Eyes on Final Fantasy Forums > General > Writer's Corner > [s]Final Fantasy VII: Blood of the Living

[James Leopold]

don't worry i'm reading it too and it is brilliant.
you've definitly put a lot of time and effort into this. I like the characters especially Tylas, and the links with the game are really good. But I did think Cloud was a bit too cheerful, lol.

[Dragon Mage]

Woot!!! This makes me insanely happy! Thankies!

(lol, i agree, i thought Cloud was a little too happy, but he's supposed to be 'better' since it's after AC and all....so.....he's supposed to not be emo. XD it was weird.)

Now, I don't know when the next chapter will be up, but I have started it already. As I said before, exams are only a few days away, so I won't be able to write as much. No worries, though, the 7th chapter will be up in good time.

[Dragon Mage]

Sorry for the long update, but I tried to post these two chapters before I left for the trip. However, the website was down, and I was unable to post them. Sorry again, and I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 7—A Happy Tune

They reached Junon by nine o’clock the following morning. The seaside city had changed a great deal over the past few years. Public access to the city had been added, allowing everyone free entry. Before, only Shinra military and citizens with a pass were allowed to enter.

Once, Junon had been the most polluted city in the world. Now it was the cleanest. In face of the planet’s ailing state, the people of Junon began to clean up their polluted city, in a desperate effort to help the planet. A little girl named Priscilla had purposed the whole idea to the city. Now, littering was a serious crime in Junon. The people had a certain pride in the change of their city.

Crystal guided the bike through the busy traffic, and finally stopped at the docks. Located at the bottom front of the city, the docks offered an impressive view of the terraced city.

Crystal shut off the bike and dismounted, Tylas following suit. She paused for a moment and turned back to look at the city. The morning sun poured over the city, gilding the copper-colored metal a breath taking gold. Numerous windows glittered in the light, studding the glowing sight with diamonds.

Tylas gave a low whistle. “That’s quite something,” he stated.

Crystal merely shook her head sadly. “Yeah, I guess so.”

He gave her a surprised look. “What do you mean, ‘I guess so’?”

She gestured towards the empty sky above the city. “The cannon,” she said wistfully. “It was such a beautiful sight in the morning. And now it’s rusting away in the ruins of Midgar.” She continued to stare at the gorgeous city and sighed. “What a shame.”

Without saying anything further, she turned away and went off to buy tickets for the ferry.

Tylas had to keep himself from laughing at Crystal’s reaction to the missing cannon. Instead he just grinned and waited for her..

Crystal bought the two tickets for the ferry and returned to where she had left Tylas.

“Well,” she began. “Good new is that the ferry leaves in about and hour.”

“And the bad news….?” Tylas asked.

“I’m hungry.”

The two warriors grabbed a quick brunch and returned to the dock in good time. The ferry was already loaded with people and a few vehicles. Crystal carefully maneuvered the bike onto the ferry while Tylas handed over the tickets. He then joined where she stood by the railing, looking out over the water.

“So, how long ‘till we get there?” he asked.

She shrugged. “About a half-hour. Have you ever been to Costa Del Sol?”

“No. What’s it like?” he asked, curious.

She rolled her eyes and put on her sunglasses. The glare off the water hurt her eyes. “Hot,” was her bitter reply. “Very hot.”

* * *

Melody stood off to one side of the room and watched her students warm up for class. She appeared to be in her mid-20’s and was about 5” 4’. Her sturdy body was tanned a golden color gained only by spending long hours out in the sun. Her curly blond hair was cut short, resulting in a headfull of tight curls that bounced with each movement she made. She always seemed to be smiling, revealing straight white teeth. Her bright blue eyes always sparkled with laughter. The woman practically radiated cheer, and a person simply couldn’t keep a frown on their face when she was in the room.

She walked to the center of her room, clapping her hands to get everyone’s attention. “Okay, everyone, line up!” She spoke in a clear voice.

Immediately, all of the students lined up before her. They all wore the same white, loose-fitting uniform. Melody wore an identical uniform, save for the black belt tied around her waist.

Melody smiled at her assembled students. “Please, sit.” As they all took a seat on the floor, Melody went over to her bag in the corner of the room. From the bag, she withdrew a sword. With the sword in hand, she returned to the center of the room.

“Since you’re my advanced class, I think it’s time we moved on to this next section that is vital to your protection. You’re going to learn how to defend yourself against an armed opponent. Now, I need a volunteer to help with this demonstration.”

The silence from her students said everything. Melody laughed and proffered the sword to one of her older students. “Adam, if you could be so kind…”

The boy stood up and gingerly took the sword from her, holding it away from him awkwardly.

Melody backed up a little and took a defensive stance. “Okay, now, attack me,” she said, giving him an encouraging smile.

Hesitatively, he took a few steps forward and raised the weapon. At another reassuring nod from his instructor, he clumsily swung the sword at her, the sharp edge level with her waist.

Melody deftly dodged the swing and stepped out of the way of another amateur swing. This continued for a few minutes, him swinging at her and her always gracefully dodging.

Annoyed, the boy raised the sword above his head and brought it down hard, the blade cleaving through the air.

As the blade descended towards her, Melody finally made her move. Raising her arms, she caught the blade between her palms, touching only the flat of the blade.

There was a collective gasp from the students; Melody smiled. Still holding the blade above her, she mock ‘kicked’ Adam six times in quick succession, her feet tapping his chest.

Then she let go of the sword and took it from her student, thanking him as he sat down. She returned the sword to the bag and next withdrew from the bag some wooden dowel rods, each about three feet long.

She went back to the center of the room, facing the class. “Now, what you just saw is a little bit complicated, but you’ll get there later. For now, we’ll simply practice dodging.”

She instructed the students to don their sparring gear, which they did quickly. When this was done, she split them up into pairs, and gave one of each pairing a rod. One student would ‘attack’ with the rod, while the other would dodge. After a few minutes, they would switch, taking turns defending and attacking.

Melody skipped about the room, helping her students with dodging and how to anticipate where the next attack would come from. She seemed to be everywhere at once, encouraging her students.

Melody was unaware that she had gained an audience. Two people had entered the building and were now leaning against a wall, watching her teach. When she finally noticed them, she noted that they weren’t any of the students’ parents or siblings. She managed to catch the eye of one, who noticed her looking, and Melody caught a glimpse of purple eyes. The ebony-haired woman nodded at her, sending the message that she wished to talk to the martial artist.

