Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the OCs
"Slightly Damned" – talking
"Rebirth" – thinking
-break-
(Opening theme 1, "Harukaze" by Scandal)
Chapter 1: New Life, Glimpse of the New World
Sakido quickly jumped and took to the sky, right as the spot she had just been standing on exploded. "He wasn't kidding. Rebirths…even ones that were originally Humans are tougher than anything I've fought before. The only thing that's ever been this tough was Cerberus," she thought as she was forced to dodge in mid-air as several small pellets (bullets, she reminded herself) were shot at her.
"Not bad. Looks like you're getting the hang of your new body," Shun commented as he lowered the now smoking sub-machine gun which glowed before being replaced with a shot gun and took aim.
"Tch!" Sakido clicked her tongue as she soon found herself dodging the wider shots. Luckily for her, these shots were slower, as they couldn't be fired in the rapid-fire style that the machine gun could fire. A few seconds passed before the tell-tale interval happened, where Shun had to pause to reload his weapon (with more rubber bullets, as this was only practice), and Sakido was not about to let the chance pass.
Charging up lightning, she quickly shot a bolt of it at Shun who surprisingly, made no move to evade the attack. Instead, he simply raised his skeleton/Demon claw-like left arm, before strange lines (circuits) appeared over his arm, before a small barrier appeared and blocked the lightning.
"Good, good. You noticed a weak point in my preferred style and took advantage of it. As expected of a former elite warrior, you may be out of practice, but the instincts are still there," Shun playfully complimented, before his expression turned serious. "Too bad for you, I'm the same," he stated as his left arm started to glow again, before a ripple appeared in mid-air as he stuck his left arm through and pulled out what looked like a pair of rods now attached to the back of his arm, before pointing them at Sakido, as the rods sparked with electricity before firing a condensed ball of electricity at her (set to stun, not kill).
"This is getting tiring. For someone who's only magic is switching his weapons, he's a LOT tougher than what I expected," Sakido thought as she continued to dodge the attacks. She had to admit, she had made a mistake in underestimating her opponent simply because he was human, as despite them both being Rebirths, Shun was clearly the stronger one of them both, not just because of his weapons, which he referred to as firearms, but he clearly had a lot more experience fighting as a Rebirth. Pushing that thought aside, she quickly shot another bolt of lightning at him when she saw what looked like an opening. Little did she know that this was exactly what Shun wanted, as in a flash, his shotgun was replaced with a flash bomb, which he threw at the lightning bolt whilst covering his eyes. What happened next was instantaneous. The bomb hit the lightning bolt, causing it to explode in a blinding flash of light. This in turn caused Sakido to cry out as she was blinded by the light, not to mention she had to keep her focus, lest she end up falling from the sky. The moment Shun heard her; another ripple appeared before he plunged his left arm through it and pulled out an odd looking weapon that was squarish in shape with four middle sized spheres attached to the edges. Quickly taking aim at the dazed wind demon, he fired it, revealing it to be a net gun.
Sakido had been busy trying to get her sight back as she rubbed her eyes. Unfortunately, by the time she had managed to get some semblance of it back, the first thing she saw was the net that was just a few inches away, before she quickly found herself ensnared in the net, which quickly began binding her as she frantically tried to stay in the air, but her wings were soon tangled in the net, causing her to plummet down and land in the water with a big splash.
"Looks like it's my win," Shun chuckled as he walked to the water's edge, before quickly pulling Sakido back on the sand. "Need a little help?" he playfully asked, only to earn a glare in response, at which he wisely decided to back off.
"I'll accept that you beat me, but…" Sakido began, before using another lightning spell to burn through the net, freeing herself. "I refuse to be treated as though I were helpless," she finished as she got back on her feet.
"Hai-hai. Sorry about that, I was just having a little fun," Shun apologized, knowing better than to push his luck when dealing with the wind demones.
