reason the first civilization died is because they gave the computers
intelligence. The computers have no moral code, nor any reason to keep you
alive. In fact, they have been designed to kill intruders, and you'd qualify.
You will probably be able to escape by manually accessing the computers in
the spaceships, which, luckily, never were given intelligence. And HURRY.
After that creature is finished with Erik and I, it will soon realize that
one of the Last of the First Lunarians still lives. It will hunt you down
and kill you. FuSoYa, you must get off of this moon, so we can give you our
energies. You are the final hope for... everyone."
"Wh-what does that mean?" FuSoYa asked nervously. "How am I the last of the
Lunarians? How am I the final hope? Lehgraia, this makes no sense!"
Lehgraia smiled. "It will. I wish we had more time to tell you about your
true heritage, but.... You must hurry. Things will fall into place, you
will learn what you must do. Eventually, you will be powerful enough to
battle the entity known as the Sun God. But for now you must flee."
"I.. I...."
"You have the strength locked inside of you, FuSoYa," Lehgraia whispered.
"Your mother would be proud."
With that, Lehgraia started back toward her Omnigear.
"W-wait, Lehgraia!" cried FuSoYa.
Lehgraia turned back to face FuSoYa.
"Th-thank you," FuSoYa said. "I don't quite understand what you've just
done for me, but I have the feeling it is something quite great. Thank
you for helping my friends and I. As soon as we know more, we'll work
to fulfill this legacy you've given me."
Lehgraia smiled reassuringly at FuSoYa before starting off to her Omnigear
again, but FuSoYa had the odd feeling she was more attempting to reassure
herself more than him now.
Lehgraia's Omnigear charged back off down the long tunnel. FuSoYa watched
till her foggy white Gear disappeared from view, then turned to look at
Craxton and Spoony.
"Let us depart," he said simply. The other two nodded, and all three rushed
to get back into their Gears.
Seconds later, they were charging through the desert in an triangular
formation led by FuSoYa's Survivor Omnigear. With each crash of the
giant feet of the Gears, whole dunes of grey sand exploded about them
beautifully.
Above them, the beautiful Home Planet could be seen. FuSoYa, Craxton, and
Spoony all regarded that place as their home, and each glance at it
reassured them that there still was a home to return to.
Above the home planet, the constellation of stars that made up "Luna"
watched with hope.....
======
Unlike the rest of the area, the cave was not dry. In fact, it happened
to be dark, dank, and very wet. Not to mention the odd smell of mildew
it possessed.
Eyeglazer sniffed. "There must be some sort of small waterfall here," he
said. "Which would make this a good place to put a hideout. And these are
the coordinates the computer gave us."
Dave nodded wordlessly. All around them were gems like living rock, stuck
in the otherwise mundane rock walls. He casually stepped over to one and
pulled. It broke out of the wall with relative ease.
"Say, Eyeglazer," Dave said casually, putting his newly found gem in his
traveling pack. "Are you so boring that you cannot find the beauty in
these gems even slightly intriguing?"
"I'm afraid so," Eyeglazer said, staring glassy-eyed at Dave. "They are
simply gems. Which happen to be pretty. Boring."
Dave rolled his eyes. He turned back toward the entrance and then turned to
look into the dark depths of the cave in front of them. "Well, whatever,"
he said to Eyeglazer. "Shall we continue?"
Eyeglazer nodded quietly.
"Well, then, we'll be off," Dave said, starting forward into the cave.
"Uh, Dave," Eyeglazer called after him.
"What!?"
"It's dark down there. We'll need torches."
"...Good point."
"I happen to be carrying some extra torches," Eyeglazer said, pulling two
out of his traveling bag. He looked at one of them and it immediately set
itself aflame.
"Hey, how'd you do that?" Dave asked, grabbing the torch from Eyeglazer's
waiting hands.
"They're magic." Eyeglazer said simply.
"Good grief, man!" cried Dave. "Doesn't that hold even the slightest bit of
intrigue to you!?"
"No.... it's magic. There is nothing intriguing about magic."
Dave looked at Eyeglazer as if he were insane, then shrugged his shoulders
and started off down the tunnel. "Whatever. Come on."
Eyeglazer's torch set itself aflame and the Lord of Boredom rushed to
follow Dave.
======
Jason held his sword in front of him. Bleeding heavily, he had just spent
what seemed like an eternity fighting off the soldiers remaining in the
warehouse alone. But now, it all seemed worthless. He had put up a good
fight, sure; but he was cornered now. The exit was blocked off by the
soldiers and he had a mere few feet between him and those who would be
his killers. Everyone else was dead or defeated. And he was next in
line, he knew.
"Goddamn it!" he cried in frustration, cutting two of the nearest approaching
soldiers in half. Still, too many to count approached.
Jason held his sword so tightly that his hands were white. "I'm NOT going out
this way!" he cried. "Relm, for Bob's sake, help me!"
Jason felt a bright warmth fill his being and support him in response. His
nose stopped bleeding, his head cleared, and his side stopped aching. It
was as if he had just had an extra dose of coffee.
And a sudden wave of anger hit him too. Those Turks and their cohorts had
just killed two individuals, one of which he respected as a fellow warrior,
and the other.... he didn't ever get to know. And that made him angry. Very
angry.
Jason held his sword up in the air, and with the strength of Relm holding
him up and the angry power of Atma in his sword, he charged the soldiers.
He no longer had to fight alone.
======
The cave only was a cave for about twenty meters. After that, all semblance
of being a cave disappeared.... In front of Dave and Eyeglazer, a green
glowing door stood shut. Beside the door was a small speaker with a red
button below it.
"Now what?" Dave wondered aloud.
"We pretend to be the dead Quake Marine, \/\/h3ydud3," Eyeglazer
replied.
"But I don't know how to speak like a Quake Marine!" Dave protested. "They'd
realize I wasn't him in a minute. Glazer...."
"Don't look at me," Eyeglazer replied quickly. "I have not trained my voice
to use many tones. Only you can pull it off, Dave."
"But...."
"We can stay out here, if you like," Eyeglazer volunteered.
"Fuck that," Dave replied, walked over to the speaker, and pressed the
button below it.
"\/\/h0 1Z 1+?" came a gruff voice over the speaker.
"Um.... 1+ 1Z 1, \/\/h3ydud3. 1'\/3 fr@993d +h053 49FF3rZ. 1'/\/\ r3+urn1n9
+0 |<0n5ul+ 0ur 8055. 4ll r19h+?"
"H4\/3 y0u |<0/\/\pl3+3d y0ur 5(@n, \/\/h3ydud3? Y0u |<n0\/\/ y0u /\/\u5+
|<0/\/\pl3+3 y0ur 5(@n 0f 0ur +3rr1+0ry 83f0r3 y0u |<@n r3+urn!"
"\/\/hy, y3Z, 0f |<0ur53! 1+ 51/\/\ply d1d n0+ 0((ur +0 /\/\3 +0 5+4+3 1+.
