<ooc - Sorry guys, I hope this was worth waiting for Afternoon…>

Sonya gave a helpless shrug as Tritoch evanesced to Pyraflies behind her.

“Are you sure she knows about this meeting, Tanis?”

Tanis’ only response was an unblinking stare.

“Well there’s no-one around for miles barring a Guard airship well off to the West, let alone anyone coming down towards the Calm Lands.”

“She’ll be here.” Tanis said calmly, “I have faith in her.”

“Surely we still mean something to her?” Feyd put in, going up to a careworn Sonya and gently massaging her shoulders as she slumped gratefully against him, “And surely she felt Penance’s return? We all did - right, Neji?”

He turned to his friend for confirmation, but Neji had wandered off a few yards to stand facing the horizon back the way they had come, towards the Ellessar forest.

Tanis, sensing all too easily what was troubling Neji, walked up to him and tried to speak.

“My friend, we all feel Melina’s loss…”

But Neji cut him off with a smouldering glare. Tanis merely turned and went back to his other companions.

“Let him be for a moment,” he said to Feyd and Sonya, who were casting worried looks at Neji’s back, “Come,” he said to distract their attention, drawing his faithful katana from its scabbard on his back, the gold filigree of elvish runes woven into its grip and pommel as bright as ever, “I have not seen you fight in years. I hope you haven’t lost your touch?”

Feyd and Sonya looked at him incredulously for a second. A half-mocking smile appeared on Tanis’ face.

“Do we have anything better to do until Fariel makes her appearance?”

* * *

“Oh for frak sake, are they still there?” Fariel cursed as she walked past one of the computer screens connected to a remote stealth-probe monitoring the Calm Lands, doing a slight double-take as she saw the four other Avenging Angels still obstinately refusing to give up and go home.

She turned on her heel as Larek came up behind her, typing away on a palmtop computer.

“Larek, would you go down to the Calm Lands and tell our friends I’m not coming? That Guard airship’s still on patrol so that’d be a decent excuse. Tell them to meet me at the safe house in Luca or something, I don’t know…just get rid of them. AND SHUT UP, LEVIATHAN!” she snarled, making several nearby techs jump.

* * *

“Hey, Jacen!” the ever-upbeat Lei called out, making Jacen Locke look up from his corner of the cave where he sat performing maintenance on his rifle, “Some of the guys are holding a little get together down in the lower levels to kick back after the op last night. You game?”

Jacen carefully set down his black rifle and stood up, leaning against the rocky pillar beside him as he gave an amused smile.

“You’re throwing a party?”

“Hey, this isn’t the Guard. And Fari’s not an ice-queen like that arse General Beni.”

Jacen laughed, then winced in pain because he had leaned too hard against the pillar, jolting the tracker on his wrist and sending a painful electric shock up his arm.

“Oh, sorry man, I completely forgot…Dante! Dante, you bastard!” Lei called out cheerfully, and Dante appeared at the rocky entrance to their section of the cave, “I don’t think Jacen needs his tracker any more, what say?”

Dante laughed too and took a small cylindrical device from his pocket. It bleeped as he held it up to Jacen’s tracker, then the bracelet unclipped itself with a sharp click. Dante returned both the gadget and the now-harmless tracker to his pocket.

“So you coming then?” Lei asked, returning to his original question.

“Give me a second,” Jacen smiled. As Lei and Dante left the cave deep in conversation, Jacen walked over to the small spring which flowed from a manmade hole in the cave wall, forming an artificial tap. He splashed some cold water on his face and wiped it out of his eyes, then stopped as he sensed someone else creep quietly into the cave behind him. He turned curiously to see who it was.

But he saw only an empty cave. <ooc - cue Twilight Zone music>

* * *

<ooc - Evening…>

Eevee dived aside as a serpent-demon came hurtling towards her feet-first, talons extended. As it flew past her she reversed the fluted barrel of her force lance and shot a bolt of white fire into its back, causing it to disintegrate in flames. Nearby some of the demons were hanging back, spinning their battle-staffs and hissing as they pulsed bolts of green lightning towards the three humans. Eevee threw up a Shield spell but it was not a power she had completely mastered - it buckled after several hits and the implosion of energy as it collapsed knocked her backwards. Keiji tried to help by casting Bringer of Darkness on the demons to rob them of their vision, but it was tersely dispelled by the snarling Atellian demon who hung back casting black fireballs from his clawed hands and urging his minions on in his strange, guttural language.

Instead Keiji leapt forward to engage his opponents more closely. For fear of hitting their compatriots, the demons had no choice but to come forward. One hissed a challenge and whirled its staff above its head to attack Keiji, but the nimble young warrior rolled under the attack and came back up to sink his fire-wreathed fist into the demon’s stomach and send him flying back.

Tsunami blocked an attack with her cross staff and spread her wings to jump back away from her opponent, but then gasped in horror as she saw Trevor Stead emerge from the mansion in his dressing gown, a confused expression on his face.

“Father, no!” she shouted, but it was too late. The mutated Atellian leapt forward with a roar, one of his wings shooting out over his shoulder. The bladed tip tore through Trevor’s shoulder, spinning him round and slamming him into the garden wall as the demon ripped his wing free.

Tsunami leapt skyward and flew to her adopted father’s side as he slid to the ground with a gasp of pain, clutching his shoulder and leaving a thin trail of blood streaked down the wall. Tsunami whirled to see the demon leader towering above her, a great evil phantom against the sinister backdrop of the night.

“Child, use my Sanctuary power!” she heard a voice whisper urgently in her head, and without thinking she screamed the word aloud, thrusting her cross staff towards the demon before her.

A blinding light radiated from her, expanding in a bright hemisphere until it enclosed her, Trevor, Keiji and Eevee. With a howl the demon leader recoiled into the air, beating his wings frantically as he fell back, and around him the other demons too shrank back from the light. They stopped beyond it and shielded their eyes from its pure glare, unable to pass through the White Magic shield Tsunami had just created.

With a growled command from the mutated Atellian, the demons vanished in swirls of red and purple fire. When the light faded, the garden was empty save for the three teenagers and Trevor, who was still gritting his teeth against the pain in his shoulder where the demon’s wing had pierced him.

“Father!” Tsunami said urgently, “Father, are you alright?”

“I’ll live, my dear,” Trevor gasped, trying to sit up a little straighter.

“Do either of you two know how to heal?” Tsunami asked, tearing a strip of fine elven cloth from her sleeve as Keiji and Eevee came running up. She felt drained after using the power of her staff and didn’t know if she had the energy for another cast.

“Only basic Cure spells…” Eevee said, biting her lip, but she knelt down next to Trevor and tried anyway. She placed her hand over the wound and a blue light shimmered beneath it for a second. When she took her hand away the bleeding had stopped, though the puncture wound still looked nasty. Luckily it hadn’t broken his collar bone or hit anything vital like his lungs, and as the healing spell took effect Trevor began to breathe more naturally.

“Thankyou, Eevee,” Tsunami said, hugging the younger teenager, “And thank you Keiji you were amazing,” she hugged him too, “But you really need to think before you charge in with Demon Magic blazing all the time - you could get into a lot of trouble.”

Keiji sighed - he would have denied it angrily if Eevee or someone else had been the one to mention it, but he couldn’t argue with Tsunami. Then he clicked his fingers as he remembered something.

“Oh yeah, Eevee?”
“Hmmm?”

“The vampires called - they want you to take better care of their jacket.”

Eevee looked nonplussed until he produced her silver-studded black trench coat and threw it to her.

“You left it in your room.” he explained. Eevee smiled her thanks and pulled on the coat, buttoning up the front.

“What were those…things?” Trevor gasped.

“I’m not sure,” said Eevee, turning to him, “Penance’s men I think, one of them appeared in my room while I was out on the balcony…”

* * *

“Interesting power, yes?”

The Atellian who had been possessed by the demon Shuruk’jaar, now back in his normal form, raised an eyebrow and turned to the lurking shadow that was Xipetotec as they watched from a safe distance, concealed among the apple trees and unnoticed by the humans.

“Yes,” the reptilian Lord of Pain hissed, “Perhaps now the Atellian girl has these new abilities she is ready to be reintegrated with Penance? Ghead will be most excited when he hears the news.”

The two demons grinned evilly.

“I grow tired of toying with these mortals,” the Atellian said. He had hoped for the abduction to go without incident, but he had not expected it to do so, and he had called forth Shuruk’jaar’s demonic warriors mainly to ascertain the abilities of the targets.

“Let us end this.”

The three young humans were still crouched around Trevor talking anxiously among themselves when the two demons burst amongst them like a thunderbolt.

Keiji had the fastest reflexes and whirled to attack, but was knocked flying by a lashing blow from one of Xipetotec’s extending arms. The Atellian growled a Dark Prison spell, and a sphere of inpenetrable black light engulfed the humans so they had nowhere to run.

Before Eevee and Tsunami could raise their weapons, Xipetotec voiced a sinister word of three low, hissing syllables. All three teenagers screamed and fell to their knees as Xipetotec’s Word of Pain spell flooded their nerves with unbearable agony. The merciless demon only lifted the spell when the three had blacked out from the pain and lay unmoving at his feet. He hissed in victory - the targets had been incapacitated but would suffer no lasting damage, so the power Penance wanted to absorb from them would remain intact. With only a passing sneer at Trevor, who was yelling denial and trying to get to his feet, the two demons seized their unconscious captives and took to the skies - Shuruk’jaar spreading his vast wings, Xipetotec growing in size and striding over the mansion’s outer wall.

<ooc - Baby Angels successfully screwed over…now, with regard to where they’re going next, do you want them held together or in separate cells, and do you want them restrained (with magically-impervious chains, obviously) or not? Coz that may be important :) >

-- Edited by [BOSS]Fenix at 02:12, 2006-12-03

(occ – HOVERBOARDS! :D lol for the win. Why would anyone want to walk when you can have one of those? :p lol
Anyway, yeah, Larek's telling the Angel's to sod off. Your gonna have to get Eevee to call Fariel around about now :p lol And also, whos doing Kerr and Jacen's post?)


Larek made a slanted smile as she asked him to get rid of the angels but nodded anyway, turning he made his way out of the cave leaving Fariel arguing with Leviathan, “Oh and Larek, take Dante and Zeke with you!” She yelled, and Larek waved dismissively, knowing that they were having a party.

oo0oo

“Dante, Zeke, we got a job to do. Get off your lazy arses and meet me in the flats.” Larek ordered over the radio, only to get a half-hearted reply from the brothers.

It took them a few minutes to arrive which gave Larek enough time to gear up for leaving Kebel, though he kept his weapons concealed as to not agitate the Angel’s. “Why do we have to come? It’s just a messenger job.” Dante moaned, slightly annoyed for leaving the party right as everyone was starting to arrive.

“Fariel said so, and besides, I don’t want the Angel’s bringing all their wrath down on me and me alone.” Larek laughed, Zeke and Dante grumbling as he said it.

oo0oo

It didn’t take them too long to leave the Gagazet range, their knowledge of the area made for easy travel. Reaching the Calm Lands they looked across the mass of green and saw the Angel’s at its centre, sparring by the looks of it. Unstrapping their hover boards from their backs they quickly made their way towards the group, as they neared the Angel’s stopped their mock battle to stand ready for them.

“Angels.” Larek nodded to them, and made a passing glance at Tanis, stepping down from his board.

“Long time no see, Larek.” Kobie extended a hand, and Larek accepted it, As Larek stepped back again Dante whispered something in his ear and the three men looked towards the Guard airship that was flying closer now.

“Where’s Fariel?” Tanis asked, trying not to let it slip that he couldn’t read any of the three men’s minds, Laguna must have taught them to shield their minds…

“The Guard are keeping a close eye on the whole perimeter of the Gagazet range, she can’t risk making an appearance in such an open place with the birds flying over head. We shouldn’t even be out here.” Larek commented flatly. “She wants you to meet her in Luca, in one of our safe houses where The Guard can’t touch any of you.”

“And where in Luca is this safe house?” Kobie inquired, someone irritated by the fact they need to travel even further to meet her which would take time, and time was somewhat important.