Sakido just shot him an annoyed look as she checked her wings to make sure they were dry enough, before wordlessly taking to the sky. Sighing slightly in annoyance, she decided to just enjoy the breath taking view from the sky. "Perhaps this is what 'he' saw in life," she thought as she admired the lush and exotic plant life that covered the island. She had always wanted to see what the world of the living looked like, and ever since Death had set her up with a pen-pal, those feelings had only grown. When she had been shot by that Holy Arrow, she thought that dream would remain so, yet now… "I guess it's times like this why Shun says most Rebirths look towards this as a blessing," she thought with a smile, as she had to admit that even if she still didn't like the idea of being forced to follow orders from The Master (Shun had bluntly told her that if The Master ordered her (or any other Rebirth for that matter) to sit and bark like a dog, she'd do it without question, and trying to resist would only make the order stronger anyway), it was times like this that she almost didn't mind following a few orders that rarely came up anyway. After all, thanks to becoming a Rebirth, her dream could finally come true. Flying a little further, she made her way to a spot she had found the previous day, before landing. The spot she had found was a small hidden lagoon near the back of the island. In the lagoon, there was a decent sized patch of grass where a few flowers grew (which in itself was odd, considering that the lagoon was near the ocean), and a small pool with a waterfall, which gave the lagoon a very calming feel to it.
Lying back on the grass, she closed her eyes and thought back to the last few days. Whether it was for better or worse, she couldn't deny that her life had taken a turn for the strange. Just a few days ago, she had been killed, was brought back to life, and was now under the 'supervision' of one Shun Hayami, a fellow Rebirth who had originally been human.
Three days had passed since she had become a Rebirth, and up till now, Shun had mostly been training her to get used to her strengthened body (flight training to get used to her increased speed, weight training for her increased strength, and even some meditation to help her focus her magic which had also been strengthened (she had noticed that in the short time she was already as strong as she was while she was in Hell's army, and she estimated that with enough training, she'd even be able to match (and maybe even defeat) the Seraph class Angels from Heaven that she had heard about while in Hell's Army)). Thinking about her 'supervisor', she couldn't help but let out an exasperated sigh. While he was nice enough (much nicer than the company she had in Hell, that's for sure), and while she did acknowledge Shun's experience as a Rebirth (he had apparently been a Rebirth for 2 years prior to meeting her) as well as his fighting skills, outside of a fight he seemed very much laid back, unserious, and a little too goofy for her taste (eerily reminding her of own brother at times, even though Shun was thankfully more sensible, and not to mention smarter, than Buwaro ever was). Her odd companion aside, she also had a hard time getting used to how different this world was to her own. To her, it seemed almost too perfect to be true, yet it was. In fact, just 2 days ago she had experienced something that served to drive in even further the reality that this was definitely NOT Medius.
Flashback (Sakido's POV), 2 days ago…
I smiled gently as I sat on the top of the large tree in the middle of the island (I had always been fond of high places) and enjoyed the feel of the cool breeze that blew through the island (something that I could never do in Hell). Truly, it was times like this that I was glad that this wasn't a dream as I continued to savor the peaceful and calming feel of this beautiful island. Reaching into my gown, I pulled out the Sun Pendant, or at least a copy of the Sun Pendant that my father had given me. Even now, I still had a hard time believing that I had it with me, though considering how I got it back…it was understandable.
It happened yesterday while Shun had been explaining the basics of being a Rebirth to me in greater detail. A Rebirth is basically a person (or rather soul) that meets a premature end (doesn't die peacefully/suffered an unnatural death), but had a certain quality that was deemed 'worthy' by the Master (Shun also explained that there are 2 types of Rebirths based on the qualities that made them worthy. The first, Hero type Rebirths, are Rebirths that were heroic in life, usually having noble qualities and usually died whilst protecting someone or in order to save lives. On the other hand, the second type, Anti-Hero type Rebirths, are Rebirths that have usually done heinous crimes in life, but regretted them and tried to make up for them, often getting killed in the process (I clearly knew which type of Rebirth I was)). Shun also explained that what happens was that the worthy soul would then be taken by the Master before that soul went to the afterlife (I couldn't help but wonder what that meant for me, since demons don't have an afterlife…at least that's what I thought, though I'm starting to doubt that too) and given a new and stronger body, which is marked by what he referred to as a Rebirth Mark, a crown shaped mark that appears somewhere on the bodies of Rebirths that serve to mark that person as a Rebirth, as well as allow the Master to issue orders to said Rebirth (in my case, I had discovered that my mark had appeared on my chest, over where my heart was). He then explained the duties of a Rebirth, which basically entailed maintaining the balance of the universe, most of the time by preventing or stopping factors that could ruin the balance between light and dark (somehow I had a feeling the great war in Medius didn't make the Rebirth's jobs any easier), which often meant fighting against (and many times killing) anyone (good or evil) who could endanger this was an inevitable reality in a Rebirth's life, which was why he refused to teach me how to leave the island (he explained that usually Rebirths have the knowledge of how to do a world jump (open a portal to another world) imprinted on their minds while they are reborn, but as the process was somewhat incomplete for me (he said it was because I broke out of the crystal myself), some knowledge was still missing from my mind) until I at least got used to my new body, hence why he wanted to start my training immediately.