Her curiosity stirred, Melody desperately wanted to go over and talk to the two, but was unable to because of her class. She would have to talk to them when the class was over.

~~~~~~~

When the hour-long class was finally over, Melody greeted the two strangers with a bright smile. “Hello! Are you related to any of the students? I’m afraid I’ve never met you before,” she said to the woman.

The woman shook her head and introduced herself as Crystal; the man said he was Tylas.

Melody gasped. “Crystal? The Crystal?” She squealed with delight and shook Crystal’s hand excitedly. “Oh my goodness, it’s such an honor to meet you!”

Tylas glanced at Crystal, the question written all over his face. She just rolled her eyes and tried to explain. “Erm…It was a small job around here a few months—“

“Oh, ‘small’ is quite an understatement!” Melody exclaimed, interrupting Crystal. She turned to Tylas, and began to excitedly explain everything to him in one long breath.

“It was a whole pack of monsters! They kept attacking the beach and no one could kill them or go swimming, so everyone thought that Costa was going to be ruined for sure because we rely on the tourism so much and the tourists couldn’t go swimming because of the monsters; then Crystal here showed up and the town hired her to kill them and she did, and she practically saved the entire town!” When she was done she let out her breath in one long whoosh. “Anyways, everyone here practically owes everything to her!”

Tylas looked at Crystal, shocked. “Well, you failed to mention that!”

Crystal, now thoroughly irritated, gave him a reproving glare. “It didn’t occur to me. Now can we please get back on topic?”

“Hm? What topic?” Melody asked, an innocent expression on her face.

Crystal paused for a moment, for it was true there was no topic. Fortunately, Tylas stepped in and bailed her out.

“We came here to warn you that you may be attacked,” He stated simply.

Melody gasped, and raised her hands to her mouth. “Really? Why?” she asked, her blue eyes wide with concern.

Crystal told her everything about the attacks, adding the attack on Kalm, and their mission. Having said it all so many times before, it now took only a few minutes to explain everything. The entire time Melody listened, enraptured.

When she was done, Melody gasped and, clasping her hands to her chest, asked, “Can I come with you?!”

Crystal blinked. “Wait…what? Why?”

Melody grinned at her and laughed. “Are you kidding? How many times do you get a chance at an adventure like this?! I wouldn’t pass up a chance like this for anything! So can I please come with you!” she begged Crystal with soulful eyes.

Crystal didn’t quite know what to do. She had always lived alone and fought alone, and she liked it that way. It was odd just having Tylas around, but another person? No. She didn’t like that at all.

However…what could she do? Refuse help that is so desperately needed? Whether she liked it or not, some things couldn’t be done alone; she learned that a long time ago. And it wasn’t like she could deny another their right to protect themselves. That meant the only thing she could do was let Melody accompany her and Tylas.

She glanced at Tylas to see if he was okay with Melody coming along. He gave a slight nod. “Well…I don’t see why not. Sure, you can come along if you want,” she answered.

Melody squealed and all but jumped with delight. She shook Crystal’s hand again, wildly. “Oh thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!! When do we leave?”

Again, Crystal was caught off guard by how sudden things were moving. “Uh…umm…I haven’t really thought about it…”

Tylas again tried to help out. “Who’s the next person we have to warn?”

Crystal mentally shook herself and quickly regained her composure. “That would be a black mage. Don’t know where he is really, but there’s been some rumors that he’s been spotted northeast of Cosmo Canyon.”

Melody was delighted. “Oooooooooo, a black mage! I’ve always wanted to meet one! Let me pack some things and we’ll leave today! How does that sound?”

Crystal was all too happy at the idea of leaving Costa Del Sol. It was too bloody hot here for her. “Fine by me. Where do you want to meet?”

They set up a meeting place and time, and soon the three had departed, Melody heading for home, and Crystal and Tylas heading for the rendezvous point.

The meeting place was the local bar in town that, thankfully, had air conditioning. Crystal collapsed into a chair, muttering praise for whoever had invented AC. Tylas smirked at her obvious relief. “Well….she seems nice,” he stated, trying to make conversation.

She muttered something unintelligible before answering him. “Yeah, yeah, she is,” Crystal replied with a sigh.

Tylas decided not to pursue that one. He could tell that Melody’s near-hyper behavior was grating on Crystal’s nerves. He changed the subject. “Have you ever thought about starting a business like she’s got? You know, like teaching how to swordfight and everything.”

She snorted. “Are you kidding? And give up mercenary work? Not a chance in hell.”

“Why’s that?” he asked, curious. “It’d offer a steady pay, at least.”

“So? It isn’t worth it. I love my job; I’d rather fight more than anything. It’s….” she shrugged. “It’s fun.”

‘Fun’ was an understatement. For Crystal, battle was her life, her one pleasure. The sheer thrill of battle was intoxicating. Many times her opponent had hesitated before the fight began, daunted by her eager smile.

Before Tylas could reply, she countered with her own question. “Well, what about you? Why’d you go into such a dangerous business; I remember you saying something about teaching your sisters. Why didn’t you do that instead?”

He sighed, expecting such an answer. “Don’t get me wrong, I love my family, but do you really think I’d want to stay in that town my entire life? I had to get out.”

She nodded sympathetically. “I see your point. Nothing like going out for an adventure, right?”

He shrugged and nodded his head, saying nothing more. It wasn’t adventure he wanted. Getting up in the morning with his three little sisters was adventure enough. He really didn’t know why he had to get out of that little town. It had suffocated him, and at times he thought that the very place he so dearly loved was trying to kill him. He had to get out, to prove… what? Prove what? That he hated being with his family?

He sighed and rested his head on his folded arms, closing his eyes. No, he loved his family. Family. He’d come from a long line of warriors, dating back to ancient times. Yeah, his family had been through it all. An epic battle here, a heroic death there, glorious victories—family history was full of it. And there he was, the last of the proud line, in some backwoods town with a job sweeping the floor at the only grocery store.

He felt a tap on his shoulder and he looked up.

“Hey, I think she’s here,” Crystal said, nodding towards the window.

He looked to where Crystal indicated and saw a silver car pull up in front of the bar. And out stepped Melody, dressed in a light blue wrap and denim shorts. Her golden curls gleamed resplendently in the sunlight. She entered the bar and looked around for them, rushing over to their table when she found them.

“So, you guys ready to go?” she asked, her face alight with excitement.

“You’re all finished with everything you have to do?” Crystal questioned, rather surprised that the other woman had gotten ready so quickly. “We probably won’t be back for a long time.”

Melody nodded enthusiastically. “Yup! Everything’s covered. My neighbor is watching my house for me and I’ve cancelled all classes until further notice. Tell me, who are we going after again?”

Crystal couldn’t help but smirk at the small error, but she let it go. “Black mage, can’t remember his name for the life of me…” She paused for a minute trying to recall the name. “Ah, I can’t remember, it’ll come to me eventually. Anyways, this guy isn’t very sociable. You could call him a hermit, I guess. He lives out in the middle of nowhere, keeping away from people, always moving from one spot to another. Could be a hard one to track down. Like I said before, there’ve been rumors that he’s hanging somewhere around north of Cosmo Canyon—“ she paused realizing just where that was.

Tylas noticed the pause. “Crystal? What is it?”

She shook her head. “I dunno. Maybe nothing. But that’s right around Niblehiem.” She shook her head, bringing herself back to reality. “Nevermind. Well, come on, we should get going.” She stood up and stretched. “Hey, Tylas, who’re you riding with?”

He glanced back and forth between Crystal and Melody, who smiled. “Melody,” he said with a definite tone.

Crystal raised one thin eyebrow in question.

Tylas raised his hands into the air. “Hey, don’t blame me, you’re the one that scared me half to death with that stunt you pulled in the swamp.”

She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Please, Tylas, I was only having a little harmless fun.”

“Harmless?!” He was astounded. “A huge bloody snake about to take my head off and you call that ’harmless fun’?!”

Melody, who had no idea what they were talking about interrupted the mock argument. “Wait, tell me what she did!”

Tylas quickly explained to her their trip over the swamp. When he finished, she giggled. “Oh, you big sissy!”

He rolled his eyes towards the ceiling and threw up a hand in defeat. “Great, even you’re against me. It’s a conspiracy, I swear.” The two women laughed at him and all three left the bar.

Tylas rode with Melody and Crystal led the way on her bike. Soon, the trio was heading off towards Niblehiem, unaware of the darkness that lay in wait for them there.

[Dragon Mage]

Chapter 8—Prey

It took them almost two weeks before they finally reached Cosmo Canyon. There, they replenished their nearly depleted supplies. Crystal also asked around about the possible whereabouts of the mysterious black mage. After many failed attempts, the trio finally received a possible lead.

“Well, waddya got?” Tylas asked as Crystal sat down at their table at the Cosmo Candle Inn.

She sighed. “Not a whole lot. But there’ve been some ‘sightings’, if you will, of a black-cloaked figure in the mountains north from here. Its just rumors, but it sounds like our guy.”

Melody leaned forward, her face glowing. “Really? When do we leave?” she asked excitedly.

Crystal bit back a sharp retort. Doesn’t she ever get a little bit tired? “Tomorrow. It’s a long way to the mountains, and I for one would like to sleep under a roof. It’s going to rain tomorrow.”

With that said, she left and went up to her room.

Melody looked at Tylas with wide eyes. “Did I say something to offend her? I didn’t mean to.” Her face was etched with guilt.

“No, no, it wasn’t something you said,” he assured her. “Crystal’s just…” He shrugged, trying to find the right word “She’s just really serious about whatever she’s doing.”