“On the northern outskirts, it’s more of an abandoned workshop then a safe house but we know it isn’t being watched.” Dante answered it for him.

“Why can we not just follow you back to Kebel and meet her there?” Neji’s expression was dark.

“Because she’s in Luca, or did that not occur to you?” Larek retorted.

Neji glared at him, his comment making him look stupid didn’t do anything for his current mood.

“We have to get back to Kebel.” Zeke commented to Larek, the airship was getting disturbingly close now.

“When do we have to meet her?” Sonya asked quickly as Larek got back on his board.

“She’ll know when you arrive.” Larek answered as his board spun around and the three of them jetted back to Kebel and to safety.

(occ - so ripping off Naruto! XD LOL But i am the one with the water aeon so it makes sense that i can do things like that!!!)



“FARIEL!” Faber yelled jogging out into the flats and looking around desperately for her, or someone that would have seen her, but no one was around. They were all having the party, “Lazy sods.” He growled, “FARIEL!” He yelled again, he knew she was out here on a minute before so she couldn’t have gone far. Then she caught site of her and sighed in relief.

“Faber, what’s wrong?” Fariel asked as Faber beckoned her over quickly.

“I have Eevee on the radio, she’s in trouble.”

“****!” Fariel cursed pushing past Faber and into the machina cave, grabbing the radio and calling for Eevee, “Eevee, are you okay, where are you?” Fariel asked quickly.

“Fariel?! You have to help us, we’re on Penances island in Ghedes tower.”

“The heck…?” Fariel grumbled, “How did you manage to end up there…?” She asked but didn’t expect an answer.

“Eevee, hide it quick!” Fariel heard Keiji in the background.

“Someone’s coming, hide it!” Tsu added.

“****, too late! Wow you’re an ugly one aren’t ya…” Eevee yelled, there were muffled growls and yells as Eevee tried to hide the radio but Fariel flinched as there was a loud cracking noise and then static.

“Dammit!” Fariel growled, “Faber, pin point the location of the radio they used.” Faber quickly worked on the computer and found the source of the communication before it was cut off. Fariel memorised the location of it on the island and its distance from the beach nearest from Kebel and ran out of Faber’s cave and towards her own to get her weapons.

oo0oo

Fully armed and prepared for anything Fariel made her way to the beach that she would usually go to, to be alone, typically it was the one with the shortest distance to Penances Island and she made her way to the edge of the water.

“I know I haven’t really practised this much but please give him your strength Leviathan, I need to help Eevee…”

My strength is yours, Fariel, now go. Was Leviathans simple reply, he sounded somewhat smug that even though she had no intention of getting wrapped into the problem of Penance’s rising, she was getting dragged in anyway just by different means.

Concentrating Fariel changed into the large spotted cat, as it was the fastest creature she could think of, the winds out at sea would slow her down so running would be her quickest route seeing as she had been putting off the fixing of her hover board for a few weeks now.

Stepping onto the water she held herself atop it by channelling hers and Leviathan’s strength into the bottom of her feet and top of the water. Her first few steps were unsteady but she soon got a hold of her spell and made her way into a fast sprint across the water. “I’m coming Eevee, don’t do anything stupid…”


-- Edited by [BOSS]Asreal at 18:55, 2006-12-03

<ooc - for this to make sense we’ll have to assume Ghede got back to his tower pretty sharpish, though since he can Timseshift maybe it doesn’t matter so much :) A quick filler before Fariel bursts in and saves the day>

“The heck…?” Fariel’s voice crackled faintly over the radio, “How did you manage to end up there?”

Eevee was about to spit out a scathing response in spite of herself, but it died in her throat as there was a loud growl from beyond the door, and the sound of someone fumbling with a set of keys.

“Eevee, hide it quick!” Keiji hissed as Eevee‘s eyes widened in fear. She twisted her leg round and tried to stuff the radio back into her boot but fumbled out of panic and dropped it with a clatter onto the floor.
“Someone’s coming, hide it!” Tsunami urged her frantically as a screech of hinges echoed through the room. Eevee was still trying desperately to sweep the radio out of sight behind her as the door flew open, blinding them all with the sudden light. They all froze as a menacing silhouette appeared in the doorway.
“****, too late!”

The guard dragged itself forward on misshapen legs and Eevee caught a brief glimpse of the monster as it towered above her. Its legs and torso were vaguely human, albeit lumpy and twisted in unnatural configurations, but on its head and arms black scales like insect armour blended over the skin and its head was just an elongated dome of shiny black chitin. It had no visible eyes or nose, but Eevee guessed that somehow it could see her only too well as it turned towards her and hissed menacingly through jagged, mismatched teeth.

“Wow, you’re an ugly one aren’t you…” Eevee said with a shocked grimace, but then the mutant monstrosity snarled as it looked down at the radio on the floor next to her and raised a fist with 6 long, multi-jointed fingers before bringing it crashing down on the radio, smashing the delicate piece of machina to fragments. With an enraged roar it leapt at Eevee, its clawed hand closing around her face. Behind them Tsunami screamed.

Fighting back panic Eevee drew in her legs and kicked out hard, terror lending strength to her 16-year-old body. Her booted feet hammered into the guard’s torso and it staggered back with the force of the blow, its claws grazing Eevee’s face as it let go and fell back. It recovered its balance and let loose an almighty scream of rage, its jaw unhinging so its fanged mouth gaped open to an impossible size. It rushed at Eevee with its mouth still open, clearly intent on ripping her head off.

“STOP!” a voice roared and just as the creature’s fangs were about to close around Eevee’s face it jumped back and cowered against the far wall. A thin, frail-looking man in a black overcoat had appeared in the doorway, flanked by another creature similar to the first guard, though this one had a barbed, whip-like tail swaying to and fro behind its head.

Any momentary gratitude Eevee might have felt towards the man quickly evaporated into fear as he stepped forward to reveal his long white hair, withered long-fingered hands and bland, unsettling face with its emotionless blue eyes. Keiji recognised Ghede from their last encounter, and his face darkened into a snarl.

“We don’t want to be harming Penance’s prize, do we?” he said in a soft, eerie voice that sent a shiver down Eevee’s back as he regarded her coldly, “Well, not yet…”

He let that ominous threat hang in the air for a heartbeat before ghosting over towards Tsunami, who shrank back in fear.

“You’ll forgive me,” he said to Eevee, “But you’re a somewhat secondary concern for the time being, though.”

He turned his chilling, vacant gaze on Tsunami, and produced a threatening metal syringe filled with dark liquid. Tsunami began to struggle and scream, but the two mutant guards held her fast and pulled her head to one side, exposing her neck. Ghede rammed the syringe downwards in one sudden, swift motion, and slowly pushed his thumb down so the dark liquid within injected into Tsunami’s bloodstream. Almost immediately, her struggles began to grow weaker, like a clockwork toy winding down.

“Sleep, my pretty…” Ghede crooned softly, caressing Tsunami’s face with his pale hand and wiping the trickle of blood from the small puncture wound the needle had left. Eevee just sat frozen in horror, while Keiji roared in anger, spitting curses at Ghede until a backhand blow across the face from one of the mutants quietened him. As Keiji spat blood from his split lip, Ghede unlocked the now-comatose Tsunami’s shackles with a wave of his hand and gestured to one of the mutants, who obediently picked up the unconscious girl and slung her over his back before limping out of the room. Ghede followed, leaving the two remaining captives alone with the second guard.

“Tsu, no!” screamed Eevee, and Keiji yelled “Tsunami!” as the door banged shut behind him with an awful finality, plunging them back into darkness.

<ooc - okay, there’s not a lot that can match this Ghede guy for sheer creepiness…*shudder* anyway, bring it on Fariel :) >

-- Edited by [BOSS]Fenix at 02:29, 2006-12-04

<ooc - they Dispel all magic, apart from a "codeword" spell that Ghede uses to open and shut them, but seeing as we don't know that, the proper application of a little brute force should do the trick ;)>

“Magic won’t work.” Eevee moaned as Fariel tried to break them open with a mixture of spells.

Growling Fariel looked at them thinking, “I haven’t seen things like these in years…I can’t pick the lock because there isn’t one. I’m going to have to force them to open…” she said drawing a small package from one of the pouches on her belt, “This might hurt a little Eevee, I’m going to put a shield up but I don’t know how well this’ll work.”

From the small package she drew a small ball of white putty, tearing off a bit and rolling it into a thin line she placed it across the shakles in-between the dispel runes, a equally small black square came out the package next and she stuck it to the putty and pressed a small button on it. Instantly she drew on Leviathan’s power and created a shield of water around the shakles as best she could, it wasn’t as strong as her usual shields because she was fighting the dispel runes.
In a few seconds Eevee yelped as within the shield were was an explosion, releasing her shield Fariel eyed the work of the explosive and smiled as the runes faded and cracks criss-crossed the shakles as they broke from her wrists, turning to dust as they hit the floor. Eevee sighed in relief and looked at her now free wrists and grumbled as she saw her arm warmers were slightly singed, “These were expensive…”

Fariel moved quickly to Keiji and repeated the process and he leapt from the ground and started down the route where Ghede had gone. Fariel was quick to follow with Eevee, who summarised the situation for her.

They were stopped by multiple guards on their decent after Ghede and Tsunami, Keiji didn’t waste any time in sending them to the farplane, his determination to save Tsunami lending him strength.

oo0oo

Reaching the bottom of the tower, Ghede stopped and laid Tsunami on the floor, kneeling beside her he placed his hands just above her chest and head and started to mutter in a strange language under his breath as he started the extraction.

A bright purple light flashed to life and rose into Ghedes hand from Tsunami, he closed his eyes as he absorbed her hidden power. His eyes snapped open as a crash took his attention from what he was doing, Guards filed in and surrounded him, everyone kept quiet and waited, the only sound was from Ghedes spell. The silence was disturbed as a fallen guard rolled down the stairs and stopped on the floor, Fariel and the two young angels were quick to follow, Fariel walked towards the guards drawing her wave swords, Keiji ran forwards while Eevee drew her force lance that had been held by the guard outside their cell upstairs.

Keiji’s mood darkened as he saw Ghede rise behind the guards, the purple light that was there just moments before diminished. “I must get this power to Penance, deal with them.” Ghede grinned.

Keiji jumped to the side of an attack and spun around to kick one of the guards in the side of the head, following it up with a flare of punches. The deformed guards ran towards them all, Fariel expertly sliced through them acrobatically, she was the first to near Ghede and saw Tsunami and the ground. “What did you do to her?” She demanded, as Ghede stepped back.

Eevee spun her lance around her, cracking it into the side of one of the guards faces and then another. Stabbing it into the ground she launched up into the air and drew it up above her, bringing it down heavily onto an one unprepared for the strike. They all fell around her and she saw Keiji too having taken down all those around him. Keiji ran forwards and fell to Tsunami’s side, she had gone very pale, “I’ll kill you!” He growled jumping over her and towards Ghede but fell through him as he time shifted away. Fariel ducked quickly, she could sense his movements, he was going for Eevee.

“Eevee move!” She yelled but noticed that she was still standing even after Ghede had moved on; he had taken her force lance, Fariel watched for him to reappear from his time shift and it wasn’t long before he did, holding Eevee’s and Tsunami’s weapons, he nodded to them and disappeared again, fleeing the tower.

“That’s mine!” Eevee objected running after him, Keiji scooped Tsunami up in his arms and followed as Fariel and Eevee gave chase.

Once out of the tower they froze as they found themselves surrounded, gripping her wave swords Fariel stepped forwards, “Time to run guys.” She smiled to them.

Keiji held Tsunami close as the group of them ran to the left where there were less guards but Ghede had gone the other way towards the castle. Fariel leapt forwards and cut through those in the way giving the young angels a clear path to flee, more can towards them but Fariel mowed them down before following her young friends.

oo0oo

Fariel slightly behind the three youths risked a glance over her shoulder and saw the group of guards following them, gritting her teeth she shape shifted quickly into her dragon form, her red eyes snapped open and she yelled forwards, “Get on my back all of you!” She ran faster so that she was beside the three of them, Keiji jumped up onto her back and sat Tsunami in front of her, holding her in place with one hand while extending his other to Eevee who accepted it and was pulled aboard a second before Fariel launched skyward.