Following this, he pulled out a strange weapon that looked to me like a small misshapen club, and to my surprise, told me that weapons like this were his weapons of choice. Initially I nearly laughed at the seemingly useless weapons, until Shun gave me a demonstration (he pointed the weapon at a target he set up, and pulled his finger back before the target suddenly exploded) which shut me up as he explained how his weapon (a gun, as he called it) worked by shooting out small pellets (bullets) that could easily blow a hole through a body (at this point I couldn't help but wonder how different the war back in Medius would have gone if either side had access to these…guns or firearms that Shun used). Shun even explained that the gun he was using (he called it a 'Thompson Contender') was one of his favorites before becoming a Rebirth, and was still one of his favorites even now. At this point, I asked him how he could have had that, as he had also told me that when a Rebirth is reborn, he/she usually only has the clothes on his/her back. At this, he seemed a little sheepish and admitted that he had forgotten to mention that while Rebirths ARE reborn with only the clothes on their backs, they are also allowed to gain (or rather, summon) exact replicas (down to the tiniest details) of items they held in life by simply thinking about them, be they needed for the Rebirth's powers, or simply sentimental (he even told me of a Rebirth that carried around a picture of his family all the time). Deciding to give it a try, I closed my eyes and imagined my pendant, just as my Rebirth mark glowed and a light appeared in my right hand. Opening it up, I found an exact replica of my Sun Pendant, though I knew that since this was a copy, it meant that my real pendant was probably with Buwaro now, as per my instructions to Rhea. Either way, I was happy to still have this precious piece (even if it wasn't technically the same one) of my old life with me.
Pulling my thoughts back to the present for a moment, I looked down and clutched the pendant, remembering some of my fonder memories as my mind slowly started drifting back to my old life, and I found myself wondering how Buwaro and Rhea were doing (I wasn't too worried about Rhea, since I could tell she knew how to take care of herself. Buwaro on the other hand…) and hoped that they were alright. I also idly wondered how Iratu was doing, as he should have already been in Medius by now, considering that he had been chosen to take part in the Ascension.
Concerning the Ascension, I was also curious (and somewhat apprehensive) as to why it was being done now. Back when I was part of Hell's army, I was aware of the ritual that would allow Demons to escape Hell and enter Medius. What worried me was the reason for doing so, as knowing my old affiliates, it couldn't be anything good. This thought also made me frown, as Shun had explained to me how a Rebirth's duty was to maintain the balance of the universe, and if the actions of Hell's army would somehow mess with that (assuming Heaven didn't do anything about it), it would mean that Rebirths like myself would be sent to push everything back into balance, and for some reason this had me feeling rather worried.
However, just as I was about to over think something that may or may not happen, my thoughts were interrupted when I suddenly heard the sound of laughter. The laughter of children to be precise. Poking out my head, I noticed a group of children playing on the beach below. I couldn't help but smile sadly at the sight, reminding me of happier times from my childhood.
"Hey, Sakido! Come over here, I'd like to introduce you!" came Shun's voice from below, as I just noticed that he had been playing with the children. It took me a moment to process what he just said (I thought I might have been hearing things), but once it sank in what he was asking, I looked at him like he was the biggest idiot in the world, even if I doubt he'd be able to see it.