\/\/0uld y0u pl3453 l3+ /\/\3 1n, 1'/\/\ +1r3d @nd 1 \/\/@n+ 50/\/\3 833r
@nd |<h1(|<Z!"
"0\/3r. Y0u /\/\@y 3n+3r, \/\/h3yd3\/\/d."
The door swung open and a Quake Marine guard faced them.
"H3y, y0u 4r3n'+ \/\/h3yd00d!" cried the surprised guard.
"Aw, fuck," Dave said, before quickly pulling out his six shot revolver and
blowing the guard's head off.
"Very eloquently done," Eyeglazer said, stepping into the lighted hallway
and looking around. The fire in his torch went out, and he quickly put it
back in his traveling bag. "The way is clear. Come on, Dave."
"Wait! Dave!" cried a female voice from further down the tunnel.
Dave turned around, his revolver at the ready.
"No, wait... don't shoot!" continued the Celes Clone. "I realized you might
need my further assistance, so I've decided to accompany you."
"Celes,..." Dave began.
"Look, to answer the question I know you're about to ask.... I've been doing
some thinking," the Celes Clone hastily continued. "And I realized you were
right. I was acting very illogically. Therefore, I will honestly say, I don't
understand what is happening to me. I believe there must have been some
further research done in cloning by the Organization and they must have
put emotion in the Clone prototypes. What I'm trying to say, is you're
right, and I'm wrong. I don't know much about my potential anymore, so,
if you'll take me along with you, I won't pretend to not have emotions
anymore and will assist you all I can. All right?"
Dave lowered the revolver. "All right," he said. "Come on."
======
Jason dispatched the final soldier. After getting the added strength from the
spirits of Relm and Atma, he had found it incredibly easy to defeat every one
of the guards. Now that the battle was complete, however, the strength of the
spirits left him. Suddenly weary, he walked over the ruined bodies of the
soldiers toward where Griff, Cherubae, and the bodies of Atma and Linda
lay. Cherubae was already groaning quietly about having a headache.
Jason walked over to the corpses of Atma and Linda, and his eyes widened.
Though both were still very much dead, somehow their arms had reached for
each other and they held each other's hands.
Jason shook his head sadly at what would later become one of the greatest
tragic love stories of the era. Then he fell onto his hands and knees,
fared them well, and cried.
======
"Shhh." Eyeglazer pulled Dave back and crept back into the shadows the
three were currently huddled in. Several Quake Marines walked by,
laughing and talking incoherently.
Since killing the guard, Dave, Eyeglazer, and Celes had met a high number of
angry Quake Marines and had to fight them. While most of the Quake Marines
were very easily dispatched, Eyeglazer was running out of boredom waves,
Dave was running out of ammo, and Celes was running out of magic. So now
they relied on the shadows to get through the Organization's base
combat-free.
From the chatter of passing Quake Marines, they had learned where the "8055"
could be found, nearby sources of food, and even where they could find item
shops and weapon shops. Currently, however, they needed neither of the latter
two badly and so had continued on toward the center of the base.
It was actually surprisingly easy to Dave. The security was incredibly low,
it had been easy to find maps posted all over the place, and the guards
seemed casual and unconcerned. Something was wrong.
"Now," whispered Eyeglazer as soon as the Quake Marines had passed. The three
rushed forward and through the suspiciously empty hallway. As soon as they
reached further shadows, Eyeglazer turned to Dave and Celes and spoke.
"We are approaching the center for the Boss..... I imagine he'll have high
security there. When we attack, we must strike quick and hard. We...."
He fell silent quickly. Four drunken Quake Marines walked by, laughing,
stumbling, and talking incoherently. As soon as they passed, Eyeglazer
continued, "we should not aim for the Boss himself. The Bosses of
terrorist organizations often are weaker than their soldiers. And
he probably knows something."
"Agreed," Dave said. "So it's just past that door," he nodded to a door
further down the hall, "right?"
"Yes, I believe so," Eyeglazer replied. "Are you ready?"
"Yes, as ready as I'll ever be," Dave muttered. "Celes?"
"I'm ready," she quickly replied.
"Then... There is nothing else to be said. I'll go on ahead," Eyeglazer said.
Dave and Celes nodded simultaneously as Eyeglazer rushed toward the door.
Eyeglazer paused, turned back toward Dave and Celes, and nodded. The other
two rushed out of the shadows. Eyeglazer smiled and pressed a red button on
the side of the wall. The door opened.
Dave stopped in his tracks. "Wha.....?"
Several Quake Marines charged out of the door and began to fire at Dave and
Celes. Celes leapt to the ground, again pulling Dave down with her, and this
time it happened to be a good idea: countless rockets flew past them, mere
inches above their heads.
"Glazer!" Dave cried, pulling his Colt 1911 from its place in his belt and
firing several shots at the attacking Quake Marines.
Eyeglazer looked vaguely foreign to him and now Dave realized he had been
betrayed. A sheathed sword materialized in Eyeglazer's belt and his form
began to quickly shift. Within seconds, Eyeglazer no longer stood there.
In his place stood Xenogears' Citan.
"You bastard!" roared Dave, firing several shots at Citan. Each shot missed.
After speaking calmly to the Quake Marines in unaccented hackerspeak tongue,
Citan walked through the door to the chambers of the Boss and the door auto-
matically shut behind him.
The Quake Marines lowered their rocket launchers.
"What....?" Dave began.
Several Quake Marines Dave had not noticed grabbed him and Celes from behind,
while the ones in front stripped him and Celes of their weapons.
======
"\/\/hy, 9r33+1n9Z, D4\/3," the man known as Fredrick said with an evil smile.
Only moments before, Dave and the Celes clone had been forcibly carried into
the Boss' chambers and thrown onto the floor. They were surrounded by Quake
Marines who held rocket launchers pointed at their heads. In front of them,
the tall grey-haired man with the sinister smile known as Fredrick sat on a
gold throne. Beside him stood Citan.
"What do you want with us?" Dave growled in response. "You lured us here....
so now what?"
"\/\/3 \/\/4n+ +0 |<l0n3 y0u, D@\/3," Fredrick replied. "Y0u'\/3 90+ +h3
93n3+1(Z +0 /\/\@|<3 4 p3rf3(+ |<l0n3 @r/\/\y. Y0ur fr13nd |<3l3Z 1Z 4
p3rf3(+3d |<l0n3 \/\/h0 h4Z 833n 91\/3n 3/\/\0+10nZ, 5p1r1+, 1nn3r 5+r3n9+h.
1n 5h0r+, |<3l3Z 1Z 4/\/\0n9 +h3 f3\/\/ |<l0n3Z \/\/h0 h@\/3 833n |<r34+3d
\/\/1+h 4 n3\/\/ 50ul 4ll 0f +h31r 0\/\/n. \/\/3 \/\/0uld l1|<3 +0 5+udy
h3r. @nd |<l0n3 y0u. 80+h 0f y0u 4r3 \/3ry \/@lu@8l3 +0 uZ."
"Bite me," growled Dave.