It didn’t take long to get a safe distance from their pursuers and Fariel swooped down closer to the ground, even from a height none of them had spotted Ghede, and they had to stop him.

“Fariel!” Keji yelled a warning and Fariel veered upwards as some kind of magical attack blazed towards them, the sharp changes in direction caused Fariel’s passengers to lose their balance and quickly start to fall, luckily they weren’t that far from the ground. Eevee yelled and wrapped her arms around Fariel’s long draconian neck, Fariel cursed as Keiji leapt off her to postpone their fall, “GO AFTER GHEDE!” He yelled as he landed, the face of their opponent making its appearance, Xipetotec.

“Eevee, hold on!” Fariel did what Keiji said and barrel rolls back to follow the direction that Ghede had fled to. Eevee clung on as much as she could as Fariel navigated through the skies and sighed in relief when she found they were flying the right way up and she could sit safely on her back.

“Fewer acrobats, please!” Eevee joked and Fariel grinned as they flew on, though they were both worried about Keiji and Tsunami.

Leviathan yelled out but Fariel missed what he said and cursed, yelling out in pain as something drove into her side and knocked her out the sky and heavily into the rocky outcrop below, “Anistara!” Eevee yelled as she fell from Fariel, her spell cushioning her fall and letting her land without harm. Fariel didn’t get off so lucky, she skidded through the meadow of rocks in a hail of dirt and dust that was kicked up from her landing. The dragon came to stop upon hitting a large rock jutting out the ground. “Fariel!” Eevee yelled and ran a few steps towards her but jumped back as a figure landed in front of her.

“Hello there, little girl.” Shuruk'jaar hissed.

Fariel groaned and stood up, her wings were no more battered then the rest of her but her thick scaly exterior had saved her from any serious harm. “Fariel you have to catch Ghede!” Eevee yelled from somewhere near by, looking around she saw Eevee backing away from what was obviously one of Penance’s men.

“I’m not leaving you as well!” Fariel objected.

“Just go, I’m alright! You have to stop him!” Eevee snapped back, summoning a shield to protect her from her opponent.

“Don’t you dare die before I get back!” Fariel growled launching back into the air and continuing her pursuit. Shuruk'jaar growled as he saw Fariel escape, but Eevee drew his attention back to her.

“Leave her alone.” Eevee ordered.

They were standing at the edge of a cliff that fell sharply into a deep ravine, through which an oily black river thickly wound its way. As Eevee watched from behind the swirling nimbus of her Shield spell, the armoured Atellian slowly transformed back into the hideous demon, his great bat-like wings rising up behind him as he let out an ominous growl.

Eevee braced herself as he snarled something in the demon language, and two streams of dark energy burst from his hands, coiling forwards in the shape of two roaring dragons. The glittering twin-missile swept into Eevee’s Shield in a fiery explosion, overwhelming the young Angel’s spell and throwing her backwards. She fell screaming off the edge of the precipice, tumbling downwards to disappear into the dust-choked haze below. Shuruk’jaar let out an odd sound that might have been laughter and spread his wings to follow. <ooc - that was my interpretation of the “Black Dragons” spell>

* * *

Eevee twisted cat-like as she fell through the air and punched her arm down towards the fast-approaching ground.

“Anistara!” she cried aloud again and a helical stream of ice materialised below her, breaking her fall so that she slid safely down onto a rocky plateau that stood atop a precarious sandstone pillar rising up out of the sluggish black river below. The ice shattered around her as she landed crouched, one arm thrown out behind her for balance.

She picked herself up and looked around. The ravine she had fallen into was hazy with black steam that seemed to rise from the thick, oily water below, but she could make out the forbidding weather-scarred cliffs that rose up on either side of her. Several more rocky platforms and bridges that seemed to defy logic jutted out from the sheer rock faces and criss-crossed the gorge both above and below. No sign of her demonic nemesis.

Eevee whirled round as a sixth sense warned her of something behind her. She spun, heart pounding, but saw nothing else on the wide platform. Then a roar from above made her look up in horror as something hurtled down towards her, black-taloned hand scything down. Eevee backwards-rolled out of the way and landed crouched as the bat-winged demon slammed into the rocky platform ahead of her. Eevee felt a sudden sting on her cheek and put up her hand - her fingers came away wet. A few drops of blood dripped from the demon’s claws. Eevee snarled as they both slowly stood up, shrugging off her black coat and crossing her hands to draw Fariel’s daggers from their forearm sheathes as she did so. The two circled in silence, sidestepping around the sandstone arena as the dark river churned below them.

“Bisingr du knifr!” Eevee shouted in elvish and launched into a lightning-fast lunge as her daggers lit up with a white glow, leaping backwards again as the demon dodged and counterattacked with a sweeping strike of his clawed hand. She spun forward again in a windmilling one-two lunge but again was thrown back and had to jerk her head backwards as the demon’s claws swiped at her neck. She pirouetted gracefully to retreat from a horizontal slash, and executed a standing backflip to dodge the lightning-fast uppercut that followed it. They drifted back from each other and circled again - Eevee breathing heavily, the demon’s only sound a low growl.

They lunged, fire-wreathed dagger clashing with demonic claw. The demon closed his hand around the fiery blade, ignoring or simply immune to the bluish-white flames that licked around his claws, and ripped it from Eevee’s grasp, throwing it aside so that it whirled away off the platform and disappeared. Eevee spun back with her one remaining dagger to avoid the demon’s follow-up attack. Not giving her any respite the demon’s claws jack-knifed open and a ball of black fire flared into life in his hand. He hurled it at Eevee, who stepped back and only just deflected the Demon Ball by throwing up her hands in a hasty Nullblaze spell, and while she was still on the back foot he leapt forward to attack. Her knife rose to meet his claw and the dagger’s pommel hammered against his palm as he slammed into her, the force of his tackle knocking them both back over the edge of the plateau onto another slab of rock below. The demon beat his vast wings as he fell and landed lightly for something so large, and Eevee landed in a diving roll behind him, facing the opposite direction.

She whirled and rushed at the demon, who turned aside several slashing blows by bashing her wrist aside until in an eye-blink Eevee flipped her knife up, caught it in her other hand and spun 360 degrees to bring it scything down in a white vapour-trail across the demon’s armoured chest. The demon spun back from the blow, keeping balance with his wings, and looked down curiously at the trickle of dark purple blood that was flowing from the rent in his breastplate. His features melted and shifted like wax, morphing back into his original Atellian form.

“Hmmm…” he said, touching the wound and examining his bloody fingers with interest, “It’s been a long time since Shuruk’jaar last saw the sight of his own blood…”

His bloodstained hand closed into a fist and when he opened his eyes again they were blazing red. As he reassumed his demonic form he leapt forward, his clawed hand lunging high towards Eevee’s face. Eevee stepped back and caught his wrist above her head, pirouetting to gain enough leverage to drag the stronger demon’s hand down. She flipped her dagger up and disengaged her right hand to catch it in midair, stabbing down, but Shuruk’jaar’s other hand rose to meet it and caught her wrist. Arms locked, Eevee struggled face-to-face with the bestial visage of the demon, but he was stronger by far. A smile crept up Shuruk’jaar’s tusked face, baring his vampiric fangs as he constricted his grip, beginning to crush Eevee’s knife hand. He started to push her back and the girl gasped in pain, but then she raised her head and yelled

“Fira!”

A small fireball flared between them, breaking the demon’s grip and making them both stagger back. Shuruk’jaar recovered first and roared in anger, flexing his blade-tipped wings. Eevee twisted first one shoulder then the other back out of the way as they shot out over the demon’s shoulders one after the other, lancing past her. The demon charged, engaged Eevee’s knife hand, then spun round outside her guard to kick her in the back and send her tumbling off the edge of the sandstone arena and down onto another lower platform. He swept his wings to leap skyward and hurtled down after Eevee as she landed hard with a cry of pain. Rolling onto her back she saw Shuruk’jaar land and his wing-spikes shoot out towards her, and ducked as they slammed into the ground either side of her neck, where her shoulders had been a split-second before. Shuruk’jaar then used the embedded claws to pull himself towards her, leaping forward.

Suddenly Eevee saw something glitter at the corner of her eye - by some fortune her other dagger lay just a few feet to one side of her, where it had fallen after Shuruk’jaar had disarmed her. Reaching out she grabbed the weapon, spun the blade round and brought both daggers up to shield her face just as Shuruk’jaar’s claws slashed down. The demon’s palms impaled themselves on the glowing blades, the dagger tips bursting from the backs of his hands in a spray of purple blood, but Shuruk’jaar seemed too enraged to care - with an angry snarl he began to push down on the blades that had skewered his hands, slowly forcing his black claws towards Eevee’s face. She was no match for his strength - within a few seconds Shuruk’jaar’s talons hovered just a few millimetres above her eyes…

“Shea nudh elthir erreintha!” Eevee screamed. She didn’t even know what the spell meant - the words had inexplicably popped into her head - but the effect was immediate.

A blinding shockwave of white light exploded outwards from her crossed daggers, and Shuruk’jaar let out an inhuman howl as he ripped his hands free of the blades and recoiled into the air, beating his vast wings frantically to retreat, but part of the blast caught him just the same and white fire engulfed his hands and his face. The demon collapsed thrashing on a rocky platform some way above Eevee, his hands over his face. His armour burned, and the jet-black flesh that had been seared by the elven Banishing spell began to disintegrate. Shuruk’jaar shrank back to his Atellian form, hideous burns covering his hands and half of his face.

“I’ll be back for you!” he cursed, and with a scream of agonised fury he took to the skies and was lost to view in the dusty haze that clung to the air above.

Her heart still racing, Eevee picked herself up and looked at her daggers. The demon’s blood had vaporised from the blades in the wake of the elvish spell, leaving them clean. She sheathed them and stood for a long minute getting her breath back, then used Aero first to jet herself back up to the platform above and retrieve her coat, then again to lift herself out of the ravine. She landed exhausted on the ash-covered rocks at the edge of the ravine and fell to her knees in sheer fatigue, oblivious to the jagged edges of the stones. After a minute she stood up, dusted down her clothes, and looked around.

She got her bearings and looked in the direction Fariel had disappeared, though she couldn’t see far due to the dark haze that seemed to cling to the ground in this place. She knew exactly what she was going to do. She was going to help Fariel find that bastard Ghede, stop him from escaping with Tsunami’s power, and get her force lance back.

She pulled her coat closer around her against the chill wind and began running.

-- Edited by [BOSS]Fenix at 23:32, 2006-12-05

<ooc - Great LOL now he's killing off my characters :P Ah well, Laconfir's been an arse so far throughout this second story anyway...BTW were Silarion, Tyrion and Alarielle among the five who joined Retala?>

The game was going quite well for Jacen. He slammed his cards down on the table in celebration of winning another trick, to the drunken laughter of his companions.

“You sure you haven’t played this before?” Zeke asked Jacen, clapping a hand on his shoulder as he said it.

“Beginner’s luck, I guess.” Jacen laughed. Then he froze.

Behind the cheerfully oblivious group of card-players, the same hooded figure was standing silently in the background as before, half-wreathed in shadows. Jacen jumped to his feet, nearly knocking over the table and drawing confused shouts from the others. Once again, apart from the initial brief glance, the shadow-Kerr had vanished.

“Hey, what gives Jacen?” Breezer complained as he mopped up his spilt drink.

“Sorry…sorry, guys…” Jacen murmured indistinctly and headed out of the cave.

“Jace, where you going?” Lei shouted after him in confusion as Jacen disappeared round the corner.

“He can’t hold his drink,” Dante shrugged, to the laughter of the others. They dealt out another hand.

Jacen returned to his cave and stopped in front of the mirror affixed to the wall above the water spring, looking deep into the harassed eyes of his reflection. He dropped his head and gripped the bridge of his nose with one hand, rubbing his eyes.

“What’s wrong with you, Jacen!?” he muttered to himself.

“Nothing.” came a calm reply from just behind him.