"I'm not joking! Trust me, it'll be fine… And quit looking at me like that!" he said, causing me to blink in surprise. I guess he actually COULD see my expression. Shaking off the thought, I decided to humor him, even if just to shut him up. Besides, I could always give him a shock treatment later anyway! (I'm sure I had an evil and malicious look on my face at this point, if Shun suddenly looking a little paler was any indication)
Flying down and landing on the beach, I barely got a chance to properly land before I was surrounded by the children, all of them looking at me with wide eyes. The next few moments were…tense for some reason, and I was idly wondering if (read: when) the children ran away screaming (it wasn't a secret that Demons had a bad reputation back in Medius, so why should it be any different here), if they would 'accidentally' trample the moron (he had to be a moron to show a demon to some kids) who had started all this. However, to my surprise, one of the children, a small girl, came forward with a look of wonder in her eyes. "You're from another world too? Where did you come from? Does everyone there look like that?" she started asking enthusiastically, before I found myself mobbed by the children who were either asking me questions, or taking a good look at me (some of them even thought my wings made me look 'pretty'). Not at all what I had expected, so much so that I couldn't even respond due to my surprise. This couldn't be right. Here was a demon standing in front of them, and these kids weren't the least bit afraid, and were even looking at me with…wonder? Did they actually think I looked interesting?
"Okay, settle down everyone," Shun laughed. "She can't answer all of you if you don't give her a chance."
A short while later (after answering more questions than I had ever been asked before in my life) I found myself sitting on the roof of the seaside shack with Shun as we watched the children play on the beach. "Why…?" I asked, my mind still trying to process what had just happened.
"Why what?" Shun asked almost lazily, before he laid back against the ground with his hands behind his head.
"Why weren't they afraid? Why did they accept me so easily?!" I asked/demanded, as once again my view on how the world worked was dealt a shattering blow.
"I already told you when we first met. What may have been the norm in Medius means nothing here. Sure, demons don't exactly have a good reputation in most worlds, and maybe at one point you wouldn't have been so readily accepted in most worlds, but that's a thing of the past," Shun sighed, earning a questioning look from me. "Neo Lumino," he suddenly said.
"Neo…Lumino?" I asked, caught off guard by the answer.
"It would be good for you to remember that name. He's a Rebirth like you and me, but unlike us, he's practically a legend thanks to his exploits, and it is because of him and his allies that the worlds have become like they are now. You see, Neo hates discrimination with a passion, mostly because he and his family had to go through all that crap before he became a Rebirth. You see a couple of decades ago, Neo and his 6 comrades fought in a great war against a terrible evil. In the aftermath of the war, many worlds that were already aware of the existence of each other decided to ban together in preparation in case another great evil rises again. It wasn't easy, but with the help of The Celestial Seven-that's the title given to Neo and his 6 comrades-they managed to create the foundation of what would eventually become a great alliance. As of today, the alliance has grown to encompass over a thousand worlds, with more being discovered every day. As for why the children are more accepting of you, this world, Destiny Islands, is one of original members of the alliance, so the people here get various characters from all over coming around all the time, and that makes them used to seeing people that aren't human. Another thing is that in order for this alliance to work, there were a few ground rules that all the worlds agreed to. In this case, the rule that's in play is the rule on discrimination. Discrimination is against the law, but to be sensible, how it works is that people judge others based on WHO they are instead of WHAT they are. That's why those kids were more accepting. They've been taught to not always judge someone based on how they look. Of course, the only real reason why you got a reaction like that was because I was the one who introduced you, since the kids know me. Otherwise, they wouldn't be quite as eager to talk to a stranger," he explained, before a cheeky grin appeared on his face. "Besides, all things considered, you're not that scary anyway."
"Really?" I asked in surprise, as I was generally considered as one of the more intimidating demons.
Shun just smiled slightly as he closed his eyes. "Trust me. Compared to some of the stuff I've seen, you're about as scary as a kitten. Heck, if you want to be REALLY blunt, compared to some of the ugly, hideous things I've seen, you're freaking gorgeous!" he laughed.
"Really?" I asked almost dumbly at his statement. If anything, the very idea that he, a human, thought a Demon like me could be gorgeous was hard to believe.
"Oh yeah, I'm not joking. To be honest, before I met you, when you say 'Demon', the first thing that comes to mind is something that looks like a starved corpse, has big sharp claws, looks like something that should be dead, but is somehow moving, and has the face that even its mother wouldn't love," Shun said. "Compared to that, you've got looks that would make a LOT of people I know come running towards you if they even thought they had a chance."
At this point, I looked at him like he had grown a second head. While I was somewhat flattered that he called me gorgeous (demon or not, I AM still a woman), but at the same time I couldn't get rid of the incredulous look I had at the (seemingly) sheer absurdity that he had just said, as in my mind, there was no way a human of all things would ever consider a demon like me to be attractive…right? It was at this point that I decided it was better that I stop asking him questions. It would be much gentler on my perception of reality that was already at death's door, and I would rather it not die a violent death in the face of the endless culture shock.