"N0, 1'll l3@\/3 +h@+ +0 0ur 5(13n+15+Z \/\/h3n 1+ |<0/\/\3Z +1/\/\3 +0
5+34l 8l3\/\/d 5@/\/\pl3Z fr0/\/\ y0u. 1n +h3 /\/\3@n+1/\/\3, y0u @nd +h3
|<3l3Z |<l0n3 \/\/1ll 5h4r3 4 |<3ll- h4 h4 h4, 93+ 1+, @ |<3ll!?" Fredrick
laughed fairly maniacally for a moment, then turned serious once again.
"\/\/h3n \/\/3 h4\/3 f1n15h3d 0ur 5+ud13Z 0f y0u +\/\/0, \/\/3'll h4\/3 y0u
|<1ll3d 4nd y0ur 80d13Z 53n+ +0 0ur h34dqu4r+3rZ 1n @l+.|<0nf19 \/\/h3r3
y0ur 80d13Z 5h@ll 83 u53d f0r fur+h3r 5+ud13Z 4nd |<l0n1n9. +h4+ \/\/1ll 83
+h3 3nd 0f 0ur 8u51n355 +r@n54(+10n. +@|<3 +h3/\/\ @\/\/@y!"
Immediately, the Quake Marines grabbed Dave and Celes from behind again and
began to shove them away to the left of Fredrick's throne room. Before they
got to the door, Dave cried, "Citan! When Celes and I escape, you will be
the first person we kill!"
Dave didn't get to see Citan's reaction. One of the Quake Marines hit him
hard over the head with one steely fist and he saw nothing else.
======
Lehgraia did not have to travel far to reach the Sun God. On the contrary,
she had to go only a fourth of the way she had gone to the exit before she
met Him.
"Why am I still limited!?" roared the Sun God. "I killed the Moon God! All
of the Innocents and the Original Lunarians are dead! What's wrong!?"
Lehgraia did not respond, instead letting loose with a ball of wind power at
the Sun God. The wind flew at the Sun God and dissipated before reaching Him.
"Fool," growled the Sun God, grabbing Lehgraia's Omnigear by the scruff of
the "neck" and throwing her to the ground as He had thrown Erik's Omnigear
to the ground before her.
"Who were those men you led to the exit?!" continued the Sun God, savagely
slamming His fiery foot down on Lehgraia's Omnigear's left leg. Her
Omnigear's leg broke off in the same fashion Erik's Omnigear's arm
had.
Lehgraia summoned the powers of wind and sent a small Tornado down on the
Sun God. The Sun God was taken aback and thrown across the room by the
Tornado. Lehgraia used her rocket launcher on the back of her Omnigear
to get up (though she could no longer stand) and sent another Tornado
at the Sun God.
This time, however, the Sun God threw a wave of fire at Lehgraia's Omnigear,
and it shot straight through her magical Tornado, causing it to dissipate.
The wave of fire, however, continued to fly at Lehgraia's Omnigear unhalted.
The wave of fire reached Lehgraia's Omnigear. Like the Tornado before it, her
Omnigear began to to dissipate and falter. The wind shield that had surrounded
her Omnigear for millennia dissippeared, leaving her Omnigear vulnerable.
The Sun God charged forward and punched Lehgraia's Omnigear in the stomach.
Her Omnigear shattered upon contact.
Lehgraia quickly became aware that her Omnigear's head no longer had any
attachment to her Omnigear's body when she saw pieces of her Omnigear's
body flying past her Omnigear's head. This was further proven when her
Omnigear's head crashed against the ground, independent of her Omnigear's
body.
She slammed headfirst against the viewer, with such force that both cracked.
Lehgraia's head opened grotesquely as she fell back onto her seat. She did
not live to see the Sun God pick her Omnigear's head up off of the ground,
nor need to answer His repeated demands about the men she helped escape.
======
My Avatar is dead now. And I have failed. While saving the
Last of the Original Lunarians.....maybe.....I have been
defeated.
But I expected it. I can only hope that the dragons who I
exiled so many years ago in the mist between the worlds are
not too much of a match for mankind.
The dragons of the four elements are part of the Mysidian
Prophecy, I believe.... To come out of exile and be defeated
by the Light Warriors who will save the world.....
Everything about this time fits the description. Even the Last
Innocent truly died.... Nevertheless, I cannot help but be
worried...... Have I failed? Has this all been for nothing?
....Or is this simply part of the prophecy?
As I rejoin my ancestors, I wonder for the future of the
Usenet Planet....
I, the Goddess of Wind, am very, very tired..... I hope to
sleep without nightmares of the Apocalypse descending down on
my dreams......
======
Kim stepped onto the rickety wooden bridge leading to the docks, and checked
the map the merchant had given her. She looked around, concerned. Black clouds
covered the sky, she heard thunder in the distance, the area was lit up with
white electric lighting, the road was empty, and, most of all, it was ten
o'clock, and there was no sign of anyone around, least of all Kain.
"Hello?" Kim cried. Her voice seemed to echo in the emptiness. "Hello? I
brought the Lance! Where are you?"
She heard the soft clatter of footsteps behind her, and hastily turned around.
In front of her stood Daron LeCyrwey, holding his hands in the pockets of his
father's old beige trench coat, and looking at her thoughtfully. He smiled.
"Daron... Wha...?" Kim began, not quite sure what to make of his appearance.
Then she saw the small, black handgun in one of Daron's hands. Pointed at
her.
"I see you have brought the Lance. Good," he said emotionlessly. Out of the
shadows, Rude, Josh, and ten other soldiers of the Organization materialized,
all dressed in storm-black clothing. In Rude's hand was a dangerous-looking
hunting rifle. He held it to Kain's head, as he might hold it to a captive
animal. In Josh's hand also was a gun, though it was just a handgun like
Daron's. And he held the gun to another Kain's head. Five of the ten other
soldiers held guns to different Kains' heads.
"Daron, you bastard," Kim said, giving the Turk a hateful glare. "I thought
you might actually be trustworthy. I see I was mistaken."
Rude looked to Daron with a little confusion. Daron shrugged him off.
"Whatever," Daron said. "In any case, please slide Kain's lance toward me.
When you do that, we'll give you the real Kain."
"How do I know? How do I know you'll give me any Kain at all? Daron, why?"
Kim asked. Before Daron had a chance to reply, she glanced sharply at Josh.
"And Josh, why? You used to be on our side."
"He got a little... transformation," Rude said. Rude's smile lengthened
into an evil grin. "Unlike Edwyn, you see, Josh's change is permanent. We
permanently brainwashed him. He is ours now, now and forever. And we don't
have to give him a single drug."
"Josh, is this true?" Kim asked, her voice on the verge of breaking.
"Yup," Josh replied proudly. "I'm a real Turk now."
Kim's eyes searched the crowd of Kains, looking for something... something to
tell her which one was her love. Something, anything!