“Should I apologize to her?” Melody asked, starting to rise.

“Apologize for what? You did nothing wrong. She’s tired. Tell me, where’d you learn to fight like that?” He quickly changed the subject, trying to get off the current topic. Both of them had noticed that Crystal had become increasingly tense the closer they got to Niblehiem. Besides, though the three of them had become well acquainted over the past two weeks, he always forgot to ask Melody this specific question.

Melody grinned, looking like her usual self. She didn’t stay down for long, that’s for sure. “Well, I always thought it was important to know how to defend yourself. But when I took my first classes, I loved it so much I kept pursuing it. Before I knew it, I was well on my way to becoming a professional. You know, I wasn’t always going to be a martial artist,” she added.

“Really?”

She shook her head, making her bright curls bounce, and giggled. “Nope! I was going to be a ballerina.”

“Heh. Well that fits,” he replied.

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?” she exclaimed, giving him a playful shove.

“Nothing! I mean, it really fits you, being a dancer and all. You have a lot of energy, and all, and I can see you doing that sort of thing. Erm…. you know what I mean?”

She laughed and stood up. “Yes, I know what you mean! But Crystal is right about it being a long way to the mountains. Goodnight Tylas!” She bustled up the stairs to her room, leaving Tylas at the table.

He sat at the table for a long time, staring at the small candle on the table. They were right. It’s a long way to the mountains. And who knows what they might find when they get there. With a sigh, he left and went up to his room as well, and he forced himself to get some sleep.

* * *

Crystal stood in her room, looking out the window at the failing light. Storm clouds were gathering in the distance. She cursed silently and could only hope that the rain wouldn’t wash away any trail left by the black mage.

The closer they came to Niblehiem the more uneasy she felt. She had the constant feeling that she was being watched. In the last few days, she’d often whipped around searching for something lurking behind her, trying to glimpse whatever it was following her. But every time she did, she only met the concerned gaze of Tylas or Melody.

After spending nearly her entire life fighting, however, she had honed her instincts to a precision that was second to none. She knew something was watching the three warriors, following them in the shadows. She didn’t know what it was, or what it wanted, but she would be ready for it when it came.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

They left at early morning the next day. It wasn’t too long until they reached a river. An old stone bridge spanned the rushing waters of the river. However, it had been long neglected and was in shambles. As if to add on to the worsening situation, the river was at it’s peak, the spring rain and melting water from the mountains all but flooding the river, which now pounded on the riverbanks. Crystal stopped the bike short of the bridge and eyed the dilapidated bridge warily.

“Can we make it across?” Tylas shouted from the car behind her. She shrugged in reply and looked back.

“Only one way to find out!” she shouted back over the roar of the river. Turning back to the bridge in front of her, she revved the engine, producing a deep roar from the motorcycle. With a sudden burst of speed, she zipped across the bridge, arriving safely on the other side. She looked back, and motioned for the car to come over.

Slowly, the silver car edged over the bridge. The first set of wheels rolled onto the bridge, which held firm. Ever so slowly, the car crept over the bridge. Then the rear wheels rolled onto the bridge, and the entire car was on the bridge. However, the bridge showed no signs of collapse.

Melody continued to guide the car ever so carefully over the bridge. But when the car was right over the middle of the bridge, the entire stone structure shuddered. Without hesitation, Melody stomped on the gas. The tires squealed the rear tires stuck in a rut made by collapsing stones. With a lurch the car jerked out of the rut, and the bridge shuddered again; some large stones fell from the bridge into the foaming waters below.

The front wheels made it to the ground but the car wouldn’t advance any further. The bridge was now being torn apart by the river, and the rear of the car was tipping in towards the sagging bridge.

Putting the gas pedal to floor, Melody pushed the vehicle. There was a second’s pause, then the car shot, screaming, off the bridge. Behind, the bridge finally crumbled under the river’s assault.

Melody and Tylas exited the car, and stood by Crystal, the three of them watching the last remains of the stone bridge being borne away by the swift current.

“There goes our only way back,” Tylas stated grimly. The two women said nothing. They all knew what this meant. They could only move forward now, heading straight into whatever lie ahead.

* * *

Crystal tapped the skull with the hilt of her sword; it’s macabre grin almost as if inviting them to join it. The animal skull was impaled on a wooden stake, part of a trap that had been set a while ago. The large wooden stake had come up from the ground, piercing straight through the animal’s skull.

Tylas came up behind her and when he saw the sprung trap he sighed. “How many of these damn things are there?” he muttered in frustration.

The three had made it into the mountains, but still below the tree line. After much searching, Tylas had found a trail. Forced to go on foot, the search had been long and difficult. They had found numerous traps of all kinds set along the twisting trail, many of which they had barely escaped unscathed.

Melody, coming up in the rear, looked at the trap and shuddered. “Shouldn’t we just leave him alone? I mean, obviously he can keep himself safe. Why should we bother him?”

Crystal shook her head as she tested the ground around the trap with the tip of one sword, looking for any trigger to a part of the trap that hadn’t been set off. “No, we can’t. We have to get to him before anything else does. In fact,” she added, lowering her tone. “We may already be too late.”

They all knew what she meant; both Tylas and Melody were aware of it now. They were being followed, watched, their pursuer never revealing itself. The trio stood there, staring at the trap, straining their ears for the slightest sound in the dead quiet.

“We should get moving,” Crystal stated, making the others jump at the sudden sound. They quickly navigated around the trap, and continued down the trail.

It wasn’t long until they ran into another trap.

Crystal swiftly held up her arm and prevented Tylas from continuing. “Look.” She pointed with the sword in her hand at the ground about three feet away. Squinting, Tylas managed to make out a fiery red line of powder on the ground. “Wait here,” she told him, and then still keeping her distance, she followed the line to the left. After about going twenty feet, she returned, and did the same thing on the right side, with the same results.

“Looks like it goes on for quite a ways, from what I can see,” she informed her companions as she returned.

“Can we go around it?” Melody asked.

The swordswoman shook her ebony-haired head. “Nope. Well, we could, but it’d throw us off the trail, that’s for sure. We’ll have to trigger it.”

“How? What kind of trap is it?” This was from Tylas.

“It’s a magic one, of course. That line is a ward; it’ll activate when the it’s broken or something passes over it,” Crystal answered.

“I’ll set it off,” Tylas offered. “Besides, I’ve got the spear.”

Crystal gave a small smile. “I think you’ll want to use something besides your spear; maybe a branch would be a better idea. And we should all move back a bit—I don’t know what’ll happen when that thing goes off.”

They followed her advice, retreating a good ways away from the line. Tylas found a suitably straight branch, and handed his spear over to one of the others to hold. He advanced until he was about twenty feet from the thin line, before glancing back to see if the others were ready.

Confirming they were ready, he turned back towards the line and raised the branch as if it were a spear, holding it from underneath. Taking careful aim, he threw the branch like he would if it were a spear. The branch soared clumsily though the air. It passed over the line—and ward exploded. A wall of fire erupted from the small line of powder, the explosion rolling over all three of the warriors, accompanied by a deafening roar. Tylas stumbled backwards, his arms raised in an attempt to block the heat. The fireball was brief, but it had only been a side effect from the rest of the spell.

Before them stood a wall of flame, reaching a good twenty feet into the sky. Wherever the line of powder had been, the flame had risen from it, creating a barrier that would instantly fry whatever tried to pass through it. The three were forced to stand a good distance back, or else be subjected to the intense heat of the firewall.

“Can the fire rings get us through?” Tylas asked Crystal softly, taking his spear from Melody. He slipped his ring on and passed the other one over to Melody, who donned hers as well.

“Maybe. But they can only protect you from so much. They probably won’t hold up to an enchantment that strong. That means we’ll have to weaken it.” She added on this last bit with a sigh. She hoped it wouldn’t have come to this. It only drained a little bit more of her energy, made her just a little more tired.

Before the others could ask her how she proposed to do this, she walked forward until she could no longer stand the growing heat. She whirled her swords around her in a complicated pattern, ending it abruptly by crossing the blades then bringing them down in a slash. When she did this, the spell was activated. Using the Enemy Skill materia still within her forearm, she cast Aqualung.

A mass of water coalesced from the air and moved to the wall of fire. The rolling form of the water seemed to bubble as the water within undulated, pummeling the target of the spell. It only lasted a few seconds before it disappeared. The part of the wall touched by the spell had disappeared. The line of powder from which the firewall sprang had been thoroughly doused, but it still glowed like embers. Even as they watched, the flame started to flicker back to life.

“RUN!” Crystal yelled at Tylas and Melody, taking off towards the ward herself. The three dashed across the ground, trying to cross the ward before the enchantment recovered.

Crystal made it over safely, and she turned to see how far away the other two were. The ground was rocky and covered with the pieces of fallen pine trees. The terrain made it difficult to sprint across, and slowed their progress.