Jacen’s head shot up and he saw reflected in the mirror his dead brother, Kerr, his hood now cast aside to throw his impassive face into sharp relief in the light of the machina lamps that illuminated the cave. He whirled to face the apparition.

“B…brother…?”

“Hello, Jacen.” Kerr replied with a friendly but somehow unnerving smile.

“You can’t be here - you’re not real!” Jacen shouted, swinging his fist at his brother to make the phantom disappear. Kerr raised his hand and caught Jacen’s wrist to block the blow.

“Am I not?” he said with a raised eyebrow. He released Jacen’s arm, which fell limply to his side.

“But, you’re dead!”

“True enough,” Kerr agreed with an ironic laugh.

“But then, how are you here? Why can no-one else see you!?”

“Because I want it that way. They’ll see me soon enough. I’m back because I have unfinished business here.”

“You’re an Unsent?”

Kerr frowned.

“Well…yes and no.”

“But Fariel told me she Sent you!”

Kerr’s face darkened.

“Did she now?”

“This is wrong!” Jacen yelled, pushing past his brother and striding out of the cave with his head in his hands, “She told me what happened! You’re not real! Get out of my mind!”

“Blood ties run deep, brother.” Kerr called after him as Jacen fled the cave.

* * *

“Okay, this is about as far as we can fly without attracting attention…” Sonya called back over her shoulder to the three other passengers clinging on to Tritoch’s back behind her. Feyd and Neji were holding on grimly to the great bird’s shimmering feathers, though Tanis was standing obliviously, bent only slightly against the slipstream that whipped his loose ninjitsu robes about him and keeping his balance with apparent ease, “We can set down behind that wood over there and make our way up to Luca via the Mi’ihen Highroad.”

Behind her, Feyd smiled and nodded his agreement. He looked down at the calm landscape below; it brought up strange feeling in him - memories of where their last great journey had first started. Once again in his mind’s eye he walked the streets of Luca during the time of the Maestors’ supremacy, relived the desperate Operation Mi’ihen that had been his first encounter with Sin, walked with Fariel and Tanis on the long road towards the Moonflow, met Sonya again for the first time at the beach near Luca. According to what the elves and Ramuh had told him later, it had not been a chance meeting, and - he laughed quietly to himself at the memory - at first it hadn’t been a friendly one either.

Feyd raised his eyes to see Sonya looking back at him. She winked and smiled, as if she knew what was on his mind.

With a soft sweep of his majestic wings, Tritoch touched down lightly next to the small wood in a starburst of multicoloured light.

* * *

Jacen stopped running when he reached the cave entrance that led out onto the snowy plateau. It was early afternoon, but the thick grey clouds that roiled overhead shadowed the sun and blocked off most of its warmth. Snow was falling gently through the still air as Jacen collapsed against a flat rock and rubbed his eyes with one hand, turning to look out over the grim, half-lit mountains below. He heard someone step softly out of the cave after him, and looked round wearily as Kerr sat down beside him, pulling his hooded cloak closer round him against the cold.

“Why did you do it, Kerr?” Jacen asked his brother softly, “You abandoned us and then you let your darker side rule your judgement. I used to look up to you. But all these years I’ve been searching for a lie whose own greed destroyed him.”

Kerr’s jaw tensed, just slightly.

“What did Fari tell you?”

“Enough.”

Kerr sighed.

“I didn’t abandon you, Jacen. Like you I wanted to provide for our family. We deserved more! I wanted to come back with wealth that would make our parents proud of me, and I thought Fari could help me do that. But the days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into months…”

That made Jacen pause for a second. But it didn’t dispel the new outlook he had gained upon Fariel’s revelation.

“That doesn’t change the fact that you abandoned her, your best friend, out of greed.”

“Greed!?” Kerr snarled, “That may be Fari’s opinion of it but how would she know what happened after she left Luca? How would she know what choices I had and didn’t have? She’s poisoned your mind with lies, brother!”

“I know what you were like, Kerr,” Jacen said defiantly, “For too long I just couldn’t see it. Everything she told me fitted what I had known about you all along.”

For a second Kerr’s eyes blazed, then he calmed.

“People change, Jacen.” he said, “I’m sure Fari has in the last 17 years, and so did I. Whatever that bitch has told you, I didn’t betray her to Seymour for my own benefit. I knew what he was offering me was a complete lie. I only did it because it was the only way I had a chance to save both myself and her. I didn’t like it any more than she did, but there was no other way. Honour among thieves, right?”

Jacen just looked at him impassively. At length, Kerr said:

“Fari can offer you words, Jacen, but I can show you what really happened.”

He raised a hand and reached towards Jacen, who instinctively drew back. Kerr raised an eyebrow.

“Brother, it’s me.”

Jacen hesitated for a second, then let Kerr’s fingertips touch his forehead.

* * *

Eevee pulled up short as she saw two figures in the haze off to her left through the corner of her eye. She turned and a longer look confirmed it - two people in amongst the debris of rocks and ash, one lying unconscious on the ground, the other kneeling silently next to them. She advanced cautiously, but dropped her hands from the hilts of her sheathed daggers as she saw who it was.

“Tsu? Are you okay? What happened to Keiji?” she asked as she jogged over to them, deciding that she would head after Fariel - alone if necessary - after making sure that her friends were alright.

* * *

Instantly, Jacen’s mind was filled with whirling images. He felt his consciousness leave his body and spin through the air, landing hard in a different place, a different time.

He was in the barren and arid Thunder Plains, with the permanent storm rolling and crashing overhead, lightning flickering down every now and then to strike with concussive force one of the great lightning rods that rose up out of the cracked ground. Through the lashing rain, Jacen could make out a desperate fight going on nearby - a younger-looking Fariel and two people he didn’t know were fighting for their lives against a company of Guado warriors, in the livery of Maestor Seymour’s personal guard, who were closing in around them.

“Kerr!” Fariel was shouting as she frantically dodged the attacks of the Guado, “Stop frakking about and give us a hand! And what’s so funny!?” she added snappishly.

Jacen looked round and saw his brother sitting on a nearby rock, spinning a dagger lazily in his hand and with an amused expression on his face.

“Your faces mainly,” he said.

“Kerr! For Yevon’s sake get up here and help me!”

“I’m sorry, Fari - it was either you or me.”

"You set us up you bastard!" she screeched at him, her eyes widening in sudden shock before hardening into a look of rage. She launched herself at Kerr and knocked him backwards off the rock.  Jacen watched as they scuffled on the ground, yelling incoherently at each other. Kerr sent Fariel flying back with a series of Firas, relieving her of an ornate curved dagger as he did so.
"Give it back!" Fariel shrieked, charging towards him. She dodged the fireballs he hurled at her, took him down with a flying tackle and grabbed the knife, sheathing it quickly in a hidden holster inside her boot and starting to strangle him. Kerr yelled and brought his knee up into her stomach, and Fariel was thrown over him with a cry.
Suddenly the ground shook as powerful Thundaga spells began to hammer down from on high, and looking round Jacen saw a Guado in Maestor’s robes striding across the Calm Lands towards the fight. As Kerr leapt out the way and Fariel’s two companions were bludgeoned unconscious by the Guado, a pillar of flame came blasting down towards Fariel as Maestor Seymour hurled a Firaga spell at her.
"****!" was all Fariel had time to say as it sent her flying back into a lightning rod, knocking her out instantly.

Kerr had dived behind another nearby lightning rod and flattened himself against it as the Guado picked up the three fallen humans and carried them away. As he watched them go, the smug smile dropped from Kerr’s face and he fell to his knees, looking like he was about to break down in tears.

“I’m sorry Fari,” he whispered, punching the ground, “I had no other choice. I swear I’ll find you and get you out of there…”

The scene swirled and faded away, to be replaced by another - this time Jacen was inside Seymour’s mansion in Guadosalam, in the dingy prison level. As a pair of Guado guards marched past, he saw Kerr emerge from a shadowy alcove and creep up to one of the cell doors. He looked around cautiously then pulled a sliver of metal from his pocket and began to professionally pick the lock. After a few seconds he grinned as the mechanism clicked and the door swung open.

“Hello folks, this is a rescue,” he said cheerfully, "You guys alright?"

Suddenly he yelped in surprised protest as he was dragged into the cell and thrown hard to the ground, the lock-pick falling from his hand and clattering to the floor outside.
"Who’s side are you frakking on, you two-faced bastard!?" Fariel’s voice bitched from the other side of the door. Jacen moved to get a better view of inside the cell, and watched stunned as Fariel and Kerr argued.
"Neither,” Kerr was growling at her, “Like any good thief. But I ain't going to leave you in here. Seymour thinks I gave you to him, and he won’t know it was me who let you out again so he can't do anything about it.”

“What are you on about?”

“I told you I had no frakking choice! Look, I don’t have time to explain now, just take it as you saved my arse from that fiend in Kilika five years ago and now I'm repaying the favour; now go before I lock you back in here. Your weapons are stashed in the armoury downstairs."
"What about Seymour? How can we trust you’re not setting us up again?"
"Look, Seymour is upstairs showing off to summoner Yuna and her Guardians, and his little army of Guado have gone to help out at the Highroad. You’re safe to get out of here and get to Rin's."
"If you’re lying Kerr…"
"I'm not! Honour among thieves, remember?"
"You made it perfectly clear today that you don’t know **** about thieves’ honour! If I EVER see your face again don't think I won't stab it!"

Jacen stepped back instinctively as Fariel and her two friends dashed out of the cell, though he was but a bystander in this memory and they passed him without so much as glancing in his direction.
"That’s friendly…” Kerr complained as they disappeared, “But Far-"

He fell silent as the door suddenly closed in front of him, the lock turning with an ominous click.

"Fariel!" he yelled futilely, a look of horrified disbelief coming over his face.

The vision faded to black, and Jacen jerked awake to find himself back on Mt Gagazet, his heart pounding. He looked at Kerr, who wore a grim, resigned expression, in stunned disbelief.

“She just…left you there? Even though you were only trying to help? She was the bitter one?”

Kerr nodded.

“After that all I could think about was getting my revenge, and maybe that was a fault, but at least now you can see why I did it.”

As Jacen looked at his brother, he felt his respect returning. No-one could be blamed for doing as Kerr had done. Fariel may have told him her half of the story, but she had not told him the whole truth. Now he understood why his brother was back, and why he had abandoned his best friend - not out of greed, but because she had abandoned him. And he would stand by Kerr to see that wrong righted.

“Blood ties run deep, brother,” he said softly, his face hardening, “What do you want me to do?”

A smile flickered across Kerr’s face.

<ooc - Sorry for the looooooong post but I had a lot to cover LOL>

-- Edited by [BOSS]Fenix at 15:47, 2006-12-06

Jacen headed down the rocky tunnel, his mind fixed on what Kerr had told him he must do.  His brother's plan was elegant in its simplicity - there was one sure way to bring Fariel back to where he wanted her, where he and Jacen could confront her and call her to account.

Glancing around and verifying that all was clear, Jacen walked casually into the computer room and pulled up a chair in front of one of the consoles. He typed in a few commands and brought up data of the layout of Kebel and its extensive network of camera and sensor rigged tunnels throughout Spira. He whistled appreciatively - the criss-crossing warren of underground passageways had well hidden exits everywhere, from Luca to the Thunder Plains to even the heavily-patrolled capital of Bevelle. He wondered vaguely why almost none of this potentially-sensitive information - maps, data codes, defensive emplacement locations, instant camera access - was restricted, or even encrypted. Apparently they weren’t as worried about enemy infiltration as the Guard were, given that the enemies they had were clueless as to Kebel’s location and the rigorous testing all aspiring Kebelites had to go through before being accepted. A smile flickered across his face. It really was too easy. He slipped a disk into the machina console’s CD drive and began copying everything onto it. Just as the extensive download was finishing, the sudden sound of footsteps behind Jacen nearly gave him a heart attack.

“There you are!” Dante said loudly, looking a little worse for wear after an evening of alcoholic drinks. He frowned as he looked unsteadily over Jacen’s shoulder, “What you doing, Jace?”