Then one of the Kains looked her straight in the eye, and smiled. The eyes
of this Kain were brighter than the others. It was the Kain being held at
gunpoint by Rude. All of a sudden, she knew it was him. Though she was still
frightened, part of her felt ecstatic as well. Kain really was alive! She
smiled back, then looked back at Daron.
"Fine. It's yours."
She snuck a glance back at the real Kain and found that he was now grimly
frowning. In his face, she saw fear, in his eyes, she saw that he was
pleading her not to do it.
"I... I..." she began. Her fingers trembled on the lance. _What should I
do?_ she wondered.
"I see you've discovered the real one," Rude growled. He put his finger on
the trigger. "If you don't do it, he dies NOW."
There was a grim truthfulness in Rude's voice. Hurriedly, Kim set the lance
on the bridge and prepared to push it toward the Turks.
"Don't do it, Kim! All of existence is at stake! Don't waste it just for me!
They'll kill us both anyway!" cried Kain.
"I'm sorry, but if there's any chance they won't.... I can't let you die!"
Kim said, and she was surprised to find she was weeping.
"Enough..." a loud voice boomed from behind them. Daron, Josh, most of the
soldiers, and Rude turned to see a dragon as dark as the night sky slowly
floating through the air down behind them. Kim was suddenly surprised in the
realization that this dark, angry dragon was Slipgate in Dragon form. He
looked darker than usual, flying to a halt a few steps away. On Slipgate's
back rode Jason, Jonny, Cherubae, and Griff, a few familiar faces to
reassure Kim that perhaps things really would be all right.
Kain elbowed Rude in the stomach. Rude gasped painfully, his eyes widened,
and he dropped the rifle. Kain exerted as much energy as he possibly could
in making sure he kicked the rifle over the side of the bridge.
"Kim!" cried Kain, rushing quickly away from the still shocked Rude. Kim
opened her arms almost without thinking and grabbed the man she had long
thought permanently gone in a powerful embrace.
While he still wore his armor, Kim noticed Kain had several bruises covering
his face, and his leggings had dried blood on them around his knees. She
silently cried for every moment of pain her love had suffered through in
the hands of the Turks.
Slipgate continued to glare at the soldiers and Turks for one long moment,
and they continued to glare back at him. Then, with one angry roar, he flew
forward, hitting his unsuspecting foes at full force. Several soldiers fell
off both sides of the rickety bridge.
"I love you, Kain," Kim weeped, feeling his lower to upper back with her
hands as if expecting him to be a ghost, expecting for her hands to go
through his back and for her to be holding merely an illusion. She needed
reassurance that he still lived, since it had been such an impossibility
to her mere hours ago.
"I love you too, Kim," Kain said, in a sincere, honest tone, putting a warm,
real, substantial hand on her shoulder. "I was so afraid I wouldn't ever see
you again."
"I thought you were dead!" cried Kim. "I'm... I'm..."
"Enough of this!" screamed Rude, grabbing a gun and pointing it at the two
lovers. "I hate you! I hate you both!" he cried in a voice as sincere as
Kain's voice had been, and as hateful as Kim had been at Mr. X. Thunder
boomed in the sky and rain began to fall in streams.
Slipgate's sharp eyes saw what was about to occur. "No," growled Slipgate,
knocking Rude aside with one swift move of his gigantic tail. "I won't let
you separate them again."
In the distance, they heard a loud, inhuman roar, louder than anything most
of them had ever heard before. Almost simultaneously, the remaining conscious
people turned their heads to look.
And what they saw was absolutely shocking.
Mere miles away, the gathered stormclouds had shaped themselves into the
shape of a clenched fist, holding itself precariously above the ocean.
Under it, they could see midnight-black tornados whirling around on the
sea. The next sound of thunder sounded like an ungodly laugh.
"Is it.... the Apocalypse already?" Jason wondered aloud, fear reading in
his voice. None of the many gathered around him could say either way.
The black fist of clouds held itself over the ocean for a long moment. Kim,
Kain, the Turks, Slipgate, the guards, everybody held a collective breath.
The tornados under the black fist of clouds dissipated, and electricity could
be felt in the air. Then the fist struck, slamming down against the ocean.
Instantly, a gigantic wave formed in all directions surrounding the fist, and
began, at a frighteningly high speed, to approach the bridge.
"Fuck... A tidal wave...." murmured Cherubae. She sounded as frightened as
the rest, yet awed at the same time.
The Kain clones were running around in circles like chickens without heads.
They were very obviously of low intelligence, held to specific positions
only by the help of whatever master chose to control them.
Thunder boomed over everyone's heads, silencing all sounds for a moment, and
lightning struck in the forest behind the bridge.
"Quick!" roared Rude. "Daron, start the helicopter! We're getting the hell
out of here!"
I rise to face the coming horror.....
"KIM! KAIN! And the rest of you! Get over here!" cried Slipgate frantically.
"We can get out of here in time if we hurry!!"
I, the King of Fate.....
"Right," Kim said. She and Kain rushed toward Slipgate, but the area they had
to cover seemed immense by virtue of the much faster speed the tidal wave
happened to be approaching. In front of them, Jason, Jonny, and Griff were
already getting on Slipgate's back. Behind them, a frightened Cherubae was
also rushing toward Slipgate.
The new era is coming....
Daron simply stood there, facing the tidal wave. The look on his face was of
obvious terror, almost to the point of complete petrification. Josh and Rude
rushed at him, but a wall of blood red lightning confronted them as they
approached. The two fell backwards, their entire bodies shaking from the
shock, and the red lightning disappeared as soon as they fell.
Kim had no time to worry about this. They had finally rushed through a
seemingly huge area between them and Slipgate, and now, with the help of
Jonny and Griff, were getting on Slipgate's back.
I, Ragnarok, have returned!!!
Cherubae rushed forward and the same wall of red lightning hit her full
force. Her eyes widened, and she collapsed inches away from the front of
the once-again-hidden wall of electricity that had taken the two Turks
and her by surprise.
"Cherubae!" cried Jason from Slipgate's back. Out of the entire party, he
had always felt closest to the young woman. He wanted to run to take her
with him, but something inside of him held him back.
Floating above Josh, Rude, and Cherubae was a black-helmeted man holding a
dark sword in hand. His helmet bowed down at the three injured figures, as
if the man was looking down at them and deciding their fate, which he just
might've been doing. His armor resembled that of a Dragoon, except for its
ancient, almost rusty look and the fact that it was black as the night.
Lightning flared dramatically around his body, but he seemed not to notice,
as if this was commonplace.
"Who the hell are you?" peeped a frightened and very burnt Rude. From his
tone, it was obvious he was more terrified than angry.
You play no part in the upcoming tide of events....
You play no part in the days to come....
You have played your part ... you have no more parts to
play...
You will no longer exist, you will no longer be, your days
have passed.....
Before everyone's eyes, Josh's atoms began to come apart. His entire body's
shape began to dissipate like contained wind, conflicting on which direction
to go. He screamed one final scream, and his remaining atoms flew off into
the cosmos.