She cursed under her breath, glancing at the line. It started to flicker a little brighter and she could feel some heat coming off of it. The other two had come much closer, but if the firewall recovered now, Crystal couldn’t recast the spell without hurting them as well. “Come on!” she yelled desperately. The heat was growing. Sudden inspiration hit her and she cursed herself for not thinking of it earlier. Performing the same pattern as she had when she cast Aqualung, she cast another spell, this time on her friends. The spell she cast was Big Guard, which partially protected them from any kind of harm, as well as making them faster.

A ball of green light formed in front of the each of the two running warriors. Beams of light shot from the orbs and it spun, weaving a pattern from the light. Then the light faded, leaving behind only a brief ripple of light in front of the two.

The change was dramatic. The two noticeably picked up speed, and the distance between them and the recovering barrier shrank. Within seconds, Melody jumped over the line, landing safely on the other side. Tylas wasn’t far behind, but, despite the spell, his weapon hindered him. Flames began to lick the line and the heat was steadily increasing. Seeing this, Tylas ran faster, desperately trying to reach the line before it went up in flames. I’m not going to make it… he thought.

However, luck was with him. The firewall enchantment sputtered a few seconds, which was all that he needed. He dashed over the line a split second before it burst into flame once more.

The trio stood there for a few more minutes, Tylas and Melody both gasping for breath. Tylas pressed one hand against his side and kneeled on the ground, head bowed. A painful cramp had formed in one side, and each breath hurt. Melody was rubbing one ankle, which pained her every time she tried to move it. She had sprained it badly while running on the rough, uneven terrain. Only the adrenaline rushing through her veins at the time had enabled her to keep running. But now that the rush was gone, the pain was excruciating.

Moving over towards Tylas, Crystal asked him if he was okay. Gasping, he could only nod in reply. He pointed towards Melody, who was trying to move her ankle and let out a sharp cry of pain.

Leaving him, Crystal went over to Melody. “Don’t move; let me see it,” she instructed the blond. Biting back any more cries of pain, Melody let the swordswoman inspect her ankle. Crystal assured her that nothing was broken and she pulled out another materia from the bag that was tied onto one belt loop. She chose not to fully equip it, and merely held it in her hand, as she had done with Tylas when she healed him after the dragon attack. Like before, a sparkling green light poured from her hand as she held it over the martial artists’ ankle, suffusing the joint in a healing glow. When the light had faded, Melody showed obvious relief, and she thanked Crystal, who handed her a water bottle from the other woman’s pack. She then returned to see how Tylas was fairing.

The crimson warrior was in bad shape. He struggled for breath, but each one he took caused him more pain. He felt a hand on his shoulder, followed immediately by flood of relief from the pain. As the warm healing glow spread over him, he could feel the terrible pain in his side dissipate and strained muscles cease aching. He managed to catch some of his breath and he thanked Crystal for the assistance.

The violet-eyed woman sat down on the ground by her two companions, knees almost pulled up to her chest. She rested her arms on her knees and then her forehead upon her arms. She closed her eyes, waiting for the dizziness to pass. Aqualung followed by the two level-three Cure spells had taken a lot out of her. She had never been much of a mage, and the spells had used up a large amount of her energy. She should probably take an Ether.

“At…at least…we can’t…be followed…anymore,” Melody gasped out.

At this Tylas let out a weak laugh. Right now, being followed seemed to be the worst of their problems. Once again their retreat had been cut off. If they found the mage, there was a chance he would attack them. If they didn’t find him, they’ve either 1) lost the trail completely, or 2) he had been found by something else. Either way, the situation had only a small percentage of turning out in their favor.

* * *

Now that they were across the wall, they could see that the wall of flame had encircled a small area, going all the way up to the steep walls of the mountain. What the wall had been set up to protect was a small cave. The three warriors, now recovered from their previous ordeal, approached the cave with extreme caution. They finally reached the mouth of the cave, the tension in the air so thick it could be cut with a knife.

“So who wants to go into the dark, creepy cave first?” Melody asked softly. Without waiting for a reply, she advanced into the cave, hesitating at the mouth of the cavern. This would be the first black mage she ever saw, and the curiosity overrode any of her fear. “Hello?” she called quietly, trying to peer into the inky depths of the cave. Her call echoed within the black depths.

Tylas yelled in surprise as he rose into the air and was flung away from the group. He landed hard on the ground a little ways away, but was unharmed.

Crystal whipped around, swords instantly in her hands, and she faced their attacker. Their foe was a tall figure, wearing a black robes. A black cape was draped over the person as well, the inner lining a deep red. The hood was drawn up over the persons’ head, obscuring the face. They had finally found their black mage.

He made a shoving motion with one hand in Crystal’s direction. She went flying backwards and slammed against the rock wall of the mountain. She bit back a sharp cry as she felt her back being wrenched, and somehow managed to dodge a bolt of energy. The bolt smashed into the rock where her head had been just seconds ago.

Tylas, who had recovered from his brief flight, was now dashing towards the battle. The mage extended his hand toward the man, palm down, fingers spread. A nearly inaudible word was spoken, and suddenly a rapidly expanding wall of needles was speeding towards oncoming warrior. Tylas, seeing the attack, cursed and dropped to the ground, turning his back to the needles, trying to make himself a smaller target and to protect his face. The needles slammed into him, their sharp points digging deep into his skin, drawing blood. He gritted his teeth against the impact, but he stood up after the wall had passed.

The mage sent another magical bolt flying towards Crystal, immediately followed by another. She managed to dodge the first one, but she couldn’t get out of the way fast enough to dodge the second one, the pain from her back hampering her. The icy bolt caught her foot, and she stumbled, her leg from the mid-calf down covered in magical frost. Seeing another attack about to be sent on its way, she tried to limp out of the way, but she was practically helpless with her leg in the shape it was in.

The black mage prepared to summon another bolt of energy, which would surely mean the death of the violet-eyed warrior.

“Stop!” Came the cry from behind him. Whirling around, the black mage held up his hand, ready to fry his enemy with a sheet of flame. He met Melody’s blue eyes, and he stopped himself, struck by the sight before him. Somehow, she had managed to come up behind him, yet she hadn’t attacked him.

“Stop,” she repeated softly, holding his gaze with hers. Slowly, he lowered his hand, the other two warriors forgotten. “Why are you following me?” he demanded her in a deep voice.

“We’re here to save you. But I won’t do it if you keep hurting my friends,” was her reply. He glanced at the two wounded warriors behind him, and then turned back to Melody. “Then we shall talk.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It was twilight when they had finished telling the black mage everything. Melody was helping Tylas pull needles out of his skin while Crystal held her leg close to the fire in the middle of the cave, attempting to unfreeze it.

The mage had introduced himself as Valic. He had pulled back his hood, allowing the firelight to play across his gaunt features. He was tall, around 6’, and was about thirty years old. He had short brown hair and dark brown eyes. His face was thin and sharp, like the rest of him, the firelight only enhancing the emaciated features. The effect was ghoulish, and unsettling to look upon.

“You came all this way just to warn me of being attacked by some mindless creatures?” he asked, his soft tone doing little to mask his irritation.

“Not mindless creatures,” Crystal corrected him. “They’re attacking with a purpose; with a plan. And they aren’t your average creatures either; they’re Inflicted, far stronger than what you normally see.”

His reply came with a bitter smile. “Ah, yes of course. However, I assure you I can take care of myself, Inflicted or no.”

Melody gave Crystal a look that said ‘I-told-you-so’ but said nothing.

Crystal sighed and put one hand to her forehead, closing her eyes. Her leg was distracting her, and she instead focused on controlling the pain.

“We thought you might want to be warned before you were attacked by a hoard of monsters,” Tylas said, flinching as Melody pulled another needle out of his back.

“Well, all you’ve accomplished here is waste my time and yours!” Valic snapped. “Soon, I’ll be forced to move once again by the stunts you have pulled!”

“We were only trying to help,” Melody added softly.

This did nothing to placate the black mage however. “Oh, helped you have! Not only have you completely destroyed my defenses, you have interrupted my research as well! You have no idea what you have done here!” He was nearly shouting, he voice rising with anger.

“We didn’t kno—“ Tylas began, before Valic cut him off.

“Of course you wouldn’t know! You’re feeble minds couldn’t begin to comprehend the importance of my studies nor the damage you have wrought!”

Crystal sighed. She was quite fed up with this man already. “Fine,” she stated, struggling to her feet. “Obviously, we were foolish to think that a mage of your status would need anything remotely like help. But when they come Valic, and they will find you no matter what you do, you’ll be all alone. They are many, and you are one, and you will fall.”

Valic, already angry, grew furious at her words. “Get out of—“

“Your cave?” Crystal interjected coolly. “Oh, how mighty that sounds. Yes, you ARE a powerful mage indeed. You must be; you live in a cave!”

“Stop it!” Melody shouted at the two. “Stop fighting. This will get us nowhere! Now Valic,” she turned towards the black mage, giving him a charming smile in an attempt to rectify things. “Do you want to accompany us? We can use all the help we can get.”