"So…you told me that other worlds exist out there, right?" I asked, wanting very much to change the subject.
"That's right," he nodded.
"What are they like?" I asked curiously.
"Well…It would be easier if you just saw them for yourself, but each world is unique in its own way, be it the way of life, the landscape, or even the residents of the world," Shun explained. "For example, I know one world where humans don't exist there, or at least aren't native to that world. Instead, everyone looks more or less like what people in your world would consider Demons, though they lack any and all magical abilities."
"There are worlds like that?" I couldn't help but ask in surprise.
"Oh yeah. There was even this one world where everyone there are these big robots, which are basically people made out of metal, then there's that world where people can turn themselves into data and enter computers, and the list goes on," Shun said as he listed down any world he could think of.
"I would like to see them. They certainly seem interesting," I said as I looked up at the blue sky. This world was beautiful, but listening to Shun made me want to see what else there was, as never before had I felt such wonder at the thought of other worlds.
"And you'll get your chance. For now, you need to get used to that new body of yours, cause trust me when I say that the universe is as deadly as it is wonderful. There are some worlds with monsters so scary and deadly, they'd chew you up and spit you out before you even know it. That's why it's important that you at least get used to your Rebirth body," Shun assured me. "By the way, why do you seem so interested in seeing the other worlds? Sure it's fascinating and all, but I sense quite a lot of eagerness from you."
"Oh? That's because back before I became a Rebirth I had a pen-pal from Purgatory. He was an incredibly talented poet, and he always wrote me poetry about things he had seen in life. That's part of the reason why I wanted to escape Hell so much. I wanted to see what he had seen in life," I explained.
"Sounds like quite a guy. His poetry must have been quite something if it pushed you that far. If it's any consolation, I'm sorry you couldn't see the world he saw, but at the very least, I hope you're happy with what you can see now," Shun commented with a smile.
"Yes, seeing this beautiful world, even if it isn't Medius, has been everything I had always dreamed about, and listening to you makes me want to see more," I said, earning an understanding nod. "Also, he inspired me to write some of my own poetry. In fact, I got my old notebook where I wrote that poetry back along with my Sun Pendant, since it was of sentimental value to me."
"You did, huh? Can I see?" Shun asked, before I gave him the note book to see, which happened to be on the same page as the time I showed it to Rhea (A/N: Uh oh). He seemed to read the Haiku for a moment, before stiffening.
"Well, what do you think?" I asked.
"Uhh… Sakido. Please don't take this the wrong way, but…" Shun started.
(One criticism/death wish later…)
BZZZZZZTTTT!
I flew away with an annoyed huff, as down below Shun laid there, smoking and twitching as electricity sparked around him, his normal hair style now resembling an afro.
Flashback End (back to 3rd person POV)
Sitting back up, Sakido smiled slightly as she looked up at the clear blue sky. She couldn't wait to see the other worlds that were out there, and by now, she had more or less come to terms with (or rather accepted) the reality that she couldn't rely on the norm of how things were back in her home world, so now with the initial feeling of apprehension quickly fading, all that was left was a feeling of excitement and wonder at the prospect of seeing different worlds.
"I suppose I should get back to training. The sooner I get used to my new body, the better," she murmured with a smile as she got up and flew back to the beach where she knew Shun was probably waiting.
-break-
2 days later…
Sakido moved quickly as she gracefully dodged the barrage of bullets, quickly making her way to her target.
"Not bad!" Shun grinned as he plunged his left arm into another ripple, this time pulling out what looked like a broad sword (a technological broad sword at that) instead of his usual firearms. Once she got close, he immediately lashed out with the sword, only for her to flap her wings, creating a quick gust which she used to flip over the strike, landing right behind him.
Wasting no time, she immediately slashed at him with her claws that were covered in lightning, but he managed to block it with his sword, which pushed him back a few feet.
"So, what do you think?" Sakido challenged.
"Good, you've definitely gotten the hang of your new body. Your movements, strength, and speed are completely different than the last time we sparred, and the fact that this was only within 2 days is impressive," Shun acknowledged. "However, just so you know, I'm not even starting to get serious. Compared to a Rebirth's true power, this is nothing."