Daron's mouth opened even wider, staring horror-struck at the sight, and he
simply stood there. His hands were held open at his side, and he looked
toward Rude.
Go...... Your Destiny lies elsewhere, Agent of Love....
Beware, should you not follow your Fate, you will end up like
The Soulless.
Rude screamed as his atoms came apart and dissipated like Josh's before
him. Daron watched, his mouth agape with horror.
Go! Now......
Daron looked hesitantly back at the bridge where his two companions had died
so suddenly, then finally backed away. He broke into a run seconds later. For
the tidal wave was almost upon them and he had not even started the engine of
the helicopter.
Slipgate and everyone on his back could only stare, horror reading in
everyone's eyes. For the moment, they had forgotten the oncoming wave
of unnatural nature, overcome simply by the unexpected execution taking
place.
"GO!" cried Cherubae as her atoms began to come apart and her being began
to fade. "Don't forget about your surroundings, your mission, and what your
life means to you! Go while you still can, dammit!"
Slipgate nodded and he flew quickly up into the pitch-black night sky. Rain
beat down on them like beads of jewelry, but they knew they could not stop
if they wanted to survive.
In front of them, the giant wall of the tidal wave blotted out everything,
including even the sky. Cherubae uttered a primal screamed and her atoms
disintegrated entirely. Ragnarok just floated there as the tidal wave
destoyed the bridge. Ragnarok himself just disappeared in the black
waves.
Kim looked back and saw the tidal wave flying at an unimaginably high speed
toward them. Behind and below them, they saw Daron's helicopter taking off
into the air. But it was very obviously too late for him. His helicopter was
caught and slowed in the conflicting winds, and the tidal wave hit him.
Milliseconds later, the helicopter's engine exploded and disappeared.
The gigantic wave sped onward, showing no signs of slowing. The winds that
had caught Daron LeCyrwey's helicopter now caught Slipgate, slowing him
down. Kim's heart sank. Meters away, the inexplicably black wall of the
tidal wave loomed above them. They weren't going to make it.
"I love you, Kain," she said, and kissed him, knowing it was her final chance
to do so in this world.
Slipgate gritted his teeth. He felt the ocean spray on his tail. Then it had
him. The water, feeling like rocks with its hard, icy grip covered his lower
back. With all the energy he could find in himself, he somehow raised himself
near to the top of the wave. But now the water had everyone. Jason, who was
closest to the bottom of Slipgate's back, cried out as he fell off, thrown by
a disastrous current. He fell into the wave and disappeared.
"Jason!" cried Slipgate, horror filling him. The man who Relm had given all of
her last power to, the man who had helped Kim kill Mr. X, a heroic individual
with a noble being - dead. Just like that. At that moment, Slipgate hated the
wave with all of his draconian heart. He hated the Organization, for getting
them all into this mess. He hated Mother Nature for giving them all such a
horrific ending after all they had suffered through together.
An awesome, but frightening phenomenon was taking place on the top of the
pitch-black tidal wave, one which gripped Kim with terror. She saw both in
the distance and nearby, small black tornados racing around on the top of
the tidal wave itself. The clouds the tornados used as their source were
only meters above the tidal wave, Kim realized.
The most horrific sight of all, however, was directly behind the tidal wave.
A tornado of such a gigantic size it could have practically been the never-
ending storm of Jupiter. It was shaped as any of the other tornados, but was
almost as gigantic as a small island. In it, Kim was sure she could Death
itself.
Then one of the tornados on top of the tidal wave hit Slipgate's back, tearing
Kim away from her thoughts. Only the force of a tornado could tear her and
Kain apart, and that it did. She saw Kain fly off into the gigantic tornado
following directly behind the tidal wave while she herself was thrown several
meters away, while still above the tidal wave.
"Kain!" Kim cried. So it was. She had lost him again, this time to a tornado.
The last thing Kim was conscious of before being plunged into the icy depths
of the tidal wave was of Jonny flying over the side of the tidal wave facing
the gigantic tornado, Griff flying over the other side of the tidal wave and
instantly being taken by the tidal wave again, and Slipgate disappearing from
view under the out-of-control elements of water and wind.
Then Kim fell into the tidal wave and saw nothing else.
======
Murgorath watched over the green portal, as he had always done immediately
after using the weather to manipulate peoples' lives. Occasionally, someone
caught in the storm would be accidentally thrown into one of his portals. And,
like now, sometimes he deliberately brought outsiders in for his own reasons.
An unconscious Kain Aron Highwind fell through the portal and landed facefirst
on the tiled floor. A moment passed, and he did not move. Casually, Murgorath
walked over to him and checked his pulse. He was still breathing. Good.
"So this is my peaceful counterpart," a gruff voice said from the direction
of the staircase. Murgorath turned to face his guest, the Duke Kain Aron
Highwind.
The Duke looked almost exactly the same as the saintly Kain who had just
fallen through the portal onto the floor. His armor, unlike the other Kain,
had the royal crest of AGFF engraved in each upper arm, leg, and chest.
Larger still was the royal crest and motto of the AGFFers engraved on the
shield itself. The Duke's face resembled Kain's in all ways but one.
While Kain's face was always clean-shaven, the Duke's face was covered
with unshaven stubble as rough as his personality. Kain's eyes shone
with innocence, the Duke's face shined with ambition, and knowledgable
cynicism.
"Yes, it is," Murgorath said with a grim smile. "That means it is your
time to shine in his," he nodded toward the unconscious Dragoon lying
on the floor, "world."
"And you will provide me the power to control the AG Hierarchy, and avert the
disaster?" replied the Duke Highwind.
"Yes. A magical army from the land of Avalon, the ones you met. They already
are on the land, ready to conquer so you may unite the two dimensions of AG."
The Duke continued to look suspicious after hearing this reassurance. "I see,"
he growled. "Now, Murgorath, tell me something."
"What do you want to know?"
"I want to know why. Why are you helping me? If you are as disconnected
from the Usenet planets as you say you are, then why do you care to help
me?"
"As I've said before," Murgorath said, "I want to see the Usenet planets
united - I am disconnected from them, but I care to see when I do look at
them, lands of conquered peace. If it is all part of one kingdom, the
kingdom of the Duke Highwind and his heirs, war will no longer exist. I
want to see you succeed."
"I see," the Duke growled in response. "Very well, Murgorath, I have more
to gain than I have to lose. Even if you were pulling a fast one on me, my
son has the ruthless vision it takes to be a proper king in my stead, and
he'd pay you back in blood. And the entire AG hierarchy is mine anyway. This
could help me out a lot."
"Yes, it could," Murgorath said soothingly. "The Avalon armies are waiting
for you. Take the Portal out, and you shall find yourself in a cave right
on the outskirts of AGFF. There you shall find them, and begin your
conquest."
"Thank you, Murgorath," the Duke said calmly. "I am ready."
"Very well, then," Murgorath said. "Be sure to follow your end of the
agreement."
"Sure," the Duke replied. "I'll find this 'Spearbearer' you're looking
for. When I do, I'll send 'er over to you."