“I was looking at the map to try and find the armoury,” Jacen said dismissively, waving a hand at the screen, “This place is such a maze to new recruits like me.”

Dante laughed, “Don’t worry mate, it’ll take you a while but you’ll get used to it. It took me MONTHS as a kid to explore all the secret caves and passageways around Kebel. So until you get your bearings just stick close to me and Zeke, huh? What did you want to go to the armoury for?”

“I will,” Jacen said with a smile, “And oh, I was wanting to see if you had any ammo of the right calibre for my rifle. It’s not easy to come by out and about Spira and I was running low.”

“Ah, no problem - remind me and I’ll take you down there later. We’ve got all kinds of crap down there; machina, Al’bed tech, loads of experimental weaponry from Neji’s lot that we’re not supposed to have…”

Jacen nodded and smiled as he shut down the console, ejecting the disk and palming it with clever sleight-of-hand so that Dante didn’t see. He pocketed it as he allowed Dante to lead him out of the computer room and back towards the party.

“We got everything, man," Dante continued proudly, "We got swords, rifles, automatics, mech suits, smart missiles, air-to-air ordnance for our airships…we got lasers, pulse rifles, ancient Atellian tech, EMPs…we got sonic eeee-lectronic missiles, we got nukes - no flukes! - we got knives, sharp sticks…”

* * *

Eevee slowly hazed back into consciousness to find she was lying on her back in the rock-strewn wasteland near to Penance’s city - the dark fortress itself looming threateningly in the distance. She tried to sit up but a sharp pain shot through her abdomen and she had to lie back down again, gritting her teeth against the hurt.

“Oh, thank the Aeons you’re okay…” came a voice she recognised from somewhere above her, and she turned her head to see Fariel kneeling next to her with a very worried look on her face, “I’m so sorry, Eevee, I didn’t know it was you, I swear…” she continued as she took Eevee’s pale hand in both of hers.

Eevee offered her a ghost of her usual cheeky smile.

“Tell me, Fari,” she whispered, “What exactly did I do to deserve that, huh?”

She tried to laugh but it hurt too much and she ended up wincing instead.

“Honest to Aeons, Eevee, I am so sorry I did that to you! Ghede cast some kind of illusion spell and I thought you were him…”

Eevee nodded weakly, “It’s okay. I understand.”

She let Fariel wrap her black trench coat around her like a blanket against the wind, which though it had died down, still had a cold bite to it.

“For…” Eevee began, but she coughed and had to start again, “For frak sake Fari, don’t fuss over me. What about you? You’re hurt.”

She reached out with the intention of casting a Cure spell on one of the deep cuts on Fariel’s arms, but the older woman pushed her hand away.

“No, save your strength. Will Keiji and Tsunami be along soon?”

“I expect so,” Eevee replied with a weak shrug, “By the way, what did that creep Ghede do with my force lance?”

“Oh yeah,” Fariel said, reaching behind her to pick up the rune-covered weapon and put it down next to Eevee, “Take more care of it in future, okay?”

Now the colour was beginning to return to Eevee’s face, and she managed something that was more like her old smile. She giggled weakly.

“You know, my mum and dad are not going to be happy with you when they hear about this…”

Fariel laughed, Eevee’s modest attempt at humour dispelling some of her tension.

* * *

“Sweet Aeons, Dante,” Jacen complained as he blinked rapidly and rubbed his eyes. He picked up his nearly-empty glass and squinted at the lethally strong brown liquid that remained in it - Dante's own, highly illegal, homemade brew, “What do you put in that stuff, battery acid?”

“Just to add a little colour,” Dante replied defensively. Zeke laughed and the two brothers slapped palms. Breezer and Lei had already retired.

“Sorry guys, but I think I’m gonna have to call it a night,” Jacen laughed, tottering unsteadily as he stood up.

“Why bother?” Zeke countered with a drunken hiccough, “It’s so late it’s early so we might as well stay another night.”

Jacen laughed and almost fell against the rock wall as he tried to exit the cave.

“Enjoy the feeling while it lasts, Jace,” Dante called after him, “Coz this baby’ll give you one beauty of a headache when you wake up!”

Jacen smiled weakly and saluted with three fingers as he left the cave.

“See you, guys.”

“See you, Jacen,” Dante replied with a friendly wave, then turned to Zeke, “One more round, bro?”

Jacen reeled down the deserted main tunnel, but after he had put some distance between himself and Dante’s cave he straightened up, perfectly sober, and strode purposefully towards the tunnel entrance that would take him to the small shuttle which allowed fast travel between Kebel and one of the Luca safe-houses.

* * *

Gerald Beni looked up tiredly from his paperwork as the stranger was shown in through the door. He regarded him steadily. The man was tall with unruly dark hair and penetrating eyes that missed nothing as they flicked over the office - a marksman’s eyes. He wore loose dark clothes that broke up the shape of his body and would make him almost impossible to pick out in a shadowy area. He had already been searched for weapons by the guards, and passed through a series of metal detectors without incident. General Beni wasn’t taking any chances after the last fiasco.

“May I ask what’s with the sniper, sir?” the stranger commented, indicating the almost-invisible red dot of a laser designator that played across his chest and looking towards a portrait concealing a small hole in the wall of the office where a gunman was indeed hiding in a concealed alcove.

“My apologies, but its just a precaution,” Beni said, impressed with the stranger's perception, though he did not let it show, “We have had several…incidents lately.”

The stranger gave a mocking smile as he glanced at the sling supporting the General’s right arm.

“Anyway, I guess you’re wondering why I’m barging into your office and demanding to see you this late at night?"

Beni rested his chin on one hand thoughtfully, stroking his neat white beard.

“You could say that,” he said slowly, never taking his penetrating hazel eyes off the stranger.

“Very well then, General,” the stranger said with another mocking smile, “I won’t waste any more of your valuable time. What would you say if I could give you the location of Kebel, and detailed information about its layout and defences?”

He produced a disk from his pocket and spun it in his fingers. Beni leaned slightly further forward in his chair.

“I’m listening…”

* * *

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen,” General Beni said, standing tall at the head of a long table at which his most trusted senior commanders were seated. There were guards posted outside the soundproofed conference room, no surveillance cameras inside, and the room had been painstakingly swept for bugs and other listening devices prior to the meeting. Beni knew that Kebelite infiltration had long been a problem for his organisation, and though his recent shake-up had removed this threat for the time being, he was a wary man and not given to carelessness. This meeting was completely secure.

“Thank you for coming at such short notice, and at such an inconvenient hour,” he continued, turning his penetrating gaze on each Guard commander in turn. Human, Al’bed, Guado, Ronso - some sat with steepled fingers returning his gaze with interest, others were leaning back in their seats watching impassively, and others looked confused. One or two were stifling yawns - it was after all 2 o'clock in the morning - but all were giving the General their full attention.

The pleasantries dispensed with, General Beni fed a disk into the machina console on the wall, prompting the large screen covering most of that wall to light up and display a map.

“We have been searching for the hidden stronghold of Kebel for a long time without success, but now we finally have the information we need to neutralise the threat posed by this crime syndicate that has been a thorn in Spira’s side for nearly two decades. We are going to mobilise as quickly as possible to act on this new information and put a stop to Oreen and her mafia once and for all.”

Several of the Guard officers had sat up a little straighter while the General had been speaking, which pleased Beni.

“No regular police units are to be used for this operation - Special Weapons and Tactics teams and elite stormtrooper units only. This is possibly the biggest and most important operation the Guard has ever embarked upon, and as such only professional troops are to be used. It would be preferable to capture all of the Kebelites alive, but our informant has given us reason to believe that they will be well-equipped and unlikely to surrender without a fight. Therefore violent action is quite likely, and while non-lethal methods are to be used wherever possible, you are not to hesitate in using lethal force should it become necessary.”

The faces of the commanders were grim, as was that of the General himself.

“To this end we are going to deploy Guardsmen units to cover all the exits to the Kebelite tunnel network, which as you can see stretches quite extensively across the Spiran mainland. This will form a cordon to prevent the Kebelites escaping. At dawn the stormtroopers and SWAT teams are going to begin the assault on the stronghold within Mt Gagazet, attacking via these same tunnels and also by combat drop within the mountain range itself. Major Ciaphas?”

“Sir?” a Guado with spider-like, long-nailed hands steepled in front of his angular face responded from the lower end of the table.

“Your troops are to spearhead the attack with stun-guns, smoke grenades and tear-gas. We have been informed that Kebel mounts extensive automated defences, so directed EMP devices will be deployed to release a powerful electro-magnetic pulse immediately prior to the attack, knocking out the defence systems and also blinding the Kebelites’ surveillance systems.”

“Yes sir.” the hatchet-faced Guado called Ciaphas acknowledged, his expression stony.

“Captain Kerek, the combat drop is the most dangerous part of the mission, so I am entrusting it to you and your elite Ronso stormtroopers.”

“Yes, General,” the massively built Ronso answered in a deep voice, lowering his great horned head in acceptance. Unlike most Ronso who still preferred the traditional hand-to-hand style of combat with their rightly-feared spears, Kerek and his men had embraced machina as their chosen method of combat. Kerek himself was a hard-bitten and implacable warrior, who had been an almost unstoppable force in the Crusaders two decades ago before joining the Guard.

<ooc - for future aceness his weapon of choice is a chain-gun >

“We have also been told that Kebel has a powerful force of airships and other flying craft, so Captain Hartlock, it will be your task to attack the hangers indicated here and here - destroy as many of the Kebelite assets as you can on the ground to gain air superiority. This will also prevent them from escaping by air.”

Hartlock, a wiry human with long red hair and a cynical expression, nodded to the General as her name was called. Hartlock was a wild one like many in the Guard airforce, and this had perhaps prevented her from rising through the ranks as quickly as she could have done. Nevertheless she was an iron-willed leader and consummate pilot, if prone to impulsive hot-headedness in the heat of action.

“Yes sir - locked, ****ed and good to go.” she responded with a slanted smile.

<ooc - think Lara Croft at the helm of an Apache gunship>

Used to the airforce Captain’s gung-ho attitude and tolerant of it because of her many redeeming qualities, General Beni merely nodded. He tapped the touch-sensitive screen to bring up yet-more detailed plans of Kebel, its assets, key locations, and possible weak points.

“This is going to be a delicate operation. I want minimal casualties and no mistakes. Prepare yourselves, ladies and gentlemen - this day may well go down in history.”

<ooc - now THIS is gonna be good...>

<ooc - Er, sorry, this was as brief as I could make it :P>

The four travellers had been waiting in the safe-house Larek had told them about - an abandoned, half-collapsed warehouse that the authorities had never bothered so far to demolish properly - for what seemed like hours. The safe-house was a dilapidated, cheerless place - the only light filtered in through dirty windows and various pieces of rusty machina were packed into stacks of metal crates or scattered on the floor. There was still no sign of Fariel.

“What’s she playing at…?” Feyd muttered angrily.

“I reckon she just doesn’t want to see us and sent us to the wrong place.” Neji growled.

“I could try Farsighting for her?” Sonya suggested.

She never got an answer, as there was a sudden sound of rapid footsteps outside.

“Damn!” Tanis cursed, looking out the window before quickly ducking back down, “Hide!”

Sonya motioned her companions closer and whispered something in elvish. Immediately they began to haze away until they appeared almost transparent - invisible against the dark walls of the warehouse and its strewn and broken contents except as slight flickers when they moved. At that second the doors burst open and a squad of Guardsmen in full combat gear came jogging into the warehouse. The four Angels held their breath, but the Guardsmen did not notice them as they headed straight for a broken lift at the back of the warehouse, and tapped a series of numbers into the dusty keypad so that the apparently-broken door slid aside to reveal a wide, well-lit tunnel beyond.

“Go, go, go!” the sergeant leading the squad ordered softly, and they disappeared down the tunnel. As they disappeared and the four Angels were just about to breathe a sigh of relief, more Guardsmen appeared, also fully kitted out with kevlar flak-jackets and stun guns, and headed after the first squad.