The mage’s anger visibly dissipated as she turned her smile towards him. “No, I will not,” he replied, his tone returning to its usual haughty indifference. “You can leave tomorrow morning; the firewall will have died down by then. Follow the mountains north than east and you will find an abandoned town.” With that said, he exited the cave and disappeared into the darkness of the night.

Tylas sighed. “Well, that went well,” he muttered bitterly. “What the hell is his problem?”

“He’s an ass,” Crystal stated simply. “Couldn’t you tell?” She sat back down and rubbed her leg, which was still marble white.

“Oh, hush,” Melody said as she gently removed another needle. “It isn’t his fault.”

Tylas looked over his shoulder at her, a quizzical look on his face. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?!” he asked.

An innocent expression came over her face. “Well, I mean, think about it. Wouldn’t you be in a bad mood if you were always pushing people away from you and you were alone all the time? I’d hate to think of what it’d be like for a few days, much less my whole life.” She pulled out another needle and Tylas flinched again. “There, that’s all of them,” she told him and she took a seat between Tylas and Crystal.

“Just thinking about it gives me the chills,” she continued, shuddering, and rubbed her arms.

Tylas rubbed his back, which was stinging something ungodly. “Yeah well, he hasn’t done anything to gain sympathy points from me.” He glanced over at Crystal, who was trying to warm her leg. “Hey, Crystal, that town he was talking about; that’s Niblehiem, right?”

She nodded. “Yeah. What about it?”

“Why don’t you tell us what the hell went on there?”

She sighed and leaned back against the cavern wall. “It’s a long story… but you should know.” She settled herself into a more comfortable position before continuing. “Years ago, Shinra found a 2,000 year old organism in an archeological dig. The Shinra thought it was a member of the lost Cetra race, or Ancients, as you may know them. This organism is Jenova. Now, the Shinra wanted to find the ‘promised land’, a place only the Ancients could find, because they believed it was abundant with Mako. So, the Shinra used the DNA of Jenova to try and recreate a living Cetra, along with the power of finding the Promised Land. To do this, they injected members of SOLDIER with Jenova cells. However, it didn’t work. So one scientist, known as Hojo, directly injected an unborn infant with Jenova cells. This was the creation of Sephiroth.”

She sighed and tapped her leg, trying to see if any feeling had come back yet. “I’ll skip the small details, but Sephiroth was eventually sent to Niblehiem for some mission. The Niblehiem reactor was one place where the Shinra conducted their experiments. It was also where the body of Jenova was housed. Sephiroth found out about the experiments that made him and just lost it, to put it simply. From what I can gather, he was pissed that he was the ‘rightful’ heir to the planet and he wanted to get back at everyone for what was done to him and his ‘mother’, or Jenova. That was the beginning of many events that would lead to Meteor, which you already know about.”

“Wait,” Melody began, her expression puzzled. “If Jenova wasn’t a Cetra, or Ancient, or whatever, than what was it? How do you know it wasn’t an Ancient?”

Crystal shook her head and shrugged. “I don’t know what Jenova is exactly but what’s sure is that it isn’t from this planet. It’s an alien, hard as that may be to believe. And it isn’t an Ancient because it’s what wiped out the Cetra. It’s a long story but trust me, it’s true. Why it came here, what it wanted, I have no idea. It all gets rather vague at this point.”

The other two were silent for a long time, processing everything they had just been told. Then Tylas spoke up. “Then what does this mean?”

“I don’t know,” she answered. “It could be nothing. It could be everything. I don’t know what to expect, but we should expect anything and everything.”

He nodded in agreement and stared into the fire. Again, silence reigned. “I’ll take the first watch,” Melody offered suddenly. “You’re both tired and besides, I didn’t get attacked today!” she added with a grin.

Tylas snorted. “Yeah, just rub it in. That’s the last acupuncture treatment for me.” This gave rise to some weak laughter before the two finally went to sleep. Melody sat across from the mouth of the cave, watching the darkness beyond the small ring of light from the fire, her thoughts meandering over the day’s events. She never knew that the darkness was watching back.

* * *

By mid-morning, the three warriors were well rested and were soon on their way. They returned to their vehicles and from there continued on to Niblehiem. Since the bridge had given out, they could only move forward. The only way out of the area was a mountain pass beyond Niblehiem.

They entered the town by late morning. The town was completely abandoned. After it had been destroyed by Sephiroth’s rampage, the Shinra had come in and rebuilt it, putting their employees in to pose as the original inhabitants. It was all done to cover up what had happened and what Shinra was doing. Now that Shinra was gone, the town had been abandoned for good. All that was left was faded memories and burned dreams.

The shrill mountain wind whistled through the ghost town, emphasizing the desolation. An old, rusty windmill creaked, the sound echoing through the empty rooms of the houses. The dilapidated houses only made the scene more unsettling; the gaping mouths of doorways seemed to sound their welcome to the visitors in a hollow tone. The sagging windows stared mournfully at the three warriors with empty eyes.

“Wow,” Melody said softly, turning in a slow circle to take in everything. “Wow.”

Tylas wasn’t so enamored of it as Melody was, and he openly expressed his opinion of the abandoned town. “This place is creepy. Can we please leave?”

Melody gasped. “Are you kidding?! This is the best place to go exploring ever!” She clasped her hands together and bounced up and down on her feet with sheer excitement. “Can we please stay, just a little while?”

Both questions were directed towards the swordswoman, who shook her head in reply. “No, sorry Melody, but we have to go. I don’t want to be caught in the mountains when night falls.” There was a sigh of relief from Tylas and a moan of disappointment from Melody.

“Oh, why did we stop here anyway?” the martial artist demanded. She crossed her arms and pouted.

Crystal couldn’t help but smile at the blonde’s actions. Anything besides being happy simply wasn’t convincing for the woman. “We stopped because we can only continue on foot. We’ll have to carry everything we need.” She looked at her bike with sorrow. She hated to leave it behind, but there was no other choice. She ran her fingers over the handlebars and she briefly wondered if she would ever see it again soon.

It didn’t take them long to pack what they needed. Before long, they were traveling along the rundown path that led deep into the mountains. Crystal led the way, followed by Tylas and Melody in the rear. Amongst the rocky cliffs around them, darkness watched them and waited for the order to strike.

They’d been traveling for only a little while when the sound of tumbling rocks was distinctly heard amidst the sound of the howling wind. The tumbling sound began to grow into a deafening roar. In front of their amazed eyes, the side of the mountain began to slide down the steep slope onto the path in front of them.

The three warriors quickly backpedaled, trying to avoid the crushing mass of rocks descending towards them. Only a few smaller rocks strayed into the warriors’ path. One stray rock fell into Crystal’s path, making her stumble and she began to fall. Tylas quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her to safety. The three watched the last of the rockslide fall into place. The path was completely blocked.

Crystal cleared her throat. “May I have my hand back now?” she asked politely. Tylas, unknowingly, hadn’t let go of Crystal’s hand. Surprised by this, he quickly released her hand, forcing his hand to loosen the death grip he had on her. “Sorry,” he apologized. “Was startled, that’s all.”

She nodded, rubbing her hand, trying to get some blood flow back into it. As she looked at the barrier of rocks blocking their path she cursed silently. She had been leading them as far away from the reactor as possible. Now they had no choice but to go through the old reactor to get out of the mountains. And if they tried to turn back, she was almost positive that they wouldn’t be allowed to do that either. They were being herded like a bunch of mindless cattle. But what really got to her was that the enemy wasn’t even trying to conceal this fact, didn’t try to hide its presence. Whatever it was had no fear of them breaking free whatsoever. It knew they couldn’t escape.

She looked at the other two and nodded. She had told them beforehand that something like this might happen. She untied the small bag of materia hanging from her waist and handed it to Tylas. “Get ready,” she told him quietly. “It’s going to be a long fight.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Deep within the abandoned reactor, a young man knelt before the broken tube that had once contained the body of an alien long ago. He always felt more powerful here, near the place where is mother had been. Mother. He must avenge her. He had tried to convince his brothers to follow him, but they were impatient, and wouldn’t listen to his plans. Now they were dead, which was just fine with him. Who had need of such worthless trash anyways? One man can only do so much damage; it was unlikely that a single person would ensure the death of every single human. How his brothers couldn’t understand that was beyond his comprehension. They had really thought they could take over the world alone. What fools they had been. He knelt there with his eyes closed, seeing through the eyes of one of his minions. He watched as the three warriors scrambled to get out of the way of the rockslide, and a cold smile spread across his face.

“Master Avaric,” came a rasping voice behind him. “Do you wish us to engage the enemy?”

“No. Wait until they are inside the chamber. Then attack when I give you the signal. Now leave me.”

The disfigured creature that once had been human bowed to the silver-haired man. “Yes, Master Avaric.” It left the room; it’s sharp nails clicking on the metal floor.

Avaric watched, still with his eyes closed, as the trio began down the path that would lead to the reactor. They would be here soon; he must get ready. He opened his eyes, revealing the disturbing slit-pupils that marked him as something definitely not human.