"Goodbye, Duke Highwind."
Without a word in response, the Duke walked in such a way as only royalty
walks to the portal, and paused. Then, with no further hesitation, he
jumped in and disappeared.
"So things are falling into place...." Murgorath whispered, looking
back down at the unconscious Dragoon lying on his floor. "Now I have
the bargaining chip that will one day bring the Spearbearer to me...
Soon, all will go as planned... Soon....."
======
For not the first time this day, the Celes clone was lying on Dave. For
once, even though both were badly bruised and prisoners inside a very
empty prison cell, he was comfortable with her lying on him. This time
it was on a bed, albeit a rock-hard prison bed.
Truth was, after Celes initially admitted to finding Dave attractive, the
only "logical" thing for the two to do was to embark in romantic endeavors,
as Celes was the first to suggest.
Neither was nude quite yet, but they were working their way up to it. Celes
had discarded her heavy and very unattractive protective armor first, then
her sweater, then finally her shirt, leaving only her bra on her chest.
Dave still wore his shirt, but his pants had somewhat come off in the last
half hour of making out. For the first time that day, Dave was enjoying
himself. The last thing he wanted now was Citan at the door, telling them
they needed to escape.
But that was exactly what he got. And rather unexpectedly, too. Just as he
was feeling for the strap on Celes' back to remove her bra, the door opened
wide, surprising the two of them.
Celes lifted her face from Dave's and shrieked. Dave looked toward the door
and screamed.
As soon as the two had leapt to their feet, Dave stepped forward and glared
at Citan. "What do you want, you traitor?"
"We need to escape," Citan said simply. "I've killed Fredrick. We should go
before his second has us all assassinated."
"Wh-what? Why help us now? You've betrayed us, Citan, or should I say
Eyeglazer? How do we know you're not just leading us into another trap?"
Dave complained.
Citan sighed. "Listen, I am infamous for being a double agent, that is
true. And you are right not to trust me because of this. All I can tell
you is that I had you both in mind each step of the way with the interest
of keeping you alive. I also had a debt to pay Fredrick, which is why I
led us to confront him. Until I killed him, part of me could not remember
some crucial information about the Organization he had kept from me with
spiritual chains. And if I had told you what I had in mind, you would not
have come with me here at all."
"It is all for the better," he finished. "Now would you please come with
me? We need to hurry off.... to alt.config. There we may find our next
clue to saving mankind."
"And what if I don't escape with you? What if I simply kill you instead?"
Dave growled.
Citan sighed. "Everything for a mile would be destroyed. When they cloned
the original Citan and created me, my creators placed a bomb in me that
would go off if I was killed. That would ensure that no competitors could
steal my corpse and genetically recreate me in their own labs."
"...."
"Let's go, Dave," Celes said. "I don't completely trust him either, but he's
our only hope. He knows how to get us closer to defeating T.H.E.M. We can
continue our own business of genetics later on."
Dave sighed. "Very well. Maybe we'll even find some better settings for it.
Shall we go, Citan?"
======
Kim "awoke" to find herself standing in a single sphere of light surrounded
by darkness, wearing an almost angelic, pale-white cloak. All around her,
people stood in their own spheres of light, also wearing the same style of
pale-white cloak. She recognized, to her left, almost all of her companions
since she joined the Relm Rescue Force, standing as she did, calm, contented
expressions on their faces, with the exceptions of Atma, Linda, and Cherubae.
Even Relm was there, though Relm appeared as a ghost, transparent, and not
solid. Yet, to Kim's right were a whole bunch of people she did not know or
was just barely acquainted with. The only sufficiently familiar face was that
of Saint Kain's, standing to her right and holding her hand.
In front of them, the entity known as Ragnarok who had inspired fear in her
earlier floated, watching them. It did not inspire fear in her this time,
somehow. She felt stronger than she would again for a while.
His storms are my device....
I use his manipulation to my advantage....
And all those who shall be the light in the
coming darkness....
Are where they need to be.
All of Kim's companions to her left disappeared quite suddenly.
Spearbearer, look over the people on the right and
look over them well.... for you and your companions
who have been are now split apart....
You will seek separate paths..... And it will be a
while before you fight beside them again....
Look over those on your right.... They shall be your
new companions.... They are the other light warriors,
though they do not know it as of yet. Your quest will
be to seek them out....
All of the figures to Kim's right disappeared... except for Kain.
When that is done, Spearbearer.... Seek out your
Saint, your lover, the other half of your
spirit......by seeking out his misguided counterpart.
In front of Kim, another Kain appeared, this one appearing rougher and
less kindly. This second Kain glared wordlessly at her. Then he
disappeared again.
And then, after that.... You will know what to do.
Ragnarok, too, disappeared, leaving only Kain. The two spheres of
light combined into one larger one, and she turned to face her Kain.
In his face, she saw something brighter and more caring than she had
ever seen in her life. She drank in his handsome face, that intense
gaze he had given her on numerous occasions exaggerated further now,
and the waves of love he was now sending her.
"You, the original Spearbearer, the Saint," she said calmly. "We are
kindred spirits."
Kain smiled kindly. "Yes, we are... Our journeys shall always be
interlinked."
"It will be a while before we see each other again..."
"...Yes, it will. But part of me will always be with you. And part of
you will always be with me. So it is. So it always will be."
"I love you..."
Kain nodded. "And I love you too... You are the Spearbearer who will save
the world. Your heart and spirit are what will shape the future. As will
mine."
"Farewell, my love. I know I will not see you again for a while..."
"That is true. But you will see someone who has my name and appearance,
Kim. He is my dark side. Should he drive you into confrontation, you may
have to kill him for your own well-being. Be strong, and know he is not
me no matter how much he looks like it."
After a moment's pause, Kain smiled again, and finished. "Farewell, my love,"
Kain said, and turned away. The large sphere of light shrunk itself into two
smaller, independent spheres again as Kain walked off into the shadows and
disappeared. Kim knew she and Kain would never have spoken quite like that to
each other in the real world, and that it was their spirits that had just
spoken to each other.
Three spheres of light appeared in front of her. They were three of the men
she had seen on her right before, dressed in armor now, and looking at her,
their eyes shining of hidden nobility. She looked over them, and nodded.
These would be the first three men of her new band of Light Warriors for
her to keep her eyes open for. The MRF Beta, the words echoed in her
mind. They nodded back at her with understanding and their spheres
disappeared from her view as well. The darkness around her shifted and
the background changed. She found herself now wearing a new set of
traveling clothes, a Dragoon Medallion around her neck, and hoisting a
small bag of minor possessions on her shoulder. She felt less disattached
from the world, and more conscious of the powers of magic always shifting
and changing around her. Nothing and nobody could stare her down with
fears, for her strength, inner and outer, had grown. She stood on a
circular dirt road with four paths leading different directions ahead
of her, surrounded by beautiful green grass, trees, and small, peaceful
animals. The sky was bright with stars, and directly above her the Dragoon
Constellation protected her. She smelled the fine scents of flowers around
her, and knew she could not let this kind of beauty in the world be destroyed
by the forces of evil.