“Come on,” Sonya whispered, and the four began to edge along the back wall towards the door, hidden from the preoccupied Guardsmen by the shadows within the dim warehouse and Sonya’s spell. Not daring despite their near-invisibility to break into a run until they were outside, they headed away from the warehouse and flattened themselves against the wall of a tenament block nearby, where Sonya cancelled the spell and returned them all to solid form.

“What was that all about, then?” Tanis mused quietly.

* * *

Dawn broke serenely over the aptly-named Calm Lands, the first rays of sunlight catching the snow atop Mt Gagazet and glittering brightly. On the plains, Chocobo were stirring, stretching their wings and calling to each other.

The tranquil scene was shattered by screaming jet engines as a squadron of 3 Guard helijets scythed across the open plain at low altitude and leaving contrails in the cold air. The Chocobo scattered as the vanguard of gunships was followed by a pair of huge airships - heavily armoured, blocky craft whose menacing, functional appearance perfectly matched the nature of their cargo.

Inside the main cabin of the lead transport, Kerek sat at the end of a line of Ronso commandos all suited up in heavy combat armour and carrying wicked-looking firearms, his eyes fixed on the trio of lights above the drop-hatch. For the moment the doors were closed and the only bulb lit was red. Kerek shifted position slightly, adjusting the straps of his parachute. Attached to the vambrace of the Captain’s armour by powerful shock-absorbers was a snub-nosed multi-barrelled chain gun, the armoured ammo-feed magnetically clamped across his chest and over his shoulders. Even for a Ronso, such a massive weapon required incredible strength to wield without the savage recoil breaking his shoulders. However the menacing weapon was cold and dormant for now - in his other massive fist Kerek held a stun gun, twirling it impatiently by the trigger guard around his finger. Beni had ordered no casualties if at all possible, after all.

The Ronso Captain tapped a button on the side of his high-tech combat helmet, superimposing a set of holographic images over the inside of his visor. Each was real-time linked to the helmet-camera of one of his commandos, allowing him to see what they saw. Under each small picture was a pulsing heart-rate indicator. Kerek was pleased to note that none of his commandos’ heartbeats were significantly above resting as an amber light flicked on next to the red one.

“Stand by, men,” he growled softly, needing to say nothing more. They all knew what to do.

He adjusted the radio within his helmet to Hartlock’s frequency and patched himself through to the helijet pilot.

“Hartlock, what’s your status? Over.”

Inside the ****pit of her sleek gunship, Hartlock was nonchalantly whistling an Effervescence tune to herself and flicking controls on her dashboard. She turned, flicked another switch and replied,

“Five by five, Kerek - we’re closing in on the hangers now. Don’t worry - we’ll leave some of it standing for you Ronso boys.”

She could hear Kerek laughing quietly over the radio. The two captains got on well as they complimented each other perfectly - Kerek was uncompromisingly results-driven while Hartlock was ruthlessly competitive.

“Hands up,” she radioed to her two wingmen as her console bleeped, locking on to a seemingly-blank rock face ahead of them. Now that they knew it was there, the wide-open plateau did look like a good location to carve out an airbase in spite of the deceptive holographic projection concealing the main doors, “There’s the target - let’s dance!”

As the 3 helijets swept down one after the other in a screaming dive, small clusters of missiles detached themselves from their stubby wings and shot towards the mountain plateau. As Hartlock watched, hidden iris-hatches began to slide back to deploy automated SAM batteries, but Beni’s intelligence had been good and some of the missiles slammed into the defensive emplacements before they could fully deploy, blowing them apart in spectacular fireballs. The remainder tore into the hanger doors and the hologram covering them flickered and died as the steel doors exploded in a shower of metal confetti. The helijets swept away to strafe the second hanger as the dropship loomed large overhead, and a group of dark shapes began dropping like beads from a side door, parachutes twice the size of those needed for normal humans snapping open as Kerek’s commandos descended on the burning hanger.

* * *

An alarm began to screech loudly in the Kebel command centre.

“What the…?” Faber said in confusion, springing up from his console and running over to a harassed-looking tech at another machine, “What’s going on?”

“Intruders, sir!” the tech said, pointing at his screen which showed a map of the Kebel tunnel network. Several sections were flashing red, and more and more were lighting up before Faber’s eyes - frakking Farplane, but they were getting alarms all over, from Luca to Bevelle.

“Are these motion sensors working properly?” he asked in disbelief. They only had a few interdiction teams out on patrol and the nearest was down by Macalania, so Faber seized his radio and yelled into it:

“Delta team, what’s going on in the Macalania tunnel? We’re getting unidentified contacts in your area.”

There was a reply, but it was panicked and garbled by static.

“Say again?” Faber called in frustration, “Somebody down there talk to me!”

This time the reply came through loud and clear.

“Guard! Guard! Guard!”

As an incredulous Faber continued to listen, there were more shouts over the radio. A brief rattle of gunfire. A dull thump-hiss like a smoke-grenade going off. Choking sounds. More shouting. Then, very distinctly:

“Get down! Get down! Drop your weapons, hands in the air!” and

“We’re in position - fire the EMP!”

There was an explosion of sparks throughout the command centre and the radio went dead.

“Holy frak!” Faber yelled as with a loud screech all the monitor screens exploded into static, the entire network suddenly shorting out. He swore loudly, and turned to a tech.

“Close the blast doors - seal off all the tunnels!”

The tech hammered his computer’s keyboard in frustration.

“That EMP took them all out, Faber! We’ve lost security locks, surveillance, holofields, automated defences…everything.”

“Call out the interdiction teams and evacuate the civilians.”

“We can’t sir!” the tech protested helplessly, “The Guard are covering every exit and they’re in the process of torching the airship hangers!”

“This can’t be happening!” Faber shouted in disbelief, “How the frak did they get our location AND infiltrate the entire tunnel network? And how did they know to EMP us!?”

Knowing he wasn’t going to get an answer, Faber grabbed the radio again and opened all the frequencies. Everything in the tunnels and outer caves was down, but some of the internal comms were still working.

“Everybody, this is Faber - battle stations, battle stations, this is not a drill! We are under attack!”

As all the techs around him who no longer had working machines scattered from the room, Faber sprinted through the cave network towards the armoury and the lift that would take him up to the main hanger.

“I don’t know how the frak you got the drop on us but no intruding bastards are gonna get into my hanger bay…”

* * *

On Kerek’s holographic visor, his stormtroopers’ helmet-cams were pitching and swinging crazily as they darted around the hanger, their heart-rate monitors pulsing much more rapidly now, but having been taken by surprise and dazed by the helijet assault most of the unarmed technicians and engineers who had been manning the hanger had surrendered on the spot and now were being lined up against the back wall by two commandos ready to be taken aboard the second dropship, which was a holding vessel. Kerek grinned to himself behind his visor - so far all was going flawlessly to plan. Even as his crack team of Ronso were occupying the hanger, Ciaphas’ stormtroopers would be pushing up through the tunnels and Hartlock would be strafing the other hanger.

* * *

Having gathered as many of his companions as he could find and armed himself with a powerful shock-rifle and an array of gadgets of his own design, Faber all but threw himself out of the lift as soon as the doors began to open and went pounding towards the hanger and the sounds of combat, paying no attention to his bemused comrades who had always figured him as a quiet one.

“Alright then you Guard bastards!” he yelled, “You can’t invade my home and get away with it! Who wants some!?” he roared as he rounded a corner of the steel corridor. And ran straight into a massive armoured Ronso wielding a stun gun.

He yelped and threw himself backwards as the Ronso swung a huge fist at him, blasting away with his shock-rifle in midair and continuing to fire as he hit the ground on his back and slid backwards. The shots tore into the Ronso stormtrooper, sending shards flying from his armour, shattering his visor, blowing off the miniature camera attached to his helmet in a cloud of metal fragments. The Ronso was spun round by the impacts and went down hard.

* * *

Kerek heard an angry roar over his commlink and glanced towards the hologram representing Biraal’s camera. For a second it showed a group of armed Kebelites running towards him, but then then the picture suddenly spun and went dark, followed by an almost immediate flattening of Biraal’s bio-readings.

Kerek was frozen for a second in stunned disbelief. Then his face twisted into a snarl. Slamming the stun gun back into his holster, he flicked the safety catch on the trigger-grip of his chain-gun with the thumb of his other hand. It lit up and the barrels began to spin as they warmed up for firing.

“Look sharp boys, Kebelite resistance inbound and they just took out Biraal!”

Several of the Ronso commandos spun round in response to his call and rallied to Kerek, their guns trained on the back door of the hanger <ooc - *rolleyes* Stupid Ronso...Faber’s gonna use the secret entrance, duh :P>.

If the Kebelites were prepared to use lethal force, then by the Aeons so was Kerek.

Soven slowly opened his heavy eyes.  The dark room and clouded and lights shot about.  SOven tried to remember where he was.  He forced his eyes to focus.  He tried to sit up but fell back down gasping.  He noticed he was on a large bed and across the dark room a faint out line of a door could be seen.  He looked drunkly down and saw his bare chest and saw on his stomach a patch of skin much paler then the rest of his body.  The wound?  Soven remembered he had a wound from a white sword?  No!  Soren's sword!  His memory shot back to him like lighting, illumined his ordel with his step-brother, Soren.

He remembered after he escaped the tower he met a dozen men, but something wasn't right about them.  They all had white hair but none of them were old,  they had pupils but no irises, no colour at all.  They had white swords too but they were poor fighters.  Soven chuckled weakly remembering the fight.  Calling it a fight was an act of charity, it was more like a slaughter.

 

OoOoOoO

 

As one, they charged at Soven.  Soven smiled and readied himself for a fight.

The first to reach him came from the centre and he swung his sword for Soven’s neck but Soven’s blade caught it and Soven flicked it away and brought his sword over the man's arm, chopping through it.  His blood splattered over Soven but he simply kicked the wounded man away as 2 others came from his left and right but Soven ducked towards the right, stabbed the guy in the lung and used his momentum and pushed him into the guy coming from the left.  They both fell to the ground and Soven swung his blade, cutting another's head clean off then spuned round and cut a throat, almost through the neck.  Soven laughed as the head toppled back as the man fell. 

The rest stayed back, hesitated by Soven skill and his savagery.  Soven used this moment to run.

He gripped his wound and he felt the blood soaking through.  Not much time, until....

He stopped with his blade pointed behind him as one ran onto his blade.  He jumped forward and cut one's bellow open as he swung around and saw his guts fall out.  Another tried to bring his blade down on Soven's head but he jumped back again and chopped down on his head, splitting his skull.  He heard an engine sputter and purr into life.  Soven dropped to one knee and sliced his blade through the ground, causing a dust cloud to sprout in front of the survivors.

Soven laughed, ran to the bike.  "Sorry, lads.  But don’t worry, I'll kill yous later, huh?  See ya's!"  Soven kicked the bike into gear and they sped away.

 

OoOoOoO

 

Soven smiled but it fainted instanly.  How did I start the bike when I was fighting?

His sandy eyes were almost closed when they flew open.

"Kid!  Wheres the kid!?"

A door to his right was flung open and a big women with a large stomach waddled in.  She was dirty and her clothes were rags.  She smiled sweety, "It's so good you awake.  The child's been worried sick about you."

She waddled up to Soven and pushed him back down.  "Calm down laddy.  Don't want you to hurt yourself no-"

Soven's hand shot out and grapped her by the throat,choking her.  "Where is the kid!?"

SHe wheezed and struggled against Soven's hold, she tried to pry his hand away.  Soven may have killed her if a voiced hadden pipped up.

"Your awake!"  A small person had jumped on top of Soven and hugged his head as soven lost his grip on the obese women.

"ARG!  Kid!  Not so rough, huh?  I was gonna die from a stab now I'm gonna die if you don't get off my lungs!"  Wheezed Soven as he tried to find air, with a sudden understanding for the large woman he almost killed.

She jumped down but kept hugging him.  Soven found air again and laid his hand on her head. "Hell, kid.  Your heavy.  I thought the sky fell on me, huh?"  He looked down at her and said, "You didn't think I'd die, do you?  Nah, kid.  Not me, I'm gonna die from drinking.  Speakin' of drinkin'... Hey lass, you couldn't get a glass of mead, could ya?"