With some reluctance, he left room and entered the next room in which numerous egg-shaped pods were contained. He studied the pods, his pride rising at the work he had wrought. Inside each pod was a human being, captured not too long ago from the town of Kalm. Immersed in Mako, their bodies had already begun to change, twisting into something that was anything but human. Very soon, the transformation would be complete. While they were in this state, he would inject them with cells from the strongest creatures this planet had to offer. Dragon, lion, gargoyle, wolf; all of them. These cells dictated how the humans would mutate; creating various monsters that had once been human.

Not only that, but their minds were being lost as well, flooded by the memories of thousands of lives long gone, recycled into the Lifestream. It was easy, really, to control their minds in such a pitiful state. By using the limited psychic powers granted to him by his mother’s blood, he controlled his entire army with his mind. He could see through their eyes, speak through their mouth. He could orchestrate a raid on a town hundreds of miles away. Such was his achievement.

Of course, it hadn’t been like that in the beginning. At first, the only creatures he could control were the useless animals that had been experimented on. He could manipulate the Jenova cells within them to control their pathetic little minds. Useless: That is, until he realized what he could do with them. He used them to raid towns, bringing him the humans he needed to build his army. Sometimes, he sent them to destroy a small town or two, or to swarm a certain warrior that could be potentially dangerous to his plans. He didn’t waste the better troops on such things, the hybrids that he had made in these pods. He had no need to control those very much. Oh, he certainly could if he wanted to. But that was impractical. All he had to do was set up a certain way of thinking in the hybrids minds. It was like programming a living thing to do only specific actions. That way, they not only worked for his cause, they could handle themselves in battle without him having to pull every string.

But these three warriors… they had come far too close to unveiling his work. He was not prepared for the war he would wage across the planet, a war to end all wars. A war to end all humans. A war led by him, the fourth Remnant of Sephiroth.

These warriors must be killed. He had carefully manipulated the situation to bring them here. Maybe he would make them a part of his army. A cold smile touched his thin lips at the thought. Yes, they would be an exceptional addition to his army. Except for that one. The woman with purple eyes. He had fully expected her to fall in the battle with his only dragon. Not only had she killed it, but she had saved the other human as well. No, he would not add her to his army. Instead, he could pass the time torturing her, forcing her to watch her companions twist into something from her nightmares.

He heard the familiar clicking sound that announced the arrival of one of his creations. A humanoid creature stalked into the room. This was one of his stronger creations, a mix between human and dragon. The entire body was covered with tiny, diamond-hard scales. Like a human, balanced easily on its two hind legs. However, the knee was bent backwards, and the limb lost all resemblance to a humans’ as it reached the foot. The foot was a cross between a dragon paw and a human foot, with long talons, but the hybrid managed better on this limb than most humans or dragons did on theirs. The hands ended in long, sharp talons that could easily slice through almost any armor. A long, serpentine tail came from the base of the spine, tipped with a deadly point. To finish it off, a pair of bat-like wings sprouted from just beneath the shoulder blades, and could easily carry the hybrid in flight. Overall, the creature was an almost graceful blending of human and dragon; that is, if you could ignore the eyes, which were entirely black.

“Master,” it rasped. “They are about to enter the pipe room. What are your orders?”

Avaric nodded, expecting such a report. He reached into the creature’s mind, and filled it with the instructions of what he wanted from it. “You know what to do. Now go. I will be there shortly,” he commanded. It made another bow, then turned and swiftly carried itself out of the room.

Avaric closed his eyes, touching the minds of his creations to make sure that all was in order. In a few moments, he opened them again. Drawing his flail from his belt, he left the reactor to join his troops in greeting the warriors. He was going to enjoy this.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Crystal eyed the area beneath them warily. There were three levels to the room they had just entered. The narrow top level that they were standing on had one end of eight large pipes resting on it. The pipes twined all the way down to the bottom level. Ladders gave access to all the levels. The second level was merely a small platform of sorts that led to a door, which would lead to the reactor itself. On the third and final level, the largest of the three, were various paths that led out of the room. Glowing pools of Mako bordered the sides of the paths. A large boulder dominated most of the third floor.

Crystal motioned for the other two to follow, and made her way down the steps to the second level. Before entering the room, they had prepared themselves for whatever might come when they were inside. They carefully and silently made their way down the two ladders and were soon on the bottom level. Weapons drawn, ears straining for the slightest sound, the three cautiously made their way over to one of the paths.

Then the trap was sprung. Boulders suddenly fell into place, blocking the exits, cutting off any retreat. One monster suddenly dropped down from the air behind Tylas and sank its sharp teeth into his shoulder. Gritting his teeth against the pain, Tylas reached back and grabbed the thing, and in one swift action, rolled it over his shoulder, letting it drop on the floor. He impaled it before it could recover. It was a grotesque thing, and looked for everything in the world like a cross between a human and a wolf.

Only then did they realize where their enemy had been hiding. Dozens upon dozens of these creatures had been clinging to the high ceiling of the chamber, a living, breathing roof of deadly monsters. These were not the usual Inflicted the trio had encountered so many times before; these were far more deadly, and were too human to be random Inflicted.

When the one hybrid had jumped Tylas, the others quickly followed, descending upon the warriors, ready to slash them to pieces. However, their orders were to capture, not kill.

Within a blink of an eye, the warriors were surrounded and hopelessly outnumbered. But the elite warriors managed to hold their own against the flood. Crystal went to greet the enemy, both swords flashing in the light. She was in her element now. She cut through the enemy in one continuous, flowing attack, blocking, thrusting, and slashing, never pausing for a second.

Melody, despite lacking any weapon of her own, proved to be a tough adversary. She nimbly ducked and dodged attacks, and returned her own with great force. The usually bright and cheerful martial artist was now a determined, fierce fighter. Occasionally, the sharp crack of a bone breaking could be heard when she landed a blow.

Tylas also proved to be hard to hit. Every time a hybrid tried to attack him his spear blocked it. Since the wolf hybrid had bit him, he had not suffered a single blow. He slashed at the creatures, few of them making it beyond the reach of his spear.

However, the creatures proved hard to kill. A broken bone, a sliced muscle; it did little to slow them down. They simply got up again and continued the assault.

Away from the thick of the battle, Avaric stood on top of the boulder, weapon in hand. He watched how his creations fared in battle and was overall very pleased with what he saw. He noted with satisfaction how tough they were, continuously attacking despite many severe wounds. He was pleased with the wounds they inflicted; Crystal had gained three deep slashes on one arm by a hybrid she had thought was dead. Melody had taken quite a few blows already, and was beginning to wear down. Tylas was the only one that hadn’t been injured any further, but the Inflicted were adapting to his fighting style, and many had come close to injuring the warrior.

After a few moments, Avaric had seen enough. He silently called in more of his minions. A hole in the ceiling suddenly opened, dirt falling onto the combatants below. More hybrids poured through the hole. Avaric raised the flail, pointing it at Tylas, at sent the silent command to capture.

Tylas saw this action but before he could realize what it meant, the same wolf hybrid that had bitten him earlier grabbed him from behind and threw him to the side. He rolled as he hit the floor and sprang to his feet. Suddenly, a large dragon hybrid landed in front of him and backhanded him across the face.

Now, Tylas had been through a lot in the past few days. He’d survived innumerable traps, been thrown into the air twice, and had been made a human pincushion by a cynical black mage. Getting bitch-slapped across the face by some twisted half-breed monster was the end of the line. Tylas was pissed.

He faced the hybrid and held his spear out before him parallel to the ground. The hybrid paused, trying to figure out what he was going to do. After a few seconds, it simply lunged at him, slashing with its razor sharp claws. Tylas didn’t move until it had closed in just the right distance. Stepping to the side, he let the creature stumble past him, slashing at it as he did so. The spear sliced smoothly through the hybrid’s spine.

He turned to Avaric, and as he did, his spear burst into flame. The fire licked his hands but left him unharmed. In swift, steady strides, Tylas cut through the ranks of monsters between him and the man in black. With each step, he slashed at the creatures on either side of him, sending some flaming monsters flying into the air, cleaving through others. He left a trail of fire in his wake, never pausing in his deadly stride.

Avaric saw the crimson warrior advancing towards him and was ready for him when he came. He easily dodged the flaming spear as it was thrust towards him, and lashed out with his own weapon. Tylas easily dodged the blow, but it aimed towards him. The long chain of the weapon wrapped around the spear, and Avaric pulled, all but wrenching the burning spear from Tylas’ hands.