She directly faced a path leading out of the center of these crossroads,
though she felt her place in the center of the future war to save the
planet was no more or less important than any of the other Light
Warriors.
Instinctively, she glanced to her left and saw FuSoYa facing another of
the four paths. In FuSoYa's weathered face, she saw an incredible sadness.
But with it, she saw an incredible strength, too. His robe glowed silver
and his eyes registered an acknowledgement of the bad stuff the world hands
out, and a love of the good stuff as well.
Behind FuSoYa, almost in a direct line, stood Slipgate's son, Craxton.
Craxton looked powerful, tall and muscular, and he looked pleased at
something. Behind Craxton stood Spoony, holding a beautiful harp in one
hand and carefully touching the strings, making the most beautiful of
noises.
Further on, Kim could see Dave and the Celes clone standing side by side
and holding each other's hands. Behind them stood a calm-looking Citan
Uzuki, his typical friendly smile on his face as he glanced around at the
surrounding area and sniffed the scents of various roses and other assorted
flowers.
Kim turned to her right and saw Jason. His sword was sheathed at his belt,
and he wore a golden sheet of armor on his body. Relm's Memento Ring he
still wore on his finger, and he looked to be a powerful knight indeed.
Behind him were the rest of Kim's familiar companions, save for Linda,
Atma, Cherubae, Kain, and Relm. Each carried pride on their visages, and
she realized everyone there was destined to be a Light Warrior. Each played
a role in saving Usenet.
She was slightly surprised when her eyes fell upon Daron LeCyrwey, further
down the line in Jason's team, but not much. She had always sensed Daron
had something very human about him, even if he currently worked for the
wrong side.
Kim let her gaze drift on behind her. Foremost in the ranks of the Light
Warriors following her stood a proud, ex-sailor she had done the occasional
favor for named Cid. This shocked her more than seeing Daron among the ranks
of the Light Warriors had - Cid, from what she knew of him, was among the
least Holy individuals she knew. He had been a womanizer in his youth and
now, as an old man, constantly made dirty remarks, often very inappropriate,
and seemed to have a sexual interest in every woman he saw. Yet, she could
see, after him were the members of the group known as the MRF Beta, heroes
from a different dimension. And behind them, many more individuals, most of
whom she had never met in her life. She realized Cid was more of a starting
point for her new band of Light Warriors than an actual Light Warrior
himself. If she followed her instincts, and sailed with Cid, her band of
Light Warriors would follow. She knew it.
Kim was interrupted from her thoughts as Kain stepped up to greet her and
held her hand. She turned to Kain and smiled at him. He smiled back at her.
As Ragnarok had told her, she knew after she built her own band of Light
Warriors, Kain would stand by her side.
Almost unconsciously, all four teams of Light Warriors began to move down
their separate paths. Kim had a brief feeling of panic as the others moved
further and further away, then realized she had people she trusted with her
life standing beside and behind her. She had nothing to fear.
She walked down this dirt path for a long while. For a short amount of time,
the dirt path disappeared and she found herself walking along the lengthy,
wide bridge of Cid's old sailing ship. Soon, however, the surroundings changed
back to the dirt path she had become so familiar with, and she saw, from all
directions, long lines of Light Warriors going along their separate paths
toward another large opening in the path, where all four paths of Light
Warriors would meet again and split up once again, the process repeating
itself until they had all played out their purposes.
Her vision ceased to be so literal by now, and she found herself seeing
things in a more abstract sense - she knew none of what she saw would
happen in the literal sense - she would never walk down this specific
dirt road. The significance of the Separate Paths moving apart, coming
together, mixing, and moving apart again did not miss her.
Then her spiritual vision ended. Her visions became simply dreams, and in
them she saw Kain.
======
Daron did not expect to wake up. After he heard the roar of the tidal wave
directly behind him, he had been pretty certain he was about to face a
watery grave.
The results were quite the opposite.
Somehow, he did not know how, but somehow he found himself lying uninjured
on the floor of the helicopter. Somehow, while the engine very obviously
had exploded and much of the exterior and interior of the helicopter was
soaking wet, all of his radio equipment and computer mapping devices had
remained dry and undestroyed. It had taken him less than a minute to figure
out his exact coordinates with the assistance of the computer mapping devices:
Sector 7 of the Fooey Desert in AGFFH.... somewhat dry, in the middle of a
desert which had not seen water for hundreds of years.... and, save for the
wet helicopter currently stationed on it, still hadn't.
This left many questions in Daron's mind, such as: how the hell did I get
here, how the hell did I get here when the tidal wave didn't, and why the
hell does my electronic equipment still work?
Which isn't to say he didn't immediately endeavor to recieve help from his
fellow Turk via radio communication. After all, he was freezing his butt
off, and could still die of pneumonia that very night if he did not get
some help quick.
Daron toyed with the radio technology for a moment, then set it to contact
Tseng's phoneline.
======
The lights had gone off early this night in Tseng's room. However,
consciousness hadn't. After discovering they loved each other, Tseng
and Elena had practically just leapt into bed, as if it were something
casual like eating lunch or celebrating Christmas.
Truth was, they had yearned for each other since the day they first met.
Neither had much self-esteem, and therefore neither had ever believed the
other gave much of a damn for them. Upon discovering their true feelings
for each other, they had hurriedly finished their supper and resolved to
spend this Valentine's evening together.
Neither were very experienced in sexual relations, either. Yet, with each
other, every touch was sensual. The touch of Tseng's hand upon Elena's
cheek brought her far more ecstacy than any experience any other man had
given her.
Now the two Turk lovers lay together in restful bliss. Both were aware of
the other's presence, even deep in sleep. It was the early hours of the
morning, and they had it in mind to lie there nude together for as long
as possible, regardless of how unprofessional it seemed.
That did not seem destined to be, however. Tseng's bedside phone rang
once. Then again. Then again.
Tseng groaned and reached his hand over the side of his bedpost to grab at
the phone. Elena moaned quietly. She too was beginning to fall back into
consciousness from the comfortable leisure she had been experiencing.
Tseng successfully grabbed the phone and pulled the reciever toward his
mouth.
"WHAT?" he growled into the reciever.
"Tseng, buddy, it's me," he heard Daron's voice say. "Look, something
horrible has happened. Rude and Josh are dead, and I think most of AGFFH
civilization was just destroyed by a tidal wave."
"Uh tyduhl wayvuh?" grumbled Tseng, still merely on the verge of waking up.
"Wh-what's wrong, honey?" Elena asked worriedly.
======
Daron would have laughed had things not been so dire when he heard Elena's
soft voice over the radio; it seemed like Tseng's supposed "business meeting"
had gone well.
"Look," Daron said impatiently. "My helicopter's crashed. I am at the
coordinates 17, 86 south in the Fooey desert. I'm freezing my ass off.
I know it's a lot to ask you to call off your 'business meeting' with
Elena," Daron smirked, "but I really need your help, bud. If you don't
help me, I may freeze to death."