Before she could reply, Soven felt a sharp pain in his arm.  "Ow!"

"NO!  Your not drinkin' 'till your better!"  Soven stared at the kid.  She was staring hard at him, making him feel uncomfortable.  For some reason he felt increadliable bad, like... since he was little.

"Ok, kid... No drinkin'."  Her eyes got harder.  "OK, I promise I won't drink 'till you say i'm well, ok?"

A harsh barking laugh came from the door.  Soven stared at a tall man, with bulging muscles and a beard covering his face and chest.  "The Greatest Pirate, the Most Feared Human and murderer of thousands cowers to a child, ha, ha.  Oh, Soven.  I thought you had more respect for yourslef then that, but i guess not.  Remember me?"

Soven groaned, "No, not you.  Not the biggest card cheat in Bevelle, not the guy who thinks smashing heads are funny.  Not Tanoj."

"The 1 and only and what are you on about?  You were the 1 who laughed when I smashed those guys together."

"I was drunk!  But your still a card cheat!"

Tanoj looked hurt.  "I never cheat.  Like you said, you were drunk.  How would you know?"

"Ooh, I dunno, maybe its becasue you were drunk enough to TELL ME YOU WERE CHEATING!"

He scrathed his chin and coughed.  "Hmm, maybe."

Soven laughed.  "Its been a long time and we'll have to catch up but first, why are we here and where is here?"

"Simple, I was walkin' the beach, lookin for anythin' valueable when I came across a 'over bike.  I rans over to find ma mate, with a hole gapping in his belly, pissin' blood and this lassy tryin' to push it back in.  I says to the lass, ''cuse me lassy, but your mate seems to have a hole bigger then mine but it's in the wrong place and the wrong stuff is comin' oot.  Oot the way, so's i can have a lookee.'  She says to me, 'Please save him.'  I tells her, 'Nae worry lass, but shift it so I can have a lookee'.  She shifts it and i sees right awa' that ye were dead but the lass liked ye so I had to help.  I picks ye up and rans to me hame, tells a lad to steal a good potion.  We didnae have anyone who can do magic so's we steals what we needs.  After a mo' the lads back with a powerful potion, I thanks him, saves your arse and stops you pissin blood over me bed. Now, I answered your question, so you can answer mine: why does a lad, who dissappears for 6 years shows up on a beach with a hole in his belly and a naked lass tryin to save him?"

"Nice story 'Noj, but I cant tell who why you found us there and anyway I have to get gonna, I've got to give my brother a bad haircut.  Is cutting 6" below the hairline a bad thing?"  Soven chuckled when a small bump noise was made.

"WE, you mean.  I'm not stayin' behind."

"Come on, kid.  Don't you wanna stay with uncle 'Noj?  He's funny, doesn't drink much and he's dead handy to have someone at your back.  You don't need me kid."

"I never said I did.  All I need is a knife."

"Come on kid.  Who would you wanna ki-"  My Queen.... Soven's stealing my Queen.

"Soren."

Soven pulled himself up and swung his feet to the ground.

"Tanoj.  Can you give us a minute?"

Tanoj nods slowly and quietly leaves the room, closing the door behind him.

Soven was silent for a long time.  The kid's patience was running out, she was about to say something when Soven said.

"Do you know what I am, kid?  Do you know what I do, huh?  Everthing you think about me is wrong.  Im not a hero.  I wasn't on that island tryin; to save someone, or anyone.  Do you wanna know what I am?  Im a killer, kid.  I kill people.  I kill bad guys along with good people for simple reasons.  I kill for money, for pride and in my darker days, for fun.  I can kill anyone and everone and sleep easliy at night.  You wanna know why?  Its becasue I have the killer instinct.  I can kill in defence and at will.  I know alot of people who want to kill someone, or they say they want to.  But only a handfull in hundreds of thousands will kill.  Some kill in anger, others in a panic and most, by fear.  Some then build a taste for killing and they kill lots of people and others are driven mad with grive and remorse for what they did.  Those people always end their own lives.  The few uneffected, have the killer instinct.  Now, knowing all this, the instinct and the price for discovering it, answer this.  Can you kill and live with it or not?"

The silcence lasted a long time.  Long minutes dragged by when she answered in a whisper.

"Yes.  I can't promise I won't enjoy it but I promise to not let it consume me.  But Soren must die!"

Soven smiled softly and hugged her.  She threw her arms around him and Soven felt warm tears on his shoulder. 

"Hey, kid.  Dont cry.  You've taken a big step today.  Im very proud of you.  Your braver then I was at your age.  Hey.  You dont have a name do you?"  She slowly shook her head.  "Ha!  How about Promise?  You make me promise about everying so it should suit you fine.  Unless, you wanna stay as kid?"

She stepped back and smiled "No, I'm Promise and I promise to save Spira."

"Im Soven and I promise to save Spira and then get drunk."

<ooc - Sheol, shortly beforehand>

As the wind picked up again and began to blow the black sand and ash around in shifting whirlpools near the ground, Fariel helped Eevee slowly to her feet and the two began walking away from Penance’s fortress. They knew they had no chance in the Farplane of catching Ghede now, and needed to start thinking about finding some shelter off this open black desert. Fariel had self-healed the worst of her injuries and was now walking resolutely across the barren ground with her wings hooded protectively over herself and Eevee against the screaming wind. Eevee - having almost ordered her godmother to let her get up, start walking and stop fretting over her - was for her part trying valiantly to hide her residual weakness and discomfort, though the way she was walking slightly doubled over with one hand on her stomach betrayed the fact that the newly-healed wound was still tender.

“What’s that?” Fariel suddenly wondered aloud, her hands drifting to the hilts of her wave swords as two dark shapes appeared out of the dim mist of the pale, hazy sky ahead and began to descend. Eevee slowly drew her force lance from inside her trech coat, flicked her wrist to extend the weapon and spun it to bear on the two approaching flyers, bracing it against her hip.

“Hello!” they heard a girl’s voice shout, and relaxed as the two shapes resolved themselves into Keiji and Tsunami, who alighted in front of them - Keiji slightly less gracefully than Tsunami - and folded away their wings.

“Very stylish, Keiji,” Eevee commented with good-natured sarcasm, her eyes flicking to his red and black bat’s wings.

“Ah, it’s been done, get some originality,” Fariel added dismissively and gave a slanted smile, fluttering her own wings playfully.

Eevee feigned a sigh as she looked from Fariel to Keiji to Tsunami.

“I feel like such a misfit.”

Fariel ****ed an eyebrow and ran her eyes deliberately down Eevee’s gothic coat.

“Since when did that ever bother you?”

She broke into a broad grin and the two laughed.

“Where have you two been then?” Fariel asked. Eevee ****ed her head curiously also, as during their brief previous meeting Tsunami had given her only a few vague details about battling Xipetotec before assuring her that they’d be fine and telling her she should run and catch up with Fariel.

Tsunami recounted her story to them, Keiji staying quiet and allowing her to talk. Eevee wore a serious, concerned expression as Tsunami told them about Keiji’s terrifying transformation and desperate struggle against his demonic powers, but regained her usual slightly-mocking smile as she related Keiji’s first attempts at learning to fly.

“Don’t worry Keiji,” Fariel told him reasonably once Tsunami had finished, “Your dad had the same trouble controlling his powers when he first tried to use them,” she shuddered as the words brought back the memory of their sparring match against Tanis at the elven woods, where Neji had gone berserk after their elven guide had accidentally injured Melina, and nearly killed them all, “But he got the hang of it fairly quickly. He’d be proud that you’ve done the same. Though be thankful he never saw you flapping around on the ground like an idiot.”

She gave a mocking smile.

Suddenly, without any warning, Eevee gasped in pain and staggered back a pace. Keiji also stumbled, putting a hand to his head, and Fariel flinched.

“What’s the matter?” Tsunami asked anxiously as the three regained their balance.

“Did you…feel that?” Keiji gasped, blinking in the after-effects of the sudden stabbing pain in his head that had blurred his vision.

“Yeah…what just happened?” Eevee replied in pained confusion.

“It’s Penance,” Fariel growled softly, “He’s got the last of his powers back.”

<ooc - Just realised what I’d written previously doesn’t tally with Fariel’s stance on Penance ATM, so I’m changing it :P>

Her expression turned grave as she listened to Leviathan’s grim words inside her head but she shrugged it off, forcing the Aeon’s words down out of her conscious mind.

“What are we going to do now?” Tsunami said, biting her lip.

“No idea,” Fariel replied, “I came here to save you guys from the jam you got yourselves into, not go toe-to-toe with Penance.”

Tsunami looked worried and Eevee looked downright shocked.

“But…but we have to…”

“No, I don’t have to do anything,” Fariel said firmly, “I have a home now, lots of people I’m responsible for. And a bitch to look after.” she added slyly with a sideways glance at Eevee, remembering her comment in the Macalania tunnel.

“But aren’t you one of the Avenging Angels? The elves said…”

“Urgh, the elves!” Fariel said disparagingly, “I don’t owe them anything. I’ve already sorted out their mess for them once by frakking Sin over. They can go stick it in their pointy ears.”

“But the prophesies! Laconfir said…”

“Oh Aeons, not more prophesies? You go tell Laconfir he can shove his prophesies up his self-righteous…”

“Fariel.” Eevee pleaded with her.

“I thought I’d taught you better than to get mixed up with the elves, Eevee? Frak, like mother like daughter…” she stopped and sighed, “Okay, I didn’t mean that, but you have to understand it’s not my problem any more.”

“It’s everybody’s problem!” Tsunami snapped from the back. Keiji backed her up - after all his vendetta against Penance was much more personal, having lost his mother to him, and nearly his father and his new love as well.

“Look kids, I’m not going to argue with you any more. We have to get off this frakked-up island and I’ll see you safe back to the mainland but after that I’m going back to Kebel, okay?”

And you can’t stop me either, she snapped silently at Leviathan, This doesn’t change anything.

-- Edited by [BOSS]Fenix at 11:33, 2006-12-14

As Retala ordered Gau took all of Neji's men who resided in Ellessar woods and left on the airship, but Gau did not plan to follow any more orders, instead of going to Bevelle he decided to head to Shoel Zell had asked him to pick him up the following day and it had been two days.

**************

Gau landed on Ellessar woods but there was no sign of Zell anywhere, he gazed up at Ghede's tower, he dreaded to think that Zell lost and was taken prisoner but he had to investigate the few crew on bored the ship armed themselves with Machina Rifels and Al'bed armor Gau had his normal Thin sword and single pistol. He gave the sign and the men burst in through main door yet the tower was empty, the fanned out covering the ground floor yet no trace of anything. They climed the stairs until they came to the enterence to Ghede's room Gau opened the door slightly then burst in five men at his back, there came a roar and a great half human half fiend charged they opened fire and the creture collasped in the ground before reaching them. The tower was searched and three more strange creatures were taken down but no sign of any other life.

"This is too strange, why is there hardly anything here,"

"Gau!" a man called out

"What is it?"

"We just revieced a distress call from the The Al'bed home," Gau ran towards the airship

"Play the message," the message was jumbled yet two words were clear, Attack and Creatures.

"Has it already begun?"

"I fear so Gau, Penance has begun his invasion," the room was silent, "I'm getting another transmition, this one is from Bevelle, I'll go ahead and play it,"

On a large screen Baralie's face appeared "This is an emergancy call from Bevelle, Spira is under siege from a recently idenified enemy, a man named Penance is leading an army of Undead and demons all those brave enough to combat this new enemy report to Bevelle New Yevon Temple asap, others are recommended to remain in doors until notified by there local athority,"

"Gau shall we go?"

"We will have to, leave Zell for now," Gau was away to call back his men when the crew member called out again.

"What is it now?"

"Life forms headed this way,"

"Crap," Gau said to himself, he ran outside and ordered his men get back into the airship, yet couldn't gather them in time appearing over the horizon came a group of about 20 men, Gau currently had 40 under him.

"Wait, we seem to have the advantage, line up and get ready to fire on my word! Get the airship guns preped and ready!" Gau shouted.