"Oh? So I've still got a long way to go, then?" Sakido smirked confidently, earning a nod in response. "Well then, looks like I've got to keep working at it. After all, you're not going to let me leave this world unless I do."
"Hey, don't say it that way! You make it sound like I'm keeping you prisoner here, which I am most certainly not," Shun shot back. "Besides, by normal standards you're strong enough now, so let's wrap this up."
"Alright then," Sakido nodded, clearly seeing the challenge as they both got into a stance, with Shun having placed his gun away to better grip the sword, while she had readied a dark spell which covered her claws with energy.
As though a silent signal had sounded, the two of them charged at each other and in a split second, both their attacks flashed before they passed each other. Neither of them moved for a moment, before Sakido slumped to her knee as a fresh gash appeared on her left arm.
"Heh, you were holding out on me," Shun simply commented, right before a small explosion happened on the back of his left arm, revealing wires and internal machinery which were now covered in sparks from when she had hit him with a Darkness spell.
"Does that put your doubts to rest?" Sakido asked with a confident smile/smirk, despite the pain in her left arm.
"Yeah, there's no doubt about it. You're ready," Shun smiled as he walked over to her before ripping off a piece of his cloak to bandage the wound he had caused. "I assume you want to leave immediately."
"Sounds good," Sakido nodded as she got back on her feet, but frowned slightly when she noticed his arm. "Your arm…"
"That's right; I never did tell you about this arm of mine. I'll explain later. For now…" Shun said before he held out his right hand, causing a portal to appear. "As promised, I'll show you the other worlds."
Sakido just smiled in response before the two of them stepped through the portal, as she felt a sense of wonder and anticipation fill her. Her life was changing, and it was changing faster than she could have ever expected, but…was it really such a bad thing? "Truly, its times like this when I feel that this life truly is a blessing," she thought with a gentle smile as the gentle light of the portal enveloped them both, opening the path to the new world, before revealing a small square with a garden within a town surrounding a massive castle.
-break-
(Ending theme 1, "Itsumo" OST Transformers: Galaxy Force)
*music*
As the music starts, we see a shot of the sky, as snow falls down to the ground
Kimi no kokoro ni aru shinjitsu… Kimi no egao de yume wa kagayaku…
The scene changes to show a shot of Sakido from behind, as she is standing inside a cave as she watches the heavy rain outside.
Kimi no karada ni nemuru yuuki… Me no mae no kabe mo nante koto nai
The scene changes again to show Sakido walking through a barren wasteland as a strong wind and heavy rain pelt against her, while she walks against it, holding her side as though injured…
Bokura deatta imi mo wakaru yo. Sukoshi mimi o sumaseba…
Sakido begins to sway slightly, before the scene then shows a close up of her, as something starts glowing from within her gown and on her wrists, revealing them to be her Sun Pendant and Darius' feathers respectively, before the glow envelops the screen.
Ashita ga yondeiru Ima sugu iku yo. Ryoute o tsubasa ni kaete…
The scene changes to show Sakido's shocked expression, as she has suddenly been turned back into her childhood self, before she sees visions of her family, starting with baby Buwaro, who smiles at her while holding up his little paws, followed by an image of young Iratu who is grinning playfully at her, before finally Darius appears, whilst holding out his hand towards her with a gentle smile on his face
Dare ni mo makenai sa ikinuku koto ga
Young Sakido's face blooms with joy as she runs towards them, but just as she is about to reach them, the screen is enveloped in a bright light
Bokura o kaeteiku
The scene changes to show Sakido lying on the ground on a field of grass as her eyes open, before she looks towards the image of Darius which fades away, revealing Shun who is kneeling next to her, holding his hand out to her while he smiles gently
Koete tsuyoku nareru…
Sakido blinks in surprise, before her features soften considerably and a warm smile appears on her face as she takes Shun's hand and slowly stands up
*music*
Once Sakido is back on her feet, Shun walks towards the screen, beckoning her to follow. Sakido smiles gently, before she follows him. The scene then shifts to show Sakido from behind, walking towards Shun who is standing alongside 3 shadowed figures, with a Gummi Ship in the background.
(theme end)
-break-
Author's note:
Here is the first chapter of SD: Wind of Rebirth and Redemption. If anyone is wondering, this takes place during the canon comic, and will build up to an eventual AU split. Also, if anyone noticed, I referenced a previous fic in this chapter.