======
"Ohohohuh," Tseng muttered back over his end. "17, 86 south, Fooey
desert.... I'll get right on it. Don't you worry, Daron, I'll be
there within the hour."
"Thanks," Daron replied over the radio. "I really appreciate it."
Tseng hung the phone, then sat up and got to his feet, taking the blanket
with him. The blanket fell off of him onto the ground, and he walked butt
nekkid to his closet to retrieve his suit.
"I hate to interrupt this magical moment," he said to Elena, "but Daron's
in trouble. I have to help him."
"Yeah, yeah, I understand," Elena replied, getting off of the bed, just as
naked as Tseng, and walking over to him. "I guess it's important. We'll have
more opportunities...."
Elena carefully turned Tseng around to face her and planted a lengthy,
passionate kiss on his mouth. "I'm just glad we've got what we now got as
much as we do," she said. "I'll get my jacket on and I'll come with you."
======
Jason awoke in one of the tents back at the injured camp, being tended
to by a worried-looking Greg, of all people.
"Greg..." he mumbled, still somewhat half-asleep. "Wha-What happened?"
"Oh, you're awake!" Greg said, paused, and looked down. "I don't know what
happened. We found you, Slipgate, Jonny, and Griff lying on the ground
outside our camp one morning about a week ago. They keep talking about a
'Tidal Wave' or somesuch."
"Only us? What about Kim? Or Kain?"
"We didn't find anyone else...."
Jason sat up quickly. "Oh great... they're probably dead too."
"I heard about Atma, Linda, Josh, and Cherubae. I'm sorry."
Jason looked quickly over at Greg, and then his eyes clouded over with tears.
"On the plus side, there is some good news. Our wounds have been healing
fairly well and Gann0n showed up a few days ago, saying he had a hard
time finding us! Now, I'm just wondering what our next step is...."
"There is no next step. The AGFFH town's been destroyed. There's nothin'
to go on."
"I wouldn't say 'nothing to go on'," a voice said from the entrance to the
tent. Greg moved out of the way, and in his place Jonny faced Jason. Jonny
had several cuts on his face, and his left arm was bandaged up on its lower
side. Otherwise, he looked very healthy.
"What did you learn, Jonny?" Jason asked with interest. He attempted to sit
up, but a sharp pain in his lower back told him otherwise.
"While I was investigating Greg's club, I came across some information
that I think will shock you, Jason," Jonny said. "Simply put, Greg's
club definitely has some connections with the Organization...."
Jason gave Greg a sharp glance.
"Without Greg's knowing it, apparently," Jonny added. "Greg has been very
vehement in stating that he had no clue his business was doing these
transactions. And frankly, I believe him. All evidence points to the
theory that some high rank politicians in AGFFH were messing with his
money behind his back."
"Yeah.... but what good does that do us now? Those politicians are now
all dead. The tidal wave destroyed the entire town."
"Well, that's what I was getting at. You may find this surprising, but
Greg's company has been sending the extra money to the AGFF Telephone
Company."
"AGFF Telco.?!?! Don't tell me they are involved in this, too!"
"I was as surprised as you. But it's true. It seems AGFF Telco. has
been using its communication resources to communicate with Agents
from T.H.E.M. as well as the rest of the Organization. What we need
to do is infilitrate the AGFF Telephone Company and find out where we
might find the rest of the Organization. Or, better yet, Mr. X's son,
since he is a more immediate threat to AGFF."
"I.... Oh my," Jason felt somewhat speechless. "Well, so much for
aimlessness, I guess. Do you have any idea what happened to Kim or
Kain?"
"I saw Kain fly into the center of a tornado," Jonny said sadly. "I
don't know what happened to Kim."
"That's too bad.... all of this has happened.. I don't understand what the
universe is trying to prove by taking such excellent people from us."
"We were pretty sure you were dead when you fell off of Slipgate's back,"
Jonny pointed out. "Don't sign Kim and Kain's death papers yet. I'd bet
that the same force that saved us saved them. I'm sure they are where they
need to be."
"The same can't be said for Linda, Atma, and Cherubae, unfortunately," Jason
muttered, saying the last name somewhat wistfully. "I still can't believe
they're dead."
"Me either," Jonny admitted. "But something my father used to tell me is,
'don't think too much about the dead.... or the Reaper'll call you to join
them.' And I agree. Stop thinking about what you have lost, and think about
what you still have. You have all of us, your friends. We're willing to care
for and support you. Think about that."
"You better believe it!" Greg interjected. "All of you add spice to my life.
I'll back you up every step of the way!"
"Thank you, Jonny, Greg," Jason said, still thinking about Cherubae behind
his eyes. He closed his eyes, realizing he was still very tired.
"You need sleep," Greg said quietly. "And time to absorb all you've been
told. We'll leave for AGFF in a day. In the meantime, take this time to
relax."
As he drifted off to sleep, however, Jason's mind just became more and more
cluttered with unanswerable questions. What happened to Dave or Eyeglazer?
Do they still live?
======
Dave, the Celes Clone, and the Citan clone who used to be the Eyeglazer
clone were very much alive. They sat in seats opposing each other on a
high class train going to.... alt.config.
According to Citan's sources, this was where some of T.H.E.M.'s gun supplies
had been sold, and, more, where Clones were being produced - publically at
that. They each knew they had an adventure ahead of them.... and it might
not be pretty.
Sitting farther back on the train, Chris Johnson smiled.... All was going
according to plan.
======
AGFF Docks.
"Yes, that's what I want. A high quality adventuring ship," Kim said,
sounding somewhat exasperated. On her back, Kain's lance remained
sheathed, as it had been since she had had it suited to connect to
her traveling armor two days before.
"Well, tell ya what, m'dear," the gruff old sailor named Cid replied.
"Since ya helped me out'n'all, how 'bout I loan you my ship? I mean, I
ain't doin' much, and all you gotta do is take me along." The sailor
gave her a grin which made her shiver.
"All right, if that's what you're offering, Cid, I suppose I should
thank you. Just remember, I'm not interested in you that way. You're
a nice friend. That's all. Keep that in mind when you communicate with
me."
"Ok, ok..." Cid said immediately. "I swear, on all of my ancestors, that
I'll be celibate for the rest of my life. There, you got it! Happy?"
"That'll do. Also keep in mind, that if you attempt to break your
promise, I'll be sure to make sure you can't even try again."
"!!! Alright, alright! So when do we leave, eh?"
"Soon.... I need to deal with a few more things before I go."
Kim was quite happy to leave Cid's smelly cabin and get on with her daily
duties. She didn't really like him, even as a friend, and, deep down, only
was agreeing to go with him because she couldn't afford a real ship on her
own.
Some part of her wondered about the rationality about suddenly dropping
everything and going on a world tour on a boat. But it was what her instinct
kept telling her to do, and she knew it was on the sea where she would take
her first step to starting her own band of Light Warriors and eventually
finding Kain again.