Tylas retaliated by slamming the haft of his spear into the Remnant’s side, making the man stumble. The flail slipped off of his spear. Taking advantage of his opponent’s weakness, he pulled the end of the spear up, the tip pointing at the ceiling. He then circled it around, the haft coming under his arm, and brought the deadly point of the spear down in a crescent-shaped slash. Avaric saw the blow coming and turned away from it, trying to hit Tylas with the spiked ball of his own weapon. However, he didn’t quite dodge enough. The razor edge of the spear sliced across his chest, the fire burning his skin horribly. Avaric could only register pain, terrible burning pain and shock.

Before either of the two could do anything further, an explosion erupted in the midst of the Inflicted creatures. The creatures scattered, thrown in all directions. The attack had come from above, from a black-robed figure standing on the second level of the chamber.

Walking calmly on the air as if he were treading upon solid ground, Valic descended towards Crystal and Melody. “Give me some time,” he told Crystal and he turned towards the blocked entrance. He held his hands with the palm facing towards the boulders that blocked it, fingers spread. Concentrating on his magic, he pushed with his power. The boulder shifted, opening a gap, but it was far too small. Relying on the two women to protect his back, he focused more power towards the boulder and pushed again. He had to be careful; if he pushed too hard, the entire tunnel could collapse, sealing it even more effectively.

While all this was happening, Tylas knew he had to end the battle quickly. He blocked Avaric’s attacks; his own burst of power had already been spent, and the spear had returned to its normal state. There was a loud rumbling sound as the boulder blocking one of the entrances rolled free.

“Tylas, we are leaving!!” Crystal shouted over the din of battle.

At her words, he jumped over the Remnant’s next attack, aimed to wrap the chain around his leg and trip him. Pushing off of the boulder, he leapt high into the air, doing a graceful somersault in the air and landed in front of the cleared entryway. He quickly retreated, slashing at the monsters to keep them back.

As soon as he was clear, Valic raised one hand into the air and clenched it into a fist, then brought it down, as if he were slamming his fist on a table. The tunnel collapsed in response to his gestures, closing the tunnel under tons of mountain rock and dirt. The boulders used to trap the warriors inside sealed the other two exits; they now sealed in those that had put them there in the first place.

“It won’t take them long to get out. Follow me,” Valic said, and he swiftly started down the path. The three followed the black mage, not asking questions, saving their breath for running.

They had escaped the evil that had stalked them for so long; they were safe. For now.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hours after the battle, Avaric once again knelt in front of the one-time resting place of his mother, inspecting the healed wound on his chest. A clicking behind him announced, as always, the arrival of one of his servants, come to give him its report.

“Well?” he asked, not bothering to turn around. His tone was soft, deadly.

“Master, we have searched the mountains but we could not find them. They have escaped us,” answered the rasping voice.

Avaric lowered his hand from the scar, letting it drop next to the flail lying on the ground beside him. “You let them escape?” he asked, in the same soft, lethal tone. Before the creature could respond, he rose to his feet, twisting around to face the monstrosity, the flail in his hand. The spiked ball swung wide on the chain, and buried itself in the creature’s skull. Avaric viciously jerked it out of the hybrid’s head, letting it fall to the ground, twitching. “I don’t accept failure in my army,” he hissed.

Again his hand rose, unbidden, to the terrible scar. Never had he felt such pain. Never had he suffered such disgrace. That human would pay dearly for what he had done to him. Avaric would make him suffer, make him pay in blood for his actions. A thought formed in the Remnant’s mind, and he examined it, inspecting every facet of his growing plan. A cruel smile spread across his lips. Yes, it was a very good idea. It was perfect in fact.

He mentally called in another of his minions, which entered the room in a matter of seconds. It bowed low in his presence. “You summoned me Master?” His smile growing, his plan becoming clearer, Avaric told the creature what he wanted from it, told it his plan of perfect revenge.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

They finally reached the end of the mountains far past midnight that night. They collapsed, gasping, to the ground in a small cave Valic had made.

“Are… we… safe… now?” Melody gasped, thoroughly winded.

“I highly doubt the world could provide any amount of safety at the moment,” Valic replied. Out of all of them, he was the only one that wasn’t winded or exhausted. “But we are relatively secure for the time being.”

She nodded her head, her golden curls bouncing. “That’s all… I needed… to know.”

“Why… did you… come back, Valic?” Crystal asked. “I thought… you wanted to be… left alone.”

“I did not gain this much power only to become too ignorant to know when to use it,” the black mage replied. He handed Melody a skein of water, from which she took a grateful drink. The three warriors sat there for a few minutes, catching their breath.

“Well, thanks for coming back and saving our asses, Valic. We owe you one,” Tylas stated.

Valic shook his head. “No. It is I that was in your debt. We are now even.”

This mysterious reply made no sense to the others whatsoever, but he offered no further elaboration.

They healed their few wounds and slept soundly that night; each one taking turns keeping watch. Valic cast an illusion spell that made the mouth of the makeshift cave appear to be nothing more conspicuous than a pile of large rocks.

In the middle of the night, during Valic’s shift, he pondered on why he had come. What he had said earlier was true, but there had been another reason, one he couldn’t place his finger on. Try as he might, he simply couldn’t figure out what it was. He pushed the thought from his mind; he had little use for aimlessly guessing at things that probably didn’t even exist anyway.

* * *

It took them a day to put enough comfortable distance between them and any and all mountains. As they rounded the bend of an overgrown path, a shocking sight met their eyes. Melody squealed with delight.

Sitting in front of them, which they had left behind in an abandoned town far away, was a sliver car and a motorcycle. “Oh my gosh!” Melody exclaimed, wonder written all over her face. “How’d they get here!”

“A mage never reveals the secrets of his craft,” Valic replied, coming up behind her. She gaped at him in wonder then, without any warning, threw her arms around him and gave him the biggest hug she could muster. “Oh Valic, you’re so sweet!” she squealed. She then released him and ran over to her car.

Tylas and Crystal exchanged glances. ‘Sweet’ was hardly the word they would pick to describe Valic. But of course, that was just Melody all over. Crystal approached the mage, who had an odd look upon his face. She shook his hand and thanked him for what he had done then went off to greet her bike, which she had just begun to really miss.

As they were reorganizing their things, Tylas leaning against the hood of Melody’s car, holding a map, Crystal heard someone faintly call her name. She glanced at the others by the car, but none of them were looking at her.

“Crystal!”

It was stronger this time. She thought she recognized the voice. “Zack?” she responded softly, trying to keep her voice low. “Zack, where are you?”

“Crystal!” He finally materialized in front of her. “Crystal! The attack! You have to go, NOW!”

“Whoa, Zack, calm down and go slower. Now, what is it?” she muttered. So far the others hadn’t noticed that she was having, what would appear to them, a one-sided conversation. The spirit of the SOLDIER was obviously in great distress.

He shook his head, trying to find the right words. “It just happened yesterday… the town… his town…”

“Whose town?” she questioned. “Zack, you’re not making any sense.”

Zack pointed past her. “Him. His town.”

She looked over her shoulder and saw he was pointing at Tylas, who was still inspecting the map. She looked back at the spirit in front of her. “Zack, what do you mean, ‘attacked’? Who attacked his home?” she demanded. She felt her stomach plunge. She had promised to his family would be safe, she had promised he would return to them. She never broke her promises.

Again, Zack shook his head, running his hands through his black hair. “I… I don’t know what they were. They were monsters, human—no. Not human. They used to be. Oh gods, why didn’t I notice it earlier?”

“Zack!” she snapped. She didn’t care if the others heard her now or not. “Tell me. What happened?” she demanded once again.

He looked at her, his blue eyes wide with a fear that could be felt by even the dead. “It’s been destroyed. Everything. Burnt. Everyone is dead. Except…” he trailed off.

“Except WHAT?!” She barely managed to keep herself from shouting at the ghost.

“His sisters. They’re gone. Taken. I don’t know where. He told me to tell you that all of you have to come there if he,” he motioned towards Tylas. “Ever wanted to see them again. He told me to make sure you would know.”

[eiko guy]

I love you Dragon mage. This story seems so professionally done.

[Dragon Mage]

Oh my goodness, you have no idea how much that means to me! Thank you, thank you, sooo much!! I'm glad you like it and I really appreciate the feedback!! Thank you!!!

Here is the next chapter. It was really hard to write! Btw, chapter 10 is in progress!

Chapter 9—Despair

Crystal could only stare at the spirit, her mind racing as she tried to process this sudden turn of events. She opened her mouth to question Zack further but was interrupted before she could speak.

“Crystal, who are you talking too?” Melody inquired.

The swordswoman turned around and found that all three of her companions were staring at her, observing her strange one-sided conversation.

Thinking fast, she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. Since that side of her body was turned away from them, it seemed like she had been holding her phone down in front of her, hidden from view. She held it up so the could see it, the black phone gleaming dully in the sunlight. “A friend; I’m trying to get a hold of him, but the signal keeps breaking up. I’m gonna try over there, see if I can’t get better reception.

The area she indicated was a copse of trees atop a large hill. Without saying anything further, she quickly navigated the steep slope. When she reached the top, she plunged into the thicket of trees. Making sure that she was out of both ear- and eyeshot, she turned to the restless spirit, who was waiting for her at the top. The dead SOLDEIR was pacing back and forth, running his hands through his dark hair. He was obviously greatly agitated by the incident.