"wait for it," Gau said, the apporached group came into sight and Gau looked upon a very welcomed face. "Drop arms!" he shouted running forward.

"Cid! you're ok!"

***************

Tsunami, Fariel, Eevee and Keiji reached the coast of Shoel. "Ok it's time to get the hell out of here,"

Tsunami and Keiji took flight and Fariel began to walk along the water.

"Excuse me guys," Eevee called out, Keiji smiled, "oops, sorry Eevee,"

"Can't beleive you guys would of left me here, could one of you guys carry me,"

Keiji went slighty red, he had still not sorted his shyness and didn't know if he could handle carrying a girl across the water even if it was good friend. Tsunami swooped down

"I might not be able to fly for long with someone on my back,"

"I struggle to stay on top of the water by myself,"

"Can't you just turn into a Dragon again?"

"You know shape shifting into something that big isn't all that easy and I'm pretty worn out and soar,"

"Then what we gonna do," the three women turned to Keiji

"well umm, my flying aint that great,"

"You'll be fine Keiji," Tsunami encouraged

"Yeh come on Mr big strong hero, I'm sure you could handle a little girl on you're back,"

Keiji signed, and lowered himself, "jump on then," Eevee lept on Keiji's back, the take off was sketchy and Eevee gripped tight for dear life.

"I think I would be better swimming,"

"I could drop you here if you want?"

"No!" Eevee shouted looking down at the water below.

**********

"Cid, I can't believe you're safe,"

"Yeh it was some landing when Penance hit us but 20 of us survived, thankfully, is that the Shadow?"

"Yeh Zell managed to complete it,"

"Speaking of Zell where is he?"

"I'm not sure, this isn't our first time here, the first time we stayed Zell stayed behind to fight one of Penance's generals, we came to collect him,"

"So my eyes didn't decieve me then,"

"Cid?"

"We were hiding in a cave near Penance's castle, and not that long ago the massive army left, leaving the castle poorly defended, but the shocking thing is we witnessed Penance's power return to him and we thought we saw Zell march out with them,"

"Impossible! Zell would never do that!"

"Penance can brainwash people,"

"Damn him, anyway what brings you here,"

"We came to investigate this tower once Penance had left the island, running into you was a great fortune, now we can fight back against him," Gau looked on confused.

"What do you mean?"

"The majority of Penance's troops and all his generals have left the island, clearly he never would expect an attack here, we could take this island,"

"Cid we are 60 strong, hardly enough to take a castle,"

"60 men, plus a super powered airship,"

"Even if we did take the castle wouldn't Penance just turn around and retake it,"

"True, but we might be able to fool him, get his attention and relief some pressure off Spira, plus there has gotta be something in that castle that could help us, we could take the castle search it then high tail it to Bevelle with whatever we find,"

"I still don't think 60 men and 1 airship will be enough, we will need allies,"

"Then for now lets find somewhere more praticle on this island for a base,"

"We have to return to Spira and help with the fighting,"

"Think boy we could do more here,"

************

Fariel and the three young angels arrived back at main land Spira on a cost near Bevelle.

"Ok then kids, I've away back to Kebel, you are on you're own from here on out,"

The three young angels thanked Fariel and watched as she made her way back to Mount Gagazet. Spira seemed at peace but as they walked back to Bevelle the sound of gun fire could be heard far off in the distance.

"Has it already begun?" Tsunami asked

"Damn," Keiji said to himself

"we couldn't stop it, but there is no point getting down it was bound to happen let's just help where ever we can," Eevee said optimisticaly

It didn't take long for them to get back to Bevelle, Bevelle was silent and the sercurity was tighter than usual, they were lectured by the guards for being out of Bevelle at a time like this as they entered via the main gate, the sound of heavy fighting could be heard from both the Calm Lands and Macilania. A shadow had been cast over Bevelle yet the people tried to carry on with there lives even with the battles raging around them, though most chose to stay indoors and many once busy streets were empty other had people but were silent. They arrived at the Stead mansion, Treavor could been seen at one of the many windows gazing out, his eyes widened as he saw his daughter approached and he ran to door to great them hugging his daughter, Treavor still bore a bloodied bandage where he was hit.

"I can't beleive it, you are all alright, I was worried about all of you,"

"Don't worry father we aren't like most teenagers,"

"I know that, I have always known that, thats three times you have been captured and everytime you have come home safe, and I can't help but think I have you two to thank," Treavor said turning to Eevee and Keiji. "But enough of this, you must leave Bevelle it is too dangorus here,"

"So we can tell, whats the story about the rest of Spira?" Keiji asked

"The Al'bed capital home has been taken, so has Zanarkand, the Ronso are fighting at the foot of Mount Gagazet, the Guado at the Thunder Plains and you won't beleave this but I heard Elves have joined up with the Youth League and are fighting in the Calm Lands," the three teenagers gave a false surprised face at the mention of the elves.

"You three must leave,"

"Noway we can fight," Keiji argued

"No doute you could but do you really think the leaders are going to let a three teenagers they have never heard off join them in battle, the minium age to join the force is 17 and they are only letting experiance soilders at least 20 fight,"

"We have to try and help,"

"I feel you three will have to help but you can't do anything here, there is no fighting down south or so I have heard, head to Luca maybe you could be useful there,"

"Ok father we'll go,"

"Great, but all exits out of Bevelle are blocked, it isn't safe, but I do know there is a ship with a messenger to Luca leaving soon, sneak on bored,"

"We will,"

Soven stood like a statue as he watched the evil people.  He could see there minds at work: remembering old tales of pirates and bandits with a hoard of gold hidden somewhere, remembering old stories about Penance, belief growing in the fable Neji, the demon sent to Spira to rid the world of evil people, knowing that Soven does not ask help when in a fight. 

Soven began to doubt that his speech had any impact and was about so say something when a short, fat pirate shouted.  "Havok, Captain of the Claw, pleges his service to Soven."

"Tavna, assisian and gunner, joins Soven." Declared a middle age woman with a scar across her face.

"Tara, Captain of the Dagger, gives Soven, myself, my crew and my ship at his disposal."  Rumbled from a very tall and muscle woman.

"Davins, Master of the Blaves, 'ill join only if I get PAID!"  Slurred a drunk.

One by one, the pirates, thugs, murderers, all stood and swore to serve Soven with there men and there services.  Soven found that he had 9 airship captians, and if they were all fullly crewed as an average pirate airship had a crew of 40, then he all ready had a force of 360.  Soven did a quick count of the heads in the room and he burst into manic laughter.  50!  There were at least 50 warriors in the room and there were also 4 bands of bandits and if there had 15 men each, that gave Soven a grand total of 470.  Soven's Shadows were 470 strong!  Soven stopped laughing long enough to notice everyone staring at him,  he thought it was because of his laughing but suddenly realised he has to give them marching orders.

"Right!  You've all joined and you will all be paid BUT not before I realise you from the army.  Now,  Havok, Tara and the rest of the captians go your ships and stock them and throw anythin out you don't need.  Bandit chiefs, gather your men and be back here within an hour.  Everyone else, if you've got mates that you think will want some action get them here.  We leave in an hour, so get you gear, kiss your family goodbye, cos you may never see them again.  You have an hour.  Dismiss!"

The newly evil army, after some drained their drinks, marched out the door, leaving only Tanoj, Promise, Nina and Soven.  "'Noj, how many uniforms have you and the girls made?"  Asked Soven.

Tanoj opened his mouth to answer but another sound was made before he could speak.  Promise clapped her hands over her mouth and nose, Nina ran for a window and SOven pinched his nose saying, "Dirty bastard!" then coughed.

Tanoj chuckled, "Oops, but ya gotta admit, its nae a bad smell and it sounded abit wet an' all.  Ya reckon I've soiled meself abit?" 

"NINA, throw the windows open!  We need air."

Nina open the few windows and she, Promise and SOven, breathed in clean, fresh air.

"Right, assumin' 'Noojie's arse has said it's piece, now he can tell me his news."

"Well me an' the lassies had don' a good few.  About a hundred o' more."

Soven looked shocked that.  "What?"  He said.  "Come off it, 'Ven.  Ya cannae say ya didnae gie us a chalange.  Half were done 'for we picked up the needles, the rest jus' needed dyin'.  There'll be a thoosand afore the week's oot."

"Good."  After taking serveral deep breaths, and building a great deal of courage, SOven tore himself away from the window.  "Tanoj, you Nina and Promise go back to you place get the swords, guns and anythin else that might be useful.  I'm gonna find one of those airships and we'll plot a course that demon infeated island.  Cos, if yous still wanna go, huh?"

"Nae worry, mate.  I stood by ya when you called tha' blokes wife a bloated fiend, even when he brought half a hundred o' his mates to kick yar arse in."

"I'm goin' too.  I have a score to settle with Soren."

"Good.  I'll see yas in an hour."

 

OoOoOoO

 

Tanoj, Promise and Nina got back to 'Noj's place and started to gather the weapons they prepared earlier (Blue Peter, bastards) then they shifted Tanoj's junk looking for anything useful.  Their find was surpisingly large.  They found a create of gernades, 3 cases full of potions, a treasure chest over flowing with gil.  Tanoj was taken aback when they found that, he never knew he had it.  He started swearing and yelling about living like a peasant when he could be living in a mansion.  He decided, in his rage, that its was a good idea to kick the wall.  So he did.  Hard.  Only to find that it wasn't such a good idea after all.  He howled in pain and grapped his foot, hopping around like a mad man before falling on his face.  The pain in his face was unbelievable, he knew he was a big man but he knew felt his own weight before.  Well, not used against him, at least.  After blinking tears of pain, mind you, away, he noticed an empty bottle.  He picked it up and looked at the lable.  He remember it now.  It was the potion they used on Soven's wound.  He only now just noticed the name on the bottle.  It's was named "The Burst Potion".  Tanoj frowned, burst potion.  Odd name for a potion, but then again, Tanoj wouldn't know, he didn't use potions. "Nina, lass.  Ever hear' o' Th' Burst Potion.  I havenae."

"What?  Sorry, dear, but... did you say the Burst Potion?"

"Aye, I did, lass.  Why, does it matte'?"

"That can't be right, no way in SPira can that be right.  They were taken off the market.  Banned for being a waste of time.  Tanoj, give me the bottle, love."

Tanoj pulled himself up and passed the bottle behind himself, felt Nina take it from his hand and massaged his pulsing foot.  He heard Nina muttering to herself when she gasped and he heard the bottle smash.  Tanoj spun round and saw horror on her face.  He jumped to his, forgetting his foot and stood beside her.  "Nina.  Wha's wrong, lass?  Wha's wrong?"

Nina started to breath raggedly, so Tanoj gently guided her to a chair and sat her down.  He mumbled to her to stay calm, breath deeply and rubbed her back.  After several tense moments Nina spoke.  "That...po-potion we ga-...gave to-to-to Soven.  It's dan-dan-dangerous.  It was made a few years ago.  It was made here, in Bevelle.  The creator claimed it could save anyone from any aliment, any deaise, even when they were at the threshold of the Farplane.  And it worked, many people who were inches from death were saved.  There began a huge demand for them, before the New Tevon Praetor, Bavali, could declare it a legal potion people who took the potion died.  Their insides where writhered like prunes, their blood think and heavy so it couldn't go through the body proberly.  It took them days to die."  Nina burst into tears.  Tanoj hugged her and kissed the top of her heard.

"It'll be ok lass.  We'll gie him remedies to help agianst the decay and it might save 'im."

"That'll only work for about a month, no more then that."

"'En we'll pray to Yevon to save 'im."

Tanoj walked to the stack of potions and saw that Promise was shaking.

"Lass, 'Crin' 'elps nothin', no' even yar pain'.  Soven's words, lass."

He opened the door and walked out.

 

Tanoj found Soven talking to Tara the huge Woman with the airship.  Soven told him that because Tara's airship was the largest, she would carry most of the warriors.  Tara walked away, mumbling about checking her ship.  Tanoj told Soven about the potion and gave him the remedy.  SOven laughed and gulped the remedy down and threw the bottle away.  An hour later the army was gathered and on the 9 airships.  They took off for Penances island.