“Zack, calm down!” she hissed, keeping her voice low. “Now, what’s the deadline?”

“What?” He gave her a confused look, not comprehending her question.

“How long do we have to accomplish this task!?” She tried to keep her irritation from voice, but her patience was rapidly running out.

“Um, two weeks. He gave you two weeks.” He nodded. “Yeah.” He calmed down some at Crystal’s demand, but he looked distracted. He was staring off into the distance, squinting at something only he could see.

“Zack… Zack!” Crystal called, trying to get his attention. He jerked his head and looked at her. “Now, you mean to tell me that he saw you? What were you doing there?”

He nodded. “Yeah, he saw me! I went there because you told me to look out if anything weird was going down. I was standing there and he suddenly looked at me and told me to give you a message.” The spirit visibly shuddered; ironic for a ghost, Crystal thought.

“Do you know where the girls are?” she asked, pushing him for more information.

“No. I have no idea. They could be anywhere, for all I know.”

“Can you find out? Like, can you scout for them, find out where they are?”

“No. Not without him knowing. And if he sees me walking around, he’ll know your bound to come.”

She fell silent at this, musing over the information she had gained.

“Hey, Crystal! You alright up there?”

Down below, Tylas was shouting up at the spot Crystal had disappeared at. She had been gone for too long. The others would begin to suspect something if she stayed much longer. Quickly she turned to Zack. “Thank you for telling me. Now, I wish I could say that I don’t need your help anymore, but I do. I need you to keep a lookout for these creatures, those things we saw in the mountains. Find out anything you can, what they are, where they came from; can you do that?”

He nodded, still looking uneasy. “Yeah. Yeah, I can do that.” He made an attempt at a smile, acting like his usual self. “Catch ya later.” With that he disappeared, off traveling through the Lifestream once more.

Crystal emerged from the trees and began making her way down the hill. Tylas was already halfway up the hill; he had come in search of her when she hadn’t answered him. “You alright?” he repeated when she met him halfway down the hill.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Couldn’t get a signal. I’ll try later.” She continued past him, glancing over her shoulder when he didn’t follow her down the hill. “Come on, we should get going.”

Mounting her bike, she started it up and revved the engine. The bike’s throaty growl sent the others hurrying to get into the car. She waited to make sure that they were all in before taking off, leading the way towards Rocket Town. During the long ride, she wondered how she was going to tell Tylas.

* * *

They only got halfway to Rocket Town before darkness fell. They stopped and set up camp. It was deemed to dangerous to travel at night, and they would continue towards Rocket Town first thing in the morning.

Crystal excused herself from the group for a couple of minutes under the pretense that she had a call to make. She had to come up with some sort of excuse as to how she found out about Tylas’ home and family. She would tell them that she had called her friend, Cloud, to tell him about what they had encountered in the mountains around Niblehiem. In turn, he told her about what had happened in the far-away coal-mining town that she had told him had been the whereabouts of one of the warriors she was tracking. A ransom note had been left, demanding that Tylas come to the town if he ever wanted to see his sisters again. The town itself had been destroyed and from what was left behind, there were no survivors from the attack. Except for his three sisters, that is.

And it wasn’t a complete lie; she did call Cloud and tell him what happened and she told him to warn his friends in turn. However, the bit about him telling her about the destroyed town was a straight out lie.

Why come up with such an elaborate lie? Why not tell them about her strange ability to see the wandering dead? The answer is simple; if she told them now, not only did it compromise her status as their leader but she would be regarded as crazy. A leader that lies her followers? Oh yes, a fine leader that one is. She’d be lucky if they ever listened to anything she ever said again. A leader is supposed to give confidence and firm support to those that follow, not doubt and suspicion.

Whether they knew it or not, she had already become the leader of the group. As in Niblehiem, a question regarding the whole groups’ next action was always directed towards her. Subtly, but surely, she was being looked to for guidance and permission. The whole thing was ironic: She, a loner, was automatically being the looked to to lead them. The entire position was unwelcome to her and the sooner she was rid of it, the better. She had no desire to lead these people. But there was no one else to step up to the plate.

But not only would telling them compromise her position, she didn’t know how she would explain it to them. Her ability was a mystery to herself. How could she see them? She didn’t know. She had no idea; she just did. And it was a damn nuisance at some times but invaluable at others.

She stopped outside the circle of light from the small campfire, watching the scene before her. Melody and Tylas were in the midst of a thumb war, while Valic poured over his spellbook. Both of them were twisting their arms ridiculously, trying to get the advantage over the other. The war abruptly ended when Tylas successfully pinned down Melody’s thumb and she couldn’t squirm it loose fast enough. “Dang it, that’s the tenth time!” she exclaimed as she gave him a playful punch on the shoulder while he laughed. “How’d you get so good at it?”

He grinned at her. “Hey, I’ve got three little sisters that simply delight in this game. And when they get bored you have to keep them busy. I can play with both hands at the same time,” he added, pride ringing in his voice. He didn’t add that his three sisters managed to whoop his ass at the game nearly every single time.

The blond gaped at him. “Really? Oh my god, I have to see that! But we need another person…” She turned around and looked at Valic whose attention was completely fixed upon the spellbook before him. “Hey, Valic, you wanna have a go at a thumb war?” Melody asked. The mage didn’t even look up from his studies; he merely waved a dismissive hand at her, brushing away her offer.

She made a face at him, which he didn’t see. “Oh, you’re no fun,” she muttered. She saw Crystal standing in the darkness by the trees and brightened. “Hey, Crystal! Perfect timing! I’ll bet he can’t beat both of us at the same time!”

The swordswoman walked into the circle of light and, ignoring Melody’s invitation, sat down by the fire, away from the others. The two knew immediately that something wasn’t right. “What’s wrong?” Tylas asked. Neither he nor Melody were laughing now. Even Valic looked up, his attention finally drawn away from the complex spells of his craft.

Crystal didn’t answer right away; instead she gazed into the fire, going over what she was going to say in her mind. Finally she spoke. “Tylas, I’ve got news about you’re family.”

From her expression and voice, he could tell it wasn’t good. “What’s happened to them?” he demanded, panic rising.

She told him everything. It was easy to lie to them. She’d become rather good at lying, she thought bitterly. When she was done, silence reigned. Tylas was looking down, head in his hands, hiding his face from view. Melody had one arm around his shoulders, trying to comfort the warrior.

“What do we do? Should we go to the town?” Melody asked, her eyes wide.

Valic answered her. “No, of course not. It’s only a trap.”

“Well…” she tried desperately to think of something. “We could go back to the reactor, rescue them that way.”

“We could do that, I suppose,” Crystal stated. “But we don’t even know if he’s keeping them there.”

“Well, we have to do something!” Melody cried. “We can’t go back and we can’t attack the reactor. Can’t we… infiltrate the reactor? See if they’re there or not? Valic, do you have any spells that could do something like that? Anything at all?”

The mage shook his head. “No. A familiar would be too suspicious and I have no spells of invisibility or scrying. I can only offer minor illusion spells, nothing more.”

“Then we attack the reactor outright,” the blond stated defiantly. “We attack when they least expect it. Go in, search for them, and get out. If they’re there, then we will save them.”

Valic snorted in disgust. “Are you mad? Even with the element of surprise, that reactor is a veritable fortress. We’d be killed in our own foolhardy rescue attempt and there won’t be anyone to back us up. A direct assault on the reactor is out of the question.”

The two argued for a few minutes on what to do. Crystal interrupted the argument with her own plan.

“I say we capture one of these creatures we saw in the reactor. Somehow, this man is controlling their minds.” She remembered vividly when the flood of creatures came through the roof and, with only a simple gesture to direct them, attacked Tylas. She knew well what the powers of Jenova were capable of. Limited psychic powers were one of them. She also knew what Sephiroth could do and how he had manipulated his enemies to his advantage. “There’s a city not far from here, north of Rocket Town. It’s said that the best white mage in the world lives there, and she can heal the mind as well as the body. If she can fix this creature’s mind, we could extract the girls’ location from it. Once we know where they are, we can decide what to do.”

There was a pause as they considered this idea. “Okay…” Melody began. “But how would we capture one?”

Crystal had expected such a question. “They’ve been attacking towns, remember? All we have to do is come in during such an attack and knock out one of these creatures. We’ve got the materia to do it with.”

There was a long pause, then, “It may just work…” Valic mused.

“Okay. So we have a plan then!” Melody said. “Okay, Tylas? Don’t you worry, we’ll get your sisters back in no time.”

At this, he got up and walked away, disappearing into the trees. He hadn’t spoken a single word during the entire exchange. Melody began to follow him but Crystal stopped her. She resumed her seat without any protest. They all knew why he left. Sometimes, you have to cry alone.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Tylas crashed through the woods, not caring what happened to him, only trying to escape the awful words Crystal had spoken. Finally, he stopped fell to his knees in dark forest, staring at the dead, brittle leaves of the forest floor. It was simply too much for him to take in. Everything was gone. His famil